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ask-pwp-prequel-au · 7 months

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Day 3

Similar to Day 2 and despite what Pal very clearly said, Pal woke up Nick incredibly late at night. Nick narrowed his eyes at first only to see the look of fear and anxiety on Pal’s face. “Nick..! I had an awful nightmare..!” Pal hugged his arm tightly. Nick looked uneasy by Pal’s sudden change in personality and-… nightmares..? Pal never had nightmares!

“…You sure you need me to help?” Pal whined softly, sniffling. “Yes…” Pal frowned sadly. “It was a really awful nightmare…” Pal leaned into his arm. Nick sighed and gently petted his head, ruffling Pal’s hair. He could’ve swore he heard a sinister giggle come from Pal but when he looked back at Pal, he was still softly pouting into Nick’s arm. “Please Nick… can we watch some tv for a bit? I don’t need the TamaTerrorz spooky nature right now..” Pal frowned innocently.

Nick froze. Tama…did he just call them-..? “Tama..Terrorz?” Nick looked down at Pal. “O-Oh-! N-No..that’s not what I..meant. S-Sorry Nick, it kinda just slipped out!” Pal shrugged before pulling Nick out of bed. “Come on, come on! You got your rest, we can play again now!” Pal’s eye seemed to twitch a bit with a blank smile on his face.

Nick looked unsure immediately. “Pal, are you sure you’re feeling okay? Your voice sounds..a little strange.” Pal’s expression hadn’t changed yet. “Oh! I-I’m feeling perfectly fine, ehehe~!” Pal grinned. Nick tried to pull away from Pal only to feel his grip tighten. “It’s not nice to try and leave your Pals behind, Nick..” Pal said gently and pulled Nick out to the living room. “..Are you sure you’re..p-perfectly fine? You sound.. a little crazy..” The smile became a little crazy as Pal looked over at Nick. “Crazy..?? Ha! You’re a laugh, Nick! A real jokester!” Pal snickered before his smile changed to a normal smile. “Sorry, must be the sugar from the energy drink I had this morning! That happens often..” Pal tilted his head to the side. “Probably why I have the worst sleep schedule known to ManKind!” Nick forced out a chuckle towards Pal’s joke. “..Y-..Yeah, funny.” Nick quivered a little.

Pal snickered before turning on the TV and handing Nick the remote. “Here! Nick can pick something for a change!” Pal leaned against the arm of the couch. “Why not!”

Nick stared at the remote before looking back up at Pal. His green eyes glowed in the dark and his expression was uncanny. “E-Erm what..platforms d-do you have again?” Nick asked softly, trying to brush off all of Pal’s weird, current behaviors. “Ooh.. Y’know..! The usual!” Pal giggled softly. “Erm..Flix, Ulu..erm..Peacock? Disney?” Pal didn’t sound confident in any of his answers. “Okay..” Nick was tense as he selected Hulu. “Oo! Whatcha going to watch?? My Villain Academy? Bones? Maybe..My Little Pony? You seem like the one to enjoy that..!” Pal bit his tongue clearly and scooted over to Nick with a big smile on his face. Nick scooted away a bit. “Why do you care so much?? You-..” “Because I want AND DESERVE to know what my BESTEST PAL,” Pal stood up, spreading his arms with a bit of a twitch, “Started liking in the 2 years you were away!! Is that so wrooong, Nick..??” Pal grinned, reaching out a tense hand out.

Nick drew back from Pal. “You’re scaring me, Pal,” Nick’s voice was quiet, as soft as a mouse even. “•3• oh.” Pal shrugged cartoonishly, brushing off Nick’s fear, “Whoops~! Eughahahaha~!” Pal snickered before plopping back down next to Nick. Nick scooted back a little more before feeling Pal wrap his arms around his torso tightly. “Ooo..! You’re super warm!” Pal snuggled into his side with more excited giggles. Nick tried to push Pal away which only got a few gremlin sounding laughs before Pal shoved his face back into Nick’s side.

Nick sighed and gave up on trying to remove Pal from his side. “Okay Pal.. okay…” Nick patted Pal’s head, getting more giggles from Pal as he curled up and started to doze off on Nick's side. Nick looked up at the tv and turned on YouTube instead. Maybe watch some Subnautica stuff..why not?

Nick fell asleep not late after. Pal’s hug seemed to tighten a bit…

Tonight’s dream didn’t feature ‘Pal’. Just..a tamagotchi like toy that sat on the ground, turned off. Sounds echoed around inside this new nightmare. He couldn’t make any of it out besides.. maybe a few mentions of ‘friend’, ‘percy’ and.. ‘walls’?? Oh well.

The toy’s screen turned on suddenly and glowed green. A small logo appeared on the screen followed up by a poodle icon. Nick approached the toy slowly and gently picked it up. It let out a cheerful beep and smiled at Nick.

Honestly, it reminded Nick of Pal some. It had the same..ear..eye.. headband..thingy that Pal wore almost all the time. Nick had no idea why Pal wore it almost all the time but ever since highschool, Nick had almost never seen Pal without it! Pal didn’t give him an explanation for it besides ‘Oh, it looks cute,’ either…oh well.

The tamagotchi suddenly began to beep in such a way that it woke Nick back up after a couple more seconds.

Honestly, Nick just wished he stayed asleep.. especially knowing that Pal had not only woken up early, but that he had been watching Nick sleep! He stood over Nick, his arms out behind him and acting like he had never seen a human before! “Good morning, Nick Nicholson..” Pal’s voice was quiet, dripping with malice, quivering.

