Battle for Some Actual Peace and Quiet for Once

Episode 10 - Slipping Further into Madness

The rest of the night was a rather uneventful drive. Teardrop kept her eyes on the road and her hands on the wheel, her feet on the pedals on her mind on those three exact things. Coiny eventually stopped pestering her about the secrets of the universe, and eventually fell asleep like the rest of the expedition team. There wasn't really much to write home about, really, even though they weren't writing or recording anything. The forest continued on for who knows how long, with nothing but an endless sprawl of trees up to the horizon, much like the ancient cities of ages past. Teardrop had noticed that the terrain was getting noticeably less flat than what it usually was at the plains. It had started getting particularly hilly, causing her to somewhat feel a bit nauseous every time she focused her mind on it. How she hadn't noticed the change in terrain the last time they had been on this road trip was a mystery to her. She recalled having absolutely nothing on her mind as they went through mile after mile of nothing but pure nature (with the exception of the road, of course), and so it felt like she would've noticed the change, no matter how minor it was. But that was far too much of a tangent to continue going down in. She had to remain focused on the road, of course. Every once in a while, she'd remember some snippet of her past that she had tried her best over the years to suppress from her memory, and she'd immediately shake her head in response, as if it was dangling on her body by a thread and it only took a good shove to get it off, and would immediately get back to focusing on the road.

Night eventually passed, as night usually does, and morning came. The familiar disc of the sun would appear above the horizon, and the shades of red and orange with it. Eventually, the familiar blue sky would return over their heads, and with white clouds breaking up the otherwise pure and vibrant shade of azure. But that's enough of acting vaguely poetic. By the time morning truly arrived, Teardrop had resorted to counting the number of stripes on the road to keep the demons in her head at bay. It must've been somewhere in the thousands by the time one of the members of the expedition team yawned and broke her train of thought, and she wasn't able to recall the last number. One by one, the rest of the expedition team would wake up, getting ready to start yet another day of doing a whole lot of nothing. Coiny would be the last one to wake up, doing so an hour or so after the others had already done so. He'd yawn and stretch his arms, and would turn to face Teardrop. "Morning, Teardrop." He'd greet her. Of course, she wouldn't say anything in response, and would simply smile and nod. "How's our fuel looking?" Coiny asked. Teardrop thought for a moment about how Coiny would know enough about vehicles to know that they required fuel, but as she came to know while the world unraveled before her, it was *definitely* best to just not question anything, and go along with the new normal.

It *had* been a while since she checked up on the fuel, and so would tap the fuel gauge just to make sure it was providing accurate readings. The fuel, of course, had been gradually spent as they continued driving along, but because of centuries of technological advancement, the vehicles of this age managed to use their fuel much more efficiently than ones of the present. At least, the present when the author typed these very words onto the screen as he wrote what was most likely the first draft of this fanfic into existence. She didn't really notice the gauge imperceptibly shift slightly as the tank was emptied, and so hadn't really checked all that often until now. One quick glance at the fuel gauge now, however, and she'd realize that they were just about to run out of fuel. Not really wanting to suddenly stop in the middle of the road, and possibly scaring the expedition team (which didn't know all that much about vehicles, other than the vans they used to have) in the process, she'd begin looking around for any small clearing they could park in to refuel. Of course, they knew that they were going to run out of fuel mid-trip, and so they had stocked up on several spare containers they had found in the facility. The ones that were at least halfway-filled with fuel, anyway. I hadn't mentioned this small fact in the previous chapters, but... Shut up. Teardrop knew that it was highly unlikely that any other vehicles would be using this road, and so they wouldn't really need to find a clearing, but it was just courtesy, she supposed. A small formality from an era long gone.

It took them a good few minutes or so to finally find some good parking space: a small stretch of clear grassland in the middle of the sea of trees. The area cleared would be much more than just the flat area, however. The entire area around a small hill had been cleared of trees, leaving no traces whatsoever, not even a stump or two. It was a rather strange sight, considering that the other hills in the area were also covered in trees, and so it felt like it warranted a small excursion to determine the cause. Teardrop would park the vehicle on the flat area, looking around for a moment just to make sure that whoever (or *what*ever) caused the deforestation wasn't there anymore, and would then turn off the engine. The expedition team would immediately get off the vehicle to admire the sights while Teardrop immediately got to work in refueling. As soon as the expedition team members in the back had disembarked, Teardrop would get inside, exiting with a few of the canisters of fuel, which she reckoned was enough to fill the whole tank. The rest of the expedition team would leave Teardrop to work her magic, and would proceed to gather around beside the vehicle. "Alright." Coiny began. "Who's in agreement that we're going to look around here?" He'd ask. Everyone would then immediately raise their hands. "Ugh. Like, yes please." Match in particular would respond. "Like, there was barely any room in *there* to stretch my legs." Eraser would nod in agreement. "Uh... Yeah. I agree with her." He'd remark.

