For some reason I manage to write these (and fry my brain in the process) and then completely forget it's Thursday... whoops.

Twenty-Six

Kia stared down at the floor in front of her, the blue carpet stretching away to cover the rest of the Common.

"Something wrong?" Hatter asked, concerned about her companion's sudden stop. There had been nothing to trigger the halt, not that the mod had seen, and yet Kia was in a peculiar kind of trance.

Sky, who was standing beside Hatter, leaned in closer to her and whispered, "She's having freedom issues," accompanying the vague explanation with a grin.

Hatter didn't have time to ask what she meant before Kia looked up with a determined expression on her face. Slowly, she lifted her leg and took a single step forward, stopping again after she had done so. There was a moment of silence, and then her face split into a wide beam. "Freedom!" she shouted, jumping on the spot. It was then that she noticed the bemused look Hatter wore. "What? I've not been able to go past that point while you were asleep. I am now officially in new territory that I haven't explored!"

"What is there to explore?" It wasn't like there was anything hidden in this room; it was open-plan, after all. "Are you going to crawl under tables or something?"

Kia pouted. "It's a metaphor."

"Given your habit of trying to follow through with metaphors, I think I can be forgiven for believing you'd act like a child."

"Hey!" Kia frowned and threw a weak punch at Hatter, who smirked as she caught it easily. "You're mean. Go back to sleep."

"If I did then you would be stuck again," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow at the fact that the girl had forgotten this already. Kia pouted and crossed her arms (once Hatter finally deigned to let go of her fist), turning her back on the mod and choosing to talk only to Sky.

"Where did you say we were going?" the civilian asked, making an obvious point of ignoring the mercenary. Both mods immediately began thinking of ways they could trick her into responding to Hatter and any subsequent jibes they could pull.

"Kitchen. You've been complaining about not being able to go there this whole time, so I figured you might enjoy it." She hid a smile at Hatter's reaction to this information, the rolling eyes making it obvious that Kia would relish the chance to investigate the facility. The almost devious look on Kia's face, however, threw her off; she hadn't even thought the girl capable of such a dark expression.

Hatter could see Sky's confusion and found it somewhat ironic. She mused over how the woman might react when she was finally exposed to Kia's creative tendencies in the realm of food. If it could even be called 'food'. The combinations were occasionally too far even for Kia herself.

The girl's excitement seemed to make the journey shorter than it really was, and before Sky could fully comprehend what was going through her head they were there, Kia waiting impatiently outside the door and carping about how pointless it was to secure a kitchen with a high-grade security system like Juke; but that didn't change the spark of happiness she felt at hearing him greet Hatter once more. This feeling was quickly overwhelmed by excitement at the sight of the many storage spaces in the room, and she was immediately rummaging through them without care for her companions.

"She's like a kid," Sky commented, still managing to be surprised by this despite having spent the last week in her company.

"Maybe a puppy," Hatter proposed, locating the kettle and setting it. "She has the occasional bright moment and might one day be useful."

"She can't fight though," Sky grimaced, pulling out a bar stool and seating herself on it.

"Oh, tell me you didn't." Hatter gave her a look of sympathy which received a sheepish shrug in reply.

"I thought teaching her would distract from her boredom and make her more useful to you in the field, but I simply couldn't keep going with it. She's hopeless."

"How many times did she fall over?"

"Lost count."

Hatter chuckled as she glanced at the girl in question to make sure she hadn't been listening before joining Sky at the counter and leaning on it, arms folded. "Like I said though, she has her moments. Like identifying the train terrorist as part of Open."

Sky's eyes narrowed as she recognised Hatter's manipulating tone. Did she really think she wouldn't? "No. You've just woken up and been taken off the case; we are not talking about this." She watched as Hatter dropped the pretence of menial conversation, glowering when it became obvious her plan was realised.

"There's nothing I can do to persuade you otherwise?"

"You know the answer to that." Really now, Hatter was only making the situation worse for herself. All she had to do was temporarily let go of the Open case, but instead she clung to it like it was her personal responsibility. "Morgan, how many times must I say it? You're part of a team; we're not here for your occasional convenience, we're here to back you up when you're not at your best and let's face it, you aren't. The Open case is in safe hands – trust me."

