Orso Fiction 045

Orso Fiction 045-The Primo's Blood
Sonia scowled, the veins in her tightly clenched fist bulging. Taylor couldn’t help but shoot her a smug look as Vincenzo pushed the indigo Arcoferro to her side of the table.

“You quoted Sun Tzu to me, right?”, Taylor asked. “Believe it or not, I’ve read his works. There’s a quote of his I’d like to share… ‘Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance’. You let yourself get overconfident.”

“You’re an obnoxious little girl, aren’t you?”, Sonia growled. “You think a little upstart like you can compare with my mind? I’m a peerless strategist! Those girls will follow my every command! And I will whip them to victory, no matter what I have to do to them to make it happen!”

“One more quote… ‘Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.’ I get the feeling those girls aren’t on your side out of a sense of loyalty…you have something they need, don’t you?”

“Interested?”, Sonia asked. “Perhaps. I wouldn’t expect a little girl like you to understand my methods, though.”

“I see.”, Taylor replied. “Well, just one battle left.”

“Yes…My Adelina against your Jessica.”, Sonia answered. “It should be…a bloodbath. Adelina’s strength grows, the more of her sisters are in danger. And I count five.”

“Five?”, Taylor asked. “I only count four. The four knocked out by Paige, Nicole, Mike, and Sabra…The fifth sister won her fight with Allison.”

“Oh, not Nerina, she’s not the fifth I’m talking about. No, the one I’m referring to…her predicament was my own doing.”

---

Osvaldo howled, once he returned to his own body. How was this possible?! A young, strong body, controlled by his mind and experience, LOST! To some little girl! This was unacceptable!

No…this wasn’t so unbelievable. The weapons he used had been tuned to Guerino, not himself. He had a Darkness Baton and a Darkness Box tuned to him…those would be his aces. Besides…Guerino used Thunder Flames, while Osvaldo used Sky Flames…the two came with completely different strategies. No…this wasn’t so bad. He was not out of options yet. He had Baldovino brainwashed, still…He had the Mal Mosca guarding his laboratory…And he had himself. He was the world’s greatest metalsmith. No wet-behind-the-ears brats would best him when he faced them seriously. Now…now, he was only wearing them down. Weakening them…Yes…This fight was far from over…

---

Laura Wise, the Primo Generation’s Mist Officer, trudged through the woods, Severo of the Seven Skulls on her back.

“At least he’s not all that heavy.”, she said to herself optimistically. A rustling behind her caught her attention, and she whipped around. Seeing nothing out of place, she turned back, to find herself looking into the eyes of a seated man in simple clothing, with long black hair in a ponytail and an eyepatch. A sheathed sword lay against the fallen log he sat upon.

“You…you’re the doctor that helped Hayley, aren’t you?”, Laura asked. The man allowed himself a slight smile, and nodded.

“I am he.”, he answered. “My name is Berenger Ferraro. Please, leave Severo with me. I will attend to him.”

“May I ask a question?”, Laura asked. She then mentally kicked herself, hoping the man wouldn’t answer ‘You already have’, and vanish. He seemed the sort of man to do something like that.

“You may.”, Berenger asked. “As I perform surgery. Severo’s life comes before your curiosity.”

“Of course…”, Laura murmured, mentally kicking herself again as she laid Severo down on his back before the man. Berenger nodded, and began to work on the boy’s heart.

“What is your question?”, he asked.

“Why…did you choose us?”, she asked. “Why did the greatest metalsmith in the world, if your sons are to be believed, choose to aid us?”

“I thought that might be it.”, Berenger said, smiling slightly. “But I’m afraid I can’t give you the full answer for that. For now…it will suffice to say ‘Because you need me.’”

“This…is true.”, Laura admitted.

“Now…go to your allies.”, Berenger commanded softly. “The final battle with Osvaldo is drawing near. They will need you.”

Laura nodded, and bowed her head.

“I’ll trust you with Severo’s life.”, she said.

But the man was already gone.

---

Bradley Ratliff, Sky Commander of the Orso’s First Generation, turned to his Officers, hanging up the phone.

“That was Laura. She’ll be joining us shortly.”, he announced. “That just leaves one of us…”

“Matt…”, Adrien murmured. Bradley chuckled.

“I wouldn’t be surprised…if he’s taking his time. The boy does like to fight.”, Bradley said.

“He thinks just because he’s the boss’ cousin, he gets special privileges.”, Megan scoffed. Bradley laughed.

