Lasers & Cane Cappers

The feeling was indescribable.

Never in Starrylake, and never even in her childhood did Evony feel so very rushed and alive; the blasters flew across the sky, shooting through the freezing air and speeding off toward the crooked Mt. Crumpet, eventually lowering down atop its surface somewhere up high.

Then—Thomas and Javari suddenly began racing again, returning the blasters to landscape mode and driving at top speed down the mountain, dangerously dodging the snowy pine trees and the occasional rock, Evony laughing breathlessly as they all soared down the mountain with haste.

She’d never done anything like this before; she never really had friends, especially not any that she went out of her way to hang out with, and fun recreation like this was once a family activity, which was something that had stopped happening a very long time ago. She’d completely forgotten what such fun felt like—but it was incredible, almost intoxicating in a way.

And thus—somehow—she lost half the day to it.

The four of them spent hours riding around on blasters before finally calling it quits. They stopped at a petrol center just outside of Silverhollow, refueling the blasters before cruising into town and parking behind the diner, and they sat together in a booth and ate lunch together, trading laughs and stories before Evony finally said her goodbyes to them, thanking them for the fun day before she strolled out of the diner.

During her walk to the lodge, her heart jumped, and she reached into both of her jacket pockets, hoping that her handgun and the ring of keys were still inside them, and she felt them in each one, letting out a breath of relief. Then, she resumed her pace, her eyes fixating on the elegant lodge before her, and she didn’t even realize she was wearing a small, contented smile.

Everything lingering on her mind now simply put her in a good mood; she thought of Osric, and his eccentric charm, and she thought of Cally, and her excitement and honest delight. She pondered on Thomas and Javari, and their funny banter with one another—and she thought of Cally’s final words to her today, promising that they’d hang out again.

All the sudden, in hardly any time at all, she was surrounded by people she enjoyed, and who actually wanted her to be around. It was strange, how new it was to her—but she quite liked it.

Evony trekked up the stone stairs of the lodge, checking her phone and almost gasping, seeing that it was almost five in the afternoon. She pocketed it and suddenly quickened her pace, reaching the top and pushing the doors open.

Greeted by the warm air, she strode across the spacious lobby and stopped at the desk, and—to her chagrin—she came face to face with the same rude young man from yesterday.

The man cocked his head snidely at her. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah. I need to see Oz,” Evony replied impatiently, planting a hand to the desk. “I’m running kind of late. Where’s his office? Where do I go?”

The man made a flattened sort of smile. “Mmm. I don’t know any Oz. Sorry.”

“Osric Azarias ,” Evony said louder and clearer. “Don’t waste my time—where’s his office?”

“Well. Have you checked up your ass?”

“ Landon ,” someone else hissed from nearby.

Evony turned, and so did the young man behind the front desk, who was evidently named Landon. His eyes widened with horror, his mouth falling agape.

Osric stood a few feet away, having just arrived from the rounded stairway along the wall, adjusting his grasp on his cane and giving the young man a look from behind his dark lenses.

“Landon… Landon… shame on you,” he muttered as he sauntered forward, Oliver hovering along beside him. “Do you think you’re never being listened to? Or do you suffer from a brain injury that makes you behave like a vonkethrazar? ”

Landon gaped at him several more times before he managed to stutter a response.

“B-behave like a what…?” he uttered.

“It’s Serpentine,” Osric said, stopping at the desk and flashing a curt half-smile. “I suppose bilingual isn’t on your resume.”

“Wha… no… why would I wanna speak rep language? !” Landon griped at him. “I’m human .”

“Well… so am I,” Osric replied, tilting his head and sighing. “But I find knowing both languages is quite useful… about as useful as having a competent clerk at the front desk. Oliver, would you please give our friend his sendoff ceremony?”

“Right away, sir.”

Oliver whizzed over behind the desk, stopped beside Landon, and revealed two small barrels from the top of his round metal body. His screen changed—showing a party scene with multiple flashing colors, his speakers suddenly playing music—and confetti erupted out of both barrels atop the bot’s head.

Osric smiled whimsically, clapped once, and opened his arms in a presenting sort of way.

