Chapter Eight


Trigger Warnings For This Chapter: Mental Illness Traits, Hallucinations, Cursing, and Angry Outbursts.


Normally, strips of light peeking through his blinds awakened Brain, but instead, it was the scent of bubblegum. Bubblegummm, Pinky… Pinky! Brain sat up and looked down to see Pinky snoring at his side. "Oh my God, last night was real." Brain whispered to himself in disbelief. He had thought it was all some crazy dream.

Pinky felt Brain's movements and woke up with wide eyes. Where was he?! He pushed himself off the bed with a yell as he backed up into a wall.

Brain looked over the edge of the bed with a gasp. "Pinky!? What? What's wrong?!"

Pinky's heart rate slowed down as his body realized there was no danger. Quite the opposite, in fact. When you were homeless… you had to be ready for anything, especially while asleep. Even with 'nice' women needing a place to rest. Pinky shook away the nasty thought and smiled. He was in Brain's apartment! Last night was real! Pinky stood up and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. "Sorry, Brain. I'm not used to waking up in a bed….dddddd that's not my own. Zort!"

Brain glanced over at his alarm clock. 8:00 a.m. Not bad. He acknowledged Pinky's statement with a hum. Made sense. Brain was shocked himself when he awoke. He stretched and rubbed his arm. Now what? He was planning to take over the world today. He couldn't possibly do that with Pinky here, right?

Pinky stretched and was back off the bed once more. His stomach growled painfully, and he bent over. "Oof, tummy."

Brain noticed this and eyed Pinky up and down. He was pretty thin… not too scarily thin. But enough to raise concern. You'd have to be pretty damn hungry for it to make you double over. "Say, Pinky, why don't you watch some TV in the living room, and I'll make us some breakfast? How do you like your eggs?"

At the mention of breakfast, Pinky's mouth watered. Food. Eggs. Protein… wait, what? "What do you mean? Like from which bird I like them from?"

Brain looked at Pinky curiously. Was he being serious or silly… "I mean, like, how do you like them cooked."

Pinky scratched his head. How many ways could you cook an egg? It was just with heat, right? "Uh… I guess anyways is good. Troz!"

Brain shrugged and led them out of the room. He got Pinky situated on the loveseat and turned on the TV for him. "Here, you can watch some television while I make our eggs."

Pinky smiled. "Okay. Thank you so much, Brain! You're very kind to make us breakfast! Narf!" He couldn't wait to see what kind of cooked eggs he was going to eat. Pinky looked at the TV and noticed it was different from last time. It was smaller and definitely not the same one.

Brain blushed and looked at a clock on the wall. Six minutes. They've been up six minutes, and Pinky was already a ray of sunshine. He patted Pinky on the shoulder and headed into the kitchen.

He took out four eggs… but then decided on six instead. He was only going to eat two, but Pinky certainly needed more than two. Even if he wasn't thin. Brain remembered that tall people required more nutrients because of their bodies' additional workload.

Brain grumbled down at his gut bump. He wished he could eat large portions with minimal consequence. He lit the stove and cracked the eggs. As the eggs sizzled, he reached into his cabinet for salt, pepper, and plates.

Pinky had been watching a man named Murphy talking to a live audience. Pinky had to admit, he was very charismatic... but also a bit stuck-up. While Pinky's eyes were glued to the screen, the scent of the salted eggs sizzling enveloped his senses. Food. Pinky looked over and tried to peek behind the barrier between the rooms. Whichever way Brain was cooking them, it smelled amazing.

A few minutes later, Brain was out with their plates. He handed Pinky his and watched with interest at how Pinky was reacting. He was drooling and grabbed the plate quickly. Brain looked down at his plate and grabbed a fork full before looking back at Pinky. What the blazes?!

Pinky didn't want to look like a greedy goblin and waited for Brain to look away before he slid all of the eggs into his mouth. They were devoured within seconds.

"Pinky!? How did you… When did you… Your eggs?! Did you already eat them?!" Brain was stumped. One second, Pinky's plate was filled with four over-medium eggs, and the next, it was spotless.

Pinky sighed contentedly at the food in his stomach. "Yep. I sure did. They were magnificent! You cooked them nicely! Thank you, Brain!"

Brain blinked several times before laying back and eating his own breakfast. He smiled at Pinky's choice of entertainment. "You like the Morning Murphy Show, too?" (Very different from the Evening Murphy Show if you asked Brain.)

Pinky had just kept the channel where it was. He'd never seen the Morning Murphy Show until now. But the few minutes he had seen were pretty good so…. "Sure do! He's a very charming fellow, ain't he?"

