Chapter 21: Supernova
"You're not going alone. You're taking people with you."
Nosy crossed his arms and stood blocking the door from his friend. Hammerface returned the gesture, "Alright then, Plasmoid, you and Zap are coming with. Thresher, Angel? You too; you're the people who know him the most besides us."
They nodded, Angel holding up a finger, "I'll go ahead; if I find him, I'll try to keep him in one spot until you catch up."
"Speaking of which...might wanna look out the window…" Nosy said, raising a trembling finger towards the ship's largest.
Many other experiments had done the same, grimacing towards the scene outside. As Hammerface turned, he could see the reason why.
It was still dark outside, but a plume of smoke was easily visible from the window; it looked as though a trail was forming from it-easily tracking the movements of the escaped thermal experiment.
"That's...that's not something he'd do on purpose. Is it." Angel whispered, her ears flattening at the sight.
Hammerface gulped, "We're getting out of here, now."
They found Gantu sitting at the ship's entrance, watching the growing smoke trail, but making no move to follow it.
He said nothing until they were past the ship's entrance and on the dirt path.
"The five of you don't need to come back anymore."
"You have my friends in your stupid ship. And you work for Hamsterviel. And, you are the reason this is happening." Hammerface listed, pointing towards the smoke trail, "I don't know if Heat will come back, but I won't sit here and let you jail them."
Angel stuck her tongue out at Gantu before echoing, "I'm the same, the only way to get rid of me is to let everyone go, which I know you're not gonna do."
She glared towards the forest and sped off, leaving the remaining experiments alone in the clearing. Hammerface watched her go before turning to Plasmoid, Zap, and Thresher, "My nose can't smell, and it'll block my eyes, so I'm taking the lead. You three stay together and let me know if you feel sick."
They nodded, falling behind him as he began to walk towards the forest.
Even with his nose blocking it, and even though his sense of smell was in his antenna, Hammerface still found himself coughing as the four followed the trail. Heat had burned some things along the way-he could see some charred leaves and saplings along the path he'd made, but thankfully no actual fire. Looking at this, it was easy to see why Sparky wanted to go after him the prior day. Try as he might, he was still a 0-series with no resistance to fire or plasma; it'd be easy for Heat to harm him, even unintentionally…
The snap of a branch alerted him to a figure running towards them, immediately followed by a very sooty Angel. She dashed up to them, wide-eyed, "Guys?! We're in trouble, he's headed for town!"
Hammerface started in shock, "What?!"
She nodded, "I caught up to him, but he wouldn't listen and then he fired a warning shot at me and-"
"Angel, what do you mean, he wouldn't listen?" Hammerface interrupted, placing his hands on her shoulders to calm her, "What is he trying to do?"
"I don't know!" She exclaimed, tears starting to slide down her cheeks, "All I know is he's burning everything and he doesn't even look like he knows it-"
"Angel! Calm down-please, we can't panic, okay?" Hammerface interrupted, causing the pink experiment to shove her hands against her mouth and nod, albeit still in tears.
He turned towards the others, "Thresher, you and I bring up the rear, okay? We're not immune to Heat's powers."
"I'm going ahead this time-no offense...but you are the person he almost burned. Maybe that had something to do with it." Plasmoid said, tilting his head at Angel, "Besides, we know each other from the lab, so I have a good idea of how to keep him busy."
"Zap, wanna come too or…?" Plasmoid craned his head at the laser experiment, who nodded in agreement, "'Course, this is serious and we're the only ones who can tolerate his powers."
Hammerface nodded, "You two go ahead. We'll catch up."
Plasmoid and Zap rushed off, leaving Angel with the two of them. She let out a small sob and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Hammerface placed a hand on her shoulder, antenna flattening at the sound, "It'll be okay Angel, I'm sure Plasmoid and Zap'll slow him down a bit."
"I think I made it worse…"
"...Why? What happened back there?" Thresher asked, the three picking their pace back up, "And why would Heat fire on you? It doesn't sound like him at all."
Angel hugged herself as Hammerface retook the lead, "Well...I found him, right?"
"Yeah…"
"I tried to talk him down, and I dunno what happened, but he started yelling that he was making things better for us and then...he fired a warning shot and ran off..."
