---
Jorgio invited us to come play at his casino.
I was suspicious but he seemed like he just wanted an excuse to see Pyronica again and...that was actually really cute. Jorgio has gotten a lot better, I've been giving him pointers for being a better leader, of learning to care for the men and women in his employ. He's seen how well my Friends and I work together and I was able to teach him that care, respect and loyalty go a long way.
I still don't think he's good enough for Pyronica but he isn't a terrible partner. Of course, I sat him down and explained the particulars of her species and to my surprise, he actually just wanted to hang out with her.
"I won't say I'm not disappointed. I knew I wouldn't be able to take her as my wife anyway because I am required by the traditions of my people to marry a suitable mate from another Familia, but I don't have to do that for a few years more. I do desire Pyronica, she is one of the loveliest woman I have ever seen...both in body and mind..." He confessed to me.
"She makes me...laugh..." He admits quietly, as if he were embarrassed to say so.
"Well I'll tell her about your invitation. Do you think your men will be able to handle the lot of us?" I joke lightly.
Jorgio laughs. "They still have a fear of my flower bushes. My gardeners have taken it upon themselves to prank them by leaving plant clippings in their bedrooms."
We both laugh over it. To be fair to them, Jorgio's men HAVE gotten better. They were almost competent now.
Pyronica was all for checking out a casino. None of my friends had ever been to one before aside from Hectorgon. Kryptos was understandably unhappy with the idea of going near Jorgio again. I allowed him to stay home but I demanded fancy clothes for the occasion. Even if Kryptos wasn't going, I wanted to see him dressed up for a little 'family photo' type of thing. It wasn't difficult to create everyone's clothing, I even custom tailored them for each individual.
Pyronica DID complain her hairclip made her look way too young. I can't help it. Part of me wanted to baby them. They stood patiently while I took a bunch of photos and squealed about how beautiful they looked. Gonna hang these up in one of the hallways, we need more decorations anyway.
After debating over it in front of a mirror in the bathroom I finally decided that I shouldn't worry so much about what the universe thought.
I came out in a dress.
I got some odd looks from half my friends. Pyronica looked incredibly proud for some reason. "W-what?" I flushed and crossed my arms. "I wanted to dress up."
"Well I think you look amazing!" Pyronica grins as she comes up to coo at my dress. "Right guys?" She glares at the boys. "Bill looks great right?"
They quickly nod. "Y-you look really...nice Bill..." They say nervously. I giggle and twirl. To be honest I was a little self conscious but I wanted to feel pretty today. I brushed down my sides and blush lightly. "Well, are you guys all ready to go?"
I was surprised to hear some choking sounds coming from Kryptos. I glanced at him to see the compass turn a dark indigo color and look away. What's up with him? Ignoring that, I reached out my hands to grab everyone else, bid Kryptos farewell, reminding him that there was pre-made food in the fridge and we teleported away to Ghlop-6. Jorgio said he would give us VIP passes to go wherever we wanted.
I knew there was a fancy food area, spa area, gift shops, ballroom and theater...frankly I had no interest in actually gambling. I should warn my friends about that too. Don't want to be in debt to the mob. Even if I can make gold, it's not fun to lose money.
Our party appeared in the teleport area where I saw the lines of guests going through the security checks. It wasn't anything invasive, just checking for weapons and cheating devices (like telekinetic bracelets and such). For species who naturally had telekinetic powers, they were given colored bands that marked them as such and the staff were trained to direct them to games they cannot use their powers to cheat on.
The same goes for any telepathic guests.
This means I'm going to need multiple bands. Ugh~
I see Jorgio standing off to the side fixing his suit before spotting Pyronica and lighting up happily. "Ah! You all made it!" He looked confused for a bit. "Where is Signore Cipher?"
"I'm going by Signora today." I say as I float up to him. Jorgio double takes so hard I could hear his spine dislocate. As he groans in pain, I heal him with a flick of my fingers. He gasps at me in confusion "I...um...you..."
"Pyronica, be a dear and close his mouths before he catches mouseflies." I couldn't help grinning mischievously at the gobsmacked expression on his face. He shakes himself out of his stupor and asks the question that I could feel running around everyone's mind. "A-are you...a man or a woman?"
"Oh my dentist I can't believe he actually asked that!" Teeth whimpers. They all look a little worried about my reaction to this question. I just giggle.
