Futuristic An Agent of Maniacles

[KotaKotsu]

Pork Chop was hit in the eye by pellet from a slingshot which loosened his grip in time for him to have more fire sprayed onto his face by Sam.

"Not into fat boys, sorry, sweetheart,"

Pork Chop punched Sam in the gut forcing her to slam back into a wall. He felt something begin to try and lift him before he saw Quentin next to him. Pork Chop purposely applied all of his weight onto Quentin, which Quentin would soon have Pork Chop on top of his body. The next thing Pork Chop did was something Quentin would remember in his worst nightmares. Quentin felt a warmth ooze out of Pork Chop before hearing and smelling him pass wind on Quentin's body. The smell would be that of rotten eggs mixed with sewage water and like that smell had a baby with a rotting corpse. Quentin's eyes would begin to water from the weight of Pork Chop and the horrendous odor that was permeating from his rear end. Given the small state of the hallway, everyone could smell this new ghastly aroma, especially the vampires given their keen senses.

Pork Chop began to laugh hideously as he chimed in commentary. "Beef stew..."

Bob laughed as Kotsu kept feeding on him. "Okay, that's enough." Kotsu ignored him, burrowing his teeth deeper as Joe 01 punched Kotsu in the back of the head hard. Kotsu glared at Joe 01 as he went to lash out with his claws at him before he stopped himself. Kotsu's right hand was poised above Joe 01 with his nails fully extended, ready to charge down on his friend. Hand shaking violently as his red eyes became more focused, he turned back around at a smiling Bob who was encouraging him.

Kotsu was livid that he had succumbed to his hunger, at both himself and his bullies. He was angry that Red Owl had been flirting with his bullies, albeit if it was a manipulation tactic or not. Kotsu was angry that he was being used to show how he could lose control. But most of all, Kotsu was surprised by the anger he felt for being stopped when he was feeding. Like getting to the climax of a movie and the power being shut off just as it was getting good. He waved off this anger though, with red eyes, turned his attention to Pork Chop's stench.

"GET OFF OF MY FRIEND, YOU FAT DISGUSTING SACK OF DOG SHIT!" Kotsu yelled at Pork Chop while Quentin was beginning to move Pork Chop off of him. Kotsu drop kicked the flaming faced Pork Chop into the nearest wall adjacent to Sam, but this one held firm by some marvel given the weight of this child. Kotsu smelled Quentin's new musky odor and almost gagged. "Ugh... You need a shower and some febreeze, then cologne, then another shower..."

 

[Kinggunlucky]

Now, being forced to play the rule of himself in his early twenties was one thing. Denton hadn't minded that too much overall. It helped out a friend. And, aside from the getting punched part, allowed him to relive a fairly decent memory.

This, though, this was appalling. Denton's ten year old...or was it nine year old self was in desperate need of a growth spurt. He'd been a smaller boy - the smallest of everyone within the vicinity. He was thin too. Not sickly or anything, but all knees and elbowS and really gave credence to the term '90 pound weakling'.

His transformation gave him zero confidence in the current school aged fray. Denton watched Vivian walk and begin to assault Dingus, attempting a gut punch.

Dingus took both Vivian assault directly. He got increasingly angry as he struck out at Vivian for attacking him first. He performed a wide leg sweep to knock her off of her feet and then slammed his knee into her stomach as he had done to Kotsu in the bathroom.

Denton circled around, trying to keep in the kid's blind spot. He didn't doubt Vivian could handle Dingus by himself, but what's the point of having a unit if you can't rely on back up.

The kid was angry, fighting surprisingly viciously for a nine year old, Christ. Denton closed the gap, stepped his leg onto the back of Dinguses knee.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Dingus whipped his head backward to see who was pressing onto the back of his other other leg, forcing him to his knees completely. He glared back at Denton. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I didn't give you permission to touch me!" Dingus' eyes burned red for a second before he began to smile. "If that's how you want it, go ahead. Make it quick then." He said with a deranged smile.

 

[mmarage]

01 saw Kotsu's raised hand, but he didn't let go of Kotsu, didn't try to stop pulling him away. If anything, he glared back at him defiantly. He wasn't going to let his friend lose control to that edgy asshole. He let out a soft sigh of relief as Kotsu seemed to regain control. He let go of him and took a few steps back... and then noticed Denton behind Dingus. He couldn't hear anything, due to Kotsu's screech completely destroying his eardrums, but seeing Dingus notice Denton, he knew he had to act fast. He summoned forth his scythe... which had simply turned into a wooden yard stick. "...Oh god dammit." He muttered to himself. He quickly placed one end against the floor, before stomping on it and breaking it, leaving a jagged edge of wood in his hand. He immediately charged at Dingus as he was distracted, launching himself forward, aiming to knock him to the ground and begin slamming the jagged edge of the ruler into his eye, aiming to drive it right into his brain.

02 meanwhile was quickly getting fed up with his slingshot... so he began to look for something else to use as a weapon. He saw a set of lockers, and began trying to get them open to search through them. Maybe if he was lucky, he'd find a rocket launcher or something crazy in one of them.

 

[Kinggunlucky]

"If that's how you want it, go ahead. Make it quick then."

Denton thought about talking the kid down, making him feel useless, or maybe try an opposite approach. Bullies had a tendency to be victims themselves in some capacity. If a phone were nearby he could probably call his mother or father...or CPS if they were the reason he was acting out.

Of course that took time. Denton looked around at the fighting. They were sort of short on it at the moment. Also, no telling when Dark Kotsu's going to come calling. No it's best to finish this now. He shrugged at Dingus.

