Dynamic Patrol: Gel Squad! Episode II

Chapter 38: Shadows

Gauge regained complete control of his body and was no longer numb from the effects of the shocks, but that was only after Polly dragged him through the entire station; he felt pins and needles throughout his whole body until they entered the cargo bay. He was very much prepared to fight his way off the station, but was pleasantly surprised and thrilled when Polly entered the cell and freed him from captivity, claiming that their release had been granted legally. Gauge and Polly returned to where they'd left their time-traveling device and their bulkier suits, having retrieved all equipment, including their destroyed multi-tool. Gauge stared at his helmet; his gaze looked back at him inside the reflective glass. Polly was getting annoyed as he tried to wiggle into his suit; despite being a shapeshifter, he was still struggling with the concept of clothes. He gritted his teeth, grunted, and made little noises while trying to get into his outfit. "What are you doing?" Polly's eyes darted between Gauge and the helmet. "Polly..?" Gauge started slowly.

"No. Gauge. You can't." Polly yelped bluntly. Gauge was offended by that. "Wha—? How do you even know what I was about to say?" Polly moved closer to Gauge, "I've known you for 19 years. You think I can't tell what it means when you make that face?" Gauge laughed nervously; he already knew what Polly meant by 'the face.' He just didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right. 'The face' was something of a mix between an expression of a dog pleading for a treat and a deer caught in headlights. Gauge shifted uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head. "What face?"

"The hero face. You made it just before you volunteered us to go and respond to that priority alert that got us in this mess in the first place. I won't let you do it to yourself again." Polly glared viciously. "You can't stay here and help these people even if it is a different universe. The timeline isn't ours to mess with."

"But Polly!" Polly pointed at Gauge nastily, like a human would tell a dog to get off the furniture, and enunciated, "No, you're being a naughty boy. We've messed around enough, and we're leaving. Now."

"I'm being bad? You literally already tainted this timeline by talking to one of the civilians in the hallway. You started this mess. And now, when I want to stay and help these people, you get all pissy? You can't have it both ways, Polly. Now, I suggest you start thinking about ways to help these people."

"How are you not getting it through your thick head?" Polly opened the bag which contained the time displacer. Gauge snatched it, and Polly gritted his teeth, "Give me the thing. You only want to stay because Tommy is your idol, but this version of Tommy isn't. He's a completely different person. You're delusional." Gauge looked as if he'd been slapped in the face. Polly's words were potent enough for Gauge to want to resist further. He grabbed half of the machine, and now they both held onto it. "Polly, let it go!" Gauge strained as they did the tango of war with the device; Gauge believed it was possible to gain an advantage by levitating off the ground; he was surprised he could do it with Polly's emotional resistance. Polly stretched out like a snake and coiled himself around Gauge's body.

"Let. It. Go!" Polly's grip tightened until, eventually, Gauge was struggling to breathe; he wasn't trying to kill his brother, just cutting off circulation to his brain so that he would eventually pass out and fall into a state of mind that was easier for Polly to control. They were floating relatively high off the ground, and Gauge started to lose consciousness, just like Polly planned. As he began to, his grip on the time travel device weakened, and it slipped from his fingers, plummeting towards the ground. Knowing what would happen next, Polly quickly released his hold on Gauge and lunged for the falling device. Despite lightning-fast reflexes, he could not manage to snatch it from the air just before it hit the ground. The device smashed against the floor and exploded into a billion pieces, more so than the multi-tool, which had suffered the same fate at the hands of clumsiness. Polly was next. He collided headfirst with the ground, his body pooling into a puddle as his torso constricted.

Gauge, now free from Polly's restraint, tumbled to the ground and drew in a dramatic gasp of air; as his lungs filled with oxygen, tears streamed down his face as he struggled to regain his bearings. Polly reformed and investigated the device. The only way back home was destroyed; he wasn't even sure it could be rebuilt... Polly looked at his brother with rage.

"Polly, are you okay?" Gauge asked, his voice softened with genuine worry. "No thanks to you." Polly hissed. "Look at this. It's destroyed." Polly held up the pieces; they were indeed in ruins. "Well, I guess we'll have to stay after all," Polly commented. This is not the way that Gauge wanted to do it. Now, instead of helping Gel-Squad, they were likely the ones who would need help.