The BBQ is in full swing, a large party, the biggest group of people is, well, me. Haley had let Lisa step out as well. Something about Lisa wanting to taste the grilled meat. While this was supposed to be a joyful event, Lory and I had made peace, Haley and I caught up with each other, Khione and Melin had patched things up, I felt sad.
I am thinking about throwing in the towel. This, it is just, too good to be true. But, I need my family. The one I lost. I looked at Funk, he seemed to be enjoying himself. He has an ulterior motive, I know that much. We might have become friends, and we are messing around, but something is up. He wants something. It is clear what Melin wants, friendship with Haley, most likely more. The way they interacted with each other.
Haley’s hand rubbed over Melin’s leg a few times, and on her back, Melin also stroked Haley’s hair. She even slid her hand on her inner thigh once while they sat at the long table. Haley picked up her hand and moved it somewhere more appropriate. They must have done something.
Eris and Lory seemed to be getting along great. Then I saw Eris and Lory who handed a piece of her hamburger to Eris. I sighed, how they can go from, fucking slapping each other to being friends, I don’t understand women. Fuck, I am a woman. I told Lory to treat her with respect. Eris is a part of me.
Angel walked towards me with a hamburger. “You look lost in thought, Steve, what is going on in your thoughts?”
I smiled at him, “This is just,” I shed a joyful tear, “Too good to be true”
Angel looked at me, “I know what you mean.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, when things are good, expect them to turn to hell soon.”
I nodded, “That is exactly what I was thinking. Did something like this happen to you too, Angel?” he shed a few tears, I have not seen him do that before.
“It is a cold, hard and cruel world. Those are our words, Steve. We are both different, but we both realize it.”
Angel pointed at Melin, “She and Haley seem to have a thing.”
I grinned, “Yeah, I noticed. Thanos is also very comfortable around Melin.”
Angel nodded, “I reckon, they know each other.”
“What? Melin and Thanos?”
Angel shrugged, “Just a guess, Thanos is not very open about his past, none of us are, we are all a part of the devil.”
I sighed, “Let me guess, too many hardships to talk about?”
Angel let out a sly smile, “Just look at J.” We both looked at him and Agent playing a card game, J occasionally flipped some hamburgers on the BBQ. “He is trying to find serenity and peace in everything.”
“What do you think is weighing on his mind? It has to be a lot of loss and pain.”
Angel nodded, “He does not even share his name.”
I looked at Angel, “Neither do you.”
He smiled, “My name cannot be uttered out loud, neither can Thanos utter his name, we are part of the devil, that is who we are at the core. Now, he is resting, we rebelled, and Captain led the resistance. He will be pissed if he wakes up, let's make sure that never happens.”
I sighed, “Can you at least tell me, when did J have his time to shine?”
Angel patted me on the back, “Right after me.” Angel called out, “Thanos!?”
He held a beer and looked over, “Yes?”
“Did you sleep with Melin?”
He spit out his beer, “Dammit Angel, that is a not a topic to broach when this many people are around.”
Melin looked at us, “Come one Angel, he has a point. Besides, that was a very long time ago.”
Angel looked at me, “I told you so.”
Haley gasped, “You and dad!?”
Melin shrugged, “Not really your dad, more a piece of the devil inside him, but, what can I say, Thanos looks very manly, and lonely.”
Thanos looked at her, “Hey, I am not lonely.”
Melin laughed loudly. “Now repeat it in the mirror till you believe it yourself.”
Haley laughed, “She has a point.”
Thanos just looked down, “Man, women are difficult to understand.”
I waved, “I agree with you, Thanos!”
Lory looked at me, “Seriously, you and Melin?”
“To be fair, that was Thanos, and I don’t even remember it, since I think the devil is a big part of him. But to be quite frank, I think Thanos is lonely, he even likes tentacles.”
Lory laughed and Eris looked at Thanos, “He has a point.”
He almost crushed his beer, “Can I get a damn break over here? You are all ganging up on me!”
Agent chuckled, “I rather it be you than me.”
Thanos looked at him, “What are you going to do, assassinate me?”
Agent flashed a wicked smile, “I might try.”
Thanos sighed, “I hate all of me.”
I looked around, “Where is Captain?”
Angel pointed somewhere, in the distance I saw him and Rose. I walked over towards them. “Hey, is there room for me?” Captain and Rose looked at me, they both nodded. “What are you guys doing here?”
Captain sighed, “Wishing we could stay here.”
“Hey, I was doing the same thing over there.”
Rose giggled, “You look a lot like me.”
Captain looked down, “They all look so happy.”
I looked at them, “It indeed seems like a party in full swing. Have you seen Haley and Melin?”
Rose nodded, “Oh, they shared a bed alright.”
Captain looked at her, “Why would she do that?”
I raised my beer, “Booze and grief will do that to you. What is our approach, Captain?”
He turned to look at the BBQ. “We, I, no, I sincerely don’t know. If we go back to Brickton, people will expect us to go to the shadow world. What other horrors and dangers await us there? Who is getting hurt next, or who is going to die?”
“I am not sure, Captain, but there is something I need to share with you.”
“Oh?”
“I think Alice is alive.”
Rose looked at me, “That is the tiny woman you mentioned Captain, the one Lory blew up?”
He nodded, “But she died.”
I shook my head, “I think she is on the space station.”
Captain scoffed, “Then she is still going to die.”
“Why is that?”
“The space station is on lockdown.”
“And how would you know that?”
