Flesh of My Blood-Chp94

[the odd couple was soon in space n on their way bk to Planet Janet]

Peepers: (signs) There she is. :)

Sylvia: :) Finally. 2 days of warp jumps is killing my back [stretched a little before continued to steer towards the planet]

Peepers: (stretches as well)

Sylvia: Right, we're almost landing. Hang tight

Peepers: (does so)

[they soon landed on Planet Janet]

Janet: Ooh, I feel some craft landing on me. N the smell seems to be the zbornak n the Watchdog

Wander: :) They're back.

Janet: Seems like it

Hater: Great! Let's go meet them :)

Wander: (takes Hater's hand and leads them outside)

Janet: Their ship is abt a few miles away. Here, lemme take u there [materialized a carriage n drove them there to the destination]

Hater: [looked out the window excitedly]

Wander: :)

Janet: Almost there. Just right up ahead

Hater: Cool :) Can't wait to meet my buddy

Wander: :) Can't wait for good news from Sylvia's mission.

Janet: [parked them close to the ship]

Sylvia: [was getting out of the ship with a bit of strain wen she saw them] Well, look who's our welcoming party

Peepers: :)

Wander: :D Hey, Syl.

Hater: Yooo, Peepers, my buddy~! :D [picks him up n twirls him ard excitedly] It's been forever! How're u doing?

Sylvia: Yo, heya, buddy [high fives him]

Wander: (high fives back) :) How were you guys?

Peepers: :D (hugs back)

Sylvia: Hit a small snag, but overall we're good. Hey, Peeps. Wanna show them ur surprise?

Hater: Huh? Wat surprise?

Peepers: (signs) Surprise! :)

Wander: :O Whoa.

Hater: :O P-Peepers! U can talk?!

Sylvia: [points at the gadget] With tht gizmo he can ;)

Peepers: :D (signs) I can finally hear myself talk. Well, it may not be my real voice but it still works.

Hater: U sound pretty swell. It suits u

Peepers: ^^

Wander: :) ... (idea) Maybe you'd like to help with our recent problem then, Peepers?

Peepers: ?

Hater: [blinked, didn't get it at first, then smiled] Oh yeah! Dipper!

Sylvia: Huh? Wat abt Dipper?

Wander: We...found out he isn't able to hear. At all. :(

Sylvia: W-Wat? How did tht happen?

Hater: Something to do with him being born tht way... [looked away, the guilty feeling still lingering]

Wander: (pets his arm) :(

Peepers: (signs) This means I won't have to just teach Dipper, but you guys as well?

Wander: It does.

Peepers: (think) ... (signs) Perhaps it can be my way of thanking you for taking me in and all. :)

Hater: Only if ur OK with it. We don't want to make it sound like we're forcing u to do it

Sylvia: [nodded in agreement at Hater's words]

Peepers: (signs) I don't mind, really.

Hater: [smiled n hugged him gratefully]

Sylvia: [cracked her bk a bit as she stretched] Man, reli long journey. My bk is killing me. We heading bk to ur plc anytime soon?

Wander: :) Sure thing.

Janet: Hop on aboard then [opened the carriage door for them]

Hater: [let Peepers go up first before joining behind him]

Wander: (also gets in)

Sylvia: [followed slowly behind]

Janet: All aboard~ [drove them bk to the cabin]

Peepers: :)

Wander: Sylvia, you doing alright?

Sylvia: Uh, yeah, just a little tired out frm the mission. I think I need more sleep (yawn)

Wander: (pets her shoulder) You get all the rest you need, you've had a rough mission and all that.

Hater: Yeah, we've kept ur room just the way u left it n all [nudged Peepers n asked quietly] So... u two official for realsies yet? (smirk)

Sylvia: [nodded at Wander n yawned again, closing her eyes during the ride]

Peepers: ^^;; (signs) In a way, I guess.

Hater: Oooh~ Gonna be wedding bells anytime soon? :D

Peepers: (signs) We haven't figured out when yet exactly.

Hater: Ooh, taking it slow, I see?

Peepers: (nod)

Hater: That's good, taking it slow is good, get to know the person more, build a better relationship before u guys take the plunge

Peepers: (signs) Indeed.

