They stay silent for a while.
The pulsing of ink and their quiet steps were the only noises going through their ears. In this atmosphere, both were somewhat deafening. Everyone is still processing what just happened. That is until Benicio suddenly spots a shadow projected on the wall in the Eastern Hall. At first, he thought it was a shadow of one of his missing family members, but even though the silhouette isn't clear, he could tell it isn't compatible with either of the three missing members' profiles since it is walking on all fours.
Gizmo notices their boss acting weird. "What ye lookin' at boss?"
The mob boss quickly glances at the crow from the corner of his eyes but doesn't say a word as his focus returns to the shadow while he points at it. The henchmen stare in the same direction. The outline becomes bigger and bigger, whatever is casting that shadow has to be giant according to the mob boss's logic. While the shadow keeps growing, Benicio places his arms in front of his remaining henchmen in a protective manner while he slowly starts to walk backward, forcing the others to do the same. The last thing he wants is for some giant figure to take away more of his comrades. Everyone could tell that the ink demon is feeling uncomfortable as if he expects the shadow to be of a monster or something.
Before they know it, the shadow pulls a 180 as it shrinks at a fast rate. It is barely visible as the shadow reveals the body of its caster as a tiny little grey mouse appears in the entrance opening from the hallway. Benicio is mind blown as the realization hits him in the face real hard. How in the hell could he have been so wrong?
The family members start to chuckle, some of them even have to cover their mouth to prevent themself to go in a laughing spree, the following remark Abel makes isn't helping. With a giant smirk, he states, "It's a good thing our boss is here to protect us. Quick everyone, hide the cheese."
The ink demon glares daggers at the angel but can't help the fact that his cheeks start to turn grey as embarrassment emits from his body. He faces the mouse, screaming; "SCRAM, YA LITTLE DIRTY RODENT! SHOO!" He sweeps his arm violently through the air in an attempt to scare it off, yet the little mouse stays where it is and stares into the mob boss's eyes, as if taunting him and embarrass him even further. Benicio is fastly losing his patience as he's about to explode but Luna puts a halt to it just in time. "Come on little trouble maker, off you go."
The little mouse is instantly obedient to the wolf as it runs off in the corridor between the double stairs, creating another dent in the demon's sense of honor. The family starts laughing, as a storm of feelings like anger and embarrassment rages through his mind. Not in the mood for this, he makes his way toward the hallway next to the reception desk without saying a word, leaving the other in their laughing fit.
Gizmo quickly notices though. " 'ey boss, wha ye 'eadin'. we're comin' too."
Benicio ignores him and keeps walking as the family runs after him. The toon crow kinda feels guilty for laughing with the boss.
"Relax he'll get over it. Sometimes he just loses his sense of humor" Abel tries to lift up Gizmo's spirit.
Jack ads with a wink; "Sure thing, we'll apologise once he cools down a bit."
And so the remaining family members wander the halls of the eerie looking asylum in silence, searching for the keys and missing family members as Benicio leads the way even though he doesn't really know where he's going, nor is he paying attention to the route he takes . They pass a lot of doors, some of them open, others locked, but one thing is for sure, it seems like the humans abandoned what they were doing as something unexpected happened.
"Why is that", you may ask.
The answer is very simple. Everything is just like how it's supposed to be, everything is still in place, it looks like the humans just walked out and left the building, leaving it frozen in time. The only thing off, is the fact that the place is covered with blood, but where are the bodies?
Without realising it, the group soon finds themself in the basement of the building, wandering it's dark long corridors.
Luna decides to finally break the silence. "Look, boss, we're sorry… We weren't laughing with you…"
Abel abruptly interrupted her; "Oh no, i was….."
The wolf glares at the angel, growling; "NOT HELPING!" She turns her head to the boss again and continues; "As i was saying, we weren't laughing with you, we were laughing with the situation, you have to admit that it was kinda funny."
Benicio keeps walking, not saying a word.
Luna sighs; "Can you at least tell us where we're go…"
Again she gets interrupted as the demon suddenly comes to a halt, making the others stop as well while he yanks on the back of Luna's doctor uniform forcing her to take a step back.
"W-What the hell boss. What was that good for?"
The henchmen all stare at their boss, curious if he would reply.
The mob boss rolls his eyes. "Pipe down, would ya?"
