Regular Show: Final Infection Part 4

Part 4 of Final Infection. join our favorite blue jay Mordecai as he witnesses some of the most horrid moments of his life, which will have it changed forever more.

Hello Friends, if you’ve seen the show I’ve stared in, then you’d know me as Mordecai Quintel.

Right now, I’m traveling with several friends of mine; one of them is my possible wife to be Margaret Haddad, my best friend Rigby Salyers, and a new friend that we’ve made known as Josh Crane.

Right now, we’re inside a large mine with Josh separated from the rest of us, and we’re searching for someone; someone who’s lied to us, and kept us all in the dark. But most of all, someone who has done unspeakable things…breakable things…unfixable things.

That someone is the man we three know as Tony Lear’s. Or so we thought, because you all know him as House.

But in order for all of you to understand why, and what this all means, let me tell you my story, beginning in Ibiza, Spain.

Chapter 2: Ibiza

I had a single dream. A dream of a past event that took place a few days ago. My first kiss.

I had broken the kiss with Margaret, in order to tell her something that I wanted to tell her for a long time.

Me: Can I say it?

Margaret: What?

Me: I…I love you.

She seemed to be at a loss of words, but then she responded back.

Margaret: Do you know how long I’ve waited for someone to say that to me?

Me: Not a clue.

Margaret: Well, don’t worry; it’s not important, not anymore.

I smiled at her as she said this, but then she began to pull me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Come on, I want to do one more thing with you.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The following events changed our relationship forever, yet we were still in love, and still are, so it made no difference.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When I woke up, my head felt like shit. I was in a dark space without the slightest hint of light.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I rose to my feet, I could hear sirens ringing as my hearing returned to my ears. I didn’t know why, but I was sure that I was in danger.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As memories of the night before returned to me, I remembered that I was in Ibiza Spain, along with my closest friends.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I looked around and saw a dark figure was also getting up, yet I could recognize the shape.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Margaret? Margaret is that you?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Mordecai?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I ran to the figure and helped her to her feet. Yet as I did, the lights came back on, and we both became horrified at what we saw.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Dead bodies were all around us. There wasn’t one inch of the room that wasn't covered in blood; and that’s when I realized that we were covered in blood as well.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: What happened?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: I should be asking you; you’re the one who woke up first.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We continued to look around in horror at what we saw, but then we saw another rising to his feet, it was by his voice that we realized that it was Josh Crane.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Why do I keep letting Greenwing take me to all of thes-OH MY GOD, NO!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He was now just as scared as we were as he viewed the room with us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Josh?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Mordecai, Margaret, are you two alright?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: I…think so. I don’t think that this blood is ours.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Oh, thank God.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">That’s when we took notice of something on the other side of the room. It was a blue figure in a white sleeveless hoodie.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I couldn’t make out his face, but I could tell that he was smiling.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But before we could do anything else, he disappeared into fire, and we were alone.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we got back to the hotel, we found ourselves looking at a burning money fountain; literally. The only thing that was still intact from the blast seemed to be Josh’s Chinese hat, which he slowly picked up and put on.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: So…what do we do now?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: …*sigh*…get whatever’s not destroyed, we’re leaving.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The worst part of leaving Spain was the fact that everyone was staring at us and our bloody clothes. How we got past security is a mystery I will never solve.

<p class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Chapter 3: Back to the Park

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Each of us were quiet as we slowly walked from the airport and back to the park. But not even two miles close did we run into Mr. Maellard and Pops.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Hey, aren’t you Mordecai’s boss?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Mr. Maellard: Yes, that would be me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: well, what are you doing all the way out here; shouldn’t you be back at the park?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Oh that’s right; you were in Spain weren’t you?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all looked at each other, and back to him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: I think it’s best that you see it for yourself.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">They led us back to the park, but what we saw surprised us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The park was being shut down; people were being evicted from their homes and everything. The whole city was being shut down.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: What’s happening?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Someone tried to kill father.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: What?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: It’s true. But I’ll tell you now that there’s a reason I’m still alive.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then led us to where three body bags were being loaded up into ambulances, but Maellard stopped them in order for us to see one of the bodies.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Is this the one?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Doctor: Yes.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then let the old man take it and he opened it up for us to see. But we were horrified by what we saw.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Thomas?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: He saved me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Oh my God…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all stood there in sadness as they loaded up his body into the ambulance, and drove off.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Father, can we take them with us?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: What? Oh, uh…yes of course. Why don’t you three come with us?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all decided to do so, and followed him to his limousine, where we hesitantly got in.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: So…what happens now?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Well the first thing we should do is get you three some new clothing, and then pay our respects to Thomas.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After we got to his mansion (which as expected was very impressive) we were given new clothing and we then went with the Maellards to the funeral home to pay Thomas our respects. But we weren’t able to stay that long, because Maellard told us we needed to do other things.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After we got back, we were allowed to settle down, and we looked at our clothing.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was wearing a purple dress shirt under a white dress coat, brown pants, and black dress shoes.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret was wearing a teal shirt, a purple skirt that reached her knees, and casual shoes.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh was wearing a black t shirt over a white polo sweat shirt, dark red shorts, and light grey adult sneakers.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Hello everyone.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Oh hey pops.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: So…how was Spain?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Eh, it was fine…until the massacre.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Oh yes, I had heard all about that.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: You did?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Why yes, everyone heard about it, it beat the shutting down of the park by far?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Oh…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: So Pops.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Hm?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: How did he die?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops looked to the floor, and Josh stood up.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: These people were his friends, they have to know!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He looked back up to him, and answered.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Rifle.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Ah…I see.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: (from downstairs) DINNER!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all went down, we ate, and then we went to sleep.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But sleep didn’t last us that long.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…Midnight…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">It was the sound of someone clicking a gun that woke me up, yet it was very fortunate that Josh was the one with the gun, which I saw as he entered my room.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: (whispering) Mordecai.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Josh?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Shh… (Whispering) come on, everyone else is downstairs.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was confused, but I followed him anyways, and I was led to Maellard’s basement, where he was holding a candle to light the room.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: What’s going on?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Men in suits are all over the house, and they’ve got guns.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: What?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: We’re being attacked Mordecai, best you get with it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Maellard, your rich, got any guns?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: I assure you Mister Crane, my father would never have single weapon in this-

