"Let's see here.." Lloyd proceeded to casually list off everything on the menu before asking Astrophelle what he wanted. "I exclusively eat PopSmarts. Do you have any of those?" Astrophelle asked.
"I can bake some, if you want." The super brainz offered. Astrophelle raised both brows. "You can make PopSmarts?" he didn't realize he was gaping until Lloyd laughed at him. PopSmarts were a pastry found in the convenience stores of Zomburbia. Unfortunately, because they were Zomboss' favorite, he monopolized them, and therefore were outrageously expensive for everyone who didn't make a bountiful income. So, to be able to make PopSmarts..
"I can make all sorts of things. PopSmarts are no biggie!" He puffed out his chest proudly, then encouraged Astrophelle and Lloyd to take a seat. They sat at a table for two. The entire restaurant was empty except for them. Figures–everyone else is most likely hiding in their homes.
"Are you the cook I've heard those rumors about?" Astrophelle decided to ask. Lloyd, meanwhile, was coloring in the menu he got. It looked like it was made for cadets. "Maybe. The name's Elliot Storen," the zombie called from the kitchen. There was a window in the wall where customers could see everything Elliot was doing.
"Are you the only one who cooks here, Chef Storen?" he rose from his chair, striding across the room to peer into the kitchen through the window. "A curious one, are you? So many questions." Elliot chuckled. Lloyd was quick to drop his coloring activity and joined the two. "How about we trade? I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."
Astrophelle looked at Lloyd, who shrugged as if to say, what could it hurt?
"Sure."
"Is that bunny real?"
Oh, stars. Estrella was poking her head out of Astrophelle's scarf, sniffing the air curiously. Astrophelle bit his lip, looking at Lloyd again, who nodded. They both felt they could trust Elliot, then.
"Yes, but she's not a bunny, and her name is Estrella," Astrophelle said. He was trying to analyze Elliot's expression, but the chef's head was down, so he couldn't see very well. "Our turn now. You have yet to answer my query from earlier."
Elliot glanced upwards. "No, I'm not the only one who cooks here. Someone stops by to help everyone now and then." He walked away from the fryer to start rolling out some dough at another counter. "What is Estrella?"
"Estrella is a jackalope," the astronomer was being vague on purpose. His goal was to draw this out as long as possible. "Who is this 'someone' who helps you out?"
"Name's Violeta. She's a lower-class space cadet, far as I know." Elliot muttered the last part, but Astrophelle still caught it. Lloyd seemed to as well, seeing as how tension began to gather in his forehead.
"How did you get Estrella?"
The air thickened.
When his partner hesitated, Lloyd took it upon himself to answer. "We broke into a lab and rescued her!" He exclaimed quite boastfully. Astrophelle jabbed Lloyd in the side, causing him to yelp. Elliot looked at them oddly.
"How well do you think you know this Violeta?"
"Pretty well. We're good friends. Now, can you tell me more about what your friend there said? About you breaking into a lab?"
"I'm afraid I cannot–"
"Churro, don't be like that. He's feeding us and giving us shelter. The least we can do is tell him about our situation." Lloyd interrupted. Astrophelle wanted to glare at him and refuse, but Lloyd gave him a pleading look, and he caved.
So, he began to recount the events of the previous night in full, as Lloyd would do it himself if he did not. The details about Lloyd being a Gembearer, them both being fugitives, and the like. The whole time, he never saw Elliot give them a single look of a judgment. He quietly worked, attentively listening until Astrophelle was finished speaking. The zombie aforementioned wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was enough for Elliot to finish their meals.
Lloyd ended up shuffling back to the table with an assortment of fried and grilled foods alike in hand. Meanwhile, Astrophelle had a whole tray of the pastries called PopSmarts at his disposal.
"Aren't you going to ask another question?" Elliot prompted.