The family is relieved, knowing that Benicio is talking to them again. Yet Able can't drop the pestering as he says with an exaggerated voice; "OMG…..it speaks."
Benicio squints his eyes at him. "Yeah I can speak, I can do a hole lot more if ya don't stop with the yappin'." He makes his left hand into a fist, aiming it at the angel while he makes the treath.
The angel raises his hands in a defensive way; "Okay, okay I'll stop. Jeesh, touchy."
Luna buds in; "You still haven't answered my question. Why did you pull on my clothes?"
The henchmen are listening closely as they too are curious about that.
"Well doc, if ya weren't so busy talking to me as ya're walkin', ya might would've noticed that ya were about to step on some creepy crawlies on the floor."
"Wait what?" Luna quickly looks at the floor but it's too dark to see it.
The boss looks at the others; "Oy! Alice,Abel! Give us some light, would ya?"
Abel crosses his arms in front of his chest, raising an eyebrow. "Do I look like a flashlight to you? My halo ain't no toy hornhead."
"What a coincidence, neither is my patience. Guess we'll both get disappointed today." Benicio smirks while his tail sways in a taunting manner.
The angel sighs, rolling his eyes while his halo starts to shine brighter and brighter. Alice follows his example though her halo can't shine as bright as Abel's, probably because she's partially demon as well. Yet the two manage to produce just enough light to light their way. As the duo light up the hall, they are met by a shocking scenario that makes Diana scream and sends shivers down some of the family members' spines. The hall in front of them is covered in none other than maggots, lots and lots of maggots. The entire floor is covered in them, so are the walls and ceilings as on some places they rained down.
As Luna recovers from the shock she looks at Benicio with her one eye. "H-How did you see those? it was pitch black in here."
"Ya kiddin' ? The studio I came from was then times darker than this place."
Alice and Boris simultaneously nod in confirmation.
"If you say so…"
Diana suddenly yells, still freaking out. "PLEASE DON'T TELL ME WE'RE GOING TROUGH THAT!"
"What's the matter toots, ya shoes're already ruined. I don't see a problem".
"HELL NO! I'M NOT STEPPING THROUGH THOSE WRIGGLING LITTLE MONSTER FOR ALL THE MONEY THE WORLD."
Benicio chuckles, winking at her; "Fine by me dollface. Those wings ain't for show, am I right?
Before Diana can reply, the mob boss had already stepped in the nest of maggots, not being bothered by it whatsoever. She's gagging as each step of the demon produces the crunchy sound of squashed bugs under his shoes. He faces the others; "Ya guys comin' or what? We ain't got all day."
Reluctantly most of the henchmen follow Benicio's example, even though some of them feel their stomach turn at the slat sound the maggots produce under their feet. After a few steps their shoes are covered in a slimy substance. The group comes to a halt as they notice they are one man short or woman to be precise. Turning around, they see that Diana isn't following them.
Benicio sighs; "Come on toots, what's the hold up?"
A hint of fear can be seen on the fairy's face, yet she doesn't want to anger her boss. She whispers to herself; "Come on Diana, you've been through worse. You can do it." She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and starts to flap her wings, faster and faster until her feet aren't touching the floor anymore. Next she leans her upper body forwarth, making her fly in the direction of the others who were patiently waiting for her.
Yet once she's flying, one of the maggots on the ceiling falls down, right on Diana's head. The poor fairy gets startled and crashes down in the nest of maggots on the floor as a result. She's having a panic attack as the little worms are crawling over her entire body, making her scream while she flails her arms and legs around in an attempt to get rid of them.
The ink demon runs a hand down his face as he turns around, making his way towards Diana. He grabs her by the arm and pulls her up so she's standing on her feet again, next he wipes the remaining maggots off her with his hand, calming her down. To the fairy's surprise, Benicio turns around, showing his back to her and lowers himself by sitting on one knee in the middle of the nest. Then he glances at her from the corner of his eyes, making clear that she can sit on his back. Diana didn't give it a second thought as she practically jumped on his back. Once she is seated, the mob boss rises to his feet and gives Diana a piggy bank ride through the nest of maggots.
Before they reach the others, Diana rests her head against the demon's shoulder while she whispers to him; "Sorry boss and thank you."
Benicio has a soft smile on his face; "It's alright, everyone's scared of somethin'."
