Only the stars illuminated the porch. Benson and Skips sat on similar chairs, conversing about the day before.
"Two days?" Benson asked, looking at Skips in disbelief.
"That's what he said," Skips replied. "Two days."
"But it's Fives, Skips. He's nice and all, but he's not exactly 'all there.'" Benson said with humorous indignation.
"You don't understand, Benson. The words came from his mouth, but he wasn't saying them. It was something else," Skips explained. "Something… inhuman."
"So you're telling me that Rigby is in danger."
"Yep."
"Well what are we gonna do about it?"
Skips was silent for a moment, but eventually spoke in desperation.
"I have no idea," Skips said, shaking his head. "I'd ask Fives to help us, but like you said, he's a bit of a space case."
"I didn't say that… I wasn't that unkind about saying it, anyways," Benson said in rebuttal.
Skips scoffed at his remark. "You? Telling me about kindness? You know your words are like razorblades, right?"
"Hey, so I have a bit of a temper," Benson grimaced. "I'm working on it, okay?"
"Oh yeah? So you didn't chew out Mordecai today?" Skips asked with a smirk.
"No!" Benson said in his own defense. "On the contrary, he actually got really pissed at me," the gumball machine explained.
"Oh yeah?" Skips asked. "What for?"
"Just for trying to be friendly," Benson said. "I asked him who he was seeing."
"Who he was seeing? What do you mean?"
"Oh c'mon Skips, you know the look," Benson replied. He gave his best impression of a doughy-eyed Mordecai for not more than a second.
"Alright, you got me there. I know the look," Skips laughed. "Actually, come to think of it, I got a similar vibe from Rigby. He got really uptight when I asked him about it, too."
"Hmm," Benson said with his nose. "You don't think…"
They humored the thought for a moment and then burst out laughing together.
"Nah," Skips said, breaking his laugh and wiping his nose. "I can't picture it."
"Wouldn't that be something though?" Benson asked. "Remember back in the day? That used to be our room. The whole situation is eerily similar, I mean we were both groundskeepers, we were both twenty-somethin'…"
"Benson, I was as far from a 'twenty-somethin' as one can be," Skips interrupted.
"Alright, alright, well you were acting like a 'twenty-somethin'," Benson laughed.
"Fair enough," Skips said. "They do kind of fill a void though. This park will always need a couple of jackasses."
"Jackasses? Now you're insulting all of us. How's that for unkind?" Benson asked sarcastically.
"Oh we were jackasses and you know it," Skips said with a smirk.
"Hooligans," Benson corrected with a raised eyebrow and finger.
"Whatever you called us," Skips chuckled. "They are what we were."
"I guess that's true," Benson added. "In any case, they've grown on me. Kind of."
"Yeah? I guess they've grown on me too," Skips said.
"Doesn't stop them from pissing me off on a daily basis, though," Benson rolled his eyes.
"You're the new Maellard," Skips laughed.
"Oh shut it," Benson replied with a smirk.
They shared another laugh, then a sigh, and then a stare. When their eyes met, a hint of the flame that they once shared hit both of them.
Benson broke the strange trance with another chuckle. "Let's not do this again," he laughed putting his hand on Skips' shoulder.
Skips smiled as Benson removed his arm.
"Well, other than that, how was your day with ol' Mordecai?" the yeti asked, changing the subject.
"Well I dropped him off at the hospital, and when I picked him up he treated me to a burger," Benson said. "I figure that was his way of saying sorry."
"That's good to hear, at least he sort of apologized."
"Yeah I guess. How was your day with Rigby?" Benson asked.
"We had fun. That kid can toss back a meatball sub like it's nothing," Skips chuckled.
"I bet you had fun. You're a lot more fun than me," Benson sighed.
"Don't say that," Skips said in a very rare tone of sincerity.
"What? It's the truth. You're more… likable I guess," Benson replied.
"Benson, you're a better man than I am. You're just prickly is all, you speak your mind," Skips replied.
"That's the excuse most assholes use," Benson chuckled, "but thanks anyways Skips. Listen, I gotta get going…"
"Back to your apartment?" Skips interrupted.
"Well I gotta sleep somewhere," Benson snickered.
"Benson, it's 2AM, just stay the night. I've got a futon," Skips replied.
