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.

16. The Lazarus Corporation

Chapter 1 Episode 16 The Lazarus Corporation (T.K.'s POV)

Scene 1: Unconditional Support (Matt)

I was hanging out with Matt, and I was feeling that there was no choice on the matter now. "T.K., what are you planning on doing? Whatever it is, I am going to be coming along, and you are not going to stop me from doing so." Matt said, and then I was sighing, and to be honest, I did not want him to stop me. I felt that having him at my side would make this slightly less bad.

"I am going to be going inside of the Lazarus building, and I am going to find the answers that I need. No matter how fucking long it takes." I said, and then I looked at Matt, as if making it clear to him that I was going to do whatever I needed in order to finally get what I needed.

"Are you sure that something like this is going to be for the best? I mean, if you have people with you, that would be one thing. But from it seems, you have nobody at your side." After Matt was telling me this, I was wondering why he was trying to force this discussion.

"I mean, I feel like this is what needs to be done to save Wayside. I know that I am one simple guy, and I need to grow up, and that I need to see that I am not really helping things out. You can say whatever you fucking want, but this is what I need to do. And I admit, even if I hate it, that I will need your fucking help." I said, and I was wondering why I was hating the idea of having Matt work with me so much. I think that I just felt that if I did so, I would be letting him down a bit.

"There is no saving Wayside. But if you are doing this, then I just feel like I need to know what your plans are going to be. I would rather be involved in this, and try to pull something out than just waiting along, and not be getting angry at you." Matt was telling me, and I was just really having no idea what in the world I would say to dad if something happened to him. He would probably burn all the information down.

I pulled the gun out of my back pack, and I was seeing that Matt was yelling at me about what I was doing with that. But I was too busy with my fucking moment to let his talking stop me. I wanted to get my point out, no matter how long it was going to take.

"I want you to have this. I don't feel comfortable with using it, and I feel like we might need it. Rachel let me have it from one of those men in black. I just feel like you need to have something that you can use to fight in case things get much worse." I said, and then after I was saying that to him, I was seeing Matt's fear was just absolutely overwhelming.

"Alright. I mean, I did say that I wanted to get involved in this, so I really have no right to be complaining about what you are doing. Alright, so when and where do you think that you are going to be starting?" After Matt asked me this, I was feeling that this was a great starting point, no arguing and no bitching. Just getting right to the point of the matters.

"I think that Tobias might want to do it tomorrow. And if that is the case, then I really do not feel the desire to argue with him about it." After I said that to him, I was seeing that Matt was just processing what we were going to be getting ourselves into if this whole ordeal turned out to really fucking go fucking south. I was wondering if there was a way to make him feel better.

So with that, Matt and I were heading to his car, and I was seeing that Matt looked like he was wanting to say something. Wanting to argue. Wanting to just express anything. But any time he opened his mouth, he was just shaking his head in anger, and decided to remain silent for a bit longer.

"T.K., I hope that this is something that you will survive. I think that we both know that there is a good chance that you are not going to be making this. And if that happens, I will probably never fucking forgive myself here." After Matt was telling me this, I was shaking my head, and I wanted nothing to do with it. I wanted him to just remain silent, and not give me lectures about my impending doom.

"The more that you keep talking about it, the more that I am starting to think that you want something to happen to me." I said, and I was just trying to be slightly funny about it. I was seeing Matt looking like he was just shocked at the way that I had said that in the first place. Like he was triggered by me just actually playing around for once.

"No, I just feel like there is a lot of fear here. I mean, I remember when I thought that the worst thing that I was going to have to deal with was making Sora understand that I am doing the right thing by just coming along, and not giving you any bullshit." Matt was telling me, and then I was wondering if he and Sora were ever going to be making up.

"Do you and Sora think that you will ever make up with each other?" I mean, it seems like you guys have been dealing with a lot lately. And if I am the reason why it seems like you are not able to make up, then I really do apologize." I said, and then I was looking at him, and then Matt was just looking like he wanted nothing to say to this. As if thinking that I was just making it even worse for him.

"I think that we are starting to slowly get there a bit. She seems at least willing to talk to me more than she was earlier, and I see that she has a new interest in going further into this investigation than she had earlier. I feel like this is her way of admitting that maybe, deep down inside, this whole thing was right." After Matt said that to me, I was shrugging for a second.

"I mean, I think when I really let her know that a large part of this was to make sure that she was fine, and when she started to see that there was some truth to what was happening, and that she had perhaps been lying to herself this whole time." Matt said, and then I was sighing, thinking that maybe saying that might be a bit too rough on her, for no good reason.

"Well, if you think that she has been lying to herself this whole time, then perhaps she is just doing what everybody else in Wayside is already doing then. I mean, I doubt that there is a single person in this town who is actually being honest about the odds we are in." After I had said that to him, I was wondering what Matt would say here.

"I know, but I thought that maybe she would have been willing to talk to me, and just see that I was doing what I thought was right as well. Who knows, I feel like the biggest thing that we got to worry about is just making her understand that we will make sure that nothing fucking happens with her." Matt said, and it was clear that this was the only thing that I needed to worry about.

"I hope that nothing happens with her. If you are already acting like this, then I would be horrified over what you will do if she did go missing. I mean, you would have every reason to be acting that way, but it would still be scary." After I said that to him, I was then just sort of really lost.

"Well, I mean, I guess that I do see what Ocho says when he told me that one day, I will be finding a girl that is worth fighting for. I thought that he was just lying to get me to be thinking about the future. But maybe he was right this whole time." After Matt was telling me this, I just decided that I was going to be a little bit more open with him, considering everything.

"Do you have somebody that you feel like would be worth fighting for?" After Matt asked me this, I was sighing, and I figured that it was slightly sad that this could eventually be the last conversation that I would be having with Matt. But at least it was better than nothing else at all.

"Yeah, I saw this one girl that I go to school with. She is nice enough, although she seems to not be very social able. I just have a feeling that the more that we talk, the more that the two of us could be able to work something out here." I said, and then I looked at Matt, wondering what in the world he was going to be saying to that. He just looked like he had no idea where to be going with this.

"Well, I don't think it really matters if you tell me who that is, since I know that you are not going to be telling me anyways. All that I can say is that I hope that whatever happens, you will be able to find out what you are looking for." After Matt was telling me this, I was looking at him, and I was just trying to decide what I was going to be telling him.

"I mean, if I get out of this, I might tell her what I am thinking, and who knows, she will probably just laugh at me, and act like I am being dumb or what not. Or she will be blown away by the fact that I am saying all this stuff about her. I don't fucking know, and in all honesty, I really don't care all that much." I said, and then I was just thinking of what I was going to be losing out on.

"Well, I think that the worst that can happen is that she tells you she doesn't feel the same way. Just go ahead, and try to see what might happen. If she likes you, I am sure that she will be willing to tell you." Matt said, and I was seeing that there was a smile on his face. As he was looking at me, with that shit eating grin, I was rolling my eyes, and told myself to just play along with it, and see what was to happen now.

"I think that you are way more into this than you have any right to be." I said, and then I laughed at him, as if thinking that whatever he was wanting to say now, he just needed to get it over with. And who knows, maybe when this was all settled down, we were getting to Joyful Burger once again, and I was wondering what he was planning here. And I was wondering what Larry would say if he saw me here.

"Let's just go in and have one last normal meal before we get to work here. I mean, you probably don't really want to be doing nothing besides dealing with evil people all day, so this will be a good way to just relax." Matt was telling me, and I was shrugging, thinking that the theory was right. But I was just worried about what Larry would say if he was seeing me here to begin with.

"Alright, I guess that doing that would not be so fucking awful. And besides, I feel like we have not really have some time where we discussed things one on one. I just feel like after a point, I just need to grow and slow down, and see that I am making way too much of a fucking hassle over things that are not that big of a deal." I said, and I was having no idea what I was going to be doing.

"And besides, I feel like we have a lot that we need to be talking about. I just wish that things had been different, and that perhaps I actually listened to you and everything you were saying about Onett, then perhaps we would have a better family than we are now." Matt said, and in all honesty, I was feeling that this family was going to be broken, and that I just felt like I should have admitted that everything that I was doing was a mistake. I loved my family deep down, but I was a terrible sibling, and had no way of showing my feelings to them, and therefore things were even worse now.

"There is probably nothing that could have been done. The only thing that might have been able to change it is if I just stayed home, and did not come out to check the meteor. I was too fucking curious. I wanted to know the truth, and then that made things worse for everybody. If I just remained silent. Then things would have probably been better." I said, and then I looked right at him, wondering what I was even going to do now.

"I guess that you might be right. I mean, I remember for the longest time, when I had a level of resentment to you over your interest in learning what happened, and the fact that I always blamed you for what happened. I should have realized that maybe I was being a bit fucking stupid in all honesty. That was I only making things worse for everybody else. But I feel that it is too late now." After Matt said this, I looked at him, and figured that was the best I could get here.

"I wish that I did not feel so much anger at this whole thing. I should have seen that I was making a big issue with you guys. And who knows, maybe I was just trying to get attention, and didn't know it. Maybe I thought that by doing this, people might finally like me or something. I feel like I only made things much worse for you. And I wonder if I even can forgive myself here." I said, not sure why I was beating myself up so much now.

"You didn't have to do that. I mean, yeah sure you were having a hard time making friends earlier, but that is something that is totally fine. You did not need to be having a million friends back in the day, and I think that you must see that there comes a point where the social interactions with people are not really better than just simply preserving your time in Onett. I mean, think of how things would have been if we never had to move out?" He asked me, and then that thought was really getting to me much more than before.

"God, if I had been living in Onett still, then I will admit that things would have been far different. Perhaps then I would be able to say that things would be better. But I feel like talking about the whole thing is only going to be making things worse, and that I am only going to be increasing my uncertainty on the matter even further, and that is not really something I want to be doing right now." I said, and then I shrugged, thinking that the selfishness was something I would be able to live with if I had to.

"I am so sorry that you were forced into some things because of this family. This family is a mess. This family will always be a mess. I wish that maybe when this is all said and done, then the two of us would be to compare and contrast all of our experiences." Matt was saying, and the moment that he had said this, I was feeling like he was just trying to turn a tragedy into a fun event, and I had no idea if I was wanting anything to do with that, and it just felt wrong to be hearing anything like that in the first fucking place.

Scene 2: No Regrets (Tobias)

When I had met up with Tobias, I was wondering what in the world I was going to be doing with him. In all honesty, I had no real idea what the fucking hell I was even going to be saying to try and maybe convince him away one more time. "Tobias, I know that you are going to say that you want to do this no matter what, but I am going to try and remind you one more time that if you do this, then you will not be able to come back. This is the final attack." I said, and then I was looking at him, hoping he would get that.

"I don't care. I mean, for all we know, the best chance to be keeping Rachel safe is to be doing this, and if that is the case, then I do not want to be taking any risks, and making any fucking delays. Surely you have to get that." Tobias said to me, and then after he said that, I sighed, thinking that he was going to be way too determined to have this discussion.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that you were going to be saying that. I just felt like I needed to try one more time to get you to reconsider. Do you know how Rachel has been lately? I have tried to talk with her, and see how she is, but I feel like if I tried to talk with her, she would probably show no real interest here." I said, and I was wondering what I was going to do about it.

"Well, I feel like if you want to talk with her, then that is probably going to be a waste of fucking time. She will probably be accusing you of just trying to force her to tell you certain things. I don't know. I just feel like you would not be really getting anywhere if you do this." After Tobias told me this, I was sighing, and I was feeling that there was no real reason to argue this anymore.

"I think that as long as she is happy with Rob, and that he is giving her that feeling of comfort, then that is what really matters in the first place. Nothing else really matters if they do not get along at all." After Tobias was telling me this, I was shrugging, not having any clue what I would even be telling him in the first place.

"And who knows, I think we both know that there is a very good chance that the family prefers her anyways. The star female over the guy who just gets himself into trouble way too much." Tobias said, and then I was sighing, and I felt that trying to tell him otherwise was not going to be getting us anywhere, and I felt like he was trying to be humble when we both knew the truth.

"I think that it is a good thing that you guys are starting to actually make up with each other. It must have been hard to always be unsure of what the other was thinking all the time. When I was seeing that with you guys earlier, I was always worried that you guys were going to be against each other." After I said that to him, I was then feeling that I might as well just leave the subject alone.

"I have a feeling that mom and dad really would not care what we think of each other. They would probably be thinking that we are just going along like normal teenagers would or something like that. I mean, nothing about Wayside is normal, but it seems like nobody really fucking cares." After Tobias was was telling me this, I decided to just simply not say anything at all.

"Who knows. I mean, I feel like I need to talk with your parents soon. Maybe if they actually opened up with me what they thought about this, then maybe I could figure out what we are supposed to be doing here." I said, and then I was just shrugging for a bit. Although I felt that if they were not going to tell Tobias, there was no way in hell that they would tell me anything.

"They would not tell you anything. I think we both know that this would be a giant waste of fucking time." After Tobias said that to me, I was laughing, and then I was shrugging for a second, and I was feeling that there was nothing else to be worried about at this rate.

"I don't know. I just felt like I would have wanted to bring up the idea. I don't know, I guess that it really doesn't matter all that much anymore." I said, and then after I was saying this, I was just thinking that I was just needing to relax a little bit. "That being said, I am sure that they would be willing to talk to you if they were sure that there was something that happened to you or Rachel. There is no way in hell that they would remain silent over something like that."

"I just wonder what the rest of the school year will be like when we come back. I mean, for gods sake, everybody is going to be talking about what we had been doing this summer, and everybody is going to be acting like we are really fucking stupid or something like that." Tobias was saying to me, and then I was looking at him, and in all honesty, I hardly even caring anymore.

"I don't care what people at school are going to be saying about us. If they do not like us, then that is something that we will have to deal with. We were never the most popular people in the world to begin with. So does it fucking matter what people are probably thinking about us now." I said, and then after I was telling him this, I saw Tobias looking like he was not too happy with me saying that to him. Probably because he knew deep down inside that what I was saying was true, and he did not want me to remind him of his status.

"Regardless, I doubt that talking about this will really be helping all that much anyways. I feel like if we keep talking about what we want to do, then we are probably going to start thinking that we are capable of doing more than we actually can." I said, and then I was shrugging, feeling like I just needed to be honest with her for a while.

"Yeah, and I am starting to think about what things will be like if we go in there, and then it turns out that none of what we think will be there shows up. I mean, for all we know, we might not find anything there, and that it will turn out that this is all a big fucking waste of time." Tobias was saying to me, and then I really had no idea what in the world I was even getting myself into.

"If there is nothing that this company has on the town, then that means that maybe we are just looking so far away from what we need to do, that I think we just need to admit that it was not meant to be, and that we ended up making a giant fucking mistake this whole time." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I had nothing else that I was going to tell her.

"Well, I think that the worst that would have to happen is that we would just have to do everything on our own, and figure things out without any cheating or help. But I guess that something like that would not be too shocking in all honesty." Tobias was telling me, and then I was really having no idea what in the world I had been feeling.

"I am sorry that I made a promise that failed. I mean, I know you are going to tell me that you do not care all that much. But I still feel really bad after everything that happened, and I feel like I should have ether given you the answers you needed, or when I realized that something was just not going to happen, then just give up, and not be giving you any false hope." I said, and then after I was telling him this, I was shrugging, and I had nothing else to be saying now.

"I mean, I should have expected something like this would happen, considering what happened with everybody else earlier. If I had thought that out a bit more, then I should have realized that there was a good chance that this was all going to fucking fail eventually." After Tobias said that to me, I was really having no idea what I was going to be doing now.

"I still made a fucking promise, and that is really all that matters in my mind." After I was telling him this, I was shrugging, and I was feeling that all of this discussion was only going to be sort of a giant waste of time, and that was all that I cared about. And for all I knew, I was thinking that Tobias was still having a minor amount of resentment over the fact that I had not really helped him out. Even if he denied it, I still feel like I really did him wrong here.

"Well, I think that I will talk to the others for a bit, and see if I could get them on our side, and then after I am done with that, I will come back, and I think that at this point, we will need to just get ready to be heading out on our own." I said, and then after I said that to him, we were walking out of the house, and I was seeing Tobias looking like he was wanting to say something else here.

"T.K., how long do you think that it will take for people to start to actually take what we are doing more seriously? I mean, I want to actually get people to stop fucking around, and admit that something is happening. But it seems like everybody just enjoys the idea of acting like it is all one big event that is a lie." After Tobias was saying, and I was feeling that whatever I said, I was never going to get him to be thinking any differently, and that I was going to be wasting my time even trying to say anything else.

"I feel like the answer to that question, for better or for worse, might actually be fucking never. I feel like people are going to be too busy with the idea that this is all one big fucking bad summer, and then they are going to try and get people to just pretend that something like this never really happened. I mean, people are already acting like the assassination never happened. Almost like people are too fucking embarrassed to admit that the one person who was actually talking got killed, and it seemed like nobody gave a single shit at all." I said, and then I sighed, feeling that I would just not be hiding the bullshit anymore either.

"Is it sad that I had a feeling that you were going to be telling me this? I had a feeling that you were going to tell me that we had lost everything that we had been even trying to get ourselves into." After Tobias was saying this to me, I was wondering if he was ever going to forgive me for saying what I had said, and if he was actually thinking that what I was saying might have been right.

"Well, I mean, I feel like you doing this just shows that at the end of the day, you are being honest with yourself, and that you are no longer trying to act like we have a better chance than we fucking do." I said, and then I was feeling that as long as he was just willing to listen to what I was saying, then everything would have been better for us.

"Yeah, go ahead and try and talk to the others. I am sure that they will want to talk with you. And I feel that it would be a bad idea if we keep wasting our fucking time at this whole thing." After Tobias said that to me, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I just needed to let him have his fucking moment, and not be rough with him or whatever.

"See you when I am ready. I will try to not be taking super long about this, since I feel like we both have a lot that we need to be doing." I said, and then I was shrugging, and then with that, I sighed, and I was walking away from him. I needed this to myself. I needed to be alone, and I did not care how long something like this was going to be taking. And in all honesty, I was just kind of scared of what the others would be saying when they finally knew what my plan would be.

Scene 3: The Network Recording (Izzy)

The one person who I felt like I needed to meet up with more than anything else if I wanted a remote chance to pull this off was to talk to Izzy. I had no idea how in the world I was going to get him to be willing to actually go in there or whatever, since I do not know his stakes in the matter. But I felt like I needed to get him to talk.

So I was at his house, and I was just taking a deep breath, and I was telling myself to just calm the fucking hell down, and not be trying to force anything on him. I knocked at his house, and I was thinking that if he did not want to help, or felt like there was no way to help me out for whatever reason, then there was no reason to be making a deal out of any of this.

Izzy answered the door, and then he was looking right at me, and I saw that he was clearly not all that excited about the idea of talking with me. Probably thinking that I was going to be forcing him into something dangerous. "Look Izzy, before you say anything, I want to make it clear that you do not need to do anything that I might ask. If you do not want to help me, then that is entirely your choice." I said, and then I was looking at him, wondering if he would actually listen to what I was saying, and see that I was not lying to him.

"No, I mean, you say that, and then something even worse happens that is beyond just us learning about what Kenta is doing or whatever. And besides, after what happened at the factory, and everything else that has happened during the summer, I really do not have the right to just play around, and act like nothing is happening." Izzy said, and I was kind of glad that he was seeing reason to this, but at the same time, I was wondering if he was actually believing that he had to be involved in this, since he really did not have to.

"Well, if you feel like this is the case, then I feel like we need to get right to work. I feel like if you go inside the building though, Kenta would probably see to it that you are not allowed to touch or do anything." I said, and I was wondering if he would even be allowed in given the situation earlier.

"I am well aware of that, and that is something that is going to be making things much harder. But if that is what I have to deal with, then I suppose that I could go on and maybe give something to you that you can look at." After Izzy said that o me, I was feeling like what he said was probably just him trying to get my hopes up.

"A recording chip, so that everything you are talking about, can be heard on my computer, and I can be able to put it onto my computer, and then we can be able to work from there. It is a start, and I am sure that most people in this company don't know something like that would even be possible. Much less from somebody who is still in ninth grade." Izzy said, and he was smiling, and I saw that he was proud of himself for the first time that I had ever known him.

"Are you seriously expecting that they would let us in without patting us down or some shit? I mean, for gods sake, I think that even if they did not plan that stuff out, everything else would probably have been found eventually." After I said that to Izzy, I saw that Izzy was hardly looking like he even cared for something like that. As if hearing that was just wasting his time.

"You know, normally that would be a great point, but be honest, do they seriously expect some random school student to be doing this. I mean, everybody else who is in our relative age range has been able to go in without too much issue." Izzy said, and then I was feeling like I just needed to get him to see reality. Or at least try to be doing that.

"But those are the first couple of floors, where everything is still considered for general public. But with the stuff that has been going on, especially the factory getting destroyed, and all the other projects that they plan on starting, surely they are not stupid enough to be letting things be going by so casually. I mean, if they were this lax, then everything would have probably been exposed by now." I said, and I was hoping that my point would at least be considered.

"I mean, how do you actually think that you are going to learn everything in the first place? This is going to probably get many of you killed, and you are seriously expecting to find all this stuff with relatively little effort? I mean, maybe I am just too tainted to think about other things, but I just can't see it working differently." After Izzy said that to me, I was just remaining silent for a little bit longer.

"I mean, it will probably not work. But I feel like if you were there when the factory got destroyed, and you saw what these people were capable of, you would be taking this seriously as well. And you would understand that there is no choice but to learn." I said, and then after I was saying this, Izzy was slowly nodding, and then got back to it.

"But give me a couple of hours to figure out the chip, and then I can give it to you. Once I am ready, we will be able to continue talking about the next step of the plan." After he had said that to me, I slowly nodded, and figured that at this point, I would just try and talk with him for a bit, and not worry about what else was going on around us.

When I was feeling that I might as well just try and talk with Izzy at least, and see if we could enjoy a random regular conversation, that was when Izzy's sister was at the door step, and I was feeling that I just needed to see what on earth he was wanting to tell me.

"Hey, are you one of Izzy's friends?" She asked, and I was looking at her, and I was wondering what in the world Izzy was going to be saying to this. If he was going to be playing along, or if there he was going to be honest about the fact that he had no real respect for me.

"Yeah, we work together a bit. Izzy has been getting a lot more involved with various things this summer, and has kept himself rather busy." I said, and then I was laughing at this, and I was seeing Izzy looking like he was not too excited about the fact that I might be revealing some of the truth to her, even without meaning to.

"Not much else to be saying about it I suppose. I mean, I just feel like when I have some people who come up to me and say that they need help on various things, I have a hard time saying no. That was one of the things that mom and taught me when I was growing up a bit more." After Izzy was saying this to me, I was really having no idea what in the world we were getting ourselves into at this point.

"Do you want to tell me what you guys are up to?" Izzy's sister asked, and she was seeming so innocent about what was happening, that I felt so fucking bad about the situation that she was in. I was feeling that if we told her anything, then she would simply tell on the two of us, and our whole thing would be really fucking lost.

"I think that once this is all done, and everybody can laugh about it, then I will be able to talk with you about it. But until then, I feel like it would be best to just leave it all alone." After Izzy said this to her, his sister was looking like she was willing to accept this.

"I suppose that this is really the best that I am going to get with you?" She asked, and then I was feeling like this debate was going to be a real fucking hassle if this were to be keeping up any longer, and I was wondering if perhaps I needed to say something, to make her feel like Izzy was not just being a asshole or anything like that.

