The moment the controllers returned to normal Raito was the first to respond. He didn’t seem too intimidated and he didn’t appear as if he wasn’t confused either. He looked around at the other occupants of the room and stood. He then spoke, “Does anyone have a clue what were up against?”
Doctor Masotoshi responded first, “Man, well it sure isn’t any ‘pot aliens’, that’s for sure.”he then looked casually at Anthony whom he had just noticed.
“Looks like ‘YOU’,” Anthony repeated. For a moment the idea of clones of each of them sent by the puppet master to toy with and kill them flashed through his mind.
A laugh was heard and it came from Kazuki’s direction, “As ‘if’! Dude, that thing looks nothing like me man.” Kazuki then stood and grinned cockily, “To say otherwise is just plain wrong, man!”
Tam looked at Kazuki. His eyes then lowered to the urine stain that the man had probably forgotten about. He then proceeded to address the matter while scratching his head,
"Go find a bathroom, and clean yourself up." Tam said before stopping to sigh. He then shifted his attention on the stairs that lead to the 2nd floor of the theater.
Anythony on the other hand ignored these comments and focused on Raito and Theodore,
'That always happen?” he inquired, referring to the problems with the controllers.
Raito then shrugged and looked at Theodore, “Well?”
"Whatever," T-Bag blew them all off. You could tell his mind was somewhere else as he also headed toward the stairs. Their was nothing hiding the fact that he was in a hurry to get somewhere but, with no clear path of where to exactly start first.
Anthony was next to head in that direction only to be stopped by the detective, “Mind telling me where you think your going?” he interrogated. Raito didn’t seem to like that everyone was going off on their own.
Anthony Hastings stopped when hearing his voice and looked at the Detective and Doctor. It was then that he decided to take his chances with people who were better equipped,
'I'm going with them,' he said to him.
“Is that so?” Raito replied intrigued that he’d trust them so easily. He already knew something wasn’t right about Theodore ever since he ran into him last night in that bar. The man was probably nothing but, trouble. Along with the triad that had probably tried to sexually harass that girl. When the time was right he planned to question them both, thoroughly.
'They seem to know what they're doing.'Was the last Anthony said before he caught up with the two men.
Raito stared off at the young man’s retreating form. He then turned and tried the door to exit the theater, “Its locked, looks like its just you and me man,” Kazuki informed while Raito grimaced at the thought.
“Can’t say I’m looking forward to that,” He replied and peered outside. The sun was rising and he was beginning to see people walk by as they were heading to work, “Its as if they can’t even see us,” he mumbled. “Hey!” he called out and banged on the door.
“Dude, they probably think your crazy. I’d ignore you too!” Dr. Masotoshi laughed. He then grabbed his x-gun and headed into the restroom.
Raito didn’t appear to be satisfied with the doctor’s reasoning. Something was wrong with all of this and he couldn’t accept everything for how it was. He was going to get to the bottom of this!
The detective then turned to see the ticket booth once again, “What the– ”he started to say as saw what appeared to be two pairs of small black-shoed feet. They were each hanging off the top of each respective booth. He was amazed that he hadn’t noticed this sooner but, his shock subsided with his quick instincts. “Fuck?” he finished with his pistol now drawn and aimed at the booths.
At the same time before Theodore, Tam Wei and Aythony Hastings could possibly begin ascending the steps something unusual happened. A blue ball bounced down the steps with no source of who had allowed it to fall. It was then that a voice was heard. It sounded cute and petite and was the voice of a girl, “Come play with me!” she taunted.
The ball then reached the last step as a ticking noise was heard. For a moment it did nothing until it erupted into an explosion. The blast might have not been massive but the force of it caused the Gantzers to be blasted off of their feet and away from the steps.
During this time Theodore’s controller was knocked out of his hand and it landed near Raito. The explosion forced the detective to take his eyes off of the suspicious ticket booth. He then glanced down at the controller to see that information was staring to be transmitted into the hand held device.
