Prologue
July 3rd, 2016
“I woke up to the sounds of birds singing their songs as I felt the sun aggressively beating down on my face. I’m bleary-eyed and can hardly remember anything.
Where am I? What happened to me?
I silently ask myself as I slowly sit up, trying not to fall over from the wave of nausea that suddenly rolls over me. I look around.
Something must’ve attacked my arm while I was asleep.
I think as I bandage up a large gash in my left arm with a leaf I found on the ground near me. I Notice quickly that I’m surrounded by a thick wall of trees, confining me to one path. I follow the small path which has been lined with rocks.
It doesn’t seem like anyone’s been here in quite a while.
I think as I venture on. The path slowly widens out into a large clearing, which has been soaked into a muddy marsh by the flowing river nearby. I carefully trek across, only stepping on the most secure spots. As the heat slowly wears me down, I realize how dehydrated I am, and the only thought my brain can produce is ‘get some water’. The only water near was the swampy river flowing rapidly across the bank. The ground there seemed even less secure, but safety was no longer a concern to me anymore. My thoughts and logic had been overcome by the primal instinct to survive, and the river was the only way that would happen. As I tried to reach the riverbank, I stomped through the marshy landscape as I felt bugs and fish trying to attack me.
After I finally reached the cleaner section of the water, the rapids pick up, pulling me away from my only safety, the land which is moving out of view quickly. As I look around for anything to hold onto to stop myself from moving, I see a large building in the distance. A large pyramid with an entrance on the side, with a set of footprints leading inwards. The whole area has been engulfed in a thick layer of moss and vines, except for a small path that must have been hacked away with a machete. The memories begin to flood back…”
It was merely a few hours earlier, Dr. Apple and his guide and comrade Alex D. Liverwurst were trekking through the Amazonian Jungle looking for a so-called cursed temple, to find anything to help their research of a local illness infecting the people of Crime City. Their most recent evidence pointed to this temple, and they had no other leads so it was the next logical thing.
As they cut through the thick brush, they finally came to a clearing, with a large pyramid in the center of the clearing. Dr. Apple checked the map and the temple matched the images he had found earlier at the library while researching before the trip.
The whole building gave off an ominous aura, almost as if it made the air around it denser, preventing entry. Dr. Apple looked to see if Alex felt the same thing, and he nodded in agreement.
“Looks like we found the right place.” Said Alex.
Dr. Apple rebutted timidly “Is that even a good thing though?”
He was hesitant to even get close to the building, but it was for the good of his friends and family back in Crime City, so it had to be done.
They both moved forwards towards the entrance, but it felt as if their muscles were seizing up as they got closer. They looked towards each other again and counted down from 3.
“Three, Two, One, GO!” They shouted as they dove in, through the barrier of solid air.
After they entered the atmosphere lifted, allowing them to explore further.
They carefully moved inwards, down a set of staircases, avoiding anything that looked like it could be a trap. They eventually made it down into a large dome-shaped room, with a statue sitting on a pedestal in the center.
“According to the sources I’ve researched, this statue is the cause of this ‘curse’. It needs to be destroyed in order to stop this all.” Said Dr. Apple, looking quite nervous.
“It’s on a pedestal, with what looks like some sort of trap, we need to replace it with something of the same size.” Responded Alex.
Dr. Apple pulled out a small sack full of sand, and carefully began to switch the statue and the bag of sand.
Once the action was done, they both breathed a collective sigh of relief. Dr. Apple looked back over at the pedestal, and time seemed to slow as the bag began to slip off the pillar, to their dismay. It fell to the ground with a loud impact. The building began to shake intensely. They both started to sprint out with Dr. Apple still holding the statue.
The walls were collapsing behind them, and starting to catch up with them. The walls to the sides of Dr. Apple began to crumble, and just before he was engulfed, he threw the statue to Alex, just as a large boulder crushed his arm.
He was completely sealed off from the outside now, and he blacked out from the shock. The last thing he remembered was a native from the local village digging up the rubble and finding him before he passed out again…
“He left me for dead.
I thought as I floated along the river. Snapping out of my daydreaming, I quickly grabbed a hold of a rock to the side of me, pulling myself up and getting out of the water. After drinking some water I began to follow the river, carefully making sure I didn’t fall in. I eventually made it to the settlement which is where I am now.”
Said Dr. Apple to one of the natives, who was helping him bandage up and giving him water. Dr. Apple decided to stay at the village for a few more days, but he didn’t ever want to see Alex again after he was abandoned in the temple. The only thing he wanted was vengeance… And no one would, or could, stop him.
