#teijru

[malamiteltd]

Bluer Than Usual

So I've spent the last week in private, drawing things for myself. There isn't much I really want to share from it, apart from this most recent one.

Copper, typically a Teijru, has somehow been changed into a Tokaru. It's a major change for sure, and while Copper isn't sure how to feel about it, he does have a lot of questions...

I would wonder if he'd be happier as a Tokaru. He'd certainly be one of, if not, the tallest of his kind.

[ns-games]

Lead the Teijru Reference Guide ver 1.0

Using some of the techniques I came up with to put together a reference guide for Sketch Tucker last year, I put together a reference guide for Lead, my Teijru alien character.

This was done in collaboration with @malamiteltd in order to make sure that I had a the little facts correct around this drawing. It's a bit of information overload, I know. But I've commissioned and requested other artists to draw Lead, and there's times I can tell they've found him to be a bit challenging. My hope was to try and create something that would help whoever is drawing Lead, or other Teijru character in general, have a better understanding of how their anatomy works.

As shown in the title of this submission, I may be making edits to this if I discover any changes need to be made.

Teijru © @malamiteltd Lead and Artwork © 2024 NS-Games

Bonus:

Here's a quick image I put together of what Lead's traditional Khejian outfit looks like. His name is written in Khejian script on the shirt. It's not exactly an outfit he's seen wearing often, so it's not necessarily something I feel needs to be included on the reference guide.

[malamiteltd]

This was tricky to do.

Fun fact: Copper's normal colors kinda mimic the asexual flag, though that was pure coincidence.

That said, because I realized this later on, I made Broom's colors mimic the aromantic flag.

My image uses the aroace flag colors, which both Copper and Broom identify as.

Starting an art train :

Draw your character(s) with the colours of the pride flag of your choice

[malamiteltd]

It's Copper! He's a little shorter than usual in this one. I'm trying to shake myself out of a mild slump and experiment a tiny bit.

Pulling an instance from The Blocks, he's managed to power a light bulb using only his fingers. It's quite a surprise to him.

[malamiteltd]

Graphite's Infernal State

The excess energy of Teijru, and all fervals in general, is known as "fervor." Often displaying properties of fire and electricity, it typically clings close to most fervals and can be manipulated via extrasensory abilities. If all the fervor is forced within the ferval's body, it can lead to the inner workings of the body going much faster. This allows the ferval to become stronger and faster, and can help the body heal significant wounds in seconds. But this can stress the body when used for prolonged periods of time, potentially leading to hyperventilation, seizures, and heart and/or brain damage, among other things. This is officially referred to as self-induced hyperfervor; to some, it's called an Infernal State.

This illustration shows Graphite in the Infernal State. He utilizes it the most out of anyone on Kheji, and is the driving force behind his Sforzando technique -- striking "suddenly with great force." He can perform complex, powerful moves almost instantly, one after another, by inducing the Infernal State in very brief instances. With the amount of fervor he possesses, he can perform several powerful attacks and still stand steady. That doesn't mean he's fully avoiding the dangerous risks of hyperfervor, but considering he's accepted death as a constant possibility in his line of work, he's not so worried about his well-being so long as he can defeat threats effectively.

[ns-games]

Copper's House

And finally, the fourth gift I’ve created for Christmas of 2023. This one is for @malamiteltd and @treevis121.

Just a simple night at Copper’s house. Copper’s Syrlian friend, Broom stopped by with one of the old video games that the Intent Group is importing from Earth. It also seems that Broom stopped by on a day when Dravite and Lead happened to stop by as well. They all seemed to have gathered around Copper’s bed to sit down and play this new/old game. I’m not sure if Copper has managed to really figure out the game or not, but I think part of him here is just happy to be around his friends, having a good time.

This drawing ended up being quite tricky for me to pull off. As I mentioned in my other drawings, this year I made a switch to drawing my holiday art using raster graphics. And a lot of that doesn’t seem to work with some of the Teijru’s more angular facial features. At least in the style that I’ve drawn them in the past. So, this was a lot of having to rethink a few things. I’m not sure if it turned out for the better. But I feel it can’t hurt to try changing a few things with my style up. Especially with adding in the new shading effects.

The Last Soldier (Broom and Copper) © @malamiteltd Dravite © @treevis121 Lead & Artwork © 2023 NS-Games

[ns-games]

Hey! You up there!

There's a pretty long story behind this one. I recently discovered an artist on Twitter named @cosmicartoons​. They created a fictional alien species called Ceryvian. Cosmicartoon's main character, Demi, kinda reminds me of a Teijru. Even though a Ceryvian is much shorter in size. In fact, I even commissioned them for a drawing of Lead cause I wanted to see how he would look under this artist's style. Well, the other day, Cosmicartoons posted this tweet pointing out the Ceryvian's short nature. And, well, I just couldn't help myself. And I ended up drawing this as a reply to that tweet. Teijru tend to be very tall and slender when fully grown. Most of them average a height of around 7ft. As you can see, there's quite the size difference when compared to a Ceryvian. Demi © @cosmicartoons​ Teijru © @malamiteltd​ Lead & Artwork © 2023 NS-Games

[malamiteltd]

Day 15 – The Creator Appears

That morning, Sketch and Heather were outside trying to fix up the bushes outside their house. Broom saw them working and decided to check in on them After they all said their hello’s, Sketch decided to start the conversation.

“You know, Broom,” he said, “I kinda noticed something recently.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, you hang out with Copper a lot, but it’s rare you ever chat with either of us.”

Heather nodded. “I mean, we’d like to get to know you better too, you know!”

“Oh, uhh…” Broom looked a little uncertain. “Well, I… how do I put this…”

Sketch raised an eyebrow. “You happen to have a thing for Copper?”

Broom was shocked at this suggestion, his face blushing brightly. “What?! NO NO! It’s nothing like that! It’s just…” He began to look a bit somber. “Well, most of the friends I made shared the same interest I have.”

“Video games?”

“Yeah! They all have the same fascination, so we have some common ground. I…well, I don’t really have much beyond that. But I figure you guys already know that, what with the Clarity and everything.”

“Oh?” Heather seemed confused. “I figured Clarity mostly showed the significant memories.”

Broom shrugged. “Well, that’s the thing. Outside of my video game interest, I don’t have a whole lot else going for me. In fact, I’m more or less just a weird, awkward guy. And even though I know you guys are nice, I…don’t think you’d find me that interesting to be around.”

Sketch crossed his arms. “C’mon, you’re not even giving us the chance to find out! I mean, yeah, we’re not ‘gamers,’ but I want to think we can still make some connection with you.”

Broom turned away. “Well, that’s another thing… It’s kinda hard for me to make conversation. I don’t really know what to talk about, and I often feel so out of the loop about so many things that I find myself quiet more often than I’d like. But I don’t really want to sound stupid, either, so it’s pretty tough.” He turned to look at Copper’s home. “I know that’s something Copper struggles with too, but he’s been criticized by his peers about his awkward missteps often enough that…he just flat-out avoids interaction entirely when he can.”

Sketch shook his head. “Yeah, he doesn’t have a lot of confidence in himself…”

“I owe him a lot,” Broom continued, “and the least I want to do is help make him feel better. But I feel like I don’t have what it takes to really do that. I try my best to raise his spirits, but a lot of the time it doesn’t feel like it’s working. I’m…I’m afraid of failing him.”

Sketch knelt down and grabbed Broom’s shoulder. “I can tell you’re trying your best. And I think he understands that…it’s just difficult for his mind to accept it all. The fact that he’s willing to hang out with you as often as does tells me he at least accepts you as a friend.”

“He trusts you, at the very least,” added Heather. “He doesn’t think you’d hurt him.”

“Yeah…but…I was hoping that maybe he’d actually start feeling better.”

“You’re doing all you can already, Broom,” Sketch replied, “and that’s all one can expect. What he’s got going on isn’t easy to shake off, so don’t be discouraged if it’s taking time for him to heal. After all, you’re no doctor.”

Heather saw someone in the distance. “Speaking of which, look who’s out and about.”

They all turned to find Dr. Raz exiting her house, with Bits and Holly close behind. Sketch and the others walked up to meet them.

“Hey, guys!” said Sketch, smiling. “Hope you’re all doing well.”

Dr. Raz appeared unsteady. She rubbed her eyes as she tried to get herself together.. “Mmm…”

At the sound of her response, Sketch suddenly noticed her disheveled appearance. “Whoa,” he said, looking concerned. “Dr. Raz, you don’t look so good. What happened?

Dr. Raz began to yawn. Her eyes were barely open. “I spent all of last night putting those printouts together. Even with help from these two it took hours to get it done, and I had been looking through those blueprints since.”

Heather was stunned. “You haven’t been able to sleep, doctor?”

“Not for the last two days, Mrs. Brittania,” Dr. Raz responded. “But it's not that it haven’t tried. It’s just…for whatever reason I just can’t get comfortable in that house's bed no matter how tired I feel.”

“How in the world are you still standing?” said Broom. “You gotta be near the point of passing out!”

“True, but that’s where Bits came in handy. Speaking of which…” Dr. Raz raised her arms, as though waiting for a hug. “Bits, would you help me with this?”

Bits nodded. “Sure, Razzy…” And he ran to hold Dr. Raz. He was only tall enough to hold her by the legs, but the doctor didn’t seem fazed by this. Suddenly there was an odd glow that rippled across her fur. Within moments, she opened her eyes, and she appeared fully awake.

Sketch was confused. “Wait, what was that? You look…more refreshed than before.”

Heather made a realization. “Wait, does Bits have healing powers?”

Dr. Raz shrugged. “It seems that way, at least. Granted, I still feel a little tired, but the effect his power has is comparable to a major dose of caffeine.”

Sketch sighed. “That can't be healthy, Dr. Raz.”

“Perhaps not, but it's what’s been keeping me going so far. Until I discover a proper solution I may be stuck with this situation. But enough about me…” She then pulled out her notepad and pencil from her coat pockets. “Since you’re here, I was hoping the two of you would be willing to answer a few questions about yourselves. During our, um…hangout session the other day I witnessed things that left me rather curious.”

Sketch and Heather looked at each other. After a brief moment they both shrugged. “Uh, sure,” said Sketch. “I don’t see why not. What did you want to ask us?

Dr. Raz got her pencil ready. “Well, for starters, I was wondering—”

WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!

The booming voice echoed through the Blocks. Everyone froze for a few seconds before looking around. Suddenly Copper came out of the house, looking very confused. 

“What was that?” he said.

He then looked towards the sky and saw what appeared to be a huge, angry individual peering down at them from the sky. As soon as Copper saw this, he was so startled that he fell over backwards, and was too stunned to stand back up.

“W-w-what IS that?!” he asked, trembling.

“I-is that a giant?!” said Bits, staring in amazement.

Holly was struggling to comprehend the phenomenon. “...Is that a GOD?!”

WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY WORLD?

Heather looked over to Sketch. “W-what do we do?”

Sketch took a deep breath, and funneled his hands in front of his mouth. “YOUR WORLD PULLED US HERE!!” he shouted.

…What?

The person appeared uncertain what he heard.

Heather and Bits joined Sketch. “YOUR WORLD PULLED US HERE!!”

The person shook his head. Hold on, this isn’t working. I can’t hear you.

He raised his finger and pointed towards “The Spot” – the flowery field with the cement circle in the middle. Suddenly a microphone stand appeared in the center. Everyone looked in amazement.

Alright. Step up to the mic.

They slowly approached The Spot and soon stood around the mic in a circle. 

Sketch got a little closer. “Can you hear us?” he said calmly.

I can now, the person said, nodding. His expression then reverted to anger, though a little calmer. Now, I will ask again — What are you doing in my world?

“Your world abducted us!” Broom replied.

The person was baffled. ”Abducted” you?! What are you talking about?!

And so, Sketch and Heather told the person the details of The Situation™…

. . . .

The person was in disbelief after the explanation. You gotta be kidding me.

Sketch shrugged. “That’s what’s been happening.”

As he processed what has been happening, the individual cycled through emotions of uncertainty and confusion, before it finally settled on rage. He once again pointed his finger, and at the other end of the path by The Spot spawned a red portal. Everyone looked at the portal for a brief moment, then to the individual.

Get out.

Heather’s eyes grew wide. “Wait, what?!”

I said GET OUT.

Sketch held out his hands. “Hold on! Please, calm down!”

Broom looked back at the portal. “Where does this portal even go?”

The individual gritted his teeth, his eyes starting to bulge.

I DON'T CARE where it takes you, JUST GET OUT!!

“B-but the universe is too unstable!” Sketch replied, looking nervous. “Don’t you think the red hue of that portal seems odd? If we go through there, we won’t survive the trip! We’ll just explode into dust!”

Hearing this, the person threw his hands in the air, utterly frustrated. 

WHAT DOES IT MATTER?! You're all just a bunch of accidental copies anyway! No one is gonna miss you if you’re gone.

Hearing this, both Sketch and Broom suddenly turned to Copper. The Teijru’s head started to sink after hearing what the individual said. Sketch walked up to Copper and patted his shoulder. 

“Don’t let him bother you, Copper,” he said. “He might not be thinking clearly.”

Copper glanced at Sketch for a second before looking down at the ground. “He’s not wrong…”

Dr. Raz crossed her arms. “If we’re really that much of a bother to you,” she stated, “why not just wipe this universe clean and start over?”

Everyone turned to her in horror after she said this, apart from Copper. The person in the sky raised an eyebrow; he hesitated to respond for a few seconds.

Because I put too much effort into this place to just throw it away. Each of these houses took hours to put together, and I hadn't even finished them all.

Heather looked surprised. “Hours? They look so well-made, though! You must be quite the architect to come up with so many designs!”

The individual shook his head. I'm not. I just borrowed a number of various blueprints from my world and replicated them here. The only thing I had to come up with myself was the furnishings since they weren’t detailed.

“Well, they still came out great despite that!” said Broom. “Even with a blueprint, most folks would need a whole construction team to make the building a reality, and you got it all done on your own!”

The person crossed his arms, unamused. You're just trying to flatter me so I don't force you to leave. I'm not stupid.

Sketch clasped his hands together and raised them above his head in a pleading gesture. “Sir, please… I'm sorry this happened. But none of us want to do any damage to your world!”

‘Damage’ is not the issue. I put this universe together to experiment with my terrestrial magic without disturbing the lives of other people. They’d fuss about their property being tampered with, so I put this pocket universe together.

The person grew angry again.

But now YOU people suddenly pop in, and now I’ve got the SAME situation I wanted to AVOID, except this time YOU are the ones on MY property!

Sketch nodded. “Yes, and again, we’re sorry! We had no control over this situation!” His hands slowly started to lower as he began to make a realization. “…And come to think of it, we still don’t. Whether we’re here or not, you still have the power to do whatever in this place, and there’s not much we can do about that.”

The others looked to Sketch in fear as he made this statement, and they quickly turned to the person in the sky, who was in deep thought.

That's true, isn't it… 

He started to stroke his chin.

You know, it's funny…when I told a friend of mine about this little universe project, he's since called it my ‘dollhouse world.’ 

A grin started to grow on his face.

This development just became a LOT more interesting…

Heather looked nervously to Sketch. “I don’t like where this is going!”

“Sir, we want to be friends!” Sketch said desperately. “We’re not looking for trouble here. Please don’t start trying to hurt us.”

The person was in deep thought for the next few minutes. Everyone in the neighborhood paused, waiting for his next move.

Hmm… I still don’t know how to feel about people suddenly living in my world. But for now…I suppose I'll leave you be.

With that, the red portal vanished. Just about everyone sighed with relief.

May as well get comfortable in those houses while I think about this. I take it you’ve all settled in well by now…

Dr. Raz shook her head. “Not entirely…”

As the person heard this, he looked a little peeved. ‘Not entirely?’ I take it your true thoughts about my handiwork are finally coming to light.

Dr. Raz sighed and adjusted her glasses. “Sir. As nice as these houses are, none of them could ever compare to my true home.”

Is that right…and what’s so special about this home you speak of?

“A number of things,” she replied. “It was designed fully by me, and built with the aid of robots I also put together. The home itself is actually a research laboratory situated underground.”

The person’s expression suddenly changed from annoyance to mild fascination. Huh. An underground laboratory… That's pretty out of the ordinary even in my realm. I’m not creative enough to make up one of those, so you may be out of luck.

Dr. Raz turned to Holly. “Holly, if you would…”

Holly nodded. “Yes, doctor.” She quickly dashed to Dr. Raz’s house.

The person raised his eyebrow again. …You just happen to have blueprints for your lab lying around.

Dr. Raz explained. “Holly – the robot I just sent to get them – has all the notes and screenshots I ever made backed up in her memory, and that included my lab blueprints. I spent all night putting them together to analyze changes since I last remembered them.”

Holly returned with a large quilt-like assembly of printer paper, featuring the entirety of the lab’s blueprints in full detail. The others were shocked at the size of the assembly.

Dr. Raz nodded. “Thank you, Holly.” She held up her blueprints toward the person in the sky. “Here they are, hopefully with enough detail to prevent any confusion. I'm not sure how you'll be able to read it though…”

The person held out his hand, and suddenly another hand – a smaller, glowing replica – formed just above the others. It grabbed hold of the printouts and lifted them into the sky. Suddenly the hand and the blueprints began to expand in size, enough to allow the person to read. They became so big that they eclipsed the sun.

After a quick glance, the person looked to Dr. Raz. …You're excessively thorough. You even noted the furniture in the place.

Dr. Raz nodded. “It’s meant to be a work space and a living space, so I had to account for every detail. Granted, I suppose the schematics might be too complicated for you to follow…”

The person looked a little annoyed. We'll see about that. 

With that, he replicated his other hand, and he grew it large enough to completely cover Dr. Raz’s current home. The area his hand covered was suddenly contained in a glowing pillar, extending far into the sky. No one could see anything within.

Anyone else asking for wishes to be granted? The person asked somewhat sarcastically.

Bits raised his hand in excitement. “I wish for a million wishes!”

Wish denied. I’m not a genie.

Bits lowered his hand, his ears drooping. “Aww.”

Broom turned to Copper. “What about you?”

Copper hesitated, and turned away. “…I'm fine.”

Broom looked concerned. “You sure? I mean, you could maybe ask for a TV, at least! Your house doesn't have a whole lot in it.”

Copper closed his eyes and shook his head. “No, I…,” his voice was shaking slightly. “I don't want to bother him…We seem to be enough of a problem.”

The person was confused. What's with him?

“I think you hurt him,” Broom replied. “That whole thing about how no one's gonna miss us if we disappear…”

The person sighed. Oh…never mind, whatever. He turned his attention back to Dr. Raz as the glowing pillar began to disappear. Anyways, miss, I got your little lab assembled. I had to take a few liberties, but you're lucky I even bothered in the first place.

