Episode 109 'Nothing can come of nothing'

 'Alas!' cried the old man, shaking his wretched fist belligerently at 2023. 'That you have bested me leaves a bad taste in my mouth! You thwarted me with broken promises and less hope than I can shake a stick at!'

Fate had gifted the old man with a gnarled old stick, lain upon the damp verge beside him. But the very idea of picking it up for emphasis and farce was quenched as the darkening clouds kept their word and rained an almighty downpour onto the world below. The winds howled and isolated any chance of a peaceful stroll home. 

'Bother and befuddle!' the old man persisted. 'This weather doth trouble my mind, and yet, compliments in such a way that leaves nought but admiration. Such timing!' Distracted by the poetic irony, he continued to shuffle against the breeze and into the future. 

Days turned into weeks and then? Perhaps in to months; the old man knew not. His mind was burdened with unexplained circumstances and missed opportunities. The life he once led became obsolete and fruitless, inviting the storm inside his mind to hinder the strands of optimism left hanging by threads.

Nothing seemed real. Time was not even a concept anymore. It danced around him like a mystical entity, engulfing reality to the point of no return. 'No more!' the old man wailed. 'Why doth my life stand upon the edge of a knife? What is thy path? Tell me!'

The rain drowned out all imagination of a response. 

'TELL ME!' 

Nothing. And yet...

'Bleep, bloop, beep...' 

'What? Who goes there?' the old man cautiously whispered into the wind. 

The rain offered no comfort, nor did it unveil the whereabouts of the mysterious electronic sounds. In fact, the dim echoes of the sudden alien noise surrounded the old man, penetrating his battered soul, taunting him with familiar tragedy. The beeping began once more. It was coming closer. 

'Show yourself, you coward!' 

'Beep, bip, blerp, ergghhh!' The electronic beeping soon became more expressive than one might expect. This caused the old man to pause and take heed to the nightly terror. For this was no mystery or foul beast of darkness. He recognised the sounds as friend, not foe. 

'Chester?' he breathed heavily. 

And through the curtain of rain came a squat shape of confidence. It trundled straight up to the old man in robotic glee (if there were ever such a thing) and sticking out both of its twig-like mechanical arms it embraced his upper leg with much gusto, as a dog would greet its owner after a long parting.

'Chester!' the man croaked, placing his hand upon the little droids bumbling dome of a head. 'By the power of the silver crested moon! How good it is to see you, old friend.'

For Chester knew the old man very well indeed. One might say that they were betrothed; fated to be together. Because, you see, t'was this wretched old man who had the wits and the brains to build Chester out of scrap parts many years ago - a service droid customised specifically for super duties. Although Chester had no powers of his own, the abilities installed within his metal body certainly exceeded those of an average droid, robot or AI unit. The super part he left to his master, of whom he had finally been reunited with. 

The master who built him. The master who trained him. The master who possesses super powers of epic proportion. 

The master. His master. 

The Electric Elkboy.

And he called into the night; 'CHESTER MY FRIEND...!'

The rain beat down upon the two heroes. A crack of lightning split the sky into a single image of natural passion. The deep rolling of thunder fell from the heavens and penetrated the ground they stood on. It rumbled like a biblical earthquake from legends past and dissipated towards the horizon like an uncaged leviathan.  

'WE HAVE BEEN SLEEPING. WE HAVE SAT IDLY AS THE EVIL HAS CREPT BACK UNTO THIS LAND WE CALL HOME. DARKNESS TOOK ME, BUT NOW I CAN SEE!' 

The Elkboy glowed with furious animosity towards his own lackadaisical behaviour from the passing year. The lightening bolt that hung above his head roared into life.

'OUR TIME HAS COME, CHESTER. WELCOME TO THE YEAR 2024. VAMOS!