Cat

 

Just as Niamh and I separate from the pressure, just as it feels like the weight of hatred is too much, just as Subterfuge’s light at the end of the tunnel seems deathly close to our demise…the torrent of malice begins to subside. Through the train’s gaping mouth, still pried open by Violet, the sea of pitch flows inwards, prompting the wolf to leap free, just in time as it seems like the Ghost Train begins to consume itself, its own face and metal skull being pulled into its own mouth. The walls of the subway tunnel begin to reform at last, and Liz slows down our ride as the suction seems to pull the entirety of the ghost backwards until there’s nothing left, only Coyotl and Zee sitting where the heart of the monster once beat.

“Is…is it over…?” Fox asks, Violet finally shedding herself from her other half and returning to shadow. “D-did we win?!”

The rat begins backing up, bringing us closer to our two heroes so Niamh can swoop in and pick up Zee, while I reach down and pull the chimera up onto our platform.

“It’s gone, but…”

I trail off as I hold Coyotl by the shoulders, concern twisting my face into a frown seeing no face of his own on the chimera’s screen. In fact, the screen is completely shattered, nothing but a black pit where that bright visage used to present itself.

“Coyo…? You okay, sis…?”

…No response. He stands there slouched forward, antennae twitching occasionally.

“Zee, darling, what exactly happened in there?” Niamh asks the robot boy, who likewise seems stunned to silence, but at least shows some sort of responsiveness in clinging to the serpent’s arm. Aw, jeez…

“C’mon, everybody, let’s get these two some help before we further assess the situation.”

Nods all around at my suggestion, Liz sighing and resuming our drive back to the hub of Subterfuge.

My first thought is Geppette, someone who seems pretty knowledgeable when it comes to magical ailments, so I begin walking Coyo there as soon as we’ve parked, each of his steps stiff and shambling, slow and shaky. However…as soon as we’ve found our way to Charlotte’s Threads, Coyotl just…keeps walking. I try to pull him back in the right direction, but he doesn’t budge an inch, as if his whole body were a walking block of lead.

“Hey, Coyo, c’mon, what’s going on…?”

Still nothing, just as before. I look to Zee, who though still somewhat despondent, is at least able to muster a few words for an answer.

“H…he ate…the heart…”

Huh? I look back at Coyo, who continues to shamble forwards while I trail just a step behind.

“The heart of the Ghost Train…?”

The robot nods, and I frown in thought, brow furrowed just trying to think of what that could possibly entail besides everything bad.

“Fox, could you see if you can grab Geppette? I’m gonna keep Coyotl company.”

My partner nods, zipping into the store while Niamh holds Zee close, ushering him forward to get him somewhere he can rest. Bomba, however, doesn’t seem happy to leave her student in this state, even if she recognizes there’s not much she can do, she tags along regardless.

“...Dis is far from ova, I’s can smell it.”

Funnily enough, Liz stays for the ride as well, her heels clacking by my side as we follow the slow chimera’s journey.

“Something’s definitely up, I can agree that much,” I say, turning from the rat to Coyotl. “Too bad our ghost expert is the one who’s out of commission at the moment. I’ve got no idea what to expect…”

“Da worst as always, Cat Kitten.”

Sigh. Yeah…we can never quite catch a break, can we? Just as I thought we’d finally seen to the end, I get this sickening sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Sometime later, Coyotl eventually makes it to the surface, but doesn’t seem keen on stopping there, beginning a new trip through the sunset lit city of Monorise, prompting me to tap my earpiece for Fox.

“You okay? We’re out of Subterfuge now, and Coyo is moving west as it’d seem.”

“Yeah, sorry– Geppette was a bit busy by the time we showed up, but we’re on our way now. We’ll be there…eventually.”

I can’t help but smirk at the image of Fox helping the old lady walk along the subway tunnel, slowly but surely, so I nod, even if she can’t see me doing so.

“Take it easy, we’re not moving very fast ourselves.”

My attention is brought back to Coyo, once again saddened that I just have no clue how to help besides try and be here for him. I look to Liz again.

“I figured you’d be too busy to play chaperone, what gives?”

“Don’t give me dat shit, toots, dis city is mine, and at da moment, dis fucker’s a tickin’ time bomb.”

The Rat Queen throws her hands up behind her head and groans, tail flicking with agitation.