Before Benson could complain, Skips added, "By the time you get home, you'll only have a couple hours."
"Alright, I'll stay over. Jeez, you're making me feel like a 'twenty-somethin' again. I haven't slept at a friend's house in years."
They got up off their seats and began the short trek back to Skips' hovel. The moon was high above them.
"You better not try anything funny," Benson remarked as Skips opened the door to his home.
"Scout's honor," Skips replied, letting the gumball machine enter his humble living space.
Elsewhere, High Five Ghost was sneaking around, looking for the smashed microwave from the day before. When he found it, he looked at the glistening metallic chunks thoughtfully. For a moment, he felt sorry for them. They were a disheveled mess, the shadows of a once functional device.
He could see a vague outline of its previous existence: a rectangular form with a window on the front. He picked up a piece of the microwave, and to his surprise, a spot in the vision started glowing. He placed the piece in the spot and it snapped into place, hovering where it was meant to be.
His eyes lit up. He grabbed another piece, and once again, a spot lit up. It glowed green.
He continued piecing the microwave back together until it was whole once again. The cracks remained, but it was in its original shape.
When the ghost looked away, the pieces fell into a heap once more. Fives forgot the entire experience by the time he looked back.
MONDAY, AUGUST 8th
Benson awoke to the familiar Musk of Skips' room. The yeti was still resting.
"Skips," the gumball machine whispered.
The yeti replied with a grumble and a few sleep words.
"Skips!" Benson said again, this time loudly.
"Wha- huh? I'm up, I'm up," Skips mumbled as he got to his feet.
"You didn't think you could sleep in did you… Skips for Christ's sake put some pants on!" Benson shouted, covering his eyes.
"Oh, woops," Skips chuckled, looking down at himself proudly.
"Jeez I forgot what that looked like," Benson complained, blushing and looking to his right as hard as he could.
"How could you forget?" Skips asked with a self-assured grin.
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SKIPS," Benson shouted, accidentally peeking at the yeti's body again.
"Alright, alright," Skips said, slipping on his only pair of pants. "I don't get why you guys get to prance around naked and I don't," he added, fastening his worn leather belt.
"I…" Benson began, but then turned his thoughts inward. He could not think of a single reason as to why he, Mordecai and Rigby were all excused. In fact, he never even registered them or himself as "naked," but with Skips, it was just different.
"So what's the plan?" Skips asked, stretching out his abdomen and yawning happily.
Benson reached down next to the futon for his clipboard and held it in front of him.
Skips chuckled to himself.
"What?" Benson asked, sounding coy.
"You and your clipboard," Skips replied, walking out the front door.
Benson trailed after with his finger up, waiting for a moment to rebut.
"Hey, I like this clipboard," he stated as he stepped out into the warm sunlight.
"As if you need it, though," Skips said. "With your memory?"
"It makes me feel like I'm still the boss," Benson replied with a smile. "You know I don't get any damn respect from any of you guys."
"I think the boys are warming up to you," Skips said, tying the nearest garbage bag and lifting it out of its barrel. "They'll be taking orders from you in no time."
"Don't be so sure," Benson said, going over his list of chores for the day.
"Look, I think that despite their behavior, they like you," Skips replied, crossing his arms. "And what's up with you anyways? You're so worried about what people think these days."
"I dunno, Skips, maybe I just want people to like me, is that weird?" Benson asked, a bit indignantly.
"Well yeah," Skips added, "You never used to care that much."
"Well I do now," Benson sighed. "Maybe I'm just getting old, I dunno. I want to be more… kind, I guess."
"Benson, you're one of the nicest guys I know," Skips assured him. "You just have your own way of showing it."
"Again, with the excuses," Benson laughed. "Thanks though. It's Monday, I gotta make breakfast for everyone."
"Need some help?" Skips asked.
Rigby awoke before Mordecai. His face was embedded in the warmth of his friend's chest. Mordecai's arms were wrapped gently around him, and the heat was comfortable on a deeply personal level. The blue jay snored quietly, and Rigby could hear the intimate sounds of his friend's lungs breathing in and out, happily. He nuzzled his friend lovingly and squeezed a bit tighter, which roused Mordecai from his peaceful slumber.
"Mornin'," Mordecai grumbled happily. His voice suggested he had been sleeping for years. He itched the back of Rigby's head affectionately. "Aw, sick, dude you drooled on me."
