Author: Crofton77

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Ruby Giggles

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.

“We lost the Lions Claw Blade.”

“Yup.”
“Then we lost the tree.”
“Yup.”
“And now the Lucky Seven Gun.”
“Yup, yup and yup.”
“Can this get any worse?”
“Yup.”
“You're optimistic, aren't you?”
Charlie scowled at Belle, who was sitting on the old tree stump.
“I think given the rubbish we've been
through this past year, we deserve a bit of pessimism. LIFE SUCKS.”
Belle replied.
“Most of it we kinda brought on
ourselves.” Charlie tried to reason.
“I don't see how your grand-fathers
death was our fault, I don't see how we could have stopped the flood,
I don't see how we could have stopped Johannas from murdering my aunt
and I don't see how the University was in any way our fault.”
Belle pouted.
“Technically it WAS our fault that
Grandpa died – if it wasn't for us, there wouldn't have been a
Demon in the first place.” Charlie tried.
“Oh come off it.” Belle got up and
walked away. She already felt like a coward for giving up the Lucky
Seven Gun so easily, she didn't need Charlies guilt-trip on top of
that.
Charlie watched her retreating back.
Ever since she'd started University things had been different. She
started studying more and talking strangely, about apathy and
group-think and protesting and making their voices heard. Weren't
they already doing that? Weren't they already fighting? Why blame
the citizens of Pleasantville for what was going on, why not blame
the real bad guys?
“Hey Charlie.”
Charlie jumped a little as Sunny and
Tammy walked over.
“Hey guys. Where's Petunia?” He
smiled and gave both of them a hug.
“She's signing up for some program
that will help her fast-track into a nursing career.” Sunny
replied, while Tammy grinned. “And tomorrow Tammy is going to
start trying remedial speech again.”
“You're going to try to talk again?”
Charlie asked. Tammy made a funny squeaking sound with her throat,
trying to make a sound. “Well, things are changing around here.”
He said with a hint of bitterness.
“Things always were going to change
Charlie. Look at Belle and I. THAT certainly changed.” Sunny
pointed out. “We used to hate each other so much.”
“I just wish we didn't have to grow
up. That we didn't have to change and move away from each other.”
Charlie looked towards Belles window.
“Sometimes we need to move away from
each other to become closer.” Sunny said.
Charlie still looked doubtful.
–
“Belle, no more. Go out and play
with your friends PLEASE!” Joe begged his only grand-child. “Your
studying is going to be the end of you.”
“I'm fine Pa, really.” Belle tried
to read her textbook, but the lines were starting to blur a little.
“Your eyes are glazing over, you need
to put down that book and do something else. Watch some cricket with
your Dad or go to Brisvegas and watch the Leos play or even go and
beat up the Death Valley Mobsters for all I care, just get your nose
out of those books!” Joe pulled the textbook away.
“I can't really go beat up the
Mobsters without my gun can I?” Belle snatched the book back.
“What's wrong with the Desert
Eagle?!” Joe looked affronted.
“It's not the Lucky Seven Gun Dad,
you know that. It wouldn't be right would it Beauty?” Peter walked
in with a stack of paperwork and a large box.
“Don't tell me you're going to kill
yourself with work as well!” Joe fumed.
“I don't see that it's any of your
business old man!” Peter snapped.
“Watch how you speak to me sonny, or
I'll deck you where you stand!”
“Like to see you try without breaking
your hips!”
Belle rolled her eyes. She looked out
of the window and saw Charlie, Sunny and Tammy beckoning. She turned
back to her book and was about to start studying again when Peter
removed the book from her this time.
“I have a present for you.” He
said.
“Oh?” Belle piped up.
“You can only have it if you let your
friends in.” Peter nodded to the window.
Belle sighed, and opened the front
door.
“Hi guys.” She deadpanned.
“Geezus, don't sound so happy!”
Sunny laughed, giving her friend a hug. Belle hugged her back.
“Anyway, do you want to see what I
made you?” Peter smirked.
“Oooh, is Belle getting a present?”
Charlie and Tammy rushed to the box to try and catch a glimpse of the
present. Peter merely pulled the box away from them with a maddening
smile.
“We have to go to the tip first.
Coming Dad?” Peter grabbed the keys to the ageing Elantra.
“I'll pass, thank you.” Joe turned
to the kitchen and prepared himself a coffee.
“Eh. Come on you lot.” Peter led
them out to the car.
–
The ruby-coloured one-piece suit was
skin-tight with two powered boots attached for flying. There were
pink pads on the fingertips and palms of the attached gloves, and the
top lifted up to cover Belles face, with two little nodes that sat on
her temples and connected with a band over her head which could
unclasp from the left side to make it easier to get it on/off. The
back locked up with a plastic zip, making the whole thing feel very
uncomfortable. Two small pink power boxes sat on the shoulders, and
around the middle was what looked like a pink belt.
“Dad, seriously? You want me to
fight crime in THIS?!” Belle groaned.
“You look like a video game
character!” Peter defended. “You have your usual flight
capability, plus you have the ability to form these carbon weapons
using your mind.”
“Wha-?” Everyone looked dumbfounded
at Peter.
“Just say this old dart board here is
a bad guy. Form a dagger and throw it at him.” Peter instructed.
Belle looked at her right hand. Slowly
the pink pads glowed, oozing a ruby-coloured substance which hardened
to look like a ruby weapon.
“Wow.” Belle threw the Ruby Shard
at the dart board. It hit easily, lingering for about ten seconds
before disintegrating and disappearing.
“The best thing is, this stuff will
leave your opponents limbs numb, incapacitating them for a few
minutes without killing them.” Peter grinned.
“How did you find that out?” Sunny
asked.
“Plus you can fly now without the
issues that the Backpack has!” Peter ignored Sunnys question.
“Just jump up and away you go!”
“Whoa-OAAA!!!!!!” Belle cried. As
soon as she'd gotten airborne, her top half had fallen and she was
nearly hanging upside-down. She struggled to get back up.
Charlie roared with laughter, Sunny and
Tammy tried to hide their giggles and Peter groaned.
“You're too used to the lift coming
from your back, leaving your legs free.” He sighed. “Still,
this is an improvement, at least it's harder to shoot both your
feet.”
“Thanks Dad.” Belle groaned. She
eventually righted herself and landed heavily.
“Anyway, I have another meeting to
get to, and I'm almost late! You guys can get yourselves home
right?” Peter asked.
“Sure.” Was the general reply.
Peter quickly sped off. Belle frowned.
“I wonder why Daddy has so many more
meetings recently.” She floated up wobbily and watched her father
leave.
“Probably getting hammered at work
after the whole flood thing and the University getting destroyed.”
Sunny pointed out. “I know my Dad is copping it.”
“But this many meetings? And on
weekends too?” Belle hovered in the direction her father had taken.
“You should surprise him, Ruby
Giggles!” Charlie piped up.
“Ruby Giggles?” Was the reply from
above.
“Well, you're not exactly regular
Giggles anymore are you?” Charlie pointed out.
Ruby Giggles slumped slightly, but it
was enough to make her lose her balance again.
“Whoaaaaaaaaa!”
–
“I'm glad you could get here. I had
this place booked for weeks!” Peter smiled at Lara as they both
enjoyed their pasta dinner.
“It was close, but I managed to get
away in time.” Lara Vargas replied, smiling into his eyes. She
had beautiful long chestnut brown hair and deep hazel eyes. She was
a little on the bigger side, but had a huge smile that was kind and
warm. “I would have left tennis anyway, I love spending time with
you.”
“Managed to win a few games?”
“All of them sweetheart.”
“Oh, you're good.”
The pair laughed. Peter was on cloud
nine. Not since Belles mother had broken his heart had he thought he
would be able to love again. Now he was sitting in a restaurant with
the woman of his dreams.
“What about Oscar? Isn't it your
weekend with him?” Peter asked about Laras toddler son.
“No, Irwin is taking him on a camping
trip.” Lara replied. “He might not have been a decent husband
but I will admit he's a damned good father.”
“And that's all that counts.”
Peter smiled.
“How about Belle? How's she doing?”
Lara asked. She was always curious about the Masters clan, she loved
the idea of the family code and the Improbability Clause.
“Still over-studying. She's a good
kid and wants to save Pleasantville but she doesn't realise that if
she over-does things she's just going to make herself sick.” Peter
sighed.
“Reminds me a bit of her father.”
Lara grinned cheekily.
“Hey, I was never that bad!” Peter
argued.
“Are you kidding me? I remember in
school while we were all out at the sports carnival you were holed up
studying. Your brother had to drag you away for your events!” Lara
laughed at the memory as Peter turned pink.
“I was such a little snot then. But
you were a complete cow so it all evens out.” He laughed as she
poked her tongue out at him.
Outside meanwhile, Ruby Giggles was
sitting on a rooftop across the street and could see her father and
Lara sitting in the restaurant.
Her father had a girlfriend?!

Chapter Twenty-Seven: …To Worse

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.

Charlie sat in the tree, looking up through the
dying branches at the sky. He was probably too old to be climbing
trees. He WAS nearly nineteen after all. Yet the tree had always
been a comfort to him, especially when he'd sat here with Belle so
many times, talking.

