I really want you guys to review this chapter. It's the longest one yet in the story, and I want to hear your thoughts on it. A lot of stuff is going to happen.
I am hoping that you enjoy it for what it is, and that is a reminder that even though I'm now juggling two fics, I'm still going to alter my chapter size very much according to what the plot demands. In general, though, I'm aiming for six thousand words per chapter on average, just like it was with Attack Of The Anglars.
I will warn you...there is a part of this chapter that is not for those with weak stomachs. It's also highly depressing. If you saw my Tumblr in early March, you may have heard about my listening to the soundtrack of Yoshi's Story while writing it...this is when I was doing it. I love dissonance like this.
LUCAS'S POV
The next thing I remember is waking up on the floor with my legs being held in the air. Then, my vision came back.
I realized that I was still in my apartment, and I had the whole wedding party staring at me. Granted, it wasn't that many people. It was still pretty embarrassing, of course. I couldn't remember, for a minute, what had happened to cause me to pass out. It just didn't make any sense.
Then, everything else came back. Yes...I'd been reading a letter that I'd been given by Willow Foster. Willow...at the thought of my ex-girlfriend, my throat threatened to close up. I had so many grievances against that girl that it's hard to list them.
"Everyone, give him some space" Dr. Howler said. She walked over in her white bridal dress and gave me a large book to put my feet on.
"This is just to get some more blood to your brain" she said to me. Then, she walked away and asked the others to give me some space again.
"Really, guys, you should just go" Falco said. "Lucas needs to be alone right now. He's not well".
When Cole started to protest, Dr. Howler cut him off. "It's really our party, Mr. McCallen. We can tell you to leave if and when we want to".
Cole didn't look too happy about it, but he walked out the door, followed by Ian and Konstantin. Freddie Flapper left behind them. Fox and Slippy looked as though they were debating amongst themselves whether or not they should stay or they should go. Ultimately, Slippy left while Fox did not, instead coming over to sit next to me.
Together, Fox, Falco, and Dr. Howler made a triangle around me, as if this was some pagan ritual to heal me.
"What happened?" I eventually asked.
"You passed out as you were holding that note" Fox explained. "I read it and...it really seems that you had good reason to pass out. I mean, it's not a good thing that you did, but I get what happened. It must have really been a shock to you".
"Yeah. It really was" I said.
"Just take it easy, Lucas" Dr. Howler said. "I mean, you're already ill, and now this...it's just crazy. I mean, you've been saddled with such a big job...are you sure you don't just want to resign?"
"Yes, I'm staying on". I knew that if I resigned, I would be an eternal embarrassment, as the President who resigned after only a few hours in office. Even harder to stomach than the idea of working with Willow.
No. I can't think about that right now.
"Really, he was very ill before he died" Falco said. "Viral pneumonia...it was a bad case, too, and at his age...there was always a good chance he just wouldn't make it. I'm sorry, Lucas".
"No, it's fine. I'm going to do my job as President".
"Go to bed early, Lucas Zantry Enfield. You'll need all of your strength for when you move into the President's Mansion tomorrow, because that is a far harder job than being the Vice President. Let's just say that you really do need your rest".
"That's right" said Fox. "I heard about your illness, and I really do feel bad about that. But now's not the time to take pity on ourselves. Not when we've got so much work to do".
"Do you want to have soup for dinner later, Lucas?" Dr. Howler asked me.
I shook my head. With the sheer amount that I had eaten for lunch, combined with the slight nausea that I always seemed to have these days, I didn't even know if I would ever have to eat again, even if I did manage to survive this thing.
"It's no surprise, really. We all had a lot to eat at the party" Falco said.
"Very well, then" Dr. Howler said. "You will go to bed at eight-thirty tonight, no excuses. Now, I've got to inform Dr. Tuskland of this".
Dr. Howler went over to the phone and began to have a conversation with someone on the other end whom I assumed was the elephant doctor.
