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avengerscompound · 5 years ago

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Catch and Release - 5

Catch and Release: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count: 3289

Rating: E

Square filled: @star-spangled-bingo - Steve's Apartment

Warnings: Smut (MMF, oral and vaginal sex, overstimulation)

Synopsis: When you overexert yourself on a mission with Steve and Bucky, the boys admit to having fantasies that involve you. Fantasies that you share. But with one Super Soldier needs intimacy and the other is still dealing with being touch starved, exploring those desires without anyone catching feelings is a little tricky.

Chapter 5: Lying in Wait

You knocked on the door to the apartment that Steve and Bucky shared. They'd asked you around for dinner, which meant dinner and experimenting with their sexuality, and you were more than a little excited. The dice game had gone over really well and for a couple of days after they would each come and tell you about what parts they liked the most. You knew that they’d want to take it further and try more things. Especially given Steve hadn’t technically gone ‘all the way’ with you.

You were very excited too. This whole thing had not at all been what you’d expected. The whole idea of a down and dirty three-way that was all about sex and just getting that release at the hands of the two super soldiers was definitely one that you’d visited alone a lot of times. Somehow this was even better. Steve and Bucky were such good friends, and this arrangement you’d come to was both exciting and safe all at once. They might be finding out more about themselves, but this was your opportunity to find out more about yourself too.

Steve answered and greeted you with a kiss on the cheek. It was funny really, you’d seen him on and off all day, but that was Cap. Steve was a whole different person in a lot of ways and so even though you’d only seen him half an hour ago, this was the first time you were seeing him all day. “Come in,” he said as he held the door open for you.

“I bought wine.” You said holding up the bottle of merlot you’d ‘stolen’ from Tony’s cellar.

“Trying to get us drunk are you?” He asked taking it from you.

You chuckled and followed through the apartment to the table. Their place was a weird mix of old and new. There was a blue velvet wingback couch sitting next to a black leather recliner that had speakers in the headrest. An old cabinet style record player sat next to a large flat-screen TV and had a PS4 sitting on top of it. A set of nesting tables sat in front of the couch and each one was littered with art supplies and Steve’s shield was propped up against the couch.

The walls were decorated with artwork of vintage motorcycles and photos of family and friends. One entire wall was boxed shelving, and each shell was full of books and vinyls. There was no clear theme to any of it. A boxed set of Harry Potter novels sat next to books on military tactics. The Wizard of Oz series was there in its entirety but each volume was sitting on a different shelf. The Wizard of Oz was next to a book on guided meditation. Ozma of Oz was beside some vintage Captain America comic books.

Bucky was in the kitchen cooking. He had his hair pulled back and a floral apron on. The kitchen itself was quite modern and clean compared to the living room. The benchtops were black granite and the fittings were all brushed chrome. Bucky smiled when he saw you and came over and kissed your cheek. “Everything is nearly ready.” He said.

“It smells so good,” you said. “And you look amazing.”

He pinched your hip and went back to his cooking. “Steve, did you put your shit away?”

“Yes,” Steve lied, going straight to the coffee tables and bundling up the art supplies.

“That means your shield too,” Bucky said.

“It’s away,” Steve said. He shoved the drawings and pencils into one of the gaps on the bookshelf before grabbing his shield and shoving it into the hall cupboard.

You chuckled and took down some wine glasses. “It doesn’t matter how much time has passed, I will never get over the fact that he’s the messy one.”

“He’s always been the messy one,” Bucky said. “Drives me crazy.”

“Can I help at all?” You asked as you poured out three glasses.

“There’s a salad in the fridge. You think you can take it out to the table?”

The table was already partially set. The plates and silverware were out, as was a loaf of crusty bread. You took the salad out and by the time you were sitting with Steve and taking your first sip from your wine glass Bucky was bringing out a serving platter piled high with risotto.

“So,” you said, as you all started filling your plates. “What shall we do tonight?”

“Oh, uh…” Steve said, almost dropping his fork. “We thought dinner and if you wanted we could watch a movie…”

“Really? That’s what you want to do?” You teased.

“He’s being polite because he doesn’t want you to feel pressured to do anything,” Bucky said.

“Oh, I know.” You said playfully, putting your hand on Steve’s.

“I just want to make sure you know that your friendship is important to me too,” Steve said, giving your hand a squeeze. “I don’t want to put the sex above that.”

Bucky smiled and leaned over the table and kissed him. Not that you could blame him. You could practically feel your heart swell up. When Bucky sat back in his chair, Steve looked a little love-struck himself.

“Then we should hang out as friends sometime,” you said as everyone started eating. “Like we used to. But I am wearing really expensive lingerie and I’d really like to show you it.”

“And I would definitely like to see it,” Bucky said.

“We were talking about just…” Steve stopped mid-sentence and froze like he had forgotten the word he was looking for. “You know… normal.”

You and Bucky looked at each other and bit back laughter. “Ah yes, normal threesome style, Stevie. Just the way everyone who has threesomes does it.”

Steve looked at Bucky deadpan. “You know what I mean.”

“Well, yeah. I do ‘cause we talked about it before.” Bucky teased. “What he means is because part of this is him getting to do some things he hasn’t done before, we’d like to focus on you and it just be…”

“... vanilla guy on girl sex.” You finished.

“That’s the one,” Bucky said tapping his forehead.

“Gonna run the train,” you said and took a sip of your wine. “Nice.”

“Is that okay?” Steve asked.

“More than.” You said. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, anything,” Steve answered.

“And just to be clear here, I’m talking to Cap. Not Steve.” You added.

“Oh,” Steve said, his posture stiffening. “What is it?”

“No,” Bucky groaned. “Don’t invoke the Captain in here.”

“Just for a second. I promise.” You said. “What happens if the others find out about what we’re doing?”

Steve’s jaw tensed and twitched at the corners as he thought. “I don’t think we should go around bragging about it,” he said. “But this is our personal business We aren’t breaking any rules. If the find out, they find out.”

“Besides, if Tasha doesn’t already suspect, then I don’t think that’s Natasha and we better find out where the real Natasha is,” Bucky added.

You laughed and nodded. “True. You know if Tony finds out he’s going to give you hell for it.”

“What’s new?” Steve said with a small shrug. “Besides, like he can talk.”

“Also valid.” You said. “Alright. I just wanted to make sure. I agree. I don’t want to go telling … well anyone, but like Bucky said, Nat figures this shit out, and I don’t want to be lying to our friends.”

Steve reached over and rubbed your arm. “I would never ask you to do that. You aren’t our dirty little secret. You’re our friend.”

“God, Steve. Saying all the right things tonight. I’m gonna fuck your brains out.” You said.

“And I’ve got second,” Bucky added, reaching over and taking Steve’s hand.

The three of you finished up dinner and cleaned up together. Steve had been right. The three of you needed to nurture the friendship too. This was how this started after all.

When the kitchen was practically sparkling Steve came up behind Bucky and wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed his neck. Bucky closed his eyes and hummed softly. He held out his hand to you and you took it and let him pull you into his arms.

His eyes opened and he blinked slowly, as he gazed down at you. “Ready, darlin’?”

You smiled up at him as Steve’s arm snaked around you and he pressed his large hand to the middle of your back. “As I’ll ever be.”

Bucky leaned in and ghosted his lips over yours. You reached up and tangled your hands in his hair and pulled him into a hungry kiss. Steve kissed and nipped at Bucky’s throat as the two of you kissed and pulled you a little tighter against Bucky. You could feel Bucky start to harden against you and you pulled back with a quiet gasp.

“Bedroom?” He asked.

“Bedroom.” You agreed and Bucky put an arm around each of you and the three of you made your way down to the bedroom.

The room was painted sage, with gray trim. The floor to ceiling windows on the far side looked out over the East River and beyond that, Brooklyn. There were more shelves against one wall, though they mostly held little knick-knacks. Things like a signed baseball, a Build-a-Bear dressed as Captain America, and model spaceships - the kind you built yourself. Next to it was an antique drafting table with more art supplies and sketches littering it. There were framed prints on the one bare wall above the bed, each one held different black and white photographs of the New York skyline over the years.

The bed was a king and had been made. A crocheted quilt in dark red and white lay folded in half at the foot over the gunmetal quilt. The bedside table on the left was clean and neat with a digital alarm clock, a dock for a Stark phone a worn copy of Dune. There was also a basket with condoms and lube, the same as you had set up when they’d come to your place. You wondered if he’d decided to steal the idea from you. You couldn’t imagine that they were still using protection like that with each other. The bedside table on the right was a mess of water bottles, notebooks, dog eared novels, colognes, and random scraps of paper.

You looked around as you unzipped your dress. Bucky and Steve began to undress too. “I’ve never seen your room before.”

“So many firsts tonight,” Bucky said playfully.

“Your bed is big enough to fit us three and Thor too.” You said dropping your dress and revealing the black lace push up bra and thong you were wearing.

The two men looked you over like hungry wolves. “Two super soldiers not enough for you,” Bucky teased, stalking over to you and hooking his arm around your waist. “You gotta include a god too?”

“Hey, I’ve been single for ages. Let me have my fantasies.” You joked, as he pulled you to him and lifted you, carrying you to the bed and dropping you on the mattress.

You lay back and arched your back as both Steve and Bucky crawled up with you. Both had taken their shirts and shoes off, but while Steve was down to his boxers, Bucky was still in his jeans. “You’re giving us ours, if you want to share yours with us, we’ll see what we can do.” Steve rumbled as he kissed your neck and collarbone. His hand ran down between your breasts and over your stomach, making your skin break out in goosebumps.

Bucky kissed the other side of your neck and tangled his hand in your hair. “Threesomes are the most common fantasy you know?” You half moaned. “And they’re more common to have the older you get.”

“How do you know this stuff?” Steve asked as he moved his hand to your cunt and he slowly began to palm it.

You moaned pushing up against his hand. “It was in a documentary. You guys are over a hundred. So bringing Thor in would be good for you.”

Steve snorted while Bucky broke down laughing. “We’ll keep that in mind, dork.” Bucky teased and kissed you.

As you kissed, Steve kissed lower. He paused at your breasts and sucked and bit at your nipples through your bra. You reached behind you and unhooked it Steve slid it down and pulled your nipple into his mouth. Bucky joined him at your other breast and they both sucked and bit your breasts as Steve’s hand slipped into your panties and he started to finger your clit. You moaned and squeezed your legs around his hand as you writhed under them.

Steve moved down lower, pushing your legs apart and pulling your panties down. He nuzzled at your cunt and flattened his tongue running it up your folds. You put your feet on his shoulders and pushed your hips up into his mouth. Bucky’s hand caressed your throat as he continued to suck and bite at your beasts.

The sounds you made got louder and louder as Steve became more and more focused. You could tell he hadn’t done this before, but the way he moved was almost like watching him in the field. He’d stop and cock his head to the side while his tongue flicked over your clit or his fingers moved inside of you, when you moaned just the way he wanted, he’d focus on what he’d just done.

As they brought your apart with just their hands and mouths, they kept touching each other too. Stroking each other’s backs or legs. While you moaned and bucked, your orgasm right there on the brink, they held hands.

Steve corkscrewed his wrist and sucked hard on your clit and you came, arching hard up off the mattress and crying out. “Fuck, yes!”

Steve sat up, a proud little smile on his glistening lips. Bucky got up on his knees and kissed him hungrily. You wrapped your legs around Steve and began to grind against his erection as you unfastened Bucky’s jeans. Bucky pushed Steve’s boxers down and began to stroke his cock and Steve groaned into Bucky’s lips, his cock jumping in Bucky’s hand and leaking precum onto your pussy as you rubbed against him.

Bucky broke the kiss and began to nuzzle at Steve’s neck. “You gonna fuck her, Stevie?” He whispered.

Steve groaned and grabbed your thighs. “Yeah, Buck. I want to.”

“She’s so wet and warm, Steve,” Bucky whispered as he grabbed a condom. “You’re gonna really like it.”

Steve closed his eyes and caressed his fingers over your stomach and cunt. You reached up and cradled his jaw as Bucky rolled the condom down over his shaft. Steve looked down at you, his blue eyes blown out with lust. With a snap of his hips, he sunk deep into you.

You both gasped and you arched back as he lifted your hips up to him. Bucky kissed Steve again before leaning down and sucking on your breasts against. His metal fingers went to your clit and rubbed it as Steve started to slowly rut his hips against you, each thrust accompanied by a roll, so it felt like he was touching every part of you.

You felt like a live wire. All your nerves were raw and stimulated as they made you the center of attention. Steve fucked you slow and deep, filling you completely. You gripped his wrists and rolled your hips with him. Pleasure swirled through, starting in your breasts and cunt and meeting in your core. It pressed down on you and radiated out until it was all you knew and all you wanted to know. Your core clenched and you came hard, bucking up under them.

Steve was far from close though. He picked up his pace, fucking you harder and a little more erratically. Bucky began to massage the base of his cock and balls while his thumb rubbed your clit. He switched from one breast to the next, keeping you right on the edge as Steve fucked you.

Steve’s eyes stayed locked with yours and his jaw tensed. You jerked up suddenly as another orgasm tore through you, and with a hard snap of his hips, he came.

Bucky sat back as you relaxed down panting and Steve slipped from within you. “How’re you doing there, darlin’?” He asked as he ran his hands up Steve’s chest.

Steve kissed Bucky’s neck and got up, removing his condom and tossing it out. “Really good, Buck,” you hummed. “You gonna fuck me?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Bucky replied, grabbing one of the condoms and sheathing himself. You sat up and stretched a little and Bucky sat opposite you. You climbed into his lap and lowered yourself down onto his cock. As you began to bounce on his cock Steve moved up behind you and sat with his legs on either side of you and Bucky. He kissed your neck and ran his hands over the two of you. Caressing skin. Pinching nipples. He rubbed your clit and massaged Bucky’s base.

You and Bucky kissed as you moved as one. Your lips moved from lips to neck and back again and the sounds of your moans combined with each other’s and filled the room.

Sweat began to bead your skin as heat flowed through your veins, burning you up from the inside out. Steve hardened against your back as you moved. You began to feel fuzzy and high. Steve’s fingers worked your clit as you bounced faster and faster. It wasn’t long before you came again, and Bucky broke the kiss with a strained groan, gritting his teeth as he tried not to be dragged along with you. It was no use though, his hips jerked and he came just after you.

You stayed joined, slowly rolling your hips as his cock emptied. Steve ghosted his lips up the side of your neck and nipped at your earlobe. “You up for more?” He said in a soft growl.

“Mmm… I could go again.” You hummed.

Three and a half hours the three of you spent switching from one to the other, the only break you got was to rehydrate. By the time you called defeat you wondered if you were ever going to learn your lesson about trying to keep up with the two super soldiers.

You lay panting on the mattress as Bucky and Steve both lay back, the sweat running down their chests in rivulets. You cunt ached and your legs felt weak. You had a vague feeling like you should get up and pee. Get dressed. Go home. You didn’t think you’d even be able to get up. You could barely even think straight. It was all soft-focused.

You struggled up too sitting and blinked around the room.

“What are you doing, sweetheart?” Steve asked, putting his hand on your hip.

“Gotta go home,” you mumbled.

“You’re exhausted. Just stay.” Steve reassured you.

“Yeah, darlin’, you liked cuddling with us when we were camping,” Bucky added.

“If I sleepover, then they’ll know.” You tried to reason.

Steve sat up and kissed your shoulder, wrapping his arms around your waist. “So they know. We’re adults, we can do what we want. Now lie down, you’re exhausted.”

You let yourself collapse back down, unable to think of one possible argument. They both wrapped you in their arms and you were asleep before the blanket was even pulled over you.

// NEXT

#SSB2020 #steve rogers #bucky barnes #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader #stucky #steve rogers x bucky barnes #stucky x reader #steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes #captain america fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #smut #catch and release #lying in wait

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swindlersstole · 5 years ago

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Faremma!! 49 pls :3

this is gonna start kinda sad but just hang with me, you know i wouldn’t do our boy dirty

49. Well, this is awkward...

He’d lost.

It wasn’t as though he hadn’t placed. Gallopolis had coined the four-man horse races in order to give every racer their due and to keep their thoroughbreds safe, so of course Faris was going to have a spot on a pedestal no matter how well he did. And it wasn’t as though he had set a lofty goal for himself, either! Of course he wanted to come in first, but even with all of Nova’s tutoring, he knew he wasn’t skilled enough for it. Faris had thought he placed a reasonable goal for himself this year’s race--aim for third, but strive for second. He thought he’d been ready enough for that, and so had Nova and Gemma.

And he came in fourth.

As with all things, he did his best to take it in stride. Just because he hadn’t placed as high as he wanted didn’t mean it was the end of the world, and he knew it was a miracle that he had even gotten on the racetrack itself. And he was proud of the other races, of course he was! They were his people, and he would always put their happiness first, just as his father did!

But it was... hard. Not to be disappointed in himself. Nova had put so much of his time, so much of his effort that could have been spent rebuilding his kingdom, into teaching him how to ride. His parents gave him time to learn, and supported him as he tried to find his own path to knighthood. And Gemma--sweet, kind, lovely Gemma--had fashioned him a good luck charm all her own, just for him, because she believed in him that strongly. They all believed in him that strongly.

How many people would he keep disappointing like this?

Nova and Gemma were there to greet him by the edge of the track, worry clear on their faces. It tore at Faris’ heart, but he held himself high, and forced a smile. A leader had to keep his head high, no matter how much he wanted to cry. That could wait until he was away in his own chambers, and not still in the eyes of his public.

He waved at his friends, a bit more reserved than normal of him. “Ha ha! It... seems luck was not on my side this year.”

“You did great, Faris.” Nova stepped forward first, to help him off his horse; dismounting still gave Faris trouble, and the last insult to injury he needed was to fall flat on his back after such a sound loss. “I mean it. You should be proud.”

“Yes. Well... I have a long ways to go yet.” Faris landed on the ground with a small stumble, but straightened himself out quickly. “Sir Hendrik has more important duties than to train someone who cannot dismount on his own.”

“Hey, dismounting is always tricky! And Hendrik knows how hard you’ve been working.” Nova’s hand on his shoulder was comforting, sympathetic. “We all do. You can only get better from here--isn’t that right, Gem?”

“I... yeah.” Gemma seemed to snap out of a trance, wringing her hands with worry, and--oh, her eyes seemed to be watering. Faris wasn’t sure he could handle her crying over him. “You really... you were wonderful, Faris. Just like a knight.”

Faris felt his smile falter a moment, as he looked to his feet, but he forced his eyes back up again to meet Gemma. “Milady is too kind.” His voice was far too close to being choked, but he forced it down. “Truly, I am not sure if I deserve it.”

“But--”

“No, no, please, let me... let me finish.”

Faris reached to his belt, unhooking the charm she’d given him weeks prior. It was a pouch embroidered with the Gallopolis royal crest, all by Gemma’s hand, and filled with a chimera wing and desert sand. Gemma had said that it was a small prayer in part, a common superstition of Cobblestone, to take the soil of one’s homeland with them so that the Spirit of the Land could always guide them home. Nova kept one such charm with him always, so perhaps the logic was sound, but with the chimera wing inside, the hope was that the Spirit would lend Faris its wings as he raced.

