Chapter 123: Some Time to Rest

Summary:

Just relaxation

Hunter laid on the floor of the basement. "Man … having one free day a week feels weird." His entire body felt twitchy from the lack of work. "How do you cope with it Gus? Having all this freedom and time on your hands?"

"I mostly just experiment with illusions." The kid said, working on a clone of Hunter-wow that was horribly ironic. "Kinda like how one makes a sculpture or painting."

"I see…I guess I could work on sewing a little better." He took out the shirt he was working on, the one with a wolf etched into it. So majestic … "Did you ever find a sewing kit when we looked down here last time?"

"Oh yeah, I found this machine that's actually supposed to do the knitting automatically, so you don't have to worry about it entwining into your fingers." Gus handed him something that looked like one of those mixer things in the kitchen, except with a needle instead of a whisk.

"Great….how do you use it?"

"No idea. Just found it in the back closet a while ago."

"Hmm,c an't be that hard." He placed it down, staring at the needle. "… Sew me a shirt!" Hunter commanded the object.

It didn't give a response. "Luz and Camila speak Spanish too. Maybe try another language?" Gus suggested.

"Haven't actually picked up on spanish really, and I doubt it would understand goblin language…"

"Chirp." Flapjack pointed to a bunch of things on the side.

"Right. Switches! Good work little guy." He looked it over, noting a red one. "Nice. Keep forgetting voice command isn't really a thing here." He flipped it….and nothing happened. "Huh?" He flipped it again. "What the heck is going on here?

"Maybe there's something wrong with the insides." Gus muttered as he also looked it over, pressing buttons that did nothing.

"Why can't this place have a few taser beatles laying around? Maybe that would jumpstart it." Hunter tries moving his head under to see if an issue was inside of it. 

"Oh, here we go, it's not plugged in, like the tv." Gus responded as a click was heard-

BRRRRR

And now a needle pierced his cheek in a rapidly repeating fashion. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! Oh titan there's so much blood!"

The needle eventually stopped, as Hunter slowly moved his face out from under it, tasting blood. "Oes it … ook ad?"

"Ah…..let's just say if you choose to be a zombie for halloween … you can naturally pull off the look?"

Hunter groaned, pulling off a piece of his shirt and wrapping it around his mouth to stop the bleeding as best as he could. "Chirp." Flapjack nuzzled the best he could.

"So so, so, so, SO very sorry about that, it was an accident I swear!"

"Ish find, jus goh tuh walk ig off until I can geg healed." He laid down on the cough. "You know when Clawthord ish?"

"Pretty sure Lucci's with Spinel on the beach at the moment, so it'll take a minute to get him here." Yeah, not touching that combination with a ten foot pole. "Until then….why don't sit back, relax….oooh, and enjoy something else I found in the back of the closet!"

"Ish it going to mage me bleed?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it's an old book I found deep in the closet" The boy said, pulling out a book with a strange cover. "Cosmic Frontier!"

"Omic onier?" Hunter asked the best he could.

"It is about this group of explorers, traveling space and going to new worlds to help spread peace and unity, while also fighting against tyrannical overlords! It's a whole saga of books that spans across generations!"

So their lives, but in space, and firmly orderly … that sounded amazing! Hunter nodded with a smile, it was becoming painful to talk too much. 

"I knew you would love it. There's so many twists and turns, character motivation, hidden depth, deep philosophical questions that make you question your existence…" Hunter raised an eyebrow at the last one. "...You know, if that's how you want to read into it. You can just have a really good time and enjoy an adventure without risking your life for once."

That was definitely a boon. Hunter opened up the book once it was handed over, reading the contents. Maybe he could learn to enjoy his day's off.

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Vee was a fair type of gal. She loved giving everyone a chance and enjoyed dabbling in just about everything. She loved having new experiences, so there was very little she could say she actually disliked. Fandoms were definitely on that short list though, because while she believed that people were entitled to have their own opinion, she would've preferred it if they kept that opinion to themselves, instead of feeling the need to get into a war over their preferences, such as today.

