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OP HQ: Once Again
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"And one day, well all be very happy! Won't we, Scar?" Spink said, smiling.
"Yes! We will! And maybe someday we will have a great adventure!" I laughed.
"As long as it's not too dangerous, Scar," he said, laughing also.
"And when we come back we can start a legend about a new world, and everyone won't know it's their own ALR!" Spink said. I could already see him devising a plan in his laughing eyes.
"That would be very strange," I said, thinking about it.
"Not too much stranger than you!" Spink laughed. I laughed and slapped him playfully.
"And you're not strange yourself?" I said.
"Someday we'll have that adventure. All three of us!" Spink managed between bursts of laughter.
"Hey, Scar. Come on! Wake up! We gotta leave today!" Kilt said, lightly kicking me in the back with his foot. I turned over and glared at him. I really felt like punching Kilt in the nose just then. He smiled and stuck out his tongue at me.
"What was so funny, anyway?" he asked. I shook my head and dragged myself into a sitting position.
"So what will we need to take with us?" I asked, yawning.
"Darn, you! Stop it! You'll make me-" Kilt attempted before breaking out into a big yawn himself. I repeated the question and he smiled.
"No worries! I already packed everything!" he said gleefully. I shook my head.
"So, are we gonna eat first, or wait two days before we get to OP Headquarters?" I asked jokingly.
"Are you joking? Eat now AND then!" he said, making a face at me. I rolled my eye and flew over to a coconut tree and pulled off two green coconuts. The green ones were sweet and better tasting than the ripened ones. Kilt quickly built the fire and I threw in the coconuts. Kilt came over and sat down beside me.
"So, let's make a list!" Kilt said.
"First Aid Kits, Sword, Laser Guns, plates and eating utensils. How are we gonna pay for it? We didn't bring money, Kilt?" I said.
"We can trade something, I guess. Scar, I'm pretty sure you can come up with something to trade. We also need to see a doctor for all our eyes and bites and shit, and I need to go see somebody," he said.
"Business to attend to," I quoted. He nodded. I stared into the fire. What could we trade? What was something valuable on the Ops that we had here in the city and general area?
"Wait! I think I might have something!" I said, standing up excitedly.
"Well, what are you waiting for girl? Go get it!" Kilt shrugged.
I ran over to my house and emerged a few moments later with a small sack made of leaves and sisal twine. Kilt looked at me questioningly when I sat back down.
"Whatcha got in there, Scar? Rocks?" he asked. I opened it up and pulled out a sheet of glass about the size of my hand for him to study.
"Glass? Scar, where the hell did you get this?" he asked, taking the piece of glass and examining it.
"Every day I collected the ashes and charcoal and stuff out of the fire ring and made sure there was a good coating of sand before starting the next fire. Every day a new sheet of glass. Pretty nifty, huh?" I said proudly.
"Scar, you just keeps amazing me," he said.
"You might want to start putting aloe on your nose again," I informed him, and his hand flew up to his face.
"Won't matter, we won't be here for the next 6 days anyway," he said.
"When are we gonna leave?" I asked, maneuvering the coconuts out of the fire ring with my stick.
"How about right after you finish eating?" Kilt said, breaking open his coconut and gobbling up half of it before I could answer.
"Just be sure to put on normal clothes. Go program the pods when your done, which is going to be pretty much in a minute," I said, breaking open my own coconut and savoring the sweet juice.
"Okay, Ruler of Youshey," Kilt mumbled around a mouthful of coconut. I muttered curses under my breath before taking a big bite of coconut.
Kilt finished of his coconut and went to go program my pod a few moments later. I threw another log into the fire and stared at the dancing flames, chewing on my coconut.
I was already beginning to feel feverish in my clothes, but ignored it and went on arguing with Kilt over the list of things to get. We finally agreed on a set list and starting clearing up around the city so it would all be standing when we returned. I put out the fire and pushed my pod out from it's lodge in the wall of my house. I was afraid my home would collapse, but the wall stayed snug. I opened the pod door and started making things comfortable for a two days sleep. I had packed when I had changed into my normal clothes and now the bag was thoroughly lodged behind my seat with the empty first aid kit. Kilt put a hand on my shoulder and I stood up and turned around to face him. Kilt smiled.
"What?" I asked.
"You look kinda flushed, that's all," he said.
