Futuristic An Agent of Maniacles

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu snickered at what the Joe's said while Human Kotsu complained about him being able to laugh normally. "You guys have no idea. Why do you think I hate the guy so much? Wanna tell them your nickname?" He said to Human Kotsu.

HK: "Dark and gruesome. Sometimes I call him an edge lord. Other times I just call him Sunshine which pisses him off way more than it probably should." He wanted to laugh hard and it was visible on his face.

Kotsu looked at Acacius with a stern expression. "Tell me, can you break down walls with your bare hands? What about being able to catch a tree being flung at you from a giant demon of destruction and using the force to throw it back? Can you charge at things at almost the speed of sound and use strength in close quarters? If your answer to any of that is no, then I'm afraid you'll be ripped in half and maybe even drunk until you're a husk."

Acacius froze in place. Hairs alongside his back stood at the analogy that Kotsu dished out, clearing his throat to wipe his mind away from the horrors. Golden irises casted at the words, shifting in his place.

"You can't be serious. No one is THAT strong, not even my--..." The feline pressed his lips together, quickly shutting himself up. Now wasn't the time to volunteer THAT type of information. Acacius forced himself to snap out of it, peering at the vampire. "So what you're saying is we're dealing with an ultra vampire, here. No jokes, no gimmicks. Like a dracula sort of deal?"

Kotsu laughed harder than he had laughed in a long time. "You think I'm talking about him?!" Kotsu howled in laughter. "I was only talking about myself. And everyone here can testify to it. Now think of that, but even stronger. Ruthless. Willing to decimate his enemies and toy with them for the sake of enjoyment. THAT'S what you're up against. So take a moment to collect yourself and plan accordingly. But I mean Dracula? That's more Alucard's department." Kotsu said, looking at Aria with concern, hoping she wouldn't have to deal with him anytime soon.

Acacius frowned lightly at Sparkles' bemusement. Was it really that bad he didn't consider him as much of a threat as he brought himself up to be? He didn't doubt his power but what he did doubt was the confidence that came along with it; regardless of whether the others could confirm.

Still. He did have a point - they were up against something far more terrifying.

"I take it you'll be on your friends' side for this fight, ne, Sparkles? They're gonna need you more than you can count on, it seems like~ Sure, iunno anything about you or your buddies. Hell, I'm pretty sure you me and the twins'll end up clawing each other's necks out from the tension by the time this is all over. BUT I can assure you that they don't have the strength or speed up against a VAMPIRE of all things." His eyes narrowed further in thought. "Tell me, Sparkles, you capable of borrowing power?"

Human Kotsu nudged Valerie. "Val, get the slides." Valerie complied and proceeded to show Acacius the slides where Kotsu slammed Pests through wall after wall as he blew them up using hair spray IEDs he fashioned. The twins jumping out of an aircraft and plummeting onto a Queen Pest and almost taking her down single handedly. Another set of slides showed Kotsu breaking the sound barrier next to Denton to go rescue Joe from Marty Wolf, being launched into the sky with Denton and rescuing him.

Kotsu charging down and hitting twig after twig on his way down, but keeping Denton safe the whole time before treating Denton's broken ribs. Kotsu's face was bloody as his body fixed itself and he made his way back to the group with Denton. The next set of slides showed the Andras and how he tossed a tree at the group. Kotsu countered it by grabbing onto it with his whips which were only two at the time versus his current four, and throwing it at the Andras, and riding on the tree to face the demon. The Andras lighting Kotsu and it's entire body on fire as well while sticking it's fingers into Kotsu's eye sockets and slamming him on the ground like a rag doll before tossing him away like a broken toy.

Kotsu asked Valerie to stop the projector. He didn't want to see Owl get her brain pierced by the Andras again and she complied. "To answer your question, I can't borrow power. I just develop it. Further and further." Kotsu summoned his four whips. He extended the blood whips to thirty feet as they curled around the room. Using the metal blades along his whips courtesy of the machine attached to both his back and arms, he proceeded to summon fire, electricity, and ice along his whips. "This, is my power that Sam helped create." Kotsu then made his whips retract before turning the blood into moving blades along the metal.

