Play "Falling" by Cryoshell
Instrumental
The screen starts off black. One by one, spotlights come on, revealing the three Rangers looking at the ground. They then lift their heads as the title Power Rangers: Paleo Force shatters through the remaining darkness above them.
Lights out.
Duncan, Brody, and Cooper stand together at the generic quarry, looking at their Zords and smiling.
No one's here.
Kenny is working on a circuit board with a robotic hand sitting on his desk. He grins as he taps the circuit board with a stylus, making the hand twitch.
Hear the silence.
Jane and Brody are together at the hospital, Jane bandaging Brody's leg.
Scent of fear.
All the heroic characters look up to the sky.
You start running.
The view moves up into space, where we see our main villains in their spaceship, followed by a close-up of each of them.
With mistrusting and skeptical eyes.
We get a shot of Cooper, Duncan, and Brody staring down an army of Shadows.
Are you haunted?
The three look at each other before nodding.
I call out.
One by one, they take fighting stances as they ready their morphers.
I'm counting on you.
The screen cuts to black.
Falling.
All three Rangers charge in slow motion as an explosion goes off in the background.
Is this the end of the line, and can we make it in time?
In a rotating shot, Brody slashes Shadows with his Carnage Sword, Cooper shoots them with his cannon, and Duncan blasts enemies with his Switch-Gun.
Falling.
CJ extends her arm, directing her Zords to charge forward.
My world is spinning around. I'm crashing into the ground.
Calios descends from space like a comet and, after landing, steps forward, slowly drawing his sword.
Falling.
Moses folds his arms as three silhouetted figures gather on either side of him.
Now I need you to see it's up to you and me.
The Paleo Force Megazord shifts into sword-and-shield mode. It slashes a monster, then uses its Cryo Slash on it, making it explode.
I'm counting on you.
Consecutive shots of Cooper doing a Ranger Punch, Duncan doing a Ranger Slash, and Brody doing a Ranger Kick at the screen.
Cut to the end of the song as the music fades out.
The Rangers stand confidently in front of their respective Zords, who roar behind them as the screen fades to black again.
Chapter 19
"So, you've got a different idea this time?" Calios asked.
"I do, my lord," Factoraze replied. He gestured behind him, where Moses was holding what looked like a muzzled golden retriever on a leash.
While the robot didn't have a proper face and wasn't capable of emoting, Calios got the feeling he was grinning on the inside. "Do it, Lensia."
The faceless witch walked over and began kicking the dog.
"Well, this is entertaining and all, but is there a point to it?" Calios asked.
Factoraze chuckled. "Just wait for it."
The dog growled and, after one too many kicks, began mutating. Its fur turned black, its head split into three, and it tripled in size.
"I'll kill everything!" it shouted, its barks morphing into a gravelly human voice. "I'll kill you!"
"Oooh, now I'm really interested!" Calios clapped his hands. "Send it out! Send it out already!"
"With pleasure, my lord." Factoraze lifted his cannon arm and fired a few shots at the hellhound monster, corralling it toward a launch tube, which it just barely fit in.
Moses hit the button and sent it flying towards Earth.
Several passersby raised their eyebrows as Duncan walked around with a dumbass smile on his face. He had gotten stoned out of his mind once again and randomly decided to go on a walk. The ginger teen had lost track of where the hell he even was, but he didn't care.
"Watch where you're going, idiot!" said a passing stranger after narrowly avoiding a collision.
Duncan just kept smiling. "Much obliged."
The guy scoffed and left, leaving Duncan to resume enjoying his day. Unfortunately, his good times were cut short once again by something big crash-landing thirty feet away.
Out of the crater came a three-headed hellhound the size of a man. "Dead! You're all dead!"
"I'm gonna need a few more of these before I'm ready to deal with this," Duncan said, lighting up a couple more joints all at once.
The hellhound singled him out and lunged at him, causing him to fumble his handful of joints. Luckily, his brother dove in from the side and pushed him out of harm's way.