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Everyone follow me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all followed him as he went to the wall in his room, and upon turning a lever on his night stand, his bed flipped upwards, exposing a huge armory.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Whoa.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: And to think, you just said there were no weapons.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Everyone grab a weapon.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Each of the weapons were labeled, but I wasn't the type to browse over such things, so I picked up a rifle who’s label read QBZ-95, and took as much ammo as I could.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret took a shotgun that read Mossberg 500, and clicked it with its forward grip.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh took a matching pistol to his own that read Beretta 92F, and secured it with his hatchet.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard took a smaller rifle that read L22, and readied it with a sling.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops took no more than a small pistol that read PPK.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Everyone be on your best guard, anything can happen tonight.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He led the way with Josh behind him; then me, Margaret, and finally Pops. The guys in suits were already entering the mansion; it was probably because on how the lights were off…they must’ve thought that we were sleeping.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">It was a good thing that some of us were able to get silencers for our weapons, such as Josh and Pops, but Pops of course didn’t kill anyone. Instead he covered his eyes and ears whenever someone fired.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">It was easy to get out, and it was even more fortunate that Josh and Maellard were the only ones, who killed anyone, but the most fortunate part was that no one was harmed, and I still had the katana that Breyton gave me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As we got outside, we were able to see that everyone against us was dead, which brought some relief to us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Well, I guess that’s that.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Right. Hey Maellard, you want these back?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Nah, I’m rich; I’ll just buy some more.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: O-Kay then.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As we viewed the scene, we suddenly took notice of a man in white staring at us with orange eyes, only to suddenly disappear from view.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: What the-?! What was that?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Daddy, can we go back inside now?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Good idea, let’s go.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We then began to run back to the mansion, only to discover that the door was suddenly barricaded with metal bars.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Is your door supposed to do that?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: From time to time, yes. No worries though, I still know the passcode.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then typed in four numbers, only for the panel to say access denied.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: What?! That’s Impossible!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He typed it again; same response.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I thought you said that you knew the code.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Someone must’ve redone the code, there’s no way I would’ve forgot it!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: What’s the code?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Isn’t it obvious? Pops! I knew it would be totally easy to remember, so I just put it in.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Shh!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh looked back to listen. I didn’t hear it at first, but it sounded like something was coming.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: More intruders.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Hang on; I’ll get your door open.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then used his gravity powers to force the bars off the door, and then send them into the forest to try and kill anyone out there.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Alright, let’s go.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We then got into the mansion; each of us alive and well. It was even more relieving to get back in then we thought. It was so relieving to Margaret, that she hugged me with her cheek against my chest. I was happy to return her hug, yet Maellard had one more thing to say.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Best everyone go to sleep…I don’t think it’s safe to be anywhere near the park anymore.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all eventually came to a conclusion that he was right; so we all went upstairs, Margaret and I kissed each other good night, and we went to our beds.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Even if it was a little harder to get to sleep than you’d think.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Chapter 4: Moving Away

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I had a nightmare as I slept. But I couldn’t understand what it meant.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was walking in the middle of a dark room, or more like limping, but it made no difference in the situation.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">My lead felt as though it were bleeding, and my left eye felt terrible.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When I got out of the room, I found myself exiting a cave in the middle of a forest.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I could suddenly feel an oddly warm sensation up against my back, and turned around to see three people running from a large pit of fire, which was consuming everything in its path.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I then saw that the three people running were Tony, Craig, and a purple man with a gold snake eye and dirty blonde spikey hair.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As they jumped, everything around us was turned to black, including the fire. And as they fell, I fell with them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we landed, I found myself on top of a three person truck, with Tony driving, the purple man in the passenger seat, and Craig in the back.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Tony and the purple man seemed to be fighting for the wheel at first, but as I looked closer, I saw that they were actually trying to get control over the steering, which confused me because the wheel looked as though it were just fine.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But then the truck stopped, and the dead body of what appeared to be Starla was illuminated by the lights. Yet as I looked on in horror, a man in a blue winter coat was suddenly thrown onto the truck; it took a few seconds for me to realize that it was Muscle Man…and only half of his body was intact.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But as he fell, I then looked to where Starla’s body was to see a man in a white mask that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and stared at us with supernatural eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was well aware that I was unable to be seen by anyone, but it seemed as though he could see me anyways.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Then everything disappeared into a colorless vortex, which I fell into while the others kept in the truck.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I continued to fall downward, I began to see flashes of several images. Images of pain, images of sorrow, images of a life that an Infected truly lived.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But my moment of regret was cut short as the endless colorless vortex suddenly turned to a complete black, only to be replaced by a sudden face.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The face clearly belonged to Tony, but his eyes were that of the man in the mask.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Before I could do anything, his face suddenly switched from pure blankness, to uncontrollable fury as his face suddenly began to shake uncontrollably, and he started to scream in rage, which made me scream in complete and total fear.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was in a room. My body was covered in sweat, and my eyes were bulging out of my head.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As they returned into my head, I saw that I was in a five star bedroom, which was as clean as can be.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: *pant*…*pant*…just a dream…*pant*…not real…*pant*…not real…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I continued to pant in shock as I put my head back on the bed, yet my time of recover was cut short as Josh suddenly burst into the room.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Rise and shine Mordecai! Maellard’s already got us tickets for our upcoming flight, so we need to be ready by-