March 21st, 2018
Roughly two years had passed since the unfortunate death of the one man who knew Alex well, his partner Dr. Apple. It was reported that his body was never found, but no human could survive that.
After mourning the death of his fallen comrade, Alex gave up his life as an explorer and researcher and dedicated his time to becoming a protector of the city, adopting the moniker: Deadly Sausage. His one goal was to protect Dr. Apple’s dream of keeping the city safe from any and all threats. And as anyone who lived there would tell you, the city definitely needed a hero.
August 12th, 2021
One of Deadly Sausage’s most recent endeavors was to examine the scene of the most recent of a series of mysterious kidnappings that took place in broad daylight, but no one witnessed the crimes.
The official police report stated clearly that no evidence was ever found on any of these sights, but they needed the keen eye of Deadly Sausage to make sure. Deadly Sausage had arranged a deal with the police department of Crime City and was to be paired up with an officer to investigate the case with him.
He was to be paired up with Chief Cruller, who was to provide backup in case of an emergency but also to make sure Deadly Sausage was purely good-spirited and not doing this for his own personal gain.
Chief Cruller mumbled into his mic, “We reached the scene of the crime, requesting for backup on standby.”
Deadly Sausage was an expert at fighting and stopping criminals, but this was certainly an unusual case.
“Have you ever heard of anything as unusual as this before?” Asked Deadly Sausage.
“Not once, but I’ve seen almost everything else so this shouldn’t be too hard to solve.”
Deadly Sausage began to ponder how the kidnapping was even reported if there weren’t any witnesses and there was no evidence, but he forgot all about his question as he hopped out of the car towards the scene of the crime.
It was an old supermarket, probably from the early ’50s, and mostly out of order. It was very frequently the scene of drug deals and other crimes, so this wasn’t a total surprise. The walls were corroded and the layers of paint on the store sign had been chipped away to reveal the logo of the previous business owners’ company.
As they walked around to the back of the building through a darkened alleyway, they came upon a segmented-off area of the alleyway, surrounded by police tape, thrown hastily on as if done by someone who was in a rush, or by someone trying not to get caught.
For now, Deadly Sausage tried to keep his observations private, as he still needed to ponder what this might mean. Inside the taped-off area was nothing but an empty purse, which looked almost new, minus the fact it had been in a dirty and muddy alleyway for several hours.
Chief Cruller thought out loud, “I wonder if this could have belonged to the victim of the kidnapping, or perhaps it was put here as a diversion.”
Deadly Sausage took another quick glance at the purse, and inside was an ID card, with Deadly Sausage’s face and real identity printed on it.
Deadly Sausage was quick to tear the card up and toss it aside, as to make sure the police didn’t learn about his true identity until he knew they were good.
Something is definitely going on, first the possibly fake crime scene, and now this? Deadly Sausage thought to himself, pondering what his next move should be.
Deadly Sausage shouted loudly “Looks Like it was just a fake report, the others should go on back to the station while we gather up our stuff.”
The other officers who were waiting on standby all nodded in agreement and headed back to their cars. Chief Cruller tried to interject but was quickly cut off by Deadly Sausage covering his mouth with his hand.
He whispered quietly to Chief Cruller “Something bad is going on, and I can’t let the other officers get caught up in it. Whoever planted this crime scene knows stuff about me that no one on this earth should know, and they aren’t being subtle about it.”
Chief Cruller responded by chuckling and saying “That’s quite the joke but this is clearly just some kid’s attempt at a prank, let’s head back to the sheriff’s office.”
Deadly Sausage replied back, “I don’t have anything to gain by joking around right now, and if there is even a hint of crime, I’m willing to spend all the time necessary if there is a chance of helping someone. This was the wish of a dear friend of mine so it is my wish as well. If you so wish you may return to the police department, but by doing so you are ignoring your duty as an officer to protect the innocent.”
Chief Cruller thought for a second and nodded.
“I’m here to help you. It’s my legal and personal obligation to protect you until this case is solved, you won’t have to do this alone.” Deadly Sausage thanked Chief Cruller for his assistance and they began to search further. As they walked around the area, Deadly Sausage noticed something peculiar about the floor.
When he would walk around the majority of the floor it would all be normal, but the tone shifted slightly once he reached a certain spot in the ground. Deadly Sausage pulled out a small blade and reached a crack in the ground. He took his knife and plunged it deep into the crack in the concrete, turning it slightly. Doing so allowed Chief Cruller to pull up a section of the sidewalk around the building, which revealed a small trapdoor.
