Council of Creators Episode 40

The Putrid Heart: Demonic Disease Monster Organon! is the fortieth episode of Council Of Creators. It was written by KoopaGalaxain and is the fourth episode in the Sepsis arc.

Nerd was standing at the doorway to BRK's old room, half-remodeled, and sighed. The absence of BRK, John and Scoobs had hit him especially hard; he wasn't used to this level of silence in the Bar. The rest of the remaining creators in the base were also feeling the effects, but had come up with a plan to try and regain some of the lost morale.

Hokuto Black King was watching Wolfzilla and Koopa as they dragged some of the furniture in the bar into the middle of the room, gradually constructing a large table with plenty of chairs around it. Indominus had headed out to the local supermarket to gather ingredients to make some lemon drizzle cake, while Cdr was flipping through a recipe book, making sure to bookmark the pages he thought would suit the party that was being planned.

"Say..." Cdr began, looking up from his book. "You remember Myos, right?" he asked, the other Creators stopping what they were doing to look at him.

"I'd rather forget." Nerd replied. "That freak trashed our bar, and ended up kickstarting the mess we're in now, ever since Mrs. Cool-Ass tried to take us on."

"Well, don't you think it's strange that ever since he died, we've heard nothing more of his master, or any other associates he might be hiding up his sleeves? Universe 1996 has been silent ever since we went to stop Sepsizilla from attacking Sealand."

Koopa put his closed fist under his chin, inadvertently imitating the iconic The Thinker statue by Rodin. "It is strange indeed. I hope that nothing's gone wrong there. Normally when things are so quiet, it's a sign of trouble."

"Well, we'd better hope this trouble, if it exists, doesn't come here." Wolf replied. "We're still not used to fighting like this, with three of us now absent."

Watching from the bar, a faint grin crossed Hokuto Black King's face. As he watched the Creators continue to discuss the situation they were in, he began thinking to himself: "Excellent. They know their numbers have been harmed. They're not quite as confident in their abilities as they used to be. Clearly, removing Subject 'S' was like taking out the cornerstone of their little organisation."

Hokuto Black King's thoughts were interrupted by Cdr approaching the counter. "Hey, do you have any idea where Mosu is?"

"Oh, him? He's gone out to watch a film at the local cinema, to see if it's really as bad as the critics say it is. Some sort of animated film about Desktop Assistants, I think. He should be back soon." Hokuto Black King replied. As Cdr nodded to show he understood, the bartender concluded his thoughts with "Oh, how I wish I was lying. I may be a demon masquerading as a friend of these whelps, but no one deserves that sort of assault on their senses. He'll learn to regret making the decision to watch that film, soon enough."

Suddenly, the TV in the corner of the room, which was showing an episode of some trashy talk show whose guests had been blaring expletives left and right, was interrupted by the distinctive sound of GlobalNews' sign-on theme.

We interrupt your normal programming for some breaking news. uttered the blank and monotone voice, as the cameras focused on two anchors rushing to organise the papers on their desk. Once she was sure that the cameras were rolling, the first anchor began to speak in an anxious tone.

"We're receiving several reports from Indonesia of a growing health crisis which seems to have struck the city of Jakarta. According to a press release from the Indonesian government, a bizarre disease is affecting the city's residents. The symptoms of this condition have not yet been fully determined, as our sources appear to wildly disagree on its exact effects at this point in time. So far, of the 140 people reported to have suffered from the condition, not one person infected by the disease has survived. We will keep you up to date with this story as it develops. If you wish to stay with us for the additional headlines, please tune to Channel 1."

And with that, just as abruptly as the bulletin had began, it ended, returning to the talk show, right as the two incomprehensible guests began throwing punches at each other. Quickly walking over to the television, Cdr switched it off. For a few minutes, the room was silent. No one knew quite what to say. To state that the mood in the room had been killed was a major understatement. The silence in the bar was only broken when Indominus marched through the door, carrying supplies and humming the theme tune to an anime he had been marathoning recently. His obliviousness to the situation that had just taken place calmed the others down, and soon the murmur of conversation filled the room again. For now, the crisis could wait; a party was in order.

