Passive Aggressive

Cordayl is drying his hands in the bathroom when he suddenly hears a disgruntled noise from Esquimo's room. Going to check it out, he opens his door, and the old house owner is standing right in front of him, making him jump.

"The master would like you to meet him in his study, " his raspy, whispery voice says, and then he just walks away. Cordayl looks down both ways of the hallway before following him.

Walking into the study, Cordayl sees Alfonze sitting next to Esquimo.

"Esquimo, I thought I asked you to come get me when you were ready to go," Cordayl says.

"Ohh, he's not leaving, and unfortunately, neither are you," Alfonzo smirks

A vein shows in Cordayl's head, "And what's stopping me from doing that?" Cordayl says in unison with the voice.

"He is," Alfonze points to Esquimo. "You see, Cordayl, Esquimo belongs to me now. And those under my control do whatever I ask them to. I don't even have to speak. We are mentally linked. Let me show you." Then, out of nowhere, Esquimo puts his weapon to his neck.

"Esquimo, what are you doing!" Cordayl shouts, taking a step forward.

"Take another step, and he dies in front of you." The host says calmly. "I told you he is under my control. Once I have a hold on someone, they are mine forever. Unless I want to release them. Which I never do," Alfonze says with a coy smirk.

In the blink of an eye, Cordayl has the host neck in his hand. "Will releasing you from life free him?" He says in tune with the voice.

"Unfortunately not. If I die, everyone here will suffer a mental breakdown they will never recover from. You would be more humane killing all of them after you kill me," Alfonze tells him.

Cordayl mugs the hell out of him and drops Alfonze on the floor. The host gets up calmly and says, "So I take it that you want to free your friend?"

"Obviously," Cordayl responds.

"Well, all you have to do is make a trade. His freedom for yours. Simple, right?" Alfonze says.

"And why do you want me?" Cordayl ask.

"Why do I want you?! " Alfonze asks, surprised. Then, suddenly, four massive men walk into the room.

They approach Cordayl, and with four hits, Cordayl knocks them out with brute force alone.

"That's why I want you!" Alfonze shouts. "Look at how easily you just took out four champions! You have toppled heroes, kings, and Kingdoms! With the Diablo on my side, what's stopping me from taking over the world?

"I promise you, submit to me, and I will let your friend go free. I'll even erase all of his memories of you so that he won't miss you in the least bit. Allowing him to return to his home and hopefully mend his relationship with his son." Alfonzo promises.

"How do you know about all of that?" Cordayl ask.

"I told you I own him. I am literally in his mind right now. Every memory from his childhood till the moment he succumbed to me I see as if I lived them. Even memories he doesn't remember, I can see," Alfonzo states proudly.

"Even memories he can't remember?" Cordayl ponders this as a possible way to get his memories back but instantly disregards it, realizing there is no way this guy will be helpful. But he has to save Esquimo.

The voice says to him, "It's fine. Let him in."

Cordayl stares at Alfonze with eyes that can set a tree on fire. "Fine, I'll trade myself for Esquimo. What do I have to do?"

"Well, I've been doing it all day. You are just more stubborn than most people I meet. All you have to do is agree with my questions," Alfonze tells him.

Cordayl sighs. "So that's how it works? I answer your dumbass questions, and boom, you're plugged in?" Cordayl ask.

"I don't think they're dumb questions. They may be a little illogical, but yes, that's how it works." Alfonze answers.

"Well, then, I can't do it. I can't answer those stupid questions. Try asking a normal one like… Is the sky blue?" Cordayl suggest.

"Okay, okay…. If the sky blew its nose, would it come down as drizzle?" Alfonze asks.

Cordayl looks at him as if he's as dumb as an armless man in a push-up competition.

Alfonze gets frustrated at the silent response. "Fuck you. Let me think." After a minute of silence, Alfonze smiles and says, "I got it."

Then Esquimo asks him. "Is it true that you are bipolar?"

