CHAPTER THREE!

( revelations )

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IRRITATED, all topanga felt was irritated. after arriving back at the motel, topanga had gone up to her room and was practically asleep before her head even hit the pillow. but now, it was about 1:30 am, and the flickering motel sign outside her room was about to make topanga go insane.

deciding she wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon, topanga grabbed her motel key, locking the door behind her. she walked down the stairs, intending to go across the street to the 24 hour diner when she noticed tyler owens atop his truck, waving at her. she waved back slightly, rubbing her eyes when tyler tried to say something to her. topanga walked to the railing on the landing, feeling irritated by his presence already. "what?" she signed, having forgot tyler didn't know sign language. he turned to a guy who topanga hadn't noticed, the guy from earlier with the video camera. she watched as he translated for tyler, her eyebrows furrowed. "you know sign language?" she directed to the guy, who nodded happily.

"i took asl all through high school." topanga smiled, genuinely surprised at how easily he signed. "i'm boone and you've met tyler."

"nice to meet you, boone. i'm topanga." boone smiled at topanga, turning to look at tyler who must've said something. tyler seemed confused and surprised at his friend's ability to communicate with topanga.

"he says he feels left out." topanga bit back a laugh, finding the way tyler slightly pouted kind of cute, the thought making topanga cringe slightly. "you're riding with storm par, right?" she felt awkward as she nodded, her stomach rumbling in hunger.

"excuse me, i better go get something to eat." she began to walk down the rest of the stairs, ready for the exchange to be over until she noticed that tyler and boone had jumped down, looking at her like they wanted to go with her. topanga paused for a moment, before sighing; "alright, come on." topanga turned as tyler and boone jogged to catch up to her. they crossed the quiet road, entering the nearly empty diner. the waitress showed them to a booth, dropping a few menus as she gave them a few minutes to decide what they wanted. "he's buying right?" topanga nodded to tyler as boone held a mischievous smile.

"definitely." topanga smirked, opening her menu. she scanned the options, settling on a burger and fries. she set her menu to the side as the waitress came back over, presumably to get their orders. "what would you like?" boone asked as the waitress looked expectingly at topanga.

"i'll do a burger and fries," topanga thought for a moment before continuing, "and a chocolate milkshake." boone repeated her order to the waitress who wrote it down before gathering their menus and walking away.

"a diner classic." tyler noted, topanga shrugged as she leaned back in the booth. "but strawberry is better."

"maybe in your dreams." topanga signed, feeling slightly nervous as tyler watched her lips closely, determined on understanding what she was saying. tyler shook his head at her retort, a smile on his face. a moment of awkwardness coated the trio as their waitress set down their drinks. topanga decided she wanted to know more about the two men. "so what's a tornado wrangler?"

"have you ever been to a rodeo before?" tyler questioned and topanga wasn't quite sure where this was going. she shook her head no, "you know what a wrangler is? on like a ranch?"

"yeah, they are in charge of the livestock. are you saying you are in charge of a tornado?" the two men laughed, topanga feeling greatly confused.

"more like we are skillful and passionate when it comes to getting close to tornadoes." topanga raised an eyebrow, still confused.

"i think idiot would fit you better." tyler laughed, "i mean you do all this dumb shit while people are losing everything to these storms." topanga seemed to strike a nerve in tyler, his grin dropping.

"we do more than storm par ever has." topanga's face showed how offended she was.

"excuse me? we are working to better understand tornadoes, to understand the best way to help people before the storm. all you do is sell merch and drive into tornadoes. that hardly constitutes for helping people." topanga snapped back at tyler, steam practically coming out of her ears.

"do you know who storm par is actually working for?" boone questioned, "you may be here to help gather data to help people, but storm par's investors do not have the same intentions you have." topanga could hardly believe what boone was saying.

"javi is trying to help people." before topanga could continue, tyler cut in.

