Episode 4-2: Love Love

His tongue flaps around eagerly as his teeth close the distance. I try to push his face away, but my fingers get cut when they slide on his teeth by mistake. I can't move! I can't get away. His grip is so firm, it won't let me move my head.

"No, please!"

Chomp!

My eye—lash! He missed just barely, my eyelash is pulled out with a stinging pain.

"Help! Somebody! This man is molesting me!" I shout at the passing people.

Faces in the crowd turn sour and disgusted. They all shout for Clyde to let me go, hopping over the little fence that separates the public sidewalk from the cafe's perimeter. Clyde seems to notice them, but he chooses to continue to hold me hostage. The people are intimidated by his size, but in numbers, they confidently force his hands off of me and let me run away.

"What's wrong with you?"

"No means no!"

"Get the cops over here!"

"How could you treat someone like that?"

"You were hurting him, you dumb moron!"

"Fuckin' gross behavior, bro!"

They continue to tell him off, and he just stands there with a lost look on his face taking it. I hop the fence and start speed walking in the same direction Love Love went. Don't worry, Clyde, I know you didn't mean it. I'll catch that creep and force him to remove his curse from your mind.

Blending into the crowd makes the search harder, not easier. I can't see over the heads of most people. I'm not complaining about my short stature, but what I wouldn't give to be a few inches taller right now. Just look for the purple hat. That's not easy to miss. I jump between steps, peering over heads, and noticing a spec of purple further down the sidewalk. The bastard didn't even bother running. Doesn't want to get sweaty in his fancy outfit.

I try pushing my way ahead of the dense foot traffic, but there's no way I'm going to beat the fortitude of your average big-city resident.

"Sweetheart!?"

Oh no.

"Please wait for me! Raise your hand! I can't see you! You're so small! We should really stick together if we're going to make progress on this case!"

Clyde's wandering eyes peer over the top of the rest of the crowd. They let him go already? It feels like I'm on a conveyer belt staying in the same place while Clyde catches up, and Love Love gets away.

He was willing to gouge my eye out in the name of love, I don't want to find out what else he'll do when he catches me. Is this why Victoria's casket was closed? What happened to her body? How did she die? It must've been so gruesome that we couldn't even dare a peek.

If I jump another time to check on Love Love's direction, Clyde will definitely see me and pursue relentlessly. If I don't, I'm going to lose him and I'll never be able to get Clyde's mind back. The crowd keeps bumping me left and right, forward and back, it's infuriating.

There's no chance for mistakes here, my instinct is telling me Love Love is probably changing directions right now. If I miss it now, I'll never find him in time before Clyde butchers me like a feral in the woods. I have to jump now!

I jump. There he is! He's turning off to the left!

"There you are, my cute foxy!"

Shit! I'm spotted. I can see him pushing passed the people in front of him like they weigh nothing. All the angry shouts do nothing to stop him, he just acts like he doesn't hear them. I try to push passed too, but I can't. It's like trying to break through a brick wall without a gadget.

Wait, I think a gadget is perfect for this!

A small silver ball I pull from my belt is made of this easily crushable material. I cradle it between my finger and thumb and start rolling it until the shell breaks and becomes like a powdery substance. A nauseous smell emits from it, making it seem like I've gone a month without a shower.

It works as the crowd covers their nose and starts to give me space. Slightly embarrassed, I run through the new opening in the crowd and get a little further from Clyde. I find the path Love Love turned into. He walked into a chicken restaurant. I don't see him sitting in the lobby. Did he exit through the back door?

I quickly get inside before Clyde can notice and toss my smelly gadget into the trash can with a lid. Not a single person in here is dressed like Love Love, he's definitely taking a shortcut somewhere else. Staff walk in and out of a hall, they must have another exit over there for trash disposal and resupplying.

"Wanting a lunch break already?"

Shit! How did he catch up so quickly?

"Clyde, back off! You're not well! Listen to yourself talk, you never talk like this."

"You're definitely cranky. We should eat, you'll feel so much better, and then we can cuddle. I just wanna squeeze you so tight that you lose air. That shows how much I love you."

