"Ready and willing!"
"We excelled in the strangest places.
Full time job putting apes in cages.
Flies on the table, leashed to a maypole,
Muddy are the eyes of the great escapist." ~ Jam Baxter
Coda, from the Latin cauda: A concluding musical section that is formally distinct from the main structure. ~ Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary
(To those on RR, WP, WN and QUO, you reeeeallllly should read the previous two books. While I wrote those with the ability to jump in wherever, a lot of this won't make any sense unless you at least skim through them. Same goes for AO3 but you all can see this is part of a series. Happy reading!)
Dark was the night. Rain lightly fell from the skies. Not enough to ruin plans but enough to dampen attitudes. Why did it have to rain now of all nights? Whatever. You weren't going to let this minor inconvenience ruin months of planning. The weather report only called for a few centimetres anyways.
It was all to end here.
For Displo.
For what they did to Tabi.
For the all the others.
The Dearest Family would fall.
You decide to do a roll call. Now or never. With your comlink you do some checks.
"Team Fortran?" You ask. "Are you all ready?"
"I don't see why you'd need to check for us. We are right here." Solazar said.
"Ready and willing!" Tess declared.
"I to, am ready, on standby." Displo said.
"Team Lisp?"
"Such weak defenses. This is what he protects himself with? Can't we just go in and slaughter them all?" S said happily.
"We're ready. Can we get started now? I'm getting bored here." Nikusa said.
"I-I'm ready!" Nikku said, still using Tess' voice.
"Soon. Team Python. I am ready. How about everyone else?"
"Yes." Tabi said quietly. He sounded focused.
"They're gonna pay for what they did to my bro." Aldryx said. "Thanks man. I'd do the same thing for you." Agoti added as they fist-bumped.
"Team Zig?"
"It's bloody cold out here." Theo said.
"I-I'm sorry. I can't control it." Ace replied rather sadly.
"Nah, it's just cause the water's cold. Nothing to do with you." Kapi said.
Huggy emitted some sort of sound in agreement.
"Suffice to say we are all getting in position and ready." Updike concluded.
"Team Haskell?"
"Almost there. I don't care what this witch says. I'm getting answers." Annie spat from her end.
"The heaven did you just call me? I am NOT a witch! You wanna end this right now?" Carol said threateningly.
"Girls. Girls. Please. Save that energy for the gate." Whitty complained, groaning in annoyance.
"Team Cobol?"
"My Gang is armed. I am too. The Fae are watching closely." Rosie said. You could hear cocking her sniper rifle.
"This ends here." Radi said coldly. "After this I won't need this stupid curse anymore."
"Ah, it's not so bad Radi." Rosie added encouragingly.
"..."
"Pompom. You ready too?"
"Aye, aye, captain! Oooo. I can't wait! Ican'twait!!!!" Pompom whispered. Just from her comlink there you could hear a lot of noise. As she excused herself earlier you guessed she was standing outside, taking in the rain or something.
"That accounts for everyone then. Best of luck."
"We don't need luck." Tabi added. "We got skill."
With everyone in check you get in position yourself. Willing, armed and ready, tonight was gonna be a fun night.
Nobody carried a flag with them tonight.
This time it was winner take all.
Now Playing...
Artist: Store
Song: Re:pol Introl
Currently you and most of the others watched from an IRIS data centre far south of the Compound. A futuristic interior surrounded everyone. White walls, computer screens projected onto them, white floors with all sorts of see-through wires running in them and holograms to boot.
Thanks to S and TGG the output of nearly every single camera near the compound was visible. A section of the wall remained black; screens ready to display the compound's exterior when S got in.
S preconfigured them all, himself more than excited to begin the mission. As part of some 'hype' thing, Nikusa got Nikku to ask who S' 'most hated person' was. Some doctor named Starline.
She then proceeded to make up some connection between the family and this Starline, ultimately goading S into hating them as much as Tabi did. She claimed the Family helped fund and support Starline's reign on Mobius. You found out far too late to stop it and now S wanted blood. Starting then he put 110% of his anger towards the heist.
Nevermind about Tabi wanting to kill the Family, if S got his way the compound would be covered in blood.
