Responsibilities Of A Little Brother
''We all miss you, Shelly'' Seedos murmured. ''Take these roses... I know those were your favorite flowers! These are awesome, my friend Ameena grew them...''
Seedos snickered as he threw the small bouquet at Shelly's amateurishly-made gravestone. Eventhough he was as sombre as the swamp trees surrounding him and his very own Shellybean graveyard, he couldn't help but speak the word 'friend' in a proud tone of voice. A year or two ago, he had never expected that anyone but his Shellybeans would like him... Now he was hanging out with the coolest girl on the entire Island! Thát sure placed him a few steps higher on the social ladder...
Not that he gave a damn about his reputation. All he really cared for were his beautiful seed collection and his beloved Shellybeans.
He had more than twenty of them living in his house, and even more were strolling around the dead tree he lived in. Eventhough many of them looked exactly the same, he'd named all of them and he was familiar with each one's personality.
Having to deal with a Shellybean's death always was difficult... It was like losing a family member. Even worse, probably, because he wouldn't even bother if Jardineiro died. His so-called dad was a jerk...
''I wish he died instead of you! Yóu are the one that truly supported me, I... Argh.''
Deep down he knew it was wrong to wish that his dad died. True, his dad was narcistic, self-centered and vain, but he didn't deserve to die! Okay, he pretty much did, but not in the same horrible way as Shelly had died, though...
Shelly had fallen in action. Exactly a month ago, the 27th of April. Her death'd come in the most awful and unexpectant way. His older brother - Dastardos - had assasinated her in the guise of a 'warning'...
Maybe he should've listened to his brother harsh words and strange prophecies, because those were the last words his actual brother had spoken to him... That night, Dastardos' body had returned to Seedos humble little shack. Only the mask, clothes and bones, but not his actual soul.
It'd turned out to be some lizard-demon named Tsi. Seedos knew those monsters from the folklore, but he had never actually believed in them. He thought he'd seen worse things - the rise of Pester, the Ruffians, the Sours and the transformation of his brother - but apparently, he was wrong.
Nothing Pester-related was as bad as a demon from Neragua. Not even the radioactive waste the man dumped in the swamp that'd made several of Seedos' best Shellybeans cringe and shake - and die, eventually. Seedos didn't have a single source of income, no way he could ever afford a vet, especially not that over-rated and over-expensive one of a Patchingo.
Without a warning, Seedos got struck by rage - which was something that didn't happen very often.
That Patchingo-guy was a complete douche! After he'd expelled Tsi from Dastardos' body - Seedos kinda owed his life to the clumsy doctor - he'd brought Dastardos to his clinic. The Reaper was still alive at that point, and Patchingo said he'd attempted to give the undead body CPR. He claimed he succeeded, but that the body disappeared when he walked out the operation room to get himself a cup of coffee...
The disturbing thing was, that Seedos only partly believed this illogical story. True, everything evolving his brother was completely illogic, he of course was no 'scientist' like 'doctor' Patchingo was, but even he - the itty gritty labile seedman - knew that even Dastardos' body existed of something that was... utterly ridiculous to the laws of biology, even on Piñata Island where those were pretty messed up already.
Pester's fault. He had given the young Stardos sour candy... Stardos had been about Seedos' age when the tragedy happened, perhaps even younger. How did that twisted man DARE to take the life of somebody auspicious, just to have another sick assistant?
But Pester probably wasn't the only one who wanted to take advantage of his brother's 'situation'. Seedos wasn't much one for conspiracy theories, but he had the unpleasant feeling that Patchingo kept Dastardos somewhere, taking samples of his black, treacly blood and thin, brittle bones...
Seedos retched. He felt the urge to throw up whenever he thought of stuff like this, but he wouldn't, not here, simply because this was the most peaceful and sacred place in the swamp, this was the Shellybean graveyard...
It'd started with one single Shellybean named Sonil. It was the first Shellybean Seedos ever had to bury - it'd happened a month after Seedos'd moved in with the snail piñatas; Sonil had fallen into the claws of a hungry, lost wild Pretztail - and Seedos wondered where he could give his beloved piñata friend a fine final resting place...
After wandering around for a few hours - tightly hugging the cardboard box with Sonil's remainings - he had found this open space. It was less muddy and slimy than the rest of the bog, in fact it didn't even look like the bog at all! Wild flowers grew everywhere, the grass was high and tough instead of soggy and the weeping willows really gave the place that serene, graveyardy feel!
