Sonic Aftermath

Early morning sunlight bathed the beach and cliffs in a stunning yellow-orange tint. Only the sound of the waves and seagulls cawing could be heard.

At least...until a high-pitched engine note sounded in the distance. This definitely didn't sound like an average car. The engine almost seemed to be singing to the heavens as its voice echoed off of the cliffs. Then there it was...roaring up over a hill...all four wheels briefly leaving the ground. The seagulls all scattered as it thumped back down onto the ground.

If the observer's eyes could keep up with the bright red flash thundering along the coastal road, they'd observe it was a beautiful, classic Italian sports car. A 1969 Ferrari Dino to be precise. Many decades old, but since it had been babied so much by its past owners it looked like it had just rolled off the showroom floor.

Behind the wheel was a young cat with sunglasses...looking no older than 17. At first glance you'd think it was some kind of hoodlum who'd just stolen a mid-life crisis mobile from a balding, middle aged, diabetic man. But no...the cat actually owned this car and he was positively relishing in driving it.

I love this road. There is never, ever, any other cars out here. It's my own private race track.

And that was pretty much how he treated it. Tire marks showed where he hit the apex on just about every one of the turns out here. It looked like someone had hosted a rally stage out here with how many there were. But really, it was all just Giichi painting those lines.

Speaking of which, one of his favorite corners was now coming up, mostly because it afforded him a beautiful view of the ocean. Smiling as he saw the waves crashing against the beach up ahead, he hit the brakes, downshifted into second gear, and turned the wheel as he glided through the turn. He stayed off the gas for a moment...hit the apex...and then got back on the throttle again. Giichi could feel the back end of the car edging out just a bit...going into a slight oversteer. But since he'd driven this car so much he knew how much force to apply to not spin out. He went through the rest of the turn into a gentle drift, before straightening back out again for the next straightaway.

Giichi just loved getting right up to that limit before the car started spinning...and riding the very edge of it. Felt like he was riding on the tip of a wave of chaos and destruction.

It was pretty much like that all the way down the deserted road. In fact, he'd gone so far that he noticed he'd stopped seeing his tire marks on the ground. Now he'd really gone a long distance. Oh well...it wasn't like he had anything better to do today. In a little bit he'd just turn around, go home, and cook supper on the beach, and then....

"OH ####!"

Giichi suddenly jerked the wheel hard left, as he slammed on the brakes. The car went into a wild spin, doing one...then two 360s. The entire world was now just a swirling mass of colors around him...sunlight and sand and ocean spinning together to make a giant blur. As fast as it happened, the car screeched to a halt. The only sound he could hear was the soft din of the V8 sitting behind him.

Giichi breathed hard, just sitting there for a moment, before he killed the engine. And then he stepped out of the car...and onto the edge of a cliff. A cliff this road had been heading straight towards. This cliff hadn't been here before. Oh no...it was like someone had used a giant knife to cut out an entire slice of the land here. The cut in the land was far too clean to be done by the hand of nature. He could see where the road restarted at the other end of the new ocean bay.

No doubt it was probably removed by the dimensions merging. Giichi supposed there just wasn't land here in some other dimension, and that part had ended up here.

Damn...that was almost the end of me, he thought, as he removed his sunglasses. It's a good thing I hardly ever go this way. Still, shouldn't some road crew have put up a warning sign by now? Or is this just too far out of the way for anyone to care? I sure do pity whoever lives on the other side of this rift...

Anyway, Giichi decided to interpret this as a sign he'd driven long enough for the day, so he turned around and headed home. He'd definitely be calling the highway department about that pothole...

Around mid morning Giichi arrived back at his home: a small, lonely cottage by the sea. It was literally the only man-made structure in sight, even though the eye could see for miles across the low-lying sand dunes and grassy hills bordering the ocean.

After parking his car in the attached garage, Giichi started to whistle a little tune as he stepped into the house. He gazed across the interior, which was literally just two rooms: a studio-type room containing his bedroom, living area, and kitchen all in one space, and a small bathroom at the back of the house. But despite the small square footage, the vaulted ceiling exposing the rafters helped the place feel light and airy.

Giichi could have bought a much larger place, but he loved the simple, modest nature of this dwelling. He didn't spend a lot of time out here anyway, he rarely had guests, and a small house was easy for one person to take care of.

In any case, he stepped into the kitchen and set to work making breakfast. Before long, the aroma of cooking scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and bacon filled the house. After he'd finished cooking, Giichi brought the food over to his small dining table and slid up a chair.

He took a few bites, and then turned on a laptop that also happened to be sitting on the table. It was time to check his email and see if there were any jobs the Thieves' Guild had available right now. He saw one that looked particularly interesting, and clicked on it.

[Links, this is your chance to write out Petya's email.]

The email looked written quickly, lacking any serious formatting or fancy coding. Instead all there was was a simple arial font message;

"Hey fuzzy cheeks, fancy keeping an old friend company? I got a few potential leads you might wanna be a part of. Usual place alright? Don't forget, if you're late you're gonna have to catch up, heh!"

Giichi smiled at the message. Petya usually had some good jobs to go around, and he did like working with her. This looked like it'd be a fun day. So, after finishing off his breakfast and doing the dishes, he slid back into his Ferrari and turned the key.

