::Sorry this took me so long, major Writer's block, took me forever to get the Mordecai part. Here it is, next chapters will be much better::
"No, no no, NO GODDAMMIT!" Mordecai screamed to himself.
He sat alone in the cart, the Crown sitting in the passenger seat next to him. He was crying to himself. He turned to look in the rear-view mirror. The man in his reflection stared back at him with distraught and dead eyes. His beard was at least an inch or two long now. He turned his head away in shame as he let out more tears.
He had failed. He couldn't stop Rigby... he killed Eileen... now he was killing others...
"What's wrong Simon?" The Crown seemed to ask. It was much politer than usual.
Mordecai just stared blankly at the crown, tears still streaming down his face.
"Why didn't you use me? Hmm? What are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid of losing myself..." Mordecai thought. "I'm afraid of becoming..."
"...Like Rigby?"
But that wasn't all though. Whoever that Simon guy was, he's invading his way into Mordecai. He can't even last a solid 10 minutes convinced that he is still Mordecai. Why was it doing this to him?
"It is all his fault though," Mordecai looked back to the Crown. "It is all Rigby's fault."
Mordecai had never even thought of this. "Rigby's fault?"
"All Rigby's fault"
It was right, in a way. It was tough to bring the words together, but he still agreed. "All... Rigby's... fault..."
His train of thought was interrupted by commotion from outside. He got out of the cart and walked into the street to see what was happening.
People were slowly filing out of buildings up and down the street. A simultaneous murmur erupted among them. They were all staring in the same direction towards the sky.
Mordecai turned to see what everyone was confused about only to be left open mouthed.
In the sky above him were hundreds of what looked like glowing orange dots. They were coming closer with each second. Something about this all didn't seem right with Mordecai. What the hell were they?
Just then a small green ball of fire flew across the sky. The fireball hit the closest of the glowing lights, causing a large explosion. No one knew what the hell to make of it, but Mordecai did. He knew exactly where that ball came from: Rigby.
But then he remembered what Rigby had said. Was he really right? Was everything really going to end? Well what the hell could those lights be?
At that moment, there was a bright flash off in the distance. Mordecai had to shield his eyes for a moment. When he looked back, dozens of miles away, a fiery mushroom cloud was forming. Only then did it hit everyone on what was happening. Each of those lights was a nuclear missile, heading off for destruction.
Panic descended onto the city. Those who saw their destruction desperately ran into their homes and apartments, getting anything ready to get out of the City as soon as possible. Some people just hoped into their cars and forgot everything else and they made a desperate attempt to leave.
He had to do something, anything, to stop this: but what could he do? The Crown called to Mordecai at that moment. He hated the idea, but Mordecai needed it. He ran over to the cart and picked it up. The nukes were getting closer and closer. They almost seemed to be over the city.
One of them dove to the ground miles away. Another bright flash and a mushroom cloud. It couldn't have been more than 20 miles away. Mordecai could see one of the missiles getting close. He was sure it was destined to hit the City.
Mordecai looked down at the Crown in his hands. The screams from the others in the City became muffled and quieted, all his attention fixed on the Crown.
Mordecai sighed, lifted the Crown into the air, and put it on top of his head. At once his eyes turned an icy white. His beard immediately grew to the point that it was a little past his chest level. A wicked cackel erupted from Mordecai. But it wasn't only his voice, it seemed like something, someone, was laughing alongside him.
The Ice Crown had control now.
The power of the snow filled Mordecai as an icy chill coursed through his veins.
Rage, nothing but icy rage...
"You think you can take my kingdom away from me?" he screamed fanatically at the incoming nuke. "No, no NO this is to be my domain!"
He twisted his arms in a circular motion above his head. As he did, a icy tornado slowly began to form around him. The cyclone drew more violent and chaotic as it rose higher and higher. Frost began to cover nearby cars and windows. Anything caught in the center was lost in the swirling winds of ice.
The nuke was caught in the icy cyclone. It slowly began to turn to ice as it fell closer and closer. It gradually fell slower and slower.
