Chapter Text
Expendable was minding his own business, navigating through the streets in New York City and dodging citizens, on a seemingly normal day. He was on a mission. He needed to go to the game store and find an extremely specific item. What is that item, you ask? Oh, just nothing other than one of the MOST hyped games right now, TOMODATCHI LIFE: LIVING THE DREAM. The reason? So he finally wasn’t going to be left out this time like he is with everything and be able to brag about playing his shiny new $60 game on his Switch 2. Well, that was KIND OF the reason. He really just wanted to play it with his.. ahem.. FRIENDS.. wink wink.. Gabriel and John.
They had been pestering him about it all week. “When are you going to go and buy it?” this, “Hurry uppppppp we NEED to play it together PLEASE!!” that. Today he decided he would finally just go out and buy it. This was a horrible day to go and do that, though. The streets were absolutely crowded, even more than they usually were, the digital billboards were being extra annoying, and there was a ton of traffic, which meant a TON of noise from all of the honking. And as the cherry on top, it was raining. Actually, scratch that. It was POURING. Expendable was soaking wet by the time he got back to his apartment. He was kind of irritated. Not because of the rain, he liked everything related to water. He found it cool. It was because his AWESOME and AMAZING outfit was ruined. His cool navy blue cardigan was dripping wet, his flashy blue converse had ink all over them because of all the drawings, his awesome Scaled and Icy Twenty One Pilots shirt was soggy, and his pants were ALSO soaked. What a wonderful day.
Expendable decided to just brush it off and head down to Gabriel’s place, where all three of them were meeting. He didn’t have time to get a change of clothes. He snatched his bag off of his chair, threw his Switch and the game inside, and took a hat off of his coat rack before fleeing his apartment. He speedwalked down the sidewalk, once again dodging citizens as he made his way towards Gabriel’s. This time he had his earbuds in, listening to, you guessed it, Twenty One Pilots on full volume. The rain pattered on the cement, pooling in certain spots and sometimes causing Expendable to step in a puddle and get the bottom of his pants even more wet than they already were, if that was possible. He didn’t mind, though. He loved when it was rainy out. The sky was dark and grey, the lights of the city were bright and pretty, there were less people outside (thank the Guardian Angel of the Banlands), and the rain was making a nice and calming sound, which Expendable unfortunately couldn’t hear right now.
None of that mattered now, though. He was finally at his destination. Expendable opened the large double doors of the apartment, shaking himself off (as if that would do anything). The entrance room was surprisingly grand for an apartment in New York City. It never failed to intrigue him, even after the extreme amount of times he’d entered it. Expendable made his way up the polished wooden stairs, climbing all the way up to Gabriel’s room. He knocked once. He knocked twice. He knocked THREE times. He was just about to go for a fourth before the door FINALLY swung open, a familiar face just inside of the room. “Exp! There you are! We were starting to think you somehow drowned in the rain,” Gabriel greeted him. Expendable shook his head and laughed. “I might as well've been. There were puddles that were almost as big as a bus, and I somehow managed to step into every one of em’,” he replied. “I can definitely tell,” Gabriel joked, scanning the soaking wet Expendable who was currently getting water all over his floor.
“..I’ll just go get a towel for that,” Gabriel muttered, scampering off to a closet in the hallway as Expendable wandered into the living room to find John. The shortest of the three was sitting criss-cross apple sauce on the floor leaning against the couch, looking like he was completely immersed in his phone. He was just playing Minecraft on creative mode. Expendable sat down next to him, watching as he flew around aimlessly with an elytra and some rockets. “What’s up?” Expendable attempted. John only nodded. What was he expecting? Both of his hands were occupied, so he wasn’t able to sign at the moment. Gabriel stumbled into the room, bouncing up and down in excitement. “So, who’s ready to play this game?” he asked rhetorically. Expendable rushed to get the game out of his backpack, shoving the gamecard into his Switch and booting it up as fast as he could. John was still focused on Minecraft.
“John? Jooohhhnnnnn?? Hello?” Gabriel called, snapping his fingers in front of his face. John looked up, seemingly startled by the sudden interruption. “There you are,” Gabriel said. Expendable carefully placed his Switch on the floor, scooting further away so the other two had room. They all watched as the game started, entranced in the animation. “So, who gets it first?” Expendable questioned. There was a sudden outburst of movement from John, who had lashed out to snatch the Switch off of the floor when Gabriel and Expendable turned to each other, about to have a scuffle. “I guess it’s little Johnny Boy, then,” Gabriel remarked, shifting to get a better look at the screen. About ten minutes later, John was still playing, and the other two were starting to get impatient.
“Soooo, when am I gonna get the-” Expendable started, but he was loudly interrupted by the TV turning on and showing a news broadcast.