Faris had been so taken with the token when when Gemma gave it to him that it never left his side, even when he wasn’t training. It gave him strength and hope and a smile, and it still did even now, but it felt... wrong, to hold it in his hands now.

“I’m... I’ve done your gift a great disservice, Gemma.” He said, slowly, carefully. “You gave it to me with great faith, and I fear I’ve been unable to earn that faith. Much as I would like to keep it, I... do not know if I am deserving of its honor, now.”

He bowed low before her, and held the charm out for her to take. “I would not blame you, should you agree.”

Gemma gasped, he could tell--even over the still present chatter and shouts of the crowd in the stands, Faris saw from the ground the way she stepped back, and he perfectly imagine her shock, soft and fretful, and the way she looked to Nova for answers but to no avail. He closed his eyes, but the thought was already burned into his mind; he could disappoint many people, he could disappoint himself, but to disappoint Gemma was unforgivable in every aspect.

He opened his eyes again only when he felt warm hands cup his own; when he looked down, Gemma’s boots had come a few steps closer to him, instead of away, and that was enough to make him look up. Gemma was staring at him with wide eyes wavering, lips pursed into a thin line, and truly, truly, it looked like she was about to cry at any given moment.

“I--no, no, please!” Faris stood up without a moment’s delay, trying to calm her down but scared to touch her himself. “What I said, it--I-I will be fine, really! It will be well worth it, to earn such an important token. I did not mean it to mmmmmph!”

If it weren’t for the sound of the crowd yelling and cheering around them, or for Nova’s sudden and panicked screech of “What?!”, or for Gemma’s hands suddenly jumping from his hands to his face, Faris might not have realized what was happening. But not even he was that slow to learn, and it did not take long for him to come out of his stupor--because Gemma was kissing him, and that was more important than feeling sorry for himself.

He dropped her charm into the sand at their feet. Not intentionally, of course, never, but he needed his hands so he could put them on her arms and draw her closer--still mindful not to overstep any boundaries, but Gemma had done that more than enough for them both, so he felt confident enough that he could kiss her back. He had the thought to ask “What?” or “Why?” as Nova had (and was continuing to do so), or to perhaps even cheer himself, but that meant he would have had to stop kissing Gemma. And Faris could not have that.

With considerable reluctance, Faris pulled away. Gemma was looking up at him with rosy cheeks and an adoring gaze, but as her mind suddenly returned to her, she clamped her hands over her mouth, and jumped back with a squeak.

“I-I--” She stammered, eyes darting between him and Nova (who had his hands rooted in his hair, completely stupefied), before pointing behind her at the track’s exit. “I don’t--don’t take this the wrong way, but I--I’m gonna run back to the inn right now.”

Even if Faris had suddenly become the fastest man on Erdrea, Gemma took off like a bolt he could have never hoped to catch, on horse or on foot. He watched her run off somewhat helplessly, and yet... still entirely charmed. How did she do that?

Speaking of charmed--Faris’s foot nudged against Gemma’s token, still nestled comfortably in the sand, and he picked it back up with something like wonder growing in his breast. Idly, he brought a hand against his lips, still tingling from only moments prior, and the wonder only grew.

Alright. So. Maybe all of Gallopolis had seen that. And maybe Nova had seen that too, and Faris supposed he did just kiss one of Nova’s sisters in front of him and that was going to be something they had to address. But the strength and the hope and the smile Gemma’s charm had given him came back to his heart now, in full-force and then some.

“...Well!” He laughed, at last glancing back up at Nova, who was surely going to be stuck like that if he kept clutching at his head the way he was. “This is... awkward!”

But maybe Faris hadn’t lost so badly in the end after all.

#faremma #panda does a write #the entire faremma dynamic is just 'GET IT GEMMA'#vikinghateblog

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fullmetaldevil-blog · 6 years ago

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A Musical Babysitter (Stitched AU short)

*Aurhors notes: This is a short I wrote entirely on my cell phone during my lunch breaks starting from 12/25/2018. If you haven’t read Ch. 5 of the Stitched Au please stop now, and read it before you read this short!*

Summary:

Sammy wished he never picked up the phone, now he found himself spending the weekend babysitting, but it was who he was babysitting. Benny the Stitched Demon. The little devildoll was known by his family to be an absolute sweetheart and loving toon, but even he isn’t as always sweet as everyone claims he is. A 30 year old grudge crawls back to the surface alongside a father’s troubled past.

I hope you ladies and gentlemen enjoy the short.

Now on with the show~!

Sammy wished he never answered the phone, now he found himself committed on a one hour drive to baby sit. Now he wouldn’t have complained considering that not only was it for an old coworker and that he was being handsomely paid, but it was who he was charged with looking after. Benny the Stitched demon.

It had only been a little over a month since everyone’s escape from the studio and admittedly some members of the group was still wary of the two demons that escaped with them, Bendy the dancing demon and Benny the stitched demon. While Bendy was the primary problem child of the studio, Benny wasn’t anything to sneeze at. The stitched devil was just as dangerous as his counterpart, but unlike Bendy he suffered from separation issues after the escape and nearly wrecked portions of the house due to horrid nightmares. While Bendy had similar problems after his escape as well, he wasn’t the one that was gonna be left alone for a few days. Henry nearly became a complete home body for the past few weeks to take care of Bendy alongside his wife Linda.

Naught but a few hours ago he had received a phone call from Tom. The man sounded exasperated and deeply worried, telling him that Allison was out of town due to a movie shoot and he got a large remodeling job that will have him out of town for at least the week end. He begged if Sammy could watch Benny for the weekend not wanting to leave the plushtoon alone through the night. When asked why Norman or Wally couldn’t babysit the demon he was told that both were regrettably busy as well and couldn’t make the trip in such short notice. Henry was left out of the question since he was still trying to get his own demon to recover from the mental blows the studio had done to him, as well as repair the bond between them. There were a few other notes that had been added onto the conversation but Tom told him to see for himself what was going on.

Sammy sighed inwardly as he turned down the road heading for the hills. It was still early morning out and the entire area was coated in Tule fog making the hour drive even longer. Relief was insight as he came across the fork road leading to the hills and carefully made the accent, he took each turn with care as he climbed higher and higher eventually clearing the fog blanket. He passed a few homes that dotted the hills here and there, including the largest home that was simply called ‘grandmas’ house. He knew that once he passed that house he needed to look for a small driveway that led further into the hills. He spotted a small driveway and he turned to the drive and made his way up, silently cursing why the family had chosen such an isolated area.

The modest English style home quickly came into view. The house had a long driveway and sat on a sizable property with the hills just behind it. The front yard was decorated with flower beds and fruit trees of different types. Towards the back side of the home was a large ring of weeping willows and shrubs that outlined the property. It was perfectly isolated, yet at the same time was only a 10 minute drive from the closest market and town center.

He pulled up next to Toms car noting that it was already loaded nearly to the floor with tools and equipment, the man clearly needing a truck rather then a car. He shut the engine off and mentally prepared himself to be stuck at the house for the weekend with a living stuffed animal toon that he didn’t really know much about say for the conversations he had with the toon’s respective parents. He could only hope that he wouldn’t loose his mind by the end of the weekend.

Resigning to his fate Sammy approached the door and knocked a few times before standing back to look over the doorway. Just as he was admiring the architecture the door slowly crept open revealing what Sammy thought was a monster. The man backed up ready to run when he realized it was Tom.

“You look like you’ve seen hell.” Sammy cocked a grin while he chuckled looking at Tom. The man looked worse for wear and had very clear bags under the eyes.

“Rough night.” Tom sighed stepping aside gesturing for him to enter. Taking the invite, Sammy entered the home with worn out man closing the door behind him.

Sammy noted that the interior of the house looked like a wreck. There were open boxes, papers and materials scattered everywhere. “I take it you’ve been busy.” Sammy spoke while staring at empty toy boxes.

“Yeah…It’s that having to find a home for more the just 2 and am still trying to get the place livable.” Tom wandered to the kitchen with Sammy in tow. He gestured to a chair for Sammy to take a seat while he drifted through the kitchen. Tom grabbed 2 coffee mugs and filled them both with the dark brew and sat in front of Sammy passing him a mug which he gladly accepted. Tom on the other had had his face thoroughly buried in his mug.

“Well we all had to relocate, and didn’t you and Allison always want kids?” Sammy lifted a brow taking a sip of coffee.

“Yeah we did, before the studio bullshit happened, now both Allison and I are too old to try now.” Tom let out a heavy sigh “It’s just a lot has happened.”

“Well we all are trying to used to the outside world.” Sammy fiddled with the rim of his mug “I mean, we were trapped there for years, the world continued on without us and now everything is so different. It takes time to cope with what happened and now we have to adjust to our new world.”

“Well aren’t you the preacher man.” Tom shot a sly grin across the table.

“That’s the last time I try to sympathize with you Mr. Connor!” Sammy crossed his arms in a huff. “Besides I’m no preacher!”

“No, you were some half-baked Bendy obsessed prophet.” The older mans grin nearly splitting his face, clearly enjoying pushing Sammy’s buttons.

“Oh for God’s sake man, won’t you and Henry let that go?!” Sammy’s face blazed red with a mix of embarrassment and anger.

“For a second I though you would say 'Oh My lord’, and the answer is no.”

“You’re a devil.”

“Thanks, I live with one”. The mechanic tipped his mug in a small cheer while waggling his brow in sheer pride. His already too wide a grin seemingly getting wider.

Sammy sat with his mouth gaping like a fish trying to come up with some sort of retort, but instead resorted to simply glaring at Tom knowing full well he was not winning this little game with the man. Tom was very quick witted and had an even faster mouth.

Sammy let out a sigh running his fingers through his blond hair. “So in all seriousness, how is your little devil doing? I know Henry is knee deep dealing with Bendy, plus he had to move as well.”

Tom took a long swig of his coffee chugging nearly all of it before setting the mug down, taking a beep breath before sighing. “Slow.”

“Slow how?” Sammy raised a brow.

“Neither Bendy nor Benny have seen the world beyond the Studio, so everything is new to them. Both are excited about the world but at the same time withdrawn. They both suffered a lot in different ways, Bendy’s little sessions and Benny being nearly killed twice, all at the hands of our former boss. Thanks to that bastard, the toons are scared of new people. Getting them to go outside beyond the comfortable barrier of their home and yard can be tricky.” Tom rested his head on one hand while the other lazily traced the rim of his mug. “Bendy seems to be handling social interactions better, after all he was the star of the show, so he knows how to put on a brave face. Benny didn’t have that luxury. He didn’t have any additional material during his creation, unlike Bendy, so he didn’t have a 'predetermined personality’ if you will.”

Sammy waved a hand in front of Tom stopping his explanation. “I hate to interrupt, but what do you mean by 'material’? They are just living ink aren’t they?”

“True, but the ink needed a base. With Bendy we used a massive collection of film reels with every scene of Bendy we had at the time. That was combined with every individual cell and sketch, hell joey even went and found one of Henry’s first drawing of Bendy. All that information served as the mold for the ink to fill and gave Bendy his personality matching how he was in the cartoons. Benny on the other hand was merely a doll that was fed to the machine to test the conversion process. None if us thought it would actually make a living toon, a 3D toon maybe, but not one that was alive. So Benny had no predetermined mind set so he started from scratch. But as you already know Joey tried to kill him so that first memory of near death left a lasting impression on him. He is a bit withdrawn and clingy, in any situation that stresses him out he will latch on to Allison. You should have seen the first time she had to leave the house for an extended amount of time.”

“That good, huh?” Sammy lifted a brow.

“He transformed into his what we dubbed 'ragdoll’ form and pitched a hell of a tantrum. Him crying in his little form I can handle no problem, but when he’s in his bigger state that is another story. He clung to her wailing away in his bigger state and the sounds he makes in that form I won’t soon forget. Trying to pry a 3 foot tall devildoll is easy, trying to pry a 7 foot tall broken ragdoll is a major pain in the ass.”

Sammy leaned back in his chair clearly looking like he wanted to just get up and leave. “And you called me all the way out here to babysit your personal nightmare because?” The musician looked at Tom, his eyes saying 'you better have a good reason or I’m leaving’.

Tom let out a tired sigh and gestured to Sammy “Cause he recognizes you.”

Sammy rubbed the space between his eyes, completely bewildered by the mans answer. “Tom, I never met the devil.”

“Not personally no, but he does know you. Allison apparently carried Benny to her recordings everyday once they figured out to transport him safely. So he was able to see slightly out of the bag, he saw your face from time to time and he knows your voice. He should at least be a bit more comfortable around you versus a total stranger. Plus very few people know of the toon and we don’t want anything bad to happen if he’s with someone he isn’t comfortable with.”

A deep sigh escaped Sammy as he looked towards the ceiling. “Fine. I’ll watch your personal hell spawn for the weekend, but if anything happens expect to shell out more money”. He firmly pointed a finger at Tom.

“Deal”. Tom got up from his seat and offered a hand to Sammy, the man was hesitant but ultimately shook it sealing the deal. “Now. I got to get dressed to head out. I’m gonna get Benny up and feed him before I go, just make yourself at home.”

With a small nod Tom excused himself from the table disappearing down the central hallway stopping at the first door letting himself in. Sammy sat back in his chair at the table and resumed his survey of the kitchen and parts of the den and living room. The place looked like it didn’t have all the furnishings yet as there were boxes of appliances unopened and china sets yet to be used. He knew the couple had a time finding a new home and furnishing it proper seemed to be an even longer process. It wasn’t a secret that both Tom and Allison had no choice but to use most of the little savings they had prior to the studios downfall to buy a house. With most of their money gone on at least a roof over their head, they had to go from paycheck to paycheck to slowly buy food, furnishings, clothes and other necessities. All the while trying to care for a little toy toon. Henry offered to help, but was turned down since he too had a toon to care for and had to move to a larger home.

The musicians blissful silence was shattered by a horrific wail, the sound sounded like nails being dragged across a chalk board combined with a low rumbling like noise that made the floor vibrate. The man froze in his seat contemplating on whether or not he should escape while he could, his eyes glued to the hallway where the sounds were emanating. It took quite awhile for the wailing and rumbling to die down and a shuffling sound replaced it. Tom emerged from the hallway looking even more tired then before with a large pair of hands clinging to his lower legs, the man struggling with every step. Tom stopped and grabbed the hands clinging to his legs and managed to pry them off but not letting them go.

“C'mon Benny, you acting like a baby.” Tom now pulling on his hands straining from the amount of resistance he was getting from the devildoll.

Sammy watched in horror as the presumed right arm split apart at the wrist with an eerie ripping sound, exposing large cords of some sort of black material mixed with what looked like ink. Tom kept pulling and the the cords seemed to just keep stretching. The left arm split at the elbow area and was doing the exact same thing at the right, exposing the interior of the limb which was a oddly white inside with what looked like ink swirling within. Tom kept pulling on the threads all the while grumbling curses under his breath.

After a time it seemed that the strands couldn’t stretch any longer and there was a dragging sound coming from the hall. Tom had since neatly rolled up the the black cords and segments of hands, and arms and had finally succeeded in reaching the body.

The ebony torso was larger then a normal humans with a round head sporting 2 long curved horns. The figure appeared to be laying face down as hints of yellow was facing downward and what looked like a bow tie was at the base of the slender neck.

“C’ mon Benny you’re making this harder then it has too”. Tom sighed while bending down to pet the creature’s horn getting a strange gurgling sound.

Sammy had little clue what he was looking at. He knew Bendy had his ink demon and beast form, but he never really saw Benny, let alone another form except for the loose descriptions he had heard. Words couldn’t have prepared him for the reality of it all. His face was frozen in a mix of fear and curiosity and took a chance to get up from his chair to slowly approach Tom and demon, yet kept at a safe distance on the off chance Benny turned violent.

Tom continued to caress the horns with one hand and then with other tried to turn the demon over finding that Benny was heavier then he looked. Failing. He used both hands to turn the large demon on his side revealing the front of the face and body.

If Sammy had reservations about taking care of Benny, they were on overdrive. Benny’s face was sepia yellow with a large singular black eye and yellow iris with what appeared to look like stitches crisscrossed across the left side of his forehead and over half of the eye. His mouth was turned into a very prominent frown and the left side was warped in comparison to his right revealing hints of his large triangular teeth. The most frightening part of all for Benny’s body was his chest and stomach area. He was nearly split in half by a large gash and the edges had large white teeth lining the rim. Large cord like threads were the only thing keep the maw of his stomach mostly closed with a small amount of inky drool oozing out the opening which oddly resembled a frown. The demon seemed to making strange groaning noises from both mouths now that he was looking at Tom properly.

“C’ mon little guy. I know you’re tired and frustrated, but do this for me? Please.” Tom put on his best warm smile for the demon while he went back to petting him between the horns resulting in more gurgling noises from the demon. Tom finally decided to sit on the floor and wait for Benny to eventually revert back. Benny was looking up at Tom with a singular tired eye with what looked like a little blush and black smudges around his cheeks. Tom looked up at Sammy “Give him a few minutes, he’d been crying all night when he realized that both of us are gonna be gone for bit. He cried himself to sleep”.

Sammy nodded and backed away from the over-sized demondoll, giving Tom and Benny as much space as they needed. The tired mechanic continued to caress Benny’s horns while whispering small comforting words and even hummed a few times while the demon tiredly watched him. Sammy watched in shock as Benny closed his eye and scrunched his face slightly before his stomach mouth shut tightly before opening suddenly and ink poured out if him like someone opened up a faucet on full. Ink washed over the area and Tom’s clothes before dissipating leaving a tiny toon laying on his side in the middle of the remains of a puddle. Despite the amount of ink the devil expelled, the area was spotless including Tom’s clothes, the magic of toon logic.

“Good boy.” Tom tiredly smiled while he got up from the floor groaning, his body protested his waiting game with Benny. He reached a hand under the toon lifting him into his arms. Benny was completely unresponsive and hung limp in the man’s hold, his eyes tightly shut and a prominent frown on his face.

With Benny is his arms Tom retreated to the kitchen and motioned for Sammy to follow. While a bit hesitant Sammy returned to his seat at the table while Tom got a empty box for Benny to sit on and set him in the chair. The demon still hung limp all the while, even when sat at the table. Benny’s head just stayed on the table lightly rolling from side to side while the rest of the body sat limp in the chair like a broken toy. Sammy could see the regret on Tom’s face along with exhaustion, the mechanic sighed and cracked a few eggs over a sauce pan to cook them while grabbing 2 slices of bacon to cook in a separate pan. While Tom was busy fixing breakfast Sammy decided to try and start a conversation with the clearly pouting toon.

“So….Benny. How have you been?” The musician tried to smile.

His only answer was merely a single half lidded pie-cut eye looking at him and a groan before he closed his eye again. Benny clearly was still throwing a tantrum and wasn’t in the mood to socialize.

Sammy didn’t say anything more, but just slumped in his seat the only thought that ran through his mind was that it was going to be a long weekend.

Tom finished cooking the eggs and slid them onto a plate along with 2 pieces of butter and jelly toast and bacon. He set the plate in front of Benny’s head before heading to the cupboard. He pulled out a small glass and set it on the counter before grabbing a bottle of milk filling the glass part way and set the glass of milk in front of the toon. All the while it was clear Benny had no interest in the food and just had his head resting on the table with his eyes closed.

