#room 11 pigmask

[starmansymphony-moved]

The art of two bastards in 200XMotV that nobody particularly asked for - Room 11 Pigmask and that Starman Super from Chapter 8! But as he’ll appear later!

Yes the Starman Super has a name but that too will appear later

[i-am-liking-the-peppermint-mocha]

200X: Melody of the Variable - Chapter 8

((Weeee’re back! Here’s Chapter 8 of Melody of the Variable!

The gang enter Summers, and there’s surprises inbound.))

200X: Melody of the Variable

Chapter 8: Summers, Dreary Death Trap

Walking into Summers, immediately Buzz Buzz, Tori and Gran could see that everything was dead. The everlasting dark, hazy sky was even darker here, the road had been torn up, but strangely, the buildings were untouched. Maybe they were just too expensive to destroy.

Tori led the way to the footpath, Gram closely following her. Buzz Buzz was glad to be perched on Tori’s should and not have to walk anymore; that footpath looked sharp.

“So, what are we doing here again, Tori?” Gran asked, as Tori paused, looking for the next safest path.

Tori looked up as she thought aloud, “Uh, well, I was going to find a way to Dalaam, and then you said there might be a way to get there from Summers?”

Nodding, Buzz Buzz told her, “That sounds right.”

“Oh good. So, uh, yeah, we’re looking for a way to Dalaam,” Tori told Gran.

“Why, again?”

Tori blanked.

“Well, for now, we should find a place to rest. There should be a hotel nearby,” Buzz Buzz said.

And there was - at the other end of the dead town was a hotel. Tori, Gran and Buzz Buzz made their way there as carefully as they could, and within a few minutes, they were standing right outside it. The sign had faded, so it was impossible to tell what it was called, but it barely mattered. They went inside, happy to find a place to rest.

The inside was surprisingly clean for a place residing in an abandoned town. Though no one was sure what to think about the pile of dusty brown, presumably dead aliens behind the check-in counter.

Tori just stared at the pile of dead aliens with shock and disgust, while Gran tried to distract herself from it. Buzz Buzz decided to join Gran in her distraction-finding quest, hopping off Tori’s shoulder.

A Pigmask walked down the stairs leading to some of the guest rooms and over to the pile. He spotted Tori, and frowned at her for a few moments before grumbling, “You again.”

Tori was snapped out of her disgust-induced daze and replied, “Uh, yeah! Me! You’re the guy from Room 11 on the ferry we went on, right?”

“Yup, that’s me.” The Room 11 Pigmask sighed and crossed his arms. “And I see you’ve forgotten your mask again.”

Tori just laughed sheepishly, an awkward lopsided grin on her face.

“You’re gonna get it big time. I’ll be surprised if you even have half your brain cells by the end of it.” The Room 11 Pigmask then returned his attention to the pile of dead aliens.

“So, uh, what’s… What’s that?” Tori asked, pointing at the pile.

“Dead Starmen.” The Room 11 Pigmask hauled a Starman off the pile and heaved it onto his back. “Took the shells off them; it was damn hard to find a way without denting them but I found it.”

Tori was silent. Her face was hard to read at that moment, but whatever she was feeling, it wasn’t something good.

By now, Buzz Buzz was watching the scene, and his eyes drifted along as he watched the Room 11 Pigmask haul the shell-less Starman up to one of the guest rooms. Once the Pigmask had gone inside, he turned his attention to Tori and asked, “Did you really think Starmen were all robotic?”

“YES,” Tori wailed.

“Well I don’t blame you,” Gran told her, only looking a little away from the old magazine she had picked up. “They do look awfully like robots.”

The Room 11 Pigmask came out of the room, and as he came down the stairs, he asked Tori, “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be in Dalaam?”

“Oh, yeah, I am, I just came here to find a way there,” Tori explained.

The Pigmask nodded, then heaved another shell-less Starman onto his back and went back upstairs again.

The hotel was quiet until the Room 11 Pigmask came back down the stairs again.

“Uh, actually, I don’t suppose there’s a free room?” Tori asked the Room 11 Pigmask. “We kinda need a place to stay for a little while.”

The Room 11 Pigmask narrowed his eyes. “You…” he looked at Gran and finished, “...and the Shambler.”

“Yeah.”

The Room 11 Pigmask looked back at Tori and told her, “You realise that you weren’t supposed to get a Shambler, right?”

“Yeahhh, but, who doesn’t love a good Shambler…?”

The Room 11 Pigmask stared at her for a few moments before asking, “The doctor hasn’t studied them, has he?”

Tori shook her head no.

“Then I guess you and the Shambler can stay. The room next to the one I’ve been going in and out of is empty - you can stay in there for a little while.”

Tori gasped, and as she ran up the stairs, she called, “Thank youuuu!”

Buzz Buzz darted after her, and Gran ran as fast as she could to catch up.

Once Tori arrived on the highest floor, she opened the first door she saw. Inside were two piles - Starman shells and Starmen. Tori slowly closed the door a second later. She then went over to the second door and opened that one - thankfully, it was empty. While the room was awfully dusty and the view wasn’t much now, it was certainly better than nothing.

