Chapter 1: Prologue
Summary:
a simple prologue! please read notes for further content warnings.
Notes:
hii!! welcome to a new beginning.
with my writing/art partner may, we're creating a whole new universe!! each character is based off of a Tally Hall song, and you can view these characters either here, on tumblr: https://bennyplaysdrums.tumblr.com/post/653396507458928640/cw-for-multiple-eyes-on-a-character-me-and
or here, on twitter!: https://twitter.com/avrgdrumplayer/status/1402121071088877571
i hope you enjoy the prologue! CONTENT WARNINGS FOR: mention of alcohol/drunkness, fire (mentioned lightly), swearing, gun wound mention (not described in detail).
Chapter Text
In our universe, cities pass every day and live their lives without anyone looking in. However, for the members of our quiet city, that is not the case.
Residents of Mechanical Museum city must deal with tourism passing in and out, as well as frequent quarrels between their mayor, and their sister city Good&Evil. Albeit small, the city gets moving during the daytime, beginning with the obnoxious caw of the resident alarm chicken.
A young ginger boy stirs in his bed, tapping at his dresser.
"Theoooo," He complained, sitting upright in bed. "Wake up, Finch. It's time to go," The ginger held the other boy's arm, shaking him lightly.
"Give me 5 more minutes. Please, Scout. You know we didn't get to bed 'till late." The boy's eyes flickered open. They were a bright yellow, squinting due to the sun in his face.
"You said 5 minutes 30 minutes ago! I even reset our alarm chicken!" The boy, Scout, complained right back. The chicken bawked in response, hopping in through the open window, and crawling onto Finch's bed. The chicken proceeded to flap it's wings directly in his face. Finch sat up reluctantly, looking to their doorway, spotting their mother figures standing in the doorway.
"Goodmorning, kids!" The blonde woman chirped, her black haired counterpart nervously holding her hand. "Come along, you've got things to do today!" The boys trudged along, out of their bedroom, and into the small kitchen. The blonde woman, who we know as April, had already preemptively been making pancakes. She gasped, running towards the stove as they realized one of the pancakes had caught flames. The black-haired woman, known as Clover, quickly poured water on the fire, and as she did, she realized she had ruined the pancakes. Her big blue eyes went wide, and with a guilty expression, she looked at April.
"I- I'm, I'm so sorry," Clover sniffled, it's tears running down her face. April shook her head, and held her face in both of her hands.
"It's perfectly okay. Pancakes can be made again, you and I can't. The house would have burned down, you did the right thing." April smiled at it, and gave her a light hug. Clover nodded, sinking into the hug, as Finch and Scout sat by and watched.
"We'll, uh, get breakfast somewhere. We'll be okay! We love you both, okay, bye," Scout said, practically dragging Finch by the arm as they walked out the door together, only closing after Theodore the 3rd, the poor chicken, followed them out as well. Scout felt like he could finally take a breath, and let out a deep sigh.
"Listen, I know they're in love, but EUGH. I hate love. Adults are so weird." Scout said, his face turning in disgust. Finch simply nodded along, allowing Theo to climb onto his head. As they walked along to the local park, they saw the majority of the town listening in to mayor Sotry.
One man, looking similar to Finch, shouted out a loud "BOOOOOOO!!!" from the crowd. A womanly figure approached the man from behind, tapping his shoulder. Zheir eyes blinked at him a few times, and void waited for their deserved apology.
"Sorry," Michael complained, not sure which set of Juno's eyes to look into. Zhey shook zheir head, and pointed to the man on the podium, insinuating that he should be apologizing to Mr. Sotry. Michael made a big deal of it, letting a large sigh fall from his mouth.
"I'm sooooo soooo sorry, Mayor Sotry, for saying what everyone is thinking." Michael had a smile on his face, sort of drunk off of the attention and adrenaline. In front of him, appeared their other local omnipotent, Morphea. It stared at Michael with her big, voidish eyes, and Michael's heart lurched in his chest. "I'm so sorry Mayor Sotry!" He exclaimed. His eyes were wild with fear--Noone knew what he saw, and he'd never repeat it, but it had to have scared him. Scout snickered a little, and approached the crowd. The two young boys wedged themselves between the local fruitcake, Fitz, and zeir boyfriend Marvin.