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He stopped as he saw the shock and horror on my face.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: -hey you okay man?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Huh? Oh uh, yeah, I’m okay.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: You sure?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Yeah, it was just I nightmare, that’s all.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: oh, I see. Well all the better for your sinuses to clear up, so let’s get a move on.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then helped me out of bed, and ensured that I’d be just fine.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I got downstairs, Margaret gave me a morning kiss, which immediately put the bad thoughts out of my head. I still couldn’t believe that I was finally in a real relationship with her, yet here she was, unharmed and in my arms. And as long as she was with me, I know we’d both be safe.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After we ate breakfast, we immediately set off to the airport. I was well aware that this would be the last time we’d ever be at the park; and as I looked through the window to where it would be, I couldn’t help but shed a tear. I then looked to see that Margaret was in the same state as I was, so we both embraced in a tight hug, and held each other like that for the rest of the ride while Josh understandingly placed his hand on our shoulders.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…The Airport…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we got there, there were even more people than before; clearly because they had all come from the park.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As we got to the line, Maellard was the only one to speak.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Rome, Italy please.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Desk Lady: Very well sir.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She showed us the way with her hand and we eventually reached the plane.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As you can expect, Maellard ordered first class tickets. Even with the park gone, he was still rich as hell.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I felt rather comfortable in my seat, but I eventually fell asleep.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the same plane, only it was without any color, without any sound, and was extremely digital.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Yet as everyone was doing their own things, someone was slowly walking towards my seat. I couldn’t make out whom, or what he was; he seemed to be nothing more than a stick figure with a several scars on his body.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As he reached my seat, he spoke to me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">???: Isn't this fun?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">A thin smile suddenly appeared on his blank face, but this was all it took to get me scared again.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">???: No? Oh, that’s too bad.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">His head then began to form itself, in order to look more like a silhouette of Tony. But his smile didn’t fade.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">???: If you were bored, why didn’t you just come to me? I can fix that.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">This caused me to get nervous, but what really got me scared was when his eyes suddenly reappeared, causing his face to form a maniacal grin, which caused everything else to suddenly vibrate.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As everything else aside from us faded into nothing, I fell from my seat and onto a space that was floating in the middle of nowhere, literally.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Suddenly, several identical heads of what appeared to be me filled the space and all stared at me blankly; I had never been so scared of my own face before in my life.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But then some of the heads’ faces suddenly turned from blankness to the same maniacal grin that the silhouette had a few seconds ago while the rest of them just had one simple emotion.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Hunger.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I gripped my head in pain and fear, I then saw him among the heads. He just stood there, smiling evilly.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">My eyes opened wide and I shot up from my seat in fear. It was a good thing I still had my seatbelt on or I would’ve probably shot out of my seat and made a fool of myself.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I began to breathe heavily, I gripped my heart in fear as I looked at the floor.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Mordo?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I looked to my left to see that Josh was looking at me in concern.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: You okay?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Hey come on man, what’s going on? That’s the second time I’ve seen you like this.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: What’s going on?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I looked to my right to see that Margaret had taken notice of us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I think he’s starting to have nightmares or something.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: is that true?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The only thing I could do was nod; I wasn't really in a talking mood at the moment.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I wasn't looking at them, but I could tell that Josh and Margaret were looking back at themselves and me, both of them concerned.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…Italy…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we had arrived, I was still the same as before, and this was making Margaret worried.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Josh, it there anything you can think of to help him?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Well, if he won’t talk, then I think that there is something else we can try. First we’re gonna have to get to a place to rest for the night.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After Maellard checked us into a hotel, Josh sat me down in a desk, and put a few pieces of paper and a pencil on it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Draw.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I did as he said and first drew Tony’s fury driven face in perfect detail, which actually surprised me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">While it was true I graduated from Art School, I hadn’t drawn in years, yet there it was, in black and white.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The next piece of paper I drew on had the stick figure with the silhouette maniacal grin on it, in between the seat isles.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Wait, this face looks familiar.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Isn’t that Tony?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The last paper had my nightmare, where I was in the space with the several heads of me all around me, with the silhouette grinning at me with a torturous toothy smile.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As they looked at it, I put the pencil down and stayed almost totally still as they examined the pictures.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: What exactly is all of this?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I think I may have an idea.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all looked to Josh.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: You see how his eyes have this odd digital tone to it?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Yeah?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: That leads me to believe that this isn’t Tony.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret raised an eyebrow.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: It’s a clone; a look alike that went coo-coo.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: But how would you know that?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Because I once worked with him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: His name is House; and he was the very first clone to have been made from Tony’s DNA.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: First?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Yeah, before Naji.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Naji?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: That’s riiiight; you haven’t heard the story have you? Naji is actually a clone of Tony: RT1108. He and House were created in order to replace Tony, but he found and befriended them before any damage was done.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: When was that?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: About eight to nine years ago.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: But, I thought that Bill said he died.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I thought so too, until I saw him in Spain.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: So what does this mean?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: To be honest…I don’t know. But I do have a hunch that all of you are involved in it now.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: It means that you guys are gonna have to do ‘things’ before you can find a new home. One of which involves this.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He pulled out his handgun as he spoke, which caused us to look at it in fear.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Hang on; you don’t actually expect us to do something like that do you.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Oh but you forget; I was once a lot like all of you. The only exception well…I was only a little boy.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As he went to his own room, the rest of us looked in disbelief. This was something that none of us were able to take in at all.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…Ten minutes later…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After we all ate dinner, I went to my room, showered up, put my clothes on the chair so I would get them later (we looked unchanged from the park BTW), and went to bed.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Yet as I turned off the light, the door suddenly opened. It may have been a silhouette, but I could tell that it was Margaret.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Hey sweetie.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …what are you doing in my room?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I took a mental note that that was the first time speaking ever since I handed in Italy.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Well, you still seemed kinda scared, so I just came to see if I could make it any better.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was well aware of what she meant, so I did nothing as she got into bed and on top of me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I felt so lucky to have her.

