#hector is NOT having a good time

[blackjackkent]

Aight, busy day but now pokin' some more BG3 before bedz. (As always, block "#bjk plays baldur's gate 3" to skip the liveblogging shenanigans. :D

Hector, the fish-out-of-water monk, is currently proceeding with his party in search of Halsin, who will hopefully a) solve the issue with Kagha trying to evict the tiefling refugees from the grove and b) know something about how to get the tadpoles out of their heads.

We left off having reached the goblin camp where Halsin is apparently imprisoned, and Hector having been tricked into rubbing shit on his face unnecessarily to get inside. So he's...not really in a good mood right now.

He even gets a fun little status buff(?) for it:

The goblins don't appear to be bothered by our presence - after rereading my liveblog from yesterday, I realized it's because we're marked with the parasite and so are they (or at least marked by mind flayers) so they're viewing us as allies. That gives us, apparently, a certain amount of leeway to wander around but we need to make sure we don't do anything suspicious.

At least until the jailbreak.

With this in mind...he's pretty surprised when a wave of pain bursts through him out of nowhere, hard enough to knock him off his feet.

It's the same feeling as the pain that comes with the telepathic connections - but orders of magnitude stronger. His vision blurs and he staggers, falling to his knees in the camp's putrid muck. Every muscle in his body clenches and writhes with the need to escape, but the pain is coming from within, and there is no running from it.

Dimly he is aware of his companions also collapsing, each of them locked in their own world of agony.

The pain forms into white-hot, blinding words, a voice searing through him like a knife.

"HEAR MY VOICE. OBEY MY COMMAND."

Narrator: The voice is irresistible. You recognize the overwhelming authority that you've used on others, only infinitely stronger, and turned against you...

Narrator: Your vision clouds, leaving you in a dark, featureless shadowscape. Nothingness in every direction.

Narrator: Then, there are three figures before you. An armored male elf, exuding power and command. A handsome younger man with a quick, easy smile. And a pale young woman with even paler eyes...

He tries to shift, to cry out, to scream, but the sound emerges choked, a strangled, desperate moan. Tears stream from his eyes and the image of the strange figures blurs. He tries to curl into himself, to look away, but they are there whichever way he writhes.

And the voice is inescapable, a hammer-beat of syllables in his mind.

"THESE ARE MY CHOSEN. THEY SPEAK FOR ME. AID THEIR SEARCH FOR THE PRISM, AND YOU WILL BE WORTHY TO STAND BESIDE THEM. IN MY PRESENCE."

The pain is unbearable. The words flow over him and he doesn't understand them.

Dimly he is aware of movement at his side in this black void. Shadowheart has struggled onto her knees, and the abyss is lit by a pale pink glow from between her fingers as she lifts the artifact she carries.

Rather than the inert block he has seen it as before, it is shining a sudden, radiant light from each sharpened tip. As she lifts it into the air, an orb of glowing energy begins to spread outward from it in all directions...and then it bursts, filling the void with light and knocking Shadowheart back onto her heels.

...and the pain eases...

Narrator: You feel energy pulsing from the artefact. Lifting the pain from you. Pushing the voice away.

Slowly, in the light of the artifact's burst, Hector begins to come back to himself. He can feel his legs, move his arms again. The pain begins to fade, and he becomes aware of the dry sandpaper feeling on his tongue and the tight clench of his teeth.

The voice still speaks, though its words are more distant now, fading. "MY POWER GROWS. MY FORCES GATHER. THE RECKONING DRAWS NEAR..."

He slowly pushes himself up from where he has been lying face down in the muck. His companions are also sitting up slowly, and there is the sound of the harsh breathing of four sets of lungs in tandem, trying to slow their heart rates.

Slowly Hector manages to gain his feet. Reaching over, he grabs Gale's forearm and helps him up as well, and as he does so, his eyes lock on Shadowheart, who has stumbled to a standing position and is looking down at the artefact, now inert again, clutched in both hands.

She flinches when she feels his gaze on her.

"Don't give me that look. I don't know what just happened any more than you do. We should keep going."

"I don't know what that toy of hers is," Astarion mutters, staggering upright and swaying slightly. "But I'm glad it's on our side."

Hector isn't to be shaken off, and takes a step forward towards her. "You've got some explaining to do first," he says firmly. "What is that thing you have?"

She pauses, meets his eyes for a moment and then looks away again. "I don't know," she says. "Not exactly. All I know is it's important I get it back to Baldur's Gate. At any cost."

He lets out a heavy breath between his teeth, eyeing her. He suspects what she is saying is truth - just not all of it. She seems as lost as he feels, but there must be more to the story. "Why Baldur's Gate?" he asks. "What aren't you telling me?"

She squares her shoulders, turns to look at him fully, visibly coming to some important decision. "I suppose if we're to continue together, I may as well tell you. I serve Shar. My home is a secret cloister in Baldur's Gate."

He feels as if a sucker punch has just landed in his stomach, almost as impactful as the pain they just suffered through. Shar - the antithetical goddess to that which Hector has served in the monastery all his life. Shar is the twin goddess of Selune - the goddess of primal dark where Selune is that of light and creation.

And he has been traveling with one of the dark one's clerics.

She's still speaking, either unaware of his reaction or trying to ignore it. "A group of us were sent to retrieve the artifact. Now I'm the only one left. I can't afford to fail." She fidgets with the object, nervously rubbing her thumb along one of its edges. "I can't tell you any more. This mission required utmost secrecy - we all submitted to having our memories suppressed so that we couldn't betray Shar's confidence. If I reach my contact in the city, I'll have my memories restored. Until then, I have to guard the artifact with my life."

Her fist clenches around it and she tucks it forcefully into her belt. "There. You have the truth, for all it's worth. Let's continue."

Gale shifts uneasily, glancing at Hector. "You worship Shar? Blimey. She and my beloved Mystra are not exactly friends."

"I didn't agree to join up with a Shar worshipper," Hector snaps out before he can stop himself. Perhaps in some other circumstance he might be more controlled about a difference of faith, but he was already frightened, humiliated, and smelling of warg shit, and after what just happened the terror has taken full hold again.

"Then it's your own fault for not asking," she snaps back, flaring a little at the unexpected fierceness of the jab.

His jaw works, but he regains a little control over himself, turns away sharply, struggling for the internal rituals to calm himself that always came naturally to him before all this began. He can't afford to alienate her completely...he needs allies in this mess...but this is all too much, too much to handle...

Finally, he grinds out, "In future, I expect you to be honest. Let's leave it at that for now."

"Gladly," she says coolly, and turns and walks away.

[drawotion]

Sunny and Hector, having some good time together. Just the two of them… 💛💚

((ArtFight revenge art on @aikaikaik! Featuring their character Sunny and my character Hector.))

[chibishortdeath]

Disgusting creature (begins sobbing)

[radiant-featherball]

Imagine you are serving a new lord. You help him learn to control his newfound vampire power. You protect him and he trusts you. You support him in his loneliness and he calls you his friend. He eventually create a castle for you two to live in. In the next few centuries you two have only each other and need no one else.

And then suddenly he meets some random woman, they married and then they have a child they raise, then some other child suddenly shows up and he starts teach the child and then another child shows up and he teaches that child too, and so in short amount of time you go from having his full attention to needing to share his attention with four other people.

[re-re-redline]

Hey so, I noticed a long time ago back when Traum came out that on YouTube, that there’s only one (1) video of Constantine’s theme (or whatever this song is) which is absolutely smashing, however…it was very crunchy. So. Using the power of Screen Record on my tablet and a crummy audio editing app, I humbly bring to you all this! A not crunchy version of this song that I sat for 3 minutes and 59 seconds to record in game.

The only issue is—unfortunately—that fade out is a paid feature and I don’t want to pay for something I rarely use…so we have a rather abrupt cutoff at the end. My apologies.

That being said, I hope you enjoy this nice piece of soundtrack and I hope you have a nice day, everyone.

—Redline, over and out!

[lieutenantselnia]

A couple random images from my Barbossa screenshot folder because I love my captain and have been thinking about him a lot recently💕

[adriles]

my next major action in this war will be defeating a high profile honorable man on the field of battle after he murders my closest confidant. What in the shit?? again? Why is this happening again. Why must i be constantly tormented by grief. uhhh

[beevean]

🌹

And Hector should have been in seventh heaven. What he could only pray for as a child, he was being showered with at long last. It was the sole reason he would still find the strength to get out of his bed and squeeze himself dry for every last drop of life: the earnest, earned approval from the one being who took him under his wing.

But Isaac would drag him back on the ground, and Hector had learned to respond to his friend’s scathing glares in kind, too exhausted to feel sorry for his mistakes.

It was not Hector’s fault Isaac could not keep up. Perhaps had he listened more to his advice, Lord Dracula would give him more than the faintest of acknowledgments, what a General like them deserved. He had no one else to blame but himself for his cocksuredness.

Hector was different. He was special, one of a kind, the purest expression of Hell’s power in a human. Hector was able to withstand his Lord’s insisting touch, that slid off him like cold oil poured down his back, for the chance of hearing those words that tasted like salvation for all the sins he had committed.

It nearly made the night terrors worth it.

Lord Dracula would have no reason to tell him those things if he didn’t mean them. Even though, a few times, Hector thought that the Lord could spare some mercy for Isaac’s best efforts.

[butcharyastark]

thinking once again about how painful but necessary the desire for revenge against hector is to isaac's arc, bc the thing is that it is unfair and it does hurt to see them pitted against each other, but that's part of the point. isaac doesn't really hate hector, he just hates what he represents, and to isaac hector represents a bucking of the security that gives isaac the only purpose he's found, the only morality that makes sense to him anymore. he starts out wanting revenge against hector bc he thinks he's betrayed them, which means betraying dracula, which means breaking down the only thing isaac has left anymore bc the thing is that dracula's presence and goals are both pillars of stability to isaac who doesn't believe in the goodness of people anymore, and so hector presumably unimaginably rejecting that is the necessary broken link in the chain that gets isaac on his road to genuine self-agency and recovery and believing in kindness again

bc the thing is that hector's betrayal (and dracula's following selfless compassion but not the focus of this post) is the first thing that spurs isaac into something he wants. it's him that's angry at the injustice and the fact his last haven of stability is gone. it sets him on the path to exploring and discovering goals of his own, nobody else's, bc before he was relying on dracula's support and plans as a coping mechanism and substitute for having control of his own life bc he had lost hope that there was any point at all to even trying to care about himself or what he might have wanted. and once that first domino tips, and the other players enter the board when isaac finally begins to interact with other ppl again (talking to the captain, that old woman, the demons) instead of shutting himself off, it can only end up one place from there: isaac realizing that he has a choice.

he wants revenge against hector and wants something for himself and realizes he has power to obtain it and makes an effort to care abt something new and he starts to realize that maybe what he really hated was himself bc maybe he never thought he was worth forgiveness either and maybe he thought humanity was hopeless bc he was hopeless and he starts to notice through recognition of the other that both starts and ends with hector that maybe, just maybe, if other people can be kind, if other humans can be worth trying for, if the world can be good--maybe they had never really been pitted against each other at all, maybe they had always been the same and had been trying their best to survive despite the horrors. maybe hector deserves compassion and kindness and tenderness and forgiveness... because realizes he deserves those things too.

[salamifuposey]

Orange Juice - Chapter 8 - The Aftermath

Orange Juice - Chapter 8 - The Aftermath

Much after the pandemonium had finally settled, Lemmy and his own friends had seemingly finally captured the ominous character Buloke.

As Buloke continued to persevere even despite all hits and surprises upon him, including Lemmy trying to sneak up from behind him, Hector barely able to be up to Buloke's own power and Garter's own help, thanks to the interference of Lady Miriam on one of V.I.V headquarter's helicopters, Dayley letting drop off Henrick to the scene of fight and letting Henrick buy off time enough for everyone to come together, Dayley stopping Buloke just in time before coming after Jayt had previously launched a fiery blaze towards him, and the assistance of one of Lemmy's friends that he had brought with him from Aurea to their world, Vonderv, they had managed to single-handedly capture Buloke Iron with Vonderv's own ability that allowed him to imprison Buloke Iron temporarily and seize his own madness.

Previously, Hector and Garter had been quite struggling against their greatest foe, only for Buloke to impose a threat upon him, causing Garter to completely pull all of his entire power to entirely pull and tug Buloke, causing himself and Buloke to shatter the iron factory's own side windows and ultimately falling from outside of it.

As Buloke had finally been seized and everyone had gathered up, Lemmy had also learned from his mother Buloke's own mysterious roots and from whence he came from, including his past as Hector's own mentor on that very same night, much of Garter's past also being solved.

Ever since then, they simply departed back from by using their own helicopters, the gang finally being able to catch a break and Miriam able to make truce with Buloke with him partaking as a instructor on the V.I.V headquarters, further accumulating and training their own recruits.

A long night that had certainly been quite a struggle and a fight to endure, our heroes then felt like they could finally take a breath, as they all headed back home to their own appropriate accomodations, once proper healing was applied from Adven in the headquarters.

As they were tended by Adven and their own repercussions, Buloke and the rest were giving out proper explanations on what it had exactly happened and how it led to such events, all while they were kept under supervision so they wouldn't inflict upon themselves over mere recklessness.

As the morning sun then rises, our heroes then finally meet a brand new day, as a certain familiar face now wakes from their own slumber.

Deep in Intile City, there was now a peek from a life of someone, as the morning sun was dawning on them.

On the bed, laid a man, completely stretched out, completely sore still from last night, as he breathed cozily on the rather thrown about sheets that laid on the sides of the wooden bed, while still barely making the most of that slumber.

This man had a strange coloration in his own skin, a deep red, as he slightly snores, his body slightly exposed.

On his chest, and spread throughout his torso, remains a rather faded mark of an attack, made by a claw, some time ago, as he softly breathed, still remaining quite rather turbulent and slightly quivering his body to cozy it against the bed.

He could still feel the slight pinch and sting from his own mark that persisted on his own chest.

As he was still groggily sleeping, you could see glimpses of a life lived by someone who had friends. On his bed table, there were frames and pictures of those he had been with along in his own life.

One contained him with a young promiscuous blue-dressed woman. Another shared a very old photo of himself and his own childhood friend. Some others contained pictures of his own relatives and family, including his mom and his own younger sister. Even although he had no such pictures of a few more recent friends, he still carried and had with him mementos from his own friends from the Aurea dimension, from which he had brought several memories across to this own world.

The home he was in was quite humble and quite small, as this man absolutely detested having too much work cut out for him cleaning up after himself. It was a small place he had gotten to have his own house, as he had gotten it through at least, some sort of effort.

He wasn't exactly very comfortable sharing his own place with others, given the man felt like people would probably not like it much and was more adapted to his own comfort, only having had very just recently gotten a tad few more feminine presents to help decorate it.

As he now groggily wakes up, he now barely takes a stretch, still feeling quite rather queasy from all the adventure from yesterday, including getting kidnapped off by his own childhood friend's own mentor.

"... Hhhrnghh..."

As this man stretched his arms and scratches his head, he then barely could keep his eyes open, as he slightly peeked over to his own cellphone.

"..."

As Lemmy now realizes the time, he then slightly groaned, as looked over the time in his own cellphone.