He saw Joe 01 charging forth like a man in desperate need of a good exorcist. A piece of sharp wood in his hand. Denton released Dingus, backing away as Joe assaulted the poor bastard.

"Christ," Denton said staring at Joe. "I was just gonna knock the kid out. A knee to the jaw. You really went extra mile."

 

[Darkling0096]

The wall cracked behind the lockers as Sam slammed into the metal boxes with enough force to squish the lockers behind her into the wall. Like a cartoon, it had left a perfect, Sam-shaped imprint in the wall as she fell out of the hole. "Ow, my back," she groaned as she climbed back to her feet. She shook her head to clear it as her mechanical insides righted themselves. She wrinkled her nose at the stink of Pork Chop's flatulence, and laid a hand on the lockers. "Starting to piss me off," she muttered.

"Hey, Fat Albert, lemme ask you something," Sam asked Pork Chop with a snarl, "You ever fight a real fight?" Ripping locker metal into a knife, she sprung across the gap between herself and Pork Chop. Calling on her Special Forces training, the physical, the intellectual, combat and just random drills, she used Pork Chop's size against him, flipping over him and driving the knife into the back of his neck in an attempt to sever his spinal cord, before ripping another from the wall and driving it into his kidneys. And another, and another, and another. Lungs, armpit, ballsack, throat, stomach, all while using her smaller size and increased agility as a result to flip around and dodge while she turned the lockers and pork chop into a knife holder.

"I'm special forces, bitch. You're a bully who's dad beats him daily," Sam panted after flipping off of Pork chop, "I can do this all day."

 

[KotaKotsu]

As 02 began to open the lockers he would see the following things in separate lockers. A white board with the words "Beef Stroke Em Off" was within one locker with a jacket and an American flag on it. The next locker held an air cannon in it that was modified to blast people back as a science fair project. Another locker held an airsoft gun that looked relatively real and held a full container of BB's in it. The next locker held nothing save for a red scarf that glowed with a soft light. 02 would feel compelled to grab the scarf for some reason as well as anything else he would find of interest.

Pork Chop took all of Sam's attacks, and sat there with his eyes closed for a moment before steam began to rise off of him. The make shift knives began to fall out as Pork Chop shrunk in size, turning into... Dark Kotsu. He flashed them a smile before he seemingly melted away into the floor.

Dingus took the sharpened ruler directly into the jaw and felt it tickle the base of his skull. He slumped over, falling to the floor. He also began to have steam rise off of his body as again, another Dark Kotsu appeared in his place, melting away into the floor as well.

Bob sighed as he stared at the group. "Well, the jig is up, I suppose. How boring." He said in an usually professional manner. His body began to morph into another Dark Kotsu. "I was hoping that we'd save the surprise and that you'd run away, but here you all are. Oh well, I suppose it's better than the alternative..."

Kotsu sat there glaring at Dark Kotsu, red eyes still adorning his face so that the only contrast was the wispy black flesh that Dark Kotsu had. "YOU! WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THIS!?"

Dark Kotsu began to laugh as he pointed to the writing on the walls. "I am making you into a worthy vessel for me to adorn, like a suit to a fancy gala." He responded coldly but smiling. "After all, we are so much alike. I just cannot fathom why you wouldn't go for the kill. Should have ripped out my jugular, drank from the source." Dark Kotsu cuts himself on the neck deeply to emphasize his point as he laughs hysterically. "But, I'm beginning to realize we may be able to talk this out. Denton! Come forth!" Dark Kotsu said, summoning Denton to approach him.

 

[Kinggunlucky]

"But, I'm beginning to realize we may be able to talk this out. Denton! Come forth! "

Well, Denton thought, this is interesting. He approached the vampire slowly, doing his best to keep his calm facade in place. It wasn't the very likely chance me may die. The possibility of death was just part of the job. A thing to be accepted.

His heart beat at a controlled pace, hairs...or fuzz in this case now didn't raise, and he kept eye contact Dark Kotsu. Denton stumbled slightly over his short legs, but managed catch himself. Stupid body.

This thing wanted to talk, settle this by talking. Bullshit. He wanted to do something sick. Likely. Denton prided himself on being able to talk to the worst of the worst and at least come away with something of benefit.

"I am forth," Denton said staring at Dark Kotsu. A smirk on his lips. "You wanna change me back into normal body before you ask me whatever you wanna ask me?"

Dark Kotsu pursed his lips before he smiled yet again. "You request too much before you have even heard what I have had to say. I find that asking too much. You are after all, younger than me; so this seems quite fitting." Dark Kotsu said, with a pleased expression on his face.

"You're a sensible man, so I have a proposition for you. You can give me Kotsu and I let the rest of this team walk away. You have the piece of Owl you came here for, and you no longer have a reason to reside here. There's no need for anymore fighting. But-" Kotsu went to strike Dark Kotsu and Dark Kotsu slammed him hard into the ground and kicked him back toward the Owls. Dark Kotsu continued, as he formed an barrier around himself and Denton, conjuring two chairs for them to sit in and a table with tea.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," He began clearing his throat. "You want a merciless killing machine, and I want to be a merciless killing machine capable of enacting his favorite art pieces. Give me Kotsu, and I can be the ultimate unkillable army, provided you allow me to work on my art using my victims." Dark Kotsu poured them both tea and smiled as he drank from his cup.

"You are after all, only required by the Maniacles to put Owl back together. You have the piece you came here for. Now, there's no reason why I couldn't work with you all, but I'll need to dispose of my... Lesser self."

