Gold Demona

Chapter X

Sad and Lonely Clown

(Gold Demona)

(The Next Day, Late Morning) (Late September, 2110 A.D.)

"Uuugghhh..." I groaned as I opened my eyes from the sleep I was in.

My head felt like it was being crushed and my stomach felt like a rock. I sat up in my bed, but that only succeeded in making it worse.

"Hey, you're awake finally," Vaala said.

I looked up and saw her sitting on a chair beside the bed.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"In your bedroom, of course," she said, "You remember anything from last night?"

"I remember the bar," I said, "And I remember walking out of there."

"How about after that?" she asked.

"After that I guess I passed out or something," I said, "I had the most wonderful dream. Jigen was in it."

"In this dream," she said, "Did he happen to come back and tell you that he loved you? Followed by a kiss?"

I blinked at her for a moment.

"How'd you know that?"

She pointed to the other side of the bed. I looked over, and kneeled at my bedside, with his arms crossed on the bed and his head resting on them, was the statue of Jigen.

"You mean..." I said, "You mean it actually happened?"

"Yep," she said. "After that you passed out in his arms. Then later after we brought you back here you got up, stumbled to the bathroom and puked. Then you came back and passed back out."

"I don't remember any of that," I said, "The last thing I remember was being in Jigen's arms."

I looked over to him. And then a sick sensation welled up in my chest and I had to turn away.

"Oh dear God, and I was drunk off my ass," I said, "How embarrassing!"

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Gold," she said, "He stayed with you the whole rest of the night. Apologizing every few minutes for not coming back sooner."

I looked to him again.

"He really came back," I said with a smile.

"Yeah," Vaala replied. "The only one who doesn't know about it yet is Boober."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Jigen asked us not to tell him yet," she answered, "He wants to tell him himself tonight. Just as well. Boober was acting kind of weird last night anyway."

"How so?" I asked.

"Well when we came back from the nightclub, he went up to the roof with his basket of laundry, but he was acting different. Something about the look on his face gave me the creeps."

"Weird," I said. "Ugh..."

I laid back down on the bed and rolled over onto my stomach.

"Still not feeling too good, huh?" she said.

"I feel like somebody replaced my stomach with a big rock," I replied.

"It's your own fault, you know," she pointed out, "We kept telling you to stop, but you kept going anyway."

"I know," I said, "I know."

"Maybe some food will help," she said, "I'll make you some breakfast."

"'Kay," I replied and just stayed there.

I turned my head so I could look at Jigen.

"You came back to me," I thought. "You're really here."

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(Vaala)

"So how's she doin'?" the Inspector asked as I walked out of the room.

"Really hung over," I answered as I walked into the kitchen. "But she's happy. She'd probably be drowning in misery if Jigen wasn't in there with her."

"Well, then it's a good thing he came when he did," he said, keeping his gaze on the TV. "I really wasn't expecting that out of him. Jigen's always been the type to avoid females."

"And yet here he is sleeping at Gold's bedside," I said and pulled some eggs and bacon out of the fridge and a frying pan out of the cabinet.

"Love's a weird thing," he said as he clicked the remote and turned the TV off.

"Going to sleep?" I asked as I started preparing some scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Yup," he said and got up off the couch and took his badge out of his jacket pocket. "And I think I'll sleep the regular way this time. It's still morning, so I think I'll get a decent amount of sleep."

"Alright, Inspector," I said.

"Nighty-night," he said and put his badge down on the end table next to the couch and immediately turned to stone.

I chuckled and continued cooking the eggs and bacon.

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(That Night...)

(Jigen)

I burst from my sleep with a stretch and a yawn. I looked over and found Gold sitting at the edge of the bed beside me. I looked up at her. I asked myself why I didn't see sooner how beautiful her weird features were. The way her horns tilted away from each other. Her bright red eyes and her pale yellow skin. Her pink and blue spiky hair. The flap of dark pink at the end of her tail.

"Hey, Beautiful," I said.

Her face turned orange when I said that.

"What?" I chuckled.

"Well, um..." she started to say, but then stopped.

"You feeling better?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, "Better than last night anyway."

"Yeah," I replied and turned my gaze away.

"I'm really embarrassed," she said, "You come all the way back here just to find me drunk."

"I can't but feel responsible for that," I replied. "I should've come back sooner. You wouldn't have drunk yourself into that mess."

She placed her talon on my face and turned it so I'd look at her again.

"You came back," she said, "That's all that matters to me."

