Futuristic An Agent of Maniacles

[mmarage]

'Troy' had been gouged with bloody shrapnel as the body exploded. He... hadn't been expecting that. What he'd been expecting less was that the shrapnel... didn't hurt. He glanced down at his body, while it had shredded through his body, and indeed had managed to bury itself into his skin, it was... rather shallow compared to how badly it had damaged 'Fizzy'. It should have hurt... but it barely even stung. His pain receptors, unbeknownst to 01 had been severely dampened to the point that getting stabbed with a barb covered spear would just sting, rather than cause the normal agony that a human would feel.

Meanwhile, 'Troia' had cursed beneath her breath as the damned vampire got out of the way. She followed his movements in the darkness, her eyes being able to light up the darkness for her. She calmly aimed at the vampire and continued to fire, aiming for leg and arm shots, trying to disable the vampire. She even began to fire ahead of the vampire, her augmented eyes helping her to assess where the vampire should be given how fast he was moving and the direction he was moving. She didn't even flinch from the recoil of the rifle as she fired, her muscles having compensated automatically to ensure that she could fire blast after blast of energy at the vampire, the crypt lighting up red as she fired. She did of course have to keep moving, to avoid the bloody spears that were flying through the air, and more than once she had nearly been skewered by one, or nicked by one.

Troy began to chase after the vampire, moving quite quickly, far too quickly than a human's body should be able to. He had traded out his energy katana for the stun baton. The thing had millions of volts running through it. Something far excessive for a normal taser and would most certainly be lethal to a human should it be used on them. However, for a vampire, it should have the stopping power necessary to stun it for a period of time. He used it to bat away blood spears as they came to him, and even if one managed to get through his defenses, he'd mindlessly rip it out and throw it aside. He'd constantly launch himself at the vampire, aiming to slam the deadly stun baton into his body, aiming to incapacitate it.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Dumah​

Dumah grunted when a few shots got him, Dumah's left arm was nowhere to be seen and Dumah crystallized the wounds to prevents further blood loss. Dumah used Dumah's knowledge of the catacomb layout for Dumah's advantage. Taking cover behind some debris, using sharp turns to avoid Troy's charge and kept Dumah a few steps ahead. While at a glance Dumah looks like just dodging aimlessly, Dumah was actually baiting the group to follow Dumah to Dumah's emergency area. Dumah retreated deeper and deeper into catacomb, the group didn't have any choice but to follow Dumah.

Eventually the group arrived in a rather spacious room submerged in knee-deep water, the room was almost half as big as a basket ball field. Dozens of dead mouses floating on the dirty water and a nauseating stench could be smelled in the stale humid air. Stone coffins were lined up inside of the room, 12 in total. Dumah was nowhere to be seen, but Dumah definitely entered this room and there didn't seems to be any way in or out except the door the group just passed by.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu took a moment to reload his arsenal as he entered the room, and took a look around. "That damnable creature came in here, didn't it?" Kotsu asked while observing his surrounds and feeling his adrenaline wear off. He wasn't used to human pain, so him feeling this type of pain from the shrapnel filled him with memories of being human again. Kotsu turned to the twins.

"It smells like hot garbage exploded into cooked cabbage and was left to rot for 20 days in here." Kotsu said, suppressing a gag, and pinching his nose. "Do you two see anything out of the ordinary? Wondering if it's in one of those coffins to lick its wounds." Kotsu pondered for a moment. "But if not, we could be giving the damn vampire more help. This could be a problem."

 

[mmarage]

Troy gazed around the room, and then looked at the knee deep pool of water. Vampires didn't need to breathe... and the stun baton wouldn't exactly short out if it got wet while it was active. He walked to the edge of the water, and then slammed the stun baton into the water, watching electricity arc through the water, zapping whatever was inside.

Meanwhile, Troia merely raised the laser rifle and began to calmly shoot into each coffin, practically turning the stone into dust as the laser rifle rounds slammed through the old stone. "Obviously he's hiding, either in the water, in the coffins, or above..." She said calmly as she cast her gaze for just a moment to the ceiling of the crypt, seeing as the water and coffins could just be distractions for the ambush above.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu grunted. "Yeah, you're right. I'm gonna use another flashbang." Kotsu reached into another pocket and produced a flashbang and pulled the pin, tossing it hard at the ceiling and turning around to protect his eyes.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Dumah​

Two figures limply emerged from the water. One was Dumah and the other was the 'spear' corpse. The two were both facing down with their face under the water.

