"Ahhhh, Home Depot. Where I truly belong." Gyro smirked, placing his hands on his sassy hips at the entrance of, you guessed it, Home fucking Depot.
Gloria, Heidi, and a now repaired Ellie followed behind. Everyone had a change of attire considering their other ones kinda got blood and shit on them, but ya know. Finally, the ugly Jimmy Buffett outfits were gone. The only one not too happy about it was Gloria. She cried in Heidi's bathroom for an hour the night prior. She lost a shirt with Jimmy's signature TWICE.
"Okay," Gyro turned around to face the group like the leader he was "I'm going to grab the extra materials I need to repair Boyd since his programming is extra complicated compared to Ellie's. No offense Ellie."
She glared at him.
"Anyway. You guys can follow or do whatever else you want in this- this heaven."
After everything that had happened, Home Depot was Gyro's true therapy. As soon as he exited said heaven, his problems and PTSD would return.
"Okay, I'll meet up with you later. I'm going to go huff paint. Heidi, you wanna come along?"
Her face lit up, but a thought at the back of her mind itched. Why was Gloria okay with being alone with her after everything that had happened? It was odd. "Sure! I'll tag along!"
"I will 'tag along' with you, Gyro." Ellie stated. She hoped she could be help in finding tools for Boyd but she knew deep down she wouldn't. Homie didn't know shit about his programming.
On a side note, she really didn't want to be there. She was only there because it was too early in the morning to go to the hospital because visiting hours didn't open up until ten so for all she knew, Mark had passed away during the night. So yeah, she was in a shit mood. Also Tina was already dead so she couldn't be the one to murder her which was very unfair.
Ellie slowly followed Gyro to the section that held a variety of wrenches. He was putting a shit ton of tools in his basket, so much so that it got to the point where Ellie could only assume he was getting carried away being the inventing nerd he was. There was no way Boyd needed that many wrenches but she didn't question what the fuck he was doing.
She stood behind him awkwardly for a while, twiddling her new thumbs, before sighing.
"Dr. Gearloose, may I address something with you? It is about Boyd." She referred to him formally which could only mean it was a rather serious subject.
Gyro wasn't looking at her. He was too busy checking out all of the different kinds of wrenches. "Yes, what is it?" He grabbed another wrench and threw it into the cart and started walking a little bit further down the aisle, with Ellie following next to him. Now he was looking at screwdrivers and started going mad by throwing the first five pairs he saw into the cart. Didn't even bother to see what they were exactly. Ellie could tell that when he gets out of his sugar high, he will have to start putting some of these things back.
"Back in Savannah when I told you that I wanted Boyd to live with you and you alone, I did not say that because I was under the impression I was going to die. I mean it now as well."
He finally turned his attention to Ellie, giving her a confused look. "You do? Why?"
Now that he was looking at her, she looked away. "I believe you know why. You were correct about everything from day one; about my programming being unstable and me being evil." She didn't want to but she looked back at Gyro for the sake of what she was going to say next. "Boyd told me himself that I am a horrible mother and it is true. He finally understands how terrible of a person I am so I need you to be his permanent caregiver rather than me or...Mark. I do not think Boyd would have a problem with never seeing me again. If you need clarification, you can ask him yourself once you repair him."
He sighed. He felt awful for Ellie that her relationship with Boyd fell apart on top of her losing Mark but he would be lying if he said that he wasn't relieved that Boyd would stay with him again. "I really thought the two of you would be compatible together. I'm... sorry that it didn't work out." He was also surprised by what Ellie told him that Boyd said to her. He had never heard Boyd raise his voice ever, so for him to insult Ellie was almost impossible for him to believe.
"...I think you knew it would not be compatible from the very beginning, but thank you for giving me a chance despite that."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
"Oh man! I'm telling you, Heidi, Lavender gets you high the fastest!" Gloria snatched the free sample given to her and started sniffing it up immediately.
Heidi I laughed. "I didn't know different colors made a difference, Glo." As for what color Heidi got, black of course. Like the emo motorcycle bitch she was.
