Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing the characters and plot of the Pretender. Don't worry; I'll put them away when I'm done. Oh and PS, I don't mean anything by what I say about American Airlines. It's all in good fun.
Rating: PG to PG-13. You decide.
Summary: Same as the last seven chapters. In this particular chapter, Broots, Jarod, and Elf 17 discover the consequences of being back at the Centre.
Feedback: (Shadow Elf has been imprisoned by the mage she freed, {ironic huh?}, and is currently locked in the tower of the now-overthrown-king. She is being guarded by only one man.)
[Pacing] "If I don't get some feedback soon I'll never finish this story and I won't be able to travel to the next world on my list!" [She notices the guard outside her door and smiles slowly.]
"Hey! Yeah you!"
(The guard raises his bushy eyebrows)
"You look like an intelligent fellow. Would you like to hear a story?"
(She receives a blank look from the guard. It's seems like the only look he's able to give.)
Guard: Duh, story?
"Yes."
Guard: Duh yeah. Story good.
Shadow Elf gives a grin. You gotta love inept guards. They just make things so much easier…
-----ShadowElfBard
On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!
2:57 AM
Los Angeles, California
Field In Mountain Range
Centre Issued Car
Broots woke up slowly and groggily and the first thing he became aware of was the throbbing pain in his head. He clutched the spot and groaned.
"Finally awake I see. Here, take this."
He was passed two tablets but he didn't take them. The world may still look fuzzy and out of focus, but he wasn't stupid enough to take medicine without knowing what it was.
Whoever had given him the pills sighed, clearly annoyed. "It's Tylenol. It should help with the massive migraine you now undoubtedly have."
Broots nodded weakly, the world slowly coming back into focus. He popped the pills into his mouth and downed them with some water that he was passed. As his vision came back to him he turned in the direction of the person who'd given him the pills so that he could thank him, and was greeted by the cold blue eyes of Lyle.
He almost choked on the water. "M-Mr. Lyle!" he looked around wildly. "W-where am I?"
"Right now you're in a Centre car. Some of the Sweepers found you knocked unconscious and stuffed like a stiff in a closet." He grinned at him. "You must have made somebody mad."
Broots vaguely remembered it. Elf 17 had woken him up warning him that sweepers were on the way. He'd come out and Elf 17 had apologized to him before kicking him upside the head. But wait, why would she do that to him?
"Uh, Mr. Lyle? What happened exactly?"
"What happened? I've just guaranteed myself a promotion that's what." He jerked his only thumb in the direction of the back seat. "Look for yourself."
Broots looked behind him and saw a grated metal barrier separating the back and front of the car. Behind the barrier, was Jarod. He was gagged, tied up in four different places, cuffed, and had a very thick blindfold on. And judging on how motionless he was, he was probably drugged.
Broots' mouth gaped open as he spun back around, visibly shaken. To see Jarod caught and trussed up was like seeing a proud and vicious tiger shot down, or a wild mustang tamed. It was downright depressing.
Lyle looked over at Broots through the corner of his eye, watching his reaction with a mental smirk. He'd brought the technician into his car for a reason. Nobody so far knew why Raines' project hadn't turned Jarod in when she'd obviously caught him with ease. Lyle and the Centre wanted to know if Broots had anything to do with it.
Broots found his voice and his amazement was painfully obvious. "Y-you caught Jarod? That easily?"
Lyle gave a nod. "Yeah. He ran straight into our trap." He looked out the window and added casually as an afterthought, "the girl too."
Broots finally understood. Elf 17 had of course been meaning to let Jarod go, she'd told him so herself, but on her own time. When the sweepers had come she and Jarod had been off guard and knocked him out and put him in the closet to…to… to what? Protect him? Of course! That's Lyle was talking to him about this. He and the Centre know that Elf 17 ha been planning on letting Jarod go and, well obviously, they're worried that he's a part of it. Elf 17 stuck him in the closet to give him an alibi.
"Where, uh, is she?" Broots asked as calmly as he could.
"She's in the trunk. There's sufficient airflow back there to keep her alive and it keeps her and the lab rat apart should either of them wake up unexpectedly. "
Broots nodded and inside he was hoping that Elf 17 wasn't hurt. "Hey um, why are we parked here?"