Rigby wiped his mouth on his arm and snickered. Then, he clasped onto Mordecai's stomach once more, digging his face into his friend's feathers and giving a mighty sniff.
Mordecai laughed. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed with affection, but he combated the feeling with a noogie and a mild insult.
"Quit being a spaz," Mordecai chuckled.
"No," Rigby replied, nibbling Mordecai a little on the spot he had soiled with his drool.
Mordecai pushed Rigby off of him and swung around on top, pinning the raccoon to the mattress with his elbow.
Rigby squealed with delight as Mordecai looked down upon him menacingly. He brought his forehead against Rigby's. His expression said, "You're mine."
Rigby brought his tongue against the length Mordecai's beak, and Mordecai shot backwards, wiping at it with disgust and releasing his prisoner. Rigby cackled and rolled onto his side.
In an act of immature, thoughtless revenge, Mordecai grabbed Rigby's arm and licked it. Rigby stopped for a second, absorbing the image and the sensation. He came back with a high-powered laugh that enraged Mordecai.
The blue jay grabbed Rigby's arm once again and dragged him off the bed.
"What are you doing?" Rigby asked.
"Oh you'll see," Mordecai menaced, dragging him out into the hallway.
Rigby tensed up with glee and looked up at Mordecai, who looked incredibly irate and frisky.
The door to the bathroom slammed behind them and Mordecai brought Rigby into the tub. He turned on the water almost as hot as it would go and immediately brought his face to Rigby's. Rigby's lips met something soft, and for a moment his body was electrocuted. Then, it simply lost consciousness and melted into Mordecai's arms.
Rigby gave in as Mordecai pushed his ears back and bit down a little harder.
The blue jay ran his arm up Rigby's side and felt his friend shudder. Rigby had won yesterday's game, but today's belonged to Mordecai. He had no idea where it was coming from, but everything about Rigby's annoying behavior was setting his heart ablaze that morning.
Rigby didn't complain about how hot the water was, nor did he complain about the light pain that was creeping into his back, which was pinned against the base of the tub. All he could think about were Mordecai's fingers, which were wedged gently between his toes.
He let out a low sound but Mordecai shushed him softly. The blue jay's fiery libido simmered to a cool, confident stare, and as much as he wanted to avoid it, his eyes met Rigby's and he felt it. The passion was palpable, and it made his throat dry, despite all of the steam. He looked away, but Rigby reached up and guided his face back into place.
Rigby breathed out long and deep. He watched Mordecai's eyes dance around his gaze and he chuckled, placing a long kiss on the bridge of his beak.
Mordecai shot back a bit when he received the peck. It felt odd, sort of like a tickle, but Rigby had a tight grip on his beak. The raccoon rubbed noses with him and the bird made some light comfort sounds.
"Are you sure you're up for it?" Eileen asked as they pulled into their parking spot behind the coffee shop.
"No, but I can't miss work twice in a row," Margaret replied, shutting off her engine and resting her head on the steering wheel.
"Aw, cupcake," Eileen cooed, rubbing her back. "Depression sucks, I know."
"And I have class and crap after work, god this sucks," Margaret complained.
"Hey, hey, cheer up, huh?" Eileen asked.
Margaret sighed and attempted to take Eileen's advice. She couldn't.
"Tell you what, I'll try to cover you as much as I can today. It shouldn't be too busy," Eileen added.
"You don't need to do that," Margaret replied, looking moderately flattered.
"But I'm gonna," Eileen smirked. "If you need me to, that is."
Mordecai and Rigby got out of the shower smelling fresher than they should have.
Rigby got on all fours and shook his fur to dispel some of the moisture, flicking specks of water all over Mordecai in the process.
Mordecai shoved him lightly and grabbed towels for each of them. He put one of the towels on Rigby's head and rubbed it against his scalp before releasing it.
Then, they heard a few knocks. They both shot a nervous glance at the door.
"Hello?" Pops said in his quirky voice. "I need to use the restroom, good sir."
"Pops, you have your own bathroom, remember?" Mordecai said, trying to stall.
"I'm all out of toilet parchment," Pops replied, "and besides, I like the community restroom better."
The old man opened the door, which neither of them had thought to lock, but Pops only saw Mordecai standing alone with a towel around his waist.
