Sink or Swim: Drawn To The Venom

Chapter 21

Recap: Juro & Nagito torture Dan & Naomi out of spite and revenge, however they are defeated by Chisaki's therian form while Koshiro & Matsumi are facing off against Panacea on the other side.

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Panacea in her giant rattlesnake form keeps countering the Snow Leopard Koshiro's ice attacks using her ribbon projections while Matsumi sits on the side.
Koshiro: *monstrous growling voice* "This is difficult!"
Matsumi: "Hey! You sure you don't need help?"
Koshiro: *monstrous growling voice* "What are you possibly even going to do? You're useless as you are now, so just stay out of it!"
Matsumi has now had enough of both - watching Koshiro struggle, as well as being underestimated himself.
Matsumi: "Alright Koshiro! I've got your strategy."
Koshiro: "DO IT MATSUMI!!!!"
He was focussing on spawning a water sphere during the time Koshiro was fighting Panacea, he then flings it at her.
Matsumi: "EAT THIS, BITCH!"
The sphere hits her hard, splashing all over creating bleeding holes in her skin.
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "AHHHHHHH YOU SNEAKY BASTARDS!!!!!"
Koshiro smirks at Matsumi in his beast form.
Koshiro: *monstrous growling voice* "So stalling her was fruitful after all, wasn't it?"
Matsumi: "I wonder what she's gonna do next."
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "Got lucky a second time, eh? I guess I underestimated you two, you shitheads!"
*A flashback begins*
Several days before the start of the Hermit's Death Match. Matsumi lays in bed, sulking while being comforted by Dan.
Dan: "The water sphere you project has a lot of destructive power. Maybe you can use it in some way!"
Entering their room, interrupting the moment is Koshiro.
Dan: "So! Anymore information or strategy tips?"
Koshiro: "It's just as we discussed, however I'd like to add some major changes."
Dan: "Like what?"
Koshiro: "Firstly, in a situation where we must be separated - it'll be me with Matsumi and you with your girlfriend and the psycho kid."
Matsumi: "Huh? Me, with you?"
Dan: "Hey! Chisaki already seems bitter about us.....I don't know why but I don't know if we can handle him."
Koshiro: "Well, you must! Because I've got something in mind for Matsumi."
Matsumi: "What?"
Koshiro: "If you understand the meaning of stalling, and can somehow manage to spawn an aquatic sphere and hit in the right spot - we could possibly have a not-so-guaranteed-yet-may-work plan."
Matsumi: "That's a mouthful, but....."
Dan: "Do you think you guys can pull off such a thing?"
Koshiro: "It's all upto shark boy."
Before Koshiro could giggle, he walks out of the room.
Matsumi: "He's gonna make the flopping fish out of water joke again, isn't he?"
Dan: "But what he said was right, so it's all upto you now Matsumi."
*Flashback ends*
Koshiro: *thinks* "Whoo! I can't believe she fell for it."
Matsumi: "Now what next?"
Koshiro: *monstrous growling voice* "Just let me do the fighting eh!"
Panacea is bleeding and even more bloodlusted.
Matsumi: "She doesn't look too happy though!".
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "I'm going to enjoy playing with you. It'll be rewarding!"
She suddenly bites her fork tongue with a sharp fang, bleeding profusely.
Koshiro: *monstrous growling voice* "She just bit her tongue!"
Matsumi: "A snake bit it's tongue after getting damage from me? That's.....OH SHIT!!!! IS SHE DOING HER SECOND MANIFESTATION?"
The giant snake's dark scaly skin turns emerald green, her size increases manifold as she consequently looms as a dark shadow in front of the two.
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "AM I BEAUTIFUL?"
Koshiro: *monstrous growling voice* "We knew this! But.....damn that looks even more horrifying than the Bat Demon."
Panacea's Chimerization form resembles a mythical Amphisbaena - as the rattle on her back was replaced with another snake head, she has bat wings as well as bird-like claws on her main front body. Her fangs and fork tongue have gotten bigger, but to add even more intensity - she is now dripping black liquid from her tongue which destroys whatever it splashes on.
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "I'M BEAUTIFUL AREN'T I? LET'S EXPLORE MORE OF MY BEAUTY!!!!"
She advances rapidly towards the two of them in full bloodlust, wanting to devour them until nothing of theirs remained.
Koshiro: *thinks* "I'll have to use my second manifestation too.....but damn is she fast!"
Matsumi: "DO IT KOSHIRO! BRING OUT YOUR ICE TIGER GUY....Pantheras I guess?"
Koshiro: *monstrous growling voice* "No no! She's too fast, we need to focus on spacing ourselves from her. But....."
The giant mutated snake demoness has almost reached her prey, and the looks on their faces clearly indicate that they knew what was coming for them.
Matsumi: "SHIT! IF ONLY I COULD USE MY......"
As soon as Matsumi was about to finish his sentence, out of nowhere she is instantly stopped. Panacea struggles, however she cannot move forward.
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "AM I NOT BEAUTIFUL? THIS IS....NOT BEAUTIFUL FOR ME!"
She is trying to fly, slither or just move forward....only for no results.
Koshiro: *monstrous growling voice* "I guess the immense weight took a toll on her. Good for us I guess, Matsumi!"
Looking to the side, he sees Matsumi encased in a green aura, with glowing projections that look like seaweed coming out of his back. Upon looking carefully, Koshiro realizes that Matsumi had in fact spawned seaweed and used it to stop Panacea from moving.
Koshiro: *thinks* "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them. And this time, some kind of greatness was thrust upon Matsumi!"
