Welcome to Slavestown

Chapter Three

"Do you think it's true? That one of us is really going to die?" Isabella asks Vidcund. The two of them are walking down the Road to Nowhere after having met up with Margaret Collins, the Gypsy Matchmaker. Vidcund shrugs.

"I don't know," he answers, "Lazlo's the one who's into fortune tellers and all that stuff. I'm not sure how accurate Margaret is with her readings. Would it really make that much of a difference if we knew if it was true or not?" he asks.

"Well, it would be nice to know if tomorrow is going to be my last day on earth," Isabella responds, stopping in her tracks.

Vidcund stops as well and turns to her. "Izzy, you have nothing to worry about," he reassures her, "If anything, it would be me, not you. I'm the one that's going after the killer."

"What are you talking about?" Isabella asks, clearly taken off-guard.

"I said I'm going after Loki myself, did you not know?" he asks; Isabella shakes her head. "Oh…well, surprise, I guess," Vidcund states, sticking his hands in his pockets as they continue walking down the street; Isabella looking rather sad.

All of a sudden, she gasps and ducks behind a street sign, pulling Vidcund by the arm and moving him behind her. "What is it?" Vidcund asks, crouching behind his friend.

Isabella stays where she is, scanning the area for any suspicious sims. "Sorry," she apologizes, "I thought I saw someone."

"Oh," Vidcund speaks, moving closer to her, his voice still hushed, "Hey Izzy, about what happened earlier with Margaret and all…I think it would be best if we didn't tell anyone about it," he states, "I don't want anyone to worry, especially when we have such a large task in front of us," Vidcund explains.

Isabella turns to him and nods, the reality of the situation hitting her hard. "Okay," she nods, swallowing a little, "We can just keep that between you and me."

Vidcund nods and switches his headset back on; Isabella following his actions. They slowly slip out of the area and race towards the muggy lake, stopping in front of it. Isabella sighs, gazing down at the water that had previously caused her so much trouble.

"Let's get this over with," she states.

"Hey! What do you two think you're doing?" a snarly voice rings out. Vidcund and Isabella quickly turn towards each other in a panic, watching as two alien guards storm after them, closing the gap.

"Dang it!" Isabella exclaims, a pleading look in her eyes, "Now what?"

Vidcund leans down a bit towards her, surprisingly calm. "Well, how did you get rid of them last time?" he asks.

Almost immediately, Isabella pushes Vidcund up against the wall, pushing her body up against him. "Quick! Pretend to make out with me!" Isabella whisper exclaims.

Vidcund's face flushes, "What?"

"Last time the guards left Ripp and I alone when they thought we were just some crazed lovers," she explains frantically, grabbing the sides of his face, "Now quick! We don't have much time!" She warns as the pair leans towards each other. Isabella stops, watching as the guards leave the area, a group of suspicious individuals catching their eye.

She sighs and backs away from Vidcund. "Phew, that was a close one!" Isabella states, giving a quick sigh of relief. "Now come on, let's swim across before they come back."

Vidcund continues to stand there, his stature stunned. "Alright," Vidcund agrees, his response delayed as he walks over to the edge of the water to join Isabella. Suddenly, he stops, a poster of Loki catching his eye. "Actually, hang on a second, just let me do one thing," he tells her, walking over to the poster, which shows Loki smiling evilly in a triumphant position.

He takes out a marker and begins scribbling on the poster, Isabella stepping over to watch him. After a few moments, Vidcund leans back, caps his black marker, and smiles. "Perfect!" Vidcund announces, turning to Isabella, "I just made some slight modifications," he says, placing the marker back into his coat pocket.

Isabella steps forward and looks at the poster. Some of the letters from the original saying have been scribbled out, and a giant word bubble is coming out of Loki's mouth as he enthusiastically declares, "I eat cat poop!" Isabella laughs. "You're so mature," she comments.

"I know," Vidcund replies, "Now let's go!" he exclaims, leading Isabella towards the lake. They jump into the water and start their five hundred foot swim.

"Gosh, this is a whole harder than I remember," Isabella states between strokes, her breath growing heavier by the minute. She pushes forward, her leg cramming up in the water. She looks up, Vidcund's figure disappearing in front of her. She lifts her head up, crying, "Vid!" before sinking into the muggy green water, the pains getting the most of her.

