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“Aw, whoopsie! It looks like there’s been a power outage!”
“AAH!” The Smiling Friends collectively jumped in alarm at the boss’s typical sing-songy speech. Not because he didn’t usually talk like that, but because they didn’t know he’d been in the room with them. And he wasn’t there when the power was on… where did he even come from?
“Uh, yeah, no dip,” muttered Charlie. He shoved his hands in his pockets so he could fiddle with his hands inside them. “Can’t see shit.”
Allan snorted. “I can See just Fine.”
“Skebebeb didodlodiao hajmajhj.”
“Oh my goodness! You’re right, Glep! With these lights off, we could have an OFFICE SLUMBER PARTY!!!!!” Charlie startled at the sound of Pim’s voice being closer to him than expected. “We can all sleep on the floor and play games and tell spooky stories!!”
“As Fun as that Sounds, it’ll probably have to wait for Another Episode.”
“Awh.” Pim looked down at the floor in mild dejectment.
“Teehee! Don’t worry Pim, maybe the power will go out another time!” And though the only thing they could see was Glep illuminated by his IPad light, they all knew the Boss was winking. “Would one of you boys mind going down in the basement and paying a visit to our lil ol’ generator?”
“I got it!” Pim offered cheerfully, zooming out of the door with no hesitation.
“Don’t get lost!” The Boss called after him, waving a handkerchief. “Try to avoid the basement mosquitos too!~”
Once Pim had left, Allan coughed, then seemingly stayed completely still. Like he was some sort of night owl. Didn’t move or make a sound or anything. After a few moments of sitting in a blanket of quiet darkness, Charlie pulled out his own phone and opened up Minesweeper
“Well,” he said. “Guess we’re waiting until Pim comes back.”
“Asfnoanfa sajdilasnas?” Glep joked.
“Psh. Of course I got games on my phone.”
For some reason, the Smiling Friends building interior was incredibly bone-chilling when bathed in darkness. The halls looked tall and eerie and empty, meandering aimlessly, with the occasional door appearing. A draft seemed to be coming from who knows where, and the storm outside just went crazy with the thunder.
“Gee,” Pim chuckled to himself. “When did we get these-- these vintage brass sconces installed…” Said vintage brass sconces would light up as Pim continued down the hall. It was still really dim… it sort of resembled the Boss’s house. Huh! Suppose he had a very particular taste in interior decoration. Pim decided not to use his phone as a flashlight to save battery (it was at 98%). He started to regret not asking Charlie to come along, as he recalled what happened on that one stormy Halloween night. But it wasn’t Halloween now, at least. So maybe that meant this wasn’t a Halloween Special, and nothing scary would happen.
Pim hummed a little tune. Finally, after like, 30 minutes? A door at the end of the hallway!
“HOORAY!! The basement!” Pim’s shout echoed eeriely.
The door creaked open after he reached up and twisted the antique looking doorknob. Light from the doorway only revealed a fraction of the room. Pim slowly walked in, making his steps as light as possible. There was a weird feeling here, like he was disturbing something.
“Okay… I’m here, electricity generator…! Where are you?”
Pim shined a light along the walls, seeing plenty of boxes and mechanisms in the process. There was a guillotine? A rusty looking iron maiden. And a magical looking door that looked like it was from the Enchanted Forest. Stuff that belonged to the Boss, probably. Pim jumped for joy once he saw an electrical box, waddling his way over and opening up the breaker. After flipping some random switches, he waited until he could hear the machines start to work; the light didn’t come on yet though, so he opted to explore the basement.
Four or five wooden ducks painted yellow lay on a table in the corner. Pim thought they were absolutely lovely, and was quite delighted to find a chest filled with more wooden carvings and knitted dolls. One wall had metal shelves bolted to it, with strangely labeled boxes stacked on them. Labels such as Alpha and Flummox and Foxtail. One box labeled Miscellaneous had just the most precious porcelain music box, in the shape of an egg.
The roof was stained with odd splatters of color. Stringy decorations hung from the roof. How fun!
A box at the top of the shelf caught Pim’s eye. The ceiling was surprisingly high for a basement, because the particular box almost touched the top of the room.
The box was also labeled Pim .
(Pim didn’t see the boxes named Charlie or Allan or Glep or Smormu . Maybe if he had glasses on, he would’ve?)
“Huh.”
