#this kinda grew arms and legs it was only meant to be like 500 words ahahaha

[klauskalgreeves]

Rakata Prime was an unaffiliated planet on the outer rim. Claims had been reported to the GAR that there had been a hostile invasion of separatist forces terrorising the natives, and the Supreme Chancellor had sanctioned that the nearest General and Clone division investigate these claims. Given their close proximity to the planet (being in the Outer Rim at the time) the 212th had been selected to inspect the nature of such allegations. Cody and a squad were sent ahead of time (with great displeasure to all those involved) as Obi-Wan and the rest of the battalion were needed to wind up on a humanitarian mission they were currently engaged in.

They had landed on the planet two days ago, having spent the first few days taking notes of the landscape and designing a battle plan. Rakata prime was a primarily dry planet, with extensive plains of nothing but farmland and rolling trees.

Easy enough to stay discrete if they stuck to the tree line. But with enough space to plant their heavy guns as a second line of defence.

In all it was the kind of planet Cody had seen a hundred times over.

Once he’s briefed the men he gives the order to press forward, standing back and watching as the troopers move out. His initial intention had been to comm his general in the quiet revive and give him a quick update before the fight begins.

This pause allows him to catch two stragglers fall behind.

He frowns, observing from his vantage point as the two figure seems to linger close to the tree line. The cleanliness of their armour is a straight give away that they’re both shinies: as is their demeanour.

From what he can see, one man is tugging at the others shoulder, helmet whipping back and forth in a way Cody knows is more nervous than observational. His partner is crouched on the ground, hand smoothing over something in the dirt.

Once it appears that the two are going to fall behind Cody starts forward, approaching the pair.

They don’t notice him straight away (something he’s going to have to take note of), but now he is closer he can half understand why. The shiny on the ground is fixated and the shiny trying to pull him away is muttering a nervous spiel of regulations, fingers of his spare hand tapping a nervous ‘click click click’ against his thigh plate in a way Cody is surprised the Kaminoan’s didn’t condition out of him.

“Find anything interesting?” He asks, crossing his arms and taking a step back as the pair shoot upwards instantly, fumbling to remove their buckets.

“Commander!”

“Sir! Commander! Sir!”

Both men are now standing at attention in front of him, which gives Cody a better chance to scrutinise them.

As he had initially distinguished, their armour is squeaky clean- not a scratch or battle tell insight. In fact, it’s painfully apparent that the two men haven’t even had the chance to settle onto the negotiator: the colours of the 212th are absent from their helmets.

The lack of time clearly hadn’t deterred the curious trooper from trying, however, given his paint-stained fingertips. A sloppy line of gold has been added to his companion's chest plate, streaky in a way that comes with using fingers instead of a brush. On his own armour, there is a slapdash attempt at what looks like a wave on his shoulder plate: though it’s clearly bled and looks more like he’s leaned against a wet wall.

Cody appreciates their attempts at individuality, though he is less than impressed by their carelessness so thus displayed.

“What’s your name, troopers?”

Gold fingertips answers first. “I’m jitter! Sir! Commander, I mean. My names Jitter.”

Nervous tapper answers second. “Click, Sir.”

‘That makes sense’ Cody thinks, inclining his helmet and purposely looking in the direction the rest of the squad is headed- now out of sight.

“Well Jitters and Click, you must have a good reason to be falling behind on your first campaign. I’d love to hear it, since it was clearly so important.”

Click begins talking before he’s even finished his sentence, fingers tightening into fists and relaxing. It seems the longnecks had tried to curb the habit after all.

“We are so sorry, Commander. We didn’t mean to fall behind; we can only apologise. We’ll join the rest of the men and report to you afterwards for punishment. Again, we're sorry. Come on, Jit.”

But Jitter doesn’t seem so inclined to move. The shiny hesitates, feet shuffling from side to side in a way that isn’t necessarily nervous. In fact, Cody would stipulate that the movements are not born from anxiety, but are a way of whipping up as much dust from the ground as possible.

“It was my fault, sir. Click has nothing to do with it. We’ll be on our way now; I only got distracted by the flowers.”

That pauses his impeding lecture, if only for the sheer irregularity of the sentence.

“The flowers?”

Instead of speaking Jitter produces a small white flower and holds it up in presentation.

“You’ve fallen behind and risked attack for flowers?” Cody asks incredulously, quirking his eyebrow.

