Chapter 1 Again: "Pair of Dice: Lost"
As a quick author's note, this is part 1 of 6 in the end of the awesome saga of Awesome Saga. It takes place two years after the events of the first. It's not necessary to remember, be at all familiar with or even understand the first 138 chapters, but being prepared never hurt anyone. It all ends here: "Awesome Saga 2 - ReAwesome Again Vers. B... Cadenza"
"I never wanted it to end this way..." Lucas fell to his knees in Flint's blood. Tears mingled with the chilled crimson fluid beneath his blank eyes. "Not like this...!"
Guts gripped him by the collar of his shirt and snorted into his face like an enraged bull. "Who do you think wanted this?! It was only you!"
Lucas struggled against the grip of his mechanical right arm. The man's hand grew only tighter around his neck. "I didn't kill him...! I never would...!"
Guts gestured with a sharp nod at Flint's corpse. He lay with his head split wide open by a plank of wood which was on the ground next to him. There was no place to hide the body in this barren plateau, and balding eagles would be all over it soon. "When you hate someone you accept the consequences."
Lucas felt his body rolling across the dry earth. He could no longer tell which end was up.
"It's not the first time you've killed someone you claimed to love," Guts continued. "And don't think I'm judging you; I don't care enough about you to judge you. But if you believe I'm wrong then do something about it."
He stood over the boy, waiting for him to burst into tears as he always did.
Lucas rose to his feet in silence. Nothing more was said.
The two proceeded to bury the body until twilight. Guts transformed into a dune buggy and Lucas rode him into the distance.
Lucas wondered what happened when people went missing. Would there be a big investigation? Or would the situation pass as the fate of one who hadn't accepted Happiness into his heart? He prayed for the latter.
It wasn't long before he noticed a castle rising in the distance. There seemed to be a bright yellow barrier around its perimeter. As he drew closer in the Gutsmobile he found that it was as he feared: caution tape.
"Something happened..." whispered Lucas.
"It's none of our concern," the dune buggy replied. "We can't afford to get caught up in anything like this, you know that. Not as long as that man is after your head."
"I'm just curious," the boy replied, climbing out of the buggy and gazing up at the wicked spires above. The castle seemed to stretch on into infinity and probably even had its own lava, forest, and ice-themed levels. As he moved closer he felt a peculiar aura take his breath away. This was no ordinary castle...
He crawled under the caution tape and felt Guts' hulking footsteps behind him. He was following him, but didn't say anything.
The front door was at least five Lucas-heads high, which made it almost three times the size of a normal man. It was ajar, and the boy did not hesitate to peek inside. He could hear voices, but he knew already that it was his telepathy. There was no way so many people were speaking at once, or that they could be so close. He heard the voice of a girl, and at least two older men, one of them probably much older than the others. He made his way into the dark halls.
"No doubt about it, this is definitely Dracula's castle," Guts remarked in a hushed tone. "No idea why it'd be in a place like this though."
"After Kumatora was turned into a vampire she said something about this place," Lucas said, stepping lightly across the ornate carpets that adorned the halls. "It was weird, because I couldn't hear her thoughts anymore after that. It was a little scary, but I liked being with her. I didn't have to worry about blocking out her thoughts when we were together."
"It figures your people would kill a poor girl like that." Guts frowned. "Give a city of people wood as their only weapon and expect them to go easy on carving stakes? Psh."
Lucas became silent once again. The voices were getting louder. He could actually hear them speaking now.
"I still don't know why anyone would poison Dracula..." A young girl was in the next room, rubbing her chin. She had long black hair tied into tiny pigtails on either side of her head. "But I thank you for calling me."
"I trust that you'll both do your best to track down the killer," said an older man standing across from them. He wore a professional-looking blue suit and had very neat hair with a manly looking mustache. He adjusted his glasses with a stern expression on his face. "It's been difficult since I left the ISO, but it's good to know there are still heroes like you out there."
"When is that other doctor supposed to arrive, Dr. Nambu?" another voice asked. Lucas couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl just hearing their voice, and looking at them didn't make things any easier either. Their short green hair and had soft, ambiguous features didn't help matters much at all.
"He should have been here by now, actually," he sighed. "I wonder if something happened to him?"
The girl with pigtails spun around. Lucas was already hiding behind the wall, breathing heavily. Had he been noticed?
"What is it, Miss Tsukamoto?" the man called Dr. Nambu asked.
"...Someone is here."
"Is it Dr. Tenma?"
"Does Dr. Tenma have PSI?" The girl sniffed at the air. Her pigtails wiggled up and down like cockroach feelers.
"Not to my knowledge," Dr. Nambu replied. "He's an excellent neurosurgeon and one of the best doctors I know, but he's not like you. Tenma Tsukamoto and Kenzou Tenma are in two completely different leagues when it comes to their abilities."
Kenzou Tenma? Lucas pulled the name from the cloudy mines of his mind. Where had he heard that name before? Why did it fill him with dread? Why was he already running?
Thud!
He fell onto his bottom, a sharp pain in the center of his forehead. "I must have run into something..." he realized.
He was looking directly at pants, no more than six inches away. He peered up with fear in his heart.
A Japanese doctor looked back down at him with fear in his eyes.
Suddenly, Lucas remembered. He remembered why he couldn't face this doctor standing in front of him. "Guts!" he cried. "Transfoooorm!"
"You got it, kid."
Lucas hopped into the Gutsmobile and rode from the castle as quickly as he could.
Dr. Nambu and Tenma Tsukamoto raced into the hall. Kino dashed in after them, holding a gun in one hand and wheeling a motorcycle with the other. Dr. Tenma stood paralyzed in his coat, eyes wide with shock.
"Dr. Tenma!" Nambu placed a hand on the man's shoulder, bringing him back to reality. "What's the matter? Was someone here?"