Hammerface slowed and stopped upon the last point, making both experiments pause in confusion. His head swiveled back to face them, his eyes wide.
"What was that?"
"I…" Angel's eyes widened as she realized why Hammerface had paused, "Wait, you get this, right?"
"Not of my free will, but yes."
"Oh. Oh no…" Thresher whispered, "We've gotta go after him then!"
"No! We have to keep our distance, and our calm." Hammerface countered, "He's not like how I was; he's much more destructive. And with his charge, well…" He pointed towards the charred path through the forest.
The two nodded, "But...if we're the people who can help him, then how are we going to when we can't get close?" Angel asked.
"We either get burned, or…" Hammerface turned back towards the trail, "Angel?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you know where Sparky lives? Or Kixx?"
She perked up instantly, "Yeah! I'm gonna go and get them-and I'll get Yin and Yang and Slushy-"
"Okay, Angel-just find the people who can help, you don't need to bring an army." Hammerface interrupted, "Just run and find them, Thresher and I will keep on Heat's trail."
Angel sniffed, but smiled, "'Kay, I'm goin' then!"
She took off, leaving the two behind in the forest.
Thresher watched as Angel sped away, turning his eyestalks to the ground; he really didn't agree with Hammerface, even if he knew the reason why they had to stay back…
He felt the tool experiment's eyes on him and winced, but turned them up to meet his gaze.
To his surprise, Hammerface's expression was calm, as though he knew what he was thinking.
...And he did, nodding in the direction Angel had taken off in. "Don't run. If you see anyone, let them know what's going on."
"You're...gonna let me go?"
"Of course, just don't overdo it."
Thresher nodded, "I'll try."
Heat coughed, gasping for breath as he sped through the forest; he had no idea of where he was going or what he wanted to do-the only thing on his mind was the distance he was putting between himself and his friends-no-pursuers-also no-why were they following him?
That was stupid, he knew why, he just didn't care.
By now, some rays of light were piercing the skyline, and it was getting easier to see his surroundings. He slowed then-which proved a big mistake, as he could hear someone rushing through the undergrowth.
He was subsequently cornered by Plasmoid and Zap, pressing his back up against the trunk of a tree and charging up his organ-he didn't want to attack them, but he did want to be left alone right now…
Plasmoid mirrored him, charging up his tail, "Heat, stop. Whatever you're doing, just stop."
"Get the hell away from me!" He snapped, "Just leave me alone-"
"NO! Not until you at least tell me what's going on. Why are you doing this?"
"I don't know!"
"So you don't know, but you're still gonna do this?! Look around you, you're gonna burn up the forest!" Zap exclaimed, "Just-calm down and let's talk this out, okay?"
Heat's eyes watered, but he quietly powered down. Plasmoid did the same, but noted the hot air he was still giving off. The thermal experiment sniffed, but said nothing. Plasmoid watched him in silence, waiting for him to speak.
When he didn't, he took over.
"Why are you running Heat? Was it because of Angel? Or Sparky? Or…"
"Just tell us, please. You blame yourself and we-we saw what happened with Hammerface. All of us. So why?"
"I don't know why. It's true, I don't…" Heat said, hunching his shoulders at the plasma experiment's narrowed eyes, "I had a reason, but…"
Zap flattened his antenna, "But it's a bad reason, and you know it is, don't you."
Heat nodded, seating himself on the forest floor, "I don't want to say what it was..."
"Then we don't want to know Heat. Okay? I just want you to let us help. And if we can't, then we have to find people who can."
Heat nodded, but the air still shimmered above him. Plasmoid bit his lip as he watched it-this wasn't right. At first, he'd assumed it was because he was panicking, but he was calmed down by now and yet…
"Ow!"
Plasmoid jumped and turned to Heat, who was grasping his wrist-his hand now almost a bright yellow from the energy it was giving off. He stared at it in horror, "Heat, what's going on?"
"I-I'm not sure-"
Heat paused. Plasmoid didn't need to look to know the reason-he was well acquainted with it by now.