The door shut behind her, and Tori dusted off the right bed, then the dresser next to it, then sat down on the bed. Buzz Buzz sat up on the dresser, and Gran dusted off the left bed before sitting down on it.

“I sure am glad that guy let us stay,” Tori said. “Most Pigmasks only really look out for themselves.”

“That sounds awful,” Gran replied. “How did you manage?”

Tori’s eyebrows arched as she mumbled, “Hell if I know.”

“But regardless, you were very brave. You still are,” Buzz Buzz told her.

A wide, bashful smile creeped onto Tori’s face. It lingered for a while until she remembered something, then fished through her pockets and pulled out the stone she had got from the kraken.

“Hey Gran, do you know what kind of stone this is?” Tori asked, looking over at her.

Gran hopped up and shuffled over to take a look at the stone.

“It doesn’t look like a pearl… or anything else I’ve seen,” Gran said after a while.

“Well… at least we asked,” Buzz Buzz said.

As Tori put the stone back in her pocket, she explained, “I got the stone while on the ferry I was taking to Winters, and I think it might have something to do with our quest? And speaking of which, how are we even gonna start ending this dispute…”

The door clicked open, and the Room 11 Pigmask poked his masked head in. “Dispute? You mean the one between us and the Starmen, right?”

“Uhh, yeah, that’s the one,” Tori replied, a nervous smiling faintly appearing.

“How? Bomb them?”

“Uh…”

“Not a bomb, then? I get it. Too dangerous - might end with you in the lab for a different reason.” The Room 11 Pigmask chuckled as he came further into the room, but didn’t stray too far from the doorway.

No one else found that funny.

“So if you won’t bomb them… then how do you plan on making them surrender?”

“That’s the thing, I have no idea ho-” Tori glared at the Room 11 Pigmask and questioned aloud, “Wait why am I telling you this?!”

The Room 11 Pigmask grunted with confusion, then asked, “Whaddya mean, “why are you telling me this”? This could get you way up in the ranks if you give it enough tho-” The Room 11 Pigmask cut himself off as he squinted at Tori for a few moments. “Unless… You heard about the rebel Starman captain too…?”

“The… The what?” Tori asked.

“Don’t act dumb with me!” the Room 11 Pigmask snapped. “You know how fast news gets around once the spies file in their reports!”

“I’ve literally never heard of-”

The Room 11 Pigmask whipped the laser gun off his belt and loaded it. He snarled, “I guess even a worm will turn.”

The Room 11 Pigmask pointed his gun straight at Tori. Buzz Buzz quickly cast PSI Shield Sigma, and just as the laser fired from the Room 11 Pigmask’s gun, Tori rolled off her bed and fell to the ground with a thud.

“Please tell me you can at least match him in power with a gun of your own,” Buzz Buzz said to Tori as she stood up.

“Who needs a gun when you have fire?” Tori answered.

“You… You forgot your gun too, didn’t you,” Buzz Buzz asked.

Tori cast PK Fire on the Room 11 Pigmask, engulfing him in flames for a moment, then turned her head to Buzz Buzz and replied, “Yes but I can shoot fire from my fingers it hardly matters to me.”

The Room 11 Pigmask fired another shot which Tori barely managed to duck down for in time, then retaliated with another PK Fire. The Room 11 Pigmask kicked Tori in the stomach, both knocking her down to the floor and leaving her winded.

“Buzz Buzz, you may have forgot that PSI Shield only protects against psionic attacks,” Gran gently told Buzz Buzz. Buzz Buzz’s eyes went wide with panic.

The Room 11 Pigmask fired a laser at Tori just as she was about to get up, knocking her down again and leaving her dangerously close to falling unconscious. Gran got to her side as quickly as she could and cast Lifeup on her. Tori was back on her feet, and she cast PK Fire yet again. The Room 11 Pigmask was no longer angered by this, just disappointed. He then fired another shot at Tori, and hit. Tori PK Fire’d once more, and the Room 11 Pigmask was starting to get weak. But he had one more trick - he pulled out a bomb from his belt and threw it at Tori - the explosion caused Tori to take a lot of damage, Gran took a little as well, and a hole opened up in the floor that Tori nearly fell into.

Things were looking tight - just one more hit from any of the Room 11 Pigmask’s attacks and Tori was done for. And while Gran could fight the Pigmask, she hadn’t thus far, and didn’t seem willing too. Buzz Buzz would fight too, if he weren’t a bug.

Suddenly, the door burst open, gaining everyone’s eyes on the new entrant. It was Leicra, and already they were charging up a PK Beam. The beam fired, hitting the Room 11 Pigmask, who then flopped to the floor.

“Are you all okay?” Leicra asked, visibly worried.

Tori nodded, giving them a feeble thumbs up.

“Well, we’re alive,” Buzz Buzz said to them. He raised an eyebrow as he asked, “What brings you, though? It didn’t seem like you were going to go anywhere outside of Autumns.”

“Oh, the Apple told me to go!” Leicra replied.

Buzz Buzz, Tori and Gran exchanged worried glances.

“It is good I found you when I did, isn’t it?”

