The Scene Shifts Chapter 2
I don't own Homestuck.
"dad, look!" said the boy.
Mr. Egbert, or Dad to his son John, stood in the doorway of the kithen.
His 11 year old son was proudly presenting him with a cake. It was sloppy, the left side had collapsed, and the kitchen was a mess, batter, eggs and crème littered the sink table, and floor. The cake had frosting haphazardly applied to it, and in blue icing, it was written:
Hupqy brThduy Dad.
Mr. Egbert could not have been prouder.
He pulled up a clean chair, got a plate and cut himself a slice, while John sat in anticipation.
"Delicious," Dad said, and he put his hand through John's hair.
John beamed, happy that his dad was enjoying it.
The cake wasn't bad, there were no egg shells, the frosting wasn't excessive, and the cake itself wasn't burnt, it didn't look like much, but it was a joy to eat.
"happy birthday dad!" John said.
"Thank you son, now for my present, we're going to clean this place up," Dad said.
John looked a little disappointed.
"After cake," Dad said, cutting John a slice.
John smiled again, and they both went back to eating.
After that, they went about cleaning the kitchen; Dad washed the dishes, while John mopped up.
Dad held up a spoon he was polishing, and he saw his reflection, as well as the person sitting in the living room.
He sighed, and put it down.
"This already happened, there's no point in redoing it," he said.
He went into the living room, past his treasured harlequins, and his mother's urn.
The woman sat on the couch, legs crossed, smiling at him as if she expected something.
"He got me one of those old razors that looks like a pocket knife, if you're wondering," he said to the woman.
He sat down on the couch next to her.
The room shifts, they watch as John hides behind the couch, giggling, as Mr. Egbert comes through the door. The door is slightly ajar, with a bucket of water above it.
Knowing this, Dad jerks the door, knocking the bucket off onto the floor, spilling its water. He then bursts through the door, taking a crème pie from his suitcase and removing the tinfoil on it.
John comes with his own, and hurls it at Dad. Dad dives forward, and hits the ground in a "Gentleman Roll" keeping the pie upright, and dodging John's pie. He flings his pie at John nailing him in the face.
The Prankster meter swings over to Dad once more.
On the couch Dad watches as the memory plays by.
"John was always trying to out-prank me, but I learned from the best," he cast a glance at the picture behind the urn and smiled.
"Hm?" The woman asked, she stared uncomfortably at the bucket lying on the ground, "Oh, yes, your practical jokes."
The scene shifts again, they get up from the couch as it disappears, and they are at a café, a few blocks from Dad's office.
Dad is sitting at a table, with another well-dressed gentleman, this one with a very impressive fedora.
"I'm just really worried about him," Dad said to his friend.
"Are you sure this isn't just a phase?" his friend asks.
"I sure hope it is," Dad said.
"Maybe it has something to do with all those movies he watches?" his friend said.
"I don't think so, I mean, watching those Nicholas Cage and Howie Mandel movies is a fun father-son activity, even if they aren't that good, he always seems so happy doing it. What I don't understand is how he's acting. He's the same, he's still always happy, John hasn't changed at all, but when I look at his walls, Jesus." he said.
"Is it a cry for help?" his friend asked.
"He writes about how stupid he is, thank god he hasn't started to cut himself, but I keep checking his arms just to be safe. I keep trying to tell him how much I love him, how proud of him I am, but I just don't know how to tackle this head on."
Dad sighs once again, and the scene fades away.
"I was really worried about John for a time there," Dad said, "All that hate he wrote, I thought I was losing him."
The scene comes back into focus, Dad's leaving his office again, his friend following him.
The conversation is picked up upon.
"—just saying you should come on over, my wife can bring her friend, I think you two would get along great," Dad's friend said.
"I appreciate you two trying to play matchmaker and all, but I'm going to have to decline," Dad said.
"Are you still all up in arms about that lady you met?" his friend asked.
Dad took out his wallet modus and deployed the scarf.
"Of course I am," Dad said, "You can call me a hopeless romantic-"
"You're a hopeless romantic," his friend interrupted.
"But I think I'll meet her again."
"You don't even know her name," his friend said, retrieving his fedora.
The two headed towards the elevator.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Dad asked.
"This is always the direction this conversation goes, bottom line is, the scientist lady's gone, I doubt you'll ever see her again," his friend said.
"Maybe," Dad said, returning the scarf to his sylladex.
"You need to meet people, not chase after some mysterious broad," He put the hat on.
Little did the friend know that there was a fake panel in the hat, which hid a blob of shaving cream. Placing the hat on his head, pushed the panel through it, and it splattered on his head and trickled down his face.
Fedorafreak: :|
Dad: :)
"Don't worry, it'll wash out of your precious hat," Dad said, laughing.
The real Dad smiled at this memory, "I wonder what happened to him when all this meteor stuff happened," he asked his companion.
His companion only said, "His is another journey, and I will see to him later."
The scene blends into itself and shifts once again.
When the scene reforms, they are in a Derse prison block, and the memory shows Dad beating his way through imps and Carapascians.
The arcagent confronts him, and issues a silly but dangerous threat with his switchblade.
Dad decided to show him by setting his hat on fire, and stomping it out. The arcagent regards the hated garment, and allows the prisoner to go free.
"That was nice of him," Dad had thought at the time.
The scene blends through again, shifting, this time Dad sees himself as a young boy.
