PPC: TM. Chapter Seven.
Previous Chapter
The Song Disclaimer
Song List of Chapter Seven:
13) Red and Black
Grey and Red
Les Misérables
14) Dawn's Lament
Annabelle's Lament
Once More, With Feeling
Disclaimer: *checks* Nope, still not mine. Darnit.
Part Two: Perfect
Blessie sat on the couch in her old living room. Annabelle sat beside her, still sulking. Neither of them spoke. They were both waiting for something to happen. Anything would have done just fine, really, though they were hoping for different things.
Blessie wanted an apology from her mother, just something that would tell her how sorry Annabelle was that she had thrown her own child in jail. It would be nice to know that there were some things Annabelle regretted in her life.
But Blessie's mother was stubbornly silent. She secretly hoped that Legolas would barge in at any given moment and save her from her devil-spawn, but that didn't seem likely to happen. Sad, when you thought about it.
"So..." said Blessie. "Er... How've you been?"
"Fine," muttered Annabelle without looking at her.
Silence.
"How's the weather been like?"
"Pretty."
"Oh." She paused. "No changes, then."
Annabelle turned her head and glared at her daughter. "I don't want you to talk to me. Don't even LOOK at me. You're one of THEM now. You have fallen into shadow, and you are no longer a child of mine."
Something shattered inside Blessie, and she sighed deeply. That was it. There was nothing her mother could do or say to make things better between them now.
"Fine. Sit there and mope, you stupid OLD woman!" she hissed and got up from her seat. "See if I care."
She walked into the kitchen and started preparing a meal for her newfound friends for when they got back. She didn't even care that her eyes were filled with tears, and that she had a painful knot in her stomach. She didn't care. She wouldn't allow herself to.
Carefully, Blessie started to cut up some bread to make sandwiches. The knives in Sparklee were extremely sharp, kind of like the ones people make commercials for on TV. One could throw a tomato on the blade, and it would slice in two. It was, as knives goes, perfect, like everything was in this stinking town.
After cutting up the entire loaf, Blessie buttered the sandwiches and put ham and cheese on them. She decorated with a few pieces of cucumber, placed the sandwiches on a plate and then wrapped the package in plastic. Her mind was fully concentrated on this task.
Stupid mother. Stupid Sues. Stupid Sparklee.
Blessie put the sandwiches in the fridge, and then she sat down by the table. Her head was hurting real bad.
"PYRALIS!!!"
Blessie almost jumped out of her socks. She could actually hear the multiple exclamation marks. They were like tiny daggers jabbing into her brain. She got up from the chair, grabbed the bread knife and ran as fast as she could back into the living room. And there she stopped.
There was someone standing in the middle of the room. Or maybe it was more of a someTHING, come to think of it.
Blessie had never seen a demon. She had read about them (being in Suvian school, you had to learn about a whole bunch of stuff that wouldn't matter in the Real World) and of course she had seen pictures, but it was nothing quite like this.
This demon had four arms. Two of them were holding weapons, one sword and one very large gun. The top pair just clawed threateningly in the air. The demon had eyes that seemed to be made out of molten lava, gleaming vicious and red. It snarled, and thus showing off two lines of serrated teeth. And it was pointing the sword at a terrified Annabelle, who was covering in a corner of the room.
"Eh," said Blessie.
The demon turned around to face her. The red eyes gleamed as they ran over Blessie's borrowed dress.
"Hm," it said. "And I had SUCH high hopes for the un-Suvians of this place. One might think that at least THEY would know how to dress. You're one of that group Newmoon was talking about, I take it?"
"The MSTW," replied Blessie automatically.
The demon snapped two sets of fingers. "That's the one. And this whimpering creature?"
"My mother." And then realisation dawned. "You're... an Assassin?"
The demon smiled slightly, and suddenly its teeth seemed a little less pointy. The eyes darkened into a lovely dark brown, two pairs of arms disappeared, and all of a sudden there was no demon at all, but a statuesque brunette. She was dressed in a wine-red pants suit that looked ridiculously expensive, and very stylish black boots.
"Got it in one," she said. "Very nice. My name, and you should do well to remember it, is Honorificus. You can call me H."
"Okay... H." Blessie bit her lower lip. "I'm Blessie. Just Blessie. And she's Annabelle." She nodded at her covering mother. "Eh... Are there... more of you coming, by any chance?"
