Chapter 3.1: Generation Next

     Amy sighed and closed the book she had been idly flipping through without actually reading.  She looked up at the ceiling over the bed as she lowered it to rest on her stomach.

     "Keep that up and you'll chase all your happiness away."

     Amy crossed her eyes at her cousin's words.  "That is a stupid superstition.  Especially when you don't even believe it in the first place," she said sitting up and looking at Shana working at the desk across the room.

     "Just because I choose to be skeptical about the veracity of the statement, doesn't mean that there isn't some truth to it.  Besides continuous sighing can be a sign of emotional distress or attempt to communicate the need for consoling.  What's up"

     Amy rolled her eyes and flopped back on the bed.  "I have a feeling that something is going to happen."

     "A feeling or a feeling," Shana questions getting up from the desk and sitting on the bed next to Amy.

     Amy closed her eyes and considered the question.  It was a good one she supposed; while it didn't happen often there were times when the unsettled feeling in her gut indicative of an event of great import to her and her family.  Like the time her Grandmother Rachael passed away.

     "Feeling," she answered and turned to her cousin.

     Before either sim could say more there was a small tap at the window behind them.  They turned to look and after a moment another pebble hit the panes.

     Amy got up to the window and peer out the window.  On the ground below was a teen male looking up at the window.  

     Amy smiled when she saw him and held up a finger to asking him to wait as she left her room and went downstairs to the back door.  Opening it she let her friend in.

     "Mom and Bay going at it again?" she asked as he walked in.

     "Like rabid animals, Ames, I swear one day the cops are gonna come to the house and only find a blood bath and I'm not going to be surprised one bit.  Can I stay the night?"

     "Of course Owen. Mom and Dad said you can stay over whenever you needed to get away." Amy turned and led the way out of the small office and up the stairs.

     "You get the couch in the spare room," she said pulling out blankets from a cabinet.

     "As always," Owen said taking them from her and shuffled over to the door of the room he would sleep in.

     "It won't last forever you know," Amy said leaning against the wall next to the door of her room as he opened the door to the spare room.

     "They're never gonna stop fighting Amy, They're too..." he trailed off with a shrug not able to find a word to describe his family.

     "Yeah, but I mean being in the middle of their war.  Graduation's coming up and then you'll be off to the Agency with Shana.  They've got dorms so no more being caught in the middle when you just want to eat lunch."

     Owen tossed the blanket into the room and walked back to her.  "Thanks for the reminder," he said pulling her into a hug.

     "Anytime," she said.

     "Seriously," she added pulling back from the hug, "you or Shae call me up at the Music and Arts Academy and I'll be on the next train back to knock some sense into you two."

     Owen laughed as she had hoped and walked into the room he would be sleeping in and closed the door.

     Amy stood a moment longer looking at the closed door before she realized that the restlessness that had plagued her all night was gone.  "Huh," she snorted, "was that all it was about?"

                                                                                        

Random Rambling

   So, here's the start of Generation Three. Finally.  I've written before that they were coming up (aover a year ago now) but what can I say.  Life caught up and knocked me around for awhile.  Things have steadied out for me now so I hope to get back to this story and keep it going.  No planned update schedule yet.

Update 5/27/15

5/27/15

   New update, it's been almost four months since I completed the story for generation two and I still haven't been able to write much for generation three.  My classes have been intense and I've even had to put off playing until recently, unfortunately I still have two more classes to go so I won't be releasing any updates until August at the earliest.

   As a teaser though...I have stories planned out for not just generation three but generation four as well.  So, hopefully once I complete my classes and have more time available I will be able to get those written and out.

   The O'Malley's will be back!

Update 3/4/15

3/4/15

   So, the good news is...I've played Amy's generation to the point that my cast is ready for their story.  The bad news is I have writer's block and I just started a new class in my Master's program on Monday, which means even less time to write.

   This means I'm going to extend the hiatus until I get my time management under control, or finish the class, and come up with the intro to Amy's story.

   I'm putting this up for anyone that has read and still has an interest in the O'Malleys.  I've not given up on them.  Honestly I've played the game until Amy's children were born and the oldest is now a teen in the game.  The O'Malley's will continue, I just have other things that need to take priority on my plate right now.

   Those that do read my stories...Thanks for your patience.  I hope you will come back around when the O'Malley's story continues.

Generation 2 Intermission

     It's been a few years since I found out about my secret daughter and admitted to myself that I love her mother.  Even though we signed papers at City Hall, Emrys I had a ceremony simply to celebrate with our family a few years later.