“Of all of us, he’s the one who will be causing the most collateral damage…Ah well. Everyone’s got to have a hobby. Whatever the case, there’s no reason to be worried about him losing.”

---

Matt Carney grinned, dancing in his boxing stance, looking at Baldovino’s blackened eyes. Vulcan the cobra curled around his right arm, hissing.

“You’re not bad.”, he said, laughing. “Very worth my time.”

“And you’re not a complete waste, either.”, Baldovino replied. “Think we should kick it up to the next level?”

“If you insist.”, Matt answered. “I mean, I know you’re brainwashed and all, but honestly? Today’s schedule for me is basically ‘Fight the Skulls-Noon to whenever.’ I’ve got literally nothing else planned today, so I was going to take this slow. But, I mean…whatever. Yeah, I’ll show you a little bit more of why I’m the best. Vulcan…Cambio Forma.”

Vulcan hissed, beginning to glow red. Suddenly, he changed shape, his head rapidly growing, becoming rounder, the end of his tail straightening and hardening, and the rest of his body lengthening, becoming a chain. Matt now held a giant flail.

“We call this form ‘Inferno Martello’.”, Matt told Baldovino. “The hammer from Hell. And they call me Hellstorm, the man Hell itself won’t take. If the boss is angelic…I’m demonic.”

“Boasting, now?”, Baldovino asked.

“Eh. When you make it look as good as I do, you don’t really have to worry about the facts.”, Matt told him, shrugging. “Now, let me see what you’re bringing to the table.”

“You really want me to let this bad boy loose?”, Baldovino asked, swiftly drawing a black baton from his pocket. “You know, when I was younger, they called me ‘The Crimson King’.

“Well, look at who’s boasting now.”, Matt asked. “I’m starting to get a little excited about this…”

“Save your hyperventilation for after you see this…The weapon of The Crimson King himself.”

He clenched his fist around the black baton, and it ignited with an intense red flame, slowly changing form, growing longer and longer. Slowly, the baton flattened, revealing its form as a pure black sword. Baldovino held it up, admiring it for a moment.

“Not bad.”, he murmured. “A perfect weapon…for a king.”

“Come on, ‘Your Highness’”, Matt mocked. “Show me why the little kiddies you grew up with were so scared of you.”

---

The young Baldovino hit the ground, his face stinging. The gang of high school students around him drew closer. The leader, the largest of them, a boy with black, gelled-up hair, stepped forward.

“We’re going to teach you why you don’t mess with one of our members’ little brothers.”, he said, kicking Baldovino, who yelped in pain.

“Not so big and tough now, are you?”, another member jeered.

“This is the guy they call The Crimson King?”, another laughed. “He’s just another runt!”

The leader kicked him once more, and Baldovino screamed, hating his own weakness.

“Why’d you do it, huh?”, the leader asked. “Why’d you think you could just beat up my little brother, and think nothing of it, huh?”

“I…I don’t have a reason…”, Baldovino whimpered. The leader kicked him once again.

“Not a good one, at any rate. You shitbag.”, he growled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. “We’re going to give you a permanent reminder that you can’t pull this shit on my turf.”

The group gathered around the boy, partially pulling his shirt off, and their leader lightly stuck the blade into Baldovino’s stomach. He made seven cuts, into the shape of a crown.

“How’s that for a king, huh?”, the leader asked, wiping the knife clean on Baldovino’s shirt, then toyed with the knife in his hand, trying to decide where to cut next.

“STOP!”, the leader heard screamed from behind him. He turned to see Faustino, out of breath. It seemed like he had been running.

“New kid!”, Baldovino gasped quietly, trying to hide his face.

“You know this kid, loser?”, the leader asked. “What’s your deal, kid?”

“Stop hurting him.”, Faustino said, without a hint of fear in his voice. The gang’s leader began to laugh.

“Why should I?”, he asked. “This fucker hurt my family. No one gets away with that.”

“That might be…but right now, he’s defenseless. You’re ganging up on someone much younger than you. Don’t you have any pride?”, Faustino asked. The gang’s leader scowled.

“And just who are you to tell me how to run my town?”, he asked.

“I am…”, Faustino began. “Baldovino’s friend.”

---

“You want it, you’ve got it!”, Baldovino shouted, the memory reverberating through his mind. He shot at Matt with surprising speed, slashing at him. Matt moved to block with Inferno Martello, catching the blade on the ball of the weapon. Immediately, to the shock of all present, the sword turned to dust. Baldovino jumped back, trying to understand what just happened.