"What would you do without me?" Brody sighed.
"I'd keep getting high," Duncan smiled.
"That was rhetorical!" Brody yelled as he morphed. He drew his Switch-Gun and began firing at the beast.
The hellhound flinched at the attack. "Stop it. STOP IT!"
"Stop it?" Brody repeated. "That's a new one." His surprise turned to dismay when the monster lunged at him again. "Shit!"
Duncan, in the meantime, knelt down to collect his joints.
Seeing his brother was going to be no help, Brody called for the Cryolophosaurs. The Power Rangers' mounts arrived quickly on the scene and leapt onto the hellhound like lions swarming a buffalo.
"Stop! Hurting! ME!" the hound roared and rolled over, crushing the Cryos under his bulk.
Duncan just sat on the sidewalk and watched the scene, somehow still failing to grasp that it was serious. He heard footsteps behind him and smiled when he saw Cooper approaching. The Scotsman lifted Duncan to his feet and slapped him across the face.
"That wake you up a bit?"
"Yeah, a little," Duncan said as he and his teammate morphed. The two Rangers used their respective blasters to fire a combined beam of water and ice.
The hellhound initially recoiled from the force of the blast, but as the seconds crept by, he steeled himself, despite the Rangers not letting up.
"I…will…EAT YOU ALL!" he shouted as he lunged through the blast.
Cooper dove to the side immediately, but Duncan took the time to pull out the joints he hadn't finished and throw them into one of the hellhound's gnashing maws before jumping out of the way as well. "Eat that!" he taunted.
"Alright, guys! Let's finish…this?" Brody ordered before trailing off, confused.
It seemed Duncan's weed was having an effect. The hellhound's movements almost instantly became sluggish, the beast stumbling under the weight of itself. Before the Rangers' eyes, it began shrinking, its three heads fusing into one and its black fur turning yellow.
"Well, I'll be damned," Cooper said. What once had been a three-headed hellhound was now a friendly looking golden retriever.
"What was that stuff?" the dog asked. "It makes me feel awesome."
Duncan walked over and knelt down to pat the dog on the head. "There's more where that came from, my man."
The dog closed his eyes happily as Duncan scratched him behind the ears. "I think you're the first person who's ever stopped trying to hurt me."
"Really? Sounds like you've gone through a lot." Duncan guided the dog along with him. "Come on. Walk with me, talk with me."
As the two walked away, Brody asked, "Did he just stop a monster with weed?"
"It sure looks that way, lad," Cooper said.
Brody nodded. "Okay. Just wanted to be sure I saw that right."
"So, those guys who make monsters tortured you?" Duncan summarized. The dog nodded. "Huh, no wonder you were so paranoid about getting hurt."
"It was terrible," the dog muttered as they walked.
Duncan frowned but his expression brightened a bit as they got to his house. "Well, welcome to mi casa."
The dog gave his place a once-over. "Is that an Earth word for house?"
"Sure is," Duncan said, escorting his new acquaintance inside. "So, you got a name?"
"No." The dog hung his head.
"I could give you one, if you want," Duncan offered, lighting up a couple of joints as he sat on the couch. "On Earth, humans give dogs names all the time. Hey, want one of these?" The dog nodded eagerly, so Duncan placed a joint in his mouth. "Hm, what'd be a good name? How about Kevin?"
"No, thank you," the dog said.
Duncan pouted and kept thinking. "Okay… How about Fido or something?"
That made the dog perk up. "That's it. Fido or something! That can be my name!"
"Uh, that's not what I—" Duncan paused before shrugging. "Eh, whatever works for you."
At that moment, Brody walked through the door. "Well, you two seem to be getting along."
Fido or something hopped onto the couch alongside Duncan and rested his head on the boy's lap. Duncan smiled as he pet his new friend's head. "I gave him a name and now we're having some weed. Wanna join us?"
