Ryuk would've frowned had his mouth not been stuck in a constant smile. "What makes you think I'd kill you?" he asked Twilight, who'd taken it upon herself to put about five more meters of distance between them.
The lavender unicorn trembled and stuttered as she spoke. "B-b-because y-you're a g-god of d-de-death."
The Shinigami tried to shrug his shoulders, but they were stuck up against the tree he was leaning against. Ryuk took a moment to apply some pressure to his stomach before answering. "Even Shinigami will discriminate, Twilight; I've been given no reason to kill you, so I won't. Besides," he reached to his side and pulled out what Twilight recognized as his Death Note; it had a skull emblem on the front of a cross which took up the entire space of the front cover while the book itself was latched onto Ryuk by a chain made up of miniature skulls, "Death Notes only work on humans. Even more so, judging from what you've shown me using your . . . magic, I guess, laws of reality and all that science mumbo-jumbo doesn't apply here." He set the Death Note back down and beckoned Twilight closer. "Now, I'd appreciate some help in getting rid of this awful stomachache I have, so stop worrying and come help me."
Twilight said and did nothing other than continue trembling. Ryuk sighed in annoyance and lifted his Death Note back up. "If it'll make you feel better enough that you'll make me feel better, I'll toss this thing far, far away so you aren't frightened." To prove his point, he weakly chucked the Death Note about fifteen meters through the trees; he didn't see where it landed. Ryuk then turned back to Twilight. "Feeling better yet?"
Twilight said nothing in response, but she did begin taking foal steps forward toward the Shinigami. Her fear hadn't lessened by too much of the death god himself, but now that he'd gotten rid of his Death Note Twilight was at least willing to lend a helping hoof, though she was still afraid of what would happen in case she accidently hurt him. She closed the distance between them and began using her magic to examine Ryuk's stomach.
". . . Well, Ryuk," she said nervously, "from what I can gleam using my magic, it appears you're suffering from an extreme case of indigestion." She looked around them for any apple cores, but couldn't find any. "Were you eating the apples whole?"
"I was, but that wouldn't explain why I'm feeling like this." He took another moment to settle his aching stomach with a clawed hand before continuing. "Back in my world, I eat apples whole all the time and it's never caused this."
Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "Well, maybe . . . wait." She looked up towards the sky. "Aza, is time still non-existent here?"
"Indeed it isn't, Miss Sparkle, but everything is subject to change here so don't hold your breath."
"Whatever," she replied, and returned her gaze to Ryuk who was looking upwards himself. "Anyway, I know what's causing your indigestion, Ryuk. Since time isn't flowing, your body can't break down the apples leaving them to hang in your stomach." She furrowed her brows. "Speaking of which, this orchard belongs to my friend and her family. I won't blame you for eating them since you were probably scared and hungry when you first arrived here."
"You're half right," Ryuk interrupted, chuckling.
Twilight rolled her eyes and continued. "I'll cure your indigestion only if you promise to keep your hands off these apples, okay?"
"That's gonna be a hard promise to keep," Ryuk stated. "After all, apples are like a Shinigami's drugs; they're all too addicting."
"The fact that you can't enjoy them without suffering like you are now should override that." Twilight leveled a stern gaze with him. "Do we have an agreement?"
Ryuk stared blankly ahead for a moment before nodding in response. With that taken care of, Twilight set to work curing him of his indigestion.
So, this is Canterlot, Samus mused internally as she stared at the grand expanse of Equestria's capital city.
The space hunter had reached the Canterhorn in a little less than ten minutes from where she started at Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville. After traversing the open plains between the two she followed the train tracks up and through the mountain until eventually reaching Canterlot Station. Upon exiting, she immediately began heading towards the castle which rose up behind the cityscape, making it plainly visible. Samus didn't rush, however, wanting to take in the city's sights as well as commit its layout to memory should the need arise. During her walk, Aza decided to converse with her.
"So, Miss Aran, how do you like Canterlot?"
She shrugged. "Out of all the places I've seen, this isn't anything too special."
Aza snickered. "Don't say that to Celestia; she might be hurt if you do."
Samus rolled her eyes. "As if you care."
"Hey, I only want my victims to be happy while they're here."
