Author's Notes
Froninja: We're back with another number for you guys! Sorry this was so late, I've just been busy with work and whatnot, and haven't had a lot of time to get my hands on a computer.. I gotta say Jester, last chapter had me on my toes dude.
Jester: "On your toes?" You make it seem like we just wrote something Shakespearean! When in reality, it was just a bunch of furs dicking around! You're gonna compare furries to Shakespeare?!
Froninja: Yes...
Jester:...Okay! I'm down with that! But you know what would really spice the story up Fro?
Froninja:Jester, cool it with those ideas of yours for now.
Jester: coooommmmmeeeee oooonnnnnn.
Froninja: Do you want me to break out the emergency MRI kit again?
Jester: My wizard beard grants me 25+ towards mental resuscitation, so hah!
Froninja:Anyway, moving on. This weeks shoutouts go out to, as always The Book for viewing and commenting on the last update. You have no idea how much it helps us out man, me especially, thank you so much for reading every new update. Also, a big shoutout to NeonPartyDude, who's getting along in the story himself. You've been a wonderful supporter man, glad you like what you see! Now without further ado, let's get this-
Jester: Hey Fro! I need you to help me rob a sperm bank.
Froninja:...
Somewhere in Wales, England
Third person perspective
The crashing waves and violent storms of the sea made their marks against the shore of the stained beaches. The city had a certain disquiet and restless feeling to it. Why wouldn't it? As there has been nearly 3-4 murders in the past two days. There have been no relation to any of the victims, other than the fact that they were all teenagers that went to the same school, and belonged to the same club. Police have suspected that the killer might have either attended the school as a student, or worked at the school as staff. The autopsy results have reported that all of the bodies were beaten to death with a blunt object in several areas, such as the arms, legs, and face. These areas in particular have appeared to have been struck several times, almost to the point of being unrecognizable, so it can be assumed that the killer had some sort of grudge against the victims.
This wasn't the first series of cruel incidents however, as there have been in the last three months that have made even international news at best. Such as the Class 32 incident, where reportedly over 20-25 students all committed suicide ontop of the school building with over a million people watching. It was the most viewed video on Youtube of that week with nearly 20 million views, 750 thousand comments, 160 thousand likes, and only 5 dislikes. 'Was this what the world really wants to see?' Several people would always think this, but noone would come forward with those thoughts or ideals. Almost as if they realize that if they speak out about it, they will be ridiculed or even mocked on social media, as if it were their lifeline.
"And they say the world is a wonderful place to live in." Inside a lonely hotel room was female black cat that was overlooking the entire city from her rain flooded window. Her face covered by the black leather hood of her jacket. Her soul green eyes wandered in disgust and awe at how much people will do for attention and notoriety from their peers. How young people are willing to break into another person's home and randomly assault them, camera phone and all. To be the talk of Facebook or Twitter the next day. Then will come another video of a girl being raped by boys at her school while her parents watch in amazement. 'Our daughter sure has a lot of friends, doesn't she dear?' "I've never seen such a boring place before. Especially if they think these kinds of things gives them entertainment."\
"Heyyyy. People will like what they like!" Another voice popped out from the darkness of the room. The voice was twisted, harboring somewhere between cute and sinister. " If somebody posted a video of a little puppy being beat to death by some little kids with a flower vase, screaming his little itty bitty lungs out as his skull gets pummeled again and again with his blood and brains being splurged all over the classroom while others just stand and cheer, and another video of the Dali Llama explaining the meaning of happiness and positivity to the world. Which do you think would get more views and likes. I think I know what my money is on." She silently giggled as the girl in the hood looked at her with disgust and contempt. Not towards her attitude, but the fact that she knew the answer was not out of logical fact, but out of the nature of people. " You really need to lighten up Zana! Don't think that the world has just recently turned to messed up. It's always been this way since the dawn of civilization itself." She laughed as she said that.
"Shut up. What does someone like you know about how the world works?" The girl known as Zana spoke up against the voice. From the dark corner of her room came a fox with pale fur, pink hair, and soul crushing yellow eyes, wearing a stylish green checkered hoodie over her head with a pink one piece dress underneath. She walked with an eloquent sense of destruction, assuring any who stepped in her path without relation who meet their end swiftly.
"Someone like me? That's kind of cold don't you think? I'm only stating the simple truth. It's how the world is and that is fact."
"So a Cryptic-type like yourself is okay with the kind of world we're living in? A group of mercs that hunt people like around for not following the rules of a government that oppresses them?"