Flesh of My Blood-Chp93

[30 mins later, Awesome n Ryder dropped by, along with the room service, n soon the four of them chatted the day away, updating each other on stuff, then went out for shopping a bit, until finally tht evening, Sylvia n Peepers were ready to leave]

Awesome: Too bad u hv to go so soon. We could've caught up a little bit more for a few days. U sorta just got bk yesterday

Sylvia: Yeah, bt it's been long ovrdue. Wander prolly needs me, n I need to deliver him the good news abt Hater's slave status

Peepers: (signs) But there's still some other time we can hang out.

Ryder: He's right on that, dude.

Sylvia: Yeah, we'll be bunking in on Planet Janet for a while, so maybe u can come ovr if ur feeling it

Awesome: I suppose tht could work

Ryder: :) Sure thing.

Peepers: :D

Awesome: It was nice hanging out with ya, pipsqueak. I had fun [ruffled his head]

Sylvia: (giggle)

Peepers: (signs) I had fun with you guys, too. :)

Awesome: Don't be a stranger now. Visit whenever u need to

Sylvia: We will. Come, lets go. Wander n Hater r prolly waiting for us

Ryder: Cya guys later, then.

Peepers: (wave) (leaves with Sylvia)

Sylvia: Ta-ta, cya wen I cya [hops into the ship n drove off] (wave) Alright, nxt stop, Planet Janet

Peepers: ^^

Flesh of My Blood-Chp92

[Sylvia slept thru the day, utterly tired, n by the time she woke up it was late afternoon]

Sylvia: [stirred a little] Nnnhh... Wat time is it...? [fumbles abt for a clock or something to tell her the time]

Clock: (read 12:45pm)

Sylvia: Oi vey... That late...? Nnhh... Now I feel kinda peckish... [slowly sits up on the bed, rubbing the sleep off her eyes]

*knock knock*

Peepers: (poked his head in)

Sylvia: [blinked n sees Peepers] Hey, pipsqueak. Sorry, I kinda overslept...

Peepers: (signs) It's okay. You had a long mission, so you needed the rest.

Sylvia: [chuckled] It's so weird. Been so used to not hearing u, then wishing I could, n now that I can, it's just...weird (giggle)

Peepers: (giggle) (signs) We saved you some breakfast.

Sylvia: [blinked] We?

Peepers: (signs) Awesome and Ryder? They offered to buy yours before they left.

Sylvia: Oh wow, u shouldn't hv, reli. I could've just ordered room service. But thanks :)

Peepers: :)

Sylvia: [slowly gets up] I'll go freshen up. I'll see u out there [makes her way to the bathroom]

Peepers: (nod)

Sylvia: [sighed as she stared at the mirror, then washes her face, dries it, takes a deep breath n forced herself to put a smile on her face for a while before coming out n meet Peppers at the dining area where the food was]

Peepers: :) (signs) Hey. Doing okay?

Sylvia: Yeah, just still a little tired. It was pretty brutal, kinda [sits dwn n starts eating] Man, I reli need to get used to u "talking" to me (giggle)

Peepers: (signs) Yeah. (giggle)

Sylvia: How's the device for u? Is it too tight or too heavy? Reminds me of some kind of gauntlet tho

Peepers: (signs) It feels pretty light.

Sylvia: [chk the gear] Hmm, must be made by carbon fibre. It does feel light, bt still pretty strong too

Peepers: (nod)

Sylvia: I bet ur pretty curious as to wat I've been doing the past week

Peepers: (signs) So, what happened? How did the mission go?

Sylvia: Well, where should I start...? [proceed to tell him a pretty long story abt how she went on with the mission, which included making fake phone calls to authorities to report them on legal activities just to spook them, occasional threatening mail, smuggling the contraband chemicals in the middle of the night into their underground basement, planting fake documents to frame them for smuggling n selling contraband products, n then springing a leak on one of the chemical drums n lit them on fire, bt not before helping all the slaves n workers escape n trapping the manager in the building n blowing it all up] ...So yeah, tht's the gist of it

Peepers: :O

Sylvia: Yeah, I know, crazy, right? [noticed that she had finished all her food while she talked but was still hungry] Wow, did I finish all that? Still a little hungry tho. Hand me the phone. I'm calling room service

Peepers: (think) (gets her the phone)

Sylvia: Thanks [takes the phone n called for room service, making her orders]

[Peepers' own phone rang, the ring tone signifying a video call]

Peepers: (looks to see who it is)

[it was Awesome's caller ID]

Peepers: (answers)

Awesome: Yo, Pipsqueak! How's it hanging? Is Bee up?

