"Well, I'll be your friend, if you ever need a place to come back to my house and truck are open," Honor said with a smile, "I don't hate your kind at all, though I know I'm one of the few that aren't." She wanted to bring up her past with other beings like him and Oscar, but it didn't feel right, so she just smiled and shrugged, "I wish there was a way that I could help all of your kind when they first arrive here. Oscar just happened to be in the right place at the right time and I was there to help."
"You're a very kind person, Honor," Ernie said quietly. "Please always stay that way."
There was a short pause, then Oscar coughed in annoyance. He'd agreed to team up with Ernie, yes, but that didn't mean he wanted to get all chummy with him. "So….if Goldenrod does come looking for us before dark, what then?"
"I'm pretty sure they won't," Ernie replied thoughtfully. "Usually, what they do is surround an area and then wait for me to show myself, and then act. I think they're trying to avoid a fight with that strategy. But suppose they do start closing in before we're ready….I'll do my best to keep us all hidden, but we might have to move somewhere else to stay out of their range. That reminds me–when we escape, I assume you want me to bring your truck with us, if possible?"
Honor nodded, focusing on the plan again once her truck was involved, "Yes, my truck is not getting left behind." She looked between the two of them, the look on her face showing that she wasn't going to negotiate on that, "I know Oscar can drive, and I assume you can Ernie, so, whatever works to get my truck out as well sounds good to me."
"I actually can't drive," Ernie admitted, "But I can carry it with us when we make a break for it. I think humans call it 'teleporting'?"
"I read about teleporting," Oscar said immediately. "It's traveling from one place to another instantly."
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I do. I accidentally teleported a whole house once, so I think I can manage a truck."
"And I'll drive it, once we get where we're going," Oscar added. Mostly he wanted to feel like he was contributing to the plan somehow, but also he was secretly delighted that he could do something Ernie couldn't, and was eager to show off his skill in front of the other Erased One
"I have a few more questions quick, but that part sounds fine," Honor agreed, now trying to get into more detail about her part of the plan. "Do the Goldenrod people guard all of their light things? Or is there an easy way for me to get to one of them? Also, once I break it, do I just run out of town and meet with you guys? Or what is happening with that?" She didn't want anything to go wrong, and the best way to make sure that didn't happen was to know exactly what she was supposed to do.
Ernie hopped off his seat on the car and picked up a stick, starting to draw a circle in the dirt. "Okay, so, let's pretend this is the town. There are four lights evenly spaced around it, and yes, they'll probably be guarded. We'll just have to find the one that seems like the easiest to destroy. I think, as long as Oscar and I stay here with the truck–" He drew a small square in the center of the circle. "–we'll be far enough away that I can use my powers and make you invisible so you can sneak up to the light and back here without anyone seeing you. You can either knock it down, or maybe break the lightbulb itself, whatever seems easiest. Then, run back to this spot as fast as you can and I'll get us out of here. Make sense?"
She nodded, listening to his plan that made much more sense now, "Yup, that sounds good, I can do that." Honor glanced over at Oscar, giving him a tiny smile before saying, "Well, if we're going to do this tonight, do you two mind if I take a nap right now? That was I'll have the energy to help with the plan."
"That's fine," Ernie said. "I'm sure Oscar and I can manage to get along for a while if you want some rest."
Oscar nodded grudgingly. "We'll wake you up if anything happens."
"No fighting," She said, smiling at the two of them before climbing into the bed of the truck and starting to make a little makeshift bed out of the blankets and pillows she had tossed in the back. It was no soft mattress, but it wasn't bad, she decided as she laid down and pulled a thick blanket over herself.
Both Erased Ones sat quietly, pretending to watch for danger as an excuse to avoid starting a conversation. Finally, Ernie glanced over at Oscar and spoke in a reproachful whisper. "I'm really not going to eat you, I promise."
No reply.
"I understand how you must feel," Ernie continued, "but it's not really fair…..you Level Threes have a much worse track record when it comes to eating people."
Oscar glared at him. "You're the one who acts like you're hungry all the time."
"I crave sugar, not meat." Ernie shrugged. "Sweets and foods with lots of energy take away the pain for a little while. Don't tell me it's not the same for you? You ache too, right?"
Oscar hesitated, looking away. "Maybe. Don't tell Honor, though. I don't want her to worry–I don't think there's anything she can do to help."
Ernie nodded. "Okay. I won't." They fell silent again, listening to a dog bark somewhere in the distance.
Honor had heard the first part of the conversation, but drifted off before they brought up how sweets took away the pain. She pulled her blanket up around her shoulders, falling asleep quickly. It wasn't the first time she had slept in the back of her truck, and certainly wouldn't be the last, but even then it wasn't terribly comfortable, so she shifted and rolled as she slept.
After a while, the sun finally set, turning the sky a deep twilight blue. The stars were out in earnest now, and there were so few manmade lights nearby that even the milky way could be seen, glimmering faintly against the darkness. Oscar glanced at Ernie, who looked around one more time before standing up and walking over to the truck where Honor was sleeping. "Honor? Sorry to wake you up so soon, but I think we can make our move now."
(Sorry for being gone for so long, life has been crazy)
"Hm?" She heard Oscar's words but it took her a minute to process what he said as she started to wake up. "Ok," Honor answered, yawning and sitting up so she didn't fall back asleep, "Give me a minute, then I'll be ready to go." She stretched and pulled the blanket off of her before climbing to the tailgate and out of the truck.
