A new group for Fiona… the first time she will work under a team. Leader Edwardson — but what she does not know is… this will not end well.
Lady Natasha: "Hehehehe…"
She was playing chess.
Lady Natasha: "This mission… this group I created… just as they ordered me, Mr. Meliodas…"
Meliodas: "Hmm… but you know… they will probably all die, don't you?"
Lady Natasha: "Hehehehe… that's the point… behind it… people can always be replaced…"
Meliodas: "Hmm."
Lady Natasha: "Even Fiona… the Card of the Mysterious is only strong because it's under Hollen's power… but there are enough people we can find… our projects… they're always getting better… besides, there are several who can survive the… black hole…"
Meliodas: "People with abilities, card holders…"
Meliodas fell silent.
Meliodas: "That doesn't mean they can't die."
Lady Natasha: "Relax…"
She knocked away the king on the chessboard.
Lady Natasha: "I have enough agents… you wanted me to investigate more…"
Meliodas: "You're truly horrible… you're aware that because of you more than 500 projects have died… 480 of them were children not even 11."
Lady Natasha: "Sacrifices are necessary…"
Meliodas: "I warn you Natasha… under your care most projects have died… the other branches of the Dark Umbrella have far fewer… and they are not happy with this…"
Lady Natasha: "Hmm."
Meliodas: "Where do you get so many children?"
Lady Natasha: "Hmm."
Meliodas: "Certainly not just from the streets or orphans."
Lady Natasha: "Oh… through… Project 43 m.t…"
Meliodas: "Ugh! You're using the Mother Project! Do you realize how horrific that is?"
Lady Natasha: "A monster… into which children are thrown and given abilities… I know how dangerous it is…"
Meliodas: "It takes sixty percent of people's lives away… that means your agents won't live long anyway."
Lady Natasha: "Sacrifices… are always necessary…"
(evil smile)
She stood up and went into a room… there were containers… inside were children… in a liquid… the containers were connected to something… a large vat… inside a huge female figure, about five meters tall… the containers were bound to her.
Lady Natasha: "…there you are… Project 43… Mt. Mother… or also… Snow White!"
She opened her eyes.
Lady Natasha: "So pretty… as ever… what… you can't speak… you must pity the children who have to take your blood…"
Most of the children were embryos.
Lady Natasha: "Ohhh… you're so cute… no need to cry… they're not really your children… I even sacrificed my own children for you… for example… Noelle and Parzival… hehehe."
She smiled.
Lady Natasha: "To protect the people and children… unfortunately I must sacrifice some…"
(Meanwhile)
Pinocchio: "Ding… ding… wake up… wake up… wake up…" he shouted through the loudspeaker.
Fiona: "Hmmm…"
Pinocchio: "You too, Fiona…"
Fiona: "Huh… leave me alone…"
Pinocchio: "Nahahaha… you're the new one."
Fiona: "So what."
Pinocchio: "Not a good impression."
She showed him the middle finger.
Fiona: "Get it now… let me sleep."
Pinocchio: "I guess I have to."
He came closer and took out two drumsticks.
(Dong!)
In her ears.
Fiona: "Urk… gahhhhhh…"
She jumped up startled.
Fiona: "Are you crazy."
Pinocchio: "Oh… you got up."
Fiona: "Hahhhh… fine…"
She stood up.
Fiona: "Hmmm…"
Pinocchio: "You're cute when you're tired…"
Fiona: "Sorry to say but go away…"
Pinocchio: "Oh… strip? It's fine I'm staying I'm a puppet."
Fiona: "A puppet who likes to harass women…"
Pinocchio: "No I don't."
Fiona: "You keep staring at my chest…"
Pinocchio: "You're wearing an undershirt… I can't see anything."
Fiona: "Still…"
Pinocchio: "Alright…"
He left the room.
Fiona: "Hhhhh…"
She stood up.
Crane: "Well…"
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Crane: "You've got a fan."
Fiona: "You mean a fan of my body…"
Crane: "Hey, he's still young."
Fiona: "He's half human half puppet."
Crane: "So what…"
She brushed her teeth.
Fiona: "Mmm…"
Crane: "You should slowly think about getting into a relationship."
Fiona: "(Swallow) …what? …no…!!!!"
(A few minutes later)
Fiona: "Alright."
She pulled on her gloves.