Finally as it was midway through its fall, the missile completely froze to a solid block. It floated petrified in the air as it lay in the center of the frost-filled tornado.
It was at this point Mordecai had control. Using every bit of strength he had, he reversed the tornado. The nuke was drawn into the cyclone. It spun faster and faster. He made a final push, causing the cyclone to dissipate. The missile was flung through the air like a toy.
It landed and exploded 60 miles out of the city.
He had done it. He saved the city.
But the Crown wasn't satisfied yet. He turned his attention to the town around him. He threw an icy blasts left and right. A few cars were turned on their side. A heavy snowfall immediately to fall.
"It's all mine! My ice! My domain! MY KINGDOM! My-...my..."
Among the chaos, he saw her there. He saw her stare, he look of sheer terror. There, further down the road, was Margaret.
Mordecai remembered who he was, if only for a split second. He quickly threw the crown off his head. His beard went back to its short length.
He fell to the ground. He was still staring at her. "I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
Mordecai looked around him. There was still a crowd of people watching him. He could hear them! No one said anything but oh god he could hear them! "Freak!" "Villain!" "Monster!" The insults ran threw him! He could feel their stares piercing into him!
He grabbed the crown and ran. He left everyone behind and ran.
Someone behind him screamed. He turned around. Another nuke was still riding straight for the City. There was no possible way he could get there in time. It was streaming straight down at lightning speed.
Mordecai could do nothing but stand there dumbfounded and watch helplessly.
It hit the ground, Mordecai shielded his face as he prepared for the oncoming destruction.
The bright flares from the after-burners of the missiles still filled the sky.
"Don't worry, just keep your mind ahead. You have time, lots of time..."
Rigby was driving straight for the downtown area. His hunches were driving him there. Its where it would land. It had to be. He was driving an SUV into the town. Though he didn't feel particularly proud of it, it's what he had to do. He had held up those people at gunpoint, saw the fear in their eyes. It was the only way get into town, but he still hated the idea.
There were no cars on his side of the street, only cars on the other side desperately trying to leave.
"Turn around... go back Rigby."
"No, I'm not listening to you!"
"You don't owe these people anything."
"Shut up!"
"To them, you're nothing but a common criminal. You're nothing but shit"
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
One of the nukes in the distance went off. Rigby had to momentarily cover his eyes. He had to hurry, and fast. He slammed on the gas. On the bright side, no traffic cops.
He stopped at where he knew the nuke would fall. He got out and ran into the center of the road. He looked up, what missiles there were left were streaming straight overhead.
He looked on as he saw one of the missiles begin its descent towards the other side of town. Suddenly, what looked like a tornado had engulfed the nuke. Rigby knew secretly who was responsible for it.
He turned his attention back up. Another missile was starting its descent. It was going to fall directly on Rigby.
"This is going to hurt..."
Rigby took a few deep breaths and relaxed. Even though it took a lot out of him, Rigby formed a magic shield. He formed it into almost like a cup shape.
The nuke was falling faster and faster and faster.
Rigby had to time this right. He closed his eyes and solely let his instincts take over.
Time slowed down for Rigby. The nuke was falling at over 850 mph. Even though in theory it should have taken microseconds for it to impact with the ground, it felt like an eternity in itself.
The missile fell directly into Rigby's shield. Just as it was about to make impact, Rigby closed the top end of the shield, forming a bubble around the missile.
As the bomb exploded, it flashed a bright light. The shield grew immensely as nothing but a ball of fire lay inside.
Rigby was screaming from the pain to keep the explosion contained. His body was steaming. Bits of skin on his arms began to burn and smolder.
Though the pain was only increasing, Rigby slowly, but surely, shrank the size the of the shield bubble. It was growing smaller, and smaller, and smaller.
It was to the point where the shield bubble was only a few feet in diameter. But oh God it hurt.
It began to grow increasing difficult to shrink it any further.
"Aren't you tired Rigby?" the demonic book calmly said to him. "Aren't you tired? ... Let go Rigby, let go."
How easy it would be. Just relaxing, and it would all be over. His body felt it was on fire, he had no idea how much more he could take.
