#i went into a mini panic as soon as i saw it was terminated then i made the ticket and the tw post

[kaidabakugou]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[bluehhj]

listen to me — chapter 16

LISTEN TO ME  — 0016

listen to me masterlist;

WORDS: 2.4K

The next day, Jisung woke up with a headache so strong that the world around him seemed about to explode. His stomach burned and wrapped at the same time. He was going to vomit soon; however, he didn't want this to happen, for he knew that he would lose the little strength he still had to assimilate the last events correctly. Definitely, Jisung hated feeling the effects of the hangover.

His first move was to get out of bed and look for the headache remedy that never came out of his reach. Keeping balance with the help of the walls and any object that would enable him to support his own body, the boy walked to the kitchen, filled a glass with water and swallowed the tablet. When the icy liquid hit his empty and sensitized stomach, the feeling of malaise only worsened. Jisung needed to eat something, but he wasn't hungry. Not when last night's flashes insisted on appearing in your mind like a badly made movie and spreading a fair amount of panic to the rest of his nervous system. After all, what the hell had he done?

Jisung looked down and saw that he was wearing only a pair of underwear. His hair was a little damp, as if he'd washed and slept on it without even bothering to brush. He couldn't remember how he had taken off his clothes, much less how he had thought of taking a shower before bed — he was sure he did, as he checked the bathroom stall and noticed that it was still slightly wet. Jisung wasn't sure of much, but a single clear and vivid scene compared to the others played in a loop before his eyes: Jinah was at his house. And that wasn't good.

Stumbling on his own feet, Han grabbed his phone and jumped back into bed. He looked up Woojin's number on the contact list and, more than quickly, called his friend. The last one must still be sleeping, since it was only eleven in the morning — when they went out at night, Woojin used to sleep all day, so, yes, it was still early. The call was terminated without any answer, but Jisung was persistent. He called once, twice, three times, until Woojin's momentarily hoarse timbre sounded on the other side, surrounded by a deep state of lethargy:

"What do you want, hell?"

"Why am I just in my underwear and why do I have the fucking memory of Jinah here at home?" Jisung asked in a single breath; then, heard a lazy laugh.

"Don't you remember?", Woojin replied with another question. "I think she's going to be a bit upset. It's hard to forget these things, especially when it comes to the first time."

"Don't play with me like that" Jisung wanted the older boy to believe that he really wasn't putting faith in that absurd explanation, but his face was paler than a sheet of paper. "Tell the truth."

Woojin would've made some more jokes, but he didn't want to have to deal with the fury of that new version of Jisung later, when he discovered the truth. It was a bit dangerous and Kim still had to finish his college.

"I don't know that right, man", he was sincere. "You drank like hell, suddenly said you were going to the bathroom, and when we realized, you were already crying on Jinah's shoulder over Chaerin."

Jisung buried his face in the pillow. That alone was enough to embarrass him for the next two months, and he hadn't even heard the worst yet.

"I took you home later. Jinah was with me, then went along, too. Are you ready to listen to the rest?"

"No."

"Right. In my head, I was just going to stuck you under the cold water, pull back and throw you in bed, but you said, with all the words, that I wasn't worthy to have the sight of your splendid body."

"Until then, I didn't say any bullshit."

"But Jinah was worthy, you know? You asked her to give you a shower without shame.", continued Woojin. "You left all happy when she accepted and you banged your head on the doorframe. That must be why it is hurting now."

Jisung widened his eyes at every word said by the older boy. In the end, it seemed to have two dishes below the eyebrows. If before the water was already cooling his stomach, now it had turned into a mini-iceberg.

"And then?" the fear of finding the answer was as big as curiosity.

"Ouch, I don't know. I just laid on your couch and went to sleep. When Jinah woke me up, she was all red, flushed, and her hair messy, then we left. I don't know if you even kissed in there, but it looked like, you know?"

"No, no, no..." Jisung began to despair. It was horrible to try to get in your memory the information you wanted so bad to get and find nothing but gaps. "I don't remember!"

"Ask her then", Woojin suggested as if that were the simplest and most uncomplicated route.

"I can't, that's... That's too embarrassing! Jinah's my friend!"

"So what? I kissed all my friends, including you."

"I didn't call you to talk about things that happened years ago!" Jisung snorted. "What if something really happened? I'll do what?"

"You'll enjoy it, of course." Woojin didn't think twice before answering. "When life sends you a woman like that, you don't question, you thank!"

"If you don't remember, I just got out of an engagement in the hardest way possible. I don't have the stability or the urge to get into another relationship any time soon, whether it's serious or not."

"Aish, Jisung..." although the other couldn't see, Woojin rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying it's easy to go through what you're going through now, but life doesn't stop, you have to move on!"

"I can't move on in that way," quieter, Jisung sighed. "I can't try something different with one person while my heart's still pounding for another, and I don't want to use anyone else's as a bandage, let alone Jinah."

Woojin was silent for a moment. He didn't agree, but he couldn't help but understand that, at one point, Jisung was right. "So, what do you intend to do?" he asked, with no more arguments.

"Apologize" the younger boy got up from the bed and walked toward the bathroom.

"Are you going to call her?"

