Longest Novel: Fall of The Republic

by morgan kingsley

In 2020, a middle-aged author, living too deeply in the past, decides to write the story of what really happened to him and his friends when he was younger, and as it unfolds, a giant conspiracy starts to show itself. An AU of seasons 1-4 that take place in the United States. Crossover with several other series for one overall universe.

14. Hates Growth

Chapter 1 Episode 14 – Hates Growth (Sora)

Scene 1: Consolations Of Pain

I was with Matt, and I was just trying to find literally anything to say to him to make him feel better about what was going on. In all honesty, this whole situation was just rubbing me the wrong way, and I was just trying to figure out what I was feeling about this. "How has T.K. been holding up lately? I haven't spoken to him once since then." I said, thinking that this was probably the longest six days of their lives so far.

"He has only hung out with Tobias, Davis, and Yolei once. I am scared that he probably accuses himself of being responsible for what happened, after all that he was doing with looking into those events with them. I would not want him to be thinking that way though." Matt said, and I was considering what it would have been like if he honestly felt that way.

"I know that Joe was telling me that you were upset with your father after what happened. Do you honestly believe that he might have some idea of what is going on? I mean, I know that he probably wasn't the greatest guy ever to be around, but I think that we just need to be more careful than to be pointing fingers like this." After I had said that to Matt, I was seeing him just looking like he had no idea what to be telling me at all.

"I mean, in all honesty, it is going to be rather hard for me to be upset at the guy for something that he might not even have been connected with. But there is that part of me that feels like he just needs to talk with us, and we can perhaps just make something work." After Matt said that, I was shrugging, thinking that we both knew something like that was not going to happen.

"I think we both know that we will not do something like that. He probably feels like talking to you will just be making things worse. I just feel like the only way to work this whole thing out is if you guys can put your shit aside, and try to find out what was in that fucking letter. I heard about that." I said, and then I was seeing Matt looking like he was just upset over the mere mention of the letter.

"God, I don't even want to fucking think about what could be in there. And the worst part is that I have a terrible feeling that if we read what is in there, then there will be no more hiding the fact that something is indeed happening in this town. And she got caught in the cross fire of something that should have never been happening." Matt said, as he shook his head.

"Damn it. I have a feeling that everything T.K. said is true now, and that we are just wasting our time even talking about it right now. And that this is her way of trying to atone." Matt finished, and then with that, I remained silent a bit longer.

"Do you think that I should try to talk to him? I mean, I know that he might be finding the idea a bit strange to talk to me, but he might be more willing to open up than he will be with either of you." I said, and then I was seeing Matt looking as if he was not wanting to think about that idea at all.

"I do not want you to be getting involved in what I had to deal with with my fucking family. This is something that I feel like I need to sort out with my family. Whatever my mom did must have had a good reason, and I am sure that our dad probably has at least some idea of why this is happening." After Matt said that to me, I was sighing, and I was just feeling that I might as well just drop this now.

"Matt, I know that you probably feel like you have to be dealing with this all on your own, and that you do not want anybody to be giving you advice. But I can do whatever is possible for me. I mean, we have been together for a couple of months now, and I feel like it is time for us to be looking beyond these issues, and actually find something else." I said, and then I looked right at him, wondering what he was going to be saying now.

"I just want to make sure that whatever my mom was doing was for the right cause. I do not want her to feel like things had gotten so bad that she wouldn't have been able to move beyond this. And who knows, I feel like I just have to take this all more seriously now." Matt said, and I was just sighing, feeling that I needed to let it go for now.

"This is a mess. If you ever want to talk about what can be done going forward, I will do whatever I can to listen to you. That is really the best that I can do, I have to admit." I said, and then I looked at him, hoping that he was not going to be too upset with what I had said to him. As I was saying this, I was seeing Matt looking like he was just choosing the silent route.

"There is nothing to fucking do Sora. I mean, I will listen to whatever T.K. has to say. All of it. I mean, for all that I know, there is some fucking piece of the puzzle that he has found that I have not been able to look at before, and I am just making a giant mistake not looking at it before. Who knows, I just feel like it is time to finally listen to his stories." After Matt said that, I felt like I needed to extend my offer once again.

"If you need me to, I will come along, and I will help you out. We can talk with him together." I said, and then once I was done with that, I was seeing him taking a long an deep breath, as if feeling like there was really no point in arguing anymore. So with that, he nodded at my ideas.

"Fine. I guess that having a extra person with me would not hurt. And for all that I know, he might be more willing to talk with you when you come along, and speak with him instead. I don't know, but it is worth a fucking try." Matt said, and then with that, we were heading on his way over to their house, and I was starting to think that this is not working.

"Matt, I know that you feel like you got to take care of this all on your own, but you really do not. You are more than able to talk with us about what you need. I mean, all of the people that you have started to talk with lately, are able to come along and give you help if you need." I said, and I was feeling like I was just wasting my breath as I was saying this to me.

Eventually, we were at his house, and then I was seeing him looking like there was something in his mind. "Look, don't take this the wrong way, since I really do appreciate the fact that you are trying so hard to be making me feel better. But I just need a bit of time to process it myself. If by the end of summer, I still have not talked about it, then go ahead and pester me about it." Matt said, and then after he had said that, I just decided that it was not worth the fight.

"Alright, you made your point. I will leave it alone for now. I just think that when these things happen, it is always hard to really be sure of what you need or don't need. And I just thought that I would be able to provide something of help." After I had said that to him, I saw him looking like he was just unwilling to even fight with this anymore.

"Who knows, maybe T.K. is finally willing to talk. Will be embarrassing to see if he is willing to exert more maturity on the subject than I am. But who knows, I guess that we will just see how he is." After Matt said that to me, he got up, and then we were getting out of the van, and we were walking inside of the house, and I was choosing to just not say anything at all.

As we were inside of the house, I was looking at Matt one final time, and I was wondering what in the world I was going to be telling him. "Just remember, that no matter what happens, this is going to be getting better with each day. It might be rough to see that now, but it will." I said, and I was not even caring if this was the most generic shit ever to say. But I just felt the need to try.

"Don't worry about it Sora. I know that once enough time passes, it will not be as bad as it used to be anymore. I just have a hard time seeing that at the moment." After he had said that to me, I was nodding, and I figured that I would just drop the subject for him, to not push it any further.

Once we were at T.K.'s room, we saw him looking at the skateboard, and he was still holding it with the arm cast on. "So do you know how much longer you are going to have that on?" I asked, looking right at him, and he glanced over at me, as if finding my sudden question rather strange and kind of annoying.

"I have no idea. Probably for the rest of summer at the rate that I am doing. I think that I might be going out again, and seeing some friends. Who knows, I feel like waiting away the summer in this area is just not going to be the best way out of this." After T.K. said that to us, I was seeing him staring for a second.

"Did you even know that she had that much money saved up anyways? That is just so fucking shocking to me. I just have a hard time really wrapping around my brain that this was something that she had clearly planned this entire time." After he had said that to me, I was slowly nodding at this, and I was feeling that Matt would be better to answer.

"I mean, I thought that she maybe had a couple hundred. But yeah, the fact that she had this much money shows that she had been planning this probably since we moved to Wayside, and once she finally had enough money to make sure that the two of us didn't have to work a second for the next year, she felt it was time. She really did think just about us, and nothing else." Matt said, and then with that, T.K. was walking over to the new pair of shoes that she bought him before the event.

"Yeah, I should at least try for an hour or two. If worst comes to worse, I have to head home. I am done with the investigating though. At least for now. She would not have wanted me to do this, and I think that it is time to just not fuck around with what she would have wanted at least for the time being." T.K. said as he was putting on his new pair of socks, and threw the older shoes, which had holes in them and were unbelievably dirty, in the trash.

"I think that as much as I hate to admit it, this is a sign that maybe she would have wanted you to be looking into this. I mean, there is no way that she would have wrote that letter to dad if it weren't a confession of some kind. Either he or she knew the truth of what was going on with Wayside. I think that maybe this was supposed to be our way of seeing that we were not going crazy." After Matt said that to T.K., he was looking at him, and then the two brothers remained silent for a few seconds longer.

"I guess that we will have to see how things go over the course of the summer. At least for tonight though, I am just stretching my legs again." T.K. said, and then grabbed the board she bought him, and then he was starting to head to the door.

"T.K., do you think that you can handle this all on your own? I mean, I know that this has not been the easiest summer ever, but I think that we can really work something out if you need it." Matt told him, and then with that, he was shrugging for a second, having nothing else to say about the whole thing. IT was like T.K. hardly even cared anymore.

"I just feel that this level of resentment that I am carrying will not be doing anybody any good, and I feel like she would not want us to be upset at each other. So I am just trying to just get better about it. I know deep down, you are my brother, and you are just trying to help me out." After T.K. said that to Matt, he was walking off, and then I was seeing that Matt wanted to say something else, and he wanted to argue so badly, but decided to just leave it all alone.

"I mean, he is just doing what he feels like he needs to do. So I guess that I can't be too upset about it. Who knows, maybe I can talk with dad. Surely he has the answer. I mean, there is no way in hell that after all that is going on, he would not be wiling to talk with me." Matt said, and then I looked at him, as if thinking that he needed to not get his hopes up.

"It might not be smart to be acting so sure. After all, he probably is just trying to act like he is handling the situation on his own. I can guarantee that everybody at his job is already coming around him, and just trying to act like they are sharing his grief." After I said that to him, I was seeing Matt kind of hearing what I was saying to him.

"One of these days, there will come a point where he will be willing to talk though. I just know it. I mean, there is only so much time that he can hold this off before he probably feels like there is not enough to keep up the lie." Matt said, and then with that, neither one of us were speaking all that much, and I just wanted to say something else.

"So if you feel like this is your way of realizing that there needs to be more investigation going on, do you feel like you need to just try and look into it more? I mean, if you are, then I guess that I can try and help you out." After I said that to him, I saw him looking like he was considering what I was asking him.

"Yeah, I am going to do it. I mean, I know that T.K. wants some time with friends, and I am totally willing to support that. But for me, I feel like there is too much at stake to just mess around with. And I guess that it might be nice to have you at my side, so we could be able to go through this all together." After Matt said that to me, I slowly nodded, thinking that I could go with that.

"Where do you think that you would start?" I asked, feeling that it would be bets to just let him have his moment, and I was feeling that if we were going to do this, we might as well at least do it in a fashion that was smart. Matt looked at me, and I was seeing him looking like he was considering all the ideas.

"Well, I already went to the broadcast station, and found nothing there all that time ago. And if that remains the case, then I am not going to fucking waste my time going back. But beyond that, I really don't know. I mean, Joe seemed to be making some progress with Brad. So maybe I can speak with him." Matt said, and then I sighed as he was saying this. I was not really in the mood to be talking to this guy, since we already knew what he was up to.

"Seriously, what is with everybody wanting to talk to Brad? I mean, I don't know what is worse, Joe thinking he is completely vindicated, or Izzy thinking that he is the most guilty human being alive. Both are rash generalizations." I said, and then he looked at me, as if finding my comment rather odd.

"I have no idea what Joe thinks, and why he thinks that way. I just feel like if we are trying to be careful about what we are doing here, then we need to be looking at all the options that are ahead of us. And besides, I feel like talking with Brad is really the closest thing to talking to Shaun that we are going to be getting." Matt said, and then with that, I was just considering the fact that he was probably right about that statement.

"That is a good point. But I feel like looking into politics is just going to be a rather strange way of going at this. Especially since most people who are getting in that field refuse to even consider what the younger group wants to say. So even trying this might be a waste of time." After I told him this, I was seeing Matt taking what I said into a level of consideration, and I was wondering what he was planning on right now.

"That is a good point. But there is one person who T.K. says is good that we could be able to talk with. If for nothing else, at least he can give us something." Matt said, and then I was slowly nodding, feeling that if this was a plan that was actually feasible, then I would be willing to give it a chance, and we could work it out.

"We are going to have to go to a soap box, and he might not even be there tonight. But it is worth checking out." After Matt said that to me, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I might we well just go along with it for the time being. For all that we knew, this was the big break in the case that we were really needing now.

"Alright, if you feel like this is the best way to be going at this, then I will be going along with it. But if not, then I think that it might be best to just follow what T.K. is doing, and just take a bit of a break." After I had said that to Matt, I was seeing him looking like he was not wanting to think about that any longer, but just shrugged it off.

As we were getting in the car again, Matt was then having another idea and then he ran to his room again. "What is going on?" I asked, trying to act like I was surprised with the way that he had been acting. But in all honesty, I was feeling that he was just jumping all over the place, and needed to take a fucking breath for a second.

"I just remembered something. My mom gave this to me, one of the things she purchased before the event. And I feel like it would be a terrible idea to not use it." Matt said, and then he was holding up a camera with a completely empty set of film. I was wondering if she thought he would like it due to the fact that Tai gave him the one from the falls.

"Alright, if you feel like that would be something you would need, then go ahead and use it." After I told him this, I was seeing him looking like he was not really going to be messing around with this idea at all. I sighed, and felt like I just needed to go along with it. And then we started to walk out of the house, and I was feeling no need to argue with him here.

Once we were in his car, I was feeling that I needed to ask him one final time if he was ready to be doing this. It just felt like this whole idea was going to really go fucking south if we were not careful, and we were just throwing ourselves into this arena, with no fucking planning at all. Matt looked at me, and I was thinking he knew that I was planning on asking this again.

"Don't even think about it Sora. I just feel like it is too late for me to go around and changing my mind right now." He said, and then with that, I decided that I was going to just drop the subject for now. He knew what he was doing, to some extent at least, and every time I was debating this with the guy, I was only making it much worse for him.

So with that, he started to drive off, and then I was sitting back. And I was thinking about what I was going to be doing when I would be hanging out with Tai tomorrow, since I had already made plans, and I was feeling like we had a lot that we just needed to talk about. As I was staring out the window, I was wondering why I was getting myself so fucking worried about every little detail, when just taking it a step at a time was probably for the best.

Once we were at the soap box, we saw another lower end middle age guy standing with a sign behind him, and he was giving a speech. I was wondering what this guy was doing. I had a feeling that he probably knew that he was going to be losing the election, so he was just trying to be giving off a positive impression to some voters.

"Probably not really the way to be getting people to vote for you. Most of these people have probably not stopped for a damn second to actually hear what he was saying at all." After I had said that to him, I saw Matt shrugging, as if not having much thought to the situation at all.

"Everybody has the right to run when they are old enough, my dad says. Even people who literally have a zero percent chance of winning. But who knows, I think we just need to see where this can go." Matt said, and then after he had said that to me, he was getting out of the car, and I was just remaining silent for a few seconds.

As we were walking up to the guy, he was looking like he was glad to be seeing anybody willing to stop to talk to him at all. So with that, he was just calming down, and looked right at us, probably wondering what we wanted to talk about. "Hello, thank you for coming to my speech. Was there something that you were interested in?" After he asked me this, Matt took a long and deep breath to consider what he was saying.

"I was wanting to talk to you about my brother T.K. He said you were a great speaker, and that you were one of the few people that he felt like was actually being genuine with his politics." Matt said, and then the guy looked at us, as if flattered at the way that T.K. had been describing him. And looking like he was just looking for a way to not let it in over his head.

"It is nice to be hearing anybody speak that way about me. I am just trying to do what is best here. But I wonder what you are doing here. Do you have some questions that you were wanting to ask me?" He asked, and then I was looking at Matt, wondering how much of the truth he was planning to reveal right then and there.

"In all honesty, I recently had a issue with my family. And I feel like it finally has given me irrevocable proof that something is actually happening in this town, and I want to make sure that you have a plan in how to be turning this whole thing around. So would you be willing to tell us what you can?" Matt asked, and Todd was taking a second to think about what the man was throwing at him, and thinking of a way to go along with it now. As if thinking that this was something that would actually work out in his favor at the end of the day.

"Well, in all honesty, I think that if you are trying to really make a difference in this town, it might be a mistake to support me. I will not stand a realistic chance of winning this election, and I think that most people will never really listen to me. It is a shame to admit, but by this point in time, I have made my peace with the fact." After he had said that to us, I was sighing, feeling that there was no point in even talking to him now.

"He was telling me that you knew the man who was assassinated, Myron?" Matt asked, and then Todd looked right at him, as if feeling that bringing that man up was always going to be a sore thumb for him. With that, he was sighing, and seemed as if he was having no idea where to be going with that answer.

"Yeah, I did know him. We went to school together, and worked for a while on the same things. But I was just doing my own thing after a while. Never really had any interest in the political field until the last year or so. I mean, I voted, but that was virtually it for the longest time. I just felt like I was never going to be making any real difference. But I am now seeing that this is not what matters to me anymore. I do not have to feel like I am going to win in order to run, and you can always make a impact on somebody by just simply resonating with their mind." Todd said, and then he was taking a second of silence, as if planning his next statement.

"Do you think that you can be the people that will finally make a difference on showing what is happening to Wayside? I think that if people are going to take things more serious, you need to be getting everybody to start saying the same thing. That was the issue that I had. Back then, it was just Sheldon Lee and I. And we thought people would listen to the two of us." After Todd said that, he laughed at his ideas.

"If you get elected, then what will your first action be relating to revealing the truth of what is happening?" I asked, and then I was looking at him, and I saw that Todd was looking like there was no point in even thinking about such a idea. But the thought of it was making him feel excited for a second.

"Aside from the fact that it will finally prove that people are finaly ready for a chance, and will do whatever it takes to reach so, I will be using my new elected position to be giving people hope that not only am I going to show the truth, but I would be putting behind anybody responsible to bars. If I can get people to see that this is not something that I am hiding from, then they will see that they made the right choice giving me a chance." Todd said, and then remained silent as he was saying this, and I was just trying to decide what I was going to do now.

"Well, if you are willing to tell everybody what is there, then you probably are able to tell us right? I mean, we need to know the truth as well." I said, and at this rate, I was just trying hard to hide the annoyance that I had been having at this rate. Then with that, Todd looked at me, and I saw that he was just not looking too sure what to tell us.

"Well, I heard a lot of theories that it is about drug deals, and I feel like that might be a bit false. But could there be any chance that this is true?" I asked, feeling that there was no point in even trying to hide the fact that I was going to be on this guys case, no matter how hard it would be to deny.

"I will admit that any amount of drug trade that is going on is relatively minor in the grand scheme of everything that is going on here. There is a small connection, and it does help with the money a bit. Which is why there are so many places in Wayside that are so much more worn down, and fucking destroyed than others." Todd said, and I was shocked at the way that he had been saying that to me, since there was no way in hell that I was expecting him to be that blunt about what he had said.

"Well, I guess that this was something that I should have expected. It does make some sense. People always talk about it, and there was no way in hell that the story would be spreading this much if it were not at least slightly true." I said, and then I shrugged as I had said that, feeling that there was no need to be hiding what was going on here.

"Did you ever go inside of where these deals were being held?" I asked, and then Todd looked at me, as if thinking that this idea would have been insane, and probably would have gotten him killed if he had done something like that, with all that had been doing to talk against it.

"Honestly, if I even tried to be going inside of one of those hot spots, I would have been targeted immediately, and I would have never survive the incident. There is no way that I would even be able to pull something like that off." After Todd said that to me, I was looking right at him, and I was laughing at the way that he was taking such a shocked look at this.

"Fair enough. I just figured that it would have been fair to ask. I guess that at the end of the day, I am just trying to figure out what in the world is happening here." I said, and then with that, I was shrugging, and I had nothing else to say. With that, Todd was taking a long and deep breath.

"Thank you for listening to my stories. I will be willing to talk with you guys about it later. But for now, I am probably going to be wrapping up my speech soon." Todd said, and I was seeing him looking around, as if there was something that was going on that was really putting him on edge. And I just felt like I needed to know the truth.

Matt looked at me, and I was seeing that he clearly was thinking quite a lot about what was happening. "I still feel like he is holding back. But I guess that he was willing to tell us some things. So I guess that I really have no right to bitch about what is happening. I just hope that T.K. knows what he is doing when he said that he trusted this guy." Matt said, and then with that, he was shrugging, and seemed to not have much that he wanted to say beyond that.

"Matt, I think that trying to support him is not going to be giving us any results. I think that maybe we should be looking at other solutions if we really want to be pulling this through." I said, and then I looked at him, wondering what he was going to be saying this statement of mine.

"Well, you never know what you can get. I still feel like there is a small amount of hope. I just wonder what it will be like if I misplace this hope of mine." Matt said, and then I was feeling like he might be doing that already. But I decided that it would be best to just shut up for once in my life.

"Regardless, I do think you are right. I think we need to let it go for the night. Hopefully we can put this all together in some way. But Sora, thank you for being there for me no matter what. That is all that matters to me right now. Having somebody who I greatly respect being by my side no matter what." After Matt said that to me, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I might just let the statement sink, and not fight him at all.

Once we were getting in his car once again, I was seeing that Matt was starting to look like he was getting slightly less scared of what he was doing. "I just feel like I might have made a really fucking massive mistake when I did not listen to T.K. earlier. I feel like if I just shut up, and really took what he was saying into consideration, I would be making so much more progress than I had been by this point." Matt said, and then with that, I was remaining silent, and I was not really thinking too much on it to be totally honest.

"I feel like in due time this whole thing will be coming together. I feel like we just need to be seeing where this could be going before we really get our hopes too high. And I hope that T.K. knows what he is doing when he says that he trusts this guy. If his trust is misplaced, I do not want to even think about what things could be like if this man is a part of it all." I said, not really feeling like it was possible, but still thinking it out.

"Well, it would not be the first time somebody in this family was proven wrong." Matt said, and I was seeing him looking like he was thinking about himself at this one. I was just remaining silent as he was going on about himself, feeling like telling him to be nicer to himself would not fucking happen.

Matt was driving home, and he decided that he would be dropping me off first. As he was driving along for a while, he was thinking about what had been happening. "In a odd way, a part of this is refreshing. Knowing for a fact that T.K. and none of us are going insane. I felt like if we were all just losing our minds, then that would have been a really big fucking issue." Matt said, and then I laughed at this, in a way that was meant to be more of discomfort.

"I mean, with so many people doing these looks, there was no way in hell that there wasn't at least some truth to what was happening. But I did not expect it to be going as far as it did. Who knows, maybe I was just sort of hoping out some hope that this really was not that awful." I said, and then I was letting the utter bullshit of that statement seep on through for a moment.

"Sora, I hope that you understand that no matter what happens, I am going to be doing whatever I can to make sure that this doesn't hurt you any longer. I want nothing more than to make sure that you are going to be totally fucking safe, no matter what." Matt said, and then I was nodding, and I had a feeling that I knew all of this. But every time he said it, for some reason, that was making me feel so much fucking better here.

"Who knows, I think that we are going to have it all figured out soon enough. There is no reason to be thinking that so many things are going to turn against us. And I think that if Todd is actually being genuine, then we got another person at our side that we can be looking at here." I said, and then I was looking right at Matt, wondering if he would be going along with this a little bit here.

"I wonder if Todd has a chance of winning this election. If he can manage to pull this off, then I think that we could actually have a chance of reform. I feel like at that rate, everything that we will be needing can come through. And I think that beyond that, I can talk with Joe for a bit soon. I feel like he has some stuff in his attic that he will be willing to let me read." After Matt told me this, I was thinking that Joe doing this was a fucking mistake.

"He probably has a better chance of winning this election than us actually being able to turn things around and be the fucking heroes we are wanting to be." I said, feeling like that was just the truth that we needed to think over.