"Yeah, no," Brody deadpanned. He pulled out his phone and began dialing, "Since we don't know much about caring for dogs, I'm gonna call Kenny. I remember him saying he used to have a dog."
"You do that," the two stoners said in unison.
Kenny arrived in no time with G1 in tow. Unfortunately, this made Fido or something panic.
"What is that?! Did Calios send it? I won't let you take me!"
Duncan wrapped an arm around the dog, whose eyes were glowing red. "Heyheyhey! Easy, easy. Our friend built that thing. It's friendly."
That made Fido or something calm down a bit, though he still looked suspicious. "Really?"
Kenny coaxed G1 forward. "Introduce yourself."
The wiry, skeletal robot stepped forward and held out a hand for the dog to sniff. "I'm G1. Nice to meet you."
Fido or something tilted his head. "That name isn't funny enough for Calios's standards. You really aren't with him. You or that squinty-eyed human over there."
"Racist," Kenny deadpanned.
"Wait, who's Calios?" Brody asked.
"He just told you," Kenny said. "He's the one making up all those corny names."
Duncan loosened his grip on the dog as his eyes widened a bit. "That's right. My little buddy here was made by the bad guys, so he actually knows who they are."
"Really? That's great. We can finally find out who's been sending all those monsters," Brody grinned. "What do you know about them?"
That made Fido or something cower. "I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Just please don't hurt me!"
Brody held up his hands to show he meant no harm. "Whoa, I wasn't gonna force you."
Fido or something calmed down a bit. "Okay then, I'll tell you. The leader is a silver knight named Calios. As you might guess, he's stronger than any of his subordinates."
"His subordinates being…?" Kenny prompted.
"He's got three top henchmen. The first one is Moses the Mosasaurus. He's—"
"One second," Brody held up a finger while typing into his phone. "I'm looking up what a Mosasaurus is." A few more clicks and he found his answer. "Hey, I've seen that before. That camera monster turned into him when we fought."
"Well, he is…quite scary." The dog quickly moved on. "Anyway, next is Lensia, a powerful witch. She uses her power to make Calios's monsters grow."
"Huh, so she's the one who does that," Duncan thought aloud.
"She is. Then there's Factoraze, a three-armed robot who's responsible for making Calios's monsters," Fido or something finished. "He made me, too."
Duncan gasped. "Hey, I know that guy! He shot up our Cryos a while back!" Just as quickly, he calmed down. "Eh, we'll get him eventually."
G1 leaned close to Kenny and whispered in his ear.
"I just remembered why I came here," the boy said. He pointed at Duncan. "You should walk that dog at least a couple of times a day."
Duncan got up and stretched, as if they hadn't just uncovered the identities of their mortal enemies. "Whatever you say." He gestured for Fido or something to follow him. "Come on, little buddy." The dog hopped off the couch and followed him out the door.
Once they left, Brody pretended to sniffle. "He's learning a bit of responsibility. I'm so proud of him."
Kenny laughed. Brody watched from the doorway as his brother and the ex-hellhound went further down the street. Then, unconsciously, he glanced up at the sky.
As the duo walked, Duncan whispered, "Try not to say anything. Dogs don't talk here. People might freak out."
"Okay," Fido or something whispered back. Along the way, the various sights of his new friend's town filled him with awe. There were small stores and a public park, which Duncan happily took him to.
"Here's a game dogs love," Duncan said, picking up a stick and throwing it. "Fetch, boy!"
Fido or something ran and grabbed the stick, bringing it back to Duncan and dropping it at his feet. "That was…fun. Really fun!"
That made Duncan smile as he threw the stick again. This went on for a little while before they decided to move on. While Fido or something was taking in the sights, he stopped focusing on where he was going and walked into a stranger, causing the guy to trip and fall.
The man was less than pleased, especially when he saw Duncan. "You again!"
Duncan raised an eyebrow. "Uh, do I know you?"
