A/N: this should go without saying, but I own nothing here. If I did this would be premiering (and bombing) on Adult Swim by now.
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*click*
"Huey's log, day three since contact" he began. The youth lowered the recorder for a moment, wondering how he was going to explain his findings.
"I have continued to observe the subject, self identified as 'Dead Master' when questioned originally, in my pursuit of knowledge" Huey spoke, glancing over to the girl.
She was in the same spot as she was twenty minutes earlier, the same for nearly two days. In the living room of the house, hunched over his grandfather's laptop. Sounds of clacking keys continued, almost like clockwork. He didn't want to think about how much data she was burning through (he would bear the brunt of the chastising in any case), instead focusing on what kind of information she was actually searching for.
"Dead Master continues to explore the internet. Her ability to read english has ascended from practically zero to approximately a middle school level, making this task much easier. The information she is searching for has covered many subjects, ranging from maps to culture" he explained. Sitting on the couch while she was nestled in a chair, he pondered what to say next. The bright sunlight streaming through the window enticingly beckoned him outdoors.
"I am now certain that the gap between our respective species is much smaller than I initially assumed" he went on.
"Will you shut up?" Dead Master said irritably, her eyes not leaving the screen. Huey lowered the recorded, making sure it was off first.
"This is a first contact scenario. I have to document everything" he defended.
"Go document somewhere else" she waved a clawed hand at him, one that tore up a spare sheet when she slept on the couch, much to Robert's chagrin.
"You're the subject of the scenario, what am I supposed to do?" Huey demanded.
"Leave me be. And stop showing me those boring pictures" she suggested. He scowled.
"Those 'boring pictures' are some of the greatest examples of art in mankind's history" he said testily, his hidden anger starting to boil over.
"They're boring, and I don't care about them" she dismissed. Huey bolted from his seat and stomped out of the room.
For the past three days she had given him no end of grief. From causing Riley to faint when he returned home at last to shrugging off all his attempts to show her the extent of human culture, it had been one struggle after another. He knew he was just letting his frustration get to him, but it was hard to ignore it. Forgive and forget was hard to apply to an alien that constantly made a nuisance of herself, never mind how she could kill him and everyone else in a several square mile radius if she truly wanted to.
"Hows it goin n****?" Riley asked, with Robert staring at him as well. The two family he had were camped in the kitchen, awaiting any sign of good news.
"How do you think?" he said darkly, going for the fridge. Days earlier they (him) tried experimenting to see what the girl could eat, if anything. After ten minutes he figured out she could ingest anything they could, somewhat surprisingly.
"That bad huh" Robert quietly commented. They held off on the questions while Huey made himself a bowl of cereal, ignoring the clock that claimed it was pushing noon. Once he sat down they both hovered around him.
"Huey, we need to talk" Robert began carefully.
"If you want her out, you tell her" he said instantly.
"We gotta do something, that crazy bitch'll kill us" Riley exclaimed. Unlike the two of them, he had firsthand experience of what she could do. Although he never did fully explain what he was up to in the park.
"I know" he muttered angrily.
"Look, I know you don't like it one bit, but I think this time you really ought to-" Robert started.
"No" was his reply.
"We can't deal with this shit on our own. We're in over our heads" Riley protested. He sent a scowl his way.
"You. Making sense" he said sourly, making his brother scowl himself.
"Listen to me n****, you can act all high and mighty, but you don't know what you doin anymore than we do" he said angrily.
"And what should I do? Hand her over to the government? We'll spend the rest of our lives in prison, and thats if they're feeling merciful" he spat back.
"Boys boys" Robert tried to sooth.
The arguing would've gone on if footsteps didn't reach them. All three turned to see Dead Master calmly enter the kitchen. Ignoring all three of them, she walked to the fridge to open it up. She rooted around for a few seconds before pulling back to reveal her gains: an orange. For reasons none of them could explain, she had a thing for the fruit. She stopped long enough to fetch a plate before retreating back to the living room.
"This is some bullshit" Riley muttered once she was out of sight.
"No shit. We gotta tell someone else" Robert agreed.
"No" Huey repeated, drawing both of their ire.
"And why the fuck not?" he demanded angrily.
"As I just said, if the government finds her we're all fucked" he explained testily. Robert face palmed irritably.
"I'm not sayin we go to the government, I'm sayin we find someone who can help with this shit. Someone who won't freak the fuck out at seein some alien n****" he explained himself.