“Some king.”, Matt teased. “Looks like you’re all burnt out, with a weapon made of dead ashes.”

“I…yeah, I honestly have no idea what’s going on here.”, Baldovino said, chuckling at the end of his sentence. “That was SUPPOSED to be really effective. That’ll teach me for thinking anything Osvaldo gave me wasn’t defective. Well, I’ve still got one more trick. But…I kind of want to save that one for later.”

“You’re talking about that box over your heart, right?”, Matt asked. “The one you showed us before, to become part animal?”

“Oh, you remembered!”, Baldovino exclaimed. “I’m glad I made that kind of impression on you.”

Matt yawned.

“Yeah, I actually forgot about it until this morning, when Bradley reminded me you could do that.”, he said. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

Baldovino’s smile turned sour.

“Is that right?”, he asked. “Well, that’s fine. I can fight just fine without it.”

Baldovino took a step back to the bag he had brought with him, opening it, and drawing three wooden batons and one long blade. He expertly connected them in a matter of seconds, now holding a long glaive.

“I got this back when I first started my real combat training.”, he said. “This thing and I go way back. It was a present from…my best friend.”

“Your best friend, huh?”, Matt asked. “That’s cool. This weapon? Inferno Martello? My cousin built this for me with his bare hands.”

---

“I hope you like it.”, Zach said, handing the red box to Matt.

“Thanks a lot.”, Matt answered. He ignited his ring, pushing it into the box. Vulcan emerged, hissing obediently. Matt raised an eyebrow, looking at Zach.

“You made this?”, he asked. Zach nodded, smiling. “But…you’re afraid of snakes. How did you get close to this little guy without freaking out?”

Zach chuckled.

“I started, afraid of him.”, Zach said, lowering his hand. Vulcan slithered up his arm, wrapping around his shoulder. “But I knew…I knew that making this cobra would allow for you to have the best possible weapon for you. So I learned to fight that fear… for your sake.”

“Oh, cool, whatever, let me play with him now.”, Matt said, pulling Vulcan off Zach’s shoulder. Zach chuckled to himself, rolling his eyes. The boy would never change. He looked at his hand as he made a fist. Making Vulcan had been…interesting. On the basic level, he had overcome his fear of snakes through the experience, but going deeper than that, Zach had found himself designing a weapon to meet Matt’s request, ‘Something so hellish that Satan’d piss himself looking at it.’ Zach hadn’t expected that his hands would be able to create something so frightening…It would be a terrifying day when Matt learned how to use all of Vulcan’s hidden abilities…But at the same time…Zach had found it surprisingly easy to create Matt’s weapon. Maybe that was because…Yes, that had to be it. The single drop of his blood that the blueprints Zach had discovered in that old chest called for…

---

Matt didn’t know it himself, but of everyone in the First Generation, beside Zach himself, his weapon was the best tuned to him. He thought nothing of how every time Inferno Martello was formed, everything felt right…He just assumed that the weapon gave him an adrenaline rush just from looking at it. He wouldn’t realize for some time that the drop of Zach’s blood inside Vulcan was resonating to his own blood.

He began to whirl the massive flail, creating a distinctive hissing sound in the air. Baldovino could feel, even from as far away as he was, how the flail’s force was creating a vacuum. Small rocks and sticks scattered around them began to gather around the massive metal ball. In the blink of an eye, Matt struck the ball with his palm, shooting it at Baldovino. The chain wouldn’t allow it to reach more than halfway to the boy, but all the debris the ball had gathered was fired at him with incredible force. Baldovino tried to block the majority of it with his glaive, surprised by the force of the objects.

“I call that trick ‘Debris Demon’.”, Matt smirked. “I’m not limited to the range of my weapon. How scary is THAT?”

“Not bad.”, Baldovino admitted. “But it’s not…enough. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Hurling trash at people might be a cool trick where you’re from, but I like to hold myself to a higher standard.”

He pointed his glaive at Matt, and the tip ignited in crimson flames.

“Never really though up a name for this one…How about ‘Demon Hunting’?”, Baldovino asked. He began to thrust the weapon forward rapidly, repeatedly. Bolts of crimson flame shot from the tip of the blade, firing at Matt, who grinned, spinning Inferno Martello in front of him. The bolts of flame dissolved around the intense air flow the flail created.

“That level of power was alright for a rabbit…or an infant. You’ll need to bring bigger ammunition if you want to hunt me.”

“Oh, you’re SO much more fun than ‘cido, or Val.”, Baldovino laughed. “Let me…try that again! This one will be Archdemon Hunting!”