Dr. Raz bowed to him. “Yes, sir, thank you.”

“By the by,” Heather suddenly asked, “do you have a name we can call you?”

The person paused for a second.

…Just call me Stern. 

He then turned his attention to something the others couldn’t see. …What? Oh, alright, I’m coming. He turned back to the others. I gotta go, there’s other matters I have to tend to.

Sketch panicked. “AH! WAIT! I wanted to ask you something!”

But Stern began to disappear. Save it for next time, whenever that is. I'm out.

And within seconds, he was gone, and the sky was back to normal. The blueprints began to float back down to the ground, restored to their original size.

Sketch snapped his fingers. “Doggone it.”

Heather looked at him curiously. “What were you gonna ask him about?”

“I wanted to know what the deal was with The Void.”

Hearing this, Heather snapped her fingers in annoyance too. “Aww, doggone it! I didn't even think about that!”

Dr. Raz’s ears perked up. “Void? What are you talking about?”

Sketch began to explain. “There's a house here that has no proper inside – just a set of stairs leading to complete darkness. Copper actually went in, and he found what seemed like a different universe at the end of the staircase.”

Dr. Raz rubbed her chin. “Is that so…”

“Doctor, please don’t think about going there yourself,” Sketch quickly replied. “Multiversal travel can be dangerous, and no offense, but I don’t think you could handle it.”

Hearing Sketch’s concerns, she shrugged with a slight grin. “Well, if I do decide to look into it, it probably won’t be for a while.” She turned to where her house was, which appeared exactly the same as before. “Right now I want to see what this Stern person actually did regarding the blueprints, as I see no differences from here. My questions for you and Mrs. Britannia will have to wait for now. Holly, Bits, come along, please.”

“I’m not sure how to process what all just happened, doctor,” said Holly, who retrieved the blueprints on the street.

Dr. Raz raised her finger. “Just stick to observations, Holly, we’ll assess any other details later…”

Bits waved to the others as he followed Dr. Raz and Holly to their home. “See you later, guys!”

Sketch smiled and waved back. “So long, Bits!” He then turned his attention to Copper, who was looking rather dejected. “You alright, Copper?”

Copper took a moment to respond. He didn’t make eye contact. “I’m fine. I’m…just gonna go home.”

Broom looked worried. “Is it alright if I come with you?” he asked. “We can talk about things if it’ll make you feel better!”

“I…I don’t really feel like talking right now.”

“Oh… I see…” Broom looked sad.  “W-well, will I see you tomorrow?”

Copper looked to Broom and the others for a moment, then turned away again. “…Maybe.” And with that, he walked back to his home.

Broom turned to Sketch, a slightly panicked look on his face. “I don’t like that answer, guys. I’m really worried.”

Sketch held his hands out in front of him. “Calm down, Broom. You did all you needed to.”

“But I’m a little scared that he’s gonna hurt himself!”

Sketch nodded. “I understand that. But honestly, I’d just wait and see. I think he just needs time to process all that’s gone on today. There was a lot to take in.”

Broom thought about this and sighed. “…I guess you’re right. I think I’m gonna go home myself and…see if I can put my mind at ease somehow.”

Sketch nodded, patting Broom on his shoulder. “Take it easy, Broom.”

“Sure…thanks, guys.” And thus he made his way back to his home.

Sketch then turned to Heather.. “Well, this was certainly a development.”

Heather nodded, smiling slightly. “We got to see the Builder of the Blocks himself.”

Sketch chuckled slightly. “Maybe we shouldn’t call him that.”

“So just Stern? Or should it be Mr. Stern?”

Sketch thought for a second. “Maybe Mr. Stern. It sounds a little more respectful, anyway.”

Heather looked up to the sky. “I wonder what he’s got planned now that he knows we’re here.”

Sketch look up as well. “I suppose only time will tell…”

—

As Dr. Raz and the others went into their home, they noticed an elevator situated on one of the walls. They pressed the button to open the doors, and they rode it down to the first basement. When the doors opened, their eyes opened wide in amazement.

“Doctor, he truly did it!” said Holly. “This is your lab!”

Dr. Raz held back her excitement, glancing over all the details. “It’s a reasonable facsimile, at least. Not sure I like how he situated the elevator in the house instead of isolating it outside like I designed.” She walked up to the big computer and turned it on. She waited to see what would happen. “Hmm. The computer works, but unsurprisingly there’s nothing installed.”

“I may be able to restore the most recent backup of your lab computer,” said Holly. “It will take some time to complete.”

Dr. Raz nodded. “I would appreciate that, Holly, thank you. Meanwhile I think I'll explore this space a little more.”

With that, Holly grabbed hold of a connection cable and plugged herself into the lab computer, beginning the restoration process. Meanwhile Dr. Raz and Bits went a bit further to the back portion of her lab, passing the kitchen area and reaching a short hallway with a few doors.

Bits looked confused. “Is it me, or is there one more door than there was before?”

Dr. Raz turned to Bits. “According to the blueprints, that's meant to be your own room.”

“WHOA, FOR REAL?!” Bits became very excited. “My own room?! I don't have to sleep in your dresser drawer anymore?

Dr. Raz smiled a little. “That's correct, Bits. Go ahead and take a look..”

As Bits rushed in to look around, Dr Raz opened another door to find another familiar sight.

“He even managed to fully replicate my bedroom. I wonder…”

She walked up to her bed and decided to lay down. A moment later, Bits opened the door in excitement.

“Hey, Razzy! My room's even got a TV!”

But he got no response.

“…Razzy?”

When he looked closer, he noticed Dr. Raz – still wearing her glasses and lab coat – in a deep sleep on her bed.

“Oh!” He slowly walked towards the door. “I think I’ll tell her later…” And he quietly closed the door.

—

Ah. It’s already night. Guess everyone’s asleep in their homes. I never did finish furnishing that big house…let’s open it up and get a good look.

Wait, one of them’s actually living in here?… Hmm. It’s the tall, moody one… Some of the others did seem concerned about him…

Well, I think he’s in for a surprise…

[malamiteltd]

Asbestos

This Teijru is one of the few that travels outside of his home world Kheji. Asbestos is a wanderer, visiting different planets for the sake of a unique business. His psychic abilities are considered the strongest of his kind; he's well-versed in psychokinesis, telepathy, psychometry, and hypnosis. He's been utilizing these skills to assist various clients with information-gathering and mental recollection. When certain people are uncooperative in interrogations, or someone's mind has been hurt too much to effectively remember things, Asbestos is often called in to extract the information one way or another.

In many cases, hypnosis is the main method to do so. His iridescent eyes aid in his hypnosis methods; when the light hits them just right, the colors in his eyes dance around with subtle movements of his head, making an entrancing sight for those looking -- enough for his psychic force to make the connection.

Asbestos is typically impartial in regards to whom he's assisting. In some cases he's helping law enforcement, while in others he may be aiding more unsavory individuals. It doesn't matter to him as long as he's paid up front. The only exceptions are when the jobs could potentially threaten the lives and well-being of his own world; even if he does spend most of his life outside of Kheji, he still cares about it, and will refuse any work that could harm it.

His typical attire seems to originate from Earth, tailor-made to accommodate both his height and his tail. The sunglasses, of course, help him see in places where the sun's presence is strong -- seeing as Kheji is very far from their sun, Asbestos and the rest of his kind aren't accustomed to the same amount of sunlight. Even Earth's sunlight is a bit much. One would assume with his many travels that learning the languages of so many worlds would be difficult, but Asbestos appears to possess xenoglossia, letting him innately understand the language within about half a minute -- a very handy ability to have. And if it's a dangerous environment, his precognition allows him to prepare a countermeasure for any threat. He's no fighter, but with his psychic power and fervor he's got enough to defend virtually anything. If all else fails, he can flee the scene with the help of levitation.

© 2023 Malamite

[malamiteltd]

Day 13 – And Six Makes Seven

Copper awoke to the sound of the front door knocking. He stumbled out of bed and made his way to the door to answer it. It was Broom, looking up to him with a friendly smile, with the gaming handheld in one hand.

“Hey, Copper!” he said cheerfully. “So I know this might seem a bit out of nowhere, but…well, I guess I was just thinking about you in this empty house of yours…”

Copper shrugged. “It's not so bad.”

“Sure, I suppose it's okay," Broom replied, “but I figured there wasn't a lot to keep you…I dunno, preoccupied? So I figured, maybe I should give this to you!”

Broom took the handheld and extended it to Copper, who looked rather shocked.

“W-wait, are you sure? I mean, this kind of stuff is usually your thing…��

Broom nodded. “Yeah, it's fine! I have the console at home, and that does me fine. Something about just being in that from with that big TV and the shelves of games…it gives me a warm feeling for whatever reason. But you don't really have a TV, and I'm sure the radio is only doing so much…”

Copper was speechless. He slowly reached out and took Broom's handheld. He examined it from all angles, trying to get used to its layout. The last thing he noticed was the cartridge slot, which was empty.

“Now I don't really have a way to get games of your own,” Broom then started, “but I figured I could let you borrow any of the games at my place whenever you wanted.”

“You're…y-you're being very generous with this,” Copper replied. “I don't really want to bother you for the same of borrowing–”

Broom waved his hand dismissively. “It's no trouble at all! Besides, maybe we could get a chance to play more of these games together once you start getting more used to them.” He started to blush. “Admittedly you've been the only other one interested in this stuff, and it's not as fun for you to just watch.”

Copper blushed and smiled. “Thank you.”

Broom nodded. “Now let's see if we can pick out some games you can play. I had thought of some ideas, but I figured it would be better if you picked them out yourself. I might be able to explain some of 'em to you if I recognize them.”

Copper laughed a little. “That's assuming the explanation makes sense. Remember there was that one that was just about crossing the street a bunch of times…”

Broom laughed as well. “True, some of the games have some wild scenarios. But I like to think that's part of their charm.”

Suddenly a portal opened close to the street, not far from where they were standing.

Broom looked at the red portal in fear as he stood behind Copper. “I-is THAT what a portal looks like here?!” He said, trembling a little. “That's terrifying!”

Suddenly a person appeared, leaping out from within the portal and landing in the middle of the road, just as the portal disappeared. The person appeared to be a female fox, wearing glasses and a white lab coat. As she stood up, she started to look around, trying to comprehend her surroundings.

“Something's wrong,” she said to herself. “This is not where I'm supposed to be.”

Broom and Copper looked at her, unsure what to make of this stranger. Hesitantly, Broom waved his arm to get her attention. “H-hello?”

Startled by Broom's call, the stranger raised her arm in front of her, and it suddenly began to change its form. Her arm shaped itself into a laser cannon, and she pointed it toward the two with a serious expression.

“Whoa!” Broom hid behind Copper again. “Don't shoot!”

“What's going on here?” said the stranger. “Are you two responsible for this?”

“No!” Broom shouted, “We got thrown into this world just like you!”

The stranger looked to Copper, who wasn't sure how to react to the situation. She eventually lowered her arm and converted it back to its normal form.

“I apologize,” she finally said. “I'm not quite sure what's going on. My senses seem to be a little disoriented at the moment, and half my battery seems to have drained without explanation.”

Copper thought about what to say. “Have you ever heard of divergent portals?”

The stranger looked confused at first. “Divergent portals?…” Then they suddenly seemed to realize something. “Wait! Is that what happened? The divergent portal theory is real?”

Broom explained the rest of The Situation™ to the stranger…

. . . .

“I see,” the stranger said, “so that explains everything then. I suppose I have to get used to this environment now. Are you the only two here?”

“There are at least two others,” Copper replied. “They're friends.”

“I suppose that's a good thing. I guess on that note, we should make proper introductions.”

Broom nodded. “I'm Broom. This is my friend Copper.”

Copper waved.

The stranger nodded in response. “Call me Holly." She looked over to Broom. “Am I right in assuming you're a Syr'l?”

Broom looked surprised. “Y-yeah, I am! You know about my race?”

“Where I'm from, we recently discovered your kind through our space telescope. Though, the images showed you all wearing…more primitive outfits.”

Broom thought for a moment. “Were they hemp tunics?”

Holly looked surprised. “That's right!”

Broom laughed. “Wow, I don't think I've seen anyone in those in a VERY long time. At least not in my neighborhood.”

“Did your world find anything relating to MY planet?” asked Copper.

Holly shook her head. “I'm afraid not. The discovery of Keshly'm and the native race was pretty recent, and it was a pretty big deal...it was the first time we encountered a functioning society on another planet.”

Suddenly the group heard someone approaching from the distance. They turned to see another fox lady in a white lab coat, accompanied by a short green rabbit. They all stared at each other in silence for a moment.

Holly took off her glasses. “Bits?” Her eyes grew wider. “…Dr. Raz?!”

Bits's ears perked up. “Holly?”

Dr. Raz turned to Bits. “Who's Holly?”

Bits grimaced when he heard this. He turned to see Dr. Raz's reaction, which was one of confusion and concern.

Holly shook her head as she put her glasses in her coat pocket. “I must say, you're very convincing doppelgangers, whoever you are.”

“I'd say the same for you,” Dr. Raz replied. “What brings you and your alien sidekicks here?”

“Sidekicks?” Holly looked over to Copper and Broom. “No, they've got nothing to do with me.”

Broom stepped forward. “But I'm guessing she's got a connection to you, Miss, uh…?”

“Dr. Raz. And I have strong doubts about that.”

“You sure? You do kinda strike me as the type that could make a robot like this.”

Dr. Raz raised an eyebrow. "Robot?”

“Is that really you, Holly?” asked Bits, staring in confusion.

Holly looked at the small rabbit. “Don't play games with me. I don't appreciate it when people try to mimic my family.”

Bits was even more confused. “Huh? I'm not mimicking anyone!”

Holly crossed her arms. “I also don't appreciate when I'm lied to.”

Dr. Raz looked annoyed. “Permit me to ask...what would convince you of my identity?”

Holly thought for a second, then began to approach Dr. Raz. “Let me take a good look at your eyes.”

Dr. Raz took off her glasses and stared at Holly as she got closer, not moving an inch. Holly's eyes suddenly blinked red, and a subtle beeping sound was heard. Then her jaw dropped.

“It...it can't be...”

“Well, that sounds like you're convinced, anyway.” Dr. Raz put her glasses back on and turned her attention to Copper and Broom. “Anything else I need to know about this robot?”

Copper scratched his head. “Well, she converted her arm into a cannon and threatened to shoot us...”

Dr. Raz was stunned to hear this. Her look of surprise quickly turned to one of skepticism. “Well, you're right that I'm able to make a robot like this. But I never installed any weaponry in any of the robots I made.”

“But Doc,” Bits said, “what about the Frazzgadget?”

Dr. Raz shook her head. “That's not an installation, that's equipment.” She then turned back to Holly. “I don't know who made you, but I don't appreciate the mockery you make of my inventions.”

Holly was confused, and a bit worried. “Doctor, wait...I didn't mean to–”

“Stop.” Dr. Raz raised her finger, looking at Holly sternly. “I'm getting to the bottom of this, one way or another. Enable Basic Mode.”

Holly looked very nervous when she heard this. “B-basic Mode requires a security phrase to access.”

“Understood.” Dr. Raz responded without hesitation.

“Please say the security phrase.”

“Kestry’el Zeta Ghemako.”

Suddenly Holly assumed a standing position. Her eyes began to glow red, and she presented a lifeless neutral expression.

“Access granted. Currently in Basic Mode.”

Holly’s voice changed to a simple synthesized voice. 

Dr. Raz nodded. “So this truly is one of my robots…”

Broom was irked at this sudden change. “Wh-what’s this about?”

“Basic Mode forces my robot to accept manual commands and inquiries from me. It’s pretty much how my older robot models worked exclusively.”

“How did you know this mode existed in this one?” asked Copper.

“I had one robot that operated on a new variation of artificial intelligence. It was meant to work primarily through its own thoughts and feelings, and when it’s given that amount of potential freedom, there’s always a chance that something could go wrong. The Basic Mode was installed in her root data so that it will override the AI and allow me access to her information uncontested.”

“And she can’t just deny you access to the option?”

“Correct. The access cannot be circumvented when I ask for the option.”

Broom scratched his head. “I guess that’s why she looked nervous when you brought it up. She can’t control herself when in this mode, so anything could happen to her and she’d have no way to stop it. Not even her own voice…”

Dr. Raz adjusted her glasses. “That’s technically true. But all I’m looking for right now is information, and in this mode she will provide that in a straightforward manner.” She turned to Holly. “Please state your identity.”

“Raz Renard Robot Model 6, firmware version 92.11.6.”

“It’s Number Six…” Dr. Raz said in response, slightly surprised.

Holly continued:

“Name designation: ‘Holly!’”

When Holly recited the name, it was a recording of someone else’s voice. Dr. Raz raised her eyebrows, recognizing the voice. Bits recognized the voice too…it was his voice. He swallowed hard as he turned to Dr. Raz, who glared at him.

She turned her attention to Holly again. “Number Six, please tell me when that name was designated.”

“The name: ‘Holly!’ was designated on date 2178-7-12.”

Dr. Raz turned to Bits again, looking very angry. “That was a week ago.”

Bits trembled. “W-w-well…uhhh, I–”

Dr. Raz’s face started to turn red. “You were tampering with Number Six in the basement, even after I explicitly told you not to the week before that!”

“B-b-but Doc, I–OW!!”

Bits was suddenly hit over the head with a wooden spoon, which Dr. Raz retrieved from her coat pocket.

“Why did you disobey me?” she shouted angrily.

Bits rubbed his head where the spoon hit him. “Because…because I was…”

“Because you were what? Curious? Bored?”

Bits sighed. “Because I was lonely.”

Dr. Raz was taken aback. “Lonely…? But...I allowed you to stay in my lab! I made it your home!”

“But...you don't talk very much,” Bits replied. “And when you're busy with your science stuff I…I don't really have much else to do. I found Holly in the basement, charging like the other robots upstairs, and I…well, I figured she might be lonely too. She was all by herself down there. And...she was definitely confused as to why you cut your first chat with her very short…”

Dr. Raz sighed. “She began to ask some…personal questions. Ones that I was uncomfortable to answer. I panicked and cut off the power…” She took a deep breath. “I wasn't sure why she wanted to know so much about me.”

Broom shrugged. “Maybe she was curious too.”

Dr. Raz cleared her throat. “In any case, she was still in a testing phase. The chat we had was via text messages; she wasn't fully activated yet. And I wasn't sure what she could end up doing if I did."

“There must've been a lot of adjustments to make," Broom replied, "considering you had to make so many firmware updates.”

This statement suddenly made Dr. Raz's eyes grow wider. She completely missed that detail. “Wait…what did she say her firmware version was?”

Copper shrugged. “It was 90-something, I think.”

“The last update I remember giving her was version 5…" Dr. Raz turned to Holly again. “Number S–”

“Holly,” Bits interrupted.

