Nicky steps into the living room looking like she’s slept too long.
"Oh hey. Long time no see." Luna waves to Nicky.
"Oh hi."
"How are things?"
"Eh. I mean theres some weird ass goblin in the basement."
She facepalms "...oh for Gods’ sake. Why do we let Buddyboy live still? It's harmless, just really really annoying."
"Fucking creepy."
"Yes very. It often comes and goes though."
Cole walks in and looks fucking depressed and soaked as he slowly looks at Nicky.
"Soaked rat" Nicky mumbles under her breath.
"Says you of all fuckin people." Cole mutters as he snaps the rest of the water off of him
"So what’s got you down?" Nicky smiles some and sits on the sofa.
"None of your fuckin business, now I wanna test something." Cole leans on the wall next to the couch
"Test something?" She looks over to Cole.
Nicky rolls her eyes
"Did you hear anything?" Cole looks like he isn't ready to deal with bullshit.
"Me?" Luna asks.
"Who?" Nicky asks as well.
"Nicky, did you hear anything?"
"I don’t think so?" After a moment, she says, "Ok myabe I think so?"
Luna focuses her hearing because she doesn't hear shit.
"I want you to speak through there and say, ‘I hand the cult over to Cole Garnet and all fighting is to cease.’"
Cole stares Nicky in the eyes. "Got it?"
"...oh no." Luna mutters under her breath.
"Fighting??"
"Just fucking say it" Cole groans.
"Alright alright." Nicky thinks a moment. "Happy?"
Cole folds his arms. "I couldn't possibly be happier." He doesn't look happy in the slightest.
"...Cole? What's going on?" She asks with some concern in her voice.
Cole glances over at Luna. "hmm? what do you mean?"
"...what did you just do?" Her concern is growing.
"You still look like a rat" Nicky adds.
"and I don't need you anymore." Cole shrugs as he cracks a slight manic smile
Luna calls out to him telepathically. {"Cole, I swear to the Gods, you do not hurt her."}
Cole, ("you act like Nicky is free of guilt from everything she did to me")
"Excuse me?"
"Nicky, be careful. I don't like the vibes I got here."
"I don't need you anymore, I got what I needed now. All I have to do is wait." Cole's halo is starting to glow slightly brighter.
Luna, {"Then you might as well remove the Poppy. If you're done with her, then there's no issue with that right?"}
Cole, ("that just gives us the issue of insane bitch who wants to hurt me in the house")
"Whats with the halo?" Nicky asks.
Luna, {"I don't see the issue with that. You basically tricked her into relinquishing the cult."} She feels like a goddamn moron for helping her old enemy like that.
Cole, ("for a damn good reason, that bitch was going to go mad with power") "Don't worry about it, just understand that things have changed since we last talked"
Nicky furrows her brow "Executing? What do you mean execute? I thought you said you were going to disband it?"
She glares at Cole.
"Tsk tsk tsk, first I have to make sure all of the weapons are gone then the members." Cole glares back.
"...I don't like this. Not one fucking bit." Luna complains.
"It's a process Luna" Cole sighs
She feels something is really wrong here.
"You said executing anyone who resists"
"I thought you were going to release everyone."
"I am going to release them once the weapons are removed and outliers are removed"
"That's not what you said before. The whole crusade against Drake's and now Nicky's cult was to release everyone back to their home Worlds and Veils. But now you're going to execute innocent people???" Luna explains. Nicky nods in agreement.
"It's simple: don't resist. I'm getting rid of the weapons then sending them home. I don't want people running around with my armor and equipment." Cole's tone is starting to get manic.
Luna doesn't trust this one little fucking bit. She focuses on Cole's behavior in case he starts to do things locally. Cole is fiddling with something in his jacket, his stance is perfectly straight like a butler while still keeping his manic smile. Luna's watching the jacket and trying to figure out what he has in it. She’s unable to tell, but it’s too small to be any of his weapons. Regardless, she keeps her focus on the entire room but mostly on Cole.
"You’re awfully focused on me. Something wrong?" Cole stops fiddling with the thing in his jacket as he puts both hands in his jacket.
"Nah, just thinking about things." Oh she's lying hardcore.
"Well whatcha thinking about?" Cole peers into his jacket as he starts making a twisting motion with one of his hands.
"This and that. How you successfully took over Drake's cult by yourself. And that thing you just twisted."
"That we handed off a cult to a homicidal manic" Nicky adds.
"Too right you are Nicky!"
"I took it over with a simple act of trickery, and I wouldn't worry too much about that." Cole looks in the top left corner of his eye as he mutters the time and keeps twisting.
"I heard that.” Luna turns to Nicky. “Nicky, you might wanna get back. I have a bad feeling about this."
