Jessa's POV:
This is getting out of hand! The more time I spend with Boober, the harder it is to hide my true identity. But it's not just him. All of this saving the others from gorgs makes it hard not to use my powers. I'm going to have to minimize my visits to Fraggle Rock. At least when I'm alone in the Terrible Tunnel or anywhere else, I can let my shazzle side show. Once I got far away enough, I let my eyes return to their original color, the black in my irises fading into a vibrant silver. The walk home was long, but I didn't mind. It gave me plenty of time to contemplate things. But before I could even think about what I was going to do from this point on, I remembered something I wished I hadn't: the anniversary of my parents' death was tomorrow. I hated that day with a passion! I hated to be reminded of the fact that I failed them. I continued to walk home, but once I got there I found two trespassers near my invisible shield. They weren't fraggles, but rather thuggish-looking rodents. My eyes glowed red, I raised my hand and flames ignited in my palm before I sent a surge of fire hurling towards them. It took them by surprise as they jumped and turned to face me.
"Get off my turf!" I shouted, more fire spawning from my hands.
"Or what?!" One of them dared to say.
"Or you'll know what hell feels soon enough."
I began shooting more fire at them, but they kept dodging it. Those idiots got far away enough from my shield, but I had a different method of attack planned. I growled as the fire in my hands extinguished itself. My eyes changed from red to green, and I stomped my foot on the ground, summoning a geyser field. Hot steam flew up around them, trapping them inside. Now they were scared. I walked closer to the edge of my geyser field and glared at them.
"Did your parents ever teach you to stay away from places that don't belong to you or the public?" I asked them menacingly.
"Let us out!"
"Only if you stay away from my property."
They seemed to ponder it for a moment, but any level of common sense they had was short-lived as they threw an ax at me. But I held out my hand to make it stop halfway and melted the ax into lava.
"On second thought, you're both better off dead," I said before triggering a huge puff of steam to blow up under them.
The trespassers screamed in agony as I watched them without any remorse. Soon they were gone, and I let the cave floor return to normal before walking to my invisible shield, the green glow disappearing from my eyes.
"Imbeciles," I said to myself on the way there.
Who did they think they were messing with my decoy tent like that? Luckily, I had nothing of value inside there. Everything I wanted out of sight from everyone else was in my real home. I pressed my palm against the shield and teleported inside of it, happy to see my dojo, my river, my mountains, and everything else. I loved hanging with the fraggles, sure. But nothing beats my own bed. I deeply inhaled the night air while walking towards my house. However, I wasn't ready to turn in for the night just yet. As soon as I walked in the door, I unfastened my holster and laid it and my sword onto my bed before opening a dresser drawer. I dug around until I found an emerald.
When I first got the Holy Shazzlin Sword, I went to this bar not too far from the Shazzle Realm, but still far away enough that I wouldn't run into any other Shazzles. I went there to have a shot or two, but I got off on the wrong foot with Vlon, the bartender/owner. He was about to kick me out until I fought his bouncer, who I'll admit was pretty strong, but he was still no match for my Shazzlin powers. After seeing that I was a worthy fighter, Vlon let me stay. That's how I ended up becoming an occasional patron at this particular bar.
I grabbed the emerald and exited my habitat and back into the Terrible Tunnel, leaving my sword behind. I knew better than to take that with me anywhere within a 100-mile radius of the Shazzle Realm. If anything were to happen, I could just use my powers instead. I then teleported to said bar. The emerald I brought with me should guarantee some high-dollar hooch. I really need it too considering what tomorrow is. If I could get my hands on some strong enough alcohol, maybe I could let that horrible day pass me by while I'm drunk. I walked towards the entrance, making eye contact with that same bouncer I fought all those years ago, but we were on decent terms now. He nodded at me as I walked in, and I nodded back. The bouncer was never much on conversation, but when it came to kicking people out he was hella strong. Even though the music playing was loud enough to be heard from 2 miles away outside the bar, I didn't mind it. 'Lick It Up' by KISS was blaring on the stereo, the guitar track vibrating through me as I made my way to the bar area, passing by all the loud drunks raising all kinds of hell.
"What's up, jackass!" I greeted Vlon.
He turned around to see me but continued cleaning empty glasses.
"Hell Fire, I haven't seen you in a couple of months."
Hell Fire was my nickname in this establishment. After my first brawl with the bouncer, I was given that alias and it stuck with me from that point on. Though I never considered anyone in this bar my actual friend. I was nothing more than an acquaintance to them as they were to me. No matter how many times I come here and no matter how long I stay here, I have never left with a new friend of some sort. But that was okay by me since I didn't trust a single person who frequented this bar.
"Slaughtering beasts is a never-ending task," I replied to Vlon.
"So it seems."
Vlon was completely indifferent to my presence, but this was normal. I was just as apathetic towards him. We had some level of respect and tolerance towards each other, but that was about it. And besides, he was twice my age. Possibly 40 or something.
"Sounds like your music taste has improved since the last time I was here."
"It's all these young Turks like you who keep bitching to me about playing this rock and roll shit. Nobody appreciates Elvis Presley anymore."
"Meh, the dude's dead. And his music is for old people."