“The United States Government has recently announced a brand new law, putting it into effect today:
Owning any kind of video game is illegal, and if one is caught with an object of the sort, they are sentenced to prison and are to be sent down to an Urbanshade facility.
The government assures you that this law is completely and totally necessary and thanks you for your time, consideration, and obedience.”
The three sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment, John taking the remote and turning the TV off, as it was no longer needed. Gabriel suddenly blurted out, “Now how is this law necessary at all!? What did video games do to the government!?!? Now everyone and their mother is going to be arrested!!” Expendable shifted on the ground, fidgeting with his hands. “So.. what do we do with this game? I mean.. I didn’t spend 60 bucks for nothi-” “NOBODY cares about your stupid money! You can live without it,” Gabriel interrupted. As Expendable and Gabriel went back and forth, John quietly took the gamecard, stuck it back into its case, stuffed it into Expendable’s backpack, and approached the door. We have to go, you two, he signed. They didn’t notice. Hello? We need to go, he tried again, with no success. John walked back over to the two, waving his hands and trying to catch their attention. That didn’t work either. Finally, he made a decision.
“WE HAVE TO GO!!” he yelled with the raspy voice he used only if it was absolutely necessary, surprising both Expendable and Gabriel and shocking them out of their banter.
“Alright, alright,” Expendable replied, getting to his feet and helping Gabriel up. “So, what’s the plan?” Gabriel asked. We’re going to get in the car and drive away as fast as we can, John signed. “I thought since you’re, like, super religious or sumthin', you definitely wouldn’t want to break the law,” Expendable commented, squinting at John. We’re going to dispose of the game by tossing it into the ocean, John signed, elaborating on his plan. He held out his hand, palm down, signalling to the other two. Expendable and Gabriel extended their hands, too, placing them on top of John’s.
“One, two, THREE! We’re in this together,” Expendable and Gabriel said together, John contributing by giving a thumbs up. Expendable turned the doorknob, looking back at the others. “Let’s go!”
TIMESKIP
The rain had now escalated to a strong torrent. It was pounding on the windshield as they drove through New York towards the docks, John pressing as hard as he could against the pedal and gripping the steering wheel as if he was hoping it would somehow make the car go faster. Expendable peered outside the backseat window, clutching his backpack close to him and willing the trio to get to the docks without getting spotted by the police.
Gabriel suddenly shouted out, yelling at John to turn right. Before Expendable realized what was going on, police sirens were wailing in his ears. The car veered to the right, water from puddles splashing up in large arcs onto the sidewalk. Lights flashed, painting the already almost blinding city shades of blue and red. “Screw it! Let’s just go straight to the docks. We have a higher chance of escaping that way,” Gabriel exclaimed. John quickly changed direction, taking a sharp turn to the left and hightailing down to the docks. Expendable hoped and hoped that the next time he looked back, the lights and sirens would be absent, but unfortunately for the trio, they were right on their tail. “How can they even still see us through this rain??” Expendable asked no one in particular.
John suddenly turned the steering wheel and moved the stickshift to 1st gear, slamming the brake and urging the other two to get out as he frantically opened the driver’s door and climbed out. Expendable dug around in his backpack for the game, holding it up and preparing to throw it as far as he could.
Then he felt cold metal close around his wrist. He quickly turned his head, just to see a police man putting him in cuffs. “You have the right to stay silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you,” he said menacingly as he closed the other cuff around Expendable’s wrist. Expendable slumped in defeat, staring at the ground and accepting the fate he knew would come. He was shoved into the back of the police car along with Gabriel and John, heeding the police man’s words and staying silent.
“You three are staying down at that facility for a loooong while,” the driver of the police car said as the speed accelerated. Gabriel and John glanced at each other in fear and apprehension, while Expendable stared down at his hands, lost in his thoughts. After an uneventful hour or so, they had finally arrived at a large, towering metal door with guards in front. “Welp, this is your stop, I suppose. One of the docks that goes down to the ‘Hadal Blacksite’, or whatever they called it. Anyway, scram,” the driver said, speeding off as soon as the trio scrambled out. The guards outside kicked them into the entrance to the submarine docks and closed it behind them. Expendable stood for a moment, staring off into space, until he suddenly spun around and banged on the door, making loud, echoing thuds. He was absolutely infuriated. All of this, and for what? A stupid little game? Gabriel and John watched in silence. They had absolutely no clue what to do, and therefore just decided to stand by.
Around 5 minutes had passed, and Expendable was finally done with his little tantrum. He slumped against the door, resting his fist on it, not bothering to move it. He was exhausted.
Expendable was just about to stand up and face his punishment when the trio heard a voice-
“Well, look who we have here.”
THE END!!
Or is it..? We might never know.. You might just be left on a cliffhanger for the rest of your life!!