fantasytree: y eah this kind of got way out of control. but you gotta admit, good cop is still having more issues than bad did.
The time was 1:45.
"B," Benny said as he looked out over the city. "Wake up."
No response. Benny glanced over at Good Cop, who was watching him with anticipation.
"Bad," Benny repeated. "Come on, man. I found your bro. And we've got kind of a situation."
Silence. Benny struggled to search out Bad Cop. He could feel the cop in the back of his mind, but only faintly. "Bad Cop!" he shouted.
Finally, Bad Cop stirred. What's going on? he murmured, sounding sluggish.
"I have good news and bad news," Benny replied. "I'll give you the good news first. Let's switch."
There was a worrying pause, and then Bad Cop switched in. He fumbled for his aviators and poked himself in the eye as he put them on. Pushing them up his nose, he looked around, and his gaze settled on Good Cop. Overwhelming relief washed over both their faces, and they stepped forward and pulled each other into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Bad Cop mumbled into Good Cop's shoulder, shaking. "I should have taken better care of you-"
Good Cop was trembling, too, clinging to Bad Cop like his life depended on it. "Don't be," he replied, his voice thick. "It's not your fault."
Wyldstyle shifted uncomfortably and looked away, feeling like she was intruding on something private. It was disconcerting to see the man – the men – who had been hunting her and her friends for nearly a decade so vulnerable. She didn't like how it made them seem that much more human. She'd spent the past eight and a half years thinking of them as more monsters than men, and, even after Bad Cop had switched sides, she'd been unwilling to let that view go. Too many of her friends had died at the cops' hands.
But watching them nearly crying into each other's arms, she began to think that maybe Benny really was right. In their own way, they were victims of Business, too. That didn't make their actions any less inexcusable, but maybe it did make them worthy of redemption.
She looked out at Bricksburg. They had to get going, but she felt loath to interrupt the moment that the cops were having.
Bad Cop came to her rescue by pulling away from Good Cop and saying, "Benny said there was bad news."
Wordlessly, Good Cop pointed towards the city.
"Oh," Bad Cop said.
Wyldstyle took this opportunity to step into action. "We have to get moving," she said. "The police force is scattered and outnumbered, and the other Master Builders are only going to be able to provide so much help. We need serious backup."
Both Good and Bad Cop's brows furrowed in a mirror of each other's expression. "Where would we get that?" Good Cop asked.
"I have an idea," Wyldstyle replied. "But you're not going to like it."
Business sat in an armchair by the window, staring vacantly out at the city as in the distance yet another bomb went off. He was sure that out there were Master Builders fighting Duplos alongside the police force, and he thought maybe he should help somehow, but his mind had gone blank. The cogs in his head should be spinning, the cold and calculating part of his brain should be springing into action, trying to figure a way out of this mess, but there was nothing. He felt oddly dazed. This was what the end of the world looked like. Not some sad attempt at keeping everything permanently in place.
That was it. He'd been outdone.
Bricksburg was going to become like one of the Uncharted Territories, and god he hated the Uncharted Territories. They were a nightmare, and each one had something horribly unique about it, though the Forest of Obsolete Products was by far the worst. It was absolutely infested with Hounds, and it had sentient plants and trees that moved in herds. Trees were supposed to stay put. Every time Business had tried to go there the layout had changed. It was the first area ever he took off his 'World Domination List,' and it wasn't the last. The Territories seemed perfectly designed to drive Business and his tight sense of order up the wall to a point where he didn't even want to deal with them. But they hadn't caused a fuss once the walls had been put up, and so Business focused all his attention on the Master Builders, eager to forget about the existence of the Territories.
It seemed now like that had been a huge mistake.
Then there was a knock at his door, and he pushed himself out of his chair with a groan. He crossed the room and opened the door. And his eyes widened.
"Oh," he said. "Um. Hello."
The trio in the hallway was quite a sight. The cops' tall figure towered in the doorway, dressed only in sweatpants and bloodied and bruised. Then Benny beside him, jacket in a sling to hold Unikitty and wearing Bad Cop's overlarge aviators. Wyldstyle stood in front, leaning on a bloodied saw-spear thing and spattered in Hound blood.
Good Cop looked like he was barely resisting the urge to punch Business in the face, and while it was hard to tell Bad Cop's expression behind the sunglasses, he probably had the same look as his brother. Wyldstyle's glaring eyes burned holes into him.
"Is there a problem?" he managed to say.
"Have you looked outside yet today?" Wyldstyle snarled, pushing her way into the penthouse. Business staggered away to let her through, eyes dropping to the floor as the cops passed him.
Irritation flashed through him at her words. "That's not what I meant," he snapped, "and you know it."
Wyldstyle jabbed a finger at him. "You're in no position to take that kind of tone with me. Have you just been sitting here?"
Business looked away guiltily, and that was answer enough.
Wyldstyle clenched her jaw. "Well, we've got something for you to do now."
The meaning behind this sunk in, and Business raised his eyebrows at her. "Are you… are you asking me for help?"
Wyldstyle's hands balled into fists, and she scowled.
Business put a hand to his forehead. "Oh, wow," he said with a disbelieving laugh. "You must be desperate. It's gotta be killing you, coming to me for help."
Then he felt a looming presence behind him, and he swallowed, looking cautiously around. It was Good Cop, murder in his eyes. "If you say no," Good Cop said, "it's going to be killing you."
Wyldstyle held out a hand. "Whoa there, cowboy," she said, giving Good Cop a warning look. "We're not here to make threats, alright?"
Good Cop took a reluctant step back. Business glanced around. Bad Cop was lurking on the edge of the group, glowering in silence.
"What do you need me to do?" Business asked.