But now she wasn't here. She was hunched over her
desk studying her heart out. Another thing he'd lost. First his
grand-father, then his best friend, and now the Lions Claw Blade.
Sunny had been nothing but sympathetic. She'd
held him for a long time that night at the tip, as he complained
about his loss. Belle hadn't said a word, choosing to stare at the
sky. It was okay for HER. She still had the Lucky Seven Gun. She
still had everything.
That's where he was wrong. Belle missed Charlie
badly, but her wounded pride and broken heart kept him at arms
length. Her only solace was her studying – at least she was good
at that.
She sat back from her assignment. It was some of
her best work, and she was proud of what she was able to do. She
just wished she hadn't had to have lost so much to get it.
A tapping at the window brought her back to
reality. Charlie was outside, looking like a little lost puppy.
Belle smiled in spite of herself, that face always got to her.
“Hey goof-ball, what's up?” She opened the
window.
“Nothing much. How's the assignment nerd-face?”
Charlie replied, happy that they could at least still banter like
they used to.
“Almost done. If I get it handed in on Friday
then I can go for an extra-credit assignment, which will all but get
me to Brisvegas.” Belle bragged.
“Aren't you overworking yourself?” Charlie
asked.
“Nope.” Belle replied.
“You look pale.” Charlie pointed out.
Belle sighed.
“I really want to get to the University Dad went
to. Then I can come back and help him make a difference here.
People here simply don't care enough to try and change things.”
“We do!” Charlie said indignantly.
“Yeah, eight kids with a bit of optimism.”
Belle said bitterly. “I reckon that's how Tate convinced the DVM
to help her – keep the people under-educated so they won't fight
back. I don't see Revolver or Marion thinking of something like that
do you?”
“Not really.” Charlie sighed.
A loud creaking interrupted their chat.
“What's that noise?” Belle asked. Suddenly
the tree lurched forward. Charlie got away just in time, the old
tree finally snapping and falling.
“What happened?!” Thomas ran into Charlies
room. He looked out of the window and saw his son hanging out of the
opposite window, Belle holding him tightly. The tree lay between the
two houses, having taken down the power lines as well.
“Well, that could have ended badly.” Peter
walked over from the car, having just gotten home from another
meeting. “Being old to begin with, the flood probably rotted the
wood away.”
“It HAS ended badly!” Bill cried from inside.
“The cricket was on TV and now we have no power!”
Peters wail of pain could be heard throughout the
city.
–
Even though she had finally gotten her assignment
done, Belle was having trouble sleeping (it probably didn't help that
it was a pretty warm night and the power hadn't been restored to the
air conditioning). Eventually she got tired of not sleeping and
pulled on her Giggles attire.
Flying was a relief. Feeling the wind surrounding
her, the Backpack lifting her up, the clouds around her, it made her
forget for a while how her life was slowly going downhill.
She looked down. Master Revolver was standing
atop a tall building. Giggles hovered in the air for a second,
wondering what it was with people and tall buildings in
Pleasantville. He wasn't really hurting anyone at that time, so she
decided she'd leave him alone and head home.
The sound of a gunshot in her direction changed
her mind however.
“Can't a girl go for a midnight flight without
some moron firing his gun at her?!” Giggles fumed, hitting the face
of her watch. After the scolding she'd received from her father over
the whole Tate incident, she wasn't going to risk fighting anyone
alone ever again!
“And waste the opportunity to finally get my gun
back? Are you kidding me?” Master Revolver grinned. The bullet
had just grazed Giggles helmet, leaving it with a “scar” very
similar to the one that her father had earned across his cheek from
the fight with Johannas so many years ago.
“Fine, you're on!” Giggles flew at him,
dodging a few more shots that came her way. She shot at his feet
with the Lucky Seven Gun, which forced him to retreat.
“Shooting my feet won't do much little girl, I'm
on to your trick! You're too scared to kill me!” Master Revolver
fired again, this time nicking her hand. “Marion has been
impossible the last few days after getting back the Lions Claw Blade,
it's about time I shut her up by getting the Lucky Seven Gun back!”
“Like hell you will.” Giggles glared at him.
She swooped down at him, with a nasty punch into his guts. He tried
to regain composure but she swooped again, kicking him over.
“That'll learn you to – OH NO!” Giggles
cried as the Backpack gave out again and she fell down next to him,
knocking all of the wind out of her lungs. “I am going to KILL
Dad.” She muttered.
“That'll learn me what hmmm?” Master Revolver
stood up and pointed his pistol at Giggles. “Give me the Lucky
Seven Gun and I'll consider letting you live.”
Giggles froze. Where was everyone?!
“I'm not going to ask again, you either hand
over the Lucky Seven Gun or you die.” Master Revolver growled.
“You're defenceless and alone.”
Giggles gulped, and slowly extended the hand
holding the Lucky Seven Gun out towards him. He grabbed it as fast
as he could, before she could pull any of her tricks.
“It's mine again! It's mine! My family gun!”
He cried in glee. He turned to Giggles and smiled.
“I don't know how you got a hold of this.” He
said softly. “But now I'm going to make sure it never happens
again. Good bye Giggles.”
Giggles heart stopped. She was going to die at
the hands of this mad man. Her life was over.
“Hold it Revolver.” Said a
voice that Giggles thought she'd never hear again.
Master Revolver slowly looked around.
The tip of one of the Arm Scythes was pointed directly at him. A
small buzzing alerted Giggles that the Backpack had enough charge to
fly a small distance. She used the distraction to get herself back
up in the air and get the Desert Eagle in her hands.
“We gotta get out of here
Chuckles!” She called down to her best friend.
“Right. See you at home
Giggles.” Chuckles quickly backed off and ran from Master Revolver.
Giggles flew backwards, keeping the Desert Eagle trained on Master
Revolver until she was sure she was safe. Then she quickly landed
and ran away to the tip.
Now she'd lost the Lucky Seven Gun,
and she now knew exactly how poor Charlie felt.

Chapter Twenty-Six: From Bad…

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.

Belle was elbow-deep in legal history.
Even though she was only a part-time uni student, she still had
assignments that needed to be done.

Due to the destruction of the
University, Belle had to do all of her courses now online. While it
meant she could do school full-time again, it was still a
disappointment. Belle had loved being a uni student.
She could hear Woof yelping outside as
Meow chased him. She figured one day she'd teach that cat to leave
the poor dog alone. It was embarrassing really.
“Hey Belle! We're heading off to the
movies, you wanna come with us?” Charlie poked his head in the
window.
“I can't. I have an assignment due.”
Belle replied.
“The Legal History one that you have
a month to finish?” Charlie looked at her quizzically.
Belle sighed.
“Who else is going?” She asked,
preparing to close her books.
Charlie hesitated. Belle immediately
turned back to her books.
“If it's just you and Sunny then I'm
not going.” She said flatly.
“It's not!” Charlie protested.
“Actually, it's just me.”
“DEFINITELY not going.” Belle
picked up her pen.
“We used to go to the movies together
all the time Belle! Why not now?” Charlie begged.
“You have a girlfriend for that sort
of thing.” Belle fired.
“Sunny doesn't have a problem with
it!” Charlie snapped back. “You're the only one acting like
this.”
“I don't feel comfortable with it,
why is that such an issue?!” Belle turned around.
“Because we used to be inseparable.
Don't you remember?” Charlie begged.
“Yeah, I remember. But you have
someone else now.” Belle turned back to her books. “Go to the
movies with Sunny. If everyone else is going then I'll come.”
“Belle-,”
“Go away Charlie, I'm busy.” Belle
brushed him off. Charlie sighed. He climbed back across the shaky
tree to his own bedroom and slammed the window shut.
Belle sighed too. On one hand, heading
out to the movies with Charlie and everything being like it used to
be sounded great…but things weren't the way they used to be. Plus,
if she got this assignment done early enough, she could apply for an
extra credit assignment, making getting into the University her
father had studied at in Brisvegas a whole lot easier.
It had been a few months since Tate
died. Webster and Maddy had headed back to Brisvegas to continue
studying – Maddy was now pregnant too, which Webster was thrilled
about. It seemed the impending baby took the edge off his pain of
losing Tate.
Soon after, Bill came up with some
snacks for Belle.
“Thanks Uncle Bill.” Belle dug
into the yummy cream puffs.
“No problem.” Bill sat down on the
bed. “You know, your father and Thomas had a HUGE fight just
before we left for Brisvegas.”
“Really?” Belle perked up.
“Yeah. Your Dad was pretty jealous
that Thomas had gotten School Captaincy, especially as your Dad was
top of the class.” Bill remembered. “They needled each other
all year, before finally they had a huge dust-up in the school yard.
It didn't help that Thomas was a right royal prat about the whole
thing.”
“He was?” Belle asked, curious.
“Your Dad thought he'd try and help
out, try and pretend he wasn't jealous. Thomas let the power get to
his head a bit and passed on a few of Petes ideas as his own. They
were both in the wrong.” Bill laughed. “They made up a few
years later when you were born though – Thomas flew down to
Brisvegas almost the moment he heard you were in hospital, bringing a
lot of Charlies old baby clothes and stuff. The night they found out
that you were going to be okay, they went out drinking and made up.”

Belle smiled.
“The fact is, you can't just throw
500 years away over petty jealousy. Sooner or later you two will
make it up.” Bill looked out of the window. Sure enough, Thomas
and Peter were sitting down drinking a beer together.
“Yup. The moment they found out the
secret of the Clause, they were inseparable again.” Bill laughed.
“The secret of the Clause?” Belle
asked.
“Anyway, how's your studying going?”
Bill quickly changed the subject.
“Okay…” Belle figured she wasn't
going to get any more out of Bill.
“You're just like your father.”
Bill chuckled. He ruffled her hair and let her continue her work.
“He'll be late home too by the way – he's got a meeting to go
to.”
“He's had a few of those.” Belle
commented as Bill left.
–
“Kidnapping and extortion,”
Mobster Marion said as she sat in her expensive limo with Master
Revolver a few nights later. “Are two of my families staples. It's
how we've kept a firm hold of the City Council for so long.”
“I still don't see how brute force
wouldn't be at least as effective.” Master Revolver argued. “The
Death Valley Gang was easily as powerful as the Mob, and we didn't
resort to such wastes of time.”
“You were only able to keep your
foothold because of our hard work!” Mobster Marion fired back.
“Then how come you were never able to
get rid of us?” Master Revolver smirked.
Mobster Marion's eye twitched.
“Look, the point is, we're here to
scare the Mayor into acting on our orders. Usually we don't need to
resort to this, but due to the emergence of certain brats we don't
have a choice.” She snapped.
Master Revolver didn't reply, but wore
a satisfied smirk that rankled Mobster Marion.
“Stop here.” She barked at the
driver. She limo stopped and she quickly got out. Master Revolver
lazily joined her.
She went over to a nearby limo and
punched out the driver. Her driver quickly stole the mans clothes as
Mobster Marion pulled off the licence plate and swapped it with her
own.
“Seriously?” Master Revolver looked
amused.
“The Mayor has started taking
security measures – not very good ones, but they're there none the
less. We're just making sure we don't get caught.” Mobster Marion
explained.
“Isn't this how you lost the Lions
Claw Blade though?” Master Revolver asked.
“Don't remind me.” Mobster Marion
growled. “At least I didn't lose the Lucky Seven Gun while trying
to kidnap a bunch of kids!”
Master Revolver growled back. That
foolish mess had been his idea, trying to mimic the Mobsters of
Misneach, thinking that by expanding their operations they could
become the dominant crime syndicate in Pleasantville. It had lost
him his father and the family gun.
Never again.
Meanwhile, up above, Lady Courage,
Chuckles and Giggles were sitting on the roof of a nearby building.
“The others are hanging around the
Mayors house in case we stuff up.” Lady Courage explained.
“Hopefully that won't be the case though.”
“This'll be easy. Let's just go in,
kick some backside and get outta here. Mum's making meatloaf
tonight.” Chuckles grinned.
“Whatever you say.” Giggles
deadpanned. Chuckles was rankled, usually she'd rip his plans to
shreds.
'I still have the Improbability Clause
though. She can't take that off me.' He thought foolishly.
Chuckles bolted out first, followed
closely by Lady Courage. Giggles flew overhead.
“And look who we have here.”
Master Revolver pointed to Mobster Marion. “Now who'd have thunk
it?”
“Luckily for you, I did.” Mobster
Marion clicked her fingers.
“Argh!” Chuckles quickly stopped.
Fifteen Mobsters had jumped out of the limo, and stood facing the
heroes.
“Uh-oh.” Lady Courage looked at
the group. “Well?”
Chuckles was frozen. He hadn't thought
of what to do if they'd brought back up. He'd just assumed the
Improbability Clause would mean it was only the three of them,
proving that he had no clue on how the Clause really worked.
“Get them.” Mobster Marion
smirked.
“Oh NO!” Giggles fired the Lucky
Seven Gun at the feet of a few of the thugs, but it didn't deter
them. She could only keep them at bay.
She panicked. Chuckles ALWAYS knew
what he was doing, but now he looked like a fish out of water. She
hadn't realised how much she relied on his confidence for her to know
what to do. She thought of trying to take out the tyres of the limo,
but the moment she aimed at them Master Revolver shot at her, making
aiming impossible.
“Nice try little brat, but I learnt
from the whole truck incident.” Master Revolver smirked.
Lady Courage and Chuckles were in big
trouble. Lady Courage was already being contained by five of the
Mobsters, while Chuckles was badly bruised and in danger of succumbing
to them too.
Giggles swooped down and fired at the
Mobsters who had a hold of Lady Courage. They jumped away giving
Giggles enough time to grab her friend and deliver her to safety on
top of a nearby roof.
“I'm going back for Chuckles, you let
the others know what's happened.” Giggles commanded.
“Giggles! Wait! It's not safe!”
Lady Courage tried to stop her, but Giggles was gone.
Chuckles was barely holding his own
against the horde. Mobster Marion clicked her fingers again and the
siege subsided. She slowly walked towards Chuckles, the clicking of
her heels contrasting with the silence of the night.
“Now. This is where your life ends,
and you stopping annoying the living daylights out of me.” Mobster
Marion raised her sword. She brought it down hard, but one of the
Arm Scythes stopped her.
She kept pushing, forcing the Arm
Scythe back into Chuckles arm. He dropped the Lions Claw Blade in
pain, just as Giggles swooped in firing the Lucky Seven Gun. She
grabbed Chuckles and made her escape.
“No!” Chuckles cried, trying to
reach for his sword. Too late, it was gone.
The last thing Chuckles and Giggles saw
was Mobster Marion holding the Lions Claw Blade up to the sky.
“The Improbability Clause…it didn't
work?” Chuckles looked dumbfounded as Giggles flew him off into the
night.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Tates Revenge

