Darn, I was completely held up into Beyblade I didn't come back to this.
Enjoy. xD
The refreshing scent of blueberry made his mouth linger for some more pies as Robin was quite unsure whether eating and driving was allowed none other than texting for sure.
Shrugging while breaking the rules, he didn't give a feather towards the risks he was about to face as he popped another piece of pie into his mouth, crumbs free falling from his legs and sticking deep into the foot mats below.
It has been a week and a half since his mysterious appearance in Bionis and traveled all the way down south of AJRA just to escape his dilemma of crimes he recently broke.
With brown eyes quick glancing at the rear-view mirror for any signs of flashing lights or sirens wailing behind him, Robin's fear calmed down as he spotted a rusted blue sign ahead reading "Ersigen" on highway 1- perhaps Shulk guessed his traveling path correctly.
Yawning uncomfortably like a tired lion who quit stalking his prey, he felt his inner ear canal softly pop at an unusual discomfort.
Quickly pulling over to the shoulder of the highway while the rest of the cars and trucks entered the tunnel ahead, Robin quickly set the parking brake and covered his ears while his lower jaw adjusted the pressure to his ears now creating a light sensation of ear pressure. (A/N: Oh, how I HATE that so much.)
Flying at a higher altitude was understandable because everyone gets the pressure the higher they go. It typically goes into three stages when you fly in a plane.
1) a Slow build-up of pressure in the inner ear starts to expand causing the tiny bones that support the ear to crack with discomfort. Not to mention a whistle of pain shrivles in the canal.
2) The higher pressure now calms down and balances to the pressure outside the plane.
3) Once lowered for landing, the inner canal suddenly rushes into a strong wave of pain howling through the inner canal non stop.
But his Touran didn't bear any Hydroplane wings, so thus he didn't experience the painful torture of a flight through the skies of Future Europe.
Swallowing with comfort to make the tiny bones in his ears crack softly in pleasure, Robin re-focused his path towards Ersingen, carefully taking a swig of milk from the glass bottle Donnel gave him for lack of calcium he was missing since his mysterious appearance in Bionis.
Cruising down Dorfstrasse right after passing the small village of Oberösch, it was exactly the same as the one he passed before.
Wooden style houses with green paneled windows, along with farm sheds loaded with white wrapped hay and parked tractors with huge trailers that haul all hay.
Must be similar to Donnel's village.
Slowly cruising down Hochfarwegstrasse, Robin glanced to his left to see young women in jeans and a hoodie, unloading beer bottles in colored crates from a Barcadi box truck while the guys were taking their rest, taking a short smoke by the side while continuing to converse with the girls.
He almost chuckled while he felt his heart slowly melt down.
The girl and the guy almost reminded him of Shulk and Lucina though the AweSomE cast has still not made any contact yet.
Emitting a sigh, Robin approached a cross road, unsure of whether he should go straight or turn left or right.
Going for a random path, he shrugged, not caring where he went as long as he traveled south of AJRA.
Away from Bionis.
Away from Ylisse.
Away from the police most importantly.
Growing hungry, Robin stopped beside a farm house, a boldly colored John Deere tractor with a trailer full of hay towering a shadow over his minivan, delighted to finish the baked goodness that Donnel freshly made.
Maintaining a tiny burp from his mouth, his almond eyes widened in surprise towards his phone buzzing with a short message.
Picking it up excitedly, Robin crossed his fingers and hoped to Naga that Lucina was online, his surprise turned overboard when he finally realized that he had limited internet throughout Ersigen surprisingly.
Normally, countryside villages such as this one usually lacked signals of internet access over any device such as smartphone.
But today, it was his lucky day.
Opening the AweSomE cast chat center app, he found a well constructive message written from Shulk.
Yo Rob,
Just to let you know, we all miss you too. But please don't let your feelings strike you into a sobbing mood. Because in a day or two, I invited all of the Smash teams to Interlaken for our 10th EDM event (which you really decline on appearing there- I know how much you hate EDM, buddy.)
I want to give you a heads up in where the party is going to take place. Seastrasse 145 beside Lake Thurnersee. Please keep in mind for a silver stage flaring with rave skylights and smoke snaking into the midnight air of Interlaken. That's where we come in and save you. Don't worry. God will keep you safe. :)
Your ASC leader,
Shulk Nolan
Sent from Oceanfront, Virginia Beach, Aquila at 10:45 ETC
Sighing in relief, it was almost as if the message was the most greatest thing he ever discovered.
He clicked reply and began to type when a knock on the window disrupted his excitement.
Rolling the window down, a middle aged woman dressed in a typical country outfit cleared her throat for an explanation.