"I’m going to try and take it back" Nicky goes to move to the furthest part of the livingroom from Cole
"Good luck, you’re powerless!" Cole snickers as he watches.
Luna steps in front of Nicky. "...oh fuck no."
Luna notices Cole’s server and how Andrew is now active there. Max has been blocked. "And it's gone worse."
She snaps her fingers as her marked broadsword appears on her side.
"I'm not gonna fight you, well......nah it's not worth my time." Cole snickers as he walks to the kitchen while muttering. "God I'm so funny."
"You're a goddamn waste of time!" She shouts.
Cole heads into the kitchen for a glass of wine then walks back to the living room. "So how goes the pity party for the manipulator?" He takes a sip of the wine.
"Says you." Luna says.
"This is stupid. Give the cult back." Nicky commands.
"I don't manipulate. I simply get people to trust me that I hate." Cole paces the room, "Then I take away what I want and dispose of the person. It's really quite simple." Cole's tone starts to shift to a more professional tone mixed with manic.
"Dispose of the person? You're not killing her!" Luna says.
"This is a joke" Nicky grumbles.
"Well I wouldn't kill per se, but that's certainly an interesting interpretation of my sentence." Cole chuckles
"How the fuck else am I supposed to interpret disposal of a target?"
"Not killing them? You know you act passive but honestly, I think you have more murderous thoughts than me."
Cole takes a sip of his wine "Anyways, it's really a wonder that you didn't see this coming from miles away.”
"Are you serious? I've seen this shit coming a million miles away. Spider and I both. You're not intending to release them. You're taking them over."
"Ok, so how about instead of killing me, you just let me go scot free?" Nicky mumbles
"I agree. Nicky's not the same person she was a year ago, no longer the insane cult leader." Luna argues.
"The what now"
"Very very long story Nicky."
"Oh Luna you really messed up now. Why don't you explain that to our dear guest?" Cole snickers as he sips his wine.
Luna recognizes this may be a trap. "How about you suck my -- You know what, no. I'll wait until after she survives." She grins.
Cole chuckles "Please, like I'd ever be a bottom for a woman." Cole swirls his wine and sips it as Luna's watch buzzes.
Luna ignores the watch, instead opting to flip Cole off.
Cole flips Luna off back. "Fuck you too!"
Realizing that even Andrew didn’t know about this, she checks the watch and presses the big button on the face. "Whatever to fuck over Andrew."
"Hmm?" Cole is mid sip as he looks over. Nicky looks mildly disgusted at him drinking wine.
The watch face reads in green text;
I still have control over one thing. Cole gave me admin access over the watches in case something like this happens. In case you haven't noticed, he really loves back up plans. Anyways:
A prompt appears after the text,
Activate guardian protocol?
◯ ◯
Luna presses the green button. "Hopefully green means yes."
"What." Cole stares at the watch.
Luna grins. "You didn't think Max was completely out of the game did you?" Cole’s halo armor steps out of the funny room and towards the living room. "And I hear him coming."
"Oh god damn it. Andrew you fucking dumbass." Cole sighs and facepalms. Luna draws her sword preparing for battle..
Cole's halo armor stomps in and stares at Cole as Max's voice booms from it. "Do you really wanna do this or can I just sedate you?"
Cole smashes the wine glass against the floor "Fuck you."
If the armor could blink, it would.
"Fuck you? That's your best line? Really Cole?" She tilts her head.
Max's voice replies "Honestly, I'm not surprised. He doesn't have the best lines when he's trying to be cool edgy manic man."
Cole flips the armor off
"True though."
Cole crosses his arms as he mutters "You wouldn't do anything to me."
The armor just picks Cole up by the face.
"Thank you Max."
The helmet nods as it brings Cole closer to the helmet as Max gives a robotic sigh. "Are you gonna behave?"
Cole squirms as he reaches in his jacket "Do you know the time?"
The helmet tilts to one side.
"Midnight." Luna's still right in front of Nicky, who has no clue what the fuck is happening. Cole smiles as he pulls out his watch fob.
The armor looks unamused as Max gives a robotic sigh. "What are you even gonna do?"
Cole clicks a button on the watch fob as a clock chime is heard and time freezes for everyone in the room excluding THE GENESONE. He starts prying the armor's fingers off of his face while grunting.
Cole eventually gets the hand off of him as he walks to the kitchen. Time unfreezes.
"...what the fuck was that???" Luna says with utter confusion.
Nicky blinks "Where did the freak go?"
"Kitchen."
Max gives a robotic sigh. "No one thinks your high noon jokes are funny, Cole."
"No one's high noon jokes are funny. Especially when they're at midnight." Luna grumbles.
"Exactly, also I'm just gonna stand here. Just call me if he does something stupid."
