-----
"hey."
"Hey."
"HEY!"
Storm 01 blinked and turned to Rory who sat next to him. They were in the back seat of a transport car soaring through the sky of Zoda.
"Are you okay?" She queried with a concerned look on her face.
He exhaled softly and ran his hand through his dark brown hair. "Heh, staring at the buildings made my mind wander someplace else, I can't even recall what I was thinking, sorry."
Rory smiled. "It's okay, you must be tired from all your duties as a Storm agent."
Storm 01 smiled back. The car finally came to a stop and the duo stepped out into the streets of Zoda. Rory looked around and exclaimed loudly. "Wow! It's so beautiful," she stated. "I can't believe it took this long to set foot in Zoda."
"Maybe this part of Zoda is. I lived in the darker part, and there was nothing pleasant about being there, you might as well move to the underground."
Rory pouted. "I won't let you change my view," she said. "Come on, you promised me a hot chocolate, I want my hot chocolate." She quickly picked up her pace as she walked forward.
The dark-haired man smiled. He slipped his hands into his jacket pocket and began following behind the golden-haired woman.
After walking around the place like the total strangers they were, the duo finally walked into a coffee shop. They both walked up to the counter and ordered their beverage before picking an empty sit in one corner of the shop.
"This is good," Rory said after taking a sip of her drink. "I'm glad I agreed to do this, a few hours away from our duties as agents is all I need."
Storm 01 smiled before gulping his drink. "Why not go with Erins?" He queried.
Her face suddenly falls at the mention of the name. "I don't know if things are gonna work out between the two of us."
"Why? Some people might say otherwise but you two are awesome together."
She cupped her cup with her hands and stare into the liquid. "I don't know. Though he does find a way to make it fun, he never wants to reveal anything about himself."
"Just let him, he'll come around eventually, I have a feeling." The dark-haired man laughed at his words.
Rory shook her head and took a sip of her drink before speaking. "The only personal thing I know about him is that he has a younger sister, and she was the reason he joined Department H," she revealed.
"Hey, at least you know something about him. Just give him time, Rors."
"Rors? What the hell is that?"
"Your nick."
Rory furrowed. "My name is literally two syllables, Ro-ry, how hard is it to say it in full?" She chuckled.
"It's already done Rors, you can't change it."
"Fine." She replied. "Say, what would you have done if you hadn't joined the D.H.?"
The dark-haired man moved his cup to the side and leaned forward. "I actually had a few things in mind when I was younger," he started. "I built a rocket ship when I was younger and thought I was the most brilliant being in all of Zoda. I even begged my dad to enroll me into ColdTech so I could get recognized by the Quantum Realm Corp."
"Did he?"
"No, but I wanted to join the Q.R.C. so badly that I thought of creating a chip that I could use to control my dad and force him to do it, I was stupid."
Rory laughed and pushed her hair back with her hand. "I actually have been to ColdTech Realm a few times myself."
"And?"
"There are really brilliant people there, only great minds are allowed to enroll," she said with a smirk creeping up her lips.
The dark-haired man's brows inched closer. "Are you saying I'm not smart? Is that what you are insinuating?"
Rory threw her head back and laughed. "Of course not." She used her hand to cover her mouth as she laughed.
"This reminds me of this girl I met at Coldtech Zoda..."
"Oh," Rory exclaimed. "What is her name?" She leaned forward.
"Hailey--- Hailey Sun. I actually used some of her gadgets to defeat the machine."
Rory smiled mischievously. "Is that the only thing she gave you?" She questioned, emphasizing the word 'Only'.
He shook his head and furrowed. "Don't say it like that."
"Like how?"
"You know how."
"Ugh, fine. Anyways, I think I would have opened my coffee shop if I wasn't an agent. "
The dark-haired man smiled. "That's nice."
"Notice how I said the word 'think'. That's because my mom would have said otherwise…" her voice cracked before she could complete her sentence. "I miss her."
"The whole of Winter Weir does."
The duo talked some more. They ordered another cup of hot chocolate and continued their conversation till the sun began to set.
"I think we should head back now."
Rory looked out through the glass wall and nodded. "You're right. But there's one last thing I'd like to do before we return to base."
"What's that?" The dark-haired man probed.
"Getting a matching tattoo," Rory said with a bright smile on her face. "I've always wanted to have one, not too big or visible, just a little circle on the wrist would do." She used her index finger to draw a small circle on her wrist.
Storm 01 paused for a couple of seconds before replying. "That'll be nice, but I'm not sure if mine would work. You know, because of the Z-syrup."
"I have an idea... It's a little stupid and risky though, and it involves stealing from Miss Havishma."
-----
The dark-haired man sat on a chair alone in an empty cargo room on the ship with his eyes fixed on the half butterfly tattooed on his wrist. He rolled his sleeves over it and got up on his feet. The dark-haired man fixed his cloth and walked out of the room to join the others.
[Switching oxygen level to match the atmosphere of the new planet]
The ship slowly descends on the soil of earth. The agents used their hands to cover their faces as the scorching sun poured its heat on them.
For the dark-haired man, it was the second time he was feeling the heat of the sun, the first being the Medi forest, and it didn't really do much to him, but for the other runaway agent of Department H, it was new. Her face immediately became covered with sweat.
A small spaceship landed next to the spaceship the agents used. A woman in her late thirties in a fitted red dress that revealed much of her curve walked out of the ship. The dress reached to her ankle with a small opening in the side. She had long dark hair with a few strands of white tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes were green with a small brown dot in the middle of the green.
She smiled and approached the red-haired woman with her hands outstretched. "Ada, so nice to finally have you back." She wrapped her hands around Ada and pulled her in for a hug. "The walls of Ealien miss your presence. I was more than disappointed when I saw Six return without you."
"Six is here already? That bastard didn't even inform me that he was returning."
The lady pulled back and smiled. "No need to get mad at him, you know how he is." She turned to the silver-haired man and nodded. "Welcome back Minus 3. You know where to head to for the extraction."
Armi nods back before following a man in a blue suit into a car which quickly drove off.
The lady finally turned to face the dark-haired man and Jesselyn. "You must be the Storm agent. I'm Yvonne Starla," she said, slowly approaching him with a smile.
"Please trash whatever it is you brought from Winter Weir, no offense," she chuckled softly. "And welcome to Earth."
...
ns 15.158.61.23da2