Dr. Raz sighed. “...Holly. Please tell me the last date you have registered in your memory.”

“The most recent registered date is 2355-9-7.”

Dr. Raz's jaw dropped. “2355?!”

Broom was surprised. “Wait, is that Earth years? That's almost 200 years in the past!”

Dr. Raz turned to Broom. “It's almost 200 years in MY FUTURE!”

Bits was amazed at this revelation. “Whoa…Holly’s a time traveler?”

Dr. Raz quickly regained her composure. “No, Bits. It seems this world can pull people from different times as well as different universes. The, um…alien rabbit just said he may be from about 400 years in the future.” She looked to Broom. “I suppose I never got the names of you and your friend. My apologies, as this development with Holly was���overwhelming.”

Broom nodded. “It’s fine. My name is Broom, and my friend's name is Copper.”

Copper waved. “Hi.”

“I presume you two are from different planets,” Dr. Raz replied, studying the two visually.

“Yeah,” Broom said, “but our races seem to have some parallels in regards to what we can do.”

Copper looked away. “At least in most cases…”

Broom turned to Copper. “Ah, right. Copper’s considered pretty special among fervals.”

Dr. Raz raised an eyebrow. “Fervals?”

“Yeah… As best as I can describe it, fervals are a class of animal whose bodies produce more energy than their bodies can usually contain. The excess usually floats around us and we use our minds to control it for different stuff. That energy usually acts like a sorta mix of fire and electricity.”Broom looked up to his tall friend. “But Copper…his energy’s almost entirely electricity-like, so he can’t do certain ferval stuff…but he’s apparently capable of other abilities the rest of his kind have never seen before.”

Dr. Raz was taking notes. “Fascinating…”

Copper shrugged. “I still don’t know much about it. The fact that no one else knows anything about it just makes me feel like that much more of an oddball.”

“I’d like to find out more about you and your friend later,” Dr. Raz said as she put her notepad away. “The notion that you can manipulate the excess energy your body emits suggests–”

“Doc,” Bits interjected, pulling on her coat. “What about Holly?”

“Oh, right!” Dr. Raz turned back to Holly. “Alright, Holly. Resume Standard Mode.”

Holly suddenly shook. Her eyes returned to normal and her body moved naturally once again.

“You could’ve asked me those questions in Standard Mode, Doctor,” she said in a sad tone. “I would’ve been willing to answer…”

“I had doubts when these two informed me you had weapons installed,” Dr. Raz responded. “It would not have surprised me if you were in fact some knock-off robot someone made after stealing my research. It wouldn’t be the first time someone pulled that on me…”

Holly nodded. “So I recall. My apologies, Doctor…”

“I’m just amazed that it’s YOU, Number Six. Did I not make any other robot models in your line?”

“I was the last one,” Holly responded. “Ever since I was…brought into your little family, you’ve focused on upgrading me as much as possible over the years.”

Dr. Raz was confused. “‘Brought into my family?’ What do you mean?”

Holly looked at her hands. “Well, at some point you started to look at me less like a robot assistant and…more like a daughter. It made me feel like I was something…someone special to you. Seeing you again with your skepticism and distrust…it feels like whiplash. But considering the details, I can’t be surprised.”

Dr. Raz nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry…Holly. But the sudden change in my quality of life has shaken me to my core. I felt like all I’ve worked towards—everything I’ve worked on—has been taken from me. The fact that at least one of my…‘RazBots’ has now joined me is at least a little comforting.”

Holly nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can to help, Doctor. But…please don’t put me into Basic Mode again.”

Dr. Raz was silent for a moment. “...I don’t know if I can make that promise. But…I promise I will only use it as a last resort.”

Holly closed her eyes in disappointment. “I suppose that’s the best I’ll get from you at the moment… So what now?”

Dr. Raz looked at Holly. “Well, considering you originate from a far-off future, you’ve obviously had a lot of modifications and adjustments applied to you. I’d like to take the opportunity to study these modifications myself. I’m just not sure what tools I’ll need to access them yet…”

Holly looked uncomfortable. “A-actually, Doctor, I think it would be a better idea for me to evaluate you and Bits. It might be important to find out whether traveling to this world may have altered your physical and/or mental well-being.”

Dr. Raz was confused, but intrigued. “How would you know if anything is out of the ordinary?”

“I’ve performed these health evaluations before,” she responded, “and I have all the evaluations I’ve made over the years stored in my memory. I can just match what I find today with an evaluation from the appropriate time frame and make comparisons.”

Dr. Raz thought about this for a moment. Eventually, she nodded in agreement. “Alright, we’ll go with that. Will it take long?”

“It might,” Holly answered. “I need to make new files for you and Bits; you’re not gonna be the same Dr. Raz and Bits I’m familiar with, and I don’t want to risk overriding the old files either.”

Dr. Raz shook her head. “Very well. But I’d prefer to do this in the privacy of my…home.”

Holly nodded. “Of course, Doctor. It wouldn’t be proper to perform the evaluation out here, considering what some of the steps will demand.”

Dr. Raz suddenly blushed bright red. “How comprehensive IS your examination?!”

“Doctor, it’s a procedure YOU put together. It was designed to get all the necessary data for the subject in question.”

“I see… The procedure I must’ve used for Bits and those aliens I encountered a few years ago…”

“Anyone we’d know?” asked Broom.

“I highly doubt it,” Dr. Raz answered, “considering there’s a 400-year difference between your existence and theirs.”

Broom rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, right…”

“Alright, Holly, I suppose we should get this over with.” Dr. Raz directed Holly towards her home, and they walked together, with Bits following close behind. “I am curious to know what has happened as the years went on.”

“Of course, Doctor. I’ll tell you whatever you wish to know, to the best of my ability…”

As the others walked to Raz’s home, Broom and Copper looked at each other, unsure what to make of what they just experienced.

“So they’re our new neighbors, huh…” said Broom, placing his hands on his hips.

“Are they friends?” asked Copper. “I can’t really tell with the doctor.”

Broom shrugged. “I suppose we’ll have to wait and see. At least I don’t sense anything bad from them…”

They were both lost in thought for a few minutes.

“OH!” Broom suddenly realized something. “We were gonna find some games for you!”

Copper’s antennae perked up. “Ah, right! That whole situation kinda threw us both off, I guess.”

“Let’s go take a look,” said Broom. “I know the other day I stumbled across a game you might find interesting. Ironically, it features a robot with an arm cannon…”

[ns-games]

Broom and Copper

"C'mon, Copper! Check out what's over here!"

Just a friendly piece of gift art for @malamiteltd, featuring Broom and Copper from The Last Soldier.

Actually, there's another story that's been in the works by the name "The Blocks" that feature these two, and a handful of Malamite's other characters in a sort of alternate reality. None of the story has been posted publicly, but Malamite has shared the story he's worked on so far privately. This story dives more into both of these characters' backstories, and how they became friends. So, I just wanted to just draw a picture of these two just being friends. I imagine that Broom's either got one of his new games setup, or one of those old games he's imported from Earth. And he's super excited to show it off to Copper. Even if Copper doesn't always understand how this technology stuff works.

The Last Soldier © 2013 - 2023 @malamiteltd Artwork © 2023 @ns-games

[malamiteltd]

Day 19.1 – The Secret is Out

Time for Blitz Mode

Graphite was the first to wake up. For a moment he looked confused at what he saw around him – he was in a simple bed with basic furnishings surrounding him. But he soon remembered he was no longer in his home world, and rather than his own simple home he was in the small shack Sketch referred to as the 'Poor House.' When he realized this, he got out of his bed and stepped outside to survey the area. As he exited the doorway he recoiled at the brightness of the sky. 

"Ugh, the sun…" he said, rubbing his eyes. "It's gonna take some time to get used to this place…"

Then there was a voice calling in the distance. "Stop right there!"

"Hm?" Graphite turned to where the sound came from. He found Bits standing at the other end of the block, approaching him with an angry look on his face.

"Don't make another move!" he shouted. "I'm not about to let you have your way!"

Graphite looked confused. "What are you talking about, kid? Who even are you?"

"The name's Bits! And I know an evil alien invader when I see one! So you better get outta here before I have to take drastic measures!"

Bits stopped halfway, his hands clenched in tight fists. He awaited Graphite's response.

Graphite sighed. "Kid, I don't have any way to leave. But you need to calm down."

"Alright, you asked for it!!" Quickly Bits held up his hands and swiped them downward, summoning his Bit Blades. He grasped them and ran straight for Graphite, preparing to strike. With each swipe of his blades, Graphite casually dodged, seemingly warping to a different spot only a pace or two from where he was. Bits kept trying to strike, with no luck. A little tired, he called off the Blades and looked to Graphite, who stared back at him with his arms crossed, his tail whipping slightly behind him.

"Sheesh!" Bits said. "You're hard to hit!"

"I've dedicated most of my life training to fight," Graphite replied, "a skill you clearly don't have. Now stop playing around and leave me alone." With that, he began to walk away, heading towards his new home.

Bits's eyes widened. "Playing?! You think I'm PLAYING?!" He held out his hand, and a ball of energy formed. "TAKE THIS!!"

The Bit Bullet was suddenly fired at Graphite. Graphite quickly sensed its approach and swatted it into the sky. He then looked over to Bits, who was readying more Bullets in each hand, and scowled. He turned around and began to approach the little rabbit, who started to fire a bunch of Bullets at him. One after another, as Graphite kept walking, he deflected each Bullet that got near him, until he was only a foot away. Now his hands were made into fists, and his body started to shake, as though struggling to hold back his temper.

Graphite gritted his teeth. "Final warning."

Bits seemed unfazed. "You don't frighten me, you space freak!" With that, he ran up to Graphite and threw a mighty kick to his leg. But Graphite did not react, and the kick only seemed to hurt Bits. He hopped a bit, holding his leg in pain. "Ow! Ow! That hurt! What are you made of?!"

Graphite didn't respond. He suddenly swung his long tail with incredible force. It struck Bits hard, sending him flying across the street so far, he looped back to where Graphite stood. It almost looked as though he would have collided into the irate Teijru, were it not for the fact that Graphite's tail quickly swung at him again, stopping him instantly. His tail coiled around Bits's body tightly, and started to squeeze until the little rabbit couldn't move.

"You know, kid," said Graphite, "we only just met and I'm already tired of you."

Bits kept trying to break free, but he couldn't budge. "NGGH! Let me go!"

Graphite shook his head. "Not a chance. You're staying coiled up until you either calm down or pass out. At this point I don't care which."

"NO! I…won't give up!" Bits began to look furious, struggling even harder. "HRRGGH! I need…to go BLITZ MODE!!"

Graphite was perplexed. "…Blitz Mode?"

In a sudden flash, Bits summoned his energy and burst it around him. Graphite was blown back from the force, losing his grip on Bits. He fell a few feet away from where he once stood, dazed from the burst. When he regained his senses, he looked over to Bits only to find a startling sight.

In the place of the three-foot-tall rabbit was a twelve-foot-tall beast. It had small wings, a bulky body with a long neck, and a long muzzle with sharp teeth – yet it was covered in the same green fur as Bits. It was wearing the same outfit, though it looked like it barely fit. It even had the same long ears.

Graphite looked up and down at this beast. "What am I looking at?!"

The beast held up its arms, flexing its 'muscle,' and showed off a big toothy grin. "You're looking at Blitz the Drabbit!" he replied, "the guy who's about to TAKE YOU DOWN!!"

With that, Blitz leapt in the air and attempted to stomp on Graphite. The Teijru quickly jumped out of the way, quickly getting back on his feet to prepare for the next attack. Blitz turned with his teeth gritted and inhaled deeply. Then he began to blow intense fire at Graphite, who had begun to surround himself in bright purple fervor. He held out his hand and formed his fervor into a barrier, which fended off the fire effortlessly. He lowered his hand when the fire cleared, and he started to approach Blitz, who was gasping for air after his flame-breath attack.

"I've been holding myself back as best I can," Graphite growled," but you're REALLY starting to test my patience…"

"Oh yeah?" Blitz replied, finally catching his breath. "Well, maybe you need to CHILL!!"

And Blitz took in another deep breath. This time, however, he summoned freezing gusts of ice at Graphite, whose defensive barrier only served to create a frozen casing around him. When he realized this, he struck at the ice and broke it open, only for Blitz to breathe ice on him again, this time making direct contact. Graphite's body began to freeze over until he was fully trapped in a spire of ice.

Blitz excitedly pumped his fist. "Gotcha!" He then walked up to the helpless Graphite and leaned down to him, putting on his best tough face. "Alright, you alien scum! You're not gonna take over this world while I have something to say about it! Now you're going to stay in that ice until the others have a way to get rid of you!" He then stood tall and crossed his arms, his face full of pride. "That'll teach you to mess with me!"

In an instant, the spire of ice began to glow a bright purple. It began to tremble…then it began to crack. Blitz looked in shock as the spire suddenly burst open, shards of ice flying everywhere. Graphite stood himself firm, surrounded by purple fervor so intense, his own fur looked dark by comparison. His tail and antennae almost appeared to be on fire, and his pupils were glowing intensely. He trembled in anger as he bared his teeth.

"YOU CROSSED THE LINE!"

In a split second, he forcefully kicked Blitz in his large gut, his foot seemingly halfway into its full diameter when it landed. The shock and pain of Graphite's attack left Blitz stunned for a few seconds. He almost fell over, and he held his stomach with both arms while he struggled to regain his composure. But Graphite quickly lunged in once again. One arm wrapped around Blitz's neck, and the other reached for his chest. Gathering up his strength, Graphite let out an angry roar as he lifted Blitz off the ground and slammed him on his back. The impact was so tremendous, it almost felt like an earthquake.

Graphite took a deep breath and looked at the startled Blitz, who appeared to be in great pain. The Drabbit looked to Graphite, upside-down in his view, unsure what was going to happen next. But the Teijru crossed his arms and stared back, attempting to de-escalate the situation.

"I don't know what makes you think I'm trying to take over," Graphite said calmly, "but that's not something I want."

Blitz struggled to get back up. "I…I don't believe you!" he replied. "There's no other reason you'd need to be this strong! You're gonna hurt people for sure!"

Graphite started to look angrier. "Kid, right now the only one I wanna hurt is YOU. You started this fight, but I'm more than ready to finish it."

Blitz finally got back onto his feet. "Fine! So help me, I'll give it everything I've got to keep my friends safe!"

And the two prepared to resume the fight.

Suddenly Sketch Tucker and Heather Britannia ran out of the house. "What's going on out here? Bits? …Graphite?"

Blitz heard this and was baffled. "Wait…you know him, Uncle Sketch?"

Sketch nodded. "Sure I do, he arrived here yesterday. Got whisked away in a different portal like the rest of us. Now can someone explain what's going on?"

Graphite spoke up. "This little punk saw me out here and claimed I was some evil invader, and next thing I know he's trying to attack me."

Sketch placed his hand on his face and sighed. "I was worried something like this would happen…"

Then Copper and Broom came from their respective houses, looking a little panicked. 

"What's happening?" said Broom. "We felt the ground shake and—whoa."

Copper looked up at the large long-eared beast. "…Is that Bits?"

Blitz was a little confused. "Hang on…Copper, do you know this guy?" He pointed his thumb over to Graphite.

"Yeah, I know him," he replied. "Graphite is a guardian of my home planet. In fact, where I'm from, he's considered Kheji's greatest hero."

Blitz was shocked. "He…he is?!"

Broom nodded. "Sure he is! With all that strength of his, he's been able to protect Kheji from all sorts of hostile invaders…often all by himself!"

Graphite looked away and blushed.

Blitz began to process what he just heard. His confused expression turned to one of panic. "I…I was attacking a hero this whole time?! Oh no, what have I done?!" He turned to Graphite and got on his hands and knees, bowing and looking ashamed.

"I'm sorry, sir! I didn't know! I just wanted to protect my friends!"

Graphite raised an eyebrow at Blitz's gestures, but eventually sighed. "…Well, at least you apologized."

Finally, Dr. Raz and Holly came out of their home. The doctor was adjusting her lab coat, as though just putting it on. "What's all the commission ab—WHAT IS THAT?!"

She jumped back at the sight of the large Drabbit kneeling in front of her. Her glasses almost fell off her face.

"Oh, hello, doctor," Heather replied. "Which do you mean, Graphite or–"

She walked up to Blitz, her hands trembling. "Bits?! What HAPPENED to you?!

Blitz waved his hand casually and smiled. "Hi, Razzy! You can call me Blitz the Drabbit!"

Dr. Raz was at a loss for words. "H-how did…when did…?"

Sketch smiled. "He figured out how to do this just yesterday. He seemed to remember seeing this form in the back of his mind, but he wasn't sure if it was just a dream."

Dr. Raz looked at the two Tokarus. "And this isn't permanent, right?"

Heather nodded. "He can change back, yeah."

"But why would I want to change back?" said Blitz, flexing his 'muscle' again "I'm so much stronger like this!"

Dr. Raz was regaining her composure. "And way too big! There's no way you're able to fit in the lab like that. Either you change back or you're staying outside from now on!"

"But Razzy–"

Dr. Raz stamped her foot. "That is FINAL!"

Blitz looked disappointed. "Aww, alright." With that, he closed his eyes, and in another bright flash, he became the three-foot-tall rabbit once again.

"Good." Dr. Raz pointed to her house's front entrance, where Holly was casually standing. "Now go on home, I have some other matters to take care of."

Bits walked his way to Holly, who escorted him home. Meanwhile, Dr. Raz was approached by Graphite, who looked rather annoyed.

"Are you that kid's caretaker?" he said. "You need to teach him not to attack random people at first sight."

"He's never attacked anyone at random before…" she responded, stroking her chin. "My apologies, mister…?"

"Graphite."

"Yes. My apologies, Graphite. I'll talk to Bits about that… I'll let you return home."

Graphite sighed and turned around to do just that. But Dr. Raz suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, Graphite," she said, "I may wish to talk to you about something a bit later."

Graphite turned his head slightly when he heard this, then shrugged and continued his way home. Copper and Broom looked at each other and shrugged as well, walking back to their respective homes as well. Sketch and Heather looked to Dr. Raz, who fumbled through her lab coat pockets. She finally pulled out her notepad and briskly approached the Tokarus.

"Alright, you two," she said, sternly and anxiously. "I have some questions I'd like you to answer."

"What a coincidence, doctor!" Sketch replied, smiling. "We actually have some questions of our own we've been meaning to ask you–"

Dr. Raz waved her hand. "Never mind that! I want to know what you found out about Bits! How did you teach him to become that giant monster? What else can he do?"

Heather crossed her arms. "We'd like our questions answered first, if you don't mind."

"It's only fair, after all," added Sketch, who crossed his arms as well. "We volunteered for your research, and we even looked after Bits while you were studying Copper and Broom. You kinda owe us."