Gloria looked down at her free sample and frowned. "This isn't enough to get high. We'll have to open up a paint can or two to do the job." She set the free sample on the aisle shelf and grabbed a gallon paint can. She then proceeded to grab a paint can opener before sitting down in the middle of the aisle with the can in front of her.
Heidi sat down across from her and watched Gloria open the paint can.
When Gloria got the paint can opened, she put the lid on the ground and started to inhale deeply into the paint can. "Okay this is the good shit. Go ahead, Heidi."
Heidi and Gloria kept taking turns putting their faces close to the paint to breathe in the fumes.
One employee wearing the sexy orange colored vest came storming up to them, shutting their fun down. "Hey! You can't open that without paying first!"
Despite the fact Heidi would want to get dicked by a Home Depot employee anyday, she was not going to let some orange prick prevent her from getting high. After the whole gang shit, damn she needed it.
"Yeah, well, go fuck yourself. If anything, we're doing people a favor by breathing in all the fumes from the paint to make it less toxic!" That's probably not how it worked but whatever. "...you should hire me."
Gloria was about to back her up but she decided against it. The employee's face was getting as bright as his vest. Dude was not happy. "I am going to have to ask for the two of you to leave! Now! Before I call security!"
"Then call them, asshole." Heidi continued to huff the paint, figuring that would be good enough to scare him off. It wasn't. He huffed to himself, just not the paint, before dialing up security.
As Gloria and Heidi were being dragged out, Ellie and Gyro stared at them before ignoring it and going back to doing whatever. Neither of them gave a shit.
Soon enough, the two were thrown onto the concrete sidewalk outside of Home Depot. And no, they didn't get to keep the cans or the free samples if that wasn't obvious enough.
"Damnit!" Heidi hit the sidewalk with her fist, which wasn't a good idea. She cringed, sitting up to examine her hand and the bloody scrapes she got. The security didn't need to be that aggressive, damn. They weren't the police.
"Ugh! I know! That was like, the fifth Home Depot I've been kicked out of!" Each time has been for huffing paint.
"I would've never guessed you were that crazy when I first met you, Glo." Heidi laughed, propping her bloodied arm on her knee. Blood was getting on her pants, but they were black so it wasn't a big deal. "Usually I get kicked out for stealing tools for my bike. Or held in the back until the police arrive."
"I guess we could always try to sneak back in through the garden section." Gloria thought it would be funny to prank people by planting weed in their potted plants but immediately turned that idea down. 1) she didn't have any weed on her and 2) why the fuck would she waste weed on a stupid prank like that?
Heidi shook her head, although she still had a stupid smile on her face. She hadn't committed 'crimes', if that was considered one, with friends in a long time. Her gang didn't count anymore, obviously. "Nah. I'm sure Gy and El will be out soon so there's no point." She pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, always having at least one on her at all times. If she couldn't get high, then smoking was the next best option for her. "You want one?" She held the pack up.
Gloria laughed "Do you even have to ask?" Gloria grabbed one cigarette from her pack as well as Heidi's lighter.
They sat in silence for a while, having a good old time just smoking, when Heidi finally decided to speak up about what was bothering her. Or rather, the question itching at the back of her mind.
"Hey, Glo, can I ask you something?" She didn't bother waiting for an answer because no one ever said no. "Why are you so chill being around me after everything? You're acting like nothing happened. I mean, yeah I guess I helped save you guys, but that doesn't change anything."
"Well back in Tampa you reminded me of who I used to be. I was always on the road and getting mixed up into trouble that I didn't want to get into. But I had to just to get by. I felt awful for you and I remember how much it sucked living like that. Once I got out of that life, however, I became a much better person. Debatably." Gloria laughed at her own joke before continuing. "I was given a second chance to change my life around and I am much happier because of it. It's only fair that you were given the same opportunity."
That made Heidi's heart flutter, but she wasn't going to make a move on Gloria. Not anymore. Gyro was a way better fit for her than Heidi could ever be. Either way, what Gloria said made Heidi feel so much better about herself.
"Thanks... that means a lot." She smiled, but moved on quickly to get off of the awkward subject. "You should probably know I'm thinking about moving to Duckburg. Not because of you, I just know there are a lot of opportunities there. But if I end up doing so maybe we could hang out sometime."
