Decided to write this here despite the lack of activity for these fandoms in this site because I can.
Plus, I already posted Lost and Found. It needs a prequel on how they met.
It's raining today.
People are opening their umbrellas as they walk across the streets, while the others are home, children playing indoor games instead of outdoors.
Umbrellas protect their owners from the falling rain. Always have been, always will do. They make sure their owners don't get wet and catch a cold as a result.
Tricky did not have such protection.
Well, he did in the form of this crumbling building the demons dumped him in, but if he steers outside of the building, he would be soaking wet with rainwater, which he doesn't want.
Instead, he watched as the outsiders walked around with their umbrellas open, protecting them from the water droplets falling from the sky.
He wishes to join them, but he does not want to, in fear of being rejected, or worse, sent back to the depths of hell where he was a little while ago.
While Tricky is finally outside of Nevada, he promised somebody to join him in this journey. However, his friend did not come with him, as he was forcibly dragged away from his home and into hell to experiment on him.
Tricky hopes his friend is alright and already seeing the outside world of what it truly is, considering that Nevada finally opened its borders after who knows how long from what he heard.
However, to get here, he lost everything else. His job, his life (well, a lot of them), and even his sanity.
He wanted to leave Nevada not just because it was dystopian, but also because he wanted to learn what it actually is, and now that he had seen it, he realized that what Project Nexus told them was actually propaganda to make them stay, he realizes.
The little clown looked down in sorrow. He finally got what he wished for, but was this journey worth it? He lost the improbability drive, his main source of his power, and after finding out its controller does not want to cooperate with these IRIS goons, they reverse-engineered the device and created their own instead.
Is it all worth it, if he lost everything to get here?
…
Tricky went back into the ruined building he was plopped into and wept.
And wept.
And wept.
"Are you ok?"
An unfamiliar voice. An outsider, perhaps?
Tricky looked at the outsider to take a closer look. Good thing he is wearing this mask, or else the outsider might run away in fear. Everybody else always does.
They seem to be completely made out of metal, with a television for a head. Unlike Tricky's race, the outsider doesn't have a cross on their face. They instead have two eyes and a mouth, not hidden under their skin. Perhaps the outsider couldn't hide them, just like the others.
The outsider's face seemed to be of concern. Tricky is unfamiliar with the faces of outsiders who do not hide their faces underneath skin, but he can tell by context clues, watching how outsiders react, and watching cartoons displayed on televisions from afar.
As the outsider entered the abandoned building, Tricky went on a defensive stance. Even without the improbability drive, he can still fight!
"Hey, hey, I'm not here to hurt you!" the outsider said.
However, Tricky isn't convinced, growling at the outsider, telling them to leave.
The outsider seemed shocked at the approach, and fled.
Eventually, the outsider left the building, but still lingered around.
Tricky wanted them to leave, but considering that the outsider made no effort to try and attack him, he decided to leave him alone for now, and sat on the gray cement floor of the abandoned building.
God, it's so cold. Especially with the rain pouring down. It usually cools down the area, he notices.
But, he still feels lonely. He wanted to get out and see what the outside world has to offer, but now, he's just a monster.
A monster who went insane, and never looked back.
…
The outsider is still there.
"What do you want?" Tricky said in a somewhat aggressive tone.
The outsider doesn't seem to know how to respond, if him looking away with 'eyebrows' slanted outward is any indication.
"Well, I've heard that there is a creature that took residence here, and since this was where I was made, I decided to take a look," the outsider explained.
Tricky glared at the outsider. He is not satisfied.
"Um, I just wanted to see if you're ok. You don't seem to be happy living here," the outsider said in a somewhat nervous tone.
That is… true.
…silence. Tricky is still staring at the metal outsider.
"I'll… come back." The outsider then left the area for once.
Now Tricky can finally relax… for now.
If what that not-robot outsider said was true, he will come back later. Tricky could kill him, for once, but he doesn't have the energy to do that. Plus, he might be going someplace else if the police exist in this place, in which from what he had seen, does exist in this place.
But, the outsider seemed to be concerned for him, and didn't seem to be scared of him…
"Um, I brought some food," the outsider announced. "It's just some bread I bought from the nearby store, but I think you'd like it," he added, as he unwrapped the bread and placed it near the entrance on a paper plate. At least he didn't enter the building.
The outsider looked at Tricky, watching him in curiosity.
"…well, guess I got to go now," the outsider said. "The name's Hex, by the way."
"…Tricky," he said weakly, not even bothering to look at the outsider in the eye.
"Tricky, huh. What a weird name, but I'm not complaining."
Tricky still did not respond.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Tricky. I'll see you soon." The outsider then left the area.
Tricky wishes the outsider would forget about the meeting and not come here again. But since this place is apparently his birthplace…
No, that doesn't mean anything.
Tricky stared at the loaf of bread left on his doorstep. Compared to the ones back at Nevada, it looked brown instead of grey. He doesn't want to eat it, lest it's been poisoned.
…oh who is he kidding, he's already dead!
But…
…
When was the last time he had eaten something?
Tricky approached the little loaf of bread, on top of a plain white plate.
This thing… food…
Taking a bite of the bread, he found that aside from the weird color it had, the taste wasn't that different from the bread back in Nevada.
He then took another bite.
…
He missed being alive as Hofnarr, he realized.
He missed eating something truly delightful, he realized.
He missed the times when it was simple, and none of the madness has occurred in Nevada.
But now, he cannot go back. He isn't Hofnarr anymore.
Tricky wanted to cry. He missed this feeling.
He missed the simple times.
Little did the zombie clown know, Hex heard his weeps.
He decided, here and then, that he will go back tomorrow, whether he wants it or not.
After all, he is built to be a friend.
To be continued…