The Ministers Gray Coming To Terms With Realizing Cassidy Is Paintball
From the outside, the place looked like a simple three-story house in the old Victorian style, surrounded by other houses just like it but with a ten-foot tall brick privacy wall and ten feet of empty ground on all sides between the edge of the actual property and any neighboring homes ensuring that casual observers and snoopy neighbors alike wouldn’t likely spot anything they weren’t supposed to. And those were simply the obvious measures. Hidden within that brick wall were hologram projectors that made the yard it was surrounding look empty and quiet no matter what was happening within. Any person or drone flying overhead for any reason wouldn’t see anything.
A double wooden gate at the front of the home blocked access to the driveway, the only visible entrance besides simply climbing over the wall. And that wouldn’t actually be as simple as it sounded, given various security measures. There was an intercom next to the gate, along with a sign that had once read, ‘Beware Of Dog.’ But the last word had been crossed out and ‘Distinct Fish Smell And Trout Slaps’ had been written overtop of it. Beside that was a second sign reading, ‘Cookie And Jerky Sellers Welcome, Other Solicitors May Become Cookies And Jerky.’
All of which amounted to strangers having no idea what was happening beyond those walls. Though the neighbors could attest that the man who lived there with his young son, despite being very private and having an odd sense of humor, was very polite and well-mannered. Thoughtful, even. He took casseroles and snacks over when people were sick or had lost someone, bought candy from their children when they came around for school fundraisers, and even helped take care of poor old Mrs. Patterson’s yard now that she wasn’t able to get out of the house anymore.
So, the people left them alone, and were unaware of just how important their polite but rather reclusive neighbors were. Because beyond those walls and under the privacy hologram lay the home of the Ministers Gray, Fisher and Price. And they really did enjoy buying cookies and jerky.
At that moment, however, neither of them were thinking about snacks. Well, they were at least ninety-three percent not thinking about snacks. Instead, Fisher paced around the backyard. Rather than being covered in lush, well-trimmed grass as the hologram would make it appear to be from above, their actual grounds consisted of several large trees, thick weeds and bushes, wildflowers, dirt, and rocks. The yard was made up to look like a small piece of the forest they had come from. In fact, it was literally a piece of the forest they’d come from, transported here.
Pacing in circles around the largest tree in the very center of their expansive yard, Fisher muttered, “Of course it’s them, Paintball is Cassidy, it makes so much sense in hindsight.”
With a brief bright glow, his body was replaced by Price’s much smaller raccoon self, though both were dressed in their usual pristine suits. “Sure does. I mean look at the danger that kid keeps throwing himself--themself into. They were there that first night when Simon was dealing with those bastards, but they didn’t have any of the context. Then the poor kid got chased and--”
Again, they switched places, Fisher appearing in time to finish with, “--nearly got killed by their own brother. They had to see him, that’s why they didn’t tell their parents. Then they must’ve found out more about things. Didn’t Paintball show up at that old car lot the next night when Simon was meeting with those Eights people? He barely escaped, and that’s when Sterling--”
Price was back out then, jumping up into the lowest branch of the tree to walk along it. “--met with Simon as Silversmith. Cassidy saw that happen. They had to be nearby. It would explain why they never went to him--to him as Smith that is, despite being Cassidy’s favorite hero. They found out he was their father, and that their father was part of this whole… organization.”
The raccoon leapt from the tree, transitioning back into the bear before landing. Fisher grunted. “And things just kept going from there. That must be part of why Paintball hasn’t tried to go to the authorities. Not only because they know it’s pointless at best and dangerous at worst, but because they’re afraid of what might happen to their family. They’re conflicted about it.”
He dropped onto all fours, which looked rather odd in his suit and was only possible without completely ripping the whole thing thanks to the special fabric it was made out of. Pacing down to a small stream running through the yard, he shook his large, shaggy head. “That whole thing with the vials for Blackjack’s daughter, that was all Cassidy. When they were being chased by Cuélebre, when they were…” He gave a very low, dangerous growl at the thought of what would have happened if the demon-like man had actually caught up with Paintball. Obviously, the Oscuro leader had had no idea who he was threatening to hurt, but that didn’t stop Fisher from instinctively wanting to take a big bite out of him. No matter how poorly that would turn out.
