Falias, Finias Chapter Twenty-Six
Main Theme- Within by Daft Punk
Tom Majors sneaks out of his house roughly after one in the morning. It only takes him a couple of blocks and turns to reach Kaz's house. The house is architecturally not much different from his own, but the same can be said of all the houses in Cinderella's Village. The town experienced a housing boom in the mid-90s, and houses had to be made quick, so there wasn't much variety outwardly except for in paintjobs and yards. Kaz's house has always been blue, while his house has always been brown. He's always liked Kaz's house more because of its color.
He sees that none of the lights are on in the house except for the tiny porchlight. He wonders if Kaz's room is still at the back of the house; his window would be at the center and facing the yard. When they were kids, he would go through the unlocked gate and throw rocks at his window to get Kaz's attention. Now, the fence is locked, and he's not certain if he can hop the fence in his boxers. He decides on the direct approach and rings the doorbell until the door opens.
Kaz, with his rumpled pajamas and wild nest of hair, looks quite angry about being woken up in the wee hours of the morning.
"I know what happened to your Chaotic-self, Kaz," Tom stated quickly before Kaz could slam the door in his face.
"Am I alive?"
"For now."
"It sounds complicated. Get in." Kaz moves aside and lets him through. Tom looks around and sees that the hall is blue as it always was. The vanity mirror by the door shows him their bedraggled reflections. Kaz heads toward the kitchen.
"What about your room?"
"I'm redecorating it," he replied brusquely.
"Are you painting it white with your mom's mousse?"
"Believe me, I learned my lesson." Tom remembers how she stared blankly at them as she assessed the damage to the walls. The foam became crusty stickiness on the walls, but it was easily taken care of with some water and a rag. However, Mrs. Kalinkas's special mousse wasn't cheap, and they used it all. The boys were grounded for a week.
They share a grin briefly from the memory. Tom thinks about bringing up the time they tried to build a rocket out of a hairdryer and a broken TV, but then they make it to the kitchen.
The kitchen's seafoam countertops and off-white tiles occupy their same place. The rose-pink table occupies its own little room. He finds his initials from when he carved them in with an exceptionally sharp butterknife. Kaz did the same but to a leg of his dad's desk. Kaz sits down in the closest chair, while Tom chooses the side with their initials.
"So, what happened?" Kaz asked in a tired tone.
"I was in the OverWorld with Sarah to get this scan in the Arsenal—" Kaz holds a hand up like he's stopping a car.
"Yeah, he sent me an email letting me know he's got another player to help in the search. Clearly, he meant you," Kaz said impatiently.
"I'll just skip to the end then. I did find you locked up in a tower at Chaor's Castle. He's holding you hostage, Kaz!" Tom takes out his Scanner and turns it around for Kaz to see the photo he took. Kaz stares at it for a moment, wide-eyed at first, but then he frowns.
"Why in the hell would he hold me hostage?"
"Because he hates humans!"
"Most of Perim view players as cockroaches. If we don't get in their way, they'll leave us be. Chaor hasn't issued a ban against players or had us rounded up and locked in the Pits." Kaz makes a "feh" gesture with a limp wave of his hand.
"You don't believe me? You're hurt and being held in a tower like Rapunzel!"
"Given the bandages on me, it looks like I received medical attention. If I had to hazard a guess, maybe I crossed a Creature or showed up at the wrong place at the wrong time. I probably crawled my way to the palace, or maybe Chaor found me and got me medical attention."
"But why would he do any of that?" Tom asked incredulously.
"Because I'm the caretaker for his ward."
"So H'earring says! And ward? Like Robin?" Tom snorts.
"Kind of, but it's not like Iso is his sidekick."
"Iso? Who the hell names a kid that?"
"And who the hell actually has Maxxor for a name?" Kaz retorted defensively. "Iso is just a nickname; his real name is Isolor."
"Why would even have a ward? Wouldn't a kid be a waste of space and food?"
"Having wards was a profitable venture back in the medieval times because you could control your wards' lands and the profit that came from them. You could also marry them off and gain even more from that. Henry VII, the father of Henry with the six wives, exploited it to its fullest." Tom's eyes glaze over at Kaz's little history lesson. Even though he's always liked his English classes for the stories, he's never taken to History, even though they're real-life stories.
