Cultist Clothing

"So just so I remember right, what is the plan again, human?" Boomer asked for the ninth time in the past hour and a half of walking.

"The plan is simple," VEGA patiently explained, not just for the penguins benefit but for his users too, "We enter the shop at 09:00 hours sharp and act casually. After greeting Mabel and a few minutes of browsing we approach Sable asking for a specific design for your outfit. Once we are rejected by her, we mention that Tom Nook was looking for a set and that he would be very pleased with her creating a design. Following the approximate three seconds of blushing she should give a positive response and fulfil the request; allowing us to obtain the design for future reference and have her craft it for you to wear. Now, are there any questions?"

Boomer raised his hand. "When is..."

"09:00 is 9am." VEGA clarified for the ninth time, starting to wonder if the clockwork-like questions were another strange law of the island. "And no, Tom Nook does not actually want a pair of aviator goggles; that is a ruse."

"I see..." The penguin nodded, still waddling at his usually slow but carefree pace, "...and what..."

"Ruse means deception." The AI sighed, wishing he had just recorded his previous answers to be played on loop. "Now with us almost being there, are there any final..."

Doomguy let out a soft, low growl followed by a glare.

"...yes, if we have spare money we can try and request a set of bunny pyjamas for you."

The giant marine smiled wistfully as he stood in front of the door. Like the other buildings on the island, with the exception of the museum and Nook's underground alley, entering the Able sister's shop was quite difficult.

"After you." VEGA chimed as the Slayer pushed the door and held it open for his companion.

"Thank you buddy!" Boomer beamed, and waddled through.

This gave Doomguy plenty of time to check both left and right for any nearby villagers or lifeforms. "The coast is clear." The AI told him and he began his crawling manoeuvres to enter inside.

It wasn't as if the marine was afraid of being attacked at all. No, he had learned to fear something far, far more damaging. Something he had never before encountered until venturing to this accursed place.

"Hi there Mr Doom, are you ok?"

Embarrassment. Though he currently had most of his upper body already inside the shop and had his face covered completely by his helmet, Doomguy sighed and covered his blushing cheeks with a hand. "It appears Isabelle was hiding undetected."

Doomguy shot his HUD a "No shit Sherlock" look, then grunted wearily. "We are..."

"Fine, just entering the shop to get things." The Shih Tzu finished with a smile.

Both VEGA and his user was taken completely off guard. "You...understood that grunt?

Isabelle nodded with a smile. "I...guess so! Its taken me a little longer than I expected, but I think I've got the gist of what he means now. Just sorry I took so long!"

To say that VEGA was astonished was an understatement. It had taken him several minutes to fully analyse and translate the toned grunts and growls emitted from the Slayer and even then the majority of his data had came from the not so subtle facial expressions that accompanied them. Yet here this tiny creature was, figuring the same thing out with half the data available. Sure it had taken her a little longer than him, but VEGA was Earth/Mae's most sophisticated computer system and she was a small island secretary.

"Another reminder not to underestimate them." The AI warned through the internal coms and Doomguy grunted quietly in agreement, managing his volume for the first time since they had arrived.

"So..." Isabelle continued, unaware of the impact of her words, "are you guys shopping?"

Doomguy tentatively grunted, wanting to test her skills further. He was not disappointed. "Well I had a suspicion you'd want Sable's skills after asking the other day. Oh; mind if I come with you and have a look at what you're getting?"

The marine looked at his HUD, then through his visor at Boomer. This was not the plan.

"This was not the plan." Boomer blurted out before anyone could stop him. "Oh, maybe I shouldn't have said anything!" He went to cover his mouth with his flippers, but stopped halfway after deciding it was too much effort.

As much as he'd jeopardised their mission, Doomguy couldn't help but admire his commitment to being lazy. VEGA quickly implemented one of his mission safeguarding protocols. "It is a surprise but we would be happy to show you later perhaps? Maybe when we are not stuck in the shops doorway."

"Oh." Isabelle blinked, just then becoming aware that she had been talking to Doomguys butt for the past few minutes. Her blush was intense, and she covered her face to hide it as she walked away. "Oh o-of course! S-Sorry to catch you like this! I-I will...show me later then!"

"Indeed we shall; see you then Isabelle." The Slayer groaned, his own blush creeping back onto his face as he crawled through further until he was inside the building. He'd never really appreciated demonic architecture before now, but in that moment he vowed to kiss the next full-sized archway he saw for allowing his gigantic body to fit without a hassle.

