Eep. Sorry for taking so long on the next update. I've been sorta busy,
drawing and putting stuff up on Fanart Central...(psst, check me out there!
Same username as here!) Ah, shameless plugging. I mean, er... o.O;;
Nevermind.
Yes, this is another slow chapter. BUT, I updated! So shut up and like it!
;D
Time for review-reviews... Eva Kasumi: Thanks for reviewing again! ^-^ Beautiful? Why, thankies. ^^ I'd say more, but I've blabbered on long enough in the e-mail I sent to ya...
Tusume: *laughs maniacally* But seriously. Don't worry. I'm not that evil. I mean, look what Naughty Dog did.
Krin: As for the blue thingy, I stare at it every day, it being my desktop picture.(heehee!) So I spend all my time trying to think of what it could be. That was the only thing that made (some) sense. As for repetition, yes, I know I say words over...and over...and over...I'll have to find that little thing. I have MS Word(who doesn't?) so I'll try and find it. Pictures will come, as soon as I, ya know, make it.
Snowy Fox: Yep, it is. ^___^ *pokes krin* Thanks for reviewing again! I love multiple reviewers.
And now, the much-awaited...FOURTH CHAPTER! There's a bit more dialogue. But it's still boring. Shut up.
____________________
Back within the walls of the city, another awakened, though he was not nearly as fearsome as the metal heads. Vin rolled over on top of the ratty blankets of his bed, squinting at the alarm clock on his bedside table. The neon blue numbers glared at him in the dim light, and he sat up, realizing the time. The room was no more than a concrete gray blur now, door slightly visible as a solitary brown patch in the gray. Obviously, Vin's sight was not the best without his trusty glasses.
He reached a still-gloved hand for them on the old table, fingers moving as though reading Braille. He couldn't rely on his eyesight now, just the touch of his fingertips. He felt the cool glass, and snatched the vital object. Unfortunately, his rushed grab also knocked the blue alarm clock from the table to the carpetless floor. On impact, it beeped loudly and quickly, the noise it should have sounded half and hour ago.
He grabbed for it clumsily, hoping the noise wouldn't alert any of his "housemates".
Too late. The pounding of a metal fist reverberated through the small room.
"Keep it down!" shouted the same muffled voice he remembered from the night before, "Do you have any damn idea what time it is?!"
Yes, Vin had an idea what time it was. It was half an hour later than he wanted in to be; he was supposed to be at his lab, working by this time. But of course, he said none of this out loud, it would have been suicide.
"Sorry!" he cried frantically, as he pressed the little red button that snuffed the alarm. Behind the door an irritated sigh was heard, and a new voice joined the first.
"What is it?" grumbled the second, not muffled. This guard was not in uniform, apparently.
"Some idiot's alarm clock went off. Let's go, we have Section 6 today." Growled the first, and he clunked away from the door. Vin didn't move, still listening intently.
"Who?" inquired the second once more. "Was it John? That bastard always—"
"No. It's some Foreman who works at that Power Station place. Come on, we're gonna be late."
"Wasn't he at that excavation at the Strip Mine?" asked the second, voice getting slightly lower.
"How the hell should I know? But yeah, I think so." The second grumbled something under his breath Vin couldn't hear, then spoke again.
"I was at that dig...The moron nearly got us all killed. We lost almost a dozen men," he growled.
"Whatever, let's go. You know that the Bazaar's the busiest in the morning," muttered the first. There was a moment of tense silence, before both clunked away from the door.
Vin released a shaky breath, not aware he had been holding it. He slipped his thick glasses back onto his face, and looked down at his wrinkled attire, sighing. He had been, once again, too tired to even change last night. He quickly undressed and redressed into virtually the same outfit as before. A well-pressed white shirt, that wasn't really well-pressed anymore. It was rather wrinkled now, having lain resting in his make-shift closet, the footlocker. A pair of too-large brown canvas trousers were also part of the outfit, and he kept the baggy things up by a pair of thin black suspenders.
This, with a pair of old gloves and his ever-present leather cap, was his outfit for every day. He felt he required no armor or anything like that. It would have been a comforting factor, yes, but not exactly comfortable. Vin would have likely collapsed under the pressure of, say, Sig's metal clothing. Though most would have.
