A single droplet of sweat slowly crept down Lumi’s illuminated face. The lights of an interrogation room were hotter than she remembered, and the ground was far less… movey. All around her were the familiar faces of the officers she worked with all called upon to investigate the Endless Expanse. Lumi shifted uncomfortably under their gaze, which was far more stern than usual. She couldn’t blame them for being upset with her, but why weren’t any of them talking? The door opened and a newbie officer poked his head into the room and whispered to the captain.
“She’s here, sir…”
The officers all nodded to Lumi one by one as the exited the room, and one lone woman entered in their place. Dark, clear skin. Wavy black hair tied in a pony tail. Striking green eyes. Chubby, joyful cheeks. Lumi stared in awe as the striking woman took a seat across from her and smiled.
“It took something like this to bring us back together, huh? Jeez! When are you gonna learn?”
She couldn’t form the right words to say to the woman across from her. She had been afraid to speak with her all this time for fear of what she might say, but now here she was acting like nothing had ever happened like the perfect angel she was. That is, until she ruffled Lumi’s hair relentlessly.
“Aaaahhh! Neyla, cut it out!”
Neyla giggled playfully as she rested her head in her hands. Her smile remained bright and warm, but her eyes were worried. She was just as easy to read as ever.
“Can you tell me what happened, Lumi?”
“This isn’t some sort of police tactic to get more information out of me, hm~?”
“And if it is?” She smiled deviously. “I figured you of all people would know better than that. I didn’t come here for the case, no matter how unique. I came for you.”
Seems that she knew how to press Lumi’s buttons still as well. Annoying.
“Fine, but I’m only going to say this once… So, listen up, darling~”
—
With everyone setting off on their own tasks, Lumi thought she ought to take on a task of her own. Discovering the complete truth behind the incidents Dot helped orchestrate. With the information they were able to gather from Dot’s fractured memories, she had a lead. The name of one of the past participants in Dot’s games.
Rosalie Bellemore.
“A senator’s daughter?!”
Lumi’s face was practically pressed to the screen. She had only just begun her investigation but already found such juicy information. No wonder Dot would remember someone like this! What could she have done in their game to catch her attention so much? Finding further information on her was just too easy after the discovery of her lineage, but she did seem to drop off the map a few years prior… Mysterious. Was it due to the game or something else? Regardless, finding her is all that mattered right now.
A few trips across the country, an unsuccessful visit to her family home, and a brief stop to the college Rosalie attended proved to be all she needed to track her down to a small town right outside the hustle and bustle of the big city. Seemed she wasn’t trying to hide herself, but why would she? The incidents her and her friends survived was something no one knew about, and hopefully Lumi could keep it that way with Neyla’s help. Lumi lounged outside of a local cafe, admiring the surroundings and sipping on an expensive drink to pass the time. Lumi had tracked Rosalie for a bit to make sure it was her, and today was the day she was going to approach her. A bit creepy, but she didn’t want to just approach anyone with a matter like this! She should be showing up any minute now—
As if on cue, a beautiful young woman with striking white hair and red eyes rounded the corner. She gave off a strong aura. Intimidating. Lumi was going to love messing with this one.
As she walked past Lumi, she commented simply. “You take beautiful pictures, you know…” she stood and turned to look at Rosalie. “Sepia, right?”
Rosalie turned around slowly, trying to hide the horror she was feeling. “You must be mistaken, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“That’s strange. I could have sworn you were very familiar with this.”
Lumi revealed the Killing Hour watch that had been hiding in her pocket. She dangled it from her finger and smiled. “Hm? Did I make a mistake~?”
As it turns out, Rosalie is a very adept runner.
—
Lumi looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, and placed a hand over her mouth. The hair, the make up, the outfit… Everything was coordinated perfectly. My god, She was stunning.
“Luuumiiii. Are you still admiring yourself? You need to finish getting ready! We aren’t gonna wait forever, ya know?”
Lumi pouted as Neyla reprimanded her from the other room. She just didn’t understand that beauty needed to be recognized when it was achieved!
