"So what do you say kid? Your friend or the scarf?" McFist's mechanical arm extends towards me, so sure in the choice I will make. Three long strides and I could give him want he wants. I watch the bubbles drifting in the green, life supporting liquid in the arm. The brain and eyes that it supports are so much more unnerving now that I know the truth. The eyes stare, never blinking because of the lack of eyelids.
"No."
"Cunningham, can we please just enjoy this field trip? It's not every day that we get out of school for half a day!" Howard whines as we walk from our first hour class to the bus. I groan as we push through the double doors. Summer is making one last comeback; this is the hottest it's been since August and I certainly didn't dress for it. Unfortunately, I cannot take off my hoodie without revealing the tips of the wing tattoos.
"And I will enjoy it! I will enjoy snooping around looking for evidence of the Sorcerer," I say. I didn't get nearly enough time at the company party; I'll just have to be sneakier this time.
This Wednesday snuck up on me pretty fast. I almost didn't get my permission slip in on time.
"Ok, so let's say McFist and the Sorcerer are working together, why would he be at the factory? Wouldn't someone notice? Heck, even my dad would probably notice." Howard chuckles. "Tall green men should be pretty easy to spot."
We sit in the middle/back of the bus. If you sit too far back you'll be the last ones off and if you sit in the front you'll be next to the teachers. Both Mrs. Driscoll (accompanied by her husband Jerry) and P Slimz (finally recovered from the TPing) are supervising the tour through McFist Industries. NHS believes that field trips to local areas will help us have a greater appreciation of the city or something. We also go to the Museum of Silt later on in the year. It's really boring, but it's next to the volcano so I might be able to work with that.
Howard calls the window seat.
"But who knows when I'll be able to get into McFist Industries again! C'mon bro, this will be way more fun than the tour, trust me," I continue from earlier.
"Ugh. You're no fun anymore," Howard says grumpily, looking out the window.
"How is breaking rules less fun than doing what you're supposed to Howard?" I gesture with my hands to emphasize my confusion.
"Cuz there's work involved! You're not sneaking off for fun, you're working."
"Work can be fun," I offer up weakly.
"Nope."
I give up, sinking down until my shins are flat against the seatback in front of us. My head ends being at about Howard's shoulder height. I look up at him as he clicks the bus window down. It, along with the other students who did the same, provides fresh air to the stuffy interior.
"I have to try." Who knows how much more I, and others, will lose if the Sorcerer keeps this up. I need to find him.
The bus is very noisy. I can hear Bucky banging on his triangle up front, girls are screaming, P Slimz is telling everyone to calm down…
"Yo Howard, what's going on up there?" I ask. Classmates are yelling "There it is!" and "Get it!" with varying levels of terror.
"I think a bee got into the bus," he says, totally unconcerned.
I poke my head out into the aisle for a better look. The principal is holding a sneaker in hand -not his own- squinting his eyes, and hunting for the alleged bee. Rosie (NG with blond hair and long eyelashes) slowly switches to another seat, pointing at her closed window.
WHAM.
P Slimz bangs the heel of the shoe on the glass. In unison, we cheer for our victory. Humans: 1 Bee: 0. I pull my head out of the aisle. Howard is allergic to bees so I'm glad it was taken care of. Shrugging my hoodie away from my neck, I tilt my head forward. The breeze from the open windows feels amazing on the exposed skin. I sure hope McFist keeps his place air conditioned.
A faint buzzing puts me on high alert. He had missed it! I straighten, placing my feet back on the floor. Howard slams his hand on the lower pane of glass. I turn just in time to see him brush a dead hornet onto the floor with his gloved hand. The bee's luck had run out.
"It's hot out! Why are you wearing a glove? And like, just one glove. Not even a pair." I reach for his hand, but he pulls away.
"I could say the same thing about your choice of apparel," Howard returns.
"You know why." Will (can) things go back to normal when (if) I defeat the Sorcerer? It's a question I ask myself often.
