CHAPTER SIX
Hyena panted heavily as he made his way across the field, the stars beginning to be suffocated by clouds one after another. He had to warn them…had to warn the others. But he'd been so frightened that he'd not bothered to see if they were following him. He'd been running nonstop for the past ten minutes and was out of breath. Completely and utterly out of breath.
"Got to…catch…catch my breath…" He gasped as he staggered over to a nearby fire hydrant and leaned against it, the bells atop his head gone…he'd ripped them off, though it had hurt him to do so, so that he could hold them in his paws and keep them from jingling and giving him away as he'd gone running.
Then he realized where he was. Legion's house!
Gasping in relief as well as being out of breath, he staggered to the door and banged as hard as he could. "Open! OPEN!" He shouted out as best he could, only it all came out in a harsh gasp. "For the love of GOD, 627, OPEN!"
The door opened and Legion stood there, looking slightly irate as Belle stood by his side, both wearing skimpy underwear. "What is it?" He asked.
"Jac-Jack…just m-murdered…murdered Vee…Vee and Barty…" Hyena gasped up.
Legion's eyes went wide. "You're certain of this?" He asked.
"You SAW?" Belle asked.
"Yes…wish…wish I hadn't, but I did…that little jerk-URK!"
Claws grasped his neck. Legion sighed sadly. "You can't know…I'm sorry, Hyena. I truly am…"
He was pulled inside the house…and his throat was too tired to cry out as Legion raised his claws high.
Watching from a window far away, the human's eyes narrowed and for brief moment, glowed…
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… "This is awful." Grendella said softly as she paced outside the house, with Alex hard at work in the garden.
Sandy was utterly distraught. He'd locked himself in his room and wouldn't come out. All he could do was cry.
"He's been like this for days." She said to the British handyman. "There's got to be some way to cheer him up…"
"For something like this, you need to wait until he can't cry anymore. Then you've got to go to him." Alex insisted gently. "He needs to get his open sorrow out of the way."
"AAAAAAAAAHHH! RAAAAUUUUHHHHH!" Now bellows were coming from Sandy's room, horrid wailing screams of fury intermixed with sorrow.
"He's started screaming in between crying…" Grendella bit her lip. "…and I'm getting MARRIED to him. Uh…what am I going to do? There's no clue as to who did it…there are dozens of experiments with super strength all over the island and every single one of them who might have a motive has an alibi!" She added, looking down at the news report that the police had given her, as an affected party.
"Stitch and Angel had their heads crushed. Vee and Barty were stabbed in the heart. Hyena's throat was ripped open. Is there anything they have in common?" Alex inquired, raising a finger up in inquiry.
Grendella frowned. "…I don't know…I don't know…"
The door to Sandy's room slowly opened and Sandy walked out. He'd crushed his sunglasses into fine dust and scattered it in the wind as the hair atop his head blew about, whipping in the air. A horrifyingly dark look was on his face.
"I am going to find who murdered my mother and father." He spoke quietly. "I am going to find them…and I am going…to HURT them." He announced darkly, his paw's digits clenching into fists. "Hurt them…VERY…BADLY…"
Alex watched as Grendella and Sandy headed off, and he frowned slightly. "Sandy, you fool, you're playing right into his paws…" He growled darkly.
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…Michael White frowned as he looked over the newspaper. "Crime Rate in state of Hawaii rises to 40%. Too high. FAR too high. Yes, granted, there were more experiments than humans, but this wasn't the cause. This wasn't just an ordinary crime rate…this was a hate crime rate. EXPERIMENTS were being targeted and beaten and attacked, robbed in their homes or on the street. The rate was steadily climbing higher and higher…
White knew why. Ever since more experiments had been made, now that they were in the majority, humans were beginning to be afraid. They felt that the experiments would start becoming all "Nazi-esque"…that they'd look down on humans as inferior and start shipping them off to CAMPS or something. It had essentially turned into a "get them before they get you" campaign throughout the islands.
"I'm going to have to do something about this." White thought to himself. He had no problem with stealing, but these actions were interfering with his work…and more importantly, young women were being targeted. That was just sick.
Flicking one lock of white hair, he then tossed the newspaper away after crumpling it up into a ball and leaned back in his chair in his office and began to think.
Meanwhile, quite far away from his office, there was another person who was deeply disturbed. Poor Junior was pale as a ghost as he walked down the hallways of school. People looking at him saw that something was wrong with him and some raised their hands or paws, eager to call out…but a good look at his eyes stopped them.
There was no light in them. Only a sad, deep darkness filled with horror. He had seen something terrible and there was absolutely nothing that they could do to cheer him up. Nothing.
He opened up his locker and saw Green approaching him, with Yuna by her side. "Hey Junior, what's wrong?"
