Kitty was waiting, she didn't know how long she had been falling or for how long the silence had been going on. Her eyelids were still welded shut and she did not plan on prying them open any time soon.
"This looks like a rather uncomfortable situation for you Miss Katswell." The voice said and in an instant Kitty wasn't falling anymore. She was seated, quite comfortable even. She felt the creature's presence more or less in front of her but next to her on this sitting accommodation of any kind, was someone else.
"Is that normal behavior?" The voice asked the person next to her.
"No…no it's not." Kitty hoped for it not to be, but the voice next to her belonged to Dudley. He was sighing heavily. "You can open your eyes Kitty… he won't bite."
"I've seen him doing worse things," Kitty said and kept her eyes closed.
"The foundational provocation from the General's soldiers was the reason for my, admittedly, exuberant aggressions." The Advisor said in an amused singsong.
"130 people died!" Kitty now opened her eyes and tried suppressing the gasp she wanted to utter seeing the creature eye to eye for the first time.
Its general bodily structure reminded her of an ape, a very stiff and unbent one. The parts of the skin she saw had almost no fur, except for its head where the rest that was missing elsewhere on the body seemingly had gathered. At least regarding the hair this thing and her whole kind had something in common, most of the people she knew also had hair on their heads differing from the general fur.
Steel gray eyes stared curiously at her while the Advisor's mouth formed a wide grin.
"I granted Mr. Hobbs more than one chance to let me go in peace." The Advisor leaned forward on the couch he was sitting on, and she moved backward realizing she sat on a similar comfortable couch.
"It was him who wanted to confine. And being restrained is against my wish and my nature."
"Could we maybe not start this now…" Dudley's voice sounded like someone who had to listen to a repetition of something very tiresome. "Also, Sam, back onto your couch."
Much to Kitty's surprise, the Advisor just chuckled and gave in to Dudley's demands.
"Sam? You are calling this… this thing Sam." Kitty slowly turned to her boyfriend who had been staring at her for the whole time.
"Kitty, what are you doing here?" He meant ignoring her question.
"I was looking for you Dudley!" She replied as her tone got more aggressive with every syllable she uttered. "I wanted to keep you safe! And then I find out that you not only HAVE a brother but also punched him in the face!"
"I definitely have mentioned him, I guess…"
"I am not done!" Her voice now also became louder. "Then I meet my sister who has to confess to me that she fell in love with MY boyfriend who, by the way, also got to first base with her!"
Dudley had flinched hearing the last part like someone expecting to get a hit on the head. "Would you believe me that I wanted to tell you that?"
"When? After fucking me or after meeting with this eldritch horror here?!"
"Eldritch horror, delightful." The Advisor laughed and then with a swift hand gesture manifested a teacup in his hand.
"And you." Kitty turned to the being, now her mood had toggled from fear to wrath. "Who do you think you are dragging him into your sick game? I don't know what your plans are, but I will not let him be abused for them! Over my cold dead body, do you hear me!"
"It may come as a surprise to you, but I am not deaf." The Advisor simply replied grinning. "Furthermore, I would be delighted if you could elaborate on my plans. Evidence regarding their malefic nature would also be appreciated."
"I have the evidence for about 130…"
"No, elaborate on my plan." The Advisor put the teacup to his lips and took a sip. "Not on the collateral damages."
"We made peaceful contact and you…"
"No, the plan, what is it? What am I scheming?" The creature had the tone of someone talking to a very slow child. Kitty more and more understood where Hobbs's hatred was rooted.
"I… We don't know fully." She admitted gritting her teeth.
"Ah, I appreciate the honesty to your deficiencies." He nodded and added. "It must have been arduous to admit. But, and this is significant, an extrapolation on a thin database is untenable."
"Sam, behave," Dudley said harshly.
"Oh I do, Dudley, but we are speaking about simple logic here. You know me, I favor a certain clarity. And your beloved is making rather weak assumptions. No wonder as they come from a weak mind."
"Sam, I said behave!" The dog repeated himself more angrily.
"Oh no, I do not mean hers, time will show if debility or even imbecility is present. I mean the fine General of her."
"Hobbs? What is with him?" Dudley asked before Kitty could.
"Hope that you won't find out." Again, the Advisor took a sip from his cup but then suddenly looked at Kitty with something that resembled surprise. "Oh, I am sorry Miss Katswell, I haven't offered you a drink yet. I want you to feel as accommodated as possible while you are our guest."
"You want to tell me, you call this accommodating?!" Kitty asked irritated.
"To be quite honest, he's nice for his standards." Dudley gestured with his hands trying to get a point to her that probably just someone who spent enough time with the Advisor would understand. "I mean he hasn't insulted you directly yet…"
"I am mostly trying my best to be civil…" Sam nodded and with a wave of his hand the teacup disappeared. "But enough of this, we are wasting time, and the crawling destabilizing of this pocket is tangible for all of us."