Tom sighed while he rubbed his temples, the grim reality was Benny was irritating him with the childish antics. Allison was far better at handling upset children then he was, but she wasn’t present to talk some sense into the upset demon. Tom sighed at looked at Sammy mouthed a small 'good luck’ before heading to his room to get dressed, leaving Sammy alone with Benny.

Sammy truly felt like he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He always wrote music intended for children, he never had the time nor inclination to take care of a child. He could tell Tom was at his wits end with Benny, and he frankly couldn’t blame the man. He and Allison had to hit the ground running with getting jobs and finding a home, all the while taking care of a refugee of the studio. Benny didn’t seem to understand that now that they are no longer prisoner of the studio that Tom and Allison have to support a home and its occupants, that food isn’t something that is found randomly on a shelf, and shelter, even if it is leaking ink, isn’t guaranteed. That life outside of the studio is supported by a form of currency and if you didn’t have money you had no home, but in order to get money you have to leave home to earn it. However with Benny’s separation issues it was making it difficult for both Allison and Tom to leave home even if it’s just long enough to get a day’s paycheck.

Sammy just sighed at looked at the little plushtoon in question. Benny was still ignoring his food along with anything and everything else going on around him. It almost felt like there as an invisible wall around the toon that he didn’t want anyone to enter.

A few minutes later Tom came out of his room dressed and ready for work. He frowned when he noted that Benny had yet to even touch his food. Tom sighed and looked at Sammy “All right, well I’m off. Benny be good for Sammy while I’m gone, ok?”

He didn’t get an answer. He sighed and gave Sammy a small nod before heading to the door. As soon as his hand touched the door knob and turned it something slammed into his leg grasping it tightly. The sheer force of the impact nearly toppled the man. Tom let out a yelp of surprise from the hit and immediately looked down to see a familiar sight. Benny. The demon and firmly attached himself to Tom’s leg and was refusing to let go. “Benny!”

The demon shook his head and tightened his grip on Tom.

“Benny, look we’ve already talked out this. I gotta go.” Tom tried to plead with the barnacle of a toon, his voice stern and trying not to show the growing frustration that was building within the man. Benny was not even looking up at Tom had maintained his face buried in the mans pant leg. Sammy got up from his seat to relief tom of his cling on when a loud voice made him stop in his tracks.

“Benny! Get off of me now! You are acting like a child, do you honestly think I like having to bust my ass running around?! I want nothing more then to stay at home and rest from the bullshit of the studio, but I don’t have that luxury!” Tom near shouted at the top of his lungs, his face full of anger and disappointment. His patience had finally run out.

Tom’s sudden outburst instantly made Benny look up at the man, his face full of heartache and twinges anger, small inky tears started to form in the edges of the toon’s eyes. Benny released Tom’s leg and backed away from the man slowly before running at a full sprint down the hall to his room slamming the door roughly.

All the anger instantly melted away to regret as soon as Tom saw the look on Benny’s face. He didn’t want to yell at the plushtoon, but when Benny was being stubborn about the situation he just couldn’t take it anymore. He had honestly tried taking the long road and practice patience, but he didn’t have the luxury of waiting all day for the demon to understand why he has to leave to work. Without saying a word Tom grabbed the door knob and looked back at Sammy for a brief moment of apology before opening the door and leaving.

Sammy stood there shell shocked which was soon relapsed by exasperation, he really was going to be in for a long weekend. He ran his hands on the sides of his face and let out a long groan, he steeled himself and turned to head to Benny’s room.

As soon as Sammy reached the door he could hear sobbing coming from within. He quietly opened the door and peered inside. The sight before him made him sigh as he thought to himself 'No wonder Tom had a long night’.

Benny was curled up on his bed once again in his ragdoll form, the demon clearly too large for the child sized bed which was sagging from his weight. Inky threads were laced throughout the room reminding Sammy of a spiders nest. He could hear small sobs from the demondoll as he seemed to be unaware of Sammy’s presence, swallowing his nervousness he decided to approach the demon.

“B-Benny?” Sammy tried to hide the underlying fear in his voice. He couldn’t lie that the plushtoon was making him nervous given the fact that he was in his more dangerous form, with Benny being as upset as he is, he didn’t want to take any chances.

“Go AwAy.” Benny’s voice came out garbled and deep, a clear threat in his tone. He didn’t even bother facing the man.

Sammy took a step forward to try and reason with the demon and stepped on one of the threads that lay on the ground. This triggered a snap reaction from the devildoll. “I sAiD gO aWaY!!!!” Benny spun his head around and roared at Sammy, both mouths speaking in unison made the entire room rattle from the sheer volume.

Fear and adrenaline kicked in and Sammy stumbled backwards and ran down the hall to the front door, nearly slamming into it as he tried to open the door. His hands fumbled the door knob in panic, he quickly unlocked the door throwing it open and dashed outside. He didn’t stop running till he reached his car and jumped inside ready to start the car to get away. He threw the key in the ignition and was about to start the motor when he realized the door was wide open, but there was no figure giving chase. Benny didn’t go after him. He waited nervously wondering if Benny wasn’t nearly as quick to chase as Bendy was, but the more time passed by the more he realized that Benny wasn’t going after him. He left the key in the ignition to state his own concerns and laid back in his seat keeping a watchful eye on the doorway.

Amber hues colored the sunset sky and the last fading beams of light managed to get the final blow to Sammy’s face waking the man before they faded. He sat up hastily realizing he had fallen asleep during his watch, but his brief burst of energy gave way to a yawn. He stretched as best he could in the car and looked towards the house rubbing the sleep out of his eye, surely Benny must have calmed down by now. He waited a bit longer inside the car before finally mustering up the courage to go inside. He frowned when he realized that the door had been left wide open, but then again considering who lived in the house, only a complete and utter fool would try to rob the place.

With caution at his side Sammy slowly walked into the doorway looking around the halls. The house was as still as he had left it, he quietly closed the door and headed towards the kitchen. As predicted Benny’s breakfast still lay upon the kitchen table, the food long since cold and milk warm. He inwardly sighed and cleaned up the kitchen table pouring out the milk and throwing away the cold breakfast. Benny hadn’t come out of his room once which meant he hadn’t eaten anything all day. Sammy had been told by Allison several times about the plushdemon’s love of anything edible so he really was throwing one hell of a tantrum to forgo eating.

The musician sighed and thought to himself 'well If Benny isn’t gonna eat, I’m sure as hell gonna’. He rolled up his sleeves, made sure his hair was pulled back, grabbed a pan and got to work. While Sammy wasn’t much of a cook as his skinny frame was testimony to his culinary 'talents’, he knew how to make a few basic meals well enough to pass muster.

All the while Sammy was twirling pots and pans a small figure had emerged out of a bedroom hearing the familiar sounds of the rustlings of the kitchen. Benny peered around the corner with a small smile on his face hoping to see Allison at the stove, but frowned when he saw the tall skinny blonde man named Sammy. He turned around and headed down the hall towards Allison and Toms bedroom and curled up on the couple’s bed. He really wanted Allison home.

Sammy had pretended not to notice the little yellowish face and pie cute eyes looking at him before they disappeared. He knew Benny was probably drawn by the sounds of him cooking, which to the demon was most likely sounds he associated with Allison. Since he knew that Benny had now stirred by this point in the evening hours he should be quite hungry, and hopefully easier to deal with. After all either an empty or full stomach makes someone easier to sway and deal with.

Sammy pulled out an extra few slices of bread and tossed them in the batter he made with egg, sugar and cinnamon before laying them in the pan. While the french toast was cooking, he grabbed 4 more eggs and 4 slices of bacon and tossed them in a separate pan to cook. He made up a stack of french toast figuring that Benny would eat the rest, or at least he had hoped so. Allison had eluded to him that Benny could eat enough for 2 full grown adults in a single sitting if given a chance. Once the food was all prepared Sammy laid out two plates and utensils facing opposite ends of the table, giving Benny as much space as he needed. Satisfied with the makeshift set up he now needed to find the little demon in question.

After wandering up and down the hall in silent contemplation, but not wanting to wait too long lest the food will go cold, Sammy cautiously approached Benny’s room to find that Benny’s bed was empty. The ink threads were gone and the demon in question was nowhere within the room. He then searched the living room and den which yielded no such luck. The last place he didn’t really want to look was the couples bedroom. It was always a unspoken taboo to enter another’s bedroom, but he at least needed to know where the devildoll was hiding and to inform him food was ready.

He cautiously cracked the door open and sure enough nestled between the pillows, lay Benny curled up. He was in his normal toon form which to Sammy gave him the glimmer of hope that the demon had calmed down. He wasn’t up for spending the night in his car in comparison to how he spent a good chunk of his day. The car wasn’t the best place to nap as his back’s cracks and pops were testimony to the uncomfortable position.

Sammy edged into the room slowly as to not startle the plushdemon. “B-Benny, there’s dinner on the table.” No response, but Benny buried himself deeper into the covers. The man sighed and walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

It was still quite obvious that Benny was still not wanting to deal with Sammy. The man felt a twinge of annoyance and now had a better understanding as to how Tom was feeling earlier. He could hear the toons stomach occasionally growl which would make the demon curl in on himself more. Benny was being just as stubborn as Tom about everything, it would be funny to laugh about the similarities between the two if one of them wasn’t in such a foul mood. Sammy crossed his arms and searched his memory about any clues about how Allison or Tom deal with their demon’s occasional fits.

His mind drifted to a phone conversation he had with Allison about her singing and movies role she had just got the job for. He remembered her telling him about Benny’s separation issues and had taken residence in her suitcase before she had to leave. She tweaked a song Benny knows ever so slightly, be it off key or missing notes, and that would got the demons attention. He actually got annoyed to a point where he started singing the song himself to show how it is supposed to sound and came out of his hiding spot. Only after he was coaxed out through irritation was she able to pack her bags properly and explain the situation to him.

A smile crept across the former musical director’s face prompting him to get up and head out the room. Sammy left the house and went out to his car grabbing his trusty banjo. With musical instrument in hand, he returned to the house and room sitting back on the edge of the bed. He was happy to see that Benny hadn’t moved, but he made sure to leave the door open just in case the demon had a bad reaction to what he was about to do. He didn’t know if Benny would have a repeat 'performance’, but considering he’s a toon he does abide by some toon logic, and falling for some tricks over and over might be one of them.

He rest his fingers upon the banjo and started to play one of Alice Angel’s songs. He would have preferred to play one of Bendy’s more lively dancing songs, but Benny was drawn to Allison whom sang quite a few of the Alice Angel songs, the songs he should be more then familiar with. He deliberately played a note off key randomly along with singing the song ever so slightly off pitch. Through the course of his butchering the musical piece which as the former director would have had his own temper doing a workout, he watched as Benny started to writhe under the sheets. The music was getting on the demons nerves, earning a smile from Sammy, but also with twinge of concern. He double checked to make sure the door was open in case he had a repeat response from earlier.

“That’s enough!” Benny threw off the sheets glaring at Sammy, anger and disgust all over his face, startling the man. “You were the director of Joey Drew’s Musical department and yet, you can’t play for beans?! If you’re gonna play a song, then play it right!”

Much to Sammy’s surprise Benny hopped off the bed and pulled open his stomach hammerspace and buried his hand within, with a bit of strain he pulled out a second Banjo allowing the void to close up again. He checked it’s tuning then started playing the song properly and sung all the while glaring disapprovingly at Sammy. The musician inwardly chuckled at the outburst of the demon and picked up his own banjo and played the harmony while Benny played the melody. He thought it was amusing that Benny had this insistence on a proper musical performance and could tell from sound alone if something was off. He must have picked that up from Allison.

By the time they reached the end of the musical number Benny had forgotten his earlier frustrations and fully leaned into the music. The demon stilled while he held the banjo looking up at Sammy, he opened his hammerspace and returned the Banjo to its void. Benny lowered his head in shame and rocked on his heel. “I’m sorry for snapping at you Mr. Lawrence”. he mumbled, realizing he had been deliberately set up.

Sammy scratched the back of his head and stood up. “It’s Sammy, and I’ll accept your apology after you eat your dinner. I did not just spend 30 minutes slaving over a stove for nothing.” He gestured towards the door and Benny quietly followed the musician to the kitchen after he too put his banjo away.

Benny stood dumbfounded at the pile of french toast that sat in the middle of the table. The demon’s eyes glistened at the sight before him, but he didn’t make a move. Sammy noted the reluctancey of the small toon and lifted a brow while clearing his throat gaining Benny’s attention. “Thank you Mr. Law-, I mean Mr. Sammy.” He sheepishly grinned.

Now Benny really felt ashamed for his earlier actions towards Sammy. He knew he was there to take care of him, but he hated the idea of Allison not being there. He still had mixed feelings about Tom, but the mere thought of Tom’s parting words brought tears back to the demon’s eyes. He didn’t know if he was angry or sad, his emotions were at war within him. He couldn’t bring himself to truly hate the man, but couldn’t find it within himself to support him wholeheartedly either.

Sammy noted Benny slightly shaking and the tears forming at the edges of his eyes. “L-look before you start the water works, why don’t you eat something first then we’ll talk about it afterwards. Ok?” The last thing he wanted was for Benny to all emotional again and not eat anything. He still couldn’t understand how children worked, but then again neither Bendy nor Benny were human children. Yet they seemed to have the mentality of a child despite their physical age. That was something he couldn’t understand, much be a toon logic thing.

Benny nodded and shuffled to the chair helping himself up while Sammy went to sit at his own seat. He watched Benny try and reach for the french toast failing cause of his short arms. Sammy let out a sigh and got up from his chair and dished out a helping of the sweet toast to Benny before sitting back down. Benny said a small 'thank you’ and quietly dug into his food. Sammy sat back enjoying his food and bliss of the twilight hours say for the occasional having to get up and add more food to Benny’s plate to make the demon stop reaching for the plate. Once Sammy was sure he had his own fill, he slid the rest of the breakfast for dinner to Benny who smiled slightly at getting the reminder of the meal. Sammy sat back and watched as Benny downed one toast after another and couldn’t help but wonder how he was able to pack in so much food. He had been warned by Allison about the toon’s food consumption but didn’t really see it first hand.

Once Benny finished the dinner Sammy took his plate and set it in the sink to soak and went to sit back at his chair. He leaned forward with his hands folded and looked the demon in the eye making Benny squirm slightly with the sudden attention. “Do you want to talk about earlier?”

Sammy’s inquiry made Benny bow his head with a sorrowful expression “Not really.” He leaned back in his chair trying to avoid the man’s gaze. He wasn’t up for rehashing the days earlier events.

Sammy raised a brow and decided to push the demon a bit. “Well from my stand point you were being overly stubborn.”

Benny mumbled “I wasn’t being stubborn.”

“Then what do you call it then? Cause I say you’re being inconsiderate about the whole situation.” Sammy leaned back in his chair crossing his arms.

Benny looked up at Sammy, tinges of a building anger in his eyes and no longer mumbling “I wasn’t being stubborn and I’m being inconsiderate how? If anything, you’re being inconsiderate by meddling in things that don’t concern you. You are only here to make sure I don’t wreck the house.”

Sammy was briefly surprised by the sudden snappy response, but could tell he struck a nerve. He himself was used to having his buttons pushed by others and often got to the root of the problem, and it was amusing to see that Benny was no different. The demon was getting agitated and defensive. “For starters you made it my problem when you snapped at me earlier. Also you weren’t taking into account that Tom and Allison have to do things to support themselves and you since they are out of the studio. You were only thinking of yourself and what you wanted, not what they needed. In short you’re acting like a spoiled brat.”

“Well it isn’t your problem Mr. Former Musical Director that fancies himself a musician.” The demon raised his voice slightly and waved his arms around as he spoke. “I’m not a spoiled brat, and I do care about what they need not just what I want. I’m more considerate about their situation then what you seem to think.”

Sammy leaned back in his chair with a smug grin on his face. Benny was acting exactly like Tom when the man starts to get angry, he starts coming up with insults mixed in with his arguments. “I beg to differ you spoiled brat. You can’t take care of yourself and need everyone to do it for you. Look at poor Tom, he’s doing his best to keep a roof over your head by doing back breaking work at his age and you aren’t the least bit thankful. Allison has to constantly go out to look for work regardless of how much she wants to stay home cause you can’t be left alone.” The musician watched as Benny covered the sides of his head with his hands as if trying to shut the man out.

Benny’s teeth slowly started taking on a more triangular appearance instead of the normal flats, ink drizzled on the side of his head slowly covering his right eye.“I am thankful for what she does and I can take care of myself just fine. I’ve done so for 30 years you ignorant pathetic excuse of a man.” Benny knew full well he could care for himself. He survived the horrors of the studio just fine even if he was often skirting the edges of life and death, but it was a reality he had come to accept. After all he was hated upon birth and had many near death attempts, yet he thrived and will continue to do so. By no sense of the word did he appreciate the man sitting before him openly mocking and insulting him.

Sammy instantly caught on to the lack of mentioning his appreciation of Tom’s efforts to house the demon. The man was a considerable amount of engineering jobs and construction to bring in large sums of cash and yet Benny seems to be ignoring that fact and only focused on Allison’s efforts. Something was causing him to have an cold attitude toward Tom. What happened so long ago to eat away at such a once sweet toon?

He remembered the phone conversation he had with Tom at the start of the month about how the man was tired and stressed from Benny’s unusual antics. The demon was very clingy and didn’t like to separated from Allison for extended periods, not to mention the occasional cold shoulder which was peculiar for the sweet devil. Tom loved Benny like he was his own, but something in Benny made him put up a wall towards the man. He was on his best behavior when Allison was involved or around, but if it were just him and Tom, he was unusually cold. Even Allison noticed the strange behavior of the demon and deliberately left Benny alone with Tom just to see how he behaved and it was very different from how she remembered her time with him. Allison alluded to her suspicion as to the root of the problem, but wasn’t in a position to confront the demon. Time to test that little theory.

“Admit it Benny the Stitched Demon, you can’t do anything without them, you’re a helpless little baby demon who needs coddling from mommy.” Sammy sneered at the frustrated devildoll. He made sure to pour on as much salt to the wound as possible emphasizing some words more then others.

“I aM nOt A bAbY.” Benny firmly growled out starting to bear his teeth.

This was perfect for Sammy, the demon was completely agitated and would be more likely to slip up. “Yes, you are. You’re a little baby demon that has mommy issues and doesn’t like daddy. You turn your back on daddy when all he does is hold you up to the best of his ability.” He taunted in a childish tone and as soon as the words left Sammy’s mouth Benny reared up in full Ragdoll form.

“He LeFt Me, Ok!"Benny bellowed out. ”I wAs LeFt BeHiNd! I wAs AlOnE fOr 30 YeArS bEcAuSe He FoRgOt Me, HoW aM I sUpPoSeD tO DeAl wItH tHaT?! HoW aM I SuPpOsEd To DeAl wIth HiM!? He BrOkE hIs PrOmIsE!!“ The stitched demon stood at his full height bearing down on Sammy while looming over the table with both mouths speaking in unison, both snarling at him.

The musician shakily stood his ground, cause this was the answer he was looking for. Tom had told him that Benny had two mouths in Ragdoll form. He speaks from his normal mouth and on rare occasion the second joins in. The mechanic had figured out that what Benny says is what’s on his mind, but when the second mouth speaks it’s what is in his heart. While the second mouth is silent most of the time its only when his emotions spike is when it talks, and as of the moment his emotions needed to be sorted out. If both speak then that is how the demon truly feels.

