Stelle laid on her bed in the Goethe Grand Hotel, staring up into the dark ceiling above her. With the cable car service between Belobog and the Underworld reestablished, Gertie managed to get some contacts to replace some of the older furniture and decorations. In particular, the beds had been replaced with the memory-foam mattresses that the Goethe Hotel in the administration district used.
However, even with the increase in comfort, Stelle still couldn't fall asleep. Not after that birthday party she attended. A grimace appeared on her face as she remembered Hook breaking down after that revelation. Even though the party afterwards was still enjoyable, there was still an undercurrent of sadness and guilt that hung over all of them. Even Natasha had a sad look on her face when she last saw her.
An uncomfortable feeling sat on her chest, a coil of tight anger and unwillingness that only wound tighter as she replayed that memory in her mind. Hook… wasn't exactly a good kid. That much she learnt after running around with her for quite a while. However, her love for her foster father was genuine.
Stelle couldn't– wouldn't accept this outcome. To hell with it, even if it would cost her the rest of her time on Jarilo, she would right this wrong! Yes. She would fix this. At all costs!
Snapping out of bed, she threw on her clothes and strode out of the Goethe Grand Hotel. And then stopped immediately.
Where should she start? Well she knew who bought Junjun. Though she didn't remember getting a name from her… In her mind, she just called her the Gemologist since she was so fixated on Junjun's Erebus eyes. Well, the Underworld wasn't too big of a place after the Fragmentum encroached. She could just ask around and someone was bound to know the place.
Though… Stelle rolled a lock of hair between her fingers. She was going to stand out quite a bit. And she wanted to keep this under wraps lest Hook found out. Or if someone else found out and told her. Then the surprise would be ruined! Stelle clicked her tongue. Alright, let's buy some clothes first.
Bronya, bless her heart, gave the crew of the Astral Express a fairly sizable amount of Shield. More than enough for them to coast along for the rest of their lives if they decided to live in Belobog permanently, provided they didn't splurge on some really expensive items . Being saviours of the world certainly had its perks.
Walking into a clothing store, Stelle wanted to first browse through some options but an employee very quickly recognized her and started gushing over her.
"Miss Stelle! Ohh… the hero of Belobog has decided to purchase from my store?!" The woman started to fan herself rapidly. "This day is the best day ever! Can I have your autograph?"
Stelle cringed back slightly at the woman's outburst. Giving an agreement, she quickly dashed into the back before presenting a wooden board along with a black pen. "Please sign here. And make it out to Harriet."
Nodding, Stelle quickly scribbled her name. And cringed even more at what looked to be more scribbles of a child than an autograph. However, Harrient (she presumed her name was) was more than happy with it, putting it up onto the back wall behind the counter. Proudly displaying her horrendous handwriting to the rest of the world forevermore.
"What can I do for you, Miss Stelle?" Harrient asked politely. Though Stelle could easily hear the undercurrent of excitement.
"I want to buy some clothes that would fit into the Underworld." Stelle explained.
Harriet nodded rapidly. "Y-yes! I will sew some clothes for you right away!" Reaching behind her, she pulled out a long measuring tape along with a notepad and pen. "Can I take your measurements?" Stelle stared into the seamstress's eyes. They were gleaming with excitement and anticipation.
However, as much as she would like custom-made clothes, Stelle shook her head. Pom-Pom made it very, very clear that the Astral Express would be departing in seven days after the Stellaron was sealed. And she wasn't too sure if the clothes would be done in five days, much less in the hour.
"O-oh…" Harriet's head drooped. "T-then please take your time browsing…"
Stelle bit her lip. "I'll rent some clothes for now. Then if I have the time, I'll let you take my measurements. Then when you're done, you can send it to the Silvermane Guards to hold on to until I return. Is that fine?"
"Really?!" Harriet perked up immediately. "Then you have to try on this, and this, and this–"
As Stelle watched the woman tear through the shop, pulling clothes off the rack with reckless abandon, she wondered what type of beast she had unleashed on herself…
Walking out of the store, Stelle could barely recognize herself. Her jacket and shirt had been replaced with Underworld apparel. Her heels were replaced with tough leather boots that stopped just under her knee, faded beige overalls over tight but breathable pants. Her shirt was still white but she had opted for a long-sleeved jacket, clasped on one side. And her gloves were replaced with bulkier miner's gloves.