Eventually, Matt parked me at my place. Then he kissed me at the cheek, and it was feeling right to just have that moment. I thought about it for a bit longer, and then nodded, and then started to head inside, hoping Matt would turn things around a bit as time goes on.

Scene 2: Best Friends Forever

I was at Tai's house the next day, as per my plans, and when I was there, I was so happy to finally be at a place where it was feeling like I could breath, and that the entire situation wasn't completely toxic. I mean, I understood where Matt was coming from, and he had every right to be the way that he was. But it was still hard to really concentrate.

"Sorry to be coming along like this. I just felt like I needed to try and relax a bit. In all honesty, the whole situation with Matt and T.K. was just rather hard to be dealing with, and I was honestly feeling like I was not going to be helping out too much, so a part of me didn't feel the desire to be there too much.

"Don't worry too much about it. Honestly, I was expecting him to be coming by here at some point. But maybe he just needs more time. Although I am kind of curious to know how much T.K. has seeped himself into this investigation to just find out all that he needs to know." Tai said, and then I was feeling like I might as well just tell him the truth to what Tai was thinking.

"Honestly, T.K. has removed himself almost entirely from this investigation for now. Just decided that he wants to hang out with friends instead, and appreciate the smaller things. Matt seems to be the one who is more interested in seeing the truth than anything else. Almost as if it was the other way around this whole time. Kind of ironic." I said, and then I shrugged, not sure what else to say.

"I never thought that I would be hearing about T.K. dropping this whole thing. Must have felt that this was very serious if he was willing to let the whole thing go, and not even fucking say a word about what is going on." Tai said, and I was feeling that talking about this any further was going to just make things much harder for everybody.

"Well, do you think that there is anything that you plan on doing now? I mean, I am sure that Matt tried to drag you along into this whole thing. Or has he just left you alone mostly?" Tai asked, and I was feeling that maybe I could lie about this one for the time being.

"I mean, he should be allowed to do whatever he wants. After all, I have not been the most there for him, and I have made some terrible mistakes as a girlfriend." I said, and then Tai looked at me, and I was seeing that he was rather confused at this one. So I felt like I would have to come clean.

"It seems like you have been pretty good with him. After all, he was the one that tried to break up with you real quick that one time." He said, and I was sighing, not wanting to be reminded of that, but I just decided that I would just try and be honest with him here.

"I was out with Joe one time, and the entire time that I was hanging out with him, it felt like I was able to talk to somebody who really knew me. We had a great dance together. But then he left before he was feeling like it could be getting any worse." I said, and then I looked right at Tai, wondering what he would have said about this. He just seemed to be relatively shocked at this.

"Are you thinking that you might be loving him?" Tai asked, and I was seeing that he was clearly down at this, and then I shook my head, feeling that I needed to be more clear with what I was telling him. Since I knew that I wasn't very clear the first time.

"No, nothing like that. Just more of the fact that I started to feel vulnerable at one point, and I started to feel a moment of weakness with him. I feel like I should have probably talked things out with Matt before I did anything like that. But I guess that maybe I was just wanting something new. Something different." I said, and then I shrugged, unsure if I was making it sound any better.

"Do you think that Matt would really even fucking care if you were doing this? I mean, it sounds really fucking small, and you are kind of making a huge deal out of it. I think that perhaps you need to slow down a step and see that this is really not all that big of a deal." Tai was saying, and then I was shrugging as we were having this discussion, as I was unsure what else I would even be telling him.

"No, I doubt that he would. I guess that just the uncertainty of that fact is what is bothering me though. If I knew for sure one way or another, I would speak with him. But I feel like he would hate the whole thing. Probably feel like he should have done more or whatever to be making me feel better about being around him or some random shit." After I said that to Tai, I was seeing him taking a few seconds to consider what to be saying to me.

"Well, Sora, I think that the best thing for you to do is steel up some courage, and just talk with him. Worst comes to worst, he breaks up with you. But if anything, especially in light of recent events, it would probably not even process with him. I really doubt that he would care over something so fucking small as this." He said, and the way that he was saying this was starting to sound convincing enough.

"Maybe tomorrow. I feel like whatever happens, it would be bets to just say it, and know one way or another, and everything will be fine." I said, and then I was sighing, feeling that there was nothing else to be saying at this rate, so I was just going to be leaving the whole thing alone for now. Deep down inside, I knew that it was probably going to not be that big of a deal.

"Was there anything that you wanted to do tonight?" Tai asked me, and I was shocked by the sudden turn of the question. I looked at him, and to be honest, when I was looking at him, I was feeling that everything that he had said was just kind of making me feel more relaxed, and more willing to just hang out with him.

"Yeah, I think that I would be willing to go and play a small game of soccer. I know that it has been a while since we did that, and I would love to hang out with somebody else." I said, and then with that, I was choosing to just take it a bit at a time. As I was saying this, Tai was looking like he was happy to see that I was not going to be too far down over this.

"Alright, let's see how it goes." Tai said, and then with that, he was going to his room. As he was roaming around it, I was seeing that Kari was looking slightly unsure of what to tell me. I was wondering if she hated the fact that I was hanging out with Tai as much as I had been.

"Was there anything you needed?" I asked, feeling that just asking that question would be able to make her not be looking at us, and watching us for whatever minor slip up might be happening. As I looked at her, I was just feeling like we needed to let this go.

"Not much. I was just wanting to know if you and Tai were doing alright. I mean, I kind of feel guilty for the way that I treated him earlier." Kari said, and then I was laughing at that, thinking that the only person that she needed to tell was Tai, since she has basically acted like he was a fucking idiot who could not do anything right at all.

"I think that Tai would love hearing that. But when it is time, I think that you need to just talk with him for a bit, and really clear some things up with the guy." I said, feeling like if she really had cared as much as she was saying she did, then that was the only way that she was going to be able to make it work. I was seeing Kari looking like she was willing to accept that.

"I mean, I know that he was probably just trying to do what he thought was right. I just felt like when you have these things in front of you, if you just turn a blind eye, and act like nothing is happening, then that can really be a bad sign of showing that you don't care." Kari said, and then she sat down, as if proud to call several people out for the bullshit they showed.

"I mean, I think that you just need to give Tai some time. He probably thinks that this whole thing is a suicide mission, and that looking into anything like this is going to be doing nothing besides causing grief for us." I said, and I was feeling that whatever she had wanted to say about Tai, she needed to just keep to herself.

"The best way to take care of this would be to make sure that the grinder never goes off again." After she had said that to me, I was laughing at that, thinking that such a idea was just going to never fucking happen, and that she needed to just get fucking real when she was saying that.

"That is never going to happen. I am sure that it is probably going to go off before the summer ends at least one more time. So I think that you need to find yourself a more realistic goal." I said, feeling that I just needed to be honest with her when I was telling her this.

As I had said that, I was seeing Kari looking like she had wanted to say more, as if the idea of arguing was really something that she had the right to do. But then with that, she shook her head, as if deciding to just drop the subject, and not be making the issue any worse for us.

"I mean, I would love if we did not have to deal with this town and the bullshit that it is hiding anymore. But the reality that we are dealing with now is that there is always going to be something coming right up. Something that will just keep us on our fucking toes." I said, and then after I was saying this to her, that was when Tai was showing up, and he was looking like he was just trying to figure out what we were doing. Probably thinking that we were just causing trouble.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tai asked, and then I shrugged, as if pretending like there was nothing to worry about. I was looking at Kari, and I was just hoping that for the time being at least, she would just stop making random comments. As I had looked at her, I started to see her slowly nod, as if feeling like playing along was something she would be willing to do.

"Yeah, we were just catching up for a bit. It's been a while since we talked, and I just wanted to make sure that we really had a chance to connect." After she had said that to Tai, he was shrugging, and had the soccer with him. I was shocked at the way that she was willing to just buy what we had said so fucking quick, and that he didn't pursue it at all.

As we were walking away, I was wondering what in the world I was going to be getting myself into, and to be honest, I was feeling that whatever in the world Tai and I were going to do at the soccer field, it was going to be better than feeling like there was going to be something watching over me at all times. I just felt like there was always something going on, and I was not ready for it.

"Tai, do you ever feel like you will be going back to that team, or do you feel like you will just never be able to do it the same way again?" I asked, and then after I asked him this, I saw that Tai was looking like he was just tired to even fucking think about it.

"I want to go back to the team. But I guess that it hardly even fucking matters anymore. Like who the fucking hell even cares about soccer anymore? It's just a waste of time to even be discussing the situation. And who knows, I feel like most of the people out there probably do not even like me all that much anyways." After he had said that to me, I was just shocked to be seeing Tai of all people actually telling me this. I was thinking that he, more than anybody else, would have felt like he had a lot to lose by doing this fucking investigation anyways.

"And besides, I feel like once I am back in the team, then they will all be looking at me as that one random guy who wasted most of his summer looking around Wayside for no fucking reason whatsoever. I mean, I am probably popular for all the wrong reasons at this point." After Tai said that, I laughed, thinking that this was probably true.

"Yeah, that is the biggest thing that I am curious about. How everybody at school is going to be talking about us when we get back. Probably going to be thinking that we are a bunch of freaks or whatever. I mean, who would spend their entire summer looking at all this stuff, willingly?" I said, and I was shrugging, thinking that there was nothing else to be saying at this point in time.

"I mean, I wonder if Kari would have even said a word about it if it were not for the fact that T.K. had decided to check things out that one day, to try and help Tobias a bit?" Tai asked, and then I was shrugging, thinking that there was a small chance that something like that would be true. But I did not want to be making Kari a victim of something like this, when she was probably just looking out for herself as she did this.

Eventually, we were at the soccer field, and he threw me the ball. "Ladies first. And besides, I need to fucking think for a bit. A lot of stuff coming to my mind, and I just want to make sure that I am actually ready for something like this." Tai said, and then after he had said that to me, I was sighing, not wanting Tai to be doing this at all. But then with that, I started to walk on to the field, to just kind of throw the ball around, and see what I could do now that I had a moment to relax.

As we were playing around for a while, it was reminding me of the past. Back to soon after the Highton View Terrace Attack, when the tree house had burned down, and Tai and I were hanging out for a while. We were sitting down on the field, and I was just trying to find a way to make the conversation seem less strained than it had been earlier.

…

"I still can't fucking believe that the tree house is gone. That was one of the best places to go to, and I loved hanging out with people there." Tai said, and I was just shocked at how he was taking this. I never thought that he was going to be having such a big issue out of this.

"I mean, there are more things that we can do. I am sure that something in Wayside will catch your interest." I said, just trying to forget all about that night, and the best way to do that was just to not talk about it at all. As Tai looked at me, I saw him just looking as if that was impossible.

"It is not going to be that fucking easy Sora. I mean, sure something could come up eventually. But I have no idea how quickly I will be able to forget about the stuff that I had seen there." As Tai was saying that to me, I was thinking that he needed to tell me what the hell this was.

"What the hell are you talking about? I mean, the placed burned down, and you happened to be in the area as it happens. That is all that really happened right?" I asked him, and then I was seeing Tai looking like he was considering what it would be like if he actually opened up with me about whatever was going on.

"I mean, I saw people fighting there. It was a fucking war, and I was honestly not sure on who was going to actually win." Tai said, and then he shrugged, as if thinking that there was no need to be talking about it any further that day. "I saw this guy with a really giant sword, and I was honestly thinking that my life was going to be over."

As he had said that to me, I was feeling like whatever he was saying was fucking crazy. None of what he was saying was making any sense, and I was feeling that unless if he really explained something, then I was going to just have to tell him to stop making a bunch of bullshit.

"How does a guy with a giant sword have anything to do with a fire going on?" I asked, and then Tai looked at me, and he was throwing his hands in the air. As if thinking that the whole thing sounded insane to him as well, but that he had nothing else to say here.

"I know it sounds fucking stupid. You don't need to be telling me that. And I was the one who had fucking seen it happen. But that was what happened, and I am just trying to understand it as well." Tai said, and then after he had said that to me, I saw him looking tired.

When I was seeing how tired that he had looked, and how much he had wanted this discussion to be dropped, I was feeling like I just needed to fucking calm down, and I needed to let him express his frustration over what was happening.

"Sorry. I mean, I just wish that I had seen this when it was happening. I would have probably been able to understand what is going on better if I was there." I said, and then I shrugged, not having much else to say about it. I was seeing that Tai looked like he was just not really willing to deal with this subject all that much anymore.

"To be fair, I feel like I was the one hearing this story, and not the one who had seen it, I would be feeling the same way as you do." After Tai had said that to me, I was then feeling like we could be able to relax a bit better, now that it seemed like the conversation was getting somewhere.

"I should probably just drop it. And I want to let it go. And the worst part is that when I try to talk to Kari about it, she seems to be fucking believing me. She wasn't even there, and she is actually buying what I am saying more than virtually anybody else." Tai said, as if the idea of his younger sister buying what he was saying was annoying him for whatever reason.

"Why in the world is Kari buying all this stuff? She seems like somebody who always buys into what is going on. I mean, I know that she is just six and what not, but it still feels really strange." After I had said that to him, I was seeing Tai looking like he was just as confused on this as she was, but that he was not wanting to really talk about this too much.

"I don't know what is going on in Kari's mind. She is special, and she seems to be thinking about everything at once. But to be honest, I just feel like if she is able to buy what I am saying, then maybe there was a chance that I was not going crazy, and that this really did happen." Tai said, and then with that, we were just silent for a few seconds longer, as Tai was just looking at the soccer ball on the field, as if thinking about trying it out for a bit.

…

When I was done thinking about this, that was when Tai was calling out to me. I looked back at him, just trying to think about how that whole situation was now starting to really look a whole lot less insane than it once had, and I was wondering how I was going to be able to express that to Tai, in a way that would make him feel better.

"Was there something that you were thinking about? You just kind of started to stare off into space for a bit there." Tai said, and then I was shrugging, as if pretending like this was really not that big of a deal. I started to smile, as if feeling like pretending nothing happened was all that I could be able to do to make it work better.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about what we were doing after that one time the tree house burned down." After I had said that to him, I was already seeing that Tai looked like he had not wanted to be talking about this at all. As if thinking that the more he was getting reminded of those days, the more that he would be thinking about how this situation had been affecting him his entire life.

"I know that it is not the best thing in the world to be talking about. But I just felt like I needed to bring it up, and maybe I just wanted to let you know that maybe the story doesn't really sound all that fucking insane anymore." I said, and then I shook my head at the fact that I was saying that to him. As I saw Tai looking like he was just considering what I said, I was hoping that this did not get to him.

"God damn it, now you are talking about it. I was kind of hoping that maybe if it was never talked about, I could be able to start to act like those things were not connected. But in all honesty, I think that if we are going to try and find out more about everything else, then figuring out what that guy with the sword was doing." As Tai said that, I was remaining silent for a few seconds longer, unsure of what to say.

"I am still not one hundred percent sure if I buy the whole sword thing. That still sounds a bit much to handle. But I am not going to be saying anything else. I mean, it is getting to the point where that is just also really not feeling all that dumb anymore." After I had said that to him, I saw Tai looking like he was just really not having much else to say here.

"I know what I saw. If you are willing to talk about everything else, then trust me when I say that this actually happened." Tai said, and he was looking at me, as if making it clear that he was not going to be talking about that any more, and then with that, I decided that it would be best to just leave the subject alone, for his own sake.

"Yeah, I just think that if you want to really get to know what happened that night, then really honing in on the details of today will be able to reveal it. I could be wrong though. But I highly doubt it." I said, and then with that, I was wondering to myself if I even wanted to know all of these things anymore.

"Sora, do you think that if I tried to talk to other people about what I know, that they would be willing to talk, or that they will be thinking that I was just somebody who had conjured up a event based on something awful?" He asked me, and then I was shrugging, really having no idea what in the world I was going to be able to tell him there.

"I don't know. I mean, everybody seems to be buying those stories that T.K. told us about Onett. And those sound probably even more insane. Then again, Matt said that he was there, and that there was no reason to be lying about it. So if they are buying what he is saying, then we kind of have no choice but to think about what you are saying too." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was seeing Tai looking like he was just not wanting to say much more.

"I feel like talking about this is only going to be driving me insane. Always feeling like there was more that I could talk about. So maybe it would be best for me to just drop the subject for the time being." Tai was telling me, and than with that, we were just playing along, and hanging out, and simply just trying to not fucking care what anything going on around us was happening.

We played along for a hour or two at the field, and just trying to forget about everything else for a while. It seemed like at one point in time, we were even sort of getting it to work. Not having to deal with people constantly coming along, and acting like were just getting in the way of their time. And besides, even if we were, I was not fucking caring what they were thinking about us.

I was feeling that once the school year started again, I just needed to fucking run with it. I needed to get right back in the team, and I needed to show everybody that this was one of my main passions. Maybe if I did that, they would fucking actually believe in me, and not be thinking that I was only in this for myself.

When we were done for the day, and thinking that it was best to be heading out, that was when we were seeing T.K. and Gumball walking along, and I was feeling like I wanted to just see how he had been again. I felt like doing that was the only thing that I could do when I was around him. I just wanted to make him know that I was going to never judge him.

"Hey, how are you today?" I asked, and then I was seeing T.K. looking like he was relatively unsure of what to say to me since I had already been calling out to him. But as I had been looking at him for a while, I was wondering what in the world he was going to telling me now.

"Alright, not something I really enjoy talking about though. I mean, I understand what people are probably thinking. Always acting like I am being super fucking stubborn or whatever." After he was telling me this, he looked at Tai as well. "Well, I see that you are enjoying your time at least. Sorry that Matt dragged you along the way that he did lats night. I heard about that for a bit." After he had said that, I shrugged, since in all honesty, I did not mind it at all.

"Don't worry about it. I wanted to help him. I mean, I love the guy, and I want to make sure that he will be able to get through this rough situation as best as possible.' I said, and in all honesty, as I was saying this, I was unsure if what I was saying was really going to be impressing him all that much or not.

"Hey Gumball? Guys doing anything crazy?" I asked, and I was honestly feeling like Gumball would be more willing to talk to me than T.K. had been. As I had said that to him, I was seeing Gumball looking like he was super unsure of what I was doing. Then with that, he was shrugging, as if thinking that it was really not that important what I thought.

"Honestly, I am just making sure that T.K. himself doesn't do anything too stupid. But that is not really for me to decide what can be considered stupid or not." After he had said that to us, he was shrugging, as T.K. punched him in the arm in a playful manner. Then both young guys looked at us.

"Was there something that you were needing?" After T.K. asked me this, I was shrugging, not having all that much that I would be able to say to move this along. "I mean, I am sorry for cutting off your hang out when I was walking by." He said, and then I was sighing, considering the fact that the two of us were really not even doing all that much anyways.

"Don't worry about it, I think that we were planning on heading out soon anyways. So it really is no big deal at all." After I said that to T.K., I was seeing him looking like he was just trying to think of something else to tell me, to make it better for both of us.

"Were you going to be heading home soon?" I asked, feeling like I might as well just see how far we could be able to go with this conversation. As I asked this, I saw that T.K. was just looking rather unsure of what to tell us now. As if he was scared of telling us that he was going to be looking further in this towns mysteries, even though we both knew what the hell he was doing, so there was really no fucking point in lying to us at all.

"No, I was not really wanting to. I mean, I am trying so fucking hard to be putting this investigation behind me, and I really want to. But I keep finding myself coming back to it, to see what I missed out on the first time. I just need to know what happened, and I feel like Matt was right about mom." T.K. said, and then he was shaking his head, as if hating the fact that he was admitting this to me.

"Are you sure that it would be smart to be doing this all on your own? I think that you need to be having somebody at your side if you are actually doing something like this." I said, and I was seeing that T.K. was looking like he was just kind of scared of the fact that I was working so hard on making him have me come along with this.

"Are you just having a death wish or something right now? There is no reason for you to come along with me right now? And besides, I do have somebody with me." T.K. said, and he was pointing at Gumball, as if feeling like this was going to be enough to last us through the time being.

"I mean, I guess that does technically count as having somebody at your side. But seriously dude, I just have a feeling that this is really going to be a big mistake. I don't know how else to say it besides the fact that doing all of this is going to just probably get you killed." After I had said that to him, I was seeing him just looking like he was wanting to find something else to say, but just decided to leave it alone for the time being. Knowing there was nothing else to do.

"Just don't be too worried about this right now. I really need to be heading out soon." T.K. said, and then after he had said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was wanting to say more. I was seeing that he was desperate to be saying something else. But then after that, I was then thinking about what else I was going to try and do now.

"If you want to talk about it at some point, then you can always just come to me. But I guess that you are not going to do. I mean, I am not fucking stupid. I know that there is a greater chance of you talking to Matt about this than there is of talking to me." I said, and then after I was telling him this, he was slowly nodding, and then he was walking away from me, and Gumball was at his side. I was feeling like this whole thing was just fucking eating me away at this point.

"Do you think that he will actually talk with you, or that this offer was just a waste of time? I mean, I think we both know that he is not going to honor your request for shit." Tai said, and then I was shrugging, and to be honest, that did not bother me all that much. I knew that it was going to happen, but I just felt the need to extend the offer.

"I kind of had a feeling that he was going to be saying that. I mean, we hardly ever got along all that well back then. But I was just trying to be nice with him. Hopefully he will see one day what the issues with him being totally isolated are. Maybe he will finally understand that this is going to not be doing him favors." I said, and I was feeling like saying that was just totally fucking fools gold, and that I wasted my time for even suggesting this.

"I think that it might be best to head home Sora. I mean, you are sounding fucking different from normal. I think that we might just have to let this go." After he had said that to me, I was thinking longer, and then with that, I was walking away, slowly heading home, and not really thinking too much about what Tai was trying to tell me anymore.

I was wondering if Tai ever knew what it was going to be like if he was in a relationship and he was getting more and more aware that he couldn't commit. I mean, he was smart enough to tell Melissa that this was not going to work. And with that, there was never any confusion as to what was happening. And I feel like if I was Melissa, I would have been able to actually respect the way that he was treating the situation.

"Tai, do you think that in due time, you are going to give it another try with Melissa? I know how much you liked her, and I know that you really did not like the idea of breaking up with her at all. I am just worried that you probably regretted that choice to tell her that you guys could not be together." I said, and then after I told him that, I saw him looking like he was just really sad at the fact that I had brought that up once again.

"Honestly, thinking about what I told her only makes things worse. I should have never told her that, but then again, it is my fault that I insisted on being friends with her, and trying to make this whole thing work. She wanted me to make a promise, and I gave it to her. But I should have seen that this promise was not going to work." Tai said, and then there he was with that word again.

"I mean, how many people in Wayside have told the girl that they really care about that if something happened to them, that they were going to be finding out the truth? Everybody tells people that, and everybody eats that shit up. But in all honesty, I think we both know that there was no chance that something like this was ever going to fucking work." Tai said, and I decided to remain silent.

"Just be sure that you don't beat yourself up over trying your best to honor a request somebody made. I would not want Matt or T.K. to beat themselves up over something as simple as this." I said, thinking that it was not simple, but I wanted him to get the point.

Scene 3: Emotional Connection

That next day, when I was feeling like enough things had settled down for a bit, I decided that I needed to go on and see what T.K. was up to. I just felt like he needed to have more people talking with him than he was letting on. I knew that there was only so much that I would be able to do with Matt or other people. And besides, I was feeling like I just had to try and keep a open mind on what was bothering him so much.

So with that, I was feeling that I could just head to his house, and see if he was there, and if he wasn't, then I would move on. I mean, there were other things that I could do, so it was really not that important if he was not there or whatever. I just felt like whatever he was dealing with, if he was only having Gumball at his side, then it was going to be a really bad situation for him.