Brain nodded. "Absolutely, he is." A thought popped up in Brain's head suddenly. The news portion of the show should be coming up…

As if to please Brain's ponderings, Murphy cleared his throat. "Now, everyone. I have some unsettling news for today. Something tragic happened at Endo Train Station last night." An image of the three boys from the train was shown on screen. Brain leaned in and listened carefully.

Pinky also tuned in. He hoped they had no ideas on who it was. Brain was only saving him, after all. Crazy homeless rat! He did a bad thing because of you! Pinky laced his hands together, eager to know if the police had found anything suspicious.

Murphy continued on. "Three young boys. Ages nineteen to twenty-two. All dead. Shot to death." The audience gasped. He went on about the tragedy, and by the end of that particular segment, Brain sighed a breath of relief. The police had no leads.

Pinky was also relieved. He closed his eyes and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He zoned out for a moment behind his closed eyes until he heard Brain yell.

"Damn, Snowball!"

Pinky opened his eyes and saw a familiar man on the screen. It was the man from the other day that had referred to Pinky as vermin. Rat. He could understand why Brain was upset at the sight of him. He was a rather ruder person, and his eyes were cold and sharp. "You don't like the snowman either, Brain?"

Brain huffed and crossed his arms. "I hate him! That man is responsible for stealing my promotion! He switched our papers around and left me on the first floor while he's up on the fifth floor doing jack squat for the company! He's a snake!" He huffed another insult under his breath. "Manipulative bastard." Then he smirked. "You don't like him, Pinky?"

Pinky shook his head. "I don't. The other day, he saw me digging… for something I lost, and he called me vermin! I've been called that plenty of times to know what it means, too. Also…," Pinky shivered,... "He gives me the heebee-geebeez."

Brain turned the TV off as the polls were being discussed. "He called you vermin?" Snowball better know a good hiding place when I rule the world.

Pinky nodded. "He did. Poit. It hurt my feelings, too." Pinky felt a hand on his arm and was greeted with one of Brain's beautiful smiles.

"Don't fret, Pinky. You know, at least I would never call you such things. Plus, after today, no one will be saying rude things to anyone."

Pinky beamed. "Why's that, Brain?" Was there some weird deadline on rudeness he wasn't aware of?

Brain opened his mouth with a proud swelling in his chest… and then he let out an airy breath. Should I tell him? What would he think? I've never told anyone besides that social worker about this. Ever. Brain twiddled with his thumbs as he thought something over. Pinky wouldn't judge; he knew that much. And clearly, Pinky wasn't a blabbermouth, or he would've gone straight to the police after last night.

Pinky pressed on, confused at the lack of a response. "Is this an anxiety thing, Brain? Poit."

Brain rubbed the back of his head. "Noo… it's actually more complicated than that. Pinky, how good are you at keeping secrets?"

Pinky rubbed his hands together on his lap. He was really good at keeping them. There were several he was keeping from Brain right now. "I'm pretty good at keeping them. Narf!"

Brain was still unsure. He looked around randomly as he considered saying anything. It would be nice to have at least one person know that wasn't a social worker. He could have someone to talk to about it freely with. Though after today, of course, it wouldn't matter… but just in case. "This is a vital secret. And I do want to share it with you. I-I hate to ask this, but I need you to tell me a secret about yourself before I'm comfortable telling mine."

Pinky concentrated hard on those words. A… secret of mine? Hm. He did want to know Brain's secret.. and it was clearly that important to him. He supposed a secret for a secret was a fair exchange. The issue was, which one should he talk about?

Pinky glanced in the corner and took notice of the creepy lady only he could see… He looked back at Brain and sat up straight. "Okay. But, you can't judge me. And I mean it. I doubt you would… but this is something no one knows."

Brain gulped. The way Pinky spoke made Brain nervous. Please don't tell me you're dying of some disease or something. "I won't judge, Pinky. I swear on the world."

Pinky smiled and relaxed. The world was quite a thing to swear on! He took in a deep breath and summoned his courage. "I… uh." Hm, this was harder than he thought. "See over there." Pinky pointed to the corner.

Brain looked. "Yeah. What about there?"

"Do you see anything?"

Brain raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I see my wall."

"I see a lady in a dirty gown."

Brain froze. What did he just say?! He let his mouth move. "Pinky, what are you talking about…?"

Pinky became uneasy at the reaction. He pulled on the bottom of his shirt and explained further. "I see people that others can't. I call them the non-people. It seems rude, but it's just easier for me to call 'em that. They don't act like regular people anyway. They like to just… stand and not talk and pop up to scare me."

There was silence for a moment. Hands were placed on Pinky's shoulders, and he shut his eyes. He was scared to look at Brain. He thinks you're crazy! You're an idiot!

