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More from Hyashi
Wooo!!!! PART4
I'm trying a new thing, so don't mind the <i> Italics</i> if they don't work
The Zoo?
Part 4: Kicked out
Clayton, now done with his crying, stared at Fiox for a moment, “We were home with the cake of deliciousness in the kitchen all this time and you didn’t tell me?! What kind of monster are you?!”
<i>“Actually, if you think about it, we’re all monsters in our own way. I suggest you apologize Clayton.”</i> Luke’s voice said over the intercom.
Mike looked up and asked, “Luke? Where are you man?”
<i>“Me and Sara ran into troubles. I’ll still be able to speak to you, though it’ll be difficult to see you.”</i> Luke responded.
Clayton shook his head and took Nicole’s hand, “Take me to the cake Miss Nicole!”
Nicole was dragged towards the exit of the ship. She stared at Garrett and Mike as she was dragged away by the naga.
Rozen grinned, “Well since we are home and everything, show me to your room Mia.”
Brightrose lightly hit Mia as shi said, “I approve.” After saying this, shi followed Garrett, Isaac, and Mike out.
Hyashi and Greyfur followed next. As Hyashi approached Mia, he said, “Go for it, he’s not all that bad!”
Mia walked up to Rozen and took his hand, “This way.” she said softly.
Rozen smirked, “Why thank you milady.”
Clayton took Nicole into the kitchen. He started to trash it, looking for the chocolate. Nicole sighed, going to find some dark room.
Garrett followed Brightrose into the kitchen and sighed. “Clayton, the trader won’t be here for another hour. You’ll know when shi gets here. Oh, and shi’ll be staying for awhile. Since you are staying in hir room, you’ll have to share the bed…”
Clayton’s head popped out of a cabinet and he grinned widely, “Is she hot?” Rozen was apparently tainting Clayton.
“Well, I think shi is. But shi has two mates already. Shi’ll have a cart behind her, the cart will be loaded with the rare chocolate. So, I’m going to go down to the lab and get stuff to trade. Make sure that you give hir a warm welcome. I’m trusting you Clayton.”
Clayton nodded, “I’ll give her a very<b> warm</b> welcome. Maybe lay on a <b>warm</b> bed drinking <b>warm</b> hot chocolate and having some <b>warm</b> hot-”
“Mind you. Shi has two other mates. However, you might be in luck. Since shi has been traveling for the past two weeks to make this delivery, shi hasn’t gotten to be with them. Depending on hir mood, you might get lucky!” Garrett said as he nudged his elbow on Clayton’s shoulder.
Clayton stuck his tongue out, “EW! That’s not what I was going to say!”
Garrett laughed, “Yes it was. You’re just embarrassed that you might get laid. Not only does shi look amazing, but shi has to have that bed. If you haven’t noticed, that bed is specially fitted for hir. That’s
why you sleep so easily at night. Whether or not you want to share the bed is your choice, but I know that shi wouldn’t argue. Oh well, I’m going to get the stuff. Shi’ll be here soon.” Garrett said as he walked away.
Clayton frowned and crossed his arms, “I don’t want to get laid. Getting laid is lame.”
Nicole searched around and found the entrance to the lab. She opened up the door and peaked in, “Hello? Anyone in here?” She walked into the lab.
Mike, who was searching through the main computer for something, turned around. “Yeah, it’s Mike. Is that you Brightrose?”
Nicole fully walked into the lab, “Sorry, I’m no Brightrose.” She looked around, “Mind if I use some equipment in here?”
Mike looked at Nicole, “Sorry, Garrett says only me, Brightrose, and himself can use the equipment. But I guess he wouldn’t mind if I watched you. Luke, any suggestions?”
<i>“I recommend that you do it, only under strict supervision. Just don’t let her use the primary computer, or anything bigger than she is. Otherwise, you should be fine.”</i> Luke said on the computer speakers.
“Groovy. What do you need?” Mike asked.
“Just some chemicals.” She looked around, “A beaker, test tubes, fire, and probably a machine bigger than me…” She smiled. Nicole walked around, touching stuff.
“Chemicals and that other stuff I can help with. As far as that other machine, I’m sorry.” Mike said as he shrugged.
<i>“I, as well as the other scientists here, would appreciate if you didn’t touch anything in the lab. Actually, the only machine I can allow you to use is the Ionization Blade. Mike, you may want to show her how to use it.”</i> Luke said.
Mike nodded. He led Nicole to a large machine with a blade in the center. “Now the first rule of the Ionization Blade, is that you DON’T TOUCH THE BLADE! Since I’m trained, I’ll show you why.” Mike took off his leather glove and put on a metal one. He poked the pulsing blue light with the tip of his finger, and blood splattered out of the glove. “Ah, fuck! You see, that’s why we don’t touch it, it breaks EVERYTHING!”
Nicole, who wasn’t paying attention, had picked up a vial to look at the glowing liquid. When the first drop of blood left his body, she dropped the vial. It shattered on the floor, the liquid slowly eating away at the floor. She stared at his finger, her heart hammering into her throat. Her eyes were wide with surprise.
Garrett walked in as he heard Mike’s pain. As he saw the liquid, he said, “SHITFUCK! What the hell happened?!”
Nicole didn’t respond for a few moment as she stared at the blood, slowly bringing her hand to it, touching the cool liquid. She shook her head and snapped out of it, turning around to see Garrett, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to! I’ve got to go talk to Zellner!” She almost disappeared as she ran for the exit.
<i>“I don’t think you’re going anywhere, you owe Garrett, Mike, and me a thorough explanation.” </i>Luke said as the Lab doors all shut and locked. Locking Garrett, Mike, and Nicole all in the lab.
Nicole stared at the door and cracked her knuckles, thinking this over, muttering to herself, “So either I tell them or I can punch this door down, but I might end up getting all of us kicked out. It’s hard to decide.”
She turned to face the group and sighed, licking her fingers of the blood droplets, “I might as well come clean about this. Now you guys probably remember me attacking several of the Humans First and biting down on their necks, ripping out their throats. The only reason I can do that is because of these.” She opened her mouth and poked one of her pointed fangs. It punctured a hole into her finger. She then closed her mouth, “I am a vampire, I have been a vampire since 2016. There aren’t many of my kind left. I became one at 24 and therefore I will be 24 forever, unless I destroy myself.”
<i>“Well, assuming you’re telling the truth, I did research on Vampires. Supposedly you’re afflicted by sunlight, which I haven’t seen any signs of. Also, the first sign of blood triggers a reaction in your internal mind. Based on your heartbeat, this proves true.” </i>Luke said through the computer.
“A Vampire….I see.” Mike said, trying to find rationality in the statement.
Garrett grabbed some cleaner and a special vacuum. “Luke, please disengage security protocols. She’s forgiven, but please inform everyone that she is no longer allowed in the lab without Brightrose.”
<i>“Done, but if you don’t mind me asking, why Brightrose?”</i>
“Because SOME PEOPLE don’t follow lab rules.” Garrett said as he shot a glare at Mike.
Nicole shook her head, “Garrett, I promise it won’t happen again. It was just a freak accident. I haven’t eaten in three days and at the Humans First place I didn’t eat, I was just killing. As soon as I go hunt I’ll be fine, just please don’t restrict me from the lab. I swear on my first born that I will never do anything that stupid again. I just need to hunt.” She was begging him now. She needed the lab and possibly to use it alone for Zellner’s work. She slowly approached Garrett and stared up at him, she was somewhat short for a girl, “Please Garrett? I just want to mix chemicals and help Professor Zellner with his studies. I will never be so careless again. I’ll do anything to not be so restricted in the lab.”
Garrett slowly backed up, his ears slightly pinked at the closeness of Nicole. "T...there's a forest out there with feral creatures. If they don't talk to you, they're game. I'll consider your request..."
Nicole smiled, "Thank you. I'd much rather human, but animals work as well." She looked over at the computer, "Although, vampires have advanced and can stand out in the sun, just not for an extended period of time, which is why I travel in forests during the day."
<i>I see. Garrett, Justine will arrive soon, I would prepare the equipment for hir. Mike, please get Brightrose out of the fitness area, hir heart rate is becoming irregular</i> Luke said.
Just then, Nicole's phone rang. She picked up and answered, "Hello?"
“Nicole, stay for a while, don't ask how I got your number, just stay for a bit.” Luke asked through the phone.
Nicole nodded, "Okay, I see Zellner. I'll just work in the lab and if you need me, just come down here." She was just trying to make it sound like an important call.
As the others left, Luke shut the doors, locking Nicole inside with Luke.<i> As you no doubt have noticed, I am the computer now. Me and Sara ran into difficulties transferring bodies. Which means, I have access to everyone's health at any given time. While Mike and Garrett were here, I noticed a disturbance in your hormones. Something wrong?</i>
Nicole's cheeks turned pink and she crossed her arms, "Nothing, nothing is wrong at all, why do
you say that? It's nothing, nothing is up, nothing is going on.”
<i>“I beg to differ. It seems up to the point of Mike cutting his finger, you felt attached to him. After your….accident, you returned to normal until Garrett walked in. Also, you’re lying to me, or at least you have a .01 chance of telling the truth. Please be honest with me.” </i>Luke said with sincerity.
Nicole sat down on a stool and looked around, spinning in the stool, “Alright, I’m just a little attracted to Garrett and Mike, just a little bit. Only a little.”
<i>“Liar. You nearly fell over when you were no more than 2 feet from Garrett. Had Mike walked up to help Garrett, you would have passed out. I can tell, as your eyes are still recovering from that.”</i>
Nicole went over to the computer, “You’re just a computer, you don’t know anything.” She started pressing buttons and going into the files.
All of the files she accessed that contained personal info were password protected. <i>“I’m sorry, dearest, I can’t let you look at those. I know what you’re trying to do, you backstabbing bitch. I want you to stay away from Mike and Garrett. You’ll do nothing but harm. Now leave.” </i>Luke locked Nicole out of the computer and opened the doors to the lab.
Nicole frowned and slammed her fist on the computer, a larger crater-like dent was left in the computer, “Like you guys won’t do anything to harm us! I know what your kind of group is like! You take us in and mess up us more than we are!”
