Chapter 4: Trouble in Paradise part 1, Gator Aid

Log 26: Profit solution

"The latest batch of HEADSPACE creatures seems promising. Dr. Yen and Dr. Shwartz don't seem convinced about the funding idea me and Subject D-MJ, have come up with. MR. JAWSUM came up with the idea himself of starting a gambling business right here in Nearbye that would not only benefit him but us as well. We were concerned about how we would even get him the rights to own a business up top but he reassured me that he and his GATOR GUYS already had it covered and that half the funds he got from his new casino that he recently secured in the Seaside Resort would go directly to us. Dr. Shwartz told me it wasn't a good idea to trust a literal talking shark with sunglasses, but we need the money, and I'm tired of eating INSTANT RAMEN all the time…also if the notes about him are correct, JAWSUM may be a master manipulator and business tactician, but he keeps his word no matter what, and that's why you read notes."

-Dr. Rayburn Simmons

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Kim's House

{Hair dye 101 and beauty tips with Aubrey and Kim ft. KEL}

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Aubrey walked down the street towards Kim's house ditching her usual jacket and only wearing her undershirt, AUBREY walked along behind her carrying her recently reaquired MR. PLANTEGG plush and still wearing her old battered nightgown. "Hey kiddo, no offense or anything but how come you and your friends don't smell like sweat and dirt all the time?"

AUBREY'S feelings seemed a little hurt regardless. "Huh? What? why would you say that? d-do I…I smell bad?"

Aubrey had to refrain from laughing as AUBREY sniffed under her arms. and burst out laughing when her younger self recoiled in disgust holding her nose. "Ew! I do stink! I smell like KEL!"

Aubrey felt bad for laughing when she heard AUBREY sniffle a bit and begin to cry, placing her hands on her shoulders to comfort her.

"Hey! I said no offense! I'm sorry! jeez...what I meant was I see you guys wearing the same clothes all the time, and after everything we've been through in the past month from going to the city and into outer space, don't you guys ever you know…take a bath every once in a while?"

AUBREY stopped crying and looked perplexed by this odd question. "Well, Back in HEADSPACE we never really needed to, the only time I can think of needing to get clean was when everyone was looking for BASIL in the JUNKYARD."

The eventually two reached Kim's house and knocked on her door. Sounds of commotion could be heard from inside before the front door opened to a very nervous and worn out Kim staring at them. "O-oh hey Aubrey! good to see you, you here for the hair dye appointment?" Aubrey could hear loud crashes and screaming coming from inside.

"Kim…who else you got over?" Aubrey asked with a raised eyebrow, the sounds screaming and cursing caused her to groan and rub her forehead. "Sorry one sec…KEEP HIM STILL AND DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!"

"I can't he's too slippery! and the kid's stronger than he looks! Ow! my arm! he just fucking bit me!" a voice called back.

"Dammit Vance..."Kim cursed under her breath and glanced back at her best friend with a nervous smile, "Why don't you come inside and get comfortable?"

The inside of Kim's house looked like a tornado had blown through and knocked everything over, HERO sat on the couch curled up into a ball flashing grey and there was a door off of it's hinges. They entered Kim's room and opened it to reveal a battered Vance watching a very angry KEL duct taped to the wall.

"Lemme down! or I'll bite you again!" KEL shouted kicking against his restraints. Vance looked at the fresh bite marks on his arm from previous attempts to subdue the dream kid, then he looked back at Kim with a pleading expression.

"Please tell me he doesn't have rabies..." Vance said, KEL snarled like a wild animal making Vance flinch back. Aubrey stared at the scene in disbelief.

"I have a couple of questions, first, why is KEL here? second, why is he wrapped up in tape?"

Kim nervously looked back at Vance and then to Aubrey "Well it started like this…"

Three hours ago…

"-Hero and I are going on a trip to with our family to Nearbye city for a week and we don't have enough room for our dream selves to come along, can you watch them while we're gone? thanks…XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO -Kel."

Vance read the note carefully word by word, It was Kel's handwriting alright, judging by how sloppy and hastily put together it was it took a while to decipher it. "P.S. do not give KEL Orange Joe no matter how much he asks for it…Huh, what's that suppose to mean?"

