Chapter 4

-Heated

Whispers floated around the dark void that cascaded Nova's thoughts. Distant and innate, she could not make out any of it. They were but brief breaths whisking by her in droves. But their speed made them seem as if they were only but a few. Heat washed all over her face, water dripping down her fur as a result. Her breathes were hot yet felt cold, like the sort of thing you get from a fever. A shiver from hot skin drenched in sweat, desperate for the relief of cold water.

"Nova!" The distant voice started to make sense, sounding more like a worried male's words.

"Nova, come on babe, wake up!" This voice sounded a lot like Sprx.

Then her eyes snapped open, realization coming to her. Sprx knelt over her, dripping wet from light rain drizzling from the grey clouds. His eyes were drenched with water and worry. So much so he couldn't seem to distribute any other emotion.

"Babe, are you okay?"

"Ugh, Sprx…" she muttered, the attempt at vocalization hurting her throat. "What's… going on?" She willed herself to sit up with a hand firmly clamped on Sprx's for assistance.

"No clue, I think we just had a blackout…" he rubbed his head with a look of pain. "Shouldn't have all those drinks earlier, who knows how long we've been out here…"

Nova, with a renewed sense of vigor, stood abruptly to her feet. The swift motion almost knocking Sprx back down, who already struggled to stand. She looked to her hands then back at her surroundings, her senses were clearing up at an alarming rate. As if the punishment of hangover was no longer in an effect.

"Woah, slow down there," Sprx grabbed her shoulder so Nova could take her turn in helping him up. "Where'd this burst of energy come from? I could barely get you to open your eyes a second ago!"

"Not sure, maybe the black out was like a power nap for me. I feel great," she smiled as she got Sprx and hauled him onto her back. Proceeding to walk away from their former slumber spot in the damp sand. No wonder they smelt like fish and sea water.

Sprx bobbed back and forth on her back as he groaned, trying to keep his stomach juices down. Nova looked back to him and tried to walk smoother. She offered him her tail to hold onto, more for comfort then anything else. He graciously accepted and pressed his snout into the gold appendage.

"Guh, feel's like I've been kicked in the head by a horse…"

"Maybe you shouldn't have drank so much."

"Me? You had the same amount as me, how did you suddenly get up without this pain?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm just lucky." She snickered before whipping her head away to peer down the streets. "Wonder where everyone is at, feels like a ghost town…"

"What time is it?"

"No clue," she rubbed her eyes with her wrist and squinted to look up. Hard to see, her eyes were picking up a mixture of different color wavelengths. Maybe she was not as 'unaffected' as she thought. "Can't tell, my vision is still kinda jumbled."

They kept trucking along till eventually reaching the robot. Nova punched in the security code that allowed them entrance. Once into the main control room, Nova gently placed her fiancé in his chair and went to sick bay to get some medicine for nausea. Spotting the pill bottle, she read a nearby clock and blinked in surprise and went back out to her mate.

"It's three AM…" she unscrewed the bottle and dropped three pink pills in hand. "Guess we were out longer then expect, huh?" The pills were then given to Sprx as he sluggishly popped them in his mouth and swallowed.

"Yuck!" He covered his mouth to halt any chance of vomiting. "This stuff is so freaking nasty, thought it was supposed to help with nausea, not make it worse."

"Hey, just gotta take it."

"Think Gibson could get stuff that actually tastes good and not throw up what was left in your stomach."

"Quit complaining Sprx and just pipe down… we don't want to wake the whole robot up." She flopped down in her chair, letting the cool and firm cushion adjust to her size and suck her in. A smile wiggled onto her face as the rough edges massaged the sore spots. "We'll go to bed in a minute, just need a second to gather my thoughts…"

Sprx nabbed a half drank soda disposed by Otto's chair, chugging the drink, not caring in the least it had been used.

"By gather your thoughts, you mean figure out how long we were out? Easy, all day apparently!"

"Shh!" Nova threw a pillow at him, "what part of 'be quiet' do you not understand? Geez."

"Sorry! Eesh, don't mean to be ill-conscious of their sleep while I'm dying from a monstrous headache. I'll try to be a little more sympathetic..."

"You're such a child," Nova rubbed her temples to ignore his whining. Dang, even when not in as bad of shape as Sprx, she still couldn't hardly recall anything. Perhaps it was morning when they departed after their drinks. The night sky would indicate that much, but that didn't explain how long they were gone. It could've been the next day for all she knew!

"Welcome back," Chiro called out, wearing only his orange PJs and matching slippers. "Geez, wondered where you guys been."

"Chiro!" Nova jumped in surprise.

"Ah, sorry if we woke ya kid, guess you could say we got a little… lost."

"Lost?" Chiro laughed a little and leaned against the wall with arms casually crossed. "Guess 'lost' would be a good term if we're sugarcoating it. So," he straightened his posture. "Where have you two been? You had us all worried for a moment, Antauri was about to call a search since you guys weren't answering our calls."

"What made you decide not to?" Nova asked with a head tilt.

"Vex came by a few hours back, reassured us that you two were okay and left again."

"You mean one-eye was spying on us the whole time?" Sprx groaned and fell back into his seat. "Geez, why does she have to be so freaking creepy!"

"Hush up Sprx, she could've just passed by and saw us. We were drinking, she probably didn't want to bother us," Nova snapped to defend the old female.

"Okay fine let's go with that," he sat up and looked at Chiro. "If that's the case, did she tell you what we were doing when we blacked out?"