It wasn’t easy aligning everyone’s schedules to meet with each other again. It had been a while, but now that things had calmed down they could finally come together. Oh! And they wouldn’t be alone. The meeting with Rosalie had gone… well? Well enough to arrange the Echo Express guests would be in attendance as well. The survivors from both incidents all together in one place… It was something she greatly looked forward to. From this day onward, their family would grow. However, as important as that was, there was something more important still.
“Neyla, would you check on Himiko for me? I’m going to see how our guest of honor is doing~”
“Got it, chief~! Hiiiimiiiii!” Neyla rushed off like a child, and the commotion from the other room left a smile on Lumi’s face. She took a deep breath and made for the guest of honor’s room.
Max had been bouncing around from home to home, so Lumi set aside a room to make his own while he was under her care. She knocked quickly and entered after a few moments of silence. Max sat staring at his reflection for a moment before looking in Lumi’s direction. He was in a tailor made suit, fitting his outlandish taste in fashion. Or, at least what used to be his taste. She smiled as she knelt down next to him and placed her hands on his cheeks.
“You’re going to do great, darling. Don’t look so glum.” She smiled warmly. “Let’s show your new friends just how lovely you are today, okay? You’re going to have so many friends, you won’t know what to do with them! Doesn’t that sound fun?”
Max’s stared into Lumi’s eyes and said, "Fr . . . iends . . . That's . . . what I wanted. Did I get it?"
“Of course, darling. You have so many friends waiting for you. Let’s go meet them.”
We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that participated and followed Echo Express and Endless Expanse. Without all of you, none of this would have evolved into what the series has become today and we are so grateful. The friendships formed, the stories we were able to tell, and the fun we have all had is really something we hold dear and hope you all do as well. This truly couldn’t have happened without each and every one of you. We love you guys.
So, to all of the EE/X family, we would like to say again…
Lumi spoke, and Toto’s face of dismay softened with every word—his grip on the doorway loosened, and his mouth slowly closed. When she looked away, Toto tilted his head and leaned closer, trying to catch her eyes again. ‘You all have become important to me’—so that was it, thought Toto as relief washed over him. Maybe not everything was so simple; maybe sometimes, people did bad things for good reasons. His smile broke into a grin as Lumi ruffled his hair.
“Ahahaha! ‘Kay!”
Toto let his arms fall to his sides and he stepped away, finally allowing Lumi passage out of her room. Before she could start down the hallway, Toto spoke up again.
“Lumi … you lied to me before. But … you did it so Daisy could stay with us longer, right? So …” He stood up straight, whipped a three-fingered sign into the air and resolutely blurted out, “I forgive you!”
It felt good to say those words, like that unpleasant festering thing inside him was being wiped clean—but that was not all that had been weighing on Toto as of their last Macabre Theatre.
“Ah! The gun … we’re going to destroy it, right?” There was something strangely firm underneath his curious tone; he would only accept one answer. “We have to destroy it.”
Lumi took a step out of her doorway as Toto moved to the side. She placed her hand gently on the innocent boy’s cheek, returned a three-fingered sign to Toto, and smiled. His forgiveness was oddly comforting. Toto wasn’t an enemy she wanted to have. It wasn’t that she was threatened by him, but more... it was like having a child hate you. Kind of a bummer, right?
“Thank you, darling. I would never do anything to hurt you on purpose. I’ll cherish your forgiveness.”
However, it seemed that this wouldn’t be the last lie Lumi would be telling. Her eyes flicked back into her room for a moment at the mention of the gun that still lay inside. She closed the door casually and turned to Toto with a surprised expression on her face.
“The gun? Oh, darling, I already had that taken care of. I had Nobody take it apart and I got rid of the pieces myself. You won’t have to worry about that pesky thing any longer, understand?”
Her heart ached a bit. She cared about Toto, but she cared about their escape more. She would do anything to see the people on this boat go free, even if it meant lying to them again.
Nobody blinked, straightened back up. Ordinarily Lumi might have shared in some silly back and forth, but today was not the same, and when her name reached his ears his stomach did not drop the way it had the last time. Nobody shed his accusatory look in favour of a big, warm smile. Lumi had come a long way.
“Elizabeth Quinn!” he exclaimed, perhaps a shade less quietly than he should have. He hung his good arm around his friend’s shoulders and pulled her into his side.