"I think it's exactly what it says Vance, it's like that gremlin movie we used to watch, don't give em any candy or that caffeinated stuff after midnight." Kim said giving KEL a knowing glance.

Kim and Vance exchanged confused looks as they stared at HERO and KEL standing at the front door.

"This is kind of weird...no one said we were babysitting kids for a week." Vance whispered,

"Yeah, but what are we suppose to do? leave em outside?" Kim eyed the mischievous look KEL was giving her.

"Hey you got anything to drink? I'm parched for some Orange Joe!" HERO gave his brother a sideways glance. "No KEL, no Orange Joe…you can have some milk or water instead." he chided, KEL crossed his arms and huffed.

Kim was glad at least one of them had common sense, after seeing what damage Kel could do on a caffeine rush she shuddered to imagine what this younger version of him with magic powers was capable of…after hearing about how Aubrey's dream self literally headbutted dream Kel through several walls at school last week, she wasn't about to take any chances.

"Hey little guy, my name is Kim and this is my older brother Vance, make yourself at home." Kim introduced herself with a cautious smile and shouldered Vance to do the same.

The two dream friends walked inside and sat on the couch, "Uh ok so…since we're babysitting you guys, what do you want to do first?" Vance chimed in.

"What kinda video games you got?" KEL asked

"We just snagged this sweet new game from Hobeez today and I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it out!" he declared pulling out a game from his pocket labeled 'Bark Souls 3 prepare to cry edition'.

"I don't want to be the one to crash your party before it's started, but don't you think that's a little too violent for these kids? normally I'm totally up for it but for Hero's sake" Kim commented, gesturing towards HERO'S concerned expression.

KEL rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively "Pffft! that's nothin' compared to the baddies we've fought before…right bro?" KEL turned to HERO with a confident grin.

HERO looked unsure but nodded with Kim. "I agree with Kim, this may be a bit too much for me though but I'll sit back and watch you play."

Vance and KEL gave each other a high five "Yes! this is gonna be awesome!" the two of them excitedly running to Vance and Kim's bedroom to set up the game console. Kim decided to take a seat by HERO on the couch. "So HERO, this is my first time meeting you, well the dream you…are you really like, a younger version Hero?"

HERO nodded and pointed at himself. "Yes, I'm what he looked like he was younger, you kind of remind me a little of BERLY back in HEADSPACE...I wonder what happened to everyone else."

Kim leaned in with rising interest. "Really? I have a dream version of myself? now I'm curious…so what do you do anyways? I know that little adorable version of Aubrey hits like a truck and I can assume that your Kel runs fast and annoys people to death? what's your special shtick?"

HERO chuckled a bit at the comment about KEL, it was mostly true. "I am the healer of the group. I can make healing items to help them recover in BATTLE and can revive them with my HOMEMADE JAM if they become TOAST. There's me, KEL and AUBREY as you've already met, and then there's MARI, BASIL, and OMORI."

Kim thought about those names, Wasn't MARI the girl that Aubrey was close to that died? and BASIL was a name she was definitely familiar with, she had seen them all of the dream friends up close…but the last one…OMORI was a complete mystery.

"Who's this OMORI guy? is he your leader?" Kim questioned, HERO was about to tell her about him when KEL abruptly burst out of the room holding a spider on a stick. "Hey look at the big spider I found! I- oops…"

KEL tripped over his own feet and let go of the stick watching the spider soar through the air in slow motion and landing directly on HERO'S face…

"Uh oh…" KEL could only mutter as HERO turned grey and froze up, tears welling up in his eyes. "HERO? are you ok?" HERO didn't answer and continued to sit there paralyzed with fear.

Kim carefully lifted the spider off of him and put it outside. Immediately he flopped over on the side of the couch and hid his face. "I-I need a moment…I'll be fine." he trembled as he lay there curled up into a ball, shaking in fear. Vance walked out of the room wiping his brow. "Uh, what's wrong with the mini Hero, Kim did you tell him about those scary movies Mikhael brought over to watch last night?"

KEL walked up to him next to him and gestured to his brother with a sympathetic expression. "He's scared of spiders, if he sees one he freezes up and refuses to move." KEL explained, Vance nodded in understanding, he was also scared of spiders when he was younger so he could relate.

"I'm gonna get something to drink you want anything?" Kim offered.