"Uh," Chiro rubbed his neck. "The description she gave was a little… hard to follow, but we got the jest you two were just sucking faces in the dirt."

Sprx burned red as he snapped his head away, grumbling like a frustrated child. "Good grief she needs to mind her own business!"

Nova rolled her eyes and stood up, bending her back till it popped.

"Guess we need to head to bed, try and recover some sleep before I go into work tomorrow." Nova internally cringed, afraid to see the damage the old monkey might've caused in her absence.

Once everyone was on their feet and goodnights exchanged, the trio split ways and went to their own respected rooms.

~Next Day~

Nova whirled around and smashed both fists into the practice dummy. The force of the blow knocking the whole object right into the glass. Cracking it in the process till sand fell from its ripped opening. Knuckles popped as Nova re-twisted herself to loosen up her muscles and wiring. Today's workout had been very intense since she felt so energized. Or maybe it was due to relief from Vex scaring everyone at work into shape. She grinned to herself before tackling the next dummy, maybe she should use the old female as a substitute more often.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Antauri called out.

"Aw come on," Nova complained while slamming her fist into the dummy, sending it straight through the wall. "I ain't finished!"

"But you have exceeded the time limit twice, you need to rest." Antauri pressed, eventually winning the dispute and getting Nova back into the lobby to rest.

"Hey," she snickered while slapping a wet towel around her neck. "Since I'm the one fighting on a regular basis, I need to keep my skills sharp."

"Be that as it may, I don't want you overexerting yourself… do not forget we are still a team."

"Yes, a team that is no longer needed for every single problem the city throws at us. Not with me whipping them into shape!"

Antauri, once again, fought the urge to sigh and pinched the ridge between his eyes.

"Again, as true as that may be, you must continue to rely on us as well. Acting as if we are no longer a team will wreak havoc on your sanity if you believe you're the solo protector of the city."

"Hey, I don't for one moment think that! I'm just merely acknowledging the fact that I'm the main protector and need to teach this city to defend itself when we can't. I want you guys to rest!" She crossed her arms, "you may take comfort in settling down into a quieter domestic life, but I live for the blood shed and bullet fire. Explosions are my first basic extinct… I can't drown that out!"

The silver second in command was instantly thrown off with the heated tone his friend took. The redness of her eyes had been flaring up the longer she trained. It was if something was given this gold monkey energy and strength that doubled what she had before. This was way past her usual stride.

"Very well," he saw no point in arguing any further. If Nova became exhausted, he knew that she was aware of their existence and would be given a break then. Even though he wished she would take one now…

"Alright, I'm going to head to the gym."

"You just trained for six hours; you must rest Nova."

Growling at the fatherly simian, she huffed and tossed the towel aside.

"Fine, I'll just go to the pub and get an energy drink or something… want something to eat or lecture me at wanting a hamburger?"

Taken aback once again, Antauri simply shook his head.

"You're dismissed now."

"Finally," Nova snapped before strolling out the door with a strong stride in her walk. "I'll bring you home a salad so you can focus on that instead of worrying about me!"

Once the door slammed shut, Antauri levitated himself to his chair and leant back. Even with a computerized brain to organize the data that was his mind, it difficult to manage the new files. So much change has been happening in such a quick time frame it was making his head spin. Especially with Nova, never has he seen the powerful female so gung-ho.

"Sterling…" a deep monotone voice whiskered past him. The familiar sound bringing instant comfort as the robotic male smiled to its owner.

"Vexahlia, glad you could come on such short notice."

"Was… tending the green one's need for… a maternal hand to hold…" She muttered while taking a seat on the floor next to Antauri's feet. "Persnickety clients… often much, for him…"

"I'm glad your there to help him calm down, at least Otto knows when to ask for help when social pressures weigh heavy on him." Antauri took her hand and lost his smile, "Unlike… some individuals."

"The gold one… resists you…" Vex answered without looking at her mate. "Detection of… electronic sync waves in air… only present when… you are dis-distracted."

"In a matter of speaking, yes…" He slid down on the floor till their bodies were sandwiched together. The closeness always made him forget his problems when the old scarred simian was with him. "Nova is bull-headed, but never to this extinct in which she does not heed my instructions."

"Younger one getting high off adrenaline… far from a surprise… for one that breathes for extreme actions…"

"This is not funny."

"Did I appear to be laughing…?"

"A rhetorical question as your face hardly every changes expression… but no, I know you're intending to make this a joke. But the dismissal is not helping my easement of the situation."

"Nyet, as well false…" She gazed down to the male she deeply loved with every ounce of what was left of her heart. "Reflect on own worries as well… leave her be… she'll come to you when needing of advice… patience."

Antauri unwillingly nodded and pressed his head deeper into Vex's white mane.

"Just wish things didn't have to remain so difficult to manage…"

"Then spend twenty-four hours with the pup… give exit to your intoxicating paternal instincts…"

That was a good idea, spending a day with Chiro would ease his frustrations. Smiling to himself, he pressed her hand against his chest.

"Thank you, my beloved. I am grateful to have you here as a reminder to let go."

Nodding, Vex patted his helmet and encouraged him to close his eyes for a few restful minutes. Her mismatched eyes lingered to the nearest window. Eyes narrowed, something felt off about this situation. But nothing that could be done at the moment as she turned to put her remaining focus on the attractive male holding onto her like a tree in a hurricane.