The entire group could hear what was going on, but could not break the barrier.

enton stared at Dark Kotsu and Kotsu. So that was the game, huh? He smirked. It was quite masterfully done. DK knew him well enough to pick him for the choice. Excellent for of manipulation here. The old sadistic choice method. He kept smiling.

"You're quite edgelord for this little stunt," Denton said. "It's funny you offer this, though. I had been considering offering you a position. Kotsu speaks wonders about your ability. Well, not really, wonders. He more so seems to want to wet himself, cry. The man is somewhat of a doormat I've noticed."

Dark Kotsu twitched visibly at being called an edgelord, but he decided to let it slide as his negotiations seemed to be making progress.
"Vampirism without limitations is a beautiful thing, Denton. I'm glad you seem to understand that my lesser-self is not up to snuff." Dark Kotsu drank his tea gingerly.

"He fears me because of my ruthlessness, my palpable ability to nourish my soul through torture. Ah, I find it beautiful. Do you know how it sounds to hear someone screaming as you crush their body and roll them up like a toothpaste tube? It's more alluring when it comes to an abrupt end as their intestines spill from their maw and their head pops like a baking soda volcano." Dark Kotsu seemed to dreamingly reminisce on that visage before clearing his throat and remembering why Denton was here.

"But I offer you and your team safe passage out of this mind in exchange for Kotsu himself. Do you accept these terms?"

Denton blinked. The light smile grew, he showed teeth, and before Dark Kotsu knew what was happening Denton was laughing. "Wait a second, wait a second. I'll get to the terms in a minute. You're definitely valuable. You handled Kotsu there without much effort," he said. "Your description about killing people was really flowery. It's like an angry teenager wrote it. Is that an original work by you or did you pick that up in the school shooter's manual?"

Dark Kotsu began to genuinely get angrier as a dark tendril pierced the chair nearest Denton's crotch, as he smiled. "You'll have to forgive me, but I'm not in the mood for your sharp tongue. Your silver one would do much better in this regard." Dark Kotsu began pull back the dark tendril. "I have little to no patience for your smart remarks. I would much rather you change your tone and realize your place like the child you are." He summoned rings to adorn his fingers that were made of black titanium.

Denton's stomach flipped several times, his balls retracted, and his asshole clenched. The tendril struck a little to close for comfort. Dark Kotsu clearly wasn't a fan of being mocked. He also, evidently, had no patience for negotiations. Denton controlled his breathing, kept smiling.

He understood.

"I think I get it. I know why Kotsu was so scared of you," he said. "You're kind of miscalculating with me, though. No offense. It's just...I figured I'd tell you."

Dark Kotsu laughed heartily as he watched Denton's small flinching that was visible to him. "Hahahaha! Your fear is delightful!" Dark Kotsu said, laughing hard. "I cannot imagine how I'd be miscalculating you, Denton. After all, I'm not trapped in here with you, you're trapped in here with me!" A wild crazed look took over his eyes, before he came back to his senses in a split second. "But I'll humor you, tell me why I've underestimated you, my fearless leader." Dark Kotsu laughed hard, saying 'fearless' with air quotes.

"Oh...I'm not fearless. You're a pretty scary dude honestly. In the grand scheme of things, though...you're just sort of lame." Denton stood up from his chair, not for a moment breaking eye contact with Dark Kotsu. "You're not really all that different from these idiots that picked on Kotsu. The next level up. A bully. A kid. It's probably why you brought us to this memory. It makes you feel superior. Strokes your clearly fragile ego."

Denton sighed. "You're kind of like a kid. Very one note. You go on about how you love fear, love killing, torture, how killing is an art, blah, blah. Not a long going on with you. I've sat across the table from gods, met with men and women who have shaped the world - I've done my part to shape the world, I make good money, I've gotten laid more than most, fallen in love, gotten married, faced monsters and threats that break the laws of reality itself. Monsters that would barely acknowledge your existence."

Denton lifted the chair up, struggling to do so, but seemingly ready to use it as a club. "So, yeah. You might be older, but I've lived far more than you. You can go ahead and do whatever now by the way. I'll probably die screaming, but hey a lot more people are going to remember me then you."

"Oh right," Denton said. "Your offer. You can go fuck yourself."

Dark Kotsu hadn't anticipated this response. He had considered how he may have botched negotiations by threatening Denton. He had voiced his insignificance to him. Did he realize what he was planning on doing? "Did I not state my end goal? I'm not going to dominate the planet outside of Kotsu's body. That's why he must be my vessel. That colony of vampires Aria mentioned. I like that idea." Dark Kotsu smiled widely.

"I think it'll serve me as quite a good idea to utilize to my... Advantage. I want to take over that rock of yours. The first thing I'm gonna do, is dine on the living after ripping out their still beating heart. The next thing I'm going to do is chew on their leg like a piece of cotton candy." He smiled with his fangs protruding from his face.

"Then I'm gonna develop an army... I think the Maniacles could use a branch of trained vampire soldiers. Like Aria and Clayton. Perfect soldiers, if you think about it." He continued while retracting the dark tendrils from around him.

He wanted to show he had something to offer. A way to escape his wretched prison and finally have some fun. "Give Aria some fun toys, games, teach her to play them to control her hyper activity while making her lethal. But trained lethal. Just kill. She's so restrained."

Dark Kotsu's red eyes glowed brighter. "If you give Clayton some booze and the occasional lady or gent of the night, he'd be more inclined to be at a beck and call. I have the money to support some vices as well." A glowering look appeared on his face.

"I will own this world, but I may allow you to live in it. I will become a God in my own right."

Denton had started tuning most of it out around halfway through. He heard something about making armies, Aria and Clayton, how he needed Kotsu's body. On and on. "See? Only an edgelord would explain his entire evil plan to the people directly opposed to him. If you're coming at me then come on."