Then in that moment, the air in the room grew cold and sinister. The breath around Zana halted as the girl took tiny steps toward her. The floorboards creaked with every foot that followed after one another, and her smiled formed from the very dark aura that surrounded her.
"Huh? What was that just now? I must have not heard you from over the rain fall. Did you say I was okay with living in this world. This shitty, corrupted, blasphemous, and fucked up world?"Her face drowned into a look of pure chaos. The thunder grew even louder as they both stared at eachother in the darkness, letting the silence fill the room instead of words or movement. "You know, for a Normal- type, you sure know how to run your mouth. Especially to someone who burn the very flesh of your body and hang your entrails from a playground sign."
Despite the threat, Zana stayed completely calm as she simply sighed. "You really are a crazy bitch, you know that? I don't know what the old man sees in you and Fetcher. It must run in the family to be attracted to bat shit crazy. But then again, I shouldn't be one to judge. I'm part of that family myself" Then as if by either miracle or pure chance, the murderous aura soon started to disappear from the room, and the girl's smile returned to normal as she giggled.
"Don't say it like that! Even though you're a filthy, disgusting Normal type, you're still my sister!"
"Half-sister. Kaos"
"Details, details!"
She then gave Zana a loving and embracing hug. One that she was clearly annoyed by. But one thing that Zana knew about the world was that they were people still living their daily lives in it, despite the corruption of it. And her sister was living proof of that.
"So where is Fetcher anyway?" As soon as the name was spoken, the room door burst open with a strong force that flawlessly knocked the door out of it's hinges, leaving scars over the frame. A cheetah with a curvaceous figure walked in the room. Her auburn hair covered her eyes, preventing others from seeing her true facial expression. She walked slowly in the room with a sadistic smile that was coated in fresh blood that was still dripping from her knuckles. Kaos turned to greet her. "Fetcher! Again?!"
"I couldn't help it. I started to get the itch again, but it wasn't swinging my way so I killed him." The feelings of pure bliss and unbelievable enjoyement swelled inside of her, waiting to make it's fiery explosion. Despite being covered in the blood of another, she treated it as if she stepped out of the shower. Her smile felt passionate. But it was a fake passion that was a front behind despair personified.
"Damn it, you lot are incorrigible. Why I get stuck on assignments with you guys is anyone's guess."
Fetcher looked puzzled as she heard Zana's voice near the window.
"Zana?! You're here too?! Wow! I never would have guessed Grandpa Nu let you out of the zoo after tried to escape countless times. How many times was it now? About...twenty?"
"Twenty six. And he didn't let me go. I'm here as the official handler for your assignment from the Elders."
Kaos let out a yelp of surprise.
"Handler? You?! That's pretty shocking!" She puts her arm around Zana with a pseudo pleasant smile. "As I recall, you loved killing things, Normal and Cryptic types alike..."
"I'm not like you two. I kill because it's my job, not out of some sick twisted pleasure." Zana tries to downgrade their words, but to no avail.
"Your job?" Fetcher laughed. "Your job is making sure you give the Elders a good reason for keeping you alive and fed. Killing is just a condiment to the meal, sweety. And I have to admit, you're damn good at it." Zana scoffed, only to find her shoulder occupied by Fetcher's arm. "But I have to say, for somebody who's so good at what they do, I'm surprised you don't feel some pleasure from it darling." Her hand began to reach and caress her right breast. Her fondling motion was aggressive and shifting, as she stayed above her clothes. Even as she continued, Zana gave no reaction whatsoever. "The rapture and esctasy that comes when taking another life. Watching the life fade from eyes, and the feeling them breathe their last exhale on your cheeks as their death rattles around their throat. Feeling the warmth of their blood and the embrace of their innards all over your skin as you rupture their insides, with the very exterior that was designed to protect them. Or hearing their neck snap from the pressure you put on the jugular, or in my case making their brains splatter all over the pavement or in front of their loved ones as their body twitches and squirms like bugs. And the squealing noise their blood vessels make when you pop and stretch them until they break like twigs. Heaven!" All Zana could do while listening to her speak was stare off into rain drowned window, looking out at the storm barren sea. It's not that the she couldn't understand what Fetcher was saying, as she had felt like that many times while she was performing a hit, but since killing was so easy to her and could be done effortlessly, she could derive no emotion from it. There was nothing there for her to call her own.
