Odds and Ends 2
A Fanfiction by Chicflick
A/N: Hey! Thank you with the encouraging reviews so far! I accept anonymous, so feel free to leave comments and whatnot!
ON WITH THE STORY!
The two were driving down the road in "Jack's" motorcycle. It had been a very long drive and a quiet one at that. Neither one of them had spoken a word. It was dark outside, and Kate decided to check the time, using her cell phone.
By what she had seen, it was about 9:00 pm. Unfortunately, Jack hit a small bump, jerking the smartphone from her hand.
"Well, there goes my phone, skidding across this forsaken road in the middle of the desert," she muttered.
"Eh, you didn't need it anyways. The odds are I would've smashed it myself to prevent that freak from following us, but it looks like Mother Nature did me a favor," he said.
"Man, I knew I should've gotten phone insurance."
As it was almost completely silent for the rest of the drive, eventually they wound up in a small city. They bypassed a small billboard saying, "Welcome to Tuba City!"
"Heh, what a name to be proud of," Jack muttered.
Just then, Kate slugged him. "Hey, I was born here. Cut the place some slack." And that was that.
After slowing down to the city's speed limit, he decided that he'd better get some gas. Stopping at the nearest gas station, he pulled next to the pump. He then got off his bike, pacing over to the pump. Wait, how am I going to pay for it? he thought. He put his hands in his jacket's pocket, only to feel a clump of extra leather in the right pocket. He grabbed the object and took it out of the pocket.
Ironically, it was a wallet.
Jack grinned, although no one would have seen it due to the helmet. He opened it, to reveal a fake motorcycle license that apparently Coco had made. The photo amused him. There were also about five credit cards, and over seven hundred dollars in cash in the small piece of leather.
"This is unbelievable." He breathed. Oddly enough, when he was going through his cash, he found a note.
"Crash,
Use the money only when needed. I worked hard for it, and I don't want it spent on things like an Xbox.
-Coco"
"Well, I'll be damned," he muttered. He crumpled the paper and tossed it in the trash.
"Hello? Are you going to fill up the gas to this thing or what?" Kate said as she got off the bike as well.
"Yeah, I was just—Nah, forget it."
"Alright. So, why am I stuck with you, of all people? Why did you decide to play 'hero' and rescue me?"
Well, this stinks. It's a good thing he lived for these moments. "I was hired by the, uh, government. I'm here to protect you from that jackass while we travel places. If I take you back home, there's another chance he'll come, so we should stay on the move," He replied.
"Okay... So what's with the look?"She asked.
"Well, you see, I'm undercover. Besides, I was only hired. I'm not a real agent."
"Why won't you take off the helmet?"
Uh-oh. "Uh, well, I can't let you or anyone else know who I really am. It might, uh, jeopardize the mission."
"Well that's stupid. But so long as you keep a good 'distance' from me, I'd be more than happy to be your friend."
"Keep my distance? ...Oh. No worries, I'm not like that."
She just gave him the eye and got on the bike. "I told you I'm not like that! Man, are all of you people here so sick-minded?"
"Check back with me when you get on the Internet. I think you'll have you answer."
"Whatever. Let's just go."
After Jack swiped a card, he retreated to the bike, and departed from the gas station's parking lot.
Cortex was in his newly-built space station, pacing back and forth. "That wretched fool! He thinks he can just steal her from me, does he? Well, he is WRONG!"
N. Gin was watching Cortex shout and yell, nervously trying to pinpoint things that could help the man calm down.
"Cortex, you—"
"And that girl. She's as defiant as him! Now they've met! This is not what I planned!"
"Well, she—"
"Do you have any idea how it was supposed to work, N. Gin?"
"N-no." he stuttered.
Cortex inhaled slowly, and breathed out. "Listen. I am planning to take over the world." Surprise. "That girl is my ticket to being the emperor of the planet."
"Why?"
"You see, once I capture her, I will have a mechanical body be built and I will form the two together. From then on, she will be known as Cyboria and will rule as a general of a robotic army."
"What about Crash?"
"What ABOUT Crash?" Cortex countered.
"What are you going to do with him?"
"Hm… Maybe, I should have the girl bring him to me, so then I may kill him myself. I don't want her or any of the robots have the pleasure of killing my greatest enemy."
"It makes sense."
"Prepare to die, Crash Bandicoot! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"Yeah… Ha-ha…Haha-ha-haha-ha."
The two were planning on stopping at a local Motel 8 to rest for the night. As they walked inside, they noticed it was semi-clean, which was good.
"Hello?" asked the receptionist.
"Hey," Jack greeted. "We want a room."
After the business of credit cards and such, the clerk showed them to their room, and soon after left. The duo walked inside to find it was very neat, except there was one problem.
