The Horrorverse, Part 8: Mad Doctor

RIDDLE HUNT, Part 1

Quahog, Rhode Island

Nolan pressed a switch on a roof that spawned a set of green rings going down to the street. Crystal Wickens glided through those rings, having to make a quick turn right, then a turn left. She glided through all the rings and Nolan collected the trophy.

Nolan pressed another switch, and a monitor displayed a cage opening somewhere in the city. He stayed on the switch while Crystal went searching, but the cage shut as Riddler said, "Ah ah ah, BOTH applicants need to be searching, please." They sighed and did as he told. The Riddle was next to a garbage can, next to a Fegan Floop poster, and it took a while for the duo to find it.

? On YouTube, he's a wanted man, the Atrocities he cannot stand! ?

This Riddle came up in the open window of an apartment bedroom. There was a writing desk and a picture on the wall next to it, depicting a silhouetted, cloaked figure with two glaring eyes. The poster was labeled MysteriousMrEnter, so Nolan snapped a shot of the solution.

Nolan and Crystal found a Riddle Cube. The first room required Nolan to quickly Wall Jump down a series of ascending panels to collect the trophy. The second room required her to jump up a series of slots fit for her staff, in which she stuck the staff in them, hung on, thrusted herself up while removing the staff, then quickly stuck it in the next slot. "I am so glad I took the time to train for this!" she yelled, retrieving the trophy. The third room had circular glass containers moving around the wall above, with the trophy in one of them. Nolan had to quickfire Explosive Gel up to them, break the glass, and grapple hook the trophy.

They located a pool of goop, so Nolan used the Poltergust to absorb some water and spray it around the goop. The building it was covering emerged from the ground, and the Mustache Girl burst out of a window and landed on a motorcycle. "Eat my exhaust, Sand-aman!" The two heroes had to chase her in the Sandmobile. Mustache Girl left a trail of goop in her wake, which would make the Sandmobile swerve uncontrollably. Nolan stayed to the sides of the goop and had to drift around buildings to keep up with the motorcycle. Once he was within range, he ejected himself forward and caught the Mustache Girl.

"Alright, brat, what's your game?! Why are you sinking buildings?!"

"That's-a none of your business! Leave me alone, you stupid cretino!" The girl jabbed Nolan with some lava paint, forcing him to release, and Mustache Girl escaped through another paint portal.

One hour later…

"Siiiiigh… finally… 100 Riddles." Nolan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Only 400 to go…" Crystal sighed with exhaust. "At least I won't have to collect any more."

"Well, Sandman, against all possible odds, you managed to collect every Riddle in Quahog. However, one final test awaits you in this town. Go to the place marked on your map if you are brave enough."

A "?" icon appeared on the digital map. Nolan and Crystal followed it to an alleyway, discovering a door with a green "?". Inside was an elevator, which led them several meters below the surface. It let them out into a room with green lighting. Through the open doorway, they spotted The Riddler pedaling a stationary bicycle. Sandman immediately ran up and swung his fist at his head, but it merely phased through the hologram. "Please, did you honestly think I would reveal myself that easily? I am in a more secluded location, Sandman, but I have left this hologram here to simulate myself observing your failure up close! Without further ado, let's begin your challenge." (Play "And the Question Is" from Super Paper Mario!)

"If you look to your left, you'll find Mr. Dimalanta comfortably trapped inside an unbreakable glass cage." Indeed, Matthew was there, and contrary to what Riddler said, he was cuffed to the chair, gagged, and blindfolded. "Notice the two glass tubes attached to the cage that stretch all the way across the chasm. One tube has fire, and the other one has gas. Can you guess what happens when these two elements meet? KABOOM! The only way to save him is by simultaneously pressing both switches across the chasm. Line Launchers and gliding are prohibited, and any attempt to use said gadgets will result in me shocking poor Matthew to death. How will you get across, you ask? I'm sure the solution lies just under your nose."

There were five colored switches: pink, green, blue, red, and yellow. There was a zigzaggy, holographic path with those same colored segments, and by standing on the switches, those segments would become solid. Nolan told Crystal to stand on the switches while he crossed the path. However, when Crystal stepped off a switch, the colored path would become holographic again, so Nolan would be forced to jump, with Crystal stepping on the next switch before Nolan would land on the next segment.