"I can't believe this!" Amity shouted. "You dare claim that this trash is better than Azura? It's about a woman and her bird falling in love while chasing a guy with a lot of eyes!" Vee and Luz, knowing Connie and Amity were on the…tense side… so to speak, decided to mend that bridge by suggesting a book club…..biggest mistake of their lives.

"Are you kidding me!? The bond between a person and their familiar is, I'd say, more sacred than what you have with your palisman if I heard the arguing right!" As you could see, once Amity experienced Unfamiliar Familiar itself … things quickly spiraled.

"Oh you don't get to say that, four eyes! One, you don't have and you never will, two, it's mutual respect, and three, this crap is practically saying you should fall in love with what's essentially your pet! Don't act like you're an expert on anything magical!" Amity growled. "Not like you ever could be. One minute on the Boiling isles and you'd be griffon food!"

"Oh please, I beat Luz in swordplay any day of the week. I could last a week in the Boiling Isles no problem!" Connie shouted. "And besides, with everything you guys say about there and witches in general, I'm surprised you're not offended by how terribly portrayed Azura is as a witch."

"It's far more accurate than the garbage you like to peddle!"

"How!? The only thing the series has going for it is the artwork! Everything else is flowery pandering that far too often simplifies the situation of grim circumstances!"

"You want to talk about pandering!? The last unfamiliar familiar book ends with a wedding with ten pages describing a cake!"

"It's better than Azura bringing Hectatine back to life through the power of love!"

"That was the division of a lifespan and you know it!"

"I'm sorry for this." Vee muttered.

"It's cool, I was gonna say the same thing." Luz nodded.

"Should we break it up?" She asked.

"Amity's not one to back down easily, I'll wait until she tires down a bit more first." The girl sighed. "What about you, any strong feelings?"

"I actually only recently got into the fantasy genre, you know, trying to separate myself from the Boiling Isles." She explained. "I'm more into sugary sweet shows without bittersweet endings, and stuff where all villains are redeemable … or aren't villains to begin with."

"I can get that. Sometimes fluff is all you need. But I occasionally want something a little superversive, something that takes you by surprise."

"Yeah, that's what got me into Lonely Blade." Vee nodded. "You're pretty nice, I'm surprised we didn't meet up before you left for the Boiling Isles."

"Yeah, pretty weird we never did. Then again I never noticed there was a temple at the edge of the beach either, so who knows what was going on there." Luz shrugged. "Okay, the sword and abomination fists have been brought out, now we stop them."

"Take back your disgraceful words, and I won't give you a disgraceful defeat!" Amity screamed.

"Stand back now and you might not dishonor your family name!"

"Too late for that, my family name has NO honor!"

"Girls girls, you're both pretty." Luz said as she wrapped her arms around Amity. "Let's take a breather before we go into something everyone is going to regret."

"Put down the sword, Connie, this isn't worth it." Vee calmly petted the girl's head. The two continued to glared at each other for a few tense moments, before slowly lowering their hands, much to Vee's relief. "There, was that so hard?"

" Yes." The two of them growled at the same time.

"Why can't fandoms get along?" Vee asked. "Crossovers are a thing, right?"

"You know how rare it is for there to be official crossovers, there's too many rights involved for there to be something like that. The best people can hope for is creating thoroughly thought out fanfiction." Luz sighed.

"Is there any decent fan fiction between the two?" She asked.

"… I highly doubt it given the clashing magical systems …" Luz looked thoughtful. "Although maybe I could give it a try with my account."

"Good luck Luz. You're going to have to pull a miracle to make something as boring as Unfamiliar Familiar anything worthwhile." Amity sighed.

"You really think the insanity of Azura could take place in any readable setting?" Connie questioned.

"Talk like that anymore and I'll make sure your face doesn't have a readable setting!"

"That doesn't even make any sense!"

"Neither will your face once I'm done with it!"

"Annnd they're back." Vee sighed. "Seriously, can't you two get along?"

