Forces Chapter Seven
Suggested Theme:
Main Theme- Lazarus by David Bowie
"Better now?" Peyton nods his head weakly and hopes that there isn't going to be an encore. This is worse than the time I dropped grandma's ashes on the Christmas ham! Peyton feels his face turning red in embarrassment. He just ralphed in front of the Crown Prince of the Mipedians, and of course in front of another prince, a sly Muge, a testy Stalker, and his good pal, Siado. Speaking of which, the same good pal is about seconds away from laughing. Peyton guesses that Siado doesn't want to appear childish in front of his higher-ups.
"You are not the first person to vomit in my presence. However, you are the first human to do so, so congratulations are in order." Peyton did not expect Iflar to be so chilled about this. He expected Iflar to yell at him or give him a withering glare like Mudeenu is doing right now.
"I am honored to be your first, your majesty." Peyton does a hasty bow and hears Siado trying to muffle his laughter, and failing at it.
"You can stop with that; it's not like we're in Perim anymore. Speaking of which, where exactly are we?" On a beach, Peyton almost utters but decides not to. Iflar may seem more, way more, chilled than Mudeenu, but sarcasm probably isn't the best way to ease the confusion that the Mipedians must be feeling right now.
"Well, you're in another dimension called Earth which is the home to all humans. There are thousands of countries, which is like the Tribes, on Earth. Specifically, you are in the country of the United States of America also known as America or just USA. Within said countries are fifty states that sort of govern themselves, the state that you are in is known as Hawaii. However, we are specifically on an island known as Kumar which is off another island known as Lanai, which means Pineapple Isle, and Hawaii is basically made up of a collection of islands." If his picky World History teacher was here, Peyton probably would've gotten a B for his synopsis of Earth.
"I actually understood most of what you just said. Well, at least this place is better than that other place with the UnderWorlders, Danians, and OverWorlders just attacking anything that moves." Peyton realizes that Iflar is talking about the PortCourt; he hopes his friends made it out of there alive. And he really needs to get back home and check out the news.
"Yeah, that was Chaotic where players go to port into Perim. You wouldn't have happen to see a blonde girl with green eyes named Sarah, a red-head with spikey hair named Kaz, or a black-haired, blue-eyed guy named Tom while you were in Chaotic?" He's kind of hoping that Iflar or at least one of the Mipedians saw his friends; more specifically, saw them port out.
"No, I don't believe so. I was too busy trying not to get hit by parasite projectors. Did any of you see any players matching his descriptions?" Iflar turns to ask the rest of Mipedians. All of them shook their heads immediately. Like Iflar, they were too busy dodging attacks and figuring out where the Pits were they then.
"Well, thanks. My Scanner isn't working for some reason, so I can't contact my friends or even port back into Chaotic. Man, I should've gotten their digits and e-mail addresses a long time ago. Anyways, wanna crash at my place?" Peyton can literally see the confusion on Siado's and Zhade's faces when he said digits and e-mail addresses. Tianne and Mudeenu remain remarkably cool, while Iflar's eyes twinkle enthusiastically.
"That would be lovely, but I'm afraid we can't offer you much in return in this world. Maybe when we get back to Mipedim Oasis, or anywhere in Perim really, I'll be able to reward you for your hospitality." Dear God, please let me get a scan of Iflar….you know when everything goes back to normal. Peyton inwardly prays and motions the Mipedians to follow him.
Walking home is surprisingly an easy task for Peyton, well except when one of the Mipedians, most likely Tiaane or Siado, would stop and examine things that clearly don't exist in Perim. Like cars. Or telephone poles. Peyton is actually surprised that Iflar didn't stop at all because the Mipedian is the literal embodiment of excited curiosity. He could've sworn that the Crown Prince would've climbed a telephone pole if said act wouldn't make him lose his dignity in front of his people. He is not surprised to see Mudeenu and Zhade just looking warily at their newfound surroundings like they expect a Hybrid to bite them.
However, Peyton is more bothered by how literally dead the island is than by the Mipedians' distractedness. No, seriously, he's going to be disappointed if he doesn't see a tumbleweed soon. He has a feeling that everyone is pretty much locked up in their houses and having breakdowns while watching the news. Not even the stoner kids from his school are roaming the streets. At least, I won't have to hear a guy screaming, 'Godzilla' at us. Peyton almost shrugs at the thought.
His home is about fifteen minutes from his house by walking which is helped by how relatively flat the town is on a whole. The only slopes or hills they have on Kumar happen to be located near Mount Kraken, a small, extinct volcano. His house, like nearly all of the houses on the island, was built somewhere between the 1920s and 30s and almost all the houses look postcard-photogenic. He would describe the houses like two-story fantasy cottages with a separate garage and a bunch of hedges in place of white-picket fences.
However, each house has a sort of quirk to them, like unusual colors or lawn gnomes, to make them different. His home has a terracotta-shingle roof and is the color of burnt umber with hay-yellow trimmings. On more than one occasion, he has referred to his home as a "rejected gingerbread house" because of the colors; also, his mom likes to grow many candy-color flowers that resemble sugarless gumdrops. His room pretty much overlooks the garage while also giving him a view of the street; unfortunately, because of the shingles, he cannot climb out of his room and onto the garage like many of his friends here tend to do at their homes.
And finally, as he and the Mipedians walk up the driveway to reach the wooden stairs to the front door, it hits him that his parents are probably not going to be receptive. Unlike Kaz, at least from what he has heard from Tom, he does not go around his school, claiming that Chaotic is real. Also, like many players, he has hardly ever talked about Chaotic to his parents because they aren't interested in card games, let alone telling them that Creatures and Perim are real.