The puzzle started to where the respective switches were next to each other, but it later escalated to where Crystal had to quickly jump over the switches to reach the right ones. During the last segment, the colored segments were divided into floating platforms, making it a bit trickier to jump, but Nolan was able to make it. There were five more colored switches on Nolan's ledge, and he would be using these to guide Crystal across. Her path was different, with some of the segments either turning vertically or floating in a circular path. What also made it challenging were switches that Crystal would accidentally step on during a jump, causing the fire and gas to flow through the tubes faster.

"Riddler, I admit you're a genius in your own right," Crystal said, "but this puzzle is too elaborate for even the most brilliant engineer to construct! I mean, if these switches are part of the hologram, how do they connect to the physical fire and gas tubes?!"

"Sometimes, all a man really needs is his imagination."

The final stretch had very small platforms that Crystal would need careful balance in order to jump them. Regardless, she was able to make it to Sandman, and both heroes pressed the twin "?" switches. Matthew's cage opened and his cuffs came undone. He quickly ripped off his blindfold and gag and dashed out of the cage. The fire and gas reached the cage and exploded.

A bridge stretched over for Sandman and Crystal to get back to the start. Matthew leaned on the exit door, catching his breath. "Are you okay, Matt?" Nolan asked.

"Yeah… Could've come here a bit sooner, couldn't you?"

"I've been pretty preoccupied. As a matter of fact… something happened to your daughter."

"Haruka? What do you mean, what's happened to her?"

"Well, it's something we're still trying to figure out. I'll call GUN to take you to H.Q.. Then you can see for yourself."

"Sigh… I don't like it when you talk that way, Nolan. Alright, then let's get out of this shitty sewer." (End song.)

After exiting the Riddle Room, Nolan and Crystal returned to the rooftops, watching as a GUN truck took Matthew to safety. "Carol, have you found anything on Dr. Drevis?" Nolan asked.

"Well, if the Internet doesn't think she's famous, we don't have much to work with. It might be a bit easier if we knew her first name."

"I guess I shouldn't have let Sebastian kill Kelvin before I had a chance to interrogate him."

"Oh, don't say that, Nolan, that man had every right to die!" Revan said in his own way of comforting. "He was unforgivable, unredeemable. You may claim to be the hero that never kills, but you made it clear a long time ago: only justice can bring peace. Just like that bitch Kyoshi said!"

"Uh, Nolan? You still with us?" Crystal asked.

"Uh, w-what?"

"I was asking what we were going to do next. What's your plan to track down Dr. Drevis, or better yet, Affright?"

"Ice cream."

"Please be serious, Nolan."

"I meant THEM." Nolan stated, indicating the ice cream truck that was driving by.

"Oh, right, the evil Ice Cream Men. Well, I'm always up for a good chase!"

They flew down into the Sandmobile in order to chase the truck. Seeing he was being chased, the Ice Cream Man fired cone missiles at the Sandmobile. Nolan used side-thrusts to dodge them and countered with his own energy missiles. "Oooo, real conservative, Nolan." Revan remarked.

It took three missiles to make the truck swerve to a crash. Sandman and Wiccan rushed over and opened the back of the truck. At first, they mistook the girl in the back to be Numbuh 362 from her childhood, until they realized it was a life-size doll. "A doll?" Crystal questioned. "Where's the captive?"

"Wait…" Nolan used Detective Vision to scan it. "This doll has… the head and skull of a real person. I'm picking up a strange drug underneath the skin."

"No doubt, it is one of Dr. Drevis's products."

Nolan and Crystal about-faced. Standing outside the truck was a boy with tousled blonde hair, a white collared shirt, and brown pants, his head half-turned as his golden left eye stared at them. "Who are you? And… how do you know about Dr. Drevis?"

"For starters, it's not a happy story." The boy faced them fully, revealing the gaping darkness of his empty right eye socket.

"Ulp-!" Crystal could not resist the urge to vomit.

"My name is Dio. And no, I'm not the same Dio from that stupid anime everyone talks about."

"I was actually going to compare you to someone else I met recently, but go on."

"I've been following these ice cream trucks for weeks, trying to locate Dr. Drevis, and my quest has led me to this town. I overheard you talking on the roof about wanting to find her. I don't know what business you have with Dr. Drevis… but I'm here to ask you to leave this matter alone."

