After roughly an hour or so, Theo came out of the bathroom.
His suit was clean and dry, but his face, pale.
It was almost as though someone came in and beat all the emotions out of his system.
"Is something the matter?" A familiar voice came from behind him. "I would like to say you look dreadful but- I think I'd rather not." Her melancholic voice sent shivers down his system.
"Still as dreadful as ever," Theo mumbled, before turning around with a very not-so-friendly mood. "Hi."
There were three people. Two of them were Theo's friends John and Voli, while the third was an R.I- Sizzy.
John sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?"
Voli paused. "Probably coming from the bathroom? They have open stuff. I'm guessing all their cloths went there instead of on their bodies…"
'I'm sorry, just one bucket of water wasn't enough…' Theo again almost wanted to cry.
The next time he saw a river, he was going to dive in first, ask questions later.
But Theo controlled himself. "Here to say goodbye?" He then stared at Sizzy. "And they let you in?" He pretended like there was nothing wrong.
John grinned. "I convinced the captain to let her stay. Took a lot of convincing you know." John grinned, or more like smirked devilishly.
Yeah, Theo could understand what sort of convincing he did. But he was glad. "Well, that's a relief. Would have gotten lonely without you guys. But now that she's here I could at least-" At least he'd have someone by his side.
He was getting awfully bored anyway. 'Oh yeah,' And then he remembered something from yesterday evening.
"Well, since the envoy would come today and things would become public eventually, there wasn't really that much of a point in keeping up that farce anymore," Voli snickers, palms facing upwards.
'Then why the hell did they make us go through all that confidential crap?' Theo let out an inaudible sigh.
"What do you mean?" John said. "We're also staying behind," he said proudly. "So, you're not alone!"
"We are?" Voli asked, looking back, slightly confused.
'Wait, what?' Theo sighed. He knew this was for the better. John wouldn't have left him behind anyway. This was definitely better than John starting a world war.
But!
"Well, that's nice. But I kind of have an appointment with someone." And Theo doubted if she'd let these guys accompany her.
"Really?" John pondered. "You got a date?" He grinned, a finger on his chin.
"Not qui-"
"Ah, there you are!" Sandra came jogging. "I've been looking all over for you. I thought you got lost and-" She was sweating mildly.
"Well, that wouldn't have happened if someone haven't locked me in," Theo mumbled. 'Why does she look so hot?'
Small droplets of sweat dripped from Sandra's body and her clothes (Whatever amount she was wearing) were getting dangerously drenched. It was perhaps a godsend her undergarments weren't see-through…
"Locked you in? The door wasn't locked." Sandra dismissed the situation like it was no big deal.
"Wait, what?"
"Our doors are automated. You just have to say, open and they'll open. I even made sure to register the English word just for your sake. Don't you have automatic doors too?"
'Automatic doors?'
'Automatic doors…?'
The two words played in Theo's mind over and over again.
Theo's face started twitching as he tried to form a smile but then failed miserably.
John and Voli tried to compress their giggles but it sure wasn't working.
"Yes, but Theo is cheap so he never got it," Sizzy explained.
'And who the hell told you to say that!'
Blunt, blunt this R.I was.
"Can I get my hidden delight now?" Skully said, almost raising its paws. Almost like a kid…
Theo'd almost forgotten about that…
Sigh- so Theo just sighed and stared ahead. 'Someone, end my misery already.'
***
In a planet far away, a man stood on a podium, looking at the masses below him. He'd fought many battles and he'd survived.
But this was perhaps one of the- actually, no, this was literally the worst and perhaps his last fight.
A fight he knew he'd lose…
"Today-" He began addressing the crowd. "We rise up. It's been eighty years. For eighty years our brethren, your families have been enslaved. It's finally time, we rise up!" He didn't shout, but his voice traveled far through the intercoms. His voice was also transmitted all over the planet…
A large man: Rather rugged face and the attire of a warrior. He was here today not as a ruler, but, a general.
A small roar went through the crowd. The crowd numbered in millions, therefore even a murmur sounded like a roar.
The man was a regent, having seven habitable planets under his name and about two dozen gem planets.
Definitely not enough to put up a fight against his enemy.
And that's why- He nodded to his left.
There was another being on the same podium. A woman- another regent; white dress and lots of frills. "The journey will be hard." She looked around with a smile. "But- with Lord Kirex and my combined efforts, and all your dedicated hearts- the other regents surely will take notice! And we will! We will, be VICTORIOUS!!! FOR THE PEOPLE!!!!" Another roar erupted, this time a bit stronger than the one before. "Let everyone… be free…" She grinned from ear to ear.
Beautiful.
The man- Kirex just stood there, kind of expressionless. He knew this was the right time, but even so, he was hesitant. After all, against that vixen- even underhanded tactics, just weren't enough. As things stood, he could only see his defeat.
He didn't want to drag in more people than necessary, but he badly needed attention. Otherwise, it'd just be a one-sided massacre.
'I hope they see the truth before it's too late…'
He needed more allies.
But, but this was the perfect time and there was no doubt about it.
If he didn't act now, perhaps it'd take three-four decades for another chance to appear. But by then, would he really be in a fighting condition?
This had to be it.
And he was going to take the chance.
'And if I should go down as the fool who tried to consume the sun, then so be it.'