cryptid-killjoy

[cryptid-killjoy]

"Noted. Adjustable."

Willem took it all quite seriously.

Then he grinned. "Is that really the history? The more ya know." He was impressed. It felt damn logical to him.

Will next lifted a pretend toast in his empty hand, "To Bastien." He was a useful guy.

It was probably possible Feral had the highest crime rate and the highest community outreach of all. Willem would believe it.

Since Figaro decided to answer about the shorts and Piper it gave Willem a little more glow as if his ego got stroked for wearing Kuzpin colors. It made him feel like maybe he had a chance after all.

Willem kept waving his hands like the Cap'n Hook convo had gone way too array for him. It was his dad after all. The imagery was too much. Worse he kept imagining Hook in Mr. Slaves bondage outfit to boot, hook and all. He didn't want to admit it was a little badass despite being a weird thought.

Jacko definitely got Willem out of his feels. He was far too busy trying to save the house from DVD throwing stars. Figaro started singing and Funkytown's living room became a lively and hopping place. Koda would never believe there was any down time, but Willem knew the waves like the back of his hand, just like Jacko's escapades in tyranny.

"I wish I could remember what I gave him to make him so smart. Damn. So that's where my smarts went."

He wasn't griping. He actually laughed about the secrets he lost. The memories were no loss to him when he couldn't recall a thing. He might as well have a sense of humor about it.

Saw 3D.

"Yeah, I have the glasses upstairs whenever you're down."

As for the weather on their trip. "Oh yeah no. No no. No more blizzards. Might be cool air in the caves, but nothing crazy like Pan's winter."

Willem thought it was funny Delta had Peter Pan and Hook in the outskirts of Feral. It was almost right to think about the pixies being trapped inside considering they were fairies like Delta's mother's heritage. Feral had a little more population count than it seemed right in the city. It was just well spread out. Knowing Pan he'd find new lost boys somewhere. It always happened, boys who get lost in this world. Pan has ways.

After a few moments Willem could hear the commotion dying down in a room way down the hall.

"I think he's running out of ammo. I think we're in luck." Between Mr. Punch and Jacko, those two had a way of keeping Funkytown on their toes. "I'll make sure to put a lock on the DVD cabinet." Prevention in Funkytown is always the key.

"I'm going to go pack a bag for the trip. My only advice is flashlights and batteries. We will be underground. I'll let you know what day I'm checking out. Anything important you need to do before we go I need to accommodate for? I was thinking of going in the next couple days because I want to be back to greet my guest by the next week. He's a little impatient. Totally understandable though. It is his family he wants to check on."

If there was one thing Willem understood it was caring about dolls, gifted with life or not. Willem tended to bond with every doll he met.

"The last thing I wanted to ask was Living Dead Dolls. I wondered what your opinion was on gifting anything zombie or undead-like life. I mean I've seen war dolls like toy soldiers given life. But ethically, do you think it's wrong or cool? Do you think their painted-on wounds would hurt or just be like decoration? I can't recall having a talk with Geppetto about this. I don't want to do the wrong thing, and I have a very specific order from an old customer on Gep's client list. Did he mention anything about that to you?"

“Not a bad idea. It’s going to have to be pretty adjustable though, considering - you know-” Figaro held her hands out about the width of her waist, and then moved in to the same size as Punch.

“Yeah, yeah you do, I’m onto you fellas. That’s why you came up with the whole ‘ladies first’ thing. To look at some buttocks. Derriers. Cheeks,” They teased.

“He does manage to find a lot of the good shit,” Figaro had to agree. They were all scavengers around here, and more than once, Figaro hid something and came back and found it gone, into one of Bastien’s many secret piles. No love lost though. If they found anything they thought the fuzzy-haired boy would like, they’d leave it out in the open, or just toss it into one of the known piles.

Weirdly, Feral probably had one of the best communities out of any city, ever. High crime rate, high community lovin.

“I’d say so,” Despite Willem saying never mind, they were going to answer. “Come on, her family like - own those colors. You wear them, you’re in for sure.”

Piper was cool. Though it might not be the most obvious because they’re always more silly than open, they thought Piper was one of the coolest people. Cool style. Pretty. Powerful. And held the Laveau boys on a leash like no one else which was always really funny to watch. Out of the girls that Willem used to bring around, Piper was up pretty high on the most welcome by Fig’s standards.

As in, they’d actually distract Punch so that he wouldn’t go after her ankles.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing - except more…” They thought, tapping their chin. “It was done to him rather than doing it to himself. More unpleasant than a sense of warmth and comfort.”

The imagery was pretty funny, and they found themself laughing along, picturing Hook trying to hook a critter out from his ass and ending up cutting himself. What a fucking vision. Something to put on the Christmas card.

“Still a better escape room than school was,” Figaro joked, even if it wasn’t entirely untrue. School and work - the worst escape rooms of all. Fuckin’ time based bullshit. “Just wanna keep busy, you know?”

A little pinch of sincerity made it’s way in there. No matter how much time seems to pass, it was hard to let go of some of what had been lost. Especially Gepetto. Still living in Funkytown - it was bittersweet.

But thank fuck for Jacko, one of the best to get them out of their feelings for a couple of minutes. Figaro shook their head like a cartoon character trying to get some thoughts out of their head and then ducked down behind the counter to get away from the flying movies.

“It’s raining saws!” They sang. “Oh, Jigsaw, it’s raining saws!”

They used their foot to grab at the DVD cases, pulling them closer in case they needed some ammo back. “Damn, he even threw Spiral. You made him too smart.”

Figaro rubbed the back of their head where a case had bounced off while they had been shaking their head. “Wow, it’s really like Saw 3D in here, huh?”

They leaned back against the counter now, and then nodded. “Should be warmer than the blizzard pixie zone, right? Won’t need the latex mask.”