 

[mmarage]

Troy and Troia did not approach the bodies. No, it's possible that he simply disguised the body as himself, tearing the arm off. But... since they were freshly killed, there'd still be warmth in those bodies as they died, even with the probably cool water, their core body temperature shouldn't have dropped too much. Troy held out his baton to prevent 'Fizzy' to approach the two corpses and activated his thermal vision. Vampires don't have a high body temperature, so thermal vision would be useless in finding the vampire. However, the bodies, if both were human, would still be detected, even if only a little bit considering that they were freshly killed. They weren't going to fall for a petty trick like that. Meanwhile, Troia zoomed in on the bodies, looking for signs of decomposition. It's possible that there was a somewhat fresh corpse in one of the coffins, and Dumah managed to drag one out, having already disguised it, and tore its arm off. She even looked closely at where the missing arm was, looking for signs of her rifle's burns, knowing that they left a rather distinct plasma burns on the victim.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu didn't react when Troy held out the baton to hold him back, in fact; Kotsu was staring at the bodies as intently as Troy and Troia. He didn't think it would be that easy, he knew it wouldn't be. Kotsu unslung the assault rifle from his back, he aimed it at the corpse. With a grunt, Kotsu fired a shot at Dumah's body.

 

[mmarage]

"Target confirmed." Troia said as she kept her rifle pointed at him, ready to go for an incapacitating shot should anything happen.

Troy meanwhile kept the stun baton out, but for now turned off the actual shock portion of the baton. Didn't want to fry his own augments after all. He charged into the water quickly, pulling out his katana. He just had to hack off the legs and either knock out the vampire's teeth or gag it so then it could be safely transported. As soon as he got into range, he would make one decisive slash towards the vampire's legs, aiming to cut them off with one clean slice.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu kept his assault rifle trained on Dumah's body as well. He'd provide cover fire for Troy as Troia was doing.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Dumah​

Dumah didn't like it when the food electrocute him in the water like that, even though it wasn't lethal Dumah could still felt the electricity squirming in Dumah's body. It wasn't a pleasant experience at all!

Troy charged into the water quickly intended to ends this now. When he was a few steps away from Dumah, he felt his legs stepped something hard in the water. The next second his right leg was blown away as dozens of short blood spears made their way into his feet. This room was the place where Dumah gathered blood from rats to make some of Dumah's ingenious blood explosives, though they sent a team faster than he thought it would be so Dumah's preparation for this raid was minimal.

Dumah mustered all of Dumah's strength to move, Dumah took advantage of the shock provided by the blood landmine to grabs Troy by the colar and dragged him into an underwater brawl. Digging Dumah's nail into Troy's neck, Dumah tried to drown him for good.

 

[mmarage]

Troy's leg was blown off. The right one. Well, wasn't that just a coincidence and a half. Welp... he wasn't about to go down without a fight. He still had the stun baton in his left hand. The wound did hurt, quite a bit... but not as much as it should. It felt more akin to having a knife rip into the stump of his leg, rather than letting the reality sink in of having it completely decimated by the landmine. It was just enough pain that it didn't completely incapacitate him... without a second thought, he aimed to jam the stun baton either into the vampire's eye socket or his mouth and activate it. It was difficult to see exactly what he was aiming for under the murky water, only having a general idea of where the vampire's head and face were. Even if he was electrocuted in the process, his dermal armor should have dealt with the shocks and only lead to a system shutdown of his augments rather than stopping his heart entirely.

Troia meanwhile began firing, aiming at the vampire's remaining arm, trying to get it off before it had the chance of drowning Troy like it had intended.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu unloaded his clip into the vampire's head. Kotsu knew first hand that the vampire could survive the wounds, but now he was occupied with Troy. He couldn't move much else with being occupied with Troy acting as bait. This gave Troia and him the advantage with ranged weapons given that there were traps for close quarters.

 

[mmarage]

The stun baton struck true, slamming right into the vampire's eyesocket and sending millions of volts of electricity through its body, shutting down its brain momentarily as it practically fried it. Troy felt the hand on his throat weaken, causing him to in turn rise up from the murky water and slam the vampire down into it. He pulled a device from his belt, it looked like a metallic ball. He slammed it into the vampire's mouth after forcing it open and pressing a button. The ball extended in the vampire's mouth, melting and adhering to the vampire's jaws before solidifying once more into one firm piece of metal, preventing the vampire from opening or closing its mouth. Well, he could technically open it if he tried very hard... but it'd end up ripping out all of his teeth in the process and undoubtedly much of his gums as well.

