*Peeks out timidly*

Is the storm over? If so, welcome back!

Last time, stuff happened, Oman proposed to Cee (finally!) and Drea killed Liv. If none of this sounds familiar, you might want to go back and read more.

Once again, this story contains adult concepts and stuff that you can see on Primetime TV or at a PG-13 movie. And I mean it. No, really, I do.

So let’s pick up where we left off…

“Who can that be at this hour?”

“Onslow?” Lark asked groggily. “What are you doing here?”

“You could have stopped this!” Onslow shouted.

“Stopped what? What’s happened?” Lark asked.

“My beloved is dead.”

“Liv? Oh gods, what happened?”

Onslow’s eyes narrowed. “Like you do not know. That nefarious former maid killed her.”

Lark reached out toward the man. “Oh Onslow, I’m so sorry.”

“I do not want your apologies,” he stated, shrugging off her hand. “I want you to restore life to my beloved.”

Lark’s face fell. “I… I can’t.”

“You mean you won’t.”

“I can’t interfere, Onslow. You know that.”

Onslow’s mouth thinned to a white line. “So you are telling that you will not lift one finger for my beloved, your supposed friend?”

“I can’t.”

Onslow strode down the steps, leaving the red-headed simself sprawled on the floor. “Then everything that happens from here on out is on you.”

Scott crouched down behind his wife. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Lark answered, still half dazed from Onslow’s punch.

“Do you want me to go after him and kick his ass?”

Lark watched Onslow storm off. “No, let him go. He’s hurting and not thinking clearly.”

“Still…”

“Let it go.”

Scott stood up angrily, but made no move to go after the man who had just hit his wife.

“Scott?” Lark asked from the ground.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we have any ice?”

~*~

~*~

“Take a seat! Take a seat! So nice of you all to come, narf!”

Burundi looked over at her younger brother. “Why did you ask us all to come? And while the kids are at school too? Couldn’t it have waited until they got home?”

Fuzzy glanced at her hands. “No, it really couldn’t have.”

“Where’s Onslow?” Osaka asked.

“Just sit down and we’ll tell you,” Fuzzy answered.

The family took their seats in the rearranged living room and waited for Orkney and Fuzzy to speak.

Unsurprisingly, it was Fuzzy who took the lead. “We got a call last night from the director-person,” she started.

“It was really late, narf!” Orkney interjected.

The purple haired woman shot her husband a look and he looked embarrassed.

“Sorry, but it was!”

“Anyway… Lark called us last night and… there’s really no other way to put this…” she said with a sad sigh. “Liv’s dead and Onslow’s lost it.”

All heads in the room turned from Fuzzy toward Oman to gauge his reaction.

For his part, he just looked shocked.

Cee reached for his hand. “Oman?”

“I’m okay. Shocked. Sad. Confused. But I’m not going to break down. I’ve moved on.” He squeezed the plantsim’s hand in response. “Do we know what happened?” he asked Fuzzy.

“Do you really need to ask? Drea killed her.”

“I think we all guessed that,” Doc responded. “Did Lark give you any more details?”

Fuzzy nodded. “Drea took her out of that cryogenic thing and shot her. While Onslow was watching. Lark said that he’s lost it and become really unstable.”

Star, Frank, Oz and Doc all snorted at this.

“You say that like it’s a surprise,” Star said. “Yeah, he’s gonna lose it. The question is what’s he going to do now?”

“Lark said she didn’t know,” Fuzzy answered. “I don’t think that’s entirely true, her voice sounded like she knew more, but wasn’t going to tell me. I decided not to push.”

“Why not?” Frank asked.

“Because, I’m a simself too,” Fuzzy replied. “And all of us simselves here know what’s it’s like being one. She probably didn’t tell me for a good reason. Or at least an understandable one.”

Frank grumbled a little under his breath but let it drop.

Osaka asked the next question. “So what do we do now?”

Fuzzy shrugged and looked up at Orkney to take this question.

“I guess, it’s up to us. Narf! We need to decide what we want to do.”

“I vote we kill the psycho bitch!” Frank piped up. “All those in favor raise your hands.”

Frank, Star, Doc, and Oz’s hands all went up quickly followed by Fuzzy raising hers a little after.

Frank narrowed his eyes. “So the rest of you are opposed then?”

The rest of the room nodded other than Mary.

Star noticed her abstention. “Why didn’t you vote?”

Mary looked uncomfortable. “I did not think I had a vote. I’m not really part of the family.”

