Chapter 14 – Nopon Babysitting

Sixer sat next to Dunban as Maria, Joshua, Shulk, and Linada moved around the lab, setting up tools and adjusting the computer monitors to show certain programs over others. An open binder was sitting on a table in the middle of the space, and Sixer could just barely see what looked like the designs for an arm cannon on one of the pages.

"I hope they know what kind of metals to look for," Shulk commented. "The materials you and Joshua are made from are…highly unusual."

"Yeah, I know." Maria nodded. "We can work around that, though, if need be."

"True," Joshua agreed. "I know how the metals in this dimension work – we can find the equivalent from there rather easily." He looked at Shulk. "You know how to work with metals. That knowledge is going to be of great help as well."

"I certainly hope so." Shulk glanced over at Dunban and Sixer. "…how much time do you have?"

"Don't worry about it," Dunban replied. "Just do what you need to do."

"The berth's functions will keep Dunban's condition from worsening too quickly," Linada spoke up. "We have more time than if we did not have it."

Shulk hesitated, then nodded. "I'll do what I can."

Dunban grinned, and Sixer picked up on his confidence and smiled a little as well.

"Besides, Joshua and I know what we're doing with our own bodies – it's just a matter of translating that data over." Maria paused, then frowned. "Hey, Dunban, do you want a weapon automatically equipped to you? Or would you prefer not having, say, a cannon in your arm or something?"

"That's a strange question," Dunban said.

"But it's a needed one, since both Joshua and I are equipped with Buster cannons in our right arms." Maria motioned to her own arm. "We don't have to, but the option is there."

"…I think I would prefer to go without such a thing," Dunban replied.

"Dunban's a swordsman – he isn't going to use a long-ranged weapon anyway," Shulk added.

"Ah." Maria nodded. "I see. Gotcha. Well at least that's one less thing for us to worry about."

Dunban turned to look at Sixer, then spoke at a low volume while Maria motioned for Shulk, Linada, and Joshua to look over the blueprints. "Do you know what I'm going to be expecting in the near future from those two? You seem to know Maria well enough."

Sixer's tails flicked; he frowned, considering. "Well, my best guess is that Maria is going to be as thorough as possible in getting the details she needs. If…if something comes up later, she will take that into account and do something about it as well."

Sixer knew the results of that all too well with himself.

"I'm not so sure about Joshua's way of thinking, as this is the first time that I've met him too," Sixer added. "But he seems level-headed. They aren't going to just cobble something together that will barely function, that's for certain."

"Uh huh. And how long have you known Maria for?" Dunban asked.

"A little over a year. Our first encounter was when she…rescued us."

"So, you saw her work ethic when she was working with you, then."

Sixer nodded.

"I see. That would explain why you seem so different. You're not acting like a Mechon."

Sixer frowned. "A what?"

"You're not acting like you're a machine," Dunban explained. "Something…mindless that needs orders to operate."

"Oh." Sixer's ears pulled back.

"I don't mean to offend – I was in that situation myself not too long ago – but it's interesting to see the change between then and now."

"…I suppose, from your perspective." Sixer sighed, then looked over at the others. Linada and Joshua were standing near a monitor, putting together what looked like a skeleton design while Maria and Shulk still poured over the blueprints. "I didn't think there was any point in attempting to remain myself in that time. Maria made it a part of her goal to…bring me back to my senses, I suppose you could say. Readjusting to having my emotions available to me has been…interesting, but I am glad to have them back."

"I'm glad you think so." Dunban grinned. "How did Maria manage that, if you don't mind me asking?"

Sixer's ears flicked as his tails twitched slightly. "Well…it took some doing. I was convinced that my emotions would get in the way, but Maria was able to turn that around. She understands why I blocked them away in the first place, but I didn't understand at the time that I didn't need to any longer."

"You blocked them yourself?" Dunban's eyebrows rose. "When?"

"Before we started taking dimensions beyond our own," Sixer admitted.

"…I see." Dunban frowned. "What of the others? I seem to remember there being children with you."

"They're all safe, but not without their scars."

"And your world?"

Sixer gaze moved to the metal floor. "Our dimension didn't survive Cipher's onslaught. By the time we'd managed to kill him, his chaos had completely destroyed any chance of the damage being reversed. Some of the people managed to escape it, but…not many."

"Then, I suppose we are lucky here that we've managed to have the sky turn back to normal." Dunban sighed.

Sixer nodded. "It's…something my family and I will have to live with."

