Closer than Ever
Chapter 1 - A Day with Gart
"Perry, wipe that smile off of your face! Punch, unclog the toilets in the men's room, they're backed up again! And Robot—dear little brother—clean out the water heater!"
"Bu that's the third time I've cleaned it today!"
"I don't care! Do it now or else you're fired!"
Gart Default was once again abusing his powers as CEO of the Blinking Light Factory, as he rode his cherry picker across the factory to mentally and physically torture his employees.
"Gart! Gart, down here! I need to talk to you for a minute!" Monster called from below, and Gart rolled his eyes since he was reluctant to associate with his pathetic younger brother's best friend.
"What is it?" Gart grumbled while lowering his cherry picker to get closer to the purple Organic.
"Need I remind you that you're the face of this company?" Monster questioned sincerely.
"No. It's the one thing I take pride in always remembering," Gart replied with a boastful grin.
"Well, maybe, but you're also the one all these people look up to. You may be the boss of your employees, but they all depend on you."
"Is there a point to this?"
"Yes, and the point is that—well, you should be a little nicer to us. We respect you, so can't you respect us back?" Monster's hopeful smile nearly fell into a frown when Gart suddenly burst out laughing and banged his fist on his cherry picker.
"Oh, boy…Monster, I do respect you," Gart sighed with relief, wiping away a tear of joy, "I respect that all of you miserable whelps work so hard for me. I don't need your respect; I only need your strong backs, desperation, and lack of free will."
Gart then chuckled darkly while raising his cherry picker, leaving poor Monster to disbelieve anyone could be so cruel…but when it came to people like Gart, it was easy to second guess.
Even when he headed out to eat, Gart was feared by all and he knew it. He also knew that those who ate at the Makin' Bacon were idiots, certainly the easiest to scare.
"Perry?" Gart grimly greeted the said always-smiling Mechanical, who shakily turned to look at his boss, "I thought I told you to get rid of that inappropriate smile."
"But I-!"
"Talk back and you're fired."
Perry suddenly shut his mouth and sprinted out of the restaurant before he could get himself in anymore trouble, to which Gart chuckled when he once again scared one of his employees while off duty.
But then, the CEO of the Blinking Light Factory spotted another Mechanical and his friend sitting at the bar.
"Well, if it isn't my insignificant brother and his hillbilly friend."
"Hello, Gart," Robot sighed flatly, and Monster tried not to look offended by smiling.
"Are you lost, Robot? I'm pretty sure the bus station sandwich kart is just two blocks south of here."
"No, we don't stoop that low. We get paid low wages, but we make enough to eat at decent enough places like this."
"I know. I'm the one who pays you those low wages."
"I know that too."
"Ok, that's enough!" Monster called hysterically and pushed the brothers apart before things could get ugly, "Can't we just get along, guys?"
"No," Robot and Gart informed in unison, turning away and crossing their arms in disgust.
But even after a joyful day of torturing those who were lower on the social pyramid, Gart was occasionally reluctant to return to his office for the night to fill out tedious paperwork, usually consisting of taxes or paychecks for his employees.
The only time he was excited was when it came to counting money that was all his, but this was not one of those times. So, poor Gart sighed while signing a few signatures on some papers, the only other sound be the crackling of the flames in the grand fireplace in his office.
But then there was a knock at his door.
"Enter!" Gart called, not even bothering to look up from his desk.
"I was expecting a warmer welcome from my favorite son!" came a familiar pompous voice, followed by grim rambles of ones and zeroes.
"Mother? Grandmother?" Gart inquired with surprise while finally glancing up to find none other than Arpa and Grandma 101 Default.
"Yes, we know who we are, Dear Gart. But we've come to discuss very important matters with you," Arpa informed firmly, but there was a faint sense of worry in her tone too.
"Is something wrong, Mother?"
"No, but this is very dire. As you know, the Default family legacy is flawless and strong."
"Not counting Robot."
"Precisely, which is why we will never count on him to continue to family line—that would rest squarely on your shoulders, Gart."
"What?!" Gart exclaimed while jumping down from his chair, "You can't be serious, Mother!"
"Oh, but I am. Gart, you are my one good child that I adore with three-fourths of my heart, so I trust you to bear this family with a more than suitable new generation to inherit the factory."
"But-!"
"I am not asking, Gart, and I will not repeat myself either. Find a decent woman, for the sake of this family's reputation—and yours."
Gart couldn't shake the disgusting shudder of settling down, but if there was anything he loved more than money, it was the dignity of him and his family.
"Yes, Mother," Gart sighed in defeat.
"Thank you. You're a good man, Gart, and you will make a fine suitor and father," Arpa pointed out softly, and she then left her oldest son's office without another word.
But before she followed her daughter, Grandma 101 rolled up to Gart and whispered suggestive binary to him.
"I ought to wash your mouth out with soap, Grandmother," Gart growled at his salty grandma, who laughed manically and quickly left the room. And Gart certainly hoped that no children of his would ever inherit his grandma's perverted mind.
Yup, Gart is a definite favorite Robot and Monster character of mine, so I couldn't help but write a love story for him. 'Tis the least I can do for the jerk:P
Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!