Chapter 3 – A Massacre Everyone Will Enjoy
Starting with the closest location on the map, Nick begins his crusade against the Doll Factory. The first location is a small warehouse not too far from the city. A location this close to the city would’ve gotten them caught a couple of days after they appeared, but they seem to be settled in. Nick thinks this could mean that the Doll Factory has ties to people in Hillside City, but it won’t matter what connections they have after tonight. As soon as he sneaks in, the building changes and the door behind him disappears.
“Surprised?” the other him says as Nick hides.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“Don’t think for a second that you summoned me. There is another force at work here that wants to see the slaves set free and you’re being used as their means of liberation.”
“Give them my thanks. So they don’t care if these other people die?”
“They do, but these people are far more gone than you are. They don’t even sense beings like me.”
“It’s a shame.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Of course I don’t.”
The other him gives Nick some of its power. Nick then uses it to make the guards think they’re hallucinating. Even though their senses are dull to their monsters, their minds are foggy. Nick has the power to easily make them see their own monsters who will destroy them, but he won’t. He’s a hands-on type of man. With his transformed body, he brutally kills every guard. They try to fight back hand to hand, but Nick has them beat in that regard with his skills and enhanced abilities. Some of the guards try using their guns, so Nick uses his new ability to blur the vision of the guards so that they see triples of Nick who act on their own and hurt them all the same. With all of the guards dead, Nick frees the prisoners and heads to the next location. He calls the police to get these people the help they need.
Along the way, he comes across Sirene and Caim who he cannot avoid talking to. They quickly catch up to him since they are excited that he’s out hunting with them.
Caim says, “Amon! You’re out at the right time. We’ve already planned what we’re going to do.”
“Just show me your plan of attack. We’ll work together on this one.”
“Right.”
Caim explains the Purple Butterflies plan of attack and marks the locations the Butterflies are going to hit last.
“We’re only going to work together this one time and that’s it,” Nick says.
“What do you mean ‘and that’s it’?” Caim says.
“My wife is making me reconsider vigilantism. She didn’t figure out that I go out every other night to do this, but we did talk about my vigilante identity. She doesn’t approve of it to say the least.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Sirene says, “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Take it from a wife who knows best like you do.”
“Don’t say that. My wife is the most compassionate, and the smartest person I know.”
“Sirene, even if he takes a break, he won’t be able to stay away for too long. Amon craves justice for those who evade it.”
Caim brings up a thought that Nick has when he thinks about quitting vigilantism. He wants to go out and kill criminals and evil men and women. It’s like an unhealthy addiction for him. Allison’s opinion on his addiction is the only thing that’s making him think twice about killing.
“I’ll think about it. We should go now. I don’t want to let these people get away with making people into sex dolls.”
“You got that right. Let’s go Caim,” Sirene says.
“Good luck Nick.”
“You too.”
At the next hideout, Nick makes each of the guards freeze in place. They’re being held by their monsters, but since they can’t see them, all they feel is a cold chill and immobile. This allows Nick to savor each kill. He can beat them down to his enjoyment and tear them apart with the help of their own monsters. Several guards are frozen in ambush and sniper points in the building. They would’ve had the drop on Nick if he didn’t freeze them. It seems that they also know they’re under attack, but a couple don’t seem to care as they are frozen while using their own products. These people receive the worst deaths. Nick’s abilities have also affected the slaves as they see him as an angel of death. An avenger of the innocent and punisher of the guilty. Once they are freed, Nick leaves for the next hideout before the people can thank him. He calls the police to help these people as well.
On the way to the next location, Nick’s monsters begin to fight him. He wrestles control from them though it is more difficult to stay in control than before.
The other him appears and says, “Once this is done, you’ll eventually lose control. You know you will.”
“Then I’ll try to do as much damage as I can until then. I’m don’t think I’ll ever stop killing though.”
“That’s your choice to make, but what will Allison think if she finds out? You might lose her forever.”
“She won’t find out.”
“She won’t? That woman can be sneaky if she suspects something…You’re considering quitting now, aren’t you?”
“After this. Maybe I will.”
“It’ll be easier if you stop sooner than later.”
The other him fades away right before Nick gets to the next location. He’s on an island that used to be an amusement park. He must’ve teleported from the city to the island since he never got on a boat. The invisible forces at work here tend to do paranormal activities such as this to get people where they need to go. There isn’t any cover here so Nick is spotted immediately. He takes cover from the gunfire before unleashes the monsters of the guards. The monsters tear through the guards and give Nick cover to eliminate his fair share of them. After that, he frees the slaves and takes a boat back to the city with them. They thank him profusely, but he just nods in return. He calls the police to pick them up before heading back home.
The Purple Butterflies should be getting the rest of the hideouts and driving the Doll Factory out of the city. This should be the last killing spree of his. Nick slowly takes off his mask that feels like its stuck his face. The mask almost feels alive as it squirms and even screeches as it resists Nick. It releases sharp blades from the edges of the mask so it can stay firmly planted on Nick’s face. Nick stops trying to take it off when he senses someone watching him. It’s Caim and Sirene. They approach him when they know he’s noticed him.
Caim says, “Don’t stop now. It’s okay if we know who you really are.”
“Were you trying to take your mask off? Are you trying to quit?” Sirene asks.
Nick stays silent as the pain in his face subsides.
“You can’t quit,” Sirene adds, “The fact that your mask resists you proves it.”
“You don’t want to quit anyway. Not now.”
“Why not? I already took care of my portion of the Doll Factory.”
“It’s not that. The Doll Factory have been kidnapping people from this city while we were clearing their hideouts. We’ve dispersed people to find them.”
Nick’s heart stops for a second before he asks, “Do you know who they kidnapped?”
“Some random people and some high valued people.”
“Such as?”
“Some of these people are our loved ones, so I hope none of yours are on the list.”
“Just tell me!”
Caim lists off the people he knows were kidnapped. Allison comes up as one of them. All feeling in Nick’s body goes away and his heart feels like it stops. Caim and Sirene notice Nick’s shock and try talking to him, but he can’t hear them. He can’t hear anything except the quickening pace of his heart as he runs back home. He loses the two along the way. Back at home, he doesn’t find anything. It looks like they kidnapped Allison while she was still sleeping. The rage within him builds. He tightens his grip on his monsters as he heads out to find her while filled with rage and panic.
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