#( maybe people think the facility is haunted because they dont know where its coming from

[sunnymused]

"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day..." somewhere above them there's a pesky leak. It's threatening to get in the way of play time, and that's no good, so they've scrounged up a bucket from who knows where and spent the better part of the night watching it steadily fill. Now, where to put the water...?

[ghost-in-the-stalls]

What are ur tilda hcs?

Okay im finally gonna answer this!! Thank you so much for asking!!! I love receiving asks and I love sharing my headcanons. Sorry again it's so late ❤❤❤

This isn't gonna be nearly as well worded and eloquent as I originally planned. The first time I wrote it it basically became a drabble about her life. And then I lost that whole draft. Lmao

I just don't have it in me to recreate that whole thing again but I still wanna share my headcanons about her because I do have a lot!

I also wanna say this is in no way to like... excuse her behavior or try and redeem her. She was a terrible person. But people aren't born terrible. And I like taking 2 dimensional fictional women and making them make sense. So this isn't to excuse but instead to explain? I guess?

cw for all the shit you expect with the minyards by now, but specifically drug addiction and statutory rape. Also this is LONG so its going under a cut.

So first of all, I imagine her and Luther as being half siblings. Their father was a preacher or something- someone with a big role in their church's community and a big reputation of being a reliable, wise, holy man.

When Luther was maybe around 3 years old, there was this teenage girl in the congregation who would often come to Mr. Hemmick for advice, guidance, comfort, etc. She didn't quite fit in in school, wasn't great at academics and struggled to keep up with her siblings achievements, and was overall going through a lot of the turmoil thats unfortunately common for teenagers.

So she, like many people in the congregation, went to Mr Hemmick for guidance and ended up seeing a lot of him. She felt listened to and believed in with him. She felt like he treated her as more mature than the way her family treated her. She trusted him. He abused that.

If you asked her at the time, she would have said it was consensual between them. But she was 16. And when she became pregnant, he turned on her REAL fast lemme tell you. He made her promise not to tell anyone that he was the father, and he only told his wife. And of course, when he told his wife, he talked at length about how this 16 year old girl tempted him to sin; how he regretted it and only hoped she could learn to truly find God.

So he took the child in upon being born as a way to "attone" for what he'd done, but the whole community (not knowing he was the father) just saw it as an act of good will. And of course he'd tout off a lot in his sermons about how he'd be able to give the baby a much better, holier lifestyle than a teenager who turned her back on god by having sex.

So he and his wife end up raising Tilda from birth, but they make sure she knows from the beginning the circumstances of her birth. They drill it into her that her mother was a dirty sinner and that she herself is tainted as a result. She is raised always feeling like she needs to be twice as good to even be considered half as good as her brother in her parents eyes.

Naturally, she stops trying pretty early. In middle school, I imaging her being one of those bullies. The really nasty ones who get violent at their victims for even looking at them wrong. Idk about anyone else, but in my schools growing up the fights between the girls were always way bloodier than the ones between the guys. And I imagine those as the types of fights she got in- especially when one of her victims decides to stand up for themselves by throwing her own baggage back in her face.

By high school, she was thoroughly committed to the role of problem child. She would do everything she could to upset her family and get herself into shit. She'd do drugs, skip classes, show up to school drunk, stay out late, etc. In addition to all this, she would purposefully find whatever guy seemed like the most trouble and take him home. Whether this was the school drug dealer, a boy who got expelled for some rough shit, or college boys who caught her eye at parties.

So she's basically dug this hole for herself where she's committed to actually being the child of sin that her family has always seen her as anyway. The few people who tried to reach out to her wouldn't get far. She would push and push at them to see how far she could stretch their patience (to see how long it took them to give up on her like everyone else).

She even had one teacher who never did give up on her. But she outright told Tilda that she can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. Those words would ring in Tildas ears for years to come, even if she never found it in herself to put the concept into action.

