2014
"Try again." Andy ordered, helping Alice get back up. It had been months since the two began sparring, and Alice was getting better by the day. Unfortunately, there was still a lot she needed to learn, proven when Andy caught her by surprise and swept her leg out from under her. Reluctantly, Alice took his hand and got back up, getting into a fighting position.
"Ready!" Andy called, and the two began trading punches and kicks.
"How do you know all this?" Alice asked, indicating his knowledge of combat.
"Kent Academy taught me more than just shooting." Andy explained, grabbing the girl's arm and twisting it behind her back. "Now yield." Alice, not wanting to be beaten, stepped on Andy's foot and elbowed him in the gut, before spinning around and kicking Barclay in the stomach, causing him to fall down.
"You first." Alice replied casually, holding out her own hand this time.
"Good work." Andy complimented, taking the hand, but helped himself up but grabbing the table next to him.
"How cute." Chucky's head snickered, having watched the whole fight. "Next time you guys want to get rough, maybe you should get a room."
"You're a sick little fuck." Alice muttered, grabbing a blowtorch and burn a hole into Chucky's forehead, causing him to wail in agony.
"I see you're developing quite a mouth." Andy observed.
"Guess that's what happens when I'm living with a psychopath and a middle aged gun nut." Alice smirked, playing hitting Andy in the shoulder. "So, what now?"
"We're going on a trip." Andy told her, tossing Pierce the keys.
"You're having me drive?" Alice asked, surprised.
"If one of us gets the shit beaten out by some gangbanger, we need to drive each other back home to get stitched home." Andy reminded her. "And I'd prefer it be me, because I'd hate to see bad shit happen to you."
"Thanks, Andy." Alice hugged the older man. "Keep doing this, and I'll start calling you uncle." Andy placed the gag back on Chucky, and the two left the apartment, getting into Andy's black truck.
"You know the basics, right?" Andy asked. "Move the stick for different directions. Reverse, Forward, Neutral, all that crap."
"Yup." Alice replied, backing out of the small driveway. "Now, where?"
"Take a right." Andy instructed, and Alice drove off, being sure to slow down at stop signs and red lights. Pierce kept following Andy's directions, until they reached the local cemetery.
"Stop here." Andy announced, and Alice parked at the front gates.
"What are we doing here?" Alice asked.
"We're here to remind me, and by extension, you, why we're doing this." Barclay announced, approaching a grave. Margaret Peterson, January 25, 1958 - November 9th, 1988.
"Who is that?" Alice asked.
"My Aunt Maggie." Andy murmured. "Chucky pushed her out a window the night I got him. Two rows over are Phil and Joanne Simpson, my old foster parents. In a corner is my old friend from the academy, Harold Whitehurst, and on the other end is Brett Shelton, a Lieutenant Colonel. He was a bit of a prick, but he didn't deserve death."
"You're honoring them by fighting." Alice realized.
"It gives me a purpose." Andy agreed. "You have a purpose now too, don't you, Alice? You're family is either dead or locked away, all because of one man, if you can even call him that."
"My purpose is to get Aunty Nica out of that asylum." Alice declared. "Whatever it takes."
"That's good." Andy told her. "And we need to be weary, in case Chucky comes back."
"What do you mean?" Alice asked.
"I found a website recently, called Voodoo for Dummies dot com." Andy sighed. "Apparently, there's a variation of Chucky's spell where he can split his soul into multiple dolls. I'm just hoping he doesn't find out."
"And even if he didn't, his kids and wife are still out there." Alice mused. "I know that he had a lover, Tiffany Valentine, and they somehow had kids."
"His son is dead. Killed by Chucky himself." Andy informed. "His grave is right in the middle of a cemetery in Los Angeles. His daughter, on the other hand…"
"We should probably go." Alice announced. "I have a feeling Chucky might be up to something." The two quickly got in the car and sped back into town, only to be stopped by a police car.
