Goblin sat in his corral staring off into space his little mind still reeling from from what Earl had told him a few days ago. Nugget and Lemon played with a large kickball, laughing and chasing it around and kicking it again. Nugget was slower than Lemon as she was visibly pregnant but the splicings Earl had done would make it so she could still move freely, for the most part, even when ready to pop. The next kick to the ball sent it flying and hit Goblin in the back of the head but he barely noticed until the mares came running to check if he was hurt. He wasnât of course but their sudden fussing over him snapped him back to reality.
-Speciaw fwend okay? Baww no huwt thinky pwace?-
-Gobwin okay? Gobwin no wan pway wast thwee bwight times. Why am sad?-
-Gobwin not sad, just⌠Thinking bout things. Boss teww Gobwin cwazy things. Too cwazy to bewieve but⌠Boss say Boss make mowe Gobwins. Boss make bwuddahs fow gobwin an they comin soon.-
-Speciaw fwend have new bwuddas? Is that good thing? Speciaw fwend say owd bwaddas an sissy was meanies an bad so new bwuddas be good?-
-Mowe Gobwins? buh⌠how Boss make mowe Gobwins? Wike⌠Just wike Gobwin?-
-Donât know. Gobwin scawed they be wike owd famiwy. No want meany owd famiwy.-
Earl was in his workshop signing a digital clipboard from the delivery guy who was unloading a large pet carrier style cardboard box. When he got inside he hit the button for the garage door and dug out his phone as it shut and started recording.
âGood morning all you fans out there todayâs the day Iâve been promising yâall and before I proceed todayâs video is sponsored by Forever Fluffy pets cloning inc. Did your good little fluffy pass on of old age or of itâs own stupidity but canât part with the little fluff-ball? Then call Forever Fluffy pets inc. and keep that little ball of sickeningly bright joy in your life. Use promo code GBLN-M0D3 and get 15% off your registration and surgery feeâs. Now some of you might be thinking âEarl, you got your own cloning gear in your shop. Why would you need to go to these guys?â and are aready posting that in the comments. And yes thatâs true BUT, the chips that transfer fluffy memories is proprietary tech and isnât readily available to the public and Iâm taking a shortcut as not to have to re-train three more of these guys. So lets get the show on the road.â Turning on his cameras and mic system throughout his shop and putting his phone away.
Stepping out of his workshop he headed to his backyard where the corral was kept and unlocked the chicken wire door and told the three fluffies inside to follow him. With Goblin leading the mares it was a short trek to the workshop and the three were curious as to what Earl had wanted to show them.
-Is⌠Is new Gobwins in that boxie, Boss?-
âThatâs right bud, theyâre here. Now when they wake up theyâll have all your memories and will think they are you.â
-But Gobwin am Gobwin.-
âI know but they will think theyâre you so I need you to be patient and understand they are going to be very confused. Iâm gonna need you to help them figure out who they are in here.â Tapping his fingers to his temple. âEncourage them to try things and to do things they might like even if you donât. Itâll help them stop thinking theyâre you, okay?â
-Gobwin think so. This is weiwd. Hawd to think about.-
âJust think of them as your little brothers and it should help. Okay here we go.â
Earl walked over to the large specialized box and after pulling apart a few tabs the sides fell outward and revealed three fluffies identical to Goblin minus the scars and still juveniles in size. They were asleep, huddled together and even slightly snoring like Goblin did, Earl took a bottle from a cabinet and took out a packet of smelling salts. Shaking the stick a few times he snapped it in half then waved it under each cloneâs nose who instantly woke with a snort and a scrunched up face and a sneeze.
-Icky!- coughed the first.
-No smeww pwetty!- The second whined then sneezed again.
-Smeww wike bad sicky pee-pee!- The third tried to clear his nose by rubbing it with a hoof.
The fluffies couldnât believe their senses, the three looked like Goblin, sounded like Goblin, they even smelled like Goblin, and after a few moments of trying to clear their noses they noticed each other. Letting out a triple simultaneous scream and the same dialog as well it was almost comedic.
