The conversation between Jody Johanson and Syd Barrett, while he was playing Super smash bro with Toshi. Borrowing the big screen from the conference room to connect with the game console.
" I wonder what will happen If they, just in case, can upgrade my ability. How was yours, since you've been through before right?"
Asked Jody, sipping a coffee.
" At first, I was like yours. Just summon a dumb ass flame and burn some shit ... But after they discovered The gargantuan cell in my body. They took me here and injected something they called 'Catalyst'. After that, I was like this."
" Catalyst? "
" Yeah. Catalyst. Usually, the nature of us, Elementalist, is that our ability grows after our aged. That means, the older we are, the stronger we become. But since I can't live up to 30, they searched for a way to speed boost my ability...and they did. Guess what? Now, my fire can fuck up space&time, Giving them scientists a cryptic theory, dumb asses deserved it."
" So what that catalyst made of?"
"....."
" Ay. Dude, pause the game for a sec."
" K."
Toshi paused the game, Syd turned over her.
He was silent for a moment before reply Jody back.
" Catalyst is just a name for the 'Gargantuan cell'."
" What? So they're gonna inject the gargantuan cells into me?"
Syd nods down, " Yes. But it's not yours. It's mine."
When he said that, Jody was confused.
" They will inject your cell in my body? Why?"
" Jody...listen carefully. The gargantuan cells of you and me are different. Yours is the 'Wind' cell...but mine is 'The fire'. This is the part where things gettin' weird. When put together, The cells from a different host will eat each other."
?!?!?
" What? ... What do you mean?"
" It means...that If I'm able to pull one of your cells out. And place it next to mine. Your cell will eat my cell. And that, that is when you'll receive the upgraded version of your ability."
" Wait...wait... So... If you are already upgraded... Then whose cell got injected into you?!... Didn't you just tell me you are the first Elementalist they found? So where did they take the cell? "
" It was from the previous generations."
Jody twisted her eyebrows.
" Previous generations? ... Did you mean ...?"
" It was the Gargantuan cell from the 'Mummy' of Egypt. The previous generation of The Elementalist, 'The Earth'."
Jody finally connects the dots.
" The Mummy of the female empress under the nameless pyramid. Her age is around 3000 B.C.? I can't remember. she was the former Elementalist, 'The Earth'. The Gargantuan cells within her mummy are already dead. But...they brought the cell...and put them in me. And it was like a zombie. My Gargantuan cell rushed to her cell's corpses...and they ate all of them... Then Finally... It results...this."
The red flame was summoned on Syd's fingertip.
Toshi added up the context.
" Though she is nameless empress too, we often call her 'Kat'. If Thrak didn't have her body, We wouldn't have this much information about the cell."
He pressed the continue button.
The flame then disappeared.
" Then...why shouldn't they inject her cell in mine instead of your cell?"
Asked Jody.
" Vega doesn't wanna risk. The legend said 'The fire' overcomes 'The Earth' but 'The wind' overcomes 'The Fire'. We four are born to oppose each other. To make the world in balance. Vega has a theory that the cell only eats the cell that is its counter-part."
" The fire cell can ear the earth...but not the wind...because the wind is superior to the fire...but not with the earth?"
Asked Jody.
" Vega will tell you the rest since they're going to do the same on you. Maybe...just maybe... you probably unlock a new skill from your air-manipulation ability. Who knows?"
" Will it hurt?"
"... The swapping technique is way worse."
At the same time, Syd Barrett ended his sentence, the big screen in front of three of them appeared with the text "Game!".
Which means, Syd had beaten Toshi with a score of 2-3 in Super smash bro, playing Kirby, while Toshi was playing Samus.
" Ha. Loser."
He turned to Toshi, " Even I was talking with Jody, I still win."
" Shut your dumb ass up."
Toshi whipped out 5£ and gave it to Syd who's wiggling his fingers.
" You played Kirby. This pinky-ass piece of shit is like the cheatiest in the game."
" Hue-Hue-Hue, keep crying nigga I don't care"
He took it with an evil smile.
"..."
" Are you really fine with that?"