The expedition team would immediately disperse so that they could cover more ground, leaving Teardrop all on her own. She'd probably come up with a way to inform them once she had finished refueling, anyway. The size of the deforested area was just as they expected: the hill and the surrounding area, though not extending much past several feet or so. It formed a nearly-perfect circle (at least to the best of someone's ability) of empty grassland, an island of nothing in a sea of... Things. As soon as they got that fact confirmed, they began searching for clues as to why this was the case. Most of the 'searching' was just covering ground they had already covered, looking for stuff they may have missed. A brave few would try to literally look below the surface, digging small holes to see if there was any trace of the possible trees that once inhabited the place. However, it seemed as if whoever did the deed was very thorough with their work, as there wasn't even a hint of wood to be found. Eraser would make it to the top of the hill, presumably in a brave act to impress Match, and found something odd: a single tree remained standing at the top of the hill, sticking out like a sore thumb. It was an oddity, given that all the other trees had been cut down, but Eraser reckoned that it was left there simply because it was at the top. Perhaps it just served as a marker for where the top was, or a place where climbers could rest for a minute or two.

Coiny would eventually be the one to discover an actual clue. As he was descending down the hill, just before his feet were back on the flat land, he'd notice that his last few steps yielded creaking sounds, which obviously made no sense. As soon as he was back on the flat ground, he'd turn around to see just what he had stepped on. That particular part of the hill wasn't made out of the same earth as the rest of the hill. In fact, it wasn't made out of dirt at all. It felt particularly... Wooden. Coiny took a single step towards the anomaly and took a closer look, realizing that there wasn't even any grass at all, and was instead plastered with leaves in a rudimentary disguise. How he didn't immediately notice this as soon as he turned around is a mystery. Perhaps the sun shined in just the right way as to make it not so obvious. Or something. Immediately upon discovering this, Coiny would tear off some of the leaves, revealing exactly what Coiny had suspected: wood. He'd knock on the suspected wood, and it would make the appropriate sounds that would reinforce his beliefs. It sounded *exactly* as if someone was knocking on a wooden door. Why that had to be remarked upon also remains a mystery. Coiny immediately figured out that this was a disguised wooden trapdoor, mostly because there wouldn't be any other reasons for such a thing like this existing. He'd then look for a handle to grab onto, and sure enough, he'd find one.

As soon as he firmly grabbed onto the handle, Coiny would yell out to his comrades. "GUYS!" He'd shout. "OVER HERE!" Within a minute or two, the rest of the expedition team (with the exception of Teardrop, obviously) would make their way to Coiny to see what all the fuss was about. "What is it?" Firey would ask. "I found another trapdoor." Coiny would then point to the very thing he was trying to open. "Trapdoor?" Firey asked. Coiny would sigh. *Of course* objects that have lived their lives out in the plains would have no knowledge of such things. Maybe they'd know what they were, just not the right words for them. "...You know..." He'd sigh again. "Like that thing we found in the valley?" "Oh!" Fireys eyes lit up (metaphorically) as he remembered. "You think it has another book in it?" He'd ask. Coiny shrugged. "Only one way to find out, I suppose." He'd give the handle a good tug, and the trapdoor would quickly swing open. It would open horizontally, causing Coiny to take a step back as he opened it the rest of the way. It would reveal a tunnel going further into the hill, reinforced by wooden beams, which was presumably where all the wood went. The expedition team would look into the tunnel, and barely saw anything inside. All they could see were several dim lights, barely lighting up the tunnel. All they could figure out was that the tunnel eventually opened into a larger room.

Coiny would look at the rest of the expedition. "So, uh..." He thought about it for a moment or so. "...Who's going in first?" Of course, there weren't any immediate takers. Absolutely no one would willingly want to go down a dark tunnel, of course. "...Ah, who am I kidding." Coiny sighed. "Firey, you go first." "W-What?" Firey was surprised by his decision. "Why *me*, of all people? I could burn those things!" He'd point at the wooden beams. "You'll light the way." Coiny replied. "If it's not you who's first, then no one is." Firey sighed, realizing that that made sense, unlike most of the things in this fanfic. "...Alright..." He'd glance at the tunnel, still unnerved by how spooky it look, and took a deep breath. He'd then go inside, and Coiny would follow, and then the rest of the expedition team. Eraser would be the last, making sure that nobody was following them before closing the trapdoor, providing them with ample warning if somebody *was* following them by the sound of it opening. The tunnel didn't go on for all that long, and they'd eventually enter the room it led up to. The room wasn't all that more well-lit than the tunnel, with a few corners still shrouded in darkness, but it was still enough light to actually see in.