Everyone else nodded.

Gran cast another Lifeup on Tori and helped her sit back up on the bed.

“So why are you all here?” Leicra asked.

“We’re looking for a way to Dalaam,” Gran explained, “but we haven’t found one yet.”

Leicra’s face lit up as they said, “I did see a strange machine on my way here! I will lead you there.”

With that, Leicra left the room, and Buzz Buzz, Tori and Gran followed. They were led down the footpath and up onto the outskirts of Toto. It was only a minute or two until Leicra stopped in front of a large hunk of metal, vaguely shaped like a pad of sorts.

Leicra poked it twice then told the other three, “I’m not sure what it’s supposed to do, nor do I know how to fix it.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Buzz Buzz commented, “I would be able to make an attempt at fixing it, if I weren’t so small…”

“I’ve only handled biological components,” Tori added.

“I can fix it!” Gran chirped. Tori and Buzz Buzz looked at wide eyed, and Leicra looked up from the metal thing with a hint of curiosity.

Leicra took a couple of steps back as Gran approached the hunk of metal. She kneeled down (however a Shambler did that) and looked it over for a few moments. She then picked it up and put it on its side, and started fiddling around. Even without a toolbox of any kind, Gran made do. None of the other three were quite sure how she did it with a pair of noodle arms, but, regardless, she managed to fix the hunk of metal within a couple of hours.

Gran set the newly fixed thing on the ground, and gave the top a little tap. The top sprang up a considerable amount and wobbled before settling back down.

“So it’s… ...What is it supposed to do?” Leicra asked.

“If we jump on it, it should be able to get us to Dalaam!” Gran explained.

“What if we miss?”

Gran was silent. “...Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.”

“Wait, are you sure this is safe?” Tori asked. “I don’t question your skills, of course, but uh… Is it gonna be able to handle our weight?”

“It should! This metal is quite durable,” Gran reassured her.

Buzz Buzz had been sitting on Tori’s shoulder for a while now, and started gripping onto her uniform. Tori felt it, and asked Buzz Buzz, “You okay, Buzz Buzz?”

“Just… the thought of going through the air… that fast…”

“Aww, Buzz Buzz, it’s okay! You can just stay in my pock-” Tori was cut off when she realised that Buzz Buzz already was in her pocket.

“Oh, wait, Buzz Buzz? The stone’s in there, right?”

“Yeah,” Buzz Buzz replied, then buzzed out of Tori’s pocket to give the stone to her. He immediately went back into the pocket.

“Hey Leicra!” Tori called out to Leicra, grabbing their attention. Tori held up the stone and asked them, “I don’t suppose you know what kind of stone this is?”

Leicra wandered up to Tori and took a long look at the tiny stone she held.

“No, I can’t say I do. Sorry,” Leicra apologised.

“It’s fine, don’t worry!” Tori reassured them, gently placing the stone back into her pocket. “None of us have any idea what it is either, so it’s something in common!” Leicra’s face lightened up a bit upon hearing that.

“Are we all ready?” Gran asked the other three.

Leicra nodded.

“Yup!” Tori replied.

“No,” Buzz Buzz whined from Tori’s pocket.

Gran stepped onto the springpad and was shot into the sky. Leicra and Tori watched her zoom away wide eyed.

“Ooh, on second thought, maybe I’m not ready,” Tori murmured.

Leicra looked over at Tori and asked her, “Is she going to be okay?”

“I hope so,” Tori replied.

Leicra then warily stepped onto the springpad and was shot into the air before their second foot was properly on the pad.

Tori watched as Leicra become smaller and smaller, then asked Buzz Buzz, “You holding tight?”

“Of course,” Buzz Buzz wailed.

Tori hopped onto the springpad, and she let out a shriek as the springpad launched her into the air.

[starmansymphony-moved]

tori: going to get drinks, whats your poison?

room 11 pigmask: in the sandwich i gave you

tori: what?

room 11 pigmask: just- oh, i thought you said “where’s”! sorry

tori: what the fu-

[starmansymphony-moved]

room 11 pigmask: i heard you talking about rebeling just before!

tori: d-dude, its not what you think!

room 11 pigmask: I WONT HESITATE, BITCH

[i-am-liking-the-peppermint-mocha]

200X: Melody of the Variable - Chapter 5

((Aaaaaaaand here’s Chapter 5 of Melody of the Variable!

We’ve made it to Winters! We also come across a village!))

200X: Melody of the Variable

Chapter 5: Welcome to Shambler Village

Tori wobbled off the ferry and onto the icy dock at the very outskirts of southern Winters. The dock was frosted over, unsurprisingly, and it took Tori a bit of effort to balance herself. Buzz Buzz dared not to go out of the pocket of Tori’s uniform - it was far too cold for him. He could also keep the stone safe in there, too.

A Pigmask with a white uniform and a cape waited for her and the other Pigmask that was on board not too far away from the dock.

“Aww, crap,” Tori muttered, “one of the colonels. I’m really gonna get it.”

Tori gulped, then approached the Pigmask Colonel with the Pigmask from Room 11.

