Chapter Text
Chapter 11
Don’t Be Late (Wilbur, Pokey, Lex, Hannah, Emma).
Emma watched as Paul went out the door, and she couldn’t help but feel anxious. All this talk of apotheosis, death, and the hive made her worry for him.
She tried her best to trust him, but the last time she let him leave on his own all those weeks ago, he got infected.
Not to mention she felt terrible for him. He wasn’t allowed to sleep, yet she could tell from the way he sounded that he was exhausted. And the fact he even suggested dying if nothing else worked, that said enough as is.
Emma tried to shake off the feelings of dread and anxiousness as she stepped into the small kitchen, trying to look for something that could be considered breakfast.
Eventually, Hannah shuffled into the living room as Emma began cooking some eggs in a frying pan.
“Morning, Emma.” She mumbled, sitting over at the small table near the kitchen.
“Hey Hannah, sleep well?”
“I guess so,” Hannah looked around briefly. “Paul left?”
“He went to work, yeah.” Emma nodded, glancing over at the girl then back at the food being prepared. “Did- Webby give you any dreams or anything? I know you just woke up so you probably haven’t tried to talk to her.”
Hannah shook her head. “Nothing. I haven’t had a dreamless sleep in a while. I should be glad but.. I feel more concerned than glad.”
“So I’m not the only one that feels like- I dunno, off?”
“Something feels wrong, and I don’t know what.”
“Exactly! Maybe I’m just anxious about Paul, but I just have a really bad feeling.” Emma states, grabbing a plate and shoveling the scrambled eggs onto it. Grabbing some utensils, Emma places them on the table alongside the eggs.
“I thought those were for you?”
“I’ve got enough to make more, don’t worry about it.” Emma smiled, placing the frying pan back onto the hot stove. Cracking another egg and beginning the process over again.
After eating their respective breakfasts, the most they could do now was wait on Webby or Paul to return. Emma turned on the TV to see if there were any updates about the spreading infection, and yet there were none. She supposed it’s because Paul didn’t allow it as their leader. So it remained dormant in Hatchetfield as long as no one entered or exited.
She could occasionally hear Hannah quietly call out for Webby, followed by an upset sigh as she likely received no response.
Eventually, the door to the bedroom swung open, a now awake Lex on the other side. She looked panicked, Emma was quick to assume she had a nightmare.
“Something’s wrong, very very wrong.” Lex said, her voice panicked.
“What do you mean?” Hannah questioned, her tone worried as she looked at her panicked sister.
“I think things are about to get a lot worse. I had this weird dream but I don’t think dreams show you places you’ve never been to before. It was like, a very ominous looking guy in Witchwood, then it went to Paul’s empty desk at… wherever he works at- I don’t know. Then it was the outskirts of the forest and he was there and he had like blue on his mouth- and he looked not all there as he walked in. And there were these voices telling me to reach into the black and white over and over.” Lex stumbled through her words, trying to make sense of what she just witnessed in her sleep.
Emma slowly processed Lex’s words, her heart dropping the more she continued. The poor girl looked frightened by what she saw. “Hey, hey, take some deep breaths, Lex.” She said, approaching her and trying to calmly take hold of the situation. Lex tried listening to Emma’s instructions as she mumbled expletives.
Emma gently touched Lex’s shoulder and escorted her to the couch to sit down. Hannah shot up to go sit next to her.
“Jesus- it was freaky!” She exclaimed, “like it had to have been a vision or something right?”
“If it was a vision, then I assume he isn’t gonna come back to the apartment the same as he left.” Emma muttered, glancing at the two girls. “If he gets out of this I’m never letting him be by himself again.” She said quietly, her voice full of worry.
“What did the guy look like?” Asked Emma.
“I dunno uh.. long black hair, denim jacket, he had this, like- greenish glow to him but his face was obscured.”
Hannah’s eyes widened, “we have to find Paul, now.”
“What about Webby? If he’s gone then we won’t have a way to bring him back.” Said Emma.
Hannah shook her head, “I don’t know, we just need to find him.” Webby had warned her of a man of that description, Wilbur Cross. Saying to never approach him if seen and to get away as quickly as she could. If he had anything to do with Paul, it was nothing good, and possibly world ending.
“Webby told me about him before, Wilbur Cross.”
“The guy who runs that toy shop? That Wilbur?” Emma questioned.
Hannah nodded. “Webby told me to stay clear of him at all times, but we don’t have a choice.” Hannah shot up from the couch. “Time is limited, we have to go now.”