Eventually, I was at his house, and I was composing myself enough for the fucking talk that we were going to be having. Then with that, I nodded, got to the front door, and was just hoping that he was not going to be brushing me off this time. I was really not going to be in the mood if he was going to do something like that once again.

I knocked on the door, and when he was answering, he looked like he was relatively unsure of what to think now that I was here. "What are you wanting to talk about?" He asked, and I was slowly feeling like this was going to be a rough discussion. But then with that, I felt like I just needed to fucking go with it.

"I just wanted to talk to you about whatever you are doing. I mean, you were saying that you were going to be fine with Gumball, but I think that we both know that you are going to be needing more people at your side than just him. After all, he seems like he probably does not know the full truth of this town as well." I said, feeling that perhaps I could get him willing to speak to me now.

"I mean, I wanted to brush this off for a while. I wanted to act like there was nothing dragging me along here, but I feel like if I just let this go for too long, a part of me is going to just keep being upset, and coming back to me and screaming that I am making a terrible mistake. So I am just trying to find out the truth, but with other people at my side as well." T.K. said, and then with that, he was shrugging, as if thinking that there was nothing else to say.

"Matt seems to have changed his mind a bit on the matter as well. He seems to be more willing to fucking work at this than before. He thinks that this is finally proof that something is going on, and that he had made a giant fucking mistake for getting involved in this." After I said that to him, I was seeing T.K. looking like he had no real thoughts on this.

"I was wondering when he was going to finally realize how fucking insane this whole thing was to hide behind some comforts, and that hiding behind the truth was not going to be helping anybody out at all. It is nice to see that he finally sees that there is no real way out of it." After T.K. had said that to me, I was feeling like this was not something to be proud of. After all, I was feeling it was only a matter of time before Matt got himself into his own obsession.

"Well, I am not going to judge him for the way that he has treated this situation. He has the right to not be too comfortable with looking at this at all. But to be honest, I wonder if Matt is going to actually do something about it himself. He hardly even seems wiling to talk to me anymore as well. It really sucks, but I feel like if he doesn't want to speak to anybody anymore, then there is really no point in even trying to reach out to him that much anymore.

"I mean, I don't want to admit it, but I feel like he might have been right in the way that he had been acting. He was probably just wanting to be practical about what he had been doing, and he probably thought that just simply never looking into anything was going to be the best answer. I disagree, but it makes sense." T.K. said, and then he was sitting down for a second, trying to think.

"I am curious to know what you have against Gumball so much. I mean, he is not a bad guy at all. He just seems to be somebody who might have to work on some things here and there. Might display some forms of being naïve. But there is nothing wrong with that at all." After T.K. said that to me, I was feeling like he was just not understanding what I meant.

"I don't really know. It just feels like there is more that he needs to be looking into before he starts helping out too much. I don't want you to feel like you are having a guy who means well but because of his parents just can't live up to anything." After I was telling T.K. this, I was seeing him looking like he was at least willing to consider what I had just said to him.

"I mean, I guess that something like that can be fair to assume. But I think that he probably is just wanting to do what is right, and that is something that I can't blame him for. And I think that if Matt is also wanting to learn the truth after all this time, then he needs to understand that turning away all the help that we can get is not going to be doing anybody any favors." T.K. said, and I was thinking he did not have right to talk about his brother in that sense, since he had a long way to go.

"I can't keep talking about this. It feels like every time I talk with somebody about these things, it just goes back and fourth and is just the same thing over and over again. I am sick of it. I feel like if I want to actually do something important, that I just need to go out there and fucking do it." T.K. said, and he was sounding like he was just barely keeping his annoyances together.

"Where are you planning on going?" I asked, and I was seeing him looking at me, as if feeling like I just needed to leave him alone, probably thinking that I was not helping him at all. He sighed, clearly seeming annoyed with the fact that I was taking so much interest in this subject anyways.

"I am going to speak with Gumball again. He seems willing to talk with me, and seems like I am going to be making more progress with him than just speaking about the same fucking shit with other people over and over again." T.K. said, and then I was feeling like way that he was saying this was just a attack to get me to feel at edge over what was happening. I looked down, feeling like I just needed to remain silent, and be making a deal out of it anymore.

"Would you be fine if I decided to come along, and see how he is?" I asked, and then I was seeing T.K. looking like he was just shocked at the fact that I was still willing to talk about this anyways. He sighed, as if feeling like there was no need to be fighting this anymore. I was hoping that he could just calm down a bit, and see that there was nothing to worry about right now.

"I guess that if you want to come, I will be willing to let you join. But just please don't be feeling like you have to do much. I mean, I have a hard time really opening up with people to begin with, and these friends are the only ones who are really able to help me do so." T.K. said, and then I sighed, feeling that was all that really mattered.

"I guess that at the end, that is what really matters. I just feel bad when I speak with you is all. I feel like there is more that I can do. I mean, ever since I met you, even before the whole helping Tobias thing, it had always seemed like you were unable to really speak with many people before." After I said that to him, I saw him looking like he wanted to fight that, but just shrugged.

"Honestly, I think that a large part of that was just dealing with what I had seen at Onett before I moved here. I wanted to just think away from the scene, and I was thinking that being alone, and just not talking with anybody was all I needed. But I guess that just brushing off the past was something that was never going to work." He said, seeming to be relatively open minded about what he had told me. I was wondering when he would finally see that hiding the truth about Onett was going to just not work out since I would be making him tell me eventually anyways.

"I mean, I just always feel like when I made friends, it is going to be the precursor of something really bad happening. After all that I have dealt with this summer, I can't really help but feel like this is even more true than ever, and that fucking sucks." After T.K. said that to me, I was slowly nodding, and at this point, in all honesty, I was feeling like he might have been slightly right about his assumptions.

"Fair enough. I mean, kind of hard to pretend like that is not the case when you are dealing with these things on a constant basis. But I feel like most of this stuff probably would have happened anyways, with or without your involvement. The only thing that your involvement probably did is make the blow slightly less for people like Tobias." I said, feeling that I might as well be honest about what I was saying. I saw T.K. looking like he wanted to argue that, but then decided against it.

"I wonder if Tobias will one day come forward and tell me that he despises me for everything that happened, and feel like it was my fault. I mean, I highly doubt that this will happen, but I feel like there is always a chance that something could go down." After T.K. said that to me, I was feeling like that was probably not going to happen, since even if Tobias did feel that way, he probably would be finding somebody else to be blaming that wasn't him. So it was really no big deal at all.

"I would rather have you not be scared about that. Since in all honesty, that doesn't really seem like it would be having much fucking ground to cover. And I feel like you are probably the only person that Tobias will still appreciate out of this fucking mess." I said, feeling that I just needed to try my fucking best to get him to not be upset at the way that he was just stuck like this.

"I just want to feel like there is something that I can fucking do, and something that can make this right. But I know that in the end, there is nothing that I can do, and that I am only just probably making things much worse for everybody. Now I am at a point in time where I am starting to think that maybe I am never really going to be able to help out all that much anymore." After T.K. said that to me, he was looking at me for a second, and I was seeing that he had looked like he wanted to see what I could say to this.

"I mean, you are technically doing something. You are providing emotional support for everybody around you. Think about that. You are going around, and you are providing a support base for many people, and there are many people who probably feel like you are the best that there was." I said, and I was wondering if saying anything like that would get him to feel better. As we were at the entrance to Gumball's house, I was feeling like I just needed to try and say something else to him. But I decided to just let it go, and not say anything else after that.

Eventually, T.K. probably decided that he did not want to have this discussion anymore, and then knocked on the door, to just get this subject over with. I waited along for a few seconds, wondering what was going to be happening now. I was wondering if T.K. was going to be dragging Gumball into anything that Gumball wanted nothing to do with. But I decided to just not say anything.

Before long, Gumball answered the door, and he was looking at me, and I was seeing that he was clearly not as excited to be seeing me as he was to be seeing T.K. But then he looked at T.K., and I was seeing that he was looking far more happy to be seeing him, and I was feeling that as long as they were willing to work things out, then that was the main thing that mattered.

"So Gumball, did you decide that you wanted to hang out with Sora after all? I didn't really think that you were going to want to do that." Gumball said, and then with that, he shrugged, as if thinking that there was really no point in worrying all that much about it anymore.

"I mean, I feel like if she wants to hang out, I need to give her a chance. And besides, we are just talking about various things with Matt and what not. I always feel like I am kind of being rude as well when I act certain ways." T.K. said, and he was seeming like he was sincere enough when he was saying that. Then with that, he looked at me, as if wondering what I would be saying now.

"I just want to see how I will be able to help with the investigation. I have given up on trying to get you guys to not look into this thing. You guys have made it rather clear what your plans are. But I feel like as long as I am here, I might as well just try and see what I can do to help out." After I was saying this, I was wondering why I was even feeling like they were going to pretend to be willing to talk with me. But I was feeling that there was nothing else to be saying now.

"Okay, if you are really wanting to do this, then I suppose that we can see what we can do with the help." After Gumball had said that to me, I was seeing him looking right at T.K., as if trying to see what T.K. would be saying. There was a moment of silence, and I was seeing that T.K. was just kind of looking like he was wanting to find something else to discuss now.

"So I was hearing that your mother was also getting a promotion. Sorry for bringing that up so suddenly. But congratulations on that." I said, and I was not too sure if I was actually buying what I said. But I was feeling that I might as well at least be nice about the way that this situation was going. As I had said that to him, I saw T.K. looking like he was upset at me here. I was wondering why in the fucking world he was taking a fucking praise so seriously. Was his mother evil or something, and I just did not know anything about that?

"Yeah, she seems to be really proud of it. Don't know what to think about it though. She seems to be rather caught up with that situation. To be honest, I feel like if she would at least tell me what she was working on, then I would probably be feeling a bit better about it." After Gumball said that, I was wondering if there was something wrong with the way that she had been doing this.

"I mean, I just want to know what exactly is going on in that factory anyways. That would be the thing that would interest me the most." After Gumball said that to me, I was shrugging, since I was feeling like there was not too much that I needed to be worrying about over something like that. But then I looked around, wondering what Gumball would say now.

"And when I do try to talk with her about what is happening, she always tells me to not talk about it, and probably seems to think that it is my friends fault that I am even asking this in the first place. Fuck the idea of me actually being interested in something, and that I just want to know what the fucking hell she is doing. But I guess that I can be taking this too seriously." Gumball said, and I was wondering what I would be able to do to get him to fucking calm down a bit now.

"So are you admitting that you are not very happy with the progress that she is making? I asked, more shocked to be hearing that, but I decided that it was really not my business if he was feeling that way. As I had said that, he was shrugging, as if having nothing else to say. Probably just thinking that if he tried to be saying anything further, he might be worried about coming off as rude or something like that.

"Well, a bit of communication would not fucking hurt to have. I don't know. I mean, I guess that with the way that I am seeing Tobias and his family getting along, and them seeming like they are actually doing rather well, I just feel like I can try and really reach out to them. Who knows, maybe if you talked with Gumball, you would see what it is like. They seem like they have gotten rather close over the whole Andrea thing." As he said that, I was feeling like I could try and get further into that debate now.

"Have Tobias and Rachel seemed to have picked things up with each other? I mean, I think that something like that is probably the only thing that really matters. It just feels like Tobias and Rachel never really got along before this, and now that they are talking with each other, it seems like they are just finally starting to get their shit together." I said, and then I was laughing at that, and I was wondering how Gumball would enjoy the way that I was saying it. Gumball seemed to not have much to be saying on the matter.

"I mean, they seem like they are willing to talk at least. And I remember when Rachel told me that the only thing she is worried about anymore is making sure that Tobias at least has a easy time going through this whole thing. So at least she seems to be taking this more seriously on making the family work than he has been." After Gumball said that to me, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I would just leave it at that for now.

"I think that the best way to see what Tobias thinks is to finally reach out to him, and really get to know what the hell he is doing. I think that if you can understand what he believes about Andrea's case, then I think that you can be able to see if you can work with him." I said, and I was feeling like I was just saying the same shit that they probably already knew.

"Well, yeah, that makes sense. But in all honesty, I think that Tobias probably feels like everybody is just forcing him into talks, and that we don't really feel the desire to help him out. I mean, that is not true, but I think that he will probably have that sort of mentality about things." Gumball said, and T.K. was just thinking of another response.

"In all honesty, I think that Ocho is right with what he is planning on doing." He said, and then he looked at us, and I was looking at him rather confused, wondering what the fucking hell he was talking about right now. "I think that he is right when he wants to go on and fucking go inside that building, to see what he can find there." T.K. said, and then he shrugged, and I was unsure of what I was going to be telling him here.

"Don't tell me that you are planning on going in there and doing some fucking kamikaze or whatever." After I told him this, I was seeing him looking as if he was honestly not caring how things were going to work, and he just wanted to just do it, and fucking pull on through.

"I mean, I am at least thinking that the idea could work. I am sure that if Matt heard that, he would be super upset at what I am saying, but I honestly don't really think that he would be too surprised either. Despite everything that man is doing, I think that he is not stupid, and knows what he is doing." T.K. said, and then I was just feeling that the idea of Ocho doing this was going to be really hurting everybody around him in the long run.

"I really hope that for everybodys sake, that this is a idea that you do not go through with. If you do, then I think that I might have to find myself coming along, and just seeing what I can do to help out." I said, and I was thinking that the idea of me helping or anything was going to be a fucking loose idea. But who knows, I still felt like there was a team we could make.

"I think that you need to understand that if I do this, I would at least be smart enough to make a plan on what I am doing. I would not just be going in there, running around like a chicken with my fucking head cut off. That is not going to be doing anybody any favors, and will only serve to make the situation much worse for everybody else." T.K. said, clearly upset at the fact that I was even suggesting something like this.

"I guess that I will have to try and take your word for it." I said, and then with that, I was sighing, thinking that whatever was going on, I just needed to give him some credit. But then as I was thinking everything out, that was when he called me again, and I was looking at him, just trying to not be too annoyed with this.

"If you want to help, I would hope that you would be willing to speak with Izzy for a bit. He seems like he would be wiling to help us out for a bit, and to be honest, he is making better progress on getting through to Rachel and Rob than anybody else. If there is one person who can make a difference here, it is going to be him." After T.K. said that to me, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I just needed to run with what he was saying now.

"I mean, if you are so sure about this, then I feel like you need to be the one who talks with him. But I guess that I need to go with this. After all, you are giving me a chance to help out, which I asked for." I said, and then with that, I was shrugging, feeling that there was really no need to be arguing. I just hoped that if for nothing else, Izzy would indeed be willing to talk with me.

"Who is this Izzy guy? Isn't he that guy who came by the house a couple of times because that seventeen year old girl went crazy with death predictions about me?" Gumball asked, and then I laughed at this, wondering what the fucking hell he was talking about here. This was absolutely insane to be hearing, and to be honest, I wanted to hear more about this.

"Yeah, he was the one that was trying to tell Mimi to simmer down a couple of times. Although the fact that it happened enough to where you still remember what happened showed that he kind of fucking failed at that." T.K. said, and he was smiling as he was saying this, as if finding the situation of scaring Gumball shitless to actually be funny for whatever reason.

"It's not fucking funny. That scared the shit out of me when it was happening. Not because of the fact that she was doing this, but because deep down, I feel like she was probably telling the truth, and I found myself actually believing in her." Gumball said, and then with that, I was just wondering what in the fucking world we were going to be doing now.

"Alright guys, I think that we all just need to remember that whatever she was talking about, it seems like it was just a fucking vision. Nothing to be super upset about. And she was probably just in over her head, and felt like this was her way of helping." After I said that, I was shrugging, thinking that saying that could be able to help make them feel slightly better about what I had been saying. I was seeing Gumball slowly looking like he was calming down.

"You would understand if you were the one who was there. But whatever, I am done talking about this." Gumball said, and then he was taking panting noise, and then with that, I just decided that I would leave him alone, not wanting to make things even worse for him.

"Alright, never mind. I got a idea on what to focus on. And I appreciate the fact that T.K. is giving me something to fucking work with." After I said that to the two of them, I was thinking about what I could be able to do to make this plan actually fucking work out a little bit more.

"I guess that if you need some help talking about this stuff with him, then I could come along. I mean, I am probably not the best person to rely on when it comes to this shit, but I will do whatever it is that I can, and maybe this will make some sense." After he had said that to me, I was slowly nodding, kind of thinking about what he had just said to me.

"Are you wanting to join, Gumball?" I asked, feeling that if T.K. was thinking about coming along to this, I might as well just see if he was willing to calm down enough to do this. And I was seeing him looking like he was sort of thinking about what I was doing for a bit, and seemed more willing to work.

"I don't know. If you plan on doing this tonight, then sure. But if you don't think you will, then I think that it might be best to just sit this one out for a bit." After Gumball said that to me, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I could be able to work with this idea a bit more.

"I don't even know where he would be tonight. So I guess that it might be best to just not do it right now." After I had said that to him, I was seeing him looking like he was more just glad than anything else that I was not going to try and force this onto him either.

"That is good to hear, because in all honesty, I was not sure what I was going to be able to contribute to that discussion at all. He would probably be finding that I am a idiot who can't do anything right, so I feel like you would be better off on your own." Gumball said, and then I was feeling like these guys need to have more self confidence. It was absolutely insane to be hearing them speaking like this.

"Wow, you guys need to like chill out, and stop hating on yourselves and everything. It is a bit much to handle, and I am not even your parents. If I was your parents, and I heard this, then I feel like I would be super upset at you." After I said that to them, I was hoping that putting that comment out would get them to at least consider what they were doing from this point forward.

"Well, I mean, I was told that I need to be honest no matter what, and I think that telling people that I am a idiot is just me doing that." Gumball said, and with that, I sighed, and figured that I would just let it go, since in all honesty, I knew a losing battle when I saw one, and these people acting like this was one.

"Alright, you guys can do whatever you want. I don't really get it, but I am not going to be doing this right now." I said, and then with that, I was shrugging, and decided to just stop talking, and then with that, I was feeling like I needed to just think about other things for a bit.

"Sora, if I do something that gets me hurt, or killed, then would you be willing to tell Matt that I was sorry for everything that I had been doing, and that he was right about everything? I should have just listened to him, but I refused, and now I am just making things worse for everybody." After T.K. said that, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I just needed to let him have that one.

"I guess that I can try and tell him. Although I doubt that he would be very happy with you already talking about things like that. He will probably tell you to just fucking stop acting like that." I said, and then I was shrugging, hoping that by telling him that, he would actually at least see what I was telling him. And he was remaining silent for a few seconds longer, not sure what to say.

"I mean, I just feel like it would be better for everybody if I at least got that out to him, that way he knew for a fact that I was not just trying to be a asshole or anything. I just need him to know that everything that is happening is really making me feel bad." After he had said that, I was slowly nodding, and I was wondering what in the world I was going to be able to say to get Matt to see what T.K. was trying to convey.

"I think that you are not going to be able to change what he thinks on these things. If he thinks that you are being a asshole or whatever, then there is literally nothing that I can do about that, and this is something that you will have to sort out on your own." After I said that to him, I was seeing him looking like he was just trying to not say anything else, and to just let me say what I said.

"Alright, I guess that I see what you are saying." T.K. said, and then with that, he was remaining silent for a few seconds, and I was just thinking about what it would be like if these two brothers were actually going to be able to get along. If that were to happen, then I was feeling like everything was going to finally just be getting better for us all. But I was thinking that despite my best efforts, I would not be the one to decide how these guys were feeling.

Scene 4: The Genius And The Lover

I was at Izzy's house the next day, feeling that if T.K. was thinking that me talking with him would be my best way of helping him out, that I just needed to fucking go with it, and not fucking complain about the situation that I was now setting myself in. Besides, I was feeling that this would be a good time to get to know what the hell was up with that guy.

When he answered, he seemed excited to be seeing me for a bit. Probably thinking that that we could talk for a while, and really get to know each other for a bit. "Hey Sora, how are you today?" He asked me, and then I looked right at him, shocked to see that he was willing to talk with me for a bit.

"I'm doing alright. Honestly, I am just trying to help out as much as I can, and T.K. was saying that he was wanting to see how you were doing." I said, and I was feeling like the idea of being a fucking messenger was going to be rather annoying. As I said that, I saw him looking like he was relatively indifferent about what was happening.

"I am not that helpful of a guy though. I have probably made things worse for you guys on a lot of cases." Izzy said, and then he was shrugging, as if thinking that what he was saying made some sense. I was then feeling like I needed to change the subject to be one that he would like more.

"So, I heard him telling me that you were the one that made Rachel feel the most willing to finally open up. I just wanted to know how you were able to do it, considering the fact that she never seemed to want to talk with other people before you came." I said, and then Izzy was looking relatively proud of what I was telling him. As if this was what he wanted to hear.

"Well, I think that the idea of me just being a regular guy really appealed to her. Nothing related to bullshit. I just wanted to help out, and Rob seemed to take a instant liking to me as well. I think when all added up, it was a perfect situation for her to feel like she would want to open up a bit more." After he had said that to me, I was looking at the expression on his face, and there was clearly a bit of pride here.

"Lucky man. Honestly though, I think you need to just really keep that up with her. The fact that anybody can get her to open up shows that not all hope is lost." I said, and then with that, Izzy was looking at me, and I was seeing that he was thinking about talking about something else entirely, and I was wondering what was on his mind.

"There is something that has been getting on me lately. Something that I doubt you will be able to help me out with, and something I am probably over thinking. But Rob was telling me that he was starting to think that maybe the people in the company were right in what they were doing, and that we were judging them too harshly." Izzy said, and then I was looking at him, wondering what made Rob say this anyways.

"Honestly, I just feel like if he is thinking that way, then it will only be a matter of time before he starts to get too soft on what he thinks the mission goal should be, and he will start to think that we are probably the bad guys here. I mean, I was the one who was there, who had to see the way that they operate, and he is saying that they are right." He said, and then he started to shrug a bit as he was thinking on what he was saying.

"I mean, I saw the way that Kenta does his things. I used to think that he was the greatest guy ever, but now that I know the way that he does things, there is a small part of him that just scares me more than I want to admit." After he had said that to me, I was feeling like I just needed to say something.

"Honestly, why on earth would he start feeling that way? I mean, there must have been something that presented itself. Maybe we are not looking at things smart." I said, and then I looked right at him, hoping that he was going to see that maybe we needed to start to look at things differently.

"I mean, I just respect that guy a lot, and I view him as a good friend. I really do not want him to be saying something that he is going to fucking regret. I regret ever getting involved with Lazarus, because I feel like they were just doing things on their own personal gain. I feel like more than anybody else, I can get away with saying that." Izzy was telling me, and then I was wondering if he would respond to this next one.

"Do you feel like everything that you are doing is just for a personal quest to expose some people who were rough with you?" I asked, feeling like I just needed to get him to be honest about the way that he was speaking. Izzy was sighing, and I was feeling like the further that I pressed, the more that I can see his perspective.

"Well, I mean, everybody I talk with knows that I am right. That is enough for me to feel like I really do not need to go around exposing shit to anybody. But that being said, I just feel like it is more of a civic duty that I am looking at things this way." After he said that, I had no idea what to say now.

"Do you think that you are going to really try and see what Rob is feeling? I mean, surely there has to be a good reason that he feels that way, even if you are having a hard time seeing it." I said, and then after I had said that, Izzy was slowly nodding, seeming like he was more calm about what he was saying at this moment.

