Longest Novel Fall of the Republic Remaster

by morgan kingsley

In 2023, a middle aged author decides to stop running from his past and tell the truth of what happened when he was much younger, as a way to make peace with the past. As he delves into this, the more he learns of his experiences and other peoples experiences in the hellish town of Wayside, Minnesota. An au of the Digimon Universe that takes place in the United States.

8. Robbie Dan Prelude

Scene 0: 2026, August 22

On my sixth birthday, I was seeing Robbie Dan coming by the house. This was the first time that I had seen him in roughly a year. It was a bit jarring to see him coming here in the first place. Much less after so long of not actually seeing him in the first place. But I was feeling like I just needed to go along with this, and not say what I had been thinking in my head.

"Hey Ridge, I just wanted to check up on how you were doing. You know, since we haven't seen each other in a long time, given everything that has happened. And I know you will finally be going to school in two weeks or so. So this is the end of the road of having a fun life." When he was saying this, I looked down, not wanting to think about the fact that this was the last birthday I would have before I was gong to have to start a weekly routine that would last me the next twelve years.

"I'm good." I said, smiling at him, since in all honesty, despite everything that had been going on, I was happy to be seeing him. I was happy to be seeing him looking like he was finally willing to just talk with me for any extended period of time.

"Look Ridge, I was just feeling bad for how things ended a while back. I feel like I was a real shitty friend, to you and to Lydia, and I feel like I should have taken more responsibility. Taken more ownership of everything. And I guess at the end of the day, your siblings were right about me this whole time." When he was telling me this, I looked down, since in all honesty, I was not really wanting to hear it at all.

"It happened. You can't change it." I said, feeling like maybe I just needed to be straight up with the guy, and I was seeing him looking like he was wanting to fight me a bit. He sounded like he was genuinely feeling remorse for everything that he had done. Like he was wishing that in due time, people would actually fucking be willing to give him a chance.

"Look Ridge, I want to redeem myself. If such a thing is even fucking possible. I want to show people that no matter what happens, I am ready to do what is right." When he was telling me this, I was wondering why he was suddenly coming at me like this in the first place. I had no fucking stakes in the matter. And I was kind of ready to just put it behind me, and I felt like most people were as well.

"It was a year ago. I already moved on. Leave me alone about it. Seriously. It's not that big of a fucking deal." When I said this, I was feeling like I needed to just move this along as fast as possible. When I said this, I was seeing Robbie looking like he wanted to fight what I said. But then he was looking like he would just choose to not say much. At least not for the time being.

"You're right. It was a year ago. Forget that I said anything." Robbie said, sounding like he was just ready to move on here. Before anything else was said, I was seeing both Lydia, and Seth, coming out of the kitchen, to see what was going on here. I was seeing that neither of them were looking like they were very pleased to be seeing Robbie here. Almost like they were trying to decide what to even tell Robbie.

"What are you doing here?" Seth asked, almost just more confused than anything else. Not really sounding upset, and I was seeing him just looking like he was wanting to make sure that no matter what happened, he would at least approach the subject with respect, and sounding like he was not going to make a deal out of something that probably did not even need to be looked at as a deal.

"I just wanted to see if it was at all possible, and I guess that maybe it is not, to be able to sort of put myself back on the right track here. I was wanting to finally fix some of the things that I had done. Fix some of the things that I had fucking said. That is what I am trying to do." As Robbie said that, I was seeing him looking like he had finally calmed down a bit.

"Are you, genuinely meaning it this time?" Lydia asked, sounding like she was hopeful. Sounding like if this was true, and he was finally going to make a difference, then she would be all on board with this. She looked right at Seth, as if wondering if he would be happy to hear something like this happen in the first place.

"Yes, I am genuinely meaning it this time. I have no reason to fucking fight you anymore. I just feel like I have seen the mistakes that I make, and I no longer want to keep falling down that path anymore. I just feel like every time I get two steps forward, I fall three steps back." As he said that, I was seeing Robbie looking like he was wanting to say more.

"I talked with Stanley, and he was saying that he had forgiven me. He said that he understood that I made some mistakes, and he was willing to forgive me a bit. He said that he also made mistakes, and that he was not really wanting to judge me for things that had happened in the past." When Robbie said that, I was seeing him looking like he was hopeful that would be enough.

"So yeah, if one of the biggest victims to the stuff that I was doing has said that he was willing to give me a chance, then I feel like that is a sign that I deserve this chance after all. Don't you guys fucking agree?" Robbie Dan asked, and he was sounding like the longer he was going, the more and more desperate that he was getting here. Almost to the point where he was sort of sounding like he was reaching a breaking point of talking.

"Look Robbie, if you are willing to bring this friendship back, and make it work again, then I guess that I will go along. I would rather keep our friendship going than anything else. You know, I would feel bad if I was becoming the one person who was holding you back." When Lydia said this, I was seeing her sounding like she was just ready to cry from pure happiness.

"I was never angry with you. I was just sad because I was afraid you were getting too deep into the investigation. That was all that it was coming from. But if you are done, then I guess that I will be willing to give you another chance." When she was saying this, I was wondering how much more grace Lydia was willing to give Robbie Dan. If such a thing was even going to be possible.

"Lydia, I was telling the truth when I had told you that I had loved you. I was telling you the truth when I had said that I will do everything that I can to make this better for all of us. I was never lying about that. I hope that you can fucking see that." Robbie said, gaining his composure, and starting to finally get back to talking in the way that he had been wanting to this whole time.

"I was telling the truth when I said that I was only having you in my mind when I was looking into everything. The deep motivations that I had been having, have always been true. I never lied to you about that stuff, and I hope that you fucking see that before you get too angry with me." When he was saying this, I was wondering if his words were going to have any impact at all on what Lydia would be feeling. She looked like she was ready to cry as he was saying this. Like these were the exact words that he needed to hear.

"Thank you Robbie. That makes me feel so much better." She said, sounding like she was being completely genuine as she said this. I wanted to tell Lydia that she needed to be careful. Not to let her emotions get too far in the way here. But as I was getting ready to say anything all, she was looking right at me, and I could tell that from the look on her face that she was not really in the mood to hear me say anything at all.

"I was just worried that the stuff you were telling me, was all a lie. I was worried that I had been thinking all these things that I wanted to tell you, that were never going to even matter." When she was saying this, I was wondering if Robbie Dan would even listen to what we were discussing.

"If any of this was a fucking lie, then I would be the worst liar in the world. I guess that I will try and see you guys tomorrow. This already went better than I was expecting. I did not expect this to be going anywhere close to well at all. The fact that you guys are willing to even talk to me at all, is something that I need to take with me." When Robbie Dan said this, I could tell that he was tired, and he was looking like he wanted to say more. Then he shook his head, sounding like he knew that he was being way too fucking careful for no fucking reason. He knew that there was no reason for him to be walking on eggshells for what he wanted to say. "Look, happy birthday Ridge. I hope this next year is good for you. I hope that you find the happiness you deserve." He said, sounding like this was what he wanted to say. What he was hoping would translate if he was talking enough.

As he was about to head off, this was when Todd Sr. was walking into the room. He looked at Robbie up and down, feeling like he wanted to just talk.

"Robbie, I was wanting to speak to you now that you are here. I think that maybe there are some things that we need to clear up." When he was telling Robbie this, I could tell from the look on Robbie's face that he was genuinely scared out of his mind on what he would fucking hear.

"What did you want to talk about?" Robbie asked, and then Todd Sr. was walking up to him, placing his hand on the boys shoulder, and they left the house before long. As they were gone for a minute, I secretly snuck out of the front door, feeling like I would be able to geta way with listening to what they wanted to say for now.

"I was wanting to talk with you about your sister Bebe. I feel like I just wanted to get your opinion on her. And I mean your real fucking opinion. What do you think she is like, and do you think that she is the best person for my oldest son?" When he asked this, I was seeing Robbie looking like he was actually genuinely shocked to be hearing this sudden question come up.

"I think that the bigger issue is if Todd will be a good boyfriend for my sister. I think that more than anything else, that is the thing that is really on my mind. I mean, he has come a super long way, and I do respect him much more than I used to do. But I think that maybe you are asking the wrong man this question." When he was saying this I could tell that Todd Sr. was not really in the mood to hear this.

"If I may be honest with you, I think that she has become very distracting to my son. He has a lot of stuff that he needs to fucking focus on, and I think that over time, your sister has gone in the way of those jobs. I think that your sister is a good woman, but I feel like you are letting your connection with her cloud the realistic picture of this. And I think that maybe you should try and look at the bigger picture of what I am trying to accomplish here." Todd Sr. said, and I was seeing that Robbie was not happy at all with what he was hearing.

"You need to talk to him about this then. I feel like you are putting way too much blame on my sister for no fucking reason, and it kind of pisses me off how you are suddenly making her the bad guy here." When Robbie said this, I could tell that he was not at all happy to be hearing any of this. "Besides, my sister is a twenty four year old woman. She needs to do her own thing, and make her own choices."

"Be honest with me. You're fourteen years old. Even if other people might not want to admit it, you are not a kid anymore. You probably know what is going on in Wayside this whole time, and I feel like I need to ask you straight up, what do know about labyrinth, and what do you fucking think you can be able to fucking tell me?" He asked, and with that, Robbie looked horrified at this question. He sounded like he was genuinely horrified to hear such a thing be dropped onto him with little to no context.

"I do not know as much as I need, but I know more than I wish. I know what happens to the girls that get sent down there. And I have been tempted to take matters into my own hands, and fight back a bit." When Robbie said this, I was seeing Robbie looking like he had no real clue what in the world he was wanting to say.

"The one thing that I still have trouble with is if you are involved in this or not. I feel like that is something that always has escaped me. And I feel like if I did eventually learn the truth, then I would be having a lot of issues that I would never be able to fucking get over. So be honest with me, how much of this are you truly involved with?" He asked, sounding like he was utterly horrified at the fact that he even needed to ask this in the first place.

"That is something that you need to learn on your own accord. I can't tell you this. I feel like if I did, then I might make things worse for no fucking reason. I just wish that I had been able to go back and time and make sure that you had never gotten involved in any of this in the first place." Todd said, sounding like he was wishing that he didn't just say what he did. Almost like he had felt like saying this was the worst thing that he could have possibly said.

"God damn it Todd, are you telling me that you know what is going on here this whole time, and you are just simply trying to tell me that something like this is no big deal or something like this." As he was telling Todd Sr. this, I was hearing him sounding like he was trying to decide if he was wanting to say more. Or if he was kind of just accepting that none of this would be making any fucking difference at all.

"I can't fucking believe you right now. I thought that you were the one person that I could always trust. That I could always look up to and admire because you were the one person who would stand above everything else." When Robbie finished, I was then seeing Todd Sr. looking like he was thinking of what else he was wanting to say.

"You do know the main experiment that happened to my father, do you not?" He asked, and then with that, this was when Robbie looked like he could not care less what was going on there. He had heard of this several times, and in all honesty, he was feeling like this subject was kind of a waste of fucking time.

"I frankly don't give a shit what happened. You are dodging the question at this point, and it is pissing me the fucking hell off at this point." Robbie said, sounding like he was beyond playing interested. Beyond playing like he cared what was going on anymore. He just needed to be honest with this man, no matter how hard things had to be when he was saying them.

"Well, I am going to tell you anyways. Since you seem so intent on making a point that you are beyond everything else here… Kenta Kitagawa literally played god himself. You know, the man who was murdered a little over forty years ago with those stab wounds in his chest, when he was tied up with medal chains on that poll on the snowy mountain?" He asked, and then he shrugged, sounding like he was not really caring if Robbie understood any of that.

"Anyways, he played god on my grandfather. He created a genetic experiment that was successful. This experiment forced every single child born with the family blood line from that point forward to essentially be the same children. We are all essentially clones of each other. Do you not understand what it is like to know you will never be able to have a daughter? A granddaughter? To be hoping that your sons only just are the same in looks, and not in action, as you are, as you do not want them to fall down the same path that you have? I had no choice when it came to adopting Lydia. That was literally the only way that I could be able to have a daughter. Was from adoption. I saved my family when I did what I did. Because I literally had no choice but to." When he was saying this, Robbie was looking right at Todd, and I was seeing him looking like he was not really in the mood to hear what he was hearing at all. Almost like he was too disgusted to even bother anymore.

"That is your excuse? That you are just doing this for the family? Do you know how many people can make that excuse? That they were just simply doing it for their family? Do you not realize that this doesn't make you sound heroic at all, and in a way makes you sound even worse than anything else?" He asked, wondering how likely it was that Todd would actually be hearing him.

"It is not an excuse if it is the truth. It is not an excuse when you literally have your entire family on the line, and you have to do what you do in order to bring peace and prosperity to your family. That is what you need to fucking hear. I wish that I could explain this much better than I have. But I feel like there is virtually nothing else to say here." Todd Sr. said, and I was wondering if it was just this one time that he did something. After all, it was thirteen years ago.