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.

Tate. She was here.

“TATER! What are you doing?! Get
outta here!” Webster cried, running to her.
“Webby!” Tate couldn't help but
brighten up at the sight of her beloved Webster. For a moment, her
eyes mirrored his for colour and wildness and they could have been
siblings for all anyone else knew.
But then the darkness returned and the
sick smile came with it.
“When are you coming home Webby?”
She asked coolly.
“Pleasantville is my home now Tater.
I'm not going back.” Webster replied.
“Pleasantville won't exist very
shortly.” Tate frowned.
Realisation dawned on Websters face.
Tate was behind the destruction of the University. Tate. The girl
who had followed him around like a little lost puppy, pumping him up
when he felt down, annoying him at every opportunity. Who always
smiled and wanted to help the world.
“Why are you doing this?!” Maddy
cried.
Tate glared at her.
“Tater, please, I'm not going back.
If you're really that upset, why don't you come to Pleasantville too?
You can live with Maddy and I.” Webster tried.
That was too much. Tate stormed off.
“Tate! C'mon Tater, don't be like
this – ARGH!” Webster tried to run after her, but was cut off by
a bulldozer.
“We have to get out of here Webster!”
Maddy cried.
The exit now blocked, Webster pulled
Maddy towards a broken fence. That was blocked off by another dozer.
They were trapped.
“Darn it Tate!” Webster tried to
look for another exit. Suddenly he felt himself being pulled up
alongside Maddy.
“Webster! Is that your Tate?”
Giggles asked as she lifted them to safety.
“Yes. It is.” Webster sighed.
“Oh dear.” Giggles dropped them
outside of the fence.
“You're going back?!” Webster
cried as Giggles prepared to take off again.
“I have to try and stop them.”
Giggles replied.
“Where's Chuckles?”
“I don't need him.”
“Let me go and talk to Tate. She'll
listen to me. She always did.” Webster begged.
“It's too dangerous.” Giggles
replied.
“Please Giggles. She's not a bad
person, she just needs help.” Webster began to tear up. Giggles
sighed.
“Fine, but keep out of my way.”
She warned.
They both went back to the war zone.
Webster ran off to find Tate, and Giggles resumed taking down the
bulldozers.
“YIKES!” Giggles slammed her body
to the ground as a large crane swung at her. “Where did THAT come
from?!”
She rolled out of the way of a few
bullets, trying to scramble to her feet. The crane swung at her
again, clipping her leg as she got to her feet.
“Darn it!” She cried, trying to
get away from the constant barrage.
The crane was coming again for a third
shot. Giggles was doomed. There was no way it was going to miss
this time!
She closed her eyes and prepared for
the worst. A loud clang made her open her eyes.
“CHUCKLES!” She cried. The Arm
Scythes had been strong enough to deflect the crane.
“The others are here too. What were
you THINKING taking this all on yourself?!” Chuckles scolded her.
“Whatever.” Giggles scowled.
The Knights were busy disabling the
bulldozers as Giggles had been doing, only with a little more
difficulty owing to the fact they can't fly.
Giggles watched Sunny expertly jump
from one bulldozer to the other, kick the driver out of the cockpit
and steal the keys. No wonder Charlie liked her
better.
She got up and flew
around trying to find Webster. She found him trying to talk to Tate.
“Tater,
call this off! You're going to get someone killed!” He begged.
“Come
home to Brisvegas.” Tate replied.
“Tate,
this is ridiculous.” Webster got angry. “I don't love you. I
can't love you – not someone who will throw temper tantrums just
because she can't get her own way! You've always been a brat, and
enough's enough!”
Tate glared at him.
“I
gave you everything I could. I would have followed you anywhere.
You were my hero.”
“I
never asked for any of this.” Webster replied.
Giggles flew down
and stood in front of Tate.
“I
know how you feel Tate. The man I love doesn't want me either.”
Giggles sighed. “Please call this off, it's not going to change
anything.”
“Definitely
not.” Webster glowered behind her. “Not ever again. You let me
down, and I have nothing left for you.”
Tate looked at
Webster. Her heart shattered. He would never love her. He couldn't
love her.
She picked up her
phone and pushed a few buttons. Soon, the bulldozers had left,
leaving a ruin where there had once been a proud University.
Giggles hugged Tate
tightly. “I'm sorry Tate. I know it hurts, but you're going to be
okay. You and Webster will be brother and sister, the way you were
meant to be, and you'll both be happy.”
Tate stared blankly
into space. Her eyes were dead. Her body slumped.
“I
know I'll be okay.” She said hoarsely, before pushing Giggles off
and walking away.
“Webster!
Are you okay?” Maddy ran over and hugged Webster. Webster kept
his eyes trained on Tate, who disappeared into the dust.
He began to cry.
He DID love Tate, just not the way she wanted him to. Now she hated
him.
His heart was
broken too.
–
Belle walked with
Webster and Maddy to Tates hotel room the next day, hoping to talk to
her and cheer her up a little. The plan was to talk her into going
home to Brisvegas and getting some counselling.
“Poor
Tate.” Webster knocked on the door. “I didn't mean for any of
this to happen.”
“I
know. It's not your fault.” Belle replied. She thought of
Charlie and Sunny and cringed.
She still hadn't
spoken to Charlie. In fact, he was the LAST person on earth she
wanted to talk to. She just wanted to hide away and not see anyone
ever again.
“TATER!
It's me!” Webster banged on the door. “Open up!”
“BELLE! Get out here now! Talk to
me! I'm not going until you come out here! BELLE!” Charlie banged
on the door of Belles room the previous night.
No way had she been
getting out of that room and talking to Charlie.
“TATER!
Come on! Let me in!” Webster kept banging on the door.
“What
if she's not in?” Belle pointed out.
“She's
in.” Webster assured her. He grabbed the door handle and was
surprised to find it unlocked.
“TATER!
I'm coming in!” Webster called out, opening the door. The room
was huge and very nicely kept, decorated in blues and whites. It had
a tidy little kitchenette and a massive bathroom with a huge tub.
The curtains were drawn, but the room looked out onto Lake Pleasant.
There was a large four-post bed against the wall.
“TATE!”
Websters scream would haunt Belle forever. Hanging from the top of
the four-post bed was a limp Tate.
She was dead.
Webster pulled her
down and laid her on the bed. “No…no Tater no…why?! I loved
you Tate. Please don't leave me. I'm so sorry. Please don't be
dead Tate. I love you!” He sobbed into her chest, holding her
hand tightly in his own. “Please don't leave me.”
Maddy had her hands
over her mouth in shock. Tears began to fall from her eyes too.
Belle felt cold.
Cold and sick. Webster was devastated. Tate had supported him,
encouraged him, helped him, and now because of him she had taken her
own life.
“You
were my baby sister and I was supposed to look out for you. I'm so
sorry Tater. I'm so, so sorry.” He sobbed.
–
Webster cried
through the whole funeral, Maddy holding his hand. He couldn't speak
when it came time for the eulogy, and could barely hold up the coffin
as he helped carry it out of the church.
Belle could feel
Charlies eyes on her throughout the whole ceremony. It made her
uncomfortable. He should have been doting on Sunny, not thinking
about what he would have done if it had been Belles funeral they were
attending. If Belle had died fighting away the bulldozers, that she
had so stupidly taken on by herself. All she'd had to do was push in
the button on her watch, and they would have all been there and
fought as a team.
Charlie kept a firm
eye on Belle. He was angry with her for nearly getting herself
killed, angry with her for not talking to him and angry at her for
being jealous.
It hurt him that
he'd hurt her. It hurt him that she now hated him. Their friendship
had now changed, and he didn't think he liked it.
After the ceremony,
Sunny went to speak to Belle, who was sitting near the creek.
“Hey
Belle.” She sat down next to her.
“You
don't need to say anything.” Belle replied. Sunny sighed sadly.
“It's
fine Sunny, really. I'm okay.” Belle quickly added.
“Please
talk to Charlie. He misses you like crazy.” Sunny said.
“Why
would he miss me when he has you?” Belle sighed.
“You're
his best friend!” Sunny protested.
“I
know.” Belle looked at Sunny. “I'll get there. I promise.”
“I'm
sorry Belle. If I had known-,” Sunny started.
“It's
okay Sunny. He wants to be with you.” Belle interrupted.
Sunny couldn't
think of anything to say. She got up to walk away.
“Sunny?”
She turned back to
look at Belle, who was standing up.
“I'm
glad you're happy, if anyone deserves it, it's you.” Belle hugged
her tightly. “And thank you for making Charlie happy.”
Sunny gripped Belle
tightly. “Thank you.” She whispered.
“Besides,
you're pretty much my sister. Which would make Charlie my brother.”
Belle joked.
“Yeah.”
Sunny smiled.
“Well,
it's nice to see you two cooperating.” Charlie walked over and put
his arms around both of them.
“I'm
sorry for being a brat.” Belle looked down.
“It's
okay.” Charlie hugged her closer. Belle pulled away.
“You
ARE allowed to hug him y'know.” Sunny joked.
“I'm
going to go and see what Dad is doing.” Belle excused herself.
Charlie sighed.
“C'mon,
let's go find the others and cheer her up.” Sunny suggested,
taking his hand.
“Yeah,
okay then.” Charlie went with Sunny, sending one last wistful look
after Belle.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Tates Attack

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.


