Radioactive: Chapter Twenty-Two

Radioactive

Chapter Twenty-Two

~Fading~

“Unhand me at once!” the doctor shouted as Duke walked through the streets. His hands were tied behind his back. Duke nudged the doctor along and forced him to continue to walk.

“No,” Duke stated.

Duke stopped and looked around. He could have sworn that he heard something. Seeing that his attention was no longer on him, the doctor broke into a run…if one could call it that. He didn’t get very far before Duke noticed and did something about it. Duke stomped on the ground, shaking the foundation just enough to cause the doctor to lose his balance. Without the use of his hands to help maintain his upright position, he fell to the ground. Duke rolled his eyes.

“Stay there,” Duke said, “I’ll be right with you.”

The doctor protested, “I shouldn’t be treated this way! I made an entirely new species! I could be treated with respect.”

“Quiet,” Duke shushed the doctor, “I don’t want to hear it.”

The doctor was quiet as Duke walked around. He knew he hears something, he just couldn’t pinpoint where it had come from. Duke sighed. Whatever he heard wasn’t making a sound now. He turned and walked back toward the doctor.

“Get away!” a muffled scream came from underneath.

Duke turned toward the manhole in the street. The cover, and part of the street, was thrown off in a blinding light and deafening explosion. Riu pulled herself out of the gaping hole in the middle of the street. She crawled backwards as she tried to get to her feet. A mutant crawled out of the hole and slithered after her. Riu threw a ball of lightning at the creature. The mutant jumped back and looked around. It saw the doctor lying helpless on the ground. In its mind, he made an easier target than the girl. It charged at the doctor.

“No! Get back!” the doctor shouted, “Listen to me! I created you! Heed me!”

The creature didn’t and continued to charge. Duke drew his sword and brought in down on the creature as it passed him by. The blade passed clean through, stopping the creature in its tracks. There was some silence as people caught their breath.

“I don’t understand,” the doctor muttered as he looked at the creature, “Why didn’t it listen to me?”

“Maybe it didn’t like you,” Duke said, “I mean I don’t like you and I wasn’t one of your test subjects. It probably had just a lot of pent up anger.” Duke looked over at Riu, “Didn’t expect to find you here.”

“I’m going to kill ‘im!” Riu shouted.

Duke raised an eyebrow, “Who?”

“That blasted Kaiba, that’s who!” she got to her feet.

Duke sighed, “What did he do this time?”

Riu looked at him, “Almost got me killed by a six foot minotaur! One second he’s there, the next he’s gone and in his place is a charging bull! Nearly got me killed! If it weren’t for the vents I wouldn’t have gotten out at all!”

“How do you know it was Kaiba?” Duke asked.

“Because I just do!” Riu shouted, “You weren’t there! It was all just to strange if you ask me!”

Duke paused, “But why would Kaiba want to kill you?” The doctor shifted uncomfortably. Duke looked over his shoulder, “Do you have anything to contribute old man?”

“My arms hurt, that’s all,” the doctor said.

Duke looked at Riu, “Where’s that body jumper?”

“How should I know!?” Riu rolled her eyes, “Kaiba said he jumped and ran and that—”

“So he wasn’t in his usual body?” Duke asked.

“No, he wasn’t,” Riu crossed her arms.

“And Kiri?” Duke was slowly connecting the dots?”

Riu shrugged, “Off after the jumper supposedly. Why?”

“So Kaiba was alone with the body jumpers discarded body,” Duke sighed.

“What are you getting at?” Riu scratched her head, “Are you saying that—”

Duke turned and pulled the doctor to his feet, “Kaiba isn’t Kaiba right now. We still have some time. If we hurry, we can just make it.”

“Make it to what!?” Riu asked.

Duke walked off, “Make it before Kaiba’s mind is gone for good.”

~§~

Kaiba walked down one of the many hallways in the underground laboratory.  He suddenly collapsed to his knees and tried to support himself against the wall. He gripped his head in pain. Kaiba smiled. A dark laugh escaped his lips.

“Are you still there Kaiba?” Kaiba laughed.

As if in response he cried out. He threw his head into the wall, “Get out of my head!”

Kaiba only laughed some more, “No one’s ever really fought this hard before. Most just give in to the growing emptiness.”

“Get out!” he shouted in response.

“Make me,” Kaiba stated.

As suddenly as the fit came, it disappeared. Kaiba stood up and rubbed the side of his head. He smiled, “I guess that’s all you’ve got. What a shame.”

