"Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight."
–Psalm, CXLIV
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Alien
I rolled my eyes, she must have done him some favors while he was alone with her. He had already told me to begin upgrading everyone else's suits,
I rubbed my face, making and upgrading suits as well as trying to mass produce my drones was really tying me up right now... he even wanted me to craft something to counteract a nanite takeover, double his sentry turrets, quadruple his sentry bots, and make another project AFTER we turn my workshop into a sweatshop that can mass produce all this crap...
My mind went blank for the third time in my life...
The first was when me and my sister were in comas...
And the second time was when she went insane...
I thought a moment...
No this would be my forth...
My third was when I first saw MasterLock...
It wasn't hours later that he left his reply,
<☺️>
"Alien," a woman's voice said from behind me.
"Well isn't my day just filled with surprises?" I turned to Obsidian who was glaring at me...
With her staff in hand...
I laughed,
"What do you want ignoramus?"
"I want your fingers out of my life, that's what."
"No."
Her gaze grew cold,
"No?"
"Too much is at stake to leave stones unturned."
Dark power sparked for a second from the staff,
"Get out of-"
"Magmantis," I stressed angrily, "had. Tried. To. Join. The. Dragoons! But if it gives you any consolation," I stood and went into her face, "you dote, I'm digging into everyone's lives. Everyone's. I'm spying on everyone. And something isn't right about Salamay and AllFall and the Baron is planning something crazy and it has ME," I stressed, "worried. ME. Of all people. He hasn't said a word about the Dragoons but is still dwelling on that old soup man who died, I can just tell. I just can..."
"You know," she said, "you tend to flip out whenever you don't understand something." Then she jabbed, "I never understood why you would hit yourself when you think no ones watching-"
"Shut. Up. The Baron isn't using his head, he's thinking with hurt feelings and/or his pants-"
"Which you do all the time."
"You shut your mouth!"
"Why!?"
"Or I'll make your life hell."
"So, did the Baron told you to spy on everyone?"
"The idiot told me NOT to. Trust the newcomers? (Pfft)"
"Go ahead Alien," she said smiling, "do your worst."
"Recording?"
She smirked.
"There's a proverb from Sun Tzu, it goes something like this, 'There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged,'" I leaned my hands heavily on my desk, "'positions which must not be contested,' and finally, 'commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.' The Baron can get bent about the investigation. I'm just trying to look out for us..." I turned to glare at her, "and if your stupid boo-hoo drama seems to lead you to the Dragoons? I have NO problem whatsoever with doing what needs done. Now leave, I'm busy as hell, and maybe I might paint your suit yellow or pink or pink n' yellow if you keep bothering me..."
Chapter XX
"Illness strikes men when they are exposed to change."
~ Herodotus
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Elizabeth
"It's SO FLUFFY!"
"Sarah," Walker said, "we're not going to get that for you."
"But Thready!"
"Don't call me that!" She chastised.
"Maybe some other time," I said.
"Does she annoy you?" 'Thready' said out of Sarah's earshot,
"Not usually but today..."
I shook my head.
"You just want her to shut up?"
The smirking glance told her everything she needed to know.
"So," I asked her while Sarah was looking at clothes, "how's the married life?"
She smiled more to herself than anyone else, "It's great, you see that guy at the hat store?"
I hope I didn't blush, but I think I did, she must have noticed how I was trying to not look at him,
"You should go talk to him."
"What? No..."
"C'mon! If anything just make his day, just for fun!"
"Guys!" Sarah said, "I gotta go pee!"
"Remind me to remind the Baron,"
Thread Walker whispered in my ear,
"that I DO not want kids."
I smirked and took Sarah to the bathroom. Once she was contently humming in the stall I went to go wait with Thread Walker. Once outside I stopped...
She was deathly pale and staring at a tuft of hair on the ground that was her hair color...
Her hair was falling out...
"Are you okay!?"
"Oh yeah!" She lied with a forced smile, "Perfect!" She picked the tuft up and threw it away just before Sarah came to meet us,
"Let's get something to eat!" Thread Walker said and we went to the food court.
"You go and order okay!"
"Aww, but you were the one wanting to eat!" Sarah said.
"Sarah," I said, "let's go order."
I got some food and said to Sarah,
"Me and Walker are going to talk about big-girl stuff so you can sit at the play area."
"Can I play when I'm done?!"
"Of course Sarah."
"Are you going to be talking about boys?"
"Maybe," I said to purposely turn off any interest, "maybe we might talk about kissing."
"Eewww..."
I left her with that and went to the blank eyed Thread Walker who was undoubtedly texting the Baron.
"Thread Walker?"
She didn't reply but about raked her hands through her hair before stopping herself.
"Thread Walker!"
She still didn't reply...
I took her forearms, put them on the table and held her shaking hands.
"What's. Going. On?" I asked seriously but quietly.
"You just saw what was going on!" She nearly sobbed.
"Ar-are you dying?"
She looked down, and Sarah started coming over,
"What's going on?!"
"Sarah! Stay back!" I said firmly with the gravity in my gaze that worked surprisingly well...
A TV flickered at the Best Buy to my right...
"If he finds out after I'm gone," I could tell from her tone that she meant something else, "tell him that I love him, I really do, and that he was worth it and I would have never changed the circumstances if I could have."
"Find out what?"
"Give me my backpack," Sarah said from behind me like a ghost, "get Fluffy."
I looked at her and she was pale as death but was staring at the TV that was flickering. I looked at what she was looking at and looked at myself through the security camera from inside the Best Buy. Half the screen was black before credits started popping up like some movie:
"Provided to you by: DeadLead-"
I acted as it kept going, and gave Sarah her backpack and told her to hide. Me and Walker shot up-
"Starring... the provider, duh/
Featuring Viral Taze, Gekko, New York Typewriter, and... 'friends'..."
Someone screamed as the lights were cut off and the steel garage doors closed on all the exits (yeah... ALL). The only light was that of the TV's and the sunlight filtering in through the windows.
"A Dragoon production-" then a bunch of useless copyright information.
Then it started...
On all the entrances only one door opened to let in large mobs of goons in but that was what I assumed because it was happening here. I saw a man among the small army with a bulging trench coat, fedora and cigar in his crooked evil smile and knew it was New York Typewriter. He has the ability to give any weapon he holds unlimited ammo and goes around with a Tommy Gun. He adopted his name after appearing on the cover of New York Times blowing someone's leg off with his explosive cigars.
Today he let his men get behind him as a group of civilians were locked fearfully in place. He then reached in his coat...
And pulled out two Tommy Guns...
I grabbed Sarah and began to run after making an unnoticeable gravity shield for bullets behind me. Walker found cover in another direction as the quiet before the storm was destroyed by the thundering from Typewriter's guns.
I peered out at Walker after moving my gravity shield to my face. A bullet was redirected away from my face and Walker noticed me.
"Go!" She tried to scream over the screaming of people and the maniac's guns and she waved her hand in the motion as well, "Go!"
I dragged Sarah with me and ran through the darkness and screaming people. I ran into a restroom and then took Sarah's shoulders,
"Sarah, stay here."
"What!? But Fluffy can take them-"
He probably could...
But I interrupted...
"Call reinforcements and STAY safe! Only use Fluffy if you need to okay?"
She didn't answer, to overcome with emotions,
"Okay!?"
She nodded.