Chapter Fifty-Three: The After Effects
.
The puppets were starting to get a little uneasy as Torch and the animals continued to stare at the swelled, groaning forest green door. The door groaned, cracked and splintered a bit as it swelled, deflated and swelled again. Now it looked aged with years. Torch and the animals had been staring at the door for four hours now and it was really starting to get to Blade. What could the animals sense that he couldn't? The brother had taught him how to heighten his senses with his magic so that he could see and hear on the same level as the animals, but this type of sensory he couldn't figure out.
Another two hours had passed when the chickens started clucking. Thirty minutes later the duck started quacking, another thirty minutes and the doves and pigeons started cooing, minutes after that the snakes became active and started slithering around, looking for a place to hole up in. Only Torch remained staring at the door. But he soon snapped out of it and started wagging his reptilian-dinosaur-like tail and whimpering in eagerness.
"Aw, he's just a wittle puppy." Jester cooed who was lying on his stomach on the bed, having gotten tired from standing around on the desk and sitting on its hard wooden surface.
Torch ran up to the door, stood on his hind legs and started scratching on the door and barking for a few seconds and backed away when the door finally opened and the brother came out carrying a limp Six Shooter and placed him in his old cell. The kid came out a few seconds later, picked up Torch and went to his room without saying a word.
"What happened in there?" Blade asked.
"Shh!" the brother hissed. "Let's head down to the kitchen and we'll talk there." Kokiri said, locked Six's cell and left the room.
.
"So, what happened?" Blade asked, once they were all in the kitchen. The kid and Torch were still upstairs, sleeping.
They were all gathered at the preparation table. Well, Kokiri was seated at the table and the puppets were on its surface.
"We managed to lure the creature out of Six." Kokiri said, mixing himself a cup of tea. "But it managed to grab Panther during our fight and he was sent back 5000 years into the past."
"I thought this creature had a name." Jester said.
"She does, but in her conquest to win herself a husband she regressed into that of a basic female human: Seek out a mate. And since she had fixated on one specific person since she childhood that need became her sole drive, nothing else mattered." Kokiri said.
"Just who was this person she wanted so badly?" Tunneler asked.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you guys have heard of him. His story is quite a popular novel." Kokiri said with a coy smile.
"So? Don't leave us guessing." Blade said.
"Harry Potter." Kokiri said and took a sip of his tea.
"W-H-A-A-T?!" chorused the puppets.
"Harry Potter? But that's total fiction!" Tunneler said.
"Your story would be as well if you ever decided to write about it." Kokiri replied.
Tunneler took a breath to speak again, but thought about it. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." he mumbled.
"So, this Panther fella, is he Professor Snape?" Jester asked.
"Yep." Kokiri answered.
"Well, I'll be darned." Jester said quietly.
"Why do you call him Panther?" Pinhead asked.
"Me and the kid came across Panther in his fifth year when he was being bullied by two boys." Kokiri said.
"James and Sirius." Jester said.
"You've read the books?" Blade asked Jester.
"Yeah, I love books." Jester replied.
"Well then, you know why he was being bullied." Kokiri said.
"Yeah, but the story didn't say anything about your or your brother." Jester said.
"There's an explanation to that but I'll tell you some other time." Kokiri said and smirked when the little Toulons groaned in disappointment. "Anyway, we call him Panther because he'd accidentally sat on one of the kid's syringes that had Mystican Panther DNA in it for an experiment of his and most Mystican blood is very adaptable, especially with magical folk. This particular panther was from the Ocean Kingdom, the same region where I came from, so it was very adaptable and could blend itself with its hosts own DNA structure. Panther started getting headaches and lower backaches a couple of weeks later and Amanda had the three of us escorted to the med bay to help him. His ears transformed from Terran to pointy pitch black panther cat ears and he started growing a tail. Amanda had me stretch out his ears and pull out his tail since he didn't let anyone else near him."
"Pfft, liar." Blade smirked, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, you're right, I was the only one who could do it without feeling remorseful to his pain." Kokiri smiled.
Blade chuckled.
"How long has the kid been dabbling in chemistry?" Tunneler asked.
"Oh, let me see, he first started when we were in third grade, . . . . since he was twelve." Kokiri answered.
"Twelve and in the third grade?" Blade asked a bit skeptical.
"Our grading system is different as well. We rely on a point system." Kokiri said.
"Like at Hogwarts?" Jester asked.
"Kind of, but it was also our currency. The school we attended was in space, you see." Kokiri said and took another sip of his tea.
"Yeah, that makes sense." Jester said.
"So, what happened in that room? What happened to Six?" Blade asked.
"Six is fine. We severed the tie the creature had on him and made absolutely sure there were no residue crumbs." Kokiri said.
"Yeah, but what h-a-p-p-e-n-e-d?" Blade asked, dragging out the last word.
"What exactly do you want to know?" Kokiri asked, setting his empty tea cup aside and leaned on the table.
"Why did he arch his back? What caused the explosion? Who was that fourth person? And why couldn't my magic get through but Torch could?" Blade asked.