Click’s face is now flushed, and Jitter seems at least abashed, ducking his head down to look at the plant in his hand. “I’m aware it sounds bad. It’s just... we’ve never seen one before, sir. I was only curious, see. We’ve been on Kamino this whole time- we didn’t know there was ground that wasn’t hard and that places didn’t rain all day. And I saw the flowers and got distracted. I’ve only ever seen them in a book, once. I didn’t know they were real things. But it's my fault we've fallen behind; Click doesn't deserve to be punished for my mistakes.”

Cody is taken aback, and the lecture he had prepared dies in his throat.

Sometimes he forgets what it’s like to be a shiny leaving Kamino. Perhaps it was different from him- he was CC class, and his training left absolutely no room or time for curiosity. But for many of their men it’s natural to be fascinated by all the little things life offers.

He’s never met anyone spellbound by dirt and flowers, but the innocence and childlike wonder are vaguely endearing.

Cody sighs, switching his gaze between the two until he starts to see them physically squirm before he beckons his head in the direction of the trees. “Hm. Well, Jitter, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time after this campaign to explore the exciting properties of dirt. But right now, you’re needed on the front lines. Move out, troopers.”

This seems to spur both men, and Click begins pushing at his brothers back, casting a thankful look at him.

“Sir, yes, sir,” they reply in tandem, straightening their spines and marching on in the direction the others went in.

Cody takes a moment to watch them, shaking his head fondly under his helmet before he follows behind.

Looks like he’s got another twin pair on his hands. If their anything like Waxer and Boil, he’s looking forward to getting to know them.

———

If Cody thought the battle was bloody, the aftermath was bloodier.

He stands amongst a sea of white plastoid that had once been reverently marked with gold markings- now stained red and splattered with mud.

Around him, the bustling sounds of equipment being packed up is eerily loud compared to the oppressive silence that comes with loss. As always, he feels a weighty sense of responsibility as he looks out at the bodies of his brothers: those he knew personally and those who had only just left Kamino. Death does not discriminate; he understands, but Cody is their Commander, and every battle his men die is another blow to his unwavering resolve.

Sighing heavily he scrubs a hand down his face, allowing a lingering moment to breathe through the brief flare of anger he feels at the fact they cannot recover the bodies and give them the funeral they deserve. Such is the consequence of war, apparently. His only solace is that they will have a remembrance ceremony later to share memories about their brothers who are now marching on.

It’s as he’s walking back to the ship that his attention is snared. To his left are two bodies: one thrown over the other. It is not unusual for some of the vode to defend their ori’vod or batch mate. However, what catches his eye is the unusual armour decoration- a poorly painted chest plate, streaks still visibly even under a layer of grime. His stomach drops instantly and he drops his gaze without much thought to the clone curled underneath, catching sight of painted fingertips curled around a fistful of dirt.

A crushed flower lies just out of reach, yellow this time.

Cody closes his eyes.

Here lies a body of a shiny who had only just stepped foot off Kamino. He didn’t know some places didn’t rain. He hadn’t seen vast planets of grassland; he hadn’t seen the great desert plains and the bustle of city planets like Courscant. He had barely seen any of this universe, and now he never will.

He died in the mud that he had found so fascinating only hours before, along with his brother who radiated nerves and careful consideration.

They were just shinies. They were just kids.

But the Republic don’t see them that way. They’re just soldiers, to them.

They’re nothing but buckets. Feet on the ground. Numbers.

Cody signs again, allowing one last moment to glance at the sad scene. Such is the way of war, he understands. But that doesn’t make it much more manageable.

It never has, and it never will.

He bends down, picking up the crushed flower and places it on Jitters chest plate. Then he straightens his shoulders and moves on, heading back to the ship so they can meet the rest of the 212th at the rendezvous.

——

At remembrance that night, no one comments on the freshly painted flower on his shoulder pad.

No one needs to.

After all, no one understands loss quite like the clones.

They don’t have possessions. They don’t have homes with trinkets and items. Memories are all they have, and dedications are all they can give.

Jitter and Click never got to experience much in their life cycle, but Cody won’t let that be in vain. He’ll live for them.

And from now on, he'll take more time to appreciate the flowers.