"Ah-oh no!" The two dashed up to the orange experiment, Plasmoid pressing himself against him. Heat shook his head and hugged him, for once not caring about potential burns. "Plasmoid-Zap-I-I'm really scared…"
"We're gonna sit with you, okay? Until the others find us. And I'll let 'em know what's happening."
Heat nodded, but frowned, "Are you sure? What if your plasma starts changing again?"
"I'm gonna fire off if I start feeling sick then. Don't worry."
Waiting, thankfully, didn't take long. Hammerface soon sprinted into the clearing, pausing at the sight of the three experiments.
"Oh, thank gods." He huffed. He stepped over, only to be directed away by Plasmoid, who shook his head, "Somethin's wrong with Heat…"
Hammerface looked to the orange experiment, who nodded in confirmation. In reality however, he didn't need to; Hammerface could see the small lines of yellow and white spreading over his cheeks and ears, the air shimmering above him.
Nosy, Felix, and himself had all agreed they wouldn't tell Heat what he looked like when he shorted out-not unless he asked them-and this was certainly a time when he'd be upholding that; Heat almost seemed to be glowing from the amount of energy he was giving off.
But it was still upsetting he couldn't do anything to help aside from wait with them, and there was no way Heat would let him come close-he was eyeing him uneasily from the other end of the clearing.
Hammerface bit his lip and sat down, giving the thermal experiment a small nod, "I'm going to wait with you, okay? I'll lead if we have to run to the Pelekai's."
Heat sniffed, but smiled, wiping a now glowing eye before hugging Plasmoid closer. He blinked, and Hammerface watched as the eye turned back to normal, "I...I think I've gotta let off my power…"
"-DON'T!"
The shout caused Hammerface to start and jump up, turning towards a rustle in the undergrowth. A moment later found Angel popping out, tugging Thresher along by one of his tentacles.
She coughed and panted, pointing a shaking finger at Heat, "Don't-I found Witch and Kixx and everyone else-she's gonna come take it away for ya…"
Thresher nodded, placing his tentacles on Angel's shoulders, "I think some of them saw the smoke and came around. 228's already on his way to the house…"
In finishing, he almost instinctively turned away from the 0-series, who raised an eyebrow. Thresher narrowed his eyes, but went on, "Or. Melty now, I guess. We also found Sparky."
Hammerface sighed in relief, "Good, maybe he can offer some explanation for this. This shouldn't be happening."
"Speaking of!" A yellow streak flew into the middle of the clearing, followed by Kixx and Witch, the former picking his way through the undergrowth as the latter dashed on ahead.
Witch quickly overtook the group and reached Heat first, gently taking his hand, "Here, just relax, okay? I'll make sure your powers stay stable."
Heat bit his lip and nodded. Hammerface breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his features begin to turn back to normal before glancing at Sparky.
Sparky caught his gaze and crossed his arms, ears drooping, "Do I really need to explain…"
"You know this more than I do."
"Okay…" Sparky turned to Heat, "Heat...you're gonna have to come to the house ASAP. I'm pretty sure you already have an idea of why, but…"
Heat's eyes teared up, "Am I...am I going haywire?"
"No, something else is happening here, and I'm not sure what it is. Can I…?"
Heat nodded, letting the yellow experiment step over to him. Witch squeezed his hand as Sparky placed his on his shoulder, "I should've been more careful yesterday. For that I'm sorry. We're getting you to Jumba, and he's going to fix this, alright?"
"Okay…"
"Okay." Sparky took his hand away as Kixx stepped up behind him. He poked the electric experiment on the shoulder and silently jerked his thumb to the other side of the clearing. "Hammerface wants you."
"It's not that I want him, I just need his opinion!" The gray experiment snapped, causing Kixx to roll his eyes, "It's Thresher."
This got Sparky's attention, "What's going on with Thresher?"
"See for yourself."
Sparky peered over at the other side of the clearing along with Heat and Witch. "What in the…"
"I TOLD YOU TO NOT DO THIS, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" Hammerface's scream rang out from the spot he was seated at-Sparky could see him kneeling over, steadying the octopus experiment, who'd abruptly sat down and turned away from him. Sparky caught his eyes, and Thresher promptly swiveled his eyestalks even further off to the side.
"Alright, what's happening." He said, walking up to them.