"Anyways, he needs me to watch his kid for most of the week, so I don't see any reason for him to just lock me up."
"Maybe he got a better babysitter?" Okay, it's a stretch. Kaz has always been good at babysitting; he even handled my cousins without the house burning down, and they're spoiled rotten brats that liked to break my toys for fun.
"Oh, I doubt that."
"Why can't you believe that Chaor, Dictator of the UnderWorld, wouldn't be holding you prisoner?"
"Because he's not a being of pure evil like you and the OverWorld think he is! Has it ever occurred to you that Creatures are people and like people they aren't simply defined by good or evil? Perim isn't black and white, Tom!"
"Kaz—"
"My name is Kazdan! I haven't been Kaz since elementary school when we were best friends. So quit pretending that we still are!" he remarked heatedly. His brown eyes narrow into a caustic glare.
"I'm still going to rescue you, Kazdan."
UnderWorld City smells like a stink bomb that exploded in a sulfur mine, or at least the avenue they've been walking down for ten minutes now. He nearly pinches his nostrils shut at least three times, but each time he'd find an UnderWorlder passing by, and he just didn't want to give them the satisfaction that he couldn't handle their smelly city. Reggie looks a bit pale, but he's kept his hands to his side this entire time. Peyton whistles a metal song, clearly not bothered by the stench. He wishes Sarah was here so he could have someone to openly commiserate with, but she's preparing for a drome match.
"Are we there yet?" Tom asked sharply.
"Chill, Tommy Boy, it's just around the block."
"It's rather unfortunate that we ported on the other side of the city," Reggie then sighs, "if only porting was less randomized."
"But it'd be boring if we ported to the same place every time."
"But at least we wouldn't have ended up in the city dump!"
"I think it was a scrapyard, Tom, but it did smell a lot like sulfur. Maybe it was near a sulfur pit?"
"There is nothing about this city worth seeing," Tom grumbled.
"Hey, don't be so down on UnderWorld City! There's plenty of cool places I can show you; there's even this inn that has food we can eat! I'll take you guys there someday."
"I'd rather you take us to H'earring's."
It's then that Peyton runs ahead without warning, and they follow him as he goes down an alleyway. When they come out the other end, they find H'earring's hovel again. The squat little house looks to Tom ready to be demolished, but he would argue that most of the city should be razed. He sees a flash of shadow on the top floor and hopes it's the mutant rabbit, and not some child thief robbing the place. Peyton knocks on the door, and it opens in a moment.
"Peyton! You've got the pond scum?"
"Of course!" Peyton pulls out a plastic sandwich bag filled with green pool scum. Tom is amazed that the bag didn't pop at any point considering the narrow alleyway. H'earring reaches for it, but Peyton keeps the bag to himself. "Remember, you've gotta tell us what's up with Kazdan."
"I did yesterday."
"I'm pretty certain you know more than you think."
"…You didn't hear this from me." H'earring looks around suspiciously like he expects a SWAT team to burst through the alley. "Kazdan is under observation by Lord Chaor's personal physician which isn't good for him."
"What is this guy using leeches on him?" Peyton joked.
"You have those too?" H'earring shakes his head to regain focus. "Iaen is the best, and if Lord Chaor is having him treat Kazdan, then Kazdan isn't in good condition."
"But I've seen him on the balcony! He's standing up and everything!"
"Just because he can move doesn't mean he's 100% healthy. Chances are he came down with some rare illness and that's why Iaen is there. Maybe."
"Our Scanners can heal us. If he was sick or hurt, he could just port home and be fine," Reggie informed the UnderWorlder.
"He must've lost it."
"Or Chaor stole it!"
"Hey! If he wanted one of your human thingmajigs, he would've gotten it a long time ago and have Ulmar figure it out."
"Why bother in helping Kazdan then? And don't say it's because he provides free childcare!"
"Free? Kazdan gets paid; I should know I've been keeping his money safe. And if you've got money, I'll keep it safe too." H'earring grins.
"Then, why else!?"
"I don't know."
