A few days had passed since Justin and Connor managed to rescue Tiffany Maye from the hands of one of Waffeslam's top moderators: Sgt. Buttplug. Ever since then, the blondie had been staying with her mother, as well as taking a leave of absence from her job at Commotion City General Hospital until further notice.
Things were quiet for the 24 year old. The house seemed to cease of any life or joy. He knew he needed to take care of this situation as soon as he possibly could if he ever wanted things to go back to normal again. Or, as normal as they could get in this crazy life he had been living.
"I'm sorry, Tiffany." he said, once again looking at the framed photograph of him, her, and Jessie. He still knew it was photoshopped, but the person the blonde MILF hired did a good job of making it seem legit.
He then grabbed it, smiling at the silly work of "art" he was holding. You know, if we ever do get married, I think we oughta take a real one.
JD set it back down, having the thought of the Swire Brothers back into his head. He then grabbed the ring, still neatly placed into the tiny decorative box.
"I can't propose until something's done about this." he exclaimed, clenching his fist. He waited for so long to get this engagement ring, only for the two false idols from his childhood to ruin it for him.
"Ugh... What am I gonna do?" the 24 year old said, putting his hands on his head.
As he was still troubled in thought, it was quickly cut off to the sound of his doorbell going off.
"What the hell?" he said, getting up from the couch and going towards the window. He wasn't expecting any guests to show up on this day, though this wouldn't be the first time one of his many friends would drop by without warning.
However, upon inspecting the doorstep through his window, he came to a shocking discovery.
"Oh hell no..." he muttered, grabbing his revolver and making his way to the door. Justin forced it open as fast as he could, pointing the pistol directly at the person standing on his doorstep.
"Dude, what the heck?!" they shouted, seeming alarmed by the weapon in his face. The person in question was a familiar man with curly, brown hair and a tank top. It was none other than Stefano Swire's brother, Cyd Swire, aka the main star of the "Greatest Flip-Out Ever" TeleYube videos.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Squirrel boy?" JD asked, still pointing the revolver directly in his face.
Cyd raised his hands up. "Put that crap down. You're gonna hurt somebody!"
Justin smiled, not seeming to care. "I know." he replied, loading a bullet into the chamber.
The curly-haired man still had his hands up in the air. It was pretty obvious that he didn't want to be shot dead in his front yard. Though, at the same time: It could've also been a ploy to catch his ex-fan off guard.
"Dude, put it down. I'm not here tew bully yew!" he stated, seeming to want a civil encounter.
"Really?" Justin replied, not trusting him for a moment. "Then what are you here for? It's not every day that my childhood hero shows up to my house, trespasses onto MY property, has MY GIRLFRIEND KIDNAPPED, and then all of a sudden wants to sit down and talk things out."
Cyd was obviously tense. "Justin, could you please put that down? I just wanna talk, okay? Brother in arms, remember?"
He looked at his former childhood hero. For some reason, it seemed as though Cyd Swire did want to sit down and talk things out. JD lowered his weapon, though still had it ready in case he tried anything sneaky.
"Thank yew." the curly-haired man said, glad that his former fan/friend listened to him.
"So, what are you doing here, Cyd? Where's your brother at?" he asked.
Cyd shrugged. "Look, he sent me here tew harass yew. But, I ain't dewin that."
Hearing him admit that his own brother put him up to this was baffling. Then again, he was more honest than his sibling.
"What are you doing here then?"
He sighed. "I'm here tew apologize, okay?"
"For what?"
"For what that evil little acorn's been dewin. For him sending his mods tew harass yew, for having your girlfriend kidnapped. I'm sorry for everything, my guy."
JD shook his head. "You can't apologize for somebody, Cyd." he added. "And you allowed this to happen. You could have prevented any of this from happening. But instead, you enabled your brother's reckless behavior, both on stream and here in Commotion City. You let him talk you into flying from Indigopolis to Commotion City to mess with me. And for what? Clout? Fame? Money?"
The curly-haired Swire brother frowned. Although part of it was true, he also knew that this was something he's heard all before.
"It's not that easy, dude. I know yew and my brother had an issue back in the Summer on stream, but at the same time: Yew DID share tew much information about that group home yew were in."
"Because I trusted you!" Justin shouted, slamming his foot down. He took a breath, knowing that he was getting worked up over it.
"Look, this was before I knew not to trust anyone on your TeleYube streams, okay? Your boy Dwayne was so nice until I realized it was only to manipulate me. Now, he's about to be arrested by the feds. I heard he still talks to that 14 year old, Benny Berwick?"
"I know", he replied. "I remember when he showed his wiener on stream. Exactly why he was banned."
"Right. And you know why he's just as scummy as your brother, correct? He's a computer hacker, doxing people just because he doesn't like them."
Cyd nodded, feeling uncomfortable discussing the nasty life of Dwayne Benton.
"Hey, remember when we talked on stream for the first time?" Cyd stated, changing the subject.