The Pigmask Colonel gave Tori an odd look. “Soldier, where’s your mask?”

“The numbskull left it at their last base,” the Room 11 Pigmask grumbled.

“Is that so?” The Pigmask Colonel sighed, then turned around and reached into a large suitcase. He handed a mask to match Tori’s uniform to her and said, “You’re lucky I brought a couple spare. Don’t go losing this one, or I’ll have to get Fassad to tell you not to. And you know how long that’ll take. You’re also lucky I’m tired as hell and can’t be bothered giving you another rundown of our rules. I’ll let you off with just a warning this time.”

Once Tori had put the mask on, the Pigmask Colonel told them, “Now you two are gonna be investigating Winters. Not all by yourselves, of course - there’s already other soldiers looking around in various locations.” The Pigmask Colonel pointed at the Room 11 Pigmask and told him, “You’re going to be searching Summers for any Starmen, and you’re to take them out immediately and harvest their shells. We’re needing them for studies.” The Pigmask Colonel then pointed at Tori and told her, “As for YOU… You’re one of the doctor’s assistants, aren’t you?”

Tori nodded.

“Well, I’ve been told you’ll be needing to head to a place called Dalaam. They’ve got some strange creatures that the doctor himself would like to research, so try to bring back as many as you can.”

“Right. How do I get there, Colonel?” Tori asked.

“It’s, uh, apparently up the the sky. You’ll need to find a way to get up there. Look around for yourself.”

“Of course. Right away, Colonel!” Tori saluted, then marched away.

She passed over a hill when she wriggled her mask off and held it under her arm. “That thing is stuffy. And I like this air. Nice and cool.”

She took a deep breath in before hacking. “Maybe a little too cool.”

Buzz Buzz stifled a laugh, then said, “Let’s keep moving, shall we?”

Tori trekked through the fields, the snow crunching underfoot. A village appeared on the horizon. It grew closer as the minutes went by, and before she knew it, she was right there at the edge of the town.

An old wooden sign greeted her, but the original message had faded and the messily added new one wasn’t much easier to read.

“Buzz Buzz, could you help me read this sign?” Tori asked.

Buzz Buzz climbed up and poked his head out of her pocket, then stared at the discombobulated sign.

“Wel… tings… from… no, to…? ...Sha… Okay I don’t know what that last part says.” Buzz Buzz looked up at Tori and added, “In fact, I’m not sure what any of it says.”

“It’s supposed to say ‘Welcome to Shambler Village’.” Tori and Buzz Buzz looked over to see the source of the new voice that just so helpfully told them what the sign was supposed to say - a tall, off-yellow wooly alien with its two bright red eyes going down its face, two noodle arms and a pair of feet poking out from underneath. “Welcome to Shambler Village!”

“I suppose you would be one of the residents? A Wooly Shambler, am I correct?” Buzz Buzz asked.

“Yessiree!” The Wooly Shambler smiled. “A whole bunch of us Shamblers found this abandoned human village and made it our own! It’s quite cozy, if you ask me, and I hope you enjoy your stay!”

The Wooly Shambler waltzed back into the village, and after exchanging glances, Tori and Buzz Buzz decided to follow him. The Wooly Shambler must have noticed, because he turned around to face them and said, “So I’m your tour guide now, ey? That’s fine by me! Come on, I'll show you around!”

The Wooly Shambler led them to a statue of a strange, dinosaur-like creature, which had moss and snow and chips in its surface all over. “This here’s the Tessie statue. Tessie lives up north from here, in Lake Tess. Never seen her in my life, probably never will, but I hear she’s real nice.”

The next stop in the Shambler Village tour was an old bar. “This is a popular gathering spot for the men! We have a good time here; we often arrange the darts into nice shapes on the dartboard!”

Tori and Buzz Buzz exchanged glances for a moment. The Shamblers were having fun, at least. They soon returned their attention to the Wooly Shambler, who had already started heading for the next sight. Tori caught up to him, and soon the Wooly Shambler had stopped in front of a house.

“And this here’s the home of Amienafleece! She’s on the old side, but she’s a good lady,” the Wooly Shambler told Tori and Buzz Buzz. “Would you like to meet her?”

“Uh, sure,” Tori replied.

The Wooly Shambler knocked on Amienafleece’s door, and a few moments later, the door opened to reveal a shorter, and quite likely younger Wooly Shambler standing inside. Said Wooly Shambler was most likely a child.

“Oh hi Rammy!” the Wooly Shambler child greeted, his face lighting up. “What’s up today?”

“I’ve got a couple of visitors!” the Wooly Shambler who had showed them around, Rammy, apparently, replied. “Don’t suppose Amienafleece is free?”

“She sure is!” the Shambler child said, then went further inside for a few moments to yell, “GRANNYYYY! RAMMY’S HERE WITH GUESTS!”

There was a reply, though not quite telligible from where Tori and Buzz Buzz were, then the Shambler child turned back to them. “She says you can come in.”