“Plus, yous saw what we’s just fought, I’s ain’t keen on talkin’ business after dat.”

“That’s fair, that’s fair,” I say, sighing alongside the rat as we slowly make our way through town until it becomes all too obvious where Coyotl is headed.

“...Alright, this is super fishy.”

The Inkton Manor. It seems most of the statues we snuck past on our first trip through have been looted or have fallen over, making the place look absolutely deserted. Just in the nick of time, Fox arrives pulling Geppette along at last, the old lady not seeming too happy about being rushed.

“Heavens, my child, I understand the rush, but please understand these old bones!”

“Sorry, ma’am, but…look.”

The vixen brings the spider past us and points at Coyotl, Geppette’s face quickly being overtaken by shock.

“My word…this is a most serious case of possession.”

Yeesh, not what I wanted to hear, but about what I expected.

“So what can we do?” I ask, still staying close to Coyo as we walk through the manor’s courtyard.

“That depends on the strength of the possessor, and how deep the possession goes. If what I’ve heard is to be believed…”

The spider’s face looks grim, a far cry from the confidence I was hoping she’d be inspiring…but, at the very least, Coyotl seems to stop as we arrive at his front steps, stopping in place, still slouched over like a zombie, staring blankly at the front door.

“...Coyo…? Can you hear me, buddy…?”

Paralysis strikes as the chimera actually begins to turn and face us. Being ignored by this haunting presence was chilling enough, but actually being acknowledged by it is somehow far, far worse. Eyes wide, fear dripping off my face like sweat, I only just notice what’s in Coyotl’s claw before it’s too late.

He shatters the Summoning Stone in a single motion.

 

…

 

“...”

Zee sits at our dinner table with Sue, silently staring at the empty seat across from himself, those digital eyes filled with an unbearable sadness. Once the dishes are all done, I walk over and take that seat, though he looks just as despondent as before I’d sat down.

“...Hun…you can’t blame yourself for something like this.”

It takes a moment before he even musters the will to respond, resting his elbows on the table and pressing his face into his palms.

“It was my one job…! How can I be anything but pissed at myself?!”

Zee curses himself, the robot shaking his head and letting his electric hair get messy somehow, while Sue remains mostly silent with their can of soda. I’m guessing there’s not much to say when you share the same mind, maybe it sounds different coming from inside than it does out. It’s been a solid day, though, and so many people are already trying to figure out how to approach this living tower, Alexander. I figured a fight to win would motivate him, but Zee isn’t quite all there. Still…

“I get that, I get that, but…

“I promised him…”

“...”

It’s hard to sound more convincing than his own criticisms (I know that struggle all too well), especially with such purpose behind his words. So I stay silent for a time, allowing him to air it out. I don’t think he’s really had the chance yet.

“We promised we’d make things work, and I just…let him do that…!”

…I’m no motivational speaker, but maybe I can rile up some spirit out of him yet.

“...Let’s make things work then.”

Zee blinks, staring at me dumbfounded.

“Huh?”

“He’s still up there. We can make things–”

I stop as Zee shakes his head, a sad mechanical vrr accompanying the motion.

“I-I can’t…”

“What do you mean?”

Sue takes a deep breath, which makes sense, since I doubt Zee’s robot body needs to breathe other than to emote as we do.

“I shouldn’t be the one to do…anything. I failed him once, I can’t fail him again…”

Jeez…knowing what a hero Coyotl is, I doubt he’d ever blame Zee for just about anything, let alone as big of a decision as this.

“He did what he did for you, you know. He did it for all of us, the dumb bastard.”

“What’re you trying to say?” Zee asks, as if on the cusp of getting what I’m trying to say.

“I’m saying…I think he’d appreciate seeing you not on the brink of death. Nobody appreciates a big damn hero like he does.”

The robot thinks for a moment, but judging by the gentle smile on Sue’s face, I’m guessing I may have gotten to him, if just a little. So he sighs himself this time and nods, leaning back in his chair and cocking an eyebrow at me.

“...Alright. But how’re we gonna, like, get past that…barrier thing?”

Ah, right. With paw to chin, I play back all we know about the situation. At the very top of Alexander sits Coyotl in a dark bubble, a shield so powerful that none of our tacticians believe it could actually be pierced even if we got up there. If only there was some way to get through to Coyotl in there, maybe he could open it from the inside…

From…the inside…

That’s it!

