Welcome to Storywik
Once upon a time… there was a website known as Wikia filled with a variety of citizens separated out into kingdoms known as Wikis. These Wikis were ruled by benevolent Bureaucrats who always had their subjects' best interests at heart… except for one. Wikia was once a site of richness and prosperity… but not anymore. Not since the Virus.
The wedding march begins playing as the large oak doors of a lavish church are swung open, and on the other side, a beautiful blonde woman in a gorgeous white dress standing beside her father, their arms linked, who's dressed formally for the occasion. The massive crowd stand and go silent, filled with admiration for their rulers. At the altar of the church, a similarly dressed yet smarmy-looking man awaits his blushing bride as she and her father slowly approach; the bride is shaky and nervous – she rather clearly doesn't want to be here. "Calm down, my dear, we're almost there. Just keep smiling," her father whispers, but Lady Junky finds this to be a difficult task. Eventually, she makes it to her husband-to-be, and her father, Reginafan2626, takes his place in the crowd. Villain fan pulls back Lady's veil to reveal a rather worried expression. The bishop at the top begins talking, as do the sysop couple, and the bride's father watches happily from his seat. Soon enough, the bishop reaches the point where he must ask, "If anyone can think of any reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace," and at this point, the church doors burst open as a handsome man on a white horse comes riding in. "I object!" Rena Charming yells, and the entire crowd is shocked beyond belief. "Rena!" Lady exclaims, recognizing her true love immediately, "I thought you had died!" She runs from the altar as Rena dismounts his horse, Rockaboss, and the two of them kiss passionately in each other's arms. At this point, Reginafan2626 stands up, facing his daughter and her true love with his face wrought with pure rage. "Lady Junky," he says, trying to remain calm, "Step away from him." "I will not," Lady states, "Father, I love him!" "I don't care!" Reginafan yells in such a way that all of his subjects cower with fright, "You will marry the man Ipicked out for you! Surely you have no intention of spending the rest of your life with this blacksmith – he's a peasant!" Lady goes to speak, but Rena steps in front of her in a way that suggests "allow me". "The Evil Bureaucrat," he says, "I knew you'd provide obstacle. I warn you now not to stand in our way… or you'll regret it." The charming blacksmith pulls a sword from his holster, and by the way he carries himself, one can tell he knows exactly how to wield it. Reginafan simply laughs, and in a simple movement, his formal clothes are transformed into his regular ensemble – any traces of white are replaced with black, his large and overcompensating crown adorns his head and a long cloak of ravens' feathers hangs from his shoulders. But the most distinguishable feature of the Evil Bureau's look is the large scythe he carries in his right hand; polished to perfection and sharp enough to disembowel with a mere scratch. In his left, he summons a ball of fire. "Do your worst," Rena says, "You and I both know your magic has no effect on me." "Maybe so," Reginafan admits, extinguishing the flame, "But even you can't withstand being torn apart by metal." With that, the Evil Bureau charges at his daughter's love, scythe at the ready, and sparks fly as the blade clashes with Rena's own. "Father, no!" Lady exclaims, but Reginafan orders her to stay out of this. "My whole life, you've never given me any say," she begins, "But no more!" She grabs the scythe by the handle and snatches it away from her father, just as it looks like Rena's grip was about to be over-exerted. Lady approaches her father with the scythe in her hand, and he begs her to be careful. "No, father," Lady tells him, "You don't get to tell me what to do anymore." With that, she swings the scythe in his direction with the intention of killing him, but Reginafan2626 suddenly vanishes in a flurry of black smoke, causing the scythe to uselessly fall to the ground. The citizens continue witnessing this, as does Lady's fiancé at the altar, but she and Rena don't care. He takes her into his arms and the two of them mount Rockaboss together. "Sorry folks," says Rena, "Looks like the wedding's cancelled." "And as for the Bureaucrat…" Lady adds, "It appears this Wiki's about to get a new pair of monarchs." Everyone cheers to the end of Reginafan's reign, and the happy couple ride out of the church together.