"javi, maybe. but marshall riggs? definitely not." topanga grabbed some cash from her pocket as she gathered her things. she couldn't believe what she was being told. she went to get up, setting the cash on the table as the waitress began to bring their food over. tyler grabbed her wrist as she stood up, stopping topanga. "sweetheart, wait—"

"you don't know what you are talking about! what we are doing is good. we are helping people!" their waitress stood to the side awkwardly as she watched the exchange.

"okay, so we can't change your mind, just stay and eat, please." boone asked, tyler letting go of her wrist. "please?" topanga set her stuff back in the booth, the waitress putting their food down as topanga walked to the restroom. she locked the door behind her, turning the sink on so she could splash water in her face. she looked in the mirror, feeling herself calm down slightly. maybe if they would just hear her out, they would realize that storm par was not the enemy.

topanga dried her face, taking a deep breath before walking back to the table. it was tense as they ate, nobody saying anything. once they had finished, tyler paid for the meal before they left. topanga wasn't sure why she hadn't left as soon as she was done. she wasn't sure why she had even stayed, but here she was walking beside tyler.

as they reached the motel, boone said his goodbyes, leaving the two of them alone. topanga went to make her way back to her room, stopping when tyler grabbed her wrist once more. "i just wanted to apologize, i shouldn't have come at you like that."

"it is what it is." by now tyler had gotten better at reading her lips, "we all have our own opinions." topanga shrugged, tyler letting go of her wrist.

"just... think about it?" tyler's face was sincere, "good night, sweetheart."

"good night, tyler." tyler and topanga went their separate ways. topanga laid in her bed, once again unable to sleep, caught up by what tyler and boone had told her. grabbing her laptop, topanga spent god knows how long looking at articles on marshall riggs before she fell asleep.

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THE sun light peaking through the motel curtains was what woke topanga from her deep slumber, her body aching from the awkward position in which she slept. she stretched, securing her prosthetic on before slowly making her way to the dingy bathroom. she splashed water on her face, an internal battle raging in her head. after yesterday, the only thing that seemed right to do was to book a ticket and get the hell out of oklahoma. but there was this small voice in the back of her head telling her to stay, to give it one more try. topanga sighed, maybe one more time...

exiting her room, topanga put on her leather jacket before locking the door. she walked down to the diner across the road, noticing kate entering just a head of her. topanga caught a glimpse of javi and scott through the window, talking to marshall riggs. instead of entering the diner, topanga walked through the crowded parking lot toward an open landscape. she stood there, taking in the tranquility of it all. she felt at peace, better than the day prior. she felt someone tap on her shoulder, startling topanga. she turned to see kate who motioned for her to follow as she began to speed walk. they noticed javi and scott exiting the diner, kate quickly pulling javi to the side. "we gotta go."

"just one second—" it was like watching a fast paced tennis match trying to read their lips.

"now. we've got something big." javi turned to topanga who simply shrugged.

"are you sure you're good to ride along?" javi questioned, clearly concerned. topanga nodded, she didn't feel as anxious as she had the day before. and even in that terror she felt, chasing a storm just felt natural.

"gotta face my fears at some point." this made a smile break out on javi's face. kate grabbed topanga's hand, pulling her toward the truck as everyone rushed to get in their respective vehicles. topanga noticed tyler and his crew rushing as well, presumably chasing the same storm. as javi got in the drivers seat, tyler passed in front of them, honking his horn as he did.

their caravan made their way out of the parking lot, eager to chase. topanga felt different than she had yesterday; she felt more excited. but still, the nervousness lingered, topanga drumming her fingers on the seat.

javi sped down the dirt road, quickly passing the wrangler's van. ahead, the cell was forming rapidly and quite beautifully. topanga was at the edge of her seat as the funnel formed, hoping it would touch down, a grin forming on her face when it did. still, that pit in her stomach held rapid butterflies.

just as the tornado touched down, another began to form beside it. topanga tapped on kate's shoulder, pointing the direction of the second tornado. "twins!" she smiled brightly, pushing down the anxious feeling as she watched nature do its thing. she lightly smacked javi, "go faster!". javi pushed on the gas, looking back to topanga.

