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Post by Banshee on Nov 14, 2023 16:29:51 GMT -6
Nox was just too thrilled with his own happiness that he didn’t even hear Ikuki poke fun at him for having a female friend. While in this state, he did look at the pile of books that he had been debating on bringing home. One was a beginners quest of becoming an alchemist. Which had a bunch of important rules and regulations a good alchemist needed to follow. And it also spoke about what not to do as well as what was deemed illegal and unjust.
The other book was about enchantments. Ikuki had mentioned turning their scarves into something useful so that, if by any weird chance, one of the brothers weren’t present; the other would still be capable of protecting themselves by using the scarf as an enchanted weapon of their choice. It was a brilliant idea, he felt, and he really wanted to give it a shot. However, he wasn’t so sure as to what sort of abilities he had.
Until he looked at a dying plant. He walked over to it and tilted his head at it. Nox felt a little bad for the thing and felt that it needed some form of water or nutrition. He reached over to the closest crumpled leaf and touched it with his finger.
There was a small jolt in the plant which startled Nox in his place.
While Mark and Ikuki spoke to one another, they would suddenly hear a surprised scream come from Nox. “MARK, MARK, MARK, MARK, MARK!!” If Mark and Ikuki turned to him, Nox was bolting over to them both, while screaming Mark’s name. “LOOK! LOOK!”
In his hands, he held the once dead potted plant up to them both. And right before their very own eyes, the brown skin of the plant quickly turned a healthy green. The leaves that were once crumpled, were unfurling themselves as more branches began to sprout from its stem. Within seconds, the plant that was about to be tossed into the trash was now covered in thick branches with leaves and flowers.
Nox’s voice broke as he spoke, but he was so excited over the realization of what he just did. “I have a power! I have a power! I made it alive!” And the more excited he got, the more flowered the plant became.
The boy quickly set the flower exploding plant onto the table and he hopped in place. “AH! AH! AH!” He flailed some more before turning to them once more. “I have POWERS!!!! I can make things grow!” Nox had zero idea on what Mark’s mental state was because his excitement over his realization was just too much for him to handle. He grabbed his shirt and bounced in place.
“I made it not dead!”
He let go of Mark and turned to the plant, breathing a bit so that maybe if it was him, he could slow down the growth of the plant before it exploded out of its pot. Nox then decided to grab for another plant that looked sickly. And while he was still in an elevated sense, this plant started to do the same.
Which freaked him out more and he placed it back in its spot. “I am Mother Nature!”
- - - - - -
After some good period of silence, Josephine said; “One day, I’d like to be able to fly in the sky...”
Josephine paused as her gaze remained fixed on the clouds above them. “I just...have to figure out how to transform... My sister and I haven’t been able to do it yet. Dad’s been trying to teach us but we don’t have the skills yet. But...I’m not going to give up.” Her hand was then outstretched towards the sky. She held her palm upwards, facing a cloud. “I want to fly through them. I want to know how it feels.”
“You know clouds are made of water, right? You’re going to get wet.”
“I don’t care. I want to do it. Even if it takes twenty years to do it, I’m gonna.” Josephine turned to him and smirked. She held out her fist to him, for a bump. “Let’s become cool when we get older. Okay? No more sad mopey Lux and no more angry Joe. Deal?”
He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to completely accomplish this goal of hers. But he figured, it was worth a shot. After all, he knew that if he didn’t accept her deal, she would more than likely get pretty cross with him. Josephine was sweet on the outside but he knew that she would be more than happy to deck him if he gave her a reason to.
Deciding against being punched in the face, he reached over and bumped his fist to hers. “Okay...”
“I’ll tell you what my Dad says to me...” She paused for a second and then told him; “Keep your chin raised, because the only place you should be looking is, up. And if the sun still shines? Then there’s still a chance for things to get better.” Josephine saw a small smile grow on his face. “I promise.”
Lux had to look away from her and stare at the clouds in the sky. His emotions were all over the place once again. He had such a terrible urge to cry. Josephine...She was quite the handful under normal circumstances. She could be loud, obnoxious, aggressive even. But the hidden side of her was; she was actually a really humble person under it all.
And for the first time since his spiraling. He was beginning to realize, how lucky he was.
However, the dreary thoughts of his still remained. Lingering in the background and haunting him each night. The dark thoughts knew that things never often stayed happy with him. Lux was trapped on a rollercoaster, one of which he couldn’t ever seem to get off of. His deepest emotions knew better than to accept things being okay. Because they weren’t going to be.
He shook his head, trying to chase away those bitter thoughts. For once, Lux wanted to feel happier. He wanted to smile and lose the weight that was pressing hard onto his chest. Josephine meant well. Mark and Ikuki did too. Even Nox was always in his corner, rooting for him even when no one else had. And yet, there were those thoughts. Phrases that haunted him. Fears.
Reese was going to be involved within his life again. And that alone, broke his heat. But when Josephine asked him if he was okay, breaking him free from these thoughts. He turned to her and smiled. “A lot better than before...” It was a lie, but he needed to find some platform to claw at to get out. Right?
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Post by Moe on Nov 14, 2023 17:20:28 GMT -6
Mark and Ikuki couldn't keep up with Nox's excited shouting, as he happily showed them the plant that was exploding with life. Ikuki was ecstatic and could feel his excitement, while Mark was trying to change his train of thought and process what was happening. Mark tapped on the pot of the plant, freezing it within time to stop it from growing out of control, and turned his attention to Nox when he grabbed onto Mark's shirt.
"That's...really cool, Nox!" he said, with genuine enthusiasm. "I guess today was about self discovery for all of us, huh?" he smiled brightly at the boy. Nox's happiness was infectious, and Mark wasn't sure if it was because he'd always been able to feel what others felt, or if Nox's powers were actually infectious. Either way, it made him feel good that at least one of the boys seemed to be having such a good day, today. Even with all the chaos that had happened, Nox stayed positive. He looked on the bright side and found the happiness in it all. That was something Mark respected.
"The world would be a better place, if everyone was more like you." he smiled as Nox brought to life another plant. "You see the good in everything, and everyone. That's something we should all aspire to be like."
"You know what? I think we need to commemorate this day. Leave a lasting impression on the town." Ikuki suggested.
"I think we already did." Mark referred to the rampaging corpses. "Which I'm sure the authorities are already investigating and it's only a matter of time before they find us, here."
Ikuki fidgeted with her necklace for a moment, sliding a plant seed out of it. "I've been holding onto this, since I left the monastery. I've always been interested in death, and curious about necromancy...and the corpse flower is a key ingredient in a lot of dark magic spells." she took Mark's hand, pulling him up out of his seat. "Hey, Nox?" Ikuki tried to get the excited boy's attention. "You wanna help me make this seed grow? If you can grow it to maturity, Mark can fast-forward it in time to where it blooms, and this bookstore will always have something that all three of us made, together." she smiled.
Mark caught on the that smile. It was both genuine, and devious. He knew exactly what a corpse flower was, and what happens when it blooms. Hell with it, he hadn't done anything mischievous in a while, aside from sticking a few googly eyes on mall signs. But this, this was more on his level. Something meaningful, but devious. "We have been dating for all of three days, and I already have no doubt that someday I am going to marry you."
