Chapter 7
Tien
That night, Giovanni didn't schedule anything with Erebus, so we spent the night at the movies. We ate at Red Robin beforehand and had Johnny Rockets afterward. If eating so much is wrong, I don't want to be right.
When I got home, the twins had followed me in. We were going to study for english but we decided to watch a few more movies instead since it was a friday night. We were smiling and yelling and just being loud teenagers, still raving and ranting about the movie. Oliver had challenged me to a wrestling match, while Rosen just sat back to enjoy our banter. My parents are used to this and usually greeted us when we came in yelling and screaming, my mom usually asking us to settle down or else she'd blast us to the other side of town... Again. But there was nothing.
We walked into the kitchen and my parents were sitting at the table with my brother staring at all of us.
"Tien," my mom said, "your brother has something he needs to tell us." She looked nervous. I have no idea what Ian had told them but I hoped everything was ok. The way Dad was looking though it didn't seem like Ian had said anything yet. Mom turned her attention to the twins. "Do you mind leaving?"
"No," Ian croaked. "It's ok they can stay, I just didn't want Gee- I don't know."
Dad slowly nodded. "Ok what is it you wanted to tell us?"
Ian, in a voice quieter than mine, told us what he wanted to tell us. I was in shock at first. I didn't care but I did care he hadn't told me sooner. At least me, I can understand not telling our parents but... Dad instantly let out a breath. He smiled warmly at my brother and patted him on the back saying it took a lot of courage.
Mom actually slapped Ian saying, "You really worry me over that?" and then light-heartedly laughed. The twins and I stayed quiet while my parents assured Ian that everything was ok.
"So then... should I...?"
Dad looked concerned. "I have no idea."
"I do," I suddenly said pulling out my phone.
Erebus
I have no idea why Tien had called me over to his house. I had nothing better to do, Aaron was out with his human friends and Morty and Irene were... I have no idea, but they were around. As I pulled onto Tien's street my stomach felt cold and queasy.
I parked next to the twins' Toyota Corolla and walked up to the door. Tien had pulled it open before I even stood all the way on the porch. "Come on in," he said. I wondered what was up, Tien lead me into the kitchen as my heartbeat got faster. The twins were sitting at the counter on some stool away from the table where Tien's mom and dad were sitting at the kitchen table with Ian at their side. Tien slid into a seat next to his brother and I suddenly felt like I was on trial. Instantly regretted grabbing the first jacket I had which was a black leather one with spikes coming out of the shoulders. I was also wearing black jeans and black converse. I looked positively, well, evil. Without thinking I wiped my hands on my jeans and flexed my fingers. Tien must've sensed my emotions.
"Have a seat," he said warmly, gesturing to the one empty seat directly across from his little brother.
I sat down and scooted closer, folding my hands on the table to keep from fidgeting. It's ok I thought. You're not on trial, this isn't on interrogation, it's not a trap. You are in CONTROL. "So what's up?" I asked, briefly wondering where Giovanni was.
"Ian has something to say," Tien said quietly.
I looked at the little guy. He looked just like his brother, except with a tan. I could tell he took after his mom more than his dad. Other than that, Ian looked like a shorter, slightly skinnier Tien. I nodded my head at him. "What's up?"
Ian swallowed slightly and looked away. He took a deep breath and sighed. Goddamn the suspense was killing me! He finally spoke. Good thing I'm used to Tien because I had to strain to hear the little guy say, "I think I'm gay." I mean, seriously does anyone in the Dae family know how to speak out loud? For real, they-... wait...
"What?" I asked. "I mean, you think?"
He nodded slowly.
Crap. So it was obvious they called me here to help somehow. "What makes you think that?" I had to know what I was helping with.
"Well, I've had a crush on my friend for a while." Been there, done that I thought. "And I've been turned on-" he glanced to his parents. This must be torture doing this with his parents right there "-by a few guys in movies."
"Like?"
"Liam Hemsworth..."
"Good taste," I said smiling. He blushed and smiled at me sheepishly. "So how do you feel about girls?"
Ian shrugged. "They're cute but..."
"Not for you?" he nodded. "Well... I guess you're gay!" I smiled at him. "There's nothing wrong with it, I am."
"I know, that's why Tien called you."
I nodded. "Anything else?"
Ian shrugged.
I smiled. "Well if you need to talk, lemme know. There is some stuff I'll tell you later that can be... embarrassing."
Oliver laughed. "What can be so embarrassing?" he asked in a voice filled with fake wonder. Tien put his hand over his mouth and coughed to mask his amusement. Even his dad held back a snicker. Ian blushed again.
"So, Erebus," Mr. Dae began, thankfully changing the subject, "you're an umbreon?"
I smiled at him politely (good thing I meant it too, the freaking espeons could read emotion), "Yes I am."
"And I heard you have some pretty radical powers."
"Yea, I can run a zap cannon throughout my body and use electric charges to attack rather than fire a full zap cannon. I can disguise myself in the shadows, I can run extremely fast, and a couple others."
"What's that trick that you and Morty did?" Tien asked.
Ok feeling a little antsy with all eyes on me but I was glad. Attention was away from Ian and I could tell he was a little uncomfortable and embarrassed. "He and Irene, the froslass, can phase into my body and boost my powers as well as channel their powers through me."
"Sounds painful," Rosen mused.
"Not really, I can't feel them in there and they don't feel anything."
"How do you know for sure?"
"Morty has a bad habit of sneaking in and staying... then falling asleep and phasing back out at inappropriate moments."
"Are there any ill effects from it?" Mr. Dae asked.
I shrugged. "If they've been in too long, it tends to... over charge me I guess. Makes me feel sick and a little sweaty," I said as I wiped the palm of my hand on my jeans again. Oh no. As soon as I said that my entire body shivered. Morty and Irene both stepped out of me, literally.
"Someone say my name?" Morty said, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
Irene stretched and yawned. "Are we interrupting something again?"
"Guys," I said. Morty looked at me then looked around.
Then this fool smiled. "I really need to stop falling asleep inside of you."
I rolled my eyes. "You're disgusting."
He just smiled and laughed. "What's going on?"
I glanced over to Ian. My friends had sort of crashed this little get together. To my surprise he spoke. "I was just asking Erebus some questions. He-he's helping me with-"
"I understand," Morty said holding up a hand. I have to give him credit, as much of a goof ball as he is, he is really understanding and far more intelligent than people give him credit for. Morty pulled Irene with him to sit on one of the bar stools next to the twins. "Continue, please. Ignore us."
I turned to Ian. "Do you have any questions?"