<p class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Chapter 5: House

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I know that Josh wouldn’t tell a lie, but I wasn't about to believe that Tony was no longer involved. I still thought that it was him, and I could tell that Margaret did as well.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As we got out of bed, I felt good putting my clothes back on, but I felt even better knowing that my round two was in complete and total private, and no camera dudes were there to prerecord it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we got downstairs, we ate, and then decided to go look around the city with Josh while Maellard and Pops went doing who-knows-what.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">One particular building caught our attention, a large office building that was about as large as a New York skyscraper. Of course at home we’d just walk past it, but since this was Italy, we decided to check it out anyway.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I don’t remember how we got in, but when we did it was about the same as a normal office at home. It came to our attention that Josh was the quietest out of all of us, since we couldn’t hear his footsteps.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: So…why are we in here again?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I find such things interesting to view.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Besides, it had Maellard’s initial on it. How else do you think we’re in here without being detained?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Oh, uh…okay then.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We then just walked around the place for the rest of the time until lunch, where we joined the employees, Pops, and Maellard for lunch.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Yet as we were finishing up, I felt a sudden warmth run up my back; warmth that I instantly recognized.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When I turned around, I saw a nightmare like face almost completely identical to Tony's behind me, and poorly covered by a white hood.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I said, he looked just like Tony, only his eyes were a topaz orange, the scars on his face spread all over the left side of his face, and one of his biting teeth stuck out like a vampire.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Guess who?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When I woke up, I found myself under an office table that somehow got into the cafeteria.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I got out from under it, I looked around for my sword, only to remember that I had left it at the hotel.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Oh crap.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Upon rising to my feet, I looked around for Margaret, only to see that she was nowhere in sight.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Must've run off.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I began to look around the place for anyone else I knew, and let out a sigh of relief to see Josh was okay.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Josh…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Hey Mordo, glad to see you in one piece. Hey, have you ever played Cubikill 6?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Uh, no?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: No worries, I’ll just show you what I’ve learned.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He picked up the chair that was burying him, and threw it into the window that was in the room he was in, and proceeded to pick up a large piece of glass, and then a handkerchief, which he wrapped around the glass he was holding, turning it into a knife like weapon.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Hey that’s handy.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Ya should’ve played the game.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Right…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We exited the room and began to walk around the building.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …so where can I find that game?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: www.gamesfree.ca/