So eventually she'd graduate- just barely because she rarely put in effort in school- and she'd be left to suddenly have to find a place in the world when she previously never even thought she'd have a future. She started batting heads with her family even more (which no one thought was possible at that point) but it became less antagonistic on her end. She was still a shit stirrer, don't get me wrong. But she was getting tired. The fights were less about her being intentionally aggrevating and aggressive and more about her continuously being unable to live up to their expectations.

Luther already had a promising job as a cop at this point, meanwhile she was still living at home and bouncing between jobs that barely kept her afloat and boyfriends that barely made her feel worth something. She'd gotten into drugs in high school, and the habit only got worse now that she was out. It was the only thing that made her feel something other than misery or numbness. She could lose herself in the drugs and the boyfriends and the late nights out. She would come home to see her parents less and less and would speak to them only when absolutely necessary.

Eventually Mr. Hemmick died fairly young (heart attack or something equally as tragic. Whatever I dont care about him enough to pick the details) and his wife followed soon after by suicide. The house was left to Luther, who moved back in immediately and said there'd be changes in the household. He basically told Tilda to quit the drugs and go back to church if she wanted to stay in the house. He also had other rules like keeping a job, dumping her current boyfriend, giving her a curfew, etc.

So she left. She took her shitty beat up car an ex had fixed up for her and headed to California. A friend from high school lived out that way, so that's where she headed.

During this period in her life the drugs got a lot worse. This is also when she realized that she had become addicted. Mainly this is because, even after being away from her family and having freedom, she was still miserable. She didn't know how to get through a day sober. The constant variation between numbness and misery was too much to bare, but she wasn't ready to help herself. She wasn't ready to commit to her own healing and health.

She was in and out of therapy and rehab as quickly as she'd change jobs and partners. She wouldn't commit, and as soon as she had an out she'd take it. Had to miss an appointment for scheduling? Didn't make it back to the shelter in time to claim her bed for the night? Forgot to call back one of the few people who tried to reach out? No going back.

This is my main thing with Tilda. She was a shitty person who had a shitty life. But she never found the strength and commitment in herself to put in the work to be better. She instead let herself fall further and further down the hole because it was easier than pulling herself out. Because part of her still believed deep down that she had succeeded in living up to her birthright- that she wasn't deserving of ever healing or being better.

It was in one of these rehab facilities that she met the twins' father (and this part is absolutely inspired by Luke and Joey from the haunting of hill house). He was a guy with a similar past to hers- always sure he was meant to be bad so he committed to the role and never learned to commit to anything else. The difference between them, though, was that he was ready to get better.

They became fast friends and leaned on one another a bit while in rehab. She didn't see him as anything other than a friend, but he unfortunately became set on this idea that they would heal and move forward together. She knew he had feelings for her and enabled him (she didn't love him back but had never actually felt cared for like this before). He believed in her even when she didn't believe in herself, which was a lot. Unfortunately for him, he also ended up being more committed to her healing than she was. When she eventually started spiraling again, all other feelings for him were overshadowed by the part of her that just saw an opportunity.

She took advantage of him. She slept with him, took his money while he was sleeping, and bailed to get high and never see him again. Now I'm not gonna say she was just a devil who entered this poor man's life. He saw her more as a potential for an ideal life than a person. He was more in love with the dream he had of them getting better and starting a life together than he was actually in love with her and who she was as a person. Bad match all around.

So she never saw or heard from him again. When she found out she was pregnant, she went home to Luther and his wife and son. She didn't tell him right away that she was pregnant. Instead, she pretended she was just finally ready to commit to God and turn her life around. She played the part alright for a while, went to church with them and got sober and everything, but tried to leave and move into a women's shelter when she started showing. Luther found out and brought her home.

At first he was actually super supportive- mainly because he just genuinely thought she wanted to find God and stop "living in sin". But when she finally told him she didn't plan to keep the child, he turned on her.

We know the story from there. Personally I think the night that she stole the money and ran as her point of no return. Years down the line, when she knew she was being a terrible mother and person, she'd remember that night. And she'd think to herself how this is who she was always meant to be. How she doesnt deserve to be any better than how she is. And she'd dig the hole deeper.