"No!" Amity shouted. "She has terrible taste in books and hates Luz!"

"We buried that hatchet! Besides, Boscha hates Luz!" Connie countered. 

"Nobody but Lucci cares about what Boscha thinks, and Lucci certainly doesn't care about you!" Amity argued.

"….That doesn't mean they can't be friends." Vee tried to defend her.

"Vee, in times like this, it's better to back away while you can." Luz told her. "Maybe someday they'll learn to come to a mutual agreement…but that day is not today."

"Awww …" She pouted. "How come this works with everyone else in town? … Well, except Lars and Rhonaldo."

"Sometimes it's best just to leave well enough alone." Luz responded. "It would be like Bosscha finding common ground with any of us. It's just not going to happen in this lifetime."

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"The final match." Boscha said, staring intently at the tv. "All around the world, tooth and nail has been given each time … it comes down to this."

"I can't believe I'm forced into a position where I'm rooting for Heather instead of against." Willow muttered. "Let alone agreeing with you over anything."

"Hey, it's either that or letting that scumbag Alejandro win. It's like Kevin, but with a decent looking face." There was little that caught Boscha's interest in the human world, but when Dr. Waybright told her about cancel culture, she looked to social media to gather more information…and thus stumbled upon one of the top trending topics…reality tv.

"You make a compelling argument … come on Gwen, choose the right side. The non- Alejandro side!" When looking through shows to watch, what peaked Boscha's and Willow's interest was the survival challenge genre, where these humans had to go through death defying feats for the slim chance at the greatest prize of all time…fame and money.

They watched as the teams began to build wooden dummies to be carried up the volcano, another musical number playing. "I honestly don't think the musical numbers work all that well. Only one or two end up mememable."

"Probably my bias for Lucci talking, but I kind of like them." She shrugged. "I take it over that Lard ball Owen winning again. Seriously, the way season one ended was bullshit."

"Oh come on, Owen deserved it for surviving everything they threw at him … like seriously, even by witch standards he's built like a slitherbeast."

"But Gwen was way better! Sure; she was Heather's main rival, but that's what made her a more worthy contender! And then all that effort goes down the drain when Owen smelled brownies… freaking brownies!" It was absurd.

"Season one was when he was dating Izzy. If Owen won, she won … although Gwen was a nice alternative to." Willow nodded. "Wait a second, they're climbing!"

Boscha turned, seeing as the two began carrying their dummies to the top. "I admit, humans are soft creatures, but to carry something so heavy over something so dangerous, that takes guts. I know personally how effective lava is."

"I say it's more dangerous just being around Chris McLain than lava. Like seriously, the challenges are great, but he's insane. He feels more like someone from the boiling isles than from earth."

"I'm almost scared at the concept of Lucci watching this and thinking he can take the challenge." Boscha admitted.

"Why, he'd probably smash everything until everyone's unconscious."

"Exactly, he'll be too popular and keep coming back. I need couple time." She responded.

"Isn't the popularity from the fact it's anyone's game?" Willow asked.

"... Fair point, but this discussion is over, they're at the top." Boscha pointed to the two contestants. Alejandro once more made a play for Heather's emotions. "Come on, don't fall for it! You're better than this Heather!"

"Yeah, you're the queen bitch of total drama for a reason,you don't have emotions to manipulate in the first place!" Willow argued.

Heather was swooped up … and they kissed. "NO!" It was too late, they fell to the charms of the slimeba-

Crunch

Boscha heard a very familiar sound, which she's been the cause of many times. "Ooooooooh…yeah, that guy is never having kids." Willow winced.

"So she did two amazing feats all at once." Boscha laughed as heather knocked the bastard back, sending him down the mountain on a block of ice.

"Guys are great, but a million dollars is better!" The alpha proudly announced as she threw her dummy into the volcano.

"She won! She actually won! I never thought I'd have an idol like this." Boscha smiled with sparkly eyes. "Heather is the best!"

"May want to check again. Look." Willow pointed to the screen…where that freaky Ezekiel guy had come back, and began fighting Heather over the briefcase.

