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need-a-fugue · 4 years ago

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Trustworthy (Chapter Two)

Summary: You’ve spent the last three years teaming up with Santiago Garcia on every mission you had a hand in coordinating… and the past several months plotting with him to take down the biggest bad to hit your radar. But even all your time at the DEA and all your experience in the field couldn’t have prepared you for this.

Pairing: Frankie “Catfish” Morales x Fem!Reader (slow burn)

Warnings: Language... shitty language. And maybe sheer size? This one’s nearly 6,000 words... I may have gotten a little carried away. 😬

It began as a drunken joke, a flippant what if…

“If no one else is gonna do it,” you’d slurred out, voice barely above a whisper despite the cantina being utterly empty aside from the two of you, “we should take the motherfucker out ourselves.”

He’d laughed at the time, and promptly cut you off before insisting on walking you home. He helped you along the uneven streets of Leticia, held back your hair as you blew chunks into a dark alley, even slept on your couch that night just to make sure you didn’t die in your sleep. That’s what he told you, anyway. But you suspected that Santiago stuck around that night because he just couldn’t get your words out of his head.

You hadn’t been so drunk that you’d failed to notice the way he went eerily silent following your seemingly ludicrous suggestion. You hadn’t been so far gone that you’d missed the sudden glint to his eyes, nor the crooked smile that wrapped around his face as you said the words, “I want Lorea dead.”

That next morning, he brought it up casually, asking – before you even had the chance to brush your teeth – if you remembered what you’d said. When you told him you remembered every part, he simply told you to go on, nodding slowly along as you dove headfirst into a painfully impulsive proposal, your words still tinged with a lingering, drunken idealism. You spilled out the disparate thoughts you’d been harboring for months, if not longer – the ones that together formed little more than the ill-conceived beginnings of a damn stupid plan – only to discover that they were precisely in line with what he’d been contemplating as well.

By the end of the week, you were introducing him to your longtime informant, a woman who’d worked for Lorea in some capacity for years. A gorgeous woman, whom you’re almost entirely certain Santi fell into bed with later that same night. And after just a few months of nearly constant off-the-record investigating – both of you becoming utterly consumed by the thought of bringing Lorea down – that crazy, ridiculous, fucked-up joke you’d made had become a highly illegal, morally questionable, might-just-get-you-fired-and-thrown-into-a-federal-prison plot for ending the reign of one of the premier drug traffickers in South America.

You’d started it. There was no denying that. You’d started the whole damn thing.

For nearly three years, you fought the good fight with Santiago Garcia down in Colombia. He was one of just a handful of people there whom you trusted. He actually was one of just a handful of people there you even really knew.

If you ever got to chose an advisor to head up a mission, he’d be it. Any raid that fell within your purview, he’d help to organize. Intel was slow in coming, CIs dropping off, bosses telling you not to leave Leticia and to remember to stay in your lane? No problem. Garcia to the rescue.

He was able to operate largely independently – unlike poor, bound-by-the-rules-and-regulations-of-the-DEA you. Local cops and the surrounding military actually liked him and never balked at bringing him in, mostly because he was more than capable of playing along with their bullshit. Hell, he was so good at it, that for the first few months you knew him, he had you convinced that he either completely bought into the very obvious corruption surrounding that Amazonian paradise, or – if he really didn’t see it – he was dumber than a fucking box of rocks.

But Santiago Garcia never missed a damn thing. And while he might have seemed to have written off the actions of certain officials or the peculiarities you both encountered, he never ignored – nor forgot – the individuals he suspected of collusion. He was just smart enough to know when to act.

You, on the other hand, well, you never were very good at not calling people out. For all your life, if you saw something that seemed funky, you’d say something… immediately. If you ever suspected someone of lying, plotting, taking bribes, just plain being dirty, you’d raise an accusing finger high. Hell, that’s the main reason you got sent down to that southernmost point of the country, transferred away from what you saw as being the real goings-on, to simply help keep an eye on the drug runs taking place at the border.

Santiago taught you to quell your initial reactions of raising a stink when you believed something was amiss. He urged you to stop seeing the word in a never-ending list of black and white rules. He showed you how to keep from boiling over and calling people out, a thing that undoubtably kept you from getting yourself reassigned somewhere you’d be less of a nuisance… again.

He also fed you intel, shared specifics of his suspicions, and helped get you into military-run raids where DEA might otherwise have been shut out. And in the time in between – when you would normally just stalk around your small apartment all alone or perhaps stalk about the city… also all alone – he provided friendship, that not-so-tiny thing you’d been lacking ever since getting transferred from your post and away from the workmates and friends you’d had for years in Mexico.

He was fun and sharp-witted and outgoing, eager to make friends with just about anyone. He invited you out for drinks, dancing, into local card games. And though you often wondered why – did he feel sorry for you because the local police and military alike treated you like a damn leper? Was he trying to show others that you were alright, despite being a gringa DEA agent? Did he simply want to fuck you? – you’d be lying if you were to say that you didn’t feel damn lucky he’d stumbled into your life and forced his friendship upon you.

And how did you repay him? For all of the invites he’d extended, all the drinks purchased, all the intel he threw your way, all the military-run raids he somehow managed to get you in on? All of the trust and faith he invested in you?

You’d set him on a path to ruin.

000

The bar was much larger than you’d anticipated, the quick drive-by you did on your way to the motel earlier this afternoon making the freestanding structure – out in the middle of nowhere, like everything else in this Bumblefuck, USA town – appear small. Maybe it was because the massive parking lot dwarfed it. Maybe it was because you were only half awake, at best, and just didn’t notice the size of the place. Maybe it was because Santiago drove past it at 65 miles per hour, alerting you to it – that’s where we’ll meet up tonight – just as you flew by, allowing little more than a meager glimpse.

Regardless, you expected… less.

But the place is huge. There are two bars on either side of the sprawling building and tables flanking the wide-open center, which you could only imagine would at some point be flooded with drunken townies, eager to dance the night away.

When you first arrived – well over an hour ago – it had been just you and a handful of incredibly loud bros populating the place. You took off for the far bar, ordered yourself a drink, and slinked into a large table in a dark corner, eager to remain invisible until Santi arrived with his friends… his crack team. But – just as you’d come to expect from Garcia – he was nearly an hour late, and by the time he and his brothers-in-arms strolled in, you’d already been spotted by the douchebags at the bar and had to fight off the advances of two separate assholes, each of whom only approached you when making their way back from the bathroom.

“I’m sorry, bonita,” Santiago had proclaimed with a wide smile and a not-at-all-stifled laugh after you told him of your troubles. He turned to face the group of strangers at the bar, caught the glares of a few of them, and shouted over a simple dictate to, “Fuck off!”

And that had been the cap to your introduction to your new co-workers. They strode in, all smiles and laughter and blooming drunken glows, coming from what must have been a great fight night, undoubtably made all the better by being together once again, only to be forced to shake hands with you… a jetlagged stranger, washed out in the low light, obviously frazzled by having a guy fresh from the men’s room – who probably didn’t even bother to wash his hands – wrap an arm around your shoulder and tell you that the bathroom door locks… in case you wanted to check it out with him later.

They took your uncomfortable story in stride, exchanging pleasantries and apologizing again for their tardiness – well, Will apologized at least – before grabbing some drinks and then plopping down at the isolated table you’d chosen.

For a bit, the group of them just talk to one another, tying up loose ends to the conversations they’d been having before arriving. You catch snippets of nah, man, she’s gone… didn’t work out and do you have any idea how expensive kids’ soccer is? as their conversation flows around you, seemingly oblivious to your existence. For those first ten minutes or so – save Santiago’s paltry threat shouted across the bar and Benny’s rather flirtatious introduction – the whole team settles in around you and acts as though you aren’t even here at all.

The only exception during this time is the pilot, Frankie Morales – had Santi called him Fish? He keeps quiet as the others speak, cracking a smile at their comments every now and then, but mostly nursing his beer and awkwardly picking at the label in silence. Every so often, he steals a glance over at you, as if to say, yeah, I know you’re here. His eyes are warm and friendly despite the otherwise utterly unreadable expression planted on his face.

Maybe you’re simply intrigued by the fact that he’s the only one actively acknowledging your presence, or it could be that you’re just rather curious to figure out what his placid expression is hiding. Or perhaps you’re merely a fan of the subtle beauty that his sharp profile paints on the background of the dark, seedy bar. Whatever the reason, you find yourself not just staring but gazing at the man long after he looks away.

“So, shoot me straight,” Will says suddenly, nudging your shoulder and tearing into your thoughts as he turns to face you. Your eyes bounce wildly away from Frankie’s face, a heat creeping up your neck as you light on the patient smile of the man next to you. “That file… it’s your work, right?”

“Hey,” Santiago scoffs from across the table, leaning over to backhand his friend in the chest. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Will’s face cracks and a deep rumble of a laugh spills out of him as he bites out, “It’s good work. Too good to come from your sorry ass.”

Santi scoffs, his hand flying to his heart with a wounded quality. You simply shrug, small smirk perking your lips as you feel some of the initial tension of the gathering – and the strange concern that you might actually have somehow become invisible – finally start to lift. “He helped,” you say, tone coy.

“Oh, c’mon,” Santiago gripes, giving you a slightly irritated, definitely amused look. “Half that intel came from me. The PNC, Colombian military, they barely even acknowledge you’re there.”

You interrupt with a snort and a scathing, “Yeah… it’s really fucking annoying when people do that,” before choking down the rest of your beer.

If he understands the jibe about your current situation, he doesn’t let on, instead pushing his point that, “None of them would’ve given you jack shit.”

“And the one informant who actually got all this started?” you counter, accusing brow raised high. “Who’s informant was that?”

His face begins to blush, just a bit of redness seeping into his cheeks, as he reaches out to grab your empty bottle. “She was mine in the end,” he mutters, shoving back from the table and rising from his stool. “I’ll get the next round.”

“Yeah,” you call out after him. “You owe me more than just a beer for stealing my CI!”

“I’ll get you a shot too!” he throws over his shoulder, never looking back as he makes his way to the bar.

You turn back to the men surrounding you, each of them now eyeing you warily, and a part of you wants to go back to when they ignored your presence entirely. Tom – what did Santiago call him? Redfly? – is the first to break the awkward silence, ticking his chin in your direction. “So,” he starts before pulling a long breath in through his nose. “DEA.” He overenunciates each letter and states rather than questions your affiliation, despite there being an inquisitive – or is it accusing? – glint to his eye.

“Yeah,” you say with a lingering nod. “Yep. DEA.”

“They teach you about this kind of thing?” Will asks, his drawl deep and languid. You turn to look at him, the imposing man by your side, and feel your shoulders tighten all over again when you see that the stern expression he had worn when first shaking your hand has returned. But then something lightens, the corner of his mouth ticking up just a bit, his gaze softening as your eyes meet. You’re certain that he can sense the rise in tension, understands with just a glimpse of your face that you’re way out of your element here. Intimidated. Nervous. And while the softening of his countenance doesn’t wipe away your anxiety completely, you do at least appreciate the attempt.

Ben, the tall, younger man flanking your other side, must notice the unease building up inside you too. He leans in and bops you with his shoulder, a light, buoyant laugh bursting out of him. “Aw, hell,” he emits breathily. “Leave her alone. If Pope trusts her, she’s got to be good.”

“Not saying she’s not good,” Will intones, shooting you a quick wink that, oddly, really does manage to set you at ease. “Just wondering how much experience she has with ops like this.” His eyes start to sparkle as they lock onto yours once again. “So, sweetheart, you ever pull a recon mission deep in the jungle?”

You offer an evasive shrug and release a tightly held breath. “I got lost in a corn maze once. Had to find my way out on my own. Probably would’ve starved in there if I hadn’t had the presence of mind to bring a funnel cake in with me.”

On your left, Ben snorts out another laugh, and across the table you see Frankie try to maintain that straight, impassive face. But Will’s deadpan expression doesn’t shift in the least. “Well,” he says with a sigh, bringing his nearly empty beer bottle up to his lips. “I guess that is pretty damn close.”

“Ha, ha,” Tom mocks. He waits to go on until you look his way, and once you do he levels you with what can only be described as a fatherly stare – oddly disappointed and imploring, stern and warm all at the same time. “We’re all very glad to hear that you have a sense of humor.”

“Very glad,” Ben interjects with a wide grin.

“But,” he continues, “You’re not gonna go in there and be part of this unless you can convince us that you’re capable.”

Santiago’s voice cuts in then, sounding over the clink of beer bottles as he lays out the next round on the table. “She’s capable,” he states simply before sliding back into his seat next to Frankie. “We’ve been on…” he glances over at you, “how many raids now?”

“At least a dozen,” you answer.

He gives a firm nod and lets his eyes drift between the men at the table. “She’s done good every time. Stays outta the way, does what she’s told.”

Your brow wrinkles and tugs tightly together, deep frown taking over your face. “Jesus, Garcia. I’m not a fucking dog.” He gives a quick laugh, but says nothing, prompting you to defend yourself. “I’ve worked with military advisors for years. Most of my career has been spent working alongside foreign armies and police forces. I’m not just some kind of desk jockey, I promise you that.”

“This is different.” The words flow across the table, the deep rumble sliding just beneath the reverberating bass coming from the jukebox in the corner. You look up and lock onto Frankie’s eyes, note immediately the hesitancy building behind them. He raises his brows as he looks at you, almost into you, and says simply, “This isn’t a raid. This isn’t some amateur hour bullshit put on by the local cops. And you won’t have the military or CNP or the US government at your back if something goes wrong.”

You nod, wanting – for some inexplicable reason – to pull your gaze from him, but finding that you just can’t. “I know. I get that.”

“Do you?”

Santiago gives his friend a little shove, just enough to cause him to look his way, breaking the odd hold he has over you. “She’s a good shot,” he tells him, tells all of them. “And she’s done enough undercover work for me to know that she sure as shit can keep her head.” He looks over at you again – “I still don’t know how you managed to get out of that shit in the comuna last year.” – and then gives a wry little laugh as his head shakes absently.

“Alright,” Tom mutters just as he slams down an empty bottle and reaches over to grab a new one. “She follows orders and keeps her cool… at least we can work with that.”

Benny nudges you with his elbow and when you look up at him you’re met with the widest, sunniest of smiles – never mind the deep split in his lip from the fight that he claims to have won just a few hours prior. “Hear that? That’s just about the best kind of approval you’ll ever get from Redfly.”

“Approval?” Tom shoots across the table. His voice drops an octave as he aims a serious stare over at you. “I’m still not convinced that we can actually trust you.”

“Jesus,” Santi breathes out with an annoyed air. “You really think I’d bring her here… hell, you think I’d have put all this together with her if I didn’t think – know – that she can be trusted?”

He shrugs. “You haven’t really known her that long,” he mutters thickly, his expression slipping back into something wary as he folds his arms across his broad chest and falls into a speculative silence as he mulls over his friend’s words.

You watch him closely, trying to discern what exactly he’s thinking. But long before you’re able to draw any sort of conclusion, Benny bumps you with his shoulder again and says simply, “Don’t worry about it, darlin’. He’s onboard.”

There’s a part of you that balks at the darlin’, just as you had almost called Will out on his use of sweetheart. But the truth is – both times – the names are uttered with a casual, even reassuring, cadence that you’re certain holds no demeaning intent. And you’ve been in enough male-dominated circles over the years to be able to discern at least that much. Even the way Ben’s looking at you now – genuine grin and kind eyes – seems to hold no innuendo. So you let it slide.

“How long did it take him to trust you?” you ask, the tension in your shoulders lifting when a throaty chuckle bubbles out of him.

“Oh, I don’t know that he does. I don’t know if Tom really trusts anyone.”

A snort of a laugh rings from the other end of the table, surprisingly coming from the Doubting Thomas himself. “You’re so full of shit,” he mumbles as he sits back upright and grabs his beer. He takes a giant swig and tacks on for good measure, “Besides, nothing wrong with being… cautious. My being – ”

“A distrustful prick,” Santiago interjects brazenly.

“Whatever you want to call it,” he counters with a faux-saccharine lilt. “It’s saved all your asses more than a time or two. Hasn’t it?”