Tom expected his Chaotic-self learning something substantial from H'earring, so he can report some good news to Kazdan or give him a "I told you so" lecture, but the memories show that he's right where he started. He wants to tell Kazdan right away, but he couldn't find him during lunch. They don't share any classes either, so he waits until afterschool to go back to Kazdan's house. However, he didn't have to wait long since he sees Kazdan at the lockers. He's loading textbooks and notebooks into his messenger bag; he sees that some of the compositions have AP messily scribbled on the covers.
I thought the school wouldn't let freshmen take AP classes, not unless you take tests over the summer to prove you can handle them. I could've done that for English, but I was sick of tests and didn't want waste any of my summer on them. He didn't seem to care about school when we were kids, but that was years ago, and he clearly changed. Maybe he gets up at the crack of dawn to study some more; no wonder he was pissed about losing some sleep!
Tom taps Kazdan on the shoulder, causing the redhead to lose his hold on a textbook. He goes down to help him, but Kazdan snatches it right off the floor. He glares at Tom.
"You know I hate surprises."
"I thought that changed too."
"Huh?" Kazdan shakes his head. "Never mind, I take it you learned something from Chaotic."
"I know how smelly UnderWorld City is, but nothing new on your situation, except that Chaor's personal doctor named Iaen is taking care of you."
"I've never met the Creature, but it sounds like my Chaotic-self had to. It must be serious if I get Chaor's doctor."
"Or he's sedating you at Chaor's request."
"Which you have no proof of." Kazdan closes his locker and walks with Tom following him. "Tom, I think your baseless hatred for UnderWorlders is clouding your judgement."
"The UnderWorlders are the bad guys! They raid the OverWorld constantly, and one nearly killed me and Reggie!"
"You have such a black and white view on morality! Not every UnderWorlder is evil, and neither is every OverWorlder good! I bet Maxxor has a few dozen skeletons in his closet."
"He's a hero!"
"But he's a ruler, and no ruler has clean hands! I bet Accato has plenty of stories about his cousin not being so perfect!"
"Accato?"
"He's Maxxor's cousin and potential heir-apparent for the OverWorld throne. However, he just wants to be a rock star and have fun with Lady Etheno." Kazdan wags his fuzzy brows suggestively, causing Tom to snort.
"I didn't think you even spent any time in the OverWorld since you're so busy with Chaor's ward."
"I get a day off every week, so I got to the OverWorld. Although, one day I need to check out Mipedian territory with Reggie."
"What about Danians?"
"What about them?" Kazdan retorted dismissively. "Besides, I can't make any plans until my Chaotic-self returns. You've got any ideas on how to rescue me, oh hero?"
"Well, uh, I was going to watch the guards at the gates, learn their schedules, and then sneak in when I get the chance. I'll get your Scanner, give it to you, and then port back to Earth."
"Learning the guards' schedule is a good step, but the sneaking in part has some problems. Do you know how to lockpick the doors to get inside? Or are you hoping H'earring will let you in? Do you know the layout of the castle? Are you sure that my Scanner is somewhere inside the castle? And if it isn't, then what will you do? These are just basic questions I came up on the fly."
"Okay, okay, I get it my plan sucks!"
"I don't believe Chaor is holding me hostage, but it's not like I can confirm it here. You should port to Chaotic and watch the guards, while you and I revise your plan."
"Alright, so your place or mine?"
"Mine. My mom's working in Chicago, so there won't be any parental interference. All I need to really do is my homework."
"Then, let's do it say around seven?"
"Sounds good to me."
Author's Comments- There are no links this time.
Season one's episode one's "Welcome to Chaotic, Part I" shows the outside of Tom's house which was brown and a lighter shade of it for the inside of his room. Season one's episode nine's "Castle Bodhran or Bust, Part I" shows the outside of Kaz's house which was blue, and his room was also blue, except for one white wall. I feel like both of their houses were an afterthought because the cartoon is about the game. Not sure if I mentioned this before, but Cinderella's Village is the name that I first gave to Tom's and Kaz's fictional town in my discontinued "Forces" story. I have a fondness for it, even if I do find the name sillier now.
I plan for the next chapter to get into the nitty gritty of their planning and the following enacting the plan. When I was first writing this series, I wasn't planning on using Tom, especially having him "rescue" Kazdan since my story is based on the AU where they weren't friends anymore. However, my feelings have change on the matter, but I'm not going to let Tom become a main character after this little arc. I will probably give him another arc when we reach the end of season one which is a long way away.