The cat kicked the car into reverse...slammed on the accelerator...did a J turn in the dirt driveway...slammed on the accelerator again...drifted onto the road...and just like that he was on his way. It wouldn't be long before he reached the bar they liked to use as their rendezvous point.

Giichi's only worry was that Petya might have already downed some hard liquor even though noon wasn't even here yet. She had a good constitution for the stuff but damn...he was worried she'd push too far beyond her limits one day. Oh well...if that was his only worry right now he definitely was not complaining. Smiling, he slid on some sunglasses and cruised on to the bar.

[Well, I guess I'll leave describing the bar up to you Links. Seems like it'd be Petya's hangout, so why not?]

[Sorry for the late response, computer and family issues.]

Alfredrick's was a small not very well known establishment on the very fringe of Soleanna. To say the city was full of culture and wisdom didn't mean it didn't have its less apealing qualities. This place was one of them. The door was located down a back alley rarely trodden by more regular people and was a shady little nook for people to discuss things in private over a glass of rather cheap alcohol.

Petya had been coming here since she was dumped in front of it during the dimensional merge. The owner had been just as stunned as she had been, an aging bear who seemed placid but was anything but. It had been Petya's third night in the place when a group of five thugs had broken in looking for an easy buck or two. Petya couldn't remember when she'd last seen a chair weilded as powerfully as she had that night.

That encounter had resulted in a broken chair and a smashed window, owing to one of Petya's kicks that had sent a second thug through it. The other three had quickly retreated and soon after Petya and the bear, identifying himself as Reginald, had become friends.

Petya now sat at a table in the corner of the bar with her feet up on the table. To her side sat four empty tumbler glasses turned upside down and another four full ones. It seemed Petya was already well into her worst vice as she waited.

Giichi could have parked his Ferrari quite close to the entrance to Alfredrick's. However, he was too afraid of what would happen to his baby. The bar sat in the sort of neighborhood you never left any car in...let alone a Ferrari. Instead, he parked his car on a upscale street about a mile away, much further inside Soleanna. It meant he walked a long distance, but the total journey was still considerably shorter than going to the bus stop nearest his home and using that.

After about twenty minutes of walking, Giichi stepped into the bar with beads of sweat rolling down his face from the heat. Fortunately, the air conditioning immediately chilled those drops and helped him cool down very quickly. After pausing to let his eyes adjust to the bar's darkness, Giichi spotted Petya sitting in a corner. The cat was not surprised to see a few empty and full mugs sitting around her.

Chuckling a little under his breath and shaking his head, he rapidly made his way over and sat down. The cat beamed a large smile at her. "Morning Petya. I would mention it's way too early in the day to drink...but then again you never listen to anyone who tells you that anyway."

Petya looked up sharply as she heard her name being called. The smile spread from one side of her face to the other as she stood up quickly.

"Giichi!" she exclaimed loudly as she stepped forwards, grabbed Giichi by his whiskered cheeks and slapped a kiss on both of them. Spinning to the side she planted an arm around his shoulders and pushed him forwards towards her table. "Come a join me, you don't mind that I started without you do you? Anytime is a good time for drinking! If other people can't deal with every minute of every hour then that is not my problem."

Her accent was heavy and there was only one way to describe it, Russian. Planting herself back in her seat she picked up another glass and downed the contents before slamming the glass down hard on the tabletop next to the other empty ones. "Now, tell me how have you been?"

"Aiyeee!" Giichi's eyes seemed to bulge as he was dragged across the table by Petya and kissed on his cheeks. It took him a moment to recover as he settled back into his seat, but he did hear Petya's question.

"Well...I almost died this morning, to be honest. I took the car out for a spin. It was really fun...at least until I suddenly realized there was no road left where I was going. Just....a giant straight drop down to the ocean. I nearly drove my Ferrari right off the cliff. That dimension merge...it literally cut a piece straight out of the land where the road used to be."

Giichi actually shivered a bit, thinking about what it would have looked like if he had gone plunging off of the cliff.

Petya nodded interestingly as she listened to Giichi speak. After he finished she picked up another glass and repeated her earlier actions before picking up the next one and looking back at Giichi.

"Well we've all had our little shocks since this big event. Take me for example. I go down to the shop to pick up another bottle of my favourite vintage and sha-pow! There is a wall where my vintage should be!" Petya scoffed and downed the glass in her hand. "Still it could be worse!"

Slamming the glass down she leaned over the table and grinned. She placed her hand around the last glass and pushed it towards Giichi. "Now drink up, you are behind, then we get down to business, yes?"

Giichi held the glass in his hands, but he did not drink it. Instead he just seemed to stare at the alcohol for a while before looking back up at Petya.

"You know, most people wait till AFTER a successful mission to drink. There's a good reason for that. You know that I can't let my reflexes get dulled by this stuff, at least not before a mission. I'd really hate to slip and fall while I'm doing my parkour thing. Drinks are fun, but breaking my neck definitely isn't..."

Giichi raised the glass to his lips and took one sip, before putting it back down. He hoped this would satisfy Petya but he doubted it.

"There... That's all I'm going to have right now. So how about the mission?"