What a world this dimension was. How crisp and clean the air was, how green Earth was compared to his home, how vibrant, how stunning!
It was hard to really appreciate it after being thrown into the chaos of Kobberdom, dealing with a rain of evil lobsters and all. But with the Planeswardens focused on rebuilding during this oddly quiet time, Troy had all the time in the world to get used to his new surroundings. It was a good change of pace from staying in one spot providing missions like some sort of NPC questgiver, and definitely better than venturing out into a wasteland full of snow-like soot that clogs filters with ease.
He found himself wandering through the streets, taking in all the sights, letting nothing but his instincts guide him around. His heart raced with excitement as he passed by playgrounds, found stores in little crannies with knick knacks he would buy in a heartbeat if he didn't have any restraint, and listened to buskers bust out their best moves, their best music. An atmosphere like that couldn't be beat, he thought.
Nothing could compare to how Melissa was handling it, however. While he basically oggled at everything, she felt right at home, zipping from one place to another. Troy would bump into her casually as she skated and balanced a stack of pizzas in her hands. "Heeeeeey Troooooooooooooy!" she would shout, voice fading as she rocketed farther and farther away. He would always wonder how the hell any sort of food stayed balanced in her palm like that, but dared not ask the question in fear of Mel twisting herself into a pretzel trying to explain it. She always smiled while doing deliveries, always coming back to HQ humming happily as she snacked on freshy baked muffins. She seemed to learn Olympia back to front, as trips around Olympia with her were planned, the punk never getting lost while Troy sometimes found himself in a dangerous alleyway or in an abandoned warehouse district.
Six months of relaxing and learning everything there was to know. Six months... and now, Dia dropped the news on them.
"Oh, on May 1st, the Kobbers are gonna be back in Olympia!" she announced to the duo in Melissa's room, Mel leaning in to listen as Troy tinkered with a mantid robot in the corner. "We're meeting up in Valhalla, which is kind of our base of operations... kinda. We're gonna be back on duty then, since most threats seem to arise more often when they're involved. Ladeca, too, will probably strike too, for more reasons than one."
Troy rose his head up from his work as he asked, "Because you guys stopped one of her top guys, right? That, and one of her minions is on our side, so all the more reason to get aggressive."
"She can't be that stupid though, right?" Mel asked as she nibbled on a muffintop. "She probably saw you guys go BAM, BOOM, BAP on her priest, so she wouldn't get reckless! Like, she's totally a slow, calculating, 'hahaha I have so many gambits it doesn't matter if you take out just one!' kinda long term jerk!"
Dia tapped a finger on her chin, tilting her head as she replied, "Based on what we know, we would believe she'd be more cautious... However, she probably knows we're scouting her home dimension. She knows we're trying to find her and set both Kobbers and Planeswardens on her. We have someone who knows her well, as well as people who have been directly harmed by her actions. She can't remain passive and trying to manipulate us for much longer, especially now that she's gotten on the Kobbers' bad side."
"But, like, she isn't THAT desperate, is she? Like, she took her sweet time dismantling our sect from the inside, and I bet she did the same in her verse. She can just hide and try again later!"
Dia shot Mel a serious look that made both Mel and Troy shudder. "You don't know the extent of the Kobbers' wrath, do you?"
Troy winced at the very thought. "I'm gonna go out on a limb based on what I've seen and say that nothing survives the onslaught."
"Exactly. They know a threat, especially if it involves one of their own, and they turn it into a pulp. Ladeca might be cautious and try to lay low, but she knows with enough searching, we'll find her. We're betting that she'll try something to take us off guard and distract us away from her, or split us apart and try to take us down one by one. Anything to stall us just enough to try to get complete control."
"And that plan, if we play our cards right, is going to lead to her downfall," Troy said, his smirk hidden behind his mask.
His smirk didnt' even compare with Dia's, however, "If? You're still underestimating the Kobbers, Phreak~"
He slumped in his corner and shrugged. "Jeez, I only got here on the tail end of their sheenanigans! How am I supposed to know how nuts they can get?"
"Weeeell, you COULD start by reading the Kobber Blogger..."
"But my daily strolls-"
"You have time management skills, don't you?"
"But-"
Before Phreak could protest, a lightbulb went off in Mel's head, her eyes sparkling as she said, "Oooh, before we really worry about things, we should, like, do some neat stuff around Olympia! Like roller skating and arcades and food stall crawls! Like a group bonding activity!"
"You're only saying that last bit because you want to try a little bit of everything," Troy pointed out as he waggled a finger.
Mel was unfazed, barreling on with, "Oh, and we can check out that massage parlor place! Group massages and spa treatments and stuff! Maybe Troy can get a facial-"
"No thanks, I don't feel like murdering someone with my Ugly Barnacle face-"
"-and, like, we'll feel all super refreshed so we can kick some ass!" Mel stopped to breathe and think for a second before she added, "OH! We should definitely go to a zoo, too! I mean, Troy probably hasn't seen a real tiger in aeons! And pandas! And dinosaurs!"
"I don't know how any of that's related, and I can just see streams of them online-"
"BUT DINOSAURS, TROY!" Mel finally blurted out as she turned to her friend. "You can't see dinosaur streams ANYWHERE! They're, like, totally beyond extinct where we're at! Nonexistent! Like, that meteor OBLITERATED them!"
Dia tilted her head again, then straightened up as a smile formed on her face. "InGen did seem like they were starting to work on a zoo specifically for dinosaurs, though admitedly they're strapped for space. They might host one on one of lesser known islands around Kuwahawi with permission, but nobody's sure about it yet. When it does open, though, we should definitely take a day off to visit!"
Mel was vibrating in place, nearly exploding with excitement. "It's a deal, then! We're gonna take this whooole week to chillax and go places! AND get spa treatments! AND see the zoo!"
"Aaaand maybe see a robot exhibit?" Troy added, albeit unsure if anyone else had an interest. "I did hear about this Battledome doing a Robot Wars thing, sooo best way to get hype is to look at stuff like that. That, and Matilda needs to stroll around unless she wants some rust on her wheels."
"Oooh, good one! I never saw those things in person so we gotta check it out! OOOH, DIA, YOU GOTTA MEET MATILDA, SHE'S SO NEAT AND-"
Melissa's hype was infectious, the trio bouncing ideas for their final week of fun. There was many a thing to worry about, for sure. Where their own leader was, dealing with Ladeca, finding out more about the Heart Rod and how to counteract Dark Matter. Such things were heavy enough to keep Troy up at night. However, he resolved to push such thoughts out of his mind until things became more active. Now was the time to enjoy the best of what Olympia had to offer with friends.
He couldn't help but wonder, though... how DID things start off on May 1st? With a bang and a boom? Did monsters just show up on day one? Or maybe there was a bar brawl on the first day fighting over who was there first? He had so many questions about the Kobber lifestyle.
Well, there was only one way to find out.
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