It would be able to be taken off with... relatively little pain back at HQ. But for now, he just had to deal with two more obstacles from finally dealing with the vampire. He grabbed his katana from the murky depths and made short work of his arm, the energy blade searing the wound shut behind it to prevent further blood loss. Surely by now the vampire must be running low on blood reserves. "Got you, you fucker." He growled in a low tone. He didn't bother with the other leg, he wouldn't be able to do much with it other than uselessly scrabble against the ground or hop if he managed to get onto that leg, and without arms, it'd be hell to actually balance.

Troia rushed forward after shooting the remaining rat bodies in the murky pool. Didn't want to end up losing her own leg after all. After that, she waded into the murky water and helped her brother up, letting him lean on her. She looked over at 'Fizzy'. "Collect the bloodsucker, we're leaving this shithole." She said.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu nodded, with a grunt, he reloaded his assault rifle, and strapped it to his back again. He made his way over to Dumah's body, careful to follow Troia's trail, and picked it up. "You said it."

 

[Freikugel]

Fizzy and the cyborg brothers delivered the vampire's body to Lawrence Ulrich with success. Troy suffered severe damage yet nothing that couldn't be repaired, Fizzy however, despite some minor wounds remained mainly unscattled, while the brothers were developed as weapons, this outcome from Fritz surprised the superiors.

Narration continued

"At that moment I couldn't contain my curiosity and asked... Why did they needed a vampire's specimen alive for? I expected a reprimand however Dr. Ulrich calmly looked at me and said... Do you want to know?..."

The scene shows a sort of large mix between a laboratory and a surgeon room, on its center a large black box stood, Fizzy was allowed to observe from behind a strong thick glass together with both cyborgs, and a few other people.... Dr. Ulrich begins its record, for the audience the voice was simply being reproduced from seemingly nowhere.

".... Am I gonna clone the vampire? Dr. Faust has some interesting methods however so far the clone testing had proved unefficient... What we actually are going to do is a little bit different. We managed to catch a particular kind of vampire, an ancient blood manipulator. At first we considered to enhance the vampire however, according to the reports given by the in field agents, this particular kind proved to be too much... deteriorated... Hence we'll enact our second option. We shall disolve this vampire and bio engineer a new one by using its cells. With this we intend to create a powerful organic weapon for Maniacles, far beyond Dr. Faust's puppets. Here I present the specimen V-046 Dumah..."

The black box opened, revealing its contents, the vampire Dumah (Aria), completely restrained, its eyes bandaged, its mouth sewed and its limbs severed.

".... We'll begin testing one, disolve Dumah's body but preserve the vital organs..."

And a liquid was injected by several tubes connected to the box followed by a extremely painful process which disolved the creature's body almost completely, leaving only a mangled lump of flesh which throbbed... its heart.

Fizzy continued its narration

"I felt disgusted at how they ... destroyed that thing... I would later learn they did several tests on it, killing it over and over and over again, corroding its mind and very soul into nothingness. They would erradicate Dumah from existence and from its cells they would make a whole different new creature. As for me, I was recognized by the superiors, was given a raise, and more over was allowed to know more about another side of Maniacles, I was no longer the unexperienced rookie, nor the depressed man from before.... It could had end here... however fate prepared a cruel twist for me... and for Elizabeth"

END OF ACT 2

//////////////////////////////////////
​

On backstages, Aria, Joes and Kotsu would find their wounds completely healed

"What a marvelous act, Joe! Aria! You're definitely born for this!" Stated Fizzy excited

"As for Kotsu, dear, I hope this had given you some answers...."

He turned his back to the group and once again exclaimed

"We're getting near the end of this tale, I hope you can enjoy this final act.... But from now on, have a rest, will resume in an hour"

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu sat there, confused, reeling at what he just witnessed. The Maniacles had created Carmille. Kotsu rubbed his neck and thought of the 'angel' that had turned him. Could they have anything to do with the Maniacles? He had leads, but nothing to go off of. For now. He sat there, clearly shaken by the events that had transpired.

Could they have turned me into this cursed creature? A failed experiment running rampant in my village and killing my family, my friends, but bringing me back from the brink of death? Why?

Kotsu had more questions than answers. He decided to push this to the back of his mind for now. He'd talk to Denton about something else that was on his mind as a distraction.

Kinggunlucky

 

[Kinggunlucky]

Kotsu approached Denton and smiled softly before his face became serious. "Hey, can we talk for a second, if you don't mind?"

Denton stared thoughtfully at his empty cup. It could use more wine it, he though. He looked around for Aria before remembering Kotsu was asking to talk. He didn't very much feel like it...mainly because he knew what it would be about. The guy was going to ask for something, likely in return for what happened in The Twins's memory world.