"Do you recommend coming out to, like, everyone?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Depends. I did just because. I mean, my friends are really crazy people. And they're complete jerks who can't go half hour without poking fun at me."
"Yea we are!" Morty laughed. "And I can't help but make fun of you! You can twerk better than chick." He laughed.
I dismissively waved him off then said, "But there was a time Morty kicked some serious butt for me."
"What happened?" Ian asked in wonder.
I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at Morty. He was grinning like the loveable fool he was. "It happened around... seventh grade? Anyway, this kid was bullying me, making jokes and stuff-"
"Wait, someone actually bullied you?" Tien asked. "You're freaking huge!"
"I wasn't always," I smirked. "This guy wouldn't let up. Then he cocked his fist back and I flinched. I closed my eyes expecting to get pounded when I heard the guy grunt and moan. I open my eyes and I see Morty standing over the poor jackass. The bully had Morty's foot on his throat and Morty was just standing there like he was bored out of his mind. One of the bullies friends, this big brute who looked like Shrek tried to attack Morty from behind. Without even looking, Morty managed to block the punch, flip him over, and slam him right on top of his friend. Then like a badass he says-"
"Anyone else fuck with my friend, you'll end up like these two!" Morty said.
"Then this fool puts his arm around me, kisses me on the cheek, shouts he still like girls, and we walk away."
Everyone was shocked into silence.
"True story," Morty said and that made everyone burst into laughter.
"So to answer your question, if you have good friends around you who honestly care for you and protect you, I recommend it."
"I'll kick anyone's ass who messes with you, bro!" Tien said.
"Same here!" The twins twined.
"I'll be there for you too," I said.
"And me!" Morty hollored.
"If I'm around, ditto!" Irene said.
Ian smiled and looked at all of us like he was super happy. He had a bunch of people backing him up, even a couple he didn't exactly know. He's one of the lucky ones...
"But do what you want," I continued. "So long as you're still true to yourself, it's none of anyone's business who you like."
"Thanks, guys," he said.
"You'll always have our support, sweetheart," Mrs. Dae said, kissing him on the cheek. Ian pushed her away in embarrassment like any teenaged boy, but he was smiling nevertheless. I was happy for the kid. His parents accepted him.
Suddenly my stomach growled. Mrs. Dae looked at me with concern only a mother could give. A look I never got.
"Did you eat, Erebus?" she asked.
"No, not yet," I said hesitantly. I didn't want her to start doing the mom thing on me.
"Mom, Erebus is such a good chef!" Tien said. "We should have him cook!"
"Oh no, Tien, he's our guest..."
"No, no, I don't mind." I prefer my own cooking anyway.
"Yea, go cook something, E!" Morty said. "You belong in the kitchen."
I playfully glared at him and shook my head. I was about to shoot back my own response, but Tien butted in.
"Here, let me show you what we have so you can whip something up," Tien said, grabbing me by the arm and leading me around the corner to another part of the kitchen. When we were out of sight, Tien whispered in my ear. "Thanks."
I raised an eyebrow. "For?" I started looking through his kitchen and saw quite a few things I could use but couldn't decide.
"For helping my brother."
I grinned. "No problem, dude. My pleasure really."
"Hopefully it won't turn too much of your pleasure," he said winking at me.
I rolled my eyes. "It won't"
Tien crossed his arms and glared at me. "So what? My brother not good enough for you?"
I laughed at him and his glare broke into a smile. "He's too young."
"I don't know," he said in a mischievous tone. "The rule of creepiness is half your age plus seven. You're 17 right? half your age is about eight. Add seven to that and you have fifteen. My brother just turned sixteen, you should know, I asked you to make the cake." Tien grinned at me triumphantly as I looked through his cabinets for ingredients to cook with.
"You know that doesn't work all the time. Like what about a six year old. Half of six is three, add seven to that and you have ten. So the youngest person a six year old can date is a ten year old? But then that doesn't work because five plus seven equals twelve...!"
Tien sighed in annoyance. "The point is you can date him if you wanted."
"So do you want me to go out with him or not?"
Tien shook his head. "Nah, you don't have to if you don't want to, but if he happens to like you, can you let him down easy?"
"What makes you think I'm *not* attracted to your brother?" I asked, crossing my arms and playfully glaring at Tien.
Tien shook his head and smiled. "OK then let me put it to you like this." He got real close and stood on his tippy toes so he could look me in the eye (sort of). "If you break my brothers heart or even think about having sex with him, I will end you."
At this point I could have laughed at him but he was serious. He was just looking after his brother and I seriously wasn't attracted to him in anyway. "Alright then, but I'm still going to talk to him about a few things."
"What's so important that you can't say in front of everyone?"
"If someone tries to pop his brown cherry the wrong way, it'll be extremely painful and lead to an embarrassing trip to the hospital." I looked Tien directly in the eyes with a completely straight face. Tien just looked at me with his mouth slightly open.
"I see your point."
I bounced my eyebrows at him and grinned a little.
"Hey!" Morty hollered. "Unless Tien is coming out too, what's the hold up, E?"
"Dude!" I barked. I walked into the dining room in just enough time to see Morty roll his eyes.
"He knows I'm kidding..." he said. he looked at Ian. "You know I'm just having fun, right?"
Ian smiled sheepishly and nodded.
"Now what's the hold up?"
"I need to go pick up a couple things from the store to make leftover soup surprise!"
Morty's eyes went as big as dinner plates. "I love leftover soup surprise!"
"What's in it?" Oliver asked.
"It's a surprise!" Everyone there with half a brain said. So everyone except Oliver.
"No need to go by yourself," Tien suddenly said. He looked at me and subtly winked. "Ian you mind?" It suddenly dawned on me what Tien was doing. "I mean, I got the twins here and..."
Morty was about to open his mouth to talk. I looked him in the eyes and quickly thought at him the plan. Morty just shut his mouth (I know, shocking!) and continued to sit. Ian shrugged and lead me out of the house.
I unlocked the car door and got in. Ian jumped (literally, he's that short) into the passenger seat. I started the engine and immediately shut the radio off. If I didn't I wouldn't be able to hear this fucker talk.
"So," I began pulling off, "there are a bunch of things that's really embarrassing when it comes to being gay..."
"Like the sex talk?" Ian asked.
I nodded. I decided to take the side streets just in case. "So I guess..." Oh sweet jesus. If you think talking to your parents about sex is bad, try explaining gay sex to an impressionable young guy you only kind of sort of know. "What are some questions that you have?"
"How does it work?"
"Right in the anus. Right up the butt." There was a pause and Ian started snickering. "Were you expecting a different answer? It's not like when you admit you're gay, you grow a mangina next to your lil' wonton."
