It was horrifying. The completely unimaginable, unthinkable, had just taken place. Could he ever recover from the pain he felt at that moment? Probably not. Some things were just too powerful to be erased from memory.
Max wasn't here right now, but he knew what his fearless leader would do at a moment like this. Curse. A lot. Maybe punch something really hard. And then start plotting revenge.
But he wasn't allowed to curse, and even though Max wasn't here to reprimand him, he still thought he should show some respect for her and not break her rules. He would punch the wall of the cave where he, Fang and Iggy were currently staying, but he wasn't as strong as Max, and would probably end up breaking his hand. So he skipped right to number three, and began thinking up very...creative ways to get revenge on the Pepsi cola company.
Gazzy knew better than to tell Fang about his project. He'd probably call it juvenile or silly.
But this was just too much. Gazzy could try to ignore the way his blood boiled when Nudge hammered on about how Pepsi was so much better than Coke, because this was America and people had the freedom of speech and all that crap. But getting rid of Coke? That's where he drew the line.
He was actually pretty surprised that Iggy had told him about the great fiasco. Iggy was usually a die-hard Pepsi fan, so it didn't make sense that he would tell Gazzy all about their folly. Gazzy could still remember when he first found out, just like it was yesterday. Probably because it wasyesterday.
"I'll have a Coke," Gazzy was saying to the cashier. They were at McDonald's, one of his favorite restaurants, and the promise of a Big Mac helped him forget how much he missed Angel and the rest of the girls.
"Sorry, we only have Pepsi," the guy replied apologetically.
"Uh, OK, I'll just have water then." He hung his head dejectedly.
"It's OK man," Fang told him, patting his back as they walked towards a table. "You can get it next time."
Iggy sighed dramatically, shaking his head as if at a loss. "If only, if only."
"What do you mean?" Gazzy asked, taking a sip of his water.
"Pepsi bought out the Coca-Cola company. Coke machines all over the world are being replaced with Pepsi." Iggy tried to stifle his laugh as he heard Gazzy spitting out the water he had been trying to drink.
"What?" He sputtered. "No, no that's not possible."
Iggy shrugged. "It was on CNN."
Gazzy's eyes widened. "CNN?" He said in disbelief. "But that's legit! Oh crap, there really is no more Coke."
Iggy couldn't see, but he could tell that Fang must be dying of laughter somewhere inside his emo-brain where laughter actually existed.
"But we have to do something!" Gazzy sounded determined, like this was life or death. "People can't just be sitting quietly and letting this happen, can they? We need to take a stand, assemble a mob, find some pitchforks!"
"Hold on there Gazzy. There's nothing people can do, you see, because Coke willingly let themselves get bought out. We can't just make them go back into the cola business."
Gazzy shook his head. "I can't stand for this. I'm going to do something, even if all of America gives up. Give me Coke or GIVE ME DEATH!"
It had sounded pretty patriotic at the time. And with the Fourth of July being just tomorrow, people needed their Coke. And that was when the idea hit Gazzy.
It was perfect, just perfect. He'd need a few materials, but those'd be easy to find.
"Fang?" He called out, spreading out his wings and preparing to leap from the cave, "I'm going out for a while."
"Please please please?"
"I said no Gazzy!"
Gazzy pouted, trying to emphasize his disappointment. If Nudge had been here, she would just use her Bambi eyes on Fang and they'd get whatever they wanted. But Gazzy didn't know Bambi eyes, so pouting and begging was the only thing he could do.
"But why can't we?" He stuck out his lower lip, trying to look pitiful.
"Why should we? They're just fireworks. You and Iggy can make homemade ones. There's no reason to fly all the way to D.C just to see a few firecrackers in the sky." Gazzy could tell that Fang was trying to make his voice all steely and firm, the way Max did, but he was failing miserably. Fang was good at controlling his emotions. He didn't talk very much, so controlling his voice was something he just couldn't do.
"But it's not fair! We never get to do anything normal!" Gazzy kicked a rock, trying to ignore the immediate pain he felt in his foot.
"Gazzy, I highly doubt that normal kids from Arizona go all the way to the East Coast just for fireworks."
"I wish I wasn't a stupid mutant!" Whoa. Gazzy should be an actor. His voice was trembling and everything. It totally sounded like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
Fang bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. "Fine." He said finally. "We'll go. But no stops," he added warningly.
"Yes! Fang, you're the best!"
"Slow down there Gasman." Fang grabbed Gazzy's shoulder, pulling him back. "It's going to take like 5 hours to get to D.C. You sure you can fly that long with that huge backpack?" He gestured to Gazzy's bulging backpack. It was true, the thing was huge and heavy and hard to lift, but Gazzy would make it somehow.
"I'm sure."
"Seriously Gaz, why don't you take some stuff out? We only only need essentials."
"These are essentials."
Fang looked reluctant, but he let it go.
Fang was usually the smartest of the group, ergo, the one who was never wrong. But boy, was he wrong this time.
Gazzy and Ig could never have made homemade fireworks like these. Like, never in a million years. These were beast, and not just because they were watching them from atop a tree, away from the bustling crowd that had gathered along the Washington Monument. They were huge, and each one moved differently, some fading away into different colors. But unfortunately, Gazzy couldn't watch the whole thing.
"Fang, I have to go to the bathroom."
"Seriously Gaz? Now?"
"I really have to go! I'll be back in a sec!" And with that, he dashed out of the tree, sprinting towards the bush where he had hid his pack.
It was complicated work, lighting the match, making sure all the gunpowder was lined up, but man, was it worth it,
Because then, in the middle of the grand finale, with a big bang and pop, Gazzy's fireworks shot up into the sky.
Standing back, he admired his handiwork. It was beautiful, if he did say so himself. And it should be, because he had been up all night, working on it in the moonlight. He flew back to the tree, buzzing with excitement.
Fang was staring at the sky, but not with awe like Gazzy had imagined. His expression was more...horrified? Hmm, that didn't seem right. The Gasman turned his head towards Iggy, who's whole body seemed to rack with silent laughter.
"What's going on?" Gazzy asked, confused.
Fang slowly turned his head towards Gazzy, eyes wide. "You tell me. What did you do?"
"I took a stand for what I believed in! And made sure the whole country knew!"
Iggy stood up, nearly crying with laughter. "OK Gazzy, I hate to tell you this, but Pepsi did not buy Coca-Cola."
"Huh?'
Iggy snorted. "I made it all up, just to mess with you." There was a big stupid grin on his face.
Gazzy's eyes widened. "Why would you do that?"
Iggy cracked up again. "I didn't know you would take it so far! Oh, my ribs."
Gazzy's head seemed to move automatically towards the sky. The fireworks were still shimmering, and they no longer seemed very beautiful. Would he get arrested for ruining Independence Day? Would he be interrogated by the FBI? Maybe Obama himself would deal with him.
Because glittering in big red letters in the sky, for all of Washington to see, were the words Bring Coke back! Pepsi sucks balls! Love, the Gasman.
Author's Note:
So, sorry about being late. I had started writing this on July 2nd, but I got lazy. Hey, it's summer! Plus, my sister had been using the laptop to watch movies on Youtube, so I barely got to use it. Anyway, sorry, and happy Fourth of July! Oh, and don't forget to review!
By the way, I live like 2 hours away from D.C, and I just got to say, the fireworks were epically awesome, even if it was 98 degrees out.
So, Coke or Pepsi? If you haven't noticed yet, I'm on the Coke side.