"This dimension can't be the only one that survived, though."

Sixer looked up and found Joshua looked at the two of them thoughtfully.

"Your dimension collapsed because it was trapped for the longest, correct?" Joshua focused on Sixer. "How long was it before Cipher began invading other dimensions?"

Sixer frowned at the question. His gaze flicked over to Maria, and he saw that she was frowning as well. "He…waited until my tails had split into three, from what I remember."

"Which means that, if someone had intervened then, there might have been a chance that your dimension could have been saved yet," Joshua said.

"…I suppose it's possible." Sixer frowned. "But that's a point in my past that can't be changed."

"No, it can't," Joshua agreed. "But it is an interesting observation. And it means there may be other dimensions that survived, like this one did. Do you remember the worlds that Cipher went after?"

Sixer blinked at the question. His gaze moved slightly as he searched through what he did remember, and his eyes widened when he realized what Joshua was implying. "I do."

Maria's eyes widened.

"Then it might be wise to look into those worlds later and make sure they're still functioning," Joshua said. "Perhaps whenever Maria has taken care of the forced control that exists between you two." He looked at Maria.

Maria shook her head a little, her shocked expression becoming more serious. "That would be a good idea. I had been considering it, but I didn't know if we would be able to get to those dimensions in the near future. Considering that Sixer remembers them, we might be able to at least get the word out a bit more that Puppeteer's dead and won't be causing any more problems – both for the dimensions that had been overtaken, and the dimensions that are worried they could be taken."

Sixer nodded in agreement at Maria's statement.

"That would be a good idea, depending on how many worlds were affected by him," Linada commented. "I am sure the number is considerable."

Sixer's ears drooped slightly.

"We can discuss that later, when we're not on a time limit," Shulk spoke up. "Maria, Joshua – what would we need to do in order to make all of this work? I assume you have a power source in mind that would be strong enough to keep Dunban going in his new body."

Maria and Joshua exchanged looks.

"I was transformed directly from organic to mechanical, I don't have any problems related to that," Joshua said. "Maria, I assume you have a solution, since this was your idea in the first place?"

"I…have a hypothesis." Maria glanced at Dunban. "But I don't quite know how I'm going to pull it off yet. I'm probably going to need some time alone for it in order to get any answers, too."

Joshua frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Think about where my power source came from. How do you think she was able to give a piece of herself to me?"

Joshua's frown deepened, only for his eyes to widen. "Maria, do you realize what it is you're saying?"

Sixer frowned as well. They were talking about Maria's power source, which was….

His own eyes widened a moment later. "Maria, are you talking about giving up a piece of yourself? Didn't Yobmok say it was too early?"

"I still have to try, and besides, I'm only giving up a piece of my core, not my soul." Maria shook her head. "Yobmok may be able to reach out to people who carry her shards, but that's more of a physical limb situation, I think. And that's not something I intend to do, anyway."

"Yobmok?" Dunban repeated with a frown. "What sort of a being is that?"

"A crystalline being that functions as a power source to an entire city, from what I understand," Joshua replied.

"And is it safe for you to be doing…whatever it is you're planning?" Shulk added.

"Probably?" Maria shrugged. "So long as I approach this with careful logic and focus, I should be fine."

Joshua frowned. "How far ahead in the timeline are you?"

"Would you believe me if I said I'm older than Sixer?"

The room fell silent at that. Linada frowned, seemingly concerned.

"How old are you, anyway?" Dunban leaned towards Sixer a little.

"As best as I can estimate, I am…somewhere near six centuries old," Sixer admitted. "It's…hard to give an exact number when time technically didn't exist when Cipher was present."

"Oh. And this all started when you were…?"

"About sixty."

Dunban winced.

"You might as well get working on making that new power source, then," Joshua told Maria. "But, I am curious – how long has it been since those aliens took you?"

"From the point where I'm at now, it's…been a little less than a thousand years, give-or-take." Maria wiggled a hand in a so-so motion. "It's gonna be closer to a twenty-year gap by the time I return home from it, but time went strange for a while, so it's hard to say how old I was by the time I set off the Continuum Shift."

"I'm a little lost," Shulk said, frowning. "Are you…saying that you're from his future?" He motioned to Joshua.

Maria nodded. "I know what happens to Joshua in the future, but I've elected to not say anything about it, since that could change the timeline and I'd rather not see time warp around us any more than it already has."

