FicWad

((Sorry it's taken so long to get the next chapter up. Rest assured, I have much more written after this. . . I've just been lazy -_-
But, you know, I haven't gotten any reviews and I'm really starting to wonder if anyone is actually reading this. If you are, please leave a review, even if its just to say you're reading. You don't actually have to say anything about the story. Please and thank you ^_^))



Blight had the last shift in the morning. He spent most of his time sitting up on the back frame of the couch, his feet resting where his head had been as he slept. When he heard a door open and footsteps behind him, he looked over his shoulder. Natalie looked at him with wide eyes for a moment before giving a small gasp and putting a hand over her mouth. He smiled a little and reached down onto the couch-bed to retrieve his mask, putting it back on as he sat up again.

"Don't worry," He said, a little amused at her reaction, "You'd have to stand within five feet of me for nearly twenty minutes before you started to get sick. You're safe."

She breathed a small sigh of relief, but still looked a little tense. "So you were serious when you said the poison dissipates once it hits air?"

He nodded, smiling a little. "Why would I need to lie about that? Although, I only volunteered the information to you because . . ." He paused for a second, not completely sure what he wanted to say. Because he liked her? Because she seemed nice? He shrugged and smiled again. "It was fun to watch those third-rate scientists trying to figure it out for themselves."

She smiled a little, then shook her head slightly and walked towards the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I'll make breakfast."

He spun around and hopped down off the back of the couch, following her. "Can I do anything to help?"

She shrugged, opening a couple cabinets. "Not sure. Can you cook?"

He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "No, not really."

She laughed lightly and held a hand up a little, gesturing towards the cabinets. "Then point to a box. I'm sure you can do that."

"No promises." He said with a little laugh. When he looked into the cabinets, he saw four different kinds of sugary cereals, two boxes of poptarts, a box of hot chocolate mix, oatmeal and bread. He glanced at Natalie. "You actually eat all this stuff?"

"What?" She asked defensively, looking at it again. "It's not like I have this every day. . . I'm just in a hurry a lot."

"All right, all right," He raised a hand in defense and pulled out a couple cereal boxes, two packs of poptarts, a hot chocolate mix and a loaf of white bread. He set it all on the table and looked back at her. "Where are the bowls, glasses, silverware?"

She gave a start of surprise, as if just remembering he would need those things, and started directing him towards drawers and cabinets. When he was finished, he had two bowls of Lucky Charms poured for Vex and Solace, a bowl of Apple Jacks for himself, strawberry poptarts for Havoc and Frosted Mini Wheats for Chaos. Blight wasn't sure Chaos would want something like that, but no one was volunteering to cook and he would eat it anyway, even if he didn't like it.

When it was all set out, the milk left out so the cereal wouldn't get soggy, Blight walked back into the living room to wake the others.

He knelt next to Havoc first and shook his shoulder. "Wake up. . . It's morning. Wake up, breakfast is sitting on the table."

Havoc grumbled something undecipherable and rolled over, pushing himself up. He had never been much of a morning person, but he got to his hands and knees and started to wake up Solace.

Moving away from them, Blight knelt on the couch-bed and shook Vex's feet. "Wake up, bud."

He didn't raise his voice, knowing Vex would hear. What was more important, when he first woke up, Vex wouldn't be able to regulate his hearing for the few seconds it took full consciousness to return to him. He would be hearing everything and at a much higher volume than anyone else. His eyes fluttered open and he propped himself up on his elbows, running a hand down his face.

Blight started to reach out towards Chaos, but Chaos spoke before he could do anything.

"I'm awake." He said simply.

Blight stopped, a little surprised, then stood up again, mumbling to himself. "Of course, you are."

Havoc practically had to drag Solace away from his newfound, furry companion and pulled the sleepy boy down the hall towards the bathroom. If he was going to eat, Havoc wasn't going to let him do it covered in fur. He had to at least wash his hands.

Blight and the others walked into the kitchen and took their seats. Natalie was sitting on the counter next to the fridge, coffee in hand and a toasted bagel with cream cheese sitting next to her. She was looking at a section of the newspaper as she sipped her coffee. Blight tried not to wince at the smell.

"Any plans yet?" Havoc asked when he brought Solace back and sat down. The smaller boy looked significantly less furry.

Chaos shook his head and idly spooned some cereal into his mouth, reading a section of the newspaper he'd picked up off the table. "Ideas. Nothing complete yet. I was sleeping, remember?"

Blight managed to stifle a laugh and instead changed the subject as Havoc's expression soured. "What are you reading?" He asked, looking at the newspaper sitting in front of Chaos.

Chaos shrugged. "Nothing. It was just sitting here. Never know what'll help us."

Blight looked at the page and saw only adds, some for store products and some personal. He wondered how in the world anything like that could help them, but he had never known Chaos to do anything without reason, so he didn't ask.

"So," Blight said instead, "I see you've made a new friend, Sol."

Solace looked up at him, still a little sleepy, and grinned. "Brandy's so soft. And she laid next to me aaall night." As if on cue, the dog walked into the kitchen, sat next to Solace and placed her head in his lap.

He started to reach down to pet her, but Havoc quickly grabbed his wrist. "Do not. Touch the dog. While you're eating. You can pet her later."

Solace pouted a little but brought his hands back up.

"We need to get new clothes," Chaos said after a short silence, barely sparing Natalie a glance, "These will easily give us away."

Blight looked at the others' clothes. They were completely white, or they had been before they were dirtied by their last little adventure. Not exactly normal. Blight thought. Chaos was right. What they needed right now was to blend in.

"We'll go shopping after breakfast," Natalie said, leaning back against a cabinet as she sipped her coffee. "But I think we're going to attract attention when you walk into the store dressed all in white with no shoes."

Chaos shrugged. "We'll figure something out."

Blight laughed a little, coughed a couple times and caught his breath. "I don't think anyone will say much of anything once these guys use their signature glares."

Vex looked at him, a little annoyed.

Blight shrugged. "What? You know it's true. Only specially trained guards would mess with you, Havoc or Chaos. A normal person doesn't stand a chance. I think it'd be a little strange if they didn't run away scared.”

Vex opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, rolled his eyes and sighed, conceding the point.

Solace cocked his head to the side. "What's scary about them?” He asked innocently, looking at his brothers.

Blight waved a dismissive hand, smiling tolerantly. "Nothing, Sol, it's nothing."

Solace looked a little confused, then shrugged and returned to his breakfast. Havoc thought he was eating a little faster than normal, but that was probably because he couldn't wait to be able to pet Brandy again.

The rest of their meal proceeded in relative silence. Solace was the first to finish and hurried off back into the living room with Brandy. Havoc felt the urge to follow him, but figured he couldn’t do anything to hurt himself in the house, especially when preoccupied with the dog.

When they finished eating, they all took turns taking showers. Blight wondered how getting cleaned up would help them avoid attention at all, but he guessed it couldn’t hurt anything but Natalie's water bill. He thought it was a little bit of a waste though when Solace returned to playing with Brandy as soon as he got out of the bathroom. Blight still didn’t like to be around the smell for long.