"Are you sure about this?" Sorceress asked as she raised a brow. They had just gone into the gateway to the game Angel Kids.
"Trust me," Set said through a wide grin, "Kids learn to trust people easier than adults who have been tainted by the ills of society longer, right?"
"Right.." Sorceress said reluctantly. They're still gonna be scared of me. She stopped in her nonexistent floating tracks. "Wait.. Is it day time or night time in there?" I can't believe I almost forgot about something so important.
Set snapped his fingers in disappointment, "I forgot about that.." He sighed, "Have you ever been in sunlight before? Maybe it won't be so bad?"
"Asking a vampire to go into sunlight is a bit much, don't you think?" Sorceress asked as she folded her arms and stopped floating next to three cloud-shaped mine carts.
"I'm not asking you to run out there all willy nilly, silly," Set teased, though his expression did show concern, "Maybe just.. stick your hand out into it and if it hurts, we can wait in the shade.
Sorceress shrugged reluctantly and cast a spell on Set to temporarily allow him to float. He floated awkwardly in an ever brief fit of uncertainty before laughing. "I hope that wasn't too sudden.." she said somewhat worriedly as she fought the urge to facepalm. Why do I keep casting spells on people without asking? They're beneficial ones, but still..
"I'm fine," Set laughed, "It just caught me off guard.." So this is what floating in a place with gravity feels like. "I take it you don't want to ride these little cart things."
"What if it stops in sunlight and I turn to dust?" Sorceress asked nervously, "That's not on the top of my list of things to experience." They would be able to bring me back, I think.. but I'd rather not go through something like that in the first place.
"Good point," Set said thoughtfully, "I didn't even consider that.. Fix-It Felix Jr. is like that so I really should have. Although it's night time in that game." Maybe we should have gone there first. Felix is from there and he's a Good Guy. These kids though.. They annoyed me earlier. They're gonna apologize to her whether they want to or not.
Upon floating through the tunnel, awkwardly in Set's case, they came to the end and it was very obviously set during the day.
"It'll be okay," Set cooed as he placed his hand on Sorceress' shoulder, "You have an emergency first aid kit right here." He was obviously referring to himself.
"Funny.." Sorceress said through a half smile. I just have to do this. Surely I won't die from sticking my hand out into direct sunlight.. I won't, right? She shook her head slightly. Don't be silly. That wouldn't happen. She nervously extended her hand out of the tunnels entrance, into the ever bright midday sunlight and.. It was uncomfortable. She frowned.
"Does it hurt?" Set asked worriedly.
"It doesn't hurt, but.." Sorceress said as she floated out of the tunnel into the sunlight. Instantly she felt weakened. It was like her power was being quickly drained. "I'm feeling weak.. This is a first." She stopped floating as it was using up what little power she still felt. Guess I'll have to walk.. in heels.. on grass..
Once her eyes adjusted, she took a good look around. As far as the eye could see, there was grass and small red flowers growing in an even pattern. Aside from this was a small, raised cliff off to the left, which was a ways passed a rather large beanstalk leading up to the sky. Next to the beanstalk was a small wooden cottage with a red roof and chimney. This cottage was home to the three children protagonists and their caretaker, who was only ever seen at the end of the first level.
"They might not even be home," Sorceress pointed out as she clumsily walked alongside Set on their way to the small cottage. Stupid heels.. And why am I getting so antsy?
"Then we'll wait," Set laughed, "Worrying about it isn't going to do us any good. My policy is to not worry about anything. There's only one exception and this ain't it."
"You're baiting me into asking what the exception is," Sorceress said plainly as she leaned against the side of the cottage and crossed her arms.
Set grinned widely and opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted.
"Can I.. help you?" a short, young, raven-haired man asked somewhat nervously after rounding the corner from the front of his home. He was dressed in all green, including a hat. He was actually shorter than Set, and he was very thin.
"A leprechaun?" Set asked with a goofy grin still playing on his lips. Did I say that out loud? The young man scowled. Set laughed awkwardly, "Sorry.." I guess I did. I'm not sure why I apologized though. What do I care if he ge- Oh, well I wouldn't want him mad at Sorceress. That must be it.
