Try to Keep Up!

[IceQueen]

Holow glared at him, smacking his head with her towel. "Heard that rookie. Now keep your mouth shut." She said, walking strait past him. She didn't even bother with the elevator, she hit the stairs and ran down it so fast, she beat the elevator to the garage. When she got there, there where a few workbenches and a two stands, one for a large mech, and one for Haven. She smiled and opened the garage, using her garage opener and calling Haven inside.

 

[StoneyJr]

Jake took to a slower pace as he strolled down the stairs, content with spending less time with that woman. He stuck his earbuds back in and started listening to some music, taking his sweet time to arrive at the garage.


On arriving, he didn't even stop to look at Holow, but walked straight over to Wrath and laid a hand up against one of the mech's arms.


"Let's get you all fixed up then eh, beautiful?" He spoke to the mech softly, as if it could somehow hear him, and tapped it's arm a few times, leading it into the garage.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow smiled. "Haven, run down specks." She said to her. Immediately the mechanical robot responded. "Power is currently at 40%, and pneumatics pressure is 306. I suggest running a compressor and plugging in the lights and checking the shock absorbers." She said in a fairly normal voice. Holow smiled and grabbed a large compressor from a workbench.

 

[StoneyJr]

Jake lead Wrath into the garage, standing him near a fairly tall ladder, and rolled up his sleeves.


"Ookay.." He spoke fairly softly, "Let's take a lil' look in here."


Jake removed one of Wrath's shoulder plates, sliding a head ware torch and rubbing down the joint underneath with a dirty, oily towel, and sticking his head inside the outer shell. He looked around for a few seconds and then jumped down off the ladder, picking up a spanner.


"Gonna need to hear how you're doin' man." He spoke to Wrath.


"Power is at a low 27%, right shoulder is at risk, armour plating has been compromised, joint fluid showing high amounts of iron oxide." Wrath spoke in an almost lulling voice.

 

[IceQueen]

Before she knew it, she was nose deep in her mech, the top of it open revealing a bunch of wires and plugs. She said, looking at them. She messed with a few of the wires, dropping her chair until she could reach the bench, grabbing the wire strippers and going back up, removing the coating from her wires. She smiled and took a bit of sodder, attaching it to a piece in her head. She smiled, rubbing her cheek and smearing some grease on her cheek.

 

[StoneyJr]

Jake pulled himself out of the shoulder cavity of his mech, rubbing small beads of sweat from his forehead and looking over at Holow.


"Lookin' good over there." He smiled, genuinely.


He then jumped down from his ladder and walked over to a few shelves, picking up a container of light blue fluid and jumping back up the ladder and into the cavity.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow pulled her head out of her mech, smears of grease covering her forehead and cheeks. "Oh yeah. The wire near his neck needs to be replaced. It is falling apart." she said, moving her raising chair over and reaching over him, pulling on the wire gently. She smiled and moved back to her mech, starting to check the shock.

 

[StoneyJr]

"Thanks," Jake chuckled, "I was just getting to that bit.."


He went quiet at that last part, having missed the obvious that was now blaring in his face. He placed the container of blue fluid beside him on the ladder and started looking over the wire.


"Cut power to right arm." He spoke to Wrath, not wanting to get fried.


Wrath's right arm locked into position, and was powered down, letting Jake strip and remove the faulty wire.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow chuckled lightly. "Rookie mistake." She said, looking at him. "Trust me. Underneath my watch, you will notice things like that better." She said, looking at him. She replaced a few more wires, and started testing the shock compressors. "Haven, jump." She said, and the robot jumped with a loud metal clang. She looked at the shock absorbers. "Looks good." she said, continuing to work. A few hours later she shut the battery pack on Haven, sighing as she finished.

 

[StoneyJr]

After a few hours of working on Wrath's shoulder and replacing the fluid that ran through his joints.


"Yo man, can you do me a favor and lift your right arm up in the air?" Jake requested.


Wrath held his arm in the air, the twitching had stopped.


"Okay good, now forwards, hold your fist in front of you." He asked, Wrath complying almost instantly, "Alright, lookin' good man!" He chuckled towards the robot with a warm smile.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow got off her chair, looking at her. She smiled and tossed him a towel. "Foods here." She said, looking at him. She threw open the garage door, revealing a truck with a large bag in the back. It contained around 20 boxes of food, looking at him. "It looks like 3 are yours, and 17 are mine." She said.

 

[StoneyJr]

Jake's eyes widened and his mouth actually opened up in surprise.


"Yikes.." He said simply, "That's..alotta food.....just gimme a sec, eh?"


Jake spent a few minutes re-attaching Wrath's shoulder plate and hopped down off his ladder.


