"Transmission fluid, good," Julia mumbled, her head still in the hood of the bus. "Oil, good. Break fluids, good. Crankshafts, working."
"Bunny, bored," the Austrailian joked from the driver's seat.
"Everything should be good!" Julia called. "Let 'er rip!"
Bunny turned the key in the ignition.
The engine started, and Julia stumbled back from the school bus with surprise. "I did it!"
"You did it!" Bunny hopped out of the bus, holding onto the strap of his Bushmaster.
"I hotwired a school bus!" Julia laughed, high-fiving Bunny. "Scratch that one of the bucket list, eh?"
"You are, officially, the coolest sheila I've met," Bunny said, fully sincere.
"Really? You're a Guardian, you've probably met cooler," she poked him on the arm before removing the hair tie from her hair and undoing the long black braid.
"Not really," Bunny winked down at her. "Now c'mon, we should probably tell the others the good news. We're headed back to Fort Surrven!"
"So what is it you're looking for at Fort Surrven? It's a small military base in South America in the middle of nowhere, I don't understand why such big-time military commanders are so interested in it."
"Oh, well-" Bunny was about to explain before he cut himself off. "I- Uh- Sorry, I can't tell you. It's kinda a secret for now."
"Oh, that's alright," Julia's face fell slightly, but she obviously tried to hide it. "I was just hoping to stay on the same page, you know?" she smiled sadly, the corners of her lips twitching. "I feel like I'm sort of useless around here. Everyone's so special, and on some special mission, and I don't want to be getting in the way-"
"You're not getting in the way!" Bunny gasped. "You saved us from the Nightmare infestation at Surrven! You gave us shelter while we're here, and you got us a school bus!" Bunny waved towards the vehicle. "Sure, it's not the badass, apocalypse movie cliche vehicle, it's a bright orange nerd-mobile, but it'll move us!"
Julia laughed. "Thanks, General."
"Seriously, mate, call me Aster," Bunny put one hand on Julia's head. "And trust me, I wish I could tell you everything. And maybe someday the president will authorize the release of the information."
"As long as you let me keep helping you, everything will be fine," Julia put her hand on top of his on top of her head, smiling kindly, her pale cheeks turning a light shade of red. Bunny smirked awkwardly.
"Let's get inside," he said, patting her back and steering her back to the school. Julia smiled and let him lead the way. As Bunny turned his back to her, however, the corners of her lips twitched, and the smile faded.
Tooth and Jack sat in Tooth's 'bedroom' in the nurse's ex-office. "You know, Bunny seems to be getting pretty close with Captain Julia already," Jack pointed out. "She did save his life back at Fort Surrven. Maybe you're just being paranoid."
"I know, I know," Tooth fell back into her chair, rubbing her forehead and sighing. "But there's something off about her, I just know it!"
"She's part of the military, she works with your friend!" Jack said.
"I know!" Tooth groaned. "But she's asking a lot of questions..."
"She's curious about why a bunch of fancy military officers are suddenly interested in Fort Surrven. I'd be asking questions too!"
"You know it's because of the clue on your father's desk. Why else would he have a paper with the name of that fort written on it? I have a feeling there is something important in Surrven. And my instincts are rarely ever wrong."
"Like your instincts about Captain Julia?"
"Jack!" Tooth hissed. "I'd like to leave this place before the Captain gets any more involved than she already is. Once they get that bus ready, we're getting into the Fort, finding any connections with your dad, and getting out."
"Right," Jack sighed.
Tooth smiled sadly and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, kid, this is all to find your dad. We don't need anyone else getting involved, especially with B.L.A.C.C. looking for the same thing. You never know when they're listening."
"I still don't get this B.L.A.C.C. junk. Why do they even want my father?!" Jack asked. "I feel like I still don't understand anything!"
"I know that it must be annoying!" Tooth sighed. "I still really don't understand the half of it. All I know is that your dad is M.I.A.-"
"Huh?"
"Missing in Action. I know that he's M.I.A. and that the president really wants to find him because B.L.A.C.C. wants to. Most of this is just following orders."
"Okay, okay, I get it," Jack said. "But what about the other Guardians? Are you planning on telling them about your suspicions? Where are they anyway?"
North and Sandy were cleaning up the cafeteria, and something was quite obviously bothering the bigger man. Sandy gently pat North on the arm.
"Is it that obvious?" he laughed insincerely. "Yeah, I've been feeling a little weary about the others. It seems that Tooth has been acting strangely."
Sandy nodded, moving his hands in sign language. I've noticed that too.
"I do not know what is wrong," North shook his head as he scrubbed down the table with a sponge. "We are on big lead with Jack here now, and the clue about Fort Surrven. I don't know why she would be on edge."
Would it have something to do with Jack?
"That did cross my mind, da," North nodded. "But I see the way she behaves around Captain Julia," he tapped his finger near his eye for emphasis. "I think it is something about her."
That she's not a Guardian?
Their conversation was cut off as both Captain Julia and Bunny walked in. "The bus is all ready to take you guys back to Surrven!" Julia cheered.
"That is great news!" North exclaimed. "We should go let Tooth and Ja- ehem, Kyle, know!"