Gloria smiled "You should! They have a Home Depot there that I have yet to be kicked out of!" She laughed at her stupid joke again. "But yeah if you do decide on moving to Duckburg, just let me know and I can help you get situated there. It's California so it'll be expensive but it's also a pretty big city so it's not hard to find a job."
Gloria was about to tell her more about Duckburg when she paused and squinted her eyes at a guy who was coming from the parking lot, heading towards the entrance.
Heidi looked at her and followed her eyes to see who she was looking at. "You know him or something?"
She gasped when he came closer. "Yeah! That's Fenton! He works with me and Gyro!" Gloria stood up and stomped out her cigarette. "You can come and meet him if you want." She didn't bother to wait on her, she was already speed walking towards Fenton to get his attention. "Yo! Fenton! Hey!" Gloria smiled at him. After everything she went through it was nice to see a familiar and friendly face again.
He jumped back, terrified someone yelled out his name in the middle of Cincinnati. And then he became mortified when he realized it was Gloria. Oh no, oh helllllll no! They were supposed to be on a cruise! He was supposed to have a break from chaos in Cincinnati with his relatives!
"Oh, mierda!" He was about to bolt back to his car but Gloria saw that coming and locked arms with him like the little bitch she was.
"Hey, how's it going Fenton?! God, I haven't seen you in forever! What are you doing here in Cincinnati?"
"...visiting distant relatives." He coughed into his fist. "U-um, what are you doing here? Is everyone else with you too? I thought you were supposed to be on that cruise..."
"Don't worry about it! It's a long story that I can tell you about later. But hey, Gyro is inside! You wanna say hi?"
Fenton lowkey wanted to say hi to Gyro, but he didn't want to get involved with the Glomsquad at all during his family vacation. Chaos would ensue and he would not be having it. "Ah, ya know. I'm good." He pointed his thumb back toward his car. "Ya know, I just realized that I don't need tools from Home Depot, turns out the tools I need are at Lowe's. I should get going."
While this was going down, Heidi was still sitting on the sidewalk. Gloria did invite her to talk to Fenton, but she honestly didn't want to get involved. Just because he was Gloria's friend didn't mean Heidi should introduce herself. She didn't want to continuously get in Gloria's business so she continued smoking where she was.
"Fenton?!" Gyro squaked. He came walking over to him with his big old clown feet with Ellie following behind. And no, he didn't put any of the tools back. Aka, Ellie was pushing a cart of bags from behind. "What are you doing here?"
"Mierda..." Fenton cursed under his breath. Homeboy was a religious man, so if he was cursing, you knew he was upset. "I'm just visiting family, Dr. Gearloose. What are you all doing here?"
"It's a long story." He muttered, crossing his arms. "Hey. We're staying in an apartment right now and can't really afford a motel since Mark is dead so can we stay with you? It's kinda cramped where we're at at the moment. I don't want to keep bothering Heidi." Really he just wanted to get away from Heidi, Dingles, and Vic. Especially Heidi. The reasoning didn't need to be explained.
"O-oh. Well, ya see, it's a family reunion so..."
Gyro patted him on the back. "Thanks!" He gave Fenton a look that read 'uh, no, we're staying with you. There isn't a choice.' All of that in one look.
Fenton gulped and nodded. "O-okay. I'll give you the address."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The morning before visiting hours had passed by slowly for Ellie, but the visiting hours itself passed by way too fast. She only had about an hour left and it wasn't enough.
Mark had survived the night but he looked absolutely horrid. His face remained unharmed for the most part considering the bullet only went through his forehead, but it was a bloody mess and the stitches were crude. It would leave a terrible scar Mark would freak out about and have to cover up with his feathers when he woke up. If he woke up.
The doctor had told Ellie that he may have survived the night, but there was a very small chance he would survive the week. And if he did, the chance of him waking up in the first place was next to impossible.
The thought that gnawed at Ellie's mind was what the doctor had said the previous night. If Mark had woken up, he wouldn't be the same Mark due to the brain damage. What the hell was that supposed to even mean?