Now, their first exposure to Perim and its Creatures is most likely riddled with fear and confusion thanks to the media. He imagines his mom would scream and maybe faint after seeing the Mipedians, while his dad would probably ask if he was in a SyFy original movie. And then probably faint or scream. He is starting to regret for not talking about Chaotic more with his parents; at least, they might, and he's stretching the term like a rubber band about to break, be prepared for what the media is talking about. And what he'll most likely talk about with them.
"Okay, you guys are going to have to wait out here for a bit because I have to explain my parents…..pretty much everything at this point. But I'll be back as soon as possible. Also, if you see someone leave their house, then turn invisible if only to prevent them going all Frankenstein mob on you guys." Peyton quickly enters his house without so much listening to a word from the Mipedians (or looking at their super confused expressions on all their faces at Frankenstein). And he literally sprints down the hallway to kitchen. His parents like watching the news on the little TV in the kitchen while drinking coffee in the mornings.
"MOM! DAD! DON'T BELIEVE THE STUFF THEY'RE SAYING ON TV!" Peyton feels himself screech into the kitchen like a car coming to a sudden halt. His parents…are actually watching a bunch of static on the TV while sipping their coffees.
"Woah, Peyton was today like some sort of half day at your school? Also, we need to buy another little TV because this one has finally broke." His dad does not avert his grass-green eyes from the static and neither does his mom. Peyton is relieved and dumbfounded at the same time.
"Also, what the heck are you talking about, son? Have aliens finally invade the moon or something?" His mom jokes dryly while taking another sip from her floral-patterned mug. She's wearing loose pajama bottoms with science jokes all over it. She also has on her over-sized Zombie Trooper t-shirt. Well, she must've gotten a call from work not to come in today or something. Peyton briefly thinks before returning to his task.
"Okay, mom and dad, I need to tell you something." And then Peyton explains as much as he can with what is going on in the world right now, and of course about the Mipedians patiently waiting outside. His parents take it surprisingly well; they didn't scream or cry or look at him like he was lying.
"Peyton, everything you just said sounds like a SyFy original movie. I really want to see if these Creatures are as badly CGI as I think they are. And maybe take a few hundred pictures of them." His dad is a professional photographer, an amateur video editor, and a party planner for a living; although, he changes between those jobs depending on the season. He also happens to love SyFy original movies just because of how terrible looking they are.
"Uh, I'll go get them and please don't scream." Once again, Peyton sprints to the front door and opens it to find the Mipedians gone.
"Oh no, where the heck could they have gone!?" Peyton half-whispers and half-shouts to himself. But then he sees a shimmer in front of him, and the Mipedians become visible again.
"There was an old woman throwing away her garbage next door." Siado explains flatly in a blink. Peyton shrugs and then opens the door to let them in. Iflar, Siado, and Zhade get in without much problems since they're pretty skinny, especially Iflar, but Tiaane and Mudeenu pretty much creates cracks in the doorframe from squeezing their heavier builds in. Peyton suddenly feels a lot skinnier now. All of them head into the kitchen.
"Oh my God, this is better than Sharktopus." His dad's eyes are wide and he's gaping, but he's not screaming or fainting. Peyton considers this a good sign.
"I am so curious to your dietary habits. Do you eat your prey whole like anacondas? Or do you prefer a more herbivore diet?" Peyton almost smacks himself out of embarrassment at his mom pretty much insinuating that the Mipedians are like the animals here.
"I subsist mostly on tea and fruit." Iflar replies politely. Peyton, his mom, and his dad immediately burst out laughing. Crown Prince Iflar is the best deadpan comic ever! Peyton laughs even harder at his thought.
"Are you finish?" Mudeenu asks tersely like he's second away from chewing the Touheys out. Man, Mudeenu is a buzzkill; how closely related is he to Iflar? Peyton wonders because just looking at the two royals remind him how different they are from one another.
"I'm good, I'm good. Well, I'm going to go plan a kickass 'Welcome to Earth' party for tomorrow. But I don't know where all of you going to sleep since there's only one guest bedroom with the one bed." His dad loves to have an excuse to throw a party, and what better than a party to welcome otherworldly beings to the island?
"Well, we do have a couple of hammocks outback. And the sofa is pretty comfortable to sleep on. Will that be okay?" The Mipedians are used to the hot, arid environment of their desert; now, they are in a tropical paradise. Siado, Tiaane, and Iflar are practically (in their own unique ways) beaming, while Zhade and Mudeenu are scowling.
"That will work marvelously for us. And may I have some tea? And may I suggest to plan the party for the early afternoon?" Iflar charmingly grins. Peyton can see a faint blush on his mom's tan cheeks. While the world is going to Hell, the Touheys and the Mipedians, well most of them, are drinking tea and helping plan a party.
Author's Comments- In comparison to the previous two chapters, this one is nothing like the previous two. Granted, there were some humor in the previous two, but this one is more humorous because of Peyton. Peyton is mostly the comic relief and sometimes commonsense guru for the group; at least, that is how he comes across to me for most of the series. Although, in season two's "Earth to Kaz" episode, I saw that he has an acoustic guitar and some paintings, along with a skateboard, in his room, so I think he's probably learning to play the guitar while having a hobby in painting. And he also knows some Portuguese as shown in season two's "When a CodeMaster Calls" episode. Basically, Peyton is a character who is actually more of a comic relief character, but you pretty much have to go looking for more under that surface. In a way, he's kind of worldlier than the rest in his group.
Basically, this chapter sort of reflects Peyton as a character. Several surprises, albeit minor in comparison to the previous two, happens to Peyton. It's also a comic relief chapter; no one is dying and the Mipedians are getting along with the Touheys, even though Mudeenu and Zhade are a bit annoyed. And Iflar gets to talk to someone who isn't Reggie or a Mipedian. Speaking of which, Reggie is going to appear much, much sooner than Sarah.