A/N I've gotten so sick of my computer screwing up and now they're telling
me we have some sort of virus. So yeah, that's why I've been gone so
long...makes me glad I signed up for journalism this semester. Thanks for
reading everybody! You make me so happy!
And mostextremeprincess, I know I sound like The Great Red Dragon. I'll take that as a compliment.
"Tell me again why no one woke me up to say goodbye?" 386 was stomping angrily around the kitchen after 471's departure. 602 occupied himself by rolling jars at the older experiment, trying to trip him. 625 and 597 merely sat and tried to explain things, which wasn't going at all well.
"I'd already been trying to wake you up for an entire hour! How was I supposed to know you'd be up five minutes after she left?" 597 growled. 386 slowed to a standstill, looking at the others pitifully.
"Guys...do you know what this means? We're no longer a group! Now that we've lost her, one by one we'll all be separated, each to his own fate..."
"Calm down, 386, it's not like we were that close."
"Okay, so we weren't that close, but we spent more time with each other than with any of the other experiments! You prefer 625 and me, admit it." 597 sighed, running a paw over his horn.
"Yeah, you're right, I do like you guys. But I still think you're getting worked up over nothing." 386 protested, but he ignored him turning concernedly to 625. "You alright? You've been pretty quiet."
"Yep, I'm just dandy. Except that we're out of bread of course." He flashed a grin, but 597 narrowed his eyes.
"No really, what's wrong?"
"...Nothing." 625 turned to the counter, pulling open the cabinets, but he didn't dig through them. Instead he sniffled and hugged a package of noodles. "I-it's just that she left so fast, y'know? We really didn't give her much of a goodbye."
"Yeah, I know. I don't think she really expected Jumba to take her." 625 put the noodles away, straightening up the cabinets as he did.
"What d'you mean?"
"You heard her this morning, all that 'caring about his creations' stuff. She was mad, that's for sure. I'm definitely going to miss her stirring things up around here." They fell into silence.
They didn't stay together for long, no one was quite sure what to say to the others and they eventually left for their own rooms towards evening. 597, however, chose to roam the silent halls of the lab, occasionally looking in on the other experiments. This had slowly become a nightly ritual, born partly from his assumed role of older brother. More often than not 471 would accompany him, helping the job move quickly so they could turn in for the night. It seemed he'd be on his own for a while.
The lab was devoid of its usual nightly bustle, and the only encounter 597 had was with 625 returning from the bathroom (he had a sneaking suspicion that he had not been sleeping well). The two passed with a brief wave and even briefer smile. On the whole the night was dull and 597 eventually directed his path to 602's room.
602 was reasonably tidy, but his room was a nest of random parts and charred remains (this, of course, owing to the fact that 386's projects tended to explode). Ignoring his own room assignment 602 had invited 386 to share one with him, which had led to their being near inseparable. Getting through the room was a challenge for 597, what with avoiding all the sharp, pointy things scattered about, but he managed to get close enough for a look at t he two. 602 (preferring to be as close to the ground as possible) had abandoned his bed and dragged a mattress onto the floor. 386 was curled into a hammock hung from the walls. Neither stirred as he stood over them, but as he turned to leave 602 sat up in bed.
"What's going on?" he asked somewhat groggily.
"Nothing, just checking things out." 602 lay back, stretching against his pillow with a groan.
"Did Jumba get back yet?"
"Yeah...an hour or two ago. I know what you're thinking, 602...no. She wasn't with him." 602 sat up again, puling his ears in disappointment.
"Oh. I had hoped, you know, maybe...maybe she was wrong. That she wouldn't be..." 597 turned to the door, waiting for it to open.
"So do I, but hoping can't change anything." the door hadn't budged. "What's wrong with this thing?" he moved to pry it open himself, but a tiny speaker in the corner hissed to life.
"Everybody, listen, this is 540. I've been asked to make an announcement." 386 began to flail and tumbled from his hammock with several large books; he fell into a heap on the floor.
"Oh come one, do I ALWAYS have to be woke up like this?" he snarled and curled back up. The other two ignored him as 540 continued.
"Your doors have sealed themselves shut. Don't try to open them with your claws, tails, or tools." he paused. "Or any other appendage. Believe me, you don't want to go out there. And keep quiet! Yes, that means you, 399." the speaker clicked, signaling the end of the announcement. 597 cocked an eyebrow at it.
"Gee, you'd think with all this technology we'd have a better P.A. system." a commotion was growing out in the hall. "I wonder what's going on, anyway..." he pressed an ear against the door. "Do you guys hear that?"
"Plasma cannons...you don't think it's a raid on the lab, do you?" 386 asked nervously, clutching an encyclopedia for protection. "I mean, 540 said to stay in our rooms, right?" 602 jumped up and ran toward the door for a look.
"That's right, he did." 597 said firmly. "And that's exactly what we're going to do. Bed. Now." taking advantage of his size, he pushed 602 back towards his mattress, motioning for 386 to follow. "Looks like I'm stuck in here with you two, so we might as well try and get some sleep."
The three of them managed somehow to fit into the tiny bed (only after quite a bit of kicking and shoving) and slowly drifted off to sleep, despite the racket outside. Finally only 386 was awake, worrying about the next morning. If it really was a raid, would they be able to make it out? He tried to think of a plan, but his mind drew a blank.
"I've gotta stop testing things myself." he muttered out loud, shifting to his side for the night.
A/N okay, so the second part wasn't so great, but I've kind of got my mind on other things right now. I promise it'll pick up soon. Really! A few more chapters and it's done, so I've got to get something in there, right?
Oh, and if you didn't figure it out, what they heard was 541 escaping. I'd put it in here, but it was just so good when The Great Red Dragon wrote it that I don't think I'd do it as well. I guess its really only there so the stories will sort of connect (mine and Red's, that is).