If he were to look up again he’d notice that the bomb wasn’t set off to kill the Gantzers who were now sprawled out across the lobby. The bomb was being used as cheap tactic to cloak their new foe in a thick green smoke. It was cheap but, effective.
The smoke now engulfed the entire lobby and within the safety of the smoke a mere marionette descended down the steps. She was very adorable and in her hand she held another ball. When she finally reached the last step the controllers clued the Gantzers in on just what in the hell they were up against…
Lonely Marionette Likes: Candy, friends, her ball and being played with.Dislikes: Being ignored.Characteristics: A very cute, but spoiled brat.Catch phrase: "Come and play with me!" Meanwhile…
Kramarr quickly took in his surroundings the moment he entered the theater. He couldn’t see much of anything but, he had an excellent view of the stage, “Just what the hell are those things on the curtains?” he questioned out loud while placing his hands on the wooden banister.
He didn’t understand why their were miniature creatures hanging on the curtain but, he knew that there wasn’t anything good to expect from it. He also realized that he couldn’t see Tomoko within the crowd of Gantzers that were spaced out into two groups in the 1st floor of the theater. He couldn’t help but, regret how had treated her before. Though, now wasn’t the time to worry about that. He needed to find out where Tomoko was and fast!
His eyes scanned over the theater once more, “Where the hell could she be?” He asked out loud.
He then heard a series of footsteps and turned to hear a familiar voice,
“Who’s there? Kramarr? Mr. Theodore…Mr. Samurai?” He could tell on any given day that the voice belonged to Tomoko and her only. He was happy that she was okay and he strived to ignore the fact that she called out to two other men when she was in danger.
“Tomoko what am I going to do with you?” Kramarr mused before calling out to her, “Tomoko!”
He then attempted to walk in her direction but, discovered that he couldn’t move his leg. After a few tugs he heard a grunt and turned to see the source of the problem. Their appeared to be a doll-like imitation of a mime. He immediately recognized it as being similar to the creature he saw hanging from the stage curtain.
The fact that he knew he was in danger made him tug his leg harder but, the alien appeared to have him tied up in an invisible rope around his right leg. Without prior knowledge of knowing how to activate his suit it appeared as if the strength between Kramarr and the alien were the same.
“Alright you little bastard. I’m going to make this crystal clear,” He spat. He was now starting to tug with all of his might and didn’t seem to notice that another mime alien was crouching behind his legs. “Let me go!”
The mime alien then shrugged and let go of the invisible rope. Kramarr unfortunately ended up getting one last tug in. The end result was him stumbling back and tripping over the second mime alien that was secretly stationed behind him. Then Kramarr found himself falling over the side of the balcony.
The mime aliens then were left to laugh soundlessly on Kramarr’s behalf.
Nearby…
Romney had also heard Tomoko’s voice along with Kramarr’s. She had a memorable voice but, he couldn’t say the same about male’s. He hadn’t even spoken to the guy in the room so there was no way he could possibly have any clue who he was.
“Ah, the fair blonde maiden.” Takase sighed dreamily.
Montezno finally looked up from his controller and shot him a dirty look. The veteran didn’t really care for what the guy was thinking about but, neither could Montezno allow it to press on without a guilty conscience. Takase’s perverted outbursts were also making it very hard for the veteran to piece together his thoughts on their current predicament.
“So let me get this straight. You have no idea why your here or what the hell is going on but, still you can go on fantasizing about women?” Montezno laughed, “Just who the hell are you, eh? And why aren’t you bothered by any of this?”
Takase yawned and rubbed his sore hands together once more, “I’m a director and nothing can make my life worse than it already is, Takase Niito is the name and you?”
“Montezno.”
“Ah, well you see. This here theater is owned by me, or was…”
“Mmhm.”
“Long story short, credit isn’t always awarded to those who deserve it.” Takase explained.
