The Nicole’s hugged as the Delmarian significant others stared each other down with a handshake. The rest of the group stood around to say goodbye, already getting their hugs and personal tidbits out of the way. Nicole smiled at Nicole.
“Hey, don’t be a stranger. Come over any time you want. My room is your room, literally, and applies to the group house and me and Vinn’s cave. Stay any time you want for as long as you want.” Nicole said keeping it together.
“You too.” Said Evee Nicole. “We’re parking the ship on a block foundation just off the island right near the big tower. It’s like a mile away, you could walk it"
“Why not just buy a house and sell the ship?” Dee asked.
“Because I like the ship and I can’t be captain of a house. If it’s parked on a foundation, and we seal the struts with caulking, then it’s attached so it’s considered a mobile home. If we need to take off, it just breaks the caulking, and now I’m Captain of a ship.”
“I’m just not even gonna argue with that.” Dee shrugged, both confused and impressed. Vinn play jabbed at Hyde to ease the tension.
“So…construction work. Pays good, gonna be a regular working class guy too now, hu?”
“At least until I get my feet grounded and really figure out what we wanna do. Keeping the options open.” Hyde said.
“Take care of that little gal. She’s something special.”
“You too.” He said. “So I guess we’re square, no hard feelings?” Hyde asked.
“Well definitely some awkward feelings but yea screw it. We cool. We’re basically dating twins so we kinda have to be friends now. And now that we know you’re not evil, that makes it way easier to do that.”
“Friends…feels like a strong word, but I’ll accept it.”
“And if you break her heart I’ll just Fupar you again, or tell Gizzy.” He half joking. Squinting to decide himself.
“Vinn you still don’t intimidate me, but I can assure you two things. I love my little Evee Nicole and would never harm her. And secondly, I would never do anything to piss off Gizzy again. You cannot fathom how terrifying that woman is.”
“Someone finally made you feel like a terrified, helpless boy-bitch, and you didn’t love it?”
“Not even slightly.” Hyde admitted.
“Yea, she does that. Anyway, you kids have fun. South side, pretty integrated neighborhood, should be accepting of odd couples and whatnot. I think you’ll get used to the domesticated lifestyle, work, house, girlfriend, Sunday sports. We got a big-ass honkin TV in the cave for Homicideball tournaments and something humans call MMA. It's like play Fupar. It’s adorable”
“Will Jack be attending with a knife?” he joked, smiling at Jack.
“Well of course, you gotta have security. Sports fans get pretty rowdy.”
“You people are alright, you know. I can respect your little clan of misfits. I think after the other night, my days of combat are over. I could use the vacation.”
“I’m glad you survived it, probably good that Gizzy got that out of her system too. She gets moody as hell, and now I bet she’s gonna be way more chill since the fighting is done and everything is settled.” He shrugged.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Gandalf opened his eyes, feeling the sudden panic of being alive, the fresh phantom pain in his back, checking for a knife or blood. He was sitting in a chair in a very dark room with a single light on him, and a familiar set of eyes glowing in the dark staring at him, smoking a pipe silently. Hatred in them, unsettled scores boiling brightly.
“What is this… Have I descended?” he asked.
“Oh NOW you believe in Delmarian heaven? Pick a lane, fat-ass.” Gizzy growled.
“What are you doing here, did he kill you too?” he asked, almost smirking at the ironic thought.
“Oh no I’m very much alive and so is he. You could even call us friends now. And this is not the Spirit Underworld you were hoping for with golden gates and rivers of wine. It’s MY underworld, about 800 meters below the city in my own little bunker.” She said as the light turned on and a crowd of people were staring at them. They silently glared eerily still as he realized he was in one of the arenas.
“What is this?” Gandalf huffed.
“Looks real don’t it?” The ground is real, the walls are real, and everything above the pit wall is just a hologram, but I wanted an audience for this, and you robbed me of that by getting yourself killed over some stupid thing like human trafficking and stealing my cloning tech.”
“You said we were alive.”
“Well, you’re technically a clone, but you won’t have to live with that suffering very long, I don’t plan for it to last long in here.”
“You cloned me? The council will have you executed for this.”
“Nah, I don’t think they will, seeing as how you’ve already been convicted and tried of treason, murdered and shamed in the high council, and I’m one of the people who brought you down. They’ll never find you here, and certainly not soon enough. They wouldn’t care if they did. They hate you more than me now. Since I nearly got convinced of your murder, and you took my fucking human, I bet they’d turn a blind eye to this even if I send them a video. So, I’ll let you pick the weapons and the venue. One last request for an old friend.”
“This is not real…it is a trick.” He denied.
“Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids. This is real as hell, welcome to your personal one. Don’t worry, I won't trap you down here for an eternity in some maniacal loop of killing you over and over again…juuuust once. Maybe a few times. We'll see if I get bored.”
“I don’t understand, you cloned me just to kill me?”
“I told you some day I’d collect your skull from the arena. Then you went and tried to sell my favorite human to some filthy slavers? It’s like you wanted me to hate you. You denied me my little reward, and this is gonna have to be good enough. Now, let’s pretend you finally found your fuzzy testicles and agreed to face me, and then the rest will be as real as it gets…minus the crowd, I do really wish there was a real crowd.”
“You really are the devil, aren’t you?”
“Noooo, that’s insulting. Comparing me to my Exes like that? Bad bunny. No, true and pure evil would have you cloned, convicted, hung, and your family publically exiled for treason for the crimes you committed, and your name disgraced and removed from the halls, your son walking the streets as a traitors spawn and your wife now some traitors whore nobody will ever marry. Those are YOUR gods that decided that sick shit, and you knew it when you turned your back on your people and sold humans and classified technology to make a profit. I’m the one that suggested this stay within the walls of the council, and they just keep pretending you were killed by some dishonorable thief who got a lucky stab. I spared your family the pain and shame, and you need to grasp that, because that’s all I have to give you.”
“Am I supposed to thank you for this mercy?” he sarcastically snipped.
“Mercy? Mercy is not my style. Your family is just innocent and shouldn’t suffer for your sins, that’s just basic right and wrong, punkin. See, I’m not ALL evil. Now, Mercy would be if I just let you go. That’s also called stupidity, and how you get stabbed in the back. True neutral would be to let the whole thing be and accept that it’s over and someone else got my kill. Shit happens. Too bad. Now, that one heavily reserved evil streak in me is why I spent 48 million credits of my own money to clone you back, just to drop you in here with me. There’s no mercy for you. We’re gonna have that dance you’ve been avoiding, and then I’m having your head gold-plated for my den, just like I promised. And if you don’t at least fight like a man and entertain me a little, I’ll just…bring you back and let you try again. Isn’t that fun?”
“Delmarian cloning is not supposed to be possible. This is a trick of the mind.”
“I may have had a Delmarian volunteer recently who signed a waver and found a loophole to make it legal in some cases. He’s doing great, I corrected all the little cloning issues for you. Congratulations, asshole. You’re the first successful fully intact Delmarian clone, with no brain damage or personality glitches. Now let’s dissect you and inspect my work…the oldschool way.” She grinned, extending her canines and watching him hang his head. A slight villainous laughter echoed through the chamber and faded into the darkness. It was followed several moments later by the sound of a horn.