Gulping, he was totally unsure on how to begin this troubled talk.
Was he called on the 5th time by an AJRAnian citizen for his crimes?
No. They'd better not uncover his fingerprints marked on the registers of Migros which undoubtfully was closed for a week due to the criminal investigation started by- Lol! There is no FBI in Future Switzerland!
Heck, let's just call them the police for now.
Same thing. xD
"Can I help you?" he grinned stupidly, the lady's flaring nostrils didn't seem to desire his faked nervous expression.
"Vor kurzem sah ich die Nachrichten über einen gestohlenen weißen Minivan von Bionis. Ist das man es? (I recently saw the news about a stolen white minivan from Bionis. Is this one it?)" Her eyes stared hard at the vehicle, chewing gum in thought of remembering the reporter's description of the make and model.
Keeping his cool, Robin thought he shouldn't be talking to this bumpkin stranger who approached him with a question of authority such as demanding an heated explanation on one of his said crimes.
"Um, your mind must have gone haywire then." The pun was totally worth it.
Can I please be released now!?
The lady held up her pitchfork, the spikes dangerously pointed to his face as an advanced warning, "I see yer around here again, yer toast boy."
Robin almost stuttered into a thankful reply, "A-alright."
To the tactician's miracle, she let him go free this time with a finishing glare.
Swallowing in awkward discomfort, it was quite rare for him to meet up with AJRAnians and finish their conversation off with an awkward close.
Resuming his path on Haulenwegstrasse, night almost quickly arrived as he yawned in discomfort, parking beside a small gift shop to sleep for the night.
Right before Robin was about to climb for the rear folded seats as his temporary bed, his brown eyes spotted another miracle.
Leaning against the metallic trash container was a twin sized mattress, the cover patterned with black ivy leaves on white.
Quietly opening the driver's door, he tip-toed towards the heavy mattress now slightly limping towards the front, the lid of the container keeping it to stand straight from gravity's fall.
He noted in his mind on why people would get rid of a mattress such as this one. There were no problems with this one when...
Snap.
One of the plastic poly-fiber handles broke off as he tried his best to lift and drag the heavy bedding to the rear of his Touran, the tailgate now lifted open for easy access.
Alarmed by one of the gift shop's employees to caught him redhanded for hoarding and dumping public trash, Robin sighed in relief at the sight of the windows darkened in the building as he flopped on the mattress with comfort, manually closing the tailgate while his mind drifted with thoughts of the message sent by Shulk and frequent escapes from wailing sirens and flashing lights.
Not only he found a mattress to sleep on, but he also found a garbage bag full of clothes that was strangely discarded in the container instead of a Kleidersammlung box.
The first Tee-shirt caught his brown eyes sparking with interest.
It was black with a white graphic vector of a robin bird breaking free from it's prisoned chains and into freedom.
Robin smiled at the thought of wearing the shirt to remind himself that he can be free without any worries.
Feeling the surface of the bedding to release an metal odor- perhaps it stayed too long in there since it's discarded 3 days ago by some Ersigen family on the move to Reiden, Hoshido, he didn't care about the trashy smell that started infiltrating his 4 wheeled home as his brown eyes fell asleep, his mind actively thinking about the AweSomE cast back home.
Lifeguard Dock, Oceanfront, Virginia Beach
A pair of Silvercrest Binoculars carefully scanned the early morning scene of the Oceanfront beach as seagulls glided over the rolling waves, emitting their cries of distress while families came striding over the soft sand, barefoot and careful not to leave any seaweed wedged between their toes after a nice tan under the sun, kids yelling happily across the stretch of sand and water, chasing seagulls around while sailboats cruised at a steady speed across the sea in the distance.
It was a typical beach day for Shulk as he peacefully sat on top of the white painted wooden Lifeguard perch, standing 3 ft. tall above the grassy sand dunes, the calm breeze slapping his face in boredom.
So far, his job was quite easy.
Just keep a lookout for any dangerous activity such as littering, soliciting other people, or jumping in to save a life or two from the constant riptides that plunged in viciously towards the shore every high moon.
Sighing while leaning back, he took a break from watching over the beach and carefully focused on his missing friend that was out of the AweSomE cast for months.
Study-buddies at school, fighting along side each other in the Smash Wars, it seemed more than 5 months now to even think where their tactician was.
Deciding to hit a quick text to Lucina, his surprise flipped over to see that the Ex-Ylissean princess returned the call as a question of hope.
"Any hope? Did he reply yet?"
The question made him sigh with a guilt of pain, "Luce, tell you the truth, he didn't."
That earned another silence on the other end of the line.
"Hello?"