The room was considerably filled, which was quite surprising, considering the last tunnel they went through didn't really lead to all that much stuff. The atmosphere of the place gave the feeling that this place wasn't abandoned in the slightest, given that not a single particle of dust hadn't settled on the items strewn about before them. There were several mattresses laid out on one corner, presumably for sleeping on, and several pillows stacked on top. Beside the mattresses was a desk with several chairs around it, with a large map hung on the wall in front of it. The map clearly showed its age, being slightly torn in the edges and having markings on it. The corner opposite of the mattresses had a table with a TV on top of it, displaying nothing but static. Several papers littered the desk and the table, full of writings in both legible and indecipherable languages. The rest of the walls were lined with other items of furniture: a fridge that wasn't plugged in to anything, several counters, and a few more tables. Several solar panels were stacked on the counter, although none of them would know what those were. At the center of the room was a massive circular table, which Coiny reckoned was a nightmare to fit through the small tunnel. On the table was a pile of small trinkets and electronics, the purpose of which was clearly beyond them. Whatever bare wall space was left was mostly filled with posters that were haphazardly stuck onto the wall, the most prominent one displaying a clear message in big, bold text: "DOWN WITH GD INC'S TYRANNY!"

Coiny pointed to the table with the trinkets. "You guys go check out those... Things." He'd order them. "I'm going to go investigate the stuff on the walls." Everyone would immediately rush to start their jobs, wanting to do literally anything but stand around all day, with the exception of Firey, who would just stand at a respectful distance, fearing that he could accidentally burn something of interest. Coiny would walk up to the map first, as it caught his interest first. Upon closer inspection, details began appearing in his head that weren't actually shown in the map: memories, although he was unsure of where they came from. The map depicted the northern coast of a landmass that went by several names. It was called "Africa" by most, but to him in particular, and quite possibly to several others, it was referred to as "Southern Goiky", whatever that meant. The map had been defaced with markings and symbols representing areas of interest. Symbols for geological features, ruins, and... *Them*. Coiny very well knew who *they* were, and their facilities were marked with a simple letter G. There were also several places with Xs over them, places that were originally marked with dots with names on the map. All of the Xs were on the dots, but not all dots had Xs. Why *that* also had to be remarked upon is a mystery.

The rest of the expedition team continued inspecting the artifacts on the table, one by one. Most of them didn't really do all that much other than filling your hand, their purposes unclear. An exceptional few would glow in response to being touched, much like what Firey had discovered, although their purposes were once again beyond them. Match would pick out a few in particular that caught her interest, mostly those that just sparkled and shined. Eraser would mostly be interested in items that he saw to have the possibility of feeling incredibly painful if you were struck by it. He was one for hitting people, after all. With their combined efforts, it didn't really take all that long for them to look through everything in the pile. Perhaps half an hour or so. While they did this, Coiny mostly focused his attention on staring at the posters. The posters had some rather striking designs, and were colored in some extremely bright shades, possibly so that they would last a thousand years or more. There was writing in most of the posters, but they varied in language. Most had writing written in a language he recognized (English, although he didn't know why it was called that), but it was generally accompanied by writing in two other languages he was unfamiliar with. One of them was much like English, with similar symbols used, but formed different words. The other one looked like if someone dropped a bowl of spaghetti and drew what the strands of pasta looked like.

The posters varied wildly in symbolism, although that wouldn't be what he was focusing on. No matter what was drawn in them, or what colors were used, the message seemed to be the same for all of them: this 'GD Inc' had done terrible, *terrible* things to them, and they had to pay for them. Although the memory was fuzzy for Coiny, he felt like the message resonated with him in the way it would for someone that was under their oppression for years and years. He could recall being in the receiving end of it all, both in the past and in... Recent times. He could remember, just in the corner of his eye as he was dragged along by those that sought to break him, a familiar symbol with the words, clear and unmistakable in his head: GD Inc. He already had this revelation several times before, especially back at the facility, but only now did he feel safe with letting those thoughts run free, even though he couldn't say all too much to any of them. Unlike the last time, the atmosphere of this place seemed to nurture the thoughts brewing in his head: of resistance, of rebellion, and of revenge. Although the crimes GD Inc had committed against them were clearly different from those done to him, given the imagery, they were humiliated and broken all the same. He could see himself and those who made these posters joining hands and rising up against them, wherever they may be, and crushing them to ensure that they would never hurt them again.

