Surrogate Sisters:
It was a bright sunny morning, here in NLA. I wanted to get ready properly to discover the fresh air outside the BLADE Barracks. The first thing I decided to do before I got outside was to grab a shower. A certain someone recommended a certain brand of shampoo, so I decided to give it a try. Amazingly enough, it actually works. My hair is so shiny like you wouldn't believe! Both the blonde parts, and the green tips. And thanks to the body wash I recently got, my blue-skinned body looks cleaner than ever. But I won't go into details. I'll, instead, cut to the point.
"Are you kidding me?! Why does Lin always place her bath towel on top of mine?" I asked in a rather annoyed tone. For some reason, Lin always places her bath towel on top of mine. Oh, I should mention this detail. My name is Cross, Reclaimer extraordinaire, and rookie member of Team Elma, one of BLADE's highest ranked teams. Once I moved Lin's towel, I found my own towel. I immediately wrapped my modesties in order to avoid unwanted attention.
Some time later, I wore one of my favorite outfits outside of BLADE Missions: a white hoodie and some white jeans. When I came to the kitchen, I approached my partners, a fellow Reclaimer named Elma, who also happens to be my team leader, and 13-year-old Lin Lee Koo, who happens to be an Outfitter. "What kind of tea do you want this morning, Cross?" Lin asked.
"Hmm... How about green tea?" I requested.
"Coming up." Lin complied.
"How's your cold coming along, Elma?" I asked.
"I'm... doing somewhat better." Elma sniffled. However, she barely sounded so.
Four days ago, Elma had been suffering a cold. It wasn't until yesterday that I noticed that it was interferring with Elma's fighting abilities. So I informed Commander Vandham about Elma's cold impacting her ability to fulfill BLADE missions last night. He decided it was best to wait until Elma gets better, so our team was given some time off. The symptoms of Elma's cold are coughing, frequent sniffling, a sore throat, and the occasional sneezing.
Just then, Elma sneezed. "Gesundheit." Lin said.
"What did Linly say?" asked a Nopon named Tatsu.
"From what Phog and Frye said, Gesundheit is a German way of responding to sneezing." I implied.
"It basically means "health". In other words, I was wishing Elma's health well." Lin said.
"Ohh! Tatsu get it now." Tatsu said.
"Here's your herbal tea, Elma." Lin gave Elma some herbal tea.
"Thanks, Lin. I would've made it myself, but I'm in no condition." Elma said.
"Once we've had our breakfast, we'll have to drag you back to bed, Elma. Your body needs rest." I said.
"Yeah. Just what the doctor had ordered." Lin agreed.
"I'm glad to lead a team who is so concerned for me." Elma said before she coughed a bit.
"Here's your green tea, Cross." Lin said as she handed me a teacup full of green tea.
"Thanks, Lin." I thanked her. I always felt like Lin was like a little sister. And I get this feeling that she sees me as a big sister figure.
Once breakfast was over, me and Lin helped drag our leader to bed. "Get well soon, Elma." I said in a comforting tone.
"Thanks, Cross. And thanks, Lin." Elma thanked me and Lin.
"Shall we go for some walks around NLA, Lin?" I asked Lin once I closed the door.
"Sure. Why don't we go for a walk in this fine morning? Just the two of us?" Lin asked.
"It's a deal." I smiled.
"Meh! What about Tatsu?" Tatsu asked.
"Hmm... As long as you follow NLA's laws, and don't leave NLA, you're free to do whatever you want, Tatsu." I suggested.
"Okay. Tatsu will think of what to do." Tatsu complied.
Lin and I decided to go for a walk around NLA. I was still wearing my white hoodie and white jeans, though now with sunglasses, while Lin was wearing a yellow hoodie and orange trousers. She, too, had sunglasses. As we were turning left on our way to the Residential District, we were greeted by a familiar face.
"Hey, Cross. How's Colonel doing?" asked the face, who happens to be Irina.
"Irina? She's still fighting her cold. It's better if she fights her cold instead of fighting indigens or Ganglion troops." I said. When Irina says "Colonel", she's referring to or addressing Elma, even when Elma stated a few times it's no longer necessary.
"Well, hopefully she gets better. This is actually one of those rare times where one of us suffers from a cold." Irina said.
"I know how you feel, Irina. When I noticed Elma acting a little... off compared to usual, I had to contact the medical experts for information. And I was told that based on the symptoms, Elma was suffering a cold." I explained.
