Chapter 17: Last Things

Sometime before Spring Break ended

General Gilbert was in some room somewhere with two suited individuals. One was a man, the other was a woman. Both of them looked very unhappy, as they stared directly at the general. General Gilbert meanwhile was shaking like a leaf, very likely scared of what was about to happen after explaining how he escaped from the police, while leaving his crew behind.

The woman slammed her hands down onto the table. "You idiot!" she shouted towards Gilbert, "You let your crew get taken, putting everyone here at risk!" "And what if one of them slips up?!" also shouted the man, "You realize the potential danger everyone in this establishment could be in, right?! And when our boss finds out you let Ebenezer, Rachel, and Lorenzo die, on top of letting your crew get taken, you are royally screwed..."

"I've heard enough," said a voice. It was a man who wore a white suit, while his face had a some scars. The suited man and woman stopped talking, while General Gilbert shaked even more now. "I want you two to stand by the door and block it," he said, "I'll talk with this disgraceful bastard."

The man was at least 7 feet tall, making him quite the giant compared to the suited people who obviously worked for him and General Gilbert. He approached the shaking General, standing right behind him. "As Mr. Wallace and Ms. Diana were saying," the man continued, as he paced around, "You let Mr. Boozoo and his friends Mister and Missus Waterman die. Now your crew is locked up, likely wondering why their general didn't help them. And what if one of them starts talking? You realize the potential danger everyone could be in if they find our wearabouts, right?"

General Gilbert was still shaking like mad. "I understand," he said, "But please, you have to let me explain! We got ambushed by police before we could meet up with those we were supposed to protect! Then some kid burned one of their supposed belongings, then out came dead looking folks, then demon arms, and we panicked, but we didn't know Boozoo and the Watermans died!" "The only reason they died was because you didn't do your job," said the man, "I heard everything that happened, thanks to an ongoing investigation I have got word of. The moment that kid took out that lighter, you and your crew should have acted."

The man then sat down in one of the chairs. "They were some of my most loyal customers," he said, "I had to climb from my ivory tower and set my work aside when I heard the news. It was very tragic to know they couldn't have a proper ending to their 25 plus year long legacy. All because you as a general, couldn't do ONE job. Now 3 of our customers are dead, your men are in jail, and the entire existance of Underworld Services could be in shambles if anything big is said about us."

General Gilbert continued to shake like a leaf. "I admit my errors, okay?" he said, "It wasn't right what I did! But others have made mistakes here!" "Except it was minor mistakes and mistakes that didn't put everyone here in jeopardy," the man said, "You have failed me for the last time Gilbert."

The general had a bad idea of what was about to happen next. He ran for the door that was still blocked off by the suited people, but they shoved him back to the point of where he fell. "NO! PLEASE!" General Gilbert pleaded as he got up. However, the suited man and woman didn't budge. The man in the white suit meanwhile got up from the chairs and walked behind General Gilbert. Gilbert himself heard the footsteps and turned around to see his boss towering over him. "You can't make an omelette, without cracking a few eggs," the white suited man ominously stated.

He then grabbed General Gilbert by his face as the general began to yell and scream in pain, unable to escape his grasp. His face got scratched up as the suited man growled, reminiscent to what Rachel did to Paxton. The snap of a neck was heard, and now the former general layed dead on the ground.

The white suited man stared at what he had done to Gilbert, "It was time for that problematic general to go. Take him away..."

The weekend after Spring Break

Tammy, Duckie, Sammy, Jay, Dino, Paco, and Ralph were watching some kind of action adventure movie at the Brighton movie theater. It was during the final fight scene between the hero and the villain. Everyone was enjoying the movie, even Ralph by surprise. Duckie had some bandages on him, as he still needed some time to fully heal. Regardless, all the kids enjoyed it, as did everyone else in the theater.

When it was over, they exited the theater as the night sky showed. They all decided to walk home. "For once, a movie that I could sit through," said Ralph. "Sit through!" repeated Dino. "Yeah, that was actually good," said Paco. "It was good hanging out with you guys," said Jay, "We'll see you guys again soon!" "See you again soon!" said Sammy. "See ya!" added Tammy. "Have a good night!" also added Duckie.

The Brighton and Nash-Lake kids then split up from each other to go home. The 7 of them had stayed quite busy throughout the day, mostly wanting to make up for the time they lost during Spring Break the week prior. Luckily, they did quite a bit to make up for it throughout the weekend.

The Nash-Lake kids were making their way to the town line. "You know, befriending Sammy's sister and her sister's friend wasn't a bad idea after the whole finding the criminals thing," said Paco, "Sure, they are at least 3 or 4 years older than us, but I like them." "Kind of weird, but I can't complain either," said Ralph. "You'll get used to them Ralph," said Jay. "Used to!" repeated Dino.

Back with the Brighton kids, they were approaching Duckie's house. "Welp, we're here," said Sammy. "Well, I'll see you again soon Sammy," said Duckie, "I'll see you at school tomorrow Tammy!" "I'll see you at school tomorrow too Duckie!" said Tammy, and without Duckie expecting it, she hugged him, "It's good you turned out fine dude..." Duckie was surprised by the sudden hug, but he understood why too. "I'm happy I turned out fine too," he said. Sammy was doing her best not to make any jokes.

