Pixel Dolls

Nervous was so excited to live somewhere with regular precipitation, he went out to shower in it.

"I like your resourcefulness, but we're not in the woods," says the random Sim Scout leader.

Nervous worries about Loki's new job. "Why couldn't you just find another lab to work in?"

"Because that's the first place Circe will look for us. I have to find somewhere she would never even think to go."

Those scars are from their past life.

Loki begins work. Paolo Rocca looks so annoyed.

Candy Behr is very impressed.

Brant Hecking really seems to like Loki's big finale.

During the private dance session, Mateo Markovic looks worried. Is he afraid this will somehow get back to Lucia?

Or maybe it's because Loki kept making this face.

This is Loki's sexy dance.

Loki peddles his wares by the bar.

By the gods he's pretty. I think Eva Capricciosa agrees.

Loki pleasures Dina Caliente despite being about three feet away from her. I guess that's the benefit of having a mad scientist working at your Woohoo club; he can defy physics with the customers.

Nervous's job is to sell concoctions that Loki makes. Sometimes he has to get a little aggressive when collecting payments.

Passage One

In the dead of night, as the moon cast its ghostly glow upon the sleeping town of Strangetown, Vidcund Curious found himself ensnared in the clutches of a haunting vision—a premonition of darkness that seized him in the depths of his troubled sleep.

In his dream, Vidcund stood upon a precipice, teetering on the edge of the abyss as shadows danced around him. Before him lay Circe Beaker's laboratory, a place of horrors where unspeakable experiments unfolded in the dead of night. With a heavy heart and a sense of foreboding, Vidcund stepped into the darkness, his footsteps echoing in the silence of the night.

As he ventured deeper into the heart of the laboratory, Vidcund's worst fears were realized—a nightmare that unfolded before him with a clarity that sent shivers down his spine. Circe stood at the center of the room, her eyes gleaming with malice as she subjected Nervous Subject and Loki Beaker to unspeakable torture.

Nervous's cries pierced the silence, his features contorted in pain as Circe's cruel experiments wracked his body with agony. Beside him, Loki endured the torment with a quiet dignity, his eyes betraying the fear and despair that gnawed at his soul.

With growing horror, Vidcund watched as Circe's twisted machinations threatened to tear their world apart—a dark prophecy of doom that loomed over them like a shadow. In that moment, the weight of the darkness pressed down upon him, suffocating him with despair and dread.

With a sudden jolt, Vidcund awoke from his nightmare, his heart pounding in his chest as he gasped for air. Sweat beaded upon his brow as he struggled to shake off the remnants of the dream that lingered like a ghost in the recesses of his mind.

Beside him, Pascal and Lazlo stirred from their slumber, their eyes filled with concern as they rushed to his side. "Vidcund, what's wrong?" Pascal's voice was laced with worry, his hand reaching out to grasp his brother's trembling shoulder.

"It was…a vision," Vidcund whispered hoarsely, his voice trembling with emotion. "Circe…she's torturing Nervous and Loki. We have to stop her before it's too late."

As Pascal and Lazlo enveloped him in a comforting embrace, Vidcund felt a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness that threatened to consume them. With his brothers by his side, he knew they would face the shadows together, united in their quest to save Nervous and Loki.

Passage Two

Vidcund’s visions had become a little less mundane and a lot more frightening.

It started off peacefully enough. He was looking down on the dusty roads of Strangetown as if he were floating among the clouds. Only, he was a lot closer to the ground than the clouds. The blue sky was lightly blanketed by a few cottony clouds, which softened the sun’s usually harsh rays.

All of a sudden, the skies darkened and reddened. The clouds grew thicker and darker. The sun took its leave.

Vidcund found himself now on the ground, staring at the red streets. “That’s funny. I don’t think the soil in Strangetown contains red clay,” he thought.

Upon closer inspection, he slowly came to the realization that the roads’ reddish hue had nothing to do with the soil content.

Vidcund backed away in horror but froze when he heard an explosion behind him. He spun around to see.

He was standing in front of 1 Tesla Court, the residence of the Beaker family. The castle of a home looked even darker and less inviting than usual. Not a single light in the house was on, but the inhabitants were neither absent nor asleep. Vidcund could see a willowy, dark-haired male figure haunting the upper levels. The apparition was silent yet piercing shrieks of agony rang from every orifice of the house, courtesy of the other male inhabitant.

Vidcund’s eyes traveled up the castle and Circe was standing at the very top, a malicious grin on her face.

Vidcund tried to scream, but no sound came out.

Then she started laughing. Cackling, really. Her red hair was blown upwards by a scorching gust of wind, the strands likening themselves to flames. The fire seemed to radiate from every pore, rendering her usually tanned skin and light brown eyes a fiery red-orange. The flames spread from her body, swallowing the rest of the house.