"... Ugh... It's nine in the morning...." He moaned. "... I overslept, I still feel groggy from yesterday night..."

He then makes a final stretch and slowly tries to get out of bed, as he prepares for yet another day.

Lemmy then takes a quick shower, slowly brushing his teeth a little after.

As he gets snug up and tries to dress up a familiar white t-shirt, of which he had plenty of and several other colors, his slightly worn shoes and dressing his own stout jacket adorning his mini-cape, he then goes towards his own mirror that he has near the quite small living room that had the front door not too far from him, ready to check up on himself as he readied to make it out the front door.

As he clutches his own mothers' dagger that had been safely rescued off from the iron factory off from the top of a drawer, safely inclined towards a base, he then rubs the front of his own face, thinking how it all led to such a situation.

"..."

"... Man, I'm glad I got my mom's dagger back... come to think of it, this thing's been with me through my worst moments..."

As he stared at himself, he couldn't help but think and reflect on what led to his own kidnapping.

"..."

"... I've got the same red tint as Hector..." He then wondered about his own fallacy.

"... I really wonder why I got kidnapped by Buloke of all people..." He then lamented his own weaknesses and thinking he had dragged Jayt into this, after seemingly also acknowledging Jayt just so happened to be with him at that time.

"..."

"... We both have the same super-human thing..." Lemmy then started associating his super human attribute to Hector's.

"... Could it have been that somehow... Buloke saw some potential in that?..." He then wondered about Buloke's true real motivations.

"... Back then, I was trying to hit him but then he slapped my dagger off..." Lemmy reminisced Buloke slapping his dagger away from him.

"... It was almost as if... he was trying to slap me out of his own way..."

He definitely did recall it. He was remembering Buloke seemingly just tossing him aside, after the same had grabbed him by his own shirt.

"... Did he really want to hurt me?..."

Staring at his own hand, he then comes to many several questions.

Thinking back to his own mother and then Buloke's relation, he couldn't help but think.

"... What if... he was trying to take me in to replace his own prodigy?..." Lemmy wasn't quite sure why he had thought of that.

"... What if... he just wanted to take me from my own mother to... perhaps... training me?... And keep me as..."

"... a replacement for Hector, who he thought was long gone?"

He then heavily stared at his own hand thinking.

"... Do I really have that much potential?..." Lemmy was almost grasping at straws theorizing Buloke's whole intents.

He then also had reminisced about how Buloke had completely eyed Jayt after the same had launched a almost flamethrower-like attack towards him, making Buloke completely going after Jayt, everyone trying to stop him until Dayley came to stop Buloke in his own tracks.

Even after hearing Buloke directly apologizing towards him, it still felt off. As in, not quite Buloke's own apologies but rather, how it felt like it was actually truly sincere, as he had truly felt guilty of it all?

"..."

"..."

"... I'm delusional... there's no way Buloke would ever kidnap me because of that." Lemmy then simply shook those thoughts off from his own head, as he knew he had to carry on with his own day.

"..." He then slightly frowns and tries to get ready to make off right out from the door's entrance.

"If I don't get out of here soon, mom'll think I'm going lazy..." He then tried to get off from that melancholic state, as he knew he still had a girlfriend to look after and also bumping up to meet the others, hopefully making sure everyone is well.

"... I gotta make the most out of my own day!"

As the scenery then changes of Lemmy then readying himself to set out of the house and steps towards a slightly cramped street, he then sets off to make his way to his mother's V.I.V headquarters by foot, as it wasn't actually too far off from there and he truly felt like getting an house any farther from it could prove to be detrimental to his mother's own safety, in case she were ever in any trouble.

As he basks on the already quite bright sun of the day and walking breezily towards there, he couldn't help but feel like he was glad things had turned out the way it did, with not too many actual casualties towards the V.I.V headquarters.

Seemingly, Buloke's very own men were also detained, but still with a lease to do as freely as they can, without limiting their own lives as it had been explained by Lemmy's own mother, for as long they don't hurt anyone within the city's boundaries, headquarters included.

As he was getting nearer and soon approaching the headquarters however, he soon then immediately noticed Hector off from the distance, who was at least, quite a bit farther off from the V.I.V headquarters and had also came from his own place.

Lemmy then shouted from the distance while trying to get Hector's attention.

"Yo, hey, Hect-!"

"... Whoa, dude, you alright, you look like a train ran over you!" Lemmy quickly exclaimed, as Hector was walking towards him.

Just as he easily guessed it, Hector looked like he had been through quite a long arduous fight, as his front completely almost falls and he tries to drag his own feet towards the headquarters, looking as if his whole back and arms were absolutely completely tired and beaten.

"... Hahahah, yeah, I guess Buloke really did a number on me, didn't he?..."

As he approaches Lemmy, he then completely stretches and even starts to moan out.

".... Auuuugh... my back's killing me! Welp! So much for that well-rested body and soul I once had!..." He lamented, but in a way, he also didn't quite regret it. "To be fair!... I don't think I exactly eased on myself since I tried to practice with Buloke yesterday night just like the good old times!..." He then spoke. "I kinda felt bad not having been strong enough being there to defend and protect ya!..."

"... Should have just called it a rest day!..." He then sulks a wee bit.

"Aw geez, Hec, you really did all that still thinking about it?" Lemmy then tried to gently pat him on his back. "Well, at the very least, award of commemoration for having been the one who did all the trouble of going after us!"

"... Heheh, I guess, but I still gotta owe Dayley for having been the one with all the worry on his own head!" Hector still felt like he had to do something at least for Dayley to thank him over it.

"Anyway, come on, we still gotta pick up Jayt in our way." Hector then suggested, Jayt's house being only a slightly bit more closer to the V.I.V headquarters than even Lemmy's own place, quite a bit more prestiged than his also.

"Ya know, I never even seen Jayt's own house. I wonder how it's like..." Lemmy then pondered as they left wandering off.

"Oh, it's great!" Hector already was seeming to imply he had already been at Jayt's house. "I really think you'd like it... definitely quite a bit more spatious than your crib, that's for sure. I've already hanged out with him quite a lot in his own place."

As they finally ventured and made their way towards the headquarters, they had just so managed to spot Jayt not too far from them, Hector trying to catch up to him and calling for his own attention. "Hey, Jayt! We're here!"

As Jayt then ever so slowly tries catching up on to them, Lemmy and Hector then quickly approaches him.

"Hey, you all ready to go?" Hector then tried to make sure Jayt wasn't leaving anything behind back on his own house.

"... Yeah. Thanks for picking me up. Always appreciate it, heh..." Jayt then immediately shrugged off and could immediately see Lemmy was with him. "You brought Lemmy with you as well?"

"Yeah, I've groggily been walking until here... Feeling sore and all, but that's nothing when I'm with ya!" Hector then couldn't help share his own joy every time he was with Jayt.

"Aw shucks... you never really stop embarassing me, do you?..." Jayt couldn't help but blush but then immediately comforting himself right next to Hector, who tried to hold Jayt's own hand, as he looked down, feeling quite unexpectedly cheerful.

"Anyways we gotta get going! Ol' Lady Miriam's waiting for us." Hector then was trying to keep them on their own toes.

As they had finally made it to the V.I.V headquarters, they just as easily approach the headquarters' security-proofed doors allowing them inside and being welcomed by the formal and rather cozy environment of the headquarters. Having a looming building such as this on the actual city, some citizens who still lived right next to these headquarters actually had nothing to complain of, as the sturdiness of the structure allowed the headquarters to function without any environmental noise nor preoccupations neighbors and near inquilins had to worry about.

They knew of Lady Miriam's operations, but having seen the woman actually leave the structure for her own business, they have also come to learn her maternal side and how she actually treated anyone who was hired by her, not viewing her as a threat unless to the most corrupted citizens and power on the city. It was especially peculiar, given the actual name of the headquarters.

Just as they made it in, a familiar figure then easily approached, with nothing but good news to bear, with Malcolm right by her side.

"Hey, mom!" Lemmy jolted, happily seeing the smile on her face while Malcolm gave a bit of a glare towards Lemmy, but happy her son was there.

"Good to see her own son thriving... even after having had their sorry bum kicked around by a hooligan by the likes of Buloke." Malcolm seemed to like poking fun at her own son even despite their own blood relation. "Aren't you quite the charmer!"

"Yeah yeah, I get it, good ol' Malcolm, good to see ya, you sure never miss a chance to always make a joke towards me, heheh..." Lemmy then simply had grown accostumed to Malcolm's own bold takes that were actually pretty amiable, if not just to have fun with him.

Malcolm then simply smiled, if not just because he still cared after her son and always liked to make him less reserved and bolder.

"... Good on you to finally make it!" Lady Miriam seemed rather pleased by the men that worked under her wing including her son being welcomed with a warm reception. "Looks like someone had a nice sleep last night." She teased, knowing the accomodations they had been given.

"... Heheh, all except for me, kinda!..." Hector couldn't help but yelp, as he slightly slouched rubbing his poor back.

"... Of course you had to stand out and make the most of the night trying to practice with Buloke!" Lady Miriam still seemed quite proud of the bodyguard that she herself had chosen to protect Lemmy. "You never really let me down, do ya?"

As they all stammered about, trying to speak with Miriam however, Lemmy couldn't help but remember one thing.

"... Oh yeah! Come to think about it, where's Buloke?" Lemmy himself was wondering what the hulking man was on about while during all the night they spent sleeping while trying to restore their own energy.

"... I'm right here."

As Lemmy and his own partners quickly take notice, they then quickly spotted Buloke coming in all the way from the training course field, where most of Miriam's own henchmen would go on to practice a lot of their skillsets, including physical fighting, weapon wielding, machinery driving and other such means of combat and defense to protect themselves and the rest of the headquarters.

"Woah, mom, you didn't even waste a single second making the most out of Buloke!" Lemmy was feeling quite impressed and flabbergasted at these whole operations to keep him under work and teaching the henchmen that existed and the upcoming ones.

"How would I not, given Buloke's an absolute prestige teacher? I'm not gonna look sideways and pretend he's not a great mentor." Lady Miriam wasn't exactly shy of finding ways to flatter the old man and his own ways at teaching.

"No need to flatter me." Buloke sensibly warned. "I've only been trying to make the most out of the headquarters' own henchmen. I'd dare say they do have quite a lot of potential so I wouldn't exactly blame you over picking such henchmen for your own." He them remarked.

"... Oh yeah, Lemmy, come to think about it, how on earth did you get your own Deep Reshon blade back?" Hector then suddenly tried to surmise, as he thought that Buloke could have possibly confiscated it off from his own hands.

"... Oh, this old thing?" Lemmy then tried to give explanations. "It was actually still being held by one of Buloke's goons... amidst all that trouble, I couldn't help but realize one of the knocked ones had it in one of their own pockets during all that chaos." Lemmy was honestly glad it was that easy to recover it. "Thank god, I wouldn't have known what I could have possibly done without it!..."

"You sure do have a streak of luck your enemies still having your weapon around..." Jayt couldn't help share his bit of honesty.

"You'd laugh, but it's actually not the first time it ever did happen..." Lemmy then guffawed reminding himself of something in the past.

"... So, what are ya gonna do now? So you're just going to be teaching our partners actual endurance and physical fighting?" Lemmy then pondered to ask Buloke, who was surprisingly lukewarm towards Lemmy.

"... Pretty much." He didn't seem like he had nothing to hide from them. "I'll be sure to teach you guys some lessons... and it won't just be physical training also," he remarked, "it also involves battle intelligence, outsmarting your opponent's wits and making the most out of your own environment, which Hector definitely took advantage of on our last battle." He had felt quite proud of Hector still retaining that after all this time.

"Many times, you wanna make sure you're one step ahead of your own opponent." Buloke emphasized.

"Huh..." Lemmy then quickly tried to process a bit of that knowledge. "Ya know, I sure could learn a thing or two coming from you."

"Easy for you to say, my training is often not for the weakling..." Buloke wanted to make sure this time Miriam's son not to get hurt.

"... But I could make an exception particularly for you." He then stared at Lemmy pointing towards him, acknowledging that despite his limber weak body, he could still make the most out of it in battle movement and being quick enough to catch your enemies offguard.

He seemed a little less stern during that moment, as Lemmy stared back, Buloke a little less tense and preoccupied.

"And I'm also gonna make sure I make your little fire buddy also have a little bit more of endurance during his own flamethrower attacks during his human form..." Buloke also made sure to try and also help Jayt gain a bit more resistance and stamina for his attacks.

"Anyway, I've got to leave, I've still got a lot of work to do..." Buloke then tried to appease and trying to depart for the moment. "Some of your own henchmen have already grown accostumed to me... They seem eager to try out some stuff. I won't mind sharing some of that knowledge so they can live freely and defend themselves from any sort of peril."

"Definitely wouldn't want to keep ya away for too long then..." Lemmy then thought it was best to leave Buloke to care after the rest of his mother's own squad. "... Can't even think about how you'll handle them..." He then gulps, already writing the squad's own fate.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of them..." Despite the fact that he said it in an incredibly somber voice, he really did mean it well.

"It still takes getting used to these headquarters, but I'm slowly grasping how it works. As conniving your mother is, she wouldn't leave me in the dark, which is surprisingly more what I bargained." Buloke was making sure the plates between him and Miriam were clean.

As Buloke makes his own leave, Lady Miriam then tries to adjust him to their own daily schedule, as she tries escorting him towards other facilities and parts of the headquarters he still didn't know about. Malcolm seemed to like the cut of Buloke's jib as he chuckled.

"Putting that aside, keep up the good work." Lady Miriam told. "Take as much rest as you need in case you still haven't recovered from last night." Lady Miriam wanted to make absolute sure her own men were completely restored and at the top of their wits today.

"Today's gonna be another busy day and who else but Buloke to help the whole crew?" Miriam then felt reassured about her teamworking with him.

They then finally make their own leave as Lemmy immediately drops his own share of thought, as he bids a goodbye to his own mother for now.

"Man, having someone like Buloke training us is DEFINITELY not gonna be easy." Lemmy then slightly shuddered, but at the same time, wasn't exactly too much against the idea as he knew the world of hurt he was about to get into.

"Easy for you to say, how on earth he's gonna handle someone who has fire powers like me?" Jayt then pondered, arguing the amount of proper knowledge he had over even handling such an element. "Don't tell me he's gonna make me endure stuff..."

"Nah, he's not that kinda fella," Hector then stopped Jayt right there, "I'd argue he'd tell you how to preserve your own energy without wasting it and output a consistent amount of fire so you wouldn't self-hazard yourself..." Hector then pondered.

"I guess, someone like you would certainly know about his own kind of training." Jayt simply pointed given Hector had once been under Buloke's own wing.

As they were then left with only but themselves to take care after, it didn't take much too long until one certain familiar face then tried to humbly and carefully approach them, all while they talked to each other about the potential of Buloke making marmelade out of each and every single one of them, up until Jayt notices.

"... Dayley!" As the young man quickly notices Dayley come up from upstairs, Dayley was in fact, as regularly content as he usually was.

Jayt was actually incredibly glad seeing him, as he approaches the group slowly, his cape following along with him.

"Hey guys! How you've been? Did you spent your night well?" He obviously questioned, as he knew they had been in a pickle and wanted to make sure they had been resting up well in case over any soreness they might have, despite the infirmary help.

