Chapter 8
Sinking Feelings
"This is crazy, dudes…" Gregg stares down into the sinkhole that swallowed a large chunk of the graveyard. "How did this even happen?"
Angus hums and narrows his eyes, as he hears the rush of water below. "Subterrenean stream carved it all up and swallowed everything. But I can't tell which way it's flowing…"
"T-To the mines." Mae shudders as she clings to Bea's side. Bea keeps her arms tightly around Mae, refusing to let go for even a second. Mae's more thankful for this than she can say. "H-He's mad, guys. R-Really mad. I d-don't think the bodies are enough, e-either…"
Angus turns her way and stares. "You mean the Black Goat? You think it's his doing?"
Bea huffs. "I didn't wanna believe it either, but Mae woke up from a nightmare right when it was starting, and…" She looks to Mae to finish.
Her mouth feels dry, but she manages to respond. "I-I saw two other gods trying to hold him back and keep this from getting worse than it turned out."
Gregg's jaw drops as he steps around Angus to her. "A-Are you shitting me? W-WHich ones were fighting him?"
"T-The cat, and-" She freezes. Her eyes hone in on two familiar birds across the hole from them, and they narrow. "... The crane." She pulls away from Bea and starts marching around, prompting the others to follow after a moment of confusion.
Germ and the janitor stand beside one another, idly discussing the hole, until Mea approaches and the janitor sighs deeply.
"HEY! What the fuck did your shithead sibling do last night?!"
"WHAT?!" Gregg stumbles to a stop as he catches up with Mae, wondering if he heard right.
"Margaret. You shouldn't be slinging things like that around so carelessly." He grumbles and sips down some of his cola.
"You think I give a shit right now?" Mae stomps up to him with fire in her eyes. "I saw you last night. I know that was you! So tell me why the fuck you two couldn't stop him?!"
"Mae." She pauses as Germ calls to her. "Calm down. It's not his fault." He sighs. "I guess I should introduce you all. Shouldn't be surprised you already know, Mae." He hums and steps between the taller bird and his friends. "Guys, this here, is… Well, what name are you going by now?"
He hums. "Chose James this time. It's simple." He takes another sip.
"Right, James." Germ sighs. "He's… my great, great, great grandfather. And a surviving aspect of the Forest God."
"I'm sorry, what?" Bea's jaw drops, but she shakes it off. "You can't be serious."
Germ shrugs. "As serious as I can be."
Mae's eyes narrow and she peeks about for a moment. "That… Wait, that would explain your Gramma. She got her clairvoyance from…" She looks up to James. "You."
He nods. "That she did." He sips again. "As for last night, my brother and I did our best to stop our sibling, the Goat. But I was never much of a fighter, and he lacked the strength to do much but distract and divert him a bit. Besides, I'm the healing element of the Forest God." Another sip. "I don't fight or stop, I fix." He hums. "Hard to fix that damn door the Goat opened, though."
"Wait…" Angus cuts in. "The Ghost Star?"
"Angus." Mea raises an eyebrow at him. "I thought you didn't know that stuff."
"You made me curious and I binged researching it after work."
Mae nods. "Fair, continue."
Angus returns the nod and looks up to James. "The Ghost Star can't be found because the Black Goat destroyed it. The Forest God died, and part of it refused and broke through."
He nods and smirks. "Smart boy. Yes, the Ghost Star is lost because it was never really a star, but a local gateway for the dead. The Goat wanted to come back home. They succeeded, and opened the way for us, but they were overambitious, crashed into the mountains, and mortally wounded their mortal form."
Mae's eyes widen as that sinks in. "So it's been stuck under those mountains for all this time, since the Forest God died. Stuck there, hungry, and killing others because it refused to die."
"They." He sips again. "The Goat never had time to develop a gender identity before getting stuck down there and too mad to ever think about it. But definitely 'they', not 'it'."
"O-Oh, um, right. Sorry."
He shrugs and takes another sip.
"Wait, hold on." Gregg steps up. "So if the Ghost Star is broken, then ghosts have just been spilling back into this world at random, and the ones from Mae's dreams are actually the musicians that walked into the woods and played to death?"
He hums. "I couldn't exactly deny their wishes, they were old and tired. When the time is right, dying is a form of healing. It was for them. And their music is quite peaceful. I can hear it even now."
Germ hums. "I swear I hear them at night sometimes."
He nods. "You do, they hang out near your house often enough."
Bea huffs and hangs her head. "Well, this is just getting trippy now. You're… an actual part of an actual god?"