"Very wise of you," Linada commented. "What do you need to do in order to create this core of Dunban's?"

"To put it simply, I need to take off a piece of mine." Maria shifted to her armored form – causing Shulk to stiffen slightly in surprise – before she slipped her fingers under her chest plate and forced it to move aside.

Sixer became a little straighter when he saw the glowing blue, crystalline orb nestled in Maria's chest cavity.

Joshua glanced over at Sixer's change in posture, while Shulk moved to get a closer look.

"I haven't seen a power source like that before," Shulk said in some amazement. "And you said you can break off pieces of it? Do you need any help?"

"I don't think so," Maria replied. "I might want some privacy for a bit, though. Keeping my core exposed leaves me in a vulnerable situation – one that I would rather not repeat anytime soon." She moved her armor back in place carefully, letting Shulk and Linada have one long look before her core disappeared from sight. She shifted out of her armor a moment later.

"There are a few empty rooms that you could use," Linada offered. "They are used as bedchambers by the Nopon at night, but they should be open now."

"Nopon? That's a new one."

"They're creatures like Riki," Dunban explained. "They are very intelligent, but they tend to come off as younger than they actually are."

"Aaah." Maria's eyebrows rose, and she nodded. "I see. Gotcha." She looked around the lab for a moment. "Well, I think I'd better go take care of this core thing while we're waiting for Reyn to come back with the materials we need to start putting this together. Sixer, if they come back while I'm gone, would you be all right with helping out?"

"If they require the assistance," Sixer replied. He noticed Dunban frowning slightly, but he ignored the look.

Maria nodded, then clapped a hand on Joshua's shoulder. "We've got this. I know we do."

Joshua blinked, then nodded in response, but said nothing as Maria stepped out of the lab.

"Strange that she asks your permission when saying something like that," Dunban commented.

"Maria imposed boundaries on herself, and ensures that I am still able to express my opinion," Sixer replied. "He never allowed that."

Dunban's eyes widened slightly. "My apologies for assuming, then – she seems to know what she's doing with you."

"I'm not surprised," Joshua replied. "Considering the Protocol programming she has in her systems, as well as what I suspect of the Dark Arms, she has experience being on Sixer's side of a forced bond like this."

Sixer frowned, curious. "You're aware of that?"

"She…told you about that?" Joshua blinked.

"In passing, yes."

"Huh. Something must have changed between my present and hers. Interesting. I'll have to ask her about that when she returns." He shook his head. "But that's not important right now. Shulk, Linada, we should go over these again."

Shulk nodded as Joshua moved back to the monitor. "We've got some time before Reyn gets back, at least. Hopefully they'll come back with everything we're going to need."

As the three of them started talking over the adjusted design for Dunban, Sixer let his shoulders relax and bowed his head slightly.

"You all right?"

An ear flicked, and Sixer looked up at Dunban. "I'm fine."

"You don't look it." Dunban frowned.

"I'm fine, really." Sixer shook his head. "You don't need to be concerned."

"You say that, but you look like you need to take a nap."

"I've slept enough."

"Sharla shot him with a tranquilizer when we came across him," Shulk spoke up.

"Ah." Dunban frowned.

Joshua stepped away from the monitor and over to Sixer. "Would it be better if you had something to do?"

Sixer glanced at Joshua at the question. He frowned. "I…just have moments where it's more difficult to participate without having some form of direction. I will be fine."

Joshua frowned.

"That is not a wise mindset to have," Linada said with a gentle frown.

Sixer shook his head slightly, but said nothing.

"We'll let you know if anything comes up that we'll need you for," Joshua said. "However, we're all going to be waiting for a while until Reyn returns, so I—"

Something knocked against the door of the lab, followed by a muffled voice. "Hello! Shulk! It is I, Hero Riki and Melia! Can we come in?"

"It's all right, Riki," Shulk called back. "We're still waiting on Reyn, so nothing's happening yet."

The door opened, and the orange Nopon bounced in with a sigh of relief, followed by the young woman with the wings on her head. "Hello, Dundun! Still okay?"

"I'm still okay," Dunban confirmed. "We're just waiting on Reyn and the others to get back from scavenging. You two are pretty close – why didn't you go along?"

"Wifeypon not want me to go," Riki replied. "Too dangerous to go out and leave littlepon without daddypon, she said!"

"I think it's safe to say it's a lot less dangerous without me out there," Dunban replied.

"That what Riki said!"