“ You’re fired! ” he exclaimed with an odd sense of glee.

Landon stared at him with shocked dismay.

Evony’s eyes shifted between the two of them, watching in momentary shock and saying nothing.

“Wait… okay, wait, I’m sorry,” Landon groveled. “Please don’t fire me… I’m sorry!”

“Oh, come on now… at least keep your dignity,” Osric replied, gently tilting his head again. “Now it’s just sad.”

“Please don’t fire me…!” Landon begged. “Please?!”

“I… can promise not to fire you again ,” Osric smirked, raising his hands and shrugging playfully.

“Please… I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t,” Landon carried on.

“I don’t know why you’re asking me not to do something that’s already been done. Are you all right upstairs?” Osric inquired, tapping his finger to his temple, then laughing and motioning over to the double-doors. “Oh, go on, now… get out of here. A bot butler could do what you do. Skedaddle.”

Landon looked both furious and heartbroken, almost as if he was about to cry. He broke into a jog and ran around the desk, shoving the doors open and hurrying outside, two guests entering the lodge giving him an odd look in passing.

Evony and Osric turned and watched him go, and they both remained silent for a moment. Oliver returned to normal and floated over to them.

Then, Evony looked to the inventor and scoffed out an astonished little laugh. “I can’t believe you did that…”

Osric turned to her and perked his brow. “Did what?”

Evony choked out another laugh, shaking her head incredulously at him.

“You didn…” she muttered. “You didn’t have to do that…”

“Oh… apparently I did,” Osric deemed, planting his cane to the floor and marching toward the exit. “I had no idea he was speaking to people in that way without a care in the world. We can all do without that here. There’s already plenty of negativity in the world without me allowing myself to gravitate more.”

Evony started to follow him, giving him a questioning look.

“Um… where’re we going?” she asked.

“Out,” he replied shortly, placing his hand to the door and giving her a smirk. “You’ll see. C’mon.”

Osric pushed the doors open, and they both strolled outside, Evony hiding her hands in her pockets as she found herself in the cold air again. They both walked down the stairs together, hardly any people around, though a small group of young guests were sure to turn and ogle Osric as they walked by him.

“Very few people out and about… no media vans lingering nearby… perfect time for a stroll,” Osric said as he stepped off the stairs onto the snow.

Evony sighed, her breath making a cloud in the icy air.

“Sorry, by the way,” she thought to say as the two of them marched into town. “I didn’t mean to get here so late, but I ran an errand after I left the house, and then I ran into someone I know, and… time just kind of got away from me. And that usually never happens…”

“No worries at all,” Osric replied. “This was the only thing I had planned for us today, anyway.”

Evony nodded quietly.

“Well… I do want you to see the office, but that’s not something I necessarily have to show you directly,” Osric added. “The top floor is only accessible to a select few people, unless I specifically override the elevator for a visiting guest… like the mayor, or… whoever else. Most times, though… the top floor can’t be accessed by just anyone.”

“Okay,” Evony uttered strangely. “Is that… where I’m supposed to go for work every day?”

“Oh yes,” Osric nodded. “You’ll do precisely the same thing that Dr. Walker and I do. You’ll step into the elevator, you’ll select the top floor, and then you’ll give the elevator the password when it asks for one.”

Evony squinted at him curiously. “The elevator’s gonna ask me for a password…?”

“Well… more of a pass phrase , but… yes,” Osric affirmed. “Here… I’ll tell you.”

He slowed to a stop in the middle of the vacant snowy road, faced her fully, and gently beckoned her to come closer, waving his gloved finger inward.

Evony stared at him for a second, then slowly leaned in.

Osric raised a hand around his mouth, whispering into her ear.

“Flowers in Antarctica,” he murmured faintly.

Then, he straightened up, turned, and resumed his pace down the way, and she did the same.

Evony gave him yet another bizarre look as the two walked.

“What does that mean? ” she uttered.

“Which part?” Osric asked, glancing over at a seal-ka-bob stand in passing.

“The last part,” Evony clarified.

Osric was quiet for a second.