"You're that idiot who can't watch where he's going," the man growled. "And now your little dog is taking after you. Are you messing with me?"
"Look, I'm sorry, man. I'm not messing with you," Duncan said, trying not to escalate things.
Unfortunately, his attempt at placation did very little. "Just take your fucking dog and go."
That made Fido or something whimper, prompting Duncan to frown. "Look, your problem's with me. Lay off the dog, alright?"
"Or what?" the guy taunted.
Duncan ignored him and began walking away, his dog following close behind.
"Man, that guy needs anger management," he muttered.
"Thanks for sticking up for me," Fido or something whispered.
"Anytime," Duncan whispered back, petting his friend's head.
Once they got home, Duncan saw a couple of new guests. "Jane? Mr. Cooper? What are you guys doing here?"
"Brody told us you guys took in a monster dog," Jane answered. She gasped when she saw the dog in question. "Oh my God! I didn't think he'd be so cute!" She rushed over, knelt down, and petted him.
Fido or something flinched a little at her sudden approach but quietly accepted her pets.
"It's okay, man. She's a friend," Duncan reassured him. "Hey, where's Brody and Kenny?"
Cooper jabbed a thumb toward the kitchen. "They're preparin' some dog food."
"Heh, you talk funny," the dog chuckled.
"So I've been told," Cooper said with a smile.
At that moment, Brody and Kenny came out of the kitchen with a bowl of dog food.
"Dinner is served," Brody declared.
While Fido or something ate, Cooper took his leave. "Well, seeing how you lads have this under control, I'm gonna go get drunk. See ya tomorrow."
Before he left, Kenny quizzed Duncan, "So, you'll take him for a couple walks a day?" Duncan nodded. "Feed him a couple of times a day?" Another nod. Kenny grinned and bowed. "I've taught you well."
Duncan met his grin and returned the bow. "Yes, sensei."
With that, their other friend took his leave. Jane took that as her cue to go. "I'd better get out of here, otherwise I'm gonna snuggle that guy all night."
The boys waved her off before Duncan asked, "You guys wanna watch a movie?"
His brother and new dog nodded, so he put on Hot Fuzz. When the movie was over, Duncan went to his room, where Fido or something hopped up onto the foot of his bed.
"This was such a great day! I can't remember the last time a day went by without someone abusing me."
"Well, it's a good thing you ran into me," Duncan said as he got comfy.
"It is. It is," Fido replied. He let a couple moments pass before asking a question, "Will you keep protecting me?"
"Hell yeah, I will," Duncan answered without hesitation. Wanting to lighten the mood, he changed the subject, "You know, there's this spot in town I go to every once in a while. It's got a beautiful view. Wanna go there and get high sometime soon?"
Fido or something nodded. "That sounds great."
With that, the two began nodding off.
Brody smiled as he peeked into their room before heading off to his own.
"You gotta be kidding me," Calios said, dumbfounded. "They won our monster over so easily with recreational drugs?"
"What do you think we should do about it?" Moses asked.
Calios tented his hands. "I'll tell you what we're gonna do. We're gonna get our piece back on track. CJ, escort Lensia down to the surface. She can use her magic to drive the little pooch mad."
"On it," CJ replied. The evil Ranger and the faceless witch began walking out of the room. "Girls' day out," she said, raising her hand for a high five.
Lensia hesitated for a second but chose to reciprocate.
The next day, Duncan and Fido had breakfast before going on a walk through a busy part of town.
"Wow. We didn't see any of this yesterday," the dog whispered in amazement. "Can I have some weed?"
"Not right now," Duncan whispered back. "I think I might get arrested if I give a dog weed in public."
The teen's good mood was killed when he heard a shout and people began to run past him, their faces fearful. Once enough of them had fled, he saw a familiar half-red, half-black figure standing not too far away.