How could he not push a convenient ladder nearby and climb it up to look inside the box? How could he not lean his phone against the wall to free both of his hands? How could he not stand on his tippy toes and tilt the box down and hold it in his arms, and finally get to see what items were inside?
With one hand shoved in the box, Pim rummaged around blindly. His hands secured themselves around something soft and solid. Removing it from the box revealed it was an old, battered stuffed elephant. Pim’s gaze softened curiously– he gasped.
“...Ellie? I lost you when I was a kid!”
Pim remembered bringing Ellie to the zoo as a child. By the time they left, he never saw her again. He had told himself that she went to live with the real elephants, and that had made him feel a little bit better. Discovering Ellie may have been inside this box in his Boss’s basement… did not really make him feel better about anything. Except for maybe getting to reunite with Ellie, seeing her beady little eyes and feeling her rusty red colored fabric again. Ellie felt like a relic of another distant time.
So… what the heck was this box?! Were they filled with childhood memories? Pim’s childhood memories, specifically. Peculiar nonetheless.
Pim tucked Ellie under his elbow. The next item he took out just served to confuse him even more: a pair of baby shoes. But… not his baby shoes. They looked new; unworn. A crispy white color, with pink stripes and sparkles. Maybe the boss was just… storing things? Storing old things for his 18 year old son Jason who did not have legs or feet. From when he was younger… yeah.
Further investigation revealed a Rubik’s Cube, a rusty sword handle, an old pair of awfully familiar glasses, a CD of Weezer’s Pinkerton, and a very familiar notebook. The very notebook that Pim wrote story drafts in when he was in high school! He couldn’t believe his eyes. Pim opened the notebook and then immediately closed it, patting it with a nervous chuckle, mumbling I’ll just check this out later… out of the sheer embarrassment from reading his old writing. He’d really like to start writing that dream novel, one day…
Pim just couldn’t figure out the relation between a PS5 controller and the glasses he wore as a kid. Half of the things were things that belonged to him, but the other half he didn’t recognize at all. Was it an error? Should he tell the Boss?
There was a sharp glint that caught Pim’s eye from within the box. Something with a hint of gold. His fingers clumsily grabbed for the object, which was much smaller than expected.
A golden band. A ring . Pim wondered how a ring as beautiful as that gets lumped with the box that contained his middle school writing and a Weezer CD. Pim studied the thing, wondering if it belonged to someone he knew, like his father… since his parents didn’t wear their wedding rings. He slipped it on his own ring finger, just to try.
It fit perfectly. Sweet!
He was halfway through taking it out when the generators started to whirr-- startled, Pim banged his head on the ceiling. When he tried to regain his balance, a fleeting panic took over when instead of the ladder, Pim stepped on air. He immediately fell on the floor, the items from the box spilling out around him. The ring rolled away into the darkness.
“Cheese… and… crackers…” Pim swore as he started to lose consciousness.
His last thoughts before blacking out were hoping the lights came back on.
Pim woke up with his throat feeling dry. He stirred as his senses started to uncloud themselves: soft grass, birds chirping, sunlight peeking through leaves…
“AAAH!” he screamed as he shot up. Instead of waking up tied up in a warehouse, he was in someone’s backyard, with VERY WELL TAKEN CARE OF vegetable and flower gardens. And a dirt biking course. Pim was a tad bit jealous of how ripe the strawberries were. The garden was just so… nice , that he forgot the fact that he’d hit his head and fallen off a ladder in his Boss’s basement full of fascinating assorted items. After a few rounds of pacing back and forth and panicking, Pim went back to enjoying the garden. It was like he was suddenly plopped into a pleasant dream.
He walked around, in awe of the garden’s beauty and the white picket fences and corner of weird cacti. A robin landed on his finger. The wind ruffled his exposed nerve ending. A barbershop quartet of flowers even sang For the Longest Time by Billy Joel for him. It was EPIC!!!
Eventually, he wandered into the white-walled house. The sunlight streaming in was downright heavenly . There was a cool looking sword mounted on the wall. Was this a knight’s home? The cardboard cutout of Lara Croft still puzzled him if that were the case. Still, it was very homey . Whoever lived here took great care of the house… Pim wondered how many people lived there. It was something out of a fairytale.
A cup of tea was mysteriously waiting for him at the table next to a plate of freshly baked cookies. Pim was obviously suspicious. But his throat was also really dry. And the cookies smelled really good.
“Help yourself, man.” said Charlie. He grabbed a cookie and chomped down on it. “These cookies are bomb.”