"No," he snickered, "I meant... the whole... process..."
Yea, this was going to be horrible. I glanced up in my rearview and saw a familiar pair of headlights. They were shaped weird and tinted slightly blue. I began to wonder how long that car was there but then I suddenly remember the whole gay sex talk. "Well... are you a top or bottom? Or have you even gotten that far?" I asked as smoothly as possible.
"Well... kind of- I'm not sure..."
"I guess I'll just tell you about both. You'll figure out which one you like. Foreplay is important because you can stretch out-" if you're giggling like hell right now, leave "-the anus. It helps a lot because... of the pain."
I glanced at Ian and his eyes had bugged out. "I thought sex was supposed to feel good!"
"It does!" I quickly said. "There's this magical part of the male body called the prostate. It's a bundle of muscle that's pretty sensitive and feels good when it's hit. Makes taking pretty worth it, but it's also dangerous. If you're not careful... well I'm not sure what will exactly happen but... if it's not done right, it'll go south quickly."
"Have you... taken?"
Hmm... so he knew terms. "If you tell Morty this you won't have to worry about sex because I'm going to kill you." I glanced over at him and he nodded. I looked in the rearview mirror as I weaved through the streets and saw the same blue headlights... odd. "Yes, I've taken, yea it hurt, but it felt... good after a while then amazing after... well..."
"So how do I stretch?"
"Oh, sweet baby Jesus," I sighed. I'm not going to write what I actually said because it was graphic, disgusting, and half of you would start giggling uncontrollably so yea.
When I got to a stoplight, I looked at the little guy. He was staring at me with a light blush spread across his tan face. The blue light illuminated my car enough that I could see the gears working in his eyes.
"Advice: if you're a bottom, don't let a black guy be your first time."
In the blue light, I saw Ian break into a big fit of laughs. Honestly he was laughing his little asian ass off and looked like he felt comfortable- did I just say blue lights? I glanced in my rearview and saw the same pair of headlights as before. I started to really wonder if this guy was tailing us. We had been on the road for a while, weaving through the back streets no less, and this guy was still behind us?
Ian tapped me on the arm. I raised my eyebrow at him.
"Do you think I'll get with a guy?"
"It shouldn't be about getting with a guy," I said, pulling off. "It should be about loving someone... but yea you will no problem, believe me."
"What do you mean?"
"You're a little asian twink. You're about seventy-eight point eight percent of the gay community's sexual fetishes. You'll do fine." Ian laughed at this. "But that's why you need to be careful. Gay guys are still guys. They'll say what they need to say you to get up your pooper shooter and then leave you... Just be careful, alright? If you need anything, let me know."
"Is there any good places to meet, like, gay guys my age?"
"Plenty of them..." I knew I would regret this, but... "There's also this website my friend created. It painstakingly makes sure that every person on it is under the age of eighteen. I could... sign you up. But before you do ANYTHING you have to go through me."
"What kind of website is it?"
I chewed my bottom lip. "I guess it's like a facebook for gay teens. A lot of people use it to talk, chat, have fun, exchange stories, support each other, good stuff like that."
"And the other people?"
"Sex," I said simply. "And a lot of it." I parked the car outside of a farmer's market. I had made sure there were no other free parking spots around me and the blue headlights left. I tried to look at who was driving it but it sped by too quick. I got out of the car and Ian followed closely behind. I walked through the little farmer's market and got a few types of vegetables, the entire time answering question Ian had. They were pretty standard and I was able to answer them without thinking too much or being as embarrassing as the last one.
In all honesty, I was looking around seeing if there was anyone following me. I glanced around the aisle while grabbing what i need for leftover soup surprise. I checked out my items while Ian's questions started getting personal.
"How many times have you had sex?"
"Uh..." Time to be honest. "Three times. Twice tops, once bottom."
"Three different people?"
"Yea... but we had dated a long time before it got to that point." I gave him a meaningful look and hope he got the message.
We got back to the car, I didn't notice anyone around us. I put the new ingredients in the back of my Urus, got in, and pulled out as quick as possible and drove around. Just when I thought I was being paranoid, my freaking car illuminated the color blue. Same freaking headlights. "I have to go to Hot Topic real quick, mind tagging along?"
"No, I wanted to check out some of their CDs anyway."
"Cool." I gunned it pretty hard to the nearest hot topic. It took about five minutes and we had no problem weaving through traffic and, unsurprisingly, the car with the blue head lights was there the entire time. I got to the mall and looked at the electronic board that told us how many parking spaces were available. I went up to the very tip top where it was full. I parked between two big cars and saw the blue headlighted car drive off somewhere. "Come on," I told Ian.
Now we could've gone the predicted way. The parking structure was one floor higher than the mall so we could go down a level like a normal human or...
I grabbed Ian by the hand and pulled him onto my back in a piggyback fashion.
"What's going-"
"Shut Up and hang on!" I ran as fast as I could, which was pretty freaking fast. I leaped onto the guardrail and sprang to the roof of the mall. We flew through the air and time seemed to slow down. I always loved doing this. On my last mission I couldn't properly enjoy springing from building but now I had the chance, even if it was just one. I spread my feet out ready for the landing. I felt Ian's arms tighten around my neck slightly and I held onto his thighs. I glanced at his face and his was lit up with wonder and excitement but fear as well.
Time slowly sped back up as the mall's roof got closer. I positioned my feet and when my feet hit the ground, I bent low and ran hard forward, this time even faster. When I came to the edge, I slowed. I jumped up and turned mid air. I landed on the catwalk at a complete stop. All the momentum sent Ian close to my body. I let him stay while his internal organs caught up with his body. "You good?" I asked. He nodded and I let him drop.
He started to sway and I grabbed him around his shoulders and led him through the mall.
"I thought you said you were good."
"I thought I was."
I smiled as I led him down the escalator and into Hot Topic. I looked around and found what I was looking for. An Adventure Time T-shirt. Irene wanted one and nows a good a time as any to get it. I left Ian to go grab it off of the rack. The real reason I came was to try to lose the blue headlight guy. Or find who it was. I probably should have lead the guy back to Morty and Tien's help and dealt with it then but... Too many variables.
I didn't see Ian around so I walked through the store. I found him in the back with the CDs looking at dubstep. "See anything you like?" I asked.
"Yea, but... I can't afford it. Not enough allowance. And my parents would be mad if I did. They hate rap and dubstep."
"That only makes you want it more!" I sing songed.
"Yea..."
I smiled and grabbed the CD from his hands. It was Deadmau5's album *Album Title Goes Here* . I saw Skrillex's *Bangarang EP*. I grabbed it and walked to the checkout. I smiled at the kind lady and handed her the money and my Hot Topic card.