There’s a quick round of almost wistful snickers from nearly all the men, each seeming to light onto a particular memory, their gazes faltering and ticking briefly off towards nothing. The exception is Frankie, who simply stares down at the battered beer bottle in front of him, sticker half peeled off and clinging to his fingernails as he continues to work at it with a frown. “What about this informant of yours,” he says, low voice slicing into the newfound silence. He shifts nervous eyes over to the man at his right. “You’re sure she can be trusted?”

Without hesitation, Santiago nods. “I’m sure of it. And besides, we’re not basing all of this just on her word. You read the file, right?” He glances over at you and ticks his chin in your direction. “We checked it out. We’ve been out there enough to get a lay of the land. We’ve seen the deliveries of cash coming in… and not going back out.”

Will speaks next, his words soft and slow. “Could all be a setup… a giant, well-planned setup.”

You shake your head. “No. No, it’s legit.” Five sets of eyes turn to you, drilling into you for something more substantial. But the truth is, all that you have is in that file. And, yeah, it could be an elaborate setup. Or – more likely than that – just a really, really bad idea. But your gut says it’s neither. Your gut says that this whole damn thing is the only way to put an end to Lorea’s ever-growing cartel.

Tom’s eyes narrow at you once again, suspicion still lingering in his glare. “How’d this all happen, huh? How’d you even get involved with this… this shit-brain scheme?” he asks before the serious countenance begins to crack and he blows out a harsh chuckle. “How’d Pope sucker you into all this?”

Santiago answers before you get a chance to even open your mouth. “I didn’t sucker anybody into anything. And I don’t use the same callsign down there, so…”

Your eyes flash over to meet his, face splitting into an insolent grin. “Pope…” you mutter, popping the p at the end. “How exactly did you get that name, anyway?”

He rolls his eyes. “You don’t need to know.”

“He spent his first firefight hailing Mary through the coms,” Will chimes in with a teasing lilt. “All damn night.”

“I was nineteen.” He defends… almost whines. “You wanna tell her how you got Ironhead?”

He shrugs and takes another pull of his beer. “I’m not embarrassed.”

Frankie smirks from the other side of the table as he issues out under his breath, “You should be.”

Your eyes bounce eagerly back and forth between the men, silently pleading for someone to tell you the story of Will’s ridiculous moniker. But it seems that you’ve once again gone invisible.

“Hey, he held that record for a solid decade,” Benny mutters beside you. “And I’m pretty sure that dipshit, MacCovey, cheated to take the title.”

“How can you cheat at that?” Frankie asks with an incredulous laugh.

“He cheated.”

“Cheated at what?” you blurt out, eager to just hear the tale. “Ironhead’s a title? With a record? For what?”

Will pivots in his seat, flashing you a smug grin as he rather haughtily announces, “Record for the most concussions sustained during basic training. And no one can take Ironhead away from me… especially not some hardheaded kid from freaking New York.”

“How do you know he was from New York?” Santi asks.

Frankie cocks his head at his friend too. “You met him?”

“Didn’t he die?” Tom interjects, confusion suddenly weaving through the lot of them.

“Did he?” Will asks. “Shit, guess he wasn’t that hardheaded after all.”

Benny leans forward to address them all. “He didn’t die. Just lost a leg. Roadside bomb.”

“Shit,” his brother repeats solemnly.

“Was supposed to be his last tour too. Well, guess it still was.” He looks down for a somber beat before lighting on Frankie. “And I heard that he never actually hit his head when he fell off that tower, so… cheated.”

Throughout all of the back and forth, you just sit, eyes wide, expression both amused and deeply concerned. “Jesus,” you finally breathe out once everyone falls quite. You turn to Will, look a little closer at him as though you might be able to discern some of the damage done so many years ago. “Are you… okay?”

He lets out a hearty laugh and raps his knuckles on his skull. “Nothing to worry about here,” he tells you with a wide smile. “Ironhead, remember?”

Tom snorts and shakes his head skeptically. “Tune’ll change when that CTE shit kicks in… start wandering around the neighborhood, talking to yourself, picking fights with people in grocery stores.” He stops short and flashes a shit-eating grin. “Oh wait…”

The joke – if there even really is one – is lost on you. But Will must get it, because his face flashes in irritation, a mere, “Very funny,” falling from his lips as he brings his beer bottle up to meet them.

You let out a sigh – “I’m confused.” – and choose to ignore Tom in favor of getting more of the story from Ironhead himself. “Did you get concussions on purpose? Why does this seem to be some kind of source of pride?”

“It wasn’t on purpose…”

“What about that full can of soup you tried to crush on your head?” Frankie interjects with a raised brow.

“Yeah, alright, there was that one,” he concedes.

Your forehead furrows deeper. “If you were always getting hurt, why didn’t they call you something like, Falls-a-Lot or Unlucky Charms or just Blockhead?”

He stares at you for a long moment, face hardening into a stoic set. “Wasn’t Tom asking how you got yourself into all this? Wasn’t that what we were talking about?”

You offer a nonchalant shrug. “Don’t think we were really talking about it…”

“She basically started it,” Santiago states simply. “I mean, I was in the minute she brought it up, completely in. But it was her shit-brained scheme from the get-go.”

“Really?” Tom smarts, skeptical look once again riding his face as he takes a pull from his beer.

“Look,” you begin, tone painfully sincere, “I’ve been on the losing end of this battle for years. And the people down there, the families… the kids he recruits…” You stop for a beat and slowly, bitterly shake your head. “Lorea, and all the others like him… It’s their turn to lose.”

Tom nods, his gaze never breaking from yours. “You do realize you sound just like him,” he mutters, ticking his chin towards Santi. “Seriously,” he begins, stare serious, but tone glib. “Did you two hatch this crazy little plan together in bed?”

You glance over at Garcia, quickly taking note of the burning blush creeping up his neck as he hides beneath his baseball cap and tries not to laugh. Then, on their way back to Tom, your eyes light on Frankie. He too is ducking his head. But he doesn’t seem to be laughing like the others. Rather, from what you can make out beneath the shadow of his hat, he looks… embarrassed. No. Dejected.

Your heart skips a beat and you blurt out suddenly, “We’re not sleeping together,” a little too loudly to come across as anything other than agonizingly defensive. The laughter intensifies and you clear your throat before going on to say, “Garcia’s usually too busy fucking his informants to ever even think of giving me the time of day.”

Benny just about loses it, his body pulsating with fits of giggles as he leans back a bit and reaches out to give you a high five. You oblige, a small, crooked smile tugging at the corner of your mouth as you see Santiago shift across from you. He peers at you from beneath the ballcap, eyes dark and smile wide as he says, voice deep and honeyed, “Oh, bonita, trust me, I’ve thought about it.”

You roll your eyes and tip back the nearly empty bottle to your lips, draining the last dregs of your beer before rising and stating, “I’ll get the next round… as long you guys promise to do nothing but regale me with embarrassing stories about Pope for the rest of the night.”

000

Jetlag. It’s something you’ve experienced countless times over the years, hopping from place to place, office to outpost to field. And yet you’ve never really managed to get used to it, the bone-deep fatigue kicking your ass after each and every trip you’ve ever taken. A full day of travel, and now a full night of drinking, and by the time the lot of you stumble out of the bar, you’re barely able to put one foot in front of the other.

“Lightweight, huh?” Benny jokes as he pushes past you on the way to his car.

You grumble under your breath, something akin to, shut the fuck up, though your words aren’t all that put together right now either. But Ben doesn’t hear any of it anyway, he’s already giving his brother an unforgiving shove in the nearly empty parking lot and laughing maniacally as he dodges the lazy retaliatory punch.

“Don’t mind him,” Frankie mutters from behind you. You stop and turn, squinting through the harsh halogen light piercing your eyes as you look up at him. He notices the pained grimace you give and lets out a light chuckle as he takes your elbow and swings you back around to lead you to the car. “You seem more tired than drunk to me,” he says with a lilt as he easily slips his arm beneath yours for a little extra support.

Without thinking, you let your head tip to the side and rest on his shoulder. “Soooo tired,” you bemoan. A deep rumble of a laugh pulls from Frankie’s chest, reverberates up and through his entire body so that you feel it vibrate into you. It makes you smile. It makes you tuck yourself in a little closer. You stumble a bit, your toe catching on a crack in the pavement, and before you can even think to right yourself, his arm pulls away and reaches around, the warmth of his hand splaying across your hip as he steadies you. “Maybe a little drunk too,” you admit with a sigh.

If he thinks it’s odd that you’ve burrowed so close to him, or if he’s the least bit uncomfortable with your fingers now clinging to the back of his shirt, or if he’s irritated at having to slow to a crawl to help you to Santiago’s car, he doesn’t show it. Instead he easily slows his pace to match yours, giving your hip a little squeeze as he says, “Hey, sorry about earlier.”

Your shuffling stops as you pull back to look up at him with a confused frown. “You mean telling that story about Santiago’s ex? I don’t think I’m the one… to apologize…” Your brow furrows even deeper as you try to sift through what you just said, trying to determine if it makes any sense.

He lets out another low laugh, the sound quickly becoming a new favorite tune. “No. I mean about…” He hesitates for a moment, the smile slowly melting from his face. “When I was… questioning you. Whether or not you’re up for this. And, you know, whether or not you’re getting played.”

“Oh,” you bark out, far louder than intended. “Yeah, no.” You wave it off and waste no time at all – fatigue and alcohol both wiping away any embarrassment you might otherwise feel at plastering yourself up against a near stranger – falling back into him.

He chuckles again as he hikes you a bit higher and leads you over to the tiny blue rental car in the corner of the lot. “It’s just… I know you put a lot of work into gathering the intel. And I know this is… important to you. Or you wouldn’t be here. But still…”

You turn your face into his shoulder, his chest, unabashedly breathing in the musky scent from the collar of his jacket as you mumble into him, “I promise not to fuck it up. At least not too bad.”

“Hey!” Garcia calls out from the car, swinging the back door open as you two approach. “You getting handsy with my girl?”

Frankie snorts out a laugh, incredulous, almost sardonic, and not nearly as endearing as the ones that have been rumbling into you for the last however many glorious minutes it’s been. “Not your girl,” you mutter blandly. “Too risky… too many possible diseases.”

“Hilarious,” he deadpans, standing back as Frankie helps you into the car, his palm pressing gently on the back of your head to make sure you duck inside safely. “She took like five Xanax on the flight in,” he tells his friend with a snicker. “Probably shouldn’t have let her drink so much on top of that.”

“Hate flying,” you breathe out as you settle back, harshly tugging at the seatbelt to your left.

Frankie shakes his head in amusement as he watches you grow increasingly frustrated with the non-cooperative seatbelt. “How can you hate flying?” he asks, crooked smile stretching across his face.

You stop the infernal struggle and collapse back into the seat, “Fucking hate it,” coming out of you in a petulant whine.

“Alright,” he murmurs amid a snicker as he leans into the car, easily tugging the seatbelt out and reaching around to buckle you in. Your eyes droop further, slipping closed as he pulls back out of the car, fading into the night. “You guys good?” you hear him ask, the deep tenor of his voice sounding even more melodic when penetrating the dark.

“Yeah,” Santiago tells him, fatigue drowning just that single word. “We’re over at the Motor Inn. Just a few miles up. Listen, Frankie… thanks for this. Really. This…” You almost open your eyes again, want to just to see if the expression on Garcia’s face matches the earnestness in his tone. “This isn’t just a standard op, you know. To me. To her. This is… just… thanks.”

“Yeah,” he replies simply. “Well, uh… I’ll see you Thursday.”

The only other sounds you hear before slipping away entirely are the door gently closing beside you, the engine starting up in a soft roar, and Santiago muttering, seemingly to himself from the front seat, “I am not carrying your ass to bed.”

Taglist:

@tweedlydumbtweedlydoo @icanbeyourjedi @greeneyedblondie44

#frankie morales #frankie catfish morales #frankie morales x reader #francisco catfish morales #frankie morales x you #triple frontier #santiago pope garcia #will ironhead miller #benny miller

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themanicgalaxy · 4 years ago

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SPN 4X5 Monster Movie

ohohoho wait the title sounds promising

I like Meta Movie Shit it’s like 15% of my personality at LEAST at this point leave me alone

look I know I complain about filters but DAMN does the black and white make the Impala look nice

AHAHA NONDIAGETIC TO DIAGETIC MUSIC AND THE CHARACTERS COMMENT

wow I spelled that wrong but I don’t wanna check it

save the world like the good old days? no I didn’t miss anything tho?? what?

heh “black and white case” THAT’S SO N E A T WITH THE FILTER

listen while I do think that Dean being in Hell should probably affect him more, him playing it for comedy is just so good

I hear “Agent young,” I sing “I hope Neil Young will remember” and then...hell maybe that was the reference

ah ~tourist season~

this shit is so twin peaks-y I love it

oh my god Anne Rice getting name dropped is WILD

“ok maverick” SSAKSKA

“he looked like a vampire” ah stellar witness I see

damn you you’re giving Eastern Europe a bad name

...ah agent young is Dean

ok so no scars, he seems excited

...re..hymenated..DEAN WHAT?

...see the dialogue...has just shifted to old timey, right? and so did the scenery

at least the girl is smarter

it’s ABSOLUTELY hilarious that this is all stuff they hunt so they have a problem with finding it as it imitates the on screen animals

THE MORGUE VISUALS! STUNNING!

seriously this playing on their expectations is SO NEAT

IT’S SHOT LIKE OLD TIME HORROR I S W E A R THERE’S A DIFFERENCE IT’S GREAT

~spoopy mummy on the loading dock~

I LIVVEEEDD BITCH

also it’s absolutely hilarious that the reason we no longer have a lot of mummies around is cuz Rich Europeans ate them

and really fucked up but also funny

oh NO NOT FINAL GIRL TROPE

GOD D A M M I T

DRACULA!!

they did the lighting thing!! HELL YEAH

PEPPER SPRAY HIM! YES GIRL!

hahaha he broke character

JOHNATHAN HARKER AND MINA REFERENCE!!

THAT’S WHAT I NAMED MY CAT AFTER

I don’t remember a romance with Mina in there but fine whatever creative license

Dean almost got bit by a Male Vampire huh

INTERMISSION AHAHAHA

Shapeshifter!!!

“the x files is a tv show, this is real” in the black and white filter...oh so tongue and cheek

God I was half expecting a wink at the camera

MINA WASN’T THE INTENDED BRIDE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LUCY

WHO THE HELL APPROVED THIS

ok voyeuristic camera angles really Add to the horror damn

heh the ~responsibility burden

it’s nice Dean gets to talk about how much this sucks

Dean if you shut off I’m going to KILL you I want to know what’s going on

A mission from God!!

I don’t care if that’s a blues brothers reference or not, I’m taking it as such

At least he’s found some purpose, although...hm I wonder where this is going

the ~phantom~!!

THE FUCKING SHIFT TO THE OTHER OPERA MUSIC AHAHA

Sam that’s his own fucking ear calm down

very Sinister Shots for Sam this scene I liked em

It’s Lucy? the Evil Woman of Dracula I’m telling you

aha and they were drugged! neat

the practical effects are So Neat tho!

oho, Frankenstein?

LiFe aIn’T a MoVie Dean you got something you want to say

listen, I get escaping into the glamor of a movie, I do

Man and Dean used to reference movies all the time :(

THE FUCKING DOORBELL

also “the monster wins” OHHH NO

I HAVE A COUPON HA

mention in recap: Dean+movies, monster winning, Lucy+dracula imagery, also the followup about hunters from the last one

bleh stupid controlling niceguy vampire

shit that dress does look good tho

ah yeah in real life this fucker gets killed near everywhere, but they’re famous on movies

kinnie but also Ow

sir you can’t coerce people into your life that’s not how that works

Sam: *pokes fun at his brother after he nearly got bbq’ed

Dean: SHUT UP

awwww

VAN HELSING’SSSS SERIOUS FACE

holy shit Jamie!!!

bitch why are you holding onto this, how?

sir you were a monster and you still got killed and OH I don’t like that wait

dammit Jamie and Dean are fun

Sam has been Suffering fOR 12 Y E A R S ok I’m done

Dean: It’d be nice if life was a movie AAAAA

and ends on a cute sibling note and the end? neat

okok I have meta:

1. Listen listen listen, the “monster”(shifter) living in Real Life where he nearly gets killed all the time just for existing, has to fight to survive etc, finding monster movies and emulating them, but with the key difference of “the monster wins?” holy hell. It’s such a cool thing about how movies are our chance for escapism, and toss in a nice morally gray area for the monster as well. Like people use movies to escape, so we probably all relate to the monster a lot more anyway? like that’s such a compelling motivation it’s so cool!

and the fact that the monster still dies at the end is like. Ok you can either approach it as yknow, them saving the day or whatever, but I kinda felt it was like. He got to go out like those monsters in the movies? he clung to that reality, and got to go out in his version of dignity, while still feeding into the tragedy, because the monster really did die. It was the expected ending(monster dies in the end) but he seemed...to enjoy it(continued monologue right up until he died with a cool-ass shot)? he got to go out like his role models? Like you feel for him, but he did also kill people, but then the killing was also the role models. Like, complex motivation/story for this “monster of the week,” I thought it was interesting. And also, well done.