Dr. Raz looked at the two Tokarus, her ears folded back. "You don't understand," she replied, somewhat nervously. "I have been struggling to figure out how he ticks. I've had no luck getting him to replicate some of the things I've seen him do, and you two manage to spend a day with him and he can suddenly do those things with ease! You have several answers to questions I've been trying to find for months! I need to know!"

"Indeed!" said Heather. "And you have answers to questions we've wanted to ask for the last few days."

Dr. Raz started to shake. "…Please don't do this. I would rather not disclose too much about…"

Sketch and Heather stared directly at her. Silent, arms crossed, each with an eyebrow raised. Dr. Raz slowly realized what they were doing, and her curiosity has backed her into a corner. After racking her brain over some other solution to the situation, she came up with no alternative. She looked to the ground, her arms fallen to the sides. She struggled to hold back tears.

"…What do you want to know…?"

Sketch and Heather looked at each other for a few seconds, then turned back to Dr. Raz.

"What do you say we take this inside?" asked Sketch, pointing to Dr. Raz's house.

Dr. Raz sighed and silently nodded. She led Sketch and Heather inside and summoned the elevator to her underground lab…

[malamiteltd]

Day 18 – A Powerful Presence Arrives

Sketch and Heather started out their morning watching TV in their living room. Things seemed particularly normal. Suddenly they both felt something strange…a strong, unexplainable feeling in the air. Their ears perked, and they quickly looked at each other.

“Do you feel that?” asked Sketch.

Heather nodded. “Yeah…that’s a powerful aura. I never felt an outside aura from within the house before.”

Sketch got up from the couch. “We should go investigate.”

They both went outside and started looking around. Pretty soon they heard a voice not too far away.

“This isn’t Crimson City…This isn’t even Kheji!”

They turned to find a tall figure down the street, looking around frantically. They noticed his long tail and thick antennae – two details that looked very familiar.

“Is that another Teijru?” asked Sketch.

Suddenly the figure turned his head to look in their direction. His light green eyes caught sight of the Tokarus.

“He’s staring right at us…” said Heather, shivering a bit.

“You!” the Teijru shouted, walking towards them. “Both of you! I want answers.”

Sketch nodded and approached the Teijru. “Sure, we’ll do our best to answer them.” Heather followed Sketch to see the Teijru up close. He wore a black tanktop with a strange purple symbol emblazoned on it, and long black pants. His hair looked a bit frazzled compared to Copper’s. but all his fur was completely white.

The Teijru looked angry. “Alright. Where am I, and how did I get here?”

Sketch shrugged his shoulders. “Well, we’ve been calling this place the Blocks since we got here.”

“Hmm,” he responded, stroking his chin. “So you aren’t native to this world?”

“None of us are,” added Heather.

The Teijru raised his eyebrows. “You mean there are others?”

Sketch nodded. “Yes, and from other dimensions. As for how you got here…did you recently travel through a dimensional portal?”

“I think so… there was a natural rift in my world that was being investigated. It normally would whisk any person who entered it into some random destination. Recently some visioneers were trying to control its intended course by making an artificial rift to match. I volunteered to test it out, but…I guess things didn’t work out.”

“Well, if it’s anything like our dimensional travel,” said Heather, “chances are there’s another you that actually made it to the other rift.”

The Teijru was confused. “What do you mean?”

“I suppose we should fill you in on The Situation™…”

. . . . .

The Teijru mulled over what he just heard. “So I was split in two, and the other me arrived there safely.”

“He probably ended up as tired as you were when you arrived here,” Heather replied, “but yes.”

“And I managed to end up in someone’s dollhouse universe, with a bunch of other carbon copies?”

Sketch shrugged. “Basically.”

The Teijru shook his head. “I suppose I should be relieved that Kheji still has a protector, but I’m not really sure how to feel about being stuck here…”

“Incidentally, I don’t think we got your name. I’m Sketch Tucker, and this is my wife, Heather Britannia.”

“Hello!” she said, waving.

The Teijru nodded. “Good to meet you. My name’s–”

“Graphite?!”

The three turned to where the voice came from. It was Broom, looking shocked at the new arrival.

The Teijru was also surprised at hearing his name, but eventually regained his stern expression and nodded. “That’s right. How do you know my name?”

Broom looked confused. “What do you mean? We’ve met before, after the Apparatus tried to invade your planet.”

Graphite looked confused. “What’s the Apparatus?”

Broom was stunned. “How do you not remember the Apparatus?! You went into space to destroy it!”

“Broom, hang on,” said Sketch. “There’s a good chance this Graphite might be from either a different time or different universe…or both.”

Broom stopped to think about this. “Well, even if he isn't the Graphite I know, he definitely has the level of fervor I remember.”

“Yeah, it’s almost overwhelming!” said Heather, looking over to Graphite. “The kinds of stories I’ve heard about you make you sound like an unstoppable warrior!”

Graphite looked away.

Broom walked up to Graphite. “I’m curious to see what your experiences were like, Graphite! Would it be okay to perform Clarity with you?”

Graphite looked uncertain as Broom held his hand out to him. “I…I don’t…”

“Have you not done Clarity before? It doesn’t hurt or anything. We’ll get to know each other better this way!”

Graphite looked to Broom’s hand, then to his gentle smile. He hesitantly reached for Broom’s hand. “A-alright.”

Broom locked his fingers between Graphite’s. “Okay! This will only take a few seconds. Just close your eyes.”

Graphite did as Broom said. Then he felt a rush of Broom’s memories flashing through his mind. When it stopped, Graphite opened his eyes and looked at his hand. “Huh. That wasn’t so…”

He looked to Broom, who had a horrified look on his face. Graphite became concerned.

“You okay?”

Broom shivered a bit. “E…excuse me…” 

Then he quickly ran in the direction of Copper’s house. Graphite was confused at first, but began to realize something, which made him look ashamed. Sketch and Heather were very confused.

“What happened?” asked Sketch. “Did he…manage to find a particularly bad memory of yours?”

“I mean, I’ve heard Graphite’s had to fight some tough customers with that strong power,” Heather replied. “Maybe some of the sights were too much to bear.”

Graphite didn’t respond. He looked to the house Broom ran to, and noticed someone coming out. He squinted his eyes to make out the figure, but as the figure approached with Broom, Graphite’s eyes grew wide. Now he was starting to shiver.

“...C…Copper?!”

Copper looked confused. “Graphite?”

Graphite struggled to speak, let alone move. Sketch and Heather looked at the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on.

“You okay?” asked Copper.

Graphite tried to regain his composure. “I…you…the…” He held his forehead. “Hang on…you ARE Copper, right?”

“Yyyyeah…?” Copper was baffled. “Are you…actually Graphite?”

“Well, we suspect this Graphite might be from a different universe,” Sketch replied.

Graphite nodded, though still looking stressed. “R-right. That sounds right.” He took a deep breath. “Sorry. I thought you were the Copper from my world. You couldn’t be.”

“What do you mean?” asked Copper.

“Yeah, what’s up with the Copper from your world?” added Sketch.

Graphite paused. “The Copper from my world is dead.”

Copper was taken slightly aback.

“Oh…” Heather replied, her hand almost covering her mouth. “I’m sorry, Graphite. I suppose seeing him alive would be a shock.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” said Sketch, “how did he die? Was he ill? Did he get caught in some kind of accident?”

Graphite closed his eyes. “He was killed.”

Sketch and Heather looked shocked. Copper’s eyebrows were raised.

“That’s terrible!!” Heather shouted. “What kind of horrible person would DO that?!”

Graphite turned away as he slowly raised his hand.

Sketch and Heather were even more shocked. “YOU?!”

Copper looked surprised as well. Broom covered his face with his hands.

“WHY?!” Heather growled. “Why would you kill him?!”

Graphite opened his eyes, turning his gaze to Heather. “He asked for it.”

Heather crossed her arms, looking more upset. “That’s a HORRIBLE thing to say!”

“You misunderstand,” Graphite replied in desperation. “He LITERALLY asked me to do it.”

“I find that very hard to believe!” she replied.

Copper raised his hand. “I believe it.”

Everyone looked at Copper when he said this. He looked fairly calm, unlike the stunned expressions of others.

Heather shook her head. “Could you just…tell us what happened that led to you doing this?”

Graphite breathed in slowly. “Alright…I was in Crimson City, looking into the new army that was being assembled there. When that was done, I headed for the train station to go home. But I was passing by the park and noticed Copper sitting alone, looking sad and distressed. I decided to investigate – it was very late, and it was odd to see anyone out at that hour. I asked him what was up, and he was afraid to talk about it at first. But eventually he told me his struggle…how his mind was making him think horrible thoughts, and how it became hard for him to sleep…and he had no way to make it stop.”

Copper pondered about the scene. Sketch did as well.

Graphite continued. “He was frustrated, with tears in his eyes, wishing it would all end. He was convinced the only way the intrusive thoughts would stop was to end it all. And…then he had an idea. He began begging me to help him with that. He wanted me to put him out of his misery.”

“And you said yes?!” Heather asked, sounding upset.

He shook his head. “Not initially, no. I didn’t think it was right. But he kept insisting…he was really convinced this was the answer. And…I kinda understood how he was feeling. I could see his pain. So… I eventually agreed to help him. I tried to come up with the most humane way to do it. I first told him to lay on the ground.” He held up his hands. “Then I used my fervor to put him into a deep sleep. Pretty soon he was out cold, but not before sleepily telling me…’Thank you.’”

He closed his eyes. 

“And then…I formed blades from my fervor…and pierced both his hearts. He stopped breathing less than a minute after…”

Sketch and Heather were speechless.

“I took him to his home and buried him in the backyard,” Graphite continued. “I did my best to be respectful about it all. And…at the time, I felt like I did him a big favor. Despite how unorthodox it was…I thought I really did help him.”

Broom grabbed Copper by his legs, holding them tight. He seemed upset about the story. Copper placed his hand on Broom’s head and patted it a few times.

Graphite sighed. “But then, the following day I was approached by Copper’s friends. They said they were looking for him everywhere and found no sign of him. They asked around all of Crimson City, but no one knew where he was. So they decided to come to me in the hopes that I could help. I felt a chill down my spine as I heard their story. But…I told them what had happened. And…unsurprisingly, they were very sad…and furious. They yelled at me for doing what I did, saying I could’ve approached the problem differently. They were sad Copper didn’t try to reach out to them before he got to the point of desperation. Nothing I tried to say helped ease anything.”

He rubbed his forehead, starting to look distressed.

“And pretty soon, the word got out…people started to see me as a murderer, someone willing to kill off an innocent civilian. Everyone considered me incredibly dangerous, and they wanted nothing to do with me. Even Zoi…the Teijru I had feelings for…she didn’t wish to see me ever again. I was lucky to at least have Choram’s support and comfort, or I would’ve ended it all myself.”

“Choram?” asked Sketch.

“A fellow from the planet Byra. A few of his kind tried to invade Kheji…I managed to defeat all the invading army, except his brother Teusen, who surrendered once I found him. Because he was the one that had the blueprints for the spaceship they used to get to Kheji, we chose to make him stay so the Byrans couldn’t make another ship. Choram traveled to Kheji to make sure his brother was okay, and then he decided to stay and protect him. We ended up becoming good friends over time. And…well, eventually he became my only friend.”

“So I guess you didn’t end up as big of a hero as we heard,” said Sketch.

“Well, I kept trying my best to help keep people safe. Other invading races arrived, and I stepped in to prevent their influence from hurting anyone. I worked very hard, despite the negativity around me, to regain a lot of the public’s trust. But Copper’s friends…they would never forgive me…”

Graphite made a pained expression, which he quickly covered with his hands.

“...I wish I never did it…I really, genuinely thought I did the right thing for him…Now…I have the same intrusive thoughts Copper wanted to escape…his ‘gift’ to me…and there’s no one more deserving…”

Copper walked up to Graphite and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry…”

Graphile looked over to Copper, who looked concerned. “I…No, this…this isn’t your fault. You’re not the Copper that was begging to die.” But he quickly regained his composure, his face looking stern. “Listen. I’m not sure what your current outlook on life might be, but I can’t do that again. I swear to you, I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe. This all feels like my second chance…and I’m not going to squander it.”

Copper was silent for a few seconds. Then he nodded. “...I understand.”

Graphite looked to the others. “And I promise to keep the rest of you safe too. I’m not flawless, obviously…but I want to at least prove I can be trusted.”

“We…appreciate that, Graphite,” Sketch said. “I know what you did wasn’t…the best choice. But I know I’m willing to give you this chance.”

Heather hesitated, but eventually nodded in agreement. “I really don’t sense a bad soul in you.”

Graphite looked to Broom. “You’re angry at me for what I did, aren’t you…”

Broom looked away. “I understand you wanted to help him. But…it doesn’t seem like you really know how to do that.”

Graphite slowly nodded. “Yeah…I need to work on that.”

Sketch looked around. “You’re going to need a home. A couple of these places are still vacant…” He looked to Heather. “Think you can show him around? I…need to talk to Copper about something.”

Copper looked at Sketch, confused.

Heather nodded. “Alright.” She turned to Copper. “Come on. Let’s find you a place to stay.”

Graphite followed behind Heather as they walked down the street. Sketch looked over to Copper and took a deep breath.

“So,” he started. “That was quite a story he told. You alright?”

Copper nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’re not mad at him?”

“Not really, no.”

“Hm.” Sketch scratched his head. “I do have to say, the way he described the scene…it sounded kinda familiar.”

Copper looked a bit puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“The scene of you sitting alone in the park late at night…struggling with your recurring trauma…You’ve been there before.”

Copper thought about this. Then his eyes grew wide. He quickly turned to Sketch.

“Y-you KNOW?!” he suddenly shouted, panicking. “But HOW? Did Holly tell you about–”

“You remember that failed Tokaru Bond I had with you a few days ago?” Sketch asked.

“...Yeah, why?”

“While I was trapped in your mind, I was practically surrounded by your thoughts and memories. And…well, that was one of them.”

Copper began to shake. “I…I…”

Sketch got closer, placing his hands on Copper’s shoulders. “Relax. I don’t think any differently of you. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Copper looked away in shame. “...Does Heather know?”

“She needs to,” he replied. “But I don’t think she’ll see you any differently either. Just remember, you have friends to lean on here. And Graphite…well, he sounds like he could use just as much help. Maybe more. And I’m not sure why, but for some reason, I feel like you’ll be the one he needs most to help him cope.”

Copper nodded hesitantly. “I’ll…try.”

Sketch suddenly noticed Broom standing not too far off. He looked uncomfortable.

“I suppose you saw that event play out firsthand through Clarity, huh?” asked Sketch. “You gonna be alright?”

“It was…a horrifying memory,” Broom replied, shivering. “The imagery of Copper with two burnt holes in his chest, partly buried in the ground… I wasn’t sure what to do after I saw that, so I ended up running to Copper’s house just to make sure he was okay.”

“It’s okay,” Sketch replied. “It doesn’t sound like that’ll happen again.”

Broom looked in Graphite’s direction. “I really hope you’re right…”

[malamiteltd]

Day 17.2 – More Back and Forth

But Enough About Me

Alright, Bits. Now you just need to do a swift kick.

Hitch nodded. “Okay. TOKARU STRIKER!!”

As Hitch swung his leg in a sideways kicking motion, a band of bright energy sheared off his foot, traveling a short distance before displaying.

And that’s how the Striker works. It's more effective when an enemy is closer, but the range does help.

Hitch looked very proud of himself. “Man! Just imagine if a threat ever showed up here! With the three of us together like this we’d be able to take it down no problem! We’d be UNSTOPPABLE!”

Aaannnd I think that’s enough!

Hitch was confused. “W-what?”

In an instant, Hitch burst to reveal Sketch, Heather, and Bits in his place. Bits was about to fall, but Sketch caught him by his shirt before he hit the ground.

“Awww!” Bits said in disappointment. “Why did you break us apart? I was having fun!”

“We know, Bits,” said Heather. “But what you said before didn’t sit well with us. After all, we were supplying the power and you were just making the gestures!”

Sketch nodded. “If you want us to take you seriously as a teammate, you need to offer some of your own skills too!”

“But…I don’t really know any skills,” Bits replied, looking sad.

“I distinctly recall you summoning two beam swords out of nowhere when you thought Dr. Raz was being threatened.”

Bits scratched his head. “Huh. But…why can’t I remember how I did that though?”

“It’s hard to say,” said Sketch. “To be honest, we were kinda hoping to see how your memory worked during the Tokaru Bond. But you can’t seem to grasp any memories of your own skills.”

“Well, apart from your abilities to fly and heal,” added Heather.

Bits began to rub his head. “I’m trying my best to remember, but…I can’t seem to do it! Dr. Raz likes to think I’m just messing with her about it…but I’m not doing it on purpose!”

Heather nodded. “We know, Bits. At first we figured you may have the same sort of power we do, but when you flew us into the sky, we realized a big difference.”

Sketch pointed to his forehead. “We’ve told you about how our powers stem from our minds, right?”

Bits nodded. “Yeah…?”

“Well, Bits…turns out your power comes from your heart!”

Bits looked down at his chest. “My…heart? But Dr. Raz told me I didn’t actually have one!”

“Well, we mean it comes from the emotions you feel. When you feel happy or angry or scared, it’s that core of emotion that gives you power.”

Bits was confused. “I'm not sure I understand…”

Heather tried thinking up an example. “Well, you like Dr. Raz, right?”

Bits nodded. “Sure I do! I think she's cool!”

“So if she's hurt or sick, what would you do?”

“Well, I'd heal her, of course!”

Heather nodded. “Sure. Now, why do you feel the need to heal her?”

Bits thought for a second. “Well…because I worry about her, I guess. I don’t want her to be hurt or sick.”

Sketch snapped his fingers. “And that's what we mean. Because you're worried about her health, you summon the power in your heart to heal her. That strong emotion unlocks that ability.”

“I guess that makes sense,” said Bits. “But I’m not sure what kind of emotion I’d need to make those swords you were talking about.”

Sketch knelt down to Bits. “Let’s try something. Close your eyes.”

Bits closed his eyes. Sketch placed his hand on Bits’s head. 

“Now imagine… a scary situation. Dr. Raz is in danger. She’s trapped, and she can’t defend herself. Things are looking bad, and it looks like she’s going to get hurt…or worse! What will you do?!”

Bits looked angry. “GET AWAY FROM HER!” Suddenly he raised his hands in the air, then swiped them down in a quick motion, creating two beams of energy. He instinctively grabbed the beams from the bottom and held them like swords. Once he did this, Sketch focused his own energy, and his fur became a glowing white.

“Open your eyes, Bits,” he said.

Bits opened his eyes and saw the swords he created. “W-whoa…the swords? I did it?”