Charlie was worried. Belle was
avoiding him as much as she could, and he didn't know why. It stung,
she'd never treated him like this before and it put a nasty damper on
his new relationship with Sunny.
“Maybe she's just busy, you know
she's had a lot of work to do for uni.” Sunny stroked his hair as
they sat down for lunch one day, a week or so after the first kiss.
Belle had scooted off to the Library almost the moment Double English
had been dismissed.
“It can't be, she'd ask for my help
if that was it.” Charlie groaned.
“I think criminal law is a little
bit out of your reach Charlie.” Sunny chuckled, tickling him.
“Hey,
I'm plenty smart enough to handle it thank you!” Charlie laughed,
tickling her back.
Belle caught a
brief glance of them out of the window as she put a book back on the
shelf, and it cut her like a knife. Then the mere fact that she felt
like she was cut started to stab at her. Charlie was HAPPY. How on
earth could she call herself his best friend if she couldn't be happy
for him?
The constant
struggle of her emotions followed her to uni the next day, where
Maddy noticed she was a bit quieter than usual.
“What's
up chickie?” Maddy asked, popping a piece of chicken in her mouth.
“There's
a reason cutlery was invented.” Webster frowned at her.
“Bite
me.” Maddy sassed back. Webster smirked.
“I'm
in love with someone who's already got a girlfriend.” Belle sighed.
Webster suddenly
looked mock-serious.
“Belle.
You know I'm far too old for you, and I'm too in love with Maddy.”
He took one of Belles hands in his, making both girls laugh.
“Webster,
sweetie, I'm sorry, but it's certainly not an old man like you I'm
interested in.” Belle replied with the same mocking seriousness.
Webster feigned heart-break while Maddy roared with laughter.
“Forget
him Belle, seriously. You deserve someone who will love you so
completely that he won't even see another woman even if he's about to
walk into her.” Webster continued.
“Thanks.”
Belle smiled.
“You're
still young, and I bet your friend is too. There's still plenty of
time for him to grow up and smell the roses. It's not like he's
married or anything right?” Maddy nudged her. Webster rolled his
eyes.
“Horrible.”
He kissed Maddy.
“Seriously?!
GROSS!” Belle pretended to spew up while the couple made out.
While this was
happening, someone was watching them from a distance.
Tate missed her
boy. She wanted to see him – badly. So she'd snuck onto the
campus and stalked her prey for the day.
But she hadn't
expected this. Not for him to have someone else. To be in LOVE with
someone else.
Pain spread out
from her chest. Jealousy. Grief.
Anger.
She was going to
make sure he had to come back to Brisvegas. To her.
She had built a small business empire
trying to lure him back. She had made so much money over the past
year that neither of them would have to work again if they so
desired. She thought of all the things she'd tried to make him love
her – growing out her hair, working out, encouraging him no matter
what, paying for him to take the entrance exams to the University in
Brisvegas…
Belle felt someone watching them and
turned around, but couldn't see anyone. She tried to shrug it off,
but the feeling lingered.
Tate could feel the tears stinging her
eyes, but she fought them back. He was hugging her, kissing her,
looking at her with such love that Tate wanted to vomit.
A sense of helplessness came over her.
She HATED Pleasantville! It was a dinky little town compared to the
majesty of Brisvegas! Brisvegas had decent public transport for a
start, and crime was almost non-existant there. There were spacious
parks and a beautiful river and the shops were open 24/7. Why did
Webster want to live HERE of all places?!
She turned away and headed back to the
hotel where she was staying. She grabbed her phone and called Master
Revolver.
“Miss Tate! Lovely to hear from you.
What can I do to help you today?” Master Revolver answered the
phone, sounding so sickly-sweet that Tate was disgusted. She knew he
was just buttering her up and would turn on her in an instant if it
would benefit him.
“I want the University gone. Wiped
out. Off the map. Completely destroyed.” Tate said bluntly.
“Oh now you are talking my language!”
Master Revolver laughed. “How shall I do it? Explosives?
Arson?”
“Whatever way you see fit. Make sure
it's in the middle of the day where people will KNOW what happened.”
Tate commanded. “I want them all to be afraid.”
“You DO realise that runs the risk of
provoking those pests Chuckles and Giggles?” Master Revolver
pointed out.
Tate grinned. She knew that if she
took out the heroes of Pleasantville, it wouldn't be long before the
rest of the city fell. Then Webster would come back to Brisvegas,
because there would be nothing left here for him.
“Perfect.”
–
“Maybe she's busy with her new uni
friends?” Petunia suggested.
“Belle wouldn't ditch us like that
though.” TJ replied.
“Charlie's distraught. She's his
best friend and now she isn't talking to him at all.” Sunny sighed.
“She could be jealous.” Daniel
piped up.
“Jealous?” Sammy asked.
The Knights of the Last Order were
sitting at the tip that Saturday morning. They were supposed to be
sparring, but instead were talking.
“I think Belle might have had
feelings for Charlie. They've been inseparable since the day they
met.” Daniel explained. “Now Charlie is with Sunny, who, if you
all remember correctly, coveted everything that Belle had and made
her life a living hell.”
Sunny looked down. She hadn't meant to
hurt Belle. It was just that she had so much in common with Charlie,
and got along with him so well.
“Don't feel too bad Sunny. Belle
will get over it.” Sammy said brightly, while Tammy took her hand.
Sunny tried to smile but it faltered.
“Belle is almost like a sister to me
now. I can't believe I didn't think of her before I acted. Oh lord,
we were even TALKING about Belle before I kissed him! How
insensitive am I?!” Sunny buried her face in her hands.
“Sunny, it will be okay. Belle loves
Charlie. She'll want him to be happy, even if it's with you. She
just needs some time.” Petunia tried to cheer her up.
Sunny still looked downcast.
“Let's spar.” Sammy jumped up.
“I'll pretend I'm Master Revolver and you guys can try and take me
out.”
“Master Revolver huh?” Daniel
looked at him, amused.
“Duh, I'm Master Revolver, I like
guns although I don't know how to use one.” Sammy put on an
exaggerated voice and crossed his eyes. Even Sunny had to howl with
laughter at that one.
“I'll be Mobster Marion.” Petunia
got into it. “Oh, I'm so beautiful, I'll just stand here and look
at my reflection all day long.”
“Oh Marion, your beauty is so
magnificent! But it's nothing compared to this shiny object I
stole!” Sammy continued.
The group roared with laughter.
Suddenly Sunny perked up.
“Hey Charlie!” She bounded over to
her boyfriend who had just walked over. He smiled as she hugged him,
and gave her a kiss on the nose.
“I heard laughing, what are you guys
up to?” He asked as he walked back to the group with Sunny on his
arm.
“Mocking Revolver and Marion.”
Daniel chuckled.
“We think we might have figured out
why Belle is MIA.” TJ said as Charlie sat next to him.
“Oh? She completely ignored me this
morning and rushed off to her stupid open day at the uni.” Charlie
looked upset.
“She's jealous of you and Sunny.”
TJ said.
“You what now?” Charlie looked
confused.
“Seriously Charlie, you're thicker
than you look. Did it never occur to you that Belle might have liked
you more than a friend?” Petunia shook her head at him.
“Ah…no?” Charlie looked
sheepish. “Whoops.”
“You moron.” Sunny poked him.
“She'll get over it though.”
Charlie said brightly. “She's bouncy like that. Once she gets
used to it then she'll be okay.”
“I hope so.” Sunny looked downcast
again. Charlie hugged her.
“I know so. She's pretty awesome
like that.” Charlie bragged. As much as he loved Sunny, he was
still very proud of his Belle.
“Do you think we should go see her at
the uni? Make her feel a little less excluded?” Daniel suggested.
“She probably feels left out.”
Tammy jumped up immediately. Sammy
grinned too.
“Let's go!” He ran off.
The others followed, all laughing.
–
It was a good thing they decided to
head to the University, because Giggles was in trouble.
Belle had just finished watching a
presentation done by the art department, and was walking back to the
Legal facility with Webster and Maddy when the Death Valley Mobsters
struck.
“Oh NO!” Belle ran into the toilet
block with her friends at her heels.
The Death Valley Mobsters had gotten a
hold of some bulldozers, and were chasing the attendees around. The
Science building was quickly destroyed, and several others were
badly damaged.
“Why are you hiding in here when
they're destroying the buildings?!” Webster cried as a loud bang
sounded outside.
“Can you keep a secret?” Belle got
into a cubicle and quickly pulled her Giggles gear out of her bag.
She got into her gear as quickly as she could.
“Of course we can keep a secret
Belle, we're your friends! What's up?” Maddy asked.
Belle holstered her guns and grabbed
the Backpack and her helmet. She then opened the cubicle door.
“Just call me Giggles.” She said,
pulling on her helmet and running out to fight off the bad guys.
Webster and Maddy ran
“We'd better find a better hiding
spot!” Webster dragged Maddy away.
“We've been friends with Giggles this
whole time?” Maddy was impressed.
Giggles ran up to one of the dozers and
jumped up to the cockpit.
“Hi there. Where's Revolver?” She
asked of the Mobster that was driving it.
“None of your business! He's left
Miss Tate in charge of this one!” The Mobster replied.
“Miss Tate?!” Giggles stepped
back. “Who on earth is Miss Tate?!”
“Some rich chick from Brisvegas.”
The goon replied. “Now rack off!”
Tate? Brisvegas? Rich?
Giggles didn't want to believe it. She
kicked the windshield of the dozer in, knocking out the Mobster. She
then turned off the dozer and took the key out of the ignition.
“Only about twenty more of those to
go…” She muttered. She saw another dozer heading for her, and
quickly flew upwards to dodge the collision.
Webster was running hand-in-hand with
Maddy, looking for an exit. He finally got to the front entrance,
when he stopped dead in his tracks in shock.