Jack smiles as he sees the duo coming their way, approving their boss his actions.
As the group is complete again, they continue to walk through the maggots till they reach the end of the corridor, which is home to a door. Next to the door hangs a plaque with the word 'Morgue' engraved on it.
Alice looks at the demon. " What do you think's inside?"
"Only one way to find out." Benicio looks at Boris and continues; "Mind opening the door pally? I'd do it myself, but my hands are kinda full at the moment." He lifts Diana higher in his back to emphasise his statement.
Boris grins, winking at the mafia leader; "Sure thin' boss."
The others give the wolf some space, as he slowly opens the door on a crack to glance inside.
Benicio is as curious as one would expect. "Well? Somethin' in there?"
Boris looks at the others, stating; "I couldn't see real clear but i saw something blue and furry"
The henchmen look at each other while they simultaneously say what's on their minds. "ELYMAS!"
Abel practically kicks the door in as the group storms inside the room, confirming their suspicions. Right there, in the middle of the room, stands a lone wheelchair, containing an unconscious Elymas, who seems to be stuck on that same chair as his wrists are strapped to the armrests. Not only that, but it seems like there are two chains, one on each handle of said wheelchair, leading to a big opening in the wall, which appears to be a giant oven as the flames are dancing in the burning fire.
"What kind of sick joke is this?" Abel utters as he can't believe his eyes, mind blown by the strange contraption.
Luna gives the others a little more information. "We're in a morgue. Humans use this place to take care of their deceased. See that oven in the back? They use it to burn body's."
The angel is about to go to his friend in an attempt to free him, but at that exact same moment all the maggot's they just passed come flying into the room as the creepy crawlies start to form a wall, separating Elymas from the others.
To add to the shock factor, the group gets startled by a moaning sound as they quickly look behind them. There is a figure standing after them, hiding in the shadows of the room. As the figure starts to move closer, the light slowly reveals its appearance. In front of the group stands what appears to be a human, a bald man. The man is wearing an old patient uniform, the cloth ripped to shreds. What really disturbs them though, is the fact that the man's body is missing pieces of flesh to the part where they could see the man's muscle tissue and on some spots even the bones while his body gives off this rotting odor. To make matters even worse it looks like there are maggots all over his body, both on the inside and the outside as if the man is the source of the giant maggot nest.
This uneasy feeling crawls onto them while it clamps itself to their chest really tight as the family holds their breath and unknowingly takes a few steps back, desturbed by the man's presence as Luna shrieks; "How is he still alive?"
Their attention soon changed direction when suddenly they heard the rattle of chains behind them. The chains which connected the wheelchair of Elymas with the oven starts to move as it becomes shorter.
Now Abel is the one who gets filled with fear, his mind is going hundred miles an hour as it tries to figure out what's gonna happen if the chain keeps shrinking like that and he doesn' like the image that gets projected in his mind, Elymas screaming in pain while the fire consumes his body as he's begging the family to save him. He quickly comes to his senses and starts to yell. "ELYMAS WAKE UP!"
The blue demon softly moans while his eyelids start to twitch.
"COME ON BUDDY, YOU AIN'T GOT THE TIME TO SLEEP! WAKE UP!"
The second attempt seems to do the trick as Elymas slowly opens his eyes. It doesn't take him long before he realises that he's unable to move his arms and discovers they are strapped on the armrests of the chair he's sitting in as he starts to shake them rapidly in an attempt to break free while a light sense of fear is present. As if the situation isn't bad enough, the chain was short enough that as it continues to grow shorter it finally started to drag the wheelchair in the direction of the oven. When Elymas turns his head and lays eyes upon the scene behind him, fear soon gets accompanied by panic. "Oh dear, it seems i find myself in quite the predicament."
"Huh, you wouldn't say." Abel tries to get the blue demon's attention with the sarcastic remark.
Elymas faces the direction of the angel, only to be met with the wall of maggots. The creepy crawlies are doing a bad job of maintaining the wall as it is filled with holes as maggots keep falling to the ground and they crawl towards the body of the bald man they call home. Through those same holes he can see the rest of the family, adding relief and hope to the pile of emotions.
Benicio gently lets Diana slide off his back, and walks to the maggot wall, literally starting to beat the maggots to a pulp as he's trying to break down the wall in an attempt to help Elymas. "Don't worry barkeep, we'll get you out of there before you can say barbeque."
