Muse On Fire, the headline read. It gave a detailed, front-page report of the fire at the library the previous day, along with an unflattering artist's representation of Byhaps as a demon-possessed terrorist. Adding to the MSSA's shame was another article, a few pages in, about how a rogue elf had bombed the marketplace the previous morning, killing one man and injuring three innocent bystanders. That was the elf that had escaped from MSSA right when the library was burned, Fitcher was sure of it.
Byhaps, despite Fitcher's protests, had been taken into custody by the State Army. It was extremely evident to Fitcher, along with the rest of Muse, that Byhaps had caused the fire. But he hadn't responded to any outer stimuli during the incident, making Fitcher believe he might not have been the one in control, somehow.
Empathy was the one he wasn't sure about. She had been herself during the fire, but why had she been at the library anyway, at that exact moment? She claimed to have merely followed Byhaps. That seemed innocent enough. But Fitcher found himself doubting her...just a little. It was too coincidental.
"Oh, you saw the paper?" Empathy said from behind him. Speak of the devil. She had stayed the night at Fitcher's house, and nothing had seemed wrong with her, except perhaps that she was distraught over where they had taken Byhaps.
"Y-yeah. I did." Fitcher said. "MSSA'll have a hard time living this one down."
"It's not their fault, Fitcher." Empathy said gently.
Ah, but is it yours? That's what everyone's asking... Fitcher thought to himself.
"Are you hungry?" Empathy asked. "I made some---" She was interrupted by sharp knocking on the front door, which was accompanied by the sound of dogs barking.
"Open up! Open up in there!!" came the voices of several guards.
"What on earth??"
"Give us the girl! We know she's in there!" the guards shouted.
"What's going on, Fitcher??" Empathy said worriedly.
"Open up! Give us the girl! She's an accomplice to a crime!"
"...accomplice? Crime?" Empathy said.
"Don't worry, Empathy. I'll handle these brutes, while you escape!" Fitcher said. "Escape out the back, and through the mines!!!"
Empathy gave him a blank stare.
"...mines? What??" He didn't know what had come over him.
"Er, just run out the back. Quickly." he said, flustered. Empathy nodded, and ran out the back door of Fitcher's house.
"There she is!" cried the guards, surrounding her and arresting her. Oops. Well, that was a failure.
"Wait, wait!" Fitcher cried, running out the front door. "She hasn't done anything!"
"We're under orders by Sir T." the guards said.
"Oh. Darn. Well, er, I'll see ya later, okay Empathy?" Fitcher said with a shrug.
"What???" Empathy cried. "Aren't you going to help??"
"I can't go directly against T's orders, Empathy, but trust me, I'll try to get you out of this. I'll go see him right now." Fitcher said, feeling like a heel. The guards dragged Empathy away, and Fitcher turned and ran up another street, towards Jowston Hill.
As he went, he considered in his mind. Why was he so bent on saving a girl he hardly knew? Certainly, he owed her his life, but she seemed to expect more out of him. He felt compelled to trust her for no good reason other than...
Than what? Was it Pearl? The more Fitcher thought about it, the more he realized that it probably was. He...he had liked Pearl. And then she had gone and pulled the rug out from under him, and he had been so blindsided by it. It had made him so...angry...that she would do that. Was he trusting Empathy so much just because he didn't want to feel that nobody in this world could be trusted any longer?
Regardless, she didn't deserve to be dragged away like that, so he would have a word with T about the matter.
******
Out To Lunch.
Well, there went Fitcher's chance to talk to Agent T. He sighed, looking at the sign tacked to his superior's door in the underground headquarters of MSSA. What could he do now? Nothing but wait? Fitcher wouldn't stand for it!
"At the very least...I can check up on Byhaps." Fitcher figured. The only problem was, Byhaps was under intense security, since he was the main suspect in yesterday's arson. He supposed they probably wouldn't let him just waltz into the prisoner block to see Byhaps. But who WOULD they let in? Hmmm...Saxanne or Darryl probably. They were close to this case, and Saxanne was probably investigating it.