I walked over on my knees until I was directly in front of her. I wrapped my arms and wings around her, squeezing myself as close as I could to her. With how tall I was, my head came all the way up to her chest. She brought her talons behind my head and pulled me closer, knocking my hat off my head and dropping it onto the floor. I didn't care. The only thing I cared about was being with her.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," I replied.

We stayed like that for what seemed like forever, occasionally tightening our hold on each other. We probably could've stayed like that forever if we weren't interrupted by a sudden knock at the bedroom door. I got up to my feet and stuck my talons in my pants pockets.

"Yeah?" Gold called to the door. "Come in."

The door open, and Mac stepped into the room carrying a bottle of scotch wrapped in a paper bag.

"Ehvnin, Lass," she greeted and then nodded to me, "Ahnd Lad. Wilcome bahck."

"Thanks," I said.

"Going to Bender's?" Gold asked.

"Aye," she answered, holding up the bottle, "Ah fegured Ah'd chick ohn ye bifore Ah lift. Ah hird ye drenk yersilf ento a stupar lahst night."

"Yeah, I did," Gold replied, scratching the back of her head.

"Too many margaritas," I added, motioning my talon like I was drinking from a glass.

"Will, Ah'm glahd ta see ya doin' well," Mac said and turned to leave, "Ah'll be ohff."

"Later Mac," Gold said as Mac shut the door behind her.

She then turned to me.

"How'd you know what I was drinking?" she asked.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, "There was lime juice, rum, and tequila all over your breath. And I could taste it when I kissed you."

She looked down and then bent down and picked my hat up off the floor.

"Here," she said as she handed it to me. I smiled and put it back on my head.

"Thanks," I said.

"Let's get some food," she said and turned for the door. "I'm still not completely over my hang over, but so far eating has helped me feel better."

I watched her walk away for a second before answering. She looked so beautiful, I couldn't help but stare at her.

"Sure," I answered and then started following her out. I saw Red on the couch with Pops.

"Hey, the love birds are up," Red said as we walked out.

"Hey, Red," Gold replied.

"Evening, Pops," I greeted and walked over to the couch.

"Yup," he replied, not turning his gaze away from the TV.

"Lupin sends his regards," I said to him.

"Of course he does," he replied, "Smug little bastard."

"Well look at it this way," I said to him with a grin, "From now on he'll have to do all his own shooting."

"Well that's true," he said.

"Muffins all around!" Gold announced as she brought a tray with various types of muffins piled ontop of it.

"Awesome!" Red said and picked up a muffin.

"Inspector?" she asked as she held the tray up so he could reach.

"Sure why not?" he said and grabbed a muffin.

"Jigen?" she asked and brought it up to me.

I smiled at her, and she smiled back at me as she held the tray of muffins in front of me. I grabbed one from the tray and stuck the whole thing in my mouth. My beak was big enough that a full-sized muffin was bite-sized to me. She laughed and took the tray to the counter at the kitchen. She put it down and grabbed a muffin.

"Jigen," Red said.

"What?" I replied.

"Just because you and Gold are an item now," she said, "It doesn't mean I don't still wanna throttle you. I just won't right now out of respect for Gold. But I promise you the next time I catch you alone, I'll knock your sorry ass into next week."

"Whatever happened to that promise you made to never lay another claw on me?" I asked.

"That promise became null and void when Boober stopped liking you," she said.

"Great," I said in sarcasm. "Thanks for the warning."

"Sure," she said. "It's just sad Boober still doesn't know you're here. He might've already beat me to it by now."

"Where is he anyway?" I asked.

"Still in the statue room," she answered, "Everyone else went to the dining room for breakfast. I only came up here so I could give you that warning since last night was so not the right time for it."

"Gee thanks," I groaned.

"Okay, who wants another muffin?" Gold burst in to change the subject.

"I'll have another," Pops answered, raising his talon high in the air.

Gold tossed another muffin to him, and he caught it with the talon he had raised. She then walked over behind the couch. I followed so I would be close to her.

"Think we can steal the TV from you for a while, Inspector?" Gold asked.

"Sure, knock yerself out," he answered and handed the remote to her, "The TV's yours anyhow."

"Thanks," she said and started flipping through channels.

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(Who?)

I was standing alone in the statue room, looking around at everything in it. The chairs strewn around, the washtub, Silverbolt's books, all boring items.

"What is this?" asked a scared voice that only I could hear, "What's going on?"

"There you are, Boober," I replied to the voice, "I didn't want to do anything without you knowing it. That would be rude."

"Don't do this," he pleaded. "Put me back, please."

"You've been denying yourself a good time for too long," I said and looked down on Boober's body, which I was now in control, "I need to rectify that. And this time I'll make sure you watch so you can appreciate what I'm doing for you."

