"The Dismal Madness, Part I" (Flock'⁴⁴/ıı)

## Plot

Episode opens; of Teo stood vigilant on the rooftop, scanning the horizon with his binoculars, he spotted a group of masked individuals carrying guns. His heart raced as he mistook them for Nazis, but upon closer inspection, he realized they were driving a USA jeep. He quickly made his way down to the office where Trace, Kennedy, and Horace were bickering. As they argued, they heard a commotion outside the window. It was the Joy Lunatics, a group of knife-wielding thugs who had ambushed them and taken them hostage. They planned to torture Trace first, leaving the group feeling helpless and afraid. Teo burst into the room, his eyes wide with fear at the sight of the Joy Lunatics. But he refused to be captured like his comrades. As the Joy Lunatics were distracted, Teo made a split-second decision to sneak away quietly. He spotted a fire alarm in the distance and ran towards it, breaking the T-bar window with his shoe and pulling down the alarm. The ringing of the alarm filled the air as Teo made his escape, leaving the Joy Lunatics behind.

The blaring alarm jolted everyone awake in the crew quarters, filling them with fear and terror. Harry, a young boy, tried to calm the frightened children, but they were all shaken by the noise. Puka and Ivar cried out for Elva, but Liesel, Pete, and Lily were missing from their beds. In the break room, Sonia, Hazel, Jonah, Klaus, and Karl were interrupted during their meal by the sudden alarm. Jack and Emma in the cargo hold and Jerrard, Eugene, Jim, and Muriel in the machine shop were thrown into confusion and panic. In the empty tool room, Taylor and Ricky were wide awake due to the blaring alarm, while Pete, Liesel, and Lily in the empty control room were shocked by the deafening noise. Jonas and Betty were in the hallway, trying to make sense of the situation. Margu, Louis, Ilina, and Elio were trapped in the bunker room, enduring the relentless sound of the alarm. Private Andy Ennis, on guard duty, was stunned to see masked individuals with guns and quickly grabbed his weapon. Trace bravely fought off the Joy Lunatics, throwing one through a window and using a knife against the one holding Horace hostage. Unfortunately, Trace was stabbed in the leg, but Horace came to his aid. Kennedy also joined the fight, but Horace stepped in to stop him. Trace then found Teo hiding in a box and they escaped together, hearing distant noises, presumably from the Joy Lunatics.

In the crew quarters, due to the loud noise, Miki used her telepathic powers to stop the power over the abandoned factory, causing everyone to be shocked, and she apologized for it. Sonia, Klaus, and Jonah lit up with TL-122 lights, while Hazel was not a fan of darkness, and paranoid Karl cowardly hid. Sonia yelled at Karl as they all ran out from the break room, and Jonah ran back to grab a walkie-talkie he had left behind, hearing a noise coming from a broken window that made him worried, but he encouraged himself as he ran back to the others. At the trapped room, Elio heard a sound coming from the side, and despite the danger, he believed it was the US army. Louis told Elio to keep quiet, as they didn't know who was outside, and he thought it could be one of the Nazi trackers. However, Elio rejected Louis's suggestion and ran to the door, banging on it and yelling for help. Scared Margu told Louis that Elio was a mad man, and Louis noticed her water broke, indicating that she was going to give birth. This caused the worried Louis to try and stop him, but Elio pushed Louis to the ground and kept banging on the door with no response from outside. Meanwhile, Trace and Horace were carrying Teo towards the exit when they suddenly heard gunshots echoing through the hallways.