"Hi again Boomer and Mr Doom..er?" Mabel giggled, greeting the pair as soon as Doomguy regained his composure. As graceless as his entrance had been, it was a marked improvement from the other times he'd ventured in. "How are you today?"

"Pretty great today, as early mornings go!" Boomer said, his initial laugh turning into a yawn as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "Just here to see what I can grab before the rush!"

"Indeed, we too are here to browse before your regular customers acquire your best goods." VEGA clarified as properly as he could while Doomguy crawled around as undignified as possible.

Shopping for the Slayer had usually been a boring duty that was to be completed as quickly as possible. Luckily for him, in the past most of the items he required were easily obtainable without the hassle of browsing. After all, corpses usually had a hard time arguing back. The only exceptions were his visits to the universe's most protected pet shop to obtain better rabbit food for his beloved Daisy, though even then he usually just pointed at whatever item he wanted and they handed it over without a hassle.

Here was very different. There was nothing on the clothing racks that even came close to fitting him, let alone being useful to his missions. That coupled with the fact he was still on his knees trying his best not to knock any of the displays over equalled a pointlessly embarrassing few minutes in his eyes. He was just thankful that none of the Marauders were there to see him like that.

"Sufficient time has passed." The AI told him. "Time to initiate Operation Flying Penguin."

Doomguy didn't know why VEGA had given their task a codename, but he was thankful that his aimless crawling was over. Pointing his body towards the older sister, the marine scuffled slowly over to her before stopping in front of her sowing machine.

Sable glanced up at the hunched over man briefly before returning to her work. "..."

Mabel sighed in frustration. "Sable stop being so rude!" She hissed at her sister, who in turn gave a sigh of frustration back.

"Just like clockwork." The AI assured it's user on the internal mic, before taking his words externally. "It is ok; we were simply looking to buy a design for Mr Nook, though if you are busy we can come back at a later date."

"Tom?" Sable squeaked, instantly sitting up in her chair and meeting their gaze for the first time since they'd met. "T-Tom wants something?"

"Yes." VEGA lied. "We were talking about planes the other day at his shop and he mentioned that he was always after a specific set of aviator goggles."

The older hedgehog eyed the suited man with suspicion. "Similar to the ones you tried to get me to do the other day?"

"Precisely." The AI continued without stuttering. He had accounted for thousands of different conversation patterns, and this was one of them. "In fact, that was where the idea came from. When we explained that you didn't want to assist us we..."

"YOU SAID WHAT?!" She cried, standing up from her seat with a deep blush. "Why would you say that? Now he'll think that I'm some...some unhelpful shrew!"

Doomguy shared a sideways glance with Mabel at that comment, but kept his helmet facing forward. It was nice to have an ally. "He explained that you were usually very busy and not to take it personally. He then recommended your work and suggested we persist, then after thinking for a moment he asked if we would be able to get him a hat too. That is correctly remembered, right Boomer?"

Now this was the only variable VEGA could not control; the obese penguin they were doing this for. As Boomer took a deep breath, both he and Doomguy crossed their real/circuit fingers in hope.

"Yeah, something like that." The penguin grinned lazily, running a flipper down the back of his head. "I guess Fashion Lad must have got to him too!"

Sable took a moment to process the information. "So he...recommended me?"

"Indeed he did. He said your work was the best on the Island."

At this point Mabel ran over behind her sister and gave her a friendly pinch on the cheek. "Ahhh he likes you! Well...at least your work but still!"

"S-Shut up sis!" Sable blushed fiercely, batting away her younger sisters hand but failing to bat away her smile. "So...he wants what you are having? Some pilot goggles?"

"That is correct." VEGA confirmed, and the incredibly patient Doomguy handed over their makeshift design. Calling the drawing primitive would have been too good for it; after all the Slayer didn't get famous from his art. Still, it was they best they had.

Sable examined the crayon drawing closely as dimensions and materials flashed through her head. After a moment, she replied. "I can do this."

The AI was puzzled. "Will you not be requiring the dimensions of Mr Nook or Boomer?"

"No I already have them." The hedgehog told them with a soft smile, which quickly blew up into an enormous blush when she realised what she had said. "N-No it's not weird or anything I swear!"

Luckily her sister was there to bail her out. "Sable has a pretty special talent for it."