“You did!” Sketch replied. “And I can tell you were scared and angry…that’s what helped make those appear. You wanted to save Dr. Raz, so you pulled those from a vision deep in your subconscious.”

Bits noticed Sketch’s change. “But…what are you doing? Your fur is glowing white!”

“I’m using Pure Energy to help you keep your power in reach. You can feel where the strength in your heart is coming from, right?”

Bits closed his eyes to focus. “I…I think I do!”

“If you can train yourself to reach for that power, it’ll be easier for you to pull off moves like those swords!”

“Well, I’m worried I might forget them again…”

“I’m sure there’s a way for you to remember…” said Heather. She then got an idea. “How about giving this ability a name?”

“A name?”

“You know, like we have the Buster, the Saber and all that. Give it a name and you’ll be able to recall it easier. Something like… I dunno, the ‘Bit Blades?’”

Bits thought about this. “Bit Blades?” He then smiled. “…I like it!”

Sketch reverted to his normal appearances and stepped away from Bits. “Let’s try something,” he said. “Make those Bit Blades disappear for now.”

“Um, okay…” In an instant the Blades dissipated.

“Now, let’s see if you can recall them. Try to remember where your strength is kept and visualize your move…”

Bits nodded and closed his eyes. “…Right… BIT BLADES!!”

And he created the Blades once more. When he opened his eyes and saw them, he was elated.

“AAHH! I DID IT!” he shouted.

Sketch gave him a thumbs up. “Good work! Keep practicing that and it’ll become second nature to you!”

Bits suddenly started to ponder something. “I…I wanna see if I can make a different ability!”

Sketch and Heather were intrigued. “Oh?” asked Heather. “You have another one in mind?

“Yeah, I recall seeing a vision of it…and I guess the Buster helped me remember!” He held his hand out like he did with the Buster earlier, and squinted his eyes. “Let’s try… uhhh… alright! BIT BULLET!!”

A small ball of energy fired from his hand at great speed. It traveled across the street, passing the loop of the Blocks and appeared to be heading straight for Heather. But she quickly noticed this and summoned a Barrier, surrounding her with power; the Bullet struck the Barrier and broke, and Heather was unharmed.

Bits realized the error. “Oops! I’m sorry, Heather!”

Heather waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Glad I was quick enough to get the Barrier up in time. But that was pretty good!”

Bits hopped around and cheered. “YEAH! I’M DOING IT!”

Sketch placed his hands on his hips. “So you had a vision of that one, huh? I think I remember seeing it hiding in the back of your mind during the Bond.”

“Yeah, you actually seemed to have a few!” added Heather. “Though, it’s hard to tell how many we saw were visions, or just dreams. Those two are easy to mix up.”

Bits scratched his cheek. “So some of my abilities might be hiding in my head as visions? I never really thought too much about all that, I always thought they were just daydreams.” He then made a realization. “I wonder if that means…” He lost himself in thought before he could finish the sentence. He started to smile with excitement. “Ohh, if that vision is real it would be SO AWESOME.”

Sketch and Heather tilted their heads slightly. “What vision?”

“Well, it’s… hold on, I wanna try doing it before I tell you! Give me a moment!”

Bits leapt into the air and flew a good height above the neighborhood. Sketch and Heather kept their attention on Bits as he began to focus hard on summoning his new ability.

“He’s certainly excited to test his powers now!” said Sketch. “I wonder what he’s got in mind…”

Heather rubbed her chin. “He had to go into the sky for this one, for some reason…” Then suddenly her eyes grew wide, and she quickly turned to Sketch. “Wait, is it the vision where–”

Suddenly they saw Bits glow bright, and the light burst around him. Sketch and Heather turned away, shocked and partly blinded by the burst. But when they turned back to see Bits, they were stunned.

“Holy smokes, it IS that vision,” said Heather, her jaw having dropped at the sight.

Sketch shook his head in disbelief. “Welp…I guess that one wasn't a daydream.”

. . . . .

Dr. Raz just finished looking at Broom’s physical examination results and took down a lot of notes. She made her way to the table where Broom was patiently waiting.

“So what did you find?” asked Broom.

“It’s interesting what differences there are between your physiology and Copper’s,” said Dr. Raz. “For example, your blood is purple in color while his blood is blue.”

“Is that bad?”

“I’m not certain, but it does suggest that your blood would not be compatible with his if a transfusion were necessary.”

Broom shrugged. “Well, we both can heal pretty quick, so I’d hope that wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Perhaps you’re right. I’ve yet to see how blood circulates in either of you.” Dr. Raz grabbed Broom's arm and shook it, making it wobble in a wavy fashion. “And of course, your limbs appear to have no bone structure apart from your hands and feet… that seems like it would be pretty easy to sustain injuries.”

“The muscles in a Syr’l’s limbs are sturdier than you think. But stuff like overexertion and especially muscle cramps can leave a Syr'l pretty vulnerable…”

Dr. Raz looked at her notepad. “Now, about your fervor…how much does it differ from Teijru?”

“Not sure. Syr’l definitely have less to work with. Not just because of our smaller size, either…the Teijru seem to use theirs more. Light, warmth, and I guess self-defense…they’ve had a history of fighting each other over their personal beliefs.”

“And Syr’l don't fight?”

“No, not typically. We’ve been a peaceful race for centuries.”

“You aren't worried about the possibility of hostile invaders?” asked Holly.

Broom scratched his head. “Well, admittedly we never had to worry about hostile invaders. Not until recently…ironically, about a week before I ended up here. Four huge aliens, almost as tall as the trees on Keshly’m, landed on the planet and claimed themselves the new owners. They began to cause all kinds of destruction, and even killed a few people. The very few that could fight stood no chance…we were all helpless. So we were really lucky that the two strongest Teijru arrived on our planet. Graphite and Zoisite, those were their names…”

“Ah yes, I've heard about Graphite from Copper,” Dr. Raz interjected. “He sounds particularly dangerous.”

“He can be if you make him cross. But yeah, he and Zoi were actually coming to Keshly'm to negotiate trade agreements with Kheji, but when they saw the hostile invasion they quickly stepped in to deal with the matter. It was amazing how quickly they defeated the invaders, too… When that was over, the Syr’l were so grateful for their help that they were willing to make them the new rulers of Keshly’m. But Graphite and Zoi refused the offer, saying everyone was overreacting. Even so, that whole invader scare caused a few Syr’l to want to move to Kheji just to feel safe with the stronger Teijru. Last I heard there was an eighth town being constructed there specifically with Syr'l in mind…”

“You were there during that invasion?”

“It all happened in my town. I was hiding in my house when it started happening. And wow, I was lucky they didn’t take out the tree my house was built on. All my friends were safe too, so I definitely counted my blessings.”

“Indeed.” Dr. Raz jotted down notes on her pad. “Let me see…if you’re a ferval like Copper, I presume you have some degree of psychic ability to control it?”

Broom shrugged. “Some. I don’t use it very often…really, Syr’l don’t use their fervor nearly as often as Teijru. Mostly lifting heavy things or lighting up dark spaces. Though we do have an important skill we call Clarity.”

“Clarity?”

“That’s right. It allows two Syr’l to learn about and understand each other by holding hands. No words are necessary outside of maybe asking for better context. Because we use Clarity often, we all understand each other on a deeply personal level, as though we’re all one huge family.”

“I assume this can work on Teijru?”

Broom nodded. “It can! It’s how I got to know Copper, in fact. And I’m pretty sure Teijru could perform Clarity too, but they all seem pretty secretive. Actually, now that I think about it, Clarity seems to work with non-fervals as well… I did it with Sketch and Heather when I first arrived here.”

Dr. Raz scratched her chin. “Interesting. Could you demonstrate this ‘Clarity’ for me?”

“Sure thing! If anything, you’ll be able to see some of what life was like on Keshly’m itself from a personal view. Hold out your hand and spread out your fingers…”

Dr. Raz did as Broom said. Broom did the same with his hand, and pressed his palm against hers. She looked perplexed as he interlocked his fingers between hers.

“Alright,” said Broom. “Now close your fingers, and your eyes…”

Dr. Raz followed Broom’s instructions. Then Broom closed his eyes, and the tips of his antennae began to glow. Suddenly they both felt a rush of thoughts and memories through their minds, taking place in only two seconds’ time. After it ended, Dr. Raz felt dizzy from the experience.

“S-so…bizarre…” Dr. Raz said, shaking her head to dispel her dizziness. “All those visions hitting at once…”

“I suppose someone without those capabilities would be a little overwhelmed,” replied Broom, smiling. “But you got to see several moments of my life, and I got to see several of yours!”

Suddenly Dr. Raz looked tense. “W-wait…you what?!”

Broom nodded. “Clarity shares memories between both people involved, giving them a good idea of the kind of life they each have had. On that note, I didn't know you had a twin sister!”

Suddenly Dr. Raz quickly got up from her chair and leaned towards Broom angrily. “NOT ANOTHER WORD!”

Broom was startled by this reaction. He leaned away defensively, shaking a little. Holly’s eyes grew wide as well, focusing her attention on her maker.

“You say NOTHING about what you saw to anyone,” Dr. Raz growled. “Do you UNDERSTAND?”

Broom was scared. “…Y-yes'm…”

Holly became upset. She quickly walked over to Dr. Raz and picked her up.

“H-HEY!!” Dr. Raz shouted. “HOLLY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! PUT ME DOWN!!”

Holly walked the doctor to one of the exam rooms and plopped her onto the chair.

“That’s quite enough, doctor,” she said sternly. “I will take over the rest of this examination, and you are going to stay in this exam room until it’s done.”

Dr. Raz gritted her teeth. “How dare y–”

“The way you acted towards Broom was both rude and unprofessional,” interrupted Holly. “Even if he learned more about you than you wanted, you could have handled the situation better than that aggressive response you gave him. I’m sure even you wouldn’t want to visit a doctor who acts that way.”

Dr. Raz wanted to follow up with a response, but she couldn’t deny that Holly was absolutely right. She stayed silent and crossed her arms in displeasure.

Holly walked to the exam room door and pushed some buttons on the outside. “I’ll let you listen in on the discussion so you can make your notes, but your input will be muted. Is that understood?”

Dr. Raz’s face was red, but she sighed and accepted her circumstances. “…Very well.”

With that, Holly closed and locked the door from the outside. Dr. Raz was able to view the two at the table, while their audio was being played through a speaker in the exam room. Holly approached the table and sat where Dr. Raz was once seated, and focused her attention on Broom, who seemed down after that sudden scare.

“I apologize for that, Broom,” said Holly. “Are you alright?”

“…I-I think so,” he replied. ”Why…why did she suddenly act like that?”

“She’s very protective of her personal history. If what you say about Clarity is true, you probably saw that she had a rough upbringing.”

Broom slowly nodded. “I saw some of that, yeah… I didn’t mean to make her upset, I’m sorry…”

“You had no way of knowing,” Holly responded. “And believe me, her reaction surprised me too.”

“I mean, when I used Clarity with Copper, he didn’t seem quite as mad. Certainly surprised…and he kept looking away like he was ashamed. But I did promise him I wasn’t going to tell anyone what I saw.” Broom made a sudden realization. “I’m…guessing he told you about…”

Holly nodded. “He did. And I made the same promise to him for that.”

“But I didn’t think that one detail about Dr. Raz was that offensive! I-it was just a simple observation! I–”

“Yes, Broom, I know. I told her she could’ve been less aggressive about it.” She looked over to the exam room, where Dr. Raz was still sitting in the exam chair, arms crossed. “As cool-headed and serious as she likes to present herself, she’s still got a lot of growing up to do.”

Broom scratched his head. “So…what now? You’re asking the questions this time?”

Holly nodded. “That’s correct.”

“Alright…You’re not gonna ask me to use Clarity on you too, are you?”

“I don’t think it would work on me anyway, Broom. I am a robot, after all.”

Broom laughed a little. “Oh, right! Sorry about that…”

. . . . .

Sketch, Heather, and Bits were sitting at one of the benches by the pond. Bits leaned back with his eyes closed, looking content.

“You doing alright, Bits?,” asked Sketch.

Bits nodded. “Yeah… I can't believe how much cool stuff I'm able to do!”

“You just needed some help finding that potential, that's all. Neither of us realized our abilities until we got older.”

“I can't imagine Dr. Raz would've known how to help you with that,” Heather added. Then she thought of something.  “Actually, I'm a little curious…how did you ever get mixed up with Dr. Raz in the first place?

Bits sat up to tell his story. “Well…one day I was relaxing in a tree branch and she showed up. She was curious as to why I was such a weird color, and she started asking me a bunch of questions…but I didn’t really know any of the answers. So she eventually gave up, and after that was done I figured it was time to leave, so I flew off. I recall her jaw was hanging open when I looked behind me.”

“Sounds like that would just make her more curious,” said Sketch.

“Oh, it did. Pretty soon she wanted to escort me to her lab for an examination. But I’ve seen enough movies to know what scientists with underground labs like to do, so I refused. But she seemed to insist! And since then there were chases and traps she put me through because she was that curious about me. She even made new RazBots specifically to chase after me in the sky. It could get pretty scary…” Bits started to grin. “...but I'll admit, after a while it became kinda fun!”

“I get the feeling Dr. Raz would disagree,” said Heather. “How did you end up as friends?”

Bits thought for a moment. “I guess that started with the walking skeletons–”

Sketch raised an eyebrow. “Walking skeletons?”

“Yeah, there was apparently a curse in the wooded area I lived in that caused skeletons to roam on certain nights. And they were scary! I was too afraid to do anything when I saw them. But Dr. Raz was apparently outside too, and she was fending them off with her Frazzgadget!” Bits mimicked the motions of shooting a gun at various targets. “I was amazed how brave she was, not to mention she had a cool weapon!”

Heather scratched her head. “I'm surprised you didn't try to run away from her considering she's been pursuing you so much.”

“I was a lot more scared of the skeletons. In fact, I ran and asked for her help to get me away from them. And so she took me to her lab and let me stay there for the night.”

Sketch shook his head. “I can only assume she took advantage of the situation and put you through the exam while you were there.”

Bits shrugged. “Kinda. But considering she rescued me from those horrible skeletons I figured I owed her that much. Besides, her lab didn’t really look that scary at all! I didn’t see any weird experiments locked away or complicated chemistry sets or stuff like that, so I wasn’t as scared as I originally was.”

“What kinds of stuff did she put you through?”

“Just a few tests, kinda like what you guys went through yesterday. She tried to get a blood sample but it didn’t work, and that needle she was using really hurt.”

Sketch nodded. “Yeah, a Creation’s body is nearly impossible to pierce.”

“Honestly I wasn’t sure what she was trying to do at the time. But she showed me how it was supposed to go by using the needle on herself.” Bits blushed. “I…apparently passed out when I saw it. And she told me she rubbed a cotton swab in my mouth and clipped off a few hairs while I was out. Then when I came to, she asked to take X-ray pictures. But after all her evaluations, she couldn’t do anything with them.”

Heather tilted her head slightly. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the hair and the spit had nothing useful to show, and the X-rays were completely unreadable. It was like my body was blown out with light.”

Sketch nodded. “Oh yeah, I actually remember getting an X-ray long, long ago. I had the same thing happen.”

“But yeah, none of that answered any of her questions, and she didn’t know what else to do, so eventually she let me leave.”

Heather looked confused. “So wait, that was the end? She didn’t pursue you or anything anymore?”

Bits thought for a moment. “Well, the next day she didn’t have the opportunity. I hadn’t seen any sign of her outside that morning, and I was a little worried. So I arrived at her lab and paid her a visit, and when I saw her, she…wasn’t looking well. She was at her computer with a blanket wrapped around her, shivering and sniffling a bunch. When I asked what happened she told me she caught something called the ‘floo.’” Bits smiled a bit. “She sounded kinda funny when she did because her nose was stuffed up… But I felt bad seeing her like that, so I hugged her and wished her to get better before I left her alone.”

Heather smiled. “Aww.”

Bits’ smile started to fade. “Then the next day I went to check on her, and I noticed her lab coat was in a trash can outside. When I saw that I got really worried, so I took it with me and went in her lab to find her sitting at her table, just thinking. She looked sad…and when she noticed I was in her lab she just…turned away. I asked what was wrong, and she told me… she told me I ‘won.’ She didn’t want to study me anymore because of what I did the day before.”

Sketch was perplexed. “Wait, what do you mean?”

“Apparently that hug I gave her…after I left, Razzy noticed something weird. Hey nose wasn't stuffy anymore, her fever was…un-fevered? She didn’t seem weak anymore–”

“Ohhh…” Heather said with realization. “Your hug cured her flu!”

Bits nodded. “Yeah. And she said that was a problem…she wanted to find scientific explanations for my color, my abilities…pretty much everything about me that was weird. She thought maybe I was actually an alien with strange mental powers she could research. But curing the floo…she said that was ‘beyond science.’ And that meant she couldn’t research it…she wouldn’t be able to find a scientific answer. So…she saw no point in continuing.” He started looking sad. “On top of that, she was mad at herself for not realizing the possibility of magic sooner, calling herself an idiot… it hurt to see and hear all that. It sounded like she was just giving up.”

“On you?”

“On everything!” Bits said, throwing his hands in the air. “I was scared for her! So I told her not to give up! I told her the things she made—the RazBots, the Frazzgadget, that whole lab she had—I thought they were all awesome! She argued that the Frazzgadget didn’t do anything I couldn’t do, but I just thought the fact she built it was amazing! …But she didn’t believe me.”

Sketch looked over to Heather, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like someone we know.”

Bits continued, “And I realized she was right…I needed to learn about myself – where I came from, what I could do… And I didn’t really know where to start. My mind was…is…still muddled up. But Razzy always had some plan to investigate things. And she was focused! I figured if anyone could help, she could, and I told her just that. I begged her to help, and…well…that’s when she decided to keep going. We’ve been together since, and I’ve been helping her whenever I could.”

“I’m sure she appreciates it, Bits,” said Sketch.

Bits nodded. “I’m trying my best, anyway. Plus I was kinda glad I didn’t have to sleep outside anymore. It got kinda rough when it rained.”

Heather chuckled a little. “I’d imagine so!”

“Speaking of which,” said Sketch, “I’m kinda curious, Bits.” During the time we were getting you to summon your power, we asked you to visualize something threatening or attacking Dr. Raz. What was it you imagined?”

“Oh, that was easy!” Bits replied. “Space aliens!”

“Space aliens?” said Sketch and Heather, almost at the same time.

Bits nodded, a stern look on his face. “Yeah! Haven’t you seen the movies? They’re powerful and evil! Once they find a planet, they’ll use whatever scary weapons and weird abilities they have to take it over! They’d have to be stopped one way or another, or no one will be safe.”

Sketch and Heather looked at each other with concern, before turning back to Bits. 

“Do you think Copper or Broom are gonna do something like that?” asked Heather.