Chapter Twenty-Three: I Want You Back.

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.

Belle got out of uni one day a few months later
feeling flat. The work was a lot harder than she was used to, and
the extra work was cutting into her social life. Plus the University
had just lost funding for her tutor, so life was even harder.

In fact, a lot of funding had been lost recently,
especially for the Legal studies. First they'd upped the price of
the course, then they fired a few staff, and then the price of
textbooks went up. Webster was getting pretty annoyed, and Maddy
thought it was a conspiracy.
Belle sighed to herself, wondering at her
misfortune and the misfortune of the University. At all the work
she had to do. At how unfair life seemed at that moment. But still,
at least she could still walk home with her friends, right?
“Where's Charlie and Sunny?” Belle asked as
she approached the group.
“They're staying back to work on a project
together for Wood Work.” TJ replied.
“Cool.” Belle said. Inside she felt cold and
upset. Charlie had been spending a lot more time with Sunny
recently. Even when Belle was in school she felt like a third wheel.

Charlie had been her best friend for as long as
she could remember. To be honest, she wouldn't have been surprised
if they ended up together – in fact, she was hoping for it, and had
been since she was ten. Now Sunny was on the scene, and Belle didn't
like it.
'She was always jealous of me.' Thought Belle. 'So
she's finally decided she's stealing my best friend.'
“Anyway, we're heading off to Dan's place for
his parents anniversary. We'll catch up with you later Belle!”
Sammy patted her back as the group headed off towards Dans place.
Belles shoulders were slumped as she walked back
home. Didn't ANYONE want to hang out with her?
–
“This.” Said Master Revolver. “Was a
brilliant idea.”
“I can't believe we didn't think of this
before.” Mobster Marion agreed.
The third figure at the table was a boyish-looking
young lady with jet-black short hair and green eyes that could turn
wild in a heart-beat. They hadn't been wild in a long time though,
they'd been dark and downcast for a good year.
“I did tell you it was a good idea. The less
students they graduate out of the Legal program, the less prosecutors
there'll be to send you to gaol.” She said smugly.
“Yes, plus with the Council tipping less money
into education, they have more to devote to projects more in line
with our interests.” Master Revolver sipped the dark red wine.
“You get what you want, and I get what I want.”
The young lady said, eating another spoonful of soup.
“You still haven't told us what you want.”
Mobster Marion eyed her warily. “Why are you helping us?”
“What does it matter?” The young lady looked
up. “You should just be grateful I've joined your cause.”
“You're one of the richest self-made business
owners in the country. Why would you want to lower yourself to the
level of us petty criminals?” Master Revolver asked.
“You certainly rose to prominence quickly. It
must have been a lot of hard work.” Mobster Marion mentioned.
“I had a good example when it came to hard
work.” The young lady sipped her drink. “I knew the only way I
could meet my goals was to work harder than I ever had.”
“We certainly have much respect for you. Your
should be proud of your achievements.” Master Revolver toasted her.
“They're nothing but a stepping stone to what I
really want.” The young lady frowned.
“I like her. So much lust for power. You will
go far indeed.” Mobster Marion grinned.
The lady merely smiled back, and continued eating
the delicious soup that was on offer. It wasn't power she was after
of course, although it would help in her in the long run.
No. What Tate wanted was her beloved Webster
back.
And she would stop at NOTHING until he was hers,
even if it meant destroying his dreams.
Even if it meant destroying Pleasantville.
–
Belle was sitting in the tree petting Meow, bored
out of her skull. Her father had forbid her from studying, saying
she was starting to look pale, and told her to go out and play with
Charlie.
One problem – he was still at the school with
Sunny.
It annoyed her no end. Sunny had been downright
cruel to them for YEARS. Belle could still remember the time Sunny
had taken her favourite school bag and set it alight – thankfully
Charlie had stepped in and saved the contents from harm at least.
Then there was the time she and Daryl shoved Charlie down the stairs
of the English block – thankfully Belle had caught him before he
fell too far and broke any bones.
Now Sunny and Charlie were all buddy-buddy.
Belle was going to fix that. This weekend she was going to take
Charlie on a picnic – just them. She'd gotten her licence a while
back and was going to drive him to the Silver Coast for the weekend.
They would do all the things they used to, go for walks, watch
movies, sing loudly and obnoxiously to the car radio…
Belle sighed, thinking of how much fun they were
going to have, when she heard voices.
It was Charlie and Sunny!
“And then my Dad smacked the living daylights
out of the two thugs like it was nothing!” Charlie chuckled,
recounting the story of Peter and Johannas.
“Wow, poor Belle.” Sunny replied.
“Yeah. He won't ever hurt her again though.”
Charlie promised. Belles heart gave a little leap.
“She's really lucky to have a best friend like
you.” Sunny looked at him wistfully.
“Don't fall for it Charlie!” Belle muttered
to herself. Slimy, no good Jones!
“I'm not ALL that great.” Charlie laughed
bashfully.
“I think you are.” Sunny continued.
“You're pretty awesome yourself. Everything
you've been through…” Charlie trailed off. He looked at Sunny.
She was beautiful. Even the little scar under her eye added to her
allure.
“I have you and Belle to thank for getting me
out of that.” Sunny smiled shyly. Charlie wasn't the most
handsome boy, but he was still charming, polite and kind. Sunny
couldn't help but want to be close to him.
“Friends look out for each other.” Charlie an
arm around her.
“It means a lot to me that you consider me a
friend. Especially after everything I did…” Sunny looked down.
“Water under the bridge. You were a different
person.” Charlie lifted her chin up.
“Not really. I still get jealous of you and
Belle sometimes.” Sunny admitted.
“Knew it.” Belle muttered.
“There's nothing to be jealous of. You're one
of us now.” Charlie told her.
Sunny smiled up at him again. Charlie couldn't
help it. Neither could she. They kissed.
Belle nearly fell out of the tree. Her blood ran
cold and her heart stopped. She couldn't breathe. Tears began to
burn at the backs of her eyes and she felt like she was dying.
Charlie had KISSED Sunny Jones!
The pair pulled apart. “Umm…” Sunny smiled
shyly again.
“I'll see you at school tomorrow?” Charlie
asked.
“Sure. See ya!” Sunny gave him another peck
on the cheek and bounded off, the happiest girl in Pleasantville.
Finally, she felt like she had someone, someone who was hers and hers
alone. It wrapped around her like an invisible cloak, not even her
cold family could hurt her that night!
Charlie couldn't believe it either. It was as if
all his Christmases had come at once. He bounded inside, kissed his
sisters, hugged his mother, thumped his father on the back and bolted
upstairs.
He had to tell Belle!
He scrambled out of his bedroom window into the
tree, nearly falling head-first into the ground below in his haste.
“BELLE! Belle! Something AMAZING just
happened! Belle? Belle, are you home?” Charlie knocked on the
closed window, the blind drawn down. Odd. “Belle!”
Inside the bedroom however, Belle was sobbing,
completely and miserably heartbroken.
In her heart, she felt that she had lost her
Charlie forever.
To Sunny Jones, who had once made her life
unbearable.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Back To School

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.

 Surprisingly enough, Pleasantville recovered
pretty quickly from the flood. A few months passed, then school was
back in and Belle was looking forward to it.