"Can you put it in two different bags?" I asked. I took the bag with the shirt and handed Ian his CDs.
"For me?"
I shrugged. "I know what it's like for parents not to approve. Just remember: I didn't buy you anything."
Ian face lit up and I led him out of the store, the mall, and through a back alley leading back to the parking structure. I opened my ears and sensed around. Without anyone around, whoever was following me would make their move now. And they sure did. I felt someone teleport in behind us. Now only Psychic, ghost, and darks could do this naturally, and it felt like someone was shimmering. That's a dark type of teleportation. I wondered who this was.
"Get ready to run..." I muttered to Ian. Before he could ask what I spun around and my fist glowed. I slammed them together to create a powerful dark pulse. Whoever had been following us was knocked off their feet. Ian stood still. I stepped in front of him. I was an Eevee once too, this thing is scary. I let my traits come out and powered up, careful not to power up too much. I stood in a defensive manner, ready for the worst. The wind around us picked up and I braced myself. Hundreds of pinpricks hit my skin and cut me up pretty bad. I was lucky my leather jacket stopped most of the razors. I'm guessing I got hit with a razor wind.
I glanced behind me and saw Ian was fine. Stiff and petrified but fine. It turned back to my enemy, whomever it was and waited. A purple flame flew at me and I whipped out my styler and used a dark ring to blocked it. The attack exploded in my face, causing a lot of smoke. Through the smoke, I saw a figure, holding a styler, strike out at me. I charged a zap cannon through my styler making a sort of lightsaber. I blocked the attack and held my ground.
"Dude, what the hell?" My attacker said. Wait... I recognized that voice.
"Adrian?"
"Yea it's Adrian you idiot!" When the smoke cleared, my friend was standing in front of my. We both withdrew out stylers and looked each other up and down. Adrian was a tan asian dude, stocky and well built. His hair was cut in a military manner. He had a black horn sticking out of the side of his head, showing his absol-ness. Absol were mysterious dark type Pokémon that seemed to show up to warn of an impending disaster. He was dressed in a leather jacket similar to mine but without the spikes. "What the hell?"
"I'm sorry but you snuck up on me!" I hollered. "You should know not to do that! I'm paranoid!"
Adrian looked like he was about to say something but then shrugged. "I just wanted to freak you out. Haven't seen you since Thailand."
I rolled my eyes. "Been a while indeed."
"Look... I just wanted to sneak up on you and say hi. You kind of ruined it."
I smiled. "I'm sorry."
"Yea whatever." He shook his head and turned away, his form shimmering and disappearing in the process.
I shook my head and wrapped my arm around Ian. "Let's get you back home."
Ian
Wow Erebus was fast. I was still feeling the effects of building when I lead him back into my house. We heard laughing and followed it into the living room where everyone was huddled and the guy named Morty smiled at Erebus.
"Really, bro?" he laughed. "Did you have to beat up Adrian?"
I looked at Erebus and he smiled. "He snuck up on me!"
"You jumpy little S.O.B..." Morty shook his head.
Erebus rolled his eyes. "I'm going to cook the leftover soup surprise." He walked back into the kitchen and I followed. Everyone followed us in as Erebus started flicking around the kitchen, starting to cook. He had the soup pot out and started adding things to it. He stirred and added let things simmer. It was a graceful thing to watch. Then he had to wait.
He pulled out his phone and hit play.
"You always got to have music don't you?" Irene asked.
"Yup!" Erebus said.
"Play something we can sing to!" Irene said excitedly.
"You sing, Erebus?" Dad asked.
Erebus grinned and I'm sure if he skin wasn't the shade of a Reese's peanut butter cup, he would be blushing. "Yea, a little."
"Let's hear it!" Oliver whooped. Irene skipped over and snatch Erebus' phone from his hand. From her pocket she pulled out one of those mini speakers and hooked it to Erebus' phone.
The speaker started to play and Erebus smiled. Irene gestured for Erebus to start out first. His voice sounded amazing. It was low and resonated deep in my ears.
You shout it out,
But I can't hear a word you say
I'm talking loud not saying much
I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet
You shoot me down, but I get up
Irene joined in and harmonized with Erebus. Her high bell like tones mixed with Erebus' deepness perfectly.
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
Fire away, fire away
Ricochet, you take your aim
Fire away, fire away
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium
Then out of nowhere Erebus started to dance. He was top rocking! He smiled at laughed and just enjoyed himself. He was so much more loose than I thought he would be. He's so much more chill than Giovanni had said behind this guy's back.
Erebus stopped dancing and began to sing again, this time even louder.
Cut me down
But it's you who'll have further to fall
Ghost town and haunted love
Both Irene and Morty started to sing along. Morty's voice reminded me of the lead singer of Drowning Pool with a lot less edge and grittiness. The three of them together harmonized perfectly.
Raise your voice, sticks and stones may break my bones
I'm talking loud not saying much
The three of them put their arms around each other. Irene in the middle. Erebus reached his hand out and pulled me in close. The twins wrapped their arms around each other and linked up with Morty. My brother wrapped his arms around me. Together we all sang the next part. We didn't sound as good, but it was still a memory worth having.
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
Fire away, fire away
Ricochet, you take your aim
Fire away, fire away
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium
I am titanium
I am titanium
Stone-hard, machine gun
Fired at the ones who run
Stone-hard as bulletproof glass
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down but I won't fall
I am titanium
I am titanium
After we got done singing, Erebus checked the food. "Almost ready."
"So why don't you guys tell us more about yourselves," my mom asked sweetly.
Morty spoke first. "There my name is Morty Eusine. I'm a ghost type, a haunter. I used to live in San Diego with Erebus before we moved here, but I go to AHHS unlike him. We have been best friends since second grade, before he became all big and black and umbreon." He shoved Erebus in the shoulder and smiled.
"I'm Irene! I go to AHHS with Morty to keep him in line. I met these two knuckleheads in middle school when they moved here."
"What middle school did you guys go to?" Tien asked. "I don't remember you at MMS."
"We went to SMS before we got here," Irene asked. "I met Morty first and he introduced me to Erebus. We've been friends ever since."
"What was San Diego like?" I asked
"Hot!" Erebus said.
"Extremely so…" Morty agreed with a laugh.
"Soup's on!" Erebus announced. Mom got a bunch of bowls down and Erebus served them up. We sat around the table, Erebus right next to me. We ended up asking more questions.
"When did you come out?"
Erebus
"I came out around seventh grade," I said.
"How did you know?" Ian asked.
