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Welcome to "The Fate of Pleasantview Chapter 5: A Summer to Remember". As usual I encourage those who haven't read the previous chapters to read them first.
PREVIOUSLY: Bella Goth finds her way home with the help of her friends and accuses Dina Caliente of her disappearance. Dina Caliente is arrested after a home search by the police, where journals leading her to Bella Goth and a criminal gang were discovered.
And now, The Fate of Pleasantview!
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Over the past years, life in the small town of Pleasantview had been quite agitated. In just five years, this little seaside community had known plots for murder, mysterious disappearances, deaths and the unexpected return of Bella Goth, just a year ago.
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The event of the year had been 'The Bella Goth case', as the Pleasants named it. Bella Goth was from a rich famous family, making this case a must for the media, who reported the event in every possible way. Sim City was so peaceful, that all Sims supported the Goth family, when learning about Dina Caliente's plot.
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But the case had attracted most interest by it's complexity. Each day a new element was discovered just as astonishing as the previous ones. Bella's friend Poli had been summoned as a physical proof that the alien race existed and also as an expert on alien behavior.
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Dina Caliente had put up the best defense she could but all the evidence was against her. She was guilty of plotting against Bella Goth's life, participation in a criminal gang, and proof had lead the investigators back to Michael Bachelor, uncovering that she had killed him. Dina was portrayed as one of the most dangerous people in Sim City and was sent to prison for life. Once she was locked up all Sims felt reassured.
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And life went on as a new generation of Pleasantview teenagers left for Sim State University for higher studies. Among them, Angela and Lilith Pleasant, Dustin Broke and Dirk Dreamer.
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However, in the Pleasant household, life still wasn't happy. Daniel and Mary-Sue continued to fight constantly and ignored each other otherwise. They lived under the same roof but lead separate lives. Daniel continued to coach the Llamas training them for very successful matches; Mary-Sue was climbing the politics ladder and dedicated herself to her work whenever Daniel and she would fight. If only she knew that her work was killing her marriage.
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For Daniel didn't stop seeing Kaylynn, even if she had been fired. Mary-Sue had become all the more distant ever since she'd found out of Daniel's cheating. At first Daniel kept the relationship hidden, but there came a day where he realised he was tired of secrets and hiding. He wanted out of this marriage, so he got caught with Kaylynn in the bedroom on purpose.
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Mary-Sue was enraged to see her husband still wasn't faithful. At first she thought she had the upper hand in the fight having caught him but quickly Daniel started yelling at her, saying she'd put herself into this situation, that he needed some love, and that he did not love her. Mary-Sue tried to reply and be strong, but tears were starting to burn her eyes as she realised this was the end of her marriage.
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In weeks, the divorce was announced and Mary-Sue moved out with her parents. The Pleasant couple had tried to save their marriage once, just for their public image. But it was clear that the modern fairy tail between the sports player and the young fan wasn't meant to end happily ever after. Even though Daniel had asked for a divorce, he was now all alone in the big family house. It was once alive with joy and laughter, but now the silence screamed ever more.
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However, the Goth household was in celebration. After four years of absence, Mortimer Goth had finally reopened Goth Laboratories, under the applause of the scientific community. His retirement a few years back had been an awful loss for it, but now Mortimer was ready to shine again like he always had.
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He had purchased a brand new building with a high-tech research lab, one genetic analysis lab, a rooftop greenhouse, a library, a modern conference room, and even a little shop where he could sell his products.
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Bella enjoyed helping out at the greenhouse at least once a week. Biology had always been an interest of hers and there was a possibility for her to indulge her creativity for flower breeding.
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Mortimer was, of course, thrilled to be back in the field. He would spend hours working on his projects. A part of him was very secretive about what he did, which was a pity for his team, who had been so eager to work with the famous Mortimer Goth.
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Part of this team was Vladimir Djarkovitch, a former russian colleague and friend of Mortimer,who was one of the many scientists around the world to move to SimCity after the discovery of aliens. While Poli was in town, Mortimer had asked to study his DNA and had been the only scientist granted the access to this precious information. The analysis was still in progress.
