Chapter Forty-Seven: Tsuyu Asui

Starfire’s sacrifice saved several survivors from the noxious fumes of the Plague Ratt. But just as she’d been unable to stop the looting, there was nothing she could do to stop the panic-fueled paranoia that took hold in the wake of her death. Tsuyu Asui’s unnaturally large eyes stared at the gruesome remains within the sealed section, feeling a shiver run down her spine as she realized just how close she’d come to enduring the same fate. The screams had drawn her – along with a few of the other survivors – to Anna’s shop. Watching Starfire decay into a gooey skeleton before them was about as horrifying a discovery as she could imagine.

Tsuyu could hear the panic in the voices of those around her and turned away from the sealed hatch. Like Starfire, she knew that the panic would only lead to more mistakes, more deaths. She did her best to soothe them, reel them back in from the out-of-control state they’d whipped themselves into. With the hub sealed off, they didn’t have to worry about the main hatch being breached, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other dangers to deal with. If anything, what had happened to Starfire and the others was a clear indicator that they needed to refocus on finding a way to stay alive.

She did her best to voice all of her concerns to the terrified survivors, but it didn’t do much good. When she tried to press her points, things grew worse. One of the survivors – Joy Turner – aimed an accusatory finger at Tsuyu. “Why the hell should we listen to the frog girl?” she yelled. “For all we know, she’s working for those things outside!”

Tsuyu’s face constricted with nervousness. “I’m not,” she insisted. “I’m just trying to help.”

Joy narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the frog-like young woman. Tsuyu saw similar looks from the other survivors. “You got here pretty fast, girl,” she said loudly. “Maybe you’re the one who released that nasty gas stuff in that room.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Somebody set off a bomb in that crazy doctor lady’s lab. Somebody killed Kimberly. I think we should start pointing the finger at the only person in this bunker who looks like she hopped out of Old Man Jenkin’s Freakshow.”

By the time Daenerys, Azula, and the Baroness arrived at the scene, the group of survivors were riled up into a wild pack, their fear and hatred fixated solely on Tsuyu. They’d pulled her out of the hall and into a roomier section, surrounding her. She turned her head from one survivor to the next, large eyes filled with confused horror as they lobbed insults and threats at her, blaming her for the trouble within the Bunker, the whole assault. She tried desperately to defend herself, but there wasn’t a single sympathetic ear amongst the group. When she saw the two Bunker leaders arrive, there was a flicker of hope in her face as she called out to them, begging for help.

The mob quieted down, somewhat. Several more eyes turned to Dany and Azula. Dany spoke up before Azula could. “I’ve never trusted this creature,” she announced, aiming a finger at Tsuyu. The Guts infesting her were thrilled to see just how much the survivors had devolved over the course of the assault. If they needed a little push to get them to turn on one another, they were more than happy to use Dany to do it. “We have a saying where I come from. Looks are rarely deceiving. And she very much looks to be more monster than human.”

Tsuyu’s confused fear grew as Dany’s words washed over her. She’d spoken with the woman before. She’d seemed friendly, eager to help. Tsuyu couldn’t fathom why she’d turn on her, but as the survivors surrounding her took Dany’s words to heart and grew more volatile, she didn’t think she had time to worry about that. She tried to dart through the crowd. “I’m not one of them!” she yelled. “I swear!” Her words seemed to mean even less now that Dany had laid judgment on her. She was shoved back violently. When she tried to escape a second time, she wound up with her top torn open and a fist slammed into her gut. Tsuyu stumbled back, gasping, one breast left exposed.

Tsuyu didn’t want to hurt anyone, but as she watched some of the survivors gather up a length of rope that had come from Anna’s shop, she knew that if she didn’t, she’d not like what happened. She let her tongue slide free, cracking it through the air like a whip. That seemed to get the riled-up survivors’ attention. They backed away, widening the circle around her momentarily before charging in as one. Tsuyu used her tongue to beat them back, leaving behind stinging welts but refusing to use enough force to draw blood in the hopes that she might still be able to convince them she wasn’t their enemy. Tsuyu turned back and forth, trying to keep everyone back. With all the yelling and threats of violence, she didn’t notice Dany until the woman was right on top of her. The dagger in the woman’s hand slashed up, severing Tsuyu’s tongue an inch or so in front of her lips. The frog-like girl cried out, blood spurting from the stump of her tongue as she pulled away from Dany. The length of glistening muscle flopped about on the floor as the last twitches of energy crept through it.

“Time for this crazy frog bitch to croak!” Joy yelled, rubbing at the welt marring her face. Without her tongue, Tsuyu couldn’t hold back the mob. They closed in on her, repaying her tongue lashes with a few hard strikes as they dragged her struggling form over to the waiting noose they’d fashioned. Tears gushed from her large eyes, blood sputtering from her lips as she begged with growing desperation. Without her tongue, her words were little more than gibberish, but the tone of her voice made it clear she didn’t want to die. The other survivors didn’t care. Even those she’d once seen as friends showed her no mercy as they tugged her under the rope and yanked the noose over her head.