“Easy,” I answer with a catty smirk and crossed arms. “We return the only thing we ever stole from him.”

Both Sue and Zee look at me a bit confused before looking at one another, eyes widening upon their realization.

“The gate stone!” they both exclaim, to which I nod and stand up, walking over to my room, wherein that rock sits at the bottom of our drawer, right where I’d left it after visiting Sue and Zee’s headspace.

“That’s right. So, how’s about we warm up our daring rescue with some dungeon crawling, eh?”

Sue snorts, taking a sip of their tea and sighing with a smile.

“You two go on ahead. If at least one of us is resting, the other should be able to continue going no problem,” she says, looking at the seemingly disappointed robot and giggling. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch up with you all eventually. Now go on, I’m sure Fox and Violet will be more than happy to see you raring to go again.”

There’s no doubt about that. Thus, opening the door for Zee, we zip on over to Reed’s for a mission briefing.

 

…

 

It’s not long until we find ourselves at the feet of the great tower, the Radiant reaching high above the clouds, such intense power as to prevent entrance from anywhere besides the very bottom, and yet still we’re taunted by the mass of dark energy shielding Coyo at its peak. Coyotl…I promise, we’ll be there soon, sis.

Turning around, I take count of our ranks, though it’s not much compared to the numbers we had going into the fight with the Ghost Train. Everyone is pretty busy setting themselves up in the city, or are dealing with Alexander’s little light sprites, ‘gizmos’ Niamh calls them. Thankfully, Vivian was one of the few aliens who saw fit to join us, along with the few battle ready folks of Aspen Town, standing by our side, though, even still, this team looks a little empty…Seeing Fox, Violet, Zee, Niamh, and Bomba all together without Sue, Liz, or Coyotl feels lonely almost, but we’ll have to make do.

“Are you ready for our last fight?!” I shout, followed by cheering from our ranks. Maybe we’ll be able to make due with spirit like this.

“ARE YOU READY TO KICK SOME ASS?!”

I can feel everyone’s spirits burning, their lights as bright as the sun. Yeah…yeah, we’ve got this. We have to. For all of us. For Coyo…

“THEN LET’S KICK SOME FUCKIN’ ASS!!”

With my final warcry, I lead the charge into the massive steampunk gates that shoot exhaust and billow open for us, inviting our party into the heart of danger.

Well, the internals of the living dungeon certainly feel alive. Gears and chains shudder, shake, and spin like the moving parts of an organic creature, though funnily enough, it feels less like we’re invading these insides, and more so like we’re a part of it. Like blood cells charging through the veins of this challenge crafted for the most hardened of adventurers.

Niamh makes sure to shield all of us in a veil of mist, the billowing steam blasting from the pipes of this hall being brushed away by the serpent’s magic, allowing us easy passage into the first spiral staircase. Odd, it almost feels like there should have been something for us to fight on the way here, but it makes our lives easier having not needed to.

Further we ascend until we find ourselves in an arena surrounded by a moat of boiling water, forming walls of steam that encase this battlefield in a humid cage, befitting of the humanoid steam fiend with a mechanical heart beating in its clear chest. Say what you will about the gizmos, they design some attractive looking contraptions…I-I mean, worthy looking adversaries.

“Boss time. Everyone remember the plan?”

Nods all around, Zee punching fist into palm with a loud metal slap, eager as ever to be tanking again.

“THEN COMMENCE!!”

Zee’s wheels rev and fire, sending the robot boy hurtling towards the steam man with a clangorous punch to the heart, rebounding and shooting back in with a launch of his wire extending hand. Already he’s turned the boss around and is duking it out with it, boxing with one another while we come in from behind, our melee attackers moving in and weaving about, giving our ranged forces ample opportunity to land some blows.

Again, it’s odd, but the steam man seems to be in suboptimal shape even before the first blow, often whiffing punches as steam fails to properly jut out and form a powerful enough limb. Something’s off about this…but there’s no point getting lost in the oddities when our only path forward is through them.

 

…

 

“Dammit. Dammit!!”

My fist shakes the table with a frustrated slam, immediately feeling bad as I glance over at a concerned Curly. They set up this whole little watering hole outside Alexander while we were in there, I should be a bit more respectful…still, it’s hard not to be mad, the helplessness of a battle lost weighing on my shoulders the morning after.