With that, Duckie went into his house and both Tammy and Sammy walked back home. "I wanted to joke so badly, but I kept my mouth shut," said Sammy. "Good! The jokes about me and Duckie being a couple are getting old," said Tammy. "But seriously, how has Duckie been since what happened last weekend?" Sammy asked. "He's been himself despite his injuries," Tammy replied, "Doctor said it will take some time for him to fully recover."

Tammy and Sammy continued walking down the streets back home. Since the fundraiser money was returned to the owners and there was officially no more panic, it seemed odd for the town to be this quiet after being used to what was going on for as long as it had been. It was much needed though. Anything was better than what happened over the break.

"I just want to thank you for introducing me and Duckie to your friends," said Tammy, "After getting to know them, I think they're good kids. I think it was a good idea to stay in contact with them after the whole fundraiser thing." "Oh yeah, nothing wrong with making new friends," said Sammy, "Not to say you guys don't have friends, you have Johnny and Jessie, but you know." "Yeah," said Tammy, "I also have to be real with you about something." This got Sammy's attention, "What is it?"

Tammy took a deep breath, "You know what happened to Duckie, right?" "I do," said Sammy, "It sounded really bad." "I felt my heart crumble when I saw what happened," explained Tammy, "You don't have a clue how grateful I was when I found out he was alright. When I thought I lost him, it made me feel like I lost a huge part of my life. We do stuff together all the time, we are practically inseparable." "I know," said Sammy, "He was lucky to only get cuts and bruises." "It was through this experience I realized something," said Tammy, "You were right."

Sammy didn't understand, "What are you talking about?" "You know," explained Tammy, "The things you've said." "Where are you getting at?" "Ain't it obvious? The things you always say about me and Duckie." "Why are you telling me this?" "Because I like Duckie!"

Sammy looked at Tammy as they were both stopped momentarily. "I knew it! I just KNEW it!" said Sammy. "Don't get any funny ideas Sammy!" said Tammy sternly. "No no no, you got it all wrong Tammy!" Sammy explained, "I just suspected it for a long time was all. How long have you liked him for?" "I told you, I started to LIKE like him after I almost lost him," Tammy replied.

Sammy of course, being as young as she was, despite her cheekiness, and being somewhat smart in her own right, could hardly believe her ears. She had made jokes about it in the past, but that was the thing, it was mostly jokes. Hearing Tammy admit that was the thing she least expected.

"So when are going to tell him?" Sammy asked. "Not right now," replied Tammy. "But Tammy, you don't want to lose your chance!" Sammy insisted. "I won't lose my chance Sammy," replied Tammy again, "Okay, I can't say THAT. But Duckie will know one day, just now is not the time."

The two approached their house. "So does this mean I can secretly joke but also not joke?" asked Sammy. "What kind of cheap and basic question is that?" Tammy asked. "Eh, nothing," Sammy smirked. "Yeah, that's what I thought!" Tammy said, half joking.

The two then went through the front door of their home, ending a very eventful weekend. Between Spring Break till now, a lot had happened. New friends were made, and new feelings were discovered. During that time, 2 very VERY bad people who went by the names Lorenzo and Rachel Waterman were taken down, as well as their ringleader Ebenezer Boozoo Sr, who obviously turned out to be an even worse individual than anyone originally believed. Despite all of what transpired, if it hadn't been for the kids or the police departments, Rachel, Lorenzo, and Boozoo would have likely gotten away.

While this story may be over, there's still plenty of more tales to tell...

THE END!

Special Thanks to my friend DenouncingWhalesofVenice for co-writing the story. He was the one responsible for Tammy's dad's personality and Tammy's sister's name.

Lots of inspiration was taken from various sources to make this story happen! Ranging from remakes, to TWF itself, to ROTPR, etc.

In case anyone is wondering why Rex, Porter, and Angelo are absent, it was a mix of factors. The biggest factors being the name reveals in ROTPR and me just not being able to find a spot for them in the story or the future. Luckily for Johnny and Jessie, they will stick around as I have found short roles for them in this story and possibly in the future.

I also want to announce a spin-off series to continue on my AU of TWF/TMH. After finding out on Discord I had a little following, I decided to continue on my AU with this story and other projects to come in the future. The name of this spin-off series will be called Tales From Nash-Lake. Obviously, staring Jay, Dino, Paco, and Ralph, while also occasionally bringing in Duckie, Tammy, Johnny, Jessie, Sammy, etc.

It's not entirely certain when this series will start, but at some point this year is a guarantee. There were some projects that weren't related to this that I originally planned to work on before Tales From Nash-Lake, but due to complications, it might be put on hold. So who knows, maybe the series will start sooner than expected.

To those who have read, I hope you liked this story! If you haven't read the Duckie and Tammy series I produced 2 years ago, give it a read to understand this better. And if you already have, I'm sure you understand things. Stay tuned for Tales From Nash-Lake! Thanks for reading and see you again soon!