Tsuyu’s sputtered pleas became choked gurgles as several of the survivors worked together to tug her into the air. The rough rope dug in tight against the front of her throat, crushing her windpipe mostly closed. Her legs shot out, flopping back and forth as she wildly searched for something solid to stand on. She brought her hands up to the rope, trying to squeeze her fingers underneath it so she could pull it away from her partially crushed throat. Tsuyu’s mouth stretched open, wheezing in air and expelling it alongside drool and blood. The stump of her tongue flapped about with spastic energy, flinging lines of blood across the faces of the survivors watching her hang with frenzied glee. As she swayed from side to side at the end of the rope, her single bare breast jerked and jiggled, nipple stiffening to terrified attention.

Tsuyu’s bloody lips smacked together as her face went red. Her struggles grew more frantic, arms stretching up to feel along the rope above her head, searching for some way to free herself from the deadly snare. Her bulging eyes stared out at the faces of her murderers, still gurgling out attempts to beg for mercy, to plead her innocence. Her toes clenched, legs jutting out straight as muscular tremors ran through her thighs. Like a desperate animal, she fought against the noose, only helping to pull the rope tighter against her throat. Her esophagus collapsed completely with a wet crunch, reducing her utterances to urgent clicks. Her vision grew blurry, lack of oxygen stealing away her energy and forcing her movements to become more sporadic. As her face shifted towards purple, she shifted from dangling limply at the end of the noose to wildly flailing.

As Tsuyu’s struggles waned, the murderous frenzy permeating the mob did likewise. The terror-inspired panic that had encouraged their actions dulled enough to allow them to realize what they’d done. By then, Tsuyu was gurgling out her death rattle and soaking her pants with urine, dangling listlessly at the end of the rope. Her bulging eyes stared blankly out at them, filled with horror and sadness. The group exchanged nervous glances, no longer certain that they’d done the right thing. Even Joy had a look of shame. Tsuyu’s lifeless husk was lowered to the floor, well beyond saving.

“She was working for the monsters,” one of the survivors muttered, not sounding nearly as convinced as they had before.

“Had to be,” another nodded.

The somberness in the wake of Tsuyu’s death as a bit of a buzzkill for Dany and the Guts, but the frog-girl’s final performance had left a sadistic smirk on her face. She concealed her amusement fast as she saw the mood shifting, turning away and heading back down the passage she’d come from before anyone called her out on being one of the chief instigators of the lynching.

Although she’d not spoken up in Tsuyu’s defense, Azula had noticed Dany’s out-of-character behavior. The frog girl had been doomed even before they’d arrived. She’d seen that clearly. Attempting to intercede would have only caused further bloodshed. The thought that the Legions had someone on the inside to help with their assault seemed likely. After watching Dany feed Tsuyu up to the angry mob, she had a much clearer idea of who the spy might be. But she had to make sure. She turned and followed after the blonde, determined to find out.

“This is getting out of hand,” Azula said to Dany as she caught up to the woman. Aside from them, the section was deserted. Good, Azula thought. No risk of anyone getting in my way. “We should radio out to Alice and Aiden. See if they can circle back around to provide some covering fire from outside.”

Dany paused, turning back to Azula. The Guts’ psychic connection allowed them access to certain information. There’d been enough altercations with the scouting party to have a general sense of the party members, even if they didn’t know actual identities. Still, there was something in Azula’s tone. Something that seemed suspicious, like the suggestion was some form of trick. Using the context clues provided, the Guts managed to work their way around to what seemed like an appropriate response. “You’re more distressed than you look,” Dany replied. “Aiden died out there weeks ago.”

Azula shook her head. “Right. I forgot. Still, we should contact them. Let them know what’s happening.”

“I agree,” Dany replied. The Guts were confident they’d passed the test. Luring the pesky scouting party into a trap would be quite the benefit. Still, Azula’s suspicions made her a threat. The woman would have to be dealt with. “Let’s go do that now.” There weren’t many survivors in the section they’d become trapped in, but they were still too close to where Tsuyu had been lynched to risk killing Azula in the hall. They needed someplace more private. The communications room seemed as good a place as any.

The pair continued down the passage. Azula let a few moments of silence pass between them. “One thing’s for certain,” she muttered. “Anna’s not going to be pleased when she sees what they did to her shop.”

Dany let out a disgruntled sigh. “Well, she’s the idiot who snuck outside and got herself killed,” she grumbled. She made it a few more steps before realizing that Azula had stopped walking. She turned back to the woman, seeing the glare on her face. “What?”

Fire erupted from Azula’s hand, swirling into a ball of blistering blue heat which she didn’t hesitate to fling into Dany’s face. The blonde was thrown back from the blast, crumpling to the floor. “Got you, you bitch,” Azula snarled.