“Hm,” he mumbled. “I suppose you’ve never heard that word before, come to think of it…”

Evony continued to ogle him in confusion. “No…”

“Well, that’s all right… you don’t need to know what it means. You just need to remember how to pronounce it,” Osric said with a sigh. “That is such a sad thing, honestly. We still have so much from before, in the way of music, and movies, and games… but history has been lost entirely…”

“Not lost, sir,” Oliver corrected. “Hidden.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” Osric muttered, waving him down. “We can talk about that all the livelong day whenever we’re all inside. For now… we have something else to do.”

The two strolled down the snowy street, eventually veering off into a narrower and more isolated path past one of the shops, which seemed to stretch off into the trees in the distance, both of them meandering steadily further away from the buildings behind them that made up the heart of town.

They continued marching on, the town now lost somewhere far behind them, and they wandered farther down the path in the woods for a while as the later afternoon set in, the sun beginning to set.

A short while later, Evony looked down, only just noticing that the snow on this particular path had been flatly beaten down by countless other boots and shoes before them, meaning that numerous other people walked this path on a regular basis.

When she looked up again, she realized they were nearing the end of this trail now.

The path led directly toward what appeared to be a gigantic mound of snow, the entrance to a building masquerading as a massive white hillside, and a single set of doors was built into its side, perfectly facing them. The metal double-doors had several signs and papers taped onto it, a flickering OPEN sign posted just above it, and at the top of the rounded metal wall, a sign of mismatched neon letters spelled out; Silver Hollow .

“It’s not Silverhollow,” Osric spoke up for the first time in fifteen minutes, nodding once at the structure ahead of them. “It’s the Silver Hollow.”

Evony made a nod, pondering on this and remembering when Cally had told her about this place at the diner.

Osric approached the doors, grasped their handles, and pulled them open, both of them marching inside.

The doors swung shut behind them, and Evony blinked, adjusting her eyes to the sudden change of atmosphere. She walked on, trailing after Osric as the two of them ventured forward, approaching a large crowd, ambiance of chatter and laughter, echoing music all around, and random multicolored lights sweeping across the scene from several directions. The place appeared like many clubs that Evony had seen back in the city—with pool tables, dart boards, mirror balls, strobe lights, tables, booths, and a bar filled with customers and booze—but this club was different in a way, decorated with mounted animal heads and Americana décor, star-spangled banners and pro-gun posters along every wall. And, at the far side of the spacious and bustling room, a stage resided, giant speakers on either side, sweeping colorful lights overtop, and several dancers were just finishing their act when Evony and Osric wandered forward.

As they wormed through the crowd, someone would occasionally stop Osric with a pleased greeting or a handshake. Evony glanced over at him, feeling more lost and out of her element than ever as they slowly approached the stage—Evony blindly following Osric’s lead, as she had no clue where he planned to go, or who he planned to talk to—but just then, a small girl emerged from the crowd and rammed into her arm.

Cally now stood beside her, gaping at her as if she had just teleported onto the scene from nowhere.

Evony met her eyes, just barely managing a smile and wave.

“Hey!” Cally breathed, pulling her into a hug and nearly startling her. “What’re you doing here?! I thought you were going to work!”

Evony tried to answer, drawing a blank and gesturing loosely over to Osric.

“She did,” Osric answered for her, making a slight bow of the head. “Hello, Cally.”

“Oh… hi!” Cally beamed at him. “I didn’t know you were coming tonight!”

“Well… I can’t miss a good gun show,” Osric smirked, turning toward the stage and raising his eyebrows at it. “Oh… and look. Now a word from our sponsors.”

Evony and Cally followed his eyes up to the stage—just when the lights shut off, making the crowd erupt with gasps.

Then—they suddenly blasted back on when a new song began to blare from the speakers, two women sauntering out from either side of the curtain, one dressed in a sparkly blue dress, the other wearing an equally sparkly dress of red and white.

The tune played loudly over the crowd, a 1920s rhythm with an upbeat feel, the two women dancing smoothly and sensually toward the edge of the stage, slowly working their way around the edge and maneuvering ever closer to each other. Just when the two women crossed paths and danced off in opposite directions—the velvet curtains flipped abruptly back, a large man whipping them open and striding out to the center of the stage, marching between the women as the song carried on.