“Tuesdays and Thursdays at uni, three days
chilling with you guys!” Belle walked to school with the rest of
the group (minus Daniel, who was working at the local timber mill).
“I'm glad you're excited.” TJ deadpanned. He
hated school with a passion, and was looking forward to being able to
leave and join the police force with his father.
“We're in the same roll call class too!” Sunny
took Belles arm. Belle gave her a friendly bump with her hip. The
two were almost like sisters nowadays, with Sunny staying over most
nights.
“I know! Charlie is with us too.” Belle
looked up at her best friend. He put his arm around her and squeezed
her tightly.
It turned out that the three of them had several
classes together. They all shared Maths and English, Belle and
Charlie had Business Principals together, and Belle and Sunny had
Music. Charlie and Sunny shared the rest of their classes, which
were Wood Working, Metal Working and Technical Drawing.
“I can't wait for my first day at uni tomorrow.
A few of the guys in Legal Studies were giving me heaps over it.”
Belle said over lunch.
“It must be so exciting. You're going to be a
uni student!” Petunia smiled.
“It's gonna be a huge responsibility though.”
TJ pointed out.
“Belle can handle it, no problem. She's
awesome.” Charlie grinned. Belle beamed. There was no higher
praise than what came from Charlie in her eyes.
The rest of the day passed in a blur, and soon
Belle was standing at the entrance of the University on a warm
Tuesday morning.
Nerves overtook her as she walked in. Her hands
were trembling as she tried to figure out which building her lecture
was supposed to be in.
“Hey there. You look a little lost.” She
heard a voice behind her.
She turned around to see a man smiling down on
her. Belle silently cursed her short stature and smiled back.
“Yeah, I'm a little lost. I'm supposed to be in
Introduction to Criminal Law in about fifteen minutes.” She blushed
slightly.
He laughed.
“I know where that is, I took it last year.
Come with me, you're not too far off where you need to be.” He led
her to a tall building that Belle had passed about four times and
took her inside.
He was very handsome, with wild green eyes and
jet-black hair. Belle couldn't help but stare a little.
“And here you are.” He showed her a lecture
theatre where people were already sitting inside.
“Thanks!” Belle grinned with relief.
“No problem. You look a little young to be a
uni student though.” He smiled back.
“I'm doing it part-time while I'm still in year
twelve.” Belle explained.
“Well then, you'll probably see a lot of me
around then! My name is Webster.” He held out his right hand.
“I'm Belle.” Belle shook it.
“I've gotta go, but if you want to go to the Rec
at lunchtime you can sit with my girlfriend and I.” Webster
offered.
“That sounds great, thank you!” Belle felt a
lot better. She sat down and pulled out the new Tablet her father
had bought her just for her uni work. She turned it on and attached
the keyboard that her uncle had bought to go with it. She also
flicked open her notepad and pulled out her new pens. A few other
students had their textbooks open, so Belle got hers out too. She'd
read a few of them already, she had been so excited.
The lecture was interesting too. Belle jotted
down as much as she could without getting lost. She thought of her
father and what he did. It felt good that she was getting the tools
she needed to really make a difference.
Afterwards, she headed to the Rec hall to get
something to eat. Her next lecture wasn't until after lunch, and she
was grateful to have a bit of a break.
She saw Webster sitting with the most beautiful
Asian woman Belle had ever laid eyes on, with chestnut hair and blue
eyes. He noticed her and waved for her to sit with them.
“Hi Belle. This is Maddy, my lovely lady.”
He grinned at the woman cheekily. She smiled back and shook hands
with Belle.
“Don't listen to a word this man says, he's more
trouble than he's worth.” Maddy chuckled, poking her boyfriends
ribs. “So you're our new part-timer huh?”
“Yeah. I want to go into criminal law
eventually.” Belle sat down, stomach rumbling. She was thrilled
with the choice of food here, and had neatly stacked her place with
roast meat and veggies.
“Excellent! Do you have family in law or
something?” Webster asked. “My grand-father was a prosecutor in
Brisvegas.”
“My Dad's a prosecutor too – Peter Masters.”
Belle said with a huge swelling of pride. Maddy and Webster looked
at each other.
“YOU are Peters daughter?!” Maddy gasped.
“Wow!”
Belle blushed slightly.
“Why did you leave Brisvegas?” She asked
Webster.
He looked uncomfortable. Maddy sighed.
“Tate.” She replied.
“Tate?” Belle asked.
“I'm not originally from Brisvegas. I moved
there to live with my grand-father about ten years ago. It was
alright for the first few years, until I met Tate. She started
following me around. It was pretty cool, like having a little
sister.” Webster pushed his meat around the plate. “But when I
told her I was coming here to study law she got really upset.”
“Oh…” Belle felt awkward.
“It's okay. I do love Tate, just not the way
she wants me to.” Webster put his arm around Maddy.
“Tate sounds like a bit of a pain.” Belle
ventured.
“She's not really. If it wasn't for her
encouragement I wouldn't have even got into law. I would have just
gotten the first job I could.” Webster said. “She just…it's
complicated.”
Belle understood. Tate wanted to be with Webster,
but Webster simply wasn't interested.
“Then I got here last year and met Maddy.”
Websters grin returned. “I'll probably stay here for the rest of
my life now.”
“Trust me, there'll be no shortage of work.”
Belle said bitterly, thinking of her hated enemies.
“Not with Chuckles and Giggles keeping things in
order. Not to mention the Knights of the Last Order. We're big fans
of theirs.” Maddy said.
“Really? So am I.” Belle smiled, secretly
wondering how her new friends would react if they knew who she was!
Speaking of which, her watch suddenly started
flashing orange. Sir Lionheart was in trouble!
“I'm sorry, I have to go, something came up.”
Belle quickly excused herself. She looked at her real watch. She
had an hour to go until her next class. Plenty of time to sort out
any of her regular foes.
She stuffed her uni gear in her locker then hid in
an old shed and changed. Pretty soon, Giggles was out and about!
–
Giggles crept up to the Council building, where
Demon was now holding hostages. Johannas was with him, laughing at
how scared the Councillors were.
“Psst!” She heard someone hiss behind her.
“Chuckles! I thought you were in school!”
Giggles whispered.
“It's lunchtime, so I thought I'd come and help.
The others are stuck unfortunately.” Chuckles replied.
“How is school anyway?”
“Pretty good.”
Giggles turned around. She saw Daniel standing
next to a load of wood that was being used for an extension on the
building. He'd been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“C'mon, what are we waiting for?! Why are we
sitting here whispering if we can just go and get him?” Chuckles
was ready to go.
“Because we don't know if he has any more of his
minions around. We don't want innocent people getting – FOR THE LOVE
OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND JUST IN THIS WORLD! CHUCKLES!!” Giggles
roared in anger as Chuckles ran out with the Lions Claw Blade ready
to strike.
“Chuckles and Giggles. I thought you two would
be at school or something.” Demon frowned. “Johannas! We're
leaving!”
“You're joking, right? You're just going to up
and leave?” Giggles looked at Demon, dumbfounded.
“Yup.” Replied Demon.
“You didn't bring any back up?”
“Nup.”
“You're just going to run away without a fight?”
“Yup.”
Giggles could feel the familiar twinge of her eye
twitching. The smoke bomb went off, and Demon was gone.
“I love being right.” Chuckles came over and
leaned on Giggles. “How Improbable was that?”
Funnily enough the teachers believed him when he
explained that his black eye had been the result of an unfortunate
slip in the toilets.
–
The rest of the lectures were not quite as
entertaining as as the first one, but Belle still enjoyed them. She
packed up her things and headed out towards the school, where she'd
walk home with the others.
She got to the front gate of the school and was
about to wait for her friends, when she saw that they'd already
walked off.
“HEY! Hey you snobs! Wait for me!” She ran
to catch up with them.
“Hey Belle! How was uni?” Sammy asked
excitedly.
“Really fun. I made some new friends already.”
Belle replied. She looked over at Sunny and Charlie, who were
laughing.
“What's the joke?” She asked.
“They won't tell us.” TJ frowned.
“You had to be in Metal Works to get it.”
Charlie snorted. Belle rolled her eyes.
“Anyway, how's Dan going? I hear you two saved
his bacon.” Petunia asked.
Charlie was about to answer, but a warning glance
from Belle silenced him. “It was fun.” He said sheepishly.

Chapter Twenty-one: Johannas and Demon

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.

Once the water was down, the funeral was held. Joe
spent most of it shaking. A brother and a daughter. Both gone
within a year.

Peter was feeling empty. Impotent. Jessie had
always been his responsibility, and now she was dead.
Bill had lost his little sidekick. The pair had
been inseparable as children, and he'd never fully forgiven her for
abandoning the Code. Now he was prepared to forgive anything.
Belle didn't know how to feel. She knew this was
her aunt whom her family had loved, but she had never known her. She
knew she had to get Johannas though. She had to stop him from
hurting anyone else.
The Code, no, her Code,
demanded it.
–
“IT'S THE MOB!”
“RUN FOR YOUR
LIVES!”
Oh come on. Like you
DIDN'T expect the Death Valley Mob to start looting the moment the
water went down.
“You know, I do
like floods. Makes it so much easier to escape gaol for one thing.”
Master Revolver walked along the street with a sack of stolen goods.
Even though most of the city had been completely submerged, there
was still a fair bit of stuff that hadn't been hurt.
“And you do get
such nice things for a very reasonable price.” Mobster Marion
inspected her new diamond ring, courtesy of her boyfriend.
The pair strutted
happily along the road, enjoying the screams of terror and the
looting being done by their underlings around them.
“I'm SO glad my
family built on the east side. My mansion is fine, I get new things,
the city is ours for the taking…oh isn't life wonderful?!”
Mobster Marion went into a rapture, making Master Revolver laugh.
“As long as my
girl is happy, then so am I.” He took her hands and swung her
around into his arms.
“You lying
hound.” Mobster Marion batted her eye lashes at him. “Only
stealing and hurting others makes you happy.”
“Oh you know me
too well.”
“You two are
disgusting.”
“Oh poo. What
do YOU want Demon?” Mobster Marion glared at the villainous swine.
“Me? I just
want to be thanked for my efforts. It was my hard work that
triggered this flood in the first place.” Demon smirked.
“Yes, we heard
about the poison plan.” Master Revolver narrowed his eyes. “What
WAS in that bottle?”
“Blue food
colouring.” Demon laughed.
“And you MEANT
to cause a widespread flood?” Mobster Marion raised an eyebrow.
Demon hesitated. “I thought so. You just got lucky.” Mobster
Marion laughed.
“The fact is
that without me, you two wouldn't be enjoying yourselves nearly half
as much!” Demon fired.
“Because I've
never escaped from gaol without your help before.” Master Revolver
rolled his eyes.
“Whatever. I
see you're not going to show any gratitude.” Demon turned away,
angry.
“Bye bye
Demon!” Mobster Marion waved as Demon stalked off. Both she and
Master Revolver roared with laughter at themselves.
Demon headed down a
nearby alleyway, furious. How DARE they mock him?! Hadn't he proven
a match for Chuckles and Giggles, not to mention the Knights of the
Last Order? Hadn't he destroyed Sapphire?
He was stewing
furiously until he came across a sad, pathetic individual slouched
against the wall, sobbing loudly.
“What's wrong
with YOU?” Demon looked down his nose at the man.
“I killed my
girlfriend. I killed my baby.” The man sobbed.
“Oh. That IS a
shame.” Demon sat down next the forlorn creature.
“I lost all my
dope too.” The man sniffled.
Demon smirked inwardly.
This guy could be a good lackey if given the drugs he wanted.
“You haven't
had the best time have you?” Demon put an arm around the man.
“What's your name?”
“Johannas.”
Was the sullen reply.
“Well Johannas,
how would you like to come with me? We can get you something to eat,
a nice hot shower, and all the drugs you can ask for.” Demon
grinned.
“You mean it?”
Johanna asked, perking up.
“Of course.”
Demon helped the man to his feet. “As long as you promise to help
me, you can have whatever you like.”
“Oh THANK YOU!”
Johannas hugged him tightly. Demon patted his back gently.
“Now lets get
out of this cold alleyway hey?” Demon helped Johannas to walk.
Meanwhile, the Death
Valley Mobsters were having their party crashed.
“Hi hi Marion!
Hi hi Revolver! You guys been shopping?” Giggles flew around the
heads of the two Mobsters.
“None of your
business you runt!” Master Revolver tried to swat her away.
“Be nice to my
best friend!”
Master Revolver
suddenly found himself on the wrong end of the Lions Claw Blade –
and Chuckles!
“Watch where
you're pointing that thing amateur!” Mobster Marion growled,
pulling out her own blade.
Meanwhile, two of their
unfortunate lackeys had come face-to-face with Sir Dark and Lady
Courage. Sir Hyper was happily taunting a third who had dropped a
rather expensive television set, and the rest were being sorted out
by the other Knights.
“Do you ALWAYS
have to bring your little posse with you?!” Master Revolver glared
at the Knights.
“Only when you
do.” Replied Giggles.
Demon quickly poked his
head out of the alley way and saw the confrontation. Johannas
suddenly yelped.
“It's her!
She's the one who made me kill my girlfriend!” Johannas cried.
Demon raised an eyebrow. Who was this guy kidding? Giggles seemed
like the type who would never condone murder.
“I want to kill
her too. I want her to pay for what she did.” Johannas growled.
Demon grinned.
“Well then, why
don't you go and get her?” Demon suggested casually. “Climb up
this stairwell here to get to the roof, and get her from there!”
Johannas grinned and
started climbing. He got to the top and leapt at Giggles.
“Oh – NO!”
Giggles soared upward trying to shake her attacker off. She threw
him back on the roof and landed near him, when she noticed who it
was.
Johannas. The man who
had murdered her aunt and unborn cousin.
“Get her
Johannas!” Demon called from below. Giggles grimaced.
“I thought
Demon was all about righting the wrongs of society through force, but
now I see he's only after power. Why else would he associate with a
murderer?” She glared at Johannas, ready to take him down.
Johannas flew at
Giggles in a rage. Giggles went for the Lucky Seven Gun.
A Masters will never willingly take the life of
another.
She froze. Johannas
began raining down blows on her. She couldn't fight back, her mind
had locked up and her body wouldn't move.
“You're a
pathetic piece of rubbish and I'm going to make you pay for
everything you've done!” Johannas roared. Giggles felt like she
was being ripped apart. He threw her to the ground and sneered at
her.
Unfortunately for him,
he didn't get the chance to finish her. As he was going to stomp
her, he too found himself at the wrong end of the Lions Claw Blade.
“Leave my best
friend alone.” Chuckles said evenly, but Giggles could hear him
seething. Johannas realised he was no match for the swords man, and
quickly made his way back to Demons side.
Giggles got up slowly.
She noticed that Mobster Marion and Master Revolver had made a
getaway.
“They're long
gone. But they'll be back.” Chuckles answered her mute question.
“And so will he.”
Giggles folded her arms
across her legs and sighed. “I'm sorry.” She whispered.
Chuckles knelt down
next to her.
“You have
nothing to be sorry for buddy. I probably would be the same way with
Demon.” He said, gripping her hand. He thought of his
grand-father. “You can't beat yourself up. It's too soon after
the trauma for you to be able to face him.”
“I wanted to
kill him. But I kept thinking of the Code. What's wrong with me?!”
Giggles balled up her hands into fists.
“Wasn't the
Masters Code originally created to help curb the violent tendencies
of the Masters clan?” Chuckles asked. “You're just feeling the
echos of some leftover genetics.”
“Leftover
genetics.” Giggles sighed. “Brilliant.”
She couldn't escape the
feelings no matter how hard she tried.
“Come on, let's
head back. You can fly me some of the way.” Chuckles helped her
up. He hugged her tightly.
“I won't let
you break the Code. I promise you. Just like you wouldn't let me.”
“I know.”
They held each other
for a long time, both thinking of the ones they'd lost.
Life wasn't fair.

