Oscar nodded sourly. "You sure you don't remember anything about home?" he asked Ernie again.
"If I did, I probably wouldn't still be here," Ernie replied with a sigh. "Sometimes…..I think I have dreams about it….but they're too foggy." He paused, then added, "You know, there are a few Erased Ones that are more powerful than my kind roaming Earth. Humans call them Level Fives. I heard a rumor once that they still have all their memories, and came here on purpose instead of being pulled here somehow. I don't know if it's true, and I don't know where to find any of them, but maybe they could help us figure everything out."
Honor listened quietly, taking the information in. If they could find one of these level fives, maybe they could get Ernie and Oscar home, as well as any other of their kind that wanted to go. "We could try finding one, I'm sure there have been sightings of them and we just have to hope that like Ernie, one of them hasn't been caught by Goldenrod yet," She offered, glancing between the two of them.
Oscar nodded. "Yeah. Let's make that our plan. Find a level five and ask them how to get home." He hesitated, glancing at Ernie. "I….don't think we should do it together, though. You know, because we're more conspicuous when two of us….aren't human."
Ernie nodded, looking a little disappointed but not surprised that Oscar still didn't like him. "Honestly, you're right. I'm better at getting by on my own anyway. But Oscar, if you two are ever in a tight spot again, I'm willing to help. I think you know how to call me?"
"Um." Oscar scratched his head with a grudging expression. "I guess so, yeah."
"Good. In that case–" Ernie glanced at Honor. "–It might not work, but before I go, I can try to…..ask the sun if it knows where the level fives are, if you want."
"I don't think it would hurt to try," Honor agreed, listening and adding nods whenever she thought appropriate. Most of this was between Oscar and Ernie, so she didn't interrupt, even as she got curious about what they meant when they said they could call each other. She decided she could ask Oscar later though after they had said goodbyes and were back on the roads.
Ernie braced his hands on his knees and got up, dropping down out of the pickup bed and walking a few feet away to stand in the sun. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, seeming to whisper something. All around them in a perfect circle, grasshoppers and tiny birds took flight to get farther away from him.
Oscar looked a bit bored and started poking around inn the cooler for any last scraps of food. "Dunno what the sun knows about anything," he muttered. "It just lights things up. It doesn't watch us walk around down here–it doesn't even care. I think Ernie must be talking to something else without realizing it."
(I gotta work today, see you when I see you)
(Sounds good!)
She shrugged, laying back in the bed of the truck and closing her eyes, "Maybe he is talking to someone else, who knows. He looks happy though and I'm not going to stop him." Honor smiled gently, "And who knows, maybe whoever he's talking to will help us, maybe they're one of your kind?" Or maybe it was the sun. Who or whatever Ernie was talking to, she didn't think it would hurt.
Oscar paused, considering the idea that the very sunlight could be an Erased One somehow. "Maybe….? I don't know….it's weird. But if it is one of us, only Ernie can hear it for some reason. Maybe it's because he's a level five and I'm not….." He was intrigued by this train of thought and continued to mutter to himself, somewhat glad to have a something to occupy his thoughts which always seemed to be running in high gear.
Eventually, Ernie lowered his head and opened his eyes, turning back to face the truck. "Well….I have some good news and some bad news."
Honor shrugged again, listening and letting Oscar just talk over his ideas without interrupting. Even as he trailed off into muttering that she couldn't decipher, she didn't speak, just relaxing in the slight sun shining into the truck bed until Ernie came back to reality. "Let's get the bad news first," She replied, slowly sitting up so she could actually talk to both of them.
"The bad news," Ernie said, walking over to them, "Is that there are only three level fives in the entire world right now. One of them's with Goldenrod, and another is very far away right now–possibly in hiding."
Oscar frowned. "And the good news?"
"The third level five is actually somewhere relatively close. South….southwest, I think. I saw a tiny gas station in a place that looked really flat and hot with only a few bushes and a sign that said "Talma, ten miles". I've never heard of a place called Talma but I guess it's better than nothing." Ernie scratched the back of his neck. "Be careful though….I think the level five is trying very hard to avoid people. It may not want company, so don't rush in until you know it's safe. Make sense?"
"What are you going to do while we go to Talma?" Honor asked, already trying to guess just how far south this town was. Hopefully, they could get this level five to help them. That was, if they could find them first, and convince them to at least talk and come out of its avoidance of people. Now they just had to figure out what Ernie was going to do before the group could split up and get on the road to finding these level fives once again.