"Still, we don't need everyone out scavenging for metal parts," the young woman added. "A big group would attract more attention." She turned her attention to Sixer. "Sixer, was it? My name is Melia. I am the leader of…what remains of the High Entia."

Sixer looked at Melia and nodded slightly.

Melia frowned. She turned to Joshua. "Where is Maria?"

"Working on solving the core power source problem while we wait for the others to come back," Joshua replied. "She'll be back when she's figured out what she needs to do."

"I see. And she doesn't need Sixer to assist?"

"Apparently not. They may be bound together by some force that Cipher caused, but that doesn't mean he needs to be at her heels constantly."

Joshua's sharp gaze caused Sixer's eyebrows to rise slightly.

"I see. My apologies for assuming, but I wanted to ask Maria if I could…have Sixer assist me in something for a little while."

Sixer blinked. A request?

"What for?" Joshua frowned.

"Wifeypon going off to do errands for dinner, and Riki need help keeping eyes on littlepon!" Riki's larger set of arms – or wings? – flapped enough to make him hover above the floor for a few seconds. "Furry Hom Hom might be good help!"

"I've already volunteered to assist, but we are going to need another set of hands," Melia said. "I was hoping to ask Maria if she might be willing to help for a while, but if she isn't here to ask, then I suppose we are going to have to ask elsewhere."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Melia and Riki looked at Linada.

"Maria said that we could give Sixer something to do if he was all right with participating," Linada said. "If he is up to assisting you with your hyperactive children, Riki, he could go with you."

"Really?!" Riki looked at Sixer. "You could still help?"

Sixer blinked at the question. He glanced at Joshua, Shulk, and Linada as his ears pulled back a little.

"Oh, go on."

Sixer looked at Dunban with surprise.

"They're good kids, and I'm sure it'll do wonders for your reputation in this dimension," Dunban continued. "Besides, you'll have Riki and Melia with you – they'll be able to vouch for you if anybody asks. Right, you two?"

"O-of course." Melia nodded. "Granted, everyone in the area already knows that he is here, but your current state is something we haven't informed people of yet. If we tell the Nopon, word could spread quickly."

Sixer frowned.

"This is your decision," Joshua spoke up.

Sixer closed his eyes in thought, then exhaled slowly. "All right. I'll do it."

"Hooray!" Riki bounced, a delighted grin on his face.

"Maybe I should come with you to make sure that nothing goes wrong in the first ten minutes," Joshua said. "I don't want them to get any wrong ideas. I'll come back to the lab after any misunderstandings I can clear up have been cleared up."

"That seems wise," Melia agreed. "Shall we?"

Joshua moved towards the door and motioned for Sixer to follow. Sixer looked to Dunban, who gave a nod before Sixer moved towards Joshua.

"The kids are where you left them, right?" Joshua asked.

"Wifeypon send Chief after Riki to make sure Riki bring back help, so they are still where they are supposed to be," Riki replied.

Melia nudged the door open, revealing a larger Nopon with regal-looking robes and a pink beard.

"Oh!" The Nopon looked at Joshua. "You help with Riki littlepon?"

"A little, but I'm not the one they asked for," Joshua replied. He glanced at Sixer. "I'm sure you know about the person we picked up recently, before Dunban was brought in."

"Yes, the Furry Hom Hom that was with the Trianglebeast." The Nopon paused, and then his larger set of arms rose and flailed a little. "You do not mean to have him—"

"He is no longer under the demon's control, Chief Dunga," Melia spoke up. "He is with the young woman who brought Dunban in."

"I can vouch for him, Chief Dunga." Shulk moved towards the door himself and peered over Joshua's shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better."

Dunga looked between them. "I wish to see him. Where is he?"

Joshua sent Sixer a look, and Sixer obliged by peering around the door frame, fox ears up but not standing stiffly.

Dunga stared at Sixer. Sixer stared back.

"When did he get in here?" Dunga asked.

"After Maria arrived," Joshua replied. "My cousin is currently working on something in private, so she isn't here to answer any questions you may have, but she should be here by the time we are done working on our solution for Dunban's situation."

"So you are here to help?" Dunga looked at Sixer.

Sixer nodded. "Until Maria decides we have helped enough and should return to the dimension we were in before, yes."

Dunga considered this. "You will not harm littlepon?"

"No." Sixer frowned.

"And I will be able to meet this Hom Hom Maria?"

"When she is done with her current task," Joshua confirmed.