Vidcund continues forward, unable to hear her cries as he moves further into the fog. Vidcund turns around, noticing that it is oddly silent behind him. "Izzy?" Vidcund calls out, scanning the area. "Izzy!" Vidcund cries once more, he ducks down into the water and swims forward. He gasps, seeing what appears to be Isabella falling deeper to the bottom. He dives onward, catching her in his arms and heaving up her to the surface.

Isabella coughs up some water, her face turning back to its original pale color. "It's okay, it's okay," Vidcund tells her over and over, "I got you. Are you alright?" he asks, watching as Isabella coughs up a string of seaweed and some more lake water.

Isabella nods, her eyes tearing up a bit. "Yeah," she says, her voice cracking a tad, "Sorry." She pauses, "Gosh those stones are heavy!"

"I know," Vidcund states, his eyes shining with utmost concern, "So just hang onto me, okay?"

Isabella nods, finding his compassion rather touching. She hops on his back and wraps her arms around his shoulders. They trek forward.

Fifteen minutes later the pair pull themselves out of the water, shaking out their clothes once they reach shore. Isabella turns to Vidcund, her hair still sopping wet. "Look, I'm really sorry about what happened back there-" she begins.

"Isabella, it's my fault," he states, taking the blame, "I should have been paying attention to where you were-"

"No. No," Isabella repeats, firmly shaking her head, "I should've been taking care of myself. After all, it's just me now," she says, heading over to the fence, leaving Vidcund to ponder.

"Right, of course," he carefully articulates, seemingly conflicted about this news. Vidcund walks over to the fence and climbs up along with her, both of them making it safely to the other side.

A couple of hours later, they make it back to the safe house. Vidcund rings the doorbell; Pascal answers the door.

"Hey Vidcund," Pascal greets, "I see you're wearing clothes this time…"

Vidcund glares at his older, his mouth in a line, "Don't make this creepy."

Pascal moves back, granting them entry into the house. Vidcund and Isabella step inside, immediately surrounded by their friends and family.

"Hey! You guys made it back!" Kea exclaims, giving Isabella a hug, "That's great! Now I don't have to serve this sympathy cake," she admits, holding up a yellow sheet cake which reads: 'Sorry about your friends' on it in pastel blue icing.

Pascal eyes the cake over, licking his lips slightly. "But we're still going to eat it, right?"

"Oh yeah," Kea replies, complete with a huge grin and a nod.

"So, did you get the graves?" Lazlo asks, watching as Vidcund and Isabella throw off their first layer of clothes.

Vidcund smiles, "Yep. We got everybody. Here, take Earl." He reaches into his inventory and pulls out Earl E. Demise's gravestone and hands it to Lazlo. Lazlo takes it and falls over, the gravestone landing on top of him.

"Ooooh," Lazlo groans. He slowly pulls himself up off the ground and places the gravestone in the kitchen, sitting down at the table next to it. Vidcund walks over to Lazlo, pulling the wanted poster out of his pocket and plopping it down on the table in front of him.

"Oh, and we found your girlfriend," Vidcund states, pointing to the photo of Crystal that is plastered in the center.

Lazlo delicately picks it up and looks at the photo, which still has the words, 'If you see me, KILL' written underneath it. "Hey, she looks pretty good in that photo!" he exclaims.

Vidcund takes the newspaper from atop of the table and slaps the back of Lazlo's head. "You're completely missing the point," Vidcund tells him, "Crystal is now a wanted criminal, all because she swore revenge on Loki for killing you," Pascal turns to Vidcund, eyeing him wondrously, "We were just in the city; it was the talk of the town!" Isabella nods in agreement.

Lazlo gazes forward, clutching the sides of the paper tighter as he starts to beam. "She swore revenge on Loki for killing me?" he squeaks, a marvelously gigantic smile forming on his face. His eyes begin to twinkle.

"Oh gosh, look at his face," Pascal states, accusingly nudging Vidcund in the side with his elbow, "What have you done?"

Everyone watches as Lazlo leans out of his chair, collapsing on the floor in happiness.

"Yes! She loves me!" he exclaims, clearly love-struck and out of it, "She loves me, Earl!" Lazlo proclaims, reaching over and pulling the gravestone towards him, hugging it in glee.

"Uh, that thing's been touching thirty-year-old compost for a while, so you might not want to put it against your face," Vidcund comments, slightly weirded out by Lazlo rubbing the gravestone against his cheek.

Isabella steps over to him. "So, now what?" she asks, awaiting further instruction.