"Both, actually. Everyone always assumes I'm a man and I just don't bother correcting them."
A look of understanding graces his face. "Oh~" Jorgio coughs nervously and flushes. I hear his thought of 'So THAT'S what Nonno meant when he said...oh...OH...' He makes a weird face, like he wasn't sure if he should be impressed or grossed out. I hear him mutter "How would that even WORK?! She's flat!" under his breathes.
"Well are we heading off together or do you and Pyronica want some time alone?" I tease as my friend giggles. "Bill~we're just gonna hang out." Jorgio quickly composes himself as well.
"Here are your passes." He hands out some fancy pins to all of us. I clip it onto Xanthar for him. "Just scan them at the door and go wherever you want. I can give you a tour first."
Settling into the mindset of a host, Jorgio leads us into his casino, his many guards trying desperately to hide their confusion over me and their weariness over having to keep an eye on our party.
---
As we pass by the slot machines I can't help but question "Why do the slots HAVE to give out keys?" It just feels very inefficient for use as chips. I know keys were the currency for this planet but seriously?
Jorgio shrugs. "The people on this planet refused to accept anything else. I do not understand why either. But it makes them happy so I use them. There is an exchange center near the front entrance."
I mentally warn my friends against gambling. They all nod in understanding.
There were many restaurants here that I couldn't help but slowly float closer to. I see Teeth make a beeline to the theater. Pyronica and Jorgio went off together chatting happily. Hectorgon was carefully glancing around for assassins. I assured him that his clothes had protective Curses on it. All their clothes had it actually. Reassured of his safety, Hec hopped off to flirt with some pretty alien ladies.
I say flirt but knowing Hec, he was probably trying to make some connections to high places. I don't dig into Hectorgon's personal business, there's still a lot I don't know about his past aside from his daughter. He's never spoken about a wife. I do know he has been continuing to dig up information on conspiracies within the government. He mentioned there was something he wanted to find out. I offered to help him search but he wanted to do it himself. I watched him get slapped by the woman he was speaking with. Ooh…not the smoothest with the ladies I see…
We were receiving admiring looks from the other guests due to our VIP pins. I could feel some 'hunger' and 'greed' as the people around us wondered who we were, to be honored guests of the Don himself. No one recognized me without my usual outfit and although everyone knew Bill Cipher had a 'gang', their appearances weren't common knowledge.
I maaaay~have had something to do with that~
Call me paranoid but perception filters are a MUST for keeping their identities a secret. Bad enough the Federation knows (and have wanted posters) for Pyronica, Xanthar (and Hectorgon, though his were off record). Speaking of Xanthar, his size meant there was a lot of space around him, it helped keep people further away from me in this crowd. That was good.
I was a little worried about Ammy wandering off by himself (still felt paranoid about him in public places) so I gently took his hand in mine. He glanced at me and softly squeezed my hand. I was getting better. I could touch my friends as long as I was the one initiating it.
We meandered peacefully through the lavish food court. I notice a few guests gazing at my group and a fancy looking bird-like alien swaggered up to us. If you took a peacock, turned it neon yellow and added 8 goat legs you'd end up with this dude.
"Hello sir. I couldn't help but notice you were with Don Literatura earlier. May I ask for your name?" He asks.
I was about to respond until I realized he was talking to Ammy. I stayed quiet, wondering how this was going to end up. I feel both amused and miffed that this man thought Amorphous Shape was the one in charge. I suppose I don't like being ignored.
Ammy just blinks slowly at the man before glancing at me. "I am called Amorphous Shape..." He says slowly, unsure what to say. He wasn't used to talking to strangers.
"And your lovely wife?" The bird asks.
Ammy blinks at the man in confusion. "Who?"
The bird-man glances at me. I'm trying very hard to stifle my laughter. Oh god this was really happening. "Um...your...date?" The bird says uncertainly.
"..." Ammy glances at me again. I stifle a snort of laughter. "This is my mother..." Ammy sounded mildly offended and disgusted at this stranger implying that we were 'together'.
As the bird stutters in embarrassment and tried very hard to apologize for the misunderstanding, I turn to bury my face in Xanthar's side to muffle my giggles. Xanthar was staying near me like some giant bodyguard. It was a good look for him.
