The 'Power to the People' vending machine slid back against the wall concealing the entrance to Dr. Gil's lab. Eleanor, who had just departed from the lab, was making her way though the 'Live Test Facility' of Fontaine Futuristic.
Not even counting the time it took for the machine to scan her body, Eleanor already felt exhausted as if half a day had already past in Dr. Gil's head. Having no other clothes to put on, Eleanor felt a little annoyed to have to don the diving suit once again. She felt quite drained and especially thirsty. Eleanor decidedly retraced her steps to where she had seen Diana hoping the woman knew of a spare bed. As she walked down the hallway she thought of Fred and Billy. Eleanor silently prayed to the gods of province that they were still alive.
After a few moments she rounded a before she came upon a huge reclined chair that she had not seen before when she was following Teddy earlier. Eleanor's gloved hand grasped at the leather restraints, the act of which caused the memorys of her father to relapse in her mind. She could almost smell the fragr…
(Bang, Smack)
Eleanor's nostalgic moment was interrupted by a banging noise behind her. She turned around to find Teddy beating on a 'Circus of Value' vending machine. Penelope, who was standing right behind him, was waving her finger at him and barking orders.
"Teddy if you break another sign then… then I'm going to be even crosserer with you so you better not break this one."
Teddy gave a short grunt, "yes pipsqueak."
Eleanor smiled at the humor of the moment then turned back towards the chair and affectionately rubbed the leather strap one more time before joining Penelope. Even as she approached the two Teddy was continually smacking the sides of the machine as if hell bent on destroying it. The machine itself retaliated against its treatment by continually declaring its slogan.
"Welcome to the (Smack), welcome to (Bang), Wel (Bop)…"
Eleanor casually approached the little girl and leaned over. "Hello Penelope. What are you doing?"
The little girl jumped apparently startled but she quickly hid it. Instead she put her hands on her hips and looked down her nose. "Oh hello Ellen, dear. I was just having Teddy here help me get a sign for my bar. Don't break it Teddy!"
Eleanor was about to correct Penelope but she surprisingly found it funny to watch the boy beat the machine to a pulp.
"Welcome to the circus of value," the machine squealed as Teddy continued to punch it.
Teddy finally became frustrated with the vending machine and tried tugging the glass panel off its bent fixtures. The sound of metal bending could be heard as the clown face finally gave way.
"That's not nice," the vending machine declared as it died.
Teddy brought the panel to Penelope causing her to jump for joy.
"Yay, you did it. You did it," the little girl exclaimed while jumping in circles. Of course when she realized that Eleanor was watching her she immediately stopped and puckered up her face in embarrassment. Not knowing any bad words to call Eleanor, Penelope simply stated, "Your face is melting." Then taking Teddy's hand, she walked, as indignantly as she could, across the way to where Eleanor could see Diana sitting at a crudely constructed bar behind which a man stood polishing glasses. Following close behind the two, Eleanor could clearly see Diana dreamily having a one-sided conversation and the man clearly being annoyed because of it.
As they approached the bar Diana immediately noticed them. "I see you guys finally got the sign you wanted. Does that mean the bar is officially open. And bonjour Eleanor, come and have a drink with me. We'll have a toast to… what were you going to name the bar honey?"
Clearly in deep thought, Penelope crossed her arms to her chest. "I know," she declared a moment later. The little girl searched through the rubble off to the side and found a broken wooden plank. "Crayon, Teddy dear." Teddy immediately retrieved a piece of charcoal out of his pocket and handed it to her. Penelope began writing on the piece of wood then counted the letters to make sure she spelled it correctly. When she finished she handed the piece of wood to the bartender. "Please put this above the glass picture." She then wiped her sooty hands on the leg of Teddy's pants.
The bartender sighed but obeyed her wishes, "Yes Mademoiselle… boss." He quickly nailed the sign directly above the glass panel with the clowns face on it.
"I now declare Penelope's Fun Bar open," the girl declared shooting her hands over her head. "Teddy lets go find more nasty adult drinks and Perrier you stay here and make money." Teddy put Penelope on his shoulder and the two were off again.