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Alexander also helped out at the lab from time to time. Of course, he could only perform small tasks, like working at the front desk or cleaning, but he also enjoyed the privilege of being able to just watch the scientists as they worked.
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Cassandra had joined the team as a field researcher, as promised, and was proving herself to be a worthy scientist like her father. She was determined to show that she was on this team because she was qualified, not because she was the boss' daughter.
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Cassandra and Don had moved to a home of their own in Pleasantview. It was a pretty family house that they both loved.
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Soon after her mother's return, Cassandra gave up her goth looks and revealed her true beauty, that of a Goth, mysterious and proud.
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She continued to work hard at home, for work at the lab wasn't easy. Even if she had a certain job security working in the family business, Cassandra needed to be a full scientist. It was the way she was.
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And so the Lothario couple lived happily, and they both wanted a family sometime soon. The year had been hard with the trial and Cassandra's new job, but as everything started to settle down, they began to consider children.
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Don had decided to become a faithful husband and at his return from the honeymoon with Cassandra, he called his girlfriends to tell them he needed to be a good husband now. They all understood, knowing that if they were married, they would want a faithful spouse too. Kaylynn wasn't very difficult to break up with, Don didn't even take the time to speak to Dina as she was in prison, but Nina was perhaps a little harder. There was a connection between them that may have been a little tough to break.
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Ever since Dina was gone, Nina had had to learn to manage the house by herself. She decided to try to make her dream come true: to become a professional sports player. She moved into Dina's room and turned her old room into a gym where she worked out every day, as she joined a sports team.
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She also kept her old romance habits going. A healthy body and a healthy love life was all Nina needed to go on.
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To console him, Daniel invited his daughters and their boyfriends to spend the summer back home. The house had been lonely and he was eager to hear about his children???s lives at College over the past year.
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He sat them all down at the dinning table and a vivid discussion began about the college life. Of course, there was only so much daughters could tell their father.
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Angela had been proud to join the Tri-Var sorority like her mother before her. She continued to walk the path of the high society girl and she decided to study literature as a major.
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The head of the sorority, Brittany, was not a friendly person. She hadn't been very welcoming to Angela and often yelled at the sisters for honest mistakes.
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Thankfully for Angela, there were friendlier girls in the house. Heather Huffington was the outgoing one of the group. She was one to juggle boyfriends and always kept the crowd laughing at parties.
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But Angela's best friend on campus became Tiffany, who was like her, a shy and studious girl. They enrolled in the same classes, shared a room together, and they quickly learned to be good friends.
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Her friends had given her advice for her relationship with Dustin, and soon they both became the hottest couple on campus. They ridiculously flaunted their love for each other wherever they went and everybody wanted to be like them. Angela became a full sorority member and never hung out with the other Pleasantview students anymore, other than Dustin.
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The soroity life was a constant party and Angela often needed to get away to the library to study. Her efforts were brightly rewarded with an A+ at the end of the year.
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The others had all moved into the same dorm. Just days after arriving in campus, Lilith dyed her hair black to fit her personality. It was something she'd wanted to do for a while now, but her parents had never allowed her to do so. Arriving at college was liberation for Lilith and this was the act of her freedom. She decided to study Drama, a major that required a lot of hard work but it was all done with the body, not on paper, to Lilith's liking.
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Dirk chose a major in art, to become an artist, like his father. His work was fascinating for him and was done with great ease. Dustin was studying Mathematics and was doing very well, to everyone's surprise. He even started to grow in Daniel Pleasant's eyes. Dustin wanted to show, that even from poverty, he could achieve a career like any other person.
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Dirk had been the most hard working of the group and was even able to take on a small shift in the dorm cafeteria to earn a little money of his own.
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Both Lilith and Dustin had to work hard for the end of the year. Dustin had been late on his term paper and had to struggle against sleep as he finished it just the night before his final exam.
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But the year ended well for everyone with an A+. Everyone told them to be careful for the first year was always the easiest and so the students were prepared for a new year of intense work.
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Late that night after dinner, Lilith sat down with her father for a discussion:
"Look dad, I know this divorce was necessary for you. I mean, I could have never lived with mom all those years... But are you going to be okay? We're all kind of worried about you..."