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: I’ll have to see it another time.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Right then.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I then scanned the floors for some kind of weapon to defend myself, while Josh kept on picking up odd things such as large yard clippers, duct tape, a computer battery, and some of that bug poison in a bottle.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After he picked up a fireplace lighter, he handed me that and the bug poison.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Here, use this.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: A weapon I take it?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: You’ll get it when you have to.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was still confused, but I kept it with me anyway, examining a possible way to use it as I went along.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">While we were on the current floor, we kept running into several people, which Josh killed with his glass knife.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After a while, I figured how to work my weapon, and positioned the lighter in front of the bottle, producing a fairly strong fire.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Cool.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Like that? I also learned how to make one from a squirt gun.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 300.75pt;">Me: Right. Okay.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Don’t get me wrong, I was very worried for Margaret, but I don’t think that you guys would wanna see that; after all, it was pretty pathetic.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Over time, Josh found a box of shotgun pellets, signaling that there was a shotgun of some kind in here somewhere.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After that, we made it to the elevator, which had three people inside it. Two of them were some death office workers, and the other was an unconscious Margaret, still alive and almost unharmed, minus the cut that went down her right cheek.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Well…at least that’s as bad as it got.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Yeah.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I picked up my lady and held her over my shoulder. I might have been in one of the worst parts of my life yet, but at least I still had her by my side.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we got up to the next floor, we saw a room that read ‘Manager’s Office’, so we quickly rushed inside hoping that Maellard wasn’t in there. While he wasn’t, the actual manager was, but most of his head was gone, and a hunting shotgun was on his desk.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Oh God.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Yeah…uh, hey, why don’t you go and take the shotgun? I’ll hold her for you.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was reluctant at first, but I knew Josh well enough by now to trust him, so I did as he suggested and carefully gave her to him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Be careful with her.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Don’t worry; I know how to hold someone properly.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I believed him and we were off again, hoping to find anyone who was still alive and not trying to kill us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But as we continued, we suddenly heard whimpering coming from one of the bathrooms, so we hesitantly entered it, hoping that we wouldn’t get shot at.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Hello?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Mordecai? Mordecai is that you?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Pops! Where are you?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: I'm in the stall.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I found him and led him out of the bathroom by holding his hand.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Oh, this is a very bad show; a very bad show indeed.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Don’t worry, we’re here now, and we’ll do everything we can to keep you and the others safe.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops seemed to be comforted by his words, yet I took into play the words ‘do everything he can’.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we found Maellard, he was struggling to get a filing cabinet off of him, but when we got it off of him, his side was bleeding since a corner of the cabinet fell on it, so I had to help him walk for the rest of the way.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But when we got to the front door, ‘House’ reappeared in front of it, along with two women, who seemed to be twins.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: You.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: So Mr. Maellard…we meet again.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Just leave us alone okay?! I’m done doing business with you!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then pointed a chrome desert eagle at him, making him flinch.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: I’m afraid that’s not true old man.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I then realized that he was actually pointing at Pops, and Maellard saw this too.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: No, wait, wait!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He made me release him and he approached House with his hands above his head. He wasn't a fool, and he knew that even if Pops was by us, he could still shoot him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Alright, alright…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He took out a necklace that had a small key on it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: This one key opens everything I own, all of my contacts included, take it! Take everything it opens!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Now that’s more like it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard sighed in relief, but House clicked his gun.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Nuh, uh…I’m not finished yet.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then pulled out what appeared to be a soul amulet, which had what seemed to be Thomas in it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Thomas: Help!! Help me please!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: Is that…?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Yes…the 19 year old who took a bullet for you, that’s right. Now, I was thinking a life for a life.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: What?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: It’s simple: you let me kill you, I let him go; you don’t let me kill you, well I’ll still kill you but I won’t let him go…uh, it’s your choice old man, don’t take it that seriously.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: (looking back at us)…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: (shaking his head)…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maellard: …okay…I’ll do it…just let that poor boy go!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: I knew that we would understand each other.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Knowing what was about to happen, I quickly covered Pops’ eyes, and watched in horror as House pulled the trigger.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: *sigh*, finally…but don’t worry kids, I'm a man of my word, your goat friend is yours.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then allowed Thomas to exit the amulet, causing his body to grow its proper size right next to Maellard’s now dead body.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Now then, if you nice children would excuse us, we’ve got an empire to finish and we’re short on time…let’s go ladies.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">They then disappeared into fire, leaving us with Thomas and Maellard’s dead body.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I allowed Pops to look, he ran to his father’s body in tears, and then Margaret began to stir.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I think she’s waking up.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">And so she was, and so she did.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: *groan*…Mordecai…?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Margaret…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I hugged her tightly; relieved to know nothing serious had happened.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: What happened…?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I explained it to her, she began to tear. We both admitted that we didn’t like Maellard that much, but even he didn’t deserve that.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I’m so sorry Pops.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Thomas, are you okay?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Thomas: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I’ll take your silence as a no.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He nodded as he said this, and we all slowly helped him out of the building.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Yet when we were outside, Maellard’s dead body suddenly vibrated, and rang.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh and I could tell it was a phone, so he went to it and answered it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Hello?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: Mr. Maellard?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: No…this is Josh Crane.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: Oh hang on, I know you, yeah…you sometimes Hung out with me at the park. Right?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Yeah.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: Okay, where are you right now?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Rome, Italy.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: Oh, alright then. This is Maellard’s phone then, so we can catch up with you guys and get everything sorted out. You guys can meet us at the coliseum and we can regroup; cool?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Okay but…well…I’m not sure how much longer we’re gonna be here, we’ve hit a bad situation.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: What do you mean?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Maellard’s dead.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: And without him, we’re stuck here until we get appropriate money.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: Oh…I see…well uh, just…just stay there until we can reach you.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Okay.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: Try not to feel too bad, someone from our group died too.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then hung up the phone and looked back to us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Best we go back to the hotel and get our stuff, we’re leaving.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Where?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: The coliseum.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: And Margaret, make sure you have that backpack with you…I think it’s time Mordecai saw it for himself.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: What?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: She’ll explain it to you after she gets them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Gets what?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I then looked to Margaret, who had tears in her eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Margaret?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: (whispering) I’m sorry…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She then ran back to the hotel with Josh, leaving me both confused and worried.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When they got back, Josh was looking rather stern at Margaret as she got to her knees in the winter streets of Italy.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Well, aren’t you gonna show him your-?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: I’m gonna show him! But I don’t want you to tell him!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She then handed me the backpack, which I slowly took. As I opened it up, I found myself looking at two small sky blue eggs, both warmly wrapped in blankets with an incubator close by.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Are…these…?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Future children…of you and me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She looked ashamed of herself as she stopped talking, but to be honest, I was a little ashamed myself. I loved her with all my heart, but it would’ve been a lot better if this had happened after we had gotten married or something.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">So the only thing I could do was wrap my arms around the woman I loved, and cried with her.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I then felt an arm be put around my shoulder, and saw that Josh was looking at us with a look of understanding.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: At least it happened out of love.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We looked at each other as we realized this was true.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We continued to hug and cry for a few more minutes while Josh continued to hold the two of us for comfort. But I wasn’t done talking to Margaret just yet.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: I love you.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: I love you too.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Thomas: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: So…what are we gonna do with the kids?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I know a place where we can go to; but we’ll have to wait for Naji to get here.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">So that was what we did, and had to sleep in the alleyways for the night.