Chapter Twenty: Happenings In The Hotel

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.

 It took about a week for the Council to
start work on cleaning up the city. The dam was quickly rebuilt, and
the water took another week to drain off. Before then people had
started to move out to the eastern suburbs which had escaped
virtually unscathed.

However, things were happening in the
hotel.
Daniel was quiet. Too quiet. He had
barely spoken after getting fished out of the water by Sir Hyper, and
usually only offered shrugs or grunts in answer to any questions from
the other Knights.
“Something's wrong with our fearless
leader.” Sunny dragged the Knights into a spare room a few days
after the water started receeding.
“I know. But he won't tell us what's
wrong.” Petunia sighed sadly.
“He gets like this sometimes guys,
you know he'll snap out of it.” TJ tried to cheer them up.
“Yeah, but it's usually only for a
couple of hours. He's been like this for over a week now.” Petunia
argued.
“I wonder if he's upset about nearly
drowning.” Sammy piped up. Tammy nodded.
“Maybe. But he's had plenty of
near-death experiences before.” Sunny pointed out.
The five of them looked at each other.
Daniel was their leader, their hero, and if there was something wrong
with him then it affected the whole Order.
Speaking of the devil, Daniel walked in
soon after that.
“Hey guys. Team meeting without me?”
He joked, but the joke was hollow.
“About you, actually.” TJ looked at
his best friend.
Sunny closed the door and locked it.
“You're going to have to talk to us
Dan, something's up and we want to help you.” Petunia said gently.
“I'm fine.” Daniel shifted
uncomfortably. “Unlock the door Sunny.”
“Not until you talk to us Sir
Lionheart.” Sunny replied, taking her Lady Courage tone.
“There's nothing to talk about.”
“There IS, that's why Sir Dark called
us in.” Petunia took her Lady Luck tone. “You've been quiet and
moody since the flood!”
“Everyone's been on edge!” Daniel
snapped back.
“We've still been talking to each
other and helping each other.” Sammy stood up as Sir Hyper. Tammy
took her Lady Silent stance beside him.
“You're committing mutiny?!” Daniel
looked around horrified. Sir Dark frowned at him.
“NO mate, we want to help you. We
need you to be okay. You're our leader and our friend.” He begged
of Daniel. “We need you to be Sir Lionheart, we need to follow
you!”
“After I nearly got three of you
killed?!” Daniel cried. He immediately went silent.
“We're nearly getting ourselves
killed all the time. What happened wasn't your fault.” Sir Dark
clapped his shoulder.
“I shouldn't have dragged you guys
into it.” Daniel flopped down on a couch, tears beginning to form.
“I should never have let you guys become Knights.”
“Oh BUNKUM!” Lady Courage roared
angrily. Everyone jumped. “If it wasn't for us you wouldn't even
BE Sir Lionheart.”
“You wouldn't be able to be Sir
Lionheart if you didn't let us be Knights – no matter what you do
we'll follow you anywhere!” Sir Hyper piped up.
“If you're Sir Lionheart, then we're
the Knights of the Last Order. We won't let you do it alone!” Lady
Courage added.
“You took on the bulk of the danger
yourself, like you always do. You didn't do anything wrong, it was
just bad luck.” Lady Luck tried.
“You couldn't have saved those people
alone. And you couldn't have just left them.” Sir Dark added.
Lady Silent took Daniels hand and
squeezed it tightly. She looked up at him with such devotion and
loyalty that he couldn't hold back the tears any longer.
“I'm sorry guys.” Sir Lionheart
admitted.
“It's okay mate. We all have our
moments.” Sir Dark breathed a sigh of relief.
“YAY! Sir Lionheart is okay again!”
Sir Hyper jumped up in his usual hyperactive way. Sir Lionheart
grinned.
He hadn't realised how much these kids
looked up to him.How much they wanted to be like him and copy him.
How much they all needed him to be their leader and hero. It was
scary really. But not surprising, given that most of them he'd
looked after ever since they were little.
–
Things weren't going as well for
Chuckles and Giggles however.
“Why did you save him again?” Betty
deadpanned as Johannas screamed down the walls. They had forced him
into one of the spare rooms and locked him in so he couldn't hurt
anyone. His violent episodes were becoming more and more dangerous.
“Because…job description?” Belle
tried. “He's technically my uncle and the father of my
cousin-to-be?”
“Well, I hope you're happy.” Betty
replied shortly. She stalked off, scowling at Jessie who was sitting
near the door.
“Thanks Belle. I thought we were
done for.” Jessie looked up at her niece, who looked sadly at the
door Betty had just stormed through.
“It's no problem. The Code demanded
it.” Belle shrugged.
“The stupid Code.” Jessie chuckled.
She took another mouthful of hot soup. “I never understood why
the family had to have a Code to tell them how to behave like human
beings.”
“It's more than that.” Belle
argued.
“Really?” Jessie looked at her
sceptically.
“You'll never get it.” Belle shook
her head and walked out. She headed outside, where Charlie was
sitting.
“How's your aunt?” He asked
sympathetically.
“Eh.” Was the sullen reply.
Charlie smiled sadly, and put an arm
around his best friend. They sat there cuddled up with their heads
together, watching the water slowly drain away.
“She seems okay. She's very dead-set
against the Code though.” Belle said finally.
“Being against the Code doesn't
necessarily make you a bad person.” Charlie reminded her. “Think
of your great-Aunt Matilda.”
“Yeah, I know. But Johannas is
different. He's so…” Belle didn't want to say “evil”, but
that's how she felt.
“I know.” Charlie replied softly.
They continued to look out over the
drowned city.
“Do you know where Dad is?” Belle
asked. “I haven't seen much of him.”
“He's been busy with the Council.
They're thinking of making him Mayor after this.” Charlie grinned.
“It won't happen, he's not corrupt
enough.” Belle laughed.
A loud bang was heard from inside,
along with screaming.
“Wait, that's not just
Johannas…JESSIE!” Belle cried. She and Charlie bolted inside,
quickly joined by Peter, Bill, Joe and Thomas.
“He locked it!” Peter groaned as
they approached the room where Johannas and Jessie were.
“JO PLEASE!” They heard Jessie
scream in terror.
“SHUT UP!” They heard the roar
back.
“I'll go and get help.” Thomas
said, running down the corridor. Peter and Bill started trying to
break the door down, hoping they weren't too late to save their baby
sister.
“What the hell did she let him out
for?!” Bill slammed as hard as he could against the door. More
bloodcurdling screams were heard from inside, along with a sick
gurgling noise.
“JESSIE!” Peter screamed, slamming
himself against the door in rhythm with his brother.
Belle had to do something. She ran to
where her pack was and grabbed the Desert Eagle her grand-father had
once weilded. She ran back to where her father and uncle were still
trying to get into the cursed room.
“Stand back!” Belle cried, aiming
the gun at the lock. She fired, hitting the lock dead on, and Peter
kicked the door in.
A bloodied Johannas flew out at him,
grabbing him around the throat. Belle acted blindly, kicking
Johannas aside, punching his face and pointing the gun directly into
his eyes for a split second before recovering herself.
A Masters never willingly takes the
life of another.
Johannas grinned.
“Bless the Code.” He sneered
before pushing her away and running.
“JESSIE!” Belle heard her
grand-father scream in terror. She ran into the room.
Her aunt lay in her fathers arms. Joe
was trying to keep her calm, but she kept reaching up to touch his
face. Tears dripped from his cheeks to her bloodied chest as she
tried to wipe them away, leaving bloody marks on his face.
“I'm…sorry…Papa…” She gurgled
through her slit throat before she died.
Joe lowered his head. He gently
reached out to her eyes and closed them.
“I'm sorry Dad.” Peter wept,
dropping to his knees beside his father. Joe grabbed him and held
him tightly. Bill was frozen in place, shaking his head.
“This is…it can't…Oh Jess.”
Bill too fell to his knees and into the embrace of his father.
Belle was angry. She turned to
Charlie, but then found she couldn't say anything.
“Go to them.” He whispered.
Belle turned and fled, latching on to
her father.
Thomas ran in with a small group of
medics. He stopped when he saw the scene.
“I'm too late.” His breath caught
in his throat. Jessie had been his little sister too. He turned to
his son, who held him.
Belle looked up at her best friend.
She couldn't cry.
But she was going to make sure that
Johannas was brought to justice.