Samus stopped walking and gazed upwards. It couldn't be seen, but her eyes held a look of pure, unbridled rage. "How can you honestly expect any of us to be happy when you've roped us here against our will and are making us face life-threatening hazards, not to mention the fact that you're pitting us against each other every chance you get?"
". . . Oh look, you're already at the castle. Boy, no-time sure flies when you're having fun. Well, bye!"
Before Samus could so much as quirk a confused brow, the scenery around her changed from a cobblestone street with buildings on either side to a grassy area with statues all around. Samus swiveled her head around in confusion for a moment before realizing Aza had moved her. For a moment she was afraid it'd moved her somewhere far away from her destination, but looking upwards revealed she'd been moved to Canterlot Castle.
"Samus?" called a familiar voice from behind her. "When did you get here?"
Samus turned around to see Princess Celestia laying on the grass in front of a brown, grassless patch of earth, staring wide-eyed at her in surprise. The space hunter recomposed herself before walking forward.
"Aza just moved me here," she explained to the solar alicorn, kneeling down so they were at eye level. "I was actually coming here to fetch you so we can all meet Aza's newest victim together."
"Ah, I see," Celestia replied, nodding her head. "And what kind of person are they like?"
"We haven't found them yet," Samus replied back. "Twilight and Yugi were searching for them when I left. They've probably found him or her by now, so let's head on down to Ponyville and make introductions."
"Sure thing," Celestia agreed, then stood up and stretched her wings. She spared one more glance down to the patch of earth before lowering herself so Samus could climb up onto her back. Once the space hunter had a firm grip on her, Celestia took off into the sky and began flying toward Ponyville.
For the first few minutes of their flight, neither Samus nor Celestia spoke a word to each other. There wasn't any reason to talk anyway, as they both knew what was going on and what to do next. But eventually, aside from the sound of Celestia's wings flapping and the wind rushing past them, the silence was too much to bear and Celestia spoke up.
"Aza left behind Discord's statue."
Samus lifted her head up in response. "What was that?" she asked.
Celestia looked back to her; with the lack of air traffic Celestia didn't need to worry about colliding with something. "Remember what I said yesterday about Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony from my world? About how he was turned to stone twice? That brown patch of earth was where his statue was kept."
"I see," Samus replied with a nod. "And since it's not there anymore, you're saying Aza didn't rope him in along with this alternate Equestria?"
"Correct," Celestia affirmed. "I assume Aza did it to stay true to its word about there only being eight of us here at any one time, but who can say?"
"Gee, I can," Aza said from above, irritation clear in its tone, "and yes, that's why I left him behind."
"Whatever," Samus groaned.
"That's not the kind of tone I'd use to get your ship back, young lady."
Samus shrugged. "In all honesty, I kinda like riding on Celestia's back here; I can go without my ship."
There was a brief moment of silence. "Very well then," Aza said.
"Now then." Samus turned back to look at Celestia. "About what we were discussing, does it really matter whether Discord is here or not?"
Celestia turned her head back and thought long and hard about her answer. When she eventually gave it, her tone was one of wistful sorrow. "I guess it doesn't."
"You're darn right it doesn't," Aza agreed. "Here, I'll bring you two straight to Sweet Apple Acres, free of charge."
Instantly, the landscape beneath the two of them changed from vast, grassy plains to apple tree-laden fields. Looking around Celestia spotted the pharaoh, Twilight, and another figure who Celestia realized was Aza's newest victim standing near the orchard's front gate.
Well, at least they're still alive, Celestia thought, and began descending towards them.
The pharaoh leaned against the front gate to Sweet Apple Acres, patiently waiting for Twilight to return. He had scoured every inch of his selected section of the orchard and hadn't found anyone new who could be Aza's next victim. As per the plan, he'd returned to the front gate waiting for Twilight to return so they could regroup in case she didn't find Aza's newest victim herself. He didn't have to wait long, for soon after he'd arrived the pharaoh spotted the unmistakable form of Twilight emerging through the trees. Upon closer inspection, he could see another figure hovering behind her, and its appearance left him intrigued.
Yugi was too, and he let the pharaoh know right away. What do you think it could be? he asked.
I can't even begin to guess, Yugi, the pharaoh replied. After all, Aza has all of existence at its disposal, so it really can rope in anything it wants.
Twilight and the figure were closer now, affording Yugi and the pharaoh a better view of the floating humanoid creature.