Ikuki gave him the biggest, warmest smile, as she gathered the books they had planned to purchase. "It's a little soon to be proposing." she joked. "But when the day comes, I already know what my answer will be. Sometimes you don't need to see the future, to know when you just connect with someone." she said, handing him some of the books to carry. "Now, let's get these books purchased before we grow our plant."
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Post by Banshee on Nov 14, 2023 17:52:05 GMT -6
That comment. The one where Mark said that the world would've been a better place, if more people was like him. Nox couldn't help but give him the brightest of smiles he could ever muster up. “I do my best. It's really hard to do actually. Because sometimes, moments aren't just meant to be thought in a positive light. But...I'd like to try and make the best of what I have.”
The truth was, Nox wished that Lux could see the same way as he did. He knew Lux was capable of being happy. He's seen him laugh, seen him have a blast, and he's seen him cry because he was having so much fun. And he missed that in his brother. But Nox still held onto that hope that there would be a day where his brother would be smiling again. And the two of them would be causing mischief all over the place. Snickering, laughing, and giggling at folks passing by.
After all, they used to cause a lot of mayhem at home. Especially when Reese was preoccupied with something else so that the boys were left to their own devices. And...this usually meant them raiding stores and swiping a loaf of bread or some really fine soups.
“Thank you.” Nox said to him with the most sincere voice he could manage. “That...actually means a lot though. It really does.”
Then Ikuki had the devious side of her show as she plucked out a seed of some kind. Nox had no idea what this thing held but both of them seemed more than eager to let him make it grow. So then he took the seed from her hand and looked it over.
Nox recalled seeing an empty pot on the windowsill and brought it over. “Okay...Think... How did I do this?” He thought for a moment. His mind raced in circles. The only thing he could think of was, he was super happy with how things were turning. His excitement for the zombies, the phone number, and just over all, being in a good mood.
He closed his fist and placed it palm down into the dirt, with the seed in between. Nox then closed his eyes and tried to control his absolute enthusiasm and turn it into the energy he had before. At first, nothing was happening. So then he decided to let loose a little. Perhaps his uncontrolled energy was what spiraled the plants into a growing frenzy?
Then his hand glowed. Something he had missed from before. Though, in all fairness, he wasn't trying to do anything to the other plants before. This time, he had his energy focused into his hand. Which in the end, made it glow a soft green color. “Let it grow.” Was repeating in his head.
The plant began to grow. And grow. It was growing to the point where he had to step back and give it space to stand upright. Nox then turned to Mark and Ikuki, wondering what the deal was about this particular seed. “I did it! I think...I figured it out. But I'm definitely going to have to practice more with this.”
He then got a message from his brother and he glanced down at it. “Huh...Joe said that when we get home, make sure we watch our backs. They think they heard someone lurking. But nothing happened and both are back inside the house. Whatever it was, didn't make an appearance. So...” He shrugged. “I hope it was just a fat cat or something.”
- - - – - - -
“Your brother's been pretty quiet.” Josephine said as she continued to watch the clouds drift. “I wonder how he and the others are doing?”
Lux fell silent as he didn't actually have anything to say. Everyone left without him because of his inability to cope with anything. He had locked himself away from the others. Hating on them. When the real villain, was himself all along. But he did continue looking at the sky.
“Though to be fair...I did tell your brother that I was going to bite him if he kept bugging me. I was...trying to figure out how to deal with you that I didn't want him to keep texting me every ten minutes.” She laughed a little bit. “He's...quite something, isn't he?”
Lux's face fell a bit. “...Yeah...I hope he is having a lot of fun with them. He really deserves it.”
“You do too.”
“I know, but I think he's more deserving of it.” Admitted Lux. “He's the one that has to put up with me all the time. Even when we were kids...” Lux stopped when he heard something rummaging along the treeline.
He threw himself up onto his feet and doubled up his fists. Josephine copied him and stood beside him. Neither one of them said a word as they listened to the sounds within the trees. Lux was also certain that this thing, wasn't a squirrel or a cat. The sound it was making while lurking through the trees, sounded much larger than those animals.
But nothing moved.
“What was that?” Josephine asked. “Should we go inside?”
“...” Lux fought with himself. His own genuine curiosity pulled at him as the desire to find out what the noise was, bothered him. But his sensible side, screamed at him to go back inside. And for once, he decided to listen to that. “You first.”
“As in?” Josephine wasn't sure what he was talking about. But before she could continue asking him, Lux grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face the house. He then nudged her forward while he continued to walk backwards, his back facing her, his face towards the treeline with the weird sounds.
They kept doing this until they reached the doorway. Lux then darted into the house and shut the door, locking it. He backed away from it, hoping that the thing didn't follow him. His heart pounded in his chest. He was worried that it may have been one of the robots again.
But nothing came about it.
“Do you think it's gone?” She asked him.
“Tell Nox to tell them to be careful when they get home. There was something here. And I don't want them to be caught off guard.” He frowned. “Why...didn't it attack though?”
“You want it to?” She blinked as she texted Nox the message.
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Post by Moe on Nov 14, 2023 20:57:26 GMT -6
When Nox excitedly found a place to plant the seed, Ikuki threw her arm around him in support, and Mark mirrored the motion, both smiling at him and looking on, proudly. He'd only wished Lux would have been there, to be a part of this memory as well. As Nox grew the plant bigger and bigger, the trio had to step back a ways until the plant was nearly as tall as Ikuki. There weren't many leaves, but rather a large, gargantuan in fact, pod standing before them.
Mark and Ikuki looked at each other and snickered, knowing what was about to unfold.
"Nox, you might want to put your scarf around your nose, and hold your breath." Mark said, moving Nox's scarf up to his nose and hoping he would keep it there, as Mark touched the giant plant pod. Ikuki held her hands over her nose as well, but was unable to stifle her giggles and was fully prepared to get her sinuses assaulted. The plant suddenly twitched and moved about as though it was caught in a timelapse, as Mark bolted the plant through time until it was time for it to bloom.
And when it did, everybody in the room started gagging as the scent of rotten corpses filled the entire building. Mark and Ikuki were fully prepared for the smelly assault, but weren't sure how Nox would take it and they all bolted outside with him, laughing the whole way.
"Don't worry," Mark gasped for a breath of the fresh outdoor air. "It only blooms for a few minutes, every ten years." he couldn't stop laughing, a first for him in a long time.
"And it's big in the magic community," Ikuki added, also laughing. "It's an extremely rare plant and will be invaluable in new magic users' studies."
"Plus," Mark put his arm around Nox, again. "We did that. All three of us." he smiled, proudly. "I have no doubt in my mind that if Lux was here, he would've discovered something incredible about himself, too. But, at least he's in for one heck of a story, right?"
The moment was short-lived, as Mark's phone went off just before Nox's did. When he checked it, it was an alert from his security system about an intruder. Before he could say anything, Nox received a text from Joe saying that somebody was creeping about, confirming the alert. "Okay, we need to get home. Now." Mark's demeanor changed, in an instant.
"Mark, it's a two hour drive back home. Whatever set it off, is going to be long gone by the time we're back. Wouldn't your mom have called the police, by now?" Ikuki brought up a point. Hope was there, and she would have known the alarm was triggered and had someone patrolling the area.
"Yeah. You're right. But I would still rather get home as soon as we can. If I have to freeze time to do it, so help me-"
"You can't use that much power and you know it." Ikuki pointed out. "We don't need you passing out, in the middle of the road."