Perhaps one day.

-

Teardrop was still hard at work refueling the vehicle. It had been quite a pain to do the job, and to be perfectly honest, she was tired of it all. The hole which took in the fuel was nearly perfectly horizontal, meaning she couldn't just easily get the fuel in. She also didn't have a funnel, or something that looked like it, to make the task somewhat easier. She had considered just using her hands to move the fuel one scoop at a time, but she immediately thought about how that could dirty her hands, and because there wasn't any water nearby to wash it off (and using herself to do it was out of the question), she immediately threw that plan out the metaphorical window. After spending half an hour or so trying her best to tackle the issue, she'd give up in frustration, and spend the next several minutes or so walking about, cursing herself in her head for getting herself into this situation. She didn't really want to, considering she was doing it for her 'friends', but she just couldn't help it. After calming her nerves, she'd get back on the driver's seat and tap the fuel gauge to see if anything had changed. About a quarter of the tank was now filled, and while it was an improvement, she wouldn't settle for anything but a full tank. As she sat there, she continued thinking about possible ways to make her job easier, but nothing would come to her mind. She considered making the others do it for her, but who knows if anyone was going to actually do that.

As she continued thinking about it, however, her ears would pick up on something. You know how when someone is terrible at one sense, all the other senses are boosted by like a million times? It was kinda like that, or something. She could hear just the faintest rustling of leaves in the distance, barely noticeable if you weren't doing anything and just lazily looking out into nothing in particular. It would gradually get louder, which would normally indicate that it was coming closer. Either that, or whatever is causing the rustling was gaining power but was still just as far away. Either or, really. But thinking it was the former, Teardrop would step out of the vehicle and look up into the sky, puzzled as to what the source of the noise could be. Just as she looked up, however, she would see an unidentified flying object whiz past, being visible as nothing more but a blur until it had gone past her in less than a second. She could hear shouting from whoever was in the... Thing, just before it had disappeared from sight again, causing yet more rustling of the leaves. She'd quickly turn her head to look for it, but would end up seeing nothing but the tall trees. She'd grumble internally in frustration, as she may have just witnessed something interesting happen, yet wasn't going to get any more than that. She'd consider starting up the vehicle to drive towards it, but hesitated as it meant leaving the rest of the expedition team behind.

Fortunately for her, however, the object would come by again for a second pass, although this time at a much slower speed. This time, she was able to see the object more clearly, as it was no longer so much of a blur. Despite the lessening of the blurriness, however, it was still somewhat... Fuzzy. That was pretty much all she could tell at that distance. It was pink and fuzzy, and had something, or possibly some*one*, on top of it. At first, she wasn't all too afraid for it, since she didn't think it was coming towards her. But now that it had done a second pass over her, she felt like it was going towards *her* in particular. Not really knowing what to do (as no one really knows what to do when a pink fuzzy thing is heading towards them), she'd hurry back into the vehicle, and hope for the seemingly-slim chance that the thing wasn't actually looking for her. She'd remain in the driver's seat, prepared to attack whoever tried to get her, and would hear the thing do a third pass, although this time it wouldn't fly off into the horizon again. The thing had slowed down a ton since its first pass, and by the third was now going at a meager pace, and *still* slowing down. Teardrop watched as the thing hovered over the hill, going slower and slower until it eventually stopped completely. The thing would stay still for a few seconds or so, before descending into the hill, eventually disappearing from view.

Teardrop sighed (internally, of course) in relief, as she thought that the worst was now over. She then immediately realized that the rest of the expedition team was still looking around the hill in search of weird things. Horrible thoughts began racing through her head as she thought about what the thing was, and what it could possibly do to them. Although she was fearing for their lives, she couldn't get herself to go out there and save them from... Whatever it was. She did a bit of thinking, and thought that she wouldn't stand a chance against something that could float. And if all her worst fears were true, she would most likely be the only one who could make it out and tell the others of what happened. She decided to just remain in her seat, hoping that whatever it was wouldn't look for her, and if the rest of the expedition team didn't return by the next half hour or so, she was immediately getting out of there.