"You already kicked the last guy, wind up another!" Boscha would NOT be cheated again, especially by a sexist of all things. "Come on, just kick him in the balls-

The struggle had finally ended as Ezekliel grasped the brief case…as he fell into the volcano…burning…along with the money. "COME ON!!" The two witches shouted in rage.

"Seriously! That bastard ruined everything!l"

"I don't even like Heather and even I say she just got screwed!" Willow grumbed

"It's the season one finale all over again." Boscha grumbled. "If that cockatrice somehow lived through all this, I'll hunt him down myself."

"Guess we're just going to have to wait until next season to see if anyone actually wins anything…why is it only season two that anyone actually got the money?" Willow asked.

"Because Chris likes screwing people over?" She asked rhetorically. "So what now? They've traveled the world. Where can you go after that?"

The tv went staticy for a second. " They thought they escaped…they thought it would never return.."

"Oooh." Boscha was intrigued.

"Now we're heading back to where it all began…and it comes back…with a vengeance."

"Where it began … but that would mean …" Willow's eyes widened.

"Total….Drama…. revenge of the Island."

"Willow…get the popcorn ready."

"On it!"

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Lucci added another book to the pile of failed books. "Hss?" Sugar gave him a curious look.

"The monkey looked interesting, how was I supposed to know Curious George was a toddler level book?" He questioned. "There's so many bright primary colors here compared to the boiling isles, it's hard to gauge."

"Hssssh?" Didn't you like watching those old cartoons with Spinel?

"Luz's mom doesn't want me in front of a screen all day…that and Spinel broke the vcr when we were watching Freakazoid." Such a relatable character with so much energy and so much commentary. "And I already tried writing in the journal … that didn't do too much." He gazed at the book filled with notes of people he's conned from his junk job, things he broke and had to pay for, and a revenge list. "So until further notice, I have to occupy my time with something to read. Most relatable thing I've read so far was Captain Underpants." Just two kids having fun and rebelling against adult authority…just like his younger Law days.

"Hssssh." She slithered over another pile.

"I'm not sure how ready I am to read a story specifically titled 'a series of unfortunate events'. I feel like that's too ironic for me to look over right now." He muttered. "Do you think we should try the internet?"

"Hhhss." Did you see what that thing did to Freakazoid?

"True…but on the plus side, if I mess up, I'll become an indestructible superhero. Sure I'll be insane, but the sanity-to-power ratio would make up for that."

"I think your sanity to power ratio is questionable enough without adding toon force logic to it." He turned his head over to Luz. "Besides, Spinel kinda fills that role already, so it is a little redundant."

"Fair enough." He shrugged. "What're you up to?"

"I finished putting Amity to bed, she argued with Connie all day long." Luz explained as she made her way in, looking at the pile of books. "Trying to get your own series to follow?"

"Yeah, figured if i find something to like about earth a little more i'd be less angry and people would stop treating me like a time bomb." He stated. "Problem is I have no idea where to start. Started on a book called the Hunger games, dropped it when the romance got annoying. Started on Twilight, burned the book after reading five chapters."

"You kinda sound like King there." She snorted.

"A little bit." He snorted. "So, does the master writer have any books I'd be into."

"I actually do." She smiled. "About the first superhero the world ever wrote about."

"..Tell me more." His interest peaked.

"During a dark time in earth's history, they wrote about a man who could save the day no matter what. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive capable of leaping tall buildings …"

"Without getting a wedgie. I heard it." He spoke.

"…In a single bound." She corrected him. "You read Captain Underpants, didn't you?"

"Yeah, pretty fun books, less of a superhero story though and more about kids having fun, and they're kind of short."

"Well anyways…" She continued. "His powers were pretty undefined for a while. Sometimes the best he could do was lift a car over his head, other times he could sneeze and destroy a whole galaxy." Okay, NOW he was interested. "After a while the authors kinda settled on him having multiple powers given to him from the sun."

"Just like me …" He looked at his gem.

