104R 2: Where Are They Now?
U.S. Kansas
February 1'st, (2022)
Kansas was a U.S. state in the midwestern United States. It's capital was Topeka and it's largest city was Wichita. Kansas was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name was often said to mean "people of the wind" although this was probably not the term's original meaning. For thousands of years, what was now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the eastern part of the state lived generally lived in villages along the river vallys. Tribes in the westen part of the state were semi-nomatic and hunted large herds of bison.
But it wasn't like that today...and hadn't been for quite a long time. It was now (2022)...the third year of the (2020's) decade and the third era of the 21'st centurty. On this night, in the coutryside of the state of Kansas, a van drove up to a farm house property and came to a stop by a 70's station wagon. The farm land was very huge. It had a red barn, a red silo, a windmill, a weatfiled, lots and lots of land. Everything one expected a farm to look like. The only thing that was absent were cows, horses, chickens, pigs and goats. There was no animal life on this farm. At least...no barn animal life.
The right front passenger door to the van opened and out stepped 31 year old Gigi Miller, with her once short black hair now brown. The back door then slid open and out stepped her son, 12 year old Jason Miller, and their adult Dalmatian, Molly, and her four eight week old puppies, Dice, Mickey, Max and Olive. Gigi closed the front door and Jason slid the back door shut. Jason's brown hair was still long and went down to his neck. 32 year old Rex Bryson then got out of the drive's seat and closed the door to his vehicle and the whole gang went up to the farm house. Gigi used her key to unlock the front door and they all went inside.
"Here we are, everyone, home sweet home." Said Rex.
"Yeah. Uh, thanks again for taking us to the movie, Rex." Said Gigi.
"No problem. I mean it's not everyday that you get to go to the theater and see a movie that's about you and your family, right?" Said Rex. He, Gigi, Jason and the dogs had just returned home from the drive-in movies, which were showing the premiere of the Disney movie, THE TEXAS 104 DALMATIANS.
"Yeah...right." Said Gigi.
"So how was the movie? I mean...what did you think of it?" Rex asked.
"It was okay, i guess,...but since when is a true story ever turnned into a comady film? I mean the Disney studio made it look like the (2020) incident was comacle and it was anything but funny when it really happened. Note to self: Next time i write a book, and someone want's to do a film about it, do not let Disney get ahold of it." Said Gigi.
"What about the actors?" Rex asked.
"Well, the actors who played you and me were okay," Gigi turnned to Jason. "but did you see the 10 year old boy they got to play you?"
"Hard to miss, seeing how he was just as fun and loveable as you are." Said Rex.
Jason walked passed his parents and headed up the staircase, with Molly and the puppies following.
"Hey, Jason, your Mom tells me you throw a mean spiral. Wanna toss the ball around?" Said Rex as he got a football of a nearby table and headed over to the staircase that his son and the dogs was walking up.
Rather than answer Rex's question, Jason continued up the staircase to his room.
"Jason," Said Gigi, stopping her 12 year old son in his tracks while the Dalmatians went on ahead of him. "your Dad asked you a question."
Jason turnned to Rex. "No, i don't wanna toss the ball around, now can i go to my room?" He said with his little boy voice.
"Sure." Said Rex.
Jason turnned back to the stairs and continued on up to his room.
Gigi then noticed the sad expression on Rex's face and went over to comfort him. "I'm so sorry about that."
"No, it's okay...i throw like a girl anyway." Said Rex.
"It's not about you...he's just down because of the move." Said Gigi.
"I know...i just wish he'd let me in." Said Rex.
"In his own timing, he will, Rex...he will. Just give some more time...he'll come around...you'll see." Said Gigi.
"I hope so...i'm running out of years with my son." Said Rex. He may have missed out on 10 years of Jason's life, but that was just watching him grow up. Emotionally, he had missed out on 11 years of his son's life because for the next six months of (2020), the kid was declared braindead and put on home lifesupport...but then he came back, distanced himself from his Mom and Dad, and everyone else, for the last two months of (2020) and all of (2021)...and was still doing it now in (2022). It brought back the memories of his last time with Stacy when he and Bo had flown in the helicopter with the young blond to a women's prison in the state of Nevada...and those last few words they exchanged with each other.
STACY: "I curse you, Rex Bryson. You, the woman who raised you, Gigi Miller, those who begot her, who you and her begot and those you beget, and all those who touch you. From this day forward, you and Gigi will never again know happiness in this era...or any other...for as long as you both shall live."