"Have you done anything more than just this? Or was this the only time you did something about it?" He asked, sounding like he just needed to give Todd Jr a chance here. When he said that, I could tell that the hopes in his voice were coming through. "I want to forgive you. I really do. But I feel like if I learn that you had gone way deeper into this than you had been earlier, then I feel like there is no reason to even consider this." When he was saying this, the sound in his voice was absolute. The sound of his voice was clear as day here, and I was happy to be hearing Robbie Dan standing up for himself, and what he was thinking was the true best choice here.

"Robbie, please don't make me answer any of this. Please spare me the issue of having to answer any of this. We all done things that we regret. And you know what you are wanting to look into anyways. I know you are wanting to look into the hell mouth. So why not just fucking ask me?" He asked, looking right at Robbie, wondering if Robbie was willing to actually just say it.

"I can't deal with any of this right now. I can't deal with your excuses, and you pretending like you don't know what is happening when we all fucking do. It is disgusting how much you pretend like you aren't aware." As Robbie said this, he was shrugging, feeling like he needed to just make his point before he headed off. As he was getting ready to leave, this was when Todd was calling out to him once again.

"Robbie, I was going to tell you were the Hell Mouth is. I was being genuine when I said that. Can you just be patient for a god damn fucking moment, and listen to me for a second?" He asked, sounding like he was just beyond frustrated, and sounding like he was not really in the mood to listen to any of this anymore. Robbie looked at him, taking a deep breath, feeling like he just needed to hear what this man was saying, since he was clearly not taking no for an answer at all.

"Where is it? Where can I fucking find it?" Robbie asked, and then Todd took a deep breath, almost like he could not believe that he was actually telling anybody this. But at the same time, I knew that he was feeling like he had no real choice in the matter at all. So he just needed to accept that this was how things were going to be.

"Well, there are several small entrances, and I will tell you all of them. But in return, if I tell you where all of the entrances are, then will you promise me that you won't push this investigation with me any further than you have been? I have done enough good in this town where I feel like I have earned the right to not be treated like this villain." He said, sounding like he had hoped that this would be something Robbie Dan would be willing to consider.

"Okay, I will once I check them out, and see that they're actually legit. I want to make sure that I am not being misled before I immediately jump onto forgiving you or anything. I just feel like I need to keep a open mind with you. I don't think you're a terrible person. But I feel like you have done some terrible things, if I am honest." When Robbie Dan said this, he looked like he was hoping that this response would be enough to make Todd willing to talk more.

"Okay. Thanks for keeping an open mind with me here. I will get you a list. And I need you to promise me that for once, no matter what happens, you will not under any circumstances bring my children into this. They should have never been brought into this in the first place, and I feel like in due time, you would know this much more than anybody else." As he told me this, I was seeing him looking like he had hoped that Robbie Dan was going to just listen to him for once.

Todd went to his car, pulled out a note pad, and then walked over to Robbie Dan, and wrote several of them down. "One of them is at where the old Wayside middle school used to be. The one that got utterly destroyed. That being said, the entrance was mostly destroyed before the school got destroyed. But I checked back since then once or twice, and there is still some parts you can explore. That would be a good starting spot if you wanted to know more." He said, looking right at Robbie, hoping the kid would listen to him here.

"Another one is located in the train graveyard. It's been so many years since I went there that I can't fully remember but if I recall correctly it is the one with the blue train is parked. I think I remember something like that. It is a much more subtle one than some of the others, so I guess if you don't want to spend your time looking for that, then I suppose that I might try and show you something else." When he said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was just kind of hoping that these loose ends would be enough to deter Robbie Dan.

"I must wonder, what is making you want to look into this Digimon stuff in the first place? I mean, even if I do not like it, I can see the value into looking at Labyrinth. But this is something that is beyond anybodys interest at this rate, and I think you need to let it go. Most of that stuff was thirty five to forty years ago, and you aren't going to accomplish anything by looking into it still." When he was saying this, Robbie Dan looked right at him, looking annoyed at this.

"It is worth it because I have seen them again. Here and there, and only on small doses. But I know they are coming back, and I know that there is a good chance that when they come back, we need to all be prepared. That is what you will be helping me do right now." When he was saying this, I was seeing him looking like he had hoped that Todd Sr. would get out of his lecture, and actually give him something real for once. Todd looked like he was not exactly sure what in the world he wanted to say right now. Like he was wondering how he was going to politely tell Robbie that he needed to just drop this whole thing before it was to get any worse than it already had been.

"That was half the reason I stopped hanging out with Lydia and the others for a while. Because I was scared of these Digimon, and I was scared of what they would do to them. I was doing it for their safety, and I was doing it because I was wanting to keep them safe. I feel like what I did had good intentions, even if I executed them like shit." When Robbie Dan said this, he sounding like he just needed to be honest with what he was feeling here.

"I know that they might not see it this way, but I genuinely thought that what I was doing was the best thing that I could do for them. I respected them, and I wanted them safe, so I just simply hid the truth from them, hoping that in due time, they would drop the subject." Robbie said, and then he looked right at Todd Sr. and then shook his head.

"I guess now when I put it that way, that logic applies to you as well. You know, trying to keep your family safe, and trying to keep your family from knowing the stuff that is going on here. I guess that I should have been more patient with you on what I was saying." When he was saying this, I could tell that Robbie had regretted saying anything. That he had regretted saying stuff that would retroactively make him look like he was just kind of being an asshole.

"I guess that I just never wanted to think of things that way. You know, I think that by doing that, I just was being too judgmental for you." When Robbie finished, he was now sounding like he was mildly ashamed of the fact that he was even having to say this in the first place. "What other entrances are there? I need to know them all, so I can look into them, and I hope that these will actually mean something." When he was saying this to Todd, he looked mildly annoyed.

"There is another one at the old summer camp where the Digidestined used to be going to camp. I am sure that you fucking know that one as well. That is the one that has been the most well documented, and if you are somehow able to find a way through the security, then that is a great place to start looking." Todd Sr. said, and then he sighed, remembering the most important detail of all.

"The camp is located at this address. It has been shut down ever since then, for some relatively obvious reasons. But I think that there is no real point in discussing them all for the time being, especially since you probably know them all by now anyways." When he was saying this, he sounded like he was having a bunch of flashbacks coming back.

"One was at this Old Chateau in the forest. Well, about a quarter of a mile away from it in the east. One of the few areas in Wayside where the forest is still around." He said, remembering that story once again, and remembering what Izzy found there forty plus years ago.

"Are there any others?" Robbie Dan asked, not convinced that this was them all. Then with that, he shook his head, feeling like he needed to just take it, and not press the matter any further. Partially because he knew that these areas already would be giving him a ton of time to look at, and also because he was having a sinking feeling that Todd would just simply stop talking to him about these in the first place. "Thanks for telling me these."

"I am going to try and find the one at the summer camp. That one seems to be the one that if I can find it, will be the easiest to actually go inside." He said, shrugging, feeling like he needed to go with this for the time being. "And I promise you that I will not bring your children into this. I am tired of putting them all in danger, and I feel like doing this is only going to make matters so much worse for everybody else here. And besides, I feel like I still have to earn their trust back."

"You still have to earn my trust back. But with the way you are talking about things right now, you are off to a good start. You simply talking about this is a great first step to getting it." When he said that, he sounded like he was being as genuine as possible there.

"I understand that. And I do respect that much more than you fucking think. I am willing to work on that trust issue, and as long as you are willing to do the same thing, then I suppose that I will be able to do the same thing." Robbie said, and then with that, Todd Sr. was slowly nodding. As if this was something that he was now willing to just drop for the time being.

"Robbie, my daughter has been wanting to meet you again for a while. I remember when you guys stopped hanging out, and she was literally begging me to hold her, while she was crying. I will never be able to forget something like this, no matter how much things have improved." When he was telling Robbie Dan this, I was seeing Robbie Dan looking like he was wondering what Robbie would say to this. Robbie looked right at him, and I was seeing Robbie looking like he was not even really caring.

"I hope that one day she realizes that I was doing what I thought was the right thing. I hope one day she understands that I never wanted any of this to get as bad as it did." Robbie said, and there was silence for a second, not sure what to think.

"Robbie, I think we both know that the chances of that happening are slim to none. You might think that she will be keeping that open mind. That she will be mature here. But we both know that nothing like this is really going to work." As Todd Sr. said this, he was then looking at his house, and I was seeing that despite everything else, he was proud of all the work he has done to this place, to make it running as well as he had been.

"Thanks for coming by. Just stay safe when you look into the Digimon. That is all that I fucking ask. I can't sleep with the thought of being responsible for any more people dying because of something that happened so long ago. It was already bad enough when Yolei died all those years ago, because I was never able to do the right thing." When Todd said that, he was heading back inside his house, and I was feeling like he needed to stop feeling like he was responsible for things that happened.

When he was inside the house, I was slowly following Robbie Dan as he was heading out. I knew that he was going to be heading to the summer camp. And I wanted to see what was going to be there. I wanted to see if this summer camp was really the best place to look for anything.

I was looking behind me, to make sure that nobody was watching me walk along. I did not want them to know what I had been doing. I did not want them to know that I was doing something extremely dangerous, and not only extremely dangerous, but the fact that I didn't care. I was doing things my own way, and I was thinking that if I was caught with Robbie Dan, then I would explain to them that I was following my own path. I would do my best to ensure that Robbie would not get into any trouble for the choices that I had made, because I knew deep down inside, he deserved better than anything like that.

The walk was extremely long. The walk was extremely scary. The way was something that in hindsight, I now realize I should have never done. But there was something about the whole thing that I enjoyed doing deep down inside. Something about the whole thing that I realized I would like to do again. And I knew that the more that I would walk out during nights like this, the less scary it would get, and the more that I would want to do this.

Eventually, after what felt like several hours, the two of us were eventually getting close to the camp grounds. I had a strong feeling that if mom and dad knew that I was gone, there was going to be a extremely good chance they were going to blame Robbie. And I was going to have to explain to them that he had nothing to do with it. In fact, he barely even noticed that I was there in the first place.

Once Robbie was looking at them, I could tell from his face that he was wishing he had never come here. Then he looked around, to make sure that nobody was there. I had to get behind a tree real quick to make sure that I was not being seen. I took a deep breath, not exactly sure what the hell I was supposed to say.

Once Robbie was sure that he didn't see anybody, he was heading off, and I was following him again. I was making sure that at least I was going quietly, as to not get him angry when he saw me. I was also going quietly, as to make sure that if something happened here, then I wouldn't be the one who would get in danger, which was something I was sure even Robbie wouldn't really want from me either.

He then rubbed his face, getting the sweat he built up away. Then with that, he was looking to the right, trying to decide what he was going to do now. "I think it was this way. Not one hundred percent sure though." He said, shrugging there for a second. "I can't believe that I am doing this right now. I really hope that this was the right address. I would not want to have spent nearly two and a half hours walking in the night just for it to not be the correct way."

As he was walking along, I was feeling like I just needed to be as quiet as possible here. I did not want to create a scene in any way shape or form. And to be honest, I was scared of what it was going to look like if the Hell Mouth gate really was here. In all honesty, if it had been, then I think I would feel even less safe here than I would have on normal situations.

I was starting to also think that there was a good chance that this whole Hell Mouth thing was not even fucking real in the first place. And if it hadn't been, then I was feeling like getting so caught up in the whole thing would not even be worth the ordeal.

Robbie Dan walked along for what was feeling like another ten or fifteen minutes or so, and I was barely keeping up at this rate. I felt like I needed to stop getting so involved in things that I was starting to realize I was not even going to keep on top of. And I felt like in all the times I have been doing this, I wasn't even really making any real contributions to the case. I was starting to think that I had kind of been wasting my time on this whole thing.

Eventually, Robbie Dan did reach the giant meteor that came down on the summer camp forty plus years ago. When he was looking down at it, I was seeing him looking like he was wanting to try and find out even more. But to be honest, I could tell that he was still not even sure what he believed.

"Okay, so I found the meteor sighting. Now I just need to find the actual entrance to this Hell Mouth. I know that it must be nearby. I just hope that I can actually fucking find it before too long. I don't really want to be out here until like two in the morning." When he said that to himself, he looked around for a while, trying to decide what he was wanting to do now.

When he was speaking to himself, he was hearing a voice calling out to him. He turned around, and he was seeing Rob Reichenbach standing there. This was one of, if not, the first time, I had ever actually seen him face to face. He smiled as he saw Robbie, almost like he was hiding the fact that he really did not want to be here at this moment. But given how things were going, and given the fact that Robbie was doing this in the first place, he was having no real choice.