"It was obvious," I answered, eating some of my soup.
"What do you mean?"
"I think making out with a guy kind of seals the deal." Everyone giggled at my little out joke. "I was glad when I came out, it's California, only a handful of jerks care. Of course coming out of the closet after you've been an umbreon for a couple years can be… difficult but when you have a friend like Morty, it doesn't matter. Even if he is a jackass." I glanced at Mrs. Dae. "Sorry for the language."
"Oh, please," she said, waving me off. "I have a house full of teenagers at all times between these two. I'm used to a little swearing here and there." I smiled at her. "So how did your parents respond to you coming out."
Within the next few seconds a lot happened. About a billion thoughts of my mom flew through my head in about a second. In another second, all those thoughts were being sent to Morty. I tried my best to use our telepathy without looking into his eyes. In the next second, Morty grabbed my hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.
"Didn't really matter," he said simply for me. "No one really cared, in fact, my family took him out to dinner when he finally decided to tell anyone. But I'm proud to say that I'm the first person he told!"
He gave my hand another squeeze. I swallowed hard and tried to jump in seamlessly. "Oh please, like I had a choice but to tell you! You walked in on me making out with Gary..."
"And you were so...," he said, making a baby face at me. With his free hand, Morty made a fake tear trail down the side of his face.
"Shut up," I rolled my eyes.
"I just can't imagine you crying," Rosen laughed.
"Do you even have tear ducts?" Oliver agreed. "Or emotions…? Or clothes with pastel?"
"I'm surprised you didn't cause a flash flood with your tears, Erebus!" Tien added.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not all that emo! Yes I did cried when I was younger, yes I have tear ducts, emotions, and a handful of clothes with color, and, guys, just call me E, it's easier. All my friends call me E because Erebus is such a mouthful at times."
"Ok… E," Tien said with a smile.
"E," Ian said with a smile. "Sounds badass. Like the Doctor!"
"You watch Doctor Who?" I asked him.
"Oh great!" Morty yelled. "Another whovian!"
I rolled my eyes. I have got to stop doing that, my eyes are going to fall out of my sockets.
"Yea, I've seen every season after Doctor 9. I'm on the eleventh Doctor now."
"Matt Smith… not my favorite."
"Have you seen them all?"
"Almost, I'm still watching the classic episode, the pre-time war ones. I'm such a hardcore nerd of this show."
I heard Morty mutter "fucking torchwood" and I kicked him in the shin.
"Here," I pulled out my phone and took it off vibrate. I gave Ian my number and when he texted me, my phone sounded just like the sonic screwdriver that the Doctor used. "Like it?"
Ian nodded.
"I'll send you the ringtone." I took a couple more bites of my soup. "Ever have someone ask you who you are and you just say-"
"I'm the Doctor!" Ian interrupted in a fake british accent.
I grinned at him. "Doctor Who?" was my response. "I've done that so many times!"
"So have I. But I've never gotten a fan."
"Oh, it's the best to get a fan! I remember this one time when I was actually in London, this guy asked me who I was. I responded with 'the Doctor' and he said, 'you can't be the Doctor, I am!'"
"What happened next?" Ian asked, real enjoyment in his eyes.
I swallowed a spoonful of soup and continued with the story. "Well, we had the same back and forth as the Doctor when he was cloned."
"Which time?"
"Uh... David Tennant when he got a doppelganger."
"When Donna became 'Doctor Donna' right after?"
"No, the other time."
"Oh, right! The one with the goo! ...That was a freaky episode."
I nodded darkly. "Ever go to a Doctor viewing party?" He shook his head. "Oh you're missing out! The best part is, everyone dresses up! I saw this guy dressed up kind of like a dalek. He had pants on that looked like the lower body of the dalek. This hand looked like the laser, the hand looked like the suction cup thingy, he a chest plate on, and a hat that had the dalek eyestalk. He looked freaking clean!"
"Did he meet a dude dressed as a cyberman?"
My grin only grew. "Yea! Remember the episode where the daleks and cybermen fought?" Ian nodded. "Those two did the whole dialogue where the cybermen and daleks met."
"I love that scene! The daleks were badass! They burned the cybermen so bad!"
"I feel like when you say 'you are better in one aspect... you are better at dying!'" Ian laughed at my best dalek impression, "you just win the 's just the best insult ever."
"Totally!" I saw Ian glance around then blush.
I looked around too and everyone seemed to be looking at us nerding out. I was embarrassed too. Then I wondered if everyone expected us to get together. "Hey! He's gay, he's gay, they like the same TV show, they should fuck!" God... I'm sure they meant well though...
I glanced at Morty and he had a wide grin on his face.
"What's that look for?"
*You want to fuck him now, don't you?* is what he thought at me, but out loud he said, "Freaking whovians."
*I'm going to kill you!* I thought at him
"I know," Tien called, responding to Morty's comment about whovians. "He always uses Netflix and the DVR for that stupid show!"
"Well then, you should put your stuff on the DVR before I get the chance," Ian said back.
"Is this what I'm like with Rosen when we argue?" Oliver pondered out loud.
"No, it's a lot funnier because you two can actually hit each other!" Tien said, giving a look to his younger brother.
I glanced back at Morty. *Admit it! You have the hots for this little asian bastard!* he thought at me.
"I can tell you're using telepathy," Mr. Dae suddenly said with a wink.
Instead of being embarrassed, I said, "Good then I can do this!" I released my hand from Morty's (I did not know I was still holding that) and punched him in his chest.
Morty laughed, but then paused. "Can you tell what we were thinking about?"
Mr. Dae laughed. "Nope, but I can tell you were being a smartass."
"Ain't that the truth!" I announced.
Morty responded by hitting my in the bicep. "I'll get you later."
"Why wait 'til later?" I said with a wag of my eyebrow.
"Guys," Mrs. Dae called. "Not at the dinner table... do it in the dojo after dinner."
I felt Morty think something racist. I didn't know what it was so I just punched him in the arm for good measure. "I would love to," I said.
"Don't start anything you can't finish!" Morty said.
"I got five bucks on E!" Tien said.
"I got ten on Morty!" Oliver said.
Rosen bit his lip. "I say fifteen on Morty."
"Well considering what Morty has told me about himself while E was gone, I have to say five on Morty," Mr. Dae said.
"Ditto," Mrs. Dae said.
"Well I feel like shit now..." I groaned.
"Hey, I have money on you!" Tien said, trying to cheer me up. "And Ian still hasn't cast his choice."
"My money's on him..." Ian said shyly, as all eyes on him. "Ten bucks."
"That money will be ours!" Oliver boomed.
