[NEXUS] GLoG 73

[Morty]

[Elm Cabin]

Gink tries to climb on top of the table and take a look at the laptop. He can't read, but Michalson, who is in a telepathic link with him, can.

[Gullara]

[Elm Cabin]

The laptop is open to theholders.org. Currently the page is just displaying a long list of links. The ones currently on the page are 460 through 490.

[Morty]

[Elm Cabin]

Hmmmm. The site doesn't really tell Michalson anything. It could be Kirk's room or anyone else's. The shadowy wizard orders Gink to hide and wait for the room's inhabitant to return.

[Zefir]

[Entrace]

Andy leaves GloG ground with hast and rushes to Trogs if not stoped on his way.

[DoomITP]

I think Sophie was looking for Zero.

He is still next to the lake.

[Morty]

Sophie wasn't really looking for Zero per se. Currently, she's sitting in front of Maple Cabin and looking out into the distance.

[Main Cabin Kitchen]

Brinika is fixing herself an enormous bat sandwich. Well, enormous for her. For someone not sixty centimeters tall, it's really quite normal.

[Main Cabin]

Reelshka appears to be dozing off in an armchair.

[DoomITP]

Well either way, Zero is now walking backwards past Sophie.

[happyturtle]

Kitchen

The halfling family are in the kitchen, cooking up a big batch of oxen chili.

"Hi Brinika! What kind of sandwich is that?" Lily, the 7 year old halfling girl, asks.

[Morty]

[Maple Cabin]

Sophie raises her head.
Oh, hello. You would be Zero, wouldn't you?
This is how she looks like:


[Kitchen]

Hi Lily! This is a bat sandwich. My favorite. Brinika smiles. She's also expecting to have to explain it to Lily how one can eat bats.

[happyturtle]

Kitchen

Not exactly. "I never ate a bat before. How do you catch them?"

[DoomITP]

Zero is taken by surprise when Sophie first talks.

Yeah, that's me.

Meh, I need to start using that tek tek stuff.

Zero is almost unhealthily thin with dark hair that could pass for either dark brown or black.

[Morty]

[Kitchen]

They put up big nets down in the colony. Bats get caught in them, Brinika explains.

[Maple Cabin]

I'm Sophie Mouchabiere. From what I've heard, you here for redemption. Is that correct?

[DoomITP]

That's right.

Zero says, seeming to lose the bit of cheerfulness that he had when he woke up.

[happyturtle]

Kitchen

"Oooh, like we use to catch fish," Lily says. "Neat! Hey Tiko! Brinika has bat nets underground!" Tiko turns when he hears his sister calling, but is busy at the stove so can't come over right away. "We lived in a hole in the ground before, but it didn't have any bats in it. I wonder if we're going to go back there?"

[Morty]

[Kitchen]

You used to live undergound too? That's cool! Was it deep?

[Maple Cabin]

Sophie pats the step next to her, inviting Zero to sit down.
Could you tell me why you seek redemption?

[happyturtle]

Kitchen

"No. It was dug into the side of the hill, all one level, except for the cellar. It used to scare me to go down in the cellar, but I don't think it will now." Lily says and looks down at the floor. "Do you live under this building?"

[DoomITP]

Zero will accept the offer and sit down.

Because I know what I did was wrong. Isn't that usually the reason?

Zero asks, wondering what she meant.

[Morty]

[Kitchen]

Brinika shakes her head. No. When I come here, I live with my aunt Reelshka in a cellar a little away from here. And I have my own room in the big colony.

[Maple Cabin]

And what was it that you did? She asks patiently.

[DoomITP]

Zero looks down at the ground.

It was a long time ago. There was this town that I used to live in. It doesn't exist anymore. But anyway, a young kid was sent to live with this scientist woman and learn how to use his powers with me. He loved that scientist. But one night, I was going to the house for some dinner and as I walked in I heard her talking to someone. The kid's bosses were telling her that he had to be gotten rid of.

As he talks Zero grips knee of his pants.

All I heard her say was yes and I ran in there, unable to control myself. He was like my own kid, you know? I won. But then, the kid heard what was going on and came in and saw what had happened... He ran away. I knew that I had kept him alive but I also could tell that he wouldn't be the same.

As he talks he almost visibly cries but stops himself, not wanting to appear that way to someone he barely knows.

[Morty]

[Maple Cabin]

Hmmmm. Do you know why they wanted to "get rid of" that child?

[DoomITP]

The kid was too much for them. They wanted something and when they didn't get perfection they wanted to get rid of their mistake.

Zero says in an angry tone.

[Morty]

[Maple Cabin]

I see. So, the child went into the house, saw that you had killed the two men and ran? Do you know what happened to him afterwards?

[DoomITP]

It was one man and the scientist woman who was in on it. I know where he is now. He's a member of HALO. He has a family and is doing much better than I ever will.

[Morty]

[Maple Cabin]

I see. And what of that scientist woman? Is she still alive? Are you certain she was going to get rid of the child? Perhaps she was doing it against her will?

[DoomITP]

Maybe, she was working on a regeneration chemical before this happened. But as far as was she really going to do it? That's the thing. In practically everything else involving the kid she would consult me. It's hard for me to believe that she would not warn me against something like this before. She was smart enough to have known this sort of thing would happen. Was she doing it against her will? Usually you can't make someone do something with magic that they would never do. The scientist I knew would have never hurt that kid.

[Morty]

[Maple Cabin]

Nonetheless, you acted rashly. I understand why you did it, however. It had to be hard to suddenly have your trust betrayed this way.

[DoomITP]

It was. What upset me the most was that if she went ahead with her orders and tried to kill the kid, she would have probably failed then the kid would have seen who did it. Imagine it. The person you love more than anyone is the one trying to kill you.

[Morty]

[Maple Cabin]

True. What happened to the child afterwards?

[DoomITP]

Well the kid ended up in HALO and having a family like I said. But directly after what happened? I don't know, that kid gave me a nasty head injury and I was out of action for an hour. By the time I woke up the kid was long gone.

[Morty]

[Maple Cabin]

Have you tried contacting him? Sophie would be quite surprised if he didn't.