Rex remained lost in his thoughts, thinking about that day and how Stacy had cursed him and Gigi. She said that they would never again be happy and that he would never get to know his son. And looking back at everything that had happened over the past year...it looked like she was write. The media harassment, their son being in a coma for six months and then coming back as a completely different person they don't even recognize anymore, as well as him being distant from them and everyone else that loved him. All of this happened on the exact year that Stacy had supposedly cursed Rex and Gigi. It didn't get anymore convenient than that.
Then there was the part where Stacy said that Rex and Gigi would never know when the curse awakens. Jason had awoke on the night of Halloween, October 31'st and since then, nothing in either of their lives had gone right. Was it possible that the curse was real? And that the curse could be a living thing? Or worse, a person. What if...what if Jason was Stacy's living curse? After all, she did say that when the curse had awoken, he and Gigi would never know. Was it possible that she was talking about Jason's awakening from his coma? All of these questions buzzed around in the young blond's head.
"Rex? Rex? REX!" Said Gigi repeatedly.
"Yeah?" Said Rex, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Where'd you go just now? I was talking and you didn't respond. What's going on?" Gigi asked.
"No-nothing, nothing. Everything's fine. What were you saying just now." Said Rex. He had never told Gigi about the supposed curse Stacy had put on him and her a year ago. He figured that she was dealing with enough drama as it was with the aftermath, the media, Jason's home hospace, as well as her parents' divorce proceedings and he didn't wanna add more to the stress that Cruella and Stacy already had.
"I was just wondering if, you know, if maybe you were gonna stay for dinner." Said Gigi.
"Oh, you don't have to cook, i can take care of that." Said Rex.
"You can?" Gigi asked.
"Yeah, sure, no problem. You know, i roasted a turkey for Thanksgiving back in (2017)." Said Rex.
"You actually roasted a turkey?" Gigi asked.
"Yep. Deep fried it...in a barrel. It was great. You know, there's a barrel outside in the barn. I can run into town and get a couple of courts of oil. Jason would get a kick out of it. Building a fire. Kind of like a cook out...or not." Said Rex.
"No, no, no, no, no. He'd really like it." Said Gigi.
"No he wouldn't." Said Rex.
"Let's ask him." Said Gigi.
"Gigi, i could build a bond fire in the middle of this room and Jason wouldn't come down stairs. The kid tolerates me and that's about it." Said Rex.
"That's not true." Said Gigi.
"I'm not blaming you...or him...it's just the way it is." Said Rex.
"Listen...you guys are making progress. Okay, i can see it." Said Gigi.
"Did you see the way he reacted a year ago when we told him that i was his father? The kid was angry. And to top it all off, he was in a coma for six whole months. And now, ever since he's come back to us, he hasn't been the same. He may never be again...and that's because of me." Said Rex.
"That's not true." Said Gigi.
"Did you see the way he looked at me before he went up stairs? The kid hates me." Said Rex.
"He doesn't hate you, Rex." Said Gigi.
"Yes, he does...with all his heart. I may be the kid's father...but that's as far as it goes." Said Rex.
"Rex," Said Gigi.
"And to be perfectly honost...i don't blame the kid for hating me. I mean i'm the reason his life is so messed up in the first place." Said Rex.
"Rex, please don't say that." Said Gigi.
"Why not? It's true. Look at everything the kid went through in (2020). I told him that Stacy and i were moving to Paris, France with our baby, which Stacy had manipulated me into doing by the way. If i hadn't listened to her, Jason wouldn't have run away and he wouldn't have been at the house when it got robbed and he wouldn't have gotton kidnapped, along with your dogs and he wouldn't have ended up on the other side of the world in Australia." Said Rex.
"YO! Bryson," Gigi began. "Stacy is in a women's prison in New Jersey, not out walking among us. Why? Because you were man enough...and good enough, and understanding enough to come forward and testify against a girl who helped some mad woman steal 104 Dalmatians from the state of Texas and kidnapped our son. So who's to blame here? Not you...you're a hero."
"To you, maybe, not to Jason." Said Rex.
"He's 12 years old." Said Gigi.
"And he has no use for me and i don't blame him. Where was i when he lost his first tooth? Learn to ride a bike for the first time. Failed his first math test." Said Rex.
"He's good at math, and missing out on all of that wasn't your fault." Said Gigi.
"Well, it might as well have been, Stacy was my girlfriend at the time. Not that i can make up for everything that's happened." Said Rex.