"I should try and speak with him. I mean, even if he sometimes gets me off with that comment, I know that he means well, and he is a good friend. I feel like he deserves more than just having me brush him off like a fucking asshole." Izzy said, and then I was seeing him looking sadder at this.

"I mean, judging him is not going to be a smart idea. I mean, I really have no right to judge somebody after all the stuff that I have been doing, and I think that I should try to just look at things in a more matter of fact way." Izzy relented, and then I was looking at him for a bit.

"I mean, I know that this whole thing is probably rather new for you, and that you have a hard time really socializing with people. I know that you are making progress though, and I think that maybe Rob will be willing to look at something like that, and I know that at the end, when you guys talk, everything will be sorted out." I said, and then I was wondering what else to say now.

"You have a decent load of information related to the company. Do you think that you plan to expose it all, or do you think that you would rather just hang out with people, and really know them more?" I asked, and then after I asked him this, Izzy was rubbing his eyes a bit.

"There is so much data to be looking into, and I thought that I would be able to find it all. But I think that maybe having a short break would be nice, and just go around and talk with people. I mean, I was just talking about how much I want to just sort things out with Rob after all. And who knows, maybe when we really talk for a bit, I could see that maybe I was being a bit harsh with the way that I was thinking." Izzy said, as he was shrugging, not having much more to say here.

"Do you think that you will talk with Rachel after you are done with Rob? I mean, I knew that you liked her and everything. But I also know that you had grown to accept the fact that you believe she will not like you back. That must have been rough to deal with." I said, and then I was seeing Izzy looking like he did not really want to think about it any further.

"Honestly, I don't even care about that anymore. If she doesn't have feelings for me, then she doesn't. That means that I will just have to work on being a good friend. I think that being a proper friend is more important to me than getting her to love me anyways." Izzy said, and then as we were walking along, he was just thinking of how to talk.

"I know that you guys are just trying to make a giant plan on how to take down Lazarus. I know that it might be rough to do something like that. And that is why I want to be in on it. That is why I want to make sure that Rob doesn't fall down that path. I feel like I need to be useful now." Izzy told me, and as we were talking, I was seeing a bunch of cars passing by, and I was scared that one of them was going to pull over and fuck with us.

"We really should not be talking about this out loud, where people can fucking hear our discussions." After I said that to him, I saw Izzy looking at me, as if thinking that something like that hardly fucking mattered, since everybody else was already aware of what we were talking about, so it was just a waste of time to be so worried.

"Who fucking cares at this point? I mean, it is not like we were ever very secret about the way that we have been going at this before. Worst comes to worst, we get people to come at us right away, and try to tell us to never look into anything like this again." After Izzy was telling me this, I was feeling like what he was saying was still something to be worried about, even if it was true.

"Fair enough Izzy. I mean, I don't like it though. So maybe we should at least keep it down." I said, and then after I had said that, Izzy was slowly nodding, as if feeling that this was something that he was willing to accept, and not be a bitter bitch about it.

We were getting close to Rob's house, and when he was looking at me, I was seeing that he was really looking like he was just wanting to say something else. "I think that you really should just try to keep a open mind here. I mean, I don't want him to be feeling bad for the fact that he had told me these things." After Izzy was telling me this, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I just needed to let it go, and not say anything.

"Alright. I will try my best, even if it can be rather hard to do something like this." I said, referring to the fact that despite the fact that I was trying so hard not to think about it, that my missing case is technically at stake when we talk about these things. So with that, we walked to the front door, and then knocked, and Rob took less then ten seconds to answer this time, which was one of the fastest that I had seen.

"Hey." He said, and I was seeing that he was not looking like he was in the best of moods for whatever reason. I looked at Izzy, wondering what he was planning on saying to this. He looked like he was just wanting to find another way to continue the conversation in a positive manner.

"I was just wanting to see how you had been holding up lately. I just feel so bad for the way that I acted after the situation where you were telling me that Lazarus was not all that bad. I feel like I should have at least tried to be more open about this with you." Izzy said, and then after he had said that, I was seeing that Rob instantly looked like he did not want to have that memory brought up once again.

"Oh my god. I really don't want to be thinking about it honestly. You made your thoughts on the matter very clear, and I am not going to try and argue about it. Besides, I mean, getting into a large fight over it is just simply not going to be doing anybody any favors." After he had said that to Izzy, he looked at me, and he was looking excited at this.

"Hey, how are you today? Is he not doing anything too crazy right now?" After he asked me this, I was shrugging, thinking that he was just trying to be having some fun with the way that we were talking. I looked at Izzy, who seemed to be thinking that this conversation was starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

"Doing alright. I just wanted to see what information Izzy knew. He was telling me that he was wanting to get involved in whatever plans the others were getting involved in." I said, and then as I looked at Izzy, I was seeing him slowly nod, still not letting down on his opinion. I was seeing Rob looking like he was just relatively unsure of what to say here.

"As long as I do not have to get involved with that bitch Candice, then I will be willing to do anything." After Rob said that, I was looking at him, shocked at what he was saying. Not because he called Candice that, but the fact that he did it in such a obvious, and casual way. As if thinking that it was just common sense to be saying that.

"Yeah, he really does not like her. They were hanging out one time, and she has basically treated him like dirt the entire time, and he has not really gotten over it yet." Izzy said, and then after he told me this, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I would just let this one slide, and not say anything at all.

"I mean, I had no real plan to get involved with her. I hardly even know her anyways, and she always seems to prefer hanging out with Mimi anyways." I said, and then I shrugged, thinking that as long as we did not run into Mimi, and as long as I did not have to hear about it constantly, I would be fine.

"Are you going to be watching that next speech with Carbunkle? I think that he plans on addressing the recent suicide at some point. I would be interested in getting to know what he thinks." Rob said, and I was thinking about what Joe had said earlier, where he had told me that Brad really was not that bad of a guy once you started to speak with me.

"I don't know. Although I have heard a stark increase in his reputation lately, and it makes me more interested in knowing what he is up to. Who knows, maybe there is just something about him that I never saw. That being said, I never believed the theories that he was involved in what was happening. I think that he just seems to have too innocent of a exterior to be doing anything like that." I said, wondering if I was going to regret saying that.

"Besides, we are probably not even going to be at a spot where we would be able to hear the broadcast. So talking about it is probably going to be a waste of time." Izzy said, and then Rob just seemed to be unsure of what else to say.

"I mean, I guess that it will not matter that much after everything else. Rachel was talking to me once. She was saying that she was starting to think that there was a small chance that she could end up being the next target of this conspiracy. I doubt that this will happen, but at the same time, I have a horrible feeling that she is right." After Rob said that, I was wondering how these people would be insane enough to go after Rachel when they already went after Andrea.

"Why does she believe that she will be the next one who will be going missing? I mean, she probably knows something that we do not know yet." I said, and then after I said that to them, I was seeing that Rob hardly seemed like he was able to create a response to that. Probably thinking that I was putting him on the spot.

"In all honesty, I don't know the full extent of why she believes that. But I think she was talking about the fact that she has heard something from her parents talking about another sale coming through. And she also feels like it is her fault that Andrea had gone missing, due to that labyrinth party that she had thrown in the weeks before Andrea left. As if thinking that it would be karma or justice or whatever the fucking hell if she were to leave." After Rob told me this, I was feeling like something like this was going to be a hard one to really wrap my head around at this point.

"So she is basically wanting to go missing?" I asked, and I knew that this was not what Rob was saying, but the whole thing was kind of making it feel that way. Rob remained silent at this, as if not wishing to be saying anything at all. Probably thinking that saying anything at all was going to be just making things worse for us all.

"I think that the best thing that we can do is just keep a eye out on her, and just try and see what in the world could be happening with her. Besides, who fucking knows? She might have been over thinking things a bit." After Rob was trying to say that, I was seeing Izzy looking like he was thinking of something else here.

"I really doubt that she is wrong, as much as I hate to admit it. But I am confused, because I thought that if it were to ever happen, that it would be happening later." Izzy said, and then he looked at me, as if letting his brain fucking run at a billion damn miles per hour.

"I remember, it was either Joe or T.K., but one of them was telling me that they heard a conversation relating to Yolei, and her parents doing another transaction. If these transactions are what I am starting to fear that they mean, then I have a feeling that it is something much worse than anything else. Much worse than anything like mere drug trades. Although that certainly has to be a part of it." Izzy said, and then he was starting to ball up his fist.

"What is on your mind?" After Rob asked him this, I was seeing that anything related to being calm and unbiased was going away as soon as Rachel going missing was even a fucking idea to be discussing. I was seeing Izzy looking like his mind was running a billion miles per hour, and that he was just wanting to fucking calm down for a bit.

"I just wish that I had spent more time really looking at the fucking data that Matt has given me. There is some stuff in there that I thought that I read, but I hardly paid attention to, and now I am regretting not looking at things super fucking deeply, and it could really be biting us in the ass." After Izzy said that to us, I was seeing that he was really not having a good time processing this whole thing. I was feeling like if Izzy was going to start this self beating crap as well, then I was going to be losing my fucking mind here.

"Izzy, don't start with the beating yourself up shit. Why is it that every guy ever does that?" I asked, thinking about the fact that in the last summer, I have not met a single dude who wasn't always doing that. It made me feel like the male population as a whole really needed to work out their priorities here.

"I am just saying. I mean, I said that I wanted to do something, and yet where there is data right there for me, I just refuse to look at it." After Izzy said that, I looked at Rob, and I was seeing that his mind was running in different situations, and I was wondering what he was probably thinking about at this point. It would have been nice to see what was going on in his mind.

"I think that I will talk with Rachel for a while. I mean, I know that she will probably not tell me everything that we need. But I feel like it would be a good idea to fucking try." Rob said, and then after he had said that to us, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I might as well let him be doing his shit, and not get in the way here.

"Alright, just don't force it too much. If she doesn't want to open up, then just don't make her. I think that the last thing that we need is to have her feel like the one person who she is most willing to open up with is getting too into her case." I said, thinking that something like that would be a pain in the fucking ass, and I saw Rob looking unsure.

"I know. I mean, I care about what Rachel thinks too much. I know it is dumb to say this, but she is the closest thing that I have gotten to a sibling, and I do not want to be making things worse for her." After Rob was saying this, he sighed, as if thinking that there was nothing else to be saying on the matter. And I looked at Izzy, and he was looking like he would leave it alone.

"That is probably why you are so worried about this." I said to myself verbally, thinking about what we were getting ourselves into. "Well, I think that we just need to make sure that nothing happens then." After I was telling him this, I was then thinking of other things that I could be able to do.

"I am going to be meeting with the others soon, and I am going to try and start making a plan with them, and I feel like perhaps we could be able to get this to work out." After Izzy was saying this, I was seeing him looking like he was starting to feel much more comfortable with what he had been saying, and I was seeing Rob looking like he was just remaining silent here.

"Jesus, I feel like things have just changed so much lately, and I have no idea where this is going to be all going now. I just hope that none of us regret what is going on here." I said, thinking that it was rather likely, but I did not want to admit it. I looked at Izzy and Rob, and both men were just looking tired, and I was already seeing that they were done with this whole investigation. God, they were a year younger than me, and they already, especially Rob, had aged so much worse than myself. It was a damn shame.

Scene 5: The Man With The Blue Robes

When I was at the attic the next day, feeling that I just needed to see the evidence that Joe had collected once again, and I was honestly feeling that whatever he was planning needed to be looked at right now. As I was looking at him, I was wondering what I could be able to say to make the situation seem better for us.

I was looking right at Joe, feeling that I just needed to try and find a way to make this discussion seem like we were actually at least getting somewhere with it. "Joe, do you feel like any of this evidence is going to mean a damn thing at the end of the night?" I asked, hoping that he would give me a honest answer, and not something that I would want to hear.

As I had said that to him, I was seeing that Joe was clearly looking like he was just unsure of what to be telling me. "Honestly, I think that the best thing for us to do is just to find out if there are any names on here that we could be able to look at." After Joe said that to me, he shrugged for a few seconds, and then looked lost now.

"I heard about a guy one, but I forgot about it. A man named Justin Ryder. Do you know anything about that?" I asked, feeling that I might as well just see if Joe was willing to give me any pointers there. As I said that, I saw him looking slightly less sure of what to think of that.

"Justin Ryder. I feel like I read that in one of my fucking notes that I was gathering. But I remember nothing about it. Do you think that you have any memory of what that was connecting with anyways?" Joe asked me, and then I was shrugging, and I was already regretting bringing up the idea in the first place, since I was feeling that I would not be able to do all the work.

"If you feel like we can find something, we need to just work on finding the notes." Joe said, and he was looking at me, as if thinking that this was super fucking obvious, so with that, he was looking at all of his stuff. "I think that I remember that it was Ocho who was talking about him earlier. I can't remember what exactly was making the discussion happen though." Joe said, and then I was looking at him, hoping that Ocho's evidence was not the one that we needed to account for.

"Are you seriously thinking that we should be looking at the stuff that Ocho had given us? I mean, for all we know, that shit could just be leading us nowhere." After I said that, I was feeling that letting Ocho be the one who was choosing all the routes was probably going to be a bad idea, since we had seen where this was going before, and how it had seemed like we had not found any real clues with him in charge.

"I think that we would be fucking dumb to not be looking at it a bit more, and just seeing what we can work at. And besides, I never said that it was for sure him who was doing this. I just felt like it could have been him, all things considered." Joe said, and he was seeming like he was just trying to hide his annoyance at this.

I was going right to his desk, and I was feeling that there was no need to be arguing about this. We could just see who was onto something by just looking around, and in all honesty, despite what I was saying earlier, I was feeling that if we were looking at what Ocho had told us earlier, then we could be able to at least work with something new, and that was really all that fucking mattered at the end of the day.

We looked around for a while, and to be honest, when I was looking at this stuff with Joe, I was feeling more and more like he and I were probably the only ones who really were actually being smart about the way that we had been looking at this. I mean, the way that Matt and T.K. were looking at this was borderline suicidal, Izzy had a revenge vendetta, Tai had his feelings hurt, and Mimi was doing god knows what with getting the fucking hell over her father.

But I was feeling that Joe was probably the closest one to actually looking at this with totally pure intentions, who had not been just trying to see what he could personally gain from the entire situation, and that was why I was feeling like I was able to actually trust in what he had been saying. After a while of looking around, I was seeing Joe looking at some of the notes that he had made, and clearly reading them as deeply as he fucking could.

"Yeah, I think that I was right. It seems like the stuff relating to this Justin guy are all related to either Ocho, or related to Shaun Reichenbach. It seems like Shaun was looking at Justin as a great friend, and that he was always really feeling like he was being betrayed by the total lack of communication here." After Joe was saying that to me, he was handing me the notes that were taken.

"Ocho and Shaun seem to have one thought in common at this. Both feel like the best way for them to advance their own personal goals is to have Justin come forward once again, out of the hiding that he had placed himself in. And I think that given everything that we know, both of them could be right, depending on the stroke of luck." After Joe was saying this to me, I was looking at all the notes, and I was feeling that this entire thing was just too much to bear.

"But I also remember Matt telling me something about how Justin was actually training Ocho. Or something like that. How he was the one that told Ocho about the crystal cave. Which I still have no idea how in the fucking world that ties into anything. Just feel like I need to mention this." I said, and then with that, Joe was looking like he had been considering what we were even talking about in the first place anyways.

"It seems like the main reason why Shaun thinks that this is the answer is because Justin seems to have a emotional connection with everybody who was killed. All those targets are tied to him, all leading up to him coming forward soon. I think that the main reason that Olive was killed this year was because she was one of his best friends, and therefore Shaun probably thought that her death was going to be forcing him out of hiding, as a way to get revenge." Joe said, and then he was shrugging, as if thinking that there was no other reason to be saying something like this.

"Well, I think that the best way to try and talk to the guy, without arousing too much suspicion, is to go to Ocho, and force him to talk. I know that you are not big on the idea, but I feel that we might as well just see what we can get out of it." Joe said, and he was looking at me, and I was seeing that he was just hoping that I would be able to put everything else aside, and juts work with him here.

"I mean, you are probably not wrong. I have nothing against him. I just feel like there needs to be more to look at before we place all the chips on the field, trusting everything about him. That was all that I was trying to say earlier." I said, not really wanting to have a giant debate about the way that we were both thinking of Ocho.

"I guess that it might be true." After Joe had said that to me, he was shrugging, and then with that, we were getting up, and I was looking at the mess that we had created in the last hour or two. I was feeling really bad for that, and I was wondering if he was going to be annoyed with the way that I was trying to just take everything over for the sake of making a easier case on the others.

"I will take care of it. You do not need to be worried about that right now. I just want to make sure that when we talk to Ocho, that you are not going to be causing a scene or anything like that." Hoe said, and then with that, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I would just let him have his moment, and not be annoyed with the fact that I did not seem to be fully sure of where to go here.

"Jim seems to finally come around and accept the fact that I am doing all this. I thought that he was always going to be against it. And I am sure that he is not a huge fan of it still. But I think that he has finally grown to realize that fighting this is not really going to be doing anybody any favors, so he will just kind of go along with it, and see what we can do here." Joe said, and then I was seeing him looking like he was just feeling flat out fucking glad that Jim was willing to let it go at this moment.

"He probably just knows when something is a losing battle, so he decides to stop fighting it. I mean, I don't think that either one of us take Jim for being a idiot or anything like that." I said, and then I was looking at him, wondering if he was going to be saying anything else to that discussion.

"Joe, just please don't fucking do anything that you are going to regret. I mean, I would not want you to abuse that trust that he was willing to show you. If you go around, and you do something that will make him upset, then he will never want to speak with you again." I said, and then I was feeling that I might have been a bit dramatic about what I was saying. But in all honesty, I hardly cared. I felt like I just needed to say it.

"Well, I think that Jim will mostly get over it, if something happens. I know that regardless of everything else, at the end of the day, he cares about the family too much. And with me admitting that maybe my father is doing the right thing with his campaign, I think that he started to cool down a bit." Joe said, still feeling like it was wrong to say that, but he hardly cared anymore.

As we were walking to where Ocho lived, I was still feeling that there could be something that could really ruin Jim's perception of us and what not. But at that moment, I did not want to come off as a nagger, and I did not want Joe to be thinking that perhaps I was wanting something to divide them or some stupid shit like that. And in all honesty, his brothers opinion of this group was not worth a giant fucking fight to be honest.

"Do you feel like talking with Ocho is really going to be the best bet that we have to finally getting the answers that you want? I mean, you are probably right. But at the same time, I feel like whatever Ocho knows, and he doesn't tell us, might be a sign that he might not really trust us all that much anymore." I said, wondering why I was telling him this. I guess that I was just trying to offer a new perspective on the matter for his sake.

"I don't know if it is going to be the best bet per se. But it is going to be the one that makes the most sense, and it is going to be the one that comes together the most I just feel like we need to try no matter what the fucking cost is." Joe said, and then after that, I decided that it would be best to just not get into a debate on the matter, and that maybe Joe knew what he was doing after all.

We were eventually at his house, and I was feeling that talking to him about Justin, and leaving everything else out of it, was probably going to be fine, and I was aware that I was probably thinking too deeply into something like this. And as Ocho answered the door, I was seeing that like everybody else was saying, he was looking fucking tired, and beyond able to pretend to have a regular conversation.

"What were you wanting to talk about?" Ocho asked, and I was feeling like he was barely holding himself together. I was wondering how Matt was able to talk with a guy who was constantly on the fringe of going insane, or blowing up. As I thought of this, I looked at Joe, hoping he would lead.

"I was wanting to know what you knew a certain guy named Justin Ryder. I just wanted to see if it was possible to be able to see him. After all, I believe that Shaun's entire goal lately is to get this man killed, for whatever reason." Joe said, and I was feeling like he really lacked tact when it was coming to this issue, but I was refusing to say anything since the general idea was the same.

"God, I was wondering how long it was going to take for everything to turn to being about that guy. Yeah, I know him. But I got to know what the stakes in this for you are." After Ocho said that to us, I was sighing, feeling like this man just trying to take the conversation his way was not what I was going to be in the mood for right now.

"Look, just because we are not working together per se doesn't mean that our goals don't a line. They do. But we just are working at different ways." I said, feeling like way that I had said that was just the most generic shit that I had ever been able to say in my life. But I honestly did not care all that much.

"Look, I think that I just am never really going to trust other people after all that I had seen. I wanted to be able to really feel like I could open up with others, and that we could work together, but that just seems to be out of the range. And besides, I think that if you tried to talk to him, he would just tell you that all of this was meant to be this way." Ocho said, and he was doing hand waving motions to show that this was his way of making fun of some define intervention.

"So no, I would like to help you out, but I feel like something like that is just not going to be possible. And I think that you better just go back to doing your own thing with your friends. Maybe you will find something that I hardly ever saw before. Nothing wrong with trying at least." He said, and then with that, he was shrugging, and I was seeing that he seemed to be genuinely willing to work with us here.

I was looking at Joe, and I was seeing that he was not taking this very well. Probably thinking that he was wasting his time even having this discussion with Ocho. "Ocho, Matt seemed to be having a lot of hope with you. I want to know that this hope is not misplaced." Joe said, and I was wondering what he was going to try to accomplish when he was saying this.

"And that is why I am feeling so bad for doing things the way that I have been. I want to feel like we could work something out. But to be honest, I think that at this rate, I have gone too deeply to be able to work something out with you guys. I just hope that you will be able to fucking understand." Ocho was saying, and then with that, I was sighing, and I decided that I was not going to be pushing this any further. And I looked at Joe, hoping that he would not either.

"But if you feel like you need to see him no matter what, I will give you one hint. He made a small house for himself near the area that Wutai village used to be. He seems to have been really fucking bogged down by whatever the fucking hell happened there. So if you want the answers, just go there." After Ocho said that, he closed the door on us, and I was feeling like this was probably going to be the best we were going to get out of him. So with that, I was looking at Joe, and I was seeing that Joe really was trying to keep his cool, and I think that he was also not liking the fact that he now officially knew that I was probably right with my assertions about him earlier.

Scene 6: A Girl My Age

I was feeling that the talk with Ocho was a waste of time, and to be honest, I was kind of feeling like Joe had made a giant mistake even trying to make the situation work out for us. And I was feeling that there was a good chance that in all honesty, Ocho really was not trusting us as much as he was pretending like he did, so this situation was kind of forcing me to feel like we needed a new plan going forward.

So as I was starting to feel that way, I was feeling like I would go against Rob's wishes, and try to talk with the one person who I was aware had actually been talking with Ocho, and seemed to at least somewhat get him more willing to be talking at this rate, and that was Candice. I was honestly feeling like she was the only one that I would have been able to reach out with, so I felt like there was no choice on the matter really.

I started to head on over to her place, and to be honest, I was feeling that it was not even going to matter. I doubted that Candice would have even wanted to talk with me anyways, and that she was probably going to take one look at me, and then just brush me off, and act like I was just being a total annoyance for her or whatever.

But I figured that if I was going to be helping this team out, and trying to be a real member, that I needed to still try at least. So with that, when I was at her door, I was just letting the ideas of what I was going to tell her run on through my mind, as all the ideas were roaming in my head, and I was starting to feel like they were all just fucking dumb as shit.

Once she opened up the door, she looked right at me, and I was seeing that she was already just more confused than anything else to be seeing me here. Probably thinking that I was just trying to be causing any trouble and all that. "Hey, what are you wanting to talk about?" She asked, clearly seeming like she was just trying to get this over with as fast as possible.

