Chomby and Xenon spent the following day looking up any information they could about Bark and this strange entity he was mentioning. The two went to the library. Chomby tried looking through any old books that seemed relevant to the occult. Xenon, on the other hand, was talking to the mainframe. He would occasionally lean over the terminal to ask Chomby a random question about soundbytes.

“Are all soundbytes jackets?” He asked.

“No, at least I don’t think so. I’m probably the only one,” Chomby replied.

There would be several seconds of silence. Chomby would start reading a paragraph from an old encyclopedia when Xenon would ask him another question and completely make him lose track.

“Do you need a living host? What about cadavers?” Xenon asked.

“Uh, what? I mean… I don’t know? No? Maybe?” Chomby narrowed his eyes and tried to read the same paragraph more intently.

“Does it have to be a sentient humanoid?”

Chomby slammed the book shut and looked up at Xenon. “Xenon, please! I’m trying to read! The heck are you even doing?”

“Something important,” Xenon said. “At least, I think I am. The mainframe’s asking some odd questions.”

“Did it at least find anything out about Sarge? Or maybe something about Bark?”

“Very little,” Xenon folded his arms and sat back in the chair. “The mainframe found some footage of Bark leaving your house from a street traffic camera, but he just walks down the street. He doesn’t veer anywhere strange. Otherwise, the name ‘Bark’ is a difficult pseudonym to find records of. Guy seems to be good at keeping himself off the radar.”

Xenon rested his head on his chin. “Any luck on your end? Anything special about the ‘Bringer of Hope’?”

“No. This is the fourth book I’ve gone through. If this is some sort of religion or cult, it’s either new or very VERY off the radar.” Chomby sighed and placed his head on the encyclopedia. “Which, given we can’t find anything about sentient jackets in here either, it feels like we aren’t going to find anything from a library.”

“Or the mainframe, I guess.” Xenon tapped a few keys on the terminal. He seemed to notice something being written. He perked up his posture almost immediately upon seeing the screen.

Chomby lifted his head. “Anything good?”

“Yeah, uh, ‘how old are you?’” Xenon asked.

“How should I know!” Chomby rolled his eyes. “Maybe I’m just as old as Sarge is?”

Xenon took a moment to process the name before typing to the mainframe.

“Oh, says here that he was born in July of 1994.” Xenon chuckled. “I suppose that’d mean you’re thirty.”

“Why is that even important?” Chomby asked.

Xenon shrugged. “I think the mainframe is trying out any possibility it has for finding information. Assumably, this is where it would be ‘grasping at straws’, as the saying goes.”

“So we got no information about this? Like… at all?” Chomby stood up and started grabbing the books.

“We at least know you’re thirty. I suppose that’s something?” Xenon asked. “We still have a plan B, you know. This was just a safer option.”

“What’s plan B?”

“Scout out the address. The mainframe unfortunately didn’t find anything suspicious about it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t investigate it. Or, moreso, I should go investigate it.”

“I thought you said we needed to do this thing together.” Chomby hoisted the books up.

“That’s if we were going to do the third case file. Granted, all of this stuff is probably a part of it.” Xenon typed something into the terminal before closing it. “Besides, it’s still within the town’s limits. One of the police stations is about a five minute drive from there.”

“If you gotta do that, I suppose you should.” Chomby went and put the books back on the shelf before walking back to the table. “What should I do in the meantime?”

Xenon thought for a moment. “Well, when I’m done scouting, and depending on if things can get dangerous, you may need to be combat ready.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Practice some more of those combat maneuvers that Sarge wrote out.” Xenon packed the terminal into his satchel and stood up. “If you’re bored of that, look into his case file some more. I know there’s little to go on, but maybe we missed something.”

“Wait, did you just say Sarge’s name without having to look at your phone?” Chomby asked. “I saw you that time. You didn’t look once.”

“I did?” Xenon scratched his head. “Well, maybe it’s because I have something else to remember him by. He’s the supposed deity to this cult thing, righ-”

“He’s NOT a deity!” Chomby barked loudly. He immediately clapped a hand to his mouth, realizing that the pedestrians were now focusing on him. He lowered his ears and hissed out. “Sorry, everyone!”

Some pedestrians kept staring, but most turned back to their own matters.

“How are you so sure about that?” Xenon asked back in a more hushed tone than before.

“I’m not.” Chomby said. “But, I don’t want to believe any of what Bark said was true… despite how compelling the evidence may seem.”

“You mean his word-of-mouth and stalkerish behavior.” Xenon corrected.

“I’m confused. Are you with me in believing Sarge isn’t a deity, or are you against me?” Chomby folded his arms.

“Devil’s advocate, more like.” Xenon poked his head. “Gotta keep asking the questions to get the facts and understand opinions.”

“Okay, fine, but what do you think of Sarge being a deity?” Chomby asked. “Is he… am I just a pawn or something?”

“Mmmm I can’t say for certain. I really can’t, Chomby, sorry.” Xenon patted the satchel. “However, the mainframe seems to declare Sarge is just a normal werewolf. Well, as ‘normal’ as a werewolf can be. He’s still a cryptid, for all intents and purposes.”

“But that wouldn’t make him a malevolent deity, would it?” Chomby felt his mind cloud with the visions of Sarge he’d seen. The thoughts mingling with Bark’s words were starting to get to him. What Bark said was starting to make sense… but Chomby didn’t want to believe that.

“We’re going to be dealing with a lot of doubt the next while. I think you need to force yourself to be more stubborn in your beliefs.” Xenon exhaled sharply. “Terrible advice in most situations, but this situation is a bit different. Keep believing what you think is right until there is irrefutable, without-a-doubt, proof that Sarge is actually some malevolent being that’s chosen you as one of its pawns. If you let yourself sway, you will become lost.” Xenon leaned in close and whispered. “What do you believe to be true, Chomby?”

“I don’t know.” Chomby looked at the ground. “It’s all too much to process.”

“If you couldn’t say you don’t know, what would your answer be? What do you want it to be?” Xenon hissed.

Chomby imagined the small conversation with Sarge in that weird dream. Sarge’s concerned voice, genuine-sounding compliments, and warm-hearted remarks felt like they could melt away all the turmoil Chomby was feeling the past few weeks. He wanted to feel that again.

“I want him to be my friend. My very best friend.” Chomby whispered. He felt a tear come to his eye and he grabbed at his collarbone again. “I want to love him and have him love me in return.”

Chomby felt Xenon grasp his shoulders. “Then that’s the answer. Hold to it, okay? Right now, it’s all you’ve got.” Xenon cleared his throat. “No, it’s all we’ve got.”


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Here's the next chapter! Enjoy. :D

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Chomby/Xenon/Art/Story ©  pikminpedia Me