"Whew! Those were some gooooooddddd waffles!" Gano exclaimed "You know DougIE" he pointed the silver fork at him "You're not a half bad cook!! This is delicious." "Could you? Close your mouth while you chew?" "Oh. shit. My bad." Gano laughed "Jesus Christ." Douglas facepalmed  "Also..didn't we agree that we'd have that talk this morning? You know... about last night? A guy tried to rob us...you stopped bullets with your mind!! Ring a bell?" Douglas prompted "Not not really." Gano mused as he continued chowing down "Gano!!" "Okay. Okay. Calm down." Gano tried to placate his new friend  "I thought I did a pretty good job summing things up. What'd I miss?" "What'd you miss? You barely explained anything at all!?" "Oh." Gano replied "Oh! Look, I'm a conspiracy theorist and it's not like I have some sort of love affair with our government, but c'mon, psychics from another dimension? If I took that at face value it'd be out my mind!!" "Cause believing in conspiracy theories is not?" Gano raised his eyebrow a bit skeptical  "What?? Oh fu...you know hat I mean!? Stop being obtuse." "Obtuse?' Gano questioned "That's the word you're going with?" Gano questioned "Gano.." Douglas warned "Spell it." "Dammit!!" "Okay. Okay. I'll answer whatever you wanna ask. Just calm down." "

Thank you." "But first things first..." What?" Douglas was seething at this point "I'm gonna finish these waffles." "Of course."   "Awwwwhhhh....that's a shame." A voice sounded from the living room which shared the same space as the kitchen counter  "Hellooooo babies. Isn't it a lovely evening." Greeting their sight was a voluptuous young woman sitting on the futon with one leg  crossed over another.  She seemed to be enjoying herself as she sipped some of Douglas' soda out of one of his wine glasses "Hey!" Douglas exclaimed "That's my favorite soda!! How the hell did you get in lady?"  "Who? Little old me?? Must've slipped through the window or something. You do seem to keep it open?" "What?" Douglas was baffled trying to piece it together "Nice try." Gano interrupted "We're on the fourth floor. There's no way in hell you 'got through the window'. Right now you're technically intruding." "Oh? I am?" the woman feigned remorse "Don't play dumb. That sort of thing.." Gano's hands started to crackle with green electricity "Can be kind of dangerous." "Woah! Woah. Gano there are lots of people in this apartment. We can't afford to have you go any kind of overboard man. Calm down." "Calm down. Don't kid yourself Douglas. Think about it for a second. We were the only ones who've been in and out of this apartment since last night. Did you open the door this morning?" "No..." Douglas answered a bit unsure "Of course. You don't. So that means one of two things: this woman is either lying and she found a way to forge a key or..." "Oh shit!" Douglas' eyes widened in realization  

"That's right." Gano nodded as he saw his friend finally caught on "She's exactly like that creep from last night. This broad's got psychic powers!?"  "Well." the girl disappeared from Gano's eyesight  "You figured that out quick." she reappeared right next to Douglas and gave a teasing lick inside his ear. "I like that in man."  Gano made to attack her but was taken aback when as soon as appeared she vanished from his sight and appeared right behind him  "What's wrong. You act like I just..disappeared." she whispered as she vanished from his peripheral before he could make a move "What?" Gano was stuck in a stupor "What the hell is going on?! It's impossible to lay eyes on this chick."  "Gano are you alright?You didn't go blind again did you?? You don't see her over there?"  Douglas questioned in concern as he pointed to the living room   

"What the fu- Hell no I can't see her! You're saying you can?!" Gano asked with a hint of desperation "Yeah? Don't tell me you can't?"  "I think I'm starting to figure out your special ability Douglas." Gano mused aloud  "I think I am as well." the woman chimed in" I hope it's not what I think it is. That could be quite annoying." "You!! The girl from last night!! It's all coming back to me. I knew that wasn't a hallucination!!" "A hallucination." Gano looked on disappointment "Douglas..c'mon man..really?" "Well" the woman took an exaggerated flip of her hair  "I'm kind of a hard gal' to forget." "Trust me. I won't forget."  Gano muttered to himself as prepped himself to use his powers " Now hold on there green.It's a bit early for getting all down and rough. Why don't we take it easy for awhile." She scolded at him wagging her finger   

"Douglas' dear Aunt Rain got lost last night. She was wandered the street picking up some late night groceries and she's up and disappeared. Who was it? Where could she be? Why wasn't anyone there? What happened? No one seems to know." "I don't know who you are..." Douglas spoke in a low tone that slowly rose " but I suggest you leave my Aunt Rain alone. I'd hate to what happens if you don't."  the strange woman tried to but couldn't hold back a laugh in response 