The question catches Cordayl off guard. "No, I'm not bipolar. I just have these conversations with myself sometimes, and it's rarely ever pleasant. Is this you asking the question or him?" Cordayl says.

"Its him." Alfonze answers. "These are questions he has always wondered about you."

"Well, I answered, so how many more questions do you need to ask?" Cordayl says.

"That doesn't count. It has to be a question you either say yes or agree with." Alfonze tells him. "Let's see."

The next question Esquimo asks is, "Did you beat Yesseia?"

"Yes." Cordayl answers.

"Did you make love to her?"

"No!" Cordayl says, embarrassed.

"Are you lying about your memory loss?"

"No."

"Did you remember the first time we met?"

"No."

"Are you afraid of your own strength?"

"Yes."

"Do you think I'm a pervert?"

Cordayl ponders this one. "No. You obviously love women, but you don't be creeping and peeping on them like Jirahya."

"Are you scared of losing a fight?"

"No," Cordayl says in unison with the voice.

"Do you want to lose a fight?"

"No." Cordayl says in unison with the voice.

"Have you ever encountered anyone from your tribe since that day?"

"No."

"Am I a bother to you?"

"Of course not, Esquimo. I've loved having you by my side. I couldn't do this without you."

"Are you afraid you will never recover your memories?"

A silence fills the room before Cordayl answers, "Yes."

Alfonze smiles, and Cordayl's body becomes numb. He can feel Alfonze trying to invade his mind, like a battering ram beating against a castle's doors.

The feeling is horrendous, and Cordayl naturally fights the entrance, but the voice tells him, "It's fine. Let him in."

Cordayl hesitates but eventually gives in and lets the host in.

Blasting through the barriers, Alfonze burst into Cordayl's mind. Taking a deep breath, he releases the air only to open his eyes and see a mind full of fractured and torn bits.

Alfonze has never seen such a mind in such chaos and turmoil. Memories that are clear and memories that are blurred. Alfonze walks through the mind of Cordayl speechless, unable to fully grasp and understand the realm he is walking through.

"Unbelievable. To think I'd meet another subject of Professor Ully. Truly, this has to be fate," Alfonze states after walking past one of Cordayl's broken memory fragments.

Continuing his journey through Cordayl's mind, he sees a mountain shaped like pride rock, where the sun shines the brightest. Curiosity draws him towards it, and when he climbs to the mouth of the mountain, he sees that it is flat and leveled, filled with training mechanisms and fighting devices that he has never seen before.

Alfonze walks past the devices and sees two giant doors hidden in the mouth of the mountain. His attention drawn, he takes one step, and suddenly something comes crashing down in front of him.

At first, all Alfonze can see is a pair of threatening eyes warning him to stay away, but as the dust clears, he sees Cordayl in front of him.

The voice is slightly deeper, but he recognizes it as Cordayl's. "My my, you are truly one of a kind. I've never encountered someone strong enough to input a self-defense system into their mind before. Usually once I kick down the door, the house is mine," Alfonze smiles.

"That imposter out there did remove and put me here, but I'm not self defense. I'm offense," Cordayl says, blurring out of the picture and kicking Alfonze into the side of the mountain.

"Damn, you're weak. I guess someone with your ability wouldn't have to really rely on physical strength, though. Pity, I was hoping for a good fight. Guess I'll have to play with my food for a bit," Cordayl smirks.

Alfonze climbs out of the rock, gasping for air. "Who are you? You look like Cordayl, but you are completely different from the physical one I met."

"Ohh, I'm Cordayl. I'm just that side of him that he wishes he could delete. The side of him that makes the best fighter look like a rookie. The side of him that makes the monsters look over their shoulders. I'm the real Diablo. And you just broke into my home. That's unforgivable," Cordayl says before he smashes his fist into the stone where Alfonze's face just moved from.

Alfonze barely jumps out of the way of the punch, but Cordayl throws a chunk of rock at his face, causing him to duck.

Alfonze realizes he made a mistake when he sees, in slow motion, Cordayl's knee on a crash course with his face.