"We'll see," I said with a smirk.
Ian
After dinner, we all went out to the practice dojo Dad had built a couple years back. The floors and walls were padded and practice dummies lined the outside. "Do me a favor, hold this?" Erebus asked me. When I didn't say anything , he smiled and draped his leather jacket over my face.
I laughed and removed it from my face. He stood in the middle of the dojo facing Morty. Morty grinned like crazy. They did a low bow to each other and assumed fighting stances while shifting in their true forms. "You know you're going to lose?"
"What, you going to try to teleport around me?" E said with a grin. "You know damn well I can sense that."
"Close," Morty said. The quick as a blink of an eye just vanished. Erebus' eyes bugged out. He glanced around first left the right and in a sudden blink, Morty appeared on Erebus' right and punched him in the face before vanishing again.
Erebus stood up straight and glanced around. "Learn a new trick?"
"Yep! Invisibility!" Morty's voice emanated from nowhere. "We didn't have school today so I practiced."
"You practicing for once, eh? That's rare." Morty responded by blinking in and punching Erebus right in the jaw, knocking him to the floor. Erebus tried to get up and throw a punch but Morty just disappeared. Erebus reached into his pocket and wiped his mouth. "Alright then, come at me."
Morty blinked and punched Erebus. Erebus tried to throw a punch right back but Morty disappeared. "You're too slow!" Morty taunted.
"Really?" Erebus said, grinning like a madman. His voice sounded strange like he had something in his mouth. Erebus opened one of his hands to reveal an X Speed. Just as he was about to use it, Morty appeared to grab it. In an instant, Erebus smiled to reveal an X Speed already in his mouth. He bit down and used it.
In a sudden flash of motion, Erebus... I'm not sure, he like blurred and slammed into Morty. Morty blinked out again while Erebus just stood still and waited. From behind, Morty had blinked back in. Erebus whirled around and kicked him in the chest. Erebus rushed him and landed a solid blow to Morty's jaw.
What happened next surprised everyone. Morty teleported just as Erebus made contact. They reappeared five feet in the air and upside down. Erebus, unable to use levitation and too surprised to do anything else, landed on his head while Morty just floated there.
Erebus groaned and rolled onto his butt. "Since when can you take passengers?"
Morty rubbed his head while floating upside down. He looked like he was going to be sick. "I can't, you just followed me."
"That makes no sense!"
"Shut up..." Morty groaned while righting himself midair.
Erebus grinned and jumped up onto his feet and in the air faster than I could blink. Those X Speeds can do wonders. Erebus spiked Morty onto the ground like a volley ball. Morty jumped onto his feet just as Erebus landed on the ground. Erebus threw a punch but it went right through Morty. Like right through him. Oh right, ghost type, he could pass through certain objects.
Erebus stumbled forward and Morty took advantage of that. He kicked Erebus in the back forcing him to roll. Erebus got back up and charged Morty. Just as he punched, Morty attempted to turn intangible again but there was a sudden crackle of electricity and a flash of light and Morty hit the ground.
"Oh so we're using powers now?" Morty asked as he got up.
"You're the one who's been using your abilities this entire fight," Erebus replied.
"You're just mad because the only ability you have is speed and not being able to be seen when it's dark, and, news flash, all black people have that ability!"
Erebus frowned and growled but then smiled as we all laughed at Morty's racist joke.
"Ok enough messing around," Erebus said, holding up his hand like he was holding an invisible ball.
"Agreed," Morty said, making the same gesture.
Irene stuck her hand out. "OK we all might want to take a step back," she said to us. We complied and took a couple steps away from their fighting area. When we did, both the fighters each made a shadow ball in their hands.
They both laughed like maniacs as they threw their balls rights at each other... I feel like that's a sexual innuendo but I'm not a complete teenage boy yet so forgive my lack of obsession of testicles. I found it funny that I wasn't obsessed with testicles considering I'm gay... Where was I?
Oh, right! They threw their balls at each other and they met midair. As they met, they exploded and sent a wave of darkness throughout the dojo. That slammed us all into the wall, but thanks to Irene we were already basically braced against it.
The instant the wave of darkness disappeared, Morty and Erebus went at it. Shadows danced across the dojo, brilliant colors of purple and black flashed across my eyes as I watched these two warriors of the shadows duke it out. I had no idea what attacks they were using and even if I did, most of them went by too quick for me to even name them.
This went on and on against each other until they were standing in front of each other, bruised and battered, huffing and puffing, eyes narrowed at each other and yet they were both smiling.
"Been awhile since we went at it like this," Erebus huffed.
"Yea, E," Morty agreed. "It's usually over by now. With me straddling your hips." Morty gave a smile and a wink.
Erebus rolled his eyes. "Well this is it. You ready?"
Morty nodded. They both held their hands out in front of him. The shadows began to swirl and moved toward them. In their hands, they both held enormous shadow balls. They both huffed and shot off their balls... ok really starting to see all the sexual innuendos... god getting older sucks.
When the balls collided (oh, Jesus), they really slammed into each other with immense power. Morty and Erebus leaned toward the two fighting balls. The small indent of yellow on Erebus' forehead started to turn into a sort of half ring. Erebus and Morty's outstretched arms started to shake a little. Morty was to first to steady his with his other arms then Erebus did the same. The balls really started to slap against each other... I hear it and I don't care.
Waves of shadows started to discharge. Eventually both balls broke, causing another, more powerful wave of darkness to sweep the little dojo and even rocked it a little. Both warriors of darkness stood against each other. Morty opened his mouth to say something but ended up falling on his face.
"I guess you guys owe the Dae brothers a buttload of money," Erebus said before falling over himself.
Erebus
I really hated Morty right now. He made me use so much darkness when we fought, the darkness inside me had stirred.
I was back in that gray room. This time the shadows remained where they were.
"See what happens when you use my power unrestrained," the voice said.
I glanced around. "I see what happens. I use your power and it goes crazy. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't held back? The Daes and the twins were already thrown against the wall and the dojo was shaking around like crazy. If I hadn't held back, the whole place would have probably went down!"
"And yet it didn't. If you would practice-without the aid of your little ghost friends, you would be able to use the darkness without harming anyone but your enemies. Darkness it's evil!" The voice roared.
"Morty and Irene stop you from invading my mind and making me violent…" I responded calmly.
"The only reason I make you violent is because you keep me chained in the corners of your mind! You chain me with your consciousness and drink to suppress me in your subconscious! You don't let me go free and that makes me more violent than a rabid dog, but I am a part of you! When you force me away, you only harm your own mind!"
"You are not me!"
"You wish I wasn't you!"