-----

So yeah thats my take on Tilda Minyard. Sorry it was so long. I like the idea of giving depth and complexity to female characters- even the bad guys and the ones I don't like. I have a similar lengthy life concept for Mary Hatford as well, but it isn’t nearly as long. If anyone is curious lol

Thanks again for asking!

[tumblunni]

Bwoop! Cathedral tower defense ideas! Havent really made much damn progress on this game since I havent got a design for the protagonist yet, but at least now I have designs for two of the party members. (Thanks @summon-daze!) So for now lets just have some rambling ideas for potential sidequests you could have with these two!

BRIEF SUMMARY TIME Amity: Protagonist. A gruff and badass wandering priestess whose homeland was destroyed in the war. Now she’s joined another church in a foreign land and is dertermined to defend it against the demons, and never let that tragedy happen again! But she has to win the trust of these strangers first, and teach them how to survive... Florin: First and only party member you begin with at the start, deuterogonist, cute sidekick of sass and pep. He’s a plant type demon who’s haunting Amity for reasons unknown, and refuses to leave! Now she’s stuck trying to get rid of him, while he insists on being annoyingly helpful yet comically lazy at the same time. Also, as an incidental fact, he suffers from narcolepsy. Malachi: Optional party member, and the only other demon in the cast. An adorable little choir boy who doesn’t seem entirely aware that he’s become a demon. It’d be cruel to judge him the same as the others, we need to keep him safe! He’s quiet and cuddly and comically oblivious. What do you mean humans don’t enjoy eating rocks??