2. Also. Direct contrast to Dean. Dean’s the “references” guy, he always makes movie references. Or Ig he made them before he got jettisoned to Hell and had to figure himself out. If movies are positioned as Escape by the monster, Dean rejecting them in front of the monster, claiming real life is not that simple...feels like him stepping up to take on that Godly Responsibility. Especially because in this episode, Jamie says that “bro hunting sucks as a profession”(which is entirely true) and Dean says “yeah I thought that too”(aka the reference stage). Like the movies(and their rejection) show how Dean’s kinda stepping up to the “Ok, I’m a hunter, I’m here, I can't just check out or pretend this is a movie, this is real.”(As seen with his willingness to accept his “mission from God” and CALLING it as such when he was at first skeptical). Dean and the shifter are set up as foils, which is ALSO interesting because the last shifter also shifted into Dean. There’s probably something there(blend into whatever he’s been told to be by his Dad, by God whatever) but that’s not the thesis I’m going for here.

3. Worth noting, just little lore thing here, that Lucy is the Evil Woman in Dracula(the one that got turned into the vampire) and she ends up being the villain. And NO Mina was not Dracula’s bride, but she WAS lucy’s friend, so I’m going with Lucy/Mina because...no yeah that makes way more sense.

4. sidenote, lamp shading that this is a show, how this is supposed to be Real(and highlighted with shifts from diagetic, the camera angles are Extra Theatrical, it’s a literal Black and White movie). But that lamp shading of the story+old movies like...was kinda integral to the plot, which. Yeah that’s how you do a Referential thing. It was done for a reason(on both ends, both Dean and the Monster have some kind of thing with movies), spotlighting it with Dean and Sam makes it show how this is a movie(although for what purpose I wasn’t really paying attention for) and also a nice homage on top. Cool use of meta style, I liked that a Lot and it looked really fucking good.

5. And this is just a little carry over from last time, but the fact that Sam and Dean don’t know about the rougarou kid is kinda a part of the inherent tragedy/revenge porn of hunting. They had no trouble believing Travis just Went for it, which doomed them not to ask the questions of Why, which doomed that poor kid and his mom. Their distrust and craziness and thirst for revenge is actively harming their mission, godDAMMIT one of you fuckers learn empathy and communication and teach it with the class.

Anyway. Movie Meta is my Shit so...yeah

#pawswatchesspn #4x5 Monster Movie #I was Very Mad at the Inaccuracy of the Dracula plotline #I take Mina Harker very personally #I named kitty after her

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andrewmoocow · 7 years ago

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Fooly Falls chapter 6: The Bizarre Climax, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Rage Against the Machine (originally posted on September 25, 2017)

Space, the final frontier. Home to billions of strange new worlds across the stars just waiting to be discovered. To boldly go where no man has gone before has been one of our greatest desires since the universe was in its infancy. And today, we focus on one specific planet in this prologue.

Welcome to the planet Quatro-5, a prosperous little orb in the Sonata System home to the peaceful Cinconians. These creatures often spend their days tending to their futuristic utopia home's ecosystem, making friends with other races, etc. As you can see it's pretty boring, but that will all change now. And since the Cinconian language is complete nonsense to humans, their dialogue will be presented in English.

“Your majesty, we have discovered a comet heading for the capital.” a Cinconian scientist announced to the ruler of the planet in their native language. “Some have speculated that it's another species that wants to come in peace.” he explained. “I am quite interested in this news, please show me.” the good king replied getting up from his throne and walking toward the scientist.

“Approximately six hours, fifteen minutes and twelve seconds ago, there has been a massive cosmic energy flux coming from the planet Ee-arth in the Milky Way Galaxy and many planets have been disappearing as a result.” the scientist said. “Isn't it pronounced 'erth' sir?” the king asked. “Let me finish! Anyway, satellites that we have launched have spotted a human-like creature soaring past the planet's atmosphere layer without dying before he took out said satellite. And I have a feeling ours might be next.”

As the king and the scientist went outside, they saw their people gathered around his castle anticipating the arrival of the comet. “My fellow Cinconians!” the king announced to his subjects before they all turned around to watch him. “This may seem sudden, but we have gathered here today to witness the arrival of a new member of our society! And look, there they are now!”

The Cinconians cheered as the comet touched down before them, revealing itself to be a well-built man bearing a sword caked in blood. The aliens oohed and aahed at the sight of this new figure until he decapitated one of them with a swipe of his blade. Amazement then turned into horror as the people ran for their lives.

The king watched as this new person turned his people into puddles of yellow blood that covered the land. Eventually the invader teleported right in front of him and the scientist. “What monster are you?!” the monarch exclaimed. “I am so glad you asked your Grace. My name is Diamond Brandy, the soon-to-be new god of this pitiful universe.” the man introduced himself with a bow and condescending smile. “And I suppose you must be King Dyorbith IV, ruler of Quatro-5.”

“Indeed I am sir. I beg of you to stop harming my people and leave my planet alone.” King Dynorbith begged dropping to his knees. “Hmmm. How about this, I shall spare you if you bring me a sacrifice.” Diamond suggested. “Oh thank you new god, I will not disappoint!” the king exclaimed happily before turning to his scientist. “Sorry, but sacrifices have to be made!” he said shoving him in Brandy's direction.

“Why thank you sir for your offering, I promise I shall let you live.” Diamond Brandy thanked the king before unsheathing his sword. Bringing to the scientist's neck, he swung with all his might, knocking the head on the ground in one fell swoop. As the weapon faded into specks of light, Diamond turned to Dynorbith. “Remember when I said I'd spare you?” he asked pointing a finger at him with a flame at the tip. “I lied.” With that, he instantly incinerated the king and flew off, blowing up the planet along the way.

Upon reaching the black recesses of outer space, the demon took a moment to admire his carnage. He had destroyed dozens of planets, eliminated dozens of civilizations and yet somehow he felt empty inside as if there were no more planets left to destroy. “Y'know, causing so much chaos has started to get boring after a while.” he contemplated. “I don't have many mortals left to massacre unless....” He then stared at Earth from afar, thinking about how much destruction he'd wreak but he couldn't bring himself to do so. “No, the Six-Fingered Man and I had a deal!”

“Why fight it pal?” a voice rang out. Brandy looked around the stars to figure out where it came from until he laid eyes upon his sword. “My weapon, speaking to me?” he thought before the sword was bathed in a heavenly glow and shapeshifted into a humanoid figure with snow white hair, three blood red eyes, a spider tattoo on his bare chest and a snake's tail in place of human legs. “What the devil are you?” the monster exclaimed in awe of this new being before him. “I am your sword Deh'Go! Didn't Bill tell you I was alive when you were granted Firestarter?” the sentient weapon replied sticking his frog-like tongue at him. “He never told me about you in the first place!” Brandy said. “Oh right, he probably gave me to you after you were turned to stone just in case. Kinda forgot about that.”

“Enough of this, the Six-Fingered Man gave me the Eyes of Heaven so that I could spare his loved ones and planet!” Diamond Brandy explained harshly. “C'mon master, you know deals like that always fall through, right?” the sword snapped back. “Oh right, forgot to introduce myself! My name is Armageddon and I can help you become more powerful.” Those last two words caught Brandy's ears and he took Armageddon's hand as the half-snake turned back into a sword.

“We have a deal Geddon. Is it okay if I call you that?” he asked Armageddon. “Sure why not. Anyway, I know a really fast way to get to Earth. It's called 'Vento Aureo'.” Geddon explained. “Give it a shot.” Brandy nodded and began to focus his energy on this new move and cried out “VENTO AUREO!” before zooming towards Earth at supersonic speeds.

“Hey Dipper, I have a question. If you were to have a superpower, which one would it be?” Mabel asked her brother as they walked through the woods. It has been a while since Haruko & Canti left Gravity Falls and the Medical Mechanica factory that towered over the Oregon town has been spewing smoke, covering it in white mist. “Me, I'd want to have the powers of a frog so that I can look like a cute little frog girl that hops around and stuff. You'd probably want nerdy powers like telepathy or laser vision, right?” Dipper didn't answer. “Okay, here's another question. If you were given the chance to dive into a swimming pool filled with gold, would you?”

“Mabel, you realize that is impossible to do without breaking every bone in your body right?” Dipper replied. “It's a great many pieces of hard matter that form a hard floor-like surface. Just food for thought.” he explained as he continued walking. “Y'know bro, you've become more of a buzzkill lately after Haruko left yesterday.” Mabel said concernedly. “C'mon, tell me your feelings.”

“Okay, I confess. It's been pretty quiet ever since they left town, and that factory isn't making anything better. I can barely see in this fog!” Dipper said. “Hopefully we can still find a way back to the Mystery Shack in time for dinner.” The two continued wandering through the forest surrounded by mist as the sun tried to peek out of the fog.

“It's a hand?” Agent Powers said to Kitsurubami over the phone as they examined the hand from afar. “Yes Powers, yesterday saw the appearance of another machine that tried to advance toward the Medical Mechanica factory but failed thanks to the efforts of those children.” she replied. “It is currently towering over the factory looking like it's about to grab it.”

“What makes you think it's about to grab the factory?” Amarao asked while working out on an exercise bike as he handed Kitsurubami his drink. “I mean, it's pretty obvious, a hand grabbing an iron? You think it wants to iron out the wrinkles?” his right hand woman wondered. “Of what?” he asked. “Like the wrinkles on the brain. Y'know?”

“Then we'd all be brainless morons! Those wrinkles are how we think.” Amarao replied. “But of course we know the real psycho is Raharu. She's always been like that.” As he finished speaking, various screens started showing the piece of machinery that destroyed the golf cart yesterday. “The parameters aren't completely clear yet. If that's the terminal core that's going to control the hand, then of course it wouldn't activate yet.” Kitsurubami explained while sipping from her superior's drink, only to cry out in disgust over what she just ingested. “AH, WHAT DID I DO?!”

“That's right, forget about Haruhara! We need to find those twins and the terminal core on the double, before the plan activates!” Amarao ordered.

“Good grief, who would've guessed all this fog would lead to a downpour?!” Stan exclaimed as he and Ford stood outside the hovel they both called home. It was starting to rain as a result of the mist. “Maybe this wouldn't have happened if you let me die like a true hero against that Diamond guy.” he said to his brother. “I know what I did was bad for pretty much the entire galaxy Stanley, but I needed to keep the children alive for their parents.” Ford replied.

“Don't you have anything that can stop him like explosive lemons, air powers, the ability to turn anyone into a jade statue, radioactive spiders, anything!” the con-artist cried shaking the genius. “Settle down Stan, I think you're gonna give me whiplash!” Stan replied by rolling his eyes and smugly looking at the readers. “Who are you looking at? In fact, I don't want to know.”

“Listen Ford, you were trying to keep our heads attached but can you at least do it without putting all of existence at risk?! Y'know what, I think I need a drink.” Stan groaned before pulling out a flask and drinking from it. “Why are you drinking at a time like th-” Ford questioned before his brother pulled up his index finger and finished drinking. “What even is that anyway?” he asked. “Cherry soda, want some?” Stan offered.

“I think I'll pass, I'm gonna do some research on that giant hand over the factory.” Ford politely refused before walking towards the woods. “Well be back in time for my new hat to arrive in the mail!” Stan called as his brother disappeared into the fog.

Meanwhile somewhere else near the shack, Dipper & Mabel were continuing to trek through the greenery. “Okay Mabel, I've got a question for you this time. Which do you prefer, chopsticks or sporks?” Dipper asked. “Definitely sporks, because I actually know how to use them.” Mabel replied. “Remember that one Chinese place we went to back in fourth grade? You got a tummyache because of the soy sauce and I had trouble with the chopsticks. I still keep them in my sweater pocket to this day!” She pulled a pair out of her pocket and showed them to her brother. “See?”

Just then, they discovered a figure in the shape of a man standing away from them. “Hey, is that Ford?” Dipper asked. The two walked closer to the man only to discover it was actually Commander Amarao. “Hello there Dipper, been wanting to see you again since yesterday.” he greeted the boy. “Hey bro, check out this guy's funny eyebrows!” Mabel giggled pointing at his ginormous brows. “And I suppose this is your sister?” Amarao wondered. “Yes, yes he is sir.”

“Do ya need something to drink, I think sweet stuff would help with that head of yours.” Amarao suggested. “You're tired, aren't you? Every time something comes out of your head causes problems for everyone.” he explained. “What's he talkin' about broseph?” the shooting star wondered. “Well, I don't think your housekeeper is coming back kids especially after what happened yesterday, but just in case....” Suddenly, he slapped a pair of eyebrows like his own on Dipper's face. “What was that for?!” the boy cried. “Can I get my own pair?” his sister asked.

“Cats should only stick with other cats children, it's only natural. And I don't want to know how her departure affected your great uncle.” the adult said. “Do you know why Raharu got so close to your family? You might know her as Haruko but Raharu's her real name. The reason she's here is because she's after an astral being known as Atomsk.” he continued. “I've never met him in person before but I've heard lots of rumors that he has so much N.O that he can steal entire star systems, which is why he's called the 'Pirate King.' Normally, the two of them would be mortal enemies but there's a catch. Atomsk was captured by Medical Mechanica and Raharu came here to save him, because she's in love with him.”

Meanwhile somewhere else in the forest, Ford was sitting on a tree branch examining the giant hand while writing down in a small notepad. “Now what could that factory have connections to?” he wondered climbing down.

As he prepared to go home, he heard a faint clinking noise. Looking around, he found the source of the noise to be a small dog-like creature at his feet made up of a few metal bits and bobs. “Hello there little one, what are you supposed to be?” he asked the little machine. It suddenly got excited and started jumping around much to his surprise. “Well aren't you energetic?”

Ford pulled out an energy reader to further analyze the hand while the tiny scrapheap scampered around before leaping up and taking it out of his twelve fingers. “Stop you little critter, I need that!” he shouted before it came to a halt. “You know what, you can have it.” he stated in defeat before the robot swallowed it whole, growing larger as a result. “Quite an interesting specimen you are. I think I'll call you Takkun.” Ford said kneeling down to its height. “Why don't you come home with me so that I can study you some more?”

Later that day, Dipper sat on his bed, now littered with Haruko's things and playing a guitar like hers while Mabel laid on her bed playing with Waddles. “Hey Mabel, was there ever a time where you met someone really cool and yet they had to leave all of a sudden?” he asked. “Oh yeah, lots of my crushes are like that such as Mermando. If only that undersea war didn't start, then we'd see each other again then eventually get married and have half-merperson half-human babies!” Mabel replied. “Lemme guess, you asked because you're still torn up about Haruko?” she wondered. “What, no! It's just that it seemed like she really liked me yet just disappeared all of a sudden!” he claimed before lying down on his bed.

“Kids, dinner's on!” Stan called them downstairs a while later. The twins made their way downstairs to the kitchen when they saw a familiar face with their grunkles. “I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, IT'S YOU!” Dipper shouted pointing at Haruko as everything went black and white again. “Is something wrong Dipper?” Ford wondered. “That's not important, check out my new hat!” Stan exclaimed gesturing towards a checkerboard-pattern top hat resting on his noggin in place of the fez. “Hi!” Haruko greeted them. Dipper was so shocked, the eyebrows Amarao given him fell off his head. “Why are you sitting there like nothing happened?! You're a wanted fugitive!” the boy shouted jumping on the table. “Funny story kid, Haruko told me that she should get some R & R.” Stan explained. “She vacationed to Hawaii, I went to prison there once!”