"... We woke up pretty darn well! Although I guess there's still a little soreness from yesterday!..." Hector then chuckled, as he jokingly scratches the back of his own head knowing it'd definitely take some time to properly heal from it.

"Yeah, I'm still pretty beaten from yesterday!..." Although Lemmy thought it was lucky Buloke never actually got to lay much of an hand on him, remembering that the most Buloke had done was slapping the Deep Reshon off with the back of his own hand and threw him to the side.

"Although I guess it's just up from here now, huh?" Lemmy simply assumed and hoped for the best there would be no more incoming trouble for them.

"Oh, so I guess everything's fine for now." Dayley was at least thankful nothing particularly serious had happened yesterday.

"Yeah, and I definitely got to thank for somebody!" Hector then told with a genuine smile on his face.

A little after Hector speaking, Jayt then jumped slightly forward, incoming towards Dayley with even quite a big hug.

"... Oh! You kinda surprised me there!" Dayley had assumed Jayt was just happy to see him for some reason.

"I've still got to thank you! I'm just glad you came for all of us and even managed to bring everyone and Lady Miriam along with you..." Jayt then professed his own gratitude over the quite tall caped individual that was standing before him.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it!..." As Jayt slightly hugged him, Dayley then felt quite a bit undeserving of that and not doing much.

"Oh, I barely even did anything! I was only the one with all the worries! Hector was the one that came after you guys!" Dayley then tried to be genuinely sincere. "And I didn't certainly want to keep any secrets from Lady Miriam from her own son missing!"

"The rest was just me, trying to bring in Henrick and he was really dying to step up and try his hand at who it was at first!" Dayley had felt like he hadn't had much of a presence battle-wise as Jayt kept hugging him harder. "I was just so concerned about you guys..."

"... Still! You still came after us and you even tried to put a stop towards Buloke!" Jayt then reminisced Dayley stopping Buloke to a halt.

"... Hah, but all I did was hold his arm! And I may have gotten a bit carried away slightly punching him... I was containing that fist pretty hard..." Dayley wasn't sure what to make of that one single moment. "And I just stood stupid in the sky while you were launching those flames up against him!..." He pretty much had admitted to having felt a bit distracted during that, explaining the period he was missing.

"I don't care! I'm just glad you were there for us when we needed you the most..." Jayt definitely felt like he was in somewhat of a pickle.

"... Hah, I'm glad things sorted out as well..." Dayley even sighed in relief knowing it was also all over as he put his hand over Jayt's back.

"... I still feel like I could have done more to help..." Dayley was just hoping he was doing all he could in his power.

"And you did! You were there for all of us! You really felt concerned over all of us..." Jayt then simply tried to ease Dayley.

"Yeah, don't sweat it, partner, I bet you did as much as I possibly could do to help... If!... I also happened to also have superhuman powers!" Hector then chuckled to himself remembering he definitely wasn't as blessed as Dayley despite his agility.

"Yeah! Imagine if Dayley had not come for us!" Jayt then tried to surmise what Buloke possibly had in store for them.

"Buloke almost coming after me?..." Jayt merely had thought out the worst over himself.

"... I could have possibly died!..."

As those words suddenly rung on Dayley's own head, he suddenly stood very shook over the very realization that if he hadn't come for them, Jayt could possibly had been killed and his expression suddenly changing to a quite somber one.

Just a few seconds after Jayt said those words, Dayley then trembled as he kept being held by Jayt, at least, as much as he possibly could.

As Dayley felt quite restless, he just couldn't help dread that very notion and prediction.

As Jayt kept hugging him as much as he could, he then felt something quite fall on top of his own cheek.

Dayley then practically broke into tears as he trembled, looking down with tears streaming down his face as he tried to contain them to no avail, shaking and trying to hold on to Jayt all while still processing the very words that had been spoken and rung in him.

"... Dayley?"

As Jayt tried to usher out Dayley's own name as his tears quite dropped, the rest of the gang couldn't help watch him in this rather vulnerable state, Lemmy and Hector looking quite surprised.

"Woah, man! You're crying?! Are you okay?!" Hector then tried to reassure and ask what was wrong.

As Dayley still barely tried to contain his own sobs, he barely could contain his streaming tears.

But just as he looked at Jayt just one more time, he then remembered.

He didn't want to see Jayt sad.

And thought he'd be concerning him too much over his own self, hoping to keep him off from his sudden emotions.

As he didn't want to upset Jayt, he then slightly was trying to recompose himself, trying to stop the tears from flowing.

Slightly stuttering and trying to recover his words, Dayley then tried just gently reassuring Jayt.

"... Y... Yeah... I'm fine..." He then slowly tried to turn his expression to a soft genuine smile.

"... I'm just glad everything turned out for the best..." He then tries to ease Jayt as he slightly trembled, a tear in the corner of his eye.

He then hugged Jayt, in a simple warm embrace, knowing he was right there, trying not to hug him too hard.

As Jayt noticed Dayley's own change, he then tried helping Dayley as Dayley was making sure of Jayts' own presence.

"Oh, it's okay." Jayt then tried to ease him so that he wouldn't be bottled with emotions. "I made you uneasy..."

"No," Dayley then tried shooking that thought away from him, "you didn't do anything wrong..." He wanted to make absolute sure Jayt wasn't at fault here.

"... You didn't do anything wrong at all." He then politely smiled and tried to give a whole world of respect towards Jayt.

Just a simple seconds later, Dayley was back to being his old ordinary self, with a small plastered smile on his face, content and just being glad his friends and comrades were around there for him, knowing just how far he had come despite all the struggles.

"It's just thoughts, I was just frightful something could have happened to you." He tried to console himself and trying to act more mature, as he still knew he was the one quite a bit older than them and hoping to lend his own power to protect them.

"I got a bit carried away." He made sure he at least could be as genuine as possible and being as peaceful as possible.

"Still, for you to care so much about us..." Jayt couldn't help but think it wasn't exactly just because of that, but he still commended Dayley over wanting to protect them as much as he could. "It's okay feeling a bit overwhelmed. I don't want you feeling sad in the slightest."

As Dayley heard those words from Jayt, he definitely perked up quite a bit, feeling a somewhat heartwarming feeling in his heart.

"Yeah, from us all, you're the one out of all of us who absolutely deserves the biggest breaks." Along with time, to Lemmy, Dayley had really become quite a friendly acquaintance of his, even despite being administrator alongside with his own mother and easily forgot his qualms with him.

"It's okay." He then tried to make sure Lemmy and Hector weren't also too shook from his emotional outbreak. "I really am fine. Just hearing that from you and your concerns... It really makes me feel a whole lot better." He really hoped not to let the crew down.

"Seriously, thank you. We really can't thank you hard enough." Lemmy was really hoping him, alongside with Hector, were thanked well enough. "If it weren't for you... Or Hector... Who knows what coulda happened with me and Jayt... Although I guess help was also appreciated from quite a certain someone who just... somehow unexpectedly appeared along to help." Lemmy was, in fact, referring to the mysterious looking Garter, who seemingly had barged in somehow to get him and his friend back from Buloke's own clutches.

"Heh." Dayley merely smiled with a open mouth, just grateful of hearing that.

"Anyways, I got a whole lot going to happen today. Miss Miriam today really wants me to help with some extra duty. Nothing you guys might need to worry about." Dayley tried to assure them. "Your mom is quite special, even if a bit feisty... definitely not someone I'm used to handle, but she and your pops hit it really well. I can get how the headquarters are so prestiged." He complimented Lemmy's parents' own effort to keep the establishment afloat. "You guys really do put a lot into giving to these charities... You've really been helping a whole lot of people." He then finished off with that.

"I don't want to keep them waiting. They already do so much for me." Dayley then tries to resume back to his own workflow. "It's strange how easily they understood my situation, even although I don't want to bother anyone here with my own stuff."

"Being able to keep in touch with my own parents... I really do treasure that..." Dayley was really thankful for that. "The way how I got back my own men that wanted to be by my side..."

"Being able to still try to save the day and trying to protect all those I can reach, including Intile City... I thought I wouldn't be able being back to that... I'd never give up on my own people like that... I pretty much grew here..."

"... Anyway, thanks, guys. I'll see you later! I still have a lot to catch up with you all! Don't mind me."

As Lemmy and the rest tried to let Dayley off, Dayley seemed like he had been even almost born anew after being able to talk things through.

He cheered and even waved as he left off, hoping to meet the new requirements for today.

As Lemmy and the whole crew decided to leave Dayley to his own matters and assist Lady Miriam, they were then trying to get back to their old routines, just when a certain outlandish person that easily stood out then tried to abord them.

"Well that's one face I certainly wasn't quite expecting here." Lemmy blurted out just as Garter, the garishly dressed man had decided to then approach them as if they had been a part of the headquarters since a very long time ago.

"Oh hey, I didn't know you were going to be in here!" Hector was admirably surprised at this rather unexpected turn of events.

"Hey." Garter immediately grinned his teeth out just as he was presenting himself towards Lemmy and the rest of the gang. "Looks like you guys decided to finally show up!"

"So what are you even doing here, I thought it had already been settled everyone got rescued off?" Lemmy wasn't quite sure just why exactly Garter was meddling in during the headquarters' own operations, even though it was quite a relatively slow day of work.

"Let's just say a certain someone got themselves integrated as a part of these V.I.V headquarters, how 'bout that?" Garter still couldn't help giggling through his own teeth as he haplessly simply shares that bit of information about him.

"Wait, you?! You of all people?! Well, I guess I got nothing to object towards that considering you also sorta helped and you were the one fighting alongside Hector against Buloke..." Lemmy scratched the back of his head in quite a disbelief. "Guess mom really liked the idea of a snooping trickster swindling right into the headquarters and spying on others..."

"I mean, you're also a thief, so no qualms needed!" Garter was really fond of teasing and bickering with Lemmy's outstanding career.

"I even got a kick start and even already started training with beaver-head who was just here a few seconds ago!" Garter even proclaimed having initiated a course alongside with Buloke.

"I'm not sure you wanna call Buloke that..." Hector then professed his fears. "He's definitely quite a bit of a bear and can snap a little..."

"I even already started learning a few techniques while honing a few of what I already had!" Garter really was quite eager to show them off some day to a poor frightful soul who dared get in his way.

"Techniques, uh-huh..." Lemmy wasn't quite sure how much more Garter was even capable of, even though he had already seen quite a few battle skills Garter had previously used up against Buloke despite Buloke's tremendous conquering power. "I already know you can use, like, belts which you can use against your own enemies... not sure how you GOT those belts but I might be better off not knowing..."

"... You got also a really huge power somehow and you can also be quite unpredictable..." Lemmy was merely studying him just in case.

"You haven't seen it but I can also even use my very own banshee scream! I can shout and scream extremely loud and even shatter windows with my high-pitch!" Garter was very quite proud of his high-pitched screams. "Although I already quite knew that even while during our battle!"

"So why didn't you use it then?..." Lemmy was then quite asking the decision as to not use it while during Buloke's battle.

"Could have reaaaally proved itself to be quite useful during that fight..." Lemmy merely crossed his arms thinking about the battle.

"Ehh..."

Just as Garter was trying to come up with an excuse, he really couldn't help but having felt like he had been put in a corner as he then imagined that, had he done that, the windows that were right next to Lemmy and Jayt would then shatter, immediately sending shards towards everyone, including them. It wasn't exactly a thought he really enjoyed picturing considering they were Hector's friends.

"... no reason..." He felt quite nervous picturing that.

He also knew Hector was there, which added more towards the reason of not injuring Hector and the rest involved.

Screaming that much aloud would have also rendered them incapable of battling due to the high frequencies which could have resulted in Buloke trying to exploit that to his own advantage, merely trying to keep Buloke as far away from them as he could.

"Ooookay then..." Lemmy then figured he simply didn't want to share much details about it.

"I guess you're more than meets the eyes with that kinda attitude of yours..." Jayt merely commended to him, thinking nothing much about Garter but still thinking he was quite unusual, especially considering he was Henrick's own brother.

"You seem like a pretty smart guy also!" Garter couldn't help retribute that compliment back. "A little poindexter!"

"... Better to not call me that to not get burned then, hahah..." Despite it, Jayt accepted that compliment quite well.

As Henrick got to meet up with them, Henrick also couldn't help congratulate his own big brother on coming all this way to see his little brother.

"I'm just glad you also got to be of the headquarters I'm in!" He tried fistbumping his own big brother just before Garter rectifies him.

"Hey! Take it easy, nobody ever did say I'd be here at all times, only when I'm more wanted! Orders from me to that old bat, enough said!" Garter still was hoping not to spend his life on the headquarters, even though he did consider helping whenever wanted and as a backup for whenever Henrick needs it. "I also got gigs to play! I ain't got enough time lollygagging around just to frolick with you guys!"

"Heheh, sure, I'm just glad to have you around these parts, bro..." Henrick then chuckled as he couldn't help feel proud of him.

"I also know you also like having your own life! And together, we'll be the best brothers these headquarters are ever gonna have!" Henrick was seemingly quite proud that he could partner with Garter every once in a while whenever he ever needs help.

"Nothing like a pair of explosive brothers to help around each other whenever in need..." Lemmy couldn't quite help feel that he also hopes he could ever be like that towards his own sister Leticia. "You guys really got each others' back."

"You know it!" Henrick then blasted out from his own chest as a bellow. "With my bombs and my big bro's swerving, no one stands a chance!"

"Good to have your own back also, Henrick, baha, I think we really got to know each other quite a lot these past few days..." Hector couldn't help think Henrick was quite a vital part of the headquarters and wise of Lady Miriam having recruited his likes. "You really put those gloves into some good use! I didn't think anyone would ever be able handling those! Hope we get to work together more often!"

"Aw shucks, means a lot coming from you!" Henrick felt quite flattered after knowing Hector for quite a bit. "Yeah, did you check those out?! I really did brought all of their potential!" He was quite proud of being able to endure the impact of the blows.

"Maybe some day we can hit it off and hang out some day in the bowling alley! Really ram those pins, been a while since I last played it!" Henrick even had brought up a suggestion and suggesting the bowling alley he and his brother go to occasionally.

"Sounds like a cool idea, I definitely wouldn't mind that at all." Hector merely amused himself with that thought.

As the day went on, a few of the daily chores and prioritized tasks had been solved and most of the crew had a bit of a time-off in order to focus on their training for a bit. As Lemmy and the crew were assisting in the training course field, Garter was in fact trying to bring his ace game in primoring his banshee scream, along with a few other of Lady Miriams' own henchmen trying to practice their own fighting and honing their aim.

"You guys better prepare with some of your own earplugs!" Garter then pointed out as he started making jabs towards everyone.

"Don't worry, I already came prepared for this." Surprisingly, Buloke had already stuffed a few plugs inside of his own ears.

"You sure think of everything, don't you?" Lemmy then even snickered upon the thought of Buloke not being too savvy on Garters' genre.

As the windows even rattled, thankfully they were sound-proof enough as to not cause any internal damage around and near the field.

The shout was mind-blowingly loud as Garter was shouting out from his own lungs in a powerful singing heavy metal voice.

"Definitely not gonna be hearing so soon..." Hector even felt like that even had trespassed past his own earplugs as Lemmy and Jayt were even trying to cover their ears despite everyone having been given earplugs by Malcolm before he left.