"I don't even have her number." he frowned at this, but didn't blame himself for his lack of attention. Jisung already had too many problems and obligations on a daily basis, such as dealing with a broken heart; tolerate the absurd meddling of people of the university in his life; take a deep breath to keep from freaking out before his electronic store notice came to an end; to prepare his psychological for the bomb that accompanied the last two periods of his course ─ which was denominated like the notorious stage (that would begin in that same week) ─ and more an infinity of things. Jinah had arrived and settled in his life not long ago, she still didn't deserve such high priority. "I'll talk to her in person."

"See if you're not going to ask her to bathe you again, eh?"

"Fuck you, Woojin."

Having the call terminated, no thanks or goodbye, my friend made itself heard. It was enviable how much the basis of that relationship was sweet and provided with much affection, attention, education, and companionship. An example of friendship full of love!

                                                        ♡˖°

Jinah waited for a reaction from her friends as she finished her fateful account of last night's events, yet, she had to hold on to the anxiety and stare at the three faces, not at all surprised until Jade resolved to break the silence and drop one:

"I warned you."

"Didn't even shock an egg," Chan added.

"But you guys don't understand!" Jinah squirmed on the couch. There was little left to throw herself on the ground and start making drama about how unfair and meaningless her life was. "I can't even like a little of him, that should be out of the question!"

"A little?" Changbin arched an eyebrow. "I'd say you really like Jisung very, very, veeeery much."

"You don't have to exaggerate, either."

"Jinah, you've been freaking out since seven in the morning, didn't let anyone sleep," Jade stated. "That's because the guy just threatened to kiss you; so, no, it's not an exaggeration."

"I don't even want to see when this kiss really happens," Chan added again.

"That's the problem. That kiss won't really happen," Jinah claimed with all conviction. "Yesterday was a fatality. Jisung was very drunk and must've let himself go, but that doesn't change the fact that he not only likes, but loves Chaerin, and there's nothing I can do to change that," she sighed sadly. "And everything repeats itself again..."

"Oh, JinJin, it's not like that either." Changbin wrapped an arm around Jinah's neck, to comfort her. "He can learn to love other people over time."

"Or not," the girl retorted. "And I, honestly, don't want to wait to take the risk again."

Jinah was just tired of watching her heart always picking the wrong people. Tired of being just that medicine that others use to recover and, when they can, discard the empty card. With Jisung it wouldn't be any different.

"I just have to forget this while I still have time," she continued, shrugging her shoulders. "I've gotten over worse things, anyway."

Jade opened her lips, but her next sentence had to die in her mouth as the bell rang and Chan smelled burned from the kitchen; soon, the american got up to open the door and the aussie was trying to save the lunch.

Jisung swallowed as the girl's face changed dramatically when she saw that the visitor was none other than her newly declared enemy.

"Jinah's there?" he spoke directly, already afraid that the girl would invent some lie just to keep him from stepping in her house for a few minutes, but, Jade merely sent him a merely friendly look and gave him room to enter the apartment.

The symptoms of liking someone are usually very clear, such as Jinah's faint despair about her pajamas and her face from who hadn't slept in days. Appearing so untidy in front of Jisung wrapped her stomach, but she soon tried to scare the feeling, thinking that her goal from that moment was to destroy any unrelated feelings besides friendship when it came to Han. It'd even be good for the boy to see her deplorable appearance, so he'd eliminate any chance of a second kissing attempt between the two ─ if it wasn't already completely and utterly extinct.

Changbin greeted the newcomer briefly and followed his girlfriend into the kitchen. Being alone with Jinah, Jisung bit his cheek inside and did everything he could to keep the shame from taking action, but it was such a difficult task!

"You visiting me at this time?" Jinah pointed with her chin at the seat next to her and tried to act as she always did with the boy. She couldn't make it clear that she only wanted to open a hole in the ground and hide her head like an ostrich. "Or rather, you visiting me? What bug bit you?"

"I came to apologize," Jisung sat down "for happened yesterday. I wasn't very well."

"I noticed" Jinah forced a laugh. "But that's okay, it happens."

"Talking about it..." Han tucked his lower lip in his teeth, visibly uncomfortable with the conversation, but curiosity was always bigger. "What happened yesterday? At..." his cheeks flushed. Lovely! Jinah soon blamed herself for the unwelcome thought. "At bath time."

"Nothing. I barely touched you, I swear. You just complained a lot, but with that I'm kind of used to."

"It's just that Woojin said you looked nervous when you woke him up to leave."

Jinah found herself in front of three paths, where one of them was to pretend to have alzheimer, the other to lie, saying that nothing happened, and the last to tell the truth. Considering that she hated that people lied to her and believed that a good friendship was built on the basis of trust, she chose the third path.

"You tried to kiss me."

"Did I?" Jisung wanted to die, there was no other way of describing what he felt.

"Yeah, but you slept about two minutes later. You can calm down, nothing much has happened."

The boy opened and closed his mouth several times, but not even shaking his hands in an almost desperate gesture to try to recover the gift of speech, he managed to explain himself properly. Ouch, that had at least an explanation!

"Sorry," he finally said. "I didn't want to do it, I'm sorry."

"I already said it's okay." Jinah dismissed the other's concern with a snap of the tongue in the roof of her mouth. "That wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been drunk."

"Not at all" hearing the confirmation of what she intimately knew already was even worse, Jinah proved. "But I didn't want things to get strange between us."

"Things between us have always been strange, Jisung."

"But not in that sense."

