Collide Gamer Chapter 165 – Things get moving

Eventually their kiss broke. The end of the contact of their lips was far from the end of their reunification ritual. John was happy to hold Rave in his arms and just… sway back and forth, like a young tree in the wind. Romantic as the scene was, one of his hands travelled lower and landed eventually on her firm butt. It had been too long since he had felt that.

Rave did not mind in the slightest, gave him a mischievous wink instead. Eventually, she slipped a hand of her own into his back pocket and gave his butt a possessive squeeze herself. “So, will the princess have your ass?” she asked, simultaneously pulling off her headphones.

“No answer yet,” John explained and then rembered the flower he was still holding, the plant was in danger of getting squished between them. Breaking the hug, he presented the flower to her. “Only got one in the hurry,” he apologized but Rave took the red flower all the sa.

“It is definitely pretty enough,” she smiled and slled the flower. She was taken aback.

“What is it?” John wanted to know.

“It doesn’t sll like anything,” Rave said and eyed the odd flower.

“Of course, it doesn’t,” a hard voice chid in. Lydia’s steps were accompanied by the clacking of a walking stick she carried with her. Besides that out of place decoration, the young woman wore a grey fleece jacket and a knee-high, loose skirt with black stockings protecting her legs from the direct cold. Well, what was visible between the skirt and the hiking boots anyway. “That is a callia japonica, they don’t have any sll,” she explained as she walked up to the pair. She checked a watch halfway hidden under her leather gloves. “You are twenty-three minutes late, explain,” she demanded.

“Uhm,” Rave was taken aback by the princess’ demanding tone for a few seconds. Then, she bounced right back. “Usual airport stuff,” she said and made a wild gesture towards the direction she ca from, like that would explain everything.

Lydia just accepted that with a nod. “Fine then,” she stated and pulled out her smartphone.

John barely saw the ti managent table pop-up, then she already had freed up her next 24 hours. “I will need to arrange our stay,” she explained and started making calls, leaving John and Rave to catch-up a bit.

“Where did you leave Aclysia?” John started, he didn’t see the artificial guardian anywhere. He could sense her though. After months apart, the ntal connection he had with her was once again firm. Rave tapped on the handle of the trolley bag she had with her. “Had her shrink down and hide in here. There was an incident at the first airport.”

‘Master,’ Aclysia interrupted when Rave made a pause, ‘I was molested again, is that bad?’

“Uhm, what?” John asked out loud. Rave mistook that for him asking what had happened, either way worked.

“Well, she acted like a figurine inside my stuff but because she was pure tal the detector picked her up so I had to explain why I was carrying a solid tal figurine with . They checked her thoroughly. Was quite the scene I tell ya,” Rave smirked, “She turned into plastic after that. No more problems. Different question, where did ya leave that newcor of yours?”

“Mono?”

“Still can’t believe you’re serious about that na,” Rave laughed about sothing that went over John’s head.

“What? She is monochro, black and white,” he explained. “So Mono works nicely.”

“Sure, sure,” Rave kissed him on the cheek, leaving John confused but he dropped the topic. “Where’s Mono then?” she repeated her question. If soone had told the Gar that those glossy pink lips of hers were the reason for all poems mankind had ever composed, he would have believed them imdiately.

“I left her in the car with Herman,” John hadn’t paid much attention to Mono on their way here, he barely rembered her getting in the car.

“Okay, where is your bestie then?” Rave asked.

“My what now?” John asked.

“Herman, what, you tell you have other male good friends all of a sudden?” she poked fun at him. “Pretty sure he qualifies as your best friend at this point.”

YOUR BEST FRIEND, HE WILL FALL!

John’s eyes went wide when he rembered the prophecy of the Horned Rat. He clenched his fist, his whole body suddenly tensing up as those words flowed into his mind. He had pushed them aside for a while, forgotten them at the ti because more important things had been ahead. The words that had shook the whole catacombs, he needed to…

Rave grabbed his hand. “Everything alright, John?” she asked, the worry in her eyes apparent.

The simple gesture of affection pulled him back into the now, “Yeah, sorry,” he mumbled. “I will explain it to you later.” Rave nodded but kept her hands in place.

He got a ntal call from Mono, asking where they were, and soon both she and Herman joined them. “It is crowded even at this hour,” Herman sighed.

“People have a lot to do these days.” All of them looked at Lydia who was still making calls.

“No, I do not care. The usual. Yes… no, of course not. How many rooms? That is more than enough,” Lydia kept talking to the person on the other end. There was a mont where she just listened before saying, “Great, have him be here in ten minutes.” She put away her phone afterwards.

“We will relocate. Until our drive arrives, I have a question,” Lydia abruptly turned to John, her braided hair falling onto her chest. “Who is he?” she pointed at Herman with her thumb.

John had never told her about the apothecary “He is a friend who I invited to stay over so I wouldn’t die of boredom,” John cut the explanation short. “…princess,” he rembered to add.

Lydia raised an eyebrow. “Why would you be bored? I left you fifteen books of riddles, a television and several training devices, not to ntion the entire city of Cologne,” she said, her tone doubtful.

“Those aren’t exactly fun activities,” John drily stated.

“I agree on the television,” Lydia said, “but what is wrong with sudoku?”

“Nothing is wrong with sudoku, I just don’t particularly fancy it.”

“Is that so?” Lydia blinked a few tis, “In that case I apologize, Newman, you didn’t communicate so I assud your situation was satisfactory.” Her eyes went back over to Herman. She gave him a long muster, before continuing. “It seems like you fixed the problem yourself anyhow. You say he stayed with you?”

“T-that is correct, princess,” Herman chid in, his tone nervous, “I hope that isn’t bad or anything?”

“No, it is fine, I would have preferred to be inford, however. You guarantee he will not destroy my property?” The question was directed at John again.

“Sure,” he answered.

“In that case you may stay in that house for the ti being, if you so desire. I don’t have plans to use it in the near future anyhow. Leave it as clean as John found it when you move out.”

“Thank you,” Herman said and bowed, which got him a few interested glances from the passing people.

“No problem,” Lydia checked her watch once more, “We need to get moving, the taxi will co soon.”

“We are taking a cab?” Rave asked. John took a mont to hastily say goodbye to Herman.

“Thanks again for driving ,” John said and reached out with his hand.

Herman took it and, with a weak grasp, shook, “Anything for a friend.” Herman was about to go when John rembered sothing, “Could you do one more favour? I left the tal spine-like thing in my room. If you have the ti please bring it to .”

The apothecary thought for a few seconds then he nodded, “I’ll find ti,” he promised and then departed from the group.

“Yes, we currently get all services paid by Romulus himself, so I might as well abuse that,” Lydia explained things to Rave in the anti.

“Romulus will pay for a normal taxi?” Rave asked. The princess' steel eyes rested on the techno-lover for a mont.

“No,” she answered after she deed Rave’s question as a serious one. “We will take the tunnels.”

“The what now?” John was confused, but Rave followed the princess with enthused steps when they got moving.

“I never took the tunnels,” she squealed, “this is super ex-ci-ting!”

They went outside and, after checking her watch one more ti, Lydia entered an Illusion Barrier. Rave followed quickly, as did John, despite his continued confusion.