I kept laughing as the bird-man (species-Flappity, Bird/goat-like creatures with feathers that were so vibrant in color they glowed in the dark, the Federation uses their molted feathers to make highlighter markers) finally composed himself. "You look amazingly young for a mother ma'am." He tries to flatter me.
"Cute try Chechrip but I think you should stop while you're ahead." I tut at him. He poofs his feathers out in surprise. "H-how did you know my name?"
I hold my hand out with a wide grin. "Hi. Name's Bill Cipher. Nice to meet you. How's the family? Oh wait, they all died from mysterious horrid accidents. My condolences, it's a good thing you coincidentally got the whole inheritance though."
I cackled at the horrified look on his face. It's been a while since I've purposely messed with someone like this. I kinda missed it. Haven't really been summoned much lately. I only got 23 Deals in the last hundred years. I wonder if I should do something about that? Make a commercial? Promote my services?
As I was lost in my own thoughts, Chechrip made a hasty escape. I huff as he flutters away. "Rude."
"Indeed." Ammy said plainly. Still holding hands while Xanthar followed behind us, we went to the buffet to see what food there was. The restaurants cost money but the buffet was free entry to VIPs. Ammy looks at me fondly as I grabbed a plate. "You really enjoy food a lot."
I shrugged. I was actually a picky eater as a child. I fussed at lot and sometimes just straight up refused to eat. During the time mom and I didn't have a place to live, she would sometimes leave me with an old couple while she was job/house searching. The old man and woman weren't related to us in any way but they agreed to let mom and I live with them until we found a place to live. The old woman once got frustrated when I refused to eat, pulled out a kitchen knife and waved it at me until I finished all my food.
I shook off the memories and grinned at Ammy. "I just like food I guess."
---
"What I'm saying is that if a client asks for eternal youth~and doesn't actually specify what they mean...it's not WRONG for me to trap them in a never ending time loop right?"
I take another sip of the Appletini.
The other casino guests around us fidget nervously. I sigh and lean back in the cushy seat. After trying one of everything (I'm not going to eat ALL the food, it would be rude to the other guests) at the buffet (they had solid bars of Tungsten! Soft serve Pitch! Those tiny little hotdog-things with tooth picks!) Ammy, Xanthar and I went to check out the dance club. There was a bar there and of course I wanted to try something. I made sure to drink slowly and restricted myself to only one drink for the night.
At some point I'd started socializing with the other guests near us. They wanted to leave but Xanthar's huge body was blocking the booth we were at so they were forced to sit, nod and smile as I chatted cheerfully with them. They were pretty young, just a group of teenagers who were obviously using faked ID's to get drinks.
Ammy watched the interaction in awe. He always found the way I could easily talk with strangers so comfortably to be amazing. I wouldn't say Ammy is shy, far from it, but he never knows what to say to people. I wonder if I should try enrolling him in school? That's where most children learn social skills after all.
As I pondered whether or not I should send Ammy to public school, Ammy was feeding Xanthar some fruit juice. The big guy was still on his diet. He sometimes gives me sad little looks and gets a cup of syrup but I'm not budging otherwise.
"Look...miss...as much as we...love your stories, can we please leave?" One of the teens asked with forced patience. "We're...running low on funds and we need to get to the bank." One of his friends gives him a smack on the arm.
"Pfffssh~drinks on me~" I giggle.
The only girl in the group leans over to Ammy and whispers. "Can you please get your girlfriend to let us go?"
Ammy frowns. "That's not my girlfriend. That's my parent."
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" She flushes. "I just assumed..."
"Dang. She doesn't look old enough to have a son." One guy mutters under his breath.
"How would you even know what old age looks like on her species?" His friend whispers back.
"She's got some fine ass hips tho."
"Ew. You're disgusting man."
"Hey! I wanna go dance~who's with me?" I sway slightly and Ammy wordlessly holds out his hand. I take it and my son gently guides me to the dance floor. "You're not drinking Ammy?" I ask him as we float above the other dancers.
The lights were flashing and the music blasts on. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was one of Jan's songs. I know I put all my songs up on ThemTube for anyone to download but I wasn't expecting to hear it here. It was nice.
Ammy looks at me calmly, his hand in mine as I pulled him along for a dance. "I have to stay sober. It's just me and Xanthar here with you right now. We have to make sure you stay safe."
I blink, feeling oddly touched. "You know I'm not even drunk yet? I've been taking it slow." Ammy nods. "I know. It doesn't mean I can't worry."