Kaiba quickly stepped to one side. A hand shot by his face from behind. He turned around as his attacker dashed forward. A child ran passed him with a smile on its face. As he shot passed he tried to slide to a stop but continued a few more feet due to the momentum. He shot a hand forward, it broke into segments, lengthening the reach of his harm and grabbed onto Kaiba’s leg. The boy pulled his arm back pulling Kaiba in the proses. Kaiba struck the ground back first. The boy jumped into the air and extended both of his arms and tried to pin Kaiba down. Kaiba moved one of his arms and a blade extended from his wrist. He tried to cut at the boys arms but they retracted and the boy sailed over him and landed somewhere above his head. Kaiba jumped to his feet and turned around to face the boy. He stopped suddenly when a rain of daggers were hurled at him. Unable to react fast enough, Kaiba was struck in several places. He jumped back and dropped to one knee.

“Ouch,” Fang muttered, “That look like it hurt.”

“I made sure to hit all of the major pressure points,” Jekyll smiled, “That should slow him down a little.”

Fang placed a hand on Ing’s head. His words were directed at Kaiba, “So Jumper, or whatever your name is, I’ll make you an offer. Come on out and fight your own battles instead of hiding in a body that isn’t yours then maybe, just maybe I won’t tear you to shreds.”

Jumper laughed, “You’d really fight your own colleague?”

Jekyll drew three more blades from his knuckles, “You have no idea how much the idea pleasures me.”

He threw the daggers and Jumper somehow managed to get to one side. Ing ran forward. He ran up the wall and jumped over Jumper’s head. His arms reached down to Jumper’s shoulders and gripped on tight. Ing landed behind the body jumper and threw the man further down the hallway. Fang ran passed him in his wolf form and charged at Jumper.

Unfortunately, Jumper got to his feet and slashed at Fang with an extended blade. Fang avoided the attack and got around it and bit the man in the shoulder. Jumper fell backwards and screamed in pain as Fang’s jaws clamped onto him. With Fang’s massive paw on his arm Jumper used the other to try to get the wolf off of him. Ing grabbed ahold of his arm and pinned it to the floor. The boy struggled at first to keep Jumper secured but he managed in the end.

Jumper shouted as he tried to struggle against his captors. After a few moments, he started laughing uncontrollably. The faint sound of a cell phone ringing could be heard.

Fang released his shoulder and growled, “What the heck are you laughing at?”

Jumper didn’t answer right away. He laughed hysterically, “You can’t do anything! He’s long gone! You can’t do anything about it! The worst you can do to me is lock me up! You wouldn’t dare hurt me even if you know I’m not the real Kaiba!”

Jekyll walked up slowly. He looked uninterested, “Is that so? Tell me, what would happen if the one who’s body you are trying to take over isn’t so easy to take over? What happens to you if they start to win? I will tell you this; Kaiba is a lot stronger than you think.” Jekyll reached down into the inner coat pocket and pulled out a ringing cell phone. He flipped it open to look at the caller ID. With a sigh, he looked down at Jumper, “It’s for Kaiba.” He answered the phone.

“Hello? Kaiba? Are you there?” a familiar voice came from the phone. There was a slight sigh before the caller continued, “Look, I know you’re currently on a mission and I know you’re probably annoyed at my calling you but I just couldn’t shake his feeling that I have that something is wrong. I already called your brothers and your mother and sister but they all seem fine. Well, Chaud is having girl trouble but that’s turned into a regular occasion. Apparently, that Zara has a mean right hook Amber has a school play this next week. I hope you can make it back by then. We could go as a family. You’re mothers worried sick like she always is when you say you’ll call and you don’t. I’ve tried to explain to her that you’re busy and are trying to focus on work but I guess it’s a mother’s job to worry. Oh and Lynx wanted me to tell you that he has something to show you when you get back. I’m not going to pretend to understand what he said so just get back so he has someone else to explain it to. Well, I’ve wasted too much of your time. I just wanted to know if you were alright, Kaiba. I guess you’re busy right now. Call back when you can. Oh, and Kaiba, come home soon.” The caller hung up.

Jumper laughed, “And what was that to prove?”

Jekyll sighed, “I told you, it wasn’t for you. I was for Kaiba. Just reminding him what he’s fighting for.”