The aisle transforms into a road and the white horse into a white car, which is driven by a young man who looks scarcely of age. He drives past a sign which reads Welcome to Storywik, and he proceeds to drive into the little town in Maine. Everything appears humble and homely, and the driver smiles at his surroundings before eventually pulling up outside a bar called The Sword and Hammer. He steps out of his car and enters, approaching the bar as another young man wipes it down. "I'd like a drink please," says the driver as he sits at the bar; he is surprised to see a white dog go past, and the bartender – who bears a striking resemblance to Rena Charming – looks up at him and asks for ID. The man takes his drivers' license from his pocket and hands it to the bartender, and the bartender reads aloud, "Joseph Kahn," thus revealing the man's name, "You're lucky; turned 21 only yesterday. I just hit that milestone a week ago." He tells the man not to mind the dog, for that's just Rocky, and he puts the ID on the bar and asks what he'd like to drink, and Joseph orders a beer. "I'm Renato Smith," the bartender introduces himself; "My dad owns this place." He soon hands Joseph his drink, saying, "You can call me Rena," and as Joseph takes loose cash out of his pocket to pay, he nods and replies, "You can call me Joe." "So, um, you new around here? Only, I've never seen you before." "Um, yeah. Just rolled up today." "Really? Where you from?" Joe simply drinks his drink, and doesn't provide an answer. Rena nods, and continues wiping down the bar. A woman then sits beside Joe and immediately asks, "Who are you?" He looks the woman up and down and asks, "Who are you?" "Valentina Cunning," she says with a smile, "I'm personal assistant to the Mayor." "Oh? What does that entail?" Joe asks, feigning interest, and Valentina replies, "Oh, nothing thrilling. I get his coffee, schedule his meetings…" "Do his dirty work," Rena finishes for her, revealing a dislike for the woman. Valentina gives him a scowl before turning her attention back to Joe, "Anyway, he'll be very happy to hear about you. We don't often get many visitors. May I ask what brings you here, Mr…?" "Kahn. Joseph," Joe tells her, "And no, you may not." "Right…" she says, looking suspicious of this stranger, "Well, like I said, I gotta go get his coffee. So… ciao." She dismounts the barstool and leaves the premises; Rena gives her a dirty look as she does so. "What's her deal?" Joe asks, to which Rena replies, "Oh, don't mind her, she's just… evil." "Right… so, Rena, what about you? You from here?" Joe asks. "Born and raised," Rena says, "Ask what you want." "Okay, um… do you maybe… have a girlfriend?" Joe wonders, but Rena tells him, "Alas, no. I'm not very lucky in love."
Rena Charming lies in bed with his wife, Lady Junky, as the two of them sleep in each others' arms. Suddenly, a flurry of black smoke takes form in their bedroom, and from this steps a scythe-less Reginafan2626, still in his kingly black attire. He looks at his daughter lying with a peasant, who is now the Bureaucrat of his Wiki, and takes a small dagger from his belt. He approaches Rena Charming and prepares himself to slit the usurper's throat, however, just as he is about to commit to the vile deed, he is tackled by someone wearing a knights' armor – Chat Moderator ImmaGleek. The sysop couple awaken, shocked beyond belief, and Lady exclaims, "Father! What are you doing!" Reginafan's hands are placed behind his back by Imma, Rena and Lady's personal bodyguard, and he says, "I'm here to take back the biggest mistake of your life." "The biggest mistake of my life was not swinging that scythe faster," she says; "Imma, take him to the dungeons; the cells should bind his magic. But call in every Chat Moderator in this castle – we can't let him escape." Reginafan gives his daughter a poisonous look, and she returns it. The shot remains on her face as her father is dragged from her bedroom.