"Need some help with that, gorgeous?" He smiled.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow gave him a look and picked up the entire thing. "No, but it looks like you could use some prince charming." She said, pinching his cheek, looking at him. She really wanted to hurt him, but she just walked right past him and up towards the apartment. "Come get food if you want it." She hollered at him.

 

[StoneyJr]

Jake had a less than stellar look on his face as she passed him and walked up to the apartment, but as soon as she was out of sight he looked over to Wrath.


"Isn't she just perfect?" He chuckled.


"I do not understand the relevance of your question." Wrath stated simply.


"Ahhh whatta you know.." He huffed, walking up the stairs to the apartment to grab some food.

 

[IceQueen]

By the time he had reached the apartment, she had undone some of the boxes from their bag, having passed three boxes on one side of the table, the rest on her side. She had chopsticks in her hand, poised as she had already started eating her sweet and sour chicken. She had made a fairly large dent for the amount of time she had been there.

 

[StoneyJr]

"Damn.." Jake walked into the apartment to see a rather large portion of the food missing and Holow sat with chopsticks in her hand.


He picked up one of the three boxes and put the others inside the fridge, "Don't touch." He spoke sternly, almost commanding her, continuing to walk over to one of the chairs by the fireplace and taking a seat, one leg laid up on the arm of the chair.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow snorted, swallowing her bite. "Seriously? You may want to hide it because I consume around 5 boxes a meal." She said, looking at him. "I use a lot of muscle to drive my robot. She is pretty much pure titanium, which is relatively light, when it is in one sheet." she said, taking a few huge bites and consuming it.

 

[StoneyJr]

"Slob!" Jake laughed, taking a mouthful of rice, staring off into space.


Soon Jake was finished his food, and he threw the remnants out in the garbage and walked into his room to pick up his jacket, slipping it on and zipping it halfway up.


"I'm goin' out..somewhere." Jake told Holow as he walked over to the door of the apartment.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow looked at them, looking at him. "Alright, but if you even think about bringing a girl home to, "make love in the dark", I will personally have Haven break the door and drag her out of the house." she said, pointing her chopsticks at him. She had already finished two boxes by now. "And I am not a slob, I keep myself clean thank you very much."

 

[StoneyJr]

"Bite me!" Jake yelled, shutting the door behind him.


He walked down the stairs and into the garage, hopping into Wrath. The mech started walking out of the garage, fully charged and all fixed up. Wrath travelled across the city, heading to a not very well known spot in which almost no one, if anyone, ever went to. The mech jumped off the path up in the air, landing behind a fence, no buildings around, and no people. He was right at the edge of the city.


"Alright.." Jake started, "Let's get to work."


Jake spent many hours practising controlling Wrath, getting to know his abilities, his weaknesses, pushing Wrath and himself to the limit. It really took the energy out of Jake, but it was worth it. He was starting to become alot more fluent with Wrath.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow blinked after him. She shrugged. "Whatever." She said, continuing to eat. As the silence had continued, she began to feel the lonely empty feeling. Even as she stared at the 6 and a half empty boxes scattering the table, she could feel her gut ache. She sighed, leaning back. "Always alone. Just the way I like it." She mumbled, brushing back her hair gently as she let out a deep breath.

 

[StoneyJr]

Jake ended up practising some very specific manoeuvres, over and over, and as the night crept upon him, he had almost master jumping into the air and using his thrusters to dodge to the right and left, and land perfectly, whilst also making an attack mid jump. He had never been able to get the landing quite right until that evening, and he was extremely proud of himself for it.


He started heading home when it was dark, making sure Wrath was safe in the garage, and headed up to his apartment, quietly opening the door in case Holow was asleep.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow was asleep on the chair, her arms curled up in her lap. Her hair was tied back in a lose and messy bun, as far as the short locks would go. The front chucks had fallen out of the bun and she seemed to have been sitting by the fire alone when she fell asleep. There was a closed book on the side table, the bookmark sticking out hallway though the book.

 

[StoneyJr]

Jake walked over to Holow, standing above her for a few seconds, arms crossed raising an eyebrow, before chuckling to himself quietly walking off to a large closet, picking up a blanket and gently laying it over her, making sure not to wake her up.


He proceeded into the kitchen to grab a quick bite to eat, sitting on one of the three stools, his arms and back aching.

 

[IceQueen]

Holow curled into the blanket, a smile playing across her face as she snuggled into it. The fire next to her and the blanket where keeping her pleasantly warm in the cold weather on the floating island above the rocky mountains that where once part of Washington. Being that it was mid November, it was seriously cold outside, and this felt great.