Junior looked at her with a sad expression. It was like he wanted to cry, but the amount of crying he wanted to do was simply impossible…if he tried, he'd flood the whole school.
"Junior, what's wrong?" Yuna asked softly.
"…I had an awful, awful dream." He whispered. "I watched them…"
"What?"
"…they died and I had to take their souls away." Junior cried quietly, covering his eyes.
"What!" Yuna exclaimed, hair spiking out.
"I saw them all dead last night in my dreams and I had to take them away…" Junior spoke quietly. "To the Other Side…"
Green frowned deeply. "Junior, I'm so…I'm so sorry."
Junior lowered his head, sniffling slightly, then wiped his cute pink little nose on his arm and headed off. Sighing, Green walked into the gym to shoot some hoops since there was some free time before-
A CLANKING as the door was locked. Rupert and Ariel stood at the far back door and had a scythe in his paws. He growled at her. "My position as "Death" might be gone, but I see dreams too, and my experience means I see further than my son has. He will discover what I've already learned…that you're a murderer."
"…" Green folded her arms and sighed quietly. "I…I don't really…I'm sorry that you had to find out, but I can explain it all…"
A slinking form that was making it's way through the vents above looked down through the vent grille holes and waited for them to make a move. All she had to do was get them together…
Green walked to the right as Ariel and Rupert began to circle her. "It wasn't personal at all…it just had to be done. It's a necessary thing. I'm not a villain, neither are my parents…they've never steered me wrong before."
"Good parents don't ask their children to murder!" Rupert hissed angrily. "You disgust me…"
He and Ariel were inching towards her. She could tell they were ready to jump…that's it, she thought. A little bit more…
"Well…that's the way it has to be, then?" Green asked quietly.
"That's the way it is GOING to be!" Rupert yelled.
All of them jumped at her…but Green was faster than they had thought she was. VERY fast. She jumped through the air and thrust her clawed hands back at them, and burning ropes of fire surrounded them. They gasped as Green landed expertly on her taloned feet, pointing a black claw at them as the vent opened above and her father fell down, mechanical, spider-like legs extending from the metal backpack-like utility pack he wore.
"EXCELLENT, Green!" He announced happily, going to her side and lowering his body down to ruffle her hair. "Oh, I'm so proud of you." He said gently.
"What should I do with them? Gym's in half an hour." She remarked.
"Simple…I bring them to the laboratory." Zim announced, holding up a needle with a syringe. "You go about class as usual, alright?"
Green nodded eagerly and hugged Zim tightly before running off with a wave. Zim smiled sadly as he watched her go and he sighed deeply. "My little girl…" He spoke softly as he walked over to Rupert and Ariel, holding the needle filled with strange clear liquid up…
It went into their bloodstream very easily and sleep overtook them.
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… "Having a conscience…"
"Yes?"
"…it gets unsettling. I tried to be soulless, but…I felt bothered." Green whispered to her mother and father. "They reminded me so much of you two."
"I honestly wish I could say it gets easier." Zim admitted quietly. "But it doesn't. I'd be lying if I say it does, and you know I would never lie to you, Green. Not ever." He swore. "After all, I am YOUR FATHER." He announced dramatically.
With THAT, Rupert and Ariel awoke to find themselves strapped to a table in Zim and Kila's lab…and familiar faces were surrounding them. Rupert knew all of them…all of them had been in on the murder of that Irken girl that he'd seen in his dreams.
"You are Major Arcana, and yet you're lending aid to murderers." Rupert growled hatefully at Snizzi, the Emperor, and Vassago, the Tower. "You DISGUST me."
The two nodded as Kila spoke up. "You don't…understand what we're doing…do you?"
"Your daughter murdered Stitch and Angel…what's there to understand!" Rupert growled, his fur standing on end, red eyes shining. "They gave me a second chance, I can NEVER forgive you for telling your daughter to do what she did!"
"…we don't expect you to." Zim said simply. "All of us…are part of a Clan. We made a pact. We stay together."
"You see, like you…we want our children to grow up good and just." Skoodge said as he patted Tenn on the back. They realized that the Irken female was pregnant…her tummy bulging slightly. "But our methods are…different."
"We're thieves." Bonnie admitted. "We know that we're very flawed, but what we plan to do…is for our children's sake."
"How can you say that murder is good for your children!" Ariel yelled out, her normally silent voice sounding more damning than theirs.
"In the end, you will understand." Kila insisted.
"I don't know what you've got planned, but the ends do not justify the means!" Rupert insisted.
"We'll see…won't we?" Vassago inquired.
"In the meantime, you'll just stay here, locked up." Skoodge informed him. "Don't worry, Tenn and I will try and take good care of you." He insisted, gently nodding his head.
