Quiet Day at HQ

BOOM

"What happened?" ZS exclaimed, running into the teleporter room to see that Ciel's face was covered by soot, Sasuke's hair was doing a very good job of defying gravity, and J halfway stuck in a panel, his feet twitching.

"Nobody…touches that wire," J said from inside the panel. "EVER!"

"Uh…."

"We just got our wires crossed, is all," Ciel said, smiling and smoothing out her hair, wiping the soot off her face. It had been another two days since they had been stranded in the Prime Zone and one day since Rayne had arrived. The HQ was…more interesting with so many more people in it. ZS and Fefnir were sparring often, if it could be called that. Ciel had opted to help out with the teleporter, allowing some of them to now switch out every now and then, but it sadly wasn't helping speed things up. "Nothing major to worry about."

"YOU'RE NOT THE ONE STUCK IN THE PANEL!" J yelled, still stuck, Sasuke pulling on his legs, but failing in actually getting him out.

"You're in there pretty tight," Sasuke said, stepping back. "I'm not quite sure we can get you out just by pulling."

"You sure?" ZS asked. "It doesn't look too bad a fit." He stuck his head out the door and called, "Fefnir! Come here!"

"What?" Fefnir asked, walking in. ZS pointed to J. "Ah. Okay, let's see what we can do." Fefnir took one leg while ZS took the other. "Three?"

"Three."

"Alright. One."

"Two."

"Three!" they said together, pulling on J with all their strength. They managed to pull him out, J slamming into the wall opposite the panel, ZS and Fefnir getting tangled in some loose wiring.

"Aw, fuck. I'm gonna feel that tomorrow," J said, getting up and arching his back. There were a couple of pops before he relaxed. "Ahhh…much better…" He turned to look around the teleporter room while Fefnir and ZS untangled themselves. "Damn good thing we haven't had a mission in the past coupla weeks."

"Missions?" Fefnir asked, ZS walking over to help him get out of the wiring.

"Yeah. Don't you remember us explaining about Kalar and this Zone?"

"Uh….yes?"

"…Fuck it, I am not explaining it again," J said, walking out. He passed Alouette, her arms still around the doll, his hand ruffling her hair as she passed. "Hey, kiddo." He continued walking as Alouette walked into the teleporter room.

"Alouette. Is something wrong?" Ciel asked as the little reploid walked up to her.

"No. I was just trying to find you and Zero," she answered, looking at ZS.

"Well, at least we know who she's referring to whenever she says Zero," Fefnir said. "Isn't that right, ZS?"

"You're gonna call me that even when we get back to our Zone, aren't you?" ZS asked. Fefnir grinned, nodding. "Ciel, cover Alouette's ears." Ciel did so before ZS began talking again. "I'm gonna fucking kill you, ya damned jackass, if you even think about calling me that name. Got it?"

"Oh, please. We both know the current record between us," Fefnir said. "Besides, it's not like anyone will care."

"Why are Zero and Feffy arguing?" Alouette asked, looking up at Ciel. Fefnir almost literally turned to stone, his body going completely stiff. ZS smirked.

"Well, Feffy, looks like the shoe's on the other foot now, eh?" ZS asked.

"Why, you!" Fefnir jumped on ZS, a dust cloud kicking up around them. When the dust settled, Fefnir and ZS were each chewing on their own right arm before noticing what they were doing. "I won't tell if you won't."

"Agreed." They left the room then, leaving Ciel, Alouette, and Sasuke, who had gone back to working on some of the wiring.

"WarRock, where are you?" Rayne called out. Omega-xis came into the room, hiding behind Ciel.

"Omega-xi-" Omega-xis's hand clamped over Ciel's mouth.

"SSHHH! I don't want her knowing I'm in here," Omega-xis whispered, hiding further behind Ciel, taking his hand off her mouth, just as Rayne walked into the room.

"You seen WarRock?" she asked. Ciel just gave a dumb smile, shrugging and shaking her head. Rayne sighed. "Alright. Thanks." She left the room and Omega-xis exhaled in relief.

"Phew. Thanks, Ciel," he said. "That girl's insane, I tell you. And she insists on calling me WarRock. It's starting to pi…er, I mean, tick me off," he corrected after noticing Alouette in the room. "But, at least I'm not in Blademan's shoes." Omega-xis chuckled. "Poor man. He has to deal with her for six or seven hours a day, except on weekends. I'm sure he's enjoying this Saturday off."

"Omega-xis…" Ciel went quiet, Omega-xis waiting for her to finish. "Uh…Max doesn't keep anyone here against their will, does he?"

"Nah. The kid's not like that at all," Omega-xis said. "Even offered to send us back if we didn't want to stay."

"Then why…"

"Do we all stay? Eh. Various reasons. I stay cause I enjoy the fights."

"And…"

"And what?"

"There has to be another reason."

"Well…I'll deny ever saying this, but I also stay because they're my friends. But, like I said, I'll deny it."

"So, you're all just one big family, sort of?"

"If a family's supposed to be dysfunctional, then yes, we are a family. Although, some of us actually are related to each other."

"Dad, mom's looking for you," Jen said, floating into the room.

"Oh, great. Not even married and the woman still likes to nag at me…none of you heard that…" He was about to leave with Jen when he stopped to look at Sasuke. "Oi, Sasuke, you okay over there?" He went over, pulling on his feet to slide him out. Sasuke was snoring, but his eyes were open.