"Malcolm even had to leave, otherwise he would be suffering an heart attack." Lemmy pointed out Malcolm's disappearance.

"I'm definitely getting better and better at this!" Garter definitely felt he was getting used to this, as his shout was already powerful much even before he had even formed a whole band with Henrick or even considered singing due to his shouting voice.

Buloke then tried to come towards Garter. "Good show, you seem like you're getting the hang of your high frequencies."

"Keep that going and you can vocalize it in such a way that you can actually disorientate regular opponents... not that you weren't already capable of doing that..." Buloke then surmised he still had to go under practice for more oriented strategy battle.

"And to think these were the two that were just brawling against each other yesterday..." Hector couldn't help but scratch his own head in disbelief despite the fact that they were commuting together in fairness while teaching each other new tricks.

After quite a bit longer, Lemmy was actually getting some slight practice with his Deep Reshon after some deep consideration after watching others being under Buloke and other mentors' own training.

As he kept slashing off towards a fake target, Buloke couldn't help but consider his own stance while attacking while on the distance.

He came in and then tried to school Lemmy, long after having a long actual look on the Deep Reshon dagger itself, which ironically, was the actual weapon he had previously taken off from Lemmy when he had been taken away.

"Hm." Buloke couldn't help think that despite the simple looking dagger, it also had distinct characteristics that could help its own wielder, including its own element of trying to possess and use the wielder's own negative thoughts, although he saw that more as its own peculiar detriment.

"Wield it like this." Buloke then incentivated and tried to show Lemmy. "Don't hold it too hard. Firmly grasp it as to keep it well tightened in your hands and secured, but not too hard that it detriments your own movement with it and be too stiff."

"Due to its length, you also need to realize you have to kick, punch and block any attacks simultaneously and use your dagger to counter attack. Mindlessly slashing away will make it easy for other opponents to read you so don't make it easy for them."

"Put out your thumb and hold it like this. Hopefully it can help assist you in securing a fast meaningful slash."

He kept holding on to the Deep Reshon and making sure Lemmy was holding it well enough, his burlish toughened hands many times gripping on it.

"Keep it always next to your body. It's especially useful if the enemy attacks you from behind and you can just easily grab it out of your own pocket and hit them on the torso, sides or leg." His stern gaze was quite threatening but also reassuring.

"You sure are teaching me a lot..." Lemmy couldn't help think Buloke was being incredibly supportive despite their previous quarrels.

"Nothing to it." Buloke merely tried to ease him. "You're still young, you still have a whole lot ahead of you."

"But surely with time, you'll greatly master battling with a dagger, even if it might take quite a bit of time." He wanted to make sure to not let anyone down under his own supervision, even though he himself also knew he also still has much to learn ahead of him as well.

"Also might be best to tell you that despite the dagger's own power, it's always best keeping your negative emotions on check and use them in a way that's not in excess." Buloke tried to reprehend. "Not doing so might cause peril and the spilling of emotions that might drown you."

"No one thinks with a clear head when you're clogged up in them. You start thinking irrationally, not thinking straight."

"Start using your head and consider all possibilities, even if improbable. Study your own enemy's flaws." Buloke tries to share his wisdom.

"Maybe consider that next whenever you have any incoming fight that might warrant using them." Buloke was making sure nothing would happen if such a thing were to happen and to avoid potential casualties. "Giving up is an hard option for those who have everything to lose."

"Gee, never really gave much of a thought about it... although I can definitely get it... I think..." Lemmy merely tried his best to merely hone his battling skills, but also hopefully, his own mentality as well and putting his honing to good use.

Lemmy then merely gave a gaze towards his very own Deep Reshon dagger, hoping to hopefully master its very own intricacies.

Not too long after, Buloke was actually wanting to put a fight against Dayley, even despite the fact of he himself knowing he would never compare to the likes of Dayley. He merely wanted to spar with Dayley instead, simply to try to hone himself and try to learn past his own human limitations, even despite the fact that he was already quite considered to be the world's strongest man by many.

As Lemmy and the gang merely gawked upon the quite rather strange sight of possibly assisting and seeing Dayley fight, the fight was actually quite one of endurance sparring, as Buloke was in fact quite practicing hitting Dayley, while Dayley kept easily defending each and every single one of Buloke's own punches and kicks, but more in a incentivating manner to keep pushing Buloke even further beyond.

They could quite clearly see Buloke hitting Dayley strong and hard and yet, Dayley persisted, with even a smile on his face, as Buloke kept pressuring and hoping to hone both his dodging, endurance and strength.

As Dayley kept receiving each and every single one of those blows by trying to block them, Buloke felt savvy enough for a jab.

"You really make quite a good sparring partner just because you're awfully quiet."

"People I'd often train with would run their whole mouth." Buloke would mention as he would try to land a punch on Dayley.

As Buloke pressured on, Dayley would still block his attacks, smiling upon that compliment and continuing their own training.

Sending countless flurries of punches and kicks, the training would then go on, Buloke hoping to even become better along with him if that meant even getting far more stronger and to be able to teach whole new techniques to his own apprentices. He knew his body had a limit, but he still wanted to try push it beyond his own capacity without sacrificing his own wellbeing.

As the day would then go on, the training having had ended and their whole tasks and missions were completely set in motion for the day, Lemmy and the crew would simply try setting off, in the after noon. As they had finished off everything, Henrick then appeared and proposed all for them to come and join him and his own big brother to come and watch their own underground gig around 5pm. Having nowhere else to go, Lemmy, Jayt, Hector agreed upon joining and even brought a few extra companions to join and come along with them. They seemingly had brought Adven, Vonderv and even Roberta who was just dropping by the dimension to pay a visit towards Jayt after Jayt had come to the dimension to help her for a slight bit on her own parents' restaurant, who was soon to be hers.

Joining in, they could then relax for the day, Garter still trying to care after them surprisingly, just so they wouldn't get caught in hot waters with any of his own friends who band practiced on their own secret underground territory in between a quite big crowd.

After settling in, they would then come to join Henrick and Garters' own band play called the Roosters. The play style seemed to mingle in between punk rock sung by Henrick and heavy metal by Garter as they'd each adapt to each others' singing genre, grabbing each their own stylized eletric guitars and having some backups that would switch places every now and then for them for bass and drums, Henrick even slightly knowing how to play the drums every now and then with his explosive energy but being far more suited for his own electric guitar.

Playing in their own ample stage, the crowd would roar as they would vigorously rock and sing through their hardened raw musics, the gang even being surprisingly getting carried while trying to cheer on for the mysterious underground band that they were rooting for.

Garter shouting blood-curling singing screams, his voice would penetrate throughout the entire underground they were at, even slightly causing quite a ruckus underneath, his excitement barely even being able to be contained, even more after having had practice from Buloke to enhance his own singing shouts, feeling like he was on top of the world and in charge.

Likewise, Henrick had less of a high-pitched voice and a lower one, but a more bombastic one, one that could backup his own big brother and strike power from his own vocal chords. He had no plans of stealing his big brother's spotlight, to him and Garter, they both shared the spotlight evenly, with no one overpowering the other in concerns of voice.

As the crew settled in along with the feisty comrades that were ganging up and rooting for the wild brothers, they were trying to ease up on the overall dark and yet energetic environment around them, the punks, the headbangers and even some quite wild road hogs, Roberta was quite piqued over her very own drink.

"The drinks on this dimension sure are interesting..." She said, as she twirled the straw inside her own soda drink.

Garter then ran towards and vigorously tried to approach them in quite a sporty cheerful mood, trying to let them submerge in their own activities and band playing, making the most of their own visit and his own teasing.

"Heyyyy, how are you guys finding this joint? Don't worry, these are all non-alcohol! Drinks on me!" He chippered, knowing he had seemingly noticed a slight tad hesitance from the cockroach girl. "... And don't worry, I'm also fine with gigantic chick cockroaches!... not that I'm really used seeing something like that around these parts..." He merely grinned, after Lemmy had explained to him that he just so happened to have some pretty unusual friends.

"... Don't worry, these guys just think you're on some kind of cosplay!..." He was trying to show everything was fine.

He then looked at the other side of the room and easily spotted Vonderv with his own giant size. "Heyyyy, you look fun at parties!"

"Look?! I'm literally the embodiment of party in the house!" Vonderv couldn't help but brag about his own relaxed and wild demeanor. "I like your style, freak! Take it as a compliment when I say you throw some mean wild parties around here!" He insisted on mingling along with Garter, if it weren't for Lemmy hoping he wouldn't cause any sort of trouble.

"Heheh! I like the way you talk, pork!" Garter found him devilishly conniving and fun to hang around with.

"Hey, not to be the party pooper around here, but I barely even got the chance to see it!" Adven then slightly did a small tantrum only because some of Garter's punkish friends kept cutting her short on seeing the show due to everyone on front being much taller than her.

"I had to ask Von to let me piggy back on him to watch!" Von slightly grinned as he had the pleasure to help her get around that.

"It's nice of Von having already helped you with that." Lemmy found Von to be a quite reliable friend. "That and it saves on my back, heh..."

As our pumped up crew had spent quite some time hanging with Garter and Henrick, the sun was already setting as they were already making ways back to their places, Lemmy still having to check back on his own mother back on the headquarters.

As they each grouped up, Lemmy split and joined with Adven and Vonderv, Hector on the other hand still had some thoughts on the back of his head, just as he was watching and accompanying Jayt as he stood on front of Hector.

"..." Hector seemed quite preoccupied with something even despite the fact they had seemingly just left a party.

As Jayt pitter pattered ahead of Hector and surprisingly having enjoyed the party, Hector then came up from behind while trying to get his attention, hoping he could catch Jayt and having him listen.

"... Hey, Jayt, err... About Garter... I think there should be something I should talk to you about..."

But as Hector tried to regain all of his force and courage to try and say it, Jayt then slightly interrupted him as he slightly turned around and faced his eyes back at Hector, all without anything to hide.

"..."

"... Garter is Daisuki, isn't he?" He then slightly caught Hector in shock after somehow learning that.

"... Gh!... Gah! How did you know about that?!" After Hector stood with his eyes widened in surprise and even flinched over the sudden revelation, his arms recoiling in fright, Jayt then came upfront about it as he poked fun with it.

"You're a terrible liar, Hector! Heheh." Jayt then was hoping he could help enlighten him about the situation and his calm composure.

"Guess I really can't fool someone like you then..." Hector then scratched the back of his head thinking his partner really was quite smart, thinking he didn't had what it takes to pretend something.

"So... er... how did you even find out about it?" Hector then felt quite astonished in wanting to know when Jayt had figured it out.

"Well, it really was way back in the Honey Sun Park." Jayt had then brought up the amusement parks' name, the one where he was back in alongside Hector, Lemmy and Daisuki when they first met him.

"... W... What gave it away then?" Hector was actually blown Jayt had even figured out that early having just met Daisuki.

"... Hmmm." Jayt then gave quite a musing thought about it.

"... Oh yeah, I remember now. It was when we were actually walking along with each other and you were all about hiding his hair under his sunhat just so he wouldn't be caught acting around just trying to have some fun."

"Then I saw a brief moment when he was actually leaping on front and I actually saw a glimpse of his hair, incredibly quite tucked in." Jayt had seemingly had a keen eye moment upon spotting some red hair spontaneously with quite a few odd tips. "That's a lot of hair by the way."

"What you didn't know was that the odd man following Lemmy we were mentioning just before you briefly mentioned Daisuki also just so happened to be Garter, so it was easy enough to remember his hair color and his golden tips even more since he actually stands out quite a bit." Jayt then simply easily deduced by connecting the dots and Daisuki's rather rambunctious and chaotic personality despite her implied shyness.

"Not to mention how uncombed his hair actually is and very frizzy. It couldn't have been anyone other than him." Jayt then finished off.

"So, when were you going to tell me about it?" He then happily smirked towards Hector.

"Well I was going to address it to you just now!..." Hector then felt happily embarrassed he didn't have to keep that secret any longer. "Good thing I've got a smart boyfriend though!..."

"So... are ya gonna tattle of me?" Hector then wondered if the rest of the gang would be fine about it.

"Nah." Jayt then simply easily understood his possible reasoning. "Besides, I already know you. And they'll probably just find out either way, hahah."

"You're just a earnest guy trying to be for those around you. A bit intimidating but your eyes beam and radiate when you're really truly happy and eager to help even if you're supposed to be just strong for the job." Jayt really just assumed Hector to be quite a sensitive man.

"You wouldn't lie to hurt me." Jayt merely smiled at that.

"Aw shucks!..." Hector was surprised at that insight in regards to him.

"But... you're still my man!" Jayt then proudly said. "I still won't forget how much you promised being by my side... And how much you tried to fight for me..." Jayt merely assumed Hector still loved him from the bottom of his heart even if he had originally a crush on Lemmy.

"Not sure why you would bother with someone like me!... not like I think I actually deserve it... but... I still really appreciate it!"

"You're an incredible partner I never thought I'd have... but I love that kind of surprise!" Jayt then hoped he wasn't being too full of himself towards Hector and truly meant every single one of those words.

As Jayt had finally concluded his own confession, Hector was actually very taken by his own words.

"... Guh! Jayt, you're really good at making my eyes water!" He then poorly tried to shake these tears of happiness off, as his eyes slightly brimmed with joy. "I dunno how you keep doing it, but you oughta write a book on how to make people conquered by your own words!"

"Eheh! I don't think I really say anything in particular that's so special..." Jayt then tried not to think about it. "Besides, that's just how I think about you... I really do love you..." Jayt then tried not looking like he was blushing.

"See?! There it is again!" Hector then kept pointing it out. "You know just what to say for every situation!"

"Heheheh, don't make me laugh, Hec." Jayt then simply giggled off while admiring and being fond of Hector's more fun side. "Besides, I feel like I'm the one that owes up to you." Jayt then became only a little bit serious. "Especially after that whole conundrum back at the Aurea dimension..." He had seemingly brought back memories of those places.

"Not to mention... you really were the one that rescued me and all..." Jayt politely told. "I know I shouldn't have to owe anything just because one does something like that but... You honestly really truly cared about me back then."

"Otherwise, I would have just been stuck there and we probably wouldn't have found Lemmy." Jayt then slightly readjusted his sunglasses.

"True but, if it weren't for you happening to get in that place, I probably couldn't have done it without ya!" Hector then referred to himself as perhaps too oblivious and less-than-adequate to properly explore in search of Lemmy.

"Nah, you're smart. You have a whole lot in ya that you probably don't even realize." Jayt tried to still change the subject.

"I'm not sure what my future lies ahead of me or whatever I could do if something happened to you or what I would do afterwards, but for the time being? I'm more than happy to cherish the time I have with you now, as much as I possibly can and never forget you." Jayt even seemed rather humbled having met Hector.

"I'd sincerely miss you... so please, Hec, even if you like the idea of being a bodyguard for me?..."

"... I still want you to live with me as long as you possibly can." Jayt seemed rather distraught, but those words bore meaning to them.

"Be with you as much as I possibly can... I'd love that, if you wouldn't mind..." He seemed almost soft-spoken.

"Woah, what got you this mushy?" Hector even slightly guffawed at that. "But I get it, not let myself get hurt over yourself. Become independent and be by your side, no matter how often we might clash." He sincerely hoped it was something like that.