Fiona: "Let's go…"
(Patch!)
Fiona: "Hahhh…"
Noelle: "Halli hallo!"
Fiona: "Do you have to be so loud."
Noelle: "Hehehe… did you sleep well?"
Fiona: "Yes."
Noelle: "Good then…"
Parzival: "Hmph…"
Noelle: "Hmm?…"
(Clap, clap)
Edwardson: "Quiet now please… let me introduce Cruella. Noelle you're also new like Fiona… this is Cruella…"
It was a young woman about 16 with black and white hair.
Fiona: "Oh."
Noelle: "She has one side black and the other white… hehe… you have completely white hair except the ends…"
Fiona: "Hahaha… (bored)"
Pinocchio: "Huhu… do we have a mission master."
Edwardson: "Good. It would be the third mission for the Dark Crows and for Noelle and Fiona the first…"
He showed a picture.
Fiona: "What is that?"
Noelle: "Is that a painting?"
Edwardson: "The painting of Charluter…"
Noelle: "Ugh!… the cursed painting… you can't just show us a photo that's cursed!"
Edwardson: "Calm down. The picture isn't exactly like the painting… I want us to find this painting…"
Noelle: "That's insane… anyone who sees or even touches it gets the curse of Charluter… the paintings of the former guardian Rapunzel!"
Edwardson: "I know… but this painting is no longer hidden."
Fiona: "What?"
Edwardson: "Hahhh… the curse."
He showed a few more pictures.
Edwardson: "The curse of Charletur causes pain. This pain comes because a musician and a painter both met Rapunzel. As you know, Rapunzel was a former guardian banned from death. That's why this drawing was banned, especially because Rapunzel herself, before she was banned, was known for her incredibly strong curses and how much she liked to interact with humans. She represented Sloth but was very lustful and began many relationships with humans… women or men alike. And so, well… the painter painted Rapunzel and the musician made a song for the painting."
Fiona: "Hmm? You must mean… The Song of the Lustful Siren."
Edwardson: "Exactly… you know your stuff."
Fiona: "Of course I do… I worked on the investigations myself."
Edwardson: "Really?"
Fiona: "Mhm… but I wasn't alone… my former mentor was there…"
Edwardson: "You mean surely Gargamel?"
Fiona: "No that's his brother… mine was Gustav."
Edwardson: "Oh… then it must have been a long time ago… after all he died six years ago."
Fiona: "Mhm…"
Edwardson: "I see… can you handle some of it?"
Fiona: "My mentor didn't allow me to investigate fully so my task was simply to read the legends and the Books of Oz… of course with a protective chain, since the Books of Oz are necromancer parts that are cursed… there was a lot written there."
Cruella: "Symptoms?"
Fiona: "How do you know that?"
Cruella: "Simple. I know curses well…"
Edwardson: "She possesses the Card of the Pumpkin Head…"
Fiona: "Wait? You mean the Card of the Pumpkin Knight, one of the cards? The creature made by Beatrice…"
Cruella: "From corpse and pumpkin head and the heart of an animal… exactly."
Fiona: "Hmmm…"
Edwardson: "Mhm… ok… anything else."
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Cruella: "The symptoms were specifically five."
Fiona: "Pain… especially in the eye area."
Cruella: "Ears from which bloody leeches out."
Fiona: "A curse spirit that screams at you until you go mad."
Cruella: "A spider that suddenly appears in your body and builds a web so you can hardly breathe."
Fiona: "And finally… you become a creature of human and candle."
Cruella: "Could also be musical instruments depending on whether music or painting kills you."
Parzival: "Creepy…"
Noelle: "Mhm."
Cruella: "There's no way to undo it."
Fiona: "No way to break the curse. You mustn't touch the painting or even look at it otherwise the curse comes…"
Cruella: "The music begins as soon as the painting is near."
She approached.
Cruella: "You know who the musician and the painter are."
Fiona: "I know… Van Gogh the painter and the musician was the famous Beethoven… right?"
Cruella: "Exactly…"
Both met Rapunzel. It is said Rapunzel was so beautiful that some became obsessed with her and did what she said… once she asked someone to cut off his own legs; he did and bled to death… then there was the woman who killed her own children and partner just to spend one night with Rapunzel…"
Pinocchio: "Hmmm…"
Edwardson: "Alright Pinocchio… use your Theater Card to show exactly what happened with the last victim."