"Well," Vidcund begins, "I'm going to go take a shower and get this muck out of my hair, and you should probably do the same," he comments. He then turns towards the others, "After that, we'll meet in the basement for phase three of the plan."

The rest of the team – minus Lazlo who is still lying down on the floor – nods, heading down to the basement.

Thirty Minutes Later

The team is gathered in the basement of the secret house, awaiting further instruction. Vidcund is standing in front of the group, the large blueprint of the plan positioned behind him. "Alright, it's now time for phase three of Operation Overthrow-" Vidcund begins.

Pascal raises his hand, tilting his head in confusion. "Wait, I thought it was Operation Pillow-man."

"And I thought it was Operation Gigaboop," Lazlo cuts in. "Oh wait, no, that was our internet password. Everyone forget that!" Lazlo declares, throwing his hands up in front of his torso.

Vidcund shakes his head. "Anyway," he states, turning his attention back to the board, "Tonight we're going to start testing the Resurrect-O-Nomitron," Vidcind informs them, "That way, when Brent and Breanna take over this task tomorrow, they'll know how to do it." Brent and Breanna nod, each of them taking a few notes.

Vidcund smiles and steps over to the Resurrect-O-Nomitron, which is situated on the floor next to the blueprint wall. "Before we begin, it's important to note that the Grim Reaper is a rather odd character-"

"Believe me, you don't need to tell me twice!" Kea interrupts, sporting a grin.

Vidcund continues on, "-So, just be careful when you talk to him. He's oddly sensitive about his role in society," he explains, stopping in front of the device, "Keep it short and simple." Vidcund's eyes drift down to the Resurrect-O-Nomitron, his stomach churning a bit when he sees it. He sighs, finding strength in the people that are counting on him. "Alright," he says, "I'll call him now…"

Vidcund picks up the small beige phone and dials it, placing it delicately against his ear. Behind him, the others are holding their breath, minus Kea who is looking at a painting of a butterfly on the wall next to the television.

"Hello?" the Grim Reaper's grizzly voice rings out from the other end.

"Hey Death, how are you doing? It's Vidcund," Vidcund casually states, attempting to keep his cool. Vidcund turns away from the others, finishing the rest of his conversation in private. After a few more words, he hangs up the phone, situating it in the center of the oozing orange fog bath. "He says it'll just take a minute," he informs his friends, who are still looking rather worried.

All of a sudden, a red fog cloud forms in the center of the room as a figure appears in the center of it, separating Vidcund from the others. Vidcund coughs and waves his arm in front of his face, hoping to redirect the fog out the window.

The sim gazes down at their hands and wiggles them before jumping up in the air in joy. "It's a miracle! I'm alive!" Glarn Curious exclaims, gazing around the room. His eyes stop on his sons, "And-Oh great, what did you do?" he asks, crossing his arms, "I distinctly remember telling you before I died not to resurrect me unless the city was in life-threatening danger!"

Pascal throws his hands out in celebration, "I love you too, Dad!"

"Well, it worked," Vidcund says, biting his lower lip and looking to his brothers. They nod, watching as Vidcund walks over to their father. "Look Dad, we're sorry if you we interrupted your afterlife or giant party or whatever the heck happens after you die, but we need your help," Vidcund starts to explain, "You see, Loki kinda took over the neighborhood and enslaved everybody, and then he tried to kill us, and the city is pretty much done for unless we act today."

Glarn scrunches his forehead, "Loki? As in Loki Beaker, Loki?" he repeats, making sure that he did in fact hear his son correctly, "Is that the same kid that made you wet your pants at prom and then stole your girlfriend?" he asks. Vidcund groans, placing his hand in front of his face in embarrassment, before nodding yes. "Don't tell me that you're still fighting with him."

"Well, uh, you see-" Vidcund begins, rubbing the back of his neck. "-He started it, really," he assures him.

"Vid's right, dad," Pascal speaks up, "Loki was only after him because he was jealous that Circe liked him first," he explains, "I think that's part of the reason why he chose to run against Vidcund in that mayoral election a few years ago."

"Vidcund, you ran for mayor?' Glarn asks, rather surprised by this news. Vidcund opens his mouth to speak, but is interrupted by his little brother.

"Actually, Vidcund was mayor for six years," Lazlo interrupts him, "Then Loki won against him, and things went south from there…and that's around the time where we ended up in that abandoned warehouse-"

"So dad," Vidcund cuts in, "You want to help us win the war?" he asks.