“It’d be my pleasure, being tied to you,” he went on, and laughed to chase the sting from his eyes. “But I gotta warn you, I’ve never been any good at acting cool around anyone’s friends, so you might as well get it over with. You’ll get a nice stash of snacks outta the deal.”
Nobody released his friend from his grasp and stepped back. The grin on his face was so broad it must have looked a bit stupid, but he couldn’t bear to wipe it off.
“Better take down my name so you can file that suit, eh?” He stuck out his good hand to shake. “Toby Vovos.”
“Toby Vovos...”
For a moment, it felt as if they were strangers again, meeting for the first time. Only for a moment, though.
Lumi took Nobody’s hand as her eyes lit up with joy. It was the final piece of the puzzle that finally clicked. Seeing his wide grin made her own smile grow. From the outside they probably looked like a couple of giddy fools, but this moment felt perfect to Lumi.
“Toby Vovos~! My darling, there is nothing to worry about! What friends are there to worry about impressing when I’ve got the best one right here.” She giggled. “Then I suppose it’s a deal! You and I are partners in crime officially from this day forth. We’ll go out like Bonnie and Clyde before anyone separates us~”
She felt a bit silly saying such optimistic things, but she meant it for once in her life. For once she wasn’t going to make promises she couldn’t keep and just disappear the next day. It was something she could truly stand by.
“...However, if you’re going to be sticking with me we must find you a new wardrobe. Not that I don’t think you look stunning in your lovely prison garb, but we can do so much better. Don’t worry, you’ll learn.”
She giggled playfully as she dragged Nobody along with her towards the elevator. They had a lot to do! There was so much to plan! Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself, seeing as they were still on this junky boat, but the prospect of the fun that awaited them on the outside was too much to keep inside.
The idea that Dot might be able to turn her arm into a blowtorch nearly wiped the smile off Nobody’s face. That tool was his only advantage against their host—and a precarious one, to say the least, if one at all. Before he got the chance to give his predicament some thought, Lumi stole his attention back.
Nobody’s smile split into a grin. Luminescent as always, this girl never failed to chase the shadows from his thoughts. Were it not for her he might have given into one dark urge or another a long time ago. He clapped his good hand against his knee.
“Wow, kid,” he remarked, letting his claps trail off. He straightened back up. “When’d you find the time to polish an act like that?” Nobody squinted hard at his friend. “Really makes me wonder, you know… whether it’s an impression at all.” He raised his eyebrows and leaned down.
“You got something to tell me, Lumi? About your real identity?”
“Real identity...”
Who was that again? Luminescent Lumi was not a creation formed on this boat. No, she had been Lumi for so much longer. That vulnerable girl that hid behind her bright and heartless personality had been starting to come forward again. Now, she wanted to let her true self be known to the one person she felt completely comfortable around.
Suddenly--
“Elizabeth Quinn.” She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and looked at the ground. She hadn’t uttered her own name in years. It felt foreign on her lips, but, even so, she felt somewhat relieved.
“No one, not even in the real world outside of this place, knows that name, but now seems as good a time as any to entrust it to someone.” She lifted her head and smiled warmly at Nobody. “I lived freely without ties to anything, but I don’t think I would mind being tied to you. You’re the only one who knows the real me.”
“However, if you try to ruin my sparkling reputation, I will sue you for all you’re worth, understand, darling?”
Lumi glared into Nobody’s eyes for a full three seconds before breaking. Uncontrollable laughter spilled out of her as she held her stomach. She just couldn’t keep it together. That was so not her.
After the last Macabre Theatre, there was so much he had wanted to say to Lumi—and so much he didn’t—but when Toto saw her with blood dripping down her face, all those thoughts unravelled. Just days ago, he had been saying his goodbyes to her in his head, cold and angry—so why now did the sight of her put knots in his stomach?
Toto’s fist was inches from Lumi’s door when it swung open.
“Ah- … Lumi!”
At a time like this, the sensible thing to do would be to move back and make room for Lumi to leave—perhaps walk her to the restaurant for a chat—but Toto was not in a sensible mood. He took a step closer, and then another, the toes of his boots skirting the line between the hallway and Lumi’s suite. And then the words spilled out.