"For the third time, I repeat: it's okay, you have nothing to worry about," Jinah reinforced, noting that the boy was almost as stubborn as she was. "Now forget about it. Do you want to eat something? I don't think there's lunch, but there's pizza."

"No, I have to go." Jisung stood up. He lied about not being hungry, but he feared he might die choking if he'd been in the sights of Jade's eyes for a long time. "Thank you. For yesterday and for the invitation."

"No need to thank." Jinah also lifted her body from the sofa and followed the boy to the door. "Friends are good for that" somehow, even if it was because of fatigue, she had to convince herself that they would never be something more than that.

And she really would've been convinced, but Jisung made a point of sending her a ravishing smile of weakened hearts; one he had never sent before, which triggered her return to square one.

Poor Choi Jinah.

[ask-chaos-kin]

Chaotic Adventures in Babysitting Chapter 5

This chapter is by far the longest being over 6000 words.  Co-written with @royalbabble

“Alright, where do ya wanna start looking?” Pancakes asked, looking around as the two Freaks exited out of The Centerpiece. 

“Lets see if we can find a map first, we can estimate from there where she could have spawned in,” Roseflame started to look around at the people nearby, “Even though everyone else seems to just know where they want to go,” She shook her head a moment, there was no telling where Rose could be. 

“Um...Yeah I don’t know how much luck we’re gonna have with finding a map around here,” Pancakes said, turning to the large swaths of Partygoers that wandered about. 

“I guess, just start walking like they do and hopefully we find her? I mean, everyone so far has told us it’s near impossible to get hurt here,”

“I guess,” Pancakes muttered, “They said she was halfway across the carnival, and that Medic said the Infirmary was about that same distance, so maybe she’s somewhere around there?” Pancakes suggested. 

“Maybe, let’s go,” 

The two Freaks set off, going in whichever direction they could that could possibly lead to the Infirmary. As they ambled along, they quickly found themselves smack dab in the middle of the celebrations. Partygoers set off fireworks with reckless abandon, they crowded around several rides ranging from Rollercoasters to Teacups, they filed into building after building to witness whatever was inside, food and drinks were being offered left and right, and the atmosphere was enough to quickly brighten Pancakes and Roseflames moods. 

“Dude! THEY HAVE A TILT-A-WHIRL!” Roseflame exclaimed in glee.

“Oh damn that thing is huge!” Pancakes gasped, watching in bewildered delight as the giant attraction flashed with intricate and vibrant lights. 

“Come on! Let’s go try out the rides!” She grabbed Pancakes arm and started to pull him to the Tilt-A-Whirl. They approached the large crowd that was in line for the Tilt-A-Whirl and watched as the last batch of Partygoers exited the ride, laughing and all very much dizzy. The Partygoers running the ride-A RED Soldier and a BLU Demoman-happily guided the Partygoers in line into the ride. As Pancakes and Roseflame gleefully piled inside the attraction alongside the other Partygoers, a golf cart drove by, driven by a BLU Engineer with a BLU Scout beside her, a young girl sat in between them. 

“Wait, is that Rose?” Roseflame asked as they got in their Tilt-a-whirl pod.

“What? Did you see her?” Pancakes questioned, looking out from inside the Tilt-A-Whirl, seeing nothing but the massive crowds of Partygoers going about their partying. 

“I saw a golf cart drive by! There’s a BLU Engie driving while a BLU Scout was riding passenger with him. I could have sworn I saw someone else riding between them” Roseflame said trying to find the cart. Unfortunately, the ride started before the two could look anymore.

***

“Any sign of them?” The Scout asked their partner as they drove around the plaza.

“Not yet,” The Engineer sighed, “They may very well have already moved on from The Centerpiece,”

“Who knows. They might have tried to go outwards to try and find her,” the Scout stated, still keeping an eye out for anyone who could possibly be the ones she came in with. Rose looked around at all the rides and gawked at the lights and sounds. She hadn’t seen anything like it before. 

The Engineer suddenly stopped the cart and leaned out to wave over a RED Sniper that was walking with a crowd towards one of the many vibrant attractions.

“Hey! Have you seen the other two outsiders around here?” The Engineer asked as the Sniper separated from the crowd and approached the cart.

“Roseflame and Pancakes? No, haven’t seen ‘em,” The Sniper informed, “If it helps any I did hear around that they just left The Centerpiece a few minutes ago, so they shouldn’t be too far away from here. Y’know, provided they didn’t hitch a ride on one of the trolleys,” The Sniper said, punctuating his words by pointing above him at a trolley that flew by on one of the many intersecting rails that hung above the carnival. 

“Damn, thanks though. If you see them, tell them that Rose is with a BLU engineer and a BLU Scout,” The Scout said before the three continued forwards.

“If we can’t find Pancakes and Roseflame, Jester can at least teleport them all out together once they get back,” The Engineer suggested as an alternative. 

Rose pulled herself up to the dashboard to look out amongst the giant amusement park.  Crowds bustling everywhere, music playing all around, the delectable scent of food filled the air, life was a huge party here. She wanted to join in on the party and get on some of the rides and have fun but she’d have to slink away from the two in BLU. She scanned the attractions around her and spotted a ring toss. Several stuffed animals were hung above the challenge as prizes for all to see. There was her chance to get away. If she could distract these two with the attraction, she could sneak away and join everyone else in the festivities. She tugged on the BLU Engineers clothes while pointing at the ring toss. The Scout looked at the young girl and then to the ring toss.