"That's soooooo cute." Bless her heart, it would touch her to know she's so missed and loved." "Don't worry Douglas. I got this one handled." Gano slowly slid the gun out of jacket in the living room chair "Nuh uhhhhhh." the woman mocked "Did you really think I wouldn't notice that? You. Boy. Call off your attack dog now. If i bite the dust do you  really think that bodes well for your precious Aunt Rain? Just think."  Douglas sighed as he realized they had no choice but to give in "Gano" Douglas reprimanded "Calm it down."  "Yeah. Whatever. I gotcha." Gano relented as the items fell on the floor-no longer under the spell of his powers "Hey green. Could maybe place that in my hand for me?" the woman requested as Gano had no chose but to acquiesce  

"You're lucky Douglas is one of those people that actually cares about his aunt."  "There are people that don't?" Gaon's left eye twitched i n annoyance "Yeah. He seems like a sweet kid." the woman admired the gun in her hand before taking aim and letting a shot off in his Douglas' direction "Shame  it's all over him." However to her dismay the shot didn't come close as the pistol froze and was dropped to the ground mid-air " So, everything they told me was true. Impressive." The woman observed a bit in awe "That was a nice show. Gano was it?" "Oh. So you're using my name no?" Gano retorted   "Yes. That was..quite intriguing to watch..don't let it happen again. 

Or the  nerd's Aunt  gets it." she warned as they heard a clicking sound as she readied another round in the chamber. "You thin I'm really going to let you shoot him!" Gano yelled in refusal "Look I don't know who the hell you think you are, but let me remind you exactly who I am!? You better explain yourself soon or Douglas' and I will be the only ones leaving this room alive!"  "Gano chill out!! You're playing around with my Aunt's life! Shut the hell up and calm down. You don't have the right." 

Douglas was sweating bullets and breathing heavy  at this point as the anxiety started to take a hold "Fine then " Gano relaxed his posture and slacked his shoulders "but you and your family have nothing to do with this Douglas. So if this coward really wants to shoot someone" Gano pointed an accusatory finger at their intruder "then have some actual balls and shoot me. I won't stop the bullets either. I'll take it like a man." "Well don't mind if I do." The woman changed her target and pulled the trigger "Gano Wait!!" Douglas made to protest but it was too late as a bullet lodged it's way right inside Gano's chest. Unfamiliar with the sensation, Gano couldn't help himself as he was thrown back into the wall and coughed copious amounts of blood. "GANO!! SAY SOMETHING DUDE ARE YOU OKAY!" 

"Ye...Yeah..barley." Gano coughed and spat out through labored breath "You!" Douglas turned his gaze upon the culprit at hand "This has gone far enough! What the hell do you actually want!? Are you too cowardly to explain yourself!"  "Little old me? No what could I wan with a pair of strapping handsome men like you." "Fuck...you." Gano cursed   "Such dirty language. Here." she threw a folded note with an address on it to Douglas as he caught in between his fingers. Unfolding it and reading its contents he found himself still confused "What the fuck is this? You want us to meet you somewhere?" "We? Nuh uh? Not with that annoying little talent you have. The only one we need to arrive is him.  "she motioned to Gano "So I'm the guest of honor?? Nice." Gano mocked her with a flattered smile "Heh. Laugh now, cry later,  I guess."she mocked back with a fake laugh of her own "Keep pretending like you don't know what's going on I guess." "And what is going on?" Douglas questioned "Oh. You don't know?" she raised her eyebrows in interest as she looked back and forth between the two men "Well you'll just have to ask your little friend." she stifled a giggle "Hopefully he catches his breath long enough to explain." "Bitch." Gano muttered under his breath "I heard that. Have it your way though. They said you were a stubborn one-" she was soon interrupted as sirens blared in the background 

"Well, it seems this little menage' a trois' has been cut short. Oh, and this party is invitation only. I can't promise Auntie's safety if they're any interruptions! Ta Ta!!"  "Bitch! You're not going anywhere!! Douglas don't take your eyes off her!" Gano yelled "I figured that might be a problem as she dropped a small marble ball on the floor that erupted into a cloud of thick fog "Oh shit! Gano I can't see!!" Douglas yelled "Douglas where are you!?" Gano's heart went tachycardic and filled with a sense of trepidation as he close his eyes and attempted to wave the fog away to clear his vision  "Oh shit!" He hunched over in pain "Hey Gano!! Are you okay! It's think it's clearing up. I can see you." "Yeah." Gano's mouth formed a thin line "I can see you too. Looks like she got away." "Yeah. I know, that's some bullshit. It's fine though. I think everything's going to be okay." "And what the hell makes you say that!?" Gano grimaced as slumped back against the wall holding the wound "Hm. Isn't it obvious. I got a plan." 