<p class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Chapter 6: A Hard Decision

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When Naji arrived, he was with Eileen, Breyton Scarletanco, two other people we had never met before, and that little boy we saw in Spain.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Hey uh…what’s with the kid?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: *sigh*…Mordecai Quintel, Margaret Haddad, Josh Crane, and company, meet my son Naji Lear’s Jr.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Thomas: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: And then there's Breyton’s discovered twin sister Katie Scarletanco, his mentor Jalen Red-Wolf, and I'm pretty sure you already know everyone else.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Yeah. So Eileen, where’s Rigby?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Eileen: House.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: He killed him?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Eileen: No, no he didn’t kill him, he just kidnapped him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Oh, Jesus…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I gripped my head in disbelief.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Anyway…there’s a place we need to go, so we can drop off the children.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: We still have some cash? Where too?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: America.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The ride wasn’t worth talking about, so I’ll just skip to the part where we get back to America.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh took us to a fairly large building in the city slums of Manhattan, and we could tell by the fish symbols that it was an orphanage.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Are you sure this is a good idea?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: These people looked after me before I was infected; I know I can trust them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She still looked doubting, but I held her hand to support; I trusted Josh by now, and I was pretty sure that he knew what he was doing.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Hey Naji, maybe you should drop Jr. off here too.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Jr.: …Why?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Because the adults have important work to take care of.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: And who died and made you ruler?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: What makes you think you can run the party without f**king up everything?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Hm?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: I…withdraw the question…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I thought so.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton looked away and allowed Josh to knock on the door.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">A fairly tall and thin woman in her thirties answered the door.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Nun: Yes?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Hello sister, remember me?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Nun: I remember a lot of people; which one are you?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Joshua Crane? The one who always played with the Legos and one time I made that big boat?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Nun: Oh, Joshua.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She hugged him tightly and welcomed us in the waiting room.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Nun: So how may I help you?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: You see that little boy, and those two eggs?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She looked to them and nodded.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Their parents need to do something important; I was wondering if you could watch them while we were gone?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Nun: Oh, but of course dear child; that’s our job.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: (standing up) Thank you.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then pulled out his wallet, and took out some money.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: I saved this for emergency purposes-

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She gently pushed the wallet back into Josh’s hand, and smiled.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Nun: Money isn’t necessary for such a thing, especially for you.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After we left, we all looked to see Josh was as quiet than ever; and this concerned us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Is something wrong?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Everything was the same.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Oh…so how do you know those people.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: You know how everyone that claims to be an Infected says how their parents were slaughtered in front of them?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Yeah?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Well, I never got to know my parents; I was dropped off at that orphanage and I was raised there until I was six.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When I was adopted, I was adopted by Tom White, and he made me into one of them, where I learned how to kill just like all the rest.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: At least you still have your good will.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Of course I do…it’s all I’ve got left.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Everyone was silent as he said this. We were all a little depressed to hear this.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: So Naji…who died in your group?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: Benson.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: He died when Rigby was kidnapped.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Oh…I see.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Thomas: …why are these people doing all of this to us anyways?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: Because they want control, that’s why. And if no one will listen, they’ll make them listen.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Thomas: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: That’s how the real world works child; you might as well accept it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Thomas was silent when he said this; obviously because he had nothing more to say.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: So where are we going now?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: That’s a question for Pops.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: Me?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Tell me; where is the largest bit of wealth your father owned?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Pops: A power plant in Korea.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Then that’s our next stop.

<p class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Chapter 7: The Power Plant

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">While we were flying there, we were intercepted by some of House’s goons, and we crashed off of Korea’s cost.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I guess leaving the kids at that orphanage was a good idea after all.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As Pops was crawling onto the rocky surface, Breyton was doing a head count.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: …okay, so we’ve had better days I'm sure, but I’m pretty confident that you’ve already had worse like us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Eileen: And that’s supposed to comfort us…how?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: It’s sup-

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He stopped talking as he saw that Margaret was drying off what seemed to be her diary; but then Breyton snatched it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: Tell me something Haddad, what’s for the better; writing about a nightmare adventure, or helping others through it?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: Nobody’s ever going to read this thing, and that’s a fact that you should know.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then shoved it into her hands.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: If you won’t have the stomach to take as much as one life like the rest of us, at least show that you are willing to keep going for the sake of your children!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then turned to see everyone else.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: Let’s get moving!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then walked off.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Eileen: Wow…that was cold, even for him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Is he always like that?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Eileen: Are you kidding? That prick doesn’t stop acting like that even if he’s in a GOOD mood!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Jalen: Yeah, well just look at us…we hardly understand him, and I’m the guy’s mentor.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: *sigh*

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: (from a distance) I SAID LET’S MOVE!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I took Margaret's waist and we walked together.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we caught up with Breyton, he was silent, but we didn’t care.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We were also near the plant, but it didn’t seem that anyone was there, yet we knew better.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I took out my rifle and prepared to aim, looking for anyone who might be patrolling or guarding the area.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Anything?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Maybe…wait, I think I see something.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">And so I did. It was two guards, both clearly working for House. I adjusted my site, took aim, and quickly dealt with them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Naji: Nice shooting.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: Let’s go.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all went in one at a time, first Breyton, then Josh, Naji, me, Thomas, Margaret, Katie and Jalen; while Pops and Eileen stood watch outside.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton was clearly in a rush, but I failed to understand why, yet he did keep blabbering about someone named Amanda.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Amanda?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Jalen: His older sister; she’s a bad guy now.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Oh.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As we continued to go into the plant, we found ourselves looking at an entire firing squad. A demonic looking female macaw was amongst them, who turned out to be Amanda.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Amanda: Your efforts are impressive, but I’m sorry to say it ends here.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Not yet it isn’t.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then slammed his hand to the ground, causing everyone minus Amanda to fly backwards.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: QUICK, THIS WAY!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He led us into a room nearby, and we all ran in as quickly as possible, some of us shooting at the guards.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we got away from them, we continued to run through the plant.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: So what are we looking for again?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: The core of the building.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Why?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Josh: Because if our hypothesis is correct, and our hypothesis is that they’re making it into another Infection Facility, then we have to blow up the place before things get ugly…Again.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we got to the room with a map, we looked it over carefully and prepared to continue our journey.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">After over an hour of nothing but brutal killing (some that Margaret and Thomas had to do too), we made it to the core room.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Wow.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: It’s huge.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As we went up the staircase to get a better view of the place, Breyton took out a frag grenade.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: Never again you sons of bitches.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He bit out the ring and chucked it down into the core.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Breyton: Alright, let’s move!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We didn’t have that much time, so we ran as fast as we could. But as we were still running, House suddenly reappeared in front of Margaret and me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Boo.