"Look, I asked him to do this, and I know that it is probably going to be rather rough that we are doing a bunch of stuff without any talking about it with you guys. But I feel like that would really be for the best." I said, and then I saw her looking like she was not buying a fucking word of what I was saying in the slightest. Probably thinking that I could have told her all this, but that I was simply refusing to, and just being a asshole for no real fucking reason.

"Alright, sorry for getting in the way. I just wanted to know what my brother was up to. He always seems really busy on something, and I was just hoping that I could learn some more things." After she had said that to me, she walked off, and I was looking at Izzy, and I was wondering what I was going to be saying to him in the first place.

"I have a feeling that if I am not careful enough, then she is going to learn the truth about what we are doing anyways. This girl can be rather tough when it comes to that stuff." Izzy said to me, and I was nodding at this, thinking that if she knew the truth, then she would literally tell his parents what we were doing, and my entire mind was blowing up.

"Do you think she would be telling your parents? I mean, I could see where she might be thinking that she was helping us out. But I think that there has got to be more to it than that." I said, and then I felt like if she had told his parents, then they would probably not even be all that fucking worried about what I was doing now.

"I think that she would probably mention the fact that I am doing some strange stuff with my friends. If they saw what I had stashed from what Larry gave me, they would be losing their mind." Izzy said, and nodded to under the bed, to try and show me what he had hidden. I went down under there, and grabbed the thing he had told me of. The duffel bag with a lot of money.

"I think that it might be best to return that to him before long. After all, if this keeps up, there is no way in hell that I will be able to make any use out of it anymore." After Izzy said that to me, I was feeling that doing that was going to expose Larry to the others, but I was unsure if that even mattered to me anymore.

"As soon as I am done with this, I can do that. But just give me that recorder. I don't know how much help it will be, but I better give it a chance. It would be better than nothing." I said, considering the fact that this was the one thing that I had sort of set myself up for by getting involved in all of this.

Scene 4: Turning Away From Family (Mimi)

When I was away from Izzy's place, and I was finding myself heading back home, wondering what I was going to be telling Matt when this was all done, I was seeing Mimi sitting down at a bench near the park, and to be honest, when I saw that, I heavily considered just leaving her alone, and pretending like I did not see her. But as I was doing this, I turned away and then I was just pretending like I never saw her at all. It was hard to do, but I had to do it.

But I was not able to get too far when she was calling out to me. I was sighing, and then I looked right towards her, wondering what she was wanting to tell me now. "T.K., I was wondering if you were going to do something soon. I heard about your new turns on the investigation, and I want to help." After she had said that to me, I was hoping that she would realize I wanted nothing to do with talking to her right now.

"Honestly, you do not. I know what your parents are doing, and to be honest, I have no desire to get in the way of what they are doing. And I think that you would rather have me be doing my own thing too. I think it would be best for both of us to just leave this alone." I said, and I was starting to head off, but before too long, she called out to me again.

"But what if I tried to tell you that I feel like it is time for me to move beyond that, and be doing things on my own. I feel like they have kind of ruined my trust for a bit, and that I need to do what is right for me." After she had said that, I was feeling like her statement was something that was just entirely too hard to actually believe in any way.

"I would have to really see it in order to buy it. If you actually feel that way, then you need to show me that you feel that way." I said, and then I looked at her, wondering what I was going to say now. She looked down, and I was seeing that my way of putting it made her uncomfortable. She probably had a sinking feeling deep down inside that I was probably right.

"What will it take for you guys to actually grow to trust me? I have no desire to argue with you guys, and I feel like you guys are probably right. I don't want to admit it, since doing so suggests that my parents might be bad people. But I have to be honest with myself." Mimi continued, as I was wondering what I wanted to tell her at this point in time.

"I mean, I just have a hard time really knowing what to think. I just have a feeling that if I was in your position, and I knew my own father was doing something that I felt like wasn't right, I would have had a hard time accepting it. And your dad isn't even as bad as several others." I said, and then I was shrugging, feeling like that would make her feel better.

"I mean, just because he might not be as bad as several others doesn't mean that I believe that he should never have anything against him. I feel like I need to just make sure that I know what he is doing. It really is as simple as that. If you do not believe me, then I am sorry that I did something to cause that." Mimi said, and I was seeing that she was looking like she was desperate to get me to be looking at her, and just talking for a bit.

I took a deep breath, and honestly, I just was not really in the mood to be dealing with this right now. I was not going to be dealing with somebody just trying to convince me so hard on something, when I wasn't even sure what I was believing in these matters anymore.

"I mean, I heard that after what happened with the factories destruction, the one that Nicole runs, he has hardly kept any contact with her. He said that she was a disgrace to the town, and that she had ruined everything that had been set up. I need to know what that is." After she had said that to me, I was curious as to why he felt that way about her, but I felt that was none of my business either.

"I mean, Nicole had nothing to do with the fire, and I think that to try and pin point her to it would be a massive fucking mistake." I said, and then I was shrugging, feeling like I would just leave it at that for the time being.

"That doesn't mean that he doesn't know something that we don't. Look, I am not asking you to believe me. I would prefer it if you did, but that is none of my concern. I just don't feel comfortable leaving this alone, and I need to know the truth." After she had said that to me, I was feeling that we were getting nowhere with this argument.

"Well, what do you know? I am sure that by this point, you will have gathered at least some evidence. So hand it to me, and we can work something out." I said, and then Mimi was coming closer to me, and I was still feeling unsure of what to say. But I felt it best to not fight.

"Well, I believe that he is going to be presenting to the board meeting coming up. Or at least having an adviser to it. I think I also heard him say that his factory also helps produce weapons with the materia that is gathered up." Mimi was saying, and this was just feeling like a slew of words that were thrown together to sound like it was smart and science.

"Shit. I keep hearing about this board meeting, and I feel like at this rate, I have no choice but to go along with it, and see where this can go." After I said that to Mimi, I was seeing that she was looking like she wanted to know what shit I was smoking. To be fair, I kind of got what she might have been thinking with the context here.

"Nobody will let you go in there. Surely even you know something like that. There is a better chance that you are going to get Brad to talk to you than anything else." After she had said that, I was starting to head back to the scene of the wreck age, and I think Mimi knew what I was doing, since she clearly did not look very excited to be doing something like this at all.

"What type of weapons is your father making with this materia?" I asked, feeling that I just needed to not remind myself of how fucking stupid this whole thing was sounding, and thinking that perhaps I was just not thinking that well into it in the first place.

"I don't know. Probably some advance scientific shit that none of us have ever heard about, with the way that he is talking about it, and the way that he seems rather excited about it. And in all honesty, I feel like the type of weapon itself doesn't really fucking matter. He is still technically building up something of a war chest here." She said, and then I was feeling like something like that was really not the main issue that we were having here.

"I don't know. I don't think it would be best to just totally brush it off the way that you are right now. But I don't know. I guess that maybe I feel like everything is a fucking theory." I said, and then as I was walking on, I was feeling like I just needed to try and be more open with her, after the way that I had been acting this whole time.

"I know that I was giving you shit about your thoughts on your dad. But I have been doing the same shit. Not really looking at the signs with my own. I guess that when my mother committed suicide, I wanted to feel like there was a chance that the three guys in the family could be able to pull through, and not be completely hurt by something here. But who the fucking hell am I kidding? If he didn't know something earlier, he does now, because he is just holding back on telling us what he found in that letter." I said, and I was feeling that whatever he was hiding was just making me lose a lot of trust in him.

"Do you think that maybe he is not telling you guys what is in that letter because he feels that by doing so, he will spare you the pain of what is in there? I mean, he might really be having the bets interest for you guys in his heart, but because of how things are, it might be hard to see that." Mimi said, and I was wondering why she was telling me that in the first place.

"I mean, I doubt that is true. I mean, I always felt like he had a lot of knowledge on this stuff. That was why he had moved up to Wayside after the Onett thing, because he knew for a fucking fact that once people knew what was happening there, and his knowledge of it was shown, then I was going to have a hard time moving on." I said, and then I was shrugging, thinking that whatever my father knew, it was just a piece of the puzzle.

We were at the wreckage again, and then I was looking over at Mimi again. "Do you think that maybe this was burned down from a inside job? If he doesn't like Nicole, maybe he or somebody else tried to take her out, but then it had ended up failing." I said, and then I was feeling like if she was going all the way through with this idea, then perhaps we needed to run with the idea that maybe he was really just not the person that she thought he was.

"I mean, I feel like he has a lot of stuff that he is hiding, but I really do not take him for a killer. I mean, you probably know that something like that is absurd." After she had said that to me, I was sighing, and I was feeling like it just needed to be suggested, but if she was like this then I was done playing around like this.

"Sorry. Just felt like it needed to be brought up as a suggestion. I don't know what I am thinking half the time either. But I feel like the ideas really do need to be brought up here. I mean, there has to be something in here that I can use." I said, and then I was looking around the area, feeling like there was something that I could have been missing out on if I was not looking harder.

Eventually, Mimi started to look around as well, and we had been puling stuff aside for a bit, until about ten minutes later, when she was pulling out a red orb, and then showed it to me. "Just like the ones from the factory that dad has. So that means that there is more to this than I really want to admit." After she had said that to me, I was sighing, feeling like that was something to be going with at this rate.

Scene 5: Fully Organized (Joe)

When I was in the attic of the café, one final time, I was feeling like I just needed to find something to say to Joe, to get him to feel like this idea wasn't totally fucking insane, and that I was not being a fucking idiot. I sighed, and I felt like I just needed to really pour out everything that I had been thinking to him.

"So you are going to be going in there, and you are literally going to be going in guns blazing, and just trying to get whatever you can here? I mean, I guess that I should feel surprised, but I really do not." Joe said, and then he was shrugging, not having much to say here.

"Look, if you do not want to get involved in this, then I would not really blame you at all. But seriously, I have a feeling that this is the best choice that I have. And I would really like it if you were to help me out." I said, and then I wondered if he was actually going to listen to me.

"It's not that. I guess that I have been getting myself way too fucking involved to get out of this now, even if I wanted to. And honestly, I feel like I would really not want to be leaving this alone anyways. I just want to make sure that you feel like this is the best thing to do here." Joe said, and then I was shrugging, wondering what he would do now.

"I have mostly just been setting up this area, and making it at least sensible. This whole room is a mess, but I have been making it slightly less bad than it had been earlier." Joe said, and he was sounding like he honestly resented this whole thing to even begin with.

"I mean, I just keep seeing stories that seem like they do not add up at all, but then you have to read it like four times to get the one detail that makes sense. Do you not understand how fucking annoying it is to read this shit several damn times?" Joe asked, and I slowly nodded, feeling that was indeed horrid to imagine here.

"And the worst part is that I feel like most of the connections are probably not that important. Half of these stories really are not that fucking important. But because everybody is obsessed with the idea that everything has to be taken into consideration, and that you have to look at what is ahead, then that is just making things worse." After Joe said that to me, I was shrugging, and I really had no idea what I was doing now.

"I think that you should just put all the stuff that you are one hundred percent confident isn't important in a stack, and then not look at them at all." I said, and then I shrugged, feeling like that made enough sense as it was. As I had said that to him, I saw Joe looking like he was considering this, but still didn't really want to do it.

"I don't know what to do anymore, and I am growing more aware with each passing day that I am a complete liability. Nothing to help out, and in all honesty, I feel like people just need to accept the fact that I really was not going to be nearly as helpful as they thought that I would be." Joe shrugged, and then with that, I was feeling like he didn't need to be so hard on himself with what he said.

"You are not a liability. If anything, you probably are the one that helped me realize that I need to be looking at this from a practical stand point, and that was able to help me change my views on the subject. So in that sense, you are doing a good job." I said, and then I smiled at him, and then I was seeing Joe looking like he was just having no real thoughts on this. And I was feeling like this entire debate was going to be just tooting his horn far more than he was wanting to admit that it really was. But if it would calm him down, then I would feel a bit better.

"Well, I wouldn't be so hard on myself if I was feeling like this was even remotely coming true. But since it is not, I can't help but feel like I am just making a mistake. Understand that I am just being honest with myself when I say this." Joe said, and then I was feeling like there was nothing else to be saying, and that if he wanted to feel this way, then I just needed to let it go for the time being.

"And besides, I still have not found Aurora yet, and that is the thing that I need to tell myself every time I even start to consider lightening up my feelings on the matter. Until she is brought home, I don't care if I sound like I am just judging myself too much." Joe said, and then he was looking right at me, and then I was feeling that I would just let it all go for the time being.

"Finding Aurora is not going to determine if you are failing or not. That is just a personal goal that you have, and you need to see that you are doing a good job. Sure she isn't home, but that is something that just has to be accepted for the time being." I said, and then I was feeling that if he was going to fight this, then I would really be feeling myself in what he was saying more, and that perhaps it just wasn't really fucking meant to be.

"I don't really want to fucking hear it. I think you probably understand what that is like, just not really being in the mood for it. But despite that, I do appreciate the fact that you are trying to make me feel better. Shows that there are some people here who do really have a level of sympathy for those around me." After Joe said that to me, he shrugged, and then had nothing else to be saying here.

"I mean, I do see what Ocho feels like. He is a good guy, in a sense. I mean, he really does care for that woman, and he really does want to make sure that she is safe. I feel like that is proof enough to show that he probably really should be the one who takes care of things from this point forward." Joe said, and then I was mainly trying to decide if I wanted to say anything at all.

"But do you think that they will ever care what we are doing, when Ocho is going around and making a larger impact on the events in this town than we ever will. I have a feeling that it will be like nobody even fucking cares about us for now." I said, and then I was really having no idea what in the world I was even going to say now.

"I mean, I do want to try and talk to Ocho about some things soon. I feel like he really does have a idea on what is happening, and how to change it. I mean, you were telling me that he went in that cave. Or somebody was. I feel like knowing what he got from that cave is going to be the best way to finally bridge this gap. I feel like if you want to know what is going on with these monsters, you will have to learn what in the world he is doing there." Joe said, and then the memories of that cave was coming back once more again.

"I feel like a fucking idiot for always forgetting about that shit. As soon as I am done with this investigation of the actual building itself, I will check that out, and just see what I might be able to find in there. Who knows, I feel like I am just making a mistake not checking it out sooner." I said, and then I was shrugging, feeling like there was nothing else to say about the matter.

"I will look into it with Izzy. I mean, he was the one who saw it in person, so he probably knows what is going on there much more than anybody else. If I learn more, I will tell you dude. But as much as I hate to admit it, I feel like we are wasting our time in this whole thing." Joe said, and then he was looking like one more thing was in his mind. "I feel like I need to try and talk to Jim one more time about this. Surely he has to know what is there." I felt like I needed to let him take care of that himself, since he clearly knew about Jim more than me.

Scene 6: Peace Is A Lie (Sora)

That night, I was heading away from Joe's café attic, thinking that when I was done with this, and I would know what was in that building, I could finally see what in the world that cave had. I mean, like Joe said, there was a good chance that cave was the only thing that could really tie things together.

But as I was walking along, Sora was heading to the café. I usually did not think much of it, but for some reason, when I was seeing it this time, I was indeed wondering if she was doing something with Joe that I hadn't really seen yet. "Comparing things with Joe for the time being?" I asked, and then I was seeing her looking at me, as if mildly annoyed with the way that I was asking her this stuff, and seeming like I was just getting in her way.

"Not really. I mean, I just sort of want to think things out a bit more. But I guess that I can sort of see how that might look to somebody like you." After she had said that to me, I sighed, and I was then wondering why I was even caring what she was doing with Joe all that much anymore. "What are you doing? Matt was telling me of your plans? Are you planning on doing that tonight?" She asked, and then I shook my head.

"Probably tomorrow or the night after that. I am just trying to think of something to do now. But it seems like you have been rather different lately, and I was wondering if you would be willing to tell me why." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was seeing her looking like she was worried about what I was saying here.

"Well, I guess that I can be honest and admit that there are some people who I thought that I knew rather well, and turned out to be nothing like I thought that they were. So now that I know the truth, and I see how many people act, I am just too bothered to really try and make any connections with people." After Sora had said that to me, I was then feeling like I needed to know a bit more, because I was having a hard time following what she was saying.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked Sora, and then she sighed, as if thinking that it made sense why I did not immediately know what I was talking about. So with that, she nodded, and decided that I needed to know the truth of what was happening.

"Steven Small. My teacher from back in the day. I used to really trust him, and think that he was a great guy. But in all honesty, I feel like he is probably more aware of what is going on than I wanted to admit. I mean, I doubt that he is behind anything, but if he knows this stuff, and then just lets it happen anyways, then I feel like I will not really be able to look at him the same way ever again." After Sora was telling me this, I was starting to feel bad for what she was saying.

"I mean, I heard about that. Do you know what he is doing? Or is it just a theory that you have in your head?" I asked, feeling that I needed to really see if this was true. I was really having no idea what I was going to do in order to make her feel better, or if that was even possible at all.

"I mean, I learned that he had known some stuff that he could have just told the reporters, but he refused to tell them. And in all honesty, I have no idea what he knows. But I doubt that I really want to care about something like that." She was saying, and the more that we had been talking, the more exhausted that she had been saying all of this stuff in the first place.

"Do you feel like you need to see what he is doing now? I mean, I don't really want this to turn into a revenge vendetta. You are better than this." After I said that to her, I was seeing her looking like she had been relatively unsure of what to even say here. I was feeling like if she kept going at this too long, this would make her lose sight on what really mattered.

"I mean, I want to see what he is doing now. But I do feel like I need to be looking at what you are saying. I never thought that I would be listening to you of all people on this. But I feel like if I knew what he was going to discuss at the meeting with Shaun and the others, I would see what he knows." Once she was telling me this, I was wondering if maybe she wanted to come along to that.

"Are you wanting to see what that meeting is like? I mean, I am sure that Matt would rather be going with you than me. I feel like he just wants to stay away from me, since he probably feels like being around me is fucking embarrassment." I said, and then I was well aware of the fact that Matt preferred Sora to me, and I knew that there was never going to be any way to make me feel better.

"I mean, I feel like if I was there, and I tried to listen to it, then those people, or something related to them, would use that as an excuse to try and make me be the next person who goes missing. And that whole thing really fucking scares me." After Sora was saying that to me, I was really having no idea what in the world I was going to be saying at this rate.

"Do you really think that they will go after you? I don't know. I feel like you are really not the one who would be targeted next. I feel like if anybody is going to be targeted, it will be like Rachel or something. I mean, I could be wrong, but it just feels like if they really do have something to do with this, then that would be the logical way to go." I said, and I knew that she would not appreciate what I was saying, since it was essentially telling her to stop worrying, but I just felt like I needed to be honest here.

"I mean, I know that this should make me feel better, but it really doesn't. All it does is just give me more uncertainty. I mean, do you really feel like this actually has a plan at all?" She asked, and then I was shrugging, not really in the mood to be hearing what she was saying either at all. And I was not really in the mood to hear anything like that.

"Oh my god, how are you going to work this out when you are just going back and fourth all the fucking time?" I asked, and then I was feeling like I was just I was going to have to stop with this discussion before she was making me feel even worse. As I was starting to walk off, she called out to me once again, and I felt like I needed to just pretend like I was really even wanting to do this in the first place.

"What were you discussing with Joe just now? Trying to create some really awesome action scene or something?" She asked in a light hearted tone, and when she asked that, I was looking at her, and I was really not wanting to hear anything like this. I was sighing, since in all honesty, I was not in the mood to hear this anymore.

"No, we were talking about a crystal cave that Ocho had probably gone into. I feel like I need to go in there, and in all honesty, I don't care if it seems like it is going to be a dangerous task. I feel like something like this really just needs to be done." I said, and then after I said that to her, I was seeing her looking like she was rather unsure of what to feel here.

"I don't think I ever heard of anything like that. Do you think that you actually want to go in there?" After she had asked me this, I was sighing, and really had no idea what I was even going to be telling her. I mean, I wanted to go in there. But I knew that it was not going to be safe. I knew that doing this would probably get me killed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you never heard of it. I think that I only heard about it once or twice." I said, and then after I was telling her this, I was feeling that if she was wanting to go along with this, then I would be making a really big deal out of it. "I mean, I know that it is not a good idea to go there, but in all honesty, I really don't care at all."

"Regardless, I was telling Joe that when I was done with the infiltration that I was telling him about, I would be going there, and I would see what I could find there. I know that it is not a smart idea, but in all honesty, I don't fucking care." I said, and then I really had no idea what to say now.

"I feel like I should be coming along with that. Or at least seeing what the hell is there. I just feel like if you are going to do that, then I have to. Maybe that could help me see the lies of Steven, and all the others." After she had said that to me, I was nodding, feeling like I needed to just pretend like this was what I was wanting.

"Good luck with your conversation with Joe." I said, and then I was sighing, and then I was really having no idea what in the world I was even going to be doing. If Joe was able to make her feel better, for whatever reason, I was going to have to deal with it. And then I was just trying to remain calm here.

Scene 7: A Recruitment (Tai)

The last one that I felt like I really needed to speak to was Tai, and I was feeling that if he was wanting to satisfy his sister Kari, then he would be more than willing to agree to help me out. After all, at this point in time, that seemed like that was the only thing that really satisfied him all that much. As if his younger sister was all that mattered.

And besides, I feel like even if it weren't for Kari, I would still need to talk with Tai, since he had probably figured out more about what was happening than virtually anybody else in a long ass time here. So in a way, I was still feeling that he was the only person that I hadn't talked with that I still needed to really reach out to.

Eventually, when at his house, I decided to not think about it any more, and I was just hoping Tai would enjoy talking with me for a while. I knew that if he was going to find my company unpleasant, then that was only going to be making things much worse for everybody else involved. When he answered, he looked at me, and I was seeing that he looked like he had just wanted to see what I was planning on doing.

"Hey, how have you been doing?" Tai asked, and then I was shrugging. In all honesty, I had no idea what the plan was going to be, and in all honesty, I was feeling like there was a very good chance that this plan was going to fail anyways, so nothing else really even mattered at all anymore.

"I have no idea what the plan is honestly. I mean, I have no real right to call any of the shit that I am doing a fucking plan, since it never turns out that way." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was then sighing, but then I was seeing Tai considering what to tell me at this point. "But Tai, if you want to be with your sister, I feel like nobody would be upset about that."

"Well, I mean, I think that she still really hates me. She said so, and she often times really means what she said. That was why I was so fucking hurt when she had told me that. Because I knew deep down inside, that what she was saying was true, and that I had really done something that made her lose all trust in me." Tai said, and then I was just feeling that I would remain silent for the time being too.

"There is no way that she is going to be still upset with you about random things like what she snapped at forever. Surely she would be over it after a while, right?" I asked, and then I was looking at her, wondering if I was on the right track or not. As I said that, I was seeing that Tai still did not really look too sure, and I was feeling that trying to speak to him was going to just bother him.

"Regardless, I have been looking too much into this shit, no thanks to you and your friends, I might add, for me to really want to just leave things alone. I feel like I might as well see what I can get out of this when I look into it. I mean, I feel like I won't be able to help though." After he had said that to me, I really had no idea what I was going to tell him here.

"Sorry. I should have been more careful what other people were feeling before I did anything. I guess that I will consider that in the future. I guess that I was too excited to be feeling like I was actually doing something to help people out, that I couldn't hold on." I said, and then with that, I was shrugging for a second longer.