But the maggot man, or at least what is left of him, doesn't let Benicio have his way as he dashes towards the mob boss and smashes him into the wall, making the demon yelp on impact. Gizmo is having none of it, as he runs to Benicio and stands in front of him in a protective manner, using his priced knife that he once got from the boss and aims it at the creature. "I'm sorry pall, but if yer want 'im, you'll 'av ter go through me first."
The ink demon quickly recovers and lays a hand on Gizmo's shoulder, making his henchman stand down. Then he cracks his knuckles, slowly walking towards the maggot man with a smirk; "Come here pretty boy, let's dance." And with that, he smashed his fist under the man's chin, sending the creature flying to the back of the room.
In the meantime Elyma's his chair is getting o so slightly closer to the oven. " I'm so sorry to interrupt the dance party, but I do wish to inform you that i have said the word barbeque multiple times by now and I don't wish to end up like one."
"WORKIN' ON IT!" Benicio yells as he and the maggotman are duking it out, the family assisting him.
The creature is getting bored of wrestling with the toons but lays eyes upon Alice who's wisely standing at the sideline since she doesn't have any fight experience. The mob boss follows the creature's gase and his heart skips a beat as he realizes what the man is thinking. "OH NO YA DON'T! ALICE RUN!"
Both Alice and the others are confused as to why Benicio would yell that, until the maggot man roars really loud, throws the family of his body with all his might and sprints towards the demon/angel hybrid. The maggot wall completely breaks down as they fly towards the man. The flesh on his big bulky chest starts to rip open while blood and maggots spray all over the place as his body starts to grow significantly bigger and his body starts to absorb Alice into it. Her screams fade away as she gets buried in the bugs, trapt in the mutated maggot giant. The family can only watch in horror as the creature's roar is so loud it makes the entire basement shake.
"What in the … ALICE!" Boris is desperate, as he can't bear the thought of losing one of his best friends like that.
The feeling of horror soon gets replaced with anger, anger becomes hate and hate turns into rage as the family become determined to bring the creature down, yet they can't forget about Elymas either who is getting dangerously close to the fire. The family all jump on the giant as they all beat big chunks of maggot's off the body which fall to the floor. Even Diana is willing to face her fear of the creepy crawlies as she assists the others in their endeavours.
Their actions seem to be in vain though, as the maggots just crawl onto the giant again, regenerating him. To top it all off, the giant maggot mutant slams the toons of his body one by one, just like a person would do with ants. They jump back on their feet not wanting to give up the fight but are surprised as the creature makes his next move. A hand grabs Diana by her torso as she too starts to scream, however, it has been rather short lived as she quickly loses her breath as the hand is squeezing her.
Since they are running out of options and Jack isn't willing to lose another family member. He grabs a gun from his hammerspace and shoots the arm the giant is using to squeeze Diana, making him drop her in the process. Gizmo is quick on his feet as he's just in time to catch the fairy, getting an appreciated smile from the faun while Gizmo carries her to the others while she's trying to catch her breath. Luckily for them the monster gets slower because of his big size.
Jack is about to shoot a second time but is stopped as Benicio places his hand on the gun, aiming it at the floor. Jack gives him a questioning look but the ink demon just shakes his head. "I'm sorry Jacky boy, as long as Alice's in there, we can't risk shooting the gun, ya could hit her."
Jack nods and places the gun back in his hammerspace. "I understand."
"Anny ideas on how to get her out?" Boris asks, not taking his eyes from the monster.
"Well, it aint like someone is carrying bug spray around, is there?" Abel places his hand on his chin while he's trying to figure out a plan. His halo briefly emits a bright light as an idea pops into his head.
Without saying a word the angel quickly grabs his halo, places Benicio and Jack on opposite sides of the room and gives each of them an end of the halo which was completely stretched out, getting confused looks of the family. "No time to explain, just for the love of God, don't let go of it."
The duo nod, doing as they are told while Abel stands in the middle of them, leaning against his halo. He takes a few steps back stretching the ring even further, that's when the family knows he was using Benicio, Jack and his halo as a makeshift catapult. With a smirk, the angel jumps as the halo throws its owner towards the giant maggot mutant. Abel uses his hands as a shield in front of his face as he's flying towards the creature. The atmosphere is tense as the family watches Abel fly through the maggot man's chest, only to come out through his back with Alice in his arms, piercing the creature's torso in the process. Abel lands on the floor as he sits on one knee, holding Alice bridal style.