That previous March, roughly a month after JD's "spiritual awakening", the 23 year old got into a call-in lounge on an app, hoping to finally speak to his childhood heroes, which he had long since been aching for. Stefano and Cyd Swire definitely made an impact on many people's childhoods. Old TeleYube sure was gold, but now they were washed-up and having to do livestreams as a bit of fan-service, or so it seemed.
"Man, I hope I can get in the call-ins today." he said, anxious that he may finally have the chance to interact with them.
"Oh, I'm sure you will, Justin. I have a feeling it'll happen soon." a familiar, buck-toothed moderator said. This was before the truth was even revealed about him. Dwayne used to be a nice guy, though it was made pretty obvious that nice guy schtick was all just an act to catch people off guard. And it definitely worked.
Suddenly, JD was put into the call-in room. His excitement busted through the roof when he made the realization.
"Woah, did I ACTUALLY get into the call-ins for once?" he said, now speaking with the geniuses behind "The Greatest Flip-Out Ever".
The curly-haired Swire brother spoke up, not sure who they were speaking to. "Who's this?"
"It's Justin Dark. You remember me?"
"Oh, yeah? Aren't you the group home guy?"
At the time, JD didn't know how to feel about being known as the man who was in a group home for the mentally unstable. Then again, these two most likely understood better than anyone else, as Cyd also had mental issues himself.
"Y-Yeah." he replied. "I had a lot of stuff happen to me. The mothereffers did some unethical things to me. I wish someone would put them out of commission, you know?"
"WOOOOWWW!" Stefano shouted, sounding a bit sarcastic at this shocking statement he made.
"Oh, come on, Stefano. You wouldn't know. But hey, Cyd? I just wanted to let you know that I can relate to you. I know what it's like to have a sibling that's a sociopath like him. You're like a brother in arms to me. More than MacNuggets, that's for sure!"
"Really? That's great to hear, my guy. You know, if you could see 4 inches of yourself inside of me, that tells me right there: You know what, Justin Dark? Probably a good guy."
Of course, that odd zinger had people in the live chat laughing, making several jokes such as 'Out of Context moment' as well as taking jabs at the 4 inches statement, implying that it sounded sexual.
"Yeah. And hey, Stefano? You go easy on your brother, now. He's smarter than half of the world's population, if that!"
The black-haired brother laughed. He was definitely amused by his eccentric behavior. Although it seemed all fine and dandy on that day, little did anyone know that would change drastically in the coming months when a recording would be leaked of the older Swire brother being verbally abusive towards numerous people, one being a young red-headed female named Julie, who was one of MANY ex-girlfriends he had.
That following May is when he lashed out at Justin and all of the other fans that just wanted him to own up to his mistake, only to weaponize their personal issues against them. After that, he sent his various mods to harass any ex-Waffler and label them as traitors.
"Yeah?" he replied. "How is that relevant to what's going on now?"
The curly-haired Swire brother shrugged. "Yew said yew saw me as a brother in arms cause of what yew had to go threw during your childhood. Your sister was like that sadistic little acorn, Stefano."
JD nodded, remembering this one call-in. It was the same time where he was praising his childhood hero for being so honest, entertaining, and relatable. He was also falsely slandering his sister over some petty nonsense, which he was well passed at this point.
"So, what are you saying?"
"Well, aren't yew still my brother in arms?"
He shook his head. "You WERE a brother in arms, Cyd. But once you sold everyone out, I had to retract that statement and any other love I had for Waffleslam. You guys were my idols and you let me down."
"Justin-"
"SHUT UP!" he yelled, not wanting to hear another word from his childhood hero. Again, he took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool.
"You get what you put out, man." he added. "You wanted ugly, now you're about to get it back, brother. I once called you a brother, but really: You're just a phony."
"Dude, are yew freaking kidding me?!" Cyd shouted, not taking kindly to that statement.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it Cyd? You went from the Greatest Flip-out Ever to the Greatest SELL-OUT Ever. Well, I hope you're happy putting my family and friends at risk. As long as you and Stefano have that donation money, nothing else should matter, right?"
"Justin Dark, it ain't like that, my guy!"
He clenched his fist, remembering that was a common phrase he used to say all the time.
"I'm not your guy, buddy!" he yelled, still very upset about what was going on.
The curly-haired man glared at him. He knew this was a very difficult situation to be in. At the same time, he could only imagine what it must feel like.
"Listen, Justin. Maybe, you're right. My brother's a bad guy. Wow, such a shocker! He's a freaking sadistic, little acorn freak who abuses women. If that were my family in danger, the people responsible would be on the wrong-end of a death roll."
Oh great, more smooth-talk from the Flip-out Guy himself. For fuck's sake, it's not gonna work on me this time.
"Then why are you letting it happen?" he asked.
The Swire brother shrugged, seeming unable to give an answer. Fed up, JD decided to dismiss him.
"You know what, Cyd? You can get off my property. I don't want to see you or your brother here again."
"Justin Dark, I just wanna hel-"
"Get off my property!" the 24 year old shouted, holding the revolver back up.
The Swire brother put his hands up, making his way off of the front step. He watched his childhood hero head down, seeming oblivious to how serious this actually was, despite everything they had been through together.