Dunga nodded. "Good! I would like to meet the Hom Hom that took this one! But we should not keep the littlepon waiting when they are so hungry, right, Riki?" He turned slowly to look at the orange fluffball.

"R-right!" Riki's response came out sounding like a yelp.

"Good! Then let us go. Come, Furry Hom Hom." Dunga turned and started down the corridor.

"He's told us he prefers to be called Sixer," Melia corrected as she stepped out of the lab. Sixer followed after her and Riki.

"Sixer?" Dunga paused and turned to look at them. "Why a number for a name?"

"It was…a nickname from my childhood." Sixer showed his hands, spreading the fingers wide. "My brother called me Sixer, but my real name is Stanford."

"Another nickname for him would be Ford," Joshua added as he closed the lab door behind him. "Since his brother goes by Stan."

Dunga looked at Sixer, but it was hard to tell what the Nopon was thinking because of how squinted his eyes were with age. "Your brotherpon is safe too?"

Sixer nodded. "When Maria rescued me, others moved to rescue my family. If they were to come here at a later date, they would be as safe to be around as I am."

Dunga said nothing for a long moment. "And the Trianglebeast?"

"Dead," Sixer replied. "We were given an opportunity and we did not let it go to waste."

"Oh! You must tell us how that happened – come! The littlepon will be good when promised a story!" Dunga turned and started down the corridor again.

"I think he's saying that because he wants to know how it happened, too," Melia commented.

"I am not surprised," Sixer replied.

"It is good story," Riki said. "Come! Littlepon will not wait for us long!" He started bounding down the hall.

"Go on ahead," Joshua said. As Sixer looked at him, the young man added, "I'll let Maria know where you are if she comes back before you do."

Sixer blinked, then nodded. "Thank you. I would…rather not have her worry, after everything else that's happened."

Joshua nodded, and Sixer turned and followed after the others as they moved away from the lab.

Surely, helping to keep an eye on a number of little Nopon wouldn't be a big problem, right?

Time Break

It turned out that keeping an eye on Riki's many children was like trying to keep the gnomes out of Maria's berry trees.

Except that these little fluffballs could use their larger arm-like limbs to fly short distances, and they had almost unlimited amounts of energy.

"Can we play with your littlepons soon?" one of the bouncing fluffballs climbed up onto Sixer's shoulder, one of the larger arms wrapped around his arm for balance.

"My –"

"Are you talking about the two children?" Melia asked, noticing Sixer's confused surprise.

"Yes!"

"…ah." Sixer paused. "Um…they're at home right now. If you want to meet them, I…could ask Maria about that, later."

"Soon!" the Nopon insisted. "Please?"

"…we'll see," Sixer replied.

"Maria is the one who brought them here," Melia said gently. "It would make sense that you would have to ask her, when she's done helping Dunban."

The Nopon scowled. "Oh. Okay." She let go and bounced to the ground, then bounded off to join a group that were dogpiling Riki.

"You don't have much experience with children, do you?" Melia looked at Sixer curiously.

"Not…really, no," Sixer replied. "I only knew my niece and nephew for about a month before…all this."

Melia's expression shifted. "I see. Why is it you didn't know them before?"

"I was…traveling. A series of incidents caused me to be thrust from my home dimension, and so I traveled across dimensions for thirty years. By the time I was able to be given a path home, it…it was right before my world fell apart."

Melia's expression softened. "I'm sorry about that. You deserve some peace."

Sixer's ears drooped slightly, but he nodded. "Perhaps."

"I am sure that rest will come to you soon." Melia's gaze moved slightly. "Perhaps a little sooner than expected. Riki's wife has returned."

And then a multitude of voices called, "Mommypon!"

Sixer turned at the sound of the voices and watched the small mob of Nopon flood the gate leading out from the large, grassy pen behind the main part of the base.

"Are all my littlepon behaving? Were you all good for the Bird Lady and Daddypon?"

There were a number of cries of confirmation as Riki's wife made her way over to Dunga and Riki, who was sitting up from where he'd been dogpiled.

"Furry Hom Hom show us little tricks!" one of the young Nopon cried as Sixer sat down with a short exhale of relief. "Little fire sparks and moving pictures of giant temples!"

Sixer happened to meet the eyes of Riki's wife, who looked alarmed. "Fire sparks?"

"Harmless, promise!" another Nopon spoke up. "Daddypon was right there with bucket of water just in case!"

"He truly was," Melia spoke up. "Besides, the children asked that he show a little of what he could do. He held back his power really well."