As the Creators began discussing their plans, Hokuto Black King silently slipped out of the room and into the kitchen, making sure to lock the door behind him. He also switched on the soundproofing, so no one would hear what was about to happen next.

With his Hokuto Asterism on his chest glowing brightly, Hokuto Black King made a connection to his master through telepathy.

"Master.... Are you there? I wish to speak with you." Hokuto Black King uttered. To this, a voice became audible in his head. It spoke in a deep and rumbling tone.

"What do you wish to know, agent? You aren't getting any ideas about defecting, are you?" The voice asked.

"No... no... It's not about that..." Hokuto Black King replied. "...It's about what's happening in Indonesia. This isn't your doing, is it?"

"Ha ha ha ha... No. I had no part in this little crisis the planet is facing. I've still got a long journey ahead before my powers have the range necessary to make the Earth my plaything. This is the result of something... no... someone else. Someone who's beyond our control. Looks like we're not the only ones vying for control over this universe's fate. If they succeed, our plan could be put in jeopardy. After all, it's not possible to terrorise a whole universe when there's no one left to fear you."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Hokuto Black King inquired. "Surely there's something I can do!"

"You're right, agent. If you're worried about the disease taking you, don't be. You're already immune. I want you to protect the Creators with your life. Stop them from being taken by the infection, and they should be able to clear out this threat and resolve the situation before my plans are ruined. That is all."

Hokuto Black King wanted to reply, but he could feel his master's voice leaving his head, and the psychic link was broken.

ONE WEEK LATER

TIME: 01:00 AM

Koopa was roused from his sleep by an acidic sensation in his mouth and nose. Coughing violently, he climbed out of his bed and stumbled across the floor, walking into his desk along the way. As the desk shook, he winced, both from the pain in his sinuses and the sharp sting that was now present in his left thigh. "I just know that's going to bruise." He thought, trying his best not to cause any more noise.

Stumbling into the main room of the bar, he made a strong effort to make it to the door, in the hope that the fresh air outside would clear his airways, but upon opening the door, he was met by only more of the strange acidic gas, which smelt and tasted like raw lemon juice, only much more concentrated.

Looking down the street towards where Mrs. Cool-Ass's bar once stood, he noticed some sort of smokestack rising out of the previously-empty lot. A construction crew, led by the same foreman he visited when they were demolishing Mrs. Cool-Ass' bar were lowering the smokestack onto a concrete base using several mobile cranes. At the entrance to the lot, several tankers were waiting. It would seem that this was where the chemicals were coming from.

Noticing Koopa watching them from the bar's porch, the foreman walked over. "Ah, Good, now I don't need to knock on your door." He responded.

"Uh, what's going on?" Koopa asked, still slightly groggy.

"Well, it looks like the empty lot's finally got a purpose again. Haven't you been following the news? That outbreak in Jakarta's starting to spread. The countries of the world have been ordered to build these 'disinfection towers', or whatever they are." The foreman replied. It was then that he heard a hissing noise coming from one of the tankers. An irritated expression crossed his face, and he turned to yell at the other workers on the site.

"Hey! Who thought it was a clever idea to vent one of the tankers now? You're going to wake up half the damn street like that!"

"Well...um..." one of the workers began, but the foreman interrupted him.

"You need to be more careful! We're holding the fate of this city in our hands right now, and I'm sure the CEO wouldn't be pleased if we gave everyone breathing problems, would he?" he exclaimed.

Turning back to Koopa, the foreman's expression softened.

"Sorry about that, it would seem that the disinfectant chemicals haven't been made right. I'll make sure that the crew clean it up and replace it with the proper mixture, which shouldn't be a problem to breathe in."

Grasping the side of his head, Koopa murmured "Ah, that's good to hear. I'll tell the others about it in the morning...see you around..." before he stumbled back through the door, clumsily shutting it behind him.

Over the next fortnight, the mysterious disease that had been sweeping through South East Asia was spread from country to country like wildfire. Even though the Far East, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland and Iceland had successfully shut their borders in time, the disease was carried to their countries by migrating animals, and isolated patients soon appeared in hospitals, dying in bouts of horrific pain inside sterilised wards. Occasional reports and rumours of people who were immune also began to surface from these areas, although the closed borders meant that no one could get there to see if the rumours were true.