THUS, SIDEQUEST IDEAS

* Multiple different attempts to get rid of Florin, which all inevitably fail and end up causing him and Amity to become closer buddies. TFW you try to exorcise a guy and end up frolicking through the fields of friendship~! * Similarly, it could be fun to have some silly plans to trick him into being less lazy. Predictably the answer is just gonna be ‘when you’re nicer to him, he actually wants to put in the effort’, but that doesnt mean we cant have some fun shenanigans in the process! * Amity sneaking around trying to spy on Florin and find him doing something evil. He’s GOT to be here to pull off some ultimate plot, right?? Lol, 90% of their friendship is just Amity being suspicious as heck and Florin rudely persisting in being harmless. * A plot where somehow they actually do get separated, and Amity begins to realise how helpful her lil demon sidekick has actually become, and how much she genuinely appreciates him as a friend. Could possibly be that instead of being gone, Florin is ill with some sort of demon sickness and you need to go on a grand quest to save him? or maybe he’s been kidnapped by a villain who wants to use his powers for nefarious purposes, and accuses you of doing the same thing because why on earth else would you pretend to care about this monster? (And then when you rescue him you can have the grumpy excuse that of course you only did it because he’d be dangerous as anyone else’s sidekick. No affection was involved at all!!) * Mysterious flowers are appearing around the cathedral, and Amity starts to suspect that Florin is setting up some sort of evil demon plan. But she actually discovers that this is a sign of how much he’s genuinely begun caring about the other npcs, he’s been paying attention to their troubles and secretly giving them the flowers he thinks they’d most like, without wanting to take any credit for it. So you get a sassy friendship scene of Amity blackmailing him by threatening to reveal he’s been being nice! Thus florin gains the bonus skill of opening a little flower store. (And blushing himself to death every time anyone says thank you) * A conflict between Amity and Florin, where she accuses him of just being lazy as always, but this time he really was trying! He started off not caring about anyone, and only working when it benefitted him, but now he’s working his butt off and has become really self-concious about the fact he’s not really able to keep up with the rest of the party. And so he ends up talking about his narcolepsy problem with her, and if they have enough friendship points she starts being more considerate and trying to help him out with it. And maybe unlocks a longer quest chain of improving the home base’s medical facilities? * Florin hibernates in winter, everyone has to cope without him and realises how much they miss him. Like a repeat of the earlier quest where he’s kidnapped, but this is a new perspective on how Amity feels about it now they’ve been close friends for a while. And also how everyone else around the church feels. Maybe a plot of them all deciding to write down letters for him to read when he wakes up? And maybe tensions getting high when some sort of disaster happens, and Amity is like ‘oh god i dont want to have to tell Florin that this place fell apart without him’. (With it being up to player choice whether you include the bad points in the letter, or try and hide it from him.) * A potential bad ending for Florin, and how things continue afterwards. I think he’d be one of the characters who (initially at least) doesnt die when defeated in battle. If he’s taken out, he’s just near-mortally wounded and recovers after a very tense period where he’s in a coma. And then the plot explores everyone’s feelings at almost losing him, and his own feelings of uselessness now he’s too injured to go back to the fight. And because malachi can become like an adoptive brother to florin, they can still have a happy ending together even if florin has been removed from the party like this. He retires to take care of his lil bro full time, and he doesnt worry about feeling useless when he knows he’s got someone who thinks the world of him. And Malachi can inherit some of his skills and equipment since now Florin can devote all his time to tutoring him into taking up his former place in the army. * Oh, and of course Malachi’s recruitment sidequest! You’d first encounter him as a feral rock beast in a dungeon somewhere, and there’s a conflict between Amity and Florin because she believes this thing needs to be destroyed and he insists that they can redeem it. He can sense it’s a demon, and its got to be corrupted if it’s going wild like this! But Amity believes that demons are inherantly evil, so this one’s behaviour isnt unusual like florin thinks. She’s aknowledged that florin isn’t evil, but she still feels he’s an exception amoung demons! But eventually she’s convinced to take a chance on florin’s convictions, because its rare for him to be so un-lazy about something, and to defend something even at the risk of his own life. So they manage to find a way to purify the monster, and find out that it was a very young child, underneath all that scary rock armour. So if they’d slain it without a second thought, they would have committed an unforgiveable sin... * Malachi’s next sidequest would be convincing him to leave the ruins and come home with them, while exploring the dungeon to try and find out what exactly happened to turn such a sweet kid into a demon. (Not to mention the fact he was absolutely crazed with corruption!) I don’t wanna spoil the ending to this, but I have a lot of Sad Ideas for this charrie, hee hee~ * A potential plotline that once Malachi joins the church base, he could have trouble making friends with the normal human children. I Had an idea of a bully character who’d get redeemed and ultimately become accepted as his friend after a big ol sad apology scene, and then they become this misfit buddies duo. And the ostracization from the other kids doesnt hurt as much when he’s got this tough former-bully lady defending him against her former-comrades. * And he also grows closer to Florin as theyre the only two demons, and florin was the one who saved him. Plus they both enjoy sitting buried in the flowerbed and eating dirt! I think the relationship wouldnt start off this close though, Mal would initially be scared of Florin. Since he doesnt know that he himself is a demon, he just thinks florin is the only demon and he has much the same fears as Amity once had when the story began. But it could be more comical, because its inherantly silly when you have this kid with giant horns yelling ‘ITS A DEMON’ and hiding behind the couch XD And eventually he does grow to love florin like a parent, but he’s still comically oblivious. He just decides that florin ISNT a demon, of course! He’s just... a little more green than other people!! * Possibly a plot of everyone holding a funeral for malachi to cheer him up, since he never had one when he died as a human. But since malachi doesnt comprehend the whole concept, he’s just like ‘when normal people get put in the ground they sleep forever, why did i wake up? is it because i never got tucked in like they did?’ And then it could be funny like bender’s fake funeral in futurama, but also a bit bittersweet and sad and heartwarming. * Sudden panic! Malachi accidentally calls florin ‘dad’, and florin FREAKS THE FRICKLE FRACK OUT! ‘I’m not a good influence, amity! aaaaa!!!’ Worries too much about not being good enough, maybe comically tries to change his personality into a generic sitcom father and malachi is like ‘wtf’ * Possibly a plot about malachi and florin bonding as demons, and figuring out what being demons even necessarily means. I’m thinking florin might be a bit scared by seeing how malachi can sometimes hulk out and run on pure instinct. Its such a huge contrast that this sweet kind child can have such bloodthirstiness inside him, he doesnt understand how malachi seems to enjoy fighting. And he doesnt understand how malachi can think he can control it! He gets a bit scared that this means the fighting side of him is the real side, and the childlike side is just a front, just a lie like everyone says demons manipulate everyone. And does this mean that florin himself is the same? Is he just deluding himself that he can be good? So the resolution is florin being able to accept that both parts of malachi are still malachi, and its completely possible to have both sides without being evil. It is indeed in the nature of demons to fight, but they dont enjoy destruction or evil, its not like holding back some horrible monster who’ll murder everyone you love. And florin has always been holding back this side, he’s been afraid of using his powers too much, worrying he only exists to kill. Malachi helps him accept that his powers have equal potential to heal and to harm, and that it IS possible to control them, that the choice between good and evil is indeed his own choice. At the same time this helps malachi accept that he is indeed a demon, and cope with remembering his horrifying backstory. Knowing that he isnt alone, and that demons dont have to be evil, he’ll be able to be okay, and he has this other demon friend who can help him though it. And they’re able to work out the whole Fearsome Demonic Instincts by doing some playfight sparring together like total dorks XD If you’re worried about your sense of control, then never using your powers wont help! Gotta actually practise! * Possibly florin officially adopting malachi as his son, and its possible for the player to expand out and make more bases once you’ve fully upgraded the cathedral. And maybe florin could become the boss of this new place, and turn it into like an orphange for malachi and others? it could be a big sign of his character development that he’s come this far! Also it could just be hilarious to imagine how baffled travellers would be. ��Aaaa there’s a demon and he’s... looking after small children??” “We must rescue the small children from that horrible demon and take them to the orphanage!” *knocks on the door and its florin again*