"A bottle of cola…" Vance said plainly

"A-Apple juice please…" HERO sputtered

"Orange Jo-"

"No!" Everyone shouted

"…"

"A glass of milk…" KEL muttered after a moment's hesitation.

Now

"But that doesn't explain why KEL is tapped to the wall…" Kim stared at the ANGRY KEL trying to chew through his constraints.

"Whole different story involving the fridge and a case of a certain soda drink we have for some reason." she emphasized towards Vance, who tried to hide his guilt expression.

"…it's probably best if he stays there knowing him, we won't let him starved though. Anyways wanna do that hair dye we talked about, AUBREY?" Kim turned her attention to the smaller Aubrey next to her.

AUBREY bounced up and down in her chair excitedly as they got her ready for her hair dye treatment. "First we gotta wash the hair before dyeing it, right now it looks pretty passable so that tracks. Now we need to pick a color…"

"Pink! I want pink like Aubrey's!" AUBREY exclaimed eagerly as she became enveloped in a yellow glow.

[AUBREY became HAPPY]

KEL made a gagging sound from his duct tape cocoon. "Gross…" Kim glanced over to him with a mischievous smile "Keep complaining cause we're doing yours next." KEL shut his mouth immediately afterwards trying to shrink down into his prison as much as possible.

"We'll need you to wear this vest so we don't make a mess on the floor, I can't tell you how many times my Mom has chewed me out for getting stains on the floor, they don't come out easy..." Kim noted, making sure to check the mat underneath the chair.

Kim got a brush from the bathroom and prepared the solution. "Alright now we brush- do you smell that? ugh God, where is that stench coming from?!" Kim sniffed the air and plugged her nose, looking accusingly at KEL who casually shrugged inside his duct tape prison, "Wasn't me…I swear I didn't cut the cheese this time."

Kim scrunched up her face in disgust and traced the smell coming from AUBREY, who had a guilty expression. "Aubrey said I smelled earlier...do I need to take a bath?" Vance opened up the bathroom door and waved a hand for her to enter…

…a half hour later AUBREY was wearing a clean teal t-shirt that was way too big for her, it came down to her feet and covered her legs. "Alright I think I found out what smelled so bad and I was right, this nightgown needs to go!" Kim threw out the nightgown into the trash and continued the hair dye session.

"So we have to brush the hair now, quick question, is your hair naturally purple?" Kim asked, AUBREY nodded.

"Alright now comes the Vaseline part, we gotta coat the edges of your hairline and neck to prevent the actual dye stuff from getting on your skin." Aubrey checked over the supplies. Bottles of mixing solution, pink hair coloring, gloves… "Everything seems to be here so lets get started."

...

Two hours later and they were blasting AUBREY'S face with a dryer, her new pink hair flowing behind her as it dried. There was still some pastel purple visible but it was only noticeable if you really looked.

"...And…done! here's the mirror sweetie." Kim announced proudly as Vance held the mirror up for AUBREY to see herself, AUBREY was at a loss for words when she saw her self in the mirror. she ran a hand through her hair, it felt so natural like it was always that color to begin with.

She turned to her two hairdressers for the night with wide sparkling eyes and whispered. "…Thank you so much! I love it!" she beamed ecstatically before bringing Kim into a tight bear hug. "H-hey kiddo...too...tight...can't breathe..." Kim choked, AUBREY instantly let go of Kim and spouted several apologies.

HERO stood in the back of the room having finally recovered from his phobia induced paralysis and cheered for AUBREY "Wow! looking good AUBREY!" she giggled and did a cheerful twirl.

"We did a fantastic job didn't we?" Kim chuckled and pat her best friend on the back. "If I do say so myself after all, you did my my hair when we first became friends and it's still as good as the day we first did it!" Aubrey took out her fist for a fist bump which Kim eagerly returned. Some cleanup later, Aubrey and AUBREY went home to bring some extra clothes to come back and have a sleepover later, leaving Kim and Vance to decide what to do next.

"Now that's done what to do with KEL?" Kim pondered glancing over to the remaining supply.

"I think we should give the little brat some pink hair too, or how about lime green? I got some in the bathroom, what do you think-" Kim turned her attention to the duct tape prison only to find it empty.