"Howdy, Pops!" Mordecai chuckled nervously. "I was just finishing up… drying and… stuff."
"Oh," Pops coughed nervously. The situation was strangely similar to the time that Mordecai saw him naked. "Jolly good… Out you go then?"
"Yeah, j… jolly good," Mordecai replied, shuffling chunkily towards the bathroom door.
"Did you hurt yourself?" Pops asked, noticing the blue jay's injured strut.
"Oh, you know," Mordecai replied. "uh… I'll just…"
The blue jay shuffled out of the bathroom as quickly as he could to avoid the older man's stare.
When he arrived in his room, he opened the towel and Rigby jumped out, gasping for air.
"You couldn't have waited?" Rigby shouted angrily, clutching his nose.
"I'm sorry man, I was nervous," Mordecai replied, shutting the door quietly. "Yikes, that was close."
"Close? I would rather get caught with you than go through that again," Rigby replied, once again cleaning out his ear with his towel.
Rigby sniffed the air and was reminded of one of his favorite foods.
"Dude, is it Monday?" he asked, twitching his nose at the scent. "Benson makes pancakes on Monday."
He scampered out into the hallway, leaving Mordecai behind to think about Rigby's primal reaction to the smell of food.
Mordecai was beginning to find that all of Rigby's quirks and glitches made him fun to be around, and even fun to think about. He felt the blush return to his cheeks. Even just the thought of him being so persuadable by food seemed purely endearing. He shook the look from his face and followed his bud downstairs.
Downstairs, just like the week before, there was a breakfast feast. Skips was happily gnashing some of the white fluffy cakes between his old teeth, and Pops was just coming down the stairs, overwhelmed with joy as he normally was. They took their seats quietly and happily. Their boss leaned back a little in his chair.
"Look at you two," Benson smirked as Rigby poured himself a glass of orange juice and Mordecai scooted his chair closer to the table. "You're up."
"Wow, Benson, these smell amazing!" Rigby announced, taking another huge whiff of the feast in front of him.
"And neither of you are being rude," Benson said, shifting his focus to Mordecai, who was patiently waiting for his turn at the orange juice. "Why the big change, guys?"
"Maybe they're growing up," Skips chimed in between bites. He smirked after a few moments of everyone's disbelief to signify that he was kidding.
"We're just… excited to get to work," Mordecai said, watching Rigby stuff his face.
"That's good, because there's tons of it to do today," Benson menaced, testing the pair.
Rigby pretty much ignored him and Mordecai got himself some pancakes.
"I said there's TONS of work to be done," Benson restated, waiting for a response.
"That's fine," Rigby said with his mouth full. "You're the boss. Whatever you need, man."
Benson's heart stopped momentarily and Skips laughed a bit. The gumball machine cleared his throat to avoid sounding overjoyed, and donned a more authoritative tone.
"Okay, well it's Monday, so you guys are on trash duty. You two better not let last week happen again," the gumball machine barked, trying to look tough while he served himself some pancakes. He waited for their complaints.
"What else?" Mordecai asked attentively.
"Uh, I, um…"
Benson looked to Skips, who was enjoying Benson's awe as much as he was enjoying his pancakes.
"I think that's it," Skips said, shoveling another rolled up whole cake into his mouth.
"Oh," the yeti added, removing the fork from his mouth and pointing it in the raccoon's direction. "Rigby needs to come to the dump with me again. Apparently the thing isn't eating much, it needs your help."
"Can Mordecai come?" Rigby asked, interrupting his bite.
"Sure why not," Skips said, taking a sip of his milk.
"What? No!" Mordecai said, looking at Rigby, then at Skips, then back at Rigby. "I hate that thing!"
"Dude, it's not even gonna hurt you this time. It only does what I tell it to," Rigby assured.
"I don't care," Mordecai said. "I don't want to be anywhere near that thing."
Rigby looked up at him with sad, puckered eyes, and Mordecai crossed his arms, trying not to let the gaze pierce his defenses. After their eyes were locked for a moment, Mordecai threw up his arms and gave a long "fine!" before taking another bite of his pancakes.
Between his third and fourth forkfuls of tasty breakfast, Mordecai noticed that Rigby was not sitting, but standing on his chair. He held his mouth in an attempt to keep the food in when he laughed. He swallowed and then addressed the raccoon with the subject of his seat.