Nick shouted and pulled away from Pal. He even fell off the couch! “Eaughaha~! That was a much more dramatic reaction than I would’ve expected!” Pal laughed, jumping and sitting down onto the arm of the couch. “Ow! Ehe~! My tailbone..!” Pal rubbed his tail bone a bit before focusing back on Nick. The simple smile from last night returned as Pal cocked his head limply to the side.

“Whyyy were you watching me sleep?” Nick stared at Pal. Pal stared back, clearly not even noticing Nick’s question. “Oh well. Y’know..! Making sure my best pal was okay! You were..” Pal’s eyes looked around a bit. Was..he trying to come up with a lie? “Acting a little strange..! You were talking and saying weird things! Like-! SUPER WEIRD stuff! Something about me..a-and the tamas…and..stuff!” Nick stared at Pal. “…Uh-huh..” Nick slowly nodded. “Y’know! Stuff!” Pal shrugged, looking happier than ever. He shrugged cartoonishly.

Pal stood up with another giggle. “Here! Allow your best pal, Percy, to help you up!” Pal held out his hand; finally dropping the weird, blank smile. Nick shook his head and tried to help himself up. Pal’s expression flickered to anger. With a quick yank, Pal tightly grabbed Nick's hand and tugged Nick up to his feet. “I offered to help..! Do you really not trust me, Nicky..?” Nick’s stomach twisted when he heard Pal say that so..so innocently. Not to mention that his wrist now hurt due to Pal’s roughness about pulling Nick up to his feet.

“Pal..! What has gotten into you?? You didn’t act like..” Nick nervously gestured to Pal’s entire form. Pal huffed and put his hands on his hips. “I feel insulted! Really!” Pal approached Nick. “I thought we were..y’know! Friends?? You act like I’m a complete stranger!” Pal whined, falling to his knees. “Because you’re not acting like yourself!” Nick shouted suddenly. “You’re acting like a needy- freaking- cat or something!” Nick went on, concerned about Pal’s behavior. “You’ve never acted like this before..! Ever!” Pal stared at Nick silently, looking betrayed. Pal’s eye slowly began to twitch…

Nick could see Pal clutch his fists tightly and his body begin to shake with fury. His expression began to twist and contort into fury. Nick slowly stepped back. Pal growled softly. Was Pal about to attack him? Nick knew that Pal was impulsive. Nick was there. He knew Pal once attacked a kid with a pencil in high school. Nick had recently picked Pal up as a friend and was a clear witness to the event. Nick couldn’t remember the reason well. It was just a deep stab..

Pal let out a deep breath, rubbing his temples. His body stopped shaking and his expression turned to calm. “Sorry, you’re right, Nick. How about..I take a breather..test out Percy some more. Fix him up a little too,” Pal gained a soft, benevolent smile that was completely different compared to the malevolent scowl just a few moments ago. Nick shook more as he felt Pal place a hand on his arm and move past him. Was this even still Pal…?

“Today’s plans are canceled too…we can move them to tomorrow and have a ‘double the fun’ day!” Pal smiled a charming smile at Nick before leaving the house. Nick sat there, just watching. “..Bye Pal..” Nick slowly waved before sitting down on the couch and curling up. Nick didn’t like seeing Pal angry like that. That was chilling. Nick slowly took out his phone and grabbed his headphones from his pocket. After a bit of detangling, Nick put his headphones in and pressed shuffle.

Dragula - Rob Zombie.

No.

The Good In Me - Jon Bellion

Sure..why not?

About 2 minutes into the song, the door opened. Looking over, the tamas were staring at Nick completely silently. Each one was stacked on top of each other like a cartoon of sorts. TamaLanki on the bottom, then TamaBruti, then TamaOpti, then..a new one?? And then the TamaRoachis. They stared at Nick before approaching, slamming the door behind them. TamaLanki hit the ground and hissed loudly. TamaOpti looked back at the angry TamaLanki. His foot was caught in the door. TamaOpti snickered a little before carefully opening the door to free TamaLanki’s foot. He hissed before standing up.

The Tamas very quickly surrounded Nick and stared up at him with their completely soulless eyes, dropping all semblance of having personalities. ..Well this was probably the most unnerving thing ever. They just..stood there, staring at Nick with their big ol eyes! When Nick turned on his music and tried to ignore their gazes, they only drew closer. What in the world did they want!? Why were they just staring!? Why were they being so terrifying about it!? The more Nick ignored them, the closer they got..

“Ah! What do you want!?” Nick shouted, standing up quickly and gently brushing them off. Finally, the new one piped up, sitting on the coffee table. “Pal…he’s too busy…won’t feed us..” Nick sighed sadly and rested on the couch. “You couldn’t just ask?? You made me think you guys were about to kill me..!” Nick gasped out. “Bruti said staring…spoke many more words…” The new one stood on the table. “auuuggh…I hate that he’s right,” Nick sighed. TamaBruti stamped his hands happily with a cheerful giggle. Nick took out his wallet and checked the time. “It’s 10:57, think you guys can wait until 11:00? I’ll go down to Taco Bell and get everyone food, okay?” The Tamas inched closer again. “But you all give me some space, please. I like my space, please. The Tamas finally drew away and slowly handed him the remote. “Can you also…turn on the screen…?” The new Tama asked softly. Pal must’ve rushed this tama’s shell as Nick could see the gooey insides of this one’s head leaking through the seams of the shell. “..Sure..” Nick sighed.