Mark sighed, figuring it was best not to argue because he knew she was right. He hadn't received a call from his mother yet, so he was certain everything was alright for the time being. Still, his nerves were on edge after everything that happened the last few days, and he was eager to get home as soon as possible. "Okay. Is it okay if we leave, then? I know Mom and Joe and Lux can handle things, but Tiffany can't. I need to get home, to her. Whether it was a false alarm, or not."
Ikuki nodded in agreement, and motioned for Nox to follow along with them back to the car.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 14, 2023 21:25:28 GMT -6
It had been a long time coming, but Nox was feeling completely accepted by the pair. To him, feeling them wrap their arms around him and helping him grow the plant, was something that he had never experienced before. There was so much determination. So much positivity. So much faith in one another, as they stood there making the plant grow.
A part of him wanted to cry, right then and there. All of the feelings he had were indescribable. There weren’t any words within his oversized vocabulary that could fit what he was being encompassed by. But he was sure if there was a scale that measured happiness, the scale would most likely collapse beneath the immense feelings he was having.
Then when they pulled away, Ikuki helped cover his nose. But despite this, he could still smell the flower’s disgusting scent. It smelled of rotten flesh. Or perhaps a garbage can filled with leftover meats on a humid and hot sunny day. He was certain that this would be the smell that would attract maggots and other vermin.
They quickly retreated from the building and got into the car. Laughing. Even Nox was laughing. “I haven’t done anything that dastardly in such a long time!” He said with a tear streaming down his eye. And when he wiped his face, he caught a whiff of that disgusting scent. “Bleh! I am gonna need a shower when I get home. I’m stinky.”
But he laughed. Nox was having a blast. A part of him wished that his brother was definitely there to encounter this. He was sure that it would’ve cracked a smile on his sad-ridden face. But the plus side was, they would have something fun to talk about. And Nox would have something to show Lux.
On their way home, Nox couldn’t handle it anymore. And he started to cry. He had to take off his glasses and place them on the seat beside him. The boy then pulled his scarf up to his face and sobbed into it. When asked, he said; “I’m not sad. I’m just so happy right now. Like...I can’t remember the last time I felt this way. I really can’t. No birthdays. No accomplishments. Nothing can match what I’m feeling right now. It’s a wonder why I was able to make those plants live... And I have you guys to thank for this. I really owe it to you!”
He wiped his tears away with his scarf. “...Maybe...if I can learn to control it...I could do such amazing things with the idea of helping things grow. Maybe...I could become a doctor or something that can help others.” He then looked at his scarf. “I still want to make sure I can help Lux though. I’d love to see him, be this happy one day. And...I’m not gonna stop until he finally gets there.” He then turned and smiled brightly to the two of them. “I hope that you guys will get to see that day too. Both of you having nothing but laughs for a whole day without concern.”
- - - - - -
Lux kept looking out the window and at the trees. He knew Hope was there, now aware of what was going on outside. But...to his relief. There wasn’t anymore movement. No more alarms. No more weird feelings of being watched. But he still couldn’t help but be cautious about the whole scenario.
“I think it’s gone, whatever it was.” Josephine said as she too was looking out the window for the creature in question. She couldn’t see any of the trees move anymore. And she had cracked her window open to be able to hear the outside. All she could hear were the chirps of birds and a chittering squirrel somewhere.
“That was so weird.” Lux said as he finally gave up on looking. “You heard it too, right Joe?”
“I did. It made a lot of noise in the trees.” She said with a frown. “But I didn’t see anything. So whatever it was, it must be invisible or maybe very good at hiding in plain sight.”
“I just hope it’s not Jet.” Frowned Lux. “He’s been after me for as long as I can remember...Or maybe Nox... Though...” He looked back outside. “If it was looking for Nox, it would’ve known that I’m not him. We may be identical twins but we do seem to have our differences. So that...would mean that he’s after me...”
“You can’t assume that. Maybe it was a really fat cat. Or...a monkey.”
“Monkeys aren’t around here, Joe.” He said a bit flatly.
“Well, maybe the zoo lost one and it’s running around town...like a monkey!” She flailed. “Zoos do have breakouts sometimes, you know.” She then planted her hands on her hips to sass him. “Whatever it is, it ran away. Maybe it wasn’t even looking for you to begin with? Maybe it was looking for something else?”
“You have all sorts of ideas, don’t you?”
“I watch a lot of movies with Davis. And a lot of them are super stupid. Like, there’s a movie about tornados that have sharks. And giant worms that launch out of the ground because they can feel your feet movement. Or these aliens that come from space and explode when you play a certain song.” She paused and said; “I can add that there’s also one about this leprechaun too.”
“You watch the weirdest stuff.”
“Gotta keep my brain active.” She said as she tapped her head. “You should watch stupid movies too. You never know what sort of funny you’ll find.”
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Post by Moe on Nov 15, 2023 0:15:40 GMT -6
When Nox burst into happy tears, it made Mark start to tear up as well. Happy that he could make such an impact on somebody's life, but also sad that Nox's living family was so awful, that he was happier with somebody he'd only just met. "Who knew that a month ago, I was going to end up adopting two more kids?" he laughed, trying to keep things light-hearted.
"But in all seriousness, even in the short time we've known each other, I've seen you and Lux come a long way. I know Lux is going through some things, but he's still made discoveries about himself and what he's capable of. You're my brothers, regardless of relation." Mark looked at Nox's reflection in the mirror, before moving his hand to hold Ikuki's. "We're all family, and no matter what we're going through, nothing is going to change that."
"I know that you're both going to do great things, someday, and you better believe I'm going to be around to see that." he said with a big smile. "You've both already done amazing things, I can only imagine how amazing you'll both be, when you're older and hone those abilities. I just wish Lux could understand that, too. You're two sides of the same coin. Neither of you is any less than the other, you both just have your own strengths and weaknesses. Lux needs to understand that it's okay to have weaknesses, everyone does, but he's also got amazing strengths. He's a great fighter, and he's brave. He's an amazing artist, able to see things in the world that others don't. He might have a little bit of a temper, but I've also seen the softer side of him. He has empathy, and truly does care about others."
"My point is, I'm proud of you both. I can't explain why, maybe I do end up accepting my fate and future me is telling present me that you're both important. I don't even know how to begin to rationalize it, but maybe we don't have to. Maybe it's okay to just find friends that you're proud of, and all bring out the best in each other."
"Maybe future you is telling present you that they're supposed to be in our wedding." Ikuki teased, causing Mark to blush. "You did propose, after all." she joked, drawing out his comment earlier.
"I...no I didn't!" he clarified to Nox. "I just said I know we're soulmates! I didn't mean to...that wasn't...we've only been dating a couple days!" he began to get really flustered, causing Ikuki to laugh at him.
"It's okay, I'm just teasing you." she said through a snicker. "You're cute when you're flustered."
"Shut up..." Mark grumbled, still blushing.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 15, 2023 6:16:20 GMT -6
“Yeah it feels like we’ve known each other for much longer.” Admitted Nox. “And...I feel at home with you guys. It’s...such an amazing feeling.” He nodded with a smile as he glanced down at the two bags he and the others had collected together to bring home to his brother. Nox also couldn’t help himself from buying Josephine something too. After all, she did help his brother out and spent all day with the moody child that he was.