Baldovino began to spin his glaive above his head, gathering Storm Flames over it. With one great slash, the red flames shot at Matt, who shot the flail at him once more, blocking and nullifying the blast.

“Maybe worth a deer, or a small child.”, Matt chuckled. “Come on, I feel like you have one more level up in you.”

“Um…Let me think about this for a second…”, Baldovino said, laughing. “I’ve never actually NEEDED anything past that level of power.”

“Well, if you’re going to take your time, I’ll show you one of my tricks.”, Matt laughed back. He began to whip the flail around, faster than he ever had. The flail caught fire, completely covered in Storm Flames.

“Meteor Devil!”, he shouted, firing the flail at the ground in front of him, the chain inexplicably lengthening. Baldovino laughed as he barely dodged the explosion the impact created.

“Hoo boy…”, Baldovino whistled. “Not bad.”

“See, I hold myself to a standard that you couldn’t even comprehend.”, Matt said. “If I look bad, then the whole family looks bad. And I like to look good.”

“Talking all big now, again…”

“Plus, I can’t make the boss look like the family’s golden child without a fight.”, Matt grinned. “I have to keep him on his toes.”

“Family competition, huh?”, Baldovino laughed. “Sounds like there’s a story, there.”

“Not really.”, Matt laughed back.

---

Joy Braid, proud grandmother of two, began to make dinner for the two small boys. Their mothers, her daughters, had left them in her care for the night, and she was more than happy to oblige. The older one was quiet and bookish, but the younger was energetic and open. They were good influences on the other, she thought. The older helped keep the younger out of trouble, and the younger got the older to be a little more adventurous. She finished preparing the Italian chicken soup, and put the pot down the table. She was about to call them when she noticed something that only her matronly eyes would see.

“ZACH!”, she shouted. “MATT!”

The two came running, expecting food. They were met instead with their grandmother’s glare.

“Why are there tooth marks on the table?”, she asked. “You two aren’t even tall enough to get up here! Were you HANGING OFF THE TABLE from your TEETH!? Do I have to get my no-no stick out?”

Both of them instantly stepped forward.

“I did it, not him.”, both said. Both then glared at the other. Joy Braid, proud grandmother of two, sighed. Those two…it was almost impossible to be mad at them. Almost.

“Never mind…Just eat your soup.”, she told them. Both of them grinned to each other in what they thought was a secret way. But Joy Braid, proud grandmother of two, saw right through them.

“Those little problem children…”, she thought, smiling to herself. “Don’t you ever change.”

---

“Alright.”, Baldovino said. “I just figured it out.”

“Oh yeah?”, Matt asked. “Come on, then. Show me what you’ve got.”

“I’m…not strong enough, as I am, to pull this move off…So I’m going to use THAT.”, Baldovino said, igniting his ring with Storm Flames.

---

“Grab him.”, the gang leader said. Three of the gang members grabbed Faustino by his limbs, and easily stuffed him in their trunk. “Hey, asshole. If you want to see your friend again, meet us at the docks at midnight.”

The high school student got in the driver’s seat as the other members got in the car, and sped off.

“New…kid?”, Baldovino murmured. “Why?...”

From the shadows, Alphonso watched, a little confused. He took a step back, concealing himself completely. This was…so strange.

---

“Alright, if you’re going to go ahead and rush this, I’ll put an end to this fight.”, Matt said, almost bored. “I’ll be throwing my most powerful move at you next.”

---

Eleven o’ clock came slowly. Alphonso stepped outside his house quietly, not wanting to wake his aunt. The boy began the walk to the docks.

“Hey!”, he heard whispered. “Over here!”

Alphonso turned to see Placido, Guerino, Valerio, and Severo.

“We’re here to help.”, Placido said. “When Faustino went missing with you earlier today, we got suspicious. We asked around…looks like he’s in some real trouble, isn’t he?”

“Y-y-yes…”, Alphonso answered, not feeling totally comfortable around the four. Valerio smiled.

“No need to worry. He has us on his side.”, he reassured him.

“Can we talk less, and just go already?”, Severo asked, irritated.

“Shall we?”, Guerino asked, motioning to the road.

---

Baldovino slowly pushed his lit ring through his t-shirt, which burned effortlessly, nudging it into the box over his heart. It opened, and there was a burst of red light.

---

The five arrived to see Faustino tied to a chair, gagged, suspended from an anchor of a giant boat. The gang surrounded him. Their leader stepped forward.