Chapter Nineteen: DAMN!

Written by Crofton77 on . Posted in The Story.

“DAD! DAD! THE DAM IS BREAKING!”
Belle cried, running into the house.

“What?!” Peter poked his head out
of the bathroom.
“Demon tried to poison the water but
instead he's triggered a flood! Get everything together and we need
to get out of here! THOMAS! BETTY! FLOOD!” Belle ran over next
door.
“Oh no! Quick, get the essentials
and let's get to the hotel. The guys there will let me in and we can
stay there until the dam gets fixed.” Bill grabbed a bag and
started emptying all the cupboards.
“I'll get our stuff organised.” Joe
grabbed the bag. “Bill, get to the hotel and let them know what's
going on. They're going to be full!”
“Beauty!” Peter called. Belle
appeared. “Get your Giggles get up back on and start telling
people what's going on.”
“Yes Dad!” Belle put her helmet
back on and flew off. Peter meanwhile shot upstairs to grab anything
they could use as Joe fought to get Meow into her cat carrier (not
even the threat of an imminent drenching would convince her to get
into that detested thing!).
Meanwhile, the Knights were having no
luck convincing people to leave their homes and head for higher
ground. Most of the people in the outer east suburbs would be okay,
but anyone living on the west side would be in huge trouble.
“Why doesn't anyone want to listen to
us?!” Sir Dark groaned as he got another filthy look from a
passerby he was trying to warn.
“I've had a little bit of luck, but
not much. Everyone seems content to just bury their heads in the
sand!” Lady Luck replied as the rain continued to fall.
“Explains a lot about this city.”
Sir Dark looked to the sky.
“We have to keep trying.” Lady Luck
pulled him along.
“Sir, please, you have to get out of
here, the dam is about to burst!” Sir Lionheart was trying to talk
an old man into leaving his home.
“But this has been my home for sixty
years son! I can't just abandon it!” The old man cried.
“You'll die if you don't!” Sir
Lionheart groaned.
“Says you!”
Giggles flew overhead, shouting as loud
as she could.
“THE DAM IS ABOUT TO BURST! PLEASE
LEAVE YOUR HOMES AND FIND HIGHER GROUND! THE DAM IS ABOUT TO BURST!”
Sir Hyper and Lady Silent had tried to
talk the police into helping, but had nearly gotten arrested for
their trouble. They looked up at the sky and saw Giggles trying to
raise the alarm.
“Don't bother Giggles. The police
are against us. They think we're trying to cause trouble.” Sir
Hyper said dejectedly.
“How stupid are these people?!”
Giggles facepalmed.
Chuckles ran over with Sir Dark and
Lady Luck.
“I've gotten a few people to move,
but I doubt many will go until the water starts flowing.” He said.
“Your Dad is having a lot more luck though Giggles.”
“Well, he IS a public figure.”
Giggles pointed out. “People will listen to him.”
“We're public figures too!” Sir
Hyper pouted.
“Yeah, but we're vigilantes.
Technically what we're doing is illegal.” Sir Dark patted his
back.
Giggles flew up to the top of one of
the tallest buildings in the city. She could see everything,
including the hotel room where Bill and Joe arguing while Betty was
trying to keep Izzy and Lizzy calm and Meow was grooming Woof.
She could also see the dam in the
distance…or what was left of it.
“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THE DAM HAS
BURST!” Someone ran screaming through the city.
Cue mass panic.
“Well, that's just a blow to my ego.”
Sir Lionheart deadpanned.
“Come on, we need to find the
others!” Lady Courage grabbed his arm and they ran towards the
city.
Thousands of people were running into
the four tall buildings of Pleasantvilles CBD. The Knights of the
Last Order were rushing around like mad to try and catch the
stragglers and anyone else who was having trouble.
–
“We gotta get outta here Jo!”
Jessie jumped out of the Crummydore, which was refusing to start.
Water was starting to rise around them.
“I've got stuff in the back, we can't
leave without it!” Johannas roared back angrily.
“Mate, we gotta go before we all
drown!” One of his friends begged him.
“WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITHOUT THE
CAR!” Johannas fumed. “C'mon you useless hunk of junk MOVE!”
“Jo please!” Jessie begged.
Overhead, Giggles was flying around
looking for any other stragglers. Sure enough, she noticed her aunt
and her friends who were in big trouble.
“Here! Grab on to me before the
water gets too high!” Giggles commanded.
“The Backpack?” Jessie looked at
Giggles quizzically, but wisely said no more. Struggling, Giggles
managed to get Jessie and her two friends out of harms way.
Johannas on the other hand…
“I'm not leaving my stuff here!”
He swatted Giggles away.
“You'll drown if you don't!”
Giggles tried to pull him out of the car. He swung wildly at her.
“GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!” He
roared.
“Oh for the love of…” Giggles
groaned as he stumbled back into the car. Pulling out the Lucky
Seven Gun, she shot at his foot, barely grazing him.
“You shot me! YOU SHOT ME AND NOW
I'M GOING TO DIE!” Johannas screamed, frozen with terror as
Giggles lifted him up and flew away, just as a large wave came and
pushed the car away.
“You complete and utter pansy.”
Giggles shook her head.
–
A small group of people had gotten
trapped on the roof of a small building near the hotel, and the water
was still rising. Sir Lionheart and Sir Dark were trying to think of
a plan to save them.
“Someone could swim out with a ladder
or something for them to climb on.” Sir Lionheart suggested.
Sir Hyper was hiding back towards the
wall where the water couldn't get him. He squeaked at Sir Lionhearts
suggestion.
“Are you insane?! You'll drown!”
He cried.
“I'll tie a rope on whomever goes.”
Sir Dark assured him.
Lady Silent gave her brother a hug, and
went to fetch a ladder. Sir Dark tied a rope firmly around Sir
Lionhearts waist, and then tied the other end to himself. Lady
Silent then handed one end of the ladder to Sir Lionheart, who eased
himself into the uneasy waters.
Sir Hyper couldn't watch. He covered
his eyes as Sir Lionheart swam out, holding on to the ladder for dear
life.
“It's Sir Lionheart! We're saved!”
Someone cried as the Knight made his way with the ladder, which
barely made the distance between the two buildings. Lady Silent had
her arms stretched out.
“Okay guys, you need to climb the
ladder to where Sir Dark and Lady Silent are. They'll get you
upstairs where you can have something to eat and dry off.” Sir
Lionheart explained, thankful that at least the Beglys and Masters
had been sensible enough to bring plenty of food.
“Are you sure it's safe?” Someone
else asked.
“It's your only chance, the water is
rising too high and this building will be underwater soon!” Sir
Lionheart replied.
Slowly, the small crowd of about twenty
started to make their way up the ladder. The water was starting to
lap at Sir Lionhearts feet.
“Come on, it's okay, we've got you.”
Sir Dark tried to be reassuring as he helped the poor people off the
ladder.
Finally, the last person was safe, just
as the water was up to Sir Lionhearts waist.
Quickly Sir Dark began to pull him back
in, with Lady Silent helping with the ladder. Without warning, the
ladder lurched in the water, sending both Sir Dark and Lady Silent
into the murky depths!
“NO!” Sir Hyper cried as he
watched his twin sister disappear before his eyes.
Blind adrenaline took over. He ran
after her and dived into the water. Grabbing blindly, he took firm
hold of his sister and struggled to the edge of the window.
Lady Silent still had a hold of the
ladder, which Sir Dark also gripped tightly. Rain pounded down on
the four Knights, who were pretty much doomed.
“Hey you guys are there any more…OH
SNAP!” Lady Courage walked into the room, seeing Sir Hyper holding
onto the ledge for dear life. She quickly hauled the twins in,
followed by Sir Dark. Then the four pulled in Sir Lionheart, who was
blue in the face and barely conscious.
“Well done Sir Hyper!” Sir Dark
thumped the young boy on the back. “I knew you could conquer your
fear if you tried!”
“What an act! Maybe you should hold
the Courage mantle!” Lady Courage hugged the boy.
Sir Hyper, for probably the first and
only time in his life, was speechless. Then he started crying
loudly.
“Poor kid.” Sir Dark ruffled his
hair as Lady Silent hugged him tightly.
–
“Stop…STRUGGLING!” Giggles tried
to keep Johannas under control. Her uncle was seriously trying her
patience!
“You brat! Let me go!” Johannas
tried to get away.
“Why did I save you again?” Giggles
wondered out aloud. The hotel was in sight, and there was no way she
was going back out after this.
The rain had stopped, and the sun was
finally peeking out from behind the clouds. The water had stopped
rushing thankfully, and most of the citizens of Pleasantville had
survived. The whole city was underwater, and it would take weeks to
clean it up.
“Look, we're almost there, will you
please cooperate?!” Giggles was losing her patience.
Johannas growled and swore quite loudly
and obscenely at her. She looked down and saw a small speedboat
weaving between the few exposed rooftops.
“GIGGLES! DROP HIM DOWN HERE!”
Called a familiar voice. Giggles grinned beneath her helmet. Trust
her Dad to go out looking for her!
“No problems!” Giggles swooped
down and dropped Johannas next to his two brothers-in-law. She
wasn't staying around for the fireworks though!
She soared through the air, enjoying
the peace and the thrill of flying. She could feel the weight of her
body being held up by the Backpack, defying gravity, as if two strong
hands were lifting her up and flying her around.
It felt great. She made her way back
to the hotel, when the Backpack gave out again.
“Oh no, hold on! I'm almost there!”
She cried as gravity took its toll. She was certain she was going
to meet a watery doom, when she felt someone grab her wrist.
“Showing off really isn't getting you
anywhere is it?” She heard a familiar smug voice above her.
“Thanks Chuckles.” Giggles looked
up at her best friend. He hoisted her up and took off his mask while
she took off her helmet.
“Dad really should have embezzled
that money when he had the chance. Look at this mess.” Belle
sighed, looking out over the ruined city.
“Maybe it's better this way. The
Council might actually learn something.” Charlie pointed out.
“I hope so.” Belle said. “I
don't see how this can get any worse.”
Famous last words Belle. Famous last
words.

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