FOPBB Interlude 3 Never Break

Fairly OddParents - Dark Wish
Interlude 3:
Chester
Never Will I Break


The Others huddled together, clutching each other, eyes wide with fear and horror as the older teens stood in a half-circle, fists clenched, weapons in hand, cruel grins twisting their faces as the boy before them got back up and took another stand. The cold gray ground was already splattered with red, but still he stood there, unwavering, green eyes narrowed at the gang.

"Like a punch-clown." one of the older boys snickered derisively, "Knock it down all you like and it'll just come back up again."

Everything hurt. Chester ran the tip of his tongue over his teeth again. Some were loose, the metal beginning to bend and buckle under the blows. Once the barrier of his braces was gone, his teeth were history. His own fists remained in place, bleeding from punches that were made haphazardly in attempts to chase off their attackers.

"Chester!" Sanjay cried out, then whimpered fearfully, retreating into the arms of his friends as the older boys shot him a glare. The blonde scowled faintly. Oh, now they start to worry? Now, after he had told them a hundred times over not to come this way today?

"Don't hurt 'em." Chester managed to growl at the older kids, "You gonna be mad at somebody, be mad at me. I was Timmy's number one best friend!"

"And as such you should have done more to keep him alive!" another of the bullies snarled, snatching him up by the collar of his shirt and bringing a fist back to punch him again, "And you, being the stupid hick you are, just let him die and now we're suffering 'cause of it!"

"But it wasn't his fault!" A.J. exclaimed, shaking visibly as he stared at the scene before him.

"So? We can't get to the guy responsible, so we're gonna take it out on you little punks that didn't do shit to save him!" a third boy jeered. Chester struggled, lashing out wildly with fists and feet.

"Leave them alone! I'm the one you should be pounding on! I was Timmy's best friend and I didn't save him!" he yelled furiously and shot a glare at the Others, "Guys! Run!" He turned his attention back on his captor and promptly sank his teeth into the boy's arm. The teen shrieked in pain, distracting the group from the Others as they scrambled to escape and vanished from the area.

"Why you little-!" the injured teen growled and Chester jumped back from the advancing group, glaring up at them with his fists held up. This wasn't going to end well. They never did.

"But I promised Timmy I'd protect them for him. I guess this is the only way I can." he thought to himself and clenched his teeth together as he shut his eyes tightly and launched himself into the waiting assault.


It felt like ages had gone by before the bullies had tired of their fun and left him, nowhere near happier than they had been when they first started attacking the Others. Chester remained where he lay, partially curled against a dumpster as he tried to block out the pain of his broken arm and battered body. Remnants of his braces were scattered at his feet. He sighed shakily, wincing as even the mere act of breathing sent waves of pain through him, then coughed, sending another spray of blood to spatter against his torn jeans.

This was getting monotonous. Ever since Timmy's funeral three months ago, the Others had become the subject of every kid's fury, borne from misery and frustration and despair. And every time Chester heard through the grapevine that someone was going to jump the gang to vent, he would warn his friends and tell them to go a different way. But they ignored him, resenting what looked to them like a guy trying to take Timmy's place by force and order them around for no reason.

So they refused to listen and when A.J., Sanjay, Elmer and Tootie found themselves startled to see bullies pop up as they walked together, Chester would dart in from the shadows to take the attack himself. And the beatings he'd taken were always brutal. Out of the ten or so attacks he'd diverted, three of them had left him unconscious in the streets, two required hospitalization for a short time, and one had resulted in a broken leg that hadn't fully healed until just last week.

He groaned softly as several shadows passed over him. Oh, great, back for more. Chester growled faintly, struggling to get up and face the threat once again.

"Don't move. It's us." Tootie whispered softly, shakily. The Others gathered around the blonde, tending to injuries with a small bit of experience as the only girl in the group held out a first aid kit for them to work from. Chester screamed once, when A.J. set the bone in his arm properly, then went silent while Sanjay splinted it as best he could. Tootie reached into her backpack, muttering softly as she began bringing out several bottles of water, which were then used to wash away as much of the bloody mess as they could from his clothes and face. A couple of aspirins to help with the pain and Chester was able to stand on his own, if only a little unsteadily.

"Now will you listen to me?!" he finally growled at the Others harshly, a surge of emotion coursing through him as the boys and girl stared at him with wide eyes, shrinking back slightly, "Every time! Every time I find out what's gonna happen, I tell you guys about it so you don't get all beat up! But you never listen! You just ignore me and then this happens!" He waved his good arm in agitation, struggling through the slowly fading pain. "I can't keep taking these beatings for you, you know! Sure, I got Medicaid and all that junk to help me out, but it's not exactly fun getting the crud knocked out of ya for being Timmy's friend and not doin' anything to stop him from gettin' killed!" he finished and glared at the group.

They blinked back at him and Chester lifted an eyebrow. They still remained silent. He looked at each one in irritation. Had they even listened to him then?!

"Well?" he demanded.