Thresher's face reddened, but Hammerface took over, "He overdid it; told him not to run and he went and-"
He gestured towards a now irritated Thresher, who was now glaring at the ground, "-and, well!"
"Okay, Hammerface? Calm down, you're just upsetting him." Sparky said, placing a hand on the gray experiment's shoulder, "Listen, Thresher? It's nice of you to push yourself, but not...like this."
Thresher winced, but nodded.
"Right. So you get it. Feel good enough to walk?"
"Yeah? No...actually…" Thresher turned his gaze back to Sparky, his voice starting to crack in shame, "I...I just wanted to help."
"That seems to be a thing with all four of you by this point. And Angel. Who ran up to me screaming and covered in leaves."
Angel stuck her tongue out at him, but Thresher smiled, "I...tried to catch up, so…"
"Ah, that's why then."
Hammerface crossed his arms, "I hoped you wouldn't have."
"Angel and I will take him, you go on ahead with-"
"Actually, that's your job. We're switching for the day."
The statement shocked Hammerface, who raised an eyebrow; wouldn't it be more reasonable for Sparky to go?
Sparky caught his gaze and shook his head, "You know him better than me."
"Well, alright then…"
Hammerface glanced back as he made his way over to Heat. Sparky gave him a reassuring wave as he watched him hesitate, then place his hand on the thermal experiment's shoulder and start up a conversation with Kixx. Probably telling him to be careful or some variant of it-confirmed when Kixx turned back and rolled his eyes. Sparky snorted before turning back to Thresher.
"So, I'm gonna lift you up and Angel and I will walk you, okay?"
The purple experiment nodded, "Okay."
"Hold on a moment." A husky voice came from the opposite end of the clearing, its owner craning her neck to see Thresher's condition, "I can help, just give me a second, 'kay?"
Witch concentrated, Kixx and Hammerface stepping back in anticipation.
They didn't have to, as a moment later saw a brace appear around Thresher's leg. He looked down at it in amazement before turning back to her for an explanation.
She shrugged, "Just let me know if it comes loose, okay? I'll replace it if you want."
"That's so cool-thanks Witch!" Angel exclaimed, Thresher nodding in agreement, "Yeah, thank you."
"Egh, I can just generate that at will, so I had to do something. Right?" She turned to Heat, who gave her a small smile, "Right. I think we're ready to head out then."
"Okay, guys, Heat and Thresher first. There's a lot of you."
Nani walked Thresher into the house after Heat, the latter already being led away by Jumba. He turned back and bit his lip, "Is...it it okay if some people come back with me?"
Jumba nodded, "Of course 609, but you should still be being careful with your powers."
"Oh…"
Kixx held up a finger, "I have a lot of the same powers as Stitch-that includes being fireproof. I can sit with him until you get the fusion chamber dusted off."
Witch held up their hands, "And I can take away anything he gives off, I think Kixx'll be fine."
"Alright, I am being thankful the two of you can help."
Hammerface breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Heat brighten up as Kixx and Witch led him away; it was first time he'd genuinely smiled since yesterday...and cried. He could see tears spilling over his eyes as he was taken away.
His smile faded to a frown as he turned to Thresher however; maybe he should've expected he'd disobey him, but it still implied something worrying he'd have to talk to him about-in fact, both him and Plasmoid, who was trying to sneak away along with Zap.
Before he could call either of them however, a scarlet hand stuck its way into his face.
"Hey-033?! I think you should sit for a little. You look really beat up."
228, now Melty, had changed relatively little in the years since Hammerface had known him; always overly optimistic and enthusiastic, and always first to stick his nose into whatever business was about. It was more than a little grating back in the lab, and Sparky quickly intervened for him.
"Melty, I think Hammerface can decide that for himself. You should focus on something else since things are all-you know-"
Hammerface held up his hand to stop him, "That's okay Sparky. Melty? My name's Hammerface now, and thanks for looking out for me. I'll take a break if you can watch them, especially that one on the couch."
He gestured to Thresher, who gave him a dirty look from his place on said couch. Angel, seated next to him, leaned into him and seconded the glare.