[docsamurai]

Humans are weird: The frozen retreat

*Quick note before I start: This is the 6th installment in a series I’ve called the Lost Colonies which is largely about human society adapting to the strange environments of other worlds. You can read the other installments here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing this series, but with my new work schedule I had to bring it to a close. If you’ve enjoyed this story follow me on here for my other writings. Thanks again to everyone who has reblogged, liked, replied, DMed, or otherwise shown their appreciation for this series. It means a lot to me that people enjoyed it and the love you’ve all shown me has really helped keep me going for these last few months.*

Kiara stood with her arms wide embracing the cold winds that scoured the surface of the planet. It was far colder than the winds that she usually faced in her childhood back on the Thaw and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to withstand these temperatures for long but it felt good. The wind bit right through several thermal layers and chilled her to the bone but the memories that wind brought with it were worth the pain. It had been 20 sols since she had left her homeworld behind and her work had kept her so busy that she had only been back a handful of times to bury her mother and father. 

Turning away from the wind Kiara hurried across the ice to the warmth of the drilling camp as the memories faded to the bitter knowledge that even if she took the time to head back to the Thaw that she had no friends or family left on that planet. Kiara made a note to herself to talk with her station’s councilor when she had the time. The airlock groaned open as she approached and Kiara caught sight of a Turic holding the hatch open for her. The Turic slammed and bolted the hatch shut as soon as she was in the safety of the camp. Bok’han ran his hands through the exposed fur on his head to shake off some ice. “Amazing! I didn’t know a human could survive temperatures that low for that long.”

Kiara smiled through the chattering of her teeth. “I’m surprised your brother didn’t tell you more about me Bok’han. My homeworld was largely frozen too. That was nothing compared to some of the nights I grew up in.” It was a lie, a small one, but she still liked to see the looks on the faces of people who didn’t spend much time around humans when they learned just how adaptable humans can be. “Besides, there’s supposed to be a human colony under the ice here so you’re probably going to see a lot of people used to the cold here.” Bok’han didn’t say anything but scratched behind one of his ears, a gesture Kiara had come to understand meant that he was thinking.

Kiara unsealed the inner hatch and stomped her way inside, shaking the feeling back into her legs. “Is the submersible ready yet?” A tehnician handed her a datapad. “Just finishing final checks now. The ice freezes over too fast for us to keep the hole open for long but we can at least open it up to lower you in and can keep it thin enough that you can radio through when you need to get back out." Kiara nodded running the logistics through her head. “Any contact with the city below?” The technician shook his head. “Ice is too thick for radio contact. We tried at the bottom of the ice shaft but didn’t get a response. Sonar shows the shaft is about 5 kilometers magnetic south of the edge of the city.”

The technician brought up the sonar readouts on a nearby screen. “We’ve seen some activity but nothing that appears threatening. It could just be local fauna.” Kiara arched an eyebrow at the technician. “local fauna” could mean anything from schools of fish to the sorts of things that Old Earth authors would have called Elder Gods. The technician seemed to take her meaning and she laughed “Nothing too ominous, at least, nothing over 3 meters long.” Kiara could think of a lot of dangerous things that were smaller than 3 meters long but she agreed that given the size of the submersible it would most likely be fine. “Alright. Let’s load up and head out.”

Though the submersible was easily over 5 meters long and 3 meters tall, it was still a tight fit for just Kiara and Bok’han due the massive ammounts of reinforcements it needed to be able to survive the pressure of the waters below. The fact that an underwater dome city was apparently built on this world boggled the mind, but if you wanted to hide something the way EarthGov had liked to then this would be the place to do it. Underneath two solid kilometers of ice there was a relatively thin layer of water that was kept from freezing by geothermal vents. 

The submersible reached the bottom of the shaft and the laser drill fired vaporizing the few centimeters of ice that had reformed. Water came rushing up the shaft to cover the submersible and the guide line detached. Sure enough almost as soon as they were underwater Kiara saw the ice already starting to reform above them. Kicking the motor on they emerged from the ice shaft and pointed their way towards the domed city. Kiara started to reach towards the floodlights and decided that she didn’t want to startle any of the “local fauna” and instead turned on the infrared cameras. 

The viewport remained dark but the video screens were a riot of color and life. Some things looked similar to species she had seen on other worlds: crustaceans, fish and clouds of microscopic trilobites. Others were decidedly alien: long snakelike tubes with mouths at either end, massive flat sheets that drifted gracefully by, some flashed on the thermals as they lit up to attract prey and still others she had no words to describe. At this depth and without visible light able to reach this far, she knew that all of these creatures would be eerily translucent to visible light. Kiara used to wonder if the stories of the oceans of old Earth were even half true. Seeing all of this with her own eyes she realized that not only might it all be true, she probably didn’t know even a fraction of it.