Dudley looked confusedly into the nothingness around him, Kitty on the other hand, who avoided looking at the void and instead focused on the Advisor, grinned mischievously at him.
"Your little hideout is breaking down, isn't it?" Now it was her who leaned forward toward the other couch. "You haven't expected us to strike back, huh?"
"There are fixpoints in the fourth dimension and above. Divergent paths converge for a moment before deviating again."
Kitty just gazed back at the Advisor not sure what she should conclude from his speech.
"Some things are meant to happen." Sighed Dudley and received jeering applause from Sam.
"You tried thinking, very good." He grinned and focused back on Kitty. "What I try to imply is, that I knew it would come to this. And your deadly tired boyfriend there knew too, he was just in denial about it."
Kitty turned to Dudley and stared at him with resentful eyes. Dudley looked back at her, his gaze seemed afraid, but not in a way Kitty knew it. She had seen him afraid a few times, but this was a different kind of fear.
"All I wanted was saving you from this madness…" Dudley's eyes teared up and he quickly looked away.
"So, this was a setup." Kitty looked alternatingly at Dudley and the Advisor.
"No, it was physics. But from your limited point of view, you would call it destiny."
"And for what purpose does this happen then? And why am I so important?"
"Oh the hybris, the nerve." The Advisor started chuckling. "It has no purpose, at least none that concerns us here, in this plane of existence. And you are not the main actor, just a byproduct. The important things happening right now are several supernovae in a galaxy far away creating a resonance cascade strong enough that it ripples the fabric of the whole universe. You are just a grain of sand in an almighty gearbox that will grind you to dust if you are not vigilant." The Advisor looked upwards like he was waiting for one of the cogs to press down on them. "But are we not all unimportant miracles of matter in search of sense? It is a cruel universe."
"So, this is nothing but a coincidence you say?"
"Yes, but an unavoidable foreseeable one." He smiled and winked at her. "You are not important in the grand scheme of things, but so is Dudley and so am I… even if your new employer tries to lull you with the prospect of later importance. It is ironic that you patronize Dudley and call him an instrument while being played like a violin." He slowly folded his hands, taking his time wrapping his fingers around themselves. "And we are approaching the last movement of this concert."
Kitty looked over to Dudley for a rare consultation. Usually, she didn't need reassurance, but she was not versed when it came to music. Calling her a musical illiterate wouldn't be too far from the truth. Dudley had looked up at the Advisor glaring at him with an unsettled expression on his face.
"What has she gotten… your kind?"
The creature shook his head slowly. "No, even though the entanglements are undeniable. I fear there is a force, but she is not afflicted. I kept my eye on her."
"You did a poor job when it comes to that." Dudley huffed.
"Fixpoints." The Advisor simply remarked but before he could continue Kitty squeezed herself into a conversation that she felt less and less part of.
"Enough of this enigmatic blather!" She stood up from the couch but quickly fell back onto it as she realized the lack of substance underneath her feet. "This ends now! You will come with me back to the D.E.U.P. We will decide further when we are there."
"Is that so? For what purpose? Believe me, turning living breathing beings into dust brings me no joy. I rather see you prosper than vanish. Turning gears are more joyful to observe. However, how do you plan to force me into submission?"
Kitty grinned again, her other ace, at least she hoped so. "We know that this pocket dimension, or whatever it is, collapses and we found another artifact. A weapon. And it is waiting outside for you."
"Oh yes… yes." The Advisor almost yawned as he gave his comment to her words. "That must have been an impressive device for you but… there are better ones, at least if your goal global is self-annihilation. The weapon does not concern me. But I am interested in what you are holding in your hand there."
Instinctively Kitty tried moving the device out of his line of sight.
"Do not worry, I am not taking it away from you against your will. There are rules I must abide by. I rather request you to hand it to me willingly." Grinning he extended his open hand towards Kitty.
"Wh…Why? Why should I? Why? Since I am here you are nothing but an arrogant demanding prick and now you want me to do you a favor? Why? So that you can keep your weird twisted game running? So that you can keep controlling Dudley?" Kitty hissed saying her last words.
The Advisor smiled a smile that could be called benevolent if it wasn't coming from him. "So that you can aid in the conservation of your world, Miss Katswell."
"Yeah, sure." She rolled her eyes knowing full well that this conversation would lead nowhere. This thing wouldn't be persuaded by anything she could say or do. Its decisions were coming from a place she couldn't understand, and it wasn't willing to explain it either.
Wrapping her hand tightly around the metal cylinder she said. "No, no chance. The device is staying with me."
What came next was silence and the total absence of movement from the Advisor. The being just sat there, frozen in place fixating her with his eyes. And Kitty, not willing to budge, stared back her most fierce glare. A pair of soft hands slowly turned her head to the side and the corresponding eyes to these hands looked deeply into hers.
"I know this is hard to believe, Kitty." Dudley slowly said as his hands wandered onto her shoulders. "But he really means the best. I know he's not easy to handle but…"
"Dudley, don't you see how he is using you? Do you have any idea what repercussions the things you're doing for him have?" She said emphatically. "This is your chance to get out of this. To get your life back."
