Strange Ones: Volume 3

Strike Two

Romeo let out a sigh, wiping another tear that slid down from his right eye. He wanted to tell those four youngsters what was going on, but he couldn't. He was being held against his will. A man being held hostage and enslaved. At least, that's what he felt. Looking back at the path he walked down, he was already on the verge of tears. He resented himself for not telling the truth, which he couldn't do because they would kill him if he did.

"Romeo..." A familiar voice from behind startled him and snapped him out of his thoughts.

"What do you want?" He growled, turning around to find Harumi standing with crossed arms and a dark scowl.

"I've been watching you." The snow-haired girl in black and red said, slowly approaching him.

"Have you now?" Romeo raised one of his red eyebrows.

"Yes." Harumi began to slowly walk around him from the moment she got closer. "And I saw that little conversation you had with those brats."

"You saw nothing!" The man retorted. "You heard nothing!"

"Liar..." She replied darkly. "I've watched your every move. I've heard your every word. I've seen the look on your face. What were you trying to tell them?"

"Like I would tell a juvenile delinquent like you!" Romeo balled his right hand into a fist.

With her eyebrows furrowed, Harumi immediately reached for her boot to pull out her knife, pointing the shining blade near his face. "Listen up!" She raised her voice. "You know I can't afford to fail this mission. You are our only key to take out that lousy goat man."

"Asgore?" The man's eyes widen.

"That's right. You haven't forgotten about our deal, have you, Romeo?"

When his eyes widen, he gulped, for the memory of the deal was not too long ago. He remembered every detail of it. It all began two weeks ago before the Strange Games were announced. Romeo was walking home to his mansion in Bodega Bay, California. During his journey home, he felt suspicious. Yet, he was right to be paranoid, for a shadow ran out from an alleyway and struck him in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Unconscious, he fell to the concrete until the faceless figure picked up his body and walked back into the alleyway.

After an hour, Romeo woke up, greeted by a pulsing pain in the back of his head. When his vision finally cleared up, he found himself in a dark and empty building, kneeling with his wrists tied up and a light hovering over his head. He began to panic from that moment, for he realized that he got kidnapped. Struggling to be freed from his restraints, he began to call for help. The only response he got, however, was a menacing chuckle and the sound of heels clicking the cold floor.

While he was still in a state of panic, he began to swiftly look around his shadowy location until a female figure in a black and green dress with long teal hair and snake-like green eyes. Following her were a group of seven others, three of them being men and the other three were women. The last one appeared as a teenage girl dressed in blue. Romeo even remembered demanding for their identities and what they wanted, and they surprisingly revealed themselves. Before Romeo could ask even more questions, the group's leader began to explain their reason for capturing him.

The snake-eyed woman told him everything, starting from the beginning. She told him that a group of young humans somehow went to the old Strange Island five months ago. One night when they were about to assassinate a famous face, one of the humans ran in to save her from being crushed to death. The news went viral the next day as a result. Another night came around and she tasked two of her henchmen to kill them. When they had the chance, four beings from their rival organization rescued the humans and captured one of her greatest fighters.

From one plan to another, the group's enemies would always foil them with help from those five powerless but intelligent humans. Once, they even kidnapped two of them, but they were later rescued on the night of the war over Strange City. Because of those five humans, they were crushed by their enemies, but the snake-eyed woman swore revenge. After finishing her story, the woman explained that she picked Romeo to be her cover. At first, he refused. So, she gave him two options: help her and they wouldn't kill him or his beloved wife Xara or reject it and he will die. Stricken with fear and the thought of his spouse getting slaughtered in front of him, he reluctantly agreed to assist them under the condition that his wife is left unharmed after the mission. Then, the woman replied with, "Then we have a deal..."

As soon as he was freed from his restraints, Romeo ran all the way home in tears. He didn't tell his wife what happened otherwise she would be in more danger if he did. With the memory fading away, Romeo began to shudder at the sight of Harumi pointing her knife at him.

"Of course I haven't forgotten our deal." He finally replied despite his body shaking. "I only agreed to help you so Xara can be safe from criminals like you."

"Then what did you tell those children?" Harumi demanded an answer.

"Nothing." Romeo shook his head. "I didn't tell them anything, even if I wanted to."

"Good." The girl slipped her knife back into her boot. "You know who those children are." She continued, giving him a grim look. "If you spill at least one word from your mouth, I will kill you."

"Even if I tell at least one member from Delta?" The man's voice began to break.

"Exactly. Consider that strike two." With that, Harumi began to walk away with him watching.

As soon as she disappeared, Romeo's back hit a nearby wall and he began to slide down until his rump hit the floor. Bringing his knees close to face, he wrapped both his arms around them and buried his face into them. Then, he began to sob. But little did he know that his conversation with Harumi was witnessed by Frisk, Asriel, Kubo, and Saoirse. Each of them was horrified after it ended. With a deep breath and her hands into fists, Frisk began to march up to the executive with the other three following behind her. As soon as they finally reached him, the Mimic immediately began to speak.

"So, this is what you meant?" Frisk said, quickly getting Romeo's attention.

"Y-y-you s-saw?" He stuttered, his tear-drenched eyes wide.

"We all did." Kubo crossed his arms.

"You're being threatened," Asriel said. "Aren't you?"

With a sniff and feeling more tears building up in his eyes, Romeo nodded. "Yes... Are you children really willing to help me?"

"Of course," Saoirse said with a warm grin. "Just tell us who is threatening you and we will help break you out of your situation."

"Promise?" He asked hopefully, earning nods from all four of them.

"Take your time," Frisk said. "You need to calm down."

In response, Romeo nodded and waited until he was calm enough to give the four answers. Deciding he was done, he wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "The Dark Ones..."

With that, the children's eyes widen and they fell into silent until Frisk pounded her palm with her right fist and exclaimed, "I knew it!"