Bok’han broke the silence first breathing only the word “Astonishing” which brought Kiara back into her own head. Kiara cleared her throat. “Come on, we’ll take recordings for the biologists to study later. Don’t forget we’re here on a job.” Bok’han straightened up in his seat as best as he could and checked the readings. “Sonar is showing that the city should be approaching visual range now.” Kiara frowned and looked over at his screen. He was accurate of course, but if sonar was picking up the shapes of the dome then why wasn’t she getting anything on thermal? “Oh crap.” she muttered as it dawned on her and she flicked on the floodlights. There was a flurry of activity as fish swam away from the viewport revealing the ruined dome.

Though it was structurally intact the dome was flooded, presumably from damage that Kiara couldn’t see from her vantage point. Coral covered all of the lower parts of the geodesic structure, gradually claiming the supports. In a century it would look like any other part of the sea bed. It was remarkable how intact the dome was though. Sonar was showing the structure as intact and Kiara couldn’t see so much as a single panel out of place. Bok’han made a grunting noise “I am sorry for your loss Kiara. It must be hard to lose a colony this way.” Kiara sighed “It’s fine Bok’han. We knew going in that it was always a possibility. Come on, let’s see if we can find a way in.”

It took hours of scanning before they finally found a panel that had fallen off the structure and though it was wide enough to allow the submersible in the coral had grown in enough to make it a tight fit. Inside the dome though the buildings were practically untouched by the coral and none of the local fauna could be seen anywhere. Kiara had been expecting a city overrun by decades of growth. This looked as though it could have happened yesterday. “Something’s not right here Bok’han. Scan for any power sources or heat signatures, I don’t care how faint.”

Bok’han clicked his tongue as he tapped away at his console running through various instruments before they finally let out a ping. “There! 500 meters ahead 40 degrees west, 20 meters down.” Kiara guided the craft down until she found the source: a faintly beeping distress beacon that was loosely anchored to the ground in the middle of town square. It was surrounded by corpses. Bok’han fell entirely silent and his eyes went wide. “Those bodies are either really well preserved or are very recent. We should go Bok’han.” Bok’han, still silent, simply nodded. Kiara extended the submersible’s claw and carefully yanked the distress beacon free from its anchor then sped towards the way they had come in. 

Back on the surface at the drilling camp Bok’han got shakily off the submersible and went off to his quarters. He had barely talked the entire way back. The technician met Kiara as she stepped out of the submersible. “Is he alright? What happened down there?” Kiara shook her head. “The city was dead. He’s taking it kinda hard. He’ll probably be ok after he’s had a chance to talk with his brother. Could you see what you can get off this beacon?” The technician nodded and happily got to work as Kiara went to her own quarters to get a nap. She felt the need to talk to Kit’cha too, but figured that Bok’han probably needed him more.

Kiara was awoken several hours later by her comms beeping. Angrily she slammed the button and glared at the screen. “What do you need?” The technician, looking visibly shaken was on the other end. “I have that beacon decoded for you maam. There’s a video.” Her tone suggested that whatever was on the beacon was something Kiara should see right away. “Put it through, I’ll watch it in here.” The screen flickered as the video loaded and the screen focused on a young man standing with his back to of a crowd in the town’s square.

“You don’t know who I am, but we sure as hell know who you are. I’m the leader of the deep space retreat and though we evaded your authoritarian rule for a few hundred years, you managed to find us. We stand as one when we say that our ancestors wouldn’t be ruled by EarthGov and we sure as hell won’t be ruled either!” The crowd in the background cheered. “It was a hard decision but we know we can’t fight you. That doesn’t mean we’re going to be your slaves or even give you the satisfaction of killing us yourselves. We’ve already turned off the electric fields keeping the coral from eating this place and soon we’re going to open the floodgates to let the sea wash us away too.” The young man turned to face the crowd. “LET THIS BE THE FINAL ACT OF RESISTANCE!” The man swallowed a pill, again the crowd cheered. Some took drinks or swallowed their own pills. Turning back, the young man looked directly into the camera and grinned. “FUCK YOU FASCISTS!”

The video cut out and Kiara saw her horrified reflection in the darkened screen. Kiara sat heavily back on her bed and wondered, not for the first time, if it was time to retire.

[hillyhipher]

Not the Right Time Fanfiction!