The back of the remote had a small note. ‘Do not turn on bacterial documentaries’. Nick nodded and flicked through the channels. Judging by the weird noises they made, they wanted Youtube. Okay…The Tamas stared at the different videos before TamaOpti crawled up and pressed on a IGP video. Something about a multi limbed stick man in a yellow place. I mean..it was what they wanted I guess…The tamas happily watched as Nick skipped the ad and let the video play for them.

Nick sighed and checked the time again. 11:02. Okay. Nick got up and grabbed his keys from his room. Passing the warehouse, he could see the slightest peek of Pal working on Percy. Was that his flamethrower from Monday? He seemed to be fixing it onto Percy but..Nick was probably seeing things.

Nick shook his head. He approached his truck and unlocked it, shouting to Pal, “I’m going to get lunch for everyone! Don’t panic!!” Pal responded with a barely seen thumbs up. Nick put the keys into ignition and started his truck. He backed out of Pal’s driveway.

Pal giggled excitedly, seeing the sparks fly from installing his flamethrower into Percy’s design. He didn’t know what that sludge was but this was LIFE CHANGING!! He felt so- so energized! Full of excitement and power! In fact, today felt like a loud, empowering music day! Normally his energy drinks would wake him up and make him more jittery. But he must’ve got an extra sugary one today! That or it was that..weird sludge he saw get injected into his veins. Oh well! Pal didn’t care!

At this rate, Percy would be done by the end of the week! Just a few more coding thingies and-!

“Do you like it?” A voice from inside of Percy asked. …? Pal looked over to the cockpit and saw green sludge staring at him. The sludge didn’t seem to have eyes at first glance. In fact, it was really ominous how it just leaned against the glass to watch him like some alien creature. Upon closer inspection, Pal noticed its barely noticeable, lighter colored, spiral-like eyes. It had barely noticeable limbs like someone with a blanket.

Pal tilted his head and approached Percy. “..Percy..?” Pal whispered. This must’ve been the parasite that Mimik was talking about although.. Pal blanked on the name now. It didn’t feel like he actually forgot though, more like someone was purposely making him forget. “Hello, human,” The parasite smiled slowly. With its spiral eyes, the smile seemed less sane than intended. “So! You’re the brilliant inventor behind Percy Poodle, huh?” The Parasite tilted their head. Their eyes spun in a weird way like they were trying to hypnotize Pal. “Pal, was it?” Pal stared at the parasite. Normally he would be panicking but..he felt like he was under a trance of sorts..! He couldn’t break free!

“Erm..yes, th-that’s me..!” Pal slowly smiled. Whatever this creature is, he had a way with words. Pal’s creations were never noted to be ‘Brilliant’ o-or him for that matter! H-Him-! Pal-! B-Brilliant..?!

It was just one, 3 syllable word and Pal was acting like it meant everything to him!

Oh wait- IT DID~! Ehehe~~!

The Parasite laughed excitedly and pressed his face against the glass more. Pal was weaker minded than expected! How lucky for him~! “You can call me Percy considering I’m using his incredibly designed body as a host..! It was truly the best option, you know! No other host could match my high standards unlike your amazing machine..” Pal’s face broke into a red fuzz. Pal covered his cheek, giggling softly. “Ooh stop! I can only take so much!” Percy laughed excitedly. “Have you really never experienced compliments, Pal? No humans get this gushy over a few words. Am I really making you feel needed for once in your life? Giving you the support you never knew you needed?” Percy asked. He tilted his head over some as he asked these questions.

These comments clearly went over Pal’s head for a moment as Pal only sunk deeper into Percy’s praise. The comments about Pal needing support though.. When Pal finally realized what Percy said, he looked back up at Percy. “Wait- excuse me? I..I erm..did you just..guess all of that? About giving me the..I never knew I…needed?” Pal asked, approaching Percy some. His eyes shined a little. Percy let out a sinister sounding giggle. His expression darkened a bit as he pulled away from the glass for a moment. “Guessed? I’m in your head, you dum-…bright, clever engineer!” Percy shoved his face against the glass again. His smile widened into a manic grin. Pal seemed to freeze when Percy mentioned the first part, only to melt into his clutches again when Percy complimented him more. “I-I’m..cl-clever..!” Pal carefully cupped his cheeks and giggled. His legs felt weak..! “Veerry Clever, Pal! But that’s not all! I noticed other pieces of code..! Like to have Percy’s tail wag..! That’s a little useless I would say, how about we turn it into something so much more? Hm?” Pal slowly sat down. “S-Sorry, my legs are feeling in-incredibly weak! I-I haven’t felt so needed in too long! Y-You have no idea..!” Pal clasped his hands together with a clear shine in his eyes. “What were you saying?” Pal asked. Percy looked a little annoyed. Had Pal really not heard his comment? “The code for tail wagging..! It’s unique..! But y’know, kinda unneeded,” Percy said, rolling his flipper a bit, “You understand, Pal Catino? We should turn it into something more useful! Especially if you want to be able to kill that jerk that abandoned you!” Pal laughed loudly and held his cheek. “You know me better than I would’ve expected!!”

