Chapter Fourteen
Trigger Warnings For This Chapter: Cursing, Mental Illness Traits, Hallucinations, Death, Blood, and Violence.
The last time I had a manic episode, I thought I had succeeded in ruling the world…
...
The psychologist walked in with her chair and sat down as the light from above clicked on. Brain had been humming to the tune of an unknown song when his cell door opened. He stopped and smirked. "Hello, Deja. How are you doing?"
Said woman was visibly taken aback but was quick to respond. "I'm well. How are you, Mr. Brain?"
"Oh, I'm just fine." Brain gave a brief, breathy chuckle. "Juuuust fine."
The woman named Deja began her writing. "The last time I was here, you seemed very upset. Can I ask why that appears to have changed?"
Brain playfully rolled his eyes. Oh, this woman just doesn't seem to get it. "Do you people understand just how futile all of this is? You're all going to regret so painfully for having locked me away. Any day now, he'll come with an army this place isn't equipped to protect itself from."
Deja stared at Brain for a moment as if she was searching for something long gone. "An army…?" It was ridiculous nonsense, but she went with it; Just in case there was a chance at understanding what was spoken to her. "Who will bring an army? And why do you think this will happen?"
Brain scoffed dramatically. "Why?! Do you think it is so easy to get away with holding the world's leader captive?" She is insane if she thinks otherwise.
Deja blinked away her bewilderment and cleared her throat. "World leader?"
"Oh, don't act like you don't know!" How dare she! Filthy Snowball minion. Brain rapidly pondered what punishment would best suit the woman once he was rescued. He glanced at his padded hands and chains. Something humiliating.
The woman scribbled away in her journal. "You think you're the world's leader? And that an army lead by someone will rescue you?" The psychologist planned to talk more in-depth about Brain's crimes today but examining this delusion had taken unexpected priority.
Brain inhaled, closing his eyes. Don't get worked up. This is precisely what Snowball wants. On his exhale, his eyes opened, and he smiled with smug undertones. He just needed to wait this out. He'd be saved soon and needed to be patient. "Of course, I'm the world's leader. And yes, I will be rescued by my dear, sweet lover."
Their session ended with a timer ringing, and Deja got up, grabbing her chair. "I'll see you again, Mr. Brain." She exited the room with an exasperated head shake. This was not what she was expecting today.
The lights above went out, and Brain waited for the doctor to come in next.
The unsettling man walked in with two cups. Brain was handed the pills first, and when he looked at them, he was surprised to see his old medicine. He threw his head back, sliding the pills into his upper lip. Returning him to his regular medication was useless. Brain didn't need medicine at all. Not from here where Snowball would most definitely have had it poisoned.
After drinking the water from the second cup, Brain's mouth was inspected before he was left alone. The pills were dropped into his sleeve, where they would remain until Brain was escorted to his afternoon bathroom break.
The fools. Brain couldn't help but laugh as he thought about how badly these people would suffer for their actions. I just need to wait for my Pinky.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Pinky awoke to shouts and screams. He sat up quickly, trying to prepare for the unknown. He looked around and noticed that no one was in view. Now that he was conscious, he could gauge that the yells were coming from a block away, just out of his line of sight. They're crazy, like you.
Pinky yawned and stretched as he contemplated whether or not he should go check out what was happening. He was nervous that people would recognize him and become angry. I guess they're all already angry, though, with whatever's going on… He could just keep his distance and be prepared to run.
With a firm nod, Pinky marched over to the commotion.
He poked his head around a corner and was shocked to see the chaos before him. A parade passed through the streets and a mix of angry pedestrians on the sidewalks. He looked up at one of the big signs atop a float. It read, 'Believe in Snowball!' Pinky cringed at the Snowman's sign.
He looked back at the people. He could tell they were shouting, but he couldn't make out what. Pinky moved out from behind the corner he was hiding and made his way into the crowd, figuring they might not notice him with how focused they seemed to be on the parade.
Pinky made his way towards the middle to understand what the situation was. He saw people in suits shouting their praises about Snowball. He also saw some average scowlers shouting at other people in the crowd. The people the scowlers were mad at were wearing smiley-faced clown masks.