Price reemerged then, hopping nimbly over the creek with a dark curse. “It was all Cassidy, every bit of it. The fight with Pencil at the children’s hospital during the mayor’s big event, the--that night they showed up late because they got hurt ‘skating,’ it had to be a Paintball thing.”
Fisher rose to his full height, barely restraining himself from giving a roar. It wouldn’t have alerted the neighbors, of course. Not with their privacy tech. But still, he tried not to give in to those sorts of instincts whenever he could help it. Roaring right then wouldn’t help anything. “They hurt Cassidy. They tried to kill Cassidy. Pencil, the Scions, the--they tried to hurt our Cassidy.”
“And now they’re dead,” Price pointed out after switching places with his partner again. “Can’t forget that, buddy. All this time, Sterling and Elena have been debating about whether their offspring is ready to be brought into things, or if they should just let them keep being a kid. Turns out Cassidy’s more prepared for this life than they could ever have guessed.” He smiled a bit proudly, kicking a dirt clod into the water. “More prepared than any of us could have guessed.”
“Cup isn’t dead. And their parents would say they're a bit too prepared,” Fisher noted as he reappeared and reached up to take a pear off one of the higher branches nearby. Examining the fruit, he continued. “They wanted Cassidy to have something closer to a real childhood before getting involved in any of this. You know they think they brought Simon in on things too quickly. He was too young for it.”
Price took over once more, catching the fruit as it fell into his raised paws. “They didn't exactly have much of a choice. Not when the kid was so upset about his sibling and what happened to poor Anthony and his family. It was either erase his memory too, or bring him in on things so he’d know why she didn't remember.” His tone made it clear that he didn't exactly agree with the memory erasure to begin with. Neither of them did. And why would they? Cassidy losing their memories had erased any chance the two of them had to spend any more time with the person who had named them. For a very long while, at least. Sure, they could have gotten to know the teen more as their human-disguised selves, but it just wasn’t the same. They wanted to be open with the kid.
Instead, they had backed off along with the rest of the Ministry, leaving Cassidy to have what was supposed to be a normal life. As normal as someone with a staggeringly rich and powerful family could have, anyway. They were supposed to be left out of all this, and now look at what happened. Cassidy almost couldn't have been more involved. But in this case, they weren't even doing so from inside the Ministry itself, where it was safer. The kid was on the outside, keeping secrets from their parents, maybe even trying to work against them in one way or another. At the very least, they obviously didn't trust their family enough to come forward. Even though Paintball had worked with the Ministry a few times, they still weren't admitting to their parents who they really were. Which seemed to mean they were afraid of what would happen if they did. Or they were keeping their options open to do something about the Ministry if it came down to it. Or both.
Taking a bite of the delicious fruit after giving it a thorough wash in the creek, Price tossed it up in the air and caught it with a thoughtful stare before loudly cursing. “Oh for fuck’s sake, they wanted you to throw them! The damn kid got you to throw them across the city after barely meeting us, how the hell did we not figure out it was Cassidy just from that? We even said the two of them would get along. Well of course they’d get along, they were the same damn person!”
With that, he tossed the fruit in the air, allowing Fisher to catch it after switching places again. The bear examined the thing against his claw while shaking his large shaggy head. “You know, part of me wants to say I wouldn't have thrown Paintball like that if I knew who they really were under that helmet. But the truth is, I think I would have thrown them even harder.” He gave a low chuckle that rumbled across the yard like distant thunder. “I mean, we know they have powers, they can protect themself. If I knew who they were, I would have tried to impress the kid more.”