"Dude, you're standing," Mordecai said, stabbing his food in preparation of taking another bite.
"Hm? I always stand here," Rigby said, between chugging his orange juice and swallowing un-chewed mouthfuls.
"Hm. Guess I never noticed," Mordecai said, turning his attention away from Rigby.
They finished their respective breakfasts one at a time, with Skips beating out Rigby by only a few seconds, and when they were all done, they went outside to start their daily grind. For the sake of safety, Benson decided to let Muscleman and High Five Ghost run the snack bar. He didn't want another race or a mishap that could potentially destroy the entire park.
Benson was nearly stunned by how cooperative the two were. They kept their joking to a minimum, and when they did goof off, they did it quietly, and it was a different kind of joking. It wasn't mean or competitive; it was just good, kind humor. They picked up the bags, tied the ends and stacked them in their golf cart, only exchanging light smiles between cans. They were quick, too, but they did not seem like they were rushing.
Before Benson could blink, they were finished, and awaiting further instructions. He didn't have any to give them. He hadn't taken into account them actually finishing their job that quickly. He had to think fast.
"We need light bulbs and more trash bags," Benson said, handing Mordecai his red plastic card.
"Okay," Mordecai said, grabbing the debit card. "C'mon Rigby, we gotta get light bulbs."
Rigby hopped in the passenger's seat and waited for Mordecai to start the engine.
"And get me a cup of coffee!" Benson yelled as the sped off. He saw Mordecai raise a thumb out the side of the cart in compliance.
The ride was bumpier than usual, but also warmer. It was actually an all around great temperature. Rigby made sure that their sides were touching the entire time, and Mordecai didn't mind in the least. They liked each other's textures. Rigby was puffed and a bit fluffy, and his friend was slim and sheen. They weren't close enough that people assumed anything. They were merely touching, as though it were an accident.
They pulled up in front of a small hardware store and took the time to have some harmless fun. They walked down the aisles, joking about nothing in particular and avoiding the light bulb section. Whenever they were sure no one was looking they shared their affection in discrete ways. Rigby was a fan of bumping Mordecai's side lightly with his head, and Mordecai was more prone to giving noogies and neck scratches.
When they got in line they were still busy discussing nothing. Mordecai's tone was low, warm, and still a bit sarcastic. Above all, it was affectionate and friendly. Rigby secretly liked Mordecai's voice the most, so just having it float around him was enough to make him happy. What the blue jay was saying made no difference.
After spending a healthy amount of time slacking off at the hardware store, they took a short walk towards the coffee shop to get some lunch and to get Benson his coffee. The familiar smells made both of them feel even more comfortable. They sat down at a booth near the window and a familiar red face appeared to take their orders.
When she was nearby, they kept their flirtation to a minimum. Margaret noticed right away that Mordecai was no longer nervous around her, and this somehow made her notice his qualities like she hadn't before. She could just tell that he cared about something, and she really wanted to know what it was. She could also tell that he wasn't really thinking about her, which only made her more intrigued.
She returned to their table with their food, and they received it gratefully. Rigby munched his roast beef sub happily while Mordecai crunched his salad. They didn't look at each other. They stared out at the street and exchanged a few words, but they mostly sat quietly. Rigby ate more politely than he usually would have.
Eileen got up the courage to say hi to them. Rigby gave her a small smile and a hello, at which the girl almost fell over. She didn't ask Rigby out, like she planned to, but just hearing him acknowledge her was enough to improve her day.
When Rigby finished his sub, he put his hands on his chin and watched his friend. He looked away quickly when Mordecai returned his gaze, but he had a hard time keeping his lips straight. Mordecai smirked and gave him a little kick under the table.
Margaret appeared again to give them the check, and Mordecai handed her the card wordlessly. She brought it to a back room and swiped it in the machine. She returned the card with the receipt wrapped around it, and Mordecai quietly thanked her while Rigby threw away the results of their lunch. They almost forgot the coffee that Benson had ordered them to retrieve. When they asked, she gave it to them free of charge.