Rammy took no time at all to let himself inside. He just waltzed in like it was his own home. Tori was a little more hesitant, shuffling inside and gently placing her mask at the door, hoping nobody would take notice. It was surprisingly toasty in the house (‘Wouldn’t they overheat..?’). She then shuffled into the living room, where Rammy and the Shambler child had already sat down on the old chairs. On another of said chairs was an elderly Wild n’ Wooly Shambler knitting away. It was hard to tell what she was knitting, possibly a scarf, but it was orange. She wore a pale orange vest that had faded over time and had at least two tea stains on it and a pink bobble hat, presumably she made herself.

Rammy told Tori, “This is Amienafleece! But we all call her Gran, or variations of it.” He then leaned over to Gran and whispered, “Say hi.”

Gran looked up from her knitting and at Rammy, giving an inquiring hum. Rammy pointed to Tori and Buzz Buzz, and said, “Oh! Hello, dear! You must be one of the guests. Welcome!”

Tori gave a shy wave.

“Where’s… Where’s the other guest, Rammtheal?”

Rammy glanced down at the ground as he thought aloud, then said, “Well I know that there is one, I heard ‘em, but I don’t know where…”

“Maybe they’re invisible,” the Shambler child suggested.

“Uh, Buzz Buzz is in my pocket, actually,” Tori told them. Buzz Buzz warmed up his wings, then buzzed out of Tori’s pocket.

“Oh! How charming,” Gran said, looking up at Buzz Buzz. She then looked back to Tori and eyed her for a few moments, a look of judgement on her face. She then asked her, “Say, isn’t that the uniform of those piggy humans…?”

Tori’s face froze with surprise and that look you get when you’re trying to play something off but do a really bad job of it. She laughed nervously as she glanced around, then lied not very well, “Ohhh, you know, I’m not part of them… I just… stole a uniform! To keep warm. Yeah.” Tori ended with a few nods, hoping that the Shamblers would fall for it.

They didn’t.

Gran had an eyebrow raised, Rammy looked kind of uncomfortable, and the Shambler child was just looking at the floor.

It was the Shambler child who broke the air. “SOOO, uh, Granny, why don’t you tell the guests a bit about yourself?”

“Please do,” Rammy whispered, though mostly to himself.

“Oh alright,” Gran said lightheartedly. She turned her attention to Tori and Buzz Buzz, who was now on Tori’s shoulder, and told them, “I just like doing things for the younger ones, really. I like making them clothes, even if we don’t need them. I think that clothes are cute! I also like to play Bingo, and when I was your age, in Shambler years, of course, I painted landscapes!”

“You sound like a woman of many talents,” Buzz Buzz commented.

“Oh, you!” Gran then went on to ask, “Would you like some tea?”

Tori replied, “Oh! Uh, yes please, Ms… Ms… Uh…”

“You can just call me Gran if that makes things easier for you.”

“Uh, okay! Yeah, I’d like some tea, Gran.”

Gran put down her knitting, got up and ambled to the kitchen the next room over.

“Do- ...Can Shamblers drink?” Buzz Buzz asked Rammy.

“Na. But it’s around, and we’ve figured out how to make it,” Rammy told him.

“Actually, someone taught us how to,” the Shambler child corrected Rammy.

“They did? Who?” Rammy asked.

“Uh… Some human wearing a trench coat and a fedora. I remember seeing him,” the Shambler child said. “Don’t remember what his name was, but he said he was off to a town in Eagleland.”

After more casual discussion, Tori’s tea was ready. Gran returned to her seat, and Tori sipped her tea almost immediately, burning her mouth. Gran and Rammy stifled laughs as she frantically blew on it to cool it down.

“Say,” Gran said to Buzz Buzz, eyeing his hands, “mustn't your fingers get cold without anything to cover them?”

“Well… I never really thought about it…”

“How do you not think about being cold,” the Shambler child asked. “I don’t know much about being cold but it’s really noticeable, right?”

“Yeah…”

“So how have you not thought about it?”

Buzz Buzz didn’t have an answer.

“Would you like me to make you some gloves? To keep your hands warm?” Gran asked Buzz Buzz.

“Uh-”

“I’ll get started right away.” Gran got up again and walked out of the room.

There was a long silence before Rammy told Tori and Buzz Buzz, “...She’s like that.”

Gran soon came back with some lavender fabric, a spool of thread and a box of sewing needles and soon got to work.

After Tori had finished her tea, she and Buzz Buzz went out to explore Shambler Village a bit more. They talked to other locals, went in the bar and made their own dart shape on the dartboard, Tori made a snowman, and all around, she and Buzz Buzz had a good time together.

By the time Tori and Buzz Buzz had returned to Gran’s house, Buzz Buzz’s gloves had already been finished and Gran was back to knitting the scarf. They were tiny things - obviously they had to be. And not only that, there was a pair of matching boots.

“They’re so small and cute…” Tori cooed.

Buzz Buzz buzzed over to them and put them on - they were somehow a perfect fit.

“AWWWW!” Tori cooed, “They look so good on youuu!”

The Shamblers agreed wholeheartedly. Buzz Buzz had to admit, it was kind of embarrassing. He hadn’t gotten so much positive attention in a while, and the best he could do to handle it was to just stand there while the others gushed over his new gloves and boots.