"Well, that's sweet." Daniel replied, "But I'll be fine, these few months have just been a little hard by myself."
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"But are you going to be okay by yourself? I mean, what if something happens to you?"
"I won't be living alone..."
"Oh Wait!" Lilith interrupted, "Don't tell me you're thinking of living with Kaylynn! I mean, dad, she babysat us when she was a teenager!"
"It's not Kaylynn," Daniel replied calmly. "Your aunt and uncle are thinking of moving back to Pleasantview. I told them that if they wanted I place to stay, I'd be glad to have them move in here. I think the company will do me good."
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"Oh, why are they moving? I liked their apartment in Sim City."
"Yeah, so did I, but they are tired of living in the city. They don't think it's safe for Lucy. John misses the suburbs too. They said they'll move in around September in time for the new school year..."
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Mortimer and Bella were back in their parenting team. Their education for Cassandra and Alexander had been exemplary, but twins were a whole new challenge. Bella was practically a full time mom though, just helping out at the lab from time to time and was catching up with these four lost years.
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Alexander was very helpful since he was fourteen and his sisters were fond of him. Alexander also felt as if he was "passing the torch" and took his job as a big brother very seriously.
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However, as time passed, Mortimer became more and more involved in his work. So much that he would sometimes invite colleagues home at the weekend for extra meetings. The situation displeased Bella, but Mortimer told her that this was necessary to get the laboratory running. Don and Cassandra lived just next door and were happy to spend time with the family and help out. This relieved Bella a bit.
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One night, as Bella was stargazing, Don came to join her. He cleared his throat as he climbed the stairs to let her know he was there. He came out onto the roof in the warm summer night air, a drink in his hand.
"Good evening Don." Bella said simply, not turning away from her telescope.
"Who says I'm not Mortimer?" Don joked.
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"Because Mortimer is not home yet." Bella replied sadly.
Don put his glass down and approached Bella.
"He's still at the lab?"
"Yes, like every night this week. I'm using the telescope to see what he's doing." she joked.
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"So when did you start stargazing again?"
"A little while ago..."
Bella had been unable to use her telescope for a certain amount of time after her return as the memory of the abduction stayed vividly painful, but the fear had passed and she was now back to doing what she loved.
"You know, I'd foreseen it in the stars." she continued.
"You foresaw what?"
"My abduction..."
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"Well, I'd see some negative event coming but didn???t know what it was... For a moment I though it could be you, since we'd just met but turns out it wasn't. The stars say everything about your future; you just have to listen to them."
"And so what are they saying now?"
"I don't know..." she said slowly, "I lost my touch when I didn't practice for four years and Morti threw all my astrology books away when I disappeared..."
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"He threw them away? Why would he do that?"
"I can't blame him... If he had disappeared I would have thrown his science stuff away. I can't be mad at him for moving on. Morti has a scientist mind, he thinks divination is rubbish."
"Yeah." Don sighed.
"And now, the scientist spends all his time working and instead of taking care of his family..."
"Well, you know, he needs time to start the lab up."
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Bella finally turned away from her telescope.
"That's what he says, but it's been three monthes now. The lab is settled but let's face it: the man is a workaholic, he can't stop. I admire that he has a passion in life but I'm getting tired if this..."
Bella and Don didn't have the typical mother-in-law / son-in-law relationship. The fact that they had been friends before Don and Cassandra started going out made them able to talk to each other as real friends.
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"It was like this before I left, it's still like that now. Nothing has changed. I mean, I thought that my coming back would make him more attentive but apparently not."
"It's funny, you always struck me as a happy couple." Don said.
"Oh well Don, we are happy what makes you say that?"
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"Well, hearing what you're saying... you sound like Cassie's friend Mary-Sue."
"Mary-Sue and Daniel Pleasant weren't a happy couple because they had nothing in common. You were just a child when they got married so I suspect you don't remember much of it but it was a set up. It was all so fake. The press was talking about Daniel because he was a famous player back then. He was already 35, had no children and no relationships, they were criticising his personal life. He starts dating a fan, Mary Sue. He proposed to prove them wrong, she said 'yes' because he was famous."