"Forty or so years ago, my friends found this meteor for the first time. We all thought it was simply fun and games. Well, most of us did. T.K. was always worried about it, because of what he had seen in Onett. But for the majority of us, we did not think much of it. We thought it would just simply be a fun little quest like thing to look into. We did not realize what any of us were getting into." When he was saying this, he sounded like he was mildly ashamed of what he was saying.

"Forty years ago, the lives of my friends never recovered. Forty or so years ago, I watched them all go from being nice people who were doing everything in their power to make things right, to just being cold, distant, almost scary in a way, if I am being honest. I never thought that I would say that about my friends. But deep down, it was fucking scary." Rob started his story, and then with that, Robbie looked like he had to ask a question.

"Had you taken over as president of Lazarus at the time? If you hadn't, then why did you not come with them to the summer camp to see if they were okay? You did not have to deal with the responsibility of the company or anything? So you were able to do virtually whatever you wanted." When he was saying this to Rob, I was wondering what Robbie Dan was thinking he was going to accomplish by saying this.

"I was doing my job, and I was making sure that no matter what happened, no matter the moment that I did have to step up an do my job, I was going to be ready for something like this. I could not spend time doing something that I would rather be doing. Those chances were long gone, and I knew that my father would not be happy with me just messing around with that type of stuff. Plus, to be honest, I was dealing with trying to comfort my actual friends like Rachel Wilson." He said, and the connotation he had when he said actual friends was very damning, and very clear.

"Is Rachel okay now? Was this all fucking worth it at the end of the day?" Robbie asked, looking right at Rob, wondering what excuses that Rob was going to make. I was seeing Rob looking like he was thinking about how that was the moment where things all went down hill. How this was the moment that things had become shattered beyond repair.

"No. She hasn't been in over forty years. I have grown to accept the fact that she is gone, and that there was nothing that I could do about it. I have made my peace with what has happened, even though I hate what happened." When he was telling us this, I was seeing Rob sounding like he was just mildly depressed over what he was saying. Almost like this was the last thing that he could have ever wanted to say.

"Her death was my fucking fault, and I have had to spend my entire life accepting this as fact, and I have had to spend my entire life wondering how it would be possible to get anybody to see that I was sorry for everything that happened. I feel like such a thing would be impossible. But I guess that I won't really make much of a difference with the stuff that I am saying right now. Her family is gone now, and everything that I did hold onto hope that things would be better eventually went to the Wayside. Pun non intended." Rob said, and I was surprised to hear him cracking a joke at all. A shitty joke, in all fairness, but a joke nonetheless.

"It was not your fucking fault. At most, it was the fucking company that you are involved in. So at worst, it is the fault of the people who run Lazarus." Robbie said, and I was shocked to hear him cover for the guy at all. To make him even remotely feel better about what was happening.

"Well, I could have stopped this, and I could have made a difference with what was happening in this town. I knew that my father was up to no good. But I was barely taking the time to actually talk to my dad about what was happening here. He just seemed like he was off on his own world, and I feel like that is where the main issue is." He said, thinking about what he would have said to his father if he was able to live through the moment once more.

"You think that you could have. But we both know that you telling yourself that is just what is going to be making you feel less awful about what happened. There was nothing you could have fucking done, and I think you need to just not be so against yourself here." Robbie said, and I was wondering if he was genuinely meaning all of this. Or if he was just saying this in an attempt to get Rob to even just talk a bit more, and then once he got what he needed, then he would close the fucking gap, and just reveal what his true intentions were.

"What made come here in the first place? I am going to try and get you out of this situation. This is something that you should have never bothered to look into." When he was telling us this, this was when Robbie took a deep breath, thinking of what to say.

"How did you even find out that I was here to begin with? Did somebody give you a tip that I would be here?" Robbie Dan asked, showing no interest in answering the question yet. Rob sighed, as if feeling like answering that question as going to be relatively uninteresting and not accomplish much. He was saying I due to the fact that at least currently, he had no idea that I was there as well. I was hoping that at least for now, that would remain the case. I did not want him to be saying anything if he had known that I was there as well.

"Somebody gave me a tip that you would be coming here. And I was just simply trying to make sure that you weren't going to do anything too dangerous or stupid. Seems like that was well founded after all." He said, looking at Robbie, feeling like he just needed to be honest with that.

Robbie Dan looked like he was mildly offended with the comment, but knew that there was a small amount of him that did deserve it. "Look, how am I being stupid when I am the only one here who is putting in the effort to actually do what is right? I think that I am not being given enough credit here, for all the work that I have had to do." Robbie said, sounding like he was ready to stand his ground if need be still.

"Look, you are coming to a place that should have never been looked at any further. And you are bringing back a subject that should have just died off before it got any deeper than it already has. But I suppose that you are not going to listen to me, so I suppose that I must ask myself what is really the point of saying all of this?" He said, sounding like he was wishing that Robbie would start to think more logically, and over time come around to seeing that none of this was really making any sense here.

"Rob, who had been involved in these investigations? You know, with the Digimon, and everything else?" Robbie asked, feeling like he just needed to drive the conversation forward just a bit. As he said that, he was seeing Rob looking like he had been shocked that Robbie was even asking this stuff still.

"Well, the younger brother of my friend Rachel was one of them. His name was Tobias Wilson. He was somebody who never gave up on looking into this, no matter how unlikely it would be that his cousin Andrea would be found. I had a friend also, Ocho Tootmorsel, who had been looking into this a lot as well. Like some others, he did start to lose sight on what was really out there for him." As he was saying this, I was sitting down behind a rock. Trying both really hard not to fall asleep, and really hard not to let the people around me know that I was there.

"Ocho Tootmorsel. I think I might have heard that name before. Wasn't he somebody who got into trouble with Lazarus Corporation at one point because of the fact that he was saying some stuff about the company that could be considered, for lack of a better way of saying it, extremely sensitive?" As he said that to Rob, he was hoping that Rob would actually give him a real response.

"Yeah, that was when my dad was still president of the company, and therefore I had not been able to say or do as much to try and soften the subject to my dad. My dad hated the friends that I had, and claimed that all of them were terrible influences on me. He was claiming that these people were just only serving to distract me, or set me down the wrong path. I guess in a way, when I think about it, he might have been right after all." When he was telling Robbie this, he was sounding like there was a small hint of anger that he had felt with his father. Almost like he had wanted to talk more about how much his father had been a terrible person or something. But then he backed off, as if feeling like he just needed to keep things to himself, to not cause any crazy escalations.

"Do you hate your father?" You seem like you were not very positive on the man, from the sound of your voice? Is that something that maybe you would be willing to fucking talk about?" Robbie Dan asked, sounding like he just needed to try and see what Rob really felt.

"I did not hate my father. I just think that my father was somebody who never really took much time to get to know those who were supposed to be closest to him. He always seemed to be off on his own world. Which was something that I didn't mind at first. But I guess that in due time, I will admit, this was something that did bother me. I felt like he should be spending more time trying to talk to me, and just telling me what had been on his mind." As he was saying this, I was seeing Rob looking like he was trying to pick his words carefully. Almost like he had known that any amount of what he was saying could come around, and be used against him, and he wanted to just make sure that anything that was said was something that Robbie Dan probably had already known realistically.

"And honestly, I have to wonder if you really care about this, or if you are just saying this stuff to help your case out here. After all, you seem much more invested in this story than you have ever been. And I can't help but wonder if this is all an act to get me to tell you more." When was saying this, that was when Robbie was looking like he was thinking of what he could say now.

"I have another question that I have to ask you. I know that I am going in circles a lot here, and that what I am asking is probably of no interest to you… But Kenta Kitagawa. How exactly did he die?" He asked, wondering if Kenta was really going to take the bait, and actually answer this question. Or if he was going to just brush off what he was hearing, and tell Robbie that he needed to back off, and stop looking so deeply into this.

"Well, in 1982, when Andrea had gone missing, and there was that group of people who were dead set on finding Andrea, and the labyrinth, there was somebody else who had a completely different motive to what he had been doing. His name was Kevin, although most people, such as myself, grew to know him as Ken." As Rob said this, Robbie looked right up at him, knowing what to say now.

"Is that the guy who went missing in the 1960's with no fucking clues as to where he went, and then eventually, he came back and he was basically considered a fucking miracle returning person." He said, and then with that, Rob was slowly nodding, impressed to a small degree that Robbie Dan was even aware of such a thing in the first place.

"Yeah, that was him. His older Sam was murdered in the football field a little bit before Kevin went missing, and this was something that set him down a really bad path. Around the time that Sam died, Ken met up with the girlfriend of his older brother, and he ended up sleeping with her. They had a child together, that Ken did not know about for many years, due to the fact that he was gone, and many people did not really know who the true father of the kid was, due to the fact that Sam had been sleeping with the woman as well as Kevin, and it was not until a DNA test was done that confirmed that Ken was the real father." When he said that, I could tell that Robbie Dan was having a hard time really understanding what all of this was meaning in the first place.

"Okay, but what does this have to do with Kenta in the slightest? I mean, I guess it's interesting information to know… But it serves literally no purpose to anything that I was trying to ask you in the fucking first place." He said, sounding like he was just tired of having this discussion in the first place, and wished to move it along.

"Well, I will admit I did kind of go off a bit there. I should have been keeping more to the point. That point being the fact that Kenta had been working on another experiment with Ken. Or had been planning to. And I am sure that you are well aware of the types of experiments that Kenta had done." As Rob Reichenbach looked at him, he was hoping that Robbie would just give a sincere response.

"Yeah, I heard about them all the fucking time. Or at least one of them. The one regarding what he did to Dexter Peabody, and the fucking genetic mess up that he caused as a result of this. What was he fucking doing with Ken?" Robbie Dan asked, feeling like he just needed to be honest.

"Well, one of the things that accidentally resulted from the experiments was that he messed up the way that Ken was able to age going forward. Anytime that Kevin was inside the Digital World, he would age fifty percent faster than a normal person would, physically at least. This did not affect him when he was in Earth, and only in the Digital World. For instance, the first time that he went into the Digital World, he was sixteen years old. He came out of it for a bit when he was twenty, biologically, which was the first time that he had been in the real world for four years, as well as when he ended up finding out about the kid that he had. Due to his being in the Digital World for four years, when he left that first time, he was now twenty two years old, physically speaking." Rob said, and then Rob thought of that.

"So for every two years he was there biologically, he would have aged a third year, physically in there? And I am guessing that in effect, this made his life expectancy shorter and shorter inherently due to the fact that he was now physically older than he was supposed to be? How many years did he spend in the Digital World?" Robbie said, now getting it.

"In the thirty one to thirty two year span of 1966 to 1993 or 1994, whichever one he stopped going there often, calculations are that he spent no more than three years, maybe four, cumulatively on Earth. Since most of his times he would come back to Earth were no more than a week or two. After that first stint, he would often times come back for a week or two once or twice a year, under the radar. Which means that he roughly aged twelve years faster than he was supposed to be. In 1994, he should have been forty eight years old, and biologically he was, but physically, he was now a fifty six year old man." He said, feeling like this was the last time he wished to talk about this.

"This is something that I wished that I could have been able to make different. But what was done was done, and I feel like the people in this town have mostly, if not entirely forgotten about it. Probably for the best, given how this town is." He said, shaking his head, sounding like he had wished that he had not said anything that he had told us.

"His son has come up to me once or twice. He is a smart enough man, but I think he still has a idealistic look on the world, and he still feels like things can be fixed between him and his father. I think that he wants to believe that his dad is a good man who can be turned into a hero or something. But I think that there is also a very good chance that he knows that this is straight up bullshit." He said, and he sounded like he was mildly annoyed at this statement.

"The dude is fifty nine years old, and is still fucking acting like there is any remote chance that this town will be fixed. I mean, I am the one who is basically having to be the head of everything going on here, and I can tell you with utter certainty right now, there is no chance that things will ever be changed. I think that if you were to ever think things could be changed, then you will need to look at how reality runs here." When he was telling Robbie this, I was seeing Robbie looking like he had a new question off the top of his head.

"Look, are you saying that it genuinely can't be fixed? Or are you just not putting in the effort to fucking fix it? You know, I think that you are needing to be more careful with what you are saying here. I think we both know that there is a very good chance you can change this, and refuse to." He said, looking straight at Rob, and I was seeing that there was a moment of just pure tension growing between the two of them.

"You're too young to understand. And you're especially still too young to be out here this late at night, and I think that you need to be going along right now. Staying here is only going to accomplish so much. What were you even here for in the first place?" He asked, sounding like he just needed to get the conversation moving along again.

"I was looking for the entrance to the Hell Mouth. I am going to try and see if I can be able to go inside the Digital World. You might not enjoy the fact that I am going to find this in the first place. But the truth of the matter is that I genuinely feel like I have no choice on the matter here. You know, people told me that the Digital World is something that we should be avoiding at all costs. But give everything that has been happening here, I am starting to think that maybe we should be looking into it even harder than we ever have been." When he was saying this to Rob, there was a silence for a moment. As if Rob wished that Robbie would stop talking about it for one damn moment.