I was shaking with anger now. I started to move through this cramped little room. "You are not a part of me!" I screamed. I threw my hands out and the room exploded around me. I was suddenly surrounded by a pretty purple and blue aurora borealis like colors. It was peaceful and calming. This new place in my heart, my brain, where ever I was, it reminded me of the Dive to the Heart.
"This won't stop me," The voice sang out. I turned around rapidly. From the other side of my new inner sanctum, dark, smoky shadows started to form. They stopped in the corner and stayed there, swirling. "This change doesn't weaken me, If anything, it makes me stronger!"
"Oh my God!" I breathed as I saw a figure start to emerge from the shadows. This is the first time the voice actually manifested into a physical form (if this was all inside me, would he still have a physical form?). Even worse, he looked just like me. He was dressed in an all black tuxedo with a blood red tie and blood red handkerchief hanging from the blazer's pocket. He had the same military haircut I had, only his was cleaner. To my surprise, he was shifted into an umbreon form, like mine, but his canines were sharp, the yellow ring on his forehead was full and glowing brightly, and his eyes. His eyes were blood red with tiny black pupils that seemed to bore into my soul.
"This is me," he said smoothly. "This is you. This is us. You are darkness. You have a lot more abilities than just running around and jumping. You can walk dreams and see warnings of what's to come. Yes, you can already do this, but they are vague, they are incomplete. If you would allow me to shape your mind and your powers, you can do so much more. No person will challenge you, no person could beat you, no person shall dare put a hand on Irene, Morty, Lilith, or Aaron again. You could have love, life, power! You can have so much if only you would join with me!"
I shook my head and started to inch backward. I was sweating and shaking in my shoes. "I will not be a stereotype," I mumbled.
The Other frowned. "The 'stereotypes' you fear are just old wives' tales that no one ever follows. The fears you have of me are…. This is pointless, you're not listening." The sad part was, I was listening. Everything he said was tempting me into letting him take over. Every argument he made seemed legit. I almost wanted to let him take over. Almost.
The Other was a killer though. I always did my best to not kill anyone, even though I could. I will admit, I have blood on my hands, but that wasn't in cold blood, it wasn't just on a whim. It was I self defense or the defense of others. I committed murder when it was the very last option. But the Other was always there, trying to get me to kill, always trying to get me to eliminate a target or anyone who was a threat, like the baltoy. Like Hank... Like Giovanni...
Or Tien.
I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let this killer take over my mind. I started to back up, trying to wake myself up, to get myself out of here. The Other frowned. "You cannot escape me. I will take over one of these days. This I swear, I've walked the dream world. One day, something will happen and I will be free!" The Other looked away, he looked almost… sad. "The sad part is if you were to join with me now, it could be prevented." He looked back at me to gauge my reaction.
Could he see into the future? Could he really see what was going to happen? What could it be? Again I was tempted to allow him in, if anything to just protect my friends. I froze in place. The Other smiled at this. He had been watching me, gauging my reaction. I started to walk towards me, the shadows following him. He held his hand out to me. I could feel my heart clench and I felt all the murderous thoughts that were swirling in his-in my head.
Before he could get any closer, a familiar purple shadow appeared. "Whoa!" Morty said as he formed from the purple shadow. He held a hand out and bright silver chains flew out from the darkness and clamped down on the Other's neck, arms, and legs and began to pull him back, away from me. "Well that was new," Morty said. He looked to me. "Is this the first time he's done this?"
I nodded. Morty walked over and places a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, let's get moving. It's time for you to wake up!"
My eyes flew open, I sat straight up, and I took a big breath. "Owe, my head," I said, as Morty stepped out of me. "Where am I?"
"My bed," Tien said.
"Where?"
"My bed, you passed out after you and Morty spared."
"So I'm in your bed right now."
"Yessir."
"I'm guessing Morty went to town with that joke already?"
"You betcha. Thankfully my parents didn't hear that."
I groaned and leaned back. "What happened to me?"
"You had a sort of psychic headache."
"Ah, crap."
"What are those?" I jumped as Ian asked his question. I had no idea he was sitting right there.
"A psychic headache," Tien began, "unlike the other types, dark, psychic, and ghost types powers are mental not physical. When you exert the amount of power Morty and Erebus did, it tends to give a guy a headache."
"I pushed it a little too hard to kick Morty's butt, so I guess the drawbacks was a psychic headache and then a sudden urge to sleep" I added.
"Dad gave you a full restore while you were out, by the way," Tien said.
"How long have I been out?" I asked.
"About five minutes. When Morty woke up, he noticed that yellow thing on your forehead was a full ring so he got worried and phased into you. What was happening?"
"Bad dream," I half lied. I started to get up.
"Don't go," Tien said, putting his soft hands on my chest. Really not the best time to be thinking about that. Honestly, Tien was pretty hot. He was awkward at times and really quiet but he was hot and him touching me when my defenses were down could result in my jeans suddenly becoming entirely too small. "You should stay here and rest," Tien said.
"Yea, we have plenty of room," Ian agreed.
"Oh, and I'm guessing you want him in your bed, huh shorty?" Morty replied with a snicker. I snarled, nice and low. A small ripple of darkness snaked out and hit Morty in the chest. I glared at him. *I need to go home!*
*Why? If anything you should stay here and let Mr. Dae take care of your little psychic headache.*
*What happens when I need to sleep? I need the alcohol!*
Morty looked away. A subtle way of saying he didn't like the idea one bit.
"Trouble in paradise?" Tien asked.
I rolled my eyes. "Where's Irene?"
"Asleep on the couch waiting on you."
I got up again. "Sorry but I have to get up and go home. We'll hang out again as soon as possible."
Tien frowned and Ian looked disappointed.
"If we're going, I'm driving."
"If you insist," I said. I reached into my pocket and threw him my key. "Where's my jacket?"
"Over here!" Ian piped up.
I gave him a warm smile. "Thanks," I said as I reached out and he handed it to me. I slowly got out of Tien's bed half expecting Morty to say something but like I said he didn't approve of the way I usually handle the voice- the Other so he wasn't gracing me with his jokes.
The Dae brothers lead us out of the house after waking up Irene and as we left their parents came out.
"Come back again soon!" Mr. Dae said.
"You're welcome here anytime!" Mrs. Dae agreed.
"We will," I said smiling. I looked to the Dae brothers. "You two are welcome over my place anytime too, with or without the assignment from Whitney. Tell the twins their welcome too!"
"I will," Tien smiled. With that, the three of us left. I slinked into my urus' passenger side and realized I was tired as hell but I couldn't go to sleep. When Morty started the car, I hit the A/C and blasted My Shit Bang as loud as I could. I couldn't go to sleep. I text Aaron and told him to put on the tea.