"Oh, shit," Duncan muttered. He brought his morpher to his face. "Brody, Mr. Cooper, CJ's back. You gotta get over here."
CJ slowly advanced toward the boy and his dog. "Hope you didn't get too attached. We're taking back our little pet."
Duncan glared at her and activated his morpher with a flick of his wrist. "You wish."
Before either Ranger could make a move, a red glow surrounded Fido or something and pulled him away. Fido yelped in surprise, struggling to free himself from the energy field.
"What the hell?" Duncan watched his dog fly over his head and land next to a grey-skinned, faceless being in a witch's outfit.
"Like she said," Lensia agreed. "We're taking—"
Suddenly, she was cut off by G1 putting her in a headlock from behind.
"Sneak attack!" the robot announced.
Lensia gagged a bit before flicking her wrist. G1's arms glowed bright red before falling apart below the elbows. The witch turned around and thrust her hand forward. G1 countered by firing his eye beam. The attack hit her palm, short-circuiting whatever spell she was preparing. She staggered back and fired another spell, this one blocking G1's next beam. Next, she sent an energy shield flying forward, knocking the robot to the ground.
Before she could finish G1 off, Kenny attacked her from the side with a punch to the face. He would've thrown a hundred punches to defend his robot, but he only had time for the one before the witch used her powers to suspend him in midair. Refusing to give an inch, Kenny pulled out a bottle of pepper spray and let it rip. He sprayed and sprayed until the bottle was completely empty. Lensia stood there, unfazed.
"Um, shouldn't that hurt you?" the boy asked.
"I don't have a face, you squinty-eyed moron," Lensia said before throwing him away.
"Raciiiiiist!" Kenny yelled until he hit a wall hard. He slumped down and collapsed.
"Kenny!" Duncan called out as he grappled with CJ. Unfortunately, this distraction allowed her to get him on the ground and put him in an arm bar.
Lensia charged up another spell. "Now for the fun part." She cast a beam at Fido, making him howl in distress. "The nightmares I just projected into your head should drive you through the roof."
Fido or something growled and snarled as his eyes glowed red and his fur turned black. In no time at all, he'd resumed his hellhound form, all three heads growling menacingly.
"Sic 'em, boy!" Lensia joked.
The dog monster howled and leapt at Duncan.
The White Ranger closed his eyes and braced for impact.
"Duncan!" a voice called out. A blue shot of ice energy hit CJ, making her release her grip on him. A green blur streaked forward, grabbing Duncan before the hellhound could land on him. When they'd put some distance between them and the enemies, the blur set Duncan down on the ground. Duncan blinked in surprise, seeing his teammates in front of him, plus Jane.
"Wait, so you guys are here? How come you didn't help Kenny?" Duncan asked.
"He beat us here," Brody explained. "Must have been closer. Speaking of Kenny…" He looked around and saw their friend lying on the ground. "Holy shit. Jane, you go help him. We'll deal with these guys." The girl nodded and ran over to their unconscious friend.
Cooper looked between all their opponents. "Looks like it's three on three."
"Hey, Brody, could you dash home and get some of my joints?" Duncan asked. "We're gonna need 'em to calm Fido down."
The Blue Ranger nodded and used his morpher to shift into his yellow form. He disappeared in a flash and was back in a few seconds flat. "He's your dog. Feeding him is on you," he said, handing a bunch of joints to his brother.
"CJ's probably still holdin' a grudge with me, so I guess I'll be takin' her," Cooper pointed out.
"And that leaves me with the witch," Brody finished. "What fun."
Cooper took to the air and engaged with CJ while Brody blurred out of existence to fight Lensia, leaving Duncan to face down his new pet and friend.
"I might need some extra strength for this," Duncan muttered to himself. "Ground-Type."
The Brown Ranger's first move was to loosen the ground beneath Fido or something's feet, making him sink, before hardening it, trapping him in place. "Sorry about that, boy, but it's for your own good!"
