Chapter Text
Sagaci walked through the town square, keeping her hands in her pockets. She didn’t really have a goal in mind today. Sometimes it was just nice to walk around and keep an eye on things. She knew it wasn’t really her place anymore, but still… sometimes it just felt right.
She wasn't sure what exactly made her choose to perform surveillance on the town today. Something just felt off in the air. And yet, as she walked around, taking note of every small detail, nothing was out of place. Just as she was about to shrug it off as nothing and go back home, she reached the gate that led to the outskirts of town. Something about it made her stop. Maybe it was the increased tension in the atmosphere. Something told her that this would be worth checking out. She figured it couldn’t hurt. It wouldn’t be the first time she had checked out the outskirts for trouble.
Sagaci looked around to see if anyone was watching her, then slipped through the gate. She technically wasn't supposed to be back here. No one was, but that usually didn't stop a few troublemakers. Today, though, things were strangely quiet. Almost too quiet. There were typically one or two mischief-makers hidden in dark alleys, but today the outskirts were suspiciously empty. It gave Sagaci a weird feeling as she walked through. If things were this deserted, it could only mean trouble.
She kept walking through the hidden pathways until she heard noise. It sounded like someone talking, an announcement of sorts. That was strange, announcements were usually only made in Inkopolis Plaza, and even then, they were scarce. And that definitely wasn’t Pearl or Marina’s voice. Sagaci decided to investigate further, heading toward the direction of the strange voice.
As she walked, she noted multiple sets of footprints on the ground, all heading in the same direction. Was this a gathering of sorts? But what kind of gathering would have to happen in the outskirts of town? Certainly nothing good. She had to get a closer look.
Sagaci tracked the footsteps to a clearing, the voice growing louder as she did. “...So glad you could all be here today,” she heard it announce from a short distance. “You have all been following our journey for some time now, and we appreciate your support! It’s so nice to see people who feel the same way that we do in today’s society of naivety!”
Society of naivety? Sagaci thought. What is this man talking about?
She pushed her way through the branches blocking her view and saw a large crowd gathered around a makeshift stage. There was an Octoling standing on the stage with strange-colored hair. It was mostly a royal blue, but it turned red on the tips. She couldn’t see his face well, but his voice sounded confident and sure, almost smug.
The crowd cheered in response to his words. Once they quieted down, he spoke again. “I have gathered you all together today because I have fantastic news for you! We have finally caught the last of the monsters plaguing this world!”
The crowd cheered so loud that Sagaci had to cover her ears from the noise. Monsters? What monsters?
“And I have a special treat for all of you,” the man shouted once the crowd quieted down. “As you know, we would have had these vile creatures eliminated a long time ago, but one of them escaped.” There were murmurs from the crowd. “But now we may rest easy, for it has been captured and safely contained. And today, I have brought that monster here for you all to see, so that you may know that I speak the truth!” There were many discussions coming from the crowd, too many for Sagaci to make out, though she was able to make out a few concerns.
“He brought it here?”
“Is that safe?”
“What if it attacks? How does he plan to protect us?”
The man quieted the crowd down again and walked across the stage, looking them in the eyes. “Do not worry, my friends, we are professionals! We have safely contained the creature, and it will cooperate. I assure you that each and every one of you is safe. Now-” he began to walk across the stage and behind a partition behind it “feast your eyes on the last of the monsters while you still can!”
Sagaci’s mouth hung open in absolute horror. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Standing there, being literally dragged onto the stage in chains and a gag, was Vian. It took a minute for Sagaci’s brain to process. This couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t be. But she knew that very much was.
Vian stood there, shackled and gagged, yet not fighting it at all. The crowd shouted at him, a few threw things, and yet he did nothing to fight it. That was probably what scared Sagaci the most. Vian always had so much fight in him, so much life in his eyes. Where was it now? He looked weaker than he’d ever seen him, pale and limbs drooping, his stance slack. What in the world had happened to him?
Sagaci shook her head. Her friend was up there, and from the sounds of it, he was in real danger. They were talking about killing him. She had to get him out of there, fast. But there was nothing she could do. Not alone, not with Vian being held by the arm. She would need to get help as fast as possible. She looked at Vian one more time, then ducked her way out of the crowd and ran back toward Inkopolis.
She was hardly paying attention where she was running. The image of Vian on that stage kept replaying in her mind. How little fight he had left in him, the shackles, the gag, the people throwing things and insulting him and calling him a horrible monster… it was all almost too much. She needed to get someone- anyone-
She felt her body abruptly stop as she slammed into someone, knocking them both over. “I’m so sorry-” she apologized as she scrambled to stand up. “I didn’t see you, I’m sorry-”
“It’s fine,” she heard Dan’s voice say in front of her. “Why were you running so fast?” Her heart leapt. Of all people, she had happened to run right into someone who could help her, help Vian.