"Good thing you noticed it first. Had you or anyone not noticed, her cold would've taken a serious toll on Elma's fighting abilities and her health." Lin said.
"Yep. And it could've even cost her... her life. I just... shudder thinking about that." Irina shuddered indeed.
"Lin and I helped put Elma back on her bed. We'll go for a walk this nice morning." I said. Irina wished me and Lin the best of luck out here in NLA.
As we arrive at the Reidential District, we were walking about the sidewalks, avoiding cars, and taking care not to bump into citizens, human or xenoform. If, by chance, I bumped into anyone, I would immediately kneel and apologize. Eventually, we came to Deliverance Park, a popular spot in the Residential District. "You know, Lin?" I asked.
"What is it, Cross?" Lin asked in response.
"I always feel at ease whenever I'm around you, even when you direct food jokes at Tatsu." I said.
"Oh, really?" Lin replied.
"Yes. In a way, I feel like you're like a surrogate little sister, Lin." I smiled.
"Really? That's very nice of you. Especially since I already see you as a surrogate big sister." Lin responded with a smile.
"That's sweet of you, Lin." I continued to smile.
As our conversation continued, we had our share of laughter and tears. "You know, Lin? Even though our nationalities are different, we truly do feel like sisters." I implied.
"True. You're supposedly of European descent, Cross, whereas I'm of Asian descent." Lin agreed.
"Heh. I guess my British accent made Elma believe I'm European. A shame that I still can't remember anything." I mulled.
"Don't worry. There is some source of your memories out here on Mira. Besides, even if they're lost forever, I'm always here for you, Cross." Lin comforted me, to which I responded with a smile.
"Huh. Look at the time. We should be getting something for lunch." I realized.
"Where would you like to treat the two of us to? I'm open to anything." Lin said.
"Hmm... How about Rosemoss?" I suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Lin stated.
"How should we get there, though? Flight Transporter? Or summon our Skells and fly there?" I asked.
"Well, everyone's Skells have been modified to have the Flight Module, at least as far as I can tell. That includes our Skells." Lin suggested.
"Okay. Might as well." I accepted her idea.
We summoned our respective Skells, Blue Cross, and Color Girl. I had difficulty coming up with a good name for Lin's Skell, but she liked it. And yes, Lin had recently completed the Skell Flight Module with help from me. We started flying on our way from the Residential District to the Commercial District.
Once we arrived at Rosemoss, we were debating what we wanted to order. Fortunately, the customer service was patient and was willing for us to think. "Hmm... What were you thinking of ordering?" I asked Lin.
"Even if there was a kid's meal, I doubt I'd be interested in that. How about... A bacon chicken sandwich meal?" Lin suggested.
"Okay. I'll be paying for yours in addition to mine. I'll go for... A bacon double cheeseburger meal." I said before I made our orders.
"Okay, we'll type in the amount you have to pay." said the customer service.
She told us how much I have to pay. Because I have so much money, it was a very reasonable price in my eyes. I picked up my debit card and paid it off. Lin ordered a bacon chicken sandwich meal with medium fries and orange creamsicle soda, while I ordered a bacon double cheeseburger meal with medium fries and root beer.
"Well, didn't expect to see you and Lin here, Cross." I heard a familiar voice. We turned and saw Pauline, the head of Rosemoss, whom many BLADEs looked up to like a mother.
"Good afternoon, Pauline." I replied.
"Good afternoon to you and Lin, Cross. Say, where's your team leader?" Pauline asked.
"Yeah, about that... Elma's suffering a cold, and she needs some time off to fight it." Lin replied.
"Oh. Well, I do hope she gets better soon." Pauline said.
"So do we." I replied with a smile.
"Your order's ready. Please enjoy." said the customer service. She gave me a tray with our orders.
"Lin, could you grab some napkins and some ketchup and some straws, please? I'll find us a seat." I asked.
"Got it." Lin replied. I decided to head to one of the outdoor seats. It was such a nice day, that it would be a shame if we ate inside.
We continued our surrogate sisterly conversations as we ate our meals. They were delicious. Err, the meals, that is. "Ah, this is a very nice and sunny day. Glad I decided we should sit outside." I sighed out of pleasure.
"Yes. This is almost like we were on Earth during summer days." Lin stated.
"What? Really?" I asked in surprise.
"Yes. Why do you look so...?" Lin attempted to ask before she noticed a look of somberness on my face as she was asking. "...Oh, riiight. Your amnesia. We were talking about it earlier, and somehow, I forgot it. How could I feel so stupid?" Lin, too, looked somber.