Deadly Sausage and Chief Cruller looked at each other and nodded.
“Before we go down let’s figure out the depth so we don’t get hurt.” Said Chief Cruller as he grabbed a small rock from the sidewalk.
He threw the rock down the hole and listened carefully. After hearing the muted clink of the rock, Chief Cruller estimated the hole to be about 200 feet deep.
Deadly Sausage grabbed a rope out of his utility bag and fastened it to the doorknob of the back entrance to the store, and measured the hole to be just wide enough for the two of them to fit through.
“Looks like there’s only one way to go.” Quipped Deadly Sausage as he fastened the rope around his waist. “See you at the bottom!”
A few minutes and a whole lot of claustrophobia later, they arrived at the bottom of the shaft. It opened up into a large cavern, and the light from the trapdoor had almost completely faded before it ever reached the floor.
The cave was solid stone, with seemingly no exits and very little light. The only thing they could hear were the faint chirps of bats, and the dripping of water of the sharp stalactites attached to the roof. Looking around, it became very obvious that there would be no hope of getting
around without any extra light, as they couldn’t even see to the other side.
“Did you happen to bring a flashlight in your bag?” Asked Chief Cruller, hoping he wouldn’t have to go back up the shaft again.
“Let me check, I really hope I brought one.” Replied Deadly Sausage.
Deadly Sausage rummaged through his utility bag, almost setting off his gun while doing so. He eventually found a working flashlight, and one for Chief Cruller. As they shone their beams of light through the cavern, they noticed the light reflecting off one of the walls at the end. After a close look, it became clear that it was a door, made of scratched-up metal. There was a lock on the door, and as they moved closer to the door, Deadly Sausage used his flashlight to look around for anything else of use.
Deadly Sausage pulled out his gun once they had reached the door, and shot the lock off. The noise managed to startle the bats, who flew around and forced the pair to go through the door without thinking about it. As they shut the door behind them, they look around. The scenery was very different past the door, and they were now in a brightly lit facility, with pure white walls, and marbled flooring.
“What is this place?” Asked Deadly Sausage in awe and confusion.
The whole facility was empty, with large hallways all extending off from the entrance. It had clearly been in use not long ago, due to the working lights and clean floors and walls. They split up after checking if their walkie-talkies were operational, and searched through the twisting corridors. Even though less than 30 minutes had passed, it felt as if hours were going by. Deadly Sausage hadn’t found anything but more glimmering white halls, and he was thinking of taking a break.
He had nearly given up, but he remembered why they were even there, to save people. That was enough to keep Deadly Sausage going, and he trekked on further. Eventually, he found a door, which was unlabeled and standing at the end of one of the many corridors. He pulled out his walkie-talkie, but after exploring this far the signal was being blocked by the supposed miles of solid walls.
“Come on, not now, this is important!” Barked Deadly Sausage frustratedly.
He tossed the walkie-talkie on the ground in anger. He desperately tried to think of a way to contact his partner, but he didn’t have anything else of use in his utility pack. Deadly Sausage finally came to the realization that he would have to do this alone. After examining the door further, it had no peephole or even any wearing on the door at all. It looked brand new like no one had ever touched it, in fact, the whole facility looked that way.
Why would someone create this whole facility and not use it? What’s its purpose anyway? Deadly Sausage contemplated silently.
Deadly Sausage held his ear to the door and could hear a very faint beeping noise inside. He unholstered his gun and kicked open the door to see… nothing. It was a mostly empty room, with nothing but a few monitors in the center of the space. He slowly crept towards the center as he checked the corners for any signs of a trap.
On the center monitor was a map of Crime City, with a system of pipes overlaid atop it.
What is this? He thought as he scanned the map.
He noticed there were dots lining the pipes, and came to the sudden realization that this was a map of the facility.
This place is massive! How long has this been underneath our very feet?
After he inspected the dots yet again, he saw one right atop the grocery store where they entered from. Those dots must be the entrances then! He realized as he looked over the map more.
If those are the entrances, then that must be where the kidnappings happened.
He quickly remembered that he was given a map of all the kidnappings when he first left to the grocery store to investigate, and after checking it, the dots lined up perfectly with the ones on the monitor.
Well, that’s awfully convenient, he thought.
He was about to head out when he noticed one more thing on the map. There were hallways that were opening and closing in specific patterns across the facility.