The giant roars while his maggots and blood rain down his torso, making a mess on the ground. Alice slowly opens her eyes as she's greeted with the smile of a relieved Abel. "SHE'S FINE!"
A wave of relief filled the room, which is also short lived as they suddenly hear Elymas cough as the poor demon is so close to the fire he gets intoxicated by the smoke that's floating around him. Since the wall of maggots is gone, the family run towards him and start to pull on the chair in a desperate attempt to get Elymas away from the fire, while others try to open the straps around his wrist, though it is taking a while. In a panic the mob boss quickly glances around the room in search for anny means to help them as the maggot man is slowly making his way towards them.
The moment he sees a shovel which is used to place coal in the oven, he too gets an idea. He runs to the shovel and slams it against his knee breaking the handle in two, next he rips the left sleeve off his shirt and ties the fabric on the end of the wooden stick and finally he runs towards the oven placing the stick with the fabric end in the fire and pulls it back out as he's now holding a handmade torch. Next he sprints towards the giant that is getting closer and closer. Using the run-up, he tries to jump as high as possible as he grabs the handle of the torch with both hands and shoves it in the creature's mouth while he's making his way down; "EAT FIRE, MAGGOT BREATH!"
The mob boss lands on the floor with a head roll while the creature bursts in flames, making his painful howls echo through the building. Flaming maggots rain down to the floor as the giant is spastically moving around, trying to put out the flames on his body but is too bulky to do so. Meanwhile, the family manages to loosen the straps around Elymas's wrists just enough to slip his hands through it, as Abel drags his best friend out of the wheelchair at the exact same moment it is pulled into the fire. The family is panting as they watch the wheelchair go up in flames while Elymas sits on his knees on the floor coughing and gasping for air as Abel keeps rubbing his back to comfort him.
The maggot man falls to the floor while he keeps burning to a crisp.
Benicio looks at the others while he dusts himself off. "Oh man, this was one my good shirts and we still ain't got one of those stinkin' keys."
He joins his family and sits on the floor as they all watch the giant slowly turn into a heap of ash. To their surprise, the giant maggot mutant seems to be highly flammable as it doesn't need long to do so. Eventually the fire dies out as the group stays silent, still processing what just had happened while they wait for Elymas to regain some of his strength. That is until they hear noise coming from one of the cabinets in the wall. As if on cue everyone present stares at Luna as if they are already expecting her to explain what the cabinets are used for.
The wolf rolls her eye; "Those are cold chambers, They are used to store the body's that are awaiting either autopsy or cremation."
"So they're used to store dead guys?" Benicio asks, seeming doubtful.
"That's the idea, yes. Why?"
"Well, as far as I know, death guys don't move and we all just definitely heard noise coming from the darn things."
Realisation smacks Luna in the face as she can't deny Benicio's reasoning. They all get startled as one of the locker doors start to rattle. The mob boss jumps to his feet getting Shirley ready while he slowly walks towards it. His gun in his left hand and in his right one the handle that opens the small door, he glances at the family before opening the chamber. As the little door opens, the ink demon makes a squealing sound.
Gizmo panics. " What is it? is dare a problem? Is it another zombie?"
Benicio looks at the others with a cheesy grin, as he has the biggest smile on his face; "I found a key."
A wave of relief washes over the family while Gizmo mumbles; "Jeez, gie another a 'earthattack wud ye?"
The mob boss reaches for the key but gets the surprise of his life as the same little grey mouse from the lobby appears and grabs the key in his little mouth, running off with it. "GOD DAMMIT, NOT AGAIN!" He quickly places Shirley in his hammerspace and runs after the little critter as if his life is depending on it. The family watches him go while Abel yells after him with a big smile; "Go Devil boy, GO! You can do it!" making the others laugh.
Elymas interrupts the laughing. "May i suggest to follow the chap before we lose him as well."
"Aww, do we have to?"
The blue demon sighs; "Do i need to remind you, that he's the one who's paying us? Besides, maybe you can obtain a chuckle or two as a bonus."