Bits’s stern look became one of surprise. “What? Oh! No-no-no! They’re good aliens! There's no way they'd ever hurt anyone!”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine they’re the type to do that,” Sketch replied. He then noticed Dr. Raz’s door open, and saw Copper and Broom leaving the house. “Oh! Speaking of which, I think I see them coming out of Dr. Raz’s house.”

“And there’s the doctor herself,” Heather added, seeing Dr. Raz and Holly follow the aliens outside.

Dr. Raz walked her way towards Bits and the Tokarus. Meanwhile, Holly turned her attention to the aliens.

"Thank you both for your cooperation," she told them. "I apologize for the…issues you each faced during the examination."

Copper just nodded with a neutral expression.

"How often will Dr. Raz ask us to do these exams?" asked Broom.

"Not often. But if you undergo some extreme physical or mental change, she might want to investigate."

Broom nodded. “Of course.”

With that, Copper and Broom left for their respective homes. As they started off, Sketch and Heather stood up from the bench just as Dr. Raz reached them.

“Alright, Bits,” she said, “I’m done for today, so it’s time to go home.”

“Okay, Razzy!” he said, jumping off the bench.

Dr. Raz then turned to the Tokarus. “I thank you again for your help with this,” she said. “Hopefully he wasn’t too much trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” said Sketch, shrugging with a smile.

“Oh!” Heather said suddenly. “Since you’re here, maybe we can ask you those questions we wanted to–”

“I already said I’m done for the day, Mrs. Britannia,” Dr. Raz interrupted.

Heather sighed. “I see.”

Dr. Raz then turned to Bits and nodded. “Let’s go.”

Bits nodded back with a smile. “Okay, Razzy!”

As the two started to walk away, Sketch took a step forward. “Hey, Bits!”

Bits suddenly turned around. “Yeah?”

“How about one more quick drill before you go?”

Bits smiled with excitement. “Oh! Sure!”

Dr. Raz looked at Sketch curiously. “…Quick drill?”

“Show me the ‘Bit Blades!’” he shouted.

Bits closed his eyes, and swiped his hands downward, making his two energy swords. He attempted to make a cool pose with them, which made Sketch and Heather smile. Dr. Raz, on the other hand, stared with wide eyes in disbelief.

“Good!” Sketch shouted. “Now the ‘Bit Bullet!’”

Bits reached his arm forward, and energy began to form at his hand. Then he moved his arm towards the sky, and suddenly energy balls began to shoot from his hand, his arm recoiling after each one was shot. Five Bullets darted skyward before dissipating. Dr. Raz kept switching her stunned gaze between Bits and the Bullets.

“Five of them! Not bad!” Sketch started thinking. “Now let's see, one more…”

Heather turned to Sketch. “How about Bit Pop?”

Dr. Raz looked very confused. “Bit Pop?”

Sketch looked to Heather and nodded, then pointed to Bits. “Bit Pop.”

Bits smiled with excitement. “BIT POP!!”

And with a sudden pop, Bits disappeared, leaving a few drifting particles of energy in his place. Dr. Raz jumped in surprise at this, her glasses almost falling off her face. She looked all around for Bits, but there was no trace of him anywhere. As she was about to ask Sketch what happened, she noticed he and Heather were both looking upwards in the same direction, grinning. She looked where they were starting and saw Bits sitting on the roof of Dr. Raz's house.

“Hi, Razzy!” he shouted.

Dr. Raz was speechless.

“Alright, Bits, come on down!” shouted Sketch.

Bits suddenly Popped back down, reappearing in front of Sketch and Heather.

Sketch gave Bits a thumbs up. “Well done! You recalled those real quick!”

Bits blushed, showing off a big grin. “Hee-hee!”

“Alright, go on home, Bits,” said Heather. “Let’s not keep Dr. Raz waiting anymore.”

“Okay!” He began running to his home. “Bye, Uncle Sketch! Bye, Aunt Heather!”

Sketch and Heather were surprised at this. They looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Well, there’s an unexpected turn of events,” said Heather.

Sketch nodded. “Yeah, we seem to have become Bits’s honorary family members.” He then turned to Dr. Raz, who was struggling to comprehend what she just saw. “He’s a good kid. A little excitable, but his heart is definitely in the right place.”

Dr. Raz shook her head suddenly, trying to regain her senses. “Mr. Tucker, what just happened? What did I witness?”

“Oh, that?” Heather shrugged.  We were helping Bits learn some of his abilities today. We just wanted to make sure he could remember them.” She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s no big deal.”

“Bu…wha… How? What moves? How did you teach him?” Dr. Raz anxiously grabbed her notepad, her hands trembling. “What else is he capable of? Did you learn anything else about him? Tell me, please!”

“Maybe some other time, doctor,” Sketch replied, subtly winking at Heather. “It’s been a long day and we’re kinda tired.”

Dr. Raz was shocked. “But–”

“Yeah, I think we’re done for today,” added Heather, smiling with satisfaction.

Dr. Raz stared at the two Tokarus as they headed for their home. “B-but…you’ll tell me next time we meet, right?”

Sketch turned his head slightly towards Dr. Raz. There was a subtle grin on his face.

“We’ll see what happens, doctor.”

[malamiteltd]

Day 17.1 – More Back and Forth

Shooting the Breeze

Sketch and Heather had just finished their breakfast. As Heather cleared off the kitchen table, Sketch decided to go outside. He stopped at the end of the walkway and looked around the vicinity.

“Anything unusual out there today, Sketch?” Heather asked loudly from inside.

“Nope,” Sketch replied. “Everything looks the same as yesterday.”

Heather exited the house to join him. “That’s a bummer. Maybe today’s the day we check out the Void.”

Sketch shook his head. “Probably not the best idea.”

Heather looked a little annoyed. “Oh, come on, Sketch, we’ve discussed this before! That weird house taunts me whenever I look at it.”

“I know. But I told you about that foresight I had the other day. And it’s signaling me not to go there just yet.”

“Why, though? What’s supposed to happen?”

Sketch suddenly caught sight of something approaching from Copper’s house. “Uh-oh, this might be it.”

Heather looked over and quickly recognized what was approaching. “Dr. Raz. And it looks like she's got our friends tagging along.”

Dr. Raz stopped before Sketch and Heather, with Copper and Broom following behind with looks of uncertainty.

She nodded to the Tokarus. “Greetings, you two.”

Sketch nodded back. “Hello, doctor. I’m guessing you’re giving Copper and Broom the same evaluation we had?”

“That’s right. And considering they’re natural-born beings, the exam will have a lot more to evaluate. Blood samples, X-rays, pulse readings, et cetera.”

“How bad was your exam, Sketch?” Copper asked. “I’m a little worried…”

Sketch shrugged. “It wasn’t terrible. But it did take a good amount of time, and it sounds like yours may take longer.”

Dr. Raz raised her finger. “That does remind me, Mr. Tucker… I was hoping you and Mrs. Britannia might do me the favor of looking after Bits while I’m examining these two.”

Sketch was a bit surprised to hear this; Heather, even more so. “Wait, looking after Bits?” Heather asked. “Why can’t he stay in the lab with you? It didn’t seem to be a problem during our exam!”

“Well, as I mentioned yesterday, I had hoped the evaluation and discussion I had with you two could help him realize or remember something about himself, since you’re Creations as well. That’s not so likely to happen with Copper or Broom, and I’m worried Bits may make them particularly uncomfortable.”

Sketch scratched his head. “If you say so.”

“So back to the question at hand,” said Dr. Raz. “Am I able to entrust Bits in your care for a while?”

Sketch smiled. “Well, I don’t see–”

Heather suddenly grabbed his shoulder, stopping him mid-sentence. “Sketch, can I speak to you in private for a moment, please?”

Sketch was confused. “Wha? Um, sure. Excuse us for a moment, doctor…”

Heather led Sketch across the street to the other block, a sizable distance from the others. Once she stopped walking, she crossed her arms and looked at Sketch with an aggravated expression.

Sketch was a little concerned. “What’s the matter, Heather?”

“Sketch, I’m still mad at her about yesterday. She had us bending over backwards for her research and wouldn’t even bother with any of our questions. And now she has the gall to ask us to babysit for her?!”

“Heather, calm down,” Sketch replied, holding his hands in front of him. “I don’t think there’s any real problem looking after Bits. He seems like a good kid, even if he is a little excitable…”

Heather leaned closer. “Sketch! Bits is not the issue!”

“Heather, stop!” Sketch said, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Look at me.”

Heather looked to Sketch, who stared into her eyes with a serious expression.

I think this is the opportunity my foresight was leading to, Sketch said through telepathy. Just follow my lead, and I think you’ll get where I’m going with it.

Suddenly Heather's expression changed from frustrated to slightly confused. After a quick glance across the street, where Dr. Raz was curiously watching, she hesitantly nodded to Sketch, and the two headed back to where the doctor was waiting.

“Sorry about that, doctor,” Sketch said, smiling. “Anyway, I think we can look after Bits for you.”

Dr. Raz smiled and nodded. “Excellent! I’ll let him know as soon as I arrive home with these two.” She turned to Copper and Broom. “Come along, please.” And they headed off to Dr. Raz's house, where Holly was waiting by the front door.

Sketch placed his hands on his hips as he watched them walk away. “Hope she doesn’t treat them too rough,” he said.

Heather turned to Sketch, still a little confused. “So what exactly is on your mind, Sketch?”

Sketch turned his head slightly to Heather. “Honestly? I’m a little curious about Bits myself.”

Heather shook her head. “Well, you heard Dr. Raz…his mind doesn’t seem to fully function. I doubt he'll give us a lot of answers if we start asking him questions.”

Sketch nodded and looked back towards Dr. Raz's house. “Very true. You know…it's a shame the doctor doesn’t have a way to directly look into his mind.” He looked back to Heather and smiled. “She seems awfully desperate to figure him out…”

As Heather heard this, she started to put the pieces together. She understood what was about to happen, and she grinned back at Sketch. “…You sly dog.”

Sketch then noticed Bits leaving the house, running at full sprint. “Here he comes.”

“Wow, he moves fast!” said Heather.

When Bits got close to the two Tokaru, he jumped and stamped his feet to stop himself. He almost lost his balance, but saved himself from falling. “Hey there, Sketch! Hey, Heather!”

“Hey, Bits!” said Sketch. “You sure look excited to hang out with us.”

“Well, yeah! I mean, I’m hanging out with two genuine superheroes!”

Sketch blocked a little and rubbed the back of his neck. “Superheroes? I dunno about—”

Heather suddenly bumped his side with her elbow. “Oh, hush, Sketch! Take the compliment!”

Sketch sighed. “Alright, fine. But I'm not really sure what the game plan for today’s gonna be. I mean, Dr. Raz kinda sprang this responsibility on us, so we don’t really have anything prepared.”

“I have an idea!” Bits said, raising his hand. “Maybe you guys can show off some of those moves you were talking about yesterday!”

Sketch raised an eyebrow. “Our moves?”

“Yeah! You remember: the Beam, the Buster, the Saber…all that stuff! It all sounded so cool!”

“I’m surprised you remember all that.”

Bits scratched his cheek. “Honestly, me too! Whaddya think?”

Sketch crossed his arms. “I dunno, Bits,” he said, shaking his head a little. “I think Dr. Raz would probably want to be here to see it if we started doing that.”

Bits began to sound desperate. “Aww, come oooonnn! I don't wanna wait that long! Razzy's gonna be busy with those weird aliens for most of the day!” He clasped his hands together in a begging gesture. “Come on, guys, pleeeeaaase?”

“I mean, I don’t see a problem with that,” said Heather. She then turned to Sketch. “What do you think, Sketch? Should we give him a demonstration?”

Sketch thought for a moment. “…I think I've got something better.”

Bits looked intrigued. “Better?”

“Sure!” Sketch replied. “I mean, it's one thing just seeing it all in action. But what if I told you there was a way to witness it from your own point of view? You know, as if you were the one pulling off those moves.”

Bits was confused. “What do you mean by—wait… the Tokaru Bond?!”

Heather turned to Sketch, looking rather impressed. “Oh, that’s good.”

Sketch nodded to Bits. “Yes indeed! When we bond together, we can pull off the moves and it'll feel like you're the one doing the moves yourself!”

“OMIGOSH THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!!” shouted Bits, with stars in his eyes.

Heather started to think. “I suppose the next question is which of us should bond with you… I mean, Sketch knows how to pull off the Saber.”

“True,” Sketch replied, “but you can pull off the Ballistic Buster. That would be cool to show him.”

Bits raised his hand again. “Hey! You think it's possible for both of you to do it?”

Sketch and Heather looked at each other. “Well, technically, yeah!” Heather replied.

“But you remember when I tried bonding with Copper,” Sketch said with concern. “It didn't work too well.”

“Well, maybe it was because he was an alien. We still don't know. But I'm willing to bet it works a lot better on a Creation!”

Sketch sighted a little. “I suppose there's only one way to find out.” He turned to the eager green rabbit. “We'll each need to hold your hands for this, Bits.”

“Oh…okay!” Bits extended his hands to Sketch and Heather. They each grabbed a hand, and then held each other’s.

“Alright, here goes…” Sketch and Heather closed their eyes. Noticing this, Bits did the same. “Tokaru Bond!”

Suddenly there was a bright flash. In an instant three figures were reduced to one; what remained was a small blue rabbit with long hair and three tails: two dog tails with a rabbit tail in between. The rabbit opened his gold-colored eyes and started looking around.

“Guys…? Sketch? Heather? Where did you go?”

We're here, Bits.

The rabbit was startled. “Whoa, what was that?! Sketch?”

We're speaking to you through your mind!

“Heather? So wait, did the Tokaru Bond work?”

Looks like it! Things seem to have worked perfectly. Take a look at yourself and you'll see.

The rabbit looked at himself and was astonished by the many changes. “Whoa…this is wild!”

When we bond together a lot of our appearance is reflected on the bonded form.

“It’s kinda weird hearing you guys without…you know, hearing you guys. I feel like I’m the only one actually speaking. Well, speaking out loud like this tends to get weird.” The rabbit was startled, noticing he was speaking beyond his control. “She’s right, you’ll be hearing your voice saying what we’re saying, just like this.” The rabbit panicked. “AHH! THAT’S WEIRD, DON’T DO THAT!!”

Just as we thought. We’ll stick to just mental chat.

The rabbit scratched his head. “So…if this is all three of us mixed together, what would we call ourselves?”

Usually we try to mix names together to some degree. If it were up to me…I’d call us ‘Hitch.’

Hitch? That’s not bad, Sketch.

It gets the job done. But enough about that…you’re probably itching to see some of our moves…right, Bits?

“YES I AM!” said Hitch excitedly.

Then let’s not wait any longer! I think we’ll start with the Tokaru Beam…a quick burst of energy from the forehead. We’ll need to focus towards the sky so we don’t cause any damage.

“Why not just aim at one of the trees?”

I don’t think Stern would appreciate that.

Hitch scratched his head. “And what will I need to do?”

You just relax and let us do this. You can experience how this whole thing feels, and who knows? Maybe you’ll realize an ability or two of your own!

Though I suppose if you do want to get involved, you could shout “Tokaru Beam” for us to do the move.

Hitch turned his head towards the sky. “You mean like this? … TOKARU BEAM!”

Suddenly a beam of power burst from Hitch’s forehead. The beam traveled incredibly far, and he could even see it looping from behind, making it seem like more beams were fired at once right above him. Hitch was flabbergasted.

“WHOOOAA!! THAT WAS CRAZY!!”

Yeah, imagine how we felt when we first learned to do that.

“Again! TOKARU BEAM!” And the Beam fired from Hitch’s forehead once again. “THAT IS SO AWESOME!!”

And that’s just one of the basic moves! We’ve got other skills to show here too! How about the Buster?

“Yeah!” Hitch then had an idea. “Hang on, can I do this one while flying? I feel like that would make this so much cooler.”

Sure thing! You take us up, and we’ll help get the Buster working.

With that, Hitch summoned energy from Bits to lift himself off the ground, above the height of the tallest tree in the Blocks.

You feel that, Heather?

Yeah, it’s not quite where I was expecting to sense it.

Hitch was confused. “Sense what?”

No worries, Bits, we’ll talk about it later. Now, for the Buster, you’ll need to hold out your hand.

Hitch outstretched his arm and held his palm out flat, as though he were halting traffic. “Like this?”

Perfect! Now watch...

In an instant, a small ball of light emerged at Hitch’s hand. “Whoa! Is this the Buster?”

It’s a small one. Keep holding it in front, we need to charge a bit more.

Hitch held his arm out again, and slowly but surely, the Buster became half his size. “WHOA! It’s gotten HUGE!”

One more thing to do now.

“Huh? Oh, right—TOKARU BUSTER!”

The Buster suddenly shot itself away from Hitch’s hand toward the distance.

Alright, now close your hand into a fist!

Hitch did just that, and suddenly the Buster burst, creating a massive explosion in the sky before disappearing.

“YEAAAHHH!”

So, Bits! How does it feel?

“OMIGOSH IT’S AWESOME! I had dreams of being able to do stuff like this!”

That’s interesting…

“It is?”

It is, kinda. Again, we’ll explain later. For now, let’s keep going…Heather knows a crazy trick we could pull off with the Buster too.

“SHOW ME!”

. . . . .

Dr. Raz and Holly looked at the images on her computer. Various X-rays and images were on display, all bearing Copper's name in the corner. Some showed bones, some showed blood vessels and nerves. A few showed only images of Copper's tail.

“Interesting,” said Dr. Raz. “There’s a lot to a Teijru’s physiology that I’ve never really seen before anywhere else. I’m not too surprised that the nerves are so numerous and the mind is built a little differently…the whole concept of fervor that Copper explained makes it sound very complex.”

“Indeed, Doctor,” replied Holly, “but I think I need to address his mental health.”

“I’m not surprised you’re concerned… I've been seeing a lot of signs. Generalized and social anxiety, possible neurodivergence, major depression…”

“That last one I find the most concerning. It reminds me a little of–”

“That's enough, Holly,” Dr. Raz interrupted, sounding a bit upset. “I can't do much about mental conditions; I can only note his current state. Speaking of which…”

They both looked over to the table in the center of the lab, where Copper was sitting. He had his arms crossed, looking down at the table – occasionally at Dr. Raz – with an angry expression.

Dr. Raz sighed. “It seems he’s still in a bad mood. And things were going well until his attitude changed…now he refuses to answer anything. Why does he suddenly feel the need to make this complicated?”

Holly suddenly looked upset. “Doctor, YOU are the one who made it complicated. Copper’s been wanting to ask you something since the whole exam started. I even noticed he was raising his hand for a good three minutes for the opportunity. But you have been actively ignoring and avoiding his question, and he's obviously noticed.”