He tries to wrap my waist again, I have to backflip out of it and cause a scene just to avoid my spine getting crushed. My legs dart for the hall and I pray that there is at least an exit. I don't even care about catching Love Love, I just don't want to be trapped with Clyde.

I juke every staff member carrying a plate or a tray, the crashing behind me says that Clyde didn't. In the kitchen, I spot a black door with a push bar, it definitely leads outside. The small window on it lets me see a flash of purple dipping out of the alleyway. I knew it!

My tail is grabbed before I can touch the door. I'm pulled back into the kitchen by lovestruck Clyde, and put in this insane wrestling hold where my head and left arm are behind his back, but the rest is free to thrash around.

"Agh! This hurts!"

"We don't even have to wait for the food. It's all right here. Let me feed you."

He picks up one of the fryers cooking chicken tenders. They look crispy and hot. Too hot. He grabs a couple of them, I can see his hand blistering from the touch.

"Here, babe, snacks for my snack."

"No! I don't even eat meat!"

The steaming chicken aims for my lips, I shake my head everywhere to avoid them. The grease falling on my neck burns and singes, it feels as hot as the sun. He twists around and grabs my chin with his other hand and squeezes my cheeks to force my mouth open.

He shoves them in, intense pain invades my mouth. My tongue, besides the cuts, now also has bubbles from heat burns. My cheeks become raw and sensitive. He clasps his hand over my muzzle so I can spit it out. I don't have a choice but to chew the tenders and swallow them, burning my throat too.

"Hah! Ow!"

Tears stream down my face. The nanobots can't numb this pain fast enough.

"Feel better? Want something to wash that down with?"

He switches grips and drags me around the kitchen by the back of my shirt. He grabs a ladle and dips it in the fryer's grease. No chance I'm doing that again!

"Be careful, it's hot," he says while holding it up to my lips.

"Then blow on it!" I do blow on it, right in his face. It's enough pain to get him to scream and let me go. I quickly leave him behind and run out the door. The alley is dirty and cramped; cramped enough to let me smell something strange.

"Love Love! I can smell you. I know you're here," I shout.

"Figures that relic would have a dumb side effect like a permanent smell." Love Love is closing a gate he just passed. I can't reach it in time to stop him from locking it. "Whoo! Look at that face. I told you he was going to mess it up if you let him catch you."

"Turn off Crazy4U! You can come willingly with your life intact. It doesn't have to be this way."

"I'm riding a high from killing an Ispio agent. Do you have any idea how hard that is? I'm already getting talked about. It's crazy! Imagine what my reputation will be when they find out I killed an Afterburner. Besides, I can't turn it off. I told you I don't have that kind of command."

"How can you not command your own power?"

"Crazy4U slithered down Clyde's throat in order to infect him. Once it's in there, it's like I never existed. It's its own thing, you know?"

Suddenly, I'm pushed against the gate with immense force. Clyde is pressing his body into mine, the chain link fencing starts to square off my skin.

"Hey, beautiful, you found us a nice private spot. Perfect for a make out."

Love Love smiles, stifling a laugh behind his hand. "I guess you're busy. I'll leave you two alone."

Once again, I see that funny hat disappear behind a corner, and I'm left to deal with a drooling mutt who's treating me like his favorite stuffed animal. He wraps his arms around my chest and hugs me, nestling my neck with his cheek and speaking more baby talk.

"It can't end this way," I say.

"You're so soft and small, you smell so good. Mwah!" His wet kiss leaves my cheek damp.

"I feel so bad for any house pets that have to go through this."

His hug gets tighter and tighter, his arms are starting to force the air out of me. I can't breathe. I can feel his tail wagging behind him, this is the happiest moment of his life. My chest is going to collapse.

A crack in my ribs happens, and the pain creeps in. The nanobots do their best to flood my brain with pain blockers, but the grip is only getting tighter. I've been trying to reach in my pocket this whole time, but I just can't reach with both arms pinned to my side.

Another crack. He's slowly breaking off my ribs. Almost there! I can feel the metal on my fingertips. Got it!

Fwing!

