Hey guys! This is story three of my Strangetown Saga series and the sequel to Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt. The story mostly centers around Vidcund Curious, (the Curious brothers and Isabella are actually the only characters that appear in every chapter), but features more of a variety of characters than the previous two stories. As always, enjoy! And feel free to leave me a review telling me what you think, I'd really appreciate it! :-)
I couldn't fit the complete summary in preview, so here's the more thorough version: After Loki takes over Strangetown and enslaves its residents, Isabella, Kea, Tank, and the Curious brothers must return and fight to restore the town to its former glory. Feeling guilty, Vidcund vows to go after Loki himself, hoping to end the Beaker-Curious rivalry for good - all while knowing that it will likely end in a battle to the death. While Isabella and Kea attempt to rescue Ripp, Isabella finds herself conflicted in more ways than one as she struggles to find her place on the team and her calling in life. Meanwhile, Tank rounds up troops in the city, and Pascal and Lazlo accidentally join a cult which was formed solely to destroy them.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Sims.
Welcome to Slavestown by SClownzZzZz
Chapter One
Strangetown – Eight Years Ago
A council meeting is being held at city hall, located in the heart of the desert city; the council consisting of the eldest members of the city of Strangetown. The members are situated around a rustic oak table, conversing with one another about the current state of affairs. "Alright," Pascal Curious, the head of the council, states, standing up in his seat and placing his hands on the table, hoping to get everyone's attention. "Now that we're all here, the meeting can begin," he announces. All of the council members cease their chatter and look at him. "Today's first and only order of business: Olive Specter, the city's current mayor and eldest resident, is gravely ill, and we need to nominate a successor to serve the last two years of her term," he informs them, "Olive has turned the decision over to the council, so whoever we pick will become the new mayor of Strangetown, effective immediately. So, are there any nominations?"
No one says anything.
"Okay," Pascal says to the crowd, "Then I nominate Vidcund for the position. Does anyone second my nomination?" he asks.
"I do!" Crystal responds, sitting up in her seat. Loki glares at her.
"Great," Pascal replies, "Anyone else want to nominate someone?"
Loki stands up, throwing his hands on the table, "Yes. I hereby nominate myself for mayor of the city!" he announces.
Pascal nods, seemingly unfazed by this announcement. "Well alright then, does anyone second Loki?"
No one says a word.
Loki quickly turns to Circe, nudging her in the side. "Come on Circe, second my nomination."
"Oh sorry dear, I was texting my boss about the big project," Circe speaks up, still pressing buttons on her phone. She raises her hand up. "I second Loki's nomination," she states, not bothering her take eyes off of her phone.
"Alright then, if there are no further nominations for the mayoral chair, we will vote," Pascal concludes, scanning the table for any more nominations; the council is silent. "Okay, then we'll vote. Do each of you accept your nominations?" he asks the nominees, who are conveniently sitting across from each other.
Vidcund nods, "Yes."
"Duh," Loki responds.
"Good, so raise your hand if you want Mr. Loki Beaker to be the mayor," Pascal states to the six sims sitting at the table. Loki and Circe raise their hands. "Okay," Pascal speaks up, "And how many people want Vidcund to be the mayor?" he asks.
Vidcund, Crystal, himself, and Charles Lawson – the town's Mr. Big – all raise their hands. "Alright, the council has spoken. Vidcund is the new mayor!" Pascal proclaims.
"What?! That is unfair! Vidcund totally cheated!" Loki interrupts, crossing his arms across his chest in protest.
"How could he cheat? Three different sims voted for him," Charles says, his forehead scrunched.
"Quiet you!" Loki snarls.
Pascal bangs his fist down on the table. "This meeting is adjured!" He notes. Everyone stands up from the table and starts dispersing from the room. Circe picks up her black leather purse and throws her phone into it. She turns to Loki.
"I gotta go," she tells him, "I want to get back before Remy comes to the lab to check things over."
"Okay," Loki replies, still clearly upset. Circe swings her purse strap over her shoulder and waves goodbye, exiting the premises. Loki turns around, steaming as he sees Vidcund packing up his things at the end of the table.
He storms over to him, "I hope you know that you only won that mini-election because your friends voted you in!"