     Mom and Dad have grown older in the years following.

     Mom's still writing.  She's published a bazillion books by now.  Her most popular series is about a couple of secret agents who save the world while making it on time to their children's soccer games.  I have no idea where she gets her inspiration from.

     Dad's retired from the Agency.  Before retiring he established a training school where we take in older teens and young adults to begin teaching the skills needed for jobs as bodyguards and investigators.

     Amy's amazing.  She's moved on from the violin to the piano.  She loves music and has begun writing her own songs.  Nothing that would get recorded today but she's got a future ahead of her.

     Saffron finally wore our parents down and they bought her a giant microscope for her birthday.  She's all science.  Dad and I are just breathing easy that no boy has turned her head yet, so we've not had to put the fear of us into them.  Sadly, it's only a matter of time.

     Becks and Rickie moved into my old house with Hunter, Toya and their adopted daughter, Shana.  Toya's been good with the boy and they've built up a friendship based on a shared love of computers.  If you ask me I think Toya's trying to recruit him into the technical aspects of the Agency already.  Shana is more like Hunter.  They're in the middle of a prank war so the rest of us are keeping out of their way while they go at it.

     After her uncle's arrest Emrys pulled out of the company completely.  Her whole purpose in the Agency was to gather the evidence needed to arrest her uncle.  Emrys worked with Dad to set up and now she's running the School.  She's teaching the next generation of agents,

     As for me, Hunter and I run the Agency now.  He handles the fieldwork and supervising the agents out in the field while I've taken over the day to day office work.  I meet with clients and filter through the information we collect with our techie agents.

     It's not what I thought I would be doing as a teen with big dreams of outer space but it gives me more time to spend with my wife and daughter.  Besides if I ever get the urge to go out to space again I can grab my girls and take off in the old rusty rocket I built as a teen.

                                                                                                    

Random Ramblings

   So generation 2 has officially finished.  I'm gonna take a publishing break until the beginning of March to write the story for generation 3.  Saffron, Amy and Shana need to grow up before I can start the next story.  But I'm doing a rotation play with another family whose story I am writing too.

   You can check out the Drimagard's story until then.

Chapter 2.33: Epilogue

     Emrys and Ochre waited in the dank, dismal room as the guards walked the prisoner from the holding cells.

     The door opened and Emrys got her very first look at her uncle in person.  Orange was not his color.

     "You look just like her," he said when he was seated at the table.

     Emrys nodded, "I've been told I look a lot like my mom."

     "Come to gloat then.  Tell me all the ways in which you'll be spending my money."

     "No," Emrys said simply and continued to look at the man in front of her.

     He fidgeted after a minute of silence. "Who's he?" he nodded towards Ochre.

     "Ochre Palette of the Palette Agency," Emrys said before Ochre could speak.

     She felt a small bit of satisfaction when her uncle's face paled at the mention of the agency.

     "That's right," she said, "my family is related to the Palette Agency.  And you've been keeping my mother prisoner for years."

     She leaned forward, "I could kill you right here and now and still walk out the doors a free sim."

     Joel flinched away from her.

     "But I'm not going to," Emrys said.

     "Why not?" he asked.

     "Because death would be too easy for you.  I want you to live and suffer."

     "I'm rich, even here how much suffering will there be," he bluffed.

     Emrys smiled and shook her head, "not anymore."

     "As the rightful Mulligan heir I have claimed my birth right."

     "Gonna list all the way's you'll spend my money now then."

     Emrys shook her head, "The entire fortune you have amassed in one generation, a fortune to rival ones built across generations, everything is gone."

     "What do you mean," he growled.

     "I mean that as rightful heir I've claimed your money, your properties, your stocks everything you're worked for as mine.  I'm going to sell it all.  And give the money to charities and grants to help the sims and the families you've hurt in your greed and arrogance."

     "You can't do that," Joel yelled and stood up.

     Emrys stood up and got in his face, "It's done."

     Ochre must have done something behind her because Joel turned away instead of attacking her like she expected.

     "My father didn't want Mulligan money," Emrys said as she walked away.  "He was preparing to sign it all over to you when you killed him."

     She stopped at the door and looked at him, "if you had just waited you would have had everything you wanted and no one could have argued."

     She left the room and Ochre closed the door behind him.  He nodded to the guards stationed outside the room as they walked down the hallway.  Once they were outside with the prison behind them, Emrys stopped and inhaled deeply.  She took a moment to appreciate the freedom she had outside those walls.


