Of Different Skins and Gamble Wins

Outside the Police Plaza

"Are you ready to go in?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"...now?"

"D'arvit Foaly! Alright! I'll go in!"

Julius Root stood outside the docking area of the Police Plaza with Foaly. They had been there for almost twenty minutes, as Root was afraid to enter.

"Alright, c'mon, Julius, we can't keep Holly and Trouble waiting!" Foaly gave the commander a kick in the behind and the two entered the docking area. Holly and Trouble were waiting for them.

"That took you long enough!" said Trouble. "Geesh, the coast has been clear the entire time."

Foaly patted Root on the back. "Julius here was afraid, weren't you?" He cooed in the most annoying baby voice thought possible.

"There's nothing to be scared of sir," began Holly with a sly smile. "We'll get you right to the hospital ward and then call in the Council to sort everything out. Before you know it, this place will be just like it used to be."

Root barked at them. "Will you all shut it! I'm not scar-"

CRASH!

Everyone's head jerked around to see several boxes tumble down from their shelves. A small figure emerged from the pile.

"Oww! I'm definitely filing a complaint against dangerous shelving and pointy boxes. How can they expect me to work in these conditions?"

"GRUB!" shouted everyone in unison.

Grub Kelp adjusted his uniform and brushed the dust off himself. He noticed the bewildered stares of everyone around him and turned bright red.

"Uh, I was checking to make sure... that the boxes were safe!" he stammered. "And um, as you can see, they definitely are not! I was almost killed. Just wait until Mommy hears."

There were suspicious looks all around.

He continued. "And I definitely WASN'T eavesdropping on how you found the dead commander and are trying to bring him back here. I mean, because I definitely wasn't angry that you guys got to leave that boring ceremony with the horrible food and uncomfortable chairs."

There was an awkward silence.

"W-well, I'd better go file that complaint." Grub began to leave. "Oh, and welcome back, Commander." With that, he ran off.

After Grub had left, Root turned to Trouble. "Trouble," he began. "Your brother isn't going to blab this to all his prissy security buddies, is he?"

"Of course not," replied Trouble. "He'll tell the entire Police Plaza."


Police Plaza

"COMMANDER!"

Both Trouble and Root jerked their heads around.

"COMMANDER KELP! WHAT IN FROND'S NAME DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING!" Wing Commander Vinyáya dashed towards him. "YOU RUN OUT OF THE CEREMONY WITH THAT CRAZY CENTAUR, NOT TELLING US WHERE YOU WERE GOING, NOT EVEN ASKING FOR THE EXCUSE, BUT JUST LEAVING!" She was out of breath by the time she reached him.

"Vin, I-"

"DON'T YOU 'VIN' ME, YOUNG MAN! I'M FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OLDER THAN YOU! NOW, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DO-"

At this point, Root stepped out from behind Trouble.

"Hello Vin."

Vinyáya's eyes got extremely wide. "J-Julius?" She pulled him into a tight embrace. Julius patted her awkwardly on the pat. "What under earth are you doing here?!"

Trouble and Foaly exchanged glances. The former looked at his imaginary watch. "Oh my gosh! Look at the time!" He grabbed Root by the arm, ripping him from the embrace. "We need to get you to the hospital ward! I'll explain everything later, Vin!"

Trouble and Foaly broke into a sprint (a gallop for Foaly) down the corridor. Holly gave an awkward wave to a still shocked and emotional Vinyáya, and followed.


The hospital ward

Holly sat in a waiting chair next to Trouble outside of the hospital ward. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the arm. "D'arvit! How long does it take to give someone an examination?"

Trouble gave her a sly look. "Not too long." He shifted in his chair. "Why do you care so much, Holly?"

Holly turned pink. "W-well, why shouldn't I? He was my commander. He is my commander. "

"Uh huh." Trouble shook his head with a smile. "So, are you really going to come back to Recon after all this?"

Holly leaned back in her seat and smiled, glad for a change of subject. "Yup! Considering that Sool's gone, and things are going to return close to normal, I definitely want to. And I have my other reasons." She punched Trouble in the arm playfully. "So what are you and Julius going to do about the whole 'two commanders' thing?"

"Did you just call him Julius?"

"What?"

"Beetroot. You called him Julius."

"I did?"

"Yeah."

"...oh."

There was a small silence.

"Just admit you like him."

"WHAT?!"

Before Holly had a change to tackle Trouble, one of the nurses came out to get them. They went into the hospital ward to see the commander.

"Any word of this," growled Holly beneath her breath.

"I know, I know."

They approached Root's bed. The commander was sitting on the edge of it, swinging his shoulder and cracking his fingers.

"Woah, Commander, where'd you get those arms!" gaped Trouble.

Root barked a laugh. "It's a skin, you idiot. They put a skin over those mechanical junkies that were glued to me. Temperature sensitivity, touch sensitivity, artificial nerves, element-proof, it's exactly like a new limb, really fantastic. But don't tell Foaly I told you that."

"Too late!" Foaly entered the hospital ward, munching on an oversized carrot. He was stuffing several coins into his newly acquired lab jacket.

"Woah, what's with the money, high roller?" asked Holly.

"Remember that bet of when ol' Beetroot would explode? Well, considering that he really didn't explode yet, I demanded my betting back, and viola!"

Trouble coughed, trying to hide his laugh. He looked over at Holly who was doing the same thing, then looked at Root, who was redder than he had ever been.


Stay tuned for the next installment, Of Mistaken Sisters and Boiling Blisters.

Reviews and suggestions are always welcomed!

Suggestion Topic: Any other minor couples you would like to see?