"Name one person that can do that Grandad. Name one" Huey challenged. The old man had no answer.
"How bout Ed? That n**** won't snitch" Riley suggested after a few seconds.
"That's the dumbest idea I've heard all day" Huey retorted.
"Then how bout mister Wuncler himself? That old bastard can tell all those government agents and shit to go to hell" Robert said after a moment.
"Again, fuck no. He'll probably hand her over anyway for the reward money, assuming he doesn't find a way to exploit her first" he shot down. Groaning, the youth pushed his bowl aside and let his forehead tap the counter.
"Neither of you get it" his muffled voice said. Old man and boy alike scowled at him.
"The fuck you talkin bout?" Riley demanded. Huey lifted his head and sighed.
"She's an alien" he said.
"You said that already, whats your point?" Robert questioned.
"If there's one, there's more. How well do you think they'll react to finding out one of their own got experimented on? Or killed, or worse?" he asked them both. When neither answered, he pressed on.
"What I'm trying to do is to find out why Dead Master came to Earth. If she's an ambassador, or a scout, or whatever, I'll convince her to tell her race to leave this planet be. If she just got stranded, then I'll make sure her race has no reason to invade. I'm not playing nice cause I want to, I'm trying to prevent an alien species from wiping us out" Huey explained flatly. Riley and Robert stared at him.
"What" the former said.
"I'm trying to stop a war from ever happening. The more people get involved, the harder that is to do. Plus, three people can keep a secret better than four. Or five, or six thousand. That simple enough for you?" he asked them again.
"That doesn't change the fact that you don't know what the fuck you're doing" Robert answered. It was Huey's turn to face palm.
"I know goddamnit" he muttered.
"I think Wuncler is the best bet anyway. I know you hate him, but he's more powerful than anyone else we know" Robert spoke.
"Yeah yeah, he can tell all those pigs to fuck off" Riley added.
"And showing him the greatest discovery in human history is a great idea" Huey said drily.
"Maybe. If we tell him that he can kiss all his money goodbye if we get caught, that might help" Robert suggested. Huey blinked.
"I...didn't consider that" he admitted.
"Ha!" Riley spat at him triumphantly, getting another scowl sent at him.
The doorbell rang. Huey, Riley, and Robert looked blankly at the direction of the door. For several seconds none of them reacted, the sound catching them off guard. The next ring saw them all scramble out of the kitchen as fast as their legs could carry them. Riley and Robert going to the front door to answer whoever it could be, while Huey went for the living room to stop the girl from investigating herself. Each one mumbled "shit" or some variant of it under their breaths.
Robert yanked the door open, showing one of the last people he wanted to see at the moment.
"What up n****?" greeted a large box. It was jostled to the side by the large black arms encircling it, showing the face of a familiar UPS employee.
"Otis? The fuck you doin here!?" Robert demanded, strongly tempted to slam the door shut in the face of the ex rapper. Otis 'Thugnificent' Jenkins laughed.
"You gone senile you old bastard? Here's that Amazon shit you ordered" he explained. Shoving the large cardboard box at him, Robert briefly struggled with the weight before he had a solid grip.
"So what up n****?" he asked. Both of Freemans exchanged nervous looks that did not go unnoticed.
"Oh, um, we's bout to, um" Riley stuttered out, his mouth working faster than his brain.
"We're cleaning up the house is all" Robert said quickly. Otis frowned.
"The fucks gotten into you guys? You got drugs or somethin in there?" he questioned.
"No, nonono, just cleanin up is it" Robert hurriedly insisted. Otis's frown deepened, but he did back up a step.
"Whatever. I don't want in on whatever you guys are up to anyway. Later n****s" he said, turning to walk back to his awaiting van. No sooner did they sigh in relief did the rapper-turned-postman get intercepted.
"Oh shit" Riley whispered once he saw who it was. Three people, to be exact.
"Hiya mister Jenkins" said the youngest of the family trio. Jazmine Dubois, age thirteen, with tanned skin and a large afro, even larger than Huey's.
"What up Jaz? And the Dubois's too" Otis greeted the other two.