"Oh Ammy..." I feel myself tearing up and pull him in for a gentle hug. Xanthar pushes his way past dancers so he could stand near us, big as he was, he was still face-height to the two of us. He flexes his bread face at me and I give him a hug too. "You too huh Xan-Xan?" They both hold still, not moving a muscle so that I could hold them on my own terms. I can do this. They're my friends. They're safe.
I spot the group of teens hurriedly escape from the booth and stumble out of the dance club. "Hm..." I keep watch on them through a tiny triangle symbol I'd planted on their shoes while they were distracted by my story.
"Are those kids the target for our next heist?" Ammy asks. I continue dancing with him, the loud music easily hiding our conversation. "You noticed huh?" I was impressed.
Ammy shrugs. "I've literally known you my whole life."
I laugh proudly. "Yeah. Those kids are planning to rob the bank next door." Building a bank just across the street from the casino was either a brilliant move or a stupid one.
"Are we stopping them?"
"Well~if it were a Federation bank I wouldn't bother. But this is a privately owned one that carries the currency of this planet's native people so..."
"Should we get the others?" Ammy twirled me in that way he's seen in some of the movies I've shown him. I tense for a second before relaxing.
"Naw. This should be simple enough." I giggle as Ammy carefully dips me. He was pretty good at this. Xanthar wasn't bad either, though his dancing has caused everyone to clear a lot of space around us. "Do you want code names for this little mini-heist?"
"Hell yes." Ammy squints his many eyes into a smirk. Xanthar's emotions were 'mischievous' and 'eagerness'.
I'm so proud of my sons.
---
"KoolAid to Snapple, what's the situation with the targets?"
"Snapple to KoolAid, you need to say 'over' when you end transmission -over."
"KoolAid to Snapple, affirmative, never mind about the targets, they are now in sight...over."
"Capri Sun is in position. I will be heading in for a closer look- over."
I turn invisible and float closer to the group of kids adjusting their all black clothes and masks. They seemed agitated, like they were waiting for someone.
"Man, where the Ground is that brat?!" One guy, a Tangean Royal, that surprised me when I first saw him, those arrogant shit heads don't normally leave their home planet. Much less hang out in a group with other races to plan a bank heist. Though, to be fair, I suppose he would be good at it due to his race's natural ability to 'ghost' through solid objects.
"Can't we just GO already? We already lost so much time because of that weird lady who wouldn't stop talking to us." A rather buff Tarkan growls.
"Look, even if Orb can get us in through the walls, he can't do that AND get the money at the same time. That's why we need that kid for his lockpicking skills." The girl, a thin, noodle-like one eyed alien with an antenna on her head (I believe they're called...Ropians?) explains. "Besides, we don't wanna get caught you know?"
Orb, the Tangean, groans "It's not that I can't ghost all of you, it's that it's annoying! I could totally do it!"
"Suuure~" Lolph, the Tarkan sneers.
As the two young men look like they're about to start arguing there's the sound of feet hurriedly running up. "I'm sorry I'm late guys!" I see a native to this planet. A small teal skinned Lockin that was panting and wheezing. He looked familiar somehow.
"Keyhole you lazy fuck! Where the Rain have you been?! You're not even fully dressed yet! Where's your mask?" Lolph sneers.
"Lay off guys. You know how short his legs are. Dang kid has probably been trying to get here all day." The Ropian girl (quick scan for a name...Gregory) scolds the others. The wheezing Lockin kid slumps over.
I'm just staring at Keyhole. Bank robbery? Seriously?
---
I head back to Ammy and Xanthar to fill them in with what I've learned. Of course I don't mention that Keyhole was 'destined' to be our new friend. Once again, just because it was in Canon didn't mean it would happen here. Also...
Bank robbery? Seriously?!
I shouldn't be surprised. I really shouldn't.
From what I could surface-scan off these kids, they weren't in need of money. They were just a bunch of bored teenagers looking for a thrill. Bored and stupid teenagers. The responsible adult part of myself was outraged. The chaotic part of myself was offended. Sure I've raided stores before but I always left SOMETHING of monetary value behind to pay for the stuff I took. Even when I steal stuff from stores I can't help but want to pay for it. My conscience made me feel terrible if I didn't. The only time I'm ok with taking stuff is if I'm robbing some asshole who needs his comeuppance.