"Should I go now?" Fox asked Falco. "I kind of need to help with the war. It was hard getting even this time off for your wedding".
"If you'd like to, sure" Falco replied. "You went to all this trouble to come here".
"Okay" Fox said.
Then, he turned around and walked out the door, leaving me alone with the newly married couple who were also my guardians.
Now, they were going to be my advisers as well.
I had a hard time getting to sleep that night. There were just too many things on my mind. Not least of which was, I just couldn't believe that I was actually the most powerful person in the entire Lylat System. Giving that to a terminally ill seventeen-year-old seemed like a crazy idea, and it was now my goal to show that they hadn't been wrong to do that.
And I'd have to work with Willow again, as she was the Secretary Of State. The idea made me want to strip naked and roll around in broken glass for a couple of hours, but I knew that I'd have to do it. The whole country, no, the whole Lylat System was counting on me.
Willow Foster...she'd crashed the party in order to deliver the letter. She was one determined girl, I knew that much. She hadn't even been invited to the occasion. Granted, had that been me I would have been pretty pissed. Still, though, it was pretty creepy that she knew just where to go. Had I not been being forced to see her regularly now, I would be filing for a restraining order the first chance I got.
No wonder the thought of working with her, as well as being the President at the ripe old age of 17, had caused me to faint.
VICTOR'S POV
Tonight was the night.
I was going to make my escape attempt tonight. Checking the date on my calendar, I saw that it was Sunday, June 23, 201Y. That was the night I was aiming for, because on Sunday nights the guards were being rotated. It would be easy for me to get out of there, almost easy enough for it to be boring.
I got out of bed a little bit after midnight. Getting out of my pajamas, I ran as quickly, while still staying light on my feet, as possible. I did not want to wake up any occupants of the underground palace that I didn't have to. And, for this purpose, it was vastly better if I did not wake anyone up.
All right, Victor. Just make it up those stairs without getting seen. Can you do that?
It wasn't too far to the hangar bay. A few staircases and hallways were what separated me from freedom. The fact of the matter was, I was sick of serving Andross. I was sick of doing such morally reprehensible things, not least because it was so dangerous to me.
I've always considered myself a fairly selfish person. Everything I had done, including helping Andross, had really been to help myself in the end. I saw that now, more clearly than I ever had before. And I really did consider not running away.
But, ultimately, the brazen side of me won the day. I really wanted to get out of here.
The fleet of Wolfen that the Star Wolf team, headquartered on Venom, were held in the hangar bay, a large, airy room that was next to a massive window overlooking the Venomian landscape. The smell of sulphur, akin to rotten eggs, permeated the whole place.
All of the ships were on a ledge about fifty feet in diameter, right on the edge of the desert. If I could get in there, I was going to be within reach of one of them even if there was one of Andross's other cronies in this room.
I sprinted as quickly as my legs could carry me to a Wolfen. Then, I realized something: I had never flown before.
That was pretty reckless of me. Just running to a Wolfen and thinking I'd be able to fly it. If you were to yell at me, Victor! What's wrong with you?, you'd be right. But that was what I was going to do.
As I tried to open the door to the cockpit, a voice behind me said, "I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend".
Pigma.
The little hog, quite literally, had turned up at precisely the wrong moment. Right when I was about to make my getaway, he had to show up and ruin everything.
"I'm cutting ties with all of these lies that I've been living in!" I retorted.
"This is an awesome life, Victor Halsmith. You get three square meals a day, and you're living like a king. It could be far worse, you know".
Yes, it could. But it could also be better.
"Look. If you do not want to see me again, I would understand" I said, trying to get Pigma to leave me alone.
"You're not getting away that easily!" Pigma shouted, running over to me as fast as his chubby legs could carry him.
We grappled with each other for some time, each one of us trying to get hold of Pigma's blaster. It wasn't easy to get into the ship where things were.
"Ah" Pigma said. "The angry boy, a bit too insane".
"You're the one who's insane!"
