The Origins of Fendy: Nub at Heart

The Origins of Fendy: Nub at Heart

Chapter 4: The Summoning of Evil

Fendy was not completely sure why Spots and the shiny red truck guy were staring at him like that. This wasn't all that surprising, though. He could scarcely process anything. Everything seemed to be muffled, as though he were underwater, and a strange, cool sensation chilled his blood. All around him was tinted with an odd, orange glow, the air rippling in a way that distorted the faces of his friends. This was not normal, and Fendy grew afraid.
Suddenly, something huge and white broke through the haze that filled his vision, a sound roaring painfully in his ears. Somewhere deep within his mind, Fendy recognized his mother, Spots, and he grew comforted, allowing him to, for a moment, become lucid and here what she was screaming so fearfully at him.
"Fire! Fire! You will die, Fendy, die! Go, water, DJ, help!"
This confused Fendy. So the nacho stuff was fire? But how could that possibly hurt him, when it seemed to be nothing more than an explosion of bright color? Fendy shook his head, a slight smile growing on his face. These two were silly. There was no way that he could even begin to comprehend the notion of fire hurting him.

And just like that, the color washed out of his vision and his hearing came back in full force. The fire had released him.

But Fendy was too wrapped up in his thoughts to even notice the amazed looks on the faces of DJ and Spots as he returned to a normal temperature, not even scratched. Clearly they were worried about something. What had Spot said? Something about fire, and water, and DJ, who liked to sing?
Ah. They wanted him to sing the special song.
With a new look of determination on his face, Fendy clambered to his feet (taking his very first steps, but if fire couldn't hurt him, how could gravity?), brushed off his overalls, and opened his mouth.

"I let it fall, my heart, and as it fell you rose to claim it. It was dark and I was over until you kissed my lips and you saved me."

Fendy's eyes burned with a passion like Spots had never seen before. DJ, slightly woozy at the oddness of the whole experience, opened his mouth to try to understand what in the name of the captain's aorta Fendy was doing. "Fendy, what–"

"My hands, they're strong, but my knees were far too weak... to stand in your arms without falling to your feet!"

His voice steadily grew louder and louder, reaching a crescendo of terrifying power. DJ tried to speak again, but stopped as he spotted something odd in the fire over Fendy's shoulder. The outline of a tall figure, just beginning to take form. DJ's heart leapt in fear. There was something overwhelmingly familiar about that outline, and it made him feel rather nervous. Meanwhile, words continued to erupt from Fendy's throat as the boy continued to think that his friends wanted him to sing.

"BUT THERE'S A SIDE TO YOU THAT I NEVER KNEW! ALL THE THINGS YOU'D SAY THAT WERE NEVER TRUE! AND THE GAMES YOU PLAY YOU WOULD ALWAYS WINNNNNNN!"

The outline of whatever being was being summoning began to take on solid form, floating a foot off the ground and a fierce, boiling red aura radiating from its skin. DJ studied the waves of blonde, the smooth, milky, supernatural skin, and realized the danger that they were in. He looked up and noticed that black clouds had rolled across the sky, saw a fork of lighting rip through the air, and heard the ominous rumble of thunder. And then he looked at his adopted child, this poor nub who couldn't possibly understand what he would unleash if he sang the next lines. DJ glanced at Spots, who was cowering in fear, and knew what he had to do. With a scream on his lips, he hurled himself at Fendy, but reached him a split second too late...

"BUT I SET FIIII-IIII-RRRRE... TO THE RAIN!"

An explosion of fire far greater than the backdraft they had experienced earlier blasted the building to smithereens, and the Being that had been summoned stepped forward, mouth curling into a cruel smile.

"WATCHED IT POOOOOOUR AS I TOUCHED YOUR FAAA-AAACE!"

Spots whimpered desperately as she watched the Being pluck up a car and hurl it into the flames with one hand. The rain began to fall, beating down upon them hot and relentlessly. And on Fendy kept singing, eyes closed with the beautiful passion that thrilled him so.

"WELL, IT BURNED WHEN I CRIED 'CAUSE I HEARD IT SCREAMING OUT YOUR NAME! YOUR NAAA-AAAAAAAME!"

And the great Being, tossing her hair furiously, raised a single fist and summoned a bolt of lightning that knocked Fendy backward a block, straight into the hungry mouth of another fire.

_-o O o-_

When DJ Peng awoke what seemed like a week later, he did not recognize his surroundings. He lay on a simple white bed with a soft blanket, in a plain, cool room, painted a matching white and furnished with a barren desk, dresser, and marble fountain in one corner, cool water bubbling from its depths. All was the same cool white, other than a plant that hung from the ceiling in a white planter, dark green leaves accented by exotic pink flowers.

DJ went to the window and stared in shock. A rolling beach of soft, white sand gave way to an endless sea of gorgeously blue water.

And there, seated on the beach in netted lounge chairs, were Captain Mann, Amy Usedstew, and Spots, along with a heavyset, balding man and a short, slender woman with long hair.

That was when DJ remembered the events of the fire, and the great blow that had been dealt to Fendy.

The world seemed to spin from under him, and he gasped as if struck, the shock of it all freezing him again.

His spell was broken by a knock at the door. He opened it, and there stood the great Being that Fendy had inadvertently summoned with his song, her golden hair as perfect as ever, the painfully red aura now cooled to a calming blue. In a pretty, simple white dress and with her balmy scent, reminiscent of the flora and fauna of whatever exotic location they were now in, she would have been almost calming, but the cold, cruel look in her eyes betrayed the evil that lay in her heart.

"Hello. It's me," said Adele. "Why don't you come down to the beach, Peng?" She grinned. "We need to talk."

_-o O o-_

Somewhere in the depths of New York, a tiny body pulled himself out of a pile of rubble, unscratched. Fendy still was too nubby to understand how fire could hurt him, let alone being thrown into a building, so he had been unhurt. His nubbiness had saved his life, and he felt invincible.

He also felt furious. His friends were gone; he could see that even as he pulled rocks from creases in his clothing. And he suspected that the same Being who had hurled him into the fire had also been the one to take them. As he had somersaulted through the air, he had glimpsed her face. Fendy had always assumed she was a myth, a scary story told to him by DJ to keep him in bed at night, but now he saw that she could truly be summoned.

And he, Fendy, was going to track her down and save his friends.

Look out, Adele, he thought. I'm coming for you.

Of course! I just forgot about this, to be honest. I have much more planned for the Origins of Fendy story.

I have seen baby pictures of Fendy and can confirm that he definitely looks fireproof in them

I vote we test the theory. On a scale of 1 to 10, how illegal is it to toast somebody with a flamethrower in the UK, anyway? Do you get off if you explain that you really, really thought the victim was immune to fire?

I'll make it happen. Maybe you'll be the heavyset, balding man.

Depends if you get caught or not

Also planned. And I was going to burn people, I was going to burn you, so you probably won't be doing much paperwork afterward.

Yes, that really is a much more difficult decision than one would think, isn't it?

*Bumps from a distance*