The first was a white woman, Sarah Dubois. Blonde, fair skin, and a generally friendly attitude. She waved at him as she came up to her daughter, her husband a few steps behind her. Tom Dubois, also a genial sort of person, a defense lawyer and caring father/husband. Unlike them, his skin had the dark tone of someone of african persuasion, though nothing in his manner hinted at it. He, dressed casually instead of his preferred suit, was carrying a box to their door.
"Morning Otis. How are you?" Tom greeted him.
"Same old. In line for a promotion soon. Whats in the box?" he asked, gesturing.
"Its that tool set that Robert lent me a week ago, I'm returning it" he answered.
"Watch yourself, they're up to some weird sh-stuff in there" Otis corrected himself, mindful of the young girl a few feet away.
"What kind of weird stuff?" Sarah asked.
"No idea. But I got a bad feelin bout it, so I'm gettin outta here before I get wrapped up in it anyway" he answered, taking off as soon as he was finished. Five pairs of eyes watched him climb back in his truck and pull away. Two of those were relived, but what pulled up to the curb, the air itself vibrating with the pulse of the bass system, took it away instantly.
The black Escalade pulled to a stop and killed its motor, the teeth rattling bass ceasing with it. Its driver and passenger doors opened at the same time, showing two thirtiesh men in black outfits. The driver had a beanie (with tufts of red hair poking underneath it) and a tank top, the passenger had an overcoat and a red, white, and blue band on to go with his glasses. Both were white, and both were obviously armed.
"Yo Riley!" the beanie, a certain Edward Wuncler the III, yelled. His friend, Gin Rummy, waved as well. The boy he was shouting for heard a loud crash from behind him, preventing him from responding immediately.
To compound the disaster, the sixth on a list of ten people they didn't want to have anything to do with entered the two Freeman's field of view: an old and thick black man, darker than everyone present by a wide margin. One of his eyes bulged out strangely, and his greying hair was nearly gone. On his body was a cheap outfit from a thrift store. On his face was a suspicious expression at the odd gathering.
"Sarah. Tom" he acknowledged to the parents, the level of respect for the later noticeably lower. Even with just a couple of words, his thick southern drawl was evident.
"Rukus? What're you doin here?" Robert demanded, glaring. Uncle Rukus (no relation) leveled his own glare at the old man.
"Ya'll n****s are up to sumthin, I'm hear to find out what" he answered, forgetting the young girl in plain sight. Her mother clamped her hands over the girl's ears, internally finding it silly since she knew that she'd heard far worse. Robert did a double take.
"What?" he said, Riley gave both of them questioning looks.
"Couple days ago there was a double murder in da local park. I know you n****s had sumthin to do wit it" he accused. Both of the men glanced askance at the Freemans.
"I heard about that, it was on the news. Why do you think they were involved Rukus?" Tom asked.
"Do ya need ta ask?" he laconically answered.
"Man, buncha weird shits goin down lately" Gin said to himself, shaking his head.
"Yeah. You think our homeboy was involved or some shit?" Ed asked him.
"Fuck should I know? The n****s right there, go ask him" Gin said, gesturing at the boy. Ed, Gin, Rukus, and Tom all began to walk towards the two, Sarah and Jazmine joining after a second of thought. The blood in both of their faces drained.
Murphy's law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, at the worst possible time.
Footsteps came from behind them, too light and too loud to be Huey. Eyes going wide in terror, Robert and Riley turned their heads at the same time. Dead Master purposefully strode their way, with no sign of the middle Freeman. Riley quickly moved out of the way, his fright briefly overcoming his senses. Robert frantically glanced at him, but he remembered what became of his sheets. Grimacing, he stepped aside as well.
The ad-hoc party of six stopped in their tracks as they saw the odd girl for the first time. For her part, Dead Master raised one of her hands to block the bright sun. Once her eyes adjusted, she lowered her hand realized there was a small group of people in front of her, all of them staring. Flanking her, the old man and the boy were both wearing shocked expressions, also staring. A bird made a tweeting sound a short distance away, the quiet was so great.
"Who duh hell is this?" Rukus finally broke the stifling silence. The gaggle of onlookers looked away almost at least once, making an effort out of moving around.
"I am-" the girl started, a hand clamping over her mouth before she could answer.
"Oh this is Dorothy, a foreign exchange student we're hosting" Robert hurriedly explained, with a complete lack of sincerity. The flat looks on everyone's faces showed how believable he came off as.
"Yeah yeah! But she's not all that social and shit" Riley helpfully added.
