Okay, here I am! With a long one (seriously, this time)! This is the chapter where the title of the story finally has some meaning! (It was a psychological thing...creepy.) And to fill up space:
At the request of many (okay, Kali), for the first time ever, appearing in color (er, maybe not), I give you:
PROPS!
slime frog- Be afraid, for I am not yet done with the "Remove Story" button. But thank you all the same. I truly appreciate your comments. THANKS!
Fetish Female- At a whopping 3-in-a-row reviews, you are the one who has posted your praise most consistently (and quickly). THANK YOU! I'd love to see your take on this pairing. I read that you're a reader only, but I hope that you do start writing one day. I really appreciate your quick reviews!
Kali Donovan- Ah, Kali, Kali, Kali. Such short reviews, hardly ever boosting my ego…;)P. Thanks, for you were the FIRST one to ever review to this story. YOU ROCK! And may your ego meter forever go up! (You didn't think I'd forgotten you, didja?)
sami- Despite the very dubious review (I still have no clue to the meaning), I appreciate your "Wa ha!" and hope that it means something good. Thanks, in any case!
SenexCowan- Dear sir: Thank you for the reviews and the constructive criticism. It has helped my writing immensely! Hope you like the next chapter (and that I don't have to clear too many things up)!
Orphanchild58- Rather than risk any annoying wrath, I'll just go on with the story! Thank you for your reviews, and the statement that my story rocks! It does, doesn't it…okay, now, you see what happens when you people inflate my ego (not to say that you should stop, or anything…)
Redwren- Glad you liked the "knight in shining tin-foil" thing. It came to me in an over-caffeinated day-dream, and I think it's one of my favorite lines in the story. And yes, they are kinda-sorta-a-little-bit flirting. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!
Ariana the musical genius- Thank you for your many posts! Is this a soon-enough update?
athleticsrulz- I'm really happy that you luv this story! I never get tired of hearing that…thanks for your reviews!
blue-elf3001- I'm happy that you responded. Hope this chapter fits your liking!
BHS- I'm updating, I'm updating! Speaking of which, I hope you like this update! Gratzi for the review!
fish stix satay- If people give you strange looks for laughing, show them this story and have them review! Glad you thought this was funny…I try! Thanks for your reviews!
jennabell- Don't worry, Foaly'll win, eventually. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! (And for all you pervs out there, in reference to what I typed before the Caps Lock thing, NOT LIKE THAT!)
Ace- I tell no more. You'll give have to read! Thanks for the review!
Okay, that's it! I'm done!
Enjoy!
That day, Grub watched as Holly ducked out of her cubicle. Chix Verbil followed her.
Carefully, slowly, and with the Mud Man song "Mission Impossible" running through his head, he deposited the journal back onto Holly's desk.
(Author hits the (metaphorical!)fast-forward button Look, there's nothing really happening at this point. I mean, nothing. So, I'm going to late March, early April, where there will actually be some action. You try filling in weeks and weeks of stuff when you have no ideas! See what happens to your brain then!)
Chay was buzzed the into Ops booth. A nickel-sized POR disk was sitting on a counter.
The reason for the incredible similarity between a nickel and a POR disk is simply that if an officer or other agent were to mislay a disk on a mission (sadly, this has been known to happen), the disk would be about as inconspicuous as you can get. (Does anyone ever look twice at the nickels that come into their possession?) A Mud Man wouldn't look too closely at it, and would probably end up passing it on to another equally inobservant human, giving the LEP ample time to retrieve the file, if necessary. The only difference was that a Mud Man nickel was slightly thinner, making it possible for the disk to be slipped into a computer drive.
"I'm looking for Holly," he said, carefully manipulating his hands behind his back to switch the POR disk with an apprehended Mud Man nickel, "have you seen her?"
"No. I do not follow Captain Short's activities for every second of every day. Therefore, I do not know where she is. Do you have anything else you would like to waste my time on?" Foaly retorted.
"Huh, you're touchy. Is it your time of the month?" Chay muttered, flipping the "nickel" into the air and catching it, as he walked out. Thanks to Foaly's lack of coordination, a paper ball missed Chay's head by inches. Unfortunately, the barrage of cusses on Chay's head hit their target.
He passed Holly, who looked both thoroughly appalled by the language used and thoroughly entertained by the language used.
Chay milled around the office a bit, just long enough for Foaly to get bored. Then he jumped into his desk, putting the disk into the desktop. A window came up on the computer, alerting him of new software found. Chay clicked on it, gasping lightly when the word document came up on the screen.
He sat back for a moment, thinking what he'd found, and how it would put a whole new twist on Grub's plans.
Chay had promised himself that he wouldn't get interested in the whole ordeal, but now he found himself deeper into it and more absorbed than safety allowed. In the beginning, it had been just the payback of a favor, but he was enjoying Grub's prank more and more as time wore on.