No way out of it he supposed...well...he would try. Denton had some actual complaints regarding how Kotsu had nearly killed him. Denton flashed the vampire a smile. No malice or ill intent detectable in it.

"If you insist," he said. "I'm afraid I must oblige."

Kotsu took in a deep breath, before exhaling slowly. He looked rather, uncomfortable. "Denton... How would you feel if I were gone?" Kotsu asked this question without the faintest hint of any emotion on his face. In fact, he looked older than 20 in this moment. He looked closer to a 40 year old man contemplating a terminal illness.

Now there's a thought. Was he contemplating morality? Vampire aids? Suicidal? They all seemed plausible. Denton didn't want to doubt this was part of a greater plan, but Kotsu was rarely the type for trying to play games of that nature. First time for everything, though.

"Do you mean dead?" Denton asked.

Kotsu shrugged. "Got a better chance at winning the lottery, and I haven't won in 50 years. But yeah, I guess. Yeah." Kotsu said rubbing the back of his neck while slightly avoiding Denton's gaze.

Denton nodded, thought about for a moment, and answered honestly. "It would depend how you died."

Kotsu swallowed hard while nervously chuckling. "Yeah, that's a fair answer..." Kotsu took in a deep breath before exhaling again. "I want you to know that I care about you, okay Denton?" Kotsu swallowed hard again. "And if we have to see what's inside my head... Well..." Kotsu turned his gaze away from Denton. Something rare for Kotsu's eyes to have showed. It was a hint of fear.

Denton leaned back in his chair, set his cup down, steelped his fingers. It was odd seeing the vampire like this. He was open by nature, but not usually vulnerable. It would be a nice time to poke and prod, see what makes him tick more. What crimes are you guilty of? Did you hurt someone? Scared we'll cast you out?

Denton shrugged and chose to be ...fair. Serious. Not every interaction needs to be part of a plan or an ulterior motive.

"You're scared of what we'll see?" Denton asked. "Disgusted?"

Kotsu sighed in a way you'd hear from someone taking their final breath. "Sure, there's the sins I bear. But there's some other things you all shouldn't have to see. Some things I hope you never had to experience. That's all I'll say." Kotsu was more than familiar with acting, as he put on his usual smile, but the fear in his eyes lingered.

"I shared a little bit, now it's your turn. Fizzy told me you guys were thinking about getting rid of me, huh?" Kotsu kept his smile, but fear wasn't in them for this question. "That's kinda why I asked how you'd feel, if I was gone."

Denton smiled. "If it makes you feel better I won't judge you for what I see when your card is drawn." He shrugged. "You're considered a possible threat, yes. Nothing they are sending out a kill order on or anything. You merely considered a possible issue among Maniacles mercenaries. A vampire they like paying attention to."

If it makes you feel better I won't judge you for what I see when your card is drawn."

Kotsu smiled back at Denton, somewhat genuine. "I'll hold you to that. Don't think less of me." He said, stare at Denton with a bit of relief showing in his eyes.

"You're considered a possible threat, yes. Nothing they are sending out a kill order on or anything. You merely considered a possible issue among Maniacles mercenaries. A vampire they like paying attention to."

Kotsu cocked his head. "Is it because you all consider me a freak amongst vampires?" Kotsu said with a chuckle. "Wouldn't be surprised. If you all need to kill me even though I ain't done nothin', go for it. But leave Owl, Sam, the twins, and Quentin alone." Kotsu shook his head. "I know how it goes, you'll go after the people I care about first to draw me out. I won't run if you promise to leave em alone if you need to kill me." Kotsu said this bluntly almost as if it were an every day affair.

"Relax," Denton said. "It isn't that serious at the moment or ever. I said a possible threat. They aren't actively gunning for you...just watching. You're an asset." Denton pursed his lips. "It isn't just you by the way. My team - this team, Unit 37, is considered highly suspect and volatile."

Kotsu cocked his head the other way. "Wait, but aren't we usually one of the top performing? What's the problem if we get the job done?" Kotsu asked, inquisitively. "I think the Maniacles is good in some aspects, but what we seen from Owl..." Kotsu felt a knot form in his stomach, and it showed based off him grabbing it. "I know you said it was the agent, but it is the Maniacles responsibility of what happened." He said, fixing his posture. "That's one of the things I wanna fix in the Maniacles." Kotsu said with a smile.