"A foreign exchange student?" Sarah asked disbelievingly. They both nodded frantically, the girl's eyes narrowing.
"Those look like horns" Ed commented, crossing his arms and frowning. One of her arms came up in order to wrap her black hand around Robert's forearm.
"Just some fashion choice, you know, everyone has their own st-t-t-tyyyyyeee" his face contorted on pain. His hand left her mouth as she forced his arm away from her. She stared drily at his agony laden expression for a moment before she shoved him away. A quick glance in the other direction made Riley back up several steps.
"So, Dorothy is it?" Tom said, being the first to approach her. She let go of Robert's arm, leaving him whimpering in pain. He managed to conceal his leeriness, putting on a friendly smile.
"No" she said back.
"Oh? Okay, whats your name young lady?" he asked friendlily, the ad-hoc group discreetly clustering around him to watch the exchange.
"Its Dead Master" she answered flatly. To his credit, he did keep his composure.
"Oh. Um. Alright. Miss Master, I'm Tom Dubois. Pleasure to meet you" he recovered, sticking out a hand. She stared questionably at it for a moment, trying to decide what to do with it. After a tense moment she mimed him, holding out her own glossy metal palm. When he grabbed it to give a vigorous shake, he was close to losing the limb. The only reason he didn't was that he let go immediately. He smiled, almost convincingly.
"By the way, what are those glove things you're wearing?" Tom asked her, pointing at her hands.
More footsteps plodded to the door, interrupting the man. Huey half staggered into the walkway, gasping for air. Clutching his arm, he looked up fearfully to see the gathering assembled about literally at his door. His eyes went wide, blazing with shock. More than a little fear was in his features. Tom leaned to the side and raised an eyebrow at the youth's disheveled appearance, making the girl turn as well.
"Huey? What happened to you?" he asked. The group peeked as well, all showing their own form of curiosity.
"I kicked him" Dead Master answered. He glanced at her strangely before turned back to him.
"Miser Dubois, there are weird things happening. For your sake, I advise you and your family to leave right now" Huey wheezed.
"Why?" he asked, instead of leaving. Sensing movement, the girl looked back to the group, finding a bushy haired young girl right beside her. The little girl gently made her way around the pale one, not noticing the latter's questioning stare.
"Are you alright Huey?" Jazmine asked. The youth in question groaned, letting his head drop.
"Huey?" she asked again concernedly.
"Whats the matta wit dat n****? Tell me he's dyin" Rukus asked hopefully.
Groaning more, the afro'd youth stood back up straight. Eighteen eyes could see how much effort he was putting into it. Once up, they could also see an imprint on his shirt, roughly in the center of his chest. It was just a smudge of grime, approximately in the shape of a small foot. Only one of the onlookers knew the truth, and she internally granted him a small measure of respect for taking the hit.
"Everyone that does not want their worldview changed, leave now" Huey said loudly. When no one moved, he sighed.
"I'm serious. Anyone at all" he went out one.
"Out wit it n****!" Ed yelled, Tom clapping his hands over his daughter's ears just in time.
"Alright, fine. Everyone inside then" he said resignedly. Even on the ground and in exceptional pain, Robert did a double take.
"Say what!?" he balked. Huey glanced at him drily.
"Its better that I tell them now Grandad" he said.
"Yeah, but, in my house?" he said irritatedly.
"I'm not doing it out here. Too open. Now" turning to the group, he waved them inside.
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"And thats about it" Huey finished. A few feet away from him Dead Master sighed in relief, glad that he finally stopped talking.
The mixed group, grumbling ten minutes ago, was quiet.
"What" Gin said disbelievingly, breaking the silence's hold.
"I'm sorry, but-an alien?" Sarah said disbelievingly.
"Thats sum real n**** shit" Rukus agreed.
"This bitch is an alien" Riley insisted, on the far side of the room from where Huey gave his presentation. Her glance at at him made him shrink nervously despite the gulf.
"I find this unbelievable" Tom declared, a lawyer to the core. Instead of replying, Dead Master held out her clawed hand to clench it into a fist.
All it took was ten seconds to make everyone present widen their eyes that much further.
"Woah" Jazmine went in awe. Smirking, the girl artfully twirled the scythe in one hand as if it weighed nothing at all.
"Yes, so now, all of you are in on the secret" Huey announced, crossing his arms. The weapon ceased its twisting to come to rest on the floor, its owner glancing at him with everyone else.