"If you really want to find another entrance, it is to the north. Near where that old factory is. You know, the one that was being run by that one family. The one with the daughter named Mimi." He was saying, and I was seeing Robbie looking like he did not remember all those details, therefore it had seemed like it was not even really all that worth it to keep talking about such a thing in the first place.

"I don't know all about that. I am still not sure if I know the main details that I should be knowing about the general story. So please stop just throwing a bunch of shit onto me that I am not sure I will ever fully understand." Robbie said, sounding like he was mildly annoyed at this discussion.

"Well, if you want to understand things, then you should put in the effort to know why something like Mimi is an important detail to the story. She is actually very involved in what happened back then. And you would do well to learn about that, if you actually taken the time to check things out a bit more." When he was telling Robbie this, I was seeing Robbie looking like he was more annoyed at this than anything else so far.

"Then again, Mimi has not been involved in the story for a very long time. None of the people in that group have been, minus sort of T.K. I guess that is what you get when you aren't able to fucking save them all." He said, and I was seeing Robbie looking like he had a new question that was on his mind.

"Are these people dead? I mean, the way that you talk about them gives me that impression. I mean, I hope that I am wrong though." Robbie asked, and he was looking like he was horrified to even be asking this in the first place.

"That is not something that I wish to discuss. Even just thinking about this whole thing has changed most of my perspective on life when I was growing up. And besides, I feel like if I tell you guys anything, then you will be going around, and just revealing all of this information anyways." When he was telling Robbie Dan this, I was seeing Robbie Dan looking like he was just really annoyed at the lack of willingness that this guy was showing to have a real discussion at all.

"But yeah, if you are insistent on going to the Hell Mouth, and you won't take no for an answer, then go through that, and I guess that I can't stop you. But don't come to me when you realize that what you are getting into is something that no man should have ever fucking seen." When he was saying this, Robbie was slowly nodding.

"I will be going. Just not tonight. Maybe in two or three days, when I have the stuff that I need to be able to hold myself in case anything happens. And I hope that you know that no matter what happens, I am just purely following my own destiny. I am going to see what I can find, and I hope that this will give me the answers that I need." When he was saying this to Rob, he was looking ahead, and he was looking like he was just finally having what he needed.

"Please make sure that no matter what happens, Bebe does not get to know about this. If Bebe learns that I am doing this, then I will never fucking hear the end of her bullshit, and I feel like that will only serve to make things worse." When Robbie told Rob this, I was seeing Rob looking like he really did not care too much about these tiny details, and was just not interested in this part of the conversation at all.

"I don't really care what your family thinks or whatever. That is beyond my concern. I was just trying to see, one last time, if I could be able to make a difference in your mood here. I guess that I could not. Just make sure that when you fucking die, nobody else gets killed because of your bullshit. None of us need to be burying a bunch of teenagers who are irresponsible." When he was saying this, I was seeing Rob looking like he was just trying so hard to hide his feelings here. But he fucking could not.

"I hope that you stay safe." When he said that, he was starting to head back, not really having much else to say on the matter. When he was leaving Robbie Dan alone, I was seeing Robbie Dan looking near the factory that had been old and worn down. "Next time, I will be going in there, and I will see what people are so scared of here." When he was saying this, he was starting to head off, and I was waiting until he was a bit far from me before I started to follow him again, hoping that I would eventually not get caught, and that I could be able to say that I knew the truth of what was going on, without any of the strings that were going to be attached to this.

I wondered if Robbie would genuinely go through that Hell Mouth, or if he was just saying that to blow smoke up his ass, and he wouldn't really do something like this. In all honesty, I was kind of seeing either option as a real possibility here, and I was thinking that if Robbie Dan did pull out, while it would be smarter in the long run to do something like this, it would make me question if he was actually being honest about a good several other things.

"The factory. I knew that there was the Materia project there, but I thought that was a one off thing, and I thought that the factory shut down well before that ever really got a chance to take full action. None of this is making sense. Unless if the Materia was right where the Hell Mouth entrance is, which I suppose isn't that crazy." He said, sounding like he was just trying to piece it all together.

And when Robbie would be going to that factory in a few days, I would try and find my way with him. Like sneaking inside his back pack, continuing to just follow him, anything. I will do what I can to find out the truth of what is there, and I would do what I can to meet more of these Digimon, since I knew Digimon and what they did to the world was a large part of why Labyrinth was even made to begin with. So hopefully the two things could end up being one and the same, and they would all be able to work.

August 30, 2026

When Robbie Dan and I were at our house a few days later, he sighed, sounding like he was a bit annoyed at this. "Do your siblings want to come along here? Or is it just going to be me, you, and Stanley? He said that he wanted to come along when I asked him about this yesterday." He said, sounding like he was just trying to move this subject alone, and not drag this any further than he had.

"I think they wouldn't come anyways. Even if I did ask." I said, feeling like I just needed to be honest there. "Why do you think Stanley would even want to come along? I thought that he hated hanging out with us, and thought that we were just making things worse for ourselves." I said, and looked right at Robbie, wondering if he was actually going to take this.

"I think that he just generally wants to see if we are going to stay safe. And besides, I think that he might be more willing to tell Lydia the truth if she asks him what is happening. In all honesty, I think that is going to potentially become a real issue that we will have to cross here." Robbie Dan said, as we walked outside. As we looked at Stanley, who was smoking a Seneca cigar, he was looking like he was just really tired, and wished that none of this had ever happened. "Are you ready to be heading out?" Robbie asked Stanley, hoping to just move this along and not make it twenty times worse than it had been.

"Yeah, I have been ready this whole time. I am just hoping that you guys don't fucking do anything stupid here. I am going to have to tell Lydia if you guys do." He said, sounding like he needed to just be straight up here. Not really wanting to beat around the bush at all. Robbie Dan walked down the stairs, and I was doing my best to follow them both as much as I could. I didn't want to make any real issues here, although I knew deep down inside, I was going to be a bit scared if we did find some of this so called Materia, since it was going to just prove more of these points true.

"So, if you guys don't mind me asking, what the hell is this Materia anything? You mentioned it earlier, but I still have no idea what the hell that even is to begin with." He said, sounding like he was wishing that we would finally speak straight with him for once. I sighed, feeling like there was no choice on the matter just to just give him what he wanted. Robbie Dan sighed, feeling like he needed to just be as honest as he could with Stanley, for both their sakes.

"Well, from what I understand, it is the closest thing that people in our world have come to accomplishing actual real magic here. Back like forty to forty five years ago, Lazarus found some of this strange substance in the ground. They took it in for experimentation, and they then decided to turn this substance into Materia, which has been used for several things. I know that I am doing a terrible job explaining it. But that is really the best way that I can explain it in a way that doesn't butcher what I understand." Robbie Dan said, hoping that this answer would suffice enough for Stanley to just drop it.

"How did you even understand what the hell Materia is in the first place?" Stanley asked, sounding like he was just trying to make the story make some kind of sense. Robbie Dan sighed, as if feeling like that was a fair enough question, but just couldn't really remember.

"I think I recall either Lars or Todd Sr. mentioning something about it. They mentioned that when Rob became president of Lazarus, he started to compile the Materia into a bunch of boxes, in order to make sure that when the town needed it, he would have it ready. He said that he wanted to do his best to leave the town in a good condition for when he dies." Robbie Dan said, sounding like he wasn't exactly sure if he believed any of that or not.

"I do remember something about how both Lars and Todd Sr. were feeling like Rob's choices were very poorly thought out, and didn't really accomplish anything good for Wayside. I am quite shocked at how many times Todd has gone out of his way to publicly judge everything that Rob has done, and still work with the guy. Lars, I feel like has just been giving his retrospective thoughts on the matter. You know, given the fact that Lars was barely even alive when Rob was forced to take over Lazarus." Robbie Dan said, sounding like he was just extremely frustrated with everything that had been discussed here. I wonder what he was planning on saying now.

"I will not sleep easy until I meet Rob soon. I feel like he needs to see me, and tell me what the hell is going on here." As Robbie Dan said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was actually genuinely interested in the subject. "I swear to fucking god, Rob better actually talk with me here. I want so badly to be proven wrong. And if there is anybody that can fucking do it, I genuinely fucking believe that it will be fucking Rob. He is the only person who probably will spare me any bullshit." He said, sounding utterly convinced here. I sighed, feeling like there had been nothing to accomplish here. Robbie Dan and Stanley were talking for a while, mainly about Rob Reichenbach, as we eventually made it down to the worn down factory.

At the entrance, I was seeing Robbie looking like he had been thinking of what he was wanting to plan now. He then shook his head, looking like he was genuinely trying to decide what the hell he was going to be feeling at this rate. "Did you fucking know what happened that caused this place to shut down?" Robbie Dan asked, as he looked right at Stanley, wondering what Stanley would be saying I could tell from the look on Stanley's face that he was confused at the fact that this was even being brought up. Or why in the world Robbie Dan even would think that Stanley would be aware of this stuff in the first place. Almost like he had thought that Robbie was just being way out of league here.

"Mimi's father used to own this place, but a combination of a few things ruined that. One of those things that changed the entire course here was the fact that Nicole Watterson had taken over the business, and forced him out of the job. Plus Mimi's father hadn't had much luck with the extracting of the Materia, which ended up becoming a large issue for those who were owning Lazarus's shares. Plus, there was the fact that there had been rumors at one point in time that Nicole Watterson had been seeing Brad Carbunkle, who at the time had been one of the main leaders of Labyrinth. I don't know if there is much truth this statement."

"Regardless of the truth about if Nicole and Brad were pursuing a relationship, even just in friendship, there had been several things regarding her that had been leaked to the public after she was murdered over thirty years ago. If you don't know, she had a fight with Gumball Watterson, who at the time was the only one of the three Watterson children left alive in the first place, and Gumball beat her in the fight. Some people debate what exactly happened, but the story is that the next day, Nicole had been found on top of the rough of one of her work buildings, sliced in half from her back down. Gumball's girlfriend, who had been missing in Labyrinth at the time, Penny Fitzgerald, had been found dead as well. She was on the ground, splattered, which meant that she had been thrown down there, shot down, or jumped off on her own accord." Robbie said, sounding like he was having very little interest in even discussing most of this subject for the time being.

"Look, point that I am trying to make is that a lot of shit happened. And there is a few rumors that some of the Materia is still in there, and that if we look hard enough, we can be able to fucking find it there. And I am glad that you came along. I might have been finding it strange that you wanted to so much, but now that you decided to come along is really nice for us." Robbie Dan said, sounding like he was finding it a bit harder to truly describe what had been going on in his mind.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that you stayed safe. I have a bad feeling you are going to put yourself in danger, trying to do the right thing, or whatever. You and I both know how much you push yourself here." He said, and then Stanley looked down at me, trying to decide what he was wanting to say.

"Let's just go inside this fucking factory, and see what we can fucking find. Not really any point in stalling around too much longer if all we're going to do is just screw around here." Robbie said, feeling like he needed to at least try and move the subject along in a way that helped us all feel like maybe we weren't all that lost after all.

Once Robbie, Stanley, and I all went inside, I was finding myself wondering if coming out here when I was still just a six year old kid was too much to fucking handle. I was wondering if coming here would just simply get Stanley and Robbie Dan at sort of odds with each other, which in all honesty, I felt like would not even really be worth it.

"Well, do you even know what the Materia even looks like in the first place? Maybe we should figure that shit out before we say anything?" Stanley asked Robbie Dan, and then Robbie Dan looked like he was ready to admit something that might bother Stanley if he ended up hearing the true answer.

"Well, Lars did talk to me about it a couple of days ago, when I was telling hm what the basic plans of what I was doing were. He was telling me that the Materia, when condensed down into an actual form that could be used by people like us, would be a small ball. The small ball was used as a way to ensure that it wouldn't harm us. I don't fucking get it. He also said something about said balls glowing. Look, I think the best bet that we have is just simply look for those if we are to have any chance of actually figuring out what is happening." Robbie Dan said, sounding like he was just sort of trying to make sense of what he was saying to himself, than anything else.

"So you do believe in the things that Lars says after all, then why are you always pretending like you do not?" Stanley said, sounding like he was actually wondering if what he could tell him would make any real difference. I saw Robbie Dan looking like he was wanting to tell Stanley to shut the fucking hell up, but he was unable to really find himself able to do this.

"I don't trust him as far as I can fucking throw him. But I do acknowledge that he is probably the one person here who is actually aware of what is happening here. So yeah, of course I am working with this man, to see what he has to fucking say. Honestly, I also feel like out of all the things that Lars has been talking to me on, for some reason, I just have a feeling that this is the one thing that he is actually telling the truth on, and I suppose that is why I give him the benefit of a doubt here." As Robbie said that, he was walking along for a while, and he was looking around at the destroyed factory.