"...Oh boy. Angel tells me you guys were up since 4 in the morning." Sparky said, "Heat's being taken care of, so I'll go look after Plaz and Zap. Melty? You good to watch Thresher?"
Melty cast a glance over to the octopus experiment, who flushed, but nodded, "Well, he seems to be okay with it, so, sure."
Hammerface smiled, "Thanks Sparky."
"Are you two sure you want to be here? This is kind of serious."
Witch raised an eyebrow at Lilo and Stitch, the latter of which was holding the door open as they peered into Jumba and Pleakley's room.
The two exchanged glances, then nodded, "I was at school when Hammerface was brought over, so I wanna be here for Heat." Lilo explained, "Plus, hearing his powers got like this is…well…"
"Ih, tay feel like we should be here, even if isa scary." Stitch added, "If-isa fine with Heat though! Meega mean…"
"Well, what do you think?" Witch asked, only for Heat to shrug from his seat next to her, "I'm okay; I'm just a little nervous about my powers right now…they're fine at the moment, but that's because she's keeping them in check."
"...I think that was a yes?"
"Basically."
"Okay, you're good."
The two stole their way into the room, coming to sit next to them. Lilo gave Heat a shy wave, "I know we can't really touch right now, but I think just being here'll be enough, right?"
"Yeah, thanks for asking too-even if you didn't really need to; I would've been okay with it anyways." Heat said, "It's just...I dunno why they're acting up like this…"
"Is being because you've been under stress 609. Lots of it." Jumba's voice echoed out from the closet as he held the door open for Kixx. Kixx was carrying the fusion chamber while Jumba held a sheet of diagnoses in his hand, "Is not being surprising, given situation at ship, 033's health scare, and now this latest incident 221 gave me earful about. I made you to be laidback, but it seems I will be needing to change your programming so you won't release so much in your current living situation."
"That's all well and good, but-" Kixx set the chamber down in the middle of the room before standing back up, "How's that going to affect him? Especially with his charge?"
"His charge capacity is almost up to par 601, so while I will be able to finish it today, unfortunately, 609 is in for a hard time; I will be needing to put him under anesthesia for it." Jumba said, "A reprogramming of this scale will be requiring it."
Heat gulped, Witch squeezing his hand in reassurance, "...How long is that going to take?"
"About three hours 609, first the reprogramming, then the final recharge." Jumba sighed, "I'm sorry it is being sudden, but you're becoming unstable, and we need to act fast with your powers."
Heat nodded, "I'm fine with it. I just...I don't wanna singe anyone on accident or-or do anything like that again..."
"I will be making sure you won't 609, don't worry." Jumba said, "Now, fusion chamber will take time to warm up as you know, so you are being free to talk before then while I go and get..." He sighed, "...Pleakley. And nurse outfit."
Heat nodded, albeit nervously, "Okay…"
He let out a breath as Jumba left, Kixx shaking his head at the mention of the aforementioned outfit. "...Why does he need that thing, it's not like this is actually a hospital…"
"Our theory's that it's 'cause he made it himself." Lilo explained, "He makes a lot of stuff on his own, so he wears it whenever he can."
"That makes sense." Heat said, "I'd be the same way if I was into sewing."
"Yep-he also made me my Halloween costume-minus the axe headpiece, we got that at the store."
"Ih! Speaking of...youga celebrated? Or…" Stitch glanced to Heat, but the orange experiment shook his head, "I hibernated in October, I tried, but the most I could manage was some old Earth movie."
"That means we have to give you a proper one then. I think you'll like it-you can go around in costumes and eat a ton of Earth junk." Kixx said.
Heat was scared; he could tell. He wasn't aware of how obvious it was becoming, but it was written all over his face; he kept gulping and looking around the room, even as Witch held his hand.
He sighed, "Heat, you don't have to hide it, okay?"
Heat's face fell, "I just…"
Lilo peered at him from her seat, "...If it helps, I had to get laughing gas for some trips to the dentist's office, and I was scared too. It's okay to be nervous about this stuff…"
"Ih," Stitch added, "meega was the same way over shots; isa part of why we wanted to be here."
Kixx watched as more tears started to slide down Heat's face, "See? You don't have to do that Heat. We get it. It's why we're here in the first place."
