Frederick made his way to Destroido Corp., feeling like he was on his way to sign his own death warrant, or possibly even Fred's. He didn't want to do this. Not only did he not want to have anything to do with Professor Pericles, but he didn't want to give up the Planispheric Disk. He wasn't going to turn back now though. He knew that Pericles wouldn't hesitate to hurt Fred, or worse. Then there was Brad and Judy. They were around Freddie. They were trying to take his boy from him. Frederick honestly didn't know who of the three of them he was more worried about.
That boy was so sweet and gentle. He didn't deserve any of this. He deserved a family that put him above all else, not parents who were so caught up in themselves that he was pushed into being an afterthought, if that.
Frederick knew that he couldn't give Fred everything that he deserved, but he couldn't abandon him either. Fred needed him. So Frederick was putting aside his own greed and selfishness. He wouldn't be happy about it, but he wouldn't hesitate to give up his piece of the Planispheric Disk.
Fred knew the truth now, and he would probably never forgive him, and that was okay. As long as the boy was safe, that would be good enough. Fred didn't have to see him ever again. Frederick wouldn't know what to do with himself without the boy or treasure to fight for, but he would survive. His desires were the least of his concerns right now.
He carried a bag in his arms as he trudged to the building looming before him. There were only two items within the bag itself, but he felt like he was carrying the weight of the world. One of the bag's contents represented everything that he was willingly giving up, and the other item was for the one that he was doing this for.
Frederick entered the building and the first thing he saw was Brad and Judy waiting there for him. The sight of them made him furious. He hated every member of Mystery Incorporated, but for reasons he didn't completely understand his hatred for these two was significantly stronger than the others, even Pericles.
"Kidnapper," Brad greeted with a leer. Frederick glared at him.
"Enabler." He had heard Fred get hurt over the phone, while Brad and Judy were right there. They hadn't said a word to protest the terrible treatment of the boy that they would forever argue was their son. Frederick never claimed to be a great father, but the second that Fred was in danger he was willing to give up everything he had worked for. Brad and Judy, on the other hand, only came scurrying back here because Pericles had the advantage. They only saw Fred's pain as a tool to achieve their wishes, and even though Frederick had done the exact same thing eight years ago, he'd never been more disgusted in his life.
If he was being honest with himself, he was feeling this intense disgust precisely because he had done this exact thing. He hadn't always seen Freddie as the precious child that he was, and Frederick was ashamed and disgusted with himself. He needed to make things right, and that was just what he was here to do.
"Is Fred okay?" Frederick asked as they walked deeper into the building.
"He's a brat." Judy said in disappointment. Frederick barely held back a growl of irritation. Hearing people speak badly about his kid always annoyed him. Frederick didn't always fight his son's fights for him, because there were so many people who just didn't seem to like him on principle, and sooner or later the boy needed to learn how to defend himself, or else he'd grow up and be dragged down and destroyed by all the discouragement surrounding him.
But it was one thing to hear the occasional teacher's assistants say such a thing about Fred, and another to hear it from his mother.
"He's the best behaved kid I know." Frederick said defensively. He knew he was probably biased, but Fred really wasn't spoiled and whiny the way that kids were infamous for being. The boy wasn't a bully, and he wasn't lazy. He had some issues focusing sometimes, and his meltdowns could be overwhelming to deal with if somebody didn't know what they were doing, but he was also honest, passionate, and he genuinely wanted to help people. Fred was a lot of things, and a brat was certainly not one of them.
"He talked back to me and wouldn't stop screaming and kicking." Judy said.
"I had to put him in time-out." Brad said. He almost sounded proud of it. Frederick snarled as the Freak's possessiveness forced its way out. He lunged towards Brad and pushed him against the wall.
"What did you do to my kid?" Frederick growled. Brad glared at him and easily pushed him away.
"He's our kid." Brad said sternly. Frederick wasn't having it.
"He's mine." Frederick said, his voice slipping easily into the Freak's. "You gave him up. You can't just walk into his life and pretend that nothing happened."
"You didn't give us a choice." Brad said. "What was I supposed to do?"
"Not bring Fred to Crystal Cove in the first place." Frederick said. "I warned you to never return, and not only did you not listen, you decided to bring your son with you. You couldn't have possibly thought that was a good idea."
Brad opened his mouth to answer, but Judy put a calming hand on his arm.
"We don't have to answer to you." Judy said in that fake cheerful voice of hers. "What we do is none of your concern."
"Anything that involves Fred is my concern." Frederick said. He would never stop worrying about him.
They walked into a back room that looked like a cross between an office and a comic book hideout. Ricky and Pericles were there, arguing, but what drew Frederick's eyes was the woman standing next to a cupboard.
