JMJ
Chapter Nine: The Pact, Made and Kaput
With a jump and a cry of surprise, Escargoon turned to Tiff.
"Oh, it's you," he said wiping what served as his brow, which was just the top of his eye lids.
"What are you doing out here?" Tiff wanted to know.
"Waddya mean, what I am doing out here? I live here just as much as you do in case you forgot, and I have just as much a right to sit here as you do," retorted Escargoon.
Tiff frowned. "Yeah, but I would've thought you'd be with King Dedede and all the new stuff."
"Why are you out here and not enjoying the new stuff?" sniffed Escargoon.
"I don't want any of it."
"Hmm… sounds like you," said Escargoon, and he paused as if debating about something. "Ungrateful, as usual."
"Do…you not like the new remodel?" Tiff asked ignoring his last comment.
"Oh!" groaned Escargoon. "It's not that, it's Susie and the other Haltmann people. I'm guessing that's your problem too."
"Yeah, something about this whole thing is really suspicious."
"You don't have to tell me twice."
"But usually you don't seem to care about that kind of stuff," said Tiff.
"What? You think I'm too stupid to notice that Susie's just kissing up to His Majesty?"
"I meant that usually you're in on—"
But Escargoon went on as if he had not heard, "And 'why' is what I want to know? Most of this he's getting for free, and there's no way they're giving all this to us for nothing at all. If it's not money that they're after then it's something else, and I don't like it, especially since I know that they wanted us to use those robots for more than just guards. She was egging His Majesty on. She wanted the castle to get wrecked and maybe wanted to kill Kirby too. His Majesty is in danger and that means the rest of us too, and I feel like I'm the only one who cares or notices these things, but—!" Here he smiled just a little. "I should've remembered you, though."
Tiff brightened a little. It was only Escargoon, but he was better than no one, and she had felt quite alone up to this point. After a thoughtful pause she hopped off the ledge and stepped closer.
"Have you seen Meta Knight?"
"Who can see anyone in that sci-fi convention of a castle?" demanded Escargoon. "He's probably just avoiding all this and watching from his own room or some tower that hasn't been tampered with. Did you know that His Majesty is thinking of renovating his dungeons next?!"
"Ugh!" said Tiff, but she shook her head. "Well, Meta Knight and I had a talk not that long ago, and I really do think all this is a distraction. I'm sure he does too. He said he would be on the lookout for evidence of foul play, but he didn't show up again. I suppose that means he hasn't found anything yet."
"Hmm, probably," said Escargoon. "Why isn't he useful when we want him to be?"
Tiff rolled her eyes. "Well, while he's busy looking where the rest of us can't that doesn't mean that we have to sit here and do nothing."
"What do you mean?" asked Escargoon suspiciously.
"Well, we could spy on Susie ourselves."
"Hey, that's a great idea. Between you as a nosy whiz kid and me as the knowledgeable right-hand man at Castle Dedede, we should be able to catch Susie doing something rotten. What happened to that brother of yours? Why isn't he helping?"
"If I tell him we're spying on Susie, I know he'll help us. I haven't even told him about Meta Knight yet because of getting caught up in the renovations and what happened to poor Wispy just before that."
"Right, he couldn't pass up sneaking around an unsuspecting adult if I know anything about Tuff," said Escargoon like he knew exactly what he meant.
"Hmm," mused Tiff and she hurried around the fountain for a better view at the sleeping quarters.
Escargoon hopped off of the wall after her. "Where are you going?"
"That's Susie's room," said Tiff pointing to a specific window.
"Yeah, I have to pass it to get to mine," said Escargoon. "So what?"
"We gotta keep an eye on it," said Tiff. "The light's out now. She must be in bed."
"Or so we're supposed to believe," said Escargoon thoughtfully.
"Well, if I went to get Tuff he could help us get up to the window to see for sure. Those curtains are blocking the view, but—"
"We all know Tuff can get into anyplace locks or not," muttered Escargoon.
