Todd was a little weirded out.

Tycho and Johnny were now some kind of friend, or something, and all three men were sitting on Johnny's couch, watching mindless television. No other lights were on. Both Johnny and Tycho held blank expressions.

Less than an hour ago, Johnny tried to kill Tycho, again, and Tycho brought Johnny to tears. That was scary. Then Tycho did some weird shoulder touching deal and Johnny didn't care. That was scarier.

And so they eventually got here, vegetating on a couch. Todd was nervous between the two; he kept thinking about his parents and Shmee and Johnny and Tycho snd Roreese and all the complicating factors. He was mad at Johnny, but he was happy for him, and felt bad for him; Tycho was confusing and shocking and calming; and he just couldn't stop his mind from wandering to his parents.

Todd felt indistinctly surprised to find he felt homesick for his terrible parentals.

He suddenly realized that this was loneliness, being family-less and alienated from his one true friend. Not that wimpy emo-shit that every angsty teen whined about in their heads; true, heart-stabbing, tear-producing, body-racking loneliness.

Todd started to silently cry as Tycho and Johnny watched T.V.

They're just sittin' there, Wiliker thought.

Through the cracked, rotten roof of Johnny's shack, the cowboy could see Johnny, Tycho and Todd sitting on the couch, watching T.V. Todd's eyes looked wet, or something.

Wiliker thought some more. C'mon, do somethin'. I need a reason ta hurt ya.

A full burlap sack shook behind Wiliker.

"Coulda sworn you was dead." Wiliker said. He kicked the sack with extreme force. There was a crunching noise, and the shaking stopped.

"Fuckin' bitch," he said. "Gonna make the roof crack."

Suddenly, the wooden roof began to creak and bend, splinters flicking off.

"Ah, fer the love a shit..." Wiliker muttered.

The roof collapsed, and Wiliker fell into Johnny's living room.

Johnny noticed some odd bits of wood fallinf down from the ceiling and into the path of the television light. It was distracting, so he looked up just in time to see a man fall through and onto the floor. Some kind of bag fell, too.

None of the three on the couch moved.

"Huh..." Tycho said.

With a groan, the man sat up, and Johnny stood up himself.

"What the hell are you doing alive?! I made you explode in a car!!" Johnny yelled to Wiliker.

Wiliker slowly stood up to match Johnny. "Goddamn, Nny, you outta anyone should know we don' die."

Todd rubbed his temples. "That makes so much sense." His eyes were still wet.

"Ah, well, it really doesn't matter." Johnny said. His eyes took that crazy gloom look known as murderous intent and his hands produced another smiley-face-hilted knife from behind his back. "I'll watch you bleed to death this time."

"Neat-o." Tycho quipped.

"Yes." Johnny said.

Wiliker's hand sped toward his pistol. Just as his hand touched the handle of the gun, he saw Johnny's knife was already rushing towards the cowboy, with Johnny right behind it. The blade schripped through the air and-

Wiliker disappeared behind a flash of light. Johnny's knife kept moving until two fingers grabbed the blade and kept it from flying forwards. Johnny didn't account for this and smashed headfirst into Roreese. The top-hat-bearing man didn't move at all. The small wand-type stick in his hand still glowed a bit. Over his shoulder was a human-shaped form covered in rotten bandages.

"Wiliker," Roreese said. His expression was that of a furious spidermonkey. "Shiva is waiting."

Johnny stood up, holding his head. "Sheee-eez, just warp right in front of my, why don't you..."

Roreese looked at him like he was studying something new. "Johnny. It's been too long."

"Oh, I am so absolutely sure that it has." Johnny said.

Roreese smiled and looked at his bare wrist. "Oh, would you look at the time. We've got to get going." He motioned his head towards the figure on his shoulder. "Important cargo, you see."

Johnny glared at Roreese the way he did to his thousands of victims in the past. "I see."

"Tycho, good to see you, too." Roreese said. Tycho just stared.

"Todd." Roreese nodded to Todd.

Shit, Todd thought.

Roreese waved his stick, a light flashed, and Roreese and Wiliker were, along with the things they were carrying, gone.

All three of them kept perfectly unmoving. Tycho still looked bored, uninterested, uninvolved. Todd clenched all his muscles, waiting for what was coming. Johnny stood stock still.

"Squee," Johnny said. He didn't turn around. "How do you know that guy?"

The empty house in the gated community was quiet. Then a light flashed, and it was full.

Wiliker thumped onto his back, again. The sack fell on top of him. "Fuck... Watch where ya teleport folk!!" He glared at Roreese.

"I wouldn't have had to teleport you if you hadn't sneaked out to stalk Johnny." Roreese replied. He still carried the bandaged thing on his shoulder.

"Hey, ah got th' damn blood! Ah did what ah said ah'd do!"

Roreese produced a paintbrush from his hat. "Fine. Then do it." He handed Wiliker the paintbrush.

The door to the basement opened on its own. The darkness from below crept it's way up and into the house. Wiliker resisted the urge to physically assault Roreese and made his way into the basement, paintbrush in one hand, sack full of the body in the other. When Wiliker closed the door behind him, the darkness disappeared back into the basement with the cowboy and Shiva.

Roreese took the bandaged mass and laid it on a couch in the living room. He tapped the figure on what was probably its head with his wand.

He took a step back. The figure shook, slowly, shaking its way around the couch. The sides ripped open, two slim arms, also wrapped in old bandages, sprouted out. The figure was definately more human now, its upper half sitting up, arms at its side. The lower half ripped in two as well, giving the figure legs.

Its arm raised up to the center of its head, and its covered hand gripped the bandages there. A quick pull, and the bandages off half its face ripped off, revealing mottled gray-green skin and a feminine colorless eye.

"Citally," Roreese said. "Shiva needs you."

Citally turned her half covered face to Roreese. "And of course I'll be glad to help." she replied, slowly, with an alluring womanish voice.

From the basement, the eminating came, soaking Wiliker and Roreese and Citally and the whole house and the entire gated community outside with nothing.

By the by, Roreese's 'stick/wand' is like those magician's wands, what with the plain black stick with a white tab at each end; absolutely NOT the crappy Harry Potter kind.