Riki's wife moved through the crowd of her young and marched her way over to Sixer, who had managed to get his legs crossed and was now resting his hands on his knees.

"Is what littlepon and Bird Lady say true?" she asked seriously.

Sixer looked at the Nopon with a tired exhaustion in his gaze, and he nodded. "They…asked a lot of questions. I did not answer all of them, or respond to all of them with the abilities I now carry. But they…did want to see the fire up close. I made sure not to produce enough to harm them."

"Show me."

Sixer closed his eyes and sighed, then raised up a hand and summoned a small tongue of flame no bigger than a blade of grass.

Riki's wife looked it over, then nodded in satisfaction. Sixer took that as a signal to dismiss the flame and dropped his hand onto his knee again. "Good." Then her expression softened. "Furry Hom Hom look tired. Should go rest."

"In a bit. I should see if Maria might need—"

"I'm sure she and the others have their work handled," Melia spoke up. She hooked a hand under one of Sixer's arms and pulled him to his feet with some difficulty. "Come. We do have a proper room where you can rest."

"But—"

"Maria will be fine, and if she needs to find you, she can talk to me." Melia gave Sixer a pointed look. "Besides, I doubt that she is going to ask you to do anything with how tired you look."

Sixer hesitated, then nodded. "Well, yes, but—"

"No buts but yours in bed, as Sharla would say. Worry not, it is not far from where Dunban is being assisted." Melia started to move towards the building, pulling Sixer along.

"You had better listen to Bird Lady, Sixer," Dunga called. "Bird Lady royalty. Besides, we all tired from looking after littlepon."

Sixer frowned at the Nopon's words, but after a moment, he just gave a small nod and let Melia lead him back into the building.

"You didn't have to put so much effort into that, you know," Melia commented as they stepped into the building. "Although, those illusions were impressive."

"I'm…glad you think so," Sixer replied. "It's something that I've been working on recently, with Maria's help. I haven't…completely gotten the hang of it, yet."

"Well, you seem to be on your way," Melia offered.

"Thank you."

As they moved through the corridors, Melia led Sixer back through the same area where the lab was located.

"What I don't understand is why—" Reyn cut himself off and looked over as Melia and Sixer approached. "Oh, hey. Heard you guys had your hands full with Riki's kids. Nothing went wrong?"

"They were very much enamored by Sixer's abilities, but they didn't give us any trouble," Melia replied. "What are you two doing out here?"

"We're waiting for them to finish Dunban's new body," Fiora replied. She was standing closer to the door than Reyn, who was leaning against the wall. "I wanted to be in there to watch, but Maria insisted that what they're currently doing isn't something that needs to be seen. We were in there long enough to see them starting to put together the metal skeleton."

"It's kinda freaky, to be honest," Reyn added. "They're doin' things in there that I didn't think could be done."

"Maria is full of surprises like that," Sixer said. "I would not be surprised if Joshua is the same way."

"That's one way of puttin' it." Reyn huffed, then paused. "Hey, you, uh, look pretty tired on your feet. Did the kids really tire you out that much?"

"They asked him to use his abilities multiple times, and requested the story of the demon's destruction multiple times," Melia explained.

"It…was a bit tiring," Sixer agreed. "But I'll be fine."

"I was just taking him to a place where he could sleep," Melia continued. "I had been thinking of letting Maria know, at least, but if she's busy, then I'll have to count on you two to let her know where he is when she starts wanting to look for him."

"Sure, we can handle that." Reyn gave a thumbs-up. "You go ahead and put him ta bed; we're gonna be hanging around here for a while."

Melia nodded, then started down the corridor again, tugging Sixer along by the hand. They moved past the holding cells – all empty, including the one Sixer had been in when he'd woken up earlier – and down another corridor of closed doorways. She stopped in front of one and pushed the door open, revealing a small, simple room.

"The beds aren't…particularly nice, but they are nice enough," Melia said.

"I think this is fine." Sixer stepped into the room and looked around at the blank walls and the bed. "You'll…let Maria know which one I'm in, if she comes looking for me?"

"Of course," Melia replied. "If she has absolute need of you and you've recovered your strength by then."

A smile ghosted Sixer's face for a moment, and he nodded before he moved over to the bed.

"Sleep well," Melia added. She took hold of the door and pulled it closed slowly, watching as Sixer lay down on the bed.

By the time the door was shut, Sixer was drifting into slumber.