Chapter Text
—2 MONTHS AGO—
“It’s for the best,” she traced her finger along the desk. “They just don’t get it yet.”
“Are you sure about this, Ms. Keen? I don’t think—"
“This lays the foundation for a new beginning,” she stated.
He picked up a capsule: in it a dark substance, seemingly liquid—although, even he was unsure. Ms. Keen had always been secretive of her plans. But one thing was for certain: he had to stop it.
“Are you really gonna use this thing on the entire world?” He scoffed. “What good will this do humankind?”
“You can be rather naive at times, Arthur.”
Mr. Walton crossed his arms. He scratched his neck, then sighed softly. “Look, I- me and the handlers had a discussion about-”
“You told them?” Though her tone was calm, Arthur flinched at her words.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t-”
She chuckled, an amused glint in her eyes.
His brows furrowed. “I don’t understand…”
Delilah pulled out her office chair and dropped down onto it. She muttered under her breath, sharply jotting down her own words on the dusty wooden desk. She doesn’t let anybody else see her notes, and usually Arthur hadn’t a complaint about it—but something in the way she wrote, something about the look in her eyes… very compelling…
“They deserve to know the plan,” she mused softly. “There’s really nothing to hide, is there not?”
“Well, I don’t know about this, Ms. Keen… we're talking about changing the world here…”
“Is it not the right thing to do?” she raised an eyebrow. “Making something big for the sake of our future?"
He sighed.
Shelly kicked her feet in the air. She looked up to the ceiling, eyes wandering around.
“Shelly!” called Astro, poking her shoulder.
She flinched. “Oh, sorry… I’m sorry… I-I zoned out…”
“Yeah, I can see that… it took five calls to get your attention!”
“Yeah, hehe…”
A plate of pizza slid onto the table. “No mushrooms this time…” Sprout set down five napkins.
Dandy examined the plate keenly. He looked up, arms crossed on his chest. “I don’t like olives either.”
The larter frowned.
“Can I cut it?” Shelly’s eyes lit up, “I’ve always wanted to!"
Sprout grabbed a nearby chair and sat down, “Uh, yeah sure; go ahead!"
Vee spoke up, “I think the handlers are hiding something from us.”
Shelly froze, a rusty knife in hand. “How so?”
“Honestly, yeah…” frowned Astro. “Austin seems so stressed out, I’m concerned. He told me he’s going through some things and I should stop worrying—it’s actually damaging just thinking about him…”
“Man, can we switch handlers please?” Sprout played with his fork. “Sam doesn’t even try to acknowledge my concern. It actually sucks.”
Vee added, “Well, in an objective point of view: it's not necessarily wrong; people going through a lot of stress tend to bottle up and will most likely burst when others intervene at the wrong times.”
“Shanon seems just fine, honestly,” Shelly paused to take a bite. “At least I hope so.”
“Even Pebs is worried for them,” Dandy mumbled with a stuffed mouth. “Trust me: his instincts are always right.”
Sprout rapidly tapped his feet. "I just don't think it's ethical to shut the door on someone who's tryna help."
"Bworf?" Pebble's eyes sparked with wonder, glancing at the back door.
"It was a metaphor, bud."
Vee gritted her teeth. "Not sure he knows what that means, but okay."