 

[KotaKotsu]

Dark Kotsu was displeased. He smiled though with one last way to give them the chance to not die and to serve his ideology. "Okay, maybe you need to see the beast within Kotsu. The insatiable hunger. Maybe then you'll consider me a more... Appealing candidate for control."

Dark Kotsu smiled widely as he summoned a hole underneath the group, and they fell down into a pit full of paper slips falling around them of all shapes and sizes...

Down The Rabbit Hole
​

Kotsu reared back as the world crumpled in around the group, the linoleum floor giving way to a dark hole that had papers falling from above them. Eventually, the group would land harmlessly on a pile of papers. If any of them took a look at the papers, they would notice they were all lottery tickets from the past 50 years. Kotsu's eyes went wide with shock as he started to realize what this meant. All around them was blackness with the only light illuminating the area from above.

"No... No, no no no!" Kotsu started to freak out a bit and hyperventilate. "I don't want you guys to see this memory, dammit!" Kotsu said as he knew what he meant by 'insatiable hunger'. This made Kotsu uncomfortable. The group had already reacted badly seeing it.

Aria wouldn't like this... She'll be mad.

Clayton would never be his friend either.

Owl won't love him either after she sees this.

Denton wouldn't judge him at least, but that was his promise.

Neither would the Joes...


Hearing something that nobody heard, Kotsu had seen something that had looked like red eyes in the distance with rage in his eyes. Kotsu summoned his whips and dashed at the red lights peering through the darkness.

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM!" Kotsu yelled as he disappeared in the darkness. If anyone tried to follow him, they would be stopped by a rumbling sensation that made them stand in place as the floor dropped away again. As the scattering the party members and lottery tickets went tumbling down, they would hear laughter.

The party would arrive in the front yard of an open field barn somewhere in a Spanish sertlement. The night air held the smell of the wine fields next door, and the moonlight was illuminating the fields full of maize.

The group would find themselves incorporeal they would quickly notice, as they heard yelling and quick movement toward them in what sounded like a stampede. The ground was rumbling as there was rapid movement through the maize fields closing in on the target that was the barn. They could hear someone call out in the rustling of the corn stalks being snapped and bent.

"AFTER HIM, HE CAN'T HAVE GONE FAR!" One large, heavily muscular man with a torn shirt shouted. Running through Clayton, the huge man had red eyes and fangs. An entire squad of 20 followed behind the man, as they charged into the barn. Just as the doors slammed shut behind them, a barrier appeared around the barn. This wouldn't allow the group to go into it while they heard a lot of action going on in the barn. Soon there was just a lot of screaming, fighting, and yelling as slick slashes and gouges were made.

The sweet scent of wine turned into the heavy metallic scent of blood as there were sounds of a struggle. There were less voices after minutes upon minutes would pass. They had heard Kotsu yell out in pain a few times though. So they knew he was in there, but couldn't see what was happening. Eventually it all died down until they heard a gutteral scream along with a weird tearing sound. The sound became evident for those who heard Kotsu chewing on the arm of the mutant in the lab though. It was the sound of flesh being gnashed along teeth and crunching bones.

Upon stepping inside, the group would still be incorporeal but they would see Kotsu, surrounded by bodies. Among them was the large muscular man, who rested among the carnage. He was ripped in half vertically, and barely breathing with tears coming out of his one eye. He was pleading fot the pain to stop as Kotsu had left his heart intact. Kotsu heard him cry and would use his whips to rip out his still beating heart.

Upon looking at Kotsu, the group would see he was bleeding while feeding upon the corpses. The smell was overpowering, enough to make anyone sick. They could still hear the ripping of flesh from the bodies of his victims, as he squeezed the heart with his whip to wash down his meat. Fleshy tendons hung from his mouth as he tore into muscle and flesh indiscriminately. He was crying tears of frustration, anger, and sadness as he did so, calling out the names of his friends. He had yearned to see again.

The sky darkened and blotted out the moonlight from entering the barn, the sky rumbled loudly as wind picked up in the barn. The sound of rain had began hitting the roof calmly at first before growing in loudness, it was deafening at first, but it was welcome for the land during the dry season.

Kotsu called out once more for his friends that he had missed, his closest comrades that he had made bonds with. He was sobbing hysterically as he angrily chewed on the meat in front of him.

He cried out for Joe, Owl, and Sam in a long groan. "Jooooee... Oooowl.... Saaaaaam" Each vowel extended in a very elongated fashion. Like listening to an animal imitate speaking, without properly having it's vocal cords trained.

Kotsu cried out in frustration as he slashed at the bodies in frustration, the group could see pictures of the Andras and it's lore scattered around Kotsu. Different lore about vampires, mothmen sightings, the Jersey Devil, and books on Gods of War. It would appear Kotsu was on a quest to get stronger and had some goals in mind, but he wasn't strong enough to protect Owl. The group could feel all of his frustration at being weak.

They felt his disgust in himself for gaining strength in this manner, they felt the hatred he had for what he was doing. And his pain while he cried out like a wounded animal. The group was suddenly corporeal. A flash of lightning illuminated Kotsu's face, revealing his unhinged jaw, elongated fangs, and deep red eyes. Kotsu was littered with fresh claw wounds and bite marks littering his arms, legs, and his chest had a deep gouge in it. The wounds seemed to be healing quite fast, as Kotsu had been feeding to heal himself, he probably looked worse before hand.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aria​

"KOTSUU!!" Aria forced herself to yell as loud as she possibly can. Her voice was coarse and blood leaking through her mouth. She charged at Kotsu and punched him in the face as hard as she could. She didn't aim for anything vital or use any of her blood technique but she put all her strength into it.