"Now you're getting it." Jayt then proudly smiled back towards Hector as he even knew Hector had matured quite a lot.

"Besides, there's still a whole lot of you I still want to learn about!" Jayt then suddenly tried to pique Hector's own interest and tease him. "Come on, I'm sure you wouldn't mind sharing, I bet he was the kind of spicy boyfriend you never knew you wanted!" He giggled at that.

"... O-oh! L-let's not get ahead of ourselves, alright?!" Hector then simply tried to shoo off such implications. "B-besides, I'm not sure if past boyfriend quibbles are exactly the kind of things you want to talk about!..." Hector felt like he preferred keeping Garter's past safe.

"Heh, sure, I don't mind if it makes ya uncomfortable." Jayt tried to at least respect that.

"Anyways, maybe it would be for the best to keep on going, heh… don't want to keep anyone waiting for us! We're lagging behind and we still have to come back to Miss Miriam at the headquarters." Hector mentioned after noticing everyone ahead of them. "I wonder if the lady's fine with all our little vacations..."

"I'm sure she’s more than glad for us to have our own breaks, especially after what we've been through with someone like Buloke… Man, that guy sure was one heck of a doozy to confront… sure would have helped you mentioning you once had a mentor..." Jayt then remembered the struggles they had been through just because of Buloke.

"Hey, give me a break, I sure wasn't expecting both my mentor and an ex to come bite me back!" Hector then scratched his head bewildered due to the remarkable twist of plot that brought back his own past.

"Hehe, suit yourself." Jayt merely wanted to tease for a bit. "Besides, I think I already see Lemmy in front getting the best of us… how about we hit your place right after? I sure could go for a quiet evening along with ya..."

"You sure took the right words right off from my mouth, bud!" To him, Hector wasn't exactly against the idea either, finding it more than piquing his own interests. “How about a movie? You could pick one for us!"

"Hehe, sure, Hec, that sounds lovely." Jayt seemed even quite pleased with the thought. "My taste ain't exactly the greatest, but I think we could go for a thriller? How's that sound?” Jayt seemed rather interested in a heart pumping flick for him to muse over. "Maybe a mystery or a horror one, hmmm..."

"You're a little peculiar, but I dig your style! I can follow that, make sure to pick a extra interesting one! And... not just one that gives a bad impression for axes in general..." Hector wasn't fond of axes being given a bad name as a weapon.

"Hehe, sure, Hec..." To him, Jayt was more than glad to give his love a nice movie time.

As they tried going and follow Lemmy, Hector and Jayt then kept side to side, each holding the other one's hand. With the sunset overlaying our heroes, they were sure to be back home, long after a perilous struggle that's now long gone. With Lemmy considering hitting back and having a moment with Naddy, he still had to talk back with her, having already met her parents and how kind they were over having her get some well deserved freedom with her own folks and taking advantage of the city's culture.

As the setting changes once more, the day was already setting, the evening having already quite turned into a nice cold but not completely dark night as of yet.

As the view of the headquarters goes into play, you could see inside the quiet and rather quite emptied main lobby, far stretching towards a few sets of stairs, an elevator in between them. Above, there remained quite a few floors, each dedicated and segmented into their own specialized area of focus. The main lobby was not in fact, too far from the training grounds, having a partial part of the building devoted to a wide spread training field installed within. A few more floors above, lies the administrators' own offices and rooms, to which both Lady Miriam and the rest of the administration laid their ground, one of these being Dayley's new recently prepared room office, where he could be around and another room just in case near the main lobby. A few installations were also there for stray recruits who were also in dire need of a place to stay, in case they didn't happen to have any location to live in.

Within Lady Miriam's own offices, she was now standing, taking a now proper talk with Malcolm while trying to address several situations that had previously happened and tackling them beforehand. She made sure her decision making to never fail her, provided it can lend her the best scenario possible for those involved and the actual Intile City's own citizens.

"My, how the day goes by so fast... why, you could even say it went in the blink of an eye!" Malcolm joshed but he slightly recalled their mercenary having shortly mentioned how time would be fast on Aurea dimension. "It was nice being able to witness such a wondrous dimension just the day before I make my own leave..." Malcolm seemed to appreciate the dimension's unique geography after having taken a trip to it via the guidance of the interdimensional transporter.

"Missing that dimension so badly? My, the food there must have been quite a treat!" Miss Miriam seemed to have recalled.

"Quite so." Malcolm seemed quite fond of the Peperas that he had tasted, the equivalent that of a regular pear. "They feel so soft to dig right in through..."

"Well, there's plenty more where that came from..." Miriam seemed to allude to the dimension's quite plentiful harvest, which seems untainted compared to their world counterpart.

"My my, I still think you have done a wonderful job acquiring that real help of Lemmy's new friend!" Malcolm was quite in fact, mentioning about Vonderv, one of the dimension's real guardians of the lusted over Half-Faced Charm. “He truly is quite a talented big creature! I've heard he's only one of the four? He seems to be quite gifted with haunting powers!"

"Yeah, I honestly didn't think I would ever be able to befriend someone like that... guess I've got my son to thank for... he's really big-hearted, truly, to make friends with someone like that... he reminds me of his father, eager and trying to help others in need..."

"I've yet to fully completely grasp the true folklore of the dimension, but I adore the mysterious background surrounding them." Malcolm seemed quite interested in learning more about Vonderv but hopefully not intruding in on his own privacy. "They're the closest to elemental entities the dimension's got, I believe." He was quick to learn and realize all four shared spectral electricity powers, each with its own twist. "To believe they had an early death... they must have had to atone for great responsibilities."

"I'm not entirely sure how the Afterlife in that dimension works, but Vonderv and the remaining immediately adjusted according to him." Lady Miriam was fascinated how each generation worked and how they could even live for thousand of years.

"That young poodle also seemed to quite learn her way through our medicine as a nurse." Malcolm felt quite proud that their headquarters could help foster teaching young talent such as Adven. "Dayley keeps referring her as a poodle and some as a chipmunk... I'm quite torn as to what she exactly is, but she seems like a chipmunk hybrid of sorts."

"She's a fast apprentice, she really had no problem taking care of our wounded, which makes me think our medicine ain't perhaps so different from Aurea's own dimension." Lady Miriam was quite sure she'd be able to hone her skills in no time if she so desires. "She seems particularly interested in also learning more medicine from our own world to further expand on her own knowledge. To her, not knowing means more to learn for her. That and it helps expand on their own culture if she so desires teaching it to her educators and future apprentices."

"Deep down, we all could use a little more knowledge between our own worlds... be it striving for peace or protecting and healing those around us..." Malcolm lamented the fact that despite many trying so hard, there are people willing to ruin the world for them by needless wars or any form of oppression. "If only some people knew about that before..."

"Some times, the world just likes to remind us how cruel it can be to challenge our own humanity." Lady Miriam felt like she couldn't possibly answer more than that, but that ultimately, it was up to the individual whether to take revenge or to bring good to this world. "Not all's bad though, more often than not, punishment always comes back to the real culprits and humanity always strives, no matter how bleak the darkness, even if it is to remember the fallen."

"There's still more good people than bad ones in this Earth and it's up to us to protect it." She felt a bit shaken but still sure about those words.

"You ever think you could wind up regretting founding the V.I.V headquarters alongside Edgar?" Malcolm then spontaneously questioned her own morale. "Has it ever been too daunting of a task for someone the likes of you?"

"Of course." Miriam sincerely spoke with honesty in her heart. "Has it ever not been daunting, that's the question."

"But regret founding the V.I.V headquarters? Not even in the slightest chance possible." She then perked up with a small, but quaint smile.

"I still owe everything to Edgar. But he won't stop saying that it wouldn't have happened if not for me." She side eyed assuming he was the one that made the idea possible.

She then neared her own window blinds and tried pulling them down to avoid drafts in her own office, as Malcolm remained by her side, quenched by her own determination. He twitched his own mustache, thinking how far had she come fully taking her own leadership in the V.I.V headquarters, quite proud of the woman Edgar had found.

"At least I can be fulfilled knowing we can leave it all in your hands." Malcolm then smiled through his own satisfied wrinkly face.

"And hopefully... in my own son's hands..." Lady Miriam still didn't quite feel like impinging such a hard task to her son. "Him or whoever, I just hope I can reassure someone trustworthy in my own place, someone who can properly take care of my own family."

"Knowing him, I'm quite sure he wouldn't quite certainly let his own mother down." Malcolm guffawed slightly at Lemmy's own predicament.

"Heh, that's quite certainly true..." She couldn't help but feel like Lemmy perhaps looked up too much to her.

"And besides, you've got trustworthy henchmen by your side. Even if not Lemmy, I'm sure they wouldn't want to let you down." Malcolm then tried to bring to mention trustworthy colleagues that stood by her side.

"But surely, it would be quite the challenge." Lady Miriam smirked as Malcolm suddenly realized a question his mind brought up.

"By the way..." Malcolm then itched for an answer, one that he wasn't quite sure how it would be answered. "What about... that one man?"

Lady Miriam immediately knew who Malcolm was probably talking about.

"... The killer?" Lady Miriam tried to be as direct as possible.

"... He's taking full charge of those crimes. Every single last one of all those crimes that he had committed. He's going to take all those sins along with him and I'm sure he'll be happy in one place we all know well." Lady Miriam was being blatant and she couldn't be any prouder.

"I'm glad he was stopped. You can't tell how much trouble that man was giving." Lady Miriam felt like justice had actually been done.

"I don't care how much Dayley thinks he himself is the culprit of it all. That man had to be stopped at all costs." Lady Miriam kept thinking Dayley didn't deserve to be framed whatsoever. "I'm sure Dayley will never change his own stance but that man was framing and using Dayley, getting intertwined with too many crime rings, mobs, gangsters, even trying to mess with super-heroes and getting all of them against each other and trying to feign innocence when all he did was trying to manipulate and blackmailing those who worked with him. He had too much power and kept tricking and messing with crime scenes so everyone would be framed but him."

"Even Jayt was having issues resolving his own case. It wasn't already bad enough being involved, I know Jayt and he had already solved numerous murder scenes that helped me catch ruthless goons." Lady Miriam shook her own head thinking Jayt had already done so much for her.

"Jayt is an incredible crime investigator, I can definitely tell why he aspires so much to be in a crime forensics position... The way he organizes and goes through each file meticulously, nothing would ever slip through his eyes, so to think this man absolutely making my life and Jayt's challenging, I wanted to make up for Jayt, but I didn't once think..." Lady Miriam remembers how she first met Jayt.

".... I keep calling him Jayt." Lady Miriam then pointed that one out.

"... I'd also rather call him by his own accepted name. He had grown attached to Jayt now." She recalls his own previous codename. "I liked calling him Jecter because he slightly remembered me of Hector in a certain way... Never would have guessed them getting hitched together."

"That man had complicated Dayley's life so much, that to think Dayley getting thrown to a corner like that..." Lady Miriam felt like Dayley had atoned far too much at that point. "... Dayley was bound to break. I'm not glad for what he had to go through, but that man pretty much dug his very own grave and the consequences of his own actions flew right into his face."

"As if Dayleys' own life wasn't already hard enough at that point..." Malcolm lamented Dayley's own obstacles.

"Some times I do wonder, what does Dayley think about all of this?... not to mention..." Malcolm kept solemn to himself.

"..." Lady Miriam then stood in silence once more.

"..."

"... Dayley... I really do think Dayley is trying to make up for everything in his past..."

"... Sure there's some stuff people might not be able to forgive him for, as much as he tries to solve."

"But... he really is trying all his best to make up for it..." Lady Miriam only knew of what she had to witness with Dayley by her side.

"I've seen him, I've seen..."

She wasn't quite sure how to address quite something. Malcolm kept staring back at her, as if waiting for her to finish up her sentence.

"... he really wanted to do it out of his own volition, just because he felt like he had to, like it was out of his own obligation..."

"..."

Lady Miriam couldn't help but put the palm of her hand on her cheek, slightly proud of him and yet, feeling bad for him.

"He had nothing to gain for himself..." She kept thinking only but the future.

Having already been informed beforehand, Malcolm already knew of this situation, thinking of it as nothing but commendable.

"... I'm sure he's fine on his own self." Malcolm tried to lighten the room with his speech. "As much of a hard background he possibly had to endure through, he also acknowledges that he must atone for his very own mistakes." He acknowledges Dayley also as a grown adult.

"He's not dumb, he's a bright young adult. He even considers himself as having been spoiled, probably having been too detached from emotional warmth." Malcolm preferred to treat him as a responsible person with his very own grievances.

"But I digress." He then looks up to Lady Miriam once more to try and get her own attention.

"Miss Mira, you did great on having humbly requested him to work alongside you as one of the V.I.V headquarters' own administrators." Malcolm then commended that towards Lady Miriam, after she had gone through so much to try and bring her son back.

"And not just that, but also keeping Buloke around town! We sure were needing someone the likes of him to help our henchmen train and prosper, to make them expand upon their own skills!" Malcolm felt like that was most likely, the most worthy position for Buloke as a teacher and trainer. "To think we could change someone the likes of him and make him a humble man upon our facilities!"

"It really truly does feel like an honor to foster such a talent as his." Malcolm truly appreciated someone iron-fisted like Buloke.

"It is true that it can be a little fearing keeping such a untameable man such as him but!... then again, nothing like getting to know more hard-working villains such as him!..." Malcolm felt like he sure could pose a threat and as a warning for those who want anything against the V.I.V headquarters and impose a threat against their safety.

"Hehe, that is quite true." Lady Miriam then humbly laughed to her own hand, politely in jest finding Malcolm acting quite amusing.

"That's not even mentioning several of Dayley's own men who have worked under his own wing as crime fighters now sharing our headquarters." Lady Miriam was still quite shocked having learned of Dayley mostly using his own men to pursue treacherous criminals.

"It's a shame some of those men had already been under the killer's own wing before joining Dayley and even then, Dayley somehow had managed to make some even turn to his own side." Malcolm was astonished to say the least.

"Even as a rogue, Dayley sure was intent on making sure to keep the city safe at all costs." Lady Miriam thought that for a person, Dayley definitely stood out as having perhaps a determination to make criminals redeem themselves.

"And having so many problems solved all at once..." Malcolm definitely appreciated the closure on Buloke and Hector's own chapter while having Buloke redeem himself towards his very own pupil. "Hopefully I'll get to know this man a bit more..."

"And not to mention the quite amusingly strange mystery surrounding Henrick's own life and his own brother Garter..." Lady Miriam also appreciated Garter also being able lending an hand just in case anything ever happened and Garter easily being able to track even more criminals down or any pursuer in chase of anyone in the headquarters.

"But I don't think I should be the one taking in all the credit." Lady Miriam then admitted.

"If anything, I think I owe quite a lot to my own son. Had it not for him and his... life-risking personality, we probably wouldn't even be here." She fully admitted he was a key factor to a lot of situations. "He also really cares for his sister and always comes back with a adventure to talk about... He also hopes that some day, his bad influence won't brush her into bad attitudes."

"I like to think she's a little like him, just a little more restrained to herself." She politely smiled thinking about Leticia.

She then finally sat on her own office chair, the day finally ending to a closure.

"Ah, I missed this."