We are again shown Lady's face, but this time, in Storywik as she sits outside a café waiting for someone. Joe sees her as he steps out of The Sword and Hammer, which is across the street, and back into his car, but before he can drive away, Renato comes rushing out in order to give Joe his ID, which he accidentally left behind. "Thanks," Joe says, but his face is suddenly contorted in shock when Rena rather broadly ducks behind the car. "What are you doing?" Joe wonders. "You see that pretty blonde across the street?" Rena asks, and Joe nods, allowing the bartender to nervously continue, "I have the biggest crush on her." "So why don't you go up and talk to her?" Joe wonders, to which Rena replies, "Are you kidding? That's Justine King – the Mayor's daughter. She'd never go for me, I'm a bartender… Besides, she's engaged to someone else." "Who?" asks Joe, and Rena says, "Him." Joe turns to see a man – Villain fan – approach the beautiful blonde and sit opposite her. "Benjamin Leech," Rena explains, and Joe comments that he looks like a dick. "Oh, he is," Rena confirms, "But he's who her father wanted her to marry, so…" "An arranged marriage? Isn't that a little old-timey?" "Yeah, sometimes living in this town is like living in the Middle Ages." Suddenly, Joe spots something in his windshield wipers – a parking ticket. "What the hell; I'm not parked illegally," he proclaims, exiting his car to grab the ticket. "Actually…" says Rena, gesturing the driveway beside the bar, which Joe is currently blocking in. "Damn it," Joe says, "How am I gonna pay this off?" "Well, the Sheriff's Station is just down the street, to the left. You can pay your fine to the Sheriff there. She's usually really lenient on stuff like this." "She?" Joe questions, to which Rena simply nods. "Well, alright," says the newcomer, proceeding to get back into his car and drive away, leaving Rena to run back into the bar as Justine continues eating lunch with her fiancé.
In the local Sheriff's Station, the inside of which is rather drab and colorless, the local Sheriff – ImmaGleek – is sitting at her desk and going through paperwork as Joe is seen entering. "Ah, you must be the owner of the car I ticketed earlier; are you here to pay the fine?" she asks, to which he answers positively. "Take a seat," she insists, and Joe reluctantly sits opposite her. "I'm Sheriff Elizabeth Knight," she introduces herself, "And you might be?" "Joseph Kahn," he says, "Can you just tell me the amount I gotta pay?" "Of course," she says, proceeding to tell him, and he takes more loose cash from his pockets in order to pay it. "That certainly is a lot of money to just be carrying around," she comments as she takes it, but he simply says he doesn't like writing checks. "Aren't you a little young to have this much money?" "I'm old enough," he assures her, and her eyebrow raises. "So, is that it? Hardly anything for me to sit down for…" he points out. "That is true; I admire your inquisitiveness. The reason I asked you to sit down is because the Mayor has summoned you and I thought I'd have to give you directions to his house, however, since you clearly don't know how to park, maybe it'd be better if I drove you." "Why the hell has the Mayor 'summoned' me?" Joe asks. "Have you met Valentina Cunning?" Liz asks in turn; Joe nods, and she adds, "That'd be why. Anyway, shall we get going?" She gets up from her seat and begins exiting the Sheriff's Station…
…And ImmaGleek rushes into the throne room. "Your majesties! Your majesties!" she is heard exclaiming, and Rena Charming and Lady Junky – the latter of which is now obviously pregnant – ask their Chat Moderator what the matter is. "It's Reginafan2626!" she yells, "He's escaped!" The Bureaucrats appear shocked, and Rena Charming asks, "Where on Wikia could he be?" Suddenly, Lady points and everyone becomes aware of blood dripping down the far wall. They stare in amazement and confusion as it trails along the floor, and soon enough, it rises up and forms a person. A woman. Her hair is red, as are her clothes – she wears a flowing skirt with slits up the legs, sandals and a short top, all adorned with gold and jewels, complete with a cloak that attaches at the shoulders and the wrists and a veil that covers the lower half of her face. "I believe I have the answers," she says in response to Rena's earlier question. "DeviousPeep," Rena Charming realizes, and ImmaGleek immediately draws her sword, aiming it at the Blood Wiccan's throat. "The leader of the Wiki Witches of the West?" Lady asks, recognizing the name, "What is she doing here?" "I told you," says Peep, "I'm here to provide answers. I can tell you why Reginafan2626 escaped and what he's up to… providing you tell your attack dog here to stand down." Lady considers the witch before gesturing to ImmaGleek, causing the Chat Mod to sheath her sword. "What is my father planning?" she asks, and DeviousPeep explains, "The Evil Bureaucrat plans on enacting a powerful Virus – one strong enough to upload us all to a new land, ripping us from this site and devastating our homes." "What…? What does he stand to gain from this?" Rena wonders, and Peep says she's getting to that; "This Virus has the ability to wipe our heads and replace our memories with fake ones. Reginafan2626 will preside over the entirety of Wikia, Bureaucrat Lady Junky here will presumably be made to marry Administrator Villain fan of Lostpedia – as her father originally intended – and he will surely take this opportunity to murder your as-of-yet unborn child. Unless… you allow me to protect it?" "You can stop the Virus?" Rena asks, but Peep denies this, saying that the Virus is inevitable; "But, we do have time before it's enacted – time for your baby to be born. I could prevent it from being taken – stop it from being killed." "I'm not sure we sh—" Rena tries, but Lady immediately says, "Deal. What do you need?" "In order to cast the spell that will save him?" says Peep, "I will need a hair from each of your heads." "Okay," Lady agrees, "Take what you need." "Your majesty…" ImmaGleek warns as DeviousPeep approaches, walking with an eerie grace, but Lady again gestures for the Chat Mod to stand down. Peep plucks a hair from Lady's head, but when she goes to take one of Rena's, he moves away. "Are we sure about this?" he asks, "Why is she even offering?" "It's no secret that Reginafan and I are… adversaries. I will take much joy in seeing his plan fail," she explains with a smile. "That's it? That's all you get out of this?" She smiles more widely and nods, proceeding to pluck two hairs from his head before he can protest. "It was a pleasure doing business with you," DeviousPeep assures them before melting into a puddle of blood and streaming out of the room. Once she's gone, Rena looks uneasy. "We shouldn't have agreed to that. Who knows what she'll do with—" "Rena," Lady says in an attempt to calm her husband, "This is all to protect our son… all for Jdg98." She rubs her pregnant belly.
