"G!" Flash exclaimed, grinning widely. He hopped off Crystal, Toxic hesitantly following... He returned the zebra Pokemon just as Fox was in the middle of getting off.
He had a split-second of realising there was nothing below him, and then...
Fox fell face-first into the floor, and sighed irritably as this whole scenario was ignored. Flash could have at least checked he was off first...
Speaking of said journeyman, Flash looked a cross between relieved and amused. "We were wondering when you were gonna' show u-"
The cloaked being glared at him from the shadows of his cloak. "Shut up, serf. Stop right there."
"...huh?" Flash blinked blankly. He then looked irritated. "Okay..."
"...?" Toxic glanced at the figure uneasily, lurking behind Flash; she frowned deeply, seemingly concerned about something... She looked nervous, worried... and just a little unstable.
Certainly, she'd grinned at G's arrival; she wasn't never happy to see him. But...
"Uh... hey, G..." Fox had stood up, and was now before them, rubbing his back and wincing. "What're you doing here?"
"What are YOU doing here?" G echoed, narrowing his eyes. He glanced at them all briefly, and his wear clouded his pitying expression. Regardless of this, he put forward a tone of severity. "Towa City. That's asking for it."
One of the beings' faces lit up with recognition.
"T-Towa City?!" Toxic squeaked in shock. Her eyes went wide, and she ran around, flailing her arms and freaking out. "NUUUUUUUU! WE'REGONNA'BEDEVOUREDBYTHECUTETEDDYBEARDEMONS!"
"..."
Flash and Fox exchanged glances.
"Beard demons?" Flash shrugged.
"...G, could you translate that?" Fox asked, glancing at the panicking teenager with a confused expression.
G looked to the side, then sighed. "She's talking about the Monokuma units here."
"Wait, Monokuma units...?" Fox blinked, then he remembered something. "Oh, yeah... That's what was shown on the screens in the final trial... Heads on people... right?"
Flash looked slightly unnerved. "Surely that won't happen to us..."
G shook his head. "No. Not just the heads... Literal units. Sent out to slaughter everyone in existence... apart from a few kids and select people..."
"What?" Flash and Fox asked in unison, wide-eyed.
The female author recovered from her panic.
"Hehehe, yeah... The mastermind's Monokuma was being generous... Physically, anyway," Toxic chuckled sheepishly. She looked disturbed... "If poor Naegi-kun suffered that..."
"Things like that... Can't be too harmful, right?" Flash asked nervously in response.
"Just because something looks cute and cuddly doesn't mean it is..." Toxic frowned sadly.
"Monokuma Units are very advanced technology. So, yeah, Flash. They are harmful," G added bluntly. "The one you know had restrictions for the sake of entertainment, and for trashing hope... That's not the rule of thumb out here."
"Wait, so this is essentially walking into a minefield?" Fox asked, eyes narrowing. He stared in realisation. "I'm going to be mutilated by little teddy bears. Well... That's a way to go out."
"Little?" G scoffed. "They're bigger than you think..."
He pointed to his own unit.
"Imagine this, but trying to brutally maim you."
"...!" The group had simultaneous shivers.
"Th-thanks..." Flash grumbled.
"Y-yeah..." Fox muttered, unnerved.
"I didn't need to imagine that again..." Toxic cringed.
"Just making the threat apparent," G replied sympathetically. "You guys should leave. Not safe here."
"It's not safe anywhere, G. There's no magical rainbows and fields of yellow flowers!"
"Thought you'd at least be happy about that part," he remarked. He frowned. "I see your point, though... Everything's crazy."
"Wait... You're asking US to leave... What about you?" Fox asked suspiciously.
G's expression was dismissive, but for a second it was ominous. "I'm on business."
"Business...?" Flash asked, looking curiously uneasy.
"G... What's your business?" The female queried quietly.
"Nothing for you guys to worry about." The cloaked boy was being evasive...
"..."
The group exchanged glances.
"Okay then..." Flash sighed, and turned around, starting for the vast wasteland beyond them...