Peepers: (texts) Hey, what's up?

Awesome: Good. Just wondering if Bee's up so we can come visit

Peepers: (texts) Right now, she's busy ordering room service.

Awesome: More food? Huh, she must be reli hungry. Did she finish the food we saved for her? I thought it was quite a lot

Peepers: (texts) She did, but I guess she felt real hungry from her mission.

Awesome: I bet. Hey, ask her if she's cool for us to drop by?

Peepers: (texts) I will.

Awesome: I meant ask her now. She's right there, isn't she? -__-

Peepers: (texts) Hang on. (turns to Sylvia, signing) Hey, Syl?

Sylvia: [just finished ordering] Yeah, Pipsqueak?

Peepers: (signs) Is it okay for Awesome and Ryder to drop by?

Sylvia: Yeah, sure, no prob, I'm good

Peepers: (texts) She says it's cool.

Awesome: Great. Ryder and I will be there in 30 mins

Peepers: :) (texts) Cya in a bit.

Sylvia: [tries to keep busy while waiting for the food to come by clearing n stacking the plates onto the food cart]

Peepers: (signs) You...sure everything's okay?

Sylvia: Yeah, everything is good. Why wouldn't it be?

Peepers: (signs) You seem kind of stressed.

Sylvia: Guess I'm still a little wound up from my mission. It'll take time to cool dwn. I can't wait to get bk to Planet Janet n bk to Wander. Going bk to conquering planets would be a good change of pace

Peepers: (signs) And also surprise them with my new way to talk, too. :)

Sylvia: I bet they'll flip their gourd wen they finally hear ur "voice" :D

Peepers: (giggle)

Sylvia: Enough abt me. How hv u been doing with the guys? Besides the device they gave u, wat else hv u guys been doing for fun?

Peepers: (signs) We've been sight seeing, doing tourist stuff here and there.

Sylvia: I see. Anything interesting happen during tht time?

Peepers: (signs) Well, we did get a see a few preformers on the street once in a while.

Sylvia: Oh? Wat did they do?

Peepers: (signs) Just stuff like, swallowing swords and disappearing acts.

Sylvia: Ooh, sounds like fun. Ur definitely getting along with the boys

Peepers: (signs) In a way, yes. Hopefully that doesn't bother Hater cause he's a friend, too.

Sylvia: Naw, knowing that bonehead, he's prolly too smitten over Wander n the pups to be bothered abt tht

Peepers: (signs) Think so?

Sylvia: I know so. As dumb as I think he is, I don't think he's the possessive friend type. Possessive LOVER on the other hand, I wouldn't put it past him (giggle)

Peepers: (giggle)

Sylvia: So are the guys coming ovr?

Peepers: (signs) In about 30 minutes.

Sylvia: Cool. Tht's abt the same time room service will come in. So, r u ready to go bk to Planet Janet aftr this?

Peepers: (signs) Sure thing. :)

Sylvia: Right, I'll finish food ASAP, hang out with the guys for a bit, maybe do some light shopping n we can go bk

Peepers: (nod)

Flesh of My Blood-Chp91

[it wasn't until almost dawn tht the sound of the keycard for the penthouse suite opened the door, n in hobbled a dark figure into the room, looking ovr the Watchdog who had already came upstairs n was sleeping on the couch in front of the TV]

??: [whispered] Wat the... Wat r u doing sleeping here, pipsqueak...?

Peepers: |-) Zz.... (heard the voice) (yawn) ?

[the table light nxt to the couch was turned on, n the figure was revealed to be Sylvia, looking pretty banged up, bt otherwise in one piece]

Sylvia: Hey, pipsqueak. Wat r u doing here? U'll catch a cold

Peepers: :o (jumps up to give her a big hug)

Sylvia: [winced a little] Woah, hey, hey, easy. I got a few bruises n broken bones here n there [chuckles n hugged him bk anyway]

Peepers: :) (relieved she was alright)

Sylvia: :) How're u doing these days? Hv u been good with my friends?