Douglas crossed his arms and delivered Gano a confident smile "Must be a pretty good one since you're usually not the confident type." "I know right...Oh shit! Let me get the first aid kit. I forgot you got shot that wound looks like it hurts really bad." Gano didn't dignify that with a response and only gave him a scathing look in return "Hold on I'll be right back!" "I'm sorry dude. I'm so sorry. Thanks for biting the bullet for." Douglas went to quick work assorting the materials to clean Gano's wound "Oh shit." "What?" Gano questioned  Douglas' sudden hesitance "Umm..I don't know how to dislodge the bullet. Shit..I should've paid more attention when Tess was practicing for her nursing classes and going over this!" "It's fine." 

Gano smiled and closed eyes "You just focus on cleaning the wound I've already covered that." Like magic and with surgic precision the bullet seemingly reversed course in time and dislodged itself from Gano's wound as it revealed itself to be very shallow "You dog!! You barely let it touch you! Did you throw yourself against the wall?" "You got it." Gano gave him a thumbs up  "You know Gano, you're kind of amazing." Douglas marveled "I know." Gano waved off the praise and was caught even more by surprise when Douglas decked him "The fuck man! What was that for!?" "That was for getting my Aunt kidnapped dumbass!! Now we're even!" Douglas scolded as he resumed cleaning Gano's wound. "Damn" Gano rubbed his cheek "Did you really have to deck me?" 

"Yeah..well I was still pretty pissed off so.." Douglas spoke as finished "So what now? I'm not sure what i'm supposed to do to close it." "Close it??" Gano raised in eyebrow "Damn. You really didn't pay attention. Luck for us, I got things covered." "Wait. What are you gonna do...Ohhhhhh" Douglas watched on and awed in wonder as Gano's hands cackled with green electric energy and seared the wound shut  "Oh man" Gano grunted "that's not pleasant." "But pretty impressive." "Thanks." Gano managed a smile as he massaged the seared wound "That's pretty much for emergencies only. I probably still need to get looked after by a doctor in the near future, but it'll do for now." "Yeah. Those sirens seemed to be heading in our direction. We need to hurry and go over a plan." "Okay." 

"What?" Tess shook herself out of a daze. She was walking, but it's like her mind had been on autopilot the last few minutes thinking about-something. She just couldn't recall what it was. "I said where are we going next babe." Brook repeated his question while giving her a skeptical look "Are you alright Tess? You're acting kind of weird." "Me!?" Acting weird?? Nah." Tess blew  off the accusation "Anyways...I think you should pick the next place babe. I'm good with whatever..really." "Ah huh" Brook stared at her unconvinced "Don't tell me you're stressing about Douglas? You sure do think about that guy a lot." "Brookkkkkkk" Tess groaned as she caught on to what he was implying "You know it's not like that. Do we gotta go through this every time."  "No babe. We don't gotta go through this every time. Just the times we're on a date and all of sudden out the blue you bring up Douglas." Brook retorted as he rolled his eyes in frustration 

" I'm sorry if I sound frustrated babe, it's jus...t you kind of promised today would be about us." "That's true..I did.." Tess kissed him on the cheek and brought herself closer to him for comfort "It's just well...last night.. things seemed a bit more.. off than usual. But maybe you're right, now's not the time to let to let it bother me. Today's about us." "You know though" Brook started as he let go of her hand temporarily to place his hand on his chin and ponder "I can't lie. Even I'm a lil concerned bout the guy. Douglas is a weird dude, but even he  doesn't act that weird. Last definitely seemed a lil extra.

 Then there's his friend with the green hair...." "M-hm. I don't trust that weirdo either." Tess matched his pose and pondered as well  "Yeah babe. I can tell. I think everybody in the car could." "That's pretty strange of you." Tess eyed her boyfriend suspiciously "To be all concerned for a Douglas and what not. You usually act like he's getting in the way." "That's cause he is in the way!" Brook exclaimed "Not that I dislike the guy or anything, but you gotta admit. You tryna force a friendship between the two us kind of makes him into a third wheel." "Yeah babe" Brook gave her a sour look "We might not be on the dean's list, but we both know you. It's kind of obvious." "It is?" Tess gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of her neck "My bad." "No. you good" Brook waved off his concern "Tess what are you doing!?"  