The armor's fingers flex as he folds his arms
"What about noon?" Nicky asks.
"Uhhh don't worr-- ack. I hate that phrase. It's a reference to a video game." She heads into the kitchen.
Nicky raises an eyebrow and goes to follow. In the kitchen, Cole sits at a chair at the table and props his legs up on it as he starts drinking wine out of the bottle.
Luna and Nicky enter the kitchen. "So what fresh hell was that?"
Cole takes a swig from the wine bottle. "hiiiighhh nooooon"
"No I mean the clock. I really don't remember you having that ability."
"Oh that was just me clicking a button on the fob and then making a clock chime noise as I froze time." Cole shrugs.
"...oh wait, isn't that how Knight got his time powers? Cuz you fucked his grandma."
"Yup." Cole takes another swig, he is visibly tipsy.
Luna rolls her eyes.
"Can you go back in time and give me the cult back?" Nicky asks.
"Why would I do that?" Cole points the wine bottle at Nicky.
"Becuase you lied about your intentions and frankly I’m starting to really not like you now."
"Only now?" Luna asks.
"And you know what? You manipulated me and forced me to torture people and all for what?" Cole slams the wine bottle down. "Some sick twisted desire? That's what you did! And you know what?"
"She doesn't remember any of that idiot. Remember, Poppy." Luna reminds.
"Huh."
"Oh I know! If I wanted to, I could make her remember it!" Cole stands up from his chair. "And she would tear herself apart!"
"Don't." Luna glares at him. "Let her be happy for once in her Gods’ forsaken life." Luna says. "That's the one thing Rose, Drake, or Nicky truly wanted. Happiness. To be released from her past."
"How do you think I feel?! She had me under her fucking thumb! How do you think it felt to lay awake and remember all the shit I did when she controlled me! When anyone controlled me!" Cole slams his hands on the table.
"And you think doing the exact same thing back to her is right??? You've become her."
"......" Cole's face drops as he looks at his hands, slowly starting to come back to reality, "no, no, no, no"
Luna's voice is serious, with very little emotion behind it. Nicky is watching still rather confused.
"I'm sorry Cole, but you need to face facts. This whole crusade used to have positive intentions behind it. You wanted to save the innocent people in the cult from a lifetime of working fast food. And now you're willing to execute those who want to fight back. You've gone out of control. And with Nicky. You had her under your thumb, much like she did to you. The only thing she doesn't have is the memories. And that’s for the best. If you continue to dangle those in front of her with the means of harming her..." Luna takes a deep breath and glares at Cole dangerously. "I won't allow you."
"To be fair, I can do whatever the hell I want. I’m not under anyone’s thumb." Nicky adds.
"Very true."
Cole's eyes flicker crimson red then back to hazel as he starts to hyperventilate. "No, no, no, this this isn't how it was supposed to happen, no," Cole bolts out of the back door as the glow of the halo blinds him. Luna slowly walks outside and follows him. Nicky follows.
---
Cole sprints outside as he leans against a tree and stares at the forest. He struggles to control his breathing and his eyes rapidly flash between hazel and crimson red.
Luna walks outside with her sword sheathed. "Cole. I know you can do it. Fight back against Andrew."
Nicky follows out and stays quiet as she watches. Cole falls to his knees as his eyes stop flickering as he gets his breathing under control.
Luna kneels down. "Cole?"
Cole barely mutters as he puts his head in his hands "I wish I had more control. I wish I wasn't fucking manic. I wish....I wish things were different! Why can't I be the good guy all the time? Why can't I just make up my fucking mind?"
"Have you taken your meds recently? That's the only way I can see Andrew even being able to affect you." She looks concerned.
"...I haven't taken them since I left the foundation. I'm so fucking stupid" Cole sighs.
Facepalm. "Do you need a daily reminder to take them? I could do that for you. When you take the meds, you are in control. You have the ability to make up your mind. But when you don't, you lose yourself to your voices. To ANDREW."
"I just....I don't know. I guess a daily reminder would be nice...I really lost it back there didn't I?" Cole sighs as he stands up and leans on the tree, facing away from Luna.
"Yeah, yeah you did. You ordered an execution on Nicky's cult on anyone who resists. And Andrew seemingly wanted to take over it. We really need to sit down, all three of us, and figure out what the hell to do with it."
"God....no one should have it, it's too much power." Cole mutters.
"It's rightfully Nicky's. You may not like it. Hell, I don't like cults in general. But it truly is hers."
Cole goes quiet as he clenches his fists
"Anyway, we'll discuss this later. I need to get some rest. But can you please call off the execution, at least until we know better what to do?"
She leaves. Nicky returns to the basement. And Cole spends the rest of the night in a tree branch staring into the sky.