Taking the pear into both hands after coming back out, Price scarfed the rest of it down in a few quick bites while giving a noise of appreciation. His own head bobbed up and down easily. “Mmmph, trust me, I know what you mean, buddy. I wanna see just what the kid can do. Is that bad? Should I be more horrified about Cass putting themself in danger? Because I am that too. But, you know, since they’re doing it anyway and we can’t put that genie back in the bottle, I want to see just how impressive they can be. Which--” He stopped, glancing away. “Hm, I wonder--”
“If we can get them some real training?” Fisher finished for him after appearing and rising to his full height. “Imagine what Cassidy could do with their powers if we could convince them to let us bring them into our sanctuary like we did Simon.” That was how the boy had become such a good fighter in a relatively short time. Not only could time within the pocket dimension be adjusted to pass much faster than the outside world in order to learn and practice more while barely any time passed, but Fisher and Price were able to absorb the academic knowledge and physical skills of anyone they pulled inside their pocket dimension. They could then teach another person those skills. Simon had spent a couple hours each afternoon for a year or so in their private training dojo, but to the boy, he had trained for over a decade without getting older. With plenty of breaks, of course. They could create anything in their private space, including movies and games. Which they’d truly enjoyed showing off to the young Simon. The idea of doing so with Cassidy, if they would allow it, was so tempting. Teaching the kid how to really fight, how to take care of themself as well as Simon could but then add in their paint powers? Honestly, both of them really wanted to see that. Paintball was already amazing enough, and they’d thought that before finding out who the kid really was. Now that they knew ‘he’ was Cassidy, the person who had first given them their names and played with them back when they were still coming to terms with this whole sapience thing? Oh, they wanted to find out just how far the kid could go, just how amazing Paintball could become with a little bit of help. It’d be even better if they could do so with the full knowledge and understanding of everyone involved, including Sterling and Elena, but barring that, they could at least make sure Cassidy got the proper training. Obviously, they were getting some training, probably from one of their teammates. But the thought of helping them get even better, even stronger, of someday letting Cassidy’s parents see just how much the kid had been able to do and how far they had come…
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“They’re going to feel betrayed,” Price muttered, appearing next to another tree before rapping his paws against it thoughtfully. “No matter what we say when it comes down to it, Sterling and Elena are going to be angry that we didn’t tell them as soon as we realized. And if anything happens to the kid in the meantime, if they get hurt or… or worse, we’ll never be forgiven.”
“We’ll never forgive ourselves,” Fisher pointed out while lumbering toward the house on all fours. “That’s why we’ve gotta find a way to get the kid to let us help them learn. Maybe we can teach all of them.” That last bit came with a thoughtful murmur. “Approach one of the other kids and point out that they keep getting in fights and that we can help them learn better…”
“Worth thinking about,” Price noted after taking over as they walked up the back steps to the patio. He stepped on the button that opened the door there so they could head inside. “And we could use something else to think about anyway.”
“Well,” a new voice spoke up from inside their kitchen, “if you need something else to think about, I have a few ideas.
“But it’s going to involve keeping more secrets,” Robert Parson warned.
********
Paige And Cassidy Talk The Night Before The Current Interlude Arc
Taking a bottle of orange juice from the hotel minifridge and popping it open, Cassidy was about to head back into the room they were sharing with Izzy when their phone buzzed. A quick check showed that Paige was the one messaging, asking if they wanted to talk about the tournament.
After thinking about it for a second, Cassidy sent back a quick text promising to call as soon as they stepped out. They gave a look toward the room with Izzy, but ultimately turned the other way. The younger girl was sleeping and they didn’t want to disturb her by being on the phone.
The door to their parents’ room was shut, without any light coming out from under it. Whether that meant they were asleep or not was debatable, but either way they weren’t going to have a discussion out here either. No, they could just take a walk. The hotel here didn’t actually use keys for guests, instead their biometrics were added to the system and the doors would simply open if they matched. Which didn’t exactly stop everyone who could shapeshift perfectly, but then again, neither did keys that could be copied. Plus the biometrics way of doing things meant that at least if someone did break in by shapeshifting, they’d know who had been impersonated. It helped. Or maybe it just made rich people feel safer. Either way, that was the system the hotel was using.
After leaving the penthouse and taking the elevator downstairs, Cassidy found their way out through one of the side doors attached to one of the hotel’s restaurants. It was late enough that the place was closed, but they were able to step out onto the patio overlooking the street from a couple floors up. Perching on the railing there and looking around to make sure they were alone, Cassidy hit the button to call Paige. Their eyes scanned the cars passing by below under the streetlights. Even now, long after midnight, the city of Phoenix was busy. Their push for tourism was working, apparently.