Fitcher looked around. He didn't see either of them.
"I don't have time to wait...Byhaps is probably already having a nervous breakdown. I gotta get in there and talk to him." Fitcher said. Which meant, he might have to impersonate Darryl. He made up his mind---he was getting in that cell block, no matter what!
He slipped over to Mission Briefing, where there was a treasure trove of possible disguises for agents undercover. Looking through the clothing, he realized two things: there was nothing here resembling Darryl's usual garb, and he was nowhere near Darryl's build, anyway. Which left...
Several minutes later, Fitcher emerged. Or should I say, 'Saxanne' emerged. Fitcher was dressed in a long, flowing sea-green robe (complete with fake breasts, to his chagrin), similar to the kind that Saxanne usually wore, as well as high heels, many silver bracelets, a long brown wig (which he had pulled back as near to Saxanne's hairstyle as he could figure), and a badly done makeup job. He was ready! Now, how the hell do you walk in these thingies?
******
Fitcher somehow managed to make his way to the cellblock without completely toppling over, though his feet were already starting to hurt. He approached the man guarding the entrance to the cellblock.
"Ahem!" he squeaked in high falsetto, "I, Saxanne, must go see the prisoner! You know, that boy...?" The guard gave him an extremely funny look.
"Er...Lady Saxanne, are you all right...?" he asked uncertainly.
"Of course I'm all right!" Fitcher said, wishing this guy would hurry up and believe him. He HAD shaved that morning, right? He sure hoped so. "I, Lady Saxanne, must see...the prisoner~!" Eep. Perhaps he had gone a bit high on that last part. Oh well. The guard blinked a few times, shrugged, and opened the door. Fitcher passed through, and stubbed his toe on the doorframe.
"Ow!" he shouted in his regular voice. The guard raised an eyebrow. "Er...oh, fiddlelumpkins..." he falsetto-ed.
Fitcher tottered his way down the dark corridor, lined on each side with mostly empty cells. He heard a combination of sobs, and quacking. He decided to go for the sobs.
Sure enough, Byhaps was sitting alone in a dark cell. The guard outside nodded to Fitcher, and opened the door.
"Right this way, Lady ...er...Saxanne?" he said.
"That's right, sweetie. Step aside." Fitcher said. The guard blinked.
"S...sweetie?!" he exclaimed. But he opened the door, anyway. Fitcher made his way inside, and Byhaps looked up at him, oddly. He sat on the cold bench next to the teen, and motioned to the guard.
"Leave us. I have an investigation to conduct." he squeaked.
"S-sure thing." the guard said uncertainly, walking down the hall, and closing the cell behind him. Fitcher turned to Byhaps.
"Psst!" he said in his normal voice. "Hey, Byhaps, it's me!" Byhaps stared at him like...like, well, he was in drag.
"...Who?"
"ME!" Fitcher said. "Fitcher." Byhaps blinked, took a closer look, and promptly burst out laughing.
"F-f-fitcher?!" he choked. "That's you?!" He doubled over, trying to quiet himself down. It was too much.
"Quiet, you. I had to disguise myself so they'd let me in." Fitcher snapped. "Sophisticated secret agent stuff." Byhaps laughed even harder.
"Is everything all right...?" the guard said from down the hall. Byhaps quickly calmed himself down.
"Yeeeess~~~!" Fitcher squeaked. Byhaps snorted again, but contained himself.
"T-thanks for coming to see me...Fitcher." Byhaps said.
"Of course," Fitcher said. "This is more than a friendly visit. If I'm gonna get you out of here soon, I need to know what you remember."
"I...I don't remember. I just saw that lady with the jewelry...the one you're...er...portraying at the moment." Byhaps said.
"Saxanne, right. She was testing you." Fitcher said. "Did she say what kind of tests those were?"
"No, she just said not to worry, I wouldn't feel anything. And that big man with the tiny hat was with her."
"Darryl..." Fitcher replied. "Well...I hate to imply anything, Byhaps, because I know you wouldn't do something like that. But all the witnesses say you were conscious during the crime."
