by David Morgan
Chapter 20
“I am getting weaker every day,” Dex declared to the group as they lined up for their dosage of the pill. He was noticeably fatter, shorter, balder, and greasier. The stray follicles on his neck had grown thick and numerous, just as the patches of missing beard on his face had also increased in number. He lowered his Fedora.
“And seeing as we are no closer to locating the Dakimakura,” he continued, “and the Doc seems no closer to finding a cure for the Brony Mark, then I fear that my time is short.” He concluded.
“You can’t give up,” Randall implored, “Who will fight the Dakimakura?” He asked rhetorically.
Dex turned and looked at each of them in their turn. “You will.” He said. A few members of the guild let out a faux laugh, entertaining the insensitive joke.
“I will train you.” And it became clear to them that he was serious. “You will learn what I have learned—and though your strength may not be as mine once was, there is a chance—however slight—that you can defeat her…If you work together.”
“Dex…” Fantasia began, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“There’s no time for that, Fantasia. With each day the Dakimakura grows stronger. We have only one chance—lest she feed forever, building her army…we have lost precious days already and who knows what force we must now face to hunt her.”
“Dex…” this time it was Mickey who grew sentimental.
Dex lost patience. “What, Mickey?! She is building an army. She will enslave all if we do not stop her. You yourself say that it’s no longer safe to go to the comic shop—that others there have fallen under her spell?! Do you not see what is happening?” he threw himself into a rage.
“The only reason—the ONLY reason,” Dex continued, “…that she has not succeeded is because of MY LINE. MY grandfather—his father before him, and ME! We have dedicated our lives to hunting her, stifling her, murdering her converts and subduing her servants. WE are the reason that this earth still belongs to humans and not a merciless cavalcade of neckbeard vampires!” He had exhausted himself.
“And now,” he breathed deep, calming himself, “…and now I have been incapacitated by a new breed of unforeseen enemy. And so I have no choice but to train you as best I can.” He sighed, “I hope that you can carry my torch, lest humanity be doomed forever.”
“…but though your numbers may not be greater than hers, you may still prove to be formidable opponents with your combined strength united against her.”
“And as we train, we will hunt.” He said, “As the hound dog sniffs out the trail of its hare, so we too will smell out the trail of the Dakimakura. Although we know relatively little about her, we are not without clues. And though she may possess the strength of twenty men the size of Cruxx, she has her weaknesses and might still be incapacitated.”
“While she must rest during the day, we may move about freely. While she must rest in the fruits of her homeland, we may rest where we like. We have learned from Kara, and confirmed with Chad and Johnathan, that she may transform into a cat.” He looked to Kara, who now appeared much healthier than before and stood amongst the group—even healthier and stronger than before she’d been bitten.
“So how will we find her?” Jaxxon5 asked.
“We have clues,” Mickey took over the conversation. “Dex and I have discussed at great length the ways of the Dakimakura, and we believe that the large shipments of Japanese Manga are strongly connected to her. Chad can confirm.” Chad nodded nervously, anxious at having all eyes on him. He shifted uncomfortably in place.
“Uhh…that’s right.” He said, “I umm—when I saw her in her resting form, it was covered—plastered inside with pages of Japanese Manga and the box itself was laid upon piles and piles of the comics.” He stopped for a second, thinking, then quickly added, “That’s all I know.”
“So all we have to do is locate the missing shipments—three of them—and we can isolate her. One by one we can destroy them, leaving her fewer and fewer places where she might hide.” Mickey said.
“But that’ll be nearly impossible,” Jaxxon5 protested, “Those shipments could be anywhere. And are you saying the Furries are working with her?”
“No.” Dex said with certainty. “For their own reasons, the furries also hate her. But we believe that she seized the opportunity presented by their raid to take the shipments while remaining safely out of suspicion.”
“That’s exactly what happened.” A voice from a distant corner of the room spoke for the first time in days.
“Paxton!” Randall exclaimed with joy, “Are you OKAY!?”
“Yes, thank you Randall,” he said, sounding like his old self again—was there now a thirst for vengeance in his voice?”
“What are you trying to say, Paxton,” Fantasia asked. “That you know where the shipments are?”
He nodded.
“How?” Mickey asked.
“Because I stole them.”
“Then Paxton is the key,” Dex said. “We will find each of the shipments. Her arrogance has betrayed her. She abandoned her servant and now he has been turned to her peril—the greatest weapon against her is the one that she herself has created! We will locate the manga and the body pillows and destroy them!”
“Then let’s go now!” Cruxx exclaimed, “We can take her down while she sleeps!”
“No. We must wait until she is weakened,” Paxton said. “We must eliminate the places of rest while she is out—when she is in body pillow form—in her true form, and amongst the Manga—the fruits of her land—then she is regaining her energy. She can transform at will and escape with ease.”
He spoke with authority, Chad noticed, almost not recognizing, and almost resenting his former friend. A pang of hatred shot across his heart and an inexplicable desire to kill Paxton nearly seized him. He started, surprised at his own unexpected hatred, and dismissed himself from the meeting. “Excuse me, everyone,” he said turning towards the stairs. “I will return shortly.”
Paxton continued explaining his plan, “We will go at night—when she is out. She will return, fatigued from her seductions and feeding, to her place of rest, only to find that it is no longer there.” The voice was almost not his own, it beamed with such confidence. Dex smiled to himself.
“Excellent plan, Paxton.” He announced, “Then we will destroy one each night, weakening her gradually. Alas for the Dakimakura—she has but three days left until her expiry!”