Their sunny drive home was warm and lazy. The roast beef in Rigby's stomach made him sleepy, and he leaned against his friend to rest his eyes. Mordecai maintained a dim glow the entire ride, and Rigby only rose during the occasional bump in the road. At one time during his nap, Rigby let out a quiet belch before smacking his lips at the leftover taste in his mouth. Mordecai tried his hardest not to coo at the display.
Mordecai chuckled and nudged his friend to rouse him when the park appeared in front of them.
"Yo, time to get up," Mordecai said with his elbow.
They returned and parked in front of Benson, who was sitting on the steps, clutching his clipboard. He couldn't find any more jobs, but he gladly took the coffee and his card back from Mordecai.
"What's this?" he asked, unfolding the piece of paper.
"Rigby and I got lunch, sorry," Mordecai replied shyly. "I can pay you back if you want."
"Don't bother," Benson said. "You guys are done for the day," he added, scanning the receipt for any obscene expenses
"Done?" Rigby asked slack jawed. "Are we in trouble?"
Benson laughed. "No, there just isn't anything else to do. Skips has all the trash bags ready if you still wanna go to the dump."
Skips emerged from the house. "If they wanna? It's not really an option."
"Right," Benson said. "I guess you guys are going to the dump."
Mordecai still did not want to go, but at this point he did not want to separate from Rigby, even for a minute. He wondered if this is how Rigby felt, and if he had felt this way for a long time. It made him feel a tad guilty for not noticing sooner. It must have been difficult.
"You guys ready? We need to get there before it gets dark," Skips grumbled in their direction.
"Yeah, we're ready," Mordecai beamed, trying to cover his disdain for the idea.
They all sat down in Skips' souped up ride, and before they left Benson noticed something.
"Mordecai, did you take a look at this receipt?" Benson asked, leaning on the cart.
"No, why?" Mordecai asked.
"It's got a phone number on it," Benson replied, handing it to Mordecai with a little smile.
Mordecai looked at the slip, and sure enough, written in elegant cursive was Margaret's name and phone number.
"I knew there was someone," Benson chuckled, slapping the cart with his hand.
They sped off toward the dump, and Rigby eyed the slip of paper suspiciously. Mordecai just held it, confused and a little bit flattered.
Skips broke the silence.
"I'm proud of you two," he said, taking a sharp right turn. "You guys kicked ass today." He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, then offered them each one.
Rigby almost took him up on the offer but digressed.
"We haven't done that in a long time, Skips," Mordecai said, rejecting the white stick.
"Suit yourself. It's probably for the best," Skips replied, letting out a long puff.
Mordecai clutched the slip of paper, horrified and excited at what it meant, and what it meant to Rigby. He caught Rigby burning the receipt with his eyes, and he quickly crumpled it in his palm to appease the raccoon. When Rigby wasn't looking, Mordecai sat on the crumpled piece of paper to hide it.
When they pulled in at the dump, the trash bags were still piled high. The monster was slowly grabbing bags and consuming them lazily. Skips took the trash bags from the park and stacked them on his shoulders. Then, he dumped them into the side of the trash pit. They tumbled down the edge like boulders.
Rigby was the first to notice the creature's size.
"Jeez, I thought you said it wasn't eating, it's like three times as big as it was yesterday," Rigby shouted as it opened its arms to welcome him.
"It's not the food that makes it grow, hell I don't think it even needs food," Skips said. "It's the moonlight."
Mordecai just shivered looking at it. He really hated the thing. He thought back to last week when its tentacle had entered his back. He watched Rigby force the thing to consume everything in sight. What was more troublesome than the sounds was Rigby's face. He looked like he still enjoyed it in some twisted way, despite the fact that the creature had taken something from him.
Rigby's eyes flashed evil for a second as he grabbed a particularly huge cluster of rotting trash bags and shoveled them into the creatures gaping jaw. Inside, the teeth that lined its mouth spun around quickly to shred the trash. Rigby snickered and his heart started pounding. He was panting from the exertion.
"Rigby are you feeling okay?" Skips said, putting his hand on Rigby's shoulder.
Rigby spotted a ditched van lying in the distance. He reached for it and crumpled it in his huge tentacle. He took the two halves gobbled them up. He could almost feel the metal being gnashed and crushed in the creature's enormous maw.
"Rigby," Skips said, growing worried. "Rigby, c'mon, that's enough."
Rigby ignored him and smashed some more things to Mordecai's disgust.