Honorificus nodded. "More of us are coming. It just took Makes-Things some time before he had upgraded the Portal Generator so that they could trace the urple to this place."
"Oh. I don't think I understood half of what you just said."
Honorificus ignored her. She was good at that, it seemed like it came natural for her. She finally lowered her weapons and started to inspect the apartment.
"It's horrible," she said plainly. "But it'll have to do, I suppose. Now, first things first."
Blessie nervously followed the demoness as she went from room to room in the apartment, apparently looking for the best one. Finally she decided on Annabelle's bedroom.
"The pink must go," she said and clapped her hands.
The previously cerise walls darkened and became blood red. The tall sky bed turned into something that one might find in a medieval castle. Human skulls popped into existence everywhere, giving the room an impression that in here lived a person that didn't care much for the mortality of mankind.
"Much better," said Honorificus. And smirked.
* * *
The echo in the stairs up to the apartment felt like someone hitting Ekwy repeatedly over the head with a mallet.
"Anybody got an Aspirin?" she groaned "Or a dozen, perhaps?"
"You'll get one soon," promised Milano. She then turned around to look at the people following them. "Everybody still with us? Ginger?"
Ginger looked up. Her hair was ruffled and she had a cut on her cheek, but her grin was wide (and oddly sadistic). "Present."
"Zit?"
"Wish I wasn't here, but unfortunately I am."
"Tormod?"
"I'm here," said a brown-haired Agent and nodded.
"Milask?"
"Meow." The black cat yawned and stretched out in his full length.
"Vemi?"
"Aye."
"Leto?"
"Yep."
"You still don't have any Bleeprin on you?" asked Ekwy hopefully.
The PPC Store owner shook his head. "Sorry, but no."
Ekwy sighed. "Oh well."
There was a crashing sound from the other side of the door, and a howling voice which screeched: "You're gonna pay for that, you freak!"
Milano groaned. "Annabelle," she muttered. "Good, no one's killed her yet. I was hoping for that privilege myself."
She opened the door, and she and Ekwy were met by a very odd sight indeed.
Agents had started arriving while they had been gone. There were about a dozen of them for now, in various states of surprise and blood thirst. All of them were armed. This was not however the most peculiar thing about the place now. Because there was a whole bunch of short, scabby creatures dressed in monks' robes running around everywhere. They moved fast and walked with a hunched back, as if they tried not to be noticed.
One of them came up to the Agents, bowing slightly.
"Oh associates of Her Most Exquisite Resplendentness Honorificus, this worm would be honoured and delighted to present you with anything you'd might require for the time being. As long as it's not chocolate, because I fear that we're fresh out," he added sadly.
"Honorificus?" repeated Milano. "She's here?"
"Indeed, this house has been blessed with the divine presence of the Most Scintillating One."
"Is that so?" said Ekwy cheerfully. "Well, I'll have an Aspirin then, thanks. And a huge glass of water. Make that two Aspirin. And perhaps just a teeeny glass of Bleepka. A little one."
"Certainly, oh Bespectacled Friend of Her Supreme Creaminess!"
The creature bowed again and disappeared into the kitchen. Ekwy shook her head.
"Almost feel sorry for the poor guy. As much as I admire H, she's a hard one to please."
They meandered their way up to the couch, where Blessie sat, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth. She was staring straight ahead and mumbling silently to herself. Zit hurried up to her.
"Bless? Blessie?" He poked her carefully.
She looked at him. "There is a demon in my mother's bedroom," she said conversationally. "First Circle. She told me. I don't know what it means, but I don't think it's a good thing. And people are showing up out of nowhere, and I have to find places for all of them to sleep, and since H is occupying one of the bedrooms for herself I'm out of ideas on what to do." She sighed. "Help would be nice."
"Right," said Milano. She turned to the room in general. "Okay everyone! I'm sure we all appreciate you coming, but can you PLEASE sit down so we can see who's here?"
There was absolutely no response whatsoever. Because now people had noticed that the missing Agents had been returned to their ranks.
Leto found himself being glomped by a huge number of Bleeprin craving Agents before he even got the chance to tell them that he wasn't carrying any of the analgesic.
Vemi was also glomped, by Penny, who was shaken off rather quickly and hit the floor with a thump. This didn't seem to dampen her mood though, because she attached herself to her partner's legs and hugged them tightly. Vemi rolled her eyes and tried to ignore her as much as possible.