“Holly, there’s nothing he—”

“I know you’re still nervous about people asking about your past and personal life, but you shouldn’t ignore him like that just because you THINK that’s what he wants to ask about. Now his trust in you is broken, and I can’t blame him for being upset.”

Hearing this, Dr. Raz thought about the situation for a minute. She then nodded. “Very well.” She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her notepad, and presented it to Holly. “If I can't find out the answers, then perhaps you’ll have better luck.”

Holly was confused. “Doctor—”

“Broken trust is incredibly difficult to fix,” Dr. Raz added, “and I’m not blessed with that sort of skill. So I’m placing MY trust in YOU, Holly, to talk to him. You’re more equipped for regular conversation; I only ask that you please help me finish Copper’s evaluation.”

After a moment, Holly hesitantly took the notepad. “Very well, doctor.” She then walked over the table where Copper was sitting. “Hello, Copper.” she said, bowing slightly. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll be filling in for Dr. Raz for the rest of these questions.”

Copper raised an eyebrow as he examined Holly. “That's a terrible disguise, doctor.”

“I'm not Dr. Raz, Copper. I'm her assistant, Holly.”

Copper shook his head. “I don’t believe you. All you've done is taken off the coat and the glasses.”

“I suppose if Dr. Raz did the same, we would look identical…” Holly said to herself. Then she had an idea. She put Dr. Raz’s notepad in her pocket, sat next to Copper, and extended her right arm. “I’ll give you proof. Grab my arm and summon your fervor.”

Copper was a bit confused at this suggestion. “A-alright…” He grabbed hold of Holly’s forearm. He looked up to Holly nervously, who looked back with a gentle smile. Slightly assured it was okay, Copper channeled his fervor through his hand through Holly’s arm and sensed the inner workings. “Oh…machinery.”

Holly nodded. “That's right. I can assure you, Dr. Raz has no mechanical parts.”

Copper began to manipulate Holly’s hand, moving it in different directions. The fingers then began to move as well, grasping and wiggling. Meanwhile, Dr. Raz was watching from afar, intrigued by this phenomenon. Copper looked up to Holly, who showed the same kind expression she had before.

“You seem…very calm, considering I’m able to move your hand and fingers like this.”

“Because I trust you, Copper,” she replied. “And I wish for you to trust me as well.”

Copper stopped moving Holly’s hand. He thought for a moment about what she said, and eventually let go of her arm. He wasn’t sure how to feel at the moment.

“Now…I believe you had a question for Dr. Raz,” Holly said. “I may not be her exactly, but I’ll do my best to answer on her behalf.”

Copper looked a little surprised. Then he looked frustrated. “…Why are you two really doing this?” he asked. “I can’t imagine this is all just for the sake of curiosity.”

“In fairness, Dr. Raz’s curiosity is what gets her motivated,” Holly answered. “When she’s intrigued, she pursues the interest relentlessly. It’s partly how she got to know Bits, after all. But she wants to use the information she’s gathering as a reference point for everyone. This way, if something happens to anyone, it will be easier to assess the problem and fix it.”

Copper sighed. “I guess.” His eyes darted to where Dr. Raz was standing. “Or she could use that information to learn how to overpower us…or even kill us.”

Holly was shocked. “Copper, we don’t–”

“You two are looking for a LOT of info,” he continued, even angrier. “all to figure out our statuses. Our strengths and weaknesses…everything you’d need to figure out the correct way to threaten and manipulate each and every one of us so she can assume control of any situation.”

“Copper, no! That’s not what this is for!”

Copper’s face became flushed, and his voice became louder. “You can’t convince me that it COULDN’T be used for that. And I think she WOULD do it if it’s convenient enough. She’s a control freak, ready to exploit weaknesses to make someone bend to her will…”

Dr. Raz wanted to say something, but held herself back. She made her way to the kitchen area to make a cup of coffee.

Holly grabbed Copper’s hand. “Please, Copper…I know she seems to have some of those tendencies, but I assure you, she’s not doing it for the sake of harming anyone. I know it’s probably hard for you right now, but I want you to trust her.”

Copper was skeptical. “Someone as secretive as she is…that’s a big ask. “

Holly nodded, looking away. “…I know.”

Seeing Holly react this way, Copper realized she might be struggling with Dr. Raz as well. This somehow helped him calm down a little. But he recalled seeing the two discussing something at length while he waited for them to resume the examination…

“Well, what were you two even talking about over there?” he then asked.

“Just the results of the physical evaluation,” Holly replied. “To our best understanding, everything seems to look okay. But, I did address concern regarding your mental health.”

Copper closed his eyes and sighed. “I know I’m messed up…”

“I was particularly concerned about the signs of depression you exhibit. You don’t hesitate to put yourself down and you refuse to believe any compliments you’re given. It is rather worrisome.”

Copper looked upset. “I’m not going to delude myself into thinking I’m better than I actually am. And I don’t want other people to make that assumption either.” He looked down at the table. “I’m just…trying to keep their expectations realistic.”

At this point Holly was very worried. She looked over to Dr. Raz, who was busy stirring her coffee. Then she turned back to Copper, who leaned his head into his hands. He didn't want to look at anyone.

“…Copper…” Holly asked cautiously,  “This…might be a touchy subject, but…have you at any point contemplated suicide?”

The coffee stirring stopped. Dr. Raz was motionless.

Copper slowly nodded his head. “Yeah…a few times.”

Holly struggled to think of what to say next.

“…I even attempted it once.”

Dr. Raz turned her full attention to Copper. Even she began to show a little concern.

Holly gently placed her hand on Copper's shoulder. Copper sheepishly looked over to her, expecting a look of disappointment. But she only appeared worried.

“Would you be willing to tell me what happened?” she asked gently. “I'll keep it confidential if you prefer.”

Copper hesitated to answer at first. He was already starting to regret what he said. But when he looked back at Holly, her gentle expression seemed to put him at ease. He put his hands on the table and took a deep breath. “Well…Broom already kinda knows about it, but…I don't know how the others will react, so…”

Holly nodded in understanding. “Of course. I promise.”

Copper took another deep breath. “Okay…so…one night I…had difficulty sleeping. I had a bunch of bad memories circulating in my mind, and…it was becoming unbearable.”

“Bad memories?”

“Yeah. Times when I got bullied…times when I let my friends down, or my family down…” Copper’s hands started shaking. “Times where…I just couldn’t do anything right…”

Holly held his hand. “Okay, I see what you mean now. So these bad memories were going through your head…?”

Copper regained his composure. “R-right, I wasn’t able to sleep. I ended up going outside, and I…made my way to the park in the middle of town. I sat down on one of the benches and tried to…cope. But it was getting overwhelming. It didn’t feel like it was ever going to stop…and it was really starting to hurt. And…I knew even if it did finally ease off, it would probably come back some other time and hurt just as much…or worse. I couldn’t stand it…”

“Didn’t you try asking someone for help? I remember you mentioning you had friends back on Kheji.”

“I didn’t want to bother them. It was very late at night and…chances are they were all sleeping. I didn’t want to wake them up because of some internal issue I couldn’t really explain. It would’ve made me sound insane…” He rubbed his face for a moment. “So I had to deal with it myself. It was my problem, and I wanted it to stop. I wanted to just…disappear. And it seemed like the solution was to just…disappear. If I did, I’d be one less problem for them to worry about…and the memories I struggled with would be gone too. So I spent a good amount of time thinking about what to do. And…eventually I settled on using the Crimson Chimney.”

“What is the Crimson Chimney?”

“It’s the name the folks in Crimson City gave to the volcano just outside of the city limits.”

Holly looked surprised. “Volcano?! You–” She quickly calmed down. “I’m sorry. Please continue.”

“So I took the walk up to the edge of the volcano’s mouth. It was pretty hot, and I could see the magma floating around inside. I…took a moment to think about what I was about to do. Naturally, a part of me wanted to back away…but…I was so convinced what I was doing would solve the problem…and…I eventually jumped in. I had my eyes closed, and I braced myself for whatever was gonna happen next.

“But…I suddenly hit solid ground. I opened my eyes and…well, I couldn’t understand it. I landed on a large, floating platform of obsidian. It was warm to the touch, but not burning hot….”

Shocked, Dr. Raz wanted to say something. But she stopped herself.

“How is that possible?” asked Holly. “Nothing should have been able to—”

“I know,” Copper replied. “And I didn’t even recall seeing anything floating around when I looked in. When I was trying to figure out what might’ve happened, I eventually made a possible realization…Orichalcum.”

“What’s ‘Orichalcum?’”

“There’s a firm belief on Kheji that a spiritual presence rests within the core of the planet, and it uses mysterious abilities to keep everyone alive. We’ve named it Orichalcum, and no matter how much others have tried, there’s no logical explanation for how certain things are possible on Kheji…I mean, Kheji itself allegedly shouldn’t have life on it considering it's so far from the sun.”

“That’s bizarre,” said Holly, puzzled by this information. “So…this was some form of divine intervention?”

Copper shrugged. “I figured Orichalcum assumed I fell into the volcano by mistake. But…I eventually got up and dusted myself off. I looked for the closest edge of the platform and began to run towards it, essentially trying it again. But…suddenly the platform shook and tilted as I got closer, and I fell over and found myself rolling away from the edge. And whenever I tried to get up and try again, the platform would jostle itself enough to make me fall again. It was actively keeping me from doing it…I was pretty much trapped.” Copper started tearing up. “And…eventually I just lay in the middle of that platform, just wondering…why?”

Holly shook her head in disbelief. “Wow… You weren’t severely hurt when you were in there, were you? The inside of a volcano is incredibly intense!”

“It was pretty hot, like I said. But other than the moments I fell down, I didn’t really sustain any major injuries. Even if I did, I was at least able to heal them up pretty quickly.”

“That’s incredibly lucky.”

“Depends on who you are, I suppose,” said Copper, sighing. “Anyway…I guess I fell asleep at some point after that…but I woke up to a bunch of voices yelling to me. I looked around and saw my friends up by the edge of the volcano mouth. They had lowered a long chain down to me to help me get out. I wasn’t able to speak…I felt…hopeless and humiliated, just watching them from below. I didn't want them to see me… But eventually I grabbed hold of the chain and held on tight as they lifted me up, keeping my eyes closed most of the way. When they pulled me out I saw a bunch of the soldiers from the Crimson Army there holding the other end of the chain.

“My friends were all embracing me and asking if I was okay, but the army’s commander – his name was Pyrite – he walked up to me, looking upset. He yelled at me quite a bit…told me what I did was asinine, and how he couldn't fathom why I'd ever do something so dangerous…” Copper started tearing up. “And…I remember him yelling…'Have you lost your mind?!'” He turned away. “…And…I broke down at that point.”

Holly rubber Copper’s back. “I’m so sorry, Copper…”

Copper wiped his face. “My friends told Pyrite to leave me alone, and they took me back home. But…apparently Pyrite ordered two of his soldiers to guard me outside my home. I wasn’t allowed to leave my house for two whole weeks, and they’d regularly enter and check to make sure I was okay. I barely had any privacy, and…all that time I was feeling miserable. Apart from the embarrassment I felt after all that, I felt like I severely failed at what I tried to do…I wanted the bad memories to go away, and I wanted my friends not to worry about me anymore. But now I had to live with those bad memories…plus one more, and my friends were now more worried about me than ever…”

Copper placed his head in his hands again. Things became silent for a minute.

“…I wonder how the others are doing back on Kheji…” Copper added.

“I imagine they’re fine,” Holly answered. “There is another you there thanks to the divergent portal situation, and I’ll bet they’re making sure you’re okay.”

Copper looked sad. “I don’t want to think that I’m bothering them, or looking for their attention. I feel like I’d be…like I AM a pest they have to deal with all the time…”

Holly shook her head. “I don’t think they see you that way. Besides, from what you told me about that abduction situation, you’ve become something of a hero…especially to Broom. It’s obviously a good thing you survived, or he probably wouldn’t be alive today.”

Copper looked at his hands with uncertainty. “I guess…”

Suddenly he noticed a bottle of water being placed in front of him. Confused, he looked to find Dr. Raz at the table. He picked up the bottle and examined it a bit.

“What’s this for?”

“Something for you to drink,” Dr. Raz replied. “It’s bottled water.”

“Uh…thanks, I guess…” As Dr. Raz walked away, Copper grew skeptical. “Why are you giving me this?”

Dr. Raz stopped. She looked over her shoulder. “I… want to apologize for…treating you the way I did, Copper.”

Copper was a bit stunned to hear this. He looked at the bottle, then at Dr. Raz. He had mixed feelings about the situation, so he struggled to respond for a moment. But eventually he began to open the bottle.

“…Thank you for apologizing…”

[malamiteltd]

Day 16 – Back and Forth

The morning started out normally for Sketch and Heather – they were relaxing on the couch watching TV after having a modest breakfast. Suddenly they heard a knock at their door, and they both got up to answer it. Opening the door, they found Dr. Raz on the other side, straightening out her lab coat. Compared to her exhausted appearance the previous day, she appeared to be tidier and more alert.

“Hello, Doctor,” said Sketch. “You certainly look more rested than yesterday.”

Dr. Raz nodded as she. “Indeed,” she replied, adjusting her glasses. “It helps when you can sleep in a familiar bed.”

Sketch smiled. “Must’ve been quite a relief. So what brings you here?”

“I wanted to revisit the discussion I wished to have with you two yesterday. As I mentioned, I noticed some odd things about you two and I wanted to find out more about them.” She turned her gaze to the direction of her house. “But considering the…development that occurred, I was hoping you could allow me to study you both to a more elaborate degree.”

Heather was confused. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“Basically, since I have my proper lab, I'd like to give you two a full physical examination.”

Heather’s eyes widened. “A what? A physical exam?”

“What would you need this for, exactly?” Sketch asked.

“I figured since we're all stuck in this unstable world, it would be a good idea to keep a reference of everyone's physical and mental status. If one of us becomes unwell, we'll have a point of reference to work off of so we know what should be the normal condition, and possibly find a solution to treat the ailment.”

Sketch thought about this for a moment. “I suppose it makes sense… Have you done this whole full-scale evaluation for anyone else so far?”

Dr. Raz placed her hand on her chest. “So far, just myself and Bits. Granted, the evaluations we went through were conducted through Holly using her built-in technology, but the results were still quite comprehensive.”

As Sketch heard this response, he suddenly noticed Heather looking somewhat apprehensive. “You alright, Heather?”

“I dunno, Sketch. I’m not sure I like the idea of having my whole body inspected.”

Sketch nodded. “I gotcha. Still, there’s logic to her reasoning…and I don’t really think she wants to use her findings against us. At least I don’t sense anything malicious about her.”

Heather looked away for a moment, unsure of the situation. “…Well…If you’re willing to go through with it, I guess I’ll do it too…”

Dr. Raz nodded with a slight smile. “I thank you both. Please follow me to my lab and we’ll get started.”

With that, Dr. Raz led Sketch and Heather towards her home.

“How long will this whole evaluation thing take?” asked Heather.

“It depends on many factors,” replied Dr. Raz, keeping her attention on the forward path. “When I had my evaluation it took about 45 minutes to get my results. With Bits, it took about 15. But this doesn’t include the things I wish to ask you about yourselves, so it could go beyond an hour at least.”

Sketch turned to Heather. “I mean, it’s better than just sitting around all day, right?”

Heather sighed. “I suppose.” As they arrived at Dr. Raz’s front door, Heather had a realization. “And hey, I guess on that note, it’ll give us a chance to get to know you better too, doctor!”

Dr. Raz froze when hearing this, her hand holding the front doorknob. She turned her head slightly to Heather. “…W-we’ll see what happens, Mrs. Britannia.” With that, she opened the door and ushered the two Tokarus inside.

. . . . .

A while later, Broom left his house and headed for Copper’s home. Holding a game cartridge in his hand, he knocked on the front door with a slight look of worry.

Please answer, please answer, please answer… he thought to himself, staring down the front door.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Copper was there, with a neutral, slightly tired expression. “Hey, Broom.”

Broom breathed a small sigh of relief, and smiled. “Hey, Copper! You doing alright?”

Copper shrugged. “…I’m getting by. What brings you here?”

Broom hesitated, then looked at the cartridge in his hand. “W-well…I was looking through that library of games in my house and…came across a weird one. I was having trouble making out what was happening…for multiple reasons…but I figured you might be able to help with that.”

Copper looked a little confused. “What makes you think I’d have any idea? I’m not that well-versed in games.”

Broom held the cartridge out in front of him. “Well, take a look at the art on it.”

Copper took the cartridge and inspected the art printed on the front. He began to look confused. “Are those Teijru?” A moment later, his eyes grew a little wider, as though he recognized what he saw. “…Wait, I think this is swatcha!”

Broom looked puzzled. “What’s swatcha?”

“A Khejian sport,” Copper replied. “Two teams of Teijru use rackets to swat a ball into one of the hoops on their team’s side, while the opposite team tries to intercept it.”

“Ah!” Broom said, lightly waving his finger. “I figured you’d know something about it.”

Copper shrugged. “I know a little. I never played the game myself, but I know most of the rules…though I remember the typical winning conditions differed between Crimson City and Indigo Town…”

“That’s still more than I know, at least. And it certainly didn’t help that the in-game text is in Khejian writing, so I could use your help translating. Care to try it out?”

Copper looked to Broom and nodded. “I suppose so.” He then stepped to the side of his door to free the passageway. “Come on in.”

Broom was confused at this gesture, trying to figure out the reason. “What? Oh, you were going to use the handheld to play it? The thing’s not really made for two players…”

Copper shook his head. “No. I…actually wanted to show you something.”

Broom became curious. He stepped into the house, and when he approached the main room, he was stunned by what he saw.

A large flat-screen television was mounted on the wall. In addition, a wire extended from the bottom that connected to a game console that looked identical to Broom’s. A pair of controllers were sitting on top, seemingly untouched.

“Whoa!” Broom marveled at this new sight. “Where…where did this come from?

Copper scratched his head. “I dunno. I woke up this morning and just found it here…the console, too.”

Broom thought about this. “You don’t suppose that Stern guy did this, do you?”

“I don’t know who else could. I mean, I didn’t see a screen this size in any of the other houses, and I think your house was the only one with a console.”

“Huh…” Broom placed his hand to his sides, trying to process the situation. “What would’ve made Stern do this? You suppose he was feeling sorry for you?”

“I…doubt it somehow,” Copper replied, looking to the floor. “He doesn’t seem like the caring type.”

Broom noticed this reaction. “Well, in any case it’s a neat surprise!” he said with enthusiasm. “I’m curious to see how this game will look on such a big screen. You ready to play?”

Copper rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncertain. “I guess so. I’m not sure I’ll do well with a sports game.”

“I haven’t played that many myself, so I think we might be on even ground. But I could use help navigating some of the menus.”