As the pair of boys turned, however, there was a noticeable silence from the female...
Toxic stood firm regardless, eyes narrowing defiantly. "We're still not going anywhere."
"...huh?"
Both Fox and Flash turned their heads in confusion.
"Weren't you the party leader, Flash?" Fox whispered.
"We never really decided..." Flash whispered back.
"I think I'll call it," they both said in unison, then exchanged irritable expressions.
"Toxic... These plebians I can understand."
"Hey!" Fox glared.
"That's offensive." Flash pouted.
"But you... You know what happens here, right?" G frowned. "That should give you strong indication NOT to go!"
The author looked down hesitantly, her gaze small in comparison to the other's. After a moment, she looked up in determination, recalling something.
"Yeah, I do know. So that's exactly why we're staying!" she told him assertively. Something in her eyes gleamed... a desire to do something... to stop something from happening...
"Since when do we-" Fox started.
"Shhh." Flash made the 'don't go there' gesture.
G shook his head. "You could die, you know. All because of this stupid mistake."
"Then it's a stupid mistake we'll have to make!" She narrowed her eyes.
I have to do this...
"Right, boys?!"
"Y-yeah..." Flash grumbled in submission. He wasn't going to argue with her when she was like this...
Fox looked stubborn. "Toxic, maybe G has a point... I don't want 'murdered by a giant teddy bear' on my gravestone."
"I don't either." Toxic turned around, then looked really concerned. "Please, Foxeh... Trust me on this..."
She looked down.
"Of course... I wouldn't judge you if you guys left and I stayed. I'd actually prefer it." She smiled sheepishly. "At least I could die with the thought that, somewhere, my friends are out there, fighting for the world..."
"..." The eldest looked genuinely guilty at that prospect...
Flash shook his head indignantly. "No. Forget it."
He took a step forward.
"Quit talking like that. You'll be fine."
Toxic suddenly looked sorrowful, regretting what she had said. That was an awful thing to ponder over... she didn't want to worry her friends like that...
"O-okay..." she muttered sadly. "Sorry, that was kinda morbid..."
G cleared his throat. "If you people are done..." he began, furrowing his brow. "It's better to find base than be out here like a bunch of sitting ducks."
"You must have one, then," Fox commented immediately, folding his arms. "I mean... You know the place well, right? And you wouldn't be a sitting duck..."
"A peasant even suggesting a thing is a peasant at best," G remarked with a tone of posh authority.
"..." Fox rolled his eyes. "Do you have a home base or not?"
"Yeah, but not inside the city itself; not since it's so overrun..." was his obvious response.
G turned heel, his cloak blowing in the breeze as he walked in a certain direction, custom Monokuma unit in tow.
"Keep up. If you get left behind, then I won't come back for you."
Flash squinted, pursing his lips. "Such a kind person..."
"That's G, alright..." Fox grumbled.
"He won't really leave us behind, right? ... right?"
Toxic noticed Flash and Fox were already gone.
"EEP!"
Flash stared in awe at the base.
"Whoa... look at that door..."
"Impenetrable; try getting in here when it's locked." G smirked sinisterly.
"I don't want to try..." Fox replied earnestly.
"Seems really familiar..." Flash rubbed his chin.
"...why're there a bunch of numbers on the front?" Toxic asked.
The group were stood in front of a large, metal door, shaped like a gear. In the centre, however, there was indeed a set of numbers plastered onto the metal...
"Maybe you know the answer to that."
G walked over to a key panel next to the door, and typed in a code.
"Empty, though. Don't worry too much."
Toxic looked like she'd recovered from a heart attack.
"Hey, I remember now... this is... from that wasteland game, right?"
Flash snapped his fingers. "I knew I recognized it! Not so much the number though..."
The door made a loud screeching sound that was the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard; it clearly hadn't been oiled in a long time, because its aged rust contributed greatly to the deafening of the beings around the door. The group cringed, but G, not so much.
"You get used to it," he responded casually. "Especially since nothing can get in here."