“Want us to win you something?” The Scout asked her. She gave an excited smile and nodded energetically.

“Ah, I don’t see why we can’t play a few games,” The Engineer remarked. She pulled up beside the attraction and climbed out of the cart and helped Rose out. 

Rose walked with them to the ring toss game and waited for the perfect moment to run off. As the Scout and Engi began playing, she slunked off towards one of the trollies and slipped in undetected amongst the bustling crowd. By the time the Scout and Engie realized she was gone the trolly had already begun its trip to its destination. 

Rose climbed into one of the cushioned seats and peeked out beyond the window and watched in wonder as the fantastical amusement park zoomed by, the trolley lifting up and away to ride one of the highest rails in the park. 

***

Pancakes and Roseflame stumbled out of the Tilt-A-Whirl, dizzy and lightheaded from the ride. 

“Your ass was gripping the handle bar so hard,” Roseflame was laughing at Pancakes reaction to the ride. While he had been gripping the handle bar with his life, she was laughing like a maniac while the ride had spun them around at what could only be described as terminal velocity. 

As the two staggered their way out from the ride, they caught sight of the Engineer and Scout that had driven by right before the two Freaks had boarded the Tilt-A-Whirl. Before Pancakes could say anything Roseflame grabbed his wrist and rushed over to the two Partygoers, hoping that she had been right to think Rose was accompanying the two. 

“Hey! Excuse me!” Roseflame called out to the Partygoers, Pancakes righting himself so he wasn’t being dragged. The Engineer spun around to face the two Freaks and grabbed the Scout he with and approached Pancakes and Roseflame through the crowd. 

“Please tell me you have or at the very least had Rose with you,” Roseflame pleaded in a slight panic.

“She was with us, she wanted to play ring toss or at least wanted one of the toys on it,” The Scout started, hooking a thumb to the ring toss game behind him, “But then we turn around and she’s gone! We were kind of hoping she was going to you two,” Roseflame groaned out a ‘no,’ running her hands through her scalp. On the bright side she and Pancakes didn’t black out again.

“Do you have any idea where she might have run off to?” Pancakes asked.

“Nope, not a clue,” The Engineer admitted tiredly. 

“Hmm, lets see. Chaos and Anthony talked to me the night before she came about their family. They travel a lot…” A loud braking sound ripped through the air and cut Roseflame off. She jerked her head around and saw a trolley come to a halt and unload its passengers. Roseflames face lit up as a lightbulb went off in her head, “That’s it! She knows what a Trolly is! She had to take one!” She exclaimed as she watched another group of Partygoers boarded the braked trolley.

“Well come on then, let’s each take one and meet each other at The Centerpiece in about half an hour, that should give us enough time to look around the landing zones and see if we can find her,” The Scout started towards one that was southbound, Roseflame took one going westbound, The engineer took Northbound, leaving Pancakes heading eastbound.

***

Roseflame got off her trolley and started her search for the missing child. She stopped a few Spies to ask if they had seen her, all responding with no, but assuring that they would keep an eye out for her. While Roseflame searched the area and bustled her way through the energetic crowds and packed pathways, she couldn’t help but be stopped by a game with a very specific toy hanging up as a prize. A mini Jester plush.

“Rose would love that. As much as I want to call it egotism. I don’t know Jester well enough to say so,” She looked at the game she’d have to play to win it. A dunking game of some sort. A Demoman was perched inside the tank, a small target propped up next to him with several scratches and dents in it from repeated tries by other Partygoers to knock him into the water. She thought for a moment, then decided to try her hand at the game. She was a Scout after all.

“Aw, too bad sir. Care to try again?” The Medic operating the game offered to a Soldier who had run out of tennis balls to chuck. 

“No thanks. I got to get to The Mirror Mansion soon. I’ll be trying again tomorrow!” The Soldier assured, stepping out of line. Roseflame sidestepped out of the Soldiers way as he rushed over to a trolley that was already beginning to lift up to carry its passengers away to their next destination. 

“Would you like to try your hand at this game miss?” The Medic suggested as Roseflame stepped up. 

“I don’t see any harm in trying,” She couldn’t think of much else to say. She wasn’t used to being around so many people, she figured distracting herself would help, “What do I have to do to win?” She asked.

“You just have to throw these balls at the target. If you can knock my friend over there into the water within 3 throws, you win the plush Jester right up there,” The Medic said briskly, pointing up the the Jester plush hanging nearby above the rest of the prizes. She nodded,

“Challenge accepted,” She stated and grabbed the tennis balls and looked at the target, she figured it would be as rigged as normal so she had to put her all into it. She aimed for the target and threw with all her might. It hit too far to the right of the target, at least it was only the first throw. She aimed again and put slightly more force into her second throw, only for it to bank left and miss again.

“I am not as good at this as I thought,” She mumbled to herself as she focused on her third try. With a deep sigh, she threw the tennis ball at the target. She hit the target dead on and dunked the Demo into the water. The Demo swam back up to the seat, laughing while trying to spit out the water.

“Ey! Ya done it lass!” The Demo cackled, climbing back onto his perch. She let out her own little laugh in response.

“Guess I did,” She righted herself from her position, grinning. 

“Alright, you dunked him in three throws! Here ya go miss,” The Medic laughed. He went over and picked the Jester plush from its perch and gently handed it to Roseflame. 