Vidcund stops what he is doing and stares at Loki. "Well, isn't that politics?" he asks.
"Laugh it up, Vidcund," Loki warns him, leaning close towards his enemy, his finger pointed in Vidcund's face, "Because once I'm in charge, I won't be dealing with any of this shit!"
"What shit?" Vidcund responds, clearly confused, "I've only been in office for five seconds."
"And what a disappointing five seconds it's been!" Loki exclaims; Vidcund rolls his eyes as he continues to pack up his things.
"Look," Vidcund begins, closing his briefcase and placing it on the table, "I don't know what your problem is, but there's no reason that the two of us can't get along. – Or at least pretend like we get along for the next-" Vidcund looks down at his watch, "-Twenty years," Vidcund completes, turning to Loki.
"You and I getting along? Now that's a laugh!" Loki states, flashing Vidcund a sinister smile, "Vidcund, you fool! You and I are two completely different breeds, and it's only a matter of time 'til the town sees you for what you really are – a weak, spineless, failure. Ta-ta!" Loki waves, before twisting on his heel and storming out the door, leaving Vidcund speechless and confused.
Pascal steps forward, having watched the entire display unfold. "Now don't tell me that's normal," he comments to his brother.
Strangetown – Present Day
Hundreds of residents are gathered near the only entrance into the city, waiting for the buses to arrive. The buses came once every year to drop all of the returning residents back into the city. "Do you see it yet?" Lenda eXtreme asks her mother-in-law, poking her head slightly over the separator wall trying to glimpse around the hill. Gramma shakes her head.
"No, I haven't seen anyone come in here all day," she replies, "Maybe we got the wrong date."
Suddenly, a bus appears around the corner and enters into the city; the bus has the words 'Sim State University' painted on its side. The bus stops and opens its doors, but no one comes out. The bus driver looks to the crowd of sims and shrugs, before closing the doors once again and taking off down the street.
"Oh come on, I waited twenty-three hours for that?!" General Buzz exclaims, throwing his hands up in frustration, "After waiting that long, the least they could do is give Tank back," he states, "Ripp they can keep."
Lenda steps forward, her face filled with worry as she continues to gaze down the endless Road to Nowhere. "I don't get it, the kids were supposed to come home today. Where are they?" she asks her husband, Alban. "It's not like Isabella to be late," she comments.
"You're right bow-tie dress girl," General Buzz replies, half-ignoring what she is saying, "Where is Ripp?"
…
Ripp groans as regains consciousness, slowly opening his eyes. He scans the room around him, his eyes adjusting to the sudden shift in light. All around him he sees an empty room, the wallpaper resembling that of a medieval-style house. Ripp looks down as he tries to move forward, now noticing that he is tied to a metallic chair. "Ugh," Ripp groans, "Where am I?"
"Why, you're in Strangetown my dear boy," Loki Beaker states, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He walks towards his captured specimen, his facial expression sinister. "I finally have you in my grasp. And there's no escaping me," he snarls, looking up to the ceiling and giving one of his signature evil laughs. "Just think Ripp, after thirty years of tolerating others and pretending to be nice to people, this city is finally mine! After all, there's not a sim left in this universe that can take me out!"
Ripp raises his eyebrows, his hands still tied behind his back. "Man, you seem pretty sure about that," he notes.
Loki rolls his eyes, "Please," he states, throwing his arms out and pacing around the brown-tinted room, "If you think there's someone that can, just tell me who!" He states, mockingly over-exaggerating his words, "Show me the face of the triumphantly brave warrior that will stand in my way! Show me the face of a man who can stop me!"
Meanwhile: At the Safe House near Strangetown's Border
Pascal is lying down passed out on the kitchen counter, drooling into the kitchen sink as he continues his trip through dreamland. "No mom," he sleep-talks, giving a snore, "I told you, that dress is too big, all the kids will know that it's fake!" he states, before flipping over and giving another snore, accidentally nudging Lazlo, who is sleeping on the floor beneath him.
Sitting at the kitchen table, Vidcund watches them, finding this situation particularly odd. He turns to Isabella, who is enjoying a bowl of cereal with him. "I don't get it," he says, taking a sip of his milk, "I mean, why don't they just sleep on the beds in the guest room?"