“Who are you guys? That red prince kid didn’t show?”, he asked, checking his watch. “Well, it IS only 11:30”

“We’re friends of Faustino.”, Placido answered. “We’d like you to let him go.”

“Of this kid, huh? So you’re friends with that little punk, too?”, the leader questioned. “Grab ‘em.”

All the boys but Alphonso assumed a fighting stance. Alphonso walked slowly to the leader, putting his hands together, as if he expected them to be tied.

“Alphonso! What are you doing?”, Guerino demanded.

“Faustino is putting his trust in Baldovino coming.”, Alphonso said, without a hint of a stutter. “So will I.”

“You’re crazy.”, Severo spat. “That bastard’s not coming, that’s why WE’RE here.”

“Is it?”, Alphonso asked. “I came because I trust Baldovino more than I do these guys.”

“Funny kid.”, the leader said, before he pulled his fist back and punched him to the ground. “Get them over here. You, guard them, don’t let them escape. You, wait out by the front. You, man the crank for the anchor. I want this to go flawlessly.”

“Just what are you planning?”, Valerio asked. The leader chuckled.

“Just some cleaning up. Getting rid of the trash of this town.”, he said. “That kid’s a dead man when he shows up.”

---

11:50

“He must know…”, Placido whispered. “And they’re going to think we told him, somehow.”

“No…I don’t believe that.”, Alphonso said quietly. “He’ll be here.”

“How can you say that?”, Severo hissed. “We’re talking about the guy who’s made your life hell ever since he met you!”

“…If Faustino thinks he’s worth standing up for, so do I.”, Alphonso said. “I can’t explain it…but I feel like he’s right.”

---

11:57

“You think he’s not coming?”, one of the gang members asked.

“Maybe not…”, the leader said. “Well, we’ll be getting six of his gang. That’s not so bad.”

“This is ridiculous…”, Valerio murmured. “I can’t believe this…”

“Alright, I’ll ask what we’re all thinking.”, Guerino said. “Where do you think he is, right now?”

“He’s coming!”, Alphonso insisted.

---

11:59:20

“He’s not coming.”, the gang member said, annoyed.

“Fine…Alright, man…Start dropping the kid!”, the leader shouted.

The boy on the boat began to pull the lever, slowly dropping Faustino into the dark water below him. Somehow, as Alphonso watched him, the boy made no indication that he felt fear at all. The emotion his face conveyed was…patience.

---

11:59:40

Faustino’s chair hit the water, and his feet slowly followed. The gang leader stood, in a strangely and hypocritically heroic position.

“Today, gentlemen…We begin the purging of the unclean of this town. What we do tonight remains between us, and remains our sacred duty, til death do us part.”, he announced. “I’m proud to say-“

Suddenly, a shout from the entrance to the docks caught all their attentions. The member who had been called on the guard the entrance stumbled in, trying to run.

“He’s here!”, he shouted. “And he’s fighting like a devil!”

From the shadows stepped Baldovino, the boy’s blood on his face. For some reason, the boy was soaked. Alphonso thought for a moment…it hadn’t been raining…

“It’s midnight. Here I am.”, Baldovino said.

---

Baldovino looked, with a mixture of anger and confusion, at the Komodo dragon standing in front of him. Matt raised an eyebrow.

“I thought…that box would make YOU the lizard.”, he said, a little puzzled. Baldovino scratched his head.

“That’s…really weird.”

---

Baldovino, without wasting a second, shot at Faustino, dodging the gang members who leapt at him, knives drawn. He leapt to Faustino’s chair, landing on the armrest. He drew something from his pocket, and within seconds, Faustino was free. Both leapt back to the dock, now cornered by the gang.

“That thing’s pretty sharp.”, Baldovino commented, as though he was in no danger at all. Faustino smiled, putting it around his neck.

“Genuine lion fang.”, he said. “A gift from my grandfather.”

“You guys really are buddy-buddy.”, the leader said, stepping forward. “Get ‘em, boys.”

A choking noise from behind him alerted him to his gang members already being occupied. The five boys they had foolishly not tied up were holding the gang back from helping their leader. Not only that, but they kept him from escaping, blocking the way back to shore.

“What the hell are they doing here?”, Baldovino asked, slightly annoyed for the intrusion. “No, better question-How did you know I needed help back then?”

“I can always tell…”, Faustino said. “I always get a feeling, when my friends need my help.”

“…Idiot.”, Baldovino said. “Let’s deal with this joker, huh? Or…are you just going to sit back and let him beat on you?”