Jody suddenly asked Syd out of nowhere.
"..."
" Fine with what? "
" That you can only live up to 30"
"...."
Syd paused, he's silent for a few seconds.
" It is what it is."
He said, " At least I still have 10 years left to do some shit."
" No."
The girl disagrees with him, Syd didn't turn away from the screen but Toshi who's the observer gazed at Jody.
" You have to think bigger. 10 years is too much positive. You could have died at any time as long as you're running in this line of business. And that's really "Some shit" you wanna spend for the rest of your life? "
" Don't tell me what to do."
Said Syd.
" I'm not telling you what to do. But I just want to warn you. Time strangely goes faster as we growing up. 10 years could feel like the blink of an eye."
" That's true."
Toshi added.
" I don't believe when you said that, Syd. It's impossible that you won't feel anything after you found you can't live for long."
" I didn't say I didn't feel anything, did I? I was shocked. Okay? But If that's what gonna happen. Then it happens."
" Really? Then how about people around you?"
"......"
"........"
Toshi knew what Jody meant as she said that.
(...She has had a word with Roxxy before. For sure...)
He thought.
Because out of the people in the group, Roxxy, his sister, will be down the most as this topic had been put to the conversation.
" Sure, you may not be afraid to die. Me too, I'm also not afraid to die. But you know what I afraid of?"
Asked Jody.
" What?"
" I'm afraid of how people around me will be 'after' I die. But when I was in high school, the fear was gone. Because as you know, I have lost everyone I know."
Her voice getting lowered when she imagined her sister, Joel. Even today she still regrets what she had done in the past, there's no way Joel or her father can look back to her the same way they had.
"Maybe If I have a stroke and lying down in front of my family, they won't even care. But I once understand how it feels to be nervous around people we care."
Jody grabbed Syd's shoulder.
" I'm not in a position that can teach you. You may still see me as an outsider but I'm sure that not all people who care about you will just sit down, acknowledging your fate without doing anything... Especially people who care about you the most."
"...."
Syd sighs,
" You may be right. But there are not so many people who'll care about me though."
" 'Not so many' doesn't suggest how strongly they care about you. And you were wrong. There are people who care about you."
" Who, then? " asked the boy.
" Me."
Jody points at herself then point towards Toshi
" Him."
She continues,
" Roxxy."
She continues,
" Mickey."
She continues,
" and Sera."
Toshi quickly argued with her,
" That last person cares no shit."
But he was shut down as Jody replied,
" Trust me, she does."
"......."
She gazed back to Syd.
" And.... especially your mother."
Said Jody.
!?!?!?
Syd quickly turned to her, staring in shock before rotating his face to Toshi.
" Nigga, you told Jody?"
" Wtf no."
Before Toshi was going to get a punch in the face, Jody
" Your sister."
" !!!!? "
" What she told you?! "
"..."
Jody said nothing, instead, replying with a gently smile. Which was very frustrating to Syd.
" Just know that I know there are people who can handle you, that's all."
" Motherfucker!"
He beat his joystick with his full embarrassment and frustration.
Jody put her fingertip on his lips.
" Language."
" Shut the fuck up. You're not my mom. Just stop being a dick and shut the fuck up please."
He said.
" Oh? You're sure I don't remind you of your mom?"
Jody asked with a teasing voice.
" My mom was not a cripple."
" Oh my... Syd, you hear it?"
Jody put her hand next to her ear and moved her face closer to him.
" Hear what?"
" A hothead kid."
" You know what, I think sometimes you know too much. FUCKING--- "
Seeing he be like this, Jody handed him a hot chocolate.
" Just kidding. Here."
Staring at her, Syd took it with skeptical eye-sights and drank it.
Jody looked to Toshi, by only looking, her eyes spoke all of it.
"See?"
That's what her eye's telling him.
Toshi shrugged.
At the time they finished, The door opened for the other people outside.
Three of them looked out, they were the left members and Jade.
Toshi gazed at his wristwatch, it was 13:00 where they need to discuss the deep detail about the next mission and will be transported to Norway in the next 3 hours.