"The Centre's sending transport. They'll be here in a while." He turned to Broots. "But, while we're waiting, why don't you tell me how you ended up in a closet?"
Broots faked an embarrassed look. "Well, the uh, girl was planning on letting Jarod go and when I tried to stop her, I um, got kicked in the head."
"Mmm." Lyle said, neither believing nor doubting his story.
Broots was starting to worry. What if he chose not to believe him? What if when he got to the Centre he'd be run through an interrogation? What if- His rapid and scatterbrained thoughts were cut off by a loud roaring outside of the car.
Lyle sighed. "Finally." He got out and motioned for Broots to follow.
There were at least twenty sweepers outside, and four other Centre cars. All of the sweepers stood at attention, blending in with the night in the conspicuous black suits. Why the Centre hadn't given them normal clothes to wear when they were searching for Jarod was beyond him. But like hell he was going to question the Centre. He certainly didn't have a death wish.
The aircraft landed a bit roughly on the grass and Broots' eyes widened.
"They sent a commercial airline?"
"We do have to fit twenty sweepers."
Yeah but, 'American Airlines'?"
Lyle gave a grin that seemed to glow in the dark. "Let's just say that the Centre has strange bedfellows."
"I'll bet." Broots muttered. And as he boarded the plane, he made a mental note that whenever he went on a trip, he would make sure to drive.
6:52 AM
Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
SL-27 Holding Block 24
Jarod's eyes slowly crept open, but they just as soon shut again, when he heard voices nearby.
"Can you take it from here Lyle?" Raines asked wheezing.
"I may not be as good a doctor as you Raines, but I can handle the lab rat. An injection is nothing big."
"Strange, I remember you being outwitted by the 'lab rat' before. Did you 'handle him' then also?"
" I brought him in didn't I?" Lyle retorted angrily.
"So you did. I'm going to leave this to you then. I have to go get my project started on the testing."
Lyle chuckled. "Isn't it 'our' project now Raines?"
"Only if she passes. The Triumvate dictates who will be in charge of her should that happen. But until they do, she is still mine."
"Calm down Raines. For the moment I'm perfectly happy sharing Jarod with you." He paused. "But we are in agreement for if she passes the test?"
"Yes."
"All right then."
"Good luck Mr. Lyle." Jarod heard his door being shut and the faint sounds of Raines' oxygen being wheeled down the hall.
Lyle chuckled to himself. "Luck? I won't need it."
Jarod watched from under his eyelashes what was happening. His arms were tied behind his back with chord, they were cuffed, and so were his legs and feet. Personally he thought it was an over-kill but, hey, whatever made them feel that he wasn't going to run.
Lyle motioned for one of the two sweepers in the room to hand him something. As it was passed into Lyle's gloved hand Jarod saw that it was a syringe. He mentally frowned. There was no bottle in the room of what the liquid in the syringe was. It was a clear liquid, and looked very light, no strong odor, which narrowed the possibilities down to oh, maybe five thousand six hundred and thirty seven different chemicals. It could be poison, it could be anesthetic, hell it could be a new type of narcotic. With the Centre you never knew.
Lyle walked over to who he believed was an unconscious Jarod slowly. He turned Jarod onto his stomach and prepared to inject him with the needle.
"Say goodbye to those pesky memories of yours lab rat."
Jarod's eyes snapped open instantly. "No!
He threw all of his weight into Lyle who was momentarily confused. Lyle fell back onto the floor with an 'oof!' and Jarod began making his way to the door as best he could, the ropes slipped off, but still in cuffs. The sweepers however, moved much easier and faster.
Jarod caught one in the leg and punched one in the jaw but in the end, they got him up against the wall. Jarod struggled with all of his might against their hold, but to no avail.
Lyle slowly got up off of the floor, dusting off his pant legs, and muttering to himself. He looked over at Jarod who was seething with hatred.
"You're going to ruin one of my suits these days you know that?" Lyle said tauntingly. Then he motioned for Jarod's arm and one of the sweepers happily provided it.
Lyle looked Jarod in the eye, a small smile on his lips. "Goodbye Jarod. Nice knowing you."
Jarod gave one final surge of strength but it was too late, and the syringe was plunged into his skin. His mouth was open in a wordless scream as his eyes glazed over and he fell to the floor, the chemicals traveling at high speeds through his blood stream.