"And why's that?"

"Because this is my fault and my responsibility alone. I do not want outsiders to get involved."

"And what if I choose to ignore you?"

"Sigh… well, there's not much I can do about that. I suppose, then, we'll have a race. See who can get to her first." Dio turned and walked into a dark alley.

"Hey!" Nolan jumped out of the truck to chase him, but Dio was already long gone. "He disappeared? Does that mean… he's a spirit, too?"

"No, I could see him on my screen." Carol mentioned. "I have no idea where he disappeared to."

"Well, I guess we have another reason to go after these ice cream trucks. If they're somehow connected to Dr. Drevis, then I'll hunt down every one I can."

Since the driver of this truck was knocked out from the crash, Nolan and Crystal drove around the city in search of more trucks. They found a truck that froze the ground in its wake, making it difficult for the Sandmobile to catch up. Despite this, they were able to get close enough to where Nolan ejected himself onto the truck, then slipped into the driver's seat to grab the driver and force it to a halt. Nolan dragged the driver out by the neck and demanded, "Where are you and your cronies taking these children to?!"

"W-We were ordered by Affright to take them to abandoned buildings! I have no idea what happens to 'em from there!"

"Any idea who Dr. Drevis is?!"

"No! No idea! Affright just mentions the name every now and then!"

"That'll satisfy me for now." Nolan knocked him out. Meanwhile, the back of the truck was frozen shut, so Crystal blew fire from her staff to melt it loose. The kid inside was a girl dressed as a pink hedgehog in a red dress.

"Thank you for saving me." The girl smiled, doing a twirl. "My name's Amy. Amy Rose."

"Nice to meet you… Amy." Nolan replied, playing along. "It's not safe to be trick-or-treating alone. Don't you have any friends you can do it with?"

"Not really. No one at the orphanage likes me because I like to cosplay. But if my sweet Tails were here, things would be different!"

"I thought Amy liked Sonic?" Crystal inquired.

"SCREW SONIC! Tails and Amy forever!!"

"In any case, I've called GUN to pick you up. Just wait here and they'll be here in a jiffy." With that, the duo boarded the Sandmobile and searched for their next truck.

"Come to think of it, that first boy that we rescued was from an orphanage, too." Crystal mentioned.

"Really? I wonder if that means they're only targeting orphans."

The fourth ice cream truck would purposely slow down and activate a spherical shield, tricking the Sandmobile into crashing. Nolan tricked it by driving close enough so the shield would activate, braking, and waiting for the shield to deactivate before ramming the truck with a boost. The driver was KO'ed, but the backseat passenger seemed to be okay. The hostage this time was a boy dressed as a pile of dung. "Are you the Poop Emoji from the Emoji Movie?" Crystal asked.

"No, I'm Poo, from my Inside Out fanfiction!"

"Hi, Chris Griffin." Nolan greeted.

The final ice cream truck was flying around the sky, so Nolan converted the Sandmobile into the Sandwing. The truck sent drones after the Sandwing, but they ended up as fodder. Nolan waited until he was behind the truck before launching the Sandwing's harpoon and yanking the back hatch off. Nolan then ejected himself, rescued the captive, and jumped back to the Sandwing, letting the ice cream craft crash.

"Can't you do it a little safer when you rescue me next time?!" the hostage yelled. He was dressed like the Hulk.

"Is Hulk scared of heights?"

"Yes, Hulk is."

They couldn't find any more ice cream trucks in Quahog, so Nolan expanded the search to Port Rivera. He regrouped with Nagisa as they set out to find them. They were quick to notice an ice cream yacht sailing around the Boogey ships, and it had four guards blasting missiles at the Sandwing. Nolan ejected Nagisa toward the boat, but it activated a shield. The Ice Cream Men blasted missiles just as it disappeared, but Nagisa used Shave to dodge and get onto the boat. He knocked the guards out with his Antikill knife, then he got inside the cockpit to defeat the pilot.

Nagisa rescued a Spanish boy dressed like Cad Bane. "All my friends like Boba Fett better… If they hear 'Cad Bane' was kidnapped by an ice cream man, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone!" Nagisa grinned behind his Sheikah mask.