Peepers: (nod) (holds out his hand to show her the device)

Sylvia: Wat's this? [looked at the gauntlet-looking arm armour for a bit n noticed] :O Is tht the translator device?

Peepers: (signs) It sure is. ;)

Sylvia: Oh my gob, it reli does work. I can finally hear ur voice :D

Peepers: :)

Sylvia: How did they manage? Must've been reli hard to get

Peepers: (signs) You'd have to ask them yourselves.

Sylvia: [sighed in relief] It's so good to finally understand u for real now. I bet Wander n Hater r gonna be amazed by it

Peepers: (nod) (signs) They sure will be.

Sylvia: [sighed tiredly] Sorry to cut us short. I'm reli beat right now. I'm gonna go take a bath n then go to bed. I'll tell u everything tht happened tomorrow, OK?

Peepers: (signs) Alright, you have a good sleep Syl. :)

Sylvia: :) Thanks [turned towards the bathroom, sighed as she secretly stroke her middle a little before entering the bathroom n drew a bath]

Peepers: (yawn) (heads for his own bed to get some sleep)

Sylvia: [as she soaked in the bath, looking at the mirror, unsure of how to break the news to Peepers, or not at all, as she sighed n laid back, savouring her warm bubble bath]

(thoughts of how Peepers would react to her hiding this from her ran through her mind)

Sylvia: [sighed n finished her bath before retiring to bed]

Peepers: (was in his bed) |-) Zzz...

Flesh of My Blood-Chp90

[a week passed by since Sylvia had left, n still no word frm her, tho Awesome and Ryder kept Peepers occupied with sightseeing n tourist-y stuff, as well as helping him with sign language, n now they hv a surprise for him]

Awesome: Keep ur eye closed there, pipsqueak

Peepers: >< (doing what the shark says)

Ryder: :D No peaking now.

Awesome: [rummaged his backpack n handed Peepers a present, which is just a brown cardboard box]

Ryder: :)

Peepers: (peeked to see the box) ?

Awesome: Alright, u can open the box

Peepers: (opens it, blinked and pulled out a device, looking at Awesome and Ryder to ask 'This is...?')

Awesome: Yup, it's the sign language translator. Ur lucky too, coz it was almost out of stock

Ryder: :) Got it just in time.

Peepers: ... :) (tries it on)

Awesome: How does it feel? Try sign something

Peepers: (think) (moves his hands slowly)

Device: (in monotone) I... Am... Peepers...

Awesome: Woah, cool~~

Ryder: :D It works.

Peepers: :O (signs some more) I am Watchdog...

Awesome: Wow, it totally does! Hmm, needs adjusting to the voice tho, too robotic [consults the manual]

Ryder: Think so? I thought it sounded cool like that.

Peepers: ... ;(

Ryder: :O Whoa, you okay, little dude?

Awesome: :O Woah, woah, u OK there? Do u not like it? I can always send it bk... :(

Peepers: (trying to sign while sniffling) I haven't...heard my voice...in so long, and...this...it may not be my own voice, but... ;(

Awesome: Aww, there, there... [patted his back] Like we said, a friend of Bee is a friend of ours, n this is wat friends do: we help each other out. Right, Ryder?

Ryder: (nod) That's right.

Peepers: (sniffles) :)

Awesome: So u want me to adjust the voice so tht it'll sound more human and less robot?

Peepers: (nod)

Ryder: :)

Awesome: OK, let's see... [flipped thru the manual] Ah, voice module, somewhere here [flicked at a button near the elbow] Let's make some adjustments... [pressed at some stuff] OK, test it out

Peepers: (signs) I am Peepers Watchdog.

Ryder: Sounds a bit better.

Awesome: Yeah, if u wanna sound like a female Watchdog -_-

Peepers: ^^;;

Ryder: ^^;;

Awesome: [adjusted again] OK, let's give tht another shot

Peepers: (signs) Peepers Watchdog.

Awesome: Ugh, u sound like a 5 years old on helium gas

Peepers: (shrugs)

Awesome: Here we go again [adjusted a bit more] There, hope third time's the charm

Ryder: (think)

Peepers: (signs) I am Peepers Watchdog.