-

Meanwhile, the rest of the expedition team were still busy doing... What people would normally do when they're bored out of their minds. Match and Eraser were having fun stacking the trinkets up (although Eraser would be trying to not look like he was having fun), while Firey would be experimenting with the ones that glowed, mostly because they were the ones that caught his interest for being similar to the one he had found at the facility. Meanwhile, Coiny would be too busy being edgy and deep in thought to have fun, and would be staring off into the television static. He had been walking around the room for a while, thinking about where to go from there, but he ended up losing his train of thought from either one of the three trying to get him to join in on the fun, and so decided to just do a thousand-yard stare into the TV to make sure no one was going to interrupt him. He mostly thought about just what GD Inc *was*, and what it's (or was) trying to do. Why had they caused such suffering and despair for seemingly no reason at all? Perhaps he just didn't know the reason why because he himself hadn't experienced the brunt of their wrath, as they seemed to be capable of much worse according to the posters, but he felt like he had already seen so much, and felt like it should be enough to uncover all the reasons why. It always felt like there was a grand conspiracy out there, manipulating everyone he knows and pulling the strings, and he was so close to cracking it, yet there it remains, just beyond his grasp, forever taunting him.

His train of thought would be derailed yet again, however, but it wasn't because the expedition team hadn't asked him to join on the activities yet again. Somehow, amidst the laughter and whatever noise the TV was making, he could hear the noise of the trapdoor opening, even though it was extremely faint. Only those up above know what sense he had to give up to gain super-hearing. Perhaps his sense of humanity, or something dumb like that. "Guys." Coiny called out to the rest of the expedition team, raising up his hand just in case they didn't hear. Fortunately, however, everyone would manage to pick up what he said, and would immediately fall silent. "...Someone else is here." The joy immediately fell from everyone's expressions, and was quickly replaced by fear. There was *some* hope that it was just Teardrop, but it seemed like it was a stranger from the way Coiny referred to it. Of course, he only *heard* it come in, and hadn't seen it, so the option was still on the table. Coiny would then immediately turn towards the rest of the expedition team, and would proceed to make his way to the opposite end of the room, seemingly wanting to confront the newcomer. But just a step before he'd end up directly in front of the tunnel, Coiny would stop in his march and would walk up to the wall beside it, possibly hoping to get the element of surprise in attacking the visitor. He'd take his position beside the wall, and waited patiently.

The next several seconds were filled with tension, of course. The room only had one way in or out, as far as the expedition team was aware, and now it was occupied by someone they didn't know. Were they a friend, or were they an enemy? They had no way of finding out until whoever it was revealed themselves, but it seemed like Coiny had no intention of finding out. Footsteps came from the tunnel, although they were slow, with long pauses between steps. It seemed as if the newcomer was also aware of them in much the same way as they were aware of the newcomer. A few more seconds ticked by, and nothing came of the situation. It was like in a horror movie, where you can hear the suspenseful music grow louder and louder, obviously building up to a big reveal or scare, but then the music just suddenly ends without anything of that sort. It remained like that for a minute or so, until Coiny finally decided to face his fears and be the first to confront the other. He'd quickly go into the tunnel and would see... No one there. The tunnel was devoid of any traces that anybody had gone through it. With the exception of the expedition team, of course. Coiny sighed in relief as soon as he saw the tunnel being completely empty. Although he hated being wrong most of the time, this time, it was a *massive* relief. He'd exit the tunnel and would turn to face the expedition team once more, already prepared to apologize about the false alarm. "Sorry guys! I-"

"*MOURIR*!"

Coiny would then suddenly be hit in the head, and everything went black.

-

When Coiny finally woke up, the first thing he noticed was that his hands were now tied behind his back, immediately followed by the fact that he was now sitting on the mattress. As his eyes opened slowly, being somehow blinded by the light overhead, he'd see Eraser and Match, still passed out beside him. Firey had endured much the same fate, but was seated in the corner opposite them. The central table was now surrounded by the seats, with several unfamiliar faces sitting on them. But by far the strangest one of the group was the massive, floating pink... *thing* that's just casually floating beside them, as if it was just the most normal thing in the world. As he regained his senses, he began to hear them speaking in a tongue he had never heard of, yet sounded vaguely familiar.