No, he had to push on. With every last bit of strength he had left in him, Rigby closed the shield. The explosion completely vanished, as did its container.
The exhausted Raccoon fell to the ground. His whole body was shaking. He looked around. There was almost no one there. No one knew what he did. No one.
It wasn't safe to stay in the city. He was still a wanted man. But he couldn't find the strength to get up.
"I'll just... I'll just lay here... for a little while... just for a moment..."
The bright flash in the distance had startled all of them. It seemed to fill every corner of the house. Everyone shielded their eyes.
When the light died down, Thomas was the one to break the silence," What the hell was that?"
Benson walked over to the window. In the distance, he saw it: a mushroom cloud. It had to be no more than 30 miles out.
In the kitchen, Benson, Thomas, Muscle Man, HFG, and Pops took the time to let what had just happened sink in.
Skips ran into the house, the burns on his body were still plainly visible. "What happened?"
Benson moved away from the window. Skips saw what lay in the distance. No one said anything.
In the skies overhead, there must have been hundreds of missiles.
It was at this point panic struck the group, all except for Skips and Benson. "Shit Shit Shit! We're fucked!" Muscle Man screamed in a desperate voice. High Five Ghost had joined his friend in with his adjoining hysteria.
Pops was completely unsure of what to make of this. He simply slowly backed away, tears filling his eyes.
Thomas ran to the phone on the kitchen wall. He quickly grabbed it and punched in the numbers.
Benson saw this, "Thomas, what are you-?!"
Thomas quickly responded, "We live out in Finleyville, I need to make sure my mom's okay!" He was stuck waiting in anticipation as the phone dialed the numbers. The phone begin to ring in his ear. A feeling of temporary relief swept over Thomas. If the phone was ringing, then that must've meant she was still okay.
His mom picked up on the other end with a hasty, quickened voice, "Hello? Thomas?"
"Mom, are-"
Suddenly a bright light erupted in the distance. It was coming through the living room windows. After it died down, there was yet another mushroom cloud off in the distance.
Thomas stood there petrified as the phone remained silent. There was nothing coming from the other end. As badly as he didn't want to believe it, there was no denying it: Thomas's mother was dead.
Thomas let go of the phone as it fell to the floor. He fell back against the wall. Benson tried to put a hand on his shoulder to at least give him some comfort. Before he could Thomas had slid down the wall and now sat on the floor. He drew his hand to his forehead as he began to cry. He cried like he had never cried before in his life.
Not even Skips knew what to do. He turned to Benson. He didn't say anything, but his stare said everything. "You're our boss, Do something!"
There was still nothing but chaos in the house.
"Man we're fucked! We're fucked!"
"I don't why to die like this!"
"Mom... MOM!"
"ENOUGH!" Benson finally erupted. This momentarily caught everyone's attention. "We are still alive! We are still alright! Now what we are not going to do is panic, Alright? We are not going to-... panic..."
In the distance they all saw a missile begin to stream to to earth. It was falling faster and faster.
"EVERYBODY DOWN!" Benson screamed. Everyone obeyed as they threw themselves to the ground, all except for Thomas (who was already on the ground and was still so in shock that he didn't even hear Benson) and Skips who still stood standing. "Skips, what are you doing?"
Skips simply looked on amazed. "It's Mordecai!"
"What?" Benson said as he rose to see exactly what he was talking about. Outside was a cyclone absorbing the nuke. He turned to Skips, "You don't think it's..." Skips nodded before Benson finished. The others, excluding Thomas, rose as well. They stood there as the missile was flung from the tornado off into the distance. A short feeling of relief fell on Benson.
Suddenly a bright light from behind them erupted. It seemed to almost blind everything around them. But just as quickly as it came, it was gone. Benson turned to see where it had come from. There was no mushroom cloud, the sky was still normal, there was no trace of whatever had just happened.
They all stood there in silence for what felt like minutes. Nothing could be heard except from Thomas sitting alone on the floor, softly softly whimpering.
"... So now what?" High Five Ghost said, breaking the tension. They all turned to Benson.
