Re-shaping the Universe (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency)

Chapter 3

Present Day

The nightmares had been a nightly occurrence for Dirk, so much so that his usual bright and bubbly demeanour had become tired, darker, and less enthusiastic for everything. Farah and Todd had to drag him to the office every day, only to have him sit there most of the time and stare into space. The universe needed to do something to help him out, and fast; neither Todd nor Farah had any clue what to do for him.

When September 2nd came around, a familiar van rolled up outside. Todd broke into a grin – Amanda had arrived! The Rowdy three had rebranded to the Rowdy six, since Amanda and the Rainbow Beast had joined. It still didn't make sense, and their van still screamed 'Rowdy 3' but nothing they ever did made any sense.

The door burst open, and Martin, Cross and Gripps stepped inside. They took one look at Dirk – who hadn't looked up even for a second – and sighed.

"Well boys, looks like we got here just in time. Lunch is ready." Martin gestured to Dirk, who still didn't react. The three of them moved across the room towards him.

"Wait - what about Vogel?" Todd asked. Martin made some gesture with his hand, and the three surrounded Dirk. Amanda entered with Vogel and Rainbow Beast just as the guys started feeding off the negative energy Dirk was carrying.

"Oh, shit. It's worse than we thought." Amanda closed the door and turned to Todd. "Why didn't you tell us it was this bad, asshole?!"

"What? How – I – I didn't know where you were! And I didn't know you knew -"

"Yeah, I know. I'm just messing with you." Amanda pulled him into a hug. "The guys could smell him from miles away. And I had a vision for September 2nd. I don't know what's supposed to happen, but I'm guessing he needed some help?"

"I did." Dirk's voice was quiet. "Thank you."

"Not enough, though," Martin replied, shaking his head. "You've got some real nasty yahoos dancin' around that mind of yours. Vogel! Get over here!"

"Aww shit, sorry boss!" Vogel grinned. He placed a kiss on Rainbow Beast's cheek and ran to Dirk, feeding off him too. But something strange happened. Vogel gave some strange red energy to Dirk that none of the other three had. Dirk sagged back against the chair when Vogel was finished, and, for the first time in weeks, smiled. It was a tired smile, but it reached his eyes.

"Vogie help Bibbit?!" Rainbow Beast growled, clapping. Amanda patted her hair.

"He sure did," Dirk smiled. He stood up, stretching. "How did you guys know I needed it?"

"Hunch, I guess." Martin murmured, sitting on the desk. "After drummer had her vision. Figured it was the right time to come for lunch." Dirk chuckled, looking around the room.

"So! What's been new with you guys? Where have you been? Did you find anything?" Todd asked, turning the sign on the door to 'closed'.

"Oh my god – we've been everywhere. We found other people like Dirk and the guys, too! We found three. None of them wanted to come with us, so we didn't force them. But there are others, Dirk! Other people!"

"Yeah. I know." Dirk was still solemn.

"Oh... right." Amanda sniffed. "Well... we told them Blackwing was gone for good, since the place was destroyed by the Wendimoor knights, and all of them were stoked."

Following Todd through to the little apartment at the back of the building, Amanda, Martin, Gripps and Cross looked around. Trailing behind, Vogel and the Rainbow Beast were arm in arm, barking softly at each other, nuzzling. Farah appeared from the bathroom, her face lighting up when she saw the guys.