-Why you wook wike Gobwin?! You no Gobwin! Gobwin am Gobwin! No you not! Yes Gobwin am!-
Well this went back and forth a few times and repeated itself and after a few attempts to get them to stop long enough to talk Earl started getting frustrated. Sticking two fingers in his mouth he let out a ear piercing whistle that made them all duck and cover their ears.
âAlright listen up boys! None of you are Goblin, heâs over there.â Pointing the ârealâ Goblin out. âNow do you three remember the talk I had with Goblin about making him some brothers?â
The three looked up at him transfixed and nodding in unison.
âWell thatâs you three. I made you and gave you all of your big brotherâs memories. I canât explain how in a way youâd understand just know that I can and have obviously done by you three being here. And just to prove it look.â Taking a mirror off a nearby counter.
Showing the mirror to each one he let them get a good look at themselves and their scar free faces. They looked at themselves, made faces and checked for the scars they thought they had as the realization spread over their faces then one looked up Earl.
-Why? Why give us bwuddaâs memowies if we not Gobwin?-
âI want you three to know how what your brother went through growing up. How bad his, er, your mother was and how she treated him and the kinds of monsters that are out there without having to go through what he did. Now you three also remember meeting Caster and Pollux, right? They looked, smelled and sounded the same. Well thatâs you three, uh, four are, new brothers with the same life experiences as your brother.â
-Bu⌠But what bout Speshew fwend?- Asked another.
âSheâs still Goblinâs and Lemon gets to pick who gets to be hers. And whoevers left relax, weâll keep looking on our hunts for someone for each of you.â
Goblin just sat silently staring at the three new clones, his little mind almost unable to comprehend what he was looking at, as far as he could tell they were him. He started to think that maybe it could be like the twin fluffies he met at Sandyâs farm, could they be good brothers? He dared to think so and he stood up putting on his best confidant face and marched his way between Earl and the three and faced the clones.
-Awight! Gobwin am Gobwin! You thwee am Wittew bwuddas and Gobwin hewp you be you own fwuffies. But Gobwin am owdest and in chawge aftew Boss but want to hewp new bwuddahs be own fwuffies.-
The three looked at one another a few times turned to Goblin and started laughing in his face for a good long minute before finally calming down for the middle one to talk.
-You scawey face no wowk on us, he he heee. You just as scawed as us! This am too weiwd!-
-But thanks fow twyin. You be good bwuddah.- Added the left.
Goblinâs bluster had been busted and he sheepishly deflated during the laughing fit and soon Nugget and Lemonâs were sniffing around them and poking them with a hoof to see if they were real.
âAlright boys as brand new fluffies you all need new names to help tell you apart.â Picking four different colored collars up off a counter. âBlue goes to you, Gremlin. Black goes to Imp and yellow goes Hob. Goblin you get the red one as the leader.â He chuckled putting on each collar. âGood try with the big brother speech. Alright, Iâm going to give everyone the day to get to know each other and start figuring yourselves out. Go and introduce yourselves to Odin and tomorrow weâre gonna play a new game to help build that brotherly bond. Sound good?â
The clones thanked him for the new names and collars, the first step in establishing their individuality and a clear way to visibly tell the three apart. Odin was probably the most confused of all, whining and going back and forth between each clone sniffing each again and again, more confused with each pass. Then he looked up at Earl with a face that read âWhat did you do now?â before returning his attention to the three. As a rare treat the new herd was allowed to play freely in the yard while Earl watched from a lawn chair on the porch with Odin by his side enjoying some undivided attention from head scratches. He kept a watchful eye on them seeing how they interacted and so far they seemed to get along well enough. Imp seemed a little withdrawn, often stopping to sit down and did what Earl assumed was thinking judging by the look on his face. But soon enough he was up again running and playing with the rest and Earl made a mental note to keep an eye on him, a thinker might be problematic if not manipulated and distracted properly. Second major distraction after names, heated skettie dinner as a welcome to the family and to ingrain the illusion of himself as a benevolent owner. Each fluff was big enough to each eat two 14oz. cans and with full bellies and exhausted from running around all evening they crawled their way back to the corral. A corral that was much more crowded in the doghouse and Earl tossed them one of Odinâs spare beds and assured them bigger housing was on the way.
