//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Welcome to the Madhouse! Part 3 // Story: Batmare: Arkham Asylum (Remastered) // by TheDarkMare16 //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Welcome to the Madhouse: Part 3 I couldn’t help but growl to myself in frustration that the maniac is again one step ahead of me. Sometimes throughout my career, I began to have the slightest of doubts as to why I’m doing this repeated cycle of death and violence. Times when I question that my deeds are doing anything to save this city rise from its pitiful cesspool of crime. Even there were times, dare I say it…that I question if my actions are pleasing to my parents’ spiritual eyes. Times when I question that the words that comes out of my mouth about my actions are pleasing to their spiritual ears. Times when I almost cry to myself if I am doing the right thing by presenting myself as an agent of not only justice…but vengeance. But I always reassure myself of my ramblings by remembering the promise I made to them. The promise that even through the hardest of times, the darkest of hours, the number of lives I lost, and the blackest of days…that I will never, ever, ever, EVER, fall into the pit of darkness that my enemies are in. A promise that I will help clear this once majestic city from its filth and disgust. A promise that I will NEVER let this deranged madman win! My inner disputes were interrupted by the guard pony that was trying to pry through the Extreme Isolation security systems. He turns to me with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but the best thing that I could do right now is to open the door you came in. I wish I could do more,” he apologizes. I won’t let my frustrations out on this guard pony, he and his fellow partner, who is unconscious by the way, are one of the few guards in this facility are still alive. I rubbed his shoulder in a comforting manner. “Hey, now’s not the time to sulk. You did all that you can to try help me catch up to Discord. I’ll stop him, don’t worry. Once your partner is awake, find the safest place away from the chaos. Do not engage any of the escaped inmates.” The guard smiles softly and opens the door that leads back to the transit loop. His smile turns to a small smirk. “Make sure you get him one for us,” he says. I gave him a smirk in response and walked out of the room, leaving the two guards and the deceased body of the monstrosity Discord unleashed. Once the door is closed, I begin to think on how I track down and save my brother. “I should get back to the holding cells, Sentry wasn’t too smart. He would’ve left a trail for me to catch,” I said to myself.As soon as the door closes behind me, my comms turned on. Oracle…she would be heartbroken if I tell her that her father is kidnapped by the madman and the corrupt guard. But I will never comfort her with a lie, I will do my absolute best to find her father or die trying. “Batmare, what’s going on?” Oracle asked with concern. “Discord has escaped from me, he sealed himself off from the island…and he’s got your father,” I answered back with slight urgency in the last bit of info. “Oh, sweet Celestia, daddy,” Oracle gasps. Immediately, I answer back. “Don’t worry, I’m getting him back,” I said. Oracle sighs in worry and slight panic. Fear for her father’s well-being is starting to fill her veins and cloud her mind. I have to say something else to put those toxic thoughts out of her mind. “Yeah, I know I know, but what if—” “Oracle listen to me. I am getting him back, I won’t let Discord win, and he will be back safe and sound,” I told her with a firm and comforting tone. Hearing that she stopped her worrying, I continue. “I’m going back to the cells where he was taken. A corrupt guard named Flash Sentry attacked him and sent him to Discord. If I find him, I’ll find your father.” After finishing my claim to save my brother/her father, Oracle sighs. Anxiety is laced in her voice. To her, her dad is the world to her. Everything she's done, everything she's doing, the very state she is in right now is thanks to her dad’s undying love. And if I say anything bad that is happening or happened to him, she will be in panic mode. However, she knows her dad is a tough nut to crack under the likes of Discord, but even she knows there’s a limit. Oracle relented and sighs in calmly but with slight trepidation. She says these words before she cuts off and these words intensifies me: “Twilight, hurry please.” She cuts off after saying those words. After our talk, I ran down the maze-like loop to find the door that leads to the holding cells of the intensive treatment. As I continue to run down, the TVs turn on with an all-familiar, disgusting porcelain face and his crooked, yellow smile. “Ooh, I bet you’re wondering how I did it.*gasps* Is it a clue that the world’s greatest detective missed?” *mad laughter* “Oh, alright alright, I’ll give you a clue. Flashy and I go way back, I helped him out a spot a few years ago…I think?So, when I need some security codes, island access, or an old pony clubbed to the ground, I know just the pony to ask.” Discord finished running his mouth on how him and Flash had a connection and switched off. I took some of the stuff he said about Flash and my brother in mind, but the rest I tuned out. Along the way back, I spotted two inmates standing with a few bodies of the poor faculty and guards that met their untimely demise. They mock and laugh at one of the corpses sitting on a wall with a bucket on his head with the same crudely painted smiley face on it. My blood boils when I see trash like them mocking at the good ponies that are doing their best to make them redeem themselves, giving them a chance to live right. “Kaha, that