George was in the kitchen, for some reason, making food. An off thing for a robot to do, but he probably had his reasons. Whether they were particularly good or not was another question.
Waya and Penelope had been all over the place looking for George. Of course the last pace they looked was the last place anyone thought to find him.
George took a deep intake of air in as he made the sandwich he'd been trying to get right for some time. He had no idea how to make stuff like this, not really. He approached it all mathematically and he was pretty sure it made it taste weird. Still, he was trying to learn. "Hello?" he asked, looking around at the sound of the door opening.
"Yo."
Penelope said with a salute."We need your technological expertise."
"What can I help you with?"
George asked as he carefully began to slice the sandwich in two and giving a little nod to the two girls who came in.
Waya was still wearing Penelope's powder blue dress she'd given her. She didn't find George's sandwich making very odd. She'd caught him cooking before. "Pen needs a compact sound system." She said. "Something she can download MP5's to and will play the music she's indicated. The louder the better."
"Well... there's me."
George said gently, pausing where he stood and looking at the ceiling as he processed "But I also believe we can set up the internal speakers in the mansion to play MP5's as well."
"Something small."
Waya said. "Like a belt to go with her uniform."
"Oh, right."
George said with a nod "I believe there are a few micro speakers in Doctor McCoy's lab. Though... Eliza might have borrowed them."
"And microphone headset attachment." chirped
Penelope.
"Well... I'll see what I can do."
George said with a nod, rubbing his head slowly to emulate thinking "Perhaps we should concentrate on our mission first."
"Nope! I need this for the mission."
Pen said seriously.
"I... alright..."
George rubbed his head a little harder, then moved around and picked up the plate with the sandwich on it "I'll get right on that."
"Thank you, George."
Waya said. "Did... you intend to take that sandwich anywhere?"
George paused, before saying "Yes." He gave a little nod to Waya and Penelope before moving towards the door.
"Just don't molest anyone with it, okay mate?"
Pen said, watching George leave with it.
Waya pushed Penelope by her arm and gave her an expression as if she could kill her.
George paused in the doorway of the kitchen, and he just seemed to... slump. There was a soft ticking noise, as if metal was cooling down, and his lights were out. Then, after a half second of almost silence, he stood upright again. "Sorry." he said, not turning to face the girls "That's never happened before." That wasn't a good sign. But he didn't wait for questions, he carefully slipped out of the room.
Waya turned to him as he slipped out. "George..." But he was gone. She turned to Penelope. "What the fuck was that!?" She asked. "It's not something you fucking joke about!"
"Relaaaaax..."
Penelope said and waved her hands in front of her, "Best way to get over something is to joke about it. Clearly you two aren't over it."
"No shit Sherlock!"
Waya cursed at her. "Rhydian has NO idea and I intend to keep it that way. I never would have told you if I knew you'd make stupid jokes about it! Everyone else has the decency to keep their mouths shut."
"Settle down. I won't say anything more, alright? Looks like I made him malfunction for a moment too."
"George is... delicate."
Waya said. "He had a lot of regret and guilt about what happened. It wasn't his fault, it was the programming. Which he doesn't have any more... but he still remembers... It probably wouldn't hurt to apologize."
Penelope sighed, "I didn't mean anything by it." She gave a look at Waya and twisted her lips, "Fine fine."
"Thank you..."
Waya said and stepped out of her way.
"What?
Now?!" Penelope asked.
"Yes
now."
Waya told her. "You just asked him for a favor and insulted hjim. Go apologize.
"But... it's a robot."
Penelope argued, making excuses.
"With very complex emotions..."
Waya told her. "
He's not just a machine."
"Fine... if it will make you feel better, I'll go apologize."
Pen said and waved behind her as she headed out the door.
Yes. It would make
Waya feel a lot better. She let Penelope to her task and thought about what to do with herself.
Stressed out and needing a place to vent, the
twins entered the kitchen. They were more at ease in here than in their own bedroom. They feared the only family they had left were about to kill themselves tomorrow in the portal and they were torn at what to do. Commit suicide with them? Or stay here... in this big, empty hell. What they didn't expect was to find Waya idly waiting in their workshop. They swung open the door and slowed their pace, "Oh-" was all they said, not sure if they should back out or stay.