"There's only one bed." Jack said. They turned to face each other, which after entering the motel he decided to leave his visor open.
Without wasting another second gawking at him, Kate dashed towards the bed, and leaped onto the covers face-down. After sitting up and brushing the hair out of her face, she said, "Dibs."
Jack just stood there with a look of complete disbelief on his face. "Dibs? Well where the hell am I supposed to sleep?"
Kate pursed her lips and turned around and grabbed a pillow. She chucked it at him, and soon grabbed an extra blanket and did the same with it. "The floor."
Jack groaned. "I'm going to go talk to that clerk at the desk."
"Don't get lost!" Kate shouted.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
Walking through the lighted halls of the motel wasn't the greatest walks that Jack's experienced. He could've sworn he saw a couple of cockroaches, and the room in front of them had a large spider on the door.
"Heh. Good luck passing the health inspection." He mumbled.
He was now in the lobby with the clerk, who was finishing a crossword puzzle. She had not seen Jack coming, so she was startled when he tapping on the glass with his knuckle.
"Oh! Ahem, may I help you, sir?" she asked.
"Yeah, you see, we needed a room with two beds."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me check here…" She put the puzzle book down and looked at a clipboard underneath. Jack was leaning on the counter in front of the glass, patiently waiting. "Well, I'm sorry, sir. We don't have any extra rooms with two beds. If it would help, we have blow-up mattress."
Jack blinked. He thought, well, it's better than sleeping on the floor. Considering this place's cleanliness, I'd have a bug in my ear when I woke up.
"Yeah, sure, I'll take the mat." He replied.
So, the clerk left the desk and disappeared into a room in the back. About five minutes later she was carrying a deflated piece of rubber. She handed it to him. "Sorry for the inconvenience. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay."
"My pleasure, mate." Jack said as he left the room. Just as he was leaving, he caught a glimpse of the lady starting to admire him. "Heh, maybe if the clerk likes me, I can get some sort of discount," he muttered.
Taking the walk back to his room, he noticed a vending machine. Deciding he could use a quick snack he could eat when Kate was asleep, he bought what seemed to be the most filling item on the list: trail mix. Shoving the item away in his pocket, he headed towards the room.
He reached for the door handle. To his misfortune, he forgot to grab the key to the room. Muttering a profanity, Jack heaved a sigh and knocked on the door.
Kate was watching TV when she heard the knock. She was about to say, "Use the key, moron!", when she noticed it was sitting right there on the nightstand. "Men. They're so predictable."
She got up from the bed, and walked over to the door. "Who is it?"
"Let me in, Kate!" Jack said impatiently.
"How do I know you aren't some sort of robot spy or something?"
"Oh, yeah. That's exactly what I am. I'm just a robot that snuck past Jack without him even noticing my bulky metal body, and my clanking metal echoing throughout the freaking halls."
"Then I can't let you in, can I?"
"Kate!"
She opened the door at last. Jack gave her a look of hatred, but she grinned all the same. He realized he couldn't really blow up the mattress until Kate was asleep, so until then, he decided to join her in watching the television.
He set the inflatable bed down and walked over to the table and chairs. He grabbed one of the two pink fabric chairs and situated it so he could see the TV.
"So, is anything good on TV?" he asked.
"Well, this is the Sci-Fi channel. It has a bunch of cool science fiction movies."
"Really? What's on right now?"
"Lake Placid. It's a movie about man-eating crocs."
"That's nifty. Although, I bet you've never actually wrestled an alligator."
"Oh, and you have, Mister Resourceful?"
"No, not exactly. But I have faced a couple of komodo dragons."
"You're kidding!"
"I kid you not; they were fierce, too. They were named Komodo Moe and Komodo Joe."
"Really? Why did they have names?"
"Uh, no reason in particular. Oh, and I beat them more than once, too."
"Wow. Sounds exciting."
After idle chit-chat, the two were becoming drowsy. It was eleven 'o clock, according to the alarm. Kate was worn out, and fell asleep soon after the movie was over.
Jack, of course, noticed this, and quietly walked over to check if she would wake up easily. Snapping his fingers couple times close to her face, she proved to be a heavy sleeper.
Deciding it was safe, Crash took off the helmet. "Hm. Isn't it amazing that with a simple hat you have a completely different identity?"
Kate stirred, Crash immediately stopped breathing. After seeing she was still sleeping, Crash let out a breath.
"I should really try whispering sometime."
Crash picked up the mattress and dragged it over to the short hallway connecting the room to the door. He then started to blow air into it, and he could see it starting to inflate. But, as his luck would have it, he was in need of lung power to get it done quickly.