was hilarious when he looked at you before you smashed his brains out!” one of the thugs jeered. The other thug smirked cruelly as he poked the bucket with his bloodied pipe. “Yeah, the way I swung that pipe into his gaping face was the funniest part. Working with Discord does make this hilarious,” the killer thug replied back. Unaware to them, a black shadow walks up behind them with its eyes narrowed in cold fury. “It does, doesn’t it. Welp, let’s go find more ponies we can-,” the thug didn’t finish as his face was slammed against the cold floor. Hard. The sickening crunch of his skull resonated throughout the halls, his screams abruptly cut off from the slam. The shadow narrowed its eyes at the down thug, glaring at the other one that stood like a statue with shock, horror, terror, and disgust froze on his face. The thug shakenly looks down at his buddy who met the floor in a bloody puddle. He raised his weapon to fight whoever or whatever that knocked his friend out. He looked behind him and failed to make out whoever it was because his vision was changed to black. Both of their bodies hit the floor with loud thuds. The shadow stepped out from the darkness and relaxes a bit after knocking out the two thugs. I look down at the poor deceased stallion that met his grisly fate. I removed the bucket from his head and saw his disfigured face. Horror, pain, and fear is marked on his face, his eyes are pinpricks, rolled up in the back of his head. To add more insult: his tongue is lolled out. I know I will see more deceased ponies through my mission, but the more I let these deaths continue to get me down, these deaths will be in vain. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I closed his eyes, mouth and set his face upright. At least he looks respected enough. After giving this pony my prayers, I continue my trek through the halls and finally arrived in the holding cells area. I look around the control room where Shining Armor was assaulted and taken away. “Hmm, Sentry isn’t smart. He would’ve definitely leave something behind for me to track him down.” I turned on my detective vision and as I was scanning, I smell something. It smells strong, coffee like…then it hit me. I scanned down where the source of the smell is coming from and saw a spilled bourbon flask with the alcohol forming a small puddle. “Sentry’s bourbon, ugh…sloppy. Good start for me to begin my search.” I said to myself. I scanned the flask and isolated the air for me to start following the trail of Sentry’s bourbon-flavored breath. “Oracle, I isolated the air for me to trail for the bourbon in the atmosphere. It’ll lead me where Shining is,” I said to Oracle on the comms. “That’s great, Batmare. I’m also grabbing every reference and key maps of Arkham Island, it’ll be useful later. Good luck and be careful,” Oracle answers and switched off. I kept my detective vision on and ran through the loop to trail the alcohol vapor on. The vision is a dark, purple, borderline to the burgundy with the vapor traces a light pink. I follow the trail as it leads me to the other end of the hall. The trail leads me to the entrance of the elevators. Before I continue, I hear a phone ringing at the reception area. “Hello, hello? What’s happening there? I’m trying to contact Steve, is he there?” A mare asks urgently. After her request of trying to get a touch on Steve, a familiar, venom laced voice answers back. “Hold on for one second…I’ll see if I can find him,” Discord answers. *deep sigh* “Thank you, thank you so much,” the mare thanks him. “I’m so sorry, ma’am, I looked everywhere…but I can only find is his head,” Discord says sinisterly. “W-w-w-w-what?!!? Oh my, God!” the mare exclaims, horrified by the terrible lie. “I’ll get back to you once I find the rest of him!” *mad cackle* The phone call abruptly cuts off from my fist smashing it. I shook off the dark thoughts of choking and beating him senseless of the lie he told her. I continue my trail of the bourbon laced atmosphere and enter the secure transit. I’m at the lower floor of the intensive treatment alongside with a guard trying to call an elevator down. The trail leads me here, but that can only mean one— “Stupid, unreliable,” the guard grunts. He notices me and calls for my attention. “Hey Batmare, how did Discord be able to—” “Quiet,” I ordered quietly. “W-what’s going on?” the guard asks with edge. I continue looking at the trail at the elevator shaft and look up at the trail. Sentry and Armor went up to the upper floor.Question is: how do I get there? But my answer comes in unannounced. A certain pink, harlequin themed mare jumps from the upper floor and landed on top of the guide rails of the elevator that is at the higher level. She twirls in a seductive fashion and looks down at me with a playful grin on her face. I turned off my vision and got my ready for whatever tricks Pinkie has up her sleeve. *tuts* “B-mare, I’m terribly sorry to drop in but I’m afraid Mr. D doesn’t want you to follow us…yet. So, he sends me to drop you off a gift for making it so far,” Pinkie says. Then, she pulls out a remote and pressed the red button. My eyes widen in surprise as to what Pinkie did. At the upper level of the facility, a loud ticking noise is emitting from a dynamite lace bomb that is strapped at the door motor of the parked elevator. The timer ticked to zero and the bomb explodes, echoing throughout the area. The parked elevator begins to drop to the lower floor at dangerous speeds. Sparks flew everywhere from the cable lines that connects the elevator. As the elevator continues to plummet, Pinkie rides on the guide lines on the other cable line. She whoops and laughs as she surges above the lower floor away from the soon to be crash site of