a/n: Hope and Quincy have breakfast with the irrepressible Lin Lee Koo.

Too much dialogue and limited editing so read fast!

All the good things belong to Monolithsoft.

Hope and Quincy were interrupted from their attempted return to normal, sober behavior. "What's so funny?" Lin's voice was curious, light, eager to get in on the joke. But something in her tone was also forced, as if the teenager was trying to live up to her worry-free persona.

"Nothing important," Hope said. "I'm laughing at myself," Quincy said almost at the same time.

Lin looked at them both critically, then shrugged. "So a really big target then," she said with the finest 13-year-old sarcasm. She headed past them, toward the kitchen. "You want pancakes? I made extra because, well, I always do."

Hope and Quincy exchanged a glance. "That would be lovely," said Hope. She dipped her head, hampered by her armor, to whisper in Quincy's ear (or as close as she could get). "Don't be fooled by her age. Lin's a respected BLADE and senior Outfitter. They work on weapon and gear development."

"And skells! Don't forget skells!" yelled Lin back at them. Hope cursed, politely, how sharp mimeosome ears were.

Quincy and Hope perched on kitchen stools and waited appreciatively while Lin dished up pancakes, tall stacks for them, short for her, with much syrup but minimal chatter. Hope looked around, unable to spot Lin's alien companion, normally dancing in her shadow. She avoided asking the obvious question, but Lin noticed anyway. "Tatsu ditched me for some big Nopon meeting," Lin explained. She grew heated as she continued. "He ate an entire box of granola bars, and I wish I weren't being literal, and then off he went. The stinker even blew me a kiss as he ." Her anger faded and she poked the solitary pancake on her plate. "He's been leaving me behind a lot."

Hope wanted to hug Lin, or at least pat her hand, but her armor was too bulky. Indomitable didn't feel great anymore. Quincy leaned forward instead. "I don't know the context but it sounds lonely," he said.

Lin waved a hand in the air, swiping at her short bangs. "Oh you know, it's the same old deal. Everyone knows. I'm Lin, I'm always Lin, and ..." The girl stopped suddenly and changed the subject. "You're really geared up today, Hope. Going on a Harrier mission with Doug?" She shot a worried glance at the door, trying and failing to look cheerful and unconcerned.

"Almost. Lowes will be team leader, but I'm his second."

"Oh, good," Lin said with relief. "I mean not 'good it isn't Doug on your team' but 'good I really don't want him to hear me complain' kind of good." Lin dumped her unfinished pancake into the disposal. "I'm happy being me," Lin repeated, "I got skells, I got everyone. Just. Birthdays mean something to the Tater in a way they don't for me, and it gets my goat."

Hope and Quincy glanced at each other. Quincy retreated into eating, fiddling with his fork occasionally. Hope was torn. She had today's mission and she still had to sort out Quincy, but her heart yearned to take Lin out for a quiet walk and a chance to have someone listen to all her worries. Hope couldn't decide things for Lin, but she could give her a space to examine them.

Maybe it wasn't really necessary though. Lin was already back to her normal cheerful chatter. "So why are you here?" she asked Quincy. "That t-shirt isn't going to cut it with Mr. Hardcore Lowes."

Quincy tugged at his flimsy sleeve and shrugged. Hope said, "I've been helping Quincy a little."

"Oh? Something sticky in Curator Land? Exciting new indigen poop?"

"No," Hope said with a smile. "He just needed a little help in the Mim Center."

"He looks fine to me." They both paused to look at Quincy. He looked back, the tip of a pancake peeking from his mouth. Lin snorted. "You know, I keep telling Tatsu: you don't have to eat the entire thing in one go. But apparently this is a trend?"

Quincy bolted the remaining pancake. "Sorry. Rookie mistake."

"Like you never ate a pancake. "

"Close. I kind of..."

"Quincy has some temporary memory issues, is all," said Hope.

"OHMAHGAH like Cross? Or did you hit your head on a rock?" Lin was almost bouncing over the kitchen island, then drew back. "Wait, are you sure this is Quincy and not his evil twin with terrible table manners?"

"It's only temporary, " Hope assured her. She would need to be careful. Lin could be boundlessly curious and relentless with her questions. She would mention his exhaustion and the long mission and that would probably be dull enough not to...

"Petalose syndrome thingy," Quincy blurted. Lin and Hope stared at him again.

Quincy looked at his hands, holding his fork gingerly. "Am I doing it wrong?"

Hope felt a stinging flash of betrayal, immediately replaced by dismay at her own feelings. Why did she think that she should be the only one to know? She should probably clarify what Quincy wanted later. They could talk later, away from Lin. She had enough time before she left on her mission. She should wait for a better moment, talk about something else now. The imp disagreed. "I thought you might want to keep some things private," she heard herself say.

Quincy shrugged. "I figure with the center staff, the admins, that jerk of a security guard, plus I don't know who else before, it wasn't really a secret."

"I suppose I'm just being overprotective, that's what," said Hope, half to herself.

Quincy sighed. "I'm just not feeling smart enough to lie about stuff." He lay down the fork and looked up, determined. "Hello. My name is Quincy, and I have petalose syndrome. Or so they tell me." Then he looked down again. Hope stared at Quincy, concerned. Quincy stared at his plate, tracing swirls in extra syrup with his fork. They sat silently for a second. Only for a second.

"AHHHHHHHH WHO IS IT WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY WHAT'S WITH YOUR MEMORY HOW LONG IS IT FOR WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DOOOOOOOOOOO?"

"Lin, maybe you shouldn't..." Hope began.

"I can answer! All of it," Quincy said brightly. "I don't knooooooooooow!" he mimicked much more quietly.

"Let me check with Dr. Pelias," murmured Hope.

"You could just tell me not to be nosy," grunted Lin, not embarrassed in the least.

Quincy grinned back at her. "Yeah, but I wasn't exactly joking. I don't know who or why, the memory trick is an experimental treatment and I'm the first guinea pig, so I'm not sure how for long, and uh ... have seconds?" He held out his plate.

Lin slapped two more pancakes on to his plate and passed him the syrup. "Anyway, what's it like, not remembering skells?" she asked. "Tell me your first impressions of the most beautiful things on Mira."

a/n: Happy summer, please keep cool.

Next up: Hope needs to hire a babysitter.