Chapter 14: Into the Mountains we go.
Courntey quickly toppled to the floor, reeling from the impact of her Mothers slap.
"You showed her your stash and let her go away?!" Mavis Richards exclaimed, As Courntey got back up, rubbing her cheek.
"I was giving her a Choice." Courtney said. "And she made it."
"You're brazen and needless attacks against her, have only cemented her as an Enemy." Mrs. Richards scolded. "I mean, Did you really think that after putting her through all that, she'd end up on your side?!"
"Well uh…" Courtney faltered, she hadn't realized any of this before now.
"Exactly!" Mrs. Richards snapped. "And she knows the Brovflovski boy is Innocent too! She'll seak to clear his name, Heavens forbid she isn't already, I've had to pay a secret fine to the Testaburgers for the girls injuries AND to keep their mouths shut, the same for the Brovflovskis, Really you just had to put yourself in this situation."
Courtney couldn't help but wince at her mothers sharp cold tone. "Sorry Mother."
"Your Father gave you that racket to teach you the importance of business in uncertain times." The older woman continued, pinching the brim of her nose. "And while your sales amongst the underworld have been good, you nearly allowed the whole thing to be exposed! You're lucky this town is afraid of us, otherwise you might as well have brought the authorities on our asses."
"Guess it's an extra stroke of luck we're not black then." Courtney quipped, a little bit of confidence returning to her.
"Yes, Luck." Mavis mused. "And please dispense with the black jokes, It's unbecoming."
"Yes Mother." Courtney said.
The two then made their way down the Hall and continued their conversation.
"We have worked very hard to ensure our family's status as the "Second Richest family in the world." Mrs. Richards explained. "But now that the Northwests are off that Throne, We must expedite ourselves, And that is why we need you- no, We're relying on you, to make sure our operations on the Black Market are secure."
"They will be mother." Courtney replied. "I assure you."
"Good, Because we're now dismantling them."
Courtney stopped in her tracks. "What?!"
"We cannot risk our trading with the criminal underworld being discovered again." Mrs Richards explained. "We need to maintain our image as a "respectable" and "upstanding" family, worthy of society in general, So, in the case of a future investigation against us, we must appear clean of any criminal activity and your father is relying on you… to make sure of it."
"So what do you want me to do?" Courtney asked. "Torch the place and set the school on fire?!"
"Of course not!" Mrs. Richards scoffed. "Just… dump the whole thing in the woods somewhere, And set that on fire, You can tell people you went camping."
"Okay… But what about the Girl?" Courtney asked.
"If you're as intelligent as you claim to be, figure it out." Mrs. Richards said, before strolling away, leaving her daughter behind to stew.
"Well." Came a Voice. "That went wonderfully for you."
It was Derek, leaning against the wall as if he had been there the entire time, smirking at Courtney's disatisfaction.
"Oh shut up, Derek." She sneered. "I knew what I was doing, This town only knows fear, and I've delivered that fear."
"Yeah, very mediocre fear, at best." Derek said, as he got from the wall and faced his sister. "That Mabel girl isn't scared of you, you know, She'll find some way to bring you down."
"Kyle Brovflowski thought the same." Courtney retorted. "And now everyone hates him."
"Only because they're scared of you." Derek pointed out. "Some of them aren't that stupid, and you know that, they'll gather enough nerve and overturn you sooner or later."
"Pfft, Yeah and that would be your dream come true, Wouldn't it?" Courtney scoffed.
"You never did tell her the girl was a Pines, Did you?" Derek asked. "Would have been very good for Mom to know about, You know?"
"I thought she'd have figured it out herself, Seeing as she's with the Testaburgers." Courntey replied loftily.
"Perhaps." Derek shrugged. "But, You could probably imagine how… disturbed she might be, that this girl was a Member of that family… Dad in particular would be pretty grieved to learn that you engaged one of them, and didn't run it by him or Mom."
Courtney narrowed her eyes at her brother, before bringing her face close to his. "Well then they'll never know… will they? Because I'm gonna do what Mom said, Starting with the disposal of Mabel Pines."
And she walked right past Derek, who stared on with a dark glare.
Meanwhile,
Crossover Town, October 8th, 2012.
Mabel walked up to the front door and knocked. After a few minutes, the door opened and the Dog called Brian Griffin showed up.
"Uh, Hello?" He asked.
"I need your help with something." Mabel said.
Brian turned back into the House. "Stewie!" He called.
Later, Brian and Stewie were sitting at a table as Mabel explained everything. "And now, I'm going up to the eastern forest, But I have to get past the Hulkbusters."
"And you need us to help you do that?" Asked Stewie.
"Because I know you have the means to make sure I'm not caught on their radar." Mabel said.
Stewie's eyes narrowed. "Says who?"
"Amy Rose." Mabel stated.
"Oh that Bitch!" Stewie exclaimed, before turning to Brian. "See, This is why I said we should keep a low profile. Now before you know it, Everyones going to think MY Personal belongings are like a, A-A freaking mercenary for hire!"
"That would be good, Wouldn't it?" Asked Bran. "We could use the Money-"
"What?!" Stewie asked in disbelief. "A-Are you shitting me right now?! You think people are trying to t-to hire me out for my stuff like a goddamn handyman to do their shit will get us Money?! Money isn't evan the issue here, it's the lost prospect of some goddamn privacy being lost-"
Mabel cleared her throat amidst Stewie's rant. "If neither of you are going to help willingly… then I might just find… "Other ways" to acquire your services…"
Both Brian and Stewie began to feel a cold chill up their spines at Mabel's tone as she rose from her seat.