They quickly realized that they were under attack and started running towards the exit, with Teo struggling to keep up. As they reached the exit, they saw their attackers approaching from all sides, armed with guns and knives. Trace and Horace took cover behind some crates, while Kennedy used a submachine gun to shoot at Joy Lunatics who tried to enter through the window. At the hallway, Jonah, Hazel, Sonia, Klaus, and Karl ran to the hallway and looked at the windows, shocked and terrified to see many Joy Lunatics, over 120 of them, who were carrying guns. Jonah gave a walkie-talkie to Trace, who was on the rooftop, and ordered him to evacuate the factory and kill more Joy Lunatics who tried to enter the factory. Jonah created a plan, ordering Klaus and Karl to shoot at the windows to avoid entry, while Hazel and Sonia came to Jonah to avoid everything at the attackers, as they headed to Trace. Jonah contacted Patricia via walkie-talkie to execute Trace's evacuation instructions, prompting Kleo to use her illusion to make everyone appear invisible, and instructing the children to hold hands and form a line, while Elva, anxious about Pete, Liesel, and Lily and impatient to find them, carried her gun, but collapsed from fatigue, causing Patricia and Ellie to assist her as Harry ran to Elva's aid, although Elva felt guilty and stressed, wanting to stay behind, but Harry urged her to focus on the children, while Ellie, reminded of her brother's death from the Burning Levis incident, left to search for Pete, Liesel, and Lily, with Mishael joining her, and Kleo leading the children to safety, while Harry accompanied Elva as Elva agreed to go with the children.

In her attempt to evade the Joy Lunatics, Ellie stumbled upon another office room where a formidable Joy Lunatic wielding an axe threatened her life, but despite his attempts to kill her, she managed to dodge his attacks and shoot at him to no avail before resorting to using a pen to stab him in a desperate bid to escape; however, the Joy Lunatic threw her against the wall, prompting Ellie to shoot him in the face, causing him pain, and then almost beheading him by stabbing him in the neck with an axe from the fire emergency, as she tried to escape, she picked up a pipe to fend off the Joy Lunatic, but he almost punched her, causing her to fall, and urged her to give up and tried to punch her again, but Ellie managed to grab a tube from the side and stabbed him with it, causing the Joy Lunatic to freeze and grab Ellie before throwing her at the bookshelf, only to be stabbed in the back by Mishael's cards, after which Ellie held Mishael's hand and they walked out of the room, only to be surrounded by Joy Lunatics, but Mishael used her cards to create illusions and cause chaos, grabbed a submachine gun, and shot anyone who pursued them until they reached the stairs room and caught their breath, where they accidentally fell down the stairs and Mishael used a last holy dust to create mass fog and confuse the Joy Lunatics before grabbing Ellie's hand to escape their grasp.

As Emma and Jack made their way through the factory, they eventually found themselves in an empty cafeteria, which unfortunately turned out to be a trap as Joy Lunatics suddenly emerged and engaged them in combat, relentlessly attacking Jack with their machetes. Despite this, Jack fought back using his kicking techniques and ultimately managed to beat the Joy Lunatics with his gun. However, in the midst of the chaos, Jack ordered Emma to go and hide, which she promptly rejected, causing a heated argument between the two as Jack became increasingly worried about Emma's safety. Just as the situation seemed to have calmed down, four more Joy Lunatics suddenly arrived on the scene, causing Jack to shoot one of them before getting punched and accidentally throwing his gun into the nearby kitchen. To make matters worse, two of the Joy Lunatics restrained Emma, leaving her vulnerable to possible abuse right in front of Jack. In a desperate attempt to save her, Jack bit one of the Joy Lunatics and pushed him into the wall, allowing him to break free and attack the others. He even grabbed a knife and stabbed one of the Joy Lunatics, causing the other to run away in terror. Emma was understandably shocked by what she had witnessed and immediately hugged Jack for comfort. With the Joy Lunatics continuing to pursue them, Jack and Emma were forced to hide in the kitchen, with Jack sneaking off to find his gun and Emma hiding as per Jack's orders.

However, another Joy Lunatic soon attacked Jack and tried to choke him, prompting Emma to grab a nearby pipe and hit the Joy Lunatic repeatedly until he released Jack from his grasp. As the Joy Lunatics closed in on them once again, Jack and Emma were forced to fight for their lives, with Jack kicking the Joy Lunatics and Emma running for cover. However, Jack was eventually beaten up, and the Joy Lunatics even restrained him in a corner, with one of them opening his knife and preparing to strike. Jack managed to dodge the attack and kicked the Joy Lunatic, causing him to hit a nearby shelf and die from his injuries. As the Joy Lunatics continued to attack Jack, Emma managed to find a gun and attempted to save him by pointing it at the Joy Lunatics. Unfortunately, one of them captured her, prompting Jack to try and save her himself.

