Chapter 1
hey! wanna hang at my place later?
Ambient tapped the "Send" button with one trembling claw and waited. And waited. And waited. And when his phone's screen timed out two minutes later, he put it down on the coffee table in front of him and continued to stare at it, awaiting the chime and blinking light of a reply.
None came.
Ambient paced anxiously around the room, glancing fitfully at his phone every three seconds or so, and when he finally couldn't stand it anymore, he grabbed his phone, turned the screen back on, and sent another text, this time to a different recipient: she's not replying! what now? HELP
The reply came swiftly: how long
He checked. four minutes, he wrote.
relax bro
Ambient sighed heavily. How could he possibly relax at a time like this? He replied, will try. but don't forget your promise! PLS He shut off his phone, and decided to go over his checklist for the night one more time, just to be sure. Before he could make his way upstairs to his room, however, an ear-splitting screech interrupted.
"AMMMBIEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNT!"
The red organoid hunched his shoulders automatically against the auditory onslaught. No matter what pinnacles of irritation attained previously, it somehow managed to get even more annoying every time he heard it. He poked his head into the kitchen from whence the racket had come. "Ragh?" he asked.
Hiltz was in one of his "special moods." His eyes were huge and unseeing. His neck bulged with veins. And his mouth, plastered messily with something white and powdery which Ambient could not readily identify, was spread wide in a creepy, manic grin, issuing forth streams of shrill laughter. "I've got it, Ambient, I've got it!" he cried.
"Righ?"
"I finally know how to defeat the Guardian Force," Hiltz hissed, dissolving once more into gleeful giggles. "The Valley of the Rarehertz! We simply lure them there with a nice, fresh-baked pumpkin pie - I know you've become very good at baking as of late, Ambient, yes indeed - and once they are all there, WE ATTACK!"
Ambient shook his head. "Raarrrargh," he explained.
"What would we attack with? Why, the revived Death Stinger, of course!" Hiltz proclaimed.
Ambient looked steadily at him, awaiting the dawning realization.
"You wouldn't be able to control the Death Stinger in the Valley of the Rarehertz because the electronic pulses would mess up your systems," Hiltz said, resigned. "Why are my plans always so cruelly thwarted?!"
Ambient knew that, for Hiltz to be in one of his special moods, he had to have either eaten too much sugar or drank too much alcohol. He didn't especially care which it was; all he knew was that he couldn't let Hiltz ruin everything again. Especially not tonight. Wait! Too much sugar? He couldn't have -
Ambient dove into the pantry, seized a small box, and looked inside. There, to his immense relief, were the dozen cooling cupcakes he had baked earlier that morning. At least Hiltz hadn't gotten into them! He shuddered, imagining the horror that would have been unleashed had Hiltz consumed that amount of sugar all at once. He had probably just drank too much again.
Ambient put the cupcakes back on the pantry shelf and returned to the kitchen. Hiltz was now sitting at the table, giggling to himself and undoubtedly plotting further harebrained shenanigans. "Pumpkin pie!" he muttered, wringing his hands frantically. "There has got to be a way we can use pumpkin pie. In combination with what? How can we most fully realize the supreme powers of pumpkin pie?" He looked up at Ambient just then. "DENTAL FLOSS!" he screamed. "Yes! Dental floss it shall be! TO THE SECRET LAB!" He dashed off to his "secret lab," which was in fact a small home office off of the den. Ambient watched him go, then decided it was probably okay to head upstairs now, since Hiltz usually didn't get up to too much trouble in his "secret lab."
Ambient grabbed his phone off of the coffee table in the living room and headed upstairs. It wasn't until he reached his bedroom that he noticed the device's notification light blinking. A text message! He checked, his Zoid core pulsing so fast he thought it might explode. It was from her! This was it! The moment he'd been waiting for!
-.-.-.-
Specular felt both nervous and giddy about the text she had received that afternoon. On the one hand, it was terrifying to think about what it could mean. On the other hand, it was very exciting to think about what it could mean! Were there going to be others of their friends there, or would it be - good heavens! - just the two of them? Alone? The thought was almost too much! What did he have in mind? Was it even remotely possible that he had finally come around? Her Zoid core fluttered.
She knew there was just one major roadblock standing in the way of her plans tonight. And she'd have to ask sooner or later.
"NOW, SPECULAR!" came a demonic cry from the other room. Time to face the music.
Specular poked her head into Reese's bedroom from whence the shriek had come. "Ragh?" she queried.
"Oh, nothing dear, I was just practicing," Reese said, dismissing her with a wave. It was now or never.
"Raaeerrrgh?" Specular asked bravely. She crossed her pointy little claws, hoping against hope for the permission she needed.
"I suppose," Reese said. "Will you two be alone?"
Specular shrugged. She honestly wasn't sure.
"If that buffoon Hiltz will be there, then yes, you may go to Ambient's house tonight. But if not..." Her tone became icy. "If you'll be alone together, you must promise me something." Her lifeless blue eyes were mesmerizing. Specular stepped closer to hear. She would do almost anything to have this opportunity. "Promise me, dear girl...THAT YOU WILL BE SAFE AT ALL COSTS!" Specular jumped backwards in startlement. "Men are swine, you know, and in saying so I do grave insult to pigs. They will stop at nothing to get what they are after, and you KNOW what they are after!"
Specular wanted to melt into the floor rather than hear this lecture...again. If only her Zoid core would spontaneously combust.
"Luckily, men are all fools and easy to manipulate!" Reese continued obliviously. "Do not forget what I have taught you, my love! You possess staggering psychic power and if Ambient would make a suitable zombie pawn for you, then I will in no way stand between you two! Now that I think on it," she said, gazing off into the distance, "I believe Ambient would make an excellent pet. Just think of how useful he could be when you're ready to move out on your own! Yes, yes, go with my blessings, darling. And if he tries anything..." Her eyes blazed a psychotic blue and she dissolved into shrieking maniacal laughter.
Specular nodded and backed carefully out of the room. In the hallway, she clutched her paws to her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. Astonishingly, that could have gone far, far worse. And best of all, she was allowed to go! She pulled out her phone, and texted Ambient back, at long last.
Sounds great! :)