Cally scoffed out a laugh, Osric’s smile widening as he watched, Evony standing alongside them and staring up at the show with interest, only just recognizing the man on stage.

Javari strode forward—husky and jovial, though it didn’t detract from the vibrant flair of his showmanship at all. He wore a sleek black suit and a feathered top hat to match, spinning a thick black cane around effortlessly as he sauntered forth. He flipped the cane around his hand and tossed it up high, making it flip several times before swiftly catching it and planting it firmly to the floor.

“Javari, Javari… and now it’s a party,” Osric smiled.

Evony glimpsed over at him before returning her attention to the stage.

Then, she spotted something else—three things appearing at the back of the stage, just before the curtains. In fact, the curtains were no longer visible—as a long metal wall had slid out in front of them from either side.

Evony squinted at it in confusion.

The three things appearing in front of the metal wall became clear when the spotlight shone over them—three red targets, suspended by robotic arms that expanded from somewhere up high. Javari flipped the cane around again—then clicked a button on the side and twisted the bottom of it cleanly off, revealing the barrel of a firearm. He turned around—held the cane out—closed one eye—and took steady aim, finger resting on the tiny trigger tucked inside the cane’s handle.

Javari opened fire—the end of the cane brightening with the blasts of muzzle flashes—hammering the trigger and penetrating all three targets in concession. Evony jumped at the deafening noise—and within seconds, all three targets had several fresh holes riddled into their centers.

The crowd exploded into cheers, applause, and whistles of approval—Javari wheeling around and giving them all a wide, childlike smile, spinning the cane around once more before placing its bottom back on.

“New, from the 2-A Tyranny Terminator Collection!” Javari announced in a loud and boastful voice, waving over the crowd and holding the cane up high. “Cane Cappers! For when you absolutely, positively have to bust a cap off in a single moment’s notice—and when you also have to attend a formal get-together where you gotta look damn fine doing it! Cap those bastards with a charismatic flair!”

“Ehe,” Osric grinned up at him.

“He’s so freaking full of himself,” Cally chided with a laugh.

Evony hesitated, merely staring up at Javari with intrigue.

“Stay tuned for the next big reveal tomorrow, where I’ll show you yet another shiny new toy from the 2-A Tyranny Terminator Collection!” Javari announced with robust conclusion, making a fanciful gesture over the crowd before giving them all a dismissive nod. “ Adieu! ”

At that, the song suddenly changed again, the lights all returning to their original states. The crowd began to disperse into several directions, returning to their tables, booths, and stools—and Javari leaped swiftly off the stage, landing just before Osric and adjusting his feathered hat.

“Hello!” he grinned.

“Hello… and well done,” Osric laughed, looking down and surveying the thick black cane in his hand. “ Very well done.”

“Well’p… it was your idea,” Javari remarked, tossing the cane up and grabbing it by the bottom, offering it handle-first to Osric. “That’s why the first one is all yours.”

“Oh… really? Excellent,” Osric smirked, taking the cane and surveying it interestingly. “Thank you. What do I owe you?”

“For that? Nothing,” Javari laughed. “You gave me the idea , man. Take that as payment for its own existence.”

“Fantastic,” Osric said delightfully, examining it for a moment longer before holding it like a proper cane.

“Javari…!” Thomas exploded out of the crowd and approached him. “Sandyshore Metalworks is saying you and your dad never paid them for this month!”

“Well… that’s obviously a fat flaccid lie , Thomas,” Javari snarked. “We have it on record that we did.”

“Okay,” Thomas breathed, shooting him a look. “And? What am I supposed to tell them?”

“Tell them to look at the freaking record? ” Javari quipped in response, rolling his eyes and facing Osric. “See, this is why you never make your college roommate into your manager.”

“Oh, well good, thank you—thank you so much for suggesting that, shit-ass, because I definitely didn’t already try that,” Thomas griped with chiding sarcasm. “I told them that already, and they said they didn’t see anything—so unless you want me to call your sister and have her figure it out, then—”

“Hey—whoa whoa—hey,” Javari interrupted him, raising a hand and giving him a glare. “Don’t you ever rope my bitch sister into our business—because you know damn well that’s basically like inviting a succubus vampire into your house.”