"No," Astrophelle said around a mouthful of PopSmart. Everything about it was perfect–the flavor, texture, thickness, everything! And based on the way Elliot was looking at him, he would say the chef was self-aware of his prowess in the kitchen. The food zombies eat transforms into Cora, and considering how much Astro and Lloyd had exerted themselves lately, they did their best to consume everything Elliot made for them.
"I have one." Lloyd piped up. "What are you gonna do now? There might just be a bounty on our heads in about a week. You can turn us in before then, and probably get an even bigger reward."
Elliot reclined in his seat. Astrophelle felt Estrella lean forward in an attempt to squirm out of the scarf. Was she hungry? No.. she wanted to greet the chef. He cleaned his hands on a napkin and lifted her towards Elliot. The way he handled her was as if she were to shatter at the drop of a hat, Elliot noticed, so he was sure to be careful as he removed her from Astrophelle's grasp.
Somehow, Lloyd, looking ridiculous with his mouth full of snacks, and Astrophelle's openly analytical stare, made Elliot feel at home. There was just something about those two that felt different than his different customers. A Top Zombie who defied Doctor Zomboss, and the first ever zombie Gembearer. Both were unheard of. That amazed him.
"I don't think I'd be able to fight you, so that's I won't be turning you in. As a matter of fact I think I'd like to join you," he said, gently scratching Estrella on the neck. Astrophelle and Lloyd paused, looked at each other, then back to Elliot. They both wore the same unreadable expression only Astrophelle usually has. Goodness, did they communicate telepathically or something?
"I don't understand why." Astrophelle spoke first, making his skepticism known. "Life in Spectral Springs is dull. Being the only neutral ground between the Top Zombies and Variants is exhausting. If you two are leaving, I want in. It's just like that." Elliot put simply.
"You're different." Lloyd observed.
"But to turn your back on Zomboss–on Zomburbia so easily? Everything you've ever known?" Astrophelle pressed. Even though he perceived Elliot as trustworthy, to an extent, he couldn't be so easily accepting of his wish. "What about your friend, Violeta?"
"We can take her with us."
"But she's a Variant!"
Elliot furrowed his brows. "How did you—"
"Well, so am I, but you still stick around me." Lloyd cut in. "I wanted to take Zomboss' very life when I met you, and now we work together. We're friends. Your very own partner is a Variant."
It's just like what he said. They're all right, aren't they?
"Then we're done here!" Astrophelle snapped, his eyes threatening to change color. Lloyd's look morphed into one of frustration. "You don't mean that. Does this have something to do with what happened earlier? When you were acting strange?"
"No." Astrophelle abruptly stood up. "That has absolutely nothing to do with this."
"Oh, really now? Because I think, deep down inside, you know what kind of person Zomboss really is." Lloyd accused, standing as well. Astrophelle took a step backwards. The Gembearer rounded the table so he could poke his finger into Astrophelle's chest as he spoke. "You're just pretending you don't. Turning a blind eye. Why else would you be hiding your Space research from him? If you really believed in him, you would turn in all of your findings on astronomy without hesitation! And you wouldn't have taken Blackberry, either!"
Astrophelle took another step backwards. He swallowed. Hard. Still, Lloyd persisted.
"You—you would've left Blackberry there. You wouldn't have saved her. And.. and you would've left me there, too. You would've turned me over to Zomboss without batting an eye," his voice began to waver, "but you didn't. You told me yourself, how because a Gembearer, someone who's on the side of good, wants Zomboss gone, that there's something wrong with him. You told me all of that, Churro, but you're somehow still in denial!"
"I.. I owe everything to Doctor Zomboss. He created me, created all of us! When I became a Top Zombie, I pledged my undying loyalty to him. The least I can do is keep my word." Astrophelle protested.
"You don't owe your existence to him." Lloyd countered, shifting to grip the astronomer by the shoulders. "You don't owe anything to him. So please. Just let yourself be free."
He didn't even realize he was shaking. Before he knew it, Elliot wrapped them both in a warm hug. Estrella wriggled her way into her spot in Astrophelle's scarf, where she gave him comforting licks on the cheek.