The doors re-locked as a panel on the floor rose up about knee height to Nicole. Under the panel was a small barrel. A blue beam fired from the barrel and hit Nicole in the knee. Instead of damaging her, Nicole was frozen in place. <i>“Look here, vampire. As long as you’re in this lab, I control you. You will stay away from Garrett and Mike. You will do as I say. I control the defense systems of this house, which include everyone’s room. If you bring harm to anyone in my group, I won’t think twice to take prisoners. Think about it. Rozen won’t leave Mia, and she’ll try and argue his case. Zellner may escape, but only because he is the least favorite here. I will no longer allow you to spy on my friends. Leave.” </i>The beam retracted from Nicole and the doors reopened.
Nicole kicked the computer and ran out. She was only a burst of wind as she ran out of the house.
Justine was pulling hir anti-grav cart at a moderate pace. Shi hadn’t seen hir mates in awhile, and shi really needed a bed to sleep in. Shi looked up and saw Garrett’s summer home up ahead. Shi started to pick up the pace. Shi would have yelled for Garrett to get outside, but hir cart was flipped over, the harness taking hir with it. Shi looked at what could have happened to flip the cart so suddenly. Shi looked at Nicole staring back at hir on the ground.
Nicole gave hir a quick glance and then was back to running away from the house. She didn’t stop until she was deep into the forest, the sun finally setting in the sky.
Justine picked up hir cart. “Thanks bitch!” Justine yelled in Nicole’s direction as shi reloaded all of hir contents. Shi continued onto the trail and knocked on Garrett’s door while still cursing at the encounter.
Clayton jerked his head up from the refrigerator. Him and Nicole had a mental connection and it just broke, meaning she was over 10 miles away. He started to freak out and slithered down the halls yelling, “ROZEN! ZELLNER! GABRIEL! GARRETT! MIA! MIKE! BRIGHTROSE! FIOX! GEOSTRIDER! WORDRUNNER! ISAAC! GREYFUR! HYASHI! SARA! ASHLEY! NICOLE’S GONE! I CAN’T SENSE WHERE SHE IS!” He used his disconnecting jaw to the best of its ability as he stretched his mouth wide to be able to yell even louder.
Brightrose and Hyashi, both rubbing their eyes, looked at Clayton. "What the hell?"
"NICOLE IS NOT IN THE HOUSE!" Clayton was clearly freaking out,"SHE'S AT LEAST 10 MILES AWAY! SHE WOULDN'T HUNT THAT FAR AWAY!" He was waving his arms around dramatically.
Garrett and Mike joined the slowly approaching group, "How do you know?" Garrett asked.
Rozen rubbed his eyes, "Are you sure you're freaking out over nothing again? There isn't much small game out here, she would have to go pretty far."
Clayton frowned at Rozen. "You know my mental connection with her is always there. You know she would never go outside of it, especially over 10 miles, you also know that she would stay close by with your sickness acting up."
"Ahem." said a female voice from behind the group. It was a red-brown Foxtaur, without the black 'gloves' and 'socks' that most Foxtaurs had.
Garrett instantly recognized the vixentaur in the doorway. "Justine! Sorry, you caught us at a bad time!"
Justine laughed, "Oh, Garrett! I always catch you at a bad time! Who are the new guys now?" Justine said as if shi expected new people.
Clayton shook his head quickly, "No time for introductions! We have a crisis!" He stared at the group, "Okay time for action! I say we all scout the area, the kidnappers could be anywhere."
"Wait, she was kidnapped?" Gabriel asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I don't know, but it is the only logic explanation for her to be so far away," Clayton seriously needed to calm down.
<i>Actually. I have a probable explanation. And our apologies Justine, this is probably more of a bad time than you realize </i>Luke said through the house speakers
"Luke, what do you think?" Sara asked
<i>Most likely, she has run away. And I'm satisfied she has.</i>
Rozen clenched his hands into fists at his side, "Now, why would she of mighty Luke?" He was trying so hard to keep his sarcasm light-hearted.
<i>She was plotting betrayal of my team. And frankly, I have reason to believe that Zellner knew the whole time. Go ahead, professor, share to the group why Nicole is your favorite.</i>
Zellner frowned, "This is not the time. You have no idea what you have done. Vampires are emotional and passionate creatures. If you had said anything to upset her in such a way that she has jeopardized herself, I will erase you."
Mike stood up to Zellner, "Hey! Now's not the time to explain that you've been SPYING on us!"
Brightrose joined him. "So wait, let me get this straight. You broke into our home, take our hospitality, get us caught in jail, AND backstab us?!" Brightrose yelled.
<i>As well as destroy my body, yes. That is correct. Professor, begin explaining!</i>
Gabriel stood between the professor and everyone else, "Look, I have no idea what has been going
on, but all I know is right now I would like to locate Nicole. I'm sure Rozen and Clayton are on the same page as me. A friend is in need and God would rather us help that friend then destroy the reputation of another."
Mia walked up to Gabriel, "God has no room here. Zellner, I demand to know why!"
<i>Here, I have a proposition. We'll let you out of the house to locate your backstabbing spy, when you tell us why you have been doing this all along. </i>Luke said as the house doors shut closed and reinforced themselves with solid iosteel.
Justine looked around, "Just tell them what they want!" Shi didn't know what was happening, but shi didn't like it.
Everyone drew their weapons.
Rozen sighed, "It's déjà vu all over again, except I'm not the cause."
Zellner sighed, "Gabriel, just allow me to explain to them."
Gabriel hesitated as he stepped out of the way of the professor.
"She isn't a backstabber or a spy. She wasn't plotting any betrayal. Nicole isn't some evil creature bent on destroying mankind. I have reason to believe that you guys have a sketchy past. Why else would I have gone to a Humans First prison? I know higher ups there and they wouldn't allow me out of all people to be in there. Also, why would you guys be so nice to let us stay unless you are going to end up stealing my work or possibly one of my subjects? You all seem very sketchy, so I needed her to find some information on you guys and Nicole would never defy me, she is in debt to me. None of my subjects would defy me, they are in debt."
"We invited you here because you asked to! We didn't want you to die on the coldest night here! Would you rather that we didn't?" Isaac asked.
"You see Garrett, I called this one! Luke, let them out." Fiox said.
Mia looked at Rozen, "Don't Fiox, I'm sure they had their reasons!"
Greyfur went up to Mia, "Don't be standing up for them! They're probably going to kill us now that we know they've been spying!"
The doors opened.
Gabriel and Rozen both got between Greyfur and Mia. Rozen frowned with his eyebrows furrowed, "Look here! I had no idea what was going on! We don't kill people! Don't you dare even start that shit!"
Clayton slithered away from everyone, already outside to go find his friend. He was really worried about her.
Wordrunner strode next to Gabriel and announced, "I assume this is part of your grand scheme to kill all morphs isn't it!? Were you going to burn our house as well?!"
Gabriel frowned and was about to hit her, but Rozen grabbed his fist, "Gabriel, let's just go...there's no point in fighting anymore." He sighed, his voice lowing even more in volume, "Might as well just go back to the professor's lab. At least there we don't cause problems..."
Gabriel gave a short sigh and lowered his arm, "Professor Zellner?"
Zellner stared at the two, "Look, it's not my call. I tried to protect you guys and I got in trouble for it, it's your call whether we stay or go."
Garrett looked at everyone. He sighed deeply. He really didn't want to do this, but if it meant the safety of his friends, he had to. "Good day to you."
Justine stepped aside.
As the group left, Mia chased after them. She was restrained by Wordrunner and Geostrider. Her tears and protests echoed until they were no longer in sight.
Rozen stared at Zellner, "Look I'm sorry, I can't do this." He turned and ran back to the house while Gabriel and Zellner went on to find Nicole and Clayton.
Greyfur met Rozen a good thirty feet from the house. While they were arguing, Hyashi walked next to Garrett, who was staring out the door.
"You know, maybe they didn't need to go. Maybe we should give them another chance."
"You know I can't do that Hyashi. Everyone else will kill me!"
"Did it ever occur to you, that if they wanted to kill us, we'd be dead. They spent a good week here, you think maybe there is some miscommunication?"
Garrett looked at Hyashi, "You really think so?"
"Perhaps. It's worth giving them a proper goodbye at the least."
Garrett nodded. He whistled to Greyfur and Rozen and waved them over.
When the two arrived, Garrett grabbed a box from Justine. He took a piece of paper and wrote something on it. He put it in and box of chocolates and handed it to Rozen and said, "Rozen, give this to Zellner please."
Rozen nodded, "I don't know how far away they will be by now, but I can try." He started running into the woods. He guessed the paper was for them to make sure he doesn't come back again. He gave a heavy sigh.
Zellner and Gabriel weren't as far ahead as Rozen thought they would be. He ran to them and panted as he handed tghe box to Zellner.
Zellner opened up the box and took out the note, reading it.
The note read: We're sorry we kicked you out of our house! Come back!!! :) -Garrett
Zellner did not look amused, "They want us to come back..." He frowned, "WE WALKED ALL THIS WAY AND THEY WANT US TO COME BACK?!"
Rozen shrugged, "They are forgiving. Now, next person to screw this up, I will kill you."
"What if it is you?" Gabriel asked.
"I will kill myself...samurai style."
<i>Was that the wisest move? I have evidence that they.... </i>Luke would have finished, but
Mike cut him off. "Shut it John, they're as human as anyone here."
Gabriel knocked slowly on the door. It was only him, Rozen, and Zellner.
Justine answered the door with a smile and a stick of chocolate for each of them. "Welcome back, I'm Justine!"
Mia, upon seeing Rozen at the door, nearly tackled him to the ground. She wasn't actually saying anything. She was just crying.
Garrett and Hyashi walked up to Zellner and shook his hand. Garrett spoke first, "Hey, my bad. Can we try again?"
Rozen held her and ignored the chocolate, he didn't like chocolate anyways.
Zellner shook his hand, "Possible. Mia I require Rozen's body. I need him to help hunt for my assistant and subject."
Mia, with reluctance, let go of Rozen. Hyashi summoned his bow and called Mike to his side, "As far as finding Nicole, we have that covered."
Mike started to explain, "OK, when you guys were still in jail, me, Luke, and Sara managed to get a lock on your vitals. We can't determine location, but we know if she's near, and if she's alive. I have a live feed with Luke via my computer."
Gabriel nodded, "And what about Clayton? He's missing too."
