The Power of Two

Episode 4: The Cutting Hedge

Lightning had never been one to be nosey, but that went out the window when he smelled something suspicious.

His new team had been a mixed bag. People like Golf Ball and Fanny made it hard for him to enjoy himself, but people like Eraser and Saw made it tolerable. He also liked Cloudy, which was why he was so concerned. He'd been spending a lot of time with Golf Ball in the last few days, which generally wouldn't be a problem, but it was only Golf Ball he was spending time with. The two of them had been acting strange since the team unanimously promoted Cloudy to team leader.

Hence why he was hiding in a bush by the entrance to Golf Ball's underground, waiting for the two of them to come by. Was it a breach of privacy? Yes. Was it because he wanted to find out what was going on with a potential friend? Yes, again.

Lightning heard the sound of chatter and ducked lower into the bush so as not to be spotted.

"You've been doing good, but you're far from perfect." Lightning recognized GB's raspy voice.

"I...never said I was perfect." and there was Cloudy. His voice was the most distinct of any of the contestants.

"Well, good, because you aren't. We still have a lot of work to do." GB said firmly.

Work? What could she mean by that? Lighting wondered, doing his best to remain still. The last thing he needed was Golf Ball mad at him for snooping.

"GB! Cloudy!" a voice shouted out to the duo. Lightning couldn't see her, but he could recognize the voice as Bell's.

"Oh, hey Bell!" Cloudy exclaimed, sounding happy to see another face, "Do you need something?"

"Book and Needle were having a game of tic tac toe and it was getting pretty intense! Eraser and Fanny started betting money on the games. I wanted to see if you wanted to join?"

Lightning sighed. That sounded like a pretty cool sight to see. Nothing was better than a particularly intense game of tic tac toe. But instead, he was uncomfortably hunched low in a bush spying on his teammates. Funny how life worked out sometimes.

"That sounds like it'd be-" Cloudy's words were cut off by GB loudly coughing. A moment of silence passed before Cloudy started talking again, this time a little more feebly, "Well, actually...I can't right now. But I can join later, okay?" he said, sounding unsure of himself.

"Cloudy and I have work we need to complete. As his assistant team leader, I must help him with said issues." Golf Ball said matter of factly. Lightning didn't hear her say anything else, but he did hear her footsteps start down the metal steps to her underground factory. The last thing Lightning heard was Cloudy stutter before apologizing. No more words were exchanged after that, so he assumed that his team leader had floated after Golf Ball.

Lightning decided it was time to cut his losses and floated out of the bush he was hiding in, startling Bell.

"Well, that didn't get me anywhere." Lightning said, defeated. Bell blanched at the boy's sudden appearance, "W-where did you come from?"

Lightning pointed lamely at his hiding spot, "Bush." he said, frustration obvious. Bell looked past him and down the entrance to Golf Ball's factory. "I'm worried about him," she said aloud, more to herself than Lightning.

"I am too," Lightning agreed, "that's why I was hiding in the bush. I wanted to see what they've been up to."

Bell frowned, "It has to be Golf Ball. I don't know what she's up to, but she's doing...something." she finished, unsure of herself.

Lightning nodded, "I agree, but we can't be sure what she's planning. And I really don't want to go down into the factory."

Bell didn't say anything, but she agreed with the bolt more than she'd care to admit. She'd never been one to pick fights, and she wasn't about to start, but watching the cloud that was supposed to lead the Red Team walk off with another member without talking to anyone else made her clapper ache. It annoyed her. A team was supposed to stick together, no matter what! Even if the teams were randomly assigned you still try and make it work.