"Wait a minute, Bonnie, are you really okay with-" Rupert began. But before he could, Skoodge moved forward and stuck a needle in his arm. He groaned as his head began to swim and he saw Skoodge injecting the same substance into his wife. Everything began to look…odd…it was like he was seeing all solid lines become waves and it was all becoming blurry.
His consciousness was swimming in and out but he could see the others leaving the laboratory and he and his wife were left alone with Skoodge and Tenn.
"We know you know about Jack. But we can't let you tell Bonnie and Clyde about him." Tenn said sadly. "Zim and Kila knew that Jack could be led to the dark side…that he wouldn't be able to handle seeing the exposure like your son could and did."
"We don't want to tell Bonnie and Clyde that their child wasn't strong enough to handle such an exposure to darkness." Skoodge admitted, shaking his head. "It would break their hearts. They had such high hopes for him."
"They'll figure it out eventually!" Rupert growled. "They are cunningly cunning!" He hissed, baring his teeth.
"Aren't you supposed to be a friend of theirs?" Skoodge asked, looking disappointed. "Why do you want them to suffer like that?"
"Letting them have false hope would be worse! It might be unpleasant, but it's usually better for people to know the truth!" Rupert protested.
"…you might be right." Skoodge admitted. "But it's too late for that. There's no getting out of this." He said quietly. "I'll still try and take good care of you here…what would you like to drink?" He asked.
"Skoodge!"
Skoodge turned his head to see Zim walking inside. "Don't fraternize with the enemy. They'll have company soon enough." He informed them. "Just get the Nightmare Generator ready."
"TH-THAT?" Skoodge asked. "Oh gee, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, not even on an inferior species, but…" He bit his lip as he looked at the white-furred twosome. "…very well."
Skoodge and Tenn headed over to a large doorway and opened it up. Rupert gulped in horror at the sight…it was a dark red machine with a control console embedded in the front, and a display screen appearing above. There were hook-like claws on spindly tentacles that were sticking out the top of the machine. Skoodge pressed a big blue button on the console and three of the tentacles shot up, hissing like snakes as they hovered in the air.
"I'm sorry about this." He apologized.
They came down and embedded themselves deep into Rupert and Ariel's skulls, making them gasp in pain…
And then dark pools of blackness swirled around their eyeballs, covering their vision completely before they slumped over.
"It's underway." Skoodge told Zim. "How many others should we prepare for?" He asked.
Zim tapped his lip thoughtfully. "…we'll wait and see." He announced before turning around to leave. "But if you kidnap them…they will come. They ALWAYS come…"
"Zim."
Zim looked back at Skoodge.
"I'm a doctor. Why are you making me torture people?" Skoodge asked quietly.
Zim was VERY quiet. Then he walked off.
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…Green was lying in her bed as Zim sat next to her in a chair, reading a fairy tale as GIR lay next to HER. Zim cleared his throat again, then spoke up. "So to prove that the apple is safe, you bite the green side, and I'll bite the red side", the old crone told Snow White. And so Snow White took a bite of the apple, and she fell down to the ground…" Zim cleared his throat again and then tossed the book in the air, waving his fists. "BECAUSE SHE LIIIIIIIED! FILTHY HUUUUMAN WITCH!"
He then blinked and nervously grinned as GIR and Green clung to each other in fear. Deciding to defuse the situation, he ended the story. "But then Snow White woke back up and performed the Snow Triple Suplex, thus earning her the Heavyweight Title AND ending the Wicked Witch's threat forever! And she and the 12 Dwarves and Prince Charming all went out to get Tacquitos. The end."
"Yaaaayyyy!" GIR cheered.
"That was the best story ever!" Green decided.
"I know. I told it." Zim laughed. He then reached up and ruffled his daughter's head. "Now get some sleep, okay?"
Green bit her lip. "Dad…I felt bad about Stitch and Angel, even though Mom said both were sluts. But I felt WORSE about Jack. I mean, we…we broke him. He's a racist and a filthy idiot, but he's still just a smeet like I am. We made him into a killer. And now Junior's father and mother are locked up. Are we really doing the right thing?"
"Of course we are. Like I said, when have we lied to you?" Zim told her comfortingly. "Everything will be alright." He assured her, holding her hand and nodding gently.
He kissed her on the forehead, and she and GIR cuddled up beneath the covers. Zim climbed off the chair he'd been on and walked to the doorway, where Minimoose was floating.
"Squeak." Minimoose squeaked quietly.
"I KNOW." He said softly. "I…I can't keep doing this…it's…it's just…she's…" He bit his lip, then walked out of the doorway, Minimoose following solemnly behind him.
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…Nick helped Lilo up the stairs as they walked down the long pathway. They stood in the middle of what appeared to be a galaxy, and a meteor shower was passing to their right as the stars twinkled all around them, winking at them, one at a time. Scattered around were various galaxies that gently swirled around as if some invisible stick was trying to swirl a milkshake right in the middle of the galaxy.