“It happened again! Lumi … Someone attacked you again, right? I saw you in the—” His eyes wandered up to her forehead. “Ah-! It’s better now.” With his immediate concerns averted, Toto was suddenly at a loss for words. If anyone were to look at Lumi now—smiling, spotless, standing on her own two feet—no one would ever know what had happened, how terrible it could have been. But Toto did.
“Why are you doing all this, Lumi?” He leaned his arms on the edges of her doorway, raised his voice; there was a distinct note of hurt underneath the confusion, a holdover that was owed to more than just her recent injury. “Why? Why aren’t you being careful?”
“Well, what can I say? I attract danger, dar--”
Lumi hopped back reflexively as Toto leaned his arms on the edges of the doorway. Toto had a good heart, but she couldn’t help but feel that at times he could be a bit... intimidating. Perhaps it was his overwhelming positivity. He was possibly even more luminescent than her. Dangerous.
“...The answer is obvious, isn’t it?” Lumi brushed her hair over her ear as she looked away from Toto’s eyes. She was beginning to understand the way she felt for those that had come this far, but that doesn’t mean she had to be comfortable about it. “I care about you and the others, and when I saw something suspicious, well... I had to chase it down.”
“Don’t get me wrong, my own selfish curiosity was at work as always, but my initial thought for acting was more along the lines of, ‘Perhaps the truth could help the others.’ I suppose I threw myself into danger because you all have become more important to me.”
Gross. It was all still too touchy feely. She placed her hand on Toto’s head and ruffled his hair, shaking away the awkward energy with it.
“I’ll be more careful next time, so we can all keep having fun together, okay~?”
Judge leaned further away in his seat, trying his best to try and avoid those threateningly sparkly eyes. It had been several years since he had tried to be friendly with anyone as himself rather than who he was at work and it was already making him visibly uncomfortable. Lumi was asking simple questions, but it seemed to take him a while to come up with anything to say back.
His eyes wandered erratically around the room and he found himself slowly speaking the first words that came to mind.
“Ah…milk. Just milk is fine.”
But even such a simple answer seemed to be accompanied by a loading time of sorts. Judge tensed as he realized this wasn’t actually true, and he took another moment to try and remember what it was that he actually wanted.
“…cake.” He spoke out of nowhere, grumbling lowly to the point that it was almost inaudible. He turned to Lumi to verify that she had actually managed to hear him, repeating himself louder just to make sure. “I prefer…cake to snacks.”
“Hehe... Hehehehe~!”
Lumi squished her cheeks in excitement. This information was like a new toy on Christmas Day. This was a breakthrough. Cake! He preferred cake! She had to make one right now. What do you mean it’s way too late to bake? Judge wants a cake and he is going to have one!
“Why didn’t you say so earlier, darling? I’d be more than happy to accommodate~ Well? What kind do you like? I’ll get to work right away!”
Lumi stood up and dusted herself off. She wondered if they had an apron in the kitchen... perhaps this was the perfect time for an outfit change. How often would she be able to live this baking fantasy? Never! She would absolutely never do this again. It’s far too much work. However, for Judge, it will be worth it.
“It’s a dire situation we still find ourselves in... I’d like to give you a moment of comfort if I can. Is that alright?”
Upon hearing of what happened, Daisy’s first course of action, before she could even think of any, was to look for Lumi. Dot had seemed particularly upset, but it hardly mattered to her.
She happens upon Lumi’s room, the door of which swung open to reveal a very much alive Lumi.
Chest heaving in exertion as she’s rushed on her way to this room, Daisy absorbs Lumi’s image into her eyes for a still moment.
Her left hand comes up to touch Lumi’s cheek, and upwards to her hair, feeling around the older woman’s head as if to check on any injuries. A finger strokes the bandage on her forehead very lightly.
Are you okay? her right hand asks, but she doesn’t stop messing up the woman’s hair. Eventually, as if she never thought to hear an answer to her question, Daisy just pulls Lumi into a tight hug. She stays like that until her breathing calms, and her heartbeat slows. When she draws back, her expression is still one of concern.
