The Other Side

The Other Side primarily follows Victor, Keenan, Admiral, and Bishop.

## Background

The Other Side serves as a sequel to both Family Business and God Slayer, and is written by Capriccio and Techno Tinker with help from Prince.

## Plot

### Priority Shift

After the events of chapter 9 of Bat Out Of Hell II, Victor takes Rook to see Geraldine to finally shed his metallic body and become human again. Once meeting with Geraldine, Rook expresses his nervousness about the situation, and Victor reassures him that he has nothing to worry about, and that he will be at Rook's side the entire time if he needed.

### Target Acquisition

Toad and Ghost are in a meeting room with a mysterious figure, later revealed to be Henry, who talks to them about making a deal with Rook to gain access to the Antioch family fortune in the wake of Tarquin and Priscilla's deaths in Family Business. Eventually, after planning to get rid of Admiral and render Victor powerless, Toad and Henry agree to work together to achieve their goal.

### Ruins of a Castle Long Gone

Bishop thinks about the loss of Nigel, Victor, and Rook, and how he visits Mr. Graves every weekend to keep him company in their wake.

### Digital Iron

Henry had been trying to find the location of Hyde and the Ferrus for years now, with no results. His plan, now that Victor, Admiral, and Keenan are back in dimension Omega, is to take out Admiral and use Victor to lead him to Hyde and acquire the Ferrus. However, he needs to find a suitable host.

After the events of God Slayer, Vincent falls through the rift left behind in the blast in dimension Theta, landing on the streets of the Becile-dominated dimension Omega. Knowing Checkers would be close behind, he starts walking toward the center of the city, running into Henry. At first, Vincent is dismissive of Henry until he is told he would be perfect for a project. After Henry finds out he is in fact a cyborg, the two convene to make a deal.

As they talk, Henry promises strength, power, and money to Vincent in exchange for finding and retrieving the Ferrus from Victor. Vincent agrees and they strike a deal.

### Bridge Across Worlds

Once again meeting in the basement of Walter Manor, Keenan, Victor, and Admiral prepare to leave for dimension Omega. They talk for a while until Victor finishes work on the portal, and they finally go back to their home dimension. They appear at Victor's old house, where Victor loads everyone up on his old motorcycle and first visits the cemetery, going alone to see Nigel's grave, leading into the next chapter, Stone. While Victor is occupied, Admiral and Keenan have a short conversation about Nigel and the circumstances surrounding his death before Admiral goes to retrieve Victor. They then leave for Bishop's house.

Upon ringing Bishop's doorbell, Bishop opens the door and all four of them stand there for a while in silence before Bishop finally says how long it had been since they last saw each other. Victor is surprised to learn that time passes four times faster in dimension Alpha, and that where he had percieved forty years' time, everyone in dimension Omega only saw ten. Bishop then invites them all inside, but before they could join him, Admiral spots Toad and Ghost outside. Bishop tried to tell them off, but it's no use, and Victor orders Admiral to attack. However, Ghost is far too fast for him, and fires a spear through his head, rendering him effectively dead. Toad and Ghost then carry Admiral away, per Henry's orders.

Victor is distraught. Bishop tries comforting him, but the loss of Admiral, especially after all they had been through, is far too great, and he breaks down and cries there in the street, not believing he will be able to go on. Then, he realizes Hyde may be able to help, just as Henry predicted, and Victor, Keenan, and Bishop go inside to collect themselves.

#### Stone

Victor visit's Nigel's grave in the cemetery, making one-sided conversation, as if Nigel is really there to listen. He talks about life in dimension Alpha, and about the people he'd met and the experiences he'd had. After a while, Admiral comes to get him, and they go back to the motorcycle to continue their journey.