the elevator. The cable lines begin to give in the searing heat of the plummeting elevator, noises of scraping metal and the falling elevator is a cacophony of destruction and death. Suddenly, the cable line snaps from the heat and plummets with the elevator, threatening to lop off a body part or head of any unfortunate pony near the deadly whip. My eyes widen as I hear the plummeting elevator’s screeching getting closer and closer! We won’t survive if we are near—the guard! “GET DOWN!!” I cried out. I hastily grabbed the shocked guard and jumped away from the elevator. Just in time, the elevator crashed onto our level. Sparks fly everywhere from the elevator. The falling cable line holding the elevator hits the car like a giant whip. Hail of shrapnel and jagged metal scatter like a grenade. The shrapnel manage to nick me on my chest, I wince in pain from the lethal, sharp projectiles. Dust clouds billow from the wrecked elevator, obscuring our view. I look down at the terrified guard and check for any injuries. He is alright, physically, mentally, he will remember this for a long time. I look down at my chest where the shrapnel slashed me. It is a minor cut, no metal embedded in me, but I ignore the slight sting of the pain and the small trickle of blood. I stand up from our position and observe at what that crazed pony had done. I lift my head up at the upper floor, thinking how I am going to head back without the elevator. The guard that was crouched down gets up slowly, shaken from the near-death experience. “W-what i-i-in the…what the hell?” the guard stammers. He wobbles to a chair and sits on it, trying to recollect and calm down. As we starting to get our surroundings, the intercom comes on and the annoying sidekick’s voice chirps on. “How did you like that, B-mare? You have no way up and you just must wait until me and Mistah D. are ready. Ha ha ha!” Pinkie taunted until the intercom abruptly cuts off. I look at the destroyed elevator car from it’s height. The car is mangled from the crash, electricity crackles from the site. I look up at the railings and platforms surrounding the entire area. I internally sigh to myself, it may be slower and tedious, but anything to catch up to the killer clown and his looney sidekick. ‘My brother is taken to the surface in the elevator, then Discord sent Pinkie to slow me down by destroying that elevator. *sighs* If I’m going have to follow them to save him, I have to go up…the old-fashioned way.’ I thought to myself. I begin to look around on where to start my ascent to the upper floor. I spotted the nearest platform above the destroyed elevator that is within my range. I pull my grappling hook and carried up to the platform. Across from me is a small passage that leads to a vent system. Carefully, I backed up and ran to the edge of the platform until I jumped off and grabbed the edge. Once I found my balance and ignoring the fact that I am dangling from a drop that’ll start this ordeal again, I shimmy across the edge until I climb up and crawl in the vent. Once I start to crawl through the short vent, the intercom comes on again with an all-familiar manic voice. “Hey, hey bats! Wow, rude much? I know you can hear me, I got a little gift I want you to hear,” Discord says before he’s been cut off and a live feed from somewhere in the facility turns on. I begrudgingly listen to the live feed while continuing my ascent up. “Hey, Flash, what’s going on?” a guard asks. “Pinkie Pie and her goons are starting to come into the lobby! Hurry, we need ponies by the main entrance!” Flash alerts urgently.Those poor guards, they never knew of Discord’s mole in their own ranks. “Hurry up, get your asses over there!” Flash hurries. “Alright, you got it Flash—hey, hang on a second…how in the hell did you know exactly where—” one of the guards replies and asks suspiciously. His question was answered with multiple gunshots. I grew darker as I heard his body dropped to the floor. I hear Flash’s gun cocks back. “What the hell?! Flash, why did—” another guard exclaims before he too joined his friend on the cold floor in a puddle of his blood. That is where the screaming starts. “Flash! Why are you—please don’t!” a guard cries before his pleas turn into death gurgles and rattles until they’re silenced by more machine gun firing. I grew more and more furious as I hear the screams and cries of fear and pain turn into gurgles of death. After the machine gun firing stops, after the chaos stops…after the screaming stops, I heard the gruff voice of the murderous Flash. “There, it’s clear in here.Pinkie, get your ass in here now!” Flash barks loudly. Then multiple grunt voices and footsteps are heard in the lobby. Then, the perky voice of Pinkie is heard. “Hmm, you’re some big piece of work, Flashy. A mare could fall for someone like you~,” Pinkie comments and moans. “Stop flirting with our help, Pinkie,” Discord orders with a hint of jealousy in his voice. “I’m so sorry, baby.You know I only have eyes for you~” Pinkie apologizes with mock hurt and shudders. “You hear that, bats?Another hard-working employee for the company. Well, I gotta go, ta-ta!” Discord says before he cuts off the intercom. As I inch closer to the upper floor of the transit, I couldn’t help but grow livid when Flash murders his partners with no remorse but with servitude for that insane clown. Once I save my brother/Oracle’s dad, I’m going to rend them apart, piece by piece. But I shoved down those dark thoughts of beating Flash, Pinkie, the goons, and Discord black and blue and steel my focus on saving my brother from the clutches of the deranged draconequus as I’m close of finishing my crude ascent to the higher level to continue my trek to save my brother and stop Discord.