<p class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Chapter 8: Good Tony, Bad House

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When I woke, I found myself in some cage with no door. My sword was close by, so that was good.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Where am I?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Hello.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I turned in shock to see him smiling at me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: As you can see, you have been so obviously captured and locked up in this cell; unfortunately only one can get out alive, should you cherish your friend and lover anyway.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Huh?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: The door in front of you will open up in a few minutes and you will have no choice but to fight to the death until you’re either dead, or taken out the other opponent. Good luck.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then disappeared, and the wall opened up.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I entered the room to see it was a hallway with glass walls. I looked to my left to see what appeared to be CJ throwing a large knife at Margaret, who dodged it and shot CJ with two pistols until she fell to the floor, dead.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I could see that she was clearly fighting for a long time; her eyes were bloodshot, the scar on her cheek was reopened, and she was totally covered in blood as her clothes were all torn and bloody.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She then looked to see that I had witnessed her kill CJ, but she ran to me anyways. But to prove that I didn’t care, I kissed my fingers, and put them on the glass where her lips were, and she smiled and did the same.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I then looked to see the other door open, and I saw that it was Jeremy the ostrich.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Why are you here?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Jeremy: That ‘House’ character is a very disgusting f**k.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Yeah…he is.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I pulled my katana from its sheath, while Jeremy pulled out a falchion blade. We took stances, and charged at each other; and the next thing we knew we were in combat.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I knew that Margaret was watching me, but I had to keep my mind off of it; because right now I was in combat with someone just as good as I was, and that almost scared me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As we continued to fight, we got more and more bloody, it wasn’t until we looked as bad as Margaret did we both disarm each other; but we knew that this would not satisfy House until there was a winner, so we both took boxing stances and prepared for the punishment.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I then tried to confuse Jeremy by looking at Margaret in surprise, and it worked; when he looked in that direction, I quickly and fiercely punched him in the face, but then he counter reacted and head-butted me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I then tried to punch him again, but then he dodged it and sent me into the glass wall, and then proceeded to throw me to the floor as he took another fighting stance.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">For someone who had a technology scholarship, he wasn’t too shabby in a fight.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I got back up, I felt a sudden burst of adrenaline hit me in the spine, and it caused me to fiercely charge him and ram his head into the glass wall, which I could tell by now was bullet proof.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Yet this didn’t stop me, so I then dragged his face against the glass until it hit the actual wall, but then he threw me back to try and recover, only for me to punch his face as fast and hard as possible.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He looked back up at me with an annoyed expression, for some of the glass in his glasses had accidentally gotten into his eye.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Jeremy: F**k you.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Not knowing how to respond, I responded in the only way I could; I punched him again, and this time he fell to the ground.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He was still crawling away from me, so I picked up my sword, and prepared to send in the final blow. But before I could, he suddenly got up, punched me to the ground, and sent my sword into my left hand.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then began to furiously punch me as my hand went farther up the blade; yet I could see that he was clearly hitting me in a rage.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Yet when he calmed down, he then went and picked up his falchion, ready to finish it, while I looked at the dragon head which was on the tip of the handle of my sword, so I ignored the pain as best as I could and reached up the blade until it touched the handle; now all I had to do was get it out of the ground.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Jeremy: I will admit Mordecai; it is gonna be difficult doing this, if we weren’t in the situations we were in, we might’ve been friends.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">By now I was slowly pulling my sword out of the ground.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Jeremy: Goodbye Mordecai…nothing personal.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then raised his sword up with tightly closed eyes, but as he was about to send it down, I ripped my sword out of the ground and forced the dragon head into Jeremy’s neck as if it was biting him like a vampire.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He gasped in pain as I slowly got up. He looked very hurt now, both physically and mentally; so I decided to say one more thing to him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Nothing…personal…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He was then dead; killed. While I got up, I saw that Margaret was still watching me, only now she looked relieved.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I formed a small smile at her before I heard the sound of clapping coming from nearby.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I looked to see that House was in front of me, with his hood over his face and covering his eyes, but not his mouth.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Well done Mordecai. You’ve done well.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: And for that matter, so has Rigby.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We then looked to the right to see that Rigby was in combat with Chad the possum, yet Rigby suddenly finished his match by sending one of his Sais into the back of Chad’s mouth, and sending his other Sai into his chest twice before pulling out the other one.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then looked back at us while panting heavily; he slowly waved to me with a defeated smile, while I examined him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He was wearing a light yellow t shirt with dark green sleeves, matching dark green sleeves, a black vest, a red baseball cap, and light grey sneakers.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I pulled my sword out of my palm, I presented a smile of my own.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Isn’t that sweet, everyone’s back together again; now if you’d proceed to the hallway, we’ll discuss a few things.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I slowly followed him as sudden flashes of unknown memories entered my head, making it ache.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I adjusted to everything I was seeing, I began to realize that the memories I was seeing were several recent memories of the real Tony, and not very pleasant ones I might like to add.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As I got all cleared up, I saw that both Rigby and Margaret must've seen it as well.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Difficult to watch, isn’t it?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We looked to see that House was seeing it as well.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: You three are the lucky ones; I’ve been seeing things like that non-stop.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Rigby: Good.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">At any normal time, I would’ve punched him in the arm, but this time I let it slide since he was after all talking to someone we all hated.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: There isn’t any real surprise, is there?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Heh…surprise.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">In between the two of us talking, another flash entered our heads.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Come on, why are we really in this place? What was the real reason for us kill those people?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: I thought you hated them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: That doesn’t mean that they should die!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: It does on our road.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He smiled as he said this, causing us to look at him in disgust.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: If you weren’t all tough and supernatural, we’d have killed you by now.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: But I am, and here I am.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He suddenly disappeared into fire, and then reappeared in front of me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: LOOK AT ME NOW!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He immediately made me fall down in shock, which made him laugh.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: I love doing that. Let’s talk guys.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He extended his hand in order to help me up, yet as much as I hated to do it, I took his hand.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As we cautiously followed him, he continued to speak.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: The point being, we all have the same problem; we’re all trying to find the exact same person.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Lear’s?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: Yes. But it would seem that he’s vanished from the face of the earth; first some nut in a mask was stalking me, now Tony’s disappeared. I don’t understand it, so I was curious to know if any of you did.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: …no.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: …no.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Rigby: …no.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: *sigh*, that’s what I thought.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As we were about to enter another room, an alarm suddenly rang.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: WHAT THE-?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">House: SOMEONE’S BREAKING IN!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then ran in another direction, and was soon accompanied by several other people as they ran to deal with the intruder.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Yet when we thought we had a chance to escape, someone appeared behind us; someone with a gun.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">It wasn’t anyone we knew from House’s posse, it was someone we didn’t expect to see.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Tony?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">While it was clear that Tony was in front of us, he seemed a lot different than the last several times I ran into him; he was a lot calmer, and he was standing as still as a statue.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As for appearance, his hair had grown down to his shoulders, his beard had grown out, and he was wearing a reddish brown hoodie under a black coat with red stripes on the arms, teal jeans, and black shoes.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Tony: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: What?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Tony: …