Pinky's mouth hung open as he recalled the man from last night who waved at him. As he observed the sounds and movements of people, he noted that the masked people weren't shouting at all. They were being silent and holding signs. Most of the signs were small, so Pinky couldn't read what they said from where he was. He was curious, though, so he got closer to the masked individuals.
Oh my goodness! The first sign he read said, 'Free Brain.' So did the second sign and the third! Almost all of the signs that the masked people had were about freeing his lover! Some of the signs read, 'Pinky is Us.' Pinky didn't know for sure what that meant, but he had a feeling it was good.
"Narf! It worked. Sort of." He wasn't whispering, but it may as well have been when compared to the volume of the shouters.
Pinky smiled and slipped away from the crowd. He headed for the downtown area to look through some dumpsters and trash bins. While he walked, Pinky hummed to the tune of 'Ring Around the Rosie', trying really hard not to skip.
Downtown, Pinky's happiness only bloomed. Every TV and radio shop was broadcasting the parade. They talked about the Snowball supporters and the clown people with the signs. More publicity! When he saw newspapers, his face was on the cover! Well, his clown face. Yesterday, he would've felt bad about seeing his face in the newspaper, but now that he knew he had supporters, it was very welcomed. As exciting as all this was, though, he still kept a low profile.
He found a restaurant and made his way to its dumpster behind the building. Pinky lifted the lid and beamed when he saw packaged foods. A pre-made salad was removed and examined before being tossed back in. He looked over a package of hotdog buns next and was pleased to see that they had only just expired today. He ate six of them and moved on.
With a sort of full belly and his head mostly low, Pinky casually walked along. Now, who needs a good smile today? He scanned the faces of the people passing along the area. A few sad-looking men, a few grumpy ladies, and… the man from the burger stand who threw him. ….' Get outta' here, you rat!'... Rat. He really, really needs a smile.
Pinky tapped a finger to his chin. He needed a weapon. A memory of the old man from the alley flashed into his mind. A broken bottle should work…. Pinky began conjuring a plan in his head. He'd need to lure the man into a secluded area without being followed. Pinky went and found a bottle, breaking it, so it had dangerously sharp points. He found something to hide behind and carried it to his chosen destination. God, you're crazy.
With a plan in mind, Pinky crept over to the burger stand. He stopped about twenty feet away and sat on a bench. He needed to time this right. While people made their orders, Pinky hid his face behind an abandoned newspaper.
After around twenty-five minutes, there was no longer a line at the stand. Pinky peeked over and watched as the burly man pulled out a cigarette. Now was his chance. He just hoped he could provoke him enough into getting chased.
The newspaper was abandoned once more as Pinky made his way over. The man's tip jar was on the sill of the stand. Not much was in it, but it was enough. Now! Pinky dashed over and snatched the jar.
He headed for the alley, occasionally turning to see the meaty man gaining on him. Pinky picked up the pace, needing to be a little bit faster than his prey so that he had enough time to hide behind the giant wooden board he found.
Pinky made it into the alley first and ducked behind the huge slab of wood that was leaning up against the back of a candy shop. He peered through from behind the board in time to see the burger man enter the alley. Perfect.
A groggy voice echoed through the alley. "I know you're here, you rat! Come out and face me like a man!" The man's breathing was ragged and primal.
Pinky shoved the board away from himself and tackled the man. He was quick to press the bottle to his neck. "How can I fight you like a man if I'm a rat? Poit."
The man's eyes became pinpoints as he realized the position he was in. His booming, ugly voice was now a trembling mess of consonants and vowels. "H-hey, what's this? Fine, you c-can have the d-dumb tip jar, okay?!"
Pinky waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, silly. I don't actually care about the tip jar. Narf! I care about you !" Pinky moved the bottle over his skin but did not put enough force to break through. "You're an awfully angry man, you know? When's the last time you smiled?"
The man's eyes went wide. "Holy fuck. Y-you… you're the serial killer I heard about on the radio! Y-you're the smiley face killer!"
Pinky blushed. "Yeah, that's me. So, anyway, back to you." Pinky pressed hard enough to break through the skin just enough to draw a small amount of blood. "You see, my friend, Brain, he needs my smiles to keep on going. He needs 'em now more than ever! Every smile I make is my smile, so… ya know?"