[cryptid-killjoy]

An Unexpected Visit

Koda traveled all the way to New Zealand without giving Elsa a heads up. When he went to her home, he knew she'd be there because he saw her Vespa outside. So, he strolled on up in jeans, hiking boots, and light tee and light jacket despite the weather being cooler in that part of the world. He wasn't used to keeping up with the differences especially when the main house he visited was always altering such realities to their own fantasies. Still, it was actually nearing the end of winter there. The chains and strings from the necklaces he often wore were peaking from the edge of his collar. His hair was tied loosely in the back from being leaned on during his flight though clean shaven. He had a suitcase at his side.

When the door would open, he'd say, "Surprise."

"Care if I chill here for a bit? Check in at my hotel isn't for a few hours."

[cryptid-killjoy]

"I've heard chicks say that before." He still cast her a little grin even though it was a defiant answer. He almost felt used to her even though he hadn't seen her in so long. She had stuck by Babyface for more than a school year. In their world, that was saying something.

"Different is putting it lightly. I can hear myself breathing."

When they made it to the RV and Black Arts was questioning what had happened to them they both gave answers that managed to send goosebumps down his arms.

Ellie was obviously giving him what he wanted to hear and then Bebop, "Yeah our reunion was hardly a party. More of an escape." Then he moved on in and made himself comfortable on the couch.

It was only then he realized how dirty he actually was. He'd been living on that island for so long and despite running water they'd run out of soap months ago. They did everything the best they could there. It made him start to look himself over, his arms, his hands, his pants in comparison to the well-kept room he'd just stepped in.

"Damn, this bus is nicer than any double wide I ever seen in the park. How is it so small and yet so rich looking?"

Black Arts hardly cared about the dirt and wetness just thankful another Beagle was safe. But, it was haunting feeling to think of Babyface unsafe after getting to know Brandy's boy. It all felt far more personal now. He'd actually grown an attachment to the kid.

"Escape. Right." He groaned over Ellie's way. "So, he is on Pleasure Island? You guys talked me into coming here and then he got stranded? I thought it was just a Halloween Ball. I just wanted to come and pretend to be John Legend on the keys for a night. Ma Beagle is probably rolling in her grave that I let this happen."

"Okay, okay relax Black Bart. Hold your horses. Babyface chose to stay."

"Don't call me that. Do I look like a cowboy to you?"

"You look like some kind of wack job in a costume. I could see you in rhinestones. Same difference."

"I-I do like rhinestones." Then Black Arts waved his hands and the whole interaction away with a push of air. "Never mind that. He chose? But he's stranded?" He looked at Ellie for confirmation. "Aye, aye, aye. But we do need to go into rescue mode, right? He's not on his way?"

"He's not on his way." Bebop at least gave him that much.

The magician picked up his cell and started to text Nebby because she'd stayed late at the party with some girls she'd met and Kuzco. For whatever reason she really got along with Kuzco. He was trying to give her the heads up they might be some strange things afoot and they might have to act.

"Look. Can I get a shower? I'm dying for a real shower and clothes I wasn't wearing 2 years ago. Just no sissy stuff like you got on. I'll find something normal in your closet."

"Uh... yeah... sure... help yourself. Just keep off the capes."

Bebop stood and contorted his face. "Do I look like someone who wants to touch your capes?" He shook his head like Black Arts was a loon. Then he looked at Ellie. "Fill him in. I gotta get this island stank off me."

“Don’t know why she did it but it’s pretty cool, right?” Ellie said with a grin, proud of her aunt’s work. This was something that she aspired to be like, she couldn’t help it. It was such a gorgeous display of power. Horrifying to some, like Bebop’s first reaction, but gorgeous in her eyes.

Burn Beagle.

That gave her pause for a second to think about it.

The grin stayed.

“Burn Beagle, I like that,” She said, letting it roll around on her tongue. And then, because she could detect the surprise in his voice, she added, “Oh, and I’m not planning on going anywhere, ginger bro.”

Well, looked like Dark Arts had the potential to come in handy for more than just a bus to sleep on. She let herself feel slightly uplifted with the hope that Be-Bop had in him. Maybe he’d find a way to help with this new mission. There wasn’t any time to waste. The three people she left behind expected her to find a solution and she would, goddamnit.

 She helped him retain stability on his feet and then they would pad off on top of the snow, which was less slippery without the ice beneath them, as they reached land. “Prepare yourself, I guess,” She said, starting to lead the way to where the bus was parked. “It’s a different New Orleans for sure.”

Ellie had gotten glimpses once they came into town, and then when Figaro had picked them up and took them up to the castle on their school bus but walking through it was a different thing. The most noteworthy difference was the lack of noise. It was inevitable that they would run into a groaning zombie at some point and Ellie would have to burn its face off, but for now, it was just - silent. Not even a receipt flapping through the wind that someone had dropped after shopping.

They were just two people returning home to find that someone had bought it, and remodeled it in their absence.

Ellie did have a room at the inn, but she hadn’t moved any of her things into it. Keeping them where she knew they would be safe, a habit picked up from the last year or two being a little scavenger. Now, she wasn’t even thinking about the room. The idea of a bed that big and no one to share it with? Not tonight. Though maybe if Dale was around, he wouldn’t mind if she came in, the way that they had shared a bed at the Beagles long ago. She had no idea that he wasn’t at the inn either, but it didn’t matter. She was staying at the bus now.

BeBop and Black Arts were catching up. Ellie had climbed onto the bus and was digging out the shitty laptop that she got for just under a hundred bucks from a pawnshop, and started to boot it up. She sat on her bunk, leaning out of it, laptop on her lap, legs stretched out in the small corridor of the bus, only half-listening to the boys talk.

Until she was addressed.

She looked up from trying to connect to any sort of wifi.

“He’s at … a party?” She offered, giving him half of what he wanted. But the lie just made the truth hit her harder.

[cryptid-killjoy]

"Periwinkle. Of course."

"I guess because it was mine, I forgot it could be yours too."

He kept soothing his hands up and down the thick of the top of her thigh. Sometimes his hair would even sway forward with the motion and touch her shoulders.

