Back to the 667 Future

[Deleted]

Good old reliable Bryan. Always dies
And good old reliable Sixteen. Always writes great stories.

[Sixteen]

Chapter 4

Kensicle adjusted the time dials and uploaded the machine. The 667 that formed around her was distinctly different from any that she had seen before. The clock tower ticked on at the centre of the square but dark clouds blocked any virtual sunlight from beaming down. The general atmosphere made her feel entirely uncomfortable.

Kensicle walked around the area, trying to figure out what had happened. Occasionally she would see small groups of members whispering to each other in dark corners but they instantly scattered whenever she approached. She continued walking around the forum and accidentally bumped into someone while turning a corner.
“Watch where you’re going!” the girl said. She was wearing a cat costume and carrying some envelopes marked TOP SECRET. She seemed particularly on edge, even for the state that 667 was in at the moment.
“I’m sorry,” Kensicle said. “I didn’t mean to run into you like that...”
“Jemima,” the cat girl finished. “I don’t recognise you.”
“You can call me K,” Kensicle replied, casually.
“Well, K, I don’t know how familiar you are with our forum but there’s about to be some big changes around here. You just wait and see.” With that, Jemima rushed off into the darkness. Kensicle was left baffled and alone. And also hungry.

***

Jutting off from the main thoroughfare was an alley under construction. It was unfamiliar to Kensicle so she approached with caution. Above the entrance was an unfinished sign that read ‘Indecent Ideas’. A woman in a hard hat emblazoned with the letter J was ordering around the other construction workers. Kensicle ducked into one of the mostly finished cafés. On the menu was a list of dishes prepared and created by local 667ers. She ordered one and took a seat by the window. This was a small Bohemia within the slum that 667 had apparently become. It was the one place that people actually seemed happy, yet the reasons for everyone’s despair and secretiveness remained a mystery to Kensicle.

It was at that very moment that alarm bells rang out throughout 667. Members rushed to the base of the clock tower where a crowd was already gathering. Kensicle dropped her fork and dashed out to see what was happening. Jemima had just handed the files to an older member called Gigi. Gigi turned to face the assembled 667ers as she read her announcement. She detailed the many misdemeanours of another member called All Due Respect. Kensicle was trying to understand what was happening when she was pushed aside by a small girl in extravagant robes carrying a sceptre.
“Very funny, Gigi,” All Due Respect said, rolling her eyes. “Now step aside before I ban you.”
“You can’t ban her,” Linda shouted from the crowd that was slowly transforming into a mob. “She’s done nothing but state the facts.”
“Fine,” ADR responded indignantly. “New rule: anyone who states a fact will be instantly banned.”
“Is that true?” BSam asked.
“Yes,” ADR said factually. “I always speak the truth.” BSam facepalmed.

Suddenly there was a low rumbling from the clouds above. The 667ers looked anxiously upwards, unsure of what to expect. A crash of thunder burst forth, sending tremors through the forum.
“I will not stand for this,” a voice grumbled. “ADMIN POWER SURGE!”
A bolt of lightning struck the clock tower, stopping it dead at 7:07 and causing the lightning rod to break off and plummet right through the head of All Due Respect. The thunder from above was matched by thunderous applause from the 667ers. Gigi wiped some blood from her shoe and stepped down. Kensicle approached her.
“I just wanted to say I’m really impressed by what you’ve done here,” she said. “It just goes to show that you can achieve anything once you set your mind to it.”
“Thank you, strange girl,” Gigi replied. As she watched Kensicle walk away the sentiment grew in her mind. She really could achieve anything. No, she would achieve everything, and at any cost. She was the goddamn Gigi.

Kensicle got back into her DeLorean, ready to take off once more.

[Hermes]

Oh, so that's what happened! Kensicle, it's all your fault!

Great episode, Sixteen.

[B.]

The description of the forum in this chapter is fantastic. Kensicle seems to be influencing more things than she realises.

[Hermes]

I'm now wondering if the previous episode conceals more than meets the eye. Does it allude to some specific thing which happened on the day of the release of TPP?

[Shelly]

Great work, Sixteen. I like the sceptre.

[Kensicle]

Jul 27, 2012 12:58:56 GMT -5 Hermes said:

Oh, so that's what happened! Kensicle, it's all your fault!

Shush, Hermes, you'll have Sherry Ann and Pandora after me.

I really like the portrayal of Tragedy in this chapter, as well as ADR's stupid new rule.

[Deleted]

Awesome!
Gigi is the worst. I"m so glad shes presumably the villain.

[Sixteen]

Chapter 5

The virtual car shot forward and left a trail of burning bytes in its wake. Kensicle arrived in a much cleaner, more familiar version of 667 Dark Avenue. The streets were filled with happy faces and there were groups engaged in discussions on every corner. She looked at the dials on the dashboard and realised that she had travelled to the summer of 2008.