“Oh-thank-goodness-don’t-mind-if-I-do--” The words fell out of Pim’s mouth before he took a big sip of tea, then sighing contentedly. Pim tried a cookie. “Oh you’re right, this is good. You baked them?”
“Nah. I just microwaved some Chips Ahoy, man.”
“Oh, oh yeah. Okay.” Pim considered it. Who knew microwaved cookies could taste so good? “Wait, Charlie, when did you get so… old?”
“Huh?”
“Huh???”
“I mean, 40 years ago I guess.”
The yellow critter before Pim looked well into his 60s, wrinkles worn into his face. His strands of hair were tied into a ponytail, and a knitted blue hat sat upon his head. He was wearing a fluffy pink robe and bunny slippers.
“CHARLIE???”
“Pim????”
“Wait, what-- what happened to-? Are you related to Charlie--?”
“Dude, you got some cookie on your face--”
“--if you’re Charlie, then-- oh, thanks.” Pim dusted off some crumbs on his face.
“Yeah, yeah. No problem.”
“...well…?”
Charlie didn’t say anything after that, so Pim took a deep breath and sighed. The last 40 minutes have been incredibly confusing.
“Charlie, wh-- you’re Charlie Dompler right.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, just making sure! In that case: CHARLIE?! Is that really you?! What happened?!” Pim exclaimed, making confused gestures at Charlie, who in turn looked at Pim like he was the crazy one.
“I live here.”
“You live… here?” Pim looked upon the neatly decorated living room. There were doilies on the table, a fluffy rug, some flowers… they didn’t exactly scream Charlie . Well, maybe the Lord of the Rings poster did. And the PS5 next to the huge flat screen TV. And the TV itself. And the Mr. Frog painting-- okay, Charlie lived here, yeah. The walls had tons of pictures on them of who Pim assumed were family members, and the frames seemed to be handmade, so forgive him for being thrown off.
But then Pim realized: an older Charlie? A family house?
“Gasp! Am I in… the FUTURE?!?!”
“Um,” Charlie smacked his lips and glanced around. “I think so, man.”
“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!!!” Pim screamed in that excited way he does. Charlie didn’t even flinch at the outburst, he just smiled a little. “Look at you, Charlie! Your comfortable stay at home clothes and rose gold wedding band!! L-look at these beautiful family photos!” Pim sped over to a picture of a little critter girl with short hair and glasses. He ran over to the kitchen next. “And all of these ceramics! A whole dining table?! And so much silverware!! This kitchen is AWESOME!!!“
“Yup,” replied Charlie, popping the P. “My life’s pretty sweet. I beat Elden Ring again this morning. Gotta appreciate the classics.” (Wow. Elden Ring, considered a classic at this point in time.)
“Oh, I’m so happy for you Charlie!” Pim ran over to Charlie and hugged him. It was only when he looked past him did he realize what was on the wall behind him. “...what is that.”
Old Charlie patted Pim on the back, then craned his neck over to get a look at what Pim was looking at--and promptly burst out into snickers. “Pfff-- that was your birthday gift, man. You-- you totally loved it. You loved it, it was awesome.”
“You got me a giant Renaissance styled painting of myself.”
“Yeah man. Painted by Da Vinci himself.”
“That’s…” Pim sniffled. “That’s so thoughtful of you, Charlie.”
“I know.” Charlie replied proudly. “You loved it so much that you didn’t want it in the living room.”
Pim laughed lightly. “Really? Why’s it even here then?”
“Um, because one, my husband is beautiful as fuck. And two, Da Vinci commissions are pricey.”
“I mean, it’s Leonardo Da Vinci, Charlie. Frankly I don’t know what you expected.”
“Pim. That is exactly what you told me on your birthday. Like, by the word.”
“Because it’s true!” Pim paused. “...congratulations on your marriage?”
“It was years ago and you were there, but thanks.”
“Gosh this is-- this is all so much to learn… that’d you’d get married! And-- oh dear, and why am I not preparing my best man speech at this very moment--”
“Well, you weren’t the best man, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“--for my best friend and his-- wait-- I’m… oh.” Had Charlie chosen someone else to be his best man? They were still best friends though, weren’t they? They’d known each other for 7 years, even if Charlie just considered them coworkers, Pim thought their companionship was mutual. Maybe Pim got too nervous and vomited. Or they were getting married at the same time, and were doing a double wedding with Pim’s own fiance! Maybe…! Hah… Pim wrung his hands, and his eyes flickered to Charlie’s wedding band. And there was a weird tinge of bitterness brewing in his gut, the kind he felt during the whole Mip thing. The desire to so badly want to be part of Charlie’s life, met with indifference. How could he feel guilty for something that hasn’t even happened yet? Something that was certainly going to be a joyous day.
