Chapter Twenty-Three: Apotheosis

It was a long time before Bad Cop could stop seeing spots, the light of the portal was so blindingly bright. And even then, his vision seemed unusually dim, like spending too much time outside on a bright sunny day then coming back indoors where there were no lights on. His sunglasses weren't being much help with that matter, either. When his eyes finally adjusted, he could see he was indoors somewhere, but the place was thoroughly unfamiliar. It was enormous, though, everything scaled for a being possibly a thousand times his size. How did he get in the home of giants?

It would be in his best interests to get out of the open, he decided, but his limbs wouldn't respond to his commands to get up and move. He felt completely numb, like a mind set free from its physical confines, almost. It was eerie, and really not doing much to improve Keelan's state of mind either. Easy, he thought at his little brother, trying not to let his own panic overwhelm them both. He just had to think. Emmet had mentioned something like this, he remembered, the night they were telling stories. Is this where The Man Upstairs lives, then? Are we on the Other Side?

yeAh, Keelan sent back.

Then he found himself being lifted from where he lay, and wanted to shout at the indignity of it would you get your paws off me already and blinked when he was greeted with the sight of a young, if very large, face. The kid had a mop of curly brown hair and a smile that could rival the sun. It could only be the Finn Emmet had described, that he had seen in his dream. "Hi Bad Cop!" Finn greeted with enthusiasm he usually didn't receive, looking excited for reasons he couldn't even begin to guess. If only he could communicate!

Emmet had mentioned the extreme amount of effort it took even just to twitch, but he'd failed to mention the sheer amount of desperation it also took. He found he couldn't budge an inch, no matter how hard he tried. Focus!He scolded himself.

Cary, plEase don'T let tHem eraSe mE, Keelan begged.

I won't, buddy. I'll figure something out.

Finn carried him over to where a lady had set up a small table, focused on a box whose contents he couldn't see. "Are you ready yet Amy?" the boy asked, bouncing eagerly.

"Almost," the woman answered, smiling at his excitement, and began taking paints and brushes out of her box. Bad Cop could only watch in curiosity and wonder just what it was she meant to do with those art supplies. "Alright, it's time. Hand him over here, would you?" Finn broke into a wide grin, carefully handing Bad Cop over to her. She didn't handle him with quite the same care that Finn did, holding him as though he was just a piece of plastic. Which was exactly all he was to her, he realized. If only he could run, or fight! Time for what?!

Amy plucked off his helmet, and he wanted to shout at her, or bite her. How dare she! She hummed thoughtfully, turning him this way and that to inspect him, and he hated the feeling of being so closely scrutinized. This was a bad idea this was a terrible idea this was the WORST idea what had he been thinking to step into that light with no preparation or warning?! He was now at the mercy of these giants with no idea of their intentions, even with the sense that Finn at least meant them no harm. She turned her attention back to Finn. "The face you drew back on is actually off-center just enough that we can leave Scribble Cop intact," she told him, and Bad Cop felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off his heart. Keelan was nearly sobbing in relief, and he sent the best mental version of a hug he could manage.

The lady picked up a sheet of paper towel and carefully wrapped it around his shoulders, like he was at the barber's about to get a haircut, then selected a brush, dipping it into a tiny dot of white paint. If he'd had any mobility, Bad Cop would have shivered at the tickle of the brush's bristles when they touched the back of his head, and wiped at the wet sensation of the paint touching skin that shouldn't have been bare. What happened to his hair?

And then it registered what she was doing.

He blinked behind his sunglasses, his shock going unnoticed. There was something expanding in the back of his mind, an awareness he hadn't felt in months. They were giving Good Cop back his face. How he wished he could cry right then, touched at their kindness. There was a gust of warm air as Amy blew on the paint to make it dry faster, and then he could hear a paint can being shaken. What? Then came a cold, wet blast as she sprayed on a layer of clear coat to keep the paint from scratching off again. Making it permanent.