Any vampire that spent a lot of her time with another vampires will ultimately came to loathe the act of consuming blood from another vampire, let alone torturing and eating them. When Kotsu told her about this before, she wasn't really register it as real thing and denied it's possibility. Now posed with the gruesome scene itself, she lost her cool head.

"Weak!"

"Will! Weak! protect what!!"

She shouted disjointedly at Kotsu as she pummeled his face. Then she suddenly backed away while looking blankly at the distance. Her head hung loose to one side and drool came down from her mouth as if she was an overheated machine. There's even black smoke seeping out of her skin.

 

[Darkling0096]

Sam had seen some horrible things in war. She'd watched women and children run over landmines, she'd watched a tank shell land perfectly in a man's mouth and seen the look of shock before he blew up. She'd seen people tied to manchineel trees as a torturous execution. But there's a line between things done in war, and eating people. Even if they were vampires, watching Kotsu rip them to pieces and cannibalize on their flesh was too much.

"I think I'm gonna be- hmpf!" Sam dropped to her knees and emptied the contents of her stomach, though how she even had a stomach at this point was beyond her.

 

[TheAdept]

Clayton knew he himself was a monster, but he never really had a set opinion about other vampires. Sure, he knew they all suffered the insatiable and ravenous thirst for blood and many were hazardous to the public, but he didn't hate other vampires nor did he consider them his "brothers."

In the case of Kotsu, however, watching him behave this way was pretty demoralizing. Clayton always strived to control his hunger and avoid becoming the monster everyone said he was. Kotsu seemed to be a shining example of a vampire who pulled that off. Clayton didn't know how Kotsu was seemingly always able to control himself; it certainly wasn't his upbringing. Now here he was, eating other vampires alive. The scent may have made the other's sick, but for Clayton it was like starving yourself for a week before walking into a buffet with the smell of meat cooking all around. He wouldn't be able to interact with this scene, but it wasn't his knowing this that prevented him from trying to do feed on the bodies. He saw Kotsu giving in completely to his thirst and rage, being controlled by it, and didn't want to be like that. Never did.

"Kotsu! Stop! You're better than this!"

 

[Kinggunlucky]

Agent Denton Fisher had never thought of himself as the greatest of leaders. At least not in the abstract sense. He could achieve goals, yes, stand up to the worst of the worst, and see any job through to the end.

And that's what it was about sometimes. The ability to achieve favorable end results regardless of the obstacles in the way. It's a mechanical mentality. One which left little room in his heart for sentiment. Two had his heart. They'd had it for a long time.

However, much as he wished to be able to keep this his permanent disposition he simply couldn't. Not anyway. Not all the empathy and sympathy had been ground out of him. Kotsu tearing through the mounds of flesh, body, and bone was....eh. He heard things crack, growling, blood and unknown contents leaking to the ground. Sam threw up.

Denton gritted his teeth. Not in a smile. A frown. He breathed through his nose, refusing to give into the nausea.

He met Kotsu's eyes. Pain, humiliation, self-hated, frustration. They were there in him. And they were screaming out. It's a place all of them, the team, had been at one time or another. None maybe to this extent, but it didn't change that fact. Rock bottom.

Denton started forward.

The grace of not being a great leader...or even really that great of a person is the gift of understanding in some forms. Denton Fisher never expected people to be better than what they were. Expecting people to be better could result in broken hearts just as much as it could result in a flying one. No, the trick was to accept people in general. You accept them for their good, for their bad. And in the end maybe things don't have to be lonely.

"Aria," Denton said. "I'm glad to see your voice is back, but stand down. At least for now."

He waded through the gore and blood, doing his best to keep a calm composure even when an eyeball crushed underfoot. Denton reached Kotsu. A hand fell on the vampire's shoulder.

"Kotsu," he said. "It's going to be alright. The past is the past. You may have done some bad, but you've also done some good. So this might be your burden to bear, but part of being on a team is bearing them together. So finish eating...or don't, but stand tall after, stand and keep looking ahead. That's an order."

 

[Exzalia]

Blue owl grimaces at the blood and guts. She makes up her face as one disgusted, yellow Owl for her part looks on trying to wear a brave face, though she is a little fearful.

It is only Red that approaches him, floating past denton and giving him a little push to the side.

"He doesn't need orders. Right now he needs a hug."

Red owl floats down beside him and lifts his chin up then stares into his eyes.

"When I mind delved you the first time I saw the fate of your siblings and felt your hunger for them, you wanted to eat them, your vampiric urges knows no restraint. I was horrified and yet, I still fell in love with you. Because along with the horror, was the kindess, and the bravery, and a gentle spirit, they out weighed your darker self in my eyes. So What makes you think this would change anything?"

"Speak for you self this is revolting!" Blue owl says with a huff.

"I am speaking for me self." Red owl replies. "I'm you."

"And I'm you so what I disagreeing with my self now?" Blue owl retorts

"Well...I mean...he can't help it." Yellow Owl says nervously looking at the ground.

Red owl squints at blue. "You're the cynical side of me so it makes sense for you to feel disdain, but when the original owl was alive she listened to me more than she listened to you."

"Oh did she? Errr I? Cause last I checked OG owl rejected him."

"Didn't want to though..." Yellow owl adds meekly.

"But I did." Blue owl says. "because I know it would be an ill gotten romance."

Red owl frowns squeezes Kotsu with a protective hug. "You and I both know our reasons for rejecting him had nothing to do with his vampire-ism. Stop scapegoating."