She then looked at her hands, finally being able to breathe, having everyone together in the headquarters.

As they both tried to relax and take a brief moment to appreciate the silence of victory, Malcolm then tried to break the ice.

"... I see that you have already more than accomplished quite a lot."

"It's been a long day, so I think I'll make my own leave." Malcolm then hoped that, as the night finally had fallen, that Miriam could finally take her very own break, as he was hoping to leave so the headquarters could finally be left for its own security and so she could go back home to her own husband and family, Lemmy not far from their own home in his own house.

"And... whatever may happen, I'm sure Dayley is doing the right thing." Malcolm then ended it at that, hoping to leave Miriam quiet.

"I hope you have a good rest, Lady Mira. You did good and that's more than what you could ever ask for." Malcolm felt quite proud of her, no matter how many arguments they must have had in the past, as he always swore being by her side as someone she can rely on and talk to.

"... Thank you, Malcolm." She then slightly bowed towards Malcolm, whom she deeply respected as a elder.

"... Sweet dreams! May you have a nice proper rest."

"... especially after almost having a heart attack with Garter's screaming." She then giggled all to herself, even making Malcolm laugh.

"... Hahahahah! It's definitely not punk rock singing that's gonna bring me down!"

As they chuckled and laughed to themselves, final glimpses could be seen of the crew finally adjusting themselves back at their cozy homes, with Lemmy comfortably lying around, albeit with just some slight heat from the summer tormenting him in his own house, Hector and Jayt having fallen asleep while watching a movie, Vonderv and Adven back on their very own dimension to make a slumber on their own cozy spots for old time's sake, Dayley's slumber slightly becoming easier with each passing night in his very own more organized apartment, to Henrick and Garter having both split rooms in their own trashy apartment and Henrick's snores slightly keeping Garter awake.

Even Buloke, who somehow was the cause of so much trouble, had seemingly found himself back in his own wooden old house, not too far from the forest that had started Hector's own mentoring, to eventually building up to this very day.

He wasn't quite sure why, but he felt like he had grown accostumed to everyone's faces in the headquarters, meticulously remembering those he had to train and hopefully teach a whole generation his very own practices and battling knowledge or what little he seemed to think he knew of.

What was once a bear that couldn't be poked, slowly became one with a lot of patience and a will made of iron.

He rubbed his stern face, seemingly quite threatening to some, hoping to take quite a well deserved break with a loud groan.

He scratched his big mane and tried to drink of what remained of his can of beer, hoping to try and remain focused on his own teaching.

Finally putting his champion belt down, he took one final stretch before he could finally hibernate for the night, as a very ruffled, old bear who still persisted in being as stubborn as can be.

Laying his big hefty boots down, he somewhat had made peace with himself.

"..."

"Maybe it's not so bad settling down after all..."

He took a moment of his mind for a good break, fondly remembering what he had teached to those he had influenced.

"..."

"... I taught him good..."

"... Hopefully..."

He had hoped that at the very least, Hector wouldn't repeat the very same mistakes Buloke was prone to making.

As he knew Hector was greater than even he himself and his potential is limitless.

He had never been a father. Nor he knew how to parent others.

But deep down, he took care of others or at least, he tried to, in his own way.

Thus, as the great black bear then slumbered, it was finally time to get some rest, at least, for the upcoming day, as everyone very little know what was to come for them, as tomorrow would also be another eventful day very filled with surprises just for them, as our quite colorful cast began settling for the rest of the day.

From being able to change a man, Lemmy knew how many new faces he had to adjust himself to, including meeting Henrick's older brother and how a single choice led them to this path of possible redemption. Having to learn more about Hector's past, he only knew how more invaluable of a friend Hector had become ever since their own childhood and how Buloke had turned him into a confident, strong and resilient person without giving up of who he was as a person, as someone who deeply cared about protecting Lemmy and build even more of a trust relation between Jayt, one who he several times helped in their venture throughout the Aurea dimension in search for Lemmy.

Knowing his past, Hector also learned to face head-on against the likes of Buloke, using and taking advantage not only what he learned from Buloke, but what he also learned throughout his life as a person, acknowledging his strength and knowing not to quit.

Perhaps having been inspired after his own childhood friends' life-risking attitude, he also tried to use that as a benefit, even if it meant not exactly succeeding. Throughout his mistakes, he still realized he had to keep going for his friends, but also be able to learn from the enemies' actions, much like Buloke.

Having joined forces with Garter let him acknowledge when to team up against greater foes, instead of going head-on against them without enough strength. No matter how outnumbered a enemy may seem, they can still turn the tides in their favor or are merely too strong.

Knowing when to suceed or knowing how to use the right strategy, Hector had to learn how to implement that to his own combat as to allow him to win bigger battles against him. At the very least, this was what Buloke was trying to teach and achieve by continuing to push him further, allowing him for more growth.

Feeling divided in their battle, Buloke also knew deep down that he presumably wouldn't be able to defeat Hector, by the mere fact that he already knew how much Hector meant to him as a pupil and merely wanted him to acknowledge his very own potential.

He also realized he was definitely outnumbered, but also allowed him to teach Hector how to exactly team up with unexpected allies, such as Garter's distinguished form of fighting. Garter's form of belt fighting alongside Hector's axe wielding allowed him to see just how exactly to adapt himself to Garter's fighting techniques. Despite not having been the most coordinated battle against Buloke, this still allowed Hector room for his very own improvement, such as learning how to adapt his axe battling skills alongside Lemmy's own dagger attacks, or presumably, alongside Jayt's very own fire powers which allowed him a very great range of battle.

Nonetheless, Hector still had pretty much a lot to learn. Or at least, that's what Buloke thought.

After being quite spared by Dayley despite being restrained, Buloke then realized there was still a chance of redemption. He was quite scared if just because he didn't really want to let Hector down as his mentor nor did he fully expect a trump card such as Vonderv to completely restrain him via a somber power of electricity.

Despite anything, after having finally learned about Lady Miriam's true intentions and how she was actually noninvolved with the situation of his missing men, he then only knew he had to give in to be able to have a chance to at the very least an act of redemption towards Hector and those he definitely thought he was going too far against.

A lot of thoughts were definitely going through Buloke's head, but for now at least, he knew some of them had at least waned after discovering just how far Hector had trained even without him.

Knowing this, that was what settled his mind into knowing that Hector also didn't need him as much as he thought for his own training. With that in mind, he then felt it finally allowed him to be able to interact with Hector as a reliable person and someone he knew he could trust on any incoming battles that may appear against the V.I.V headquarters and threaten their existence as the headquarters now hold a reliable raw strength that prove itself worthy for them and become a distinguished quality from the headquarters alongside with the administrators.

With their combined forces and of administrators who meant well for this world, Buloke was a force to be reckoned with and an amazing addition for their allies to rely on, as Lemmy and his mother kept focusing on the growth of their headquarters to assist further associations, for those who were in need, for those who were oppressed, against those who used the system to their advantage, for those who needed their support above anything else, for those who merely want equity and safety towards the safekeeping of the city and the world throughout.

As such, there was really no need to worry about the future of the V.I.V headquarters as a whole.

To be continued?

[blackjackkent]

The city is hovering on the edge between summer and autumn, and the night has just the slightest hint of a chill on the air as Hector climbs the stairs to the balcony of the Singing Lute Inn, where Karlach told him to meet her.

She's already seated at the table; he can see her fidgeting nervously as he approaches, and her head snaps up, startled, at the sound of his footsteps. Then the nerves are wiped from her face as she grins brightly.

"Hi. Hi! You made it!" she says eagerly. Leaning forward, she pushes back the chair next to her at the table; her eyes run over him from head to foot, drinking in the sight of him in this place so far from camp or combat. "You look nice," she murmurs.

Hector has been nothing but excited to come out and spend this time with her, ever since she suggested the idea - but now, to his own surprise, he feels a pleasantly warm, bashful feeling settle into his chest and realizes he is blushing a little.

Their relationship has been rather backwards and jumbled, he reflects. Months of hoping, wishing, pining after someone he could not even touch, let alone have... and then the collapse, barely over the course of a day, into passionate love - which was new enough for him, when it happened. This, a more traditional romantic moment, is perhaps even more unfamiliar to him now. But unlike so many of the things he has faced that were new and terrifying... this is new and joyful, because it is with her. He is safe, with her eyes on him, no matter what.

"So do you," he murmurs, looking back appreciatively, and he is gratified to see a similar dark flush rise in her cheeks as well at the compliment.

"Thank you," she answers with a bright smile. Shifting nervously in her seat, she picks up the menu hastily and peruses it with an intense studiousness.

"Hmm. Baldurian seafood stew. No thank you..." She peers at him over the top of the sheet. "What do you think you'll have?"

He is conscious of the surreal feeling that they are performing a play for each other, each of them trying to sort out what "acting normal" entails, with a little warm thrill as they successfully hit each beat in the scene. "The grilled rothe ribs sound good," he says with a slight smile.

She grins with an air of relief. "Just what I had in mind," she agrees. She waves eagerly at the innkeeper, a broad and rather surly orc gentleman. "Two of the rothe ribs, please," she says firmly. "And two glasses of..." She pauses, looks questioningly at Hector.

"Wine," Hector puts in, pointing at the item on the menu.

"And two glasses of wine," Karlach finishes, and nods with satisfaction.

As the bartender stalks off, she leans forward, resting her elbows on the edge of the table. Her eyes narrow, taking on a playful air as she starts to relax into the moment.

"So... you're an adventurer, right? How's that going?"

Hector grins, mildly bemused. "You've been by my side for a lot of it, you know," he points out.

She gives him an gentle nudge in the shoulder. "I know, but this is our *first date*, remember?" she says conspiratorially. "Tonight, you're a mystery to me."

His eyebrows lift in understanding, and he opens his mouth to try and answer in kind, continue the conceit of them being strangers to each other... but then he stops, and grins sheepishly. He's neither actor, liar, nor orator at the best of times, and if he is honest, he is finding the way she is looking at him... distracting.

"I'm not sure I can pretend I don't already love you," he says ruefully.

She hesitates, then laughs, shaking her head. "It's all I can do to keep my hands to myself anyway," she answers, and snorts softly. "We're terrible at this."

He reaches out, puts a hand on hers on the table, grinning at her slight discomfiture. "Want to get out of here?" he says teasingly.

Her eyes widen and her face flashes through a mix of eagerness and determination in rapid succession. "No! ...Yes-- No. We came to have a nice date, and that's what we're going to do." She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at him with a stubborn smirk. "Go on. Date me. I dare you."

Hector laughs softly. "You're right. So... erm... where did you grow up?" he tries, after a moment's thought, trying to determine what he might ask her if he had never met her before, if the scent and warmth of her were still things he had yet to experience. This is still not his strong suit - but he will make the effort if it will make her happy.

She brightens up excitedly and settles back into the moment with only a little awkwardness.

"Right here in Baldur's Gate, more or less," she says, gesturing out to the view of the city below them. "My folks are long gone now. But they raised me in the Outer City. Dad was a porter in town, mum did laundry." She smiles nostalgically. "Still think of her when I smell clean sheets. We were poorer than dirt, but my gods we had fun."

He leans back in his seat, just enjoying listening to the sound of her voice, her excitement, her happiness at being back in the city, all washing over him. He's heard some of this from her before - but not all of it. Perhaps this 'pretending to be strangers' bit has even more merit than he expected.

"What about you?" she asks him curiously.

(A/N: The three options here are "much like yours," "i don't like to talk about my past," and "I'm from baldur's gate too, I wonder if we crossed paths"; none of these are actually relevant to Hector's experience of growing up at the monastery. So we're going to skip over this line. XD )

He has told her some things about his life among the monks of Silverlight before - but fairly little about his childhood there. He finds himself starting to talk about it now, though. He has no real stories of joy and excitement like those she describes, and on some level he has started to realize just how barren his life was in these particular regards until he met her... but there were good memories too. He ends up telling her a little about the lessons he received - how he started being trained as a scribe before they discovered his fascination with the ancient tomes and texts of their historical library...

She listens with rapt fascination, just as he had listened to her, a slight, blissful smile on her face.

It's hard to say how long they sit there, caught in the conversation, trading stories back and forth; both of them have started to relax into this 'first date' conceit and Hector feels his cheeks starting to hurt from smiling. They're only interrupted by the eventual arrival of their food... which is wrong.

Two plates of seafood stew land on the table in front of them, along with the two glasses of wine. Karlach looks down at the plate with an air of some disappointment - but is met with a curse from the irritable innkeeper who stalks away when she tries to ask for a change.

Hector can see her struggling to mask the disappointment at the meal not quite going as planned, and she forces a smile back onto her face.

"Worst guy I ever met," she mutters wryly. "How about a toast?"

But, frazzled, she moves too fast, and the wine glass slips from her fingers as she goes to lift it, sending a spray of pale purple across the table - and over her lap. "Oh, SHIT," she snaps, and Hector can hear her voice crack.

Frowning, he reaches out and takes her hand in both of his. He can feel the increased heat of the engine in her palm and knows it for a sign of her agitation, and his thumbs drift over her knuckles gently, soothingly. "We can use my glass," he says mildly, and reaches to lift it between them. "To us."

He can see her relax, his voice and touch pushing away the frustration in favor of something warmer. She smiles slightly, nods agreement as he makes the toast, and her eyes track his intensely. The conceit of the first date is gone abruptly, and he sees the full depth of feeling in her eyes, everything they have built together in the months that he has been hers.

"May we live every day as if it were our last," she says softly. "'Cause you never know when your last will come." Before he can respond, she pushes up from her chair and leans across the table to press her lips against his fiercely.

As always, the oblique reference to how little time they have left makes his heart twist in his chest -- but now it is his turn to push that down and away. It has no place here. This moment is for her - for them - to feel, just for a little while, like they can say anything, do anything... like just for one night they are not trapped in the raging river of fate that is dragging them along.

Just for tonight, he thinks, and kisses her deeply, one hand sliding into her hair. Just for tonight... we have all of time ahead of us...

-----

It must be nearly two in the morning, he reflects vaguely sometime later, as he peers out at the curve of the moon and its position slowly descending towards the west. He's barely been aware of the passage of time; the last few hours have been some of the happiest of his life. Just like she promised... no monsters, no fights, no fears, just them, together, talking about whatever comes to mind, each sentence punctuated by a brush of fingertips against a hand or a cheek, a stolen kiss, a sip of wine...

And of course, the seafood stew, which really is dreadful, but certainly filling.

Karlach leans back in her chair with a heavy, contented sigh. "That was great," she mumbles, and flicks a glance at Hector with a slow smile. "The food and the company."

They've both had a little too much wine, really. Hector's lips have been fixed in a permanent, slightly giddy grin for at least the last hour. All the dark thoughts are far behind him now and he feels as if he is simply drifting, content to be near her, and has been forever, and will be forever still.

"Lovely having a normal evening amid the chaos..." he says quietly.

She smiles wryly. "Whatever do you mean? We're just two normal people... living normal lives... very, very normally."

But she can't maintain the facade again; her voice cracks just a little, and she reaches out abruptly, putting her hand over his on the table.

He stirs slightly, the happy buzz fading as he registers something serious and sad coming into her eyes.