"Peru. Peru. Ohhhh, Peru." But, Maddy didn't stop there. She seemed to have more ideas. "Italy even." Bastien's face piqued interest.

"Yeah. yeah actually. I see. Get in touch with family roots. I get it. I like that idea. We can ask them for all the best hot spots we should check out. I like this idea."

The more he thought about it the more he liked it.

"Sounds like a big trip. I'll have to let Delta know right away so she can be prepared to be without my services."

Because of course Bastien felt he was in high regard and everything he was doing in Feral was of the upmost importance.

"Maybe talk to Piper. She'll know all the modern stuff and great places to stay and I bet the Reaps and the Groove will have all sorts of OG Peru in mind."

He thought a little more about Italy. "I bet they have great bell towers there."

Then as he really put his mind to understanding she was searching for a familial reason for her destinations he couldn't help but wonder about India.

"You ever going to want to explore India? I mean I get what happened with Esmeralda, but it's still your mom, your roots? Or is that just not a honeymoon kind of trip? A safe it for later one?"

Favorite color?

That was an extremely easy question to answer.

“Periwinkle, of course.”

The lights. The smoke over the water. The soft, hopeful, spring-like shade of blue. Not sad, not heavy, but weightless. Close to the color of the sky. The flower that sprinkled itself in meadows, was beautiful, but useful, having properties that helped with vertigo, headaches, poor memory.

Though she sometimes did wish her memory was poorer.

Alls well that ended well with the priest. The fight was avoided. Maddy allowed herself to be a bobblehead, like yes, absolutely I’ll stop taking birth control. Sure, my only role will be as wife and mother. Though she definitely took on those roles in the end, she felt like she was still more than that. Working on her Reaper biz had helped her confidence.

Maddy’s hands went on top of his. They weren’t big, meaty hands that made hers look small or anything like in the romance novels. Bastien just wasn’t that kind of guy during the night. But he didn’t need to be, their hands looked good together. Light and dark.

“Well, I was thinking about Peru,” Maddy admitted. “Walk in the Reaper’s and Groovemaster’s footsteps. Get to see the country that Piper is fighting so hard for. Show our support. And maybe Italy too? Some beautiful churches we can find a way to climb there."

[cryptid-killjoy]

And now two ladies were in front of him blocking his path. He hadn't been truly confronted in a long time, much less by two people he cared about. Life had been as uncomplicated as big brother status could be since moving to kiwi-land. It wasn't that he didn't have stresses, but nothing heinous crossed his path anymore. It simply wasn't the constant heat at his back that there was in New Orleans.

A strangeness came over him. The old urge to never back down no matter what was still in his blood. He could take a beat down if it meant his principles were on the line. These two girls weren't threatening him though. His thoughts had to cross reference the safety of his family out there in the forest. Who had the more level head of right and wrong when it came to whether to act or not? It felt like a more complicated puzzle than Dale had ever tried to solve. He understood they were worried about him, but if he could stand up for his family and help in any way, he cared little of his own consequences. He was a go down fighting sort of guy. It however wasn't the first time family tried to cool off Dale's hot head in the middle of conflict. Lots of familiar, but long-lost feelings were bubbling up.

Think logically she said. This wasn't always Dale's strong point when anger built up.

His body still felt on the move and huffed and bounced in place as GoGo talked ready to push passed them both, but he was trying to hear her out. He felt the clock ticking in the back of his head.

Thaddeus wanting to root his new Ma was hardly a phrase he wanted to hear right then. His face contorted in disgust. His family being badasses was cool and all, but he knew family needed back up sometimes too. He wasn't fazed by her words until he heard the words stole the spotlight. Thaddeus was stealing it. He couldn't take it from Valerie too. Now he started to sweat. Then he heard how Thomas deserved the kill more and deep-down Dale knew that to be true. He was just panicking that Thaddeus would do something before the family could react. He knew the dude was some sort of bionical bastard with powers they'd yet to fully understand. Of course he was worried.

GoGo sure had a way of getting to the heart of the problems and listing all the ways this could go wrong. Dale felt heavy enough after the Jetsam situation all the way back from when he was a kid to the day his brother made the big power move. He was all up in his feels about needing to act as if he'd been slacking his whole life when it came to family and couldn't manage to make a decision now. Dale had a lot in his head, and it was hard to stay centered.

Trust them.

"Fine." But he didn't look happy about it. He even pushed lightly through the both of them in the only act of defiance he had left and stood in the doorway. "Fine. Maybe you're right. I can't interfere in what happens naturally." That was rule number one of the whole werewolf code he grew up with. It was like tampering with nature and destiny. His father would kill him if he lived through it.

He was still tempted and Ray held her breath after gasping when Dale pushed by. "They'd never forgive me if those wolves followed me instead. Fuck." He was so distraught, and he was never going to forgive Thaddeus for making him feel like a helpless kid again. Everything felt out of his control. He leaned on the doorframe with his forearm up and head against it until the thoughts bubbled up enough to make him punch the door. It left a nice, dented wood crack behind.

"Fuck me." He groaned before turning back to the girls. Now he was just upset. Fuck him and Valerie's heart. Fuck Thaddeus most of all.

Ray handed him a bottle hoping he'd drink and calm down.

--

Flotsam had no romantic visions of the wolf's behavior. There was too much PTSDness involved for that. It was why it took Valerie so long to decide this was right for her. It was also why she took such precaution in making sure all her last wishes were ready and known in case she didn't make it.

This could very well be a staged cross over to the other side and the last thing Flotsam wanted in his sights was Thaddeus. The most romantic thoughts in Valerie and Flotsam's head were that if she died, she died by the man she loves and she'd die in all the pain of being eaten alive just like she'd been taught to take all her life. The irony would be justice, a fitting end. That was romance enough to her. She'd seen this wolf try to maul Flotsam down when it wasn't even a full moon night. This meant all that wolf's feels had taken over when Thomas got angry. The man had since convinced Valerie things weren't always as they appeared. She tried so hard to keep the comic vision of the wolf and the lady in her head, right in her mind's eye.