"Watch it, Hell Fire."
I sighed.
"You're right. I have no reason to be a bitch tonight." I began. "Especially because I have something that you've been wanting all these years."
"What could you of all people possibly have that I want?"
I dug out the big chunky emerald and showed it to Vlon, who was amazed at the sight of it.
"Well, I'll be fucked!"
"It's all yours if you give me a 40-ounce bottle of most top-tier alcoholic beverage you have."
Vlon pondered for a moment before walking away. I took a moment to listen to the song playing before it ended, bobbing my head to the beat. I looked around the place as 'T.N.T' by AC/DC came on.
"Fuck yeah!" I said before bobbing my head again.
"Here's that 40-ounce of champagne you wanted."
I turned to see a huge bottle of champagne right next to me.
"Champagne, huh?" I said while taking the bottle and studying it, smiling. "Now you're just being generous."
"You said you wanted something of high quality, didn't you."
"I did, and thanks. For prosperity's sake, I'll be saving this for when I get home. In the meantime, I'll take a Lava On The Rocks."
Vlon grunted before making me another beverage while I put my huge champagne bottle away.
"I gotta tell ya," Vlon began. "I didn't think anyone could ever find that emerald. Those are very rare."
"Guess I happened to find it at the right time. I've had that emerald for a while, but I wanted to put it to an exceptionally good use."
"Wise choice, Hell Fire," Vlon said while admiring the emerald. "This baby is gonna look good on my mantel."
He then handed me my Lava On The Rocks and walked off. I didn't see Vlon for the rest of the night, but I didn't care. I sipped my beverage, the alcohol burning my throat on the way down as I people-watched and vibed with the music playing.
It was 3 in the morning when I finally left. I stayed long enough to listen to some music by other bands playing on the sound system, but it wasn't until Vlon decided to play some undesirable tunes that I decided to bounce. On the way home, I belted out the lyrics to the last good song that played, which was 'Clint Eastwood' by Gorillaz.
"I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine in a bag
I'm useless but not for long
The future is coming on
I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine in a bag
I'm useless but not for long
The future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on!"
I had a few more shots before leaving. My judgment wasn't all that great, but I still had enough sense to know where I was going. I was going home. But my self-control was lacking so I couldn't help but sing what I last heard. Surprisingly, I made it home safely, still singing the song but stopping after I sat down in my house somewhere. Given how wasted I was going to be later on, it would be a bad idea to go to Fraggle Rock. So I had to stay put here in my dojo. Starting to feel a little more tipsy, I pushed my sword and holster off my bed before lying down and finally passing out.
I woke up 5 hours later, my head pounding from a hangover and my stomach felt like it was on fire. Well, good thing I planned on staying home today. And today was that dreaded day, the day my parents were murdered. I so wasn't going anywhere. Nobody in Fraggle Rock needed to see me drunk and unkempt. My ponytail was messy and loose from where I forgot to undo it and the bracelet Boober gave me had left marks on my wrist from where I rested my head on top of my hand and didn't take it off. Speaking of which, it did something unexpected when I fought off those trespassers yesterday. When I shot fire at them and triggered a geyser field, the bracelet started giving off an electric spark and making a buzzing noise. Up until then, I forgot it was even on my wrist. But given that I was preoccupied with teaching those thugs a lesson, I didn't look into it too much. I then sat up in my bed, the urge to vomit hitting me like an earthquake. I groaned loudly before using my telekinesis to lure a bucket towards me. Once I got a hold of it, I puked the alcohol out of my system.
Truth be told though, I don't actually enjoy drinking. It's just a substance to help me get through hard times. Not to mention the godawful flavor! This is why I pay handsomely for something tolerable to my taste buds. No beer for me. Cheap booze is not my thing. If I'm going to drink, I'd rather have something of quality. That being said, I stared at the unopened 40-ounce bottle of champagne that Vlon gave me. I contemplated drinking it later on when I felt better but decided against it when a second round of barf came out. Maybe this wasn't a good time to do so. Oh well, at least I wouldn't be back at that bar for a long time. Not that I went there very often anyway. Had my life been completely different, I would never have touched alcohol.
Once I was sure I didn't need to throw up anymore, I sat the bucket on the floor beside my bed and laid back down, deciding to sleep off the pounding headache.
"I care about you a lot."
Those words resonated in the back of my head and the sincerity in Boober's voice is what made that phrase ingrained in my memory. As much as I hate to admit it, I was starting to miss him. I missed his snuggles, his voice, his scent. But it would be a while before I could go back to Fraggle Rock. So much for laying low. Normally this wouldn't be an issue and I had no problem keeping my existence off the radar. But this time was different. I couldn't stay away no matter how hard I tried. There was something about Boober that I was drawn to. Now I'm conflicted. I can't choose between seeing where this goes with him or remaining a mysterious loner in the Terrible Tunnel for the rest of my life. Now I know how Wembley feels. I thought about Boober again, my cheeks flushing and my heart racing. I hadn't felt that way about him until Sidebottom left those kisses on my neck and jaw. But beyond that, getting to know Boober more as a person awakened something in me. Crap! What am I to do?!
End of Jessa's POV