"you ready?" the question was aimed at the both of them, kate nodding with slight hesitation, topanga on the other hand seemed oddly eager. kate smiled, javi and her doing their little handshake before he sped up, now riding along side tyler.

"come on, javi!" kate translated for javi as tyler passed them again. it seemed this was becoming a race between the two groups. javi sped up, finally passing tyler. as topanga came into tyler's view, she did his signature hand movement, winking at him. he shook his head, a smile on his lips. something about that made topanga's heart beat faster. the rest of storm par finally caught up with the trio, kate letting out a victorious whoop.

"alright, which one is gonna stay? which one is it gonna be?" topanga leaned forward, studying the data on the laptop. they were coming up on the turn quick, kate pointing to the right. the data pointed at it being the stronger twin, but something in topanga's gut told her otherwise. she watched the wheat blowing toward the north, indicating the stronger one would be the left one.

"go left!" topanga signed to kate who shouted to javi to go left. he seemed confused but kate and topanga were confident in their choice.

"take a left!" javi took a hard left turn, topanga bracing herself in time so she didn't hit the door. javi smiled at topanga and kate, happy to see them back in the groove of it all. topanga watched as the twin the wranglers followed died quickly, feeling victorious over being right. she felt good, it felt good to be chasing again.

as javi came to a stop in front of the tornado, that pit in topanga's stomach felt overwhelming deep. topanga ignored the feeling however, accepting the googles javi handed to her. she jumped out of the truck, the strong winds pushing her slightly. the dust made it hard to see and topanga was thankful she'd worn her hair up today. javi and kate pulled the latch on the truck, opening the back and pulling the scanner out. topanga helped them carry it to the correct position, the three of them anchoring down the legs. javi started scanner, motioning for kate and topanga to follow him. they got in the truck as the tornado came closer, too close for comfort.

javi sped backwards, the tornado still barreling towards them, and fast. topanga watched the scanner be flung in the air, clearly not secure enough. she fastened her seatbelt, gripping the handle above her head like her life depended on it.

javi was looking back, trying to drive backwards as topanga's breathing escalated. she watched as a roof was ripped from a house, the structure following suit. suddenly something hit the back of the truck, topanga looking back to see a lot of feathers in the air. "what was that?"

"i think i just killed some chickens." topanga felt sick to her stomach from being tossed around. javi spun the truck into a bunch of bushes, the tornado now unbelievably close. topanga let go of the handle bar, her knuckles white as she put her head to her knees, covering her head with her hands and she prayed, prayed for it to end and for them to be safe. topanga felt the truck stop shaking, the woman slowly looking up. "are you okay?" javi asked, looking back at topanga. she nodded, breathing heavily.

javi used the windshield wipers to push away the dust that had accumulated, a chicken landing suddenly on the hood of the truck. topanga began to laugh, relief flooding her. topanga unfastened her seatbelt, moving to the middle seat. she noticed kate pointing at the laptop, the radar showing the tornado heading to the small town of crystal springs. topanga watched kate debate with javi about going. "javi, we need to help them." topanga signed to her best friend who seemed conflicted. "people matter more than data. remember why we are doing this."

"that's why we are doing this! to help people." javi argued, topanga shaking her head.

"come on, javi. it's the right thing to do." topanga was starting to realize that what tyler and boone had said may be true. but she knew javi, he would never choose data over people, he couldn't. "please."

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THE ride to crystal springs was quick but they still didn't arrive in time. topanga slowly got out of the truck, looking at the sheer destruction that surrounded them. the three moved into action, trying to help out in anyway they could.

topanga handed a booklet of pictures to a young woman, who tearfully thanked her. she nodded, leading the woman to a paramedic to be checked out. as she walked away, the sight of kate beckoning her over caught topanga's attention. "would you be able to take her to see a paramedic while i look for her mom?" topanga nodded, waving to the little girl who held onto her teddy bear like it was her lifeline.

"are you deaf, too?" the little girl signed, topanga kneeling down to her level as best she could.

"i am. my name's topanga, but you can call me panga if you'd like. what's your name?" the little girl's face flooded with relief.