"We place high overall, yes among the 50 Units, yes," Denton said. "We also have one of the best combat based teams. It's quite marvelous really. Sadly being good killers and successful missions are only one sliver of the overall picture. Several of you are or are some combination of destructive, rebellious, secretive, and disloyal. Not that I blame anyone for being any of those things. I'm all of those." He showed his teeth. "The Directors and myself are fairly certain one or at least two people on the team are actively conspiring against Manialces with an enemy. Once it comes out who the mole or moles is...my hands will be tied. Kill order."

Kotsu nodded. He knew that there would be danger for Owl. He'd have to let her know when she was herself again and could talk to him telepathically. "I get it," Kotsu wanted to change the subject. "Hey Denton? Remember that request I wanted to make? It involves the twins." Kotsu said, gauging Denton's reaction.

Denton's face was impassive, hard to read, save for the damn smile. "What do you want me to do?"

Kotsu looked serious. "I wanna hang out with em for a couple days. Like normal people. They're dying anyway, the least they could do is have some good days as free men." Kotsu continued, "And I'd like them to teach me alchemy."

"Hmmm..." Denton went over all the problems that could come with that. "I can see what I can do, but I only use the Twins as muscle. Miranda Faust is who handles their care and way of life at HQ."

Kotsu considered that Denton wouldn't have any personal reign on the twins sentence, but then struck an idea. "What if you needed to borrow the twins for a couple more days for something?" Kotsu donning a devilish grin.

Denton nodded. "The Sandlands are a rather complex issue, aren't they? And what happens once we make it out of here. If we do. It will require some more oversight," he returned Kotsu's smile. "It'd be silly not to keep the Twins around a couple days after. For the mission."


Kotsu beamed Denton a smile. "You're serious?!" He pulled Denton into a genuine hug for the whole group to see, and was smiling as wide as he did when he spent that night with Owl. "I'm seriously sorry for punching you in the face, man. You can be cool sometimes when we can actually talk stuff out." Kotsu said, pulling away. Kotsu wondered how weird it must be for the group seeing Fizzy hug Denton, even if it were Kotsu.

Denton cursed, swore he was starting to hear bones crack, and instantly regretted agreeing to be complicit in helping The Twins and Kotsu. He considered asking someone to shoot Kotsu just to get the lug off him. A thought crossed Denton's mind. Not every unselfish action need to be entirely unselfish and not every selfish action to bee entirely selfish. He could use this. Foster good relationships. Likely not with the Twins - they weren't team players very much, but with Kotsu sure. A way reestablish trust.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

DuAria​

Aria was sitting on a wheeled office chair with an icepack on Aria's head. Aria slided the chair across the room to approach the twins and held up Aria's notepad with an already written messages on it.

Sorry, but who are you two again??





































Kidding.

Aria chuckled at Aria'sher own joke. AriaShe opened the next page and what she wanted to say already written on it without she even write it.

Good job back there. Now I truly understand why stuntman is an important role.

Aria winced remembering the things she must undergo during her acting. It would be bad if the main actor can't play due to unforeseen injury when playing an action scene. Thank you stuntmans for keeping the actors healthy!

 

[Exzalia]

Kotsu approaches Blue Owl and stares at her. "Hey uh, can I sit next to you?"

Blue owl shuts the laptop with corona on it hastily. "You are free to do what you wish Kotsu I will not stop you." She says staring at at the stage.

Kotsu stares at the laptop and grins teasingly. "I catch you watching something dirty?" He says laughing a little bit.

"Nothing as dirty as our night of ill thought out passion I assure you, now what do you need? I don't need to read your mind to know you did not come here to mock my impropriety."

Kotsu blushed at her remark, and then shook it off and sighed when he registered her sentence. "Glad to know you regret it." Kotsu said sadly. "I need to have a private word with you." Kotsu said, tapping his head, hoping that Blue Owl would get the point.

Her voice rings in his head. "All right, I'm all metaphorical ears."

Kotsu sighed telepathically. "Denton knows there's a traitor amongst us. Suspects one or two people. Maybe three. I'm still technically a mutual party in this. I want the Maniacles to be better as a whole. I dunno how much of me you remember, but maybe you don't care either." Kotsu said telepathically to Blue Owl.

"You're not allowed to kill Denton either. I've protected you from revealing too much information when you were just Yellow Owl. I told you to call yourself Owl rather than Cova."

Blue owl nodds. "I know, I figured it out a long time ago. I am a mole sent to destroy the Mainiacles, I'm sure Denton has figured it out already. he's just waiting until he has definite proof, and he will find that proof the closer we get to unlocking all of my memories, the closer he comes to finding out the truth."