"So this is how you feel.” Sammy tucked his hands in his pockets to keep his legs from shaking under the table. While he was certain Benny wouldn’t hurt him, he’d be lying if he said Benny didn’t scare him. “I feel sorry for you, but don’t blame Thomas for what happened. He didn’t know, and it wasn’t like he did anything bad on purpose.”

Benny scoffed at Sammy bearing his teeth. Benny was still sore with Tom with what happened in the studio. He told himself for 30 years it wasn’t the man’s fault but the more he tried, the more it hurt. The more years that passed the more he felt like the toys in the factory he came from, doomed there to sit and gather dust. To be forgotten and never have a family to love or to love him in turn. The memory of Allison, the band and Norman were the only few lights he had is his small world and they too had gone out once the studio fell. He had never expected to be reunited with Allison and Norman 30 years later, he had assumed they left the studio behind and never looked back. It never occurred to him that they were imprisoned like he was, but despite that new knowledge he still couldn’t find it within himself to forgive Thomas Connor for what he did.

“I do know that Thomas loves you very much. He deeply regrets what happened in the past and is doing his best now to fix it, but you have to be the one to open the door for him. If he doesn’t know what key to use then you two will always be on opposite sides.” Sammy let out a long sigh, trying to steady himself against the overbearing devildoll. “You have to talk to him and tell him your side of the story or things will never heal.”

Sammy’s words seem to sink in and Benny’s snarling died down, his body and face frozen while he looked down at the man. His mind drifted to the many times he watched Tom come home after a long days work completely exhausted but happily handing his paycheck to Allison for her to buy food, furnishings and to pay the bills. He remembered the first big check Tom had gotten he ran out and came back with a child sized bed just for him. The man made sure to get the best the store had to offer and all the pillows, sheets and warm blankets that came with it. He had bought him a bed before he and Allison bought their own. The man wanted to the toon to be completely comfortable before he and Allison could enjoy their own comfort. The days they spent sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor before they had a couch or a bed, while Benny had his own bed and all the timings. Benny realized that all the earliest purchases that arrived in the house were for him and that Thomas had put Benny’s well being before his own.

After several moments of silence the demon’s body started twitching and large inky tears formed at the edge if his eye. The next thing Sammy saw was black. Benny wailed away with large inky tears pouring from his eye and ink expelling out of him in large messy globs, like someone had opened the faucet on his emotions and everything was draining from him. After a few moments the familiar shape of the plushtoon sat on the floor crying. The ink somehow disappearing leaving not a single trace behind.

“I-I really am a s-spoiled brat.” Benny stuttered and hiccuped on his words. “All this t-time Tom has done nothing but ensure my own well being before his own, but h-how can I apologize t-to him when he’s mad at me?” He looked up at Sammy with large inky tears streaming down his face. “I hated him for so long when it was an accident. I blamed him for something he didn’t know. H-How am I supposed to make up for that?”

Sammy sighed and bent down to look at Benny near eye level. “You first need to apologize for your actions then tell him how you feel.” Sammy reached out his hand and gently rest it between Benny’s horns “I’m sure he won’t be mad. Tom is more understanding then you know. It’s not a fast recovery but you two have to start somewhere.” Sammy chuckled at his own words. Sure he and Tom didn’t always see eye to eye, but he knew the man very well. He was sure Tom would better understand his little demon if they talked things over.

Benny nodded in understanding of the musicians words and his weeping died down. Sammy watched Benny start to nod off a bit, the demon now having a hard time sitting up. Sammy smiled 'All the transformations and yelling must have worn him out’. Then his thoughts drifted to the pile of french toast he made earlier 'or food coma if he can get that’. He gently lifted Benny up by his sides and was surprised at how light the demon actually was in comparison to Bendy whom was a bit heavier.

He cradled Benny in an arm and headed for the toons bedroom. Benny’s room was a bit of a mess from the toon’s earlier tantrum, but Sammy rummaged around inside the dresser and found a large orange night shirt and tried to have Benny slip into it. The demon was too tired to argue with the musician and was more and more like a rag doll in the mans arms as sleep was rapidly taking him. Sammy ultimately laid Benny down on the bed to dress him since the plushtoon was no longer responsive. The musician silently cursed as how it was like trying to play dress up with an over-sized doll, and was thankful no was around to watch him the last thing he needed was someone with a camera. Sammy grabbed a little plush Bendy doll and placed it next to the toon which slowly grasped the toy giving it a light squeeze. He covered him up with his blanket and watched little Z’s start floating above the toon’s head telling him that the devildoll was out like a light. He turned on his heel and quietly left the room after turning the light off.

Sammy retreated to the living room not before grabbing the blankets and pillows Tom left out for him. He pulled out the compartment under the couch turning it into a full sized bed. He was thankful the couple planned ahead and got a couch that folds out into a bed for any guests that would be spending the night. He figured that Tom and Allison knew that both of them wouldn’t have a choice but to occasionally leave Benny alone and with his issues they needed to have someone watch him. He laid out the blankets and pillow before turning off the light and called it a night. He had no trouble falling to sleep since he had a pretty long day.

———————–

Sammy didn’t know how long he was asleep before he felt something tug at his blanket stirring him. He turned over and sleepily looked at Benny standing at the edge if the couch looking very upset. “Ugh, whaaat” Sammy groaned out. “Benny? What are you doing here?” He rubbed his eyes trying to get them to focus. He looked at the illuminated hands on his watch, his eyes nearly bugged out when he saw the unholy hour. He groaned and looked back at Benny wondering what the demon wanted in the dead if the night.

Benny wrung the bottom of his night shirt and had plush version of himself tucked under his arm. “I-I had a bad dream…” He looked down sheepishly squeezing the plush gently to where it made a soft squeak. He was hoping he could sleep with Sammy to try ease his nerves, but after his tantrum earlier he didn’t have any high hopes. He knew he really was acting like a 'spoiled brat’ as the musician called him, but at the moment he didn’t know what else to do. He was simply too afraid to sleep alone.

Sammy tiredly sighed rolling his eyes “Fine, c'mon.” he lifted up a portion of his blanket in invitation.

Benny was shocked that Sammy was inviting him despite his earlier behavior. He made a small happy squeaky toy noise and gingerly crawled under the raised sheets and whispered a small 'Thank you’ which earned a chuckle from the musician and a small 'Good night’. Sammy looked at the small figure now nestled against his side. He reached over and made sure Benny was tucked in before he rest his arm pulling the toon closer to himself and closed his eyes and letting sleep take him.

———————–

Morning came and Benny found himself being irritated by a constant nudging to his shoulder. The demon lazily swatted at whatever was bugging him and rolled back over under the covers to continue sleeping. Sammy had heard that Benny was a challenge to get up in the morning, but had never seen it. He could only inwardly laugh at how similar Tom and Benny truly were, it was like dealing with a sweet child version of the snarky mechanic. However he was thankful of Allison’s book of 'how to feed Benny" detailing how she prepares foods for the demon through the course of the day.

Leaving the demon curled up within the blanket, Sammy wandered to the kitchen and rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a few pans and set the fire to the stove. He threw 6 eggs in one pan and made 5 mini pancakes in the other. He was so thankful Allison left him a mini cookbook detailing how to make in large quantities to feed Benny. When he skimmed the cookbook his eyes nearly bugged out when he read that Benny can eat up to 15 6" pancakes, along with 6 eggs, 2 sausages, and 2 slices of bacon in a single sitting. However after such a large meal he seems to suffer harshly from food coma and will fall asleep for a few hours, but eats very lightly for the remainder of the day. It was best to divide up his portions evenly versus the over sized single portion. Sammy couldn’t help but smile at this little tidbit, it partially explained why Benny tired out so quickly after his outburst the previous night.

The smell of the pancakes drifted through the air making the kitchen smell divine. Sammy finished off stacking off the last of the pancakes when he heard the small pattering of shoes. He looked over his shoulder and saw Benny sleepily creeping into the kitchen in his over-sized night shirt trying to rub the sleep out if his eyes.

“Morning Mr.Sammy” Benny stumbled past him to the kitchen table.

“That’s Sammy to you young man”. The musician jokingly scolded while he watched Benny slowly lift himself onto his chair struggling, the groggy demon only getting one foot on the chair while the other dragged behind him. Sammy walked over and assisted the demon in his scaling the chair so he could eat properly at the table.

Benny rested his head on the table while the rest of his body hung limp in his chair, he was not ready for the morning by no sense of the word. It didn’t help his night was plagued with thoughts on how he was going to deal with Tom once he returned home. He was now feeling guilty about his treatment of the man who did nothing but love and care for him. His memories of the studio and what happened to him clashed with the recent ones of him and his family. The only thing that gave him peace was Sammy’s words; 'You have to talk to him or things will never heal’. The demon quietly groaned as his head lightly rolled to the side on the table. He had never really spoken of the hell he had seen and gone through and didn’t really know where to begin. In truth he didn’t want to talk about it, but it was the elephant in the room that needed to be addressed.

Sammy looked over at the little devildoll he was in charge of. He figured the demon didn’t get much sleep after yesterday’s events and he couldn’t blame him. His own memories of what happened in the studio were foggy, but Benny and Bendy both remembered everything vividly. Both demons literally had their own pasts to deal with at it would take time to fully understand how they feel let alone what they went through.

Sammy walked to the cupboard and pulled out a glass and a mug setting both on the table. He poured himself a cup of coffee and Benny a glass of milk. He set the glass in front of the toon, but Benny looked too sleepy to register it’s existence. A sigh escaped the man and he and used the glass to gently nudge Benny’s head waking the toon somewhat as his hand gently grabbed the glass and he lifted his head up to start drinking. Making sure Benny wasn’t going to spill his drink with how incoherent he seemed to be, Sammy placed the finished breakfast in front on the toon.

Benny quietly dug into his food his pie cute eyes barely open. Sammy wanted to laugh at the sight before him. He watched Benny occasionally fumble his food or simply drop it all together. Clearly failing with a fork Benny just rest his head on the table and opened his mouth wide shoveling his food in rather then sit properly and eat. Once he was done he finished off the last of his milk and laid his head back down on the table exhausted.

A glance at the clock ticking in the corner served as a small reminder as to the fact that that Tom should be home later in the evening. Sammy took the opportunity since it was peaceful in the house to clean up the table around Benny and wash the dishes making sure the kitchen was restored it it’s former working order. While he worked he occasionally looked over his shoulder and watched Benny’s head nod off and on occasion a small 'Z’ would float above him before it would disappear and his eyes would open slightly then he would nod off again. The toon was still tired and wasn’t ready to be up yet.

Sammy returned to the living room and cleaned up the bed removing his borrowed sheets, blanket and pillow. With a tug of a handle half the bed collapsed and slid under it’s counterpart restoring it back to a couch instead of a bed. Satisfied Sammy set the pillow against the side of the couch and laid out a blanket to lay under while he planned on enjoying his book he had brought to read. He returned to the kitchen and scooped the now sleeping toon and cradled him in an arm. Sammy returned to the couch and laid down setting Benny on his chest covering himself and the toon back up in the blanket. Benny seemed to be having a fit full sleep at the table, but once he was on Sammy’s chest he relaxed and curled up sound peaceful asleep.

Sammy looked down at the demon that lay on him. It was hard to believe such a small character was also a monster of fabric and ink. Sammy couldn’t lie that both Benny and Bendy scared him, but seeing one of them have so human like problems felt surreal. He had thought that since they were toons that they would always be happy and energetic regardless of what came their way. However seeing them getting angry, sad or throw tantrums it was oddly endearing. They truly felt real with real problems and not the cartoon characters they were meant to be. He lightly rest his hand between Benny’s horns gently scratching the area getting a small purr from the sleeping toon. He couldn’t help but smile, they aren’t so scary when they have the same emotions as a child, and like a child they need an adult to help them. At least they each had a set if adults that were willing to take the time to learn about them and care for them.

Sammy opened up his book and got more comfortable on the couch committing himself to a light read occasionally glancing past his book at the little toon snoozing on his chest. The longer he read the more his eyes drooped and soon he too fell asleep with the book firmly glued to his face.

————-

“Hey sleeping beauty, wake up.” a gruff voice chuckled shaking Sammy’s shoulder.

Sammy groaned turning his head to be met with a pair of tired brown eyes and a smug grin. “Wha…oh!” Sammy immediately sat up eyes wide at Tom standing before him. “How long was I out?”

Tom shrugged “A few hours I guess.”

“Oh…” Sammy’s eyes opened wider and immediately looked at his chest to find that Benny was no longer on him. Brief panic set in and he quickly looked around before his eyes settled on a little figure curled up in Tom’s arm.

Tom noticed Sammy’s brief frantic search before his eyes settled on Benny in his arm. “Yeah I found the little one curled up on you out like a light with a book on your face, makes a good picture by the way. I’m looking forward to it being developed.” A grin crept across the mans face as he looked as Sammy whom was rapidly turning red.

Sammy’s eyes were wide in a mix of disbelief and anger. “That’s dirty pool Thomas!” Sammy shouted, but immediately shut up when Tom held a single finger to his lips shushing him and pointed at Benny. Sammy took a deep breath to calm himself down and looked back up at the smug man. “That by no sense of the word fair and that had better not be used as blackmail later. I demand that photo.”

Tom wagged his finger from side to side. “You’ll get a copy of the photo, but the real one is going in the photo album.” Tom’s words left Sammy quietly seething yet at the same time a small grin had peaked at the edges of his mouth.

With Benny in arm Tom excused himself for a moment to put Benny to bed leaving Sammy to straighten the couch back up and he pocketed his book. The man relaxed on the couch and waited patiently for Tom’s return already knowing he was gonna get an earful. With a certain level of predictably Tom returned to the living room looking exhausted. He sat on the other end of the couch and took a long deep breath before turning to look Sammy in the eye.

“What happened while I was gone? His room was a mess.” Worry all over the mechanics face.

Sammy leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling as he let out a deep sigh. He slowly recounted the events that followed Tom leaving the home for work and Benny’s snappy and erratic behavior that ultimately lead to him bellowing at the man. Tom’s eye’s were wide and he muttered small apologizes for the toons bad behavior, but was surprised when Sammy waved his hand as if it wasn’t a bad thing.

“How come your being so nonchalant about the whole thing? I mean for as sweet as Benny is he could have easily hurt you in a fit of rage. Unless you forgot our warnings about that 2nd mouth if his and his very long reach.” Tom threw up his arms in confusion. He simply couldn’t understand why Sammy was abnormally calm about the encounter. The man should be huddled in a corner or locked away in a room demanding compensation for the nightmarish weekend.

"He left me, I was left behind.” Sammy calmly uttered, his eyes dead focused on Tom. His words made the man freeze in place wide eyed. Tom lowered his arms and turned away from Sammy causing the musician to raise a brow. “I take it you’re familiar with what he meant?”

Tom leaned forward and rest his elbows on his knees staring at the floor. “Yeah…”

Sammy looked over his shoulder and saw a small figure looking just past the corner, a smile crossed the mans lips. “Care to elaborate?”

Tom let out a deep sigh “See back when I made the prototype ink machine they had me use any object to test the machine. I picked up a cute little Bendy doll that would have been scrapped due to it being considered off model and gave it to the machine. To my surprise it produced a living toon that was very much like a newborn child. Joey hated him on sight and struck him with an ax to kill him. I protected him and he escaped. I was thoroughly convinced the toon died from the injury sustained. I wouldn’t have thought that the body was fabric and managed to hold itself together softening the blow. Somehow he ended up with Allison, but I had no clue. Once I got forced to make the 2nd ink machine upon completion Allison asked me to bring home a Plush Bendy doll she claimed someone made for her.” Tom’s voice slowly shrank and he started to choke on his words struggling as he kept going. “I-I had no clue it was Benny, t-that he was supposed to have been brought home with me that day. I-If I had known and wasn’t so ignorant to the realities behind the doll I held in my hand I-I would have never left him there.” Tom paused and took a deep breath to try and calm himself. “A-As we all know the studio fell after that and he never got out until now. H-He was left alone by himself in that studio for 30 years because of my neglect.”

Tom fell silent for a short while fiddling with his hands while his eyes never left the hole he burned into the floor. “To be honest Sammy, I’m not surprised he hates me. It was my fault he was stuck there instead of having a proper family he deserves. I’m not the most qualified person to be considered a father or father figure, so the least I can do is provide him a roof over his head. I think it’s oddly fitting” he leaned back on the couch a small chuckle escaping his lips as a few traces of tears picked at the corners of his eyes. “I didn’t acknowledge him then and he doesn’t acknowledge me now.”

Sammy quietly listened as Tom bore his chains of grief, the years of guilt and regret he carried brought to the surface. He wasn’t known for being a real emotional man and often hid his feelings behind a mask of logic and reasoning, but hearing more in depth of what happened made Sammy truly pity the man. He laid back on the couch and peeked over his shoulder at the figure that remained in the doorway. Benny stood partially hiding behind the wall and large inky tears were streaming down his face. He must have heard Tom’s confession. The toon looked too timid to come over and Sammy slowly waved a hand at him to encourage him to come over. Benny nodded and slowly but surely made his way to the couch out of Tom’s sight.

“Well I think someone would like to have a word with you.” Sammy spoke to Tom gaining the man’s attention. He looked back at the musician confused and followed Sammy’s gesture till his eyes laid on the little toon slowly walking to him with tears streaming down his face.

Tom wanted to get up and scoop Benny up to see what was wrong, but the memory of him snapping at the toon the previous day kept him grounded to the couch. He by far wasn’t the best person to try and call himself a parent.

Benny walked right up to Tom just before his legs, a gloved hand gently pulled on the pant leg. “I’m sorry about the other day, I was acting like a little brat. I was inconsiderate for all those times you worked yourself to the bone to make sure I had everything I needed. I-I really sorry.” the toon looked up at the man tears starting to reform at the edges of his mismatched eyes. “Back when I was left behind in that room I sat at the desk waiting. I waited for a long time until I realized you weren’t coming. I told myself it was an accident or some sort of mistake, but the more time that passed the more it hurt. I convinced myself it was all your fault and that you were to blame for my misery. I’m not the best toon in the world let alone a toon of my own and only an image of one, but..” Benny’s voice trailed off and he started to choke on his words, the stitching on his stomach openly slightly and both mouths spoke in unison. “I’m NoT QaAlIfIeD tO bE CoNsIdErD a ChIlD, BuT… CaN I CoNsIdEr YoU My DaD? I’m SoRrY AnD I FoRgIvE YoU.” the toon broke down crying sounding like a broken squeaky toy while gently clinging to Tom’s pant leg.

The man bent down and scooped up the distraught toon into his arms and gently rocked back and forth whispering small words of 'thank you’ or gentle shushing sounds. Tom himself was quietly crying while trying to comfort the toon in his arms. He felt like a huge weight was taken off his shoulders. Benny forgave him. The one thing he felt he didn’t deserve after 30 years of abandonment.

Sammy sighed at the sight before him and a smile crept across his face. It was comforting to see that the man and toon had reconciled. The process to truly heal from the damages was going to be slow, but at least they have a start. With a small groan Sammy excused himself from the couch and figured it was time to head home, he could hit Tom up for the bill some other time. He quietly snuck down the hall and saw his way out the home making sure to lock it behind himself. The drive home didn’t feel so long after how his weekend had gone. A few new pieces of music danced in his head as he hummed new songs down the length of road.