"This attire is way to warm for this climate," I said, walking around him and starting towards the fire ring to gather today's glass. Kilt grabbed my wrist and spun me around to face him. He locked my eyes and wouldn't let them go. From the grip on my wrist, he wasn't letting that go either.
"What?" I asked harshly, breaking the silence.
"You don't look to good, are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine, I'm just burning up in these clothes, faster we leave, sooner we get there, and I'll be okay, quit looking at me that way!" I said in defense. He didn't let my eye go. But it didn't really seem like he was looking at my good eye, or really at me at all. He didn't say anything. We stood there in silence for a few minutes until finally he let go of my wrist and looked away. I ran over to the fire ring and grabbed the piece of glass and made my way into my pod. Kilt was actually beginning to scare me, but I didn't know why. I welcomed the softening aroma of the sleeping gas as my pod lifted from the ground and made it's way out of Youshey's atmosphere.
"Hey, Scar, wake up," Kilt whispered from the bright plasma screen in front of me. I moaned and rubbed the sleep roughly out of my eyes. I decided I liked dreamless sleep.
"Scar, we'll be there in five minutes, so get ready. I nodded and looked past his glowing face to the front window. That was Op Headquarters, indeed, just a little light, but in several minutes would be a towering metal artificial satellite of several stars and planets.
"-Scar? Scar, are you listening to me?" Kilt asked, regaining my attention. I nodded, still groggy from the sleeping gas. I turned off the plasma screen he was on and put on the ultra solitaire game and beat it twice before we came upon the Op. I gazed at it's immenseness. I had only seen it a while ago, but not had noticed how technical and advanced and big it was.
"Damnit, Scar! Don't shut me off like that again! Pull up to Dock B, that's what the guy told me to do. Wake up, please?" He said. I felt my stomach growl impatiently. I smiled at him.
"First, we need to get some food, I'm dying'!" I said, trying to manage the best possible happy face I could.
"You feeling alright?" Kilt asked.
"I'm perfectly fine! That's the third time you've asked me in the past week, what's with you?" I asked. I did feel fine, great, actually, just sleepy. Kilt didn't answer, now he was the one to cut the connection. I felt relived that he cut it, now I could concentrate on landing in Dock B. I shifted the pod off of autopilot and maneuvered into Dock B.
"Why do people keep staring at us, it's not like we're aliens or anything," Kilt said on a whim, before stuffing his face with a sandwich. We sat in OP Headquarters Café gobbling down all the real food we could manage. We had been living so long on fried coconuts, I had forgotten what real food tasted like.
"Yeah, I know, we're Saiya-jin, just like them. Our scars and stuff are normal in this race, and we do come from another Op, but this is HQ, they get people from all the Ops here all the time," I said through a large wad of onigiri I had just taken a bite of.
"Strange. Maybe they know about the last time we were here or something. The guy you beat up did tell us that not too many people come back out of that room alive," Kilt said, finishing off his sandwich and gulping down a whole can of Oy! Cola*.
"Dunno. Didn't notice it till you said something, either," I said, shoving the rest of the onigiri down my throat.
"Time to go do some weapon shopping, whadya say?" Kilt said. I smiled and nodded, gulping down the last drop of lemonade.
Now I was aware of the people glancing over their shoulder and around corners at us. It started to give me the creeps, actually. I could tell it was freaking Kilt out, too, he returned the peoples glances and stares with a creepy glare I really don't recall him doing too many times before. I was happy to jump in the elevator after Kilt and slam the 'close door' button.
"Well, that was freaky," I said, pushing another button for the floor with the shops. Other than that, we were silent and both gladly stepped off the elevator.
"Okay, you, weapons, me… everything else…" Kilt said. I nodded and started down one of the corridors, searching for the shop the guy at the docking bay told me about. There were shops ranging from plants to humanoids, all in a vivid blend of colors. I had never been here before, besides for the Mio mission, then it had been business, get in, kill, get out. The amount of shops and bright flashy colors were beginning to make me dizzy. I held on and kept looking. Then, there at the very end of the corridor was the place I was looking for, Harnessed Power. I walked up to the counter and smiled at the guy across it.
"Whadya want, missie?" He asked roughly.
"I heard you people made swords and I was wondering if you had one that would suit me?" I said. The guy looked at me hard.