Fetcher spotted that she wasn't listening and then moved in underneath her shirt. She then found her whole arm twisted in whole cycle then dislodged out of her socket. Blood began to spurt all over room as her arm laid on the floor twitching and jumping in it's position. Zana held the freshly ripped arm in her hand with nary an expression on her face as she tossed it down to the ground. She looked down at her now dismembered arm and simply began giggle. "Awww. Now why would you go and do that Zana? Now I have to make a new one."
"Never...touch me like that again. If you do, you'll find yourself losing a lot more than an arm or a leg you sick bitch. In case you have bad hearing, I'll say it again, I am nothing like you people. I kill because that's all I've been doing since I could crawl, and that's all I'm good for. It's a job for me, not something I use to get off." Fetcher reached down to pick up her arm off floor, while Kaos was in the corner watching the whole thing unfold in front of her. She wasn't necessarily bothered or concerned by it. To her, this was better than the Discovery channel.
"Oooo, so scary! You really are not be fucked with, are you? I guess there might be some worth keeping a half-breed mut like you around."
" My blood has nothing to do with this."
"More so than you might think. What with your dead whore of a mother." Zana laughed as she heard those words, as if she just heard a good joke.
"My mother? If you think I give two shits about some dead old woman, you're even more deranged than I thought. It seems like the only thing you have on your mind is killing and fucking, and I'm guessing you can't live without the other huh?"
"Why you little bitch!"
Suddenly, a knocking noise could be heard on the other side of the door. Zana and Fetcher paid it no mind as they stared eachother down.
" Okay, okay. Dial it down ladies. Someone is here." Kaos intervened between the two before what was a spat, turned into a torrent of destruction. Zana simply sighed went back to staring out at the window. Fetcher picked up her arm and reattached it to her socket.
"Uhhh. I hate having to do this." She fitted it around the loose hinges of her severed arm in order to find where it belonged in the joint. Then the skin her separated flesh started to reattach itself. The bone and muscle grew and extended from the joint, locking in with her the vessels in her arm. The process gave off a noise of bone and sinew reconnecting with each other, grotesque enough to disturb anyone normal.. Before long, Fetcher's arm was completely attached to her arm once more, barely leaving any sign of the removal from earlier. "There! Allll better!"
Kaos approached the door with knife in one hand, and the other on the knob. "Yes, who is it?" She said in an innocent and childlike voice.
"It's me. I believe we spoke on the phone earlier. You asked me to meet you at this location."
"I'm sowwy. My mommy and daddy aren't here right now. They told me not to let strangers in.
Suddenly the voice behind the door went silent. A few seconds passed before it spoke again.
"Excuse me, little miss Kaos. Your father has given me a lot of money to make this opportunity possible, and most of all his utmost confidence that I could perform it adequately and without incident. Now...I'm fully aware that you become a little churlish in the face of assignments such as this, and while I do indeed find that deplorable, I'm afraid I have neither the time nor patience to deal with it...Now if you please, open the door." The voice sounded gentle, but it didn't take an expert to sense the evil aura resonating from his pitch. Even though she didn't look like she was intimidated, she was truly concerned for who could possible possess such an overwhelming presence with just their voice.
When she opened the door however, her expectations went straight out the window. The voice in question was indeed male as she expected, but such the scrawny and boneless frame he had was not. He was a black cat with very long straight white hair that was tied into a ponytail. His face was also pretty aged, looking a day over forty at the most. As he stepped in the room, the others began to size him up, save for Zana who could already tell who he was and what he looked like from the sound of his voice alone, and continued to stare out at the window. Kaos began to circle around him and observe every detail of his person. His beige trench coat covering over his sweater vest and button up shirt, along with khaki pants and brown loafer shoes. Around his aged face were a pair of bookeeping glasses with thick lenses, so thick one could barely make out the shape or color of his eyes. Up close, she saw nothing more than an absolutely normal man, only accomponied by his salesperson smile.
"Soooo. You're the person my daddy sent huh?"
"Yes I am. I have a long time relationship with your father. We've done business in the past on many occasions." He spoke with a calm and unassuming voice as Kaos and Fetcher's eyes were locked on his every motion. Breathing, muscle movement, vital points, and even bowel and organ processing were details they constantly watch for in a person. A Cryptic-type is known to have more enhanced visual and audible capabilities than the average Normal-type, and can even see the body's natural functions first hand by just focusing their awareness past a certain percentage. However, the man had full awareness that he was being observed in this manner, and retained his calm demeanor as he spoke. "But I must say, it is my first time working with his daughter however. I was under the impression that I would be working with him for this project."