"Shit." Andy cursed, as Alice pulled over. "Let me do the talking. Maybe I can somehow say your my niece and was teaching you to drive."
"Not entirely false." Alice smiled, as the cop approached the truck.
"Roll the window down." The cop requested, and Andy's ears perked up. He knew that voice.
"Mike?" Andy asked.
"Hey Andy." Mike Norris replied. "You kidnapping kids now?"
"Very funny." Andy rolled his eyes. "This is Alice. She came to me after that fucking doll killed her family."
"Pierce right?" Mike asked. "I'm sorry about your aunt."
"Don't worry, we're going to get her out soon." Alice replied, determined.
"Look, I'll let you guys off with a warning for now, since I know Andy, but next time, ease up on the gas." Mike advised, before getting back in his car and driving off.
"Guess your luck is better than mine." Andy murmured.
"Considering we've both lost people we care about, I'd say we're pretty well even." Alice grimaced, and the two finally returned to the gun store. "Oh, shit." The door was wide open, with a red pickup still running outside.
"Someone's broke in." Andy realized, noticing broken glass. "But they're still here…" Barclay and Pierce quietly walked up the stairs, seeing three masked gunmen looking around the apartment.
"We can take em, right?" Alice asked, her confidence not entirely up. Andy looked down at her and smiled.
"Absolutely." Andy sprang up, kicking one of the men in the back of the leg, and elbowing another in the face. As the third masked man aimed his gun at Andy, Alice stepped in, sweeping the man's legs and uppercutting him in the jaw as he went down. The first man tried to pull out a pistol but Andy quickly grabbed his arm and pointed it back at his face, squeezing the trigger and putting a bullet right between the eyes. The second robber grabbed a shard of glass, slashing at Andy, who dodged every swipe and pulled out his own knife, stabbing the man in the heart and slitting the throat.
"Don't fucking move!" The third gunman shouted, having got up and grabbing Andy's shotgun, aiming it at Alice.
"No!" Andy yelled, beginning to move, startled the gunman. As the burglar moved the shotgun towards Andy, a shot rang off, and Barclay stopped in his tracks. He looked down, expecting to see a hole in his chest, but then looked back up, seeing blood coming out of the masked man's mouth. The robber fell to the ground, and behind him was Alice, with a smoking pistol in her hand.
"Are you alright?" Andy asked, helping her up.
"No." Alice admitted. "I've never killed anyone before." In the dining area, Andy heard Chucky snickering through the gag. Sighing in frustration, Andy walked over and ripped the cloth out, causing Chucky to laugh even louder.
"What?" Andy demanded.
"Don't worry, Alice will be fine." Chucky cackled. "Killing is like riding a bike. It gets easier every time!"
"Fuck you!" Alice shouted, taking out brass knuckles and pummeling Chucky until he lost consciousness.
"As much as I hate to agree with him, he is right." Andy told the girl. "It does get easier."
"But why?" Alice asked. "I'm not a killer."
"No, you're not." Andy agreed. "You're not like Chucky. That's what separates us from him: we'll only kill when absolutely necessary."
"That sounds a lot like Batman stuff." Alice smirked.
"Well, the movies are good." Andy shot back. "Speaking of, have you ever seen the Dark Knight?"
"Nope." Alice replied. "Mommy and Daddy never let me watch TV much."
"Well, it's a good thing you're with your Uncle Andy then." Barclay joked, and after looking around a bit, found the disc for the movie. "Come on, I'll make popcorn." Alice smiled, and sat on the couch. After making popcorn, and grabbing a soda for Alice and a beer for himself, Andy dimmed the lights, and the two sat together and watched the Batman movie.
For the rest of the year, Andy and Alice continued sparring, each getting better every time. Every other week, they would join Mike a few times to help him stop criminals, but other than that, the months were quiet for them. Chucky, Tiffany, or their kids weren't seen or heard from in a while...