Awesome: :) Much better, u sound just like a proper person. I like that voice. Won't Bee be surprised :D

Peepers: :D

Ryder: :) Sweet.

[the TV was playing some random reality show, then suddenly switched to breaking news]

News anchor: Breaking news, the headlines. In Planet Bordia, a building has exploded n collapsed, leaving 11 dead n 50 unaccounted for...

Awesome: Hey, that sounds like the planet where Bee's mission is

Ryder: :O That can't be good.

Peepers: :O

News anchor: The building is known for hosting numerous functions n auctions, including the famous legal slave trade auction. Authorities discovered contraband chemicals underneath the basement of the building, that may hv sprung a leak, causing the explosion. Among those dead is the manager of the building n a number of his closest staff [the photo of the manager Peepers n Sylvia met was displayed on the side panel of the screen] More investigation is conducted, but the initial conclusion is accidental leak, but they won't rule out foul play or terrorism...

Awesome: Woah, tht is so Bee. Go big, or not go at all :o

Peepers: :(

Ryder: Relax, I'm sure Sylvia is still okay. (though worried himself)

Awesome: Yeah, well, keeping our fingers crossed here

Ryder: So, should we head back?

Peepers: (focused on the tv screen)

Awesome: Head back where? We hv to stay with Peeps till she gets bk, remember?

Ryder: -_- I meant the room we're staying in, genius.

Awesome: [sees Peepers lost at the TV screen] Yeah, prolly better to give him some time alone to process this

Ryder: Yeah, we should.

Peepers: :(

Awesome: Hey, buddy. We're gonna jet a bit. Ur gonna be OK here?

Peepers: (signs) Yeah... I'll be fine.

Awesome: Cool. Cya soon [went off with Ryder]

Peepers: (still watching the screen, praying for Sylvia's safety)

Flesh of My Blood-Chp89

[the duo made their way bk to the house]

Wander: (enters the house) Mama?

[there was no reply]

Hater: Mama...? [looked ard the area]

Wander: (grows worried)... Mama, you okay?? (goes to look for her)

Hater: [tries to find her in the nursery, since he remembered she was going to put the litter dwn for a nap, then gasped as he saw her slumped on the floor next to the crib] Mama!! M-Master...!!

Wander: (hurries to the sound of Hater's cry) ... :O Mama! (kneels next to her, trying to waken her)

Wildflower: [groaned a little, her breathing a little shallow]

Hater: [chk tht the litter were OK, fast asleep, then searched for the breathing apparatus n passed it to Wander]

Wander: (places the breathing piece on Wildflower's mouth) :(

Wildflower: [takes in the oxygen, breathing in as much as she could as she slowly stirred] Nnnhh...

Hater: [watches worriedly]

Wander: Mama...? Mama, you alright? :(

Wildflower: [slowly sits up] Nnnhhh... Yeah, I think so...

Hater: U were supposed to put that breathing apparatus on at all times, Mama, wat with ur health...

Wildflower: Sorry... I thought I felt better n don't need it for the day... Guess I underestimated myself, haha...

Wander: (embraces her) You had me scared that...that you might've...;(

Wildflower: [chuckled n hugged him bk] It'll take a lot more than that to take me dwn. I'm not missing u boys getting married even if the Angel of Death itself is knocking at my door literally

Wander: (sighs)... We found what's wrong with Dipper.

Wildflower: Oh? Is he OK? Wat's wrong with him?

Hater: [bit his lip, afraid of how she'd react if he told her]

Wander:... He's deaf.

Wildflower: :O Oh no... How is that possible?

Wander: :( (explains what the medic said) ...and Hater feels you'd hate him for this happening...

Wildflower: Oh, Hatey... :(

Hater: I'm sorry... I'm sorry... It's my fault, Mama... I knew something would go wrong... I knew something bad would rub off frm me on the litter... I'm sorry... ;(

Wander: (hugs him, comforting) It's not your fault, Hatey... it's not your fault... :(

Wildflower: Oh Hatey, come here [leans in to hug him as well] It's not ur fault, these things happen, n u can't control it anymore than Wander can

Hater: But... [was stopped by Wildflower's finger on his lips]

Wildflower: Do u think it's my fault tht Treetrunk was born sterile?