"Regardless, I feel like even if you weren't involved, I am also invested in making sure that Sora is safe, and when I want to make sure that nothing happens with her, then that is why I feel like I just got to keep going with this." Tai said, and then I was seeing him looking down, and thinking deeply about what was going on with her.

As we were slowly leaving the house, so that way neither Kari or her parents would really be able to get involved in this conversation, that was when I was seeing that he was starting to look a bit more calm about this discussion that we had bene having at this moment. "I guess that what makes me feel more calm about working with you is the fact that I know deep down inside, that despite the issues that we have been having, you are not the one who is responsible for what is happening." After he had said that to me, I really had no idea what I was going to tell him now.

But as we were thinking, I was then thinking of something else that had been in my mind. Something that I felt like I needed to talk with him about, because for some reason, he was trying to pretend like it wasn't bothering him at all, when in all honesty, I knew from the way that he was looking, that it really, truly did:

"So Tai, I know that you were talking about how you were trying to divorce what happened with Melissa to your search, but are you sure that you are able to get over the fact that you feel like you are not able to speak with her? You really feel like you can't be in love with her, and I feel so fucking sorry about that." I said, and then I was sighing, wondering what I could even tell him in the first place.

"I don't know. I mean, emotionally, I still want to be with her, and really stay at her side. I still really like her and everything. But at the same time, I know for a fucking fact that trying to do something like this is only going to be making things worse for everybody. Every time I end up hanging out with her, and trying to just enjoy my summer, she and I just only end up making things worse." After Tai said that to me, I was really having nothing that I could tell her at all.

"So you feel like at this point in time, you are not allowed to love or something like that? That sounds kind of insane, but I guess that maybe I shouldn't be going around to judge or anything like that." After I said this, trying to find out what he was saying, I saw Tai looking like he was thinking that was close enough to true.

"I mean, if you had somebody that you really liked, I think that you would take things more seriously. But I suppose that this doesn't fucking matter. I doubt that you really get what it is like to have a random hopeless romantic streak to you, that makes it harder for you to think about things." After he had said that to me, that idea was making me slightly tempted to laugh here.

"I will admit that I did not even really expect you to be somebody like that. Did you know deep down or something like that that you were never going to get her to like you or something? Because unless if that is the case, then I have no idea why you are saying it that way." After I was saying this, I was seeing him looking slightly sad at this.

"I mean, I feel like there might have been a part of me that was thinking that. But you know, when something happens, and you want it to happen really bad, you just always tell yourself that you have a better chance than you do." After Tai said that, I saw him looking like he had wanted to just drop the subject, and I was feeling that in order to preserve even a minor form of respect that he still had for me, I just needed to leave things alone.

"Sorry, I just need to let it go. I can see from the look on your face that you do not want to talk about it anymore." I said, feeling that it would be best for me to do something like that. As I was saying this, I was then wondering what else I was even going to be saying at this point in time. But as I was thinking more about all of this, Tai had something else in his mind, and I felt like I needed to see what his plan was.

"When this is over, and summer is done, I feel like I will try and spend more time with her. I will try and hope beyond all hope that she will actually want to spend time with me still, and that maybe we can finally pull something out. I still have kept my promise in my mind. The one about saving her. I guess that I just know that this is the best way to fulfill my promise." Tai said, and then I saw him looking like he was just sad at this statement.

"So in your own way, everything is about her at the end of the day, and you still want to make sure that she can get what she needs? Do you feel like this will be helping Kari out still at the end of the day?" I asked, and I was feeling that his thing with Kari was still the main thing that he was going to be worried about., I knew how Tai operated, and I knew what he was feeling deep down inside.

"I guess that you could say that, in a sense. But the point of the day is that at the end of the day, I will do what I need to help you out. I don't like this, since it is going to be a hassle, and neither one of us know what is to come from this point forward. And I don't really like the idea how this whole thing is still related to Tobias Wilson, since I hardly even know who he is still... But I guess that at this point, I have got to fucking get over this." After Tai was saying this to me, I was sighing, and I was feeling like I just needed to let it all go.

"I would not want anything to be affecting Tobias's reputation. He is doing rather well given the situation, and I feel like he needs to be given more credit than most are willing to give him." I said, and then I was wondering, and I was wondering why I was taking this whole thing was so important in my mind. "In all honesty, I feel like he might still be kind of a bit obsessed with this Andrea thing, considering what we know now, but that is something that I feel like I do understand." I said, and then I was sighing, and I had no idea where to go now.

"I didn't really mean anything when I was saying that. I just felt like I needed to make a point though. I felt like if I didn't bring it up, and really point out how everything is still connected with him, then I would not be doing the truth justice." Tai said, and then after he was done saying that, I was shrugging, and I had nothing else to say now.

"I mean, to be fair, if something happened with Sora, then you would probably be the same way. I think we both know this Tai. We know you really care about her, and that you are just trying to pretend like you are moving along well with her dating Matt. And who knows, maybe you really do like Andrea more. But I think that we both know that deep down, you are still hurt by the way that this whole thing is going on." After I had said that to him, I was seeing that he was just wanting to argue this, and act like I was out of line, but that this was hard for him to do so.

"I suppose that might be true. I mean, I don't want to admit that I have that emotional connection and reaction with people, but I have to be honest at times." After he was saying that to me, I was then feeling like there was just nothing else to say now. And I was just hoping that we could both be able to move through this, and get this behind us.

Scene 8: No Way Out

Eventually, I was feeling like there was truly no way out, and that I just needed to accept that this was my fight. So with that, I was getting up, and I was heading to Lazarus, and as I was leaving, Tobias got up from my living room couch, as if knowing what I was planning on doing, and did not want to waste his time either on this event.

"If you are going to be doing this right now, I figure that I will just see what I can do to help." Tobias said, and I was feeling like he might not be super duper helpful. But I would rather have him at my side to witness this whole thing than him just being alone at home.

"Do you think anybody else would want to join?" I asked, and then I was looking at him, hoping that he would have some idea. As I said that, I saw that Tobias looked like he was just unsure of what to say here. Probably thinking that nobody would really want to be in a suicide mission where we both knew neither one of us were getting out of this alive.

"I mean, your brother Matt almost certainly wants to get involved as well. So I think that it might be best to let him join along here." After Tobias said that to me, I was feeling like this statement was going to catch me off guard. I mean, I felt like while he was saying was true, the idea of having Matt at my side here, was going to be hard to handle.

As we were outside, and I was starting to try and head away, that was when Matt called out to us. I sighed, feeling that this was going to happen, but I delt like I needed to at least pretend like I was shocked at this. As I looked at him, I was just secretly hoping that one of these days, he was going to forgive me, and realize that I was just trying to do my best here.

"If you are going to head out right now, I will help you, and perhaps I feel like the two of us can find something here. And besides, I feel like I would never forgive myself if I lied about the fact that I knew something was happening." Matt said, and then after he was saying this, I sighed, feeling that I would just leave this alone for now.

With that, we got in his car, and he started to drive in the direction of the building. The entire time that we were heading there, the entire atmosphere there was just wildly different. It was like we were all pretending to be getting into a death march, and I was feeling scared for once in my entire life. Wondering if Ocho should have been doing this instead.

As we were parking the car, I was then wondering what I was going to do now. "I feel like whatever is going to happen now, this is going to probably be the last chance that I will ever have to try and act like life is normal around here." I said, and then I was shrugging, clearly knowing that I was far out of my league at this rate.

"You acting like life is normal? That is a good joke if I ever heard one. But I guess that maybe there is more that you haven't shown than I want to think." After he had said that to me, we were getting out of the car, and I was wondering what Tobias was going to be saying now, since I was clearly seeing that he was not looking too good about this.

"If you do not want to be doing this, then you should probably just head home. I do not want you to get involved in something that you are not ready for." I said, and then I was feeling like I just needed to shut the fucking hell up, since I was doing no better here, and I needed to look at myself in the mirror here.

"No, it isn't that. I am just ore wondering what I will be doing if it turns out that I had imagined everything here. I mean, for all that we know, we could be accusing these people of doing something that they are entirely innocent for, and if that is true, then I feel like in some cases, we might be just as bad as those who we claim to be against." Tobias was saying, and then he was looking like there was nothing else to say now.

"That is what we have literally been doing this whole time. I mean, at this point in time, I think we are too far gone from acting like we have not been going against them on some form of vendetta." I said, and then we were walking along, and I was feeling that doing this was just so fucking strange. I had no idea what I was going to do to really ever describe what I had been feeling. And trying to talk to people about this in the future would be absolutely batshit crazy.

"Matt, do you think that you will be finding anything in there that will help you make peace with what happened to mom? I mean, I feel like that is the main reason to be doing this in some cases." I said, not really sure why I had held back on saying this for so long. I mean, what happened to her was a good motivator, and there was no reason to pretend that it wasn't.

"Peace is never fucking happening. I think that you fucking know that this is true." After Matt said that to me, I was shrugging, and I was feeling that what he was saying was making a lot of sense. "And in all honesty, I think that at this point, the closest thing to peace that we are going to get here is knowing why people are doing what they are doing here."

I was just having those fires in my mind again. The people who were screaming around us like bloody murder, and clearly wondering if this was some form of sign that god had probably just fucking hated us. I had thought about the way that Gumball looked like he was about to fucking break down after what had happened, and felt like everybody was purely against him.

As I had thought about that, I had wondered if I would ever be able to fully capture the moment of what it had felt like to be there. If I had been able to, then perhaps people would have actually listened to us earlier, and perhaps this whole issue would have never happened. But unfortunately, unless if somebody was actually there in person, there was no way that I could be able to explain this.

When Tobias was looking at me, I could see that he had known exactly what was on my mind, and I was seeing that he wanted to try and say something to me, to see how I had been doing. But for some reason, I was seeing that there was something holding him back.

"Yeah, I think that anybody who was there when it happened probably understands what the issue with this is more than anything else." I said, and then I was looking at Matt, and I was feeling kind of bad for just saying this right in front of him, but I was seeing that at this rate, Matt had sort of looked like he really did not have much to say here.

"What even started that factories fire anyways? Do you know that?" Matt asked me, and then I shrugged, having no idea what to tell him. In all honesty, I really had no idea what I was going to be able to say, to get him to actually believe in me or believe in anything that I had been telling him here.

"I have no idea. If I did know what started them, then I would probably be feeling a lot better than I have been. But the fact that I will never know is something that just makes me feel like I am completely fucking dumb to this." I said, and then I was shrugging, not really having any idea at all what I felt.

"Yeah, I just figured that I would ask, and see what you knew. If I had a idea what was going on, that would probably be making me feel a lot better, but I guess that maybe something like that just was not meant to be." After Matt said this, I did not say anything, and I was just ready to get this over with, and see what was ahead of me.

Scene 9: The Meeting of the Future

Tobias and I were in the vents, and the chip that Izzy gave us was placed down, so the entire conversation would be recorded. The meeting contained President Reichenbach, Brad, Kenta, Steven Small, Nicole, Tobia's mother which really bothered Tobias, one other random girl with a blue dress, the mayor, and Joe's dad.

As we were listening, Shaun started the meeting. "Have you figured out the reconstruction plan to the factory and the library?" After Shaun asked this, the random woman, who I still did not know the name of, was looking right at him. She looked ecstatic at this report, as if this was something she wanted.

"Yes, I figured that in order to fully rebuild, and to start construction on the Neo Wayside project, that we will need around 750 million dollars." She said, and she was seeing Shaun looking down, as if mildly annoyed at this number, but also seemed to have expected something like this anyways.

"Alright, if you believe that this is the best course of action to get the project going, then I will send you the funds tonight. However, I want a progress update every month. And if at any point, it looks like your performance is not up to contract standards, you will be terminated effective immediately. Do you understand me?" Shaun asked, and I was seeing her looking terrified at this. Clearly her being terminated was not about her losing her job, as it would usually indicate.

"Yes Shaun, I understand you." She said, and then she was starting to just look down at her papers, and I was seeing her looking like she was just running a million plans through her head, as I was looking at Tobias, and he was just more wondering what his mother was doing than anything else at this point in time.

Shaun was turning towards Brad, and I was seeing that the look on Brad's face was one of utter dread. "As soon as you are done dealing with Candice, then your work with Kenta will have to begin. Have you found any progress relating to her?" Shaun asked, and then I was just taking a moment to be worried about what was going on with Candice.

"I have not. I was working on something else last night. Dealing with what we discussed one time. About getting rid of the past, and letting it go." Brad said, and that statement gave Shaun a shocked look. As if he was not expecting Brad to do something like that or whatever, but he looked like he was glad to see that Brad had indeed done something like this without too much pressing.

"I can respect this. It seems like you are finally learning to do what you need to do. But once this meeting is over, I need you to focus on your work with Candice again. I trust that you will be able to focus on that going forward." After he had said that, he was then looking at Tobias's mother, and this was when I was seeing that Tobias was now looking like he could not afford to lose a second of paying attention.

"Have the children seemed to believe all the stories set forward? We do not need them to be going around, and creating mass panic, and getting people more worried than they really need to be." After Shaun was saying this, I was seeing that his mother was just looking like she was concerned about something else.

"We have given our best answers. But it seems that most of these people are still wanting to know a lot about the truth of Wayside. I can only hope that by the end of this, they will grow out of it. That is probably the best that I can hope for." After she had said that to Shaun, this was when I was seeing that she was looking like she had already accepted that she had failed.

"And with Tobias and his group of friends, they are probably even more invested in it than anybody else. I have tried to tell them to stay away from this, and I believe that some of them probably are listening, but if word of my knowledge gets leaked, then my son will lose all trust in me." She said, and then with that, Shaun looked like he was wanting to pretend like he cared, but really just couldn't get it in himself to do so.

"I understand the persistence of the younger group, so I will give you another chance. They need to understand that they are only making things worse by looking so deeply into it, and you must do whatever it takes to get them to see this." After Shaun said this, Kenta was getting ready for his turn to speak. And when I was looking at him, I saw that everybody else in the meeting room instantly started to grow dread in their faces.

"After much time and looking at the data, I feel that I can draw conclusive evidence that my predictions are going to come true even earlier than expected. The portal will be set to open in the next couple of days rather than a few months like I thought. I will need permission to get more test subjects into my office." After he had said that to Shaun, he was hoping he would get permission.

"And I was thinking that if things were to get much worse, then we can force reproduction among the people on that list that I have given. They each have something in their genetic make up that can lead them to being perfect candidates for my project." He said, sounding way too proud of himself, and then the president was looking right at Kenta.

"Proceed as you see fit. But I will not let you make the same mistake again. The last time this happened, you accidentally combined the genes of the monsters and your human subjects. I will not allow that to happen." Shaun said, and I was wondering what in the world Kenta did in order to create a combination of the two, and I was horrified that something like this was even possible.

"Was there anything else that needed to be discussed?" After Shaun asked this, that was when somebody had walked into the room, wearing a scientist uniform, who I later learned was named Warren Vidic, and I was wondering why somebody was coming in here like this, when Kenta was here already.

As he had done that, he grabbed something out from a box, and then flopped Jenny's head on the table, and then looked right at Brad. "Next time, make sure you lock your trunk door. You have no idea what it would have taken to cover for you if this was found." After he had said that, I was seeing that the look on Brad's face was just instantly getting cold. Several of the other people looked horrified that this was what he meant when he said 'getting rid of the past.'

Despite that, Kenta was placing his hands on his mouth, to hide the utter excitement that he had at this moment. As if this was something that he had longed to see this whole time. After he let his hands go when he was done laughing, he looked at Brad again. "I take back everything that I ever said. You really do have it in you."

Shaun was taking a cigar out, and then he started to smoke it as he was staring at the long dead and lifeless eyes of Jenny. "Now all that remains in that group is that want to be politician. I hope that Sheldon doesn't use this as motivation to get further into the investigation than he already had been. I trust that you have been keeping that in mind."

"I think that he is probably too old to go into it. And besides, there are other things going on his family that I believe will be holding him back for a long time. After all, he will probably want to wait until his soon is a teenager at least. And if I am wrong with my guess, I will go over personally and fix the issue myself." Brad said, and I was instantly scared of what he was meaning by 'fix the issue'.

"I have one more question." He said, and turned towards a big bulky man who I would later learn was the weapons director of the company. "Do you have your materials prepared for in case if we are going to have to go into a impending invasion?"

"I have had my men locate the crystal cave, and I am extracting as many of them as possible. Before long, we will have everything together, and we will be able to be prepared for if anything is to come along. And I have given our lovely development director my blue prints on weapons to build at the cities gates in order to be prepared for whatever is to come next." He said, and he was sounding like he was never going to have a lick of fear in his face, and I was wondering what would happen if this invasion was actually going to be true.

"This meeting will be adjourned. We need to all get back to work now." Shaun said, and then he was standing up, as Brad was the last one to stand back up, as he was looking at Jenny's face, and increasingly wondering what was to come from that.

After a moment, he was slowly standing up, and beginning to walk away. When he was close to leaving, Shaun called him again. "Remember what I said about how much help you have been lately. You have really made us have a chance lately. I believe that you are the best person to be vice president when this is all said and done. I feel like something will be happening soon, and I will have to leave. But I can't until Candice is taken care of. So that must be done tonight. I don't care how tired you are by the end." Shaun said, and then Brad was slowly nodding.

"I will do the best that I can. I have never been in business before, so I will have to be rather careful going forward. But I am sure that you probably already know that. After all, you probably have most of these things figured out well in advance." After Brad said that, he was leaving, and with that, it was just Shaun and the head. I was wondering what will happen with Cody when he finds out the truth, or what Sheldon will be saying as well.

When this was when, I was looking right at Tobias, and I was wondering what we were going to be doing now. "What do you have to say on this matter? It seems like your mother knows a bit more about this than she is letting on." I said, and I was seeing Tobias look like he was genuinely broken by this.

"What the fucking hell did mom do? Does she know what happened with Andrea? Was she involved in everything that has been happening? Why did it have to be her, and not dad?" Tobias asked, and I was relatively confused at the last one, but I decided that I would let it go, and let him be saying what he needed to in order to show that he was pissed off here.

Scene 10: Professor Kitagawa

Tobias and I were out of the vents, and I was seeing that Tobias was looking like he was just unimaginably livid at what was happening now. "Look, I know that you are upset about what is happening with your mother. And you have every right to be upset. But I think that we need to pick ourselves up, and just see what we can do now." I said, and I was hoping that saying this would get Tobias to calm down somewhat.

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, for all I know, I could be wrong, and I am just thinking too deeply into it. And besides, I doubt that Rachel would be wanting to know this as well. I feel like I need to keep the lie up a while longer, and keep her innocent here." After Tobias said that, I was feeling that lying was only going to be making things worse. But I decided to not fight at all.

"Now is not the time for this." I said, and I was feeling like saying that might be sounding like I did not care about what he was saying. Since I did. But I was feeling that if we were going to be talking about Rachel, we had to do it when we were not in this fucking building, where people could hurt us at any moment.

"Yeah, I guess that you're right. We shouldn't be talking where people could be finding us at any moment." After Tobias was saying that to me, I was wondering if I was going to be needing to talk more. But then with that, I decided to just drop it, and then we were continuing along once again, to continue our journey more.

As we were walking along, we eventually saw Kenta Kitagawa, and he was looking right at us, as if finding our presence here to be utterly hilarious. "I was wondering when you would be brave enough to come here. I was thinking that with all the shit that you guys have been doing, that one day, you would be in this floor." Kenta said, and then he was walking to us, and with each step, I was growing increasingly scared of him.

"I know that you probably think that I am doing some of horrible experiments. In all honesty, none of the experiments that I am doing are terrible. I am doing everything that I can to make sure that my Neo Wayside project that I proposed is actually going to work. You are the one who is making this hard to accomplish." After Kenta said that to me, I was just trying to find something else to be saying now.

"Why are you doing all of this? I mean, surely people can always try to trace back what you are doing, and if people know what you are up to, then I believe that you will have everything that you wanted just thrown away." I said, hoping that he was going to see that I was at least trying to pretend to be giving him a new light of reason here.

"You know, when I saw you the first time, all those weeks ago, I have hope that you were going to agree to my internship. I had hoped that you were going to different from everybody else, who was purely driven by emotion. But now that enough time has passed, I have grown to realize that perhaps I was wrong about the way that I had judged you. You were not the man that I thought that you would have been." After Kenta said that, he turned towards Tobias, wondering what to say about this man.

"Ironic how you are doing all of this to make sure that your family doesn't have to deal with any more grief here, and then you are going around and literally putting yourself in a obscene amount of danger. Do you not realize how much hypocrisy you show by doing this?" Kenta asked, and then I was seeing that Tobias was looking like he was just wanting out of this discussion right now.

"Hypocrisy is something that sometimes has to be shown." Tobias said, and while he was trying to be looking like this, I was seeing that he was looking like he did not buy what he was saying either. Probably just trying to decide if he was going to be seen as somebody who was more scared than he was trying to let on.

"I just wish that you guys would be able to look at the bigger picture, and see that this goes far beyond anything that you are trying to make it out to be. There is no real reason to constantly make this about the missing girls. No reason to be making a story that doesn't really have any truth to this." Kenta said, and then I was feeling upset at this man. He was playing with us, and not giving us the information that I had needed right now.

"If you are sure that something is being hidden, and that I am being stupid by not looking into this, then fucking tell me the truth. I mean, I know that these monsters are real, and I have been trying to tell people the truth. But they are all brushing me off." I said, and then I was seeing that Kenta was just trying to decide if he wanted to feed my anger and hate, or just keep playing me like a damn dog.

"This attack that I have been fearing this whole time is going to be coming up rather soon. I have nothing better to tell you, and I feel like I need to actually know if you want to be taking this seriously before I even consider telling you more." Kenta said, and he was looking like he was rather upset at what he was saying.

"If these monsters are going to attack us at any moment, and you have the evidence to show that something like this will happen, then there is no time to be debating anything else. We need to know the truth." I said, and then I was seeing that Tobias was looking like he was just trying to get my attention about something. Although I had no idea of what he was wanting to do though. I was seeing that Kenta was looking like his smile on his face was growing wider, and was realizing that maybe the plan that he was having was working much more than he would have ever thought it could.

"I can show you the research that I have done, and maybe by doing that, you will take what I am saying much more seriously. And maybe you might be seeing that I really have no choice but to be doing what I am doing." Kenta said, and then he was looking right at Tobias, and I was seeing that he was wondering what Tobias was going to be saying to this. Probably wondering if Tobias would be refusing to listen to reason or whatever.

"I have a feeling that T.K. will be going along, and seeing what you want to show him, so if that is the case, I really have no choice but to come along, and see what it is too." After Tobias was saying this to Kenta, I saw him looking like he was really holding off judgment, and I was seeing that despite everything else, he was not happy at all to this.

"I knew that eventually you were going to be coming around to this. I know that you probably feel that I am just the worst person possible, and that I have no care of this town. But I do, and that is why I am taking such serious measures to make sure that this project works." Kenta said, and he was just walking off, and then the two of us followed him.

"I have been involved in these projects for the last fifty years. I have seen everybody that I ever cared about die because there is a complete lack of willingness to do what is right, and do what is needed for the preservation of this town. I moved from New York to Wayside because I honestly thought that I was going to eb able to make a difference here, and that more people would be willing to listen to me. I saw my home town get demolished, and people cared more about reconstruction than cared about what had caused it in the first place." Kenta was telling us, and he was sounding somewhat sad here.