"Silence, Halsmith! You're staying here, and Andross is going to punish you good for this. Maybe he'll even kill you!"
That did it. I really, really wanted to keep on living. I had so much to do. I still had to make up for all of the harm I had caused.
"Fuck you, Dengar!" I yelled, not caring who else might have heard me. I gave Pigma a kick in the face as I finally managed to open the door into the Wolfen.
Pigma tried to stop me, but I kicked him again. I was just kicking and screaming, trying to get into the ship.
Eventually, I did manage to sit down in the cockpit and close the door, with Pigma still being outside it. I managed to take off, leaving Pigma and the others behind.
For a while, things were going great. I was soaring above the sand dunes that made up the landscape of Venom, and having a great time relishing in the fact that I was finally free. Free to just fly away.
But, once again, I remembered the obvious. I wasn't an experienced pilot, and it was pretty dangerous to be doing what I was doing right now. If you had told me that I was a raving lunatic who was going to crash and burn, that would be a valid criticism.
Even in spite of this, it wasn't too difficult to keep the ship aloft, at least for a while. I understood the basic principle of how it moved in the opposite direction that you tilted the controls in, so as long as I didn't tilt it up too much, I wouldn't crash into the dunes. Probably.
"Yeee-haw!" I yelled triumphantly, like a cowboy. I was doing this. I was getting away from those jerks.
It wasn't to last, though. Soon, my ship began to jerk and slow down. At first, I wondered why that was. Then, I saw that I was running low on fuel.
They thought of everything.
The jerking motion was in order to conserve fuel, however that would have been accomplished by that. Really, I didn't see how that would help too much, but it meant that I had to be that much more careful in order to stay alive.
I finally got out of Venomian airspace and began to leave the massive yellow-green planet behind. This was highly symbolic for me, as a sign that I had escaped. Now, I just had to find a safe place to land.
But it wasn't going to be easy. The ship continued to jerk, and I knew that I had to land soon, or else I was going to crash and burn. Once again, I didn't really see why they only kept ships with low fuel in the docking bay, but maybe it was so that even if I got out of there, I wouldn't get far.
There was a large cube in front of me, made out of gray metal. Six energy towers were present on its top face. It looked like some kind of defense satellite for Venom. If I landed there, I might be directly in harm's way, but it was better than just ending up floating through space. Plus, I saw some other ship there. I didn't know why it was present, but I decided that I was going to go there.
If I aimed for it, on the off chance the people on that ship were going to help me, that was probably my best chance of survival from here on out. And I wanted to survive.
I managed to keep the ship level for long enough so that I could end up on the satellite. However, my ship crashed onto the cube soon after, the "nose" of it burying itself in the metal. I didn't know how that was even possible, but I didn't have too much time to wonder.
The cockpit opened, and I went flying into the air. It must have been thirty feet or so, approximately the same height of a rock-climbing wall. I knew I was toast, until I felt how slowly I was falling.
It must have been one-fourth the speed of falling on Earth. I was practically floating down.
Must be low gravity here! I thought happily.
That only lasted so long, however. I tried to land on my feet, but they didn't like that. It was only then that I realized that I must have suffered some sort of injuries during the crash.
The pain from those injuries caught up to me once I hit the ground. Even though I landed standing up, it forced me to my knees. My head started swimming.
I felt something crack, then I saw something that looked like an anthropomorphic frog running over to me, carrying a stretcher.
"There you go" he said in a slightly childish tone of voice. "Get on the stretcher".
I collapsed, more than climbed, onto the stretcher. The frog strapped me in and began to carry me towards his ship, as my vision began to darken.
The last thing I remember is seeing the logo on the side of the ship. It was crimson in color, and it looked kind of like a flying fox on its four legs, with a wing sticking out of its back.
I blacked out.
IAN'S POV
I'd been told about Lucas's illness by Konstantin over the phone after the wedding. It pained me to think of Lucas dying a few weeks from now. It was just too much to bear.