Waya looked at them as if she hadn't expected them. She hadn't. She was dressed in Penelope's baby blue dress and on her it was like wearing nude or toupe. "Hey..." She said softly. She needed to thank them again for all the work they had done for her party and they could see her gift being worn on her right wrist.
She could see the adam's apple on their throats bob as they swallowed hard at the sight of her. There was nothing between the three of them relationship-w
ise, but damn she was still a beauty in their eyes. They couldn't even remember the last time they saw her dressed up like this. "What is this for?" asked Jaden, meaning her gown.
"Oh uh... Pen gave it to me..." Waya said. "She gave me some stuff she... wasn't quite built for. She talked me into wearing it..." That last bit was a little bit of a lie. She just hadn't wanted to make Pen feel bad and go change again.
"Well she's got good taste." Jayden said, "You look hot as hell."
"Breathtaking." added Jaden more properly.
Waya's cheeks went close to cerulean. Compliments, be they from the twins or anyone, were always welcome for a teenage girl. "Thanks..." She said, feeling a little, awkward now that everyone knew she and Rhydian were going to give it a go. She saw this as an opening though to change the subject. "Thanks again for yesterday by the way... That dinner was awesome... Is there cake left?"
"Sure is... want us to get you some?" asked Jaden as he headed over to the freezer. Jayen moved to the cupboard to get her a plate and some silverware.
"I can get it." Waya said. "You're not our maids or anything..."
They didn't listen and got it for her anyway. Something was definitely on their minds and considering the last time they spoke to her, they had been shouting, that was probably it.
She was trying not to use her telepathy, but could pick up on their sour moods. "About earlier..." Waya said. "I know you guys don't like what we're doing tomorrow... But it's not exactly our first rodeo... We'll actually be prepaired this time..."
As the ice cream cake in front of her thawed, they sat on their stools across from her, "Prepared for something you can't prepare for..."
"We get stuck in worse situations with less preparation..." She said. "None of us were prepared for Mojo..." She took a bite of her cake because it was there and they'd gotten it for her.
"Yes but we didn't willingly put ourselves there either." Jaden remarked.
"No we didn't.." She said softly. "I... I'll be careful ok?" She said. "We all will..."
"That's not enough." They looked down at her cake, having trouble meeting her eyes right now, "Our parents are gone... and we don't want you gone with them." As hard as it was, they looked at her. The only reason they said this last part was because they truly believed death awaited her on the other side of that portal, "Waya...the thought of losing you... it makes us sick to our stomachs. Please don't go through the portal tomorrow. Just... stay here at the school. We could all be happy here. Things will get better, we promise." Swallowing again, they added, "We love you, Waya. Please don't go..."
Her brows tensed and she dropped her eyes from theirs. "I love you guys too..." She said and she did. She'd known them all her life. They were like brothers... brothers who'd taken her virginity... Though now she remembered things properly there was no mistrust any more. "But..." She said. There was always a but. "I don't know if it's because of the link Dad set up or what but... I don't think they're dead... Maybe I'm stupid, maybe I'm wrong but... I have to know for sure... and so does everyone else. I just can't sit here not knowing... I need them still..."
"And we need you." Jayden said.
"This whole mission is based on a theory and a hunch...or some gut feeling. Is it worth what you might lose?" asked Jaden worriedly. It was clear the twins had a tremendous amount of fear about going into this portal. They could not be so brave as she was and venture into it to discover the truth. They were damn near petrified at walking through that.
"If you all go into that portal...a-and never come out, what happens then?"
"What about us? What do we do then?" Their breathing picked up and it sounded as though a panic attack was right around the corner.