When everybody had been glomped at least once and been asked about Sparklee a hundred times, Milano tried again. This time she actually managed to get them to sit down. She felt slightly nervous. It seemed like many Agents had shown up. More, in fact, than she had ever seen in one place, if you didn't count the meetings in the auditorium. She counted them in her head. There were over sixty of them, not including H's minions that were still running around, or the MSTWs. Blessie was going to have hell with finding all of them places to sleep.
'We're gonna have to expand a little bit," thought Milano. 'There's just no way that we're all gonna fit in one apartment.'
"Nice to see so many of you," she started. "I see you've brought weapons. That's good. Very good. Welcome to Sparklee."
She meant to say more, but was interrupted by a whining voice.
"I don't want you here! Leave at once, or I'll have to call the police! I'll have you pay for the things you've done, you... murderers! Pigs!"
Ekwy groaned. "Hasn't anybody killed her yet?"
"We tried," said Doc Filth darkly and pointed towards a window that was nothing more than shards of broken glass. "Navaeh pushed her out of the window when she tried to convince her that Legolas wanted to be the father of Annabelle's children. Unfortunately, our Mary Sue here bounces like you wouldn't believe."
"She's suing me for attempted homicide," Navaeh added cheerfully. She didn't seem to mind in the least. "I'm actually looking forward to it. Jocelyn is defending me."
Her sister (and partner) Jocelyn grinned. "It's going to be a very interesting case, I believe."
"You'll all be sorry!" hissed Annabelle and stomped her foot on the floor. "I'll show you just who you're messing with!"
"Don't you even REALISE what disadvantage you're in?" asked Ekwy pleasantly. "You are surrounded by assassins. Sit down and shut up."
Annabelle pouted, but obeyed. She was probably plotting bloody revenge, but was ignored by the Agents. Well, almost all of them. Agent Maly insisted on keeping on poking her in the back with one of her knives, and then turning away whistling innocently when Annabelle looked behind her to see what it was.
Milano cleared her throat. "All right everybody. As I said: Welcome to Sparklee. I guess Newmoon's been telling you about this place?"
There were a few murmurs and some "aye"s. One or two Agents shuddered. Gata raised her hand.
"Are we supposed to fight all of them? Because I've got a feeling that it isn't really... right. I mean, they haven't done anything to threaten canon, and that's why we kill them in the first place."
Milano nodded in agreement. "We know. That's not why we're here. It has come to our knowledge that there might be kids in a laboratory somewhere in the castle of Sparklee. Apparently, the Sues are making experiments on them, to make especially gifted Suvian children. And of course, we cannot allow this to go on."
"Excuse me, coming through, coming through, move, move, MOVE! Thank you!"
Nea, Loki and Spot were making their way through the crowd. Loki was unusually pale, and he looked as if he was going to be sick. Spot's eyes were red, as if she had been crying, and Nea seemed shaken up as well.
"We definitely don't have to worry about the kids," said Loki.
Agent Rumor quickly got up from the couch as he collapsed on her seat. He had a look of exhaustion on his face, his hands were shaking, and his voice that was usually so clear and concise was faltering.
"What did you found out?" asked Milano.
"That these Mary Sues are vicious and cruel," sighed Loki and buried his face in his hands. "That they have no empathy for other people, and that they are completely oblivious to the fact that MSTWs are humans at all."
Zit and Blessie pressed closer against each other. Spot went over to join them and put her arms around them without a word. Blessie patted her comfortingly on the head and kissed her hair while Zit looked questioningly at Loki.
"MSTWs?" he repeated.
Loki nodded and swallowed a couple of times. How was he supposed to say this? Better to just blurt it out, get it out in the open.
"Your friends who disappeared in the dungeons..." he bit his lip, trying to find the best way to continue. "They went into the laboratories. The kids are not the ones being experimented on. MSTWs are."
Zit and Blessie reacted rather differently. The previously mentioned turned ashen, his face a mask of horror and disgust. His eyes darted back and forth from Loki to Nea to Spot. Their quiet, sad looks seemed to convince him.
"My god..." he mumbled, sitting down. "Blank. Mouse. Whisper..."
Blessie on the other hand showed them all that she indeed had the temperament of her famous father. Smoke started to pour out of her nostrils and mouth, and a strange fire lit up in her eyes, turning them the same colour as her hair.
"What did they do?" she whispered, her voice shaking with anger. "What did you see?"