Um.
Whoops.
Get it together, Pim!
“Ah. Uh, sorry to have made assumptions.”
“It was Tyler.”
“Ohhh. Mmm.” Pim nodded, considering it. “That’s fair.”
“The boss was the flower girl.”
“Couldn’t imagine him as anything else!”
“You were the groom.”
“I get the picture, Charlie.”
“Okay, just making sure you knew. Because it seemed like you didn’t know.”
“Well-- well of course I knew.” Pim protested despite not knowing.
Old Charlie looked at Pim skeptically. “So you know then.”
“Yes!” Pim replied, starting to get frustrated.
“You know I married you.”
“YES! …no?” The world was spinning– his head felt light, and fuzzy, and, and, and– “Wait, what?”
Pim promptly threw up.
Pim was sobbing over family photos of his future daughter as Charlie patted his back comfortingly.
“She’s so beautiful.. Awhhh…” Pim warbled. “What’s her name-- wait, don’t tell me! I might know! But I might not…! It’s Dahlia, isn’t it? It has to be Dahlia… unless… Charlie, you didn’t name our daughter Zelda or anything, did you?”
“ Woah . No spoilers. But we have more than one kid, just for your information.”
“WE DO??” Pim’s eyes got all teary and sparkly again.
He had a very similar reaction to the many things Charlie showed him around the house. The fridge, with magnets and lovely pictures and beautifully mundane notes for doctor’s appointments and family events. The dishes that have yet to be done. The leftover food in the fridge. Pim was only allowed to look at one page of the scrapbooks that his future self made, because he couldn’t contain himself otherwise.
It was all just so… amazing.
He wasn’t sure how much of this he was truly processing. Eventually, he found himself playing Smash Bros on the couch with Charlie. It was apparently the 14th installment of the series, and they had a bunch of characters Pim didn’t think even existed in his time. He couldn’t pass off the opportunity to play a secret cool new future character , so he ended up playing a character called Glup Shitto or something. He eventually went back to playing Gwimbly, though-- because it was nice to see a familiar face in such an unfamiliar time. Sadly, Mr. Boss was dropped from the roster.
They chattered as Charlie unleashed the nastiest combos, rambling about some hypotheticals that Charlie was apparently still asking at age 69. Their adult daughter supposedly inherited this trait, and also became an accomplished writer! Pim’s heart swelled with pride. All their kids were moved out, and now it was just Charlie and Pim growing old together.
Pim laughed at something Charlie said, and he trailed off into quiet. A thoughtful look found itself on his face. Charlie recognized the look, and waited for Pim to bring up what he was thinking about.
“I… I just… never thought you would want any of this.”
“Oh?” Charlie said as he hit Gwimbly with the bread and butter combo of Mr. Boss, who he decided to play for the occasion. “Why exactly? You’re thirty something now, right? I saw you almost everyday, man. We were best friends for years.”
“I-I know… but it’s… hard, sometimes. At the times where you were so determined to be unhappy. I don’t know. Settling down just doesn’t seem like your style.”
“Oh believe me, it wasn’t.” Charlie snorted; but his eyes softened. Even if he was still ruthlessly beating Gwimbly ingame. “You know-- I gotta say it-- you know, things change. Pim, I never knew I could want all of this if it weren’t for you. Yeah, we argue and shit. But I wake up every morning and listen to you talk about the last book you read, and we take turns making dinner, and it’s nice .”
“Really?”
“Yeah, dude.”
Pim squirmed, kicking out his feet. “I have a confession.”
Charlie hummed curiously, tapping some buttons to spam his character’s specials.
“I… I’m so sorry, but… when I realized we were married, I was…I felt strange. I don’t know if I was disappointed , or confused, or something but… I don’t know. When, when I saw you, and realized we were married, a voice in my head just went oh. Oh, it’s you. And I just always thought--”
“You thought I’d be someone else,” Charlie finished easily. “Your dream bride.”
“Yeah.” Pim admitted, glad he didn’t have to be the one to say it. “...Can I say more?”
“Probably nothing I haven’t heard before, but go ahead.”