"Father...has other matters he must attend to at the moment. He's not just overlooking this project in particular, but several others that the Elders are interested in. So as you can probably tell, he is a busy man."
"As am I my dear. Yet here we are."
"Don't try to get coy with Kaos! You should remember your place!" Fetcher yelled out at him.
"My apologies, I did not mean to overstep my boundaries. I simply meant to establish a friendly working relationship with my business associates. Though I have to say, for such prowess from the Princess, you seem to be rather uncou-"
Fetcher grabbed him by his neck and threw him up against the wall. Then from out of her hand, fire began to materialize into a very sharp butchers knife, and brought the steel clean toward his neck, inches away from cutting open his throat.
"Finish that sentence bitch! I dare you! We'll see if you can still talk with a knife coated in flames shoved halfway down your fucking throat!"
"Oh my. I'm really sorry if I insulted you in any way. But could you let me go? I really hate for things to get violent on our first meeting." Despite being held down, inches away from his death, his voice remained short of trembling with fear. Not so much as cry or plea for forgiveness. Even Kaos was surprised to see such aloofness from a Normal-type. She was honestly intrigued by him.
"Stop it Fetcher. That's enough. There's no need for this to be a bloody first impression, besides it's not like everyone knows how to hold royalty as myself in high regard. Let him go." Kaos spoke with a clear honesty in her voice that barely reached the hard boiled Fetcher.
"...Fine. Kaos says you should be fine. I don't know why, and frankly I could give two fiddly fucks on the matter. But she said to let you go, if it were me, would be lying in a pool of your own blood right now."
"Such eloquence. But honestly, I'm glad it didn't have to come to that."
"Huh?" Looking down at her stomach, Fetcher noticed the M9 pistol pointed directly at one of her vital organs. The look of surprise and shock crept up her spine as she took a long look at the steel barrel touching her, reaching around her awareness and breaching through her space without any real notification of it. Whoever this man was, he was not to be underestimated, if he could catch an master hunter such as Fetcher off guard. "Well ain't that something?" Fetcher finally let the client go, allowing him time to fix his clothes.
"Now that that's over, shall we proceed to business then?" He spoke.
"Yes, let's" Kaos said as she walked over to him.
He looked over at the window towards Zana.
"Won't your other friend be joining in the discussion?"
"Oh, don't mind Zana. She has an animosity towards Normal-types, thinks they're weak and insufferable beings, which I have to say I highly agree. No offense."
"Absolutely none taken milady." They both began to laugh. "Now then, I assume your father has given you the brief outlook on what's to happen, correct?"
"Yes, we are to go after three recent awakenings that have been brought to America. According to our contact, they are apparently supposed to be making a team of some sort that's supposed to help rogues, but it appears they are some trust issues between them, not only that, one of them seems to have found one of the crystals. My father says that this is the perfect time to apprehend them."
"I see. Is there anything else you can tell me about them? Like who is their endorsement?"
"Looks like they were all brought in by someone who works closely with the company that;'s sponsoring the team."
"What is their name?"
"I believe you know him from your mercenary days."
The man's face began to light up with glee and empty happiness. "Fisk Black? Oh yes, of course. I only met him once briefly, but I know his father very well. How will we be retrieving the targets?"
"Other than us putting up a fight, my father has given me commands of the new breed that had made its way over here. They are quite devastating to Cryptic-types, capable of preventing them from using their powers. It's how we've been able to round up so much up to now. But sadly, one of our subordinates got a little overzealous, and released one into that territory about a month ago. We've been told that the awakenings defeated it with surprising results of teamwork."
"I see. How much will we be in command of for this assignment?"
"Easily over one thousand of them. Each of them stronger than the next."
"A thousand? Do you plan to take over the whole town?"
"We do not need to of course, but my father says we should do our best to announce our existence to the world. Not just about us Cryptic-types, but how it should have been all along, and how we are the answer to everything."
"That's how he inform them? Through mindless slaughter and destruction?"
Kaos giggled
"It is without a doubt mindless slaughter, isn't it? But what empire and ruler has not made their presence known without spilling the blood of innocents to get the attentions of millions? We are simply following the teachings of history. I see nothing wrong with it, and my father believes that it will undoubtedly lead us to greater heights that we can take advantage of. Even though history may not realize it, they were a mistake. An error in the gene selection of crafting a perfect and invincible race that we as an organization intend to correct. It is my father's will, and his father before him. I am no different my dear client. "
" Little miss, what you have in mind is pure genocide on the supernatural scale? You will be slaughtering millions of people to make the point of genetic superiority and break a norm that has been present since the dawn of time. Believe me, I care very little for the world I live in myself and would gladly see it drown in flames, but do you believe that the blood of millions of innocents, plus several that might be potential awakenings is worth establishing such a bylaw?"
