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Flug had to expect something like this to happen. But maybe because of the reoccuring nightmares keeping him away from his own bed, the never-ending anxiety with the demands from his boss getting more and more strict, or because he couldn't find neither his coffee pills nor anything containing caffeine to help him stay awake, he simply didn't think about it.And that's the awful thing about it. He didn't think about it. He was too focused on his latest invention, a cube able to make limbs not respond to the brain for a certain amount of time that he didn't determine yet.And he knows he should have expected this. Because it always happen! As soon as he lets his guard somewhat down, Demencia shows up and makes a mess in the lab. His lab!At least, most of the time when she shows up bored at his lab, a mess is the most she'll do before leaving Flug to clean up after her. Not today it seems, no. Not only did Demencia taunt and distact him knowing he currently has a strict time limit for his next invention, but she then took what he was working on and ran around the lab in a 'playfull' manner. And no matter how many times Flug yelled at her to give it back to him, that he needed this done by tomorrow, that if she lost it Black Hat would be so mad, that she had to be carefull or it would break... She just didn't listen.After a while of him destroying his own voice yelling at Demencia, he gave up on that, knowing that it wouldn't affect her. Instead, he took it upon himself to try and get his invention back in his own hands. He tried running after her, making sure he didn't waste all of his energy immediately, but more trying to get her stuck in a corner with nothing else to do but give him his invention back.Yeah, that'd work...It didn't. She jumped on him, pressing him onto the ground only to then walk on him and go for the lab's exit. With a grunt, he got up as fast as he could and went after her. Even with his bad endurance and lack of speed, he managed to get somewhat close to her. He tried to grab the cube shape of his invention, but found himself falling limp to the ground.It didn't take long to figure out that Demencia had used his invention against him. Which only made Flug's situation worse. He never tested how long the effects lasted and for all he knew it could be hours!His head rested unconfortably on the ground as he desesperatly attempted to make his arms or legs move to no avail. Well at least he knew it worked...Luckily, he could still somewhat talk. "Demencia... Turn... It... Off..!" He managed to say. His face being against the ground didn't help him in the slightest, but perhaps he could still try to convince Demencia to give him back the cube.But really, it wasn't like she was gonna listen. Still, Flug hadn't expected her to suddenly smash his creation into the floor with all of her strenght, breaking it in small pieces...Now, he was mad at her. All that work suddenly gone. Not that Black Hat wouldn't have probably done the same thing... But as Flug's mind began sprinting, one main worry showed up. What will Black Hat say when he sees that Flug doesn't have anything to present? He'll be so mad at Flug, he'll probably yell at him about how useless he currently is being having nothing to present to him, no new creation, no new idea. None. Because Demencia threw it on the ground breaking it.He didn't even notice the girl leaving him to his miserable fate.He probably spent the whole night stuck there on the unconfortable floor, totally unable to accomplish anything to salvage the sudden loss of his latest invention. He barely slept, but surely caught maybe a hour of sleep. That seemed like good enough.Eventually, he regained control of his limbs. Getting up, he noticed that he didn't have time to make anything before having to go to Black Hat's office...
He was doomed.
That was the end for him, he'd never see the light of day ever again. (Not even through the mansion's windows.) He'd be lucky to be kept alive. But what were the odds of that? Black Hat will be pissed. There's nothing Flug can do but accept that this is the end.Oh, how much he wished he could curl up into a ball and hide in hope that Black Hat forgets he even wanted to see him. But it was almost 9:00 a.m. Flug had to be at Black Hat's office by then. He's dead... He's so dead.. Sighing, he slowly began walking to the office. He started to recall memories from his past and how he ended up here...Knocking on the door felt like the most energy consuming thing he's ever done. It took all he had to not run away right then and there. If he had, where would he have gone anyways?He flinched when the doors opened by themselves. His boss' office was as intimidating as always. He kept his eyes on the red carpet as he walked in, refusing to look at his boss in the eyes out of fear. He barely registered the words that were spoken to him, but he made an effort to sort them out."Flug..." Black Hat's voice echoed around the room. His anger already beginig to show at the obvious lack of invention in Flug's shaky hands. "Did you not bring your latest invention." It didn't feel like a question, yet Flug tried to answer despite his trembling voice."W-w-w-w-well s-sir... Things didn't go as- as planned and- and-" He began, but Black Hat's obviously annoyed voice cut him off."I did not ask for excuses, doctor." He forced a smile, his voice growing in anger.A moment passed in silence as Flug tried to figure out what he should say. "Well, doctor... Do you have it or not?" Flug flinched when Black Hat's voice broke the tense silence and realised how much his hands were shaking. Another second passed in silence before he finally spoke. "N-No sir." He said as he looked at the ground, feeling absolutey terrified for his