“It felt like we were making so much progress after the first tier…! How the hell did you solo all of that before we showed up…?”

Penny chuckles, sitting politely in front of the drink she can’t make use of and being a good sport about it.

“If there was ever a time to expend the last reservoirs of my energy, I believe that would be now.”

Eugh. Nobody at the table was happy to hear that, even Fox, feral and curled up in the ghost’s lap for a good petting.

“Maybe you should take it easy, then…?”

Despite her disagreement being frustrating, her light hearted laugh softens the blow as it becomes louder and cheerier despite the circumstances.

“I’m allowing myself to be stubborn this one time. My dearest descendant was stolen away before my very eyes, and there was not a thing I could do about it. I don’t intend to stop now.”

A grimace contorts my face in dismay thinking about just how much danger everyone was in after the steam man. The gizmos were even more well armed, and by the time we made it to the mechanical death wall, we were in a poor position, not even considering just how cleanly those steam powered punches wiped the floor with us.

“You’re gonna burn out before we’ve even made it to the top at this rate…”

The dragon closes her eyes, content as ever.

“If doing so means you will be able to save Coyotl, then it will have been worth it.”

Never before have I seen someone so at peace with their death…though, I suppose if you’ve been through it once, the blow may be softened somewhat. It’s heart wrenching all the same, though…

“Do you think we have a chance, then?” Zee presses, antsy as can be to get a move on. “Like, c’mon, we beat the Ghost Train kinda, how can we not take this with even bigger numbers?”

Penny hums deep in thought before nodding, pulling Fox up to rest her head on her shoulder while stroking the fur on her back.

“I do. The added power does come with the stipulation of more bodies to protect, but entering each battle at full power may just yield the results we seek.”

“Do we have time for that, though…?” I ask, voice pained at the idea of just how long we might have to make Coyotl wait for a rescue. “I can’t imagine what Coyo is going through right now, will he even be whole if we take too long?”

My query perturbs even Penny. Dammit. Dammit, dammit…! There has to be a better way…! There has to be a way to save him, all of him…!

“Don’tchu knows, Cat Kitten~?”

As she knows how to do, all eyes are drawn towards the all too familiar voice of a sauntering Rat Queen…with an entire army of Ascended folk behind her.

“If dere’s a will, dere’s a way~”

“Huh?!”

I stand up and get a load of the sheer magnitude of her power in numbers that continue to grow, more and more turning the street corner to reveal themselves.

“Liz, what the fuck?! How?!”

The rat cackles and haws, reaching into her pocket and…oh, Goddess dammit all. THE NECKLACE.

“Yous left me with quite da trinket ya did~”

Even snatching it back from her grimy claws only makes her laugh more rancorously. The slimy bastard…wait, did she just…?”

“Did you just read my fucking thoughts? Have you been listening in on the rat in my head since you put her in here?!”

She seems oh so amused by my findings, grabbing a nearby chair and falling into it, kicking her legs up onto a nearby table, its previous occupants swiftly leaving it behind.

“How else am I’s gonna keep an eye on da most important woman in Monorise~?”

“RAT.”

My paw presses into her chest like the barrel of a gun, burning hot enough to make her sweat, and somehow she enjoys every second of it.

“Uh huh~?”

“This is a fucking VIOLATION of my PRIVACY.”

She smirks, her putrid grin lined with shark teeth dripping venom.

“Nothin’s stoppin’ yous from violatin’ mine in return, toots~”

“You WANT me to do that, it’s not the fucking same!”

Haw haw, goes the rat, oh so pleased with her one sided bargain. Alright. Alright, I’ll play your game. And I’ll win, just like I have every time before.

“Violet.”

“Whozza what’s now?”

Before the rat can stammer any more, I pick her up by the scruff and hurl her back to the wolf as she shifts back into her standing form, catching Liz and somehow smirking mouthlessly as she squirms in her grasp.

“WHADDA HELL ‘A YOUS DOIN’?! UNHAND ME!!”

Heh. Lifting a paw up onto the chair she had just been seated in, I look out over the confused crowd and grin.

“This is a coup. You all take orders from me this week.”

“WHAT?!”

I can’t help but bask in the delight of Liz’s dismay.

“Maybe you’ll take orders from me whenever I damn well please.”

“WHADDA HELL ‘A YOUS GABBIN’ ABOUT!? DOZE ‘A MY GOONS!!”

