Chapter 71 – The Witch of Darkness
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While Miss Planner was lounging around on the Razors' Edge eating shrimp, the city of Grandebelle was undergoing a metamorphosis.

It started on Saturday night when an unprecedentedly large protest over rising police violence broke out into widespread riots in the streets of downtown Grandebelle. The rioters set fire to dozens of buildings, causing panic throughout the city. The following day, the authorities declared a state of civil emergency, and National Guard units were positioned throughout the city. The choicest stores were boarded up, and a curfew was established at 8 PM. But even with all these measures in place, the situation in Grandebelle continued to deteriorate.

On Sunday, a new wave of street protests hit Grandebelle's University District and spilled out onto the main roads. That evening, violence tore through the center of the city. For all their bluster, the government's response was limp and ineffective. The few undermanned riot squads they sent out armed with tear gas, batons, and flash grenades had little effect on the growing horde of looters. Within hours, half the businesses in the area were ransacked.

That same night, the Mastermind's alliance of black organizations made a big move. With no warning, they attacked the Pit Kings' largest Tab manufacturing center and took it for themselves, killing any opposition and carting off dozens of Pit King workers to serve as the Controllers’ mind-controlled slaves. Shortly after, they struck Nuke manufacturing sites belonging to the Pit Razors and Chosen Ones, inflicting as many casualties as they could before they were driven off. By the end of the night, all the major criminal factions in the Pit were on high alert.

The next day brought a new level of chaos and confusion as various gangs and mobs of desperate criminals tried to take advantage of the carnage and disorder. Grandebelle's enormous population of homeless joined in on the mayhem, fighting with the police, breaking into supermarkets, and attempting to get their hands on as much Nuke as possible in the midst of the city's collapse.

There was a break in the turmoil on Tuesday morning. The sun shined on a mass of corpses and debris, and the smell of smoke and blood hung thick in the air. A thick layer of broken glass and ash covered the streets like snow. Police and soldiers patrolled the empty streets, anticipating even more violence and destruction in the weeks to come.

A thin layer of clouds formed a dark blanket of purple across the sky. The wind blew cool and hard, bringing fragments of burnt trash with it in spirals of gray and black. Grandebelle's downtown area, once a site of nonstop activity and bustling energy, was reduced to an eerie wasteland filled with the charred wreckage of burned buildings. What scant few structures hadn't burned down were stripped bare and looted clean. As the day wore on, survivors and the relatives of those who had been caught in the riots began to wander the ruined landscape, sobbing and screaming as they searched for their lost ones. And then, just when everyone thought things couldn't get any worse, the freaks came out once more.

A group of homeless scavengers, their eyes red from smoke and tears, strangled a pair of looters to death. Solitary sludge monsters crawled through the ruins searching for fresh corpses to eat, joined by gangs of crazed psychics prowling around looking for valuables. A trio of Knife Slaves went on a lynching spree, snatching murderers off the street and stringing them up on the spot. Reports of paranormal phenomena began to come in from all over the city as the accumulated psychic energy of the dead manifested itself in the form of hauntings and ghostly visions.

A girl with long brown hair stood on a rooftop, looking down at the destruction of her city with a gleeful smile on her face. There was nothing the Witch of Darkness Lila loved more than the sight of the world descending into madness. Her favorite slave, Lurker, grew restless by her side, eager to get out and run through the streets.

"Soon, my sweet," she whispered to him. "Once the sun goes down, the city will be ours once more. Then, you can hunt Chosen Ones to your little heart's content! Yes... soon..."

The door to the stairs behind her slammed open with a violent crash. Lila whirled around, gathering energy into her fingers... until she saw who it was.

"Psychosoldier!" she gushed, running over to hug him. "I'm so glad to see you! I missed you!"

The metal man made no attempt to return her greeting. His sinister red eyes blinked on and off, and the liquid within the transparent blue dome encasing his brain grew cloudy. He slowly reached out his clawed metal hands and squeezed Lila gently around the shoulders.

"Lila. I came here to thank you for attacking the Pit Kings. It was a brilliant performance that far exceeded my expectations."
"You know I would do anything for you! We got back all the territory you lost to the Pit Kings and then some!"
"Yes. It's most appreciated."

"Are the Black Gloves going to join the raid tonight?" asked Lila cheerfully. "There are so many Chosen Ones in the Old District, we'll have to be careful not to get overwhelmed, but I think we-"
Psychosoldier's hollow artificial voice blared out of his speaker.
"The third division of Black Gloves are going to join your assault on the Old District. I have instructed them to follow your orders."

Lila looked up at Psychosoldier's red eyes with a wide smile.

"That's wonderful news! It was going to be tough scraping together enough Wild Cards after last night's skirmish! I know your people don't like fighting too much... what did you tell your captains to convince them? Did you say I'm a genius or something?"

Psychosoldier rubbed his clawed fingers like a raccoon washing its hands.
"I told them that they have no choice but to follow your commands, or they will be exterminated."

Lila laughed.
"You really need to work on your people skills! But I guess it works!"

The cold air was suddenly pierced by sirens. Lila looked down into the streets. A gang of thugs was attacking one of the sludge monsters she let out to feed. They battered away at its hardened shell to no avail. The beast opened its mouth and blasted its attackers with a wave of poisonous filth. The men screamed and writhed in pain, nearly completely paralyzed, as the monster slowly ate them alive one by one.

"Did you see that, Psychosoldier? My pretty pets are indestructible! Their hides are thicker than any armor. Nothing can stop them!"

Psychosoldier stepped forward and took her hand gently in his.

"Lila."
She giggled.
"Yes?"

"I have something for you. A gift."
Psychosoldier opened his chest cavity with a click and pulled out a globe made of red glass. He handed it over to Lila, who took it from him carefully and held it up to the light.

"What is it?" she asked.
"A ball for you to play with. It contains a tiny fraction of my vast psychic energy. I hope that you will absorb it."

Lila looked down at her gift, the red orb glowing brightly in her dainty hands. She laughed and rubbed it with her thumb.
"What happens then?" she giggled.
"Your mind will become synchronized and we can prepare you for organ replacement surgery."

Lila hugged Psychosoldier and gave him a big kiss on his cold metal cheek.
"Why, why thank you! What a sweet present! Look, Lurker! See what the nice cyborg gave me? I love it so much, I think I'll keep it with me always!"

Lurker's dull eyes followed the orb's movement as Lila twirled it around in the air. He could feel the energy coming from inside it, and he craved it. He was hungry as always. He couldn't wait to get out and eat some fresh meat.

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