Part 1
A/n: A one-shot just for the heck of it. I've been gone for a really long time and I've been really inactive on here. I can't stress an apology enough. I've been focusing more on original stories instead of fanfictions. This is just something I wanted to write because these OCs mean more to me than the world. Their backgrounds interest me and only a few people are going to really understand them. If you don't, try to enjoy reading this anyways. Maybe there will be more to come.
~Ish
"Trite, what wire connects to this one?" I asked, showing my communicator camera to the opened computer monitor. There were over twenty computers in my living room and this was only one of the few. The wire that connected was the red one. Anyone could know that, especially I. For I work with wires and know electronics like the back of my hand. I just wanted Trite to come over because no one ever comes over except for Scala and I think Trite's the only one who truly understands me. Everyone else just… just doesn't. I will do everything I can to bring that Thumpian over to my house. Even if that meant acting like a fool. An idiotic, desperate fool.
"The red wire, Chip. I thought you knew that. Why don't you know that?" Trite's way of speaking made my heart flip. It was so concise. So factual. Half of Trite's brain was a robot's brain after all.
"Oh," I made it sound like I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Then I fixed the wire and smiled at Trite. "I think I got it. I'm not too certain. Maybe you should come over and take a closer look? Perhaps you can help?"
"Fine… I'll be over in a few minutes." Then the call was disconnected and I spun around in my chair with joy. Standing up and walking into the kitchen made me remember that Trite enjoys organic tea. Like myself. So I began to brew the tea in a kettle. This kind of tea doesn't require water. If it did that would be a problem since Thumpians and Irkens cannot have water. It finished brewing and I set up the tea tray in the living room on the coffee table. Then there was a knock on my door. I grinned, expecting Trite just about now. Instead when I opened the door, Tik-Toc Bricoler the Irken inventor was standing there with his Voot in front of my base. This is unexpected.
"Tik-Toc? What are you doing here?" I asked as I let him inside. He stood there patiently when I went to answer the door again because someone else was knocking. Probably Trite. I answered the door with a smile and sure enough, that Thumpian was standing there. "Hey! I umm… I figured it out. You don't need to help me fix the computer anymore. I would have you stay for tea but," I looked behind me at Tik-Toc and turned my attention back to Trite. "Something's come up. I'll have to talk later."
"Ugh! Chip! You made me walk all the way over here just to-!" I shut the door before more could be said and locked it. Muffled yelling could be heard from behind the door. My heart sank to lower parts of my intestines I didn't know existed until now.
"Thanks a lot." I mumbled in disappointment to Tik-Toc.
"They're…. They're dead." Tik-Toc finally said something and I was taken aback.
"Dead?" I asked. "Who's dead?" Then the inventor ran up to me and flung his arms around my shoulders. I was thrown off balance because of this action. He was burying his head into my chest and crying. I had to take off his top hat and set it on the coffee table to hold him closer and softly pat his back. This is how I think people comfort each other. I never had anyone to comfort.
"Styx… and Luna… and Stoner… The Irkens. They're dead." His speech was choppy, coming out in sobs. My own mind didn't know how to handle this news. "Impending Doom 1. It failed. The houses on Irk were burned down and… and they were still inside." His grip around me became tighter. "Flare… Flare pulled me away before I could try to save them and he forced me to leave Irk… I can't forgive myself! I-I-I-I….. Chip. What do I do!?" He looked up at me with his dark brown eyes and burning tear-stained cheeks.
"…I don't know… Tik-Toc… I can't fix this…" The words pouring out of my mouth were so stupid. He flew his Voot all the way to Thump just to hear me tell him that I can't help him. Just to disappoint him. I'm a disappointment. To everyone.
"You can fix anything!" Tik-Toc sobbed out, pushing himself off of me.
"So can you!" I said this and I knew that it was the wrong thing to say because his tears were no longer of mourning. They were of frustration.
"No I can't! I only invent things, Chip! Everything I invent eventually breaks or malfunctions! Ruined! It's garbage! I can't try to fix anything or it'll only fall apart more!" Tik-Toc began to yell. He was never good at controlling his emotions. It was something that had happened to his PAK when he did the Update. The Update was when all of the PAKs on Irkens and Thumpians were updated to be better working and hold more information than before. It only happened on all of the older PAKs. Every PAK created after this era wasn't affected. Tik-Toc's was because he was the one who created the Update.
"That's not true…"
"YES IT IS!" Tik-Toc lay down on the couch and curled up into a ball. "I mess up on everything! The Update? Everyone hates me for that now. My weapons? Obviously that didn't go well with Impending Doom 1. Everything." I sat by him and felt terrible for starting this and even worse for not knowing how to help him. Stoner is gone. Styx is gone. Even Luna is gone. Then something struck my mind and gave me a tad bit of hope.
"Tik-Toc? How do you know they're dead?" I had to ask this.
"Because… because… The…" Tik-Toc sat up and laid his head on my shoulder. "I don't."