“And she brought back these delicious spicy fish eggs!” Ford added taking a bite out of one. “Those don't come from Hawaii, and why would she get them there?! And how would you give a criminal vacation time?!” Dipper snapped. “Vacation, alienation, Japanimation, manga, kanga, naked lunch, Hawaiian Punch, fruit juicy!” Haruko chanted before chopping Dipper on the head. “It's not funny, I'm gonna kill you!”

“Why are you hitting Dipper, it was just a stupid joke!” Mabel exclaimed joining in on the insanity. “Well if I ever do a vacation, I'd like to be all alone with you two especially you Takkun!” Haruko stated much to the old men's shock. “As if I'd go with you, you can take Mabel but count me out!” the boy declared preparing to march out of the kitchen. “Ah, you're embarrassed you little brat!” the Vespa Woman said giving him a noogie. “Stop that, it hurts!” he shouted before she moved on to kicking him in the privates. “The people's crotch attack!” she followed up. “Please stop this, help me Mabel!”

“She can doodlie doodlie me like that anytime! Am I saying it right?” Ford said to his brother. “Look at this, fooly coolying everywhere and none for me!” Stan exclaimed growing more insane. “Frooly drooly head, googly googly eyes, fooly cooly this! Fooly cooly fooly cooly fooly cooly fooly cooly fooly cooly fooly cooly!!!”

“Alright that's enough writer, get us outta here!” he shouted to the author of this story before everything returned to normal. He & Dipper were panting, Mabel & Ford were on the floor and Haruko was just arrogantly eating. “Okay everybody, let's just stick with the thin lines.” he finally said. “Thin lines?” Dipper wondered. “Even when events are being told through the written word, it's pretty hard to reference manga. Takes a lot of time and work.” the con-artist explained. “This is an adaptation of the anime made by those Gainax guys so we gotta follow the events from there, right?”

“What do you mean right? Quit fooling around, it's not cool you know!” Dipper said, much to everyone's shock. “NANI?!” Waddles oinked a full English word. “Fooly cooly.” Haruko added. “He said it everyone, so now he has to tell us what it means!” Stan shouted. “C'mon kid, tell us if it's just some weird innuendo or just complete nonsense! What does fooly cooly mean?!” Dipper was not liking this. “Why are you asking me, I don't know what it means!” he responded. “C'mon Dipper, you're the main character so you have to know this!” Mabel added. “Tell us already Dipper!” Ford interjected. “You too Ford?!” he shouted before Waddles squished himself in.

“WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON HERE, WHO CARES ABOUT FOOLY COOLY ANYWAY?!” he howled before Haruko jumped and hit him in the head with her bass. “FOOLY!!!”

“Why are you hitting me with that?!” Dipper screamed before he was smacked again, this time flying out of the tourist trap. The madness continued during dinner and long into the night.

Later that night, Dipper took another shower to wash away the past few minutes. After getting out, he looked at himself in the mirror to find a certain bandage on his head. “Wait, what's that doing back here again?” he wondered wiping the moisture off of the mirror only to find Ford standing behind him. “Dipper, I know this is a really inappropriate time but I need to speak with you!” the great uncle explained grabbing him by the hand. “Can I at least put on some clothes first?” Dipper shouted before he was tossed Ford's coat. “This is like, way too big for me-AH!”

Taking him downstairs to the kitchen, Ford sat him down on a chair and whipped out a small projecter. “I've wanted to talk to you about Diamond Brandy since yesterday. Legend has it that if he were to obtain the Eyes of Heaven, he would become the ultimate life-form and wreak havoc across the known universe & possibly beyond. This was why I've kept the mask hidden from him as I've explained one time. If we don't stop him, it could be the end of all reality as we know it.” He turned on a hologram of Brandy destroying planets, drinking the blood of numerous alien species and generally causing chaos while playing “We'll Meet Again” on a music player.

“Why are you playing that song over images of total destruction?” Dipper asked. “What, it helps calm me down! Would you prefer something like 'Fly Me to the Moon' instead?” Ford responded. “Anyway, I need you and the rest of the family to be on their guard in case he gets bored and decides to go to Earth, which might not happen given the deal we made.”

Ford was wrong about what he said as Diamond Brandy finally touched down in a forest clearing. “We are here.” he declared as Armageddon took his human form again. “So many brainless mortals, fresh for draining.” Armageddon added. “I have a plan, I shall go undercover as a human and find our first victim.” the sword explained changing his snake tail into normal human legs covered in jeans. “Excellent idea my comrade.”

Back in the attic, Mabel & Haruko were sound asleep but Dipper was still awake, wondering about the Vespa woman. “Are you asleep?” he asked her. “Who are you really, what are you? Where did you come from?” Suddenly Haruko woke up and leapt on the boy's bed. “Were you just about to confess your great love for me?” she wondered. “I didn't know you were awake!” he said. “How embarrassing!” she snickered.

“Why did you come back anyway?” Dipper asked Haruko. “Just to see you two again!” she replied grinning. “Your head's the only one that works Takkun.” she added. “You're a liar.” Dipper said before she switched to sitting on his bedside. “It's the truth.” she said. “Are you just going to leave us again?” he asked. “Do you and Mabel wanna come with?” the pink haired woman offered. “You two wanna throw everything away and come with me?”

“You really mean it, why are you being so nice?” Dipper wondered. “You're still just a kid Takkun, y'know?” Haruko said. Her younger companion was brought to tears and hugged her tight. “Why did you leave without saying anything?!” he sobbed. When living in a town that was currently covered in smoke, you would forget that there was a whole other world outside, and Haruko was proof that there was still civilization outside of the small Oregon town.

“Good morning Takkun, I brought you some breakfast.” Ford said to the little mechanical mutt the next morning while holding a crate of some old machinery. “Hope you're still hungry!” He dumped the technology on Takkun and it swallowed them all whole. “Yo egghead, seen the kids anywhere? I've been searchin' for them all morning.” Stan called as he entered the lab. “And what are you doing with that crate of scrap metal?”

“I'm just feeding this little miscreant I found yesterday.” Ford replied as it continued digging in. “Say hello to my brother Takkun.” he said to Takkun who just looked at Stan before going back to eating. “Listen Ford, Waddles is just enough. I don't want another animal who rolls around in their own filth!” Stan scolded his brother. “If that even is an animal.” he followed up. “I don't even know what it is but it sure loves to eat gadgets and gizmos aplenty.” the polydactyl stated. “Well anyways, I've been looking for Dipper & Mabel all morning and it seems Haruko vanished too. Wherever they are, I'm starting to get worried.”

Meanwhile somewhere far away from town, Haruko and the twins zoomed around on her Vespa now weighed down by luggage as they left Gravity Falls. Both of the kids were clinging on for dear life as the housemaid drove at the speed of sound. As the trio raced off, Amarao had removed the hunk of metal from the remains of the golf cart. “It's normally connected to the contact unit, but we found it like this.” Kitsurubami said. “That means the core is functioning independently. I understand your whole team read the document.” her boss responded. “Yes, last week in the maintenance room.”

“This planet is nearly as mangled as that hunk of garbage, and it will be yet unless we handle Medical Mechanica very carefully.” Amarao said squeezing a ball in his hand. “Yeah, but don't you think the Pirate King has some plan to stop it or Diamond Brandy?” his subordinate wondered. “I wouldn't count on it. He's not one of us y'know, we're not that close. Anyway, we don't even know where Atomsk disappeared to or if Brandy still has his sights set on Earth.”

Meanwhile the Pines twins and Haruko had stopped at a noodle place for some lunch. “BLECH!” Haruko gagged on her ramen and started spitting it out. “I told you so, you can't get some off-brand just because it's jumbo-sized.” Dipper said. “Yeah, you have to stick with the good kind like this UFO yakisoba all the way from Japan, and it smells like the 90s!” Mabel added.

“Trade!” their older companion shouted switching her noodles with Mabel's. “When you act selfish like that, bad things are bound to happen you know.” the boy continued. “Oh well, guess I'll have to deal with the bad things then.” Haruko replied her mouth filled with noodles. “Think of it like this, eating ramen that tastes really bad can be kind of fun too.”

“That smoke is getting really annoying.” Mabel complained as they examined the Medical Mechanica factory towering over there. “You're always fighting Medical Mechanica right? Is it like your job or something?” Dipper wondered to which Haruko replied with a scoff and a smirk. “They took something I really wanted from me, so I'm trying to get it back. That's the deal.” she explained. “Can you do it?” Mabel asked. “As long as I have you two.”

“Yeah, as long as we all stick together there's nothing that can-” Mabel exclaimed before she got distracted by a handsome white-haired man wearing nothing but jeans & a pair of sneakers and smoking a cigarette labeled “Never knows best” on it. “Buh-buh-buh-beautiful shirtless man.” she moaned walking closer to the figure. “Oh boy, not again.” Dipper sighed.

“Yo, what's up kid?” the man greeted Mabel as she looked lovingly into his red eyes. “Hi I'm Mabel, I'm twelve and I own a pig! Wanna get married?!” she exclaimed. “Whoa, slow down there little lady! Lemme introduce myself first.” the man exclaimed tossing away his cigarette. “The name's Arnold Geddon.” he introduced himself. “My name's Mabel Pines, this is my brother Dipper and our friend Haruko Haruhara!” Mabel introduced herself and the others to Arnold. “What up?” Haruko greeted, but Dipper glared at Arnold suspiciously.

“Hey, what's up with your brother there?” Arnold asked gesturing towards Dipper. “Don't mind me pal, it's just that some of Mabel's past boyfriends this summer were either jerks or a bunch of gnomes standing on top of each other. One time it was both.” Dipper answered.

That night, Ford was out in the forest searching for the twins while taking Takkun for a walk. “Dipper, Mabel, are you there?” he called out. “Anyone?!” He picked up his cellphone and dialed to call his brother. “Anything Ford?” the con-artist asked. “No Stanley, not a peep.” he replied. “It's already past midnight and I'm getting worried. Plus I have a stinking feeling that someone is watching me.”

Unbeknownst to the six-fingered genius, he was right as a certain demon was observing him from the shadows. “That is quite an intriguing specimen if I do say so myself.” he wondered watching Ford continue his search while examining Takkun, which ate a random can on the ground. “Easy there little guy, it's not breakfast yet!” Ford cried tugging on its leash. “We should head back to the shack and reassess the situation tomorrow.” He walked away into the shadow of the night as a red light blinked above him.

The next day, Soos and Wendy decided to search for the kids & Haruko themselves, taking the handyman's pickup truck around town asking the other townsfolk. They looked for hours on end until they stopped at a noodle place along a highway outside of Gravity Falls.

“I don't know Wendy, maybe we should just kinda give up, you know?” Soos said glumly, which was a complete shocker coming from the friendly employee of Stan. “Whoa Soos, I never expected you to say that!” Wendy replied utterly aghast at her coworker's statement. “You're pretty much the Pines's best friend and seeing you all defeated like that is just really weird and kinda sad at the same time. C'mon, let's get some noodles. I'm starving.”

Making their way to the counter, the two of them noticed a familiar looking Vespa bike near the stand. “Hey lady, are those kids with you and the fat guy?” the man at the counter asked pointing at a bench. Walking over to it, the two Mystery Shack employees found Dipper, Mabel, Haruko and another person sleeping on it. “Well whaddya know?” Soos stated proudly.

“How come you haven't called someone about this yet?” Wendy asked the noodle joint man. “Babe, when you're nineteen and you realized you've wasted your entire life like I did, you'll understand why.” he replied with a rather strange analogy. “Oooookay then.” the lumberjane replied nervously before picking up her cellphone to call her boss. “Hey Mr. Pines, I found Dipper & Mabel at the noodle place. How long til you get over here?” she asked him. “Gimme a bit Wendy, Ford's gone off somewhere with a big metal-eating dog thing.” Stan replied.

“Heel Takkun, heel!” Ford cried pulling on the dog robot's leash as it scoured the town's local junkyard for more metal to eat, now that it was more gargantuan in size. It eventually came across a small scrap-made hovel that was home to Old Man McGucket and starting taking large bits out of it. “Hey pal, tell your dog to quit devouring mah house!” the crazy prospector shouted storming outside only to find that the creature's owner was a familiar face. “Hey is it me or do you look like someone I knew?” he asked Ford. “Fiddleford, is that you?” Stanford wondered examining his former lab partner's current form. “It's the unicorn Illuminati, they sent their agents to get me!” McGucket exclaimed running away.

“Did you hear that Dipper and Mabel went missing?” Grenda asked as she and Candy walked down the street. “Yes I have, and the others are trying to find them. Plus their crazy housemaid went off as well.” Candy replied. “Did you also hear about all the disappeared vehicles? Cars, trucks, motorcycles, bikes, all gone.” she followed up before they discovered Ford pulling on Takkun's leash.

“Stop this Takkun, you might as well eat the entire town!” the scientist screamed before turning to the two girls. “Hello there kids, this isn't what it looks like!” he frantically stated to them. “Hey, that's the other Mr. Pines! But what's he doing with that thing?” Grenda exclaimed while Takkun appeared behind the elder and started charging at them. “No Takkun, they're children! You can't eat those, be a good whatever-you-are!”

Takkun then started chewing on a nearby pickup truck. “Stop this right now Takkun, you've been a very bad boy! Bad!” Ford scolded the mechanical mutt. “I really hate to be the guy who owns that truck.” Candy said as Takkun continued chomping on the truck.

“So who's the shirtless guy with them?” Stan asked Soos and Wendy at the bench near the noodle joint. “I have no idea Stan, maybe he's some kinda hitchhiker they became dude-friends with or another one of Mabel's crushes.” the portly repairman answered. “Think we should try wakin' 'em up?” Wendy offered. “Naw, let them rest for a bit.” Grunkle Stan replied leaning on the Stanleymobile and stroking the bill of his tophat.

Meanwhile somewhere across town, Amarao and Kitsurubami were driving through the forest averting their gaze away from the various oddities that reside there. “So Kitsurubami, what do you like to do when you're off the clock?” the commander asked trying to strike up a conversation with his subordinate. “Sir, I don't think now's a good time to ask that.” Kitsurubami replied nervously clutching the stick shift. “Don't be so cold, we're on the same team. C'mon, tell me.” he added touching her hand, only for her to snap hers back in disgust. “This is a problem!” she stated. “Well this kind of problem is nothing, trust me.” he answered before they were suddenly stopped by a larger Takkun marching around searching for more things to eat while Stanford clung onto its body. “COMMANDER!”

“Geez, it's huge!” Amarao cried as they gazed at the sight before them. “Listen Takkun, you shouldn't do something like this!” Ford howled. “Takkun? You know what that is? It's the terminal core!” the D.I.I commander explained. “It's been making him feed it!” The duo jumped out of the car as Takkun crushed it under its foot.

Amarao tumbled on the ground before he bumped into a familiar figure, that being Canti. “It's him!” he exclaimed. “In a green skirt?!” Kitsurubami replied questioning the Medical Machine's outfit. “What's he doing here?” Takkun continued its rampage as it began advancing towards town. Canti turned to Takkun, its screen flickering before a pair of columns that looked like brain matter burst from the back of its head, attaching itself to Takkun. “That's it, he's a component! He's a part of the terminal core!”

The horn sounded, catching the attention of Stan, Soos, Wendy and Haruko as the latter awoke. “Hot Belgian waffles, what's going on?!” Stan cried. “Looks like something crazy bad is happening back at town dudes! Anyone got a pair of binoculars?” Soos replied. “Here, take mine. I was using them to seek out new job opportunities, but I suppose they could come in handy for you guys.” the noodle salesman dejectedly sighed pulling out a pair of binoculars and handing them to Soos. Gazing through them, he spotted Ford clinging on for dear life. “Guys, I think that thing is Ford's robo-dog!” Soos shouted handing them to Stan. “I knew that Takkun was gonna be nothing but trouble! C'mon everyone, we've got a brother of mine to save!”

Clambering into the Stanleymobile, Stan and the others, along with Arnold, raced off back to Gravity Falls with Haruko and the twins following behind on her Vespa. “Sleepy time's all over! Hey, do you hear that kids?!” Haruko screamed. “What's going on?” Dipper wondered. “Hear what?” Mabel added. “IT'S THE CLIMAX!” the Vespa woman cried as they got faster.