life at the moment. Black Hat could kill him right about now...Flug slowly looked up a bit when he heard something like an angry growl. His eyes caught at glimpse at Black Hat's face and it suddenly felt like time had stopped. In barely the blink of an eye, Flug realised that his lungs were burning from lack of oxygen and that he was being strangled. He heard his boss say a few words but couldn't make sense of any of them.Then, he fell to the ground, hard.He was gasping for air before he had the time to think of what Black Hat would have been yelling just then. With the glimpse of an eye, he found that Black Hat was smiling at his misery, as usual... Maybe he would let him go after that.. Right?Then he heard a snap. The sound was sharp and sudden and hurt his ears a bit. And before he could look back at his boss again, he felt burning pain run all across his body. The pain blinding him for about ten seconds and he heard ringing in his ears. It's only when he was about to curl into a ball of pain and agony that he realised his limbs didn't feel conected anymore. Shocked, he managed to glance towards Black Hat through the stabbing pain in hope to understand. But the demon seemed to be enjoying the sight of his employee scattered across the floor try to crawl in pain. Wait.Black Hat had dismembered him!Eventually, Black Hat teleported him outside of his office... Though something stills felt off, and the pain hadn't wore off...But maybe it's just his head... Yeah, maybe it's just his tired brain...
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He barely registered when Black Hat’s voice resounded around the manor’s walls calling for 5.0.5. The blue bear showed in less than a minute and Flug felt like the bear was picking him up. With the aching pain, he manages to slightly turn his head towards Black Hat and notices that the demon wasn’t even looking in his direction, already busying himself with paperwork.His thoughts barely made any sense as he tried to figure out what was wrong with him to make him feel so… WeirdAfter a while of letting the blue bear carry him along the hall, Flug’s brain clears of the strange fog that he had earlier and begins to realise why he’s been feeling so off. And at first he wanted to deny it but the situation he was in was just too obvious.
After dismembering him, his boss forgot to make him normal again.
Just great. It’s probably the most horrifying thing that has happened to him lately… It’s definitely going to cause him more problems down the line. How will he recover? Could he recover? If Black Hat doesn’t fix his limbs back into place then how is he going to accomplish anything? Surely his boss would have thought of that for at least a moment… Right?Maybe Black Hat is simply having his fun and making Flug’s life worse temporarily and then make him normal again. So maybe, Flug should just calm down and not worry to much about it because in the end, his boss will fix this-He’s never going to get back to normal. This is his end, Black Hat is having his last moments of fun before throwing him out and finding a replacement. This is because he couldn’t get his invention done on time- He couldn’t- get his invention ready on time! It was broken, he didn’t have anything to present to Black Hat, he became furious with Flug and this is his punishment for being so dumb- So stupid! He knows he should have thought about Demencia! He should have made sure nothing would have happened to his invention!But he was stupid and forgot. Once again.It makes sense that Black Hat is so mad with him, gosh.What even is he saying? It’s too late now, it’s not like he can change anything. He should just calm down and stop himself from panicking. Black Hat dismembered him, but he will fix him later. He’ll be fine. What are the odds that Black Hat forgets to turn him back to normal?The bear put him down on his bed, well- his limbs-, showing him an expression of concern. Flug wasn’t sure himself that he was going to be fine staying there, dismembered and alone like this. But he acted like it was fine. He could manage for tonight… And so, he waved goodbye to 5.0.5. and said ‘good night’.Then, he proceeded to drift into deep, dreamless sleep.He woke up with a weird position and a lot of confusion. His mind felt like a thick fog that drowned any logical thought in there.It took a moment of staying there in contemplation before he began to remember. Right. He braced himself before trying to figure out where every limb of his was. 5.0.5. had been kind to bring him to his room, but kind of left his limbs all around on his bed… But it’s not the bear’s fault. So Flug can’t stay mad at the kind hearted bear.Now with 5.0.5. forgiven, he still needs help.After regaining his senses from the morning waking, he realised with a groan that he was probably left to pick up his own pieces. It was problematic to have his limbs disconnected. So he’s going to have to fix it. And since Black Hat seems to have completely forgotten that humans can’t fix themselves up like cartoon characters can, he’ll have to find something that works.He called for the bear in a loud enough voice. Not too long after- apparently the bear was already close by- the door opened and standing in the doorframe was the tall blue ball of fur 5.0.5.He avoided thinking about how pitiful he looked, having to get help going around in the mansion. But he knows it’s going to have to be like this for a while. Just about a few months to complete the recent idea he got to help his case. As well as manage to keep making his boss’ inventions. It was going to be a stressful few months… He’ll make it work. He has to…He told 5.0.5. that he was going to need a lot of help from him for the next weeks. Like expected, the nice bear simply nodded in a promise manner. It made Flug