He let out a sly smile, “I am not sharing more. Can’t we just stay here and do what we have been doing, having fun? We send Funk back, and we just stay here. We built a nice house near the lake. Funk and Abby can go to the shadow world, or they could send Bella, heck, I rather have them send Paul than me.”
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I laughed, “I can see it in front of me, Paul enters the shadow world, all alone. He comes back victorious, and then he drives off the void.”
Captain chuckled, “It would earn him a lot of fame, and save us a lot of trouble.”
Rose sighed, “You guys seem very troubled, what is the problem with a bit of adventuring?”
I looked at Lory and Haley. “I am scared of them getting hurt, or worse.”
Captain nodded, “Besides that, I have known loss too.”
I looked at him, “You were the main factor, for all of them, weren’t you?”
He nodded, “I took that spot instead of the devil, except for Agent, he is a personality you created with your powers.”
“This, is what is at stake, our happy ever after.”
I sighed, “Just one stray beam, one stray slash, and we lose them.”
Rose put her hands on our shoulders, “Chin up, boys. You seem like a resourceful bunch. I know for sure you will protect them! We can work as one together, I might not be strong, but I am a good motivational speaker!”
“Thanks, Rose, things went horribly wrong on Stratos Isle, we almost died a few times.”
Captain let out a rough smile, “You did get sacrificed and eaten by a giant worm back there.”
Rose looked at me, “He is kidding, right?”
“No, he is not. Haley seems like an innocent woman, but the moment she feels she is in danger, she switches to her serious mode. She also has absorbed someone.”
Captain looked at me, “Is that so?”
“Yeah, and by chance, family of Melin, her name is Lisa.”
Captain smiled as if remembered something, “Lisa, huh? The daughter of Poseidon.”
Rose looked at him. “I think you know something.”
I patted Captain on his back, “He is just trying to be a mentor, helping me to realize things on my own. There is no reason to feed it to me with a spoon.”
He looked at me, “Something like that, but if you put shaving cream in my tube of toothpaste again, I am going to chop off your other arm.”
I laughed, “Good joke man, good joke, Captain Underpants.”
Rose giggled, “Sorry, we cannot take you seriously anymore.”
“I think we have no other choice, Captain. We just have to barge into the shadow world, do whatever the fuck we need to do, then we will take out the void.”
He sighed, “Alright, but I am just wondering what will go horribly wrong this time?”
I looked at him, “I am not that bad.”
He shook his head, “I am not just talking about you. Things always go wrong, with everyone. I think it is time to be honest with you.”
Lory walked towards us and Eris chased her before Captain could say what he wanted to say. Lory gave us a warm smile, “What are you guys doing here?”
I walked over and hugged her, “I am just hoping this BBQ never ends. I am not looking forward to going back to Brickton.”
Eris started hanging against Lory, “We can just stay here, forever, with Lory.”
She rubbed her hand over Eris’s hair, “If we had our family, I would say yes to that.”
Rose smiled at Lory, “We kind of met in a strange way, but I am not interested in your husband in that way, just friends. Or is it husbands? Maybe even husbands and wives?”
Rose seemed to be thinking, “Or is it just husband, I mean we are one person, sort of.”
Lory laughed, “I think, I don’t give a fuck, I can see Steve is Steve, but in all of you, I see him, the man I fell in love with. You were in there all this time, well, except for a few of you. I think we should finish this quest, and then find our family.”
“Hey Lory?”
“Yes?”
“Did something happen between Haley and Melin?”
She nodded, “They had a wild night.”
Eris laughed, “That explains all the fidgeting under the table.”
Lory walked over to me and kissed me, “I am glad we are together again, I should have been more considerate of your feelings.”
“It is water under the bridge, now, Captain, you wanted to tell me something?”
Yes, please come with me, we left the others alone, and he took me into the forest. “After all this time, I want to be honest with you, but I need to know beforehand if someone asks, can you please act dumb when people ask you about it?”
I grinned, “Are you seriously asking me if I can pretend if I am dumb?”
Captain chuckled, “Fine, this is about the devil inside of you. I have been programmed and fused with you, and him, to make sure he never wakes up. There are people who want to free him. You have to understand, this man inside of you, he can kill and absorb everyone. There are bigger things at play than either of us can realize.”
I looked at him with a serious look on my face, “Alright, that sounds bad, but why would he want that?”
“He has some issues with rage, I stabbed him in the back, along with all of his home-brewed personalities. Alice and Bella helped too. You need to know if he comes free, he is not just going to kill me and you, he is going to kill everyone you love.”
I nodded, “Alright, but, who is he?”
Captain turned around, “This man, he is over fifty thousand years old, he has many secrets, and people seek to use his power. I believe there will be a Chosen One to stop him. Sadly, I have no idea who it will be. If we work together, we might be able to stop him, but, the reason people might fear you more, is because you might be stronger.”
I started laughing, “Me, stronger, no way!”
Captain glanced over his shoulder, “Maybe not now, but one day, you might be, now, do you want to know who this devil is?”
“Yes, I would love to know.”
“Promise me, you will not tell anyone, people are seeking for him, a few know, like Melin and Khione. Melin is a special organization that seeks to keep the devil in check.”
“I promise, or I will gnaw off my right arm.”
Captain grinned, “You have heard the name Micheal, right, the man who is feared by the whole hyperverse? Even though he is not the only being to be able to do that, he is one with a fucking rage problem.”
I twitched my eyes a few times as gears in my brain started turning, and I fell to my knees, “Micheal, one of the most dangerous people, he is, the devil?”
Captain kneeled and stared at me, “Yes, and know it is your duty to keep it a secret, and hold him in his jail, you have been created from his DNA, now, I said enough,” he walked away.