"Yep."
Angus's face sags. "Well, I have a lot to think about."
"Don't overthink it, kid. Science is still real, there's just more out there. I wouldn't suggest magic, though. Meddling in the domain of gods is never a good idea. Tends to change you in ways you can't predict. Last mortal I knew who meddled in magic was The Huncher, and she killed her own sister and started this whole mess."
Angus stammers silently for a moment, but shuts up and nods. "Fair enough. I'll stick to computers."
"Good stuff, really." He hums. "I can handle power tools just fine, but computers are a bit beyond me. Too earthly, I guess." He shrugs and peeks down to Mae. "Now, you have anything else for me?"
Mae bites her lip and thinks, but eventually shakes her head. "No, I don't think so. All makes a lot more sense now, though. So the others I saw in my dreams were your family too? The Alligator, the Squirrel, the Bear, and the Wolf?"
James nods. "Indeed they are. We were all trying to warn you from there." He smirks and raises his drill, giving it a spin. "And I did say when you first got home that I was here to fix a door."
Mae stares blankly. "Very funny. So, what are we going to do about them trying to swallow the town?"
He shrugs. "Not much can be done. The bodies they took should sate them for a while. But not as much as something fresh. They took most of our destructive power. Not much we can do to fight back. Gator is down there in the waters, trying to take the brunt for a while until more people leave town."
"Well, you're demigods, so…" Gregg shrugs. "How long can that last?"
"Can't be sure. Time blurs after you're alive so long." He grumbles and sips again. "The Cat's the worst at managing that. Sleeps too much. Been asleep most of the time since we split."
"Well, doesn't that remind us of someone." Bea hip-checks Mae, who scoffs and jumps to return the favor with a little more force. Bea stumbles, but pulls Mae into a headlock to stop her.
James chuckles and shakes his head. "I'll keep in touch, Mae. Good luck out there with your first show. I might stop by for it. I love your music." That said, he wanders off and leaves them alone, while they all get their bearings.
Germ breaks the silence. "So yeah. That's sort of a thing. He doesn't come around often. Busy guy."
"I can see that." Bea groans and rubs her temples. "So I've met an actual god and almost been eaten by another. Wonderful."
Angus turns away. "I really need some time to think about this."
Gregg nods and takes Angus's hand. "We're gonna head home, dudes. Cap'n needs some lovin today. Work was canceled due to this sinkhole, anyway."
Bea nods again. "Sounds good. No Pickaxe today." She reaches for her pockets and pauses when she remembers she hasn't smoked in a month. "... Shit, I really need one right now."
Mea pulls her into a tight hug. "Will this do for now?"
Bea freezes, but eventually nods and pulls Mae in closer. "Yeah… yeah, this'll do."
"So, no recording today?" Germ cuts in.
"Oh, uh…" Mae shrugs. "Guess not. Way too on-edge for that. We'll call Law and let him know." She pulls her phone out.
"Alright." Germ turns and wanders off. "See you guys later, then." He pauses and turns around. "Oh, and Mae, Gramma wants you over for dinner again soon. Tomorrow night good? You can come too, Bea."
Mae sighs. "Another vague vision for me, great… yeah, I can come. Bea, you up for it? Mrs. Warton's a really good cook." Mae keeps sorting through her contacts. "Need to update Lori to Law on here…"
Bea hums. "I suppose I could use that. But for now, let's get to your place for the day. I'll pack a bag for the night. Further from here I can sleep, the better. Besides, I'm sure Candy is going crazy waiting for you to come home."
"... Shit, you're right. I'm gonna call her real quick."
.
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Angus flops onto his couch and stares at the ceiling as his mind races. Gregg wasted no time in hopping into Angus's lap and holding on tightly. "Cap'n… come on. We… we already saw a lot a few months ago. We sort of knew it was a thing already, we just didn't know just what it was. Having answers is good, right?"
"Hmm… I suppose. Yeah, answers are certainly good… just not answers I find much comfort in."
Gregg nods. "It's nice to know some of them are on our side though, right?"
"True… I sort of want to know more about them. Maybe I could ask James some time."
"He seems friendly enough. And I bet he has some really crazy stories you could save up for something!"
He shakes his head. "Bea's the writer, I'll leave that to her. I just kind of want answers." He hums. "But… maybe turning the truth into the basis of a game could be fun. My coding is getting better."
"Hell yeah! I know you can do it, Cap'n! Once we succeed as a band, get out of here, and get you a better computer, we'll jump on that game! Just ask Mae to do the character design for you."