"Angel?" Frederick frowned at her. The woman's eyes flashed with guilt, and seeing her standing there amongst the members of Mystery Incorporated he realized just who he was looking at. "Cassidy." He should have seen it before. Just how many times had he left his son's safety in the hands of the Mystery Incorporated kids?
"Frederick, I can explain." Cassidy said. She glanced at the cupboard behind her. "And I will, but first can you talk to your son? He won't come out."
Frederick looked at the cupboard and sighed. Fred would frequently cower away in the closet or make a fort out of the bottom bunk of his bed when he was overwhelmed and needed space. Frederick pulled the bag closer and went to kneel in front of the cupboard. Angel got out of the way for him.
Frederick knocked gently on the cupboard door. "Freddie? It's me. I know I took a while, but I'm here now. Do you think you can come out?"
Fred was quiet for a long moment. "Daddy…not-dad?" Fred made a keening sound. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to call you."
Frederick grimaced. Fred liked for his world to make sense, which was why he had started to become invested in mysteries. And now one of the most fundamental parts of Fred's life had been thrown on its head.
"You can call me whatever you like." Frederick said. He knew that Fred didn't always like to make decisions for himself when he was stressed. He would rather be told what to do, but it wouldn't feel right to tell him how to feel about the situation. "I brought Mr. Trapples, just like I said I would. If you won't come out for me, will you come out for him?
"The door's unlocked now." Ricky said. Frederick flashed him a harsh look.
"Was it locked before?"
"Brad dad put me in time out." Fred said as he gave the door a small push and crawled out. He was tense and clearly anxious. Frederick knew that he wouldn't appreciate a hug right now, much less from him. As much as Frederick wanted to hold his son in his arms, he needed to respect Fred's space.
"Here." Frederick offered Fred the bag. As the boy reached to grab it Frederick was able to get a glimpse of his scraped up hands and swollen thumb. "You're hurt."
Fred flinched. "I tried to get away. It didn't work."
"That's okay." Frederick said. Fred was so resourceful. It was to be expected that he wouldn't just sit idly by. Frederick just hated the fact that Fred had to feel like he had to resort to this. He shouldn't have gotten hurt. Frederick should have been here to prevent that.
"Just take Mr. Trapples and relax." Frederick said. "I'll take care of Pericles."
Fred hugged the bag close to his chest. "Why did you take me?"
Frederick didn't want to talk about it, and he was ashamed to admit to himself that only part of that reluctance was because he wanted to forget the mistakes of the past. A large reason was because he still had the instinct to not tell anybody else about the treasure that he so desperately wanted.
But Fred deserved to know the truth, and Frederick knew that he couldn't put it off anymore.
"There's a mystery in Crystal Cove." Frederick said quietly. "It could lead to a treasure beyond your wildest dreams. When they were younger your parents and their friends found a clue to that mystery. I wanted that clue, so I did some pretty bad things to get it. Now they want it back."
"And one of the bad things you did was take me?" Fred still sounded confused, and Frederick didn't blame him. He was just a kid.
"Brad was trying to get the disk back when you were just a baby." Frederick said. "Taking you was the only thing I could think of to get rid of him."
Fred looked like he was about to start crying. "You took me just to get a clue?" His tearful accusation reminded Frederick so much of the nightmare he'd had, and it broke his heart.
"I'm sorry." Frederick said. Fred just gave a stifled sob and buried his face in the bag.
"As sweet as this sentimentality is, we have business to attend to." Pericles said. "The Disk, Frederick."
Fine. He would deal with Pericles. He just didn't want Fred to be any more involved in this than was necessary.
"Fred, why don't you step out for a few minutes and tell Mr. Trapples about your adventure." Frederick said casually, in the same tone he might use if he needed to talk to Fred's teacher's because he accidentally forgot to pick him up from soccer practice. Fred could be observant about a lot of things, but he had yet to pick up on the fact that Frederick was just trying to get him out of the way for a few minutes so he wouldn't be exposed to fighting.
Pericles flew to land on Ricky's shoulder, making the man cringe. "The boy will be your responsibility. I'm giving you one more chance, Ricky. Don't let me down." Pericles dug his talon's into Ricky's shoulder before taking off. Ricky shuddered, looking so much like that kid that had been horrified of disagreeing with Pericles about the simplest of things.
Frederick didn't trust Ricky with Pericles, but the more he fought with Pericles the more he would annoy him, and the more at risk Fred was. Frederick just needed to do things as quickly as possible. The sooner he talked to the bird the sooner he'd be back with his boy.
Yes, maybe Brad and Judy would continue trying to fight him for it, but Frederick was willing to bet that if they had to choose between the piece of the Planispheric Disk, and their son, they wouldn't hesitate to pick the piece. They were all just as obsessed with the treasure as Frederick was, but they didn't have a Fred in their lives to drag them back onto the straight and narrow.
