Chapter 44: Menacing
A/N: Ha... it's been awhile, hasn't it? Even longer than last time, heh. Once again, I'd lost motivation to write. I was GONNA write earlier, but then things updated that I wanted to play. Had things to do IRL.
So whenever I wanted to, I was busy.
I'll TRY to get back to a normal schedule, but I'm managing four stories at once across two different websites for four different games.
Things happen. I'll do my best to work around them.
Oh, also, I'm not doing a Christmas special. For this, I have three reasons. 1: I simply don't want to; 2: I have no idea what I'd do for a Christmas special; and 3: not many chapters have passed since the Halloween special. It'd be odd to have both the Halloween and Christmas specials crammed so close together.
Hope that's not too much of a disappointment.
But anyway, on with the chapter!
We followed her a short distance into a jewelry store.
Right, she said she was running a jewel business.
I wondered how she got all the fancy jewelry displayed around the store.
Then a thought hit me: it'd probably be better not to know.
I walked up to a checkout, where our new... uh... employer was waiting.
"So... what did you want to discuss?" I asked uncomfortably.
She put the Time Piece down on the checkout.
"There are more of these, I'm sure. You two seem... talented at finding them," She stated calmly, yet still menacingly.
God... practically everything about her screamed 'menacing'
"That we are," I responded.
"So, I pay you, and you bring me more. It's a simple arrangement," She declared.
Bah... so we'd have to hand them over to her in exchange for being allowed to roam free. It seemed like the opposite of what Snatcher did, yet in an ironically bad way.
But it seemed like we wouldn't have a choice. We'd have to get them back one way or another, whether we buy them back, work for them, or maybe...
No, no, no. Absolutely not.
"Start looking by the Yellow Overpass, I'm sure you can find your way," She ordered.
I nodded slowly.
"Now be on your way, and don't come back empty-handed," She said ominously.
I nodded rapidly, turned around, and got out of there as soon as possible.
I took a deep breath as soon as we were out of her presence.
I saw that there was a tunnel that had yellow lighting right in front of us. Seemed like the way to go.
I felt a tug on my sweater and turned to see the kid giving me a concerned look.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Nah, I'm fine," I reassured her, "It's just..."
I shuddered.
"That woman gives me the chills," I admitted, "Like for the most part, I fear no one. But that cat... or whatever she is... it scares me."
She tilted her head.
"Yeah, she doesn't seem like someone we wanna get mad," She agreed, "We should probably go through with this and find another way to get the Time Pieces back. She doesn't seem to know what they can do, and she seems to consider them as only a method of profit, so hopefully that means we won't have to worry about... well... you know..."
"Yeah, I get what you mean," I said, "But anyway, we should probably stop talking and get going."
She nodded, and we began walking.
"Hey! You two!" I heard a cat shout.
I whipped around, and there were three of them awaiting us.
"We're not here to cause trouble," I said.
"What? No!" The same cat said, "You're the new two, right?"
"Uh, I guess," I responded.
"Well if you're gonna work for The Empress, then you gotta look the part!" They shouted.
'The Empress'? That's her name?
I shuddered slightly.
"Come over here," The cat said.
I looked down at the kid, who shrugged her shoulders. We followed the three cats over to an area beside the jewelry store.
The kid began talking to the first one, and long story short she ended up buying a mask, a jacket that almost looked like something you'd see in a college, then... a baseball bat...?
Err... whatever. Maybe she'd keep it as a souvenir.
I then stepped forward and looked down at the cat.
"Got anything for me?" I asked.
"Uh... no. The jacket she bought is the largest size they come in," They answered, "But you still have to look the part, so..."
The cat then jumped up and attached something to the top of my head and the back of my sweater.
"There! Now you're one of us," They said.
"Okay?"
I saw the kid looking at me like she was about to laugh.
What did that cat put on me?
I walked over to a puddle and looked down into my reflection.
There were now cat ears sticking out of the top of my head. In that case, I guessed that they'd also attached a fake tail to the end of my sweater.
"Oh, wonderful," I said sarcastically. "I. Look. Ridiculous. I'll take these off the first chance I get," I grumbled.
"No you won't!" The kid promised, "I won't let you!"
I sighed deeply.
What did I get myself into THIS time?
"Lemme see how I look!" She shouted.
Somehow in that short span of time she managed to put on her new jacket and mask. She then clapped her hands together rapidly and jumped into the air.
"I love it!" She shouted, "Now people will know not to mess with me!"
She then took out her new baseball bat, flipped it around, and then held it behind her head menacingly.
What the...
"Uh... what are you doing?" I asked her.
She giggled and put the baseball bat away.
"Just having fun," She said, "Why?"
"Uh... no particular reason," I muttered, "But... uh... don't you think your new weapon is a bit... well... brutal for you?"
She shrugged her shoulders non-chalantly.
"Well, I mean, you know how strong I am. I could hurt someone badly with any weapon, whether it be an umbrella, bat, or whatever," She said.
"That's not making me feel any better!" I grumbled.
"Not like I would!" She shouted, "Come on! You know me. I'm just trying to have fun! Okay?"
"Alright," I conceded. "Not like I could tell you what to do anyway," I muttered jokingly, "Now... can we finally get a move on?"
She was already way ahead of me.
"Come on!" She shouted.
"Dammit, kid..." I muttered under my breath, then ran after her. "You need to learn to WAIT FOR ME!"