"I mean, I know what it must feel like to be able to look at Wayside, and think that there is something that needs to be done to change this. But I think that the faster that you guys get that sometimes there is nothing that you can change, you will be happier." After Kenta was telling us this, I just decided that I would let him be talking, and I would let him pretend like he was doing this for the general public than anything else.

We were eventually in his main office, and he was sitting down, and I was seeing that Tobias finally felt like he was needing to speak here. "Do you have any idea what it will be like if we can turn this issue around though? If we actually found out the truth, and didn't fucking hide forever? If we did that, then our time would be much easier. We could actually finally put this whole thing behind us." After Tobias was saying this, he was just sounding slightly desperate here.

"If you were willing to listen to the company, and willing to admit that there was something going on that you could help on, then you wouldn't be running around with a fucking vendetta to act like we were out to kill you guys. But that is what you guys decided to do, and this is all one big fucking mistake that has been made." Kenta said, and then I was feeling like every moment they argued, was only going to be making things worse for us all.

Kenta was pulling out a bunch of files, and then placing them on the table. "Read these if you really want to. Maybe if you do, then you will see where I am coming from with all that I said." Kenta was telling me, and then with that, I was shocked that he was willing to be letting me see what must have bene classified information.

"I am sure that if you tried to do that, then you would be getting into so much trouble. I would really think that you would be more careful with this." I said, and then I was seeing Kenta looking pissed at what I said. I was wondering if he was wanting to tell me to shut up, and leave him about what he was doing here.

"I am sure that if Shaun knew that this was done to make you finally realize that this is not a bad direction for this town to be taking, then you would be letting it go. I have to do this, for everybodys sake." Kenta said, and then I was sighing, and then Tobias was looking right at me, and I was seeing that he was wondering what I was going to be doing at this point.

"Are you sure that this information is going to be more important than the stuff relating to the missing girls? I mean, my sister is still here, and I want to keep it that way." After Tobias was telling me this, I was sighing, and I was feeling like I did sort of see what he was saying, even if I was not wanting to say something like this.

"Look, I really do not have much of a choice. I mean, if you do not want to do this, then you can fucking sit out." I said, and then I was wanting to talk to Tobias here, and make him see my point of view. But then when I was saying this, I saw him just looking like he was feeling like there was no more point in even trying to fight it.

"I mean, I guess that maybe I am just too unsure of myself. Besides, I want to know what my mom is doing here, and I guess that just letting Kenta run his show might be the best way to do something like that." Tobias said, looking at Kenta, as if hoping that Kenta would talk about what his mom did there.

"She was just simply doing what had to be done in order to keep Wayside safe. I think that everybody could be like her. Willing to divorce feelings from reality, and seeing that there sometimes is no choice but to put us first." Kenta said, and then with that, Tobias shook his head, and I was getting to the files, hoping that I would actually be able to read them fine enough, and not be taken down by Kenta or whatever.

Scene 11: Digital Monsters

I was sitting down, and I was looking at one of the files, and when I was looking at what I was being presented, I was just kind of scared, but also excited. Scared of admitting that I was probably right in half the stuff that I had said in the past, but excited to finally know the truth of what was happening here.

As I was thinking about this, that was when I started to read these. "We must not let it become public knowledge that the stories that Todd Robinson said about the monsters in Wayside during 1963 were true. If people were to know that, then the panic that would be caused would be far worse than anything that Wayside has ever seen in the past." One of the messages said, and then I continued on.

"When addressing the destruction of the school, we must pretend as if it was a student who accidentally set something off in the cafeteria. Something that most people would be able to believe with relatively little conflict." As I was reading this, I was just wondering what else was being said.

"The artificial intelligence that had been seen in the school basement that Todd, Kevin, and Dana had seen earlier is a vital piece of knowing what is to come next. If the reports are correct, then another attack will be happening somewhere between 1985 and 1989. I will try to look at the data, and try to pin point an exact month. I will head down there myself, and record the discussion that I will have with it, to see if there is a chance that this can give us any intel on what is ahead of us." As I was reading this, I was seeing that Tobias was looking along what was happening as well.

"That was how you were able to figure out so closely when this would be happening." I said, and then I was seeing Kenta slowly started to nod, and he was looking like there was a large look of relief, as if he was glad to see that despite the fighting earlier, and despite me always just getting into a argument with him, that I was able to look at the facts when they were being presented to me.

"Yeah, I figured that this was the best chance that I had. When I saw that, I knew that the idea of Neo Wayside was needed, and that these monsters needed to be fucking exterminated. Every single one of them. If even one of them gets out alive, then this town will be destroyed. One Digimon was able to destroy the entirety of Queens fifty years ago. I will not let this happen with Wayside. If my methods come off as harsh, it is because I have no choice." After he said that to me, that was when I was seeing Matt getting in the room, and he was holding the door tightly, looking scared at us talking to Kenta.

"Do you have the conversation that you recorded with that AI? If you do, then I think that this entire thing could tip the balance of this situation. If you want people to actually support you from now on, you need to fucking show the town." I said, and said it in such a way that I was not going to be leaving this subject up to much debate. As I was looking at Kenta, pleading with him to listen to me just this once, I saw Matt looking like he was just shocked that I was listening to this.

"Are you seriously telling him that he should be showing off even more of his stuff? I thought that you were going to be even more against this than anybody else? I thought that you would see how monumentally broken this whole thing is." After Matt said that to me, I was sighing, and I was looking at him, hoping that he would relax his feelings on the matter.

"I just feel like I need to understand what he is saying. I mean, sure you got to admit that there is a good chance that the stories about monsters could be true. And if they are, then wouldn't it be a massive mistake to not be looking into potential pieces of evidence. That is all that I am trying to do." I said, and then I was looking right at him, and I was wondering if he would sort of let himself down a bit, and not be making a huge deal out of this.

"Yeah, I mean, the monsters could be true. But are you one hundred percent sure that he doesn't have something to do with it? I mean, with everything that is going on, there is a good chance that something like that could be possible." Matt was saying to me, and then he was pointing to Kenta, hoping that his passion on the conversation would be able to make his point to me.

"If your brother is willing to hear me out, and see what I have to say, then maybe you would be wise to do the same." After Kenta said that to Matt, I was seeing Tobias standing up, as if getting out if his trance as well. Probably just thinking that now that he had seen some of the argument, there was no point to be dragging this whole thing out any longer now.

"T.K., I mean, weren't you the one that was talking to me about a sale that you and Yolei heard him having with her parents? I mean, it is smart to know the truth, but surely there has to be better ways of doing this." After Tobias said that, I was instantly seeing Kenta looking like he was starting to get caught in the act of something bad.

"I feel like you guys probably misunderstand about that. They were needing some money, and I was just trying to give them a business chance. There is nothing more to it than that." After Kenta was saying this, I saw him looking like he was just hoping that we were going to actually buy what he was saying. And despite the fact that I really wanted to, and felt the desire too, I felt like something like that would be impossible to do under the conditions that I had been.

"I still don't believe you on that one." I said, and then I was looking right at him, feeling that I just needed to be honest with this guy. As I was saying this to him, I was seeing that Kenta was clearly looking like he was just trying to get out of this debate right now.

"If it bothers you so much, then you need to talk to her parents about this. I was just simply doing my job, and that is all that there is to it." After he had said that to me, I was looking at Matt, and I was wondering what he was going to be saying to this. I was slowly starting to regret what I was doing, and for some reason, I had wondered if I did something wrong here.

"Yeah, you're right." I said, and then after I was telling him this, I was seeing Matt looking like he was wanting to say so much more. As if he was feeling that there was no choice but to just tell him to fuck off here. I was standing up, and then I was looking at Kenta once more, feeling that I needed to say something else to him.

"Just tell me where the recording of your conversation with the Artificial Intelligence is, and I will leave you alone forever. Simple as that. If you do not like this, then you should have never brought it up with me in the first place." I said, and then I was just trying to pretend like I had a intimidating posture to him, since I really had no idea what was going to happen now.

"If you want to know so badly, then go on and try to talk with Shaun Reichenbach. That is the type of clearance that only gets permitted by him. If you feel like you really need to know the truth, then he is the only one that can help you." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and I was really having no idea what in the world I would have said to him.

"Shit. You know that he is not going to be giving me anything. I am not that fucking stupid." I said, and then after I had said that to Kenta, I was seeing him looking like there was a level of regret in his face, and I was feeling like I was able to perhaps see that there was still some human in him.

"Well, I would rather talk with him than talk with you." After Matt told me this, I was almost starting to see what he was saying, and then I placed the notes on the table, and I was seeing that Tobias was looking much more excited about this discussion than before. I was wondering why he wanted to do this in the first place. I was wondering what in the fucking world he was even going to try and say to Shaun, or if he was just wanting to see if there was a chance to gain a level of clarity now.

As we were out of the room, I was seeing Kenta looking like he was growing a look of utter anger on his face. I was wondering what I had done in order to make him hate us so fucking much in the first place. I was looking right at Matt, and I was wondering what in the world I would have needed to tell him.

"Matt, you were getting in the way. I mean, I really had something going on there just now, and then you took it. I now have no idea how long it will take for us to be able to get that information again." I said, and then I was shaking my head, and I was feeling like I just needed to try and leave him alone, but it was really hard to be doing something like that for now.

"I did what was right and you fucking know it. You know that if you let him talk for too long, then you would have actually probably started to think that he was right. So if you are going to try and lecture me, then you need to be looking at yourself." Matt said, and then I was seeing that he was actually looking like he was relatively mad at this whole thing.

"I mean, you told me that you needed my help, and I am going to fucking do whatever I have to in order to make sure that you do nothing fucking dumb. I just think that talking to that man is going to be one of the biggest mistakes that you can be making here." Matt said, and then after he was telling me this, I was sighing, and I was trying to see where he was coming from, and trying to be less harsh with him. I just felt that he was doing his best here, and that was hard to look at.

Then he was looking at Tobias, and I was seeing that the look on his face was relatively unsure. "You were able to stop this from happening if you felt like it was going to get much worse. Do you feel like there was something that needed to be found by talking with Kenta?" Matt asked, and I was seeing him looking like Tobias was just looking like he had no real clue where this was even going to be heading, so there was nothing else to be saying at this rate.

"I just don't know what to expect here, and I feel like it is important to see where we can learn more. I mean, I feel like what T.K. is doing does make some more sense now." After Tobias said that to us, I was feeling like we were not making a big mistake again when we were in the open like this. I was seeing some employees looking at us, and I was seeing that they had clearly planned on doing something to us here.

"This is really not the place to be having this discussion, and I feel like if we do this here, then people are going to be flocking into our discussion." I said, feeling that the faster we got out of this, the better that it was going to be. I was just seeing that Matt looked like he was just trying to keep his composure at this whole thing, is such a thing even was possible.

"T.K., when are you going to learn that you need to trust me, and understand that I am doing the right thing here? I thought that we had finally started to get beyond this whole thing." Matt was saying, and I was clearly hearing the upset tone in his voice, and I was really having no idea what I was even going to say. I did not want to anger him, but I felt like that I was doing the right thing.

"Matt, I just don't know if I am capable of trusting anybody anymore. No matter what happens. I mean, I just saw some things earlier tonight that make me second question everything that I had been getting myself into." I said, and then I was seeing from the look on Matt's face, that he was slightly interested in knowing more about what I was talking about right now.

"What did you fucking find?" He asked, and at this point, I did not care how rude it was going to be to do this, or if he was going to hate me, but I did not want to talk about this in public, and I felt like whatever Matt was thinking, he needed to just keep it to myself. As I was walking to the top floor, I saw Tobias looking like he was starting to kind of feel bad for Matt, but had a hard time really saying it out loud.

"When this is done, and we are out of here, then I feel like I will tell you more. But until I talk with fucking Shaun about this, we are not going anywhere and talking about what you want to know." I said, and then I was staring at Matt, hoping he would not argue with me. Not fucking tonight. I loved working with my brother, and I had a hard time doing this to him. But I knew that when this was done, he would see why I was doing all of this.

We were in the elevator again, and I was wondering why these people were letting us around so easily. I was wondering if this was a part of some great plan. Probably in order to get us to calm down, and not feel like they were doing anything wrong. I was thinking that this was all one big plan. And that thought was just really fucking bothering me when I was thinking on it.

As we were going up the elevator, I was just thinking about how long it was going to take before Matt was willing to actually talk with me once again. I was thinking that when this was all said and done, then perhaps we were going to finally just start to make peace with each other. And when that peace would be made, then I was going to just do everything in my power to settle this whole thing down.

Eventually, the door opened up, and were now looking at Shaun's main room, and I was scared out of my mind on what I was getting myself into. I was scared of what Matt said, and I was scared of what Tobias was doing. I was scared of what had been happening. But I knew that one way or another, the answer was going to be here now. I shook my head, and then we were walking to the door, as I was just planning out what would happen if this failed.

Scene 12: Only Warning

Once the three of us had settled down in the office, that was when Shaun was looking at us, and I was seeing that there was a clear level of disappointment in his face. Probably thinking that we were like some children that got in the cookie jar or something like that. "When are you guys going to realize that this is going to just be making things worse for everybody who is involved?"

"I guess that I can't judge you, since I used to be doing the exact same thing when I was as young as you guys. Back before I realized the legacy that I was able to carry on if I just simply followed what was set out for me. And now here I am, just trying to carry the most powerful company in the entire country." Shaun said, and then Tobias laughed at this, as if thinking that his pride in the subject was pitiful.

"If you seriously believe that this will be for the benefit of this town, then you have lost out on what made you a good person once." After Tobias said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was just trying to hide his disdain for the subject, but was having a really fucking hard time doing such a thing given the circumstances.

"Spare me. I know what I am getting myself into. And I know that you probably believe that this is something that is helping out everybody. I can respect your desire to be trying to help everybody. But there comes a point where there is nothing that you can do besides just accept the fact that has been brought fourth." Shaun said, and then I was laughing at this, feeling that I just needed to interject with the knowledge on the subject that I have been able to get.

"Did you guys do that with the monsters that came along? Just settle down, and let things happen? I mean, if one of your main scientists is working hard on that, clearly you fucking know something that you are refusing to tell anybody." I said, and then I looked right at him, and I was seeing that the look on his face was kind of upset that I brought that into the discussion.

"I have never seen anything like them, and I doubt that I ever will. But if what Kenta says is true, and monsters are indeed laying in this town, than I need to take it seriously. And beyond that, I have read enough of the stories to believe that there is a fair chance that they are real." After Shaun was telling me this, he simply shrugged, as if having nothing else to say on the matter.

"I know that I am never going to be able to convince you that what I am doing is right, and I know that I am never going to get you guys to see reason. That is beyond the realm of possibility with us now." All that I am wanting at this point is to just make sure that we can be able to put this entire debate to rest, and that eventually, all of us can be able to put this behind us." After he was telling me this, I was having nothing else to tell him.

"Then tell me what happened to my cousin." Tobias demanded, and as he was saying this, I was seeing a level of silence with Shaun's face. As if he was getting aware that there was no way that he would be able to let this whole subject go as long as Tobias was still in the room. But I was not going to kick Tobias out just to make him feel slightly more comfortable about what was happening.

"I do not have nearly enough information to reveal on that. If I did, then I would let you know. After all, I work a lot with your mother, and she is rather big on knowing these types of things." After Shaun said that to me, I was sighing, and I really having no idea what I was going to tell him.

"How did she even get involved in what you guys are doing anyways? I mean, for fucks sake, I never thought that it would be a good idea to get involved in something like this anyways." After Tobias was saying this, I was seeing that Tobias was just trying to make sense out of what was happening, but had a really hard time doing so by now.

"She wanted to know the truth about what was going on at this town, and she had felt like the only way to do so was to really work with me. She saw through the pain and the misery, and she was able to realize what needed to be done if she was going to turn this whole thing around." After Shaun said that to Tobias, I was then seeing Matt looking like he wanted to say more.

"There is no reason to lie to anybody. If you would just simply tell people what is happening, and what you know, literally everybody here would respect you more. Nobody would be upset with you, and people would actually want to help. But this hiding is making people doubt you." After Matt told Shaun this, that was when Shaun sat down.

"When people know the truth, and when the facts are presented to them, they begin to freak out, and they begin to fear that there is nothing left to be doing here. I saw these effects when I was growing up, and I saw how people reacted to certain truths coming forward. And I feel like it is in the best interest of this town to not let this fear come through." Shaun said, and then he was finishing his cigar as he was walking towards the window.

"I wish that I would be able to say more to make this whole thing easier for you. But what I can promise you is that everything that you guys have, that I can use as evidence, I will look at, and I will take into deep consideration." Shaun said, and then the thought of Jenny's head on that table was coming through to me. The fact that she had been murdered for no reason whatsoever, and he clearly planned to pretend like it was no issue.

"How about with Jenny? Did she die because of her connections with Sheldon, and the fact that you know he came closer than anybody else to figuring out the truth?" I asked, and then I was looking right at him, and as I said that, I instantly saw the look on his face turn cold.

"How did you learn about that? I only just recently found out, and I was planning on addressing Sheldon directly." Shaun said, and then after he had said that, the minor look of fear in his face was enough to convince me that he was probably telling the truth for the time being, and that he had no real clue what on earth he was planning to say now.

"Look, I understand the game that you are trying to play at here, and I really do not appreciate it. Let me tell you right now that I am getting sick and tired of these games with you. I will let you know right now that this is going to be your last warning on this situation. I am giving you one more chance to just drop the subject, and not be making a deal out of it." Shaun said, and then that was when Tobias decided to chip in once again.

"What will you fucking do if we do not work with you? Just simply deny anything that we can find? That is all that you have been doing at this point in time." Tobias was seeming like he was going to just lunge at the older guy, and then that was when I started to walk up to Shaun's side, to look out the window, and see how the sight was.

"Beautiful sight, isn't it? The sight that I showed Brad when he first started to work with me. This is what I am fighting for. This is what I believe in, and I think that when you look at things my way long enough, you can see that all that I do is just try to keep the bets interest in mind with this." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and I slowly nodded, and I had no idea what I was going to be doing now. I looked at Shaun, unsure of what I was feeling right now.

"I guess that I do see where you could be coming from, to a degree. But I feel like most people would rightfully say that they do not agree fully with what you are doing. I feel like there is a lot of room for you to be able to try and be more open with people." I said, and then I looked at Shaun, and I was wondering if he would see where I was coming from at this point.

"I feel like as you grow older, you will see what I am saying. And that is all that I can say on the matter. Hopefully the two of us are able to work something out. There is no interest in the common good among the politicians, and that is something that I feel like needs to be worked on more. I feel like Brad is going to be the man you need to look at if you want to have somebody to trust." After he had said that to me, I was feeling relatively sick at him saying that.

"Has Brad actually made any progress on finding the girls, or is that just a lie to get people to believe in him, and want to vote for him? If he has not found anything, then I really don't think I want anything with him." I said, and then I looked at him, and I was seeing that Shaun was looking like he was getting tired of these back and fourth discussions.

"I must be frank, these conversations do get tiring after a while, and they do get me to feel like you don't really care about anything else besides your raw emotions." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and I felt like there was nothing else to be saying here.

When we were talking for a bit, that was when a employee was running into the room, looking utterly horrified. And I was wondering what was getting him so scared. Tobias and Matt looked over, and they saw his look too, and I was thinking we were all wondering what was to come now.

"I believe that the demon you told us about in orientation is here." After the man said that to us, that was when Shaun looked like he was growing deathly pale. As if this was the worst thing he would have ever heard in his entire life.

As he was saying this, that was when he looked right at me, looking like there was nothing else to be saying. "This will have to wait for later. You're a lucky set of guys. If they were not here, then I would have to do something to make my point. But get out of here, and we are dealing with code red emergency." Shaun said, and he did not need to tell me twice as I already started to run my way out.

Scene 13: The Slaughter Scene

As the three of us were starting to head out, that was when the worst was running through my mind. I was wondering who could be behind this, since in all honesty, despite the fact that I had gone in here, and tried to expose some things, I never got the people so scared that they were willing to drop everything to run. This clearly was something that terrified them beyond belief, and I was not really sure if I was ready for this at all.

Once in the elevator, I was looking at Matt, and there was only one thing running through my mind, that was a realistic idea. And that was the one that I was really just running through my mind over and over again the whole time. "Do you think that this Justin Ryder that he is scared of is the one behind this? There is no other reason for this." I said, and then I looked at Matt, and I wondered what he was thinking at this.

"I have doubts that story even exists. I mean, surely people are probably over looking what really happened. But I guess that we might have to wait and see what could actually be happening." He said to me, and then I was looking at Tobias, who hardly seemed like he was wanting to talk at all. He seemed like he was scared of his own safety more than he was scared of anything.

The door opened up, and when we were outside, that was when we were seeing a man with what looked like one of those red lightsabers from Star Wars, and he was slicing down a bunch of guards in the building, and even slaughtered the desk worker. The man looked like he was wearing a gas mask, and he was in a regular suit that had been covered in blood now.

"I think that we should just try and get out of here as fast as possible. If they see that we are here, then there is a good chance that this person will try to attack us as well." Matt said, and then I was just sighing, and I had no idea what I was going to be saying. I was just wondering if I would survive something like this in the first place.

As we were starting to head off, I was seeing that Tobias was looking like he was clearly thinking of something to say here. I figured that it would be best to just let him say what he needed to say, in order to get a full glance at what was going on through his mind. "If he kills Shaun, then nothing we can be able to accuse him of will be done. Then everything is gone. I don't want to admit it, but we need to make sure that he stays alive."

As we stared at him for a moment longer, wondering why he was willing to do something so fucking stupid here, that was when I was seeing the man turning around, and he was looking at a married couple who had a younger daughter. He walked up to them, and sliced the man down in a instant before snapping the woman's neck. This was just proof to me that this man was just killing for the sake of killing.

We started to run away as fast as we could, and while we were running, that was when there were more security guards coming at him, and he just started slicing them down like they were butter, and showing no emotions to what he was doing.

Once at the door, I was seeing Brad down the stairs, and I was seeing the cold look on his face, and I was seeing that this person was sending him right back to the scared state he must have once had when he was simply a teenager. When the man slicing down looked up to see Brad as, I was seeing from the way that his hand was twitching that he was clearly planning on letting go for a bit.

"You're alive? I never thought that something like this was possible…" Brad said, and I was seeing him looking like he was having a million thoughts through his head, and then the man with the gas mask started to walk towards Brad, but Brad did not step back at all.

This was when several police officers ran into the building, and this was when all three of us were fully outside, and just watching the scene of what was going down. When the officers tried to attack him, or at least arrest him, this was when the man in the gas mask started slicing them all down, and within less than two minutes, all twenty of them had been killed, and then he looked right at Brad once again. The tone of his voice was hard to figure out if it was happiness or hatred.

"I am here to begin to make things right." He said, and then started to take a few steps closer to Brad, and I was trying to figure out what this man was going to do with Brad. Or if this was going to end in one big giant stand off. Eventually this was when Kenta and Shaun reached the bottom floor, and they saw what Brad was looking at.

"The devil has come back from the dead. What on earth are we going to do now?" Shaun asked, and then before Kenta was able to get a response out, that was when the man with the gas mask used his hand that wasn't holding the blade, and held it out to Kenta. Who I saw was getting a gun out to get ready to fight him. When he held his hand out, there was a loud popping noise, and both of Kenta's arms cracked right then and there, with the gun dropping down on the ground.