As such, it was finally time to put that to the test as the spaceborne trio were the first team on the scene. The plan dictated they sneak into the mailroom from the northwest and raid it. Once they controlled all surveillance they could control the narrative.
One of the large screens displayed a map of the compound and a bunch of blinking lights and simple pictures. Currently it showed the data centre lit up, many blinking images blotting it out. A new update to the comlink, courtesy of a programmer at TGG. It displayed a rough estimate of each comlink's location, effectively allowing to track everyone's position.
To the northwest of the compound a few icons already in position.
A convenient store, due slight northwest was where Nikku, S and Nikusa currently hung out. Nikku had gone in and got popsicles for her and the voidqueen. S got his share too, leeching electricity from the store.
Two stories high gave them a vague overlook of the compound. S wore a hoodie concealing his 'mechanical body'. Though his suit waterproof he still worried about rust. Nikku and Nikusa too both had hoods on as they watched. With a cliff covering the north of the compound, it was surrounded on the 3 remaining sides by a black fence. Electrified, it did a good job keeping out intruders. The convenient store stood near one of the few places the fence ended, a steep hill being all needed to separate the properties.
Despite the opening, the area still had patrols. Nikku watched as a pair of demons walked along the perimeter, hurrying to avoid the light rain. From behind an imaginary line a series of trees, hills, and, according to the map, a guard post: a gazebo of demons watching.
They could see the mailroom just a distance away, a plain grey building with one tiny window. Jagged concrete walls, it's appearance more akin to a substation than a regular surveillance hub. Attached to the building stood another one that the map had labeled "Storage Room".
S watched closely, occasionally leaving his body to scan around. "There's a bunch of cameras in the grass." He said quietly.
They discussed the plan beforehand and Nikku stood up first. Under her hood she wore a scratchy, flowing red wig. On top of her jumpsuit she wore a red and black jacket. Her face remained mostly concealed by darkness, but it could be seen the top of her head had been painted a light purple. Though a sloppy disguise her voice would be the star ingredient.
"Are you all ready?" Nikusa asked.
"I hope so. I hope so." Nikku said, adjusting her voice to Mommy's.
"You sound good." S said gleefully.
"Maybe we should just charge in." Nikusa commented.
"No. We need stealth above all." Solazar chimed in through the comlink.
"I know fancy pants. I was just kidding."
"C'mon Nikku. Let's go." S said. He lost the inflection of smiling in his voice. There was no time for jokes right now. He wanted his revenge, no matter how incorrect it was.
Nikku climbed down the building, S hovering beside her. Under the cover of nightfall they remained invisible. The lights from S' eyes and armour were the only things providing exposure. As they touched down he dimmed them.
Atop the store a parasol had been set up. Large in size it was just enough for Nikusa to sit under. Next to her a small box and antenna had been brought. One of the magical amplifiers required to boost Pompom's spell. It also doubled as a volume booster for Nikku's comlink, allowing Nikusa to better hear whoever spoke to her.
Whereas Nikku was supposed to replicate Mommy's attitude, Nikusa and S found she lacked the 'aggression' and 'senseless violence' the real Mommy had. As such, Nikusa would instruct Nikku what to say and S could commit the senseless violence for her.
The convenient store stood on a slight incline leading down to the compound. Carefully, Nikku started to step down, S keeping close beside her. The rain gave cause to mud, and Nikku found herself sliding down the muddy dirt. S grabbed under her arms and steadied her as she slid, keeping her balance.
"Thanks." She whispered as they reached level ground.
Through S' eyes you and the others could see a 360 view of what he saw. A small screen on Nikusa's box displayed the same thing.
Nikku started to walk towards the compound, feeling particularly devious tonight. "Stand up straight." Nikusa said through the comlink. "You aren't a thief. You're a demon warlord."
Nikku nodded and walked upright, a swagger in her step. They were expecting demons to show up at any second, no doubt the cameras having spotted them by now. They made sure to avoid the guard post.
Though the compound was dark it was not pitch black, and they could easily see where they moved, the mailroom in sight, obscured by a few trees. But just as Nikku thought her costume perfect, something emerged from behind the trees.
One on either side, two demons had arrived.
