Castle Corridor: Second Floor
"You and Gary did great too! Sneakily getting the star under their noses and busting us!" Ran beamed and gave Luke an air-five, but the boy blinked for a moment and continued flashing a thumbs up. This made the artist puzzled. Where air-fives a thing for people that age? Luckily Inadi chose to butt in.
"Nowhere changes people," Inadi responded cryptically. He adjusted his spectacles quickly in an attempt to hide his embarrassment at being called a 'warrior'. Personally, he felt he was still falling short of such effuse praise. Compared to Victoria and the Hooded Figures, he was nothing more than a newbie. "Not everything has to be bad."
"Yeah, take getting fitter for instance. Nowhere is the best kickstarter program for permanent weight loss and better fitness." Ran joked, as he clutched his side. A horrid stitch caused his left side to ache badly, but at least, he wasn't panting as badly as he did back when he first met Ise. He slowed down slightly then forced himself to speed up after some coaxing from Inadi. "I – think I may need to lose more weight." He wheezed.
On hindsight, he already shed quite a bit of weight, considering his belt needed to be punched again. He doubted it was even healthy weight loss. Maybe, if he stayed a few years here, he might develop some abs – provided he had the right training.
"Did you hear that?" Inadi looked more alert all of a sudden. He glanced at Jasper up ahead running beside Harper. The two stared at Victoria and Numair jumping into a previously hidden room. Inadi shook his head vigorously, hoping his girlfriend wouldn't be as foolhardy. A light frown creased her pale forehead. She hesitated then leaped in, causing him to swear under his breath in a garbled version of Japanese and something else. "Jasper!"
Castle: Secret Room (Reunion Time!)
"Jasper … I'm coming!" Yelling like a madman, the bespectacled writer dashed in and nearly slammed straight into Ace. He backpedalled and bumped into a familiar rabbit. He pushed Brandy away and stood there with his arms folded.
"Oh why are you here?" His harsh tone masked his actual feelings, one of intense relief. Seeing the Guides made him want to hug them, but somehow he felt awkward doing so. He wasn't sure, but deep down he believed there used to be some animosity between him, Brandy and Song. "Not that I'm not – hey! Why didn't you come sooner?" He scowled a little, looking a lot less like a sour faced kid and more like a helpless boy trying to make himself look brave. "I – er – I…"
Jasper walked back to him and intertwined her fingers in his, resting her pale head gently on his shoulders. She waited for him to calm down before reaching over to flick his forehead. He winced. She whispered something gently into his ear before turning back to the Guides. "Sorry about Inadi," the girl said softly, a slow blush coloring her cheeks. Remnants of the shy germaphobe remained, but given how much she was already starting to forget, an almost new (and bolder) persona was emerging. "We're really happy to see YOU!"
She burst into tears, as she threw herself at Brandy. Vaguely in her mind, she remembered being closed to another black haired guide, but since there was only one black haired Nobody around, it had to be Brandy. She continued sobbing into his shirt, while Inadi continued standing there looking slightly embarrassed. He lowered his arms and looked pointedly at the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Harper being flanked by two Nobodies - a pair of sisters it seemed, one as fair as the other dark. Before he could address them, the reuniting group was interrupted once again.
Ran ushered Lelia into the room. He leaped away as Songbird rushed over to close the door. For a moment, the artist gripped the girl's shoulders tightly, as the sound of voices and footsteps came from outside. By the sound of it, the guards were no longer accompanied by that behemoth dog. He breathed a sigh of relief and let go, after the voices faded into the distance. Studying the group gathered, Ran's face split into a huge grin.
"MARTINI! LOOK AT YOU. YOU - YOU'RE GORGEOUS." He bounded over to the mermaid and pulled her into a rib crushing hug. Seriously, he never would have imagined her to be so vibrant after recovering her color. The last he saw the fashionista was back when she was drab and gray. He pulled away slightly after someone gave a polite cough. "Oh sorry ... "
"Wait! How did you - guys? How did you find us?" He asked half-excitedly and half-warily. This was not the best reunion scenario, considering they had left the Guides without a word of good-bye and hardly contacted them. He gulped, feeling a lot more awkward. "We - how have you been?" He tried switching topics, but failed miserably. "We would have contacted you, but we met some new friends."
Ran knew he was wandering into dangerous territory, but his eyes fell on the "star". "They're like us, hoomans wishing to go home, so we'll be going home together." He declared firmly. "The Hooded Figures - they really aren't that bad."
That was way too sudden...
"I - mean, we owe you an explanation for dropping back into your lives again, don't we?" He admitted finally. "Appearing suddenly and causing the ruckus with the fire and all." Having been among the last two in the room, he missed Serenade's question and Ace's subsequent response.
The adult scratched his head lightly. His eyes flitted to the teary Jasper, the ever stoic Inadi, Riley, Harper, Lelia, Toby (who was still out cold) and Ace, the original group that these Guides helped from the very beginning. He was prepared to be the spokesperson, if necessary. It was the least they could do, since they were about to turn the Guides' lives upside down once more.
Circumstances have changed and helping them would be a public declaration of betraying the Queen. Not a comfortable circumstance considering that Martini, Brandy, Songbird and these two other Nobodies would continue living in Nowhere long after they, the hoomans, have gone home.
Guys? Ran thought mentally. Outwardly, he said. "A lot of things have changed and helping us may put you in danger."
He took a deep breath. "I believe the last you heard about us was at Cog City..."
Without looking away at the others, almost as if he needed some affirmation, Ran summarized the events that happened after they retrieved the USB. First starting with their fateful meeting with the Hooded Figures and Victoria, next was their underwater fight with the zombie fish resulting in the successful retrieval of the black pearl and ending with them coming back to retrieve the chaotic star.
There was another pause, this time to let the information sink in. "We aren't alone either. Besides Victoria, we've had help and support from others as well." Ran looked at Harper, trying to confirm whether they should mention the dragon riders and the rest of the Guides. The feeling from earlier returned again, a nagging voice warning him not to divulge everything, because that could put a whole lot of people in jepardy. "So ... yeah, feel free to ask any questions."
Ran noticed Inadi glancing at the door. The Japanese youth pressed a finger to his lips to shush him before he could say another word. Ran nodded slowly and listened intently. There were voices outside again. One ... two ... three distinct voices. There was no mistaking two of them - they belonged to the guards in charge of Cell A.
Thank Celery! Once again the voices grew softer as the guards seemed to split up again. The trainee guarding him earlier (Arno) insisting loudly that the hoomans must have found an alternate way up to the next floor.
"We'll answer your questions as best as we can before asking you to help us out of here." Ran was now looking at each Guide in turn. "You've already done a lot for us, even putting yourselves in mortal danger countless times, so lying to you would be doing all of you a great disservice, one that I won't be able to live with for the rest of my life." He sighed, realizing he was merely restating what he said earlier; the only thing truly worrying him about getting more people involved. "I'm sorry we had to meet again under such grim circumstances."