"What does it look like?" Tess replied through gritted teeth "Awh c'mon babe! I didn't mean to get you riled up! Don't tell me you're calling Douglas now!?"  "If not now then when!? " she gave him a look "I know you don't what me calling him later tonight." "Well..no..wouldn't want that" Brook looked away "go ahead and make your call." "I am....why won't this dude pick up!?" "So like  I said..." she overheard Douglas speak on the other end "We need to come up with a plan?" "Like.." she overheard Gano speak back "Hello?" she sounded off to no reply "Helllooooooo..son of a bi.." "What's going on babe?" Brook looked on puzzled "I think I've been pocket dialed..." she mused "Oh shit. What're they saying?" "I'm trying to find out now." "Oh man. Oh man." she heard Douglas working himself into a bit of a nervous wreck "I just hope this works...Aunt Rain could be in deep trouble." "Douglas calm down.." "I'm trying! It's not like they kidnapped your Aunt!!" "What!?" Tess exclaimed almost dropping the phone "Someone kidnapped Aunt Rain!?" 

"What!?" "Hold on they're still talking" "I know you're right...I'm..I'm sorry." "Nah, you're good man, I mean it kind of is your fault.." "Geez thanks..." "but you're good." Suddenly a knocking was heard on the door "It's the police. Open up!! The neighbors say shots came from this room!! We're not gonna ask twice! Open up now!" "Oh shit!" Tess heard Douglas curse "Look take the note, and.." she could hear shuffling in the background as the phone seemed to exchange hands "this phone! That should help!! Remember! No cops! They're holding her hostage after all." "Wait why are telling me that...I already know..." Gano sounded nervous "Look.. you don't have to go through this alone. I got your back. Help's on the way." "What?" she could hear the beating on the door "Shit! Gano!! Go!! You gotta go now!! Take the window! I'll stay back." "Douglas.." the beating got louder "Go now!!" she could hear the shuffling of feet and the rustling of wind and then silence until a thud indicated the landing on solid ground "What the fuck..."  "Tess! Tess!! What happened.." "It's Douglas.. his Aunt got kidnapped...and.. I think he needs our help."   

"Awh man. This shit hurts like hell." Gano placed his hand over the wound he sealed as he grimaced in pain "Guess that's what I get for playing doctor. Oh well, at least I got those bastards in blue off my tail. Oh man" Gano heaved a deep sigh as he pulled out the phone from his pocket and inspected it " Damn Douglas. Just what was your plan. What the hell am I supposed to do with this. Oh god" Gano looked at the sky in retrospect as if to ask for answers "Looks like I've dragged another person into my mess again. Fuck..at least this time it's something I can handle. " 

Gano  strolled along for what could've been a couple of minutes or what could've been a couple of hours until her arrived at a service station. Feeling a bit stressed and anxious he decided to blow off some steam "Yooooo. Let me get a bottle and a pack of smokes."The cashier gave him a glance as if he was being rude but decided to shrug it off  "Alright...what brand?" the cashier asked "Oh shit. My dude. That was kind of rude. How's your day going sir?"  "You know, not mad. Thanks for asking" the cashier smiled "That's good to hear" Gano continued "I'll have the Paradise Delight and a make of Arizona Fire." Gano pulled a wad of cash out from his jacket to pay " "Nice." the cashier commented with a smirk "I see you're a man of culture. That's the good stuff."  

"So I've heard." Gano  couldn't help but smile back despite himself "To be a little honest I'm a bit down in the dumps." "What's beating ya?" the cashier asked as they proceeded along with the transaction "It's this buddy of mine..I got him roped into some trouble. Mind if I drink this here?" Gano held up the bottle "I got no customers right. Go for it." "Anyways" Gano popped off the cap and started drinking  "I was messing with some pretty shady people awhile back." "Like..some mob type shit?" the cashier leaned in interest "Mhmm..yeah. Pretty much. So anyways...we're friends and you know..guilty by association I guess. They're kind of 'threatening one of his family members." 

"Oh shit." "Yeah. Oh shit. So I gotta do something about it obviously. Hence, the bottle." "Of course." "Right. Like..what're you gonna do?" "Shit man. I'd call the cops" the cashier spoke as Gano made to interrupt "but I know most of time, situations like these, you can't, so I'm sorry man. I got nothing." the cashier laughed "Nah. It's fine. Me either." Gano laughed as well "Hey. What's your name?" "Roddy. My friend's just call me Rod though." "Rod. Empathy is everything. Thanks for listening. I needed that." Rod gave Gano a smile "It's no problem...what's your name?" Rod asked as he offered a handshake "Gano." he said returning the favor and completing the gesture "Gano. Weird name, but you don't seem like a bad fella. Nive to meet you." "Nice to meet you too Rod." Gano covered his mouth after burping and gulping down the rest of the bottle "I guess I'll be off.." "Hey Gano.." What is it?" "Be easy on yourself." What makes you say that?" 