Honestly she doubted she was even looking at herself when she looked at the mirror. She also did up her hair into a high-knot and adjusted her fringe a little. Adding a cap on top and no one would recognize her unless she told her who she was. Or at least, that was the hope.
She knew where the Geomarrow detector and Junjun were. Belaway, the Relic Appraiser that the goofball Sampo told her and Hook about, most likely had the detector since no one else would buy a useless piece of junk. And the Gemologist from the auction bought Junjun. Belaway could wait for now since Stelle knew where he usually was.
Walking around, Stelle started asking some of the locals for directions to a jewel-expert for 'some advice'. Most of the answers she got were just 'I don't know' much to her frustration. Then again, after several years fighting to live one extra day, she doubted anyone had the time or money to buy gems or jewels.
"Oh? A jeweler…" An old granny paused as she pondered the question. The two children beside her stopped playing and glanced at Stelle. Giving them a wave, the two children waved back shyly before turning back to their game. "Oh yes. I remember a jeweler."
"Could you tell me where it is?" Stelle asked. She had altered her speaking voice a bit so people wouldn't recognize her from it.
"Yes yes. I remember dear Geoffrey taking me by the hand and leading me down 7th street… He was such a looker back then…" Stelle wanted to palm her face. But she kept a slight smile as she sat and listened to the fourth tangent this granny was going on. Perhaps she could pick out some directions from it?
After about ten minutes of the old granny talking, with several prompts from Stelle to keep her on track, she finally said where the address was on the jeweler. Honestly, she might prefer March's lectures on "Dumpster Diving and You" than listen to that again. At least with March, she got to look at a pretty girl.
"Thank you, granny!" The jeweler's address was at the end of Alisa Avenue. Glancing at the map, Stelle followed the directions on her phone until she stood at the entrance of the store.
It was a two-storey building, with a dazzling glass display window showing off a variety of necklaces, earrings, diadems and more. Within them, Stelle could see perfectly cut Geomarrow ore set into them along with some more mundane gemstones like emeralds, rubies and diamonds adorning them on either side.
Entering it, Stelle was greeted by a familiar face.
"Welcome to the Obsidian Gem!" A blue-haired girl with glasses spoke up while she looked over two beads on a tray in front of her. "What can I do for you?" Stelle was certain that this was the girl that bought Junjun at the auction. Time for the plan!
You don't know the plan? That's alright. Stelle made it up just now!
She walked in casually, glancing around before reaching the counter. "Oh I'm just buying something for a niece of mine. Do you have any suggestions?"
The girl paused as she looked up. "A niece? How old is she?"
"Oh quite young." Stelle replied off-handedly. Her eyes were glued to the jewelry on display cases in the counter. That emerald trinket would look great on Dan Heng. And that sapphire necklace would fit March so well! Wait, she was getting distracted. "Um… ten or eleven years old?"
The girl nodded. "Any preference for colours?"
"Well I was thinking of some warmer colours…" Stelle looked up before snapping her eyes to the black beads on the tray. "What's that?"
"Oh this?" The Gemologist rattled the tray. "It's actually a pair of perfectly cut Erebus. Bought it at the auction just yesterday for 600 Shield. Pretty right?"
Stelle nodded. Her heart was pounding in her chest. "Yep. Erebus is rare, right? I'm surprised anyone would sell it off like that."
"Me too. The child who sold it actually had it on a teddy bear if you could believe it." Stelle gasped in false-shock. "Yeah. Took the night to remove and inspect it. Actually, if you want, I could give you the teddy bear as an extra for your niece if you buy something."
Stelle gasped in actual shock this time. "Really?"
"Yep. I don't really need it for anything else… And having a teddy bear with no eyes sitting at my work station all night gives me the creeps."
After getting her agreement, Stelle meadered a bit more before picking out a small ruby and Geomarrow bracelet. The Gemologist picked it out from the display case and handed it to Stelle before going to the back and taking out the stuffed bear. Stelle absolutely had to agree with her. A teddy bear with no eyes was truly terrifying.
As she was about to leave, Stelle asked. "What are you going to do with those Erebus beads?"
The Gemologist smiled. "Well they're going to go into my gem collection. Erebus is hard to find in the mines, much less perfectly cut ones like these." She paused for a moment. "If you want some Erebus jewelry, I'm afraid you'll have to wait."