I looked down at the body I was in control of. I grabbed the bottom of the t-shirt he wore and pulled it up.

"What are you doing?" Boober asked as he watched me remove his shirt.

"Relax, will you?" I replied, "I'm just making myself more comfortable."

I noticed that by taking off the shirt, I dropped the reddish-brown scarf he wore. I picked it back up and looped it around on my shoulders. I took his hat off and looked at it.

"Oh come on," he said.

"Don't get me wrong, it's a nice hat," I said and dropped it on the floor ontop of his shirt, "But it's hardly necessary."

I walked over to the hall and found a mirror on the wall. I looked at Boober's reflection, which was currently my own. I noticed that the black had started growing back into his hair.

"It's about time to re-dye your hair, my friend," I said and then rubbed my chin with my talon, "And this stubble is getting kind of long. If you keep this up, before you know it, you'll look like Jigen again."

"Don't even joke about that," he retorted, the lips in the reflection moving.

"You don't genuinely hate him, do you?" I asked.

"Well, I can't say I'm very happy with him," he replied.

"I don't blame you," I said. "You have no reason at all to be happy with him. As a matter of fact, he's the whole reason you pushed me back as far as you did."

"Pushed you back?" He repeated.

"Yes," I said, "I am made of everything you believe to be fun. My very existence is made up of every thought you have of something that could really make you happy. But you have this bad habit of not letting any of these thoughts manifest themselves in the real world, especially when something bad happens to you. So you drown yourself in this incessant boredom, and it all gets bottled up. I don't like being bottled up, Boober. It's not a fun place to be. In fact, it's a really cramped place to be. Because eventually that bottle gets really crowded. It gets full to the point that the cork won't hold it in anymore, and I have to come out and fix everything."

"And how do you intend to fix it this time?" he asked.

"I'm going to do what you are afraid to," I answered. "Things you wanted to do, but were too scared to do it."

"What do you mean?" he asked in a nervous tone, "What are you going to do?"

"Don't worry, Boober," I said and grinned at the nervous-looking reflection in the mirror, "I'll take care of everything. And I think I'll start with the lab."

"Mac's lab?" he replied, "Why there?"

"Oh you know exactly why," I said, "You're still upset about Mac banishing you from her lab."

"I don't blame her for what she did," he replied, "People like her need their piles where they are."

"Yes, I know," I said, "Something called an organized mess. They have things in a particular order that looks like total chaos to anyone else. That doesn't mean you don't want to get her back for nearly ripping your ear off just for moving a couple of papers."

"Get her back?" he repeated nervously.

"Yes," I replied, "She's gone out to give her robot his bottle of scotch, and everyone else is either in the dining room or in the apartment. So right now there is no one watching the lab."

"What are you intent on doing?" he asked.

"You'll see," I said, widening my grin. "And you'll thank me for it later."

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(Gold Demona)

Jigen had eaten three more muffins by the time I'd finished my one. The channel we ended up staying on was one of the educational channels. They were showing a documentary about the history of New Liberty, so we were also able to fulfill the Inspector's needs. It was just getting to the part where they were talking about New Liberty's declaration of independence when the TV swung open and Vaala jumped from behind it.

"Red!" she yelled, "Jigen! Anyone!"

"What happened?" I asked.

"Something's wrong with Boober," she said.

"Whaddaya mean?" Red asked.

"What's wrong?" Jigen asked.

"He's not himself," she answered, "We saw him walking into the lab and we followed him to see what he was doing, and he started messing with things. Silverbolt managed to grab him before he could do any major damage, but he's really acting weird."

Jigen and Red looked at each other, as if they knew what she was talking about. Then they both looked back at Vaala.

"What's he wearing?" Jigen asked.

"Just his pants and his scarf," Vaala answered, "His shirt and hat are missing."

They both jolted past Vaala and into the penthouse. We all followed them down and into the hall. We all stood in the hall outside of Mac's lab, I could hear a struggle going on inside.

"Let me go!" Boober said.

"Why are you doing this?" Silverbolt asked, struggling to keep him still, "Get a hold of yourself, Boober!"

"Grrr..." he growled.

"Oh no," Red said.

"Damn it all," Jigen said.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Jigen?"

"We don't have time to explain right now," he answered.

"You think it might be--?" Red asked.

"Sure seems like it," Jigen answered before she could finish, "You go in first and try to talk to him. If we know for sure it's him, I'll jump it."

"Right," she said and stepped inside. "Hey!"

"Red!" Boober said, "How are you doing?"

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked, "You know Mac doesn't like you in the lab."