"I...don't know..." Byhaps said. "I'm not even sure what it was that I did..."
"The library was set on fire yesterday. But several agents are convinced you weren't yourself, and that includes me. Is there anything you're not telling me?" Fitcher said.
"Well...there is this..." Byhaps said, tapping his forehead. "This rune. It's a one-of-a-kind rune, but I don't know where it came from. The Biohazard Rune. It's on my forehead, and there's no way to get rid of it."
"Is that what blew up the library, then?" Fitcher inquired.
"No. I'm sure of that...it doesn't have any powers like that. It can produce poisons and noxious gases, like I used in Gregminster. Aybabtu helped me siphon the gas into his smoke bombs so we could escape. But whenever I use the rune, a little bit of it 'backfires' and effects me. It makes me ill. That's why I've been passing out lately...I try not to use the rune, but we had to to get away..." he explained quietly. "You believe me, right??" Fitcher considered for a moment, and nodded.
"Yeah...yeah, I believe you. Why'd you keep it so secret, though? Now, it might be hard to convince the rest that your rune wasn't used for destruction." Fitcher said.
"I'm ...sorry. I'm uncomfortable talking about it. It brings back...really bad memories." Byhaps said, shuddering.
"Well, if you insist. Just try to keep matters about this...Biohazard thing...non-suspicious. We don't need any more fingers pointed at you. And...as for who was controlling you, I'll find out." Fitcher said. He jumped up and posed dramatically. "Or my name's not---"
"What on EARTH?!" exclaimed a voice from the doorway. Fitcher fell over from shock. Crap, who was it?!
Oh, only the WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO. Nora, that annoying prick Dublos, Agent T, and the REAL Saxanne. Well, damn.
"Fitcher?! Is that you in that getup?!" gasped Nora.
"Er....no?" Fitcher offered futilely.
"You won't pick up any women that way, my friend." Dublos said.
"May I ask just WHY you are dressed, however sloppily, as ME, Agent Fitcher??" Saxanne asked severely.
"Testing...the disguises? Er, they work. I think I'll go now." Fitcher said, beet red. He attempted to slip towards the door, but tripped in his high heels and fell flat on his face. Great.
Strangely enough, it was Agent T that burst out laughing. He slapped his knee and nearly fell on his butt, he was guffawing so hard. The others quickly joined him, even Saxanne. Byhaps was trying hard not to laugh as well.
"Quiet, all of ya! It was the only way to get in here!!" Fitcher cried desperately.
"F-f-itcher..." Nora chuckled, "They would have let YOU in!"
"A..anyway, we need to call a meeting, Fitcher." T said.
"Or should we say, Fitchanne." Dublos said with a wink. Fitcher did not consider this amusing. He ripped off the high heels and wig, and stormed out.
"Take a joke, Fitcher!" Nora called down the hall after him.
"Or be one." Saxanne chuckled, and they all had another laugh at his expense. Why was his life always like that?
******
Fitcher walked through the halls of MSSA with his head down. He was on his way to the meeting, back in his regular green and yellow clothes, complete with red headband, but news of his little 'dragfest' had spread fast in the complex, and he was getting a lot of looks. Not to mention pointing and laughing. He walked into the conference chamber, where (just his luck) Agent T, Nora, Saxanne, and Dublos Evan were waiting already. It just HAD to be them.
"Okay, what's up?" he asked, taking a seat.
"Well, regarding the prisoner..." T began.
"Can I flog him, T? I'm the best flogger around!" Dublos crowed. "I've had lots of practice on female enemy agents in the bedroom--"
"Dublos, please! We're trying to settle something important here." Saxanne said, her jewelry sparkling in the light.
"Saxanne...we need to know your thoughts on this matter. Was this boy, in fact, bewitched, as everyone is saying?" Agent T asked. Saxanne looked troubled.
"I am quite sure that he was. I merely sedated him. I left to get a few ingredients I needed for my tests, from the storeroom. I came back and he was gone."
"Maybe he woke up." Fitcher offered.