Since their parents obviously weren't disciplining them properly, I felt I should step in. Scaring idiots into being better people was quite cathartic. I had several ideas in mind of what I should do to them.
Keyhole though...was a different story.
He was against the idea but went along with it because he wanted his friends to like him. I could tell straight out that the others only kept Keyhole around for his skills. They weren't his friends. They were using him. It made me so angry to see it happening.
"So what's the plan Snapple?" Ammy asks as we float invisibly above the group of teens. Xanthar was wiggling his legs around, swimming in midair and very much enjoying himself. It was distractingly adorable.
"Well..." I tell him of my plan and the Amorphous Shape laughs. "Well that seems like an an appropriate response."
---
They managed to sneak into the bank undetected. Orb, the Tangean, managed to get them all inside. Lolph, the Tarkan, fired a steady laser to melt and seal a few doors shut so that security wouldn't be able to get to them even if they get discovered. Gregory, the Ropian, was straining her antenna up to scramble with the cameras.
Keyhole was shuffling along nervously. He was twitchy and staring worriedly at everything. Lolph sneers at him. "Dude, what chu' so scared for? We got this."
"Lay off him ya bulge head." Gregory snaps. "If he wants to watch for danger, let him. It's better than blindly thinkin' you're safe."
Keyhole smiles at her. "Thanks Greg."
"Shut up. Quit distracting me." She snaps at him. The Lockin flinched and shrank back. Orb laughs mockingly. "Great idea. In fact, you should just keep your mouth shut for the rest of tonight. Saves us from hearing your stupid voice."
"But..." Keyhole whimpers.
"What'd he just say?! Huh?! Shut dat mouth o' yours." Lolph sneers. "Lock it and throw away the key."
Keyhole clamps his mouth shut and follows meekly.
"Oi. Time to remind us why we keep you around." Lolph laughs at they approach a thick locked door. Orb mutters that he could totally ghost everyone through as Keyhole nervously stumbled up to the locks. He pulls some tools out of the belt slung around his shoulders and takes a deep breath.
As he exhaled it's like seeing a transformation. The tension leaves his posture, he's confident, calm and collected. Keyhole fiddles with the lock and it clicks open near instantly. Not pausing, he works his way down all the various locks. They all fall open within a few seconds and finally he twirls his lockpick and puts it back in his belt. As he pushes the door open it seemed as if the spell has broken. He shrinks back on himself nervously again. "U-um. Ta-da?"
His 'friends' brush past him without even a thanks and the kid slumps sadly before following behind them. He brushes a hand along his tool belt before gripping it. His expression is strained.
"Look at all these keys!" Orb cheers as he begins running his hands through them. "If we get these exchanged into real money we're rich!"
"This IS real money..." Keyhole says quietly.
"What did we say about talking? Keep yer mouth shut!" Lolph growls as he opens a large sack and begins shoveling keys into it. They all clink as they hit against each other. "Hurry up! They're starting to notice something's wrong." Gregory hisses. There are sounds of footsteps, muffled voices and the group of thieves book it. Keyhole lagging behind as he tries desperately to keep up with them.
The bag with the stolen goods clinked noisily with each step. The contents jostled by the movement. When they escaped the building Keyhole made a strange expression at the bag. He was exhausted but still attempting to speak through his pants.
"Guys...I think -hah- something is wrong..." He gasps.
"Yeah these things are heavy." Lolph groans as he hefts up the bag. They clink again. Keyhole looks upset.
"Those -hah- aren't keys!" He gasps.
"The ground is that supposed to mean?!" Orb scoffs. "You saw them when we grabbed them."
"No, something's wrong! They changed!" Keyhole protests.
"Guys, less talk more run!" Gregory hisses.
"But-"
"Shut the fuck up Keyhole." Lolph snarls as the group takes off running again. The bag continues to clink. Keyhole looks distressed.
---
"We're not stopping them?" Ammy asks as we floated along unseen and unheard behind the group.
"I wanna know where they plan to go. Also the looks on their faces when they open the bag."
Xanthar was having too much fun swimming through the air. He waved his arms and legs in delight. It was too cute. I kept the image saved into a bubble for later. I can look at that whenever I'm sad.
Ammy was gazing at Keyhole. "That one there. He shouldn't be here. He isn't like the others."