"We should go to the authorities" Tom said immediately. True to form, Ed was the first to offer his response.
"Fuck that shit, thats fucking stupid" he disagreed.
"I'm wit Tom on this one" Robert added, like Riley on the other side of the room.
"Not me. This is some Guantanamo bay bullshit" Sarah interjected, realizing that her precious child was sitting right in front of her too late.
"Ya'll n****s are goin to prison for this shit" Rukus cackled.
"You heard it too ya dumb bastard" Gin spat.
"Whatchu talkin bout, I didn't hear a thing" he gleefully denied.
"Nine against one" Riley added.
"Hehe, n-nah" he denied, much less confident.
"Mommy, are we going to prison?" Jazmine fearfully asked her mother.
"Nononono, we're not baby, I promise" Sarah reassured, hugging her and sending a sharp look at her husband, who gulped nervously.
It took the arguing group a few seconds to notice the floor stomps, courtesy of an angry looking Huey.
"May I have your attention!" he snarled. Slowly they quieted down, still proceeding to glare at each other however.
"Nobody is going to the authorities, at all. Am I clear?" he stated.
"But Huey-" Tom tried to argue.
"No buts. This is the first recorded contact we as a species have ever made with an alien race. The moment the federal government hears about this, each and everyone of us is going to 'disappear' and this will all be suppressed" he painstakingly outlined. Jazmine nervously raised her hand, which he waved her on.
"If we tell someone, we're going to vanish?" she fearfully asked.
"Into a shallow grave, yes" he answered, turning his attention away from her blanching.
"This means you can't tell anyone, anyone at all about what you've seen or heard today. This is a secret you'll have to take to your who am I kidding" he slapped his face.
"On wit it boy" Robert urged.
"There is no way in hell any one of you can keep a secret like this, even if your lives depended on it. Which they do by the way" he drily explained. Ed, Gin, Sarah, and Rukus started to scowl at him. Riley and Robert were already doing so.
"You think we can't keep a secret?" Sarah demanded.
"Not in the least. Go update your wills, we're all going to need it" he answered. Ed and Gin bolted upwards to stomp passed him on their way out.
"Fuck you n****, we don't snitch" Ed declared.
"Snitches get stitches n****" Gin added, both brushing past him to the sound of the door being thrown open. Rukus was next, plodding his way to the door.
"If I get 'rested cuz of ya'll dirty n****s I'll make sure you get thrown in the dakest pit the white man got" he promised before leaving as well. The Dubois family was last, leaving cautiously.
"I still think this is a bad idea" Tom grumbled carefully.
"Honey, I love you, but there is no goddamn way I'm going to prison" Sarah stated, pushing Jazmine along without giving her a chance to speak to Huey (though based of of her petrified countenance he assumed that she wasn't in a talkative mood at present).
Huey watched them go, not looking away until he heard the front door swing shut. Quietly sighing, he turned to the one curious expression and the two angry expressions awaiting him.
"Now what in the fuck was that?" Robert demanded.
"I'm curious as well" Dead Master spoke. Huey let his head fall back and exhaled again. The two Freemans needed a moment to realize he had a small smile.
"That went better than I hoped it would" he admitted.
"What?" Riley went, utterly baffled. The other two looked just as puzzled.
"If I blew them off, they would all keep badgering us until they found out. If I just said keep it a secret, the entire town would know in two or three days. Doing this, it'll be a while before it leaks. Long enough to get her out of here" he explained, jabbing a thumb at her.
"Why would it be so bad if these government people find out?" Dead Master asked.
"You know what dissect means?" she shook her horned head "then how would you like to be strapped to a table and cut open so they can see what makes you work?" he posed. She frowned.
"I can get away" she said.
"That's what I'm trying to do, get you off of this planet before they find out" Huey told her.
"You got that from ET" Riley accused. He glared at his brother, not catching her frown.
"No I didn't, thats what you should do with lost aliens" he retorted.
"Whatever n****, no way you came up wit that on yo own" Riley shot back.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" she asked. Robert sighed, noticing out of the corner of his ehe the girl was looking at him questioningly.
"I dunno what you are, but you sho ain't human. Thats why he keeps sayin that" he explained over the boys's growing arguing. He stepped between his grandchildren and forced them apart, his hostile expression cutting off their words.