All those thoughts buzzed around in her mind as her forehead laid against the side of Mark's bed. She couldn't bear to look at him due to his condition, so she bowed her head, keeping her arms above her to squeeze his hand tightly with both of her hands. One of which had the engagement ring that the doctor had given her, having found it in Mark's pocket when they were dressing him in a gown for surgery.
Ellie was shaking uncontrollably, begging for him to wake up before the hour was up.
A few more minutes ticked by and the room was very quiet with the exception of the heart monitor beeping at a constant pace. Mark squeezed his eyes before slowly opening them, blinking a couple of times to get used to the light. He cocked his head so he could see who was holding onto his hand. That very small movement made him dizzy. He blinked a few more times to get his eyesight back. "Hello?" His voice was raspy and low from being unconscious for so long.
With the exception of moving his head ever so slightly, he didn't move the rest of his body. He felt too weak to do so. After a minute of being conscious, a wave of pain from his head just hit him. It felt like the worst migraine imaginable, making him wince and cringe.
Ellie shot her head up immediately and almost shut down from pure shock. There was no fucking way this man woke up after being shot straight through the head. But Ellie didn't bother to think about how that happened. She could barely even process what was happening right then.
"...Mark?"
He continued to stare at her so Ellie assumed he was waiting for her to continue.
She broke out into a sob, though she was smiling wider than she ever had in her short lifespan. "Goodness, you are such an idiot." She laughed weakly. God, she wanted to give him a hug so bad but she knew it wasn't a good idea when he was in such an unstable condition. She leaned forward and squeezed onto his hand as hard as she could. "Why did you do that for me? You practically died. What was I supposed to do without you?" She attempted to scoot closer but almost fell off the chair so she sadly had to stay put. Her voice softened. "Thank you for saving me, Mark. I do not deserve you. I never did. You say you are a villain but you are not. I am sorry I ever called you one and I am sorry for every time I was ever rude to you or... whatever else I did." She couldn't think of everything she had done to Mark that lowkey hurt his feelings. "You are a hero. You are my hero. I love you so so much."
Mark's expression was a cross between neutral and confused. It took him another minute to speak again. He was pretty dehydrated on top of everything and his throat hurt when he spoke. "Uh... who are you?"
Ellie was taken aback but still didn't let go of his hand. She must've heard him wrong. "Pardon? It is me. Ellie. Your wife." She said that like she was unsure herself.
Mark continued to give her a confused look. "Wife? I don't know you..."
Ellie finally let go of his hand and scooted back in a bit of shock of what he had just said. "Mark, this is not the appropriate time to be joking around with me." She kept her voice monotone, finding it a bit inconsiderate to yell at a man who just survived a bullet going through his head. Yet, if this was any other scenario, she would have flipped the fuck out on him for pulling a prank at such a time.
Mark changed the subject. He had no clue what Ellie was talking about. "Are you a news reporter or something?" His line of thinking was that people were coming in to interview him over the fact that he was in the hospital.
"No. I told you. I am your wife." Ellie stood up immediately and started pacing the room. Oh no no no. This couldn't be happening. When was she going to catch a break? Fucking never! "What is the last thing you remember?"
Mark stared at the ceiling as he began to think. "Ummm... I remember being at my mom's IT party." He was trying to remember more but his memories stopped after the party. He remembered the party crashers and the commotion that night and figured that he was in the hospital because of that.
"What?!" Ellie didn't mean to raise her voice but it just happened. And damn it hurt Mark's head.
The IT party didn't ring a bell so it must've happened before she was built which made it all the more worse.
"You do not recall Agartha? Camp Godgold? Tina and T-bag? Does any of that sound familiar?" Ellie paused. "What about the cruise?"
Now Mark was getting a little pissed. He was alone in a hospital with who he thinks is a stranger that's yelling at him. And this girl isn't informing the doctors that he's awake. He kept trying to place Ellie's face in his mind but nothing came up, making his mind run around in a circle. None of this was helping his head. "Look, dudette, I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Can you hand me my phone or something?"