Nox nodded; “Yeah, I didn’t know he was such an artist. It’s amazing to see that side of him show. I’ve known him for ever and I’ve never seen him be able to express any outside interests. So I’d be curious to see what he does with it in the future.”
Mark brought up a valid point. Both kids are two sides of the same coin. They both had their strengths and weaknesses. And Nox could see where he was coming from with Lux fearing weakness. In a way, he felt like a lot of that had to do with all of the unfortunate circumstances that always seemed to hunt Lux down. His brother Reese was no exception from this, because Nox felt that a lot of his hangups were from their brother.
“Oh? Wedding?” He grinned at them. “You bet I’ll be there! You know I will! Lux too! I am sure of it. Lux will too. I don’t think he’d want to miss out on it! Moody or not!” He grinned.
“Though...I do hope he is having fun with Joe. I know she’s...a bit much sometimes...” He rubbed the back of his neck a bit nervously. “Her family is...pretty wild themselves.”
- - - - - -
Josephine managed to get Lux to leave the window and allow him to bring her to Nathan’s room. A few days ago, Nathan had allowed Lux to play some of his games. Lux had hoped that it’d be okay to show Josephine some of the games he liked playing while he was there. And so, he popped on in and gave her a second controller.
“This one is two player so we can play together.” Lux said as he sat down right next to her.
“Oh! I know this game.” She said to him. “A friend of my sister’s has this one. I never played it because he only plays with her. But I have watched them.” Josephine grinned. “We have to work together and solve puzzles and whatnot. Battle some enemies along the way. It’s kind of a typical RPG game but I like it. The one character is really cute.”
“The one with the bunny ears?”
“Pfft no. The one with-“ She stopped for a moment and thought about the design. “Dang it. You’re right. That is the one I like.”
“It’s the one I like too. She’s really funny with her bomb barrage attacks.” He laughed. “I’ll let you choose her if you’d like. I like another one. He’s got a robot arm that can break walls.”
The two of them smirked at one another then turned their attention to playing the game. And once again, Lux was feeling...alright for a change. He was a little reluctant to be super happy about everything but he also wanted to embrace the feeling of having Josephine over. She had been quite persistent with him. And the two of them, were actually having a lot of fun.
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Post by Moe on Nov 15, 2023 18:06:26 GMT -6
The ride home was relatively calm and easygoing, other than stray thoughts here and there about why the alarm had been tripped. Hope had texted Mark back and assured him that the area was clear and that there was nothing to worry about, but he couldn't help but worry a little bit. Otherwise, the atmosphere in the car was cheerful and happy, and the conversation with Ikuki and Nox kept the thoughts at bay.
Soon enough, the crystal mountains faded from view in the rearview mirror and the more magical landscape slowly gave way to the boring cityscape and suburbs, as they entered Kaiser City once again. It was evident upon entering the town about the incident involving raising the dead, as city security was left picking up the pieces.
"Didn't you say there's some kind of hero waiver saying you break it, you fix it?" Ikuki slumped down in her seat; nobody could've possibly known it was them, but she couldn't help but feel like everyone they passed was staring. "Shouldn't we be helping?"
"We did help, by stopping it." Mark replied, looking over at Ikuki who didn't seemed to be satisfied with his answer. He sighed, before adding; "You can, if you want. I can't. If I go out there and admit I was involved, that's going to bring attention to what I am. Or could be. If I go out as Hyper X, that's going to make everyone hate on him even more than they already do. It's selfish, I know, but either option could put my family in a negative light, too."
Ikuki bit her lip, thinking about what the right decision would be. "I think I would like to wear the suit, and help a little bit. That seems right." she finally concluded. "That way, we're technically both involved?"
Mark suddenly felt guilty for Ikuki coming to that decision, having to help clean up bits of the dead without him. He finally took a deep breath and sighed; "How about we both help out and just tell them we're volunteering? Hyper X helped design current city security, they probably won't question it, that way. Just...please. I don't want to put anyone else in the spotlight and screw up their lives, because of my mistakes."
"Okay." Ikuki agreed, although it still felt wrong to not come clean about the incident, it was ultimately his choice. "I think I can live with that."
"First, I need to make sure my own security is working properly." he said as they turned into his driveway. "If there was somebody close enough to trigger the alarm system, then I need to make some adjustments. The whole point of my system is to alert me before anyone gets close enough to set it off. Like, a pre-alert."
"You're kind of paranoid, aren't you?" Ikuki teased him.
"Yes!" Mark answered her, not realizing she was joking. "I have to be. As a scientist, I have to protect my work. As Hyper X, I have to protect my identity. I can't afford to not be paranoid."
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Post by Banshee on Nov 15, 2023 19:27:14 GMT -6
As they drove on, Nox couldn't help but notice the civilians cleaning up the mess after it ended. He could see some of them were pretty freaked out. Others, seemed like it was just another day in paradise. While others were reluctant to leave their own vehicles to help. It was all a mix bag of emotions, the further they got. And Nox wasn't sure on what to really think about their responses.
Then a thought crossed his mind. “Uh...I feel this is going to be hard to explain to my brother.” He admitted. “I know we should really start telling him the truth...but is it a good idea to tell him that you guys were the reason for the zombie outbreak? Or can we blame it on some scientist and leave it at that?”
He listened to them talk about how they were going to help clean up. A part of him wanted to help them out but he was sure that they weren't going to let him. So he didn't bother to say anything at all about the scene.
Once they arrived home, Nox quickly hopped out of the car. As he turned to grab his stuff, he was struck by a surprise attack. Lux had come out and greeted him. Hugging his brother. “Oh! This is a surprise!”
Before Lux could say anything about it, Nox handed over a small bag. “That bag has some stuff that we got for you while we were out. It's...um... I hope you had fun!”
Lux looked at the bag and after he thanked Nox, he turned to Mark and Ikuki. He stopped for a moment, taking a breath. “Mark...Ikuki...” He bit his lip and mustered up the courage to say; “...I hope you guys had fun...And thank you for the gifts...” There was a small smile on his face.
Nox grinned as Josephine stood beside him. “Wow, you really did work on him, huh?”
“A slap does the trick.” She bluntly said to him.
“Wait...what?”
“I slapped him.” She repeated, with zero remorse.
“Oh...” Nox didn't think that was a good idea. But he held out his gift to her. “This is thanking you for doing this.”
“Oh? This was a bribe?” She smirked.
“What? No. I uh...thought you would like something too. So I got you another hat.”
Lux rubbed his shoulder as he was being sheepish over everything. “Hey...I'm sorry for earlier too. I know...it's...been hard and I just...feel bad that I was being so... you know...” He then looked down at the bag and plucked out the cute fox toy as well as some other items that Nox had picked for him. “I...do enjoy being here. I really do. I just...” He shook his head. “...I just hope you had a lot of fun. That's all!” He smiled up at them. But there was still a fraction of worry behind it.
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Post by Moe on Nov 15, 2023 20:11:23 GMT -6
It was surprising to see Lux had come out to greet them as they got home, but it was a good surprise. He looked tired, but at least he had left the bedroom and was speaking again. Mark almost didn't want to talk to him at all, in fear of triggering the same response again. Not that he didn't care, he was just scared. When Lux spoke directly to them, he couldn't help it. He couldn't just not say something, like Argon had told him.