He nods. "Obviously." He sighs in relief and closes his eyes, then plants a quick kiss on Gregg's forehead. "Thanks, Bug. You always know what to say to calm me down."
"Play to logic and passions, never fails." He grins. "Now, how about we start up some Brawl Brotherhood and kick some ass in some team play?"
Angus smirks and turns the TV to HDMI for the game. "I feel like disrespecting some people with heavies."
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"So…" Mea bites her lip as she reaches the front door. "You ready for this, Beabea?"
"About as ready as I can be."
"I-I know we said we'd wait to tell anyone outside our little circle until you were certain we're gonna work out…"
"Mayday…" Bea takes her hand. "... I'm ready. I've got all the proof I need, and I know your parents will jump to accept us."
Mae giggles a bit and squeezes her hand. She feels like she'll never get used to the intimacy of scale and fur intertwining. "Yeah, well.. I suspect mom's already sleuthed us out a bit and she's just waiting for us to say it."
"Yeah, that sounds like Candy. So, we better not keep them waiting."
Mae nods and opens the door, ushering Bea in as she calls out. "Intruder alert! There's a hot gator gal on the premises!"
Bea stumbles and almost drops her bag. "M-Mae, what the hell?" She hasn't seen Bea blush this much since the confession.
Mea grins ear-to-ear and giggles.
Stan leans forward on the couch to peek around the corner at them with a teasing grin. "Oh, so you finally admit it, huh?"
Mea chuckles and takes Bea's hand again, now matching the gator's blush. "W-Well, about that…"
Candy steps out from the kitchen, cleaning her hands of a few ingredients, and matches Mae's grin in an instant. "Oh, you two make just as cute of a couple as I thought you would! So, how long's it been, dears?" She steps up and pulls them both into a tight hug. Now she sees where Mae gets her hugs from. Still not as good as Angus's, though.
"W-Well, um…" Bea bites her lip as she sets her bag down for a moment. "Mae sort of wrote a love song and performed it for me about a week and a half ago. It was kinda hard to say no after a performance like that."
Stan chuckles. "One hell of a confession. Shoulda figured, Mae goes overboard with everything she cares about."
Bae smirks over at her bashful girlfriend. "Got that right. I guess having me around is why she never half-asses work either."
"I'd debate that, but you're at least partly right. Now, I'll get your bag upstairs, I'll be right back down." Mae hefts her bag and starts jogging upstairs with it.
Candy then turns and raises an eyebrow at Bea. "Spending the night, are you?"
She blushes just a but deeper. "O-oh, well.. After the whole sinkhole mess late last night, Mae's been dealing with some trauma from the cave-in. I figured leaving her alone tonight wouldn't be the best idea."
Candy's smile fades just a bit, but it grows just a bit more tender. "You've taken incredible care of her, Bea. I can't thank you enough. If not for you, she wouldn't be getting the psychiatric help she's needed for so long. Without you…" She sighs shakily. "...We probably would have lost her."
Bea's blush fades, but the sincerity in Candy's voice melts her cold facade. "I can't just sit by when she's hurting. I'll always be here for her. And you two, if you need it. You've been better family to me in single days than my dad was collectively after mom died…" She wipes a tear away. "I can't thank you two enough for accepting me. A-And accepting that Mae and I are together…"
Stan chuckles heartily. "No need to thank us, Beatrice. You're already family in our eyes, whether Mae's put a ring on you or not."
"W-What?!" Mae has just been coming back down, and slips on the stairs. "D-Dad, come on, t-too early!"
Bea chuckles nervously. "W-Well, um.. Something to t-think about, at least? Then again, I-I heard those lyrics, pretty sure you already have thought about it, Mayday."
"Whether I have or not isn't the point!"
Bea grins. "I'm not hearing any denial."
"You just lost your kissing privileges!"
Candy giggles as she returns to cooking. "No she hasn't."
"... Ok, no, you haven't."
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A.N.: Been a bit, hasn't it? Sorry guys, I got busy with a few things. Romance, youtube channel progress, job hunts, holidays, whole mess of stuff. But, I'll be uploading this consistently again now, I already have more chapters good to go, still pacing them 2 weeks apart! I hope you guys liek the big lore drops and my theories on the Forest God and current gods, and I've dropped some hints as to a few more original songs coming up in this fic for yas as well! Happy Holidays everyone, and I'll see you again in the new year! After I post the next chapter of Konoha's Fatal Joke, trying to finish that tonight too.