I was on @if-trash-could-speak blog and saw all of these Pyronica X Bill talks and had to make a fanfiction! I'm warning you, English is not my first language so it might sound weird. Please enjoy! (The words in the * * are Ford's thoughts) ~~~~~ Ford gasped as cyan chains grasped his neck and legs. He felt himself being pulled off the ground and levitating in front of his enemy, Bill Cipher. Ford tried to grab at the chains around his neck, they were cool to the touch. “YOU'RE MAKING THIS SO MUCH HARDER THEN IT NEEDS TO BE.” Bill said in his shrill voice, swirling his ‘margarita’. The purple drink smelt like blood and sulphur, it made his eyes burn. “EVERYONE HAS A WEAKNESS TOUGH GUY! I’LL MAKE YOU TALK, IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIM-” Bill stopped talking and looked away from Ford. His eye twitched but he didn't seem to be looking at anything that Ford could see. Maybe he was listening for something? *What are you doing Cipher?* Suddenly, he heard it. Large thumps coming from the other side of a Fearamid. It was getting louder and Ford could hear a gravely voice saying some gibberish. *Must be one of his ‘Henchmaniacs’ as he calls them.* Ford looked at Bill and could clearly see confusion in his eye. Suddenly, it cleared, as if he recognized that awful voice from the hall. Bill groaned and looked back at Ford. “DON’T TRY ANYTHING FORDSY. I’LL BE RIGGHHHTTT BACK.” He said in a singsong voice as he floated towards a door that was behind Ford. It must've been the entrance to his penthouse. Bill brushed against his arm while walking past the old man, it made the appendage numb. Ford drew back a bit and watched Bill disappear in a blue light. He reached up with his hands and tried to pry his neck chain off. He failed. He let his hands dangle and looked around the room. It sure screamed Bill. Especially that picture of the triangle wearing a crown and stepping on Earth. It showed him as he truly was. An egotistical bastard. Ford sighed and closed his eyes. A few minutes later he heard Bill return and he was jerked awake. The room was empty but when Ford turned he saw Bill enter the room from the door. He seemed pissed. “What was it?” Ford said in a confident voice. Bill looked at Ford with confusion, as if he forgot the conversation they just had. He blinked his one eye and looked at the chains he casted on the human. “YOU WOULD LOVE TO KNOW, WOULDN'T YOU SIXER?” The triangle sneered. “NOW WHERE WERE WE…” Bill floated closer to Ford, his dark cartoony hands crackled with electricity. Ford was about to resort with a defence when he heard the loud thumping noise again. This time closer. Bill’s eye turned red and he clenched his fists. “I SWEAR IF THAT IS KRYPTOS AND 8-BALL FIGHTING AGAIN I WILL TURN THEM INTO CONDYLURA CRISTATAS.” The triangle mumbled. Even when taking quietly, Ford couldn't stand his annoying voice. The thumping grew louder and faster, till it was outside the door. Ford saw Bill look over to the entrance and widen his eye. It flashed from red to the regular split pupil. He looked… uncomfortable? *Bill being uncomfortable?! What in the world could make Bill freaking Cipher uncomfortable?* He didn't want to know. Ford looked over his own shoulder and recognized the monster immediately. The Henchmaniac was over seven feet tall and bright neon pink. It had an ‘humanoid’ body with a round head, flaming limbs, messy short pink hair, huge horns, large lips, and one huge eye. It was Pyronica, he remembered her from the nightmare realm. In her fire arms, she held a large dirty white binder that had burns and teeth marks in it’s cover. “Heya Eye Candy! I got the pictures I needed to get!” Pyronica exclaimed in a gravely voice. She opened the binder, showing it was filled with pictures of dead bodies and ancient temples. “I needed Kryptos to do it. He didn't want to but once I showed him a meant business, he was happy to help!” She said, fluttering her one eye. The iris was red. “RONNIE, I'M KINDA IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING.” Bill said, only letting a inch of irritation into his voice. *Eye Candy? Ronnie? Jesus christ I don't want to hear Bill and this practically nude monster chit chat!