Chapter 3: Friendship Blossoms

Pri grimaced as Brain tenderly applied ointment to her shoulder, trying to ignore the sting. Brain looked up at her. "I apologize, Priya," he said. "I know the sensation must be uncomfortable." "quite alright, bandhu," Priya managed through gritted teeth. She knew that the ointment would reduce the risk of her burns getting inflamed, but that didn't make the sting anymore endurable, nor did the fact that this was the fourth time of her having to use the ointment. Jija, it felt like a cobra's venomous fangs, and if anything, it felt worse each time! Whenever there was an explosion where one or more of their trio sustained burns in a plan, Brain would insist on using the foul-smelling green ointment. Priya wasn't about to doubt Brain's judgement, however, not when he had been taking such good care of her. The day after his outburst, he had exited the cage and returned 15 minutes later, holding a chunk of banana. This had continued for the next few days, Brain disappearing and showing up a few minutes later holding some sort of tropical fruit. Finally, Priya got up the courage to ask him why he was doing this. "Priya, you come from West Bengal, am I correct?" he asked. Priya nodded. "Yes, that is correct." "well," Brain went on, looking at the ground and shuffling his feet in apparent embarrassment, "I understand that the dining options here are rather… limited, so I thought you might enjoy something more suitable for your palate," he finished, ears dropping and face flushing. Pri felt yet another lump rise in her throat, this time of pure affection, and grabbed Brain in a tight hug. Judging by his quiet wheeze, he hadn't been expecting it, but he still hugged her back.

Priya was broken out of her reverie by Brain's voice. "Finished." "Thank you, Brain," said Priya. Then, with a playful smile, she proclaimed, "and now it's your turn." Brain let out a grumble, he didn't enjoy it anymore than she did. Pri took the jar of ointment and smeared some on the singed fur of Brain's ear. Brain sucked in his breath, but was otherwise quiet. "There," said Priya a few minutes later. "Thank you, Priya," said Brain. He winced as he stood up. "Are you sure you're alright, Brain?" asked Priya tentatively. He had been limping and seemingly in pain ever since the explosion. "Yes, Priya," said Brain. "I landed awkwardly in the fall." "if you're sure…" Pri answered. They looked over at Pinky, who had already gotten his ointment applied and was now jumping rope with his own tail, careful to avoid the burnt tip. "I apologize on his behalf," Brain muttered to Priya. "I should never have entrusted him with holding the wires." "oh, that's alright, Brain," reassured Priya. "It was nobody's fault. Pinky can't help it if he's a kyabla." "I'm glad you are so easily forgiving," smiled Brain, slipping his paw into hers. Priya wasn't sure why, but all of a sudden, she felt warm and tingly all over.

The next morning, Pri woke up early to meditate, something she hadn't been able to do since her capture from the forest. She had missed the feeling of calm, like nothing bad could ever happen in the world again. "Ommmmmm…" she hummed quietly. Suddenly she was aware of a presence next to her. "Ommm-Naaaarf…" repeated a squeaky voice. Priya opened one eye and the corners of her mouth twitched at the sight of the lanky mouse sitting cross-legged next to her with his eyes closed. Just then, Brain walked up. "Pinky, what are you doing? Priya's trying to meditate." "I know, Brain, I'm meditating with her! Zort!" Priya grinned. "That's alright, Brain, I'm finished now."

She got up, stretched, patted Pinky on the head and went to get a food pellet and a drink of water. The food pellets really weren't that bad, just a little dry at times, but that could be easily remedied with a drop of water. As Priya nibbled on her food pellet and watched Brain go to work on his plans for that night and Pinky start to dance, she thought about her plans for today when suddenly she was plucked from the cage with surprisingly gentle hands. She only had enough time to let out a surprised yelp: "Brain!"

He looked up in surprise. "Priya?" Priya was about to answer, but was carried away by the scientist. She looked up and was relieved to see that it was the woman who had defended the trio from the angry man. "Easy, there, little fella," she said, stroking Priya's back with a slender finger. Oh my, that felt nice. "Have you got her?" asked an excited voice. "Yep!" the lady said. Priya looked up to see who was asking about her and her mouth dropped open. Standing there was a beautiful young woman with brown skin and a long dark braid falling down her back. "Nice to see you again, my dear ma'usa bandhu," she smiled. Pri remembered this lady well from the Indian lab, Dr. Sinha. She was the kindest, sweetest person in the whole lab and possibly the world to people and animals alike. Priya wasn't sure what was in store for her, but she decided that with these two, it was going to be fun.

Brain paced angrily around the cage while Pinky sobbed in the background. How could he have let this happen? How could he have let them take Priya? She didn't know the entire layout of the lab yet, or its rules, though they had both been teaching her. What if she needed to run from something potentially dangerous, but assumed it was harmless? He'd heard some truly horrible stories about experiments that had happened in the lab, and what if they used one of those experiments on Priya?

Well, if they did anything to his Priya, they would have to answer to him. When he conquered the world, they would pay dearly if they hurt her. The megalomaniac paused in his pacing to see where the lab workers were taking his friend and was relieved to see that they were by the maze table, even more so when he saw that one of the workers was the woman that had reprimanded the man who had tried to take Priya. "Pinky, cease your incessant wailing at once." Pinky sniffled. "B-but Brain, where are they taking Pri?" "you may be an imbecile, Pinky, but I'm fairly certain you're not blind. Use your eyes. She's by the maze." "oh. Zort. So she's ok?" "Yes, Pinky," said Brain. "I don't believe she's in any immediate danger, so I am going to work on my plans. You go and do… whatever it is you do," he said. "Ok, Brain!" sang Pinky, all traces of his tears gone. Brain watched him dance off and sighed. Imbecile. Pinky was truly an imbecile, but his sweetness made up for it. The large-headed mouse turned and stared towards Priya, praying that they were only making her run the maze and nothing else, worried that he might have just lied to Pinky. Humans could be unpredictable, and the last thing either of them wanted to see was Priya injured, even more so than she already was. He sighed again and went back to his plans, but he couldn't concentrate, ears twitching at every foreign sound. All he could do was sit there, drowning in his own anxiety, watching and waiting for Priya…

DUN DUN DUNNNN...

Yeah, I know. I'm evil for leaving it on a cliffhanger. And maybe it's just me, but I'm noticing something between Brain and Priya... lol

Well, I am a Pinky x Brain shipper, but don't have the guts to write a fic on it yet, so this is like how I prepare I guess?

New update coming soon!