The Kid
Chapter Three: Let's All Go to the Puppet Show!
--
Rolan was once again trying to impress upon Alviss the importance of etiquette, good behavior, and the glory of the chess pieces, with no more success than usual.
"What you did to that poor rook Kouga was not funny at all," he said firmly. "The poor man couldn't sit down for a week, and now he has even more of a complex about people who are better-looking than him."
"Which is everyone," Alviss muttered, swinging his legs back and forth as he sat on his bed and looked bored.
Rolan continued his lecture. "And I really think you went overboard with Loco. I appreciate that children like to pull pranks, but hitting the same person with a balloon full of paint twenty times in one day is definitely overkill."
"It was twenty-three times, actually. Besides, it's not like she complained."
"That's true, but it still wasn't very nice. And if you were going to keep on trying until you got a reaction out of her, you were wasting your time."
"I bet the firebomb would have done the trick, if you hadn't taken it away," Alviss said sulkily.
"I doubt it. And what about Magical Roe? All he wanted was to cheer you up with some magic tricks."
"Ha! Don't think I'm not wise to your brainwashing schemes!"
"Now, thanks to you, he says he's never working with another child again. The queen wanted to use him as a tutor for her stepdaughter, too. We had to send Candice instead, and frankly it's not working out very well."
"Big surprise. How on Earth did she get picked?"
"Childrearing skills aren't common among the Chess Pieces. Which, admittedly, might the real problem where you're concerned. I'm sure it must be difficult for you, but please try to bear with it."
Alviss glared at him stonily.
Rolan sighed. "At least try to stay away from the new recruits from now on. You've already scared off several batches of them. At this rate, you might actually inconvenience Phantom!" Rolan spoke of inconveniencing Phantom the same way most people spoke of mass murder. But Alviss was unmoved.
"Do you think a knife through the heart would 'inconvenience' him?" the boy asked sarcastically.
Rolan merely shook his head and muttered something about "poor, traumatized children", which frankly irritated Alviss more than any punishment would have. "Can I go now?" he asked.
"No, you're going to say in your room and reflect on your actions until you learn not to take out you abandonment issues on other people."
"What? I don't have abandonment issues!"
Rolan smiled sympathetically. "It's nothing to be ashamed of; I know just how you feel. But it's time to face the facts. None of your so-called friends have even tried to rescue you. They must have decided you're not worth the bother. But don't worry, we still appreciate you."
Alviss froze as Rolan's words went into him like knives. He'd heard other Chess Pieces taunt him with the same facts before, but they were so obviously just trying to needle him that he'd been able to ignore them. But Rolan really believed what he was saying, and his words brought Alviss' own secret doubts into the open.
Rolan, who had a definite tendency to project his own feelings onto Alviss, had honestly thought that the younger boy had come to the same conclusions as he had long ago. Therefore, he was completely surprised when Alviss burst into tears.
--
"I think if we took him to see the show, it would do him a world of good," Rolan said, waving the pamphlet advertizing a children's puppet show in front of Peta.
"And you're telling me this why?" Peta asked.
Ignoring him, Rolan continued, "Alviss had been so gloomy lately, and I'm afraid it's all my fault. He hasn't even tried to hurt anyone in almost a week."
"I know. It's been wonderful."
"I think we should go on an outing with Alviss. Visit the town, see the puppet show, buy him some presents, and he's bound to cheer up."
"You can do what you want, Rolan, but I don't see what this has to do with me."
"But Peta, Phantom's still gone, so you have to come! You're one of Alviss' favorite people!"
"I may regret asking, but how did you come to that conclusion?"
"Because except for Phantom, you're the one he tries hardest to pull tricks on! So obviously, you're the one he likes most after Phantom!"
Peta stared at Rolan. "You're really living in your own world, aren't you."
Rolan continued, "I suspect the reason he doesn't try to pull pranks on me is because he sees me as another kid. That's why you need to come along. Alviss won't get over his fear of abandonment until he has a stable adult presence in his life."
"And I should care about this why?"
"Come on, all you have to do is spend a few hours watching a play. It'll be fun!"
Peta glared at the flyer. "How did you even get that?"
"Some guy wearing a skull mask knocked on our door and delivered it yesterday."
"Wait, he actually marched up to OUR castle looking for customers? Was he insane?" Remembering the fate of the last salesperson to bother the Chess Pieces, Peta mused, "He must be dead now, so the show was probably already called off."
"As a matter of fact, no. He beat bunch of our pawns, and even defeated the knight they called for back-up. Then he ran off."
"Now that is impressive." Peta had been looking for strong recruits for the Chess Pieces, since they were losing a lot of people in the War Games. "Maybe I should go to this show and try to recruit him."
"So you're coming! Thank you so much! I knew you'd do it."
"Wait a second. I never said I was going with YOU. And I'm certainly not taking the hell-brat."
"Really? If you show up at a children's puppet show without a child in tow… well, how do you think that will look?"
Rolan did have a point. "Fine, you win. When do we leave?"
--
For Peta, second in command of the infamous Chess Pieces, terror of MAR-Heaven, to be attending a puppet show was probably one of the signs of the end of the world. Or at the very least, it was very embarrassing. Peta had actually disguised himself, complete with a wig, to keep from being recognized. He liked to see people cower in fear before him, which was unlikely if this story ever got out.
On the plus side, Alviss had been extremely well-behaved. Well-behaved for Alviss, anyway. He hadn't wanted to go, so he had sat down on the floor and refused to get up despite Rolan's entreaties. Peta had been forced to carry him. But he had remained silent and motionless the whole way, which was a small blessing. He continued to stare off into space now, apparently unmoved by the puppet show.
