Chapter 10 "Gus's Day"
Chapter 10
Gus’s Day
Near Planet Ventoso
Segundo Galaxy
Gus is humming cheerfully, as he makes countless tiny steps with a mouse toy in his mouth until he stops when he hears the Dark God’s upset voice.
“Did you do this?” Katuo taps his foot on the floor impatiently. He points at the hole that is already covered by a few wooden panels. “Did you make this hole last night when the thieves broke in?”
“N-no, I didn’t!” Shonn fails to hide his shifty eyes.
“Liar!” Katuo yells angrily and kicks Shonn in the head, sending him across the hallway. “You could have killed Roy if Siko did not find him first before he ran out of air! You’re lucky that he is still alive and that Ketsu is more than happy to fix everything… but you didn’t have to make it even more difficult for him!”
“But… but... I needed to find a way to exit!” Shonn pouts and crosses his arms as if he is a child. “So, I had to use the power of fever to make the hole to save you!”
“Come here.” Katuo grabs Shonn’s hand and pulls him to get back up from the floor. They take five forward steps until they stop. “See here?”
Shonn glances at a door with the EXIT sign at the top. He looks back at Katuo, whose head is turning redder and redder every second. He laughs nervously, “Whoops! My bad! I didn’t see it!”
“To the training room. Now,” Katuo demands.
“Ok!” Shonn says both in excitement and nervousness.
Gus spots a yellow ball lying a few feet away after Shonn and Katuo leave for the training room. He chirps happily, drops the mouse toy, and then runs after the ball toy. He swings his paws at the ball, hitting it rolling across the hallway and bouncing off the walls.
He wiggles his rear a few times before he leaps toward the rolling ball and keeps swinging at it with his small claws until he reaches the huge kitchen. He stops when he watches the ball rolling and hitting a foot.
“Oh!” Siko sounds a little startled. He gives a light chuckle when he realizes that it is only the yellow ball. “Sorry, Gus! Pretty busy here!”
He lightly kicks the ball back to Gus as he turns back to the stove and continues cooking a huge steak on the pan.
Gus runs to the ball again and blows flames at it, making it bounce and roll even further until it reaches the stairs.
“Whoa, whoa! Watch out!” Roy quickly catches the bouncing ball in his hand when he gets to the top of the stairs.
Gus keeps mewing happily, his red eyes still on the ball in Roy’s hand. His tail makes sharp wiggles from forth and back.
“Sorry, I don’t have time to play with you… but I will toss it for you!” The Icy Warrior smiles apologetically at Gus, who tilts his head a little in return.
“Well, there you go!” Roy tosses the ball down the stairs. Gus immediately flies after it and watches it bouncing on every other five steps.
He chases it until he hears loud yelps and crashes. He stops at the door and then checks the sign, Training Room. He notices that it is barely open at just a gap of a crack. He uses his head to stuff through the gap, opening it a little further.
Before he even knows what is coming at him, Shonn crashes into the wall right next to the door, making a large dent. He freezes at the sudden appearance of the fiery werewolf.
Shonn lets out a light chuckle, as he manages to dig himself out of the deep dent and lands his feet safely on the floor. He wipes blood on his forehead with the back of his own hand. “Come at me!”
“Very well.” Katuo half-smirks at him. “Ready or not, here I come!”
How is it a punishment for Shonn if he is having fun? Gus has no idea. He steps back into the hallway and turns to the ball --
The ball is gone. He turns his head forth and back fast. He then starts running through the hallway until he reaches another open door. He takes a peek inside only to find Ketsu crawling around and looking under one of the chairs.
“Where is that darn wire cutter?” Ketsu sighs in disappointment and then kneels back up. He places his fists on his hips. “Now what?”
Gus glances at a large window only to find a larger spaceship being dragged with thick and huge chains being connected to Hoshiko spaceship. But he does not care about it at all. He practically bounces toward the Dark Angel and mews happily at him.
“Eh?” Ketsu glances at him. He smiles and then pats on the baby dragon’s head. “No, sorry. As you can see, I’m busy right now. You can go and play with someone else… How about Siko or Roy?”
Gus has a small scowl on his face and lifts his head in a snobby way, but that only makes Ketsu laugh amusedly. He turns away and makes his way out of the workshop.
Now where the heck is that ball?
He starts sniffing on the floor and catches the scent of his own, which means the ball must have rolled past the workshop. He begins following it until the end of the hallway when he finds another open door.
He blinks in confusion at what he is seeing inside of the room. He steps into a room… which appears to be… outside?!
What is this sorcery?! He whips his head, completely freaking out. He is looking at hundreds of tall and thick trees along with vines hanging all across the forest?
A butterfly is flying past Gus, who is still very much dumbfounded. How is it even possible that this room is, what, a greenhouse? Or something like that?
Wait. What is the butterfly doing here? Where did it come from? Gus does not recall that there have been any butterflies on any planet since they left Earth.
He spots a large shadow all over himself and the ground. Its size must be at least three times as Gus’s. He whimpers and turns around slowly, hoping that it is one of the Hoshiko members.
Then, his hope is lost. He is looking at a large black panther who is growling loudly at him. He yelps out of fear and quickly flies away into the air. He looks up and almost squeaks at the sight.
He is looking at a blue sky! Sky inside the spaceship! Where is the ceiling?! How is it even possible?!
He quickly turns around as soon as he hears a loud squawking noise. A large eagle is heading fast for him. Gus screams fearfully and turns back to fly faster and faster. He is frantically searching for any exit, but the forest is way too thick for him to see.
He stays in the straight path for the next five minutes, yet he has not touched the wall yet. What in the universe did Shonn do to this room?!
He can sense that the eagle is getting closer and closer, but he is trying to keep flying and flying as long as possible. Only if he finds an exit door…!
“Gus? Is that you?” Shonn’s voice reaches to Gus’s nonexistent ears. The baby dragon quickly follows the trail of the Fiery Werewolf’s voice until he crashes into his embrace and whines loudly.
“Oh, that eagle?” Shonn glances at the eagle, which is still flying around in the sky. “Oh, you don’t have to worry! It’s not real!”
Gus looks up at Shonn in confusion.
Shonn presses an invisible button on the wall. Suddenly, the entire forest atmosphere turns back into a small bedroom with just one bed, a table, and a chair.
Gus rubs his eyes, making sure that this is not a dream, and blinks repeatedly.
“Oh, here’s your ball!” Shonn picks up the ball under the table. “Oh yeah! Siko just told me that dinner is ready. Let’s go, shall we?”
Gus chirps happily.