“Nice, Thank you,” She then continued on her way and ducked in and out of crowds. How she would find Rose in this madness she didn’t know. She was ready to stop and consult some of the Partygoers on where she could find a map when the most beautiful thing caught her attention.

 A Greysexual flag ready for the taking, she just had to pop 5 balloons to get it...

***

The Engineer weaved in and out of the large and loud swaths of people, excusing herself whenever needed. Thankfully, his status as an Operator instead of a normal Partygoer granted her a bit more authority to ask others to kindly move out of his way whenever needed. As she passed by another large group of Partygoers, one of the nearby vendors noticed her and waved him over,

“Need a new Bigender flag?” They asked.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m a little busy at the moment. I’ll be sure to pick it up when I come back around though!” She called. They nodded as two more Partygoers showed up, a Scout and a Sniper. The Sniper selected a Panromantic Flag while the Scout accompanying them selected a transgender flag.

“Jester never fails to amaze me,” The Engineer said with a grin. She ran up to one of the trolleys that was about to take off and quickly jumped the rails on the back of the trolley and ducked inside. He noticed that quite a few other Partygoers where starting to look for the lost child, leaning over to look out the windows to the carnival below, or asking one another if they’d seen a small girl. On the bright side it was nearly impossible to get hurt here. Would not mean that Rose wouldn’t be scared out of their mind until someone found wherever she respawned however. The Engineer stood up and took a seat beside a Heavy wearing a large sweater who also appeared to be searching for Rose.

“You think Jester is going to be mad?” The Heavy asked, turning to the Engineer.

“Definitely. You know they don’t like people invading their privacy,” The Engineer remarked.

“Strange to think a kid could make Count Jester mad,” A Sniper who was also looking for Rose remarked in response. 

“Nah, it’s not the kid that Jesters gonna be mad over. It’s gonna be the other two, Pancakes and Roseflame,” The Engineer corrected. 

“True, very true. Will be a very strange sight indeed,” a Spy nearby commented as they took off their hat. “I was the first person who met them after they came in, strange to think that they were even able to get in without Jesters permission in the first place,” The Spy stated looking out the window. They were definitely too high to identify people now. The Engineer leaned over to peer out the window himself. Hopefully her Scout friend and Pancakes would have better luck in finding Rose.

***

“Alright, we got the final person. Soldine how’s the chopper holding up?” Chaos asked through the radio as she unlocked the BLU teams Heavy from their prison cell.

“Final chopper is bound to leave in 5 minutes, get them up here ASAP,” Soldine responded.

“On it. Jester, How well distracted is Nightmare?” She switched her Radio feed to them.

“PRETTY DAMN DISTRACTED,” Jester yelled over the radio, the sound of explosions and fire booming in the background, “GET OUT OF THERE QUICK, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN KEEP THIS CREEP ON MY TAIL!” 

“I won’t be too much longer. Pure’s getting everyone else out while I handle this,” She put a hand on the Heavy’s shoulder and teleported them out of the prison and nearby to the helicopter, which was tucked away just outside Nightmares lair. Soldine guided the Heavy to the chopper after taking them from Chaos. The two exchanged thanks and she teleported to a hiding space in the nearby woods just a few yards away from where the helicopter was. The Chopper took off and was on its way back to HECU headquarters.

“Your good to bail out now Jester, we’re heading out,” Major Scout Guy called on the radio before getting out of range.

“THANKS!” Jester yelled. There was a large puff of blue smoke over Nightmares lair and Jester booked it to Chaos’ hiding place, shrinking themselves down small enough to fit in a pocket. They rocketed down to Chaos and shot themselves into her satchel to hide. Brutal and Pure both put themselves at the forefront of the Freaks hiding in the underbrush, ready to fight in the event that Nightmare came bursting through his lair in pursuit. Pure and Brutal watched intently as Nightmare stepped out of his demonic nest, huffing and puffing from the runaround Jester had given him. He was visibly furious and looked just about ready to burn the entire forest right there and then.

“If there’s anything you’re good at, it’s making demons angry,” Spyper joked, readjusting the position of his kukri. Jester beamed from the satchel. 

“I think right now might be a good time for us to GTFO. Pure you got Brutal right?” She looked to her adoptive father while keeping an eye on Nightmare Medic. Pure raised his hand and discreetly summoned a shimmering portal next to him before giving an affirming nod to Chaos, “Spyper, your vans ready to go right?” She now looked to Spyper while scooting out of the way of Nightmare Medic’s sight, ducking into a bush.

“It’s already cranked, we’re ready when you are,” Spyper whispered, Intelligent Heavy looming beside him.

“Alright, I’ll see you guys at my base. Good luck,” She looked back up to the helicopter, which was already several miles out. Her team had booked it out of danger when the last BLU was on the helicopter, “Ready Jester?” She looked down to her satchel. The tiny Freak nodded and raised their hands to teleport them away. 

“Just give us the word,” They squeaked, their voice much higher pitched than usual.

“Alright, let’s go,” She gave everyone the signal for everyone to abscond from the area and quickly pulled her satchel up to her chest. 

Pure and Brutal were the first to leave, briskly passing through the portal and landing safely on the other side. Spyper and Intelligent Heavy were second. Spyper teleported the two of them off to his van and wasted no time in fleeing the area. 