"But that's exactly why I'm in here," he said. "But listen, let's forget about that. Why don't you and me go somewhere tonight, huh? Just you and me."

"That's it," Jigen said and stepped inside. I followed behind.

"Sidebottom!" he yelled.

Boober looked up at Jigen with a look of total amazement in his face.

"Jigen!" he greeted with a cheerful tone as Jigen walked up to him. "Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events."

"Let 'im go, Silver," Jigen said.

Silverbolt released Boober from his grip, and Boober then crossed his arms as Jigen grabbed him by the scarf and pulled him closer.

"What the hell are you doing here, Sidebottom?" Jigen asked.

"Sidebottom?" I repeated in confusion.

"Oh, you got me," he replied, "I've only come out to play. Boober never lets me out anymore. The fun side of Boober that is always kept on the bottom, Sidebottom. But you know, Jigen, it's all your fault I'm here. Ever since you left the clan Boober's been wallowing in boredom. It got worse after they died. And you had to top it off when we found out what you've been doing the whole time you've been gone. I only come out so Boober can have a little fun."

"How is screwing up the lab fun?" Red asked. "Especially since everything in here is important to Mac."

"Wanted to start with a little payback," he said, "For being booted out the night we first came here. After that I was planning to move on to something else. Possibly asking you out, Red, cuz Boober's too chicken to ask you himself. He's been in love with you for years, but never had the balls to tell you."

Jigen then yanked Boober down onto the table in the center of the lab, knocking some stuff onto the floor.

"Give me back my brother, Sidebottom," Jigen growled, pressing him down on the table.

"Your brother?" he chuckled, "And since when, Jigen, did you give a rat's ass about your brother? You left the clan and became a criminal, leaving your brother to rot in his anguish. Even now he's questioning you, Jigen. He's asking me why you're going to so much trouble now. And why you came back."

"He knows what's going on?" Jigen asked.

"Boober is perfectly aware of what's going on," he answered. "When we saw you walk in, Jigen, the first thing he said to me was 'What the heck is HE doing here?'."

"Look, I know I screwed up," Jigen said, "I'm sorry I hurt you, Boober. I didn't want it to go like that. I never told you anything because I didn't want you to suffer, but then I found out you were suffering anyway by not knowing. You had every right to hit me. I'll let you hit me again if it'll make you feel better. I came back for two reasons. One of them is to be with Gold. The other is to make things right with you. I can't change what I did, and I know I can't make the pain go away, but I want to try and start over. Boober, please say you'll forgive me."

Boober's face scrunched and he started to groan and growl, like he was struggling with something in his head.

"Jigen," he struggled to say, his voice sounding softer and higher in pitch than it did a minute ago.

"Boober?" Jigen said. "Is that you?"

"Help me..." he said. "He won't... let me come back."

"Come on, Boober," Jigen urged.

"No," he growled and banged his head back on the table, then he stopped struggling. "There. That's better."

"What'd you do?" Jigen growled. "What happened to Boober?"

"He's just sleeping," he answered. "I can't let him come back until I've finished what I've come here for."

Jigen's talon looked like a blur as he reached behind him, grabbed his gun, and pointed it right into Boober's throat.

"You son of a bitch!" Jigen growled, eyes glowing white. "Bring 'im back!"

"Jigen!" I yelled.

"Grrr-rraaahh..." he groaned, scrunching his face again, "Dammit, Jigen! You woke him up and made him screech! That really hurt! You think it's bad to the ears, try it right in your head!"

"Good," Jigen replied and put the gun away again, "Now give him back."

"I told you I can't," he replied, "If I go back, he'll bottle me up again. If I get bottled up again, the cycle will only start over again, and I'll be back out soon enough and we'll have to go through all this again. The only way for any of this to be fixed is for Boober to stop sulking and have some fun every once in a while. The more he bottles me up, the worse the situation is when I finally pop out. Do you get it? Cuz he sure doesn't."

"GrrrrrRRR!" Red growled as she stepped up and punched Boober in the face. "Cut the crap and give him back!"

He slowly turned his head back around and looked up to Red, a sad look growing on his face.

"You want him back that badly?" he asked in a softer tone.

"Just stop talking and give him back," she answered, holding her fist ready.

"Just a moment," he said and closed his eyes. "Give me a few minutes to talk to him alone. This really is an issue that needs to be resolved. And it's really just between him and me anyway."

He rested his head and took a deep breath. Jigen loosened his grip on Boober's scarf and stepped back.

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(Boober)

I was floating in a dark place. I couldn't tell up from down, and I couldn't see anyone or anything anywhere around me.

"What is this place?" I wondered out loud. "Where am I?"