That was a few years ago, and now his personal 'cemetery' was a little too filled for his liking. Too many Shellybeans had died 'cause of Pester, 'cause of his sour candy and his pollution, argh!
Seedos gritted his teeth. He felt like he wanted to PUNCH something - due to there not being a SOMEONE around - but his heart skipped a beat when he noticed how fast his moodlet had changed... From suicidally sad to extremely furious!
He didn't want to have mood swings like those. He had seen them enough back when he lived at his dad's... He had first encountered such behaviour shortly after the disappearance of his mother, and since then things hadn't changed much on that front.
Seedos heaved a sigh. He looked at the bright orange bag he was holding to calm himself down. He didn't have the time to be angry with... Pester, Patch, his dad, whoever! He had to hurry to get to the desert before the hottest time of day, he had to deliver something.
Magnar couldn't wait much longer!
After the mysterious 'Dastardos accident', Seedos had been the one taking care of the vampire Maraccoon. Such special piñatas didn't survive on their own; they needed someone to provide them the special food they needed.
Seedos absolutely HATED going out to hunt for life candy. Eventhough he didn't give a sand clog about Whirlms, it always hurted him to rise up his rusty spade to make it come down on their little heads... With those little eyes...
Heartbreaking! He couldn't understand Dastardos doing that every day - even with CUTE piñatas like SHELLYBEANS - without having even the slightest bit of empathy for those little paper animals! Of course, he'd do anything to keep his mollusc mateys alive too, but he WOULD feel bad to take the life of a living creature...
''That's just the donut of life, as Leafos would say'' the boy told himself, as he saw a slight change of color in the afternoon sky. ''I should get walking now...''
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The scorching afternoon sun colored the white, neutral desert sand a deep orange. Some wild S'morpions were milling about, and a handful Volchurros picking the bones of a whatever it was. Seedos didn't even bother with wondering, he had bigger problems.
The red-hot sand was hurting his feet, he couldn't afford sandals or slippers or anything like that.
He'd never envy Stardos' new body, but right now he pretty much wished he could float. If it went on like this, he'd have to stop by at Patch's again to get his feet some bandages! No way he was going to let that moronic doctor nurse him again... Ha!
There the twisted tree Dastardos called home was. It was considerably bigger than Seedos' little swamp tree, but it also looked way more threatening and sinister... The stem was made of the most wheaterworn wood, and those windows had that eerie feel to them...
Everyone in the Village thought the hollow tree was abandoned. Before Dastardos had moved in, the huge dead thing had belonged to a vagabond - one of the latest descendants of some ancient nomad folk - who had disappeared around the same time as Stardos and Seedos...
Seedos could easily guess what'd happened to the poor man. If his body would ever been found in the desert, swamp or jungle, he'd sure know who had brought it there...
His brother having piñata's confetti on his hands; okay. But human blood? Sometimes Seedos seriously wondered why he went through all the hard stuff for a murderer...
''Don't be an egoïstic jerk like Jardineiro!'' Seedos told himself as he struggled his way to the treehouse. He'd been walking in the hot so long that he felt like not only his feet, but his entire lower legs were scalded! ''Dastardos is family! And Magnar needs to be fed. He's a piñata. And a pretty awesome piñata too, for a not-Shellybean... Finally.''
Seedos hastily pushed the back door open - which'd seen better times. Ahh, it felt more than good to finally stand on sand that was not candent!
That satisfying feeling didn't last long, though.
''MiiiI!''
''Magnar!''
Seedos forgot about his minor burns and scooted towards the little Macaraccoon.
Magnar had always been small - he now had the size of a baby Macaraccoon that would cocoon soon, eventhough he was fully an adult - but now his size had pretty much decreased with a quarter! The poor thing looked almost as emaciated as his original owner...
''How long... How long is it ago that I brought you life sweets, little guy?''
Magnar made a weak, forlorn noise.
''I know... I can tell that it's been too long... But do you have any idea how difficult it is to get life candies when you're not a professional piñata reaper? Whenever I spot an ill piñata, Patch is bending over it with a bottle of medicine! And I'm horrible at killing healthy piñatas, it is so frickin' hard, those little eyes practically beg you for mercy...
I'm a very merciful person, you know. I know how they must feel... I've felt the harsh smacks of the spade waaaay too many times to not to feel sorry for those little creatures I... kill.''
Seedos opened the bag and scattered a a bunch of life candies on the ground. Magnar rushed towards them immediately. Seedos couldn't help but feel aversion for the small piñata vampire, the way it devoured those life sweets as if they were regular toffees...