"You can tell a man's heart and intentions at times-from he look in his eyes. You got good eyes." "Don't tell me you've been checking me out." Gano teased with a wink "Nah. You too pretty. Not my type. I like em a little more rough. Anyways, damn, you almost threw me off track, when you were talking about your friend your eyes kind of misted over and become a poll of emotions; I could see them swirl and the turmoil you must've been going through because of that. Whatever you're going through. It's all gonna work out. You're not as alone as you think you are." "I wish that was the case.." "It is. Trust me. I'm right about this stuff. See this tattoo" Rod rolled up his sleeve to reveal a spiraling pillar of thorn covered red roses and a woman's name written in cursive "got this soon as I got out of prison." "What does it represent?" Gano leaned into inspect it with interest "Mother of my children. She was my first love. Held everything down. We were supposed to marry?" 

"What happened?" Gano was a bit hesitant to ask "Drive by. She died the before I was scheduled to get out." "Damn" "Yeah. Doctor's did everything they could to save her, but I guess it was just her time. Y'know, but even though it hurt like hell,  that made me open my eyes and appreciate life. Just as easy as it can be taken away that just makes my twice as motivated to enjoy and protect my loved ones." "Artesia. That's a pretty name." "Pretty woman." Rod gave a fond smile "Thanks for sharing your story Rod. I'll never forget it. Definitely restored my resolve." "I thought it would. Good bye and Good luck Gano, whatever trouble you're encountering,  I'll be praying for you." "You know, the  liquor tasted a bit flat " "Oh c'mon!" Rod smiled at the joke "but I guess I got my money's worth with the great customer service. I suppose you'll be in my prayers as well. Well, next time I get to praying." "Man. you a  trip." Rod laughed as Gano walked out the door  "Back atcha!" and just like that he was gone. 

"What? You saw him" Brook spoke on the phone as he and Tess walked the downtown streets checking up on leads. "Brook, who is it?" Tess questioned as he talked on the phone "Ah huh. Yeah. Ah huh. Green hair? That's him! That's him!! Decent fella? Eh...I don't know about that..but..okay..okay..Rod you like everybody..alright...well thanks for the info. Looks like Tess and I are on the right trail. Alright man..nah...l don't do that no more..I see you still crazy...A hum..I'll holla atcha." Brook finally hung up to meet the expectant gaze of his impatient girlfriend "Tess babe.  I got a lead. Turns out we're on the right track. I think you were right, Douglas made the right call making what's his name take his phone. Looks like we're homing in on his exact location."   

"Good." Tess huff and puffed with a pout "I can't wait to give him a piece of my mind. I'm not really all that mad  at him paling around with Douglas, but now he's dragged Aunt Rain into trouble, I may never forgive him." "I'm surprised you said may...so what're we gonna do now?" Brook questioned as Tess gave a sigh in response "I don't really no to be honest. We really don't have a full scope of the situation. For all we know we could be following we him into one big trap. Or what if he catches onto Douglas and decides to ditch the phone??" "Hmm. he probably wouldn't do that?" "Brook babe..there's no way you could know that.." Tess continued to ponder 

"The smart types always think they're right." Brook muttered under  his breath "Tess. Look ahead!" "Brook..hold on bae...I'm tryna think." "Tess.." Brook groaned in frustration as he forcefully tilted her chin forward "Brook!! Brook! " Tess jumped down in a fervor "There he goes!! There he goes! Ganoooo!!" Tess chased after him  "Like you found him."  rook rolled his eyes as he broke into a light jog to join her. "Gano!! Gano!" she rain up to him as he was smoking on the curbside bench. Normally he'd respond with a quip, but in his current mood all he could muster up was an apathetic look "You mind explaining yourself weirdo!" Tess pointed an accusatory finger in his face as Gano remained silent and simply shook his head "So you want us to go the cops!!" she yelled as Gano refused to answer "Seriously man" Brook shadowed her "this whole situation is seriously messed up." "I know." Gano finally commented 

"Sorry for causing trouble for your friend. I promise after all this is resolved I'll never bother him again." "Yeah dude" Brook scratched the back of his head "That's not gonna be enough!! you're gonna explain everything or we'll have no choice to call the cops!" Gano raised his eyebrow in disbelief "That won't be very good for Douglas' Aunt." "So you do know what's going on!! Talk!" "I think we've talked enough" Gano made to rise up and leave his seat as Brook grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him "I'm sorry man, but I don't think you're going nowhere." "Brook" Gano eyed the hand on the man's shoulder and closed his eyes as he sent the man a slight shock to make him withdraw "What the fuck!" "you seem like a nice guy so I'm gonna only say this once" as he proceeded to sit up, push himself through the two, and walk off "don't get involved. I'll bring back Douglas' Aunt. 