"I wonder if I can make him walk," Rigby said in a low growl. It responded to his remark with a sound similar to a loon call. "I could free him."
"Rigby, that's enough!" Skips said, grabbing the raccoon by his shoulders. Rigby's eyes shut immediately and the creature went limp.
"Rigby!" Mordecai shouted, picking his friend up.
"I knew this was a bad idea," Skips said, clutching his brow. "C'mon, we gotta get him away from it now!"
They put Rigby in the back seat and started the engine. The creature came back into consciousness and howled at the disconnection. Rigby's eyes shot open and he tried to jump out the side of the vehicle. Mordecai held him down with his elbow.
"What the heck is happening to him?" Mordecai called as Skips weaved in between cars.
"It's getting better at linking with his soul," Skips replied. "The farther we get from it, the weaker the link is."
Mordecai held Rigby down and tried to bring him back, but his eyes were different. They were clouded with hate. Rigby got his arm free and clawed at Mordecai's face. He sliced him below the eye and drew blood. It dripped onto the white plastic of the back seat, but Mordecai kept his grip hard.
"Do you like it?" Rigby said with a glare. He found the blood on the seat and teased it with his finger. Mordecai grabbed Rigby's claw and held it as hard as he could.
Skips was driving so quickly that it seemed like they were going to crash at any moment. The bumps in the road loosened Mordecai's grip and Rigby slashed at him again, this time drawing blood from his neck.
Mordecai could only return the hurt. He didn't know what else to do. He brought his fist against Rigby's stomach several times to weaken him. The raccoon clenched up at the blow and turned on his side. A tear left his eye and Mordecai wiped it away with his thumb.
"I'm sorry," Mordecai said with a quiver. He picked up the raccoon in his arms. He had stopped struggling. All Mordecai could do was watch Rigby's hateful eyes and wonder what they saw.
"No you aren't," the raccoon cried. "How long has he loved you?"
Mordecai didn't know how to respond.
"You think this is hard? Do you know what he went through?" The raccoon's voice was different.
"Rigby, I'm sorry, I didn't know!" Mordecai said, holding him closer.
"And now you're gonna throw it all away for that whore," the voice continued. "We saw how you looked at that piece of paper."
"Rigby please snap out of it! This isn't you," Mordecai said, shaking his friend a little.
"Well I'm going to protect him from you," Rigby said. "You won't hurt him any more." The voice was getting weaker.
"You leave him alone!" Mordecai shouted.
"He's already made his decision," Rigby replied with a snicker. "He just doesn't know it yet." The raccoon's eyes shut once again and his body went limp.
When Rigby regained consciousness, he tried lifting his head off of the couch. He immediately clutched his ribs with pain. Pops was in front of Mordecai, cleaning the cut below his eye with a cotton swab. The blue jay winced at the alcohol's sting.
Pops let out a quiet sound of fear when he noticed that Rigby was awake. Mordecai did the same.
"What's goin on dudes?" Rigby creaked painfully before having a coughing fit.
Pops ran to his side and pet his head softly, shushing him.
"Dude, weird!" Rigby shouted.
"Nonsense. You need a bit of TLC, Rigby," Pops said, more gravely than either of them was used to.
Mordecai got to his feet and stood next to Pops.
"Did I do that, Mordecai?" Rigby asked, motioning to the cut under his eye.
"Nah, someone else did," Mordecai chuckled.
"I'm so sorry dude," Rigby said, regaining some of the strength in his voice. "I really don't remember anything. I mean I do, but it's all weird, I couldn't control myself…"
"Don't worry dude," Mordecai said with a bleak smile. "You didn't mean it."
"I know… hey where's Skips?" Rigby asked, sitting up and cracking his neck.
"He's looking for Fives, he thinks he might be able to help you with this whole soul fiasco," Mordecai replied, trying to be comforting.
"Well that's good… but why Fives? Isn't he kind of…" Rigby finished his point by sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes.
Mordecai chuckled and pushed his friend's shoulder a bit.
"Ouch, dude I'm sore!" Rigby whined.
Mordecai laughed again. He didn't normally feel sorry when he hurt Rigby physically, and the raccoon usually exaggerated anyways.
"I think he needs some rest," Pops said, petting down the raccoon's ears once more. "He should sleep here, I've always had my concerns about that ridiculous trampoline anyways."