"Yep. A story about an alien kid from another world and adopted by a family for a world he now learns to love." Luz explained with mirth.

"....How long have you been holding that one over me?"

"Pretty much ever since I found out you're human." She smirked. "I wanted to save it for a rainy day, so … I'm doing what my dad did for me. Giving you a story to help you adjust." She handed him a stack of thin books.

Wow…with that context…this was more than just her giving him a story to get into…this was her extending her heart out to him, to be like her dad. He looked over the cover. "Superman." A bit of a lazy name, but if it was the first hero ever made..then a little leeway could be accepted. "Thanks Luz, I'm sure I'll love it."

"Hope so. I had a hard time at first trying to figure out what to give you first. Superman for the parallels, or Batman for your former brooding Emoness."

"Does every hero in your world just have 'man' in their title?" He asked, ignoring the emo joke.

"No, but it's common. Aquman, Spider man, Wonder Woman. There's more creative ones, like Doctor Strange, Booster Gold, Starfire, Ghost rider." Better.

"Alright … let's give this a shot." Maybe this would be a hero worth reading.

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Jacob groaned as he looked over his channel. "HOW? I've spent so much time filming that event, and they dare accuse me of CGI!?" The nerve of some people.

After Rhonaldo left, Jacob was left on his own, the lone protector of the town while evil witches lay dormant, hiding in the shadows waiting to strike. That was fine, he would just have to uncover everything himself.

And he did. After his failure to dissect Steven Universe, Jacob took a more subtle approach, filming the boy and his everyday life in secret, hopefully to catch him in his next act of demonic shenaniganry.

And boy did he catch him and more!. Pink powers left and right, from a wrestling match to the restaurant, truly an evil witch with no good intentions for humanity. Along with those companions, who also pulled off equally insane acts, from illusions, to purple muck, to living trees, and fire … so much evidence.

But no one. Believed. A THING! All that hard work down the drain for the ignorant masses to ignore. "How can they not see it? There's witches right there! Demons among mankind! It's not special effects you moron!"

What was wrong with people when they couldn't even separate reality from fiction anymore!? "Am I the only sane human in this town!? If you see a demon, you take them out!" Why was that so hard to understand?

"I can see it." Jacob instantly pulled out his lightsaber, turning around to see … no one.

"Who's there!" He shouted, looking around for anyone trying to hide.

"A friend, a fellow seeker of true justice." The formless voice stated.

"Oh yeah..?" He gripped his handle harder, sweating a little. "And what's your idea of justice?"

"To protect humanity no matter the cost from the likes of Witches and Demons."

"Oh … can I get you a membership badge or something?" He was always happy to have more members for the society.

"No … yours will do." Jacob suddenly felt his entire body getting covered by something thick, dark green, and decaying, with dark blue… inhuman eyes.

" Demon-mejcjdjsb…" He struggled to yell as his mouth was covered.

"I am no demon. I am simply a man who's taking the necessary precautions to ensure mankind's survival. As you can see, it's taken a bit of a physical toll on my body." Jacob couldn't breathe … no, he was breathing, but he wasn't in control of his lungs. He wasn't the one breathing. "Now … let's see what the modern world has become."

He could feel it, every corner of his mind poked and prodded as they felt through every memory- "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Two voices shouted.

"Why … just … why!?" His mouth shouted.

"Too many positions … too many …" Another voice said from his mouth he now no longer controlled.

"The world…it's…saturated….in filth!" The first voice shouted. "They reveal…no…they celebrate in their vulgarities!" The body moved. "And … and they adore the monsters and demons!? They worship them like gods!!" The voice shouted.

Dude, it's been like that for the last two decades. Where have you been? Jacob 'asked'.

"Four hundred years ago…I came to this land with my brother..we founded Gravesfield, we founded it to be a sturdy fortress against witch kind…it seems the later generations have forgotten their roots." The monster growled as Jacob felt spikes grow all over his body. "I need to … to remind them of the threat … the dangers of witchcraft. "