Stelle nodded. "That's fine. Thank you, miss!" Although she didn't get the eyes back, getting Junjun back for free was already amazing.
"Thank you for your patronage!" The Gemologist called back. Giving a small wave, Stelle exited the store with Junjun in hand.
As Stelle left, she glanced at Junjun and immediately wondered how the hell she was going to sneak this into Goethe Grand Hotel, or worse yet, into the Astral Express without anyone noticing. Especially the Moles who hung around the hotel. If even a single one sees it, they'll most likely tell Hook and the whole surprise would be ruined!
Biting her lip, Stelle decided to bite the bullet. Pulling out her phone, she shot a text to March 7th to go to an alleyway nearby. And to bring a bag.
Sitting down on a garbage can, Stelle hugged the teddy bear as she waited.
Honestly, she could understand why Hook wouldn't sleep without it. It was incredibly good to hug.
"I'm here~!" The bubbly girl announced as she turned into the alleyway. "Eh? Who are you?" March 7th, the resident amnesiac no. 1 of the Astral Express, formed her bow and pointed it at Stelle. "Why are you here and what have you done to Stelle?!"
Stelle wanted to tease her a bit before revealing herself but seeing March's legitimately angry face, she decided against it.
"March. It's me. Stelle." She pulled off her cap and leveled her yellow eyes at the girl.
"O-oh. Sorry about that." March dismissed her weapon and scratched her head sheepishly.
"No worries." Stelle hopped off the garbage can. Walking over, she pulled March into a hug and slowly rubbed her back. "You're cute when you're angry like that." She could hear March immediately splutter at the compliment. "Glad to see you'll be worried about me if I'm gone under suspicious circumstances."
Pulling away, March was blushing pretty hard which only made Stelle want to tease her even more. But she put a lid on that for now. Teasing could wait until later. "Did you bring the bag?" Stelle asked, making March snap back to reality.
"R-right! Here you go!" She turned around showing off a custom-made pink and blue randoseru with the four-leafed-clover-looking symbol as a clasp. Opening it, Stelle placed the bracelet and the teddy bear into the bag before closing it back up.
Turning back around March asked, "Say, is there any reason why you're dressed up like that?"
Stelle gave a wry grin as she placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head up. "Don't you like it?"
March's blush, which was receding, came back at full force at Stelle's posing. "Stop that." She gave an unimpressed glare at the other girl. "I mean, I didn't think you would buy any clothes from Jarilo."
"Why's that?"
"Because you don't seem that type of girl?" March answered with a quirked eyebrow.
Stelle wanted to refute that statement but she really couldn't. Hell, she barely even does her hair before she goes out. Who would think she'd be the type to buy clothes. Not to mention her wardrobe. Before they left the Herta Space Station, she had used Herta's 3D printers to produce six more clothes of the exact same design that she was wearing originally. Completely ignoring all the other clothes Herta could've printed.
Yeah, she couldn't argue with March's impression of her.
"So why the change of heart?"
Sighing, Stelle relayed everything that led up to this point. Hook's dad's detector getting stolen, breaking it, finding Hook's treasure, and the birthday party.
At the end of it, March's eyes were watering already. Taking a sniff, March wiped away her tears before speaking. "Poor thing… Stelle, you're a good person!" Stelle was plenty aware of that. She had a whole bunch of 'Praise of High Morals' that could vouch for her! "If there's anything you need to do, just ask March 7th and she'll do it for you!" She struck a pose which made Stelle smile slightly.
"Thanks March. Could you bring Junjun to my room in Goethe Grand Hotel? I'll handle the eyes and the Geomarrow detector."
"Alright! Agent March is on the case!" Striking another pose, March swiftly bolted down the street, much to the amusement of Stelle.
And also wasn't that phrase for detectives?
Oh well. Stelle shrugged as she made her way down the street with her now empty hands. Time to find Beloway and convince him to sell the Geomarrow detector. This shouldn't be too hard. With the probe broken, it was effectively useless so she could easily get it for–
"I threw it out."
What.
"Yea, I threw it out. Without a Geomarrow probe, there's no way to fix it and the only one found was bought by Fersman's kid and the grey-haired girl." Beloway clicked his tongue in amusement. "Too bad they didn't know Fersman sold it to me so it's useless for them."