"Mommy?" One asked with a deep voice. S landed on the ground as Nikku faced them. She pulled her hood off, revealing the auburn hair. The only thing she lacked was the glowing eyes though Nikusa intended to have Nikku play it off, sunglasses covering those eyes.
Though some on the team were familiar with the henchmen, this was Nikku's first close look at them. The so-called Family Henchmen. They all had a similar appearance, Updike confirming that the Family recruited from the same clan of demons.
To your surprise nearly everyone on the team was familiar with them, only Pomona and some others even needing the explanation.
They stood average height, reddish-pink skin and an abnormally long face with a sharp jaw. They all had the same haircut: flat top with spikes on the side and the same sunglasses and stupidly smiling faces. Uniforms were uniform with a slim but just slightly fit build with pointed shoulders. They all wore the same one, a dark blue open jacket, no undershirt and black pants, black running shoes. They were officially part of Mommy's backup dancer crew, patrolling the compound as a side gig.
The two Nikku saw wore oversized clothing, suits not tailored. Their oversized suits hid whatever strength and muscle they had.
Looking them over made it abundantly clear why disguising or even flipping a henchmen would be impossible. They were cookie-cutter as could come.
Pomona, wanting to learn more asked Zardy. The demonic scarecrow burst out laughing when she said what clan they originated from. "Oh yeah they're loyal. But their downright stupid."
"Nikku just repeat after me." Nikusa said from the comlink. Nikku cleared her throat. "Be aggressive. Say, 'that's right. You blind or something'."
"That's right. You blind or something?" Nikku spat.
"W-what are you doing out here?" The demon asked, still eyeing 'Mommy', discerning if it was even her.
"Goin' for a walk. Then to the mailroom." Nikku said, more forcibly this time, Nikusa coaching her. She puffed up her chest, adding more authority to her stance.
"Who's that?" The other demon asked. Despite the rain the demon still had a large grin, it's jaw and mouth shaped like an upside-down triangle.
"The hell's with all these questions?" Nikku asked, raising her voice. "You don't keep up with what's goin' on? He's a new recruit, testing things out."
"B-but I thought we the only guards."
"You idiot! Not that kind of recruit. Now kill-" Nikku tensed up, almost repeating the wrong words.
"Nikku, kill one of them." Nikusa repeated.
"P-pardon?" One of the demons asked, unsure why she had stopped.
Nikku looked to S, unsure, who nodded back. Kill one. "Argh. Fine, order S to kill one of them. Start repeating."
Nikku cleared her throat.
"How about I show you how he works?" Nikku said forcibly, then switched midway to malice.
She pointed to S. "Do your thing."
"With pleasure." S said gleefully. He lunged forward and grabbed one of the demons by the throat, lifting him up as S used his rocket boots. He gripped hard, cutting off circulation.
"What the hell are you people doing?" Solazar shouted from the comlink. "Put him down! We are not trying to kill indiscriminate-"
"Alright, alright. S put him down. We'll kill later."
S complied, dropping the demon onto the ground. He himself levitated back down and resumed his stance beside Nikku.
They understood this had to have been Mommy, and as usual she wasn't playing around.
"Now. I'm going to the mailroom. You don't got a problem with that do ya? Smil-" Nikku smiled awkwardly.
Not asking any more questions the demons led her to the 'mailroom'. They looked to have some sort of communication with the others as S overheard them mumble. Intimidation worked as they looked away when S glared at them.
Up close the mailroom stood tall. A long building that looked to have two stories. The only building in the compound made entirely out of pure concrete. No windows except two single windows did nothing but scream out how 'locked-down' it was. The wall facing the convenient store was flat, with a single small window on the second floor. The longer walls were jagged, concrete lines extruding like spikes. A building labeled 'storage' had been built adjoining it, though that one looked far more normal.
"Can I ask what you're gonna do in there?" One of the demons asked meekly.
"That's it! The hell did I just say?!" Nikku shouted. "SCRAM! Don't you got some patrol to do? You're really gettin' on my nerves!"
"S-sorry mommy."
The two quickly scampered off leaving Nikku and S to complete the rest of the walk.
"This is tough." She whispered.
They continued walking. "What do you mean? You've done great so far. Those chumps were terrified." S said.