"Yes I do. And what of it?"
"Nothing at all." The man smiled. "I am overwhelmingly honored to be apart of such a history making event, and you have my utmost loyalty on it. When will it take place?"
"A week from now."
The man stayed quiet before speaking again.
"I see. Then by all means, let us proceed with this 'project'" With the two of them in agreement, they both shook hands. Seeing the deal was complete, Zana and Fetcher moved from their stationary positions, and began to mobilize to their assignment. As they were walking out the door, Kaos stopped the client by his arm.
"By the way, I don't believe we've been properly introduced yet. I'm sure you know me from my father, and you are?"
The client turned to face Kaos with a maniacal smile.
"Harmon. Harmon Jones..."
Meanwhile
Later that night at the Foster home
Huey's Perspective
The moon tried to seize me as I gazed out at it on my rooftop. That's what I thought, but I knew it couldn't be true. Terry was asleep, so I could think freely for once in a while. My bruise began to itch as the wind blew against my face. Even though I looked like I shrugged it off, it still hurt like all hell when it actually hit me. Felt like freight train with a monster truck attached to it. Te
If you asked me if I hated Kote and distrusted him before and after the fact, I would have to say no. But there is a very thin line of liking someone and trusting them, which I was really confused on how to do it. It didn't take a genius to know that Terry was keeping secrets from me, and he was using Kote with some sort of ulterior motive in mind, and I clearly wasn't meant to know. Was I jealous? Jealous that my friend whom I've known nearly all of my life, asked some guy that we just met a month and a half ago for a favor? And he wouldn't even tell me about it? Am I jealous?
….Maybe I am. I didn't want to think of it that way, but what else could I do in times like this?
After that little spat, Kote pretty much skipped for the rest of school. Karina and I tried looking for him after school at his house. Not even Zeo or Carly had seen him all afternoon. After dodging the two's suggestive temptations, w resumed our search and extended it around the town. Karina told me that Kote had just became a model for a video game at local art gallery. We asked the people in charge of the project, but even they hadn't seen him. After nearly five hours of searching for him, we just sorta gave up. I doubt he would wander anywhere out of town, not with the security that Fisk has around. In truth, I was kind of glad he was gone, but even then I would be lying to myself wouldn't I?
I then heard the door to the rooftop creak open. I didn't bother to check who it was, because there was only one person that knew where I was at this hour of the night.
"Little Huey?" Ms. Mao spoke as she walked over to where I was sitting by the chimney. "Out here again? You do realize you should be in bed right?"
"Sorry, but I just had a lot on my mind."
"A lot on your mind? You're thirteen. What could you possibly thinking about that makes you this focused?"
" I was thinking on the issues I have with Kote. On whether or not my distrust of him is rooted from jealousy or because of his attitude towards this whole thing. I'm also thinking of psychological theories that could make be better understand him on a spiritual level, and eventually use the same method on Karina, so we could all be closer as a group. But so far, I don't have anything."
"I see puberty's a lot different than I remember."
She sat down next to me, and we both gazed at the moonlight together. Now that she was closer in my vision, I could even see her clothes in the moon glow. She was wearing a rather lacy black nightgown with a pink bra and panties, and fuzzy slippers to go along with it. I could see why she goes to bed after everyone else..
"That's...some interesting sleeping clothes you have on there."
She then tried to cover herself up in embarrasment.
"Eeek! Oh! I'm so sorry! A friend of mine is a fashion designer for a lingerie label. She asked me to go to sleep in this to make sure it feels comfortable when in bed. I owed her a favor, so this was the least I could do. Normally, I wear just pajamas to bed. D-does it look strange on me?" I blushed when she said that. I didn't really have an interest in her, but who could resist doing so with a body like that?! At her age?!
"N-n-no it's fine. You look..just...fine in it."
She let out a sigh of relief
"I'm sorry I let you see such an old crony like me walk around like this." Please don't get me started on that matter. The whole 'age is nothing but a number' thing is really starting to lose its charm. Mind you, this is Karina talking. That chick really needs to practice what she preaches.