The smile on Jumper’s face suddenly disappeared. His laughter turned into screaming. His head felt like it was about to split in two. He struggled against those who had him pinned. Jumper pulled his arm away from Ing, throwing the android to one side. A blade shot out of his wrist and he stabbed Fang in the side. Jumper got to his feet and ran down the hallway. He barged into a room and closed the door behind him.

Jumper gripped his head as he struggled against Kaiba mentally. In was a sudden burst of energy that Kaiba fought with, a renewed strength. He had never taken over someone with so much fight in them. Normally, the host would give up. But not Kaiba. It seemed the more he fought the stronger Kaiba became. He screamed and threw himself around as he struggled to find a way to outsmart and overpower Kaiba. Jumper swore and cussed as he fought to concentrate through the immense pain.

His eyes opened wide as if he were experiencing some kind of shock. His hands pulled away from his head and he placed them palm first onto the floor. He shook his head franticly. He tried to move his hands but they wouldn’t budge. Jumper tried to say something but his jaw was clamped shut. He started to panic. Little by little he was losing control of his movements. His mouth opened when he didn’t instruct it to and he spoke.

“I told you to get out,” Kaiba said.

No.

“Now it’s too late,” he said.

No.

“I’d appreciate it if you would just disappear,” Kaiba shouted the last bit.

No!

Jumper was thrown into the back of Kaiba’s mind. He lost any and all control he had of Kaiba’s body. He felt cold and distant like the edges of his consciousness were starting to fray around the edges. Jumper found himself in a position he never though he would find himself. Panic started to settle in as he made feeble attempts to regain control. But it was no use. He was getting weaker and it was getting harder and harder to concentrate. He was fading into the recesses of Kaiba’s mind. Soon he wouldn’t exist. He was in essence dying out side of his own body. The thought scared him. Without a body, did he have a soul?

Kaiba gasped for air. He collapsed onto his back and tried to catch his breath. It was done. He was free. At least he thought he was. He heard a door open somewhere and tried to look around to see who it was. Kaiba made an effort to sit up but he was just too mentally and physically exhausted to move too much. Jekyll crouched down near him.

“Welcome back,” Jekyll stated.

Kaiba looked up at him and scowled, “You didn’t have to enjoy nearly killing me so much back there.”

Jekyll shrugged, “How often too I get the chance to blame my actions on the fact that a body jumper took over your body?”

“Not very often,” Kaiba hated to admit.

Jekyll smiled, “Exactly.” He flipped open the phone, dialed a number and handed it to Kaiba, “Call your father. I’m sure he’s worried sick.”

Kaiba grabbed the phone and held it up to his ear, “Father? Yes, I’m fine. Thanks for the call. I know, I know, mom worries. I promise to call more… Yes, I’ll be home before Amber’s play. I wouldn’t miss it.”

Iridescent: Chapter Twenty-Two

Iridescent

Chapter Twenty-Two

~Serenade of the Stars~

After the Fall

“I’m thirsty!” Kumo shouted in the middle of the desert.

Naru sighed. Kumo had said the same two words not two seconds before the latest outburst. Their bikes had run out of gas and the group of four decided to hoof it. The sun was unrelenting as the trekked the desert wasteland. Naru always found it ironic how they were on an Island surrounded by water they couldn’t drink. Chou walked beside Hina. The two girls were both leaning on each other for support. Naru wasn’t doing that much better either.

“Hey, can’t you like create water out of thin air or something?” Kumo asked.

Naru looked at him, “I’m just as dehydrated as you are.”

“So no?” Kumo sighed, “Can’t you use sweat or something? We’ve got plenty of sweat.”

“Sweat’s salty, you idiot!” Naru snapped.

“Oh, right,” Kumo nodded.

“When do you think we’ll get to where water is?” Hina asked.

Naru sighed, “I don’t know.”

At this rate, they would all die of dehydration before they were anywhere near water. Another thing Naru found ironic, a water wielder dying from thirst. They drank their last bottle of water a day and a half ago. They didn’t have that much time. Even the lions that were patiently stalking them decided to wait until they all collapsed from thirst.

“Naru! You’re the most useless water wielder I know!” Hina shouted.

Naru turned and narrowed his eyes, “Every water wielder can’t create water out of thin air if there is no moisture, doubly so if they’re dehydrated. You know that!”

“You should be able to make it rain!” Hina complained.

“I probably could if there was even a single cloud in the sky!” Naru sighed.

Hina wailed, “Why clouds have you forsaken us!? What have we ever done to you!?”

