LIFE'S A BEACH AND THEN YOU DIE By Kondoru
Standard Disclaimers
Thanks to JP for betaing
A chance at a night away, so I took it, but having made plans, I didn't follow them.
Tonight I'm all alone on an island, this is Sully Island, in South Wales, its tidal, so
unless I'm willing to risk the rugged causeway in the dark, I'm stuck here until noon
tomorrow.
There must not be another person within half a mile, so it is just me and the sea, with
container vessels going up and down the channel, the sky with jets screaming overhead, and
the pink eye of the Flat Holm lighthouse.
Inside my going-to-uninhabited-islands pack there is my trusty laptop, -and copy of Noein.
Perhaps I can finally watch some Eps in privacy.
"You completely disgust me!"
The two renegade Knights had been aimlessly loitering on a deserted beach near Hakodate.
Atoris latest plan to destroy the Dragon Torc had been a miserable failure, -yet again. He
was rapidly running out of ideas.
Tobi, as per usual, was no help. Tobi followed Atori, he `generally` obeyed orders, but it was
evident the little quantum physicist was not going to take any real action against the Dragon Torc. In fact now, he was lounging on a rock, doing the sudoku in a newspaper he had found during one of his dustbin forays, he was also working hard on improving his all over tan.
Atori was disgusted at everything. Particularly this last. He had seen his brown skinned
Comrade naked many a time, but now...
Tobi was ignoring him, Atori teleported to his side and gave Tobi a massive kick in his
scrawny redundant umbilical implanted backside.
Tobi yelped, rematerialised his layze and leapt to his feet in shock. "What was that in aid
of?" He complained, rubbing his behind ruefully.
"Everything." Atori snorted, "I need your help in destroying the Dragon Torc, you gave up your life, came all this way with me, to become a beach bum?"
Tobi curled his lip like an ill-tempered dog. "Face Reality Atori, we cannot do a thing to the Dragon Torc, she's too strong as I keep on trying to get into your thick head. Acting against the Dragon Torc will probably destroy this dimension."
"As if I care."
Tobi shook his head in sadness "we are dead men, you knew this when we unplugged our
Pipelines. We have only days to live, if that, might as well enjoy ourselves," he sat down, calmly staring at the comforting sun.
"But sudoku?" Said Atori pathetically "why, Tobi, why?"
Tobi picked up his paper and showed Atori...A crossword. "I did the sudoku while you were
asleep" he explained gently, "in 5.63 seconds."
Atori gave a barking laugh; he knew his computer-implanted comrade would have no trouble with sudoku whatsoever.
Tobi had to laugh too. "Might as well keep in practice."
"No use getting flabby", Atori added, "all that discarded food we are eating. Keep ready for
the Dragon Torc."
Tobi looked at him, sharply, he said nothing but Atori could see Tobis good mood had vanished. "There's one thing we could do to the Dragon Torc." Tobi said, golden eyes distant.
"And what's that?" But Atori thought he knew what Tobi was going to suggest.
"Protect her from Shangrila."
Atori nodded, "but the only way we can do that is to destroy her."
Tobi hung his head, "no, Atori, we don't do that."
Atori looked at Tobi warily. He had suspicions of Tobi telling Karasu of his intentions in
the storm two nights ago. He had long suspected Tobi of following his own agenda.
Tobi had pounced on him while he was trying to attack Karasus alter ego, a disgustingly
sissy little boy called Yu.
Atori dearly wanted to see if he killed Yu...Karasu would cease to exist. That was an
Experiment well worth making.
Karasu always seemed to be the one who sat on Atori while the more intimate aspects of Joain
Project medicals were being inflicted upon him. It was time for that pest to die.
But Tobi who normally took his blonde friends side had interfered; Atori had dragged the
purple haired wretch off and given him a thoughrough and deserved beating,
Tobi had sobbed and grovelled most satisfyingly. Atori was pleased; picking on Tobi was one
of his few pleasures in life. Tobi couldn't fight a squig; he looked like s revolting little kid, and existed solely for Atori to bully.
Atori was so glad the sniveller had decided to turn traitor with him. He could push Isuka
around, warily. But Tobi was a better target
And much more useful. He had hacked into the transporter room computer and allowed them to escape the Dimension of Tears...For good, and then had created a rift in space-time to pull Haruka though. (Fainting like the girly he was in the process.)
It wasn't Tobis fault they had failed that time.
It was Karasu, the little girl perving wretch, who had appeared, gone crazy and killed poor
Isuka.
Atori had beaten a hasty tactical withdrawal.
But he has taken the still comatose Tobi with him.
Atori `needed` Tobi.
He had attacked Yu and his football-loving friend again.
Only to be stopped by Fukuro, of all people.
Ah well.
The past few days had been spent in sitting idly on this beach by day and creeping round
town rummaging in dustbins for food by night. Tobi, who was at least half rat, didn't seem to mind, Atori died a little inside every time he had to dig in rubbish in order to ease the gnawing pains in his belly.
Tobi reassured him that they both were stabilising, that they would live a little longer.
Atori said nothing.
It was not life he wanted, but death.
And the satisfaction of taking the Dragon Torc, the artefact that had messed up the entire
Multiverse, and attracted the attentions of Shangrila, with him.
"Life's a beach and then you die." He said to Tobi. Atori felt calmer, he sat down and
watched the sea.
He liked the sea.
"This is a good world," Tobi said, "let's protect it and the Dragon Torc from Noein."
Atori shook his head, "feel strong enough to take him on?" He asked archly.
"Oh yes."