Mark gave Lux the biggest, tightest hug. "Don't apologize for feeling, Lux. You didn't do anything wrong, you don't have anything to feel bad about." he pulled away from the hug, setting his hands on Lux's shoulders. "I was super scared, though. You had me really worried, you know? It's okay to be sad and worried and it's even okay to be depressed every now and then, but don't ever spiral down so deep that you can't get out. You were there for me, when I needed someone. Let me return the favor, okay?" he said, starting to get emotional.
"Um," he scrambled trying to change the subject so neither of them would get caught in emotions, again. "That fox is lavender-scented, when it's warmed up. It has a calming effect. Supposed to be good to help you sleep better."
"I'm glad you're feeling better, too." Ikuki smiled at Lux, also giving him a hug, though much gentler than Mark's. "We would have had a lot more fun if you had been there, though. We planted a smelly flower in the bookstore and ran out before anyone could catch us, and we still smell like it." she smirked. "I also think you would have enjoyed sketching some of the scenery and the dragons."
"Oh, yeah. My uncle's a legit dragon." Mark told him. "So is my cousin. Who would've thought?" he said, making fun of himself in hopes of getting Lux to laugh.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 15, 2023 20:23:53 GMT -6
At first, Lux was shocked to obtain such a hug from Mark. He was sure that he was still upset with him. But this? The hug was so tight. But it was of good intentions. And Lux wrapped his arms around him, hugging him back just as tightly. He really did feel bad about the spiraling he did and how antisocial he had become. It wasn't until Josephine made him realize, how blessed he was to have everyone in his life at this point. “Lavender huh?” He said as he looked down at the adorable little plush. Lux could kind of smell a faint scent of it too, now that he thought about it. “I'm going to give this a try tonight. I...could use a really good sleep again...” He sighed. “This...is all so great. Thank you guys.”
"LUX!!! I also got a GIRL'S NUMBER!!" Nox said with enthusiasm as he held his phone before his brother. "LOOK! I HAVE ONE!"
"Well, that's awesome. I'm glad you got a girl friend." He saw the weird stare that Nox gave him when he said it. Fortunately for Nox, Lux was actually thinking of a female friend and not a relationship. "Uh...A friend that's a girl? Nox, that's awesome you have one."
"Wait...You have my number too." Josephine said as she was confused about why Nox was so enthusiastic about getting a girl's number. "Or did you forget that?"
"Nope! She's more girly! Plus we all now you're more of Lux's friend!"
"I...can be friends with both of you..." She narrowed her eyes at him but she was mostly doing this to tease the boy. Josephine knew that he considered her as a friend, which was true. But she was happy for him regardless because she let out a laugh. "I'm teasing you! Silly. Nice job on being friends!"
When he let go, Ikuki stepped in. Which he too returned a hug. Then she told him about a flower that was smelly. “You know, I did kind of smelled something awful on your clothes. All three of you sort of smelled like you went into a dumpster...” “THE FLOWER WAS SO COOL!” Nox screamed in delight, once again showing his energetic side. He hopped over to his brother and clamped his hands onto his shoulders. “I helped make it grow! Lux! I have growing powers!” “Uh...what?” He looked over to Josephine who shrugged. “What do you-” Nox ran over and grabbed a seed that a maple tree had lost. He held it into his hands. With absolute enthusiasm, he cupped his hands together and tried to show Lux what he was talking about. But...at first, nothing came from it. The seed was still a seed. Nox then frowned and tried it again. Still, nothing. “Hold on. I still need to get used to this ability.” He hopped in place and tried to replicate his excitement. “Tell me something really cool!” “Uh...” “Lux drew this...” She swiped the book from Lux's satchel and opened it up to the drawing with her coloring. Josephine showed it to him. “It's really amazing that he did this. It made me feel really happy!” “Aww!” Nox chimed as he looked the picture over. “That's so cute!” He then pulled away, even though he had more to say about the picture. His focus went to making the seed grow. And Ikuki's words, echoed quietly in the back of his mind. Then suddenly! His hands started to glow green. He could feel the seed beginning to sprout within his hands. And so, he opened it up, showing that the small tree had started to grow in the palms of his hands. “SEE?” He said with enthusiasm. “I found something I can do!! I-I am not very good at it yet, but they helped me grow the big stinky plant. I swear the thing even farted which made everything smell like garbage!” He laughed at the memory. Instead of being jealous over his brother's ability to discover his own power, he actually felt proud of him. Lux smiled at Nox and watched as the excited brother of his, find a good spot to plant the growing seed. He then turned to Mark and Ikuki and said; “You guys helped him with that? That's...actually really cool. I was wondering if he could do any magic at all.” He then looked down at his own hands. “I wonder if I have any abilities?”
Just then, a motorcycle pulled up to the drive way. The driver had tossed off his helmet, letting it bounce on the pavement, revealing it to be Davis. He didn't even knock down the kickstand as he immediately started to run up towards the group. The motorcycle, fell on its side with a hefty thud. Something broke off it. But Davis didn't seem to care.
He ran up to Josephine and immediately latched onto her with a huge hug. “THANK DAVEY SCONES THAT YOU ARE OKAY.”
“That's not his name...” She winced as she was being strangled by Davis. “Let. Go. Of. Me.”
He set the short child down onto the ground. “YOU GUYS WOULDN'T BELIEVE ME.”
“Uh...What?” Lux said to him. He was wondering if it was actually safe to send Josephine home with him being in this state. He also swore that he could smell a hint of alcohol on his breath as Davis spoke.
“So like...” He wobbled back and laughed. Davis was drunk. “I was like...hanging out with my friend--”
“Special lady friend.” Josephine corrected him. Indicating that he was more than likely spending his time with his love.
“...Shuuuush! I'm telling the story, Joey. You...You little flaming kangaroo.” He didn't even continue to look at her as she stared at him in confusion over being called a kangaroo. Davis continued; “So as I was saying before I was RUDELY interrupted by a kangaroo...” He hiccuped. “So I was minding my own business and then there was a bunch of weird sounds going on outside. And like...I walked outside and BAM! ZOMBIES! EVERYWHERE!” He threw his hands in the air.
Lux pulled Josephine away from Davis, out of fear of having her being pelted in the head by his drunken stupor. But neither he, Nox, or Josephine said anything.
“And like...this cool dude by the name of Craig came up to me. And he was like... Looping his arm over my shoulders and spoke to me like; YARR! YE BE A PIRATE BOY OR SUMTHIN?” He was pretending he had his arm around an invisible body. Acting out the whole scene. “And I was like; I'd like to THINK that I'm a pirate. Love the outfit, bud.”
He then changed his voice to a pirate sounding one. “I bet ye can't handle a good ol' RUM!” He reverted back to himself and added; “OF COURSE I CAN! My Dad's a town drunk and my Mom's a...” He paused as he knew he had children in the area. But he was sort of drunk, so he didn't care. “A CASH COW. OF COURSE I CAN HANDLE RUM! YA ZOMBIE WUSS!”
“Davis?” Josephine blinked.
“SO!” He motioned Josephine to stop talking. “SO I took him back into the pub and sat him down and was all like 'GIVE ME THE STRONGEST RUM YA GOT!'” He threw his hands in the air. “THE GUY IS DEAD. HE SHOULD BE KNOCKED BACK DOWN.”