"I know I can't stay forever," she says quietly. There's no attempt at jocular humor this time, no wry deflection or avoidance. Her voice is soft and flat, full of love and full of grief. "Here. With you. In fact, I feel like..." She swallows. "Like I don't have long left at all."

His face spasms with a failed effort to contain the fear that floods through him at those words. Every moment he knows it is on the horizon, and yet hearing her speak of it directly, as something looming even closer than before, feels like a dagger through his heart.

Her hand tightens around his, pulling him a little closer to her. "We've been through so much," she goes on. "And the worst is yet to come. I have every reason to feel terrified, hopeless... like giving up." She draws a breath and lets it out slowly, visibly struggling to keep composure long enough to finish speaking. "But to be here, with you, in the city I love, in this world I love so much... it's all I could really ask for."

She reaches out, cups her hand against his cheek, running her thumb along the edge of his beard. It's an affectionate gesture, of course, but it also serves to pull his face towards her, to nudge open his eyes so they meet hers squarely. "You hear me?" she says, suddenly fierce, her voice cracking again as the emotion starts to overwhelm her. "*You're* all I could ever ask for. I love you... and I know that whatever else this city will throw at us, we can handle it."

He is listening with such fervent attention that he feels a muscle start to ache in his neck. And though his instinct, whenever this topic comes up, is to recoil into grief... this time he forces himself only to listen, to let her words flow through him and strengthen him.

Maybe it will end. But it meant something. It meant everything. It will always have meant everything...

He will have that to hold onto, when the pain eventually finds him. As it will, no matter how hard he tries to look away.

"I love you too," he whispers unsteadily, looking back into her eyes, his gaze heavy with all the love he feels for her. In almost every other moment, he is so careful with what he shows, how he controls himself... but not here. There is nothing hidden, not from her.

She smiles, kisses him again, slow and deep, then rests her forehead against his. "Come on," she murmurs. "There's something I want to show you upstairs."

He has to take a moment and breathe several times before he trusts himself to speak. "What is it?" he asks.

She laughs, only a little shakily. "I rented us a room for the whole night. Just the two of us -- alone, finally."

In spite of the emotional strain of the conversation, he feels a flicker of eager warmth go all through him, and she grins at the expression on his face.

"After you," he says, and pushes himself unsteadily to his feet.

-----

He has only ever experienced their lovemaking in camp. And he had never had anything to complain of. She has always been more wonderful than he would have words to describe, no matter where they are. He wouldn't have thought to ask for more even if it had been an option.

But this... gods. A soft bed and her warmth all over him, the same hungry eagerness that has marked their previous encounters, and yet... slow.

They had claimed to each other that they were going slow, that first night back in the shadowlands - but it wasn't really. It was rushed and desperate, full of need and urgency - both from desire and from the necessary limitations of sex in a camp full of other people.

This... this is slow. They have all night, and no one to bother them, nothing to distract. He is free to take his time, explore every part of her as she explores him. And the look in her eyes as their bodies meld together is something he will never forget if he were to live to be a thousand years old.

He loves her... he loves her... he loves her... and he can feel her on the edge of slipping away from him, but he will carry this with him into the darkness when she is gone.

He loves her and he is losing her and he does not know what he will do without her.

But they have this.

They have this...

[asthma-michael-myers]

The tragic Ballad of Hector Munday

3671 words

Warning metions of: (child) abuse, alcohol abuse, dead bodies, murder

This is long and English is not my first language, so I want to apologize in advance for any mistakes I’ve made.

Lucinda, Hectors mother, was initially happy to get pregnant. She thought that Clarence, her lover, would finally marry her since they expected a child together. However, as we know, he didn’t. He did a runner. Lucinda’s feelings regarding the pregnancy and the child changed for the worse. Lucinda knew that townsfolk would talk about her, an unmarried young woman having a child without a father. She began to despise the unborn child, but abortion was not an option for her; might it be for religious reason or being the time or because she was scared of the medical procedure. Maybe it was the hope that Clarence would come back to her, staying with her for the sake of the child.

After giving birth to Hector, she was more worried about the affect it would have on her social status, than about being a good mother or her financial situation.

She neglected Hector. She didn’t feed him, didn’t change his diapers, only had less physical contact. Well, until the day Clarence came back. Although he didn’t come back out of love for her, what Lucinda thought at first, but for her money. Clarence feigned interest in his son, promising he would be there for their little family from now on. He lied. He manipulated Lucinda so he could drain her savings until she was left with nothing except a baby and another one on the way.

Lucinda had experienced what it meant to be an unmarried mother, and with an additional child, her social status would only worsen. Still young and definitely overwhelmed with one baby already, she was in a dilemma. Neither did she want the child, nor did she want to have an abortion. If that ever came out it meant hell for her social life especially in that time.

Her dilemma left her in a stupor. Lucinda did not do anything, except try to hide the pregnancy the best she could. Her inner conflict, plus being used and left by Clarence again strained the relationship with Hector even more. Lucinda blamed Hector for Clarence leaving. In her opinion Clarence was a saint for trying to put up with her and her child again; not seeing that he only used her to get money. According to Lucinda, it was Hectors fault that Clarence didn’t stay, because he (Hector) was too greedy with his need for attention and love.

Of course, Lucinda also tried to hide that she gave birth to another child. Not considering that it could have been a possibility that her parents could have pretended that the new – born was their child; so to say, Lucinda’s sibling. But who would believe that, after her already giving birth to one bastard child?

Lucinda never acknowledged the new – born; always pretending as if it wasn’t there. Which was difficult since Babies tend to scream if they feel uncomfortable. So, was its pure luck the babies survived? A little, and the attentiveness of Lucinda’s parents. Seeing that Lucinda was phlegmatic and not caring for Hector, his grandparents took him in for some time. They also would have taken care of his little brother, if they had known he existed. Lucinda was caught up in her own world. She didn’t even realize that Hector was living with her parents; thinking the new – born was him. Reluctantly Lucinda took care of her child, since she thought it was the one people already knew about, and if that one would suddenly disappear, it wouldn’t reflect well on her.

Eventually Hector had to go back to his mother since his grandparents weren’t the youngest anymore and couldn’t handle a child anymore. As soon as Hector was there again, not that Lucinda noticed his arrival, her youngest son was disregarded. Lucinda genuinely believed she only had one son. It went so far that the children always had to share meals, because their mother only made food for Hector (if they were lucky). Resulting in the malnourishment of both children.

As Hector started to go to school, his little brother had to stay at home alone with Lucinda. He didn’t ever go to school; all he knows is because Hector taught him the basics, like reading, writing, some maths, and told him stories about the outside world. Still, the youngest never liked Hector. On the other side, he adored his mother and desperately wanted her attention. However, Lucinda didn’t acknowledge him. He told himself that it was because Hector was her favourite son, the one who came first not like him just being the second, the spare child; Hector got all her attention but never him, the little brother. The youngest didn’t see or understand that being beaten up and being insulted is no attention anyone wants, and that Hector actually suffered under this abuse. For the youngest it was worth striving for that.

As they got older, the youngest began to resent Hector more and more. As much as his brothers hate for him grew, Hectors guilt did. Hector was blamed by his mother for every failure regarding her love life. In Lucinda’s distorted view, every relationship that didn’t work out was because Hector, scaring of lovers with his outrageous greed for affection. Mother and the youngest son were not so different after all, you see. Anyway, now his little brother also started to openly show how much he despised Hector. And he knew exactly why. Hector had everything his little brother could only dream of, going outside, having a life with friends, seeing the world. Little did he know that Hector didn’t really have friends. He was reclused and distant. That one time he tried to make friends in ended in violence, since Hector thought hitting someone was a sign of liking someone. When it was explained to him that hitting people is a bad thing, he began to understand that his mother had not the best for him in mind.

When the teachers and doctor slowly realized that Hector was abused, Lucinda was not only enraged by that accusation (no matter how true), but also afraid that anyone could uncover her secret. Even if she was not really sure anymore what it was, she knew no one could find out about it. With claws and teeth she kept concerned people away from herself and her children.

Meanwhile her youngest child wanted to get on the good side of his mother, and by that finally some recognition. He started to help in the household; mostly repairing defect devices, changing lightbulbs and cleaning. And he got her attention, but not like he expected nor wanted to. All the time Lucinda referred to her youngest son as Hector.

As much as he loved being acknowledged by his mother he hated to exist only as his brother. One day it was enough for the youngest so he forced Hector in front of their mother, and barely controlling his anger he explained to her, that he (the youngest) is not Hector, that he exists and not just as the shadow of his older brother.

Being confronted with something that Lucinda suppressed so long, that she actually believed she had only one son caused a psychological discrepancy. She shut down. As did her youngest son. Realizing that it wouldn’t change a thing if he kept talking, the youngest decided that this would be the last time he talked. What difference would it make? He has nothing to say anymore. He would never leave a mark on the world since no one ever knew he existed.

For some time, Lucinda didn’t do anything, just sitting there staring into the void of her own soul. During that Hector and his little brother took care of everything. It took quite some time until Lucinda began to talk again, well and Hector could have done without it as Lucinda only began to spit out insults against Hector. No nice word left ever her lips again.

When Hector finished school, he and his brother made an agreement. Hector would leave, studying psychology. In return, his little brother could eventually get what he always wanted, their mother’s attention. However, that came for a price; he had to be referred to as Hector and take care of her, dealing with her rapidly declining physical and mental health. To communicate with her, like asking her if she is hungry or needs anything, the youngest used a tape recorder to replay snippets of conversations he had recorded.

Fast forward to Lucinda having to be put in a senior home. Hector Munday was quite happy with his life and his achievements as an FBI profiler. Well, until his brother contacted him one day. He couldn’t handle their mother declining health any longer. Hectors suggestion of putting her in a senior home was not well received by the youngest. Mostly because he was unsure of what would happen to himself (the youngest). He didn’t earn money; so he couldn’t afford a home, he wouldn’t have a place to stay then. But what else to do with their mother?

When Hector assured his brother that he could stay with him, their mother was put in a nursing home, and the youngest started to live with Hector. Of course, his little brother blamed him for the whole situation. Hector just abandoned them. Visited rarely, didn’t send money, actually for his little brother Hector did never do anything useful.

Like it is in such situations, the stress affected Hectors work. Which resulted in Hector making a grave mistake. In the end two people died. Too late, he saw the connection between evidence. They have always been there, right before his eyes but due to personal problem that strained his mind, he couldn’t draw a conclusion on time. It was his fault.

How should he handle all this? Being the reason, his brother never could develop a life of his own, being the reason his mother never could be happy, and now the knowledge of causing the death of two people? If he just could undo his mistakes.

What did he have to do to reverse time? Oh, he couldn’t do that.

When he couldn’t bear his guilt anymore, Hector began to get drunk more often. In his dazed state, his mind went to the two dead people over and over again. He could think of one possibility to undo his mistake. As a child he played with old dolls, presents from his grandparents. Back then he created alternative scenarios, a happier world with, for a short time. So, what if he had dolls of the victims? Miniature selves of the real persons. Of course, they would never be alive again. So that brought nothing. It was pointless. Hector would drink as long until he couldn’t grasp a clear thought any longer, being afraid of the places his mind would take him.

As time went on, the stress only got worse. Now Hector also had to find a serial killer, who seemed more determined than him at the moment. Additionally, his brother was disappearing from their shared apartment at night. Unbeknown to Hector, his little brother is already found the serial killer he (Hector) was looking for and stayed in contact with him. Sherman, who entranced the youngest with stories about H.H. Holmes, and his philosophy of life and death. Furthermore, he finally got something so important to him from Sherman, positive attention. Killing people was a small price for a reward like recognition of his chosen father figure.

On the other side was Hector, slowly succumbing to alcoholism. While his mind fixated on the only possible way, he could think of to correct his mistakes with each passing day. On a particularly bad day, he finally decided to do it. Hector decided to make little dolls of the victims he couldn’t save. However, it was not easing his guilt. What are little dolls compared to the actual lives he ended? He might as well take the rotting bodies and put try to bring them back to live. Well… Wouldn’t that be better?

Till Hector actually realized the next step of exhuming the victims’ bodies, some time passed. It was a day he got particularly drunk. With a numb conscience it was easier to pull through with it. Exhuming bodies was dirty work and trying to keep them fresh was even more of a mess. And for what? The makeup did nothing to hide the rotting flesh. And the stench. It was so awful that Hector had to vomit several times (which might also be because of his excessive alcohol consume during the procedure). All in all, Hector was not satisfied with the result.

Yes, it eased his guilt that he at least tried to bring them back. But this was not even close to alive. Where are their movements? Their voices? This was all wrong. They were barely lifeless dolls; using strings to let them move only turned them into marionettes always needing him to move them.

It took Hector a lot of research to finally find a way that would let the corpses move, more or less, on their own. And figuring out hydraulic mechanism was even harder. Creating voices was easier. Hector took inspiration from his brother who recorded conversations to communicate by replaying them. Hector used recordings of his colleagues, people in the supermarket, and also records of criminals he interviewed as voices for the animatronics.

Finally, the first animatronics was finished. It was not well made compared to his later works, but it was good enough for the time being. More important was the effect it had on Hectors mental health; it eased the feeling of guilt he had carried with him since birth. Now he could correct his mistakes, by creating alternative scenarios. With that in mind, he began to visit his sick mother in the nursing home more often and recorded their conversations.

Hectors more relaxed thoughts and the necessity for steady hands for his newfound hobby, lead him to consume less alcohol, however he never quit.

Since Hector was able to concentrate on his work again, his mind was able to figure out more about the serial killer who he had hunted for such a long time already. The problem was, he could not avoid drawing a connection to his little brother.

Catching Sherman eventually, uncovered what Hector feared; his little brother being involved with a serial killer. What should he do?

Never in his life would Hector snitch on his brother. Hector already did so many awful things to his brother, or at least he was blamed for doing so by his little brother. Maybe with Sherman behind bars, his influence on his brother would cease.

Well, that was a plan, that didn’t work out. Mostly because of Sherman. Manny Sherman refused to talk to anyone, except the youngest Munday. Now there were two possible ways for Hector. First, Hector pretends to be his brother (the irony of that). Since they look almost identical, it would be easy to impersonate his little brother. Or so Hector thought. As soon as Hector entered the room, Sherman knew, this wasn’t his protégée. Sherman did not answer one question.

The second possible way was one Hector didn’t want to take. His younger brother would have to talk to Sherman. For Hector it was sacrificing his brother against professional advancement. Could he reconcile that with himself?

Hector and his brother arrived at different times in the agency. Identification was no problem since they looked alike. His little brother could use Hectors pass, which he pretended to have had lost. Everything went smooth in that regard.

As Hector expected, the bond between Sherman and his younger brother only strengthened. It went even so far that the protégée brought his trophies to show Sherman. Although Hector heard what his brother did, how proud Sherman was of him and urged him to think bigger, Hector didn’t want to fully understand what all the trophies implied. To protect the image, he had of his brother, and by extend his own mental health, he refused to see it.

However, Hector couldn’t ignore his little brothers’ activities for much longer. After the death penalty was executed and Sherman was dead, his little brother was obsessed with to leave his own mark on the world. How long has he dreamt of that?

You could call it bad timing that around this time Lucinda died in the nursing home. Despite everything what she inflicted on both of them, it has taken a heavy toll on the brothers. Hector was not able to apologize for causing so many problems for her, and her youngest son could never proof that he also was worth of her love. While Hector coped by drinking more regularly again, his little brother followed his newfound destiny.