“The hell you aren’t!” Frank countered. “You’re my…” he trailed off when he realized that he really didn’t have a good word for what Mary was.

The woman smiled up at him sadly. “My point stands.”

Star rolled her eyes, “Oh for fuck’s sake!”

The alien got down on one knee in front of both Mary and Frank. “Mary Austen. Frank Warner. Would you get your heads out of your asses and marry me? So that we can officially know where in the hell we all stand with each other?”

“You call that a proposal?” Frank asked.

“You want to do this?” Star countered.

“Both of you stop,” Mary admonished.

“I’m still waiting.”

Mary and Frank shared a look and then in one voice answered, “Yes.”

“Oh good,” Star said getting to her feet. “I was afraid I was going to have to smack one or both of you if you didn’t agree.” She turned to face the room. “So where were we?”

“We were deciding what to do about Drea,” Oman answered.

“Right,” Star said briskly. “Most of you were deciding to be reactive about this rather than proactive. Let me know how sitting and spinning on your thumbs works out for you. I don’t see the point of us hanging around if you aren’t going to do anything. We’ve got kids to raise and protect.”

“And you think we do not?” Cee cried, leaping out of her seat in outrage. “I know better than you what is at stake here and still I do not condone the taking of a life!”

Frank gave Cee a hard look. “You might not, but I bet Onslow is singing a different tune now.”

“Onslow isn’t here,” Oman countered glaring at his brother.

“And what does that tell you?” Frank asked.

The room descended into a cacophony of voices shouting all at once.

Fuzzy looked up at Orkney, her eyes conveying her thoughts.

Orkney nodded his head with a sigh then let out a sharp whistle.

“Everyone shut up!”

Everyone did, turning to stare at Orkney whose face had lost all trace of its typical happiness. “I have heard enough. You can argue until the kids get home and we will still be divided on what to do. So I’m making an executive decision as heir.”

“Orkney…” Oman started.

“Shut it,” the blue-haired man snapped. “This is what we’re going to do. We are not going to mount any kind of retribution against Drea. If I find out that one of you has,” he fixed a sharp look at Frank before continuing, “then I will disown you and all of your family and tell Drea and her henchmen where to find you. Do I make myself clear?”

Frank nodded.

“We are not going to try to find or stop Onslow. My wife has understated Onslow’s mental condition considerably. He has more than lost it, he has become a danger to himself and to others. Right now I place Onslow on the same mental shelf as Drea.”

“Orkney, how could you?” Osaka accused. “He’s our triplet!”

Orkney’s eyes became sad. “Not anymore, ‘Saka. He hit a woman in his rage. Someone who had been his friend. All because they couldn’t do what he wanted. I don’t want any of our family put into the same danger.”

“What about Liv? Their house? Her grave. Certainly he’ll come back for that?” Osaka pressed. “We need to be there for him when he regains his senses. We just can’t abandon him!”

“What are you suggesting?” Burundi asked.

Osaka turned to their eldest sibling. “You know Onslow won’t come to any of us. You know he’s too proud.”

“He came to Oman and me to have us take his children out of harms way,” Burundi pointed out.

“Exactly! He’s already sacrificed his pride once he won’t do it again. And he won’t go to either you or Oman because he doesn’t want to put his children in danger. He’s going to try to do this on his own.”

“Just spit it out,” Oz grumbled. “Then we can argue about it properly.”

“Fine,” Osaka huffed. “I’m proposing that one of us, not Orkney, Oman or Burundi stay at Onslow’s house and try to talk some sense into him when he comes back.”

“If he comes back,” Oz corrected.

“When,” Osaka countered. “I know my brother. He’ll be back. If only to make sure Liv’s grave is safe. But he’ll come back.”

“And just what are we supposed to do when he does show back up?” Doc asked pointedly. “Orkney’s already stated he’s a danger and I am not putting my kids in the line of fire. Besides, Lark’s my friend. I’m more likely to smack him than talk sense into him.”

“Same,” Star and Frank chorused.

“Only without the Lark’s my friend part,” Frank amended. “Because honestly, she isn’t one of my favorite people.”

Orkney looked over at Osaka. “Do you really think we’d have a chance of talking sense into him?”

The woman lifted her chin. “We have to try. It’s what Dad-doo would have wanted.”

“Are you willing to be the one to do this?” Orkney pressed.

“If Jace is okay with it…”

“I am.”

“Then we’ll move the family over there today after my bigfoot is delivered.”

