Dynamic Patrol: Gel-Squad (Remastering!)

Chapter 43: Submission ⭑

Tommy regained solid form after an uninterrupted 48 hours in Russell's bucket as goo. As he reformed solid, he stretched out like a cat waking up from a nap, sighing in relief as his merge hangover ended. He looked around and found himself in Russell's room, feeling rather touched that the Gel-Bunny lent his room for him to use. Tommy expected him to be in the room when he awoke... Tommy knew he was probably still angry after the fight, but he still hoped to talk at least and try to work things out. Tommy scanned the space; the bunny was indeed not there, so Tommy searched the house. He was nowhere to be seen; perhaps he would be in the garden? No, Russell didn't like to garden. It was rather peculiar for him to go missing like this, but he was probably doing something somewhere else. With the walls being as thick as they were, in addition to being surrounded by an ocean, there really wasn't anywhere for him to run off to, not far anyway. Tommy decided to abort his current search and experience the fresh nighttime air.

The next time Russell talked with someone, it'd been over six hours. He spent most of it hugging his knees and regretting his decisions greatly. Sometimes, he punched the walls and cussed in fury but cautioned himself not to use up his limited supply of oxygen in the airtight room. He did not attempt to fight his way out. Instead, he waited for someone to come in and talk to him; unfortunately, when a visitor arrived, it was Kallum, and he was disappointed. But despite not being the person Russell wanted to see, he assumed that Kallum was here to liberate him. "Finally. Blade locked me up in here. Please tell me you came to let me out," Kallum thought for an excruciating minute before shaking his head, his matching green eyes locking with Russell's. He responded, "Not yet. I just want to go over things with you quickly. The more you oppose Blade, the longer you'll be in here. Got it?" He began, "It appears that you'll need to be molded a little, but I thought as much after being in that dreadful city after all these years. If I can keep Oscar and the others in line, I think after a while you'll--" Russell interrupted him with a shaking of the head; he shuffled over on his knees and hugged his brother's legs in a desperate attempt to get free. "Kallum, please, I'll be good; just don't leave me in the box. I'll be good!" Kallum grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him off of his body. "This is for your own good, don't you see that? You did this to yourself, as I said before. This will be difficult for you to accept now, but over time, you'll get back into the swing of things... I'll come and visit you every so often. And so will Blade."

"Wait... you mean you're not letting me go?" Russell asked; instead of terror in his eyes, his fake counterfeit of helpless, sad emotions dropped to reveal his true feelings, deep hatred and anger. "Weren't you listening? No!" Kallum snapped, angrily pointing his finger at Russell accusingly, "You won't be leaving anytime soon! You'll be living in here, sleeping in here, and training in here! And until you get it through your thick head to follow the rules, this room is all you'll see, so I strongly suggest you get comfortable!" Russell stood up and grabbed onto Kallum as he left; Kallum pulled away, "Kallum, please. Don't do this, just let me go... I'll follow your rules, do whatever you want, just don't make me stay in this box," Russell said, and Kallum didn't turn to face Russell, "I can see you aren't taking this very well, so I'll come back later when you're calmer." As Kallum was leaving, Russell viciously attacked him from behind, landing multiple punches on his older brother's chest, face, and 'stomach' area. He even bit his cheek, leaving a nasty gash of pooling blood. This was enough to freak Kallum out as he tried to pull away from Russell like he was a rabies-stricken dog, stumbling out of the room in horror. As he shut the door, Russell pounded on it again. "If you come back in here, I'll kill you!" This was followed by more colorful language. And further pounding on the door. Screams. Kallum left Russell alone, huffing in shock at the emotional outburst. How quickly his brother could act out helplessness... it was clear his work was cut out for him.

Tommy was now beginning to worry about his friend, and when he spotted Kallum heading away from what he assumed was some kind of security station, he knew that something was going on because he was covered in scratches and a nasty cut on his cheek, but what spooked Tommy the most was the fact that he looked like he'd seen a ghost. While Kallum didn't fully know him just yet, he was at least semi-sure that Kallum trusted him by now, but it wasn't exactly trust Tommy was seeking right this second; it was answered. "Where is he?" Tommy asked bluntly. Kallum responded with an eyebrow raised, "I beg your pardon?" He asked, still catching his breath as he perceived Tommy's bluntness as disrespect. "I know that your 'Dynamic Patrol' isn't exactly one to honor respect within our small tribes. But typically, before a member addresses the Chief, he doesn't do it in the disrespectful tone as you have just done with me now, Thomas."