“Hah,” Pim breathed. “I’m not sure how much of this is an illusion, so I suppose it really wouldn’t hurt. I know- I know you said things changed. But… it’s still so hard to imagine you like this. Wanting kids. Wanting a house. Wanting …me, I guess. Slow dancing to Raymond Lauchengo, baking in the kitchen, going to our kids’ weddings. Even if I wanted that life, I never imagined that…you would. So, even if I ever liked you a little more than I should’ve, we would’ve wanted different things. And I was always daydreaming about Mr. and Mrs. Pimling, the kindly old couple down the street -- heck, I still do. Did. I don’t know.”
Charlie’s character spiked Gwimbly, who was on his final stock, off the stage. The in-game announcer yelled GAME!, and the victory animation for Eeby Deeby played. Charlie and Pim mashed the A button until they were back to the character select screen. Charlie picked the cute little ball shaped mascot character with an insatiable appetite, and Pim just picked at random. They went into another game.
“Do you remember when you would get drunk and crash on my couch?” Pim asked.
“How could I forget?” Charlie chuckled.
“I thought-- well, I think-- life would always be like that if I…were… with you. You going to me if you needed something, and me taking care of everything else. And even if I liked taking care of you, I…needed more than that, Charlie.”
Pim glanced at Charlie from the corner of his eye. He stared at the TV screen sympathetically, mouth twisted between smiling and frowning.
“I don’t blame you, Pim,” said Charlie. “I suck. Especially as a young adult. I don’t think straight when I’m mad. I was pretty fucked up. Being a chill guy doesn’t mean I’m not lazy, and I’m not…” Charlie clicked his tongue. “I’m not exactly easy. I went to hell when I died, dude. Put simply, I sucked.”
Pim blinked, then frowned. “That was the worst Christmas of my life.”
“Yeah… ”
A brief lapse of quiet before both Pim and Charlie started to speak at the same time.
“Sorry, sorry-- you go ahead,” said Charlie.
“It’s, uh-- nevermind.”
“Dude, no, I get it. You know me. And you know me, from your current time, would be a shitty boyfriend.”
“I’ve seen how your other relationships have played out, in my time,” Pim admitted. “The last person you were dating was Zoey.”
“Oh, Zoey. She was cool.”
“Yeah…” Would you talk about me like that too, if we were together then broken up? Would I just be a passing comment?
Charlie rolled his eyes. “I know what you’re thinking, Pim. And no, I wouldn’t be so nonchalant about you. I value your friendship. Past me might’ve not realized it, but it’s true.”
Pim chuckled, feeling exposed. “Right.”
The game paused suddenly; the screen indicated that Player 1 had done so. Pim was pressing buttons for an extremely brief moment before realizing Charlie had paused the game. The music hummed pleasantly.
“...I like you, Charlie,” said Pim, decidingly filling in the silence. “But I don’t think I’m in love with you. Not really yet, at least. I just– you know me . I believe in destiny! I believe– that fairy tale love would find me. That love was this heart swooping, butterfly light feeling that makes me wanna throw up from sheer nerves– not … not how we are, in my time.” Pim looked a little sad as he spoke about this part. “How I know you right now… that’s not how I’d imagine I’d be spending the rest of my life, you know? I– as a kid, I imagined I’d–” Pim choked out a nervous laugh. “I’d marry a princess, or– something, and we’d be madly in love. That it would be true love. But you… you’re just… Charlie. My coworker. For years. It’s… it doesn’t feel romantic. I’m really, really sorry– but… I guess that’s just how I feel. I’m sorry. I always had a foolish view on love.”
There was a bit of silence. Charlie clicked his tongue; then hummed. “What’s your dream home, Pim?”
“My dream home?” Pim echoed. “Um, as a kid, I always– wanted to live in a palace, haha. But now, I think I’d be happy just anywhere that’s nice. Anywhere that’s a home, one with a big garden, and tons of family photos on the walls, somewhere that’s just lovely–”
Charlie glanced at Pim raising an eyebrow, tilting his head.
“...Oh,” Pim realized, remembering his surroundings. He blinked, and scratched his arm. “ Wow, ” he exhaled. “I guess… I guess this really is my home. Our home.”