"You did not answer my questions directly." Ellie started pacing faster and pulling at her hair. "You were shot through the head. That is why you lost your memories." She was more of talking to herself at that point before she finally stopped and turned to Mark, approaching him again to repeat herself. She looked desperate. "You were shot through the head and you lost some of your memories. Please believe me, Mark. You have to believe me."
He smiled at her, thinking he caught on to what she was talking about. "Wait a minute... Is this a reality TV show or something?"
"Pardon? No. Absolutely not."
"It totally is. I see a camera right there." Mark didn't have the strength yet to point but he kept his eyes on the camera he was referring to so Ellie could see. It was indeed a camera, but it was a security camera that the hospital had placed in every patient's room. Mark didn't know the difference.
Ellie had no idea what his thought process was. Even when he had his memories. "Why would you suddenly be on a reality television show after waking up from a severe injury? That is nonsense."
Mark ignored Ellie and started talking to the camera on the ceiling "Hey world, it's me, ya boi." He winked at the camera.
Goddamnit.
Deep down- no, on surface level, Ellie knew there was no possible way he was going to recover his memories so quickly. If at all, but that second option she wasn't going to think about. That would be too much to handle at the moment.
If this continued, as soon as they got released from the hospital he would leave to go back to Duckburg immediately. They were going that way anyway, but if he truly didn't remember her there was no way she would be able to see him again. She would have to schedule appointments at Waddle and even then it would only be a matter of time before he banned her. Ellie could see it happening. She had to think of a way to get him to stay with her. For the sake of helping him regain his memories, and for the sake of keeping herself sane, considering her programmed obsession with him.
She was going to regret what she was going to say. She already knew it.
"Oh wow! You figured it out! Darn!" She put her hands on her hips. She sounded so fake but knowing Mark, he was going to believe it. Getting shot in the head wasn't going to raise his IQ. "You guessed it! We are on..." God. Ellie didn't know any reality television shows. She never watched one because she knew she would despise them.
Wait... what was that one Tina brought up in the car? Oh, right!
"We are on 90 Day Fiancé! And I, Ellie, am your chosen Fiancée."
Ellie quickly downloaded all the information on the show that she could. Apparently being chosen as someone's fiancée wasn't exactly how the game worked, but it was too late to back out of it now. The goal of the game was to get married at the end of 90 days to a foreigner you met over the internet or something similar to the sort. Ellie had to make it more convincing so, with poor judgement, she downloaded all british dialects.
She spat out her impeccable accent right away. "And I am from England." She laid a hand on her chest to gesture to herself.
This lie was horrid and it was going to bite her in the ass.
"Yessssss I love that show!" He looked over at Ellie again. "Could you get the nurse, fiancée? I wanna get out of here and go home. Oh wait... you have nurses in England, right?"
She sighed. "Yes we have nurses in England." Before she left to get the nurse, she turned around to look at him again. "Also, I will head out and get you a new phone." Somehow. She didn't have money. "Your old one was stolen by a gang member." She left before explaining what the fuck that even meant.
"A gang member? Man, these reality shows keep getting crazier and crazier..."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Gyro finally sighed and stepped back from Boyd, placing down the last of the tools he was using. And no, he didn't use all of the ones he got from Home Depot. "Okay. I'm done. Now we just need to wait for him to wake up. It should be a few minutes."
They were all still in Heidi's apartment. They would leave shortly after Boyd woke up to stay with Fenton and his family so Heidi had more space considering her apartment was very small.
Gyro had no idea what Fenton's extended family was like, but he didn't care, it had to be better than... this.
From across the small living room, Dingles was sipping on apple juice and just staring at Gyro. "Woahhhhh, I didn't know the kid was a robot!"
"... you helped me get his parts from the van...and I'm sure your buddies mentioned it multiple times."
"Maybe?" Dingles scratched his head. "Anyway, I'll be back. My new job is to advertise myself for weddings." He held up his shitty business card, all hand made.
"That's not a job, Dingles." Heidi muttered, but it was too late, he was already out the door. That left Heidi, Vic, Gloria, and Gyro in the room now. He really wished Heidi and Vic would just leave already to leave him and Gloria alone with Boyd when he woke up but whatever.