And mostextremeprincess, I know I sound like The Great Red Dragon. I'll take that as a compliment.
"Tell me again why no one woke me up to say goodbye?" 386 was stomping angrily around the kitchen after 471's departure. 602 occupied himself by rolling jars at the older experiment, trying to trip him. 625 and 597 merely sat and tried to explain things, which wasn't going at all well.
"I'd already been trying to wake you up for an entire hour! How was I supposed to know you'd be up five minutes after she left?" 597 growled. 386 slowed to a standstill, looking at the others pitifully.
"Guys...do you know what this means? We're no longer a group! Now that we've lost her, one by one we'll all be separated, each to his own fate..."
"Calm down, 386, it's not like we were that close."
"Okay, so we weren't that close, but we spent more time with each other than with any of the other experiments! You prefer 625 and me, admit it." 597 sighed, running a paw over his horn.
"Yeah, you're right, I do like you guys. But I still think you're getting worked up over nothing." 386 protested, but he ignored him turning concernedly to 625. "You alright? You've been pretty quiet."
"Yep, I'm just dandy. Except that we're out of bread of course." He flashed a grin, but 597 narrowed his eyes.
"No really, what's wrong?"
"...Nothing." 625 turned to the counter, pulling open the cabinets, but he didn't dig through them. Instead he sniffled and hugged a package of noodles. "I-it's just that she left so fast, y'know? We really didn't give her much of a goodbye."
"Yeah, I know. I don't think she really expected Jumba to take her." 625 put the noodles away, straightening up the cabinets as he did.
"What d'you mean?"
"You heard her this morning, all that 'caring about his creations' stuff. She was mad, that's for sure. I'm definitely going to miss her stirring things up around here." They fell into silence.
They didn't stay together for long, no one was quite sure what to say to the others and they eventually left for their own rooms towards evening. 597, however, chose to roam the silent halls of the lab, occasionally looking in on the other experiments. This had slowly become a nightly ritual, born partly from his assumed role of older brother. More often than not 471 would accompany him, helping the job move quickly so they could turn in for the night. It seemed he'd be on his own for a while.
The lab was devoid of its usual nightly bustle, and the only encounter 597 had was with 625 returning from the bathroom (he had a sneaking suspicion that he had not been sleeping well). The two passed with a brief wave and even briefer smile. On the whole the night was dull and 597 eventually directed his path to 602's room.
602 was reasonably tidy, but his room was a nest of random parts and charred remains (this, of course, owing to the fact that 386's projects tended to explode). Ignoring his own room assignment 602 had invited 386 to share one with him, which had led to their being near inseparable. Getting through the room was a challenge for 597, what with avoiding all the sharp, pointy things scattered about, but he managed to get close enough for a look at t he two. 602 (preferring to be as close to the ground as possible) had abandoned his bed and dragged a mattress onto the floor. 386 was curled into a hammock hung from the walls. Neither stirred as he stood over them, but as he turned to leave 602 sat up in bed.
"What's going on?" he asked somewhat groggily.
"Nothing, just checking things out." 602 lay back, stretching against his pillow with a groan.
"Did Jumba get back yet?"
"Yeah...an hour or two ago. I know what you're thinking, 602...no. She wasn't with him." 602 sat up again, puling his ears in disappointment.
"Oh. I had hoped, you know, maybe...maybe she was wrong. That she wouldn't be..." 597 turned to the door, waiting for it to open.
"So do I, but hoping can't change anything." the door hadn't budged. "What's wrong with this thing?" he moved to pry it open himself, but a tiny speaker in the corner hissed to life.
"Everybody, listen, this is 540. I've been asked to make an announcement." 386 began to flail and tumbled from his hammock with several large books; he fell into a heap on the floor.
"Oh come one, do I ALWAYS have to be woke up like this?" he snarled and curled back up. The other two ignored him as 540 continued.
"Your doors have sealed themselves shut. Don't try to open them with your claws, tails, or tools." he paused. "Or any other appendage. Believe me, you don't want to go out there. And keep quiet! Yes, that means you, 399." the speaker clicked, signaling the end of the announcement. 597 cocked an eyebrow at it.
"Gee, you'd think with all this technology we'd have a better P.A. system." a commotion was growing out in the hall. "I wonder what's going on, anyway..." he pressed an ear against the door. "Do you guys hear that?"
"Plasma cannons...you don't think it's a raid on the lab, do you?" 386 asked nervously, clutching an encyclopedia for protection. "I mean, 540 said to stay in our rooms, right?" 602 jumped up and ran toward the door for a look.
"That's right, he did." 597 said firmly. "And that's exactly what we're going to do. Bed. Now." taking advantage of his size, he pushed 602 back towards his mattress, motioning for 386 to follow. "Looks like I'm stuck in here with you two, so we might as well try and get some sleep."
The three of them managed somehow to fit into the tiny bed (only after quite a bit of kicking and shoving) and slowly drifted off to sleep, despite the racket outside. Finally only 386 was awake, worrying about the next morning. If it really was a raid, would they be able to make it out? He tried to think of a plan, but his mind drew a blank.
"I've gotta stop testing things myself." he muttered out loud, shifting to his side for the night.
A/N okay, so the second part wasn't so great, but I've kind of got my mind on other things right now. I promise it'll pick up soon. Really! A few more chapters and it's done, so I've got to get something in there, right?
Oh, and if you didn't figure it out, what they heard was 541 escaping. I'd put it in here, but it was just so good when The Great Red Dragon wrote it that I don't think I'd do it as well. I guess its really only there so the stories will sort of connect (mine and Red's, that is).