"Scar?" he said.
"Yeah? How'd you know my name?" I asked.
"You don't remember me? Ah, that makes me a little sad," he said, pulling the toothpick out of his mouth and giving me a big smile, "I'm Frei! Remember? I used to flirt with Mei, and Spink always got so mad at me?"
"Frei, you flirted with everybody. How did you end up here?" I laughed.
"Ah, me dad made me leave Op 3 about two years after the Tryon incident and-" he clamped his hand over his mouth and looked at me.
"What?" I asked, "I remember Tryon. Kilt de-erased me." He gave me a smile.
"Ah, I know how de-erasing works, so, Kilt finally got what he wanted after all these years, I guess. Anyway, my dad made me move here and I was-" he stared again.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked. He gave me a look.
"No sense in not telling you, that boy's liked you since we were… let me see… like six or something like that. So anyway, I work here now. What kinda sword do you want, Scar?" He asked. I was quiet for a minute. Was I really, no, am I so ignorant to not notice it before?
"Er, Hallo? Scar? Op HQ to Scar, come in please," Frei joked, flinging his hand out in front of my face and waving it around.
"How did you know he erased me, even?" I asked.
"Eh, when he told us not to talk to you about Tryon, I knew something was not right, so I did some light researching on Kilt and found out he could erase. I figured that's what he did to you. So, you remember, now?" Frei said.
"Actually, there's only bits and pieces I do remember," I said, just now really thinking about it.
"Really? You only remembered what he wanted you to remember. Smart on his part, Kilt was never much of a thinker. So, I hear Op 3 kicked the bucket, right?" he said. I clenched my fist.
"That was Pokg. He did it. He killed everyone on that Op besides me and Kilt," I said through clenched teeth.
"Be on the lookout, last I heard the was at Op 5 looking for you guys. That reminds me, how did all of you survive the ALR here?" Frei said.
"Dunno. I guess just got out before we were killed. I want 32 inch blade with a fifteen inch handle, kinda curved blade, but not so it's not useable, please," I said.
"Sure, no problem, it'll be done by tomorrow, 900 Zinny. So, where are you and Kilt staying, anyway? Yes, I'm assuming you two are sticking together now that Pokg's out to get you for your shards," Frei asked.
"That's information we agreed not to disclose to anyone for our own safety," I said, flinging my leaf bag off my shoulder and pulling out a shard of glass, "Will this cover the cost? It's strong and doesn't weigh almost anything, made with real sand." Frei took the piece from me and examined it closely.
"Judging from your bag and that this was made from sand, no wonder Youshey's off the uninhabited list. No, don't worry, I won't tell anyone, I swear," he said, "This'll cover the costs and much more, what else do you want?"
"Really? It's worth that much? Two laser guns," I said, placing my bag back on my shoulder and pointing to some handheld models on display under the glass of the counter.
"Ah, good choice, Scar," he said, taking the two and handing them to me. I put them in my bag, careful not to break the glass. Frei looked at me hard.
"Scar, be nice to Kilt. You've given him enough abuse in his life to deal with from someone he loves. Just be nice. Please?" he said solemnly.
Jut as I was about to ask what the hell that meant, Kilt came bounding over.
"Scar! Where have you been?" I've been looking all over for you!" he panted.
"I've been standing right here," I answered, "I got the laser guns, and we can pick up my sword tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, you wouldn't believe! I bought everything on just one piece of glass- Frei?" He said, then glancing over my shoulder to Frei.
"Glad you at least recognized me, I had to tell Scarlet who I was and then she remembered," he said. I rolled my eye and stepped aside so Kilt and Frei could catch up on life. After a few minutes I heard Kilt cuss under his breath.
"Damn it! We've gotta go, I made a doctors appointment and we're gonna be late, don't wanna be! Who knows what diseases we got?" Kilt said, gabbing my wrist and tugging me along. I waved at Frei before a mist of people broke all vision possible. Kilt pulled me along through the crowd and onto the elevator.
"Didn't quite expect to see Frei there, or anywhere for that matter," Kilt said quietly.
"Me neither, did you get your stuff?" I asked. He smiled and pointed to the stuffed canvas bag he was holding.
"Yep. Obviously, you found what you wanted," he said.
"And some information you would like to know," I said.
"What?" he asked.
