The Outskirts: Thé Crystal Keepers (Jace x OC)

The Crystal Keepers: 15 *

They set up the thruports the next morning. A long examination of my family account inbox has shown no mention of me after Halloween. The days following the holiday had only routine messages. There was nothing in social media about my disappearance. Nothing in the news. The mass kidnapping had gone unnoticed, all of the kids forgotten.
"Has email ever looked so good?" Dalton asked, coming up behind me with Cole.
I turned. Dalton smiled awkwardly and waved. He wore a weathered green denim jacket, black trousers, and cowboy boots. His hair was buzzed short and had simple images engraved in it. Cole on the other hand, hadn't been changed yet.
"Are you filming a music video?" I joked.
Dalton rubbed his head self-consciously. "I've never had my hair this short. I kinda like it."
"It looks good," I said. "Wait, turn around?"
Dalton complied. He had what looked like a sun on one side of the back of his head, and an anchor on the other.
"Your head is all marked up." I said. "Did Roulette do that? Or were you mugged?"
"Haha," Dalton said. "You're next."
"I thought they might be scars from this morning," Cole joked.
Dalton's face got angry. Not long after daybreak, when he had rolled out of his hammock, Dalton had flopped headfirst to the floor. Somebody had tied his shoelaces to the netting of the hammock. Jace was the natural suspect.
"I'll get him back." Dalton said firmly.
"Might be smarter to call it even." I said, and Cole agreed.
"I'll get him back," Dalton said with increased determination. "Did you email your family?"
"I had to try." I said sadly.
"I'll try too. Just in case. Did you find any info about us? Any news about a kidnapping?" Cole asked.
"None," I said. "As far as the Internet knows, we never disappeared. Heck, it's like we don't even exist. It's just like we were warned. Nobody misses us."
"Isn't it weird to see a computer here?" Dalton asked.
"It's too much like home," Cole said. "I don't really envision the Rogue Knight on a PC. Forge said the thruport machines especially are modeled after the computers in our world so they can run the same software. He said some of our designs influenced their designs here. Like mouses. They had great tech here, but no mouses until they saw us using them."
"Don't think you can hide," Roulette said to us, entering the room with scissors in hand. "Doesn't Dalton look tidy?"
"He definitely looks different," I said. "Are you going to shave my head and graffiti my scalp too?"
"Don't mock it," Roulette said. "They look like real Zeropolites. You will too, but I'll take your look in a different direction."
"Good luck," Dalton said, and Cole snorted.
Jace walked in and I reflexively laughed. Jace's hair had been bleached blond and spiked up with styling gel. Symbols were sloppily painted on his new brown leather jacket, and he had his ears pierced with safety pins. His jeans had several patches, and were ripped in the knees.
"Yuck it up," Jace said. "You're next."
"Are the pins real?" Cole asked, reaching to touch one.
"Trickster dared me," Jace said, swatting his hand away.
"Dalton looks cool," Roulette said. "Jace looks hot, don't you think Kendal?"
I felt my face heat up and I looked away. It took all my willpower to not agree.
"And, I'm gonna leave now." Jace said, walking out.
I looked at Roulette and we both started laughing.
"Come on, Kendal."
I followed her into the other room. Hair clippings littered the floor.
"How about we just don't change me?" I said.
"Not a chance Kendal. Don't worry, Jace will still love you after i'm done. You can always change it all back later." Roulette said.
The first thing she did was cut at least three inches off my hair, which I immediately hated. Then she dyed the ends purple, which made it worse. She had me put on mascara and blush, while she curled my hair. She gave me gold earrings and layered a few necklaces. Then she sent me to the bathroom to change. She had given me a purple dress the same shade as my hair, a black leather jacket, and tan boots.
"I hate you so much right now." I said, waking out of the bathroom in my new clothes.
"You look great. You can suck it up for a few weeks." She said.
I walked out of the room to find Mira.
"You look good!" Mira said.
"So do you," I replied. "A little like an anime character, but not in a bad way."
"That's what I was going for," Roulette announced, returning to the room. "I love anime. Watching shows from your world is the best use of thruports."
"Anime?" Mira asked.
"Japanese cartoons," Cole said, joining us with Dalton behind him. "Like moving pictures. A lot of the characters in them have colorful hair."
"I'll take your word for it," Mira said.
"Did Forge snap your photo?" Roulette asked.
"He made me squint and squish my lips together," Mira said. "He checked the photo on my old ID and wanted the opposite expression. Jace and Dalton are done too."
"Then they're waiting for Kendal and Cole," Roulette said.
The others were waiting when I emerged.
"Your turn, Cole." Roulette said, and he followed her to the other room.
Dalton was talking to Forge about the thruports, and Jace sat down on the couch next to me. I leaned into him, warmth spreading through me.
"So," he said. "How do I look?"
I hummed, studying him. I reached up and mused his hair, making it even spikier.
"I like the old Jace better, but you look good." I said finally.
He smiled. "I thought I always looked good."
I shrugged, smirking. "Meh."