We both sat there quietly, until half an hour rolled by. I could tell by the pattern in which the moon was moving in and the shadows that were on the ground pointing in certain directions. We talked about a lot of things that were worth talking about, such as swapping our favorite cooking recipes,catching her up on the latest slang, and even discussing the possibility of putting a pool in the backyard. Because hey, it's technically a white neighborhood. We then started to whine down from our conversation, until I felt comfortable enough to really come out with what I've been thinking about.
"Ms. Mao, can ask you a question?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"About the problem I have with Kote. There's more to it than what I told you."
"I assume it has something to do with the bruise on your face."
"Y-yeah. We...got into a little disagreement involving trust between the two of us, and he sort of...ran off. I spent like, all afternoon trying to find him. I even missed out on World's Deadliest Catch to try to find him."
" You had a fight? Who won?"
"Who won? Don't you see my face? He kicked my as...ssets. He kicked my assets. Besides, have you seen him fight? He makes that guy on those infomercials look like trash by comparison."
"Really? If he was that good, don't you think you would have been dead by now?"
"He was holding back on purpose. I don't even think he takes me seriously enough to even be a threat."
"Hmmm. I don't think he was holding back."
"The bruise on my face begs to differ."
" If he really meant to be serious, you would lying in a pool of your own blood." Suddenly, the disturbing image comes to mind.
"Thank you for that...possibility."
"Haha, I'm just telling it from my perspective. Trust me, I've been enough fights to know the intentions of both parties, regardless of strength."
"Wow. I wouldn't have taken you for the fighting type..."
"Ohhh...um...I'm not! A-at least not now. I was really young and stupid, and I used to get myself into those types of situations mostly all of the time. I would usually spend day and night fighting for my life and sometimes just for the fun of it. Before I knew it, it consumed my every waking thought, and fighting was all I could think about." She had a look on nostalgia on her face as she said that. Good times I guess.
"So did you ever have any fights with your friends?" She stayed quiet for a minute before speaking again.
"I did. With one friend. We grew up in the same town, lived in the same neighborhood, followed the same career paths and basically had the same viewpoint, but somehow we always managed to find something that both couldn't see eye to eye with. And whenever we would have a disagreement, we would settle it in almost anything that we deemed competitive. But nine times out of ten, we always went to fighting to settle our differences. Some of our fights would end up with both us in the hospital with bruises and broken bones to match the smiles we both had when we were done. Even though there were a lot things we couldn't stand about each other, I knew she always had my back in a fight, and vice versa."
"What happened to her?"
" I honestly don't know. I lost contact with her over ten years ago after we...split up. The last time we were together was in Moscow. But according to a contact, she moved somewhere in the eastern Europe, but I don't think it will be worth the trouble trying to find her again. Although, not a moment goes by that I don't think about her. I heard she had a daughter or something like that, but the details were brief." Then there was a moment of silence I looked at her. It was almost intimidating on how quiet she was. Like she was expecting me to say something, in an attempt to sympathize with her, but in truth I really couldn't. I couldn't relate to any of the people I've met so far really. Fisk, Red, Karina, Anthony, and even Kote. They all had backgrounds and pasts that I could only hear or read about in a PTSD review catalog. There was nothing there for me to latch onto.I can barely fight for squat, and I mainly have to rely on Terry to do anything. And I'm even starting to lose faith in him when it comes to anything. I then think back to what Fisk said about me being leader, and what it would mean to me and the others. I still don't know what he meant, even now. "But still, even now I consider her my friend, regardless of the problems we had with each other. You have to do the same with Kote."
"How am I supposed to do that?! If you hadn't noticed, he's kind of the self-conscious, loner type."
"That's what being friends is about. You work through your problems together, and if the distrust is still there than you just have to earn it."
"But how?!"
"That's something you have to figure out yourself. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed. You should do the same young one." She got up from her spot and headed back towards the roof door. She then stopped as she was leaving to give me a few parting words. "Every relationship has it's crossroads that can make it or break it. This is yours. Whatever path you choose, go down it with no regrets. Don't make the same mistakes that I did, Little Huey."
…
Those words in particular stuck in my mind. I didn't understand why, but I felt like they were going to be useful to me someday. If Karina was here, she probably said I'm a sucker for the fortune cookie bullshit, but I'm going to avoid putting that in mental processing. Still, was there some merit to what she said? I haven't known Kote that long, so what reason did I have to trust him? What reason did he have to trust me? My answer was probably gonna be hard thing to dig in the near future, but what could I do in order to reach it?
