literature

Of Peeps: Revisited: 1

Deviation Actions

tokiyaensui's avatar
By
Published:
635 Views

Literature Text

   Wolfe sat alone in his one room apartment six months after Fangs and James got married. He’d been thinking about the week before the marriage for a while now. It had been one of the most dangerous and exhilarating experiences of his life.
   They had fought each other, been chased, done some chasing of their own, and had received Avatar-esque powers as Wolfe liked to put it. Strangely, Wolfe had barely used his Ice since.
   James, on the other hand, used his Fire at every possible opportunity. Mostly extinguishing and relighting candles when he was bored. Radar, too, found his newfound element very useful in his work. With his Electricity he could create magnetic fields, which he used to float his tools around so that he didn’t lose them.
   Since that week, the Peeps had got together just about every weekend. They were a good deal closer than they had been before. Sqwid called it bonding by trauma. As yet, no one else was married. Radar and Spirit were friendly, though, and no one had aggravated them in ages.
   Wolfe looked around the apartment. It wasn’t big, but it was enough for a bachelor like himself. There was a small annex with the bathroom and Wolfe had put in a Japanese changing screen that partially hid the futon.
   On the wall was a three level weapons rack that Wolfe’s father had made. On the middle rack was the Wato that Wolfe had used during the tournament. That blade had saved his life countless times since his father died when Wolfe was sixteen.
   It made him think back to the tournament. The fights. The arena. The rooms. The rooms? Wolfe got up and looked into the bed area. The small bedside table looked back at him. Feeling at his neck he found nothing but flesh.
   Where was his necklace? Yet another keepsake from his father, Wolfe had treasured that necklace. It was fine silver, with small square links forming a chain.
   Wolfe proceeded to tear the place apart, looking for the thing. After a good ten minutes (not many places to look in a studio apartment) he still hadn’t found anything but a spider and some old chocolate wrappers.
   Did I really leave it back there? That was half a year ago. How did I not notice for that long? Wolfe looked around the apartment one last time. Nothing. He dug through his desk, looking for a GPS Radar had given him for a birthday. The first thing Wolfe had done when he got back from Fangs’ wedding was program the coordinates of the arena into the device. They had been scribbled on an airline napkin by Radar.
   Wolfe grabbed the keys to his motorcycle and headed out the door. As he walked out he ran headlong into Radar, who had moved next door just a few weeks ago.
   “Hey!”
   “Oh sorry,” Wolfe said. “I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
   “Where’re you going?” asked Radar.
   “Back to the arena from months ago. I left something important there.”
   “Really? Mind if I come with you?
   Wolfe looked at him quizzically. “What for?”
   Radar shrugged. “I’ve still got the cameras hacked and I check them periodically. They’ve lessened security down to one guard and I’d like to see if there’s anything salvageable.”
   “You’re welcome to come along, but I’ve only got transport for one.”
   “We can take my car.” Radar jingled the keys in front of Wolfe’s nose.
~~~
   “So what exactly are you looking for?” asked Wolfe, fiddling with the radio. They had been driving for a few hours already. Wolfe had sent Ashes a text before heading out.
   ‘Gone with Radar back to arena. Yay for male bonding. Back in a few days. Love you.’ Radar had not bothered to tell anyone he was leaving. He and his parents were on good terms, but they really didn’t care what he did. Especially now that he was almost twenty.
   In response to Wolfe’s question, Radar tossed him an electronics magazine with a post-it note marking one page. Wolfe opened it up to see an array of solar panels powering a house.
   Wolfe whistled. “You’ve got a champagne taste on a beer budget, dude. So you’re looking for parts to make this with for cheap to power your actual lab?”
   “That’s the basic idea. I figure there’s enough wires in that place for a start. And plenty of scrap metal I can use. Plus actual welding equipment. I figure I can make that,” he indicated the diagram, “for a tenth of the price. I’ve got some old solar tech lying around somewhere. I’m just short a few things.”
   Wolfe maneuvered the radio dial some more, trying to find a decent station. “Well just don’t keep me up at night making it. Can’t you get any reception in this thing?” he asked.
   “Nope. I haven’t hooked up the antenna yet. When I do, though, static will be a thing of the past.” Radar grinned to himself.
   “Nice. Have you got any CDs in the meantime?” Wolfe asked. Radar pulled a country disk out of the player, showing it to Wolfe.
   Wolfe made a face of general disgust. “Oh go ahead,” Wolfe said, resigned. “Maybe you’ll convert me.”
   The ride passed uneventfully. Radar bobbed his head with the music while Wolfe resisted the temptation to make retching motions out the window. After about a day and a half (they had slept in the car due to the lack of cash on hand) Radar pulled onto the dirt road that led to the arena and parked.
   “Why are you stopping here?”
   “There’s still security, even if it is only one guard. He’ll be less likely to spot us if we’re on foot.”
   “Haven’t you hacked the cameras?”
   “Yeah but only the visuals. I can’t actually alter what’s being seen. Don’t worry though, the cameras are old models and emit small amounts of radiation in their field of vision. I can see those with my visor so we’ll be able to avoid being seen.” Radar put on his helmet. “Just follow exactly in my footsteps and we’ll be fine.”
   And so it began. The trek down the long dirt road took about ten minutes, after which Radar walked in such strange patterns that if the guard in the surveillance room had been able to see him he would’ve been baffled at the very least.
   At last they reached the gate, which was open. Inside was a small beat up car. Clearly the security of the facility wasn’t high priority. There was a notice on the wall.
   –To all personnel: The Underground Fighting Corporation has assumed responsibility for this facility. Please deny access to all who try to enter unless they have clearance or until further notice–
   “So much for that,” said Wolfe, jerking a thumb at the sign. Radar nodded.
   “Well the cameras have been turned off beyond this point so we should be able to wander freely. Just hope you don’t run into the guard on his way to the bathroom or something,” Radar said. “Avoid the hallway off the arena, if you can. The surveillance room’s in there somewhere.”
~~~
   Wolfe strolled through the lobby, into the arena, and back into the boarding hallway. Having been six months, he couldn’t remember which room had been his.
   “Oy.” He checked every door from the left onward until he found the right one. Part of the doorframe to the bathroom had a chunk missing from when he had been practicing his Wato forms.
   On the night stand, right where he left it, was his necklace. It glinted in the light from the window.
   “Sorry, dad. I won’t do that again,” Wolfe whispered. He put the chain around his neck and set off to find Radar. No doubt he’d found some way to get himself in trouble.
   Back in the lobby, Wolfe was surprised to hear Radar’s quick footsteps coming up the stairs. He almost fell over as he neared Wolfe.
   “What’s the deal?”
   “There’s someone down there. Singing something Italian. It sounded like...like him,” Radar quivered.
   “Who?”
   “The scientist. Van Curen.”
Chapter 1 of the tournament sequel. six months after the tournament and wedding.

Radar and I are on a Man-cation. like a vacation but manly ^^

edit: got radar's thing now.
Comments22
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
spiritwingz's avatar
I like it. :) It's well written.
Thanks for not teasing me. :) It made me feel good.