     Instead of going directly home, Ochre stopped at a plaza in Oasis Springs for them to rest before facing their family.

     "You okay," he asked when she pulled away from where she was resting against him.

     "Yeah," Emrys nodded.  She stood up and walked toward the fountain in the center of the plaza.

     "You don't want your uncle dead, do you," he asked from the bench.

     "Death really would be too quick for him," Emrys said.  "Like I said I want him to live and suffer knowing I've torn apart the empire he's spent his life and spilled blood to build."

     "Sounds like a fitting punishment to me," Ochre said settling into the bench.

     Emrys smiled and turned around to look at him.

     "Thank you for waiting," she said.

     "This was what you had to finish," he asked, remembering her words from that night in the hallway when he moved back home.

     She nodded, "Yeah.  I can put my father's memory to rest now.  I've ensured his killer will be punished and suffer for what he did."

     "You know Sienna's been arrested too," he began.

     "Has she?" Emrys asked with a questioning glance at him.

     Ochre smiled and nodded, "She was arrested at the same time as your uncle.  Dad let the Enforcer's know she claimed to be pregnant.  They did a test."

     "Oh?"

     "Yeah, "Ochre said standing up from the bench and walking over to her, "she's not pregnant.  Not with my child, not with anyone's.  She lied."

     "That must be a relief," she said looking up at him.

     "Very much," he agreed, cupping her face in his hands.

     Ochre looked at Emrys and waited until she met his gaze with her own steady one.

     "Em," Ochre asked, "would you like to get a cup of coffee with me."

     Emrys rested her hands on his chest, "I wondered when you would ask again."

     Ochre laughed and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her breathless.

                                                                                        

Random Rambling

   Closure all around.  Yay.

Chapter 2.32: Arrested

     Emrys watched her mom as they approached the house.

     "It's changed so much," Rebecca murmured.

     Emrys took her mothers hand and squeezed it.

     "Yeah," Ochre agreed, "I think Mom and Dad built the workshops after you left.  The second story and my rocket work area were added when I was fifteen.  They've added a back patio with a pool, a playground and a party area in the back corner."

     "Are you ready," Emrys asked.

     Rebecca looked at her, "I'll never be ready.  I was so horrible before I left.  I'm sure Ray doesn't want to see me again."

     "Mom's been waiting for you to come home since you left Aunt Becky," Ochre said.

     Rebecca looked at him for a moment then nodded.

     "Let's go," she said.

     "Becks," Rachael rushed forward and wrapped her younger sister in a hug.

     "Hi, Ray," Rebecca murmured and returned her hug.


     After their initial greeting everyone moved into the kitchen where Rachael brewed a pot of coffee and everyone drank a cup as they reconnected.

     "I didn't recognized Ochre when he and Ermys showed up to save me earlier," Rebecca said.

     "He and Hunter have grown so much.  And Saffron's almost a teenager now."

     "Who," Rebecca asked and glance at Emrys.

     "My brother and sister," Ochre explained.

     "You had another child," she asked Rachael.

     "Don't worry mom," Emrys said, "you can take a class on the family tree with Ochre.  He doesn't know who is who at reunion's either."

     "Mommy," Amy called running into the kitchen.  "there's a retitle at class and the teacher said I can play a song all by myself."

     "That's amazing mini-me.  A recital all by yourself," Emrys glanced at Rebecca who was looking at her granddaughter in surprise.

     "There's someone I want you to meet, Amy," she said turning her daughter to face her mother who stood up to get a better look at the girl.

     "This is your grandmother.  Mom this is Amy, my daughter."

     "It's nice to meet you Amy," Rebecca said.

     "Nice to meet you.  Will you come to the retitle too and watch me play?"

     "I would be honored," Rebecca said.

     Amy tilted her head.  "She means yes, she'll go," Emrys explained.

     Amy smiled brightly and ran to Ochre, "Did you hear that Daddy?  Grandma is coming to the retitle."

     "I heard.  How about I come watch you practice the song you are going to play," he said.

     "Okay," she said, taking his hand and pulling him out of the kitchen.

     Rebecca turned and looked at Emrys in shock.

     Emrys ducked her head and shrugged, "we're married now," she muttered.

     "We're both grandmothers now," Rachael stated.

     "I think I might need something stronger to drink," Rebecca said dropping back onto the stool and picking up her cup.

     It was later that night when Cerulean, Toya, Hunter and Emrys's brother arrived home.  After they presented all the files they had put together Cerulean had called the house to let them know that the tribunal had agreed to arrest Joel while they looked through the documents themselves.  