In the meantime, the best thing you can do is keep your distance and stay out my way. Keep watch." "What you jerk!! Come back!" Tess prepared to give him a verbal lash until Brook grabbed her by the shoulder to make her stop "Brook.." she looked at him in shock as he held his hand "wait..what's that?" "It's a note. I think Gano dropped the note on purpose to give us a clue about something." "A clue about what? Let me see it." "Okay." "Ah huh..oh shit..it's all coming together." "What is?" "That's it!!" Tess widened her eyes in realization "They're meeting at the museum at ten!! Gano must be giving something up in exchange for Aunt Rain! That's why he was sitting there looking guilty it's probably all that bastards fault!" "Yeah, but.." Brook looked to the side and then thought better of it to mention the shock "Yeah. Seems like you got it all figured out. So what're we gonna do? Call the cops?" 

"You know, this isn't something I'd normally say but I don't think we should.." "Well this is something I'd normally say..Thank God. I hate those guys." "Brook...we don't have to hate the cops cause we're black." "Yeah, but it's a good excuse, plus that means we can handle things my way." "Oh man, I don't like the sound of that at all. Brook? What're you planning to do?" Brook could only smile in response "Don't worry about it babe. I gotta couple calls to make." "Alright" Tess folded her arms "I'll follow your lead on this one, but I don't like the sound of it." "Don't worry babe" Brook gave her a wink "I got it all covered. Trust me." 

It was 9:59 and all that could be heard on the street corner of the old museum was the vibrating of a phone in the distant night. Gano tapped his foot as he slowly grew impatient at no sign of the woman being there "Well, Well, look who actually decided to show up." the woman from early appeared before him "I'm surprised you're not lashing out. You seemed so eager to tear into me last time." she smiled "Past your bedtime?" "Tch" Gano replied in disgust "I won't dignify that with a response "Let's just hurry up and get this over with. Don't forget you promised the safety of Douglas' Aunt. If her safety's in any way, shape, or form, compromised then the deal is done? Capace'?" "Oooo..Italian. How cultured" the woman flirted "Agreed. Not one head of hair on Mrs. Rain's head will be harmed." the woman disappeared from Gano's sight and seemed to teleport right next to him to whisper in his year "I mean, she's been trembling and shaking all night." "I'm sure she has" Gano smiled as she caught on to what she was trying to do "if she's caught sight of you then I could hardly blame her." "Oh ho ho ho ho" the woman feigned a laugh "You got jokes....how funny..." then her expression turned from playful to cold "let's just hope that doesn't cost Aunt Rain." Gano turned around to strike in anger, but in the split second he made his move she was gone "There she goes...or maybe there she was..she may have never even been here." he mused as the opened in front as if they were inviting him to walk in "Well this is the little came they invented " he spoke aloud to himself as he stepped inside and the doors shut behind him "I suppose I have no choice but to play. As soon as he walked in his world was immediately turned upside down as he was met with a distorted image. Several feet ahead an elderly couple laid on the ground sprawled on top of each other as bleed leaked out of their  orifices. What was supposed to be an art exhibit full of statues and hanged paintings  suddenly shifted   as he found himself on a familiar city street in cascade of rain.  "I think I'm starting to understand how her psychic power works. It's proven itself to be quite the beautiful ability.  She's not turning  invisible; once you make eye contact she snatches the paintbrush, pains the empty canvas in your mind's eye, and makes you see what  she wants you to see. She turn reality into an illusion." Gano takes several slow steps to the bodies  and makes a moment to reflect before kneeling "Mom. Dad.  It's been awhile. I just want to tell you guys thank you...and I'm sorry.  There were a lot of good times and a lot of bad times, but the fact that all those times were time I spent with you, make everything worth it. I made a lot of bad decisions and a couple of terrible mistakes, but I know I did some good things too. Maybe if you guys were alive, I would've made more of the right ones too." Green electricity sparked from his body and seemed to wrap the bodies up in a cocoon "Love you guys...Goodbye." he said to himself as he started to tear up as colors and lines shifted around him and everything become a  blur. Blinking his eyes to try to clear his vision he found himself back in the museum."I see they've told you a few things about. That's made feel very comfortable poking around in my past and playing games with my mind." Gano made to step upon the stairs and surveyed his surroundings as he took a pause "I hope you don't come to regret it." Continuing up the steps Gano was greeted with another familiar sight "Oh...it's you.." his eyes glazed over as he was hit with a wave of sadness.The girl leaning on the steps and staring back at him matched his expression "Hey." Gano greeted despite knowing it wasn't real "Hey..." she greeted back "..it's been a long time" the continued to stare at each other, both afraid to speak a word "So.." Gano broke the silence "Do you still hate me?" "No, Gano." "Why would I hate you?" "Why would you not?" Gano said with a laugh "It's case of me.." he said staring into lavender eyes "that we can never go back home." "Yeah.. that's true, but in the end, it doesn't matter." "What!? The real you would never say tha-" "Shh" the woman placed a finger on his lips to silence home "It's fine. The number one real of forgiveness is-" "You can't forgive anyone until you forgive yourself.." Gano's eyes widened in realization "What you're really.." "Who knows." the girl shrugged as she started to giggle "Real or fake it's clear that there's a lot going on with you.." "It is" Gano looked down as he tried to collect his thoughts "I think about you and the others everyday. All the things we've been through, all the sacrifices that were made, and how escaping to this world was never really a choice.. I know you're probably another one of that witches' mind tricks, but-"  she held her hand as if to stop what he was about "-I just want to let you know I love, and I'd do it all again." Tears waterfalled down the girls' cheeks as she tried to lower her face to shield her eyes "You know" Gano caught one of drops before it left her eyes "I'd also used to hate to see you cry" and just like that was she gone "but I also loved to see you smile. So until that day, I promised I'd never let anyone make cry again. Whether it's reality or an illusion I keep managing to break my promise." the doors to the second floor suddenly opened as Gano closed his eyes and took a deep breath to regain focus "Alright. Here I go. I promise to return your Aunt to you Douglas. I won't let anything happen to my family on this side..let's go" Regaining resolved, he pressed forward as the doors closed behind him. 