As Vin snapped the footlocker shut and locked it, a habit, his mind floated back to the previous day's ponderings. About Mar, specifically. His secret wishing and idolizing, were not really so secret. He had shared this rather private information with only two individuals. Even then, it had only been an innocent, off-hand remark.
The two he had chosen to share with were an odd pair indeed. One wasn't even Vin's species, or at least, wasn't any more. Vin wasn't really up-to- date on the history of the two, or where and why they had suddenly popped up. But it wasn't his business, so he never asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, either. They had, he thankfully remembered, saved him at one time.
He could recall when the boy and ottsel had saved his tail from some bloodthirsty metal heads that had once attacked the mining operation that Vin had reluctantly agreed to help with. It had looked bleak, before Jak and his shoulder-perching pal had shown up. It was fair to say that the scientist regarded the two as friends. He was never sure if they, in turn, thought themselves his friends. But, he never really cared if they did or not. He would be theirs, regardless if they were his.
He had, by chance, blurted out the comment on Mar. He doubted the two even took it seriously. Yet once again, that sort of thing mattered very little to Vin. Social conversations were not a big deal, nor were relationships with others. At this time, Vin's entire mind was focused on one solitary, yet magnificently important issue—the shield wall. With this looming thought hanging over his head, he rushed out of his apartment room in a hurry.
As he pushed the door on its rusty hinges open, he was highly relieved to find that, apparently, the red-wearing gunmen had all dispersed. He guessed to go do guard duty, which entailed beating up citizens who didn't ride their zoomers fast enough and such things. Vin's nervous eyes were drawn to his glowing blue watch once more. He was only forty-five minutes late. By the time he got to his laboratory, he'd only be an hour late.
'Only?! Only?!' he thought, as he stepped into the dark air of the slums. 'Maybe this hour was the one that the walls reached their critical point! You'll only make the shield walls collapse! You'll only be responsible for all the deaths in this city!' At this thought, he walked at a slightly faster pace, wringing his hands tightly.
____________________
Shut up.
I love reviews, even for the pointless chapters! I promise Ch. 5 will take me much shorter time. I took a little break, I'll be faster next time. Spell-checks are always appreciated. *bows and runs off* Also, I just realized, 'cause of that stupid prologue, everything's bumped up a chapter...crap. I'll merge it with my first chapter...one of these days...
Time for review-reviews... Eva Kasumi: Thanks for reviewing again! ^-^ Beautiful? Why, thankies. ^^ I'd say more, but I've blabbered on long enough in the e-mail I sent to ya...
Tusume: *laughs maniacally* But seriously. Don't worry. I'm not that evil. I mean, look what Naughty Dog did.
Krin: As for the blue thingy, I stare at it every day, it being my desktop picture.(heehee!) So I spend all my time trying to think of what it could be. That was the only thing that made (some) sense. As for repetition, yes, I know I say words over...and over...and over...I'll have to find that little thing. I have MS Word(who doesn't?) so I'll try and find it. Pictures will come, as soon as I, ya know, make it.
Snowy Fox: Yep, it is. ^___^ *pokes krin* Thanks for reviewing again! I love multiple reviewers.
And now, the much-awaited...FOURTH CHAPTER! There's a bit more dialogue. But it's still boring. Shut up.
____________________
Back within the walls of the city, another awakened, though he was not nearly as fearsome as the metal heads. Vin rolled over on top of the ratty blankets of his bed, squinting at the alarm clock on his bedside table. The neon blue numbers glared at him in the dim light, and he sat up, realizing the time. The room was no more than a concrete gray blur now, door slightly visible as a solitary brown patch in the gray. Obviously, Vin's sight was not the best without his trusty glasses.
He reached a still-gloved hand for them on the old table, fingers moving as though reading Braille. He couldn't rely on his eyesight now, just the touch of his fingertips. He felt the cool glass, and snatched the vital object. Unfortunately, his rushed grab also knocked the blue alarm clock from the table to the carpetless floor. On impact, it beeped loudly and quickly, the noise it should have sounded half and hour ago.
He grabbed for it clumsily, hoping the noise wouldn't alert any of his "housemates".
Too late. The pounding of a metal fist reverberated through the small room.
"Keep it down!" shouted the same muffled voice he remembered from the night before, "Do you have any damn idea what time it is?!"