(It's fine fam, take your time! ^^)
Both boys nodded, standing up as well and shaking the blood back into their limbs. Ernie glanced to the north, where the glow from one of the floodlights could easily be seen. "I think that light's the closest one. When you're ready, Honor, I'll make you invisible and you can go scout it out. And if it looks too heavily-guarded to get close, we can try a different one."
"If it's not heavily guarded, should I go for it right away?" Honor asked, shaking away the last of her tiredness as she closed the tailgate and looked between the two of them. She had no clue how she was going to break the light if she could get to it, but she was definitely going to try, "Also, important clarification, does anything I hold turn invisible too? Or does it look like it's just floating there? That's going to be the difference between how easy it is to break that thing."
"Yes, I can make anything you touch turn invisible too," Ernie promised. "For that matter, I can make it so Golderod can't hear you either, even if you're very loud. Oscar and I will still be able to see and hear you, though, because of what we are. If the light looks easy to destroy, give us a shout or something and then go right ahead. That'll give us a second to get ready. Okay?"
"After that and if I break it, I run straight back here, and you guys will get us out of here?" She looked towards the glow of the light and thought for a minute, nodding to herself. Honor turned back to them and nodded once more, "Sounds good, I'm ready to become invisible whenever you're ready." Turning invisible sounded really cool, but she wondered if his promise of letting her not be heard could actually be trusted. She definitely didn't want to test the promise out unless she had to.
Ernie nodded in response and stepped over, briefly touching her shoulder and then retreating to the truck. Absolutely nothing seemed to happen, but Oscar blinked and looked at Honor with pitch black eyes, as if he had to use his powers to see her now.
"Okay," Ernie said, placing his hand on the side of the pickup. "You're all set up. Good luck."
Honor looked down at herself, a confused look on her face that showed she didn't really believe anything had happened. "I'll be back soon," She said, nodding and trying to hide her nervousness as she stepped away from the truck and looked towards the source of the light. It was now or never. Honor started out of the lot, her focus on the light and on the quickest path to get there.
Goldenrod had set up shop right at the edge of town, only about a block or so away. One van was parked slantwise at the edge of a field, and the back doors had been thrown open to let out trails of cables and piles of equipment. The cables all either led to tables covered in strange surveillance equipment, or to a tall yellow tripod in an open space nearby. At the top of the tripod was a large cylindrical light protected by a wire cage, like some kind of giant bug zapper. The light glowed with an odd, almost liquid-esque golden aura, and seemed to illuminate much more area than seemed possible. The hum of electricity was audible from several yards away. Moving about the area were several Goldenrod agents and police officers, all busy watching the monitors or surveying the darkness around them. There seemed to be about ten people present in total, and several of them were armed with slim dart guns or small firearms. They spoke quietly to one another, seeming content to simply wait and watch.
Honor slowed down to a walk when she reached the edge of her cover from the people, worried that her invisibility wouldn't work as she slowly stepped out into the open and waited for someone to yell that they had spotted her. No one seemed to though as she continued forward, her confidence growing as someone passed right by her without batting an eye. Apparently Ernie's powers were working. She started scanning the area for whatever was going to be the easiest way to get the light to stop working, her eyes following the cables from the van. Her best bet, if she wanted to not draw a ton of attention to herself, seemed to be that. Maybe throwing water in the van, trying to short circuit it would work.
(I gotta go to bed, but have this)
A pair of Goldenrod agents walked mere inches from her, still completely unaware of her presence. As they passed, a bit of their conversation became audible.
"…Actually two targets inside the hot zone," one was saying. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah," the other replied. "That's rare. If they're not fighting, then they must be working together….right?"
"Seems unlikely. Scans detected the second target was a Level Three, and you know how they are around Fours. It could be that one's hiding from the other right now. Either way, I say that smart-alec Abbot should be the one to investigate. His department needs the data anyway, doesn't it? Maybe his findings will actually make him worth his paycheck for once."
The two walked out of earshot, their voices fading. Now the only person near the van was a lone, incredibly nervous-looking young technician.
Despite knowing they couldn't hear or see her, Honor stopped when the pair walked by, only moving toward the van again once they had gotten several feet past her. She could see the thick cables running into the van and when she poked her head around one of the doors, she couldn't help but sigh in relief. It was only one person. That much she could handle dealing with. Honor figured the best thing to do would be to probably knock them out, that way she could mess with the van and power without anyone getting hurt. And so that's what she tried to do, stepping into the van and picking up something heavy enough to smack them upside the head with and not kill them.
Now she just hoped that Ernie's sound thing would apply to when she swung the thing at the person's head, knocking them out with one smack.
It was odd, to see the technician's head jerk sideways as he got hit, while at the same time hearing nothing but his grunt of pain and shock a moment later. Seconds later he dropped to the ground, out cold, and the inner workings of the van were at Honor's mercy for the next few minutes.
(I'm working all day today, probably won't be back online until tomorrow)
Honor tried to catch him as he dropped, but she didn't get there in time, watching as he collapsed for a minute before knowing she was running on borrowed time. Now she just had to figure out how to either turn off the light or mess things up badly before going out to destroy it. She decided to try the first option first, looking around for something that looked like it could have something to do with the light.
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