Mike smiled, "He's chasing after her, because he doesn't have legs, he can't move as fast as we can. Also, he only has poison as weapons. The ferals of the night will slow him down."
"That isn't something to be smiling about," Zellner snapped.
Mike tried to subside it as he said, "Sorry, but I was going to say that he's chasing after his girlfriend, like Romeo and Juliet."
<i>That's still not funny, Mike. I think you lost your humor when we teleported. </i>Luke said through Mike's massive headphones connected to his laptop.
Rozen shook his head, "Clayton is not Nicole's boyfriend though. They are just really close friends."
Mike nodded, "I see. Anyway, we should go. Take some chocolate with the enhanced scent, thanks to Brightrose. This scent is irresistible to most serpents. So expect a LOT of snakes."
Rozen nodded.
Zellner stared at the chocolate, "I'll be staying here..."
Hyashi looked at Zellner, "Why, don't like snakes?"
Zellner shook his head, "I'd rather just not go."
Hyashi shrugged, "Whatever works for you. I just ask that you don't go into the lab."
Mike looked at Rozen, "Alright, I'm ready, there's a four person speeder out there that we can take. You can drive right?"
Rozen smiled, "If by drive, you mean crashing into everything I see."
Hyashi and Mike both frowned.
<i>I'll drive, just hop in. Mike, you be in driver seat. Hyashi, you get in passenger with your bow. Rozen, I want you and Nicole in the back.</i> Luke said.
Rozen nodded, "Gabriel, you go Clayton hunting. He might not kill you." The group went to the car, got in, and got situated.
<i>Ok, I got it configured. Strap in!</i> Luke said as the vehicle slowly lifted off the ground.
The vehicle sped off into the forest. Hyashi aimed his bow forward, a line of green energy between his fingers extended past the bow handle, showing that an arrow was ready. Mike was in the front looking at his laptop.<i> Anyone have a clue where she went?</i> Luke asked.
"She's hungry. She would be somewhere where there are either a lot of humans or big wild cats. I would say most likely a lot of humans," Rozen explained.
While they were on the road to find Nicole, Gabriel went after Clayton on foot, with chocolate.
The speeder went deeper into the forest. Mike looked at Rozen, "She's been gone for the better portion of 45 minutes, how far could she be?"
Rozen started to think for a moment, "With her speed, she could be in the next state for all we know."
Hyashi let go of an arrow at Rozen's statement, "WHAT?! Geez, that bitch can run!"
Rozen shot him a look, "Bitch? And yes, yes she can."
Hyashi smiled, "Sorry. But that is WAY to fast. Luke, how much gas do we have?"
<i>Enough</i> Luke stated.
"Is there a better answer?" Hyashi asked
<i>Enough to escape the atmosphere, and make it 3/4 of the way to Chakona</i>. Luke said
Hyashi coughed, "I see..."
Rozen nodded, "I doubt she would be that far by now. My best estimate is the nearest town, only if it has a bar though."
Mike looked at Rozen this time, "A bar?"
"It is easier to find a willing human when the said human is drunk."
"I see. But there isn't a bar for hours....let alone a town!" Mike said while looking at a map.
"That is where she would be," Rozen stated once more.
<i>Well, I must say, the owner is a bit odd....to say the least.</i> Luke said.
"How do you figure?" Mike asked.
<i>The fox-morph that owns it has very odd ways of treating his customers. He serves damn good drinks though apparently. </i> Luke said with shock.
Rozen leaned forward, over Mike's seat, "What do you mean by that?"
<i>Well. The bartender, who’s name is Jack, has a very odd personality. He seems to relate to everyone, but he talks a lot, about him. According to this article, the only reason anyone goes there is for the drinks. He hand-brews them while he talks. And they are quote, ‘like having sex with 4 chicks at once!’</i> Luke explained.
Rozen nodded, "This is where we are going, good drinks equals lots of drunks."
Hyashi nodded while keeping watch, "Agreed."
Rozen sat back in his seat, "So how far do we have to go?"
<i>Driving, another hour. If we broke down right now, maybe two or three.</i> Luke said.
"Don't even joke about breaking down." Rozen said.
"I'd have to agree, Luke. I trust your calculations, but don't even say that." Mike said as he started to write on his laptop.
Rozen watched Mike type, again leaning over his seat.
The drive continued on for awhile in silence, until Luke said through Mike's computer,<i> Oh come on. You need to switch perspectives now!</i>
"Shut it, and drive Luke. You don't do this for money do you?!!" Mike said loudly.
"Whatcha doing?" Rozen asked.
"Trying to write this story...but Luke keeps freaking changing it...." Mike replied
"What story?" Rozen asked.
"This story I've been working on for since I got out of High School
"Oh, cool. When did you get out of high school?"
"Long time ago...I should actually be dead...." Mike replied
"When was this long time ago?"
<i>Approximately 400 years ago.</i> Luke replied.
Rozen gave a nod, "Nicole was born about 400 years ago too."
The vehicle suddenly stopped, almost throwing Hyashi out. "WHAT?!" Both Mike and Luke asked.
"Yeah, if I remember correctly it was 1992, she was turned into a vampire in 2016," Rozen didn't seem affected by the sudden stop, except that he was pressed against the back of Mike's chair.
"1992? That's when I was born!" Mike said
<i>No it wasn't! Idiot....that's when you got your first chem set.</i> Luke corrected
Rozen laughed, "Is it or is it not?"
"Well, that's when a friend of mine was born." Mike said
Rozen nodded, "Nicole said Brightrose was born in that year."
Hyashi turned this time. "Brightrose?"
Rozen nodded, "He was named Travis back then from what I heard."
Mike nearly jumped at him. "No way! You're fucking with us!"
<i>Hey, Mike. Concentrate on this name, NICOLE...</i> Luke said.
"Not ringing a bell....why?" Mike blinked.
A picture appeared on Mike's screen showing him, Travis, and Nicole all with their different things. Nicole had her favorite calculator, Mike had a test tube with questionable contents, and Travis had his arms around the both of them
"Oh fuck no!" Mike said
Hyashi laughed, "Small world, with even smaller dimensions!"
"So you three somewhat knew each other, cool. I can dig that," Rozen nodded approvingly.
"Luke, position from bar?" Hyashi asked.
"So what was your relationship with the two of them?" Rozen grinned, having only one subject on mind.
Mike said, "I never really knew Nicole that well. I was always too busy with NuChem and BioChem."
"Actually Rozen, that reminds me. Answer me honestly, would you marry Mia if you had the option?" Hyashi asked, still looking out for predators
Rozen scooted back into the corner of the vehicle, "Marry?!" He shuddered, "Marriage is a big word..."
Hyashi smiled and put his bow away, "Yeah it is. Mia's a big girl, and your a big boy now aren't you?"
Rozen shook his head, "Hyashi, I'm not ready to settle down and marry."
"Who said settle down?! Mia doesn't just settle down and be a wife!"
"Also there is the whole Ivan thing she just got over."
No one spoke for a good minute, then Hyashi broke the silence, "None of us were around when Ivan died. She needs you Rozen, as much as I don't want to admit it, she loves you."
<i>Can you not return the favor? She needs someone to support her. Ivan clearly could not handle
his responsibility to be there when she needed him.</i> Luke interjected
"Look, I can be there, but marriage? That's just out of the question at this current moment in time," Rozen put his hands up defensively.
"Well, you better be there quick. To be honest, she's running out of options. Even though Ivan wasn't the best husband, he provided her company. Garrett can't keep up with everyone and her. Someone needs to help Garrett. And Rozen, your the only one who can do it." Hyashi said plainly.
Rozen sighed, "Look, I'm kinda in the middle of a divorce. Marriage is not something I can technically do."
"Divorce?" Mike asked
<i>SHITFUCK! WE PASSED IT!</i> Luke yelled.
The vehicle spun in a full 180 and sped in the other direction. A good 30 seconds later, the team parked in front of a small shack-house.
<i>We're here. Mike, take the chip out of the car.</i> Luke said.
"Gee your so demanding!" Mike said as he grabbed a rectangular chip and put it in his computer.
Rozen jumped out of the car, "Let me handle this." He went inside as if he owned the place.
Hyashi quickly followed with Mike trailing behind him.
The three opened the door to the bar. It wasn't much bigger than Garrett's living room. A male Fox-morph stood behind the center counter. He had a glass in his hand and a towel in his other, cleaning the glass.
Rozen went straight up to the counter and banged his hand on it, "Jack! It's nice to see you again, remember me? I was in here a few weeks ago." He gave Jack his award-winning grin.
Jack looked at the man, "No, you don't look from around here. You look like a guy I knew back when I was a kid. What days those were! Man, me and my buddy Tom would go fishing down in the creek! We caught all sorts of fish! Hell, one time, I caught an Aquataur! No joke!"
<i>Aquataurs went extinct a long time ago. There is no possible way you did. </i>Luke said passively
"Hell I did! It was a vixen too! Her name was Auto-heem or something!"
Hyashi froze, "Otohime?"
Jack laughed, "That's the one my green friend!"
Hyashi left the bar without another word.
Rozen grinned to Jack, "That's an interesting story buddy. Now I need help finding this fucking bitch. She owes me something, if you know what I mean." He gave the morph a wink.
Jack nudged Rozen twice, "Those vixens always come back, eh? What does she or shi, whatever your preference is, look like?"
"Yes they always do. Well first of all she's human," Rozen smirked, "She's real pale and is about
this high, long hair, like an auburn color, hazel-ish eyes."
Jack took no time in looking, he pointed to the far right corner of the bar. It had a whole lot of shadow over it. "Over there, if she wasn't so drunk, she'd be gone!"
Mike shrugged and whispered to Rozen, "You called it!"
"I assure you, she doesn't drink," Rozen grinned, heading over to the corner, "Come on Nicole, time to go back. Everyone has forgiven everyone and no one is mad anymore."
Nicole stared up at him, "Rozen...I...I killed someone...please just take me away from everyone, I don't want to be around humans anymore."
Rozen took her hand and pulled Nicole to her feet, "Don't talk like that. You know Zellner will forgive you."
"But will everyone else?"
"Since when have you cared what anyone else thinks?"
"Since I remembered there's a lot more to life than science."
"So you love me?" Rozen gave her a crooked grin.
Nicole did not look amused as she said, "No, no I do not."
Mike walked up to Nicole, "Come on, let's go home! There's chocolate!"