"We're waiting for orders, Chester, sir." Elmer remarked hesitantly, "What should we do?" Now it was the blonde's turn to blink at them in astonishment.

"Huh?" he managed to ask.

"You're absolutely right, Chester. We should have listened to you all along." A.J. agreed, "You were just trying to keep us safe, and we didn't do anything to help. So, let's change it up." Sanjay nodded eagerly and promptly saluted him.

"We will follow your commands from now on, Chester! How can we help each other keep our hopes alive if we are being beaten senseless by bullies?!" he declared, "Lead the way!"

Chester blinked again, then allowed a smile to slowly spread across his face. Finally! They were getting the idea! He was just trying to keep them safe; that was what he had promised Timmy and no matter how beat up he got, he was going to keep that promise. He held out his good hand to the group.

"All right, then, Others! If we're gonna watch out for each other, then let's learn how to work together like a team so we, mainly me but definitely we, don't get the stuffing knocked out of us all the time!" he declared and the kids all put their hands out over his in agreement.

"For Timmy!"


That had been years ago, and after sessions of training the Others to respond to hand signals and his own personal run-ins with the tougher gangs in the alleys of Dimmsdale, Chester grew into his new role as Leader of the Others. Word spread; don't mess with the Others unless you think you can take on the underground master of street-brawling.

And once again, someone was trying to do just that.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey!" Chester snapped at the boss of a bunch of thugs. Just what he didn't need, a confrontation between the Others and some random street gang while on night patrol in Dimmsdale. It was hard enough dealing with the various threats from the magical realms, but add in the idiots that wanted to spread a new wave of misery around and things had the potential to go to hell in a real bad way. "Get the hell out of the way! We've got a job to do and you're blocking our path!" he added in irritation.

The other guy only grinned and his posse shifted positions automatically when he began tapping a metal pipe against his palm. Oh, crud. Chester knew this move. He'd seen it a few times before as a kid; hell, he'd been the victim of it twice before. Quickly, he scanned the surroundings. The alley was barely large enough, but there should be room for the counterattack he'd created for that move.

"C'mon! We haven't got all night to be lookin' at yer ugly mugs!" Chester snapped, spreading his arms away from his sides as he yelled. A distraction as his hands did the real speaking. It was one of his rare, hidden talents, inventing secret codes and signals, and they served him well as no one but the Others could even get the idea of what the random movements were for. /A.J., flank to the left and target the one with the chain. He'll move in on Tootie. Toots, jump to the right when A.J. moves in and go after Mohawk there. He's got a lazy eye and won't be able to see you that well./

/Sanjay, target the guy on the far right; he's gonna barrel after me while Big Boss does something flashy to try to fake me out. Tricks, back him up if the guy manages to dodge the shot. Elmer, go after the freak with the gold tooth, but be careful. He's gonna jump back and toss out some kinda smokescreen. You're the only one equipped to knock junk like that back on people./

/On my mark!/

"You should have done more to keep the Heart safe." the pipe-wielder sneered, "And you shoulda just stayed put where I left ya as a kid, with the shit beat outta ya for being stupid!" And Chester's hands froze, his eyes widening at the memory.

This was the same guy; this was the same gang. These were the same bullies who beat him into near submission so long ago. A surge of anger sang through him. What the hell was the matter with these people?! Here he was, trying to save the city with his friends, so that these punks could be happy again... and they still wanted a piece of him because of something that happened to Timmy years ago! His fingers flicked again.

/The idiot who just talked is mine!/

And the pipe-wielder lashed out suddenly, moments after Chester flicked out the signal to move, and the blonde was already out of danger, the rest of the Others taking positions and attacking the gang members before they knew what was going on.

"Hey! That wasn't s'posed ta happen!"

"Boss! It didn't work!"

"Waaah! That hurts!"

Their cries of shock and pain filled the air, and Chester grinned at their boss' expression of astonishment as he stood back, hands spread out and flickering rapidly, a puppet-master controlling his team of warriors.

"I know your plan, Dude. I know its strengths, and I know its weakness. No matter what you do, I can counter it." the blonde chuckled, "So why don't you crawl back into whatever ditch upchucked you and leave me and my pals to our business?"

"You little-!" the pipe-wielder fumed and raced forward, bringing his weapon around to smash into him.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Trixie cried out and darted in the way, leaving a stunned Chester to watch in horror as she took the blow meant for him and flew across the alley. She landed with a sickening thud against the brick wall and sank down, silent and motionless.

"One down, and you're next, you little freak!" the boss sneered, adjusting his grip on the bloodied pipe. The blonde stared at the girl, the only true Popular that gave up her rank to join him and stand by him, sharing in his guilt over Timmy's death and seeking to make amends. The girl that had learned to put others before herself after experiencing true misery. The girl that now lay as still as Timmy had so many years ago. He walked towards her, ignoring the pipe-wielder as he stalked after him, weapon raising for the finishing blow, then knelt to brush her hair aside and lift her face.

She looked blankly up at him, Asian eyes wide and dark as streams of red trailed from her temple and mouth.