Stelle fought the urge to punch a wall. "If you knew that they bought the probe, why didn't you buy it from them?"
Beloway barked loudly with bitter laughter. "If I tried, they would've asked me to buy it for over 800 Shields! Along with the exorbitant price Fersman asked me to buy that hunk of junk for, there was no way I could sell it at a good profit."
She was fairly certain it was an excuse. But she didn't really care about it for now. "So where did you throw it?"
Beloway shrugged. "Somewhere in the Great Mine." He jabbed a finger in the general direction. "Can't tell you where though."
Stelle huffed. "Thanks. I'll go look for it there."
As she left, she heard Beloway call out. "It's useless, y'know?! Can't even detect a minecart full of Geomarrow!"
"I know." Stelle waved his 'advice' away. The Great Mine, huh? Shouldn't be too hard with Findie.
After walking fairly deep into the mine, Stelle glanced around and checked for anyone that might be aware of her. Once she was sure that she was alone, she brought out Findie.
"Beep beep beep. Detecting high-value item nearby. Beep beep beep."
Stelle quickly and easily triangulated its position. Reaching behind some boxes, Stelle pulled out a beaten up Geomarrow detector. Several parts were bent and some wires were dislodged but from the looks of things, it didn't look like anything else was broken. If something was, Stelle was going to give Beloway a kiss. With her baseball bat.
A screech pulled her out of her thoughts. Turning around, she spotted a small flock of Flame and Frostspawn. Not enough to bring out the big guns, but if left alone would pose a danger to the miners. Letting out a sigh, Stelle set down the detector against some boxes. She had learnt from the last time fighting with something valuable on her.
Placing her hand on one side of her hip, she pulled out her trusty bat as if she was drawing a sword. She didn't try to hide the energy rolling off her body as she leveled the bat at the bird-like Fragmentum monsters. Immediately, their attention snapped towards Stelle.
With a cry, she charged towards the flock and started swinging her bat. The dark onyx-like material slamming into the monster with a satisfying crunch. Whirling back around, the bat slammed into another three and sent them sprawling onto the floor. The power of Destruction flowed through her body as she turned into a living whirlwind of force, tearing apart Flame and Frostspawns with ease.
Compared to the battle against Cocolia, these were practically nothing to her.
Barely a minute later, Stelle wiped her brow with the back of her hand with a satisfied smile on her face. All her negative emotions were cleared and her body felt much lighter. Walking back to the boxes, she picked up the Geomarrow detector and made her way to the Goethe Grand Hotel.
Luckily, when she walked back, most people were in their homes. Although the Underground didn't have a day-night cycle like Belobog, Wildfire did try to follow it by turning all the lights on and off at set times. But some streets did keep their lights on 24/7, like the streetlamps around Natasha's clinic and those near the cable car up.
Entering the room, Stelle saw that March had done what she had asked. The necklace box was placed by the bedside table while Junjun was positioned on a chair with a teacup placed in front of him. One of March's little jokes she presumed. With a small grin, Stelle pulled off her miner outfit and tossed it into her own bag and pulled on her original clothes, basking in its comfort.
Yup. No matter what, her original clothes were always the best.
"Now what do I do…" she muttered. The Geomarrow detector was with her, but there was no way she could repair it until she had the probe which was with Hook. And there was no way she could ask Hook for the probe without making her suspicious. And Junjun required eyes but a brief browse through the IPC catalogue made Stelle grimace. There were no eyes that quite captured Junjun's original look. All of them were a bit too bright or a bit too reflective.
Erebus was an extremely dark gem that only reflected some of the light so it wasn't as reflective as pure plastic. And although the teddy and doll-making industry was far more advanced than what Belobog would make for the next 500 years, doll-eye-making technology wasn't as advanced.
Stelle clicked her tongue. Did she really require Erebus for Junjun's eyes? A brief look through the catalogue for 'Erebus' showed a fairly cheap price. Like surprisingly so. A measly 2,000 credits for an uncut gem and a cut gem shot up the price to anywhere between 5,000 to 30,000 credits per gem.
Stelle pursed her lips. Was this really the price of Erebus?
Stelle: Hey is this the proper price of Erebus?
Sent 'Erebus price '
Himeko: Oh? You're planning to buy some jewelry, Stelle?
Himeko: But to answer your question. Yes. Although Erebus is fairly rare on Jarilo-VI, for the IPC it is fairly common. Same with other gems like diamonds, emeralds or sapphires.