Nicole shook her head, "Sorry, I like chocolate and all, but I'm so stuffed."
"How big was this thing you ate?" Rozen asked.
"Big, like bigger than Garrett and Clayton combined!" Nicole spread her arms out to emphasis the mass of the creature.
<i>Hopefully the car won't flip over....let's go...</i> Luke said with a certain distaste
The group walked out the bar, hoping to avoid the bill, and Jack. When they walked out, they couldn't find Hyashi.
Mike stated the obvious first, "Hey, where did Hyashi go?"
<i>He's walking back. Rather, he's running. His primary heart is running at quite the speed. His secondary heart is even going faster!</i> Luke said.
"Woah, Foxtaurs have two hearts?" Mike asked
<i>As well as Chakats...let's go find him...</i> Luke said as everyone got in the car
Rozen was about to lean over Mike's seat again, but Nicole decided to lay down and rest her head in Rozen's lap. Rozen Stared at the back of Mike's head, "So, how far is he?"
"According to his Emerald Necklace, he's right here??" Mike said with confusion
Rozen looked around, "Seriously? Did he leave it in the vehicle?" He had limited space to look, Nicole had fallen asleep.
<i>No, he left it on a tree, to your right. Meaning he could be in one of two places.</i> Luke said
Mike got out and retrieved the necklace. "Yeah, he's probably at his village. But that's WAY far away from here."
"Now it's my turn to ask you, how fast can he run?" Rozen asked.
<i>Well, Foxtaurs can't run terribly fast. He can go about as fast as this car, which is about 50 MPH. However, Foxtaurs have quite the ability to run for extended periods of time. A well-ecsersized Foxtaur can run for at least 2 days straight. </i>Luke said.
"So do we wait for him to come back or go after him?" Rozen asked.
Mike turned around, "He ran off for a reason, so he's probably not going to come back for a while. And, since he left before Nicole got in the car, we'll break down before we get there. This thing doesn't do well over WATER...."
"Why not?"
<i>The gravity chamber works on heat recyclers. Over water, if the heat needs recycled, the magnets kick in, since water has no polarity, we'll fall in the water.... </i>Luke said.
Rozen nodded, "So back to Garrett's house we go. We're off to see the taur, the wonderful taur of Oz."
Mike would have backhanded Rozen, but they arrived at Garrett's. As the three got out, Mike walked up to Rozen and pointed inside, "Look at her, she's by herself, waiting for you to walk in and pay attention to her. Go for it, man!"
Nicole, who was holding somewhat on Rozen's arm, reluctantly let go.
Rozen stared at Nicole and then at Mike, "You make sure she gets inside alright, after feeding sometimes she walks like a man would after drinking for nine years." He then headed inside.
Nicole tried to keep her balance without something to hold onto.
Mike quickly walked up to Nicole and grabbed her arm. He blushed a bit, but no one noticed, until Luke spoke up, <i>Manwhore...</i>
Nicole didn't even try to ask what Luke was talking about, all she knew was she was in a building, she had something keeping her steady, and she wanted to go to sleep, "I need to go to sleep." Her words were slightly slurred.
Mike nodded and led her up to her room. He put her next to her bed and turned around to leave.
Nicole stared at his retreating figure, "Thank you." She had no clue who Mike was, it had been almost 400 years since she was human.
Mike turned around and bowed a bit, "Sure."
Nicole sat down on the bed, she was getting wobbly again, "You seem almost familiar...as if it was another life time...so long ago..."
Mike looked at her, “Yeah, I knew you in Quest. I was the chem dude. Me, you, and Travis would all hang out with Desmond and those guys. But Travis is apparently a Chakat and Desmond is dead by
now…”
Nicole nodded absent mindedly, “I don’t remember…are you sure?”
Mike gave Nicole an odd look, “Yeah, here…” Mike pulled out a photo from one of his inside pockets on his leather jacket. The photo portrayed three people in front of a red-brown building with green letters that said: ‘Quest High School’. Mike showed nicole the photo to Nicole, “Don’t you remember this?”
Nicole took the photo from him, crossing her legs on the bed. She stared at it intensly, putting a hand to her head to try and clear it. It was so long ago, she wasn’t frozen for all that time like Travis or transported through time like Mike, she had lived it. She had lived and watched the world slowly change. She squinted her eyes and brought the picture closer to her face, “That use to be me? I’ve been like this for so long I can’t even remember that. I know these people though…” The drunken state she had been in, from all of the blood, was slowly disappearing.
Mike nodded as he slowly took the photo from Nicole. “Yeah, I didn’t recognize you either. I’m the only one who hasn’t changed outfit or attitude since the 00’s! Desmond’s dead, Travis is a Chakat, you’re a vampire, and I’m….no different.”
Nicole nodded, “Yeah…I kind of wish I could go back to this, to what I was and actually age and one day hopefully die. You and Travis got lucky, you didn’t have to live and watch everyone slowly die and then have to meet new people, get close to them, and watch them die. I’m still going to be here when Terra ends and finally dies. I will probably be floating around in space while Terra finally explodes.” She gave an empty laugh.
“Well. That’s not <b>entirely</b> true. For one, space would freeze you to death, you’d be a floating ice block. Second, when me and Luke traveled through time, things happened. Imagine flying through a tunnel. On either side, are pictures, showing you events that happen in the future if you weren’t there. My girlfriend, Sara died because she went to a party and was trampeled to death. Luke’s friend Jenny was thrown in jail because she murdered the man who trampled Sara. We watched all sorts of shit happened. Finally we found ourselves into the kitchen of Ashley, Wordrunner, and Geostrider. It sucked, trust me.” Mike said slowly.
Nicole nodded, “I left before I had to see all of that and when I came back, <b>everyone</b> was gone. They had all either died, moved, or been taken to be ‘worked’ on by scientists. I still left everyone and was turned into this. If I had stayed home I would have been fine and died of old age like Desmond.”
Mike looked shocked, “Desmond died of old age? I was told that he was shot!”
Nicole shrugged, “I don’t know for sure. All I know is I went to visit, he was alive, and then I came back 34 years later and he was dead, you and Travis were no where to be found. You guys actually have tombstones, everyone thought you were dead.”
At this time, Brightrose had walked into the room. Shi saw the photo in Mike’s hand, shi instantly grabbed it from him and looked at it intently. “Oh shit! That’s you, and me, and….YOU!”
Mike turned around and stared at the crazed Chakat, “Yes, Brightrose, thanks for knocking. But I was thinking, we should go see Desmond. As far as I’m concerned, all of the bodies are now preserved.”
Nicole stared at the two, “Magical Adventure?” She shook her head, “I’m too old for this shit. He’s gone, that’s all that matters.”
Mike looked back at Nicole, “Weren’t you just complaining about notdieing or aging?! You’re almost as young as you were 400 years ago!”
Nicole shook her head, “I am over 450 years old! Mentally I am over 450 years old! Physically I am only 24! Plus I have to stay here, I have a few things I need to take care of with Rozen.”
Brightrose laughed, rather loudly, “Rozen is just<b> fine</b>! He and Mia are going out to dinner anyway.”
Nicole shook her ehad, “Not like that. We have to finish up the procedings to make our divorce official.”
Mike and Brightrose both flinched, “Divorce?” Mike asked.
Brightrose stepped forward and got some documents from hir backpack. “All of that is taken care of. Ever since you got here, I have been slowly carrying this divorce through, just sign where designated and its over.”
Nicole stared at the stack, “I want both of you to leave. Get out of here! <b>Now</b>!”
Brightrose shrugged and left the papers in front of her. Shi grabbed Mike by his shoulder and walked out of the room with him.
Nicole broke down. She had just started feeling that spark with Rozen again and now she has the ticket to get out of the relationship within reach. She stared at the stack and picked them up. She went downstairs and to the fireplace, lighting it up. Anyone could guess what she was going to do with the documents. She tossed the whole stack into the fire, using a poker to make sure every single letter on the papers was burned to ash.
Garrett watched as the papers burned, as Nicole left, he went over to Greyfur, “Greyfur, those papers were divorce documents. Mia can’t legally be around Rozen as long as that evidence was destroyed!”
Greyfur frowned, “Hyashi isn’t back yet! I have to wait for him! Inform Isaac and Wordrunner, they’d know what to do.”
Rozen tipped his glass to his lips, “Mia, this is a very nice place. I haven’t been to somewhere this fucking fancy in forever.”
Mia smiled, “Thank you, a friend of mine has contacts here, so it was no trouble at all!” <i>‘Come on! Is he as nervous as Ivan? Or is it something else? Should I propose? No, I’ll just wait for a little bit longer.’</i> Mia thought as she took another drink.
Rozen sighed, “Mia…I have something to tell you. I’m still legally married…” He closed his eyes, waiting to be hit or have wine splashed all over him.
Mia smiled, she had seen this coming. “Well, not anymore! Luke found divorce papers! He printed them out and all that needs to happen is Nicole’s signature!”
Rozen stared at her, “You have to be kidding me, Luke went into mine and Nicole’s personal files? While the intentions were pure, Mia this is something I have to do with Nicole, not something that people need to push. We will get divorced in our own time, these things need to be handled with fucking care. Nicole and I are not fucking stable enough to go through this shit as if it was a fucking toy we just fucking broke. This is a broken vow that I fucking made to Nicole. I have to fucking fix this crap myself.”
Mia sighed, she had this one coming. “Well, Luke didn’t look for them. Someone of your team scanned them onto the lab’s memory purposefully, as if that person wanted this to happen. But please, don’t blame it on Luke, it’s not his fault.”
Rozen stood up, “It is, he didn’t have to print them out, he has no fucking clue how much this is going to cause fucking problems and bring back shit that just needs to be buried forever.” He had his glass in his hand, it crushed and the glass embedded itself into his skin. He stomped off and outside.
Mia stood up and apologized to the rest of the restaurant. She slowly walked outside to find her car empty. She started to drive home in tears.
Hyashi sat curled up next to a tree, sleeping. He heard loud footsteeps coming towards him. He quickly redied his bow and aimed towards the sound. He boomed, “Who goes there?”
Rozen stopped and stared at the Foxtaur, “It’s just me, Rozen…” He then continued on his way to walk home.
Hyashi lowered the bow, “Rozen? It’s me, Hyashi! Wait up!”