No reckless, she signs, I said I would protect you.
“Ah, Daisy--!”
Lumi stood stiff with her arms at her sides as Daisy touched the tender, bandaged wound on her head, then pulled her into a hug. Her initiating affection was one thing, but someone doing this to her was... different.
However, it didn’t take long for Lumi to melt into Daisy’s arms. Dot’s attack and that mysterious person had left her on edge. What if she had seen too much? Did Dot have something planned for her outside of the game? Even so, she could handle it, right? Right?
“Sorry, darling! You know me, I saw something curious and had to take a closer look~”
Her smile was strained. Making light of any situation was what she was best at. It had become second nature. That trait may have worked for her in the real world, but here she owed her fellow guests more honesty. Daisy, especially.
“...I thought maybe I could do something to help, instead of causing trouble. I’m sorry, Daisy.”
The giggle fit took Bandit by surprise. For the atmosphere being as serious as it was, laughing was the last thing he expected. Did he say something funny? Was it his last comment? He debated about letting her know that he was being serious about that, but decided to let it slide. Why ruin such a light-hearted change in direction?
Bandit looked down at her and then back to her. He nods and goes to retrieve some pliers. Once that was accomplished, he places them in Lumi’s hand.
“I’ll help you with anything,” he says while still holding the pliers between his and Lumi’s grip. After a moment of whatever that was, he lets go and moves to stand by her side.
“Let’s see… are we making an escape route? A weapon that not even Dot can survive?”
“Oh, yes, darling! I’m developing a serum that will boost our capabilities as humans! Think of it as sort of a super charger~ Wanna give my test batch a try? It won’t cause any negative effects… probably.”
Lumi giggled playfully, wondering if telling a lie as a joke right now was the best course of action given their exchange just a few moments ago. She decided she didn’t care, unsurprisingly, and walked head first into the flames of her joke.
She snatched a vile filled with regular everyday water from her supplies and approached Bandit. She waved the vile around and winked. Now to see if the poor boy would go for it.
“You’ll be the very first test subject of my new super human serum~! You should be honored, you know. Now… drink this down and tell me how you feel.”
She offered Bandit the vile and smiled. Take the bait you beautiful fool. Make this the single best day of Lumi’s life.
Judge leaned away as Lumi approached, his eyes darting uneasily from side to side.
“What are you doing.”
It was more of a statement than a question - he already knew she wasn’t going to answer him once she got started. He listened quietly, his expression unreadable as she spoke and even after she had finished.
“’Understand one another’…? I’m not really sure that’s possible.” A moment of silence before he finally sighed and let his shoulders slump to signify defeat. “But I suppose you have a point. I can’t say it feels productive to be arguing all the time for no reason.”
Judge frowned and gently tapped a finger against the rim of his cup. Somehow, it felt a lot easier when she was acting as though he were dead. Still, he hadn’t been lying when he said all the bickering felt useless, and thought it might be time to make amends. He leaned over and took her hand in his, giving it one firm shake before releasing it. Then, as if to distract from the moment, he reached for the snacks on the table and flicked the lid of the cookie box, grabbing the first one that he could get his hands on. He took an unceremonious bite out of it and waved it back and forth in front of Lumi’s face, speaking in short bursts as he chewed.
“There. Are you happy?”
“I had a feeling you’d agree, darling~”
Frankly, she had been expecting him to be a bit more stubborn. However, this moment was more refreshing then she ever could have hoped. She couldn’t say that she was a big fan of the stiff handshake, but they had to restart somewhere. Don’t tousle his hair, Lumi... Resist.
“...Oh?”
The gesture was surely just to get Lumi off of his back, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a little touched. Lumi took a cookie of her own, took a bite, and gave Judge a warm, crumby grin.
“Mmmhmmm~! Very happy! Want some milk? Cookies are always best with milk! What other snacks do you like? Tell me what I can get you~!”
Lumi stared into the mirror, examining the wound Dot had inflicted on her. It certainly looked a lot worse than it actually was, but it shouldn’t have even happened in the first place. She acted rashly, and should have been more aware of her surroundings. As if she could even attempt to go against Dot though... She’s lucky she wasn’t dead.