"I'll tell you later. Don't feel like it now, it's gotta sink in," I said. He was quiet for a minute.
"You know what, Scar? How about later we go to the ALR-" he started.
"ALR? This is Op HQ, are you insane or something?" I asked. It took him a minute to realize what I was saying. He nodded and the happiness seemed to leave his eyes but not his face, and he smiled at me.
"Thanks for reminding me. I was kinda planning on seeing an ALR again, but I guess I chose the wrong Op. Should've gone to 5 instead," he said as the elevator door opened.
"But Op five is where Pokg is, looking for us. Some of the information I just learned," I said. Kilt looked at me for a second.
"Well, if that's part of the info, I don't wanna hear the rest until after we get home, okay?" he said. I nodded and caught the door as it was going to close again.
"So, you found a cure and then you came here to get it checked?" the doctor asked, examining Kilt's ankle, after hearing the snake story.
"Yeah. Am I okay now, though?" Kilt asked somberly. In one elevator ride I had managed to screw up his whole 'happy mode' thing he had going on. Welcome to the crew, Kilt. I was pissed from the moment I woke up this morning in a cramped space pod.
"I'll have to give you some little anti-venom pills for you to take for the next week or so, just to be safe," the doctor answered after a second.
"Okay. Other than that bite, you seem pretty okay to me, " he told Kilt, then turned to me, "You're next, missy." He gestured to the tall table Kilt had just flown off of and I walked over and hauled myself up. I sat there in silence, swinging my legs, waiting for the guy to finish filling out Kilt's prescription.
"So, what's wrong with you?" he asked, not looking up.
"My eye," I answered casually. The doctor turned around in his spinney chair with wheels and looked at me over the brim of his glasses. I returned the look with an innocent, blank stare. I saw Kilt flash me a look from across the room and mouth something I couldn't make out. I shrugged at him and turned my attention back to the doctor, who I hadn't noticed get up in my face and start examining my eye.
"I take it you're blind in this eye because you didn't see my movements," said the doctor.
"No, I can't see from it. What were you doing? Cartwheels? Jumping jacks? Electric Slide?" I asked. Kilt emitted a small snort of laughter and I gave him a sharp look. He put on his best innocent face.
"Anyway, looks like something was irritating it, and you must have rubbed it into your eye or something that made it bleed, the inside of your eye is filled with blood. Never seen a case like this before, normally people get blind from looking at too bright ki(s). Any irritation or anything?" the doctor asked me.
"I was unconscious for three days before I woke up. Then it started bleeding and I couldn't see," I answered calmly.
"Strange, but why didn't you go to a doctor immediately after it happened?" he asked. I was quiet for a minute before answering.
"There were no doctors," I said. The doctor gave me a blank look, Kilt hung his head quietly.
"Every Op had doctors!" exclaimed the doctor.
"Sir, you're not aware of our situation. We were the two remaining survivors of Op 3. When this happened, we were there, and it was a few days after everyone was murdered by Pokg," Kilt piped up cautiously. The doctor didn't respond for a moment.
"So, you two mean to tell me that you are the two that fought the Mio and are now being tracked by that guy everybody thought was dead until he showed up at Op 2? I don't believe you," he said.
"Fine, don't believe us if you don't want to, it's not going to hurt my feelings at all. So, can you do anything for my eye?" I asked hopefully.
"Yeah. Some special eye drop formula that'll dissolve anything that's not supposed to be in your eye. First, I advise you to take some of this and go lay down on the couch because if you aren't asleep, it'll hurt like the dickens," the doctor said, handing me two sleeping pills and a glass of water.
"Damnit. I feel like I sleep all the time, you know? Yesh. Okay. Don't do anything too fun without me, 'kay, Kilt?" I said, gulping down the pills and going over to the couch.
"Sure, you can count on that," he said.
"Those will knock you out at least 'till morning," said the doctor.
"Ah, well, thanks for warning me before I took them," I said, yawning.
"Sure, whatever," he said, putting the drops in my eye. It burnt, but the pain was soon replaced by sleep.
*= 'Oy! Cola' is from Ojajamo Doremi, I don't know what fuction it plays or whatever, but I know it's a drink with a little fist illustrated on the can. Anyway, not my invention, doesn't belong to me. I'm not taking credit. Don't sue me. Thank you, thank you very much.