"And this, is only the beginning." Kotsu retracted his whips, and stared down at Acacius. "I'm vastly weaker than what we're going to face. Borrow all the power you want, Acacius; but none of us, are invincible."

Watching the projections reminded Acacius of his 8 year old self sneaking into a rated R movie.

Seeing the violence, horrors and gore that his younger self was warned against by his older guardians and how it froze him into a shock-like state. "That's... not real. It can't be! No individual can be THAT powerful!"

It was and it was most definitely possible. He for himself knew for a fact. Though, he overheard from the others bits and pieces of how it was possible to be weakened by the environment they were in which could explain how exactly he himself was suppressed. Point was, beings that powerful existed, and there was no way in hell they could do anything about it.

Acacius nodded understandingly, looking back at Kotsu as he explained the rest. "No, but I can most definitely do something to even the playing field!" His shoulders arched again, throat clenching. "I hope." His balance from before reappeared between his hands, the stylus sitting in the on top of his index and middle finger. "But I'm going to count on you to keep him at a distance."

Kotsu chuckled. "My threats about killing you weren't empty. Emphasis on weren't. You're not a bad guy. I don't think. But if you do something to cross us, Acacius. I already told you, I won't hesitate." Kotsu said with a small smile, but that small smile carried a heavy weight of a promise. "But if you do good enough, maybe we'll find you in the real world. Let you join up. It's got good pay, good benefits. Medical and dental, as well as vacation time. Just ask Denton, he's got that shit memorized." Kotsu said, taking a small look at Denton from across the room.

"If we encounter him, I'll take care of him. You guys just worry about staying alive. And watch each other's backs. I don't wanna see anything happen to my family again." The word again hung in the air as Human Kotsu and Valerie shifted uncomfortably after being reminded.

"Look Sparkl-- err, Kotsu. I don't doubt that you'll rip me limb from limb which is why I haven't tried anything~ In the real world, there's all sorts of shit I'm just DYING to try and I do. Given that the victims are spineless and let me have my fun. But I'm not suicidal about it and you guys sure as hell mean business. You, me and the rest of your buddies all have a common goal and that's to get the hell out of here." Acacius tensed at the mention of Denton. Truth be told, he disliked him least of all. He could deal with Sparkles and the Twiddly Killer Twins. But Dental? Forget it. He wasn't screwing with him.

"If we encounter him, I doubt angsty spark's gonna be stupid and go for the relatively strongest guy here. He might go for the smaller guys. Maybe Khepri, Owl or Aria. Try and take out the 'pests' before wrestling with someone bigger. But yeah, I'll make sure no one screws with 'em." Acacius shifted his attention towards Human!Kotsu and Valerie as they adjusted themselves. "You two especially. No fun in pulling pranks if someone's actually going to get hurt from it."
HK: "You got wax in your ears, Cat Man? I ain't going with you fools. I got fucked up enough for three months and that was because I was too "entertaining" to be killed. Nah, I ain't reckless like this fool here." He pointed to Kotsu.

Valerie: "He... He won't hurt me because I'm technically already..." Valerie couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Kotsu: "She's uh, she's my dead sister. I have her around up here because it gets lonely. He came up with the idea." Kotsu pointed to his head in regards to when he said 'up here' before pointing his chin at Human Kotsu while Human Kotsu flipped him the bird. Kotsu laughed at that and so did Valerie.

Human Kotsu: "Can both of you just shut up?!" He groaned.

Kotsu cleared his throat before continuing. "DK won't target you guys first. He'll go for me. He wants to take over my body. And I wanna go after him because I won't let him hurt you all. It's something that's just... Gotta happen." Kotsu shifted his weight on his heels from the fronts of his feet. "So like I said, watch your backs."

Acacius shot a look toward HK with a mix of concern and annoyance. "I never said you'd be going in. But he might, as Sparkles said here, try to take over and come for us after." He felt a chill run down at the notion of the dead sister. "I'll make sure to pass on the news to the others."

Kotsu stared at Acacius with annoyance before summoning one of his whips and slapping him across the face with it hard, but not hard enough to cut his skin. "Call me Sparkles one more time, and I'm gonna beat your ass Cat Man McFurry."