“You said it was Witchwood, right?” Emma asked, her gaze switching from Lex to Hannah periodically.
“What other forest looks that terrifying?” Lex replied, standing up with Hannah. “If we lose Paul, then there’s no telling how much time we have left. So we better get going.”
Emma nodded, taking a deep breath. “Right.. yeah.” She got up to grab her keys, her hands shaking. “Let’s go then.”
-
Wilbur Cross would do anything for his Gods. Whatever they needed done, he would carry out without a single word spoken.
He almost killed his partner, his mentee on that day he stepped out of the black and white. His eyes were open, his purpose in this life was clear. PEIP was insignificant, the lords, his Gods, they were all he needed.
Standing up, Wilbur removed his foot off the now unconscious Paul’s chest. And he simply waited. According to lord Pokotho it would only be just a moment until he would wake.
Though, not him as in Paul. Him. His God Pokotho given mortal flesh. Though Wilbur wished Pokotho chose a more suiting vessel, he didn’t quite like Paul all that much. His disobedience was admirable, but he couldn’t fathom that anyone would even dare to deny Pokey’s glory on the level that Paul had.
The eyeholes of the mask lit up a bright blue, and Paul’s body began to stir. Wilbur kneeled as the other stood. He couldn’t tell his lord’s expression through the mask, it was always the most difficult part with Pokotho. Wilbur could never tell when he was pleased or upset, he always had to rely on words and body language.
Though he could see his eyes, the same as Paul’s but only brighter. Their glow was visible through the eyeholes, but the expression still felt impossible to read.
“You may stand, Cross.” His voice spoke, two layered over each other. The deep voice of Pokey that Wilbur could recognize anywhere. And the voice of Paul, now much more melodic than previously.
He obeyed his lord and stood, still fairly beneath him due to Paul’s height. Rivaling the height of the humanoid form Pokey took in the black and white, which was only just barely taller than him.
“Would’ve preferred this vessel in a better state, but you didn’t kill him, so it’ll do. You have done well Cross, I am pleased with such an act of loyalty.” The being brushed off his suit, momentarily inspecting the bright blue spot on his sleeve.
“Thank you, my lord. What will be done with him?” Wilbur couldn’t help but ask, he longed to know what would happen to the man now banished into the black. Death was imminent, his mortal soul wouldn’t be able to withstand being in the black that long. But knowing Pokotho there had to be more to it than merely letting his soul rot in that dimension.
“I have yet to decide, but I have a few.. words to exchange with him once I exit this body.”
“You’re not staying?”
“As much as I am delighted to inhabit this vessel. Leaving his soul in the black, it’s vulnerable for my sister to set free. I cannot have him out of my grasp like that again. He wasn’t gone for long, but I peered into his memories that I had missed. The Fosters were present, they’re unpredictable.” His fists clenched tight as he mentioned the girls, his knuckles turning pale.
“They could’ve stopped everything we started.”
“Might I ask my lord, why him?” Wilbur questioned, fully aware he was out of line asking. But yet he inquired anyway.
“He is the leading man, Cross.” Pokotho replied simply, slightly annoyed.
“Yes, I am aware.”
“I commended you for your work bringing him to me. I will not have you question my choices. I may be in this human vessel, but I am still your God, Cross.” He snapped, his glowing eyes narrow.
“Apologies my lord.” Wilbur paused, rethinking Pokey’s words. ”The Fosters, shall I deal with them?”
“No, Cross. I can do my own dirty work from time to time. I don’t want them to miss the lovely show we have planned this evening.”
“Show?”
“I’d like to call it more of a ceremony, but I do enjoy a good show. We can consider it the send off for humanity before their complete destruction. I consider it a tradition for all the worlds I inhabit. I would’ve done it sooner, but this got in my way. But it won’t for much longer, it all ends at midnight. The day shifting the world into a new era of peace.” The being walked past Wilbur, stopping briefly.
“And Cross, surely they’ll be looking for him. If you see them, do let them know we’re at the Starlight, would you?”
“Of course, my lord.”
“Good. Now we must be leaving, can’t waste a second more.”
“If you need me I’m a call away, my lord.”
Pokey hummed, the body lurching as the glow in his eyes slightly dimmed. The presence of his lord disappeared from within the body. Though Paul was still not present.
As if nothing had happened, Paul walked further into the forest. Wilbur could hear a soft melody, somehow not muffled through the mask.