And lastly was Jester and Chaos. Chaos could teleport on her own, but Jester could teleport them over far greater distances than she could without tiring. With a burst of blue, sparking smoke, Jester carried themselves and Chaos off back safely to the base. 

Upon returning to the base, everyone found Jesters artifact laid haphazardly on the sofa, guarded by Chaos’ beloved cat, Ratchet. Pure and Brutal was the first to enter the base to find the feline sleeping, curled around said artifact. Chaos and Jester followed suit, and Spyper and Intelligent Heavy landed outside. Chaos picked up her cat and allowed them to climb onto her shoulder.

“Where is everyone? I’d thought those three would be having breakfast by now,” Chaos wondered aloud, looking around to try and find them.

“I’ll tell you exactly where they are,” Jester huffed, stomping up to the sofa and scooping up their artifact. They turned the item over in their hands and peered at the rose tinted gem. 

“You’re artifact?” Pure queried, “I thought that only you could let people inside it,”

“I can. But-” They began, picking up the now empty cube that they had given Pancakes, “My magic can still be used to access the artifact. But since I wasn’t around to actually give permission for it, my artifact ‘glitched,’ so to speak. So now Pancakes, Roseflame, and Rose are trapped inside at the moment with no way out,” Everyone turned to Chaos after they heard the cat jump off her shoulder and onto the floor, Her face read every hallmark of panic until she started to collapse. Pure quickly shot behind her and kept her head from hitting the ground.

“Did you HAVE to add that last part in?!” Pure gasped as he got Chaos to the couch.

“I mean you kinda have to know what’s going on,” Jester said with a shrug. Pure sighed while Brutal laughed at the situation, he hadn’t seen Chaos drop like that in a while.

***

Rose wandered around the carnival, trying to find something to do. She saw the Teacups ride and quickly went to get in the bustling line. She squeezed her way through to see how long she would have to wait before boarding the ride, and she was relieved to find that she would be up next for the Teacups. 

The Partygoers that had been on the ride previously staggered away, dizzy and laughing. The Operators of the ride-A BLU female Heavy and a RED male Soldier-led everyone into the attraction and wished them a hearty time. When Rose came up to the two Partygoers, the Heavy smiled warmly at her and hoisted her up beside a RED Spy and BLU Sniper in one of the centermost Teacups. 

“Isn’t that the girl we’re supposed to be looking for?” The Soldier asked the Heavy.

“Maybe, doesn’t mean we can’t let her enjoy the ride though,” The Heavy responded with a handwave. She brought down the guardrail and rejoined her companion to get the ride started.

The two started the ride and watched as one of the groups of Scouts did nothing but go as fast as humanly possible, spinning fast enough to make any normal person throw up their lunch. The Spy and Sniper that Rose was with went at a relatively slower paced, but made the teacup spin as fast as she liked. She was smiling and laughing the whole time, and all around it was a good time for everyone. 

As the ride spun round and round and round, Pancakes ran by, unaware that Rose was whirling around at top speed just a few attractions away. He sprinted past another group of Partygoers and shouldered through them, trying to get by as quickly as possible.

“C’mon c’mon c’mon! Of all the places we could have gotten lost in it’s a fucking amusement park! Goddammit-” He muttered to himself. He came out the other end of the crowd and continued sprinting. Once he reached some kind of roller coaster, he skidded to a halt to catch his breath. He sucked in air through his teeth as sweat poured down his back and face, “Jesus christ this is gonna take me forever-” He wheezed, bracing an arms on his legs, “Goddammit, if I had a map this would be so much easier!”

“Well howdy there, need a map?” He heard an Engineer call to him from his right. They had a few maps to give out, “All you gotta do is win this here game. Simple enough for you city boy?” They teased.

“Why would I need to win a game? You’re literally selling them!” Pancakes protested, watching in silent fury as another Partygoer passed by and picked up a map as they went without any complaints from the Engineer while they continued to smugly grin.

“Well, wouldn’t have to if you weren't so rude there,” They continued to smirk, “All you have to do is hit this little ‘ol button and have that little metal piece hit the bell, easy right?” They said, pointing to a strongman game next to their booth.

“Fuck this really is Jesters world…” Pancakes swore under his breath. 

“Well? Gonna try your luck?” They asked smirking at him. Yep, definitely Jesters world.

“Fine. And I’ll do it with my own hammer,” Pancakes hissed. He extended a hand out and his colorful weapon popped into existence. Grumbling, he stomped up to the strongman man and took a quick glance up to see how much force he’d have to put into his swing. He grumbled and dug his feet in and brought his hammer above. With a shout, he brought his weapon down as hard as he could onto the pressure plate. With a loud /clank, the measure of the strongman game shot up about halfway to the bell before pitifully falling back down to the pressure plate. 

“Ooh, too bad. Want to try again?” They teased. Pancakes scowled and raised his hammer again for another good wallop. Slamming his festive weapon down on the plate, the measure shot up again, just a bit higher this time, but still shy of the bell at the top. 

“Just a little stronger there, one more try,” They leaned against the guard rail, still grinning. Pancakes was starting to reach his boiling point. It had been a while since he last flipped his lid which meant quite a few things could happen if he let himself boil over and explode in rage. And that wasn’t even counting how Jesters world would react to that.