——– 3 Days later ———–

After dodging the postwoman for the umpteenth time Sammy collected his daily post and slipped inside his home. The mail was nothing but ads and the occasional bill with a pale blue envelope with a black trim mixed in. The envelope caught his attention and he set the rest of the post down to further examine the piece of mail. The envelope was a simple pale blue with what looked like a little stitched pattern had been drawn on the edges. The senders had been none other then the Connors as their names and address had been carefully written in delicate cursive. Amused Sammy opened up the letter and proceeded to read it’s contents.

Dear Mr. Sammy,

I’d like to apologize for my actions during your stay at the house. You left so abruptly I didn’t have a chance to apologize, to thank you or to say good-bye. I thank you for what you did, it really helped. Tom and I had a really long talk about what happened and we are on much better terms now. Things are still a little strange between us every now and then, but we’ll figure it out. Though Tom wasn’t happy when you disappeared on him. He said something about a photo and that if you wanted it you have to come back and get it. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but he did mention something about showing Henry some photos. If anything I look forward to seeing you again and will you bring your banjo? I’d like to play with you again.

Yours truly,

Benny

Sammy chuckled at the 'Mr. Sammy’ and thought 'that’s Sammy to you’, but that smile and chuckle gave way to a scowl upon reading about the photo that Tom had taken. His face morphed to a mix of anger and horror upon reading that he was going to show Henry. 'That blasted Thomas is a real demon, using blackmail photos.’ Sammy scowled to himself, but that frustration gave way to a twinge of amusement. 'Then again he is the father of a little devil, even if it happens to be a sweet little devil. Like father, like son.’ He tucked the letter away and found a smaller note tucked behind the letter. He set the letter aside and pulled the small note out and opened it revealing $40 and a message.

Hey Mr. Drama Queen,

Here’s a little thank you for watching Benny and for what you did, but next time let me know when you leave. If you do that again I’ll have Benny 'play’ with you and I don’t mean with musical instruments. He loves a mean game of tag.

Thanks again,

Thomas Connor

A whistle and hum floated through the air as Sammy pocketed the money and carefully put the 2 letters away for safekeeping. Despite Tom’s little dig at him he couldn’t find it within himself to get too angry at the rough and tumble mechanic. In the end despite how the weekend crumbled at the start, it came through in the end and a little step towards understanding was made. He may no longer be a 'crazed preacher man’, but he was devoted to the few people he cared for and now the 2 little toons that came with them.

#batim stitched au #short story #sammy lawrence #batim sammy #sammy lawrence batim #sammy #benny the stitched demon #benny the stitched devil #benny the stitch devil #benny the stitch demon #benny #thomas connor

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welcometothepenumbra · 6 years ago

Text

ORIGINAL: JUNO STEEL AND THE CASE OF THE MURDEROUS MASK (PART TWO)

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, BELL RINGS, RAIN.

MUSIC: STARTS.

CONCIERGE: Ah, good evening, Traveler! Welcome to the Penumbra. May I take your coat?

You’ve picked an excellent place to spend the night, dear Traveler. The Penumbra is the grandest hotel this side of nowhere. Countless rooms and countless halls. Just look ahead of you. See the doors go on and on… even we aren’t sure how many there are, or what lies behind them.

Will you be staying long? Many of our guests do. You’re in good company, Traveler. The Penumbra draws guests from everywhere and everywhen, and all of them have stories to tell. Stories that will excite you, delight you, and maybe even terrify you.

Don’t believe me? Well, see for yourself.

SOUND: KEYS JINGLING.

This guest has been a fixture in The Penumbra for as long as anyone can recall. He’s a detective by the name of Steel, and he’s been called in on a murder millions of years in the making.

SOUND: THREE KNOCKS. BLASTER SHOT.

What luck! It sounds like he’s in. Come, Traveler. Come with me into room J-12.

SOUND: DOOR CREAKING OPEN.

Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

***

JUNO (NARRATOR): The smell of french fries and Pad Thai stuck to the air like a hangover. It was the kind of smell so thick you can taste it. Hell of a meal, they serve over at the Empire’s Dragon: cut lips and busted ribs, all before they even bring out the appetizer.

My name’s Juno Steel, and this was the nicest meal I’d had in weeks.

GLASS: Juno! Oh, you delicate little flower, that punch didn’t knock you out, did it?

JUNO (NARRATOR): The only real difference between then and any other meal was that guy. Rex Glass, agent with the Dark Matters Initiative. We were chained back-to-back in an unfinished basement after getting the hors d’oeuvres beaten out of us, so things were lookin’ up. Usually you have to pay top dollar for that kind of treatment.

JUNO: Mind keeping it down back there, Glass? I’ve got a hell of a headache.

GLASS: You’re intolerable.

JUNO: Glad you noticed.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.

VOICE 7: Ah, Detective Steel! And his… guest! It’s a pleasure to see you again, detective.

JUNO: Wish I could say the same, but we’ve never met.

VOICE 7: Please, gentlemen… have a seat. (LAUGHS)

JUNO (NARRATOR): Fang was a big man with little eyes and a little brain. He was maybe three hundred pounds soaking wet, and he was always soaking wet. Sweatiest man I’ve ever seen.

VOICE 7: My name is Zhu Fang, and I am the regional manager for this branch of the Triad. May I get you two anything? Water, green tea, milkshake?

GLASS: I, for one, would love some water; if you could see your way to releasing—

VOICE 7 [ZHU FANG]: Nothing? What a shame. We’ve been watching you for a long time now, Juno Steel. You have a tab with the Triad.

JUNO: I took Cecil off the Triad’s hands six years ago, Fang. It’s a long time to hold a grudge.

FANG: Your debt accrues interest every day. Each day Cecil Kanagawa remains living is a day viewers across the galaxy tune in to his shows, his feeds, his streams. And if they’re watching those, Mr. Steel, they aren’t watching ours. The Triad cannot allow that.

GLASS: This is just a thought, but… have you tried improving your own programming? It seems just slightly less drastic than espionage, kidnapping, and murder.

FANG: Improve?! (LAUGHING) Hardly! Cecil’s programs are exquisite. I especially liked his feature the other night on recent improvements in ritual execution. The demonstrations were breathtaking!

No, no, I’m afraid we’ll never beat that. And that leaves only one option: we’ll just have to beat… him. (LAUGHING) But even Cecil is pocket change compared to our specific topic for the evening. Tell me, Juno, do you read the tabloids?

JUNO: Not really.

FANG: Well, I am surprised.

For every hundred entries in any rumors column, one always tells the truth; and there is no business more lucrative than the business of truth, is there? You must know that, as a detective.

JUNO: I don’t know, Fang. I deal in truth every day and I’ve barely got enough to feed my bookie.

FANG: (LAUGHING UNCONTROLLABLY)

GLASS: I think he might have liked that one, Juno.

FANG: No, no, no. The money isn’t in speaking the truth. It’s in owning it. Sitting on it, like a dragon on his gold. You’d do well to remember that.

I heard an interesting rumor just the other day, Mr. Steel. One worth very much indeed.

JUNO: If it’s true.

FANG: Of course.

SOUND: SWITCHBLADE OPENING.

GLASS: Juno!

FANG: You were at the Kanagawas’ this morning. I want to hear about Croesus.

JUNO: Never heard of the guy.

REX: Juno, you idiot!

FANG: You’re a funny man, Juno Steel. But the time for jokes has passed.

JUNO: I agree. So why don’t you put down that toy and bring in a real knife?

SOUND: BLADE SWISH. GRUNT.

FANG: What do you know?

JUNO: (PAINED) I know you don’t know the first damn thing about Croesus, or else you would’ve aimed somewhere a little more vital than my thigh.

FANG: I was being generous. There are plenty of places even less vital than that, and much, much more painful.

GLASS: No! No! Don’t you dare! We’ll tell you anything you want to know!

FANG: Well, it seems we’ve gotten somewhere after all! So… Agent Glass, was it? Will you be more cooperative?

GLASS: Immediately so. Croesus Kanagawa—

JUNO: Shut up!

GLASS: —has recently obtained the Death Mask of Grimpotheuthis, an incredible archaeological find, and he’s installed an entire wing of his mansion just for storing it in.

JUNO: You…!

You shouldn’t’ve told them, Glass. The Kanagawas aren’t gonna like it.

FANG: Grim’s Mask? (LAUGHS) Gentlemen, I’ve no interest in any masks. Whether Croesus collects ancient treasures or model spaceships makes no difference to me.

I’ll be more direct. The Kanagawas’ contracts go up at the end of the month; for weeks the entertainment world has been awash with theories and speculation as to what their next slate of programs will be.

I’ve heard – from a very reputable source – that their already-extensive line will be expanding significantly.

JUNO: Interesting theory. What’s the source on this rumor?

FANG: A house that large generates a lot of trash, Mr. Steel. And I’m not just talking about the Kanagawas.

GLASS: (LAUGHING) Ehem. Well, now. I really liked that one.

JUNO: Someone found it digging through the dumpster. Not exactly rock-solid.

FANG: That may be true, Mr. Steel – but thankfully, I’ve managed to locate two experts to deliver to us firsthand testimony of Croesus’s plan. They – that’s you – will give me the details I desire.

JUNO: And then?

FANG: Then you die.

JUNO: That’s a bad deal.

GLASS: Yes, I would expect a businessman to have a better grasp on the basic tenets of selling.

FANG: I’ll remind you I have an edge in these negotiations.

GLASS: I believe he means his knife, Juno.

JUNO: Sounds about right.

GLASS: He’s being creative with his language, you see.

JUNO: Yep.

GLASS: How very clever.

FANG: What did Kanagawa send you for? What’s he planning?

GLASS: They say the truth will set you free, Juno.

JUNO: Kanagawa isn’t planning anything.

SOUND: PUNCH.

So much for that.

FANG: I’ll kill you both.

JUNO: You do, and there goes your payday. Any middle-manager who’d throw out his profits won’t stay a middle manager long. How do you think Shenlong would feel about that?

FANG: (LAUGHS) You’re behind the times, Mr. Steel. The Triad of a year ago might have left you alive. But tonight, you will die.

So what will it be, gentlemen? A quick death… or a slow one?

JUNO: (SIGHING) Alright, Fang. You win.

FANG: Of course I do. Now—

JUNO: We don’t know what the shows are. But we can get you the person who does.

FANG: You don't mean…

GLASS: Juno, do you think this is wise?

JUNO: Get us a secure line, Fang. We’ll get you a meeting with Croesus.

FANG: The man himself…! I’ll get you that line. But you’d better not try anything cute, or you’ll die on the spot.

GLASS: Nothing cute? We couldn’t possibly promise that—

JUNO: Nothing tricky. Got it.

FANG: Good. Well, gentlemen. Think about what you’ll say. It had better be a very convincing phone call – or you will have a long, long time to wish you had rehearsed.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.

GLASS: Well, I have to say, Juno, that the political situation on Mars seems… unnecessarily complicated.

JUNO: Try living in it.

GLASS: Do you have any idea of how to get out of here?

JUNO: Just don’t move.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Listen, when you get tied up as often as I do, you eventually learn to prepare. My prep was cheaper than most: didn’t cost any more than a spool of thread, a needle, and a ten-cred plasma-blade box cutter. I untied the threads in my sleeve and pulled the cutter out.

GLASS: Stay still? That seems entirely contrary—

JUNO: Stay still.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I twisted it in my fingers slowly. A single twitch and that thing’d be down by our feet, and then we’d be six feet under that.

I turned the blade toward the chain, held my breath, and clicked the switch. The first chain snapped.

SOUND: LOW ELECTRIC HUM. CHAINS CLINKING.

Our hands loosened just a bit.

GLASS: Careful where you put that, Juno.

JUNO: Careful as I can be.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I didn’t mention that I couldn’t look at the cutter, the chains, or either of our hands. Maybe I should’ve. He might’ve been more ready.

GLASS: (GASPS) Ah!

SOUND: METALLIC CLATTER.

JUNO (NARRATOR): He pulled away his hand… and my plasma cutter along with it.

JUNO: Damn.

GLASS: You don’t… happen to have another one of those, do you?

JUNO: Of course I do. Just get a cab back to my place and I’ll show you a drawer full of them.

GLASS: Well? Do you have anything else?

JUNO: Can’t… quite… reach…

GLASS: Stop pulling! You’re an unbearable bunkmate, Juno. First the burning, then you hog all the chain!

JUNO: Got any better ideas?

GLASS: Somewhere in here, I’m sure. Check my back pockets. They’re too far from my hands for me to reach, but… you’re back there. Just be careful; who knows what you’ll find?

JUNO (NARRATOR): Glass wasn’t kidding. He kept more per pound in those pockets than most kangaroos. Pens, keys, cards, tablets, something that felt like a compass, a toothbrush, a phone. I found it between half a sandwich and the other half of the sandwich: a heavy-duty plasma cutter. Not exactly the kind they hand out to civilians.

JUNO: Would’ve been nice to know about this before.

GLASS: You said you had it under control.

SOUND: ELECTRIC HUM, SIZZLING.

Were you an only child, Juno? You don’t play well with others.

JUNO: Remember how I said my mother never killed me?

GLASS: Yes.

JUNO: …My brother wasn’t so lucky.

GLASS: I…

I’m… so sorry, Juno.

SOUND: CHAIN FALLS.

JUNO: Fang’s gonna be back any second. Chances are he’s bringing some goons with him. Any ideas?

GLASS: Millions. Cut the other hand free, and I’ll—

SOUND: DOOR OPENS.

Nevermind.

FANG: Well, well. So this is how the Kanagawas do business.

JUNO: Any ideas now?

GLASS: Would you like to live?

JUNO: Don’t go out of your way.

FANG: Shun! Wei! Show them what happens when you cross the Triad!

GLASS: I hope you’re good with a knife, Juno.

JUNO: Don’t worry. I’ve had plenty of practice; with… my other hand.

SOUND: BLADE UNSHEATHING.

SHUN & WEI: (GROWLING)

JUNO (NARRATOR): They came at us, roaring like Sasquatch and Sasquatch’s football coach. With my good hand still chained to Glass’s and a hole in my leg deep enough to hold my keys, I wasn’t exactly in fighting form. So I dropped the knife and kicked one of the gorillas off his feet—

SOUND: GRUNT.

JUNO (NARRATOR): —and before the guy hit the ground Rex had carved him a clean set of gills.

SOUND: THUD, CHOKING.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I don’t like to look at blood, so I didn’t. Unfortunately, neither did the other ape – and that left the two of us looking at each other.

SHUN OR WEI (DOESN’T REALLY MATTER): For Zhulong!

JUNO (NARRATOR): The Neanderthal threw a mean left hook, which caught me in the chin and didn’t let go. I fell over, and Glass fell, too.

GLASS: Juno, you— oof!

JUNO (NARRATOR): But there was no time: Ursa Major’s left was spent, but his right was aiming for Glass’s head. He’d accessorized that one: a line of nasty-looking steel spikes jutted from his knuckles.

I pushed Glass out of the way and raised my arm. I always was a good catch.

SOUND: THUD. PAINED YELL.

The claws dug into my forearm deep enough that the bastard couldn’t yank ‘em out. Worked just as well for me. If he couldn’t pull ‘em, he couldn’t hit back.

I reared back with my free hand and punched him, and punched him again. After about half a dozen auditions as my speed bag, the big guy finally passed out on the floor – and his claw passed out of my arm.

JUNO: You son of a—!

GLASS: Juno! He’s getting away!

JUNO (NARRATOR): Fang was halfway out the door already, and he was dialing the phone.

JUNO: He left his gun on the desk. Put it in my good hand.

Now don’t move a muscle.

JUNO (NARRATOR): In ten seconds he’d be on the line with Triad HQ; in twenty we’d be up to our asses in gangsters.

I gave him five.

SOUND: BLASTER SHOT, THUMP.

FANG: You…

GLASS: How… unpleasant. It appears he’s still alive.

FANG: (PANTING) You… you’ve made… a grave mistake, Juno… Steel! The Triad… doesn’t forget!

JUNO: I make a lot of grave mistakes, Fang. It’s the only way to get anywhere.

Enjoy your meeting with Croesus.

SOUND: BLASTER SHOT.

GLASS: Well. All in all, that was one of the least successful dinner meetings I’ve ever had. Three bodies, one injured detective, a big boo-boo on my hand, and no clues at all.

JUNO: I wouldn’t say none. Take a look at the ID on the number he was calling.

GLASS: He was calling Triad Headquarters, so it should be…

Zhulong? But wasn’t the Triad boss named—

JUNO: Shenlong. They don’t line up. There’s been a change in management in the Triad.

GLASS: I don’t understand how that affects our case, Juno.

JUNO: The Triad wouldn’t write the wrong name. And even if Shenlong bit it after they killed Croesus, it takes time to pick a new boss.

GLASS: Then… whoever wrote that name didn’t know about the change in management.

JUNO: Whoever killed Croesus wasn’t Triad. Just looking for a convenient stooge.

Come on. We’re headed back to Kanagawa’s.

JUNO (NARRATOR): We would’ve gone straight back to Kanagawa’s if Glass hadn’t gotten in a twist over nothing. So we wasted a few hours in the local emergency room.

GLASS: Juno, I’m no doctor, but I think you might actually have more blood outside your body than inside it at the moment.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Rex was a good babysitter. It wasn’t so bad being petted for a change. Most of the human contact I get wears titanium knuckles and comes in a few hundred miles an hour. I was almost sorry when the doctor came in.

The guy bandaged my leg, put a cast on my arm, and told me I’d be bedridden for the next four days. Glass and I waited four minutes and then snuck out the back door.

GLASS: So, back to the Kanagawas’, then?

JUNO: Only place left to go.

SOUND: PAGE TURNING.

GLASS: So… you think you know who killed Croesus?

JUNO: Never said that.

But… I think I know enough to get into some trouble.

GLASS: That does seem to be your method, doesn’t it.

What’s that?

JUNO: Tabloid. I was reading it in the waiting room.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Had to hand it to Fang: he wasn’t wrong about the rumors page. Rumors about Kanagawa’s contracts, a colony of surviving Martians, a treasure thief in Hyperion City, a woman who gave birth to android twins, back-door deals and front-door lies. Figuring out what was true and what wasn’t was worth a hell of a lot of money, if you knew who to tell.

JUNO: Hey, Glass. You work this sector, right?

GLASS: Mostly. Why?

JUNO: Lot of interesting stuff in here. Lot of money to be made.

Thought you might want to look into it together.

GLASS: Why, Juno! Is that an invitation?

JUNO: Don’t read too much into it.

GLASS: I hate to break your heart, detective, but we Dark Matters agents don’t stay in any one place too long – as soon as we’ve settled this matter with Grim’s Mask I’ll be riding the cosmic breeze to the next planet.

JUNO: I’m sorry to hear that.

GLASS: As am I. But that’s the future, Juno: here we are in a beautiful present, and I’m more than willing to look into whatever you’d like. Now, where would you like to talk about these rumors? Your place or mine?

JUNO: Just land the damn car, already.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, FUNHOUSE MUSIC STARTS. FOOTSTEPS.

CECIL: Juno! You’re… oh, my. What happened to you?

JUNO: Dog bit me.