"Pinky, look at me."

Pinky slowly opened one eye and then the other. He was expecting an angry and disturbed expression, but instead, he was met with … well, he wasn't sure what emotion it was. "Y-yes, Brain?"

"Pinky, don't be scared; I'm not judging you. I'm just… concerned. How long has this been going on?"

Pinky felt relief flood through him. Oh, thank goodness. He doesn't hate me. Pinky shrugged at the question, though. "Ummm, I'm not sure. Didn't really keep track. A while, I suppose?"

Brain released his hold on his friend's shoulder. That was a pretty intense secret to share. He supposed it was a worthy exchange of information. "Thank you for sharing that, Pinky. That couldn't have been easy."

Pinky lit up. "Are you gonna share your secret now?"

"Follow me."

They were back in the bedroom with Pinky standing by the door and Brain on all fours as he crawled underneath the bed. He moved some junk out of the way, grabbed the handle on a bag, and swept a few needed items up with him.

Pinky tilted his head with interest as he watched Brain scoot out from under the bed with a bunch of items.

Brain released his hold on everything and popped his back. He gestured towards the haul. "These are the items I'm going to be using today to take over the world."

Pinky got closer and scanned the items. He didn't recognize much of what was there. And wait… did he say take over the world? "Say again, Brain?"

Brain put his hands behind his back and avoided looking at Pinky. "I'm trying to take over the world, Pinky."

"Metastoreically ooor…"

"No. Very literally."

Pinky was surprised, but also … "Wow. Now that's a goal, Brain!" He clapped with excitement. "Can I ask why? That's an incredible dream; there must be a pretty good 'why!'"

Brain stood up with the items threatening to slip from his arms. "To make it a better place. A place where… there are more people like you. I have a vision, and I'll stop at nothing to achieve it."

Pinky held the door open for Brain and followed him into the kitchen with a slight blush. "That's wonderful, Brain! A world ruled by you!"

Brain smiled and dumped everything onto his counter. He scanned the items and hummed in dissatisfaction. I'm short a few items… I can't believe I wasted parts on making a stupid TV!

"What's the matter, Brain? Can I help?"

Brain's eyes snapped open wide for a moment. "Help?"

The taller man giggled. "Well, of course! What do you need me to do? I'll be an excellent helper, I promise!"

Help?…. It would make things go faster. And maybe… "You truly want to help me?"

"Um, duh. Narf!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Brain's face was level with the counter, carefully eyeing a chip held by tweezers. "Hmm. That's pretty perfect."

"Oooh, Braiiinn! I'm back! Narf!" The door to the apartment swung open as Pinky walked inside with full arms.

Brain cringed at the sudden noise, nearly dropping the tweezers. He clutched his free hand to his chest and snapped his head out from behind the barrier. "Pinky! Please! I nearly dropped this!" Once the smaller man's heart returned to a normal pace, he smiled at the items in Pinky's arms. "Pinky!" He had sent Pinky out to get a few tile-sized sheets of metal. He didn't expect Pinky to return with so much scrap metal! And wire! "Where did you get all that?!"

Pinky bumped the door closed with his hip and proudly walked over into the kitchen, dumping the items on an adjacent counter. "The dump, of course! They have lots of neat stuff there! Troz!"

The.. dump… "Pinky, that's genius! I-I can't believe I never thought of that before."

Pinky placed a fist on his heart. A genius? No one ever called him smart before. "Oh, Brain. It was nothing really." He waved a delicate hand. Pinky reached into his jacket pocket. "Oh, here's this back, Brain."

Brain grabbed the gun and put it in a drawer. "Thank you. And your ribs? How are they fairing?"

Pinky gave a thumbs up. "They're feeling okay for now." He looked over Brain's head, curious about the weird device that wasn't there when he left. "What's that?"

Brain grabbed a few things from Pinky's dump haul. "I'll tell you when I'm finished. How about you uh…." He didn't care that Pinky wasn't intelligent, but it meant he couldn't allow Pinky to mess with anything related to the scheme.

Pinky offered a small smile. "I coouuuld vacuum the living room? While you finish?" He could tell Brain wasn't comfortable with the idea of him working on the actual project. He was okay with that. If Pinky was being honest, a lot of what Brain was doing was beyond his understanding. But! He could help clean the apartment. It was always easier to work in a clean environment.

"Vacuum?" Brain looked around Pinky and glanced into the living room. It did need a good sweep. "Uh, sure. If you don't mind, I suppose."

Over the next few hours, Brain worked on the plan while Pinky tidied the apartment. And as if in perfect harmony…

"Done!" - "Done!"