"Maybe I should go and wake him now."
"She's probably in there, and if she's not she could still show up at any time. It would be better to wait until morning when it's positive she'll be following around His Majesty all day."
"Yeah," said Tiff, feeling slightly awkward that Escargoon made sense, but she nodded. "Yeah, and if we wait until morning we can bring Kirby with us just in case there's something in there."
"Exactly," said Escargoon. "I'll make sure no one knows what you're up to and keep guard while you all go in there from the window. I'm not much of a climber, honestly."
"Great!" said Tiff happily. "First thing in the morning we'll meet somewhere like Kirby's house."
"Yes, Kirby's house."
"And if we don't find anything in her room that means she's probably hiding something somewhere else and we'll have to follow her."
"Hopefully by then, if that's the case, Meta Knight will just show up again."
"Hopefully," said Tiff, "but we still have a lot of stuff to do until that time comes."
"Right."
And they shook hands on it. Tiff felt quite satisfied too. At last they were getting somewhere and they had a plan, and Escargoon on their side really did put things into a better light somehow.
"Well, goodnight then," said Tiff. "Try to get some rest for tomorrow."
"You too. Set your alarm for five AM sharp."
Tiff agreed.
#
As Escargoon made for his room after parting with Tiff at the fountain, he stopped suddenly when he saw Susie some yards down the corridor in front of him heading in the same direction. He ducked around the corner behind him and watched as she opened the door and went inside her room casually enough.
He paused for a few moments longer, and then as quietly as he could he slid down towards the room and stopped a few feet away from the door and held his breath to listen. Nothing could be heard, and he was about to move on to his room, but just as he had passed her door by and was turning his head to his own doors, he thought he heard a mumble from inside her room.
He stopped again.
Now certainly one had a right to mumble to oneself inside one's own room. Maybe she had forgotten something or had hurt her finger or…no. She was talking. He also thought he could hear pauses for someone else to speak, but Escargoon did not hear anyone respond to her. That did not mean she was not having a conversation with herself; though discovering she was just crazy would have been just fine with him. As slowly and quietly as he could, Escargoon backed up to the door and listened. She was not talking so much as singing now, he realized and his eyes popped in alarm.
He frowned as he listened to Susie continue with words he made out now:
"…Give us favors such as these!
All we wish for you our lord is
That you never lead us wrong!
Rule us all, beloved Haltmann!
That we may all sing our song!"
Clenching at the ominous words, Escargoon then knew he heard clapping, and a murmuring of a deep voice that he took as Mr. Haltmann's over a communicator, but he could not make out what he said except maybe, "…no voice is as superior as yours…" until he became indecipherable again.
"Yes, Mr. Haltmann, everything is going well," said Susie.
In a swift motion Escargoon pressed his head up against the door to see if he could hear the other voice, but he missed most of it.
"No one has questioned his whereabouts," Susie responded.
Whose whereabouts? thought Escargoon impatiently.
"The natives are most of them quite pleased, especially the king," said Susie. "The mechanizing of the castle is underway and it could be easily completed in the blink of an eye, inhabitants and all. Just give me the word when to proceed, Mr. Haltmann when Mecha Knight is complete."
Escargoon's eyes widened, and he managed just barely to withhold a gasp as he remembered Tiff saying that Meta Knight had disappeared. With the word "mecha" he also quickly remembered what had happened to Wispy. But they could not have actually captured Meta Knight, could they have? No more than they could make one of those "unstable" metallic parts attach to him, right? Meta Knight was too talented a guy to allow himself to get caught by these goons, right?
His heart was beginning to beat faster as he wondered also what Susie meant by "inhabitants and all."
It still could be the food. He put a hand over his stomach, suddenly feeling ill.
"All we need to do is to remove the last obstacle," he could just barely hear Mr. Haltmann say. "With one removed, the other cannot be difficult, and once that is complete…well, then the resources will be open for the taking."