 

[Beleth]

Acacius tilted his head back and let out a cackle. "Spar-kles. I've got a few more I can come up with if that doesn't float your vampire tail~" He withheld a pained expression at being called a furry again. First bikini-babe, then the twins, now Sparkles. The nickname was catching on too quickly and too well.

Flinching upon impact, the feline froze, sticking out his jaw. He couldn't lie. He had that one coming.

 

[Kinggunlucky]

Denton had dressed again. His brief bout of mania fleeted away when the situation became more dire. Well, it wasn't dire yet, but the sense of dread had racketed up a new notches. He listened to Kotsu talk, paid attention to the Cat's reactions, to the emotion in Kotsu's voice, to the slides. Denton smiled at Kotsu when he brought up offering Acacius a spot on the team. A page out of my own book, Denton though. Offering partnerships is almost always the better alternative to killing someone.

The Cat

"Go easy on our feline companion Kotsu." Denton walked between the two. "He knows he's outmatched. No reason to go scaring him with threads. The important part is dealing with your better half. He'll be quite formidable. You're quite formidable, but you have your blind spots. Everyone does."

Denton had been going over the previous memory encounters in his head. How to improve on completing these trials? He liked that Kotsu, the Kotsu he knew, was opening up more, informing them of the threat level they may face. Fizzy's downfall came with emotion. Well, emotion and a lot of weapons. The mention of Elizabeth and his own failings, or perceived failings anyway cause him to hesitate. What's the trick here? Denton placed a hand on his chin.

This next likely obstacle seemed emotional as well. Kotsu, no matter the part, was an emotional man. It takes a certain level of passion to want to keep your friends safe, to keep the woman you love company, and to be of a gentler heart.

Denton smirked.

It also took passion to be violent, though.

BDSM is a pleasurable form of domination and torture. A true sadist is going to want to indulge in that aspect of their personality more so. The fact he's a vampire doesn't help matters much. Then, then there was the rage. Kotus's fury is not to be taken lightly. The vampire barely kept it in check at times. A Kotsu without the the morals and emotional bonds would be all the more eager to attack ferociously enough possibly kill a couple of the team should he get the drop on them. Unfortunate. But, ferocious and angry could also mean blind. The sadistic tend to lose sight faster than the rational minded.

Denton's heart thudded a bit faster, anticipating the worst, but taking the time to bask in the glory of it. Danger is brings the greatest adrenaline. A high so palpable he never hungered for another substance.

"What can we do to make this other Kotsu lose focus, take him off his game. The way you describe him makes me think he's angry. I can use that. We can use that. But I'd need a better picture." He looked at The Cat, the Joes, and the others. "I'd suggest we trust Kotsu's instincts going into this, but we'll ignore him regarding the point of him taking all the responsibility on his shoulders. Any attack against one of us, will be considered attack against all of us."

 

[KotaKotsu]

Human Kotsu, Kotsu, and Valerie all said in unison. "There's no making him lose focus." All three looked at each other with a cocked eyebrow. Kotsu began to elaborate further.

"The problem is Denton, he's not like me. He doesn't get angry, not in the traditional sense. His fury is focused, and for each time he's angry, he makes sure it lasts. He's not quick about ending something like me. He's...."

Human Kotsu interrupted Kotsu by pulling off his shirt and sweater again, and showed the rope burns which laced around his clavicle, and down his arms, tight looking knots were deeply embedded in his scapula. "3 months, Denton." Kotsu swallowed as Human Kotsu began to show the bite marks along the bottoms of his arms so that the top parts would look perfectly fine. Human Kotsu began to lift up his pant legs to where his legs were a deep purple where circulation was clearly being cut off. Finger marks were a clear indicator that they were being squeezed by Dark Kotsu.

"3 months of being tortured, beaten, battered, and almost having my eyes ripped out too. Heh... Woulda saved me from staring at his ugly mug." Human Kotsu took a shakey drag off of the blunt, before exhaling shakily. "Why do you think I can't get out of this chair? I can't even feel my legs or feet yet..."

 

[Kinggunlucky]

Curious.

