Into The Future: Chapter 4
#5 of Into The Future
Facil had slowly came to in a matter of minutes... With the help of Baso, who regained a bit more control of his thawing body. The crocodile lightly prodded the hedgehog's cheek with his foot persistently. The sleepy hedgehog eventually gave in, smacking his lips together, the saliva from his brief rest was dabbled all over them. He wiped his mess away just as soon as the headache poured in. "Oooo... That smarts," he rubbed the side of his head with the same hand. "What a bitch," Facil recalled the incident with a grumble.
"Facil okay?" Baso asked, wishing they were out of this mess, "Baso okay!" He lied, trying to reassure the hedgehog that everything would be alright. Facil's own concern was the least of his problems, knowing that Baso foolishly tagged along. How could the crocodile be so stupid to come with? ...Though as he thought about it, he probably would have been scared out of his mind going through this all alone. His last minute support was greatly appreciated, if not completely misplaced at first.
"What are you doing here Baso? You should be back with the boss and the others!" Facil gave a lecture to a crocodile who didn't want to hear any of it. Baso rolled his eyes at the statement with a huff. "You have any idea what sort of mess you're getting yourself into?" Facil pulled himself up, propping himself against the wall opposite of the crocodile.
"Facil not Empyrean property!" Baso had stunned the hedgehog with his words, confusing him about what really was going on. "Baso seeked Facil fair or square! Facil Baso property!" The crocodile's explanation had the hedgehog's quills a bit ruffled, wondering if Baso could really be trusted if he was just considered property.
"So that's how it is, huh?" Facil scowled, expressing his disdain for being labeled as a mere object up for claim of ownership. "I'm just property now? Is this what it's really all about?" The hedgehog grumbled, glaring straight at an unfazed Baso.
"You friend too Facil, no just property! Best friend!" Baso attempted to reinforce the notion. It probably would have been easier to convey his thoughts if he hadn't skipped Empyrean study sessions with his father. "We to escape Empyrean, are go back to Boss!" His wishful thinking had no effect on the pessimistic hedgehog.
"Oh yeah? And what's your plan numb nuts?" Facil rudely reminded the crocodile of his physical condition. "You're still not any better if you haven't realized yet," the hedgehog couldn't wrap his mind around Baso's questionable level of intelligence when it came to wits.
"...No-know." Baso gave a weak shrug of his shoulders, causing Facil to roll his eyes. Typical... Facil knew he was gonna be stuck with Empyrean for the long haul. He wasn't sure how Baso was going to last in Empyrean with his condition and language barrier. If they were anything as bad as the boss said they were, things didn't look to good for the Crocodile. "Baso think the thing!" His wording was getting on the hedgehog's nerves.
"You do that..." Facil ended the conversation, watching Baso struggling to think, nearly bursting a blood vessel in deep thought... Ashamedly, it was pretty entertaining for the hedgehog to watch. Even if the spectacle was enjoyable, he didn't put too much faith in Baso's plan making, believing the crocodile didn't have a fraction of knowledge of Empyrean that he did.
"Pee!" Baso shouted, squirming as he grabbed himself to bar the stream from passing into his pants. Facil's face fell into his palm, quickly realizing that this was the plan that the crocodile came up with... How pathetic. The hedgehog knew a bathroom break wouldn't give him a second's worth of an escape. Groveling and bangging against the siding, Baso drew the attention of the Empyreans at the front.
A sliding compartment from the door shutting them off from the Empyreans in front peeled open, an angry Miracle glaring from the other end. "What is it?!" Her scowling eyes batted between the duo, Facil obviously avoiding it while Baso returned the gesture straight on, still wriggling about.
"Need pee now!" Baso replied, looking as if he was about to burst. Facil tried to hide his speculations as much as he could, keeping to himself. Miracle rolled her eyes and shut the door, her response had Baso frozen in place, wondering if they had bought his little charade. The flap slid open once again as Miracle carelessly tossed an empty thermos into the back. The pair covered themselves from the wild object as it violently bounced its way to the back.
"And I want that thing washed out sparkling clean before you give it back!" The wolf added as a demand before slamming the visor back shut. Facil knew it was too good to be true for them to just let them out for a bathroom stop. Baso, however, was steaming, ticked that his plan was foiled. He flailed an arm about, attempting to reach for the rolling thermos can.
Grabbing hold of it, Baso, managed to find the strength to struggle up to his knees, leaning himself against the side as he dropped his pants down to his lower legs, regardless if Facil was watching him or not. The hedgehog's jaw dropped as Baso exposed himself to the hedgehog, his eyes were glued, seeing the crocodile bring the cup between his legs. Facil couldn't take his eyes away, never seeing a nude reptile before. The hedgehog had to question Baso's real gender in that moment as the crocodile relieved himself from a slit rather than the male equivalent.
"...What?" Baso shrugged casually, "Really need pee!" His honesty was beyond brunt, leaving Facil scared for life... Or at least until the next oddity in Terra would leave a burning imprint in his mind. Shaking his head feverishly, the hedgehog found the willpower to glance away, blushing madly at what he just witnessed.
B-B-Baso's a chick?! _Facil wrestled about with the though. _No-no! It can't be possible with a voice like THAT! _He tried to rationalize why the crocodile had no male genitalia. _Maybe it got cut off in a freak accident or something? He sympathized with Baso if that was the case. He held his own crotch as his mind crossed what kind of botch job had to take place for such a disaster to happen. Unfortunately, Baso took notice to the hedgehog's discomfort and inquired him promptly after his relief ran dry.
"Need pee?" He held out the full jug towards Facil, who immediately caught scent of it and backed away swiftly. He almost thought about knocking it out of the crocodiles hands, but that would cause more than enough problems with too many people. The last thing the hedgehog wanted was to make enemies, especially out of his only friend.
"N-no thanks," the hedgehog scooted to the opposite corner of the vehicle, hoping for no unexpected bumps that would cause a splash between the both of them. Luckily for the both of them Baso was smart enough to screw the cap back on before setting it aside, letting it roll about the place. The crocodile wiggled his pants back over his rump, making himself decent again, relieving Facil of anymore awkwardness, but not of the silence that ensued.
The hedgehog let his mind wander away from the matter, wondering what this Empyrean place would be like. If it was any place like home, he was sure there would be the luxuries, modern technology, and perhaps some level headed people who knew how to operate it all. His eyes shifted at Baso as he hung on the last thought, watching the crocodile stare into nothingness on the ceiling.
Facil was curious how Baso would fair as well... Would he be ready for what was in store? Both of them were in over their head at this point, except Facil didn't have a choice in the matter. With how militarized Miracle's group looked, the hedgehog wondered if he and Baso were up for that sort of thing. Perhaps there was a paper pushing position he could take up or something productive to keep out of the heat of the action.
He recalled buckling under the pressure when Baso pointed a mining gun over his shoulder. Facil would probably soil himself if it was the real deal with some stranger holding him at gunpoint. Shuttering, he discarded the thought as quickly as he could... Reminding himself he could hide within a nonviolent occupation. Someone's gotta keep people like Miracle and her crew going, maybe I can look into weapon maintenance? He had to stay positive. Maybe kitchen duty? Facil weighed the options logically. Janitor? Dirty toilets were hard for the hedgehog to look at, but considering what he had been through, He'd rather look down a filthy drain than a hollow barrel.
He juggled his options until his eyelids grew heavy, soon covering his sight and lulling him to sleep.... It would probably be his last peaceful sleep for a while.