The time of the Shoeshine Killer began. And with that it also came the time for revenge for everything Hector had done to his little brother. The worst was, according to him, that Hector claiming all their mother’s love for himself, closely followed by taking away Sherman, his mentor he adored more than anyone else, from him. In his all his rage the youngest never saw that Hector was suffering just like him. Apart from the alcohol, Hector never was able to connect with people, always to afraid that he would burden them with his presence. And yes, Hector was envious of the relationship his little brother had with Sherman. They seemed to be on the same wavelength, no matter how vicious that turned out to be.

However, the youngest had to be smart about tricking not only the police into believing that an FBI profiler would become a murderer but also hide his actions long enough from his brother. The solution would be to leave obvious hidden evidence for the police to find, which would lead them to Hector. The murders had to be executed well enough to show that the killer knew of how the police worked, but not so good that there would be no clues at all. What would be left behind would have to point into Hectors direction, not like a neon sign, but more subtle.

And the youngest did well, Sherman would have been proud of him, he was sure of that. As the police was not the brightest back then it took them quite a while to finally realize who the killer might be. The reason for that could also have been that the police was blind for the possibility of an FBI agent, additionally a white man, could have been a murderer, despite the statistic reinforcing that.

Eventually, it all went as planned. The act of murdering a conscious person in Hectors apartment, was the final drop of a bloody trail that led them to Hector. No one could ignore any longer what the gathered information implied.

When Hector finally understood what was happening around him, it was too late. The only thing he could do was damage control. At first, he had to call his brother to reason. Hector explained to him that he would have no home, no money, and also no one who cared for him when Hector was gone.

In this moment it became painfully obvious how much Hector had underestimated his little brother. Of course, his little brother has considered how things could turn out for himself and took precautionary measures. Inspired by H.H. Holmes he earned money through fraud, forming relationships with rich women, some of them owned buildings or land, that he later inherited. He didn’t need Hector resources any longer. Taken by surprise Hector had to think of any reason for his brother to keep him around. How the tables have turned, haven’t they?

The only thing Hector could do which might be of value to his brother was building animatronics. He could bring back their mother or even Sherman. His little brother longed for conversations with his mentor again. He wanted to show him what he had accomplished. A decision was made, Hector would not be thrown to the pigs in uniform.

In the short time that remained until the cops would arrive, they developed a half – baked plan to cover their tracks. It was Hectors luck that his little brother already also planned measures if shit hit the fan. The plan was, setting the apartment on fire with one of the murder victims in it that was roughly the same height, weight and age as Hector. The problem was that the police would try to identify the corpse. Hector knew, if a corpse is burned beyond recognition and they have an idea who the person could be, they would use dental records to identify them. How could they fake that? Pulling out his own teeth and plugging them into the corpses mouth would not work. Faking his dental records? Well, a Hacker could do that, but he would need the radiographs of the deceased to replace them with Hectors. It also would be quite expensive and take some time.

Unbeknown to Hector, his brother already took care of it. Because had had to kill that person in their shared apartment, Hector couldn’t be around during that. So, there was a possibility of Hector not coming home before the police would have arrived. Still, they would have to find a corpse then. So, his little brother instructed a Hacker to fake Hectors dental records in advance as one of the safety measures.

As safety measure just like the way they would travel to reach their hideout. An old villa on a small island that he had inherited. It was old desolated and cold, but perfect for the plans the youngest had, killing 200 people, like the H.H. Holmes in Shermans stories. Finally he can leave his mark on the world.

The rest is history.

[mirrorofliterature]

sadly I have already re-read all thomas/edward fics because I am but a quick re-reader and there are few

[longagoitwastuesday]

I've been seeing a lot of super good Odysseus art, more than usual, and I was sooo happy. And apparently it's because of some nonexistent musical? I'm not usually into musicals, but this is already my favourite one ever if only for that reason. Great job and thank you

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Souper

[at unicorn fuck club] JRR Tolkien: tonight we've got a special story from everyone's favorite fantasy writer GRR Martin: CS Lewis: Peter S Beagle: Hans Christian Andersen: L Frank Baum: Tolkien: whoops shouldn't have said that ha ha Tolkien: i mean, you're all winners in my book

Tolkien: but when i say everyone's favorite fantasy writer Tolkien: i mean terry practchett GRR Martin: oh yeah that's fair CS Lewis: yeah fair Peter S Beagle: fair Hans Christian Andersen: yes yes of course L Frank Baum: that's fair

Terry Pratchett: hello unicorn fuck club today i've got a story about a wizard who is - get this - actually very bad at his job Tolkien: oh ho ho! terry my boy, you've done it again! Pratchett: there's also girl dwarves Tolkien: [suddenly stone-faced] i hate this

Pratchett: but first Pratchett: all this story telling is hungry work! Pratchett: do you happen to have anything to eat around here? Tolkien: are you talking about... Tolkien: having Tolkien: a Tolkien: feast????? Brian Jacques: [squeaking incomprehensibly in rising excitement]

Tolkien: why, terry, my boy, what an idea! Tolkien: instead of merely DESCRIBING a feast, we'll have one! huzzah! Martin: huzzah! Lewis: huzzah! Jacques: [squeaking] i use a mercury head dime as a serving platter!

Pratchett: no no nothing so fancy as that Tolkien: eh? Pratchett: i was more thinking along the lines of Pratchett: soup Tolkien: soup? Pratchett: yeah just a big bowl of heart soup right about now would just be the best thing Pratchett: oo i just love the sound of it!

Pratchett: think about it: no work... no worries... no failures... no waste... when you serve maggi homestyle soups, the finest money can buy yet priced reasonably within your budget Tolkien: interesting! tell us more Pratchett: maggi soup! es ist echt ausgezeichnet!

Pratchett: how often have you had this problem Pratchett: say, you're on a budget but you have to feed your hungry hungry boys Tolkien: oh man i have been there! Tolkien: more times than i can count!

Tolkien: but terry Tolkien: i need something substantial and nourishing for my hungry boys. can maggi soup satisfy? Pratchett: ahh jirt my friend, maggi soup does more than satisfy! Pratchett: as the good people at maggi say, "kartoffelsalat volkswagen fahrvergnugen lebensraum!!"

Tolkien: What's that sizzling sound I hear? Pratchett: Get up! It's soup and eggs, my dear! Martin: What can I cook without much fuss? Pratchett: maggi soup would tickle all of us! Lewis: What's a lunch that's good and quick? Pratchett: Hot Maggi soup mix does the trick!

Pratchett: mm mmm! i tell you, nothing's as good as a rich bowl of maggi soup! buy some today! eat it with someone you love! Neil Gaiman: something's not right here

Gaiman: of course the power of imagination is infinite, friends Gaiman: but in all the worlds in all the multiverses of possibility, i cannot imagine one in which terry pratchett shills for soup Pratchett: [sweats] nein, nein, ich bin der echte terry pratchett!

Gaiman: if you are in fact, the real terry pratchett Gaiman: and not an imposter Gaiman: like the imposter sandman hector hall in The Sandman, vol. 2: The Doll's House Gaiman: then you won't have any trouble telling a joke Pratchett: [sweats] ein witz? du magst ein witz?

Pratchett: [sweats] i mean ha ha of course i can tell a joke Pratchett: i am the real terry pratchett after all Pratchett: [sweating intensifies] and you all know me, i'm a real spaßvogel Pratchett: Pratchett: a-are you sure you wouldn't all rather just have some soup?

[fishy--friend]

GUYS. IVE BEEN FUCKING AROUND WITH POSSIBLE PASSWORDS AND BELOW ARE SOME THAT IVE FOUND THAT WORK.

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THISISNOTAWEBSITEDOTCOM.COM BELOW. IF YOU WANT TO TRY AND FIND THESE FOR YOURSELF, DO SO BEFORE READING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

4 CATEGORIES:

TEXT ON SCREEN

DISPLAYS IMAGES

OPENS TABS

MISCELLANEOUS

ALSO: THIS IS MOST LIKELY UNFINISHED. THIS IS BEING UPDATED AS FREQUENTLY AS I AM DISCOVERING NEW PASSWORDS FOR THE TERMINAL.

1. TEXT ON SCREEN.

T.J. ECKLEBURG: DON'T MENTION THAT NAME AGAIN.

AXOLOTL: YOU ASK ALOTL QUESTIONS

PINES: A GOOD FAMILY TREE

GRAVITY FALLS: NEVER HEARD OF IT.

BOOK OF BILL: HIDE IT UNDER SHIRT DURING PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PORTAL: PORTAL.EXE HAS BEEN DELETED. BET YOU COULD BUILD ONE

29121239168518: WHO COMES FROM ZIMTREX 5?

JOURNAL 3: THE JOURNAL FOR ME

JOURNAL 2: THE JOURNAL FOR YOU

JOURNAL 1: THE JOURNAL OF FUN

DEER TEETH: FOR YOU KID!

DISNEY: RAT.GIF HAS BEEN CENSORED FOR YOUR PROTECTION

YOURE INSANE: SURE I AM WHATS YOUR POINT?

TRIANGLE: )

GUN: OH YES OH YES THEY BOTH

MOUNTAIN DONT: WHATS A MEDIEVAL HOMONYM?

3466554: WHAT LEAVES A THIN LINE IN THE SNOW?

DUCKTECTIVE: DUCKTECTIVE STARS IN "LOVE, QUACKTUALLY" COMING TO "OI, ITS THE COCKNEY CHANNEL INNIT?" THIS FALL

BLENDIN: TIME AGENT LOST AND PRESUMED INCOMPETENT

HISTORY: "NUMBER 3 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER" - SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK

YES: WHAT'S MCGUCKETS FAVORITE SODA?

NO: YOUR LOSS...

AM I BLANCHIN: GIRL WE BLANCHIN

SEASON 3: SEASON 2

SEASON 2: SEASON 1

SEASON 1: SEASON -1: ANTIGRAVITY FALLS

GIFFANY: INPUT DELETED. AI ANTIVIRAL ACTIVATED.

GIFFANY (2ND TIME): WARNING SECONDARY FIREWALL BREACHED.

GIFFANY (3RD TIME): FINAL WARNING: SYSTEM UNDER ATTACK

GIFFANY (4TH TIME): SOOS!! I STILL LOVE YOU! WE WILL BE TOGETHER

GIFFANY (5TH TIME): NOW DOWNLOADING GIRLFRIEND (THIS ACTION CANNOT BE UNDONE) (SEE CATEGORY 4 FOR 6TH TIME)

SCRIMBLES: LIFEFORM NOT FOUND

ANSWER: QUESTION

QUESTION: ANSWER

BYE GOLD: BYE!

FAMILY MATTERS: DID I DO THAT?

FILBRICK: IM NOT IMPRESSED.

WHO ARE YOU: I COULD ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION

SCIENTOLOGY: SUPPRESSIVE PERSON DETECTED

HOLOGRAM: UNIVERSE

REALITY: IS AN ILLUSION

THE UNIVERSE: HOLOGRAM

2. DISPLAYS IMAGES

THERAPRISM: ELEVATOR INSTRUCTIONS

STANFORD/SIXER/FORD: MEDICAL DOCUMENTS

LOVE: IMAGE OF A BOOK TITLED "THE LOVE TRIANGLE"

PACIFICA: NOTE FROM PACIFICA

DIPPER: BILL TRYING TO GET DIPPER TO LOOK IN THE SUN FOR 13 HOURS STRAIGHT

BLIND EYE: EYESIGHT TEST

MASON: NOTE FROM DIPPER

ROBBIE: ONLINE CHATS

WENDY: NOTE FROM WENDY

SOOS: NOTE FROM SOOS

SPOOKY/SCARY: BOOK

LALALA/BABY BILL: DO NOT ASK.

HORROR: THE "ALWAYS GARDEN"

IRREGULAR: COLORIZED MUGSHOTS

DIVORCE: O SADLEY'S BEER BRANDING

PLATINUM PAZ: ONE OF PACIFICA'S NIGHTMARES.

ABOVE IS A CODE I FOUND.

SORRY: UNRIPPED PICTURE OF STAN AND FIDDS IN COLLEGE

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA: DIARY ENTRIES ABOUT BILL'S STATUE

BAAAA: PASSAGE ABOUT SHEEP. MUSIC CUTS OUT.

BOOBERRY: A QUESTION MARK CALLED "THE MEANING OF LIFE"

SEVEN EYES: IMAGE OF THE ORACLE

GOODNIGHT SALLY: BILL T-SHIRT

DESTRUCTION IS A FORM OF CREATION: FIDDS GOES INSANE: THE NOTES

3. OPENS TABS

BILL/CIPHER/BILL CIPHER: WIKIPEDIA PAGE ON THE EYE OF PROVINCE

STANLEY: EBAY SALES FOR BRASS KNUCKLES

MCGUCKET: YT VID OF COTTON EYE JOE

MEOW: VID OF TIKTOK OF THEME COVERED BY CAT PIANO

BLANCHIN: YT VID ON HOW TO BLANCH VEGETABLES

WADDLES: GOES TO A PIG WEBSITE

ABUELITA: VID ON BEST VACUUMS FOR FLOORS AND CEILINGS

STANLEY (3RD TIME): DOGS PLAYING POKER ON EBAY

STANLEY (4TH): 8 BALL CANE ON EBAY

STANLEY (5TH) MAE GIRDLE ON EBAY

STANLEY (6TH) SHRINER FEZ ON EBAY

STANLEY (7TH) COLONEL SANDERS TIE ON EBAY

MONSTER: GOOGLES "THERES A MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK"

ALEX HIRSCH: GOOGLES "FLANNEL"

MYSTERY SHACK: GOOGLES "CONFUSION HILL"

4. MISCELLANEOUS

GIDEON: AUDIO CLIP OF HIM SINGING

MABEL: ADDS STICKERS TO THE HOMEPAGE

WEIRD: VIDEO OF WEIRD AL

CRYPTOGRAM CODEX: DOWNLOADS FILES

GOD: VID OF ALEX'S AXOLOTL

VALLIS CINERIS: WEIRD VID OF BABY BILL

HECTORING: SONG FROM ONE OF BILL'S BANDS

CONSPIRACY: VID OF SOMEONE FREAKING OUT OVER THE WEBSITE, BY THEN COUNTING BACKWARDS STILL

DORITO: WIERD ASS VID OF A DORITO

SCREEN: MAKES NOISE, I CANT SEE WHAT IT IS

ONE EYED KING: HYPNOSIS VIDEO

MATPAT: VID OF HIM SAYING "YOURE ON YOUR OWN"

GIFFANY (6TH TIME ENTERING HER NAME): DOWNLOADS "IMNEVERLEAVING.ZIP"

STANLEY (8TH) TAKES YOU TO THE WHEEL OF SHAME! (SECRETS FOR A FUTURE POST)

BABBA/DISCO GIRL: DIPPER SINGS DISCO GIRL (A PERSONAL FAV)

IM STILL ON: A VIDEO OF THE SEA GRUNKS

LIES: THE GAME OF LIE

TANTRUM: RANT BETWEEN BILL AND TIME BABY

IF YOU FIND ANYTHING ELSE, LET ME KNOW.