Baoh, The Otherwordler - ch 1.2

Chapter News

New chapter of Baoh, The Otherworldler. The point of view in this story will change between first and third person depending on the focus. Usually it stays in third person.

Next update on An Engineer In Night City, we will take a peek at Spaaace!

Baoh, Awakens! (2)

On the streets of a Chinese city, a young man walks aimlessly while he tries to ignore his growing hunger. He doesn’t know how long he went without eating, but he knows that a few hours have passed since he woke up and rushed through the countryside back to civilization. Unfortunately, not only he can’t communicate with the locals but he doesn’t have any form of identification on himself.

If the authorities catch him, the young man believes he will end up returning to the mysterious organization that captured him. With no other recourse, he continues to walk while praying for an opportunity to turn his fortune around, otherwise he will be forced to risk stealing food to survive.

The city has bright lights illuminating the various buildings and the outdoor advertisements, the large Chinese letters blinking as the night starts to fall. Sometimes the young man finds a banner with english words during propaganda of an off-brand product, such as the “Mocha-Cola,” “Mr. Pepper,” or “WacDonalds.” Those words give the young man a sense of unease and discomfort, and he’s not certain if the source of this feeling comes from the derivative name or something more sinister happening.

Gurgle

The amnesiac man sighs. “I guess I can’t win against my stomach. I will have to risk it, but where can I get some food?” He decides to trust his instincts and follows his sense of smell, and as he does so he feels a noticeable change.

While before he followed the odors through their direction and strength, now the sense has improved its accuracy and precision while turning synergetic to him. He can “see” odors as colored trails, multiple odors grouping together to form unique “Scents.” With this new ability the young man follows the shortest path to a large concentration of food, until he reaches the open restaurant district.

At first, the smells are overpowering as multiple spices, chemicals, and foodstuff of questionable origin assault his nose, but the young man adjusts quickly and soon he is reminded of his hunger. With each step he takes, he’s tempted to steal someone’s food right then and there. While he clamps down this impulse with an iron will, the young man assumes that he didn’t eat anything for a long time if that is his first reaction to having food so close to him.

As the escaped guinea pig internally debates the pros and cons of dining and dashing, a new scent appears in front of him. Most common Scents have primary colors in his synergistic sense, but the new Scent has a sweet floral aroma combined with a fruity flavor wrapped in an attractive and eye catching gold color. Curious about the new Scent and wanting to avoid temptation for now, the young man follows the Scent trail.

The young man soon realizes the Scent isn’t anywhere nearby, meaning that it left the restaurant area for a while. As he continues his pursuit the Scent becomes stronger until several other Purplish Red Scents start to accompany the Golden Scent. The young man doesn’t like the new smells and he hasten his pace in response as he has a dark premonition regarding the original smell.

Finally, after turning into a dark alley the Golden Scent gains strong notions of “Fear,” and he can also directly smell a simpler, familiar scent. Blood.

Without wasting any time the young man rushes at the scene and jumps over a wall separating him and a possible tragedy, and he almost sighs in relief when he makes it in time.

The owner of the Golden Scent is a woman being held by three goons while a fourth is unbuckling his pants, the gag on her mouth explaining why she didn’t scream for help so far. A single look at her expression of terror puts to rest the notion of this being a consensual encounter.

The trio holding the woman can barely shout a warning to their leader before the young hero throws the criminal to the ground with bone shattering force, his movements flowing like water towards the three goons and knocking them out with one punch to the jaw on each of them as each hit is followed by a sickening crack of bones shattering.

After scanning the area for possible reinforcements, the young man turns to the scared woman and is momentarily mesmerized by her appearance. She has long black hair that reaches her waist, expressive brown eyes that almost glow red under the right illumination, and full glossy lips. The young woman has a slender figure and a toned body showing how she takes care of herself, to enhance her natural charm and generous curves.

The young man shakes his head to shake off the trance-like state he fell when Scent and Sight came together to create a picture that took the breath away from the young hero. “Excuse me,” he quickly unties the young woman’s arms and gag around her mouth. “Are you alright?” He asks her, forgetting for a moment about the language barrier.

To his surprise, she answers in flawless english. “I’m fine now. Thank you, Gustav.”