Heh. Heheheh. Slowly, I turn to look back at the rat, feeling just about as sinister as I’ll ever get.

“Nothing’s stopping you from taking them back, toots.”

Eugh. A shiver slithers down my spine to the tip of my tail. I feel dirty playing by her rules, but by the Goddess does it feel good to see her squirm.

“Y-yous…Yous can’t…”

Once it seems I’ve gotten the okay from the goons, I step back and saunter towards Liz, plucking her from Violet’s claw and keeping her feet off the ground with my paws curled around the collar of her dress top.

“I can. Just did. So, how’s it feel? To have someone else in your head for once~?”

The rat blushes. Ohhh does she go so red, unable to even force a bit of fight out of her.

“Oh, you’re just adorable.”

All her limbs tense up as I pull her lips against mine, getting a good long kiss out of her before letting go and watching her fall to the ground like sludge into a puddle.

“Aw, c’mon. We’ve got a dungeon to storm, bright and early. How’s 9AM sound~? That’s an hour to prepare~”

“Yous…yous a mother fucker, Cat Kitten…~”

 

…

 

“And whys should I’s care about what happens ta dat hick hill in da middle a nowhere, eh?”

I stop the charge and look over to Liz on her phone, tilting my head.

“What’s going on?”

The rat scoffs and rolls her eyes, seeming none too pleased to even be humoring concern over…whatever is going on.

“It’s dat Railsent shithole. ‘Parently doze bozos gots some ghosts ‘a dere own on dere hands. Couldn’t care less.”

I grimace. Why are they suddenly showing up elsewhere…? I mean, with Yombroila Forest existing, I wouldn’t be surprised that there are some lingering agents of the Inktons over yonder…and they seem to get more agitated the more fear and anger boils over, so with Alexander looming above even Railsent, I can imagine stress is high…

“...What, don’t tells me yous considerin’ goin’ over ‘n savin’ em? We’s gots a mission, Cat Kitten, ‘n doze fuckers ain’t worth ya time er respect.”

…While that is true, I find it hard not to worry. We’re halfway up Alexander now, a good enough time as any to give the less experienced folks a breather.

“You’re right, but we have no clue how many people like Jasper and Brianna could still be down there.”

“Yous not given’ me a good answer yet.”

“...And I can rub it in the faces of everybody who treated us like shit while I’m at it.”

Oh Goddess. She really is rubbing off on me. This is fucked up, and she’s grinning the whole time.

“Now yous speakin’ my language! Grab ya crew an’ get da hell outta here, Cat Kitten!”

 

Thank Yom for the checkpoints in Alexander, they really are built to be scaled huh? Back to ground level, me, Fox, Violet, Zee, and Niamh begin making our way to where this all began…an easy run as it ever was at the speed my partner and I move, slowly making out a clearer picture of what’s going on in Railsent.

The whole town is in a tizzy, screaming, houses on fire, people scrambling away from these malevolent specters roaming the streets, though they seem to ignore most people…I wonder why.

“Nia, can you handle the fires?”

“Just like I always do~” she answers with a flirtatious wink before soaring ahead to rain safety down on the helpless denizens of Railsent, while the rest of us soon find ourselves at the village entrance.

Lo and behold, Harold Railsent himself, wielding a pitchfork and trying to fend off an agitated ghost before Fox blasts a hole through its head with a single bullet, surprising him before I dash in and cut the monster clean in half, towering over Harold who finally looks at me with something aside from disgust.

“Y-you…?!”

“Been a while, huh you bag ‘a bones?”

Zee pulls him off to the side so I can incinerate the rest of the ghost without a problem, Harold in complete disbelief seeing who he once knew as the village’s wonder kid, now sporting a less than human appearance.

“What in the sam hell…?!”

“Good evening, sir! We’re here to save the day!”

Before she can join in with a quip of her own, Fox leaps into the air spinning like a wheel, opening up as she opens fire on the newly aggressive ghosts who seem keen on shambling towards one another, I’d imagine trying to amalgamate.

“Wouldn’t you say we’re doing a bang up job already~?”

Oh, Yom dammit, Fox. She lands with flourish, of course, and while some of the amassing forces dissipate thanks to her efforts, many still reach one another and begin to merge together with sickening metal snapping, as if they were bones being broken, and oil oozing, bubbling, reforming to try and make flesh. It doesn’t quite work, making their masterpiece all the more horrifying…

As if dealing with one living building weren’t bad enough, now we have to deal with this hellish house sprouting boney metal arms from its windows, using all its force to drag itself along the ground towards us, its doors flapping open like mouths and eyes, dead set on consuming us.