“I can hear your thoughts, Pal! I’m the sludge in your veins! I know about everything in that big brain of yours…” Percy was honestly amazed that Pal wasn’t even slightly disturbed by this comment. Pal really didn’t care, huh? Only if he got his attention and the respect he so desperately craved. “Regardless! That guy..Nicolas, correct? What’s your deal with him? Why do you want him to feel hurt so badly?” Percy leaned against the wall of the animatronic’s cockpit. “It’s Nick,” “Whatever.” Percy was gently blowing a few bubbles up into the air and popping them. When the remains would drop, Percy would collect them back into his body. This conversation was starting to bore him..! He was gonna collapse into a weak pile of mush and slime if he had to compliment this stupid, touch starved, dummy any more!

“O-Oh uh..he left me behind here in Maine for 2 years..!” Pal explained to Percy. He was very confident with his words. “He left for Montana to go work at some Chuck E Cheese knockoff or something like that! I forgot the full story but he did something of the sort..” Pal glanced over at the blueprints to Percy. As he grabbed them, he continued his story, “I was so lonely here..! I didn’t really have any other friends and even going online didn’t work well! I mean! Is it really friendship if I can’t even meet them? I didn’t feel connected to any of them and talking to them made me feel drained!” Pal whined, laying on the ground. As his legs felt the cold ground, he initially flinched away before sinking into the cool. He was hotter than he realized he was! “Oo! The ground’s so cold! I hadn’t noticed that before!” Pal spread out his limbs and giggled softly, completely abandoning the blueprints with a gentle toss. “WOULD YOU PAY ATTENTION, YOU TOUCH STARVED, SACK OF UNDERDEVELOPED SLOP!?” Pal’s head shot up at the insult as the softest *crack* rang out throughout the echoey warehouse. Pal looked completely dumbfounded like he just blue-screened mentally or something! Percy had slammed his face against the glass hard enough that it was cracked! Shocking for a parasite I know!

Pal looked down at the ground, playing with his thumbs, “I-I’m sorry, Percy…I don’t know what got into me,” Pal apologized, standing up and bowing his head down. “As you should be, Pal. You shouldn’t be wasting your time and brilliant talent on what temperature the floor of your warehouse is! We have better things to do! Now let’s start work on improving this mech of yours..” Percy growled and hopped back into Percy Poodle’s head. “Yes, Per…sir..” Pal picked up the discarded blueprints for Percy Poodle. Percy slowly pulled away from where the mech was supposed to stand still at. Pal didn’t even care that Percy was moving…

Nick sighed as he sat at a table, waiting for his order. What if Pal forgot he left to get lunch? He didn’t want to deal with Pal’s anger if he had completely forgotten…Nick wouldn’t know about you, but he did not want to come back with food for everyone and get yelled at by a 29 year old, 3’05 tall, little person using big words that he barely understood the meaning of. No less a possibly obsessive one at that!

Nick sighed and gently patted his table as his knee bounced. Why was he feeling so stressed? Pal gave him a thumbs up so he knew that Pal knew he left to get lunch for everyone! Nick groaned and laid his head down on the table with a groan. He really just wanted to zone out and stop thinking about the weird encounter he had with Pal earlier…

There was a gentle, few taps on Nick’s head. Nick honestly didn’t want to look up, too tired to do so until he heard who it was, “Didn’t think you’d enjoy Taco Bell, Nick,” May’s voice spoke. It was soft, near a whisper actually. Nick slowly looked up. May was dressed in much more casual clothing compared to her work outfit. She was wearing a pink shirt with a small cat in the corner of it and long sleeves that ended with paw motifs. “I figured you to be more of a Subway person,” May chuckled. “May I sit down here?” May asked, cracking up a bit at her own joke. Nick stared at her. He was silent for a moment before it finally clicked what May said. Nick snickered, breaking out into laughter soon after. “I’ll take that as a yes,” May sat down in the chair next to Nick. “Never had someone laugh at that joke. Then again, I’ve never said it that loud before.”

“Oh, pardon me, Nick. Hello again,” May smiled, greeting Nick. She placed her hands on her lap. “Hey, May. Wasn’t expecting to see you again,” Nick leaned back in his seat. “Me neither,” May sat up more. “You looked awfully drained earlier. Is everything going okay with Pal?” Nick immediately grew tense again. “Ugh..no, no not really, May,” Nick slouched down his seat and placed his head in his hands. His knee started bouncing up and down again at the thought of Pal’s weird antics from last night and that morning.

“When you suggested you noticed that he was growing obsessive, I’ll admit, I thought you had a lapse of judgment or overreacting. I mean, he’s been my friend since high school. I guess when you live with a problem long enough, you forget it’s even there, huh?” Nick slowly forced himself to sit up. He kept his head in his hands though as he leaned into the chair. Nick then dragged his hands down his face as he continued, “He woke me up last night and this morning. I don’t know what happened to him but…he’s not acting like himself. Maybe I forgot how weird he was but I swear this is..this is much different.” May stayed silent, listening to Nick talk.

“Last night, he claimed he had an awful nightmare but it didn’t feel right. Pal NEVER has nightmares! O-Or dreams for that matter! He’s told me multiple times that he’s jealous that I can enter my own world in my dreams but he can’t. R-Regardless, he claimed he had a nightmare and absolutely demanded my attention. Pal grabbed my arm too and snuggled into it. At that point, I figured I would help him, y-y’know?? He is my friend after all- but then when I pet his head to calm him down-..” Nick’s eyes were full of panic as he gently whispered, “He let out this giggle. I-It was sinister and didn’t sound like him..! I-I figured I was hearing stuff but considering the even weirder thing I woke up to this morning, I think I heard correctly and it wasn’t a dream at all.”