But whatever it is, the pharaoh continued, it would appear Twilight has befriended it.
Looks like it, Yugi replied.
Twilight and the creature closed the distance between them and the pharaoh who got off the gate and walked up to them, keeping his eyes on the creature.
"So, this is Aza's newest victim?" he asked Twilight, already knowing the answer but wanting some confirmation all the same.
"He is," Twilight said with a nod, and turned to him. "Ryuk, if you please."
Ryuk nodded, and held out his hand to the pharaoh's forehead, who reflexively stepped back. "No need to be jumpy, pharaoh," Ryuk said, "I'm just going to impart some memories onto you."
The pharaoh stared for a moment before retracting his step backward and nodding. Ryuk reached his clawed hand out to his forehead and tapped it. All at once, both Yugi and the pharaoh received all the same memories Ryuk had shared with Twilight earlier. After receiving them, the pharaoh stared wide-eyed at Ryuk for a moment before returning to his usual stoic expression.
"Well . . . nice to meet you, Ryuk," he said, extending out his hand in greeting.
The Shinigami chuckled. "Same here," he replied and shook the pharaoh's hand.
Twilight nodded in satisfaction. "Well, now we just need to wait for Celestia and Samus to return." She turned to look up at the sky.
"Hey, Twilight?" Ryuk said.
Twilight sighed and turned back to him. "Yes, Ryuk?"
The death god was probably trying to look confused, but the fact that he constantly smiled made it impossible to pull off convincingly. "Shouldn't we head back to Ponyville? Based on what you showed me earlier, there's three more people there for me to introduce myself to."
Twilight nodded while turning back around to look up at the sky. "And we will, just as soon as I take care of some business with Celestia."
Ryuk would've quirked an eyebrow if he could. "What kind of business?" he asked.
"It isn't anything you need to worry about, Ryuk," Twilight affirmed.
Ryuk was about to retort when the sound of flapping wings sounded from behind the group. Turning around, the three of them saw Celestia with Samus riding on her back descending towards them. The solar alicorn kicked up a small cloud of dust as she gently landed upon the ground, after which Samus dismounted from her and stretched her arms.
Celestia didn't move, from her spot or otherwise, and instead fixated her eyes on Ryuk. He, in turn, locked his gaze onto her. Having made eye contact for no more than a few seconds, the two could easily recognize the look in each other's eyes. It was one of vast wisdom and boredom achieved from living many, many years and seeing multiple time periods come and go in a metaphorical blink of an eye. They could immediately tell the other was of divine significance, but not whether they were benevolent or malevolent in nature. From what they could gleam from each other, however, it was clear to both that as powerful as they might be, Aza put them both to shame in omnipotence. For that reason, the two silently agreed to cooperate with each other in overcoming Aza's challenges.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed. "How did you get behind us?"
The solar alicorn broke eye contact with Ryuk and faced her student. "Aza decided to do us a favor and shorten our flight back here." She returned eye contact to Ryuk. "And you must be its latest victim."
The Shinigami nodded. "Twilight's told me a bit about you, Celestia." He chuckled a bit. "Moving the sun must be quite a job, huh?"
Celestia chuckled herself. "Indeed it is . . . what's your name?"
"Here, I'll show you," he replied, and began striding over to her. Twilight followed alongside him while charging magic into her horn, intending to do the same for Samus.
Celestia and Samus stood still as Ryuk and Twilight used their respective powers to impart selected memories onto them. After they were done, Samus adopted a fearful expression in response to learning Ryuk's purpose while Celestia kept a neutral expression, though she was mildly perturbed to learn Ryuk was a god of death.
"Well, now that that's out of the way," Celestia said, turning toward the front gate, "let's inform the others of your arrival, Ryuk."
"Hold on, princess," Twilight said.
Celestia stopped in her tracks and turned back around to her student. "Is something wrong, Twilight?" she asked, stoically.
Out of her eye's corner, Twilight saw the pharaoh nod his approval to her. Looking at Samus, she saw the space hunter touch two fingers to the Element of Honesty, signaling she was ready to begin the interrogation. Twilight took a deep breath and answered Celestia.
"Regarding the proposal to join your alliance, I've given it plenty of thought and . . ."
Celestia perked up a bit. "Yes, Twilight?"