Loki didn't look her in the eyes. "A girl. She was... furry. They beat her. She wasn't feeling well when I left. And they laughed when they did it. But that's not all." He looked up, facing all the assembled Agents. "I talked to their scientist, and she said that they were developing a technique to turn all of the MSTWs into real Mary Sues."
The whole crowd gasped simultaneously.
"This machine pumps them full of Lavigne and Evanescence, and it's leaking out into Headquarters. This is by the way what's caused the musical episodes," he added. "The worst part is that they've succeeded once."
Zit paled, if possible, even more. "Did... did you see her?"
Loki shook his head. Spot piped up.
"I saw Whisper, Vidja and Mouse in the cage," she mumbled and started to cry again.
"That leaves only Blank," fumed Blessie. "How DARE they?"
"Please Bless, try to calm down," said Zit nervously. He was eyeing the small flames that had been starting to come out of the redhead's mouth. "You know what happens when you get mad."
"I don't want anything in my home to burn down!" yammered Annabelle. "You can't flame, flaming is bad!"
"Mom. Shut. Up." Blessie talked through clenched teeth. Every muscle in her jaw tensed as she was trying to hold back the fire.
"Here," said Ekwy, offering her water glass.
Blessie took it and emptied it in one gulp. There was a hissing sound from somewhere inside her stomach, and a few wisps of smoke trickled out of her ears.
"That's better," she said and smiled slightly. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"So are we just going to storm the place?" asked Agent Rhus.
"Oh, wouldn't it be nice if we could do that…" sighed Nea.
"There are eleven million people living in this rotten city," said Milano. "Despite the fact that the PPC has had many recruits lately, we are in no way capable of taking on that many."
Spot raised her hand. "I don't think that every single Sue in Sparklee is part of this... badness, really. I mean, not everybody are scientists."
"Point," said Milano and nodded. "My suggestion is to try and storm the laboratory itself. Take them by surprise."
"Can we rest first?" asked Loki and closed his eyes. "I'm exhausted."
"Of course." Milano looked around at the Agents. "Now... Who's gonna help me breaking into the apartment next to us?"
"ME!"
* * *
Annabelle's neighbour was a warrior, and lived in an apartment that was a paradise to any Agent. There were weapons hanging everywhere, over the open fire and on the black painted walls. It smelled of leather and metal, and the whole living room gave off an air of medieval castle. It suited the Agents just fine.
The warrior put up a lot more of a fight than the Sparklypoo had, but she really couldn't stand a chance against thirty-odd PPC Assassins.
"Terribly sorry about all this," said Milano as they tied up the struggling warrior. "It's only temporary, I assure you. For a good cause too."
This place was a lot larger than Annabelle and Blessie's apartment, and could house more Agents. A good thing indeed, because they were starting to get on each other's nerves over there. Assassins were not meant to be cooped up too close to each other. It made them irritated and edgy.
"This seems nice," said Erin Mirestone and stretched out on a black leather couch. "I call this!"
"Be good to each other, kiddies," scolded Milano. "We don't know how long we're gonna be here."
She left the Agents to deal with the new place and went back into Blessie's apartment to talk to the redhead. They were going to need more food. A lot more food. And, depending on how many more Agents to show up, they would need more room.
"A lot to do, a lot to do," mumbled Milano on her way back. "We are not even beginning to get ready."
* * *
After a few hours of sleep, two sandwiches with ham, cheese and cucumber, and a chocolate bar, Loki was ready to tackle anything that Sparklee could throw at him. That is, almost everything. He was still rather nervous about having to face Her. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to do it. He would falter. Worse, he would join Her side. He shrugged it off.
"Have you thought of something?" asked Nea as they stood, waiting for the rest of the Agents to get ready. "We haven't had a song in a long time. You think the scientists have stopped their experimenting?"
"Maybe," said Loki. "I guess we'll find out."
"True."
Milano got up to them. She seemed annoyed. Not really unusual when it came to Milano, who mastered at least 23 different ways of being grumpy. Loki and Nea recognized this as a number 14: Generally Testy, With Just A Hint Of Irritation. It was the one Milano most often used when Ekwy had done something to evoke her wrath.
"Why is she so SLOW?" she hissed furiously. "A snail crawling on glue travels faster than Eki does."
She turned her head and called out, not realising that music had started to play in the background and that the world TWISTED just a little bit...