I'm not proud of it, but I broke down crying right after that. I wondered if Lucas fainting in the middle of the party had something to do with that, but I also felt that it very easily could have just been because of the contents of the letter.
Lucas Zantry Enfield was now the President of Corneria. That was quite something, and I felt kind of bad for the guy. It must be pretty bad to find out, all of a sudden, that you have been promoted to such a position when you're only seventeen years old. Not only that, but you're very ill as well, and dying.
Because of this, I decided to pay extra attention at the lab the day after the wedding. I only worked five days a week, and, since today was a Monday, I was just getting back to work after the weekend. I hadn't had to skip any work to go to Lucas's birthday dinner five days previously.
I didn't have anything to work with. As all I knew was that what Lucas had was a blood infection, that really limited the amount of possible research I could do. It wasn't like I had a sample of his blood to examine.
Now, if I could get Dr. Tuskland to give me a sample of his blood...that would be something I could use. If I only made sure she knew that I was Ian Keller, a former member of Star Enfield, she'd be willing to do it. Maybe.
Probably, if she knew that it could help save Lucas's life. Now that he was the most powerful person in all of Corneria, his life was much more valuable than mine. Really, we should all be trying to keep him alive.
This is hopeless, I thought. Without a sample, there's no way we can get this done.
There were basically two types of work I did at the lab. The first type was biological, which was the kind I was slightly less into. It still was helpful for the Cornerians. Even though I was only nineteen, and it was still June, we were already hard at work developing the flu vaccine for the next year.
The other type of work was far more interesting to me. That was working on weapons for the Cornerian army, something I took very seriously. I'd always been very much into science fiction-type weaponry, but now that I actually got the chance to do it I was over the moon. It was pretty awesome. Already, I was having a great time at it.
It wasn't hard for me to be happy. And yet...it was just as easy for me to sink into despair. We were no closer to finding a way to isolate Lucas's blood any better, and he didn't have much time left.
LUCAS'S POV
The President's Mansion on Corneria was also known as the Green House. The reason for this is because of the many gardens that ringed its perimeter, filled with flowers of various colors. There were also fountains, a small river, a small lake, and even a hedge maze.
In short, it looked like paradise. The only problem was that it was a little weird to be living in the same house as a man who had just died yesterday.
As soon as Falco, Dr. Howler, and myself had made our way to the door, we were met by a security person. "Hello, Mr. President. I'm Commander Paisley, and I'm going to be showing you around your new home".
Really, this place looked kind of like a castle. I didn't know how long it was going to take to get around this place.
"Okay" I said.
We were led into the main hallway, which was very opulent. It was a thirty-yard circle, with two wide stairwells leading up to the same place, covered in red carpeting. A dining area was at the bottom for guests, and there was a set of heavy-looking doors at the top.
"The public isn't allowed past those doors" Commander Paisley said. "We're going to go up the stairs, and then I'll show you to your room. Do you have all of your bags from the apartment you used to stay at?"
"Yes, I brought all of them with me" I said. To be fair, Falco was carrying about fifty percent of them, and Dr. Howler about fifty percent of the rest of them, leaving me to only carry a quarter of my stuff.
"Nice honeymoon destination, huh?" Falco said.
Paisley looked at both of them. "Did you just get hitched?"
"Yes, just yesterday in fact" Dr. Howler replied.
We made our way up to the top of the stairs, and then I tried to open the doors. They weren't budging.
"They're pretty heavy" Paisley said. "I'll take them".
The security dog then proceeded to push them open like they were nothing.
"Sorry" I apologized. "My strength isn't what it used to be".
"No problem" he said, although I could tell that he was wondering precisely why I was weaker than normal.
We passed through the doors, and then he led us down a hallway to a room with a bed in it. "This is your bedroom, Mr. President".
"Thank you, Commander Paisley" I said. It certainly looked like a nice bedroom. The bed was king-sized, with blue sheets and a window that opened out onto the lake.