As Cyd was walking down the driveway, JD needed to make one final statement towards him.
"Hey, Cyd?" he said. He turned back to him, not happy about the abrupt end to their quote-on-quote "truce".
"What?"
"Don't let your brother do this to us. Don't be the bad guy."
The brother turned back, not giving any expression that he was on his side or not. Just a blank stare heading out of the suburban neighborhood and back into the night.
Justin sighed, glad that no one got hurt from that interaction. Still, it left so many questions that needed to be answered: Is he really a good guy? No, he can't be. I mean, he was always reasonable compared to his brother. Does he really care about my family's safety? Does he even know about the bomb Stefano sent on my birthday? Fuck, I need a drink.
He shut the fridge, grabbing a small bottle of rum leftover from Christmas. He knew this was a serious load of stress.
"I can't believe he had the balls to show up to my house." he said, taking a shot.
Thinking about this put a lot of stress onto his subconscious. First, it was Joseph Krad in my head, now it's Stefano and Cyd Swire in my town. God damn, dude. I can't with this anymore.
The 24 year old took another shot, not sure what he needed to do.
"Ugh..."
"Yo, playa!" a voice said.
JD raised his head up, already knowing who this was. "Kyu?"
The pink-haired love fairy emerged out of thin air. "How ya holding up, champ?"
"Ugh... By a fucking thread."
She nodded, knowing how rough things were going. "I feel ya."
He looked down, feeling like there was no point in trying anymore.
"First, Greenseed. Now, Waffleslam. When does it end, Kyu?"
"It never does, playa." she replied, being truthful.
He frowned, knowing she was right. The love fairy then sat next to him, eyeing the beverage he was drinking.
"Mind if I have a sip of that?" she asked, wanting some.
Without hesitation, Justin poured her a glass and gave it to her. She scarfed it down like a competitive eater, almost sexually.
"Thanks. I needed that."
"No problem." the 24 year old said, feeling very down.
The love fairy gave him a light squeeze. She could tell he wasn't doing to well.
"I know, my man. This shit's tough for me too. Venus has had about enough of my ass."
He looked at the pink-haired fairy, not sure what to think. "Wait, what?"
"Ugh... I might lose my job for this. And you know what that means?"
"What? You get revirginized? You turn old and grey? You become literal SUGARDUST?"
Kyu chuckled. "At least your corny-ass sense of humor is still in tact. No, no. It's much worse than that."
The 24 year old was now highly concerned. "Kyu, what's gonna happen to you?"
She shrugged. "I... I'd prefer not to talk about it."
Holy shit, what kind of punishment is she gonna get?
"But maybe if we hand over Stefano, then I might be able to keep my job." she added.
He nodded, remembering this. "Yeah. If I can manage it, I'm gonna make sure that he meets a major downfall."
"Yeah. And when the time is right, I'm gonna help you take him down. You're gonna need it."
JD agreed with her, taking another shot of rum.
Later that evening, JD and Kyu were finishing up their training. The sound of thumping could be heard, as well as the floorboards creaking and the two of them panting.
"Oh, yeah!" the love fairy shouted.
"Ugh, I need to beat it harder!"
"Yeah, you beat that meat, buddy! Show him who's boss."
JD went even harder, the thumping sound became even louder.
"AAAAAAGGGHHHH!" he moaned, taking another long good hit.
He eventually stopped, taking the boxing gloves off. The large steak he had hung up to use as a punching bag was now pulverized, leaving chunks of slime all over the bedroom.
"You did good, homie!" Kyu said, complimenting her previous client.
"Y-Yeah." he said, exhausted from this little work-out session. He then grabbed a bottle and drank from it, as well as his phone, so he could check his social media after a long day.
While training, he had received a text message. It was from Raymond.
"Huh?" he said, opening his messenger app.
The love fairy looked at him. "What's up?"
He inspected the message that Ray had sent him. It was short, only reading 'Check this out', as well as a link attached. He clicked on it, not sure what to expect.
It led to a blog, posted only one hour before.
"Holy shit!" he shouted, reading the headline 'YouTube moderator in prison!'
Kyu leaned over his shoulder, realizing what had happened. "Woah!"
It turned out that Dwayne Benton, age 29, was raided by the feds earlier that day. His hard drive contained compromised IP Addresses, personal info such as homes addresses, phone numbers, etc., and even bank information he had stolen from the national government.
"So, THAT'S why Cyd came by?" he said, assuming the apology was merely because their top mod was now incarcerated, leaving the Swire Brothers defenseless.
"Hell if I know." the love fairy replied, still amazed. "Regardless, we got that motherfucker right where we want him. Only a matter of time before he's vulnerable and we can penetrate his ass."
JD glared at her, not sure what that was supposed to mean.
"Metaphorically, that is." she reassured.
Ugh, her and her sexual innuendos.
The day ended on a solemn note. Though, end times were coming close. Justin Dark could feel it, but at least his old mentor was keeping him company while Tiffany was laying low at her mom's place.