"Where are those two, anyway?" Bunny asked, looking around the cafeteria. "Why do those do always sneak off?"
Readers, we're probably asking the same questions as Julia and Jack were.
Can someone PLEASE give us an explanation?
Thomas Overland mysteriously disappears, B.L.A.C.C. mysteriously wants to find him, they find a mysterious clue on Thomas Overland's desk leading them to a random fort in South America. Not to mention there's the deal with the Guardian of South America's identity. And what's up with Julia? And where does Luna Moonley fit in all of this?
Why does B.L.A.C.C. want Thomas Overland so badly?
Boogie, with his sweeping black cape, stormed into his headquarter's main office. "THE BIRD CAME BACK!" he yelled, the black bird perched on his shoulder.
"S-Sir!" an officer gasped, not expecting his boss to storm in so suddenly. The other officers quickly quieted down, all of them spinning in their chairs to face Boogie.
"It came back," Boogie held out his hand, and the bird landed in his palm. "The Captain says that the Overland boy isn't there! I want surveillance on them, NOW!"
"We can't, sir," the officer objected. "M.A.N.I. would sense them."
"Damn Moonley Tech. If I could only get access to the Noetic Intelligence, I could shut it down. But the only one who could do that is Luna Moonley."
"Did you get any other information?" the officer asked.
"No," Boogie glared at the computer screen. "Get out."
"H-Huh?"
"GET OUT!" Boogie ordered, pointing at the door, the officer, along with the few others that were in the main office, quickly scrambled out the door. As soon as the door slammed shut, Boogie turned back to the computer. His black cape swayed at the motion as he slammed his hands down on the desk.
"Activate M.A.N.I. system."
I'm afraid I'm going to need vocal recognition.
"You know who I am," Boogie hissed as calmly as he could as the computer recorded his voice.
The machine beeped. Boogie pressed his hand down and his palm got scanned. It didn't take long for the advanced program to log in.
Access granted. M.A.N.I. said.
By now, readers, I would expect a surprised gasp, along with whispers, to rustle throughout the audience. How on Earth did Boogie get access to M.A.N.I., a computer system accessible only to the Guardians, the president, and Luna Moonley? Did he somehow break into the software? Or is M.A.N.I. not what he seems?
If I ask to access the Guardian's accounts, it'll surely alert them, or I won't be able to get in at all! Boogie thought. "Where is your central hard drive unit?"
That information is not accessible for your rank.
Boogie hissed. "What rank is it accessible for?"
Only Miss Luna Moonley can know the location of my central hard drive unit.
"Not even the president?!" Boogie gasped.
No. Is there anything else you need?
"Are the Guardian's accounts accessible for me?"
Only if you alert them, sir.
Boogie banged his hands on the table once more. "Enough! I've heard enough! Shut down!"
Goodbye.
The whirring sound let Boogie know that M.A.N.I. was shutting down. He grumbled under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Only Luna Moonley has access to the damn thing's hard drive unit. If I can get that, I can get all of the Guardian's accounts! And then I can know the location of the Overland boy," he mumbled. "And with him, I can find Thomas Overland..." he trailed off, noticing the black bird still on his shoulder. He held out his hand and, once again, had the bird land in his palm. "I have a few connections to Luna Moonley...but none that I can use at this moment," he whispered to the bird. He raised an eyebrow. "Well, there is one- no, she's gone right now. I can't have her leave her post." The bird tweeted, looking up at its master with wide yellow eyes. "Besides, I highly doubt she will know about the unit's whereabouts...no, I need another way to find it." He looked back down at the bird. "Just another thing to add to my to-do list. But it'll all be worth it, when I find Thomas Overland and finish what he's started!" Boogie growled as his fist tightened around the bird, making it explode into lifeless black sand that floated to the ground from in between the cracks of his fingers. "The experiment is nearly complete."
Sorry, this one is short!
Recap: Julia and Bunny got the bus working, Tooth is still suspicious, and Boogie somehow got access to M.A.N.I.
So in her own head: Julia? Heck yeah she's a liar n.n lol glad you like it though!
Theawesomest5: Haha sorry about that I was on hiatus for a while xD But now that summer is over, I'll probably update a lot more often.
Merlia W: I'm glad you like M.A.N.I.! xD poor computers, always so easy to manipulate
Misaikoneho: I was thinking more mentally when calling Bunny weak. He really is strong, but when you look at the rest of the Guardians he probably is the weakest one mentally. Not only does he have a "rabbit-like" mentality, anxious and all, but he also has a backstory with the Pooka stuff that I'll get into in the story. He seemed to be the easiest for Julia to manipulate, considering that Tooth is the suspicious one, Sandy is quiet but smart, North may not seem like it but I headcanon that he's very smart, wise beyond his years kind of way, and she has no interest in "Kyle Bunnymund". I'm glad you like Julia though! She's a problematic fave xD
CrazyCrapInc: MUAHAHAHA there is no one you can trust in this story!
Glad you guys liked it! I'll try to update quicker now, with this and IdentiStaffs! There's still a mystery to be solved here, people! Let me know your critiques, comments, predictions, or anything you'd like! If you're just starting school, I'm in the same boat, so feel free to complain ;)