There was a flying ice cream truck, but when the Sandwing flew close to it, it would turn invisible and silent. All Sandman had to do was cloak his plane, so the ice cream plane would never see them coming. Nolan harpooned the back hatch, yanked it open, then launched Nagisa over to grab the hostage. "Mr. York, I couldn't find a kid in there, but I found this doll." Nagisa presented a Kuki Sanban doll.

Nolan scanned it. "This doll has all of its bones, but the face was sewn on." He rolled up the doll's sleeve: its arm had tanner skin than the face. "Otherwise, she's a Spanish girl."

"You mean that doll is a real person?!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"I'm afraid so."

After taking down the last Ice Cream Men, Nolan continued the chase in Academy City. The trucks here were armored, but they could easily be blown through by Misaka's Railgun. "So, catching evil Ice Cream Men is part of your daily routine too, huh?" she asked.

"I never get a moment of rest."

"You've been helping my Sisters, right?"

"I saved one of them. I'll look for the others once this is done."

"Hey, Nolan, did you know the song the ice cream trucks are playing is 'Turkey in the Straw'?" Revan asked. "I once wrote a remix of that song called 'Orders 1-65', recapping all the terrible things I did to you. I never got to play it for you… but hey, there's always a second chance for everything!"

They chased an armored airborne truck, and it was swift to dodge Misaka's coins. Cloaking could help sneak up on it, but the Ice Cream Man would see them charging the Railgun, and the harpoon couldn't yank the hatch open. Their last option was to eject Misaka onto the craft and use her electricity to deactivate its power. The ice cream plane came crashing to the ground, and when Misaka opened the back hatch, she found a doll that resembled Numbuh 10 from her childhood (not that Misaka actually knew her). The only distinct difference was a mermaid tail instead of legs.

"As I thought… the upper-half of this doll belonged to a real human." Nolan observed. "But the tailfin has bones, too. Could it have belonged to a real mermaid?"

The final town to search for ice cream trucks was London, wherein Nolan would have Sebastian's help. These trucks emitted clouds of fog, and from that fog, Bogmires attacked the Sandmobile. Sebastian suggested that he drive the Sandmobile while Nolan stand on top and slurp in the fog as they chased. The butler could then lock onto the truck and blast it without interference. Together, they brought down five more trucks, rescuing four trick-or-treaters while one of them contained a life-size Nigel Uno doll.

"Another corpse…" Nolan said with regret. "Judging by the tiny hair follicles, the victim was shaved to represent Numbuh One."

"That isn't all, Mr. York." Sebastian said. "I can smell demon blood inside this body."

"What? So, the killer actually went that far? Who would have access to- ERK!" The Nigel doll suddenly grabbed Nolan by the neck. Sebastian seized the doll and tore its head off to make it stop. "Sebastian! That kid was still alive!"

"No, I assure you they were quite dead. What I felt just then was an evil spirit. Master York, perhaps I can help you get to the bottom of this mystery." Sebastian put on a surgical mask. "You see, I am also one hell of a doctor."

G.U.N. H.Q.

Sebastian was fully garbed in a doctor's uniform. He had extracted the blood from the dolls using syringes, and they were analyzed by him and Sandman. "So, only the Nigel doll contains demon blood, but it's mixed in with human blood. That means the killer really wanted it to resemble the real thing."

"But one extra chemical exists in each of these dolls." Sebastian said. "If we cross out the blood components, here's what remains." The butler removed those parts from the screen.

"Carol, can you look up any substances composed of these ingredients?"

"Okay, I found a match, and I think you're gonna like it. These ingredients create a medicine called Anti-Age, meant to be used for elderly people to make their skin look fresh and young. It was developed by Dr. Drevis, who sold it to local markets. According to the ad, the medicine can keep your skin beautiful even after death."

"Well, I think we can put two and two together, Carol: Dr. Drevis is yet another sick son of a bitch."

"I… thought we established she was a girl?"

"You get my point. Clearly, Dr. Drevis is connected to the Brotherhood. She's been using the Ice Cream Men to kidnap children and take them to secluded hideouts, and supposedly she takes it from there. And all the children we rescued are either orphans, homeless, or come from neglectful families, having made their costumes from scratch or scrounged enough money to buy them. It's the best way to avoid drawing too much attention to her plan. The question is, how does she take them from their checkpoints?"