Twilight hesitated for a moment, afraid of the notion of demanding things from her second mother-figure. A quick glance to both the pharaoh and Samus and their continued silent encouragement, however, gave her the final confidence boost to follow through with the plan.
". . . and I'll agree to join only if you answer a few questions."
Celestia tilted her head a bit in confusion before realization hit full force and her face adopted a concerned frown. "Twilight, I know what you're thinking, and while I understand your curiosity you must understand that there're some things better left unans-"
"Why did you request the Alicorn Amulet in the first place?" Twilight interrupted her.
Celestia furrowed her brows. "Twilight Sparkle, do not interrupt me when I'm talking to-"
"Why did you request the Alicorn Amulet?" This time it was Samus whom asked the question.
Celestia blinked in confusion for a moment, unsure why Samus had asked the same question as her student. She soon realized why, however, when the magic of Honesty began invading her brain, compelling her to answer truthfully. Afraid of the invading sensations, and also that she might let slip something bad, Celestia called upon the magic of Loyalty to make Samus stop using Honesty on her. She called upon the laden magic of the necklace she was currently wearing and, with near perfect focus and strength, invaded Samus' own mind and began commanding her to cease what she was doing.
The space hunter, not one to ever surrender, poured more focus into her channeling of Honesty's magic while simultaneously doubling over in mental anguish from trying to overcome the foreign sensations of servitude Loyalty was invoking within her. She lifted off her helmet in response to a rising headache and proceeded to hold the sides of her head in a vain attempt to soothe the growing pains. The feeling she felt wasn't unlike that of her corruption of phazon during the crisis, although this was worse as while phazon only gradually corrupted her mind and body, the force of Loyalty's magic invading her mind came hard and all at once. Samus didn't let up on Honesty's magic, but the force and careful precision of Celestia's use of Loyalty's continuously made it clear that she was fighting a losing battle.
While the two bearers fought for dominance of the other, Twilight, the pharaoh, and Ryuk looked on with varied expressions. Twilight had almost been brought to tears from seeing Samus in so much pain just because Celestia was being abnormally stubborn in keeping the truth hidden from her. Yugi and the pharaoh, however, were more concerned about the plan to get Celestia to reveal the truth behind her request of the Alicorn Amulet. They hadn't anticipated that Celestia would actually fight back against Samus', whom she'd trusted enough to bestow the Element of Honesty to, interrogative efforts.
Things aren't looking too good, pharaoh; it doesn't look like Samus can overcome Loyalty with Honesty.
You're right, Yugi. Arrgh! To think she'd be so stubborn; this could put the entire plan into jeopardy if we don't think of something quickly.
Got any ideas?
. . . . . . I do have one idea, but I know already that no one's going to like it.
What is it?
*sigh* A shadow game, Yugi.
WHAT!?
Like I said, I knew it wouldn't be well-received, but it's the only other option we have to follow through with the plan.
. . . . . . Can you ensure Celestia remains safe?
It's not up to me whether she's harmed as a result of playing, Yugi; only she can control whether she's hurt or not. As much as I hate doing this, we have no other option.
Alright, when do we start?
When the time is right, Yugi.
"Hey, pharaoh?"
The pharaoh was pulled from the conversation by Ryuk's voice to his left. He turned and stared up at the floating god of death with a bemused expression.
"You kinda spaced out there; are you alright?"
The pharaoh nodded. "I'm alright." He then returned his gaze onto the magic duel between the two bearers and frowned. "But it looks like Samus can't win this fight."
"Yeah, what exactly is happening here, anyway?" Ryuk asked, scratching his head. "I mean, I understand the basic gist that Celestia's hiding a secret which Twilight wants to know about, that you and Samus are both helping, and that your plan is falling apart at the seams quicker than a hastily stapled together comic book, but what are the two of them doing right now?"
The pharaoh spared an irritated glance at Ryuk before letting out an exasperated sigh. "They're battling for influence over the other using their Elements of Harmony. The plan revolved around using Celestia and Samus' trust to make Celestia reveal her motivations regarding her request of the Alicorn Amulet, with Samus invoking the power of Honesty to make Celestia answer Twilight's questions truthfully. However, Celestia's resorted to using Loyalty's magic to make Samus subservient to her, meaning her desire to help is being broken apart piece of piece."