The United States, meanwhile, was not so lucky. With the disease carried by thousands of fleeing tourists from Indonesia, cases quickly arose almost as soon as the retreating aircraft arrived back home. As the whole world began to dissolve into chaos, the scientific community had finally came up with a name for the unknown contagion's effects - Ischemic Putrefaction.

Putting their faith in the disinfection tower, the residents of the city where the Creators lived constructed a great fence around their hometown, to keep the infected out. One week passed in the city willingly placed under siege, the citizens desperately hoping that they would escape the growing pandemic...

"...And now, we return to our main report. It has come to our understanding that the disinfection tower in the city has ran out of chemicals to keep it functioning. All citizens are being instructed to remain indoors unless it is absolutely necessary to go outside, to barricade all entrances and wear these government-supplied protective clothing and associated antibacterial humidifier." The reporter explained, donning a heavy black gasmask and hooking it up to a canister of an unknown substance, before taking a deep breath through it. Almost as soon as he finished inhaling, he began coughing laboriously.

"In addition, the city has been officially placed under martial law, and strict curfews are in place until the crisis has resolved itself. All residents must be indoors by 8 PM, with absolutely no exceptions. It is in this time of duress that we at GlobalNews insist that you do not give up hope. Even when things are at their darkest, you must not lose your resolve. We will remain with you all the way through this crisis, and wish you all the best chance of survival. GlobalNews, James Waterman."

As soon as the report was over, Indominus switched the TV off. All of the creators were wearing the gear the reporter had mentioned - even Terry was wearing a specialised version which left room for his beak.

"So, what do you suppose we do now?" Wolf asked. "It would seem that this might be the end for us. What do we do when these canisters are empty?"

"I..." Indominus began, trying to think of an answer. "...I don't know, and that's the honest answer. That Waterman guy is right, we can't give up hope, though. There must be a reason for this. Does anyone else have any ideas?"

Hokuto Black King spoke up. "In my honest opinion, you should decide among yourselves who should go to seek out whatever is causing this disastrous outbreak. I have a strong feeling that the thing behind this is no ordinary pathogen. No, this is something else."

Cdr walked up to the bar and eyed Hokuto Black King closely. He was sure that something was afoot. Since when was Hokuto Black King's smoke green instead of blue?

"What seems to be the problem, sir?" Hokuto Black King asked, his smoke gushing out from the ports in his gasmask.

"Are you sure you're okay, friend? Your smoke..." Cdr began to reply.

"Of course, sir. There's nothing different about me. Are you sure you are alright? Need anything to calm your nerves?"

"No, no, it's fine. I'm probably just a little bit tired..." Cdr replied, walking away from the counter.

As he left to go and sit down, Hokuto Black King thought to himself. "That was a close one. I'm sorry, Creators, but I can't let you learn why you haven't fallen to the infection just yet..."

"In any case," Hokuto Black King continued, "I will need to accompany you in searching for this threat. I don't want to be standing around doing nothing while you get slaughtered out there by whatever caused this crisis. There will be no negotiations or attempting to keep me out of this - if I were to refuse or be refused from taking part, it would be absolutely wrong."

Taken aback by this, Koopa took a moment to think about what to say next. "Well, don't expect this to be a cakewalk. I've been having these premonitions again, and if I'm right once more, we're going to have to go through hell before we can stop the one behind all this..."

Everyone in the room turned towards Koopa. This time, they weren't going to pass off the Creator's dreams as mere fantasy; he had been right before with Myos. Seeing this as a sign of the others wanting to hear more, Koopa elaborated on his previous statement.

"You see, in Universe 1996 - the version you found me in - Keratos and Myos are just one of three powerful subordinates, subordinates that were created by my worst enemy, Sepsis. We've already seen the first two, meaning that the third must be around here somewhere. There's no doubt this time. The third subordinate must be behind this!"

The other creators looked on in silence, while Terry obliviously rested on an armchair near the television, sleeping lightly.

"Well," Nerd piped up, "We can't just sit around here doing nothing, in that case! What do you say we do now?"