“So...You...befriended a zombie?” Josephine asked. She wasn't sure if she believed him.
“He was so cool!” Davis was definitely tipsy. “He told me about pirate raids and showed me this picture of some hot pirate chicks he met along the way. And like...one was a dragon! And she like...didn't notice he was there but he tried to woo her with his manliness but it failed because her brother sucker punched him off the ship.”
“Davis, I think you need to sit down.” Lux said to him. He was amused by the story but more-so concerned for his safety. “Mark? Do you believe him about the zombie thing? Or is he too plastered?”
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Post by Moe on Nov 15, 2023 21:27:48 GMT -6
Mark and Ikuki watched proudly as Nox made the seed grow, happy to have been a part of him discovering his abilities. "If he has magic, then so do you." Mark said to Lux. "I have some theories about how that mug fell off the shelf last night, but nothing conclusive. Not yet, anyway." he smirked, hinting that Lux had already discovered an ability and just didn't know it yet.
Before anything else could be said within the group, Davis came bolting in, immediately changing the mood with his drunkenness. He nudged the kids back and away from him, since that was not something he tolerated in his home and especially around kids. "Joe, I'm not letting him take you home like this, if you need a ride." he looked to Joe.
As Davis continued his drunken rambling, it finally hit them what he was talking about, causing Mark's heart to sink as he would have to admit to Lux what had happened. A lot of Davis' story didn't make sense, but Davis in general didn't make a lot of sense in his current state. He held his breath, waiting for what Lux would say and scared of him going into a depression, again. When Lux asked if Mark believed Davis, he couldn't lie.
"Yes and no." Mark answered Lux. "I have no idea what he's talking about, but...there were zombies. And it was kind of..." he looked to Ikuki, who nodded for him to tell Lux the truth. "Kind of our fault?" he winced as he said it. "They were the gross, brain-eating zombies." he chose not to tell Lux about Oliver, or that the dead were simply afraid and lashing out. Technically, he wasn't lying. He just wasn't telling the whole truth. "They were super gross, clawing at the floorboards, moaning, flesh falling off their bones and brains falling out!" he stuck his tongue out and tried to lighten the story in a manner he hoped Lux would find interesting, instead of depressing.
"So, maybe that intruder was a zombie coming to eat your brains?" Ikuki joined in; it still wasn't technically a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth. And none of them knew what Davis was talking about.
"Oh! Right, I still need to check the security system. After I tell Mom we're home. It's about Tiffany's dinner time, so she's probably getting cranky. YOU." Mark pointed aggressively, at Davis. "Are not invited to come inside. I'm actually not super comfortable with Joe going home with you at all, even if I do take her." he sighed a long, tired, drawn-out sigh, not really wanting to invite more people into his home, but he didn't want Joe to go home with Davis in his state, either. "You can...stay the night, if you want. And if your parents say it's okay. Only because I feel safer with you being here, than with him." he thumbed in Davis' direction.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 15, 2023 21:53:51 GMT -6
Nox blinked as he listened to Mark speak about how the zombies were flesh-eating and mindless creatures that had no other intentions outside of eating brains. He wanted to speak up about the matter but when he noticed the disgusted look on his brother's face, he decided to not ruin what was happening. It was then, he gathered that both Mark and Ikuki were admitting the truth but leaving out some details.
“Yeah, they were creepy.” Was all Nox could say to add to the story.
Lux wrinkled his nose. They summoned the dead, which was amazing to think about and did lead him into wondering a few things. But it also sank in that these zombies were the typical and gross ones. The ones from movies, as he assumed. And it instantly wiped away any possible thoughts of bringing back his parents. “Gross. Like the ones from the movies, right?” He asked them but saw Nox nod as an answer. “Ew, good thing they went back to sleep then...” Then he turned to Davis as he was whining about how Mark wasn't telling the truth.
Josephine looked to Mark and nodded. “Well...my parents are...well I am from where Nox and Lux are. So they're not here. I'm only here because Davis is basically my brother, the one who pretty much raised me since I was uh...captured...” She didn't want to go into any details. But she could see that Davis was sort of getting annoyed over Mark's comment.
“I am perfectly fine! Joe can come ho-”
“I'm calling Mom to ask if it's okay!” She gave Mark the most devious grin. And as she dialed, Davis reached for her phone to stop her. But she skipped away from him as he face planted onto the dirt. She stood behind Lux and grinned as she turned her phone onto speaker. “Hi Mom!”
“Joe!” She chimed as a video popped on her screen. Showing Josephine's Mom on the other side. “How is everything!”
“Very good! I'm hanging out with Lux, Nox, and their two awesome friends Mark and Ikuki. They're caring for the twins right now and they've been super cool. But uh...the reason why I called is because...well, can I spend the night here?”
Gwen could see Mark and Ikuki on her end and she looked a little worried about the idea. “Uh...W-Well...As long as...it's not a bother, and you better be careful!”
“Mom. They're caring for Lux and Nox. They're practically his adoptive parents right now.” She said to her. “They've been incredible.”
“Oh, let the kid have fun!” Lionel's voice could be heard.
“What's...Davis' opinion?” Gwen asked her. She mostly wasn't wanting to intrude on Mark and Ikuki with throwing her kid under their watch. “Ma'am, Sir...I'm sorry if this was thrown onto you so quickly. I honestly-”
“I AM NOT DRUNK.”
“Davis thinks dirt is pudding right now.” Josephine turned the camera to face Davis spitting out the dirt from his fall. And just as expected, the demeanor on Gwen instantly changed from calm and polite to...well...rage.
“Are you kidding me?” Gwen hissed. “Davis, are you seriously drunk?”
“He drove here too.” Lux chimed in to throw Davis into the already burning bus. “And he wants to bring Joe home while drunk too. It's why we are hoping-”
“DAVIS...IF I COULD MORPH MY WAY THROUGH-”
“You mean electrically transfer yourself, dear.” Lionel's voice could be heard, correcting the already angered Mother. This...did not help her.
“DAVIS, IF I COULD SEND MYSELF THROUGH THIS PHONE. MY HANDS WILL BE AROUND YOUR NECK AND I WILL NOT HOLD BACK.” She got into the camera very close, showing how angry she was. “Seriously! I trusted you to care for her, not put her on the back of a motorcycle while being DRUNK! You-Oh, Lionel when's the next train there?”
“Uh...not sure, but I'm about to hop on it too.”
Josephine grinned at Lux. She knew her trap was working. Davis was going to be in great trouble the next time her parents met. And to make things worse. Her FATHER was also not pleased, and getting him mad was nearly impossible.
“He also was hitting on other ladies while drunk too.” Lux egged on. “And apparently hanging out with dead people as well.”
“DAVIS RYAN KING. NEXT TIME I SEE YOU...”
“Please don't kill me. I'm just a uh...I'm...just in trouble.” He realized that Gwen was not stupid by any means. “I am sorry.”
“You will be when I get my hands on you. You little-” The camera switched to reveal Lionel's face.
Unlike Gwen, who they could still hear ranting about how she was going to drop Davis into a ditch somewhere, Lionel was seemingly a lot more calm about it all. “Honey, the next train is in a month. You'll have enough pent up rage to strangle him then.” He sighed and looked to the camera, ignoring the raging Mother. “...Joe...You know how to get her going. And yes, to answer your question. You can spend the night but please, don't intrude on them.”