"KEL? yo Vance? where's KEL?" everyone looked up at the empty duct tape cocoon…the sounds of chugging could be heard directly from the kitchen… "Don't tell me he…no oh my god…who let him out!?"

The sounds of maniacal hyperactive laughter soon confirmed their worst fears… HERO cleared his throat and looked a bit ashamed before confessing. "I may have gone to the kitchen earlier to get a drink, so I poured myself a cup of Orange Joe. I was going water it down but I heard KEL saying he really needed to go to the bathroom but he just ran off to the kitchen to…oh…oh no…I'm sorry..."

to be continued...

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Nearabye City, Seaside Resort Casino

{Under New Management}

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"C'mon big ones big ones!" a casino patron chanted as the slot machine poured out a pile of seashells. The Casino was bustling with people from all over trying their luck to get as many of these CLAMS as possible. In a office on the fifth floor, MR. JAWSUM leaned back in his chair examining a dull metal coin in his hand while Dr. Ray stood in front of his desk.

"And these…dollars and cents…are how humans pay for things around here?" JAWSUM questioned, flipping over the tiny piece of metal in his fingers.

Rayburn nodded "Yeah pretty much, it's a little more refined of a currency system then what you used for money back in HEADSPACE...sir."

MR. JAWSUM adjusted his sunglasses to get a closer look at a dollar bill and frowned at the man in the picture adoring the front of it, imagining his own face on it instead. "Bah! too much effort to keep track of all these little green pieces of paper and bits of metal, why if I had a say in how things were run around here we'd use a much less convoluted system."

The humanoid shark adjusted the collar of his suit. "Which leads to my business proposition…I purpose a better solution to the clutter of modern day currency…A entire clean sweep of this city's Economy. Your draconian currency system replaced with something much better and more visually desirable! we'll call it 'the currency of the future' (patent pending)…it's also more economical friendly than burning trees if I heard correctly and they can't be counterfeited like your real world money can with a simple signature branding. Introducing...CLAMS, the future in the palm of your hand." MR. JAWSUM finished his sales pitch and proudly grinned to himself.

Dr. Ray seemed like he wasn't quite understanding the deal so JAWSUM adjusted his fancy glasses and leaned forward over his desk with a resigned sigh to look at the doctor. "I want to replace real world money with CLAMS…I'm still working on the solution of how." he answered plainly.

Dr. Ray's face contorted into a look of realization then into concern. "Wait you want to what? Sir you can't just replace dollars and cents with CLAMS! how are you even going to do that anyways without breaking several laws? we're trying to remain under cover not become the top of IRS' most wanted list!"

The businessman shark chuckled to himself before calmly snapping his fingers, two GATOR GUYS walked in carrying a wooden crate. "First of all no I'm no criminal I know how the law works, CLAMS are going to be the only working currency around here in this local area for now, think of it like...arcade tokens, you cash em' in you get prizes, everyone leaves happy and it's completely legal as long as it isn't spent outside the casino grounds. Second of all…how are they gonna resist a chance at these beauties?" On his command he had them open the box with a crowbar. Inside the box were over a billion tiny glittering golden seashells each of them made out of pure gold. Dr. Rayburn's eyes went wide. "Are these? are they really made of…"

MR. JAWSUM drummed his fingers on his desk and gave a wide toothy grin that was illuminated by the sparkling gold. "…24 karat gold per piece? I may have intentionally omitted that tiny detail about CLAMS…more specifically these GILDED CLAMS, My own magnum opus in my short time here in this real world of yours…I'd wager a single piece is probably worth more than a diamond. Once people see these beauties, they'll fork over all the cash they have to get one of these…and once word gets out… "

He picked up a golden CLAM from the box and rolled it in his finger, it glittered and sparkled in his glasses reflection. "…I'll have the people wrapped around my finger in no time…JAWHAWHAWHAWHAWHAW!"

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Nearabye City, Seaside Hotel

{Ten-star rating}

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One week later...

The car pulled up to the hotel and stopped, Hero and Kel stepped out along with their parents and Hector to stretch their legs. Hours of travel and finally ready to kick back, no crazy adventures, no dream friends to keep track of…and more importantly no imagination creatu-

"Hey guys! it's HERO! good to see the Boss's best man again!" a voice called out to them.