"I heard another one of these, in Sector Two, had been completely destroyed one time like three decades or something ago. I heard that there was like a refinery collapse, and there was either like a burning fire that destroyed the entire thing, or there was like actual molten lava that got spilled out. Point is, the place got fucking destroyed, and I heard that there were two teenagers that died during the incident." As he said that, I wondered what the hell he was even knowing this all for. It was kind of scary that he even knew all of this in the first place. Made me wonder how much he was aware of, that he was simply not telling us at all.

"That factory incident was only a few days before the incident where Nicole Watterson was murdered, if I remember correctly. I also recall hearing a story about how despite everything, Gumball Watterson is actually still alive out there, and I recall hearing that he is down in like Chicago or something. I have no idea how much interest I really have in this subject all. If I really have any. I just felt like it was something that you deserved to fucking hear." Robbie Dan said, and then with that, Stanley was feeling like he needed to ask Robbie Dan a honest question.

"How many of these stories do you think might be told to you as a way to force you into being loyal to them? People might be telling you stories that you want to hear, as a way to make them sort of be the good guy of the story, and everybody else here just looks like a piece of shit here." As Stanley said that, he seemed to hardly care how much of this I was even hearing anymore.

"I feel like they might be told to me as a way to actually make me see what is at stakes here. Bebe doesn't tell me anything. It seems like she is just simply scared that I will be like my uncle or something like that. That she is scared that I will be a sick and disgusting piece of shit like Bobby Santiago was. But I hope that I can make it clear to everybody that I will be nothing like that." Robbie Dan said, sighing, and felt like nothing else mattered.

"Bobby Santiago was a fucking monster who fucking deserved to be beheaded on live recording. That was an event that he deserved, and I do not feel bad for the guy at all. But I think it is taking it beyond way too fucking far when people are talking about how I might end up being like him. I will never be like him, and I think that people just need to give me more credit here.

Before long, Stanley picked something up from the ground. He was shocked to see something like this in the first place. It was some form of Green shining ball, and he was showing it to Robbie Dan, who was then slowly nodding. This seemed to be the exact thing that Robbie Dan had been talking about earlier, and he seemed to be glad that Stanley seemed to catch onto it as fast as he had.

"That is the Materia that I am fucking looking for. Or at least I heavily believe that it fucking is. Maybe we can fucking bring this down to Larry, or Richard…" He said, suddenly realizing that Richard might actually be a smart idea here after all.

"Yeah, fucking hell. I am going to have to try and get access to the Watterson casino. If I can get Richard to agree to talk to me, I can show him this, and maybe I can bring him some more examples of Materia, and maybe he will tell me what I don't know. And he might be willing to even fucking tell me the true story of what happened to Nicole. Because let me tell you right now, I feel like there is a fucking chance that he is the only person here who will actually listen to me…" As Robbie Dan said this, I was seeing him looking like he could not believe that he had said this in the first place.

"God damn it, I never thought that I would be trying to find myself getting into those casinos. But I genuinely believe like I have no fucking choice on the matter here. I just hope that I do not really regret this choice at all." Robbie Dan said, sounding like his annoyance level was so fucking through the roof that it was killing him how much he was dealing with stuff he had no interest in ever dealing with at all.

"Well, if you think that you are going to be putting yourself in danger by going in there, we can go there together, and we can fucking sort this whole thing out." Stanley said, and then Robbie Dan was looking around, and then he was seeing a second thing of Materia laying down on a table that had looked like it hadn't been touched since before some of our teachers were born, which for all that I knew it might have actually been true.

"Maybe you can talk to Mimi's dad? See what he plans on doing with this factory? Maybe if you get him to be honest with you, he might tell you everything that happened?" As Stanley asked, Robbie finished picking up the red Materia, and then Stanley was shaking his head, as if he was feeling like this was not a smart idea at all.

"That was well over forty years ago. There is no way in hell that he is even alive anymore. And if he is, I suppose that I will deal with that shit later." As Robbie Dan said this, he had a smile on his face, feeling like he was kind of proud of the fact that he was finally having a good idea what was on his mind here.

"You can always just check people who might know him, and see if he is alive to begin with, and then from there, maybe see what you can learn from him. I am sure that you guys can find something with that soon enough. You are just not looking at the bigger picture here." Stanley said, feeling like his response was enough to get Robbie Dan to step back, and stop play with games here.

"There is no fucking way that dude is alive. If he was, I would be shocked beyond belief. So yeah, I think that this subject just needs to be dropped for the time being. You know, so we can actually focus on the bigger things here." As he said that to Stanley, I was seeing him looking like he was actually proud of himself for once. Proud of the fact the puzzle made sense for once. "For now, I am going to talk with Richard Watterson, and if I can't, I will try and get permission to see him from like Lars or something, and I will talk with the man."

"Sector Two. I don't think that I have ever been there. Do you think that if you go there, you will take me with you? I think that could be rather fun." He said, sounding like he was kind of hoping that Robbie Dan was willing to actually give him this. Robbie sighed, feeling like he might as well just give Stanley this, after everything that had been going on here.

"I will take you there. I feel like at least one person needs to be there with me when I find out what I find, or don't find out what I don't find. I mean, one person beyond just Ridge. I love you, kid, but I feel like you are way too young to fully understand what is going on here, and I feel like that is something that can be a bit of a issue here." As he said that to me, I sighed, since I was feeling like he was never going to truly let go of the idea that I was some stupid kid who had no idea what was going on. And to be honest, I feel like there was only so many things that I can take from him before I feel like I am just being thrown away for no fucking reason here.

"Thank you, Robbie… And I promise, that unlike our previous stuff before, that I will respect your wishes on not talking to Lydia about this. You made that shit very clear that this is not something you are down with at all. So yeah, I dig it, I get the message." He said, sounding like he was kind of annoyed at the fact that he even had to say this in the first place. But he also knew that there was no need to beat around the bush about the situation when it had come up at all.

"Thank you Stanley. I mean, I do know that I need to be honest with Lydia and everything. I want to be honest with Lydia. I wish that I was honest with her. She deserves that. But for the fucking love of god, I feel like if I do be honest with her, I will just sort of let her down. She will be wondering why I was having such a hard time doing this earlier. And deep down, I will know that they were right to everything they say." As Robbie Dan said this, he sounded like he was wishing that he didn't have to say what he had said. It made him sick to say what he had said.

"And to be honest, I think that the truth is that I am just happy to finally see Lydia again, and talk with her. I loved Lydia, and I want to make this work. She is a wonderful woman, and I feel like once she loses everything that she has been working for, none of this will matter anymore." Robbie Dan said, sounding like he was thinking exactly of what was going on.

"I love Lydia. I love her more than I can describe. I do not want to hurt her any more than I have hurt her. Everything that I have been doing the last couple of years has been for her, or at least what I thought was for her. I just guess that now that I think of it, I have been saying these things, to just make myself feel better." Robbie Dan said, done being in denial here.

"I talked with Lydia yesterday about you. She said that she was glad to finally be seeing you again, and she said she was glad to finally no longer be scared of you or anything. She said that she missed you the most out of anybody here. She said she wanted to be around you. You are her hero, and I think you need to stop hiding from this." As Stanley said this, I could tell that Robbie Dan had looked like he was a bit shocked to suddenly hear this. As if he was feeling like he needed Stanley to give him some space.

As we left the factory, getting a couple things of Materia that we can show to Richard Watterson when the time came, I was very well aware of the fact that Robbie Dan, Stanley, and I, as long as we were safe, could make a nice trio. Just as long as he kept our heads down low, and didn't cause any scene with people like my older siblings, so that they couldn't suspect us, then I was feeling like we were going to fucking be fine with our investigation and what not. To be honest, I just felt like this was actually going to turn out twenty thousand times better than anything I could have possibly hoped for.

September 26, 2026

Robbie Dan and Stanley showed up at my house again, and there was a small pocket bag of four or so Materia balls in there. The look on Robbie Dan's face looked like he was genuinely proud of himself for what was happening here. "Today is the day that Richard Watterson set the appointment at. If you wanted to come with us." He said, and I found myself shocked that he was actually extending the offer. I smiled though, and I was feeling like if he was willing to extend the offer, then I might as well go with this.

So I nodded, ready to go here. Robbie Dan sighed, and seemed like he couldn't be shocked about this if he fucking tried. In fact, he was finding himself more shocked at the fact that Stanley was willing to go through with this idea in the first place.

"Alright, do you think that it might be a smart idea to bring one of your brothers with us? You know, to make sure we have a older person with us?" Stanley asked, sounding like he just needed to bring this idea up for the sake or not making things any worse. I was feeling that we just needed to do what we were already planning, and calling it good before we made things any worse than they had already been.

"I think that we shouldn't bother. Besides, I think Gabe might be working there. Chances are we are going to be running into him soon anyways." I said, feeling like I just needed to bring that up before they pushed me too much harder on the subject. As I said this, Robbie Dan sighed, feeling like he just needed to take that for what it is. He smiled, feeling like he might as well just let this go.

"Oh yeah… I think I remember Lydia mentioning that once. She said she was a bit worried that him working there is going to be a mistake." He said, and then he seemed like he really did not care that much what he was hearing. Then with that, we started to head on out. I was just glad to be seeing them looking like they were just remembering everything coming together for the first time. Made me realize that I did not have to do as much heavy lifting as I thought I would need to do.

Or as much as I realistically should be doing when you were a six year old kid who didn't really know any better, or didn't want to know any better. But I was keeping my thoughts to myself as I was thinking this. "What made Gabe even want to work at the Watterson casino in the first place?" Robbie Dan asked, feeling like he just needed to understand where this was coming from in the first place. I shrugged, since to be honest, I really did not get it.

But to be honest, he was happier, and I was feeling like he needed to just do what he felt like he needed. I was happy for him to do something that he wanted to do, and I was proud of the fact that he was letting the worst emotions he had behind him. I was scared that he would hate the family for various things that had happened in the six years that we had even known him in the first place. "I think that he just needed work." I said, feeling like I just needed to be straight up with them about this.

Before long, we were getting to the casino, and I was already seeing that just from the look on Robbie Dan's face that he was already feeling so fucking lost on what he could even fucking say. In all honesty, he was feeling like whatever the hell Richard would say, it would be nothing more than a bunch of excuses to try and justify the lies that he had been saying for all these years. Nothing more than just him explaining why he had to fucking do this,

"Robbie, are you sure that you want to do this any longer? You look like you are already regretting everything that you said earlier." Stanley said, trying to be much less judgmental to him than I was going to be. He felt as if he needed to give Robbie Dan the moment to speak, and not make him feel even fucking worse for whatever had been happening. Robbie Dan took a deep breath, feeling like he needed to just not say anything, and that he needed to keep the lie up for as long as possible. Mainly just to not make Stanley judge him too harshly.

"I want to do what I must. And if I must go through with asking a man who I am not sure will like me very much why he has been making these lies, then I suppose that I have no fucking choice on the matter." Robbie Dan said, feeling like he just needed to be as honest as possible here. Then with that, I could tell that Stanley was sick and tired of dealing with people who were way too stubborn to admit when they had lost.

"And besides, I feel like I just need to talk to Gabe when I am in there. Just fucking understand why in the world he did what he did." Robbie said, and then with that, Stanley sighed, feeling like he just needed to go along with this. He seemed like his interest in the subject was relatively minimal, but at the same time, if it meant we found something out with Richard, then he would be willing to go along with the stuff related to Gabe, even when he was not nearly as interested in that as he was wanting to pretend like he was.

"Trust me Stanley, you will want to go along with this. You might not fucking see it yet, but this is the best thing that we can do for all of us right now." Robbie Dan finished, and I was seeing him sounding like he was so utterly certain about what he was saying, that he could not believe that he was even needing to say this in the first place.

"Okay, if you fucking say so… I suppose that I have nothing better to fucking do than just pretend like this is something that I actually want to fucking do." Stanley said, and we were all inside the casino. Once we were inside, we didn't have to wait long, at all, in any way shape or form, for the Gabe part to happen. He was literally standing there in the middle of the room, talking with a couple of people, and looked like he was utterly tired, and wished that he could be able to fucking rest.

The Richard part, I already knew, partly out of that, but partly out of the fact that it had genuinely looked like he was nowhere to be seen, was going to be taking much longer. Gabe had been talking to some guy, and he looked like he was really bored out of this mind having this discussion in the first place.