"Welcome to the bottom," I heard Sidebottom say as he appeared in front of me, a gargoyle identical to me in every way, except I was wearing my hat and shirt. "Where you have always kept me."

"The bottom of what?" I asked.

"To be honest, I don't really know," he said, "Your mind? Your priorities? Your feelings maybe? It's too dark to know what exactly this is the bottom of. Whatever it is, it's the bottom. And when I'm not out making mischief, this is where I live."

"It's so lonely in here," I pointed out.

"It's not a fun place," he said, "Now you can see why I'm always so desperate for air. I'm a manifestation of fun and happiness, but I'm kept in a place so dark and lonely. It's a representation of the state of mind you put yourself in. Your longing to do something fun trapped in a constant state of self-made boredom."

"Is this why you insist on tormenting me?" I asked. "Because I put you in this awful place?"

"I don't meant to torment you," he said, "I'm part of you, Boober. Like I said before, I am made of the thoughts that make you happy. I want you to be happy. The more you deny yourself that happiness, the more strain you build up on both yourself and me. There are times when this place feels like it closes in on me. And unlike most of your fears, which are just stupid and made-up, you actually do suffer from claustrophobia, so you can probably imagine what I go through down here."

Just thinking about it sent a chill up my spine and through my wings. I dropped to my knees, trying to think of what I could do to fix this. It was then that it occurred to me that this mischievous side of me known as Sidebottom was suffering just as much as I was, and that his so-called mischief was always to help me.

"So all those times,' I said, "Even when I was young. All those times you showed up were to release the tension that I'd built up on you."

"Now you get it," he said, "You finally get it."

"Yes, I get it," I replied, "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to do what you want to do, Boober," he said. "Go outside and see what there is to see. Sure, doing laundry by hand is relaxing, but there are things that are much higher up on your list. I know. I've seen you do it. You found it before. You can find it again."

"But where will I find it?" I asked.

"You'll know it when you see it," he said and started to fade away. "I know you can do it. Find what you want to do and go do it. Promise me you'll find it."

"I promise," I said, "Wait, where are you going?"

"Back," he said as he kept fading.

"Back? Back where?"

"Just back," he said as he faded out of sight, "Remember your promise, Boober, and you won't ever have to worry about me."

"Sidebottom! Wait!"

The darkness flashed away, and suddenly I was back in the lab, lying on my back on the table. I looked around and saw everyone huddled around me, including Mac. All of them with worried looks on their faces. Directly in front of me was Jigen, who was the first to step up to me after I woke up.

"Boober?" he said. "Are you alright?"

"Jigen," I said as I sat up. "You came back."

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "And this time I'm staying."

"I'm glad," I said, "I really am."

"What happened to Sidebottom?" Red asked.

"He's gone," I answered. "And he's not coming back."

I looked around and noticed the horrid mess I'd made of the lab.

"Mac," I said, unable to look up at her, "I'm so sorry. I made a mess of your lab. I know you told me to never come in here again, but I couldn't stop it."

"Doon't warry aboot eht, lad," she said, "Ah'll clen eht ohp laytar."

I got up from the table and started walking to the door, working my way around everyone else in the room.

"Where are you going?" Gold asked.

"Out," I answered, "I need to go out."

"Out where?" Red asked.

I looked over to her. I knew very well what Sidebottom had said to her about how I felt about her. Although it relieved me that it was out in the open, it made me nervous not knowing how she felt about it. The only emotion I saw in her face was worry.

"I don't know," I said, "I only know I need to go out."

"Is there anything we can do, Boober?" Markl asked as I passed him and Krypto.

"No, Markl," I answered, "Not this time."

I made my way through the lab and eventually out to the streets.

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(Couple hours later...)

I wandered the city for what seemed like forever. I hadn't the faintest idea what I was looking for, but I looked anyway, walking up and down the streets of Paradigm. By the time I'd started my way back home, the streets were all starting to look the same.

"What is it you want me to find out here?" I thought as I walked down the street where the apartment building was.

As I continued walking, I passed a building with a big lighted sign that read 'Upendi'. I stopped in front of it for a moment and looked in through the window.

"This is the nightclub Gold told me about," I thought. "This is where they all went last night."

I noticed something else out of the corner of my eye. I looked down at the bottom of the window, where was posted a small sign.

"Singers wanted," I read out loud, "Auditions tomorrow night at eight."

I looked up at the lighted sign again.

"It's been years since the last song I sang," I thought to myself as I started walking away towards the apartment building. "I haven't even practiced any since then."

"But it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?" Sidebottom asked.

"I suppose not," I answered as I walked into the apartment building, "We'll just see what happens tomorrow."