"Well it was part of the reason." Blue Owl says. "And a very reasonable part."

"Don't listen to her." Red owl says looking into Kotu's eyes.

 

[KotaKotsu]

The Kotsu that the group had seen looked dumbstruck to even see them in the same barn as them. He cocked an eyebrow at the three different variants of Owl, and even his child bodied friends and allies. He was more surprised that Aria had spat out blood while calling his name, and began punching him hard in the face. His wounds had already began to heal, so he didn't mind it that much. In fact, he felt he deserved it since he had been eating other vampires.

"Weak!"

"Will! Weak! protect what!!"

The next words he heard were of Sam being sick.

"I think I'm gonna be- hmpf!"

Clayton's voice rang out in the madness as well.

"Kotsu! Stop! You're better than this!"

Kotsu had began to laugh hysterically, tears shifting way to a reverberating laughter that shook his body, and then, Denton approached.

"Kotsu, it's going to be alright. The past is the past. You may have done some bad, but you've also done some good. So this might be your burden to bear, but part of being on a team is bearing them together. So finish eating...or don't, but stand tall after, stand and keep looking ahead. That's an order."

Creek, Click. Creek, click. Creek, click.

The Kotsu underneath Aria began to darken as Denton would realize that this wasn't their Kotsu. Red eyes pierced back as he moved Aria off of him.

Dark Kotsu stood before the group, as many other Dark Kotsu's began to climb out of the gore that lay before the group. Dark Kotsu was still cackling madly. He loved this, the fact they could see Kotsu for the beast he truly was.

A slow clap began to ring out from the rafters, as another Dark Kotsu was poised above them, and the group of Dark Kotsu's stopped. The doors closed behind the group, as a projection took place against the doors. They could see Kotsu, tied up into a chair and lashing out against the chains on him.

Kotsu: "LET THEM GO, DAMMIT! WE HAD A DEAL! ME FOR THEM!" He yelled out at someone off camera, who could only be Dark Kotsu. For those who would have guessed such, would have that confirmed seconds after as he drove a knife deep into Kotsu's stomach. Dark Kotsu stood behind Kotsu after this, displaying the scene to the group.

Dark Kotsu: "Well... This is what the beast didn't want you to see. His unsatisfied appetite, his gluttony, his desire to feed on his brethren. How useless!" Dark Kotsu yelled as he took the knife and tore it upward into Kotsu's chest while he gritted his teeth as not to scream in pain.

"But, I told Kotsu if he gave up willingly, I'd give you all one more chance to leave here alive... The choice is yours, gang. Die or submit to your king!"

Kotsu: "YOU TOLD ME YOU'D LET THEM GO YOU SON OF A-" Kotsu's tongue was sliced out with his own Bowie knife as Dark Kotsu used a dark tendril to wrap around his throat to choke him. Dark Kotsu began to laugh giddly as he held a bucket of ticks up to the camera, and smiled crazily while they writhed around.

Dark Kotsu: "Watch this, you all!" Dark Kotsu said as he yanked Kotsu's face upward and proceeded to pour the ticks down his throat. "Now this guy really, ticks, me off!" The cacophony of laughter from the Dark Kotsu's was deafening combined with the rain crashing against the barn now. "So, like I said, walk away. Or die. Your choice. I'll be having fun with my new toy."

The projector shuts off, as the group is stared down by a dozen or so red eyes, awaiting their decision.

 

[Exzalia]

The three owls looks at each other, despite Blue ow;ls earlier statements she was first to go after him not even giving it a second thought. The other owls follow their mental magic gathering about them in waves of blue earther.

"I believe I met Dark kotsu before." yellow owl says, "And i distinctly remember warning him not to mess with nice Kotsu!"

"Well then it's about time we made good on our warning." Red owl replies as they fly forward.

Blue owl nodds. "We maybe in Kotsu memeory, but the sand lands are my domain. COME AND FIGHT ME YOU DISCOUNT KOTSU ASS HOLE!"

 

[mmarage]

02 had looked at the things in the locker quietly... before finding the red scarf. As everything went on behind him, he grabbed the red scarf, and the strange science project. He turned around, about to try it out on the bullies... and then stopped as he realized that the fight had quickly come to an end.

The two scowled at the Dark Kotsu clones... and when Denton was the one now in charge of negotiations, they were certain that he was going to sell Kotsu down the river to have a heartless killing machine at his beck and call... but thought that it was extremely short sighted. After all, this... monster, considered itself royalty. It wouldn't obey the wishes of the Maniacles and Denton for long, once he had an army at its disposal, it would likely turn on everyone and try to conquer the world. They couldn't do anything but watch helplessly as the man who would probably sell his own mother into slavery if it suited his needs now had their friend's life in their hands.

They let out a collective sigh of relief as Denton refused him... and then gasped as they began falling into a new memory. They could do nothing but watch as everything played out.

When they finally saw the gruesome scene... despite what they saw in the lab, it still managed to turn their stomachs. When they had returned to being corporeal, 02 had immediately gotten out a healing vial and some salve... however 01 blocked him with an outstretched arm as he looked at the Kotsu who had apparently been born out of a memory. Dark Kotsu had been shown to be able to make himself appear to be other things... and with that reaction to their presence, it was clear that this wasn't merely just a Kotsu created from a memory. But, if it had been their own, then surely he could have been able to resist what Dark Kotsu had forced him into doing, threw himself away from the body once the memory had played itself out... and it hadn't been the first time that Kotsu had been taken from the group without their knowledge.

His suspicions were confirmed as that Kotsu revealed itself for what it truly was. Their expressions turned into that of pure and utter disgust as the projection emerged. It wasn't aimed at Kotsu... not their friend, never their friend... but at the part of him that kept torturing him, quite literally in this case.