" Seems like you guys are having fun. How many times I have to tell you the screen is not for games?"
Said Jade.
" Just a little bit, come on."
Toshi said while he was disconnecting his game console from the screen.
" You lost the game?"
Asked Mickey.
" Shut up."
Replied Toshi.
The boys are sitting on the right, The girls on the left, listening to what Jade will say.
Before the discussion started, Sera was next to Roxxy, she turned to her and whispered.
" You send your people to bring my stuff out?"
"Yes. It was me. How do you know?"
" Doesn't matter."
Said Sera.
However, It's not hard for Roxxy to guess who did. It was Mickey.
" Should've told me first."
" Sorry...I afraid you'd say no."
" What--?"
" Don't worry. They brought Jody's too. But hers is like a lot lesser than yours."
" No! I didn't mean that. You should tell me. I'm not picky."
Roxxy put her hands together, forming a praying 🙏
" Sorry... It won't happen again..."
" Keep that for this, why the hell you order that bloody bastard to bring the stuff to my room??? "
" You mean... mickey?"
Asked Roxxy.
" Who else would it be?"
" I didn't order him."
" Huh? "
Sera paused.
" He asked for it."
" He said he received an order from yours."
" He said he's been given order?"
Asked Roxxy.
" Yes."
After Sera replied, Roxxy chuckles,
" Don't you know he's fooling you?"
" How the fuck would I know? Anyway, why the hell did he request? Just to make me feel annoyed?"
" I don't know. Guess he just like you?"
?!
Sera startled with her cheeks turning a little bit red.
Yesterday he didn't decline her feelings towards him, but he also didn't confess.
Actually, he didn't say shit.
" Did anything happen?"
"... No....."
" You sure? "
Roxxy asked twice.
"....."
" Okay... If you said so."
Roxxy turned away from Sera.
The monitor projected the big pictures and texts on the screen.
It was the top view of the place labeled as 'The Lab'
" This is the top view of 'The Lab'. As you know, outside it may look like some ordinary military camp. But from this Top view, The inside is wider than expected."
Jade kept changing the slide.
" We don't know exactly what's inside. We've tried shooting the laser to scan what's inside. But turns out they have the scan-proof device. So it results...this..."
The next image Jade shows them was distorted.
"you do not only need to disguise as one of the Norwegian police, but you also need to use a chaotic moment when the police and the guards are clashing to collect all the evidence you could find. Any sources of evidence...doesn't matter if it's a paper, chemicals, electronic files or whatsoever. Then you escape, flawlessly. From our analysis, we think they are operating on the underground too."
" Underground? Damn, that's tough."
Said Toshi.
" So we better be split. So that we can look for more evidence."
Said Syd.
Suddenly, Sera raised her hand.
" I have a question... Why do we need to go for the mission ourselves? If the objective is to look for the evidence, wouldn't it be better to order your people in the Norwegian police department to keep it for you? I mean... You're Thrak, right? You have the power to access everything."
" That's a good question, Seraphina Gilmour. But the evidence that involves the Ability pill and the recorded experiments are expected to be in there. We can not let any outsiders like the Norwegian police see or know about its existence. They'll only know that a child is being caught up in there. Then we can interfere with the children's investigation."
".... So...what about the kids? What should we do with them if they tried to get in our way?"
Asked Mickey.
" What do you mean?"
Sera turned to him.
" Just asking. In case it happens."
He replies, " Maybe the scientist could have put something in their heads making them zombies or something like that..."
" Mannix, what the hell? Do you watch too many films?"
Asked Sera.
" Maybe?"
He shrugged.
" If they get in your way. You know what to do."
When Jade said that, Jody immediately understood what she meant...
It means to kill them.
" Because The authorities will only receive that the kidnappings are done by the terrorist ability users."
Jade brought up the bullet vest.
" We've modified the vest so that there's a space to collect the object inside. If the evidence is the object and too hard to carry, tear just some of the piece and bring it to Sera, and destroy the rest."
.
.
.
.
.
40 minutes later after they finished the discussion.