The next morning Goblin and his new brothers found themselves in the park in an open field with Earl sitting on a medium sized cage with a blanket over it. They could smell the rabbits inside on the van ride over and wondered what they would be doing with them as Earl drew four flat black boxes from his backpack.
âOkay boys, you all remember how to play darts and how to herd animals right? Well today weâre going to do a bit of both.â Standing up and pulling the blanket off. âEveryone take a box.â Holding out the stack.
The boxed floated out of his hands and opened like a book in front each fluffy revealing a set of six loaded tranquilizer darts with a colored tail end.
âAlright trade darts if you donât have the color of your collar. Now the rules, I got four rabbits I caught in the wild and will let one loose at a time. You can only catch the rabbit by hitting it with a dart, using your powers to stop the rabbit and hold it still donât count. The rabbit will be faster than you and will get away if you donât work together to corner it and dart it. Any questions?â
-Why no just catch with powews?- Imp asked raising a leg.
âBecause there are things and creatures out there that are too big for you to move and theyâll all kill you if your first thought is to hold it like any other feral fluffy. Cars, bears, falling big ass rocks and the monster that did this to me.â Holding up his cybernetic arm. âThese will all kill you if your first thought is grab it with my magic.â
-and the wabbit? Wabbit not big.- Imp continued asking.
âBecause its fast and hard to catch. Alright every one take out your darts and get ready on my mark.â Reaching into the top of the cage with his metal hand.
Plucking one rabbit up at the nape of the neck it kicked and squirmed trying to get away as the darts lifted from their cases and dropped. Telling them to get set he crouched down and gave the rabbit a little toss and it was off like a shot and the first dart to fly hit Earl in his right leg.
âDammit Gremlin, you idiot!â Sitting back down on the cage and pulling the dart out. âYou loose a point for that!â Digging into his backpack. oooohhh Iâm di⌠dizzy. There it is."
Producing a auto-injector pen from his bag he popped the cap and jammed the needle in his leg and his senses started to clear. Gremlin hightailed it as fast as he could away from Earl While shouting âsowwyâ. He was sure that he was in far more trouble than he imagined but now had to catch at least two rabbits at a chance to win. Goblin and Imp tried to flank the rabbit on the left and ended up colliding into one another dropping their darts and leaving an opening big enough for the rabbit to slip past Hob with Gremlin after it. But the rabbit dove into the nearest, thickest hedge and was through the other side and got away clean.
âTry again boys and remember your training. Goblin spent a lot of time keeping with Odin chasing RC cars so you could chase fast things together.â
Earl scooched over and opened the top of the cage grabbing another rabbit and this time making the boys line up and face away from him before he set it loose. This time Goblin and Hob running side by side on the right with the other two veering left in tandem, Imp shot and the rabbit jumped letting Hob get a clean hit mid air. When the rabbit landed it was like a floppy piece of rubber trying to get away but was quickly picked up by Hob and proudly trotted back to Earl. He was tossed a meatball style fluffy treat and a pat on the head as he gobbled it up then Earl swapped out rabbits and got the boys to line up again.
The new rabbit was young and swift taking off like a shot with the boys giving chase, Goblin leading the ways his slightly bigger body giving him the advantage. He launched one of his darts but the rabbit dodged left when Hob tried to cut it off and fired a dart and missed by the hair of the rabbitâs tail and hit Goblin in the shoulder. Goblin plopped down on his ass and looked groggily pissed off at his little brother who sat there with his hooves over his mouth, wide eyed scared dropping his darts.