He places a cake on the table, written on it was "Happy Birthday Mom,"
They are in the house Dad grew up in, and it's his mother's Birthday. His mother now sits at the table, black hair in her trademarked cowlick style.
She stares at the cake, it looks tantalizing, and she's taught her son well in the ways of baking, evil corporation or no.
She's proud of him for taking her lessons to heart and making this delicious cake.
"Son, pass me my birthday card, I want you to read it to me, it's from your father,"
Her son picked up the card and opened it, a flurry of motion flew out of it, like a moth, the son drops it and staggers back.
"Hee Haa Haa," The woman laughs, as the son finds that the object in question was a contraption with a paper propeller wound up around a base, and kept in place by the closed card, upon its opening, it unwound and flew up. The card itself read
"You fell for it hook, line and sucker,"
-love Mom.
The prankster meter swings into her favor as her son gets up. He sits down, grumbling to himself as she slices herself some cake.
"Got you good didn't I?" she said.
He can't meet her eyes, and she takes a bite of the cake, still smiling. She stops upon tasting it and spits it out.
"What is this?" she said, wiping her tongue with a napkin.
Her son meets her eyes, revealing the smile he had tried to hide, and he removes a small can of shaving cream he had hidden in his modus, the prankster meter slides over to his side.
"Gotcha good didn't I?" he says.
"Shaving cream frosting, why I never," she said, "You even hid the smell by using powdered sugar didn't you?"
Her son nods, the grin never disappearing.
"Well Shucks-buster, looks like we'll need a new cake, go get one of the few we have frozen in the back," she said.
He heads to the large top opening freezer in the other room, they bake so often that they keep the excess of goods frozen there.
When he opens the slightly ajar door, the bucket hidden atop it spills its contents onto him. He stood there drenched in water, and the prankster meter moves back to the center, and Dad's guest blushes a bit at the receptacle.
"So it seems the student has not yet outdone the master," she says.
"But you one-upped me, and that's probably the best birthday present I could get," his mother says.
"I'm so proud of you son," she says patting him on his wet head on her way to get out one of their frozen cakes.
The memory dissolves, and Dad can only smile, his guest is happy to be rid of pails again.
The memory reforms.
Dad has found the lovely scientist lady. They reunited on a large space battleship piloted by a kindly English gentleman. They share small talk, he tells her of the son he's so proud of and she tells him of her daughter.
The gentleman drops them off, he almost sees his son again, but alas it is not meant to be as he disappears.
He and the scientist lady travel to the nearest castle, where they have a romantic lunch, catching up on dilemmas and past problems. She tells him a bit of her job and how Skaianet was waiting for this, he tells her of a life not nearly as impressive.
They share cake, wine, and stories.
The archagent returns, and the couple are no more.
Dad stares at his body, and that of his love's. He sighs at the memory, but it keeps going.
He sees the woman's daughter, skin grey and mouth speaking in tongues. The mother spoke often of her daughter's morbid fascinations with interest rather than disdain. He sees John appear, he sees the two children fight his killer, and he sees them die.
He stares at his son, he almost cries, but his son pulls himself back-up, wounds healing, no worse for wear. He puts on his friends communicator, and kisses her body, his companion informs him that this is to resurrect her elsewhere.
John activates his power, and the scene dissolves. He catches a brief glimpse of his bloody hat being acquired by a blue ghost with his Grandmother's face.
"And those were the highlights of your life," his companion says.
"So there is no coming back for me is there?" he asks.
"In a manner of speaking yes, but that's part of some grail of knowledge that I am nor privy to," she tells him, "I'm afraid this is your stories conclusion."
"Can I see John one last time?" he asks.
She nods and the scene changes to a golden hall onboard a flying battleship. Lizards, chess people and other creatures pass him, heedless to his presence.
He walks the corridor until he reaches a room, John sits next to one of his friends, from his dialogue he realizes that it's Jade. She looks odd in her black hood, it seems she has Dog-ears.
They seem to be playing a video game, he realizes that the blue ghost is also there, his mother has been resurrected, he half-heartedly turns to his companion asking if he can do the same, and she replies in the negative, and informs him that the trip they're embarking on will take three years.
He turns to his mother, he hugs her but she can't feel it.
"Mom, It's been years, and I really missed you," She begins to laugh as a lizard slips on a banana peel she'd strategically placed. "I see you haven't lost your sense of humor."
"Thanks mom for everything, for the cakes, the pranks, and for being there. Watch John now for me, okay?"
He kisses her on the cheek and goes to his son, who's busy chatting it up with Jade.
"Son, I've said this so often that it's lost all meaning, but I'm proud of you. When a father tells his son he's going to do great things, I don't know if he means that his son will save the universe. John when you get to wherever it is you're going, I have every faith that you'll succeed. You've got your whole life ahead of you, and I know you'll grow into a fine young man."
He kisses his son on the forehead, and turns to leave.
He tells the companion that he's done, and she nods. The room changes until they're in a black expanse, the green Sburb sign providing the only light.
She gestures to it.
"So, this is life after death is it?" he asks her.
"Something like that yes," she tells him.
He walks up to the house, and opens the door. He raises an eyebrow and turns to her.
"Is this real?" he asks.
"It's different for everybody, but it is," she says.
He examines the content behind the door, before closing it.
"I'm not ready," he says.
"That's okay," she replies, "You will enter eventually, but only at your choosing. I can take you somewhere to rest for now."
"Please," he says.
The scene shifts once more.