OP HQ: Once Again
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"And one day, well all be very happy! Won't we, Scar?" Spink said, smiling.
"Yes! We will! And maybe someday we will have a great adventure!" I laughed.
"As long as it's not too dangerous, Scar," he said, laughing also.
"And when we come back we can start a legend about a new world, and everyone won't know it's their own ALR!" Spink said. I could already see him devising a plan in his laughing eyes.
"That would be very strange," I said, thinking about it.
"Not too much stranger than you!" Spink laughed. I laughed and slapped him playfully.
"And you're not strange yourself?" I said.
"Someday we'll have that adventure. All three of us!" Spink managed between bursts of laughter.
"Hey, Scar. Come on! Wake up! We gotta leave today!" Kilt said, lightly kicking me in the back with his foot. I turned over and glared at him. I really felt like punching Kilt in the nose just then. He smiled and stuck out his tongue at me.
"What was so funny, anyway?" he asked. I shook my head and dragged myself into a sitting position.
"So what will we need to take with us?" I asked, yawning.
"Darn, you! Stop it! You'll make me-" Kilt attempted before breaking out into a big yawn himself. I repeated the question and he smiled.
"No worries! I already packed everything!" he said gleefully. I shook my head.
"So, are we gonna eat first, or wait two days before we get to OP Headquarters?" I asked jokingly.
"Are you joking? Eat now AND then!" he said, making a face at me. I rolled my eye and flew over to a coconut tree and pulled off two green coconuts. The green ones were sweet and better tasting than the ripened ones. Kilt quickly built the fire and I threw in the coconuts. Kilt came over and sat down beside me.
"So, let's make a list!" Kilt said.
"First Aid Kits, Sword, Laser Guns, plates and eating utensils. How are we gonna pay for it? We didn't bring money, Kilt?" I said.
"We can trade something, I guess. Scar, I'm pretty sure you can come up with something to trade. We also need to see a doctor for all our eyes and bites and shit, and I need to go see somebody," he said.
"Business to attend to," I quoted. He nodded. I stared into the fire. What could we trade? What was something valuable on the Ops that we had here in the city and general area?
"Wait! I think I might have something!" I said, standing up excitedly.
"Well, what are you waiting for girl? Go get it!" Kilt shrugged.
I ran over to my house and emerged a few moments later with a small sack made of leaves and sisal twine. Kilt looked at me questioningly when I sat back down.
"Whatcha got in there, Scar? Rocks?" he asked. I opened it up and pulled out a sheet of glass about the size of my hand for him to study.
"Glass? Scar, where the hell did you get this?" he asked, taking the piece of glass and examining it.
"Every day I collected the ashes and charcoal and stuff out of the fire ring and made sure there was a good coating of sand before starting the next fire. Every day a new sheet of glass. Pretty nifty, huh?" I said proudly.
"Scar, you just keeps amazing me," he said.
"You might want to start putting aloe on your nose again," I informed him, and his hand flew up to his face.
"Won't matter, we won't be here for the next 6 days anyway," he said.
"When are we gonna leave?" I asked, maneuvering the coconuts out of the fire ring with my stick.
"How about right after you finish eating?" Kilt said, breaking open his coconut and gobbling up half of it before I could answer.
"Just be sure to put on normal clothes. Go program the pods when your done, which is going to be pretty much in a minute," I said, breaking open my own coconut and savoring the sweet juice.
"Okay, Ruler of Youshey," Kilt mumbled around a mouthful of coconut. I muttered curses under my breath before taking a big bite of coconut.
Kilt finished of his coconut and went to go program my pod a few moments later. I threw another log into the fire and stared at the dancing flames, chewing on my coconut.
I was already beginning to feel feverish in my clothes, but ignored it and went on arguing with Kilt over the list of things to get. We finally agreed on a set list and starting clearing up around the city so it would all be standing when we returned. I put out the fire and pushed my pod out from it's lodge in the wall of my house. I was afraid my home would collapse, but the wall stayed snug. I opened the pod door and started making things comfortable for a two days sleep. I had packed when I had changed into my normal clothes and now the bag was thoroughly lodged behind my seat with the empty first aid kit. Kilt put a hand on my shoulder and I stood up and turned around to face him. Kilt smiled.
"What?" I asked.
"You look kinda flushed, that's all," he said.