Just before his vision black out he had one last thought.
I'm sorry Elf 17. I'm so sorry…
6:54 AM
Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
SL-26, Holding Block 14
The first thing that Elf 17 was aware of was the light. Bright, harsh, white light that was shining in her eyes. She quickly closed them, not able to stand the burning sensation, which was kind of strange, because she'd gone through much worse. She just had very sensitive eyes and ears; it was one of the many drawbacks of being a "feral pretender".
She tried to move and found that she was able to do that well enough. Her ankle and leg muscles were in great pain, thanks to Lyle's snare, so she moved as carefully as she could. She was in Centre clothing again, and she found this as no great surprise. Personal space was a foreign word to them.
Her ankle, one that had chord cuts deep in its skin, was wearing the controller anklet Raines had created. She growled at it but made no move to try and rip it off. She knew from experience that that would do more harm than good.
She dared to open her eyes and slowly she adjusted to the light. The room was almost pure white, except for the gray stone flooring and her gray metal cot and bathroom area. The entire room was clean, annoyingly so in fact. She sniffed her clothes. Even she was clean. Her claws had been trimmed and her hair also. The hairstyle was still a bit crazy, but it was shorter, and went only halfway down her neck. She sniffed the room some more and became mildly surprised when she realized that this was her old room at the Centre, it had just been remodeled. That, and the room was no longer hidden in the Centre walls. The door led straight out into an open hall, and anyone who had clearance to the sub levels could easily walk over and see her.
She moved off of her pathetic excuse for a bed and moved slowly over to the sidewall. She pawed at it, much like a puppy at the door. She heard a slight knock on the other side as a response and she clawed more furiously, but with her claws clipped she could do no more than make soft scratching noises. She was sure that the person she smelled on the other side could hardly even hear them.
"I'm sorry Angelo." She said quietly, just loud enough for him to hear. "The plaster they've used to block off the air vent is too thick."
She could almost see the look of innocent confusion on his face as she heard him turn around and leave back through the air vent passageways.
Elf 17 put her back against the wall and hung her head, coming to terms with her lost freedom. Suddenly her left ear twitched. She brought her head up, her eyes showing the transformation she'd willingly let take partial control over her mind and body.
The heavy steel door, the only way in or out of her cell, was being unlocked, and she heard the guards outside being told to move out of the way. She moved low to the ground, coiling and tightening her muscles. This was no playful move either; whoever came through that door first was going to wish they hadn't.
The door was pushed open and Elf 17 sprung up only to fall to the ground in pain when a searing shock went through her and caused her to slide across the slippery and shining floor. She used her arms to push herself up, gritting her teeth, and she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the buzzing in her ears. She found herself looking up, and met the eyes of Raines, flanked as always by two sweepers, both with tight grips on their guns.
The cause for the pain that had coursed through her was in Raines' hand and he chuckled, the sound sending ice cold shivers up Elf 17's spine.
"Ah Elf 17." He said, shaking his head. "How you've changed."
She growled, keeping a wary eye on the sweepers at his side. "What do you want Raines?"
Raines caught the angry and rebellious tone of her voice, wondering in the back of his mind if some re-training was in order. "Elf 17, you shouldn't be so angry. You have after all, brought back a man that the Centre and all of its resources couldn't for years. And you've accomplished it in less than a week."
She held back the urge to roll her eyes and give him her opinion of his 'capture' using a stream of words that she'd learned out in Vegas. She did not need another electrical shock right now, especially when it would accomplish nothing. She grit her teeth, come on, you can hate this all you want but you have to find out what is going on. She took a silent deep breath and changed back to her normal eye color and mind set. "Mr. Raines, I would like to know what you have come to see me for sir?"
Raines smiled at her affectation. She wasn't an idiot, not by a long shot. She knew what he wanted to hear in her voice and what he wanted to see in her actions. She wouldn't disappoint him, not at the moment anyhow. "The Triumvate and Centre are both very pleased with your success."
You mean your success. I'm nothing but the project, Elf 17 thought testily. "What would the Centre and Triumvate be wanting sir?"
"They want to find out just how 'successful' you can be."
She backed her ears in slight fear. No. No. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. She had been supposed to bring Jarod in, (though that hadn't happened on purpose), and the Centre was supposed to leave her alone. They and Raines were supposed to play with their new toy and leave her the heck alone!
