Fabricated Chapter 28

[companionwolf]

The humans are gone again with Espeon, getting new clothes to hide under. PC sits on the bed with Alice, gently rubbing one of her ears between his worried fingers.

“What if were using up time we don’t have?” he asks. “What we should have gone now? Awakening would have changed their clothes, wouldn’t it?”

“It would, like it did before,” she agrees, “but they are nervous, and this will make them feel more confident.” She narrows her eyes at him. “Do not worry so much. I think we would know if we were out of time.”

PC hums in disagreement, but says nothing else. 

There is a sudden knock at the door. He sits up from his half lounge, wide eyes exchanging a look with Alice. He steadies himself, steps into the mindset of psionics, reaches out with Elyion toward the door— whatever it is, it isn’t psionic, so that’s promising. He shakes back to reality, and gets up, peering through the peep hole.

“Oh,” he says, blinking.

“Who is it?” asks Alice. 

“It’s the Spartan,” he says. 

“Ah, yes,” she says, “the non-XCOM one.”

PC opens the door. The Spartan hesitates at the doorway, the large pack on their back shifting as they do. “Greetings,” they say. “I am glad to have finally caught up with you.”

PC cocks his head as he gestures for the Spartan to come inside. “Finally caught up with you?”

“After you were able to escape the laboratory, and I was able to reclaim my ship from the same place, I decided to come back and look for you,” the Spartan says. “I thought perhaps you might still need help.”

“You have a ship now?” PC asks. 

The Spartan makes a noise that Eylion says is the species equivalent to laughter. “Why else would I have stayed behind at that facility?” A little more laughter. “Yes, I do. It is not in excellent shape, but it is functional. I have hidden it, though, and am now using one of your dominant species’ ...’cars’ in its stead. I do not wish to have it taken from me again.”

“Very understandable,” says Alice. The Spartan looks at her. 

“You are not a human,” it says.

“No, I am a doorstop cat,” she says. 

“But you are... is there a word, Pillow Central, for your condition as living when inorganic?” 

“Awakened,” he says. 

“Awakened,” repeats the Spartan. “Fascinating. What is the general purpose of a doorstop cat? I understand pillows are used by humans to rest their heads.”

“I was made to hold doors open,” Alice says. “My Beholden prefers to let me live on a window still as a decoration.”

The Spartan hums at her. “What strange creatures,” it says. It glances around the room, runs its pronged fingers against the bed sheets. “You are with humans now? The same ones as before? The ones I met?”

PC nods. “Davey is tall one, Alex is the one with the white streak, and Tulip is one with her hair up.”

The Spartan nods. “I will remember this,” it says. A pause. “What are you doing here, in this ‘hotel’? I thought you were attempting to stop the Elders.”

“We found the Psi Gate— er, the doorway into their base,” PC explains, “but it’s in the middle of a Psionic cult. They took the humans hostage, tried to pry Eylion from me...we’re trying to figure out how to get back in there to the Gate.” He hesitates. “There’s probably gonna be some blood.”

“I see. Would you like help?”

“Are you offering?”

“I have a few weapons your humans might find useful,” it says.

“It’ll have to be a group decision on if you come with us, but my vote is sure and please.” 

“Excellent. We will wait for them to return, then.”

As so they do. PC explains various things to the Spartan about humanity, about stuffed society, Awakening and XCOM, anything it has questions about to pass the time. Alice helps, interjecting here and there. They’re in the middle of attempting to make the concept of the Internet coherent when the door opens again. 

Tulip enters, and yells, “Halo cosplayer alert!” Espeon jumps off her shoulder at the Spartan, yowling, only to get batted onto the bed by PC. 

“Be nice,” he says. “They’re a friend.”

“Master Chief is our friend?” she asks.

“What’s a master chief?” asks the Spartan. 

“What the hell are you guys talking abut?” says Davey as he comes in behind her, and then stands there blinking. “Oh. Okay. I guess this can’t get any weirder.”

Alex slides through the closing door, pulling it shut after them. They look between PC and the Spartan, the Spartan and PC. “You made a friend?” they ask.

“Everyone, if you remember, this is the Spartan who helped you rescue me earlier,” PC says. The Spartan gives a little  hesitant wave at the humans. “It’s offering to help us get back into the campus. It has weapons to let you guys borrow if you want.”

“Well,” says Tulip, “I already have a alien weapon, but I’m not opposed to more.”

“Sounds better then a baseball bat,” says Davey. “I’d like to see the stuff at least.” Alex nods in agreement as they sit on the edge of the bed. 

“That seems like a consensus of yes to me,” says Alice. 

“Just about weapons, not about them going with us,” says PC.

“They want to go with us?” Davey asks.

“I offered,” says the Spartan.

“You’re one weird dude,” says Tulip. “I respect that immensely. Go forth and prosper, or whatever Halo people say.”

“That’s Star Trek,” says Espeon. 

“I think if they want to come, that they should,” says Alex. “I’d feel better with more people.”

“It’ll be harder to be sneaky with more people,” says Tulip.

“We’ll just XCOM conga line somewhere safe and then you’ll all wait for me to come back with the girl, and we’ll work from there,” says Espeon. “Very simple sneak tactics.”

“So I am allowed?” says the Spartan.

“I mean, we probably can’t stop you,” says Davey. “So welcome to the team.”