"Hey guys, what the fucking hell are you doing here?" Gabe asked, partly angry, but more so just confused than anything. "I mean, you guys are literally kids. You are not supposed to be here, and I think they will not hesitate a fucking second to make sure you are all gone if the chances came up." He said, feeling like he just needed to be utterly honest with us. Robbie Dan then shook his head, wanting to make it very clear that he had no interest in having this conversation.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you. Partly about the job, partly about Lydia, and partly about everything else here. You know, like what is Richard doing, and I was hoping that maybe you would have some fucking clue what that can lead into." He said, and then with that, Gabe was then putting his hands up, as if feeling annoyed at the fact that he even had to make this statement in the first place.

"Oh my fucking god? Are you seriously doing this right now? I have a fucking job to do, and you are doing this right now? I think you guys are some desperate sons of bitches if you are trying to make a case over what some guy in his nineties is fucking doing. I am just working at a casino for money. Nothing else." Gabe said, sounding like he had wanted to make all of us regret coming here in the first place. I was then smiling, feeling like if this was how he rolled, then I might as well just give this up. I mean, he was already basically telling us that we needed to just drop this, or else there would be consequences.

"Anyways, I have not talked once to Richard in roughly two months. He drops by once a week or so just to pick up some pay check, and that is fucking it. I think that this is something that you should be getting used to, and if you really want to fucking know more about this Richard guy, I think you need to find him yourself." Gabe said, not even trying to be an asshole as he was saying this. He was just being one hundred percent real as he said this.

"Do you believe the stories, that he was involved in what fucking happened with Gumball? You know, that he set everything up with Gumball, and what not?" Robbie Dan said, and then Gabe looked horrified that this was even asked in the first place. Then he shook his head, as if feeling like he needed to just shoot this down as fast as possible, before it had any remote chance to escalate any further than it already had.

"No, I really fucking do not. I have no idea why in the hell I would believe any of these stories to begin with. He has been cleared up, and I think you are bringing something back for no reason if you are trying to claim that he is involved." Gabe said, sounding like he was trying to be sure, but deep down inside, was not too sure at all. In fact, he was already sounding like he had wished that he could have believed his shit more.

"You would believe them because they all have damning evidence to back them up, and you fucking know it." Stanley said, joining the conversation. Then he realized the way that he was sounding, and he knew that he needed to back off here, if he wanted to still have any fucking chance here.

"Look, with all due respect, Gabe, I need to let you know right now, that what you are saying is a load of fucking shit. Richard Watterson has such a bad record on him that even my father has a hard time defending him. Do you even know anything about the fucking Gumball stuff anyways?" He asked, feelin like he needed to dance around the fact that deep down inside, he knew that Gabe was a bit of a idiot, and he was trying to just be nice about this, to not make a fucking scene any harder than it needed to be.

"I know enough about it. Enough about it to know that it is in the past, and we need to just fucking let this go, without making another fucking scene. I wished that you believed in Richard too. He has said several times that Gumball was a problem child, who had been making a bunch of mistakes in the past." He said, and then with that, he shrugged, feeling like he just needed to be honest about this.

"It might be in the past, but it is something that has been looming over Wayside for many years now. I thought that with how all the other brothers were here, that you would want to fucking know more about this too." Robbie Dan said, sounding like he was just more confused how in the world Gabe had turned down this way in the first place. In a way, I was kind of feeling the same way, but at the same time, I was way less fucking harsh about this than he was. Because in a way, I was feeling like this was a horrible idea.

"Look, all that I fucking know is that Gumball is still alive, but that most people do not even fucking know where he is. I think that is all that you need to fucking know as well. There is no need to keep pressing this matter any further. Richard probably would have no interest in seeing any of you. Especially since one of you guys is a fucking little kid. Sorry Ridge, but you aren't nearly old enough to get his attention." He said, feeling like he just needed to be honest with me. I slowly nodded, and I was aware that he just wanted to be honest with me. It did kind of hurt, but deep down inside, I did know what he was meaning, and deep down inside, I felt like I just needed to take this, and not be so hard on this guy at all.

"And honestly, I think that if you want to find out more about Gumball, you just need to read up in the libraries. I think you would learn more there. Until then, I think you need to let me be doing my fucking job, and not be a fucking pain in the ass about it, respectfully." He said, feeling like he just needed to be honest there. I then shrugged, feeling like if this was the way that things would be, then I supposed that this did make some sense. He was always the hardest about this compared to everybody, and I was feeling like he was going out of his way to make me feel like I was a dumb ass. But then before we were able to even have a chance to leave, that was when there was a voice calling to us, and we all looked over, shocked to be seeing that this discussion was already enough to get Richard Watterson to have some interest in talking to us.

Gabe then got a call, and he stopped what he was doing. He looked a bit annoyed, but he answered the phone and when he answered he was having a very clearly agitated tone that I very rarely ever seen him carry. "Yes, I have the shipment planned. It will be arriving to the company tower tomorrow morning. I have made sure to it that there is nothing else in the truck going there as to not get it damaged by other products. I promise you that when you have it, it will be in top condition." Gabe said, sounding like he was annoyed at having this discussion over and over again, but that he was used to having it by now.

"Okay, see you in a bit. I will have to finish what I am doing though." He said, and then he hung up. Then he looked at all of us, and I was seeing him looking like he was already worried about what he was going to tell us. "Alright guys, I will need to be honest with you, I have a meeting with Rob Reichenbach now. I need to head on over there really soon. He has said that he has wanted to see you guys though, said that he feels like he needs to help you see the world for what it is."

Robbie Dan looked utterly horrified at this statement. As if now that he was presented with the chance to do this, he was now realizing how horrible this could go. And I was seeing him looking like he had realized how wrong he had been this whole time. "Alright, we will be waiting at your car while you finish up what you are doing. Thank you for letting us come along. Trust me when I say that I really appreciate it." Stanley said, feeling like he needed to take the subject over, and give Robbie Dan a moment to think things through.

As Stanley, Robbie Dan, and I left, Stanley was looking like he was actually genuinely excited at this turn of events. He was looking like he was glad to finally be doing something new and different here. "Dude, the fact that Gabe is giving us a chance to actually talk with him, is the best thing that he can fucking do." Stanley said, and then with that, Robbie Ran looked like he was trying his best to see the positive side of things that Stanley had been trying to print on him.

"Yeah, but I feel like that man is going to be up to some real shit dude. I think that when he sees what we are doing, everything that we have made progress on will be thrown down the fucking window. Trust me when I fucking say that when Bebe learns the truth, she will consider me to be a terrible man, and even worse than my fucking uncle. Which I feel like I would not deserve that title, but she has started to lose all the honor that she had." Robbie Dan said, and then with that, I saw him looking ashamed to admit this.

"Is that why you barely talk about your sister anymore? That she accuses you of being potentially worse than Bobby?" Stanley asked, sounding like he was realizing how horrible that comment was to hear. He knew how much that must fucking hurt Robbie Dan, and he was wondering how she was able to live with such a comment, and if he knew how he could move forward with that.

"That is a part of it. She said something that I think went way beyond the pale, and I feel like I will never be able to fucking talk with her again like that. She said something that made me realize the woman that she had become, and the fact that at the end of the day, she only cares about how she will serve Lars and what he says." He said, sounding like he was finally making peace with this fact.

"Fuck what she says. If she genuinely thinks that way, then there is no way in hell that you will get her to change her mind. It's a fucking shame though. I know that you used to fucking love your sister, and you used to think that she was one of the best people in the world." Stanley said, sounding like he needed to just be as humble as he could. Or at least try to do so. Mainly to make Todd see that there was going to be somebody who was at this side.

"You will make it. Show her your honor." I said, feeling like I just needed to give him something to work with. Something that he could live with, and I was feeling like this was the best way that he would see that I was with him.

After a moment longer of waiting, Gabe showed up, smoking a cigarette, and I could see that he was still having a hard time with the fact that I was here. Having a hard time that I would be meeting the president of Lazarus Corporation when I was merely six years old.

"Alright, get the fuck in you kids. I am not going to be wasting any more time than I need to fucking waste on this subject. I already don't really want to be doing this very much in the first place." He said, and I was seeing Gabe looking like he was already feeling like he needed to explain to everybody that he was no going to be in any of these plans anymore. He had already lost all patience on this matter, and I was feeling like he was too annoyed to explain any further.

Once we were in the car, Stanley was looking like he was thinking of what he was wanting to say now. "So, what do you think of Rob? Is he a good president for the company?" Stanley asked, and then with that, I was seeing Gabe looking like he was wanting to respond with a honest response, but was looking like he was already losing any steam he had to say much.

"I don't fucking know if he is a good president for the company or not. All that I know is that either due to him trying to balance too much over the last four decades, or him just simply no longer caring anymore, that he is not a good president for Wayside anymore. And if he once was, then I have not seen such a thing in my own life at least. He barely goes out in public anymore, and he barely speaks to the citizens of this place, and mainly just cares for his own personal safety. That is not what a man really should be like." Gabe said, sounding like he had hoped he never had to explain this any further.

"You can try and tell him how to do his job, and get him to open up a bit further. He will listen to you. Or at least, I think he will listen to you." Stanley said, sounding genuinely sure that what he was saying was true. I had no idea if this was exactly true for what it was. But then with that, I was seeing Gabe looking like he was genuinely scared to respond to that.

"If you think that he would actually listen to anybody about how to handle things better, than I must tell you that you are fucking lost, and you do not understand what this man is like. You will see in due time that this man will never actually fucking fight the good fight for Wayside. He has never fought the good fight for Wayside, and he never will fight the good fight for Wayside. I heard that once he took office, his immediate priority was to make sure that Wayside, was shown that there was now a leader who had genuinely authority on the town, and would actually put himself to work. But he immediately acted on that by burning down this one house, because the man who lived there chose to try and say anything against them." Gabe said, feeling like he needed to make his point, and make it in a way that everybody would be able to understand, and not try and fucking argue with him on. In fact, he looked scared that us fighting him on this matter was not going to make any of this make any sense.

"But that was forty years ao. Things can fucking change. What if he regrets what he did, and he wants to try and make things right? Who are we to stop him from trying to redeem himself?" Stanley asked, not even trying to make a fight here, but just sounding genuinely lost here. He was wanting to see why Gabe was so obsessed with the idea that Rob had no chances of being able to fucking improve anything that he had been doing."

"Look, I want to believe you. I thought once as you do. I thought that there was a chance that he was able to come back to the man that he once was. But he is no longer that person, and I think even if he tried, the chances of this happening are extremely slim to none." Gabe said and then he was thinking of what he was going to say this time.

"Just talk with him once again, and you will see him open up here. I have a feeling that once you see him talk again, you will get this once more." Stanley said, feeling like this was the best way he could push this forward. He wantd to show Gabe, and the other people in this town, that there was still good in him, and he wanted them to see that he was nowhere near as awful as he had made him out to be.

"If you believe that there is good in him, then go ahead and prove me wrong. I would want nothing more in the world than to be proven wrong. But until that fucking happens, please do not give me any false sense of false hopes. I deserve so much fucking better than that, than to just be shown down a path that will do nothing beyond just giving me hopes that I never had anymore." Gabe finished, just feeling depressed at this statement.

Once we were at the actual company building, I was seeing Gabe looking like he was trying his best to understand what exactly to say. He looked like he was trying to see our perspective. Like he genuinely wanted to see it, and agree with this. But he knew how things were, and he knew that there was no way that any of this was actually going to happen. I felt like this was truly making some sense.

Once we were actually inside the building, we followed Gabe to Rob's office, where Rob had been sitting down with a red suit, had been slightly heavier than I had imagined, but not exactly fat per se, and he was still wearing the famous eye patch that he has had ever since he was a freshmen in high school.

"Hello, nice to meet you three. I have been hearing some stories about all three of you, and to be honest, I feel like all three of you are extremely dangerous, and need to take a step back before you guys do anything. But at the same time, I have to admit, I am proud of you guys." Rob said, and then before anything could be said any further, Robbie Dan jumped straight to the point, of wanting to know what Rob might have known about Bobby, and why Bobby did what he did.

"Do you know anything about Bobby Santigato? Died over thirty years ago. Had his death caught on live recording…" Robbie Dan said, hoping that this statement was going to be enough for Rob Reichenbach to get his memory rolling, and actually know how to respond to Robbie Dan. I was seeing from the look on his face, and how saddened he was at this, that it had indeed been enough.

"Yeah, I do know more about that guy than I want to admit. Sold a bunch of young women off just to make sure nothing happened to his sister. He didn't care about anything else besides keeping Ronnie Anne alive, But in a way, I guess you should be thankful for him. If he never did that, then you would never be born. Then there would never be some fucking white knight of justice running around pretending like he is doing what is best for Wayside." He said, hoping that the comments was going to make Robbie Dan actually hear what he was being told.

"Are you telling me that what he did was a good thing? How in the world can you possibly say that?" He said, sounding genuinely disgusted at what he had heard. He knew that Rob had different priorities than him, but he was expecting that he had enough honor to at least pretend like this wasn't that big of a deal.