-YooOOouuâŚDUmmmbBbaaAAaaZzZzâŚ- He slurred while sliding down to the grass.
Imp wasnât going to give up and with Gremlin by his side the rabbit ran for a small cluster of trees in the middle of the park. It was far faster than them and was quickly expanding the gap between them and Imp fired a dart but of course missed as his target dove past the tree line. Stubbornly determined not to loose another rabbit the went in without hesitation trying to find where it hid itself, sniffing it out unaware something was stalking them back.
Earlâs head was clear by this point and he already knew what happened to Goblin from his collar cam and was on his way to collect him. Hob was still by his side repeatedly apologizing after pulling the dart out and Earl just crossed his arms and shook his head looking down at them.
âI had hoped youâd be better at this but I guess I was expecting too much straight out the gate. How ya doing there, Gobby?â
-HeEeheee⌠GobWin FEeewWS FunNnneeEheheheee.-
âI got the cure for that.â Starting to un-sling his backpack.
There was a sudden shriek in the near distance got his attention as it sounded like a large fluffy in pain and his first thought was some assholeâs dog was trying to eat one of his clones. Ordering hob to watch Gremlin he ran off in the direction of the screams with his right hand gripping his revolver behind his back in its holster.
âIMP! GREMLIN! Where the fuck are you two!?â He shouted when he couldnât hear anymore screams.
-Boss! Boss! Munstahs got Gwemwin!- Imp shouted from the tree line.
His gun was out of his holster the second he ran past the treeline following Imp to a surprising sight, two dead puffy-griffs stuck with every dart the two had and their heads stomped in. Gremlin sat next to the bodies licking his clawed up hind leg, the wounds seemed shallow, had he been a regular fluffy that leg would have been torn clean off.
âSon of a bitch, I didnât think puffy-griffs nested this far north. Shit, did I pack any sample vials?â Digging through his bag. âDamn! Figures.â
-Munstahs wanted to make Gwemwin nummies for munstah babbehs, munstahs say so. Who nummies now?- Gremlin stuck out his bloody tongue out at the bodies.
âBabies? Imp! sniff out that nest! I want those chicks, alive!â Digging a med kit from his bag. âLetâs get you patched up, Gremlin.â
Turns out the nest was pretty close over at the other side of the trees, tucked under a large bush, it was made of grass, leaves and lots of tufts of rainbow colored fluff. In it, two puffy-griffs chicks, Imp sniffed at the hatchlings still blind and bald as a newborn fluffy foal, mouths agape and chirping for food, both of them were female.
-Boss! Imp find nestie! Ova hewe!-
Earl came marching along with Gremlin not far behind limping along with a fresh bandage around his leg. Earlâs mind was racing with new possible ideas and plans, these things were rarer than alicorns with telekinesis which he had only seen five times in thirty years and he owned three of them, one he cloned, a lot. Using a handkerchief he wrapped the squawking chicks up and kept them close to his body for the warmth while flipping through his phone for any info on puffy-griffs. He was so engrossed in a whole new realm of research and experimentation he almost forgot to collect the bodies of the dead puffy-griffs. But the ever curious Imp asked what to do with them and he had Imp and Gremlin carry the bodies and follow him. Hob was still with Goblin who was rolling around in the grass giggling his ass off.
âHob, carry your brother and follow me.â
-WheeEEeeEEeeeheeHEhee⌠GobWiN FwyInnnnn.- He cheered as he lifted into the air.
After letting the last rabbit go he folded up the cage and got everyone back into the van he scrounged around looking for anything he could feed the chicks with. His initial findings said they could consist on milk or ground dog food in a pinch but he didnât have any on hand so it would be a race to get home. Maybe he could even salvage something from the parents bodies if he was quick enough.
The second he was home he sent the boys off to their corral and got the chicks into a heated nursing basket and spoon fed them a few table spoons worth of ground chicken dog food. With full bellies they settled down and fell asleep huddled together with Earl watching over them on his workshop counter while he opened his laptop and got to work.