We close up on Joe as he sits in the passenger seat of the Sheriff's car. "Jdg98," Liz says and Joe turns to her, confused. "What did you say?" "Jdg98," she repeats herself, "It's written on that piece of paper that just fell out of your pocket." Joe looks down and sees that this is true, taking the piece of paper and stuffing it back in. "I notice things like that; so, what's it mean?" "It's my new email address," Joe explains, "Jdg98's my password. Of course, I may be changing it now…" "What's it mean?" Liz wonders, "If your surname is 'Kahn', J.D.G. can't be your initials, and you're too old to have been born in '98." Joe shrugs, "It's just something I've been using since I was a kid. Don't know where I got it from." "So, why do you have a new email address?" she wonders further, and Joe explains that the Internet never seems to agree with him; "I can make a new account on some website one day, and by the next, it will have disappeared. It's weird." "Huh," says Liz, "Well, we're here." The car pulls up outside the Mayor's lavish office building and Joe steps out just as Valentina is exiting. She looks at Joe, standing beside the Sheriff's car, and comments, "Arrested on your first day? Tut, tut…" She walks away with a smile on her face.
Valentina Cunning approaches Reginafan2626 in a clearing in the forest as he sits beside a bonfire; she carries a sack. Reginafan looks towards her and says, "Remove your disguise, DisneyMeerkats. It's only me here." DisneyMeerkats nods and clicks her fingers, and suddenly, she takes the form of a grotesque troll. "Do you have all of the ingredients?" Reginafan asks, and Disney nods. "And do you have it?" the Evil Bureau adds. Disney nods again, this time with a smile, and takes Reginafan's scythe from its sack, revealing said sack to be bigger on the inside than it is on its petite outside. Reginafan takes his scythe and stands up, happy to be reunited with his favourite weapon. "At last," he says, "My arm is complete again." "Are we to get started on the Virus, master?" Disney asks, but Reginafan tells it no, saying there's something he must do before committing to such an evil deed – "I need to talk to my daughter."
In the Mayor's office, Justine King is seen talking to her father, Joshua King – the Mayor of Storywik, Maine and counterpart to Reginafan2626. "Ben was completely rude at lunch today, I can't marry a man like that," Justine insists. "Of course you can," Josh assures her, "In fact, I was thinking of moving the wedding up to next month." "Dad, can't you hear me? I don't want to get married!" "All I'm hearing is pre-wedding jitters. And they're perfectly natural. But once you're married and you settle into life, those jitters will all melt away." "Not If I'm married to the jerk I'm engaged to," Justine insists, but Josh insists in turn, "But you are going to marry him. And soon. After all, it feels as though you've been engaged for years." He smiles and sends his daughter on her way, and as she leaves the office, she runs into Joe. "Hi," she says, smiling and shaking his hand, and he greets her in turn, having just heard the conversation. She promptly leaves and Joe steps into the Mayor's office, where the Mayor introduces himself as Joshua King and urges Joe to take a seat. He too sits behind his desk and Joe asks Josh why he was called into his office. "Why are you here, Mr. Kahn?" Josh asks. "You, um, summoned me…" Joe replies. "No, no. Why are you here in Storywik?" Josh explains, and Joe tells him he closed his eyes, circled a random place on a map, and that's where he decided he would pack up and leave to. "You… you saw Storywik on a map?" "Yes…" Joe replies, "What else would you like to know?" "Nothing else," Josh says, "You may go." "Um, alright…" Joe looks rather confused, but proceeds to leave anyway, not knowing why he was summoned to such a pointless meeting. When Joe is gone, an incredibly irked Josh takes a map of Maine from his desk drawer and begins unfolding it. He makes sure that the area where Storywik should be isn't there – for it shouldn't be on any map – and then he looks to where Joe was sitting. The Mayor appears rather perturbed.