"Of course you can, and you will. You just have to give it some time. And you've gotta stop blaming yourself for the actions of a girl who's so messed up in the head, she can't even be trusted to walk around free. This isn't high school, Bryson. Stacy isn't the captain of the football team and you're not on the bentch. She's a prison inmate...with no family and no friends, and not a whole lot of hope, if not, none." Said Gigi.
"Well, now i feel like a jerk." Said Rex.
"Well, that won't work either. You just have to be a little patient. Stacy's out of the picture now and so is Cruella. And you're gonna have lots of chances to spend time with Jason...and, once he gets to know you, he's going to love you...just as much as i do. He's a wonderful boy." Said Gigi.
"Yeah, but...i don't know who he is anymore. Something's happened to him, he's changed...and i'm worried about him." Said Rex.
Ever since Jason had come out of his coma a year ago, nothing had been right with the kid since. He had grown distant from his Mom and Dad and the dogs, stayed to himself a lot, stayed in his room all the time,...and he was very antisocial when it came to enteracting with other kids. It was like getting to know someone new...it's almost as if his son had really died when his heart stopped on Halloween night, and that the person who came back to him and Gigi wasn't Jason at all. It was like getting the know...someone new. Rex hated to admit this about Jason, especially since he was his son, but he had to face reality. The ordeal in Australia with Cruella, Stacy and the 104 Dalmatians had forever changed him...in the worst most possible way. He was no longer the sweet, funny and carefree kid he had gotton to know for the past three months during his stay in Paris, Texas in (2020). His facial featers and outer appearance had changed as well. His cute, fun-filled presence had become a more dark, creepy-like presence...his face...the face that once carried a joyful smile...had changed into a constant dark, creepy frown...and sometimes Rex would look Jason in the eyes...and all he would see was pure darkness. Those brown eyes that were once filled with joy and happiness was all gone...There wasn't even a shread of child innocence there anymore. Not none. That little boy who had put a smile on everybody's face, everywhere he went,...was now gone. Replaced by someone who he and Gigi didn't recognize. Indeed, something was wrong with Jason. Rex just couldn't figure what it was.
"Sometimes i wonder...if maybe." Said Rex.
"Maybe what?" Gigi asked.
"Maybe you and him would've been better off if i hadn't come back. Maybe this whole thing with Cruella and the 104 Dalmatians could have been avoided." Said Rex.
"But you would still be with Stacy and you wouldn't know that Jason is your son." Said Gigi.
"Believe me, i would settle for all of that if it meant that you and Jason would be safe." Said Rex.
"Rex, if anyone's to blame for all that has happened, it's me. Stacy stole the letter, that i sent to you in college, telling you that you were Jason's father, and kept it from you for 10 whole years. Then Cruella got ahold of the letter and used that as leverage to blackmail Stacy into helping her steal Dalmatian puppies from the state of Texas. This whole mess could have been avoided had i just told you that you were a father the minute i saw you again." Said Gigi.
"Don't say that." Said Rex.
"I knew, Rex, i knew. I knew from the minute you walked into the Texas Road House what i wanted...but you were with Stacy at the time and i didn't...i didn't wanna hurt anyone." Said Gigi.
"Then there was a really good reason to wait." Said Rex.
"But you and Jason could have had all this time to be together. This might not even have happened if i had just gotton it all out in open. And now Stacy's in jail, your real parents are dead and the state of Texas is in up-roar because their Dalmatian puppy population was stolen from them. I mean thank goodness we were there in Australia and able to rescue all 104 of them, and our son, but he lost six months of his life in a coma, we're hidding from the media and our son is gonna hate me for the rest of my life." Said Gigi.
"No, Gigi, this is not your fault, okay? If anyone's to blame, it's me." Said Rex.
"No, no. Rex, no." Said Gigi.
"I can't even keep our son happy, i can't even keep him safe. I'm as bad of a parent as Cruella." Said Rex, refering to his biological mother.
No. That's not true and you know it." Said Gigi.
"Is it? Jason's been through nothing but trouble ever since i came into his life. It's like...i should have never gone to Paris, Texas, and you should never have told Jason he had a father." Said Rex.
"But you did come! And you are his father and you're the only father he has! Now look...i know that you're scared, Rex, and i know that you are hurting, but that boy needs you now more than ever. So what are you gonna do, just leave him on his own the way Cruella left you?" Said Gigi.
"No, no. I swear, i could've killed Cruella and Stacy for what they did to our kid!" Said Rex.