Fred walked out, giving Frederick a longing look as he did so. The kid sighed and opened the bag, reaching inside. Fred faltered slightly in his steps, his face one of confusion. He looked inside the bag, looked back at Frederick again, and then slowly pulled out Mr. Trapples, hugging him close.
Fred and Ricky left the room, and once they were out of sight Frederick turned his full attention to Pericles.
"You can have the piece of the Planispheric Disk, but I want to make sure that we get some things straight first."
Ricky hated every moment of this. He didn't want anything to do with any of this any more. He still wanted the treasure, of course, but was just a single piece of the treasure map really worth all of this? It was one thing to ruin their own lives, but to drag an innocent child into this? It wasn't right.
He was tempted to just get Fred out of there. Frederick was here now. They had the Planispheric Disk piece. It was all but in their hands. They really didn't need Fred anymore. He knew that his old friends would never go for this plan. Pericles was clearly making this not just about the treasure, but also revenge, and Fred was the key to that.
As for Brad and Judy, they wanted the kid. Ricky didn't know if it was because Fred was their blood, and they were so vain that they liked the thought of having their blood carried on to another generation, or if they wanted the boy because they hated the thought of something that was theirs being taken from them. All Ricky knew for sure was that they didn't care for Fred himself, and they probably wouldn't in time. Leaving the boy with them would ruin his life.
Ricky was still a tiny bit terrified of the Freak. The being had haunted his dreams all through his young adult life. He knew that Frederick was the Freak, but he still considered them different forces. The Freak was obsessed with the treasure and willing to do anything for it. Frederick was willing to sacrifice the treasure for the sake of his child. He was just a concerned father. How could Ricky be scared of that?
He just wanted to walk away and let Fred go, but he'd been given explicit instructions. Pericles was already so angry and disappointed in him. He knew he should be stronger than this, but Ricky was still afraid of upsetting his oldest friend. He couldn't bring himself to let Pericles down. The parrot was the one who always believed in him. Maybe it wasn't in a positive way. Pericles just believed that he could get what he wanted out of him. Ricky was just a tool to Pericles, but he was a tool that he felt could still be useful.
If Ricky continued to let Pericles down he would eventually drop him too, just like everybody else. Ricky would be alone, with the knowledge that the only one he had to blame was himself. If he'd just been better at being who other people wanted him to be, if he had just been good enough for Pericles or Cassidy, he wouldn't be in this situation.
Ahead of him Fred was clinging tightly to his bag. He didn't look scared, but thoughtful. The kid looked back towards him.
"What's a plaphisical disk?" Fred asked.
"Planispheric." Ricky said. "It's a piece of a treasure map."
Fred frowned. "You're fighting over a treasure map? Why can't you just make copies of it? Then you can all have it."
It felt really obvious with Fred pointing it out like that, but something inside of Ricky told him that wouldn't work. There was something special about the pieces of the Planispheric Disk. When they were put together, they would act as a treasure map. They had to. Somehow, it wouldn't work if one of the pieces wasn't real
But just because the copies wouldn't work for the map didn't mean that it wouldn't work to get Fred out of here. If Ricky had learned one thing while running his business, it was that sometimes the quality of what you were selling didn't necessarily matter as much as just convincing people of the quality.
"You know, kid, that's not a bad idea." Ricky said. "If we had your dad's piece of the Planispheric Disk-"
"Is it golden and shaped like a pizza?" Fred asked. Ricky stared at him. This was far too convenient. Fred gave him a shy smile and reached into his bag, pulling out the familiar piece of the Planispheric Disk.
"You…you have the Planispheric Disk?" Ricky couldn't help but smile. He could just imagine Pericles' face if he realized that he'd let the piece walk right away from him.
"It was in the bag with Mr. Trapples." Fred said. Jones had either slipped it inside the bag because Pericles wouldn't expect him to trust the kid with it, or he'd been so focused on helping the kid feel better that he'd completely forgotten about the piece. Ricky supposed that it didn't really matter. Whatever the case, there was no reason why he couldn't use this to his advantage.
"I've got an idea." Ricky said. "Follow me." Fred nervously followed behind him. Ricky knew that Fred had no reason to trust him. He didn't know what was going through the kid's head. He was just grateful that he wouldn't have to fight the kid about this.
For his business Ricky had a lot of things that needed to be produced quickly. He had more than one machine to make a cheap but identical copy of something.
Ricky knew that this plan was insane, and Pericles would probably be absolutely furious with him. He was worried about that, but also really tired. Ricky failed Pericles no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't bring himself to outright defy Pericles, but he could do this much.
"Come on, kid, we've got some copies to make." Ricky said. Hopefully it would distract Pericles, Brad, and Judy long enough for Frederick and Fred, as well as Ricky and Cassidy, to get out. Maybe it was pointless to run from Pericles, as the bird would catch wise eventually and come after them, but a little bit of time was better than nothing.