"This attire is way to warm for this climate," I said, walking around him and starting towards the fire ring to gather today's glass. Kilt grabbed my wrist and spun me around to face him. He locked my eyes and wouldn't let them go. From the grip on my wrist, he wasn't letting that go either.
"What?" I asked harshly, breaking the silence.
"You don't look to good, are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine, I'm just burning up in these clothes, faster we leave, sooner we get there, and I'll be okay, quit looking at me that way!" I said in defense. He didn't let my eye go. But it didn't really seem like he was looking at my good eye, or really at me at all. He didn't say anything. We stood there in silence for a few minutes until finally he let go of my wrist and looked away. I ran over to the fire ring and grabbed the piece of glass and made my way into my pod. Kilt was actually beginning to scare me, but I didn't know why. I welcomed the softening aroma of the sleeping gas as my pod lifted from the ground and made it's way out of Youshey's atmosphere.
"Hey, Scar, wake up," Kilt whispered from the bright plasma screen in front of me. I moaned and rubbed the sleep roughly out of my eyes. I decided I liked dreamless sleep.
"Scar, we'll be there in five minutes, so get ready. I nodded and looked past his glowing face to the front window. That was Op Headquarters, indeed, just a little light, but in several minutes would be a towering metal artificial satellite of several stars and planets.
"-Scar? Scar, are you listening to me?" Kilt asked, regaining my attention. I nodded, still groggy from the sleeping gas. I turned off the plasma screen he was on and put on the ultra solitaire game and beat it twice before we came upon the Op. I gazed at it's immenseness. I had only seen it a while ago, but not had noticed how technical and advanced and big it was.
"Damnit, Scar! Don't shut me off like that again! Pull up to Dock B, that's what the guy told me to do. Wake up, please?" He said. I felt my stomach growl impatiently. I smiled at him.
"First, we need to get some food, I'm dying'!" I said, trying to manage the best possible happy face I could.
"You feeling alright?" Kilt asked.
"I'm perfectly fine! That's the third time you've asked me in the past week, what's with you?" I asked. I did feel fine, great, actually, just sleepy. Kilt didn't answer, now he was the one to cut the connection. I felt relived that he cut it, now I could concentrate on landing in Dock B. I shifted the pod off of autopilot and maneuvered into Dock B.
"Why do people keep staring at us, it's not like we're aliens or anything," Kilt said on a whim, before stuffing his face with a sandwich. We sat in OP Headquarters Café gobbling down all the real food we could manage. We had been living so long on fried coconuts, I had forgotten what real food tasted like.
"Yeah, I know, we're Saiya-jin, just like them. Our scars and stuff are normal in this race, and we do come from another Op, but this is HQ, they get people from all the Ops here all the time," I said through a large wad of onigiri I had just taken a bite of.
"Strange. Maybe they know about the last time we were here or something. The guy you beat up did tell us that not too many people come back out of that room alive," Kilt said, finishing off his sandwich and gulping down a whole can of Oy! Cola*.
"Dunno. Didn't notice it till you said something, either," I said, shoving the rest of the onigiri down my throat.
"Time to go do some weapon shopping, whadya say?" Kilt said. I smiled and nodded, gulping down the last drop of lemonade.
Now I was aware of the people glancing over their shoulder and around corners at us. It started to give me the creeps, actually. I could tell it was freaking Kilt out, too, he returned the peoples glances and stares with a creepy glare I really don't recall him doing too many times before. I was happy to jump in the elevator after Kilt and slam the 'close door' button.
"Well, that was freaky," I said, pushing another button for the floor with the shops. Other than that, we were silent and both gladly stepped off the elevator.
"Okay, you, weapons, me… everything else…" Kilt said. I nodded and started down one of the corridors, searching for the shop the guy at the docking bay told me about. There were shops ranging from plants to humanoids, all in a vivid blend of colors. I had never been here before, besides for the Mio mission, then it had been business, get in, kill, get out. The amount of shops and bright flashy colors were beginning to make me dizzy. I held on and kept looking. Then, there at the very end of the corridor was the place I was looking for, Harnessed Power. I walked up to the counter and smiled at the guy across it.
"Whadya want, missie?" He asked roughly.
"I heard you people made swords and I was wondering if you had one that would suit me?" I said. The guy looked at me hard.
