Hi the last chapter was a bit of a mess but we're gonna ignore that okay? Okay cool.
This has been done since January but I kept putting off editing it until I forgot about it… So… Yeah…
"You want me to do what, now?" Flo asked in a harsh whisper.
"We… Know it's a lot." Holley cringed.
"A lot?" Flo repeated. "A lot? That's how you're choosing to describe it. Okay. A lot—do you know—"
They weren't expecting Flo to get quite this upset. When they had arrived at her house that afternoon, the kids in tow, she gave them a knowing, disappointed look when she invited them in. Finn had been right—she definitely suspected something was going on. She just didn't expect this much.
Finn had sighed and shook his head upon learning that all his friends had done to prepare Flo for this was ask if they could talk to her later about… "A situation." It wasn't exactly what Finn had meant by "fill her in," but, in their defense, the café wasn't exactly a secure place for an explanation.
Currently, the group was sitting in the study of Flo and Ramone's house. It had a strange aesthetic to it—half the room was plastered in car posters with various paint jobs from the 50s and 60s accompanied by scattered paint cards and tools. The rest of the room was adorned with old showgirl posters from similar eras and various props from Flo's time as one, along with a few scattered yellowed recipes and cracked plates and salt and pepper shakers that she couldn't bear to part with.
There was one poster in particular that Stacy and Siddeley found a lot more interesting than the uncomfortable conversation they were having.
"Flo, please." Becca softly interrupted. "We're trying to make this right. We're sorryfor not telling you sooner, but we didn't want people to worry. We were hoping to take care of this quietly…"
"Quietly?!" Flo got heated all over again. "I doubt it! Last time you got the whole damn town involved!"
"That's precisely what we're trying to avoid." Holley insisted politely. "We just… Need the children to be somewhere safe while we come up with our next plan of action."
Flo sat in silence for a moment. "I'm getting to old for this," she finally said with a shake of her head. "Someday it'll be someone else's turn to be the mother hen of the town."
Becca placed her hand over the diner owner's. "Thank you."
Flo looked down and sighed. "Just one night."
"Of course." She nodded.
The group said goodbye to their children, and then were off.
"So," Finn began. "Where, exactly, are we going?"
"I'm glad you asked!" Siddeley announced. "Because I… Have no idea. Do any of you?"
"We just. Dropped our kids off to talk about a big plan. And we have no idea where we're going?" Stacy narrowed her eyes at Sid.
"W—don't blame me! It was Finn's idea to fill Flo in!" he held up his hands in defense.
"Okay, okay that's enough!" Becca cut in. "This is not the time to start fighting with each other. We have an important job to do."
Finn thought to himself that things started going a bit better once they regrouped with Becca.
Becca closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Alright. It's about six-thirty, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Mater confirmed.
"Just checking. Have we, like… Determined when he's most active?" She asked.
"Only that he likes interacting more the later that it gets." Siddeley crossed his arms.
"Well we can't just rendezvous in the middle of the desert, Sid." Holley frowned. "We should pick somewhere, and fast. You really couldn't have picked somewhere ahead of time?"
"Me?!" Siddeley sounded exasperated. "Why was it my responsibility?"
"Whatever, it doesn't matter!" Holley decided. "Just pick somewhere now."
"Woods is a no-go," Stacy interjected, monotone.
"It was the one time." Siddeley rolled his eyes.
"It was the two times!" She insisted with a stomp of her foot. "The fucking pond and the plane crash."
"Those were both over a decade ago!" He shot back.
"Well, Siddeley, clearly it's still pretty fresh in our minds!" Holley joined in.
"Enough!"
The three snapped their heads over to look at Finn, who had gotten unexpectedly loud. They all looked sheepish about their outbursts.
"Becca is right." He crossed his arms, as well, and looked at the ground. "This is the wrong time to be fighting amongst ourselves. Why do you three insist on bickering?"
Stacy, Siddeley, and Holley all exchanged a glance.
"I… Don't know." Stacy frowned.
"Me, neither." Siddeley also looked troubled. "I don't remember being angry with you two."
"Do you think it's…?" Stacy looked at the rest of the group.
"We have been tense since this started. But… Has he ever agitated us before? I don't remember." Becca looked over at Siddeley, who hesitantly shrugged.
"Could be a new trick he has up his sleeve." Finn had his hand over his mouth in thought.
"If we can't even decide on a fucking meeting place, there's no way we can take care of him this time," Stacy agreed.
"Do we just head to Andy's old lab?" Becca asked. "It's seemed to work out for us so far."