Before the man could say another word, Pinky slashed his throat. Pinky stayed on top of the man, waiting for his body to stop spazzing and twitching. When the body became still, and the man's eyes were empty, Pinky moved to bottle to the edge of the mouth. "Right, let's get ta' smiling!"
After finishing up with the man, Pinky slipped away, careful to avoid being seen. It was much more challenging to do when sunlight was out, but he managed. By the time it started getting dark, Pinky was nearly back at the bridge.
The parade had long since gone, leaving behind a few posters and bits of misc. trash. The bridge was soon within sight. Pinky made his way over, venturing just a little further to the water, where he cleaned himself off.
With the blood off his body and clothes, Pinky went to work finding wood for a fire. He found quite a few and was about to grab one more branch when a cough from behind startled him. Pinky dropped his handful of branches and twigs and froze.
"Hello there. Pinky? Or do you prefer Mr. Wigerman?"
Pinky slowly turned around and gulped. It was a man with a fancy hat holding a badge. "It doesn't matter. Zort! What can I help you with Mr…."
"Detective Larry. Do you have time to talk, Mr. Pinky?"
Pinky gulped. A detective. "Not really, poit. I, uh, need to be somewhere."
There was a laugh from the detective. "I see. And where would that be? Under the bridge?"
A blush crept onto Pinky's face. He went to retort but was cut off.
"I saw you asleep there early this morning. I was going to ask you a few questions then, but I got a call about something before I could wake you."
Pinky crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. Okay, so maybe he didn't have somewhere to be right then, but he was in the middle of something. Pinky glanced at the belt the detective wore and took note of the gun. It'd be a bad idea to try something on someone with a gun. Especially someone who probably knew how to use it. "Okay. What do you want, -Pants, who made me drop all my sticks."
The detective looked down at the dropped firewood. "My apologies. I'll try to make this quick. Were you, before, living in Mr. Brain's apartment?"
Uh, oh. "Um, … no. Why?"
The detective pulled out a crudely drawn sketch of Brain with Pinky's signature on it. Then he pulled out a nametag with Pinky's name on it. It was his nametag from when he was working as a clown. He must have forgotten to return that particular item. "We just so happened to find these in his apartment when we were investigating something. Are you sure you weren't living in there? Several people have confirmed to have seen you going in and out of the building quite a bit."
Pinky maintained his stance. "No. I never lived there. I just went over a lot. Zort!" Crazy! He knows you are crazy!
"I see. Okay. Do you mind talking about those boys who Brain murdered at the Endo Train Station? The boys you said were trying to kill you? When you were on the Murphy Show? Why didn't you report the crime?"
Pinky put his hands on his hips as he thought hard. "Is it against the law to not report a crime?"
The detective seemed impressed at the response. "I suppose it's technically not a crime."
"So, I can't get in trouble if I tell you about that day? Right?"
"That's right."
Pinky gained a confidence boost. He wasn't in trouble. Yet. "It's exactly what I said on the show. Those boys were gonna kill me, and Brain saved me! He's a hero."
The detective nodded. "I see. I see. So, Pinky, do you happen to know anything about the smiley-face murders?" The conversation deviated drastically out of nowhere. It was a tactic used by Larry to take his suspects off guard.
Pinky's confidence disappeared, but he kept his wits straight. "Nope. Zort! I don't."
The detective stared at Pinky for another moment before shuffling his feet. "Welp, okay! Thank you for your time, Mr. Pinky. I suppose I'll be heading out. Stay safe out there, and don't pay mind if you see me around often." He walked off, leaving Pinky stuck, dumbfounded.
He eventually shook out of his shock and recollected his firewood. This is bad. He's going to be watching me now. I won't be able to make my smiles! At least I'm not in trouble yet. Good thing he didn't come by when I was washing up.
Pinky walked back to the bridge and nearly dropped his firewood again as he saw someone was sitting where he usually would. It was the clown mask guy who had waved to him last night. At least, he was pretty sure it was. Pinky approached slowly and blinked in confusion.
The masked man turned his head towards Pinky and motioned for him to come and sit down.