He stood there, frozen. How easy it would have been to just give up and panic like the others. But these people looked up to Benson. Right now, he was all they had. He had to do something.
"Things are going to turn quickly, we need to be ready beforehand. Think Benson, think..."
Benson finally spoke; "Alright." He sighed as he gathered his thoughts, "What we need to think of is supplies: Food, medicine, gear, anything. We're going to have make a run into town. But things around here are going to get very violent very quickly. We need to be ready."
Giving everyone things to do might calm them down. "Muscle Man, High Five Ghost: I need you guys to go around and lock down every gate into this park, except the South gate, leave that one unlocked. After that, I want you two to split up. Fives, go to the snack bar and get anything you can. Muscle Man, get everything useful from your trailer and bring it to the house. Walkie talkies, radio, anything: just bring it here. And get some stuff to sleep on."
Muscle Man seemed a bit confused, "Wait, why?"
"To be honest, the park is not the safest place. If someone sneaks in, I don't want anyone away from the group. From now on, everyone will be sleeping here."
Pops cheered up a bit, "It'll be like a sleep over?"
Benson responded, "Yes Pops, like a sleepover. "After that, I want you two to fill every cup, every bowl, every tub you can with water. I don't know if or when the power's going to shut off, but I don't want to be without water. Pops.."
Pops responded at attention, "Yes?"
"Do you still have that sniper in your closet?"
"You mean Papa's old sporting rifle? Yes."
"Can you still shoot with it?" Pops proudly nodded. Benson sighed. This was going to be hard saying, but Pops was the best shot here. "Pops I need you to get it and stand guard on the roof. I want you to watch for anyone trying to get in the park or trying to get close to the house."
Pops seemed a little confused, "What happens if I do?" Benson's eyes trailed off. Pops got the message. "Oh..." His smile faded as he realized what Benson would want him to do.
Benson commanded, "Alright, you know what to do, get to it." As he said this, Muscle Man, Fives, and Pops left the room. Benson turned to Skips, "Do you have anything at your place? Anything you'd need?"
Skips shrugged, "Well I have my cot, some exercise equipment-"
"Good that can wait. Right now I'm going to need you for something." It was then he turned to Thomas still sitting along the wall. He walked over to him and crouched down to his height. "Thomas...?"
Thomas said nothing he was still in shock as he stared at the ground. Benson said again, "Thomas?!" This time Thomas turned to look at him, his face still wet with tears. "Look, I know this is hard for you, and I would not want to ask anything else from you right now. But we need you. Alright? We need you right now."
Thomas lightly nodded. He quietly said, "okay... alright..." as he slowly stood up. "What do you need?"
Benson said, "Right now we're going to need whatever supplies we can. We need to make a run into town, get whatever we can."
Skips spoke, "Where in town are we going?"
Benson replied, "I'd imagine the South end being completely jammed with cars. No one would dare try to go to the North side of town. So I say we'll head to the North end as see what we can get."
Skips was startled, "The North end? That's the most dangerous part of town!"
Benson hated the idea too, that side was notorious for its gangs. "I know, but there is no chance of us getting anything from this side of town."
Skips sighed, "Fine. You can't guarantee anything though."
"I know." Benson wanted to go to the North side for one other special reason. It was where the hospital was. If there was any place of getting stuff for her, it was there...
"You two get in my car, I got to get something."
As Skips and Thomas left the house, Benson ran upstairs to his office. He grabbed as much money from the Park account as he could. Mordecai had already taken his glock pistol, but he forgot about the other one. He headed over to his filling cabinet, opened the bottom drawer, and grabbed the object.
When he ran to the car, Skips was in the passenger seat and Thomas was in the back. Benson sat in the driver seat as he placed his .38 revolver on the center console. Thomas' eyes immediately grew wide. He'd never even seen a gun before.
Benson saw Thomas' expression. "If things are going to be half as bad as I think they are, we're going to need this."
Benson started the car as the trio drove out of the park, unsure of what lay ahead.
::Again, sorry for the wait. Will try to update more regularly now. Leave a review of what you think so far, any suggestions, or predictions. Thanks::