Montezno smacked his teeth before responding, “Can’t argue with you there, ‘bro’.” he then stood and glanced at his controller, “It looks like one of the smarter ones are nearby who actually grabbed a controller.” he informed.
Montezno then looked up to notice Takase’s altered expression, “No offense.”
“No worries, none taken.”
“I’m not so sure this ‘Puppet Master’ wants to take us on as a group. Judging by the controllers he’s doing something to prevent Gantz from helping us out this time around. I’m not sure if you understand me when I say this, but this shit is NOT supposed to be happening. Its almost ironic in a way. The brains behind the operation is being out shown by a ‘hacker alien’ of some sort.”
Takase chuckled. “Alright Denzel, just tell me what to do so we can make it happen,” He then pointed his index fingers at the veteran, “Captain!” he stated obviously amused with his use of words.
Romney shook his head, “Montezno, my name is Montezno.” he corrected.
“Oh right, right! Well lets not dilly-dally. I’m not too into the idea of that Master of Puppets running amock in my theater. And lets try to keep the damages to a minimum…”
It was then that they heard someone falling from the balcony. Not only was that something they should be concerned with but, there was also the sound of footsteps approaching. When Montezno looked down at the controller he could see that they were now being surrounded by two aliens.
Romney didn’t need a second warning and in a matter of seconds his trump card in which was his katanas, came into play. They were both extended out to the length of about one and a half feet and were held out in front of him in a defensive manner. He then gestured for Takase to take the one he held out to him with his left hand.
“Hope you were listening when I explained how to use it. Otherwise your done for.”
Takase gulped down a huge wad of spit, “Oh yeah, sure! No problem…” he lied.
On the opposite side of the theater, Zerojii stashed his controller for the time being on top of a seat. This aided him in lighting up a small portion of the stands. He then proceeded to pinpoint Tomoko’s location do to his good sense of hearing. He was an assassin and his place was in the shadows so this could be done with ease. After he had a rough estimation of where she was he quickly headed in that direction.
However not long afterward he felt himself be tackled to the ground by what appeared to be a blonde haired female. If he were to look down at her he’d immediately notice that it was in fact Tomoko and she was sobbing soundlessly into his chest. She then readjusted her head so she could gaze over Zerojii’s shoulder. When she was sure that the assassin couldn’t see her face a smirk graced her features. She seemed to be smiling at what appeared to be another Zerojii standing not too far away.
Up ahead, Tomoko felt her heartbeat quicken. She had always been afraid of the dark as a child and possibly being in here alone was rekindling her past fears. She had heard Kramarr call out to her and that was it. She wanted to know where he was so she wouldn’t be alone anymore.
She then started to back-step until she bumped into someone. When she turned she almost died of fright, “Kramarr, don’t ever scare me like that again!” she whispered while catching her breath.
However, the only response she got was a small nod. He then raised his gloved hand to his lips as if signaling for her to be quiet. This made Tomoko look around as if their was something out to get them. He was acting strange and Tomoko wanted to know why he was acting this way.
“What’s wrong? Your scaring me Kramarr!” she stated.
Kramarr ignored her request and closed his eyes. The moment he closed them he reopened the as a sinister expression stretched across his face. He then tackled Tomoko to the floor and clamped his hand over her mouth.
On the 1st floor, Lance stared at his controller before strapping it back to his wrist. When he looked back at Ami she had a freaked out expression on her face before she spoke what was on her mind, “That guy creeps me out…”
Lance acknowledged her statement,
"You don't have your suit on from what I saw..." Lance said calmly.
Ami Ryousuke shook her head, “I was told, well I don’t think its true but…n-nevermind.” She stumbled over her words. She had suspected that Theodore was lying about the suits. They had to be important if this guy was wearing one. That made it clear and she now knew it was just some scheme of his to probably get her killed.