"You are very much welcome. Thank you in advance for what you will do as President".
I dropped my bags there. Feeling more unencumbered now, I continued to follow my guardians, along with Commander Paisley, down the hallway.
"Here is the cafeteria, where you will eat the majority of your meals. And here is the Orange Room, which is one of the places that you are going to have meetings, including with the Secretary Of State".
He looked ruefully at me. I could tell that he felt bad for me, having to work so closely with my ex-girlfriend. We'd worked together during the war against the Anglars, but that had been very different. There had been far less between us, and now we had all of this bad blood. I didn't see how it was going to work.
"There's also a hospital here" said Paisley. "All sorts of medical supplies, for use by you and your advisers. And there's a library, as well. I think that you will enjoy your stay".
He led us into another room, this one looking like another office. The carpeting all around the room was dark purple in color, and there was a large table with a swivel chair on the end.
"This is where you will be given bills to sign or veto, just like the President of your United States. You'll also hold a few board meetings in the Orange Room. This is the Purple Room" he said unnecessarily.
After that, our tour was just about over. The whole area wasn't that big. There was a swimming pool, a gym, and several other facilities for use by me, Falco, or Dr. Howler, but it really wasn't that huge.
Really, I was glad that that was done. I just wanted some time to think, because God knows I needed it.
Later, we ate dinner together in the cafeteria.
Dr. Howler and Falco sat together on one side of the table, while I was on the other. They had told me that there were some riots right now over the fact that they had someone so young as President.
"It's not too late to resign, Lucas" Dr. Howler said again. "It might help your health if you did so".
I knew that I didn't want to resign. I didn't see the point of dividing the country further. Now was probably the last time it was needed.
"I'm staying on" I said.
"Well, I'm glad that you're taking your medication and doing everything else that was recommended by the doctors" Falco said. "You've got to give your body the best chance you can. Agreed, Tigre?"
"Oh, for sure, Falco" Dr. Howler said, planting a kiss on the avian's cheek.
"Is the war going to be a big problem here anytime soon?" I asked. I was quite concerned about the way things were doing, because it sure seemed that we might get overrun, with so many enemy forces on Katina. I wasn't sure that I was physically up to the task of taking part in battles, either. Gone were the days of me racing down hallways, shooting at everyone in sight.
"We'll have to be careful" Falco said. "I know that Katina is going to have to be defended pretty well. As President, you are also going to be the commander in chief of the military...so you'll be in charge of making all of the decisions. I know, it's a lot to put on a seventeen-year-old".
"I'm up to the task" I insisted.
Of course, in my head I wasn't a hundred percent sure that I was telling the truth.
Falco pressed a button on a remote, turning on the TV, and tuned it to a news channel.
On it, a military person of some kind was giving a speech. General Pepper's funeral was taking place right now.
"General Pepper was a great man. We know that he must leave us now, and although the disgraceful unfitness of his successor might make us look more highly on him than perhaps we should, he was a great President of Corneria. He will be sorely missed".
I realized that they were talking on me. I was the disgracefully unfit successor they were talking about. The idea made me feel sick to my stomach.
"Can I go up to bed now?" I asked. "I'm not feeling too well".
Falco and Dr. Howler looked at each other sadly, as though they were aware of what I was thinking. Which, based on how close we had gotten over the last six months, was probably the case.
"Yes, Lucas" Dr. Howler said. "If that's the way you feel, you need your sleep. You can govern in the morning".
I nodded before heading down to my bedroom. I didn't bother to shower or brush my teeth, I just put on my pajamas and shoved myself into bed, fighting waves of nausea. Even in spite of that, it didn't take long for me to force myself into sleep.
That seemingly didn't last long, however. Even though I could tell from the clock that it had been hours since I'd gone to bed, I felt distinctly unrested. Granted, it wasn't often that I didn't feel at least a little fatigued these days.