Sorceress sighed and stood up properly, though she couldn't hide the smirk that suddenly shot onto her face. "He didn't mean it in a bad way, Mr..?"
"Lucky.." the young man said in an embarrassed tone, "And no, I'm not a leprechaun.. Who are you people anyways?" He crossed his arms in an attempt to look more intimidating. This was his home after all. Plus he had three kids to look after, though they weren't home.
"My name's Set. Her name is Sorceress," Set said in a faux polite tone, "We were just looking around some of the various games and were curious what this one was like, that's all.. And I gotta admit, this place has some nice scenery." Actually there isn't much..
"Hmph.. Well it actually doesn't look like all that much here, but this is just the first stage anyways," Lucky said warily as he untensed a bit.
"Are you sure your name isn't Jack?" Set asked with a smirk, "What with the beanstalk here.. How high does it go?"
"It goes all the way up to a castle in the sky," Lucky said as he half-rolled his eyes, "That's actually my home, but it ain't exactly safe for the kids, so I live down here with them." I wish my name was Jack.
"A castle in the sky?" Sorceress beamed, "How does it stay up there?" I'm getting too excited. Turning it down a few notches..
Lucky laughed sheepishly, "Well.. I don't know how it works. It's just on solid clouds."
"W-would you mind if I come grab some of this 'solid cloud' at a later time?" Sorceress asked, "I'm a bit of a fan of this kind of thing and I'd love to see if I can figure out how it works.." She mentally kicked herself. Turn it down more, Sorceress..
"I wouldn't mind a bit," Lucky beamed, having forgotten Set was even there.
Set cleared his throat softly and scratched his head. I don't like this guy. He's getting too comfortable. It's nice that Sorceress is making a friend and all, but all the same..
Sorceress tried to put on a fake pouty-face but couldn't help but maintain her smile as she looked down at Set and lightly stroked his head. He's getting jealous? "Would you mind if we talked inside, Mr. Lucky? It feels a bit hot out here.." It's really uncomfortable out here.
"Strange, it feels fine to me.." Lucky said warmly as he held a palm up as if to literally catch rays of sunlight to test the temperature. He shrugged, "Come on in." He gestured for the duo to follow him inside. I guess I'm just used to it.
Turbo smiled sadly while rubbing Roxie's back as she hugged him. "It's okay, I don't mind.. It's not like there's anything to hide, really. Let's go back to the living room so we can sit down and I'll tell you about her." I don't know how long this'll take to talk about..He could feel her nod slowly before pulling away and they headed back into the living room.
Turbo sighed as he and Roxie slowly sat down on the dark green, faux leather couch.
Roxie's stomach churned as Turbo leaned forward then rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together; tightly at first, before easing up.
Turbo breathed slow, even breaths as he placed his chin on his clasped hands. Where do I even begin? The beginning? I don't want to bore her with minute details..
Roxie hesitantly placed her hand on his back. I really shouldn't have asked..
"I met her around eight months ago.." Turbo started after sitting in thought for a short while, "At first I was.. well, you know how I was when I met you. I was like that, but maybe toned down a bit.. I had been single for a while. Most of my previous relationships didn't even last one or two months, in case you're wondering. Some not even a day, actually.. It's made me a bit cynical over the years." Some were girls who came back briefly, but it's all the same in the end.
"And Elena?" Roxie asked just above a whisper, not entirely sure if she should interject.
"Well, Elena's game had been around for a good while, though I had never gone in it before," Turbo sighed as he sat back to get more comfortable. Roxie put her hand on his as he continued, "She didn't waste much time moving in here.. Well, she took a guest room at first, of course. It's not like we were sleeping together right away or anything, though that was the case with some of my other previous girlfriends.." It's hard to ignore them in passing sometimes, but it's for the best that I do.. "Elena is a sweet girl, but she can be a little rough sometimes." He chuckled, "Extreme even.. Even just today after Sonny helped me out with this new appearance of mine, she nearly ran me over in her motorbike.. She's from Paperboy, just like him." Well, he's not from Paperboy..
