Chapter Nine: A Blind Date
After a few hours of watching TV Connor's attention was drawn to the collected chatter of the Gremlins all demanding something.
"What's up with them?" Roscoe asked watching Connor get up and check the time on the clock unaware the Gremlins had changed the time.
"Must be hungry, it's not midnight yet so we can feed them I guess," Connor said entering the kitchen, taking a peek into the fridge for something to feed the hungry mouths.
"Hmmm," Roscoe grunted eyeing the Gremlins suspiciously.
"Ok, my little hellions! I have a whole turkey for you!" Connor spoke entering the dining room and setting it on the table watching all the Gremlin surrounded and began to devour the turkey.
"You hungry Nova?" Roscoe asked the nice Gremlin that shook its head both looking up to Connor who joined them on the couch again.
"Hopefully that will keep them happy for a while," Connor spoke continuing to watch their show.
Later that night Connor had fallen asleep on the couch with Roscoe lying on the rug below stirring awake when he looked over to see Nova hiding under the couch shaking in fear.
Hearing a noise from the living room Roscoe had a bad feeling and stood up slowly making his way to the entranceway where he peeked in to see the room was empty and the Gremlins were all gone.
'Where did they go?' Roscoe thought jumping back a bit when a slime-like goo landed in front of him, sniffing the smile he shook his face in disgust.
Slowly looking up to the roof the canine eyes widened at what covered the roof of the room, and slowly began to take a step back, "Connor! CONNOR!"
Barking loudly Connor jumped up looking around to where Roscoe ran from the entrance to the living room that was lit up early was now pitch dark and his canine friend was quickly backing away from it.
"What happened?" Connor asked drawing his pistol and approached the hall leading to the dining room.
"The Gremlins! They, they uh, I don't know what they did but there some weird nasty shit in there now!" Roscoe spoke watching Connor pull out his flashlight and peek into the room.
"Where they go?" Connor asked looking around till he saw slime slowly coming down from the roof in front of him then slowly looked up.
Gasping Connor stumbled backwards when he saw disgusting slimy cocoons covering the roof of the dining room, "bloody hell! What happened?!"
"Uh oh," Nova spoke peeking out from under the couch.
"Nova appears to be normal," Roscoe spoke watching Connor pick up Nova and set him on his shoulder.
"This is so strange," Connor spoke pulling out his phone his eyes widened when he looked at the time on his phone and then the time on the clocks, "those little bastards! They changed the time on us! They tricked us to feed them after midnight!"
"So they transform when they eat after a certain time? What on earth do they turn into?" Roscoe asked just as their attention was drawn to the front door when it opened and Mindy walked in.
"I'm home babies! Did you miss your mommy?" she asked setting a coat on a coat rack.
"Uh Mindy I may have some bad news about Gremlins," Connor warned watching her wave him off.
"Oh it's okay if they broke a vase, they don't know any better," she smiled heading towards the dining room.
"Wait no it's not that! Oh hell," Connor winced waiting for it when she walked into the dining room and she let out a high-pitched scream.
"KYAAAAAAH! WHAT HAPPENED?!" she screamed turning around to look at Connor.
"So, we may have accidentally fed them after midnight, after they distracted us so they could change the time on the clocks!" Connor defended.
"This is...this is...this is WONDERFUL!" she grinned catching Connor and Roscoe both off guard.
"Huh?" Connor asked tilting his head in confusion.
"I thought they would get sick or die if you fed them after midnight but after the water spill, I now know that the rules are utter rubbish! Look at them! They have become butterflies and are going to become beautiful new darlings!" she smiled spotting Nova on Connor's shoulder, "oh dear, Nova didn't change, well I better feed him after midnight too!"
"No!" Nova whined holding onto Connor's face.
"Well now! He seems to have gotten rather fond of you, would you like to keep him? Remember he can't go in the sun so you will have to keep him indoors," Mindy offered as Connor looked to Nova who was pleading with him not to let him stay.
"Here comes your first choice Connor, will you take Nova with you and have him as a loyal friend and pet, or leave him here to suffer the same unknown fate as the other Gremlins?" Gabriel asked Connor who smiled.
"Yeah, I've gotten rather fond of Nova too, would you like to join Roscoe and me on our journey little guy?" Connor asked seeing the little Gremlin nod.
"Then that settles that! I will stay here and wait for their beautiful transformation! I hope Nova and you are very happy on your journey young man," Mindy smiled.
"I think we shall, come on Roscoe, let's get going," Connor whistled setting Nova inside his hood before heading out the door.
"Do you think it a good idea to leave those things?" Roscoe asked walking down the road with Connor.
"Absolutely not, however, I have a feeling we will be back," Connor spoke patting his pistol in its holster.
Going to the tavern Seth whistled getting Connor attention from the second level where the rooms for rent were.
Heading up the stairs Connor followed Seth to their room where Connor set Nova on a pillow getting a raised brow from Seth.
"Really? You picked up another pet?" Seth asked seeing Connor shrug.