"And… those would be…?" Brian asked nervously.
Mabel then lunged forward and both Dog and Baby screamed from inside the House, Disturbing a passing neighbor, A boy named Jason white, Who quickly went back the way he came.
Inside however… Mabel was seen giving Brian a belly rub and jingling a set of keys in Stewie's face, Much to both their delight.
"Ah Ha Ha Ha Ha! Oh that's a wonderful bribe." Stewie giggled. "Ah Ha Ha Ha Ha! It's a convenient way to move the plot along. Ah Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! Okay we'll help."
Later,
After that, Mabel, Brian and Stewie gathered their supplies and headed off towards the Eastern woods.
"So, you left your Aunt and Uncle a note right?" Brian asked. "You wouldn't want them worrying about you."
"Yeah, I got that covered." Mabel responded.
Meanwhile,
Harold was in Mabel's room reading a note she left behind when Valorie came in.
"Sweetie, Where's Mabel?" She asked.
"She left this note." He responded, Valorie took the note and read through it.
"Fuck the Richards."
Meanwhile,
"Okay." Said Stewie as the trio came to a stop, just outside a small Blockade of Hulkbuster, standing guard outside the road leading into the Eastern Forest, he then proceeded to pull out some Equipment. "This is where it all starts, I'll hack into the Hulkbusters systems and listen into their com chatter, It will help us to find out where the Hulkbuster Units are and give us any updates on the Hulks location."
"Okay, But even then, how are we going to avoid running into the Hulkbusters?" Asked Brian.
"First we need to make sure where they are at all times." Explained Stewie, as he typed into the Computer. "Then we avoid them the best we can, Until we find the Hulk."
"And then what?" Asked Brian.
"We bring him to town." Mabel said, catching both Brian and Stewie completely off guard. "And have him break every bone in Courtney's carcass."
"Whoa…" Stewie said, taken aback. "Are you uh… You wanna talk about this?"
"Nah I'm just kidding with that." Mabel quickly said, her demeanor becoming more light hearted. "We'll just scare her into admitting she's an Arms Dealer."
"Oh." Stewie then turned back to the Computer and began his work.
Meanwhile,
General Ross entered the Base as Talbot and a few other personnel went over a digital map.
"Major Talbot." He said sharply. "Report."
"General Ross." Talbot declared. "We've traced the various areas the Hulk has been Identified, But we've barely managed to locate him, Perhaps he's…"
Ross promptly cut him off mid sentence. "The Hulk IS Here! He's probably hiding in plain sight again."
"We've sent Lieutenant Brian Talbot to scout out a section of the Mountainside." Talbot stated. "We haven't really searched there yet."
"Then do so." Said Ross. ""And search the rest of the town too, he's probably reverted back by now, and wants us to think he's in the Mountains and forest, I would expect nothing less from him."
"Understood." Glenn nodded. "I'll send men into town and have the townsfolk questioned."
"See that you do, whatever happens… he won't slip through my fingers again!"
Meanwhile,
Unbeknownst to Ross and Talbot, Stewie, Brian and Mabel had been listening in on the entire conversation, via Stewie hacking into the comms.
"Oh boy." Said Brian. "This doesn't sound good."
"Can't worry about that now." Said Stewie as he punched in some additional hacking. "We should be able to tap into the Hulkbusters maps, right about… now!"
And with a tap of a Button, A Digital copy of the Hulkbusters patrols system popped up on screen, showing the various sectors of the Eastern Forest.
"So…" Stewie observed, As he studied the map. "We just have to follow this map, Avoid the Hulkbuster Patrols, and if we're lucky, We might just find the Hulk first."
"Can you get this printed?" Asked Mabel.
"Printed?" Asked Stewie. "Do I look like a Copying Machine?"
"Fine, But now we just need to get through the Hulkbusters here." Mabel said, as she stood up.
"Hmm, There's got to be something…" Brian looked over to where a trio of Soldiers were situated, and got an Idea.
Moments later, They were all disguised as Hulkbuster Soldiers and quietly made their way through the camp, right past Two guards who took notice of them.
"A little short for Hulkbuster Soldiers aren't they?" One asked.
"Heh, that beast would tear them to shreds." The other guard laughed.
The three then made their way to the edge of the Forest and quickly took their disguises off, making sure that the Hulkbusters didn't spot them.
"Okay, that's that." Brian said. "Now what?"
"Now… We go find a Monster." Mabel said, as she wandered up the trail into the forest and the Mountains.
To Be Continued.
Happy New Year everyone, And here is my first Chapter for 2024. I hope you all enjoy it, Plus, I also have the next Chapter of Watership Down in the works, So stay tuned for that.
Also, I would like to take a Moment to address the recent retirement of Matpat, Which is a pretty sad thing, Considering he was such a Big Influence with the FNAF Community, I've actually had thought to make a Five Nights at Freddy's Story in the Future, And I just might do that.
For the Model train Community, I sincerely give my condolences to those affected by the Closure of Hattons. If anyone knows where to buy foreign Model trains at a reasonable price, please let me know.
And… that's about it, I hope you all have a very pleasant new year going forward and make sure to read and review my stories, and leave a fave and follow if you want.
Till next time. ;)