Hero turned to see several humanoid alligators wearing sunglasses and a fancy suits standing in front of them. "Uh…Kel? is he talking about someone else?" he said in a wary tone. "I dunno bro, we're the only one's here. Hey crocodile dude? is there some kind of mistake."

The lead GATOR GUY shook his head. "No mistake here! just doing my job, of keeping the Boss's new business chain running, good to have HERO back...we're alligators by the way not crocodiles, those guys are scammers who just want your money, we're the real deal."

Hero struggled to understand what he was seeing, maybe he was dreaming and still in the car on the way to the hotel until Hero's mom came out of the car with a frightened look. "Henry? who are these people? why are they wearing crocodile costumes? are they going to rob us?!"

("So they are real, great...more magic stuff from D.R.E.A.M., just what this vacation needed."). KEL sarcastically thought to himself.

The GATOR GUY looked over at the family with a toothy smile. "Oh wait, are these are the rest of your folks? terribly sorry for the inconvenience ma'am we're just here to escort the man of the hour to his new luxury suite, courtesy of MR. JAWSUM himself, any friends of HERO are friends of ours, right this way please." The GATOR GUYS stepped aside and let them through, some even offered to carry their luggage.

The family was escorted to a fancy hotel room with a double king sized bed, a outdoor pool and a 20 inch plasma screen tv. Everyone was in awe at the sight "Henry, I didn't know you knew such wealthy people…" Hero's dad remarked.

But that was the problem, he didn't! Hero had no idea who this MR. JAWSUM was or why he was offering him and his family such luxuries.

Meanwhile Kel decided to check the mini fridge under the table and his eyes immediately widened, "They have Orange Joe? and it's vintage!? no way! Hero! this the best hotel ever!" he cheered as he flopped on the bed.

Their dad picked up a strange looking device with a single red button sitting by the bed. "What's this thing?" he asked skeptically.

"That's the room service button, you press it and we'll be with you in a instant." A GATOR GUY answered. "Give it a try! we're not joking it's instant!"

Kel pressed the big red button and a second later a GATOR GUY entered the room and stood at attention. "You called?"

after getting through the initial shock, Kel was the first to speak. "Hmm, I'm kinda hungry after that long trip, how about a bunch of burgers?"

The GATOR GUY turned on his walky talky and whispered into it. two seconds later another GATOR GUY rushed in carrying a tray with a dozen fresh burgers and set it down in front of Kel, his mouth watering at the sight. "Oh my God am I in heaven? This is the best hotel ever!" he grinned and dug in, when he finished he looked at the room service with sparkles in his eyes, "Could I have some more please?"

Hero watched the GATOR GUYS leave the room before he turned to Kel "Hey Kel, you shouldn't eat so much you'll start putting on weight." Kel stifled a belch in between bites before responding. "Relax bro! I'll just run it off like I usually do, I've eaten way more than that before I'll be fine!"

Hero sighed and decided to go outside with his parents to watch the sunset. "Mom…Dad…I'm don't think we should be-"

Four GATOR GUYS were standing around his parents offering drinks and fanning them with palm leaves, another was playing with Sally, two of them were playing fetch with the dog Hector. His mom called over to him. "Oh isn't this wonderful Hero? you should try this room service, it's amazing!"

Hero's dad was holding back tears of laughter. "Hey son, hehaha! this guy j-just told me-e-e(Wheeze) the funniest joke, about an Alligator and a dentist walking into a bar…Ahhahaha!"

Hero stood there dumbfounded as his parents were enjoying themselves, his brother was gorging himself on burgers, and he was the only one who seemed bothered by all this! he flinched when he felt a tap on the shoulder. A GATOR GUY stood next to him holding a clipboard "Hey folks, I don't mean to be rude if I'm interrupting anything special, but our Boss, MR. JAWSUM said he wanted to see you and your family personally in his private lounge up at the casino's brand new sixth floor. He has a very special promotion for his favorite right hand man and a offer for everyone else! go get em HERO! be the entrepreneur you we're meant to be!"

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Seaside Casino JAWSUM'S private lounge

{My dinner with MR. JAWSUM}

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The luxury resort was massive, having been a empty hotel before the big renovation that in the span of a single night turned it into a bustling casino. The family passed dozens of gamblers playing slots took the elevator up to the sixth floor of the Resort. Inside the sixth private floor of The Seaside Casino was a lavishly decorated room, fit with a dining table, a fireplace with a real bearskin rug and suave jazz record labeled 'Gator Gambol' playing in the background, at the far end of the table sat MR. JAWSUM himself.