Kitsurubami tried her hardest to shoot Takkun down but she failed to do so as it charged at her. “Get outta here!” Amarao cried pushing her out of the way, only to find himself attached to its body. “I can't get loose!” he shouted trying to wriggle free. The Pines and the others arrived at the town square where the Medical Mechanica factory towered over them. “Looks like it's heading for the giant hand!” Wendy shouted pointing at Takkun as it soared to Medical Mechanica. However, Haruko zoomed past them on the Vespa towards the factory, with Dipper and Mabel still on it. “Hey, where are you going?”

Takkun finally crashed onto the giant hand that casted a shadow over Medical Mechanica, with Ford and Amarao landing on it. “Agh, my head. Hopefully that metal plate I inserted into my head was able to keep me from having a concussion.” Ford groaned getting up, and Amarao did so as well before his phone started ringing. “I-is the bomb gonna go off?!” Kitsurubami panicked on the other line. “Not yet, it's missing something. I'm not sure what.” Amarao replied before he turned to Haruko and the children soaring through the air. “It's her!” he added shooting them all down.

The Vespa crash landed and the twins stood face to face with the big-browed adult holding them at gunpoint with Haruko standing behind them. “Where's your eyebrows boy? Why did you take them off?” he asked them. “You two shouldn't trust her, she only thinks about herself! She doesn't care about what happens to you or anyone! But you have family and friends, especially those old men, the fat guy and the redhead.”

Mabel was a bit uneasy, but she started walking toward Amarao. “Mabel, what're you doing?!” Dipper cried as he stood there alone. “I'm sorry bro-bro, but maybe the eyebrow man is right! Haruko is pretty crazy but I don't think she's try-and-destroy-the-world crazy. But still, I don't want to be gal pals with a selfish person!” his sister explained. “Your sister is right, who would ever want to be gal pals with a sociopath?!” Amarao shouted.

Dipper said nothing as he turned heel and walked toward Haruko. “What're you doing boy?! She'll kill us all! You brat!” Amarao cried when he walked up to Haruko and she held him close. “Takkun, it's time I get what I want, but I'm gonna need your help 'kay?” she said softly before tossing the boy up into the air and slammed him with his guitar. “ALRIGHT, GET READY!” she cried much to the shock of Amarao and Mabel. “Don't do it!” the government agent begged. “LUNCHTIME!!!!!” Haruko screamed batting Dipper into Takkun's mouth and it swallowed him whole. “Agh, we're screwed!”

Takkun roared before inserting itself into the palm of the hand, creating a glowing gear symbol which began to turn. Dipper on the other hand found himself on another planet covered in irons. “This is insane, you're doing exactly what Medical Mechanica wants!” Amarao exclaimed. “They've been ironing out planets across the galaxy, smoothing out the wrinkles so you can't think! Even the Pirate King has been captured, they're using him to lure you in! It's over, IT'S ALL OVER!!!

“I said I don't care about that!” Haruko declared. “I'm only here for Atomsk, that's all! I don't care what happens to this planet, but I guess they'll have to start thinkin' smooth!” Meanwhile, Ford watched in shock at the sight before him. This seemingly ordinary if somewhat psychotic housemaid just fed his great-nephew to the hand and claimed she doesn't care what happens to Earth, but then suddenly he felt something even worse coming.

“Or maybe they shouldn't think at all!” a booming voice responded before a figure burst out from the sky and descended on the hand. It was none other than Diamond Brandy, now back to complete his master plan. “Hello there Stanford.” he greeted the scientist.

“YOU! But I thought we agreed you would leave Earth alone!” Ford freaked out. “We did agree on that, but I only decided to destroy the planet because there were no other planets left to obliterate.” Brandy explained. “And it seems I arrived just in time for the grand finale.” He then snapped his fingers which surrounded Ford, Mabel, Amarao & Haruko in a red aura and brought them forth, along with Stan and Kitsurubami. “At last, the prophecy has nearly come to pass.” the demon announced gesturing to each of his captives. “Shooting Star, Six-Fingered Hand, Mackerel, Guitar, Eyebrows and Pistol!”

“Wait, what's he talking about?” Mabel asked trying to escape. “A prophecy on the runes I bought from a pawnshop long ago stated eight mortals would play a part in stopping him, and we're six of those!” Ford replied. “Seems we're missing Pine Tree and Screen. Oh well, guess I'll have to choose a sacrifice without them.” Diamond snidely commented setting them all down. “So which one wants to die?”

“Leave me outta this, I'm all the joy!” Mabel whimpered clinging onto Kitsurubami's leg. Everybody else backed away leaving only Stan standing. “I've kind of become a catalyst for these events by bringing Haruko into our lives, and now it's fitting that I shall end it.” he solenmly stated before handing his checkerboard hat to Kitsurubami. “Hey lady, hold this. And by the way, loved the cannon. Bitches love cannons!” he stated before taking off his fez and giving it to his brother. “And Ford, remember me as I lived.”

“Stan, what's going on? Why do you sound so dire?!” Ford shouted with worry as his estranged brother stepped forth with swagger, knowing this may be the day he withdraws coolly into the afterlife. “So Mackerel chooses to perish? Very well then.” Diamond announced as he held out his hand. “My instrument of destruction Armageddon, I summon thee to my side!” he boldly proclaimed before Arnold Geddon appeared before him and turning to Mabel. “Wait, you're with him?” she screamed with tears in her eyes. “Sorry little girl, but I'm with the in-crowd.” Arnold scoffed before switching his human legs with his snake tail and shapeshifted into his master's blade.

“Any last requests brother of Pines?” Diamond Brandy said pointing the sharp edge of the sword at the con-artist's neck. “Yeah,” Stan answered with a smirk. “Look down.” The Pole Person was confused at his victim's statement until the hand started turning to grip the factory. “See what I mean, she tricked you! I tried to tell you all!” Amarao cried before they all grabbed onto Ford, who was trying to hold onto the giant appendage with a magnet gun. “I gotta ask Ford, where's Dipper?!” Stan cried, obviously very worried for the boy. “It's Haruko, she fed him to Takkun, or the 'terminal core' as I've been told it's called, and she wants him to find the Pirate King!”

Stan got very angry at his brother's reveal. How could someone who's become so close to him just up and try to kill one of his relatives?! “Are you serious right now?! She and I were best buddies and now she decides to betray all of us and leave my great-nephew to die? I've got some choice words for that rosado-scalped broad!” he screamed. “At least someone believes me! I can't hold onto these coattails anymore!” Amarao screamed before they all fell down on top of the factory where they were about to meet their demise at the literal hand of the giant hand.

It grabbed hold of the factory and prepared to iron everything out before a red light began to shine. It was Canti, now colored red again and holding it up with all its might. “Here he is!” Haruko shouted in excitement before she spotted an eerie looking silhouette emerging from the screen, which turned out to be nothing but Dipper as he obliterated the hand. “That kid, he actually did it!” Amarao exclaimed in wonder. “He got the powers of the Pirate King, Atomsk!” He was indeed right as Dipper stood tall, dual-wielding the Gibson Flying-V and a new guitar while glowing with the infinite power of the infamous Pirate King.

“Whoa! Dipper is like a god now!” Mabel exclaimed while Haruko and Diamond Brandy watched in shock before gritting their teeth. “You can't do that Takkun, that power belongs to me!” Haruko growled before letting out a mighty battle cry and charging at Dipper. “No you foolish mortal, the might of Atomsk shall be mine to control!” Diamond shouted back before bolting upwards and trying to kill the Vespa woman, the resulting shockwave from their clash rocking the entire Oregon settlement and the evacuating citizens.

“Don't get in my way or you'll regret it big guy!” Haruko screamed as her Rickenbacker clashed with his Instrument of Destruction. “That's what you think Guitar, I will rip you to shreds!” Brandy howled back before he was suddenly distracted by a wayward magnet bolt from Ford. “Eat magnets monster!” the polydactyl cried before firing another at his sword, destabilizing its form and changing into Armageddon. “Master, what is going on?!” he cried before Haruko struck him in the chest with her instrument, finally killing him for good as he exploded into light. “Weapon or not, I am still superior to you!” Brandy declared as he prepared an attack. “STEEL BALL RUN!” He morphed into a sphere of pure iron and spin-dashed into her.

“Hey wait a minute, Dipper has got some weirdo cosmic power in his pocket now, shouldn't he try and kill him?” Stan inquired. “This is our chance, we can gather the outsiders and destroy all three of them!” Kitsurubami planned. “I'm not gonna go easy on you Brandy, only one can eat Atomsk's power and that's gonna be me!” Haruko cried before their battle was suddenly interrupted by Dipper, still bearing Atomsk's power, preparing to strike Brandy with both of his guitars.

“It's.....so.....beautiful.” Those were the final words of Diamond Brand before he was completely disintegrated by a single guitar strike, erasing his body from existence. “As much I'd thank you for taking that guy out for me, I'm still pissed off at you for taking my chance at true power!” Haruko screamed preparing one last attack before Dipper stopped her and tossed her bass into the air, making her fall on the factory. “That guitar....” The pine tree boy came charging at her again, this time wielding a double-necked guitar. “She's even worse that Medical Mechanica, you're not going to get what you want from her! Fight back, take her out!”

Dipper landed at her feet as a regular human boy now with the double-necked guitar in hand and with three simple words to say.

“I love you.”

Haruko was taken aback by his declaration of amour before he kissed her on the lips, to the joy of Mabel and the shock of Amarao. A pair of wings burst out from the boy's horn, creating a scarlet spectacle before forming into a giant bird. “Atomsk!” Haruko cried as gravity reversed itself all over Gravity Falls. “Yo dude, what's happening?!” Soos exclaimed as he felt himself elevate into the air. “This is just like the last time gravity reversed itself, except there's no universe-ending portal involved!” Wendy added.

“N.O.! AAAAAGH!!!!” Amarao screamed into the heavens. It was almost as if the apocalypse has come when Atomsk's mere presence caused reality to crumble while it continued taking hold of the Medical Machine factory and absorbed the giant hand into its body before soaring off into the stars above. Gravity soon returned to normal as Medical Mechanica crashed into the ground, completely destroying it.

Haruko gazed up into the sky as everybody returned to solid ground and soon turned to Dipper. “Well looks like Atomsk escaped, all thanks to you and your sister Takkun. We couldn't pull it off.” she said her farewells to her younger companion as her Vespa hovered into the air, now with the double-necked guitar in tow. “So, you two wanna come along?” Dipper only replied with silence. “You know what, forget it. You're still just a kid Takk-I mean, Dipper. Save it for next time.” She pushed down her goggles and soared off into the world above.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Pines family and Amarao & Kitsurubami emerged from the rubble with a few injuries but still in one piece. “What just happened?” Stan wondered before he noticed the remains of the Medical Mechanica factory atop the hill. “I think we finally won. Diamond Brandy is dead, Medical Mechanica is done for and the galaxy is still sort of intact. Hopefully all the people killed by him came back to life.” Ford replied. “Dipper, where are you?!” Mabel called out to her brother before running away. “Mabel, come back!” the grunkle called to his niece before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Mr. Pines, I think this belongs to you.” Kitsurubami stated still holding his checkerboard hat. “Meh, you can keep it babe. I think that headgear made me go nuts. And speaking of nuts, I think your boss might need some time to rethink his life.” Stan responded pointing to Amarao, who was still in shock over what just happened. “Hey dude, think you dropped your eyebrows.” Soos said picking up the commander's eyebrows and trying to hand them to him, but he didn't even notice. “Ah well, these do look pretty tasty though.” The handyman then shoved the brows into his mouth and started chewing them. “Taste kinda like sushi!”

“DIPPER!” Mabel cried running up to her brother and hugging her. “Mabel, I'm so glad you're still alive!” Dipper weeped returning the hug. “WHERE IS SHE?!” Stan boomed looking very angry and he marched towards his niblings. “Alright kids, where's that filthy Rickenbacker-playin' traitor?! I have a few choice words and obscene hand gestures to give her!”

“I think she's gone Grunkle Stan.” Dipper answered turning up to the sky before lowering his head to find her Rickenbacker just lying on the ground. “Hey, it's Haruko's guitar! Why did she leave it here?” Mabel wondered. “Maybe it was a parting gift.” the boy responded before finding another 'parting gift', that being a Vespa with a note on it. “Just in case you change your mind, H. P.S. I took one of Mabel's sweaters to remember you by.” he read. Dipper just smiled while walking up on a piece of rubble with bass in hand and looked up into the sky. “Ooh, that looks like a great scrapbook-ortunity!” Mabel exclaimed taking a picture.

And so, life returned to normal in Gravity Falls, Well, normal as it can get anyway. The town was under reconstruction after the rampage of Takkun, Amarao & Kitsurubami returned to Washington, Canti started wandering Oregon and word of the past events spread like wildfire. “In other news, the town is still under restoration after what happened yesterday with Preston Northwest under investigation for his involvement in Medical Mechanica's plans. There has also been citizens saying 'fooly cooly' but nobody can truly decipher what it means, whether it's just complete nonsense or some kind of sexual innuendo.” the news reporter said on TV.

“I knew fooly cooly would catch on!” Stan boasted rising from his easychair. “And I plan to spread it even further! T-shirts, coffee mugs, snowglobes and much more saying 'I Survived the Oregon Fooly Cooly of 2012!' It'll be a smash hit with tourists!” he declared. “I think it's best no one knows about this Grunkle Stan.” Dipper stoically said. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “I'll get it!” Mabel chirped skipping to the front door and opening it to find Stan's sugar transporting friend looking very mad.

“Hello there lass, is your great uncle home?” he asked. “Uh Grunkle Stan, that illegal sugar guy is here.” Mabel called to the old man. Walking to the front door, he immediately spotted Scott along with Jackson, Damien and Big Tiny standing behind him. “Hey Scott, you came here with my money? And why are THEY here?” Stan said to Scott. “Simple Pines, we came to give you that money!” Scott shouted punching his former associate in the face. “I want some retribution for you giving me cinnamon in that damned crate!”

“Wait, cinnamon? I didn't even notice!” Stan tried to defend himself before Big Tiny butted in. “And I also want payback for being humiliated at Booby's!” the vertically challenged mobster shouted summoning his two bodyguards to his side with a snap of his fingers. “And I need a big score to go up to top assassin status!” Damien added. Finally, there was Jackson who just smirked evilly and said “Get him.”

Stan tossed a few of his smoke bombs to the ground blinding the criminals as he made a break for it and hopped on the Vespa Haruko left behind. “Crazy space scooter, don't fail me now!” he exclaimed as he flew high into the sky only to crash into the ground beside the Mystery Shack. “There he is, oar him!” Big Tiny called as his henchmen began to beat him with oars again while the other crooks watched in sadistic glee.

“Well don't just stand there kids, help me!” Stan cried as the twins and Ford rushed outside. “I wish I had something that could get rid of them all in one shot, but sadly I have none.” Ford said. “Wait, I think I know what to do.” Dipper said rushing inside. Upstairs, the Rickenbacker that once belonged to their former housekeeper Haruko Haruhara rested on the young detective's bed as it twanged one of its strings by itself.

Well guys, this is it. The end of the road! Thank you all for coming! Be sure to check out the author's other works and stay tuned for more stories to come! But for now, here's every major character pulling an Evangelion and congratulating you for making it this far.

Dipper: Congratulations!

Mabel: Congratulations!

Stan: Wait, what the?

Ford: Congratulations I guess.

Waddles: (oinking)

Soos: Congrats dude!

Wendy: Yeah, congrats!

Haruko: Congratulations!

Canti: (beeping)

Amarao: Congratulations!

Kitsurubami: Congratulations!

Diamond Brandy: I hate you all.

Well hopefully we won't be doing more of this. Wait, what's that Dipper?

They're making two more seasons next year Grunkle Stan.

Seriously?! Well count me out! I've already had enough weirdness in this story and that's that! Au revoir suckers!

You think he'll be back Mabel?

He might be. Anyways readers, will we do a sequel? Who knows! But until then, stay weird! Hey, we should make that a catchphrase!

#gravity falls #flcl #fanfiction #crossover #fooly falls #dipper pines #mabel pines #haruko haruhara #canti #stanley pines #stanford pines #soos ramirez #wendy corduroy #commander amarao #lt. kitsurubami #diamond brandy

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salty-dracon · 8 years ago

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SA Hunters- Part 3

(Check out the tag #sahunters for the first two chapters of this SECRET Agents sidestory. Also, I would really appreciate feedback, since I absolutely suck at writing romantic anything!)