No. No, it was not the food. It was what they did to Wispy. Granted that could be in the food, but if it was that easy they could have just opened a restaurant instead, but he had a good feeling that the citizens and denizens of Dream Land were part of the resources.
He glowered.
Well, she finally made her mistake, anyway, and if Mr. Haltmann truly valued her singing voice he would have to get her back on Dream Land's terms if Escargoon had anything to say about it.
Straightening himself he knocked promptly on the door.
Susie gasped, and she said very quietly as Escargoon put his head to the door again, "I apologize, Mr. Haltmann, but I must go. I'll check on Kyle's progress on my project later."
Mr. Haltmann did not answer. Apparently the communicator shut off.
He heard Susie shuffle something and then say loudly, "Yes, I'm coming."
Escargoon knocked again impatiently anyway and said in his best commanding voice, "Open up in there, Susie! You have explaining to do!"
As soon as Susie opened the door just a little, Escargoon shoved it open the rest of the way and barged into the room.
Backing up in alarm, Susie asked, "Is something wrong, Mr. Escargoon? Did something happen?"
"Yeah, something happened alright! You happened!" said Escargoon, and he laughed vilely. "I knew it! I knew it all along! The kissing up, the discounts, the robots, the Kirby, the upgrading of less-advanced species—it all falls into place now!" He thrust an accusing finger at Susie and shook it violently. "I see through all your façade now, Miss Susie!"
"You're not making any sense, Mr. Escargoon," said Susie after blinking rather blankly. "Maybe you need to lie down and have a cup of tea with honey."
"Oh, yes, I make sense to you. Don't play innocent with me. You're planning on making us all your slaves," said Escargoon. "I heard it from your own mouth, don't deny it! You were talking to Mr. Haltmann just now. I heard you, and you're gunna turn us all into metal-encased drones like you did to Wispy! Well, not on my watch, Miss Susie!"
"Oh, dear," said Susie putting a hand to her cheek, though her tone did not quite denote the alarm Escargoon expected so much as disappointment. "So you know everything now. I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this."
"Ha! I bet you weren't!" Escargoon snorted.
Susie sighed. "What are you going to do?"
Escargoon paused leering suspiciously, and then he thrust out his finger again as he announced, "I'm gunna tell His Majesty right now, and if you don't end up in the dungeon it'll only be because you'll already be sentenced to the death penalty! You're coming with me, and you won't be able to talk your way outa this one, and—and you—and I—and you…" His face went pale and his finger lost its strength to keep pointing as he withdrew both hands to his chest and twiddled his fingers, which suddenly felt very hot and sweaty, "you have a gun, and I…feel really stupid right now."
Without a second's more hesitation, Susie fired. After all, there was no sense in allowing Escargoon long enough to recover himself in order to cry for help. A strange beam struck Escargoon in the head before he could so much as cringe. A tingling sensation most unpleasant vibrated through his brain causing him shudder and to squint his eyes very strangely and clench his teeth so hard that they hurt.
While he shook, Susie laughed just a little. "I'm afraid I can't let you alert anyone now, Mr. Escargoon. I must say that I was not prepared for you becoming an obstacle, but now you have and you must be removed. Perhaps you've heard our song?
"Master, crush the competition!
In your presence let us stay!
Yours is every star and planet
Now and ever, night and day!"
With a groggy moan, Escargoon felt his brain released from the beam, but he felt consciousness slipping fast whatever it had done to him. As Susie sang, he tried to say something, but it was like speaking while half in a dream in which nothing intelligible or loud came out. Before the verse ended he could not even hold himself upright as he sagged rather quickly in front of her. First his body sank until his face was on the floor with hands outstretched in front of him as though bowing before her might. The irony of that was the last thing that passed through his mind before he was out like a light, strangely with a goofy smile on his face as though at least his dreams took him somewhere pleasant.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Escargoon, but nothing must stand in our way," said Susie as she took out a small metal pad from her things.
