"Darkness Absolute"
By: Von Stupor
Chapter B
After much persuasion, Dennis was able to convince his grandmother, Kay, to allow Von Stupor, Packrat, and Dolimus to stay in her house until Dennis was able to recover his fanfictions. While Dennis slept downstairs in his room, Dolimus stayed in the adjacent guest room, linked by a large rec room while Von Stupor and Packrat slept in the upstairs guest room, adjacent to Kay. After a week, the four all met downstairs in the rec room to discuss their current game plans and progress.
"...You guys have nothing?" said Dennis forlornly.
"I can hardly go anywhere where they will allow my mask to stay on... 'Tis impossible to do anything!" whined Von Stupor.
"You could always just take the mask off, it's not attached to your face."
"'Tis not? The curse is lifted?"
"Gah..." mumbled Dennis, slapping his forehead. "I forgot, you're not Von Stupor from 'The Masked Duelist', you're Von Stupor from 'Pokémon Gray'... I never went into detail on your mask yet. Not sure if it'll be attached or not..."
Von Stupor simply stared.
After a moment Dolimus spoke up.
"...I'm trying to find a job somewhere that doesn't involve a lot of sunlight, since I'll get very sick from it."
"Very sick?" Packrat repeated. "What, are you photosensitive or something?"
"You could say that. Anyway, it's not easy getting a job when you don't have a proof of identity or eligibility to work in the United States. This place seems so demanding, and yet it has to be this way?"
"So it seems," agreed Dennis. "Well, for you guys, employment is pretty much impossible, then. What about odd jobs, anyone?"
"Odd jobs? You expect me to do favors for someone I don't even know?" Packrat argued.
"It's the only way you're gonna make any money. Plus, with your current look, you'd be lucky to be pass off as a guy in a suit."
"Well, for your information, I happen to have joined a video game tournament held nearby. When I'm done winning that prize money, I'm going to leave you guys in the dust!"
"Don't count on it. My parents felt bad about the fact that they didn't have any money to do anything for my birthday, so they decided to forgive the back rent I owe them. Not to mention I just got a check from my old telemarketing job, which will pay off most of the cell phone bill I still owe my gramma."
"Impressive, and with your new job..." stated Dolimus.
"...You will be able to attain your new laptop rather quickly, it seems." Von Stupor finished for him.
"Well yeah, but my gramma also kind of surprised me with that brand new desktop computer, which renders my need for a new laptop null practically..." Dennis mentioned.
"I see, and you don't want to spend more money on something you only want to use once." inferred Dolimus.
"Exactly."
"Well, what if you simply rented one?"
"Already checked on it, I'd have to enter a two-year contract at around fourteen dollars a week. By the time I pay it off, I'd be paying more then double what I could get it for if I got it from Best Buy."
"Perhaps you could buy one, use it, and return it when you're done for a refund?"
"Maybe, maybe..." Dennis considered, stroking his chin. "Heh, you know guys, if you bet about thirty, you can have a good night at bingo where I work at. Never know, you might win something, eh?"
"'Tis true!" Von Stupor gasped.
"Don't make a habit of it though, right?"
"Come on, we're all responsible, mature beings here," joked Dolimus. He then smirked at Packrat, saying, "Well... at least Von Stupor, you, and I are, by my observations."
"Hey, I don't think you wanna take that any further," retaliated the rat, giving Dolimus a stink eye.
"Aw... come on, you'd benefit more by not taking everything so seriously."
Packrat simply looked away, a befuddled look on his face.
Dennis chuckled lightly and changed the subject. "Alright, so what are you guys' plans so far for raising money to gain access to my laptop's hard drive?"
"Why are we raising money to access your laptop's hard drive?" asked Von Stupor.
"Well, if there's no way I can access it myself, then I'll have to rely on data recovery specialists, and they can be kind of pricey. Either way, I'm going to do what it takes to recover all of my hard work."
"I see... well, I fear 'tis odd jobs for me. If no one shall hire me with my mask on, then I'll have to resort to other methods."
"I got that video game tournament coming up," voiced Packrat.
"When will that be?" Dennis asked out of curiosity.
"Oh, another week and a half, maybe."
Dolimus then announced, "I can't be hired because I can't legally prove my identity here, so it appears I'm doing odd jobs as well. However, I'll also attempt this bingo function you mentioned. There's no harm in wagering a small sum of my earnings."
"Excellent. I have my current job, so I'll be making some good pay off of that. I'll have my cell phone bill finally paid off on or around October fourteenth, that's when I'll get my first check. Since I already have a payment down on it anyways, I should have some money left over."
"You should factor in your rent," Dolimus reminded him. "When is your grandmother going to start charging you to live here?"