Come on, Ekwy, don't keep us all waiting!
Ekwy got out of the second bedroom, where she had been resting. Her hair was ruffled, and she was blinking sleepily. And then it hit her as well.
Fine, fine, I'm done, but sure there's enough Sues, she muttered grumpily.
Do you think that we're enough? asked Loki nervously.
Maybe these Sues, they are quite tough?
Oh Loki, don't wear that frown, laughed Ekwy.
We will smite this wretched town!
Somehow, he just couldn't believe that.
The time is near
So why am I scared, do I fear to creep in?
So watch your step!
Don't trust in just swords and Bleeprin!
For these girls we must fight are a dangerous foe
With weapons and skills that we never could match
Sure, it is easy to attack and take 'em out one by one
But I fear there is one who will be harder to catch
So do you know
What has to be done? sang Agent Isabel.
Do you have an idea,
To stop all this woe? asked her partner, Isilya.
So Loki, do you? Ekwy looked at him hopefully.
Loki hesitated, and Nea sighed. What was with him? Loki never doubted his beliefs. That was one of the things she loved about him. He had been acting so strangely lately, and it was scaring her.
What's wrong with you? she demanded to know.
You look as if you've seen a ghost
Sit down and say what bothers you
Loki met her gaze, a serious look in his eyes. He sighed deeply and sat down on the couch.
A ghost you say, a ghost maybe
She was just like a ghost to me
This Suvian seemed to know me too!
Nea blushed slightly. Oh. Was that how it was? He had met someone... new. That would explain it.
When did you saw?
What did you see?
And how come you haven't yet told me?
I haven't heard a single word!
Did you think it'd be a bore
Or don't you love me anymore?
Loki looked at her in surprise. She saw how much she had hurt him by even considering this.
Oh don't say that, it's too absurd!
It is time for us all to fight, choose a side, sang Ekwy slowly.
Is it worth dying for
Lay your life down for this war?
Have you asked of yourself
What's the price you might pay?
Don't you sometimes wish that there was 'nother way?
And just think of that as you go out to the fray
Grey - The colour of our home
Red - The blood of dying Sues
Grey - The place of which we roam
Red - The colour that will lose!
Loki sighed once more. Oh, he wished it could be that easy. But he knew that it wouldn't be. They would problems. Maybe someone could die. This was war, and many of the Agents didn't seem to have realized that. They thought it was a game, or a dream, something to wake up from if it got too scary. But this was REAL. It was DANGEROUS. They could actually die.
If you knew what I saw
Then you'd know how it was
This sense of belonging
And this horrid feeling of grief
Had you seen what I saw
You'd understand all my doubt
With only one word She would change my belief
Make me go back at once
And feel naught but relief
Grey - That dark and dreary place?
Red - Her lips so rich and rare
Grey - The colour of your face
Red - The colour of her hair!
Nea paled a little when she heard him sing the last part, but it was nothing against his own horror when he had realized what he had said. But he couldn't stop himself. His brain was making it up as he went along, and it was too late for him to hold in the words that were pouring out of his mouth.
Milano went up to the ex-Stu and put her hand on his shoulder. Her voice was calm and reassuring as she sang:
Loki, dear, I see right through your mind
You really think we'd let you go?
We sense the spell She placed on you!
You sense her touch and crave her kiss
But we've fought worser charms than this
Don't you worry, we'll slay that Sue!
The rest of the Agents nodded eagerly and grinned at him. He felt a little better. Just a little, but maybe that would be enough. He could even smile as the Agents joined up for the final refrain.
Grey - The colour of our home
Red - The blood of dying Sues
Grey - The place of which we roam
Red - The colour that will lose!
"Don't know about you guys," said Ekwy contentedly. "But I think I feel a little bit better. Let's go!"
The Agents cheered and clanged their swords against their shields. Then they formed back into neat rows and started to march out of the apartment, and along the streets up to the purple castle.
And left on the couch in Annabelle's living room sat two Mary Sues: The Sparklypoo and the Warrior. The latter was still tied up. She wasn't happy about that. She sent deadly glares towards the Agents until they had all vanished out of sight.
Annabelle didn't care much for her colleague. She sat up straight, brushed some imaginary dust off of her dress and started to sing a beautiful lament..
Does anybody even notice?
Does anybody know I'm there...
"Hey!" growled the Warrior and nodded at her bonds. "Are you gonna help me with these things or what?"
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