Then he looked over at Shaun, and then did a fist motion, and after that, I heard Shaun scream, which I would later learn was due to most of his ribs breaking on the spot. I was seeing Brad looking scared, so held his hand up, and started to head on towards the man who essentially confirmed that the force was real. That or science was a bitch when given free will.

"Come home. There are so many things that we need to discuss. I know that many things have not been done right before, and I want to fix that. Give me a chance to fix it, and we will be able to work together." Brad said, and then after that, the man with the gas mask started to ease up, as he was turning his blade off, but still keeping it hilted.

"When will the pain stop? Why did you guys try to put me to sleep?" He asked, and he was sounding like he was scared, and like he was still a child trying to find his way to his mother. Despite the utter fucking terror that I was having, a small part of me was feeling bad at this. As if feeling like I needed to know the truth more before I did or said anything.

"I had nothing to do with that. I was there when it happened, and I was the only one who fought against it. They thought you were dangerous, and there is nothing one member of a board, not even the president of the company himself, can be able to do to change it. I was helpless here." Brad yelled, and then he was placing his hands on his chest. "I was a victim of this too, you know!"

"I need to get this off of me. I need to try and recover and live a normal life." He said, and he was trying to reach for the mask, to try and take it off, and Brad was starting to run to him, to get him to not do this, but the man titled his head side ways, and Brad's left leg cracked at this event.

"Do not remove that! If you do, then nobody will know what to do about what is under there!" Kenta asked, and I was seeing that this was the first time since I ever known of him, if not first time ever, that he was actually scared, and clearly having no idea where to be going with this. I just felt like we needed to keep ourselves careful.

"You have no right to talk old man. I am tired of listening to you and your experiments. You are a monster who should have never been given a chance to do this work on anybody." After he had said that, he was pressing the red button at the back a bit, and the mask was starting to fall down to the ground, as I was just staring in awe, wondering what was to come now.

Scene 14: Escape From Hell

As we had grown to realize that it was not good to be staying here, and just trying to watch what was happening, Matt, Tobias, and I were starting to head right to his car. I was wondering if Matt was going to be telling anybody what we had been seeing. If he was going to do that, then I was feeling that at this point in time, there was no point in even trying to hide anymore.

"Do you have any idea who on the fucking world that guy that was talking to Brad was? If we had a idea who that was, then perhaps we would fucking have some idea on what was ahead of us." Matt said, and then he rubbed his eyes, feeling like there was just something utterly terrifying about what we had gotten ourselves into.

"No, I mean, it seems like that is something that nobody ever wants to talk about. The way that Kenta and Shaun were acting around that guy just screams that this was a secret that was never meant to be discussed." I said, and then I was looking at Tobias, and I was wondering if there was a remote chance that he would know what was happening now.

"Now do you still feel like there is a chance that they are innocent? I mean, clearly they are doing something wrong, and there is nothing good that is going to come out of lying about this." Tobias said, and I was hearing that there was just a combination of utter fear and absolute hatred in his voice.

"You're right. I am not even going to pretend that you are not. But we have to be smart, and we have to be looking at what would happen if we were to try and do anything to that guy. He killed literally everybody there within minutes, and did not leave anybody else to eb around. That man is far more capable of damage than most of us would want to admit. And it seems for whatever fucking reason, Carbunkle is the only one there who might be able to get him to calm down here." Matt said, and then I was wondering what Carbunkle knew about this guy that would even let that happen anyways.

"Fuck Carbunkle. Especially with his attitude of trying to get everybody to think that he is some great fucking hero who can literally do no wrong. That man is half of the issue that is going on in Wayside, let me tell you that right now." Tobias said, and I was wondering what I was going to tell Matt about this event. I was wondering if he even cared what Tobias was saying here. Probably just thought that Brad was just a corporate sell out or something.

"Look, we do not really need to be talking about this right now." Matt said, and then he started the engine up, which essentially shut us up for the time being, and then Matt was starting to drive on away from this place, and then with that, I was starting to feel a bit better about what was happening.

"Why were you listening to Kenta anyways? You know, with the monsters? I mean, how could you think that he was going to be the guy who you would need to hear out?" Matt asked, and I was hearing that he was quite disgusted at the fact that I had tried to talk to him in the first place. But then I was feeling that I might be able to have a better answer for him, and I just needed to find it in myself.

"I mean, I thought that he might have had some fucking good points. I just wanted to see what he was able to say. That is literally all that it was. And for all that I knew, I felt like he really did have something that I was not seeing. Which I still feel like is probably true." I said, and then I was looking at Matt, wondering if he would argue with this at all.

"Yeah, I mean, I guess that I do sort of see what you are saying. Maybe I should be more careful about that guy. But I still feel like he is not somebody that you should trust, and I believe that if you wanted to find most of this information out, then perhaps you need to just find a way to get it through other means." Matt said, and then I was looking at him, thinking that he was just insane right now. I was not going to be able to do that.

"There is no way that any of this information will be able to be uncovered by any regular means. I think that we are going to have to admit that the only way that this can be done is to go in there. But I feel like there is nothing that I can do now. This break in was a massive fail, and everything that I have been doing is a fucking failure." I said, and then I was shrugging, not really having any idea what I was going to tell him either.

"Well, I think that you did get a recording in there of a lot of the stuff. And I guess that we do know that those monsters are real. So I guess that maybe this is not a total fucking waste of time either." Matt said, and I was seeing that he was probably just saying that to make me feel better. I really had nothing else to say. And in all honesty, I just wanted this to end. I just wanted to get back to the days where this was never a issue that I had to deal with.

"Yeah, I know that people might not like me saying this, but I am convinced that we need to focus more on the monsters than we are going to focus on the cases at this point. I mean, I get it, the latter is a much more tangible and right here thing. But if monsters are true, then this could really start to change the entire dynamic of everything that we had been doing at this point." I said, and then I was looking at both guys, wondering what they would say about that.

"I guess that I can sort of see where you are coming from. But it is still a horrible idea, and I feel like there is something that we are missing out on if we don't really continue our search for them. For all we know, they could be one and the same." Tobias said, and then I was thinking about what he was saying. I knew that this was a real possibility.

"Yeah, I think that we are going to at least have to consider something like that T.K. I mean, for all we know, these things are all just one big fucking piece of connecting information. So I think that maybe we should just try and look at what could possible be connecting the two, rather than just trying to focus on one or the other." After Matt was telling me this, I was trying to be looking at it his way. I was really trying. But it was getting harder for me to do such a thing.

"Maybe. I mean, I guess that this could explain some things. But I still feel like we need to be more open to see what could be ahead of us." After I said that to them, I was seeing that Ocho was running down the side walk, and as we were seeing this, I saw that Matt was looking like that was something he needed to check out, for his own sake.

"We are far enough from the building to where we could probably relax, and take it slower." After Matt said that, he was slowing down, and then when he did this, that was when Ocho had seen what Matt was doing, and looked like he was just glad to be seeing that Matt was still willing to cover for him when things got bad.

As he was in, he looked right over at Tobias, and I was seeing that the look on Ocho's face was instantly deflating. Probably thinking that Tobias still did not know the truth of what was going on, and acted like he needed to try and hide what was happening. As if that was something that would really make us feel better. "He knows everything. You do not need to be hiding from the truth." I said, and then I was seeing that saying that was not really making him feel any better. Probably thinking that this was the worst thing he could have heard.

Scene 15: Final Stroke of Love (Ocho)

When Ocho was pulled up at his house, before Matt and Tobias were able to stop me, and try to make me come back, I was getting out of the car as well, since I felt like I needed to talk with him, and just see what was going on in his mind. "Hey Ocho, sorry for everything. I know that I haven't been very helpful at all, and I know that you probably do not like me very much. That is something that I can live with. But I just want to see if there is anything that you will need any help on." I said, and then he was just shrugging.

"Don't worry about it. I mean, I do appreciate you trying at least. Just know that at the end of the day, I feel like you do not really need to have that many stakes in the event as well. I feel like you need to just focus on what is important to you, such as what is happening with Tobias. He has grown to trust your opinion, and I feel like I should too." Ocho was saying, and then he was shrugging for a second at this.

"I mean, I think that it is best for us to realize that going after this company, when we do not even have proof that they are behind it all, is probably a really bad idea. We are talking about a investigation that I am sure that we want to have all the answers right there, but something like that is just not very realistic." Ocho told me, and then I was really not sure what I was going to do now.

"You were the one that was super into the idea that they were behind it all. I thought that you of all people would be preaching the idea that this is what needs to be done?" I asked, and then after I asked him this, I was seeing him looking like he was way too tired to be dealing with something like this in the first place.

"Yeah, I mean, I still think it is a good idea. But I feel like I need to be more open to the idea that if this fails, then perhaps this whole thing just wasn't meant to be. I mean, is that really so hard to believe? That maybe we just got ourselves into a idea that we thought was amazing, but turned out to just be a death sentence?" After he had said that to me, I was then just really having no idea what to tell him.

"Well, even if it turns out to fail, at least it is something that we can work with. I mean, I just want to be able to give my friends some closure." I said, and then after I said that, I was starting to wonder if I even cared about what happened with mom anymore, since she was gone, and at this point, I started to just kind of accept that.

"Well, if you are doing this for your friends, then at least you can say that you are doing something more than what everybody else in Wayside is doing. At least you actually are not doing it for purely selfish reasons. And trust me when I say that this is enough to where you should be feeling proud here." After he had said that to me, I was then feeling that wasn't good enough.

"Are you toning it down because you are starting to grow feelings for Candice, and you want to focus on those instead?" I asked, and I was feeling that if this was the truth, then maybe I could be able to respect that a bit more. At least it would be something new and something better. As I said that, I could see from the look on Ocho's face that he was considering it.

"I mean, I feel like there is a small chance that with her, I could be able to push forward. She has been rather polite with me, and has been working with me on slowly recovering from what happened. That is all that I could want from somebody like her. And I feel like when I just see her, I can see that she is broken in her own way, and probably just needs some help here." Ocho said, and then with that, he was just remaining silent for a second.

"Are you feeling that if you focus on her, and just make sure that she is doing well, then you will be satisfied enough?" After I asked him this, I was seeing Ocho looking like he was willing to take that, and accept the claim well enough. I was just feeling glad that he was willing to not give me any bullshit.

"I don't know T.K. I mean, I feel like this whole thing is really had to answer. What I do know is that I feel like if I just focus well enough, and if I can put everything else behind me, maybe there is somebody that I can fall in love with. I know that it might sound innocent and silly, but I feel like I just look at it that way." After he had said that to me, I really had no idea what to say.

"I mean, I don't love her or anything. But as silly as it sounds, the fact that I met her at the church, and I saw that she was looking rather depressed, and needed some help, was enough for me to feel like I needed to at least try, and just push whatever I can to make it work. I mean, I really have no idea how else to say it, and I know that I probably am sounding really dumb right now." After Ocho said that to me, I was seeing that he was looking like he was just feeling somewhat lost here.

"Well, I guess that I shouldn't be trying to decide what you are going to do. After all, you still seem to be having a better idea on what life is like than I do. So I really have no right to be judging you right now." After I said that to him, I saw Ocho look like he had been considering what the heck we were going to be doing now.

"This type of debate is really not going to be getting us anywhere. I know that you want to act like I am going to be the one who can solve all these issues, but I know for a fact that I am not going to do this. I can't fucking help you here." After Ocho was saying that to me, I was then feeling like there was a little more that he had been considering.

"I think you need to know that the story with Justin is one that you need to remember. If you know what he is dealing with, and you knew what he had been doing to try and fix these issues on his own, then you would know that his story is a sign of what can go wrong if you do not have a vision here." Once he was done telling me this, I really just had no idea what we were going to be doing now.

"I mean, I hear so much about this Justin guy, and yet I know nothing about him. Can you please fucking tell me what he is doing? Why I should be following him so fucking much to begin with?" I asked, and then I was looking at Ocho, wondering what he was going to be telling me at this rate.

"Well, I feel like his mistakes are really the thing that I am trying to learn from, and I feel like he would want me to be looking at it like that. But I feel like at the same time, despite everything else, what he had done in the past has given me some hope on what we can see in the future." After he was telling me this, I was really having no idea what I was feeling now.

"Do you think that he had made some mistakes that I can learn from?" I asked, and then I was looking at him, and I was seeing that Ocho was looking like he was not wanting to say anything, although I did not know what he was thinking in his mind at the moment.

"I don't know enough about you yet. I mean, I will have to see how you work in order to render judgment." After he had said that to me, I was seeing that he had looked like he just wanted to be leaving something like this alone. As he was done saying that, I was just feeling like it would be best to remain silent here.

Scene 15: The New Portal

As Ocho was just trying to think of a way to keep up the conversation, the two of us were looking at the sky, just wanting to see what was to come up next, and at that moment, I was in love with just watching the sky, and taking a moment to really enjoy what was going on. But then as we were watching this, I was seeing a bright light at the sky as well.

The entire time that I had been watching this, I was just kind of scared of what the hell was happening. I had no idea what in the world I was even going to say to Ocho. I looked at him, wondering if there was something that he knew about this. "Ocho, do you know what this fucking thing is? I mean, I never heard of a color in the sky like this."

It was like a blue taint with a green back ground. As I was watching this, I was really having no idea how else to put it. "Like I know that it could be the aurora or something, but that would never appear this far south." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was feeling a bit better about what was going on here.

"I don't know. I mean, there is a bit of a sinister feel to it, I have to admit. But what in the world could that be. I am sure that it would be best to try and ignore it." After Ocho was telling me this, I was feeling like there was nothing that we were going to accomplish here.

"Whatever, I am sure that it will be going away in a hour or two." I said, pretending like this whole thing did not really bother me too much. But in all honesty, I was feeling like this was something that I needed to really just watch out for. But I just couldn't be able to really explain why I was feeling this way.

I was heading back to the car, and then when I was there, I was seeing something else with the sky, but I had no idea how to put it, so I wasn't think about it. But as time went on, I was seeing that it was showing up as a vaguely black taint, which was confusing me even more. I looked over at Ocho once again, and I was wanting to see what he was going to say.

When I saw the look on his face, I was seeing that he was looking like he was wanting to take this much more seriously, and that this was not something he wanted to really mess around with. I was seeing that from the look on Tobias and Matt's face, that they were just as worried about this that I was, and that none of us were wanting to play around too much.

"Okay, what the fucking hell is that?" Matt asked, and then I was seeing that there was no way in hell that neither of us were going to discuss anything else. That was when I was seeing Tobias, and he had looked like he was just worried about something else. When I thought about it, I was finally getting why.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think that this is just showing that what Kenta is saying is true. At least with the monster debate." I said, and then I was sighing, and I really had no idea what the fucking hell I was even going to be saying at this point. "I mean, I don't know, but that black hole is what seals the deal."

"How in the world are people going to be believing this shit? I mean, people will just brush it off as a anomaly, and then that is it." After Tobias was saying this to me, I was shrugging, really having no idea what in the world I was even going to be having at this point in time.

"I don't fucking care what people are buying." Matt said, and then he was getting out of the car, and then he was grabbing the camera, and then he was taking a few pictures of it, to just capture what he had been seeing, and I was seeing that he had looked like he was rather scared of what he had seen, as if probably just wondering what to be doing now.

"I will have to go back home, and I will see if I can grab something." Ocho said, and then he was walking to his house, and I was seeing Matt just wishing to say something else. I was seeing that despite everything that was going on, I was just needing to take a second to think about what this plan was going to be. There was nothing even remotely resembling a plan going on at this point.

"I will be back in about ten minutes. Honestly, given everything that is going on, I will not really bother telling mom about what has been happening. I know that she is not going to buy what I am saying, and that is something that I will have to be dealing with." Ocho was telling us, and I was hearing him looking like he was relatively confident in what he was saying. I wondered how he was able to look at this with such a level of confidence, despite the fact that we were probably all going to be getting ourselves killed here.

Ocho was getting inside of his house, and then I was just wondering what Tobias would be doing now. "I can drive you home if you would prefer, and that way you can be with your family. If it is true that these monsters are going to be coming to Wayside, then I feel like I need to let you have a chance to be with your family." After Matt was telling Tobias this, I was glad that despite everything, he was looking like he was willing to take a level of responsibility here.

"Yeah, I guess that maybe that might be for the best. Who knows, I feel like I might just have to see if Rachel is going to be handling all this well. After all, she probably already has no idea what in the world is happening here in the first place." Tobias said, and he was clearly sounding like he was not too sure what to be feeling here.

With that, Matt was starting up the car, and then he was starting to drive over to Tobias's house, and I was wondering what in the world I was going to be doing now that I was growing more and more certain that these monsters were actually real. If I had known that this twist was going to happen, then I would have had to find a way out of this situation as well.

"Matt, if these monsters are real, then what in the world are we going to do to explain to people what is happening? I feel like everybody is going to pretend like we are going insane." I said, and then I was shrugging, and then I was seeing Matt looking right at me, and I saw him looking like he had just had no idea what he was going to say.

"What a fucking disaster we are in. I mean, just admitting the fact that Kenta is right about anything at all is making me sick. I mean, I have no better ways to put it. I am convinced that saying something like that is only going to be making things worse for us." Matt was telling me, and I was wondering what in the world he was going to do about his rage boner over Kenta in the first place.

"Well, I mean, if they are having a plan on how to stop this whole thing, then I think that we all have to look at the reality of the situation, and say that maybe we need to be letting them take over the project going forward, and that we just have to listen to them." After Tobias was saying this, I was able to tell that him saying this was the hardest one out of us all. Probably just wishing that he wanted to get this whole thing over with.

"I mean, there has to be another way around this. There just has to be. If this is really the only way around this, then I feel like we just need to admit that we lost." Matt said that to us, and then with that, he was parking the car near where Tobias's house was, and I was seeing him looking like he was just relatively scared of what he was getting himself into here. But as he was looking at this, I was really having no idea what else to be saying at this point.

"Tobias, I am so fucking sorry that we dragged you into all of this. I feel like we should have planned this whole thing out better for you. You deserve better than to deal with people who are basically acting like a bunch of lunatics that can't do anything right at all." After Matt was telling Tobias this, I was seeing that he was looking like he was not too sure what else to be saying. Probably thinking that this was a waste of time.

"Don't worry about it. I was the one that brought you into this. I mean, if it were not for what happened to Andrea, then this whole thing would have been avoided from the start. Sorry that I just could not be able to hide this all." After Tobias was telling me this, I was really having no idea what in the world I was going to be telling him at this rate.

As Tobias was getting out of the car, I was seeing that the thing in the sky was having something coming out of it. As I was seeing this, I was aware that this was literally a fucking monster or something. I was sighing, and I realized that there was nothing that I was going to do to be able to change this, and that was something that I was now going to have to accept, and not be trying to change at all. As I thought this, I had no idea what I was going to do in the first place.

Scene 16: Taking Things To Myself

I was feeling like this entire situation was all setting up for my death or something like that. I was honestly scared out of my mind what in the world I was going to do. As Matt was driving me home, and I was just remaining silent, I was wondering what I was going to tell him. "I feel like it is a crime to not be looking more into this. I feel like there is more that I can still do." I said, and then I was looking at him, and I saw that Matt was looking like he had wanted to fight this idea so much.

"Are you serious? If what Kenta says is indeed true, and there are monsters coming out of the fucking sky portal, then you need to go to bed right now. We need to rest on this for the day, and then think about what we are doing right now." Matt was telling me, and then I was feeling like I needed to just argue this sentiment so much. I needed to go there, and find out more.

"You were the one who kept saying that Kenta was a monster who should never be trusted. Are you seriously going to be going around, and listening to what he is saying now? When you have never shown any interest in doing something like that before." I said, and then after I was telling him this, I was seeing that Matt looked like he was not caring what I was saying at all.

"I don't like Kenta, and I feel like if even half the stuff that is rumored about him are true, then he needs to answer for his crimes. But for now, I think we all have to admit that he probably knows what he is talking about more than we do, and that we just need to be taking his advice into consideration. Please, for once, just let me say that." After he had said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was having something else he wanted to say, but then just left it alone.

"Although I feel like I know deep down inside that you were not going to be doing this. You are going to be doing whatever you want, and you are going to fucking just act like you were the only one who can do this. I know that despite how much you try to deny it, that me trying to speak about this is a waste of time. After he had said that to me, I was then sighing, and had no idea what in the world I was going to be saying at this point.

He got out of the car, and I saw that he was looking increasingly exhausted, and then I was sighing, wondering why I was even trying to get him to warm up to me. I decided he wanted nothing to do with me for the time being, and I got out of the car, just wanting to leave him alone for the time. I went to my room, and I was feeling that if I pursued the matter any further, he would call it an argument, and then both of us were going to be rather upset, and then be at each others throats here.

Once I was in my room, I was then wondering how much of this was going to be fixed if I would stop being a asshole for one or two minutes. I mean, I was trying so hard to get him to respect me, and respect the fact that I was putting up a good fight, but that just felt like it was not going to fucking happen. And that was something that I just needed to fucking accept.

When I was in my room, I was sitting down on my bed, and I was looking over at the green crystal that was on the table, and I was so tempted to just grab it, and make something out of it. Just do what Ness and all the others did. I felt like that was the best thing that I could do. But as I was looking at this, I was wondering if I was even going to be helping out all that much by fighting like this.

As I was grabbing it, I was remembering the times that I had with Ness, and I was remembering when I was almost a independent agent, and that I hardly had to be dealing with what anybody, besides Ness, really wanted to say on the matter. He was making things so much easier when I was able to just look at what he was thinking on the matter.

I had hoped that one of these days, I would be seeing Ness again, and I would be able to get him to forgive me for everything that was happening, and I would be able to get him to see that I was not having a bad bone in my body. I was also feeling like in my mind, when I would have to look at the best way to go at this, that perhaps I was never going to get the best way taken care of. I would have to go on and just take this into my own hands. And maybe by doing that, I could just be able to look at the investigation all on my own, and not have to be dealing with what anybody else was saying at all.

As I was finally seeing Matt coming back in, and he was heading to the room, I decided that I would call him, and see what he would say to my question. Even though I knew that in order to get him to be slightly less bothered by this question, I needed to just present it in a way where I was not really wanting to do this, and was just curious his opinion.

"Matt, if I were to decide to do this on my own, and just remove any other ties that I had been having, do you think that things would be better? I wouldn't really want to do that, but I would be more than willing if I really had to." I said, and then after I had said that to Matt, I was seeing him looking like he was not really willing to entertain the idea that I had presented.

"I really doubt it. I mean, I would rather that you stop. But we both know that you wouldn't do that. So with that in mind, I would rather have you at least be communicating with it to other people. That would be making me feel so much better here." Matt was saying, and then after he had said that to me, I was then wondering what I had done wrong, to make him take such a firm stance on what he had been saying.

"I am so fucking sorry that I hurt you more than I thought that I could have. I mean, I can see from the look on your face that you are still having a hard time really coming around to all that I said. I hope that one of these days, we would be able to talk again, and that it could be able to repair what we have here." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was seeing that Matt looked like he was just trying to believe what he had heard.

"The only way that I will buy that is if you actually start to show that you mean it. But I think that with how things are, we both know for a fucking fact that you are never going to be doing this at all." After Matt was saying that to me, I was seeing that he was hardly relenting on what he had told me, and I just hardly really had a clue what I was doing.