"Ah, you just don't know when to quit." Gano mused aloud as he was surrounded by several disfigured shadows of the past. Faces of people he'd known and loved  encircled him as soon as he stepped foot onto the second floor "So, you must be pretty close.  These hallucinations are getting more realistic. You've even nailed down some of their proportions and dimensions. If it wasn't in such poor taste I might consider it art." If being surrounded by the ghosts of the past wasn't bad enough,Douglas, Tess, and Brook  were also amongst the crowd. "Ooooooo.....uhhhhhhhhhhhhh" the voices let out painful groans  in unison as their appearances continued to grow even more grotesque and disheveled. Eye balls popped out of sockets, blood leaked from every orifice, scaled skin flaked off , as  pus filled wounds covered their entire body . Snake like hissing echoed through the crowd as bodies popped out the ground and the blood moon peaking through the window cast an ominous glow.   "You know" Gano spoke taking his hands out of his pocket "All this is getting to be.." Gano's body slowly started cackling with green electricity "a bit much!!  If you really did research you should know the only one allowed have power over me-" the electricity rippled across the area and zapped every single person as they were shocked with several currents. The bodies zapped by  the sparks and shocks that were sent convulsed before combusting and crumbling into pieces that vanished into thin air  "is me." Gano finished  "Now enough with these silly games! You're really starting to test my patience!! These tricks and illusions won't save if make the mistake of really pissing me off!! Don't further enrage me!"  gathered electricity in his right hand and lifted straight into the sky in the direction of the blood moon as he struck it with a bolt of green and shot it into the oblivion.  That must've served as warning enough as  the area around him soon turned into pitch black as he found himself back in the museum. "Conratu-fucking-lations" Gano  clapped as the mysterious woman from earlier appeared in front of him "So I guess this is the grand entrance. It was about time you showed yourself. Where's Douglas' Aunt?" Gano questioned "She's right here fuckface."  the man from last night appeared behind him with Aunt Rain in his clutches. Gano would've moved to rescue her right then and there if weren't for the pistol he had pressed right against her head " Ah..it's the spineless bastard from last night. Ya didn't get your ass handed to you enough last night so you came back for more. Is that it?" "Don't cheeky you bastard!" the man gritted through his teeth "Stop talking like you're in a position of leverage!! You want this brad's blood on your hands!" "If she's really here." Gano questioned " "Why wouldn't she be" the woman narrowed her eyes "Well" Gano pointed a finger at her "due to the nature of your power  I can't trust my own eyes. Whether you're lying, whether you're telling the truth, whether any of this is real or not, I can't be sure of a damn thing. That kind of predicament could drive a man crazy. Psychic or not." "So what're you gonna do?" the woman sweat formed on the woman's brow as she started feeling a bit nervous "I don't think you ever kidnapped Douglas' Aunt Rain."  the man started laughing "That's the best you can do in this predicament!? Pull a bluff!?" "It's not a bluff if it's true." A voice emerged from the shadows as Douglas arrived with Brook and Tess "Whatttttt!!!" "Is that right Douglas? Is that really you man?" "Fuck. He's not gonna be happy to hear this." the woman mused aloud as she observed the tide turning  "Well played glasses. You thought things through on this one. I fold my hand this round. You won." with a snap of her finger she dispelled whatever illusion she had in the works as Aunt Rain immediately vanished from the man's grasp as the gun he was holding revealed itself to be pointed in Gano's direction "What!!!" he exclaimed "Damn you bitch. You're giving up just like that!" "Of course. My employer and I were only in on this little charade for information. We can kill Gano anytime. It doesn't have to be now. Troublesome that he's seemed to gain allies though, that'll make things a lot more difficult. A crew of brats at that. That one in particular " she pointed at Douglas  "is very troublesome.  