“Ahem, anyway!” Buzz Buzz said. “We’re trying to make tracks for Dalaam, the only problem is, it’s up in the sky and we have no way of getting up there. Do you know of any way we could get there?”

The Shamblers thought for a moment, then Gran piped up, “I think there might be a way to get up there from Summers.”

“Summers?! Isn’t that where the Pigmask on our ferry was headed?” Tori hissed to Buzz Buzz.

“It is, but heading there may be the only way we can get to Dalaam,” Buzz Buzz replied in a hushed voice.

“I can come with you, if you would like to have an old lady like me accompany you,” Gran offered.

“But Granny! It’s dangerous out there! Like, super dangerous! You’ll get hurt!” the Shambler child cried.

“I’ll be fine,” Gran told him. “It’s not like my PSI has weakened over the years.”

“PSI?” Tori echoed. “What kind?”

“I’m very good at Lifeup,” Gran told her, “and I also know some Healing and Freeze. I still don’t know why I never learned Shield…”

“You won’t have to worry about that! I’ve got you covered with that!” Buzz Buzz proudly declared.

A giggle slipped out of Tori, causing Buzz Buzz to look up at her.

“You’ve got us covered, like with a shield,” Tori smiled.

Buzz Buzz’s face morphed to horror then annoyance, and he groaned while slapping a hand to his face. Tori giggled again, showing a toothy smile.

“That was a stretch and you know it,” Buzz Buzz said.

Once Tori had collected herself, she told, “We’d be honoured to have you along though! I bet you have a lot of experience with PSI, which is good, because I sure don’t.”

“I’m sure you’ll get better before you know it!” Gran reassured her, prompting a squeak of shock from Tori. “I’ll finish up this project and pack some things, then we can head out to Summers.”

Tori and Buzz Buzz ended up staying the night at Gran’s place - Gran, of course, provided generous amounts of food for them and a comfy bed. The knitting project - which was a scarf - was finished the next day, and gifted to Tori. Tori almost forgot her mask with her before they left; Buzz Buzz reminded her. After Gran had packed her things into a Wooly Shambler backpack, she, Buzz Buzz and Tori were off to Summers by midday.

[i-am-liking-the-peppermint-mocha]

200X: Melody of the Variable - Chapter 4

((And here’s Chapter 4 of Melody of the Variable!

Fun fact: The working title for this one was just “WE’RE ON A BOAT”. Why? Because they are. But this is no ordinary boat ride, no! You gotta read the chapter to find out what makes it so different!))

200X: Melody of the Variable

Chapter 4: The Ferry and the Kraken

“COME ON BUZZ BUZZ WE’RE GONNA BE LAAAAAAATE!!”

The seaside town of Coastcrash had been long been abandoned just like Stormin, but the ferries were being kept running by the last few people alive in the town. There wasn’t a Starman to be seen, either, so Buzz Buzz came to the conclusion that the Starmen may have already visited the town, ravaged it, and kept a select few alive to keep the ferries running.

Tori skidded to a halt on the dock, where a ferry marked with a pig’s nose over a Starman emblem was anchored.

“Uh… Hello, ma’am,” the ticket taker greeted, an eyebrow raised at her. “Do you have a ticket…?”

Tori fished through one of her pocket and pulled out a ticket - it was a golden colour, but had no shine to it. She handed it to the ticket taker, who punched a hole in the ticket and handed it back to her.

“You better hurry on board, the ship’s just about to leave.”

Tori nodded, then speed walked on board. The interior was quite neat, given the state that the town it was docked at was in. The back wall had tall windows that provided a scenic view of the devastated town and the dreary sky outside; definitely, 100% something everyone wanted to see. Buzz Buzz figured the boat was made before Giygas’ invasion. There was a brown rug laid out near the bar and the floor itself was covered with light pink carpet. Many people on board were drinking from wine glasses and enjoying themselves.

“There’s something about the way that these people are having such a good time that feels… off,” Buzz Buzz commented, eyeing the group over at the bar.

“I think you’re just worrying a teeny bit too much,” Tori replied with a shrug. “Whatever happened to get you pitted up against a Final Starman must have took a toll on you. Try to relax a little bit.”

With a sigh, Buzz Buzz landed on Tori’s shoulder.

As Tori walked around the ferry’s first floor, Buzz Buzz asked her, “So where is this boat going, exactly?”

“Someplace in Winters, I’m pretty sure,” Tori replied. “Like I said a couple weeks ago, I’ll be getting my orders when we get there.”

Tori approached a help desk, leaned her arms on it and asked the clerk, “Excuse me, I don’t suppose you know where I’d get the key to my room?”

“Right here, uh…” the clerk trailed off, then asked, “Which room?”

“Uhh…” Tori glanced at her ticket, then replied, “Room 12.”

The clerk opened a drawer and got the corresponding key, then handed it to Tori. “Have a nice day.”

Tori waved goodbye to the clerk as she walked away. Tori entered a living room, which was much quieter, though still had a couple of people inside watching the TV.

“I told you we were going to be late if we went down that alleyway, too,” Tori whispered to Buzz Buzz.