Stelle: Thank you, Miss Himeko!
Great. Stelle scrolled through several jewelry companies to find precisely what she was looking for. A pair of smooth-cut Erebus beads about half a centimeter in diameter each. Scrolling through catalogues after catalogues, Stelle eventually found one.
Well it wasn't one. It was a full box of such Erebus beads that the jeweler said was for "embedding into clothes for an air of mystery or to practice making jewelry with." For the low low cost of 2,500,000 credits…
She… definitely didn't have that much. She was pretty sure she had a little over a million and a half or so in her bank account after Herta and Himeko deposited some cash for her. Plus whatever she picked up along the way. She could send a text to Asta but she really didn't want the redhead girl to get in trouble with Arlan.
After mulling around for a moment, she decided to bite the bullet. Worse they could say no right?
Stelle: Hello. I was wondering if I could purchase individual beads in your 'Authentic Erebus Bead Box'. Product number "91REW1987234"
Cosmic Jewels Customer Service: I'm sorry but I cannot answer that question. Would you like to transfer to live chat?
Stelle: Yes
Cosmic Jewels Customer Service: You have transferred to a live chat.
Cosmic Jewels Customer Service: Hi, this is Brandon. To answer your question, yes you may. How many would you like to purchase?
Stelle: Two.
Cosmic Jewels Customer Service: Just a moment
…
Cosmic Jewels Customer Service: Please click this link and fill in your details. Once purchased, your order will be shipped from the nearest IPC storage station.
Stelle filled out the shipping form and sent the credits on its way. Luckily, the IPC satellite broadcasting ads to Jarilo was also a storage station so it would be arriving in a day's time. Once it was delivered, all she needed was to pass the material to Natasha to sew on and she could surprise Hook with it.
"But what to do with the probe…" Stelle murmured. Asking for it would ruin the surprise so what should she do to get it? Stelle flopped onto the bed and rolled onto her bed. Maybe sneaking in and 'borrowing' it? Stelle wasn't exactly the best thief. And she would love to not be on the wrong side of 'Diggertron'.
"Hmm… Who's good at sneaking around unseen…" Stelle's eyes widened as a single face came to her mind. "Right! Seele!"
During their travels, the girl was incredible at cloaking herself with the power of the Hunt and striking enemies from behind. Quite a number of battles ended prematurely when the girl knocked out her opponents with the back of her scythe. If anyone was good at sneaking around, it would be her.
Stelle: Hey, you free?
Seele: Hm? What's up?
Stelle: I need you to steal something for me.
Seele: …
Seele: I'm telling Bronya
Stelle: I swear it's for a good cause!
Stelle quickly explained Hook's gift and the events that led up to it
Seele: Mmmm… I don't particularly like doing it but…
Stelle: But…? ( 人ゝω・）
Seele: … But since you're the hero of Belobog, I'll believe you. When should I do it?
Stelle: In two days time? When Underworld night falls.
Seele: Ok.
Stelle: Oh. Once you get it to me, I'll immediately install the probe onto the detector. Once that's done can you sneak them both back into the house?
Seele: Sure. No problem.
Stelle: Thankyu! (´⌣`ʃƪ)
Seele: You do know I'm pursuing Bronya, right?
With Seele's participation confirmed, the Erebus beads on the way and Junjun and the detector ready, all Stelle needed to do was wait…
In the meantime, Stelle decided to do some miscellaneous things. Like heading to Serval's workshop to patch up the dinged detector.
Pushing the door open with a brief bell chime, Stelle stepped into the cozy warmth of Serval's workshop. The girl was idling at the counter, strumming to some invisible guitar when she entered.
"Oh? If it isn't Stelle!" Serval greeted jovially. "What can I do for you?"
Stelle pulled out the beaten Geomarrow detector from her bag. "Can you patch this up?"
Serval's eyes widened as she looked at the machinery in front of her. "Are you kidding me? Is this authentic?"
Stelle nodded. It was for the best that Serval worked out her excitement first.
"This is a R14-HYE4 Handheld Geomarrow Vein Detection System. Serial number… UI23… can't read the rest. Built for surface scanning as well as radial scans." Serval glanced up to Stelle. "You can't make these anymore. Not since the Eternal Freeze wiped out the city that made it."