Denton considered the wounds on Human Kotsu. They weren't pretty. He's seen worse, but not in a long time. A frown threatened to appear. Denton resisted, concealed it, keeping a stoic expression. He instead latched onto what they said. Dark Kotsu didn't lose focus and he liked to make things last. Denton stared into space, everyone clearly seeing the hundred ideas flashing in his eyes.

Dark Kotsu doesn't lost focus in a normal sense? Important. Do not attempt normal methods of distraction. Denton glanced at Human's Kotsu's leg. Dark Kotsu took his time and evidently enjoyed it. A super vampire sadist. Joy.

Not unbeatable.

"Okay, heh." Denton rubbed his hands together. "You see, though? This is good. You gave me more to work with. A psychological profile can do wonders. What are we looking at as far as abilities? Perhaps we could adapt one of the plans I have to kill you and use it against him. Obviously we wouldn't be able to trigger him as we could you, but I see no reason why the killing method itself wouldn't work. What would need modified is the psychological aspect. He seems, from what you describe, harder manipulate into favorable circumstances."

 

[Beleth]

"Forget about what he CAN do, look at what he's already done~" Acacius giggled. His lips parted into a thoughtful smirk, looking from Kotsu, his former self, Valerie to Denton. "Listen Dental, you're thinking WAY too much into this~ We blast the man. One from each side. Sure it won't do jack diddly but it'll annoy the living hells out of him, ne? That's what we want. He'll throw stuff left and right at Sparkles, we throw shit at his angsty counter part. If we spread the damage, the fatalities are less hm?~"

Acacius's feline fang bit into his bottom lip in thought. The idea of toying with some big baddie, OH he couldn't bare it. It'd be so much fun~ It almost reminded him of...

of...

The memory was there but clouded. All he could recall were a couple of fuzzy figures but that was it.

Whatever it meant, it meant teaming up on this dark entity. "Worse comes to worse, we just offer a sacrifice to sell to the power hungry kid."

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu snapped at both Denton and Acacius. "ENOUGH!" Kotsu barked. "We're not sacrificing anyone! And second off, you had a plan to kill me?!" Kotsu popped off at Denton, veins appearing on his forehead. "Are you fucking serious!? So Dark Kotsu was right?!" Kotsu's veins began to throb violently in his skull before Valerie starts to sing a tune, and Kotsu's veins begin to rescede.

HK: "Calm down, buddy. It's probably if Dark got control and you became not you, ya know? Easy, man. Think rationally..."

As Valerie kept singing the tune, Kotsu calmed down completely. "Whatever plan have or you had for me, it probably won't work on him. He's smarter than me, in every sense of the word. Stronger, faster, he's nothing like me."

 

[Exzalia]

Blue owl interjects.

"If I may, we may learn more about this dark Kotsu by learning more about regular Kotsu they are connected are they not? A weakness may be found with in Kotsu memories...shall we explore them?"

Red owl kneels by human Kotsu and strokes him lovingly. "You make sense for once me."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you Kotsu." Yellow owl says flying up to him. "So you cam forget about us running away and leaving you, we are going to defeat the DK and go home with Mr kittens!"

"Who? Oh your talking about the furry."

"Mr Kittens!" Yellow owl says happily. "Also known as mittens! Mr Kitten Mittens, I like him."

 

[Kinggunlucky]

Denton actually jumped at the sudden outburst, but quickly composed himself. Probably hadn't been the best time to mention it, but it could prove useful. He patted Kotsu on the shoulder. "Relax. I have theoretical tactics on how to kill everyone the team. And beyond. Fail safes. Last resorts. It's stupid not to honestly. You see where we work?"

Kotsu stared hard at Denton. "Got a plan to kill yourself and Morgan as well then, I take it?"

"Morgan? I did once. A long time ago," Denton said. "And I don't need a plan for myself. Lets be honest here. You know I'm pretty self aware. I'm not going to last forever. I imagine someone will get me."

