Somewhere below the abandoned theatre, Scrap Ram lurks within darkness. He is contacted by the emperor from another screen.

“It’s been almost an entire week. Have you got a plan yet? I’m tired of waiting.”

“I took the time to set a base for operation. A good scheme requires an efficient amount of time and coordination. The guitar still rests on that man’s shoulder as we speak.”

“What! My patience is growing thin.” Vile raged. “If you don’t come up with something now I’ll have the next general take your place.”

He continues to ramble on at the general from the other screen.

“I took the time to scope around. To quickly feed the labyrinth we need to seek greater sources.”

He presents the emperor with his next target on screen. A small nursery not far from the village. A woman caretaker is seen bottle feeding a child.

“Are you serious?”

“Hold the tongue for one moment. Such youthful energy is what we need. And the ones with the most are newborns clueless about their very existence.”

“I hate kids...Go on, explain further.”

Scrap Ram laughs for a brief moment.

“Why yes! This nursery will be the next target. The sound of the babies cry will be the key to our success.”

“How so?”

“I have a monster that will amplify their cry. From an innocent newborn no one will suspect a thing. The sound will be unbearable to a point, that parents will suffer producing the most negative energy we can imagine.”

“Well is the monster ready?” He cared to ask.

The monster was still under construction behind a large pile.

“When the time is right, the caretaker will fall. I have already infected her in advance. Once out of the picture I’ll obtain the last ingredient needed for my monster.”

A while later, the caretaker is seen tucking a newborn in bed. She suddenly coughs, her vision soon became impaired as she made her way outside. The women collapsed to the floor outside as someone goes to call for help.

Back at the restaurant Bamboo hands Alistor’s next mission. It was an urgent request, but it left a disappointed look on his face.

“How is this going to help with my training?” Alistor asked.

“Well….the caretaker is sick and in no condition to care for these children. No one else would take the job and they really need someone to watch them. We could use the extra money anyway.”

“I’m no good with kids at all.”

“Then it will be your first.” Bamboo snapped. “Think of this experience as a head start if you decide to have kids one day. And remember, they are the future of our generation. So be a good role model.”

Bamboo quickly forced them out. The four head off to their next objective. In a matter of moments they arrive to the nursery. Entering inside was a room full of toddlers playing, a man goes to greet them.

“Finally, you guys arrived. So this was the best they could send? I couldn’t stand a minute longer phew. You guys are a life saver.”

He hands the keys to Alistor and leaves.

“Hey wait!”

Axe, Maigashi, and Auroa enters the room to watch over the kids. In a brief moment the scene quickly got chaotic. Toddler’s running amuck and making huge messes. Maigashi gets hit on the head with a toy.

“Hey! Get back here you little runt.”

They were soon drawing on the wall as Axe went to stop them. A few are seen pulling on Auroa’s hair.

“This is going to be a long day…” He sighed.

Soon after a baby was crying. Alistor covers his ears.

“Just great…What do I do now?”

“I think this one needs a change.” Auroa pointed.

Alistor was then in the middle of changing a diaper. Unsure of what to do, the child stared at him. It began kicking around as he removed the diaper.

“Hold still!”

The baby began to cry once more. He struggled to hold it in place, but it then pissed on his face.

“Argh! Somebody else do this.”

He turns to Auroa and Maigashi but they were preoccupied. Axe suddenly steps in.

“That’s not how you do it. Let me show you how it’s done.”

The baby immediately calms down once Axe took over. He places the child on a changing table.

“What you need first is a clean diaper. Wet wipes are next, but be careful and use the mild ones. Newborns have sensitive skin.”

He gently cleans the child while a new diaper was set in place.

“Next some baby powder to prevent any rash. Then the optional lotion.”

He finishes the change as the old diaper got dispose.

“There, good as new dude.”

The baby happily walks away to continue playing.

“I never knew you were good with kids.” Auroa complimented.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I use to babysit for my girlfriend back in the day. So if you need some tips and advice, I’ll be glad to help.”

He gave a thumbs up for them.

“Hey, maybe I should play some music for them.”

Axe reaches for his guitar, but was stopped by the rest.

“Oh no, maybe that’s not such a great idea. You can later play back at the restaurant.” Maigashi suggested.

A few hours later…the children were getting tucked in bed. Their shift ends as they hand the keys back to the other man. Axe was rocking the last child to sleep. Auroa goes to look for the remaining cradle with no success.

“I can’t seem to find that last cradle.” He sadly said.

They rest go to search but had no luck. They stumble upon an empty room with only a lone picture on the wall. The four go to take a closer look. The image contained a picture of a small child playing in this very room. A room that was once filled with stuffed bears and animals.

“Hey! There’s a cradle in this picture. Why is this room empty?”

The man suddenly pops up from behind.

“Oh my, this isn’t good. The cradle gone missing. Could the lost child’s soul have possibly departed?” The man muttered.

“What’s special about this cradle? And what do you mean by lost child?” Alistor asked.

“I guess you never heard the tale?” The man replied back.

“Then tell us.”

He cleared his throat for a moment. The last child was still asleep held in Axe’s arms as he begins to share a story.

“Let’s see…where to begin. This was more than a decade back.”

The room turns dark.

“Alright, okay here goes...”