"It be too dangerous for him to join us on the field so the minute we get to the Sanctuary I am leaving him with Gabriel, what did you learn?" Connor asked taking a seat on a spare bed.
"Iron Fist's real name is Kyler Blade, and he is a local in town, I guess no one knows his true identity and he likes it that way, makes sense since he is a celebrity in these parts, from what I understand his father and coach works in the Crucible," Seth explained handing his phone to show Connor Friday information.
"He works at the docks? That could help us," Connor spoke scrolling more and looking at the information on Kyler.
"There hardly any info on why Kyler entered the Crucible but if I were to guess based on Friday's hacking on his purchase history it is because of his father," Seth spoke while Connor noticed a lot of hospital bills that got paid off exactly three years ago when Iron Fist first won.
"His father is sick?" Connor asked looking up to Seth who nodded.
"Looks like a nasty treatment process based on those hospital bills, Kyler fighting to save his father's life," Seth said seeing Connor smile.
"That's really admirable, he would do anything to save his father, even risk his life every season as the Crucible champion," Connor smiled handing the phone back.
"That will make him joining us more difficult, he not gonna abandon his old man," Seth sighed lying in bed, "here's what we will do, you will do more quests in the morning and I will see if I can find Kyler at the docks."
"Sounds like a plan, rest up everyone we will have a busy day tomorrow," Connor yawned lying down in bed and turning off the light.
The following morning Connor walked into the center of town making his way up a hill to a row of houses till he reached his destination where he saw a middle-aged woman sweeping her porch letting out a sigh before spotting Connor.
"Oh! You there! Young man! Could you please come here for a moment," she waved.
"What is it, ma'am?" Connor asked approached the steps to her porch.
"Why aren't you polite! You see I have a favor to ask of you, it's my daughter Sunny you see, she always had such rotten luck with boys, oh that punk Rodger broke the poor dear heart! She has been crying her eyes out, you look like a nice young man, would you consider taking her out on one date?" she requested.
"Wait, you want me to take your daughter out on a blind date?" Connor repeated taken aback by her request.
"No commitment, of course, I just want you to show her a good time and cheer her up, show her not all boys are lying low-life dogs! No offense puppy," she smiled at Roscoe who growled in response.
"Ok sounds easy enough, I can take her out," Connor smiled.
"Oh thank you! I know you will pull Sunny out of this rut she is in," she smiled holding out her hand, "I am Holly by the way."
"Connor, it's a pleasure to meet you," he smiled shaking her hand.
"Okay Connor, I will be getting her ready, she will be ready to go at eight sharp tonight, you have till then to get yourself looking proper," Holly spoke heading inside while Connor headed by to the center of town where the Market Area was located.
"A blind date huh? Will these quests truly make a difference?" Roscoe asked seeing Connor shrug.
"Somehow I think it will," Connor smiled approaching the sliding doors to a General Store.
"Welcome to the Westcliff General Store sir! Where all your basic needs are at your disposal, I am Jack and ready to help you with whatever you need," the brown-haired clerk around Connor's age greeted as they entered.
"Thanks, so I am going to need flowers for a date, where are they?" Connor asked approaching the counter.
"How exciting, well we have a wide selection to pick from, help yourself," Jack smiled pointing to a nearby fridge filled with bouquets, and while Connor was looking through all the flowers a beautiful young girl entered the store and approached the counter.
"O-oh hello there Sunny here for the usual order?" Jack asked nervously while Connor started eavesdropping when he heard Sunny name mentioned.
"Nah not today, I'll just stick with an iced tea today," she smiled heading over to a fridge pulling out a bottle, and approaching the counter to pay but he held up a hand.
"Oh no, this one on me," Jack smiled.
"No Jack I insist," Sunny chuckled paying her for her drink before leaving, once she was gone Jack let out a soft loving sigh.
Smirking Connor approached the counter following Jack's gaze to where Sunny had gone and cleared his throat, "So, I take it you fancy her?"
"Huh? What?! Oh-no! I uh...well it's not like that," Jack defended unable to hide his blush.
"Oh yeah you're so into her," Connor chuckled leaning on the counter, "so why not ask her out?"
Letting out a sigh Jack spoke, "I wish I could but she already seeing someone and she'd never go out with a guy like me."
"Hmmmm," Connor hummed thinking a bit before getting an idea, "what would you say if I could get you a date with her?"
Looking up hopeful Jack spoke, "Y-you think you could?"
"First tell me what you know about her?" Connor asked watching Jack think about it.
"Well, I know she loves going to the shore, he favorite flower is the wild rose and I know what she doesn't like, she complained to me before about bad dates," Jack explained watching Connor study Jack's appearance.
"This will take some work but we need to fix you up a bit, let's start with what you will wear," Connor smirked glancing over to a clothes rack with several dress shirts.
"You now have a choice, you can help Jack with the girl or use the knowledge he's given you to take the girl for yourself," Gabriel spoke.
'Hell no,' Connor thought not wanting to hurt Jack like that, "come, Jack, close the shop early, we need to get you ready."