She looks at him. "He'll kill me Kotsu, if not him then another agent will, hell maybe Fizzroy and Sam will gladly do it. The only way I can survive is if I make sure he doesn't find out. You say not to kill him? fine, but I will need access to his mind the moment he learns the truth. I'll tear the memory from him, I take it you are okay with this?"

Kotsu swallows audibly, before leaning back in the comfortable seat, and closing his eyes. He was silent telepathically for a few minutes. "A part of me wonders if I'm a tool for you to use. You'll throw me away the minute you're done." Kotsu didn't answer her question outright, nor did he offer any help immediately. He stayed silent, awaiting a response.

"You are wise not to trust me, but it doesn't matter what you trust, if I die yellow owl dies too. Are you going to let that happen? For Dentons sake?" Blue owl crosses her arms.

"You say you love me? then lets put it to the test, save my life Kotsu. When Denton finds out I am a mole sent to destroy the Mianiacles you need to knock out Yellow owl. Just for a moment, I'll replace the memory of my truth with something less...lethal to Yellow owl and my self. Then we can leave and live happily ever after, then I will know for certain you love is real."

She shrugs. "Or you can refuse, and I'll just kill Denton right here right now instead. I'm sure you understand that I don't have any other option at this point."

Kotsu stayed silent for a long time eventually he spoke into Blue Owl's mind. "You know that I love you. There's nothing to put to the test in that regard. I never said I wouldn't help you, but I can't help but wonder if this isn't one sided." Kotsu held his head, as if he felt himself teetering on a see-saw between virtues and emotions.

"I can knock out Yellow Owl to save your skins. By the way, Yellow has been more like a daughter to me than anything, but you both make up the Owl I love." Kotsu smiled a bit after he said that telepathically blushing a tad before he took on a more serious expression. "Quid Pro Quo, are you familiar with it?"

Blue owl chuckles. "Oh? he's come to bargain? Very well my sweet, what is it you desire? Another night of passion?"


Kotsu blushed hard when he was called the pet name as well as Blue Owl's proposal. He sputtered out telepathically. "If that's a serious offer, I won't say no-" Kotsu stopped himself mid thought. "Though I won't deny that offer, it involves what you may see in my head if my thoughts come to manifest themselves." Kotsu's voice took a more grim mood, even though it was telepathic, the words were heavy.

"I'm not sure any of you are ready to see things through my eyes. In three months, I've become more monster than man in some ludicrous attempt at gaining power to protect you, and all of these people I care about." Kotsu said telepathically, opening his eyes and staring at the other members of the group. A small smile came into his face as he said that. "Maybe I'm projecting, but I feel like you do care about me the way I care about you. If you do, would you feel the same after seeing things as warped as I have?"

Blue owl rolls her eyes. "No kotsu, I don't want to fuck a man I barely remember, as for your request. I will oblige. But not now, my last three mind delves have flung us into the worlds of the subjects memories. If i do it now we will leaves Fizzroys mind before we find Carmille. After we figure out where she is I'll grant your request. So you'll have to be patient for now."

Kotsu audibly said, "Wait wait wait, hold up, time out!" He blushed hard when he realized he said that out loud and quickly recovered. "I just realized that Fizzy's a really good marksman!" Kotsu said laughing, telepathically he said to Blue Owl. "Oh, kill me, but that was a good recovery. I DON'T want you to go into my mind. No go, nuh uh, big nope. Off. Limits." Kotsu had a deep level of fear in his eyes as he stared into Blue Owl's which may have stoked her curiosity. "I'll help with the Denton thing, I'll help with the Owl thing, just... Don't go in my mind. Some things are better off forgotten..." He trailed off telepathically.

Blue owl shrugs. "very well, I won't touch your mind. Cross my heart and hope to die." She pauses for a moment then looks at him. "Thank you, for warning me. I mean it was a useless gesture as I already knew what was happening...but still you didn't have to. I may be cold, but don't think your acts of kindness have gone unnoticed." She pauses.

"Of cource...father was also kind before he..." She shakes her head. "Sorry, It is illogical of me to to compare every man I meet to my father. I can not seem to help it thoug

Kotsu's eyes went from fear to sorrow as he stared at her and telepathically said, "I'm nothing like him. If we ever have kids, I won't abandon them, or you. That's why I've gotten stronger, to protect you so this won't ever happen again. I can only wonder if that's what you were concerned about back at the vineyard, and why you didn't want to have kids with me..." Kotsu was blushing really hard at this point, and didn't realize he was still staring into Blue Owl's eyes while letting his train of thought wander.