“Um.” Osric held up a finger, gently gathering Javari’s attention again. “If I could bend your ear for a moment… could we possibly talk in your back room?”

Javari opened his mouth and fell speechless for a split second, trading glances with Thomas. Then, they both nodded, and they marched off to the side, waving for Osric to join them. Evony and Cally followed them—and they stepped through a dark blue curtain, leading to the back room of the club.

The back room, unlike the rest of the place, was quiet, the distant ambiance of the crowd just barely audible from behind the blue curtain. This room was small, wooden, dingy, dimly-lit, and mostly empty—except for a long leather couch against the wall, a foldout chair sitting near it, and a splintery old coffee table in front of them, the walls covered with the same kind of posters that decorated much of the club’s main room.

Javari peeked out the curtain for a second, ensuring that nobody was close enough to eavesdrop, then flipped it closed and faced the others. He and Thomas stared at Osric and Evony with a look of expectance.

“I wonder if you could… suggest something to me,” Osric said, raising both of his canes in either hand, then holding the cane capper outward. “Something like this suits me, and it’s just as fitting as it is inconspicuous… but I’d like one that suits her.”

He motioned over to Evony.

Cally, Thomas, and Javari all exchanged faces.

“Um… I already carry a gun,” Evony muttered over to Osric.

“Well, yes… but you said it was a .25,” Osric replied. “A small caliber with a limited magazine. That’s decent, and it’s certainly helpful… but I wouldn’t consider it enough.”

“Enough,” Javari muttered, eyeing the inventor and making an uncharacteristically serious expression. “Enough for what? What’re you expecting to happen…?”

Osric didn’t answer, and there was a brief, tense silence.

“Uhm…” Thomas scratched his cheek. “Does it have to be a gun? She could carry a zapper for self-defense.”

“No. No zappers, please,” Osric answered swiftly. “I don’t particularly care for them.”

Thomas cocked his head, narrowing his eyes at him. “But… you invented them.”

“I would prefer something that shoots,” Osric disclosed. “Laser or ballistic… your choice. Just something that’s semi-easy to conceal… similar to the one she has… but… better.”

“Well… that’s the proton pistol,” Javari shrugged.

Everyone stared at him.

“What? It is,” Javari insisted, looking to Osric. “You gave me that idea after you started making that OS… remember? I made it into a tiny gun that can shoot a laser that doesn’t have to keep a constant stream of energy… meaning… proton. It works pretty damn well, honestly… and it’s not that big. Probably about the size of a .9, but just… y’know… rounder.”

“That sounds perfect,” Osric said, turning to Evony. “You think you could adjust to that?”

“Sure…?” Evony uttered at a loss.

Javari marched off to the closet at the corner of the room and pulled it open, digging into one of the big crates inside. Meanwhile, Cally’s eyes shifted between Evony and Osric rather skeptically, looking both troubled and concerned.

“Um… you just… you just hired her to be an assistant, right?” Cally tried to clarify.

“Of course,” Osric replied nonchalantly. “Why?”

Cally stared blankly at him for a moment, glancing over at Javari and his closet of guns, then back.

“Um… no reason,” she mumbled. “I guess…”

“Heeere we go.”

Javari pulled two items out of the crate, wheeled around, and approached the group again, holding a shiny round gun of a chrome color in one hand, and a tall, plastic stand with a cord dangling off it in the other.

“This… is the proton pistol,” he said, handing the tiny round gun to Evony, then raising the stand in his other hand. “And this is its charging stand. It takes at least a day to charge fully… but once it does, it holds a charge for a very long time.”

He placed the stand in her hands as well, Evony taking them and managing a nod and a smile. “Um… okay… thank you.”

“How much do I owe you for that one?” Osric asked.

“Again—dude— you gave me the idea free of charge ,” Javari told him pointedly, smacking his hand to his palm.