"It's okay, Lin. It was just an honest mistake on your part. Mistakes like that are forgivable to me." I stated.
"Really?" Lin asked.
"Yep. I know so. We may not be real sisters, but as we were discussing earlier, we're like surrogate sisters." I replied with a smile. This caused Lin to smile in response, which means I really did cheer her up.
Once we ate our meals, completely, we decided to go for a stroll in the Commercial District. As we were about to turn right, we noticed that Army Pizza was getting almost chaotic as usual. "Wow. Looks like the Ma-non are still pizza-hungry as usual." Lin said.
"Mm-hmm. I'm surprised they never bother the other pizzaria, Smile Pizza Kitchen. Between that and Army Pizza, it's no contest as to which one I'd rather go to." I said.
"Yeah. All the pizzas you ordered for us are from there. Not once has any of us ordered from Army Pizza." Lin said.
"Yeah. I've been hearing poor things from customers regarding Army Pizza. Whereas I've tried Smile Pizza Kitchen, and boy did it taste good." I stated.
We were walking by, seeing all sorts of situations in the Commercial District with every race living in NLA so far. Humans, Nopon, Ma-non, Tree Clan Prone, Orpheans, and Zaruboggan alike. Director General Maurice Chausson plans on having the Wrothians come to NLA once we learned that they've broken their ties to the Ganglion. But that won't come until later.
"Shall we head back into our Skells once we go grocery shopping for tonight's dinner?" Lin asked.
After a moment of thought... "Sure. Why don't we go to Co-op NLA?" I suggested. Lin was thinking of meals that the two of us, Elma, and Tatsu can all enjoy together.
"I have an idea on what we should have together. Chicken noodle soup with garlic bread." Lin suggested.
"Sure. We'll go there together." I said with a smile.
From what I've heard, chicken noodle soup is good for fighting colds. Garlic's healthiness is also recommended. So we went to Co-op NLA, and shopped together the way we believe actual sisters do. Lin was an only child, whereas I can't recall if I had any family before boarding the White Whale.
Once it was all paid for, we headed back to our Skells, which we parked near Rosemoss. "I got the groceries. Now, let's fly." Lin said. We hopped into our Skells and took flight. We decided to do some sightseeing in the Industrial District before we head back to BLADE Barracks.
Along the way, we were spotted by Alexa, an Outfitter whose Skell obsession is like Lin's... if not much moreso. People tend to call her the "Skell Nut", a title she proudly accepted. She waved hi to us. Because I noticed that, I had my Skell wave hi in return. Lin actually waved hi in return as well. Alexa smiled at the two of us and our Skells before resuming work with Tika, a mechanic.
The sun was starting to set. "Heh. Look at the time. We better head back to BLADE Barracks." I said.
"Yep. I can't wait to make dinner." Lin eagerly stated. So we flew all the way back to the Administrative District. Once we parked our Skells at the Barrack's parking spot, we got out. When we arrived, the first person to greet us was Tatsu.
"Tatsu was wondering when Linly and friend would return." Tatsu stated.
"Don't worry, I got tonight's dinner. Now, Cross, could you go and get Elma while I cook dinner?" Lin asked me.
"Of course." I replied.
As Lin was cooking dinner, I helped Elma, still suffering a cold, walk to the dining chairs. "How was your day, Rook?" Elma asked before she coughed. "Rook" is a nickname that Elma occasionally calls me. It's also what Commander Vandham calls me. It's... short for "rookie".
I explained how my day went to Elma. "I see. You two spent the day outdoors in a nice summer day, while treating each other as surrogate sisters? I'm glad to know you two get along well." Elma replied before sniffling.
As the garlic bread was baked, and the chicken noodle soup was made... "Cross, could you go get us some orange juice for Elma?" Lin asked.
"Sure. Anything to help Elma fight her cold." I complied.
"Tatsu surprised Linly did not get Tatsu flustered." Tatsu remarked.
"Well, I couldn't think of a good one today. But don't worry, I'll come up with one next time." Lin remarked.
"Tatsu not look forward to that..." Tatsu shuddered.
We had our meals, and then we discussed things such as my surrogate sisterly relationship with Lin. Whenever Elma sneezed, we pardoned her. Elma was slowly, but surely, showing signs of getting better. If not tomorrow, then the day after, she will get better. This is where our story will end.