My eyes slowly opened in the morning. The sun was shining on my face, in a way that didn’t burn or make me squint. I glanced next to me. Someone was curled up in bed with me! I didn’t find myself startled, but I stayed still.

It was then that I realized that the other person was a girl. I took one look at her red hair and glasses and then I realized.

“Morning, Brid.” I whispered. I wanted to hold on to this moment. I tried not to disturb it.

Brid snuggled closer to me. She pressed her face to my chest. I smiled, even though her glasses were kind of poking me.

Wait, her glasses?! Why’s Brid sleeping with her glasses on-

I woke up.

It was the middle of the night.

It was a dream.

I sighed and sat up. I was thirsty.

“AAGH! Don’t scare me like that!”

I glanced up. Sam was standing in the hallway, holding a cup of Jello and a plastic spoon. I guess he had been midnight snacking again. He certainly didn’t expect to see me awake.

“Sorry.” I curled back up under my sheets.

“Something wrong?” Sam asked.

“Bad dream.” I said.

“‘Kay.” Sam walked away.

I tried to remember the dream. Dreams aren’t easy to remember. You get bits and pieces. Sometimes you don’t remember anything but a sensation. Like warmth, or cold, or darkness, or foreboding… but I couldn’t feel anything.

I didn’t remember anything except that Brid was curled up in bed with me. And she was wearing her glasses. Those stupid glasses, poking me and knocking the sense into me and waking me up.

I lulled myself back into a deep slumber.

--------------

I stared at the lined sheet of paper. “Write a poem with seven lines,” she said. This is an Honors English class. We’re supposed to be studying literature, not writing poems. It’s super early in the year. I wanted to discuss Jane Eyre, but, hey. Work is work.

I didn’t really know what to write. So I started with the simplest thing I could think of.

My name is Lumi Dayze.

What next?

I am a girl, and I fell in love.

Those beautiful locks, like strands of silk, tickling my chin.

That joyous smile, revealing a heart as white as teeth.

Those slender fingers, tickling my waist.

The warm embrace, enveloping me in its love.

I fell in love with a girl.

I hoped the teacher wouldn’t think it was too weird. My aim was to pretend I fell in love with a boy, but plot twist! It was a girl.

Yeah, that wasn’t such a great idea. I’d have to think of something else.

Speaking of girl, what was Brid writing about?

She was going through a book full of doodles. She only had a few words written on her page. I stole a glance.

Is it wrong to fly?

There was nothing more.

Why “flying”? I thought back to that drawing she had a few days ago- one of the Dark Angel. She seemed to have a fascination with him. Or, at the very least, his wings. I had to know why.

----------

Me. Being obsessed with someone. A girl, of all people.

I didn’t know how I felt.

“Something wrong?” Sam asked when we were at home. “You haven’t been yourself all day.”

I nodded before I knew what I was doing.

“What happened?” Sam asked urgently. “What did you dream about?”

“Huh?” I asked.

“You said you had a bad dream. What was your dream?”

“Nothing… nothing.” I said.

“Lumi, you had a bad dream.”

“I… It’s a bit embarrassing.” I said.

“Tell me.” Sam said, leaning in. “Tell me. Seriously. Get it off your chest.”

I nodded. “I… um, I have a crush on someone.”

“Well, that’s news.” Sam commented. “Who? One of my friends? I-I can-”

“Actually, it’s Brid.”

“Who?”

“Brid? Brid Shao?”

“Brid? As in, girl Brid?”

“Yeah… ”

“You’re gay?!”

“Maybe, I mean, it could just be a-”

“Okay. I’ll hook you two up or something.”

“No! Don’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“What if she doesn’t feel how I feel? I’m sorry. I… I just need to think this through a bit more… ”

“Best you can do is ask.”

“But I’m not ready!”

“Whatever.” Sam said. “I won’t press you. It’s fine.” Sam held my hand. “I care about you, okay? It’s totally fine to be-”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Both of our cell phones vibrated at the same time. Sam and I both stole a glance.

Need to come to HQ right away. Getting information out of prisoner.

Sam and I heard a car pull up outside.

“Let’s go.” Sam said.

--------------------

“That’s them.” Gray, the vampire we had captured a while back, was staring at the ground. His green eyes didn’t meet ours.

“You haven’t even looked at them.” A human addressed him. He or she was using a voice filter and wearing a mask that covered their entire face.

Gray glanced up. He raised an eyebrow and said, “That’s them.”

“We want you to talk to them.”

----------

Sam and I found ourselves in an interrogation room. On the other side of a glass screen was Gray. He was staring at us angrily. Sam and I were wearing a special pair of glasses- they indicated several things about our subjects. They were even used by our sister organization, but ours had some… special properties. We could see Gray’s body with a red outline. Next to him was a number: 3.

“Um, hi.” I started. “Long time no see.”

“It’s been one week.”

“Okay… ”

“Well, do you want to talk to us, or-”

“No. Duh. I want to go home.” The number next to Gray jumped up to 5, and then dropped back down to 3.

“Where’s home?” Sam asked.

“Like you need to know.” Gray turned around. The number jumped up to 10 and stayed there.

“Do you have family?” I asked calmly. “Parents? Brothers and sisters?”

“Hmm.” Gray contemplated the question- or, I suspected, contemplated whether or not to give us information. “An older brother.” The number lowered to 5. I smiled. The number, by the way, is an indication of a vampire’s emotions. Emotional level varies directly with their power- the higher their emotions run, the more powerful they are. Normally, the calmer they are, the lower the number is. We use it as a rudimentary lie detector.

“A vampire?” I continued.

“No.” Gray said. The number jumped up to 13.

I paused.

“YOU’RE-” Sam began to accuse Gray of lying. I held him back. “Gray,” I continued, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible, “we believe you’re lying. If he’s a vampire, then-”

“Then you’ll kill him.” Gray snapped. “He’s my only family, and you’ll take him away from me.”

The number was steadily rising. 17. 24. 29. 32. The red aura around Gray’s body was growing bigger and bigger. If that number reached 50, he could feasibly break through the glass separating us. And we didn’t have any of our equipment. I had to think fast. How would I calm down a friend that was afraid I was going to hurt their family? Think, think, think…

“Does your brother hurt humans?” I asked.

36. 38. 35. 28.

“No.” Gray said. “He wouldn’t do that.”

25. 21. 16.

“Then we have no reason to hurt him.” I replied.

12. 10.

“How do I know that?” Gray asked.

“A lot of people think you should die for just existing.” I continued. “But I think that some vampires are careful. They know when they’re overstepping their boundaries, and they probably made the sacrifice for a reason. If you and your brother never intended to hurt anyone, then-”

Sam slammed his fists on the desk in front of us. “Then why were you a lookout for an operation clearly involving the kidnapping of human children?!”

“Sam!” I scolded. I quickly checked his number. It was 9 and hadn’t changed.

“You already know.” Gray said.

“The lady paid them money.” I explained to Sam. “Twelve thousand dollars for each of… um, eight, was it?”

“Yeah.” Gray said. “I really need the money. Me and my bro. We’re trying to move out of Rubicon City. Go somewhere else. We think we might move to Machverne.”

“All right.” I said. “But I am curious. Who was the lady with the beret?”

“She’s what you’d call a serial killer.” Gray said. “Not a vampire. Human.”

“Any particular pen name?” Sam asked.

“The Heart Thief.”

The name struck a chord. The Heart Thief, huh? As in, the woman who robs banks, takes the lives of businesspeople, and steals valuable jewelry, for no joy other than money. She also steals bodies sometimes. Oh yeah. She also wears, like, no clothing. And somehow is still alive.

“Why children?” I asked. “She normally steals cash or bodies.”

“We don’t know.” Gray said. “All she said was if we wanted money, we’d give her a group of unconscious kids between the ages of 5 and 12.”

Five and twelve? Sounded like someone else.

“As in, Dark Angel?” Sam asked. “Those are the kinds of victims Dark Angel steals.”

“You don’t think they’re working together, do you?”

“They’re not.” Gray said. “They’re a present.”

“A present?”

“Wait.” Sam stood up. “When Blank steals bodies, she mainly steals men. And they’re men often perceived as handsome by their friends and family. If she considers Angel handsome… ”

“I guess she wants to steal Angel’s body.” I finished. “And she wants to get close to him by presenting him a gift of children.”

“I’m telling all of this to the higher-ups.” Sam bolted out of the room.

Gray and I were alone.

“Why am I here?” Gray asked.

I stared at the ground. “I… I don’t really have an answer to that.”

“Aren’t there better things to do?”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Play with your friends. In the sunlight. Live every day without fear of silver or chopsticks or anything. Be able to survive without killing squirrels for breakfast.”

I didn’t respond. I guess I didn’t understand what it meant to be a vampire. Of course. I wasn’t one. What was it, anyway? An addiction? A disease? An identity?

“You don’t want to hurt anyone, right?” I asked.

“Of course not.”

I nodded. “Your interrogation is over.”

Gray nodded. I pressed a button on the wall. A door opened, allowing Gray to leave the interrogation room. Two hunters escorted him away.

“Well?” Sam asked when I walked out.

“He’s completely harmless and innocent. I believe him.”

“Whatever you say.” Sam said. “Hey, do you want to talk about… you know?”

“Brid?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“I wish I could explain how it feels.” (AN: Because I... really can’t... and I’m trying and failing because i’m ace/??ro)

“No, I understand what it’s like to crush on a girl.” Sam said.

“I mean, what’s it like to be wrapped in her arms? I just want to watch the stars with her.”

“Easier done than said.” Sam pulled out his cell phone.

“NO!” I snapped. “Not now. I need to be sure of my feelings.”

“All right.”

-------------

“Child rescued from Angel?” Sam was reading the local news story. I nearly spit out my tea.

“WHAT?!”

“Check it.” Sam pointed to an article on his phone. Sure enough, that was the title- “Child rescued from Angel”. It showed a picture of a blue and black blur headbutting him in the stomach. Ouch.

“Two mysterious figures, one clad in white, the other in black, rescued a young boy, 10, from the Dark Angel’s clutches. One, nicknamed Peace Dove, is an angel herself, flying at high speeds and seemingly disappearing and appearing at will. The other, Cathode, is described by many as a cyborg who fights empty handed. According to one bystander, she was ‘bouncing off the walls of the buildings, dealing numerous blows to Angel before the other one incapacitated him and rescued the kid’. What will become of these young heroines? Only time will tell.”

“They look pretty cool.” Sam pointed to a picture of their backsides. One had long hair and the other had short. I could tell that Cathode had a cloth or something around her mouth. Peace Dove, on the other hand, was wearing a mask of some sort.

“Is it wrong to fly?” The line popped into my head again.

No, Bridget. I thought. It’s not wrong to fly, as long as you’re fighting for what’s right.

------------

My phone rang while I was writing a report in French at home. I checked it.

the intricacies of shipping

The true message read, “Blatant destruction in the old part of the city. Powerful vampire responsible.”

Oh, Jesus…

I heard the car pull up. Time to hit the road.

---------

The old part of the city. It’s an interesting place.

This place was built around 1990. That was fifty years ago. Builders used to live here while they built the rest of the city. Things have seriously advanced since 1990. Most of these houses don’t even have wired Internet. They were all quickly abandoned once the bigger apartment buildings were erected. And they’ve never been torn down.

There’s just old and crumbling houses. Stray dogs and cats wander here and there. Cobwebs clog the ceilings. It’s like I’m standing in a ghost town. More like a ghost city. And the pavement is so cracked, it’s like an cobblestone path of everything but rectangular bricks. I can almost see the old newspapers rolling through like tumbleweeds.

People used to have families here. In that house, there was probably a husband, wife, six-year-old girl and one-year-old infant, babbling while she was fed, and the dad and daughter were playing Patty-Cake, or some other clapping game. Maybe over there a man lived all alone, collapsing into bed, then getting up and pouring himself some Cheerios. Over there a grandmother might have been sick, and a man was taking care of her while his wife went to work. It feels lonely, yet like home.

“It would be cool to live here.” Sam said.

“I’ll keep my modern appliances, thank you very much.” I replied.

We heard a smash. Sam went running in that direction, but I stopped him. I flipped on my lie detector sunglasses and looked in the direction of the smash.

A tall person. He was holding a large sledgehammer. And the number next to him read 75.

“Call in backup.” I said. “This guy’s reading 75. He’s dangerous.”

“No.” Sam said. “You’re calling. I’m getting a watch on this guy.”

“You’re NOT killing him unless you’re going to be killed or I say so.”

“You’re the boss.” Sam scaled a building to watch the action.

“Hey, Z.” I called in. “We’ve got a read on the perpetrator. He’s at a 75. I’m terrified.”

“Sending in backup.” was the reply.

“Thanks.” Thanks to God! Sam and I aren’t going to survive out there alone! Especially since, after 60, vampires can survive in sunlight!

I ran behind a building to sneak a peek of the vampire. He was sure angry. He was tearing down buildings with his sledgehammer, screaming like a madman. I winced as he tore straight through a wall, smashing a painting. He then began to hit a support beam. The house nearly fell on him.

“He’s better off dead.” Sam said.

“I’ll tell you when he’s better off dead.” I ripped the mylar off a sunlight-infused sphere and chucked it at the raving vampire. It hit him in the head, and he turned in our direction. Glowing red eyes and a foaming mouth. He roared and charged towards me. I shot a few crossbow bolts at him, but nothing slowed him down.

“Silver.” Sam said. “Bind him with silver!”

I dodged his sledgehammer. That thing looked terrifying in his hands. He brought it down on top of me. I dodged as fast as I could. The ground exploded behind my head. I quickly scampered on top of his body and held a stake to his neck. He fought hard. Almost like a bull trying to knock its rider off, he bucked and kicked with as much force as he could. Around him, as he lost energy, the number slowly decreased. 73. 71. 69.

“We’re slowing him down!” I shouted. I fiddled in my pocket for my silver chain.

“GIVE HIM BACK!” Finally, the vampire vocalized. “GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!” I watched his eyes, sneering at me, flash a little bit green before he tried fighting me off again.

Green eyes?

Gray’s brother?

There was no time to figure out a plan B. I tucked the chain back into my pocket and held on for a bumpy ride.

Gray’s brother smiled. I caught a glimpse of his fangs. He dropped his sledgehammer. Then, he charged straight into a building. I braced for impact against his body. The impact was harsh. It was like I was in a car crashing into a brick wall- which wasn’t far from the truth, if the vampire I was hanging on to was the car. Somehow, I lived. I jumped off his body. There was no way I could survive another run-in with a wall.

The vampire turned to me. His number was rising again. 70. 76. 85.

“Sam.” I said. “Sam?!” He better hear me, I thought. I had a level-85 vampire on my toes. And at 85, they become resistant to…

Silver. Of course.

I pulled the silver chain out of my pocket and ran at him. The vampire, without his sledgehammer, had no weapon with which to defend himself. He started throwing bricks from the rubble at me. I dodged the bricks and whipped him on the chest. My whip was weaker than I thought. It barely scared the enraged vampire. He jumped at me. Holding the chain like a jump rope, I jumped on top of his back and wrapped the chain around his neck.

Now I really felt like a cowboy riding a crazy horse.

Somehow, by yanking on the chain, I managed to steer the vampire outside. All the while, his level was slowly dropping. 83. 81. 79.

The chain started to burn his skin, but I was desperately afraid of letting go.

“STOP IT!” the vampire screeched. “IT BURNS!”

“I know where your brother is.” I said calmly.

“LIAR!”

“I know!” I shouted again. “Gray, right? Green eyes, like yours?”

The vampire stopped running. The chain around his neck dropped to the floor. Seeing as it was my only support on his back, I fell onto the pavement.

“Where’s Gray?” I heard him ask. Then, I heard him scream.

“Get into the shade!” I shouted, pushing him into the shadow of a nearby building.

As he was slowly leveling down, I saw that he had a very kind face. Like Gray’s, but older. “Is he okay?” he asked.

“He is.”

Gray’s brother smiled.

“Sam!” I shouted. “You can call off the backup!”

“Got it!” I heard a shout from far away. I wondered what Sam was doing.