     The court had given special consideration to the case of Emrys's brother and agreed to let them bring him home to Rebecca where they could make sure he was safe until decisions were made.

     Hunter was told to collect the boy from the school and to bring him home.  Cerulean met Hunter and the boy and drove them to the house, where everyone waited for them.

     "Rickie!" Rebecca called and hugged him when he walked in the door.

     "Mom," he said and squeezed her tight.

     Emrys looked at the boy who was her brother.  He was tall, like their dad, but he still had the lanky build and awkward coordination of someone who was unsure of what to do with himself.

     "Emrys," Rebecca said pulling back from the boy and turning to gesture to her.

     Emrys stood up and walked over to them.

     "Your brother Rickie," Rebecca said.  "I named him after dad," she added looking at Rachael.

     "Hi," Emrys said.

     "Hi.  I didn't know I had a sister," he said.

     "I didn't know I had a brother."

     "Do you like computers?"

     "Not at all," Emrys admitted, "but my friend Toya," a nod in his direction, "loves them."

     "Cool," the boy said

     Just then the news came on the TV.  Emrys and everyone turned to look at the feature story.

     "Big news in the financial world today, the multi-millionaire Joel Mulligan has been arrested.  Sources inside the Tribunal say that multiple counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful imprisonment are among the charges filed against him."

     The picture switched from the news anchor to a video of Joel being walked out of his office building between Enforcers.

     "The Enforcer agencies of the Jefferson colony are also under scrutiny.  One of the murders Joel is implicated in is the death of his own brother Kaleb Mulligan."

     Emrys picked up the TV remote and clicked off the set.

     "It's over," Rebecca said.

     "Almost," Emrys corrected.

                                                                                                  

Random Ramblings

   Time to catch up with the family and get to know everyone again.

Chapter 2.31: Saving Rebecca

     "Are you sure we should be doing this in broad daylight," Emrys asked as they approached the house.

     "None of the neighbors are going to question us going in to visit with the lady of the house," Ochre reassured her.  "Besides if anyone does call the cops by the time they get here we should be long gone."

     "Right," Emrys said looking around the neighborhood while he used lock picks to open the door.

     "Got it.  Where will she be?" he asked opening the door.

     "She was upstairs last time," Emrys said jogging up the stairs.

     "Mom," she called when they found her mom looking out one of the front windows

     "Emrys?  What are you doing back here," Rebecca asked turning to face them.

     She was older than Ochre remembered, of course and there was still something else different from his memories.  Her personality, bright and untameable as it had been when he was a child, was subdued now.

     Emrys ran over to hug her mother, "we're here to get you out Mom."

     "I can't.  Your brother," she began

     "We found him, Aunt Becca," Ochre interrupted.

     "Ochre?" she asked startled.

     He smiled when she didn't recognize him right away.

     "Hey," he said waving at her.

     "My brother is safe.  Joel's had him at a boarding school.  Hunter's already in place to watch him until Joel is arrested.  You can come with us now back to the house." Emrys said.

     "I don't know," Rebecca said.

     While Emrys argued with her mom, movement outside the house caught Ochre's eye.  He leaned over and looked out.  Sims dressed in uniforms were approaching the house in tandem.

     "Time's up," Ochre interrupted their argument.  He walked over to Rebecca and grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards the stairs.  "We've got company," he called over his shoulder to Emrys.

     "You need to leave," Rebecca said pulling against his grasp.  Ochre ignored her and continued pulling her along.

     "They're converging towards the front and back doors," Emrys said leading the way downstairs.  At the bottom, she turned and opened one of the doors leading to a bathroom.  She opened the window and climbed out first.

     "Clear," she called after a check of the surrounding area.

     Ochre helped Rebecca climb out as the sims outside broke down one of the outer doors.  He followed after as the first thud crashed into the bathroom door.  When he landed he saw that Emrys was already running and pulling her mother with her.  He took off after them and caught up.

     After a couple of minutes of running they made it to the street where a car waited with the engine running.  Emrys climbed into the back with her mother while Ochre settled into the passenger seat.

     "Go," he told his cousin.

     "We're gone," he said stepping on the gas.

     "Told you the neighbors wouldn't call the cops," he said looking at Emrys over the back of his seat.

     "Right," she chuckled as she tried to calm her breathing.

                                                                                      

Random Rambling

   Well, I'm gonna say this now.  I initially did not plan to have them run out in the way they did.  But it's so much more exciting (thank you Ochre, for looking to the side in that last pic, that kicked off the whole escape scene)