A super-sonic sound emits from the small rod between my fingers. My ears ring and bleed as my eardrums are shattered by the high-pitched whistle. Clyde's eyes cross and roll to the back of his head, and he lets me go in favor of covering his ears instead.

I shut it off and try to run for the gate that Love Love went through. There's no way I can pick this lock in time to get away from Clyde. It'll be quicker if I squeeze through the sides of the fence that have this weird iron bar style instead.

My big head fits through just fine, and my flat stomach and little waist slip through with no problem. I almost make it, but a firm grip on my ankle keeps me stuck on the other side. I kick and scream while losing the whistle through the inertia, it falls through a grate. I'm not close enough to the public street yet for another rescue. Nobody can hear me.

"Clyde, don't!"

"You should come back over here so we can cuddle. I can't fit through those little grates like you can. I'm much too big."

"That's kind of the whole point!" I kick at him, my foot hitting him straight in his nose, but he just takes it with a smile. He pulls me with all of his strength, slamming my body into the gate. I cover my face and let the blunt force hit my forearms instead. I'd rather take a bruising than lose consciousness with him around.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I just can't seem to get you back over here. Try holding still and let me do all the work."

"Fuck! Just let me go, I'll go back myself!"

"Oh, but you've been losing track of me all day. If I let you go, you'll probably wander off in another direction again."

My eyes are covered, waiting for another slam to hit my forearms. When I start to feel my shoe becoming looser, I get brave enough to risk a peek. He's unlacing my shoe that he has caught on the other side of the fence.

I slam a fist on the bar. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"I know how much you like the little toe nibbles you ask for. They make you giggle so cutely."

Fuck, not this shit!

There's a gross frying pan tossed out over here from the restaurant. Rusted, greased up, and chipped all over. It's disgusting, but it's cast iron. If I can just reach it, I might be able to break Clyde's hand.

Fresh air hits my sweaty sock. My shoe is gone.

"I know you're ticklish, so I'll hold you extra sturdy to make sure you don't kick out too hard."

My whole body jerks for the frying pan, my fingertips graze the handle. I almost have it! I'm pulled back some more. No! It was right there!

I watch him pluck my sock off to bare my foot in skin and fur. I regret everything we ever did in my living room. I try kicking again, but now he has both ankles pinned. There's no way I'm breaking his grip, I have to hurt him somehow!

"You always did favor the black nail polish. They look so good, babe!"

"Keep my toes out of your fucking mouth!"

He starts with a little kiss on my sole. My toes curl in reaction, and he seems to take that as a challenge to pry them open on his own. His teeth slowly enclose on my pinkie toe, and he nibbles gently at first. It's just like the way he does it back home, and I'm almost tricked into relaxing.

Then he starts to bite harder.

My arm stretches, but the frying pan is just mere centimeters from my grasp. This isn't the sexy teasing that I'm used to. I can feel my skin beginning to split from the sharp teeth. Oh god, it hurts!

"Clyde, no! Stop, please! I'm begging you!"

"Mmm…"

A steady stream of blood leaks from his mouth. The pain in my pinkie toe is unbearable. I scream and yell, tears cake my fur on my cheeks, and my nose leaks snot like a sniveling child. Anything, anything else but my feet! I tug my leg, I grab the bars and shake with all my might, and I cuss with every word I can think of.

Crunch!

The alley is filled with my screams. Clyde's smiling face flashes a bloody smile at me, my severed pinkie toe tumbling around behind his teeth on his tongue. I throw my body at the frying pan again. In his ecstasy, he's given me slack, and I can grab the handle. I swing it through the bars at a vertical position, smacking him right on the head. This time, the cracking sound comes from his skull, the center of his forehead is now caved in. I don't even feel sorry for him this time, the bastard bit my fucking toe off.

I hobble away from his seizing body, shaking and convulsing like the hit turned his brain into melted butter. My god, I hope Nivans can fix all of this trauma when we get back.

My foot looks like a bloody pulp. I look like a cartoon character running around with four toes. It won't stop bleeding, but I can't stop running.

When I catch Love Love, I'm going to snip off every phalange he has, and his dick for good measure.