Kumo pointed to a faint wisp in the sky, “Is that a cloud there?”

Chou was kind enough to butt in, “I don’t think the water in that cloud would be substantial enough for anyone of us. It looks kind of dry.”

Kumo shrugged, “It’s more than we have now.”

Naru swatted away an insect and wished he could do the same for Kumo. In his dehydrated state, Kumo started to sound more and more like his sister which Naru didn’t notice before. He guessed he was just used to his sisters antics that it hadn’t occurred to him that Kumo acted similarly.

They crested a sand dune. Naru’s shoulders fell as they looked out at wave after wave of sand dunes stretching off into the horizon without an end in sight. Hina slid to her knees. Kumo wrapped an arm around his sister. Chou leaned against him. Even if she was the most positive of the group the sight wasn’t at all encouraging. Somehow, she managed to smile.

“Well, it is a beautiful sight,” Chou whipped her eyes though no tears were seen; “Don’t you think so, guys? Looks like a cover of a National Geographic or something.”

“Yeah,” Naru sighed, “Just like a picture. What do you guys say to staying here for the night?”

Kumo glanced at Naru. He knew as well as everyone else what Naru was saying. They were going to stay for more than just a night. With no water and barely any food, they barely had any strength left to continue on. Naru was suggesting if the dune they were on would do as a grave.

Slowly Kumo nodded, “Here’s as good as any.”

Chou pointed to the next ridge, “Don’t you think we could go just a little further?”

“Nah, Sis, it’s going to get dark before we get all the way over there,” Kumo pointed, “Naru has a point. We should make camp here.”

“I agree,” Hina sighed, “I’m not moving from this spot.”

Naru sat beside his sister and sat. Hina rested her head on her brother’s shoulder. Naru held his sisters head.

“Get some rest,” he whispered, “If you don’t move too much you won’t be as thirsty. We’ll be fine.”

Hina closed her eyes, “You are such a liar.”

She slowly fell asleep and the others did to. Naru sat and watched the sun set. The sky darkened and the stars started to appear a few at a time. It was strangely, dark sitting in the desert at night. It wasn’t like anything in the city when the lights would pollute the sky and block out the stars. Looking up at the sky, the Milky Way was in its full spender. Having seen it and studied it a few times Naru knew what it looked like but it was suddenly different looking upon it now. The stars were so bright and rich with color it took his breath away.

“Just like a picture,” Naru smiled.

He closed his eyes and fell backward into the sand. His sister still asleep lay beside him underneath the beautiful starlit sky. Dashes of light crossed the sky and disappeared as quickly as they appeared. The stars put on one last show for the four exhausted teens below with a serenade of shooting stars. Finally, now they could rest.

Puppetmaster jerked awake. He sat in the back of the bus against the door. It was quiet as all the children were sleeping, finally. He looked over at Chaud and his sister. They slept quietly along with the others. It wasn’t them. Then what could it have been?

Shuppet stirred, sensing his master’s troubled mind. Puppetmaster stood up and walked to the front of the bus. Tempi was driving and saw him approach down the aisle. She turned toward him.

“I can drive a few more hours,” she said, “You’ve been asleep for only an hour.”

“Stop the bus,” Puppetmaster said.

Tempi looked at him, “Are you making a joke because it isn’t funny.”

Puppetmaster looked at her, his eyes narrowing, “I said stop the bus.”

“No,” Tempi insisted, “I’ve got to get Fang’s permission to stop the bus for any reason.”

Puppetmaster reached over and put the bus into park. The bus lurched to a stop waking almost everyone on the bus. The ambulance behind them veered in time to avoid hitting the bus. Other vehicles swerved to avoid a collision. Tempi looked wide eyed at Puppetmaster as he opened the bus doors and walked out.

“What the hell are you thinking!?” Tempi yelled after him.

Shadow lazily glanced into the right side mirror. He sat up with interest, “What’s going on back there?”

Fang looked in the rear mirror. He sighed and started to turn around.

Tempi got up and ran off the bus after him. Puppetmaster stood a few feet away looking at the sky. Tempi started screaming and yelling at him. Woken up by the sudden stop Chaud got to his feet and looked out the window. Other drivers got out of their vehicles and started to close in on Puppetmaster, yelling their displeasures at him.

“Keep an eye on her,” Chaud said to Vicky.

