Chapter 66

They heard a groaning not too far off and saw two men hobbling towards the diner. One limping, looking half dead and being carried, the other sporting a rather nasty looking head wound.
Junko and Finn were instantly by their side, taking hold of the limping man from either side. Piper made to help the man with the head wound, setting him down on a box and sending Stork in for the first aid kit.

"Thanks" the guy told her breathlessly.

"What happened to you?" she asked him.

He shuddered before telling them anything, as if the memory itself was as cold as ice and held no shimmer of goodness.

"I can tell you now, I'm a changed man. I guess I shouldn't have judged those two and their relationship"

"You guess?" he friend wheezed "There was nothing wrong with their relationship! The thing that was wrong was pickin' a fight with them for a few measly credits!"

"Okay, who are we talking about?" Finn questioned confusedly.

The wheezer looked to the blonde and then to his friend as Junko found another box.
"Strucker, start at the beginning"

Strucker, or the one being attended to by Piper, began the tale.

"You'll have to forgive us, we're not usually accustomed to having particular people on this Terra. We're only small, with a few locals and not many Cruiser's stopping off…so we don't' usually get a mix. But today…today was different. We were having lunch like we do when these strangers walked in. they were looking for someone in particular, said they'd give a reward to anyone that found her. They didn't answer our questions, just said she needed to be found. They left, then about ten minutes later…she walks in…with a Blizzarian"

Finn blinked and looked to Piper.
"You don't think-"

"That it was Blinx? It's possible" she turned back to Strucker "But, how'd you end up like this"

Strucker's friend decided to answer this time.
"Well, at first we didn't realise it was her, they left a notice here so we would know what she looked like. But you have to know, what happened next…it was all a mistake on our part. We're very strict here when it comes to certain things. Now when I think back on it, she did it because she was nervous…you see, we weren't very accepting of them…she made it seem like they were a couple, and, when they walked out, our boss followed them. They weren't doin' no one no harm, mind. It's just how things are here."

"Then, our other friend Frogger took a look at the poster and went running out after him, yelling that "It was her. It was her"

"You attacked" Finn guessed, not looking too happy.
He stood straight, folding his arms over his chest and stepped away from the other man, so very tempted to push him down and break a few bones.

"We were greedy" Strucker admitted "But we got our comeuppance"

"After we followed them out, we were attacked and beat by a single man" the friend stated "He moved so quickly, none of us had a chance"

"What kind of man?" Junko asked curiously.

Strucker's friend looked up to him humbly "He was dressed in greens, blues and reds and was wearing a helmet that made him look kinda bird like. And he seemed to be playing with us"

Junko chuckled a little "Hey, that sorta sounds like Arygyn"

"It doesn't matter who he was. He's gone now and he took the two of them with him" Strucker told him.

Finn did not look happy now. He was annoyed by the fact that these people had attacked his friends. His curiosity had also peaked at the mention of Digger and Blinx acting as a couple. He thought he heard a low growl from over near Piper and looked to see Stork gritting his teeth, his eye twitching noticeably.

"Stork? You alright?" he asked.

Stork tensed, still looking annoyed…or angry. The Merb only nodded stiffly and proceeded into the Diner.

"Maybe we should go to the Diner" Piper suggested awkwardly.

"But we haven't finished packing the supplies" Finn retorted lowly.

"I think we deserve a break" Piper threw back evenly.

"Fine!" he spat and made his way to the diner doors.
When he entered, he was met with the sight of Aerrow and Stork interrogating the Cook…and none to passively. Aerrow waved a page in front of the older mans face while Stork held him down on the counter.