Chapter -19: Of Stones and Sticks
Dnalevelc Park
"Siiigh, what will I do to impress my lovely Lorac this time." Nosam thought aloud with a dreamy face, pulling Aliehs along as they walked down the sidewalk. "Perhaps I will serve her a plate of the finest fruits and veggies, or delight her with a glass of fresh spring water."
"Why're you takin' me, I don' wanna watch you do stuff…" Aliehs mumbled.
"And I do not want to be with you, but alas, Arorua's orders are Rora's orders. Which generally mean nothing, but 'ey. I will show kindness like Lorac's to win her heart!"
"Mmmmff…"
"-Oh?" Nosam stopped, viewing something strange when they reached the park. "…Aliehs, what is that?" It was a mysterious double-door with forest designs. When they both stepped a little closer, the door opened like an elevator, exposing a swirling green vortex. "Aliehs… do you know what this is?"
"Beats me…"
"It is the answer to my problem! Surely, within this swirling wonder, I will find the perfect gift to give to my sweet Lorac! It will be the present to make her understand, we are soul mates, bounded by love and fate. OHHHHH I CANNOT WAIT TO GET IN THERE AND SEE WHAT IT IS!" Fast as lightning, Nosam pulled Aliehs into the strange portal.
From behind some tiny pebbles, a group of mischievous Minish kids snickered evilly and high-fived. "Stupid humans! Okay, let's go put the beehive in that other kid's teddybear…" They snuck away to let their prank play out.
Dnalhsa, West Ainigriv
Two 5-year-old girls sat politely at a park table, leisurely drinking tea. They were near identical cousins, one had blonde hair, the other had brown hair. But what really made them stand out were their cat ears and tails. They were approached by a brown-haired girl in a red shirt, and horizontal blue stripe through its middle. "Hi, Calil. Hi, Yrreb. What're you guys doing today?" Yddam asked with a modest expression.
"Having tea, SMARTY-PANTS." Calil remarked.
"Don't be rude, Cal." Yrreb told her.
"That's cool. But wouldn't you like… I dunno, running around and playing tag? You are werecats."
"Only 'cause our moms were stupid." Calil stated.
"What she means is, we don't wanna get too into it, we might start behaving like animals. I wouldn't wanna eat poor little bugs by accident." Yrreb frowned.
"You two should explore your animal instincts more! You're lucky to be born with cool powers, you should be happy about them." Yddam smiled.
"Eh… I dunno…"
"YO YO LADEEEES! Gome 'ere and see my NEW AAAABS!" a boy's voice called across the park.
"Uck… it's Trepur." Calil hissed.
"Let's go, Cal." The girls grabbed their teapots and walked away slowly.
Yddam was about to walk away 'til she bumped into some- "DON'T HURT ME!" Both exclaimed, shuddering with fear. When they saw who it was, they blushed and laughed embarrassedly.
"Oh, it's um… it's you, Sirhc." Yddam grinned.
"Hehe. Hi, Yddam." Sirhc said goofily. "I thought you were… someone else."
"Hehe. Me too."
"… … …"
"So, um, what's the haps?" she asked.
"Um, just… nothing. Nerehc got caught for trying to frame his Positive yesterday. Glad that's over. …"
"Hey, Sirhc… do you ever worry about our Positives? If we die the same time as they do, w-what if something happens to them?"
"Well, um, I think both of our deaths are by chance. I think if like, um if my Positive walked off a cliff, I would get hit by a car, o-or something. It's just, b-based on coincidence, you know?"
"That sounds scary…"
"W-Well, as long as we stay in our world, I think it's usually safest."
"That's good… Sigh. I wonder what my Positive is like. I bet she's got really cool superpowers. A-And she's really tough."
"I'd be a little worried of meeting her… she might be pretty scary." Sirhc whimpered. "Not like you, Yddam. You're the only one that gets me." He smiled weakly.
"Gee. Thank you, Sirhc." Weak smile. "I'd really like to-"
"HEY HEEEEEY!" Trepur Noskcid popped up from between and wrapped arms around them. "WASSUP, chumpettes? Havin' one of your pansy chats?"
"W-Whaddyou want, Trepur?!" Sirhc exclaimed.
"I couldn't help but overhear, you big kids are a couple-o wimps, and I was reminded of someone ELSE who was like that. Right, Daaaaaad?"
His father, Dahc Noskcid, sat in the car as he trembled. "Y-Y-Yes, S-Son…"
"Yeah, my dad is a sissy, but that don' mean I can't bump YOU guys into shape. Which is why I've rented an old classic movie called Nalum."