"Perhaps one of the Ice Cream Men will be willing to tell us."

London

After interrogating one of the Ice Cream Men, Nolan and Sebastian found their way to an abandoned building, based on the man's own town map with coordinates. It was only lit by candlelight, and a trail of Hershey Kisses led down to the basement. They carefully followed the candy, expecting a trap. The candy led to a round, portal device. "Of course. A Quickwarp." Nolan deduced. "The Brotherhood and the members of Team Gnaa used these all the time. They had like a hundred bases."

A second later, the portal shut off. "Oh, dear. Seems someone does not want you to discover their secret."

"Portal self-destruct initiated. All personnel stand clear."

"Vanellope!" Nolan ran for the portal with his watch raised.

"ON IT!" Vanellope glitched into the device and stopped the counter.

"We might still have a shot at finding them. These Quickwarp portals have a wireless link to their partner. Can you find the location of the other portal?"

"Yessirree, Daddy! I'll show it to ya in a sec!" Vanel glitched back to Nolan's watch. His world map zoomed in on the Black Forest in Germany.

"Hm hm." Nolan smirked. "We'll take it from here, Sebastian."

Black Forest, Germany

A frail woman, cloaked in blue, weakly limped her way through the forest. Since her legs were failing her, she had to use a long staff to progress. In the middle of this dark forest was a peaceful wooden house. The sign outside read Drevis Clinic. The woman's footsteps clanked the wooden steps until she finally reached the door. She pressed the doorbell and was greeted with a charming jingle.

A woman answered the door. She was a beautiful young lady with shoulder-length black hair and inviting blue eyes, wearing a white apron over a cyan dress. Her long black socks went into red Mary-Janes. "Hello, Miss. Can I help you?"

"Hi. This is the Drevis Clinic, right?" Crystal Wickens asked, pretending to sound weak. "I hope this isn't a bad time…"

"No, of course it isn't." The woman told her kindly. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I feel terribly ill tonight, and I can't walk well. I had to borrow my mother's cane. My family doesn't have much money, and I heard you didn't charge too steeply…"

"Well, I'll be glad to help you. Please, come in."

"Thank you, Dr. Drevis."

"Please, call me Aya."

Aya had Crystal lay on a bed while the doctor took temperature. "This is a very lovely office."

"Thank you. I've always been fond of nature. …You know, you're very pretty yourself." Aya said. "Is that purple hair dyed on?"

"No. I've actually had it since birth." Crystal said, lightly stroking her hair.

"It goes really well with your eyes." Aya lightly felt her hands around Crystal's face. "My, your face feels so thin, too. Your chin is so pointy."

"I'm… flattered, Doctor." Crystal blushed.

Aya put on a surgical mask and got a syringe. "This should restore power to your nerves, but you'll have to take it easy while it kicks in. Don't worry." Aya calmly approached her, eyes half-closed. "In a moment, your suffering will be over."

"Yes, but not yours." Crystal immediately grabbed her staff, whacked the syringe away, and kicked Aya back. A second later, the Sandman dove in through the window and grabbed Aya by the neck.

"No security. This was easier than I could've-"

Two knives flew out and stabbed Nolan and Crystal's arms. Aya escaped and ran to her maid, a woman with brown hair, green eyes, and a black apron over a white dress. "Maria! Downstairs!"

"Yes, Mistress!"

"Crystal, are you okay?" Nolan asked, examining her wound.

Crystal sprayed ice from her staff to freeze the wound. "We'll survive." She then froze Nolan's wound. "We have to catch them!" They rushed to a back room, passing some life-size dolls, and going down stairs to the basement.

The basement had several Quickwarp portals, tables of potions and lab equipment, and operating tables with deceased patients and pools of blood. "Well, this wasn't according to plan." Nolan and Crystal jumped back when a giant spider dropped down. It was actually a giant doll that resembled a human girl, her mouth baring fangs. It had blonde hair and wore a huge pink dress, and its eight legs resembled animal parts. "We weren't expecting to get found out until later. But I suppose, since you're here, we'll make quick work of you!" (Play "Sally's Song" from Oogie's Revenge!)