Isabella shrugs. "Maybe all of those months sharing that tiny dorm room with us changed their preferences," she suggests, watching as Tank and Kea walk over to the table. They pull out some chairs and take a seat across from Isabella.
"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Tank asks them, "We only have a day left until Loki's deadline is up, so I'm guessing we have to move fast," he states.
Vidcund nods. "Tomorrow we have to make and edit all of the recruitment videos," he informs them. Vidcund turns to Tank, "Did you decide whether or not you want to be the face of the rebellion?" he asks him.
Tank smiles and nods, "I'd be happy to," he responds, "Just try not to make me look crazy."
"Believe me, with Loki as our competition, that would be extremely difficult," Vidcund says, taking another swig of his milk. "Now come on, we need to gather everyone. We have a long day ahead of us, so we may as well get started!"
Three Hours Later
Tank, Kea, Isabella, and the Curious brothers are standing in the basement of Vidcund's safe house, preparing to shoot the footage for the recruitment video. Pascal and Lazlo are setting up the cameras, while Isabella and Kea are watching from behind as Vidcund gives Tank further instructions about what he is going to say.
"In thirty seconds we're going to start rolling," Vidcund explains to Tank, "After I give you the signal, you're going to talk right at the camera and introduce yourself. Then you're going to talk about our rebellion and invite everyone to join the army and fight with us," Vidcund continues further, "Then you can say some sassy things to Beaker if you'd like – the audience might like that. And don't be afraid to be yourself, I mean there's a reason why we picked you for this mission, you have a really strong and unique personality."
"Thanks," Tank nods.
Vidcund steps back a bit, "Now just to warn you, this is going out live. We managed to hack into the airways a few minutes ago and we only have a limited amount of time until Loki notices, so this video has to get out as soon as humanly possible," Vidcund says, backing up further towards the main camera, "Okay, so we're ready to go. Now Tank, just look at the camera that Kea is holding and we'll start in three…two…one…!" Vidcund points his hand at Tank to go.
Tank smiles and looks into the camera that Kea is holding. "Hello," he calmly states, noticing that the label on the camera is backwards. "Uh…?" he begins, gesturing to Kea to turn it around.
"Oh sorry!" Kea whispers, playfully turning the camera the right way, before zooming in and focusing the camera on Tank.
"Greetings Strangetown," Tank begins once more, "My name is Tank Grunt."
Back in Strangetown, General Buzz is walking by his television set, stopping when he notices his eldest son flashing on the screen.
General Buzz steps forward, examining the broadcast more carefully. "Tank?" he states.
"You may know me as the eldest child of that crazy military guy that lives down the Road to Nowhere," Tank tells the audience, "Don't be afraid fellow citizens of Strangetown, that is, unless you're Loki Beaker – because your time as the evil dictator of Strangetown is over!" he announces, "Turns out people don't like it when someone enslaves your entire neighborhood, kidnaps your brother, and tries to kill their fiancé!" Tank growls, moving closer to the camera, "You've awoken a force bigger than you can handle, Beaker. And if you want the neighborhood, then you're going to have to go through me!"
In Loki's basement, Ripp lifts his head up, the sound of Tank's voice causing him to stir. "Tank? Is that you?" he mumbles, staring in the direction of one of Loki's many television monitors.
Loki steps forward, eyeing the young man that has appeared unwelcomed on his plastic TV. "What the hell…?"
"So join me citizens of Strangetown as we lead you to victory and let us take back the neighborhood together!" Tank exclaims, before calmly switching his demeanor, "That is all," he states seriously.
"We?" Lola repeats, watching her living room television with Crystal, Chloe, and Kristen sitting on either side of her. Crystal stops up in place from behind the couch, pointing her finger at the screen.
"Wait a minute!" Crystal proclaims, pointing to a metallic object that is standing in the background behind Tank, "What is that?!"
Kristen tilts her forehead, before staring at the young townie in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asks, "It just looks like it's some kind of machine," she notes.