CECIL: That’s a hell of a cast for—

JUNO: It was a big dog.

GLASS: With all due respect, Cecil, I think Juno would either like to get right to business or right to a liquor cabinet.

JUNO: Both of which, I’m guessing, we could find in your dad’s office.

CECIL: (LAUGH-COUGHING) Father’s office? Well, Juno, there are just so many things in there that it wouldn’t be wise to show to the public…

JUNO: Public? I though we were brothers, Cecil. I thought that’s why you wanted me here in the first place.

CECIL: Ah, ha ha, well… I wouldn’t know what I could… (NERVOUS CHUCKLING) I’ll admit it: you caught me on my words, Junebug. Of course we trust you. But, see, it– it’s kind of crazy around here, and—

JUNO: People seem pretty calm, actually.

GLASS: That man’s been picking his nose for the last five minutes.

CECIL: (FORCED LAUGHING) Well! We’re not all busy, of course. But I am. Very, very busy. So…

VOICE 8: Now, Cecil! Is that any way to treat family?

JUNO (NARRATOR): And in she came through the door: Min Kanagawa, the shadow behind the Kanagawa family. The other three had TV shows, video streams, perfume lines. Cecil had all three. But the public almost never saw Min – even though there wasn’t a decision the family made that she did not touch.

VOICE 8 [MIN]: Juno, darling! It’s been so long!

JUNO: Min.

CECIL: Mi– M-mother! But– but you told me th—

MIN: Oh, hush, Cecil. I heard the way you talked to Mr. Steel. I could hear it from down the hall!

CECIL: But– but I—!

MIN: No buts! It’s inexcusable! And… and what’s more inexcusable is your tardiness. Your talk show is set to air in ten minutes, and where are you?

CECIL: But I– but—!

MIN: Berating the guests! Now out, you, out! Mr. Steel and his friend had a perfectly simple request, and you’ve turned it into an inquisition!

CECIL: Min!

MIN: Out!

CECIL: So sorry, friends. I’ll be on my way.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS. DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.

MIN: (SIGHS) Children! I’m so sorry for Cecil’s behavior, Juno. We’ve been turned upside-down since last evening. It’s Croesus’s office you want, isn’t it?

JUNO: If you don’t mind.

MIN: Not at all. Follow me, gentlemen.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

GLASS: (QUIETLY) Well, that was easy.

JUNO: (QUIETLY) Don’t count on it.

MIN: I’m sure Cecil told you what the situation has been like on our end – just horrible. At the pace we live, we haven’t even had a moment to mourn poor Croesus yet – there are some moments when I call him to ask a question, only to remember… (SNIFFS) horrible, horrible.

GLASS: We’re so very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Kanagawa.

MIN: I assume Cecil told you not to say a word about this.

JUNO: Had us sign about a dozen forms to that effect, too.

MIN: Good. Oh, I know it seems heartless. This is business, I think to myself. Where has the soul gone from business? But we’ve shareholders to consider, viewers to appease. This just isn’t the end to Croesus Kanagawa that will satisfy them. We’ll have to keep it quiet until such an end is written.

VOICE 9: Um, excuse me, Mrs. Kanagawa? The writing team put together these posts for the boss’s feed, but they need signatures.

MIN: Of course they do. I’ll be just a moment, gentlemen.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING.

GLASS: She seems nice.

JUNO: Seems that way.

GLASS: Pretty, too.

JUNO: Mm-hm.

GLASS: I don’t like the way you’re looking at that woman, Juno.

JUNO: Woman like Min Kanagawa, taking your eye off her is a good way to end up dead.

GLASS: Do you think she killed him?

JUNO: No. She’s Croesus’s second wife, and there’s good money on the fact that she opened that position herself.

GLASS: You don’t mean…

JUNO: That job was so clean it took five experts just to prove that a woman was dead. Killing Kanagawa with the mask… too messy. Not her style.

MIN: Oh, boys! What are you two whispering about back there?

JUNO: Ancient history.

MIN: How delightful. So sorry to interrupt you with business matters, but…

SOUND: PEN SCRIBBLING.

…there. The world keeps turning, even when the master is away.

JUNO: That was a hell of a signature, Min. Didn’t see your name anywhere in it.

MIN: I’m sure you two can keep that little legal indiscretion to yourselves, can’t you? So many papers flow by… Croesus just didn’t have time to look at them all. You know how it is.

JUNO: I’ll take your word for it.

MIN: Good. Now, Croesus’s office is just around the corner.

SOUND: DISTANT YELL.

GLASS: What in the hell was that?

MIN: I don’t know. You don’t think… anyone is hurt, do you?

SOUND: ANOTHER YELL.

JUNO: It’s coming from the office!

SOUND: RUNNING FOOTSTEPS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): We ran down the hall together, and the screaming just got louder.

I already knew who it was, and I knew Min did, too. There wasn’t a single person in Hyperion City who didn’t recognize that roar – it had played on the Kanagawa stream between the hours of 8 and 9 every Thursday since she was fifteen years old.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS.

JUNO: Cassandra!

CASSANDRA: Juno! (PANTING) You took it, didn’t you? You always do this!

JUNO: Don’t remember. Help me out. What did I take?

CASSANDRA: Yesterday! Give it back, Juno, or I swear I’m gonna ki—

JUNO: You don’t mean the mask, do you?

CASSANDRA: The mask? I don’t care about the mask!

GLASS: Nobody seems to.

CASSANDRA: I knew it! I knew I couldn’t trust you!

GLASS: I’m Special Agent Rex Glass, with the Dark Matters Initiative.

CASSANDRA: Get out!

JUNO: Settle down. Agent Glass is here to help me figure this whole thing out.

GLASS: I’ve been sent to investigate this curse, and any claims toward its existence I am charged to examine. Ms. Kanagawa, my only interest is the mask. Truly.

MIN: Talk to them, Cassandra. It will be alright.

CASSANDRA: You’re going to tell me that? Seriously?

You wanna know what I’m looking for, Juno? My papers. I’m sick of waiting for you, and I’m getting out of here.

GLASS: As is your right as a Martian citizen, Ms. Kanagawa. Once the matter of your father’s death is settled, you’ll be free to go.

CASSANDRA: (LAUGHS) I’m leaving now.

GLASS: Let the detective and me clear you, then, and you may go. Isn’t that right, detective?

JUNO: Yeah, Cass. Just answer a few questions. If it all lines up, you can go.

CASSANDRA: You’ll show me where to go? She can’t stop me, right?

JUNO: She doesn’t have the right.

MIN: Hmm.

GLASS: This shouldn’t take five minutes of your time, Ms. Kanagawa.

CASSANDRA: You’re on the clock.

GLASS: After you, Juno.

JUNO: (SIGHS) Alright. What’re you looking for?

CASSANDRA: I already told you. My papers.

JUNO: I don’t think so. Earlier today, Cassie, you told me Croesus was going to let you go. That he wasn’t gonna renew your contract. That right?

CASSANDRA: …Sure.

GLASS: We heard a rumor to a slightly different effect. Is it at all possible that you were mistaken?

CASSANDRA: I heard him just fine.

GLASS: Well, another perspective, then. Is it possible that he… deceived you?

Don’t tell me your father never lied to anyone, Cassandra. Nobody ever made it in show business telling only little white lies.

CASSANDRA: Just a few questions, huh? Some questions, when you already know the answers. That contract was a secret, and you took it just to mess with my head, didn’t you!

GLASS: Your father told a lot of lies, I gather. A man like that is bound to meet a violent end eventually.

CASSANDRA: Better late than never.

JUNO: What’d he do? What was so bad that he had to die?

GLASS: Just what was it about that contract that made you kill Croesus Kanagawa?

CASSANDRA: It was right here! Another ten seasons for all of us, twice as many shows… on camera every second of the day, Juno!

JUNO: I thought you said he was going to let your contract lapse?

CASSANDRA: That’s what he promised! That’s what was supposed to happen. And then he– then he stole that stupid mask, and the ratings went up. Everyone’s did, and then… I was so worried… there was so much money. He was gonna sign me away again. I just– I couldn’t just let him get away with it!

GLASS: Is this a confession?

CASSANDRA: I saw that contract in here about a week ago, when I was looking for him. I brought it into my room to read the thing over, but… I had to put it down for a while. I couldn’t believe it. He promised me, he promised me so many times, and then, when I was finally going to tell him off, the contract was gone. I couldn’t find the damn thing anywhere.

JUNO: It was…

Hang on.

CASSANDRA: So. He lied to me. And when he found out I knew about it, he snuck into my room and took his contract back. So two nights ago, I finally decided… decided that I’d talk to him about it. One-on-one. Without anybody watching.

GLASS: Without witnesses, you mean.

JUNO: Just a second, Glass—

CASSANDRA: I didn’t have anything planned! I was just gonna talk to him.

I found him in that room – the one with the mask. He was pissed off the second he saw me, screaming about… I asked him about the contract. He told me he didn’t know what I was talking about, and he just kept screaming about his stupid mask and that stupid glass case he’d spent all that money on. He wouldn’t admit it! He lied to me about my freedom, and he lied to me about the contract, and I couldn’t take it anymore! I just got so mad, I…

I pushed him. I didn’t think I pushed him hard enough to break the glass, but… it was enough, I guess. He fell into the case. The mask covered his face, and then… it ripped him apart.

JUNO (NARRATOR): She wouldn’t look at me when she said it. For a minute I thought it was because she was ashamed. Should’ve known better. I followed her eyes to the door, and there stood Min – a cameraman pointing his all-seeing eye over her shoulder. Delivering lines to the camera, her tears sent out in high definition over every stream across Mars.

I wasn’t mad at her. You can’t blame a puppet for moving when the strings get pulled.

CASSANDRA: Juno… what did I do?

JUNO: It’s showbiz, Cass. It’s in your blood.

MIN: Gentlemen, I think it’s time to take my daughter away now.

SOUND: HEAVY FOOTSTEPS. DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.

GLASS: Well. I suppose… come to think of it, that doesn’t answer any of my questions about Grim’s Curse at all.

JUNO: No curse here, Glass. Just business.

GLASS: A curse of its own stripe entirely. …Juno?

JUNO: Y’know, there are just two things bugging me about this case, and the curse ain’t one of ‘em. First one’s about that contract. Not like an important doc like that to just go missing. Is it, Min?

MIN: Surely a sign of a fractured mind. Our psychiatric evaluators will get right on it.

JUNO: Your shrinks. Huh. That must be where she’s headed, then.

GLASS: I’m not sure I follow—

JUNO: Hoosegow. Local lock-up owned and operated by Croesus— sorry, by Min Kanagawa.

Y’know what’s funny about Hoosegow, Glass? Cameras everywhere. They cover every inch of the damn place. It’s for security, they say. But… hey, who owns that footage, Min?

MIN: Cecil, technically. It’s for his shows.

JUNO: Cecil owns the footage. So if someone owns Cecil…

It is funny about the contract. Funny how a paper with Croesus’s signature on it just goes missing. And it must be hard for you, Min, but if you take the long view of it, you’re doin’ alright, aren’t you? Croesus’s show was on the decline anyway—

GLASS: Juno!

JUNO: —Cassandra was going to leave; once people forgot about the mask, you were gonna have two duds on your hands again. But now… now you’ve got a special on the starlet who killed her father, you’ve got a show about her rotting away in jail, and you still have her brother to milk for all he’s got.

Sound about right, Min? Theoretically, I mean.

MIN: Theoretically, of course. If only you had the paper to prove it.

JUNO: It’s a real shame I don’t. I don’t mean much, Min, but I do mean that.

Come on, Rex.

MIN: Oh, Juno! Speaking as one who cares about you, dear, you might want to stay clear of dark alleys for a while. The Kanagawa family doesn’t take well to brothers who harm their own.

JUNO: Never put much stock in family, Min. Thanks for reminding me why.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

***

GLASS: Well. All’s well that ends well, eh, Juno?

Admittedly we’ll need to broaden our definition of ‘well,’ but…

SOUND: LIQUID POURING.

Juno, you aren’t going to be silent all evening, are you? Your overbearing misanthropy is part of your charm, but this is a bit much.

JUNO: Not in the mood to celebrate, Glass.

GLASS: Oh, come now, Juno, I’ve only one evening left on Mars. You aren’t going to spend it sobbing into your drink, are you?

JUNO: Never been much of a sobber. I’m more of a “catch your reflection at the bottom of a glass and feel sick” kind of guy.

GLASS: Juno…

You’ve done nothing wrong, you know. She did still kill her father.

JUNO: That’s true.

GLASS: It’s over. We all survived, if you don’t count my poor hand. My wound still throbs when it rains, you brute.

Only… I was wondering. In Kanagawa’s office, you said there were two things bothering you, but you only mentioned one. What was the other?

SOUND: LIQUID POURING.

JUNO: Refill?

GLASS: (LAUGHING) So that’s how it is, is it?

You know… you’re very handsome when you’re like this.

JUNO: Getting drunker by the second?

GLASS: Morally outraged.

Look at him… standing up against the big, mean world… It’s so… futile, and foolish, and…

Sexy.

JUNO: You…

You don’t have to go, Rex.

GLASS: (GIGGLING) See? This is exactly what I mean.

JUNO: Listen. You don’t have to do this. You know that, right?

GLASS: Oh, but of course I do. I’m needed by something larger than we are. I’ve given my life to it.

But life can wait one night, Juno. Come here.

SOUND: KISSING.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Lips like silk. Strong hands, pulling on my coat. It was the kind of kiss that feels like it’s going to last the rest of your life… until it’s over, and then you know you got as much as you deserved.

I wanted to get to know this man. And that’s why I had to say it – even if it was the last thing I wanted to say.

JUNO: Rex…

GLASS: Juno.

JUNO: Has anyone ever told you…

SOUND: HANDCUFFS CLICKING.

…that you’re under arrest?

GLASS: Oh, Juno! Usually not until the second date, but—

JUNO: I mean it, Glass. Or… whoever the hell you are.

GLASS: I… I take it from your tone that this is not another layer to the roleplay. (SIGHING) Fine, I’ll play along. Under arrest for what?

JUNO: The attempted theft of the Mask of Grimpotheuthis.

GLASS: I haven’t the first idea what you’re talking about.

JUNO: And for stealing the keys to my safe right out of my pocket.

SOUND: KEYS JINGLING.

GLASS: Ha ha… yes, well, that does sound more familiar.

JUNO: You want to know what the second thing was? It was the mask’s case. A perfectly circular cut – the kind of cut that compass in your pocket might be able to make.

GLASS: Very perceptive! I knew I’d regret letting you root around in there. But I couldn’t resist.

JUNO: I had it figured out before then. You called the case “smashed.” It wasn’t smashed – it was broken into cleanly. A burglary, not a struggle. Why the hell would Croesus Kanagawa’s killer take the mask out so quietly, and then leave it behind like that?

You must have been interrupted. You cut that circle in the glass, but didn’t have time to pull it out – and then Croesus came along.

GLASS: I had to make good my escape, and quickly – you have no idea about the security in that mansion, Juno. There ought to be a law!

JUNO: Who are you really?

GLASS: Oh, what’s in a name, Juno? We’re all but shapes, moving through this void of ours; it so great, and we so small.

JUNO: I need to know.

GLASS: You may want to know, love, but you don’t need to. A signifier to these senses you feel – it might make things simpler. But life is hardly simple, Juno, and neither am I.

I don’t tell anyone my name. It would take someone very special for me to tell it now.

JUNO: I knew it was you. But I thought you’d…

So is Wire in on it too, then? You two working together?

GLASS: Who? Oh, you mean Dark Matters? No, no, Juno. They told you the truth. The truth as they knew it, at any rate. I do answer to the name Rex Glass – for the moment.

JUNO: You got into Dark Matters on your own?

GLASS: (LAUGHING) Not alone. It pays to have powerful friends, Juno, when one makes powerful enemies. You’ve demonstrated as much with the Kanagawas.

Allow me to shift the focus of our conversation, will you?

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

JUNO: You’ve got about two minutes before the cops get here. You can say whatever you want until then.

GLASS: Hyperion City isn’t the safest place for you at the moment, is it? In one day you’ve made enemies with two of the largest crime families in town – hardly wise. It sounds to me like you need to… disappear.

And I happen to be an expert in disappearance.

JUNO: Taking off takes a lot of things I don’t have. Money. Self-respect.

GLASS: Oh, but you do have those things, Juno! You can leave Hyperion City behind; I’ll leave my powerful friends behind. We’ll sell the mask and live a life of thrills and decadence across the galaxy, always running, never looking back. We could have quite a time together, Juno. Who knows what kind of trouble we could cause?

SOUND: KNOCKING. DOOR OPENS.

JUNO: Officers.

VOICE 10: This our guy?

GLASS: I could be, officer. Just give me a chance.

JUNO: Be careful with him. He’s slippery.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

GLASS: It could be quite an adventure, Juno.

JUNO: I’m sure it will be. I wish I could come along.

I’ll be down at the station in a minute.

GLASS: You’re so cute like this, Juno. Until we meet again.

SOUND: DOOR CLOSES.

JUNO (NARRATOR): He was gone. His smell still lingered in the air – that cologne I never could place. A scent from some other planet, like nothing I’d ever smelled before. It’d take weeks to get that stink out.

I needed to clear my head a minute before I drove over. I poured myself another drink…

SOUND: LIQUID POURING.

…and that’s when I saw it. A little slip of paper, sticking up between the cushions. He must’ve written it behind his back. I’d believe he could do anything.

GLASS (NARRATOR): Juno,

If you wish for one last glimpse of me, watch the public access feed for Route 742. Somewhere around Mercury Drive, I suspect… but no farther than Vulcanis Way. Get a good look, detective: it may be your last.

I do hope it isn’t, though. I meant every word I said, Juno. It will be quite an adventure. I’ll be waiting for you to join me.

Signed, Your Better Half, Peter Nureyev

JUNO: Damn!

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

JUNO: Rita!

RITA (FROM COMMS): (YAWNING, GROGGY) M-Mista Steel…? Whatta you doin’, callin’ me—

JUNO: Rita, I need you to get me a call with Sasha Wire. Now.

RITA (FROM COMMS): Who…?

JUNO: Agent W. The Dark Matters woman who called this morning.

RITA (FROM COMMS): She said it was con-fi-dent—

JUNO: Just call her, damn it!

RITA (FROM COMMS): Alright! Testy, testy…

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I couldn’t wait. I had to know.

SOUND: STATIC BLIP. TV CHANNELS CHANGING.

JUNO: Come on, come on, god damn it, Nureyev, where are you?

SOUND: DISTANT SIREN.

JUNO: Damn it!

MUSIC: STARTS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): It was exactly where he said it would be. Route 742. Mercury Drive. The cop car was parked on the sidewalk. Sitting on the ground beside it, in nothing but their skin and their skivvies, were the two cops who’d picked him up earlier. They were hog-tied, their mouths gagged. And Nureyev was nowhere in sight.

I checked my pocket. The key to my safe was gone.

JUNO: No!

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

WIRE (FROM COMMS): Juno! This line is confidential! If you needed me so badly, you should have had Agent Glass call!

Where is he?

JUNO: Wish I knew, Sasha. Come on down sometime and I’ll tell you the whole story.

WIRE (FROM COMMS): You’ll tell me the story now, Juno. Juno!

SOUND: COMMS BEEP.