"But I HATE Naluuum!" whined Yddam.
"TOO BAD!" Trepur tossed them some mops and pulled out a boombox. "The song/dance is on!" He switched it on and began to sing. "LET'S get down to busi-NESS! To please… your meeen!" The two were forced to mop the park grounds. "DID they send me SONS now… When I asked… for womeeeen! You're the happiest bunch I never knew. But prob'ly so: after we're through… Missus, I'll… make a LADY… outta YOOOUU!"
At the laundry mat, Yddam and Sirhc were collecting a lot of peoples' laundry and throwing them in washers. "VIOLENT as an OCEAN… 'Til it fin…ally cooools. ONCE you find your OUT, SIDE… No doubt… you'll looooose!"
The two were then annoyedly fixing diapers on babies. "You've got guts—a colorful, envious lot, And clearly you got many a cluuuue. This way I'LL… make a LADY… out of YOOOOUU!"
And so, the duo performed a series of chores as the chorus sang.
"(Be a LADY) Must be stiff as the standing mountain." They drove to the store to grab loads of groceries. "(A LADY!) The gentleness of the calmest breeze." They wore aprons and cooked food in the kitchen. "(A LADY!) All the weakness of the flickering candle." Vacuuming in the living room. As opeeeen aaaas the brightneeeess oooof THE SUUUUUUN!" And so, they passed out on bed, tired and worn.
"Ummmm… Trepur?" Sirhc spoke.
"Yeeeees?"
"WHAT DID THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!" His outburst blew Trepur away.
"What? Women are tough. And that's just what they do." He smirked. "So by whipping you ladies into shape like them, you'll have bulging muscles in no-" The mop bucket was suddenly shoved over his head.
"There you are, Yddam." Her brother, Hcaz stated. He wore a yellow shirt with a brown stripe, had smooth black hair, and green eyes behind glasses. "I thought you were talking to those catgirls again. Come on, let's ditch this creep. You can come too, Sirhc."
He took Yddam's hand and led her away, with Sirhc frightfully joining. Trepur just stood with the bucket over his head. "So, this is why the movie didn't sell well. Well, guess I'll just listen to Molten." He pushed the boombox again.
"LEAVE IT IIIIIIN, Leave it iiiiin. Just come here and open the doooooor."
Down the sidewalk
"So what were you two doin' with Trepur again?" Hcaz asked.
"Well, h-he just showed up outta nowhere, and um, started teaching us how to do woman stuff."
"If you were gonna go out on your own anyway, I would expect you to handle yourself. I keep telling you, if someone's bullying you, it's below the belt, can't you ever remember that?"
"Y-You keep talking about all these ways to fight, I can't remember them all!! Why couldn't I have superpowers like everyone else…"
"'Cause I don't want you associating with those creeps." Hcaz jabbed a finger scoldingly. "When they aren't acting like snobs, they're acting like idiots. I don't wanna be related to anyone like that."
"You don't like me ANYWAY, Hcaz! You NEVER help me!"
"I saved you from Musclebod, but that's a once-a-moon generosity. I'm not giving you any sympathy, if you wanna succeed in this world, you have to do things on your own. And I'd keep an eye on Sirhc in that sense too, never know when he's gonna break." Sirhc gulped in fright. "Anyway, Mr. Yllej's captured a bunch of kids to test his cavitifyer, so Nerehc called me to go beat him up. Later, Sis." With that, he let them be.
"Stupid brother." Yddam huffed as they kept walking. "He's just a big dumb jerk."
"It's okay, Yddam." Sirhc smiled. "I would help you with a problem, but, well, I don't think I have the strength."
"Hmm… I guess you don't. Too bad you couldn't have your brother's powers. I don't even see how I got in DNK. What worth do I have next to those benders and metahumans? Why isn't the DNK run by them more than us… normals?"
"I-I guess it's along the lines of… a diversity thing. You know, having all sorts of different types makes us unique. That's one thing you have to admire about-" In that brief second, he fell through a hole in the sidewalk.
"SIRRRHC!" Yddam found the sewer lid was removed from its place, and Sirhc fell in its trap.
She climbed down the ladder and saw her friend flowing fast down the rapid water. "AAAAHH! YDDAM! HELP! HELP! I CAN'T SWIM! The shape and structure of water always scared me as a child, so I never took lessons!! PLEASE SAVE MEEEEE!"