Roxxy has just finished her preparation because she and the team except Jody will go to Norway this 5:00 P.M.
Roxxy noticed that Sera seem off. So she approached her.
" Have you finished preparing things?"
" Yes."
"...."
" You seem off, what happened?"
"...."
Sera sighed, she covered her forehead.
" I don't know...I just...it just bothers me..."
" What bothers you?"
Asked Roxxy.
" I don't know...maybe the children... Do they really need to kill them if things go off?"
" Well, If it's necessary."
Roxxy answered with a normal voice,
" On the other hand, it may be good for them. Living a life of a zombie is worse than death you know."
" No. I didn't talk about what Mannix had said."
" Yeah but believe it or not, Mickey's guessing often comes true several times. Maybe this time it may happen or Maybe something similar to his guess. Or worse. "
" Jesus Christ, I hate that when it happens..."
Sera covered her face, sighing.
" Come over it. At least I'm glad you still have some sense of guilt, Sera. But those children have nothing to do with you. So why you worried? You don't even know them. No... This mission you don't even go out to see them, They won't even know you are there."
" Yeah. That's true...but still... I'm kinda feel bad."
" You dare to shoot the grown man but not the kids? Even they're the same?"
" Not the same. Since I got this pistol...I only used it on those guards... Because they have already prepared to die, so I can shoot them without hesitation. But the kids..."
Sera's voice dropped,
" It's true that I didn't do it myself. I may not even have to witness it. But knowing that a person standing in front of me got the innocent's blood on their hands is... hard to explain..."
" You'll get angry?"
Asked Roxxy.
" No. I won't. Those lives have nothing to do with me. But...you know, just feel bad."
" Oh... I see your point... We all feel like that. I feel bad when I kill the innocents too. But sometimes if it's necessary, then it's necessary to do though."
Roxxy continued saying while opened her laptop.
" We're all just a part of the big system anyway. just playing our role to complete the story that's all. I'm doing my part, you do your part. Then after work, we can probably hang out together. Honestly, you and Jody are the first girlfriends I have."
" What? So your entire life has been evolving with men all the time?"
Asked Sera.
" Well... Yes."
" Ah... I see. But at least you got some sense of makeup. What makes you use a blue-lipstick?"
" Just like it, I guess. Syd said it suits my Ice color."
Said Roxxy.
" You're after every word your brother said? You seem to love your brother very much."
" Yes."
She nodded.
" Is he a protective type of brother or something?"
Asked Sera.
A small smile appeared on Roxxy's face, she then replied:
" You could say that."
Sera felt a little jealous.
" I wish I can look up at my siblings the same way you have."
" Oh... Yeah. I heard the Gilmour's siblings have a bad relationship with each other huh?"
" Pardon me but when you said, I heard, do you mean ' I have been looking through' ?"
Asked Sera.
".... Don't be mad.... So, the gossip is true?"
As she asked that, Sera shook her head.
" I don't know what to say about this. I mean... To get the attention of our parents, we need to do our best. But as we grow up, we haven't talked to each other anymore so... You can't fully say that our relationship is bad."
Sera then realized something she wanna ask.
" Hey. Can I call you Paethai?"
"...."
If Roxxy was sipping a drink, she would have cough it out.
" ..... Why?"
" It's a cute name. I guess. I never heard it before. 'Paethai'."
".... Ugh..."
" Come on. Paethai."
" No. It reads 'Pay-Thai' not 'Peetai'. But when I write, I write it 'Paethai'."
" What? Really? Wow, that's even better. But I heard Toshi said Pee-tai though."
" Screw him."
" Okay, Paythai."
" The accent was too white...but fine, I guess..."
" I have been thinking for a while..."
" Yeah?"
" What brings you to work for Thrak? Is it because of your brother's ability?"
"... No..."
Roxxy says, " It is more than that."
" What is it? "
"..... It's about the 'Promise' we have with someone a long time ago."
"....."
Sera was stunned by it.
" Oh... Who is it?"
".... Ain't tellin' ya."
" It's personal?"
"..... Yes."
" Okay..."
Sera stepped back from going further.
Ding!
