[Sunday, May 15, 2163]
[Location Undisclosed > Butterscotch Headquarters > Section L > Emilia’s Quarters > 11:41]
After a quick retina scan done by Emilia, a metallic door slid open with a ‘hiss’. Emilia stood aside to let Allison enter first, undoubtedly so she could keep an eye on her movements. Allison was engulfed in a sea of blue, with yellow objects scattered throughout the room. Upon closer inspection (that is to say, once she adjusted to the change of color), it became apparent that the vast majority of the yellow in the room was the same shade of ‘duckie yellow’ and had a quite noticeable common denominator, they were all some sort of duck-related object.
Rubber-duckie print sheets and pillows on a single bed, 3 plush ducklings of varying sizes, a matching dish set (clearly recently used as there was a mostly eaten muffin on a plate), and neatly folded towels (also duckie yellow). Allison’s head spun for a moment while absorbing the sheer quantity of duckdom which she had just entered. She turned to Emilia to question when she paused and realized that Emilia had already changed into… pink pajamas with yellow rubber duckie prints.
Allison tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “The only reason this is a surprise at this point is because I walked into the room about 20 seconds ago. You seem to have a… mild obsession with duckies”.
Emilia raised an eyebrow “You got a problem with duckies”? Allison’s ears focused not so much on the words spoken, but more so on the click and whirr of machinery, realizing very quickly what was about to happen.
“Whoa whoa, easy… I never said I had a problem with it. It’s actually cute and the fact that you have this quirk seems… kinda charming actually. It’s just a lot to take in at one time is all”.
“So, you don't have a problem with duckies, and you don't think I’m weird? You’re not just saying that cuz there’s a loaded arm-cannon pointed at you, right”?
Allison sighed. “Look, I’m an honest person, at least I like to think that I am, not that it means much to you guys for security reasons. I’m not going to bother lying, least of all to you cuz you’ve already literally taken bullets for me. In any case, no, I don't have a problem with the duckie stuff. I’m going to answer the second question with ‘Exhibit A’.” Allison pointed towards the gun that was pointed towards her and attached to Emilia. “Also, for future reference, if you want a truthful answer from someone, it’s probably best to not point a weapon at them. More likely than not they will just tell you what you want to hear, assuming they know what that is”.
“That being said, I can assume people are nice to me just cuz of the gun then”?
“Well, if they know about it, yes, but based on how you and Jesse get along, I would think he doesn’t fear for his life”.
Emilia chuckled. “Well, you aren’t wrong. He doesn't fear death for the most part, and he’s always been like that towards me. I have only shot him once, and I’ve shot people for far less than the things he’s done. That’s enough rambling. You have a shower to take, and we have a meeting to attend”.
Deciding it best to ignore the obvious change of subject, Allison played the fool. “Got all the required shower things”?
“Yup, there’s an extra set of everything. It’s all duckie yellow though. I got everything at 2-for-1 discounts, so it made sense.
Allison decided it best to question no further and found all of the shower items still wrapped in their original packaging. As she disrobed, it dawned on her that she had a distinct lack of pain and/or bleeding from her recent ‘surgery’ to remove the chip that was implanted in her. Turning her back to the mirror, she brushed aside her auburn hair, peeled back the bandage, and noticed that the wound under her shoulder blade had already completely sealed and wasn’t showing any signs of scarring.
While she pondered the mystery of her recovery which bordered upon absurdity, there was a knock on the door, and with no time to react, the door was opened, by none other than Emilia. Allison stood still in shock. Emilia just looked at her and nodded looking from head to toe “Not bad at all”.
Allison finally recovered her wits enough to voice a complaint. “What the hell?! Is there a thing called privacy here”?
Replying as if the outburst was completely expected, Emilia replied “There’s a very high chance that we’re going to be roomies. We have other rooms but they are used for storage or other things. It will be a bit until a room for you is ready. Might as well get used to seeing each other now”. Emilia swiftly undressed and got into the shower. “Don’t worry. This isn’t going to be like one of those anime where girls touch each other in the shower. There’s room for 2, so hurry up. We’ll both be late otherwise”.
Allison voiced another concern. “How are we going to tell our sponges and other stuff apart? It’s all identical”.
Emilia, already halfway covered with soap after 20 seconds, simply nodded towards a basket hanging for shower items. It was empty and unmarked. There was another beside it with a duckie on it. Allison had no further questions and proceeded to try to keep pace with Emilia’s shower speed, finally giving up and opting for a pits-tits-ass shower.
After the shower, the pair dried themselves and got dressed. Emilia’s clothes happen to fit Allison fairly well, though she had to decline Emilia’s initial suggestion of pajamas. The pair was about to leave when Emilia paused about a meter in front of the door. Allison looked puzzled and waited behind her asking “What’s up? Forgot something”?
“I have a bad feeling. More of a ‘something annoying is about to happen’ actually. Gimme a minute”. She returned to the walk-in closet and a moment later, exited wearing… pajamas.
“You have a bad feeling, and you put on pajamas. Do you plan on staying in bed and finishing that half-eaten muffin”?