"How so?" I ask, just to see how Ammy saw the situation. The Amorphous Shape 'hm'ed in thought. "It doesn't feel like he belongs." Was the conclusion he came to.
I nod. "I feel the same way."
"..." Ammy looks deep in thought. "I don't like the way they treat him. Isn't he their friend? They don't act like it."
"Some people are just assholes. They use the word friend without even understanding what it means." I growl.
We follow them back to their vehicle. This was the first time Ammy's seen a car-like machine in person. I have never gone near them. Hover-cars were tolerable but I absolutely refused to go anywhere near a death trap that sat on wheels.
Despite Teeth pleading for a car.
As Ammy gazed at the vehicle with interest, I pulled on Xanthar's leg to make sure he didn't swim away. We followed the kids back to a rather nice hotel a few blocks away. Figures. I did catch a thought from Orb about how his parents wouldn't be back for hours, they were busy playing at the casino.
As the kids settled down in his hotel room I get more background. Orb's parents moved here for work related reasons a few years ago. Their son was enrolled into the local educational establishment where he met and fell in with 'the wrong crowd'. I call bullshit. Orb wasn't the nicest kid to begin with.
Lolph had anger issues. The fact that his species shoots lasers didn't endear him much to the other kids. He and Orb got off on pushing around others.
Gregory was the middle child who caused trouble to try and get her parent's attention. A classic case but nonetheless a sad one.
Keyhole's parents died in a workplace accident. He was currently living with an uncle who was always busy. In order to not be bullied by Orb's 'gang' he decided to join them. Not that being their 'friend' was very different from being their 'victim'.
As I finished scanning any relevant info I needed, I came to my conclusion.
Troubled kids who need help.
My pity for them won't stop what was coming though. They still need to be punished or else they wouldn't learn. It's not like their families were any help in that regard. Also, the bag of 'keys'.
Speaking of which...
"Come on, lets see how much we got. We can split it by who did the most work." Lolph says eagerly as he fumbles with the opening and pours it out. They were expecting a finite amount of keys.
They were not expecting the seemingly unending downpour of fondue forks.
"Aaaaahhhh!!!"
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!"
"MMPPPHH!!!"
I watched them get buried under the stream of tumbling forks. All that can be seen of Lolph was one arm clawing desperately from under the pile. Orb had ghosted in an attempt to escape but ended up falling through the floor. Gregory was scrambling at the walls, screaming.
Keyhole was standing on the bed frame, back against the wall and staring in shock. The bag continues to spew out fondue forks. The metal utensils clinking menacingly. "Gaaaah!!!" Lolph bursts out from the pile, gasping for air and trying to swim out from the wave of metal. "They're stabbing meee!!!"
"Aaaah!! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!!!!" Gregory wails as her squishy legs are quickly buried beneath the ever growing pile of forks.
Keyhole, relatively safe on the bed, just continues to gap at the bag. "I TOLD you something was wrong!!!"
"Where's Orb?!" Lolph heaves his arms and tries shooting the forks with his laser but that only made things worse as now he was being stabbed AND burnt by hot metal.
"That FUCKING ASSHOLE ditched us!" Gregory shrieks.
Ammy was laughing beside me. I wonder if I should step in before someone gets seriously hurt. The bag continues to vomit forks. The floor begins to creak. I do a quick check of the room below. Empty aside from Orb staring up and looking horrified at the sounds of clinking metal loud enough to be heard on the next floor down.
The floor creaks some more as Lolph struggles. I frown. Maybe I should stop...
There's a thunderous crashing and the floor gives way, the 3 ton shower of pointy metal raining down in a waterfall of hard steel to the room below. Ammy, Xanthar and I watch in numb shock as the torrent crashes through the floor of THAT room as well. And the one after it. And the one after that.
Each successive floor brings down more beds and splintered wood as the metal sounds out like a cacophony of clattering steel. I wince with each floor that gives way. Luckily I'd quickly bubbled the kids and any other living creatures in the merciless path of the steel rain.
They fall through into the lobby, setting off horrified screams. The path of destruction grounds to a halt in the basement, having nowhere else to go. As the dust settles, a few forks tumble down with jarringly innocent clinking sounds.
There was absolute silence in the aftermath.
I turn to Ammy. He's staring at the destruction in horrified awe.
"I can fix this." I sighed.
---