"He hasn't shown up there yet," Holley pointed out with a nod. "I think it's our safest bet."
"Okay, it has to be him," Siddeley announced. "That decision was much too simple once we actually stopped fighting."
"Unsettling." Finn frowned. "But… Let's get going."
Holley nodded, hugging herself a bit. "Yes, yes… Let's go. How strange…"
"We'll have to be careful to keep level heads." Finn announced.
"Who knows if this thing'll blow itself out of proportion as it gets later into the night," Becca agreed as they walked forward.
…
One of the things Andy had left for his sister was the key to his lab. Previously, it had been left unlocked—although none of the townsfolk were eager to explore it once he had left town. A key was convenient, now, as they were able to lock the door behind them to ensure they wouldn't be uninterrupted.
"Alright," Finn spoke up and turned to look at his friends once they were all settled in around the machines. He took turns looking everyone in the eye. "Does… Anyone have any ideas?"
Stacy and Siddeley held back their remarks, remembering the events that transpired before coming here.
"Andy had a big whiteboard in one of the rooms, here. It wouldn't hurt to write down all of our ideas, would it?" Stacy spoke up.
"Good idea, yes, thank you." Finn nodded. Stacy stood to go find it, and Becca went with her.
They returned moments later, a big whiteboard on wheels between them.
"Holley, Sid…" Stacy quietly began into the silent room. "I'm sorry. About what happened back there."
"No, I am, too." Holley looked at the floor.
"Yeah," Siddeley half-heartedly agreed.
"I really don't know what came over me," Stacy continued. "I was fine, and then suddenly I was… I wanted to fight."
"You were far from fine." Finn put a hand on her shoulder. "We've been tense this whole time, remember? And Holley, you and Mater just found out about all this. It's almost more so understandable that you'd be upset."
Stacy brought her hand up to her shoulder to rest on top of Finn's as a way of saying thanks. Holley and Siddeley both let out a sigh.
"Okay," Mater broke the silence that had settled over the group again. "What have we done got for a plan?"
"A plan," Finn repeated, uncapping a dry-erase marker.
"It's… The eighth," Stacy began, uncapping her own marker and writing that at the top. "If we're just doing a big brain dump of stuff we know," she suggested.
"Not the worst idea we've had…" Holley contributed. "Do we know if this new… Agitation will affect any of the townsfolk?"
"Perhaps we should tell them sooner, after all." Finn mused.
"It's only been us, right?" Stacy asked. "Maybe… It's a signifier that Sigma is close? Or something?"
"Well… I ain't been affected, yet." Mater volunteered. They all turned to look at him.
"…yes, if we had all been affected, then I'd agree with you." Holley looked over at Stacy. "But it wasn't all of us, was it?" it was phrased more like a statement. "It was just you, Siddeley, and I."
"What are you saying?" Becca wasn't following.
"Maybe there's something we're overlooking." Holley looked over at Mater, who continued for her.
"Somethin' is linkin' the anger with S… What's the new name we done gots for Stalker Siddeley?"
"Sigma." Holley replied.
"Oh, yeah. Linkin' bein' angry to Sigma."
Quiet fell over the group for a moment.
"So there are dots that we don't know how to connect," Stacy said as she began to pace. "Sigma makes us turn against each other. But not all of us. That's what we're saying?"
"Sounds about right, yeah," Becca nodded.
"It can't be the doors…" Stacy continued out loud. "Becca and I were the only ones sent to those out of all of us—apart from a few of the townsfolk."
"We may still have to keep that in mind," Finn pointed out while shaking his finger in thought. "We don't know what long-term affects that could have had. I'm not sure why we haven't seen anything before now, though, if all this is a result of what happened last time…"
"Siddeley," Stacy looked over at her friend. "I really think it's time to get Cammie involved."
"No," Siddeley immediately shot back.
"Siddeley," Stacy tried to urge again.
"No! I want to keep her out of this for as long as I can. Why don't you guys get that?"
"Why don't you get that there isn't keeping her out of anything!" Stacy put her hands on her hips. "You said yourself what happened to her! There is no keeping her in the dark, and no keeping her safe! It's time that she helps us with what she knows!"
"NO!"
"Siddeley!"
"STOP!" Finn suddenly shouted. "You're doing it again!"
"God DAMN it!" Stacy kicked some stack of crates and walked away with her hands on her head. Sid looked down and ran his hand through his hair with a shaky sigh.
Finn ran his hand over his face. "Siddeley, Stacy—opposite ends of the room. Now."
"What?!"
"Finn, you can't be s—"
"NOW."
