Be prepared for callbacks to game details I completely neglected in the first book in this series. Also hey I'm back.
I should probably write down a vague plan of what exactly I want to do with this story's plot in my writing journal or something, but I'm running out of pages. If I can just make this work, one way or another, this might end up being one of the most intense stories I've written to date, even more so than "The Author, The Rogues, and The Oni" was. Of course, we'll have to see how this plays out. Anyway, see you at the bottom of the page.
Chapter 2: Being Frustrated
The Vet stood there for a moment, just staring at the casually dressed countries. Gilbert made jazz hands again, a little more hesitantly. "H-hallo? It's ya boi Gilbert?"
"I told you that wouldn't work," Ludwig muttered.
"I thought it fit him quite well," Kiku piped up.
Vet sighed and pinched her brow. "Go out to the bottom of the cul-de-sac," she told them. "There's not enough room in the house." She turned in the direction of the rest of the cult. "EVERYONE OUTSIDE!" She yelled.
Glad to have some more elbow room, the cult members rushed out the door, nearly running over the countries as they all went to where they were told. Vet did a once over of the first floor to make sure no one was left behind, peeked open the bathroom door to pet The Cat once more, then grabbed the key to the house and closed the door.
She strode down the path to the drive way and out onto the street. Everyone was taking deep breaths and fanning themselves, probably because of how hot being in a small space with a hundred people in the summer was. Vet stopped between the cult members and the countries, turning to face the latter with her hands on her hips. "Funny, we were just talking about you," she said.
"Dude, why do you sound so mad?" Alfred asked.
"Isn't it obvious, you wanker?" Arthur swatted Alfred's arm. "Her sister is missing!"
Vet narrowed her eyes. "And how do you know that?"
"Ah, so he wasn't making things up," Ivan said with a smile.
Gilbert glared at him. "The awesome me would never lie about this! I am too awesome to—"
"What. Is. Happening?" Vet growled. The whole group flinched at her cold tone.
After a brief pause, Gilbert spoke again: "Alright, hear me out, Maedchen."
"Ich bin zuhoeren," Vet replied.
"Gut. Now, would you all believe me if I told you that whenever The Author thinks or says the word "awesome", I feel it? Like a disturbance, but not as evil?"
Casey strode up next to The Vet. "I remember that," she said. "When we were lookin' for The Author last year at Feli's meeting place, ya knew she was back in the main meetin' room, somehow. Is that what this is about?"
Gilbert nodded eagerly. "Well, two weeks ago, I felt The Author saying the word 'awesome'. I thought it was weird, but I thought it was just her saying that word, and that's it. But a few days after that, I started to feel her thinking or saying the word 'unawesome' every day for the past week and a half. I know something is wrong, and after Alfred did some research on where she lived, we came to see what happened."
"And you thought she had gone missing?" Vet asked.
"Ja. The time I heard her say 'awesome' two weeks ago, she didn't say it here, exactly. She said it maybe… ich weiss nicht, fifteen minutes from here? And everyday she's been saying 'unawesome', it's somewhere… not here. I almost feel like it's… well…"
Brittany walked up to the middle of the group, since the cult members had unanimously decided to surround them on all sides to hear and see what was happening. "Where do you think she is, Mr. Beilschmidt?" she asked.
"…At the mansion."
Silence, for the most part. Some cult members were whispering to their friends, unsure of what to make of Gilbert's statement.
Finally, Brittany spoke: "It's our only lead. And, besides, there's something I'd like to do at the site of the mansion. Countries, will you help us search for The Author?"
The countries parted and let Feliciano Vargas step forward. "Of course, Brittany! Everyone here is important and we won't let anything bad happen to anyone."
"What do you want to do at the mansion?" Vet asked Brittany with a hint of suspicion.
"It occurred to me over the past year and a half that there were some things about the mansion we didn't entirely solve by blowing it up."
"Like what?"
"Like the clocks."
A quiet chorus of "oh yeah"s and "she's got a point"s circled around the inner group.
"I had hoped that by blowing up the mansion, we had solved every problem it presented our mission. However, I have a feeling that not all of the clocks have been destroyed. It doesn't seem to be affecting time and space like it did in the game or before we attacked, but it may be our next clue."
"One problem with that," The Vet said. "We only have until eleven AM at least to try and get a lead on where my sister is. I told my parents that I would be going on a road trip with some friends, and they're not gonna be happy to see me still at home with a group of a hundred acquaintances. How are we going to get to the mansion, search for all the clocks that might not have broken in a freaking bombing, and find my sister in that short amount of time?"
Brittany gave her a sly look. "Magic, of course. We'll freeze time temporarily for everyone except us, then take all the time we need for our search."
"Of course." Vet sighed. "I'd rather not go back there, but if it means finding my sister, I'll help however I can. Are we all in on this?"
"What?!" Someone in the back of the outer circle yelled. "I can't hear you! Speak up!"
"SHE SAID—" Casey began.
"What?! I can't hear you! Speak up!"
"Oh, for the love of—who the bloody heck is saying that?" Brittany snapped. The cult and countries parted away from the speaker: a white blob with a face and a little curl on its "head".
They all stared at it, and it stared back at them. Finally, The Artist said it: "Is that the gosh-dang Mochi America?"
Yeah, like I said, I'm trying to tie back into the original game a little bit; answer some questions the unfinished game doesn't answer. This will include the clocks, Mochi America, Ivan's mysterious phone calls, the "Congratulations" voice, and the end of the known game. Be prepared, we're going in deep… I hope.
Anyway, what did you think? I wasn't originally planning to end this chapter here, but I got an idea and decided to run with it. I hope you don't mind. So, please, leave a review, tell me what you thought, and check out some of my other stories if you like. I'll see you next time, though given that I'll be finished with Jan Term soon, it might not be for a while. Until then!