JUNO (NARRATOR): That’s how things go, in Hyperion City. One day, she’s your daughter; next day, she’s your killer. One minute, he’s your partner; next minute… he’s gone.

I drank until I couldn’t think anymore and then I passed out on the couch. Sasha might have called a few times, but I didn’t answer. Couldn’t trust her. I couldn’t trust anyone just then.

But when you get hurt by the big mean world, you lick your wounds, and you start over. The world gets a little bigger, a little meaner. Maybe you do, too.

And in the meantime, sleep; sleep, and the smell of Peter Nureyev in the air. It would take weeks for that smell to fade. I’ve missed it ever since.

MUSIC: ENDS.

***

SOUND: RAIN & MUSIC.

CONCIERGE: The tale you’ve just heard, Part Two of Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask, was told by the following people: Joshua Ilon as Juno Steel, Noah Simes as Peter Nureyev, Dan Squizzero as Zhu Fang, Sophie Kaner as Agent Sasha Wire, Cecil Kanagawa, and Cassandra Kanagawa, Kate Jones as Rita and Min Kanagawa, and Kevin Vibert and Ryan Meyer as the ensemble.

On staff at The Penumbra: Ryan Meyer is our recording engineer. Kevin Vibert is our lead writer and sound effects designer. Sophie Kaner is our director, lead editor, and sound designer. Juno’s theme was written by Ryan Vibert.

The Penumbra was created by Sophie Kaner and Kevin Vibert.

I’m so sorry you’ve been called away, dear Traveler. We eagerly await your return.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

#juno steel

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forkanna · 6 years ago

Link

Trigger warning for gross male behaviour and attempted sexual assault. And continuing racism.

And yes, I know it's a dumb thing to throw in a Back To The Future easter egg when that has nothing to do with the Wizard of Oz. Leave me alone and let me have my fun! I had always intended to have something like this happen in this chapter, but seeing the #MeToo stories after Harvey Weinstein was accused (yes, it was written that long ago) made me feel it was necessary to make sure it was part of the fic, to not just gloss over it. Writing these kind of scenes is always very tricky, especially to make them real and graphic enough to make an impression on the reader without making it seem like I enjoyed writing them. I don't, didn't, and can't. Hopefully this hits the intended note.

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

"I said, wake up, girl!"

The word "up" had been punctuated by a slap across her face. Elphaba jerked up, eyes fluttering as she tried to shrug off the disorientation.

She was in some sort of office. The trimmings were bare and grubby, and a wooden desk was off to one side of her, laden down with papers and assorted odds and ends. Much more of interest to her were the two men, wearing some sort of domed helmets with emblems on the front of them, and blue button-up shirts with stars over the left breast. One had a handlebar moustache, curling up at the ends; the other a full beard.

"She's comin' 'round," one of them muttered. Her eyes were still a bit blurry to focus fully on which had spoken.

"Wha… where am I? Munchkinland?" The blue was her only hint so far.

"Police station," the bearded one said shortly.

"You're in a heap o' trouble, missy," the other one chuckled. "What 'n the Sam Hill d'you think you was gonna do with that poor li'l girl? Or don't I wanna know the answer?"

Now her brain was beginning to demystify, and she sat up a little straighter. "Me? What are you doing with her? Drugged up so badly she can barely move, she can't control her bladder! It's disgraceful!"

A hand reached up to fist in her hair, drawing her head back. Elphaba felt her heart drop, pain flare along her roots, but she kept her eyes narrowed and stabbing up into his all the while. "What you say to me, negro? I oughtta-"

"Jeb," the other man sighed warningly. A half-second later, Jeb sat back and released her, and he rolled his eyes toward the ceiling before he said flatly, "Y'know you ain't supposed to be in there. Staff only, and that don't mean cleanin' girls."

"It seems to me that you should be asking why a perfectly normal girl has been shocked, and beaten, and given medicine that she doesn't need," Elphaba snapped immediately. She saw Jeb straining to react, but he seemed to remember the other man's warning and restrained himself.

"Ain't your business, y'hear? An' what were you tryin' to do with all that in the pack?"

When Elphaba didn't respond right away, not sure she should, Jeb stood and retrieved said pack. Inside were her spare dresses and the fruit. "Ain't never seen no dress like these before. You straight from one o' them boats, come to America?"

"Excuse me?" Not that she knew what an America was.

"Maybe she ain't coloured in the same way," the bearded man mused, stroking it as he thought. "Could be an Injun girl. Skin ain't dark enough."

"Is that what this is about? My skin tone?" That was the most absurd thing she had ever heard. She'd finally gotten rid of that absurd green hue, and it still wasn't good enough for these uniformed hooligans! And her current colouring was perfectly normal! Some people just wanted to find something to fight about, no matter how preposterous.

"Hush up," Jeb snapped. Then he leaned a little further forward. "Seems to us you was about to kidnap that poor filly. Don't know what a coloured girl wants with a white girl, 'cept to sell 'er off."

She moved to fold her arms over her chest, and only then did she feel metal enclosing her wrists and keeping them behind her back. The metal was warm by now, which might have been why she didn't notice right away. "You- those are my things. Didn't have a thing to do with Dorothy; I only wanted to stop in and see how she was doing, and good thing I did!"

"You really don't know what you done wrong? I ain't never heard a coloured girl try and weasel her way outta trouble so bad as this. Know what I think?"

"Jeb…"

"Think you're one o' them queer women. Like the widows over yonder in Boston." He stood and began to walk in a slow circle to stand behind her. "Kidnappin' a poor li'l farm girl… or maybe you's thinkin' you'd ransom her back to her folks, if she had any. Or white slavery, like I said afore."

"Enough." Sighing again, the bearded man turned back to Elphaba, all business. "Don't matter why you done it. Trouble is, even if you ain't been caught doin' more than just bein' in the wrong place, we can't turn y' loose into the street; gotta make an example of you."

The man with the mustache smiled at his companion. "Put her in the pen for the night? Ought to make her think twice."

"Reckon that'll do it," he sighed, looking distinctly queasy about the prospect. Not that Elphaba understood much of this; she understood she had trespassed, due to needing a key that didn't belong to her in order to enter Dorothy's room, but given that the girl was being kept against her will and mistreated, she couldn't summon any remorse for her own actions.

"Fine," she snapped in irritation. "Put me in this 'pen' of yours." After all, she wouldn't be in there for more than half of a day at the most before a magic belt would rescue her. The simplest solution was to stop fighting against these matters and wait for them to resolve themselves with her complete and utter disappearance.

They seemed to readily accept her suggestion. In short order, she was dragged out of the chair and thrown into a small cell bordered by iron bars, taking the cuffs off just before shutting the door — or gate, as might be a more accurate description when it was made entirely of bars. A handful of other prisoners were in there already, but most of them were seated against the wall or curled up against the bars. One bench was in the cell, and it was already taken up by a lump of someone trying to sleep.

"A night in there oughtta make you more cooperative," Jeb sneered.

"As if I haven't been entirely cooperative up until now!" she shouted at their retreating backs, completely affronted. "You're the ones who've been treating me without any shred of courtesy!"

Realising they weren't going to bother with her any further for the rest of the night, she watched as the bearded man chatted with Jeb for a moment before leaving the room, then Jeb settled himself in a chair. Bored, she turned back to the rest of the cell.

Immediately, she noticed several sets of eyes focused upon her. Some felt like leers, some were openly hostile. But some of them were merely curious. Elphaba looked around for somewhere to sit away from the door. There was no empty space. So she stepped to one side of the gate and leaned back against the wall, trying to make herself comfortable.

It was some time, perhaps the greater portion of an hour, before one of the men staggered over to the latrine. Elphaba averted her eyes.

"Whassa matter, girl?" One of the other prisoners was addressing her, not the one relieving himself. "Never seen one o' those before?"

"I haven't," she told him firmly through her teeth. "And I've survived this long without it, so no thank you."

"Whoo-ee! You sure do talk purty."

Elphaba decided against acknowledging the dubious compliment. Instead, she pretended to be vaguely interested in a spot on the ceiling. After a moment or two, another man joined in: "Yeah, one of them educated coloureds. Bet we can find more better uses for that mouth."

While a couple of them chuckled, one in the corner with extremely shaggy hair, beard and eyebrows groaned, "Lyle, will you shove it? Some of us is tryin' to sleep."

"And I'm tryin' to have a little fun here. We got us a woman in here with us, can't go nowhere, an' all you wanna talk about is sleepin'? You ain't a real man."

"And you ain't no gentleman or you wouldn't talk like 'at." There was some booing, so the man fell silent, but he had made his point known.

Things grew silent for a while. Elphaba was beginning to think maybe the novelty of her arrival had worn off, and she would be able to pass the time in relative silence. It was a bit premature.

"Listen," said "Lyle" as he approached her an hour or so later, voice quieter. He smelled strongly of some powerful kind of drink, and looked as if he normally shaved but hadn't bothered in several days. The hair atop his head was thinning and he was missing a tooth, and even without these factors, he wasn't a terribly appealing specimen. "You and I both know you ain't a lady, so it ain't any kind o' discourtesy for me not to be no gentleman."

"We do, do we?" she muttered shortly.

"Yeah." His hand came to rest on her waist, and she had to resist the urge to immediately fling it off. But she was biding her time. "C'mon, now… let's have some fun, girl. Stuck in this hog pen… we can have ourselves a waller."

Her smile was ingratiating. She had seen Glinda do it enough times to manage a similar effect, even if not quite. But the man was drunk enough that he couldn't catch the biting sarcasm. "Enlighten me. What is a 'waller' and why should we have it?"

"You know."

"I don't. But perhaps if you explain it, we could find out my opinion on the matter."

One of the men whistled and then laughed, and Lyle shot him a glare. But he didn't bother to divert his attention from his current goal any further. Turning back with a grin, he leaned in close to her ear to whisper, "I'll make a woman outta you. Right here up against these bars. Open you up and see if you's brown on the inside, too."

"Mmm," she cooed. "Well, I definitely know exactly what the chances of that are."

"Oh, you do, do you?"

"Yes."

There was something about Elphaba and her habits during their days on the run from the Wizard's forces and Morrible's wrath that almost seemed unimportant. Even though she did learn a few spells that would help she and Glinda clean and keep house, mostly, they had learned to do it by hand. Two years of housekeeping, scrubbing, shifting boulders or furniture, woodworking to make new furniture. It got even worse during the weeks at Kiamo Ko Keep; there was a lot of work to be done, and they all pitched in to make the space liveable. Once they had made the Royal Palace their home, Elphaba had fully intended to put those days of hard physical labour behind her completely… but she had only spent a few nights lying awake, feeling too restless to sleep, before she figured out why. After that, she had resumed a regular amount of work; when the Palace staff rebelled, telling her that it was their job to take care of such things and not the job of a Councilwoman, she began doing some of the same actions without any obvious gain other than maintaining that use of energy to which her body had become accustomed. And a bit of woodworking as a hobby; Glinda and she had done it together, and occasionally, Nessa joined them.

All of which might appear to some as irrelevant… until Elphaba grasped the man's wrist and forced it away with relative ease, despite his superior size.

"O-ow, hey, what're-"

"The chances are less than zero," she told him in a firm tone, her smile turning cold and sinister. Something else she had a lot of practice with now. "I am not a 'girl', and I am not interested in a 'waller' with you. And regardless of what hue I am on the inside, you will never discover that. Do we have an understanding?"

"Listen, you bi- AH!" The twisting of the wrist in the direction that it certainly didn't go cut off his protestation, and his face contorted in sheer pain. "Giddoff, giddoff!"

"Do we… have… an understanding?"

"Yes'm! Leggo, please!"

Finally, she did, and he cradled his arm as he slunk back to his corner of the cell. Now she could tell most of the eyes were on her, regarding her with suspicion, wariness. Anger as if she had disappointed them by not being at all what they had been expecting. Only one man looked faintly amused and pleased, and that was the one who had told Lyle to calm down earlier.

It was going to be a much longer night than she first predicted.

~ o ~

It was the wee hours of the morning when Lyle struck again. Elphaba had been dozing off and on, as had most everyone in the cell. The man who had been sleeping on the single bench was released by Jeb at some point, and another man along the wall took his place when no one else claimed it fast enough. She felt somewhat offended that no one had thought to offer it to the single lady present, but then again, these men of Kansas seemed to have no idea about proper manners. It was the kind of thing that would have had Glinda screaming at them to behave.

The thought of Glinda had made her smile as she curled up against the wall, where the man now in the cot had been. Feeling the slight warmth of the floor in the spot and finding it comforting in a moment when she had little comfort. That, and the thought of her beloved.

That's what she was, after all. They were right to plan for a marriage. She had only been resistant to the notion because such pomp did not suit her preferences, which were to keep to herself and her circle of friends. Being in charge of the fate of Oz, even partially, had not been something she sought on its own merits — only to ensure that their world was not made any worse. Now that Ozma could be in charge, taking the larger share of the spotlight and being the people's favourite, she was much happier.

But Glinda wanted to do things properly, and she wouldn't deny her that. Besides… even if she didn't feel the same need to show her off in front of Lurline and everyone, she was proud of her roommate. Proud and highly fond. Two lovers often married if they intended to remain lovers, and if that was expected of her, she would gladly do it. For Glinda's sake.

She couldn't know how much time had slipped past while she slept when she felt a hand somewhere it certainly didn't belong. Her eyes flashed open to see Lyle's smirking face as he continued to pet up and down the back of her thigh.

"No."

"Now, now, I gave you time to think on it," he whispered, not stopping in the slightest. "Hopin' you'd see sense on yer own. But you ain't."

"No, Lyle."

His smile vanished, replaced by a colder look. "Ain't no negro woman gonna tell me 'no'. We can either have a good time, or you can have a bad one, an' I'll have a good'n anyhow. Really want it that way?"

All the while he spoke, her stomach had been churning to feel him doing something that was not his right to do. If she had her magic, he would have been incinerated for daring to ignore her wishes. As it was… "You're not going to have any kind of time. Get… your hand… off."

"Suit yerself." And he began to pull her dress up.

This time, when she grasped his arm, he was ready, and his other hand came up to stop hers. The arm beneath her body was trapped, so she couldn't use two on him, and was busy struggling with the one as his hand was free to keep pulling until she was partially exposed. Her face flushed with embarrassment and anger, and she wanted nothing more than to kill him where he stood. Why did she feel trapped? He was nothing to her, and his strength negligible. Somehow, the fact that he was attacking her in such a disgusting way made her feel a certain shame that she couldn't quite articulate. As if speaking out against him, or forcing him away, would be admitting that this was happening in the first place. And she didn't want that.

"Don't fuss now," he kept on as he pet her bare thigh. Bile tried to make its way up her throat, and her eyes stung. "A little fun an' you can go back to sleep." When she tried to sit up, he shoved her back down. "I said… don't fuss."

But she was definitely going to fuss. It seemed that he had thought that little show of force was going to be enough to quiet her protests. It wasn't; instead, it was just enough to prompt the stubborn witch into action.

"GUARD!" she shouted in a voice that might even have carried outside the building. "Handle your prisoners!"

The hand on her arm moved up to clamp over her mouth. That might have cut off another shout, but it also was the wrong move. She was able to pop up to a sitting position with her other arm propped up against the ground. Even better: due to the way he was crouched over her, it was a simple matter for her other arm to flash upward and injure the part of his anatomy driving him to perpetrate such acts of perversion.

The howling of pain was what brought Jeb to the door of the cell. By the time he arrived, a few of the other prisoners were awake and staring at Lyle as he curled in on himself, rolling around and clutching between his own legs. Elphaba was fully sat up with her back straight, eyes narrowed down at him.

"Wasn't that fun?" she flung at him in a growl.

"Alright, alright!" the guard snapped at all the men who were either wincing or chortling at Lyle's misfortune. "You already causin' trouble, girl?"

"She got me good! Oh… oh, I ain't never gonna have no kids!"

"Like you was gonna have kids, anyway, Lyle." His eyes swept back to Elphaba and he glared right back at her. "Don't make me come in there after ya."

Grin dark and vicious, she snapped, "I don't care what you do, pissant. Clearly, you are tasked with keeping order in this place, and clearly, you are not up to that task."

There was a whistling and a laughter of a different kind coming from the rest of her fellow inmates now. Jeb didn't appreciate it, as the way his cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed seemed to suggest. Curling and uncurling his fists, he reached for the keyring and snapped at her, "Get up, girl."

"What if I don't?"

"I'm gonna put you in a different cell. Don't get up, and it'll be just you and Lyle."

"Fate worse 'n death," said the man who had also jeered at her along with Lyle. A few chuckles accompanied her as she pushed her dress back into place, then slowly stood and approached the bars.

"Hands behind your back, and turn around." She obeyed. Once the door was open, he immediately put the manacles he'd used before around her wrists. They were of an unusual design, and tightened just enough for her wrists; even while she was still furious about what had happened, annoyed that no one seemed to care, she was curious about how such a device was made.

"Can we come, too?" asked one of the men in the corner. He was ignored, though a couple of the others laughed. They seemed to do that a lot.

Jeb took her around the corner to another cell. This one was much smaller, filthier, and had only a wooden plank in the corner to serve as a cot. He unlocked the door and shoved her inside, and she staggered to lean against a wall before she could regain her balance. Then she whirled to glare at him.

"You know, the way a man treats his equals is not a measure of his character. It's how he treats those in an inferior position. Think about that every time you remember how you shoved a woman in handcuffs around."

Jeb glared at her for a long moment. Then he drew his hand back and brought it hard across the side of her face. She felt her body collide with the wall, the room spun, but she did not fall. She fought off the dizziness and forced herself to stand again, to glare at him as a copper flavour began to blossom along her taste buds.

"Had just about enough o' your mouth, whore. Come in here, makin' me look bad in front o' Hoss, in front o' the other prisoners. An' you jus' a coloured girl, ain't nobody important, actin' like you is. That's enough outta you, y'hear?"

Elphaba glared daggers at him for a long moment. Then she worked her mouth until she had a good, thick gob and spat it into his face. The splotch of red blood mingled with the saliva made quite a pattern outward from his cheek, and he flinched in shock.

"What colour is that on your face? My blood. That you don't deserve to touch, but you caused it to be there. What a disgusting excuse for a person you are."

He reached up to backhand her again, but this time she ducked the blow and he connected with the wall instead. Taking her opportunity, she lashed out with her leg and shoved at his stomach so that he staggered back out of the cell. Desperately, she wanted to break free, to run, but he was already struggling to his feet, he would definitely catch her with minimal effort. She didn't even know if she could turn the knob to the entrance of the building with her arms pinned in such a way.

So she kicked the door to the cell shut. It latched with a loud CLANG.

"Damn you!" he snarled, rattling the bars. He went for his keys, but she spat at him again, and this time he pulled back out of the way. "SICK! I don't want none o' your… your darkie diseases!"

"Then you'd better not come in here again, or I'll spit on you until you're covered in them!"

They regarded each other for a long moment. He seemed to realise that she meant business, and that nothing he could do would change the situation. Then he grumbled, "Lyle's plum crazy. Wants anything to do with some girl like you… plum crazy."

Then he was gone. For the first time since that moment in the closet, she felt well and truly alone, and found it to be a relief. Even if she would have wished for Glinda to be there, to put her arms around her and tell her everything would be alright… if she couldn't have that, she would take solitude with a glad heart.