"Well, I feel like I need to know the truth of that portal, and I feel like no amount of sleep tonight will change my mind." I said, and then I was closing the door. I was wondering why I was acting like this. I was wondering why in the world I was feeling like I needed to be so hostile to him the entire time that we had been talking here. And I was feeling that if I kept this whole thing up, then perhaps Matt was going to be making a plan against me. A plan to take away what I had been doing this whole time.

And I was feeling like whatever I would see tomorrow, when I was investigating, would be able to answer everything that I had known about the monsters, and that was going to be enough to go off of for the time being. And for all that I was starting to feel, I was getting increasingly sure that these monsters, and everything around them, were going to finally be the answer to the missing girls. There was no way in hell that the two were not at least partially tied together, even if people were refusing to see what I was thinking here.

I was also wondering why people were refusing to admit that these two things were probably tied. Were they worried about some random fucking story that nobody would believe? I mean, I feel like that would be okay to understand, but I was not going to be saying anything else. I was feeling like we were beyond the fucking point of trying to come up with a realistic answer.

I flopped down on my bed, and then I was closing my eyes. I would be going to sleep for the time being, and I would just let it go. Maybe Matt was right. Maybe I was being too fucking insane here. Maybe I was just trying to put a puzzle together that was never meant to be put together, and that I had been a fucking idiot for even trying to act like it was making any sense. But if they were not connected, then why were they all here for now?

Scene 17: Private Investigator

I woke up the next day, and this time, I was ready to get ready for my own thing. Just investigating without any help at all. I didn't want the help, since I did not want to be getting people to get involved in what I was doing, and I was scared of what I would be doing if they were getting hurt.

So I left the house, and I placed my green crystal in my pocket, just in fucking case if I were to need something like that. I really did not think that I needed something like that, but I needed to be safe, and I needed to just have something with my possession just in case if I was going to have to get a weapon later. I grabbed my skateboard, and my backpack with the bat in it.

I had thought about asking Matt if he still had the gun, and if he did, if he would be willing to let me use it. But even I wasn't so fucking dumb as to think that he would let me take it. So with that, I just shook my head, and I left the house, feeling that I just needed to be alone for the time being, and feeling like Matt wouldn't even let me take it anyways.

As I had left, I was skating down the street, and I was not going to be trying to prove myself to anybody else. I was done with that shit. If they wanted to support me, then they had every right to. But if they did not, then I was going to have to just take that for what it was. And besides, I was aware that most of the people who were talking to me lately really did not enjoy talking with me about this stuff, and wished that I would stop.

As I was skating along, I was hearing a news report that got my interest immediately. Something that was playing on a tv that was behind a window at a store. So I got off of the board, and then I stared at what the screen was saying, and to be honest, I was scared out of my mind on what they were saying, since it was putting a new perspective on everything else.

There was a reporter who looked like he was scared out of his mind the entire time that he was giving this presentation. "It seems that the reports of the monsters coming into Wayside are turning out to be true, and there is nothing that people have prepared to use as a defense method. Shaun Reichenbach of Lazarus Coporation has told us that he, and his assistants Kenta Kitagawa and Brad Carbunkle are coming forward with a announcement today. But they have said that the best thing to do in the time being is to stay at home, and to not draw attention to yourself." The reporter said, and I was wondering if they were really going to be turning things around at all.

I was looking around, and I was wondering what in the world I was going to be doing if these monsters were true. If they were going to be coming forward, then I was going to be defenseless aside from my bat, and despite that, I was still feeling like something like that was not really something I was allowed to fight with at all.

As I was getting back in the board, I was feeling like I needed to remember something that Izzy had told me earlier. About how the best place to look would be the summer camp. I hardly knew why I was feeling like I needed to go there of all places to know for sure. Maybe I was feeling that if I could see what was hidden there, then perhaps I would be able to see what exactly I was getting myself into. I was feeling that in order to know full well what was actually happening at the summer camp, then he would actually help me out as well. But for now, I just had to take it for what it was.

Before too long, I eventually reached the summer camp, and by that point, I was sweating, and I was tired, and I was feeling like I was about to give out, and I was wondering if I was needing to rest for a bit before I did anything else. I walked around, just trying to keep my mind busy, to forget these thoughts, and to not enable myself into getting lazy once again, when I knew that I was going to be creating issues by messing around like this.

The camp director looked over at me, when I was walking by, and the look on his face was one of confusion, and one of wondering why I was even here in the first place. Probably wondering what I would be doing with his camp. As I was thinking this, I decided to head on towards him, and I was seeing that he was looking like he was just wanting out of this discussion before we were even able to start it up at all.

"What are you looking for today?" The director asked, and then I was smiling at him, as if feeling that pretending to be in a good attitude was going to be getting him to be feeling slightly better here. "Are you wanting to ask me about the news report with the portal that opened up in the sky yesterday? I already have had people come here today about that."

"Well, do you know anything about that? There must be a reason that people are coming to you about that." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I saw him looking like he was trying to creatively find a way out of this, but then decided against it, and just give me some answers for once.

"It is probably due to the sightings that have been rumored of earlier. The issue is that I do not know much about those. If I did, I would have told them. But I just see things going around the forest all the time. And I have told people over and over again that I think it would be best to just burn the fucking place down, so we know where these monsters would be." After the director told me this, I saw him looking like he was upset at what he had been saying.

"Do you think that they could be after the materia that is being gathered up near that factory?" I asked, and then he was looking at me, as if shocked to hear that I even knew about that in the first place. I wondered what in the fucking world he was going to be saying here. Every second that I was looking at him, the more and more that I was seeing him looking like he had wanted fight this off.

"I mean, that could be possible. I mean, do you think that I would know the pattern about monsters here? Seriously, at least try and come up with a better question for me. Something that I can actually fucking answer." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and I decided to just leave things alone, since I felt like he would actually get worse if I asked more.

"But I feel like if this is going to get much worse, then there is nothing that you are going to do about it. Accept the fact that you are not going to know the truth, and that the best thing to do is just simply let the experts take care of the things that they know." After he had said that to me, I was feeling like that answer was just simply not going to be working at all.

"I don't think that I can do that. I mean, you are running a summer camp, and you have to be watching the people who are in camp with you. They need help, and you are supposed to do whatever you can to make sure that they get the safety they need." I said, and then the way that I was saying this was looking like it was getting under his skin. Probably thinking that the fact that I was trying to judge him and the way he had been doing his job was really going to ruin any chance of him being nice to me going forward.

"I have to do what I know can keep them out of danger, and having them not look deep into this is how to do that. You however, as a person who is not part of my summer camp regimen, can do whatever he wants, and I will not say a word about it." After he had said that to me, I was sighing, and I felt like maybe I had kind of deserved that one to be honest.

Scene 18: Saved

I was in the forest near the summer camp, feeling that I was going to have to do this all myself, and despite how much that annoyed me, I was feeling that since that was something that I was fine with, I would just go along with it, and just see what else I would be able to get from this.

As I was looking along, I knew that I was being watched. I literally just had the feeling of some eyes on me, and the entire feeling was super duper uncomfortable. I looked around, and was wondering if the camp director or some body like that was watching me. Before I was able to think about it any longer, that was when I tried to just focus on what was ahead of me once again.

Before I was able to walk along too long, or spend too much time looking around, that was when I was hearing a loud roar, and I was scared out of my mind, and I immediately grabbed the baseball bat, feeling that even though it would not do much for me, it would be able to give me some damage if I had really needed it.

I was holding it tightly, and then before I was able to think about it too much, that was when I was seeing a monster that looked like a giant insect coming towards me. As I was seeing this, I looked behind me, and I was wondering if anybody was going to be coming along to help me. I needed as much help as I was going to get here.

Eventually, the insect raised their pincers at me, and then I swung the bat at it, and then it fell down to the ground, and then I slammed down at one of the pincers, to try and break it off, since I was feeling like there was really no choice on the matter. Despite the temporary accomplishment of what I had done, I was seeing it walking closer, and then it was starting to get too close to me.

Eventually, I was starting to get on my ass once again, and when I had realized what I had done, I was starting to get up once again, and then I was standing up, and then I grabbed all of my stuff, and started running off, trying to make it so that this thing would not have a chance to be able to kill me or whatever. It was at this moment that I realized how insane I had been acting at this point in time.

As I was standing behind one of the trees, to try and take a deep breath, and think about my next course of action, that was when one of their arms reached around the tree, and it was only a inch or so away from me, and I pushed their arm away, and then I was running off, and then was still holding the bat as hard as I fucking could. I was convinced that I was going to get killed, but that I might as well just try and fight as long as I could until this happened.

Then the monster was coming to me once more, and then I was swinging the bat at them again, and then this time, I was sent them flying a couple of feet back, and then I was starting to just run away again. Nothing was worth this, and I was feeling that perhaps I deserved this to happen to me, considering how insane this whole thing really had been. I really had no idea what in the world I was getting myself into, and hardly even cared at all anymore.

As I was just trying to keep myself calm, I was starting to tell myself several things over and over again. I was wondering what in the world I would be able to do to defeat monsters if I was not able to put on much of a dent to this one. But then before I was able to think thinks any longer, that was when that monster hit me once again, this time from behind, and I had realized how fast this thing had been.

I looked right up at the monster, and then their arm was coming right up towards me, and then before too long, they were getting ready to attack me. But then I was starting to crawl away a bit longer, to just try and find a way to get out of what I knew was going to come for a few seconds longer. But as I was getting close to possibly getting away, that was when I was seeing a blue blade coming through the chest of the monster. As it was stuck in there for a few seconds, the blade pulled out, and then the monster was starting to have some slime coming out of it, and then it fell down to the ground.

As the monster fell down to the ground, I was looking at the bat, and it had started to crack already, and I was scared of the fact that I would never be able to fight anymore. And then I was looking at the green slime that was already on it. I was just glad to be aware of the fact that I was alive in the first place, and really had no idea how else to word it. But then after I was thinking about everything else, I looked up and was wanting to see who had just saved me.

I saw that it was Brad Carbunkle, and then he was placing it in his pocket. Whatever he had used to kill the monster. As he was looking right down at me, I was seeing that he was both mad, and also really glad to just be seeing that I was still alive for the time being. But I was just trying to decide what in the world I was even going to be able to tell him in the first place. "Brad, why are you here right now? Aren't you in the middle of a job?" I asked, and I was just trying to hide my very clear distrust in him, after what he had done to Jenny. Or what I was fearing he had done to Jenny.

"I was checking on the progress of the materia gathering, because I was sent to, and then I saw that monster. I knew that I couldn't let them take you." Brad said, and then I was standing up, trying to be feeling slightly better about what had happened, but in all honesty, I was feeling like if what my assumptions said was true, this was not the night. And I was aware that I needed to just get out of here if I wanted any chance to survive.

"Are you sure that you even care all that much about what everybody else says about you?" I asked, and I was not even caring how much what I was saying might have been coming off as a accusation tone. As I had said that to him, I saw that Brad was looking like he had wanted to find some way to argue with me, but then just decided against it.

"I am sorry that I have ever given you any doubts about what I wanted to do here. I just feel like you have a lot ahead of you, and I always want to make sure that people have their chance to live a proper life here." After Brad was telling me this, I saw him looking like he was not having too much to be saying on the matter now.

"Thanks for the help. I always have a hard time expressing my gratitude when somebody does something good for me. I will have to think about what my next course of action is going to be going forward now." I said, and then with that, I was feeling like I would just have leave him alone. I had no idea what Brad really had been doing here, but I had a feeling I could not buy the full story of what he had been saying at this point.

"Maybe I have to admit that I am too far out of my mind when I do this. So maybe I should just drop it, and leave it alone forever." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I honestly had no idea what else I was going to be telling him. So I was starting to walk away, and I was feeling like the faster that I would be alone, the better that things would be. The less doubt that I would have to have about Brad.

Scene 19: The Reaction

I was at the gas station that day, just trying to relax, and not be thinking of things any longer. In all honesty, I was in a lot of pain from the way that the monster thing earlier had tried to kill me, and I was feeling numb the entire time that I was sitting down there. I was asking if it was even worth it anymore given the fact that I had basically almost died just trying to get out of that situation. But I was feeling like maybe talking to Sheldon would help me out.

I was seeing Sheldon looking like he was clearly wanting to ask me some questions. But that he was having a hard time really wording what was in his mind. Although in all honesty, I did not want to deal with him staring at me constantly, so I was feeling like I just needed to try and ask him what was on his mind right now. "So Sheldon, what are you thinking right now?" I asked, and then he shrugged for a second.

"I can clearly see that you saw something earlier, and I was just wondering if you would be willing to talk with me about it. But I feel like maybe you wouldn't want to do that. But if you feel like you need to be open about it, then you can tell me what is on your mind." Sheldon said, and then after he had said that to me, that was when I was just trying to think of what I could be able to say in the first place.

"No, I feel like I have to. I just feel like I am going to have a hard time making my opinions on Brad Carbunkle. After all, he saved me from one of those monster attacks. I am still having a hard time really wrapping my mind around the fact that these monsters actually exist in the first place. It just feels wrong to admit that." I said, and then I was seeing Sheldon taking out a cigarette, unsure of what to be telling me here.

"I can tell you one thing. Nothing that he has ever done hasn't been for what thought was the best thing to do. He always felt like he was doing what needed to be done. Even if it did turn out to be the wrong thing, in the moment, he had been convinced that he had done what was right. That always makes things easier to really accept when it comes to that man." Sheldon said, and I saw him looking like there was not much else to say here.

"But I mean, you admit yourself that there are a lot of things that he did that were pretty terrible, and you still admit that. Do you know everything that he had done." I said, and I was wondering if I was wanting to reveal the fact that I think he was behind what happened with Jenny, or if I should be willing to let him be blissfully unaware of something like that. After all, I still was not one hundred percent sure he really was the one behind it.

"I mean, everybody has done bad things. I did many things that he hardly agreed with me on. But I still have a level of respect for him that I don't for many others. He is a good guy, and I need people to see that." After he had said that to me, I was then seeing him looking like he was needing to relax a bit. "Honestly though, I feel like when we are in the last week or so of summer, I might go out with my family, and enjoy a fucking vacation."

As he had said that, I had realized right then and there that he probably didn't even know what had happened with Jenny, and I was really having no idea what I was even going to be doing with that. If he did not know the truth, and he was just talking about something in this level of ignorance, then I was feeling that he was going to be in for a very rude awakening when he was going home tonight. And I looked down at the table.

He was able to see the sad look on his face, and then he was snuffing out the three quarters done cigarette, as he walked over to the other side of the table that I was on, and he was looking right at me, and I was seeing that he was trying to find something to say to me to make me feel much better. "T.K., is this about your mother? Are you worried that you are never going to have the family family bond that you once did?" After Sheldon asked me this, I was slowly nodding, feeling that I might as well be honest with him here.

"Honestly, I have no idea what to believe. I mean, I feel like things were already getting pretty rough, and then this happened, and then just made things worse. The bond with Matt and I are probably either going to strengthen by the end of the summer, or be so far broken that it is fucking impossible to see things through. How were things like with your family?" I asked, and then I was seeing Sheldon looking like he did not want to go into this again.

"Well, when my own mother died when I was ten, I was at her side when the last life left her eyes. Dad thought it would be best for us to move to Wayside to get out of here. Things seemed like it was sort of repairing when Riley went missing. After that, dad and I were extremely close until that final summer or so, when I realized the truth colors of his personality." Sheldon was saying, but before he was able to continue, he got a call from the store. This was confusing to him to say the least.

Sheldon picked up the phone, and the person was speaking loudly enough to where I was able to hear them still, and I knew that at this point, Sheldon's final vestige of sanity would be gone in just a few moments. "Dad, come home. Something terrible happened." Cody said, and then with that, Sheldon was giving me a look, as if hoping that this was not going to be biting him in the ass. But then with that, he sighed, as if feeling there was no choice.

"Okay, fine, I will come home. I will just close up the store for a couple hours." Sheldon said, and then with that, he hung up. And I was wondering if that was the first time in numerous years that the store had been closed for a period of time. And then with that, he had looked right at me. "I can drive you home if you want. But this is not going to be a fun night out of anything like that." Sheldon said, and I just simply nodded, not wanting to fight here.

So with that, I got in the car, and Sheldon said that he would drop by the house real quick soon, and see what was happening. I was mentally wincing at this, knowing that I was going to be seeing his reaction to the truth, and I was wondering if I was even wanting to see something like that. But I decided that I would not say anything for the time being.

As we were heading long, I was remaining silent. And then Sheldon decided he would speak. "I told him that he was not allowed to call the station unless if it was something absolutely urgent. So I am just worried about what he will be showing me." Sheldon said, and then I was looking right at him, wondering if I wanted to keep up any discussion at all.

Eventually, he parked at his house. "Give me ten minutes with Cody, and I will take you the rest of your way home. You are really needing to sleep right now." After he had said that to me, he got out of the car, and then I got out as well, although still standing near the car, and I just simply used the excuse of wanting to get a breath of fresh air while I waited.

As Sheldon went inside, I was taking a few steps closer, and I knew the exact moment that he realized what had happened. He just stopped what he was done, stood completely still, as the cigarette fell out of his hand, and he was just too emotionless to be able to say or do anything. I felt like I would now have the right to see what happened, so I walked in the house, and I was seeing where she had been at the time of death.

She had been sitting down on the living room couch, and watching the television, at the time that Brad had come along and ended her life. The blood from where her head once was, and the blood that seeped down as a result had all dried up by now, meaning it had been a few hours since that point. When Sheldon took a few minutes to absorb the sight, he walked up to the body, got on his knees when he was in front of it, grabbed her hand, and kissed it. Then he placed his head on her head, and he took a minute of silence.

"Somebody came in at night, and talked with her for a while, and then before he left, he killed mommy." Cody said, and then he was looking at Sheldon, trying to decide what to say. "I didn't call for so long because I wanted to make sure that Victoria was taken care of first." After he said that, Sheldon looked at him, and just had nothing else to say.

"Thank you for taking care of your sister. And thank you for calling me. But please, if something like this happens, don't wait. No amount of money is worth the wait." Sheldon said, and then with that, he was walking to Cody, and then he hugged his child, trying to find a way to get through this all. "I will find out who did this, and I will make sure that they are taken care of. I will make sure you and Victoria have a life you guys can still recover from." Sheldon said, and then he looked right at Cody, as if feeling like there was nothing else to say now.

"I love you. If you need a therapist, just let me know. Or if you just want to hang out with your friends after school, as long as it's in the house, so that Victoria can still be watched, then I will not say a word anymore. I will talk to my boss about getting a day or two off every week." After Sheldon said that to Cody, the two of them let go, and looked right at me.

"I know this might sound like a lot, but since you're friends with Yolei anyways, would you be willing to just be at Cody's side for these first couple of months? He needs friends now more than ever. I wished I knew that when my mother passed. Even if I get another day every week, I will have to still be preparing for a funeral for a bit." After he said that, and I agreed, he looked at Cody, and then made another promise. "I know that I had not been there for you these last nine years. But that will change starting tomorrow." After Sheldon was done with that, I wondered how quickly that promise was going to be thrown away, and how much that would be eating his life away.

Scene 20: The Confession

I was with Davis and Yolei that next day. I was sitting down on my skateboard, and I was just looking at the dirty arm cast once again. I was feeling like there was nothing else to be doing, and that sitting down, and just simply wasting time, was not going to be helping anybody out at all. "Guys, I think that it is time for us to admit that we made a giant mistake, and that we should have never done what we did this whole time.

"To be perfectly honest, you were really the one that seemed like you wanted to keep this up for a super long period of time. I believe that you were the one that really should be letting it go the most." After Davis had said that to me, I was looking at him, and I was not really wanting to hear him say anything like that. Since it was just a attack to me.

"Look, I think I knew that already. But you did not really need to be rubbing it in or anything like that. I mean, I feel like maybe I should just try and be there for Cody, after everything that had happened, I feel like that is the only thing that truly matters." I said, and then after I had said that to the two of them, I was wondering why I was so lost now. "I feel like I really just failed all of the people around me, and that they have every right to hate me." I said, wondering why I was pushing myself so hard.

"I mean, it seems like Tobias still likes you, and I feel like that is the main thing that matters. After all, you promised that you were going to help him out, and that is really the main thing to remember." After Yolei was telling me this, I was looking at her, and I was feeling that she probably needed to be worried about herself as well, and that the fact that she was not was just shocking to me.

"Are you still looking into the investigation on those things your parents were doing with Kenta? I mean, I feel like I still have a hard time really just letting that go, considering the fact that you are still one of my best friends." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I saw her looking like she was just feeling so much better about what we had been getting involved in.

"No, not really. I mean, I want to know what they were doing. But they really seemed to hate what I was doing, and I feel like if I try to press on them further about it, then they will probably not want to speak to me any further. It just feels so fucking wrong that we are dealing with this all." Yolei said, and she shook her head, and then just then started to speak again.

"I mean, I think what Cody is dealing with is much more important than anything that I am dealing with. And in all honesty, I think that what he is dealing with is worse than even you, T.K. No offense." Yolei said, and then she was looking at me, and I was wondering what her logic behind this really was. "I mean, really think about it. He had to deal with a straight up murder. At least with you, it was a suicide. It was on their own terms." After she had said that to me, I was sighing, feeling like I could sort of see her view.

"And besides, he is still just nine years old. I mean, he probably will be growing up knowing this his entire life basically. At least I can say I have memories of my family that I can still enjoy." I said, and I was feeling like I needed to just keep Victoria out of it, on the extremely small chance that neither one of them knew the truth. Because the moment that everybody knew, then she would be in danger.

"Sheldon asked me to try and watch Cody more, and try to be there at his side as he grows up. And in all honesty, I feel like that would be a good idea. But at the same time, I feel like I am just letting a new level of paranoia get to me much more." I said, and I really had no idea what in the hell I had been doing at this point.

"So you believe that monsters are the bigger problem now? What about all the missing people? I thought that they were the main thing that you had been insisting on looking into." After Yolei was telling me this, I was sighing, kind of tired of having this discussion with people, since it all felt like it was just going all over the place.

"I mean, I saw one in the forest. I barely even fucking survived that entire encounter. And I believe that there is a good chance that they are one in the same. Maybe they prefer the smell, or the taste of women. I mean, if that is the case, then I need to kill them all in order to make sure that they do not take over anybody else." I said, so busy trying to justify the idea that it wasn't the normal people in Wayside that were behind this whole thing.

"I mean, I guess that could be true. But I think that if that is the case, then there wouldn't be so many details of the stories that would be still out in the open. Even if Lazarus are not taking these girls, and are responsible for them going missing, they certainly know what is going on, and they certainly have a idea on what is happening here. I think that is still just as bad here." Davis said to me, and I was seeing him looking like he wanted to see my perspective here.

"I know that. But please, just try and entertain the idea of what I am doing. Just try and entertain the idea that what I am doing is right, and I promise you that there are probably going to be at least some things that will show up that will show what I am saying is true." I said, and then after I had said that to them, I was feeling like my pleading feel on this whole thing would start to settle down at least a little bit for them here.

"I mean, I know that a monster didn't kill Jenny, and I know that a monster isn't the reason why my mom killed herself, or why Olive and Mildred were killed. There are still at least four women in Wayside, this summer alone, that had their lives lost over something that was clearly not a monster. Then there is that politician Myron. So in no way am I saying that this is the entire answer. All that I am saying is that I believe that it is a part of the answer. And I know that the monsters are probably going to be the one thing that will unite both candidates this election." I said, and then I was feeling that now that I had said this obvious shit, I could be able to rest easier, and then have them leave me alone for the time being.