"Ahhhhh, I don't know. I'll ask her eventually. If she starts soon, it may be another two weeks before my money really starts working toward it, since I get paid every other Friday. This coming Friday I won't get paid since I just arrived, or I'll have a small check, which would still be good. So, I guess that covers everything? I have my job, Packrat has a tournament, and you guys have odd jobs?"
All agreed to his statement.
"Alright then! Meeting adjourned, I guess."
"Sooo, what now?" asked Packrat.
"Nothing left to do than hang out for now, I suppose."
OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO
The following week, Dolimus, Von Stupor and Packrat sat together in Dennis's room.
"I have no luck with odd jobs," mentioned Von Stupor. "Though I did manage to collect some donations from people on the street with my sign."
"You mean your sign that says 'Help My Friend Get A New Laptop to Complete My Story'?" asked Dolimus, a concerned look on his face.
"Indeed!"
"You mean people actually donated to that?" asked Packrat over his shoulder as he pounded away on his GameCube controller.
"No, it's just thirty-five cents I found on the ground whilst I walked back here. 'Tis better than nothing!"
"To an extent, anyway," Dolimus said, looking serious. "You know, I recall Dennis telling me about a friend of his helping with the carts at his job, with the manager paying him under the table. I believe I may be able to try that."
"Not a bad idea," Packrat complimented. "My tournament's up soon. You guys will get to see me kick some keester, eh?"
"I shall come. I have no obligatory commitments, unfortunately," agreed Von Stupor.
"I'll only be doing the night shift, and most likely only when Dennis is working, so I should be able to make it."
"He only works mornings, you silly man!"
"He closed last Sunday and he closes this Sunday, friend. Remember?"
"Ah, touché."
Just then, Dennis walked into the room.
"Hm?" he said, glancing at Packrat on the game.
"I took the liberty of hooking up your systems to this router for you," explained the rat. "Not out of niceness, of course, but because I wanted to play. I even got your cords all nice and bundled up, neat and organized."
"Wow... thanks, Packrat!"
"Yeah, don't mention it."
"So Dolimus, I heard you mentioning a night shift?"
"Yes, remember the friend you menitoned that helped out somewhere pushing carts and was paid under the table?"
"Oh, you mean Tony. Yep, I remember."
"Do you think I could do that when you close?"
"Ehhhh, maybe... let me see what I can do. Great idea, though!"
"Packrat, your tournament is..."
"Thursday after next," answered Packrat. "October 13."
"Alright, then, I'm actually off that day, so I can come with you."
"Awesome! Everyone can come and see me whip up on everyone there!"
"Uh... Just don't get your feelings hurt, dude. These guys are competitive, and do anything to win. I would know..."
"Pah! I'll teach them to be cheap with me! Watch me stomp them all!"
OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO
That night, Dennis and Dolimus sat upstairs watching a movie while Von Stupor observed Packrat training on Super Smash Bros. Melee.
"You're not in the least bit nervous, eh?" Von Stupor asked him.
"Why should I be?" he asked in reply.
"Well, you've been playing for four hours now, only doing one-on-one matches against the CPU, ever-refusing to change the rules for diversity."
"If I can't annihilate these guys, I won't be able to annihilate my opponents at the tournament either. This is how it has to be! No pain no gain, eh?"
"True... but as Leonard Nimoy once said in Seaman, if would didn't know better, one might assume you're quite obsessed, or that you have nothing better to do."
"Well if one didn't know better, one might assume you're quite dense, or that you have nothing more intelligent to say."
"That one... wasn't as good as some others--"
"I know, I was just throwing it back at you, leave me alone."
After sitting for a moment to process Packrat's request, he left the room and journeyed upstairs, into the kitchen.
"What are you watching?" he called in to them.
"'Terminator 2'," Dennis called back.
"Ah. Are they at the part where the mayor drinks the water full of tadpoles?"
After a brief moment, Dolimus spat out, "What?"
"Uh... I could have been thinking of a different movie."
Von Stupor popped some leftover spaghetti into the microwave and started it up. After a while, the two began to hear strange, erratic grunting coming from the kitchen.
"What are you doing in there?" asked Dennis casually.
"Waiting for the food to finish," the baron answered in between grunts.
Within a half of a minute, Kay came out to inspect everything to see Baron Von Stupor wiggling in circles in front of the microwave while grunting. She gave him a confused look and blurted out, "What the hell... are you doing?"
"I'm waiting for the food to finish," Von Stupor replied.
"You think dancing is gonna make it move faster?"
"It always does."
"Well, could you at least do it a bit quieter? I'm trying to hear my show."
"Ah. I shall rectify the problem!"
On her way past Dennis, she leaned down and mumbled into his ear, "Your Baron Von Stupor is... really weird!"
They both chuckled lightly and she went back to her room, calling back, "Don't forget to check all the doors, make sure they're locked before you go downstairs."
Dennis acknowledged and went back to watching the movie. He could still hear Von Stupor dancing quietly in the kitchen.