"Uh-huh…" Heat wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, "Thank you for that…"
Witch generated a box of tissues, handing him one, "See-it's gonna be fine; we're here for you-and everyone downstairs."
"Yeah, you're our ohana Heat, we're gonna help any way we can." Lilo added, "We're not going to leave you to just deal with something like this on your own."
Kixx could now see tearstains forming through the tissue Heat was holding to his hand. He sniffed and pulled it away, his eyes now red from crying.
Heat hadn't told him much of how he was treated by Gantu at the ship, but it seemed that regardless, him and many other experiments on that ship seemed to have the idea they were alone in this. He could see why given the situation, but it was still saddening to think about...
They were interrupted by the return of Jumba and Pleakley, the latter in full nurse regalia and the former rolling all four eyes in annoyance, "Right. I will be giving anesthetic, you will be monitoring throughout, the rest of you…"
He turned to the group of experiments and one human, who were now staring at him, "Bigger Girl has set aside a portion of her room for 609 while he recovers, so you can help her set up while we work on him. That being alright?"
"Sure. We'll see you after you're done Heat." Lilo said, her and Stitch making their way towards the door, "Good luck, okay?"
Heat nodded, "Okay…"
"Right. I'm gonna let go now, that chamber's finished charging." Witch said, "Just relax and everything'll be fine."
He nodded, her and Kixx turning away. However, the latter hung back, giving him a reassuring smile. Heat returned it, the two other 6-series stepping out and closing the door behind them.
Jumba sighed, "Alright 609, this will last for some time, so you'll be awake around late afternoon, alright?"
He nodded, attention now turned back to his creator.
"Alright." He felt himself lifted up and placed onto a waiting table. By this point, he knew to lay down and did so, gulping as Jumba filled up a needle with something. It was a bright blue and would've been pretty if it weren't for putting him out, the color reminding him of the ocean on the day he'd sat with Kixx...
He closed his eyes, bracing himself...but suddenly felt a little less afraid now. Maybe it was that memory, but the current situation seemed slightly more reassuring...
...Anesthesia sucked. Needles sucked. Mostly though, anesthesia sucked.
His last memory was of it entering his body and he remembered he's started to complain about it before falling asleep.
On the plus side, there weren't many side effects, so aside from feeling a little dizzy, he was mostly awake.
Judging from the window, the sun was setting. It must've been hours since he'd been put under; Heat could see a slight breeze rustling the trees that bordered the house, small clouds drifting across the horizon.
He yawned and pushed himself up, only to wince at his arm; it ached, and he glanced down to see a bandage wrapped around it.
"Whoa-lay back down Heat, you're still under the effects of that stuff." A deep voice said to his right. Heat turned to see Kixx seated next to him, a magazine in his hands. He closed it and moved his chair a little closer, "The others are downstairs eating snacks, Nani forced 'em too thanks to what's going on."
"Oh…did you eat today?"
"Uhhh...yeah. I did. Thanks for asking."
"That's good…"
"It is."
Heat closed his eyes, near flopping back onto the bed Nani and Witch had set up for him; Kixx was right, he'd felt a sudden wave of exhaustion hit him without warning.
"Where's Angel?"
"The Pink Menace is downstairs taking a nap. So's Hammerface. I think they're gonna spend the night given what's going on with Thresher and Plasmoid. Sparky and Melty also got Hammer to get himself an exam once you're all done with your stuff, don't know how since he's…"
"A nag."
"Yeah."
Heat laughed. It was a weak one, but Kixx was still glad to hear it.
"That your nickname for Angel now? Pink Menace?"
"I have plenty. Wanna hear some or are you too tired?"
"Well…" Heat shifted upwards in his bed, giving him a sly smile, "I'm not that tired to where I can't."
"Okay, I'll go down the list then."
Heat snorted, "You have a list?"
"Why not? I've got a photographic memory, this is what I use it for. It's like a cooler version of how 625 uses his powers to make sandwiches."
A hand suddenly reached out to him, its owner now grinning up at him. It was the first time he'd seen Heat with a mischievous smile, but it was a cute one.
He took it and began.