Glarn shrugs, "Well I don't see why not, I don't have anything else to do," he answers, stepping towards the kitchen, "Hey, do they still make those mini pies at the bakery downtown?"

Vidcund scrunches his forehead, "Uh, I think so."

"Perfect!" Glarn exclaims, "Then we have a city to save!"

Meanwhile: At the Beaker Estate

Ripp groans as he sits in the basement, listening to Loki and Circe argue on the floor above him. "Well, if they wanted to torture me, then they're doing a pretty good job of it." Ripp sits up as he hears one of them stomping down the stairs. He closes his eyes.

"Quit the act boy, I know you're not asleep," Loki states, crossing his arms in front of his body.

Ripp opens his eyes and looks up at him, "Sorry."

"You want to know something pathetic?" Loki asks, not bothering to give Ripp time to answer, "Nine years of marriage, and she still likes Vidcund better than me!" Loki tells him, "And I don't see him getting a PhD in Astrophysics and buying her a house!" he declares. Loki leans up against the wall and grumbles.

"Ouch, that's gotta be rough," Ripp says, squinting in the hopes of saving his eyes from the burning light that is shining down on him. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you marry her anyway?"

"What are you, blind? She's obviously the hottest person in the neighborhood! Well, other than me of course," he adds, gently placing his hand on his chest, showcasing himself. "She's also devious and I figured if I married her, then Vidcund couldn't," he explains.

"So you married her mostly out of spite?" Ripp asks, finding this conversation oddly intriguing.

Loki nods, "Not like it matters anyway, cause that didn't really seem to stop anything. I know she still sleeps with him. I don't understand why, but for some reason women find Vidcund appealing," he vents, "If it's because of his fashion sense, then there's really no saving society."

"Ah," Ripp begins.

"-And he's not even all that smart!" Loki continues to ramble, pacing around on the tile in front of Ripp. "I mean, I have more degrees than he does!" he exclaims, "Women must only like him because he was the mayor," Loki states, squeaking his voice mockingly at the last word, "He's also so easy to control, that's probably why they want him – but I don't have to tell you, I mean, I'm sure you already know."

Ripp scrunches his forehead, "Already know what?"

Suddenly, Loki's watch starts beeping out of control. He turns to Ripp, holding his finger out to wait, "Hang on a second, I got to take this," Loki replies, turning towards the exit and racing up the stairs, something falling from his pocket and onto the floor.

Ripp looks down at the object, gasping when he sees the glossy photo booth pictures of Vidcund and Isabella together laying on the tile. Ripp has never seen Isabella look so happy.

"-Shit," he curses.

Meanwhile: At the Safe House

Vidcund and Glarn are busy at work modifying a few more of the devices for the upcoming mission. Vidcund is tightening a few bolts while Glarn watches. "So, how have you been doing? I mean, other than the city tanking, have you been staying out of trouble?" Glarn wonders further, looking down at his son.

Vidcund nods. "Well, I'd say that I've been doing fairly well considering the circumstances," he replies, tightening another bolt.

"So, do I have any grandchildren?" Glarn asks him.

"I have a kid with Circe," Vidcund answers, still intently focused on the task at hand.

Glarn smiles, "That's great!"

Vidcund softly nods and nervously swallows, not wanting to think about the whole circumstance. "Yeah…"

Pascal walks by, stopping in front of the pair and nudging Vidcund gently in the shoulder. "Did you mention that Circe is married to Loki?" he asks.

Vidcund groans as Glarn shakes his head, clearly disappointed, "Oh Vidcund," he states.

The phone starts ringing in the kitchen, pepping the team up a bit. "Hey! An incoming call!" Pascal exclaims, racing over to the phone and picking it up. "Talk to me," he greets.

"Pascal? Is that you?" a female voice rings from the other end, "It's Jenny!"

"Oh hey, Jenny," Pascal responds, "I can't clarify whether or not this is Pascal, in the off-chance this line is being tapped, but I can assure you that I – an unknown individual – have heard great things about this dashingly exquisite brother of yours." Jenny laughs, "Why are you laughing?" he jokingly asks.

Jenny sighs, trying to catch her breath, "So, what have you guys been up to?" she asks, "It's been a while since I've been graced by your presence," she explains.

"Oh, you know, the usual," Pascal answers, "So, when are you meeting up with us?" he asks, "I can't wait to see you."