What Flotsam never imagined in the picture was Thaddeus in this redo. They both heard the padding of feet, agile as they were. Their conversation went quiet. Both rose their hands to shush the other. Flotsam's mind whirled as fast as Dale's had. It was too late. The loss of control in the situation was upon them. The wolves were nearby. For Thaddeus to flee now might only cause a chase of the wrong person.

All Flotsam could think to do right then was jump in front of the other man and protect him like a shield with his own body. He wanted to be the first possible prey they could get to. He did have a goal for this night after all. He wanted bit, not Thaddeus.

Thaddeus put his arms around Flotsam to wrestle him over and change their positions. Thaddeus's attempt at flipping the protective script sparked outrage. Literal sparks.

Flotsam's sparklers boomed from both hands to blast him away. The force of the voltage made Thaddeus's body fling 20 feet away and hit a tree before landing. It was a hard hit, but he still absorbed the electricity.

Scout bounded out of the trees and ran in Thaddeus's direction triggered by the crash, swift and sure. Snarls came full steam ahead right at him.

Flotsam's human eyes couldn't see the wolves yet, but he went running straight towards the direction he heard the padding.

It was only when Flotsam saw the glowing reflection of animal eyes in the distance he stopped and started grinning again. Flotsam was mind over matter. Whatever happened to Thaddeus now he didn't care. His own moment was upon him.

At first, he smiled. He smiled the same way he did the first time he thought he might die. Bring it on. It wasn't a flustered or resigned bring it on like Kuzco over the waterfalls. It was thrill. It was excitement all the way to his bare toes. Bring him to his next life be it the other side or a canine ride. He was ready.

He kept walking closer to the peering glow in the dense brush. The closer he got the more serious his face became. That initial surge of exhilaration was quickly replaced by memories of the first time Flo and the wolf met eye to eye. He couldn't quite make out the black body camouflaged by the dark, but he'd say, "So we meet again."

For the first time this night anxiety and paranoia began to build. Flotsam didn't matter. Being Flotsam always reminded him of the garbage he came from. It was in the name. It was hard to stand there in his own skin confronting the very being that helped push him into believing he was worthless.

The insecurity tried to come back and take over his moment. Mind over matter. He began a mental battle to block out those old emotions. He'd been dreaming of looking his wolf in the eye for years now. A nightmare that turned into a recurrent dream, a true wish.

The eyes were right there in front of him. He was getting all he ever wanted right now.

He was ready to run, to fight, to act, whatever inspired him, but in this brief moment of stillness he looked that wolf in the eyes and faced the demon in his own soul that was once convinced he was less than. He wanted to tell the wolf he had been wrong. Then his voice was taken by all those traumas, the dumpster he was found in, to the camp he wasn't actually right for, to the city that hated him, a brother that hurt and abandoned him with his ex-wife spreading the feeling even his children were worthless to everyone but him, pushed more since Rapunzel's kid was worth more than depriving Flo's kids of their father, and children that were upset he couldn't cope, to the lover that tried to kill him. It was that wolf that made him face it all and made him believe in that moment he was truly worthless.

That was a long time ago.

Thomas was the miracle to change his mind. Maybe Flotsam had some value after all even if he had to be Valerie to do it. At least there was peace somewhere.

Flotsam hadn't had real pain in a long time. He was the sort that needed it sometimes. He couldn't wait for the sweet release of the attack he was dreaming of.

In the end, when he finally found his voice, he said, "Come get me."

Kenough -

Crop tops, torn dress, warm skin, hot touches, burning kisses -

Go-Go shook those out of her head. Not the time.

To her own surprise, Go-Go climbed off of the chair and went and stood with Ray, her lanky body attempting to add onto the barrier to keep Dale from going out there. She thought of Scout, how brutal that had been. All’s well that ends well, yes, but - she wasn’t mentally prepared to see that happen to Dale. And something bad would happen to him, she could feel it in her bones.

“I’m not calling you little man,” She said, her eyes pinpointed on Dale. “But I’m agreeing with everything she’s saying. You can’t go out there.”

Even when he pushed aside Ray, she wasn’t letting go, moving her body back to the door, keeping her hand pressed firmly over the lock so that he couldn’t turn it.

“Just listen for a second,” She started. “Think logically on this one. Number one, that scoddy skeeze wants to root your mom so bad, he’s not going to hurt her. Be a nuisance, yeah, but I’m sure if Valerie is as tough as nails and can handle him, Flotsam can too.” Go-Go had far fewer experiences with Flotsam than Valerie but the point still stood. Bad ass. “Second, Thomas has got Scout and the three pups, that’s a whole ass pack, so silver or not, he’s outnumbered. You’d be outnumbered. Third - bad enough Thaddeus stole the spotlight, what’s your da’ going to think if you go out there and do it too? Fourth, what’s your plan? You go out and you kill Thaddeus, which Thomas more reserves the right to do in my opinion but I digress, and then what? You end up distracting the wolves and Flotsam doesn’t get what he wants because they go running after you? One of em is going to pick up on you, nothing gets away out there.”

That was a lot out of her at one time that wasn’t some scientific finding. Or perhaps it was. Those were all rational, realistic, logical reasons for Dale not to go. She wasn’t going to hedge her bets on emotional manipulation.

At least, not all of them.

“Please,” She said, looking up into his blue eyes. “Trust them.”

–

Thomas stepped out of the clearing.

This wasn’t the first time that Flotsam had been eye to eye with the wolf form of his husband. And if the night went by as it was supposed to, it wouldn’t be the last.

Thomas Laveau was not just a werewolf, but he had Hell in him, and it showed. The pitch darkness of his body, like an inky silhouette against the backdrop of the already dark woods. Large paws, claws spread against the foliage, mouth open, drool falling from sharpened canines as he smelled flesh. The only familiarity to the man that Flotsam and Thaddeus knew was the blue color of those eyes, but behind them? There was no Thomas. There was only the animal that he had become.