----------

“This is Gray’s older brother?” Hunter Z, in her mask, scanned Gray’s body. He was in handcuffs, and seemed uncomfortable, but I tried to emanate a protective aura around him. I needed to let Gray see his brother.

“Cada.” the boy said. “My name is Cada Homing.”

“Cada.” Hunter Z said. “Come on, we’ll take you to Gray right away.”

I watched as Cada and Gray were placed in the same room. They looked around, saw each other.

“Cada! You’re okay!” Gray exclaimed.

“Gray! They didn’t… ”

“Who got you?!”

“This hunter with orange hair, and-”

“No way!”

They embraced.

Sam looked really disappointed that they didn’t remember him.

Before I could congratulate them on their reunion, we were pulled out of the room… a little too forcefully.

----------------

School was agonizing the next day. I couldn’t think at all. All I could think about was Gray and Cada. What had become of them? Unfortunately, none of the other hunters ever told us. For all we know, they might have moved to Machverne like Gray said… or…

“Tylenol?”

I glanced up. Val was sticking a bottle of painkillers under my nose.

“No.”

“Suit yourself.” I watched as Val poured three pills into his palm and swallowed them all at once. He’s a psychopath, I swear. The teacher seemed to think so too, as he watched him walk past.

“Val. No food in class.”

“Suck it.”

I glanced next to me. Brid’s notes…

They were neat, but filled with little doodles and notes on the side. Next to “Mitochondria” she wrote, “We freaking know”. Next to “Chloroplast”, she wrote “Mr. Green”. Next to “Cytoplasm”, she had a doodle of a puddle of water. I didn’t care to make sense of it.

But there was something at the bottom of the page that caught my eye.

It was a note, written in someone else’s handwriting. Written in some kind of code. A long one. One paragraph. Everything looked like normal letters, but scrambled or shifted in the alphabet. One line under the note read “V=E”. And you didn’t need a supercomputer for a brain to read the signature.

“Angel”

#sahunters

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wbwest · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/02/03/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-2317/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 2/3/17

I saw my first movie of 2017 in the form of M. Night Shyamalan’s Split. A lot of people feel like Shyamalan’s coming off a string of bombs, but I’ve enjoyed the projects he’s been involved with, including Wayward Pines and After Earth. Still, this movie seems to be the one bringing all the boys back to the yard, and for good reason. I really enjoyed it, and feel like I need to watch it again just to catch certain things. If you’re not familiar, three teenage girls are kidnapped by James McAvoy, who suffers from dissociative identity disorders and has multiple personalities running around in his head. You never quite know which identity is in the driver’s seat, and over time you come to realize why, exactly, he kidnapped those particular girls. I don’t know if the movie had that patented Shyamalanian twist ending, but the very end of the movie did make my jaw drop. I’m not going to spoil it here, but I definitely think you should check out this film.

In movie news, it was announced that Ben Affleck is out of the director’s chair for The Batman. Reports say that he didn’t think he could handle being in front of and behind the camera on such a film, but it could be that Warner Bros got a bit gun shy after the box office failure of his recent release, Live By Night, which he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in. It only made $19 million on a budget of $65 million. As far as rumors go, there’s also talk that he may bow out of the film entirely, which would make for quite the awkward press tour for this fall’s Justice League. I kinda don’t think this movie is ever gonna happen. Even if it does, my level of excitement is basically at Star Trek Discovery level, which isn’t very high.

We got out final post for the upcoming Power Rangers film. It’s…something. It’s a serviceable poster, but I’m still not sold on the Bayformers zords. This poster not only showcases them, but also serves to point out their visual weaknesses. They’re just colored beasts, but there’s no real Wow Factor to them. I’m hoping they translate better onscreen, but right now it just looks like a Photoshopped CGI mess.

In TV news, Marvel announced the cast for the upcoming Runaways series on Hulu. I’ve gotta say I kinda forgot about this, and I’m surprised it’s actually happening. I’d name the stars, but you’ve never heard of any of them. They all seem to look the part, except for Molly Haynes – a young White girl who’s now Molly Hernandez, a teenage Latina. I have no problem with the ethnicity switch, but I do have issues with her being aged up, as part of Molly’s charm is that she’s a sweet girl who’s about 11 years old. I don’t want her to lose that aspect of her personality. Oh, and she’s a mutant, which they’ll probably have to change and say she’s an Inhuman now or some shit. I don’t have Hulu, don’t plan to get Hulu, nor does this news make me want Hulu, but it’s still nice to see the Marvel Universe expanding. Maybe I’ll change my tune about the show once we’re closer to its release.

Speaking of Marvel TV, they announced the cast for Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger series, and it was neither of the folks I mentioned last week. Instead of Debby Ryan, Dagger will be played by former Disney Channel star Olivia Holt. Meanwhile, Cloak will be played by Aubrey Joseph, from The Night Of. If I remember correctly, Cloak & Dagger are an interracial couple of runaways who take an experimental drug and get powers? I’m too lazy to look it up, so somebody correct me if I’m wrong. If there are strong ties to the MCU, I might give it a chance. Then again, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has basically shown us the limits of how much they can tie into the MCU, so I’m not optimistic. I don’t really mess with Freeform, as I’m not a 14 year old White girl, but maybe this won’t suck. Maybe.

Peter Capaldi announced that this will be his last season starring in Doctor Who. What is it about that show that they can’t keep an actor more than 3 seasons? It’s an interesting little franchise, and there’s no real American equivalent to it. If you’re an up and coming actor, it’s a great stepping stone, but if you’re established, it’s a nice way to be a part of an institution. That said, why is the role such a revolving door? Are the working conditions grueling? Bad pay? Annoying fanboys? Sure, the story allows for steady recasting, what with the regenerations and all, but just because they’re there doesn’t mean they have to burn through them. Anyway, folks are saying that this would be a great time for the franchise to cast a person of color or a woman in the role of The Doctor. Right now, folks are rallying behing Agent Carter‘s Hayley Atwell and The I.T. Crowd‘s Richard Ayoade. I’d be fine with either of those, and that would actually make me finally check out the show.

In other TV news, it was announced that OWN has picked up a House of Payne spinoff, called The Paynes. Let me school ya a little about television. About ten years ago, a new creature popped onto the scene called a 10/90 deal. Basically, a show would get a 10-episode test run, and if the ratings were good, they’d get an order for 90 additional episodes, instantly taking them directly into syndication. With the exception of Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management and Ice Cube’s Are We There Yet?, the only other shows to successfully navigate this model were the Tyler Perry sitcoms House of Payne, For Better or Worse, and Meet The Browns. The model has since been retired, as too many shows failed after the initial 10-episode order, but Perry is basically king of the 10/90. It’s probably because he works the shit out of his casts. I mean, House of Payne filmed 254 episodes in 8 seasons. Anyway, I was a big fan of House of Payne because it was ALWAYS on, especially on former UPN stations that were then being branded as MyNetworkTV stations. The show is about the Payne family, led by patriarch and retired firefighter Curtis Payne and his wife Ella. It dealt with all sorts of hot button issues, but it stressed the importance of family. I’m a harsh critic of series finales, but the series finale of House of Payne is one of the worst episodes of television I’ve ever seen (I feel like they didn’t know they were getting canceled), so I’m glad the show is coming back in some form to somewhat redeem itself. So far, it’s been greenlit for 38 episodes, but it’s not clear as to who will be showing up besides Curtis and Ella. It’s set in Florida, where the Paynes are trying to enjoy their retirement until a real estate deal goes wrong. Yeah, I’ll watch it.

I’m the furthest thing from a foodie, as I eat like a 5 year old: if it looks “yucky”, I won’t eat it. So, I eat a lot of fast food. And I’m fat. Anyway, I tried the Grand Mac this week, as I have been lusting over it ever since I learned of its existence. If you don’t have it where you live, the Grand Mac is a bigger Big Mac. I thought it was just a Big Mac with thicker Quarter Pounder patties, but I was wrong. Turns out it clocks in around 1/3 of a pound, and the patties aren’t thicker, but wider in diameter. It’s a LOT of burger, and I ain’t no bitch. It was a nice excursion, but I’m not sure I can handle a Grand Mac on a regular basis. For now, they’re saying it’s only for a limited time, but maybe it’ll stick around like that Bacon Clubhouse that nobody seems to like. At the same time, they also introduced the Mac Jr, which I’d like to go on record and say that I created this sandwich. Of course, I simply called it The Mac, but I tweeted it to the McDonalds Twitter account a few years back, after they retired the Mac Snack Wraps. It’s a Big Mac with one patty, and a standard bun instead of the usual triple decker format. I remember they sent me some kind of dismissive reply, but now, here they are, selling my damn sandwich. I want my credit, McDonalds!

If you’re “woke”, then you realize that it’s currently Black History Month. Now, if you’ve followed me online for the past few years, you know that I used to tweet funny faux facts (well, I guess they’re “Alternative Facts” now) every day for the whole month. Well, last year I kinda had my Dave Chappelle moment, as I noticed some folks retweeting them who were laughing at me and not with me. You know the type. We call them “deplorables” now. Anyway, it was kinda eye opening for me, so I’m taking the year off. Don’t get me wrong – there are a few of those that were comedy gold, and I’ll probably tweet them as they pop up, but I’m not doing the full-on campaign this year. I think it needs to be rebranded.

Last night, I had the honor of joining The Kliqnation’s Comic Book Chronicles for their 200th episode. They are definitely my favorite comics podcast (Hell, they’re the only comic podcast I even care to listen to these days), and I’m really proud of them for doing the good work week in and week out for all these years. I remember their first episode like it was yesterday. Anyway, we had a great time discussing the latest releases of the past 2 weeks, so check it out!

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Tamron Hall left NBC this week, after it was announced that her hour of The Today Show with Al Roker would be eliminated to make room for Megyn Kelly.

The Oxygen network will rebrand itself as a crime destination channel for women. So, if you ever wanted to know how to get away with killing your husband, Oxygen’s got you covered.

Sharknado 5 was announced, with Ian Ziering and Tara Reid returning. This installment will feature them fighting sharks across Europe. Personally, I think this franchise is beyond done, but I know I’ll watch it.

The seventh seal is broken, as Queen Beyoncé announced she’s expecting twins.

The Get Down‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been cast as Black Manta in the Aquaman film, while Nicole Kidman is being eyed to play Aquaman’s mother. Ooh, she’s entered that phase of her career…

Fox has passed on producing the Black Lightning pilot, so now the show is being shopped to The CW to join the other Berlantiverse series.

Nobody had a week like Winona Ryder at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last Sunday. Her show, Stranger Things, won Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series, and Winona’s facial expressions were all over the place. It’s all folks could talk about when they weren’t talking about politics, so I think Winona Ryder had the West Week Ever.

#Batman #Comics #Marvel #Movies #Power Rangers #Race #Star Trek #Syndication #Television #West Week Ever

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eviivescent · 8 years ago

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This story was dedicated to an old friend of mine when I wrote it. May he have good health where ever he may be.

Alarms echoed throughout the bland grey halls as two young boys made their escape, the sound of a security team not far behind. The lighting panels that would usually shine a bright white now held an eerie red glow that barely lit up the dark halls, reflecting lightly off of the white panels that covered the walls and floor. The sound of chatter from the security team could be heard as the two boys ducked into a small supply closet and waited for the sounds of running to pass.

“Controller, we need extraction now. How copy?” the shorter of the boys said quietly. The red lights from the alarm lights barely flowed through the vents in the supply door, giving the room an eerie red glow. The light reflected off the shorter boys silver eyes and pale skin as he turned to the taller child and said, “Alpha, you idiot. Controller warned us to be quite. This was supposed to be a simple in and out extraction mission.”

The taller child, Alpha, looked to the shorter, his golden eyes given a sinister red glow from the lights, and said, “If you had not been so careless with the package, I would not have had to draw so much attention to myself, Omega.”

Omega glared at Alpha and picked up what appeared to be a small briefcase before a crackle was heard in both or the boys ears. “Alpha, Omega, this is Controller, we have good copy. Your extract will take place at the north end of the tower. Make your way over A.S.A.P. We need that package secure.”

The two boys paused and sat in silence for a bit before Alpha finally spoke up. “We need a plan.”

Omega just raised an eyebrow and said, “Don’t look at me.”

“I know, I know.” Alpha said in a fairly zoned out tone, “Because of the nature of the mission we don’t really have any supplies with us… all we have are our glides and this…”

Omega’s mind had drifted at this point and he had stopped paying attention to Alpha. The two had been partners since birth and this happened quite a bit. Alpha would begin to talk outloud as he tried to think up plans and all Omega would do was smile and nod. Omega knew that when Alpha needed him, it would just be for something that involved brute strength.

“I got it!” Alpha suddenly yelled out.

“SHHHHHHH!” Omega responded with quickly, “So what is the plan?”

Alpha just smirked and said, “I don’t suppose you brought any asprin?” and within a fraction of a second of Alpha saying that, the door to the supply closet swung open, causing quite the racket, and the two boys were off down the halls again. Omega could feel a pain growing in his chest as the two boys pushed harder into a full on sprint. Even though he was in pain and had a feeling that Alpha shared a similar pain, he knew that they had to keep up the pace for the noise the door made had brought the security team on their tail yet again.

“Don’t lose them this time!” The security team could be heard yelling from not far behind the boys.

“Alpha, when we get out of this, I’m going to beat the ever living hell out of you.” Omega could feel his voice on the edge of breaking down, the speed that they were running was taking its toll, but he tried his hardest to make sure it was clear that he was serious.

Alpha just seemed to ignore Omega’s statement however, and proceeded to say, “Controller, we are approaching the north wall but we are unable to make it to ground or roof level. Our only exit is the window at the end of the hallway. Are you set for aerial extract? We are on the 37th floor. How copy?”

“Good copy, Alpha. We have the floor in our sights and are on our way for extraction. Eject when ready.” Controller’s tone sounded as cold as usual but this just gave the boys quite a bit more confidence. At least his usual tone meant there was nothing unexpected on his end.

“Alpha, I hate you,” Omega blurted out as they approached the window, “Could you at least have come up with a better plan?”

Alpha just glanced at Omega and smiled, saying, “Just trust me, and don’t worry, I hate you too, bro… oh, and don’t forget to use your head.” As the words left his mouth, crash, the two boys launch through the 37th floor window.

Even though he was slightly sore from following Alpha’s advice and using his head to smash the window, Omega felt liberated when his face greeted the soft breeze of the outdoors. Not only did Omega enjoy the fresh chill of the cold air, a nice break from the usual stale, recycled air that is normal pumped through large skyscrapers like the one he had just leapt from, but the view of the city was quite gorgeous from this point in mid-air. He had always told Alpha that one day, when he got to finally see the city; he would stare at it and revel in its beauty. However, that never happened. Omega had been outside countless times by now and up till this very moment, he had never found himself basking in the beautiful glow that the city of reflections, the city of clouds, provided.

*****

“The city of clouds,” and “the city of reflections,” were two names that this wonderful city had earned… or so people would say. While growing up, Omega had never ventured outside, at least not until his first mission, all he knew is about the world that existed above his small room is what people would tell him in passing or from pictures that he had seen. People would talk about the cities beauty, the buildings that could reflect ones soul, buildings built with a strange material that could reflect anything and everything like a mirror, without of course the pesky glare. It was said that the city gained its nickname because if you were to view it from above, all you would see was the flawless reflection of the sky.

At night, the city would stand as an amazing sight because the buildings would create beautiful designs with the reflections or the moon, stars, and even the lights that the buildings themselves contained. The city, itself, could have been a night sky of its own and yet until he had hit the organizations perfect age, all Omega would get to see were the white light panels that lined his home.

*****

“Omega, we need to activate the lines!”

Alpha’s shouting snapped Omega from his admiration of the city and back into the reality that they were falling. The city was beautiful but if the two boys did not act fast, they would just become two more additions to the large nursery that they were currently falling towards. In an almost synchronized manor, the two boys rotated quickly, each throwing a grapple like item at the side of the building. As the grapples latched, the two locked the glides which yanked the boys and repositioned them, allowing the boys to launch two more grapples from the other end of the wrist device, latching onto a large bi-copter’s back cargo loading bay as it became visible again, apparently coming out of cloak.