Yes, Vin had an idea what time it was. It was half an hour later than he wanted in to be; he was supposed to be at his lab, working by this time. But of course, he said none of this out loud, it would have been suicide.
"Sorry!" he cried frantically, as he pressed the little red button that snuffed the alarm. Behind the door an irritated sigh was heard, and a new voice joined the first.
"What is it?" grumbled the second, not muffled. This guard was not in uniform, apparently.
"Some idiot's alarm clock went off. Let's go, we have Section 6 today." Growled the first, and he clunked away from the door. Vin didn't move, still listening intently.
"Who?" inquired the second once more. "Was it John? That bastard always—"
"No. It's some Foreman who works at that Power Station place. Come on, we're gonna be late."
"Wasn't he at that excavation at the Strip Mine?" asked the second, voice getting slightly lower.
"How the hell should I know? But yeah, I think so." The second grumbled something under his breath Vin couldn't hear, then spoke again.
"I was at that dig...The moron nearly got us all killed. We lost almost a dozen men," he growled.
"Whatever, let's go. You know that the Bazaar's the busiest in the morning," muttered the first. There was a moment of tense silence, before both clunked away from the door.
Vin released a shaky breath, not aware he had been holding it. He slipped his thick glasses back onto his face, and looked down at his wrinkled attire, sighing. He had been, once again, too tired to even change last night. He quickly undressed and redressed into virtually the same outfit as before. A well-pressed white shirt, that wasn't really well-pressed anymore. It was rather wrinkled now, having lain resting in his make-shift closet, the footlocker. A pair of too-large brown canvas trousers were also part of the outfit, and he kept the baggy things up by a pair of thin black suspenders.
This, with a pair of old gloves and his ever-present leather cap, was his outfit for every day. He felt he required no armor or anything like that. It would have been a comforting factor, yes, but not exactly comfortable. Vin would have likely collapsed under the pressure of, say, Sig's metal clothing. Though most would have.
As Vin snapped the footlocker shut and locked it, a habit, his mind floated back to the previous day's ponderings. About Mar, specifically. His secret wishing and idolizing, were not really so secret. He had shared this rather private information with only two individuals. Even then, it had only been an innocent, off-hand remark.
The two he had chosen to share with were an odd pair indeed. One wasn't even Vin's species, or at least, wasn't any more. Vin wasn't really up-to- date on the history of the two, or where and why they had suddenly popped up. But it wasn't his business, so he never asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, either. They had, he thankfully remembered, saved him at one time.
He could recall when the boy and ottsel had saved his tail from some bloodthirsty metal heads that had once attacked the mining operation that Vin had reluctantly agreed to help with. It had looked bleak, before Jak and his shoulder-perching pal had shown up. It was fair to say that the scientist regarded the two as friends. He was never sure if they, in turn, thought themselves his friends. But, he never really cared if they did or not. He would be theirs, regardless if they were his.
He had, by chance, blurted out the comment on Mar. He doubted the two even took it seriously. Yet once again, that sort of thing mattered very little to Vin. Social conversations were not a big deal, nor were relationships with others. At this time, Vin's entire mind was focused on one solitary, yet magnificently important issue—the shield wall. With this looming thought hanging over his head, he rushed out of his apartment room in a hurry.
As he pushed the door on its rusty hinges open, he was highly relieved to find that, apparently, the red-wearing gunmen had all dispersed. He guessed to go do guard duty, which entailed beating up citizens who didn't ride their zoomers fast enough and such things. Vin's nervous eyes were drawn to his glowing blue watch once more. He was only forty-five minutes late. By the time he got to his laboratory, he'd only be an hour late.
'Only?! Only?!' he thought, as he stepped into the dark air of the slums. 'Maybe this hour was the one that the walls reached their critical point! You'll only make the shield walls collapse! You'll only be responsible for all the deaths in this city!' At this thought, he walked at a slightly faster pace, wringing his hands tightly.
____________________
Shut up.
I love reviews, even for the pointless chapters! I promise Ch. 5 will take me much shorter time. I took a little break, I'll be faster next time. Spell-checks are always appreciated. *bows and runs off* Also, I just realized, 'cause of that stupid prologue, everything's bumped up a chapter...crap. I'll merge it with my first chapter...one of these days...