[indigo-sails]

Chiroptera Chapter

START "Woah, where am I?" Demetrie was waste deep in a big, golden field of wheat. --- "Hey Zoey!" "Good morning!" "Notice anything... different?" "Why Demetrie, your hair looks fabulous! I wish my bed head looked that good!" "Notice anything... else?" "To what could you be refering? OO do you have a new power?" "I'm thinking along the lines of something fluffly, drooly, barky..." "Oh you mean Ruben! He's my new doggy and I wove him so much!!" "You're dad won't let you have any pets, remeber?" "Did I say my dog? I meant to say your dog." "I don't want a dog." "Mmm, I dunno, from this angle he looks more like an oversized cat to me." "Zoey..." "Aw fine." ~Let's get him back home.~ --- "Okay so - top five favorite festivals: go!!" "Winter and summer festival, they're not even top two, they are both #1. The tourist festival brings so many cool people, world cultures within summer festial, and spring festival. Top five fav festivals: Go!!" "Fall, summer, spring, tourist, and winter! #1 basically counts for all five. It's just magical, the merry go round is my favorite of all!" "Ugh. On the list of my least favorite things; that forest. It's always so creepy." "Yeah," some sort of dream flash back, "It is." From pov of undergrowth, "It always seems like somethings watching me." shot of dog, speech bubbles in bg, "Same! I always feel that!!" "Tho sometimes,  I feel like I want to go into the-" "--RUBEN!"