"Scar?" he said.
"Yeah? How'd you know my name?" I asked.
"You don't remember me? Ah, that makes me a little sad," he said, pulling the toothpick out of his mouth and giving me a big smile, "I'm Frei! Remember? I used to flirt with Mei, and Spink always got so mad at me?"
"Frei, you flirted with everybody. How did you end up here?" I laughed.
"Ah, me dad made me leave Op 3 about two years after the Tryon incident and-" he clamped his hand over his mouth and looked at me.
"What?" I asked, "I remember Tryon. Kilt de-erased me." He gave me a smile.
"Ah, I know how de-erasing works, so, Kilt finally got what he wanted after all these years, I guess. Anyway, my dad made me move here and I was-" he stared again.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked. He gave me a look.
"No sense in not telling you, that boy's liked you since we were… let me see… like six or something like that. So anyway, I work here now. What kinda sword do you want, Scar?" He asked. I was quiet for a minute. Was I really, no, am I so ignorant to not notice it before?
"Er, Hallo? Scar? Op HQ to Scar, come in please," Frei joked, flinging his hand out in front of my face and waving it around.
"How did you know he erased me, even?" I asked.
"Eh, when he told us not to talk to you about Tryon, I knew something was not right, so I did some light researching on Kilt and found out he could erase. I figured that's what he did to you. So, you remember, now?" Frei said.
"Actually, there's only bits and pieces I do remember," I said, just now really thinking about it.
"Really? You only remembered what he wanted you to remember. Smart on his part, Kilt was never much of a thinker. So, I hear Op 3 kicked the bucket, right?" he said. I clenched my fist.
"That was Pokg. He did it. He killed everyone on that Op besides me and Kilt," I said through clenched teeth.
"Be on the lookout, last I heard the was at Op 5 looking for you guys. That reminds me, how did all of you survive the ALR here?" Frei said.
"Dunno. I guess just got out before we were killed. I want 32 inch blade with a fifteen inch handle, kinda curved blade, but not so it's not useable, please," I said.
"Sure, no problem, it'll be done by tomorrow, 900 Zinny. So, where are you and Kilt staying, anyway? Yes, I'm assuming you two are sticking together now that Pokg's out to get you for your shards," Frei asked.
"That's information we agreed not to disclose to anyone for our own safety," I said, flinging my leaf bag off my shoulder and pulling out a shard of glass, "Will this cover the cost? It's strong and doesn't weigh almost anything, made with real sand." Frei took the piece from me and examined it closely.
"Judging from your bag and that this was made from sand, no wonder Youshey's off the uninhabited list. No, don't worry, I won't tell anyone, I swear," he said, "This'll cover the costs and much more, what else do you want?"
"Really? It's worth that much? Two laser guns," I said, placing my bag back on my shoulder and pointing to some handheld models on display under the glass of the counter.
"Ah, good choice, Scar," he said, taking the two and handing them to me. I put them in my bag, careful not to break the glass. Frei looked at me hard.
"Scar, be nice to Kilt. You've given him enough abuse in his life to deal with from someone he loves. Just be nice. Please?" he said solemnly.
Jut as I was about to ask what the hell that meant, Kilt came bounding over.
"Scar! Where have you been?" I've been looking all over for you!" he panted.
"I've been standing right here," I answered, "I got the laser guns, and we can pick up my sword tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, you wouldn't believe! I bought everything on just one piece of glass- Frei?" He said, then glancing over my shoulder to Frei.
"Glad you at least recognized me, I had to tell Scarlet who I was and then she remembered," he said. I rolled my eye and stepped aside so Kilt and Frei could catch up on life. After a few minutes I heard Kilt cuss under his breath.
"Damn it! We've gotta go, I made a doctors appointment and we're gonna be late, don't wanna be! Who knows what diseases we got?" Kilt said, gabbing my wrist and tugging me along. I waved at Frei before a mist of people broke all vision possible. Kilt pulled me along through the crowd and onto the elevator.
"Didn't quite expect to see Frei there, or anywhere for that matter," Kilt said quietly.
"Me neither, did you get your stuff?" I asked. He smiled and pointed to the stuffed canvas bag he was holding.
"Yep. Obviously, you found what you wanted," he said.
"And some information you would like to know," I said.
"What?" he asked.