Gloria walked out of Heidi's kitchen with a glass of water, handing it to Gyro. He didn't take a break in rebuilding Boyd so she figured he was probably exhausted. She smiled at him. "I can't wait to see him again!"
Gyro smiled at her back before sitting down near Boyd and taking a sip of water.
Gloria then made her way over to where Vic and Heidi were. She wanted to speak with them before Boyd woke up because she knew that when he's back, they're going to spend all of their time with him.
"Hey, so what's up with you guys?" Gloria stuffed her hands in her pockets.
Heidi and Vic were sitting on the living room couch together. Heidi was the first one to answer her. "Nothing much. We were just talking about Vic's new job, ya?" She nudged him with her elbow.
Vic smiled "Yep! I got a job at Femboy Hooters! Today will be my first day so I hope I can make a good first impression."
"V, you'll be fiiiiinneeee! Femboy Hooters is lucky to have you!" Heidi reassured him. "Hell, if you want me to, I can be your first customer. Would that help?"
"Actually, I think it would! Thanks, Heidi!"
Gloria laughed "Remember to bring home any leftover food after your shift! You'll be surpirsed how much food gets wasted every day."
Vic only smiled and nodded. He wasn't much of a talker which was probably why Femboy Hooters hired him. People were into quiet fem boys. ;)
Heidi answered for him to take the weight off his shoulders. "Ya, for sure. I'll make sure to bring back tons of wigs and... wait aren't you vegetarian? Well, um, fries too I guess." Heidi didn't know what else Hooters had for Gloria. "Anyway, I'm going to be driving Vic there on my bike so I'll see you later, Glo. You too Gy."
"Good riddance..."
Heidi didn't feel the need to respond to Gyro. She simply waved Gloria and him off before leaving. Vic's shift didn't start for another two hours but she could tell Gyro was very stressed and needed to be alone, specifically to talk with Gloria. Vic didn't protest although he didn't know what was going on. He just looked confused as hell as Heidi dragged him out.
When the door finally shut, Gyro ran his hands down his face. "God..." He mumbled.
Gloria took a chair from the kitchen and pulled it up next to Gyro's self set-up work station. "Are you... doing okay?" It wasn't a good question but she had to ask, even if she knew the answer.
"I guess?" He lied. Gloria raised a brow. "No. No, I'm not doing alright. Ya happy? I admitted it."
Gloria sat silently, not taking his attitude to heart. He was in as much pain as she was.
Sighing again, he raised his hands up in surrender. "Sorry sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I just- God. I'm going to have to see Ms. Kris again and I'm not looking forward to that. I don't know how I'm going to recover from this. All of this. My dad, the gang, hell, even Steelbeak. I just..." He trailed off. There wasn't more to say unless he was going to talk in circles. "What about you? You definitely went through more than I did with... you know." He was referring to T-bag.
She nodded. "Yeah I think I should see Ms. Kris again too. A lot has happened to the both of us in such a short time but I think I'm doing okay as one would be..." She continued "He kinda reminded me of Axel which isn't great, obviously. It felt like I was back in that horrible time in my life back in New York... Whatever. I'm trying not to dwell on it too much. I think the worst is behind us now."
"Yeah, I'm trying not to dwell on it too, but it's hard. I still can't view myself the same and I don't I ever will. I'm a terrible person." He moved on before Gloria could respond to that. "I have no idea what T-bag did to you but I am so sorry I couldn't be there to protect you. I didn't even fight, I just did what they said hoping they would spare you in return."
"Gyro, don't apologize. You did everything right! I mean, I'm alive and I'm here with you again, right? Seems to me like you did the right thing, so thank you." She gave him a reassuring smile, hoping what she said would be enough for him to be able to forgive himself.
"Thanks..." He smiled weakly, it wasn't genuine but he didn't want to upset Gloria anymore. He took her hand into his own and they sat that way as the minutes ticked by, waiting for Boyd to wake up.
The door opened and Gyro sighed, assuming it was going to be Heidi back from Femboy Hooters already but to his and Gloria's surprise, it was Ellie. It was a mystery how on Earth she got back from the hospital by herself, but Gyro wasn't going to bother to ask.