Whoever is behind all this must have wanted me to discover this, but the question still remains, why? This clearly never was just a case of kidnappings at all, they most likely weren’t ever even part of this. This was something different, something much more personal.
Deadly Sausage was about to exit the room when he heard a faint voice. He turned around, and the room’s walls flipped around into a screen, which displayed a three-dimensional environment of the city above. A deep, heavily distorted robotic voice began to speak.
“You might be beginning to wonder where you are. I’m sure you’ve already started to suspect this, but there were never any kidnappings, it was all a ploy to bring you down here, to show you this recording. For what reason, you will soon discover but for now, all I can say is that if you do not follow my commands, this whole facility is rigged with explosives. If they were to be set off, the whole city would be erased from this world.”
The video of the city suddenly shifted to a simulation of the city which was covered in a thick blanket of rubble, which was smoldering, as if it was recently on fire.
“Your partner is still exploring the facility, and he will also be killed by the blast, so you must listen to me. Once you exit this room you must head straight forwards until you reach the next chamber, where you will meet me.”
Before Deadly Sausage has time to process any of this, the screens switch yet again to an image of a tomb somewhere in a rainforest, before shutting off. Deadly Sausage drops to his knees.
No, this can’t be, he died five years ago, I saw it happen! But he’s the only one who would know about that!
The door to the room opens, and the lights and monitors in the room power off. Up ahead is one single corridor, twisting in a serpentine manner and seeming to stretch on endlessly into the void. All of the other hallways had been closed off, leading him straight ahead. Deadly Sausage sat down for a second to process everything and noticed he’s being watched by a camera positioned in the corner of the hall. Deadly Sausage tries to pull out his walkie-talkie, but it gets shot out of his hands by the camera, which he now observes has a gun attached to it.
The deep robotic voice returns, commanding, “No, you must go alone. Your partner has no need to get caught up in this.”
After a wave of confidence washed over him, Deadly Sausage gets up, furious by the fact he’s being commanded around like a child. He unholsters his firearms and shoots the camera right through the lens, destroying the small computer inside. The camera slumps over before it can ever even fire a bullet.
“I don’t know who you think you’re talking to, but I’m not letting anyone tell me what to do. I don’t know what your plan is, but I’m coming for you, Dr. Apple.”
Deadly Sausage had given up any doubt in his mind about the identity of his captor, and his only goal was to stop him.
“Don’t you know what you’re about to do? Would really erase this whole city just for your own trivial purposes? This isn’t the man I once called my partner, you have been overcome by your hatred and bitterness, so much so that you would harm the city you once cared so much about!”
Deadly Sausage waited for a response as he began to walk down the winding corridor while banging on the now solid metal walls with the remains of the camera, but nothing was said in return.
“You don’t need to respond for me to tell how you feel. You feel alone, abandoned by your former companion, and you feel as if your only choice is to pass on your feelings of betrayal to me and this city, so you don’t have to bear the pain anymore. You are compensating for this weakness by threatening this city with your bombs, so you can feel under control of the city’s fate, but deep inside you are still the scared, isolated man you were all those years ago.” Said Deadly Sausage, still trying to coax Dr. Apple into revealing his true feelings.
“You have all this power, and yet you still don’t have the courage to do anything with it, other than try and defeat the only one who truly understands you.”
…
No response still, and Deadly Sausage finally reaches the end of the hall. In front of him is another door, with a retinal scanner attached above the handle. Deadly Sausage put his eye near it and it began to scan him. A separate robotic voice announces, “Access granted.” The door slides open, revealing a circular room with a chair in the center.
“I know it’s you, you can reveal yourself now.” Said Deadly Sausage, as Dr. Apple swivels around in his chair.
“It seems you’re pretty up to date on the situation, but sadly you are mistaken about how I really feel. I don’t want the people of our city to die, which is why I told you to follow my instructions carefully. You seem to have figured out some stuff though, and I applaud you on that behalf.”
Said Dr. Apple, confidently pacing back and forth as he spoke. This strange confidence confused Deadly Sausage, but as Dr. Apple rambled on, a slight hint of insecurity leaked out into his speech.
“As you might know already, this facility was created for one sole purpose, to bring you here. I do not plan to destroy the city unless it is absolutely necessary, but I do intend to seal you in this facility forever, showing you what it feels like to be alone. As you stated earlier.” Said Dr. Apple.
“And how exactly do you plan to get out?” Asked Deadly Sausage.