Doc raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were supposed to go to Three Lakes to get those?”

“Yeah well, when have I had the time? Jace bought me a bigfoot in a box for our anniversary present. He can take care of our house while we’re staying at Onslow’s.”

“Convenient.”

“Not really, do you know how much they shed?”

“We’re getting off track,” Fuzzy interrupted. “So Osaka’s going to stay at Onslow’s for the short term. Anything else?”

Oz and Burundi raised their hands.

“Go ahead, Oz.”

“I’m going to suggest that we up our protections. You know things like hungry cowplants, sentry bots, packs of wolves, things like that. I’m not saying Drea will come after us. But better safe than dead.”

Fuzzy nodded. “Okay, Burundi?”

“Just piggybacking on Oz’s idea. No one goes anywhere alone. Especially the kids,” she looked at Cee and Oman pointedly.

“Both of them are good ideas,” Orkney said. “Make it so. Narf!”

Fuzzy leaned over toward Orkney. “You know you can drop that now.”

“Heh! Sorry. Habit.”

~*~

“What’d you want, boss?” the fireman asked.

His companion smacked him. “Are you trying to sound like a brainless minion?”

“Hey! I’m just askin’ a question here.”

“Then ask it without sounding like a moron. No wonder we NPCs get a bad rep if idiots like you are any indication.”

“Hey, I resemble that remark.”

Drea put her hands on her hips. “If you two are done with the romantic banter, you can take a seat and get to work.”

“So, I reiterate,” the fireman said with a quick glance to his companion. “Why are we here, boss?”

“Because it’s time for me to put Onslow Warner out of his and my misery.”

“And how’d you plan to do that?” the policewoman asked.

“In fire,” the former maid answered with a smile.

“You wants us to burn his house down? That’s cold. I mean hot. You know what I mean, boss.”

“I do know what you mean, Andzrej,” Drea addressed the fireman. “And it’s the perfect end for him. With his final agonizing breaths he gets to know that I’ve destroyed everything he cares about. His wife, his home, his family and finally his life. It’s a fitting end to that bastard of a man.”

“You mentioned family. Does that mean that there are going to be kids there?”

“Is that a problem?” Drea asked.

“Yeah, it really kind of is. I don’t do kids.”

“I’ll triple your fee.”

“I’ll do kids.”

Drea rolled her eyes. “I knew I could count on you.”

“So when do you want this done?” the policewoman asked.

“You got anything planned for tomorrow?”

“Just a date with my girl,” Andrzej responded.

“Cancel it. Something hotter’s come up.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

~*~

…

“How long do you think it’s going to take, Andy?”

“Who knows. It’s fire, man. Fire has a mind of its own.”

“So we could be here awhile.”

“Yeah.”

“Want to play a game?”

“Sure.”

“I don’t hear the screams no more. I think that everyone in there’s dead or close to it.”

“Good. Even getting sixty thousand simoleans doesn’t make me feel any better about this.”

“At least we don’t need to report in. Boss says that she’ll let us skip town right away and wait for the paper to publish account.”

“Yeah. Silver lining and all that rot.”

“We should wait a few more minutes to be sure that we got everyone.”

“Fine… Let’s back away a little though.”

“You hear something?”

“You bastards!”

“I’m going to kill you!”

“I’m coming for you next, Drea. And nothing, not even death will stop me from wreaking my vengeance on you. Nothing!”

“Oh no!”

“No!”

“Who could it be at this hour?”

“Mika!”

“Aunt Burundi, can I stay with you?”

“Mika, what happened?” Burundi asked, slipping an arm around her niece.

“Someone burned down Uncle Onslow’s house,” Mika choked out between tears. “Mama. Papa. Miyavi. Hiro. Ky-kyoko. They’re gone. They’re all gone.”

“Of course you can stay with us,” Burundi said in a voice choked with tears. “For as long as you need it, you’ve got a home with us.”

~*~

And I think that’s where I’m going to end it.

I was going to make this longer, but I think that emotionally that I’ve put you through enough. This is something else I’ve had planned for a while. I really tried not to make it graphic, but I think I got the point across.

But yeah, lines have been crossed and there is no going back for some characters.

Thanks go to DrSupremeNerd, FuzzySpork, Orikes and Regencee for the use of their simselves/sims.

Also thanks go to DrSupremeNerd and Peasant007 for constantly letting me babble at them and kicking me in the ass when I need it.

I look forward to seeing what you think.

And until next time!

Happy Simming!