“No, not today.”, Faustino said. “Even I can be pushed into fighting…when a friend needs me.”

“Christ, let’s just beat him up…”, Baldovino sighed.

By this point, the gang members had been dealt with, and the four moved to help Baldovino, but Alphonso stopped them.

“No, don’t.”, he said. “This is his fight. This is the moment he proves himself a good guy.”

“Alright, where do we start…”, Baldovino asked, stepping forward. Feeling a little uneasy with these odds, the gang leader took one small step back, then grabbed Alphonso by the hair, holding the knife to his face.

“Don’t you dare move!”, he hissed. “Or this guy gets cut worse than you did!”

Placido jumped on him, knocking the knife from his hand, and pushing him past Baldovino and Faustino. He was now completely cornered.

“Oh, you little SCUM!”, he shouted, reaching into his pocket, drawing a handgun. He pointed it directly at Baldovino’s chest and fired.

---

“That feeling…”, Faustino murmured, within the movie theater. “They’re not in danger anymore…They’re alright…”

---

The next few seconds, none of them could really ever recount exactly, but it was a moment that defined them for the rest of their lives. All seven of them agreed that Faustino had leapt in the way, blocking the bullets from all of them. Each agreed that their lives had all flashed before their eyes in that instant. Each knew that if not for Faustino, they would all be dead. The fire, none of them could have explained. The gang leader leapt into the water, and began swimming as far away as he possibly could. Baldovino and Alphonso carried Faustino from the burning pier, hurriedly trying to get him to wake up.

That’s when they saw the man.

He wore simple, black robes, with a long black ponytail and an eyepatch. A sheathed sword hung on his back.

“Put him down.”, he commanded gently. Without a word of question, the two obeyed him, putting him on the ground, on his stomach. The man knelt down, and began to operate.

“Who are you?”, Baldovino asked. “And…why are you helping us?”

“My name…is Berenger Ferraro.”, the man said. “And I am helping you…because you need me.”

“I guess…we can’t deny that…”, Alphonso said. The man looked up at them.

“My suspicions were correct.”, he said softly. “This boy has the potential... It’s not safe for you to stay here anymore.”

He pulled from his robes a slip of paper, passing it to Alphonso. There was an address for a house in a state further south.

“This is your new home.”, Berenger said to them.

“Just why are we trusting you?”, Placido asked.

“Because I will help you…find your perfect world.”, Berenger said softly. “I know that each of you desire the same world...I ask that you pursue it…as brothers.”

They all knew, at that moment, looking at the darkness, and the fire reflected on the water…that the man didn’t have to say anything. It was already true.

“Faustino will live.”, Berenger said. “But…he may never walk again.”

None of the six could say anything, only look at the wound. In the darkness, by the light of the flames…it resembled a skull.

“I must go now.”, Berenger said. “The black car at the end of this road will take you where you need to go.”

Berenger rose, but then paused for a moment.

“When he wakes…tell him his grandfather was a magnificent mentor.”, he said, as he faded into the shadows.

---

“There you are.”, Alphonso called, standing alongside Adrien. Baldovino and Matt looked up at them.

“Come on, Matt. This fight is over.”, Adrien said. “Bradley’s orders.”

“What?!”, Matt protested, pointing at Baldovino. “He’s CLEARLY brainwashed! Look at his eyes!”

Alphonso sighed, and snapped his fingers. Slowly, the black in Baldovino’s eyes faded away, in a cloud of indigo mist.

“I’m confused.”, Baldovino announced. “I thought I was brainwashed. What happened?”

“You’ve never been brainwashed.”, Alphonso said, jumping down to him. He put his fingers around the red box in Baldovino’s chest and pulled. It came out effortlessly, and he put it in Baldovino’s hand. “You’re too good for that. Thank God I’m an illusionist, huh?”

“You mean…I haven’t been brainwashed…at all?”, Baldovino asked. “So…I was fighting…for no reason?”

“I, personally, was having fun.”, Matt said. “And come on! I was just about to use THAT move! You don’t INTERRUPT a man’s special attack!”

“Can it, Matt!”, Adrien shouted. “There’s a more important fight than this one about to start.”

“What’s that one?”, he asked, returning Vulcan to his box.

“Yeah, why are we cooperating with them, Fonz?!”, Baldovino asked.

“Because they’ve agreed to help us…save Faustino.”, Alphonso answered.

---

Osvaldo crushed the seeing glass in his hand. The curtain was about to fall…

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