I'm trying a new thing, so don't mind the <i> Italics</i> if they don't work
The Zoo?
Part 4: Kicked out
Clayton, now done with his crying, stared at Fiox for a moment, “We were home with the cake of deliciousness in the kitchen all this time and you didn’t tell me?! What kind of monster are you?!”
<i>“Actually, if you think about it, we’re all monsters in our own way. I suggest you apologize Clayton.”</i> Luke’s voice said over the intercom.
Mike looked up and asked, “Luke? Where are you man?”
<i>“Me and Sara ran into troubles. I’ll still be able to speak to you, though it’ll be difficult to see you.”</i> Luke responded.
Clayton shook his head and took Nicole’s hand, “Take me to the cake Miss Nicole!”
Nicole was dragged towards the exit of the ship. She stared at Garrett and Mike as she was dragged away by the naga.
Rozen grinned, “Well since we are home and everything, show me to your room Mia.”
Brightrose lightly hit Mia as shi said, “I approve.” After saying this, shi followed Garrett, Isaac, and Mike out.
Hyashi and Greyfur followed next. As Hyashi approached Mia, he said, “Go for it, he’s not all that bad!”
Mia walked up to Rozen and took his hand, “This way.” she said softly.
Rozen smirked, “Why thank you milady.”
Clayton took Nicole into the kitchen. He started to trash it, looking for the chocolate. Nicole sighed, going to find some dark room.
Garrett followed Brightrose into the kitchen and sighed. “Clayton, the trader won’t be here for another hour. You’ll know when shi gets here. Oh, and shi’ll be staying for awhile. Since you are staying in hir room, you’ll have to share the bed…”
Clayton’s head popped out of a cabinet and he grinned widely, “Is she hot?” Rozen was apparently tainting Clayton.
“Well, I think shi is. But shi has two mates already. Shi’ll have a cart behind her, the cart will be loaded with the rare chocolate. So, I’m going to go down to the lab and get stuff to trade. Make sure that you give hir a warm welcome. I’m trusting you Clayton.”
Clayton nodded, “I’ll give her a very<b> warm</b> welcome. Maybe lay on a <b>warm</b> bed drinking <b>warm</b> hot chocolate and having some <b>warm</b> hot-”
“Mind you. Shi has two other mates. However, you might be in luck. Since shi has been traveling for the past two weeks to make this delivery, shi hasn’t gotten to be with them. Depending on hir mood, you might get lucky!” Garrett said as he nudged his elbow on Clayton’s shoulder.
Clayton stuck his tongue out, “EW! That’s not what I was going to say!”
Garrett laughed, “Yes it was. You’re just embarrassed that you might get laid. Not only does shi look amazing, but shi has to have that bed. If you haven’t noticed, that bed is specially fitted for hir. That’s
why you sleep so easily at night. Whether or not you want to share the bed is your choice, but I know that shi wouldn’t argue. Oh well, I’m going to get the stuff. Shi’ll be here soon.” Garrett said as he walked away.
Clayton frowned and crossed his arms, “I don’t want to get laid. Getting laid is lame.”
Nicole searched around and found the entrance to the lab. She opened up the door and peaked in, “Hello? Anyone in here?” She walked into the lab.
Mike, who was searching through the main computer for something, turned around. “Yeah, it’s Mike. Is that you Brightrose?”
Nicole fully walked into the lab, “Sorry, I’m no Brightrose.” She looked around, “Mind if I use some equipment in here?”
Mike looked at Nicole, “Sorry, Garrett says only me, Brightrose, and himself can use the equipment. But I guess he wouldn’t mind if I watched you. Luke, any suggestions?”
<i>“I recommend that you do it, only under strict supervision. Just don’t let her use the primary computer, or anything bigger than she is. Otherwise, you should be fine.”</i> Luke said on the computer speakers.
“Groovy. What do you need?” Mike asked.
“Just some chemicals.” She looked around, “A beaker, test tubes, fire, and probably a machine bigger than me…” She smiled. Nicole walked around, touching stuff.
“Chemicals and that other stuff I can help with. As far as that other machine, I’m sorry.” Mike said as he shrugged.
<i>“I, as well as the other scientists here, would appreciate if you didn’t touch anything in the lab. Actually, the only machine I can allow you to use is the Ionization Blade. Mike, you may want to show her how to use it.”</i> Luke said.
Mike nodded. He led Nicole to a large machine with a blade in the center. “Now the first rule of the Ionization Blade, is that you DON’T TOUCH THE BLADE! Since I’m trained, I’ll show you why.” Mike took off his leather glove and put on a metal one. He poked the pulsing blue light with the tip of his finger, and blood splattered out of the glove. “Ah, fuck! You see, that’s why we don’t touch it, it breaks EVERYTHING!”
Nicole, who wasn’t paying attention, had picked up a vial to look at the glowing liquid. When the first drop of blood left his body, she dropped the vial. It shattered on the floor, the liquid slowly eating away at the floor. She stared at his finger, her heart hammering into her throat. Her eyes were wide with surprise.
Garrett walked in as he heard Mike’s pain. As he saw the liquid, he said, “SHITFUCK! What the hell happened?!”
Nicole didn’t respond for a few moment as she stared at the blood, slowly bringing her hand to it, touching the cool liquid. She shook her head and snapped out of it, turning around to see Garrett, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to! I’ve got to go talk to Zellner!” She almost disappeared as she ran for the exit.
<i>“I don’t think you’re going anywhere, you owe Garrett, Mike, and me a thorough explanation.” </i>Luke said as the Lab doors all shut and locked. Locking Garrett, Mike, and Nicole all in the lab.
Nicole stared at the door and cracked her knuckles, thinking this over, muttering to herself, “So either I tell them or I can punch this door down, but I might end up getting all of us kicked out. It’s hard to decide.”
She turned to face the group and sighed, licking her fingers of the blood droplets, “I might as well come clean about this. Now you guys probably remember me attacking several of the Humans First and biting down on their necks, ripping out their throats. The only reason I can do that is because of these.” She opened her mouth and poked one of her pointed fangs. It punctured a hole into her finger. She then closed her mouth, “I am a vampire, I have been a vampire since 2016. There aren’t many of my kind left. I became one at 24 and therefore I will be 24 forever, unless I destroy myself.”
<i>“Well, assuming you’re telling the truth, I did research on Vampires. Supposedly you’re afflicted by sunlight, which I haven’t seen any signs of. Also, the first sign of blood triggers a reaction in your internal mind. Based on your heartbeat, this proves true.” </i>Luke said through the computer.
“A Vampire….I see.” Mike said, trying to find rationality in the statement.
Garrett grabbed some cleaner and a special vacuum. “Luke, please disengage security protocols. She’s forgiven, but please inform everyone that she is no longer allowed in the lab without Brightrose.”
<i>“Done, but if you don’t mind me asking, why Brightrose?”</i>
“Because SOME PEOPLE don’t follow lab rules.” Garrett said as he shot a glare at Mike.
Nicole shook her head, “Garrett, I promise it won’t happen again. It was just a freak accident. I haven’t eaten in three days and at the Humans First place I didn’t eat, I was just killing. As soon as I go hunt I’ll be fine, just please don’t restrict me from the lab. I swear on my first born that I will never do anything that stupid again. I just need to hunt.” She was begging him now. She needed the lab and possibly to use it alone for Zellner’s work. She slowly approached Garrett and stared up at him, she was somewhat short for a girl, “Please Garrett? I just want to mix chemicals and help Professor Zellner with his studies. I will never be so careless again. I’ll do anything to not be so restricted in the lab.”
Garrett slowly backed up, his ears slightly pinked at the closeness of Nicole. "T...there's a forest out there with feral creatures. If they don't talk to you, they're game. I'll consider your request..."
Nicole smiled, "Thank you. I'd much rather human, but animals work as well." She looked over at the computer, "Although, vampires have advanced and can stand out in the sun, just not for an extended period of time, which is why I travel in forests during the day."
<i>I see. Garrett, Justine will arrive soon, I would prepare the equipment for hir. Mike, please get Brightrose out of the fitness area, hir heart rate is becoming irregular</i> Luke said.
Just then, Nicole's phone rang. She picked up and answered, "Hello?"
“Nicole, stay for a while, don't ask how I got your number, just stay for a bit.” Luke asked through the phone.
Nicole nodded, "Okay, I see Zellner. I'll just work in the lab and if you need me, just come down here." She was just trying to make it sound like an important call.
As the others left, Luke shut the doors, locking Nicole inside with Luke.<i> As you no doubt have noticed, I am the computer now. Me and Sara ran into difficulties transferring bodies. Which means, I have access to everyone's health at any given time. While Mike and Garrett were here, I noticed a disturbance in your hormones. Something wrong?</i>
Nicole's cheeks turned pink and she crossed her arms, "Nothing, nothing is wrong at all, why do
you say that? It's nothing, nothing is up, nothing is going on.”
<i>“I beg to differ. It seems up to the point of Mike cutting his finger, you felt attached to him. After your….accident, you returned to normal until Garrett walked in. Also, you’re lying to me, or at least you have a .01 chance of telling the truth. Please be honest with me.” </i>Luke said with sincerity.
Nicole sat down on a stool and looked around, spinning in the stool, “Alright, I’m just a little attracted to Garrett and Mike, just a little bit. Only a little.”
<i>“Liar. You nearly fell over when you were no more than 2 feet from Garrett. Had Mike walked up to help Garrett, you would have passed out. I can tell, as your eyes are still recovering from that.”</i>
Nicole went over to the computer, “You’re just a computer, you don’t know anything.” She started pressing buttons and going into the files.
All of the files she accessed that contained personal info were password protected. <i>“I’m sorry, dearest, I can’t let you look at those. I know what you’re trying to do, you backstabbing bitch. I want you to stay away from Mike and Garrett. You’ll do nothing but harm. Now leave.” </i>Luke locked Nicole out of the computer and opened the doors to the lab.
Nicole frowned and slammed her fist on the computer, a larger crater-like dent was left in the computer, “Like you guys won’t do anything to harm us! I know what your kind of group is like! You take us in and mess up us more than we are!”