"I was wanting to talk about Ocho, and just see how you were handling it. I mean, I know that lately, you two seemed to be connecting a bit more, and I thought that this could help with all the investigations that are going on." I said, and then I was shrugging, looking straight at her.

"Yeah, we have been getting along more lately. I have no idea how it all is working out though. He just saw me in the church one day, when Mimi and Matt were talking, and after that happened, we seemed to just hang out a couple of times, and he really did seem to be a nice guy, much to my total fucking surprise." After she had said that, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I could go along with it for now. After all, she was more or less helping me confirm what I already knew, which was fine enough to handle for now.

"I mean, he is really not a bad guy. I just think that he is worried about what doing all of this will be doing to you guys, and I think that at this point, he is just trying to make sure that you guys do not do anything that you are not ready for." Candice said, and then she was slowly taking a deep breath, as if willing to tell me something else she did not enjoy.

"I mean, I think that at the end of the day, he is probably right. After all, when I was trying to get involved one fucking time, I found some strange fucking vision, and trust me when I say that it was kind of messed with me real good, and I feel like just having all of those memories coming back to me are really just making things worse." Candice said, as she was going on her tangent now.

"And the worst part was that Ocho was trying to tell me to not fucking do this, and I didn't listen to him. I just felt like I was able to do something better than him, and that I was knowing what I had done better. But then I was only making things worse for everybody. After that happened, I decided that it would be bets to just let him take care of things, and that I would not try and act like I was better than him on this." Candice said, and then she shrugged, not having much more to say to it.

"Do you really think that he is going to be the answers that you guys need to finally know the truth? I was trying to talk to him earlier, with Joe helping me out, and he was just totally fucking brushing us off, and he was very clearly annoyed with us trying to talk to him. It was very obvious that he did not have much respect for what we were trying to do." I said, and then I was shrugging, wondering if I should have just left Joe out of the discussion when talking with her.

"Well, like I was saying earlier, I think that he probably just doesn't want to get you involved in something that you guys are not going to be able to handle. I think that he knows that if you guys do something in this investigation, chances are that you are only going to be making matters much worse for everybody else in the situation, and that if something he has no desire to get involved in." After she said that, she was shrugging, as if thinking that telling me this was getting tiresome.

"But what if he needs our help, and he is just constantly having us fucking shove it? I think that him acting the way that he has is just simply not going to be smart of him. I mean, you got to fucking realize this at this rate." I said, and then I was shaking my head, thinking that it would not hurt to have more than one person in this team, that could always be able to help out.

"Look, I understand what you are saying, but I think that he just really needs some time to know that you are not going to just be doing this for personal gain. He probably just needs to know that if you are getting involved, that you are actually doing this for other people. After all, the loss of Andrea has really affected him, and he has just now started to open up with me and Matt again." She said, and then I was thinking about that.

"I feel like if you really want to be getting somebody to help him, then Matt is probably going to be your best fucking bet. But I guess that you probably already knew that." Candice said, and then as she was done saying that, I was then thinking of something new to ask. Something that she was probably going to try to totally brush off. And in all honesty, it was not that important, but I was just curious myself.

"So what do you have against Rob anyways? He was telling me about the one time that you guys were talking with each other, and he said that you were basically just brushing him off, and not showing any form of interest in the discussion." I said, and then after I asked her this, I knew she was annoyed with my stories.

"Look, I understand that he probably has a hard time really seeing when people are just needing to be alone, but he just seems to have those strange vibes around him. As if he was planning on doing something, and there was nothing that I could do about it. In all honesty, I was just worried that he was having something up his sleeve. I know that I might be sounding a bit silly right now. It just felt off." She said, and then she was shrugging, clearly wanting to say more, but had no real way to do it.

"Are you trying to claim that he is involved in what is going on? I think that even beyond the fact that he is too young for something like that, he was always seeming to be really fucking down about the fact that Andrea was gone, and he was really upset with the idea that something could be happening with Rachel. I think you need to understand that he would never do anything." I said, and I was having no idea why I was finding myself saying all of this, and giving such a strong opinion on this.

"I am just saying the way that it had felt. I am not saying that it was correct. I am just saying that when I was speaking with him, there always seemed to be something going on, and I was just not sure if I was really ready for something like that quite yet." She said, and then with that, there was a moment of silence, and I was seeing her looking like she was just feeling that there was no point in even talking about this anymore.

"I think that perhaps he will just need somebody who he can talk with. Somebody who he feels like he can actually open up on. And I think that unless that happens soon, then we really have no right to be getting in his business about the way that he was talking to anybody else." I said, and then I was looking at her, wondering how she was going to be reacting to that type of statement. I was seeing that she was just looking like she had no real opinion on the matter at all.

"If you want to play therapist with him, and see if he is willing to talk with you, then have fucking fun, but I can tell you that he would never want anything like that with me, regardless of how I act around him. So I am not going to even fucking bother with anything like that." After she had said that to me, I was sighing, feeling that I just needed to leave it alone, since I was aware that talking with her was only going to waste time.

"I don't know, I just feel like after everything that I have seen, it is very easy to start to feel bad for people and what they are dealing with. And when I see what he is trying to do, I just feel like I need to try and find a way to make the conversation better for him." I said, and then with that, I started to shrug, and I was really having no idea what I was going to be doing now.

"I mean, I think that us getting all caught up in what the other people think of them is just making the whole thing easier for those involved to hide whatever they are doing. I think that this is probably something that was intended by the people who are leading the business. So I think that we just need to fucking stop getting so worried over things like that." After she had said that to me, I was sighing, having no real desire to be dealing with anything like this.

"I guess that is true. And there are some things that I think that I might be hiding from, I have to admit. So I guess that I really have no right to bitch unless if I was willing to try and look into those things as well." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was seeing that Candice was just now looking shocked and confused at what I was saying. As if she had wanted to just see what she would be able to say to help out.

"I mean, I hear people constantly talking about Steven Small, and how he probably knows something. People always talking about how he is working with the company now, and I feel like perhaps I need to just see what in the world he is probably doing. I want to just pretend like I have nothing to worry about with him. But if even half the rumors about him are true, then I just need to be more realistic with what is going on here." I said, and then with that, I just felt like I needed to leave the conversation alone with that one.

"Do you seriously think that Steven Small knows absolutely nothing about this town? I mean, I have no reason to believe that he is involved, so I will give you that. But at the same time, I feel like he has done quite a bit, and I think that he would have at least heard of some things at this point if he was working with the company so well. Sort of like that Carbunkle guy. Clearly he knows something about what is happening, even if he is trying his hardest to pretend like he has no idea." Candice said, and then I was just taking a second to think things out a bit.

"Honestly, if we are going to assume that everybody who had any connection with the company at all is somehow supposed to give us all the answers that we need, then we are going to be living a very miserable existence. So I think that we just need to fucking stop with that shit right now." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was feeling like even though I was saying this, I was just not really being all that responsible for the way that I had been looking at this situation.

"But that being said, as the one who always denied things with Steven Small, I guess that it would make sense that I should be the one to look into it, to just make one hundred percent sure that I am not doing something that I am going to really fucking regret." I said, and then after I said that to her, I was seeing Candice looking like she did feel slightly bad for me, that she was glad to see that I was now at least trying to keep a open mind.

"If you ever need any help on that, I guess that I can be able to see if I will be able to help you out. I mean, for all that I know, I guess that I could be able to figure something out." She said, and then after she had said that to me, I was looking at her, and I was just trying to decide if I wanted anything like that. But then I decided that I was not in the mood to be arguing with her at all.

"I would rather not be thinking about it. I can almost assure you that this whole thing is just some big fucking false alarm, and that we are just being fucking idiots right now. But who knows, maybe I am just looking at this the wrong way." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I was wondering why I was even saying anything like this in the first place.

"I just felt like I needed to make the offer at least." Candice said, and she was clearly sounding like she was slightly more attacked by this than she was wanting to let on. I was then just thinking about what in the fucking world I was going to be doing now. I was scared of what the reality would be like if it was going to be revealed that Steven was indeed involved in what was happening, and how I was going to be having a different perception of my own heroes.

"And one way or another, once I know the answer, I guess that I can see if I will be able to move forward with this. I mean, the whole thing just seems wrong to think about. And I guess that I will have to really just decide where I want to go with this." I said, and then with that, I was wondering what else I was even going to be saying to her, and I was already fearing the worst.

I didn't stay around much longer than that. Maybe another ten minutes or so, just to sort of pretend like I was wanting to be there. But I was thinking of the worst situation. So with that, when it was time, I just left, and I hardly said a fucking word as I was heading out once again.

Scene 7: Teacher Student Reunion

I was at the area where Steven Small kept his stuff. It had been almost completely emptied out at this point, and I was feeling worried about him. I was looking around, just trying to decide what in the world I was going to be saying about any of this to the others. For some reason, I was just feeling so fucking awful for him, despite the fact that people wanted me to not feel that way.

As I was looking around, I heard his voice calling out to me. I looked at him, and I was just trying to not think of anything to say that would give away that I might have been suspecting him. The worst part was that while I never admitted it before today, this man was actually one of my first crushes growing up. Especially when he did so much to help me and others out. And knowing that there was even a chance that he was involved in this made me feel so fucking awful.

"Hey Sora, I am just cleaning out all my supplies now. Now that I am going to be working exclusively with Lazarus going forward, they do not want me to be keeping all my stuff here." Steven Small said, and I was hearing that from the look on his face, he was actually kind of feeling sad about this right now.

"Do you feel like those rumors are going to be bogging you down? I mean, if I was you, and I heard all these people say these terrible things about me, then I would just feel like I would be over the shit so fucking quickly." I said, and then I was seeing that Steven hardly looked like he was even caring about something like that right now.

"I honestly don't even care what they say around me anymore. If people act like they know everything that I am doing right now, then they can. But the truth is that I just believe that the people who work at the company are actually doing something for the greater good for Wayside. And I feel that even if I do not agree with everything that they say, that their intentions are good enough here." After he had said that to me, I was then slowly nodding, feeling that I just needed to not argue with him as he said that.

"I just have a hard time really knowing what to think anymore. I hear people say so many fucking things, and at this rate, I am starting to really know who I believe in anymore. I feel like when you hear all the stories that people make, and the bullshit all surrounding it, then it just makes sense that at least some of them would probably be true." I said, and then I was looking right at Steven, wondering what he was going to be saying to my response.

"At the end of the day, I think that the best thing to do is look at all the evidence of each case, and make up your mind on individual ones, and then go from there. Not every thing is going to be one or the other. And I think that trying to act like they all could be is going to be making things much worse for you. And I believe that you are way too smart of a girl to be falling for this shit." After Steven said that to me, I was then feeling slightly impressed and glad that he was feeling this way about me.

"I guess that at the end of the day, I am just getting scared. I know that it might be sounding silly to be hearing me say something like that. But hearing about all these murders, and how much everybody has been going into a utter panic over it, it makes me feel like I just need to try and be more careful with the assumptions that I have been making right now." I said, and then I was shrugging, not sure if what I was saying would even matter at the moment.

"Yeah, Olive's death seems to have had a horrible effect on those around the town. She was one of the most respected women in the town, and the way that she kept that garden up for years really drew out to people, especially those who were not a fan of the establishment at all." Steven said, and then he was sitting down, looking at all of his notes. And I was seeing a couple of nude photos of Aurora, and her having sex with that old man who died recently that wore all blue.

"Were you ever in touch with her at all? I mean, she seems like somebody right up your alley as somebody who you hung out with once or twice. I mean, I don't know how old you are, so I don't think she was a student of yours." I said, and I said that last bit before he would be able to get upset at me for accusing him of being old or whatever the fucking hell he would have been thinking at that moment.

"No, not really. I talked with her once or twice. We worked together a few times, and I helped her with a few of her plants at the garden. I always felt like the idea of saving the environment was a great way to really contribute to this town. But when it was getting to the point where the garden at that old church was the only thing left of wildlife in Wayside, not counting the forest, it became very obvious that this was going to be destroyed soon enough. And anybody who would have tried to act shocked at this was fucking stupid." Steven said, feeling that saying that was just the honest truth of what was happening.

"We were in college for a year. She came in as soon as she graduated, and I was on my final year of five." Steven said, and then with that, he shook his head, as if feeling like having this discussion was just something that I really did not have any interest in.

"So what is bringing you to join the company anyways? I mean, there has to be a reason that you decided to be giving this one a chance after all." I said, and then with that, I was seeing him looking like he was shocked to be hearing me bringing this back to that. With this, Steven sighed, feeling that he might as well be honest with his motives.

"Honestly, I feel like with the way that this town is going, that working with this company is the only way to do anything. And in all honesty, I just feel like there are a lot of things that I want to do to help Wayside out, and I feel like if this is the best way to do it, then it is my job to do so." After Steven was telling me this, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I just needed to see what in the world I could do to help out.

"I just never would have taken you to be doing something like that. But I always felt like you were supposed to be doing something better for Wayside then just being a mere teacher, as good as that job can be." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I hardly cared what I was coming off as anymore, and I was wanting to just make Steven feel like he was a valued member of this team.

"It makes me feel better to be hearing you say that to me. I never wanted to be creating a uproar over what I was doing. And I know that one of your friends, Joe, doesn't want to believe that I am trying to do this for the best of Wayside. But at this rate, I hardly even fucking care anymore. If they are insisting that I am doing something wrong, then that is what he will have to believe." Steven said, and then with that, he was wondering if there was any point in talking now.

"Honestly, I think that you need to go out and just do what you feel like is going to be good for you and your friends. I want to believe that I am doing what is right. But I guess that I will not know yet until I am actually there, and when that happens, then I will just have to see if I made any real mistakes or not." Steven was remaining silent for a bit.

"Do you think that you will come back to teaching if this turns out to not go the way that you believe? I mean, you have to consider something like that possibly happening, as much as I might not like saying it." I said, and then after I was telling him this, I saw Steven looking like he was just keeping quiet for a few seconds longer.

"I will give it a year or two, and just see how things are going, and then when I feel like I kind of have a idea of if this is working out well, then I will go from there." After he had said that to me, I was then remaining silent for a few seconds longer, just keeping things to myself.

"Alright, I just feel like you did a good job, and I would not want you to be losing out on something that you worked out well on, over some form of mis guided feeling of duty." I said, and then I was wondering why in the world I was even saying this to him, and then with that, I was feeling like I just needing to ask him one final question, for Joe's sake.

"Do you know anything, at all, about what happened with Aurora? I mean, I saw that photo of her with that one guy, and surely you probably have at least some idea what happened." I said, and then I was seeing him looking upset at the fact that I was bringing that up, and probably thinking that I was just trying to keep him from ever really moving on here.

"Honestly, I just set up all the shoots, and I was just trying to do a project that they both wanted to be involved in. She said that she needed some money to get her through the school year, and she was willing to do virtually anything for it. I just did what I thought would get us all a piece of the reward." Steven said, and then after he had said that, he was shrugging a bit.

"There was a slight problem that nobody would want to be revealed to the public. And I trust you enough to know this point, so I will tell you." He said, and then after he had said that, I was feeling like I just needed to remain silent for a few seconds, and just let him tell me whatever he knew.

"She came to me three days before she went missing, and she was showing me that it was positive." Steven said, and then I was slowly nodding, knowing what he meant, but I figured I would let him say it anyways. "She was pregnant, and it was obvious that this Walter, I believe was his name, man that she had sex with in that photo, was the father. She was telling me that she was scared for Joe to learn. Especially since it was a free lance one night situation." Steven said, and then after he had said that, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I just needed to tell Joe.

"Oh shit, that really takes a different turn on this. I have a feeling that if this was leaked, then it could be made into a rather big deal. Maybe it was smart that this information was kept secret." I said, and then I was wondering how in the world I would have been able to say something like that. I was seeing that Steven was looking like he really felt bad for this.

"Now you see what I am talking about. And I think that with this information going forward, I will have to really see if this had any involvement to why she was going missing." I said, and then with that, I was seeing Steven looking like he was suddenly rather worried about what I had just said. As if he was thinking that I could get him in trouble.

"Don't do anything rash. I get that your friend wants closure, but do not do anything that if going to be getting your killed over it." After Steven was telling me this, I was looking right at him, and I was feeling like I just did not want to be hearing this shit. Whatever he was trying to do just needed to fucking stop right then and there.

"I don't plan on telling Joe. But this could be huge, and I can see why he was thinking you would have been aware of what was going on. After all, you had this information that you were hiding for literally no fucking reason." I said, and I was not hating him yet since I was sure that he was doing it for good reason. But it was hard to really think of things this same way either.

Scene 8: Long Awaited Kiss

I was talking with Matt for a bit, and just giving him a update on what the fucking hell was going on, and I was feeling that I just really needed to try and find a way to get him to understand that I was doing my best to make this situation not too utterly horrible for either of us. "Sorry that I have not talked with you for a while about what was going on with the others. I just felt like you probably needed to have some time to yourself, and that you did not want me to be getting in your way too much."

I knew that what I was saying was a bullshit excuse, and that he deserved to have somebody there to talk with him, and not be acting like talking with him was a fucking chore. As I was talking with him, I was seeing Matt looking like he was just trying to find something else to say, but decided against it.

"Honestly, I have no idea what in the fucking world I am going to be doing. I just wish that I knew if people were actually meaning it when they had said that they were going to do whatever they could to help me out. I tried so hard to not be thinking about mom, and I tried so fucking hard to be acting like none of this even mattered. But I feel like something like this is just not fucking happening at all." After Matt said that to me, I was slowly nodding, thinking that if he was calling me out, then I deserved it for what it was.

"But regardless, I feel like the person that needs to have the most conversation is T.K. I feel like he is just bouncing back and fourth on what his feelings with us are. And I feel like I just need to be one hundred percent sure that I am not fucking making any giant mistakes by just letting him take care of his thoughts and feelings on his own." As Matt was saying this, I was just not really wanting to say anything at all, to let him have his moment of talking.

"He is talking with his other friends, and I think that he would have wanted you to leave him alone as a result of this. I am sure that if he were to ever want you to be at his side, he would be more than willing to tell you what is going on in his mind. So I think that for now, it would be best to just let it go for the time being." After I said that to him, I was seeing Matt looking like he was kind of just seeing what I had been saying now.

"I just care more about him than I want to admit. And I am scared that if something happens to him, then I would not really be able to get over what is going on here." Matt was saying, and then with that, he was just shrugging, and I was thinking that the fact of the matter was that he had already made his mind up at this rate.

"Well, you talk about it a lot, so you are kind of beyond the whole 'more than I want to admit' idea." I said, and then I was looking at him, wondering what he would have tried to say to that. I was feeling that whatever Matt wanted to say now, he just needed to express it, and I would see how I could help him.

"I think you got what I was trying to say though. I just feel like with how much he wants to be doing things on his own, that I want to respect his space. And respecting his space is something that I don't mind usually doing, but I am scared that in time, he will be coming along and get himself hurt, and then everything will be for not." Matt said, and I decided that I could just leave it alone for now.

"Well, I think that with everything that goes on in this town, you have to understand that you are not going to be in control of everything that happens. You have to accept the fact that T.K. is going to be a independent agent, and he will do whatever he wants, and that there is nothing that we can do about it." I said, and then I was looking at him, wondering if he was going to actually listen to what I was telling him. "I tried to be doing my own piece of investigating as well."

"Yeah, I am trying my best to accept that. Even if I did not, T.K. would probably force that in my head. Regardless, I feel like I need to give him a chance in order to show that he really does know what he is doing, and I suppose that this is what really fucking matters." Matt was saying, and the way that he was speaking, and the way that he was sort of calming down, and not really arguing with me, was showing that he was indeed trying his best to be making something like this work.

"And I am also kind of moving on myself. I have had to accept recently that Steven Small is not the man that I thought that he was. I don't think he is evil or anything like that. But I thought that he would have been the person that would be telling everybody everything, no matter what. And it seems like he is kind of just hiding things that will hurt him. And now that I am seeing that, I think that I have to accept that there is a chance that everybody was right in the way that they were talking about it." I said, and I was just feeling utterly awful as I was saying this. I had no desire to say it, but maybe Matt would be more willing to understand me as I was telling him this.

"Sora, I am sorry that you are sort of dealing with this on your own. I should have tried to talk with you, and just see what in the world you were feeling. But I guess that I just got too scared to be thinking about anything else, and I started to just think that only focusing on my brother was a fair goal. As if you were never there." Matt said, and he was clearly disgusted at the way that he had been telling me this.

"I just feel like there are some things that I need to tell Joe, relating to what is going on with Aurora, but I have a feeling that if I tried to tell him this, he would just really go off rails. Not blame me for what is happening or anything like that. But I am scared that this whole leave him rather unhinged, and probably start to feel like whatever good things in Wayside are just not here anymore." I said, and while what I was saying was probably true about no good, I wanted to still hold out doubts.

"If you feel like Joe needs to know something, then you should just tell him. I mean, let's not forget that I am sort of doing my own shit, and that I probably am not being very smart about what I am doing here. But I am not letting that get in the way either. You need to be looking at yourself, and choosing what matters the most to you." After Matt was saying that to me, I was sighing, and I was just feeling like him saying this was still not really helping me at all.

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, I do want to consider myself a friend with him anyways, and I feel like the information that I could tell him would really help him out with his thoughts." I said, and then with that, I was shrugging for a second, feeling that there was nothing else that I needed to say. I looked at Matt, wondering what he would be telling me now.

"I mean, you do not need to tell me what you know. But I might have a bad idea that I could be aware of what is happening." Matt said, and then after he had said that to me, I was laughing at this, thinking that he did not know a damn thing, and that making that assumption was only going to be making things worse for us.

"Trust me when I say that I think you probably do not know, and that is a good thing. Because if you did, then I have no idea how I would be able to really move through this. I think that I will need to see if she can be found soon though. Because even with everything that I learned, I still have no idea where in the world she possibly could be." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was feeling that at this rate, even if he was not doing it on purpose, Matt was going to try and force me to tell him.

"In all honesty, every time somebody goes missing here, I start to wonder if they are ever even able to be found. I have a feeling that there is a chance that they are far too gone to be found anymore, and that we are just wasting our time even having this discussion right now." After Matt was telling me this, I was shrugging, and felt like I would just be leaving this whole argument alone for now.

"Well, I think that this isn't true, because the situation with Andrea and her being found shows that they could be found, and that we are just probably not looking hard enough." I said, and then I was seeing Matt looking at me, as if considering what I was telling him right now.

"I don't know if that was bad luck. Fine, I guess that I might be looking too deep into this. I will try and see what Tai or the others might know." Matt said, and then after he had said that, I was grabbing him for a hug, and I was feeling that this hug was not really going to make him feel better, but it was worth the attempt at affection.

As he was embracing the hug, I was seeing him looking like he was much more willing to just calm down, and not be thinking about other issues too much. "Thank you Sora. It makes me feel so much better to know that there is always somebody who is going to be there for me, no matter what." After he had said that to me, the two of us were just taking a moment to calm the fucking hell down.

I kissed him on the lips for a moment, and then I was letting go, and I was feeling more and more natural about it with each one. Probably showing that I was really starting to actually love that man, even if I was having a hard time admitting it for some reason. Probably thinking that for whatever reason, it was going to show a sign of weakness.

"One of these days, this is going to be over. I hear that the factory is almost completed, and I have a feeling that once that is done, and the school year starts again, everybody will be moving on, and probably slowly realizing that we were in all over our head. And trust me when I say that when this happens, I will probably be feeling so much better." Matt said, and then with that, he was shrugging, as if having nothing else to be saying at this rate.