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"Morti and I have known each other all our life. We still make each other laugh and love each other very much. There are just times that are more difficult than others."
Don wasn't sure what to answer. Bella turned back to her telescope as if to end the conversation and so Don decided to go back inside.
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He bent down and picked up his abandoned drink on the ground, announcing he was going home and told her not to stay out to late. They bid each other good night and Don and Cassandra went home.
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The next morning Dirk Dreamer went to visit his father. Like Daniel Pleasant, Darren had been living alone this last year and was glad to see his son. They had both always been very close, probably because of their small age difference, 16 years.
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Darren took his son to his workshop upstairs where paintings crowded the walls. They were all original and different.
"So what do you think?" Darren asked his son.
"Wow! You did all this? That's, quite something!"
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Dirk wandered around the room admiring all that his father had done. He then turned to him and said:
"So, it's been that bad a year huh?"
"What are you talking about?" Darren queried
"Well, you paint when you're upset and I've never seen you paint so much in your whole life..."
"Come on..." Darren said showing his son towards the easel.
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Dirk had agreed to let Darren paint his portrait and Darren wanted to get started. As he was sketching his son's figure, the later continued to press on.
"So tell me what's bothering you?" he asked.
"Nothing!" Darren sighed exasperated.
"Come on dad, I know you well enough to realize something isn't right... You can tell me anything."
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Darren reluctantly answered: "Cassandra isn't talking to me anymore... We haven't spoken since her wedding...." And so started a long psycho-analysis of Darren's life over the past year. Darren had always used Dirk as a psychologist so much, it was a wonder Dirk wasn't studying psychology at college. By the time Darren was done talking about Cassandra, he was already painting Dirk's face.
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"Well, you know, I can't say it's much of a surprise. I mean you unloaded on her. She must feel angry and awkward towards you." Dirk said once Darren had finished his story
The problem with Dirk is that he didn't chew on his words and didn't always help his "patient" feel better.
"Don't move, I'm almost done." Darren told him as Dirk started stretching.
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Forty minutes later, Darren was finally done after three hours total of posing. But the result was impressive. Darren had even improvised a little and through the window behind Dirk, instead if showing the condo across the street, Darren had painted a whole town with land surrounding it seen from above. Dirk was very pleased.
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Over the rest of the summer, Dirk came back to see his father a few times. Together they shared some good times like when they still lived together.
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Dustin also, returned to the trailer park to visit his family. Walking back in his home streets left him feeling somewhat sad. He didn't want his family to grow up in this environment.
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Brandi leaped out the door as the bell rang to embrace her eldest son. This past year had been hard for her, dealing with the boys.
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Dustin entered the house to find his one year old brother, Denis.
"There he is!" he said picking him up. Denis was born just a few weeks before Dustin left for College, he hadn't seen him grow and each time he visited, his brother seemed to have doubled in size.
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Dustin lifted Denis, and played with him for a few minutes after which Brandi said with a smile:
"So are we going to eatpie, or do you boys want to keep playing around?"
"Ah, relax!" Dustin laughed as they headed towards the kitchen.
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As she served her freshly baked pie, Brandi watched the paternal care with which Dustin placed Denis in his high chair. She missed his presence in the house, for Dustin had been like a father to Beau as he had been growing up after the loss of their father.
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"So what's new?" Dustin asked sinking his teeth into the warm berry pie.
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Brandi told Dustin all about the previous year. Denis had been a happy baby and of course with the experience of two first children, raising him became an easy task, which was still now that she was alone.
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But Denis was a very calm child and made it somewhat easy for Brandi. He was a quick learner and has already taken his first steps and said his first words. Brandi cherished this child who was after all the last sign from her husband.
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Yet, she wondered how she would continue to put food on the table. She had been looking for a job, she'd even applied in several places, but without success. The ideal job for Brandi would be to return to the culinary career. Of course, she did wish that she would be able to work in a higher branch than fast food, but she had to apply where she could.
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Beau and Denis were very playful brothers. They spent a lot of time together and always had fun. Beau was glad to have someone to teach his games to and Denis was like a full time playmate to him even if he was still young.