The doors re-locked as a panel on the floor rose up about knee height to Nicole. Under the panel was a small barrel. A blue beam fired from the barrel and hit Nicole in the knee. Instead of damaging her, Nicole was frozen in place. <i>“Look here, vampire. As long as you’re in this lab, I control you. You will stay away from Garrett and Mike. You will do as I say. I control the defense systems of this house, which include everyone’s room. If you bring harm to anyone in my group, I won’t think twice to take prisoners. Think about it. Rozen won’t leave Mia, and she’ll try and argue his case. Zellner may escape, but only because he is the least favorite here. I will no longer allow you to spy on my friends. Leave.” </i>The beam retracted from Nicole and the doors reopened.
Nicole kicked the computer and ran out. She was only a burst of wind as she ran out of the house.
Justine was pulling hir anti-grav cart at a moderate pace. Shi hadn’t seen hir mates in awhile, and shi really needed a bed to sleep in. Shi looked up and saw Garrett’s summer home up ahead. Shi started to pick up the pace. Shi would have yelled for Garrett to get outside, but hir cart was flipped over, the harness taking hir with it. Shi looked at what could have happened to flip the cart so suddenly. Shi looked at Nicole staring back at hir on the ground.
Nicole gave hir a quick glance and then was back to running away from the house. She didn’t stop until she was deep into the forest, the sun finally setting in the sky.
Justine picked up hir cart. “Thanks bitch!” Justine yelled in Nicole’s direction as shi reloaded all of hir contents. Shi continued onto the trail and knocked on Garrett’s door while still cursing at the encounter.
Clayton jerked his head up from the refrigerator. Him and Nicole had a mental connection and it just broke, meaning she was over 10 miles away. He started to freak out and slithered down the halls yelling, “ROZEN! ZELLNER! GABRIEL! GARRETT! MIA! MIKE! BRIGHTROSE! FIOX! GEOSTRIDER! WORDRUNNER! ISAAC! GREYFUR! HYASHI! SARA! ASHLEY! NICOLE’S GONE! I CAN’T SENSE WHERE SHE IS!” He used his disconnecting jaw to the best of its ability as he stretched his mouth wide to be able to yell even louder.
Brightrose and Hyashi, both rubbing their eyes, looked at Clayton. "What the hell?"
"NICOLE IS NOT IN THE HOUSE!" Clayton was clearly freaking out,"SHE'S AT LEAST 10 MILES AWAY! SHE WOULDN'T HUNT THAT FAR AWAY!" He was waving his arms around dramatically.
Garrett and Mike joined the slowly approaching group, "How do you know?" Garrett asked.
Rozen rubbed his eyes, "Are you sure you're freaking out over nothing again? There isn't much small game out here, she would have to go pretty far."
Clayton frowned at Rozen. "You know my mental connection with her is always there. You know she would never go outside of it, especially over 10 miles, you also know that she would stay close by with your sickness acting up."
"Ahem." said a female voice from behind the group. It was a red-brown Foxtaur, without the black 'gloves' and 'socks' that most Foxtaurs had.
Garrett instantly recognized the vixentaur in the doorway. "Justine! Sorry, you caught us at a bad time!"
Justine laughed, "Oh, Garrett! I always catch you at a bad time! Who are the new guys now?" Justine said as if shi expected new people.
Clayton shook his head quickly, "No time for introductions! We have a crisis!" He stared at the group, "Okay time for action! I say we all scout the area, the kidnappers could be anywhere."
"Wait, she was kidnapped?" Gabriel asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I don't know, but it is the only logic explanation for her to be so far away," Clayton seriously needed to calm down.
<i>Actually. I have a probable explanation. And our apologies Justine, this is probably more of a bad time than you realize </i>Luke said through the house speakers
"Luke, what do you think?" Sara asked
<i>Most likely, she has run away. And I'm satisfied she has.</i>
Rozen clenched his hands into fists at his side, "Now, why would she of mighty Luke?" He was trying so hard to keep his sarcasm light-hearted.
<i>She was plotting betrayal of my team. And frankly, I have reason to believe that Zellner knew the whole time. Go ahead, professor, share to the group why Nicole is your favorite.</i>
Zellner frowned, "This is not the time. You have no idea what you have done. Vampires are emotional and passionate creatures. If you had said anything to upset her in such a way that she has jeopardized herself, I will erase you."
Mike stood up to Zellner, "Hey! Now's not the time to explain that you've been SPYING on us!"
Brightrose joined him. "So wait, let me get this straight. You broke into our home, take our hospitality, get us caught in jail, AND backstab us?!" Brightrose yelled.
<i>As well as destroy my body, yes. That is correct. Professor, begin explaining!</i>
Gabriel stood between the professor and everyone else, "Look, I have no idea what has been going
on, but all I know is right now I would like to locate Nicole. I'm sure Rozen and Clayton are on the same page as me. A friend is in need and God would rather us help that friend then destroy the reputation of another."
Mia walked up to Gabriel, "God has no room here. Zellner, I demand to know why!"
<i>Here, I have a proposition. We'll let you out of the house to locate your backstabbing spy, when you tell us why you have been doing this all along. </i>Luke said as the house doors shut closed and reinforced themselves with solid iosteel.
Justine looked around, "Just tell them what they want!" Shi didn't know what was happening, but shi didn't like it.
Everyone drew their weapons.
Rozen sighed, "It's déjà vu all over again, except I'm not the cause."
Zellner sighed, "Gabriel, just allow me to explain to them."
Gabriel hesitated as he stepped out of the way of the professor.
"She isn't a backstabber or a spy. She wasn't plotting any betrayal. Nicole isn't some evil creature bent on destroying mankind. I have reason to believe that you guys have a sketchy past. Why else would I have gone to a Humans First prison? I know higher ups there and they wouldn't allow me out of all people to be in there. Also, why would you guys be so nice to let us stay unless you are going to end up stealing my work or possibly one of my subjects? You all seem very sketchy, so I needed her to find some information on you guys and Nicole would never defy me, she is in debt to me. None of my subjects would defy me, they are in debt."
"We invited you here because you asked to! We didn't want you to die on the coldest night here! Would you rather that we didn't?" Isaac asked.
"You see Garrett, I called this one! Luke, let them out." Fiox said.
Mia looked at Rozen, "Don't Fiox, I'm sure they had their reasons!"
Greyfur went up to Mia, "Don't be standing up for them! They're probably going to kill us now that we know they've been spying!"
The doors opened.
Gabriel and Rozen both got between Greyfur and Mia. Rozen frowned with his eyebrows furrowed, "Look here! I had no idea what was going on! We don't kill people! Don't you dare even start that shit!"
Clayton slithered away from everyone, already outside to go find his friend. He was really worried about her.
Wordrunner strode next to Gabriel and announced, "I assume this is part of your grand scheme to kill all morphs isn't it!? Were you going to burn our house as well?!"
Gabriel frowned and was about to hit her, but Rozen grabbed his fist, "Gabriel, let's just go...there's no point in fighting anymore." He sighed, his voice lowing even more in volume, "Might as well just go back to the professor's lab. At least there we don't cause problems..."
Gabriel gave a short sigh and lowered his arm, "Professor Zellner?"
Zellner stared at the two, "Look, it's not my call. I tried to protect you guys and I got in trouble for it, it's your call whether we stay or go."
Garrett looked at everyone. He sighed deeply. He really didn't want to do this, but if it meant the safety of his friends, he had to. "Good day to you."
Justine stepped aside.
As the group left, Mia chased after them. She was restrained by Wordrunner and Geostrider. Her tears and protests echoed until they were no longer in sight.
Rozen stared at Zellner, "Look I'm sorry, I can't do this." He turned and ran back to the house while Gabriel and Zellner went on to find Nicole and Clayton.
Greyfur met Rozen a good thirty feet from the house. While they were arguing, Hyashi walked next to Garrett, who was staring out the door.
"You know, maybe they didn't need to go. Maybe we should give them another chance."
"You know I can't do that Hyashi. Everyone else will kill me!"
"Did it ever occur to you, that if they wanted to kill us, we'd be dead. They spent a good week here, you think maybe there is some miscommunication?"
Garrett looked at Hyashi, "You really think so?"
"Perhaps. It's worth giving them a proper goodbye at the least."
Garrett nodded. He whistled to Greyfur and Rozen and waved them over.
When the two arrived, Garrett grabbed a box from Justine. He took a piece of paper and wrote something on it. He put it in and box of chocolates and handed it to Rozen and said, "Rozen, give this to Zellner please."
Rozen nodded, "I don't know how far away they will be by now, but I can try." He started running into the woods. He guessed the paper was for them to make sure he doesn't come back again. He gave a heavy sigh.
Zellner and Gabriel weren't as far ahead as Rozen thought they would be. He ran to them and panted as he handed tghe box to Zellner.
Zellner opened up the box and took out the note, reading it.
The note read: We're sorry we kicked you out of our house! Come back!!! :) -Garrett
Zellner did not look amused, "They want us to come back..." He frowned, "WE WALKED ALL THIS WAY AND THEY WANT US TO COME BACK?!"
Rozen shrugged, "They are forgiving. Now, next person to screw this up, I will kill you."
"What if it is you?" Gabriel asked.
"I will kill myself...samurai style."
<i>Was that the wisest move? I have evidence that they.... </i>Luke would have finished, but
Mike cut him off. "Shut it John, they're as human as anyone here."
Gabriel knocked slowly on the door. It was only him, Rozen, and Zellner.
Justine answered the door with a smile and a stick of chocolate for each of them. "Welcome back, I'm Justine!"
Mia, upon seeing Rozen at the door, nearly tackled him to the ground. She wasn't actually saying anything. She was just crying.
Garrett and Hyashi walked up to Zellner and shook his hand. Garrett spoke first, "Hey, my bad. Can we try again?"
Rozen held her and ignored the chocolate, he didn't like chocolate anyways.
Zellner shook his hand, "Possible. Mia I require Rozen's body. I need him to help hunt for my assistant and subject."
Mia, with reluctance, let go of Rozen. Hyashi summoned his bow and called Mike to his side, "As far as finding Nicole, we have that covered."
Mike started to explain, "OK, when you guys were still in jail, me, Luke, and Sara managed to get a lock on your vitals. We can't determine location, but we know if she's near, and if she's alive. I have a live feed with Luke via my computer."
Gabriel nodded, "And what about Clayton? He's missing too."
Mike smiled, "He's chasing after her, because he doesn't have legs, he can't move as fast as we can. Also, he only has poison as weapons. The ferals of the night will slow him down."