Both men turned to look at one another. Brain was holding a small, complicated-looking machine, and Pinky was standing in a practically sparkling living room. They stared at each other for about a minute before they both erupted with laughter.

Brain wiped a tear from the corner of his eye as he approached Pinky. "Thank you, Pinky. I don't think this place has ever looked so nice."

Pinky beamed. "Oh, not a problem, Brain! So, did you finish your thingy?" He pointed to the device Brain was holding.

The shorter of the two cleared his throat and held the device up with pride. "Yes! Allow me to explain, Pinky."

Pinky tuned in as best as he could as his friend spoke. A lot of the words were a bit too complicated, and he didn't understand how any of the words related to each other, but he could feel Brain's passion radiating. He smiled when Brain finished his spiel and spoke with regular words again.

"…And then, I shall rule the world!"

Pinky clapped. "Egad! That's brilliant, Brain." It must have been with how many big fancy words were said.

Brain wiggled the fingers on his free hand almost sinisterly. "Okay, Pinky! Here we go! Once I press this button, everyone with or near a radio or TV will be under my control!"

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Brain's finger got closer and closer to the button, and a single drop of sweat rolled down the side of his head. Pinky's eyes widened as Brain's finger moved. Finally, contact was made with the button.

*Zzzzzzzrrrrrr…. Zzzzzrrrrr…. Pwwwaaa~*

A spark of electricity shot from the machine and briefly shocked Brain. Smoke burst from the sides of it, and then there was silence.

Brain's eager expression turned into one of horror. "No." The defeated word was lower than a whisper. I failed. Again. Brain hadn't even registered that he had slid down the wall closest to him. He was sitting down, device dropped on the floor, with his head in between his knees.

Pinky gasped when he saw the spark and then saw Brain slide to the floor. He rushed over and knelt down to grab Brain's shoulders. "Brain?! Brain, are you okay?!" He heard the other sniffle. "Oh, no. Poit. Brain? What hurts?!"

Brain took in a shaky breath and snapped. "I'm not injured! Well, maybe my pride. Just, leave me alone!"

Pinky felt a sad tightness in his chest. Brain had never really yelled at him before. He swallowed the sadness, though. Sometimes people say things they don't mean when they're upset. "Brain, please talk to me. I can tell you're hurting. Maybe it's not an outside owy, but inside owies are just as bad."

What part of leaving me alone did Pinky not get? He was a failure! And so, so angry about it! "I. Said. Leave. Me. Alone! Now!"

Pinky didn't budge. "Brain, I-"

Pinky didn't get to finish his statement before being pushed onto his back rather roughly.

"Go away!"

Pinky grimaced at the pain in his chest. Both the physical and metaphorical. He looked up at a red-faced Brain. Pinky felt so confused. Brain was nice! He was! But… HE HATES YOU! I TOLD YOU HE WOULD! Overwhelmed, Pinky got up and ran out of the apartment with teary eyes.

Brain stood up and panted as he cooled down. He took in a few controlled breathes before turning around and punching the wall. Why did I just do that?!

….

"Brain?! Brain, are you okay?!"

"Brain, please talk to me. I can tell you're hurting…."

"I coouuuld vacuum the living room? While you finish?"

"What's the matter, Brain? Can I help?"

…..

"Fuck." Brain grabbed his coat and gun and rushed out the door. "Pinky!" He looked left and right down the hall, but there was no trace of him. He ran down the stairs faster than the elevator would have taken him and burst out of the building. "Pinky!"

Brain's breathing picked up as he panicked. He had to find him. I'm sorry! Not knowing where to even start, Brain took off in a random direction. He'd search the whole city if he needed to.

He looked into shops and stores, the train stations, and checked the parks. But Pinky was nowhere to be found.

Darkness soon took over the sky, and the stars and street lights illuminated the town. Brain leaned against a street-light pole and let a few tears flow. "Fuck. The one amazing thing that came into my life, and I chased him away. All because I can't get a grip on my pathetic emotions."

After wallowing in his self-pity for a few minutes, Brain pushed himself off the pole and trudged back home.

As he walked home, he took in the scenery. He hadn't been in this particular area of town much. There were trash bins filled to the brim, a few oak trees, and a bridge. Brain's heavy, shame-filled eyes stayed glued to the bridge. There was a small, unattended fire burning underneath it. Or so he thought.

Brain squinted harder when he saw a silhouette approach the flames. Something seemed weirdly familiar. It sat down, holding its hands out. Brain got a little closer, bring careful not to make too much noise and scare whoever it was away.

He got as close as he felt comfortable and hid behind a tree. He peeked his head around and squinted his eyes again.

"… Pinky?!"