### Snake Pit

Admiral awakens in a dark room, where a man, again later revealed to be Henry, tries to ask him questions about his and Victor's intentions in dimension Omega. For a long time, Henry gets nowhere with Admiral due to his stubbornness, threatening to disassemble him to get to his memory core. Admiral lies about being able to wipe it by himself, and Henry resorts to manipulation to get what he wants. Eventually, after considering the fact that he has no other options, Admiral buckles and starts to tell Henry anything he wants to know. After getting nowhere asking Admiral where Hyde is to get to the Ferrus, Henry enlists Toad's help to put a tracking device into Admiral's systems, thus getting him to lead them directly to Hyde and the others. At first Toad is skeptical, but after Henry threatens him, he complies, and also tampers with Admiral's systems, giving Henry and Toad the ability to make Admiral go berserk at will.

### Admiral and Hyde

Bishop helps Victor talk through his feelings, and does his best to comfort him in this time of need. They realize there might be a way to get Victor's old mentor, Janine Hyde, to help in their search for him. Bishop, Keenan, and Victor set off to the Becile complex to enlist Hyde's help. She is surprised to see them all again, especially Victor, but she only agrees to help them if they do her a favor in return. She tells them to destroy a failed invention of hers, the Ferrus. The three agree, but before they could talk any further they are interrupted by the voice of Admiral at the door. He reveals how Toad and Ghost are working with someone else, but while he speaks a large cyborg breaks through the wall and chases the group out into the hallway, after the Ferrus. While they run, the man abducts Hyde. In the chaos, something inside Admiral flips, and he begins to wrap his coils around Bishop. He pleads for Victor's help, and right as he was about to lose consciousness Victor bashes in Admiral's head with the Ferrus capsule. He begins to sob as he processes what he's doing, but the now-freed Bishop does his best to comfort him and offer to help repair Admiral and find the one who took Hyde.

As they work on Admiral, they find that someone tampered with his systems. They discover a tracker inside him and Bishop sets to work reversing it to expose the location of the people tracking him. Eventually, Bishop finds coordinates, and Victor and him are both overjoyed. Victor states his appreciation for Bishop, but he shrugs it off. He offers Victor to live half in both dimensions, but Victor says it would be too much change to get accustomed to. They talk more about the similarities they have and the ways they had helped each other out before Victor gets Admiral functional again. Bishop offers his workshop for Victor to stay at for the time being before he returns back to his own home for the night.

### Jungle Floor

Hyde finds herself in a dark room with the voice of Henry speaking to her. While Henry could not get his hands on the Ferrus at that moment, he believes having its creator is better. Henry explains he wishes to use the Ferrus on the cyborg that had abducted Hyde and she is appalled, knowing the consequences of it. Hyde condemns Henry's actions towards Victor, but he tells her that it was for his own good. Hyde is disgusted and tells Henry she will never help him.

Henry goes to Vincent to discuss how the Ferrus had escaped when they were so close to it. Vincent explains how Admiral's modifications had failed them, and Henry tells him they will just have to try again. He shares how Hyde wouldn't tell him anything about the Ferrus, but they could use her as bait for the others who still hold the capsule. Vincent agrees, especially when offered that he could do anything he wanted to with Bishop and Admiral when Henry was done with his unfinished business with the others. Vincent then thinks of the events that led up to him coming here, and regrets that Checkers would never see him reach his full potential. As Vincent shares some of his story, Henry realizes how much potential Vincent truly has to him. The two continue to bring up suggestions for how to attract the others to Hyde, and what the two of them serve to gain out of their partnership.

### Reconstruction

Victor continues to work on Admiral and talks with Bishop to pass the time. Bishop tells Victor how much everyone missed him in Dimension Omega, and Victor explains him how much he has learned and grown as a person since he left their dimension. When Bishop brings up the possibility of keeping in touch through the portals, Victor agrees. While they continue to catch up, Bishop tells Victor about his children, and about how the Graves family has been in his absence. The conversation then shifts to Keenan, and how Victor is trying to get him accustomed to the world again. Bishop states how even in their impressionable youth Keenan was hard to convince otherwise of his beliefs and prejudices. Bishop and Victor both agree that the best way to go through things is the un-Antioch way of valuing the little things in life and not being unnecessarily selfish. They then discuss what the Ferrus might be and how to destroy it, before Bishop brings up the possibility of bringing Jericho in to help, knowing she was the person who knew Hyde's projects best. While they finish talking, Victor fullly brings Admiral back. While he is a bit worse for wear, knowing that Admiral was truly back and alright was more than comforting for Victor. With everyone back in action, they decide to follow those coordinates and face whoever is behind this all.