"...ferons-nous d'eux?" said one, although Coiny had clearly missed the start of what they had said. "Je ne sais pas..." said another. "Nous n'avons jamais eu de visiteurs indésirables auparavant." Coiny managed to pick up the meanings of some words, yet the meaning of the whole dialog remained unclear. "C'est évident ce que nous devons faire!" said a third. "Nous devons tous les tuer! Ce sont des collaborateurs avec ces tyrans!" "*NON*!" shouted the floating one. Unlike the others, its voice was... Most definitely different. It didn't really sound like any normal voice he had heard before. Perhaps it was a different accent? Coiny couldn't think all that well. That hit in the head was pretty strong. "Cela nous rend aussi mauvais qu'eux." the previous one would then nod in agreement. "Vous avez raison. Désolé." "Regardez!" one final one would interrupt, pointing towards him, which would immediately freak him out, although he tried his best to not show it. He had to put his best foot forward, after all. "L'audacieux est réveillé!" they continued. The first one would then get up from their seat, and would proceed to walk towards him. As they got closer, Coiny could discern what their captors looked like. At least one of them, anyway. The front was a square with a pattern of equal patterns green and blue, although it looked like there was a hint of white in the side. In his dazed state, Coiny thought it looked much like... A book.

When they and Coiny were now staring at each other directly in the eye, Coiny closed his eyes and pretended to still be asleep. They didn't seem to be all too amused by the games he was playing, though. They would crouch down to directly look at him, and would nudge him. "Vous ne trompez personne!" They'd shout. As they were now closer, Coiny could somewhat discern the tone of their voice, figuring that it was most likely feminine. "RÉVEILLEZ-VOUS!" 'She'd' shout again, promptly before slapping him hard in the face. Coiny would immediately cry out in pain, though would immediately shut himself up. "Bien. Bien." 'She' would then take him by the arm and would force him up, proceeding to drag him onto where 'she' was formerly seated, and would push him down. After keeping him down for a few seconds just to make sure he'd remain seated, 'She' would let go of his arm and turn to face him again. "Qui êtes vous?" 'She'd' ask. Of course, Coiny didn't speak a lick of whatever language they were speaking, and so wouldn't say anything. 'Her' patience would immediately grow thin, however. "Qui êtes vous?" 'She' restated. Coiny remained defiant and stayed silent. 'She' would then slap him yet again, clearly having grown tired of the charade. "RÉPONDS-MOI!" 'She'd' shout, immediately following it up with another slap.. "BOOK!" the floating one would shout back immediately after. "SE DÉTENDRE!" "POURQUOI DEVRAIS-JE? ILS SONT L'ENNEMI!" 'She'd' shout back. "...Peut-être qu'ils ne parlent tout simplement pas notre langue." the floating one replied. 'She' would then stop just before dealing yet another blow to Coinys pride, and would sigh. "...Droite."

She would scrunch her face and sigh again before continuing, clearing her throat as she did so. She was clearly exhausted, Coiny thought. But from what? From *him*? "من أنت؟" She'd then ask. Once again, Coiny had no idea in the slightest as to what she was saying, and so remained silent. She'd then sigh yet again. "Vous les tyrans et votre ''langue'..." She'd then pause before continuing, clearly showing signs of disdain. "*Who are you*?" She'd finally say. Coiny finally recognized at least one word of what she was saying, and was capable of replying back. "...Coiny." He'd reply. "But I fail to see how-" He was then immediately faced with yet another hard slap to the face. "NO TALKING BACK!" She'd yell. "JUST ANSWER!" Coiny breathed in deeply, trying his best to keep his anger down. It's not like it could do him any good now, anyway. "...Like I said, I'm Coiny." She'd then stare at him, seemingly content. "...Nice to meet you, 'Coiny'." She'd then spit onto the ground, much to everyone's disgust. "What are you and GD Inc doing here? Doing some 'surveying' perhaps?" She'd then ask. Coinys eyes then widened, realizing that she had mistaken her with the very people he loathed. He now knew the issue, he thought. The hard part was explaining it to *them*. "...GD Inc?" He'd ask, making sure that she had chosen her words correctly. Her contempt would then immediately dissipate into nothing. "...What? Did I hit you too hard, or something?"

"...No." Coiny immediately replied. "I just think we got off on the wrong..." She'd immediately raise her hand for yet another slap, but the floating one would intervene yet again. "Book! I said *NO*!" Immediately, Books hand clenched into a fist, and she sighed deeply. "...Right, right..." "Violence is *never* the answer, despite what *they* think..." the floating one continued. "Who's 'they'?" Coiny asked. "Are you talking about GD Inc?" "Of course!" Book immediately replied. "Who else would we be talking about? Who else would you be working for?" "Now, listen..." Coiny began, expecting another slap, but thankfully, no such thing would come his way. "...I don't work for *them*. I hate them, in fact!" Unfortunately, Book didn't seem all too inclined to release him after his statement of his hatred for the company. "...*Really*?" She'd ask. "Then how do you explain the vehicle you and your associates parked outside? The one with the *GD Inc markings*?" That was when Coiny began to sweat. If she knew about the vehicle, then she *must* know about Teardrop. But as far as he knew, she was nowhere to be seen in the room. "We..." Coiny knew that he'd probably gain some favor by telling the truth, but at the same time, he didn't really want to sound like they were criminals. Crime against an evil company *is* still crime. "...We took it from this abandoned facility nearby! We swear!"