“We have a lock Controller, we are coming in,” Omega said as the two slid down the now assembled zip lines into the cargo bay of the large jet like aircraft that seemed to have large multidirectional propeller engines instead of wings. Rolling as they hit the floor of the jet-copter, a name that Omega had for it since it resembles a jet and helicopter hybrid, the ramp slammed behind them. They stood quickly, Omega still clutching the suitcase, and the two regained their composure before taking their seats as the jet-copter took them to a very distinctly large skyscraper in the distance.

*****

Back at the security compound, a very tall skyscraper that seemed to be just as large below ground as it was above, Omega sat with a small screen projected in front of him. On the screen he could see Alpha sitting in a dark room, except for a single light panel in the center of the ceiling. A calm look fell across Alpha’s face as he unhooked his crimson hair from the small pony tail that it was in and let it fall down his neck. With a stressful sigh, Alpha’s composure dropped. His elbows hit the table and his face hit his palms. He then proceeded to run his hands through his hair, causing a single piece to fall from his head and glance off of his pure white t-shirt. Omega found that his senses were heightened to an unusual amount because of his worry for Alpha and because of this a small thing like a strand of hair falling was that much more obvious.

“This is not good,” Alpha could be heard muttering to himself as he closed his eyes and sat up straight, regaining his composure just as the door to the room opened and a large man entered the room.

“You broke protocol, Alpha,” the large man said in a stern voice. “You had clear orders and you disobeyed them.”

Alpha held his gaze forward, not even glancing at the shadow of a man standing in the dark corner. “Not as I remember it sir. I got the job done. I kept my brother from being found out.”

Alpha was cut off when the large man slammed his hands on the table. “He is not your brother, he is Omega, and it is not your job to protect him. Doing so compromised your cover! The corporation knows who you are now! You are a liability!” The man’s voice echoed through the room and a small bead of sweat formed on the barely 12-year-old Alpha’s forehead. Omega was feeling guilty now as well. “You know what we have to do now, Alpha.” With those chilling words, Alpha’s head fell in shame, his crimson hair flopping down in front of his face almost like it was trying to hide him, and the man left the room. Just before the door fully shut, though, Alpha could hear the man mutter the words, “To think the Doctor said that you were the most promising.” Alpha shook off the thoughts of what was to be coming next only to hear, “Someone call in the Janitor; we have an agent who needs cleaning,” being called out from outside the door.

Omega continued to watch as the room fell dark and two security officers entered, grabbed Alpha roughly, and escorted him off to a holding cell. He put up no fight and prepared for what even Omega knew was going to be the end. Hours passed in the dark holding room, only the sound of Alpha’s own breathing to be heard. The walls and floor were not the clean white panels that the rest of the building was lined in. They were instead, a thick and solid layer of concrete around the entire room except for the glass like repulsion field that kept the entrance of the cell sealed. The room seemed to be getting quieter as the hum of the repulsion field seemed to fade into the world. A sound lost among other sounds that all assist keeping silence that much more bearable. However, this gentle illusion of silence was broken when the sound of small footsteps could be heard. A distinct dragging of feet could be noticed which led Alpha to know exactly who this thief of his silence had been.

A voice followed the footsteps, ringing out in the darkness. “You look pathetic. I can’t believe you’re going to be wiped before I get to beat you up.” It was clearly Omega who was now standing right up near the repulsion field, straining his eyes to look in, but Alpha remained quiet in the dark. “You could at least say good-bye to your twin brother.”

Alpha’s golden eyes could be seen glowing in the dark as he glanced up slightly, his eyes lit by the very faint glow from the repulsion field. He was looking his brother dead in the eyes. Omega met his brother’s stare and could see a glint in his eye, the type of glint that a person gets when they are smirking, or more deviously plotting to be more exact.

“I would, but that would imply that we will never see each other again.”

With that statement, the large room that the holding cell was a part of was suddenly fully lit by the ceiling, wall, and floor panel lighting while a team of white suited men walked through the door and grabbed Alpha. His red hair shimmered in the light as he was dragged out the door and to a glowing path. The men paused and one of them pressed their right hand against a panel next to the hall. The white panel quickly turned blue and a portal of light seemed to form at the entrance to the hallway.

“It is time,” one of the men in white said with a chuckle as they passed through the portal, “Guess you’re not his favorite anymore.” It was Meta, the Controller’s last promising agent before Alpha. Meta was tasked with escorting him to the Janitor. Ever since Alpha had entered the Controller’s spotlight, Meta was demoted down a few rankings on the agent ranking system. The system was a way of determining which agents will be used for which missions. However, with Alpha’s recently blown cover, he had been removed from the top spot and had been dropped down below the red line, the termination line.

Omega stood in the now empty hall as the light panels dimmed around him. His royal blue hair fluttered as the portal of light closed and the panels of light began to dissipate, leaving him to his own as he walked off to his quarters. The only thought in Omega’s mind was about what Alpha had meant. It made no sense for Alpha not to say good-bye. Alpha meeting the Janitor meant that he was being expelled from the system, terminated, flushed down the proverbial toilet, kaput, swimming with the fishes, meeting his maker. Omega’s mind raced with confusion. He was in his room now, barely able to remember the time it took him to get there. Omega was bred to be a soldier, he had terminated countless targets in his twelve years on the earth and yet he had never dealt with death. They always had different words for it; words that hid it’s true meaning. But now it has come full circle, a twelve year old boy forced to face the death of his brother, the chance that he might not ever see him again, all while having been expected to be an emotionless agent of the Controller’s will, Omega had not had to deal with these thoughts before now.

“Alpha, you meany, why do you have to leave me,” He said quietly as a tear graced his cheek with its presence. “You’ve always been the smart one; you’d know what to do… I don’t want to go on missions without you.” Omega had begun to cry like any young child would; his words barely escaped through the sound of gargling as the little soldier came into realization that he will probably not see his brother again.

*****

Hours passed, maybe days, no definitely just hours, since Alpha had been escorted off. Omega was still in his quarters, lying with his lights off, his tears had finally stopped. His peace was abruptly interrupted by a flickering buzzing noise; and electrical hum that seemed to be flickering on and off. Omega tried to ignore this new sound but the inconsistent hum was eating at his sanity. If it had not been flickering, he might have been able to let the sound fade into the white noise but this was not the case. Omega stirred from his cot and began scouring the room. The buzzing started to get louder all while maintaining that inconsistent beat. Omega hit the lights and started getting frantic but not without a pause first to gather himself. With the quick motion from his bed and the bright lights that filed the room, he felt an unbearable rush flow from his head. He felt light and off balance but by supporting himself with the wall he was able to compose himself. Once the black spots from his sight had subsided, he continued his search for the hum which at this point had begun to sound like a horde of bees suffering from seizures. Omega tore through the room, or at least what existed to be torn through. There were not dressers with clothes, no mattresses on the cots, those were all projected with a form of technology called Trace Technology which allows for solid objects to be projected at the molecular level; even the cots themselves were projected. This revolutionary technology allowed for all the benefits of normal solid furnishings without the pesky problem of physically moving them. By saying that he was tearing through the room, Omega was literally tearing through it. He was ripping tiles from the walls, trying to focus on the area where the sound seemed the loudest but with how loud the sound was resonating, it was very hard to pinpoint.

Crack. Crack. Crack. The sounds seemed to dig at Omega with each passing second. He had torn almost every white panel off of the walls and ceiling by now and had them scattered across the floor. He was frustrated. The room was a mess. The noise pounded in his head. Omega had near forgotten about his brother and out of frustration, he grabbed a stack of the panels and chucked them hard against the now bare wiring of the walls. To his surprise, however, the panels did not smash against them. Curiously, the panels just seemed to fly right through. Omega stared at the wires for a second before approaching them. Once near them, he slid his hand hesitantly up and slipped it against the illusionary wires. Upon touching them, it felt liquid like. His fingers caused the image to ripple and it resulted in him finding himself that much more interested. With a sharp breath inward, he stepped into the illusionary wires.

*****

Once inside the illusionary wires, Omega felt at peace. Even though he had yet to notice it, the obnoxious sound had stopped. In fact, even the borrowed sound that one would be accustom to just from everyday life was gone. It was silent. Although the passage through the illusion took less time than the snap from a cobra to its prey, it felt as though the transfer took a lifetime. Omega felt his world slip off his back like the feeling of weights lifted from one’s chest or the feeling of a heavy backpack that just slips off your shoulders. Omega felt light. He could feel his worry for his brother slip away as the sound of his brother’s voice slipped into his mind, a voice that echoed, “Just trust me.” The voice was soon followed by the slight scent of his brother’s shampoo of which he used to clean that accursedly long crimson hair. Omega smirked at the thought of his brother’s hair; the hair that he had spent so much time trying to convince Alpha to cut now acted as a beacon to the fact that his brother did in fact have a plan; he always had a plan.

For the first time in his life, he was racking his brain. Alpha had always been the leader, the intellectual one, the mature one, even the one who was emotionally strong, while Omega was just the muscle. They were twins but even their names showed that Alpha seemed to always come first; first to be born even if just by seconds, first to reach the Controller’s list of favorites, even something as stupid as first to rise in the morning. But now Omega was stuck trying to figure out Alpha’s problem that he had set before him. What is Alpha planning? How can I help? Grown from the same seed, born from the same pod, and yet so far apart, there must have been something of his brother that he retained. Even though the trip through the illusion was brief, Omega was able to meditate on these things in such a way that it seemed time itself had stopped.

*****

Omega arrived in different room feeling a sense of peace; his previously nervous and worried self, replaced by a boy who had an unrelenting faith in his brother. His senses were overwhelmed after leaving the lack of sound behind in the illusion. The smell of something damp filled the air; a musty layer seemed to coat the inside of his nose with every breath; the sound of life echoed through this dark room. The ground felt soft, not like the hard panels that lined the floor of his dorm. Omega had lived in that dorm for twelve years and not even known a place like this could be found next to his room. Was it even connected? Was the illusion that I stepped through a portal to a different location? Questions not unlike those tore at his mind. Why does Alpha have to be so damn clever?

Omega began to feel about; arms outstretched as he attempted to feel for the walls but to his surprise the walls could not be found. For such a dark room to be so large seemed foreign to him. Normally there would be even just a tiny bit of light but the illusion that he came through did not even appear to be giving off light. It was not so much as dark more than it was absent of light, like all the light was being sucked away.

Omega took a breath and closed his eyes. The muggy scent of dirt and mud coated his throat but none the less he clicked his tongue. Omega remained still but continued a steady click of his tongue but no longer was it just a click. After every click of his tongue, a faint chirp of an electronic device could be heard and with each click, his mind began to light up with an image of his surroundings. He began to carefully make his way forward, clicking his tongue all the way, from the mouth of the large room into what appeared to be the center. Each step as careful as one would walk when trying not to slip in mud. When he reached the center of the large room he raised his right hand up by his face and snapped his fingers.

The sound echoed loudly through the room but not as a usual echo would. Instead of growing quieter the most the sound echoed, it actually gained in volume the more times it repeated and with the fifth time it repeated, the room shook and lit up quick like a flash fire in the dry fields of summer. Once Omega has regained his balance that had been knocked away by the sudden shaking, he slid open his eyes. Even though the now obvious cavern was as bright as day, Omega did not feel a need to hide his eyes from the light for enough light had shone through his lids to allow his eyes to adjust. Omega stood silent.

“No hello?” The familiar voice said with a smirk, “I told you that no good-byes would be needed.” But although the voice was familiar, the face it came from was strange. Omega stood in confusion and awe at the man who stood before him. He could not see his brother except for in the golden eyes and the crimson hair.

“Do you like it?” The man asked as he rolled his eyes up slightly and grabbed at what little bangs he had. “I took your advice and cut it. What do you think?”

Omega blinked and felt himself move a step back with his right leg similar to one who is regaining ones balance and yet he did it to instead try and comprehend who stood before him.

“Alpha?” He said. However, it was more like a squeak of his vocal cords that only slightly resembled the name.

“Oh, I am sorry,” Alpha said, “this is strange for me so I can only imagine what it must be like for you. Yeah, buddy, it is me. Sorry it has been so long.”

“But, it has only been…” Omega began to speak almost uncontrollably, only to realize that he had no idea how long it had been since his brother had been taken away.

“I know it hasn’t been long for you but for me it has been twelve years. This type of stuff is confusing. But older you told me that I needed to talk to you so here I am.”

Omega twitched his head back and forth one time, closing his eyes in a sort of prolonged blink before regaining eye contact with this new man, still in disbelief that this could be his brother. To help Omega feel more comfortable, Alpha had moved onto one knee, putting himself at Omega’s level.

“Hey, remember what I told you before we jump out the window together?”

As Alpha finished what he was saying, a smile appeared on Omega’s face and he leapt forward, grasping onto his now apparently older brother. “What happened to you?” Omega said cheerfully as he pulled away from the short hug.

“Sorry buddy, but I was killed… the Janitor killed me. And I am going to have to stay dead for a long time.” Alpha’s sweet face had gained a more serious and worried look. “I am truly sorry but that is how it has to be. I am going to have to leave again soon and you will have to be strong. Strong emotionally like I used to be. Can you do that for me?”

“But why? Can’t you just stay?”

“I can’t. You will understand why I can’t, with time and it is then that we will be able to see each other again.”

“But…”

“No, I can’t. But, I promise I will see you again. I only came back here to warn you that the Controller is always watching. Please be careful, everything will fail if you end up like me. I also came back because I needed to give you this.”

Alpha reached his hand in his pocket and Omega seemed to hang on the moment; the rough and yet quiet whisper that the ruffling of his brother’s clothes made felt so real to him. When his brother’s hand emerged from his pocket, he was holding a small silver pocket watch. It really was not that extravagant, in fact, it was quite normal. It seemed to be completely smooth all the way around with no designs or anything, just the reflective surface of the silver. Alpha took Omega’s hand and placed the silver watch in his small palm. The small pocket watch seemed massive in Omega’s hand and Alpha smiled as he closed Omega’s fingers around the watch. The watch was cold even though it had been in his brother’s pocket but Omega paid it no mind.

“In eight years, this watch will open. You will get to see me for a short amount of time and then I will be gone once more. When that time comes, you will understand everything.”

“Alpha! It is time!” A familiar voice could be heard shouting and yet it seemed to come from nowhere but Alpha seemed to turn back in response and nod. Returning his gaze back to Omega he said, “Keep that watch safe, you will need it to take down the Controller. He might seem big and scary now but that is just because he plays off the unknown. Once you know who he is, he will lose that illusion of terror. I have to go now.” Alpha kissed the top of his brother head and ruffled Omega’s royal blue hair as he seemed to just fade into nothing.

A bright white light flashed and fell from the illusionary wires, eyes wide, as he peered around the room. His previous joy seemed to leave him as an unfortunate realization came upon him. Whas just happened? The thought played through his mind. Did I really just see my brother? But his thoughts were interrupted as he sat up from his position on the floor and glanced around the room. With the state his quarters was in, Omega was going to be in quite a bit of trouble in the morning. Sure there were no illusionary wires, no obnoxious buzzing, no musky smell, or damp taste; there was just the quiet, empty quarters that was now devoid of his brother, the problem was that the room was still very much destroyed. Omega stood up from the floor but quickly took a similar position on his bed. He proceeded to lie back in his bed and his heart sank. He was again reaching that state of realization that he would not see for quite some time but at least this time he had his brothers promise. His brother might not be coming back but it was time to make a change. At the moment, Omega decided that the next time his brother saw him, he would be in charge of this place.

With a yawn, he decided to sleep the thoughts away but as he tried to forget and go to sleep he found himself uncomfortable. No matter how he lied, there seemed to be a strange pressure constantly pushing up on his body, an unusual lump. Fed up, Omega began feeling around for this strange bump only to find his hand touching a cold, metallic surface. Realizing he had already spaced out about the watch, he quickly grasped the item and flipped over, sitting upright in his bed. A smile crept over his face. He slid his fingers across its smooth silver surface but as he looked it over, it seemed to catch a slight reflection of light, this reviled two small inscriptions on the front and back that were not there before.

“No need for good-byes. I will see you again.” Omega read to himself with a smile before turning the watch over. The smile crept larger when he examined the inscription on the back. The inscription read in fancy letters, similar to calligraphy writing:

Remember, I Will Hate You Always

#myramblings

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