"Well then, it's a good thing Cruella's already dead. And Stacy's behind bars where she belongs...and so are Cruella's gang of thugs. And besides, it wasn't your fault with what happened, everybody said so. The new mayor even gave you back your job as a P.I." Said Gigi.
"Oh, sure, i got my job back, but hundreds of Dalmatian puppies, and our son, almost lost their lives at the hands of my bio Mom and Dad and Stacy. I can't let go of that, Gigi. I just can't let go of it." Said Rex. The 32 year old blond then opened the front door and exited the house to get in his van and head back to his place.
Gigi walked to the front door, looked through the window, and sadly watched as Rex got in his van and drove off. She, Rex and Jason had moved her to Kansas to get away from all the drama that had happened in the state of Texas and was likely still happening to this day with the media involved. But it seemed to do very little, if not, no good. Nothing much had change since the move. Rex and Gigi were still blaming themselves for everything that had happened and Jason was still a completely different person from the boy you had raised over the years. The only thing that was different was that nobody here in Kansas knew who they were and the media wasn't harassing them about what had happened. But that didn't make things any better for them.
Gigi then went up the staircase to check on Jason and the dogs. She walked up the stairs and onto the next floor. The 31 year old went over to a door on the left and turnned the handle, opening it. She looked inside and saw Jason asleep in his bed while Molly was lying down, sleeping at his bedside, and the puppies were all asleep in their dog house. Seeing that everyone was now fast asleep for the night, Gigi closed the door to Jason's room, leaving it slightly cracked, and headed off to bed herself.
On April 7'th, (2020), the day after returning from Australia with the 104 Dalmatians, and Jason, the meida of the state of Texas was in a complete up-roar about the incident and had wanted to get the full scoop on the whole story. And what better way to do that than to hear the whole story from the eye-witnesses themselves. Over the next six months, while their son was at home, on hospace, and in a coma, the press and media had been constantly after Gigi, Rex, Roxy and Emily, trying to get the whole story of what really happened. Neither of them could go anywhere without the media following them around, asking questions about the incident, non-stop. Gigi and Rex almost envied their son, because while they were being constantly harassed by the media for the next six months, Jason had spent those months at home, on hospace, in a coma.
Gigi and Rex were rooting for the day when their son would open his eyes and come back to them,...but within those six months, when the media was after them, they'd rather he remain a sleeping braindead vegetable for the rest of his life rather than come back to all this media drama. Fortunantly and unfortunantly, however, that didn't happen. On Halloween night, October 31'st, (2020), Jason awoke from his six month coma at 11 years old. When he finally awoke, Gigi and Rex didn't know if he was back for good this time or just momentaraly, because he came back on May 30'th and relapsed that same day. But after a few weeks went by, those fears were laid to rest. The last two months of (2020) hadn't been easy, especially after Jason woke up from his coma. The next day, after he had regained consciousness, the media had harassment had increased greatly and was directed against Jason himself. Everywhere he and his parents went, there the media was, trying to get the full story from him. Home, school, restaurants, the park, ect.
And finally, on January 2'd, (2021), Gigi and Rex decided they had had enough of the media's constant harassment. They packed up their things, took their son and the dogs, and moved out of the state of Texas and into the state of Kansas, where they had bought this farm that had recently been rented out by it's previous owner. Gigi, Jason and the dogs stayed here while Rex had rented his own place. After being here in Kansas for over a year, they continued on with their lives, shaking off the ordeal of the 104 Dalmatians incident.
But little did they know...the nightmare had just begun. When Jason came out of his coma on the night of October 31'st, they didn't notice anything different at the time. Or that the boy who came back to them wasn't their son at all. Turns out it wasn't him who had come back. Sure, his body may have regained consciousness, but that was about as far as it went. The truth was, when Jason had awoke from his long six month slumber, only his body had awakened. But his inner self was completely gone. When his heart had stopped beating, Jason had died and passed on...and Ansem had taken over as the boy's body's inner self and had been living as Jason ever since that night one year ago. Dr. Xehanort had programmed Ansem into Jason's mind and body so that he could be the next leader of the Dark 13 Organization. But before he could do that, Ansem had a few tasks to accomplish. And he was about to accomplish them...as Jason Miller.
104
DALMATIANS
RETURNS
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Please review.
So what did you think of this chapter? Did you like how used a reference from the animated series with Gigi, Jason and the Dalmatians living on a farm? Tell me what you think and we'll see you in the next chapter.