Henry was beginning to grow impatient with how much time the others were taking to fall into his trap. To pass the time, he goes in and talks to Hyde. They exchange banter about the past experiences they shared before Henry got to his business of trying to convince Hyde to help him. Hyde accuses him of being nothing but a monster, but Henry cuts back that he has surpassed his humanity rather than regressing. By bringing up Jericho, Henry finally finds his leverage against Hyde. Hyde tells him even after all these years he's never changed, he's just as terrible of a person as when they had last crossed paths, but Henry laughs it off. The conversation shifts to Vincent and the plans Henry has for him. Hyde can't help but feel a twang of pity for Vincent and what she knows his fate will be with the Ferrus, but Henry remains unconvinced that his plan has any flaws. Henry states how he believes everything he has done for people has been for their own good, to help them in some twisted way, and Hyde manages to be more disgusted of his actions than she had ever been before. Henry reveals to Hyde that he sees himself as some kind of god with power over fate and life itself, and the two of them exchange final cutting accusations before Henry leaves for the time being.

### The Passenger

Checkers, now in Dimension Omega, searches for any signs of Vincent. He blames himself for the things that happened to his family during the ending of God Slayer, and knows that he needs to bring justice to Vincent. In the distance, he finds the Becile complex of this dimension, and thinks he might be able to find Vincent somewhere in there. He doesn't find Vincent, however, he encounters Jericho, a Becile Worker who seems to want to help him.

### The Cave

Bishop asks Victor what it's like being a vampire, and eventually reveals to him that he wishes to become one. Victor fervently disagrees, pinning him to the wall and telling him all the woe that comes with becoming one, but Bishop is still determined. The two then decide that it is time to track down Hyde using the coordinates they found, and they wake Keenan and take him and Admiral with them to what turns out to be an abandoned warehouse across town. Victor and Keenan share some bonding time about how Keenan has felt in the aftermath of his re-meatification before Bishop gets in the car and begins driving them over.

Inside the warehouse is like a maze, and the group splits up to try and find anyone, or anything, they can. Victor and Bishop go off in search of the other vampire that Victor can sense, and Keenan and Admiral go to try and find Hyde. The other vampire turns out to be Henry, and he teases the two by telling them how he has designed their lives so far. Upon seeing Henry, Victor realizes that he was the one that turned him in the first place. Victor is stunned when he tells him the fate of his father, for even he had no idea where he went. Henry uses Victor's shock against him by attempting to negotiate with him, telling him that he represents the continuation of the unpaid debt of his father. He wants Victor's life or the Ferrus, and neither of the other two want to give up either of those. Henry summons Vincent, sending him off to take care of Admiral and Keenan. Bishop attempts to stand up for the group, saying that Henry's empire will have to fall eventually, but Henry drains Bishop. Victor now feels more alone than he ever has.

On the other side of the warehouse, Keenan hears the commotion caused by the other group and asks Admiral if they should go check on them. Admiral says it's just the other two talking, and they continue on their way until they encounter Vincent. Vincent accuses Keenan of giving up his potential by giving up his machinery and threatens the two that once Henry is done with the others he will move on to them. Keenan tells Vincent that Henry and him can have everything they want out of him as long as they don't hurt him, but Vincent just laughs. Admiral hesitantly defends Keenan while Vincent attacks, and Keenan runs off to find Hyde and the others.