Naïve fool, she chided herself. You knew what was going to happen from the beginning. Either you failed and Raines decided whether to kill you or not, or you succeeded and they became impressed. You knew that the Centre doesn't ignore or waste anything that they think can be of use to them. You set yourself up for this fall, and there is nothing to keep you from slamming your face into the mud.
Raines watched her internal struggle with slight interest and smiled. He'd been in a much happier mood since last night when she and Jarod were brought in with Lyle and his sweepers. The Triumvate had promoted both him and Lyle considerably, and he'd heard from the director that when the pursuit team was disbanded, Sydney wouldn't be in charge of Jarod. He and Lyle would. Actually, should Elf 17's test come out as good as he hoped it would, he and Lyle would also be in charge of Elf 17. It would give both of them added power, and at the Centre, power was life.
Elf 17 calmed herself down with effort, and asked the question. "What exactly do they want me to do sir?"
"There was a test, a number of different tests actually, that Jarod took when he was first brought to the Centre. The scores were from the tests were added together to give an approximate value of his intelligence and Pretending skill." He raised an eyebrow at her, noting that her face was now drained of color. "The Centre and Triumvate think it a good idea to have you take these tests to give an approximate value of your intelligence and Pretending skill."
Elf 17 wished she could get past the morals and ethics she had so that she could slice open his oxygen tube. That raspy breathing of his was really getting on her nerves.
Raines continued. "So you are going to take this test Elf 17. And you are going to do your extreme best on it."
Who says? She thought bitterly
"If for one moment I doubt how much effort you are putting into this than I will have to resort to other methods." He looked her straight into her eyes and she felt the need to look away. "Namely, hurting that technician from the old pursuit team."
"B-Broots sir?" She felt her heart begin to race. "What do you mean?"
"You know my meaning perfectly well. You purposely screw up on this test, and either Broots or his daughter will pay the price."
Oh god. Oh god Broots…
"Also, the technician is currently on suspicion of having tried to help Jarod escape. You know perfectly well what happens to those who don't have what's best for the Centre in mind."
She looked at the ground. She knew. Oh god did she know.
"But," she looked up. "But, if you happen to do exceptionally well, I will personally clear his good name. He does have an alibi, and though right now that means nothing, if the Triumvate and I like your performance he will be spared. "
She closed her eyes. If it meant saving Broots, she'd take their damn test. She'd spend the rest of her life doing sims. Whatever it took to help him she'd do it in a heartbeat.
"Sir," she said, hardly trusting her own voice, "I guarantee that you and the Triumvate will have nothing to fear about my performance on the test." She swallowed uncomfortably. "You will receive my personal best, and no less."
Raines gave a smile and for a moment, he remarkably resembled a jackal. "Good. Let's go."
"Now sir?"
He glared at her and she wanted ever so much to sigh.
"Yes sir."
Raines walked out, protected by the two sweepers, and the sweepers who had been guarding Elf 17's door grabbed her arms to "escort" her to the sim lab, were the tests would be done.
As they walked down the hall Elf 17 frowned glumly, her gaze on the floor. "Welcome back to Hell," She muttered under her breath. "Enjoy your stay."
7:05 AM
Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
Ex-Pursuit Team's Main Office
"Dad!"
"Debbie!"
The two ran at each other, father and daughter, and became enveloped in a hug. Broots stroked her brown hair saying he was sorry about a million times until Debbie laughed and told him to stop and that he was embarrassing her.
The hug was broken and Broots turned to Ms. Parker, the largest and goofiest grin on his face. He swallowed.
"I-I don't know how to thank you. This is, I mean-"
Ms. Parker groaned. "It's all right Broots! It wasn't that big a deal. Besides," she looked over at Debbie with a smile that rarely graced her features. "She and I had a good time."
"Yeah dad!" Debbie chimed in. "Ms. Parker and Sam took me shopping! At the mall!' She leaned over conspiratorially. "She made Sam try on a dress."
Broots gave Ms. Parker a shocked look, and beside her, an amused Sydney chuckled.
Ms. Parker gave an evil grin. "Well how else was I supposed how it looked?"
Broots had to laugh, the thought of the stony faced sweeper in a dress was too much for him.
"Hey dad?" Debbie asked him.