“Dan,” she exclaimed as they both stood. “Oh, thank the gods- you have to help me-”
“Woah, woah, slow down,” he replied. “What’s going on?”
“There’s no time to slow down! You’ve got to come with me, quickly-”
“Sagaci, you know I trust you, but you’ve got to tell me what’s going on first.”
“It’s Vian! He-”
“Vian?!” It was Dan’s turn to exclaim. His eyes went wide and he grabbed onto her shoulders. “Where is he? Is he okay?”
“No, he’s in danger! He’s with these people, I don’t know who, and- and-” Sagaci couldn’t bring herself to say anything else.
Dan stared at her for a second, apparently processing the information. Then his face turned determined, and he looked her directly in the eyes. “Take me there. Show me.”
She grabbed his hand and they ran back to the spot she had found. She just prayed that they weren’t too late…
* * *
Sagaci and Dan stopped running a few feet from the branches that separated them from the gathering. “Wait, wait,” Sagaci panted, “we need to catch our breath. We'll look suspicious otherwise.”
Dan nodded, also out of breath. “Yeah, good idea.”
They both sat there, catching their breath and listening to the Octoling talking to the crowd. “Oh, I'm hearing some excellent points here,” he was saying loudly. “Excellent points indeed. And I do hope our special guest has been receiving them.”
Dan shot Sagaci a confused look. “Special guest? Does he mean-”
Sagaci nodded. “It's better if you see it for yourself.” She pushed back the branches and led Dan into the crowd. She looked painfully at Vian, whose face was filled with exhaustion and hurt. She could tell he was trying to put on a brave face, toughen his stance, but it was becoming hard when every person in the crowd was hurling either nasty insults or various items at him. And that Octoling was doing nothing to stop them or deflect any items. If anything, he was encouraging all of it.
Sagaci broke her gaze away to look at Dan. His face was struck with horror and rage. He began to shake and his body glowed slightly. Sagaci put a hand on his arm to calm him. They couldn’t act rashly, not in front of all of these people. He took a breath, and the glowing subsided.
“We have to get him out of there,” Dan whispered tensely.
“I know, but how,” asked Sagaci. “It's not like we can take any drastic measures with all of these people around.”
“Why not,” Dan mumbled, “Look what they're doing to him. What they're calling him-”
Sagaci shot him a stern look. “You know exactly why.”
Dan didn't look at her, but huffed. “Fine. What's our other plan?”
Sagaci looked around the area. There really wasn't much there, just the crowd, the stage, the partition… That's it.
“That partition,” she said, making a subtle movement with her head toward it. “They brought Vian out from behind it before. If we can get there before they do-”
“We could grab him and get him back. It’s not perfect-”
“But right now, it’s all we’ve got.” Dan nodded and started to move toward the partition. Sagaci began to follow him, but stopped him as she saw a flash next to Vian. “Wait,” she muttered, grabbing Dan’s arm again. He stopped and looked to the stage.
“Now, I know that you’re all eager for the eradication of these creatures, but as this beast’s handler and the professional, I need to dispose of it in a manner that's safe for everyone. However-” he held up the knife in his hand- “that doesn't mean that I can't provide some entertainment for you.”
Sagaci watched the dull look in Vian's eyes turn to horror. He already had a few cuts on his face and arms from sharp objects the crowd had thrown at him, a few places where bruises would most definitely form later. But now- now he seemed to realize that he wasn't safe here. That having an audience would only encourage this lunatic to hurt him more. Sagaci could practically see his breathing getting heavier from here, the sweat starting to form on his face.
The Octoling flashed Vian a smug grin, then turned back to his audience, holding his knife high in the air. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s show the last remaining vampire what will happen to those that don't belong in this world!”
The crowd yelled out, and Sagaci winced as the knife came down and sliced across Vian's arm. It sliced right through his dirtied shirt, and Sagaci could already see the blood starting to flow from the wound. Vian's muffled scream still filled the area, and the sound made Sagaci feel sick to her stomach. She had her suspicions, but now she knew one thing for sure about these people. They were keeping Vian alive for a reason. Probably for some sick twisted purpose just like this, to show him off and cause him physical harm in front of like-minded people. It was like he wasn't even a person to them, just some object to be abused.
She looked over to Dan, who had clenched his fists with a similar sickened expression on her face. He was starting to shake again, and frankly, she couldn’t blame him. Still, right now, rage wasn’t going to help save Vian. Sagaci grabbed Dan’s hand and began to lead him around the stage. “Come on,” she whispered, “we can get our revenge later. He needs our help.” Dan nodded, still not taking his eyes off of Vian as he followed her.
As they made their way to the back of the stage, being careful to go around the crowd so that they wouldn’t draw attention to themselves, they could hear Vian scream more as the hunter brought down the knife a few more times. After walking through a wooded area to give the stage a wide berth, they finally made it behind the large partition. “Now we wait,” Dan whispered. Sagaci nodded, bringing a finger to her lips. They were so close to the stage, she wasn’t sure how much that man could hear, and she didn’t want them doing anything that could ruin their chances of getting Vian back.