"Six arched his back because he was also fighting against the creature and the creature wouldn't let go of him. The explosion was caused when we severed her ties. The fourth person was Number One, my boss. I'll tell you later." Kokiri said, stating the last part before Blade could say anything. "And your magic couldn't get through because Number One wouldn't allow it. I got into a bit of trouble concerning your magic; and Torch could sense the goings-on because he's more animal than you lot. Animals are more sensitive to EMF's than people are." Kokiri answered and refilled his cup.
"Since when did you drink tea?" Pinhead asked.
The brother's fox ears pinned back and he frowned in annoyance. "Since Chugs fell asleep and hid the carrif from me." he grumbled and downed his tea, making the Toulons laugh.
"So, what's gonna happen to Six now?" Jester asked.
"He'll be asleep for a few days to recuperate. He'll have the same security as Torch did. After that, who knows." Kokiri answered and filled his cup again and took a drink.
"What about Panther?" Blade asked. "Six said he looked just like his Grand-Pappy."
Kokiri unexpectedly spat out his drink, away from them. "Say what?!"
"That's what Six said. Your Panther looked just like his Grand-Pappy. All the way down to his attire, his little stick-" said Blade.
"Wand." Kokiri corrected.
"-whatever, his cape-" Blade continued.
"Robe." Kokiri corrected.
"-to his deep baritone voice." Blade finished.
"If Panther is Six's relation, and Panther is related to us through adoption and you're all related through creation then we're all related." Kokiri said.
The puppets thought over the list the brother listed but he said it too fast.
"Wait, say that again." Tunneler said.
"A bit slower this time." Jester added.
"If Panther is Six's relation . . . and Panther is related to me and Chugs through adoption . . . and you're all related through creation . . . then we're all related to each other." Kokiri said, pausing in-between.
The puppets thought this over for a few minutes before Jester's head spun to his surprised expression. "That's why we obey you without a second thought." he said. "You're the oldest."
Blade looked over to the brother. "So you're our . . . what? Our Master?" he asked.
Kokiri shrugged.
"Well, give us an order and we'll see." Blade said.
"Don't call me master, only sniveling, cowardly humans can." Kokiri said.
"Okay, M-" Blade said and tried to say 'Master' but found himself shutting up. "Well, what can we call you?" he asked.
"I don't know, what have you guys been calling me?" Kokiri asked.
"We've just been referring to you as the brother." Pinhead said.
"That works." Kokiri said nonchalantly.
"I'm curious about something." Tunneler stated. "Torch claimed the kid as his master back when were still at the cabin. How can he do that if he's our baby brother and has to follow a master that Blade chooses?" he asked.
"Torch may have been created by Andre Toulon but it was with dead hands. You lot were created while Andre was alive so the ties of loyalty weren't as well put with him as they were with you guys." Kokiri answered.
"Oh-h-h-h," they chorused.
Jester's face spun back to his mischievous grin and he looked at Blade. "You know what else I just noticed?"
"What?" Blade asked.
"They never once called us puppets." Jester said.
Blade thought back to all the times with the brothers and found that Jester right. The two brothers always referred to them as Toulons, Little Toulons, folks or just guys.
"You guys have free will, and we frown upon the use of puppetry, unless it's a children's show. The kid used to perform for kids before his heart was broken." Kokiri said.
"Really?" Jester asked excitedly.
"Yeah, he used to perform magic shows and puppet shows of all sorts. There was his finger puppets and hand puppet shows for toddlers, the old vintage shows, the kind you guys probably performed in in your days, and he would sometimes bring his chemistry and cooking sets and let them play. He was also quite the magician." Kokiri said with a bit of fondness. "And then Colby had to go and break his heart. The kid had the heart of a Cartoon, you see, and if you break a Cartoon's heart they lose their powers. They stop being funny, they lose their colors, a lot of their abilities, like falling from skyscrapers and going splat on the ground, completely flat, or hitting the brakes during their long fall or turning into some object to slip through the thinnest or smallest space is lost." Kokiri said and sighed, stirring his cup.
"He used to make me laugh all the time too." he mumbled and went silent for a bit.
The puppets looked at each other at this revelation of the kid and the brother's reaction from such a loss. "And if they don't get their abilities back?" Jester asked, his face a frown.
"They don't always get them back. I had it for a while but then I lost someone and never really quite healed. After I turned fifteen, it was gone for good." Kokiri said.
"But the kid should have some Cartoon Powers left. He did say he nearly lost all of his Cartoon Powers." Jester said.
"Yeah, but barely. It only shows up a great every now and again. Torch has been bringing some of it out. Kid's always wanted a child of his own, and Torch provides that wish. But Chugs also wants to settle down and start up a large family. He likes to be around a lot of people because he comes from a large family. A very large family." Kokiri said.
"And you?" Blade asked.
"Me? I'm an only child who despises their birth parents. My Dad, the one who raised me died when I was eight years old in a sea storm. My Mom, the woman who raised me died of old age. The people I loved have always come to an end one way or another except the kid. So, there you go." Kokiri said.
Jester raised his hand to ask about the other people but Kokiri cut him off by lowering his glasses and gave him a sharp look.
"I'm gonna go for a swim. I'll see you guys later." he said and left the room.
.
.
.
(author's note)
Only three more chapters to go (including the epilogue).