Dr. Apple then turned to face another wall, with it opening up to reveal an elevator just large enough for one person.
“And what is to stop me from running to the elevator and leaving you down here?” Asked Deadly Sausage.
“This is.” Replied Dr. Apple, pulling out a small remote and pressing one of its buttons.
The ceiling also opened up, revealing a flurry of guns, all controlled by robotic arms and aimed directly at Deadly Sausage.
So all that’s left is to keep him talking.
“So how long did it take you to create this facility?”
Oblivious to Deadly Sausage’s pandering, Dr. Apple responded, “Well this facility is my master plan, and it took nearly three years to build, but this will be the last I ever see it, and I ever see you.” Said Dr. Apple.
Deadly Sausage continued on, hoping that he could at least distract Dr. Apple for just a few more minutes. After a few more minutes of Deadly Sausage keeping Dr. Apple talking, he finally caught on.
“Did you really think that because I was talking, you would be able to live? Is that the best you’ve got? The greatest detective the city- no, the world’s ever known, trying anything he possibly can to stay alive for just a few extra minutes, pathetic.” Said Dr. Apple.
He looked down at the small watch he had on his wrist.
“Oops, look at the time! I seemed to have gotten carried away earlier, guess it’s time I finally give you some privacy, forever.” His last words were filled with more anger than previously.
Dr. Apple started to head toward the elevator, and just before he reached it, Deadly Sausage began to count down.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven…” He counted, and Dr. Apple turned around. “Six, five, four, three…”
Dr. Apple looked confused, and the guns all locked on Deadly Sausage, ready to fire.
“Two… One.” As he said that, the lights in the room shut off, and the guns powered down.
“What, no! Impossible!!” Said Dr. Apple frantically.
He tried getting in the elevator, but it was also shut down. “How?! How could you have stopped my facility?!” Asked Dr. Apple.
Before Deadly Sausage could respond, the door to the hallway opened up, revealing all the gates had been opened, and a squadron of officers ran through the door.
“FREEZE! YOU’RE UNDER ARREST FOR TERRORISM AGAINST THE CITY!” Shouted one of the officers as they pointed their guns at him. Dr. Apple raised his hands in the air, and one of the officers went and cuffed him.
“It’s actually quite simple, after I removed the only camera from the hall, I got you to listen to me talking while I banged the camera against the metal wall. Using the knocking as morse code. The noise was loud enough to get my partner’s attention.” Deadly Sausage gestures toward Cop Donut.
“He received my S.O.S and responded by knocking back, and we came up with a plan as I walked and kept you distracted. He was to call for backup and find where to turn off the power. Once done, he knocked on the wall yet again once I was in the room, and that confirmation signal was when I began my countdown. After I finished counting, he shut off the power and led his group through the path I instructed him to take through my knocking. And that’s where we are now!” Said Deadly Sausage.
After the police restrained Dr. Apple and everyone exited the facility, Dr. Apple was desperate and tried to ask what crimes he had even committed, as he hadn’t hurt anyone.
Deadly Sausage, who was already sick of Dr. Apple making excuses, responded. “Oh let’s see, illegally owning firearms, illegally owning explosives, attempted mass murder and terrorism, kidnapping, etc.”
Dr. Apple was quiet after that. Dr. Apple was guided into the back seat of a police car, and Deadly Sausage said his final goodbyes.
“Once your sentence is over, I’ll come to visit you, friend.”
Dr. Apple looked shocked and got teary-eyed, and simply responded “I never wanted this all along, you were right. I am still just a scared isolated man.” Said Dr. Apple defeatedly.
“You won’t have to be anymore, you’re finally freed from your hatred.” Said Deadly Sausage.
He began to walk away from the car, but Dr. Apple said. “Hey, Alex.”
Deadly Sausage turned around. “Thank you.”
Chief Cruller walked over and chuckled, “Another mystery solved by the ‘World’s Greatest Detective’!”
He looked over at Deadly Sausage who was wiping away his tears.
“Hey, is something wrong?” Asked Chief Cruller.
“It must’ve just been some dust in my eye.”
Chief Cruller patted him on the shoulder and said, “You know it’s ok to have emotions, right?”
Deadly Sausage laughed and said, “I’m a crime-stopping vigilante and even I can’t defeat emotions.”
Deadly Sausage looked up at the setting sun and watched as the fiery red sky cast the city’s skyline in shadows. Yet again the city was saved, and more importantly, he saved someone from a worse disease than the one from all those years ago, the disease of hatred.
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