Nick smiled to take the view in and he sat down on the silvery, sparkling path that he and Lilo were walking on, taking her hand.
"You know, no matter how many times I see this…I never get tired of watching the stars." He told her. "Especially not when I'm with you."
"I'm worried, Nick." Lilo admitted. "I feel something awful is about to happen to Sandy. Something REALLY awful." She clung to him. "For Hyena and Angel I've grieved, but when I think of Stitch, I just…there's this awful numbness."
Lilo could literally not feel ANYTHING when she thought of her beloved angel who had come to bring her so much joy. The kindest angel God could have sent her had died. Her sorrow was so deep that her mind would not allow her body to feel it.
Nothing Nick could say…and he was not merely her husband but a dear old friend…would alleviate her sorrows. So he just hugged her. "I won't let Sandy die." Nick insisted. "I WON'T."
The two watched the stars twinkle about and Lilo sighed. "I wish I had your serenity."
"Serenity?" Nick laughed gently. "It's not serenity that makes me what I am. I'm just a reckless and really lucky!" He held her close. "I jumped headfirst into your world and will always be better for it…and if I'd never rushed headfirst into things when this all began all those years ago, I wouldn't have met Joe and saved my family, I wouldn't have opened up that store in Sonic's world, I wouldn't have helped Will and Helen find their dreams, I…I wouldn't have met YOU." He kissed her on the cheek. "My luck is gonna protect you and me, and I'm going to find a way to save them." He assured her. "They're going to be back. We just have to keep being good people and things will go our way. That's how it's always worked before."
"Well, we have been lucky." Lilo admitted. "I mean, we have a large ohana…and all of them are so kind to each other. I can't imagine any of them being murderers…we've left so much of our darkness behind."
"We'll figure out who's behind it and save our iohana. ALL of them." Nick insisted. "But for now…" He took a deep breath and watched as the stars continued to wink at them. "Let's just enjoy this moment."
And they did.
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…Heartwing looked left and right, frowning. The skies were too…grey. There was nothing but clouds and a dreary, misty rain. The whole island was feeling the loss of it's former "king and queen", you could say.
However Heartwing wasn't stupid. He was not merely experiment 421, but The Temperance of the Major Arcana. His power was in healing and in bringing harmony to that which was out of sync, all due to the immense light he had within him. That power allowed him to follow a darkness…an angry, rage-filled urge that had been coming from Sandy.
Sandy had taken upon himself to call a very large meeting and had asked all of Kokaua Town to meet him at the beach. Heartwing watched from a rooftop, behind a chimney, as Sandy frowned deeply behind the large podium he stood behind. People huddled together under umbrellas and raincoats and looked up at his solemn face.
"Rupert and Ariel are missing. Hyena was murdered. As was my mother and father. I had originally planned to offer a reward for whichever cop caught and locked away the ones who did these deeds, but…my mother and father will still be dead." He spoke quietly. "So…" His claws dug into the podium. "I am offering a fifty million dollar reward for whomever KILLS the monster that slew my parents and my teacher, and the one who kidnapped my dear friend and his family!"" Sandy roared out loudly.
Murmurs and gasps of shock. Heads whipped left and right. A BOUNTY? Could he DO that? No, he couldn't…but he was doing it all the same. And instantly some people saw dollar signs and knew this was their chance to cash in on somebody's grief.
But somebody else was seeing an opportunity. A calm smile on his face, Jack adjusted the sight on his sniper rifle once again, the thing gleaming black. He was hiding in the window of another person's house, specifically, Sparky…who had sadly met the same end as his daughter. He had not had time to scream either.
Licking some blood off his lip, Jack peered through the lens. He was glad he'd gotten rid of the laser light, it would have given him away. Nobody would know about this.
Heartwing, however, frowned deeply in the direction of Sparky's house. There was a feeling…a horrid, cold determination underlined with murderous intent. And when he focused, he could hear Jack mumbling to himself. "Right through the head, right through the head…"
He had to stop it. He knew what he had to do. The little emerald dragon's wings shot out and he spiraled through the air, fists clenched, eyes sparkling as she soared out…
"And if the murderer does not reveal themselves then-"
FWHOOSH!
BANG!
Sandy gasped in horror as silver blood splattered on his form and he saw Heartwing lying down on the ground to his right. He immediately knelt down by him and shook him as people screamed and looked around and the cops that had brought Sandy to the beach armed themselves, heading out to go find whomever had shot.
"Heartwing!" Sandy screamed. "Little buddy!"
"For…forgive…" Heartwing whispered, reaching up and holding Sandy's furry blue cheek. "Forgive them…" He begged.
"Heartwing, what are you-"
His friend gripped more tightly. "FORGIVE…" He insisted.
And with that, his head fell back, mouth opening slightly as his hand hit the sandy beach.