Boss fight: Aya Drevis

Nolan and Crystal ran separate directions, the former dodging the swipe of a lion's claw and the latter bashing a crocodile's jaw. Crystal kept a safe distance and blasted flames to set fire to the croc. "HAAAAAROOOOOOOK!" The entire entity frantically shook that arm and broke the croc head off. "So, I guess they don't like fire." Nolan figured, grabbing the lion's claw, spraying Explosive Gel on, and detonating it. Nolan was cut from behind, seeing Maria throwing knifes from behind some tables. Nolan caught a knife and threw it back, the hilt of it hitting Maria and knocking her dizzy. "I guess Sebastian's rubbing off on me."

Crystal used ice to freeze some of the legs and break them off, while Nolan tore some off with brute strength. Now that all eight legs were down, the main body collapsed. Nolan climbed up from the front, but Aya was ready for him, coming full throttle with a chainsaw. Nolan had plenty of practice dodging the knives of thugs, and now it finally came to good use as he side-dodged, ducked, and jumped Aya's saw, and returned the greeting with five strong punches to the face.

One of the spider legs grew a Blastoise head and grabbed Nolan off the body. Each leg now had a Pokémon head, with the Blastoise blasting water and the Charizard shooting fire. Nolan used the Poltergust to absorb a Lapras head's Ice Element and destroy a Blastoise and Feraligatr. Crystal used fire to destroy the Lapras, along with a Glaceon. However, she felt her legs get cut, and the culprits behind this were possessed dolls, forcing Crystal to set fire to them.

Nolan absorbed the water from a Vaporeon head and destroyed the Charizard, Flareon, and Nine-Tails heads. The only one left was a Piplup, which Crystal destroyed with an ice blast. The spider collapsed on the ground again, and this time Crystal jumped up. Aya swung her saw, but Crystal leapt over the doctor and bashed her left and right with her staff. Aya kicked Crystal off and the spider was back on its feet again, this time wearing shoes.

The spider showed them its rear as a huge, oozing human head grew out of it. The head spat globs of pink mush that detested Nolan and Crystal to no end, and they had no intention of finding out what it was. However, Crystal could freeze the mush, and Nolan could slam-dunk it into the beast's mouth to clog it up. The heroes made their way to the front, fighting off more dolls and Nolan stunning Maria with another quick knife-throw.

They reached the true head of the spider, which lashed a lizard tongue in attempt to catch its prey. It would quickly pull its tongue back whenever Crystal shot fire, but when Maria threw knives again, Nolan decided to catch a knife and quickly throw it to slice the tongue. The beast gave its blood-hurdling screech again, and with its head low to the ground (due to its shortened legs), Nolan ran underneath, sprayed Explosive Gel on the neck, and pushed the trigger to blow the head clean off.

The monster fell dead, and Nolan climbed on top of it for his last round with Aya. The Mad Doctor swung her saw with more fury, at Nolan's head, his heart, his legs, his left hip, his right hip, but Nolan dodged each strike and performed a Bladed Thug Takedown—wherein he grabbed the saw and BASHED it over Aya's head. Nolan kicked her into the air, and then Crystal flew up and SWUNG her staff like a baseball bat, flinging Aya across the room and into Maria. Maria's knives flew into the air, pointed down, and stuck the ground around them. (End song.)

"Alright, I admit it… you beat me." Nolan and Crystal turned, finding Dio by the stairwell. The boy now had bandages over his right socket. Dio calmly approached Aya and said, "I made your mother a promise, Aya… a promise to protect you. But to think you would actually continue your father's twisted work."

"Dio, how did you get here?" Nolan asked.

"I saw you two get on your plane and decided to follow you. Don't ask how, though. Aya… you had a chance to live happily. You had a chance to be free from your father's corruption. But you made your choice. I vowed that if you ever fell down this path, I would end you. …But perhaps it is best you face the consequences first." Dio turned to Nolan. "You are a man that refuses to kill. Not many people in this world share your philosophy. I'll leave her in your hands. Perhaps one day, she can be healed… though, I'm not hopeful about that." With that, Dio walked past the two and out of the lab.

"What a mysterious boy." Crystal said. "I wonder what their history is."

"Not our concern. I'll take Aya. You carry Maria." Nolan said, lifting the doctor over his shoulder.

"Of course, I get the heavier one."

Aya and Maria were strapped to the backseat of the Sandmobile. They had awakened partway through the flight to H.Q.. "You…You jerks! You ruined my dolls! All of Father's precious dolls!"