Suddenly, her phone vibrates. There's a message on her phone.
Checking out, It was from Roxxy.
Sera glared up.
" What's this?"
" I think you may like it. Check it out."
"..."
Sera was reluctant, however, she did as Roxxy said.
" Bloody hell...the file is quite big."
" Of course. It's my collection. You may look up in your free time."
"...."
!?
As her eyes met with something in the files, Sera was stunned.
Her face immediately flushed.
" Holy...Shit."
She said.
" Yes... Totally..."
" I... I never know you're like this..."
Said Sera.
" Welcome to the world of BL."
"......"
Sera slowly turned to Roxxy...smoothly moving her lips.
" Splendid..."
.
.
.
.
.
.
10 minutes before take-off.
The team was gathering around the speed jet, they're all waiting for Sera and Roxxy to come.
Syd Barrett cocking his pistol, checking the ammo inside, then put it away.
The rest were preparing a set-up. While that, appears the American, Jody Johanson.
" What? You wanna say goodbye?"
Asked the boy.
" I'm kind of not feeling well if to stay here alone."
Said Jody.
" Jade is our friend... so as Vega. What the fuck are you still worrying about?"
" Many things. I want to see the solid evidence about things you've told me with my own eyes."
She replied.
Then Jody heard the footsteps coming behind, turning around, it was Jade.
When Syd saw Jody glared at Jade, he then said:
" You can ask her anything. Since you are right now one of us and you are "The wind". They will kinda suck your balls even you don't have one. You will have many special privileges here. Just like those fat ass Americans when they enter Walmart with electric scooter carts."
"..."
Jody exhaled and chuckled.
" I would like to take you to America, just once."
She said.
" He's never been there."
Mickey pointed at Syd.
" You fucking talk too much, dick head."
Syd quickly walked to Mickey and choked on his neck.
" Really? Syd, you never been to America?"
" Why the fuck would I go to America? America more like Ameri-Gun. I don't wanna get shot bruh."
" I agree that America kinda sucks. But how about this, I'll be your guide if you come here."
Jody offers, " Who knows? It may change your mind."
" I'd better go to brazil than your country."
Syd said.
" You would go to brazil?"
Asked Mickey.
" No. Just kidding. I don't wanna go to brazil. I don't want to get robbed in Sao Paolo."
" Sao Paolo? What the fuck is that?"
" It's the capital. Retard."
" Sorry. I didn't know."
" (Toshi asked from the background) Bruh. Ain't the capital is Brasilia?"
" Idk. I don't care."
" At least Brazil is a legitimate state, unlike Israel."
Toshi added.
" Yo. Mind your goddamn business, anime country."
Mickey turned to him.
But Toshi didn't stop asking.
" Yeah like, How the fuck can I go to Israel if there's no land to step on?"
" Dumb ass, You can't go to Israel. This nigga homeland ain't even real."
Syd replied.
" You're all racist man, Fuck you."
Mickey shows Syd and Toshi both of his middle fingers before walked away from the group.
" Lmao."
Toshi laughs evilly before turns back and continued preparing his bag.
" I thought Thai people were polite...but maybe you are an exception."
Jody chuckles, " What has made you be like this, I wonder?"
" Yeah. I thought all Americans were fat too. How about that?"
Asked The boy, sarcastically.
" I see that as a compliment."
Jody shows him her slim body.
" Ugh. Stop flexing, cripple."
" Hey. I mean it. Let me know when you come to America. I'll go get you with myself since you stepped down the plane."
Jody jokingly tapped on his shoulder.
At the same time, Sera and Roxxy had finally made their ways here.
" Alright. Let's go."
Roxxy said, she and Sera stepped on the jet.
"..."
Syd Barrett turned his face back to Jody.
" I'll think about it."
He said with a low voice. Only Jody can hear it.
The boy then turned back and walked into the jet.
" Syd."
"..."
" Take care of yourself."
Jody said.
The boy didn't reply anything, he lifted his middle finger to Jody although he didn't turn back to face her.
But Jody knew.
He was shying right now.
The jet door closed down Before it began to take-off.