"Ah welcome! come! come! take a seat! make yourself at home, I'm glad you all could make it." The family took seats across from the mafia boss.

Kel sat down heavily, his stomach slightly distended from all the burgers he ate earlier. "Kel, I told you not to eat all that stuff before we went out." Hero scolded, Kel groaned and rubbed his gut, not in any mood to respond."But...But it was so good..." his mom frowned and waved a finger at him. "No buts! or that's where all that food is going to go if you keep eating like that!"

MR. JAWSUM picked up a oversized cigar and with a snap of his fingers a GATOR GUY lit it for him, before he tapped his finger on the table to get everyone's attention. "Let's get down to business, HERO...or should I be calling you Henry instead? I know you aren't the HERO I know… your the 'real' Hero aren't you?"

everyone else looked at him with questioning stares, MR. JAWSUM continued. "Well I'll take your silence as a yes, well regardless, I brought you all here tonight because I have a proposition for you…and your family."

He pulled out a stack of papers from under the table and had his men them passed around. "All you have to do is sign your name on the fine golden line under all that text and you'll be set for the next level of our relationship."

Hero however decided to look over the CONTRACT in his hands reading the print before setting it down with a frown. "This…this is a binding contract saying that if we sign these we'll have…unlimited access to company assets, a special infinite use credit card compatible with all stores and restaurants all around Nearbye...an unlimited all you can eat buffet? and…what's this last part here?"

He showed JAWSUM the last line in the contract. The loan shark grinned and pointed at the last part. "Ah you mean CLAMS? that's the money of the future my astute friend. and all of this can be yours in exchange for your unwavering loyalty and lifetime service to me, plus we got excellent dental insurance as you see in that tiny bit right here-."

Hero looked sternly at the mafia boss and shoved the paper away and stood up from his seat to leave. "No…this is insane! we're not signing your CONTRACT, I'm sorry but we're leaving." Hero said sternly.

JAWSUM'S smile slowly turned into a harsh scowl, with a snap of his fingers the doors of the elevator were blocked off by a GATOR GUY, several more appeared behind everyone's seats cracking their knuckles, Hero slowly sat back down. JAWSUM leaned forward his confident toothy grin back. "Now now, is that way to treat someone who invited you into their home as honored guests, and offered you the finest we have to offer?" he sighed and wistfully took a sip from his mug.

"How about a preview of the goods to sweeten the bucket?" He reached under his seat and fished out a suitcase. The family still didn't seem convinced of JAWSUM'S offer, time to pull the ace up the sleeve.

"I know what your thinking…can't I just fight my way out of this casino? absolutely...if you had one of those dream kids with you, but maybe If you let me tell you a sad little backstory first, that perhaps it will help you take off the rose tinted glasses and see things my way…" the lights dimmed in the room for theatrical effect…

"Once upon a time, there was a businessman with a big dream, and he was very good at what he did but he did not have anyone to help him find his dream and he was very SAD about it. One day a bunch of children from a far off forest came to his office and asked him. "Mr businessman? can we work for you? we promise to work hard and make you HAPPY and to see you accomplish your dream." So He had them sign CONTRACTS and the children did as they promised and the businessman treated the children like they were his own, until one child became jealous and came to the businessman in a rage. "I think you favor my friends more than me, and I want to take them back to the far off forest so we can play again." The businessman was confused, he had done no wrong to this boy, he was a man of his word who made sure to give them all equal share in love, respect and pay. Instead of listening to reason the jealous boy attacked him! and stole all his friends away back to the forest! the businessman was left with nothing, his company in shambles and once again he was left all alone…his precious dream taken from him…that businessman was my father DOCTOR JAWSUM, he died trying to support me and my family from the poverty those kids brought upon us."

JAWSUM wiped a tear from under his glasses, "All I ask is for you to take pity on a humble entrepreneur trying to achieve the dream his father worked so hard for."

He gazed sadly over to a portrait of a realistic looking great white shark. "The HERO I remembered was like a son to me, and I'm hoping you can fill the space he left when he was taken from me...all it is just a tiny signature is that so bad?" MR. JAWSUM said with a sincere tone.

