okay new part let's go taking a break from my essay to write MORE. i can feel power flowing through me!!!

~~

PIZZA==>

For some reason, you find yourself thinking about pizza. In all honesty, it's fairly frequent that this happens, but it's odd nonetheless. You look around at the town. Water is flowing down the streets like rivers with asphalt beneath them. Gutters are flowing over, no longer doing their jobs. In the strange darkness of the black, featureless sky above you, you can seem which buildings have lights in them. It's not that many! It doesn't seem that very many people have stuck around since this bad stuff started happening. A figure shambles along the side of the road. It's tall and wide, and as you look at it's face, it seems to have no facial features beyond some deep ventilation, and a wide mouth full of black teeth. It turns away. It looks like it fed recently.

YOU: Mom. Hey mom.

Danielle: Yes, honey? 

YOU: Can you buy us pizza? 

Ryan: Dude, I think we have some bigger concerns?

Alex: I don't know, do you want to fight on an empty stomach? I just... Is there even any way we could get pizza? Everything is closed.

Danielle: I am sure Seven Eleven is open.

Wren: Oh, their pizza slaps, yeah!

YOU: It is... Not bad. It is just fine, you know? 

Wren: No, it's awesome, what do you mean? 

YOU: Your taste fascinates me. Did you perhaps experience some terrible accident that reversed your sense of what is high and low quality?

Wren: Yep, and that's why I fell in love with you, boom, roasted.

Antimony: Haha, you got "owned," Deen! And.. so did I, by extension. Huh :0

Your mom rolls down the window, pelting all of you with rain and wind. She waves her arm wildly, signalling to Sam and Tracy, in a motion that means "follow me!" Tracy gives a thumbs up, and even them giving a thumbs up seems cool, somehow! Ryan shifts awkwardly, looking at Antimony out of the corner of his eye. She makes a face at him. You see that Alex is alone in the far back, but she is lounging, and she looks really comfortable actually.

The car passes the trans pride house. It's holding up remarkably well in the storm. 

Antimony: Look Wren, it is YOUR HOUSE. 

Wren: Unfortunately, it's not my house. Not yet.

YOU: And they will not let us paint our apartment like that! 

Alex: That's horrible. They should let you do everything you want, always.

YOU: Yeah!!!

You're still headed towards the area where all the gas stations and fast food is. The town hall is also around there, or at least closer to that side of the town. There's kind of this space between the two halves. You look out toward the saltwater marsh, and at the apartment you live in. You can see the black dome.

It's getting bigger. That is probably not good.

You can see the Seven Eleven now. It's sign is glowing in the rain. It's still open. It's probably a lot like how if Waffle House closes in the south, they're in serious trouble. The Seven Eleven has not closed for the apocalypse. You have to respect it, honestly! Your mom parks, and Sam and Tracy get off their motorcycle, walking into the gas station. 

Danielle: Okay! I am getting two boxes of Pizza. We can eat once we are with your dad. Anything else you want?

YOU: :D

Antimony: :D

Danielle: Mountain Dew, got it! I will get all of you mountain dew. 

She leaves the car. 

YOU: Are you guys ready for this?

Alex: Mountain dew? No. 

Wren: Okay, that's obviously not what she meant, but okay.

YOU: I meant fighting Apophis!

Alex: Oh, yeah. Okay. Sure. Hope I awaken or whatever.

Wren: Me too. I don't know why you haven't yet, Alex. You've been a chew toy just as much as any of us! Maybe more than some of us. 

Alex: It's harder for me to Awaken, because I'm an heir or whatever. But you, you should have already. It takes suffering, right? You've had plenty of that. We all have.

YOU: I just do not want either of you to get hurt :(  But there is no way out, is there? 

Wren: I guess not. 

Your mom is leaving the gas station now, and Sam and Tracy are leaving with slurpees. Your mom has two boxes of pizza with her. She gets in the car and smiles. 

Danielle: Ready to go? 

You think so... Anything else?

okay, here is a sketch of Wren & Diana & Antimony based on their post-timeskip appearances! more fan art will be coming at some point :D hope you enjoy!!

GET GOING! ==>

You decide that this is enough prepping, whistling, twiddling your thumbs, postponing, etc. etc. Also it kind of looks like Sam and Tracy are already leaving? So, yeah, might as well. Get on out of here! 

YOU: We are ready to go, mom! I assume. Everyone else is okay to go, right?

Wren: Yeah.

Alex: Mmhmm.

Ryan: Yeah.

YOU: Okay, sounds good! We can go see Dad now.

Danielle: Okay.

Your mom puts the car into reverse, and then into drive, and then you're in the road. Or, the creek. It feels more like a creek than anything else. You see another one of those ventilation-faced creatures lurching around. You think that might be a problem later. The car turns down another road, and another loud rumbling sound shakes the ground. You look up towards the sky and see more bodies flying through the sky. Your bodies! Interesting. And horrible, of course, but some impulse in you just finds it absolutely fascinating. Like falling stars, punched by a god through some black firmament. It's pretty cool! 

Ryan: More cloned bodies. Or, they are people, right? 

Antimony: I think I am a person. I feel like one.

Ryan: I don't mean it like that, I'm sorry. I know you're a person.

Antimony: I am not upset! It is a genuinely interesting question. I do not know, I think I qualify as a human being. Biologically. But do I have a soul? It is a disturbing thing to contemplate! 

Danielle: I'm sure you have a soul, honey.

Antimony: Maybe! Who knows!

Alex: I think if you can question whether you have a soul, you probably do? Like metacognition.

YOU: You have all the features of a being with a soul, so you might as well have one, I think. If you do not, it is essentially indiscernible from having one, so it is not really a concern, right?