He recognized the smell of Flotsam. It lingered, though Valerie’s was always stronger. That didn’t mean that he would fall into some puppy-dog sort of romance the way that Rapunzel had expected, where true love would pierce through the veil of the curse and save the day, rah rah, bring on the closing credits, no. It just meant that he had found a prey that had been on his land.

Watching.

His eyes on the two of them. A step forward. Taking his time before the chase would begin.

[cryptid-killjoy]

"String cheese." He just shook his head and laughed. "That works."

Dale scrunched up to the ledge and peered over as she did when she admitted she didn't think she could climb down yet.

"Damn we really just climbed up this high. What were we thinking?" He laughed all the more.

"I'd do it in a weinermobile for laughs. I saw peanut mobile once that said Nutmobile on the side. I almost feel they did that on purpose just so people would want to do it in the nutmobile."

When she laid her head against his chest it was like an instant calm, like settling down into a recliner with a first sip of tea. This content sigh breathed out and he wrapped his arms around her to make himself more comfortable and cozier.

"Yeah okay. We stay."

He wasn't about to fight to climb down the dangerous incline just to have to fight a zombie at the end. Maybe it would go away by the time they woke up? He could hope.

Spidermonkey style? A new idea came in right as he was settling in.

He laughed now as if he hadn't laughed all night. His face was glowing. "We could. I'm dolt enough to try even without shimmering glitter skin. I'm not sure I can let a fictious pedo-vamp out do me. How about we sleep for a while and then I spidermonkey you down after either way? I have a reputation to uphold now."

What he didn't think through in this scenario as he tried to keep hold of that settled in feeling was how his body was going to feel when he woke up, freshly peeled from road rash after the numb wears off. He would feel like he was thrown from a truck and then run over by it. Half of that would be true.

“Believe me,” Go-Go said, her eyes raking down Dale’s body, over the midriff, all the way back up to those baby-blue eyes. “I’m going to be remembering this crop top thing forever.”

Whether he was Kenough, or Alex Winter in Bill and Ted, didn’t matter - it was Dale in a crop top with that peek of skin showing and she was understanding why guys used to go wild when a girl showed a little ankle. It was tantilizing.

“We’re in America so - string cheese?” She added, another drunken giggle emerging from her lips. Strings - strings of lights, strings of violins - at least it wasn’t THAT cliche up here.

The heat was slowly starting to fade. The burning in her throat. The burning - elsewhere. But she was still just in that beautiful mist that the alcohol had caused, caught up in touch, in feeling. She wasn’t thinking about hat this was going to mean for tomorrow, or how awkward things might be. She was just longing for …

Leather interior.

“I dunno if I can climb down,” She admitted, moving back from Dale and inching towards the edge to look down, see how far up that they were. “My feets be feeling unsteady. Rollerskates on treadmills,” She snorted at the idea.

Her mind went back to watching the crash, and it was like she was electrocuted for a second, that quick feeling of despair coming back. Dale flying out. The fear and worry that made her pick up an undead limb. It was - unfortunately - a touch sobering.

“Yeah, that’s the unsexiest car ever. Except maybe a wienermobile.”

But then second thought.

“I take that back, just for the irony.”

And for the story. She wasn’t a kisser and teller, and would probably keep all memories of this night to herself unless Scout somehow found out, and then she’d tell her side if she cared. But a story like having sex in a weinermobile? She’d make an exception to her own rule.

She laid her head down against his chest, smelling the grass stains. The sweat. The alcohol.

“We’ll die if we go down,” She mumbled, dramatically. “Let’s stay.”

"Unless ... you think you can carry me down. Spidermonkey style."

[cryptid-killjoy]

Bastien would refer to those sorts of duties as his wife's Reaper Business. Moving bodies? Reaper Biz. Body compacting? Reaper Biz.

He smiled about Waldo Red being one of her favorite colors, second maybe. "Okay, hold on. Opinions change over time. What's your favorite color as of right now?" He always felt like a 3rd grader when he asked questions like that, but it suddenly felt relevant.

"Priests can be scary." He admitted. He put his hands up in that no shame way.

A second honeymoon?

Oh my.

He hadn't thought that far. The trip to Paris for the vows felt exciting enough. Now more excitement was being poured all over the top of Bastien's excitement cake.

"I didn't even think of that. Not exactly." But he sure was thinking of it then, eyes closed, imagining memories from the last one. There was a twisty little smile on his face as a result enjoying every flash back. "I am now."

He moved in and put his hands on her legs and squeezed. His thoughts were on bedtime activities and fun fabrics and textures over skin. Despite his mind being there he managed to ask something more practical.

"So are we going to go nostaligia and relive our old honeymoon or is there a brand new place you'd like to explore? My feet could walk anywhere."

Maddy even attempted to find ways to help Frank and Delta without coming across as needy for something to do. The bodies that Frank and Delta were done with, when they dropped through the trapped door, she would use her forcefields to squeeze them tight, into cubes of flesh and pulverized bone, for easier disposal. Like Wall-e with garbage. Just - humans. It became easier to think of them as a thing, oddly enough. She still care about people, but these bodies - they weren’t people.

Still. Having those as blocks against a wall felt a lot less upsetting than just walled-off bodies, still creating a stench.

She was glad that Bastien agreed. It really did feel like it wouldn’t be right if the Kiwi family wasn’t there. All of them. Even Chip, and his wives. Family.

It wasn’t just the Firebug’s Lighter that had sparks.

The lack of ‘establishments’ in Feral seemed to not affect the couple at all. They could have movie nights in the theatre, using youtube to figure out how to get the endless assortment of movies to play on the big screen. They wouldn’t have to worry about crying kids or tall people or people using their phones. They could have dinner dates - well, anywhere. In the middle of the road, if it had been freed of zombies. In the finest penthouses, laughing at how these rich people - and how Maddy used to - live. Or, lived. The things they wasted money on that meant nothing at all. Their lives were .... honestly, flourishing.