A huge ringed planet about the size of the Beaker castle hurled itself in Vidcund’s direction. Vidcund ran for dear life as the planet met the Earth.

“Vidcund, wake up!”

Vidcund bolted upright in bed. Beads of sweat plastered his pale blond bangs to his forehead. He snapped his head around, trying to get his bearings.

He was in his darkened bedroom, in the real world. The sky was a lovely shade of midnight blue, with stars sprinkling the heavens. Pascal and Lazlo stood on either side of his bed, giving him very concerned looks.

“Are you okay?” I got up to get a snack and you were screaming in your sleep,” Lazlo said.

Vidcund only clutched the blanket, his violet eyes glazing over, his usually brown face turning pale. He didn’t appear to have heard Lazlo.

Pascal put a hand on Vidcund’s shoulder. “It’s only a dream, Vid. You’re safe now.”

Vidcund shook his head, his eyes glazing over. “No. None of us are safe,” he whispered. Pascal sat down and pulled him closer.

“Did you have one of your visions again?” Lazlo asked, his gold-brown eyes sparking with excitement.

Pascal shot Lazlo a hard look. “Lazlo, Vidcund’s nightmares are no laughing matter. He could’ve Seen something really disturbing.”

“I didn’t say I was glad he woke up screaming. I’m just curious to hear what he saw.”

Pascal dropped his glare as he felt his shoulder become wet. Vidcund had begun to sob quietly.

“Hey, don’t cry. What’s wrong?” pascal said gently, putting his arms around Vidcund. Pascal was starting to get worried. Vidcund hardly ever cried, not even when he found their mother’s dead body after breaking up with Circe when he was a teen. But now here he was, his small body racked by the uncontrollable sobs. “It’s okay, it was only a nightmare.”

Vidcund shook his head through the tears. “No. It was a vision and it was horrible.”

Pascal moved his hands to Vidcund’s shoulders. “What did you See?”

Vidcund sniffled. “I Saw Strangetown. Everything was perfectly fine at first, but…” he trailed off, trying in vain to calm his nerves. “The streets filled with blood, and everyone was dying. Then I went to the Beakers’ house…” He shuddered. “Nervous was like a zombie and Loki was being tortured and…” He couldn’t bring himself to say her name. “She was causing it all.” He continued to cry softly.

“She? You mean Circe?” Lazlo asked.

Vidcund nodded. “And the worst part was I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I know this sounds like just a nightmare, but I can tell the difference between a dream and a vision and this was definitely the latter.”

Pascal stared into Vidcund’s eyes. He wanted so badly to believe this was all an awful dream, to take the scientific route and chalk it up to a manifestation of Vidcund’s bad memories with Circe. But deep down, he knew Vidcund was correct.

Whatever terrible fate would befall Strangetown would most likely come soon. They could never tell exactly how far in advance Vidcund’s visions were. Tomorrow, they’d have to pay a visit to Olive Specter, the local sorceress.

They had no time to lose.

-O-o-O-

Go to Hell (to the tune of "Live to Tell" by Madonna)

Nervous: Trapped in a stony hole, I question if I’ve even got a soul. I guess it’s just my lot in life My only friends are mildew, pain, and strife.

A Sim can only take so much Before his heartache swells. Must I go to hell And back all through this plot? Why not Count the days until I’m free?

(Musical interlude while Circe and Loki perform a short choreographed dance in which Circe pushes Loki around and hits him a few times. He breaks away from her and takes refuge in the dark lab.)

Loki: I’m nothing to her now. I might as well break every single vow. The Sim that I once idolized Became a demon right before my eyes.

A Sim can only take so much Before his anger swells… She can go to hell Before I join her plot. Why not Tell her where to shove her schemes?

Nervous (melody) and Loki (harmony): Revenge would not be hard to try… And if I plan it well, She’ll go to hell; The blood would stain my hands. But still…. Would they really understand?

Nervous (smirking madly): If I were found out, No jury would convict somebody like me. Loki: I’d be condemned; And doomed to Cell Block Three.

Nervous: But I wouldn’t dream Of taking a Sim’s life.

Loki: I can’t kill my wife!

Nervous: How could I plot…

Loki: Murder is not…

Both (Nervous singing melody, Loki singing harmony): The way I should go.

(musical interlude while Nervous and Loki perform a short interpretive dance together in the darkened lab.)

Both (Loki singing melody, Nervous singing harmony): The two of us can take so much. We hide our suffering well. We can go to hell and back; You’d never know. And so… We’re living a great lie.

Revenge has often crossed our minds. Each day we are compelled To endure the hell of living in this house…

(They part.)

Loki: Although…

Nervous: It all makes me want to die…

-O-o-O-o-O-