“He pulled me out to the living room and this whole time, he had this blank smile on his face that wasn’t his. I even tried to pull away but he- well, Pal apparently has a stronger grip th-than expected! He was just..really weird..! His voice too-! It had changed to be higher like one of those..weird toys. The LeapFrogs I think..o-or just an-any kids toy-!” Nick was sputtering and scrambling to find any word to explain Pal’s recent behavior. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him. I-I woke up this morning to him standing over me and st-staring at me! I-I don’t know what his-!”

“Order for Nick?”

All tension from the conversation diminished. “Ah hell..G-Give me a moment, May..” Nick got up and walked over to the counter. May sat silent, finally realizing how concerned she really was. She carefully wiped sweat from her head and leaned over the table. She knew Pal was growing obsessive over Nick but, as Nick said, this sounded like a completely different person that was using Pal’s name!

May quivered. She wanted to help Nick but Pal sounded..a little dangerous. Maybe she should call the cops and tell them about her concerns about Pal? No..she could very much be overreacting. Pal could just be having a little fun..! Fun that Nick didn’t understand but..but that made no sense! May’s mind raced before Nick sat back down at the table and checked the bag. Yep, that was everything…

Nick sighed. “I’ll be seeing you, May. Maybe we can talk more on Sunday, y’know? I’ll be staying a few extra days in Welton after all,” Nick murmured and waved goodbye to May. May slowly waved goodbye to Nick and sighed as he walked out.

Returning back to Pal’s place, Pal was still working inside his warehouse with that not normal look about him. Nick took the keys out of his truck and opened the door to the warehouse. Pal was coding something for his mech. Something with the tail. “Hey Pal,” Nick smiled. Pal looked over. His eyes had an ominous glow for a second before it quickly disappeared and Pal approached. “Hey Nick, I thought you left Welton for a moment..!” Pal said gently before taking the bag. “Let’s go eat inside, I’ll bet the tamas are starving..!” Pal looked over at where his house was and led Nick inside. The Tamas were struggling with the remote, acting as a mass of black goop as IGP’s and his friends’ voices droned on in the background.

“Tamas!! Nick brought food!” Pal shouted with cheer in his voice. The Tamas all looked over before springing to their feet and scrambling over to Pal’s feet. They looked excited to see Pal again. Best part, he wasn’t too focused on his creations to pay attention to them! “Now, now, TamaTerrorz, you should thank Nick for the food! Not me!” Pal held the bag up. The Tamas look towards Nick before zipping and hugging him extremely tightly. They began to happily coo and purr. Nick knew that TamaMimik could talk but he didn’t mind these cuddles at all.

“Now, how about we eat, I’m sure we’re all hungry,” Pal lightly giggled and approached the table. Each of the tamas zoomed onto the table, still extremely excited. Nick carefully got them to settle and took out the food for everyone to eat. Pal looked over at Nick and gave him a genuine smile for once. Nick smiled back anxiously and began to eat.

Once everyone was finished eating, The Tamas hugged Nick tightly once again. They were excited!! Eeeee!! Nick chuckled and hugged them back. Pal chuckled at their silliness before sitting down on the couch and turning on the XBox. “How’s about some BioShock Infinite, Nick..?” Pal asked and handed him the controller as he switched the HDMI.

“..I-I have a question, right quick, Pal,” Pal gave a dramatic eye roll. “Ugh…not a fan of questions, Nick..” Nick asked anyway, “Why do you sound like that?” The question clearly caught Pal off guard judging by his pure silence soon after. “Wh-Why do you care, Nick?” Pal was trying to hide the voice as best as he could. “I’m just..you sound like a kid’s toy and I’m getting worried..humans don’t typically sound like..that.” Pal growled loudly. “Oh why does it matter, Nick!? M-Maybe I’m not feeling very good!” Pal snapped at Nick and yanked the controller back to play Bioshock. “Just play the friggin’ game!” Pal crossed his arms and huffed. He even seemed to tear up a bit before he wiped the tear away. Pal shoved the controller back into Nick’s hands. Nick stared at the controller before sighing and pressing play.

He was brought into the game, riding around on rails using this tool. They were high in the sky. Hm, that didn’t seem right. Nick could’ve swore the game took place in underwater cities..what was he doing up here in the sky?? ..Oh well I guess..

Riding around on these were really fun honestly and Nick could imagine himself actually being there! Of course though, this mild day dream of his ended with him realizing he’d probably slip because he was pretty dang dumb and unlucky like that. In fact, Nick probably wouldn’t last a DAY in this place! How would a “brilliant” place like this even work!? It looked like a paradise at first glance but Nick had only been playing for a few minutes and could see the millions of issues with this place!

It looked like heaven but it would be HELL navigating and living in such a place! (Author’s Note: I have not played BioShock Infinite in forever and I’ve actually forgotten everything so please stick with me). Nick waited until he ran into some crates and dismounted from the skyrails. Right onto a person. His character pulled out a g*n and began shooting the enemies. There was a lot of blood in this game. Made Nick squeamish. When he pressed the trigger button, he pulled out his melee weapon, aka the machine he was using to hang off the skyrails. He ended up sawing a man’s face in two! Nick covered his mouth and calmed down before continuing to fight the enemies.