"You didn't bring a leash or dog treats or anything??" "No, did you??" "What were you going to feed him??" "Pizza, of course!! RUUUBBEEEN" "H-hey! Not too far ahead!" montage of Demetrie turning round and round, creepy angle and what not. "Wait for me!" Small clearing, Zoey's stopped hands on her head. "Did you see where he went?" "No, I can't find him anywhere." Sudden shake in the under growth, both Zoey and Dem freeze. some sequence of panels and horrified faces, Ruben pops out of the bush with a tennis ball "Do they just inherintly know where to find tennis balls?" "I'm pretty sure that's not how dogs work." something alluding to a giant dark creature luming above them in the dark of the trees. -- some sort of transition. I don't want them walking back *zoey dramaticly fake crys* Good bye, sweet Ruben. -- transition "So you really don't want pets?" "Nope! No pets!" "I mean yeah... Is that weird?" "Not even something tiny? Like a fish?" "Nope. I'd probably forget to feed them. Pets take a lot of work!" "You couulllddd get a cat! They basically take care of themselves!" "No cats. No fish. Hey I'm going this way, you want to come over for some lunch?" "Can't! My dad is going to be home soon! I'm going to clean up, and then im going to convince him to let me have a puppy!!" "Awesome!! Tell him I say hi!" "Will do, take care!! -- Later that day... Dem: "So you're sure you don't wanna come over and play Final Destiny 433?" Zoe: ~"Yeah, my dad said there's a good chance he'll be home tonight, I figured I'd clean up a bit."~ Dem: "Awwww okay," Zoe: ~"Quit complaining!"~ Dem: -beep- "Hold on - it's Joey, I'll patch him through. Hey Joe!" Zoe: ~"Heeeeyyy Joeeeyyy!"~ Joe: "Hey! Are y'all going to the premiere tonight?" Dem: "Premiere? What premiere?" Joe: "Battle Force Galactic Blitztasic, it's in 4-D and they got the Hola-cube back up." D + Z: "SERIOUSLY" ~"OMGGGGG"~  Dem: "How much are tickets?" Joe: "Wait, you don't have tickets? I think they sold out already" "WHHAAATTT" ~"NOOOOOOOooooo"~ Joey: "Hold up, I'll patch Damien through. -- Hey Damien" Dame: "Joey! What's up?" Joey: "I got Zoey n Demetrie on the line - Do you have extra tickets to the premiere?" Dame: "Hmmm. What's in it for me tho?" "Cookies!" "I'll commission you an artwork!" "Am I supposed to contribute something??" -car pulls up in the window-- "Sounds delightful! I'll see what I can do. Deme, in the mean time you owe me one! ‍❤️ -click-" Joey: "I'll see what I can do on my end too." Zoey: "I'll see if my dad wants to come!" -knock at the door- Dem: "I'll... have to call you back." Driver: "Hello Demetrie, the Mayor would like to see you." -- Demetrie is in the back of a limo. He pulls up to a big house, he walks inside. "Hello Demetrie! How are you? Have you been well?" "Yeah of course! If you wanted to check up on me, you could've just called-" "Of course my boy, but where's the fun in that? I called you here for more than that, however. The Gaurd Force Cheif wants to include you on a matter of concern." "Oh" "In the conference room to you're right." -- "As you know, we've been getting more disturbances around the perifery of the forest. This morning, we got a call detailing an attack on the west end of town. No one was hurt, but there was a lot of distruction. Similar claw marks were found at two reported store break ins." Shows pictures of claw marks, windows broken, food eaten and missing. "Demetrie, would you happen to know anything about this?" little shocked, "N-no, sir, I do not." "As you can see cheif, I've already told you as much. "Of course. Well, we don't know what it is yet, but it's big..." -- Some notes for tomorrow: "Between the dream and the meeting with the towns gaurd force, I cant seem to catch a break today" "Demetrie!" Deme hearts n like DAW MA FRIENDS ARE MA BREAK /sobs "Wow, there are so many people!" "This is pretty much the only theater in town, but it looks like people came from over the hill. But any way --- That's not important right now." *clasps shoulders srs face*, "Are you prepared." "I was born prepared." *Zoey geeking out in the background* *wooping and cheering* "Guess it's time!" ----- 27 pages at this point SHots of going inside, future tech. Poster of Battle Galactic Blitztastic. Shot of Giant Popcorn Machine "Snap, I always forget how big that thing is" -- Zoey "Yeah, back in the early 3000s they competed nationally to see how big they could get it. We won, of course." "I thought I was supposed to be the history buff!" "Oh, that's right, I forgot that you're brother used to work here." --Dem Alright - let's get ready - to save - the galaxy! *something about representation and synthetics but bruh its straight up about systemic vioelne and oppression, but because robots and synths dont exist yet, it ends up being an allegory abour race. A relatively explicate one, but like, that seems super sucky. A human element is needed Joseph: "Oh yeah! Allissona Zhang is in this! I've been so hyped for this movie, having diasabled actors play disabled charachers is the only way to go." *cracks open phone screen to look up pictures of Allissona, shows Demetrie* Zoey: "Speaking of representation, have you heard the rumors that a Synth is going to be in this one?" Joseph: "What, you mean the robot?" Zoey: "No, a synth, basically a robot with a human brain, but the original human brain was rejected! It's like a person haunting a robot, so trippy." Joseph: "Nah Zoe, synths were debunked, weren't they? We've never had that kind of tech." Zoey: "Yeah, debunked by the US with the New World Council, but that's exactly what they'd want you to think." Joseph: "Dang, true, very true."