smile a bit. Not that it was visible with his paper bag covering his face, but the smile was there nonetheless.It was when his work would begin.At first, he had to dictate the bear around quite a lot. Asking the bear to get pieces of metal there and there, getting tools and even to do a bit of manual work. It’s not like Flug had a choice. Normally, he’d never trust anyone to go around in his lab like he is allowing right now, but again, normally, he could move by himself.After a few days and a lot of trust put onto the sweet bear, things slowly shifted into a routine. Neither the bear nor the scientist spent much time outside the lab anymore, except for when 5.0.5. would leave to come back minutes later with food and water to remind Flug to take care of himself. It took two weeks for the first pieces of the mad scientist’s idea to be completed and working. Which was quite surprising considering the bear was usually very clumsy with it’s huge paws as well as not much enlightened on how to make inventions. But with Flug’s help, it turned out better than the man had expected.He installed the invention, a machinery that could hold together his limbs again. For now, it was just the arms, which Flug had chosen first for obvious purpose.Satisfied with how the robotic joint had turned out, Flug found himself grinning almost like a little child.This was good. With his newly regained functioning arms, he could work on his invention a bit more by himself, having to still ask the bear to get a few things for him around the room, but it was the biggest step completed.The following weeks passed in a blur, for some reason, Flug hadn’t heard much of Black Hat during that time, slightly wondering if he left for a business meeting or something of the sort. But then it brings the question: where did Demencia disappear to? It’s been a while since the scientist heard from her, and it could only bring him suspicion that she might be planning something or that she might burst out from the vent or knock down the door at any given moment.All these thoughts serve is bring Flug more anxiety. So he tries to toss them to the back of his head and focus on the robot parts.He kept working quietly, stopping when 5.0.5. brings cookies for him to eat and when it’s almost midnight and the bear decides to pick him up- being legless makes it so that he can’t exactly protest- and brings him to his bed.Yet again, like the pattern that begun a few weeks ago, he drifts into another deep slumber.
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Flug has done progress with the robot parts holding his limbs together. It looked as if he never got dismantled.But it couldn’t have been perfect. While working on connecting his right leg, 5.0.5. had startled him by taping his shoulder in an attempt to let him know he was bringing food. But stuck in his thoughts and worries, he hadn’t even heard the bear enter the room, resulting in him making a sudden wrong move and- well, burning his arm.The tool he had been using was quite dangerous and injuries made by it, even if the tool was set at the lowest power, were not to be taken lightly. But Flug knew how to handle it and didn’t think necessary to use much protection on himself.Again, he foolishly forgot to remember that 5.0.5. could enter his lab and startle him. It wasn’t the blue bear’s fault, he knew, but the doctor’s forgetfulness ended up injuring him. Again.So with his arm burned to the crisp and the burning sensation of pain as consequence, he really felt like never doing anything ever again.But he wasn’t going to allow himself that, he had to find a solution.And what better solution could he find than just replacing it with more robot parts? So that’s exactly what he did. And it’s not like anyone was gonna tell him that it wasn’t something he should be doing considering his health and- blah blah blah… Not like he’d ever catch Demencia or Black Hat say something like that to him anyway.5.0.5. helped him out again because he wasn’t as capable with only one functional arm. Seriously, having two arms is underrated.And yet again, he found himself working for a few more days. Not even realising that Black Hat was back in the manor by now. And so was Demencia… Wherever she had gone to.The time he was brought back to reality was at the same time that he realised that the chaotic girl was back. He had just took a sip of his coffee by putting the mug under the paper bag before writing some calculations down. He was almost finally done working on the robotic parts and all that was left to do was putting ‘safety measures’ to them. Then something suddenly grabbed his shoulder and he let out an embarrassing ‘eek!’ sound out of fear and surprise.Turning around, he met Demencia’s curious but malicious eyes looking at the blueprint he had just written on.“Ooh~ Whattcha workin’ on?” The lizard girl asked, a bit intrigued. “Is that a gun in a robot arm-?” She suddenly stopped herself mid question and showed a gasp. “ARE YOU WORKING ON THAT ROBOT THING WITH THE SWORDS AND THE SWORDS SHOOT FROM THE-“Flug groaned in exasperation as the lizard kept talking loudly. It was giving him a headache already.How could she even manage to give him a headache this quickly? She just got here! Flug sighed and tried to ignore Demencia’s yells and kept writing his calculations. Slowly starting to manage to focus again.It was only when he finished that he realised that Demencia might have gotten bored and left on her own… Not without leaving a trail of chaos behind. Of course.He rubbed the space between his eyes in annoyance. It doesn’t matter, she’s gonna into the hallway now. He can now continue working in peace and he’ll be done in no time-“Flug! In my office. Now.” Black Hat’s voice felt as if it came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Flug