"That isn't something to be smiling about," Zellner snapped.
Mike tried to subside it as he said, "Sorry, but I was going to say that he's chasing after his girlfriend, like Romeo and Juliet."
<i>That's still not funny, Mike. I think you lost your humor when we teleported. </i>Luke said through Mike's massive headphones connected to his laptop.
Rozen shook his head, "Clayton is not Nicole's boyfriend though. They are just really close friends."
Mike nodded, "I see. Anyway, we should go. Take some chocolate with the enhanced scent, thanks to Brightrose. This scent is irresistible to most serpents. So expect a LOT of snakes."
Rozen nodded.
Zellner stared at the chocolate, "I'll be staying here..."
Hyashi looked at Zellner, "Why, don't like snakes?"
Zellner shook his head, "I'd rather just not go."
Hyashi shrugged, "Whatever works for you. I just ask that you don't go into the lab."
Mike looked at Rozen, "Alright, I'm ready, there's a four person speeder out there that we can take. You can drive right?"
Rozen smiled, "If by drive, you mean crashing into everything I see."
Hyashi and Mike both frowned.
<i>I'll drive, just hop in. Mike, you be in driver seat. Hyashi, you get in passenger with your bow. Rozen, I want you and Nicole in the back.</i> Luke said.
Rozen nodded, "Gabriel, you go Clayton hunting. He might not kill you." The group went to the car, got in, and got situated.
<i>Ok, I got it configured. Strap in!</i> Luke said as the vehicle slowly lifted off the ground.
The vehicle sped off into the forest. Hyashi aimed his bow forward, a line of green energy between his fingers extended past the bow handle, showing that an arrow was ready. Mike was in the front looking at his laptop.<i> Anyone have a clue where she went?</i> Luke asked.
"She's hungry. She would be somewhere where there are either a lot of humans or big wild cats. I would say most likely a lot of humans," Rozen explained.
While they were on the road to find Nicole, Gabriel went after Clayton on foot, with chocolate.
The speeder went deeper into the forest. Mike looked at Rozen, "She's been gone for the better portion of 45 minutes, how far could she be?"
Rozen started to think for a moment, "With her speed, she could be in the next state for all we know."
Hyashi let go of an arrow at Rozen's statement, "WHAT?! Geez, that bitch can run!"
Rozen shot him a look, "Bitch? And yes, yes she can."
Hyashi smiled, "Sorry. But that is WAY to fast. Luke, how much gas do we have?"
<i>Enough</i> Luke stated.
"Is there a better answer?" Hyashi asked
<i>Enough to escape the atmosphere, and make it 3/4 of the way to Chakona</i>. Luke said
Hyashi coughed, "I see..."
Rozen nodded, "I doubt she would be that far by now. My best estimate is the nearest town, only if it has a bar though."
Mike looked at Rozen this time, "A bar?"
"It is easier to find a willing human when the said human is drunk."
"I see. But there isn't a bar for hours....let alone a town!" Mike said while looking at a map.
"That is where she would be," Rozen stated once more.
<i>Well, I must say, the owner is a bit odd....to say the least.</i> Luke said.
"How do you figure?" Mike asked.
<i>The fox-morph that owns it has very odd ways of treating his customers. He serves damn good drinks though apparently. </i> Luke said with shock.
Rozen leaned forward, over Mike's seat, "What do you mean by that?"
<i>Well. The bartender, who’s name is Jack, has a very odd personality. He seems to relate to everyone, but he talks a lot, about him. According to this article, the only reason anyone goes there is for the drinks. He hand-brews them while he talks. And they are quote, ‘like having sex with 4 chicks at once!’</i> Luke explained.
Rozen nodded, "This is where we are going, good drinks equals lots of drunks."
Hyashi nodded while keeping watch, "Agreed."
Rozen sat back in his seat, "So how far do we have to go?"
<i>Driving, another hour. If we broke down right now, maybe two or three.</i> Luke said.
"Don't even joke about breaking down." Rozen said.
"I'd have to agree, Luke. I trust your calculations, but don't even say that." Mike said as he started to write on his laptop.
Rozen watched Mike type, again leaning over his seat.
The drive continued on for awhile in silence, until Luke said through Mike's computer,<i> Oh come on. You need to switch perspectives now!</i>
"Shut it, and drive Luke. You don't do this for money do you?!!" Mike said loudly.
"Whatcha doing?" Rozen asked.
"Trying to write this story...but Luke keeps freaking changing it...." Mike replied
"What story?" Rozen asked.
"This story I've been working on for since I got out of High School
"Oh, cool. When did you get out of high school?"
"Long time ago...I should actually be dead...." Mike replied
"When was this long time ago?"
<i>Approximately 400 years ago.</i> Luke replied.
Rozen gave a nod, "Nicole was born about 400 years ago too."
The vehicle suddenly stopped, almost throwing Hyashi out. "WHAT?!" Both Mike and Luke asked.
"Yeah, if I remember correctly it was 1992, she was turned into a vampire in 2016," Rozen didn't seem affected by the sudden stop, except that he was pressed against the back of Mike's chair.
"1992? That's when I was born!" Mike said
<i>No it wasn't! Idiot....that's when you got your first chem set.</i> Luke corrected
Rozen laughed, "Is it or is it not?"
"Well, that's when a friend of mine was born." Mike said
Rozen nodded, "Nicole said Brightrose was born in that year."
Hyashi turned this time. "Brightrose?"
Rozen nodded, "He was named Travis back then from what I heard."
Mike nearly jumped at him. "No way! You're fucking with us!"
<i>Hey, Mike. Concentrate on this name, NICOLE...</i> Luke said.
"Not ringing a bell....why?" Mike blinked.
A picture appeared on Mike's screen showing him, Travis, and Nicole all with their different things. Nicole had her favorite calculator, Mike had a test tube with questionable contents, and Travis had his arms around the both of them
"Oh fuck no!" Mike said
Hyashi laughed, "Small world, with even smaller dimensions!"
"So you three somewhat knew each other, cool. I can dig that," Rozen nodded approvingly.
"Luke, position from bar?" Hyashi asked.
"So what was your relationship with the two of them?" Rozen grinned, having only one subject on mind.
Mike said, "I never really knew Nicole that well. I was always too busy with NuChem and BioChem."
"Actually Rozen, that reminds me. Answer me honestly, would you marry Mia if you had the option?" Hyashi asked, still looking out for predators
Rozen scooted back into the corner of the vehicle, "Marry?!" He shuddered, "Marriage is a big word..."
Hyashi smiled and put his bow away, "Yeah it is. Mia's a big girl, and your a big boy now aren't you?"
Rozen shook his head, "Hyashi, I'm not ready to settle down and marry."
"Who said settle down?! Mia doesn't just settle down and be a wife!"
"Also there is the whole Ivan thing she just got over."
No one spoke for a good minute, then Hyashi broke the silence, "None of us were around when Ivan died. She needs you Rozen, as much as I don't want to admit it, she loves you."
<i>Can you not return the favor? She needs someone to support her. Ivan clearly could not handle
his responsibility to be there when she needed him.</i> Luke interjected
"Look, I can be there, but marriage? That's just out of the question at this current moment in time," Rozen put his hands up defensively.
"Well, you better be there quick. To be honest, she's running out of options. Even though Ivan wasn't the best husband, he provided her company. Garrett can't keep up with everyone and her. Someone needs to help Garrett. And Rozen, your the only one who can do it." Hyashi said plainly.
Rozen sighed, "Look, I'm kinda in the middle of a divorce. Marriage is not something I can technically do."
"Divorce?" Mike asked
<i>SHITFUCK! WE PASSED IT!</i> Luke yelled.
The vehicle spun in a full 180 and sped in the other direction. A good 30 seconds later, the team parked in front of a small shack-house.
<i>We're here. Mike, take the chip out of the car.</i> Luke said.
"Gee your so demanding!" Mike said as he grabbed a rectangular chip and put it in his computer.
Rozen jumped out of the car, "Let me handle this." He went inside as if he owned the place.
Hyashi quickly followed with Mike trailing behind him.
The three opened the door to the bar. It wasn't much bigger than Garrett's living room. A male Fox-morph stood behind the center counter. He had a glass in his hand and a towel in his other, cleaning the glass.
Rozen went straight up to the counter and banged his hand on it, "Jack! It's nice to see you again, remember me? I was in here a few weeks ago." He gave Jack his award-winning grin.
Jack looked at the man, "No, you don't look from around here. You look like a guy I knew back when I was a kid. What days those were! Man, me and my buddy Tom would go fishing down in the creek! We caught all sorts of fish! Hell, one time, I caught an Aquataur! No joke!"
<i>Aquataurs went extinct a long time ago. There is no possible way you did. </i>Luke said passively
"Hell I did! It was a vixen too! Her name was Auto-heem or something!"
Hyashi froze, "Otohime?"
Jack laughed, "That's the one my green friend!"
Hyashi left the bar without another word.
Rozen grinned to Jack, "That's an interesting story buddy. Now I need help finding this fucking bitch. She owes me something, if you know what I mean." He gave the morph a wink.
Jack nudged Rozen twice, "Those vixens always come back, eh? What does she or shi, whatever your preference is, look like?"
"Yes they always do. Well first of all she's human," Rozen smirked, "She's real pale and is about
this high, long hair, like an auburn color, hazel-ish eyes."
Jack took no time in looking, he pointed to the far right corner of the bar. It had a whole lot of shadow over it. "Over there, if she wasn't so drunk, she'd be gone!"
Mike shrugged and whispered to Rozen, "You called it!"
"I assure you, she doesn't drink," Rozen grinned, heading over to the corner, "Come on Nicole, time to go back. Everyone has forgiven everyone and no one is mad anymore."
Nicole stared up at him, "Rozen...I...I killed someone...please just take me away from everyone, I don't want to be around humans anymore."
Rozen took her hand and pulled Nicole to her feet, "Don't talk like that. You know Zellner will forgive you."
"But will everyone else?"
"Since when have you cared what anyone else thinks?"
"Since I remembered there's a lot more to life than science."
"So you love me?" Rozen gave her a crooked grin.
Nicole did not look amused as she said, "No, no I do not."
Mike walked up to Nicole, "Come on, let's go home! There's chocolate!"