Ernie glanced at the deserted fields all around them. "I'll probably lay low out here until Goldenrod calms down or I get too hungry to think straight, whichever comes first. I'll be fine, I do this a lot. Maybe eventually I'll come find Talma too, but not yet. I'd like to explore farther north first, at least a bit." He gave Honor his friendly yet sad smile. "Good luck finding the level five and staying safe. It was really nice to meet you guys–I hope we run into each other again someday."
She nodded, exchanging a tiny smile, "It was nice to meet you to Ernie, I hope you see some amazing sights up north and aren't caught by Goldenrod. I hope we can meet up again before we get you guys home, at least to say goodbye again." Honor was clearly a little sad to see him go, though she tried not to let it show.
Ernie returned the nod warmly. "If you do find a way to leave Earth, just ask Oscar to call me before you leave, okay? Then maybe I can go with you and we won't have to say goodbye at all." Taking a few steps back, he reluctantly turned and started walking off along the side of the gravel road. "But for now….see you, Honor. And you, Oscar."
Oscar watched him go in grudging silence. He still held on to is natural distrust of the level four, but even he had to admit that Ernie had been nothing but nice and helpful during his time with them. Considering it was this first time he'd encountered another Erased One on Earth, things could have gone a lot worse.
"Goodbye Ernie," Honor called, waving to him and watching him go with a small smile. She didn't move from her spot in the bed of the truck until he was out of sight, sighing before turning to Oscar and motioning to the cab of the truck, "Well, should we get on the road to Talma? We have to get more food as well, so pit stop at a grocery store on the way is what I'm suggesting."
Oscar nodded, straightening. "Sure." He clambered out of the truck bed and hopped to the ground, stretching. "Will it really be safe to visit a grocery store with Goldenrod looking for us?" He knew they didn't have much choice either way, especially since he was still very hungry, but the thought of running into the sinister agency again so soon made him lose his appetite somewhat.
(btw, I've been thinking about the future plot, and I have a bit of an idea, but it involves them getting temporarily caught by Goldenrod before they reach Talma. Not right away, maybe in the next in-game day or so. That all right with you?)
(Sure that sounds fun!)
She shrugged at his question, slipping off of the truck bed and tucking everything back up neatly before putting up the tailgate, "I'm not really sure if it'll be safe, but since I was invisible when I broke their light, I think it'll be safe for me to go in and get stuff." Honor pulled the keys out of her pocket and sighed, stretching as she headed for the driver's side, "All I know right now is that I'm hungry, so even if we just end up at a drive-thru, we have to get food."
Oscar nodded—she was right, of course. "If you want to take turns driving, by the way, just let me know. I kind of enjoy it, and you still look a bit tired."
"I'll take you up on that offer as soon as we reach food." Honor slipped into the driver's seat and smiled over at Oscar. She hummed softly as the truck rumbled to life, thankful that it still worked. Now it was time to get back on the road towards a town she had honestly never heard of in her life. Hopefully, Ernie had been right though and there would be a level five around there somewhere for them to talk to.
As they drove, the sun rose completely, quickly heating up the fields and evaporating last night's dew. Oscar rolled down the truck window to get some fresh air, frowning when a stray grasshopper smacked him in the face. "Is it possible to eat grasshoppers? I don't see much use for them otherwise."
She laughed at Oscar's question, then just shrugged in response, "It is possible to eat them, some people do. There really isn't a purpose for them, they're just food for animals really, and they make interesting chirping noises at night." Honor kept her eyes open for any sign of a town as she drove, unsure of exactly where they were. Hopefully finding a town would help her figure out how to get to Talma from wherever they were.
(Sorry, had to work this afternoon)
So far the horizon was completely empty–Ernie must have really dropped them in the middle of nowhere. But the road ahead seemed to lead to a river lined with trees, and where there was water, there was usually people.
"I'll have to try eating one sometime," Oscar was saying, intrigued. "How do you eat them? Can you eat them raw? What do they taste like?"
"I'm not sure about the answer to any of those questions," Honor admitted, continuing on the road towards the trees that she assumed would lead them towards a town. The drive was boring, but she didn't mind it, still thinking over where Talma could be and how long it would take the pair of them to both get there and convince the level five to help them.
(OH NO I thought I replied to this ages ago, I'm really sorry fam!!)
"I'll have to find out for myself," Oscar decided, and stuck his hand out the window, patiently waiting for a grasshopper to leap into his palm. "If I catch a lot, do you want one too?" he asked with unquenchable optimism.
(It's cool bro! Sorry my response is short btw!)
She laughed happily and shook her head, politely declining, "No thanks, I'll pass." The road was definitely not the smoothest ride, but Honor tried her best to keep the ride smooth so that Oscar could try to catch grasshoppers.
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