Victor vows to break free of the cycle that Henry set for his life. He stabs Henry, almost appearing to have ended Henry's reign, but it did nothing to him. He stood back up as though nothing had happened. As a last-ditch effort, Victor threatens to break the Ferrus capsule, but before he can do it Vincent comes and picks him and the Ferrus up. Henry instructs Vincent how to integrate it into his systems, and he goes back to torment Admiral with his newfound power. Henry taunts Victor, telling him about his supposed squandered potential and why he had done the things he did, but all of it just riles Victor up more. None of it is justified to him. The 'noble cause' Henry spoke so in depth about was nothing to Victor as long as people were being destroyed like he was. Victor realizes he has to send a message to Henry, and he revives Bishop with his blood. Bishop goes off to find Hyde. Victor's hatred of Henry only grows as the other continues to taunt him, and it reaches a boiling point and Victor transforms into a bat-like beast. Henry almost seems proud, and eventually becomes a similar beast in order to challenge Victor. The two fight in midair, with both managing to land hits on the other, until eventually Victor cannot keep up and slams into the floor. Henry disappears into the shadows while Bishop and Hyde find Victor on the floor. They convince him that this is a battle for another day and the three go to find Keenan and Admiral. Vincent reluctantly lets Admiral go when the others arrive, knowing that he can finish the job later. Keenan is found hiding in a crate, and with the group reunited, they all head back to Bishop's house to think about the plan to get back at Henry and his goons.

### Visitor

Bishop attempts to adjust to his new life as a vampire with Victor's guidance. Victor takes Bishop out to feed for the first time and the guilt of it all is hard for him to process. Afterwards, the two get in contact with Hyde in order to meet Checkers, hoping he would be able to give them an insight on how to deal with Vincent. Checkers is a wreck and difficult to talk to, but eventually the group learns more about his and Vincent's shared history. They resolve to rest for the night and deal with Vincent the next day, now that they have the help of one of his fellow Betalings.

### Fly Me To The Moon

The group takes Checkers to find Vincent and hopefully get through to him and convince him to leave Henry. Eventually, while driving through town, they encounter Vincent. Checkers tries to talk to him and explain the situation and his feelings, but Vincent mocks him. Vincent then tries to attack Checkers, and he barely is able to defend himself because of how much stronger Vincent is with the help of the Ferrus. Unfortunately, as he fights the Ferrus begins to take hold and causes Vincent to collapse. Hyde realizes this is the same thing that happened to all of her other Ferrus test subjects. Ghost and Toad come to retrieve Vincent for Henry. Checkers just wants everything to go back to normal, and the sentiment is shared by everyone else.

### (Re)Connection

Checkers slips off from the group to find Vincent on his own. He comes to the warehouse where the group had encountered Henry before and sets off in search of any signs his friend may be there. Unbeknownst to him, Henry has kept Vincent caged like an animal and releases him to see what may happen when the two interact. Toad chastises his cruelty, though Henry snaps at him and lets him know who is in charge of the operation. Checkers goes in search of Vincent and finds him debilitated by the Ferrus. Checkers attempts to remove the capsule, but as he does, the Ferrus begins to creep up his arm and eventually leads to Vincent and Checkers becoming fused in mind and body. The two struggle to cope with it while Henry and Toad watch on. Toad feels guilty towards what he sees, calling Henry a madman, but Henry approaches it all with the same scientific coldness and curiosity he always had.

### Baptism By Fire

The group heads out in order to find and retrieve Checkers. They encounter Henry for the last time at the warehouse, and after fighting him, Victor sets the warehouse on fire, escaping with Hyde and the others.

### Confrontation

Vincent finds Checkers in the portal room, and after an argument, Vincent drags Checkers with him back to dimension Beta, leading directly into Tangled Antlers.

### The Other Side

Victor, Admiral, Bishop, and Keenan visit Mr. Graves before Keenan, Victor, and Admiral finally return back home to Alpha.

## Trivia

* The Other Side took about five months in total to write.