"Yup."
"How did you get this?"
Stelle explained for the third time about Hook and the events leading up to it. Maybe she should make a document and simply send it to anyone who asks. It would certainly save quite a bit of time.
Serval nodded as Stelle finished explaining. "So you need this patched up? Don't worry. Big sister Serval will make sure it looks as good as new!"
Next morning, Stelle walked into the workshop. But Serval wasn't at her usual spot at the center of the room. Looking around, she didn't see her anywhere at all. The heater was still on and the aesthetic gears around the store were turning so someone definitely was here before Stelle had arrived.
Could it be?! The Serval Workshop Dev–
"I'm in the back!"
Oh.
Stelle stopped at the door where her voice came from. Written in no uncertain terms were 'Employees Only' on the front of the door.
Pushing the door open, Stelle saw Serval looking over a fully disassembled Geomarrow detector laid across a large central table. Around the edge of the table were the metal plates and screws which held the outer frame together and all the electronic components were gathered, connected with wires along with notes as to what each component does and how they feed into each other.
"Stelle! I could kiss you!" Serval wrapped the grey-haired girl into a hug. "This is truly a marvel of engineering from the past…"
Although Serval was busy gushing about the detector, Stelle was having a blue screen from Serval's first exclamation.
"And the sensors to detect the Geomarrow… Hey are you listening?" Serval stopped and placed her hands on her hips.
Stelle took a moment to register that Serval had stopped talking. "Huh? Ye-yea!" She replied, fighting back her blush and failing.
Sighing, Serval gave her a wry grin. "Nevermind, most of the information probably went over your head. But honestly, if given enough time, I could probably reverse engineer this."
"Really?" Stelle beamed. "That's great! Then the miners can discover more veins quicker, right?"
Serval gave a tired smile. "Yup." Yawning, Serval stretched her back, making Stelle's gaze fall down. Once Serval finished, and Stelle's blood reached her brain again, she continued. "Though it would take a few weeks. A bit sooner with a full team." She scratched the back of her head.
"Oh." Stelle's face fell.
Serval slapped her friend in the chest. "Don't worry, Stelle. I won't ask you to give this to me. It's a present for that child we saw at Natasha's right?" A grin broke out on Stelle's face. "Alright. Let me put this back together and then I can finally go to bed."
That made Stelle pause. "You haven't gone to bed?"
Serval flashed a wide smile. "Nope." She answered cheerfully. "Wake me up if I fall asleep while putting this together." She paused before walking over to a shelf and pulling out a thin booklet. "Before I forget."
"What's this?" Stelle slowly flipped through the pages. Diagrams of internal structures and notes filled every page in meticulous detail. Each part was given an easy to describe name as well as material compositions, uses and more. It took a moment for Stelle to realize that it was–
"My notes on the Geomarrow detector. Some parts were a bit speculatory since the probe was broken, but it should be somewhat accurate." Serval bit back a second yawn. "Jeez, ever since you came, the fatigue hit like a truck. Keep watch over me will you?" Serval unfolded her toolbox and started reassembling the Geomarrow detector.
Stelle honestly couldn't remember how long Serval took to reassemble it. She was too busy watching her concentrated face.
Once the Erebus beads were shipped to the Astral Express, Stelle snuck them into her room in the hotel. Wrapping them into a box, she placed it into a bag before making her way down to Natasha's clinic.
Walking in, the first thing Stelle noticed was the apparent lack of patients. Outside of the few who were chronically ill and laying in the beds, there wasn't a single patient waiting around to be treated. The doctor was sitting at a nearby table, idly leafing through a book while a cup of tea sat in front of her. The moment she entered, Natasha's eyes snapped up and she was on the verge of standing up fully when she realised who had entered.
"Stelle. It's nice to see you again." Natasha said as her body relaxed into the chair once again.
"Expecting a patient?" Stelle teased as she took a seat next to the doctor who gave a slight smirk.
"What brings you here?"
Stelle reached into the bag and pulled out the box. Sliding it over to Natasha, a look of confusion passed her face before Stelle motioned for her to pick it up. "You'll understand when you see it."
Frowning slightly, Natasha removed the lid and her eyes widened slightly in shock. Closing her eyes, Natasha took a breath and closed it back up. "I thought Hook sold it." She whispered quietly. So quietly that if Stelle wasn't listening hard, she might've missed it.