Once the projection finally flickered out, 01 calmly walked forward, "...You think that you scare me? Do you think that death scares me? You're nothing but an arrogant prick... and for touching my friend... I'll rip you right from your high horse dammit!" He said, his voice shaking with anger as he drew his scythe. "So come on! Whichever one of you wants to taste steel first come forward! I'll rip through all of you bastards until I get to the real one! Whatever pain you've inflicted on my friend, I'll return it a hundred fold" He called out, glaring defiantly at the clones of Dark Kotsu that surrounded the group.

02 rushed forward, summoning his bow and an arrow, nocking it, and drawing it back. "Got your back!" He said, aiming it at the nearest copy.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aria​

Aria's smoke subsided and she seemed to regain some of her awareness, though her eyes were still blank and unfocused. She raised a message, which was now in the form of a jagged circle, like the speech balloon used to indicate yelling in comic book.

1/10 will not watch again!!

Then she stabbed one of the Dark Kotsu in the eyes with the sharp edge of her speech balloon.

 

[Darkling0096]

With a shudder, Sam pulled her self to her feet and leaned agains the supports of the barn to steady herself. "We're coming, Kotsu, but you owe me a beer after that." She put some of her handicraft skill into the wood, carpentry this time. Suddenly, all the wood in the barn was stakes pointed at the clones, waiting to fire. "Anyone wanna do something stupid? I got a few ideas."

 

[KotaKotsu]

The clones all began to laugh as the world blurred around Sam and Quentin's vision. Sam would see the clones as nothing but Blue Owl, as the one Aria had stabbed in their eye lunged back at Aria. The clone who now looked like Blue Owl to Sam had cackled, staring defiantly down at Sam as even Sam's teammates began to resemble Blue Owl. A crown made of jagged thorns placed itself on Sam's head, as the collective room of Blue Owl's began to laugh and taunt her. They mentioned taking Alex, breaking her to fit their image and that they were going after her other 'children' who were nothing more than machines.

Quentin on the other hand, would see one or two Vivian's in the sea of Dark Kotsu's as even his comrades began to look like Dark Kotsu themselves. Quentin heard from the the rafters Vivian's voice cry out as a crown of jagged thorns placed itself upon his head as well.

"QUENTIN! SAVE ME!" When he looked up, he would see a Vivian being disemboweled by a Dark Kotsu, laughing as they drank her blood and she slumped lifeless before him.

The Dark Kotsu's began to chant at his uselessness, and his powerlessness to save those he loved.

The rest of the group just seen the Dark Kotsu's laughing hard, a horrendous chorus that echo'd off of every wall, and made the gore rumble around them.
_________________________________________________

Unforeseen Circumstances​

Valerie had been working with her chemistry kit in regards to how to make one of the healing vials function better while the group had gone on their exploits. Valerie had a crazed idea of turning them into a pill form or injection which would increase their efficiency and make them work even faster into the bodies. She had experimented using Human Kotsu as a test subject since he was the only one injured.

"C'mon, lemme stick the needle in you." Valerie said as Human Kotsu was flailing his arms away from her. She began to get stomp her feet like a child as he wouldn't let her near him, so she did what she knew she could get away with and injected his leg. "See! Didn't even feel it, I bet!"

Human Kotsu: "DUDE, SERIOUSLY? How do I even know I won't be lit on fire like the last time!?"

Valerie: "I said I messed up and filled that one with Kerosene by accident. Plus you should really stop smoking as much as you do anyway, so it was your fault."

Human Kotsu: "MY FAULT!?" He hollered out, but he began to be able to move his legs as the injection worked wonder for getting into his blood stream. He still kept playing with the silver rose petal in his hand and wondered where the twins got it from. He took one of the pills from Valerie without hesitation and swallowed it, feeling himself gain strength back almost immediately.

"Huh, we should make an extended release capsule version of these. That'd probably help give the group psuedo-regenerative abilities for those who don't have any, and boost those that do!"

Valerie had a wicked smile on her face, as Human Kotsu pulled out the rose petals and began staring intently at it. "I really do wonder where this came from though..."

The petal still seemed to give off that soothing warmth... but... it almost seemed to glow for a second, a silvery light flickering across his palm.

"...Hello... can you... hear me...?"

A young man's voice filled the air, it was quite faint. It almost sounded like he was trying to talk to him from a very long distance. It could have been someone calling out to him from out in the hallway, had it not been for the fact that the voice didn't seem to originate from it, but rather resided within the office.

Human Kotsu stared down at the talking rose petal, to Valerie, then back to the rose petal. "Am I tripping or did this thing just fucking talk to me?" Human Kotsu asked Valerie.

Valerie: "Nah, you ain't trippin'. What type of trick is this?" She hissed at the rose petal while Human Kotsu stared at it inquisitively.

Human Kotsu: "Uh, who the hell are you, Mr. Rose Petal?"

The voice was silent for a few moments... but soon replied. "Um... let's just say... a friend... that isn't important right now... everyone is in trouble..." His voice was growing steadily stronger, as if he had managed to pinpoint exactly where to direct where he was supposed to speak.

Human Kotsu: "Alright, listen. I know how this goes. I trust you, you double cross me, I die, I come back a vampire. That's what happened the last time I called someone friend, so you're gonna have to be a little specific." Human Kotsu stares intently down at the rose petal and wonders why the voice sounds familiar. "Hey, Mr. Rose Petal. Have I heard your voice before?" Human Kotsu cocks an eyebrow as he stares down at it.