I grasped the empty space of my fists, and gripped it until my hands started to bleed., and took a deep breath.
"I have to get stronger!" I quietly declared to myself. I don't particularly know why this has to be something I'm stating with words, but actions still seems pretty far off.
As I began to move back into the house, my body became stiff, and my thoughts stilled. I felt like something was trying to reach through my mind, but the distance was so great, it barely came off as intelligible.
"D- ou, ire-?" Suddenly a voice spoke out to me in my mind. My brain felt like it was being ripped in two as I struggled to make sense of everything. In the next moment, the aches started to become so worse I had to hold my head together.
Flashes started to play in front of me like a badly recorded movie. There were some images I've seen before, and images that I haven't. Places, people. Everything felt foreign. Then, the flashes stopped on a particular image. The image of three figures. I didn't recognize, but I feel like I know them somehow. Then came a fourth figure into the picture. From the shape he looked male, but he felt...cold...distant, almost as if there was no empathy inside of him whatsover. But the strangest thing was...that he felt familiar to me. I see him turn around, and give one of the creepiest smiles ever to what I assume was me. Does he know I'm here? That I'm watching him? What is this?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! He then starts to walk towards me slowly, holding that same malicious smile. WHY?!
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
Whose voice is that?! Why am I seeing this?!
"Do you desire power?"
That voice was talking again. I was scared. I didn't know why I was scared of some mental slideshow, but I was. It didn't make any fucking sense! He reaches his hand out to me. Dark mist began to leak from his hand and soon reached around my mouth, preventing me from speaking.
"I'm so scared...Terry, help me...Kote...Karina...Anthony... ...Fisk...Red...somebody...help me..."I could hear and feel my voice struggling to even leave an echo, but to no avail.
"Do you desire power...?" The voice started to repeat itself like a broken record, and the slide show stayed in repeat. So much so that my fear began to turn into boredom. And my boredom into anger.
"Do you..." shut up... "...desire..." ...Shut up... "...power?"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
My head went crashing against the bricks of the chimney repeatedly. My face constantly met the hard concrete with every swing. I did it was many times as possible in order to make thoughts stop. In order to make my brain stop working for at least just a minute. I drew blood as my face hit it one last time. Then, I heard nothing but silence. At this point, I didn't know whether that was a good thing, or a bad thing. But I did know one thing. I had another reason for keeping Terry around.
A week later
The night before the festival
Valentine Residence
Kote's Perspective
Before I knew it, I was hitting the the concrete wall in the gym. I was hitting it, and hitting it again. I didn't really have a particular reason, I just felt like it. My fists that struck my designated target multiple times began to to leave cracks and scars on the paint, and eventually the structure. I could feel part of the house tremble as my blows landed. Right punch, left kick, left hook, break, right roundhouse, right hook, straight right kick, break. The commands came to my body first before my head, and before I knew it I already made a clean hole in the wall by the time another one of my strikes rang true on the target. Clicking my teeth, I made my over to my punching bag graveyard, as I like to call it. I grabbed another one from the closet and began practicing my one-two-threes on it. Then I moved up to fours and fives with each succeeding blow.
The door flew open while I was hitting the bag. There was really no need to turn my head in order to see, I already know she comes around this time of the night to check on me.
"So hard at work, I see."
"It's just the usual stuff mom." I kept jabbing and kicking as I was talking to her. She then made her around the gym to my graveyard.
"The usual? As I recall, your father had perform much more than this in your training. So much so that he would grow smiles just watching you out-perform him."
"I've been trying not think about him too much. I loved the guy, but I gotta let him go."
"Let him go? Just like that? Ever since I took you in, you would never shut up about him. I was certain he was a positive role model in your life."
"Well he's dead now, so there's not much to fill that gap."
"If that's the case, there's this hyena that I'm dating that-" My fist went flying straight off the bag as soon as I heard that statement, and I ended up tripping over my own kick.
"Oh god Mom! Really?!"
"What? Not all of them are deadbeats. Plus they're so well endowed..." She licked her lips as she said that, which almost lead me to throw up.
"Soooo not what I meant! Didn't you just get out of a relationship?!"
She gave me a questionable look, like I had just told her what would happen on next week's Boardwalk Empire.
"What's your point dear? Am I not allowed to be happy with whomever I choose?"
"That's not my point. I mean, you didn't even make a big fuss out of it when it happened, and in the end you both wound up cheating on each other."
"I prefer the term, a mutual exchange of malice feelings."
"Mom!"