We are let off the bus in front of the main doors. A robo ape greets us and we're led in a different direction than I had gone for the party. To my dismay, instead of being allowed to roam as a group, we are packed into a series of cars similar to a roller coaster train. The organized set up will make it much more difficult to sneak away. I strategically choose a seat in the back.
"And here you can see happy McFist employees manufacturing some of your favorite foods. Like McMeatStache- the mustache flavored meat snack," the robo ape droned on, air quoting the word 'meat'.
It's been a whole fifteen minutes and the tour is basically all stuff you can find online. Where's the secret lab and dirty secrets? Actually, I do know where the former is.
We watch the processed meat travel sown the conveyor belt, cut by saws and stamped into mustaches. Howard is clearly having a great time; they had passed out free samples.
"They taste just like mustaches!" he exclaims. "You gonna eat yours?"
I hand it to him. "Knock yourself out."
"Ever stare up at the stars and wonder where sand comes from? Find out at our next stop."
The teachers make corny puns, which I don't pay attention to, and everyone groans. The ape pauses before continuing the ride.
"See? Even Doug is having a good time! You need to snap out of this or so help me…" Howard's threat hangs empty as the robotic tour guide makes an announcement.
"Except for Randy Cunningham. The Boss would like to see him in his office."
I stand up, my knees shaking only a little. He knows. Stepping out of the car and onto the platform, another robo ape waits for me. Wonk it, I was hoping for some element of surprise, but I should have known Julian would snitch.
"Oooo, someone's in trouble," Doug says mockingly.
"Shut up Doug!" He is the most irritating person I know, and that's saying something.
"I'll go with him! Buddy system and all that. Gotta make sure he looks both ways before crossing the hallway!" Howand stands next to me.
Before the teachers can protest, the tour continues, leaving us on our own.
"You owe me big time for this," Howard whispers.
I smile. Knew I could count on him.
The silent walk to wherever we're going is nearly unbearable. We pass robots and humans alike and go up a few levels to an office like area. A secretary pushes a button on her desk and the robo ape leaves. Without a word, but with an expression of pity, the lady gestures for us to continue on through a mechanical sliding door that had opened.
Everything has led up to this moment. I will finally face my enemies and stop them from… actually I'm still not sure what their goal is. Whatever it is, I bet it's evil.
We walk through the doorway, expecting an army or something, but McFist is casually filling out paperwork at his desk. Viceroy is at his side, quietly murmuring. I never thought about how he might fit in to this. Of course he designs the robots, however does this make him more or less of a threat then McFist?
The door hisses shut, trapping us in the expansive room. The only light comes from a large triangular window directly behind his desk. The desk is a solid hundred feet away.
McFist looks up. "Ah, how good of you to join me. Please, take a seat."
My footsteps echo in the sparsely furnished metal room, eyes narrowed with steely determination. Howard trails quietly behind.
I do not sit in the offered chair.
"So rebelious, how am I supposed to negotiate with you like this hm?" The prominent man swipes the papers to the side and folds his hands neatly in the subsequent cleared space. "No matter, one way or another, when you leave this room I will have what I want."
"Oh yeah? I'll never deal with the likes of you." I look around for show. "And it looks like your partner in world domination isn't here to back you up." It's so obvious that he's hiding something.
He laughs. It's a hollow, bone chilling laugh. Howard and I laugh along uneasily. McFist's laughter cuts off suddenly and it's then I realize my mistake. He doesn't blink. No seriously, I even stare at him just to make sure- his eyes stay wide open. The effect is unsettling, but something else is off too. There's something very wrong about this.
"Did you boys enjoy the tour so far?" I'm thrown by the friendly turn of conversation, but Howard embraces it.
"Aw man, can I just say that I'm your biggest fan? The McMeatStache, the McStachle, the McPooper… your products are the most bruce ever. And saying that, maybe I could get more free samples? Being a huge fan and all." He finishes with a slightly devious expression, leaning forward in his chair.