She washed the blood from her forehead and placed a small bandage over the wound. The last time she had been hurt wouldn’t even come to mind, no matter how hard she thought. She would need to make sure it could never happen again. She came far too close to ruining her perfect face, and she couldn’t have that.
“Aha, much better. What was I thinking? Dot couldn’t ruin these perfect looks if she tried.”
Lumi giggled as she turned away from the mirror and threw on her lab coat. She exited her room and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of another guest waiting outside for her. Well... she should have known this was coming. She was sure they had all seen her with that damn blood ruining her face.
Judge stared warily down at the box of cookies. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how many of them he would have to eat before he finally felt sluggish enough to head back to bed. He slowly looked back up towards Lumi, the apprehension written clear across his face.
“That…sounds like a stomachache waiting to happen. Besides, I don’t think I have much of an appetite right now.”
Judge gently nudged the box back in her direction. The last he remembered, the two weren’t on particularly good terms so he wasn’t sure why she was trying to be so friendly towards him…it wasn’t as though he had done anything that would have changed her mind about it. Whatever the case was, he wasn’t in any condition to be trying to keep up with her energy.
“I don’t plan on going back to sleep for tonight, anyways.” He glanced over at the exit, then back to Lumi. “It’s late - you should head back to your room. You probably weren’t even expecting me to interrupt you in the first place, were you?”
“More for me then~”
Lumi smiled, swiping the box of cookies and adding it back to her collection of snacks. If she was being honest, their last conversation was a blur. The old Lumi typically said what she was feeling at the time, and if anything negative came of it... Well, she would just never see that person again. It had never been anything that she had to deal with later on down the road until she came to the Endless Expanse. Now, with Judge right in front of her, she felt... fine. It wasn’t that she didn’t remember, but more that she didn’t care. There were more important things to worry about, and besides--
[ x ]
“I certainly wasn’t expecting it, but it isn’t an unwelcome surprise.”
Without asking for permission, she took a seat next to Judge and set the snacks down on the table between them -- you know, just in case.
“Typically this is the part where I exclaim how perfect I am, and while that may be true of my looks, it isn’t true of my behavior. Our fight is simply water under the bridge now. I apologize for how I acted.”
She giggled at herself. This place had a way of making you realize things you may not have even noticed about yourself in the real world. It comes at you fast, and you have to deal with it or crumble. She had been learning this the hard way. Judge was doing what they all were doing.
“You’re just doing the best you can given the situation we’re in, just like me. It hasn’t been easy, and I won’t claim to understand you completely, or vice versa...” She offered her hand to him and smiled. “But I’m hoping that maybe we could try to look past our differences and understand one another. It’d be a bit easier than being at each other’s throats, wouldn’t you say, darling?”
She’s not mad she killed Tuesday? Daisy herself was afraid to ask it. But in fact, she imagines that Lumi had probably gone over this question herself. And yet, she still accepts and cherishes Daisy…?
Even without a voice, Daisy couldn’t find the words to reply to Lumi’s. She couldn’t imagine the proper way to react. She only allows herself to fall on Lumi, and embrace her.
Her heart was beating wildly, and she’s sure Lumi could feel it. Lumi is important to her, too. And Daisy, too, wants to remain by her side.
Burying her face in Lumi’s chest, Daisy allows herself a small smile.
Eventually, she pulls back, wiping her eyes and sniffing. Then, she signs. I will protect you, like you protect me.
Lumi’s own heart raced, a phenomenon she couldn’t quite explain, as she held Daisy close to her. She wasn’t going to be letting Daisy go anytime soon. She wondered what would become of them after this, but... that was up to them, wasn’t it? They crafted their own futures.
“Daisy, I had a thought... What will you do once we leave, hm?”
She smiled warmly at her. It had only been Lumi all this time, but having someone else around in her life didn’t sound so bad. Someone to travel with, investigate the curiosities of life with... It sounded ideal, actually. She offered Daisy her hand.
“What do you think of coming along with me, darling? I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of, and we can protect each other just like you said. We can do anything we’d like! Sounds fun, no?”