There were a lot of enemies in this area but the very, absolute second he could, Nick handed the controller back to Pal to play. “I..I don’t do good with gory games like BioShock, Pal..” Pal looked highly annoyed by Nick not wanting to play anymore. “You’re boring sometimes, Nick. Gore can be extremely fun!” “Key word: Can but I am not a fan of gore, Pal. I have a really weak stomach,” Nick explained politely and calmly. Pal groaned loudly and rested against the couch. “Seriously…?” Pal’s attitude completely mirrored Nick’s politeness. “Fiiine..we’ll play by your rules! Let’s play Subnautica, Nick..” Pal grumbled and crossed his arms. Nick felt hurt by Pal’s tone but decided to play Subnautica anyways.

Pal stood up and saved the game before taking the game out. Pal still looked really annoyed as well as betrayed. He didn’t feel betrayed by Nick, right? Pal grumbled some things as he loaded up Subnautica.

Pal selected a ‘Creativity’ world and kept grumbling to himself. Nick was spawned into the game at around 4000 meters down in a completely black area. Nick froze up immediately before taking a deep breath and pulling out his seaglide. He turned on the map and found that he wasn’t too far away from the edge. It wouldn’t take long to swim over and get back to the map. Glancing over, Nick noticed Pal looking annoyed by everything right now. Nick sighed and swam up until he got to the main map.

The world’s edge was absolutely terrifying, yes, but in creativity, despite there still being that unsettling feeling, Nick knew he was safe from the wide mouthed ghost leviathans. He knew they wouldn’t even bother trying! Nick hummed and began to make his way to The Lost River. Nick knew it was Pal’s favorite of the biomes due to the giant skeleton in the middle acting as its large centerpiece that made it truly memorable.

Swimming far up until the light of the sun could be seen just barely, Nick could see the bulbs of the Bulb Zone and made his way inside the biome. Nick let out a sigh of relief the second he was out of Crater’s Edge. Understandably, it terrified him. Regardless, he wouldn’t be thinking about it anymore. Nick explored the area on his seaglide for a while until he found the large cave entrance to The Lost River. Pal glanced over at the tv and saw the green hue. Nick noticed his expression of curiosity as if he was thinking, ‘Is he trying to cheer me up?’ Nick swam until he was in front of the gargantuan leviathan skeleton. “Oh no! Look Pal! I'm about to be eaten alive! Nooooo!!!” Nick feigned panic and terror. A small smile came to Pal’s face. He turned away again to pretend he was still annoyed. As Nick continued with the joke though, Pal began to snicker. “Oh what cruel fate!” Nick swam inside the skeleton’s mouth as Pal joined in with the joke. He cleared his throat a little and mocked a giant’s voice. He even stood up to commit to the bit as a giant creature. “I think a krill just swam into my mouth! Dang things! How many times do I need to tell the restaurant folk here that I don’t like krill! Yucky wet bugs!” Nick snickered and the two quickly began to laugh.

As the joke simmered down, Pal gently punched Nick in the arm. “Fuck you…” Pal laughed before hugging Nick. Nick kept snickering and teasing Pal. Pal joined into the teasing quickly, “Numbskull,”

“Pocket sized.”

“Scaredy Cat.”

“John Kramer.”

“Thalassophobe.”

“Nerd!”

“Fluffs for Brains!” Pal flicked up Nick’s hair.

“Look who’s talking!” Nick did the same to Pal, getting a sharp laugh out of him.

Pal ended the teasing with a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around Nick and giggled happily. “I’m glad you’re back..! I missed this teasing, y’know?” Pal asked, “This friendship will always be my everything..!” Pal hugged Nick a little tighter. Nick chuckled to himself and pet Pal’s head. Pal giggled to himself, refusing to let Nick out of the hug.

Nick finally became concerned when he tried to pull out of the hug only to get no results. “P-Pal..??” Nick tried to pull him off. Gah..! He had a really strong grasp..! “Pal..! Pal, could you let me go??” Pal looked up at Nick with a slightly shocked expression which also shone with confusion. “Oh..erm, sorry.” Pal carefully pulled away from the hug. Nick looked a little uncomfortable all things considered.

Pal went back to watching Nick play. Watching him swim around in The Lost River before heading down into The Active Lava Zone. Pal shuddered up until Nick swam towards the Lava Castle and seemed to look around for the main creature that, like the gargantuan leviathan skeleton inside the lost river, was the main creature of the area. Pal sat up and kept watching up until Nick finally saw it. The Sea Dragon. Nick gestured to it with an “Get a load of that guy,” point. Pal stood up and stared at it. It was like he had never seen it before..! It was a little weird but at the same time, Pal had never been to The Active Lava Zone before. Nick didn’t mind how curious Pal was of The Sea Dragon.

“...What’s that..?” Pal asked softly. His eyes glowed green as he giggled a little. “Oh, it’s The Sea Dragon Leviathan,” Nick answered Pal. “A underwater dragon..! And it breathes fire!! Oh! Breathing fire!” Pal murmured softly under his breath before waving goodbye to Nick. “I have ideas! Don’t try to stop me!” Nick stood up and grabbed Pal’s shoulder. “Erm..Pal, I…what do you mean ‘ideas’?” Nick asked, freezing Pal where he stood.

