A few unlucky Chosen Ones didn't get to enjoy their holiday weekend like everyone else. There was simply too much work to be done and it needed to be done quickly. Due to Grandebelle's recent wave of violent civil unrest, much of the city's downtown area was in ruins including several Chosen-owned buildings and businesses. The total loss in revenue was starting to add up, so orders were handed down to the acolytes to fix things as quickly as possible.
The ex-Animal Brotherhood member Guilty Shadow was one of the unfortunate few who was assigned to repair the damage. He'd been demoted from the job Michael found for him in the production division due to his unreliability and frequent tardiness. Now he wasn't part of any particular division at all. He just did odd jobs as part of the pool of low-level acolytes that the various divisions could call upon at their leisure. But he wasn't the lowest of the low. Due to his years of experience working at his friend's construction firm, he was actually qualified to perform some fairly important tasks like replacing structural supports, installing scaffolding, and reinforcing floors and ceilings. He could do some light plumbing and carpentry work, too. None of it was easy, but at least it was better than getting assigned to haul rubble or dig out collapsed sewer systems.
And he had some friends from the Animal Brotherhood working alongside him, too, so he felt a bit less like a loser when he showed up for work every day. Black Smoke managed to get Cursed Needle, Worm, Corpse Cricket, and Happy to join the Chosen Ones, though Guilty Shadow still couldn't figure out why they’d bothered. The five former gang members made an awkward squad of acolytes that nobody seemed interested in assigning anywhere.
"Cursed Needle, they've got the rubble all cleared out. Can you wheel the walkway over so I can get it elevated?"
"You've got it."
"Happy, see that box on that pallet over there next? Get it unloaded and we'll get the boys to start laying in cement."
"Sure thing, Guilty Shadow. Hey, this is pretty fun!"
"You're the only person on the planet who would ever think that."
"It's not that bad! Look at how fast we're getting this place cleaned up! Just imagine how nice it'll look by the time we're done!"
"Yeah, we're doing it fast. That's because this is an illegal worksite that breaks every safety regulation in the book. If this were a real job... we wouldn't even be allowed to get started until they cleared out all this debris. And this dust is toxic. We'd have to do some kind of decontamination."
Worm chuckled. A bald, gap-toothed young man with piercings all over his face, he was wearing a blue boiler suit and digging away at hunks of concrete with his bare hands.
"Heh heh heh. Rules like that are for losers. Nobody cares. All I know is the boss said 'we gotta clean this site out!' and I’m not arguing with that."
Cursed Needle had his shirt off to show the glory of his rippling muscles as he drove a shovel into the ground. He grunted with exertion and threw a glance over at his fellow acolytes, making a fist.
"Yeah. Let's just do this fast so they send us home. Doesn’t matter what laws are getting broken, this place is starting to look pretty good. Maybe they'll let us back into a real division again if we finish this up before it gets cold out!"
Guilty Shadow looked grim, but Happy nodded in agreement.
The sun had begun to rise above the skyline and cast long shadows onto the ashes of the burnt University District. The acolytes continued their arduous work, drenched in sweat and covered in grayish, smelly mud. There wasn't much for the limp-wristed Happy to do besides carry equipment around and brighten everyone's spirits with his innocent smile.
"That was close! Corpse Cricket, you almost spilled that on me!"
Corpse Cricket was tall, skinny, and clever. His mouth and nose were covered by a black bandana he put on in an attempt to protect his lungs from the dangerous drifting ash. He seemed right at home in his new role as a menial laborer.
"Get out of the way, Happy! I know you want to watch, but make sure you're standing a safe distance behind me, alright?"
Happy grinned and waved his tiny little arms around joyfully. His smile could light the entire world, even during the most long and grueling labor. His friends, such as they were, did their best to make things as easy as possible for their adorable comrade. His presence almost made it seem like getting the Brotherhood back together was worth it. Almost.
"Hey guys, what do think Ghost Wolf's doing right now? He seems... not crazy anymore, right?"
The five acolytes shared a look. Cursed Needle shrugged.
"He’s still crazy, Happy. He just got better at hiding it. Remember what he did? He tore that poor girl to pieces like she was a hunk of meat. Is it even possible to go back to normal after doing something like that?”
"Well, we all make mistakes, right? And it looks like that little blondie has a pretty good leash on him. I don't think he's doing anything without her permission now. Hee hee!"
Happy laughed in a soft voice. Worm chuckled, shaking his head in resignation.
"Hah! You got it backward, dude. She's going to be his next victim. Probably pretty soon. She's obviously got the hots for him, right? She's a little happy pom-pom girl with no idea how scary he is. We'd better make sure he remembers we're all on the same side. You know, in case he goes on another killing spree."
Cursed Needle sighed and twirled his shovel, deep in thought.
"You think it's going to come to that?"
"He's nutso. His dumb blonde friend doesn't know what she's getting herself into. It's a good thing Death Smoke's here to keep him in line. Just like the good old days, right?"
"Yep... just like the good old days."
Guilty Shadow looked up at one of the other work teams with a scowl.
"Corpse Cricket, go help them lay the concrete. These guys are total amateurs. You know what? Don't even bother telling them how to do it. Just push them out of the way and start laying it down."
"Yeah. I'll tell them to go dig dirt. We're trying to get ahead of schedule here."