He faked hurt, and I laughed.
"What about me?" I asked. "Do I look crazy?"
Jace smiled softly. "You look . . . different."
"Like in a bad way?" I said.
His smile grew. "No, not in a bad way. Just different. You're still you."
I couldn't resist a smile. And I had to admit, I really liked the blonde look on him.
I took his hand and started fiddling with his rings.
Our dynamic had changed, and I know he noticed it too. Ever since we left Elloweer, we had been sticking together more often than normal. I often found myself leaning against him or messing with his rings. We always walked together, his shoulder always against mine. We were just more . . . touchy, I guess. He could tell when I was nervous, and often took my hand as reassurance, and it always worked. Just the little things, letting me know he's there.
"So," Jace started. "About yesterday—"
"Did you mean it?" I asked softly. "Like, you're serious?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. I did. I think we both know that."
I laughed. "Especially after last night. Roulette and Mira literally could not have been any louder."
Jace grinned, and for a moment, we just stared at each other, brown eyes on blue.
Jace likes me, the thought was entirely new, but I couldn't fight a smile off my face.
Jace grinned and opened his mouth to say something, but Cole came out of the room. His hair had been dyed jet black, and his new outfit included black jeans, a white shirt, a black denim vest, and gray shoes.
I laughed, but Jace looked disappointed.
"He looks too normal," Jace complained.
"He looks different," Roulette said. "That's the point. I didn't have to make all of you equally edgy."
"You promised to talk to him about a nose bolt," Jace grumbled.
"I did," Roulette said. "He vetoed it. So I went more conservative."
"We had veto power?" I asked. "Would've been nice to know before you died my hair purple."
Roulette rolled her eyes and opened her mouth for a retort, but Forge called us over.
"Over here, Kendal, Cole. " Forge said. "Kendal, stand there."
"Hmm. Let's go serious. Frown a little. Scowl, lower your eyebrows a bit. Hmmm. Keep the frown but raise your eyebrows. Okay, good. Think of something that disgusts you. Or something that makes you angry. Turn your head a little to the left. Good. Drop your chin a little. Remember, eyebrows up. Don't frown too deep. It has to be subtle. Good. Got it."
"I'm done?" I asked.
"Success," Forge said. "You're now Harley Smith. It's your face, but it'll be a chore to match this to your old photo. You guys owe Roulette. She did great work."
"Almost a changing," Dalton said.
"Not far off," Forge replied with a chuckle. "All right, getting these IDs printed up won't take long. While I have you five gathered together, I better mention something. Joe is being transferred this evening to Holding Area 11. If they get him in there, I'm not sure we can get him out. So we have to intercept him today. But there's a problem."
"What?" Mira asked, anxious.
"A lot of our communications network is down right now," Forge said. "Several people got caught fleeing the raid yesterday, which means we lost crystals, including some that are linked to crucial networks. We need to make a big new batch of communicators using different harmonics. Until then, Googol and I don't know where most of our people who escaped are hiding. We can't contact the personnel needed to carry off the rescue. If that holds true until this evening, we're going to need Roulette, Trickster, and two substitutes to carry it off."
"You know I'm in for whatever Googol wants," Roulette said.
"Same," Trickster agreed.
"You need some of us?" Jace asked hopefully.
"Not Secret," Forge clarified. "But we'll need—"
"Yes," Jace said. "Me. Absolutely."
"Count me in too." I said.
"I like the passion," Forge said. "I was going to say, we need two people to fill support roles. These positions are somewhat removed from actually taking Joe from his vehicle, but will be necessary to ensure success. You'll be exposed to capture. The danger is real. You'll need full battle suits and warboards. If we can find somebody else with more experience between now and this evening, we won't use you."
"I'm one for sure," Jace said.
"Me too." I put in. "Do the battle suits jump like the exo rigs?"
"Better," Forge said. "The battle suits do everything the rigs can and more."
"Can we help too?" Dalton asked.
"You'll stay here with me and Secret," Forge said. "I may need some support once the operation kicks into gear. Googol and I will both lend help remotely."
"They're doing important stuff," Trickster clarified, "They'll be messing with the magroads."
"And the emergency response systems," Forge said. "We're going to go big. Googol really wants Joe back. And I think he's kind of angry about the loss of zerobase. But first, Trickster should get Kendal and Jace suited up. At a minimum, make sure they can handle the basics enough to do their parts and get away."
"We'll figure it out," Jace said confidently.
I wanted to help Joe, but I could also picture myself running from hordes of angry patrolmen in an unfamiliar city using unfamiliar gear. What if I made a fatal mistake that ruined the mission? If I couldn't get comfortable with the equipment, I had no business helping out. Failing wouldn't benefit Joe.
"From what I've seen, I bet I can get you two up to speed," Trickster said. "Your duties will be to hide, use trapguns, and get away. The tech is awesome. You'll feel better once you get the hang of it."
"When can we start?" Jace asked.
Trickster folded his arms. "Since the ambush needs to happen in about six hours, now would be good."