Hero looked around at his family, they had already signed the CONTRACTS given to them, leaving all eyes on him. "Well Hero? it's up to you now." Kel said with a look of anticipation.

With a defeated sigh he gave in to the pressure and picked up the pen, putting down his name. ("I'm sorry everyone...Sunny, can you forgive me?") he thought sadly as he shoved the signed paper to MR. JAWSUM. "JAWHAWHAWHAWHAWHAW! Atta boy! I knew you were smart enough to know a good deal when you see it! we're gonna go places, we're gonna go big!"

JAWSUM laughed and opened the case revealing hundreds of tiny glittering gold CLAMS the shine obscuring the sinister look the loan shark had behind those shades…

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Kim's house

{Containment and exorcism 101 with The Maverick ft. the Dream friends}

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"Why would you let him drink that? the note specifically said not to give him Orange Joe!" Kim shouted at HERO shaking him back and forth by his shirt collar.

"I didn't think he wouldn't drink a entire case of it…" HERO shuddered.

Vance was busy holding the door closed while a hyperactive KEL ricocheted a ball against it. "You had the damn note on you and you didn't think to read it yourself? Your unhinged little brother with might I add, superhuman strength and speed is probably gonna kill us all now because you let him drink a entire six cans of caffeinated orange juice! and why do we even have that in the house?"

"I wanted to bribe Kel for some favors ok?" Kim argued.

Kim fumbled with her phone and dialed Aubrey's number. Thankfully she picked up immediately. "Hello? Kim? what's up?"

Kim sighed in relief "Oh thank god, we need your help now!" A loud crash and a high pitched scream caused her to turn around to see Vance looking at a hole in the door and KEL"S eye peeking through "Heeeeeere's KEL!" Vance screamed again and slapped his hand when he tried to reach through to grab the doorknob. "Shit's going down right now just hurry!"

On the other side of the call Aubrey exchanged looks with BASIL before getting up and lifting him up on her shoulders to rush out of the house as fast as she could before it was too late.

Kim and Vance lay sprawled out on the floor, HERO was the last man standing between him and his sugar crazed brother. K-KEL? I need you to calm down ok? slow steady breaths slow and steady…" But it looked like he wasn't listening, his eyes glowed yellow and his whole body fidgeted with barely contained energy for some reason his checkered shirt was missing. "Where's the joe HERO?"

HERO shook his head "I-I don't know what you talking about."

KEL'S deranged smile widened even more as he slowly stalked towards his older brother like a serial killer. "Don't lie to me! I know you haves it! the precious joe ,Give it to me! I needs it I needs it I needs it! my precious...you haves it."

[KEL became MANIC]

"KEL please! don't do this! I'm begging you!" HERO cried as he attempted to defend himself with his spatula.

KEL'S body radiated a fierce yellow glow as he approached. "Give. Me. The. Joe!" he screamed raising his ball to throw it.

But just as he was about to toss it, Vance came up from behind him and smacked him in the back of the head with a lamp knocking him out cold. Kim got up and rubbed her face then looked down at KEL'S unconscious still twitching body face down in the ground. "Is he…did you just kill him?"

HERO checked his body and let out a breath of relief "No he's fine…but it will be a while before he calms down though, no telling what will happen when he wakes up…"

HERO thought about a plan. "Let me go get some help. In the meantime I would recommend staying out of throwing range when he eventually does wake up…"

...

Aubrey finally reached the house and burst through the door to a unusual sight. The lights were out and the windows shut, Kim, Vance AUBREY, and HERO were sitting around a ritual circle wearing blankets like robes, where a still hyper, shirtless KEL was bound up in the center of a occult circle on the ground. on the far end Mikhael was dressed in a dollar store cultist robe chanting in a strange language and swinging a real holy censer over the boy. To her surprise OMORI and MARI were beside him watching the scene unfold.

"Kim…why are…what is going on?! what the hell is Mikhael doing?" Aubrey exclaimed

Kim gave her a shrug "Honestly, I don't even know, HERO went out to find help and Mikhael wanted to do this ritual thing for who knows what so we let him. He's convinced that the kid's been possessed by a demon or something and wants to exorcise it."

Aubrey looked more confused at this explanation, "But…why? the kid's just having a sugar high, shouldn't we stop him?"