Hater: N-No...

Wildflower: And do u think it's my fault tht I hv cancer? Do u think I should blame my parents or my ancestors for having this hereditary disease?

Hater: N...No...

Wildflower: Then it's not ur fault Dipper is deaf, he's just born this way n there's nothing u could've done to prevent it. U hv done everything right wen u were pregnant, n I made sure of tht as well. It's fate. A fate tht couldn't be avoided evn if u try. So stop blaming urself, OK?

Hater: [sniffled] ;(

Wander: She is right, Hater... we can't always control fate...

Hater: [sniffles] Ur right... It's just tht... I can't help feeling bad, tht I'm responsible...

Wildflower: I know u do, it's ur maternal instincts, but don't dwell on it too long. No one is blaming u for anything, OK?

Hater: [sniffles] (nod)

Wander: :) Feel a bit better, Hatey?

Hater: (nod) Yeah, a little. U guys r so understanding, it's almost unreal

Wildflower: That's wat we are :D

Wander: ^^ Never hurts to help.

Hater: [chuckled] Heh, would be a nice catch phrase for u if u weren't an overlord (giggle)

Wildflower: (giggle)

Wander: Heh, yeah... :)

Hater: So wat are we gonna do now? With Dipper unable to hear us and all...

Wander: ...We'll have to start learning it and teaching him as well.

Wildflower: Best if start early. Maybe u can find someone to teach Dipper, tutor him in tht. U got the money, power n connections

Hater: That sounds like a plan

Wander: (nod)

Hater: I reli hope Sylvia n Peepers r doing OK out there tho. No word frm them since the last time u called them

Wander: Hopefully Sylvia's taking care of that mission and being safe. And maybe you can try texting Peepers again, Hatey.

Hater: I want to, bt I don't want to be a nuisance n all tht. Who knws, he might be tagging along with her on the mission n I might be interrupting him

Wander: I don't think Sylvia would want him to get involved in anything dangerous...

Hater: Probably. But I better not bother him. He's probably busy with his own thing while waiting for Sylvia

Wander: Who knows. (shrugs)

Flesh of My Blood-Chp88

[The trio soon spent their time together, getting to knw each other n also helping each other out on various things, mainly Awesome n Ryder helping Peepers out with his sign language thing. Meanwhile, bk on Planet Janet...]

Wander: (was feeding the pups) Not so hard, sweeties. Daddy's a little sore.

Hater: [comes in with snacks for Wander] Hey, Wander. How's the pups?

Wander: Just feeding them right now.

Hater: I knw, just wondering how they're doing. Here, hv something to munch on. Ur mom said u need the calories aftr feeding them so much [pushes the tray of food to him]

Wander: :) Thanks.

Pups: (had their fill)

Hater: Oh, looks like they're done [picks some of them up in his big arm to burp them]

Wander: (does the same with the other half of the litter)

Hater: [chuckled once he hears them burp, then jumped wen he heard a loud thundering boom] Wat the...?

Wander: :O Whoa.

Litter: (whimper at the noise) ;(

Janet: Sorry, sorry, my bad! One of my volcanos near the marshes exploded! I'm keeping it under control!

Hater: Ugh, why do I hv a mental image of a planet's version of a pimple popping... :/

Wander: (trying to comfort the litter, but then noticed something in confusion and concern)

Hater: [hushed the litter in his arms, then noticed Wander's confused look] Wander? Is there something wrong? R u OK?

Wander: ...Dipper? (had noticed the pup had no reaction whatsoever to the sudden noise) Dipper, honey?

Hater: [looked at Dipper who just yawned n slept in Hater's arms] Wha...? [looked at the litter who were still sobbing n whimpering n bk at Dipper] Tht's... Tht's strange...

Wander: (thought for a moment, then clapped his hands once to see if he could get a response from the pup)

Dipper: [just continued sleeping]

Hater: W-Wander... W-Wat's wrong with Dipper...? [feared the worst, bt didn't want to say it out loud]

Wander: You...you don't think he's...?

Hater: I... I don't knw... [his face was filled with sadness n concern]

Wander:... We need to double check with the medic.

Hater: [nodded as he brought the litter out] Umm, Mama? U OK to look aftr the rest of the litter for a while? We need to bring Dipper to the medic

Wildflower: Yeah, I can spare a few mins. Something wrong?