"So anyone want to explain what happened?" Irene asked from the back seat as Morty drove all the six blocks to my place.
"E is drinking his problems away," Morty deadpanned.
"Dude, that's all I can do to keep that... Other at bay!"
"There are other ways to deal with it!"
"Like how?"
"LIke embracing it and learning to control it!"
"I'm not letting that- that *thing* in my head! I will not be evil!"
"What if he's truly not evil and that's just the way he seems because of all the darkness around him!"
"No, that's not it!"
"Could've fooled me," Morty growled. "As I remember, you didn't exactly think of me as all that good when we first met."
I was shocked. "That's not fair... you knew my mom was-"
Morty shook his head. "I know but... maybe this Other isn't really evil, he might just be... primal. It might be a challenge or something, you don't know for sure what it is!"
"But you don't hear him. When you're not in my head, not inside of me, you have no idea the things he whispers."
"E, sweety," Irene chimed in. "We all have that little voice."
"You're just so crazy, it makes itself real," Morty said with a smile. I lightly punched him in the arm. We couldn't stay mad at each other for long. Morty sighed. "Look, drinking should be used as a last resort. You need to learn to deal with your fucking insanity another way."
"It only gets bad when I use a lot of darkness so..."
"Don't use dark type moves," Irene said. "You can use a bunch of psychic and ghost moves anyway, use those. Dark should be a last resort."
Morty pulled into my parking space and we slowly made our way into the apartment. Aaron was there, pouring the tea.
"How was your little party?" I asked, getting the brandy out and spiking the tea. I chose to ignore Morty's deep frown. Aaron proceeded to go on and on about the party. He told me all about the people he danced with, the food, the music.
"The best part is, I actually forgot about a lot of crap for a long time!" Aaron smiled. I was leaning up against the counter while Aaron told us his story.
I smiled. "We all need that every once in awhile. I'm glad you had fun."
"I'm glad you let me off the leash, Dad," Aaron said with a wink. He actually referred to me as "dad". He did, didn't he?
"You mean 'Mom', right Aaron?" Morty said with a slight cackle.
Aaron laughed as he walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around my midsection, surprising me. "Thanks for letting me go," he said. I was still in slight shock over the whole dad comment but I still wrapped my arms around him. "Mom." he continued. I set my tea down and tried to punch him but he saw it coming and ran away.
"I'm going to get you for that comment, you little shit!" I hollered.
I heard him laugh as he locked himself into the guest bedroom. I smiled to Irene. "You staying here tonight, Queen of Frost?"
Irene looked at the wall clock. "Sure, might as well." She skipped off to the second guest bedroom.
"Come on," Morty said, putting his arm around me. "Time for bed."
The next morning, we were all groggy. Morty and I just wore pajama bottoms while Irene was wearing a full purple nightgown and Aaron was wearing a onesie I had gotten him as a joke gift our first christmas together.
I had just finished cooking and setting the table when a cold wind over took my little apartment. The room shook and once again I was met with one hundred eight reasons to run and hide under my blankets curled up with those I loved.
The rift that was in my ceiling started to shake, rattle, and roll. My rift was specifically built to keep people from teleporting in, via another rift or one of the riftless types of teleportation. Morty, Irene, and a select few others could teleport in and out of my home without my rift stopping them.
There was only one person in the world that could bust through my rift without being seriously injured or worse.
Just like there was only one person in the world that I truly feared. One person that I would never want to fight. There was only one and he had busted his way in and was standing in front of me now, wearing an expression of white hot anger and fear.
"Hey, Martin," I said.
"You messed up," he hissed.
I gulped. "How?"
"The serum. Not all of it was destroyed!" Martin's eyes turned a dangerous shade of sickly green. "You need to fix this! If you don't, I swear..."
I didn't want to know what he swore but... "How do I fix it?" I asked immediately.
Martin scowled. "We found out that Altru Inc. was in charge of the whole thing. They planned on taking over human minds to begin to rule the world. You *did* manage to set them back months, but someone had predicted your arrival and saved a single vial. That single vial can easily recreate the entire thing in a matter of weeks! WEEKS!"
I flinched at this. "How do I-"
"I'm getting to that! At four o'clock tonight, they're moving the serum from their factory in San Jose down to Los Gatos. Stake the place out and destroy it!"
Oh crap. "Can anyone else do-"
"NO! This was your job and you failed to complete it. Had you just slaughtered all those baltoy... It was one of the survivors who had the serum. It was your fault, you fix it!"
I closed my eyes and looked away. "I can't just kill."
"And since you can't, you have to miss out on your little movie hopping night." With that, the wind picked up again and all one hundred and eight reasons to run away left my body, but it did leave me with the feeling to cry. I opened my eyes and looked at Aaron.
"I'm so sorry, dude," was all I could say.
"It's my fault," I heard him mutter before he ran off and locked himself in the guest bedroom. I started to give chase but Irene put her hand on my shoulder. She shook her head.
"It's not his fault," I said. "It's mine, I should have made sure there was no other serum. Now I have to miss our movie night... And Aaron and I really haven't hung out in forever and..."
"You're ranting," Morty said. "Look, if you want, i can-"
"No, I... I have to do it."
"But maybe if I go with you, you can just be done real quick and we can do the movie night later."
"No, no, no! You go with him to the movies, watch the first one without me and I'll finish the job as quick as a whick and be in time to hop to the next three movies. I can make this worse."
"But it'll more than likely be heavily guarded," Irene said. "The only way you can go through all those baltoy is by..."
"I'll just incapacitate them. Break a few bones if I have to. I'm not killing unless I have to!" I shook my head. I walked over to Aaron's room and knocked on the door. "Let me in or I'll force my way in."
Aaron unlocked the door and opened it. The second he did that, I threw my arms around him.
"I'll be there for the last three movies. Nothing short of death will stop me."
"But you have to fight again. Last time those baltoy nearly ripped you apart. Even worse, what if there's a claydol? That'll be even worse."
"I'll handle it-"
"But you shouldn't have to!"
I squeezed Aaron closer to me wishing that I had something to say that would make him feel better. "But I am. I'm helping people out in the world and if I didn't they'd reassign me like they did Lilith. I can't move away from here. I have Irene, and Morty and now I even have the Dae brothers and the twins. And I have you too. I'm not leaving. If that means going on a dangerous mission every once in awhile to protect you, I'll do it. I'll kill to keep you safe."
AAANNNDD That's it for tonight. Please give me feedback on how the rest of the chapters should be going. GNIGHT!