So I was dead, yes you heard me correctly dead, I'd rather not go into details but my death involved an old man having a heart attack, A truck driving a giant gear up a hill, and a faulty cargo strap. Ya' know, I don't really know what I'd expect the afterlife to be like, but I honestly was not expecting it to be a slightly warm dark space where I couldn't move. I just sorta thought that this was some sort of cosmic waiting room for the afterlife, boy I couldn't have been more wrong.
-Several months later-
So I have no idea how it happened, but I had somehow ended up being reborn, as evidenced by the tiny limbs, bad muscle control, and horrible senses. I am not going to go into the exact details of how exactly I found this out and will simply say this, there's a damn good reason you forget the experience of being born! Ahem...anyways since my senses were pretty shit I had no way of telling where exactly I had been reborn, but from what I could hear with my quite frankly, terrible hearing, it wasn't anywhere that spoke english. Well at least things weren't all bad, my parents in this life weren't bad, even if i couldn't understand a single word they were saying. Oh well, I'd pick up the language in time… it was going to suck being a baby again though, the lack of control over my bodily functions was going to be hell.
-Seven Years Later-
In the past four years since I had been reborn into this world, first of all, however much this world resembled mine, it was most decidedly not. Fortunately I knew exactly what world this was, it was the world of a webcomic I quite liked, the world of Girl Genius. The major differences between this world and my previous one was quite frankly, too many to list, but the biggest difference was the presence of Sparks. Sparks were geniuses who could accomplish astounding things with seemingly no regard for the laws of nature, unfortunately as a result of this, most put the 'mad' in 'mad scientist'. Secondly, both of my parents were Sparks, Dad was a teacher at Transylvania Polygnostic University, which meant we all lived in Beetleburg. Mom was a cook at one of the restaurants in town, while Dad's sparky talents were more geared towards scientific areas, Mom's were more...culinarily inclined. The fact that I knew this world...knew what was in store for it, left me with a choice, either throw myself headlong into the plot and change the way things turn out, or keep to myself and live out my life here in...relative peace.
Being the type of person that helps others when I can I threw out the second option right off the bat, but if I was going to change things I was going to have a plan before I did so. Just saying 'Tally Ho' and charging in without a plan was just going to end up getting me killed, especially with all the crazy shit in this world. If I was going to start planning to help out the main group it would probably be best if I was actually useful, maybe the next time Dad went into the Madness Place I could try to talk him into letting me help him. After all one can never have too many assistants in the pursuit of SCIENCE! Ahem… sorry about that, I don't really know why that happens sometimes, maybe I'm a Spark myself, it does seem to run in families. Whatever, if I am, there is literally no way of telling so unless I start to break through, which I've been told sometimes results in the death of the Spark in question.
"Luca Ardelean! Your father will be home shortly so you better be washing up for dinner back there!" Mom yells from her place in our 'kitchen'. Well I call it a kitchen but it's more like a culinary experimentation zone, it was basically where Mom practiced her 'signature' dishes. I started getting ready as I waited for the inevitable explosion that signified that dinner was ready. *Boom* Speak of the devil, well I better go see what she's made this time.
"Yes Momma, I'll be down in just a minute." I say washing up my hands and face before heading back downstairs. Living in a home with two Sparks means things are, cluttered to say the least, that's not to say that our house is small, but it isn't a mansion or a castle either. If you know the paths through the house it's easy to navigate, but without that knowledge the house is kind of a maze. Finally making my way downstairs to the kitchen a.k.a. Mom's 'lab' I am greeted by the sight of Mom with a sooty face and frazzled hair standing over a lot that simultaneously bubbled ominously and smelled heavenly.
"Hey Momma, what did you make tonight?" I ask taking my seat at the perfectly clean table, perhaps the only place in the house that hasn't had at least one experiment gone wrong happen on its surface.
"I'M GLAD YOU ASKED LUCA! I PICKED UP SOME FRESH INGREDIENTS TODAY AT THE MARKET AND I DECIDED TO MAKE MY FAMOUS SPARK STEW, BUT I DECIDED TO USE MY NEW DEATH WHISK TO MAKE IT! YOU AND YOUR FATHER WILL BE THE FIRST TO TEST IT, DO TELL ME HOW IT TURNED OUT!" Mom not quite yells, but certainly says louder than is necessary, as she places a bowl of the stew in front of me. Seeing as it's still doing that ominous bubbling I cautiously scoop up a spoonful, blowing on it to cool it before putting it in my mouth to test it. The next thing I'm aware of is myself on the floor, spoon still in my mouth and my Mother's expectant face staring down at me.
"Well how was it?" She asks, much quieter but still with the slightly off tone that I had come to associate with a Spark in the madness place.
"It tasted very good, though you may want to not use the Death Whisk, gave it too much kick, you don't want your customer's keelinging over in the restaurant do you?" I reply nonchalantly, used to the general madness associated with Sparks after living with a pair of them for six years.
"Yes that would be bad wouldn't it, if the died I couldn't use them as test subjects for my new dishes." She says mostly to herself as I get back to my feet and set my chair back up.
"Honey I'm home!" Dad yells suddenly from the entrance to the house. This happens to finally break Mom out of the Madness place as she looks at the clock on the wall before rushing to greet my Dad. I simply wait for Mom and Dad to come back into the kitchen before I continue to eat.
"So, what did your Mother concoct this time Son?" Dad whispers conspiratorially while Mom just looks slightly exasperated at home before shaking her head and turning to make a bowl for Dad and herself.
"Spark Stew, but she used a 'Death Whisk' so it's got a bit of a kick to it, I blacked out for a bit and wound up on the floor because I wasn't expecting it." I answer him. Mom then comes back in carrying bowls of stew for the two of them, along with a few mismatched pieces of silverware that Mom ended up 'borrowing' from the restaurant during a particularly long time in the Madness Place.
"Well regardless it can't be worse than that time with the squid." He says in response. This just elicits a look from Mom, as it had been unanimously agreed upon that that incident be stricken from memory.
"Sorry, I'll just shut up and eat now." He says, feeling the stare begin to burn a hole through him as he lifts the spoon up to his mouth and taking a bite. Immediately his eyes become unfocused as he stares off into the distance. He quickly recovers by shaking his head and offering a soft "Huh, it does have some kick" before brushing it off and continuing to eat, this time offering little to no reaction to the meal. I follow his lead shortly thereafter, much better prepared for the effect the stew brought about, as I mused on my Parents in this new life. They were good people, especially for being Sparks, and while I might still miss my family in my old world, I had come to see these two as much the same, you can't just spend the first seven years of your life and not grow attached to the people who had raised you, and even with all the crazy shit that was a part of this world, I found myself smiling at the prospect of spending the rest of my life in this wonderful, beautiful, and absolutely crazy world.
"What are you smiling about there Luca, you think something funny?" Dad asks, pausing his eating upon seeing the slight smile on my face.
"No, I'm just happy is all." I answer with the same small smile on my face. 'Yeah, this world may not be so bad after all' I think to myself before continuing to eat, ignoring the strange look my Parents share between themselves.