"So, the first one I used would be "Gremlin", and it was right after she got me tossed around by Stitch. I bent down to let her feel my muscles, and he just happened to see it at the wrong time."
"No."
"Why do you think I have so many of these? She's a little shit, which is my next one."
"All of these are from when I was caught up in her running around the island." He added, Heat now giggling into the free hand he'd placed over his mouth. "I also call her "Pinky" sometimes."
"Any more?"
Kixx grinned, "Many."
The situation at the house seemed to be taking care of itself according to Gantu; Heat would have to stay for a couple weeks, same with the other three, and by this point, Gantu wasn't even bothering to tell Angel to come back.
That last part left a bit of a pang in 625's chest, but he ignored it as he placed another completed sandwich on the table. Everyone was a little too distracted to get dinner ready, so he had the kitchen all to himself.
Or so he thought.
A sudden whirring noise made him jump, turning his attention to the monitor that'd popped out of the ceiling.
"Hey Hammy, how's prison?" He asked, opening another package of bread. There was definitely something up with Hamsterviel; he was catching onto the four's health issues, and 625 wasn't keen on letting him know anything…
"That is supremely funny 625, now let me get down to business." The gerbil-like alien crossed his arms, clearly displeased at the comment. 625 grinned at seeing it'd gotten under his skin.
"Shoot."
"I have a proposition for you." Hamsterviel glanced at his sandwiches. It was subtle, but he'd still caught it.
"It's simple-even you would be able to do this. I would like you to give me updates on the experiments in the ship. Earlier series and 609 especially. 624 if you can."
"And why would I do that."
It wasn't a question. 625's stomach was clenching as he spread mustard on the bread, "It's pretty obvious what you're after, you can give me some sales pitch for it."
"Which is what I was getting to, had you bothered to keep your incessant mouth shut." Hamsterviel's eyes narrowed, "My offer is this. I will no longer bother you, in fact, I'll be almost entirely on your side when it comes to Gantu. I'll also see to it that you and 624 end up...together. Normally, my choice would be for her to be with 609, but something's clearly up there, and 609's rather worthless personality-wise."
This gave 625 some pause. Hamsterviel did bother him sometimes, but it wasn't often. The latter two however…
He felt the pang in his chest again.
"I'll...I'll think about it."
"I don't think you will. You absolute failure of a 6-series. I suppose 626 is superior in the intelligence department, just goes to show that having the fanciest of fancy vocabularies doesn't make you smart. If only Jumba had made you just a little more like 609, given you're based on him. 609's stupid too, just like you-"
"STOP IT!"
625 hadn't even noticed he'd thrown the butter knife at the screen. It clattered to the floor as he balled his hands into fists, panting at the verbal onslaught. He turned his back to Hamsterviel, feeling tears come to his eyes. Not out of hurt-at least he assumed-out of fear. Hamsterviel had gotten his message across.
"Just. Leave me alone."
"Oh, I'll leave you alone. I want my first report by the end of the week."
"Fine."
The monitor powered down behind him, leaving 625 alone in the kitchen. He glared at the unfinished sandwich, now slightly crushed in his hand.
He thought about it then. About being like Nosy and just giving dumb stuff away...but what if Hamsterviel noticed? What would he do to him if he did? What would he do to Gantu?
The Heat comparisons also bothered him. It was true, Heat didn't know it, but 625 was made from some of the same creatures as him...didn't make him stupid…
He pushed the feeling down, taking a chunk of lettuce from its container.
"Just make 'em. Just make 'em and be done with it." He muttered, ripping open a pack of lunch meat…
Unbeknownst to him, a shadow perched in the doorway stood and slowly levitated away.
628 held one hand over her mouth as she raced down the hallway, the fingertips on her remaining hand glowing as space began to distort between them.
She had a pocket dimension. It was selfish, but she did-she explained she needed the time to herself, and didn't feel she got it when she was around everyone else. In this case, she would be opening it up to cry-whatever she'd seen back there reminded her of how awful Hamsterviel had been when she'd been activated…
Her fingers were shaky, the portal refusing to open up…
"Come on, please-please work…" She pleaded, the distorting space flickering between her fingers.
Finally.
The portal opened and she jumped through, failing to notice traces of the others flashing around her...