The Dark Gate

Iori frowned in silence as Okisato finished his tale. "... It's like with Mimo-chan... They made you fight your own mom as a kid in a death battle, and even had her die brutally. Hahaha, listen to me. I'd normally laugh or get aroused if I saw something like that in a movie, but when it's someone I know... and care about getting hurt, everything just feels like slop. Here I was arguably ruining millions of families, and yet I was vehemently protective of my own... That's why I hated myself so much that I quit killing when I sacrificed mom and Miga to kill Segawa. Some nights I tell myself they chose to drink that sulfuric acid tea knowing full well what it was, but others, I have nightmares of them cursing me. I don't mind them though. If I ever were to see Miga again... I'd smile and let her stab me if her resentment was that high," she lamented aloud.

"And that's why I said you're human. But getting back to the blue eyes, it's clear there's something more to them. Rasputin had them too, but unlike the others, his irises were gold instead of blue. That makes me think he's got some kind of special power or status, but I don't know what."

"Could you try and check his DESPER log or ask Mimo-chan's mom to?"

"Maestros can't see everything, but the thing is Rasputin isn't a Desperado, nor does he appear to have a DESPER."

"Then is someone acting as proxy for him?"

"I don't know."

The two were then interrupted by a loud audible gasp behind them. Turning, they noticed a trembling Vesna, down on her knees as color vanished from her sweat-drenched face.

"No... Rasputin... How could I forget... Stop the buses... STOP THE BUSES! MY FRIENDS ARE IN DANGER!"

Okisato's gaze narrowed. "What do you mean? What did Rasputin do?"

"Five nights ago, he trapped some players, hypnotized them with his magic... I lost, but wasn't effected, but Anastasia and Mira... They went to participate in this tournament!"

Despite the reaffirmation that there was malicious intent behind 6B, all the three could do was hope for the best for their friends, as this matter was entirely in said friends' hands.

...

In the suite of a high-end penthouse overlooking Budapest, a beautiful young woman with short red hair sighed as she lounged in her hot tub. "First criminals gather here and we are forbidden from taking legal action, now a supposed human trafficking scheme is unfolding before us? What a joke. It disgusts me how much this world is drunk on chess to the point where it would anoint criminals to sainthood if they're a grandmaster or just as skilled as one. My home country's a loon's playground now thanks to that!"

"But Heather's got royal blood. No need to diss her so," the young beautiful woman with long green hair sitting across from the red-haired woman snickered.

"You're a bloody disgrace to Britain."

"It's true I'm half-British, but I never really lived there, so perhaps the affinity isn't as big with me. That and I find Heather adorable. I'd love to cuddle up with her in bed."

"That's why I hate you. Anyone that strikes your fancy whether they be saint or terrorist, will become the object of your attraction to fuck in bed."

"Oh don't word it so crudely. I'm all about love. And if I LOVE to tie someone up in bed and have my way with them, I do just that," the green-haired woman smirked as she rose and got out of the tub.

The red-haired woman continued to silently glare, wishing to continue her back-and-forth with the green-haired woman, but realizing that work came first, even if she had complete moral opposition to the woman assigned as her partner. Said partner was Kaede Jex-Blade, a British-Japanese college student infamous for sleeping with anyone that struck her fancy. 

The red-haired girl was an Englishwoman named, Misty Fairfax. She was a beautiful tomboy that could charm man and woman alike with her looks and sexy British accent. This wasn't to her liking as she preferred to work without attracting attention, in contrast to Kaede the attention glutton.

"You two dern prune yerselves like raisins with how long ya soak in there," a blonde-haired woman with spray-tanned skin jibed as she lounged on a nearby sofa.

This was American, Virginia Applegate, the self-proclaimed "hog-tyin' muscle" of the team. Raised on a farm, she had plenty of experience heading animals and even wrestling with them, leading to her building up incredible strength. That was her only strength though as she was dumb as a rock in all other fields.

"No, Virginia, we didn't soak long enough to even prune our toes to the point they'd look like raisins," Misty groaned as she got out and began to get dressed.

"You dun sure? Hey, Nin-net, go check them feet of hers."

"It's NINETTA! Ugh, why am I even here?" a beautiful young woman with purple pigtails groaned.