"She did." She replied with a nod. "I got it back."
"I see." Natasha didn't probe. This was how Stelle worked after all. "And I presume you want me to sew the new eyes on."
"If you have the time."
Natasha stood up and picked up the box. "It'll be done in a moment." With swift clicks of her heels, she opened a door into the backrooms and entered. The door shut behind her with a soft click.
Glancing around, Stelle didn't have much else to do so she just sat and waited at the table. If a patient came in, it would probably do Natasha some good if she notified her of it, right?
"Huh. She didn't finish her tea…"
Stelle felt Seele's approach long before she appeared in front of her. The blue girl was wearing something a little bit different compared to her usual outfit. It was a lot tighter, hugging her body with little loose threads that might snag onto something. Stelle gave a thumbs up to the other girl.
"I think Bronya would approve."
Seele immediately blushed and spluttered. "Shut it. So how is this gonna work?"
Stelle reached into her bag and pulled out Junjun and the fixed-up broken Geomarrow detector. "First, you'll have to sneak into that building," Seele followed Stelle's finger to a normal-looking building. "And find the Geomarrow probe. Then bring it out to me so I can install it into the Geomarrow detector to confirm that it's working. Once that's done, bring the detector, Junjun, and the card into Hook's home and leave it in a place where she can easily find it."
"You know how to replace the Geomarrow probe?" Seele crossed her arms across her chest.
Stelle tore her eyes away and nodded. Pulling out Serval's notebook, she waved it around. "According to Serval, these detectors were made such that components could easily be swapped out if anything broke. Her theory is that–"
"Ok. I got it." Seele held up a hand. "So all I gotta do is break in, bring the probe to you, then break in again."
Stelle shrugged her shoulders. "Pretty much."
Seele let out a long sigh. How did things reach this point? She was fairly certain that if Natasha caught wind of her involvement, she was going to get an earful. Regardless if she was an adult or not.
Raising a hand, she closed her eyes and allowed the power of the Hunt to cover her and flicked her arm down. Immediately, a burst of butterflies exploded from her body while a static-like effect covered her. When it disappeared, her body was completely invisible barring a slight distortion effect at the edge of her silhouette. Glancing at Stelle, the girl gave a little wave before Seele started walking to the building.
Sneaking with her invisibility, specifically for the purpose of stealing things, was weird. She had been invisible plenty of times before but mostly those were in the throes of combat. Turning invisible gave her a moment to rest, allow her mind to view the big picture and pick out the specific targets to take out instead of blindly fighting whoever was in front of her.
Entering the home was easy. Incredibly so. Few people dared to cause trouble in Boulder Town originally. Now with the cable service restored and Silvermane guards returning, even fewer people wanted to do so.
With silent footfalls, Seele crept through the dimly lit room. From what Stelle told her, the probe was a thin, long object, similar to a needle made from Geomarrow along with a hollow glass casing above it. Grimacing, the Quantum girl crept through the silent home.
The second floor were usually bedrooms, so Seele focused on the first floor instead. Picking a door that she knew was usually a storeroom, she opened it to find non-perishable groceries like cans and drink bottles.
Moving along the doors, she slowly grew frustrated as signs of a Geomarrow probe dwindled more and more. Finally, when she decided to go up to the second floor… Her eyes caught the sight of it.
Taking it gently with both hands, Seele channeled her cloaking effect through the probe. It was pretty small. Maybe half the size of her scythe shaft? Easy enough for her to pick up. Turning around to leave, she heard a rustling noise from behind one of the doors.
Freezing up, Seele focused on her ears to hear if Fersman or Hook was getting up or something. Biting her lip nervously, she let out a soft sigh when the rustling didn't lead to any other noise. Swiftly, she made her way out and back to Stelle.
"Welcome back." Stelle greeted before Seele even dropped her cloak. "You got it! Nice."
Seele shook her head as she passed the probe to her. "I will never understand how you always manage to see me."
Stelle glanced up and narrowed her eyes. "Racoon vision." She gave Seele a sly grin.
"Hmph. Fine then. Keep your secrets." Seele huffed.
After a minute of fiddling, Stelle released the old probe and attached the new one. Flicking the switch, Stelle looked at the screen before waving it to a pile of Geomarrow crates nearby. The screen flashed rapidly before letting out a rapid series of loud beeps. "It works." Stelle nodded. "Here." She passed Seele the rest of the items.
