51 - A Boy and His Dog - Action/Phone (Post-Zombiefield)

[ceasetoexist]

A.On Patridge Street
[Hey Patridge Street. You might have noticed that, since Sunday, there's been something that looks just like a massive wreck firmly placed in the middle of the street. It's hard to tell what the hell it could have been at first, some kind of vehicle obviously, but otherwise indecipherable with how much the thing has been wrecked. Bits and pieces of metal and machine work have been flung all around the street, with one massive ball of twisted, burnt metal at the center of it.

Next to this metal is a young boy, about twelve, just squatting in front of it. Staring at it, emptily. Lost.

Occasionally, he puts a hand against the ruined metal hull of whatever it had been. But he never says a word.

Bug him?]

B. Phone

[There's a small sighing sound, like someone trying to gather their courage before speaking. And then.]

Hey.

I know I'm not, like, the best person in the world, or the most tolerable in this hole, but.....look, I just....

[Pokey stops again, taking a few breaths before quickly just getting it out.]

I need help.

Anyone been to Partridge Drive? You know that giant hunk of blasted scrap metal over there? Yeah. That scrap metal is mine. Thing is, I'm not strong enough to....you know. Move it over to my house so I can fix it. So I need people who can...help move it to my house.

And...I might need some help, with some of the finer mechanical parts for being who're scientifically inclined. I mean, I can do most of it, don't get me wrong, I can do it pretty much by myself but....not all of it.

[Agitated. Defeated. Drained. The boy's voice is pretty hollow after all that's happened this week, to be honest.]

...I don't have much to offer. I guess....all I can do is say I owe whoever helps me one and...pay them back someway that way. I mean...I've got a lot of talents so hey it shouldn't be too hard but....

I need help.

[And then one last breath before finally, he's able to manage out.]

Please.

Comments

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

[Yeah, he just freezes right up at at that.]

You know Black Mage?

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

Of course. He's one of my traveling companions from back home.

[...pause]

I gather from your reaction that you've already met him.

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

Sure have.

[And he'll be bending down to pick up one of the lighter joint pipes that had gotten separated during Black Mage's destruction of his mech.]

How about you get out of here?

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see what must have happened here. Trust me, I'm quite used to cleaning up after his messes.

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

Don't care. You think I'm going to trust anyone working with that jerk?

Get out of here!

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

You know, I get that a lot. It certainly makes being a hero of good and light something of a challenge.

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd imagine running around with a murderous psychopath would do that.

[Not that he's exactly one to talk.]

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

Destiny is funny that way.

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

Sure is.

Now are you going to leave, or am I going to have to brain you?

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

Fighting me isn't helping your crab robot get repaired any faster, you know. The cost-benefit curve of such an action most certainly is not on your side.

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

I don't want you on my side if you're with him.

What about that aren't you getting, nerd?

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

Well, I suppose I have no choice, then.

[Red Mage sighs and pulls out his sword.]

Let it never be said that Red Mage turns down an opportunity for XP gain from a storyline battle!

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

.....

Okay. I think I'm cool with you helping now.

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Let's get started, then!

[Yeah, he seems just as happy with this outcome. RM sheathes his sword and walks over to the twisted metallic wreck, pulling out a small glowing yellow sphere.]

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

[And today Pokey's learned that anyone with the word "mage" in their name is most likely crazy.]

Okay. What's that thing?

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

This is our means of transport. It's called a Hypercube.

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

[..Well, at least the main hull had been taken by Clod, so all that's left is the rather great pile of refuse and parts that had gotten blown off. So if this does fuck up for whatever reason, at least the main part is safe.

And Pokey is interested in seeing how the thing works.]

Yeah? Well, get to it then. Do whatever it needs to work or whatever.

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

All right. Stand back, if you would.

[Red Mage brings the sphere closer to the pile of scrap. A whirling black and purple portal opens up, sucking it all in neatly. His hat almost gets sucked in as well, but he has the foresight to keep a hand on it. It would be a shame for anyone to see his ridiculous hat hair underneath all of that, though it's possible Pokey got a glimpse.]

There. That's all there is to it. Now I can simply empty it out whenever and wherever I wish. Minus all the dirt that's in there with it, of course.

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

[Pokey doesn't notice the hair, but he's just staring at what just happened, stock still. For a moment, he's just wide eyed before his mouth curls into a slow, sharp smile.]

Aw, that was awesome. Where can you get one?

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

I had to go on quite a few fetch quests to obtain this little baby.

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

Yeah okay great. Like what? I mean, what kind of crap did you have to do?

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know, the usual sorts of things. Travel halfway across the continent and fight goblins for days upon end until I encounter their head chef, defeat him to obtain his wooden spoon, take it back across the continent to a woman who was looking for it to make a delicious stew for her husband, get an extra helping of the stew for myself so that I can go two towns over to give it to a young girl who's dying of malnutrition because of the local vegetable shortage in order to nurse her back to health, receive an old rusty key from her parents that they've been keeping for years but doesn't unlock anything in their house because it's the only thing they have to pay me with, take the key to the blacksmith to see about getting it refurbished and restored because the rust is preventing it from fitting in any locks, receive a request from him to find a more efficient means of lighting his forge than coal, head down to the volcano on the southern continent to collect some magma from the heart of the mountain - oh, that part was fun; had to fight a fire dragon! Oh, let's see, where was I...

[godisachild.livejournal.com]

Dear Lord.

Shut up.

I could barely follow HALF of that. Get to the end already!

[animalhusbandry.livejournal.com]

...There were some other such quests, trading items for gradually more powerful ones and defeating various monsters, and finally I found the box that key from earlier was made to unlock. Inside was the Hypercube.

[He proudly brandishes the yellow glowing sphere again.]