"Do you seriously believe that the end of summer is going to be getting people to let this go? I mean, I think we both know that something like that is just a load of bullshit." After I was telling him this, I was seeing Matt looking like he wanted to just argue with that for a bit. But then with that, he was remaining silent for a few seconds.

"If for nothing else, I know that this is when I am going to stop looking at it, and I hope that as time passes by, and classes get serious again, the others that we have been talking with will follow that example. I am not going to be letting these things get in the way of my academics, and being able to find a good place out of Wayside." Matt said, and then he looked at me, as if wondering if I would see where he was coming from.

"Do you think that T.K. would be following that example? I mean, he is probably the one that you need to be looking for the most. After all, he is the one that even started this whole thing for you. Because you just wanted to try and protect your brother." I was saying, and then Matt shrugged, and I was feeling like that shrug was enough for me to just drop the subject, and not drag it on any further.

"Just let me talk with Tai, and when you are doing that, I think that you need to just go on and talk with Joe, and see what he has to say. Sooner or later, I think that he will calm down from whatever you want to tell him, and I am sure you will both be able to work together." After Matt was saying that to me, I was sighing, and I felt like I needed to just take his word for it, and not be arguing with him on this case.

"I will let you know what he says as soon as I am done. And who knows, I think that as time passes, we will be able to move forward as well. I doubt that this whole thing is really going to be bothering him for too long honestly." I said, and then with that, I shrugged, and I was feeling like I would just leave things alone, and then I was starting to make my way over to Joe's place, hoping that the two of us would be able to talk normally, and that I was thinking too deeply into this.

I was hoping that Matt would never have to learn the truth about the dance, and the moment of euphoria that I had with Joe when we had that night together. That honestly scared me more than anything else, seeing his reaction to what I was doing with Joe. I wanted him to be happy, and I never wanted him to feel like I was cheating on him. And I was scared that if I hung out with Tai, then I was going to let something over whelm me for a moment. Like what happened with Joe, and I would get with him for a moment.

When I was at his house the next morning, I was feeling like I was ready, and that I just needed to get this over with, and not be letting anything behind. So with that, I knocked on the door, and I just figured that the faster that I had the talk, it would be better. Eventually, he answered, and was excited to see me again.

Scene 9: Bad News

When Joe answered the door, he was looking at me, and I was wondering if me being here was just going to be an annoyance for him. "Hey, what were you wanting to talk about?" Joe asked, and then I was sighing, and I was wondering what in the world I was even going to be telling him. Praising him for being right about Steven in his own way.

"I was just wanting to talk a bit about Aurora. I heard some information that I think you deserve to know." I said, and I was seeing him looking relatively shocked to be seeing me even wanting to talk with him. But then with that, he was slowly nodding, and he was letting me in his house. "I was told this, and I feel like this might just give a new perception on the matter."

"So I was told that before she had went missing, Aurora had found out that she was pregnant. From that man who was found killed a while ago. You know, the one with the blue jacket?" I asked, and then after I asked him this, I was seeing Joe looking like he was just trying his bets to hide his anger as I was saying this. Not at her, but at them.

"I want to be surprised, but I feel like something like that is not even fucking possible. She seemed to be in a rather different head space near the end there, and that does explain quite a bit." Joe said, and then after he was done saying that, we were then feeling like there was nothing else to say.

"Be honest, who was it that told you this? Obviously it wasn't that one guy, if he is dead." Joe said, and I was looking at him, and I was honestly considering lying to him at this point. Mainly because I did not want him to hate Steven Small even more than he already had, which would have made this whole situation hard to deal with.

"It was Steven Small. He was telling me about the work that he had been doing with Aurora, and he told me that, and I felt like you deserved to know the truth as well. Considering how big that information really is." After I said that to him, I was seeing Joe looking like he was just taking this in as much stride as he was able to handle it.

"Well damn. I guess that I sort of have to see where this is going now. I wonder if she is even alive now. If she is, then I wonder if that kid is going to be delivered." After Joe said that to me, I was surprised at how he was changing the topic like this. Probably his way to just try and focus on the lesser things, that might feel more feasible to work on.

"God damn it. It feels like everything is constantly coming back to fucking Steven Small. Almost like he just is joining that company as a way to avoid his crimes, and feel like he would be able to pretend to be innocent for a while longer." Joe said, and I did not like the way that he was saying this, but it could have been true in a way.

"It is not my fault. I just wanted to see what he was able to tell us. People say that I needed to try and talk to him, and see if he was actually hiding something or not. And now that I know that he has some ideas on what is happening, I am having a hard time denying things anymore. I don't exactly think that he is the one behind this all, but I can see how somebody might make that mistake." I said, and then I was looking at him, wondering if that position would make him feel slightly better here.

"I guess that even when something seems like it is a closed story, that there is always something that can come up. I thought that I would never have to deal with that fucking guy who died again. But I guess that life is not really that fucking simple." After Joe was telling me this, he was shrugging, and I was seeing that he was looking like he was just kind of giving up hope on this discussion.

"Joe, what are you planning on doing right now? I think that you need to make sure that no matter what might be coming up, you do not do anything fucking stupid. I mean, we got to keep a neutral position on this whole thing right now." I said, and then after I was saying that to Joe, I saw him looking like he hardly even wanted to be hearing anything like that right now.

"I have no real plans. I just think that if I wanted to find Aurora, I needed to be doing other things as well. I think that I have to realize that the key to bringing her home will not be by just looking into only that, and rather looking into all the other options that re around me." Joe said, and then he was shrugging as he had said that, thinking nothing else of it.

"I know that it doesn't sound like much, and that you already know that I feel this way, but if you ever need to get somebody to just help you out, then let me know, and I will do whatever I can. Hopefully the two of us could be able to come to a understanding. Besides, I want nothing to do with half the shit that T.K. is probably planning on doing, or the fact that Ocho is planning a literal assault on the building. I want nothing to do with that." After I said that to him, was seeing Joe looking shocked at the revelation here.

"Is there more to what Ocho is doing than just that? Because I am sure that he probably has plans within his other plans." Joe said, and then after I was looking ta him, I was wondering if he was literally suggesting that Ocho was this like crazy mastermind who had been looking into other things for so long. But as he was saying this, I was shrugging, not having much that I could be able to tell him with that.

"Honestly, I think the fact that I have no idea what Ocho is doing is the thing that scares me the most. If I knew that this was it, then while I would not like it, I would expect it. But I think that he probably plans on fighting other people. I think that he is probably a lot closer to Rob and Rachel than they are pretending like he is." After I said that to him, I was then slowly nodding, as if thinking that I was getting closer to figuring something out here.

"What would Rob be doing here anyways? I mean, he seems like he wants even less to do with this than you do, so him trying to get involved would seem to be rather random and against all of his character." Joe said, and then he was looking at me, as if hoping that I would be able to see where he was coming from here.

"Well Izzy was telling me that Rob was partially thinking that the company was not all that bad. But then Izzy was able to figure out that there is a good chance that Rachel might be a new target of labyrinth, and I think that hearing that really took a giant toll on Rob, and already made him start to look at things differently." I said, and then with that, I was shrugging, and I was wondering if Joe was going to try and fight that as well.

"Why would they target her already? Andrea just vanished like a couple of months ago? I think that if they were being smart, they would at least wait until something like this was starting to clear up." Joe was saying, and then I was shrugging, thinking that this whole thing would not fall into the discussion of 'if they were smart' but I was thinking that I would just let it go, since I did understand the general point that Joe had been trying to make here.

"I just think that if they are going to try and do something, then we need to be safe. Rachel really should not let her guard down, just in case. I think that you can understand that general sentiment." I said, and then with that, I was shrugging for a second. "I think that if you do not believe in me, you need to talk to either Izzy or Rob. They might not like talking to me for various things, but they might be able to listen to you." After I said that, I was seeing him looking like he was just taking it with stride at this rate.

"I can try to talk to one of them. But I think that if we need to figure out a pattern, we need to figure out what Rachel might have noticed at this rate." Joe said, and then with that, he remained silent, and I was just wondering where this was going to head now. I just needed to make sure that I did not get in over my head.

Scene 10: Two Sides of the Coin

I don't know if I was finding myself in a nearly obsessed state of mind, but I was finding myself at the gas station once again. I mean, it was strange how I was willing to brush off nearly everything else before, but Sheldon always seemed to be the man that I was feeling like we needed to constantly look at, and just keep a watch on.

When I was at the gas station, that was when I was seeing Sheldon still working on whatever he was doing, and he hardly seemed to be paying any mind to the fact that I was there in the first place. "Hey, sorry for coming in like this, and I know that you probably are thinking that I am going to be a bunch of trouble." I said, and then with that, Sheldon turned over at me, and I was seeing him looking like he was trying hard to not be shocked at this.

"You guys really just do not know when you give up, do you?" After Sheldon said that, I was shrugging, thinking that he was probably right to be saying that, and he was for sure right to be saying it in a way that was barely containing his annoyance. But then as he was saying this, I figured that I better just find a way to get this over with as fast as possible.

"Honestly, I wish that I did. That might be the side effect of working with a bunch of people who just always keep bringing this shit up every other damn minute." After I was telling him this, I saw Sheldon taking out a cigarette, and he was trying hard to look like he was actually almost happy to be having this discussion.

"I guess that there sometimes is no real way that I am going to get myself out of these discussions. I just think that if my wife knew that I was considering just throwing everything away once again, and finding out the truth once more, then she would probably be thinking that I was insane, and she would probably say that she wanted nothing to do with me." Sheldon said, and then I was shrugging, feeling that I needed to stay away from their love affairs.

"I just want to know if Brad Carbunkle is actually like the way that he is showing himself on television. I know that you guys used to be friends, and I know that you guys really seemed to be working together at one point in time, but I do not know everything else. I just feel like I need to have a bigger picture of what is happening." I said, and then I was seeing Sheldon actually feeling glad that I was willing to talk about something like that instead.

"Honestly, I have no doubt that he feels like what he is doing is for the best. But he hardly seems willing to actually discuss when he is going to be wrong. That is the thing about him. He does genuinely seem to be doing what he thinks is best for the town, but it turns out half the ideas turn out to be a big fucking failure at the end. But I can never grow to hate him." Sheldon said, and then with that, he was getting ready to start a new cigarette.

"So all in all, I believe that he thinks that he is helping out, and that he wants to help out the town, but that his way of doing it is only making things much worse for everybody. And that he probably will eventually do something that will only be making things much worse." And then before I could ask, he continued his tangent, as if I was hardly even there anymore.

"Honestly, if we are talking about if he has any information about the culprit behind the murders, or the truth of the missing girls, I think that he doesn't know as much about the killings as we would like to believe. But the missing girls, he totally knows about them. After all, he was working with me. He is probably just pretending like he doesn't, so that way he doesn't cause public panic." Sheldon said, and then I was finding myself kind of angry at the fact that Sheldon was telling me this.

"So you think that he is probably lying, and that he is just trying to create a situation where he seems to be a innocent man who is going to give the town one big public reveal in a epic fashion? If he knows the truth, why not just fucking say it?" I asked, and I was seeing Sheldon looking like he wanted to say more, but then decided against it.

"Sora, he probably just feels like if he can pretend like he doesn't know, then when he slowly reveals the truth to people, one thing at a time, with the support behind his back, then they will actually buy it. If he reveals it all in one go, then people will start to think he is a fucking liar. He probably is thinking that he is just giving people a chance to slowly digest it this way." After he had said that to me, I was slowly nodding, thinking I got this.

"I guess that this makes sense, as much as I hate to admit it. After all, I feel like if there is something truly crazy going on, then I might not actually buy it quite yet as well. So maybe I should let him have his thing." I said, and then with that, I was shrugging, feeling that I might as well just let it go. "I just hear so many people going around, and acting like he is the new answer to everything that is happening here, and I just want to make sure that none of us are getting into something that we will eventually regret."

"Trust me when I say that if Brad does something like that, he will not be the first person in all of Wayside to do something like that. I am not much better at it than he was. At least with him though, he seems to be getting people to actually want to talk. At least he is getting people interested here." Sheldon said, and then I was slowly nodding, feeling that with the way that he was saying this, that I could see what he was trying to accomplish.

"So you are admitting that you made things worse at the end of the day? I mean, I know that you have a hard time looking at the things that you did in a positive manner, but I feel like you need to see that you did not make it worse. You got people willing to talk. You got them excited about this subject. People actually take this subject seriously in our age group because of you. I think that Brad is just somebody who will really help fuel the debate. But you let it be known." I said, and I was hoping that telling him this would get him to at least consider what I was telling him.

"I mean, I wish that this motivational pep talk happened earlier in my time. But I think that I am beyond the point of really wanting to listen to it. I just feel like I really just went out there one final time, and if even if I die afterwards, then I can finally say that I did my best to be making it work. But you do not need to be getting yourself involved in that at all." After Sheldon said that, I was feeling that if he was telling the truth, then I might be speaking to him for one final time.

"Do you believe that there is nothing good about this company? I mean, I know that there are a lot of bad things about their reputation, and you probably hate them more than anything, but I feel like if there was anything good about them, that you would be the one who would fucking know the truth." I said, and then I was seeing Sheldon looking like he was glad to hear that question.

"For all the issues that people have with them, their contributions to the economy of Wayside can't be disputed. That much, they got for sure going for them. They are working so hard on making sure that the town is at least good on the money." After Sheldon said that to me, I was slowly nodding, feeling like it was not much, but it was something at least.

"And if for nothing else, they really are basically the only contributor to the economic side of town. They are bringing in something, and if you took when I was younger, the technological advances of Wayside are so beyond what I was thinking was possible, that if I had not looked into this whole thing myself, I would be thinking they are heroes." Sheldon said, and then I was laughing at that idea. The idea of Sheldon calling them heroes.

"Alright, I guess that you can say that at least." After I said that to them, I was seeing that Sheldon was looking slightly unsure of what to say. "I guess that I will try and see what else I know here. It seems like there is only so much that you know, along with everybody else, that trying to probe you with everything is only going to be helping me so much." I said, and then I was laughing, and then Sheldon seemed to be just taking this whole thing in stride.

"I hope that you know that I did everything that I could. I wanted to help this town. I really did. But I guess that maybe at the end of the day, you are going to have to rely on Brad. He probably is going to be the best person to be going through this as well." Sheldon said, and then with that, I was sighing, and left the gas station, not wanting to pressure him further.

Scene 11: Lost Family Bonds

When I was up that day, I was wondering what in the world I was going to be doing today. My mind was running at a million fucking miles per hour, and to be honest, I was wondering why these people were trying so fucking hard to actually try and conjure up anything here. I was feeling that at the end of the day, this was a waste of time. I was never going to learn the truth, and they were never going to be learning the truth either. It was all going to be a waste of time.

As I was getting ready to leave, my mother was calling out to me, and I was turning to her, to just simply see what she was having to tell me. "So Sora, I just wanted to make sure that you were doing alright. We have hardly talked for a while, and I just wanted to make sure that nothing happened to you." After she had said that to me, I was sighing, since in all honesty, I knew she would not help me out too much.

"I am doing alright. Just dealing with a lot of shit that my friends are trying to figure out. But to be honest, I want to help them, and I am doing whatever I can to make sure that we can get through this madness well enough." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was shocked that I was even opening up as much as I had been at this rate.

"Sora, are you sure that this is going to be the best thing for you to do? I mean, I know that you love hanging out with your friends, and I know that you really enjoy doing this." She was telling me, and then I was really having no idea what in the fucking hell I was going to be saying at this point.

"To be honest, I just want to make sure that my friends are doing well enough. That is the main thing that I am worried about right now. And I do not really just don't care what else people say about me behind my fucking back. People just act like they are doing things better for me, when in all reality they are just making things much worse." I was saying, just kind of ranting for a bit, having nothing else to be saying at this point.

"Sora, you do not need to be rejecting me because you might be thinking that I do not get it. I want to get it, and you can always just talk with me. You always talked with me before, so why is everything so fucking different right now?" After she had asked me this, I was looking right at her, and I was feeling so bad for the way that she was acting there. As if thinking that I was the bad guy for all of this stuff.

"I know that it might fucking hurt to be dealing with this right now. I know that you probably think that I simply don't care about what you are feeling or anything. That is not it at all. I am just trying to make sure that everybody else is doing fine, and I am just doing whatever I can to keep my friends safe. Don't you think that this is the thing that we need to be doing?" I asked, and I was looking at her, wondering what she was going to be saying to this statement.

"Whatever. I just hope that you know what you are getting yourself into by saying all of this. I just worry that you are going to be doing something that could be putting you in danger, and that you are not going to be able to come to me for help at all." After she had said that to me, I was sighing, and the way that she was saying this did make me feel rather bad, but I was not going to say anything else at all.

Eventually, I was leaving the flower shop, and in all honesty, as I was doing this, I was feeling quite bad for the way that I had been doing this. But at the same time, despite feeling bad, I was also not really caring at all either. I was just going to be doing whatever the fucking hell I needed, and one of these days, when my family would talk about it later, we could be able to laugh it off later.

As I was leaving, that was when Brad Carbunkle was driving by with his car, and I was starting to instantly feel rather unsure of what to be telling myself. I was just thinking that the best thing to do was just to give him a chance, and see what he was wanting to say. As he parked, he was looking right at me, and he was taking out a cigar, and taking a big fucking puff.

"Hey Sora, I was wondering if your shop was open right now? I was wanting to buy something real quick for a date that I was going to be going on tonight?" Brad asked, and then after he had asked me this, I was looking right at him, and I was confused at this. I thought that he had hardly even been interested in the idea of dealing with romance at all.

"I thought that you were still trying to find Victoria? Another perfect young girl come along for you?" After I asked him this, I was seeing Brad looking like he was having a minor taint of a red face, as he was taking another drag. Everybody knew Brad's thing with young women, and everybody knew that Victoria was not the only one who he hooked up with that was young enough to be his daughter, she was just the one who stayed around the longest.

"Well, maybe. But the reality is that I am just trying to forget about the truth right now. After all, this is the anniversary of when my friend Sheldon started to send me along to this fucking investigation." After Brad said that to me, I was confused at what he was saying.

"What the fucking hell are you talking about? I thought that you had only started to really get along to this relatively recently." I said, feeling like him almost full on exposing his lie was almost as bad as anything else. As I said that, he shrugged, as if not really caring what I was thinking now.

"There are a lot of different versions of the story that you can hear, and I am not really going to be going into all of them. But that is not really that fucking important. I just want to buy some flowers." Brad said, and then he was standing up, and he was getting out of the car. Then as he was heading inside, he snuffed the cigar after he dropped it on the ground and stomped all over it. "Just make sure that you remember to keep in touch with your family, and make sure that they know that you love them."

"What the fucking hell does that have to be doing with anything? I mean, we were not even talking about that earlier." I said, and I was just wanting to see what in the world he was saying. Then with that, Brad was shrugging, as if feeling like my reaction really did not matter at all. If I was going to react like this, then he would just let me have my moment of being innocent here.

"Honestly, that was one of my main motivations. Was things that happened with my family, and things that I had felt like I could have been able to change. I honestly thought that I could have been able to make a fucking difference. But it seems like that is just something that I failed in doing. That is all that I am. A complete fucking failure." Brad said, and then he was walking right to the flower shop.

"I just feel like I should have talked with my brother Tucker more, and I feel like if I gotten to know him a bit better, then things could have changed." After Brad said that, I was seeing him feeling like he was sincerely regretting what he had said, and it was seeming to just really boggle him down as he told me.

As Brad was gone, I was wondering what he was talking about with this Tucker. I am sure that if he had told me what was happening, then things would have made more sense. But in all honesty, when he was just leaving me alone like this, then it was just going to be leaving me confused as fuck, and making me annoyed at the way that he had been acting.

I was wondering what Joe was seeing in him so fucking firmly. I mean, I never seemed to have anything against him, but the fact that Joe was seeming to just fucking follow through with everything that he was saying, and hardly seemed to be caring at all about any facts, then things were going to be hard to truly discuss here.

And I was wondering if this whole Tucker statement was going to be the main way that we could have learned the truth about his intentions, and that we were just ignoring it because we were not looking at the name that was presented right there. And I was starting to feel like I would have to see what the others knew about that. And I was sure that if anybody knew it, it would be Izzy.

Eventually, I was heading on towards his house, and I was just getting ready to present my arguments with him, and I was wondering what Izzy would be saying in response to all the stuff that I had been saying. He probably would have been brushing out everything that I had been saying, and he probably would have acted like I was just being a fucking over dramatic freak who was making something out of nothing at all.

Eventually, I was at Izzy's place, and I knocked really firmly, and I was not going to be accepting no for a an answer. When he answered the door, I was seeing him looking like he was kind of glad to be seeing me here, and I was seeing him looking like he was just trying to decide how to be telling me all the things that he wanted to speak over.

"What the fucking hell Sora? You came in like a bat flying out of hell, and you are just suddenly acting like you need to talk to me really seriously about something." He said, and then I was just seeing him looking like he needed the answers as fast as fucking possible right now.

"I was wanting to ask you a couple of questions related to Brad." I said, and then I was seeing him looking like he would be slightly shocked at the question. As if really having no idea what the hell I was even trying to tell him.

"Alright, I guess that I can try and see how I would be able to help you." After Izzy was saying this, I was just thinking that I might be able to tell him that would be able to see that I was willing to take this in a slightly different direction. I just was scared of what I was getting myself into.

"Did you ever have any data on a man named Tucker? I heard Brad mention that name once, and I just want to make sure that I could be able to get some information related to him." I said, and then I was looking right at him, and I was seeing Izzy just looking relatively shocked at this.

"Honestly, I think that I have heard of that place once or twice. I don't know too much about him though. I think that he was Brad's younger brother or something like that. Something like nine years younger than him." After Izzy was saying that to me, I was shocked, and I was having nothing else to be telling him here.

"Wait, if Brad had a brother, why in the fucking world would he not be talking about him more often? Is there must be something that he is hiding from us. Something that he is probably scared or embarrassed to admit or whatever?" I was saying, and then Izzy was shrugging, having no idea what in the world he was going to be saying this.

"I mean, I guess that if he is indeed trying to hide something, that he is doing something for the right reasons. I just think that it might be best to not be looking too deep into what Brad is doing. I just feel like if you want to know more, then you can learn what happened with Tucker. I would not be surprised if we learned that he died or whatever." After Izzy was telling me this, I was sighing, and I was feeling like there was nothing else that he was going to say to make me feel any different here.

Eventually, I was seeing the look on his face, and I was seeing that he was looking like he was wanting to ask me some other questions. But then he shook his head. "I have a feeling that from the look on your face, that it won't really fucking matter what I am going to tell you, and that you are going to do whatever the fucking hell you want." Izzy said, and I was just wishing more than anything else at that this moment that the library had been saved.

I was looking around, and I was wondering what I was going to be saying to anybody else. I was thinking that if anybody else was going to possibly know the truth, it would be Joe. After all, he had all that evidence. "If you are going to do this, just make sure that you have somebody else at your side." With that, he was shrugging, and headed on inside.

Scene 12: Brother And Sister

Later on, I was feeling like my curiosity to be seeing how Rachel and Tobias were doing was far too much to let go. So with that, I was at their house, and I was well aware of how fucking strange this situation might have been looking to them, and that they were probably wondering why Iw as even trying to be speaking with them in the first place.

"Hey Sora. I was wondering when you were going to eventually find your way here. Since it feels like all your friends have found some random reason to come and talk to us at some point." She said, and then I was laughing at that, thinking that this was probably true enough.