All around, lights from houses started to flick on, illuminating the rooms within. Stelle winced as she watched more and more lights flicker on. "Go! Hurry!" Seele didn't need a second warning.
Seele cloaked immediately and bolted down the streets. Her footfalls weren't as quiet as before but time was of the essence. Slipping through the same window, Seele let out a quiet wince as the detector smacked against the windowsill. Already she could hear footfalls from the floor above her.
Quickly she started putting Stelle's 'gifts' as nice as possible as footsteps made their way down the stairs–
Pitch-Dark Hook the Great, the leader of the Moles, was rudely awakened by a loud beeping noise that came from outside. Although she wasn't quite sure what it was, it probably wasn't anything good. Beeping often meant that something was wrong. Especially if it came from the machines.
However, when she made her way to the living room. She stopped and gazed in shock as something she thought she lost forever was sitting idly on the tabletop.
"JUNJUN!" The young girl ran and snagged the teddy bear right from the table. Squeezing it into a tight hug, she looked at it top to bottom. It looked exactly like how it looked when she… she sold him at the auction. Sniffing, Hook pulled it into a hug again. "Junjun…"
Fersman slowly made his way down, rubbing his sore back as he did so. "Oh Hook… What happened– Oh? Is that Junjun?"
She nodded rapidly. "Mmhmm! Look, it's Junjun!" She thrusted the teddy bear right at him. Although he was old, he definitely would remember how it looked. How could he not? When his dear Hook was adopted, she would constantly show it off like a proud parent showing off their child.
At first, he thought Hook was lying. She did sell him barely a day ago. However, the more he looked at it, the more and more he was convinced it was the original. After all, the stitching looked identical, the colours matched and even the eyes looked the same with the slight dimness even in bright light.
"Oh and this is…" Fersman picked up the metal rod. "The Geomarrow detector?"
Hook glanced up. "It is!" She perked up before pausing. "Didn't you sell it though?"
Fersman nodded. "I did… Look, there's a card." He lifted it up and glanced at Hook. "Do you want to read it together?"
Nodding furiously, Fersman sat down on a chair and pulled Hook up to sit on his lap. Unfolding the card, he started reading out.
"Dear Pitch-Dark Hook the Great and her dearest father," Hook buried her face into Fersman's chest as he read out her nickname. A furious blush appeared on her cheeks. Chuckling, he continued on. "I, the Guardian Star of Belobog and the Underworld, have seen your sincere love for each other and have provided you with my blessing. As I'm sure you can tell, your Geomarrow Detector has been returned to you, repaired to full functionality, and Junjun, your beloved teddy bear has also been returned. What you wish to do with them is up to you now. But I hope to see your happiness prosper forevermore.
Signed. Your Guardian Star."
Hook sniffed as Fersman finished the short card. Jumping out of his lap, she immediately ran back to her room and started pulling on her outside clothes. "Daddy! I'm going out for a bit, okay?"
"Hmm?" He glanced up to see Hook furiously tugging on her shoes as she hopped to the front door. "Okay. Stay safe, Hook!"
"I will!" She replied as she pulled on her furry cap. "I'll be back soon!"
The door slammed shut behind Hook as she immediately sprinted down the street. Fersman sighed as he remembered a certain girl Hook introduced him to during their birthday. Chuckling to himself, he turned his attention back to the card. At the very bottom, in nearly imperceptible writing were the words.
'Happy birthday'
Stelle sat on a bench near Natasha's clinic. Seele had already made her way back with her task completed. Now she had little else to do.
Leaning back into the chair, she stared up to the roof of the Underworld. In her mind, she slowly mulled over what else she could do. She could take Serval for a brief time up to the Astral Express. Though she changed her mind, it would be a good surprise for her to see Jarilo-VI from up on high. Dunn wanted her to continue training the restricted zone guards to be more alert… Oh and Cyrille. She needed to figure out her deal–
"Oof!" A yellow rocket streaked from nowhere and slammed into Stelle's stomach. Resting a hand on its back, Stelle gave it a pained smile. "Hi… Hook…"
"Thank you…" Hook buried her face into Stelle's chest. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you–"
A slight smile crept onto her face as she slowly wrapped her arms around the younger girl, pulling her into a hug. "There there. It's all going to be alright…"