"Riley, quit being a dumbass n****. Huey, you better not be making this shit up. I ain't goin to prison cuz of you" he said to each of them.
"Whatever n****, you a bitch anyway" Riley dismissed.
"You're an idiot" Huey said right back.
The doorbell rang again. All four glanced at it again, exasperated frowns on three of them. Upon seeing that neither of them were going to do anything about it, Huey tromped towards the door again. Various scenarios crossed his mind as he opened the door, many of them involved sarcastic responses. If it was any of the assembled group that just left, they would've gotten one or two. His thoughts skipped when he saw who it really was.
"Hey man" greeted a fourteen year old black boy, who had both an easygoing expression and dreadlocks.
"Caesar. Of all the times you could show up, it had to be now" Huey said drily. His friend and occasionally partner in crime (usually metaphorically) shrugged.
"I can't help my timing. You look upset" the fundamentally relaxed boy observed.
"I am" Huey replied sourly.
"Whys that?" Caesar asked, either not picking up on the mood or purposely disregarding it.
"Come in" the afro'd youth answered tiredly, inviting him in. The dreadlocked boy obliged by following him, shutting the door behind him.
"Are you alright?" Caesar asked him.
"I've had no sleep, feelin really paranoid, and I was kicked into a wall a little bit ago" Huey methodically listed off, idly noting the small backpack he had.
"What and why?" he asked again, entering the living room.
Robert had taken a seat to watch some television, Riley was doing the same, and there was a weirdly dressed girl standing up and staring at the TV. Hearing the two approach, two tired pairs of eyes swiveled two them. A green pair needed a second to tear her attention away from the colorful box. All three coolly regarded the new arrival. He raised an eyebrow, partially at the poor condition of the family, and primarily at the girl.
"What?" Caesar said.
"Freak the fuck outta the neighbors but invite yo friend in? Really n****?" Robert said testily. The boy raised his arms and gently pushed the empty space in front of him away.
"Okay, back up. Huey, what in the fuck is going on?" he demanded. The girl abandoned her tv fixation to approach the boys, eyeing the dreadlocked one in particular.
"Dead Master, this is Caesar. Caesar, this is Dead Master. She's an alien" Huey introduced in the blandest of tones. Caesar glanced at him strangely before examining the girl, noticing she was doing the same. After a minute he slowly nodded.
"An alien. Neat" he said flatly.
"You're...not freaking out" the youth observed disbelievingly. He shrugged.
"With all the weird shit we've been through, I think this is honestly kinda low key. I mean, she's not hostile" he explained.
"Yes I am" she interjected.
"And its not like she's killed people" he went on, as if he didn't hear her.
"I have" she spoke again.
"Really, out of all the people in the world, you were probably the one this was most likely going to happen to" Caesar finished. Huey blinked.
"What."
"Besides, its not like she has a weapon pointed at me" he shrugged again. Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Looking down, he discovered a shiny blade right in front of him, inches from his throat.
"I take that back" he said calmly.
"All ya'll take that shit outta here" Robert commanded. The sharp edge retracted from his throat, which he discovered belonged to an ornate scythe when he glanced at the girl.
"Upstairs then" Huey said glumly. The two boys left, Dead Master debating with herself whether to follow them or stay to watch the television. Shrugging, she chose the former.
Once out of sight, both the man and the boy sighed.
"This is some serious bullshit grandad" Riley muttered.
"Mm-hm. I just hope Huey isn't makin it up as he goes, or we all fucked" Robert muttered back.
Huey let Caesar and Dead Master into his shared bedroom, closing the door behind them. He leaned against the door to take a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves.
"You okay man?" Caesar asked.
"No. I'm not" he replied.
"Why? This one is keeping his act together" Dead Master commented.
"Its not about that. Just, I dunno what to do. I've been winging it for the past three days" he admitted in shame.
"Its cool man, you'll figure something out. You always do" Caesar encouraged.
"Some pointers would be nice" he said under his breath.
"So, where'd the scythe go?" Caesar asked the girl. In just a minute it had vanished, leaving no trace. She held up her arm and repeated the same show that left the assembled people downstairs speechless. Though his shared bedroom was small, there was enough room for her to twirl it around, to his amazement.
"That is some wicked shit" he praised.
"She killed two people a few days ago" Huey told him. He shrugged indifferently.