"I told him he needs a break every now and then," Ciel said, laughing a little at the sight.

"No kidding. Come on, kid, time for bed," Omega-xis said, propping up his body against his own, wrapping Sasuke's arm over his shoulders. It would have been easier had Sasuke been even the slightest bit conscious, but as it was, his feet dragged against the ground as Omega-xis floated out of the room with him in tow. "Damn, these people are heavy," Ciel heard Omega-xis grunt.

"Well, I guess it's about time for me to take a break as well," Ciel said, standing up. Alouette slid her hand into Ciel's, who smiled down at her. They left the room, hitting the switch at the door, shutting the lights off and closing the door behind them.


"Somebody open the front door," Will called, carrying Bubbleman at arm's length. "I don't know how the hell you got in here, but I damn well know how you're getting out." Kassie opened the front door, stepping to the side. Will drop kicked Bubbleman out and into the street, Bubbleman bouncing twice before coming to a painful stop in a wall. Will dusted his hands off as Kassie closed the door. "Damn, the little bastard is annoying." Kassie wrapped her arms around his neck, meeting his lips for a quick kiss.

"At least it isn't a daily thing," she said.

"True, very true. Doesn't make it any more bearable, though."

"Hey, there are children present," Leviathan said as she passed the two.

"Ah, fooey to you," Kassie said, sticking out her tongue in mock anger. Leviathan laughed, continuing her walk around the HQ.

"That's enough, you two," Max said, polishing his pistol on the couch. He had it in pieces in front of him, wiping down each one with care.

"When did you learn to clean that thing?" Will asked, sitting on the couch opposite Max, Kassie sitting beside him.

"I asked Meda how it needed to be done. After all, this thing won't keep working forever without some maintenance every so often." He put the cloth down, inspecting the piece in his hand, then put it down, satisfied. He then began reassembling it, making sure each piece was put in the proper place. "There we go." He held it up, pulling the trigger, Will jerking to wrap his arms around Kassie. Max looked at him. "It isn't even loaded, dude."

"Uh…I knew that," Will said.

"Yeah, sure you did." Max put the pistol in its holster.

"So…what's going on between you and Z?" Kassie asked, Max stiffening up. He had hoped that something like this wouldn't come up, but there wasn't much you could hide from so many people and not expect someone to figure something out.

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"You two seem to have some kinda…"

"Tension," Will suggested.

"Yeah, tension. Between the two of you. You acknowledge each other when you bump into each other, but other than that…nothing. Almost like you're avoiding each other."

"It's not really something I'm quite comfortable talking about," Max replied. He was twiddling his thumbs, which Will knew meant that he hoped the subject would be dropped…or he wanted a nap. Either way, the subject would end up changing to something.

"Hey, any news on Kalar's movements?" Will asked.

"No. None," Max said, clearly relieved, or to Will he was, to have changed the subject. "All seems quiet so far. But I just get a bad feeling every time I think about what that man could be doing."

"Anyways, like I was saying-" Kassie began.

"Oh, would you look at the time," Max interrupted, getting off the couch. "I'm gonna be late to help Beamer out. Hey, the guys finally found a therapist crazy enough to help him out."

"Well, good for him," Will said.

"Uh, no. When I say crazy, I mean the man is certifiably insane."

"Oh…well, if that kind of person can't do it, then I'm not sure there's much else to try."

"Good point. Anyways, I better get going. Don't want J.T. and Meda to get a bigger pay than me."

"Wait, he's paying you?"

"Yeah. Otherwise, I could sue. But, we all know I wouldn't do that to a friend. Especially one who could break every bone in my body with one hit."

"True that." Max walked out, the front door opening and then closing. Kassie then jabbed her boyfriend in his side. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"Any news on Kalar? Really?"

"What?" His girlfriend continued to glare at him. He gave a sigh. "Kass, I've known Max for a while now. You saw him twiddling his thumbs? That's a very subtle sign of his that he wants the subject dropped or he really wants a nap. Which normally only happens when the subject is really uncomfortable for him. It's better to not force the issue." Kassie stopped glaring, pulling her feet up and under her and leaning into Will's chest.

"Those two are such a pain in the ass when it comes to feelings for each other," she said, sighing.

"You can say that again."

"Those two are such a-" Bubbleman began.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET BACK IN HERE?"


Zero was on the roof of the HQ, staring out at Ground City. "Any reason you're alone up here?" Harpuia asked, walking onto the roof and standing beside him.

"Nah, not really," he answered. "Just needed some fresh air."

"Heh. Yeah, I guess. Can't stay in a building all day, eh? Hey, do you hear snoring?"

"Probably Solo and Laplace. Solo's the one who snores and if you find Solo, you find Laplace. I guess Solo would agree with me on the whole need fresh air argument."

"Probably. So, what's it like staying in another Zone for more than just a couple of days?"

"Eh. Not too bad. It starts feeling like a home away from home, to be honest. Although, I may not be the best to ask. You should talk to Packer. If I remember correctly, he was stuck in another Zone for a few years. The guy got lucky and ended up getting sucked up in our battle on Kalar's side for about ten minutes. After that, he went home. We see him every now and then, but not as often as we see Wily or Beamer."

"Which reminds me. I have yet to meet this Beamer character."

"Well, we'll have to remedy that, won't we? Come on. Grab the others who came here with you and we'll take a trip down there with X and Axl, bring the girls along as well." Zero left the roof and Harpuia followed a few minutes after.


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