Nikku gulped. Though Earthquake and Flashbang had real dangers to them, she felt scared this time. Worry was gnawing at her. It didn't help that the one time she spoke to Ace he randomly blurted out that death always came in threes, that he was terrified Retro was dead. Updike chastised him then, but she couldn't get that conversation out of her head. And her team was 3 people. One of the only ones too.
"Worst case I'm right behind you in 2 minutes flat." Nikusa said through the comlink. "Remember what we learned? Rule 12."
"Don't surrender."
"Damn straight. Anything happens, S and I will cause a bloodbath."
Solazar sighed, hearing the conversation. Should have stopped Nikusa from influencing her, he thought.
A concrete wall stood in front of them now. Plain and minimal it contained nothing but a camera looking down, a pad and two simple blue doors. Nothing fancy looking, and nothing to arouse suspicion of this being a "surveillance hub".
It was a voice activated pad, something Tabi confirmed as well as the floor plan. Nikku walked up to it and pushed a button. "Let me in!" She said angrily.
A green light lit and a clicking sound heard, the doors were unlocked.
Nikku understood that her disguise was shoddy and that it was only boosted because of rain and darkness. But, in the mailroom it would fall apart instantly. She would've been identified soon as she entered. Per the plan, it would be up to S now.
S didn't share the same thoughts, instead thinking he had to hold back if the fighting started. He wanted to make them suffer, take it slow and painful. After all, they helped ruin Mobius!
Nikku grabbed the door handle, thinking back to what was discussed.
Once they stepped in, S would need to:
1. Take over the systems via a physical connection. Demonic technology proved impossible to port in remotely, but if he could touch it he would fare better.
2. Defeat the demons and secure the room. Do it fast enough that no alarms could be rung, and none could escape.
S and Theo planned for this, ensuring S be able seamlessly porting in and out of the shell, jumping from computer to computer to robotic suit in mere nanoseconds.
Doors opened, Nikku and S stepped in.
Like the outside of the building, the interior was just as plain. No fancy tech like the prison's surveillance hub, this looked to be just adequate.
No second floor either, just a really high ceiling. On the right, a massive row of huge monitors and little ones all sitting in a row going to the end of the building. Some of the screens were gargantuan, stretching to the ceiling. S scanned them quickly. Some contained a collage of cameras, and some contained maps.
Beneath them a series of smaller, normal-sized computers with a long, connected desk in front. Intermittently seated in a row going down to the wall were demons, each one having a few monitors to scan.
To the left were storage shelves and racks of various equipment, pieces to repair cameras and the monitors. They were filled with things S did not care to inspect further. Amongst the racks on a wall were some doors, presumably leading to the storage room building.
Per the floor plan directly to the left of Nikku was a proper desk and monitor, meant for the bosses. Thankfully, the boss appeared to be out.
S counted the demons. 16. Plus one hellhound. All watching the cameras. None seemed to care too much except for one that turned to see who entered.
Nikku, with her added swagger went to the security's desk and took a seat, pretending to look busy. She noticed a name placard listing the "Head of Security". She just put it down, pretending she owned the thing.
"Carry on!" She shouted, per Nikusa's instruction. "Pretend I'm not here." She added, playing off her appearance being some unscheduled observation.
S looked at his options. He could take out the demons in under 3 minutes. It would be violent as hell but didn't care. Though in those 3 minutes, one could call for backup, blow the whole operation. No. A different approach would be necessary. Control would be required first.
Nikku tried to look as foreboding as she could, glaring at the demons who looked her way.
S strolled up to the cameras, nonchalant. Though his eyes appeared to watch the massive screens, he really scanned for an open port, something to enter.
Sniffing something odd, the one hellhound started walking towards Nikku, passing by S.
Still thinking of a plan, S wondered if he could point out Nikusa, pretend to fight and subdue her then bring her back to the mailroom and ambush them. No, that would definitely cause a family member to show up. She'd have to come later. Nikusa was not on the Family's good side either.
He determined he would need to physically enter the system. Most of the demons ignored him but some looked worried. He played it off as if he were inspecting them, occasionally getting into their personal space.
Nikku stared into the distance, not looking at anything in particular. Though she felt fine something kept gnawing at her. Like she was in a daze or suffering from vertigo. Must be the pressure, she determined. An intense barking broke her daze as the hellhound started barking, growling and snarling.