The rest of the audience, which averaged around six years old, thought the show was great. Rolan was clapping his hands and shouting out responses to the performer's prompts with all of the children. Peta, on the other hand, was so bored he actually fell asleep.
He regretted that later, when he woke up to find that he show was over and whoever had been manipulating the puppets was already gone.
"This is your fault, Rolan," he complained. "You told me not the talk to him beforehand and risk disrupting the show!"
Rolan, however, wasn't paying any attention to him. "Didn't you like the show, Alviss?" he asked anxiously.
"Forget it. The brat's gone cationic or something," Peta grumbled.
"Oh dear, this is very worrying. I'll have to use my last resort. Peta, would you mind watching Alviss for a bit?"
"I suppose you don't care if I do," Peta said sourly. Sure enough, Rolan was already gone.
--
Peta decided to go looking for new ARMs at the local shop, just so the trip wasn't entirely a waste of time. But first, he shed his disguise and put on the earring that marked his rank as a knight. Chess Pieces always got the best discounts- everything came free! He'd bet that the so-called heroes didn't get anywhere near such a good deal.
Peta examined the local selection while the terrified shopkeeper looked on, but he didn't find anything valuable. The only one that came close was a useful but sort of lame ARM that turned people into birds. It didn't really fit Peta's image, but he decided to take it anyway, just to make the shopkeeper's day a little worse. He could add it to the common treasury; there was doubtless someone who would want it. It wasn't a bad ARM, it was just a little too silly for a villain-type to use. But it would probably be a helpful choice for a beginner.
Alviss merely sat in the corner and sulked. But when Peta prepared to leave, he raised his head and demanded, "Aren't you going to pay for that?"
Peta snapped, "In a word, no." When Alviss didn't respond, Peta commented, "I think I like your new 'meek' personality."
That was a mistake. As soon as he saw Alviss' expression, Peta knew the boy had taken this as a challenge. The child took a deep breath, filled up his lungs with air, and then began to howl.
As if to make up for his recent placidness, this one registered a nine on the Alviss version of the Richter Scale. Alviss' piercing temper tantrum even rattled the ARMs on the walls. To Peta's embarrassment, they were beginning to draw a crowd. Now he regretted abandoning his disguise. If word got out that the Chess Pieces couldn't even handle a little boy, he'd never live it down.
Salvation came from a peculiar source. Out of nowhere, a strangely dressed skeleton-masked man swooped down and picked Alviss up. "What's the matter? Are you hurt?" he asked gently.
Alviss was so surprised he stopped screaming. "That's a good boy," the stranger said encouragingly, then stuck a lollipop into Alviss' gaping mouth, effectively silencing him.
"How did you do that?" Peta demanded, amazed. He took a closer look at the stranger, comparing him to Rolan's description. "And you're the one from the puppet show, too. The same person who beat up one of our knights. Now you must join us!"
"I don't know anything about that. I just came by because I wanted to see why this boy was the only one who wasn't laughing at my show. Have you been taking proper care of him?"
"No! That's why we need you!" Peta said desperately. "I'll give you whatever you want! Power, gold, your own country! Just as long as you keep the hell-child tamed!"
"Well, I don't know about that," Ash said. "All I want is to see the children of the world smile."
Peta was surprised, but he rallied. "Well, I can work with that too. How about we get down to serious negotiations."
--
Peta was just sealing a deal with Ash as the newest Chess Piece when Rolan burst into the shop. "Where's Alviss! What have you done with him!?"
"I'm here," Alviss commented, raising his head from the floor, where he'd been playing a game with the marbles Ash had given him.
"You're safe! I'm so relieved. I just walked by a grave with your name on the tombstone! I was so worried!" He paused. "I wonder what that grave was about. I don't think it was for someone else, it had your picture."
Peta said, "Now that I think about it, I seem to recall Phantom telling the Cross Guard that he'd drowned Alviss in a lake or something. You know how he is, he likes to get his opponents riled up. They must have taken him seriously."
Alviss jumped to his feet. "You mean Boss and the others didn't abandon me? They just thought I was dead?" It looked like all his old fire was coming back. Unfortunately. Peta was just glad that now he had secured a babysitter Alviss would become someone else's problem.
"I don't know what's going on, but I'm glad," Ash said. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go get my belongings."
"Who was that?" Rolan asked after he left.
"Just our newest member."
"Oh. More importantly, why didn't you say something earlier? Alviss has been so miserable!"
"Exactly."
"I see! Peta, you wanted Alviss to feel abandoned so he would become closer to us! You really do care!"
"At this point I'm not even going to try to affect your state of denial."
"I'm sorry I ruined your plan. But I'm sure that with time he'll come to think of us as family anyway. Speaking of which, I got you a present Alviss!"
The boy took the package without enthusiasm, but his eyes widened with joy when he opened it. "A make-your-own-firebomb kit!"
Rolan beamed. "I knew you'd like it!"
Peta could feel his blood pressure rising. "Why. On Earth. Would you. Get him. That."
"But he was so gloomy! It was all I could think of! Anyway, Peta, what's that you have?"
Peta hastily said, "This ARM isn't for me! It's only suited for a beginner!"
"You mean you got Alviss something too? How thoughtful!" Rolan turned to the shopkeeper. "So, has he paid for it yet? No? Here's some money."
Peta groaned. "What are you doing? What will people think of the Chess Pieces if we go around paying for things?"
"They'll think we're respectable and citizens and wonderful people."
"That would be a problem! We have a bad reputation to uphold, remember?"
Although, as he looked at Alviss sitting on the floor happily building explosives, Peta thought that the Chess Pieces' reputation was unlikely to last in any case.
--
Disclaimer: I don't own MAR. I didn't own it in any other chapter either.