"Honestly, I just wanted to see how you were doing. And I guess that there was only so much time that I was going to be able to last before my interest grew too much for me to hold off on. I just wanted to make sure that you were doing well enough." I said, and then after I told her this, I was seeing that she was just looking relatively unsure of what to be saying to that statement. As if thinking that it wasn't really important what she thought.

"Honestly, I am just wanting to make sure that Tobias does well. He is really just trying his best to be enjoying the time that he has this summer. But it is clear if you know him long enough, that he doesn't really seem all that much into it anymore. As if he is just trying to pretend to enjoy it for everybody's sake, so that they way they do not get in his business about what he is feeling." I feel like if I tried to talk to him about it, he would just simply act like I am annoying the shit out of him, and he would tell me to fuck off and stuff." She said, and then with that, she shrugged, not having much to say on it at all.

"Do you think that him hanging out with those friends is actually helping him as much as he is trying to say that it is?" I asked, feeling that it was a fair enough question. And as I said that, I was seeing her looking like she was just not sure what else to say now.

"I think at this point, I should be happy that they are there for him. After all, they are the only people that are able to get him to smile at all. At this point, if you know how he was back then, and how he is now, then him smiling at all is something that I need to be fucking happy with." After she had said that to me, I was seeing her looking tired, and scared.

"I think at this point, he is just thinking that somebody is going to find the truth for him, and that the pain will go away forever. But I think that we both know that something like that will never fucking happen. There is no way that the answers will be fucking laying themselves out on a platter. We are not that fucking lucky." She said, and the level of certainty she had as she had said that, made me feel like I just needed to leave it alone.

"Sora, I just want to make him understand that there is only so much that he will get when he is laying his hope on other people to find the answers here. That if he does something like this, then people are going to fucking act like they can take advantage of him and his youth. And that is something that I do not want at all. Just the thought of it makes me sick." After Rachel said that, I slowly nodded, feeling that I would let her have this one.

"Do you feel like you still maintain what you said earlier, that making sure Tobias is safe, and sound, is your main priority. I heard that at one point in time, that was all that you had really fucking cared about at all." I said, and then she was looking at me, and I was seeing him talking with Gumball for a bit, and I was seeing that unlike before, and unlike what Rachel might be able to see, he was seeming at least relatively more open minded to talking to others now.

"Yeah, that is still the biggest thing that I am looking at. But I know that he is probably going to be telling me to be leaving him alone. But yeah, I just feel like if he at least can be able to have a good summer, then that is something that I will take." She said, and then I was seeing her looking like she was just trying to find something new.

"That is why I am still letting you guys do all that investigating stuff and leaving it alone. Because I am just thinking that there is a small chance that maybe there is something that I am missing here, and that maybe you guys can somehow find it. I doubt that this will be the case. But it is something worth keeping my fucking hopes out for now.

"I think that there is nothing that we are going to be able to find, if I am being one hundred percent honest with you. I think that at the end of the day, we are all lying to ourselves if we are believing that the answers are going to be coming along." I said, and then I was shrugging, feeling that the honesty was something that could possibly earn her respect. She was looking at me, and I was seeing her looking saddened at my honesty.

"I am just surprised that Tobias is willing to talk to Gumball, after all that they had to deal with earlier. It seemed like those fights back then would have really put them two of them off of talking to each other much longer." After she had said that to me, she shrugged a bit as if not really finding anything else to be saying here.

Tobias started to head in our direction, and I sighed, feeling that it would be best to just shut up and pretend like we were not just talking about him right now. "Hey Rachel, Gumball and I were planning on heading out to the skating park. Do you want to come along?" Tobias asked, and then she was looking at me for a second at that.

I was seeing that she did not really want to do it, but that given the situation, she was willing to fake it for her brother, and that she was willing to just talk with him, and go along with the whole situation for the time being.

"I guess that I can come along. I hardly had anything to be doing anyways, so I might as well just find something to do with my time." She said, and then she was shrugging, and I was starting to stand up as well. If they did not want me around, I would just leave, and if they somehow did, I would just go along, and see what I would be doing at the group.

"You can come along if you want to as well. I mean, you probably need the time away from everything else, and away from the people who are trying to act like some great detectives or something." After she had said that to me, I was shrugging, since in all honesty, I had no idea what in the world I was even going to be saying now.

"Alright, yeah I can't really argue with that. There is only so much of that which I can take before I feel like everybody else is going around the fucking looney bin a bit." I said, and then I was shrugging, feeling like there was nothing else to be saying at this rate. After I told them that, I was seeing that the two boys were looking like they were willing to bet on something else here.

So with that, we were heading out of the house, and I was seeing that Rachel was looking like despite the fact that doing this was the last thing that she had wanted, she was willing to tough it out due to the fact that she was just happy to see that her brother was willing to talk with her at the very least.

"So Rachel, do you have any idea what in the world you are going to do when school starts next year? Do you think that you might try and pursue a relationship with Rob, since I was hearing that you both liked each other a bit." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was seeing her looking like she was a bit embarrassed to be talking about something like that.

"Honestly, I have no idea what in the world Rob will want. If he asks me on a date, I will fucking go with it, and I would love the experience. But I have a bad feeling that he will just not even ask, and that all my hopes are going to be for nothing." After she had said that to me, I was seeing that the look on her face was sincere enough as she had said that to me.

"You know that Rob likes you. I mean, you can see it in his face, and I think that you just need to fucking pursue it as best as you can. You know that if you do not, then it will be a big fucking wasted chance." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was wondering why I was even trying so hard to make this match work.

As she was planning a reply, that was another time when Tobias and Gumball were cutting us off. "Do you think that you should give skating a try? I mean, girls can do it too." Gumball said, and then I was looking at Rachel. I wouldn't have minded it too much. But Rachel would be thinking that was suicide.

"Honestly, I have no idea if I would want to try that. Sora might be willing to. But it would totally be against everything that I would want to do." After Rachel said that, she was looking at me, and then she was shrugging, having nothing else to say on the matter. I was then feeling that there was no real response that I could make.

"I mean, I guess that trying it out once or twice would be a bit fun. But I feel like something like that would be totally out of my range." I said, and then I was shrugging, just thinking that even trying to convince myself into this was going to be a terrible idea. After all, I never tried to be getting into this before in my life.

"See, I told you that she would be into it. You need to be giving the girls more credit. Just because they don't seem like they would be into it doesn't mean that they would just reject it right away." I said, and then I was sighing, not having anything else to be saying at all. Eventually, we were at the skating ring, and I was unsure what I was going to be doing at this rate.

"I mean, I like to try most sports out once or twice. Basketball is really the one exception that I have right now. I know that I am not going to win at something like that, so what is the fucking point?" I asked, since I was just being realistic, and I knew that there was no way in hell that I was going to do anything to pull this off.

"That was the main reason that I was willing to even ask you in the first place. I saw your face on a lot of records for female sports in the middle school." Gumball said, and then after he had said that, I was laughing, having forgotten about those. In all honesty, I did not really think about those too much, since in all honesty, I hardly cared about things from middle school anymore.

"Yeah, I was rather good at many things back then. But I hardly really cared for impressing people. I just wanted to show people that I can fucking pull some stuff off if I was given the chance to do it." I said, and then I was smiling as I was saying this to them, we were at the skating park, and then I was smiling, and then Tobias was walking to one of the town given skate boards.

"Honestly, that was one of the best things that came out of me meeting Rob. He was the one that shows me the fun out of skating, and now I just want to do it whenever I have the free time." After Tobias was saying this, he was messing around in the ring for a bit, and then I was shrugging, having no idea what I would do.

"So everything is all because Rob decided to just be friendly one night?" I asked, and then I was having no idea what in the world I even said that. There was no reason or me to say something like that, as if doing that was just making them seem like none of this was even valid at all.

"Are you planning on getting into it someday?" I asked Gumball, and he was looking at me, and I was seeing him looking like he was far too unsure of what to be saying to that. As if he was scared of trying something like that out. Probably thinking about how much he would have screwed up if he was going to try something like that.

"I have no idea what the hell I should be doing. In all honesty, I want to try it out at some point. But everybody else already does this." Gumball said, and then I was shrugging, wondering why in the world he would have been so worried about this in the first place. There was nothing to be worried about now, and I was just thinking about how silly that was sounding.

Eventually, with that, Gumball was just going to hang out with Tobias again, and I was feeling that letting them all hang out was for the best, and I was feeling that at this rate, when I met up with the others soon, I would be dealing with trying to get the stories about Justin Ryder all sorted out. That was all that I really fucking wanted, and fucking needed.

As we were hanging out, I was wondering how everybody would react at the idea of Justin Ryder coming forward, and his involvement and answers all finally giving us some ease. For all that I knew, maybe this would be the moment that I had finally fucking needed. I was thinking that if people wanted to see him, I just needed to make it happen, soon.

Scene 13: The Mall Story

I was hanging out with Mimi the next day, since for some reason, I was having a strange feeling that she was probably going to be the one who could help me get some answers on what the fucking hell was happening in this town. Not just the town, but with Justin mostly. Just some form of natural insistinct that I was having at the matter.

"Hey Mimi, I just wanted to say that even with everything else that is going on, it is still really cool to be seeing your parents making such great progress in their projects." I said, and I was aware of how she was going to be reacting to something like this. The way that she was looking at me was more than enough to show her feelings on what I had just told her.

"You know that I do not feel that way at all. I know that even if they try to pretend otherwise, that they are just fucking hiding something. But I really do appreciate the fact that you are trying to be making me feel better here." After Mimi was saying this to me, I was holding up my hands, not wanting to hear the whining, and more wanting to get to business at this point in time.

"Look, I am not trying to make this a argument. In fact, I was wanting to know something about your father, and his past work. Just something that is crossing my mind, and I was hoping that you would be able to fucking help me." I said, and then I saw her looking slightly annoyed at this statement.

"Look, I really do not want to remember what that man was doing back in the day." Mimi started, but before she was able to go on any further, I started speaking. I needed her to see that this was something that was going far beyond any personal feelings that she had been having.

"Did he know anything about Justin Ryder at all? Like was there any lick of information that you have heard him mention at any point?" I asked, and then after I asked her this, I was seeing her looking like she was just more shocked to be hearing me turn the subject into that at such a sudden turn. I looked at her, hoping she had literally anything at all.

"Yeah, I think I heard about that once or twice. I mean, I think my dad was talking about how he was an employee at the mall before it had gotten destroyed. He said that he was much younger, and much more in need of any money that he would be able to get, so he got the job." Mimi said, and then with that, she was shrugging a bit.

"He later admitted to be shocked when he had found out that a thirteen year old guy was the one that was behind the destruction of the mall. Although I heard that soon after that, Justin virtually quit everything that he had been doing. Something related to his girlfriend." Mimi said, and then I was nodding slowly, thinking that I needed to know everything that I could.

"What happened with his girlfriend? Did she ever go missing in Wayside?" I asked, feeling like that was the obvious guess. Mimi shrugged, and then she was looking at me, as if thinking that it was beyond strange that I was putting so much focus on this.

"No, she was killed. People were saying that they saw him and his girlfriend kissing at the ashes and ruins of the mall, and that there was a plan to build the church. Then mere minutes after that sighting, her body was found on the ground, with three bullets in her chest. People insist that he is either the one, or at least aware of what happened." She said, and then she shrugged.

"I don't really know, and I feel like the chances to ever really get to know the story are fucking gone. After all, we have no idea where in the fucking world Justin is, and he seems like there is nothing that will ever give us the answers. I think that it would be best to just drop the whole thing." Mimi said, and then she was shrugging as she was saying this to me.

"Do you think that I could be able to get some information about him if I tried to talk to your dad about it?" I asked, and then she was looking at me, as if thinking that something like that really did not matter, and probably would have no real connection at all to what was happening.

"I have no idea. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if he had at least a couple of pieces that connect to it. But I am more worried about everything else that he is doing, and I think that people need to be looking at those before some random event that we have no power over." She said, and then she was simply looking like there was nothing else to say here.

"I believe, with everything that we know now, that finding out where this Justin guy is, and bringing him forward, will be able to give the answers that we need, and that brushing him off is going to be a fucking terrible idea." I said, and then I was seeing that Mimi was still looking like she didn't believe me.

"I can try and talk to my dad about it. He might be willing to talk to me about it. Who knows, if he knows what you are doing, he will probably just find you to be wasting your fucking time, and there is nothing that we will be getting out of it then." She said, and I was just hoping she would be willing to follow through with something like that.

"Thank you. If you can do that, then everything will be fucking wonderful." I said, and then with that, I was feeling that there was nothing else that I could be able to tell her at all. I was feeling that there was nothing that I could have said. "I will explain to you everything that I am feeling hen there is time. But I feel like there is going to be no more time for random talks at this point." I was shrugging, with nothing else to be telling her then.

"I don't know if the explanation will be helping me at all though. I guess that there is nothing to fucking lose though. So at this point, I am wiling to fucking go along with anything. And who knows, maybe he will have something, and I will be the one eating my fucking words." After she said that to me, I was nodding, not sure how this was going to go down now.

Scene 14: Gods Forgiveness

I was at the church again, and this time, I was just relatively unsure of what the fucking hell I was even going to try and accomplish here. Probably just take a moment to be thinking things out. Although there was something strange to think about here. Knowing that two people who were closely connected with that Justin guy had died here at one point, and that it had seemed like nobody had even remotely paid any mind to something like that. Almost like nobody really fucking cared at all.

As I was thinking about what I was going to be doing, I heard Joe calling my name. I was looking over, and I was wondering why Joe was even here in the first place. "What are you wanting to talk about?
I asked, feeling like I might as well just see what was on his mind. As I had said that, Joe seemed to shrug, not really minding the fact that it had seemed like I hardly wanted to be having this discussion right or anything.

"So I was wondering what your stances on their plans are going to be? I was hearing that T.K. was planning on going with Gumball to see the opening of the new factory that had finished its construction. I was wondering if you would be interested in doing something similar." Joe said, and then I looked at him, as if feeling like that question was so fucking random and out of nowhere.

"I mean, I doubt that there is anything that will come out of it. So I will probably just brush it off, and focus on other things that are more interesting for me." After I said that to him, I was seeing Joe looking like he was just trying to decide what in the world to say here.

"I don't know what I am going to be doing either. In all honesty, I feel like I should be there for them a lot more than I have been, but at the same time, I feel like whatever I could be able to contribute has already been done, and I know nobody really likes working with me all that much. I am just a means to an end honestly." Joe said, and then I was shrugging, thinking that those people wanted nothing to do with me either.

"I just feel like everything that we could be doing is just all going to be going in circles. I am starting to realize that I am wasting my time this summer, and that everybody else around me is probably just happier doing things on their own. I just have a feeling that at the end of the day, my contributions are so low that it is a embarrassment to even consider myself a valuable member of the team." I was saying, and Joe was shaking his head, as if wanting me to stop that right now.

"Don't start that Sora. You deserve so much better than what you are saying right now. And you fucking know it. You are just having a hard time seeing that you are helping out a lot, and that people are just wanting to have somebody that they can rely on. More than anybody else in this team, I feel like I can trust you with all the stuff that I need to talk about." Joe was saying, and then I was feeling so much better as he was saying that to me.

"That makes me feel so much better to be hearing you of all people telling me that. I always wondered if I was actually making you feel good with everything that I have been doing. But I guess that I just need to relax, and not be so worried about everything as I once have been." I was saying, and I was wondering what else I was going to tell him at this point in time.

"Joe, I feel like your brother was probably right in what he was talking about earlier. I mean, we are all in over our heads, and we are acting like we are being smart. But that is just something that we fucked up on. I wish that I had listened to my mother, and that we all just slowed down, and realized what we were getting ourselves into was just a fucking disaster from start to finish." I said, and then after I was saying that, I was just feeling relatively lost at what to be saying now.

"I still feel like there is something that Jim knows. I just can't really wrap my mind around what I think it is. But I just feel like when is willing to tell me what is going on, and why he is just holding back on letting me know, I will be so fucking happy to finally hear the shit that he says." Joe said, and then I was wondering why he was bringing that up again, since I think we both knew that Jim would lie all he want about something like that.

"I think that you just need to sort that out with him. If you feel like Jim is lying, and you feel like that is going to be too much of a deal to hide, then you just need to fucking talk with him. There is no excuse to be hiding out as long as you have." I said, and then I was shrugging, thinking that what I was saying was making perfect sense, and even Joe seemed to think that I was probably right as I was telling him this.

"Regardless, there is one thing that I do know for sure that I am planning on doing." Joe said, and then I was looking right at him, and I was wondering what he was planning on telling me. "I am going to just make sure that if Matt or T.K. need a person to talk to after what happened with their mother, then I can give them some support that they will be needing. It might not be much, but it can at least give them some ease of mind."

"I have tried to do that many times already. I think that that they would rather just never talk with anybody about any form of emotions ever again than talk to us about it. It is one of the most annoying things on this planet. But I am not going to be looking for a fight, and to be honest, they probably have a good reason to be feeling that way. After all, neither one of us have ever had to deal with a parent dying on us, even if both of us have missed out on one parent our whole life." After I said that, I was thinking about what it would have been like if my father was able to give me help.

"Regardless, I feel like I just need to come here, and ask for forgiveness on not being able to bring Aurora back home. I made a promise to her parents that I was going to be doing this, and I have failed miserably. And now if they hate me, then I would never be able to blame them at all. In fact, I feel like I would probably be hating myself if I was the one who was subject to this failed promise." Joe said, and I was wanting to say something, but I decided against it, and decided to let him have his moment.

"Do you think that her parents will forgive you for what happened?" I asked, and then after I had asked that I was seeing Joe looking like he was really not in the mood to be hearing anything like that. Almost as if the mere mention of her parents was just going to be making him feel so much worse than he already had been.

"I don't know. I mean, they said that they would be willing to let me have till the end of the summer break to be finding out what happened, although I feel like when it gets near the end of break, and it is clear that I have not really come any closer to the truth, that they will probably be feeling much different about what they are saying. So I am not going to be keeping my hopes up at this rate." Joe said, and then after he had said that to me, I was just thinking that it would be best to just not worry about it.

"I just feel like there is something about this place. It feels like everything will finally be coming around to one big fucking mess if I just leave this place alone too long. Do you think that you are going to be continuing your investigation? I will be continuing my investigation with Justin Ryder." I said, and I was hardly even caring what Joe was going to be saying about my interest in that subject.

"I really feel like that is probably going to not really head anywhere. I still am really unsure of why Shaun has even made an issue out of it in the first place. Especially since in all honesty, I feel like that man could possibly be dead anyways. And even if he wasn't he was somebody from over three decades ago." After Joe was telling me this, I was feeling like he was really not being smart by just brushing this whole thing off.

"Sorry for taking up your time. Now that I am here, I am not even sure why I was at this church to begin with. It was probably a waste of time to be here anyways." I said, and then after I was telling her this, I was seeing Joe just looking like he was relatively unsure of why we were having this discussion anyways.

I was out of the church, and I was hoping that Joe was not going to be feeling like I was just getting away from him for whatever reason. I mean, I know that this was probably how it had looked, but at the same time, I should not care what some random guy like him was thinking here.

I was wondering if maybe it was a good idea to check out that factory after all. Maybe if I checked it out, and just saw what was in store, then I would be able to see what was such a big deal with Nicole and her job. I mean, I knew that she was working with the company. But then there was no way that a random woman like Gumball's mom would condone anything that had been going on in the first place.

Scene 15: Not What It Once Was

I was on another date with Matt, and this time, despite everything else, and despite wanting to try and remain with him for the moment, I was thinking that we both knew that we needed to discuss other things. Such as the stuff with Ocho, and what we were going to be able to do to help him out. "Matt, do you think that we should just get over what we are doing, and help Ocho no matter what else is happening?"

"Honestly, I feel like that might be for the best. I think that everything else lays on making sure that his investigation goes through. As much as I know that you do not enjoy working with him, I think that at the end of the day, you know that I am telling the truth." Matt said, and then I was looking down, just trying to think of how I could help him.

"I mean, I never was a big fan of the guy, but I feel like I need to fucking get over that, and I need to accept the fact that even if we have had our disagreements on the matter before, that he is going to be the best person that we can rely on." I said, and then I sighed, feeling that saying that was the best bet for both of us.

"I mean, I would rather be helping Ocho out, and just putting aside my own personal feelings on the matter, then finding out one day that he died and then really realize that it was all my fucking fault." I said, and then I was just cringing at the mere idea of something like this happening.

"And besides, I have a feeling that relative to my own investigation, he is probably going to be the best person to help me out. Trying to figure out the truth of Justin Ryder." After I said that, I was looking right at Matt, hoping that he would have something to give me now. Even if I knew he wouldn't.

"Honestly, I have a feeling that if you keep trying to find out more about that Justin Ryder guy, the faster that you are going to see that you are not going to be finding anything that you'll need. I think that you would be best to just try and leave it alone. Even if you find something, it will only be a matte of time before everybody comes out and tries to get you." Matt said, and then I was honestly not caring what he was saying here. I couldn't care less if he was not liking the idea.

"Matt, I have no intention to be fighting you on this as well. Everybody has already said that they do not like the fact that I am working on this. But the fact of the matter is that Shaun wants to know where that guy is as well, and if Shaun is focused on it, then that means that we just need to direct all our focus on this man." I said, and then I was just getting sick and tired of having this discussion with other people, since I was aware of what they were thinking.

"Sora, I know that you have been getting close with other people, and I know that you are becoming good friends with Joe and the others. Are you sure that you are not letting this friendship cloud your judgment on the matter? I think that at this point, something like this is rather fucking likely." After Matt was telling me this, I was sort of seeing where he was coming from. But I was not caring at all.

"Look, I get that this whole thing is a pain in the ass to deal with, and I Understand that it might not be what you are wanting to do. They are not really affecting my mind on this. I mean, I do not want to become a victim one day. I am scared that one of these days, I will become the next person who will go missing. I would rather be dealing with this annoying investigation than to be dealing with something like that. At least with this, I have a small chance to find something." I said, and then after I said that to him, I saw Matt looking like he was willing to accept my argument.

"That is a good point. I just sometimes forget that even with everything else, you are the person who I need to consult with the most on this debate. You are the person that I need to keep in mind when I am getting annoyed or whatever. After all, if you feel like you need to know the truth, then why do I even want to argue with you?" After Matt was asking me this, I was then sighing, and I was just hoping that the two of us would be able to move past the anger that we were both feelings.

"I mean, I do try well to hide the feelings of fear and anger that I have, because I know for a fact that showing fear and anger is not going to be helping me. But I just also know that the longer that I pretend like nothing is happening, and the longer that I pretend like I am totally fine with this, then the worse that things are going to be." I was shrugging, and I was thinking that maybe if I left it at that, then I would be all fine now.

"I am so sorry for always just never looking at anything like that. I guess that this is a reason why I will never be a good boyfriend honestly. Always getting scared, and always putting my feelings first, and never really seeing where you are coming from. I should have always just tried to look at what you are thinking before I made any rash judgments." After Matt was telling me this, I was seeing him looking like he was being sincere enough, and I was thinking that there was no reason to be angry at him for whatever he had been saying.

"I mean, I do not know if I am much better as a girlfriend. After all, I hardly really looked out to see how you were doing too much. I let this whole Justin investigation get in the way of seeing how you were doing after your mother killed herself. I should have just stopped what I was doing, and really saw how you were doing with that first. But no, I just got too fucking focus on everything else, that I hardly saw what you had needed." I was telling him, wondering if I was making any difference by what we were saying.

