My face blinks with realisation. "Oh, right, yeah I guess that big 'wanted' sign I saw this morning would probably get us into trouble." I mutter. This disguise seems to be much higher end than the Sackbot mask from before, and probably a lot more effective.
"Yeah. By the way... how did you even get down here to the Underground?" 4663 asks, as she pulls down her pants.
"ACK- WHAT, ARE YOU JUST GONNA DO THAT IN FRONT OF ME?!?!" I scream, blocking my eyes and looking at the corner to my right. This wall has a picture of a beach on it, but the picture has someone's finger in front of the camera.
"What? I don't see the problem." She states, completely unaware of why I'm so terrified.
"I'M JUST!-" I don't bother to finish my sentence, just grunting while turning around to face away from her. "Just, tell me when you're dressed!!!" I stay looking down at the wall, spending more time gazing at random pictures in varied states of cleanliness.
Behind me I can hear her stepping into some pants, but before I can look back I hear her jacket rip off too.
Why on Craftworld she thought that was appropriate is beyond my comprehension, so I'll just remain stationary and silent until she's done.
"Done." 4663 states. I attempt to look back, but see that she isn't actually done but still putting the last layer on that hides her knit.
Finally I can actually look back, to see that she's rocking a similar smart suit like mine, and some orderly pants.
Oversize tinted glasses also cover most of her face, to the point that I can't see anything other than her mouth. Coincidentally, this still means I can't see her eyes, so at this point she's gotta be Medusa to be hiding them.
But I'll add that despite this, she looks quite cool.
Her business aesthetic is topped off by her hair bunched up in a bun at the back of her head, and she's now reaching for something trapped in between some junk. 4663 pulls whatever it is out, and I see that it's a spray can. She sprays its contents on her hair, as it slowly turns whiter the more she holds down the trigger.
She chucks the can away, then spinning to face me. "Okay. Your turn."
My face stares at her to make a smug grin, which quickly fades to a droopy half-open frown.
I stare some more, to further make sure I didn't mishear her. One eyebrow now raises as if to suggest she's crazy if she thinks she's gonna get me to do that. "Uh, no. Unlike you, I'm not... I'm not comfortable with doing that!" I complain.
"Well, if you don't, then you're probably gonna get caught." She claims. I feel anger boiling again from her thinking I'd be okay with stripping down naked in the same room as her.
"I'd rather get caught!" I yell, which isn't true, but just my hasty reaction to her request.
"You know that's not what you want." She smirks. I can tell through her squinted eyes that she's trying to deal with my bickering.
"What other options do I have?!" I yell. She looks my outfit up and down, before putting a finger to her lip.
"Okay, let's try this." She turns to the spray can that's already delving between several objects, and plucks it back out again. "If you're not comfortable with changing... then you may as well stay in those clothes." She shakes the can up and down, the rattling startling me while waiting to see what she's trying to do.
She aims the nozzle at my chest, and regards me in a crouch. "You asked for this."
I pull back slightly milliseconds before she sprays the ink directly onto my jacket, making me jump further at the sudden surprise. "Hey! Whadda you doing!?" My hands jumped forward to shove her back and stop her from getting my clothes dirtier.
She looks back to me. "They'll immediately notice you if you stay like this. If I just change how you look without changing clothes, it might work." I contemplate and go back to the thought of being naked in front of 4663. After that unsettling thought, I decide to bite the bullet and let her continue changing my clothes to a different colour.
I might not like it, but it's easier than the other option.
I pull my jumper straight with my hands, then peering away with one eye closed as she continues changing it white.
After long, she retreats away from me, slumping forward upon seeing what horrible combination my outfit is now. I open my other eye back up, to see the job she did, and how bad it is.
Some of the old graphics are poking through the seams, as well as the 'real sh*t' text at my stomach still visible as a print sticking out of the rest of the jumper.
Not to mention, its smell is giving me a sour face as the fumes waft toward me.
"Well, better than nothing." 4663 sighs. "Guess we won't be needing this anymore." She picks up the suit I dropped when I screamed at her, folds it back to its original state, and with her Popit cursor in her other hand, snaps it out of existence.
She again refers to me. "And also. Those horns." I try to cover them with my hands again, to no avail. "How are we meant to hide them?!" I yell, scared that she might possibly just rip them off.
"Why do you seem so terrified?!" She asks, as she scrolls through her Popit again.
"Well, I don't know. I thought it was plausible you'd just take them off." I answer. My hands slide off of my horns, then flopping to the side.
"What? Of course not!" She selects an image in the menu, causing a box spawns on the floor. Without warning, she picks up the box without hesitating and chucks the contents of the box into my face. From out of the box, a torrent of cotton balls tumble toward my face, covering my sight as I stand silent and confused.
The first thing I can see after the storm is 4663 stepping away and checking her masterpiece. She shrugs and crouches down again. Her hand snakes into her satchel sitting alone on the ground, to pull out the broken glass mirror.
She hands me it, who pulls it up to see their face, and what I assume are my horns.
What used to be my horns are now big spikes of hair-looking balls.
Even if they aren't demon horns, they still don't look very natural for a normal person. I still don't look much more trustworthy or 'Desirable'.
"Well great, now I look crazy." I admit.
"It just needs a bit more." 4663 claims. She scrolls some more on her Popit, very quickly wacks her cursor into my face, and gestures back to the mirror still in my hand. I lift it up again and look with hesitant eyes. My knit is now a modest beige colour.
She goes in again quickly and covers my arms in the same colour, before at last conceding with the changes to make me look like an emo bride.
"Huh! I kinda look like... uh." My train of thought derails and I forget what I was about to say. "Nevermind." I put the mirror down, chucking it back to 4663, who has to pick it off the floor after I drop it. I feel air rush from my mouth in disappointment at myself.
"So, if I'm uh-... disguised, can we go?" I ask toward 4663 who's still putting the mirror away.
"Well, are you ready for this?" She asks.
"I think." I remain stationery.
-
"How did this even happen? What am I doing talking to you? Before this I didn't talk to anyone, really..." I mumble.
"Hector, I'm thinking the same thing." I look to her as she picks up her satchel. "But, if we're going to work together, we better try to bear each other's company. We share a common interest, so as far as I'm concerned, we're pretty similar."
"Hah, yeah right." I chuckle.
"When we go to the intelligence facility, if we make it in, we'll both find our answers, and I hope you get what you want."
"And then?" I ask.
"I didn't think that far." 4663 takes a big breath in, holding it for a moment before blowing it back out. "Come on. Let's stick together... And dive into the unknown."
-
-
The End Of Act 1.
Initially completed on the 5th of November 2024.
YOU ARE READING
Dimension Of Perfection (And Its Flaws)
Science FictionIn a world of perfection, Hector Heckin' Damon is the opposite. Desires to sin plague his life, until he's transported to a world in which those who sin are discarded as Undesirable. Now stuck in an alternate version of Craftworld, Hector tries to u...