"I'll tell you later. Don't feel like it now, it's gotta sink in," I said. He was quiet for a minute.
"You know what, Scar? How about later we go to the ALR-" he started.
"ALR? This is Op HQ, are you insane or something?" I asked. It took him a minute to realize what I was saying. He nodded and the happiness seemed to leave his eyes but not his face, and he smiled at me.
"Thanks for reminding me. I was kinda planning on seeing an ALR again, but I guess I chose the wrong Op. Should've gone to 5 instead," he said as the elevator door opened.
"But Op five is where Pokg is, looking for us. Some of the information I just learned," I said. Kilt looked at me for a second.
"Well, if that's part of the info, I don't wanna hear the rest until after we get home, okay?" he said. I nodded and caught the door as it was going to close again.
"So, you found a cure and then you came here to get it checked?" the doctor asked, examining Kilt's ankle, after hearing the snake story.
"Yeah. Am I okay now, though?" Kilt asked somberly. In one elevator ride I had managed to screw up his whole 'happy mode' thing he had going on. Welcome to the crew, Kilt. I was pissed from the moment I woke up this morning in a cramped space pod.
"I'll have to give you some little anti-venom pills for you to take for the next week or so, just to be safe," the doctor answered after a second.
"Okay. Other than that bite, you seem pretty okay to me, " he told Kilt, then turned to me, "You're next, missy." He gestured to the tall table Kilt had just flown off of and I walked over and hauled myself up. I sat there in silence, swinging my legs, waiting for the guy to finish filling out Kilt's prescription.
"So, what's wrong with you?" he asked, not looking up.
"My eye," I answered casually. The doctor turned around in his spinney chair with wheels and looked at me over the brim of his glasses. I returned the look with an innocent, blank stare. I saw Kilt flash me a look from across the room and mouth something I couldn't make out. I shrugged at him and turned my attention back to the doctor, who I hadn't noticed get up in my face and start examining my eye.
"I take it you're blind in this eye because you didn't see my movements," said the doctor.
"No, I can't see from it. What were you doing? Cartwheels? Jumping jacks? Electric Slide?" I asked. Kilt emitted a small snort of laughter and I gave him a sharp look. He put on his best innocent face.
"Anyway, looks like something was irritating it, and you must have rubbed it into your eye or something that made it bleed, the inside of your eye is filled with blood. Never seen a case like this before, normally people get blind from looking at too bright ki(s). Any irritation or anything?" the doctor asked me.
"I was unconscious for three days before I woke up. Then it started bleeding and I couldn't see," I answered calmly.
"Strange, but why didn't you go to a doctor immediately after it happened?" he asked. I was quiet for a minute before answering.
"There were no doctors," I said. The doctor gave me a blank look, Kilt hung his head quietly.
"Every Op had doctors!" exclaimed the doctor.
"Sir, you're not aware of our situation. We were the two remaining survivors of Op 3. When this happened, we were there, and it was a few days after everyone was murdered by Pokg," Kilt piped up cautiously. The doctor didn't respond for a moment.
"So, you two mean to tell me that you are the two that fought the Mio and are now being tracked by that guy everybody thought was dead until he showed up at Op 2? I don't believe you," he said.
"Fine, don't believe us if you don't want to, it's not going to hurt my feelings at all. So, can you do anything for my eye?" I asked hopefully.
"Yeah. Some special eye drop formula that'll dissolve anything that's not supposed to be in your eye. First, I advise you to take some of this and go lay down on the couch because if you aren't asleep, it'll hurt like the dickens," the doctor said, handing me two sleeping pills and a glass of water.
"Damnit. I feel like I sleep all the time, you know? Yesh. Okay. Don't do anything too fun without me, 'kay, Kilt?" I said, gulping down the pills and going over to the couch.
"Sure, you can count on that," he said.
"Those will knock you out at least 'till morning," said the doctor.
"Ah, well, thanks for warning me before I took them," I said, yawning.
"Sure, whatever," he said, putting the drops in my eye. It burnt, but the pain was soon replaced by sleep.
*= 'Oy! Cola' is from Ojajamo Doremi, I don't know what fuction it plays or whatever, but I know it's a drink with a little fist illustrated on the can. Anyway, not my invention, doesn't belong to me. I'm not taking credit. Don't sue me. Thank you, thank you very much.