Jenny sighs, "Sorry, but I already told Vidcund yesterday when he was at the house that I'm not teaming up with you guys. I'm impartial in this whole charade," she says, breaking the news to him lightly.

Pascal scrunches his eyebrows, clearly confused, "Wait, Vidcund was there?"

"Yeah," Jenny replies, not giving it a second thought, "He came over here earlier with his girlfriend."

"Circe?" Pascal asks, more confused than ever.

"No," Jenny speaks, "The girl with the ponytail."

"Isabella?" Pascal states, "Oh, she's not his girlfriend," he explains, "She's-well, I don't know what she is, honestly."

"Really? She's not his girlfriend?" Jenny says, seemingly surprised by this, "Huh. I could've sworn she was based on the way he was looking at her."

Pascal slowly puts down the receiver, this comment causing his mind to fill with uncertainty and wonder. He looks over at Vidcund who is happily modifying another machine with their father. Pascal begins to ponder.

"Hello? Hello?" Jenny's voice rings out from the receiver, "Are you still there?"

Pascal quickly shakes his head, snapping back into reality – or at least, what he thought was reality. "Yeah, I'm here. Sorry about that," Pascal apologizes, still watching Vidcund from across the room.

Morning - Three Hours Later

Vidcund is working alone in the basement, trying his best to modify the control center for the headsets. Pascal storms down the stairs and races over, stopping in front of his younger brother. "Vidcund, we need to talk," Pascal states suddenly, seriousness filling his voice.

Vidcund continues to work on the bottom of the propped-up machine, screwing in a few more of the pieces, his body resting on a square wheelie board. "Can we talk later?" Vidcund asks, "I'm kind of in the middle of planning how to win a war here," he states, wheeling over to the blueprint on the wall and adding another equation to it. Pascal puts his foot down on top of Vidcund's stomach, stopping him in his tracks. "Hey! What's the deal, Pascal?"

"Well I just wanted to make sure that you're still aware of some things," Pascal firmly responds, letting his brother go.

"Okay, spill," he states, moving back over to the machine and taking out his screwdriver.

Pascal continues to follow him. "You're aware that you're five years older than a lot of the people we are working with," Pascal begins, his eyes focused on him.

"Yes," Vidcund answers, grabbing some more parts, not bothering to stop and wonder where Pascal was going with this.

"And you're aware that you have a child with a married woman," Pascal goes on, giving Vidcund a bit of discomfort.

"Uh-huh," Vidcund replies once more.

Pascal sighs, pacing over to where Vidcund is standing and looking straight down at him, "And you're also aware that our biggest ally – Isabella – was dating our other biggest ally – Ripp – and she's extremely vulnerable right now because she just lost him," he explains, crossing his arms.

Vidcund places down his tools and sighs, sitting up from the board to look at him. "Look, I know you're obviously trying to hint at something, so why don't you just come out and say it?" he asks.

"Okay," Pascal says, taking the bait, "You're going to ruin this whole thing with your stupid feelings!"

Vidcund scrunches his forehead, puzzled, "What?"

"I know you that you like her, Vid," Pascal tells him, "But don't screw this up for us!"

"I don't know why you think I like her, but don't worry, you have nothing to fret about," Vidcund reasons, "These hypothetical 'feelings' that you speak of won't get in the way of anything we have planned."

Pascal steps forward, his facial expression showing that he was majorly unconvinced. "Now come on, Vidcund, you know I don't buy that for a second. It's obvious that you like her!"

Vidcund sighs, not budging, "Pascal, you know better than anyone that Isabella is not my type – Circe is my type. Liking Isabella wouldn't make any sense. The two of them are polar opposites of each other," he informs him.

"Exactly!" Pascal exclaims, "And that's why you like her, because she's the exact opposite of what you were used to before," he reasons, "Circe broke your heart, so you went after the one person that you knew experienced what you were going through. The one person that would be the least likely to break your heart!" Pascal explains, throwing his hands out enthusiastically in front of him, "Face it, Vid, you're rebounding! Using Isabella as a rebound to get over the fact that Circe dumped you."

Vidcund sets his tools down and stands up, his facial expression firm. "No, I'm not," he claims.

"Yes, you are," Pascal counters, "This is scientific fact."

Vidcund sighs and rolls his eyes, heading up the stairs. Seeing this, Pascal quickly races after him. "Hey! Don't walk away from me!" Pascal exclaims, "It's a scientific fact that we need to talk this out!"