"I am saying that from a certain point of view, they did the right thing. Without what Bobby did, you wouldn't be alive, and without you being alive, you would not be a pain in the ass to this entire company, and making things twenty thousand times worse for my job. So yeah, I think you need to be thanking him in a way." He said, hoping that this perspective would be made clear.

I was seeing Robbie Dan looking like he wanted to fight what he heard really bad. But when he was looking down, and he was remaining silent, I think that was his way of quietly admitting that Rob had a fucking point, that he hated, but that it was true. I was seeing Robbie Dan looking like he was making some peace with the fact that in a way, Rob knew what to say, and how he needed to say it.

"I guess that you might be right. I suppose that maybe there is a point to be made here. But I still feel like if I was never born, than it might be worth it to keep those girls safe. All that I know is that I was glad to hear that he was beheaded on live recording." He said, not wanting to beat around the bush, and feeling like he might as well just be honest about what he felt.

"You don't actually feel that way. You say that you feel that way because you are trying to be strong to me, and you are trying to sound like this stuff doesn't bother you very much. But truth be told, like a lot of other kids that I met in the past, I can see right through you. I can see your true colors, and I can see that inside you're ugly. You're ugly like me." Rob told him, not holding back at all on what he had wanted to say.

Gabe then decided that to save face for Robbie Dan, he would fucking just jump into the conversation, in order to make Robbie Dan feel better here. He was feeling bad for the way that Robbie Dan was being talked to, and he was feeling like Rob needed to take a massive step back, and not make things any harder than they needed to be.

"Look, you wanted to talk about the shipment, and I feel like we need to fucking focus on that before we get too sidetracked about things that aren't even all that important." He said, finally wondering if Rob was actually going to take the queue, and drop the subject for once. Rob sighed, feeling like might as well just get right back to the discussion, before making it any worse.

"Yes, I did want to talk about that, and I suppose that us focusing on that would be best for everybody involved." He said, as if glad to be finding a way to end this discussion, and stop everybody from feeling like they were at each others throats. "So, do you think that you will be able to get another shipment done in one week? If you can't, I can make it two. But that's it." Rob said, feeling like he needed to be straight up there.

"I believe that I wll be able to get a shipment ready for you in one week. It might be a bit harder than I might want to admit, but I feel like I will have something ready for you in due time." He said, feeling the need to be honest here. He was hoping that the lack of beating around the bush was going to be enough to get Rob to respect his answer.

"Truth be told, I have been having a hard time believing that Richard Watterson is exactly a good man for the job anymore. I do believe that he has been trying, and I do believe that he had a nice touch at first. But that touch is long gone, and I feel like he needs to let people who are younger, and more experienced, take over the helm from here, before he ends up making things worse for everybody." He said, hoping that Gabe would pick up the hints.

Gabe shook his head, sounding like he was kind of pissed off that he was hearing this suggestion in the first place, and he was clearly thinking that Rob would once again, be way over extending his power beyond any real grasp, and he needed to make it clear to Rob that he was not going to support this at all.

"Richard has been leading the Watterson casino with great honor for the last six decades." Gabe said, feeling like he needed to fucking stand up for Richard, and make it clear that he was no longer wanting to hear any of this anymore. He was already sick of everything, and he was feeling like he needed to put a end to this all.

"Richard is over ninety years old. Your father is nearly eighty years old. People need to pass down the mantle soon enough. I myself am already in my fifties. I am planning to have a kid soon, and when they are older, I will let them take over the company. Maybe twenty one or twenty five. Let him have a few years out of high school to have fun before he needs to be responsible." He said, feeling annoyed that he was even needing to explain this in the first place, but at the same time, still kind of feeling bad.

Then Rob looked right at Stanley and Robbie Dan, who he had been hoping would be able to keep a more unbiased look at this whole thing. "If I may say so, I think that this town needs a lot of revamping. I think that Wayside has gone way too complacent with how many people run around, like monkeys with their head cut off. It doesn't help that Valorum is a useless mayor who has done nothing to help Wayside in his term." He said, looking right at Robbie Dan, as if he knew what Lars said to him.

"Lars told me the exact same thing when we talked a couple of years ago. He said that the republic is not what it once was, and he wants to save this town, and save democracy." He said, and I was seeing Rob looking like he was finding Lars's comments to be kind of cute, given the situation, and he was finding himself wondering if Lars was truly thinking that he of all people would be the one that would come along, and save Wayside.

"Yeah, Lars seems to think that he is the solution to the issues that this town has. And in a way, he might be right, People look up to him, and actually treat him like a fucking god. People don't do that for virtually anybody else here. I think that they all see Lars as this being who can do no fucking wrong, and I suppose that in a way, I don't really blame them. For them, for a large part of their lives, Lars has truly done no wrong." He said, sounding a bit annoyed at the fact that it was seeming like in general, people had more respect for Lars than they ever would have with Rob Reichenbach. As if they feel like Rob had not been given enough credit for his work.

"Do you think that Lars is the solution to anything at all?" Robbie Dan askd, as if feeling like he would bait him a bit, and see what he was feeling. Given the fact that Rob clearly did not seen very happy with what was going on. Rob took out a cigarette.

"I certainly think he will be a better mayor than Valroum, that much is for damn sure. Outside of that, I have no idea what I am to expect with him. I think that he will have a good solid base of supporters, but I have no idea if he will actually save the town." Rob said, and I was feeling like we all knew that the idea of saving Wayside was virtually gone at this point.

"What has Valorum done that is so badly, exactly?" Robbie Dan asked, feeling like if multiple people were saying that Valorum is a terrible mayor, then maybe there was some truth to that, and he needed to actually listen to the stories of those who said so. Rob looked at him, as if feeling like that was a loaded question, and that this was not going to be something that could easily be explained.

"The better question is asking us what has Valorum not done wrong? What has Valorum actually done for Wayside that has helped this town? Once you can find me the answer to that, then I feel like this conversation would be much more interesting to have. Until then, I think you are on your own." He said, feeling like he just had to be as honest as possible with this. I was seeing Robbie Dan looking like he was not at all happy with this response.

"Well, I think that maybe the reason you guys feel that way about Valorum is that you guys just hate him so much, that you inherently want to tear him down no matter what happens, even when he does not deserve it, because it is the thing that makes you feel so much better, and so much stronger." Robbie Dan said, and then I was looking right at him, feeling like I just needed to be honest.

"Dude, I think you need to stop pressing him so hard. I think he really means it when he says that this is not meant to be." Stanley said, at this point, sounding like he was trying to save face. "Rob knows who this Valorum guy much more than any of us, and I think that he is being firm and serious when he says that this guy is not the mayor that we deserve." When Stanley finished, he sounded a bit annoyed at these comments.

"Listen to your friend for once. You are treading on thin ice every time you go around and tell me that I am wrong about the things that I have been saying. I understand that it is common for people your age to think that they need to get involved in everything, and that you guys want to know everything. But when I tell you that this is not how things are, you are making a really big mistake not taking my advice." He said, sounding like he was utterly certain that this was the best bet that he had here.

Gabe then walked up, and placed the files down. "Truth be told Rob, I think that you might have to start looking at letting my brothers not continue this job any longer. You know, I feel like Todd Jr. doesn't really have his heart in the job as much as he used to. He seems to be far more focused on his personal values than anything else. You know, rather than his job, which used to be one of his biggest values of pride." Gabe said, and I was wondering if he was trying to throw Todd under the bus, or if he was genuinely meaning this, and he was trying to give Todd a sort of outing in order to not have to worry about these things any longer.

"That man still provides me a ton of updates on his job, and he actually gets his job done. There is no way that I am going to stop letting him work with us because some people do not appreciate what he has done. I need to have more concrete proof that this is my direction that I need to go before I even consider doing something like this." Rob said, and then he was looking right at Gabe trying to decide what he was really going to say now.

"What is making you think that your brother will not be doing the job for me? Why would you try and throw him under the bus for literally no reason after everything that he has been able to provide for you?" He said, and then Gabe was feeling like he needed to try and make the point in a more clear and concise way.

"Well, I tried and talk to him earlier. He seemed like he was actually scared of things here. He said that he was scared of how much has changed in the last six years. You know, since Ridge was born. I think that he is really worried that most of the people here will not be able to successfully handle the stresses of this towns business. I think that he is scared that sooner or later, everything will be open to the public, and when it is, people will leave this town…" Gabe said, and then with that, he felt like he needed to give the last part.

"He was also seeming to be scared of what would happen to Bebe. You know, since Bebe is still young enough, and he is worried that something will be happening to her soon. He tells me that he shows up to her room every night, just to make sure that she is safe, and that one day, when something happens to her, that he is worried he might kill himself or something…" Gabe said, looking right at Rob, feeling like he just needed to no longer hide around the bush, and be honest on where this was heading.

"With all due respect to all four of you, I must get back to my job I do not have all night to hang around, and try to tell you guys why my companies direction is much better than you are giving it credit for. When you guys are willing to listen to me as mature adults, I will be more than happy to talk to you guys. But until then, I have no interest in having this discussion right now." Rob said, feeling the need to push this conversation along and stop letting this go on for too long.

"I am going to be having a call with the president in five hours from now. I need to get myself ready for that call. I am trying to find a way to make him see my business proposals, and how it would be best for him to not be focusing on how we are doing our job here…" He said, and then with that, Stanley decided to ask one more question, hoping that it would be answered.

"Is Labyrinth real?" Those three words out of his mouth made all five people in the room feel like they were in a frozen time capsule. I felt like we needed to be way more careful here. Rob was then after nearly ten seconds or utterly nothing, took out a cigar, and he was looking like he was trying to find a way to answer this question, since he was feeling like there was no more point in lying about things that were done.

"Yes. The Labyrinth exists, or at least did exist." He said, feeling like maybe the honesty was enough to get him to shut up about things for the time being. He was then seeing the look on Stanley's face, and I was seeing Stanley looking like he was beyond grateful that for once, he no longer had a fucking lie at all.

"Thank you for being honest. I feel like I had a feeling this whole time. I just wanted to have true confirmation you know, before I said anything. But you never seemed to be super into denying it or anything. So yeah, thank you for being honest with me for once." Stanley said, and then he looked right at Rob, as if hoping that Rob was going to actually take this.

"Just promise me that you are not going to tell anybody this stuff. You know, this is really major information, and telling you this might be incredibly risky, for my own behalf." He said, sounding like he was just beyond over discussing this, and wished that it would fucking end.

"I want to tell everybody this stuff? You know, I feel like that is something that you would fucking deserve. But I feel like people would somehow try and claim that I was taking things way too fucking far…" He said, sounding like he was trying to keep his patience here. He knew deep down inside, that Rob didn't give a single shit. Rob only cared about one thing, which was his own personal preservation.

"But I know that I am not going to win this war, so why even fucking try and win it? Deep down inside, I know that you have this shit on locked. So I might as well just let it happen." He said, sounding like he was finally accepting the fact that this was how things were. I was seeing Stanley looking like he was finally giving up on everything that he thought would have been possible.

"See, that is the smart and mature way for you to handle this stuff. Accept the fact that all is lost, and that you are gaining nothing by looking for this anymore. Now you just need to keep that attitude up for a long period of time, and soon enough it will finally come through." He said, sounding like he was finally making some progress getting through to us, one at a time.

As we left the room, I was feeling upset at myself. Upset at fighting with Gabe, at the fact that he was right about everything. It was true that Rob really did only care about the shit regarding his own business, and nothing else. And we were fucking assholes, and wrong for ever denying him this.

Once we were sitting down at some Italian restaurant that I heard about once earlier, Gabe was looking at us. "The bill will be on me tonight. I do need to get back to my job here. If you want to hang out here for a while, and talk, then go ahead guys. But I feel like you guys have a lot of stuff to discuss and figure out. I like you guys, but you guys need to get your shit together, with all due respect, and I feel like you guys need to stop making so many fucking enemies with the way that your guys attitude is." He said, sounding really upset that he was saying this. But also just more defeated, than he was upset.

We placed in our orders, and Gabe made the payments. He looked at his watch again, and then he took a very deep breath. "Okay, I can spare ten more minutes. After that, I need to fucking go." He said, and sat down, and looked at all three of us. "Look, I appreciate the fact that you guys are well aware of the fact that Rob seems to be blowing shit out of his ass. I appreciate the fact that you are always willing to state your opinions without having anybody tell you that you guys are wrong. But that is not how it fucking works at all. He has all the power in this town, and what he says goes, and the faster that you guys accept that, the faster that things will be better for everybody." He said, sounding like he was actually glad to be saying what was on his mind when it was coming to the Rob Reichenbach thing, and he said the one thing he wanted to say for years, but never had the balls to.