''Here Magnar.'' He placed the bag of life candies on the ground. ''This is for you... I won't be back in a while, so don't eat them all at once!''
''Miii?''
Magnar looked up from his meal. It'd been days since he'd had company! Seedos couldn't leave yet! Apart from Professor Pester, he was the only person on the Island who knew Dastardos' true identity, thus the only one who knew of Magnar's existence!
He normally wasn't very fond of physical contact, but he'd spent way too many nights alone... Not to mention the days; which were so much worse. It was harder to get sleep when the sun was shining in your cute sensitive piñata eyes...
''I'm so sorry Magnar'' Seedos murmured as he saw the disappointed look on the Macaraccoon piñata's furry face. ''I might visit you again, the day after tomorrow...
But for now, I've got business.''
Magnar let out a heartbroken squeal, so soft and high frequented that it was hardly noticable to human ears.
I've got business. That what Dastardos'd always said. And not only Dastardos, Stardos too; for Magnar had known the piñata reaper before his 'darker' days.
''I know you don't like hugs... But I can't help it! Your level of cuddliness is almost as high as that of the average Shellybean!'' Before the Macaraccoon knew it, he was tied up in a tight embrace. Then, his candy-supplier suddenly whispered something in one of his fluffy ears: ''I'll get you your owner back as soon as possible!''
''Mi?'' Magnar shrieked wonderingly when the seedman's thin arms released him.
''You've heard me, little one! I'm going to search for Da... Stardos and I won't rest until I've found him!''
With those words and a last pat between Magnar's ears, Seedos walked out.
When he'd told Magnar about him not being a professional piñata reaper like Daz and Patch always being ahead of him, an idea had hit him, a very very good idea.
The main question was; how would he get into the private section of Patch's clinic without getting caught? He had to make up SOMETHING...
Those burns on the soles of his feet indeed were a good excuse to get into the clinic at all. The situation wasn't all that urgent, but getting them bandaged sure would prevent later infections and such... The swamp ground was far from hygenic, after all!
''Son... I feel bad for you.''
Seedos looked up. An old man with a golden mask and a sombrero was talking to him. He was most probably an ex-Diggerling, or a hobbyist.
''Doc Patch is not at his office... At the moment, he's checking up on some baby Kittyflosses at Petula's... Nothing difficult for a classified doctor like him of course, but such activities can take ages... Do you have any idea how fierce Kittyflosses can be when someone wants to vaccinate them or do something else they don't like? Whohoho! Patch'll be away for an hour or so, and when he comes back... He'll be covered in so many scratches that he practically needs a doctor himself!"
''I... understand'' Seedos said, just to say a thing.
''Good luck then! If I weren't as busy, I would bandage you, little guy. I as a Diggerling have seen and learned to cure various injuries! Unfortunately, I have to go now... My break's through! Eventhough I'm a pretty old guv, I still work in the mines every day!''
As the garrulous Diggerling finally walked off, Seedos checked the surroundings. Everything looked pretty deserted - all shutters, doors and windows were closed and nobody was walking by - which was good.
Doc Patch was an incredibly dupable person. From his older brother Seedos had learned that the man often left the front door of his clinic unlocked when he went away... Even at night! So why would it be different now - at the mid of day, when he was visiting a client from just down the street?
As he carefully pushed the door open, he noticed his heart started to beat a little louder. Seedos was far not as fearless as his older brother was... But in order to find that older brother, he HAD to take actions like these!
He firstly entered the waiting room. Nothing significant; the most exciting things he'd find here were outdated magazines and a cash register full of choco coins - sincerely earned by selling bottles of medicine at such a price only the richest gardeners could afford them without having to eat turnips and carrots for days and days after... Seedos' stomach started to turn instantly when he tought of thát ill system!
Making money off people's sick piñatas just wasn't right... It just wasn't right. He'd pretty much filled his graveyard off of Patch's greediness.
Trying to repress the hard feelings, Seedos stepped into the room that said IC, Intensive Care. Patch's rotten clinic only had two rooms, really. That 'IC' of his, was nothing but an ordinairy operating room. Seedos'd been there often; and he'd never ever been in a life-threatening situation!
''Okay, where should I start?''
Seedos often thought out loud. One of the consequences of his isolated life in the swamp...
''Those drawers can't carry anything interesting... The cupboard?''
He trotted to the other side of the room and opened the door with more violence than that he'd intended to do... He hoped he hadn't a hinge or so! Then, when he saw the contents of the closet, he gasped and stepped back...