"That's not possible." Saxanne said simply. "Magical sedatives do their job--unless stronger magic takes precedence. Like mind control."
"What about Empathy?" Fitcher said, suddenly remembering. "Your agents dragged her off this morning, and I'm a bit worried..."
"Oh, not to worry, Fitcher. She's being treated well. She's not a prisoner. We're merely interviewing her. She's an eyewitness, after all." Agent T assured him.
"Frankly, I think she's behind this entire ordeal!" Dublos blasted. "I think we should strip her down, do her up in some kinky leather deal, chain her to the wall, smear her with honey, and let me get the truth out of her!!" Everyone stared blankly at him.
"...you disgust me, Dublos..." Nora sighed.
"Er...that won't be necessary, Dublos..." T said. Saxanne appeared to be in deep thought for a moment.
"...No. No, I don't think it could have been the girl. I'm quite sure that she never entered MSSA Headquarters...and I'm afraid that's what troubles me most, T. That boy did not know his way around this complex, and yet, he found his way out alone. Which can only mean the person controlling him was someone who also knew their way as well..." Saxanne said slowly.
"...Wait a minute!" Dublos gasped dramatically. "Are you suggesting an inside job?! That's preposterous! I was with Orange the whole time! I had nothing to do with this!!"
"No one's accusing you, numbnuts. Not YET." Nora snapped.
"This is terribly troubling." T admitted. "I don't know if this organization can take another leak."
"I'm sorry, T...but it seems that way. What's more, I have a good feeling I know who it is." Saxanne said sadly.
"Ask Orange, I swear!! I followed her to find Shrapnel! I don't even know magic!!!" Dublos protested.
"Shut UP, you idiot!" Nora fumed, elbowing him sharply.
"T, I request permission to search an agent's living quarters in the name of MSSA. I need only search. Then I can solve this." Saxanne begged.
"Why the sudden desire to work solo, Saxanne?" T asked.
"Solo? Oh, no. I just meant that I feel responsible. Agent...Fitcher can accompany me on the search. But since it IS my apprentice--"
"...Darryl Kriegstoff?" T said, surprised. "You have reason to think that he is behind this?"
"Isn't he just an apprentice? How could he control---" Nora began.
"There is more to him than meets the eye, I'm afraid. He was always very skilled with runes, and lately he has been slipping away at odd hours more and more. I fear he may be leaking information." Saxanne said. She shook her head sadly. "I always hoped it was otherwise. And there is still a chance that it may be so. But I must search his apartment to be sure."
"What are you searching for?" Fitcher asked.
"...let me just say that I am missing a certain rune. When altered, it could cause the sort of thing we saw yesterday. If it turns up there, then I will know." Saxanne said.
"Very well. I grant you permission. Take care that you approach with caution, however. I don't want trouble with the State Army." T said with a sigh.
"Of course, sir." Saxanne said, standing.
"Are you going to keep Byhaps locked up, even though you think he's not to blame? That's a little harsh, isn't it?" Fitcher noted.
"Sorry, Fitcher," T explained, "But I'm under intense scrutiny by the Muse authorities right now. No more slips can be risked, so we're going to have to keep him there until we have another suspect." Fitcher nodded.
"I...understand."
"Good." T said. "Now, I have other business to attend to, if you'll excuse me. He rose from his chair, and walked out of the room.
"Fitcher, we should go." Saxanne prompted.
"Go..?" Fitcher said.
"To Darryl's."
"Oh...right." Fitcher said, getting up.
"You two make a good team, Fitcher," Dublos said, winking, "After all, you WERE her today." Nora fought back a laugh as Fitcher scowled at him. Saxanne even smirked. But she was soon back to business, raising her hand.
"All right, let's go." She used her Blinking Rune.
******
The light subsided, and Fitcher found himself in a messy room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except perhaps a uniform hanging on the wall. It looked like the uniforms he had seen in Gregminster, but he figured it was probably a slightly older style. They were in the living space of Darryl Kriegstoff, Saxanne's apprentice. Fitcher didn't like the feeling of snooping around in someone else's stuff without their knowledge. He certainly wouldn't want someone going through HIS things!