“Hey, you joke, but the sea’s a weird place,” Nobody fired back, and laughed as he leaned away from Lumi’s hand. “There’s no where on Earth better for disappearing.” The convict’s smile froze as it dawned on him: once they were off this ship, nothing could stop him from getting lost in the ocean. To go radio silent and escape into the sea—it was a nice thought. He returned his attention to his friend and laughed again.
“Hard work suits me, eh? Guess I was a blue collar kinda guy after all.” He pulled his back straight, but only for a beat. His posture relaxed again as he followed Lumi to the monitors.
“What do you think I got that blowtorch for?” Nobody flashed a wolfish grin. “Couldn’t think of a better use for it if I tried.” As he attempted to recall whether he could even operate the thing one-handed—and assured himself that he could—another thought struck him.
“Hey, Lumi. You sure it’s touch activated? What if it’s voice?” He squinted at his friend and fought back a smile. “… How’s your Dot impression?”
“Perhaps a life of crime isn’t for you after all! Ever think of being a lab assistant? I’d be more than happy to take you on, darling~”
Lumi winked playfully. When she was with Nobody, she was able to truly be herself. Everything felt... right. She was able to forget the situation they were in and just have fun no matter how dire the situation. Even now, when they were working towards the goal of leaving the Endless Expanse, it was still a game between them. She couldn’t help but smile.
“Ahaha! How clever! I wonder if Dot is able to turn her arm into a blowtorch as well? A fight for your lives under the light of two battling blowtorches... Sounds exciting, doesn’t it~?”
When this was all over, she couldn’t help but wonder what would come of their relationship? She would usually just disappear the next chance she got, but... She didn’t think she would be able to do that with Nobody. In fact, she was looking forward to spending some real time outside of this place with him. But for now... she had to show off her impersonation chops.
“Oho! I never thought of that. Perhaps you’re right... Lucky for you, I’ve been working extremely hard on my Dot impression just in case a moment like this arrived!”
Lumi cleared her throat and stood of straight. She widened her eyes and began speaking in an all too perky and robotic voice.
“Hello, honored guests! I have come to unlock this computer and take you all home! Here is my voice unlocking the computer post haste! No more death here, no siree! I love dry land! Send me there! ...Uh... hm... Games!”
The reaction Bandit had was not unlike a light bulb lighting up inside his head. It was like he had forgotten the fact that Daisy hadn’t used her Killing Hour. Honestly, he was too emotional at the time to even recognise that aspect of the case. Still… Tuesday’s death happening outside the game means it was just plain murder. Or self defense. Or just an accident. But does any of that matter? A life was lost. Tuesday’s life was put to an end.
“…..”
He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He closed his mouth. Bandit didn’t want to argue with her. He thinks she’s probably right, but he just needs more time before he can hopefully come to accept her conclusion. He’s over that topic for the time being.
“I understand, but… I have weak loyalty?” He holds his hand over his chest. “I’m not turning on anyone! I stay calm– okay maybe not that but I trust in those around me! For the most part!”
Bandit scratches the top of his head, ruffling his own hair somewhat. He grumbles to himself. Looks like the serious element of this conversation really has dropped.
“…I understand. I’m sorry. Again. I’m trying my best. I really am. I just don’t know how to relax on this ship…………….. there’s no cute girl to help me through this.”
“…”
A seemingly unamused Lumi stared deeply into Bandit’s eyes. There wasn’t a cute girl to help him through this, huh? Perhaps he had a point. Having cute girls around to ease the pain of life was certainly important–
Lumi turned away and covered her mouth to mask her sudden giggle fit. Bandit was as ridiculous as ever, even when things got tense. She had to appreciate that charm.
“Shut up, stupid! I’m not supposed to be laughing right now!”
She delicately wiped a tear away from her eye as she placed her hand warmly on Bandit’s shoulder. They had both made mistakes. No one was perfect, and she knew she needed to be more patient with him… as long as he would be more patient with her in return.
“We’re a band of misfits, and that’s putting it lightly. Because of that, we should stick together… So, I suppose I accept your apology for now, darling. However, I won’t be putting up with this again.”
She focused back on her work and reached her hand out in Bandit’s direction.
“Well? Come on then, you wanted to help, right? Fetch me some pliers and let’s get to work.”
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