Nicole shook her head, "Sorry, I like chocolate and all, but I'm so stuffed."
"How big was this thing you ate?" Rozen asked.
"Big, like bigger than Garrett and Clayton combined!" Nicole spread her arms out to emphasis the mass of the creature.
<i>Hopefully the car won't flip over....let's go...</i> Luke said with a certain distaste
The group walked out the bar, hoping to avoid the bill, and Jack. When they walked out, they couldn't find Hyashi.
Mike stated the obvious first, "Hey, where did Hyashi go?"
<i>He's walking back. Rather, he's running. His primary heart is running at quite the speed. His secondary heart is even going faster!</i> Luke said.
"Woah, Foxtaurs have two hearts?" Mike asked
<i>As well as Chakats...let's go find him...</i> Luke said as everyone got in the car
Rozen was about to lean over Mike's seat again, but Nicole decided to lay down and rest her head in Rozen's lap. Rozen Stared at the back of Mike's head, "So, how far is he?"
"According to his Emerald Necklace, he's right here??" Mike said with confusion
Rozen looked around, "Seriously? Did he leave it in the vehicle?" He had limited space to look, Nicole had fallen asleep.
<i>No, he left it on a tree, to your right. Meaning he could be in one of two places.</i> Luke said
Mike got out and retrieved the necklace. "Yeah, he's probably at his village. But that's WAY far away from here."
"Now it's my turn to ask you, how fast can he run?" Rozen asked.
<i>Well, Foxtaurs can't run terribly fast. He can go about as fast as this car, which is about 50 MPH. However, Foxtaurs have quite the ability to run for extended periods of time. A well-ecsersized Foxtaur can run for at least 2 days straight. </i>Luke said.
"So do we wait for him to come back or go after him?" Rozen asked.
Mike turned around, "He ran off for a reason, so he's probably not going to come back for a while. And, since he left before Nicole got in the car, we'll break down before we get there. This thing doesn't do well over WATER...."
"Why not?"
<i>The gravity chamber works on heat recyclers. Over water, if the heat needs recycled, the magnets kick in, since water has no polarity, we'll fall in the water.... </i>Luke said.
Rozen nodded, "So back to Garrett's house we go. We're off to see the taur, the wonderful taur of Oz."
Mike would have backhanded Rozen, but they arrived at Garrett's. As the three got out, Mike walked up to Rozen and pointed inside, "Look at her, she's by herself, waiting for you to walk in and pay attention to her. Go for it, man!"
Nicole, who was holding somewhat on Rozen's arm, reluctantly let go.
Rozen stared at Nicole and then at Mike, "You make sure she gets inside alright, after feeding sometimes she walks like a man would after drinking for nine years." He then headed inside.
Nicole tried to keep her balance without something to hold onto.
Mike quickly walked up to Nicole and grabbed her arm. He blushed a bit, but no one noticed, until Luke spoke up, <i>Manwhore...</i>
Nicole didn't even try to ask what Luke was talking about, all she knew was she was in a building, she had something keeping her steady, and she wanted to go to sleep, "I need to go to sleep." Her words were slightly slurred.
Mike nodded and led her up to her room. He put her next to her bed and turned around to leave.
Nicole stared at his retreating figure, "Thank you." She had no clue who Mike was, it had been almost 400 years since she was human.
Mike turned around and bowed a bit, "Sure."
Nicole sat down on the bed, she was getting wobbly again, "You seem almost familiar...as if it was another life time...so long ago..."
Mike looked at her, “Yeah, I knew you in Quest. I was the chem dude. Me, you, and Travis would all hang out with Desmond and those guys. But Travis is apparently a Chakat and Desmond is dead by
now…”
Nicole nodded absent mindedly, “I don’t remember…are you sure?”
Mike gave Nicole an odd look, “Yeah, here…” Mike pulled out a photo from one of his inside pockets on his leather jacket. The photo portrayed three people in front of a red-brown building with green letters that said: ‘Quest High School’. Mike showed nicole the photo to Nicole, “Don’t you remember this?”
Nicole took the photo from him, crossing her legs on the bed. She stared at it intensly, putting a hand to her head to try and clear it. It was so long ago, she wasn’t frozen for all that time like Travis or transported through time like Mike, she had lived it. She had lived and watched the world slowly change. She squinted her eyes and brought the picture closer to her face, “That use to be me? I’ve been like this for so long I can’t even remember that. I know these people though…” The drunken state she had been in, from all of the blood, was slowly disappearing.
Mike nodded as he slowly took the photo from Nicole. “Yeah, I didn’t recognize you either. I’m the only one who hasn’t changed outfit or attitude since the 00’s! Desmond’s dead, Travis is a Chakat, you’re a vampire, and I’m….no different.”
Nicole nodded, “Yeah…I kind of wish I could go back to this, to what I was and actually age and one day hopefully die. You and Travis got lucky, you didn’t have to live and watch everyone slowly die and then have to meet new people, get close to them, and watch them die. I’m still going to be here when Terra ends and finally dies. I will probably be floating around in space while Terra finally explodes.” She gave an empty laugh.
“Well. That’s not <b>entirely</b> true. For one, space would freeze you to death, you’d be a floating ice block. Second, when me and Luke traveled through time, things happened. Imagine flying through a tunnel. On either side, are pictures, showing you events that happen in the future if you weren’t there. My girlfriend, Sara died because she went to a party and was trampeled to death. Luke’s friend Jenny was thrown in jail because she murdered the man who trampled Sara. We watched all sorts of shit happened. Finally we found ourselves into the kitchen of Ashley, Wordrunner, and Geostrider. It sucked, trust me.” Mike said slowly.
Nicole nodded, “I left before I had to see all of that and when I came back, <b>everyone</b> was gone. They had all either died, moved, or been taken to be ‘worked’ on by scientists. I still left everyone and was turned into this. If I had stayed home I would have been fine and died of old age like Desmond.”
Mike looked shocked, “Desmond died of old age? I was told that he was shot!”
Nicole shrugged, “I don’t know for sure. All I know is I went to visit, he was alive, and then I came back 34 years later and he was dead, you and Travis were no where to be found. You guys actually have tombstones, everyone thought you were dead.”
At this time, Brightrose had walked into the room. Shi saw the photo in Mike’s hand, shi instantly grabbed it from him and looked at it intently. “Oh shit! That’s you, and me, and….YOU!”
Mike turned around and stared at the crazed Chakat, “Yes, Brightrose, thanks for knocking. But I was thinking, we should go see Desmond. As far as I’m concerned, all of the bodies are now preserved.”
Nicole stared at the two, “Magical Adventure?” She shook her head, “I’m too old for this shit. He’s gone, that’s all that matters.”
Mike looked back at Nicole, “Weren’t you just complaining about notdieing or aging?! You’re almost as young as you were 400 years ago!”
Nicole shook her head, “I am over 450 years old! Mentally I am over 450 years old! Physically I am only 24! Plus I have to stay here, I have a few things I need to take care of with Rozen.”
Brightrose laughed, rather loudly, “Rozen is just<b> fine</b>! He and Mia are going out to dinner anyway.”
Nicole shook her ehad, “Not like that. We have to finish up the procedings to make our divorce official.”
Mike and Brightrose both flinched, “Divorce?” Mike asked.
Brightrose stepped forward and got some documents from hir backpack. “All of that is taken care of. Ever since you got here, I have been slowly carrying this divorce through, just sign where designated and its over.”
Nicole stared at the stack, “I want both of you to leave. Get out of here! <b>Now</b>!”
Brightrose shrugged and left the papers in front of her. Shi grabbed Mike by his shoulder and walked out of the room with him.
Nicole broke down. She had just started feeling that spark with Rozen again and now she has the ticket to get out of the relationship within reach. She stared at the stack and picked them up. She went downstairs and to the fireplace, lighting it up. Anyone could guess what she was going to do with the documents. She tossed the whole stack into the fire, using a poker to make sure every single letter on the papers was burned to ash.
Garrett watched as the papers burned, as Nicole left, he went over to Greyfur, “Greyfur, those papers were divorce documents. Mia can’t legally be around Rozen as long as that evidence was destroyed!”
Greyfur frowned, “Hyashi isn’t back yet! I have to wait for him! Inform Isaac and Wordrunner, they’d know what to do.”
Rozen tipped his glass to his lips, “Mia, this is a very nice place. I haven’t been to somewhere this fucking fancy in forever.”
Mia smiled, “Thank you, a friend of mine has contacts here, so it was no trouble at all!” <i>‘Come on! Is he as nervous as Ivan? Or is it something else? Should I propose? No, I’ll just wait for a little bit longer.’</i> Mia thought as she took another drink.
Rozen sighed, “Mia…I have something to tell you. I’m still legally married…” He closed his eyes, waiting to be hit or have wine splashed all over him.
Mia smiled, she had seen this coming. “Well, not anymore! Luke found divorce papers! He printed them out and all that needs to happen is Nicole’s signature!”
Rozen stared at her, “You have to be kidding me, Luke went into mine and Nicole’s personal files? While the intentions were pure, Mia this is something I have to do with Nicole, not something that people need to push. We will get divorced in our own time, these things need to be handled with fucking care. Nicole and I are not fucking stable enough to go through this shit as if it was a fucking toy we just fucking broke. This is a broken vow that I fucking made to Nicole. I have to fucking fix this crap myself.”
Mia sighed, she had this one coming. “Well, Luke didn’t look for them. Someone of your team scanned them onto the lab’s memory purposefully, as if that person wanted this to happen. But please, don’t blame it on Luke, it’s not his fault.”
Rozen stood up, “It is, he didn’t have to print them out, he has no fucking clue how much this is going to cause fucking problems and bring back shit that just needs to be buried forever.” He had his glass in his hand, it crushed and the glass embedded itself into his skin. He stomped off and outside.
Mia stood up and apologized to the rest of the restaurant. She slowly walked outside to find her car empty. She started to drive home in tears.
Hyashi sat curled up next to a tree, sleeping. He heard loud footsteeps coming towards him. He quickly redied his bow and aimed towards the sound. He boomed, “Who goes there?”
Rozen stopped and stared at the Foxtaur, “It’s just me, Rozen…” He then continued on his way to walk home.
Hyashi lowered the bow, “Rozen? It’s me, Hyashi! Wait up!”
Category Story / All
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File Size 207 kB
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