The two begrudgingly did as they were told. Siddeley sat down on a couch on one end of the room, and Stacy propped herself up on a desk on the other.
"If you two cannot participate without arguing, you won't participate at all."
"But—"
"Finn—!"
"At all." He shot an authoritative glare at the both of them. "Honestly. Two grown adults."
"It's not entirely their fault, Finn…" Holley gently reminded him.
Finn let out another sigh. "Now." He looked around the room once again. "Siddeley. Stacy is right."
Siddeley opened his mouth to argue, but Finn held his hand up.
"Frankly, Siddeley, I don't want to hear it. I know you don't want to get Cammie involved. You've voiced your… strong opinion on it a few times, now. Unfortunately, her involvement was never up to us. It was up to Sigma. At this point, leaving her out of this is just putting her in more danger. It's time we bring her over here."
Siddeley was quiet for a moment.
Stacy spoke up from her side of the room. "Your sister is an adult, Sid. She has been for years, now. Right now, we need to focus on protecting the kids—and the townsfolk. She can help."
Siddeley was quiet once again, before letting out a long sigh. "I know. I know, you're right."
"Should we call her, again?" Becca asked, making her way over to Siddeley.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that. She shouldn't be in bed just yet," he said as he nodded, taking out his phone.
"Put her on speaker," Becca suggested as the phone rang.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Hello?" Came Cammie's voice through the phone.
She sounded upset.
"Cam? Are you okay?" Sid asked.
"No, I'm no-not." Her voice shook.
"What's wrong?" Siddeley leaned forward, concerned.
"I'm sorry, you caught me at kinda a bad time." She sniffed."I got off the phone with Patrick not too long ago. We were talking, and we—we got into a huge fight out of nowhere—" She choked back a cry.
"What? Are you serious?" Siddeley asked, glancing over at Finn and the others after exchanging a glance with Becca.
"Yeah, I… We haven't fought over anything in years. I'm really shaken up about it."
"Cam, listen—it's not your fault, okay?"
"You don't know th—"
"No, no—I do, really. Listen. We ran into a similar problem."
"You huh?"
Finn motioned to hand the phone over to him. "We think it's something residual from last time we all saw Sigma. We just can't figure out how it all connects."
Cammie was quiet on the other end before forcing out, "Okay."
"So, hang on." Stacy counted on her fingers. "We have me, Sid, Holley, and now Cammie, and Patrick, too. What do the five of us have in common about our last run-in with Sigma?"
Everyone was quiet as the pondered the new information.
"Hang on… Cammie and Patrick came with us after Siddel—" Holley cut herself short, unable to finish her sentence. "After…"
"—when we went looking for more information," Finn nodded.
"That's right, I done stayed back." Mater contributed.
"So it was the five of us." Stacy brought her hands up to her chin to think. "The five of us went to CHROME, where we…"
The color drained from her face as she came to a realization. Finn noticed, and immediately remembered the concern his wife had voiced to him before leaving their home.
"I just… I don't know. I'm not comfortable with… This whole thing. Finn, I… I died. If that happens to either of us or the kids…"
"Guys, what…" Stacy quietly began. "What happened after he got me?"
"You mean when we went to go look for you?" Holley asked.
"She means after she—" Finn swallowed. "At CHROME."
"…oh. Oh. Oh!" Holley's eyes widened. "That's it! Stacy, you figured it out!"
"Cammie and I were the last ones standing," Finn confirmed. "The rest of you, plus Siddeley, were…"
"Dead." Stacy bluntly finished. "We can stop tiptoeing around that word, now." Finn shot her a look at her irritated tone, warning not to start up another argument. She closed her eyes and sighed in a silent apology.
"Okay. Dead." Holley crossed her arms. "So that's how he did it," she continued. "When we woke up, we must have come back with something in our brains, or…"
"But why is it only showing up now?" Cammie asked.
"More importantly, is he doing this on purpose?" Finn proposed. "Does he have an ulterior motive by making us behave irrationally with each other? Or was it simply a side effect by chance?"
The uncomfortable question hung in the air while everyone exchanged glances.
"How soon can you fly out here, Cam?" Siddeley broke the silence by taking his phone back.
"I can leave in the morning," Cammie said with confidence. She paused. "I love you, Sid."
"I love you, too. Be safe."
"Yeah."
She hung up, inviting silence back into the room once more.
Sorry this chapter is so long, I couldn't find a good place to cut in in half.
So, interesting developments. Oooh, what's gonna happen next?
God I wish I knew, this story would be getting updated a LOT faster if I did lmao