Seems he's got some brains on him. We'll have to watch out for him one in the future." "Hold on!! You're not going anywhere!" Brook made to ran out here, but he was stopped in his tracks as he suddenly found himself trapped in a pool of snakes "Wha- What!?" he froze and started trashing about as the snakes slithered all over him "Damn." Douglas cursed aloud "she must've made eye contact with him or something. He's under her power." "What!? Is this what you were trying to explain to us in the car!?" "Yeah. Her and Gano, they can alter reality with their minds. I know it sounds crazy, but I've seen it with my own eyes." "So what about Brook?! He's freaking out Douglas we have to find a way to stop her/!! At this rate , he's gonna go into shock." "Not if I have something to say about it." with a look of determination on his face Douglas sprinted to Brook "Oh no you don't!!" the man made an attempt to shoot him mid-stride but as soon as the bullet left the gun it came to a stop "Not while I'm here!! Douglas go!" Gano urged him "Okay. Let's see if I can make this happen again...." "Oh yeah...if he sticks around. We're fucked." the woman observed for a second, before sprinting off  "Gano!!" Douglas yelled "What do I do now!" "I don't know" Gano replied trying to be honest "Every person's psychic ability is their own to develop. It's not not necessarily something you think through! You just feel it!!" "Okay. Oh shit. C'mon Douglas..you can do this. Tess!! Come here and help hold him still! He's really freaking out!!" "Alright" Tess bit her lip and summonedd her resolve as she made her way over "Fuck this. I'm outta here!" the man threw gun to the ground and attempted  dashed off "Nuh uh. I don't think so..." Gano mocked as the pistol he threw on the ground floated up and gave chase "you might want to stop!" he made it fire off a warning shot "Gano!That's enough!! Let him go! We got bigger things to deal with! You gotta guide me through this!!" "Fine.." Gano relented as he walked over to where they were "Alright Douglas. You guy's gotta hold his still. I'll get his head.." Gano assisted the two in holding the struggling Brook as still as possible "Okay. Douglas I want you to take a deep breathe and make eye contact...you should feel a connection.. a resonance of sorts between the two minds." Gano instructed  "Okay." Douglas did as he instructed as a jolt of energy surge and resonated between the two. Depicted in his mind's eye was a storm of chains, colors, and electrical clouds.  Like Gano said it wasn't so much a conscious process, but a feeling that allowed Douglas to scope and trace the distortion that  causing a disturbance  in Brook's mind. Using the the sense giving to him by their mind's connection  Douglas felt out the distortion and dispersed it. Opening his own eyes Douglas nearly fell back from the mental toll and recoil of using his power of his own accord for the first time "Douglas are you okay!" she placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and looked on in concern "Damn Douglas.." Brook moaned and groaned as rubbed his face "..there you go again..tryna snatch my girl." He sat up slowly and gave the two a reassuring smile "You never learn do you!?" "Brook!" "Babe!" they shouted in unison as the trio shared a group hug as Gano looked on with a smile of his own "So that's why you wanted me to take your phone. Smart thinking Douglas." "Hey guys!" Brook exclaimed "We're leaving him out of the group hug!" "No really.." Gano tried to wave them off I'm fine, but of course they didn't listen as they collapsed upon him in an embrace "Aren't you guys.." Gano squeezed out in between breaths "..supposed to be mad at me?' "Oh..." Tess replied as she broke from the hug to give him a devious look "... it's plenty of time for that later." "Damn. Never thought you guys would trust me.."  "We don't." Tess gave him a dry look " We trust Douglas" she gave her childhood friend a smile "He's our friend, " "Oh" Gano sulked his shoulders a bit "and lucky for you he considers you his."  Gano immediately brightened up "Welcome...l" Tess stretched out her hand "...to the gang."