The Lone Cradle

Some say it contains the very essence of a child. The child’s name was Anabel. Her parents were once wealthy in the world of business. They were always busy, so she was left in the nursery care every day.

She was a sweet girl, always smiling and loved to play with her teddy bear. Shy for some time, it took her a while to adjust.

It wasn’t till Rin came into her life. Our newest caretaker at the time who was good with children. Anabel loved her.

Then one fateful night, Anabel’s parent was involved in an accident. Their vehicle slid off the curb. The bodies were never recovered.

Rin was heartbroken, but much to her despair, Anabel fell into a deep sleep. Days, weeks, and months passed, but the girl never woke up. Rin stayed by her side, day by day hoping she would wake.

Sadly, that day never came, and so she moved on. On the very day Anabel was to be declared dead, she disappeared. Never to be seen again. Till this day, some say they hear the sound of her voice playing in this very room.

The man’s story concludes from there as the light turned back on. They all leave the room as Axe quickly finds another place for the child to sleep.

“Look like you’ll have to share for tonight.”

Axe placed the child in the cradle with another. The party leaves for the night as Alistor hands the key back. They made their way back to the restaurant for a late night meal.

“So how was your day at the nursery?” Bamboo asked.

“Please don’t mention about it. Let’s just say it’s something I’m not used to doing.” Alistor grumbled. “Anyway, Axe is the one who did the most.”

“Wow, I never knew you were good with kids. Good to know.” Bamboo nodded.

“So how long will we be doing this?” Maigashi asked.

“Well the good news is the caretaker Rin is making a stable recovery. She’ll be fine in just a couple days. For now you’ll just have to continue watching these toddlers.”

The party let off a slight groan at the table. Axe suddenly pulls his guitar out to begin practice as they all cover their ears.

Later that night…The cradle is seen pulled in forming a new monster.

“Yes, complete at last. Now go and do your thing. Crass Cradle!”

The monster makes a gibberish laugh before leaving. By the nursery, Crass Cradle appears within seconds in the room where the babies sleep.

“Boo hoo hoo.”

The monster pulls out a large rattle to begin casting an enigmatic wave of sound in the room. Chuckling as the toddlers silently rests.

“Sleep tight. Cause tomorrow you’ll be crying reeeaal good.”

The very next morning, Alistor and the party take the children out for an early stroll downtown. A bottle drops from one of the child’s grip. The baby begins crying a sound nearly unbearable to others ears as windows started breaking.

“Such intense crying.” Auroa grieved.

“Axe! What do we do?” Alistor asked.

“I don’t know dude. I never came across babies this loud before.”

Soon after, the other babies begin crying, causing the concrete floors to crack as the ground shakes up. Pedestrians are seen covering their ears while others inside panic to get away from the noise.

“We have to calm them down fast. Help me!”

Axe attempts to calm the babies as the others did their best to weather the storm. Within minutes the whole street block was completely decimated.

Back with Aggerona, Vilevelious follows up with General Scrap Ram on screen.

“Who ever knew sound can be such a destructive force.” He complimented. “Their cry is fueling the labyrinth at an unexpected rate.”

“Yes! And they suspect nothing. Everything is going perfect.” The general laughs.

They continue to watch Axe and the rest on screen struggling to calm another baby down. Laugher commenced across the room.

“General! I want you to send Crass Cradle back down tonight.”

“You mean to increase the wave frequency? That could be dangerous! The entire town would be in shambles if we go any louder.”

“I don’t care. We are going to double down.” The emperor ordered. “I have something, hold one moment.”

Vilevelious sends some coordinates over to the general.

“What’s this? A new target?” Scrap Ram questioned as he took a closer look. “The power plant? You don’t mean…”

“Yes! We’ll take this a step further. By shutting down the kingdom’s main source of power, towns, cities and even regions will be affected. Imagine hospitals without power. The doctors unable to care for their patients will cause distress further amplifying negative energy produced.”

“Very well…I’ll send the monster back down tonight.”

Returning back at Bamboo’s...

“So how was your day? Did you have fun strolling these youngsters around?”

“Even worse! I don’t think I can last another day.” Alistor moaned.

“The babies crying today were unnatural.” Maigashi mumbled.

“How so?” Bamboo wondered.

Auroa was seen pondering at the table. The only one with his meal completely untouched.

“Something the matter dude?”

“You don’t think their unnatural cry could be linked to that missing cradle perhaps.” He brought up.

“Good question.” Axe thought. “Huh…I wonder too. Hey! Maybe we should stake out the place tonight.”

“You mean investigate?”

“Yeah! We’ll be sure to find something. Ok, let’s do this.” Alistor agreed.

Suddenly the power in the restaurant goes out.

“Hey! My favorite radio station was playing.” Bamboo complained.

They go check outside to see the entire town completely blacked out. The fear for the worst quickly crossed Axe’s mind.

“This isn’t good. Without power, Rin won’t be able to get well.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Yeah dude! She could possibly die. We have to get to the bottom of this now.”

And so they rushed back to the nursery with Bamboo following along. The town is completely shrouds in pitch darkness with moonlight being the only hope paving way to their destination. They arrive within the nick of time bringing down the doors.

“Gah! Get away! Get away from me.”

They spot the male caretaker crouched in fear as the monster laughs away. All the babies were now under a hypnotic spell.