"Oh hush you! You worry an awful lot for a thirteen year old boy." Why do I get the feeling I heard that before?
Then all of a sudden, it got quiet, or maybe I made it quiet with my brooding as Karina would say. I sat down on the bench and let out a huge ass breath. I took a swig of the vitamin shake I set aside for my workout sessions. The carborated juices hit my throat all the before I even counted up five seconds. Before I knew it, I had already downed the whole thing. Mom was looking at from a distance as she rounded around the gym. She smiled as she toured, touching everything that had my sweat and blood on it. She organized the gloves that had been worn from being gripped so many times, and have seen the greeting of many sparring partners faces. She sat down next as I was staring into space.
"Something happened to you recently, didn't it?"
"How can you tell?"
"I'm your mother you brat. I know everything about you. Even more so than you know yourself."
"Well..."
"I assume this has something to do with you sneaking off the other night?"
My brain then snapped out of shock. I was in trouble.
"How do you know about that?!"
"You'll have to try a bit harder at escaping a wolf's hearing range. Especially a noble one."
" You don't have to tell me. I'm a noble too, remember?"
"Half, if I recall."
"Do you have to rub it in?"
"I'm sorry dear. I'm afraid I'm in a satire mood today. You've been so distant with us lately, it's just hard to let it slide as a parent. I can tell something is bothering you. You're at that age after all. Whatever is making ponder, you can tell me." Even though I never really talked to Mom that much, I always found myself comfortable around her for some reason. Which was weird, because she wasn't exactly the perfect example of maternal influence, just look at Carly and Zeo. After a big sigh, I finally gave myself in to to talk someone about what I was going through, with sex and especially Huey. I didn't hate the guy personally, but maybe it would be for the better if were away from each other for a while. And so, I told everything that had happened since last night.
10 minutes later
Mom started smiling while she began smacking my back. It wasn't 'Oh I'm proud of you son' smile, it was more of the 'You know you won't make it to fourteen right?'
"Just how do you get yourselves into these situations?"
"I told you! Huey's imaginary friend told me to do it?"
"Huey? You mean that boy I always see you with? Ahhh, I remember him. Zeo told a lot about him. Said he's quite the interesting specimen. Can't wait to see what he looks like when he gets older..."
"Mom!"
"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Yeesh! You kids today have no sense of humor huh?"
"It's not that...I...just don't want to really think too much about him right now."
"Why? Did you boys get in a scrap or something?"
"Something like that. He didn't really put up much of a fight, but he can sure take a punch. Most people aren't even conscious when they take a single punch from me."
"You say that as if he's still alive..."
"What?! Of course he is! Why would I kill him?"
"Ohh. I'm sorry. I was just remembering something. The way you are with Huey reminded me of this girl that I grew up with. We used to fight over every little thing. From sun up to sun down, until we both had bruises and broken bones, we would continue to fight until one of us died. In the end, neither of us could do it, so we always got sodapops after every fight. This was still when I was your age mind you." What the fuck kind of a friendship is that? "But anyway. I can tell your little spat with this Huey boy will blow over eventually, just you wait."
Would it honestly blow over? I didn't know Huey that long, but because he grew up alone like me, I felt I could relate to him in some fashion. But I guess there's just too many differences between us that just can't be seen. I could honestly care less if Huey forgives me for punching the shit out of him though. But everything can't solve itself, I'm realizing that now. I don't know what's gonna happen next, but I get the feeling it's gonna test these so called 'bonds' I have with Huey and Karina. The three of us are gonna see if we can really be a team.
"If you say so. But Mom, can you tell me one thing?"
"What's that dear?"
"Can you please tell me why some people just have nothing but sex on their minds?!"
Froninja: We hoped you enjoyed this little ditty. And know after this chapter, will be Three's a Pair's first story arc. The Trexwell Arc. So get hype! Because we're gonna pull out all the stops on this one. Sadly, because I'll be busy with working and writing other stories, don't expect it to be out until sometime close to the end of August.
Jester: Don't you mean 'we'?
Froninja; Goddammit Jester. Get back to pile of sweaty Brazilian ass. I'll be there in a minute!
Jester: I will as soon as you get yo shit wrapped up. You know what happened last time...
Froninja: Can you PLEASE stop bringing that up?
Jester: I will as soon as you pay me with crystallized red wine!
Froninja; You know I don't got money like that.
Jester; I can arrange that.
Froninja; Well while I engage in almost certain danger, don't forget to do the usual, comment and what not. And don't forget to follow!