"I know that we have done this many times, but I think that this time we should take a day. Just take a short break. Maybe even two. Then all meet back up, and then after we do that, just slow the fucking hell down, and really look at what is going on here. I think that slowing down is all that we can do to really sort this whole thing out." After Yolei said that, I was thinking about what she had said, and then I slowly nodded a bit.

"I guess that does make sense. And in all honesty, even if you guys do not want to be doing this, I can still do this stuff alone. If I can't fucking relax or take a break, I will do that." I said, and then I was looking at them, wondering if they were willing to accept that. As I did that, I saw that they were kind of taking it for what it fucking was.

"That is true. But still, just do what I asked, and I believe that sure enough, when we all just settle down for a second, we can figure out that we are all just being insane. And besides, I feel like there are some things I want to do myself. Such as understand my dreams more." Davis said, and then that random comment was still getting to me a bit more. Wondering why he was bringing those up again.

"What will the dreams have to do with the main issue though?" Yolei asked, and then Davis was looking at her, and I was seeing that he was looking like he had no real desire to be dealing with this discussion, as if he was aware that he knew she wouldn't get it, and that it was something that would not be giving him any fucking favors here. But then with that, I was just staring at the hill that was below us, and I was wanting to go back to the days when we were young and care free.

Scene 21: No More Fear

When I was alone, and I was thinking about what my next course of action would be, I was feeling that I just needed to try and find a way to take a bit of a break at least for a day. I had started by just skating at the park for a bit, and just trying to find some time alone there. But as time was going on, I was feeling more and more like simple skating was not going to be helping me out like at all. It was at most just a simple distraction from what I needed to work on.

I was just thinking about what I would be doing if these monsters were really real or not. If they were actually real, and this town had been invested in them for months on in, then there was really no way in hell that I was going to be able to do anything about them. Not just as one person. I needed to let go of my visions of grandeur, and admit that right now, if I wanted a chance to look at this correctly.

I went on for a few minutes longer, before I decided that it was time for me to be heading on home. As I was going home, I was about half way there before I heard a voice that was calling out to me. I turned around, wondering who in the world was wanting to talk to me at this rate. And when I was seeing that it was Teri, I was sighing, since her presence did make me feel slightly better.

"Hey T.K., I had been thinking about what we were talking about when we were in the forest that one time. That moment that we had." Teri said, and she started to look down on the ground at that last bit, and I could feel that she was just as embarrassed to talk about it as I was to be hearing about it. I slowly nodded, feeling like I just needed to be taking this slowly.

"I am sorry if I over stepped my boundaries that entire time. I should have been thinking about what you would have wanted. What I did was irresponsible." I said, and then I looked at her, and I was hoping that she would be willing to accept my apology. As I said that, I saw her looking like she was not worried about that at all. As if thinking that I was just beating myself up for no reason.

"Don't forget that I was a part of that discussion too T.K. You do not need to be worried about something like that at all." After she had said that to me, I was slowly nodding, feeling that the apology would have been better than nothing. But if she was not going to hear it, then I did not need to be worried about it at all.

"Well, I just never know what people are really thinking about me behind my back. And I feel so bad for making promises that I was going to be leaving it all alone, and that I would not be pushing you, but then I started to fall back into the same thing. I mean, in all fairness, I doubt anybody thought the factory was going to be exploding like the way that it did." I said, and I was feeling that there was no way in hell that I would be able to put anything beyond that happening. Almost all motivation after that day across everybody in some way at least stemmed from that.

"Yeah, what in the world happened with that. I heard about it a few times, but I don't know anything about it at all. It just seems kind of scary. I also heard that you were there. Is that true?" She asked me, and then I was sighing, and nodded as she had asked me this. I was looking right at her, wondering what she would have said to this.

"Honestly, I had no idea if I was going to survive that day. I was just more going to be happy if I was able to get through that in one piece. Forget anything else. Gumball was just trying to see what his mother was doing, since he was worried about her. But then that shit happened, and then everything was fucking lost." After I was telling her this, I was sighing, and I felt like I might as well leave it at that, and not be dragging her into something that was my fault.

"Are you feeling like there is a small chance that you would be able to move on from this whole thing? I mean, I just want to be there for you if you feel like you need some help here." After she had said that to me, I was shrugging, since in all honesty, I felt like there was nothing that I would tell her that would not hurt her in some way. So I figured that I might as well go down with the ship, and hope she at least respected the honesty of it.

"Before the factory incident, I could, and probably would, have moved on, and tried to let it go. But now, I feel like something like that is just utterly fucking impossible. I feel like trying to do that would be really irresponsible. Especially when I have friends who are trying to fucking play hero on me anyways. And I feel like at this rate, I am doing this for them more than for me." I said, and then I was wondering if I could ever be able to change my way of looking at this ever again.

"I guess that it would be worse as a friend of theirs to not be doing this, if that is the case. I will try my best to not judge, and let you do what you feel like you need to do." After she had said that to me, I saw her looking like she had wanted to find something else to say. But then she decided to just remain silent, and I was wondering if she was wrestling with other thoughts at the moment. Thoughts that I needed to give her in order to make her feel at least slightly better about what I was doing.

"I am going to do my best to talk with you all, and communicate everything that is going on with you guys. I feel like I just need times to talk with people anyways. So in a way, I feel like that might be for the best." I said, and then I was looking at her, and I was wondering if she was going to actually buy what I had been saying.

"I am going to be heading back to that summer camp soon. That is where the monsters seem to be the strongest. There is also the main forest. I feel like the key to figuring out Wayside is in this. If I do this, then I feel like the worst of it will be found out. And when this is done, I might be able to start to rest easier, and I might be able to feel like I did what I could to make this situation at least slightly better for those around me." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I had no idea what in the world I would have even been saying.

"T.K., when it comes back to the school year, are you holding your promise that you will never do this anymore? I want to believe you. But I feel like you have made that promise too many times for me to really buy. And I am just worried that you are going to let this eat up your entire personality. And don't pretend that is not a valid enough worry." After she had said that to me, I was looking down again, letting her words sink in. I wanted her to not feel this way. But I was feeling like there was no choice.

"Well, if I want to be able to have a decent chance of getting good grades this year, and moving forward, then I will have to. And besides, I can always just look at things next year, and see if I feel like I need to be looking further, or if things have settled down enough to where I see that I am being a fucking idiot here. It's only one fucking year after all." I said, and then I was really having no idea what in the fucking world I was even going to be doing at this rate. I was feeling that they were not going to listen to me, so I was not going to be wasting my time with this.

"I mean, I doubt that I will be able to help you at all. Especially with all that is going on. But I feel like maybe if you just talk to me more, whenever you need it, then I can be able to talk with you." After she had said that to me, I was feeling that while the offer was nice, I just needed to try and look at what was ahead of me, and what I was doing.

"Honestly, I have no idea Teri. I mean, I will still try to talk to you as much as I can. I really do respect you a lot. But if it gets too bad, then I will have no choice but to severe our contact with each other. But I hope that you would understand that it would be more out of respect for you than you think it would be." I said, and then I looked at her, and I was hoping that saying that would be able to make her feel at least slightly better about what we were doing at this point.

"I don't know how I should feel about that. But I guess that in your own strange way, I need to take it." She said, and then after she had said that to me, I was sighing, and then I was holding her hand again, and I was not caring if she wanted this or not. I was going to take it, and she would have to accept the fact that this was out of need more than anything else.

"At least when I talk with friends, I don't feel as much fear anymore. I feel like I am safer, and that I am better for it. Please understand that these conversations do help out much more than you believe." I said, and then I was seeing the look on her face starting to slightly ease up, as if feeling that would be the best I could be able to give her for the time being.

Scene 22: Friends

I was eventually ready to just pursue my own duties, and not be focusing on any other things. I felt that by forcing my friends to work with me on these things, when they very clearly did not want to, was going to be only making their opinions of me much worse, and I would not be sure if eventually they would just decide that they wanted nothing to do with me at all.

I mean, now that Teri had virtually admitted that I needed to do this, and even she was willing to just drop the subject, was essentially the permission that I had needed to just move forward with this. As I had been thinking this, I was then deciding to just let it go. Although as I had been walking along, I was starting to get aware that there was a very bad chance that I would find this all on my own, and that I just needed to accept the fact that perhaps I just needed to accept the fact that perhaps I just was never going to be the one who would turn this around.

Before that though, I would just see what the heck Tobias was feeling. For some reason, I had felt like I just needed to see what he was feeling before we did anything else. I was feeling like this was probably going to be the last time that I would see him for a while, and that I just needed to take it for what it was at this point.

I skated along for a while, and the longer that I had been skating there, the more that I was just trying to decide how I was going to tell him that I had probably wanted to end this for a while. While also making it clear that I was not wanting to do this on purpose, and that for some reason, I had felt like I just needed to do this for my own sake.

Eventually, I was at the door, I knocked on the door, and then I was looking around the sky, and no matter how much I was wanting to act like this was alright, and that nothing was going on. And I was then sitting down on the board, and I was feeling that if Tobias was going to be upset at what I had been doing, then I would never really blame him at all.

Before long, he was eventually answering the door, and I was seeing that Tobias was looking like he had also not really wanted to discuss what I had been feeling. Probably feeling that I was going to be wasting his time by doing this. I was feeling that maybe I just needed to drop this subject, and make some random excuse, and then get hell out of here. But before I could start, that was when he was sighing, not sure what to be saying.

"Hey, are you here to talk about what we had seen earlier?" I was seeing Tobias ask, and he was clearly not sounding too excited about this. He probably thought that I was trying to force a discussion on him, and I was slowly nodding, sort of feeling like I could see what he was feeling in a way. But I decided that I would not let it get in the way or what I had wanted to do.

"Yeah, I was wanting to see what you were thinking about what we had seen earlier. And I was starting to think that given everything that had been going on, and everything that we have been doing, I feel like perhaps I need to leave you alone. I do not want to do something that is going to get you in danger, or even worse, getting you killed." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was seeing that Tobias was looking like he was kind of upset with the way that I had been making that decision without consulting him.

"T.K., I think you need to understand that I am making my own choices on this. You can't just make the choice for me, and say that you are going to be doing all of this, and then leave me high and dry. I feel like I need to be making the choices for myself." After Tobias was saying that to me, he had looked at me, to mainly just see what I was going to be saying to this statement.

"I get that you need to make your own choices on this. But I think that you need to see that if you just do this too much, then something could potentially happen to you. Do you really want something to happen, and then your parents come home and realize that you are gone one day." I said, and then I was shrugging, just not sure what in the world I had been doing.

"I mean, it would be better if it is me than it will be if it was Rachel. And besides, do you expect me to just see all that stuff, and then suddenly act like nothing happened at all? I mean, I feel like that would be the dumbest thing in the entire fucking world." After Tobias told me this, I was seeing him looking like he was not even caring if I upset him with that.

"I mean, I get it. I just feel like I would not be a good friend if I let you be doing this. If you want to keep looking, then I feel like I might have to give a new perspective here." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I saw that he was trying to find any form of response to what I had been saying. "But I think that you also have to see what Rachel thinks of what you are doing."

"Do you think that Gumball actually supports his mother, or that he is just trying to be making her feel better about things? I mean, there is no way in hell that I would support what my parents are doing if I had known all that. And I got to know what my own mom is doing." Tobias said, and I was remembering that he had more personal stake of this than anybody else.

"I have no idea in all honesty. I think that he has to make his own choices on the matter. But I feel like there must be something that she knows, and that maybe Gumball is just trying to make her feel better about talking with him, to make her feel like she actually can trust him." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was then thinking of something else for once.

As we were trying to talk for a while, that was when Rachel was walking by, and she had looked right at us, and I was seeing that the look on her face was one of pure annoyance, and I was wondering what she was going to be telling us at the moment. "You guys need to be more quiet when you are having these discussions. Seriously."

As she had said that to us, I was taking a slight gulp, wondering if she was going to yell at us for what we had been doing. But before I was able to say anything else, she was shaking her head, probably just trying to find something else to be saying here. "Honestly, if even half of what you guys are saying is true, then I feel like I would want to know what you guys have been getting involved in." As she was saying this, I was looking down, feeling that there was no point in fighting anymore.

"Tobias and I heard a conversation that some of the company executives were having. And T.K. has been trying to convince me about what I should be taking the monster stuff more seriously. And in all honesty, I am starting to fucking believe." Tobias told Rachel, and he was looking right at her, wondering what in the world he was going to even elaborate on here.

"I heard some similar stuff." Rachel said, and then she was looking at Tobias, and I was seeing that the look on her face was one of regret. As if she had no idea what in the world she would even say now. "Honestly, I am so sorry for the fact that you feel like you had been forced into everything that is going on here. You should do what you feel like is right."

"I would really wish that you just let it go, and that you can just be able to enjoy life again here. I mean, for fucks sake, you do not need to be pretending like you are the biggest hero in the world. I would rather have you not be doing this. It would hurt me to see you doing something that isn't safe." After she had said that to Tobias, I was seeing her looking like she was slightly pleading as she had been saying that. I sighed, really having no idea what to say now.

"Are you sure that you really want to let it go, when you probably want to know the truth just as much as everybody else does? I mean, this is going to be the best chance that we have. And to hear you say that it doesn't matter is just shocking to me." After Tobias was saying that to Rachel, she was slowly taking a deep breath.

"Tobias, you just started middle school. You are in the middle of the best part of your school life. Just take the time to enjoy it. Please, at least until high school, put it on hold. When you get to high school, if you insist on looking into this, then I will try to let it go for now. I would feel much better if you would do that." She was telling Tobias, and I saw him looking confused.

"So you are fine with the results on what happened to Andrea rest and not get a answer?" After Tobias asked her this, she was sighing, and closed her eyes tightly for a second, trying to think of the way to respond to what he had been asking her at this rate. Almost as if thinking that Tobias was just being annoying, and not for good reason.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we do have closure. We found out about her death, and while I would wish that it was something different, it is something, and I feel like that should be enough for you to go with. It is enough to where I feel like I need to accept it as well. Please, just see that you would be making me feel better if you would accept this for now. It's closure in its own sense. I mean, if you want to talk with your friends about what they are doing, that is fine. But don't fucking investigate in person with them. Please just don't." After she had said that to him, Tobias was taking a long and deep breath.

"I feel like you're probably right. I mean, I don't like it. But I guess that perhaps I do just need to let it go at times. I have a hard time really just seeing it this way though." After Tobias was telling her this, I saw that he was looking like he was wanting to argue so badly, but just could not get himself to argue it at all.

"I know that it probably sucks. And I know that I am kind of being a hypocrite because of Rob and everybody else that I am hanging out with. But I just do not feel comfortable with it. I guess that what I am trying to say is that I would want it so that if at least one of us makes it through this, I would rather have it be you." After she had said that to Tobias, I saw him looking like he was wanting to fight this, but decided that this was not worth the fight anymore at all.

She was looking at me, and I was seeing that she was looking like she had wanted to say something else to me. Probably wanted to tell me that it was wrong for me to be doing this all, but I was just hoping that she would be leaving it alone. "If you want to continue looking into it, that is fine. Heck you even can be updating him all the time if you want. But please, do not have him actually looking in person." She said, and then I was sighing, feeling that I was really having no choice but to accept what she was saying.

"Don't worry. I have no intention on letting anything happen. I know that it might not be what we all want, but I will have to let it go for the time being. And besides, I feel like I kind of was wanting to do most of the on person stuff alone. Just for my own sake." I said, and then I was looking at her, and I was wondering if she would accept that for the time being.

"Thank you for listening to me. It makes me feel so much better to know that you are willing to take what I said into consideration." After she had said that to me, I was slowly nodding, and I felt like there was virtually nothing else to be saying at this point in time. I just had hoped that if for nothing else, I would be able to push through what had been going on.

"I am starting to wonder if my friendship with you guys is going to hurt you all. I love hanging out with you guys, but if it is going to be hurting you guys, and making things worse, then I feel like I just need to let it go, and I feel like I just need to accept the fact that maybe I had made a really big mistake here." I said, and then I was looking at them, and I was wondering if there was anything else to say now. And as I was thinking about all that was happening, I really had no idea what else to say now.

"Are you thinking that keeping up a friendship with Tobias is going to hurt him more than helping him?" She asked me, and then I was really unsure what in the world I was going to be telling her. In all honesty, I had no idea what in the world I was even going to be saying to her. I looked at Tobias, and I was feeling that he was deserving better.

"I mean, I feel like you guys all deserve better than what I have been doing. I have not really been helping you guys all that much, and I feel like every time that I am here, I am only making things much worse for you. And I feel like you deserve to know when you guys can feel safer, and feel better." I said, and then after I had said that to them, I decided to just not talk for too much longer here.

"Hey, how about I take you guys out for a pizza or something? I'll pay for it. Take my two favorite trouble makers out for a quick lunch or something." After she had said that to us, I was looking at her, and I was wondering if she was one hundred percent sure about something like this. As I was looking at her, I saw that she was indeed being serious, and I was feeling like I just needed to take what she was willing to give us, and not fight it.

"That would be cool. But only if you actually want to." I said, and then after I said that to her, I was seeing her wave it off, and I was feeling like I would just leave it alone, and let her have the moment. As we were thinking about what to be doing now, I was honestly feeling like despite everything that I had been saying, I just needed to take the moment, and I just needed to be happy with what I had been given at this point in time.

"It's fine. Stop worrying for like ten damn minutes." After she had said that to me, I laughed, and I felt like I would take that as the 'shut the fucking hell up' for the moment, and that I would stop fighting what she was saying for the time being. As we were walking along, I was seeing that Tobias was looking like there was a twinge of regret in his face, and I was wondering what he was planning on telling Rachel right now.

"Rachel, I am sorry for everything that I did. I should have seen what you were feeling first, and I made a giant mistake here." Tobias said, and then he was shrugging for a second, before finding something else to be saying to her. "Honestly, I think that I just wanted to feel like I was actually doing something right, and that I was making a big mistake by not looking at what was going on." After he was telling her this, I was seeing him just trying to speak a bit more.

"I should have never made you feel like you had to do what you did. I made a giant mistake, and I ruined everything. I should have really been clear with you that I was feeling like this was a terrible idea, but I just did not think of you at all. And that is something that I can accept." After she had said that to Tobias, I was seeing her looking like she was accepting her issues with this, and almost looked like she really did not want to admit that at all.

We were eventually at the pizza place, and then we all settled down. We placed our orders in, and I was seeing that Rachel was having something else on her mind. "I guess that I just wanted to understand the feelings that Rob and the others were having. This feeling that they needed to know the truth, no matter what the cost was. I had felt like if I was able to see what they were thinking, I would have been able to really understand what you guys were doing. But I suppose that maybe I had made a giant mistake here." After she had said that to us, I saw her looking like she was ashamed.

"I mean, I felt like I would have maybe been doing something important if I had let you guys do whatever you had wanted to do. But I suppose that this created a situation where you all felt like you had to be doing this. I feel like that is my fault, and I am so fucking sorry for what you had been doing." Rachel said, and I was wondering why she was trying to make this her fault.

"Technically, if you want somebody to blame, you need to probably blame either Davis and Yolei, or blame Ocho. They were the people that had a initial interest in this whole investigation, and they were the ones that really just cranked it up to a million. So I feel like they are the people who probably made things worse." I said, and I did not enjoy saying that, but I felt like I just needed to be realistic when I was telling them this.

"Well, I mean, sure they were in on it first. But that doesn't mean that they were the only ones who wanted to know the truth. I wanted to know the truth, and as a result, I felt like it was simply the right thing to do to just let them be doing what they had wanted. I was feeling like I was doing everybody a favor by just letting you guys have your moment." Rachel was saying, and then I was just feeling like this blame game was probably not going to be very healthy at all.

"If you want to say that, then I guess that I will take it. Who knows, I just guess that I have to really look harder to understand this all. But Rachel, do you feel like either one of us are going to actually get what we need by doing this? I mean, I am just worried that it is only a matter of time before people who are connected with Shaun might be coming after us, and then everything that we have been working on is gone." After I was telling her this, I was then wondering what I was going to do to defend myself if that was going to actually happen. Which I knew it would after what Tobias and I had seen there.

"I mean, that is possible. But I feel like if Tobias or something can keep a low profile long enough, then they might be willing to leave him alone after a time. That is part of the reason why I want to be doing something like this with you guys anyways. I feel like this is the best chance that I have to push this behind us for a while." After she had said that to us, I was seeing her looking like she was wondering if we would see what she had been saying.

"Yeah, fair enough. I mean, I feel like it is beyond the point of me being able to leave this whole thing behind. But I believe that you probably know that already, and that is the main reason you are not really wanting to fight me about this." After I was telling her this, I saw her looking like she was wanting to say something else in a argument, but then shook her head, as if feeling that it was best for us to just let it all go.

"I have no better way of stating that I just do not want something to happen to my brother. It is that simple, and I feel like it shouldn't have to be any more complicated than that." After she had said that to me, I was sighing, and I felt like I needed to just accept what she was saying, and that perhaps I was making things worse for her by doing this as well.

"Alright, I think that I get it. I just feel like I can be a rather big asshole at times, and I am sorry for that." After I said that to her, I was wondering what else I was even going to be telling her in the first place. Maybe I was only making things worse by spewing bullshit like this. But I was feeling that the more bullshit I gave, the better that things would be for Tobias and I, and could give us a chance to push this out of the way.

"Rachel, I know that you want me to be safe. But what would you want me to do if something happened to you? Do you seriously expect me to just remain silent when something like that would come? I feel like we both know that something like that would be bullshit." After Tobias was telling her this, I saw her looking like she was aware that he would be saying that to her. As he had said that, I saw that she was just trying to find a way to fight what had been going on.

"Yeah, I guess that I should expect something like that to be a reasonable possibility. If something like that does happen, then I suppose that there is nothing that I can really do about it, and that I just need to let it go." After she had said that to Tobias, she looked like she was already regretting what she had said, and hoped that Tobias would not take that too seriously.

Eventually the pizzas were placed down, and I was seeing that despite her clearly not wanting to say it, that the idea of her eventually going missing really was hitting her. She was probably feeling like admitting something like that out loud was only going to give Tobias ammunition to keep this search up, but I wasn't too sure.

"I mean, I don't know why I never really thought much about it. I know that something like that has a very good chance of happening, and that it would be really irresponsible for me to just act like this is no big deal. But at the same time, I just feel like I need to be taking things more realistically going forward." After she had said that to me, I was really having no idea what to do.

"And honestly, what even would I be able to do when something like that is a discussion? I mean, I could just act like I am ready for something like that. Act like this is something that I want to do. But I think that we both know that this is the last thing that I would want to do." After she had said that to us, I was thinking she was just referring to the general idea of her going missing.

"Besides, I mean, I just always feel like I am doing something wrong when I have these thoughts in my mind. After all, why in the world would they target me when my cousin is already gone, when surely they have to be smart enough to know that people are targeting them? If they are behind this all, then surely they are not that fucking stupid, and it is insane to pretend like they could be." After she was saying this, there was a level of uncertainty in her voice, and I knew that she wanted to continue the lie, but couldn't do it.

"I guess that at this point in time, I just have to lay my fate on Ocho. For all I know, he really does have the best idea on how to take care of this. After all, he has been looking into this longer than anybody else, so that alone does make me feel like I should at least hear him out." After she had said that to us, she was shrugging for a second, and then it was seeming like that was all that she had wanted to say when it came to this debate now.

