Chapter 25: Fever 103 Degrees

[Li Violette]

"I was concerned for you. Working as hard as you do. And only wanted to help you. But, I will leave now." I head out the door with him. Cultivating any closeness with him seems like an impossible task. But, I know that will time he will eventually trust me. I hold the door for him and wait for him to leave the office.

"I think about you sometimes and how hard your job must be. You must be very lonely. You really can't trust anyone." I say from outside his office. I give him a sympathetic look.

[Ariel Tal Shachar]

"Some people are more trustworthy than others." Ariel states. He locks the door to his office and walks past Li, heading down the long hall and then some stairs. "Good night."

He leaves Li alone and behind him. He doesn't look back to see if she has followed or where she has gone. Only after leaving the World Economic Council HQ, passing the gates, and walking a block, does he look behind him. Maybe a small part of him wishes that she had followed, but she has not. He feels relieved. She stresses him out. If the Manalists or some other interest in the world decided to kill her, he isn't sure how he would feel. He thinks she does a good job doing her job. Her speeches are good and generally, she is well liked by people. She is the only member of the the Manalists or the World Economic Council who has objectified and propagandized. Most people would not recognise Ariel on the street as the Moderator. And alhtough people know who Scrag is, he is not well liked by the people. He lacks a personality that can relate to people. So, like everything else, Li has a purpose. He reminds himself of that when he arrives home.

[Li Violette]

I watch Ariel leave like...I have the plague or something. It is very disheartening, but, maybe with time he will trust me more. I suppose he has little reason to trust me. I am not sure that I would trust me either if I were in his shoes. I sigh and am about to leave the HQ of the World Economic Council when I remember that teleportation booths are still closed and that I can't go home. I could get a hotel room, but I decide that I will just sleep in my office. I think I can sleep on the floor and I should have an emergency bag in there with clothes and a toothbrush. If not, I can always buy some necessities tomorrow.

So, I head to my own office, unlock the door, and lock it back up when I am inside. I have a small locker in there, where I have a jacket, extra shoes, and some emergency items. I make a pillow out of my jacket and lay down on the floor under my desk. I don't need comfort as much as a person would think.

I close my eyes and reflect on things. I wish I was at home, but, I actually feel more at home in my office than I would at a hotel or a friend's home. So, I can't complain. I close my eyes and think about tomorrow.

[Calithin Crest]

"I think that was a good job, android... But... I imagine germs to be more... Fluid in motion. Think like a giant attacking amoeba. You were a little stiff."

I hold my arms out at my sides and move them in a wave-like fashion to try and show her what I mean.

"You know?"

I think for a moment and then come up with a great idea...

"What if you attack Princess Ingrid in a big germ costume, and then Max can rescue her using antibacterial spray... Or something. And I'll be the narrator!"

I smile and hold my hand out for a high five from someone. This plan deserves a high five!

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

"Thank you, Charon. Thanks for letting me inside. I came to visit because I was worried about the new law that the Speaker mentioned. That elves should be hunted and sent to the Inquisitor." I say to Charon with concern. He is a friend, but he always makes me feel a little uncomfortable. There is just something...maybe not quite right about him. But, since that is true of many people in the world, I try to over look it. I look around his library and do feel happy to be here.
However, I am still exhausted from my flu.

"I just hope that I don't make you sick. I've got the flu that the Speaker mentioned. I guess...it is flu season. Though, everyone seems to be making a bigger deal of it this year. What with...the closing down of businesses and teleportation, you know."

I reflect on this for a moment and wait to hear what Charon might have to say about this. For some reason, I have difficulty looking at him as I talk, so instead i look at the wooden table and the designs that occur naturally in the cut of wood. I can see eyes and faces. This too makes me feel uneasy.

[Annika 25]

"I will try to be more fluid. I think this idea is good. I will attack Ingrid. I will talk to costuming and return when they have found something for me." The android replies to Calithin. She then excuses herself and navigates through a hall of offices and storage rooms. She finally finds a long closet full of costumes and a woman attending them.

"I am doing a public service announcement about Cat Flu. Do you have a costume of a virus?" Annika asks the woman. The woman pauses and starts looking through the many costumes. She is pretty sure they don't have one on hand of a virus. However, after sometime of looking, she does find one of a "Cavity Creep" from a toothpaste commercial done last year. The costume is of a round, brown monster with sharp, but decayed teeth.

"This isn't a virus, but maybe you could pretend it is. The public probably doesn't know what a virus looks like anyway. So as long as you look like something scary and unhealthy, it should work." The costume lady suggests.

Annika puts the costume on and returns to Calithin and Max. She doesn't know if it will work, but, if not, maybe Max can pull some strings to get a better costume.

"This is all they had in the costume department. It is not a virus, but a representation of a cavity. She called this costume a "Cavity Creep." Annika explains.

"Do you think this will do?"

[Max Alexander]

Max agreed with Calithin and watched as the little android disappeared off in search of a costume.

"I think this will work, Crest." He stated scratching his chin. "What should our dialogue be? Are you going to just do all the talking?"

When the android came back, he couldn't help but chuckle. She looked quite funny where the cavity creep costume, but it would do the job. "That will work perfectly." He told her.

He then gestured to Princess Ingrid. "I think that is what we will do. What the rest of us are wearing will work for costumes."

He went back to his cameras. "Alright, Calithin, do you know what you are going to say?"