"That's not just any machine," Crystal speaks, a smile growing on her face, "That's a proton accelerator!" she evaluates, "And there's only one person I know that knows how to make one!" She shrieks, jumping over the couch and hugging Lola, grabbing her by the shoulders. "They're back! They came back for us! I always knew Loki could never kill them!"
Lola, Chloe, and Kristen exchange strange looks with each other, thinking Crystal has lost her mind. "Well she is marked as insane," Chloe states, watching as Crystal leaps up from off of the couch and races out the door.
Kristen nods, "Now that I believe."
All of a sudden an alarm goes off in the center of the city, Loki's voice blaring over the loudspeakers that are placed on every corner. "ALL CITIZENS MUST REPORT TO CITY HALL IMMEDIATELY! ANYONE NOT GATHERED THERE IN THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES WILL BE SEVERELY PUNISHED!" he shouts, his voice echoing throughout the town. The Singles household sighs and gets ready to leave.
Meanwhile: Back at the Safe House
"Tank, that was awesome!" Lazlo comments, walking up to Tank and giving him a high-five immediately after they stopped filming. Isabella nods.
"Ripp would be proud," Isabella states, trying to force a smile, even though she has a sad look in her eyes.
"Now that we have the announcement out in the airwaves, we just have to get a few things organized before we leave tomorrow," Vidcund notes, clasping his hands together.
Kea walks over to Tank, fiddling with her hands a bit, "Hey Tank, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure," Tank answers, noticing the worried look that is in his wife's eyes, "I'll be back in a minute," he tells the others as he follows Kea into one of the guest bedrooms.
Five Minutes Later – At Strangetown City Hall
Loki is standing at the black spiky podium that he stole from Strangetown's atrociously evil witch, Amber Pons, his army of alien guards standing behind him. To the right of him, Circe is sitting down on a chair, looking miserable and bored out of her mind. Loki steps forward and glares down at the crowd of citizens that are surrounding the stage, his stance powerful.
"By now, I'm sure you've all heard the rumors that Vidcund Curious has returned to Strangetown to reclaim the city-" He speaks into the microphone. One of the alien guards pats him on the back.
"Uh, sir?" he whispers, "The video said Tank, not Vidcund," he corrects him.
"Oh right," Loki says, "I'm not sure where I got that from – anyway," he continues, clearing his throat as he moves back towards the microphone, "I just wanted to assure you that these rumors are entirely false, and anyone who thinks otherwise is foolish and living in the past," Loki states, stopping to glare at some of the elder citizens that are standing in the crowd. "But to all of you who would still like to grasp onto that last tiny bit of hope, I can assure you that all three of the Curious brothers are as dead as The Sims 1. See? Here are their graves!" Loki exclaims, extending his hand out to present the pile of sand that the stage is standing in front of, still covered up by a tarp.
The alien guards uncover the sand pile behind Loki, where three grave makers have been planted, each with a gigantic coffin-sized hole dug in front of them. Loki looks behind them, widening his eyes in shock as he eyes the empty graves. He moves slightly away from microphone, covering it up with his hand.
"Are you guys idiots?! That's not convincing!" Loki snarls to the alien guards, "The graves aren't even filled in!" he informs them, groaning and covering his face with his hands. He quickly stops, now noticing that the entire town is watching him in wonder. "- Oh well," he states, uncovering his face again, "That doesn't matter, cause the three of them are still dead – and you can take that to the grave! – Or, er-" Loki quickly tries to correct himself, "Never mind. The three of them are dead, okay?"
Loki exhales, letting out a heavy sigh before continuing on with the rest of his monstrous, though highly unnecessary, speech. "Now due to the events of earlier today, I would just like to remind you that anyone who attempts to help a certain Grunt boy or any of those disgusting groundlings take back the city will be sentenced to death and furthermore-" he rambles on.
In the audience, Charles nudges Crystal in the side before walking up and standing next to her, both of them staring straight ahead at Loki. "Hey Crystal."
"Yeah?" she states.
"If the city doesn't go under by the end of this week, I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me this weekend," Charles suggests, "We could go to that Italian place downtown that you really like."
Crystal shakes her head, her expression unchanged. "No thanks."
"Come on Crystal, he's been gone for almost three months now-" Charles begins.