"There we go," Amy said, removing the paper towel and handing Bad Cop back to Finn. "He's good as new now." Finn grinned giddily, admiring her handiwork.

"He's perfect!"

Were they not trapped in a plastic shell, Bad Cop knew their heart would be absolutely pounding. He could feel Good Cop again, groggy like he was just waking up. It would be a couple minutes yet before he was anything approaching responsive, he knew.

Finn set them back on the makeshift platform that mimicked the one he'd been standing on in his own world. "Alright you guys, time to go back!" He picked up what looked like a video game controller, and Bad Cop wished he could laugh, then. That was… oddly adorable, really. Maybe they were just pawns in a child's game, but he seemed to be having so much fun. Amy glanced over to smile at him, then began packing up her supplies once more.

Suddenly filled with determination, Bad Cop tried once more to move, and finally succeeded. Thanking the boy with words was an impossibility, he realized, but there was something else he could do to show his gratitude.

Finn's eyes went wide as the Lego figure leaned back to look up at him, then raised an arm in what could only be a salute. "Whoa," he breathed, and waved back. He glanced over to see if Amy had noticed, but she was otherwise occupied. Shrugging, he turned back to Bad Cop with a grin, and pressed a button on the controller to 'send them back'.

The world went white once more.

Bad Cop took the opportunity to delve into their shared mindspace during the trip back, taking advantage of the strange properties of the portal that allowed it. It had taken several minutes to get to the Other Side, and he figured they had at least that long before arriving back on the platform. Good Cop was there, disoriented but awake and present. He had barely steadied himself before launching himself at his twin. Bad Cop caught him and held him close as Good Cop sobbed his joy, throwing their mental link wide open. He couldn't help but shed a few tears himself as memories of the past several months passed between them quick as thought, catching each other up faster than words could ever manage.

"Alastar, I'm so sorry," Cary murmured. "I was only trying to protect you…"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," his twin assured, moving to press their foreheads together. "There was nothing you could have done to stop him, he wanted to get rid of me… I tried to hold on, I didn't want to leave you…!"

"I know."

"Sure seems you've been up to a lot in the meantime, though." Alastar jolted. "Do we really have a triplet?"

Cary smiled. "We do. Keelan, come say hello." The child was quick to approach this time, far less shy than their first meeting. Cary noted he'd aged a couple years since, likely a result of being put back in a grown-up body and sharing mindspace with an adult. "Alastar, this is Keelan."

Alastar kneeled down to hug him. "It's nice to meet you! Thank you for helping Cary."

"I dIdn't do muCh…" Keelan said, snuggling into the hug.

"You did enough," Alastar assured, ruffling his hair. "You put up with his grumpy butt, and that's more than anyone can ask." Keelan giggled.

"Hey…"

"Now you…" Alastar got back to his feet, grinning ear to ear. "My dear, sweet, oblivious brother… Benny?"

"I'm not oblivious," Cary sulked. "I know he has feelings for me, I'm not blind-"

"Not him," Alastar interrupted, flicking his nose. "I'm talking about you, you big dummy."

Cary stared at him, wide-eyed. "…Oh."

Alastar started laughing. "Yeah, 'oh'. Capable of recognizing everyone else's affections but your own. Goodness, that poor man. You really shouldn't leave him wondering anymore."

"yOu like BenNy?" Keelan asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. I guess I do."

"A lot," Alastar clarified, smirking. "Cary and Benny sitting in a tree,

K-I-"

Cary turned bright red. "Darn it Alastar, knock it off-"

"Ohh no, this is the first time I've ever been able to give you crap for this, I am going to savor it. And you're just going to have to deal."

Cary huffed annoyance at him, then thumped his head against his shoulder. "…I missed you. Brat."

Alastar gave a pleased hum, wrapping his arms around him. "I missed you too, grouch." Keelan grinned and wormed his way between them, eager to get in on the hugging. They found themselves dumped back into reality shortly after.