“I heard that restaurant makes the best pizza in the city.” That was the first thing Paige said as soon as she answered. “Can you smell it from the balcony out there, or did you close the door?”
Giving a quick look over their shoulder, Cassidy opened and shut their mouth, making a noise of uncertainty before replying, “Uh, it’s closed. But are you tracking my phone? Because I know you guys are convinced I can’t walk five feet without getting in deep trouble, but that’s really not cool.”
There was a chuckle from the other end before Paige assured her, “No tracking, no bugging, nothing like that, I swear. I just looked at the hotel blueprints online and timed how long it took you to call, that’s it. There were a couple options but that one made the most sense. I took a shot. Thought it’d freak you out a little bit.” She paused briefly, then sounded just a little bit guilty. “I guess maybe I shouldn’t try to freak you out when you’re supposed to be on vacation, huh?”
“Showoff,” Cassidy muttered with a tiny smile before adding, “If you wanted to lecture me about getting involved in the tournament instead of embracing the whole total vacation relaxation thing-”
“Actually,” Paige interrupted before they could continue with that, “I wanted to say good luck. I mean, I know I said it over text before, but I thought you should actually hear it--” She started to say something else, but the words were cut off by the sound of a loud splash and familiar cackle.
“Sounds like Sierra’s having fun with the lake.” Cassidy noted, quickly shaking off the lingering strangeness of hearing their own laugh through the phone like that. “Are there any fish left in the place, or has she already scared them all into figuring out how to migrate north for the summer?” They took a gulp of that orange juice and watched a group of well-dressed Asian tourists posing in front of one of the big golden statues of some famous basketball player just down the street.
After a somewhat lengthy pause, particularly for her, Paige coughed before admitting, “Oh, it uh, I mean yes, she has found the lake and has definitely terrified the fish. But that wasn’t her. She’s out taking a walk right now. I uh, that was you. I mean, a recording of you. Remember that whole thing in eighth grade with Darrus Peinmer betting you wouldn’t go off the high dive backwards?”
“I remember he had to spend the rest of the week talking like a pirate and carrying a stuffed parrot around.” After getting that much out, Cassidy gave a thoughtful murmur. “Come to think of it, I don’t think he actually lost anything in that bet. He still has the parrot, I’ve seen it in his car.”
“Why do you think he bet Cassidy Evans wouldn’t jump in a pool?” Paige pointed out with a snort. “He just wanted an excuse to talk like a pirate and carry a stuffed animal to school.”
Feeling a slight rush of warmth crossing their face, Cassidy admitted, “Yeah, okay, when you say it like that, it’s obvious. But why are you watching some old video of me jumping off the high dive anyway?”
“I was--” Paige coughed again, sounding just a little strained. “Sorry, I know it’s probably pointless, but I just thought I could look back through some of the clips we’ve got and see if I could give you any advice for the tournament. You know, if they have a diving event or something. It uh, sounds kind of dumb now that I say it out loud like that. You already dive a lot better now than you did when we were thirteen. What exactly was I going to say, ‘when you flipped off that board three and a half years ago, you didn’t tuck your legs tight enough, be careful with that?’ And even if I did find some useful advice to give, who’s to say it would actually help you with--”
“You think I don’t tuck my legs tight enough on a backflip?” Cassidy interrupted, changing the phone to speaker so they didn’t have to hold it up to their ear. “Okay send me that video, I wanna see.” Even then, they had stood up and started lifting one leg and folding it against their stomach, then the other, trying to see how it felt to have their legs fully extended and then tucked properly.
“You want the--” Clearly stopping herself from questioning that too much, Paige instead promised, “Okay, hang on, it’s coming. I’ll send it over and then let you focus on that.”
“Why,” Cassidy reflexively asked while navigating to the video as soon as the phone buzzed with its arrival, “you got a hot date to get to or something?” As soon as the unthinking words were out of their mouth, they were already blushing and asking themself what the hell they were even saying. “I mean, sorry, you probably want to get to bed. Yeah, I can look at the clip by myself.”
“I definitely do not have a date.” Once again, Paige’s voice was strained. “There’s like four people even remotely our age within fifty miles, and one of them is Sierra. I-- um, I can help you look through the clip, if you want. And I think I can… um, probably find a few more clips of you doing that sort of thing. We could… go through them, try to see what a judge might dock you for.”