“Actually, that last part isn’t a bad idea”. She turned around and grabbed the muffin, wolfing it down in a single large ‘chomp’. No sooner than she finished licking her fingers, there was the sound of an explosion on the other side of the door. “Yup, about as I expected. It had been a bit too quiet around here recently”.
Emilia’s arm transformed into the now-slightly-more-familiar arm cannon. “If you’re up for it, i can do some scoring for your evaluations now. Catch”.
Allison jumped back in surprise and then screamed in even greater surprise. What she was tossed was a hand, specifically, Emilia’s left hand.
“WHAT THE FUCK”?!
“What? It’s in gun mode. Just squeeze the middle finger and it will shoot. You have about 12 shots in there at the moment”.
The color drained from Allison’s face. “This conversation is WRONG”! As she shouted, there was the sound of another small explosion and gunfire in the corridor in front of the apartment. “That is also wrong. What the hell is going on out there”?
“Conrad probably came to torment Jesse. We gotta take care of ourselves. Security doesn’t even respond anymore cuz of collateral damage”.
“Who the hell is Conrad”? Allison shouted as she waved the hand-gun around.
“Once I open this door, you will likely find out… or possibly explode. Try to avoid that last option please”.
Utter bewilderment made itself evident on Allison’s face. “This brings me back to my original point: there are explosions and you put on PAJAMAS”!
Emilia tilted her head “Oh, right. Sorry about that”. She turned around and went back to the closet, emerging seconds later with clothes in her only remaining hand.
In the same instant Allison realized that Emilia’s arm was an arm again, objects were thrown at her. She hastily caught them while still holding the gun, somehow managing to not shoot. She inspected the objects, quickly determining that they were a set of pajamas identical in style to the ones Emilia was currently wearing. “Why? Just…. Why? Are you insane”?
Emilia frowned and raised her arm-cannon. “You got a problem with my pajamas? I’ll have you know I don’t actually need your help to sort this out”.
Allison sighed. “Didn’t we just discuss questioning people with weapons pointed at them”. There was another small explosion and more gunfire outside. The room shook slightly, including Allison. It was then that she realized the anomaly of the clothes she was holding. “These are kinda heavy. How the hell do you sleep in these”?
“If I have to sleep in them, then I’m not sleeping very well for a few reasons. They keep me relatively safe, more than normal clothes anyways. That’s enough talk, put them on”.
Allison complied and realized that the pajamas were in fact, armored. “This has to be one of the least practical and absurd things I have ever encountered and/or worn”.
“I’m gonna have far more fun dressing you than I should…” Emilia grinned as Allison finished changing. She waited for another explosion and then opened the door. “Hey fuckers. We have a meeting to get to. If we’re late cuz of this shit, I’ll fist you both… with the metal hand”.
The explosions and gunfire stopped momentarily and a voice that Allison never heard before replied “Don’t threaten me with a good time”.
Emilia switched her cannon back to an arm and forcefully closed the door as a ‘clink’ sound like a bouncing metal object could be heard. The room shook a bit harder than previously and the lights blinked. Emilia sighed and looked at Allison. “Those bullets will only tranquilize, so feel free to shoot the guy that isn’t Jesse. Actually, shoot Jesse too, the look on his face when he realizes what happened will be ridiculously satisfying”.
“You want me to shoot your teammate”?
“Our teammate” Emilia corrected. “Just be sure to take down Conrad first. Jesse is the more dangerous of the 2 by far, but he’s not even trying…”
“Why do you sound so disappointed at this fact”?
Emilia simply looked at Allison and warned. “I am going to open this door. Conrad is on the left, crouched low around the corner on the right side of the hallway. Shoot him before he throws another grenade”
Allison felt a chill run down her spine. She was about to walk out into the middle of a shootout. This was an insane and dangerous task, but even more so was Emilia’s expression when she completely avoided the question and gave her orders. She steeled her resolve and shrugged, and when the door slid open, she proudly strolled out into the hallway, hand-in-hand with Emilia’s gun. She took 1 wayward glance at Conrad and squeezed the middle finger without hesitation, landing a tranquilizer round in Conrad’s neck as he peeked around the corner. She swiftly spun back until she was facing the other direction.
She took the briefest of moments to confirm Emilia’s gaze in Jesse’s direction and |Jesse’s ‘deer-in-the-headlights look as she pulled the trigger. Each target fell to the floor while grasping at their necks. They were assaulted by sleep seconds later.
Allison turned towards Emilia and aimed at her neck as well. “Not pleasant, is it? That feeling of having a weapon pointing at you”.
Emilia smiled “That is ‘my’ hand that you are holding”. The hand opened itself, breaking free of Allison’s grip, and fell to the floor. Seconds later, Allison was hit in her left arm with some sort of projectile. Her arm fell to her side, completely limp. “Only reason I didn’t tranq you like you did them is cuz having you awake makes carrying them easier”. She walked up to Allison and picked up her hand, re-attaching it to herself with a ‘click’. “Fortunately I think we can make it to the meeting in time, which is good cuz I don’t feel like soiling my fists”.