The one anomaly in this version of 667 was a large door just to the side of the Menacing Miscellaneous Park. The door was covered in a mass of wires and cogs which whirred and buzzed intermittently. As Kensicle was taking stock of what lay before her, she saw Tragedy climb a large staircase that led to the archway above the door. He wrote something on a large sheet of paper and stuck it to the entrance. Kensicle read the message which sounded strangely like the lyrics to an obscure song. This confused her to no end. Seemingly, however, she was the only one who was confused as two people instantly pushed past her and made their way to the base of the door. Others casually strolled over to watch the commotion and Kensicle grabbed the attention of one such member.
“I don’t understand what’s happening here,” Kensicle said. “What’s this door?”
“You must be new here,” Shruti replied, looking her up and down. “This is all part of the VFDoor competition. It’s been going on for about a year now. I had the lead for a short while at the beginning but as the competition went on I gave up trying. You really have to dedicate your time and effort into this thing if you want to win. Just look at Gigi.” Kensicle looked back towards the Door. Just next to the two people that had pushed her aside earlier stood Gigi, dark rings around her eyes, visibly shaking. “She hasn’t left the Door for weeks now. She sits there waiting for Tragedy to make a new password, mumbling to herself. Pandora and Sixteen are in it to win it, but Gigi hasn’t even fed her kids in days.”
Tragedy threw down a tin can to the three competitors. In his hand was another tin can, attached by a string. One by one, they approached the can and whispered their attempt at a password. At one point, Triangle Eyes rolled forward and tried to whisper her password but Libitina and Amanda held her back.
“Why are they stopping her?” Kensicle enquired.
“Please don’t use words like ‘her’ around me,” Shruti sighed. “It’s offensive. The reason is that this is Door Number 100. If Pandora solves it, then the competition ends in a three-way tie.”
Shruti had hardly finished speaking when there was a clanking noise from the direction of the Door. Pandora threw down the can and rushed toward the handle.
“Suck it, motherpotato ers!” she yelled. “Team Squad, puzz champions!” With that, she slammed the Door shut behind her. Gigi screamed.
“A three-way tie doesn’t make you a champion, you idiot!” she shouted back, slamming her fists on the Door.

Tragedy scratched his chin as he looked down on the madness.
“Okay, relax,” he said, raising his hands. Pandora emerged from the Door chamber. “I’ve got a solution. You each make your own passwords and the other two have to solve your puzz.”
The three competitors looked at each other and nodded. They walked off in separate directions to contemplate their options. The crowd dispersed and Kensicle was left by herself. Gigi, in a delirious state, walked past her, mumbling.
“My only option... she can’t win... I won’t let it happen... he will help... together we can do it... cheat... cheat...”
Kensicle realised that Gigi had been looking at Sixteen throughout this monologue. He had just stepped into a small alleyway and Gigi began to chase after him. Kensicle still didn’t fully understand what was happening, but she knew she had to stop Gigi from cheating. She had to do the right thing. At the entrance to the alleyway Kensicle reached out a hand and grabbed Gigi’s shoulder.
“Gigi!” she said, sternly. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Who are you?” Gigi asked, shrugging Kensicle’s hand loose. “Leave me alone.”
“You can’t cheat, Gigi,” Kensicle said. “You’re better than that.” Gigi looked around warily.
“Shut up,” she hissed. “You don’t know what I’ve been through. You... wait a minute. I know you. You were that girl that told me I could do anything if I set my mind to it. Where have you been?”
“Never mind that, Gigi,” Kensicle retorted. “Remember who you were back then. You were instrumental in bringing down All Due Respect. You were respected and feared in equal measure. Now you’ve been reduced to a quaking mess, neglecting your family, forgetting to show up to work, ruining everything times twelve. Don’t become a cheater, too. You have a chance to turn around, before you start dragging other people into this, like Sixteen.”
“That’s how it started,” Gigi replied, tearfully. “The last time there was a VFDoor competition it was won by ADR. She became the administrator. Just think of what I could do with that power... but I know Tragedy isn’t stupid enough to pull that trick again. And yet, I still feel the need to win, to prove myself. I’m Gigi. But you’re right. This isn’t the way it was supposed to be. I’ll fight on my own two feet, because I am Gigi. I can do it myself, and once I’ve won the competition my kids will eat like kings.”
Kensicle smiled and patted Gigi proudly on the shoulder. She turned and began to walk away.
“Wait,” Gigi called out. “Will I ever see you again?”
“Maybe,” Kensicle laughed, “in the future.”

She smiled as she got back into the DeLorean and started the engine. Little did she know that in her pocket, on the photo that F.D. had taken of her, her left hand had begun to disappear.

[Shelly]

I realised it was the VFDoor competition fairly quickly. I didn't really follow too much when it happened, I was probably one of those watching the commotion, but it's something to remember.

Great work as always.

[Christmas Chief]

Great installment. The "ruin everything times twelve" was a nice callback, and I found Gigi's descent into madness appropriately humorous. Unfortunately things aren't looking so jolly for Kensicle.

[B.]

Kensicle has altered time yet again, and it's not looking good. Nice chapter.

[Hermes]

Well, it looks as if Kensicle has averted Gigi's cheating - good for her! But yes, the fading of her hand is disturbing.

Excellent episode!

[Sophie Baudelaire]

Gigi is the goddamn Gigi.

[Deleted]

"The last time there was a VFDoor competition it was won by ADR"
Inaccurate. There was a VFDoor competition held at the 6th anniversary that was won by Willis.
But this might be an alternate universe so nvm. Good stuff as always.