The Doom of Bibbur-Si
Cezille07 (in cooperation her 'sublime', cookie-eating, Bombo sister)
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Chapter 8. Goodbye Purrcy.
"Is it all really over?"
They looked at one another and beamed.
Magnacat was in the Dombox.
One by one, the monsters-si came out of hiding and rejoiced with the victorious party. The few remaining Ghosts were suddenly easy to take down, the heavy atmosphere almost instantly evaporated. Everyone shook hands, danced around to a silent melody in their heads or to the chanting, "Long live the Tamers! Long live Bibbur-si!"
Deputy Deth picked up the Dombox and raised it for all present to see. "From this day forward, no Gorka shall threaten our city. This Dombox shall be placed under our custody and under vigilant watch by our dedicated Guards."
More cheering.
Less energy.
It was time to go home.
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Julie was tapping her foot outside the house when Elena rounded the corner of the street with Zick. They had only stopped once on their journey home, to pick up Purrcy's...corpse. But even the Flyvans were drained. It was now 2 AM.
"Would you mind telling me where on Earth you've gotten yourself to? I don't believe you were in the playground for seventeen hours, because I certainly know you and Zick..." Julie paused when she looked at Zick, and changed the topic hastily. "Is...is that Purrcy?"
"A car ran him over," Zick lied quickly, looking at Elena. "The driver really got annoyed and fought us back with a pocket knife."
Julie blinked, and shifted her confused glances between her wounded daughter and this strange boy who was telling her a story too weird to be true. "And he killed...?"
Elena nodded. "He was a heartless man, desiring cruel things for the world," she sighed, her eyes downcast.
"We didn't know what to do," Zick went on. "It was too late for a hospital, so we stayed there."
"You didn't even call me! We'll get that son of a bitch arrested for cruelty to animals and almost hurting two children!" Julie gave, taking them both into an embrace. "Oh Elena, you kept losing him anyway. He always came back."
Elena sobbed quietly in her mother's arms and said nothing more.
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It wasn't too early that Sunday morning when the Potato residence awoke. Even Puffy sensed the sudden change in his mistress' mood, and decided to leave her alone for the morning. The only person who bothered to visit her room was none other than Zick.
"Good morning, Elena," he greeted as he poked his head through the door.
She was just sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes fixed on her feet but seeing nothing.
"We still have a few more things to do for Bibbur-si today. Would you like to come along?" Zick offered, his fingers crossed hopefully behind his back.
Elena glanced at him for a few seconds before registering what he said. She got up and led the way out of the room.
"We caught a large number of monsters yesterday, and the Tutors are hoping to give them all to the Anguanas as a sort of peace treaty, so that they won't bother us anymore," Zick said as they were walking. "That's all they need, right? Moog Magister said all they wanted was that."
She didn't respond.
"You think it'll work?"
Finally, Elena nodded. She pointed at a spot in the lawn with some freshly upturned soil.
"What's there?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. He just needed her to keep responding. And he knew she needed it too.
"Dad helped me with it and...he even called a priest to do the service," she said gravely.
She looked like she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep thinking about it.
"You know what?" Zick said. "Your parents would be proud of you if they knew what you did last night."
Elena looked at him with a mixture of confusion and playfulness. "If they knew what I did, they'd hang me on the ceiling with my toes."
Zick stared.
Elena laughed. "I was kidding, Zick—"
"I'm proud of you."
She blushed.
"Not every Keeper would risk his life for a city," he told her. "And no one would risk it for me."
"Not every Tamer would risk his life for a Potato," she offered.
And they both laughed.
"Thanks, Elena," said Zick.
"It's nothing," she replied heatedly.
"It means everything to me!" Zick blurted out. "I want to thank you so much but I don't know how. I'd bring back Purrcy if I could."
"Nah, you don't need to. I don't like being stuck here without Purrcy, but he's in a better place." She walked ahead of him, but looked back when he didn't follow. "But if you insist...." she grinned cheekily. "Let's start simple. Ask the Tutors to give me the Dombox containing Magnacat. And you can also tell them to promote me to Assistant Tamer to Ezekiel Zick—"
"Hold on a second, we can't do that—"
"And finally...."
Zick didn't know how it happened. She was suddenly embracing him, tightly, again. She released him with a glassy look in her eyes.
"That pays back everything," she said.
It was his turn to blush.
Abruptly, he took her hand and pulled her forward until their lips met. "Now you owe me."
**THE END**