“Waldo red,” She repeated. White, red and green had been their colors, she would never forget that. The poinsettas on the end of every aisle. The perfect dress that was worth shopping around for. The peek of red from her shoes. “That might just become my second favorite color.”

She laughed lightly, because oh, she remembered how nervous he had been. “You thought I was going to pick a fight with the priest over birth control,” She recalled.

Indeed, they did. She’d get right to researching. To planning. To watching videos of urban explorers and the ways that they took into the catacombs to figure out the best way to get their people down there without outsiders watching. A tour was out of the question, they’d be noticed if too many people slipped out at once. Making maps. Settling details.

Then she remembered something else, as if she was picking up Hugo’s wavelength.

“We can take a second honeymoon too,” She said, almost shyly.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Bebop could tell, if anything, Ellie was in element. She looked like a natural out there. Quite the opposite was true for him. He didn't know of Figaro's bus either.

"This is so not natural. Did you do this?" After seeing her use her powers it was the only conclusion he could draw. He wasn't an Elsa the ice queen expert.

Then her admitting she could also produce fire sunk into and managed to commute in his overwhelmed head. She explained this was the work of her aunt.

"So you're just a regular Ice Pyro. Fire in and ice in your fam's veins. Two things that burn like a bitch. You keep up with my baby bro and you're gonna end up the Burn Beagle." He teased still a little surprised the two were still tight after all this time.

Her suggestion to go to Dark Arts' bus as if it was nearby, music to his ears. He had no idea more family was back in Louisiana right then, even if Babyface had told them he sought the magician.

"He's here?" The relief on Bebop's face was immense as he reached for her hand. He managed some stability through her and stood back up. He wiped him off too. Then he took a look around at the wild scene Elsa created on the beach front. He was using to craze growing up in Nola, but he still couldn't help but voice it. "This shit wild."

"Hell yeah, let's go Burny." He had to prod one more time before he got his legs moving in the right direction. He followed Ellie since she knew the way.

Walking through Feral which was still Nola in Bebop's head was a wild adventure of its own. It still had that French Quarter feel, but differences were too stark to miss. His face fell flat as he took it all in. He'd been stranded on Pleasure Island since the Horned King Take Over and barely had time to understand Delta had spread a fairy ring around the entire city. So, seeing its new emptiness brought on a wave of chest aches, shock, awe, and it brought understanding to all the messed-up things Babyface tried to explain to him on the island. It was a solemn feeling, but he tried not to show too much reverence or heartache. It didn't make the majesty of Delta and Frank's reality any less to him on the inside. But he did walk in silence.

By the time the pair were approaching Black Arts' tour bus the party at the castle had mostly wrapped itself up. The majority of the people had made their way down the mountain and either left on one of Figaro's bus routes or made their way to The Inn.

Black Arts saw them coming from the window.

"I wondered what happened to you two. Figured you got into your own mischief this Halloween night."

Then he realized it wasn't Babyface with Ellie as he stood in the RV doorway.

"What in the world? Is that- Are you?"

"Bebop Beagle."

"My God. I haven't seen you since you were this high." He put his hand down lower than his waist to show how much of a kid Bebop was the last time he saw him. "At the family reunion I believe."

"Yeah, I remember you. You put on a magic show and made all the leftovers disappear before I could get seconds on the buffet line. You never brought them back."

"Heh. Heh yeah. Well. Well, the show wasn't always as successful. A guy's gotta eat on the road."

Bebop shirked his shoulder and nodded his head in agreement like he was the same sort of opportunist and would have done the same thing. Then they went up and started to shake hands. They looked into each other's faces long enough during that shake that it finally turned into a hug. The Beagles all had lost a lot of family and seeing they had any left at all was something none of them would take for granted now.

When he pulled back and moved aside to let them in he finally looked at Ellie confused. "Where's Babyface?"

Then as he got a better and closer look over of Bebop he noticed the tail as he stepped by him to enter. Babyface had opened up to Dark Arts a little about Pleasure Island, minus many details, but the turning to donkeys part was a part he couldn't forget and wasn't even sure he believed. There was no mistaking that tail was moving on it's own. It was real.

Dark Arts started to get a bad feeling. "Ellie?" All he could think was don't tell he's where I think he is. "Tell me he's still at the party."

Not like he had much of a choice, unless he wanted to try to traverse the ice on his own.

Unfortunately, Ellie wasn’t looking back. She didn’t catch BeBop’s surprised, albeit probably suspicious, reaction to her powers. She missed his wobbling and his tottering, though it was something that she would definitely regret not filming. Ice. It felt good to use so much goddamn ice. It felt like it had been building inside. She did it in small bursts, but fire was more useful while living out on the streets. Just some cool water bottles once in a while. This felt like a release.

When she used it like this, she felt an even stronger kinship to her aunt. She couldn’t blame her for not wanting to stay locked up in a home where she couldn’t use her powers. She couldn’t blame her for going far away from everyone who oppressed her. Especially after feeling the power being gone while on the island - it was welcomed back, like a part of her.

Only when she got closer to the shore and the ice was thicker, not being broken off by the waters, did she look over her shoulder to catch BeBop’s progress. He might not be winning any speed awards but he was doing pretty good. As in, he was still standing               from what she could see.

“Right? Pleasure Island has nothing on me,” She said with a grin, pretending to wipe dust off of her shoulder. Then she walked forward and offered BeBop a hand to help him up onto his feet.

“Oh - uhh, yeah. That’s just one of my things. I can also do fire but - this is Elsa’s ice. Melting it would take … well, forever. It doesn’t go unless it’s ready to go.”

Once he was standing again, looking a touch less like a donkey now that he was on two legs, she realized that somewhere during the night she had lost her phone.

And Figaro’s bus was no longer there.

“Come on, we’ll walk to where Dark Arts’ bus is parked,” She suggested. “He might be able to do something about the whole … ass thing.”