She closed her eyes again. "It is worth it..." She said. "Because it meant someone gave a damn... Not like Shield who says they're on top of it or Forge or the Four who say they're trying to help. Not even Tony knows how to get them back, but they all say they're on it... Liz is the only one who's made any progress. We ha- I have to try. If no one else does, I have to try. Even if Mom and Dad are dead, if I can at least bring back Liz's mom or yours or just... SOMEONE..." Waya didn't cry in front of anyone. Not since Rex had turned her life upside down, but a tear did fall before she tensed and fought back the rest. "I still have to try... As for what happens after, if we don't come back... The school is yours... Keep it open, close it... Live here, who cares... It'll be yours free and clear... But I have to try."
The twins were not as strong and began crying themselves. "We can't do that! What's the point if you're not here? What's the point of living at all if you aren't in our lives?" They knew that Waya had been awfully close to Rhydian as of late, but they still cared deeply for her...in more ways than just 'family'. They were scared and didn't know what to do. Waya was strong willed and they could not prevent her from something like this....and yet, would they be willing to venture into the portal with her? If only to die beside her if nothing else? "We... we don't know what to do..." they said and wiped their eyes.
"Everyone?" Waya asked. "Or just me?" She thought they'd moved on. They'd said they had, but she was beginning to learn that what boys say and what they really feel were two totally different things. Liz was the only other one here they'd grown up with from basically infancy. "Would you be as lost if it were Liz who go lost and not me?" She asked, fearing the answer.
"We would be devastated." they said, not liking thinking about it. Liz was like a sister. It was a constant thought considering the shit they all went through on a monthly basis though. "But if you died, Waya...it..." they both got a little choked up, "It would destroy us. W-we... we don't think we could live in a world without you in it. We both know that you don't feel the same way... " A pause, "But if you're going to kill yourself in some other dimension...we might as well follow you through it too."
"Guys... I don't think anyone knows me like you do... Maybe Moe but..." She trailed off. It was still hard to forgive Moe for bailing on them like she did. "I couldn't stand loosing you either but... we moved on right?" She asked that with anther tense, worried expression. "Please tell me we moved on..." her relationship with Rhydian was hardly a day old and she wanted to see where it would go. She couldn't do that if they were still pining for her.
They both let out a short, breathy chuckle and gave her their usually guilty(though trembling now from emotion) smile. They had tried. They had tried so hard to get over Waya. They tried distancing themselves, taking interest in other girls, cooking more, looking for jobs in the city... none of it helped.
She sat down heavily on the stool by the counter. "I'm not going to just tell Rhydian to take a hike because you two still..." She trailed off again. "He doesn't know anything..." She said. "Not about us... not about Rex... And I don't want him to know... I feel like there's a chance for something normal with him that doesn't ride the coat tails of my fucked up year... Does that make me a bad person?" That she would reject the twins who knew her dirty past for someone she could play dumb beside?
"No, Waya." Their chins were trembling, holding back as best they could. "We just want you to be happy. If Rhydian is the person that will make you happy,...you have our blessing."
Her expression softened a little again and she batted away another tear. "I do love you guys..." She said, looking back up at them, not bothering to wipe away the next one that fell. "I... I'm NOT going to ask you to wait for me but... Maybe one of these days? Maybe we could make one of those pacts, like if we're not married by the time we're forty we'll get hitched and have a million cats?" She tried to smile. She could see herself living out the rest of her lives with them... Maybe not so much with Rhydian... but they'd ony just begun too... Then again, Waya and the twins had never really gotten started either.
Jaden shut his eyes, letting tears escape as they both nodded their heads, unable to speak. No words could do justice to what they were feeling right now. It was a wonder they were still standing to be honest. They both meant what they said though. Although it would hurt, they wanted her to be happy above all things. If that meant the two of them being without her... so be it.
She wanted to finish her cake, but it felt so wrong right now. Leaving them here felt wrong too, but any more was... crossing the line. Finally, with both their eyes closed, she just let the shadows take her, not even bothering to go to her room. She stayed in the shadow realm and quite literally hid herself there till she was done crying... which was a while.
When they opened their eyes and saw her gone, it crushed their spirit even more and their expressions fell into a light sob. Jayden and Jaden held one another for a moment, eachother being the only thing keeping them somewhat sane right now. They meant to cook dinner tonight for everyone, but right now... they didn't feel up for it. The cake sat there as a grim reminder.
Stumble!