However, this was different. I could feel sweat all over my body, and sick rising in the back of my throat. I'd thrown up on multiple occasions since I'd started taking the pills to get the blood into the place that they wanted it to, so that they could siphon it all out. It wasn't going to be easy to get back to sleep now, I could tell.
Dr. Howler had had multiple sleepless nights because of me, and since Falco often woke up when she did, by virtue of being a light sleeper, so had he. I still felt guilty about that, but that didn't change the fact that I needed to throw up, now.
I managed to make it into the bathroom. Aiming for the toilet, I misfired a bit, getting some in the bathtub. Just to avoid getting any splashback from the water in the bowl, I decided to focus on the bathtub from here on out. I could always turn on the faucet to wash it all away, but I knew that I wouldn't be taking a bath anytime soon. That just wasn't going to happen with how much I was destroying the thing.
After what must have been a solid minute of retching, the bottom of the tub was all filled up with my own vomit. I stood back, able to stop myself from throwing up for a while.
Should I wake Dr. Howler?
I didn't see why. It was one-thirty in the morning. Chances are this would blow over quickly. It was probably just some fluke thing, and I'd be fine soon. After all, whenever I got a stomach bug, I usually only threw up once, and then I was fine. Or at least felt fine. Really, who could tell?
I went back in bed and tried to go back to sleep. After trying at this for about ten more minutes, I had to throw up more, so I went back to the tub and continued to heave until I was just dry-heaving. Really, that wasn't a pleasant event at all.
After I continued to throw up bile, making awful heaving noises that sounded like the call of a seal, I heard someone rush into the room behind me and grab me on the shoulders. It wasn't the strongest grasp the person had on me, but it was definitely stronger than I would have been able to muster.
Once I had emptied my mouth once again, I looked back and I saw that it was Dr. Howler.
It was pretty humiliating to see myself being held by a Bengal tiger at the age of seventeen, and when I'm over six feet tall, but this was what it came to. How pathetic, really.
"Relax, Lucas. You're going to be okay. Just make sure to drink plenty of fluids. This is normal, just a side effect of the medication".
I wasn't sure if I could comply with either of the requests contained within what she had just said to me. I highly doubted that I could keep any water in my stomach.
"Take a sip of some water" she said, pouring me a cup and holding it to my lips.
This was so demeaning. Here I was, water being poured into my mouth, barely being able to do anything. And holding down that water constituted "anything".
Not more than thirty seconds after the water had passed my lips, I was already puking it up again. I couldn't keep it down. I threw up what must have been more than had been in that cup. I threw up so much my legs hit the ground.
"Do you want to try that again, Lucas?" she asked me.
No more puking. But if it'll make me feel better...
She filled another cup, and I took a sip again. This time, I was a lot more careful, trying to only take a couple of sips at a time. If I overdid it, the results weren't going to be pretty.
Sure enough, I barfed again. I couldn't keep it down. And, based on that, this gave me far more concerns. Was the medication going to kill me before the disease did?
Dr. Howler helped me get back to my bed, where I sat on top of it. Well, I was really closer to lying down, I was so exhausted. And yet, I couldn't fall asleep.
I knew what was coming. The same thing that had happened twice before. I wasn't sure if I could trust Dr. Howler to get a tube into my vein at 1:30 in the morning, but that was what she was bound and determined to do.
"Lucas, I am going to have to hook you up to an IV. I know that you're tired and all, but you'll feel better once I can get some fluids in you. Plus, I'll give you some anti-nausea medication, and you'll probably be all better in the morning. I really do think this is a temporary issue, but we can't let you get too dehydrated during it".
That was what I had been expecting. Really, I was just glad that I wasn't going to die yet. Hopefully, the medication was still working, and we would figure out a way to cure me of this disease.
Dr. Howler left for the medical area and came back, toting a bag and a pole, as well as a needle and tourniquet.
"Here you go" she said. "I'm even letting you stay in your own bed, because I think that's more comfortable. I'll just sleep with you for the rest of the night, bring a mattress over here".