However, he was kicked in the gut and ended up vomiting, leaving him completely vulnerable to the Joy Lunatics' brutal assault. Emma could only watch in horror as they beat Jack mercilessly, and even begged them to stop. When they were finished, Jack was left unconscious on the ground while Emma was taken away by the Joy Lunatics. They even set the cafeteria on fire to lock the door and ensure that Jack died inside the flames. Meanwhile, Klaus and Karl are shooting at Joy Lunatics one by one to prevent them from entering the factory through the windows, while Hazel, Sonia, and Jonah are attacked by Joy Lunatics in the hallway. Hazel and Sonia work together to take down the shooters one by one, while Jonah saves Hazel from a Joy Lunatic attempting to enter through a window with a well-placed shot from his rifle. As they approach more Joy Lunatics, Hazel uses his knives to flip and throw at them, dodging their attacks as Sonia shoots them in the forehead to keep them away from her and Hazel. Jonah dodges their bullets and uses his kickboxing skills to take down two Joy Lunatics with a flip. Finally, everything is cleared, and they run down the hallway.

In the dimly lit hallway, Taylor and Ricky stood side by side, their guns loaded and ready for whatever awaited them. As they prepared themselves for the unknown, Taylor couldn't help but let his mind wander to thoughts of Ellie's beauty. He found himself contemplating whether he should have pursued a romantic relationship with her or Emma, another member of their unit whom he also found attractive. Lost in his thoughts, Taylor absentmindedly voiced his musings, unaware of the impact his words might have on Ricky. Ricky, ever the pragmatic and focused soldier, snapped Taylor back to reality with a stern reminder to stay focused and follow orders. He understood the gravity of their situation and knew that their priority was to reunite with the rest of their unit. The need to understand what was truly happening in this enigmatic place weighed heavily on their minds, and they couldn't afford any distractions. Leaving the room behind, Taylor and Ricky pressed forward, their footsteps echoing through the desolate corridor. The flickering lights overhead cast eerie shadows on the peeling wallpaper, adding to the sense of foreboding that permeated the air. As they navigated the labyrinthine hallways, they couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, a chilling presence lurking just out of sight. Their footsteps echoed louder now, reverberating off the walls and creating an unsettling symphony of sound. Each step brought them closer to the truth, closer to the heart of the mystery that had ensnared them all. They exchanged wary glances, silently reaffirming their shared determination to uncover the secrets that lay hidden in the depths of this twisted realm.

In the hallway, Mishael stood his ground as the Joy Lunatics closed in on him and Ellie. He swiftly drew out a deck of Tarot cards, his hands moving with practiced precision. Soft incantations escaped his lips as he manipulated the cards, causing them to emit an eerie glow. The Joy Lunatics hesitated, their forward momentum momentarily halted by the mesmerizing display. Taking advantage of their confusion, Mishael utilized the Tarot cards to create illusions, multiplying their numbers and casting doubt in the minds of their adversaries. As the Joy Lunatics grappled with the illusionary duplicates, Mishael beckoned to the birds perched on the nearby rooftop. Sensing his call, the birds swooped down, their beaks and talons becoming weapons as they attacked the disoriented Joy Lunatics. Ellie, always vigilant, covered Mishael's back with her submachine gun, skillfully picking off any Joy Lunatics who dared to threaten their position. But Mishael had another trick up his sleeve.

In one swift motion, he retrieved a small pouch of dust from his pocket. Sprinkling it into the air, a swarm of flies materialized, buzzing with a chaotic frenzy. The sheer mass of insects created a maelstrom of confusion, obscuring the sight and senses of the Joy Lunatics. Within the cloud of buzzing flies, Mishael and Ellie seized the opportunity to regroup and strategize their next move. The disoriented Joy Lunatics struggled to navigate through the swarm, their movements hindered and their attacks rendered ineffective. The combined efforts of Mishael's illusions, the birds' onslaught, and the relentless presence of the flies proved overwhelming for the Joy Lunatics. As the battle reached its climax, the last of the Joy Lunatics fell defeated upon the rooftop. Mishael and Ellie shared a brief moment of relief, catching their breath amidst the chaos. However, their respite was abruptly interrupted by the sudden entrance of Taylor and Ricky, bursting through a nearby window. Their arrival left Mishael and Ellie contemplating the uncertain future, wondering if they would endure the ongoing assaults of the Joy Lunatics and what fate awaited them in the episodes to come.