Crash decided that it would be best to do it halfway, eat the trail mix he just remembered he had, and then finish the job.
So, when the halfway-point came, he already found his lungs and lips sore. He groaned. "It's a process," he muttered. He leaned back against the wall, and opened the package. Sprinkling the combo of raisins, nuts, and colorful candy (that Crash soon found out was chocolate) in his hand, he tossed them into his mouth and began to chew lightheartedly.
"Mm. Not as good as Wumpa Fruit, but it'll work for now."
Finished eating, Crash got to his feet and tossed the wrapper in the trash. He really hated blowing up the mattress, but it had to be done. Taking a deep breath, he brought the small plastic piece to his mouth and he started to blow air in it.
At long last, he was finished forcing air into the mattress. Crash inhaled deeply. "It's about time."
Crash silently dragged the inflated mattress over beside the bed. The two beds were only two feet apart. He took his given cover and blanket and retreated to his mattress. Setting his helmet next to him, he covered his head with the blanket and started to drift to sleep.
Just then, it occurred to him that this girl could be an early bird. What if she got up before him and yanked the cover off? Yikes.
Groaning and moaning a string of profanities to himself, Crash pushed himself from the mattress and stood up. What was he going to do now? Sleep in the hall?
Wait, maybe he could sleep in the bathroom.
Proud that he came up with another brilliant plan, Crash hefted his bulky bed into the room with the porcelain throne. He shoved the mattress into the bathtub, and went back out to retrieve his helmet, blanket, and pillow.
"I am going to sleep… if it kills me," he muttered as he walked into the bathroom with the items. He closed the door, and locked it behind him.
"JACK! OPEN THE FREAKING DOOR!"
Crash woke up to the sound of pounding on the bathroom door. "Mmm… No…Five more minutes, Coco."
"C'mon! I have to go NOW!" Kate shouted.
Crash realized that he needed to get up ASAP. He crawled out of tub, groaning in pain from the uncomfortable position he was in. "Hang on, Kate. I'm leaving."
"Well, hurry up! I don't have all day, you know!"
He slipped his helmet on, becoming Jack once again, and decided to come back for the other stuff later. He unlocked the door, walked out. Kate rushed inside, leaving Jack alone in the room.
"Pfft. Women," he muttered.
After Kate was finished with her business, she walked out of the bathroom with a perplexed look on her face, holding the pillow Jack used. "Did you sleep in the bathroom?"
"Uh, yeah. I um… You see… Hey, why don't you got eat breakfast?" He said nervously. Kate just rolled her eyes.
"Whatever."
Kate walked down into the lobby, and noticed that you had to pay extra for breakfast. "Hmm… Well, I have to follow orders, don't I?"
So she got a bagel, some juice, and a waffle. "Mmm… Delicious." She said when she finished her meal.
Jack walked in the lobby, sending a slight wave to the clerk, causing Kate to raise an eyebrow. "Oh, so Jack has a girlfriend now, huh?"
"Nah, I'm just being extra friendly in case she decides to give us some sort of discount." He replied.
"You could do better."
Jack narrowed his eyes, but then noticed the same sign that Kate had noticed. It read, "Breakfast Fee Required."
"What the—they make you pay a fee for breakfast? That's outrageous!" he said in a low whisper.
"Well, you told me to go and devour the most important meal of the day. I was just following orders, chief."
"Heh-heh-heh. Cute."
Jack was got up and walked over to the reception desk. "So, uh, I guess I should pay you guys now, huh?"
The clerk giggled. "Okay, cash or credit?"
"Hmm… Cash or credit… how about credit, with a little slack?"
"Oh, you wanted a discount? I don't know… What do I get?"
"Well, what do you want?"
"I'd like you to take off the helmet, so I can see if you're cute or not."
Crap. "I'll pay full, thank you."
"Aw, why not?" She started to put on a pouty face. Kate saw this immediately realized she was grinding her teeth. Wait, there is no freaking way I'm falling for a guy I just met, she thought.
Jack was starting to sweat, knowing the reaction he would cause if he took off the helmet. "I said I'll pay full, ma'am. Here's my credit card."
The receptionist furrowed her brow and took the card. "Thank you for your stay, sir."
"You're very welcome. C'mon, Kate! Let's hit the road!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm comin'."
And the duo walked out into the parking lot and got on Jack's motorcycle. Jack started the motor, and Kate grabbed onto his torso for grip. "Don't crush my lungs now, Kate."
"Oh, be quiet and drive," she snapped. So, they sped off into the road, leaving a trail of dust behind them.
A/N: Woo! I am loving the positive reviews! Thank you all for the support! You have no idea how much it helps! Again, I accept anonymous reviews. Thanks, y'all!
—Chicflick—