“I won't Daddy~” She chimed to him as she turned the camera to Mark and Ikuki. Because she knew Lionel had more to say.
“Mark and Ikuki was it? Thank you for making sure that she wasn't going to be in danger. If there's anything that we can do to help with this, please let us know.” He rolled his eyes when Gwen wanted to yell at Davis more, but he held the phone away from her. “Gwen, breathe.”
Josephine looked to Mark and Ikuki. “Mom and Dad are really cool. Uh...Mom is just easy to get mad.” She smirked. “I also just did this because Davis knows better and he's terrified of Mom.”
Lionel heard her and frowned at Josephine. “...Again, thank you for allowing her to spend the night. We will have a nice talk to Davis when...he's not eating dirt pudding and actually has some of his brain cells working.” He sighed. “Again, I'm sorry you guys got thrown into this.”
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Post by Moe on Nov 16, 2023 0:33:37 GMT -6
Moments such as these seemed so fleeting; happy times, sad times, and every time in between was memorable. They were just a big happy family by this point, and everything seemed to be okay, at least for now. Birthdays and holidays were celebrated, bad guys defeated, abilities honed, and there were many days where they just didn't do anything but relax at home. Mark had truly regarded the boys as family, even getting a second bed for their room and really making it their own.
Tiffany had grown and started babbling words, and with her toddler years came the realization that she was going to be a lot like her aunt. Dawn had been visiting regularly, practicing magic with Ikuki and Nox. Mark had even invited her to family events, which she was happy to attend. After getting to know her cousin, she became more friendly toward him and she enjoyed hanging out with Nox, anyway.
Time had passed rather quickly, which Mark didn't know if it was normal or not for someone like him. He had been practicing his new powers and abilities, trying to control them with more accuracy. While he was able to get a handle on some of them, others took more focus and he accepted that he probably wouldn't be able to make full use of them until or if he accepted godhood. One of them, being able to travel to the past. He'd had moments where he could see visions of the past, and moments where he did actually travel into the past, but none of it was on purpose and none of it was able to be controlled. He'd thought about being able to travel back to relive happy memories, not wanting them to end. It had only been a year and a half since they had all met, but it seemed like only a few weeks.
This time, Mark's crisis wasn't because of his new power or the thought that he would have to come to a decision soon, about godhood. This time, it was because next month his daughter was turning two, and she was growing much too quickly. Nevermind that his birthday happened to fall on the same day, he just wasn't ready for her to be growing up so fast. He tried to keep those thoughts and emotions at bay, by sketching out concepts for an updated suit on a digital tablet, though none of the ideas seemed to look right. He was so focused on his work, that he didn't notice the small, spider-like, orb-shaped drone creeping up along the backside of the couch.
It raised the top part of its head, ready to shoot at Mark. "Safety is my primary concern. When near drone, please avoid shooting, cursing, skipping, and-or jump-roping." it babbled nonsense, as it shot a soft pellet at Mark. "Mission success." the drone said as it skittered onto the seat next to Mark, and deactivated.
Mark had an annoyed look on his face and sighed; he couldn't be mad at the little robot. It was a project between him, Nox and Ikuki. It was something they had made together, and a memory he would always treasure. Plus, it was kind of cute in a weird way. He felt the same way about Spicy Nugget, the velociraptor baby had had stolen when he first blipped back in time. By now, he had found out that he was a she, and she had grown substantially while still remaining compact and grown chicken-sized. She was currently laying next to Mark, sound asleep, and he occasionally reached over to give her head scritches.
His focus was interrupted as his phone buzzed, a welcome distraction from his work. It was Apollo again, speaking with Mark about plans to travel to the Expanse, soon. He had informed Apollo that his friend, Nathan, was on his way to the underground city and to let him in. After nearly two years of conversing secretly with Apollo, the two had considered each other friends, something Apollo never had. Mark hadn't told Nathan any of this, but the two had a plan. Apollo had been feeling himself losing control more and more, and the avatars that had been in the city were gradually slipping out of his grasp. Some of them had gone rogue, causing a concern but not an immediate threat. Yet. Apollo had warned Mark to stay cautious and not to hesitate should the bots become harmful. Right now, they only seemed to be a nuisance as whoever had been trying to hack into Apollo, hasn't yet learned how to control so many bots all at once. None of this was discussed with the boys, Mark's family, or even Ikuki. He'd also chosen to leave Athena and the others out of it, because they had their chance to fix things for thousands of years and chose not to. He didn't trust them, and rightfully so.
As he texted Apollo back, Ikuki crept up from behind him, wrapping her arms around him. "Who are you talking to?" she said as she gave him a gentle kiss on the top of his head.
Mark was startled, and quickly put his phone away. A suspicious act, but Ikuki trusted Mark. "Geez, I was in my own world. Don't startle me like that." he huffed. "I was texting someone with city security, about the rogue Apollo bots." he lied. "Whoever is trying to hack into them, is getting better. They don't think there's any connection to Apollo anymore and honestly, we can't figure out which option is worse."
"Well, that's kind of a downer. I just came over here to ask what you wanted for your birthday." she pouted.
"Nothing, it's Tiffany's celebration." he smiled up at her.
"But it's also yours, and I am getting you something." she insisted. "Just because the two of you share a birthday, doesn't mean you're not getting anything."
"Nyeh." Mark stuck his tongue out, at her. "Birthdays don't mean anything, as an adult. I just want to make sure Tiffany has a good day-"
"I WANT A TREX." the toddler shouted, loud enough to be obnoxious to the ears. She wasn't angry by any means, just overly-excitable. "SPICY NUGGET NEEDS A FREN." she shouted again.
"I accidentally bring a dinosaur out of the past, one time, and now I legitimately do not have a good argument to tell my daughter that I cannot bring her another one, for her birthday." he sighed.
"TREX! TREX! TREX!" Tiffany stomped about, holding her arms out and making roaring noises like a dinosaur.
Both Mark and Ikuki couldn't help but smile at her pretending to be a dinosaur. The ruckus had awoken Spicy Nugget, and she looked at Tiffany romping about and snorted. It was possible that she took offense to Tiffany's impersonation, but it was also possible that she was just offended at being woken up. The tiny raptor yawned a big yawn, stretched, and curled back up on the couch with her back facing everyone.
In the midst of everything happening, Ikuki glanced over at Mark's concept sketches on his tablet, grabbing it before he could get a chance to protest. "Oh! It this your new helmet design?" she asked, enthusiastically.
"No!" Mark took the tablet back. "Well, maybe. I don't know. It feels like it's missing something. And I feel like I need a new insignia, too. I know the X's are kind of a trademark for Hyper X, but I dunno. It seems a little excessive."
"How about this?" Ikuki drew an omega symbol on the tablet, adding an X underneath it. "There, the end of the X's." she said, as a joke.
"Actually..." Mark tapped the tablet pen on his chin, before adding two lines to the x's, on the top and bottom, making the x an hourglass. "Even if I do accept being a god, I'm still human. Time exists everywhere, it's going to keep moving, with or without me. I'm not going to be Time, I'm going to be me."
Ikuki tilted her head, trying to decipher what he was going for.