He walked to the front of the bus and got off. Chaud tried to calm the raging crowd down. Fang drove up and got out of the jeep. He walked up to Jekyll who was the only person not raising his voice. Jekyll glanced at Fang.

“What the heck is going on?” Fang asked.

Jekyll looked at Fang a moment before answering, “School bus full of children stops suddenly. Everyone else tries to avoid hitting it. Is that explanation enough for you?”

“Was that man driving?” Fang asked.

Jekyll shrugged, “It’s hard to tell with everyone yelling at eachother.”

Fang walked toward the growing mob that had circled Puppetmaster. Puppetmaster didn’t seem affected by the surrounding animosity around him. He seemed to be looking for something or even listening for something in particular. Puppetmaster waved away the angry voices only causing more annoyed people than settling things.

“Hey!” Fang shouted, “Everyone calm down!”

“That old man is crazy!” Tempi yelled, “Why’d you let him tag along!?”

Chaud stepped in, “He isn’t crazy! I’m sure he has his reasons!”

“Chaud?” Amber called from the bus.

Chaud turned and motioned for her to stay, “Wait it the bus Amber.”

“He could have killed us all,” a man yelled.

“You need to do something,” another told Fang.

A woman cried, “What about the children!? They could have been seriously hurt!”

“It’s his fault!”

“It had to have been an emergency! You don’t know!”

“Look at all the trouble he’s caused!”

“We should get rid of him!”

“No! He’s so good with the children!”

“Will someone please explain what happened!?”

“Shut up!” Puppetmaster roared, “Is it too much to ask for some peace and quiet!?”

Everyone quieted down.

“The next person to say a word, I swear, I will rip your lungs out through your nostrils!” Puppetmaster shouted.

He looked around with a look in his eye that made everyone believe every word he said. Puppetmaster walked ahead always through the crowd. The people gladly got out of his way. He stood off on his own and looked around. Shuppet was in his arms waiting patiently. He took a few steps in one direction and stopped. Puppetmaster stooped down to pick something up.

Everyone craned to see what he had picked up. Chaud walked up closer to get a better look. While the others were terrified of Puppetmaster Chaud felt he was exempted from his threat.

“What is it?” Chaud asked.

Puppetmaster held up what he had found, “Look for yourself. You have eyes don’t you?” His annoyance was obvious.

Chaud looked down at the spider in his hand. It was the size of his hand. It looked like it was made out of a piece of wood. Unlike a small Daddy Long Leg spider this spiders legs were the width of small twigs. Its legs were curled up against its body as if it was too weak to stand properly. Chaud took a few uneasy steps back. It wasn’t that he was afraid of spiders. It was just that he didn’t feel comfortable around spiders that were as big as his hand.

Puppetmaster hand started to give off a purple mist around the spider. The spider stirred and got up into a standing position.

“Lead the way,” Puppetmaster told the spider.

Quickly, the spider walked off his hand and curried on the sand. Puppetmaster got up and followed the spider.

“Where are you going?” Fang asked.

Puppetmaster looked over his shoulder, “There is someone out there near death and this is their last attempt to look for help. I can’t be the only one who can sense their power presence draining, can I?”

Fang followed and Chaud joined. Jekyll walked behind Fang assuming he might be needed. Annoyed she wasn’t invited, Tempi invited herself. Puppetmaster crossed over a dune following the spider. The spider slowed its pace; the extra energy Puppetmaster gave the creature was wearing off. It curled up and ceased to move. Puppetmaster looked around.

“What happened?” Chaud asked.

Puppetmaster looked ahead in the direction the spider had been traveling, “The master doesn’t have enough energy to control the spider. Either that or he’s dead.”

“Or your making this up,” Tempi said.

He continued to walk forward toward a second dune, “You should be a little more concerned.”

“Oh, yeah, why’s that?” Tempi crossed her arms.

“Didn’t you have someone on your team who could control spiders,” Chaud said as he walked passed her.

Tempi scowled and walked after him. Puppetmaster ascended the second dune. When he crested the top he stopped. He took in the scene in front of him. An empty vial lay next to one of the teens. The others barely stirred but the one teen looked at Puppetmaster with blind eyes. Fang walked up and stopped. He turned to Jekyll.

“Come on! There are four of them!” he called.

Tempi broke into a run and passed Chaud up the dune.

“Kumo!” Tempi called. She crouched down by Kumo’s side.

“Tempi? That you?” Kumo faded. His eyes remained opened.

“We need to get them back to the others,” Jekyll said, “They are extremely dehydrated.”