"B-B-But you're going too fast, how'm I supposed to-"
"You can do it, Ydd!" Trepur told her from above. "Just remember: just stop walking, just stop walking, just stop walking, walking, walking, what, are ya s'posed to do heeeere, obviously it isn't WAAAALK!" He sang and danced.
As rare as she thought it would happen, Yddam felt a strange surge of courage and determination. "I'm coming, Sirhc!" She dove headfirst in the filthy river and swam after Sirhc with great speed. Several oil drums and huge trash pieces impeded her progress, but she either dodged underneath or leaped over, swimming as nimbly as a mermaid. Unfortunately, her friend was drawing closer to a waterfall, and was just seconds from plummeting to the bottom.
"AAAAAHHH! HURRY, YDDAAAAMM!"
She couldn't brush her arms any faster, but Sirhc was already over the edge. "NO!" She dove underneath and spun like a torpedo, shooting down the falls like a drill through the ground. When Sirhc was seconds from hitting the bottom, Yddam clutched his hand tight and propelled the two of them out of the falls, kicked off the parallel wall, and back inside the fall as she Torpedo Spun her way back up. She flew several feet above the river once she made it, and pulled Sirhc along 'til they got back to safe land.
Posiverse
Chris Uno was walking casually down the sidewalk, passing a fire hydrant when- "WAAAAH!" he slipped on a banana peel, flew up in the air, and plopped on the ground, his head missing the hydrant by a few inches. He looked with fright at how shiny and pointy it was. "Hu… that coulda ended badly."
Negaverse
"Huff, huff… you saved my life, Yddam!" Sirhc grinned, heart still racing. "You were amazing!"
"Hehehe… thank you, Sirhc." She blushed. "It was no big deal."
"No big deal?! I'd almost say you were a MERMAID if not for those legs! I don't think I mentioned this, but, I've always had a thing for mermaids. They're just sooooooo pretty." He said with googly eyes.
"Mermaids are nice, but I prefer to be-" Trepur began before playing his stereo "Above the sky! ABOVE THE SKY! Up where it's cooler, up where it's bluer, take it from HE!"
They eye-rolled. "Hehe…really, it was nothing. I like to swim, but, anyone can do it. Why should I gloat about it?"
"Because, Yddam, it's your special talent." Sirhc took her hands and looked with warming eyes. "Even if it's a skill anyone else can do, it's a talent you were born with. And, well… I like you much better this way than with some scary power. You shouldn't idolize them so much."
"But… Sirhc… don't you ever wish you had Nerehc's powers?"
"No way! I might accidentally shock myself, or set my bed on fire, and what if I get stuck in a Dark Portal?? Huhuhuhuhuhu! It's too scary to think about."
"I didn't think of it that way. But still… having a little power wouldn't hurt. I probably won't go for it, anyway…"
"Heh, at least we aren't as weak as Ahcom in Sector W7." Sirhc laughed as they climbed out of the sewer.
"Heh heh heh. Yeah, what a wimp."
Negative Sector W7 Treehouse
"Mmmmm, mmmm, mmmmmm!" Ahcom, the very short, feeble girl from -W7, couldn't for the life of her pick up this Aknow Bar. "Why is this so HEEEAAVYYYYY?"
Dnalevelc Park
After successfully breaking into a bank, Lorac was on her way to give her spoils to anyone but her. She dreaded encountering her sneaky little stalker again, but at least he was easy to ditch. She watched as a little brown puppy scampered up from ahead, panting happily and licking Lorac around the legs. "Uck, get! Go away!" she yelled, trying to kick him. As kind as she was, she just wasn't an animal person, and was always annoyed when they drew a liking to her. "Stupid dog! …?" But when the puppy sat and panted with a smile, she noticed a couple strange dots on its little black nose. She loomed closer and squinted her eyes. The left dot was too dark to make out, but the right one had distinctly noticeable, big heart eyes.
"AAAAAHHH! AT LAST, MY DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE, FOR MY LOVELY LORAC HAS GROWN GIGANTIIIC!" screamed the tiny, ant-size Nosam, his gloomy companion Aliehs seated beside him. "AT LAST, I WILL NOW PLEASE YOU ON A MUCH GRANDER SCALE, MY LUSCIOUS BEAUTY OF PERFECTIOOOON!"
"Please crush him…" said Aliehs glumly.
"…" With a furrowed face, Lorac flicked the bitesize stalker right off the dog's nose.
"YOUR STRENGTH IS INCREDULOUS, MY LOVELY-" he screamed before crashing.