Disclaimer: ToL still doesn't belong to me.
Chapter 1
Vaclav walked down the halls of the Legacy's bridge. It had been some time since he had launched any plans to eliminate Senel Coolidge and his group. He was running out of ideas, but he would not give up.
Vaclav stepped into the control room of the bridge, where he found Solon working at the computer terminals. Vaclav silently walked up to the man, looking over his shoulder.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" he asked sternly.
"I'm just putting my new plan into motion, dear Commander," Solon replied. "I've erected a barrier around the surface of the Legacy."
"Really? Explain."
"The Radiant once used this barrier to repel outsiders. However, they soon found that the barrier had a fatal side effect, so they were forced to stop using it. I'm merely using that side effect to our advantage. With this barrier, everyone on the Legacy is as good as dead."
"So with this barrier, no one can enter the Legacy, correct? That means that I won't be able to bring in any reinforcements."
"Don't worry, Commander. You won't need any reinforcements with this plan. With this barrier, everyone on the Legacy is as good as dead."
"Including us?" Vaclav pointed out.
Solon scoffed. "Now, now, I wouldn't execute this plan if I didn't have a way around that, would I?"
He turned and walked across the bridge towards the exit.
"Where are you going!?" Vaclav demanded.
Solon only turned his head back as he walked. "I'm only going to execute the next phase of my plan. I can't let my dear apprentice die, now can I?"
He exited the bridge, pausing as the door slid shut behind him. He then grinned.
Of course, I never intended to spare you, dear Commander...
--
"Let's see..." Harriet read through her recipe book. "This time I'll make everyone enjoy my cooking. Now I'll need three cups of flour..."
She climbed on a stepstool to reach the dish cabinet. Instead of the measuring cup, she pulled three separate cups from the cabinet and stepped down. She then filled each of the cups with flour before pouring them into the mixing bowl.
"And now I need three cups of water." Harriet moved the cups over to the sink, where she turned on the faucet.
But nothing came out.
"Uh..." Harriet turned the faucet knob even more and banged on it, but the faucet still remained completely dry.
"Okay, this isn't good..."
--
"Extra, extra! Read all about it! Heat wave hits the Legacy!"
Senel listened to the young man standing in the road handing out newspapers to everyone who passed. He looked up at the sky.
"It is pretty hot out here," he thought.
He took a paper from the man as he walked down the road. Finally, he turned and went into Will's house.
"Hey, Will!" he called out.
Instead of Will's answer, he heard Harriet's voice yelling across the room.
"Come on, water, work!"
"Harriet?" Senel walked over to the kitchen, where Harriet was still struggling with the water faucet. "What's the matter?"
"I can't get any water out of this faucet!" Harriet cried. "I'm trying to bake a cake, and I can't make any cake without any water! So get me some water right now!"
Senel shook his head. "Wait a minute...where's Will?"
"He went out on a monster-hunting mission," Harriet said. "I don't know when he'll come back."
"Well, this is great," Senel mumbled. "We're having a heat wave, and we don't even have any water?"
"Of course we have water! The faucet's just not working. So I want you to go somewhere and get some water."
"Sure." Senel turned and left the house.
--
In the Forest of No Return, Will carefully moved along the trees, watching the ground carefully. He especially kept a close eye on the bushes, waiting for any kind of movement. He carried a long net in his hands, ready to ensnare the creature.
Finally, he spotted a black and white creature scrambling away from the bushes. Will quickly moved through the bushes, trying to catch up. He leaped forward, falling to the ground, successfully ensnaring the creature in his net. And then he caught a whiff of its awful stench.
"Augh!" Will stood up, lifting the net and letting the creature go. "That's the wrong monster..."
Even after the creature had left, Will could still smell its stench. That was when it became clear that he had been skunked.
"Whew!" he breathed, trying to fan the stench away from him. "I'd better get home and wash up..."
After finding his way out of the forest, Will took the duct back to Werites Beacon. Upon entering the city, the people began to scramble away from him. Will didn't let that get to him; the sooner he washed himself off, the better. Finally, he reached his house and went inside.
"Dad!" Harriet ran over to him, but came to a screeching halt upon smelling him. "Whoa, what happened to you!?"
"I got skunked," Will said simply. "Now what is it?"
"Our water's not working."
"Are you serious?" Will went into the kitchen and began to turn the faucet on as well, but no water came out.
"Of course I'm serious," Harriet told him. "Why would I joke about that?"
Instead of answering, Will took a moment to ponder what was happening. "The weather is abnormally hot, and then our water stops working...something tells me that this isn't just a coincidence..."
"Dad, you're stinking up the whole house!" Harriet interrupted. "Hurry and get out! And don't come back until you take a shower!"
"Al right, Harriet," Will said as he made his way to the front door. "And call the plumber, will you?"
"Sure, Dad." Harriet quickly turned and left the house ahead of him.
Will started to leave as well, but Norma casually walked in.
"Hey Teach, I have something important to tell you..." she began, before catching a whiff of the skunk odor. Without breaking stride, she turned around and started to leave the house. "On second thought, it's really not that important. Bye-bye."
Will only raised an eye as he watched Norma leave. He began to think to himself again.
"I don't watch to spread this stench all over the city. I know something that will help get rid of it."
With that, Will went back into the kitchen and began to search the cabinets.