She knew it was a difficult thing to ask of Hatter, and the mod's body language clearly expressed her instinctive distrust of Sky's words. Well, not instinctive, she supposed, but forcefully learnt. What she wouldn't give to have met Hatter before… everything. As it was, she could only do what was best for her now.

"Just… tell me what you found out about Open's base in 3 W," Hatter requested, "and I promise to forget about it all. For now."

Sky was perplexed. Normally Hatter would never give up on her quarry so easily, and especially not one she was so invested in personally. "I've neither good nor bad news," Sky began, though she suspected Hatter had already worked this out from her conversations with Peace or Kia. "We couldn't find their hideout in the scraper, not even after several courses of scanning. Hollow suspects that they're using a Data-Lock, since that was one of the blueprints stolen. Plus, that particular tower has always had unusually low power efficiency that makes a lot more sense when you account for someone siphoning energy to run a device equivalent to an electronic shield or something."

"Did you actually bother searching for it on foot?"

"Of course. What do you take me for – an idiot? I couldn't find a visible entrance anywhere I could access."

Hatter almost hissed as she understood. "We're going to need a Royal Warrant to search for that place, aren't we?"

"Yes, I am. Fluke's on it, though he can't promise it'll be quick. But he'll get that warrant eventually, and when he does I'll turn the entire scraper upside down if I have to."

The resolution in her voice made Hatter hesitate about asking her more. Maybe it really would be alright to let someone else take this case, if that someone were Sky? She stared at the woman for a good while, enough to make her uncomfortable. "Kettle's finished," Hatter said eventually, turning away to make tea. "Kia! Did you find the teabags yet?" she shouted to the girl, who had somehow managed to disappear from sight entirely.

"Mmmh!" was the muffled response, followed by an entire box of teabags being thrown across the room, straight at Sky. The mod quickly leant back and caught the box right where her head used to be.

"Eryn save me from these fiends," she muttered incredulously, before speaking up, "do you two always try and kill each other when you make tea?"

Hatter just shrugged as she relieved Sky of the box. "Kia, we need a fruit tea too!"

"Is raspberry good?" Sky couldn't work out where her voice was coming from, which was odd. Hatter stared at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, raspberry is good."

As if she'd already prepared and was just holding out for an agreement Kia sent a lone teabag flying their way, which Hatter caught by simply lifting one of the mugs up. Sky took her tea hesitantly when it was finally proffered to her; even though she knew Hatter wasn't the kind of person to play pranks she was still wary that it might explode or something ridiculous.

"Do you think Kia's realised she's talked to me again yet?" Hatter wondered as she rejoined the American at the counter.

"Maybe."

"Hmm." She took a sip of her tea. "I doubt it. She's probably more invested in her mad concoction than in a small grudge."

Sky sniffed. "If even you think she's mad then she truly must be."

"I heard that!" Kia replied, the scowl evident in her voice.

"Sounds like the mad one is on her way back," the mercenary commented in a detached tone, setting her mug down as she pondered something. "Sky? Would you tell me one last thing?"

"Depends what it is." Indulging Hatter further would probably be inadvisable, so the mod already knew she wasn't going to say anything more about Open. Hatter didn't speak for a while, the only sound being Kia's footsteps closing in on them.

"How many people died?"

"You–"

"Tell me."

"...twenty-six..."

Hatter's head turned away and her grip on the mug tightened to the point of breaking it. She inhaled deeply before sitting up straight and plastering a mild smirk on her face as Kia finally came back into view. Sky watched the mod carefully for a few seconds more until she decided there was nothing she could do. Not right now any way. She leant forward a little to see past Hatter and grinned at Kia.

"Back at last, huh? Took your time. I didn't think you'd be one for letting tea get cold." Sky's gaze panned down as she caught sight of the plate of food Kia was carrying. "What're you having for lunch then? A jam sandwich or some– what the fuck is that?"

I think I just need you all to remind me when it's Thursday, and that way maybe I'll remember! Or I guess I won't if I need you all reminding me.. well...uh...

Please review!

Please.

Pls.