“Hey, that Starman Super wanted us to investigate it as well, there was really no other choice in our situation,” Buzz Buzz argued. “And besides, we helped a lot of people out in the end.”

“Yeahhhh, you’re right.”

One of the men in the room looked at Tori with a raised eyebrow silently for a few moments, before asking, “Who are you talking to?”

“Huh? OH! I was talking to myself!” Tori told the man. “I… do that.”

The man nodded a little before looking back at the TV. Tori let out a quiet sigh of relief. She then snuck around the back of the chairs, not wanting to block the TV, then entered the next room. This one led to a a flight of stairs, which Tori climbed up. She took out her ticket and looked at it after she arrived in the hall the stairs led to. Said hall was line with doors - it must have been where all the bedrooms where.

“Room 12…” Tori muttered to herself. “I hope it's one of these ones.”

She walked down the hall, checking the numbers of each door, until she found Room 12. She then unlocked the door and went inside, closing the door behind her.

She flopped onto her bed, heaving a sigh of relief. Buzz Buzz had darted off her shoulder and landed on the bedside table, which had a lamp sitting atop it. Between the bed and the table was a square window.

“I am SO glad to have a good bed for once,” Tori said. “The last time I did was like… before I joined the army, I think?”

Buzz Buzz cocked his head as he gave an inquiring hum.

“Yeah… that was a while ago… It’s felt like years!” Tori continued. “I mean, it has, really, but…”

“If you don’t mind me butting in, could you explain what you mean?” Buzz Buzz asked. “I’m a bit lost.”

“OH! Of course!” Tori replied. “The army I joined has members from a whole bunch of different points in time, and from all sorts of different timelines. A lot of us came from before the time where our leader is located, but some are from even further…”

Tori shut her eyes and continued, “But for some reason, our leader is insistent on us heading to this time. What does he have against this time, anyway?”

Tori paused before adding, “We’ve been assigned a lot of missions involving Starmen, actually, now that I think about it. Most of them have been pitting us against them… What does the king have against Starmen?”

The king? Tori’s leader must have been one self-absorbed person if he was calling himself a king. And he shared Tori’s confusion as to why this “king” hated Starmen so much.

The ferry began to lurch forward, startling both Buzz Buzz and Tori, but they soon got themselves together.

The two sat in peace for a while before Tori rolled onto her side to face Buzz Buzz, and asked, “What was it like being stuck in the Starman base back in Stormin? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Buzz Buzz exhaled hesitantly, and was silent for a moment or two before mumbling, “...Not… fun.”

Tori nodded understandingly, then told Buzz Buzz, “Can’t imagine it’d be.”

Tori flopped back onto her back. Both she and Buzz Buzz sat in a peaceful silence for a while, listening to the faint sound of the waves. The peace was broken by Tori sitting up in a flash.

“I forgot my mask.”

Buzz Buzz let out a “huh?” as he looked at Tori’s troubled face.

“This isn’t even my full uniform, there’s a mask that goes with it!” Tori explained, panic rising in her voice, as she gestured to her uniform. “If I get off this boat without it, I’m gonna get chewed out real bad!”

“Where did you leave it?” Buzz Buzz asked.

“Back in Stormin!”

Buzz Buzz sharply inhaled.

Tori hopped off her bed and stood up. “We’re just gonna have to find another one.”

As she headed to the door, she called out, “C’mon, Buzz Buzz! Let’s go!”

Buzz Buzz darted after her and landed on her shoulder. Tori dashed down the hall, down the stairs, squeezed behind the chairs in the living again, then dashed over to the help desk.

Tori smacked her hands on the table and asked the clerk, “Hi, me again, don’t suppose you have a list of who’s on board right now?”

“Uhh, yes.” The clerk bent down and grabbed a tablet, tapped it a couple of times, then handed it to Tori.

The tablet displayed a list of everyone on board and their rooms, just what Tori had asked for. She tapped on one name, and it showed her more information on the person. Buzz Buzz wondered why the ferry even had such information, but tried not to think about it too much. Tori checked every name until she stumbled upon a certain piece of info - a note was added at the bottom of the page the read: “Member of the Pigmask Army.”

“Room 11? He was that close the entire time?!” Tori handed the tablet back to the clerk and ran off again, calling to them, “Thaaaaanks!”

Tori then returned to the hall where her room was as quick as possible, and this time knocked on Room 11’s door. What Buzz Buzz assumed to be a Pigmask opened the door, and despite his eyes not being visible, he glared daggers at Tori.

“What,” the Pigmask spat. His voice was gruff and deep, undeniably masculine.

“Hi! I’ve misplaced my mask, and I don’t have anyway to get it, so I was wondering if you had any spares? And if you do, can I borrow one please?”

The Pigmask squinted at Tori for a moment before slamming the door behind him. There was silence for what seemed like forever before the Pigmask returned.

“No,” he told her. “We don’t just have spares. You should know that. I’d wish you luck with the lecture you’re gonna get, but,” he tisked before finishing, “you deserve it.”

The door slammed shut again. There was a brief silence between Tori and Buzz Buzz before the latter asked, “Are most of them like that?”

