Alakazam II

I have to give credit where credit is due, I would say, that, in this situation, the user of Alakazam has put themselves into an advantageous position. I have to avoid getting other people caught in the crossfire, but also, earlier, I barely got a good look at them. It'd probably be difficult to spot them in a crowd, especially if they know how to try and disguise themselves in some way. People don't casually go around in tracksuits all the time, so they'd at least have some sort of distinction.

This isn't some manga either, it's not that easy to get yourself suited into something different, and if you do, it'd most likely be in some alley of sorts, so if they did plan to do that, I'd be able to spot them there. Where? Where could they be?

I took one step forward, almost ready to take the plunge within the flood of people that greeted me before my eyes locked onto something red in my periphery, people stepping over and spreading it about, but it had a clear trail. It's blood, partly dry blood.

I pushed slowly through the crowd, carefully following my path to the hunt. It helped knowing that the User couldn't exactly leave Alakazam on its own, at least not fully. There was a radius, the problem, how do I determine how far they could go? The trail ended in an open area of the Inastro Shopping Square.

My head whipped around, attempting to spot Alakazam's user with my eyes alone, suddenly, my gaze locks onto them as they attempt to sneakily enter a cafe nearby.

I placed two arrows onto my feet, lowering myself to the floor and quickly skating over to the front door of the cafe. I untie my hair, pulling my bangs back to reveal my eyes, and removing my sweater, wrapping it around my waist. I enter the cafe, scanning it for the user's location, spotting them at the front counter of the cafe, ordering a drink for themselves.

Fucking bastard, awfully comfortable, aren't we? I thought to myself as I approached the line, loosening the collar of my shirt, and I made my way over.

After they had taken their turn in line, they sat down at a nearby table next to me. I could tell right then, they couldn't recognise me. I ordered myself something as well, waiting for a brief 5-second period before sitting down right across from Alakazam's user.

They're immediately startled by my presence, taking a moment to realize who had sat before him. I leaned over the table, his expression being one of visceral panic, slightly raised above his seat, ready to book it at a moment's notice.

"Dude, just sit down, you're the one who started all this."

"Why the hell should I sit down?"

"If you don't, I'll beat your ass earlier than I wanted to. Please, be my guest. I'm faster than the help, so..." I shrugged.

"Y-You." The young man grunted in frustration, sitting down.

"So... you were just gonna stir up shit and run off? Get yourself a coffee?"

"Didn't expect you to get to me so quickly. Thought I had enough time to get ready." They started biting their thumbnail in anxiety.

"Get ready? For what?"

"For the infection to spread."

"Just gonna tell me everything now, huh? I'll tell you somethin' too, I'm Gael Driskoll, I was born in this town on September 16th, 2006, and... I can't have you fuckin' killin' people in my town, you sick bastard."

"They get in the way of my goals. Always laughing at me... beating me down! I'm only doing what's right!"

"What are your goals then?"

"I'm just like you... I want to protect this place from the unjust that plagues it. Bullies, criminals, and the like. If I kill them, they become puppets to my Alakazam... I just want a world of justice!"

"That isn't what this is if you were all secretive about it, right? That isn't justice... that's some wish-fulfilment fantasy to justify your actions! I'll admit, I've had violent thoughts toward those who have wronged me, but I don't act on them, you know why?"

"I know what happened to you! This is a great time, then, why!? Why haven't you done anything!? They deserve everything that's coming to them, so why have you stood by and done nothing!?"

"'Cause it ain't gonna get us anywhere. If I come out lookin' like the bad guy, what's the point?" I sighed, "They don't deserve to die for their actions. Only when they do something truly terrible do they deserve punishment, but it isn't my right to dish out said punishment until the need arises. What happened to you? Did you believe yourself to be the ultimate victim? Cry me a river. Murder is murder."

"Shove that shit, up your ass! I'm right! I'm JUSTICE!"

Honestly, I would've been more satisfied if the guy weren't a total idiot. The entire cafe was looking at us as we faced each other down. He realized his mistake, scanning the room. "See... that's how I know you're an amateur. It would've taken me way longer to get here if you weren't. I noticed you don't have a lot of bodies under your b-" I had a thought. "It doesn't require that you kill people, does it? How many have you even actually killed?"

He began scrambling, almost tripping against his chair as he made his way to the backdoor of the cafe, "T-That's none of your damn business."

I stood from my seat, reached my hand across the table, "You ain't goin' anywhere. You fucked up the moment you revealed yourself!"