"I-I would never do such a terrible thing!" The voice protested, sounding far more clear now. The voice was definitely familiar. However, it was still faint, sounding far away, as if it were talking through an empty corridor or a large room. "I... You have. I... was a mage. If I tell you who I am... well... I'm afraid that you wouldn't believe me. Please, you must believe me when I say that I can help everyone, Mr. Kotsu. The longer we argue, the more danger the others are in." The voice pled.

Human Kotsu paused for a second while Valerie was making a gesture with her fingers going across her neck to not do it, before Human Kotsu smiled back at her. All Mr. Rose Petal heard was a slap on the other end as Valerie face palmed before Human Kotsu called back to him.

"Alright, fine. Tell me what I gotta do."

 

[mmarage]

01 glared at the clones. "...I won't let you have your way. I'll turn you into nothing but piles of ground meat." He said, his voice having taken on an icy edge to it. Without a second thought, 01 launched himself into the fray, not realizing what had happened to his teammates behind him. He pulled out a fire vial, smashing it against the blade of his scythe, turning it into an angry, fiery red. As he began slicing wildly at the nearest clone, it would leave in its wake waves of flames, they rushed forward, threatening to envelop whatever came into contact with them.

02 began firing arrows into the crowd, aiming to hit those red eyes all looking down upon the group.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aria​

"Not, Kotsu, you. Away!"

Aria sprayed blood from her mouth at the Kotsu clone lunging at her to blind him, she then used the opportunity to dash behind. Her nails sharpened and her right hand hardened, turning it into a short deadly weapon. She aimed at the clone's back and launched a powerful spear strike, aiming to break through his back and rip his heart out.

 

[KotaKotsu]

The Joe's would realize that for every time they got a successful hit on a Dark Kotsu, another one would attack them, drop down on them, slam them into the ground.

Aria had been too preoccupied dealing with one clone to realize the two that had crept up behind her. One grabbing her leg, the other biting into shoulder before tossing her into Sam.

The Dark Kotsu's glared down all three Owls as well as one stepped forward and the laughter stopped. "You had tried flirting with the same people who tortured Kotsu. Why not pucker up then, sweetheart, because I'll make him wish he was back there again!" The eruption of laughter was louder than ever as they mocked Red Owl.

Another stepping forward to mock Blue Owl. "You told him you'd never want to be in a relationship with him, so what's it matter if I tear him apart?" A wicked smile across their faces as the red eyes flashed. They wanted to dig deeper. "Ooh, here's a good one. What if we torture him until we make him tell you that he no longer loves you?!" Another howl of laughter echoed out among the dark figures and they began circling the group at impressive speeds, dizzying to even Clayton and Aria.

Now there was a chanting amongst them that would grow louder and louder.

"Little Owl cannot fly,
Her Kotsu now just might die,
Or better yet before we're done,
He'll tell her that she's not the one!"

 

[Darkling0096]

"Halo, scan, where's the real blue bitch?", Sam asked as the illusion took place. No response. "Halo? Kai? Ciara? Answer me, gods-dammit!" No response, they were being suppressed. "Shit." And then the crown happened. Like any sane person, when something suddenly plops itself on her head, Samantha's first instinct was to remove it. Get it off, figure out what it was. The thorns pricked her hand and burrowed into her skin, making removal impossible unless she wanted to scalp herself. Even as she tried to remember where the group had been standing when the illusion began, as the crown stuck itself to her skull, she felt the pattern falling away. She couldn't distinguish who was where.

"She's just a toy, Sam."
"It's just a computer."
"Just a doll."
"A doll."
"A toy."
"Fake.
"Not real."
"Not a child."
"Not a person."
"Just a toy."
"A plaything."
"A doll."

Blue's voice was coming from everywhere at once, Sam couldn't find the source to shoot it. "She's mine now, Sam," came from just over Sam's shoulder. Elbowing the Blue in the stomach, flipping her over her shoulder and snapping her neck, Sam found herself holding smoke.

"It's not real, it's just an illusion," Sam hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose with eyes screwed shut, "It's not real, it's not real, it's not real!"

"Help me, mom," came Alex's voice.

No!

"Help me, mom, help me!" The owl clones echoed. "Useless! If you can't protect simple code, how can you possibly want to be a mother?", they cackled.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up."

"Once I'm done with Alex, the rest of your kids are next."

"SHUT UP!" Sam exploded into flames. Suddenly, the whole barn was on fire as the stakes flew everywhere, impaling friend and foe alike. Clones turned to smoke and reformed, leaving only the flaming frame of the barn behind.

"You can't save her, Adams."
"You call yourself a soldier. Pathetic."
"Special forces my ass."

"I'LL END YOU!" With a clink of machinery, Sam's armor manifested over her. Lifting from the ground she let loose a missile squall on the area around her, shattering what was left of the barn's support as the frame collapsed, dumping what was left of the barn's roof onto the party. "I'll kill you, blue bitch!" Unleashing force cannon blasts on everyone and everything around her, Samantha gained elevation and unleashed another missile squall.

Diving down with plasma blades outstretched, Sam plunged her weapons into the Blue clone being flung at her, Aria, and pulled her into the sky to drop her back down from a height greater than a human can survive.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aria​

"Sam... you, put the, team, in danger." Having suddenly grabbed and sky dropped by her own teammates. Aria wasn't ready for the attack and stood up slowly from the crater formed by the twos dropping impact. She was startled and confused, yes, but fortunately she had enough time to harden her whole body to minimize the damage, though it still left her with some bruises and the transition to turn her body to normal would left her movement relatively sluggish for a short time.

"Cease, this. Or I will, need to subdue you."