"She tried to run you over?" Roxie asked as she furrowed her brow and squeezed Turbo's hand. That wretch.. Just because she's not with him anymore doesn't mean that she should try to kill him.
"What?" Turbo laughed in surprise, "No.. No she didn't try to run me over." He patted her hand with his other hand so that she would loosen her death grip. "She just likes to stop at the last second, no matter what she does.. I never got used to it though. It.. led to a few arguments. Of course that wasn't the only thing we argued about. I would spend too much time organizing my trophies, for one thing. I was stubborn about it, but she was right.. Anyways.. I seriously doubt she knew I'm dating you and probably wanted her and I to get back together. Sonny did me a favor and distracted her while I ran off to come find you though." I'm a coward.. I don't know how I would have handled that situation had Sonny not been there. "I don't know if you saw them or not, but he had even brought her to Food Fight some time after we got there."
"I must not have been paying attention.." Roxie said quietly.
"Don't mind it then," Turbo sighed, "Well, it was about a month ago when we had finally broken up. It was just another string of arguments about various flaws we saw in each other and grew irritated with over time. I'd rather not badmouth her, especially not behind her back, but let's just say that she can lay the blame down pretty damn thick. Everything was always my fault, no matter what happened.. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.. but she didn't have to rub it in my face even if it was true.. In the end, in not so many words, she had basically told me to go die and burn in hell and ran off crying. I don't even remember what we were arguing about. Not that I'm about to go ask her."
"But she wanted to get back together with you?" Roxie asked confusedly, "It couldn't have been something that important.." Would he have gotten back together with her?
"Well that's just my guess," Turbo shrugged, "The face she gave me when she saw me earlier lends some credibility to it.. Not that I'd ditch you for her, of course." I could use a drink.. He looked over to the bar. No, bad idea. Bad idea.. "Mind if I have a drink?" Me and my big mouth. Well maybe just a little won't hurt..
Roxie shrugged. It was my mistake bringing her up, how could I say I mind? "You mind if I have one too? You're a social drinker, remember?" she asked once he was halfway to the bar.
"You haven't even had any before, have you?" Turbo asked cautiously as he peeked over the counter in a squatting position. He started digging through a refrigerated case with a glass door, "You sure you're up for it?" I don't think it's such a good idea. I shouldn't even be drinking..
"Have you even seen the game I'm from?" Roxie scoffed, "I think I can handle myself."
"Alright," Turbo shrugged reluctantly, "So what'll it be?" Go ahead, name something. He couldn't help but smirk.
Roxie laughed sheepishly and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, "Well what do you recommend?" Very funny. Like I'd know what each one is like..
"Well, let's start you off light," Turbo said while smirking even more proudly, "Just a beer. No need to get smashed." I don't even know my new body's limits yet.
"I'm being insulted," Roxie said in playful annoyance, "You think I can't handle whatever it is you're having?"
"Well I really oughtn't be drinking anyways," Turbo said pointedly, "I was just gonna grab a beer.." He cocked his jaw to the side in thought. Although it's been a while since I had a bit of Jack..
"I don't believe you," Roxie said as she narrowed her eyes at him, "Pick something stronger."
"You asked for it," Turbo sighed as he reluctantly grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniel's and filled two glasses with ice, "Just take it slow, alright?" She doesn't even know how it tastes. I don't need her spitting it all over the coffee table.
"Just hurry up already," Roxie said anxiously as Turbo slowly made his way back with a glass in each hand and the bottle under his arm, "For somebody who wants a drink you're sure taking your time with it."
"Can we please not argue over something so silly?" Turbo pleaded in a hushed tone as he finally sat down and placed the glasses on the table.
"Sorry.." Roxie breathed, "I don't know what came over me.." Maybe this isn't such a good idea..
"It's okay," Turbo said with a modest grin as he poured them each a glass, "It happens to the best of us.. Even the greatest racer ever has his bad moments, you know?"
"We ought to race someday to see if you really earned that title," Roxie scoffed as she picked up the glass closest to her on the table.