~ o ~

Uncomfortable though it was to lay down with her hands still bound in the small of her back, Elphaba did manage to get a little more sleep once her racing pulse left her alone. It took a long time. Thoughts continued to crash through her mind. When she wasn't dwelling on Lyle or Jeb's misdeeds, differing in variety of transgression as they were, she was worrying about Dorothy's wellbeing. Missing Glinda. Everything had turned into such a mess in a small fraction of a day. How could the Kansas girl ever have wanted to come back to this awful place?

She was awoken by a banging on the bars. "Get up," said another voice she didn't recognise. Blinking stupidly, she tried and was unable. "Hurry now."

"I can't," she croaked, throat dry. Only then did she realise she hadn't eaten since before she first arrived. Or had more than a brief drink of water.

There was a put-upon sigh. By the time the man had entered, she realised this was another uniformed person, but not either of them from the evening before. His mustache was of a more traditional sort, bushy and covering his upper lip, unlike Jeb's which had been waxed to curl at the points. He reached down behind her, and she tensed all over-

And hated herself for doing it. After one single incident, one she thought was stupid and ridiculous, she had expected that he would do what the prisoner had done. Her stomach tightened, her pulse ticked up in speed, and her breath stopped entirely until she heard the key sliding into the lock of the restraint. Only then could she breathe again.

He noticed. As he was drawing the metal cuffs away, he squinted at her reaction, but then continued to stand. "Up ya get, girl. C'mon."

Elphaba managed to stand. He neither helped her nor further tried to chivvy her along as she worked to regain her footing. Once she was standing, swaying slightly, he turned and exited the cell, then waited for her to do the same.

As he led her past the bars of the other cell, Lyle saw her and scrambled to his feet to throw himself up against the bars. His eyes were full of unbridled fury, and his knuckles turned white where they clutched at the bars. Spittle ran down from the corner of his mouth as he watched her go.

"You'll git yours, slut! Just you wait an' see!"

"Here, now!" the officer barked, and drew out a smallish wooden club from his belt and slapped it against the bars. Lyle leapt backward in alarm; it had just barely missed his fingers. "Settle down in there."

"You'd better do as the man says," the shaggy one who had admonished Lyle before said, merriment in his eyes. "She ain't nothin' to ya, and you ain't nothin' in the first place."

While everyone else was guffawing and chiding him for his outburst, Lyle's face burned with mingling rage and embarrassment. Good, Elphaba thought. Now he knows the tiniest fraction of how he made me feel.

The officer was leading her to a tiny office, one with a door, unlike the desk she had been at when she first awakened in this gaol. The door shut behind them. On the desk were two simple metal platters, piled with a sticky-looking greyish substance. A little clearish-yellow puddle was in the dead center.

"Et up," he told her as he sat down on the other side, taking up his spoon.

Elphaba sat. After a moment of watching him stir the muck around and begin eating it, she did the same — and it hardly tasted like anything. She pulled a face. Still, it was food, and she was starving. Once the muck was stirred a little more, the flavour seemed to gain a hint of saltiness that hadn't been present before, which made it more palatable. Enough to stomach the rest of it.

About halfway through, she paused and wiped at her mouth, swallowed. Then she asked, "What are you feeding me for?"

"Hm? Ain't you eat?"

"Well… I do, yes."

"Then eat."

Left with no other choice, she finished her plate. Then she sat back and sighed pleasantly.

"Good." He took the time to dab at his mouth, then looked up at her. "You aim to tell us what you were doin' slinkin' around the loony bin?"

"Loony…? Ah." Caught off her guard, Elphaba fumbled, "I, um… well, I was visiting a friend."

"That girl, Dorothy? Ain't got any friends, way I heard tell. Her Ma and Pa dropped her like a sack of ol' potatoes."

"Uncle and Aunt."

"Eh?" He glanced down at a notepad that was open in front of him. Until that moment, Elphaba had paid it no mind in the slightest. "So they were. Orphan girl, I hear."

"That's right. Her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry took her in after she lost her parents." As often as she heard Dorothy mutter those two names, she practically had them tattooed on the inside of her skull.

"Mmm. Poor thing. But I can't figure how a coloured girl'd know Miss Gale, or why she'd sneak in to see her. I mean, what with negroes bein' free an' all nowadays, cain't be their kept girl."

Again, the stipulation that she was "free". As opposed to what? Costly? But Elphaba was trying her best not to let it become readily apparent that she was not native to the Land of Kansas. So she merely shrugged her shoulders and muttered, "She's a friend, as I stated before. And I was worried about her welfare — and rightly so! Do you know they've got her locked in a room with practically nothing? Dosed until she can barely move, shocked with… with I don't know what!"

By now, the bristle-mustached officer was a little surprised at all of her unnecessary explanation. She could have kicked herself, but it was too late for that. So she merely waited for him to finish nodding down at his plate, and then to speak again.

"Yep. So you says. Reckon you wouldn't have much use for her otherwise, and you ain't have anything like a gun on ya to scare off anybody tryin' to stop ya. Mighty stupid… and I don't peg you for a dummy."

Elphaba only understood every third word the man said, but it sounded like he was agreeing with her, so she didn't try his patience. "Sorry for the trouble I've caused."

"Mm. Jeb was jammerin on this mornin' that you spit on 'im, kicked him outta the cell. That true?"

"I… I'm afraid it is." Her entire body braced for the impact of his retribution. Instead, he only chuckled, eyes crinkling in a way that his mouth couldn't show from behind that mustache. "Sir?"

"Funny as heck to me, miss. Coloured girl with her hands cuffed licks one o' my men? He oughtta be tarred and feathered, and thrown out into th' streets. Not fit to be an officer of the law."

"Begging your pardon, but I'm glad he wasn't very fit, or I might not be alive."

He nodded, his laughter finally petering out as he scrutinised her face. Then his nods finished up with a stronger one. "Maybe so. Too much fire in that boy's belly. Glad you gave 'im a little humility; good for 'im."

"If you say so."

"Tell you what. Y'ain't seem t' me like much of a risk, or a dangerous type. Another night in the cell, I'll turn ya loose. But you better see Little Miss Dorothy through proper procedure next time, y'hear?"

"Well, I suppose I ought to find her aunt and uncle first. Do you know where they are now?" An idea occurred to her. "Ever since the storm, I'm afraid I'm not sure where they're living."

"Not sure? Ain't you their mammy?"

Elphaba had no idea what he meant by this, though it sounded like he was implying she was Dorothy's grandmother. Deciding that probably wasn't it, she said, "Just a family friend" and left it at that.

"Fair 'nough." He thought for a moment, tapping his chin with the end of his pencil. Then he said, "Tell you what. On account of you rilin' up the men in the drunk tank, how's about I take you down t' see Hank an' Em? Maybe we can straighten this whole thang out."

"Oh, they wouldn't remember me," she said with a laugh. "Dorothy does, but…" Still, she might be able to work this to her advantage. "But I would like to speak with them all the same. The doctors really weren't forthcoming at the asylum, because they couldn't seem to believe I was Dorothy's guest."

"Ain't many coloured women want anythin' to do with that place."

"Maybe not, but I don't appreciate being called a kidnapper."

"Might be one. I ain't seen any proof different." Still, he was already standing, reaching beneath his shirt to hitch up his pants. "Let's git to goin'."

~ o ~

Apparently, this "goin'" was to be accomplished in a horse-drawn cart of some sort. Elphaba's escort took them outside the city proper and its drab, lackluster buildings, into the surrounding cornfields and featureless pastures with somewhat odd beasts grazing in them. The way was quite bumpy, and she felt obliged to hold on for dear life as they bumped over the road toward their destination. The police captain, whose name turned out to be Will, said very little along the way, but he did ask a question or two that Elphaba did her best to answer. Some of them, such as "Where at in Africa your kin from?" meant literally nothing to her, so she had to throw out such winning responses as "Don't remember".

Eventually, after what felt like a year of unpleasant riding, they reached a small farmstead. The house was much larger and more noteworthy than the tiny shack that had landed near Nest Hardings; there was a tiny amount of pale yellow paint adorning the eaves and the shutters. Elphaba found herself wondering if they had entered the Vinkus before she caught herself.

A brief knock brought a young woman to the door. She looked to be about Dorothy's age, perhaps a bit younger, and her russet hair reminded her strongly of Ozma's. Bare feet stuck out the bottom of a dingy dress of muted colours that swished around her ankles, still moving quite a bit from her most likely having run from several rooms away to see whom had knocked. After smiling at them, she seemed to be startled enough by the mismatched pair that her smile vanished, and she ducked her head shyly.

"Evenin', missy," the man said, doffing his hat. Underneath, he was very nearly bald, and what hair was left was grey and wiry. "Might I inquire after Hank and Em Gale?"

It took her a moment of staring openly at Elphaba before he found her voice. "M-mama?" she asked distantly. But a moment later, she seemed to come back to herself and called more loudly, "MAMA! Policeman at the door!"

Not long afterward, another woman, her own hair a darker blonde and wispy, came to the door to greet the strangers. She was more primly dressed, more polite, and had a better handle on her own manners, curtsying in front of the officer and then showing them into the parlour. Her daughter was shooed upstairs to hide away, since she was clearly uncomfortable around strangers.

"Sorry about my Frances," she told them in a pleasant-yet-flustered tone, shooing him into a chair. "Afraid we don't get many visitors out these parts. Can I fetch you a drink, sir? Cider, or anything stronger? I could put the kettle on…"

"No, no, ain't stayin' that long, miss," he assured her with a crinkle at the corner of his eyes. Elphaba resisted the temptation to comment on their host not offering her a beverage; she was beginning to accept her hypothesis that her skin tone meant she was of lower social standing, ludicrous as that was.

"Begging your pardon," she said, startling the woman and causing her to blink rapidly, "but might there be a Henry and Em Gale here?"

The woman didn't answer right away, but looked to her escort. When he nodded, she still directed her answer toward him. "Indeed there is. Sad story, it is; poor old things."

"Nasty twister, that one was," he sighed with a slow nod, staring off toward the parlour window. "Bunch o' folks lost good homes. Land."

"That's why we took them in, y'know. Em's so good with livestock, and my Frances, and Hank can work all day like I never seen; good and decent, Christian folk. Shame about their niece."

That most certainly caught Elphaba's attention. Sinking down onto the settee next to the "policeman", as the girl had named him, she asked, "What about their niece? I went to pay her a visit, and everyone behaved as if I was trying to kill someone."

But this woman, mother of Frances, was highly distracted. The way she was looking at Elphaba was the look of someone who had seen something highly unpleasant. She hadn't looked at her that way before. When no answer came right away, she glanced over at Will, hoping for some sort of revelation. He, too, seemed vaguely surprised, but not nearly as shocked or affronted as the hostess.

"I… well, alright. It's alright." Turning back to the hostess, Elphaba caught her sighing and passing a hand over her forehead before continuing, "We're part of the Union, after all. Just haven't ever had any…"

"Dorothy, ma'am?" the officer prompted.

"Right. She's off her rocker, I'm sad to say. Can't be all that shocked, as a good many people saw her go up in that house. Darned if I know how she survived! But that kind of thing can't be good for your mind, y'know. So… well, when she came back down, they found her and took her name, and brought her back to Em and Hank. Only she wouldn't quit jawin' on about nonsense, flyin' monkeys and I don't know what all! Well, that ain't the sort of thing I want fillin' my Frances' head, so… well, Em and Hank took care of it on their own, o' course. My Seamus never had to say a word, they already knew what was best."

That completed the picture that Elphaba had already more or less filled in along the way, save for a few details. So she had come back, been reunited with her family, only to have them dismiss her tale as the ramblings of a madwoman and have her sentenced to eternal isolation. It was abominable. Worse — it was unfamilial.

"And you and Seamus let them take care of the matter," she supplied in a numb tone. Again, she saw how uncomfortable the woman looked whenever she spoke, but she paid that no mind. "Could I ask them a few questions? The poor girl was so distraught when I tried to see her, I thought if I might learn a little more, I could talk some sense into her the next time I try."

"And… no offense intended, miss, but what good's a coloured woman from the big city goin' to do Dorothy?"

"Big city?"

"Sure. I mean… obviously, you come from New York or somewheres, talkin' like you do. Educated negroes don't much live 'round here."

Her jaw tightened in annoyance at all the sidetracking, but she tried to remember that shouting at her — or slapping that strangely condescending-yet-afraid look off her face — wouldn't make any strong progress toward her goals. So she forced the grimace into something like a smile.

"Listen, miss… what was it again?"

"Maggie."

"Maggie, yes. I'm an acquaintance of Dorothy's; we had a good many conversations, and she's a charming young woman. At least, she was before all this happened." She just barely kept from mentioning that the 'all this' to which she referred was what the doctors had done to her. "I'd like to see if we might restore her to who she once was."

Maggie scoffed a little. "And how on earth can you do that? Voodoo?"

"Might be. I do have a trick or two up my sleeve." When the hostess gulped, actually frightened now that she hadn't denied it, she turned back to Will. "Hope you don't mind? If we could get everything straightened out today…"

"'Course not," he sighed. He did look weary, but also as if grateful for the shortest route to settling the matter. "Ma'am, if you could point us in the right direction? Cain't take but a few minutes."

Curtsying slightly to show her deference to him as an authority figure, she shot Elphaba another wary glance as she whispered, "Right this way." But her eyes remained on the woman as she led them away from the parlour. Elphaba repaid that courtesy in kind.

Emily and Henry Gale were out in the barn. Both of them were hard at work, though not at any sort of frantic pace; happy to be of use. Elphaba spared a thought for how much their lives must have changed in the past months, since losing their home and everything they had ever held dear. Including Dorothy. Still, she wouldn't forget what she had seen — what they had done to their niece.

Henry was a man with about as much hair as Will, skin spotted with age and from working in the sun all his life. He swiped his forearm across his forehead as he got up from where he was helping another man, hair as bright red and blazing as the sun itself, fixing some sort of wheeled contraption meant to help them move produce from one place to another.

"Maggie!" Seamus called out, shadowing his eyes. "Who's this yer bringin', then?"

Unlike him, she didn't shout back, but waited until they were closer to call, "Officer William, from in Topeka! Says he has questions for Hank and Em!"

"Me?" asked Henry. He had been about to make himself scarce, believing this to be none of his business, but now turned back again, stunned. "Whatever about?"

In short order, they had all gathered around a horse trough while Seamus and Will shook hands, and Maggie went inside to fetch Em. Again, Elphaba felt soundly ignored, but she decided that soon enough she would be back in Oz and could forget all about the unprecedented rudeness she had found in Dorothy's homeland.

From everyone except Angeline, and to a lesser extent, Will. That would bear some remembering, even if everyone else had made the worst impression imaginable.

"Alright," Will said once they had all been introduced. Toto had come out of the barn, and Elphaba felt a slight flare of surprise to see him there; she had almost expected they would sell the dog off once Dorothy was no longer there to take care of him. "We had a couple o' questions about your Miss Dorothy, is all. Well… Miss Elphaba?"

The elderly couple looked a little surprised that the query would be coming from someone they had been ignoring since they got to the barn. Elphaba decided to sidestep that frustration and begin with, "I don't believe you'll remember me, but I'm an old acquaintance of Dorothy's. In passing, I heard that she had been put in that awful asylum and I tried to visit her. Can't begin to even explain how unacceptable the treatment I received there was, and what I've seen-"

"Sorry, but I don't know of any negro women our Dorothy was acquainted with," Em said in an astonished voice. "Fact, other than a few farmhands… I don't reckon she knew any negroes."

"You know, you all spend a lot of time using that word," Elphaba observed with a little more bite than she intended. "As if it automatically settles a lot of things that it most certainly does not! How about we forget 'negro' for a moment, whatever that's supposed to connote, and focus on the heart of the matter: that Dorothy is being gravely abused in that institution of yours!"

"Abused?" Henry blustered immediately, hands curling into fists as Toto barked to hear his stern tone. "What've they done to 'er?"

"Only fed her medicine that caused her to drool like a toothless old kalidah! Shocked her with…" It took her a moment to come up with the word. "'Lectricity, and even beaten her when she was uncooperative! It's bad enough to have shut her up in a room where she can be forgotten conveniently, but in my opinion, physical injury is a step too far! This would never happen in Oz, you know!"

Everyone fell silent at these accusations. However, it wasn't the sort of silence Elphaba had been vainly hoping she might enjoy. They were not outraged, they were not angered. Only saddened and uncomfortable.

"Well… yes, I s'pose that could be," Em said.

"Oswego?" Seamus mused quietly, having misheard Elphaba. "Never been that far south, can't say I've heard they have an asylum there."

"Didn't you say she was demented?" Will prompted, hoping to keep their discussion focused. "Saw nonsense things, talked 'bout 'em?"

"She was," Henry admitted, as distraught as the others. "We tried t' reason with her a bit more, get her to admit she dreamed up the whole mess, but when she got Frances all aflutter and scared, seemed only right we give her over to th' doctors. I ain't any expert on brains."

Elphaba wanted to scream. At them, and in general. This was really all the regret they could summon? But she forced herself to fire at them through her clenched teeth, "She's your family. Why aren't you more upset that she's being hurt on a daily basis?"

"Ain't that simple," Em said, though she was squirming. "The doctors know best; we're simple folk, mind. Can't know what to do with a child who's got a head all twisted up like that."

Finally addressing Elphaba himself, Seamus seemed to come to a realisation — even if he was the only one, and even if he only grasped a piece of the problem. "Look, lass. None of us wanted to have her sent away, did we? But she was ill of the mind, she was. Not a place for her here if she was ill. Had to take her somewhere she might get looked after better than by us, bein' uneducated farmers."

That much made sense. Even if they were quite wrong about the Topeka Insane Asylum being somewhere "better". Her rage had nowhere to go, so she spun on her heels and faced away from them, eyes threatening to stream tears as she stared out over the fields at the setting sun. The countryside was somehow beautiful when lit up in such a manner, even if it couldn't hold a candle to Oz and its splendour. A simple kind of elegance.

"Well, I reckon that's it," Will observed once a short silence had passed. A fresh sob burst from Em, but she still didn't turn to acknowledge it. "Thanky kindly for your time, sir, ma'ams."

"No trouble," Maggie said quickly, ever the hostess.

"Wait," Elphaba said, mastering her emotions and turning back to regard them coldly. It was the best she could do; Glinda might have been able to summon a smile after all that, but she wasn't Glinda. "I would appreciate some kind of… I don't know, decree, that I may visit her. The persons in charge there were highly opposed, and had me imprisoned for attempting to force my way in."

"An' somehow, she ain't the crazy one," Will muttered. But he wasn't trying to stop her.

In short order, Henry and Em signed a brief note stating Elphaba Thropp would be entitled to visit Dorothy — after they had finished with goggling at her unusual name — and the officer signed it as well, bearing witness to the event. Then they walked the guests to the front door.

"Take care, now," Henry told her in a pained voice, scratching behind Toto's ears.

"Tell Dorothy we'll come an' see her soon as we're able," Em said.

"I will. I will tell her that." Perhaps her tone, if not her words, conveyed that she would think far less of them if they never followed through on such a promise.

To Be Continued…

#The Coven Of Oz #forkanna writes #wicked fanfiction #the wizard of oz #fanfiction update #jess the writer

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