"Somewhere deep down, I want to believe that Kotsu." Blue owl says, she looks back at the stage. "But for now, we have more pressing matters then my daddy issues or your raging boner. So lets juts focus on that for now yes?"

Kotsu turned red as a tomato. "I-I, NO! I SO DO NOT HAVE A RAGING BONER!" He said telepathically. He huffs and pouts allowing himself to calm down. "That was a dirty and mean trick!" Kotsu said again telepathically, and decided to play a trick on Blue Owl as well. He stole a kiss from her before getting up and walking over to rest of the group. Winking back at her, he telepathically said, "'thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.', I hope you like Shakespeare." He said grinning.

Blue owl huffs. "Damn he must be really confident I like him to risk that kind of move and believe he wouldn't get slapped...shit...I didn't slap him." Blue owl grumbles to her self then reopens her laptop and goes back to tinkering with her new toy.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu approaches the twins as he lets out a long sigh. "God, we've been dealing with shit out of left field since we dropped in here." He said with a bit of a tired smile. "But I'm glad that I'm getting to spend more time with you guys. No offense or anything, but I'm definitely gonna miss your brother Joe 69." Kotsu laughed heartily as he said that.

The twins looked at him. They definitely looked tired and annoyed. "Yeah... it'd be easier if Blue Owl wasn't digging into everyone's memories and having us delve into new, probably more dangerous places." 01 said, letting out a soft huff.

The two then looked at each other quietly and shrugged at the mention of their clones. "They weren't our brothers. We're the same people after all, every last bit of our DNA is the same, right down to the fingerprints. They were just creations from our mind. But... I think in the end, even with what Yellow Owl did, that explosion was our collective will. Even if the Sandlands are vast, even if there's only a one in a ten quadrillion chance that the Maniacles could find that place... I don't think any of them wanted to take that risk either. They... went out on their own terms." 02 said after a moment.

Kotsu's lips pursed before he walked over to 02 and started pulling on his cheeks. "They all had their own personality, just like you two do. You're not puppets. I figured you'd get that based off the long spiel you gave to the scientist." He said, tugging on 02's cheeks as he pinched them like an older sibling would do to a younger one.

02 tried batting Kotsu's hands from his cheeks. "Kotshuuu! Leggo!" He said, his cheeks turning red.

01 meanwhile couldn't help but laugh at their interaction. "That's not what he meant, Kotsu. They were ultimately just something made from our minds. Just fragments, nothing to really be sad over. We're not puppets, not to Denton, not to the scientists, and definitely not to the Maniacles. We just don't consider those memory clones brothers, just like we don't consider one another brothers." He said, giving a shrug.

Kotsu let go of 02's face after and he smiled at the twins. "About that, I actually talked Denton into letting you have a couple of free days. Say that something happened in the Sandlands." Kotsu beamed a large smile at 01. "He said you guys more than deserved it!"

The two blinked and looked at Kotsu, and then each other. "...What'd you have to threaten him with to let us go?" They asked in unison. Knowing the barbs that he'd tried to throw at them back in the labs, they had the distinct feeling that they weren't exactly Denton's favorite people at the moment.

Kotsu smiled wider. "Nothing whatsoever! That's the best part." Kotsu rubbed his neck laughing a bit. "He's actually a pretty okay guy when we talk things out. He knows you guys are just regular folks like me or him. You guys deserve just as much of a break since you've been putting in a helluva lot of work."

The twins frowned at that. "...I'm... not so sure... but... if we get a bit of time out of that lab without having to deal with a mission, who are we to complain, right? Hopefully.... hopefully he doesn't use that time to prepare for anything... unsavory for when we return." 02 said, putting a hand on his chin as he thought it over. It was Denton that they were talking about, he had to have some ulterior motive, some reason for allowing something like this... he always had a scheme being ran in the background.

Kotsu cocked his head. "Nah, I can't see anything like that happening. If that were the case I woulda been super screwed on multiple occasions." He said with a bit of a smile. "But in all seriousness, he seemed a bit taken aback by me requesting it and he was being honest with me about a lot of stuff. I don't think he has anything bad planned for you guys." Kotsu said with a genuine smile. "But at least now we can hang out for a couple of days and have some normal fun after all this!" Kotsu said with a wider smile. "I'll take plenty of pictures so you guys can keep them too!"

The twins nodded after a moment, before smiling at Kotsu. "Yeah, that'd be great. It'd be nice to be able to act like regular people, even if it's only for a little while. That lab... is suffocating at the best of times." 01 said, his smile fading for a few moments, before coming back full force. "But, it would be nice to hang out with you for a while before we have to leave. Just one night of freedom isn't really cutting it, ya know?" He asked.