Though it looked like a German Shephard, the flames on its ears and tails and crimson coloured fur indicated its 'hellish-ness'. Panicking, Nikku froze. Nikusa butt in instantly, shouting at Nikku.
"Someone get this mutt out of my face! I am not in the mood for this bullshit!" Nikku shouted, looking away from the hellhound. Some demon quickly ran up and grabbed it by the collar, chastising it for making a scene.
Unbeknownst to the three, it rose a lot of suspicion from the demons. After all, the hellhounds were always so nice to Mommy. They rationalized it as to either Mommy having a bad day or that strange hedgehog robot triggering it.
Either way, one demon took it and brought it outside.
S continued to inspect. Though he had been told the technology was demonic-in-origin, these looked relatively normal. Scrawled onto some of the machines he noticed runes and strange symbols. Magic-powered?
"Might need Pomona." He systematically transmitted to the centre.
"Absolutely not. Not until you get control." Displo said.
"Where is Pompom anyways?" Tess asked.
"She went to the washroom. She'll be back. Don't worry." Displo added.
Now Playing...
Artist: Nobuyuki Shioda
Song: M.O.M.
With the strange appearance of Mommy, the dog attack and this weird murderous hedgehog the demons were concerned. Summoning enough courage one demon got up and started walking to Nikku. S paused, considering killing it then and there. No. Not yet. He continued looking over the computers for a sign of entry, even scanning the surrounding area's spectrum. Nothing but garbled signals. There was one way. And he knew he was smart enough to figure it out. It would depend on how long it would take. Milliseconds? Nanoseconds? Might as well try.
"Mommy? Are you okay today? Can we help?" The demon asked, approaching Nikku. "You don't look-"
S punched a hole right into the nearest monitor, hoping it would tether him to it. The demons, shocked by the sudden smash all turned to see S' lifeless body hit the ground, sparks flying everywhere.
"I'm in." Nikku heard on the comlink. There wasn't much time left. S inputted all the commands he could.
execute CVE-2021-34527
DRIVE_INFO_2 initialize DRIVER_CONTAINER
execute payload sonic.exe
call RpcAddPrinterDriver.sonic.exe
"Elevated Command Shell Obtained!"
A printer nearby started to smoke as S worked his magic. That too caught the attention of the demons, finding the whole display strange.
netsh interface *. re-direct ports *. > 192.168.0.41
From within the data centre, Solazar and Tess watched as the empty cameras started to come to life, giving a more intimate view of the compound.
"That should stop them from calling their babysitters." S cackled from Nikku's comlink. "Connection's heavily encrypted but I'm setting up some GRE Tunnels. They'll take a few minutes. Either way we. Are. IN!"
"You aren't Mommy!" One of the demons shouted. "You're a fake!"
The other demons all stopped and turned to her, faces frowning and smirking at the same time. Both the disappointment that they had gotten fooled, and the incoming bloodbath filled their minds.
"Nikusa, need you now!" Nikku said to her comlink.
"Just who the hell are you?" The demon asked. It drew a switchblade, pointing it at Nikku.
Over at the store, Nikusa got up and smashed the screen and transmitter.
Nikku stood up. "Now just hold on-" Her wig fell off, revealing her pink hair.
"Shoot."
There was an audible gasp.
With the network compromised, S returned to his body jumping up. He quickly climbed atop the desk and shouted. "THIS PLACE IS UNDER CARNIVAL CONTROL NOW!"
With the demons distracted Nikku hopped the desk and made for the racks. She grabbed the first thing she saw, a bracket for a server rack, wielding the long piece of metal like a sword.
With Solazar informing Nikusa of patrol locations Nikusa made for the mailroom, hopping from tree to tree and hiding where needed.
Nikku suddenly felt a hot flash hit her and froze, dropping the rack. S flew up and landed next to her, helping her up. Re-focusing she grabbed the bracket and, remembering her breast pocket pulled out a bottle of holy water, courtesy of Carol. Dousing the bracket in it she readied, remembering how Nikusa taught her to fight.
"30 seconds away." Nikusa said from the comlink.
The demons started to encircle S and Nikku, now fully grinning and ready for a slaughter. They cracked their knuckles in anticipation.