"Yes?"
"If it's okay with Ms. Parker can we stop by her house tonight? The clothes she bought me are still there."
Broots swung around to look at Ms. Parker. "Y-you bought her clothes?"
"You can't expect her to wear clothes from Wal-mart all her life. Besides, she needed some more…female items; things that being a man, you couldn't buy for her."
"But Ms. Parker you didn't have to do that! I'll pay you back."
Ms. Parker put on her ice queen face. "Oh no you don't! As your boss, I order you not to even think about paying me back. Is that understood?"
"But-"
"Is that understood?"
Broots sighed and smiled. "Yes Ms. Parker."
"Good."
Debbie and Sydney held back laughs as they watched the two. Debbie looked over at Sydney and Sydney winked at her.
The she turned to her dad. "Hey dad, I'm really hungry. Do you think we could go out for breakfast?"
Broots opened his mouth to answer, and then closed it again, suddenly looking very sad. "I-I- uh..."
Sydney's brow furrowed, noticing that Broots seemed to be holding back tears. Something was wrong. He cleared his throat.
"Debbie?"
"Yes Sydney?"
"You remember me showing you my office?"
She nodded.
"Well I have recently put a TV in there. I have to talk to your father about something for a moment, would it be all right if you went and watched something?"
"Okay."
Ms. Parker walked over to her. "Come on, let me take you there."
After Ms. Parker came back in Broots looked over at her.
"Is she safe in there?"
"I have Sam guarding the door. Not even the Triumvate is allowed to go in."
Broots let out a sigh of relief. " Oh thank god."
"Now Broots, what's wrong?" Sydney asked, slipping into his 'psych' mode.
Broots lip trembled and after swallowing he said softly, "I'm not allowed to leave the Centre."
7:35 AM
Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
Sim Lab
Elf 17 gazed around frantically. "It, it's really dark. I can't see who's coming." She shook with fear. "I can hear the person, coming closer, their footsteps echo down the empty street. I walk faster, I keep looking back but I can't see. I can't see anyone!"
"What do you do?" Raines asked.
"I get so frightened, I'm alone. There are no houses. I thought I'd be safe. I was just going for a walk…"
"What happens?"
"I look behind me again and I see someone. It's a man. He's dressed in street clothes. He's sort of far away, but he's walking fast. He's walking towards me. And…oh my god! He has a knife! He has a knife in his hand! "
"Then what?"
"I scream, I start to run and drop my purse on the ground. I hope that he'll stop, that he'll take it and leave me alone, but he keeps coming. He keeps moving towards me and his eyes, oh lord his eyes are so cold! So empty!"
"Where do you run?"
"My mind races, I can't think clearly. I'm screaming for help, but there's no one. I just run, and I run, and he gets closer. I stay on the road, it's the only place I know I might be safe. I'm crying and I scream, but I'm alone, so alone…"
"Then?"
"I keep running, I'll run until my lungs burst, but then, then I trip. There was a branch, I didn't see it. I trip, and I skid on the pavement and I try to get up, but he comes closer and I keep screaming but no one hears me. No one's there." Her head, which had been drooping suddenly shoots up, and her eyes grow wide with terror. "He's coming closer! Oh God, he's right here! I can't run! I can't move! The knife! He's raising the knife!" she let out a scream, and Raines flinched in spite of himself.
Elf 17 began convulsing on the ground and Raines quickly grabbed the remote to her controller anklet. He pressed the pad and sent a minor shock through her system. She stopped moving, her own psyche coming back to her. She moved onto her hands and knees and she felt like retching. She swallowed, trying to keep down the bile rising in her throat and then got up shakily.
Raines stood in front of her, and behind him was the screen of a projector, on which was a slide of a murdered woman who'd been stabbed to death. Sweepers were on either side of him, and some looked really shaken up. They had never seen a sim before.
Elf 17 looked as Raines glanced up at the large two-way mirror behind Elf 17. Inside were seated various higher ups in the Triumvate and Tower who'd judged the same testing on Jarod years ago.
Raines finally gazed back at Elf 17. "Your sim tests are done. There is now a written test for you to take."
Elf 17 just blinked, incredulous. They'd just gone through six tests. Three of which were extremely violent simulations. Now he wanted another one? But hey, let him give her a test. It keeps her out of her cell.