Eventhough he'd expected quite something, his heart came to an alarmingly long stand still as he stared right into the eyes of his notorious, emaciated, evil older brother.
''Dastardos!''
The fierceful creature didn't answer. Then Seedos realized it was just a pic!
''He's got a life-size poster of Dastardos in his closet? Huh? And they call me obsessed...''
The boy fell silent as he noticed the picture wasn't the only Dastardos-concerning item in the cupboard. The walls were entirely covered in newspaper clippings; The Island Inquirer; Creep Carries Off Wealthy Woman, Dastardos Strikes Again!, Plague Infects Local Piñata...
''I didn't even know that he did even one of these things! And what's that?''
Under the largest clip, a tally was pinned down. It said 'April' and it covered all piñata deaths... Which were quite a lot more than Seedos had imagined.
If saving or taking piñata's lives had been a competition, Dastardos would've beat Patch mercilessly. Daz had an epic score of 45, while Patch had only achieved a respectable 12.
Seedos felt a sudden sense of pride of his older brother, something he hadn't felt in years! He grinned, and he felt his smile widen even more as his eyes fell on the glass jar under the tally...
Apparently, Patch didn't make half as much money from his over-priced medicines as Seedos had expected him to! The guy kept his own shovel fund! And the pathetic thing was, the jar wasn't even NEAR filled, the small pile of choco coins hardly reached halfway the pot!
''That... that guy's desperate!'' Seedos giggled. Then his attention was drawn by colorful post-its that were hanging just about all over the place... 'July 25, I get introduced to Dastardos very 1st time', 'March 8, Dastardos spotted with Pester', 'November 26, Dastardos not seen for more than a week', 'December 5, Dastardos strikes again'... and so on.
''He writes up important data about Dastardos, that's sick! And is that on the floor sour candy? Smells like it, at least! And what's that? Naw, that's gross...''
Eventhough keeping up with an undead man's activities was ill-minded enough by itself, Patch's obsession went a little further... No, what was hanging there reached fááár passed the boundaries of sanity, if Seedos didn't know better he'd think Patch was WORSHIPPING the piñata reaper! This was beyond crazy, which wholesome grown man would frame pieces of scarf and locks of white hair as if they were fucking diploma's?
''I really need to get out of here... This guy knows nothing! He hasn't kidnapped Dastardos to do experiments on him or do anything else cruel, he doesn't even know about his former identity! I mean, if he knew... That article in the Piñata Daily about Stardos' disappearance would CERTAINLY be in here if he... Great Gods, what the FUCK is he aiming for?''
Of course Seedos knew that by heart. Although he disliked Patch and his mincing stuttering voice, he somehow understood what the guy was about...
All the doctor wanted was to save innocent piñatas from an unnecessary death, and probably find out more about Dastardos' atanomy; how the guy was able to float, how he still hadn't died though he was clearly underfed and why - for the sake of the Gods! - he chose to reap piñatas, instead of just crawling back in his grave or doing something more interesting with his afterlife.
''I feel you, Patch'' Seedos mumbled, as he decided he'd seen enough of this. ''But that doesn't necessarily mean I like you!''
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''Seedos!''
He was on his way back to the swamp, when he bumped into Ameena.
''Hi Ameen'''
''Haven't seen you in a few days! How's life?''
''Not bad'' the boy lied. Ameena didn't even notice the untrue tone in his voice, which she certainly would if she weren't as excited!
Seedos thought Ameena looked great, she had the widest smirk on her face and her eyes were brighter than ever... But what in the world was that for? Was it some kind of fiesta today or..?
''Are you up to something?'' Seedos asked doubtily.
The girl shook her head, blushed and giggled: '' No, but I had the most amazing time inspecting baby Kittyflosses with Doc Patchingo! Ohhh, Kitties are so fluffy and DANG, isn't he a great guy? I admire him, I really do, but oh, ehm, now that I think of it... Any plans for tonight?''
Seedos was the one to shake his head now.
His stomach turned in disgust when he thought of his best and only human friend being so fond of docter Patchingo...
''Great! I'm going to Bart's with Leafos - he's going to tell that old myth about the Godess Platia! - wanna join us?''
Seedos shrugged. He didn't want to ruin his friend's enthiusiasm... and his Shellybeans most probably had enough food for the night, so why not? Besides, he'd heard Bart had an amazing telling voice!
''Sounds good'' he decided. ''I haven't been in the Village for a while...''
Another lie of course, but if Patch ever found out someone had broken into his clinic, he wanted to be the least to be suspected!