Little do they know that bitch walked across the city like a madwoman.
She slammed the door behind her and stared at it for a second before turning back around and sliding down with her back against it, sitting on the floor. She started pulling at her hair immediately.
Gyro had no idea what to say to that. He assumed the worst and kept quiet.
Gloria let go of Gyro's hand and walked over to Ellie, crouching down on the floor so she could speak to her on more of an eye level. "Ellie? Are you okay?" Again, a pretty stupid question but she needed to know. Gloria and Gyro both knew it had to do with Mark.
"No!" She screamed, causing Gloria to almost fall over. "Mark survived and-and..." She started sobbing, the most surprising part was she actually didn't exactly sound 'happy' that Mark was alive. "He lost all of his memories of the past few years... so I told him we were on '90 Day Fiance' and that I am from England. I downloaded the dialect and everything! I do not know what to do!"
That sounded really stupid when she said it out loud but Ellie didn't quite realize that. She just continued to sob and clung onto Gloria.
Gloria rubbed her back as a means to calm her down. She was relieved that Mark was alive but it didn't last knowing that he lost all of his memories of everything that he went through with them. She was also confused by what Ellie was talking about with the reality show and English accent but figured it would be a question to ask Ellie later. "Hey hey hey, it'll be alright. We'll figure something out, okay?" Gloria had no clue how to "figure something out" in this situation but it was the only thing she could think to say. "Do you know when he'll be released from the hospital?"
"The doctor told me the chances of his memories returning are impossible. Him surviving is as lucky as it gets." Ellie was hugging Gloria so tightly her fingers were unintentionally digging into her back and it hurt like hell. "I lost Boyd and now I lost Mark. I have no one."
Ellie knew that Gloria had no idea the events that had taken place between her and Boyd, but she didn't care. She just needed to say all of that out loud.
"That's not true, Ellie. You still have me and Gyro. And just because Mark lost his memories doesn't mean he's permanently gone from your life. He'll just have to meet you again." Gloria was confused about what she said about Boyd but figured she would get her answer to that as soon as he wakes up.
"Hello?"
Everyone in the room jumped; both Gyro and Gloria were so focused on Ellie's breakdown that they hadn't noticed that Boyd had just woken up.
He was sitting up, looking around the room with a very confused expression.
"Boyd?!"
Everyone yelled that at their own time, running over to him.
Ellie didn't mean to, but that hoe literally shoved Gloria out of the way to get to him.
Gyro laid a hand on Boyd's own, while Ellie laid a hand on his cheek, rubbing her thumb across it.
It looked like Gloria was stuck watching in the background for now. Sucked to be her I guess.
"Oh my gosh, Boyd..." Ellie was still crying over Mark, Boyd waking up only made it worse but there was a smile on her face. The fact Boyd hated her completely left her mind. "We escaped. You are safe now, I promise." She whispered.
"Boyd, do you feel okay? Are you in any pain?" Gyro asked him.
Gloria sat on the floor bside Gyro so she could be a part of this too. She didn't ask him anything but she smiled at him. He was already being bombarded by a lot while he was just waking up.
Boyd stared at everyone in the room. He didn't say anything for a while, keeping a neutral look on his face. It looked like he was deep in thought. "Yes, I'm fine..." His voice was low and hushed.
No one knew what to say to that. It was clear he was anything but.
Gyro squeezed his hand tighter. "I know everything we've been through hasn't been fine. It never was. But as soon as we get back to Duckburg, Gloria and I will make sure nothing ever happens again. I mean it this time. No more vacations. No more fighting dictators. Just normal family adventures and camping trips with Huey for you to go on."
Boyd nodded his head slowly, still processing everything that had happened to him. It was a lot. He didn't respond to Gyro. Instead he turned his attention back to Ellie. "You shut me down." His voice was still neutral and he said it as if he was telling her a fact.