The hellhound just roared and ripped his feet out of the ground before lunging at the teen.
Duncan avoided the attack by burrowing into the ground. The boy and his dog proceeded to engage in a game of whack-a-mole. Duncan kept it going for as long as he could, staying on the defensive. A part of him wanted to fight back but his heart clenched at the thought of causing Fido any pain.
Cooper flew all over, dodging CJ's elemental bullets while responding with his air punches.
"Enough of this crap," CJ growled as she raised her left hand to the sky. This created a large dome of darkness, blinding Cooper.
The Green Ranger simply flew upward to escape. He looked at the dome and quickly came up with a plan.
"I know you're in there somewhere." He flew rapidly in a circle, creating a small tornado. Channeling more of his wind powers, Cooper threw a mighty punch, knocking the tornado toward the dome.
The twister entered the dome and stopped in the center. Cooper's grin faded as the tornado turned a fiery orange. Then the dome disappeared, revealing CJ winding up for a punch. The Red and Black Ranger took her turn in hitting the tornado, returning it to its sender.
"Oh, shit," Cooper muttered as he tried to fly away. Unfortunately, the flame-nado's rim burned his ankle, throwing off his flight and causing him to get sucked in. The flames hurt like hell, but the Scotsman powered through it and summoned his flail. He whipped it out of the twister, the cord wrapping around CJ's waist and dragging her in as well.
Cooper yanked on his flail. "Get over here!"
Before she reached him, CJ split in two.
Switching to his base form, Cooper summoned his Dicraeo-Cannon. The CJ twins fired their elemental beams while Cooper fired his water beam at Flame CJ, unleashing a powerful blast of steam from the tornado wall behind her. This left him open to Dark CJ's beam, but it was worth it in his mind.
All the elements being released destabilized the tornado, causing the three Rangers to fall to the ground as it dispersed.
Cooper grunted as he forced himself to his feet, ignoring the pain.
Dark CJ got up as well, but Flame CJ was struggling to move.
"I knew I just needed to focus on one of you," Cooper grinned under his helmet.
"How can you get up so fast?" Dark CJ wondered aloud, furious that her nemesis was doing so well.
Cooper walked toward them with his guard raised. "Golden rule of boxing, lass. Always be up before the count of ten."
Brody was having a tough time. He figured if Lensia caught him in her magical grip, she could probably crush him like a bug. His only saving grace was the fact that she apparently needed to lock onto him to grab him, so his speed was keeping him safe. He slashed the witch again and again before he realized something was wrong: he was starting to slow down.
"Sucker. While you were running around, I cast a slow-down spell on the area," Lensia growled. She raised a hand, causing Brody to be enveloped in a red aura. "Any last words?"
"Yeah. You look like you got your costume from Spirit Halloween," Brody taunted.
Before Lensia could squeeze him to the point of breaking, someone behind her literally kicked her ass, ruining her focus. "What the?" she turned around to see G1,
Taking the chance to use a one-liner he'd learned, he said "Surprise, motherfucker" and shot her with an eyebeam.
She cast another spell. G1 darted to the left. His right shoulder exploded—but it would've been his head if he hadn't moved. The witch felt a jolt of lightning hit her in the back. Lensia turned to attack Brody, only for G1 to throw a crude roundhouse kick at her side.
Realizing she didn't have a chance while being double-teamed like this, Lensia decided to cut her losses. "CJ, Plan B!" With that, the witch and the evil Ranger teleported away.
While the rest of his friends regrouped, Duncan finally found the chance he was looking for. He emerged from the ground completely and tossed a handful of pre-rolls into Fido's mouth.
The hellhound's movements became less erratic.
"Fido, it's me!" Duncan called out. "I'm your friend!"
The hellhound roared in response, allowing Duncan to toss some more weed into his mouth.
"You feeling better, man?" the Brown Ranger asked.
Fido or something stopped moving and took a deep breath. "I'm scared," he said shakily.