While Nikku was starting to worry, S grinned as wide as he'd ever done. While the demons looked at the two like a lion would its prey, so did S.
The first one charged S, waving a switchblade violently. S didn't react, instead using his jet boots to launch into the demon, punching a hole clean through it. He laughed maniacally as dominant faces turned surprised.
S cackled.
The other two charged at Nikku, the voiceless one defending herself. One of the demon's knives got stuck in the bracket as she swung. Hand still on the switchblade she pulled and vaulted one of the demons into the other. Resuming her fighting stance, the attack did little to slow her two assailants. They got up, though now slightly disheveled.
Meanwhile, the others charged S, still a bit fearful at what exactly he was. Simultaneously he'd taken control of the large monitor, now using it to display a scoreboard.
CARNIVAL 1 - 0 FAMILY
He continued to fight back, smashing heads together, breaking limbs and using his speed and brutality to make quick work. A few demons started to run, seeing just how outmatched they were. Nikku too, slammed the server bracket on her assaults. Coupled with the holy water it burned some, also fleeing. S turned his attention to her assailants, breaking ribs and snapping necks. One of the demons made for the computer, attempting to call an alarm.
S walked slowly towards the demon, giggling as it realized S was in control now. S was enjoying himself, not once having let this loose since before the team.
Some demons made it to the door before the window above smashed open, glass shards hitting some of them. In came Nikusa, who with a triumphant face effectively traumatized the remaining demons.
Getting closer, S spoke to the demon. "No calling for help. Just you and me now. This is what you get for Mobius." He said, salivating blood on the projection.
Gorey details notwithstanding, the team dealt with them. Nikusa started moving storage racks to blockade the entrance, Nikku helping. As S piled up the bodies he did a quick count, finding...14.
"Where the hell?" S started glancing around. "DID YOU SEE ANYONE LEAVE?"
"Nope." Nikku said, returning to using Tess' voice.
They looked to the side, seeing the only surviving demon open the storage room door and disappear inside.
"After him!" S shouted, launching after the door. But, before S could even smash through it, the door flew open, demon flying out. It flew back, smashing into the storage racks, knocking a few loose monitors onto it.
Curious as to what knocked it out, S hovered in front of the door. While dark he could easily see inside. Scanning the hallway, he made a figure out standing there when an object flew at him at mach speed.
Though S tried to dodge he just barely made it out of the way when a woodcutter's axe flew out of the room. Blade cut through the metal joint easy, slicing S' robotic arm off. He lost balance, crashing into a server rack.
"Argh!" S shouted. More annoyed than anything he felt little pain, mind already going through the motions on how to repair it.
Nikku and Nikusa had different reactions, Nikku hit with surprise. Nikusa felt curious as the being emerged from the storage room hallway.
Getting up, S used his rockets to hover away, giving the figure room. He now determined how to repair himself, next was how much hell he needed to give his attacker.
Out of the storage room emerged a skinny, but tall figure, all it's limbs black. Not human nor anthro, it appeared moreso like a crude drawing of a stick figure. Simple hands and feet, nothing but thick black lines and a few outlines indicating a pelvis and chest. Its head was the only 'normal' thing about it. Standing at the door's height it ducked to get in the door.
A round head, white skin like the axe it threw. It was pissed off, eyes bloodshot and a deep red. "Y-you guys just can't keep it down can y-you?!" The figure shouted. It twitched as it moved.
A collar hung around its neck, a red light blinking on it.
The next chapter will be called Smiles for Everyone.
----------------
When I first started writing this I wrote the redacted chapter (this one) as the very first one. When I finally got to this part I realize just how outdated it had become lol.
Beta Note: In that original version the team I predicted was Tabi, S, Huggy Wuggy, Kapi, Parappa, Lammy, Springheel, Pompom, Tankman, Aldryx, Solazar, Rosie, Pico, Hex, Whitty and Carol. Well we weren't that far off.
A whole bunch of those people got cut and replaced. This would have also meant that the 'Coalition' would have been The Carnival, the Tankmen, the Belladonnas and Milkcan. Instead our 'Coalition' is The Carnival, IRIS, the Seven Deadly Sins and The Greater Good.