Her metaphorical heart sunk. "Yes. I did." Ellie kept her voice as monotone as she could despite her sobs, like she was stating facts herself as she continued. "I apologize, Boyd. I know that is not what you requested of me and I swear I will never do that again." She paused. She had no idea how to end this because deep down she knew Boyd was going to be furious no matter what she said, but she tried her best to deny it. "They were not able to hurt you as they were able to hurt us. That is all that matters to me. You are safe, you are alive, and you will be able to return to Duckburg to live with Dr. Gearloose, as well as Gloria."
"You shut me down... and I told you not to. You didn't listen to me." The memories of what happened right before he was shut down started coming back to him. "You never listened to me." He was silent for a moment before he continued "... but why should I care about that anymore. You're not my mom. You never were." His tone was a lot sharper than before. He gave Ellie the same look that he did when they were fighting in Savannah.
Both Gloria and Gyro's eyes widened. They watched as Ellie took a step back and shut her eyes, clenching her fists. It was obvious she was trying to keep herself from crying harder in front of Boyd. But, despite it all, she didn't fight him on that and kept her mouth shut.
"Boyd..." Gyro was a bit off put by Boyd's sudden attitude, but it wasn't going to stop him from comforting him. "I know you're mad at Ellie, but she did what was best for you in that situation. I would've done the same thing." He placed his other hand over his chest to gesture to himself. "Listen, if you really don't want to see Ellie anymore, we won't fight you on that, but you need to calm down."
Boyd's glare suddenly turned to Gyro. "So you would shut me down too, huh?"
Gyro retracted his hand from Boyd's shoulder. "Wait- Boyd, no. I-"
"You're no hero. You're no better then Ellie is."
"Excuse me?!" Gyro couldn't help but raise his voice, he immediately felt guilty after but it didn't calm him down. Ellie may have been his 'friend' or 'family' or whatever you want to call it, but she was a murderous robot Boyd just compared him too.
Boyd stood up and brushed off his shoulder where Gyro had touched him. "You're a villain, just like her!" His voice grew in volume as he pointed an accusing finger at Ellie. "I heard Gloria whispering to her about you in the hotel. She said you killed your own dad. You're a-" Boyd bawled his fists. "You're a murderer too! I bet you killed other people like she did, didn't you?! And you're just hiding it from me!"
Gyro took a step back. He was at a loss for words. But Boyd surely wasn't.
"You can say you're better than her, but you aren't! You were the one that took me apart weren't you?! You're sick! You're a monster!" Boyd had finally started crying. "You're a villain! You're a villain!" He started to repeat that over and over again.
It was Gloria's turn to say something. She kept her voice calm but she knew that it wasn't going to change his attitude. She figured she would at least try. "Boyd, please don't talk to Gyro and Ellie like this. They've been doing what they felt was best for you. They love you and so do I."
"Says the druggy who can't keep her life together!" He turned to her quickly, his voice even angrier than before which Gloria didn't even think it was possible. "All you do is get drunk and do drugs to escape your past. But you can't escape your past! You were a villain then and you are now. Maybe you murdered people in your own gang against your will, I'm not sure, but you murdered people in the present all on your own! And you had the audacity to say you're my aunt! I hate you!"
Gloria was truly at a loss for words. She held her hands up like she was surrendering and scooted away from him. Everything that he just told her felt like venom and the fact that she had no idea how long he's been thinking this way only broke her heart more.
"Boyd..." Ellie was very reluctant to speak to him again, but she had to defend her friends. "You have every right to despise me. But please do not bring Gloria and Dr. Gearloose into it. They were thrown into terrible situations while I chose to be a terrible person. You can blame me but do not blame them."
"No! They don't have any excuse for their actions! I was thrown into every situation that everyone else was in and I never killed or hurt anyone! All of you are awful, including Mark! I think he's the worst out of all of you!" He shook his head. He glared at the floor before looking at everyone again. "You know what?! I'm done! I can't be around any of you! I'm leaving and there's nothing any of you can do about it! I hate all of you! I never want to see any of you ever again!" Boyd started crying, not because he was sad, but rather because of how livid he was. It was an angry cry and it made his whole body shake.
Gloria was the first to react when she saw him bolt toward the door. "Boyd, wait! No-"
It was too late, he was out the door and had blasted off into the sky.
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