Kotsu sucked his teeth, his fangs clicking against each other as they did so. "So in other words, you don't have a plan for everyone. You aren't working on fail safes, or last resorts. Because if you were, you'd include yourself if anything ever happened. You'd include Morgan again as a precaution, no matter how slim the chance." Kotsu swallowed hard, he had so much more to say, but now wasn't the place. "Just get the fuck away from me. I don't have anything else I wanna say to you. I saved you so many times and you really thought of a way to dispose of me? Heh. Alright." Kotsu used the whip to grab the blunt from Human Kotsu and take a long drag before blowing the smoke in Denton's face for emphasis to get away from him.

Ouch.

The shutdown shook him Denton swallowed a lump. They'd been getting along fairly well recently. Now back to the old dog and pony show.

"Come on..." He raised his hands in the air. "It's nothing personal. It's a pretty good plan."

Kotsu stared at Denton impassively as Human Kotsu chimed in.

HK: "Dude, that's probably the best answer you're gonna get outta him right now. Ya really done pissed him off, and truth be told, I don't blame him. You're still kind of a dick, but I know you're capable of good. Why don't you drop the façade already, Denton? You don't need to wear a mask around your friend."

"Good rarely wins conflict effectively," Denton replied simply.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Human Kotsu shrugged. "We're all ears. Owls had a good plan. Think that's what that key was for." Human Kotsu said, Kotsu holding it up. It looked... ancient. Kotsu shrugged. "Probably. Probably thinks of this like a game."

HK: "Well don't think I'm sitting this one completely out. I got a score to settle with the bastard. But for now, I gotta wait for this stuff to work. Maybe when you guys come back I'll have the place completely cleaned up. Then you guys can rest here if you get tired."

Valerie smiled for the first time that either Kotsu had seen since this whole thing began. "I can help take care of you guys with either of the Kotsu's helping me learn how to patch people up. And plus, we've been working on something." Valerie had on a wicked grin that showed the familiar resemblance to Kotsu. "But that'll have to wait until later~. I'm calm now though, name's Valerie. Nice to meet you all personally."

HK: Stares at Owl stroking him lovingly, and begins blushing hard. "Uh, as Valerie was saying, it's cool to see you guys without the slides. Though we've met Yellow already." Human Kotsu waved at her. "Hey buddy, how's it goin'?"

 

[mmarage]

The twins watched the conversation. Their stares grew cold as they heard that Denton had a plan to kill everyone. Expendable. He truly saw everyone... every last one of them... as expendable pawns in his game. They turned away from Denton and forced grins on their faces as they looked at the human Kotsu.

"How about we just call him Daisy instead? I mean, edge lord might not get under his skin because, ya know, it still has 'lord' in the title. It strokes his ego somewhat, ya know?" 01 asked, his tone having a forced cheerfulness. They had to remain calm, collected, they couldn't allow themselves to panic, to be as hopeless as Kotsu seemed to feel.

They couldn't help but gawk at the wounds that the human Kotsu had received from their darker part. The twins pulled out another set of tins and potions, setting them down on the desk. "Here, more of these should help. We wish we could do more for you." 02 said quietly, unable to keep himself from thinking about the healing magic that their progenitor possessed. He could probably heal him up as good as new... all they could do is feed him potions and rub salve on him.

 

[TheAdept]

Clayton just smirked a jaded smirk at the idea of Denton's backup plan to kill each member of the team. It was funny how even when nothing surprised you anymore, a lot of things still got on your nerves. This Denton guy thought he was so slick. He hoisted the tank cannon onto his shoulder and walked up to Denton.

"This was a stupid place to let us find out about that. Though I guess you fooled me; as much of a piece of shit as you are, I should have known you might be plotting to kill me. Just remember you're the weakest of the group and outnumbered." He said to Denton with a menacing grin.

"Alright, so whats the plan to get rid of this Dark King?" He asked Kotsu.

 

[Kinggunlucky]

"Not really stupid," Denton said. "Questionable maybe, yes. I figured it could he of some use here, though."

Denton thought carefully. They might have not been ready for that one. He honestly meant no offense by it.

"Listen. We're dangerous people. Its important these precautions be taken. Nothing personal. It's also unlikely to happen. We're a team. Why would I share it if I had intentions to use them? I just ran a few test scenarios on how best to deal with Kotsu. Now this Dark Kotsu seems like a different beast entirely, but I see no reason why what I've developed couldn't be modified to deal with him once Owl finds out about more about he how ticks."

