Chapter 4: Under the Sea (There is… What the Christ?)
Spending three days on a boat, in close quarters with a gynoid who hit the far end of the uncanny valley —just before breaking out though— and apparently having fostered a friendship with an incredibly powerful mermaid pop idol, was not how I expected to spend this trip.
Actually, it's a trip I never expected to make. I mean, who expects to make a trip from a country situated on the South Pole of a planet to a jungle country called Zoo of all things.
Jesus Christ, what has happened to my life over the past five days? Seriously, I go to bed one night after having beaten Dark Souls 3, and I wake up in the body of a unit on Cray!
Bringing a hand to my face, I stare at the reflection in the mirror. That is not my face, those are not my eyes—
Shaking my head, I look away, it doesn't do to dwell on matters like that.
Walking out of the bathroom, I told the Star-vader, "Bathroom's open, if you care."
"Statement: No, the sentiment is appreciated, but this unit does not require decontamination," the gynoid replied as she sat at a porthole, staring out across the water.
Eying her for a moment, I couldn't help but wonder what's so fascinating outside the view so I asked, "What's so interesting about the view?"
"Statement: Nothing, this unit is simply… wary," the way that she trailed off there, it's disconcerting to hear her sound like she's unsure.
I stare for a moment before shaking my head. Can't get too nervous here, might make people suspicious. Out loud, I reply, "I guess there's a first time for everything."
"Statement: Your sarcasm is noted," the Star-vader deadpanned, somehow managing to give me an aggrieved look.
I don't know how she managed that, so I shake my head as I get ready for the day. We were apparently due to make port today, which means that I'll need to figure out a way to make it to the Dragon Empire. Coral had recommended taking the train, citing the fact that planes apparently weren't safe from the Star-vaders.
It's kind of terrifying to find out that the invaders had apparently taken to knocking airplanes out of the sky whenever they could. Are they trying to hype themselves up as 'EVIIILLLLLLL'? If it weren't horrifying on a war crimes level, I'd probably laugh.
A day or so by high speed train wasn't too risky, and the money that we'd… scavenged from the apartment building we'd spent the night in would hopefully be enough to pay for the trip. Should being the operative word.
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Pretty much everybody likes hugs, right?
So why is it that I'm feeling incredibly self-conscious from this goodbye hug that I'm on the receiving end of?
Oh right, because Coral decided to pull me and the Colony Maker into a hug just after we cleared the ramp we used to disembark from the ship.
While we were in the middle of a good sized group of people.
People who were now staring at us, and a few were taking photos. The pricks.
After what felt like far too long, the idol released us and smiled at up at us, "Alright you two, take care of each other while you're traveling! If you don't, who knows what might happen!"
"We definitely will, but shouldn't you be more worried about yourself? You're doing stuff like escorting ships, what if you actually get attacked during a mission like that?" As much as I want to scold her for that sort of thing… I'm the same way with my friends. If she's going to worry about us while saving people, then it's only right that I worry about her.
Also, this woman has the ability to grow on people better than a barnacle on a rock, I'm thinking of her as a friend and I've only known her for a few days. I'm not someone who goes out of his way to shun people but I'll admit to not being the best at making friends.
"Now then," she continued, jolting me out of my thoughts, "you two should get going. You have a train to catch, you know?"
"Yeah, we do. Hopefully we'll see you again when all this is over," I answered. And you know what? I meant it, Coral's good people.
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I sat with my head in my hands, not looking at the Colony Maker sitting across from me in the compartment as I swallowed the frustrated scream building in my throat.
It's not that we didn't make the train, no, we made it perfectly on time and boarded the train with no issues.
It's the goddamn fact that the train was underwater.
Not through a tunnel that ran underwater, but the train itself ran underwater. Just like, a normal train that ran underwater, it must be magic.
Goddamn it Cray, I didn't expect something this ridiculous. What are these people using magic for? Why not something like… I don't know, better defences for their planes?
"Query: Are you unwell or malfunctioning?" The Star-vader asked, her head cocked to the side as if it would help her study me.
Pulling my head up to lock eyes with her as I retorted, "If it weren't for the fact that I'm pretty damn sure that you don't have any emotions, I'd think you were mocking me."
AN: Sorry about how late this was everyone, life's been pretty real for me and I've also been wasting my time playing Overwatch… and Force of Will… and trying to build Gavrail-Rescue (I vow to one day become the problem with Vanguard). But here we are, and the next chapter might be something quite different. And as always, thanks to AbZHz101 and Peanut.007 for their help. I'll try and get the next part out much faster, mmkay?