“Sure,” Cassidy immediately agreed with a small smile. “Who would’ve thought years spent being hypercritical of every little thing I did could come in handy right now?” There was a brief moment of somewhat awkward silence before they added, “I uh, I did mean that as a joke, sorry. I was--I thought if I said it like that, it’d cut through the weird feelings, but I don’t think it worked.”
“At least it’s weird and awkward for both of us?” Paige offered a bit weakly. “I know you said I don’t need to apologize anymore, but I just--” She hesitated, before exhaling audibly. “Let’s go through these videos. But only for a little while, you’ve gotta sleep at some point.”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll go to bed soon enough,” Cassidy promised. “I just--oh there, right there, I see what you mean. That leg’s not tucked tight.”
“You do the same thing as Paintball in a jump with--check the fourth video I sent,” Paige suggested. “The one from the guy on his fire escape. One minute and fifteen seconds in, as you come off the billboard. Your left leg almost grazes that lamppost because it’s not tucked tight.”
After bringing up the video in question and scanning through it, Cassidy agreed, “Okay, yeah, I think you’re right. It’s the same thing too, I’m in a rush. I think my left leg just doesn’t tuck as quickly when I’m jumping--it’s backwards that time too. I’m so focused on tucking the leg I’m pushing off with that I don’t think about the other one.”
They went through several more clips that Paige had pulled, both from videos people had taken of Paintball being out and around, as well as the civilian Cassidy showing off at school and such. The restaurant patio had its own privacy screen, ensuring no one would overhear anything. Over nearly an hour, the two of them carefully picked apart every little move, every motion, every conceivable flaw they could find. But it was more than that. Paige advised Cassidy about how to fix those flaws, how to tuck their leg better, how to spring up faster, how to keep their body properly straight. Paige really did have a lot of practice finding ways to nitpick what Cassidy did. It had, after all, essentially been her job for years when Pittman had demanded she establish a history of conflict between them. Now she was using that for better purposes. And not just the tournament itself.
“Don’t think I haven’t figured out that this is your sneaky way of getting some training in even when we’re thousands of miles apart,” Cassidy informed her. “How long did it take you to dig up all these videos anyway? I’m pretty sure some of those school ones aren’t even online anywhere, you must’ve had to text people. And honestly? I don’t even wanna know what you told them you wanted those clips for.”
There was another somewhat lengthy pause before Paige replied, “Don’t worry, I uh, didn’t have to ask anyone. I kept the clips myself. You know, for…”
“Oh right, you needed to show Pittman that you were doing… what he wanted.” Cassidy grimaced before quickly pushing on. “Whatever, he’s--he can’t make any decisions anymore, and he definitely can’t tell you what to do about anything. I’m just glad we found something useful to do with them. Sorry I don’t really have any ‘young Paige’ videos to share if you ever get into a national tournament. You’ll just have to settle for moral support.”
“I think I can live with that,” Paige assured them. “But I’m not planning on jumping into any tournaments any time… ever. You’re the one who deserves--I mean you’re the one who likes all the attention.”
Flushing self-consciously, Cassidy admitted, “Yeah, maybe I do. But it’s better from some people than others. I…” They trailed off, shifting a little. “I mean, thanks for this. I think it’ll help.”
Paige agreed, “It will, one way or another. And you know what else will help? Getting some sleep. You know, so you don’t fall over when you’re supposed to be competing.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” Straightening up, Cassidy hesitated before adding, “Are you umm.. I mean were you--if you’re gonna be--”
“I’ll be watching,” Paige put in. “Of course I will, we all will. Do you know when you’re going on yet? Or what games you’ll be part of?”
“Not yet, I’ll let you know as soon as I do,” Cassidy promised as a feeling of relief washed over them. “Thanks. I uh, I mean I’m glad you guys are gonna be watching. It--I umm… I’ll go to bed now.”
“Good luck, Cassidy,” came the quiet response. “You deserve this. Get some sleep and then go kick ass. And don’t worry.
“Nothing could keep me from watching you compete.”