"Heh, I broke yer little girlfriend and now I'm gonna break-!" the other teen yelled as he brought down the pipe... only to find it halted in mid-blow by the blonde's hand gripping it tightly, an infuriated glare aimed directly at him as the Leader of the Others slowly stood up, pushing back on the pipe as his lips pulled back in a snarl.

"Never!" he hissed, and the pipe bent under the force, the wielder staring at him in terror as he moved back to try escaping the intimidating glare. "Never! Never! Never!" Chester continued snarling, "Do what you want to yourself, to your flunkies, even to me, but you are never to hurt my friends! And. I. Will. Never. Break!"

The pipe snapped and he spun, lashing out with a roundhouse kick that sent the gang leader flying much the same way Trixie had been thrown aside. The commotion caused by his gang and the Others immediately halted, all eyes drawn towards Chester in a myriad of expressions ranging from shock to horror, fear to awe. The blonde stood there, fists clenched tightly and murderous glare fixed on the older thug sinking against the side of the building, staring up at him in terror. He took a step forward and the gang leader lifted his arms for protection.

"S-stay back!" he pleaded.

"I should grind you into a bloody mess and leave you here to die. Just like you did with me." Chester growled, already shifting into the stance that would deliver one of the most lethal of street-brawling attacks.

"Chester. Stop."

And just like that, everyone held their breaths, searching for the source of the voice. Chester paused in his stance, glaring up immediately to locate the speaker.

Standing erect and almost proudly on the rail of the fire escape above them, a figure hidden by the shadows gazed down at him. Even from where he stood, the blonde could feel the icy look being leveled at him.

"Give me one good reason why I should let this waste of air live, especially after what he did to Trixie!" Chester shot back in a fury, "She's dead! Or at least damn close enough to it that I might not get her back!" The figure didn't move.

"Make your wish." it only said.

"I wish...!"

"But I will not take a life unnecessarily. All life is precious, human and otherwise. Have I taught you nothing?"

Chester growled and kicked at the ground, sending a skittering of dust and pebbles in the direction of the cowering thug before him.

"I wish Trixie was restored." he finally declared, glaring at gang leader, "Fully healed and everything. Can you do that?"

"Granted." the figure replied and flicked a hand towards Trixie's fallen form, "Bring back this soul from purgatory! Resurrection! Light of mana, mend this broken form! Cure!"

A brilliant burst of light and Trixie blinked in confusion, sitting up as she rubbed at her head.

"Wh-whah? What happened?" she asked and looked around at everyone before taking their cues and looking up at the dark figure. Her eyes widened. "Oh! It's you!" she breathed in awe, "Thank you...."

"I didn't make the wish."

"Next, I wish these idiots here were sent someplace else. Get them out of my face before I decide to ignore you and freakin' kill this one." Chester snarled, aiming his last growl at the thug that whimpered and tried to crawl away.

"Granted." the figure repeated and spread its arms out to encompass the group below it, "Opposing force upon this plane, punishments are yours to gain. Sent to those who keep the peace, your lives to them I do release. Transportare!"

Each thug was whisked out of the alley by small blasts of colorful mist, mana of all colors and elements. Chester huffed in scorn and turned to help Trixie get to her feet.

"If it's any consolation, I made sure the big one got a bumpy landing."

Chester paused, looked back up at the figure in surprise, then burst into laughter, a relieving sound that relaxed the Others and had them join in as well. They gathered together to check on the former Popular and be sure she was truly all right, while their leader broke away to walk closer to where the figure stood.

"Thanks for the help. So, we'll see you after patrol?" he asked.

"Probably not. I've got homework and Mom won't let me do anything beyond patrols until I finish it." the figure replied with a lighter tone, "But if you find anything that needs sealing, gimme a call. I'll make up something to avoid having to type a three-hundred word essay on Tibequadoran culture."

"That's what you get for wishing a country into existence." Chester jabbed.

"Remind me later to erase it and relocate the people. By the way, what you said earlier...."

"Yeah? What? What'd I say?" Chester questioned, "If it's about killing that guy...."

"No. About how you would never break. Why did you say that?"

The blonde blinked, then allowed a small grin to cross his face. Bones had broken, teeth had been knocked out, blood had been spilled. His life should have ended many times over in the course of his role as Leader of the Others and before it, but every time he was battered and beaten, Chester simply rose above it. Pressing on through the pain and misery, fighting still and chanting within him those four little words that, until today, had never been spoken aloud.

His spirit, his will, had only been strengthened with each blow his body took.

"I will never break." Chester simply replied, "I have something stronger than what those guys have. I fight for someone who made me see that I can be strong for those I care about; I fight for the people who rely on me and need me. Because of everyone, I will never break."

"I think I get it." the figure murmured, "Stay strong, Chester. Never break, and those you care for will never be broken either." With that, the figure leaped delicately from the rail into the air and simply vanished. Chester grinned up at the empty air and gave a small salute.

"That's a promise I aim to keep, Timmy." he returned softly, "To make up for all the broken ones."

The End