"You don't...have to" I said weakly, my voice not too much more than a croak at this point.
"It's no problem" she said.
"What about Falco? Did he wake up?"
"No. He somehow slept through the sound of you ralphing all over the place".
"Just in the toilet and bathtub!" I exclaimed as strongly as I could.
"Hold still, Lucas" she said as she put the tourniquet on my arm and slid the needle in. Soon thereafter, she'd gotten the tube in and hung the bag from the pole.
"Okay. We're good. I'm just going to leave you alone for a minute and get the mattress, then come back here. I'll keep an eye on you, just try not to throw up on me".
I couldn't do much else but sit still and wait for the effects of the anti-nausea medication she injected into the drip to take effect.
A minute later, Dr. Howler returned, toting a mattress and blanket with a pillow.
"If you feel better in the morning, I might take it out" she told me. "For now, try to get some sleep, because God knows you need it".
I tried to take her advice, but I lay awake for a few minutes. For one, I tend to toss and turn a lot when trying to find a good sleeping position. However, when you have an IV in your arm, that really discourages it from happening. It's not easy to roll over in your sleep.
Eventually, I did manage to get back to sleep, imagining how awful it would be if I puked on Dr. Howler.
VICTOR'S POV
"Nnnnggghhh...".
My legs were in pain, and so were my arms. My eyes were hard to open, due to the sheer amount of pain medication coursing through my veins. Eventually, though, I did manage to wake up, and found myself looking up at a figure.
It was a frog. The same one who had saved me before I had blacked out.
Looking around, I saw that I was in a room that looked like a futuristic hospital room, lying on a gray bed that was more comfortable than it looked. The frog was standing over me, looking with a sad expression.
"What's wrong? Where am I? And yes, I know that's really an overused trope".
"No, it's fine" said the frog in its somewhat childish voice. "I'm Slippy Toad, and I found you on top of the Bolse Defense Satellite last night. You seemed pretty badly injured from the crash, and you were. I'm sorry you got hurt, but maybe you should have taken flying lessons from me first".
If he knew who I really was, he would never have saved me, I thought.
"What happened?"
"Two broken ribs, broken left leg, and many bruises all over the place. It was from the initial impact, though", he said, "not the fall. Was that fall pleasant?"
In a way, it kind of had been. I wasn't in pain yet, just because of all of the adrenaline. Plus, it was kind of like the auto-belay back at the rock climbing place near Harvard, where I'd gone some weekends with a few of my fellow nerds.
"Yeah. Why was it so slow".
"Bolse has its own gravity, but it's pretty weak, so you fall roughly four times slower, and thus can jump about four times higher, than on Corneria, or Earth. Is that where you're from?"
"Yes" I said. "How do you know?"
"I can just tell" Slippy said. "You're human. What's your name?"
I saw no reason to lie to him. It wasn't like he had heard my name before, most likely. I didn't think I'd be that famous on Corneria. I was just one of Andross's servants, not like Pigma or Leon. Or the late Wolf O'Donnell.
"Victor Halsmith" I said. "I'm from Massachusetts".
"Ah...Victor. So...would you like to join the Lylat System in an effort to defeat Andross and his army?"
"There's a little thing I'd like to say about that. I know that you might hate me to tell you this, but I think that I have to. I want to be honest with you".
"What is it, Victor?" he asked me.
"I worked with Andross for the last two and a half months. I was his servant, didn't do anything too major, but I still helped him. I really don't think you're going to trust me after that, but I'd just like to say that I have had a change of heart. I'm more than willing to work with you now".
I was surprised at that. Normally, as the nerd, I tended to be far more reserved, and pretty shy when speaking. But somehow, I'm not sure how, I managed to speak with authority this time. It was as if I had already had it all planned out.
"Oh" Slippy said. "Well, that's fine as long as you're going to make up for it now. You could work for us now, Victor Halsmith. You could put the past away. You could redeem yourself. Do you accept my deal?"
I didn't hesitate. "Deal accepted".