While Connor was helping Jack, Seth walked down the stairs to the shipyard below where a recent fishing ship returned and men were unloading crates of fresh goods.
Looking around Seth walked across the wooden deck looking around till the spotter someone carrying with ease to large crates, "bingo."
"Hey, boss where do you want these?" Kyler asked looking up to the boat where the captain leaned over the edge.
"Get those on the lift Kyler! Gotta get this fish to the market straight away!" the captain shouted back.
"Leave it to me!" Kyler said making his way down the dock to pass Seth who was about to talk to him but Seth's phone beeped.
Pulling out his phone Seth's eyes widen when he read Friday's message, 'Reaver is assembling several trucks full of patrol and they appear to be making their way to Westcliffe, I don't know how they found you but you and Connor need to go now.'
"Shit!" Seth growled realizing something, 'Wait a damn minute, they couldn't possibly know we were here, what would make Reaver assemble a mini army here?'
Thinking on it his gaze moved to Kyler who set two crates on a lift hitting the button to send them to the town above.
"Gabriel, do our enemies know about the three heroes were looking for too?" Seth asked holding a phone to his to pretend he was on a call.
'They do indeed, but their reasons to get their hands on the heroes are different than ours, they will kill the three heroes if they get their hands on them, do not let them," Gabriel warned.
Seeing Kyler take a seat on a crate near the steps to town Seth approached, "You are Kyler Blade, right?"
Taking a drink from a water bottle Kyler raised a brow before answering, "Who's asking?"
"You're in danger, Vice President Reaver is assembling his forces as we speak and they're coming for you, Iron Fist," Seth spoke saying the champion stage name quietly.
"I think you have me mistaken for someone else," Kyler spoke standing up and began to walk away with Seth following after him.
"Wait listen to me! We need your help, I know all of this is going to sound mad! I still don't believe it myself but you are the Hero of Strength, they will kill you if they get their hands on you," Seth warned watching Kyler turn to look at the shorter man.
"Yeah, you're right, it does sound mad and so do you, now get lost, I have a job to do," Kyler spoke watching Seth think, "Still here?"
"Are you a betting man?" Seth asked seeing Kyler raise a brow and lift another crate and carry it towards the beach.
"I might be, what you gonna challenge me to an arm-wrestling contest?" Kyler chuckled.
"During this season of The Crucible, a warrior is going to make it to the final round to fight Iron Fist, he is a Hero, like his ancestors before him, if he can punch 'him' hard enough to draw blood, would you be convinced Heroes are real?" Seth asked watching Kyler set the crate down.
"If this 'hero' truly like the Fables and can make the Iron Fist bleed then yes I may be inclined to believe you're not full of shit, now are we done here?" Kyler asked seeing Seth walk away.
"Hey Gabriel, will recruiting the other heroes be easier than this?" Seth asked walking the steps back to town.
"I could be cryptic and say each hero requires different methods of convincing but to put it simply, yes some will be harder to convince while some will be easier," Gabriel explained.
"Oh great," Seth said sarcastically.
Later that day Connor stepped away from his work moving a strand of hair from Jack's face, "Not bad! Not bad at all."
Jack's hair was nicely trimmed and his face was given a clean shave, he also now wore a clean dress shirt and had a light cologne sprayed, holding the bouquet of roses.
"Think I'm ready?" Jack asked looking at himself in the mirror.
"I do believe you are ready! Oh, wait! Here eat a breath mint!" Connor spoke handing the other a mint.
"I don't know about this Connor, what if she refuses?" Jack asked chewing the mint nervously.
"Hey! No chickening out on me now! Come on, you'll have a great time!" Connor smiled as they made their way up the road towards Sunny house where he approached the door and knocked.
Opening the door Holly face frowned before whispering, "Why aren't ready?!"
"There's been a change in plan, I found the perfect gentleman to take Sunny out," Connor smiled gesturing to Jack.
"Is that little Jackie? Oh my goodness he and Sunny were in school together," Holly smiled.
"That's right, I believe he is the right person to show your daughter a good time if you're willing to give him a chance," Connor smiled watching Holly think before calling into the house.
"Oh, Sunny! Your blind date is here!" she called up the stairs.
"For the last bloody time Mother, I am not going on some date with a total stranger you picked out from the street! What if he is a killer?!" Sunny yelled coming down the stairs then spotted Jack at the entrance, "Jack?"
"Hey Sunny," Jack smiled.
"Whelp! I hope you two have a good time, go on you two! Have a good time and remember to bring her back before curfew!" Connor teased and walked away.
"That was a nice thing you did," Roscoe smiled while the both of them looked up to the sky where rain began to come down.
"Where to now?" Connor asked about to head back to the tavern but saw Roscoe's fur stick up and eyes widen growling, "What's wrong?"
"I smell Balverines!" Roscoe warned both of them hearing a roar in the center of town followed by a woman's scream.
"COME ON!" Connor yelled drawing his sword and ran down the road with Roscoe.