Gripping his warhammer until his fingers turned white, Pancakes swung the warhammer with all his might, putting behind it more force than was necessary to kill a human. One loud /BANG later and the metal piece slammed into the bell, making it ding loudly, announcing Pancakes’ victory. Pancakes felt a sense of relief wash over him.

“Finally,” He sighed as he got rid of his hammer. The Engineer laughed and smacked the countertop to their booth. 

“Now that’s what I call persistence!” They handed Pancakes the map of the world as they laughed. That’s when Pancakes noticed the badge clipped onto their overalls was the Non-Binary flag. It made him think about Jester and how upset or even mad they’ll be when they do find them in their world. 

Pushing those thoughts to the side, Pancakes unfolded the map and nearly tore it in two when he saw the layout of the world.

“Jesus Christ Jester,” Pancakes sighed, staring in gobsmacked frustration at the size of the park. Pancakes felt a tugging at his pant leg and looked down to find that the exact child he had been scouring the park to try and find was at his leg.

“I’m tired of walking, can you carry me?” She asked him like she never went off on her own in the first place. Pancakes stared down at Rose with a mix of confusion and frustration. He had been searching Jesters world for God knows how long, and then Rose just pops up next to him out of the blue like nothing had happened!? He swore this child was going to be a bigger pain than originally anticipated. 

He picked her up and carried her back to the trolley he had ridden in on. At least now he knew exactly where she was, even if he had to also read the map to find the right route of trolleys to travel on to get him back to The Centerpiece.

***

At The Centerpiece other Partygoers had started to calm down as the news spread that Rose was no longer lost and was with Ass Pancakes now. Roseflame met up with the Scout and Engineer at the drop off and pick up point at The Centerpiece, wearing her new flag as her own cape.

“Hey guys, any idea when Pancakes will be back here by?” Roseflame asked as she fixed her cape slightly.

“Shouldn’t be too long-” The Scout let out a hiccup, “Sorry, anyways he shouldn’t be long. According to the talk around this place he and Rose got on a trolley a minute or so ago, we just have to wait for them to show up,” They explained, his Engineer partner giving him a look.

“You participated in a drinking contest didn’t you?” She questioned. He remained silent but his expression spoke volumes. Another hiccup later confessed his suspicions, “Come on, we’re looking for a little girl lost in this world and you’re busy drinking yourself silly?” She sighed in disappointment, shaking his head, “Either way, Jester should be here soon to bring you three out of this world. But don’t expect them to be all friendly when they do”  She said. Roseflame chewed her lip and looked up at the many intersecting rails that hung above the park, searching for Pancakes. 

There! A trolley began to descend to the ground, Pancakes and Rose waving from one of the windows. Roseflame waved back to the two they approached the ground. Not long after the trolley arrived and Pancakes made his way over to the trio. The first thing he noticed was Roseflames ‘cape’, and the second thing was the sugar drunken Scout next to the Engineer.

“Are you kidding me?” Pancakes asked exasperatedly, “We’re looking for Rose all over this place, and you’re over here getting drunk off of sugar?!” Pancakes shouted, irritated. 

“I caved alright! I’m a Scout afterall! Can’t let people mock me for not participating,” They tried to defend themselves.

“We’re also still Partygoers, so…” The Engineer added with a shrug.

“Besides, not like you did much better at your job seeing as Rose is suddenly no longer with you!” He pointed to his side to reveal that Rose had wandered off again. Pancakes and Roseflame screamed at the top of their lungs in response.

“OH FUCK NOT AGAIN!!” Pancakes shouted, whipping around in every direction he possibly could to try and locate where Rose had roamed off to now. 

“THERE!” Roseflame pointed to the ferris wheel that loomed over them. Rose was climbing aboard while one of the engineers were repairing the fuse box. It wasn’t ready to be ridden! Pancakes and Roseflame tripped over themselves and each other as they made a mad dash to the ride, both waving and screaming frantically for Rose.

 “Why does it have to be the most dangerous things possible!?” Roseflame yelled as the two sprinted towards the ride. The Engineer at the fuse box turned to grab another one of their tools, and in doing so they hit the lever to start the ride. Pancakes and Roseflame screamed in terror as the wheel begin to lift Rose up and away, far out of their reach. 

“GET HER BACK GET HER BACK!!” Pancakes screamed, grabbing the Engineer by the collar and shaking them. 

“O-Ok hang on!” The Engineer spluttered. They staggered backwards towards the lever when Pancakes let go of them and they began to yank the lever back into its original position, but the lever didn’t budge from its place.

“We don’t have time for this!” Roseflame cried. She grabbed onto one of the moving carts and hopped off as soon as she got to one of the support beams where she could get to Rose’s cart. Pancakes followed swiftly after.

The Partygoers that were in the carts were all gobsmacked to find two Freaks trying to scale the ferris wheel, many of them even screaming in shock and terror when their carts were rocked by the two climbing upwards. Rose peered over the side of her cart to see Pancakes and Roseflame running up a support beam to try and get to her. She quickly scooted back into the cart and tried to close the window. Pancakes and Roseflame were mad at her, she just knew it! Rose struggled to close the window so she could hide from the two, but the window was thoroughly jammed in place. Rose panicked and peered back over the side. 

