The new island was set up differently so we wouldn't be greeted instantly by the press getting back from a victory, rather they were kept on the other side of the building. This meant when I stepped off of the ship I was greeted with a very angry looking director of PR. I faked a grin,
"H-hi Jacob!" He held up a hand.
"Don't."
"I mean, we had told you already about us so I don't see why you should be mad..." I trailed off when I saw his glare. "It's Caustic's fault if anything you should be mad at him," I tried to defend myself, causing only Gibraltar to laugh; Jacob simply crossed his arms. "Alright fine," I admitted defeat.
"I need the three of you in my office," he said to me before walking off. I gulped.
"I think I just got sent to the principal's office," I said to Gibraltar, who laughed again. "I never got sent to the principal's office! I had a clean record!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Public Relations office was still a mess. Granted, we had only been on this planet for a few days so I wasn't that surprised that Jacob's office was mostly still in boxes. Once Caustic and Bloodhound had been respawned there was a bit of discussion on the importance of communication before a match and Caustic was sent away, grumbling about puerile romance. Once he was gone, Jacob went on,
"Well, believe it or not, you may have picked a good time to do this shall we want this news to fade from the press fast."
"Oh?" I asked. "Do we want that?" I asked.
"Do we?" Jacob repeated.
"We... do?" Bloodhound finished, sounding a little unsure.
"We do," I nodded. Jacob rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed.
"Alright, you're still going to have to deal with them on your way out of here, the news of you dating is trending on all social media platforms." I noticed Hound tense their shoulders so I reached over and grabbed one of their hands as Jacob continued. "But we are going to be announcing the new legend in a few days' time."
"New legend?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Ah yeah, they speed up the entry test cause of some big sponsorship."
"Sponsorship for the person or for the games?" Bloodhound asked.
"Both. It was supposed to happen a while ago but," he waved his hands around. "Anything is possible with a check that big," he sighed.
"Who's the sponsor?" I asked, feeling a little excited that there was going to be more interest in the games. More money meant more exciting things could be added.
"Hammond Robotics, you've probably heard of them by now." Now my shoulders tensed.
"I have," I muttered through clenched teeth. I felt Bloodhound squeeze my hand.
"So are we good to go?" Bloodhound interrupted the conversation.
"Yeah, I suppose so," Jacob nodded and the two of us stood up. "Good luck out there."
~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time we had made it out of the crowd both Bloodhound and I were exhausted. The reporters didn't hesitate to ask the most detailed questions about our lives and we kept getting trapped in a loop of saying we weren't going to answer some only to be asked even more personal questions.
I was also now on board with the plan to kill Caustic. Thankfully, it appeared that the man felt bad for creating the mess and there was supper waiting for us when we got back to the housing complex.
"You know how to cook?" I questioned upon smelling the chicken he had cooked up.
"He may have had some help," Gibraltar laughed, eating a plate as well. Caustic rubbed the back of his head,
"Yeah... it should be... edible," he muttered. I squinted my eyes, about to question it when Bloodhound interrupted me.
"Þakka þér fyrir. We will both enjoy." Caustic nodded. We were just about to head into Bloodhound's room to eat when the door to Mirage's room burst open.
"I knew I smelt chicken!" Octavio exclaimed, running towards the table where a bit of chicken remained. "Mierda, I love it when you cook Makoa," he hummed through a full mouth.
"Ha, thanks brudda! But actually, Caustic did most of the work here!" Gibraltar exclaimed, patting Caustic on the back. Octane's mouth fell open, the remaining chicken falling out of his mouth and onto the floor.
"So Sly!" Mirage interrupted, upon entering the common area and seeing the chicken on the floor. "How did it go with Jacob?" I sighed. "That good?"
"I mean, everything is cool with the whole dating thing, that was fine, but he mentioned the games are getting a big sponsorship from Hammond," I practically spit the name out of my mouth.
"Hammond?!" Octane exclaimed. "That's wicked!" Mirage shot him a glare. "Oh wait, are we supposed to be mad about the whole experimenting on Sly bit?" I put a hand on my face.
"They did what now?" Gibraltar cut in.
"Nothing!" I spoke up. "It was three hundred years ago. Everyone who did that to me is long dead, so why should I be worried about it?" Everyone in the room, including Octane looked at me with raised eyebrows. "It's fine. And, now, our chicken is getting cold so..." I trailed off and grabbed Bloodhound's hand, leading them into their room before anyone had a chance to protest. Once inside, Bloodhound took their mask off, revealing their face that looked as concerned as everyone outside. "I'm fine," I quickly said. They didn't say anything and rather slowly took a bite of the mashed potatoes on the plate. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry Elskan. I understand how you feel." I nodded. "Now come, I taught Artur a new trick, I think you'll really enjoy it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's cold.
Freezing.
My whole body shakes as they take me out of the machines.
"W-where-" I start to sputter. There are people all around me. Wires attached to me. I try to rip them but my hands can't move, there's something holding them down. "Wh-what-" None of the people say anything to me, rather to each other. It blurs together.
"Vitals sta-"
"Loss of short-term mem-"
"Prepare a vial of-"
They move me down a hallway. I can barely stand on my own but I still try to fight against the arms holding me.
It's still so cold.
They throw me into a room, I fall to the ground. I try to stand but a door is slammed. I sink to the ground again, feeling the warm tears flooding down my cold face.
"They did it again, didn't they?" a horse voice croaks. There's a man beside me. Not beside me. There's a glass wall. "Bastards," he mumbles. His words turn into a cough.
"Did w-what?" He shakes his head. "Where..." I try to ask again. His eyes are closed now.
"Don't worry..." he says weakly. "I'll get us out... I'll kill all of them...."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My eyes sprung open. Somehow I'm still freezing cold so I yank up some blankets and snuggle in closer to the person beside me, jaw still trembling. Bloodhound wraps an arm around me, pulling me closer, though they still sleep. A glimmer of sunlight begins to peek through our curtains. We had the day off today and I realize that I could let myself fall asleep again.
I sighed and closed my eyes again, trying to shake the image of the other man in the lab out of my brain. He would be dead by now. Even if he did break out of there as he planned in my faded memories, that was three hundred years ago. He's dead.
But why does it still leave a weird feeling in my chest?
Beside me, Bloodhound mumbles something in their sleep. I can't pick out any of the words, but I can tell it's a nightmare. Being back on this planet had started giving them more of them. I carefully adjusted my position so that their head was on my chest and I could run my fingers through their hair.
Their mumbling sleep talking ceases and I can feel their breathing steady again. I closed my eyes again, thinking about how I could sit like this forever.
Then the fire alarm in the kitchen went off.
"Sorry friends!" Pathfinder. "I think I put the oven on the wrong temperature again!"