“Sheesh, the transphobia ghosts can make us a home, but you all couldn’t? The hell’s your problem?” Fox jokes at Harold’s expense, which. Okay, that’s kinda funny in a really sad way.

“Sadly, this time we really are home wreckers!” I add, beckoning Zee over with a curl of my paw and a smirk, the robot boy more than happy to follow the trail I’ve left for him. 

Since they may have difficulty with weaving the way we do, why not solve this our own way? The machine takes me by the paw and I spin them, tossing them into the air and leaping to catch them once more, glowing, fusing, dueting!

 

TROJAN

 

Ohhh, oh THIS feels SO COOL!

Is this what it’s like to hear someone else’s voice in your head?

Our head!

Well, it’s definitely big enough to fit the two of us now, huh?

Our metal hooves meet the ground first, quaking the earth with the weight of our very polygonal, very robotic two storey tall body, topped with a horse head and completed with a big ol’ holographic horse tail. Damn, Zee, didn’t think you’d want to keep all of my curves…

Look, I’m just saying if I were a woman, I’d have a lot of fun with it! Speaking of it, how does it sound?

With how objectified we are both literally and figuratively, I think it’s only fitting.

HELL yes!

While we get adjusted with our much bigger self, Fox keeps up the pressure with a flurry of bullets and rockets mixed in with slashes and smashes while weaving in, blowing out this building’s windows and making it harder for it to keep regrowing limbs. Let’s see, what can we do like this…ah!

Within this part-mechanical part-digital body we feel operations underway, seeing a menu appear within our vision like a HUD, displaying all sorts of units to create and deploy. Ohhh, ho ho, yes, YES!! I can feel our mane ignite into a wall of digital fire as we reel back our metal fist and send it CRASHING against the roof of the haunted house, the segments of our metal hoof opening up and releasing a small digital phalanx to attack at the wound attempting to mend. Each of the little guys are excited as can be, literally on fire, strings of code flickering off of them like embers as they attack, attack, ATTACK!!

Jeez, I can see what kind of games you like to play. Let’s give them some support then, huh? We shake out our mane, cracking our neck and feeling panels on our shoulders open up, little fiery dudes with bows and arrows rising up to pick away at the limbs Fox doesn’t cover. Next up, we pull back our foot hoof and kick the haunted house in the teeth, the literal teeth, releasing a few bigger guys below with a battering ram to repeatedly break those pearly whites. Alright, I think that’s pretty good. Ready to call in the cavalry?

BOY. AM. I. EVER.

One step back, and the ground shakes. Two steps back, and the earth moves. Three steps back, and the surface splits, digital bunkers opening up where it faults and releasing an army of fiery little dudes on horseback, and we charge in with them, the combined force of our tackle OBLITERATING this stupid fucking house, trampling it into the dirt and putting these ghosts to rest at last. Damn. Goddess damn.

WOO!! WOOOOO!! HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AWESOME!! Ah, crap, should probably revert to a not-earth-shaping form before celebrating, huh?

Not a bad idea.

 

Cat

 

Gracefully falling back to the ground with Zee in my arms, I give him a dip and a kiss before letting him go and returning our attention to Harold Railsent, the old man in complete disbelief of what he just witnessed.

“Well?” I sneer, walking over with some serious bravado to loom over him once more. “No ‘thank you?’ Y’know, for saving your whole village?”

He stammers, staring up at my burning gaze and shriveling up. Sigh. Maybe that’s a bit much.

“I-I…I…”

“Look, we didn’t come here looking to get in your good graces, or Goddess forbid, redemption, as if that’s something we even needed in the first place.”

I pull the man up and dust off his shoulders, trying to look less stern, but…not.

“There are folks here like us, people you care about, people whose true selves are invisible to you.”

I lean down, eye to eye with Harold, fixing his hat and smiling.

“Don’t fuck this up for them. Be kind. Be patient. Be understanding. Maybe we’ll be happy to see you come off that train one day once you shape up, eh?”

Not knowing how to respond, Harold simply nods, giving me my cue to step back and look to the rest of the crew.

“Shall we get back to important matters, then?”