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Beau was also getting excellent results in school and Brandi couldn't be more proud. Even though she wasn't rich, Brandi felt that her life was beautiful.
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Dustin then proceeded to tell his mother about his college life. Brandi had never had the chance to go to college and was proud that her son was pursuing higher education. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the school bus stopping in front of their home.
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Beau ran into the trailer and fell right into his brother's arms. Beau adored his brother, who was the most paternal figure he had ever had. He had missed Dustin all these months and seeing him again was a relief. Brandi gave the boys time to catch up on their life happenings.
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After that, Dustin who had been a failure at school was able to help his little brother understand his homework. Even if Beau was only in elementary school, he looked up to his brother's knowledge, hoping he too, would be in college someday.
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The young adults were having a good summer together. The fact that they weren't on campus anymore relaxed Angela, and for the first time in months she was actually spending time with the others. Daniel worked during the day, giving them the whole house to themselves, but when he came home in the evening he was happy to find a family awaiting him. A part of him wished they wouldn't go away, but he knew he couldn't stop that from happening.
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He was glad to give Lilith more lessons on the punching bag, where she had spent a lot of time before she left home. That summer, Daniel actually felt compete for the first time in many years. He knew the girls had come only to support him and that they probably would have enjoyed vacationing somewhere without him. But he did his best to show them a good time, and a good time they had.
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It was a summer of fun and love, a summer they would never forget. The last they would be spending all together...
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As the summer days slowly drifted to an end, Mortimer Goth continued his intense research in the lab. Bella's irritation came to it's breaking point one night as dinner was on the table and Mortimer still hadn't returned.
"You would think he would at least have called!" She said in an annoyed voice to her son Alexander.
"Well you know he might be in the middle of something he can't get out of..."
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"I don't care if making him come home will destroy his stupid alien DNA!" she boomed, "I haven't seen him for the last month! Now if he doesn't come home tonight..."
Alexander preferred not to hear the end of that phrase and so he interrupted:
"Okay, okay. Relax, I'll go and get him..."
He left quickly, not wanting to make the situation worse.
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Ten minutes later Alexander was walking in the apparently empty Goth Laboratories. As he stood in the main entrance, he called for his father, hoping he would hear, but received no answer so he proceeded to search for him.
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He walked into the different labs his father might be in, but found no one. His father didn't seem to be in the building at all. Just as Alexander thought he should give up and go home, he walked into the library.
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A bookcase had been moved, revealing a hole in the wall. Alexander was quite shocked by this unusual sight. He thought twice before stepping through the hole, not knowing what he would find there, but decided to go check for his father anyway.
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Behind the hole was a small, entirely metallic room with a staircase leading down below. Alexander couldn't see what was on the floor under him, but an odd green light was coming from it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to risk going down there, the whole place seemed quite frightening, if not surreal. In a last attempt to avoid descending the staircase, Alexander called for his father, but again was left in silence. So he breathed deeply and started going downwards.
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At the foot of the steps he found an underground laboratory. He was sure his father had never told anyone about this. Mortimer didn't seem to be around, but Alexander took a minute to observe his surroundings and make sure he wasn't dreaming. Many unusual objects were around him and he couldn't tell what was their purpose was. Jars containing dreadful looking elements floating in a slimy green liquid were placed upon a large metal table.
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But Alexander's attention was most attracted by an electric machine, that was in a room behind a thick glass wall. He stepped through some heavy glass doors and found himself walking along a girded metal walkway over a pool of water. In front of him was this peculiar machine with a small stairway that led down to it. Alexander walked slowly towards it, but halfway there, he stopped dead in his tracks.
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Mortimer's body lay on the floor in front of him.
"Oh my God! Father, what have you done?!"
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TO BE CONTINUED...
Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter. As usual it took me a while to write and I apologise but vacation surely gave me more time!
Remember that I update my blog very regularly and that I leave a lot of information in there about the series (the making, the upcoming storylines ...) so you can always read that for more information. If you have any questions or comments (and you've already signed my guestbook) you can Email me at alexi035@hotmail.fr
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