Duncan patted his friend's center head. "I know. I'm here for you, buddy."
Slowly but surely, the hellhound shrank back down to his golden retriever form. "…Thank you."
Duncan knelt down to the dog's level as his teammates walked over to them. "Hey, what do you say we go—"
He was cut off when a bullet of fire pierced his friend's torso from the side. Cooper and Brody gasped. The whole team turned to see that CJ and Lensia hadn't fled the scene after all. They'd just been waiting for them to drop their guard.
"I love a good Plan B," CJ joked.
Fido collapsed into Duncan's arms. "Nonononono," Duncan muttered, cradling him.
"I-I…" Fido couldn't even form a proper sentence before going limp.
"Shit." Brody de-morphed and pulled out his phone. "Jane? How fast can you get back here? We—"
Cooper put a hand on his shoulder. "It's too late, Brody."
Brody looked from his friend to his brother, gritting his teeth. "Fuck," he cursed.
Duncan gently set Fido on the ground and slowly stood up.
"Well, this was fun, but I guess it's time to get going," CJ taunted him. "Lensia, let's go."
The witch raised her hands, enveloping the two of them in an aura. Before they could go anywhere, however, a brown blur tackled CJ, knocking her out of the aura as Lensia teleported away.
CJ gagged. Duncan had his hands clasped tightly around her throat. As he forced her backwards at high speed, her feet eventually tripped up, leaving her on the ground with Duncan on top, still choking her.
As his enemy struggled to get free, the Brown Ranger pinned her right wrist with his left hand to make it harder for her.
Charging up her free hand, CJ hit him in the face with a dark Ranger Punch.
Duncan flinched from the impact, but didn't loosen his grip at all, even as the hits kept coming.
Despite throwing punch after punch, CJ couldn't get Duncan to let go of her. "Shouldn't this be hurting you or something?!" she wheezed.
"You can't hurt me," Duncan droned. "I'm already hurting."
With her vision starting to go dark, CJ called out for help. "Get me out of here!" She was suddenly teleported away, leaving Duncan alone.
Brody and Cooper, who'd now de-morphed as well, caught up with their teammate.
Duncan's shoulders shook, his fists balling with rage. He stood up and faced them for a moment before suddenly tunneling into the ground, leaving the two of them alone.
"…What do we do now?" Brody asked, feeling dejected.
"I'll tell you what we do," Cooper said firmly. He jabbed a thumb behind him in Fido's direction. "I'm gonna give that dog a proper burial." He pointed at Brody. "And you're gonna go look for your brother."
Brody nodded and ran off.
"Come on, man, where are you?" Brody asked under his breath. He'd checked everywhere in their house, and Duncan was nowhere to be found. His brother was generally an indoor guy, so he wasn't sure where else to look. Naturally, he wasn't picking up his calls either.
"Where else could he—" He stopped when he remembered one other place to check.
Ten minutes of jogging later saw him approaching a small, grassy hill.
A head of red hair nearby confirmed his suspicions. Duncan was just sitting there, legs curled up halfway with his forearms resting on his knees. He had some bruises forming on his right cheek, but they didn't seem to bother him.
Play "Grass" by Silent Partner
Brody walked over and sat down next to his brother, not quite sure what to say. He pulled a leftover joint out of his pocket. "You, uh, want some weed?"
"I'm not in the mood."
That made Brody's eyes widen. Duncan never passed up a chance to smoke. This was even worse than he thought.
"I said I'd protect him," Duncan followed up.
"You did your best," Brody said. "You were there for him when he was scared. You calmed him down when he went nuts. Twice."
Duncan said nothing, so Brody went on, "Hey, you may have only known him for a day, but you were a good friend to him. I know that and you know that. And we both know he'd agree."
"…Thanks, man. Thanks." Duncan leaned forward, letting his head hang.
Brody leaned over and got his brother in a side hug, and the two of them simply sat there for a while.