"Hi, boys. Are you here to listen to him talk about his activism?" Marvin asked, sarcasm dripping from his words. Finch nodded along as he always did, holding his hand up to Theo. Michael spotted them in the crowd, walking back towards them, and picked up Theo from Finch's head. In response, the chicken started furiously clucking and pecking at his hands.
"Ow, ow! Shit! Okay! I'll put you down!" Michael placed the chicken back atop the kid's head. Michael huffed as he listened to the mayor speak about how good he was for their city, and rolled his eyes.
"Cmon. I'm tired of Sotry's shit." Michael walked along, the boys following close behind him. "Where are we going?" Finch inquired, having spoken to Michael for the first time in weeks. He wasn't much of a talker, unless to his mothers or Scout.
Michael shrugged, and said, "Somewhere Sotry isn't." He walked across the main road, watching as two men reeled through the streets. Giggles emerged from the both of them, in a mix of hiccups and slurred words. Michael sighed deeply.
"If Sotry really wants to fix something, tell him that Ray has to be more responsible when he serves alcohol. OLIVER! SYDNEY! GET OUT OF THE STREET!" The two boys mumbled something presumably hurtful in response, and stumbled onto the sidewalk.
"For Juno's sake, you're both plastered. Go home." Michael said, ordering them in the direction of the neighborhood. Scout and Finch couldn't help but watch as the two men made fools of themselves, once again stumbling over their own legs and each other's. Michael continued his walk down the main road, peering into the local bar and restaurant. The brothers who ran it, Rory and Ray, sat inattentively at the bar, both looking absent minded.
"Hey!" Michael barked, "Maybe you should learn when to cut off your customers. Ollie and Syd are reeling through the streets, piss ass drunk. You're lucky that everyone's listening to the mayor spit his bullshit." She had a mean tone, but that's just how Michael spoke. The 3 of them continued their walk, down to the pier, waving at their local sailor.
"Hey there, friends! Got anywhere you need to be by boat?" Elijah asked, seeming fairly chipper today. Michael looked between the three of them, and shook his head.
"Just stopping by to get away from the commotion in town." Elijah nodded knowingly, turning back to whatever they had been doing before. The three of them sat on the edge of the dock for a moment, listening in peace to the water hit against the beach. That was, of course, until they heard something foreign. Michael knew the sound all too well. A shot rang out. Noone in Mechanical Museum OWNED a gun, what the hell had happened. Finch and Scout exchanged nervous glances, and Michael ordered them to stay on the pier with Elijah, who seemed unbothered. Michael sprinted, and I mean sprinted, back towards the town park. He was panting, his chest heaving, as he saw Mayor Sotry, laid out on the field.
Chapter 2: Friend or Foe?
Summary:
Michael has to deal with the passing of Mayor Sotry, and he encounters a new person on his latest adventure with Finch and Scout. But the question is, Will he be friend, or foe?
Notes:
cw for major character death!! there is death!! there is also mention of blood, and a considerable amount of it!! this chapter is pretty angsty!!
Chapter Text
"Shit, shit, shit!" Michael exclaimed, looking around to find anyone to help, realizing that Scout and Finch were still standing right behind him. Both were breathing heavily, looking at the sight of what had happened. "Go find April! Now!" He barked, and the two boys nodded as they ran off. Michael looked at Sotry's fading expression, and held both of his hands over his wound.
"Fuck!" He exclaimed. As much as she didn't like Sotry, he didn't wish this kind of death upon him. He felt a hand touch the side of his face, and his eyes went wide. Sotry's eyes were fading, and Michael was shaking his head.
"I didn't think my time would come so soon. Everything happens for a reason, Mike. Remember that. As bad of a dad as I was, I love you forever, son. Alright?" Sotry asked, his eyes slowly blinking, as his arm fell from his face. Michael shook his head, his mouth hanging open.
"Sotry." Michael demanded. "Come on, you're not funny old man. Get up." He said, shaking him. He felt arms around him, the familiar blonde hair falling onto his shoulders was only recognizable as April's. "Let me go! He's not dead, He's fine! Let me go!" Michael insisted, as she continued to shake Sotry's lifeless body. His words jumbled into tears, sobs choked against his throat as he was dragged away from Sotry's body by April.
"Michael, shh. You did everything you could." April tried to comfort, watching as Elijah walked into the town, hat over his heart, aiding Juno in moving Sotry from his place of death. Michael continued to shake his head.