Kotsu responded back with a big smile. "Well, Denton said a few days, so you might wanna give that masked jackass a hug or two versus a punch from now on, okay?" Kotsu said, absolutely beaming with positivity.

The two flashed him teasing grins. "Now you're just asking us to move mountains with our bare hands. We promise to thank him, but we're pretty sure if we hug him, he'll end up stabbing us." 02 said, chuckling.

"Yeah, yeah, smartasses. You know what I mean though. Sure he's an asshole, and yeah, he's a bit secretive, but he's not a bad guy. He's done his share of dirt." Kotsu's expression turned serious. "And so have I. Denton said he won't judge me for what he sees when we go into my head." Kotsu's eyes had a hint of fear in them as he met the twins gaze. "A part of me wonders if you will."

The twins gave him a serious look as he said this. "...We won't." They said in unison, their tones resolute.

"Kotsu, every person that has lived has made mistakes. Some more grave than others, but it's how you act after you have made them that matters. We know you're a good person. We won't judge you for the mistakes of your past. You've been one of the few people in our very short lives that has shown us kindness. You saw what we truly were and still decided to stay by our side. You chose to see us as humans rather than clones you could replace. For that, we're eternally grateful." 01 said, his tone very somber as he talked. 02 merely nodded in agreement.

Sadness shows in Kotsu's eyes, as he stares seemingly through the twins. "You don't understand, or... Won't. Not until you see some of what I've done in these 3 months." Kotsu swallowed hard. "You may witness me as more monster than man, and that's only in 3 short months." Kotsu shook his head, unsure of what else to say.

The two still gave Kotsu a hard stare. "...Even then, we'll still be by your side. Like 01 said, you made mistakes, but you can choose to repeat them, or you can try to make up for them. We know you're still a good person." 02 said.

Kotsu chuckled a little bit, a bit of happiness returning to his eyes, and he put back on the usual smile he wears. If the twins were perceptive enough, they'd realize that Kotsu was wearing a mask himself. Just without the obviousness of Denton's. "Thanks. You guys are the most awesome friends a guy could ask for. I'm looking forward to hanging out with you both and kicking back after this." Kotsu had a genuine smile form on his face again when he said that.

02... definitely saw it. He was the more perceptive of the two. He kept his mouth shut for now however. "...Of course. You're also the best friend that anyone could ask for." 01 said, smiling at the vampire.

 

[Freikugel]

The curtains opened and at the center of the stage, the well dressed Fizzy stood in front of a mic

"How are you everyone, I hope you had enjoyed this journey through Fritz Roy's inner turmoil. It had been rough but you'd been allowed to be part of his life in flesh... Sadly we're getting near the end of this tale and perhaps the most dark aspect of this one. I ask Denton, Sam and Kotsu to ponder deeply about the meaning within this fragment...."

The curtains closed
On backstages the chosen besides Kotsu were Sam and Owl. This time the effeminate Fizzy were nowhere to be seen, instead just faceless Fritz who gave them their makeup as usual. By now, Sam had turned into a 20-ish version of Elizabeth.

This time.... fate plays the fiddle with cruelty

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

ACT 3
DEATH​

"This happened roughly three years ago... Mother who had been sick for many years finally couldn't resist and perished... By that moment I already understood that her blood rejected the vampire's poison and her body just managed to struggle all this time.... We, Elizabeth and I were at her funeral when...."

The curtains opens once again, the scene reveals a funeral, faceless people dressed in black garments and a faceless priest only two were allowed to have a face, Fizzy (Kotsu) and Elizabeth (Sam), the events reflected their sadness overall for Elizabeth who was the closest one

 

[Deadwood Deer]

As soon as Sam was backstage and changed, she patted herself down, figuring out what was different this time. Arms, check. Legs, check. Face, check. Butt, check. Chest, check. "Yes!" It seemed like she had her actual body back.

Then she realized she was at a funeral. "Fuck."

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu stared at Sam cussing and almost cracked a smile before he remembered he had a part to play. "Liz... Do you have any parting words to say to Mama...?" Kotsu asked as he made his voice crack a bit to emulate staying strong while wanting to break down, not breaking his gaze from the casket.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Liz... Do you have any parting words to say to Mama...?"

Oh, right. Sam forgot this was a play, in Fizzy's mind. Closing her eyes, she worked up tears through a painful memory. If she had to fake her way through this, she would. "I'm sorry, mama, we tried. We really did." Press F to pay respects, she thought with an inward kick in the shin. Shut up, brain, this is a funeral!