Crystal turns around, her face firm. "I said no thank you," she says, weaving her way through the crowd.
"-Remember there are two types of sims in this world," Loki's voice continues to ring out through the speakers, hitting the crowd, "There are premade sims, and there are townies – and even though Vidcund is a premade sim, he is lower than a college townie in my eyes. Vidcund is a loser, he and his brothers were pathetic pieces of garbage that never even deserved to reside in this neighborhood!" Loki proclaims, this message causing Crystal to stop in her tracks. "And if there's anyone here among us that disagrees with me and wants to go and follow him, then get up and do so," he states, stopping to gesture threateningly down the pathway that is separating the premade sims from the townies, "There's the door," he challenges, stepping back from the podium so that he can thoroughly scan the crowd. Nobody takes a step.
Loki smirks, "Yeah, that's what I thought," he states, turning around in place and walking back towards the podium. The crowd gasps as someone moves into the aisle. Loki quickly swerves only to find Crystal standing smack dab in the center of the sand path, her arms crossed and her expression fierce.
"My, my, Crystal," Loki cooes, finding this rebellious display more childish than heroic, "Talk about the little townie that could."
"Say what you will, but I would never align myself with a murderer!" she counters, "You may be the leader of this town, but you are not the leader of its people – and you are certainly not the leader of me! And I would rather die defending the truth than live in safety amongst your lies."
Loki stares at Crystal, anger in his eyes. He suddenly breaks into a fit of maniacal laughter. "Oh Crystal Vu, you are a fool," he rhymes, pointing his black gloved hand at her. "Kill her!" he commands, "And splatter her blood on the floor!" He commands, watching as Crystal slowly inches backward. Loki holds his arms out, stopping the alien guards suddenly in their tracks. "Actually, never mind," he states, pulling out a laser sword, "Let me do it!" Loki turns on the weapon, the laser beaming bright red as he hops down from the stage, the alien guards aligning the crowd, shielding the residents from interfering.
Crystal steps back, still standing tall, though her legs are shaking slightly. She watches as Loki moves forward, closing the gap around her. Loki moves his arm back, Crystal looking up at him as he prepares to strike. All of a sudden Circe jumps off the stage, tackling Loki to the ground, his weapon flying in the opposite direction. It knocks into the wooden stage and destroys the side, causing the stage to collapse.
"Damn it Circe!" Loki curses, "You couldn't just wait until we got home?!" Circe gives a half-hearted smile and lightly shakes her head. Loki turns back to where Crystal was standing, but she is nowhere to be seen. "Shit! Not again!"
Loki looks to the alien guards, summoning some of them over. "Send out all of the troops and put her on red alert, I want that girl found and taken care of before the sun sets!" He commands; the alien guards nod and start dispersing around the city. Loki smirks in satisfaction before turning his attentions back to Circe, who is still sitting on top of him.
"And as for you," he states, "You and I have something important to discuss."
Meanwhile: Back at the Safe House
"You're WHAT?!" Tank exclaims, staring down at Kea who is sitting on the white and teal quilted guest bed. She smiles, her hands clasped together in front of her.
"You heard me, Tank," she calmly replies, "I'm pregnant."
"Kea! Why didn't you tell me?" Tank asks, taking a seat on the bed next to his wife.
Kea looks to him, "I did. Right now," she clarifies.
"What I meant was, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Well uh, I was going to," Kea begins, "But it never really seemed like the right time," she explains, "And now, with the war upon us, I just really needed you to know," she states, gently grabbing Tank's hand and squeezing it.
Tank looks up at her, his eyes filled with worry. "Kea…" he begins, moving towards her.
All of a sudden Pascal bursts into the room, Lazlo following in after him, carrying a laptop. "Hey guys, sorry if we're interrupting, but we're about to start the second and perhaps most dangerous part of the mission."
"And what's that?" Tank asks, glancing up at his friends.
Pascal shrugs, "I don't know, Vidcund didn't tell us yet. But he wants all of us to meet up in the living right now, so we should probably get moving on the plan."
Tank sighs, getting up from off of the bed. "Alright," he says, turning to Kea and helping her up as well.
