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Shrapnel and Assassin proceeded with their pursuit of Steven throughout the Penny Building's mid-leveled floors. They managed to chase him into a big open banquet hall area, with an office at the end of the room. They saw Steven enter the room and continued after him with caution. When Shrapnel and Assassin entered the room, they not only saw Steven, but noticed he was accompanied by Antonio, Dominick, and Rebecca. Each student expressed the same emotionless facial gestures. The office was in utter chaos. Chairs were thrown about, papers were scattered everywhere, and the office lights were flickering on and off. "How did the students get to the Penny Building?" asked Assassin. "More importantly, why are they here?" added Shrapnel. Shrapnel spotted another shadowy figure standing in the middle of the semi-lit room. The thought of who it might be caused Shrapnel to create a dagger from his metallic body. Assassin drew his hand blasters and aimed them in the shadowy figure's direction. "Scythe! I advise you to stop what you're doing and give up!" shouted Shrapnel. The mysterious person walked out of the shadows and revealed herself to both fighters. The feminine Ultima glared at them with her glowing, red eyes. The sudden surprise made both Shrapnel and Assassin let down their guard.
"You're not Scythe! Tell me, who are you and what are you doing in the Penny Building?" demanded Shrapnel. "I am Madam Witch, an Ultima of darkness and magic. I see you've figured out who's behind the mesmerized children. I bet you're dying to know how they got out of police custody, right? Well, I helped them escape using my mystical abilities. Too bad you won't live to tell anybody about it. Your poor comrade has already taken the fall for your stupidity." said Madam Witch. "Black Mist? What did you do to him?" asked Shrapnel. "See for yourself, fools!" said Madam Witch as she raised her scepter into the air. Madam Witch moved her scepter in a circular motion, causing the ground between her and Shrapnel to become a shadow. Out of the shadow appeared a tightly closed shadowy fist which opened up, dropping an unconscious Black Mist onto the floor. "Mist!" shouted Assassin. "You'll pay for this, Witch!" said Shrapnel. "Oh, I don't think so, Shrapnel. See, my master has told me all about you and your little team of misfits. And you three are on a one-way trip to the grave! My loyal slaves will take the blame for this mess and there's nothing you can do about either situation." said Madam Witch. The mind manipulation spell that was cast on the students was lifted by Madam Witch with a quick flick of her wrist, causing the students to snap out of their trances. Each student rubbed their heads as if they had headaches and looked around at where they were standing. "Ooohhh, my head." groaned Dominick. "What the..." said Antonio. "How'd we get here?" added Rebecca.
"The better question is where is here?" asked Steven. "You're in the Penny Building and this woman has been controlling your minds. She's been making you do things you weren't aware of doing." explained Assassin. "Whoa! Who are you people?" asked a startled Antonio. "Oh my god! Am I dreaming?" asked Rebecca. "A purple guy, a sleeping black guy, a dude with cool looking guns, and a woman having a bad hair day? Man, this is soooooo cool!" shouted Steven. "No time for that! You have to get out of here! You all are in danger. She made you four vandalize the Citan City Park and the offices of this building. You must go and tell the police everything you saw in here!" explained Shrapnel. "Nobody's gonna believe us, Mr. Purple Guy. We were caught on tape doing this stuff. We're as good as jailed for sure." said a disappointed Dominick. "The name's Shrapnel and don't worry, my team and I will help you clear your names." said Shrapnel. "Nobody's saying anything to nobody while I'm around." assured Madam Witch. "Well, I guess we're gonna have to change that, won't we?" said Shrapnel in a fighting stance. "Mmmm, I just love it when a big strong man tries to overpower a little fragile woman like myself. Let's see what you got, big boy." said Madam Witch with a kinky look on her face. "Assassin, take Black Mist outta here and get these kids to safety. I'll keep Madam Witch busy." said Shrapnel. "Right! C'mon guys, follow me!" said Assassin as he picked up and carried his fallen teammate over his shoulder.
Leaving Shrapnel to battle the evil Madam Witch, the kids ran behind Assassin as they exited the semi lit room. Shrapnel sensed a very dark aura within Madam Witch, similar to the aura he couldn't feel right away when he discovered Daryl was an Ultima of darkness. Madam Witch began shooting beams of dark energy in Shrapnel's direction. Shrapnel flipped and dodged each beam with relative ease as he closed in on the evil sorceress. Then, the two engaged in a combat dance, throwing rapid punches and kicks at each other. Madam Witch was a very nimble fighter, dodging everything Shrapnel could throw at her. She performed a back flip and aimed her scepter at the ground, causing a shadowy sheet to form under her opponent's feet. Madam Witch pulled the shadowy sheet, as if it were a carpet, from under Shrapnel, causing him to fall backwards. Shrapnel quickly performed a backwards somersault and landed safely on his feet. He threw one of his daggers at Madam Witch, disarming her scepter. "It's over, Madam Witch! You're done." declared Shrapnel. As Shrapnel began to step towards Madam Witch, she backed up against the office's glass window. She placed both hands in front of her, motioning for her opponent to stop in his place. "Wait! I want to remember you just the way you are now." she said confidently. "What are you talking about?" asked Shrapnel. Madam Witch gave her opponent a sinister smile as she looked behind him. This caused Shrapnel to slowly turn his head to look behind him. POW!!! Something hit Shrapnel very hard in the back of the neck, causing him to hit the ground. When he looked up, he saw a familiar face staring down at him. Shrapnel's vision began to get blurry, but he could make out Madam Witch and her master looking at him with delight. Shrapnel's Ultima brother, Scythe, had returned!
"You..." said Shrapnel as he slowly raised his head. "That's right, Shrapnel! Daddy's home!" said Scythe as he and Madam Witch began laughing maniacally into the darkness. Shrapnel looked past him and noticed Assassin, Black Mist, and the other students were being held captive by a horde of Scythe's evil Sickles. Shrapnel looked back at his evil Ultima rival and fell into unconsciousness. What were Scythe's intentions now that he had the leader of the Ultima Force at his mercy? Would the other members of the UF be able to rescue their teammates?
So, how'd you like those samples? Pretty good, huh? I hope you had as much enjoyment reading them as I had when I wrote them. So what now? Would you like to find out what happens next? Curious about how the stories end? Follow me by clicking on the link above and purchase yourself a copy of my books.