“Fine,” Fang said, “We have to hurry.”

Chaud stood looking down at the others. He recognized two of them. Naru and Hina lay barely moving in the sand. The stars light shone brightly on their faces.

The Turn: Chapter Twenty-Two

The Turn

Chapter Twenty-Two

~Hypothetical Situations~

Two Years before The Turn

“What do you mean our team is on an extended vacation!?” Zara asked.

Sirius smiled, “I mean you will get your normal vacation days and some extra for your troubles.”

“Troubles!?” Zara questioned, “Forgetting your fake identity is trouble! This was an entire catastrophe! The guy in the suit told Mr. Peterson who we were! Do you not understand that this is the first mission that my team has failed!?”

“No one can keep a perfect record, Zara,” Sirius tried to be a comfort; “It just isn’t possible. Things happen.”

Zara opened her mouth to say more but she didn’t know what to say. She threw her arms up in defeat.

“Now, once we manage to retrieve the information that Naru swallowed, you can all go home. He could be coming out of surgery now and heading for the healing center. Hina too, I think.”

“Fine,” Zara turned toward the door.

She walked past Kaiba and Kiri, barely giving them any notice. Angered, she pressed the elevator button until it nearly fell off. When the door finally opened, she ran into Jekyll who was just getting back. She apologized quietly and went inside. Jekyll didn’t say anything in returned. When the elevator doors finally closed, he walked forward to talk with Sirius.

Sirius came out of his office, “Kaiba, did you get the reports from the rest of them?”

Kaiba nodded, “I debriefed them when they came back. Apparently there is a man in a black suit walking around spoiling things.”

“You think he’s the one behind all this?” Sirius asked

“Not sure,” Kaiba shrugged, “Naru said he was the limo driver. He said there was someone else inside but he couldn’t get a good look. It could be possible that the man in the limo simply told the driver to go in for him.”

“We need more information,” Sirius said.

“You can always send out spies,” Jekyll stated. He noticed the other two men slightly jump at his voice, “I’ve been standing here a while.”

“Right, my apologies, Doctor,” Sirius smiled.

Jeykll reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a folder, “Here is my report. If that is all you need, I have a triple bypass surgery to prepare for. I left Naru’s laptop with cyber forensics.” He left.

Kaiba’s computer chimed. He sighed, “‘The DR may have killed again’.”

“He signed his work again didn’t he,” Sirius couldn’t help but smile, “Old habits die hard I guess.”

“It will keep the police busy, I guess,” Sirius said. He was willing to overlook the signature, “At least we know it was him who tossed a car down the side of a cliff.”

“Why would we ever get him confused with another Dr. Eon Jekyll?” Kaiba rolled his eyes.

Sirius shrugged, “You can’t be too sure, Kaiba.”

Zara walked quickly out of the elevator and toward the entrance. She didn’t have the patience to wait. In a hurry, she set her card on the front desk for the secretary to deal with and headed out the door. Zara walked out of the building and groaned. Chaud was standing at the foot of the stairs. She turned right toward the parking garage, walking fast as to out walk Chaud. Her anger was about at its boiling point.

“Will you quit stalking me!?” she shouted over her shoulder.

Chaud’s voice traveled from just behind her left shoulder, “I’m not stalking you.”

Zara walked faster, “Oh, believe you me, the coincidences are far too many for you not to be following me! Just quit it! Leave me alone!”

There was some silence as Zara entered the parking garage but Chaud’s presence still lingered.

“I know you’re still there!” Zara pulled out her keys from her pocket.

He fell back as Zara got to her car. Zara slammed the door as she got in. She deliberately tried to almost run Chaud over as she drove out of the parking garage. There was a part of her that was disappointed that she didn’t even get his foot. She drove home. Admittedly, she drove faster than she should have been in rainy or nice weather. When she managed to park she slammed the door and walked inside.

Inside her apartment, she sat on the couch and turned on the TV. Ever since they had landed, she just was in a bad mood. She couldn’t point out exactly what was irritating her. It was possible that it was their first failed mission but then again, it could just be the lack of sleep. By now, she had been awake for almost 24 hours minus the cat naps on the plane.

The poor remote nearly broke apart as she surfed through the channels. She didn’t know what she was looking for but knew what she didn’t want. Out of frustration, she turned off the TV and grabbed a bike helmet.