As does Reginafan2626 as he approaches his heavily pregnant daughter in the palace gardens. Lady Junky looks shocked to see her father, and asks how he got in. He explains an old friend of his did that for him – referring to the master of disguise that is DisneyMeerkats – before saying that he needs to talk to her. "It's true, isn't it? You are planning to enact a Virus that will wreak havoc on all of Wikia…" "Yes, I am," Reginafan confesses, "But… I'm beginning to rethink my intentions." "I should alert the Chat Moderators of your presence," says Lady. "Sweetheart, please, I need to talk to you!" "What about?! Do you need my blessing to have your revenge?! You're a sick and evil man and I am ashamed to call you my father!" "Lady, I'm not going to enact the Virus!" Reginafan yells, and Lady asks what kind of trick this is. "That is, if you agree to divorce Rena Charming, let me take my kingdom back—" "I will not!" "—and abort your child." "So help me God, if you don't leave now I will kill you myself. ImmaGleek! ImmaGleek!" she yells, and her father quickly says, "When the baby is born, I'll know you have no interest in adhering to my will. And the Virus will be enacted." He then vanishes in a column of smoke. Lady drops to her knees, cradling her stomach, and tears well up in her eyes.
Justine is seen crying in her lush Storywik apartment, but when her fiancé Benjamin Leech arrives him, she quickly grabs a tissue from the box on the coffee table and wipes away her tears so that he doesn't begin to realize how unhappy he is. "Honey, I'm home," he says, and she asks him how his day has been since they had lunch. "Great," he says, but before he can say any more, his cell phone begins ringing and he says he has to take it, heading into the kitchen. "Ben," says Josh, who's on the other line, "You know how you're always looking to prove yourself to me as the perfect son-in-law? Well, I've got a job for you. You're probably going to need wire cutters…" In the living room, Justine watches as Ben leaves the apartment with a tool box. She doesn't ask any questions; merely anticipates him leaving. And she begins to cry again.
Tears stream from Lady Junky's eyes as she gives birth to her son, screaming in pain. She screams and screams and screams in agony as Rena Charming holds her hand, but a baby's crying is soon heard as ImmaGleek successfully births the child. She hands the baby boy over to the mother, who wipes him off, and the Chat Moderator proceeds to leave the room. Lady Junky looks lovingly at her newborn son – uttering his name, Jdg98 – but asks where Imma is going. "To alert the bell ringers of our baby's birth, I presume." "No, no!" Lady exclaims, "If my father knows that Jdg has been born then he'll enact his Dark Virus!" Rena assures her that everything is going to be alright, reminding her of their safety precautions, but Lady still appears worried when bells begin tolling, emanating gloriously from the castle. The shot closes in on her baby's face as it cries at the noise.
Joe is seen approaching the drab Sheriff's Station with a bouquet of flowers; he walks in, just as Ben – carrying his toolbox – runs out from behind the stranger's car and vacates the area, having tampered with something. Liz is seen sitting inside her office as Joe walks in, and she wonders what the flowers are for. He explains that he saw how miserable and colorless this place looked earlier to he stopped by a florist on his way back from the Mayor's office to get her a little something. She smiles and accepts the flowers – roses – and sniffs them, saying they're her favorite, and Joe seems gladdened by this. She asks where he'll be going now, wondering if he'll be staying in town, but he says Storywik's proven itself to be a bit too much hassle for him, so he thinks he'll be moving on. She nods, understanding, and Joe leaves her as she continues to smell the roses. He approaches his car and gets in, starting up the engine and driving away. He makes his way through the town and begins to speed up as he approaches the exit sign. However, he realizes soon that his breaks don't work. In his attempts to stop the now-very-fast-car, he swerves and crashes into said exit sign. His unconscious head rests against the airbag and smoke rises from the bonnet.