"They probably had it coming. What else you got?" Caesar went on excitedly. His friend's eyes narrowed.
"First, why are you like this? Its like you're not afraid" Dead Master asked him, letting the haft of the weapon rest against her collarbone.
"Like I said down there, you're not hostile. We wouldn't be talkin otherwise" he explained. The horned girl raised an eyebrow.
"Odd attitude" she noted.
"I'm an odd guy. Just how I am. My boy Huey here on the other hand is the real analytical kind. I bet he was studying you earlier" he jokingly prodded.
"I was" Huey growled.
"He had a small object he kept talking to" she added. Caesar quickly covered his mouth, unable to stifle his giggle in time.
"A tape recorder? Seriously?" he snickered.
"Just show him the other weapons already" Huey snapped angrily.
"Fine fine" she said loftily, waving a flippant hand at him.
Dead Master's free hand came up in the same way as she normally did. Adopting a look of concentration, she opened her palm out. Something writhed under her sleeve, sounding like rattling metal. The end peeked out at her wrist and spooled to the floor, revealing itself as a plain looking metal chain. Before either of them could comment it began twitching, moving on its own accord. Once there was a considerable length Caesar whistled.
"Chain tentacle, cool. How many do you have?" he asked.
"Several. If you like this, then..." she left hanging. A clump of light that didn't bother to behave as light should raced down the entire length of chain, consuming it in seconds. Another flashed in her other hand, taking the scythe with it too.
Bringing her hands together, she clenched her fists and suddenly threw them both out. Two bits of multicolored light flew out of her palms and took spots flanking her. In the blink of an eye they grew to enormous sizes, easily a yard in diameter. As they watched the lights dissipated, forming two new objects that brought a surprised curse from both of them. Seeing their awestruck looks, she smirked.
"Like what you see?" she asked playfully, as the two black skulls floated behind her. Unnatural green light glowed from their eyes and toothy jaws, bringing a cold shiver to both of them.
"Thats all kinds of creepy" Huey said, completely shocked.
"I'll take that as a yes" she said pleasingly. She raised one of her hands back up and snapped her fingers. Besides being able to make a snap sound from metal, it also had the effect of forcing the unnerving skulls to vanish into scattered flashes.
"So, you have a scythe, chains, some freaky skull things, and claws. Talk about armed to the teeth" Caesar said amazedly. Huey noticed her smile dip.
"Whats the matter?" he asked. She looked away, in a way that resembled embarrassed.
"C'mon, we wont judge. Right Huey?" Caesar pressed, which he reluctantly nodded to.
She sighed and raised her hand again. The lights that danced from her hand were different from before, creating something neither of them expected. It was a black sword, glossy in the light. About three feet long, and the grip (which neither could see well) seemed undecorated. If it wasn't for who was holding it and how it came to be, neither of them would've found it remarkable.
"Its a sword. Whats the big deal about it?" Huey probed. She looked away again.
"Its not mine" she said quietly.
"Hold on, if its not yours, then, how do you, well" Caesar did a rather poor impression of her weapons creation, complete with terrible sound effects.
"I don't want to talk about it" she said quickly, the blade vanishing. Almost rushing, she brushed passed Huey and threw the door open to leave. Both boys stared at the space she was in in confusion.
"What was that about?" Caesar asked him.
"No clue. There's so much I don't know about her yet" Huey admitted. The other boy nodded thoughtfully.
He suddenly snapped his fingers.
"You just reminded me why I came here" he said excitedly.
The dreadlocked boy yanked the bag from his back to set it in the floor. Raising his eyebrow, Huey watched him as he rotted around inside for a moment before he triumphantly produced two sheets of paper.
"Schoolwork from friday, since you were absent" he explained, holding the papers out. Huey stared.
"What?"
"You came here and discovered the greatest secret in human history, just to deliver my homework" he said dryly, taking the proffered gift.
"Yep. We got a test tomorrow, you really oughta study" he advised. Huey face palmed.
"Cheer up man, its algebra. You're good at that, right?" Caesar asked, throwing the bag back on.
"No" he said flatly.
"Oh. Well sucks to be you. I gotta go man, later" the boy said quickly, exiting in the same manner as the girl several minutes earlier.
"Hey don't tell anyone-" Huey began, only to be cut off by the door slamming shut.
"-about this" he finished lowly. Huey glanced at the papers, showing a great number of English questions. He groaned.