The Lab

The Lab By Novai, Gloc, Ski, Mrs Novakins, Blitz and Sofa. Novaipulled a long, golden key from his pocket and opened the door with it. He said "Why do I actually have a cat flap?" while he beckoned Gloc inside. Glocentered the lab, and shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe we should buy a little kitty cat?" Novaireplied quite simply "Or not," as he tended to his potions. Glocsuddenly looked around for somewhere to deposit the small creature hidden under her jumper. "You sure you don't want one?". Novaipicked up his stirring rod and replied "Quite sure. If you think you can take good care of one you can keep one in the cellar," hearing the muffled mewing behind him. Heleft the rod in the now mixed potion and pulled up a tile to reveal a damp, dark, rat infested cellar. Glocran down towards the cellar. "Eee, Thankies! Back in a mo." Novailooked at his lab and stated "It's so empty without Sofa here..." Gloc didn't hear Novai as she settled the kitten in its new home in the cellar. After a few moments, she came back up. "Sorry, what did you say?" Novai went back to his potion and put it in the white chamber. "I just said it's so empty without a sofa... Or a television for that matter" he repeated glancing over the depressed, vague screen next to the black chamber. Glocwas suddenly alert. "What happened to the TV?" Novaiturned the dial on the white chamber and answered his creation's question quite flatly, "Black chamber". Glocscowled. "That damn black chamber. If you aren't more careful I won't buy another TV." Novaiflicked the switch on the white chamber and told Gloc, "I depressed it as your punishment... now let’s sort out your room, eh?" Hewent into the cupboard and back out about 15 minutes later with three sacks. Glocwaited patiently for Novai to reappear before quizzing him: "What did I do?!" Novaihoisted the sacks onto the floor and got to clearing the other items dragged out with them. "Never mind now, I'll buy another one soon enough. Now help me with these sacks..." He threw a sack labelled 'Cotton' at Gloc and pulled the tile back up. Three rat corpses and a playful cat were revealed. Glocstruggled to pick up the bag. "Whatever is in this bag, it is NOT cotton...." she said through heavy breaths as she struggled to carry the bag over to the cellar. Novaipicked up the other two and threw them over his shoulders. "Just, pour out the contents and make yourself a room then." Novai tipped his sacks one at a time and the inch thick dusted floor with dank cobwebs painting the walls to match, were soon covered in old, damp wool, a few bricks and a badly sewn bed cover. Gloclooked at the heap and thought she was in heaven. Never had she lived so luxuriously as this! She dumped her own bag on the floor and saw that it was, indeed, filled with cotton. Her arms were much weaker than even she thought... it 1

must be those extra joints, adding weakness. Well, she would just have to get used to that. "Oki doki then! And all this is... mine?" Gloc was in her element. Novainodded, looking at the, what looked like to him, pile of old rubbish. "I could use some of it though, so try to save me some cotton... You could try stuffing a sack for a pillow, and use the bricks to keep up off the dirt. Have fun!" He stroked the cat and climbed out of the tile, with some difficulty even with his tall height. A few minutes later he tossed a ladder and a padlock into the cellar. Gloccalled back up to him. "Any chance for a broom, perhaps?" as she looked around the space and saw all of the possibilities it held. Novaimumbled something too low to be heard in the cellar as he went into the cupboard to look for a broom. About six minutes later he came back with a long, brush with sharp bristles, and a spittoon 'For the rubbish' he said.He then started on his potion again; it would hopefully be ready soon. Gloctook the broom and said "Cheers ma dear!" as she set to work on her room. For a long time, various noises could be heard from the direction of the cellar. Gloc took no break and so there was no silence during this time. At last, the noise stopped and she looked around appreciatively. She had transformed the room completely, no longer did dust coat the walls and floor, and she had what was -though barelyrecognisable as a bed. Holding the spittoon of dust in one hand, she stepped through the Rift Storm she had just created, and came back a few moments later, the spittoon empty and her room as clean as a cellar in an old lab can be. She had left a few cobwebs in the corner for effect, and something for her kitten to play with. Glocwondered where the rats had gone, as she was sure her kitten would love to play with them too. She decided they were probably hiding from her frenzy and would be back soon. Novainoticed the noise stop and stopped grumbling to himself. He dripped some blood into the tincture and went to check on the cellar. He landed in with a thud when he jumped in. "You can hardly breathe in here! Undoubtedly because of how long I had it shut... Wonder how the rats survived? I'll do something to help the oxygen get through though." He grabbed the spittoon and propped the ladder up for his leave. "I'll be back shortly," He said as a small noise of scraping chains was heard from the attic. Gloclooked up at the ceiling as she heard the peculiar noises and shrugged. To be honest, the lack of oxygen didn't really bother her much. She wondered just how much of her was still actually human. But her kitten would need it. Come to think of it.... her kitten needed a name! She sat down on her bed, kitten on her lap, and thought about what she could call him. Novaishut the door behind him when he left for his errands. The potion on the counter was bubbling nicely, a deep purplish colour. Novai shut the door loud enough for it to be heard, and soon after the phone rang. The phone was a shoe sized phone as if the first phone ever made, that was decorated with sixteen years' worth of dust and webs. Small spiders could sometimes be seen on it. The rest of the lab section was remarkably clean, but on top of his fish tank the phone stuck out like a saw thumb. On it rang the whole time. Glocwas startled when the phone ringing interrupted her thoughts. At first, she left it, unsure whether to answer it. But after a while, the phone hadn't stopped ringing 2

