"M-Master Noah I apologise I trusted too much in this body that you delivered and easily caught myself unprepared." Apologetic, Gopher exclaims as he holds his arm lying limp by his side. Noah can't even look at the destroyed disgraced tool of his without wanting to break him apart, without wanting to rip him limb from limb in order to try to fix the damage but the eyepatch said it all to the mage. He knew no matter how hard he would try to…
"You couldn't help losing your weak. You should have left as soon as you saw Ava but even then would she have let you go? I doubt it." Logically, Noah states trying to use logic to hinder the fiery flame within him, ignoring his blood boiling, bubbling, burning through his veins at the imperfect tool he had created, refusing to even look in its eye, not being worthy enough to even look at.
"So…you forgive me?" Meekly, Gopher asks hopeful, his heart aching, breaking crying when seeing Noah unable to look at him, not that he could blame him, look at him he was a mess, a empty shell of what once was the perfect demon tool.
"You can't just go around dropping my name in front of the enemy." Enraged, Noah points out scowling, her voice, her words resonating echoing in his mind. He tries to ignore the shy stream of sweat slithering down his tense temple, grinding his teeth together at this loss of his. He had to be careful, one false move and he'd be joining Arachne or worse…who knew with the demon devil…
"I…I humbly apologise it's just my emotions were running high and…" Apologetic, Gopher continues trying to apologise trying to earn his master's forgives but…
"A broken tool is not afforded the conceit of having emotions Gopher." Disgusted, Noah sneers sharply cutting the boy off.
"…Understood." Sniffling, the boy's voice cracks only then to wince from the sharp sting of his bloodied bruised throat, bruised beginning to form from the fight prior.
"Get out…" Coldly, Noah orders him.
"…Yes sir." Gopher nods his head, limping out of the room, cradling his broken arm barely in his socket, on the tip of dislodging itself as the ligaments around his arm need time to heal before they could reattach to his bone as his brow furrows thinking back to it.
Desperate, the boy wails, screams, screeching to the high heavens as he feels the dirt lodged into his throat, feeling the sandy shores of his desert dry throat heave. Small splatters of saliva ooze out of his mouth but quickly dry up from the madly manic sun smiling down at the battered, bloodied, beaten child trying to flee, trying to escape as all he saw was red and darkness.
He crawls over to his sheet, his only escape ignoring the anguishing searing sensation of his body screaming, shouting, screeching at him to stop, begging, beseeching him to stop. He reaches for his only form of escape. He then cries out as just as he places his hand flat on the flimsy piece of paper, a familiar heel slams down upon his hand making him screech hearing the crisp crunch of bone bruises beginning to form upon the top of his hand. She digs the heel deep into his hand, hearing another crisp crunch of bone as she kneels down, whistling a happy hum to herself.
"I believe you're looking for this no?" Smoothly, she snatched said paper from his palm.
"T-That's…" Shakily, the boy whispers reaching out to the paper but falters as she admires it.
"Yours yes, yes I thought as much. I recognise his spell craft anywhere…nothing more than a shallow shell to his work." Alarmed, Gopher eye widens when hearing her words.
"DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE NO-" Enraged, he snarls, feeling his blood boil, burn, bubble at the sheer nerve of the monster only then as he tries to shout berate the fool before him. His voice cracks as scarlet spits out of his mouth as he feels the sharp sting of acid crawl up his throat before heaving his insides out.
"Did I say you could speak rat?" Coldly, she cuts him off unfazed by his vomit, her heel digging further into his hand making him whimper.
"N-Noah…" Weakly, the boy whimpers as the woman kneels down, swiftly snatching him by his dark hair making him cry out from the rough tug.
"Now you listen to me little boy tell your precious master that I am coming for my child, I am coming for Kid and I will trample on every single soul in my path to get to my son." Seething, she snarls venom dripping down her feral fangs bare before the whimpering, shaking, crying child nodding his head.
"M-Master Noah!" Weakly, he cries out as next thing he knew, he was chucked into the paper and as soon as his body hit the harsh ground of the church stone steps. His ears ring hearing the crisp crunch of bone once more, he collapses, everything final going dark…
"Now…what to do with this…" Humming, Ava mutters tossing said eyeball up and down as if she were lazily juggling before shrugging and deciding it best to be thrown to ground where she slams her blade down, digging a hole for this seed of sorts and burying the eye, hoping it to become something more than the pathetic waste of space it came from.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!" Furious, Gopher seethes snarling storming over to a familiar room.
"Master Noah hates me it's all her fault…" Firmly, Gopher believes as he slams the door open after dismissing Justin calmly bopping his head to the beat of the melody.