Pinocchio: "Wuhu!"
He showed his card.
Pinocchio: "Card of the Theater… create my theater play!"
Suddenly they landed in another dimension full of puppets.
Fiona: "What now?"
Noelle: "Wow…"
Parzival: "Hmmm…"
A narrator's voice, it was Pinocchio himself.
Pinocchio: "Long ago… a person entered a castle… the castle called Lemonade… there he found the painting… being an unaware wanderer from a completely different realm he apparently did not know what he was doing…"
The puppets moved.
Pinocchio: "He touched the place of Rapunzel's carriage, naturally the music began exactly when he entered the room… but…"
The puppet fell to its knees.
Pinocchio: "He suddenly screamed… suddenly blood from his eyes… then leeches appeared from his ears, blood hedgehogs sucking his inner ear blood, he could hardly breathe… as he coughed he saw his hand."
The puppet moved as Pinocchio narrated alongside a song… a beautiful song reminiscent of old fairy tales.
Pinocchio: "When he looked at his hand he saw the spider threads… then he screamed and suddenly transformed into a human with a candle head… instead of a man he was now a candle man… or whatever…"
(The song grew stronger)
Pinocchio: "But that wasn't all… the puppet wandered and sought a place to hide… it still had senses… the poor one sought a place… actually not really an adult but only 12… so he fell into a well… full of puppets… and replaced his burning body through magic with a puppet… thus was born… Pinocchio!"
(Ta-da)
Pinocchio: "That's me."
Fiona: "What?"
Noelle: "Ugh."
Parzival: "I don't know what bothers me more — the fact that he pitied himself."
Fiona: "Oh… that's embarrassing… and then thinking it's a good idea to play the music so loud that everyone hears our hideout…"
Noelle: "I thought it was cool."
Parzival: "Why did the spider look like an old spider."
Fiona: "And why does the puppet look like an 80-year-old and not like a 12-year-old child?"
Pinocchio: "Oh… forgot to say I suffer from a disease."
Fiona: "Oh…"
Parzival: "Oh… didn't know such a disease exists… that makes you look like an old man… by the way could you please turn off the damn music… isn't it over?"
Fiona: "Or make it quieter…"
Parzival: "And that puppet there should stop copying your movements, it's creepy…"
(a few hours later)
(Splop!)
(Splop!)
(Patch!) (Patch)
(Gulp!)
Clara: "Hmmm… they're here… Master Clown…"
(Patch!)
Clown: "(radio static)… I… am here…"
(radio static)
Clown: "Hehehehe…"
A dark suit, yellow eyes and a bound mouth as well as throat.
Clown: "Is it time already… have you found the painting?"
Clara: "Of course…"
Clown: "That is good… let the theater… begin…"
(Patch!)
(Splop!)
Years ago… a child was born in its dead mother's body… weak and alone… they pulled it out… the woman who cared for him however didn't like his voice… so she cut it away and replaced it with a… radio… since she also didn't like his creepy red eyes she took them away and took a cat and took its eyes… and gave them to him. He got the eyes of the cat… and she gave the cat the red eyes… the child however was ignored by the others because of its radio-like voice and not treated well…"
Clown: "(radio static)… it's time… hehehe."
He stood before a large clock tower.
Clown: "Hehehe."
(meow!)
Clown: "Everything will be alright Miwa… we'll show these people… I the Clown… the one who represents Wrath will show them what wrath is… broadcast in… 1… 2… 3… and go."
(tv noise and radio noise)
People were surprised as their TVs turned on by themselves. And also the radios.
A hand appeared.
Woman: "Aaaaaaaaaaarghh."
(Splach!)
Clown: "(grin)…"
(Patch!) (Patch)
Clown: "Let's go… Miwa…"
Miwa: "Meow…"
The cat suddenly vanished, then also the Clown. Simply jumped through the hat and disappeared.
Clown: "Hehehe… it's time…"
(a few days later)
Edwardson: "…hmm… this is the castle… where the painting is…"
Fiona: "Hmmm…"
Edwardson: "Don't forget… don't… talk… talking too much could mean you hear the song too late… when you find the picture don't look at it… use Project Zero Five."
Zero Five is a project — a scarf that makes sure the curses do not work.
Fiona: "Ok."
Noelle: "Mhm…"