"Uh...so...see anything suspicious?" he asked awkwardly. Saxanne was in the closet, looking among upper shelves.
"I haven't found anything yet..." she said. "...I feel terrible, doing this to Darryl. He's always been so loyal..." Saxanne making comments like that did not help abate Fitcher's feelings of guilt for being in this man's house, either. He just sort of paced around the bedroom, only partially looking around. Saxanne went into another room, leaving him there. Something on the desk caught his eye. It was an envelope with an imprint of red lipstick on it.
"Soooo..." Fitcher thought to himself, smiling, "Darryl's got a sweetie, eh? She looks like the romantic type..." He would have left well enough alone after that, if he hadn't looked at the return address. Ink had been spilled on it, but one word remained.
Lione! Alarmed, he picked up the envelope. It was empty. But he found another next to it, and his heart sunk. On the front, clear as day, was the name of the recipient.
"Pearl Lione..." he murmured. Was she behind this? The thought made him sick to his stomach.
"Saxanne...maybe you should look at this." he called. She came into the room, her blue robes swishing. She grabbed the envelope with the lipstick imprint and examined it.
"Hmmm...sorry, it's still not your color." she said.
"Hey! I'm being serious!!" Fitcher shouted, exasperated. She tried to hide her smile.
"Sorry." She looked at them again. "What's the matter?"
"Pearl is the woman who betrayed this agency, that's what!" Fitcher said, exasperated. Saxanne was shocked.
"...you MUST be kidding. Darryl and Pearl were...they were, you know, together. For the longest time. I understand they had a falling-out...that's why he left for Muse. But ...they certainly appear to have reconciled." Saxanne said in disbelief. "I had no idea his girlfriend was the same woman YOU ran into..."
"Damn that woman! She's one step ahead of all of us!" Fitcher cried angrily.
"...oh no. Oh no, please don't let this be..." Saxanne said suddenly, hurrying over to the bedstand. There was a rune crystal on the table, but it appeared to have been tampered with.
"It's the Phero Rune...the one I'm missing. But it's apparently been tampered with...with this, yes, a temporary form of mind control can be achieved...oh Darryl...how could you?" Saxanne said, devastated.
"...I guess we have our man." Fitcher said dully. "Let's go back." He looked at the envelope in disgust. He wished there was a convenient fireplace that he could dramatically throw it into, and watch it burn. But there wasn't, so he just threw it onto the carpet and violently stomped on it a few times.
"Are you quite finished??" Saxanne asked him, staring.
"Yes."
She raised her hands, and they were gone from the place as quickly as they had arrived.
******
"Here it is, Agent T..." Saxanne said with a heavy heart. She set the rune orb on the table.
"I prepared myself for this news, but it hasn't helped. I didn't want to believe that one of our own would...but that doesn't matter now. When he returns---" T sighed. There was a commotion from outside the conference room. Fitcher, T, and Saxanne emerged quickly to find just what they had expected. Darryl was being held by two guards. The bulky magician's ridiculously small hat had fallen to the ground in his struggle, and he looked surprised.
"Didn't think you'd get caught, did you?" Fitcher said.
"What are you talking about?! I---" Darryl protested.
"Darryl, Darryl...I trusted you..." Saxanne said, tearing up. "I can't even bear to look at you. G-get him out of my sight!" She gestured, while dabbing her eyes with a hankie. The guards dragged Darryl down to the incarceration unit, while he kicked and protested the whole way.
"I haven't done anything!!" he shouted.
"Yeah, tell it to your girlfriend!" Fitcher shouted back.
"Is that what this is about?! Wait, I can explain--" Darryl cried, but they dragged him out of earshot.
"Good riddance." Fitcher muttered.
"What did you mean by that, Fitcher?" T asked him.
"What, the girlfriend remark? Because he's in cahoots with Pearl Lione, that's why."
"Are you serious?? This is awful. We could have a much bigger security issue than I thought..." T said.
"Yeah..."
