THE MOMENT
"Look at me!" Red growled. "Isn't that proof enough?" His obvious anger only made the situation funnier to Billy. Red's stringy, elastic blue hair vibrated as his body trembled with frustration. He tugged at his neon-green suspenders, stretching and releasing them against his chest. The red flush of anger on his cheeks was almost visible through the layers of white face paint. Purple text hovered above his head: Slime_Clown_5828.
"Not really. The only thing it proves is your name isn't LaughTrack," Billy shrugged. "There's no way to prove anyone stole it. Maybe the system released it because you never logged in."
"Because I was in PRISON!" Red, the clown, yelled at Billy. Again Billy shrugged.
"You say that like it's my fault you killed everyone on an Earth."
"I'm saying it like you're going to help me get my name back," Red said. He stood up straighter and crossed his arms.
"If I don't?" Billy asked.
"I go back to my raft," Red shrugged. In the blink of an eye, before Billy could react, the clown's white-gloved hand was wrapped around Billy's throat. "After someone else catches me." Billy looked down at the short, portly clown and grinned. He slowly lifted his right hand to show Red a tiny gadget with a single black button it.
"You can't outrun her," He said. His voice came out as ragged whispers thanks to the hand squeezing his neck. Red let Billy go. The suited man took a deep breath and adjusted his tie. "The button is an extra precaution, by the way. She's tracking my life signs and will show up the moment they're not right." Billy shrugged. "You might kill me first, but if you think your only punishment will be going back to the raft you're quite mistaken." Red took a step back to show he meant no harm.
"Will you please help me get my name back?" He asked. "I don't feel like myself without it." Billy nodded.
"I'm open to requests, not demands. I only follow one person's orders."
"So you'll help?" Red asked with an eager look in his eyes.
"I'll help to make sure you don't hurt anyone. We'll see if anyone has your name and try to get it from them," he narrowed his eyes at Red. "In a civil way. If they won't give it up, we won't force them. Understood?" Red maintained eye contact, but he did not agree to the terms. "You seem to think you're doing me a favor," Billy sighed. "There are plenty of other Uniques I could ask for help, but I chose you because you were imprisoned for so long," he shrugged. "If you're bored out here I'll take you back to your raft and move on down the list."
"Okay, okay," Red surrendered with his hands in the air, then dropped them. "I welcome your help, I'm sure we'll figure it out without anyone getting hurt."