Abel instantly sprints at the door after hearing the last statement. "Hey bossman hold up, we're coming too."
Elymas chuckles; "Ahh, works every time."
In the end the entire family gives chase as they See Benicio sprinting in the distance. They are running up the stairs leading to the ground floor. It doesn't take them long before they reach a big room, labeled showerroom. Upon entering it they see a row of bathtubs to their right and a row of showerheads to their left. In the back in front of the window is an old laundry cart.
"I got ya now, nowhere to hide you little rascal." Benicio grins as he notices the others come into the room, he yells; "Quick close the door."
The henchmen do as told while they watch their boss getting closer and closer to the mouse. Out of nowhere he dashes towards the little critter as it on turn runs to the back suddenly revealing a piece of soap. Benicio can't stop on time as he steps on the soap making him slip forward towards the back, making him bump against the laundry cart and fall in it. Abel is laughing so hard his cheeks started to hurt, yet the fun isn't over. Once Benicio gets up, there's an old towel lying on his head which makes him look like a nun. The demon is losing his patience, pulling the cloth of his head. Next he tries to climb out of the cart but loses his balance making the entire thing tilt as he falls on the floor with the dirty laundry over him.
The family tries really hard to contain their laughter as they don't want to get the silent treatment like last time, but dammit he was making it hard for them. The mob boss throws the laundry off him on the floor and sees the little mouse who patiently sits on the floor waiting till the demon finishes to embarrass himself, taunting him by doing so. It's silent as Benicio and the mouse are having a showdown moment between them as they are holding a staring contest.
"You know, we're more than happy to help ya boss." Boris suggests, raising an non-existent eyebrow.
But the ink demon is too stubborn as he raises a hand to silence him, not breaking eye contact with the mouse. "Shhhhhh, his ass is mine."
The henchmen look at eachother shrugging their shoulders. Then, out of nowhere, the mobs boss jumps to the floor actually succeeding in grabbing the mouse with both hands as only his little head with the key is sticking out. Proudly the demon lifts his hands towards the others, showing his achievement with a big cheesy grin on his face, when suddenly the shower he coincidentally stood under, turns on, soaking him to the bone as an unamused expression adorns his face and his body's drooping. Not only that but the mouse bit him, making him drop the little animal. Luckily, the mouse is unharmed and leaves the key on the floor as it found a crack in the wall to escape through.
Abel doesn't recover from laughter, while the others are still really doing their best not to but there are still some chuckles here and there.
"Oh man, if this is how you are in reality, I can't wait to see you in your cartoon shorts." The rebel angel wipes away a tear as he continues rolling over the floor in laughter.
Elymas hesitantly says; "Euhm, Abel my good friend. I would suggest to stop what you're doing right this instant."
"Huh, why?" The angel stops his laughing, giving Elymas a confused glance.
Elymas doesn't reply, he doesn't need to. Abel soon sees droplets of water fall on the ground as he sees Benicios wet shoes right next to him. Looking up he sees the face of the ink demon. Benicio is looking straight at him with a neutral face while he's spinning the key around his finger, but the thing that made him nervous is the fact that instead of seeing the usual piecut eyes, he was staring at him with the red glowing demonic eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that last part. Do ya have anythin' to say to me cherub?"
Abel slowly shakes his head with wide eyes and mouth agape.
"That's what I thought, now if ya done actin' like a dumbass, we can continue the search."
The henchmen take a step aside creating a big enough opening for their boss to pass through, his eyes turning back to normal as he leaves the room. Elymas eventually stands by Abel's side and offers him a hand which he gladly accepts.
The rebel angel rubs the dust of himself. "Is it just me, or is he a bit cranky."
"Well, I did try to warn you. It is one thing to tease someone, but there is a time and place to do so and now is not the time, i'm afraid. He already feels bad for putting us in this dangerous situation in the first place and us laughing with him is making him feel even worse. That is why I told you to keep the teasing to a minimum."
"Okay, okay i'll give him a break, for now." Abel goes with his fingers through his hair as he quickly ads with a smirk; "But to be clear i'm not the only one who found that funny right?"
The others laugh; "Oh no, that was totally funny."
The laughing quickly stops as they hear Benicio yell from a distance; "Ya guys commin' or what? What's the hold up?"
"We're on our way" Alice yells back as the group quickly runs after their boss.
And so the search continues on.