“Yes… and I didn’t just do that for you ,” Osric replied curtly. “I’m using those ideas to benefit myself quite a lot now. Believe me. Just give me a number.”

Javari tossed his head back and groaned dramatically into the air, making Cally giggle and cover her mouth.

“Fine… deposit something into my public donation thingy if you really want to,” Javari said, tossing up a hand, then turning to Evony. “Oh, and… before I forget… that gun has a cooldown time, too. After you fire a shot, you need to give it at least thirty seconds to cool down before firing another one. I know that makes it sound lame as shit… but a proton laser blast is way stronger than a bullet. Trust me. Just don’t waste the shot, and you shouldn’t even need more than one.”

“Okay,” Evony nodded.

“Well… I think that’ll be all,” Osric said, tipping his hat. “Pleasure, as always. See you around.”

“Ah… okay,” Javari muttered with a wave. “Seeya.”

The others said their goodbyes, and Osric turned on his heel and walked out of the back room, Evony waving the group off before she turned and followed him.

Javari, Thomas, and Cally were left standing quietly in the back room, wearing strange, thoughtful faces and trading glances with one another.

By the time Evony and Osric reached the outside and began walking down the long path of flattened snow, night had fallen, and the cold air of Silverhollow became even icier yet again, Evony examining the tiny round gun in her hand curiously for a moment before she stuffed it into her pocket, Osric now walking with two canes and periodically switching them.

Evony gazed down at the charging stand in her hand, several thoughts weighing on her mind now, stealing several glimpses of the inventor and wondering where she should start.

“Good to have precautions is all,” Osric said, as if reading her mind. “Most of what you’ll be doing is simple… running errands, helping to maintain the lodge, making sure all the menial tasks are done… nothing major. But… the closer we get to the convention… the more… interesting… things may become. I don’t necessarily expect anything to get violent… but… I really would be doing you and I both a disservice if I didn’t prepare for it.”

“I understand,” Evony said honestly.

“You don’t need to worry about doing anything tonight. I just wanted to get this part done as soon as possible,” he added.

Evony nodded.

“You can come back tomorrow… and we can discuss things at greater length,” Osric informed. “And, then… you can settle into your new routine, and just… get used to everything.”

“Gotcha,” Evony agreed.

They strode across the path quietly for a few minutes as they treaded nearer to town, no sound aside from the mild humming of Oliver’s inner mechanisms as he hovered along with them, and the faint crunching of hardened snow beneath their boots.

“Oh. And…” Osric eventually spoke again, slowing to a stop at the edge of town and turning to her. “If you ever find that there’s nothing for you to do during a workday… don’t feel pressured to overwork. You can always… I don’t know… just hang around in the office, or… perhaps go and see Cally in the kitchen. I got the impression that you and her were friends.”

“Yeah… I met her yesterday, and she kinda kidnapped me earlier today,” Evony replied with a smirk.

“Hah. That sounds about right,” Osric chuckled, turning and gazing across the dark town, with its few lit windows. “Well… I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Seeya tomorrow,” Evony agreed. “And thank you, for…”

“No, no… that’s part of the job,” Osric assured. “But you will be there in the morning this time, right?”

“Yes,” Evony laughed. “Morning from now on…”

“Good.” Osric gave her a final smile and nod for the evening. “Goodnight, Evony.”

“Goodnight, Oz.”

Evony returned the smile and wave, then began trekking across the open snowy road toward the west side of town.

Osric stared after her for a second, as did Oliver, both of them waiting until she had marched out of earshot.

“Shall I, sir?” Oliver then asked.

Osric nodded.

Oliver wasted no time; he whizzed high into the sky and began following Evony at a far distance once again, keeping a close eye on her during her walk home while Osric turned to the right and strolled down the main stretch in town, heading directly toward Silver Peaks Lodge for the night.

A short while later—when Evony was settling into her bedroom, removing her boots and jacket, and placing the charging stand on her nightstand—she pulled the strange ring of keys from her jacket pocket, only just realizing that she’d completely forgotten to tell Osric about it.

So, she set them on the nightstand alongside her two guns, climbing into bed and repeatedly reminding herself to present that evidence to him first thing tomorrow.