swore he heard his boss’, who apparently was back now?, words echo in his head. And then his anxiety made itself show. He could feel himself shaking slightly in fear simply at the thought of going to see his boss when he sounded angry, and he always sounds angry.Gulping, he stood up from his chair and went for the lab door.He quickly made his way to his boss’ office, thoughts melting into one another with his anxiety growing by the second. Even with how fast he was moving, it felt like an entire lifetime had passed before he finally found himself before the door of Black Hat’s office. Unsure, he raised his hand to knock, as he always foolishly did.Suddenly, the doors opened, seemingly by themselves to someone who wasn’t used to being around here. Flug bit down his lips before deciding to head in.He saw his boss sitting there, in his office chair, but he always somehow made it seem like a trone. Bringing back his mind to the present, he looked up at the eldritch horror’s eyes hesitantly. He looked annoyed. And at that moment, Flug tried to figure out why he had called him to his office. Maybe explaining an invention he made as a side project while making himself his new limb?As if to answer his thoughts, Black Hat explained simply why he had called Flug to his office. “Demencia has gotten kidnapped by heroes. You need to get her back here.” He ordered.WHAT? Flug asked himself in confusion. Hadn’t she just been in his lab causing trouble? Did he not keep track of time for that long?But before Flug could ask any question, in the blink of an eye Black Hat was gone and he found himself in front of what looks like the generic hero tower standing proudly just in front of where he now stood.
Well that’s going to be a pain.
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He made his way towards the building’s backdoor in his best attempt to avoid attention from the strangers of the city. It’s difficult to blend in with a paper bag on your face, okay? First thing he noticed back there, a comically large lock held by chains on the door. Now, he could pick the lock, but he’s kinda in a hurry. He has no idea how long he has. So he backs up a few steps, take a big breath, glances right and left before kicking full force at the lock, immediately breaking the chains and making the door fall with them. Guess replacing part of your limbs with robotics is quite helpful in situations like these.
Without wasting much time contemplating how easily he had broken the door down, he made his way inside the building. The first thing he noticed was the decor. Everything was in black, grey and orange and there was drawings of stars everywhere. Ahead of him was a round table pushed against the wall. It looked as if a child had painted stars on it with how messy it looked. On the table, a vase with a single orange tulip that looked on the verge of death. Whoever lives here sure has an obsession with stars. Flug shook his head to clear his thoughts, he had to keep going. As he walked, Flug tried to listen for any sound that could guide him. A long moment passed in which all he could hear besides his footsteps was eerie silence. That was until he found himself before a set of stairs. He could finally make out some noise that seemed to come from upstairs. A muffled voice speaking along with other intelligible noises. He quickly made his way up and before he even realised, he was now standing in front of the room where the sounds originated. This was probably where he would find Demencia. He kicked the door open and pulled out his ray gun in case he would need it. He was surprised to see… Demencia and what was supposedly the kidnapper… Playing battleship?! And he could immediately tell that Demencia either doesn’t know the rules or doesn’t want to go by them with her ships not even being on the grid… He blinked once, twice in growing confusion. “What?” Demencia and the kidnapper, which he hadn’t even glanced at, were now looking at him. “Oh.” Demencia started. “Hey nerd!” She grinned at the scientist who stood still in the doorframe. He glanced at the kidnapper, a girl in a purple sweater and a black skirt. She wasn’t wearing any mask and instead had face paint with yellow and black stars all around her face. It looked childish, but not in a bad way. Still, she was a hero. A hero that kidnapped Demencia on top of that. He could maybe convince her to let Demencia go though. With a bit of luck, it would be all over in less than 5 minutes. The girl frowned. Maybe it wouldn’t be that easy… “And you are…?” She asked in a bored tone, but her face showed a frustrated expression. “Flug.” He simply answered. “I’d need to have Demencia go back to Bl- go back home.” He almost said Black Hat’s manor and could have messed his chances of bringing the lizard girl back without using violence. The heroine seemed pretty ignorant, which definitely will help him in this situation. “Hmmm” The hero seemed to think this over for a few seconds. “How about this,” She began, pressing a hidden button under the table which suddenly made the entire room move. The table descended to the ground and bookshelves along the room’s walls backed up even more, making the room larger. Then, the girl clapped her hands and an even bigger board of battleship descended from the ceiling and into the center of the room. “One of you two is going to be playing a game of battleship with me…” She smiled, fully showing her teeth. “If you win, you’re free to go, if not, you’ll be arrested and I’ll make you stay here with me forever!” She began laughing in a manner that reminded Flug of villains. How lonely was she? Flug wondered, not for long though as he walked towards the center of the room. Demencia doesn’t know the game’s rules anyway… He cleared his throat. “Alright, fine.”