She trudged over to a seat at the desk, and awaited the test.
8:39 AM
Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
Sim Lab
The sweepers had already taken Elf 17 back to her "room", and Raines was behind the two-way glass talking to the judges about his projects performance.
Lyle was seated comfortably in a chair at a desk, watching one of the DSA's that had just been taken of Elf 17's sim tests. In the one he was watching she was pretending to be a victim of a rape. He turned the player off nonchalantly and stood up when Raines came in, and walked over to him smoothly.
"So what did the judges have to say?"
Raines laughed. "The 'judges' could hardly say anything."
Lyle smirked. "I take it we're in business?"
"Yes. How did it go with Jarod?"
"He should be as malleable as clay by now. So far the techs watching the security cameras in his cell say that he doesn't remember a damn thing about his past."
"Let's hope it stays that way."
8:44 AM
Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
SL-27 Holding Cell 24
The nameless man looked up from his position on the cot. He felt strange, like there was static all over his nerves. And he couldn't for the life of him remember who he was.
The door opened, and a man came in. There was another man with him, and two men in black suits and sunglasses. The first men seemed to spark a memory in his mind, but the memory eluded him. Ah well, it probably isn't that important anyways.
"Hello sir." the nameless man said politely. He'd been given a tape earlier by a man in a black suit and black glasses and the tape had told him a little of what he needed to know. He was to address everyone as either sir or madam, and he's something called a "pretender". He supposedly works here trying to help people with his special talents. He's been here since he was a child and this was how life was supposed to be.
"Hello there." The first man said, smiling pleasantly. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Mr. Lyle. My colleague Mr. Raines and I are your caretakers."
"What would you like Mr. Lyle?"
It was all Lyle could do to keep from jumping up and down and clapping his hands like a happy child. Raines looked like tearing out his oxygen tube and dancing in the rain.
"Sir?" The nameless man asked awkwardly. "Is something wrong?"
"Why would you think that something's wrong?"
The man without a name looked down at his shoes and twiddles his thumbs. "Not to be disrespectful sir, but Mr. Raines looks like he's about to cry."
Lyle spun around and indeed, Raines looked so happy that his eyes were watering, though the man wiped at them angrily with his sleeve.
"Uh, he had onions with breakfast. Now," Lyle said quickly, a bit worried himself. "You know what a pretender is?"
"Yes sir."
"Well, we need you to perform a sim. Can you do that?"
"Yes sir but…" He looked at him earnestly. "I don't remember my name. I was wondering…if it's all right with you…could I have one?"
Lyle looked at Raines in confusion but Raines promptly answered, "your name is CP 1."
CP 1's eyes sparkled. "Wow. CP 1…"
"Yes, yes it's a wonderful name. " Lyle said, waving away the issue. "Now, if you'll just go with these men," he pointed to the sweepers, "they'll take you to the Sim Lab."
CP 1 nodded and followed the sweepers out, still smiling about his name, and Lyle and Raines walked out after him, taking their time.
Lyle looked over at Raines. "Are you sure that the chemical you prepared for him didn't switch his psyche with a three-year-old's?"
"Yes I'm sure." Raines snarled back. "His mind has just been violently accosted by a foreign chemical. It's only natural that his mind creates defensive and coping barriers. His barrier is by reverting to the simple and uncomplicated view of a young boy. Actually, it's better for us because he'll be more trusting."
"Ah." Said Lyle in understanding. He stuck his hands into his pockets. "What's with the name? CP 1?
"It stands for Centre's Pretender. I thought it fitting."
"Yes." Lyle then smiled cruelly. "Oh and Raines? Were my eyes deceiving me or were you holding back tears in there? Getting a little emotionally attached to our subject?"
"I had something in my eye!" Raines snapped at him.
"Uh huh, sure." Lyle scoffed, and then walked on ahead.
Raines growled. "Even when Jarod's memory is erased he manages to make a fool out of me."
He sighed and continued walking down the hall.
************************************************************************************
Well, it is here that I-
[Shadow Elf runs on]
"Hey you haven't seen any freaky mages around here have you?"
Me: Uh, nooo.
"Good. Sorry to interrupt."
[She runs off]
Okaaay. That was weird. Anyways, talk to you guys soon I hope! Feedback is encouraged so don't be stingy!