"Excuse me. I have some serious matters to think over..." T said suddenly, walking off to some private chamber. Fitcher hoped T wasn't too stressed out, what with recent events and all. He felt partially to blame for everything that was going on. Fitcher turned to Saxanne, but found that she had left already. He trudged over to the exit, and walked up the flight of stairs out of the complex.
To his surprise, Empathy was waiting.
"Fitcher..." she said.
"Oh, hi, Empathy...you're out!" Fitcher said.
"Yeah, they cleared me...I hope they do the same for Byhaps." Empathy said. She walked over to the edge of Jowston Hill, looking out on the city. Fitcher had something on his mind, however.
"Empathy, there's something I should say...I feel I've been misleading you..." he started.
"Fitcher...don't. It's all right. I know what you're going to say." Empathy said, looking at him. "I...think I expected too much, too soon, of you..."
"No, I---" Fitcher tried.
"It's all right. I know you're not in love with me or anything. Maybe it was silly of me to expect that. I know you didn't mean to send me the wrong messages, Fitcher. I think, though..." Empathy said.
"Think what?"
"I think...it would be better if I left. Right away. I'm only causing trouble here, with your agent friends."
"You don't have to go, Empathy..." Fitcher said.
"Don't worry about it. I think I'll just slip away, and quietly return to my hometown. I haven't seen my family in a long time. I won't go back to Doctor Badnooz, I promise..." Empathy said. Part of Fitcher wanted to protest, but he found himself...relieved. He nodded.
"If that's what you have to do. Let's just be friends, then." Fitcher said. Empathy gave him a mischievious smirk.
"That's supposed to be my line, remember?" she said, winking, "I'm the one dumping YOU." She giggled. "Besides, I don't know if I could date someone who dresses as a woman in their spare time."
"W-what?! HEY, who told you about that?!" Fitcher cried. Empathy laughed.
"It IS all over your little complex. Oops, I'm not supposed to mention that again, am I? Your dashing Agent Evans swore me to secrecy." she said with a wink. Fitcher's eyes widened.
"Don't worry, there was no 'leather' involved. Nora told me about that one." She giggled again. "Well, I'll see you around, 'Agent' Fitcher." She blew him a playful little kiss and then walked away, down the path to the foot of Jowston Hill. Fitcher was sorry to see her go, but it did take a big weight off his shoulders.
******
"What am I going to do, Nora?" T asked, alone in his office with the scientist.
"We just have to deal with Darryl, I suppose. This was, hopefully, an isolated incident." Nora reasoned.
"There IS Pearl Lione." T put in.
"Yeah, don't remind me." Nora said sourly. T sighed.
"What's this agency coming to? It's not what it used to be..."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Face the facts, Nora..." T said. "Georgia's dead, Maverick left, Seymour's retired....Gogo is still MIA...Shrapnel's a loose cannon. And with these security breaches, we're running out of agents to cover all our problems."
"Well...Seymour stays in contact, at least." Nora offered. "Orange is tracking Shrapnel, and we've got agents searching for Gogo. And the ones we have left work hard, you know it."
"That's true..." T said. "Ah, Nora...always looking at the bright side. What would I do without you?"
"You'd be left with Dublos and Fitch-anne." Nora said, smirking. T chuckled.
"Fitchanne..." he cackled. "What a nut..."
Suddenly, Clinker appeared in the office.
"Clinker...?" T said.
"S-sorry to interrupt, chief, but Shrapnel broke through a side entrance in the complex! He's on his way to the cellblocks, now!" Clinker gasped.
"What??" T cried, jumping up. "Get Fitcher and Dublos on it right away. Is Orange with you?"
"N-no, sir, I can't find her. Saxanne's the only one on his tail. He's damn evasive, that elf." Clinker said.
"We have to hurry." T said.
"Sir, what could he possibly want in the cellblock? He couldn't be there to spring Darryl, could he?" Nora worried.
"No, no...he's after Godfrey." Agent T said, positive. They rushed out of the office, and Clinker vanished.
Fitcher, as it happened, was wandering back into the complex when he heard the news.