“Pim,” said Charlie. “What I’m gonna tell you is– you’ll come to learn these things on your own. And you don’t have to believe me right now, but… this is love to me. Playing video games on the couch. Complaining about the news. Doing laundry. Going on long drives. Video calling our kids. All that sweet, sweet boring stuff– living life together, everything big and small and sweet and mundane– love. I know it’s selfish of me to ask, but man, I’m a selfish creature. I’m a cynical piece of shit that doesn’t deserve your patience. I’d be so caught up in myself– I’d, I’d be keeping myself in that cycle of self-indulgence. I didn’t want to get better, until I did. Even with that– with how I am– you still found it in yourself to care about me. So, um, yeah. You cared about me, and I– I’m better for it. Because you made me want to be better. You, you kinda showed me– You made me want to try. Something like that. It’s been a long time since I’ve been that version of myself.”
“Huh,” said Pim, fascinated. “ Really? ”
“Yeah, really. I love my life now-- I never thought it would suit me, being happy, settling down like this, but I love caring about other people with my heart on my sleeve actually. I love my family– the Dompler-Pimlings are the best. ”
This Charlie was so earnest and kinda wise, that seeing him like this? Might’ve just made Pim’s heart race.
And Pim… laughed. The kinda laughter that boils and bubbles up from your gut, blooming and sunny and light.
Charlie sat there with a content smile on his face, an expression that creased the corners of his eyes.
“Speaking of which, where am I right now?” asked Pim, after calming down. “Like, future me. Your… me . Your husband.”
“Oh, you’re not with us anymore.”
“What.” Pim balked.
Subsequently, there were the iconic sounds of a car pulling into the driveway. Then keys at the door.
Pim looked at Charlie with incredible confusion and desperation for answers. Charlie grinned mischievously.
“ Charlie, I’m home! ” said a voice on the other side of the door… and I’m sure you already know who it is, just as Pim did.
“Just trolling,” said Charlie, ever so playful. “Anyway, wouldn’t want some crazy time shenanigans to happen if you met yourself.”
“Yeah, I should probably go… but…. I don’t really know how to.” Pim coughed awkwardly.
Charlie blinked. He stood up and looked around. Pim mirrored his movement. “Uh….”
“Maybe I could--” Charlie fiercely punched Pim in the face and everything went black.
Immediately, Pim groaned as he woke up to the sight of the Boss poking at him.
“Hey, you’re finally awake,” the Boss said in a deep, southern-accented voice.
“Mr. Boss…?” Pim got up, rubbing his head. He looked around blearily. “What happened?”
“Looks like you found my rain collector boxes!” the Boss giggled, setting aside his lantern. “And by rain, I mean objects that slip through the rivulets of time.”
“Oh… ah, I’m sorry!” Pim immediately shot up, quick to collect all the fallen objects and put them back in the cardboard box. Once everything had been cleaned up, he noticed the ring on his finger; gaze lingered on its shine, before he removed it and put it back on the box.
The Boss uncovered some furniture and pushed it aside to reveal a comically large switch. “Here’s the back-up generator switch!”
“Oh-- wait, did I not…”
“Er, yeah, you were kinda taking a while, so.”
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. I think I may have gotten the wrong one--”
“It’s no problem, we were just getting worried,” the Boss dismissed. “It’s fine.”
The Boss switched the lever. “Aaany second now.” A moment passed. The Boss tapped his foot. Pim blinked. Looked around at the assorted objects of the room. Started to speak up to ask about the muffled sounds from the coffin, but then stopped himself.
“ARUGAERGAUKNRAUHUA!!!!” A giant mosquito suddenly burst from the floor. Pim screamed and the Boss leapt into action, grabbing Pim and leaving the basement, locking the door behind him. There were ghoulish mosquito sounds and banging on the door echoing through the hallways as they ran.
The lights flickered back on. The Boss smiled pleasantly. “There we go!”
“Great going, Mr. Boss!” Pim gave him a thumbs up.
They arrived at the main room, catching their breath.
“You’re Back.” said Allan. Glep made a noise. Charlie seemed to have switched from Minesweeper to Clash Royale.
“Hi Allan! Hi Glep! H-hi Charlie!”
“‘Sup.” Charlie responded, slightly glancing up before returning to his thrilling game of Clash Royale. Pim smiled softly.
“Thank You for getting the Lights. Now I can Finally count all the bricks on the wall,” Allan said appreciatively. Allan stood up and began to count the bricks.
“Of course, Allan! Good luck with those bricks!”
“1. 2. 3. 4…”
Allan continued counting, even as the shot faded into a zoom out of the Smiling Friends headquarters exterior. The birds were singing. The flowers were blooming. And–
Hey, wait. Wasn’t there just a thunderstorm happening?