VEGA was also happy to assist digging her out of a hole. "So by looking at someone you can ascertain the exact dimensions of their body?"

"Not just...anyone..." Sable started but then succumbed to her blushing.

"...it's anything she sees." Her sister finished for her, walking over and putting her paw on Sable's quills. "Its something she's been able for as long as I can remember."

"And she is able to do this without any scan-...items?" VEGA inquired curiously.

Mabel puffed out her chest in a pride emote. "No, my sister is just pure talent! She's the driving force of the Able sisters!"

Boomer smiled lazily at her. "And you're the...um..." The AI and Doomguy waited nervously, hoping he would successfully finish his analogy. "...steering!"

The younger sister nodded with a smirk. "I may not have Sable's skills for sowing but every business needs a saleswoman and here I am!"

"Mabel don't shout so loud!" Sable scolded her, though her trademark sour face was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes fixed on the praetor helmet and she sighed, much softer this time. "It usually takes a little while to make these but...for you two I'll have it done by the end of the day."

A 'Mission Completed' sign flashed in Doomguy's HUD and breathed a sigh of relief. "Excellent; we shall retrieve it then, though do not rearrange your schedule to meet that quote; we are happy to wait if it takes a bit longer."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry; you guys are the only ones in the queue." Mabel told them with a smile. "In fact, the only other customer Sable took on was the previous villager."

"Oh yeah, I remember that human!" Boomer chipped in. "Didn't he always have those weird and wonderful designs?"

Doomguy shuddered at the thought of the Groovy wallpaper back in the house. 'Weird' was one was of putting the previous owner's tastes, though he kept his thoughts to himself. It was surprisingly rare that the residents got talking about the old villager, which indicated either that he had kept to himself or that there wasn't much to say about him. The mismatched furniture and horrific taste in decorating, however, suggested the former.

"Hey, don't you still have his last order?" Mabel asked her sister.

"Oh, I do!" Sable remembered, and began rummaging through her draws for it. "He ordered it just before he left. It was...in here...there! Here it is!"

She produced a brown paper bag and handed it over to the Slayer for inspection. "It must have the same shape distortion properties as the furniture." VEGA told him on the internal coms.

"Oh, let us see, let us see!" Mabel squeaked happily, pointing to a free wall for them to throw it onto. Doomguy obliged, cautiously curious himself.

Sable blushed and looked down as the bag sailed through the air and poofed into a wall scroll. "Well, I can't say that it was my best work but he was very insistent on the design."

"It's...not my style." Boomer admitted, giving the image a curious look that was mirrored by the Able sisters. "But I'm sure you did your best. What do you reckon Mr Doom?"

The three of them turned to see the suited man incredibly still. "You are certain this was the design that was given to you?"

Sable nodded. "Yes, it was. Are you doubting my-…?"

"And this is the first time any of you have seen these symbols before?" The metallic voice was noticeably colder than usual, though all of their attention was drawn to the now clench fists of the gigantic marine.

"Y-Yes..." Mabel said, somewhat worried by the sudden change of tone. "W-Well..."

"Well what?"

The blue hedgehog found that for the first time in her life she was tongue tied. "I...he...well, this wasn't his f-first request."

VEGA's circuits flared to life, activating the suits energy scanners for the first time since they had gotten there. "How many?"

"S-Sorry?"

"How many symbols had he requested before this?"

"Several, and I don't care for that tone when talking to my sister." Sable told them, becoming increasing unnerved by their reaction. "What's the issue anyway; it's just a weird sketch of a lamb or...something?"

Except it wasn't 'just a sketch'. It was something which Doomguy had known intimately for the past few centuries of his existence. Something that had driven him to the depths of violence and gore that he had become renowned for across the dimensions. He had spent decades memorising every spike on the pentagram and each pointed horn of the Icon before him. There were few things that he was confident enough to claim expertise in, but this subject he was beyond a master in.

"Thank you for your time." VEGA told them, his tone switching from coldness to urgency as the Slayer stood up straight, punching a hole through the roof of the building in the process. "We will be taking our leave, along with that symbol."

Mable frowned. "But that was for..."

The symbol was torn roughly off the wall as faint, sadistic chuckling echoed from the inside of the suit. This was what he had been waiting for for three, demon forsaken days.

"You ok there human?" Boomer asked, not sure how to broach his friend's new destructive nature.

Doomguy looked down at him and grinned wildly.

"HELL YEAH!"