“Well they’re not rare,” Tori uttered.

She went back into her own room and flopped face first onto her bed, and Buzz Buzz flew off her shoulder and onto the bedside table.

“Well, guess I’ll get lectured,” Tori mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.

“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Buzz Buzz questioned, though there was only concern in his voice.

Tori raised her head and muttered, “You’re right. It won’t be coming from Fassad.” Tori flung her face into her pillow again.

“Fassad? Who’s that?” Buzz Buzz asked.

Tori flopped herself onto her side and said, “A guy that nobody likes. He never shuts up and he thinks that, oh, he’d the best, of course! Way better than the guy he’s under in the Pigmask hIERARCHY!”

Tori heavily sighed. “Basically, you don’t wanna meet him.”

Buzz Buzz nodded. He had figured as much from how illy Tori spoke of him - which he hadn’t heard her do in all the time they spent together.

“I’m just gonna, like, take a nap now,” Tori told Buzz Buzz. “Hopefully I can just… sleep my anger away.”

Tori rolled over and shut her eyes. Buzz Buzz laid down on his belly and looked out the window. He just wondered where things would lead him and Tori from here, and if everything would turn out okay.

The ferry lurched over, throwing Tori off the bed and scaring her awake. A roar sounded from outside.

“What was that?!” Tori questioned, sitting up.

“I have no idea, should we take a look?” Buzz Buzz asked.

Tori stood up and said, “Yeah, let’s.”

Buzz Buzz flew to her shoulder and Tori ran out into the main room on the first floor. The room was completely empty, save for the clerk and the bartender. A handful of people were gathered on the decks just outside the room.

“I know what you’re gonna ask, so I’ll just tell ya - there’s this sea monster outside that’s causing a huge ruckus by the ferry,” the clerk told Tori. “Most people have gone to their rooms, but a few people went out to see the monster. I suggest you go back to your room.”

“No way, I wanna see the thing!” Tori retaliated.

“Well, suit yourself, but there’s a good chance you’ll die,” the clerk conceded. “The way to the deck’s just past me, then take a left.”

Tori ran past the clerk, sprinted down the narrow hall she found herself in, then took a left. She found herself on the deck, where wind carried the biting rain and many people had gathered, gripping the safety rail. Tori got close to the crowd as fast as she could, and held tight to the safety rail. Buzz Buzz dived into one of her pockets.

Another roar broke out, shrill and echoing. A wave hit the side of the ferry, causing it to tip over before balancing itself again. Something emerged from the murky water - a green-scaled monster with no visible eyes, a large mouth and red quills. Most people screamed at the sight of the sea monster, but Tori was strangely quiet, only staring at it with a look of concern.

“It looks… troubled,” Tori yelled over the noise to Buzz Buzz.

“It does?” Buzz Buzz climbed up Tori’s pocket and poked his head out. “It does.”

“What do you think’s bothering it?” Tori asked.

Buzz Buzz thought for a moment before telling her, “I have no idea.”

The sea monster roared again, then faced those gathered on the deck. People screamed even louder.

One man yelled, “It’s a kraken!”

The kraken scanned the crowd, most of whom were would be starting to back away if their lives didn’t depend on them holding the safety rail. Tori, however, was fixated on the kraken. The kraken looked at Tori, however it did that, for a few moments, then lowered itself down to her. It whined, then lifted up its quills. Tori grimaced at the sight under the kraken’s quills for a moment, before looking hard.

“Maybe there’s something in there causing it pain?” Buzz Buzz suggested.

Tori felt around hesitantly for anything out of place, and soon found, wedged between a quill and a scale, a small stone. Tori gingerly pulled it out, the kraken whining in pain as she did, and soon enough she had it sitting in the palm of her hand.

The kraken lowered its quills again and gave Tori a smile, chirped what seemed to be a thank you, then dived under the water and swam away.

“Okay, looks like things are all clear from here on out!” the captain announced over the intercom. “It’s smooth sailing to the Winters dock from here!”

The crowd soon headed back inside, Tori included. Buzz Buzz only dared to come out of her pocket once she had returned to the safety of her room. He sat on her shoulder as she observed the stone she had pulled out from the kraken.

The stone was small enough to fit into Tori’s hand, and about the size of Buzz Buzz’s body. It was quite smooth, and on the outside, appeared to be a pearly white. It looked like a pearl, but something told both of them that it wasn’t.

“Maybe it… does something?” Tori suggested.

“Maybe. Try shaking it,” Buzz Buzz said.

Tori shook the stone, but nothing happened.

“Rub it between your hands?”

Still nothing.

“Wait wait wait I’ve got an idea,” Tori said, “We leave it in water for a few days and it’ll hatch into something, like a sea monkey but like how they’re actually depicted on the box.”

Buzz Buzz was silent for a moment before telling her, “The trip’s only lasting for another four hours.”

“Damn.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll find out what purpose it serves soon,” Buzz Buzz reassured her.

“We’re gonna have to see a geologist about it,” Tori stated. “And until then, we’re just gonna have to focus on the task at hand - which I don’t actually know right now, but I will soon enough!”