Trixie slid the
painting back on its hook, clutching the frame tightly as she adjusted it. “Wonder if it’s straight now?” she asked
herself, stepping back and observing her work; sure enough, she managed to hang
the painting in the perfect position -- maybe a few degrees straighter than it
had been before, judging by the wall discoloration. Still, she couldn’t help but scratch her
head. “Who the hell hangs up a picture
of an anvil?” She sighed and
shrugged. “I just don’t get art…”
But to her credit, she
could pass for a fine interior decorator.
She’d singlehandedly returned the Hoigleheimer den to its former,
immaculate glory. The chairs and sofa,
back in position; the coffee table and stands upright and perfectly-aligned;
the TV in place, and even dusted; the rug somehow managing to look a bit cleaner
than before, and the carpet smelling a bit fresher. “Looks like everythin’s back in order,” she
said as she clapped her hands clean.
“That didn’t take too long.”
She leaned to her left,
hoping to get a peek at the hall’s innards -- and with it, the first look at
Lloyd getting ready for action. But of
course, he didn’t show. He hadn’t shown
his face, or even made a (likely ridiculous) sound in the past half-hour. Frustrated, she rubbed the back of her neck
and groaned. “Gaston must’ve really
spooked him bad,” she muttered, pacing absentmindedly through the room.
Trixie shuddered. She didn’t know why, but for some reason…
“You’d best prepare
yourself, my dear!”
Trixie looked back
toward the hall entrance -- and there he was.
The cape. The top hat. The only signals she needed to name her
adversary. And with them, the only
reason she needed to attack. She threw
the lamp at his face as hard as she could, eager to shatter his mask -- and the
rest of his skull -- to pieces.
Unfortunately, he
wasn’t wearing a mask.
Ka-MISTAKEN IDENTITY!
Lloyd tumbled backwards
and crashed against the ground, clutching his nose and rolling the carpet like
a toddler throwing a tantrum. “Agh, my
face! My regularly-slapped,
frequently-abused face! Why have the
lamp gods cursed me so?!”
Trixie pointed heatedly
at the top hat and cape. “What are ya, a
MORON?”
“In what capacity?”
“Don’t come out here
wearin’ a hat and cape when the guy we’re after is wearin’ a hat and cape and was
just freakin’ here! Dammit, Lloyd,
this shouldn’t be that hard!”
Lloyd sat up, though he
kept massaging his nose and mouth.
“Okay, I deserved that. But do you
know what else is hard?”
“Ya’d better not say
what I think yer about to say.”
“The lamp my father
picked up at a flea market last year. Is
there something wrong with that?” He
pointed at Trixie. “What were you thinking
of, Miss Walters?”
“Wha- I was just --
it’s -- n-never mind.” Trixie folded her
arms and glared gruffly at the far wall.
“Now hurry up and take off that stupid getup. Ya look like a loon.”
“B-but it’s part of my
ensemble -- the perfect costume for a dramatic reveal! Surely you know as well as I that the proper
costume is a vital part of any performance!
A visual conveyance of ideas and emotions that entrances the hearts of
--”
“Ya want me to throw
another lamp at yer face?”
Lloyd froze for a
moment. “…I suppose the weather isn’t
exactly the finest for a dark and heavy cloak,” he said with a heavy sigh. He took off the hat and cape and tossed it
into a corner of the room. “Oh
well. I suppose my current garb will
have to do.”
He patted a hand
against his new attire (clothes that, thankfully, didn’t smell like an ocean of
sweat). He’d thrown on the kind of
ensemble a lawyer might wear after a hot day of court work -- a topaz suit
vest, with a single line of buttons flanked by straight-edged seams. An orange tie slid into the vest, hanging from
the sharp collar of a slate-hued dress shirt.
Lloyd had elected to roll up his sleeves, showing off a pair of garnet
bracelets and his beautiful (but delicate) forearms. His slacks -- the same shade as his shirt -- still
had creases pressed into them, and only wrinkled as they touched the tongues of
his square-toed Oxfords.
“So ya went and got
dressed,” said Trixie. “And here I was,
worryin’ that ya gave up.”
“Forgive me for
worrying you, but as you can imagine, I had a bit of an…aroma. And I suspect that somewhere along the line,
I happened to make a mess of my other slacks.
Not something I intend to confirm anytime soon, but I’d rather not risk
such an embarrassing state of affairs.”
Lloyd ran his eyes up and down Trixie’s body (lingering for a moment,
once again, on her chest). “I don’t
suppose I could offer you some new clothes as well, Miss Walters? You may be slightly taller, but I can likely
offer you something -- assuming that you --”
“What? No, I’m all right. I’m fine like this.”
“You’re certain? Because I have a few dresses, if you’d like.”
“I…I’m gonna pretend I
didn’t hear that.”
“Very well. I suppose you’ve grown accustomed to your
‘bad man’ ensemble.” Lloyd waved a hand
through the air, ignoring Trixie’s fluster.