"Yeah, vaults are good for that," Fox agreed, nodding. He was still visibly cringing though. "Not so sure about getting used to it though..."
The door eventually opened, and there G entered, followed by the group behind him.
The room was completely metal; it had several contraptions that allowed the door to function, and there was another keypad on the inside of the vault. Metal stairs led up to a small balcony, where it met with the raised floor. Looked old, and perhaps even a little unnerving from being so empty, but it was still sturdy.
"This place has bedrooms, right? Kitchens? Utilities?" Flash asked, smiling in satisfaction.
"Pretty much. Good for guests, but I don't keep company. I usually sleep in the entrance..." G pointed to the other side of the room, where there was a chair with blankets and cushions. It was next to a desk with a terminal on it...
"Seems cosy," Fox commented, though could swear that looked uncomfortable.
"If somebody SOMEHOW gets in, I'll hear it before hand," G elaborated, then pointed at the door. "You'd be deaf to not hear that."
"Yet, ironically, you could also go deaf from that..." Flash grumbled impishly.
"You guys can find yourselves a room. There's tons of them in here."
"What about you...?" Toxic asked concernedly.
G closed the vault door, causing an involuntary row of cringing yet again.
"I'm staying here. Need to keep watch..."
"For what?" Fox questioned, narrowing his eyes.
G hardly hesitated with his answer. "Anything, Fox. Anything."
"C'mon, guys, let's go find a room and leave G to his thing," Flash stated, smiling. "...I call dibs on the first double."
He ran down the stairs leading deeper into the vault.
"OI, I HAVEN'T SLEPT IN A DOUBLE BED FOR AGES, FLASH! I want the one closest to here! HAVE SOME HEART!"
Toxic ran after him.
Fox narrowed his eyes at G.
"You really sure there's nothing up?"
"Yeah, I am. You're wasting your time, you know, scrub."
"..."
Fox stared at him for a second, then shrugged. He reluctantly went after the others.
"Having fun, kid?"
"..."
"Yeah? No?"
"...you're a waste of existence, you know."
"Really? Interesting you think that! Especially since you're speaking to your future ruler!"
"Unlikely..."
"Oh, yeah? Doubt ME, kid; that'll be the worst thing you'll ever do."
"I never said it wasn't the worst thing; you simply won't be ruler. Not for long, anyway..."
"Riiiiiight. Anyway... in regards to your little 'hunt'-"
"Don't even negotiate."
"And I thought you wanted answers."
"I do. Just not from you."
"Why are you doing this, anyway?"
"..."
"G...?"
The sat up, blinking in his chair as he looked around with a groggy gaze.
Toxic was stood in front of him, a concerned expression on her face.
"...are you okay?"
"Oh.
Hahahaha... Oh, man, this is priceless! You REALLY think you can save them all?!"
There was a feeling of dread in G's stomach, but he ignored it...
"I'm fine..." G grumbled. He looked at her. "What're you doing up?"
"I can't sleep..." she responded uneasily. "I'm thinking about Darky..."
"Darky...?"
"Y-yeah... we got seperated..." Toxic frowned sadly. "Haven't seen her since..."
"Oh..."
G looked to the side, pondering something.
"I've already saved one. Don't make fun of me when you know I could."
"...she'll be okay."
"You're sure?"
"You're asking that?" G gave a playful smirk. "Yeah. I'm sure."
"You're a strange kid. I kinda feel sorry for you... NOT! Lemme' know when you're feeling desperate, kiddo! I'll be happy to help!"
"..." Toxic gave a weak smile. "O-okay. Th-that... actually makes me feel a little better... you know her well, after all..."
"Forget it."
"You do too; don't forget that." G frowned. "Have more faith in her; you know she'll be fine."
"...you're right." Toxic frowned. "But I can't just stop worrying."
She turned around and made for her room. Looking to G, she smiled slightly. "G'night, G!"
G smiled, though this smile... there was a twitch to it... a guilty, scared twitch that he was thankful Toxic didn't spot.
"Or, you could, you know, just let everyone you love die around you..."