When he hears her answer, two things cross the young man’s mind. ‘Thank God! Someone can understand me,’ quickly followed by, ‘that’s my name.’

As soon as he acknowledges the past part, several memories of himself and his past return. His full name is Gustav Ooshiro, freshman college student. He plans to become a forensic scientist in the future that will specialize in chemistry.

He doesn’t remember his parent’s names but knows they were still alive before finding himself in China. He might have a younger sibling, but he’s not certain. He knows he didn’t have many friends while growing up, but the few he had were close and loyal. He likes seafood, and became a fan of “dessert pizza” after a friend introduced the concept to him.

Gustav also knows that he is a fan of manga and anime, with his two favorites being the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure series from Phantom Blood to Jojolion, and the relatively short Baoh: The Visitor. ‘Why do I remember those two series so well compared with everything else?’

“Are you alright?”

Gustav shakes his head and focuses on the woman he saved. “I’m fine, thanks. Who are you Miss, and why do you know my name?”

Her posture stiffens for a moment but she forces herself to relax. “It’s a long story. We should leave this place first.” She grabs Gustav's hand and pulls him away. “Let’s go, or else his friends will check on him.”

Gustav doesn’t protest and follows her. “My name is Dong Ruobing, and don’t worry, once we’re back to my apartment we will be safe.”

He decides to trust Ruobing’s word for now and follows her. It doesn’t take long for them to arrive at an upscale apartment in one of the taller buildings, and upon a quick estimation of distance between her home and the restaurant district, Gustav realizes the four perpetrators were either lucky to catch her off guard, or they knew her schedule to allow for a successful ambush.

She opens the door to reveal a large living room in her apartment. “Sorry for the mess,” she mutters in embarrassment, “you’re hungry, right? Let’s go to the kitchen and I will make you a meal.”

Gustav’s eyes glance for a moment at the “mess” in the otherwise spotless apartment: a couple of papers cluttered around on a coffee table. Miss Ruobing forcibly pulls him away when she notices where he was staring. “Do you like egg fried rice? I can make a large serving for you.”

“I could eat a horse,” Gustav admits, “but whatever you make I’m sure will taste delicious.”

She smiles back at him and she gets to work. Looking around Gustav notices that her kitchen is well stocked and has a lively aura instead of being ostentatious. The young man wonders what kind of job she has to fuel this lavish lifestyle, but for the moment he refrains from asking and patiently waits for his meal. Soon, the fragrant scent fills the kitchen and a large plate of egg fried rice is in front of the young hero.

“Come on, dig in.”

Gustav clasps his hand for a quick prayer before the meal. “Itadakimasu.”

Once he takes the first bite his hunger takes over and he starts eating with incredible speed.

“Calm down, the food isn’t going anywhere.” Miss Ruobing chuckles, “I didn’t know that you came from the Sakura Kingdom since you speak the Lion Language.”

Gustav pauses his eating and stares strangely at the beautiful woman in front of him. “The Where and the What?” Gustav might be amnesiac, but he still remembers that he speaks English and he has Japanese ancestry. However, that might prove the opportunity he needs to gain more information about his current situation. “Excuse me, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. My day started crazy and I lost most of my memories, with a part of them returning recently when I met you and you called my name. How did you know it?”

As soon as the question leaves his mouth his body tenses with him realizing the implication: she might be an agent from the mysterious organization that captured him!

“No no, I’m not someone shady!” She grimaces, “well, maybe a little shady, but I have nothing to do with the people that kidnapped you!” Her grimace worsens, and her Scent gains a strong tone of embarrassment. “I’m psychic!”

Gustav aborts his attempt to flee her apartment, and he grabs her cheeks to stare intently at her eyes. That’s when he realizes that her face, her eyes, and her voice, are all familiar to him. He had already seen her in his dream before waking up in the water tank holding him.

“I, I don’t mind if you do it, but do you believe me?”

The young hero realizes that their faces came closer during his inspection and their lips almost touch into a kiss. Reluctantly, he releases her and slowly returns to his seat.

“Sorry. As I said, it was a crazy day for me. I believe your claims of being psychic, but how do you know about me?”