"You're not listening!" He yelled, voice breaking, continuing to try and thrash out of April's grasp. He eventually slumped down, essentially being held by his armpits, head hanging. He made no more legible noise, only attempted words and sobs. Scout and Finch looked on to the blood still pooled in the grass. Sotry's tie was still lying beside it. Scout felt a pit of anxiousness in his stomach, and he looked away from the scene. He couldn't pay attention for too long. Finch had a look of confusion written on his face. He leaned in to talk to Scout.
"I thought that Michael hated Mr. Sotry," He mumbled, looking at the sad sight of Michael's external breakdown. Scout shrugged, and said,
"I guess she couldn't have hated him too much." He looked to Michael, and crouched beside him.
"Mikey?" Scout asked, Michael looking up at him. "It's usually just me and Finch, but, since you're sad, we figured we'd invite you on an adventure. Uh- Last time we were out, we found a path to the next city. It's real short, we'd get their in no time. What do you say?" He asked, outstretching one of his small hands. Michael sniffled, and looked down to his own hands. They were covered in his father's blood. He thought about it for a moment, and he nodded.
"Sure. Give me a few minutes to get cleaned up." He smiled weakly at the two of them. He shakily stood up from the ground, April putting an arm around his shoulders to aid him.
"Come wash off. Staying like that will do nothing but make you even more upset." April said, walking him back to her house. Michael nodded, staying quiet. The poor guy had hundreds of thoughts running through his mind. Fuck, he didn't even get last words to his own father. Years, upon years, of hating him, for what? What did it get him? A dead fucking father. That's what. He made it into April's house, making a break for the kitchen sink. He washed his hands. Once. Twice. It devolved into six, seven, eight times washing his hands mindlessly as his blank eyes stared out the window. Clover turned off the water.
"Michael," She said, her usually soft tone turned stern. "You're going to scrub your hands raw. It's okay, you're clean. Scout and Finch are waiting for you outside." She said, gently. Michael sighed, feeling the stinging pain in his hands.
"Shit," He exhaled, his hands shaking. "Thanks for stopping me, I, I wouldn't have realized otherwise. He sighed, and Clover nodded with a smile. He dried his hands off, albeit they hurt to the touch. He walked outside, meeting the worried eyes of Scout and Finch. He smiled as convincingly as he could, and put back on his usual persona.
"Well, are you boys ready for our first group adventure?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. The two younger boys rushed off in the direction of the path they'd found, and Michael waved goodbye to April, standing in the doorway, and Clover, peering through the curtains.
"I'll have them home tonight, I promise!" He smiled, running after the two of them. "Wait up for me!" He exclaimed, tripping over his feet a little. The three of them continued till they found a trail, leading down into an unknown wooded area. Michael stopped hesitantly, albeit the other two continued on. He sighed, getting a bad feeling in his stomach. He shrugged it off, accounting it to the trauma he'd endured today, and continued after them. They met a.. strange looking fellow a short way into the path. He had purple horns stemming from his forehead, and what looked to be a scaly tail, despite his body and face seemingly being human. Scout had a look of disgust on his face.
"Eugh! What is that?!" He asked, cowering behind Finch, whose wide eyes seemed to burn through the soul of the man. Michael gave Scout a light slap on the shoulder.
"Scout!" He whisper-shouted. He looked to the dragon-man creature, who was looking at them expectantly.
"Been a while since I've seen normal humans. You look normal, at least. I take no offence, though if you must perceive me, know I do have a name." The man said, raising an eyebrow and cracking a smile. "Kasper. I'm assuming you're Mechanical Museum residents. Anyone else in this province would know who I am. I'm a resident- er, well, former resident of Good & Evil. Before it all went to shit," He said, venom in his tone, though his smile never faded. The three boys listened intently to him speak, almost entranced.
"I- I'm Michael. This is Scout, and Finch. Listen man, we don't want any trouble, we just-" Kasper cut him off.
"I don't want any, either. I was wondering if you boys would do me a favor. You seem like you know your way around well enough, and I need a hand getting home. What do you say?" He asked. Michael looked at Scout and Finch, who now seemed eager to play hero. Michael had a feeling he would not get them home tonight.
euporiez on Chapter 2 Tue 10 Aug 2021 12:07AM UTC
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Biroktikar_Part_II (Biroktikar) on Chapter 2 Tue 23 Nov 2021 08:23PM UTC
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