She was also thinking that she would have to email Delta to make an appointment, and hopefully it would be sooner rather than later. She not only had to gauge what Frank and Delta’s reaction to the island might be, but she had a boat to apologize for, since it was still basically adrift on the edge of the ice.

[cryptid-killjoy]

[cryptid-killjoy]

Piper: Don't stress it. I'll be there then. Let's do this thing :D

Pierre: Plus, at least in my world, always best to be honest around Frank, he can sniff out a liar the way that Zero can Scooby Snacks. Pierre: Of course you're coming! Don't be dumb, I need my best girl there with me. I can tell you some of the differences in people I spot, it'll be funny. Pierre: I know, the world is cruel :( Pierre: But we so got this.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Piper: I agree. That way they can't put the past on you. And if who I'm worried may have a problem with it, I know what I'm going to say. Logically so. If Pierre can be sentenced to death over acting on a timeline doppleganger of someone and it still count as it being them, then you can be found innocent for not being guilty, and you can still be Pierre. Piper: That was probably confusing. I'll explain when we go. Unless you're saying you want to explore on your own? Piper: It really wasn't your fault. You can't control what other people do. Piper: That's sweet actually. Just take it as it comes. Piper: We got this Pierre.

Pierre: So I think we should tell them that I'm not the same guy. Pierre: Like I know I was gonna be killed in the other world but that was the ladies' fault, tbh. They wanted me too much. Pierre: I'll TRY not to let that happen here. I've got my eyes on my three and you're all I need right now. Pierre: Yeah it does suck but I can live with that I think. I'll figure it out.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Piper: Let's just say the old Pierre crossed lines which resulted in his own demise. I'm not sure it's a text conversation. Up to you. Piper: Yeah I know. I'm sorry your safety net is gone. Financially speaking too. I mean the world thought you were dead. Whatever was your share has already been dealt with I'm sure or dispersed to who's left. Piper: But don't worry. I've got you covered. Piper: You got all that right. Those are the kind of basics probably easier waded through as you go.

Pierre: Why wouldn't they? Pierre: I read some of the news. Know about my mom and dad. That sucks. PIerre: And then about the zombie thing and the town being sealed off. Frank and Delta in control. Kinda like the time I came from, but there was still a population. They were just like the monarchy.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Piper: It's a sin Piper: About that. I'm not so sure everyone will feel the same. At least until some things are explained. Piper: like Feral basics? that kind of history? or? like what?

Pierre: I'm far too pretty to be locked up anyway. Pierre: And with the reaction I got from Zero? I'm ready to feel the love. PIerre: I started down the rabbithole of trying to figure stuff out, I think I got some of the basics.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Piper: Sounds so ominous. I love it. Piper: Do you want me to come on over and give you the low down on everyone? Then I can take you around or you can go on your own.

Pierre to Piper

Pierre: I'm totally ready to meet my other people again. Pierre: It's time.

[cryptid-killjoy]

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[cryptid-killjoy]

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[cryptid-killjoy]

GoGo knew how to make a girl laugh.

"Someone sure does know the drill." She'd say as if between girls it was known facts GoGo just put out there.

"I'm getting ganged up on, ya'll." Dale said as the only guy in the room. "Where's Willy and Wanker? They'll stand by my side."

The two dobies lifted their sharp doggie heads when they heard their name off the other couch. Then they put them back down uninterested as there didn't seem be food involved.

"Traitors." Dale shook his head at them.

Then everything got wrapped up in the Thaddeus sighting.

"I'm not turning into an anime. I'm Kenough, remember?" Dale joked referring to Halloween still in okay spirits until Ray wouldn't let it be, "But I'm still doing something."

Ray stood up. "Wanna bet? You are not going out there little man."

Dale's face looked horrified. "Since when do you sound like my mother? Fuck even my mother couldn't sound like a mother. What makes you think I'm listening to you?"

"Because I'll tell on you."

"Now you're trying to sound like my sister. Besides who you gonna tell? They're all out there under full moon howling and wagging their tails. Now back up. Get off me. You're all up in my space."

But, Ray didn't back down. She put her hand on him in an attempt to block the way.

He did have her there though. "Uuh Ziya." She thought of the toughest person she knew who wasn't a wolf right now.

"I don't answer to Ziya."

"You got any sense in there? Come on. Let the wolves handle it."

Dale wasn't so sure. "He's got weapons. The arrows were glinting even in the dark. What if they're silver?"

He grabbed her wrist and pushed it away from his chest causing her arm to sway back.

"Silver's not magnetic."

"Fuck you. You don't know what I can do. I can still bend it to my will."

He strapped the gun over his shoulder and tried to keep walking to the door.

Ray looked over at GoGo unsure where to go from here. She wasn't the sort of witch with powers that could stop him by force. She just kept trying to argue to slow him down, stall him somehow. But, in Ray's haste for words she spluttered out, "You can't save everyone."

That made his feet stop. At first, he just stared at her. "You think I don't know that already?" His face was jaded. Then he pushed her aside with his forearm and kept going. He didn't have time for those emotions.

-- Meanwhile in the forest

Everything began to happen very quickly.

Thomas was beelining the scent. The pack was on the trail.

They weren't so far that a running wolf would be going on a marathon to track them. They were gaining ground fast.

Thaddeus could hear them and readied his bow with one swift movement.

Flotsam couldn't hear a thing, but that motion made him yell out.

"Fuck no! Put it away now."

Then he took two seconds to look down, feel Thaddeus wasn't going to comply and without any more warning his sparklers went up. He pointed a hand and electrified him in a swift powerful shock.

Thaddeus fell to the ground like someone who'd been tazed. The problem was when Flotsam looked over him, he wasn't as phased from the taser power as anticipated. He was knocked over from the force, but he didn't look at all like someone who'd been electrocuted.

Thaddeus looked right up at him and said, "Can we not? I told you. We're the same." Only Jetsam could take his strikes like that.

This infuriated Flo. All his bottled-up bullshit about Thaddeus came bubbling up and this wasn't the time.