Kim smirked and whispered to her "I thought it would be funny to watch him get mauled by the little gremlin kid when this doesn't work, right now I'm recording this so we can watch it again later, c'mon it'll be funny as shit."

Aubrey stifled a laugh and sat down next to her. BASIL hid behind her and watched. Mikhael began the ritual raising his arms above KEL. "Oh great lord above I, The Maverick, offer this tormented possessed child to thee! take pity on this poor unfortunate soul and release him from the demons that plague him! oooooohhhhhhooooooo…."

KEL began squirming around and snarling at him. "Gimmethejoegimmethejoegimmethejoe!"

The Maverick recoiled in horror. "It is worst than I thought! we will need to resort to extreme measures! Monochrome boy! bring…the sacrifice…"

OMORI walked into the kitchen and brought out a raw chicken, stabbing it with his steak knife leaking the blood and raw juices all over KEL and into his mouth. AUBREY gagged and ran into the bathroom to throw up, while everyone else looked appalled and disgusted by the unsanitary act. KEL started to choke and cough on the chicken fluids. "(cough) (hack)precious…give me… the precious joe!"

"Excellent! it's working! I think...Tall attractive purple haired maiden! bring me the sacred oils!"

"Actually, My name is MARI by the way, and I don't know if I have any 'sacred oils' but I have some olive oil in my picnic basket if you want?" she said calmly

Mikheal took the olive oil and looked it over, nodding to himself. "…The Maverick would prefer we used embalming oils but mom wouldn't let get any from the church so we will use this as a acceptable substitute...but I digress! time is of the essence!"

The Maverick poured the olive oil on KEL'S forehead and began to paint a circle using the chicken blood on his chest. "As we prepare for the final rites I, The Maverick would like to thank you all for gathering here today to give your support in ridding our friend of his demonic affliction. Now for the final piece of the ritual…I will release the demon and capture it within this vessel." The Maverick reached into his robe and pulled out a pickle to use as a sacrificial dagger. "I have researched forbidden knowledge from a reliable scientific source that pickles can be used to capture souls within...one man even willingly turned himself into one for his own entertainment."

"The power of Christ compels you!" he screamed and raised it above his head.

At the sight of the pickle KEL hissed and broke free of his bindings to leap on Mikhael. "Oh no! no! the demon has escaped it's shackles! get back! no! ahhhhghhh! not my wig! give it back! somebody help!"

Aubery and Kim burst out laughing when Mikhael got mauled by KEL while everyone else save for OMORI looked on in horror...

At the same time, BASIL walked back into the room with a tray of beverages. "Hey everyone! I made some drinks if you wanted som-"

KEL abandoned his victim and crawled over to BASIL and snatched a cup from the tray before downing them one after the other. "KEL! if you wanted some peppermint tea you could have asked first!" BASIIL scolded.

KEL'S eyes suddenly grew heavy and he slumped onto the floor fast asleep. Mikhael, recovering from his brutal attack saw BASIL standing over KEL'S body. "W-what? how did you? you did it?…clearly you, Green child of the flowers…are more of a master of exorcism than I! You in your infinite wisdom of the dirt! I am but a novice in your eyes, please I beseech you...teach this unworthy fool your ways oh wise one!" Mikheal rejoiced as he crawled over to BASIL on his knees, head lowered in reverence.

BASIL looked bewildered by this reaction and looked to the others for help. "Uh…um…I…I have made some peppermint tea while you were busy with your ritual thing, and peppermint tea can be used to help people sleep better at night because it was getting kind of late and we needed to go to sleep soon..."

Mikhael smacked his face in astonishment "The tea of minted peppers…of course! a and where can I find these minted…peppers you speak of oh wise one?"

BASIL escorted The Maverick to the kitchen to show him how to make tea, HERO leaned over and carefully picked up KEL who snored loudly but did not stir. "Thanks, I didn't think I would have been able to get him to calm down, if you don't mind us staying here still after all that, you are very good hosts for putting up with us."

Kim laughed and patted HERO on the shoulder. "No problem, your not so bad yourself Hero jr. just keep that lil' goblin of yours under control." Everyone left to return home after a very exciting day, wondering how Kel and Hero were enjoying their vacation…

To be continued...for real this time