Never underestimate Howard's love of getting stuff for free.
"Oh you will get a free sample all right," He then turns to make an aside to Viceroy. "Is it ready?"
The purple clad scientist nods and walks out through a door I hadn't noticed before which closes seamlessly.
"As you can see," McFist is addressing me, "this is a very large, very successful company. I'm a well-respected figure in Norrisville."
I snort at that one.
"And it would be unfortunate for something to happen to you while on your school field trip. I might get some bad press, but ultimately, money talks. So, are you sure you will not 'deal with the likes of me'?"
His grin is that of a crocodile and now I finally comprehend what exactly felt so wrong. McFist irises are an unnatural, bright shade of green. I don't think this man is McFist.
I've never been so scared in my life. More scared than when I broke my mom's vase as a kid, more scared than when I had a bad argument with Howard and we didn't talk for a week, more scared than when I fought the chimeras and lost my leg.
And all I can do is stand in terrified silence.
"Having trouble deciding? I know what will help. Your friend has a terrible disease right now."
I whip my head around to Howard. He's scared now too, though he would never admit it.
"Funny. It is awfully similar to yours." The man continues.
I don't have a disease, what is he talking about? I voice my question aloud before I stop to think that maybe I don't want to hear the answer.
"Cunningham…" Howard pulls off the glove I had noticed earlier. There's an angry mark on his palm and it's no coincidence that it's the same hand he held the powerball in. Upon closer inspection, small orange feathers dot his hand.
"What did you do?!" I scream at the being with McFist's body.
"I did nothing. You should not have messed with things you do not understand. Hand over the Norisu scarf and my chaos pearl, and I can save you both," he pauses to let the information sink in. "In fact, it is amazing that you both have been able to fight the Tengu off for so long."
"But if you have the scarf, then there would be no one to protect the city! You would be free to take over!"
"No kidding captain obvious," Howard mutters.
"Can't you see I already have? Norrisville is dependent on McFist Industries! I possess the body of the most powerful man in this wretched city; the greedy fool actually thought I would give him some god-like power for freeing me and agreed to fuse the remains from my rotting body to himself!"
The Sorcerer slams McFist's mechanical fist onto the desk, his jaw trembling with anger. The eyeballs connected to the floating brain in the hand watch me. I resist the sickening feeling in my gut telling me to hork up my breakfast. While demons (Yōkai) are basically immortal the Sorcerer's rare condition of being only half demon (han'yo) must have let him live for eighty years in the underground prison, but not spared him from decay.
Unconsciously, Howard and I both had backed away from the insane businessman demon combo. He calms down momentarily and extends his arm.
"So what do you say, kid? Your friend, or the scarf?"
I wish I could say I weighed both options equally and chose the most logical answer. Howard or the city. One person verses the entirety of Norrisville.
Why can't I have both?
"No."
The Sorcerer fumes; Mcfist's face turns a beet red.
"YOU SEE WHAT THEY DID TO ME? THE BLASTED NORISU DESTROYED ME AND NOW I MUST RETURN THE FAVOR!" The Sorcerer heaves his new, short, broad body onto the desk and shouts for Viceroy to release the 'Kumo'.
Another hidden door opens and a grotesque, purple spider that must be twice my height spills out. Two legs are connected to its abdomen and four smaller ones are arranged on its long neck. Its head is almost human: the mouth in stretched wide and full of teeth, and a top hat sits on stringy blue hair.
"Julian," I breathe. I'm so sorry Theresa.
"Sweet cheese, I'm outta here." Howard runs to the door we came through and beats on it, begging for it to open.
"Slave! I want the scarf!" The Sorcerer points to me.
My cheese is sooo wonked.
a/n: Muahahaha! And yeah I wish I could have finished this before vacation but whatevs. There'll be one more chapter and an epilogue I think. Please review! Reviews fuel me lol
its 1am kill me now