She rode her bike through Transaction Square toward the Puppetmaster’s shop. When she found that it was locked and closed, she angrily kicked at the door. Not wanting to go back yet, she got on her bike and rode down the small streets and alleys. Zara rode into a smaller square with a fountain in the middle. Her bike hydroplaned and she was sent sliding on the stone ground.

“Dang it!” she shouted.

“It tends to happen when you bike that fast in the rain,” a familiar voice said softly.

Zara looked up through the rain drops. Puppetmaster offered her a hand. She accepted and pulled herself to her feet. Her bike looked alright but her arm…

“Oh, dear,” Puppetmaster looked at the large scrape on her arm. Fresh blood was streamed down her arm in the rain.

“I’m fine!” Zara tried to pull her arm away from him, “It doesn’t hurt!”

“Come on, there’s a coffee shop over there. They might have a first aid kit,” Puppetmaster started dragging her toward the shop.

“I don’t—my bike!” Zara said as she resisted.

“Shuppet, stay here and watch the bike,” he said to the doll sitting on the edge of the fountain.

Puppetmaster dragged her into the shop. The girl at the desk gave them the kit and they went back out and sat at a table beneath an awning. Puppetmaster worked carefully to patch up Zara’s arm. He was quiet for a few moments as he tended to her. Shuppet sat quietly in the rain. Its clothes were soaked through and through. Zara sat quietly as she waited for Puppetmaster to finish. He finished tying the bandage and smiled at her.

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked.

“No,” Zara confessed.

Puppetmaster smiled sympathetically, “Tough day?”

“We failed in our mission,” Zara stated, “and it was my fault.”

“How so?”

“I was completely useless! When my team needed me the most, I couldn’t be there for them! They probably hate me,” she said the last part quietly.

Her eyes watered but she kept a stern face. Puppetmaster sat and waited, thinking carefully about how not to make the situation worse. Zara looked up at him after a while into the silence.

“Well,” she stated.

“‘Well’, what?” Puppetmaster smiled.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” Zara sighed, “Do you think it’s my fault for getting us in to that mess? Was there something different that I should have done? Can you just say something?”

Puppetmaster thought a moment, “Hypothetically, let’s say there was this black panther. And let’s say that this said black panther made friends with a hawk, a snake, a little harmless looking kew, a dragon; not those bulky dragons, one of those small snake-like dragons, and a rather large poisonous scorpion.”

“Scorpions lose their poison the larger they are,” Zara critiqued the hypothetical situation.

“Well, this one didn’t. This is my hypothetical situation. You have no right to pick it apart.”

Zara looked at him skeptically, “Fine.”

Puppetmaster smiled, “Now say this hypothetical panther says to her hypothetical friends that they should all go on a hypothetical adventure, hypothetically. Her hypothetical friends are all hypothetically on board with the hypothetical idea. So this hypothetical group of friends head of on this hypothetical journey but on this journey, they run into some hypothetical trouble. This hypothetical trouble runs into them, not them looking for trouble, because a hypothetical hyena with an evil hypothetical plan sent his fellow hypothetical bat minions to delay their hypothetical journey.”

“Hyenas? Bats?”

“Shush! The point is, in this hypothetical situation, if the hypothetical hyena tries to hurt the hypothetical panther and friends, whose fault is it that they hypothetically fail this hypothetical journey? The hypothetical panther who all she wanted to do was hypothetically succeed in their journey or the evil hypothetical hyena who sends his hypothetical bats to cause the hypothetical friends trouble?” Puppetmaster propped his head in his hands as he smiled back at Zara.

Zara herself was having a bit of trouble sorting out what Puppetmaster was saying. All the hypotheticals were tumbling over each other, “Honestly, I lost you at hypothetical.”

“I could repeat it if you want,” Puppetmaster laughed.

Zara, despite her mood, could keep a straight face, “No, that’s all right. I see your point.”

“Do you?” Puppetmaster tilted his head a little.

“Well, you’re saying that it isn’t my fault. If the New Order really wanted to hurt us, there was little we could have done to prevent it. Do you think they hate me though?”

Puppetmaster shrugged, “You’d have to ask them, hypothetically of course.”

Zara smiled, “Of course.”

Puppetmaster looked out to the fountain, “We could get poor Shuppet out of the rain. He’ll give me the silent treatment again.”

“Who would have thought?” Zara said sarcastically, “Dolls giving people the silent treatment? No way.”

Puppetmaster glanced at her, “They do talk. One just needs to know how to listen.”