'Oh well,' he thought, 'too late now.'
Passing behind him, Chay heard the unmistakable clunky walk of one Grub Kelp.
"Grub? C'mere. I've found a great case file," Chay said, lacing his words with intrigue. Grub came in and peered over the other elf's shoulder to stare at the screen, a grin spreading across his face as he read on.
"This isn't what you were supposed to get," Grub said, not sounding disappointed at all.
"Are you objecting?"
"…No…are you going to copy it?"
"Well," Chay said, "I don't know. On the one hand, it's a violation of privacy. On the other, it's a once-in-lifetime opportunity. And Foaly- I'm sorry, Foalonious, is so paranoid that he probably backed everything up."
The two sat quietly for a moment.
"Okay," Chay said, "What if I copy this file and then jump back into the Operations booth to switch the disk with the…nickel? That way we still have this, and it won't be missed…"
"Yeah," Grub said, still a little disoriented from the discovery, "you do that."
"I'll be right back, make yourself at home."
Holly went to see Foaly. It had been a very slow day at the LEP (a goblin gang, careless sprite, and the usual beats around the city), and she was on her break. Deciding to get her dose of sarcasm, banter, and "unappreciated genius" for the day, she headed for the Ops booth.
Foaly, meanwhile, was looking for his disk. He found it on the counter.
Carefully picking up his "marvel of modern computer storage and brilliant camouflage", he attempted to put it into the disk drive. Sadly, a nickel is, as earlier mentioned, almost identical to a POR disk, but slightly thicker.
In Layman's terms, it wouldn't fit. This did not sway our favorite stubborn centaur from trying.
Holly reached the steel door and knocked four times.
Foaly buzzed her in, deciding to get some muscle in the booth.
"You look winded," she said, looking smug, "did you try to get out of your chair?"
"I have been attempting to load a disk, thankyouverymuch," Foaly huffed.
"Oh, you can't force it in?" Holly asked in a condescending tone, biting her lower lip as if to keep a smile off of her face. "You see, that's what happens when you don't exercise!"
"Okay, you little jock," Foaly retorted (albeit rather weakly), "let's see what you can do."
Holly rolled up her sleeves, pushed Foaly aside, and yanked the nickel out. She almost had to prop her foot against the CPU to get it. Once it was out, she gently placed it in the opening. She nudged it.
Finally, she got tired of the gentle attempt and switched to putting her weight on it.
A few rude mutterings later, she pulled the disk out of the drive. Holly tossed it onto the counter, disgusted. Foaly looked very, very smug.
"So, Captain Short," he drawled, wheeling his chair over to the CPU again. "Not all you're cracked up to be, eh?"
If looks could kill, there would be empty space where Foaly was sitting.
Holly was spared having to retort with a witty comeback by an insistent knocking at the door. Foaly looked the in security monitor, and saw Chay in front of the booth.
"By the way," he said, "I believe that Whitfield is becoming the next Verbil. I'd be on my toes if I were you, thank gods I'm not."
Foaly buzzed Chay in. Holly glared at the techie, then plastered a neutral smile on her face.
"Foaly, Beetroot sent me down to ask if you have the prototype running yet, and then, predicting your answer, he wants me to ask why the D'Arviting hell not?" Chay said, then took a look at both fairies' faces. "Hey, you're both a little red. What's up?" he asked, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Ugh, nothing like that, you pervert," Holly said. "Foaly's disk won't fit. No Mud Man currency has seen the innards of the LEP in weeks, so it can't be a real nickel."
Chay took a closer look.
"It sure looks like a nickel," he stated.
"Yes, well, that's sort of the point," Foaly commented. He was already tapping away at one keyboard and hooking the shell of something up to a few jacks in a CPU.
"No, I mean, it really looks like a real nickel. See here, the drive's just a bit too thin. This might be real," Chay said, peering into the drive of one of the computers.
Foaly, his eyes still on the monitor, plucked the coin out of Chay's grasp.
"Only one way to find out," he muttered, and knocked it against the table.
CLACK!
All three fairies stared at the coin. It had to be a nickel, because POR disks made an unmistakable PING sound.
"So…" Holly said, "we have a Mud Man coin which apparently has made us all look like idiots, and a missing disk."
Foaly was already tearing a section of the booth apart, as if his life depended on it. Chay silently and quickly placed the real disk onto a table.
"Now that I've delivered my message, I'd better be going. Good luck with finding it," he said, and made a clean getaway.
When he was about halfway down the hall, he heard Holly's voice say, "Hey, I think I found it…"
I would like to thank all the little people, and my family, my friends, Foamy the squirrel, and...whoa! Wrong speech, sorry!
Well, I hope you enjoyed this, and your props! I think I got everyone who ever reviewed...
So thanks!
Review! (still no witty shtick...I'm working on it!)