[Calithin Crest]

"I guess... We should just wing it in terms of dialogue. I'll do a whole... 'Once upon a time' intro thing, then the scene can start progressing. The princess-- who we should dress up in a princess costume if possible, can be just walking along then the germ can jump out and attack her. She can call for help, then we'll cut to a scene of you Max. You can say something about antibacterial soap, grab a bottle, then we'll cut back to the princess and the germ. You come in, save the day, and I'll do a 'happily ever after' conclusion type deal. Done."

I snap my fingers and smile brightly. The silliness of the android in her costume makes me extra cheerful. This whole thing is pretty fun.

[Linnea Korpela]

"Sure thing Kith," Linnea started to think about which part of her bag she put her aloe. Once they get to Lucio's house and he turns on the television her attention is turned to the woman.
She recognized the woman, but she didn't really follow politics so Linnea wasn't sure what she was talking about.
"No thanks," Linnea says to the offer of the Fanta, she then notices how engrossed in the television that Kith was.

[Akira 69]

((To Max and company))

"Where am I now?" was the simple and yet profound question of a certain android as it seemed to be wandering around aimlessly in a building it did not remember ever existing up until it realized that it was indeed inside of a building. "This place is b-b-b-boring!" Akira concluded, stuttering for a moment due to a jolt in his voice box as he stumbled out into another room that had noises coming from it.

Then, he saw a beautiful young woman and ignored the other voices to make a bee line straight for her. "Konichiwa-wa!" Akira said, greeting the random woman he found. "Whats a sexy thing like yourself doing in such a boring place like this?" Akira pressed on, quite pleased that he hadn't glitched at all during that sentence; For some reason, people started acting funny around him when they suddenly saw him jolting or stuttering. No answer from the woman...

"Shy are we-we-we?" Akira jolted again, pleased that the woman had not moved... or... blinked. Don't humans usually blink? "So how about I take you someplace alittle mo-ore-ore quiet?" Akira continued, wondering who was this woman's plastic surgeon... the woman seemed to be in pristine condition the way her skin seemed to so firm looking. However, Akira was quickly growing angry with this woman for not even reacting to his passes.

"Say something damn you!" Akira growled, voicing his anger toward this woman's rude behavior. Still no answer. "Is that how it's going to be? Fine!" Akira thought and with that he grabbed the woman and proceeded to vigorously shake her. "Why don't you say anything? You think you're too goo-goo-good to talk to me? HUH?" Akira growled, his neck twitching once as the woman's limbs fell off finally... prompting Akira to stop. "Oh... AAAAAAAHHHH!" Akira screamed in surprise, promptly fainting right afterward; He never meant for THAT to happen.

However, unknown to Akira, the "woman" he had been hitting on was nothing more then a mannequin. Yes, he somehow ended up at MTV, and had just assaulted something not even alive. Akira then sat up and noticed that there was pieces of a mannequin laying at his feet. "Who would leave a mess like this just laying around?" Akira said thinking out loud as he turned his head and noticed that there were people looking at him funny. "Konichiwa!" Akira called jumping back to his feet like nothing had happend.

[Kith Keitoleinen]

"I'm a little bit worried, Linnea. The news just announced that elves are going to be hunted by the Manalists. Perhaps because of my connections to my father's company, I will only have to prove my loyalty by enduring an Inquisition. Never the less, it is ...upsetting." Kith replies to Linnea with a worried tone. He is also curious about the Flu that was mentioned on television. Although the Speaker did not say the extent of the disease and only vaguely implied a larger than normal outbreak of the flu, Kith feels uneasy about that as well.

"At least we are safe in Cuba. I think this is one of the safest places we can be right now." Kith states evenly. He rubs his hands together and remembers the sun burn from earlier.

"Do you have any of that aloe lotion?"

[Linnea Korpela]

Linnea's face becomes pale.
"Hunting elves?" she questions as the turns to Kith. She lowers her voice to a whisper. "You don't think they are going to look for other supernaturals again do you?"
Hearing this news made her nervous because of the hiding she had to do for years in the past. Being an angel wasn't an easy task, even more so since the society that she lived in deemed creatures like herself as a threat.
"Sure I have the aloe," Linnea got up and went to fish the aloe out of her bag. After several moments, she returned with the clear bottle of green goo.

[Max Alexander]

Max had been working out the script with Calithin. "That should work well, Mr Crest, for what we are trying to accomplish." He turned to the android and got her attention. "Can you retrieve a princess costume for the Princess, Ms Android?" He said in a pretty monotone manner.

He turned back to Calithin before getting side tracked by a large crash outside the door and what looked to be another android.... who had just broken a mannequin.

"Well... hello there... who might you be?" He said, questioning the new figure.

[Calithin Crest]

I am a bit startled by Akira, but not too much. I guess it's a crazy world we live in, and really, this isn't too big a deal. I pop a piece of gum into my mouth and chew on it contentedly.

"Hmm... Hello."

It appears as though this android is malfunctioning. Maybe our working android can fix him later if necessary. Or maybe I can fix him! I love trying to fix things and will often over-exaggerate my technical skills so that people will agree to letting me try and fix their things.

[Archer Aylmer]

"I'm not sure if letting children participate in our acts of terrorism is a great idea..."

I say this quietly and almost offhandedly. I don't really care too much whether the girl comes with us or not... It just seems to me that she could be a liability. I shrug my shoulders and yawn. This is going to be another long drive.