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then opened his eyes to reveal a red Celera, green irises, and dragon-like pupils.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Hm?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then slowly opened his mouth, and suddenly coughed up blood, and proceeded to slowly advance on us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Rigby: Uh, Mordecai? I’m not sure that’s Tony.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret pulled out her pistols.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: You stay away from us!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He didn’t respond.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: STAY AWAY FROM US!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He didn’t respond.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret shot Tony in the chest; but instead of dropping dead, he didn’t even respond to that.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Tony: (echoing voice) do you know how it feels to lose everything you’ve ever loved?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all looked to each other.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Tony: (echoing voice) if you wish to leave this place, and return to your children, you will watch what I show you.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then disappeared, and our minds all switched off.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We found ourselves inside of a large mine shaft, but where it was we didn’t know. I also saw that Margaret's pistols had been replaced with a fire axe.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Where are we now?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Rigby: Why can’t it all just stop?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I then looked and saw even more flashes; and this time I saw the dead body of Starla lying close to the man in the mask, while he held half of Muscle Man’s body in his right hand.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As the flash exited my head, I then proceeded to see every last crime Tony had done within the past several months; and the things I had seen made me and my friends believe that Tony and House were the same person yet again.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But then a door suddenly rammed open, and we looked to see that Tony Lear’s was there, and almost looked exactly the same, only his color was gone, and he looked a lot dirtier.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We all looked at him sternly, and saw he was holding a machete.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: Hello Tony.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Tony: …Hello Mordecai.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Me: You have made quite the mess.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Tony: And I need to finish making it, so get out of my way.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Rigby: You’ve already done enough damage; we will not let you pass.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">His face went angry as we all took fighting positions.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Rigby: Now put the machete down.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Tony: You want it? Come and get it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I was the first to attack, and sent my sword directly into his stomach.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I thought this would kill him, but I then saw a red static cover his eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then coughed up blood, and he then grasped my sword from my hands, and he proceeded to punch me in the face.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we woke up, we heard a gunshot coming from somewhere close; and we quickly ran to see where it came from.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Yet as we ran, we saw what appeared to be Craig Caracara running fast to wherever it came from, along with several children, and a white lynx cat with a goatee.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When we reached the source of the gunshot, we saw that House was the one who pulled the trigger, but the one who slumped over was who surprised us.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Craig: TONY!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He violently shook him and tried to keep him awake, but I was more surprised to see that everything I was being fed wasn’t a lie after all.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Craig: TONY!! TONY STAY WITH ME!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">He then calmly touched Craig’s cheek, and whispered something in his ear, but then he stopped moving, and breathing, signaling that he was dead.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Craig: Oh no, NO! NO NO NO!! TONY!! TONY WAKE UP! WAKE UP!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: Craig, Craig!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">She grabbed his shoulders and forced him to make contact with him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Margaret: He’s gone.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Craig’s eyes went overflowed with tears, and he cried out one last word.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Craig: NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">'' Epilogue ''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As you can tell, things happened while I was telling my side of the story, because now we’re in a prisoner transport, heading to New York City.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I don’t think I’ve ever felt so ashamed in my life; I almost wish I could’ve believed Josh when I had the chance to do so, but I wonder; would it have made a difference?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But now I feel my eye transforming, and showing things I haven’t seen before; and these flashes I’m seeing of Tony…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">…make me feel happy.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">'' So ends part four of final infection, but it’s not over yet! ''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">'' Next time we’ll see Naji, Rigby, and Eileen as they go through some of the coldest parts of the world in: ''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">'' Regular Show: Final Infection Part 5 ''