"The boy who just ran off..." he choked out. The man was unable to mask the fear in his voice. "That was Lucas... I'm sure of it. He's the monster I brought back to life...!"
"I never wanted it to end this way..." Lucas fell to his knees in Flint's blood. Tears mingled with the chilled crimson fluid beneath his blank eyes. "Not like this...!"
Guts gripped him by the collar of his shirt and snorted into his face like an enraged bull. "Who do you think wanted this?! It was only you!"
Lucas struggled against the grip of his mechanical right arm. The man's hand grew only tighter around his neck. "I didn't kill him...! I never would...!"
Guts gestured with a sharp nod at Flint's corpse. He lay with his head split wide open by a plank of wood which was on the ground next to him. There was no place to hide the body in this barren plateau, and balding eagles would be all over it soon. "When you hate someone you accept the consequences."
Lucas felt his body rolling across the dry earth. He could no longer tell which end was up.
"It's not the first time you've killed someone you claimed to love," Guts continued. "And don't think I'm judging you; I don't care enough about you to judge you. But if you believe I'm wrong then do something about it."
He stood over the boy, waiting for him to burst into tears as he always did.
Lucas rose to his feet in silence. Nothing more was said.
The two proceeded to bury the body until twilight. Guts transformed into a dune buggy and Lucas rode him into the distance.
Lucas wondered what happened when people went missing. Would there be a big investigation? Or would the situation pass as the fate of one who hadn't accepted Happiness into his heart? He prayed for the latter.
It wasn't long before he noticed a castle rising in the distance. There seemed to be a bright yellow barrier around its perimeter. As he drew closer in the Gutsmobile he found that it was as he feared: caution tape.
"Something happened..." whispered Lucas.
"It's none of our concern," the dune buggy replied. "We can't afford to get caught up in anything like this, you know that. Not as long as that man is after your head."
"I'm just curious," the boy replied, climbing out of the buggy and gazing up at the wicked spires above. The castle seemed to stretch on into infinity and probably even had its own lava, forest, and ice-themed levels. As he moved closer he felt a peculiar aura take his breath away. This was no ordinary castle...
He crawled under the caution tape and felt Guts' hulking footsteps behind him. He was following him, but didn't say anything.
The front door was at least five Lucas-heads high, which made it almost three times the size of a normal man. It was ajar, and the boy did not hesitate to peek inside. He could hear voices, but he knew already that it was his telepathy. There was no way so many people were speaking at once, or that they could be so close. He heard the voice of a girl, and at least two older men, one of them probably much older than the others. He made his way into the dark halls.
"No doubt about it, this is definitely Dracula's castle," Guts remarked in a hushed tone. "No idea why it'd be in a place like this though."
"After Kumatora was turned into a vampire she said something about this place," Lucas said, stepping lightly across the ornate carpets that adorned the halls. "It was weird, because I couldn't hear her thoughts anymore after that. It was a little scary, but I liked being with her. I didn't have to worry about blocking out her thoughts when we were together."
"It figures your people would kill a poor girl like that." Guts frowned. "Give a city of people wood as their only weapon and expect them to go easy on carving stakes? Psh."
Lucas became silent once again. The voices were getting louder. He could actually hear them speaking now.
"I still don't know why anyone would poison Dracula..." A young girl was in the next room, rubbing her chin. She had long black hair tied into tiny pigtails on either side of her head. "But I thank you for calling me."
"I trust that you'll both do your best to track down the killer," said an older man standing across from them. He wore a professional-looking blue suit and had very neat hair with a manly looking mustache. He adjusted his glasses with a stern expression on his face. "It's been difficult since I left the ISO, but it's good to know there are still heroes like you out there."
"When is that other doctor supposed to arrive, Dr. Nambu?" another voice asked. Lucas couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl just hearing their voice, and looking at them didn't make things any easier either. Their short green hair and had soft, ambiguous features didn't help matters much at all.
"He should have been here by now, actually," he sighed. "I wonder if something happened to him?"
The girl with pigtails spun around. Lucas was already hiding behind the wall, breathing heavily. Had he been noticed?
"What is it, Miss Tsukamoto?" the man called Dr. Nambu asked.
"...Someone is here."
"Is it Dr. Tenma?"
"Does Dr. Tenma have PSI?" The girl sniffed at the air. Her pigtails wiggled up and down like cockroach feelers.
"Not to my knowledge," Dr. Nambu replied. "He's an excellent neurosurgeon and one of the best doctors I know, but he's not like you. Tenma Tsukamoto and Kenzou Tenma are in two completely different leagues when it comes to their abilities."
Kenzou Tenma? Lucas pulled the name from the cloudy mines of his mind. Where had he heard that name before? Why did it fill him with dread? Why was he already running?
Thud!
He fell onto his bottom, a sharp pain in the center of his forehead. "I must have run into something..." he realized.
He was looking directly at pants, no more than six inches away. He peered up with fear in his heart.
A Japanese doctor looked back down at him with fear in his eyes.
Suddenly, Lucas remembered. He remembered why he couldn't face this doctor standing in front of him. "Guts!" he cried. "Transfoooorm!"
"You got it, kid."
Lucas hopped into the Gutsmobile and rode from the castle as quickly as he could.
Dr. Nambu and Tenma Tsukamoto raced into the hall. Kino dashed in after them, holding a gun in one hand and wheeling a motorcycle with the other. Dr. Tenma stood paralyzed in his coat, eyes wide with shock.
"Dr. Tenma!" Nambu placed a hand on the man's shoulder, bringing him back to reality. "What's the matter? Was someone here?"
"The boy who just ran off..." he choked out. The man was unable to mask the fear in his voice. "That was Lucas... I'm sure of it. He's the monster I brought back to life...!"