"Sometimes, I wonder if he actually deserved to lose his eye after all, and that this was a sign of what was to come. A sign that this man is a piece of shit who deserves to die a horrible death. I know that people do not like me saying that, but I just needed to say this." When Gabe finished, I was shocked that he said that. Especially since he was usually considered the polite one, and the one who cared about people.

"No, I feel like he didn't deserve to lose his fucking eye. Come the fucking hell on. I feel like we both know that this is going a bit beyond the scope here." Stanley said, feeling a bit annoyed that he was even having to say this in the first place. As if he was now hearing people basically be enabled to be pieces of shit here.

"I know that I might have taken it way too far. But it is just sometimes something that I have been thinking about, when I had been getting way too angry at what's happening here. It feels like people in this town so not want to admit that sometimes bad things just simply happen to bad people." He said, feeling like he just needed to be straight up as he made this burn.

After a moment, Gabe saw that his ten minutes were up, and then he headed out without even so much as a goodbye. Stanley, Robbie Dan, and I were all sitting there, not exactly sure what we were even supposed to say. I was feeling very scared of what was happening, and I was scared of what Robbie Dan was going to do once he was seeing that some of my siblings were giving him ammunition to believe that what was happening in this town was going too far, and I was scared that he would just run with this.

"Do you think that Gabe is secretly giving us his endorsement to figuring this out after all?" Robbie Dan said, sounding like he was hoping that this answer would be yes. I sighed, since I had no idea what the hell I was even sure what the hell I was would tell him. I mean, I was a six year old kid. But I was still sure that Gabe did not really want us to do this. But I was sure that he hated this answer the least, and he hated us the least out of everybody here.

"I think Gabe is more so just admitting that he hates working with us less than he hates dealing with Rob lying to everybody. And to be honest, I agree." I said, or as close to that as I could when I was six years old. Robbie sighed, as if feeling like this was fair enough. Not exactly something that he was in love with, but it was something that he accepted for what it was, and he wanted to just pull through.

"I wonder if I can fucking find Gabe, and try and talk to him once more. Maybe he would be willing to listen to me if I spoke some sense into that asshole one on one. And I can get him to see that working with me is a genuinely good option." As Robbie Dan said this, Stanley and Robbie Dan both got a giant calzone. While I ended up just getting a fucking pepperoni and sausage pizza that was very basic. But to be fair, at my age, that was still more than enough to hold me over for the time being.

"Also the stuff with him bringing in Todd Jr. was fucking random. Like honestly, what was he trying to accomplish there? I feel like without any real explanation, that whole thing was just so fucking strange." Robbie Dan said, sounding a bit confused what that was even for. I was slowly nodding at this, since to be honest, I did actually agree with him, and I was wondering what Gabe thought he was doing there.

"I wonder if Bebe is trying to get him out of the business, and that is what she was talking about. I don't know, I have a hard time understanding that as well. I mean, I suppose that this just shows that Gabe does care about Todd's safety, but it was just so fucking strange the whole way that was set up." Stanley said, and I was looking at him, wondering what exactly he was meaning when he was saying this business. I was afraid of what else Rob had said when we were talking with him.

"Plus, he said Labyrinth is real." I said, remembering that the most of all. That was the main thing that scared me. Him admitting that Labyrinth was real, and nobody seemed to give a single shit what this was meaning. I was feeling like the fact that Stanley and Robbie Dan did not even get angry when they heard this, was a sign that deep down they had known it was true, and were just making peace with it."

"Sadly, I had a feeling that something like this would happen. You know, I was going to be more upset if he was going to try and claim that Labyrinth was not real. At least with him saying that it is, he is no longer denying it, or trying to make me sound like an idiot for telling him something where the fucking writing is on the god damn wall." Robbie Dan said, and I was feeling like he had been taking this way better than I had ever intended to.

"Are you saying you want that thing to be real?" Stanley asked, and then Robbie Dan looked at him, annoyed that this was the conclusion that he was coming to, and was looking at this rather irresponsibly here. But I was seeing from the look on both their faces that they both understood that Stanley spoke out of line, and I was seeing Stanley looking like he was already trying to find a way that he could try and save face here.

"I never said those words. I am just saying that with it being real, I am glad that he straight up mentioned it without brushing the whole thing off. At least with him saying that it is real, in any degree, he is acknowledging that we already knew what was on his mind." Robbie Dan said, and then he was taking a long and deep breath.

"If you ask me, I feel like it is only a matter of time before Bebe becomes a victim to this business, and when it happens, I'm not even sure if I will be angry. I feel like I would just be expecting it too much to even be fucking angry anymore. Part of me would be wondering why it took it that long to even happen, if I am being honest." He said, feeling like he just needed to be honest with what was happening with him here.

"I mean, I would hate it more than anything in the world, trust me, if anything happened with Bebe. But the thing I also hate the most is the fact that with every year, I start to think more and more that she is fucking safe." Robbie Dan said, and then he was already half way through his calzone, which I was shocked at how quickly he was already eating this up.

"Look, I think that Bebe will be fine. She's twenty four now. She has settled down. If anything were to happen to her, I think that most people would notice…" Stanley said, sounding very hopeful that this would be true. He was sounding like he was more so trying to convince himself than he was trying to convince Robbie Dan. "I mean, I am more worried about something happening with Lydia and everything. If anything were to happen to her, then I have no idea how either of us will be able to handle this." Stanley admitted, feeling like he just needed to be straight up there, and not beat around the bush.

"If Lydia were to go missing or die or anything, then I will be going in there, and I will be ruining Rob's life, and I would be making sure that he regretted anything that he has ever done for this company. I would make sure that he would never have a chance to continue his company." He said, sounding like he was just annoyed at the fact that he was even explaining this in the first place.

"I will want to help you. But are you sure that doing so would be a very practical move? If you do that, then everybody you personally cared for would have their life made into utter fucking hell. I think that you need to be careful with what you fucking wish for." Stanley said, sounding like he was getting more and more franctic as he kept talking, as if he was scared where this could be going here.

"I don't fucking care what happens to being smart or not. By that point, I will full on be on revenge. And revenge will come, even if I have to die in the process." Stanley said, sounding so utterly confident in what he was saying, that he was sounding like he had hoped that nobody would miss the point.

"Okay, if that is the case, and we are going out of our way to throw caution in the wind, then I guess that we really do not have anything to lose anymore." Stanley said, and then he looked at me, as if wondering how I would be reacting to any of this.

"Robbie, I think that if Lydia knows how much you are pushing your safety here, she would not want anything to do with any of us anymore. I think she would basically abandon all of out a second thought. And I suppose that I can't really blame her here." He said, sounding like he was just feeling a bit depressed for Lydia, knowing that Robbie Dan truly did not care about anyone or anything else besides his safety.

"I don't care about my safety. I haven't cared about my safety in years. Ever since I met Lydia, and started to hang out with you guys, I decided that you were all more important than me." Robbie Dan said, and the television was playing, and sitting down was Rhett, rubbing his beard for a second, as if trying to decide what he was wanting to say to the reporter.

"If I must be frank, and I feel like I do, then I will tell you that I feel like the biggest issue we all have in our general lives these days is a general lack of unity here. People are too scared to admit that they aren't really looking out for what is best for the town, and only looking out for what is best for themselves. Surely you must see something like that, with how everybody is here. Two years ago, I thought that I was ready to start a family. I didn't care that I was only nineteen years old at the time. I felt like I had gone through enough in my life to justify a family. I was wrong, and I admit that I was way over my head. But unlike many people, I at least can admit that I was wrong about myself." He said, feeling like he just needed to be utterly real here.

"There is very little real power that people contain here. We are all stuck here, stuck in a never ending state of confusion and anger. I feel like that is a fact of life that many people here do not want to hear. My father told me that I was only caring about my mothers case, and he was telling me that I needed to stop being so selfish here. I thought that he was just simply trying to sound better than me. I realized over time though, that he was right, and that I needed to start caring about other people, and other things." Rhett said, and then the reporter looked a bit unsure what to tell him.

"What happened with your mom was six years ago. Do you still feel that on your mind, or have you been able to fucking move forward? Many people that I know have come forward, and told me that they were worried about you, and worried that you might not be handling yourself very well." The reporter said, and Rhett shrugged, sounding like he just didn't even care.

"Depends on the day. I will say that I don't actively look into it as much as I used to. That I have moved on from. There is just no value in doing something like that when all it does is just get you set up to be in danger of fucking dying too. And I feel like this isn't fucking worth it. The other cases that I work through are already miserable enough. You know, you have no idea how hard it is to work on cases where you are finally finding out what happened to a girl who went missing forty years ago. Or a man who got fucking beheaded in the fucking sixties. God, even two years later, I still had a hard time with that case." Rhett said, sounding like he just had to not think too hard about that one.

"Rhett, you did eventually find out the truth though, and I think that is the thing that matters the most. You had a hard time with it earlier, but you figured it out, and I think that is the most important thing somebody can do. You need to be proud of yourself for finally making the difference you wanted." The reporter told him, trying his best to make Rhett feel better here. But the look on Rhett's face was clearly still not looking too sure. He was still looking a bit lost here.

"I did find out the truth because nobody else was going to, and that man had been dead for so long that I feel like the vast majority of Wayside probably has forgotten he even exists to begin with. And I would not fucking blame them if they have. The thing that I don't fucking blame them for is once the truth was revealed, they decided to not spend any further time looking for it, and trying to find out how they can make sure the issue doesn't spread any further. That is where my issue truly begins." He said, sounding mildly annoyed at the fact that he was even having to explain this to begin with.

"Truth be told, I think that this city, like Lars Needlemeyer has said for many years now, is a new mayor, and a strong mayor. One who will not let this tragedy continue. And I have a feeling that when 2028 rolls around, the town needs to seriously consider the idea of following through with electing Lars Needlemeyer to the office. I feel like not doing so would be the biggest mistake that Wayside could possibly make.

"Do you think that Lars Needelemyer even wants to run? The dude is a forty two year old man who has been running as a renegade his entire adult life. That is half the appeal to him." The reporter said, feeling like Rhett suggesting this was a prime example of Rhett just simply not understanding what Lars is like, and Rhett seemed like he was happy to give some new information.

"Lars has expressed potential interest in the idea of putting up a run for mayor. If he has expressed interest in doing it now, then that just shows that he should probably fucking do it. I know that if he did it, he would have my vote. This goes beyond Republican or Democrat. When somebody is just the best man for the job, you need to let him take the oath of office, and do the best that he can to make things better." Rhett said, and the reporter looked like they were impressed with what Rhett had been saying. Impressed that Rhett knew to put individual politics aside and look at the bigger picture.

"If you think that he is the best candidate for mayor, do you think that you will tell the others to vote for him as well? For a young enough guy, you have a lot of influence on Wayside, and I think some people would be willing to listen to you, and your statements." He said, hoping that Rhett would listen to him, and actually not fight him here.

"He is the best candidate for mayor because he is the only one that seems to have a understanding that preserving democracy beyond all else is the most important thing that Wayside can fucking focus on. And to be honest, I think that Lars has voiced the concerns many of us have, which is that before too long, our Republic not only will be a shadow of what it once was, but completely shattered as well." He said, hoping that by expressing his feelings on the matter, people would listen to him.

"What makes Lars think that Democracy in Wayside is on the verge of ending?" He asked, not even trying to be a smart ass. He sounded like he was genuinely scared of this question, and he was sounding like he was genuinely hoping that he would get Rhett to enlighten us.

"You will see soon enough how these things are. You might not see them yet, but you will." Rhett said, sounding like he was hoping that this would be all there was to this. "But for now, all that I want to leave this interview on is that I believe that you should go out there and vote when the election comes up in two years. It might seem like it is a long way off from now, but the truth is that it will be coming up before you fucking know it. And I will make sure to instill that value to my friend Josiah when the time comes."

I then looked at Robbie Dan. I was becoming increasingly scared of how much this statement was becoming a main mantra that people like Lars had. Even two years later, at just six years old, that was one of the main first memories I had. Lars looking right at Robbie Dan, and explaining that since our republic is not what it once was, we are a shadow of what we can be.

"I think that if Lars is going to genuinely try and save democracy, then I suppose that Lars might technically be the best man for the job. Doesn't mean that I have to fucking like him." Robbie Dan said, but he was very quickly dropping the act, and seemed like he was accepting this for what it was.

"But to be honest, I just feel like no matter what happens, I have a bad problem with just never letting go of my own biases. I mean, he seems like a guy who is genuinely trying to do his best here. And I like him for that reason, but I feel like when I see him, the main thing is that he is trying to bite off more than he can chew." He said, sounding like he was well aware how wrong that was.

Robbie Dan looked down, seeing he had finished the calzone, and I was seeing that he was proud of how he had been able to finish this whole thing without any real problems. As if this was something that he had never fucking done before, and he was trying to break through and finally do it once. I was laughing when I saw that, because now I saw him actually showing some happiness here. And I was glad to see that he was no longer just super tense.