-CHAPTER 8-NEXT WASTE-LOCK-

"Todd Casil…" Freja muttered aloud, pondering.

"Freja?" Johnny lifted his head, eagerly searching for the origin of her voice.

"It must be him…" she continued, paying no heed to Johnny.

"What?"

"… The next generation's Waste-lock for this town is Todd Casil," she stated simply.

"You mean Squee?"

"The very same," she finally begins talking to him directly. "He is your redemption, Johnny. You cannot prevent someone from becoming a Waste-lock: it is fate, unavoidable. I learned that the hard way. But you can prevent him from becoming you."

"How the fuck do you expect me to do that?! Incase you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly mentor material."

Perfect, she thought. As long as I keep him pre-occupied, he can't think about me. "Here is something that you never remembered because there was never a chance to tell you. Two weeks after you left I found out that I was pregnant. I've seen the way you talk to Todd, look at him, protect him… it's almost paternal…" she trailed off, unintentionally placing the wrong thought in his mind."

"Squee is my–?"

"No way – that's impossible. About a month later, due to stress, I miscarried. Though perhaps, if only metaphorically, he is the son we never had. His own parents ignore him, despise him; you are his only hope. He trusts you, Nny. Although he is afraid of you, he admires you, looks to you for guidance."

"So… you're saying that I need to teach him to accept humanity's faults? How the hell can I demonstrate that when I can't do it myself?"

"Honestly? I don't know. We'll find a way, though. We must."

"We? Are you saying you'll stay?"

"I might as well: I am stuck here after all." Shit, she thought. I'm loosing him, he's back to dwelling on me. "I'll go see him in the morning, hopefully I don't scare him too badly…"

AN: I think I'll end it here since it'll probably be a while til I write anymore anyway.

My apologies for the cliffhanger – I hate them as much as anyone.

I was planning to finish it with Freja's death but I made the mistake of adding a few things on pure impulse – Namely the kiss and Freja mentioning "redemption". Now thanks to my own stupidity, I have to find a way to flow with it.

Oh, yes, and I'm sorry for the whole "Squee being a Waste-lock" thing. I know how obvious and clichéd it's become but I honestly couldn't think of anything else for Johnny's redemption.