The knee slams into Alfonze's chin and lifts the his body into the air, but Cordayl catches him by the ankle and slams him into the ground.

Alfonze loses all the air in his body as his face hits the ground before Cordayl swings and slams the host back into the hard stone floor. The assault doesn't stop, though, as Cordayl starts to stomp him deeper into the rock.

"Come on now, you look like you're already about to pass out. Surely you have more fight than that!" Cordayl says, kicking him clear off of the mountain.

Alfonze flies through the air and skips off the ground. Coughing up blood, he rolls off his back and onto his hands and knees.

"You break into my home, then you get blood on my carpet. Truly disrespectful," Cordayl shakes his head before lifting Alfonze and placing him on his feet.

Fear is clearly evident in Alfonze's eyes as Cordayl looks at him. "Damn, this fight is already over. Well it was over from start, but I can see the fear in your eyes now. Normally, I would let you cower away, but unfortunately, you have 'control' over my friend.

"So until you release him, I'm gonna beat you until the sun goes down." Then, in a flash, Cordayl is standing side by side with the host, with his arm around him. "But I'm gonna let you in on a secret. The sun doesn't go down in here till I'm ready to go to sleep," Cordayl smirks.

Cordayl punches Alfonze in the stomach so hard he leaves his feet. Well, he would have left his feet, but the arm Cordayl has around Alfonze's shoulder grounds him, and Cordayl continues to punch the same spot, uppercut after uppercut, into the gut until Alfonze believes he has a hole in his midsection.

Cordayl lets Alfonze hit the floor. The host hunches over in pain, and Cordayl Hulk smashes him into the ground. Cordayl kicks him over, and Alfonze shouts, "Wait, please! I released him. Just let me go!"

Cordayl kneels beside him and looks him in the eye. "I don't believe you," Then he continues to mercilessly beat the dog shit out of Alfonze.

When he stops, Alfonze begs again, swearing that Esquimo is no longer under his control. But Cordayl isn't satisfied. "Okay, Esquimo is free. Cool. Now, I want you to free everyone else under your control."

Alfonze's eyes grow big at this request.

"Ohh you're refusing?" Cordayl ask. When Cordayl reaches for him, Alfonze throws out a bargaining chip.

"Wait! Wait. I can piece back your memories for you. I can fix all of this and help you regain what you have lost," Alfonze says.

Cordayl kneels down beside him and smirks. "What makes you think I want him to remember?" he responds. Then he continues his ass whooping on Alfonze.

Afterward, Alfonze is so defeated he can barely speak. "Please, no more, please. Everyone is released. Just please let me go," he begs.

Cordayl picks him up by the throat and stares at him. "Okay, I'll let you go. I know that Esquimo is free, and that's all I really wanted, so if I see that you lied to me back in the physical world, I'll break all 206 bones in your body. And so you'll know how painful that will be, I want to tell you that I've only broken about 80 while you were here.

"You are free to go. This was fun, but don't ever let me see you in here again," Cordayl tells him, getting a few more punches in before tossing him out of the barrier he broke through, which instantly gets repaired as soon as Alfonze is banished.

Cordayl sighs in contention. "Damn, nobody can fuck with me!" he shouts, before casually walking back towards his mountain.

Cordayl blinks and smiles as he feels the presence of Alfonse leave his mind.

Esquimo blinks himself back into reality, confused. "What happened to the maids and the bathtub?" he ask.

"I'll fill you in later," Cordayl says, looking out of all the windows. Noticing that they are actually elevated and the mansion is on top of a waterfall, Cordayl walks back over to Alfonse, who is completely brain dead on the floor.

"Goodness! What happened to Alfonze?" Esquimo ask.

"I'll fill you in later, Esquimo. Are you ready to go?" Cordayl asks.

"Yes, laddie, I suppose so," Esquimo says all suspicious like.

"Good," Cordayl says, grabbing Alfonze by the ankle and tossing him through the wall and into the descending waters. "Me too."