Denton sighed at Clayton. "Also, see? It's not like a few of you haven't at least thought about killing me. Honestly I'd be a little offended if it never crossed any your of thoughts."

 

[KotaKotsu]

Human Kotsu made a surprised face at the twins dropping off more salve and healing potions on the desk. He in turn smiled a genuine soft smile.

"Hey dudes, thanks a lot. You guys really are pretty great friends for Kotsu, huh? But... Ya sure you're not gonna need this for yourselves? I'd recommend you hold onto em. Maybe I'll take just one tin of salve again to rub on my legs though. Might help get the circulation flowing faster." Human Kotsu cracked another smile. "Daisy, huh? Let's call him... Sunflower." Kotsu began to laugh out loud at this statement.

Kotsu: "My plan to deal with Daisy Sunshine McSunflower is to beat his ass either into submission or kill him. Plain and simple." Kotsu said as he cracked his knuckles and his neck. He turned to Yellow Owl with a sad look on his face as she told him he wasn't going alone. Surely, she knew him better than that though. Kotsu turned to Denton with an annoyed expression.

"I've never once thought about killing you even if you've done such terrible deeds. I didn't think about killing you when you shot Owl, I didn't think about killing you when you failed us in regards to the Andras, and I didn't think about killing you now despite your plans to kill me." Kotsu took another deep drag before putting out the smoke in the ashtray. He turned to Clayton as something better to focus on.

"I don't know what else I can possibly do. I'm pretty fast, but Sunshine is faster. Me, you, and Aria's combined strength could probably take him as well. And the Joe's are pretty strong too. Both in the range and strength department." Kotsu flashed them a smile and thumbs up. "Worse case scenario, the Owl's are pretty strong too. And now we've got three of them! Hehehe~ Owl's almost back~!" Kotsu sounded unusually giddy and excited. It shows how much he really missed Owl as twinkling stars appeared on his pupils.

 

[mmarage]

The twins looked at the Human Kotsu and shook their heads. "If this were reality, then you'd be correct. But here in the Sandlands, we're not really affected by a resource limit, thankfully. Just have to think of our usual creations and they just appear." 01 explained.

02 nodded. "So please keep these and keep reapplying as necessary. The sooner you're back to your full strength the better. You just sit back and relax while we deal with Daisy Sunshine McSunflower, okay?" He asked, forcing another grin. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be so easy, if Kotsu was this scared of the guy... however, the two knew that they couldn't introduce any more doubt to Kotsu.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Human Kotsu and Valerie both snickered as the nickname Kotsu came up with caught on.

HK: "Thanks then. You guys have always been pretty kind. In this rag tag bunch, I suppose that's the balance in it all. I wonder..."

Valerie's devilish grin got even wider as they left more than one potion and one tin. This would be great for her experiment and Data Entry. "Oh, boy, y'all are just itchin' to get my brain workin' today. This'll be one helluva experiment."

 

[TheAdept]

Clayton turned to the twins. Their earth vials and the others they were using were nice, but if they could manifest anything directly, could they create more powerful stuff?

"Couldn't you guys make some potion that makes us even more powerful? Or some kind of bomb that disables this guy? The fact he is stronger than any of us doesn't matter if we have the right stuff. Kind of like a guy goes against a grizzly bear...but the guy has a shotgun. You need to create an advantage."

 

[mmarage]

The two turned to Clayton and then shook their heads. "Unfortunately, we've only been able to manifest things that we've actually used. Given that our alchemical abilities are... limited... we can't exactly use some more... well... powerful stuff like you might have seen the original Joe use in your short time together." 01 explained, forgetting for a moment that Acacius was there and that the whole 'They're clones' thing was supposed to remain a secret to just about everyone.

 

[TheAdept]

"Could any of your old potions get rid of the cat guy?" He said, pointing at Acacius. Clayton didn't like him either.

In fact, he had never heard of real neko...whatever this guy called himself. Being that Clayton was a vampire this was kind of a big deal since once someone was part of the supernatural world (they turned to a vampire or learned magic or some other crazy series of events) they got to know about all the secret hidden mystical creatures who sucked blood or could burn you to death with a thought. This Acacius was probably like one of the boss battles they were dealing with.

