Okay, I might have gotten a little carried away by the freak. After we patent it (A very quick thing these days, considering how many inventions come in everyday, no, every hour.) it still takes me two hours before I realize what my original goal was. In my defense, we were celebrating. No alcohol of course, because one; We don’t want to do anything stupid, and two; Freddy hates the thought of it.

And now I’m sitting by the beach, Freddy next to me. Telk had left just a minute ago, muttering something about his mother and cakes… I’m unsure what that’s about. Is it his mother’s birthday? Or… is his mother giving him cake? I don’t know.

“So, what’s up?” Freddy asks.

“Nothing much.”

“Really? Then why were you absent today? Is it because of that submarine I saw you and your wife come out of?”

Mouth gaping, I look at him.

He has a cocky smile on his face.

“I’m coming with you,” He says.

I debate the idea a bit.

“...No.”

He, however, is undeterred.

“Yes.”

“My wife would kill me if I brought you back with me. So, no.” I argue.

“Ha, but I’m betting for your voyage, you don’t have a very talented fisherman, right?” He says, a sharp grin on his face. He waves wildly with his arms as he speaks.

“...No? Why would we need a fisherman?” I say, a little confused.

“'Cuz he knows the currents! He knows how to get fish! And, this fisherman knows how to swim! A very useful thing, you see.”

I think for a bit. I still had a little resistance against him coming with, but on the other hand…

We don’t really need the fish, not when the sub can produce food via a form of photosynthesis, but. He was good at research. The fish could be something to research. We don’t really know much about… currents. And swimming can be useful in a myriad of situations. And last but not least, I’m too lazy as of currently to find a solution to our problem. A Freddy might be the proof I need to show that I did do more than… err, celebrating and patenting.

Heck, we might as well take the freak. But… no, I can certainly see it freaking out Lyvia. I know what’s in store for me if I took the freak.

I blink as Freddy waves a hand in front of me.

“You still there?”

I nod.

“You’re coming with,” I say.

“Really?” He screams. I nod. “Holy shit! I need to pack! Can you stay right there, for, I don’t know, an hour?” He shrugs and runs off.

I stare at his sprinting figure.

“I am so screwed.” I mutter.

***

Three hours later.

We’d spent the other two hours making copies of our lives’ work. I don't have much qualms leaving it behind, but it is Freddy’s passion. And so we compromise, and copy it all.

We also leave a note for Telk.

Heyo, go crazy. We’re probably at the other side of the continent as you read this. Why? I guess you’ll never know. So, go crazy and do whatever. We probably ain’t coming back. Though, we wish we could’ve… said goodbye in person, but alas. So, let’s leave a lot unsaid.

It isn't very coherent, but on the other hand, it is last minute and we are in a rush… besides, I think Telk will understand perfectly. It’ll take him twenty minutes to understand the handwriting, of course, but we won't be colleagues if we don’t make each other’s lives’ harder. We’ll leave the note on his table, stapled.

Now we rolling on the beach laughing. Why? A couple feet away, is a man dressed in a… bikini

I’ll let myself out now.

Jokes aside, he is absolutely comical. I know we look like a bunch of assholes… I mean, it is part of their culture, but we just can’t care about that right now. Even if the man is Lyvia’s father.

“How dare you laugh at my manly majesty?” The man says, face red in indignation.

I laugh harder, and Freddy starts coughing. At this point, my cheeks, and stomach ar beginning to hurt.

Then, abruptly, I stop.

Why… why is he here?

I stare up at him, and then at slightly annoyed Lyvia. Then I see his butlers, and once again burst into laughter.

“Jett, I swear…” I hear Lyvia saying. A sharp icicle of fear shoots through my mind, laughter overpowering me.