Flotsam stamped his foot like a child having a tantrum. "This is MY NIGHT DAMN IT!" Then he started kicking Thaddeus in his ribs and all over his sides, stamping down on him, wishing he had his boots about now.

Thaddeus had to defend himself. He grabbed his leg. This caused him to drop his bow. There was a weird pause when he realized he had a bare leg under his palms. A second glare at each other and Thaddeus took Flotsam down tripping him. They wrestled down on the ground in the leaves and muck.

Flotsam had a mean streak that could make him a terror in a fight, but there was no denying how much huskier Thaddeus was than him. It didn't take long before their wrestling match had Flotsam pinned to the forest floor. The other experiment looked down at him.

"Just stop! Stop Sam. Stop! I'm not trying to hurt you."

Sam? What the even fuck? Flo didn't stop to question it. He just thought Thaddeus was a wack job. His nostrils were flaring under the man. "Get off me. You're gonna fuck up Valerie's dress." Flotsam had a plan for that dress and whatever bite marks it might have ended up with after.

Thaddeus looked down at all the red and could only envision it as the blood that was about to spill here.

Thaddeus actually swooped down and picked Flo up by the middle of his lanky body and hoisted him over his shoulder. He tried to pick up his bow, but Flo's flailing around made it too difficult, so he left it on the ground. He went on carrying Flo like a caveman.

"I'm taking you home."

"The fuck you are." Flotsam started blasting him with his shocks, but Thaddeus absorbed them all conducting like a human lightning rod. They would make him slow down, but he was powering through every heavy booted step.

That's when Flo decided to bite him. He gnawed down hard, but with that leather cloak he wore was too thick for his teeth, not to mention the rest of the armor.

"Settle down!" His flailing made it harder for him to walk than the shocks.

Finally, the jerking around and pushing over his shoulder caused him to lose balance and made him fall into a kneeling position on the ground and Flo pushed away.

Their eyes met and Thaddeus swore, "I'll just catch you. Don't run."

Flotsam glared ice shards from his light eyes. Then his face softened.

"How about if you leave me alone tonight I'll be your friend."

Thaddeus froze from his haste. Flotsam was appealing to the real Thaddeus now, not fighting Marina Del Ray's orders.

"Really? A real friend?"

"Yes, really. Don't fuck this up for me, Thaddy." He called him by the name Valerie would, attempting to get to his sensibilities while Thaddeus battled believing him or not, versus battling his own desires and his internal urge to do as he was told. "We're not five. I say what I mean. Please. Don't fuck this up for me over her. She fucked you over too, not just me. You and me, bro. Yes, or no?" He grinned so genuine. "I mean... it's only a suggestion." The eel in him was really coming out now.

That's when Flotsam heard the padding of feet....

“Men,” Go-Go said with an amused chuckle. She had witnessed more than enough of them at the cafe that she worked at, only entertaining them enough to get tips so she could buy all new seats for her bike, to test which ones had the most efficient weight distribution, made of different materials. That could get pricey. “They either come on too strong, or act like they don’t when they desperately want and need you. The psychology is … all over the place. Riveting.”

Chip didn’t seem like the self-pitying type, so he must have been going through a dark phase. Go-Go didn’t know him well enough to speak on his emotional state, obviously, but he seemed … strong. Stiff-upper-lip. Though that could be the rigor mortis.

She focused back on the drones, what she was good at. Not the touchy-feely emotional stuff. She’d leave that to the inner family. She sipped on her energy drink, eyes back on the screens.

–

Everyone, especially Maddy, thought that Flotsam and Valerie were bigger than death. Scarier than death. Would look death in the face and think about all that they had on earth and say not today, motherfucker.

Course, Clopin knew that Flotsam had his times where he wouldn’t fight for life. He’d accept a death, accept a break from all of the stresses of living, but he also knew that Valerie would be a fighter. And she had her triplets, she had her husband, she had a more stable life now than Flotsam ever had.

Thomas - he only wanted to make absolutely certain that his husband and his wife were certain. This wasn’t something that they could just take back. The time to return safely inside was ticking away quickly. But he had faith in their decision once they had made it. They had talked about it enough times. They went through all of the possibilities. And logically - it was a decision that made sense. He had, in a twisted way, his experience with Scout and she had made it through. So he was more than capable of being able to turn someone and have them live. Not kill them. If it happened once, it could happen again.

He held onto that.

Repeated in his head as his body was racked in pain.

Valerie would be going through the same thing next month.

His solace, his last thought, was that they would be going through it together. That made a difference.

–

Thomas wasn’t in control. He would be able to remember quick flashes of the night, but it was usually fleeting as his wolf preferred to run, and to roam. Trees flying by, nothing stable enough that he could focus on, get his bearings. But it never mattered. Even if he knew exactly where they were, he could do nothing, a prisoner in this body. A VR he couldn’t escape from.

What he smelt - he knew what it meant. Fellow predator. This wasn’t a well-adjusted smell. He knew those of his family, his human family, from being on the trees. He covered them with his own scent, but he was adjusted to theirs. This one, this wolf didn’t know.

Threat.

That idea, more than the word, bounced around in his head. He threw that scruffy head back, muzzle pointed towards the moon, and let out a threatening howl, which also commanded his pack to stay connected. He let out a growl, rumbling through his throat and then out of his mouth, and then started the chase, hot on the scent. The triplets would run behind slower, and Thomas would not prevent them from following. They had to learn how to hunt for themselves as well. Every moment was a learning opportunity in survival.

–

“Well - shit,” Go-Go said, lost for words when the drone did another sweep through and caught sight of someone talking to Flotsam. “I should really add a gun to this thing.”

Dale was already on it, and Raya was on trying to stop him. Go-Go watched with her eyes wide, taking in the chaos.

“Yeah, the moon is up, they’ve already turned,” She said, raising the drone higher to see if she could catch movement. “They’ll be on their way, Dale. Unless you became Tenya Ida from MHA in the last minute, I don’t think you’re going to be able to Fast and Furious your way out of this.”