 

[mmarage]

The twins nodded. "With ease!" They said in unison. The two pulled out one of each elemental vial and bomb... and began to juggle them. 01 the vials, 02 the bombs. "We can burn him, freeze him, encase him in stone, and send him flying into the atmosphere!" The two said in unison with jaunty tones of voice as each elemental vial or bomb passed through their hands. But... knowing that they were tossing around highly volatile chemicals... they quickly caught them and put them back in their respective pouches.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu pinched the bridge of his nose. "C'mon, now. Acacius isn't too bad. I'm hoping he proves himself in this upcoming fight." Kotsu said with a thumbs up to Acacius. "If he calls me Sparkles constantly though, I'd recommend encasing him in stone. Or if he tries to touch any of the Owls."

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aria​

Aria made a Fizzyroll by wrapping the unconscious Fizzy with Kotsu's bedsheet and hauled him over her shoulder. She followed the group silently from the rear and heard them calling each other nicknames. Though, she was confused of why the kat called Kotsu Sparkles. She examined Kotsu carefully from the back, he didn't sparks at all. She might be just missing something here so she gave up on it for now.

 

[mmarage]

The twins chuckled as they turned to Kotsu, putting their hands on their hips. "Hey, does it look like we're soulless Maniacle mercenaries? Er... bad question to ask..." 01 said, chuckling quietly as he did.

02 nodded. "We don't kill indiscriminately, buuuut... getting under some rude jerk's skin is well within the boundaries of our decency~" 02 chirped, grinning.

"That's right. If he wants to stop being such a big ol' jerk, we'll be more than happy to stop antagonizing him." 01 said as he put his hands in his pockets... and brushed against something soft and... surprisingly warm. Confused, he pulled out the small object. He looked down at his open palm and saw the silver rose petal he'd picked up from the lab. Despite being in his pocket, despite the fact that it should have wilted or had been crumpled... it was still perfectly preserved. Despite the silver coloring, it... felt like a real flower petal. He could feel a sense of... calm when he held it. He dragged his thumb across the edge of it slowly.

He hadn't gotten a good look at it before... but... he was still confused by its origins. It had been where the light in the room had been, just out of sight, just out of their vision. "...Hey, Human Kotsu, would you mind keeping this safe for me? Maybe taking a look at it? See if it's like... magical or something?" He asked as he held up the silver petal. "It'd be preeeeeetty awesome if it gave me super powers or something, ya know?" He asked, grinning.

02 glanced over at 01. "Heeey! Where did you get that? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, frowning and crossing his arms at his twin.

01 merely shrugged. "Oh, just picked it up somewhere..." 01 said, shrugging noncommittally and grinning teasingly at his glowering twin.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Human Kotsu held out his hand. "Well, I ain't able to get up now, so give 'er here. Where'd ya come across somethin' like that anyway? I ain't ever seen no silver looking flowers. Especially some silver rose. I should know, one of the kids was into flowers. S'how I know how to make some potent medicine."

Valerie gave Human Kotsu a slap on his head lighter than the chop she issued before.

Valerie: "Hey, no spoilers!" She responded with a bit of a pouting face and puffed out cheeks huffing.

He grinned at her reaction, as he rubbed his head with his free hand and had a chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. May have said to much."

 

[mmarage]

01 paused as he placed the rose petal into Human Kotsu's hand. "Oh, ya know, around. I mean, the Sandlands are a pretty weird place. I mean, heck, that thing might've just magicked its way into my pocket for all I know." He said, waving his hand dismissively. He... didn't want to let it slip where he'd found it. Whatever it was... he didn't want Denton to know about its origins. If it even had a one percent possibility to further his, or the Maniacles' goals, he wasn't going to allow it. He trusted Kotsu... and in turn... his human side as well. He'd keep it safe, not only from Dark half of Kotsu, but from anyone else that might seek to take the petal.

The rose petal felt warm in Human Kotsu's palm... that warmth seemed to spread out through his body, seeming to soothe the pains and aches, even if only slightly. Whatever the petal was, whatever its origins, it definitely wasn't something naturally occurring.