"Tell you what, I'll give you one of the spare pistols I picked up in the room, stay close to me, and I'll make sure you survive. Since this thing called me back, I can only guess it'll keep calling us back, so if you survive, well, let's cross that bridge when we get there. Keep your wits about you, and stay close, and if you think something isn't right, tell me straight away." Lance finished off, and he reached into his coat and removed the X-gun from his shoulder holster and held it out to her, hefting his X-rifle up onto his shoulder at the same time.
She nodded and gingerly accepted the x-gun from him. Immediately after taking it she whimpered and struggled to hold it properly, “Geez, why’s it so heavy? Are all guns like this?”
While she was distracted with her new weaponry she hadn’t noticed that Kiba and Jay had joined them and not only had Kiba’s eye patch frightened her but, the katanas they were weilding didn’t help ease her fright one bit, “Jesus christ! Don’t sneak up on me like that! This place is already creepy enough!” she stated after quickly recognizing them both from the room.
It was then that Kramarr could be heard falling from the 2nd floor. The noise caused Ami to run behind Lance and point in the direction that Kramarr had fallen, “T-that’s d-definitely something that isn’t right!”
Across from them,Dane pointed at the dots on his controller. "S-Shit... are t-those the aliens?" He asked.
Jomo nodded to Dane even though, she was still a bit taken back at the fact that they were dealing with some alien that had the power to hack into Gantz’s mechanics. She never remembered anything like this ever happening during any of the previous missions. She couldn’t help but, feel on edge about all of this and she wondered how Montazno was taking it.
Hope whistled seemingly as if she was impressed rather than bothered by this, “Well it beats chasing crows and vegetables.” she spoke humorously. Mako giggled in response but, immediately regretted it as Hope turned and glared at her.
At the same time a cold sweat broke out on Dane’s face as he saw that several were in the same area as they were. He pointed his X-Rifle where he thought the alien nearest the stage was. He didn't pull the triggers however as he couldn't tell where the alien was. He looked at the small screen on the rifle and attempted to see if he could see the alien on it.
Mako was the first to notice Dane’s behavior and she quickly ignored Hope and stood beside him. “Is their really something over there?” she asked.
"Be careful."was his only reply.
Suddenly, the target took flight the moment that he had gotten a mere glimpse of it on his x-rifle. The speed of the flying phenomenon made it appear as if it were a bat out of hell. What it was couldn’t be certain but, a loud screech was next to be heard as Bobbie appeared to be the aliens preferred target.
As the crow flew by it screeched, “HEEEEEEEEEELP!” The girls quickly raised their guns and attempted to try and aim at the whatever their target was supposed to be. “GET DIS SON BISH OFF ME!”
“Shut up were trying!” Hope replied, “If you keep screaming your going to just attract more.”
Mako attempted to aim her x-guns around her in order to keep up with the speed of the crows with no avail, “I can’t get a lock on it! Its too dark!” She panicked.
“This is stupid!” Hope shouted and fired once in the air randomly.
“THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU! LEARN HOW TO AIM YOU DUMB BISH!” Bobbie chirped as the blast went off and barely missed him.
Meanwhile…
Kramarr awoke after falling to realize that he was actually still alive. He was relieved that the suit had taken the blow for him but, he still had the dizzy after effect of the fall. He shook his head and noticed that he was on the first floor and Seth was to his left and looking back at him as well.
“Just thought I’d drop in,” He chuckled and stood on shaky knees, “Whoah, I’m dizzy…” He announced before he shook his head and snapped out of his daze. He then looked forward to see four aliens surrounding them. “When the hell were you going to mention this to me?” he shouted a little pissed that Seth hadn’t mentioned them at all.
“You’re the one who fell off the balcony and lead them to me!” Seth responded.
“Toss me a gun or something. I think we have a chance if we take them on together!”
Seth frowned, “No way! You can go to hell for all I care!” he shouted and aimed his X-gun and X-rifle at the advancing mime aliens.
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