"I see," Ryuk mused. He then turned to look at him. "Shouldn't we, I don't know, help Samus then?" He lifted a clawed hand and pointed at the almost beaten space hunter, barely able to keep herself up off the ground. "She's not looking too good right now, after all."
"My backup plan is a risky endeavor, and I'd rather not resort to it until the first one has truly and utterly failed."
Ryuk stared at him for a few moments longer before returning his gaze back onto the scene before them. Sounds interesting . . .
At that moment, Samus finally succumbed to Loyalty's influence and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Celestia, little to no worse for wear, sighed in exasperation and turned to look at Twilight who was looking downcast.
"I know this may be hard for you to understand, Twilight," she said solemnly, "but my reasoning for requesting the Alicorn Amulet isn't a concern. You know me, Twilight; I would never associate myself with something so vile unless for a good reason. I just can't tell you what that reason is."
Twilight sniffed, then looked up at her. "Why not, princess?" she asked, struggling not to stammer. "Don't you trust me?'
The solar alicorn pursed her lips. "It's not that I don't trust you, Twilight, it's just . . ."
"Just what?"
Celestia tried to open her mouth to speak, but couldn't. She tried again another time, only to find her lips shut tight. After a third time heralded the same results she gave up and turned around. "We need to inform the others of Ryuk's arrival."
"PRIN-urk!"
"Twilight?" Celestia turned back around, only to find herself overcome by an incredibly powerful magical energy which swept through her brain, blinding her.
"Twilight!?" she called. "Are you okay!?"
"Princess . . ." called the lavender unicorn from directly in front of her.
"Twilight? What happened?" Celestia tried using a magic spell to let her see again, but whatever magic at work was blocking her own.
"I didn't want to do this," the pharaoh said from off to her right, "but you've given us no choice, Celestia."
"Yugi!? What's happening!? Why can't I see!?" Celestia called.
She heard a heavy sigh sound from where he was, followed by something which chilled her to the bone. "This is a Shadow Game, and if you want to escape with all your senses intact, you'll play by the rules."
"What are you talking about!?" Celestia shouted, her tone clearly one of panic. "Where's Twilight and the others?"
"The others aren't playing," the pharaoh replied. "Twilight, however . . ."
At that moment, Celestia's vision returned to her. The empty darkness she'd seen previously was slowly replaced by a blackness with a blotch of lavender in the middle. She immediately recognized the blotch as Twilight, but as the darkness lifted more she quickly realized things weren't peachy keen.
The two ponies were situated in the pans of a gigantic balance scale with a pitch-black backdrop all around them. Standing on a platform off to the side was the pharaoh, a glowing symbol shaped like an eye upon his forehead. His face held an expression of stern forthrightness with a subtle trace of hesitance. Looking above Twilight, Celestia went wide-eyed at what she saw. A dark purple flame flickered about three meters above Twilight's head. Looking above her own head, however, heralded a different sight; two keys, both roughly hoof-sized, floating in midair.
"Stay still, Twilight!" Celestia called. She attempted to fly off the pan she was on to make Twilight's lower away from the flame, but to her shock and frustration she couldn't move her hooves. Looking down, she saw that her hooves were shackled to the pan with big iron cuffs.
"It's no use, Celestia," the pharaoh said. "Those who play a Shadow Game are bound to play it to the end. Whether the two of you come out of it unscathed is entirely up to you."
Celestia scowled. As much as she wanted to blast him right then and there with a magic beam, the solar alicorn was too afraid of what might happen to Twilight as a consequence. Seeing no way out, Celestia visibly deflated. "What do I have to do?" she asked.
"Here's how the game will work," he said while turning to look at a sobbing Twilight. "Twilight will ask one question at a time, and your job is to answer them truthfully. For every false answer you give, the scale will tip the balance on your side, causing Twilight to rise closer to the flame. For every truthful answer you give, your side will rise closer to the two keys. When you're close enough to reach them the game is over."
Celestia looked downcast for a moment before staring at Twilight with worry. "Is she truly in danger, pharaoh?"
He sighed in exasperation. "I'd rather not do this, but it was the only other way to heal the rift between you two. The truth will come out, Celestia, or Twilight won't make it out of here alive."
Celestia felt her lip quiver and a tear roll down her cheek. She took one last look at Twilight, then at the fire suspended above her head before nodding. "Okay, let's play."