Copper nodded. “Sure.” With that, they set up the cartridge, each grabbed a controller, and turned on the console. When the game loaded up, Copper was surprised to see the aged pixel aesthetics of the game. “Huh…it looks so old. I heard swatcha was established about a decade ago…”

“It does look like one of the games from Earth back in the 20th century,” Broom replied. “It kinda makes me wonder who made it, and when…”

The two looked through the game’s menus, with Copper translating the options. Before long, they found themselves attempting to play the swatcha game…

. . . . .

Meanwhile, in Dr. Raz’s sub-lab, the doctor and Holly were noting the last few pieces of information for the evaluations of the Tokarus, who were both fully undressed in their own respective exam rooms. Sketch was laying back casually on Exam Table 1, while Heather was seated on Exam Table 2, grabbing her shoulders nervously.

“Alright,” Dr. Raz said as she loaded her findings into her computer, “that should do for the physical evaluation. I appreciate your cooperation, you two.”

Sketch nodded as he got himself dressed. “It’s no big deal.” He turned to his wife. “That wasn’t so bad, was it, Heather?

Heather gave Sketch a slightly pained expression as she finished dressing. “I…I’d rather I didn’t have to spend time naked in a science lab, but…I’ll admit it wasn’t the worst experience.”

Sketch exited the exam room and rejoined Dr. Raz. “I gotta say, doctor, your lab feels particularly homey.”

“No surprise there,” she replied. “The design I made was intended to function as both my lab and my home. That way I wouldn’t be too far from my work even during downtime…you never know what could come up on short notice.”

“Like how you met me?”

The others turned to find Bits entering the lab, running to Dr. Raz’s side.

Dr. Raz sighed. “That’s one example, yes.”

Holly looked at the computer to check the progress of the processor. “The results of the evaluation should become available in an estimated 90 minutes’ time.”

“Thank you, Holly,” Dr. Raz replied, nodding. “Now then, with the exam out of the way, I think now is the time to ask you two some questions about yourselves.” She motioned the Tokarus to join her at a round table in the center of the lab, and they all got seated. She then motioned Bits to grab a chair and sit at the table as well.

Heather looked a bit confused. “Does Bits have to sit in on this too?”

Dr. Raz cleared her throat. “I suppose I should explain. Like you two, Bits is a Creation, a being artificially made through magic and alchemy. But it seems there’s a lot about him that I can’t manage to figure out, and unfortunately he’s no help on that front either. His memory seems…scrambled. No recollection of his past before meeting me, and it seems even his short-term memory isn’t reliable. It’s hard to tell what he actually can remember, at this point. So as much of a long shot as it is, I’m hoping something we discuss might spark a memory in him.”

Heather scratched her head. “If you think so, doctor.”

“So I suppose we can start from the Creation angle then.” Dr. Raz pulled her notepad out of her coat pocket and flipped to a particular page. “Do you know the purpose of your creation?”

Sketch and Heather looked at each other. “We weren't given a purpose.”

Dr. Raz made a funny look. “Pardon? From my understanding, a creator typically makes their Creation with a clear purpose in mind.”

“I suppose that’s usually true,” Sketch replied. “but there’s two problems in our case.”

“First of all,” Heather continued, “we weren’t straight-up created. We were technically birthed by our parents.”

Dr. Raz’s eyes widened. “Wait, Creations can give birth?”

Sketch nodded. “If the creator makes it possible. The way it works with us…it’s not quite like natural childbirth.”

“It’s a little weird to describe,” Heather added. “But when we were born…well…it pulled a general aether from our respective parents’ beings, and from their foreheads that aether was formed into us as babies.”

As Dr. Raz made notes of this, Bits looked at Sketch and Heather in shock. “Babies come from your foreheads?!” he yelled.

Sketch shrugged. “Yeah, in terms of our lineage…and not meaning to be a joke, it’s a real headache for the parents. But yeah, the way things go for us: the men give birth to boys and the women give birth to girls.”

Bits thought about this. “I always thought the whole baby thing needed two people–”

“L-let’s step away from that topic for now,” Dr. Raz interjected, quickly covering Bits’s mouth. “So you two have a Creation lineage?”

Sketch nodded. “It goes back as far as our grandparents.”

Heather nodded as well. “His granddad and my grandma were the ones originally created.”

“By the same creator?” asked the doctor, jotting down more notes.

“So we’re told.”

“...Hmm.” Dr. Raz had to stop and think about this. “If they have the same creator, wouldn't that make them siblings?”

Sketch and Heather looked at each other; they weren’t quite sure how to process this at first. Then Sketch shook his head. “I'm not sure Creations really follow bloodlines like that.”

Dr. Raz shrugged. “I suppose not. It just seems strange when compared to most others… Anyways, if it started with your respective grandparents, do you know if they were given a purpose?”

“That’s the other problem,” Sketch replied. “According to what we've heard, the Creation process of our grandfolks never really finished, so the purpose was never officially given.”

Dr. Raz was a little confused, tapping her nose with her pencil eraser while thinking about this. “I wouldn't have thought a Creation could function without getting set up first.”

Heather looked displeased. “We're not computers, doctor.”

Dr. Raz looked to Heather and paused. “Hmm, maybe the Creation process is different in your universe. In any case, you’re saying you and your family have been living without a designated purpose.”

“I want to think that’s how most people go through life,” Sketch replied.

Dr. Raz sighed. “I suppose you’re not wrong, Mr. Tucker. “

Heather leaned forward. “But Sketch and I eventually chose our purpose – protecting our world from the threat of Dark Energy.”

Bits looked curious. “Dark Energy?”

“A weird hazy entity,” she replied, “almost like a ghost.”

Bits leaned towards Heather after that reply. “Does it possess people like ghosts?”

“It does, and it causes those people to do terrible things. In our world it caused quite a lot of death and destruction, and for a good while we thought it couldn’t really be stopped.”

“Luckily,” Sketch added, “we found its weakness: Pure Energy. As soon as we learned how to summon it ourselves, we made sure never to forget, so that we could step in and fight it back.”

Bits looked amazed. “You guys almost sound like superheroes!”

Sketch casually shrugged. “I mean…I feel like it isn’t too different from what the Legends in our world typically do. It’s just that we were doing something that would be considered even more dangerous, which involved traveling to other universes just to hunt the last traces of Dark Energy down.”

“It was during that whole procedure that Sketch and I stumbled into this universe,” said Heather.

“Legends?” Bits asked.

“Powerful beings dedicated to protecting the regular Utopians from danger.”

Bits looked at the Tokarus excitedly. “So does that mean you guys are Legends too?”

Sketch and Heather looked to each other with uncertainty.

“…It’s complicated,” Sketch replied.

Dr. Raz raised her pencil. “Let me ask another question… As Creations, what are your capabilities?”

“They seem to be based around mind power,” said Sketch. “We channel energy through it and it formulates a type of energy that we can manipulate in different ways.”

Bits leaned forward in his chair even more. “You guys can summon energy through your minds?!”

Dr. Raz looked to Bits for a moment, then turned her attention back to Sketch and Heather. “I’ve honestly wondered if that’s how Bits manages to summon his own power. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you more about yours …”

. . . . .

After having fumbled with the controls and figured out the rules during their first round, Copper and Broom began a new match, now more prepared for a proper competition. As they played, Broom looked over to Copper, who seemed focused on the action. But when Copper looked over to Broom, he quickly turned his focus back to the game. This happened two more times, and Copper began to grow concerned. The next time Broom looked over to Copper, he was already looking back. Copper paused the game.

“…What?” he asked in confusion.

Broom was a bit startled. “Oh! Er, nothing… Still not sure I got the whole “possession of the ball” thing down yet.”

“You have to swat the ball after two kips,” Copper replied. “If you don’t, it’s a foul.”

Broom nodded. “Gotcha.”

They resumed their match, and their performance was dead even. But it didn't take long before Broom resumed darting his eyes towards Copper again, and looking away when it was noticed. Copper began to grow frustrated. When he sensed Broom’s gaze again, he suddenly paused the game and looked back at Broom with a peeved expression. Broom was caught off-guard by this.

“…Is something wrong?” Broom asked sheepishly.

“You keep looking over to me like something’s about to happen,” Copper said in a slightly aggravated tone. “What’s going on? Is there something I don’t know about?”

Broom struggled to come up with an answer at first. But eventually he just sighed and put down his controller. “…Alright,” he finally said, now with a somber expression. “The real reason I’m here is…I wanted to make sure you were okay. After Stern made himself known you seemed particularly down. I know what he said must’ve hurt quite a bit and…well…I was afraid you were gonna hurt yourself…or worse. I don’t want to see that happen to you.”

Copper’s frustrated look suddenly changed to one of concern. He hesitated to reply at first. “Why are you so worried about me?” he asked defensively. “Is it because of the stuff you saw when you performed Clarity on me?”

Broom looked down at the controller. “That’s only part of it.”

“What do you mean?”

Broom closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “Well…I’d have to tell you about some folks I remembered seeing when I was younger, back on Keshly’m…two Syr’l by the names of Rag and Mop.”

Copper looked at Broom in suspicion. “You’re making this up.”

Broom shook his head. “I’m not kidding, those were their names. Anyway, these two I always saw with each other. They were very close friends, with very different personalities. Rag…she was the peppy and outgoing type, and Mop was the quiet and reclusive type. I didn't know them well enough to know how they even met, let alone become friends…but they usually looked happy in each other's company.”

“Kinda sounds more like they were a romantic couple,” Copper replied.

Broom stopped to think about this. “Hm, maybe…” He then shook his head. “A-anyway, one day when I passed them by, things seemed off. Mop was sitting at a picnic table, looking kinda tired and sad. Rag was next to him, trying to get him to tag along with her other friends to go somewhere. But he just wasn’t interested…he didn’t seem to be in the mood. Pretty soon she started getting frustrated with him, and began saying a lot of mean stuff…even calling him names. But Mop said nothing in response…he just kinda turned away, looking sadder than before. And the next thing I knew Rag kinda brushed him off in a huff and left with her friends, just leaving him behind.” Broom looked down at his controller again. “He…wasn’t looking so good after that.”

Copper put down his controller as he thought about this scenario.

“The next day I spotted Rag sitting at that picnic table, sobbing. She was surrounded by all her friends, who were trying to make her feel better…well, all her friends except Mop. I built enough nerve to ask someone nearby what had happened.” Broom turned to Copper with a sad look on his face. “Turned out…Mop died the night before.”

Copper raises his eyebrows as he heard this. He paused a moment to figure out the situation... 

“…Suicide?”

Broom rubbed his forehead. “That was the rumor, anyway. I mean, I knew he was in a bad state the previous day but it was still surprising to hear he died so suddenly.” He looked to the floor. “I…didn't stick around for very long after that, but…I definitely still recall Rag saying, over and over again, ‘Why did I do it?...’

Copper wasn’t sure how to react. “What happened to Rag after that?”

“In honesty, I don’t think I ever saw her after that either… I didn’t hear rumors about her, though.”

“Hmm…” Copper closed his hands together as he thought about this memory.

“Now, at the time I didn’t really have any close friends,” Broom said. “Just a few acquaintances…so I couldn’t really relate to what had happened. But the situation kinda stuck in the back of my mind for a while.”

“It sounds like the type that would,” Copper replied.

Broom nodded. “And…as the years went on, I did find some other Syr’l that I could actually make friends with thanks to some shared interests.” He looked directly at Copper. “And then I met you…when we were abducted. After you saved me and Husker I thought you were pretty cool, even though you didn’t really say much. And when we performed Clarity back then, I got to understand some of what you’ve been through, and I wanted to be supportive. I still do, of course. “

Copper just nodded.

“I know you usually prefer to keep to yourself, and I usually try not to be too much of a bother to you. But I guess…the more I think about you, the more I recall Rag and Mop. And I’ve started to realize…” Broom began to tremble a little. “...there could be a day when something like that could happen with you. Remembering how Rag acted when Mop was gone, it looked like it really hurt her. And, well…I’m scared to experience that kind of pain myself.”

Copper started to notice Broom’s emotional change. He was struggling to think of something to say. All he managed was:

“…I see.”

“I know you’re probably gonna say something like, ‘We have other friends here, you’ll be fine.’” Broom said this with his hands making dismissive gestures. “But I mean…Rag had other friends too, and nothing they were doing really helped her feel any better. And I mean, out of everyone here…you’re the one I seem to connect with the most.”

His voice started to shake. 

“W-we both come from the same universe, and…we’ve had some shared experiences. And I’m able to do stuff with you that I don’t think the others here could…or at least…it wouldn’t feel the same. They don’t share the same kinds of interests that we do, and…I feel like I wouldn’t be able to interact with them as well as I do with you. You’re the only one I feel like I can talk to…”

Broom had tears in his eyes. He struggled to speak…

“I don't want you to die, Copper…”

Copper was speechless. He struggled to think of something to say or do as Broom began to wipe his tears. But he couldn’t…the words failed him. He felt terrible, and it caused Copper to tear up as well. They were both quiet for a full minute.

“I-I’m sorry,” Broom finally said, taking a deep breath. “I…kinda lost myself for a moment…”

Copper was afraid to speak for a moment, before he noticed Broom’s expression. The same one he felt himself…one of presumed worthlessness. 

“It’s…it's fine,” he replied, waving his hand gently. “I’m sorry I’ve made this difficult for you.”

Broom grabbed Copper’s hand. “No, don’t…don’t blame yourself for this. Please.” 

Copper sighed. “If it makes you feel better…I don't really plan to die anytime soon. I'm trying to keep myself going…one way or another.”

Broom looked to Copper and lightly nodded, smiling a little. “That's good…Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are a lot of nice folks here.”

Copper nodded. “I know…”

The two then looked at their paused game for a minute. They were about to reach for their controllers, but they stopped short. They stared at the game, then the controllers, then each other.

“…I…I don’t think I can keep playing,” Broom finally said.

Copper nodded. “Maybe…maybe we’ll be up for it next time. Maybe we can just watch something on the TV.”

Broom nodded. Copper turned off the console and changed the channel. What they saw next left them stunned for a moment.

“Huh…” Copper said in disbelief. “...Swatcha.”

Broom laughed a little. “It’s an actual game. I’m surprised this is being televised…I thought Kheji didn’t have TV yet.”

Copper scratched his head a bit. “I’m guessing this is either from a different time or a different Kheji. Maybe both.”

“Well…” Broom leaned back on the couch to get comfortable. “...maybe this’ll be the way I learn this sport. Definitely looks interesting when it’s with real Teijru, at least. Still can’t read the text on-screen…”

Copper looked to Broom with a slight smile. “I’ll help.”

. . . . .

Dr. Raz looked back at her notes. “…So let me see. There’s the ‘Buster,’ ‘Beam,’ ‘Saber,’ ‘Striker,’ ‘Kinesis,’ and ‘Bond.’” She looked to Sketch and Heather. “Is that all of them?”

“All the basic ones so far, anyway,” replied Sketch.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. “Do you really have to say ‘Tokaru’ before you do any of these?”

“Well, technically we don’t have to say anything to perform the moves. But something about doing it kinda helps pump ourselves up, and it puts more energy into the move as a result.”

Dr. Raz thought about this and nodded. “That’s an acceptable explanation, I suppose.”

Bits got up onto the table and approached the Tokarus in excited desperation. Stars were in his eyes. “Can’t you at least show us one of those moves? Pleeeaase?”

Dr. Raz sighed. “Bits, I already told you this isn’t a good place to do that. They showed their ‘Third Eyes’ and summoned some of that so-called mind power, and that will have to be enough for now.”

Bits turned to her with a sad look on his face. “But Razzyyyyy….!”

“No, Bits!” she said with extra force. “I’m not gonna risk this lab getting blown up so soon after getting it back. I can deduce how the moves work based on their explanations for now. If I want to see them in use, we’d have to go outside. But today’s not the day.”

“Awww….” Looking defeated, Bits got off the table and slowly walked back to his chair.

“To be frank, Mr. Tucker,” Dr. Raz then said, “I was expecting more abilities in line with extrasensory perception when you mentioned ‘mind power.’”

Sketch shrugged. “Well, we do have a little bit of that. We can pick up vibes from folks that tell us their overall moods, I think I already mentioned earlier we could use telepathy on each other…and I myself seem to have a mild sense of foresight when I focus hard enough.”

“In fairness, we’re still learning stuff about ourselves,” added Heather. “I don’t think we’ve realized everything we can do.”

“I suppose that’s another connection you have with Bits,” the doctor said. “But at least you seem to be able to retain the knowledge of these skills you’re learning.”

“Considering what we’ve had to do up until now, we kinda need to,” said Sketch. “So…what else do you need to know?”

“Hmm…” Dr. Raz looked at her notepad for a moment. Then she put it in her pocket. “I suppose that’s everything, at least for now. I deeply thank both of you for helping with this.”

“It’s no problem,” Sketch said with a smile.

“Since that’s done,” Heather said, “we were hoping to ask you some questions of our own.”

Dr. Raz’s ears perked up. “Yes, well… I’m afraid there’s no time for that now.”

Heather was stunned. “W-what? But you said you’d–”

“I said we’ll see what happens,” the doctor interrupted. “The exams have finished processing, and between those and our discussions I have a lot to sort through. It’s going to take most of the rest of the day to get it logged and I need to be able to focus. Holly, if you could escort them to the exit, please?”

Heather scrambled to get a word in. “B-but–”

Holly approached her and Sketch. “I’m afraid it’s time for you two to go for now.”

Sketch sighed in disappointment. “C’mon, Heather, let’s just go.”

With that, they all took the elevator back to the house floor and left through the front entrance.

“Thank you for your time, Sketch and Heather,” said Holly. “Hopefully we can count on your cooperation in the future.”

“After how she brushed us off after her interrogation?!” Heather was mad. “We literally exposed everything about ourselves, and yet she can’t seem to find the time to tell us a little bit about herself!”

Holly nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry, Heather. I’ll admit that Dr. Raz is not a very sociable individual, but please don’t hold it against her. She’s had some rough experiences in her past.”

Sketch raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“Well, she’s–” 

But Holly was abruptly halted as her eyes flashed and a chime sounded. She recognized this as a request for assistance by Dr. Raz.

“Oh…It appears I’m needed. Apologies, but I must go for now. Take care of yourselves.”  With that, Holly went back into the house, leaving the two Tokaru outside.

Sketch crossed his arms. “Hmm, how conveniently timed, too.”

Heather clenched her fists. “This isn’t fair, Sketch! Why weren’t we allowed to ask anything?”

“Seems she really doesn’t like talking about herself,” he said casually.

Heather threw her arms up in disbelief. “It’s not like we’re planning to use the answers against her or something! Is she seriously that paranoid?! 

“Certainly looks that way. But hey, don’t lose your cool, Heather…” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get another chance to talk to her soon.”

Heather raised an eyebrow. “And what makes you so sure?”

Sketch made a confident grin.

“Foresight.”