"I don't think that is possible anymore, Kitty." He sternly meant.
"Please, Dudley… Help me stop this madness."
"Kitty I…"
The Advisor cleared his throat, he was still extending his hand but had stopped staring. "It is all about decisions. And as it seems, it will be an even more severe one."
"Dudley please…" Kitty repeated pleadingly. "I need your help."
"I… dammit." Dudley sighed and closed his eyes. "Sam I… I'm sorry but…"
"I understand, I know this is not a declaration of war." The creature slowly moved his hand back. As he sat comfortably on the couch again, he let the teacup reappear in his hand. "I forgive you. But you know, decisions come with consequences. And as you two made yours, Miss Katswell should maybe explain a few of hers."
"I haven't done anything worth discuss…"
"Are you sure, Miss Katswell, that you could not make a mistake? A lapse in your judgment?" The Advisor chuckled but it didn't sound amused. "Or is that a flaw reserved for the imperfect?" His eyes went over to Dudley for a moment and his smile softened. "Why do you share your life with someone who thinks so little of you? Can you accept her thinking you are a fool?"
"That's not true and I never said that!" Kitty would have liked to stand up and slap that thing for what he said but the void between them was the best protection the Advisor could have had.
"You thought that but not completely without reason." He turned to Dudley grinning smugly. "You are a flawed fool for thinking she was the smarter one of you two." Gravely the creature stood up and the couch underneath him disappeared. "Well, my friends, it was a pleasure talking to you. The void will destabilize any moment, I will keep it in its current state for a few more minutes, as a little parting gift to you Dudley."
A white door-shaped gateway opened behind the Advisor leading, as it seemed, into bright white light. Without turning around, he placed a foot behind him and stepped into it. Slowly like a sliding door, the opening closed but with a reverberating tone of voice, the Advisor uttered one last sentence. "Your mother's living room is lovely, Dudley, we will meet there soon."
Kitty didn't understand the reference the Advisor was obviously making, she knew Peg's living room, it was a lot but not very stylish or good-looking. But looking at Dudley she immediately understood that he knew what the thing meant, and it must have been something that disturbed him to his core.
"What is going on, why did he say that?!" He panted nervously and looked around.
"I don't understand what…"
Dudley grabbed Kitty by the shoulders again, but this time more violently than the last. "Are there dangers outside of this… dimension?"
As Kitty was halting with her answer Dudley started shaking her. "What is going on?!"
"Dudley, you hurting me!" She broke free from his hands and moved further away on the couch. "Everything is okay, be calm. D.E.U.P. agents are there to take us to the HQ. Please be calm."
"Really?" He asked insecurely.
"You are safe, I promise." She smiled and then gently kissed him on the lips. "It's over."
"I am not so sure about…" The void that had surrounded them the entire time was suddenly, and without any further warning, gone. Just the couch was left which looked rather misplaced in the dilapidated dining room of the house. Dudley and Kitty got up and like that was the cue for the troops to strike the room filled with D.E.U.P. agents that formed a circle around the two of them.
"Excellent work!" Hobbs stepped out of the crowd into the circle. "You caught the traitor, good work."
"Listen, General, Dudley has taken our side he…" But she couldn't end her sentence as the needles of a taser drilled into Dudley's flesh putting a few thousand volts on his chest. Shivering the dog went onto his knees, uttering unintelligent screams as his muscles spasmed.
"You cannot be sure with these traitors. Better safe than sorry." He nodded at another agent and one more pair of needles hit Dudley in the neck.
"General you can't…" Kitty sprinted towards one of the agents holding a taser but two bulkier men from the ring grabbed her and held her in place.
"Don't worry, Ms. Katswell." The General laughed and walked over to her. "If you're right about this and he changed sides you get him back safe and sound, I promise." Hobbs gave a few orders to the men and they let her down, while still blocking her way. "You look tired, Ms. Katswell, why don't you take the rest of the week off? Or the month, that's the least thing we can do."
"General please I want to be there when Dudley…"
"Sure, sure." Hobbs nodded. "Well, send you the files, if you excuse me." Ignoring her and everything she tried to say from this point on Hobbs walked over to Jack and gestured some things to him before slowly walking towards the parking agency vehicles.
Kitty looked terrified over to Dudley who lay shivering on the ground while two agents were shackling him. Through all the pain he was suffering his eyes were pinned on her with a face contorted by the electricity and twitching muscles. Kitty tried, as good as possible, to not look away from him.
But all her strength couldn't do anything against the guilt and the shame she felt. What they did to him wasn't the safety she promised him. She looked to the ground as they dragged him to the van and drove off with him. She just stood there, and let it happen.
-Author's note: Well, things didn't work out for Dudley here, let's hope he can get out of there safe and sound :D Hope you had fun reading the chapter and as always, stay tuned :)-