Similar to the smoke that is now consuming all of Wikia – the Virus; it's been enacted. Rena Charming sees this from the palace window and alerts Lady Junky, who looks fearfully down at her newborn son. Suddenly, blood begins dripping down the walls and it's not long before the shape of DeviousPeep forms in front of them. "You sure do like to cut it close," she says, "I'll just be taking that." She gestures the child, but Lady holds it close to herself, having changed her mind the moment she saw her child's face and fell in love. "No," she says, "It's staying with me. With its mother. It's safe with us." Peep smiles. "No," she says, "It's not." She snaps her fingers and the baby floats out of Lady's arms and into the witch's. "As I said before, it's been a pleasure doing business with you." With that, she takes a small vial from her belt and throws it on the ground, causing herself and her baby to be consumed by green smoke. When the smoke clears, they are gone, and the sysop couple are quite distraught to see their child go.
In what looks like a laboratory in a place where the walls are made of stone, green smoke suddenly appears and DeviousPeep steps out of it. She turns to a group of women dressed the same way she is, and she says, "Right, girls, we don't have a lot of time… let's get to work."
We are shown the witches as they make symbols and sigils in blood and write them all over the baby and its surroundings. We see Peep casting a personal spell with her hands on the baby's head, and Jdg98 is then placed within a circle drawn on the floor, containing a variety of ingredients. Peep reads very specifically from a spell book and, soon enough, the baby vanishes. The witches smile at a job well done and rejoice in prayer as the Virus consumes them.
In Our World, we see that the baby has appeared alone on the side of street. Jdg98 cries out for his parents.
Joe wakes up in a bed in Storywik General Hospital where DeviousPeep is watching over him. Her hair is still red, but she no longer looks like an evil belly dancer. She is dressed in a nurse's uniform, and in the background, we see various nurses – all of which were seen to be part of Peep's coven in flashback. "You're lucky, Mr. Kahn. You were pulled from a car accident with scarcely a scratch. I'll be back soon to check on you." Joe nods and looks to the bed next to him – the only other bed in the room – in which a beautiful girl lays comatose. "Who is she?" Joe wonders, and Head Nurse Joanna Seer (as her nametag tells us) explains: "That's Natalia Grant. She's been in a coma since… well, a very long time. We normally wouldn't have put you in the same room as her but, well, we're running short of beds. You understand. Anyway, you just get some rest and I'll return shortly." Nurse Seer leaves and Joe gets up out of bed. He approaches Natalia, feeling strangely drawn to her, and pulls up a chair so that he may sit down at her bedside. He watches her lifeless face, soothed by the gentle beeps of the heart monitor.
Mayor Joshua King is seen going down into his basement with a set of skeleton keys; one of them unlocks his locked closet, inside which is his scythe. He stares at it admirably.
Justine lies in bed beside her fiancé; he is asleep whereas she is unable to catch forty winks in the same bed as a man she doesn't love.
Renato Smith is seen wiping down the bar in The Sword and Hammer. He looks at the photos of the town on the wall and sees one of Justine at a ribbon cutting. He looks at her with love in his eyes.
In her home, Valentina Cunning is seen at her laptop typing Joseph Kahn's name into a search engine.
At the Sheriff's Station, Elizabeth Knight is down for the day and goes to remove her helmet… only to realize she's not wearing one. She shakes off this instinctive moment of weirdness and leaves.
In the hospital's blood banks, Joanna Seer is seen cutting open a blood bag and using the contents to draw a magic symbol on a hand mirror. She sets it down and begins some sort of prayer ritual.
Joe continues sitting at Natalia's bedside and places his hand on hers… suddenly, she grabs his wrist as her eyes shoot open. Joe is shocked and Natalia sits up, putting her finger to her lips and shushing him loudly. Joe remains in a stunned silence as the now-conscious coma patient unplugs her own machines in order to dull the noise. She then looks into Joe's eyes and says, "Jdg98, my name is MaryPierceLopez. I need to tell you about the Virus…" Joe doesn't know how to react.