Antimony: Fair enough.

You are approaching town hall now. It's a squat, long building, brown, with bricks. Another pair of suited figures are standing outside. More volunteer men in black. You don't recognize either of them, which is a shame. You were hoping that one of them might be Lillie! Oh well.

Danielle: There are people staying in here, those who have flooded houses, you know. The high school is being used for shelter too. Your dad was waiting for you, to see if you thought full evacuation was the best idea. 

You enter the building and immediately hear the thrumming sound of fluorescent lights. You see Bill, stooped over his phone, sitting on the ground, cross-legged. He smiles faintly, his round face illuminated in light.

Ryan: Uh, is Will... On his way?

Bill gives a thumbs up and a nod, and pats the suitcase beside himself. That's enough for Ryan, you guess. Your group turns down an eerily quiet and bland hallway, lined by offices. The door is open to one of them and you see an older looking man in a tinfoil hat sitting next to a young woman with short brown hair, in a light purple suit. It looks like they've set up a camping stove in there. 

YOU: Is that Sam and Tracy up there?

Wren: Looks like it? 

The two of them are further down the hall. It looks like they're talking to Kevin Lee, which is an incredible waste of time. Sam sees you and shoves Kevin Lee into a room and shuts the door, waving at you. The two walk down towards you.

Sam: Sup man.

Tracy: We thought you beat us. We're going to go see your dad, right?

YOU: Yep! 

Alex: Is my mom around here? You told her we're alive, right, Mrs. Zhu?

Danielle: Of course. I sent her a text. She is around here somewhere.

Alex: Look, guys, I'm gonna go find my mom, okay? I want to see her before stuff goes down. 

Sam: I'll go with Alex. And Tracy is coming, I assume.

Tracy: Package deal.

Sam: Yeah you know it.

Wren: That's fine, Alex. I get it. We'll report anything important.

Alex: Likewise, yeah. 

Wren: I, uh, guess we're the specialists, aren't we? What are we even gonna recommend to your dad, to do, you know? 

Hmmm... Good question. Any ideas?

hey, parts might be late this week. working on a show for a drama competition :D just means I'm a little bit busy this week! hope you'll forgive me, especially provided the rapid pace recently! <3 

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this week is basically kicking my butt, so don't expect any parts, honesty. sorry, but im doing a midterm, and im... I'm tired, guys!!!

@azalea: i think we were probably just at different campuses, im pretty sure it's the same competition. also us we made it to state! im so happyyyyy! 

and uh ill try to have a part up by the end of Monday.

NOT SURE? ==> 

You rack your brains, trying to think up a good solution. But man, it's hard!! It's like your head is just empty. You guess you are pretty tired. It's been a long day, and you have a feeling that it might keep being a long day. You peer at Antimony. She's making a really stupid looking face, and it's kind of cute. She looks comedically perplexed. 

You realize you're making the same face. 

YOU: Planning is hard, Wren! You should be in charge.

Wren: I dunno Deen. I like when you're in charge. 

YOU: Compromise! Make Antimony make the plan! 

Antimony looks at you with an exaggerated expression of betrayal.

Antimony: Deen, you monster! I have no ability to do such a thing! I am stupid in my brain! Make Ryan do it.

You turn to Ryan, with his dumb beard, and his dumb face, and his dumb shirt that looks cooler than your sweater probably and his dumb yellow god-eye. You wonder what dumb plan this dumb guy is going to make. You also think that he's dumb.

Ryan: Uh, shouldn't we get all the data first? From your dad? He's the mayor, he should know more about the town than us. And then, y'know, we can collaborate on what we do. 

Your mom nods, seemingly thinking that that's a fair idea. Darn. It is a good idea. Not dumb. You wish it had been stupid. Why are you acting and feeling this way? You are not a jealous person! You thought you were okay with this guy again! But he's making you mad, and it makes no sense! You don't have to be jealous of him, he has no shot with Wren, she's with you all the way. She doesn't even like guys! You realize that Apophis must have known that this would make you jealous. He's playing you like a fiddle! You resolve to be patient with Ryan. Even though he blew up a planet and killed the giant bug that helped you get superpowers.

You realize that your life is beginning to resemble a work of fiction.

YOU: Hmm... Guys, let's all summarize our lies as how they would sound as Light Novel titles! It would be funny.

Ryan: What? 

Wren: You mean like... I Was Raised by the Neglectful Father Figure of the Trans Woman who Cloned Me and now I'm Supposed to Kill a God?

YOU: Hehehe! Perfect!

Antimony: An Alien Doomed Me to a Clone-ly Death, but I Was Saved by True Love?

Wren: Awww <3 <3 <3

YOU: Clone-ly!!! That is very funny!

Ryan: Uh... I Got Angry at an Insect, so the God of Evil Used Me as a Siphon and Destroyed All Life in a Pocket Dimension?

Antimony: :0

Wren: :0

Danielle: Kid... Maybe do not joke about destroying an entire population? That is a little insensitive?

Ryan: S-sorry sorry sorry sorry.

You realize that you've been walking this whole time. You wonder if anyone else ever does that? Walks through a conversation without even noticing? Regardless of whether you are affected by a common issue or alone in your eccentricity, you appear to be in front of a door marked "TERRANCE ZHU." You can't wait to see your dad. You feel an almost regressive, childish sense of relief at the idea of seeing him. You realize that he can't make everything okay, but you want him to. You want to go home, honestly.

Your mom opens the door. You see your dad, his one arm tapping on the table, wearing a Hawaiian shirt. And behind him... A monster! Something snuck in? He could be in danger!

What do you do?

~~

feels good to be back, i was going insane being non-productive!