She swiped it like a handheld device, and it suddenly became very large— larger enough to put a turkey platter on with a few plates encircling it, but it was meant for Escargoon. She swiped along the side of it and nudged it forward where it scooped the head-servant's unconscious form off of the floor like an egg off of a frying pan. She swiped the side again, and it followed her to be transported back to the Mother Ship where she promptly made her way along the corridors with the tray floating inches off of the ground behind her.
She stopped only briefly to ask Mr. Haltmann what should be done with the prisoner— or rather specimen. Then she continued on to her destination. When she arrived where Dr. Kyle was messing with the back of a slim, tall, and rather elegant black machine, he looked up at her idly. His eyes soon fell upon the form of Escargoon behind her.
"What is that?" he asked.
"The king's head-servant."
"Egh, what a waste," Kyle remarked after getting a good look at the quietly snoring form; the tip of the tail free from the shell moved a little with the motion of a sleeping cat while he curled up with head in his arms as he seemed to be nestling a little as from a sudden draft. "What am I supposed to do with it exactly?"
"I couldn't kill him there. What would I do with his body unless I brought him back here? So I decided that I might as well bring him back alive and be useful for something," Susie replied lightly.
"Or you just didn't have the heart to kill such a pathetic creature," teased Dr. Kyle smugly. "I can't imagine he could have been giving you that much trouble."
"Hmph," said Susie. "He found out. I had to do something. He might have spoiled everything if he had not been such a fool and told someone else right away. Maybe he could have gotten Kirby on his side, but instead he confronted me directly."
"Well, what do you expect?' asked Kyle. "He is, after all, only a primitive native."
The continued wry smile in Kyle's eyes unnerved Susie a little, but she pretended to ignore him as she swiped the side of the tray to keep it from following her anymore. It rested slowly on the ground in a spot out of the way for the moment. Then she went to the computer Kyle had been working on. Beyond was a wide capsule cut half way through along the side in which a rather smallish round form hovered.
"So, what am I supposed to do with him specifically here?" asked Kyle pointing to snail on hand.
"He is meant for another mechanized experiment designated by the plans drawn up by the Mother Computer. Mr. Haltmann said that was what we were to do with him when I asked him," said Susie still not looking at Kyle as she examined the other unconscious form inside the capsule.
"Not that I'm questioning our great and noble president," said Kyle rolling his hand around idly and closing his eyes.
"Then don't!" said Susie tersely. "You're already in trouble from what I understand, so you had better do your job without complaint."
"Of course, Miss Susie," said Kyle now swiping the side of the tray himself so that it followed him to where the prone form of Escargoon could be encased in his own capsule.
Since the snail specimen was not being used at the moment, once the capsule encased him, a force-field like a pane of glass sheathed him on the front as well to cover him. His vitals were thus maintained inside. As soon as that force-field cover was sealed, a silent tracker glowed on a little holographic screen just above the laser pane above Escargoon's head. It showed his pulse, his respiratory status and his brainwave activity as well as options for further bodily analysis. The capsule also stiffened and straightened Escargoon into the best posture for his body. His eyelids smoothed to just barely closed, his mouth closed as his snoring halted, and his face went entirely blank. If his body needed anything, the capsule would automatically take care of it.
"Why is it taking you so long to complete the mechanizing process on him?" Susie then demanded, her full attention on the other form before her.
Kyle blinked slowly as he turned to her. Before he could even begin to speak, Susie went on, "I'm taking over this project for myself for a while, Dr. Kyle."
"Well, it was yours to begin with, but I was under the impression that you needed to keep up your façade," said Kyle. "If you stay up all night working, you might be tired in the morning."
Throwing her head into his direction, she glowered. Rattlesnakes could almost be heard rattling beneath her thick lashes and shelter of hair. Then she threw her head back to her work picking up a holographic clipboard.