As they waited, Sagaci could still hear everything that was going on on that stage. She heard the Octoling slash Vian a few more times, then what sounded like a stabbing threat, though it seemed that never came to pass. She held her breath the whole time. She wondered how Vian was taking this, being unable to do anything as they tortured him like this. He had looked so… broken when she saw him, so resigned to this fate already. She hoped he hadn't given up. He needed to keep fighting to survive…
As the event wrapped up, Dan inched closer to Sagaci. They were right next to the van they had apparently used to transport him. Inside sat handcuffs connected to the seat, along with various items that they had probably planned to use during the event, but never did. But something felt… off about it. Sagaci just couldn’t figure out what.
Dan and Sagaci waited and waited until the venue was totally silent, the last people in the crowd having trickled out ages ago. But still, there had been no sign of Vian. Were they still packing up? Finally, Sagaci decided to take a look for herself. It felt like it had been too long…
“I'm going to go take a look around,” Sagaci whispered to Dan, who nodded. Sagaci peeked around the partition to find the area totally empty. That was strange, she thought, there should have been some commotion in the area. Some people left behind to clean up the area, something. And yet, she saw no one at all. She took a cautious step around to the side of the stage only to confirm her suspicions. Her stomach sank and her blood ran cold. Everyone was gone. Including Vian.
She walked back behind the partition, trying to figure this out. How had they missed him? She was so sure this would work…
“Well,” Dan asked, a bit fearfully once he saw her face. “What’s going on out there?”
“They’re- they’re gone,” Sagaci said, still in shock.
Dan's eyes widened. “What do you mean they're gone?”
“Everyone's gone. There's no one out there at all. We're the only ones left.”
“Wait- so you’re saying-”
Sagaci nodded. “They got away with Vian.”
Dan threw his hands up in exasperation. “How?! Their van is right there! How the hell did they get away?!”
“I don't know! I was sure they would-” Sagaci stopped and took another look at the van beside them. She walked closer to it. Something about it didn't seem right.
As she searched the inside of the van, she saw how clean it was. There was no way that anyone had been sitting here even an hour ago. She continued to search until she found something else that caught her eye. A knife that looked identical to the one the man on stage had used. She had noted its ornate handle as she had watched the event go on, and this one matched exactly, yet there was no evidence of blood on it as there should have been. It was almost as if…
Sagaci climbed out of the van. “It's a fake,” she stated.
“What?”
“They didn't use this one. They planted it here, waiting for someone to find it.”
“Meanwhile, they used another way to leave,” Dan finished. “Dang it-”
“And Vian could be anywhere in Inkadia by now. Now what do we do?”
Dan looked thoughtful for a moment, a determined expression on his face. Finally, he spoke, his voice serious. “We call Etce and tell him what we saw.”
“What? Dan, I don’t know if that’s-” Sagaci started to say.
“He called me last night, asking if I had seen him, if I knew where he was. He said Vian hadn’t come home. He said that everyone else he had called felt like he was probably just out hunting, but he wasn’t so sure. I felt the same. We both felt like something was wrong, Sagaci, and we were right. If it were Hacker, wouldn’t you want to know instead of being left to worry?”
Sagaci thought about that for a moment. He was right. If this was her girlfriend, she would want to know what had happened to her. As much as she wanted to tell herself that they should wait until they got Vian back safely, she also knew that they wouldn’t be able to do that on their own. These people, whoever they are, were smart and determined. And they were going to kill Vian if someone didn’t act soon. This was not the situation to be taking chances.
Sagaci sighed. “Alright. Call him. We’ll probably need his help, anyways. But we should probably meet him face-to-face to tell him everything.”
Dan nodded. “Agreed.” He took out his phone and called Etce.
The phone rang a few times before Etce’s anxious voice picked up. “Dan, hey, did you hear something?”
Dan hesitated to answer. “Well, um… yes, but- but no…”
Etce paused for a second. “What does that mean?”
“Well, um… we- we saw him, Etce.”
Etce didn't hesitate. “You did? Where? Is he okay?” The excitement in Etce's voice made Dan's heart sink. How was he going to take the news?
“Etce… um… I uh..” Dan wasn’t sure what to say, how to say it…
Sagaci spoke up. “I found Vian on the outskirts of town. He’s been kidnapped, Etce. I don’t know who exactly took him, but they’re planning to kill him. Not yet, but I don’t know how much time he has. They’ve already broken him down so much…”
Etce was silent, possibly taking in the information. Dan couldn’t imagine what must be going through their head. His boyfriend was out there somewhere, kidnapped. Taken by people who plan to kill him.
Then his voice came, more steely and determined that Dan had ever heard it. “Tell me everything.”