"What's that expression all about? Looks like Maka took you out huh? Although from that eye…I take it you had a visit from my mother." Smugly, Kid chuckles only then to furrow his brow, his hue twitching at the sheer sight of the eyepatch on one side.
"She's a demon." Disgusted, he seethes hoping his eyepatch at the least would hurt her son.
"She is known as the goddess of discord what would you expect from the person whose only child you stole?" Snippily, Kid remarks as he closes his eyes, refusing to even look at him.
"…" Silently, Gopher glares at the child that caused him to lose so much to lose the perfection bestowed upon him by his magnificent master.
"Serves you right. Heh, you're lucky she let you live then again she had to deliver the message somehow no? Besides my mother always did have a soft spot for children even for freaks like you…" Kid sighs slumping his shoulders.
"Stop making that face at me." Mad, Gopher punches Kid salvia smeared with hints of scarlet spews out as his gold are forced open. He grimaces at the sheer sight of the boy as next thing the two knew…
"BASTARD! BASTARD! SHINIGAMI! SHINIGAMI!"
"So you're all ears for these kind of sounds. You got some good taste there…" Giriko smirks smugly at the sight of Law having removed his earphones to listen to the torture just by his side.
"More of a jazz fan myself." Casually, a voice calls out making the two turn to the bored looking Ingram approaching the door.
"Aww party pooper." Giriko huffs as he watches Ingram kick down the door.
"H-Huh?" Gopher turns to the frowning Ingram.
"That's enough fun for now." Ingram tells Gopher.
"Y-You…" Gopher glares at the unfazed Ingram, slouched, hands shoved into his pockets as he crouches down to the boy's height still towering over him as gold glare into a singular spiral blue.
"Get. Out." Sharply, he snaps, his tone cold, curt, controlled even as the singular spiral glistens, the tears freely falling.
"M-Master N-Noah!" Upset, Gopher screams rushing past Ingram, crying his heart out as he flees from the room terrified.
"…" Gold glare into gold.
"…" Ingram simply stares at his chained nephew before sighing and turning his back to him, heading to the door.
"She'll kill you too you know?" Kid blurts out just as Ingram leaves.
"Hm?" Humming, Ingram turns arching a brow bemused by his words.
"My mother. You may be blood but once she finds out what you did to me…" Resolute, Kid states the fact firmly furrowing his brow when noting his uncle's smug smirk.
"Oh sweet child…you brought this on yourself not my fault things are going to plan." Perkily, Ingram smirks smugly at his nephew whose yellows widen alarmed at his words.
"What do you-" Kid begins but falters form the sharp slam of the door as next thing Kid knew he was all alone again, chained up with nowhere to go…
"It's around here somewhere…Fire, Thunder…" Kilik furrows his brow as he looks down at his weapons scurrying below looking around as the group venture around the town around the heart of Africa.
"Kilik Thompson sisters can you hear me? This is Yumi Azusa of the death scythes." The skeletal receiver rings in his ear.
"Yeah we hear ya." Kilik talks back to Azusa.
"I've been assigned as leader and backup for this mission. I look forward to working with you." Azusa in her van leans over the table with the map plastered on the table below.
"Likewise we've arrived at the destinated location." Kilik reports to Azusa.
"Well done. The mission objective is to discover and locate Medusa's lab. Fire and thunder will search for the lab by communicating with the earth. Breach the lab as soon as you've located it. I can't determine whether Medusa is present in the lab or not, but this is Medusa…be prepared to engage at any time. I recommend you use fire and thunder for close combat and the Thompson sisters for ranged combat as a utility meister Kilik you should be able to handle the different rhythms of their wavelengths. Kilik I'll use my senrigan to look though your eyes to investigate the interior of the lab our objective is her research. However her research will no doubt be in witch lettering hence why I'll relay the visuals to Kim at high altitude above you. She'll be able to decode the witch lettering." Azusa explains to the group.
"Hey Kilik you hear me?" Kim calls out upon her broom looking down at the town below.
"That's it for the brief this is your first mission as Spartoi good luck." Azusa tells the group.
"Gotcha. Hm? You found it…good job you two alright let's do this. " Kilik perks up at his weapons seeing Thunder tug at his trouser leg pointing below as a hidden stairway is soon revealed before the group consisting of Kilik with his twins thunder and Fire alongside the Thompson twins as they make their way down the stone steps entering the lab.
"We're in." Kilik reports to Azusa.
"Right I'm making sure there are no traps but use caution and don't rush." Sternly, Azusa adjusts her lenses as she looks through his eyes.
"Roger." Carefully, Kilik nods his head taking his slow steps inside passing by an cabinet filled to the brim with jars one in particular with an eye gazing at him.
"Hey sis look there's a crazy eye looking at us." Patty points out said eye.