Later that night, the premiere is about to start. Zoey shows up, soft aside about her dad not making it to town. We meet more people/characters? Foreshadowing for shenannigins happinging under the facility. The Bat found its way inside from underground, the large old theater is also connected underground to the clock tower (Yes, the small town has a clock tower xD) Establishing shot of the lobby - the complex is pretty huge! There's a huge fountain of pop corn. As the movie starts, the bat peeks menecingly through the projected screen, everyone panics. As everyones leaving, Joey and Zoey rush to Deme's aide and ask how they can help. The bat squirms out into the lobby, starts feisting on the pop corn. They hide behind a counter on the far side. Demetrie runs with the rest of the crowd, then he slows to a stop. He remembers back to the guard force meeting, he feels intense pressure that he is the one who has to defend against this threat. "I'm the one... who's supposed to... protect everyone." flashback: "I've always had faith in you, Demetrie." Vaugely, fuzzily, he hears his friends calling to him, "Demetrie! Come on!" "I can't go." "Deme, this doesn't have to be your fight." "Everyone's counting on me, I feel like I don't have choice." "Demetrie... Fine. If you stay, we stay." "But-"

"We're here to help, tell us what to do!" "Do??"  "What can we do!! Did you see how big it was??" "Don't panic, let's brainstorm." "Right, right." Zoey: "How did it get in here in the first place??" Joe: "The underground tunnels, it's got to be." Zoey: "The basement has tunnels that lead to the outside??" Joey: "That or the creature burrowed it's way down." Deme: "How do we fight a bat??" Joey: "Bright lights? Loud noises??" Zoey: "Maybe we can lure it outside! Joey: "No, not outside, inside. We'll drive it back underground."

Zoey ends up being the one to distract the bat. She notices that it's sweeping along the floor, picking up popcorn. They are both in the isle near the front, it looks at her, it pauses. The bat poses no threat. Either she reaches over to give it popcorn, or she barely has time to think "Wait... popcorn??" and then the emergency sirens blare inside the theater and she snaps back to the plan at hand. "Wait, popcorn??" The alarm sirens blare, the bat screeches and takes out the whole row infront of it, zoey barely dives out of the way.

They trap them under the theater, then realize that the bat is harmless. To save them, they go either underground or sneak their way out and to the clock tower. The giant bat is trapped under some non essential support beams, and the three are talking about what to do with the bat. Zoey notices that its long tounge is snagging tiny bits of popcorn. She runs over and grabs a bag of popcorn that has fallento the ground. The bat calms down. "Zoey! What are you doing!" "No look, he's harmless. He's just hungry!" -- Bat, Demetire and Zoey are in the bell tower. "So. Now we have a bat." "I think I'll name him Ruben!" Deme face palms, "We're not feeding him pizza." shot of the tower and zoey's speech bubble, "Of course not! Duh, bats are insectovors!" END