Book didn't seem to believe it one bit, but after giving some more thought, she'd sigh *yet* again, obviously troubled. "L'installation d'Oran..." She sighed again. "We should've scorched that den of scum and villainy as soon as those tyrants fled like cowards. Razed it until even its foundation can no longer be found! But no... Donut keeps insisting we can use it as a forward base..." "Because we can!" the Donut in question interrupted, its (though it sounded like a he) impossibly large mouth somehow managing to make noise. "We've already seen GD Inc Remnants setting up a base in the nearby plains, we can't-" "Silence!" Book quickly interrupted him. "Your days of incompetently leading this band of comrades are over! Your lousy excuse of leadership has been deposed!" "Uh... Excuse me?" Coiny would then interrupt both of them. "*WHAT*?" Book shouted at him. She'd glance at the floating one and sigh. "...Sorry. *What*?" "You guys clearly have your own issues, but..." Coiny continued, half-expecting a slap. "...I barely understood half the words you just said. You guys got a dictionary around here, or something?" She'd then stare at him directly in the eye. "I'm a dictionary, and you *better* believe it!" She paused for a moment, not wanting to let go of her pride, before sighing in defeat. "...Mostly a dictionary, anyway. A lot of my pages have either been torn or made unreadable... Times have changed."

Coiny tried his best to nod while making sure it didn't look like he was trying to get away. "Uh... Good for you, I guess." He'd continue. "But as I was saying... You guys clearly have your own... Disputes? Is that used correctly?" Book chuckled slightly. Coiny would then sigh in return. "...Whatever. But isn't this whole thing about interrogating *me*?" He'd ask. Book sighed yet again, for good measure. "...Right." She'd glance at Donut for a moment. "Ce n'est pas encore fini." She'd then look back at Coiny, still being rather suspicious of him. "Why did you decide to... *Take* the vehicle?" Coiny frowned. "It wasn't me. It was... A friend of mine." Book sighed. Are you tired of that word yet? "...Of course it is." She'd then walk back to the mattress, where Eraser and Match were still passed out. "Which one of them is it? I'd like to ask them a question or two..." Coiny thought about what to answer. He didn't know if they *actually* knew of Teardrop or not, so he decided to lie about it. "...Eraser did." Well, technically, that wasn't exactly a lie. Match and Eraser *did* find the vehicle, but it was Teardrop that drove it, so... "Him?" Book would then nudge Eraser, just as Coiny was about to clarify *who* was Eraser. "...Yeah, him." He'd nod. "Alright..." Book would stare at Eraser. "...I'll interrogate him as soon as he wakes up, much like how it went with you." She'd then walk back to Coiny.

"Now, onto asking about where your loyalties lie..." Book continued. "What made you hate- no, loathe- no, *despise* GD Inc?" Now that was a question Coiny was somewhat more comfortable in asking. "...They ruined my life, much like they ruined yours." He answered. "Oh?" Book raised an eyebrow. "How so? How did they break you?" "They took me away from my comfortable life." Coiny replied. "Took me away from the world I knew, without a reason why. And when I resisted, they took off their masks and... Revealed who they truly were." Coiny didn't really know where he suddenly picked up this proficiency at being poetic, but he felt like it fit with what he wanted to convey. "They pushed their ideals and messages, tried to force them upon me, quite literally." He cringed at remembering it. "They wanted me to do unspeakable things, and when I refused, I was simply humiliated further." He'd then blush slightly as he remembered Pin. He could remember the day she arrived as clear as day. The dull and monotone gray walls were destroyed into a myriad of pieces that could never be assembled back together, there was an angelic (although Coiny wouldn't describe it as such exactly, but in comparable terms) choir singing of the return of decency, and he could see Pin gently descending from the heavens, coming down from the highest of astral planes to liberate him from his misery...

He often thought about how that rosy memory of his salvation often felt a bit *too* far-fetched, but so many other things had happened since then that he couldn't question it all too much. He chose to just omit the gratuitous descriptions of his reuniting with Pin and just say that she freed him. Plain and simple.