"C'mon, Fitcher, we have to catch Shrapnel!" Clinker cried.
"The elf??" Fitcher asked.
"Yeah, yeah, hurry...he's headed for the cellblock!" Clinker cried. "We can teleport." He raised his staff, and before you could say 'pointed hat', they were gone.
******
Fitcher and Clinker appeared in the cellblock. T, Nora, Saxanne and Dublos ran in right behind them. An elf, with short silvery-purple hair and a sky-blue tunic---Shrapnel---was carrying a duck underneath his arm and waving a short sword menacingly.
"Shrapnel!" T shouted. "Stop this at once!"
"You guys are all against me! I'm taking Godfrey and getting outta here!" Shrapnel cried. Fitcher figured Godfrey must be the duck.
"We're not against you, if you'd only listen! We can get you help...counseling! I'm sorry about your sister, Shrapnel..." T negotiated.
"Liar! You don't care about her! None of you did! You don't care any more than you did about Maverick's town! It's all about YOU, T!" Shrapnel cried, backing away.
"Just hold on!" Saxanne cried. "Shrapnel, you know we care for you. We're like a family, here! Come on, now!"
"Uh-uh! You stay away." Shrapnel said. "Godfrey, Dancing Flames!"
To Fitcher's utter shock, the duck raised its wings, quacked, and huge columns of fire burst from the floor and swirled around the cells, melting the doors off of several.
"Hey! What's going on out there?!" came Darryl's voice.
"Aaaaah!" Byhaps cried. Shrapnel glanced over into Byhaps' cell, and in the blink of an eye, had the teen in a headlock.
"I have a little leverage now. Let me out." Shrapnel said.
"Shrapnel, you wouldn't!" Nora gasped. "He's just a boy!"
"I won't even scratch him, as long as I get out of here." Shrapnel said. He suddenly produced a smoke bomb from his tunic and detonated it. Everyone went into a coughing fit, and when the smoke cleared a bit, Shrapnel was no longer in the corridor. Fitcher heard shouting out in the main complex, and also to his surprise, heard gunfire.
They rushed out of the cellblock. Agent Orange was on the floor, having been knocked down, and Nok-Nok was holding Filibuster, Ghira Blackwell's rifle, which was smoking.
"You nearly shot me, you buffoon!" Orange shouted.
"Er...sorry. Shouldn't have done that, I know." Nok-Nok said.
"Quickly, he's getting away!" T said urgently.
"Too late, I'm afraid. He must've jacked a Blinking Rune or somethin'. He's gone, and he sure didn't use the door." Nok-Nok said, shrugging.
"No, no...I've seen him use that trick before. It's not a rune. He can teleport with that trick, but he won't be far. Just outside the complex, I'd suspect. We can still trail him." Saxanne said.
"We'd better hurry, he has Byhaps!" Fitcher said.
"He won't hurt the kid. It's not in him." Clinker assured him.
"In any case, we must follow him. I'll remain here, and someone has to seal the way he used to break in. Also, keep an eye on Darryl, I don't want him escaping. He still needs to be questioned." T ordered. "Get on it, right away!"
Fitcher, Saxanne, Orange, and, to his chagrin, Dublos, ran after the escaped elf agent. Nora, Nok-Nok, Clinker and T remained. They were just about to leave the complex, when Nok-Nok called after him.
"Fitcher, wait! You'll need these!" He tossed a pair of high-heeled shoes to him. He and Clinker burst out laughing.
"Hey, how come we weren't invited to your little drag-fest?" Clinker howled.
"All right, wise guys. Very funny." Fitcher said, chucking the shoes back at him.
"Are you three finished here, or should I lend you my eye shadow?" Orange asked, smirking.
"All of you can just...go to hell." Fitcher said, sticking his tongue out. "Let's go catch that elf." They turned and left the complex, with the two men laughing behind them.
Fitcher sighed. He would probably never live that down. But for now, there was other matters to deal with.
Sheesh, renegade elves and pyromaniacal water fowl almost made his crossdressing endeavor sound normal!
...But not really.