"Why were you turning children into dolls? Was it some kind of sick fantasy of yours?" Nolan asked angrily.

"Father always believed human beauty was only valuable in youth. In time, that beauty becomes tainted. Pure souls are cursed by darkness, our faces wrinkle and decay. I didn't realize it until I was older… I didn't realize it until I saw them: those beautiful faces from 23 years ago. Now those faces are gone, replaced with hideous, aged forms."

"So, you were fans of Sector V and the old gang back in the day." Nolan deduced.

"I can relate to that." Crystal smiled.

"I remember you, too, Numbuh 2030. You were sooooo hot and handsome on the KNN!" Aya swooned. "It's not too late for me to save you. Yes, your face is hideously old now, but I can always replace it with a brand new one."

"I'm proud of my age, thank you very much. You, on the other hand, should be ashamed for what you did. And I expect you to answer every question we have when we get to GUN."

Not long after did they arrive, driving into the underground garage. Nolan escorted Aya into the prison wing while Crystal escorted Maria. Both culprits were kicked into the same cell as Holiday and Misaka Worst, the barrier sealing them in. "A lot of people in the Underworld want me, Sandman." Aya stated. "They love my work. I may not be in this cell for much longer."

"FIRST QUESTION, Dr. Drevis!" Nolan shouted, bashing the barrier. "Did you bring Kelvin Renbourn back from the dead?"

"I have the right to remain silent!"

"Not with me, you don't!"

"Fine, I brought him back to life. He came to me, a lonely departed soul, and pled for my knowledge in alchemy. Making dolls isn't the only thing I do. I use some of the spare parts to construct new vessels for wayward souls."

"How many times have you brought someone to life?! What are their names?!"

"The first two were simple tests. I think their names were Andy and Rodney, but they didn't last long. Baron Kelvin was the only successful experiment."

"Any more after him?"

"Uhhhh… Nope!" Aya grinned innocently.

"Well, she's obviously lying." Crystal said.

"Think a little harder, Doctor."

"…Oh!" Aya beamed. "But I do remember lending my secret recipe to this one group!"

"WHO?!" Nolan slammed the barrier with both hands.

"Sorry! I signed a confidentiality agreement, promising I wouldn't disclose information. At least now I know you won't let me die!"

"DON'T treat this like a game!"

"Says the guy who gave Riddler some attention before doing this." Revan remarked.

"That kind of power is extremely dangerous! Don't you remember the Inferius three years back?! Depending on the kind of person that was revived, the world could be in danger! And if something like that happens, I'll make sure you pay the-"

Nolan's communicator rang, and he answered it to hear Misaka's voice. "Hi, Mr. York, it's Misaka. Look, I know you're probably busy, but one of my sisters told me that three clones were killed near the Gulf of Mexico. When you have the time, just, please…"

Another call. "Hiya, Nolan. It's Mandy. Just wondering if you haven't forgotten the mission I assigned you. The traitors in my crew? You better get on that, because your boy over here is looking a little pale."

"Uh-oh, did something come up?" Aya asked.

Nolan shot her a glare. "I'll be back for you later. Crystal, return to Quahog. I have other business to take care of." He turned to leave the base.

"Nolan, wait!" Crystal followed him. "I know it's important that we stop these villains, but shouldn't Affright be our main priority? If we stop him, then we can save the Kids Next Door, and they'll be able to solve these cases a lot faster than our limited numbers. The longer we wait, the more powerful he'll-"

"And the more people will lose hope." Nolan stated, facing her. "Crystal, if we hadn't stopped her just now, Dr. Drevis would've gotten to more captives. If we exhaust ourselves trying to find Affright, more people are going to be killed. If the Kids Next Door aren't around, we're the next best option. We have to keep the hope from dying."

"And we will! By stopping Affright! By bringing the Kids Next Door back! We're too old to be trying to solve all these problems! The best we can do is defeat Affright and leave the rest to more capable hands."

"And we don't know where Affright is. Holiday won't cough it up. Hell, our best chance of finding him is if I find more Riddles. But until we have a set lead, it'll be more worth our time to help other people who need us. We're still Kids Next Door to the core. We don't ignore anyone who needs us. Kid or adult." And Nolan kept walking forward.