"Wow, I really do get surprised by people here sometimes. I mean, I know that many probably are aware of the fact that he can be their best bet, but every time I hear somebody openly admit it, it always does just take me for surprise." I said, and then after I was telling her this, I was really just not too sure what in the world there was to say. It just was simply amazing at times.

"Well, it is hard to deny that Ocho is by far the most knowledgeable about the things going on in Wayside. I think that he is really the one person who we got to start to look at here." After she had said that to me, I was slowly nodding, and I felt like I just needed to try and see where she was coming from. But in all honesty, I had no idea what else to be saying here.

"Yeah, I guess that is fair. But do you really think that Ocho will know everything? I think that in all honesty, even if he does know quite a bit, he might not have everything in lock, and that it is something that we need to just accept if he can't give us the answers." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was seeing her looking like she was just trying to not too excited to be having a fight with me about this at all.

"Alright, sorry, I guess that I just wanted to keep things more open here. But I suppose that it might not be best to be doing anything like that." After I said that to them, I was wondering why I was even saying anything like this in the first place. I was just feeling like this whole time, I was kind of just being a ass kisser, and that was only going to be making things worse.

"And besides, I think that since he is turning eighteen in less than a year, and therefore legally only enough to technically do whatever he wants, we need to be letting him what he needs to do, and then if there I some way that we can help, then that is when we kick in, and try to fight if we need to." I said, and then I was just feeling like I was never going to be saying anything else to keep the conversation moving forward. I looked at Tobias, and I was wondering what he would do now.

"Tobias, what are you thinking about this all? I mean, you probably have some strong opinions on the matter here." I said, and then I was really having no idea what I was going to be doing now. But then I was just really having no idea what else I was even going to do now. I was eating some slices, just wondering if he even cared to give a opinion here.

"I am just wanting to know about Brad more. Everything that we know about now, makes me feel like I have to just keep an eye on what he is doing. I feel like he probably knows more about this than he is letting on here, and I am now down with him lying at all." Tobias said, and then I was remembering everything that we had been seeing here. I saw Rachel looking like she was lost on his interest in this subject suddenly.

As I was thinking about what Rachel would be saying, the comment that she made next sent chills down my spine, and made me realize that we were truly not being nearly as sneaky as we were wanting to think that we had been. "So guys, when you were talking about mom and stuff, what were you referring to?" After she had asked that, I was looking at Tobias, and I knew that we were fucked beyond belief. I was sighing, wishing that I had been quieter.

The look on Tobia's face made it clear that he had not bene sure what to think now. "Look, I know that you are not going to enjoy this. But she was attending a company meeting. She was talking with them all as if she had known exactly what was going on with their policies. I feel like she might know exactly what is going on here, even if she denies it, and even if it makes me disgusted to admit." Tobias was saying, and then I was seeing him looking utterly scared.

"Great, now your interest in this subject has you turning on the family. This is what I am talking about when I say that this is a bad idea. I mean, do you really think that it would be a good idea to be saying this stuff about mom and dad? They are working rather hard to make sure that we are going to have a nice life." After she had said that to us, I was seeing her looking like she was terrified at what we were saying.

"I mean, dad is a big businessman. I think that there is a good chance that he might be involved with something like this. And it would be a terrible idea to not be at least looking at what he might know. So I feel like we should just try and at least consider it." After I was telling her this, I saw that she was looking like she had wanted to fight that. But then with that, she sighed, and seemed like giving up at this point.

"I mean, if you said dad, that would be one thing. I guess. But mom? No, there is no way in hell. And this is exactly why I feel like you need to just stop this whole thing right now." She said, and the more that she was saying this, the more firm that she was getting, and the more that I was feeling like we would be pushing our luck if we talked more.

It took a while, but we ended up finishing this, and we were going home. I knew for a fact that I probably pushed Rachel too much, and that I was going to have to accept the fact that I did something wrong. And I had just hoped that I would be forgiven for everything, and I was wondering if I would be allowed to speak with Tobias again after this, after I made that statement.

Scene 23: Fractured Forever (Gumball)

I was at Gumball's house again. Because even if he did not want to admit it, he was probably the one person who would give me more ideas on what the hell was going on with the monsters than he wanted to admit. His mother clearly knew some things, and even if she was not directly involved, the people she worked with, and the work she was doing itself was more than enough indicator.

I was looking right at him, and I was feeling like I needed to be patient with him, while still making the point that this was something that I was not going to be waiting for any longer. "Look Gumball, I understand that you are wanting to not tie your mother to this and everything, but I think that we both know that it is not going to work by lying for much longer." I said, and then I was looking right at him for a short second.

"What am I even going to be tying to her anyways? The fact that she has a bunch of shitty bosses who are terrible people, and that she is trying to just not get any ties with them? I think that I had already told you this stuff many times already." Gumball said, trying to hide his minor annoyance as he had been saying that to me.

"I just feel like even if she has horrible bosses who are tied to what is happening, then certainly she would have some idea what her bosses are doing. Like to admit it or not, but I think that they are onto something, and I think that lying about it is only going to be making things worse." I was telling him, and I was seeing Gumball looking like he was not really in the mood for this at all.

"Okay, I guess that I do see what you are saying. I am just scared of what my mom is doing, and I am scared of what she does know. I know that she probably does know about these monsters. But I have a hard time getting the courage to try and talk to her about them, since the whole subject is so fucking random." Gumball said, and then he was shrugging as he had been saying that.

"I mean, maybe if she knows something about the origins of that blue crystal, she might be able to help me out there." After I had said that to him, I was looking at Gumball, and I was seeing him looking like he was shocked to hear me bring this up. Almost like he had totally forgotten about what he had grabbed earlier.

"Oh yeah, I actually had forgotten about that. In all honesty, I don't know a whole lot about that. I mean, I heard that this was a cave or something like that. But I didn't look too much into it in all honesty. I just thought that it was some random rumor. Although given everything going on, I would not start to doubt it if it was true." After Gumball was saying that to me, I was really having no idea what in the world I was even going to be saying to this.

"So I think that we just need to look more into that. It could be a first sign of evidence that we will be needing." I said, and then I was then wondering if Gumball was going to be interested in looking further into this. As I was seeing the look on his face, I was sort of seeing that perhaps he really was not all that into this idea.

"I mean, as much as I don't want to do this, I feel like there is no real choice but to just suck it up, and keep looking further into this whole thing. And in all honesty, I feel like I just need to put myself first for once, and not be so worried about everything else." After Gumball was telling me this, I was wondering what in the world I was even going to accomplish with this discussion.

I was smiling at him, and I was glad to be seeing that despite everything that had been happening, he was willing to be a good friend, and he was willing to make sure that I was not the only one who had to be in this fight, which made me feel like I was still able to have a level of hope. "Especially since Rachel had convinced Tobias that he should not be looking into this any further, and that he probably just needs to focus on his own family life. In all honesty, as much as I do not want to admit it, I feel like she was probably right here." I said, and then I was shrugging, having nothing else to say.

"Yeah, I mean, I do sort of see where Rachel is coming from. Especially since she probably feels like he is the only one in this family who could be able to pull through this, and not have to deal with any terrible controversy. So I think that we just need to let that be put into consideration." Gumball said, and then shrugged, as if just wanting to show that he was truly neutral in this whole thing.

"Although in all honesty, I hardly even care anymore. I feel like the shit with my family has got me much more interested in any of the shit that I have seen with Tobias and his family. I mean, I guess that I would see where you guys are coming from if I was there, but since I wasn't, I just find myself not really caring all that much." When Gumball finished that, he looked right at me, and saw that I still had my back pack, baseball bat, and the skateboard.

"Where do you think we should start? I mean, obviously somewhere in the forest, but do you have any clue where exactly that is?" After she had said that to me, I was really having no idea what in the world I was even going to be doing. I was placing my hand on my chin, and I was just really trying to think about what I was going to do now.

"I think that if I wanted to say something about that, I would have to go talk with Izzy for a bit. I am not going to bother going inside of the company building again. They would probably kick me out. And besides, the place was rather wrecked up after a guy went there earlier. So I think that for better or for worse, the best thing to do is just to look around like crazy, and eventually find something that looks like it could be the answer." I said, and then I looked right at Gumball, hoping that he did not hate my generic answer all that much. I just honestly did not want to give him a hard time. But I was tired of lying about acting like I knew better, when in all honesty, I really did not.

"Damn it. How are we going to be finding anything when you have no idea where we need to be looking? You are the person who I have tried to rely on the most when it comes to finding out what we need to be doing. So you not knowing is probably the worst thing that I could be hearing here." After Gumball said that, I was sighing, and I felt like him telling me this was going to be only making things worse.

"I mean, let's just look at this a fun little hang out. I am sure that we will find something there if we look hard enough." I said, and then I was looking right at him, and I was wondering if my way of saying this, and trying to brush this whole thing off, was actually going to be making him feel better here.

Gumball sighed, and I was seeing him looking like he was relatively annoyed at what he was hearing here. I was staring at him, wondering what in the world I was even going to be telling him. "Let's just hope that my shit doesn't get us in trouble." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I saw him looking like he would just let it go at this rate.

"I've given up dude. I want to help you. But you are making this hard for me. You are really making this hard for me to actually feel like this is a good idea. But it is better than nothing. So I will do it." Gumball said, and then with that, we were walking along, and I was really happy to be seeing him looking like he was finally seeing that I was the good guy here.

As we were heading to the forest, I was looking at Gumball, and I was feeling that I just needed to see if he was willing to talk with me for now, and just be honest with me for once. "So Gumball, how are you feeling here? It seems like you are much more down than normal, and I want to see if I am able to help you here." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I saw that he was just kind of shocked at what I was doing.

"Honestly, I have no idea what I can say. There are many thoughts in my mind, and I have no idea how I am going to pin point them all. In all honesty, I feel like I am just kind of lost on all of the mistakes that are going on around here." After Gumball was saying that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was more scared than anything else here.

"I mean, there is Penny, and what I want to say to her. But then again, I think we have talked about that plenty of times before. There is also the factory explosion, and the fact that I told mom that I was never going to be looking into this any further, and the fact that I feel like I need to be lying to her now. I feel like I have to be finding out the truth." After Gumball said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he had wanted to say more, but then just remained silent now.

"I mean, I think we both knew deep down inside that you were not going to be keeping to that statement for too long. I mean, you were saying yourself that day that you were going to be looking more at it. So you are doing nothing wrong. If anything, you would be making things worse if you said that, and then turned your back at the promise, and decided not to." I said, and then I was looking at him, wondering if what I was saying would help him feel different.

"I guess that I might be able to see where you are coming from. But it just seems like I need to find a better way to talk to mom about this. I think that if I was just more open with her, and didn't lie about anything, then our lives would be better. But I guess that you do not get that. Your entire family goes off of the ideas of lies." After Gumball said that to me, I was looking at him, and the way he had said that kind of pissed me off. He really did not need to throw that wrench in there the way he did, but I shrugged, telling myself to get over it.

We were at the forest, and I was wondering what in the world I would even be doing now. I was feeling that every possible discussion about Gumball was just going to be leading to us going in circles. He made his points clear, and that was all that I could be able to say. I was just hoping that eventually, we were going to work harder here, and not be making things just too hard for any of us. "Let's just see what we can find, and I am sure that soon enough, we can get something." I said, and then I was looking at Gumball, and I was just feeling like there was no better way to say it.

"T.K., how are you able to look at all of this stuff with such fucking vigor? I mean, if I were you, I would be going insane." After Gumball said that to me, and we were walking along, and I was really having no idea what in the world I was even going to be telling him at this point. There was really nothing to be telling him, and I think he knew that.

"I don't know. I mean, part of me isn't sure that I haven't already. What I do know is that I have probably gone too deep into this stuff to really even have a chance of leaving it. So at this point, what is even the point of pretending like I am able to put this all behind me?" I asked, and then I looked at him, and then I was seeing him just taking a second to think about what I had been saying so far, and I saw him looking like he had been thinking more stuff out.

"Whatever. I guess that I am should have expected something like that. But whatever. It is not all that big of a deal." Gumball was saying, and now that we were here, I was really feeling like it was time to get to work, and that I just needed to fucking see what in the world I had been doing. I was feeling like whatever the hell Gumball was going to do now, he just needed to make sure that it was not going to put his family in danger, which was something I never wanted.

I was feeling that from this point forward, I just needed to keep an eye on Gumball, and just make sure that he wasn't going to be doing anything too terrible. I just wanted to make sure that whatever he was going to do, he would be ready for it. And I was feeling that it was worth keeping at his side, so that way he didn't do something he massively regretted much more than literally everybody else around him. He deserved to get through this better than I did.

Scene 24: Deep Jungle

Now that Gumball and I were in the forest, and we were just trying to find something to be doing, to make this whole day slightly easier for us, I was just wondering if Gumball really ever wanted to be friends with me in the first place. In all honesty, if he was going to reveal that he did not, and that I had been sort of forcing this on him, I would not even be all that shocked here.

"So T.K., I know that you are planning on going on checking out the fucking broadcast station, since I know that your brother went up there once, and I know that you are probably interested in that." After he had said that to me, I was shaking my head, since I wanted nothing to do with this at all. I was scared of his plan, so I was really just having no idea what in the world I was even feeling now.

"I mean, I feel like I should, but I feel like if I did, and then I really found out everything that we had been doing would be thrown out the fucking window. I know for a fact that my parents deserve better than that." I said, and then as soon as I had said that, I realized that I had said 'parents' instead of 'dad' which was yet another sign of me showing that I was not nearly as over it as I had wanted to admit.

Gumball was silent for a second, as we were looking around every single area in the forest. Searching as many inches as humanly possible. "I mean, you were super into the idea that my mother was doing something, so don't fucking start with the whole idea of your father having nothing against him. If you make me look into my mother, then you should look into him." After he had said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was trying to climb up the tree, trying to reach out to something.

"What the fuck are you trying to find up there? I mean, you have no reason to think that you are going to find anything at all." After I said that to him, I was looking right at him, and I was wondering what he was planning to reply with. I saw Gumball looking like he was slightly confused at what I had been saying here.

"I don't know. I thought that I found something up there, and I feel like I need to check it out." Gumball said, and he was looking at me, and I was seeing him looking like he was not wanting to get too distracted talking to me, due to the fact that he would fall down this tree.

"Alright, just make sure that you don't stay up there for too long." I said, and I was worried that something like this was going to cause one of his own bones to break if he had not been careful enough. I was looking away, not trying to say anything, to not offend him or anything.

"I mean, I just worry about what you are going to be doing. Despite everything that I am saying, I really do indeed want to help you. I hope that you do see that." After Gumball said that to me, I looked at him, and I was having a extremely hard time really buying what he was saying, but I decided that I would just leave him alone for now.

"You have been working harder than anybody that I know when it comes to figuring out the mysteries of this town, and nobody fucking disputes that. I hope that you know that. Nobody feels like you are not taking things seriously. But people are just worried that if you do not look at things with a better level of objectivity, then you are not going to be knowing what is really happening." After Gumball was done saying this, I wished that I would leave things alone for now, but I had no real clue what I was going to be saying now.

I was looking around, and then Gumball was jumping down the tree, and he was holding a green jacket, and he threw it at me. As he had done that, I was wondering why in the world he was being so rough about this. But then when I looked and saw what it was, I was starting to see what he was so worried about. And I was wondering what this was meaning.

"You know, Tina's jacket that she wore all the time?" Gumball asked, and I slowly nodded. She was a classmate that was two grades above us, and we had seen her relatively often. She was probably the closest thing to a bully that Gumball had last year, although it was not as bad as it really could have been. Gumball then looked at me, and I was seeing that he was just trying to decide what to be saying now.

"What the fucking hell are we going to be doing about this?" Gumball asked, and I was shrugging, since in all honesty, I had no idea how in the world I was even going to respond to that in the first place. But before I was able to say more, Gumball continued. "Wait, do you see a number on there?"

I looked at the jacket, and saw from the back that there was a number on there after all. Something in the forties or fifties. I don't know. It was a relatively high number. "Does this mean that she will be the next one to go missing? Or that maybe she already has, and we just do not know it?"

"God damn it. Now I have to pretend like I am going to be friends with Tina, to make sure she doesn't go missing now. This is literally the exact opposite of what I want to fucking do." Gumball said, and then with that, he was shrugging, having nothing else that he was going to be saying to this discussion. But then I was feeling like we had no choice but to do this.

"Look, I feel like this is something that we are really not going to be having much choice on. I feel like we need to accept the fact that she is gone, and that it is our responsibility to be doing something about it." I said, and then after I had said that to Gumball, I was seeing him looking like he was just finally making peace with the fact that he was going to have to befriend somebody he hated.

"Alright, you're fucking right. You're right. I need to get over myself, and I just need to accept the fact that this is something that we need to do. And if she is gone, then I think that I will have to help out a little bit, since I was technically the first to find out." Gumball said, and then after he had said that, he was then just remaining silent for a few seconds longer, not sure what to tell me.

"And who knows, maybe doing this will help Penny like me a bit more." After he had said that to me, I was looking at him, and I was wondering why in the world he was even bringing her up in the first place. I mean, I knew he was on a quest for her approval, but the whole thing just sounded like it was relatively forced to be totally honest.

"Are you even worried about if Penny will approve of you that much? I mean, if you were so worried about it, I doubt that you would probably not be doing half the stuff that you are doing." I said, and then I was shrugging, and I was wondering what in the world he would be saying to me. I saw that Gumball was looking like he was just considering what to say now.

"Penny is the only girl that I have ever found myself liking. I just have a hard time really finding another one that appeals to me as much." Gumball said, and then I was just relatively unsure what in the world he was saying here. I really was just feeling like I needed to let him have his moment here.

"And I feel like I need to just make sure that she is safe from what everybody else is doing here. Maybe if I was just not being so selfish though, then things would have been better." After Gumball was saying this, we were just now probably wondering what the hell we were going to be doing about Tina, since we both knew that was all that mattered for the time being.

Scene 25: Ballad of the Damned (Brad third person)

Brad was in the woods, near where his hints said Candice would be. He was worried about the fact that she would probably already know why he was here, and that if this was the case, then there was going to be virtually no point in even hiding what he was doing anymore. As he had looked around a little bit. That was when he was seeing the young woman next to a flower bed, which reminded him a lot of Olive.

"I never really took the time to be seeing the things around me, and really getting a chance to know what Wayside was like outside of the basic city. It is a nice place, and it does make sense why people want to fight for it so much, despite being such a lost idea." After Candice said that to Brad, he was imagining what it was like when he had been telling people this back in the past as well.

"My boss feels that is the reason why we must do the work that is done around here. If I had it my way, I would never be doing anything like this." Brad said, and then she turned around at him, and he was seeing that she had been trying to understand what Brad was trying to hint at earlier.

"So are you admitting that you are the one who is behind the recent events?" She asked, and Brad was noting how she was not sounding all that shocked. He was having a bad feeling that she had probably figured it out already, and was just wanting to see if he was willing to be man enough to confirm it.

"I never had any desire to do what I have been doing, and I always wished that there was a way around it. There is no better way for me to say that stuff, and make you feel any better. But I have a feeling that you would not want to hear anything like that." Brad was telling her, and then he was slowly reaching for the weapon in his pocket.

"You know, I had wished that I was wrong. I thought that maybe you would be the one person who could be able to turn this mess around, and give us all hope. I had wished that you were not the one who was only adding to the issue." Candice said, and then she was closing her eyes. Then she took a deep breath for a bit.

"I think we both know how this is going to turn out. Believe it or not, even teenagers can be smart enough to figure things out themselves." Candice said, and then after she said that, she was staring to reach for a gun, and then she was pulling out something else from her pocket, which Brad was shocked to realize that it was another one of those weapons from the crystal cave. Brad turned on the blade that Shaun had given him, ready to defend himself more than he thought that he would have to.

Candice fired the gun, and it hit him right in the left shoulder. Blood started to splatter everywhere, and he had to hold his shoulder for a second with his right hand before he focused back on the job at hand. As he had done that, he started to head towards her, and ignited the blade, telling himself that he would tend to his wounds later on. Candice fired the gun again, but he deflected it with the blade, and when he was closer to her, he punched her right in the chest with his free arm, and as he was wincing, the gun dropped down to the ground.

Right as Candice was trying to reach down for it with her left hand, Brad cut the hand off cleanly, and then she looked up at him, with a pleading look that showed one of utter terror. As if she had known that this was going to be her last night, but she had hoped to at least try and make it otherwise.

She turned on the purple blade with her free hand, and she was having a couple of tears down her eyes, from pain and certainty of loss. Brad started to go easy on her, barely swinging, and just trying to see if he would be able to raise her confidence in what she was doing before he delivered the final blow.

She was holding down with the two blades clashing for a while, trying to just give herself a few more seconds. She started to look around, trying to find literally anything that she would be able to use in order to give herself more time. Brad pushed her away, and then he grabbed the gun, and then placed it in his pocket. As he was trying to take care of that, Candice attacked again, and almost got him. But Brad felt the burning heat, as he deflected it with only a inch above his neck.

Then with that, he was standing up, and started to aggressively swing in her direction, and he was causing her to fall down on her knees, as he kept going, until he was tired, and the blood was coming down his shoulder too fast. As he started to take a couple of steps back, Candice was seeing this as another chance.

She started to run towards him at maximum speed, not letting her lost hand stop her, and no longer subscribing to pain, as Brad stabbed her right in the chest, with the hold coming clear through her left breast, and right in the middle of her heart. He turned off the blade, as he grabbed the falling blade, and added it to hic collection. Candice had hardly even been able to process what had happened, as she started to shake, and then fell down to the ground.

When she was looking up at Brad, she was having something else in her mind. "I heard from my parents… That Shaun Reichenbach is my real father? Is that true? I deserve to know that at least." After she had said that to Brad, this was when Brad was feeling that despite everything else, she did deserve to know the truth, and he was more than willing to give this one to her. Given everything going on around them.

"Yes, he was your actual father. He wanted to hide that. And he was scared of what it would be like if you took over the company. All the rumors you heard about it are true." Brad was saying, and then he was putting himself on his knees, as he was looking at the dying teenager, and this was the moment that slowly brought him back to thinking that his boss was wrong about everything that he had been trying to do up until now.

"It's a shame that we were never able to sort things out. Maybe we could have made things better for us all. There is another question that I want to know." After she had said that to Brad, this was when Brad was feeling like he might be giving off too much information. But at the same time, he was aware that she would be dead in just a minute or two, so it wouldn't matter.

"Is that Rob guy related to him? You can tell from his looks? Can you please make sure that when he takes over, that he does not follow down the path of his father. Let him be the one that ends the streak." After she had said that to Brad, that was when Brad was feeling like he was being given too much to work with, and that maybe she was wrong about the way that she had been trying to talk to him here.

"Yeah, I will make sure that he can turn things around to a different direction. He seems much more willing to put things to an end than anybody else." Brad was saying, and he was hoping that he would be making her feel better as he had been saying this, and he was just wondering if she was going to be holding a level of resentment to him for what he had done.

"Make sure this actually meant something. Help this town return to normal." Candice said, and then with that, she closed her eyes, and then with that, Brad cried. He was crying at the fact that he took the life of a seventeen year old did not know better. That had probably been trying to just do the right thing. He should have never been given the chance to do these things. Everything lately had been his fault, and there was no way around it. And he was hoping that one of these days, he would be held accountable. But after his moment of prayer, he got up, and headed off, leaving her there.