The pharaoh nodded himself, and turned to look down at Twilight in anticipation of her first question.
If things start going wrong, Yugi, I'll shift control back to you.
Okay.
"Help me with this, Sandy," Frank said to her from across the room. He was trying to lift one of the armchairs they'd previously been using.
"Sure thin', Frank," the squirrel replied, and set down the table she was currently carrying. She quietly walked over to him and lifted the opposite side of the chair from him.
The two began carefully walking toward the front door, quiet so as to not make any noise and attract the moaning, rotting undead shambling around outside. Upon reaching the front door, and all the furniture currently propped up against it, they carefully set the armchair against a more exposed portion and backed away.
"Hopefully this'll hold 'em," Frank mused.
"Ah sure as heck hope so," Sandy agreed, retrieving the table and setting it against the door as well. "No zombie's gonna make a meal of me."
Frank crossed his arms and inspected the blockade they'd put together. As soon as they'd learned Aza had brought zombies into Ponyville, the two set to work gathering every scrap of furniture Twilight's library had and propping it all against the door. Where once the library's reading room was nicely decorated and accommodating, now there was an empty room containing naught but rows of filled bookshelves. The downstairs and upstairs remained relatively untouched as most furniture within was affixed to the floor and/or walls. Regardless, Frank and Sandy managed to scrounge quite a lot together, and in case the zombies learned they were in the library they'd have to bust through the blockade made from it all.
"Say, where's James at anyhoo?" Sandy asked.
Frank shrugged. "As far as I know, he's still up in Twilight's room." He uncrossed his arms and looked up the staircase. "He's been awfully quiet, though."
"Ain't that a good thin'?" Sandy asked non-plussed.
Frank shrugged. "The least he could've done was come down to help or at least ask what we could do to keep ourselves alive."
"Well, may-"
*BANG*
The sudden noise coming from upstairs made both Frank and Sandy jump in alarm.
"What in tarnation!?" Sandy exclaimed.
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
"James!" Frank called, and began heading up the stairs to which Sandy followed.
Reaching the stairs' landing, the two looked around for the British spy before finding him out on the balcony with his gun in hand, pointed down towards the street. He pulled the trigger.
*BANG*
"What the hell!?" Frank shouted, and rushed over to him. He wrestled the gun out of James' grip before throwing it against the far side of Twilight's room and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Are you trying to get us killed?"
James said nothing, merely looking downcast as his legs gave way and he collapsed to the balcony's wooden floor. Frank groaned in exasperation and peered over the balcony railing. A large hoard of zombies had gathered below and were surrounding a good chunk of Golden Oaks, staring up at him hungrily with blank, lifeless eyes. Among the crowd were a couple of fallen zombies, shot down by James.
"Great, now them varmints know we're here," Sandy said from his left. Frank turned to look at the squirrel and saw her face was one of irritation mixed with fear. "Any ideas, Frank?"
Frank took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "As long as they don't start piling against the door, we'll be fine."
At that moment, both Sandy and Frank felt a slight tremor travel through the floorboards under their feet. They both looked at each other in confusion as the vibrations gradually grew in intensity to the point where they needed to squat to remain balanced. From inside, the sounds of books and other miscellaneous things falling unto the floor were heard. Above them, the tree's branches shook leaves loose which fell around the two. The vibrations soon grew so intense that Frank and Sandy were forced to sit on their knees to avoid toppling over like dominoes.
Suddenly, a large fountain of earth shot up in front of them. Accompanying this was the sound of at least a few zombies groans' changing pitch, making them sound almost like screams. Nervously, Frank and Sandy peered through the railing and onto the ground. What they saw almost made them collapse alongside James, who was still in a catatonic state next to them.
Sticking out of the ground among the zombie horde, three undead sticking out of its mouth, was the head of what appeared to be a giant, worm-like creature with three lower jaw bones and one upper jaw. Before either Frank or Sandy could think to ask what it was, the creature retreated back into the ground, pulling the zombies with it for consumption. A couple more tumbled into the giant hole the creature left behind while the rest of the horde kept eyeing the two of them up on the balcony, completely oblivious to what just happened.
Frank and Sandy stared down at the ground in silence for a few moments before Sandy finally managed to utter two, very profaned words.
"Tartar sauce."
