The Terror of Red Ravager's Ghoulish Alter Ego

The five of us continued as we reached the mid-season finale for the first season of Ravagers. Fumiko was so invested in the episode that she absent-mindedly took a nibble from one of the pineapple pizza slices she grabbed for my benefit, before drenching the bread and cheese in her mouth with discount brand grape soda.

The initial disgust almost dissuaded me from telling her what she was doing, but then I decided for the better of whatever future relationship we had and opened my mouth.

"Umm, Fumiko-san, you're eating pineapple pizza," I said.

She side-eyed me before slowly returning her focus to the rerun on the flat screen tv.

"Oh. Is that so? Hmm, it's actually not bad."

I felt a weird sense of relief at us now sharing one more commonality.

Fumiko snapped off a piece of dark chocolate and offered it to me in earnest.

"Here, I still have a few blocks left," she said, feeling a reciprocal smile forming in response to her cheery change in demeanor.

"Thanks," I said, awkwardly nibbling at the piece of chocolate and trying to savor it.

"Wow. It's a bit bitter, but it's not bad. I even feel a bit better from eating it."

"That's the power of the antioxidants! This chocolate coupled with black tea allows me to write for hours, beyond the ungodly hours that any mortal man should ever be awake."

She said this with such conviction, that she wouldn't look out of place in a dealership parking lot with a two-piece business suit. But I still believed her all the same. All of that energy and determination had to come from somewhere.

I noticed just then that Shun was beginning to nod off. His head bobbed up and down before he was caught by Kyoko before he lost consciousness. She propped his head against a large pillow on the sofa and tipped toed away from him without a sound.

Strangely enough, Ryuuji was also noticeably absent from the living room.

I heard more ruckus from the Ravager's rerun as the episode reached it's climax.

Kaito, the Red Ravager, was secured to a metal restraint that bound both his hands to a flat metal surface. Zauru looked on with a smile of self-satisfaction, finally triumphing over his biggest rival in the galaxy.

"Zauru, why are you doing this? I thought you were enjoying Earth. What'll Himiko think of this when she finds out you broke your promise," Kaito said, struggling against his restraints.

"Kaito, I respect you as a worthy opponent, but the brand of love that your race employs is nothing but a hindrance. Something so easily exploited, you don't need it. Himiko doesn't need it. This is my solution to the Five Philian Emperors' plans. To free the humans from the love that they so maliciously wish to manipulate."

"You're so full of it, Zauru!"

"You doubt my conviction?"

"I doubt what Himiko told me about you was wrong!"

Seeing this scene of betrayal made me a bit paranoid, but the bright light of the television coupled with the otherwise stark darkness had me scanning the room.

I noticed that Kyoko now stood in the middle of the room. Fumiko took notice of this too, even letting go of the remnants of chocolate still in the neat paper wrapping.

"Kyoko, what's up," I asked.

"Would you two like to take part in a live horror game? If you escape the apartment building before my assistant finds you, you win."

***

What do we get if we win," Fumiko asked.

She popped another piece of chocolate into her mouth, blissfully unaware of the creepy ambience around her.

"I'm glad you asked, Fumi! Your gift awaits you in the lobby. That is if you get to it..."

Well, it looked like there was no other way to progress but to accept her challenge. Despite the chills I felt in my spine, I felt bad for Shun most of all. He was the one planning everything, and then Kyoko just hijacks the whole practice date.

"So who would be your assistant then, Kyoko," I asked, gripping Fumiko's free hand.

"Oh, you'll meet them pretty soon. You just have to wander the halls a bit."

She stood aside, opening a path for the door leading outside.

"C'mon, let's go Fumiko-san!"

I tightened my grip around Fumiko's hand and pulled her out the door. Kyoko lingered in the spot she stood up, until she decided to take a few steps towards the open doorway.

"One piece of advice. I wouldn't recommend you two use the elevator. Kehehehehe!"

***

I shivered. I never knew Kyoko had the potential to be this creepy. Even her short spiky brown hair appeared to stand up on end when she spoke. I pulled on Fumiko's hand again, but this time I was met with resistance. She released her grip on my hand.

"Fumiko-san, her assistant could be here any second!"

"You can't really believe all this is happening, do you?"

"Look, I don't know. Kyoko has been acting unusual today. Even Shun was a little creeped out."

She scoffed as she gestured with her arms in a shrug.

"I'm sure this assistant of hers will come barreling out at any moment, and then the twist will be that it'll either be Shun or Ryuuji behind a monster mask."

She was right, but I don't know. The guy looming behind us sure looked rather serious.

A man with several lacerations on his pale face and bloodshot eyes with a broken metal spike jutting out of his skin groaned as he crept closer towards us. Oddly enough, the suit he was wearing did look reminiscent of Ryuuji's Red Ravager suit, only a more ugly, rusty red.

"Heart. M-must take heart."

Fumiko suddenly stepped in front of me and warded off the grotesque figure.

"I know what's going on here, Ryuuji. Stay behind me and we will definitely survive the night," she said, winking.

"Well, that makes one of us. What--is--that?"

"Kyoko and Shun must've taken a page from the Ravagers book. Big mistake. The character you see before you is a corrupted, infected version of Red Ravager, nicknamed the Scar-Red Ravager by the fandom. One of the Five Emperors' plots was to spread a plague that would result in mindless zombies that could thrive without any human capacity to love. I'm sure once we find 'his heart', the threat will be neutralized."

"Cool. Does that sound right to you Scar-Red whatever color you are?"

The pale scarred character increased his pace, nearly matching the running pace of a regular human being. His groaning erupted in a roar that reverberated against the apartment halls.

"Heart. M-my heart. I'll take it back!"

Fumiko took my hand again and led me to the flight of stairs that accompanied the usual elevator we took. To no one's surprise, the elevator had a crudely painted sign that said out-of-order pasted onto the closed doors, plus the elevator panel appeared to be busted as well.

We ran down the stairs without hesitation, the Scar-Red Ravager's footsteps echoing close behind us. If we took the elevator as always, we'd already be downstairs, but now we had to manually descend fourteen flights of stairs.

"Give it back!"

Out of morbid curiosity, I turned my head to see the Ravager keeping even pace with us.

"Don't turn around! That's one of the worst things you can do in this situation."

"Sorry! The fear has me really irrational at the moment."

We approached the final flight of steps, the fiend-out-of-fiction not relenting in his chase.

"Okay, Ryuuji, you've proved your point," I said.

We closed ground on the double-doors that met us at the bottom of the staircase. The only relief to be had from this experience was that the monster chasing us was starting to pant from his persistent chase.

Unfortunately, I was physically depleted the moment I climbed down the final set of steps.

"Now please--tone it down a bit!"

We continued through the double doors, letting the door rudely shut on the ghoul in passionate pursuit. The chase that felt like it'd go on forever was thankfully cut short when Fumiko stopped in the center of the hall leading to the lobby. I could vaguely see a small wooden chest in the middle of the hall.

Fumiko definitely had the same thought as she rushed to scoop up the box in her hands. She struggled to open it, grunting as she wrenched the two halves of the small chest with both hands. This was a fantastic sight. I sighed as I looked around the connecting hallway.

Of course. Every treasure chest needed a key to open it.