"That's okay I rather not." Disgusted, liz whines turning away at the sight.
"What you gonna do about it? a staring contest fine! I won't lose." Determined, Patty declares glaring at the eye.
"Let it win sis! Either way we should be fine with Azusa's eyesight she's idolized among us gun types." Liz smiles softly.
"It's not use trying to flatter me! Quit the idle chatter and advance." Azusa snaps at the group making them flinch from her harsh words.
"Azusa we found some notes." Kilik approaches the table taking one of the parchment papers written in some foreign language.
"Please set your eyes on each object in that area one after the other I'll begin copying." Sternly, Azusa orders as Kilik complies listening to Azusa's order of next. He gives her each paper for her to copy.
"Right…that's the last of it." Kilik puts the final paper back down on the table.
"You may return good work." Azusa tells him as they leave the lab.
"That was surprisingly easy with no enemies and all I mean come on let's go. Urgh so bright…huh?" Kilik exclaims smiling softly relived to have a job well done only then to grimace at the sharp shine of the sun beaming brightly down upon Kilik making him hiss, using the back of his hand to block out the light only then to falter when…
"What is it Kil…townsfolk?" Confused, Patty furrows her brow at the limp zombie like forms of the townsfolk simply staring at them.
"Kim are you seeing my field of vision. I've linked your eyesight to mine." Azusa presses down on her skeletal earpiece, diamonds appearing in her eyes.
"Whoa cool." Kim's eyes widen when she sees the text before her.
"Please start decoding the letters." Azusa commands Kim.
"Right!" Kim nods her head furrowing her brow focused on the task at hand.
"Yo we're from Shibusen sorry to barge in." Politely, Kilik calls out to the townsfolk.
"Insanity…the kishin...black blood…Crona!? This research…magic to control insanity!?" Kim furrows her brow at the words from the paper.
"WHOA! What's going on!? The hell is up with these guys!?" Taken aback, Kilik gasps as the townsfolk raise a gun firing at it Kilik narrowly dodging said bullet, rushing over behind some rubble remains, using it as cover.
"Kilik this is Azusa what's happened?" Azusa perks up at the sound of gunshot.
"We're under attack from the townsfolk for some reason. We're going to retaliate. Control the power of the bullets so they don't kill alright?" Kilik tells Azusa before turning his attention to Liz and Patty.
"Right!" The two chorus as they fire attack after attack until…
"A Molotov!?" Mystifed, Kilik gawks gaping at the bottle being thrown their way as Kilik dodges said strike heading to the rooftop only to be met by a machine gun, making him dive into a nearby window where when they reach the top of the building…
"Kill RPG!" Patty cries out alarmed.
"For real!?" Kilik gawks gaping at the missile before diving out of the way.
"Kim! Evade quick!" Kilik perks up at Jackie's voice as Kilik narrowly avoids said strike diving into another room.
"Kim! Jacqueline! Are you okay!?" Kilik calls out but is met by static making him curse.
"Dammit I'm worried about those two we'll have to escape on our own…" Kilik grumbles to himself.
"Kim! Kilik both teams do you read me? This is Azusa I'm going to use senrigan to find you two a rendezvous point. Move precisely as I instruct you. Kilik smash that wall if you call yourself a man!" Azusa prompts him after giving him the directions, which he happily follows until thunder and fire in their gauntlet forms smash into the wall, revealing…
"Yo." Casually, Kilik smirks at the pink haired witch upon her broom.
"You scared me! Whoaaa! " Kim gasps at the sudden weight.
"Let's go!" Kilik tells her.
"Hang on tight!" Jackie warns.
"Whoa Jackie not so fast!" Kilik cries out as they flee from the fight ahead retreating.
"Azusa this is Kim we've safety rendezvoused with Kilik's team. We just landed away from the town that's right then we'll see you later. She said they're going to quarantine the town." Kim reports as the others catch up safe and sound, Patty plays with the kids as the others talk.
"Just what happened back there!? Is it elated to Medusa's research?" Kilik questions.
"Probably. It looks like Medusa was researching a method to control insanity. Those townspeople eyes there was something off about them and Maka's friend Crona was mentioned to." Kim furrows her brow turning to the others.
"Could it be that Crona too is already?" KIliuk furrows his brow.
"Isn't there any way to return them to normal?" Hopeful, Liz asks.
"Natural the critical records weren't left behind in that lab." Kim sighs.
"Maybe Blackstar's found them." Hopeful, Jackie offers.
"In the end we don't really know anything…what the!?" Kilik sighs only then for them both to gasp when suddenly a black creature appears before the others eyes standing, tall, towering over them.
"I am the black clown I was born of Medusa to call you into insanity. Will you succumb to insanity?"