We ate there for another twenty minutes or so before we wrapped up, and then we started to head on towards the car, and then Matt started to drive over to Ocho's house. "The faster that we talk with him, and see how much he knows, the better that things will be. I think even you know that." Matt was telling me, and then I was slowly nodding, feeling that this was making sense.

Eventually, as we were waiting, Ocho was getting out of the house, and he was heading right to our car. As he was getting closer, the more that I was wondering why I was even having against him all this time to begin with. He was a good man, and while he might have been too hyper focused on the investigation, I hardly could blame him at all anymore. Perhaps I was just jealous of the fact that he was such a good friend with Matt.

As Ocho was in the car, he looked at us, and I was seeing that at this point, I was just seeing him just looking like he was totally fucking lost here. "Hey guys, how are you today?" Ocho said, as if pretending like we were all in a normal happy friendship.

"I think that at this point, we are all seeing that we are in a total do or fucking die mode. There is no reason to fucking hide what we are doing anymore, and we might as well just place all the chips on the table." I was saying, and then after I said that, I was seeing Ocho nodding, as if glad that I was willing to be looking at the bigger picture. Then with that, Ocho was looking at the giant tower, as if thinking about everything that they had been doing to him at this point.

"I know that you guys think me going in there is a terrible idea, and I Know that I am not going to be able to convince you that this is a good idea. All that I am going to say is that I am not going to be changing my mind. I am going to be going in there. I just hope that perhaps you would be willing to accept the fact this is what I am going to be doing." After Ocho said that, he looked at me, and I was wondering why he was targeting me.

"I just hope that there is something that we can find there. If we don't, then I think that all of us are only going to be just counting down the time that somebody comes along and kills us." After I was saying this, Ocho was just taking a long and deep breath for a second.

"This town is not what it once was. It is a damn shame to be looking at everything that this town was back in the day, and see how much it has been destroyed, because people are too scared to grow up and fight for the greater good." Ocho said, and he was sounding relatively angry at this.

"Do you think that you would have cared about what was happening nearly as much if Andrea had not gone missing, or is that the main thing that is bothering you here?" I asked, and then I was seeing Ocho looking like he was willing to actually think about what I had said here. Then with that, he shrugged, not having anything else to say here.

"I mean, I probably would have subcousously. But I would not have done anything about it openly. I probably would have been thinking about how much I would appreciate if the company actually did something about it, and didn't just keep saying that they were going to. But now I am starting to see that this idea was just never going to fucking work." Ocho said, and then I was seeing him looking like he had not liked admitting this at all, and was just hoping I would not call him a hypocrite or anything like that at all.

"But yeah, I do know Justin Ryder. He has bene training me for a bit, and trying to help me figure out how to better fight the people in this town who I believe could be acting out in a giant conspiracy. But I feel like there are more things to do than trying to find out about one man." After he had said that to me, he looked at me, as if hoping that I was not going to try and force him to reveal any details about that.

"Do you think that he will actually be coming forward, and showing himself one day?" I asked, hoping that Ocho would be able to provide me some hope here. If this man came forward, and showed himself what was going on, then I would finally have some fucking hope for this town. But then I was seeing Ocho looking like he was just not wanting to respond at all.

"I think that he is actually planning on doing it in the next few days. He has told me that he has felt like he had been pushing this way too much, and that he feels that the only option now is to come forward, and finally just take care of things himself. So yeah, I think you do not need to be too worried about his secrecy any longer." After Ocho said that to me, I was actually feeling a bit better as he had said that.

"Oh shit. I guess that maybe I was just being a bit impatient right now. But whatever, I still don't regret what I am doing." I said, and then Ocho was just looking like there was a small taint of sadness in his face. As if he was thinking about how much he would have preferred if Andrea had been still here, so she would have seen how much he was willing to fucking fight for her and Wayside.

"So I heard that you and Candice were doing rather well. Would you want to talk about that?" I asked, trying to feel like I would be able to talk with him for a while about these various things. As I was saying this, I was seeing Ocho looking like he was actually shocked to be seeing me willing to talk to him about these small things at all, and that maybe he had misjudged me.

"I mean, I have been thinking that maybe when my score is settled, and everything else is done, then I might be able to go on and give it a chance with her. I mean, it might be best to find somebody my age, instead of dating a girl two years younger than me. I mean, I had nothing wrong with it at the time, but I know that many people can be rather judgmental about that shit." After Ocho had said that to me, I was shrugging, not thinking anything of it to be honest.

I was seeing him putting something in his pocket, as if trying to hide the fact that there was something in there that we would probably be able to use in a fight. But then after I had seen that, I decided that I was just going to be leaving things alone for a while.

"Is there anything that you need us to do?" Matt asked, and then Ocho was taking his mind off of what was bothering him as he was looking right at us again. Then with that, he was slowly nodding, feeling that if we were willing to help him out, that he would be a fucking idiot for turning down his idea. So with that, he took a deep breath.

"Probably. I think that I am just going to need somebody to make sure that nobody is on my fucking back when I am going up there. I don't know how you would have been able to do that though. I just feel like I am spit balling. Maybe this really is a dumb ass choice, and I am just wasting my time even bringing it up in the first place." Ocho said, and then with that, he shrugged for a quick second.

"Do you think that you want to wait until Justin reveals himself to the public, and use that as a chance to go inside, and go up?" I asked, feeling that if it was true that Justin was going to reveal himself, that perhaps we just needed to go with that as a way to make the plan start to work.

"I guess that makes sense. I mean, Justin and I have been working together, and I think that it is time for the two of us to make a plan together that we can both be willing to go through with. But I feel like if he knows that we are talking, he will tell me to not talk with friends, and to not be making any fucking connections or whatever." Ocho said, and then he was sounding relatively annoyed with the way that he was saying that, and I was wondering why he was sounding that way.

"Wow, so you are admitting that you do not have a plan on how you are going to make this whole thing work out? I mean, I thought that this was something you had been planning the whole time." Matt said, and then Ocho was looking annoyed at the way that he was being attacked like this when he was just trying to talk about different things.

"Yeah, I am just trying to make a plan. Just because I am working on one doesn't mean that I have all the details sorted out yet. But I don't see you going around, and trying to pull things through. So get off my fucking back." Ocho said, and he was sounding like he was just kind of annoyed, and wanted it to be left alone there.

"Okay, clearly we are just getting too upset over these small little things. Let's fucking focus on the more important matters at hand. So, you want us to just basically keep people away from you when you are going in there, and you want to see if there is a way that you can find everything out while on your own." I said, feeling like if we were just working on a plan, that we might as well get it over with, and not be arguing every few fucking seconds.

"Yeah, that would be best for me. And when I find whatever I need, I will try to tell you what I find. Hopefully I can find something in there to begin with. Because in all honesty, I feel like if I don't see anything in there, then I will have to accept the fact that I was wrong this entire time." Ocho said, and then Matt was starting to drive towards the tower, and I was seeing Ocho looking like he was scared of his fucking mind.

"What the fucking hell are you doing dude?" Ocho asked, clearly sounding flustered, and Matt was then looking at Ocho, and I was seeing that Matt was looking like he was just feeling slightly bad for the way that he was doing this right now, probably thinking that Ocho deserved better than this.

"I feel like if we keep arguing, then nothing is going to get done. So I feel like we should at least just look around, see what the best places to look are, and then go from there. Nothing else. No big operation. Just a simple investigation of the lay out." After Matt said that, Ocho was taking a deep breath, and I saw that he was not a fan of that at all, but that he was willing to just drop the subject, and see the point that Matt was making here.

"Okay, if this is what we are doing, then I will just go with it. I don't get it, but I am not going to fucking argue." After he had said that, I was sighing, and I was feeling like our constantly fighting was a fucking exhausting situation to be dealing with. We looked at the fucking entrance, and I was feeling scared that Matt was doing something that would get all three of us killed.

"Besides, I feel like it would be a smart idea to stop debating this. I am tired of debating. And I am sure that if we know what we are getting ourselves into, then that is something that we can debate more later. After all, I am sure that Andrea would not be wanting me to be going along with a fucking suicide mission, and have no fucking plan at all." After Ocho said that, I was smiling at this, thinking that he was being smart for once.

He got out of the car, and I was looking at Matt for a few seconds. "I just hope that we can actually do this without being forced out of the building. I think that something like that is a really big issue that we need to be considering." I said, and then he was laughing as I had said that, more of in fear than in finding it funny.

We got out of the car, and then we were following Ocho, and after this, I was feeling so much better about what we were doing. I was thinking that when we would look around, we would just fucking leave Kenta alone, since I knew that Kenta was going to be making things so much worse for us all. And I knew that he would tell on the boss as soon as he had seen us.

As we were going inside, I realized that we probably picked the worst moment in human history to be trying to do this. I was already seeing Shaun and Brad talking with each other. "I appreciate everything that you have been doing for this town. I know that we do not agree with everything that is happening. But I think that once enough time passes, you will grow to be seeing where I am coming from." Shaun said, and I was seeing a look on Brad's face, looking like he was just trying to be thinking things that way, even if he was having a hard time admitting it.

Eventually, both adults saw us, and were putting on a fake ass smile as they saw us. "Hey, I was wondering when you would be interested in checking the building out, and seeing the work that I have been doing here." Shaun said, and then he was walking towards us. I was then looking at Ocho, hoping that he would have something to say before this got too out of hand.

"I was honestly just curious what your plans to bring Wayside forward these next six years are. I have already accepted the fact that the democratic party is going to win the seat of mayor. If I remember my history correctly, there has never been a republican to hold the office since 1938. But I was wondering if perhaps there was a actual plan that you guys have. I would feel so much better if you had one." Ocho said, and while I knew that he was not really buying this all, he was probably just trying to be giving off a good presentation to this man.

"I understand that I think your girlfriend went missing recently. I have no idea how hard that must have been for you to be handling. But I think that you must understand that I am trying my best to be helping this town as much as possible. I do not want to be making anybody worried about what I am doing here. There is just too much to handle all on my own, without a team." Shaun said, and Ocho was looking like he was sort of hearing what the guy was saying, as if thinking that maybe there was something to go with here.

"I guess that makes sense. But honestly though, if that is happening, then why are you so insistent on not telling anybody your plan? I want to just know what the fucking plan is." Ocho said, and then after he was telling Shaun this, I was seeing Brad looking like it was his time to be getting involved in this discussion, as if feeling that there was no need to be creating any tension by remaining silent.

"While I am sure that Shaun understands your frustration, you must understand that people are always out against him, and that there is a point in time where people are going to accuse him of just doing something for his own personal gain. He is just trying to avoid any panic. And besides, with all the mayor election frenzy going on, there is hardly any time for many people in this company to focus on anything else. That is why he is having me do the investigation, and I was just trying to give up a update in progress." Brad said, as he was looking right at Ocho, wondering what he would be saying here.

"Please don't hold us back any longer dude. Find out what is going on. If you care as much about this town as you claim you do, then you need to fucking find it. Please, no more excuses. It's time to be working on your job." Ocho said, and then Brad was taking a deep breath, as if trying to hold back on the fact that Ocho was accusing him of not doing his job, and that he was being accused by some random guy of just probably taking advantage of the situation.

"I have not seen any major results from you, or what you have been doing. I think that you probably do not have much a right to be getting on my case about what I am doing. At least I am working with a team here. I understand your pain. My girlfriend went missing once, and I am just wanting to bring her home as well." After Brad said that, I was feeling like I could not handle this argument anymore, so I got in the way, to see if I could make a difference here.

"We can work together. I am sure that you two can find something if you would just stop bickering for a damn second, and just look at what is going on. You both have the same goals, so there is no reason to be acting like this." I said, and then with that, I looked at them both, wondering what to be saying at this rate now.

With that, Brad and Ocho were taking a deep breath. "Yeah, she is right. If we keep fighting with each other, then nothing is going to be accomplished here." After Ocho said that, I was seeing that Brad was having a hard time coming around to it. Then with that, he was taking a deep nod, having nothing else to be saying at all.

"Alright, we can talk about it later. But I am still talking with my boss. There is no denying that you guys are also out extremely late, and that you guys need to find something else to be doing here." Brad said, and then with that, we were all sighing, and I was feeling that this investigation was a waste of time. We all left, and then I was seeing that Ocho was still trying to decide what to do. And I was staring ahead, hoping that Ocho would finally come here, and just take care of things.

Eventually, when we were done with that night, and I was at Matt's house again, as Ocho had gone home, hardly saying another word to us after that whole debate that he had with Brad. I was wondering if he was upset at the fact that Brad had sort of won that argument, and probably felt like he was just being a fucking embarrassment for us or whatever. I hardly thought about trying to see what was on going on in his mind.

I got out of the car, more willing to talk, and more wiling to just not be thinking about things too much. As we were going inside of Matt's house, I was sort of feeling like I would be more willing to just talk with people about what was going on now. We walked over to Matt's room, where I saw T.K. settling down with the board next to his bed.

As I was looking at him, I was feeling like while it might have been slightly annoying for Matt to deal with, that I just needed to check up on how the guy was doing. "Hey T.K., how are you doing?" I asked, and then I was feeling that this conversation might just kind of be taking him by utter shock.

"Doing alright. Just thinking about just some plans with my friends. You know, as bad as it might be sounding, I am really glad to finally get to know them all again, and really learn them for what they are. I just felt like I kind of had a hard time really knowing them before hand. As if I just hardly even noticed them before." After T.K. said that to me, I was then looking at Matt, wondering what I was going to be telling him here.

"I just feel like there are so many fucking bad things about what happened earlier, that I need to just take what I can out of this. And that is it. I feel like a man who actually is taking care of getting to know the people who are closest with him." T.K. said, just happy to finally feel happy about something or once in his entire life.

"How are you doing? You seem like you are clearly having a fucking plan to do something dumb." T.K. said, and winked at me. I was annoyed at the way that he had been acting there, and I was feeling like he was taking things way too light hearted. But I was deciding that I was not going to be a bit of a bitch over something like this.

"I am doing alright. Thanks for asking. I was just talking with Matt about what he was up to lately as well, and we were both just thinking about this situation that we are now dealing with. If you want to talk as well, and you feel like you ever need to have somebody at your side, then you can just tell us." I said, and I was feeling like there was nothing else that I could have told him to get him to fucking clam down.

"Oh wow, you guys are having all the fun without me. Don't get too fucking excited about going around, and trying to play fucking hero. I feel like the whole idea of me trying to play hero might have been a massive fucking mistake that I could have made." T.K. said, as he was shaking his head, feeling so fucking awful about everything that was going on.

"If you want to get involved, I am sure that Matt will have given up trying to convince you out of it." I said, and then after I said that, I was seeing Matt looking fucking furious at me for what I had just said. But then with that, I was shrugging, not thinking about what was going on in his mind.

"Hey, don't say anything like that. Although it is true that I am growing to see that trying to convince you otherwise is probably going to be a waste of time. So she is telling the truth in that sense." Matt said, and then with that, he was shrugging, as if feeling like the way that he was acting was the only way to be making it clear that he was no longer taking this super seriously here.

"I mean, if you want to be making a plan, I think that the biggest person that you need to hang out with is Ocho anyways. All that guy does is just try to be making plans anyways. Always got something in his fucking mind." Matt said, and then with that, he laughed for a few seconds, but despite not actually enjoying this situation, I was aware that there was no big issues to look at.

"There is no hope here, and I am giving up on even trying to fucking think about something like that. I hardly even know why I thought that there was something that I could love. I just hate the fact that I am so fucking lost on this, and I am fucking upset at myself for the fact that all I ever did was fucking fight you guys all the time. Just being upset for the sake of being upset." T.K. said, and then he was sighing.

"I never thought that I would see the day when you have lost on your hope. That honestly worries me to be hearing you say. Do you feel like you ever need to be talking to somebody else about this?" Matt asked him, and then with that, T.K. shook his head, and I was clear from the expression on his face that this was the entire debate here. So I was placing my hand on Matt's shoulder, telling him to just shut up here.

Scene 16: The Music of Sin (Brad)

When Brad eventually was ready to deal with Cynthia, he had finally placed all of his emotions behind him, and he was starting to feel that doing his job was going to be the best thing that he was going to be able to do for himself. He was finding himself at the former opera house that had once been used for people to perform, but shut down a couple of years ago.

Brad got out of the car, and he was starting to wonder how long it was going to take for people to reveal that they had known what he had been doing this whole time, and they were fucking let down by him this whole time. If they had known what he knew, then he would never have been able to forgive himself.

He got inside the opera house, and when he was looking around, he was seeing Cynthia working on something. He was already considering just walking away again. But he had felt that things were now getting too deep, and that at this rate, he might as well just finish what he had started. Before long, that was when Cynthia had looked right at him, wondering what to say.

"I was wondering when the assassin would be coming to me, and taking me down. After all, he has taken down everybody else who I had ever cared about." After she had said that to Brad, he was seeing that she had looked like she had hardly cared all that much about this discussion.

"If you knew that something like this was going to happen, then why did you not go on and reveal who I was to the general public?" Brad asked, and she had looked right at him, and she was finding that to be a good question, and in all honesty, she was finding herself unsure of how to answer that as well. Probably thinking that it would be worth it to just see if her thoughts were true.

"Honestly, I think that I just wanted to see if it really was you, and I wanted to see if you were actually going to be dumb enough to follow through with these instructions forever. I guess that you are. But that should not surprise me. From what I heard, you never really were much of the guy to use his brain." After she had said that to Brad, he was walking a few extra steps closer.

"I think that it would be best to just get this over with, and not be looking behind us anymore. I would rather not be dealing with this anymore, and I am sure that you already know what I am going to do." Brad said, and then he took out the blade lightsaber that he had used more than enough times to be completely desensitized to it at this rate.

"Do you actually believe that by doing this, that Justin will be coming forward, and coming for his revenge story that Shaun keeps on insisting that he will be doing? I think that we both know that Justin is never going to be coming along, and that you are just killing people for no good reason." After she had said that to him, she was taking out her own, a slightly pink blade, and Brad was just taking a second to think about what to say.

"You could have done something that could have destroyed this entire company if you had been unafraid to move forward. I am starting to feel like with the way that people act about it, that perhaps you guys do deserve the death sentence that you have received." Brad said, feeling that he might as well be honest about his growing distrust with the way that people had treated this situation.

"Do you seriously think that people would have actually bought what we were saying if we tried to get people to listen to us? You know that people would have just thought that we were making stories up to cower into the fear of what this place created." Cynthia said, as the two blades met for the first time, and Brad was just maintaining his casual composure.

"It would have been worth trying, but you instead decided to turn your back on the entire town, and decided that there was no more point to the fighting. As much as you might disagree with Shaun and what he does, at least he gives it his all the whole time, and he never runs away from what people are scared of." Brad said, and then he kicked her down to the ground.

At this point, despite how wrong it might have sounded to the general person, Brad was no longer scared to use his far superior body build as a man to destroy this woman. It was her fault for not accepting the darkness, and it was her fault for not submitting to the towns demands a long time ago. "With each person that I am going after, the more that I start to realize that Shaun was right in what he did." Brad said, and Cynthia tried to get up, but Brad kicked her right in the neck.

Cynthia got on her knees to the ground, and she was coughing up some blood, and she was looking at Brad, almost as if she was hoping that she would stop. She grabbed the blade, and turned it on again, and barely managed to deflect the blow as he was ready to bring it down on her.

"There is some good in you down there. Olive was right in what she said. There is always light at the end of the growing darkness." She said, and then Brad sliced off her hand that was holding the blade, not playing around with simple fights anymore. He grabbed the hilt, and placed it in his collection.

"You will not convince me out of what I have been setting the path on. There is no safety, and there is no way for me to be getting out of this. I am not the man that you once thought that I was." Brad said with utter confidence, and she was using her non severed hand to try and stop him from grabbing her, but it failed.

He grabbed her neck, and then started to lift her up. "You were always weaker than me. You will always be weaker than me. You all need to accept the fate that you had placed in front of you. But instead you choose resistance, and as my master demands, I shall give you death." With that, he tilted her head slightly right, and snapped her neck, as he threw the now worthless body at the ground.

He stared down at the embarrassment of a target for a moment, and when he was certain that his time there was over, he headed off, thinking that he would just leave the body to rot, which was more than what it had deserved in his mind. But he was not going to be thinking about anything like this anymore.

Once Brad was out of the building, he went to his car and decided to give Shaun a call, as he was staring at the sun set, and was wondering when he was ever going to be looking at those the same way again, after all that he would do outside back in the day, before the pain started up again.

"The worthless cunt is dead." Brad said, and then he took out a cigar and started to light it up. As he had said that, Shaun was shocked at the sudden tone shift that Brad had used. Going from arguing everything that he had to do, to suddenly turning into a man who would say things that he would expect a hitman to tell him.

"I never expected you to be saying anything like that before. I guess that maybe you are not wanting to hold back anymore?" Shaun asked, and he was still saying it in a hopeful tone, thinking that there was a chance that he had just caught Brad at a dangerous moment. Then with that, Brad was taking more puffs from his cigar.

"I believe that I am that way. I am just tired of hearing the stupid shit about how I could be turning things around, when I know that I have already made my choice, and that people just need to fucking accept it." After Brad said that to Shaun, he remained silent for a second. "I guess that I will see you tomorrow, and we can discuss the next target."

"See you then. Thanks for doing the job, and I am glad that you finally seem to understand the point of what you are setting out to do. I was wondering when you would finally fucking get it." After Shaun said that, there was not much else to say, and then with that, Brad remained silent, and then they hung up the phone call, wondering what else he was needing to be doing now.

Once Brad was starting to drive on home, he was wondering how Victoria would have reacted if she had seen the way that he started to recently become. In all honesty, knowing what she would have told him was the main thing that hurt him at the end. Knowing that she would have hated everything that he was doing, and she would have wanted nothing to do with him at the end.

But at the same time, he was starting to accept that there was not much that he was going to do in order to get Victoria to ever forgive him. Maybe if he had just killed Olive, and then stopped there, then things would have been fine. But the way that he kept killing other people, for no reason, would have ruined everything.

As he had parked at the house, there was another call from Shaun, and Brad was just trying to hide his annoyance as he was getting ready to answer the call. Then he answered, and he heard Shaun start to speak in a rather excited tone of voice. "I think that with these people all gone, it is time to destroy the areas that they once controlled, and we are going to build new halls for them. Such as the opera house." After Shaun said that to Brad, he was unsure of how to react to this.

"Do you think that this project will even be approved by the general public? There is only so much that people are going to allow before they will be feeling like you are taking things too far. I would not be against this project, but you need to create a good story for them to believe." Brad said, hoping that Shaun would at least consider this.

"That is true. I will try to think of how I could be able to address the issue to the general public. Keep up the good work. We are getting close to what we need done. There is a minor road block that I was not considering though. And when we meet tomorrow, that is something we need to talk about." After Shaun said that to Brad, there was a level of slight unease Brad felt, but he decided to take it.

"We can talk about that. Just work on your demolition project. I probably need to be getting my next speech ready on what to tell people relating to this death." Brad said, and then with that, he was smiling, thinking of the new fame that he was going to get, and thinking about how far they had all come. And then with that, he really did hang up, and then he was leaving the car, ready to just spent the rest of what might be his final night to himself.

And in all honesty, he was finding himself not as worried what Victoria was going to be saying. Surely she would have understood if she had seen what had happened. She might not have liked it, but she would have gotten it. And that was the thing that he needed to tell himself to be sure that this was not all that bad at the end of the day.