Having sat down, Eleanor stomach began to groan causing her to turn red from embarrassment.
"Hey, that hungry dear," Diana said rubbing her shoulder. "Here you can finish my last half or have Perrier make you a fresh sandwich. Ooh but they are a little pricey dear. Bread's a little hard to find you know."
Diana looked back at Eleanor and found the girl licking her lips. Apparently the girl had already polished off the sandwich.
Astonished at the speed at which Eleanor had consumed the meal, Diana paused in thought for a moment then shook her head. "Oh where are my manners! Eleanor this is Perrier, Perrier this is Eleanor. He's that Frenchmen I was telling you about."
The man polishing the glass put it down and slung the towel he was using over his shoulder. Being this close to him Eleanor took notice of his fierce gaze through a mop of light-brown hair that covered his face. His partially unkempt beard revealed a smile as he too studied Eleanor.
"How do you do Eleanor," he said with a slight accent. "You seem to be quite famished."
"Ah yes. I apologize for my manners. I have eaten anything in a while. You would not um have any more sandwiches would you?" A sheepish look turned serious on her face.
Perrier chuckled. "But of course. Anything for a pre…," Perrier halted midsentence when he saw a frown beginning to form on, his most regular patron, Diana's face. "…Friend of Diana." Perrier stooped under the bar, which was actually an old door, and retrieved an unusually large sandwich.
At that Diana got up from the bar trying to hide the flustered look on her face. "Well I've got some things to wash dears. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she said with an edge as she walked off.
Shaking off the feeling of hostility being directed at her from somewhere, Eleanor eyed the tall sandwich hungrily. "So how much does it cost?"
"Free of charge my lady."
Eleanor frowned at him. "Perrier, won't Penelope be upset with you giving away free food?"
"Actually it is my own sandwich but I would be willing to part with half of it for a price," he replied with a queer smile. "A date, to accompany me on a light excursion through the better parts of Rapture or at least Fontaine Futuristic."
It was Eleanor's turn to chuckle then she nodded as she popped the olive that had been fixed on the sandwich. "All right I will go but no funny business."
"No, no funny business just fun." Perrier produced a table knife from under the bar and proceeded to slice up the sandwich into fourths.
Because of her suit, Eleanor found this tall sandwich even harder to eat than the first one. Her gloved fingers lacked the finesse to properly pick up the sandwich but she made do and ate silently.
Perrier took a couple bites out of his sandwich then stared at Eleanor. She immediately noticed and became slightly nervous.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked wiping the sides of her mouth.
"Well you do have some mustard on your cheek," he replied as he retrieved a napkin and dabbed the side of her face. "It is your eyes Mademoiselle Eleanor. They do not carry a smile even when your lips do. What grief has found bound you. Haven't you been enjoying your stay here?"
Eleanor blushed a red hue all over then sighed. "Well this place is not exactly the tropics or Paris, France."
Perrier shrugged.
"I lost two people dear to me. One I swore to protect and the other… was my friend. And I do not know if I will ever see them again." tears spilled from her eyes.
Perrier gently admonished by making a clicking sound with his tongue. "But you will see them again. You just have to keep wishing. Trust me." Perrier gently reached over and dabbed her eyes dry then grasped Eleanor's gloved hand. "But your grief is a burden I cannot bear to watch. Until such time that you find your friends let me distract you from your misery."
Author's Notes: Well you guys asked for more so mores here (don't know who invited him though). So ya I been reading your comments (reading them is like doing illicit substances can't stop) anywho one of you fine readers (cough Rickmer cough) left a comment saying this story just became a 1year old not too long ago. I checked the dates and (Updated: 1-19-12 - Published: 1-14-11) he was right. Rickmer you know more about my story than i do. SO how does it end? Was it any good? Jokes aside thank you for the b-day card and hence forth I unofficially give you the title: Time Keeper. Keep it up and I'll make you a time lord and you can be the next good doctor. Oh and my story almost has 10,000 hits so thanks everyone.