"But I was then given an opportunity at freedom, and I took it." Coiny continued. "Since then, I have been on a journey to get back to them, to strike them at their heart, and to prevent them from ruining further lives by their cruel ways." Book was quite surprised by Coinys eloquence. She thought that a spirit of pure literary and authorial genius decided to wax poetic and chose to possess this mere mortal to be the vessel of their greatness. And perhaps that was indeed what happened. *Wink, wink*. "A most..." Book didn't even know where to begin. "...Riveting speech." She blushed slightly. "Quite embarrassed to say that, but indeed... You might just be my equal in literary skill." "*BOOK*!" Donut shouted. "STOP FRATERNIZING WITH THE INMATES!" Shortly after he finished speaking, he'd immediately realized what he just said and would try to cover his mouth, but would fail miserably. "I... I didn't say that!" He'd shout. Book would simply have a smug grin on her face. "Looks like I've finally rubbed off on you, eh?" "SHUT IT!" She chuckled slightly before continuing. "To simply put it, you've moved it. Perhaps what you're saying *is* the truth." She'd glance at Donut, unamused. "Untie him, will you? He clearly shows his loyalties to the cause." Donut sighed and grumbled, but proceeded to do her bidding anyway. She *was* the leader around these parts, anyway. As he untied him, Book would stare at him directly in the eye. "*Please* don't try to backstab us. I really *do* like you." She blushed slightly. "...Not in that way, of course." Coiny blushed in response. "...Of... Of course." "It's just been so long since we've had someone genuinely believe in the cause come to us, and-"

And that was all Book could say before she was hit hard in the head, and she immediately collapsed onto the floor, becoming unconscious. As if in a movie, all of the captors would quickly turn to see who was the one that dealt the blow. To their surprise, they saw an enraged Teardrop, who had just cheated death and was now back for revenge. Coiny in particular would have his eyes widen, not out of shock, but out of pure anger, which seemed to be how he generally felt about Teardrop recently. "*TEARDROP*! NO!" He'd shout, but Teardrop, once again, didn't care one bit. "GET THEM!" Donut immediately shouted, and all of them immediately took up arms against her. She didn't seem all that fazed about it, however, and she would simply grab the nearest club-looking artifact she could find to beat them silly with it. Coiny didn't want to see what was obviously going to be a brutal and violent brawl, no matter who was going to be the victor. He'd seen enough of those, he thought. He'd close his eyes as the noises of battle began. There were clearly a good few hits, a few good hits, and a whole lot of writhing and groaning in agony. Coiny also felt like he heard the sound of glass shattering, even though he didn't see any glass anywhere in the room. By the time the noises had finally settled down, Coiny would finally feel safe enough to open his eyes. To his surprise, what he saw was a pile of unconscious bodies laying on the ground, and, standing triumphantly at the top, was Teardrop, smiling maniacally with the club on her hand, as if she was the barbarians proudly displaying their victory over the Romans as Rome burned.

It was just then when he realized his hands had indeed been untied, and so put them in a more comfortable position. As soon as his gaze turned back to Teardrop, however, she had completely dropped her near-insane look and now had a look of worry on her face. She would then immediately rush to Coiny and grab him by the arm, urging him to immediately get the heck out of her. Coiny obviously had other plans, however, and resisted strongly against being dragged, surprisingly causing Teardrop to trip. "*TEARDROP*!" He'd shout. Teardrop would quickly get up and look at Coiny with a raised eyebrow, as if she didn't know why he was angry. "YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME!" Coiny continued. Teardrop pointed to herself, then to Coiny, then to the pile of bodies. "YOU USED TO BE SO CALM AND PEACEFUL! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Coiny would then rip the club off her hands, making sure she wouldn't try to hit him with it. "HAVE YOU GONE MAD? YOU DIDN'T EVEN LET THEM TRY TO EXPLAIN!" Teardrop would then do a set of furious hand and arm gestures in response, trying to explain her actions. Of course, Coiny wouldn't be able to understand anything. Not just because Teardrop couldn't talk, but because he was simply too consumed by rage. The argument would quickly devolve into a 'shouting' match, where Coiny would yell near-incoherently at times about how Teardrop had fallen from grace, all while Teardrop essentially flailed her arms around in panic and similar anger.

The noise would be enough to finally wake Eraser and Match up. Of course, waking up to see two of your friends arguing while your hands are tied isn't exactly the greatest thing to happen to them, and so would begin shouting back in protest, mostly asking for them to untie them. Meanwhile, Firey would also be woken up, and he would be able to burn whatever was tying his hands together. It didn't really matter what it was, since it was now just ash. He'd immediately notice the two arguing as well and would scream in total panic. "*WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING HERE*?"

Me too, Firey. Me too.