“But enough talk of clothing and fashion; we have a brother to save, and
a villain’s plan to thwart. Time may be
on our side at the moment, but even the slightest delay may play into Gaston’s
plans -- and with it, any number of obstacles that could lead to a lethal
plunge.”
“Why can’t ya just talk
like a normal person, pal…?” Trixie muttered.
But she shoved the thought aside.
“Hey, wait. Yer all set to go
after this guy?”
“Of course. Aren’t you?”
“W-well yeah, I am,
but…” She shot a look at the kitchen
phone. “Don’t ya think we should call
the cops or somethin’? Or maybe get some
other folks on our side to help us look?”
Lloyd shook his
head. “I’m afraid that the more people
we involve, the more people will be at risk.”
“Huh?”
The purple prince
covered his mouth, and started nodding to himself. “I only have conjecture to go on right now,
but it’s a strong conjecture.” His eyes
shifted through the room. “The clues we
need to unravel the truth behind Gaston and ruin his schemes may have already
been revealed. It’s only a matter of
putting everything we know together, and using that as our weapon against him.”
“I dunno what’s goin’
on in that head o’ yers, pal, but ya just might be onto somethin’.” She frowned and folded her arms. “But what’s Gaston got to do with keepin’ everyone
else in the dark?”
“If my theory is
correct, then involving more people than necessary -- for the moment, at least
-- would only serve to make Gaston stronger.
And the innocent bystanders of Porbeagle…well, I’d rather not think
about what could happen to them.”
“Bein’ cryptic ain’t
exactly too reassurin’.”
“Forgive me. But until I know for certain, I’m afraid I’ll
have to ask you to trust me.” He smiled
sheepishly. “Even though at present,
I’ve only done one or two things to earn it.”
Trixie shrugged. “Well, I’ve trusted ya up till now, so I
guess I can keep on trustin’ ya. So I
guess we’ll keep this mess between us.
And yer dad, and JP too.” She let
loose a soft groan. “Man. Ya sure can bounce around from one mood to
another. One minute yer all mopey, and
the next yer back to yer old crazy self.”
“Ah, so you remember
that.”
“Why would I forget
somethin’ that happened just a half-hour ago?”
“I would have preferred
for you to forget seeing me in such a pitiful state,” Lloyd answered, laughing
politely and pawing at the air. “Rather
unsightly for an ambassador of love.”
But Trixie shook her
head. “Lloyd, look. Just ‘cause yer an idiot and a loon and a
goofball don’t make ya any less of a person.
If yer sad or scared, it’s all right.
Yer just doin’ what people do -- be honest about the way they feel. So don’t feel like ya gotta hide anythin’,
cause yer still just a normal kid.” She
glanced aside. “Mostly normal.”
“M-Miss Walters…!” Lloyd ran his forearm across his face. “Such…such tender, caring words! So beautiful!
So heartfelt! So…so…nice! I could cry myself to the grave, and die a
happy man!”
“Please don’t.”
“No, no, I wouldn’t
dream of it! For I must live on, and
fight on! For now, at long last, I
finally know how it feels to have an older sister!” Lloyd threw his arms wide open, and leapt at
her like a mauling housecat. “BIG
SISTER! EMBRACE MEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
Trixie reeled, and on
reflex bobbed to her left -- just in time to let Lloyd crash face-first into
the ground. “Dammit, Lloyd! Get serious, will y-“ She grimaced and looked up at the ceiling. “I feel like that’s the second time I’ve had
ta say that today.”
“But I am serious --
now more than ever,” said Lloyd -- a statement that would have been better
received if his butt wasn’t sticking into the air.
“Ya sure? ‘Cause in case ya forgot, we got some pretty
big stakes on the line.”
“I haven’t
forgotten.” Lloyd stood up and patted
himself clean. “It would take a dire
blow to the head to make me forget what’s happened these past few days. A new power…a new ally…a new opportunity…a
new dilemma…and atop it all, a new nemesis.
For a normal man, what I’ve experienced would be nothing short of a
curse. But for one of my persuasion, it
is the finest blessing I could ever ask for.”
He turned to face her,
a heated glint in his eyes. “I won’t
allow myself to fall prey to sorrow and indecision. I have too many things to fight for to be
dissuaded. Therefore, for the sake of my
dream -- for the sake of others -- for the sake of being able to hear your kind
words, day after day, I will fight on.”
“Lloyd --”
“I can’t do it alone,
of course. But I’ll do everything I
can. I’ll take the first step, and lead
whoever may follow me to a brighter day.”
He nodded slowly. “You just wait,
Miss Walters; I’ll prove myself worthy of your faith; all I ask is that you
keep on believing, and reciprocate when my aims, my visions, are made real.”
“Your visions…” Trixie
repeated. She couldn’t bring herself to
say it out loud, but for a moment, Lloyd actually looked -- and acted -- kind
of cool.
He pumped a fist into
the air. “I fight in the name of my
harem! And no force on earth shall stand
in the way of my bosomy paradise!”
Trixie grimaced. “Just couldn’t end on a high note, could ya?”
she grumbled.
TO BE HEARTINUED…
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