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The grid was in the middle of the room and a wall appeared to separate the two sides. Flug was now on his side, filled with anxiety and started fidgeting. It will be fine. He tried to convince himself, perhaps hoping he’d be able to get rid of some stress. To no avail.
The boats were already placed randomly on the grid. The heroine’s voice echoed through the room. “I get to make the first move! Nothing personal!” And just as she said that, a giant pin fell from the ceiling, startling Flug, making him look up. It looked like there was a huge system hidden up there. He looked back at the pin. It hit the water, luckily for him. Suddenly, a robotic voice came from speakers all around. “Miss.” Before he even had time to think more of it, a screen showed in his face. It looked like a 2d version of the usual battleship which showed where his boats were on the bottom grid. It has buttons on the top grid which he assumes is to play the next move… He takes a moment to think. There are a hundred squares on a battleship grid and only seventeen of them contain a ship, meaning trying to hit randomly would make him win in around 95.4 shots… 66.2 if his next move after hitting a ship is in the four squares surrounding it… Meaning his opponent could certainly sink all his ships faster… So he needs a strategy. Based on probabilities, the place in the grid where the hero’s ships are most likely to be at is the middle. Flug raises his metallic hand and presses a button in the middle of the grid. Barely a second later, a loud impact sound can be heard from the other side of the room. ”Miss.” The robotic voice certainly didn’t help with his anxiety, but he’ll have to manage and keep his calm. He’s got this. Three moves later, the first ship was hit. “Hit.” Flug could barely contain his joy and relief that he finally hit a ship, and before the hero too! Meanwhile, Demencia sat in her sit on the side of the board in the middle of the room, staring with a bored expression. But Flug’s excitement doesn’t get to last long because right after, a giant pin falls directly in the middle of one of his boats, the robot voice bringing back his anxiety instantly. Yet he tries to convince himself that there is no way the hero is going to win unless she thought of the exact same plan as him. The chances of her winning are slim.…Yet still never zero… Now’s not the moment to think about that. He braces himself and makes his next move. ”Miss.” Flug feels like tearing his paper bag off. It was sideways of course it was sideways- “Hit.” He quickly focuses back on the game. And of course she manages to hit twice in a row. Of course! That’s just Flug’s luck! He breathes and does his next move. “Miss.” Okay, now that’s inconvenient. He bets the hero’s smiling at his fails. Ugh. All of this just because Demencia allowed herself to get kidnapped by some hero obsessed with board games… “Hit. Sunk.” …And lucky on top of that.He plays the next move. “Miss.” Okay what.
This is the third time in a row- The ship wasn’t sideways! Crap- The ship wasn’t sideways-
Calm down, Flug, you’ll be fine. Just think.
The hero seemed to hit at random since the beginning, so statistically, Flug still has a better chance at winning than her.
The game keeps going for a while, Flug sinks the hero’s ship, which was the five boxes one, making his chance at finding the other ships quickly, way higher. Meanwhile, the hero continued to hit at random it seems…
”Miss.” Well that about confirms that it was luck in the hero’s case.. This keeps going and before Flug even notices, there’s only one boat left on the hero’s side of the board, one of the two three squares one. While he still has two left; the two boxes one and a three square one.