"This all ends, with me. It's the end of Time, as a personification." Mark explained. "Probably a bit of an over-explanation, so we'll just say end of time sounds cool." he shrugged.
"I like it." Ikuki smiled. "What about the helmet, then? What do you think it's missing?"
"Hmm." Mark stared at the image of the very plain-looking helmet. It looked like the previous version, just more white than black. Something about it just didn't vibe with him, and he couldn't think of what could be added.
Tiffany meanwhile, had stopped stomping around and jumped up on the couch next to her father, startling Spicy Nugget awake once more. "KITTY EARS." she declared, looking at the screen with the sketch of the helmet.
Mark looked at the helmet, contemplating his daughter's childlike suggestion, before, indeed, adding kitty ears to the top of the helmet. "You know what? That's it. Kitty ears is exactly what it needed." he smiled at her.
"You're not actually-" Ikuki didn't think he was being serious.
"The new suit helmet is going to have kitty ears." Mark said, absolutely being serious. "It's going to have the end of time insignia, and it's going to have kitty ears. It's perfect. You two have made this design perfect."
Ikuki didn't say anything else, but simply smiled at the both of them. It was a strange mish-mash of ideas and designs, but that's what made it unique. That's what made Mark unique. He didn't care that it seemed silly to anyone else, he was sentimental and that's all that mattered, and that's one of the reasons she loved him.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 16, 2023 7:15:00 GMT -6
As time went on, the boys felt more and more at home with Mark and Ikuki. They began to decorate their sides of the room. Nox, with his trinkets and books began to fill the shelving that was offered. Lux, had a series of artistic supplies and comic books. While Nox kept the room tidy, Lux was often leaving it in a disarray. This was not because he was purposely being a slob but because he really wasn’t all that organized. But regardless of their differences, the boys were finally feeling like they had a family.
Nox had been trying his best with reading his books about Alchemy and Enchantments all the while trying to hone his skills with making things grow. At one point, he accidentally over-grew a tomato plant which exploded hundreds of cherry tomatoes. He even had to give a bunch away to random people because there were just too many for them to eat.
Lux on the other hand, wondered if his negative energies were the source of his power. But as he was simply trying to live his life in a much better state, he was growing more and more concerned that he’d never be able to rediscover it. However, there was one time where he was out at a park and caught a kid bullying another. He had approached him and confronted him about the scenario. The boy mocked him for being relatively small for an eleven year old and that he would fall apart under a flick on the forehead. And that’s when Lux quickly felt the anger within him, burst and he had sent the boy flying into a bush.
But over all, Lux had been in a slightly more elevated state. He was being haunted by those dreams with the phantom voice calling out to him on occasion. But each time he felt that he got closer to her, his fears would burst up from the trenches of darkness and chase him off. This was a defeating feeling that never seemed to leave him. Would he ever discover who she was?
Without them knowing, someone continued to watch over them. Staying in the shadows. Studying them. The boys were the primary subjects as the others were often left ignored. But the figure within the darkness never made their appearance. They never moved or did anything to initiate any concern. And when the boys had a strange feeling of being watched, the figure would quickly disappear. Leaving no traces behind.
At one point, Gwen and Lionel did make their appearance but only for a short time. During their visit, Gwen had held onto her grudge and eagerly confronted Davis about it. The boys weren’t there to see it but Josephine mentioned that it was kind of amusing to see her Mother be so angry. Davis pleaded to her for forgiveness and that he wouldn’t touch another bottle again. But Gwen was...seemingly not trusting him to do it however, she gave him one more chance. If she heard about him being plastered while being in front of her kid again, she wasn’t going to allow Joe to visit.
Unfortunately, something did come up with her parents. Lionel’s Father had been hospitalized and Gwen’s brother needed her to come back home to care for her youngest two. So she and Lionel couldn’t stay too long to meet Mark and Ikuki.
Fast forward, while Mark and Ikuki were in Mark’s workshop, the boys were outside. Nox was happily reading his books while Lux and Josephine were practicing sword fighting with sticks. Every once in a while, Nox would glance up and see that the two of them were actually doing pretty good with one another.
Lux was swift at swinging his branch at Josephine. He had made several attempts of disarming her but Josephine was just a little faster at dodging. The two of them were pretending that they were a hero and a villain. Lux being the hero and Josephine being a villain.
“Stand down, Sorceress!” Lux said his part. “Let justice prevail and your cruel deeds be kept at bay!”
“Bah! You speak like an old man.” Josephine spat at him while slapping Lux on the wrist with her branch.
“But sorcerers don’t use weapons.” Nox corrected them. “Wouldn’t she be a warrior or something? Maybe a Barbarian?”
“Nox! We’re just messing around.” Lux said while rubbing his wrist. Luckily, he had gloves on so the impact of the branch didn’t hurt him. “We’re not trying to be serious.” Lux and Josephine were then greeted with an explanation of what differences a magic user and a warrior had. And that’s when Lux just turned away from his ranting brother and sighed. “Here he goes again.”
“He’s totally a Bard.” Josephine said. “They don’t stop talking.”
Lux grinned. “Yeah, but he’s my Bard.” He held out his branch again. “Don’t even think about taking away my partner!”
“You’re adorable.” Josephine said out of humor which caught Lux off guard before she threw a soft toy at him. “Attack! My minion!”
Lux played the part. He threw himself to the ground and pretended that the stuffed cat was trying to kill him. Flailing and yelling, he acted as if he was having the struggle for his life. “This thing! What is it?”
“A PLUSH.” Shouted Nox as he still was taking the whole scene too seriously.
“AH! I feel my life force being drained by it! AAAH!!! Oh fellow Bard! Help!” Lux reached out to Nox, trying to get him to be more involved.
Nox set down his book and casually walked over to him. He didn’t realize that Lux was still playing around and simply plucked the plush off of him. “...Lux, it’s a toy.”
“YOU HAVE GREAT POWERS!” Josephine continued. “How could you manage to break such a spell? What kind of Bard are you?”
Nox was confused. “...It’s a toy?”
“Nox...” Lux said out of exasperation. “We’re...playing pretend. Could you at least pretend that you’re defending me?”
“But...it’s a toy. And you’re fighting with sticks. And she’s not a sorceress. She’s a Draygar.”
Josephine placed her hands on her hips. “Nox...I’m going to attack you.” When he looked at her confused, Josephine tackled him to the ground and began to tickle him. Which in response, Nox laughed rather hard. “I am playing! Pretend! You goober!”
Lux then joined in and began to tickle his brother as well. Which made Nox flail and laugh the hardest he’s ever laughed. Tears were streaming down his face. And before any risk of his glasses being broken, Lux had plucked them off his brother’s face and set them to the side. Right before he began to tickle him once more. “Play along, you goofball!” Lux laughed.
Nox flailed and busted his gut at the tickling. He wanted them to stop but he couldn’t even manage a word. Then when he began to cough, both Josephine and Lux stopped tickling him. They wanted him to not die from laughing too hard.
Josephine helped him sit upright while the boy breathed heavily with amusement. She smiled at Lux, knowing that they had just beaten Nox at his own little game. But it was all for fun because not once did Nox complain about it. In fact, he was just sitting there, smiling ever so brightly about it all.
“Lux, I’m so glad you’re becoming you again.” Nox said while wiping away his tears. Lux had then handed him his glasses.
“Yeah...me too.” Lux said with a small smile.
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