“I have several abilities, some minor, some major, and among the stronger powers I can see the future in the form of visions.”

“Visions, huh?” While it doesn’t explain everything, the knowledge of other forms of supernatural abilities in the world could help explain his current situation.

“Yeah, usually I receive a vision when a significant event is about to happen, but if I concentrate I can see two seconds into the future.”

Curious, Gustav asks, “Did the visions ever fail you?”

She shakes her head, “Never, even when I don’t have the full picture, they are always accurate. For example…” Whatever scenario she was about to bring dies on her lips when her eyes widen in surprise. “Don’t answer the door!”

Bang Bang Bang

They both turn to the entrance. “Miss Dong, let’s talk. You can’t ignore your fiance forever!” A voice calls out in Chinese.

Dong Ruobing yells back at the voice. “Go away, Bai Hu! I will meet with your Young Master on my terms!”

“The deal was for you two to meet last week, but you ignored his invitation. I’m just here to fetch you so that you two can properly talk.”

“I don’t care about what your Young Master wants. Go. Away.”

The voice doesn’t reply immediately, however, Bai Hu eventually asks with a menacing growl to his voice. “Are you cheating on Young Master Jing?”

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang

Gustav is about to ask Dong Ruobing to call the police, but he sees the door splintering from the frantic impact on the door. “Shit!” Instinctively he tries to reach for the door, but Ruobing tries to stop him.

“If you go you will die!”

The young man looks between her and the strained door as each passing second becomes precious. “What happens if I don’t?”

She doesn’t meet his eyes, looking away, and that’s all the answer he needs. He rushes to the door and opens it. To his surprise the assailant is waiting for him, rushing with a knife straight into his chest!

“Ugh!” Gustav’s world freezes for an instant, then he falls to the ground. He can hear a woman’s scream from a distance as a large shadow steps over him. His vision starts to darken at the edges and Gustav knows for certain that he’s dying.

“Pathetic.” A familiar voice calls to Gustav. “Yet again, you can’t do anything without my help. Maybe I should let you die this time.”

“S-shut up,” Gustav weakly grunts out, “s-since when did y-you help m-me?

“Do you believe that a weak human like you could have escaped that facility? Do you think an inferior life form like you can survive being stabbed in the chest? It is already a miracle for you to still be alive.”

Gustav doesn’t answer, instead he focuses on doing the impossible and standing back up.

The Voice snorts at Gustav struggle. “Weak minded fool. Can’t you see what’s going on? Then again, I suppose it is better than meeting a disappointing end like this. Go on, ask for it, call for my power again!”

Gathering his willpower, the fallen Gustav body bends and stands back up, and Baoh roars his anger!

“Baru!”

The surprised assassin looks back towards the man he killed, finding him healthy and whole. The knife used to stab the young man on the chest lays on the ground with most of its blade missing, and the chest wound has disappeared. 

Bai Hu sneers at the display. “If you think this cheap trick will move the great Bai Hu, you have something else coming! I am already-” Baoh interrupts the assassin’s speech by leaping towards his enemy and grabbing him on the mouth. The assassin tries to escape the iron grip of Baoh, to no avail, and soon he loses the feeling of his face.

Slowly, he sees his face melting under the palm holding him as his bones weaken and become brittle.

Baoh’s true form is a worm-like parasite lodged inside their host brain, and when the host life is threatened or suffers critical injury the parasite stimulates the host’s brain to force their bodies to adapt in what is known as the Baoh Armed Phenomenon.

Currently, Baoh muscles are enhanced to mimic some of the strongest animals on Earth, while from his palm a powerful cocktail of corrosive enzymes that can melt both metal and flesh.

The attack's name is Baoh Mentedin Palm Phenomenon!

“Baru!”

With a powerful grip and the weakened flesh and bones, Baoh squeezes the assassin’s skull into smithereens!

The assassin's body falls on the ground headless, and with the apartment now safe, Gustav's strength leaves his body and he falls on his knees. He looks up to give Dong Ruobing a weak smile, and she surprises him when she embraces him tightly on her chest in gratitude. Confirming that she’s safe, Gustav Ooshiro falls asleep on the bosom of the woman of his dreams.