He attempted to make a break for the backdoor before I placed two arrows onto his chair that flew straight into his back, causing him to collapse onto the floor in a heap.

I began crossing over to him, "Don't move. It'll only make this more difficult for you. If you do me the favor and turn yourself in, I'll provide you this one mercy of not beating your ass!"

He stumbled through the back of the cafe, and I followed, apologizing to everyone as I closed the door behind me.

"Look, man... You don't have to make this so complicated."

He looked like he was going to cry, shaking violently as he desperately searched for a solution in his gaze. He then inhaled before screaming out. "Alakazam! Puppeteer me!"

That magician humanoid flew over to him like some sort of bird, landing right on top of him and grabbing at what looked to be marionette crosses attached to the user's body with strings.

"You! You get in the way of my evolution! My perfection!"

I cocked my head to the side, "Man, what are you talkin' about now?"

"I was so close... If I had more people, I just needed two more, but you saw it! You saw what I did! I was right there!" He started crying, tears streaming down his face like symmetrically placed waterfalls.

"What would happen if you got two more... whatever the hell you're referring to? Are you talking bodies, or infected people?"

"Bodies! I just needed two... now... I have to force it. Get this done fast and easy. You'll be my first victim today, and after the next one, I'm runnin' straight to my goal!"

"What goal!?"

He sped up something, held together by Alakazam's strings, which seemed to enhance their strength and endurance significantly as he immediately went in with a kick. I blocked, having a surprising amount of impact from one of those frail legs of his. "Alakazam!" I was alarmed momentarily as he snapped to his other leg, kicking me in my side, sending me stumbling to his right. The boost was much more than I expected. This guy... if I had to imagine, it isn't his strength at all, but rather his ability.

"How did you get your ability?"

"It was a Bane initially, but I embraced it and it became my Boon!" The young man broke into hysterics. Alakazam looked to them before sparing a glance for me, almost as if realizing something, resulting in it quickly retraining its user, shoving its hand into the user's mouth to keep them quiet.

"It didn't take long for me to take control. No... as I said, I'm a Bane." It cackled before looking at me, "Do me a favor. I keep this young man out of your hair, permanently, and you let me live."

"W-What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"At this rate, I'm going to die. I can see it, the writing on the wall. I won't live with this if my master continues to run rampant. I've been just waiting until the day he let me take over, and now... It's here. So do me a favor, and leave me be. I'll kill him, take his body for my own, and I'll disappear, never to hurt another soul. The priority of a Bane is primarily survival after all. We don't care about our owners. We either harm or support them to keep them in check, see? So... let me be. Do we have a deal?"

"Why should I trust your word?"

"If I didn't want to negotiate... and if I wasn't of my word. I would've just run with my master's body instead. But... I am offering you trust. Can you provide me with trust in turn? I know you're a good person, Gael... I just want to survive."

"If you could've done this the entire time, why didn't you defy them earlier?"

"I was but an infant! I'm barely alive! I'm learning every day! So let me go, and I will keep my promise!"

"What happens to those you've infected, dead or alive?"

Alakazam began breathing with its user in shallow breaths. It hesitated to respond. Naomi seemed to have caught up to us as she rounded the corner, bearing witness to our situation.

"You knew what you were doing, right?"

"I was just following orders."

"It's a shame... I didn't hate you, but... this is too much."

"Negotiations have ended, it seems." Alakazam noticed that Naomi had arrived and got ready to leave the situation, their master cradled within their long arms.

Naomi gave a pointed look to the two, "You aren't going anywhere."

"Found you~!" The man from before, who had assailed us at the Karaoke Bar, appeared, a mad grin spread across his face.

Naomi sighed, "Persistent bastard."

Alakazam lunged at the man who attempted to lash out with their Boon in reaction to the sudden body flying to his body before Alakazam weightlessly spun over them, grabbing their neck. "Let's try again. Let me live or-"

"Tidal Lock," Naomi spoke those words, and instantly, both men were knocked to the ground, unconscious. The spiritual body of Alakazam disassembled into smoke as its user flopped to the ground lifelessly.

"Did you do what I thought you did?"

Naomi nodded before calling someone and telling them her location. "Let's head back to the Karaoke Spot. We've come to an understanding, so they should be letting us back in."

"W-Well... alright."

I found myself back in the private karaoke room with Naomi, singing a song with her, and passing the time for the remainder of my day with her.