Once they parted, he felt as if he'd been slapped on the face three times over. Well, he had, but it was verbally.
"Your eye color changing is because you're a Technical Chorian, right?" Elliot asked.
"Y-Yeah." Astrophelle managed. "It's.. the ability is.. is unstable."
"Unstable until it's stable, though, right?" Elliot did his best to lighten the mood, chortling. "You'll find a way to control it. What's its name?"
He cleared out his throat, finding that his face no longer violently burned with shame. "It's.." he looked to Lloyd, who smiled encouragingly with a smile. He couldn't help but return a softer one of his own. "I've decided to call it Overclock."
"Sick name! Hah, we'll be unstoppable with an ability like that. Strength enhancers rule!"
"That's the spirit!" Lloyd cheered. The two high-fived, laughing jovially.
Oh stars, now there's two of them.
Once they all calmed down, they gathered around the table after clearing it off. "Alright, you two, from now on, we aren't going to escape Zomburbia. We're going to join forces with the Variants, and bring Zomboss to kneel." Astrophelle declared. "Bear in mind that we can't eliminate Zomboss by any means—" he looked pointedly at Lloyd, "because as I said to you earlier, it won't benefit either side. Zomboss is Zomburbia's only leader. Corrupt he may be, without him, our entire city would be thrown into complete and utter chaos. With that, we must formulate a plan over the coming days. Once we gather with the Variants, we'll go from there."
"Right!" Elliot grinned. "But how did you know Violeta was a Variant, anyway?"
"I've.. crossed paths with her before. Once. Briefly. Recently. It was unpleasant."
"I had to rescue him." Lloyd claimed. "You did not." Astrophelle bopped him over the head. Elliot laughed.
"..Anyhow, we should stay here until the storm passes. Then, we can decide our next plan of action. We have but two and a half days before Zomboss puts out the alert for Lloyd and I, so we must use our time wisely. Rushing into this with too much haste would prove to be fatal." Astrophelle had to take a moment to collect himself.
I can do this. I'm done betraying myself, them, and him.
"Rest as much as possible. We'll need our Cora for the upcoming confrontation. I'll be keeping watch, and let the both of you know when the rain recedes. Got it?"
"I don't need to rest. It's, like, the afternoon, isn't it? And after that meal, I'm stocked up on all the Cora I need, promise! I can keep watch, and you can rest. You look like you need it more than I do."
"I'll be alright," was all Astrophelle said. The other zombie frowned, but stopped protesting.
"Good luck, Captain." Elliot gave him a hearty pat on the back, causing him to lose his footing for a second. The newest member of their group then proceeded to make himself comfortable in one of the booths.
"I just knew having you as my partner was the right decision." Lloyd decided to check up on him before settling in. "I'm confused on how easily you switched sides, though. I mean, I know you told me you already doubted things when we first met, but a moment ago, you didn't want to so much as look at a Variant." Astrophelle nodded stiffly. "I've been at war with myself for awhile now. Been living in fear, refusing to accept the truth of the matter. I didn't start this way, though. My doubts only began to properly stem after I met him."
"Him?" Lloyd blinked owlishly.
Astrophelle hummed, staring out one of the windows. He watched the raindrops slowly slide against the glass, as if asking permission for entry.
"Yes. Him. As reluctant as I am to ask, I'm fairly certain he would join us."
"The more the merrier! We're building a proper rebellion now," Lloyd said.
"That's right. If everything goes well, we'll be the ones ending this timeless conflict, and bringing true tranquility to Zomburbia." It felt good, to be honest with himself. It felt like that pep talk Lloyd had with him had finally broken the chains over his mind that he'd put on himself.
"Yeah! Good luck with watch duty." Then he walked away, leaving Astrophelle alone at the restaurant window. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He had Estrella with him, tucked snugly into his scarf.
No, not his scarf. Zephyr's scarf.
Here, your reward for completing this chapter.
Stay tuned!