Pal looked back at Nick with the quiet stare he did on Monday. “Nick…let. me. go.” Pal hissed coldly. Nick was unsure but slowly drew his hand away. “I’m..I’m worried, Pal..that’s..that’s all..” Nick murmured softly. Pal growled before shaking his head. “No, no, it’s fine..I’m fine…” Pal chuckled a little as a single green tear slipped down his face and hit the ground. “But please, I need to be left alone right now..say, why don’t you bring The Tamas to the park?” Pal suggested with a gentle smile on his face. “They could use some time outside. They almost never go outside, y’know? Also, there’s this guy at the park. He’s not the nicest to new folk but he’s not mean- mean,” Pal whistled, calling over the tamas. “Grouchy! That’s the word!” Pal chuckled. The Tamas stared at Pal with wide eyes.

“Alright you 5, you’re all gonna go with Nick to the park, alright? Y’know, the place with Rowan,” Pal smiled. The Tamas looked immediately excited and started bouncing all around. TamaMimik looked confused. “Who’s… Rowan…??” TamaMimik squeezed out. The other Tamas immediately stopped and stared at TamaMimik in complete silence. Nick grew a little tense about the pure silence before watching TamaBruti approach and begin to gently explain to TamaMimik who Rowan was.

Pal sighed and quickly took Nick’s phone to type in directions to the park. “Ah-! Hey-!” Pal finished typing in the directions and handed Nick back his phone. “Y-You couldn’t ask??” Nick said, clearly tense. Pal brushed off the panic. “Calm down, Nick! I was just typing in the coordinates! Now then, if you see Rowan, which the tamas will probably run right over to him, tell him I said hi!” Pal said happily.

Nick quickly realized Pal wasn’t going to pay attention to his concerns as he slipped on his shoes. “..Alright,” Nick looked back towards the tamas and opened the door. “Oh..! And another thing, they’re fast,” Pal smirked as Nick looked back down to where the tamas were. They were already out by the street corner and actively running. Nick yelled, slamming the door behind him. “T-TAMAS-!! Get back here!!” Nick yelled and tried to keep up with them. Nick put away his phone, realizing that the tamas probably knew the way by heart.

At one point, TamaBruti turned back to wave him along. Nick huffed and panted, taking a moment to breathe. TamaBruti stopped moving and stared up at Nick. Phew..at least one of the tamas waited for him..phew..

When the tamas saw the park, they looked super excited and began to happily talk to Nick about everything there. Little beans. When Nick finally gave the okay, the tamas rushed to play. The tamas absolutely adored the park judging by how rough they played with each other. TamaMimik stuck behind to observe before approaching a Tic, Tac, Toe. They didn’t seem to understand before beginning to spin the shapes until they all matched. TamaMimik looked immediately proud of themselves.

Nick sighed and sat down at one of the benches. Nick grew tense when he heard a grouchy voice from behind him. “You better watch those critters closely, my niece isn’t the best with rough housing.” Nick turned around and saw who it was. It was a rather scarred gentleman with a missing arm and eyepatch. They had a mild limp as they approached Nick.

“You must be the ‘Nick’ that Pal wouldn’t stop rambling on about to me,” The man murmured and slowly sat down on the bench next to Nick. “The name’s Rowan, I assume Pal told you to bring his little critters here?” His voice was grumbly and sounded like he had a sore throat. He looked a little weak from his injuries.

“Erm, yeah..he said they needed some outside time.” Nick stared a little at Rowan’s scars before remembering how rude it was. “…You’re wondering how I got these scars, hum,” Rowan looked over at Nick.

“Uh..yes. I-I’m sorry for staring, Rowan,” Nick muttered, looking back up at the park. Mimik and Bruti were playing Tic Tac Toe peacefully. Opti was guarding the monkey bars and hitting Lanki’s claws every time he tried to make it across. Rowan sighed and sat back, “It’s alright, these scars make a lot of folk curious. My nephew says they make me look ‘badass’. Don’t know where he learned such a term but I don’t mind.”

“Anyways, I’ll start with my arm. A Grain Auger. My brother almost suffered my injury but he was lucky I stepped in to do the stupid thing. My arm wasn’t cut clean off..but you could see my skeleton through most of the cuts,” Rowan chuckled a sick chuckle before sighing. “It tickled a little but I’m still alive, aren’t I?” Rowan said. Nick stayed silent, paying full attention to Rowan’s rambles as he watched the tamas play. “Who’s your brother?” Nick asked at some point. “Ah, Felix. He’s got a few injuries from the farm too. Colorblind and has mild brain damage that never quite healed up. He was caught during a cow stampede at a Branding event,” Rowan explained, “He recently got ownership over the farm and turned it into a corn maze, people throwing corn is no issue, he sells the corn during the summer before opening the maze in the autumn,” Rowan explained.

A kid who Nick figured was Rowan’s Niece suddenly picked up Bruti from behind and gave him a tight hug. “Uncle Row! Uncle Row! Look! They’ve returned!!” The kid cheered, still hugging TamaBruti despite his clear struggles and begging chirps. Rowan carefully stood up and gently yelled, “Put the Brute down! He doesn’t like being picked up, Kighly!” Kighly giggled and gently set TamaBruti down with a few pats on his head. Kighly then noticed TamaMimik and became excited. “Look Uncle Row! There’s a gecko now!!” Kighly crouched down and gave TamaMimik a few happy pets. Mimik looked a little angry at first before sinking into them and purring a little.

