As Obol flew towards the duo, he grabbed a rock off of the ground and threw it at Salvador.
“Dodge this!”
Salvador dodged to the left, avoiding the rock. The rock slowed down mid-air as it passed Salvador.
“G-Georgia!” sputtered Salvador.
“Ugh, can't you do anything for yourself?!”
Shattered Dreams appeared, and grabbed the red half of Good Vibrations off of the ground. It pulled two of the pins out and stuck them on Salvador's cheek. It then flung the remaining two red pins at the rock as it flew towards Salvador. The rock's movement bent to avoid Salvador's head. It then flew towards Obol and smashed into the blue pins on his cheek. There was a crunch and a burst of blood as the rock tunneled into Obol's cheekbone. Alexander was knocked to the ground.
Georgia and Salvador arrived inside the circle of Stonehenge. The other tourists were already there, taking pictures of the monument.
“Thank you, Geor-”
“Yeah, yeah, just be glad I guessed right about the same color poles repelling each other,” spat Georgia. “Honestly, why did you need me to think of that?”
“I mean... I trust you to know what's best for me,” said Salvador. “Isn't that what friends are for? Anyway, what do we do now?”
“Depends. Does your stand re-grow their pins?”
“Erm, no, I need to collect them-”
“Then collect them before Obol gets up, idiot! Jeez…”
Georgia stomped off into the circle.
“All right, Good Vibrations, you heard her…” mumbled Salvador.
The duo of teddy bears pranced off. Georgia walked past the famous Altar stone. She noticed something glitter out of the corner of her eye. She reached under the Altar stone, and pulled out a blue feather with a golden ring pattern on each side. There was a piece of paper attached to the quill with a small loop of string. The paper read:
My twin is not in England/Nor is she in France
She sails not the high seas/Nor the low lands
She sees trucks drive by/But not on their own
Her house is man-made/But not her house's home
Salvador walked up behind Georgia. Good Vibrations each had all six of their pins back in their bodies. Salvador put his arms around Georgia.
“So, did you find anyth-”
Shattered Dreams backhanded Salvador in the face. Salvador landed on the Altar stone, clutching his nose.
“Would you stop with all the touchy-feely stuff?!” screamed Georgia. “Who do you think I am?!”
“S-sorry, ma'am!” stuttered Salvador. “I... I'll make it up to you! When we get back to the apartment, I'll... make you some macaroni art?”
“Ugh, you weirdo!”
Shattered Dreams manifested in full, launching a punch at Salvador. The boy rolled out of the way, and landed on the ground near the stone. Shattered Dreams's fist connected with the Altar stone, and slightly cracked. Cuts appeared on Georgia's hand.
“She- she's attacking me with disregard for her own safety!” thought Salvador. “Is she always like this?!”
“Hmm... interesting.”
Salvador looked up. Obol limped into the circle, blood oozing from his face.
“See, I mentioned that my partner's stand has access to your friend's subconscious,” explained Obol, “But reading emotions isn't all Dead Skin Mask can do. Still, it usually takes longer for the stand to completely make someone fit to burst... you must be really annoying her!”
Georgia turned towards Salvador and began to march towards him.
“Sh-shit! Good Vibrations!”
The red Good Vibrations placed three red needles in the grass, a couple meters away from the Altar stone. Shattered Dreams raised its leg in preparation to stomp on Salvador's chest. The blue version of Good Vibrations stuck three blue pins into Salvador's neck. Salvador was yanked away to the side. As he moved, Georgia and Shattered Dreams seemed to shimmer away in his eyes. Salvador looked up when he stopped – Georgia and Shattered Dreams were still above him.
“No... not ‘fit to burst’. What's that English phrase for when someone is totally crazy and can't be stopped?”
Shattered Dreams stomped on Salvador's chest, shattering part of its foot into shards of glass. Salvador hacked up blood. Shattered Dreams repeatedly stomped on Salvador's chest. Every time its stomp connected, shards of glass blasted off of the stand, flying into the air before landing on the ground near Salvador. Eventually, Georgia stopped her assault. Salvador began to crawl away, dragging himself over broken glass. Obol walked up to Georgia, nearly teetering over due to her pulverized foot.
“Ah, yes,” said Obol. “‘Go berserk’.”
Obol held out an open palm, and Georgia handed over the feather. Salvador continued to drag himself away, until he was almost out of the circle.
“Dammit. I'm such an idiot,” thought Salvador. “These feelings I have when I look at Georgia... I thought I just wanted her to take care of me. But now I see... there's something more there. These feelings aren't something I've ever felt before – but I think I know what they mean.”
“Cool,” said Obol, pocketing the feather. “Thanks for the help, kid.”
Tubthumper karate chopped Georgia on the back of the neck. She fell face down, into her own shards of glass. Obol began nudging her around with his foot.
“I want to spend time with Georgia,” thought Salvador. “More than anything. And... I've always wished I could have spent more time with my mother, so I thought this was the same feeling. But now I see it's not the same at all!”
“Hmm... this should be around where the kicks happened.” mused Obol.
Tubthumper manifested in full. The massive stand kneeled down and slid its palms over about a dozen glass shards. The broken glass was pulled into the air by an unseen force.
“Good Vibrations!” shouted Salvador.
The red Good Vibrations jumped into the path of the glass as it fell towards Georgia's head. The bear was torn to pieces, and landed in the soft grass. The blue Good Vibrations walked up to the first one and began shaking it.
“Koko?” cried the blue Vibrations. “Kokoko?”
The torn-up stand did not respond. Obol walked up to Salvador, his hands in his pockets.
“A sweet gesture, kid,” said Obol. “But it won't make much of a difference – all this means is that you get to die first!”
Tubthumper floated over to Obol's side, and raised its foot over Salvador's head. Salvador turned his head to Good Vibrations.
“It's ok, Good Vibrations,” thought Salvador. “Sometimes, when you grow up... you have to make big changes.”
The blue Good Vibrations nodded. It pulled out all the pins from itself and its partner. It placed all of the blue pins in the remains of the red bear, and all of the red pins in itself. The pair of stands began to unravel.
“I suppose you should count yourself lucky. At least I'm sparing you the pain of watching your friend die.”
Tubthumper stomped down. Its foot was grabbed by two bear-like hands. Obol looked down. A meter-tall stuffed bear was holding the stand's leg. The bear was muscular, had a scar over one of its eyes, and had two large metal balls attached to its shoulders.
“Sorry, Obol,” said Salvador, pulling himself off the ground, “But I'm not done growing up yet. Now, prepare to face the wrath of Good Vibrations: Act 2!”
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