"Shulk, I'm here- Yes, before you question where I am, I'm currently tagging prices on a set of new outfits for sale at H&M."
"Alright Ms. manager of H&M, at least you don't have a Nordsee facing across your store."
Lucina almost snickered, "Yup, father abandoned his love for Long John Silvers and immediatly turned to Nordsee. When is his love for Kalastta gonna convert to The reality?"
"Hard to say, but let's focus on Robin for now. Before you ask, I have done Ether and found out that he's currently sleeping in his Touran parked at the edge of Ersigen."
"Just as you predicted, our plan's working."
"Right. The event should be in a day or two so I'm gonna announce our departure to the rest of the cast once they arrive home from work."
"Perfect. I'll see you at the mansion in about an hour, alright?"
"Alright, Luce. Take care- Perfect timing, a lady wants my attention. Bye." Hanging up the call, Shulk found a young blonde haired lady dressed in sportswear, her eyes desperately alarmed towards her urgency of pointing towards the ocean. "What's your emergency, ma'am?"
"Thank god Oceanfront has a lifeguard! My 5 year old boy is lost somewhere in the deep depths of the ocean! I was such a lazy bummer! I didn't see him waddling all alone into the sea! I-"
Halting midwords, Shulk raised a hand for her assurance, "No worries, miss. I got this."
Whipping out his Monado surfboard, Shulk dashed across the beach, the thin layer of water trickling his feet before he jumped full-force into the water, the board helping him keep afloat while his tongue uncomfortably felt salt water tickling his teeth and the sides of his mouth.
"Don't worry buddy! I'm here to save you!" Shulk called out in the distance, a small figure of arms could be seen splashing around in alarm for re-surfacing.
The little boy helplessly tried his best from drowning, Shulk immediately grabbed him and set him atop of the board, leaving the boy coughing with difficulty, strands of hair wet to the fringe.
"You okay buddy?"
The boy coughed once more and nodded, trying his best to hold onto Shulk's waist as Tomato Boy paddled back to the shore, his mom running up to congratulate him.
"You're a hero! I can't thank you for saving my little Jacob from the wild ocean! Here..." the lady dug into her purse and held out a 10 dollar bill, "This is for you for saving my boy."
Shulk's cheeks turned red in embarrassment as he politely declined the offer, "Actually, I have my own pay-rate. It's kind enough for our citizens to pay others as a generous thanks, but thanks for the offer anyway miss."
"Call me Lacey, and this little cutie right here is Jacob." Lacey smiled while she held Jacob's arms close to her, "Really. I didn't know what I would do if you weren't around here! You're really a blessing!"
Shulk rubbed the back of his neck, growing heated from either the conversation or the striking hot sun of Virginia, "I really appreciate your introduction, Lacey, but it looks like I have to go now."
"Well, I don't want to keep holding any longer for now. May we see each other soon on the beach another day!" Lacey smiled and led Jacob towards the Boardwalk, the huge statue of Neptune staring at them with a confident smile.
Shulk waved and smiled towards his heroic act as a lifeguard.
Drowning incidents rarely occurred on Oceanfront thus it was important to have a lifeguard on the scene, even though the city lacked one for 10 years until the AweSomE cast arrived on Earth AU many ages ago.
Feeling proud, he whipped up his red shelled Galaxy Alpha, and shot a quick text towards Lucina while walking towards his parked 2011 rally red Honda Civic Euro Type R parked near a yacht center about 5 minutes from the beach.
Tomato Boy: Saved another life. Amazing, huh?
OwlsofTaltaria: Amazing work Shulk, but we still haven't saved our white haired tactician from AJRA yet.
Tomato Boy: Okay, how bout this. Let's pretend God had a fishing pole and he hooked Rob from Lake AJRA and dumped him back in Lake Virginia Beach. Easy plan, huh?
OwlsofTaltaria: lol, Shulk. Very funny. But as you said about the EDM event, that's the possible plan.
Tomato Boy: Right. Oh goodie I found my car! Took me a short 5 minute walk from the beach, haha. ^.^
Owls of Taltaria: Silly goose, you're so in-attentive sometimes. See ya later.
With Lucina offline, Shulk shrugged and got in the sporty hatchback vehicle with a sigh, backing up as usual from the sandy ground, and driving past the wind beaten trees shaking in alarm.
Carefully cruising on the right lane of North Great Neck Road, Shulk glanced to his left to see a slow Cargo boat hauling several cars on deck on Wolfsnare Creek.
He decided to let it go until a familiar silver hatchback shape caught his interest and he immediately halted in surprise.