“Now then, about my eye..let’s just say me and Felix were being stupid and playing with pitchforks in the fields,” Rowan sighed. “Eww!! Uncle Row..!! You just met him! Don’t scare him with your gross stories!!” Kighly whined, covering her mouth and mimicking puking. Rowan chuckled at Kighly’s reaction to his ‘gross stories’. Rowan laughed and then sighed, “Can’t even joke with how bloody it ended up being..I wear the eyepatch because I know I’ll lose a glass eye. Besides, my scars make me look tough. A lot of entitled jerks are scared right off,” Rowan chuckled. Nick nodded.

TamaLanki slowly pulled his way over to Nick, face in the tire bits. “Graaaah….” TamaLanki slowly pointed at TamaOpti who looked extremely proud of himself for keeping TamaLanki off the monkey bars. Nick sighed before picking up TamaLanki and giving him a small hug. Never thought he would be doing this..

TamaLanki cooed and slowly tucked back into his tamagotchi body and fell asleep. “sigh. Didn’t think TamaLanki would tire so..easily,” Nick murmured, “He seemed the most full of energy. Ah well..” Nick held TamaLanki.

Rowan looked at TamaLanki before piping up with a question, “Did Pal tell you what those little critters were? It’s been on my mind and he keeps dancing around the question every time I ask..” Rowan explained, reaching out a hand to pet TamaLanki’s head. The pets got a small purr from him. “No, I don’t think Pal actually knows. He’s mentioned Parasites and has admitted that they almost claimed his body as a host before he struck up an offer for them. …Knowing he was able to tame them..makes me a little scared of him honestly..” Nick admitted, beginning to pet TamaLanki. “..So all I know is that they might be parasites..” Rowan nodded and sat back, going back to watching his niece who was chasing 2 TamaRoachis and TamaBruti in a game of tag. TamaMimik was still playing Tic Tac Toe with herself. She really liked the toy.

“Any other injuries?” Rowan nodded and lifted up his pant leg to reveal another scar on his leg with the limb. “How’d you get that one?” Nick asked, “Cow. Was messing around and got a sharp kick straight to the kneecap. Did tickle but not as much as the Grain Auger fortunately,” Rowan pulled the pant leg back down. “..Had no idea that the country life could be so rough,” Nick’s knee bounced a little at the thought. This got a sharp laugh out of Rowan. “HA!” He laughed. “Yeah, a lot of city folk don’t realize that. Most o’ them think it’s just planting food and riding horses all day long. Maybe collecting eggs here and there. But nah, depending on what you have on your farm, well, there is an injury for everything, humans are very frail, makes me wonder why some o’ us haven’t evolved armor yet.”

“...” Nick looked towards the sun as it settled down. “It’s…” Nick took out his phone. “Nearing 4ish. Pal should hopefully have calmed down by now. I don’t know what’s happening with him…” Nick frowned, looking off into the distance. “?” Rowan inquired with just a head tilt. “He’s acting really strange like he both wants all my attention and yet wants me gone already..” Nick looked a little nervous. “He’s never acted like this ever before. He’s kinda..scaring me,” Nick turned to Rowan to make sure he’s listening, “Not to mention these strange nightmares I’ve been having every night since I’ve arrived. The Pal in those is somehow even worse..!” Nick held his head. Rowan carefully hugged him. “Try to talk to Pal again…” Rowan suggested.

“Make him listen.”

…So Nick did. After a walk home, Nick took the tamas inside and turned on the TV for the tamas. Nick slowly entered the warehouse and saw Pal working hard on installing something inside Percy’s mouth. “..Pal?” Pal’s head shot to look at Nick. Pal cheered and dropped down from the platform he was working on. “Nick! You’re back!! ..Again!!” Pal tightly hugged Nick again. Nick stepped back and forced Pal to let go. This clearly confused Pal in a way that made him immediately angry. “..Wh..Nick..what’re you doing?” Nick crouched down to Pal’s level, holding his hand gently. “Pal, I have something to tell you, I need you to listen,” Nick said.

Pal looked immediately anxious. “Wh..please, let’s wait..!” Nick shook his head. “No, this is important… Those dreams I’ve been having..” Nick started. Pal grew immediately tense before yanking away from Nick. “No! Never! Your dreams are stupid!! They aren’t true!” Pal crossed his arms. “I won’t have my one chance to see you- ruined by some- some- AUGH–! STUPID NIGHTMARES!!” Pal shouted before hissing and shoving past Nick to continue work on Percy. “Know what?? If you talk about those stupid dreams again. I’m cutting this visit…short and sweet,” Pal hissed, picking up his blow torch to continue work on installing something in Percy’s mouth.

Nick shuddered before trying to continue. This caused Pal to cover his ears and, rather childishly, start yelling over Nick. “...I’m never getting through to you..” Nick frowned and left to go back inside.

Slowly, Nick walked back inside and sat down on the couch beside the tamas. They were separated and just watching more..weird videos. Nick gently took the remote from them and checked the name of the game they were playing. “...Oh,” Backrooms. He heard stuff about that..ah, oh well. Nick slowly snuggled up to the tamas and watched the videos with them until he finally, slowly, fell asleep. It wasn’t that late..he was just…really worn out today..

(Okay but does anyone remember that short point and click game called Short and Sweet? The one about Stranger Danger? …Yeah, that’s the reference)

#playtime with percy au #playtime with percy

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