A few minutes later, all of them are gathered in the living room, awaiting further instruction from Vidcund. Vidcund walks into the room and over to them, turning towards the blueprint that is taped across the back wall.
"Alright guys, dawn is approaching, which means it's the perfect time to proceed with the official phase two of our plan," he tells them, "For this part, two of us will be sneaking back into Strangetown and obtaining the graves from Olive's garden," He says, seriousness filling his voice, "This is an incredibly vital part of the mission, because if we can't get those graves back here, then we won't have a big enough army to take down Loki. I have elected to do this, because I feel it would be for the best and it would also allow me to test out those electronic headsets that I've been telling you about."
Lazlo raises his hand; Vidcund nods at him, granting him permission to speak. "Who's going with you?" he asks.
"-Bet you five bucks it's still Isabella," Pascal mutters to his youngest brother.
"Good question," Vidcund states, pacing over to the other side of the blueprint on the wall, "Accompanying me will be the only other sim who has gone to the garden successfully post-takeover without getting caught," he informs them. Stopping in his tracks and looking up at the chosen sim. "Isabella," he states, "Will you do this with me?"
Isabella gazes up at Vidcund and nods, swallowing as she does so. "Yes," she states flatly.
"Alright," Vidcund responds confidently, looking into her gray eyes, "We'll leave at dawn."
Meanwhile: At the Beaker Residence
Loki and Circe are in basement of their residence, sitting in what was formerly Nervous Subject's bedroom. Circe is sitting on the bed with her arms crossed as Loki stands in front of her, his facial expression firm, but compassionate. Circe watches as Loki sits down on the bed next to her, giving a small sigh in the process.
"Circe," he begins, staring right at her, "Even though you betrayed me – first with the rebellion and then with helping Crystal escape from my clutches - All will be forgiven, if you do this one thing for me."
Circe turns to him, her ears burning. "I'm listening," she states.
"Good," Loki says, getting up from off of the bed and walking over to the computer desk, pulling something out of his pocket and hiding it behind his back.
He leans forward, lowering his voice gently. "Now listen to me carefully, because I'm only going to say this once and then it will be like this whole conversation never happened," He explains; Circe nods, "I want you to kill this girl," he demands, pulling out a photo of a familiar looking sim with gray eyes and bright red hair pulled back in a ponytail. "Her name is Isabella eXtreme, and she's becoming quite the nuisance for me."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Circe says, waving her hand in front of her face, dismissing it.
Loki smirks, "I thought you might say that, but maybe this item that I found just the other day will change your mind."
Circe narrows her eyes as she watches Loki reach behind his back and pull out a glossy strip of paper. He hands it to his wife to look at, Circe slowly taking the paper strip from him. She turns the piece of paper around, only to find a set of photo booth pictures on the other side. She examines the images, looking at the each of the photos thoroughly. Circe gasps when she notices Vidcund in every one, smiling happily with his arms wrapped tightly around Isabella, who is smiling as well; a deep blush apparent on her face. Circe snarls, gripping the photo booth pictures harder.
Loki smirks as he paces in front of Circe, openly enjoying this moment. "My, my," he states, "It appears as though someone is trying to steal your man," he begins, turning towards her, "Normally I wouldn't care, but part of me doesn't want to see you hurt like I was," he states, turning to glare at her. "But you should have nothing to worry about, he's probably not interested in her anyway," Loki says, phoniness filling his voice, "I mean, just because she's younger and more compatible with him doesn't mean that he's going to lunge and take the bait," he continues encouragingly, "—It's not like you two had an open relationship."
Circe throws the photos down, the strip of paper falling to the floor. She places her hands up to the sides of her face – her hands folded into fists, trying to control the rage that she is feeling and hoping to sooth her newfound headache. After a few minutes of this, Circe sighs, slowly moving her hands away from her face and looking up at her husband, her facial expression hard as a rock. "I'll do it," she states coldly, "But I'll do it my way."
Loki nods, crossing his arms in front of his body. "I don't care how you do it," he states, surprisingly un-snarky, "As long as it's done," he finishes, reaching down to pick up the photo booth pictures from the ground. He looks over the images and laughs at the young girl that is smiling in the photos. "Foolish girl doesn't even know that she only has a day to live…"