* As the two monsters spoke, Ford tried to wiggle out of his chains. “Oh! Who is this cutie wootie!” Pyronica cooed, stepping up to Ford. “Hey! It’s the guy that Bill wanted to catch.” She said in a giddy voice. “I thought you turned him into gold, my little angle.” She said, turning to Bill. He looked liked he recovered from her barge in. “HE KNOWS SOMETHING WE NEED IF WE ARE GOING DOWN THIS WORLD DOMINATION ROUTE.” Bill explained. “ONLY THE DIMWIT WON'T TELL ME!” Bill sighed and itched his one large eye. “I WAS ABOUT TO SHOCK THE ANSWER OUT OF HIM BEFORE YOU CAME IN.” “Personally, I prefered him when he was gold…” She said gruffly, patting Ford's back. He expected her fiery hand to burn his trench coat and back. It cooled him instead. “Anyway!” She stepped closer to Bill and he floated back. “I got these cool pictures of places where we can visit after we get out of here!” She opened her binder and turned to the back. She walked back over to Bill and showed him. “Here is Palenque! I heard the humans that used to live there tasted great!” Pyronica said cheerfully. Bill, now getting into it, floated closer to the binder, and looked at the picture of Palenque. “I HAD HAUNTED A COUPLE PEOPLE THERE ONCE. FOR SOME REASON THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED THERE LEFT A SHORT TIME AFTER AND NEVER CAME BACK.” Bill eye seemed to be somewhere else for a second before going back to the binder. “THEY BUILT THESE TEMPLES THAT LOOK LIKE ME AND NAMED IT AFTER THEMSELVES! RUDE IF I SAY SO MYSELF. STILL, IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD TRIBUTE.” Pyronica smiled and turned to look at him. “Were those the people that insisted you press a wooden board against your forehead to make you look more beautiful.” Pyronica smirked, her bucked teeth and fangs poked out. Bill laughed, it made Ford cringe. He hated that laugh. “I SAID I LIKED THEIR TRIBUTE, I NEVER SAID THEY WERE SMART.” Pyronica rolled her eye playfully and looked back at the binder. She pointed one of her flaming fingers to a picture Ford couldn't see. The six fingered human realized his chains were suddenly looser. Bill must be distracted. “Going here would be cool! Only 8-BALL said it rained crazily, and I really don't want my hair to be ruined.” Bill scoffed and pointed to a picture in the binder. “WHY DID YOU PUT A VOLCANO IN HERE?” “Well, I thought we could have a hot tub party here, like what we did with Pompeii!” Pyronica seemed oblivious to the, again, uncomfortable Bill. “YEAH, WE PROBABLY SHOULDN'T OF TURNED ON THOSE JETS.” “Please, you know you turned them on. Even if it wasn't on purpose.” She laughed. “I must’ve gotten you riled up or something!” Pyronica and Bill shared a glance and the triangle quickly looked away. His pupil was about half the size it was usually. Ford, who at the moment was trying very hard not to laugh, met eyes with Bill. The demon’s form flickered red for a few seconds before going back to Pyronica. Ford gasped as his chains tightened sickeningly around his neck and legs. Bill looked at Pyronica and closed the binder shut with his magic. “SORRY TOTS, THIS WAS FUN, BUT I'VE GOT TWINS TO TORTURE AND BUBBLES TO POP.” Bill said smoothly, seemingly over his awkward feelings. “WHY DON'T YOU TALK TO ME LATER, AFTER I OPEN THIS IDIOT'S BRAIN AND FIND THE EQUATION I NEED.” Bill glanced at Ford. “FOR NOW, WHY DON'T YOU GO EAT KRYPTOS OR TEETH?” Pyronica grinned and nodded. “Sure thang boss man!” She sang swiftly. Her gruff singing voice sounded ok but then again, Ford just heard Bill sing earlier so everything sounded alright after that. She patted Bill on the top hat, blew a kiss to Ford, and thundered out of the suite. Bill’s body glowed light blue and he readjusted his hat. Ford remembered once trying to touch the infamous top hat during their researching in Ford’s dreams. He would never forget the look of pure death Bill gave him. He was surprised she survived touching his hat, you would think it's his child. “NOW THAT THAT’S GONE, IT'S TIME FOR TORTURE THE FORDSY. WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE CLASSIC WATERBOARDING, OR PERHAPS 500 VOLTS OF ELECTRICITY.” Bill looked at Ford with a cocky expression. He expected to see a terrified face but instead got a face trying to hold back laughter. Bill’s form shimmered red. “WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!” The one eyed demon growled. “Why wouldn't I be?” Ford chuckled, ignoring the pressure from the chains on his neck. “The all so clever, smooth talking, deal making Bill Cipher just got flustered over a freaking pink highlighter!” As the moment got longer, Ford laughed harder, and angrier Bill got. The now red and black demon grabbed the chains around Ford’s neck and legs and held him up to his eye. “500 VOLTS IT IS.”