Getting out in a hurry, Shulk sprinted over to the other side of the bridge to see a 2012 Toyota Prius wedged between other salvaged cars, the words "Robin the Inn" on the hood caught his heart flipping over in confusion and fear.
No way.
There was no way this could be happening right now.
Shulk carefully re-joined the traffic's flow on North Great Neck Road as he quickly turned left on Broad Bay Road and madly chased the boat towards a boating center, halting with screech of tires on the dusty sand patched ground, driver's door whipping open to find one of the men take control over a crane, lifting the chains that suspended from a platform that carried the car on land, a tow truck already in the process of hooking it up.
"Where's this Toyota off to?" the tow truck driver asked the crane guy as they finished lacing secured belts over the tires and rims.
"This completely dead bugger's off to a salvage yard I'm afraid." the crane guy puckered the toothpick off his lips, "Came all the way from port Cadez in Spain. It would make a great auctioneer."
Shulk didn't waste anytime to break into their final agreement.
He walked over with a determined expression, the guys' faces now flipped over in confusion.
"Hey there, stranger. May we help you?" the crane guy asked while tipping his hat.
"Yes, what you're doing there is illegal I'm afraid." Shulk smirked, making the two step back in amazement.
"How the hell is towin salvaged cars a crime, sonny?" the tow truck driver hooted with distaste.
"Because, that's my friend's car you've hooked on. He lives with me. We're college roommates and I really urge you guys to let go of it now."
Both of them laughed, clearly unaware of Shulk's right of re-gaining family property.
Since the AweSomE cast very rarely used thier weapons through out the public, he was urged to dangerously point his Monado towards the two scared workers as an advanced warning. "I'm not playing any jokes, here! Let go of it, now!"
"Fine sonny, here's your car!" the tow truck driver sneered in disappointment as he unhooked the poor Prius, "I find you catchin anymore of our cars from the salvage lot, the cops on you, boy."
"Deal agreed." Shulk smirked as he quickly hooked up the silver car behind his Civic and wished the workers that they needed to improve on their customer satisfactory even more.
Gotcha. Shulk whispered in victory as he glanced at the rear-view mirror to find the headlights of the Prius faded out.
"How in the world did you get his Prius all the way here!?" Reflet circled around the vehicle in amazement, the other cast members copying her expression.
Shulk popped another grape in his mouth as he shrugged solemnly towards the dead hybrid, "Came all the way from Spain by cargo boat, they were ready to haul it by tow truck to a salvage yard. Saw it. Jumped in and destroyed their final agreement by persuading them to give it back."
"Let me guess. Did you mention the AweSomE cast at all?" Ike wildly guessed as he swatted Ragnell's wings away from his nose, the bird currently sitting on top of his indigo haired head.
"Nah, just college roommates."
"And they believed you right there!?" Marth almost choked out a Cheerio or two.
"There was no harm in giving it away, I had to come up with a plan in order to get his Prius back." Shulk sighed as he sat down on the couch along with the other members, the business label already displaying the retired phone number. "Just where are you Rob?"
"I agree with Shulk! Where is he!?" Douche came in along with Cia, bursting into tears.
"The EDM event should solve everything." Lucina already came in with the announcement, "If his Prius was brought all the way from Spain, then what could be the possible reason for him to be held back? His black Touran got sold to some AJRAnian asshole and-"
Shulk immediately halted her by cupping his hand over her mouth, "Well, she just gave you the headstart of our plan but since I'm the leader, I'm gonna finish it."
"Guys, were all mourning for Rob, right now. But thanks to my ability known as Ether, I'm able to see what he's up to in AJRA."
Douche gasped excitedly, "Where is he now?"
"He's stuck somewhere in Ersigen, Bern. In two days guys, we have a party to complete. On the 15th, it's time for Destiny SMASH: Interlaken Showdown that's gonna rip the water off Lake Thurnensee on Seastrasse 145. I already sent him a message beforehand to make him come over there by the stage. That's when we come in and save him. Follow me right here?"
Everybody nodded to show they understood and was completely dismissed to whatever they were doing.
With Lucina and Shulk left alone, Reflet came back and walked over to them, turning around to stare at the Prius, "It's really a wonder, Shulk. That you got his car here."
"Hey, I already did the favour for him. Don't act like the car just appeared right in front of our eyes!" Shulk raised his hands and laughed, earning the girls to sigh again from their happy moods.
"Keep in mind. No matter how far away we are from each other, we're not Worlds Apart."
Whoo! Finally done with this chappie.
Darn those street names in Virginia! They sound soooo amazing than the ones in AJRA- They sound boring as heck.
Anyway, next chappie back to Robbie!
Falco276 out! :D