Once Paul was out of sight, he clenched his fists tight. He had to simply wait for the Fosters and simply not do anything? He would have the chance to end all this madness there and then, let his lord reign over earth. But he insisted he must do it himself?
Wilbur remembered why he primarily worshipped Wiggly. Pokey was too theatrical for his liking. Tinky had everything he wanted already in his toy box. Blinky didn’t need anything from him, he would simply watch as he carried out tasks for his brothers. Getting to watch Cross work was more than enough service for Blinky. And Nibbly had the starry children more than ready to do the work for him.
But Wiggly is perfect in every way. He didn’t rely on Wilbur, but he trusted that if he was given a job, he would complete it. And he always did complete his tasks, anything for his almighty Wiggog Y’Wrath.
But alas, Wilbur swore allegiance to the lords in black, not just Wiggly. Though, if Wiggog made a bargain requesting that Cross no longer work for his brothers. He would accept the bargain in a heartbeat, no questions asked. If it meant he wouldn’t have to keep doing ludicrous things like being denied the chance to kill the Fosters, he would accept.
Wilbur was just about to reach into the black, stopping as he noticed some blue on his hands. He scoffed as he wiped it off, assuming it was likely Paul’s blood. If he had to deal with Paul one more time, Wilbur was going to lose it.
He shook off the thoughts, Pokotho would kill him if he did that. Wilbur reached into the black and pulled out an apple. Tossing it up into the air and catching it to simply pass the time.
He never looked to check the time, he didn’t need to. The time in black and white moved slower than this realm. And Wilbur had grown so accustomed to the black and white’s slow movement that any long periods of time in the mortal realm would move by like they were merely minutes.
It made him more patient, Wilbur as a Colonel was never the most patient of people. He tended to lose his temper at recruits, but somehow never John.
Now it was the mere thought of him that made him lose his temper. But sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he would join the lords one day on his own volition instead of through the work of Pokey’s hive. Then he wouldn’t be so angry with him. No- John was too devoted to his country for that.
He damned Macnamara and his loyalty, he couldn’t see how this country was flawed. But his Gods were perfect, they didn’t have flaws like America did.
Wilbur figured he should seek out Macnamara, there would be no meaningful conversation. With the hive it was all song and dance. But maybe under the lord’s influence, he could tolerate John’s presence for a couple minutes at most.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of whispers and footsteps. He stopped tossing the apple and grinned, it was time.
Eventually he saw three figures approach, Hannah, Lex, and who he assumed was Emma. Pokotho had mentioned her before as the “love interest” when he was giving Wilbur his instructions.
“Where is he?” Emma asked, making sure the kids were behind her.
Wilbur laughed, “You’re too late sweetheart.”
Emma scowled at him, Wilbur couldn’t take her seriously. All this for Paul? He couldn’t grasp it. Paul was pathetic at worst and mediocre at best.
“He’s got a show to put on tonight at the Starlight. Pokotho wouldn’t want you to miss it. In fact, that’s why I’m here. Was waiting for you three the whole time!” He pointed at each of them, when he got to Hannah his gaze was sharp. “He wasn’t fond of the idea at first but it took a little.. convincing.”
“What did you do?” Hannah asked sternly, looking at his bloody nose. Which had now dried on his face.
“I just followed orders, that’s all, banana peel.” Wilbur shrugged. Lex was quick to become angry.
“Oops, someone’s upset.” Wilbur said, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Jokes aside, he’s mortal. And his soul is in the black. Those two things don’t exactly.. clash. Mortality and the black and white are like oil and water. But take the oil, and make it so hot that the water eventually evaporates. But, if Pokotho wanted, he could protect his soul from destruction. But after all this?” Wilbur grinned. “I wish Matthews the best of luck.”
“So he’s dying?” Lex snapped, wanting to get straight to the point.
“That’s one way of putting it.”
“..The show at the Starlight, when is it?” Asked Emma.
Wilbur looked at his watch, “midnight. But that’s not for a while, you got some time to kill. But he’ll still be alive, possibly. The singular voice makes a spectacle out of things, so it’s safe to assume once the show’s over..” Wilbur draws his thumb against his neck, falling into a fit of laughter.
“Now if you excuse me, I have places to be. Midnight, Starlight theater. They don’t want you to be late.” He smiled, his body enshrouding itself in a black and white glow as he disappeared from this plane.
He had a general to pay a visit to.