"Mmhmm. Thought so." I got up and let him fall onto the couch because of the sudden absence of my shoulder. One of my many computers was booted up so I sat in my spiny-chair and proceeded typing in codes simultaneously. I was tracking the Hunter Family PAKs in search for them. Once I typed in the code for Styx Hunter, nothing came up. No record of living and no record of being dead. It's like she never even existed. Why would the co-ruler of Irk not even have data stored in the Control Brains? Even the dead Irkens had some information about them. I thought that it was a virus or an error in the system, but after checking multiple times it never even changed. By this time Tik-Toc's crying and sniffles calmed down from exhaustion and that helped me think better. For the time being I wasn't going to investigate what happened to Styx and her PAK.
Onto Luna. When I entered in her code, her information was entered in the Control Brains under a file. She was alive. Where was she located then? It wasn't tracking her. Did she go into her PAK and actually take out the tracking device? I wouldn't blame her if she did and after seeing that everything else in her PAK was there then that proves I was right. She actually took out her tracking device. That made me smile, but only because I was in disbelief.
Now Stoner Hunter. His PAK was the easiest to hack into. There wasn't even a firewall installed for the file in the Control Brains like most PAKs. The PAK was broken and glitching left and right! "Oh no…" I said to myself. Tik-Toc must've heard me.
"What is it?" He asked and walked over to where I was sitting.
"You're not going to like this." Biting my lip was the only thing keeping me from freaking out. His criminal record was ridiculously calculated in the Control Brains. Most wanted? How could this all have happened so fast? What the hell? It keeps updating! I took a deep breath. "Tik-Toc…? How long did it take you to get to Thump?" He started to use his fingers to count and my eye widened.
"About a year. My Voot that I invented kept on malfunctioning." The glare he was giving me could've killed a whole population. Though death wasn't something to mention right now. Especially since a good portion of Irk was annihilated.
"Shit. An entire year?"
"About. Yeah. Why?" Not able to control myself, I stood up and shook Tik-Toc by his shoulders. Stoner is going to be sent to trial on planet Judgementia if the police catch him.
"BECAUSE STONER ISN'T DEAD!" I pointed at the computer and we both looked at it. I showed him the drastically increasing criminal record made just by Stoner. "Your cousin is causing chaos right this moment on Irk. His PAK was severely damaged in the fire or whatever and it messed up his way of thinking. He has no control over his emotions and he's killing all of these people by the second!" I tried to explain the best that I could to the 113 year old.
"So he's not dead!?" Tik-Toc grinned and I rubbed my temples. This is manic.
"No. He's very much alive. However, my dearest Tik-Toc, thousands of others are dying in his hands at an illogical rate."
"He must have someone helping him. No one can kill that many people that fast. Not even within the course of a year." Tik-Toc watched the numbers increase.
"But who…" My eyes went wide again. "Luna."
"Luna? She's not dead either?"
"Nope. Her tracking device is just gone and she probably took it out to save herself from Judgementia and the trials. Smart girl."
"Why would she do that?"
"Because she's working with Stoner to kill all of these people! You really are an idiot sometimes!"
"Gee. Thanks." He replied with sarcasm. I took him by his arm after looking at the computer again. I lead him to the garage where my Spittle Runner was.
"Wait, if they're both alive then what about Styx?"
"I don't know!" Shouting was unnecessary of me, but oh well.
"How can you not know!?" I ignored him, rolling my eyes as I started up the Spittle Runner.
"Her PAK doesn't exist anymore."
"What!?"
"Just shut up and accept the fact that I don't know every little thing about everyone, okay? If I did, I would've told you by now! ...Never mind that. You just need to come with me and find Stoner."
"Is this a Spittle Runner?" The brown-eyed Irken crossed his arms. "I thought Invader Ice had the only one?"
"I stole the blueprints and modified them. Now there are two and mine goes even faster." I just had to grin at my own achievement. "The coordinates are already set to Irk, if you want to set it to auto-pilot."
"I can fly ships just as good as anyone else. My younger sister is a pilot for goodness sakes. Oh, and Chip? You don't need to come with me."
"What? Why?"
"Just don't. I need to fix this myself." Tik-Toc pulled me out of the Spittle Runner and got behind the wheel.
"But you said-"
"Forget what I said! He's my cousin, not yours! I need you here on Thump doing whatever it is you have to do."
"But Tik-Toc!"
"But nothing! Please. Won't you stay?" In that moment I had to say yes. I now have a new task to complete. That was to stay behind the scenes and start to do things. Illegal things. I'm smart enough to. Once in a while, everyone has to do risky stuff for the good of others. Some just won't agree with what you do and I'm willing to take that chance. Not many people like me anyways.
"Okay. I'll stay. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" My non-existent eyebrow rose. Tik-toc shook his head.
"Not at all. But you do." The Steampunk smiled and I chuckled. He'll do well. He knows that I'll be helping and that's good.
"Be careful and don't get yourself killed. Good luck."
"I'll try."
"In the meantime, I have business to take care of." There was a long moment of Tik-Toc studying the smirk on my face and myself. He gave a curt nod.
"I know you do." He started to pilot the airship away. I saluted him and went back inside of my base. For I, Chip Format, will have a lot of business to get down to.
A/n: That's the end of part 1 for this chapter! If you enjoyed it, please follow the story and hopefully I'll continue. R&R folks! I still love each and everyone of you. No matter how inactive I have been.
Also, planet Thump and the alien species called the Thumpians is an original thing that belongs to the amazing author watermelonwafflesBISCUITS. Please check her out! Her stories are fantastic.