"my name is emily. i can't find my mom." emily started to cry, topanga looping her arms around her. emily hugged topanga around her middle tightly.

"my friend, kate, she's going to go look for your mom while we go see someone about your cut, okay?" emily seemed hesitant but agreed nonetheless. topanga led emily to an ambulance, helping her on to her lap so the paramedic could examine her head wound. while the paramedic cleaned up emily's cut, she and topanga were looking through all the fun bandaids they had. emily picked out a barbie bandaid happily showing it to topanga.

as the paramedic was placing the bandaid on, topanga noticed boone approaching, a woman behind him."that's quite the cool bandaid you got there." boone signed, a genuine smile on his face. emily's eyes widened with excitement at the sight of the woman, who quickly picked her up, holding her tightly. "this is emily's mom." the woman signed a quick thank you to topanga and boone, emily following suit. topanga waved goodbye, leaving the mother and daughter to be taken care of by the paramedics.

topanga separated from boone, walking toward javi, who was handing the trucks keys to kate. "hey, we found emily's mom."

"that's good to hear. you and kate should go get some rest." javi walked toward where marshall riggs and scott were, which made topanga feel uneasy. since reading up on him, topanga couldn't help but feel distaste towards riggs. topanga and kate started to make their way to the truck, quickly being noticed by tyler who made his way toward them. he said something topanga couldn't make out before he turned his attention toward scott and marshall riggs.

"didn't know storm par was in the business of helping." tyler commented, which set kate off, similar to how it had topanga in the diner.

"well, from what i see, they're trying to make a difference." kate snapped. she and topanga had seen the merch stand set up as they were walking to the truck.

"that's one way of putting it."

"what?" topanga signed. she was still finding it hard to believe that storm par was as bad as they were making it out to be. javi wouldn't work for someone that was looking to take advantage of people, right?

"do you even know who you're chasing for? i mean, come on! you're telling me you didn't research or anything after our conversation." tyler directed his questions to topanga who felt angry. who was tyler to say who was helping people and who wasn't?

"what are you talking about?" kate asked, very confused by the sudden change in tyler.

"how much more do these people got to lose before y'all are done making a difference?" tyler walked closer to the two, his anger clear.

"sorry, coming from the guy setting up shop, selling t-shirts and mugs after a storm's hit." topanga snapped, tired of tyler's bullshit. he had no idea what storm par was doing, what they were working towards and he has the audacity to come at them while selling merchandise after a storm. "you are a douchebag, you know that?" tyler rolled his eyes, going to retort when ben came up. topanga took that as her exit, leaving without another word. as she reached the truck, someone tapped on her shoulder. she turned around to see a woman who rode with tyler, whose name she didn't know.

"here, take some food." she offered a box with chips on top.

"we don't have any cash, sorry." kate said, coming up behind the woman, who furrowed her brows.

"nah, it's free. that's why we're always selling those t-shirts." topanga felt like an idiot. it all made sense of course, why they pushed selling merch.

"well, save it. in case you run low." kate relayed the message to the woman who nodded.

"okay. well, at least take some water." topanga accepted the waters, smiling softly. she felt really embarrassed, but also conflicted.

maybe tyler and boone were right, i mean why else would they be so passionate about it? but why would javi work with them if they were so bad? she knew javi and she trusted his judgement, it seemed so out of character for him to do that.

topanga climbed into the passenger seat, opening her phone as she pulled up more articles on storm par and marshall riggs.

maybe she was wrong.

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x. this is the longest chapter yet, but don't worry the next chapter will probably be even longer cuz it's the rodeo scene! also i apologize for any mistakes i did not proofread. i also despise some of the writing in this but i was lowk going insane to finish this.

x. i've done more planing and we will have a total nine chapters by the time i finish this book (i'm sorry it's a not a lot but it was the best way to break it up while still having long chapters). there will be an epilogue, because i doubt we get a third movie, and if we do, it'll probably be a while and as hard as it is, i think the epilogue will be the end of topanga's story. as much as i love her, i don't want to leave a lot of anticipation for something that might not happen :(