Witch's Gambit

In a hotel room, Simone glared as she sat bound in a chair.

"Why the glare, tying you up's just common logic," Skaberghast sneered as he lounged on the bed.

"Well, first off you, a middle-aged man, have kidnapped me, a young woman. Second, your indolence is deplorable. Have you not the effort to at least take your shoes off before laying on the bed!?"

"Well then no need to worry, cuz I'm too lazy for sex, now shut up, I'm trying to sleep."

"HAVE YOU NO SHAME!?"

Skaberghast sighed and got up. "Here's a life lesson for you; Indolence isn't a sin, it's a nerf. If I wasn't so gripped with drowsiness, I'd have taken over the world years ago, but I got hit with the indolence nerf, and the world can only quiver when I feel motivated," he snickered as he slapped a piece of tape over Simone's mouth. "And unfortunately for you, I happened to be extremely motivated a day ago, and that screwed you over. Now let's see if this improves your intellect a bit. Don't worry, I can shove this baby in without shaving too much of your hair off. Then again, I do think bald girls are hot, so no hair or eyebrows for you," he smirked as he set a small purple microchip down on the table.

...

At the Broadstone manor, Mother Salem seethed with fury. "WHERE'S AGATHA!? I KNOW SHE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!" 

"What might that be?" Agatha smirked as she played coy. 

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL! I just got alerted to a video of Lynessa not only using witchcraft, but also spilling the beans about our plan! No, it's YOUR plan! I never gave the order to take out Zinnia, you took the liberty of goading me into it!" 

"Oopsie."

"Simone got caught and Emmie is in rough shape," Elenora trembled as she stared into a crystal ball. 

"Then I guess we gotta head over to Japan." 

"You will. I'll stay here," Mother Salem glared. 

"Hmm, I think you need to take some responsibility. You DID allow Zinnia to roam free for all this time. Besides, the party keeping Simone hostage has refused to any sort of trade unless you're present."

"Agatha- Fine. I'll go and confront Zinnia myself."

"Perfect. Mick, the honors?"

An elderly man in a chauffeur uniform walked up and pointed his DESPER at Agatha. "Shall we have a friendly little match in Yokohama Japan at the Red Brick Warehouse?" he asked. 

"Yes, and you can take mother as a spectator, Sabrina too?"

"As the madam wishes."

"Huh? What's that about me?" a young woman with messy red and gold hair clad in pink puffy pajamas yawned as she trudged out into the foyer. 

"Vacation time," Agatha smiled. 

"HUH!? MOTHER, I CAN'T GO OUT LIKE THIS!"

"Yes you are. Oh, do grab some shoes at least."

Sabrina glared and used her wand to summon a pair of white sneakers before her. 

"Now, without further ado-"

"I'm coming too," Elenora glared. 

Agatha shrugged, signifying no objections to the declaration. 

"Then madam, let's play a game with one hour's time, standard variation," Mick chuckled as his DESPER activated.

In an instant, everyone was transported before the Red Brick warehouse, yet all the spectators were forced to stand and watch until the game finally ended.

"DESPERs sure are handy," Agatha smirked as the board began to vanish.

"And why did you stall for an hour?" Mother Salem glared.

"To pass the time. The guy said we'd need to wait an hour before meeting up."

"Agatha, this better not be another one of your schemes. Once we retrieve Simone, I'll retire to a hotel. The matter of tracking down Zinnia will be left with you."

"What about smoothy smooth Kristalo?"

"Expendable."

"Mother, with all due respect, Simone would make a terrible fuss if we leave without Kirstalo," Elenora trembled.

"Tch."

As the group began making their way to the meeting point, Sabrina grumbled as she noticed people giving her odd stares, likely due to her outfit. "Um, mother, like, why'd you force me to come?"

"In case we need more bargaining power," Agatha snickered. 

A few seconds of walking later and the group found themselves before a bench occupied by Skaberghast, who sat next to a large object covered by a picnic blanket.

"So you're the one responsible for Simone and Emmie's failure. Where's Simone!?" Elenora fumed.

"What do you mean? she's been here this whole time," Skaberghast snickered as he pulled the picnic blanket off the bench to reveal a bound, gagged, and bald Simone beneath.

Elenora and Mother Salem immediately drew their wands, while Agatha decided to take a seat on a neighboring bench.

"Now hold up, ladies. Where's my good ole "magic" crystal payment?" Skaberghast smirked as he slowly stood up.

"Sorry, but that was a lie. You know you should never trust a beautiful witch like me," Agatha snickered as she too drew her wand.

Yet despite his predicament, Skaberghast didn't seem the least bit concerned. The obvious reason being he could simply activate his DESPER at anytime. Agatha was aware of this and was counting on him using it against Mother Salem. What she didn't expect, was the arrival of someone that made even her break into a cold sweat.

"What the hell is all this?" Okisato glared.

Mother Salem and Elenora didn't so much as shoot a glance his way, not even caring nor feeling any threat from his presence, but Agatha was beginning to go pale as she struggled to maintain a calm persona on the outside.

"What? are you ladies not even going to ask why I called him out?" Skaberghast smirked.

Mother Salem had long since lost her patience and quickly shot killing spells at both Okisato and Skaberghast. However, they had no effect as Caïssa's blessing protected both of them.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Mother Salem fumed.

A rare look of terror shown in Agatha's eye as Skaberghast pulled out his DESPER. "What do you mean? he's Kana Tanabe's boy, A-ga-tha," Skaberghast sneered as an aura of bloodlust suddenly erupted from Okisato.

Agatha began to tremble, but was forced to remain still. She couldn't even cast a spell or let her confident expression change, or it was over for her. Okisato would pursue her to the ends of the earth to kill her so at all costs, she couldn't let him know who she was, but Skaberghast had rendered her powerless.

"Damn you! This is why I hate dealing with you. It's always a risky gamble, but maybe, just maybe, your indolence will favor my plight this time," she thought.

"Which, one is she?" Okisato snarled.

"The one that tried to kill you, that's who," Skaberghast sneered as he activated his DESPER.

Mother Salem's eyes widened as she found herself unable to stop herself from approaching a chessboard that suddenly appeared. "What is the meaning of this!? No spell can bind me!"

Okisato's anger appeared to subside a bit, but still remained apparent as he turned to face Skaberghast while he sat down at the chessboard. "So who is she really?"

Skaberghast chuckled and explained who Mother Salem was, and how she was the one who had orchestrated the attacks on Carol.

Upon hearing that, Okisato began to chuckle. "So that's what's going on. Well, Carol is close with Inoue-senpai and Iori-chan, so I might as well do her a favor and take you out, hag."

"'Hag'!? Boy, just who do you think you are?"" Mother Salem glared.

"Apologies for the late introductions, but he's Kana Tanabe's son, Okisato Tanabe, aka the infamous oni-tiger," Skaberghast grinned.

"Never heard of him, but ogres are said to have been familiars to witches of old. Therefore, I'll have him branded and enslaved for life once this is over."

"Nah, I was thinking loser gets burned to death, or rather incinerated to death by a laser beam shot from a satellite in outer space. Protocol: 99474, to be exact."

Mother Salem shot him a glare, before begrudgingly agreeing to the conditions. "Be honored I'm giving thee mercy, boy."

Agatha meanwhile had attempted to make a tactical retreat, but was stopped by Elenora, Sabrina, and a now freed Simone. "You have some serious explaining to do," Elenora glared as she shoved Agatha back down onto the bench.