Everyone in the ferris wheel, down on the ground, or is passing trolleys gasped as a bright light appeared in front of the Ferris Wheel. Pancakes and Roseflame came to a halt to cover their eyes from the light. Rose was filled with curiosity at the strange and sudden display and started to peer out the window, sticking her torso and part of her legs out to see. As she crawled forward, she lost her balance and wasn’t able to pull herself back into the cart, Pancakes and Roseflame’s hearts jumped into their throats as they watched Rose tumble out of her cart. They both began hurling themselves from cart to cart and beam to beam, rushing towards the descending child in hopes one of them could catch her before she crashed into the ground below. 

In a rapid flurry of blue smoke and bright sparks, a stream of clouds scooped Rose up midfall and grabbed Pancakes and Roseflame in the same breath. Within seconds, the three were safely placed back down at ground level. 

Both Pancakes and Roseflame looked around, disoriented from the whole ordeal before looking at the cloud of blue smoke and sparks. Both gulped slightly as Jester emerged holding Rose in their arms, they appeared to be a mixture of worried, miffed, and upset.

The Engineer working the ferris wheel was still struggling to get it back into place. This caught Jesters attention momentarily, and they raised their hand up and snapped their fingers, the lever suddenly moving with ease, causing the Engineer to fall. With a huff, Jester returned their gaze to Pancakes and Roseflame.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Jester said with such coldness and firmness that it almost didn’t even sound like Count Jester. Then with a snap of their fingers and a flash of light, the four were standing in the living room of the base once again. Roseflame had to blink several times before she could tell they were out, and while she did, Pancakes stood forwards to try and explain the situation to Jester without Roseflame getting in trouble. After all it was his fault they had even got trapped inside, not hers.

“I tried to use your magic to access your artifact,” Pancakes admitted to Jester while rubbing the back of his neck, “I had no idea it would drag us all into it, or that it would freak out,” Pancakes said quickly, the look Jester was giving him very quickly boring into him.

“And why exactly did you need access to my artifact?” Jester asked coldly. 

“My phone was dead,” Chaos started to get up from her fainting just to hear that, her expression only read confusion.

“You couldn’t have just waited until we got back?” Jester asked, cocking an eyebrow, “You used my magic for a purpose outside of what was intended, you invaded my privacy, put yourselves in danger, and you could have very easily caused my world to glitch into this one!” Jester snapped, grabbing Pancakes by his collar, much to everyone's shock. 

“It’s not like I was trying to force it here! I was just trying to spy on you guys!” Pancakes cried, trying to defend himself.

“You still used my artifact without my permission or consent!” Jester snapped, “You could have used the base phone to call one of us instead of using my artifact!” 

“I didn’t know if I’d be able to reach you guys! I would have asked otherwise but I didn’t know!!” Pancakes was starting to choke from the force of Jester holding him up, Rose was getting scared of Jester by this point. Jester dropped Pancakes and quickly smacked him upside the head.

“Never touch my artifact again,” Pancakes fell with a loud thud due at the force of the smack. Chaos and Roseflame gave a collective hiss from the sound of the smack. Jester paid no mind to them and scooped up their artifact before storming out of the room, Spyper and Pure both staring after them. Pancakes laid motionless on the floor.

“Is he dead?” Rose asked peeking from behind Roseflame.

“I doubt it, but who knows with that smack,” Chaos answered, checking his pulse.

“Wouldn’t be too surprised if he jumped into his can right about now,” Brutal commented, walking over and lightly kicking Pancakes in the shoulder. He was knocked out cold, so Chaos put his can next to him. Almost automatically he went into the can to recharge himself, Chaos put him on a shelf so he couldn’t be bothered.

“Soldine and Major Scout Guy have returned with the captured BLU team, Nightmare Medic is reported back at his base without any hostages from the rescue mission. This is Agent Travis with your local HECU update,” Everyone could hear the TV.

“That. That is why he panicked,” Chaos explained to the others in the room, “right Abby?

“You guys were fighting Nightmare, I wanted to know what was up. His phone was dead because he was chasing off more aggressive Freaks to protect Rose, so we figured the mini-Jester could let us see what was going on, it was mostly my fault for mentioning it,” Roseflame explained. “Should I go talk to them?” She asked everyone.

“It would be best to let Jester cool off for a bit,” Intelligent Heavy said, picking up the now empty cube that Jester had given Pancakes, “They’ll be in their world for awhile, just leave them be until they come out,” 

“In that case, I’m out. I’ve been away for too long,”

“What the hell is that!?” Everyone turned to the TV, some sort of white creature with grotesque arms and a gaping mouth was attacking the HECU base.

“Case and point,” Roseflame dashed out the door while taking off her new flag to shove it in her bag. She then took off on her Winged Star, aiming for Evo City.

“Nothing can ever be normal can it?” Chaos sighed before turning to Rose, “you okay sweetie?” She asked Rose. She nodded, a bit shaken from Jesters outburst.

“Can we go for a drive aunt Lily?” She asked. Chaos looked to Pure and the others.

“Mind watching over my base while I go out driving with Rose?”

“We’ll keep an eye on things, don’t worry,” Intelligent Heavy assured, turning over the cube in his hands. 

“Thanks. I’ll be gone for a while. No offense but she needs to be around humans more than more freaks right about now,” Chaos picked up Rose and headed out of the base. The Freaks inside could hear a truck rev up a few minutes later, and Spyper watched as a black truck driven by Chaos headed off to the closest human majority city. 

“Well, just us now,” Spyper commented.