Matsumi: "Koshiro! What's happening here? No way! Is this seaweed? How?"
Koshiro: *monstrous growling voice* "HOLD HER IN PLACE, MATSUMI! LET ME DELIVER THE FINISHING BLOW!"
Koshiro once again enters his state of trance, communicating with Pantheras taking shape in the auroras visible during this state of trance.
Koshiro: "So! Are you ready again, Pantheras?"
Pantheras: "What do you have for me today?"
Koshiro: "Premium canned cat food! Would you like some?"
Pantheras: "You're lucky I'm in a good mood today, otherwise I'd maul you for making that lousy joke."
Hence Koshiro's second manifestation takes place with him freezing Panacea using his gauntlets, while the white tiger spawned next to him keeps slicing her leaving no scales untouched.
Pantheras: "Though she be but little, she is fierce!"
Koshiro: "Did that do it?"
To their shocker the demonic Panacea is bleeding and frosted, yet even angrier and swift.
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "THAT WAS NOT BEAUTIFUL, YOU INGRATES!!!!"
She bites a part of the ice created by Koshiro, melting it instantly while making a creepy hissing sound. The black liquid from her mouth dissolves everything she bites, as evident when she breaks free of the seaweed and keeps chasing the three of them despite her injured state.
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "DO YOU KNOW WHAT TRUE BEAUTY IS?"
Koshiro: "What's with her and her obsession for beauty now?"
Matsumi: "Stop saying that over and over, creepy bitch!"
Pantheras keeps trying to fight her while dodging her fangs, delivering his own frosty chilling bites to her body when he gets the chance.
Koshiro: "Matsumi! Can you restrain her again?"
Matsumi: "I wish I knew how I was able to do it in the first place!"
Koshiro: "Rats! We're at a race against everything here, even Pantheras is struggling against her."
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "You know what's beautiful? My other half right here!"
The snake head on it's tail now charges at all three of them.
Matsumi: "We got enough problems with one snake head, now a second one?"
Koshiro: "SHIT!!!!"
Pantheras: "ANY IDEAS?"
Panacea: *high pitched raspy voice* "IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT!"
Before she could strike them, a humanoid figure rapidly accelerates towards her, creating a ripple in mid air and punching her through it to make her fall far off. Pantheras vanishes, both Koshiro and Matsumi are exhausted.
Koshiro: "What now?"
Matsumi: "I wonder what that was!"
Looking up, they see something unbelievable - a large robotic figure.
Koshiro: "Whoa! This is unexpected!"
Matsumi: "A mecha robot?"
Koshiro: "Stop! Don't trust it so easily!"
The robotic figure creates another ripple in mid-air, mysteriously causing the two of them to get dizzy and faint. It then picks them up and leaps ahead, escaping. The demonic snake Panacea reverts back to her original form, and screams in frustration. She is bruised from top to bottom, and almost naked with her left breast completely visible out of her torn, ruined leotard.
Panacea: "DANG IT! THESE SCUMBAGS, I ALMOST HAD THEM! WHY? JUST WHY CAN'T I GET A HOLD OF THEM?"
On the other side, at the graveyard at 1am - Chisaki reluctantly frees Naomi and Dan after all the torture they endured.
Dan: "Thanks Chisaki, for freeing us after we begged you for the 100th time."
Chisaki: "I still want an explanation!"
Dan: "What do you mean, kid?"
Chisaki: "Why did you abandon me and try to sell me off?"
Dan: "We absolutely didn't do that?"
Chisaki: "You were involved with Rio and Gai, weren't you? They were working for the kidnapping racket after all, so you're with the kidnapping racket too."
Dan and Naomi look at him with a shocked facial expression.
Chisaki: "I trust Matsumi and Koshiro, not you two."
Dan: "W-w-what are you even.....talking about?"
Naomi makes hand signs.
Dan: "I know Naomi, we never thought that Rio and Gai worked for the kidnapping racket. What was it all about even?"
Chisaki sulks, ignoring Dan's reasoning and explanation.
Dan: *thinks* "Just how do we explain this to a disturbed kid like him?"
However, Naomi and Dan are yawning now as they haven't had a peaceful sleep in a long while.
Dan: "I feel so sleepy!"
Chisaki: "There's no place to sleep around! We need to find a bench in a park or somewhere."
Dan: "Let's check into a motel for the night."
They keep walking until they finally find what looks like a cheap guest house.
Dan: "Alright then, here we go!"
They check into the motel, posing as husband-wife-son and get a room together.
Dan: *yawns* "Don't waste time! Just sleep ok?"
Chisaki: "Should we really be sleeping? The Guardian Angel's cronies might find us anytime."
Dan: *smirks* "That's what they think, they think that we would never enter a motel and settle in due to our inhibitions. Less do they know, we don't fear them anymore."
Chisaki: "You got your ass handed to you right there, and you're still so brave huh?"
Dan: "C'mon go to sleep!"
They all sleep together in bed. Naomi however, isn't able to sleep properly as an eerie noise shakes the inside of her head. The noise leads her to a memory of the past wherein nothing but fire surrounds the eerie noise, which is coming from a little girl crying and screaming in what look like ruins. Next to the girl are horrifically mutilated and burned corpses of a man and a woman. The noise gets creepier and Naomi immediately opens her eyes, her heartbeat faster and sweating profusely. She gets back up and goes to the bathroom, removing her ruined torn clothes and staring at herself in the mirror - as if contemplating something. However she looks at a tattoo on her right, and a warm smile is spread across her face.

TO BE CONTINUED......