This was Ninetta Nijolė, a Lithuanian-French houseworker who had been recruited to the team as a chore girl. She was also quite wealthy, though prior wealth and status didn't matter on this team, for this was Interpol's secret Fem-commando unit, an elite all-woman strike force tasked with handling some of Interpol's toughest cases. It was still a work in progress, but in the few short months in which it had been formed, it had achieved the best results in the entirety of Interpol.

Clap! Clap!

"Now ladies, I know my place is nice, but it is technically office space. Now, gather round as time is of the essence," a woman with short red hair named, Hajnalka Zsolnai smiled.

...

Esti awoke to the sound of a whooshing sound.

"Our resident damsel adds to her credence," Kaede's voice snickered as she peeled the beauty cream off Esti's face.

"Peh, lovely, it's the elites. And on the worst day of my life," Esti groaned as she was freed from he restraints.

"We're still in the salon. The salon... UGH, MY FUCKING HAIR!" Isidora cried as she clutched her bald head.

"And you both called be a bald slut. You two went balder than I ever did," Pilar smirked.

"Great, you're here too," Esti snarled.

"I'm here too!" Amira smiled.

"I wish you had come instead. Maybe then we wouldn't have been taken down so easily."

"How exactly did you get taken out?" Misty asked.

"Melisha. She swung round and knocked us both out with ease. When we awoke, we were in salon chairs with our mouths glued shut and towels wrapped around our heads and faces. Then they tossed off the towels and shaved us bald."

"Any idea on where they're heading?"

"No, that's your job. But, there was something I seemed to pick up on... Melisha seemed to act different around certain people, namely the Belgians and the Ethiopians. It was like she knew them, but also not in the case of the Ethiopians. Could there be a connection?"

"Belgium and Ethiopia? That's random as hell. But let's see. Who were the ones she talked with?" Pilar asked as she whipped out her tablet.

"Tola Kebede, Lea Yedua, Petronella Roos, and Drahomíra Plešatý. Those were the only ones I noticed."

"Hmm, and review footage because Snacc's stupid. Oh, guess I should call you smooth naked Snacc now cuz you're balder and freakier than me."

"You're going to wake up with a gagball in your mouth and your eyebrows and eyelashes waxed off."

"Noted; you want that done to you tonight. Ordering custom sized gag ball for your lips now... ..."

"What is it?"

"Think I found another piece of the puzzle. And if we compile the data, then it's possible to conclude that Melisha Kamaleon..."

...

Melisha smirked as the convoy of truck-busses finally reached their destination, Esztergom Basilica. Located in the city of Esztergom 29 miles away from Budapest, it was not only the city DSPCM Nándor Nyisztor represented, but also the perfect place to house the tournament both due to being outside of Budapest's range and the Dark Gate housed under Esztergom Basilica.

Originally built under Esztergom Basilica in 1824, the tunnel gained it's name due to it's poor lighting. It also contained a massive wine cellar, which would ironically serve as a final stage for the tournament, but not the type of final stage one might think.

Once the trucks were parked, all the pods were unloaded with the exception of Kisha's and Nancey's whose were brought out to a bus and makeshift broadcast studio outside the Dark Gate.

Mimoko groggily opened he eyes to the sound of whooshing and the sensation of the beauty cream being peeled off her skin.

"Rise and shine, it's sundown here in Esztergom," Melisha snickered.

Mimoko darted her head around warily, noticing Daria had awoken beside her as well. However, both were still tapped in salon chairs and unable to speak due to the glue still holding their lips shut.

"This glue's lasting longer than expected. And that's the point! See the extra layer of challenge to this is that you CAN'T talk to each other. But if you can read each other's minds or are fluent in gag-talk, guess there's your advantage. Now ladies, direct your attention to this screen," Melisha hollered as she summoned a giant screen with her purple WWCF card.

On it, there were 8 different groupings each filled with 8 teams each.

"You want to reach the finals, the only way is to literally be the best. Only the top team in each division moves on. You'll all play each other once, with tiebreakers being in effect. Let me reiterate, the only way to ensure you avoid hell is to win your division. If you lose, the tournament won't end, as for the losers, we got some additional batsu planned, but more on that later. Qualify to the final 8, and you're safe though. Time control is a minute with a five second increment. Now, let the tournament begin!"

The arm restraints for all the participants were released, allowing free arm movement, as everyone quickly found themselves flying towards boards appearing out of nowhere.

"Time control is one minute. good luck," Irja's voice rang out.

The Bald Bad Bitch Bondage Bullet Bughouse tournament had finally begun.