Wander: There...might be something wrong with Dipper. :(

Wildflower: Oh my, wat is it?

Hater: We're not sure, that's why we need to bring him to the medic [hands the rest of the litter to her] Here, u be good with ur grammy now

Wildflower: [takes the litter] Alright, come to Grammy n let Grammy put u to bed, eh?

Litter: (yawn)

Wander: (leaves with Hater and Dipper)

Wildflower: [hummed to the litter as she brought them to their nursery room to tuck them to sleep]

Hater: [cradling Dipper close as he n Wander made their way to the mothership where the medic is]

Wander: (steps into medical bay) Medic?

Doctor: Oh yes, Lord Wander. Wat can I do u for?

Wander: We... need to check if something's wrong with Dipper.

Doctor: Wat seems to be the problem?

Hater: I dunno... Janet's volcano suddenly erupted just now n he didnt evn respond... [hands Dipper worriedly to the doctor]

Wander: And we just wanted to double check about why he's like this...

Doctor: [takes Dipper] Alright, let's see wat is wrong [gently wakes Dipper by patting his cheek] Wakey wakey, ol' doc needs to chk on u

Dipper: [whimpered n fussed a little as he stirred]

Wander: (fumbles with his hands a little, worried)

Hater: [had his hand on Wander's shoulder, was also worried but tried to be the strong one]

Doctor: [chk Dipper's vitals, did some sound tests, hushing Dipper wen he fussed in the process, looked into his ears with his medical instruments]

Wander: (waits nervously for the results)

Doctor: [finished his chking n turned to them, his expression a little concerned]

Hater: W-Wat's wrong with him, doc?

Doctor: I'm sorry... There's no easy way to say this but... ur son is deaf

Wander: :O

Hater: H-How is tht possible...?!

Doctor: [shows them a holographic 3D image of his scan on Dipper's head] U see here, where his ears are supposed to be? For Skeletors, there usually is some sort of miniscule cavity where the ear should be, just right beneath the horns tht serves as their hearing, bt Dipper doesn't hv it. It seems tht he was born with the cavity fused together, making him unable to hear sounds, n there is no cavity within the skull tht would help sound to travel into his brain, so essentially he's deaf

Wander: But...then how do we...?

Doctor: I'm afraid u will hv to get him started on learning sign languages at a young age, n use other means to help him communicate with u

Hater: Its just a hole, right? Can't u maybe do some sort of surgery, create a hole for him to hear?

Doctor: It's too delicate a procedure, n Skeletor ears don't just depend on the hole, it also depends on the nerve endings within the hole to help carry sound, bt in Dipper's case, he literally doesn't hv nerve endings either, n we can't create artificial ones without the risk of damaging his brain. I'm sorry, sir, bt there's nothing I can do...

Hater: [fell to his knees n sobbed] Oh gob...This... This is all my fault... I knew something like this would happen, something bad would rub off on ur babies... I... I failed u, Master... ;(

Wander: (hugs him) No, Hater, no...don't blame yourself...just don't... ;(

Doctor: I'm reli sorry... [passes Dipper to Hater]

Hater: [sobbed n hugged Dipper] I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I failed as a Breeder... It's my fault... It is... ;(

Wander: (also embraces Dipper) :(

Dipper: [whimpered seeing both his parents crying, n he couldn't hear them, so he couldn't understand why they were crying, n he too cried in frustration] Waaa~~~ ;(

Wander: (gives him kisses) It's okay, honey...(though he knew Dipper couldn't hear what he said)

Hater: [sobbed as he hugged Dipper close] Wat r we gonna do, Master?

Wander: We'll think of something...somehow... :(

Hater: [sniffled as he wiped his tears] Wat would ur mom think? She'll be so disappointed in me...

Wander: No she won't, Hater... :(

Hater: She's so looking forward to the litters, now one of them is a defect, she'll be so mad at me... :(

Wander: Trust me, Hater, she'll understand. This isn't your fault...

Hater: [bit his lip, not too convinced as he held Dipper close]

Wander: (embraces both of them)

Hater: L-Let's go home. Ur mom might be worried....

Wander: Yeah... (rubs Dipper's head gently)