Mordecai nearly objected with an "Oh it's cool, he's been sleeping in my bed lately anyways," but he didn't feel like he wanted Pops to know.
Rigby lied there, hoping that Mordecai would mention it. He didn't really want to sleep on the sofa, but it seemed he had no choice.
Pops brought him a cup of tea, which he loaded with milk and honey to make sure the raccoon drank it. Rigby happily sipped it while Mordecai set up their console. He figured they could get a few rounds in before bed. In any case, Mordecai was planning on going easy on Rigby, so he picked the controller with the wonky d-pad.
Outside, in the forest, Skips was with High Five Ghost. They seemed somber.
"It's gonna happen tomorrow, huh?" Fives asked, looking at the moon, which was slowly being taken by a cloud.
"Yeah," Skips said. What "it" was, he couldn't say, but he trusted the voice that Fives had tapped into the day before.
"Oh, poor Rigby," Fives said, watching the flames in the distance.
"Fives, I still think we can use you," Skips said, trying to find what Fives was staring at. "I think we can stop this."
"Oh, I'm not helpful," Fives chuckled.
"But you would be, you have a lot of untapped potential, we just need to hone it," Skips said.
"Hone what?" Fives asked with a smile.
"Your untapped potential," Skips replied angrily.
"What about it?" Fives giggled.
"Fives! Pay attention!" Skips shouted.
"I'm sorry," Fives said, looking at the ground.
"Don't be sorry, just focus," Skips said. "These visions, tell me about them."
"Visions?" Fives asked.
"I see you looking at something over there. Tell me what it is," Skips said.
"It's… hmm…" Fives replied, squinting his eyes. The vision was blurry. "Lots of lines, they're tall."
"That's good, what else?" Skips asked, staring into the ghost's eyes.
"Fire… no, wait, the fire's gone now. So are the lines," Fives said, squinting his eyes even more.
Skips laughed. "Your eyes are closed, bud."
"Oh, crud, yeah sorry." Fives opened his eyes again and stared at the visions in the distance.
"Alright, let's try this again," Skips said.
"Okay. I see tall lines," Fives began.
"Like buildings?" Skips ask.
"Yeah, like buildings," Fives replied. "They're really really tall."
"Must be the distant future," Skips said, crossing his arms.
"Well they're actually only like a couple miles away," Fives replied.
Skips slapped his own face. "What else do you see?"
"Well the fire is actually gone now, there's little lights floating around above the buildings," Fives said, looking up.
"Flying cars maybe?" Skips asked hopefully.
"Yeah, I think so," Fives said, squinting a little more.
"Awesome. I can't wait," Skips said, clutching his fist.
"Oh, yep. The meteor," Fives said, looking up even higher. "That's where the fire comes from."
"Meteor?" Skips asked in a panic.
"Yeah, I've seen this part a million times. All the sticks fall over and the lights go out, then there's just fire."
"So the visions are always the same?" Skips asked. His chest was pounding.
"Not always. It changes based on where I am, I think. Back home it's a different city, and this spot is the only one I can see the meteor from. The fire's always the same, though. I guess it lands near the park," Fives said with a chuckle.
Skips grimaced. He remembered the one big drawback of being immortal.
Back inside, Rigby was starting to feel the strong, sleepy effects of the tea. He was wrapped in a light blue blanket that Pops had given him, and he was leaning lightly against his friend. He yawned and his body stretched out and twitched comfortably.
Mordecai got up to shut off the console.
Rigby collapsed into Mordecai's warm couch-print, no longer being supported by his body. Pops had already gone to bed, and Mordecai was about to do the same.
Mordecai made it half way up the stairs and looked at his sleeping friend on the couch. As usual, the blanket rose and fell with his breath. He watched for a second, then made his way to the bedroom. Suddenly, his bed looked awfully big.
He laid down in it, trying to get comfortable, but could not. It felt cold. He grabbed one of his extra pillows and tried holding it, but it didn't help.
Rigby awoke to arms sliding under his knees and neck. They were warm, and they picked him up off the couch. He watched the staircase railing go by through squinted eyes. He was pretending to sleep.
In no time, he was back in Mordecai's bed, wrapped in his arms. They both fell sound asleep almost immediately.