and so she left the cellar to answer it. She strolled over to the fish tank and picked up the old phone. "Hello? Er, this is... Novai's Lab, how may I help...?" she said, unsure of how she should answer. Novaiwas busy somewhere outside. In the phone, a low breathing could be heard. Then there was a loud, savage grunting, from the phone and the attic. Then a loud crash, but the phone was hung up while the attic echoed through. Hurried footsteps were heard above and the noises were soon resettled. The footsteps slowly went to leave when the lab door opened and Novai stepped in. "Oh, hello Gloc. What you doing with my fish?" He said when he saw her, dragging a square crate through. When he talked the footsteps quickly stopped. "Got you something for your cellar." Gloclooked over at Novai. "Oh, hi... the phone..." Her eyes flicked to the crate and her thoughts were yet again diverted. "Oooh, what is it?" She asked, eagerly, and rushed over to help him. Novaileft the box with Gloc to pull up the Cellar door. "How are we gonna do this then?" He asked, eyeing the hole. Glocdragged the crate over to the cellar, and didn't reply. She found that the extra joints in her arms allowed her to hold the crate much more comfortably though. Novaijumped into the cellar and unscrewed the hinges to fully remove the thick tile. "See if it can get through now, will ya?" he yelled up. "If you move your bed into that bit, you could squeeze this in here and..." He carried on, waving his arms about oblivious to the fact Gloc couldn't see him. Glocwas dragging the crate, her back to Novai. She half listened to his ramblings, but she wasn't really paying attention. Because of this, she didn't realise how close his voice was. And so, she stepped back straight into the hole. Because of the way she was holding the crate, it came down on top of her. Luckily, it didn't quite fit through the hole and so she was left dangling, the crate stuck in the doorway. "Erm... could ya help a little?" She called down to Novai. Novailooked up as his ramblings were cut in mid sentence, which wasn't hard being as it was all one sentence. He pushed up on the box so she could fit her arms back under, then told her, "Very carefully laser the side of the box for it to fit through, I'll catch it, ready," getting into position. "Try not to break it though, not getting you another telly." Glocnodded as she landed in a heap on the floor. She picked herself up and aimed her finger at the side of the crate. Except, of course, it was actually a laser, and not a finger at all. A blue beam came from it and blasted the side of the crate, as it fell through the hole. "There..." Novaiquickly moved his head back, but lost balance and had the crate fall on his stomach. "Oof..." He rolled over and flipped the box sized TV on its side. "There should be another... 'Remote' in there, I'll let you set it up," He told her, gesturing one hand at an electricity panel and a few plug sockets next to it, and attempting to prop the ladder up with the other. "Just don't go shutting off the electricity all the time." Glocdanced with delight, oblivious to the fact that Novai had just been crushed. "Thank you sooo much!" This cellar was now Gloc's paradise. She turned to the box and began to rummage for the remote. 3

Novaiset to re-attaching the tile, which was much harder than he wished he'd anticipated, with its width, weight and position. "Gloc, could you hold this up for me?" He asked, getting his pocket tool box out. Glocnodded and walked over to where he was standing. She held the tile in position, though its weight made her arms shake. She made the decision to start weightlifting, her arms were ridiculously weak. Novaimade a brief thank you and slotted the hinges in. He noticed the shaking and made a note of it for later. In about 20 minutes and three rests due to dropping the tile, it was sturdier than ever. "You're definitely not getting a new TV after this one." He Climbed out of the hole and set up a larger television in its usual place. Gloccalled up after him that it wasn't her who broke it the last few times. But then she set to admiring her TV again. As she was doing so, the kitten began to curl itself around her legs. "Oh, I still haven't thought of a name for you yet, have I? I will call you..." She thought briefly for a name, looking at the cat for inspiration. She finally decided on "Ski!" She wasn't quite sure how the name fit the black cat, but it seemed to, and Ski purred. Novaiclambered out of the cellar and saw his potion overflowing with the fizz. He quickly picked it up and placed it in the white chamber. He'd need to clean it out now. He grabbed a sponge and scrubbed at the stain the potion left and searched his handwritten encyclopaedia for oxygen down in the cellar. Glocemerged from the cellar. She still hadn't cleaned herself after blitzing the cellar, but she was such a hideous mutation that it didn't really matter. She wandered over to Novai and peered over his shoulder. "Whatcha up to?" She asked. She was evidently bored, despite her new TV and kitten. Novaiturned a page and scanned the first paragraph before answering. "The usual, making potions, discovering formulae. I'm searching for your oxygen right now." He said, his eyes not straying. He picked up the book and read a chapter of something to do with herbology. Glocnodded along, not all that interested, and then went back to her room to play with the kitten. Something seemed.... different about him. Not like a regular kitten. But then, what was regular here? She turned on the TV and searched through the channels with one hand, her other hand occupied with pulling a piece of string over the floor for Ski to play with. The joints in her arm allowed her to move the string quite erratically, without her actually having to move much at all. Novaiput the book back on its stand in the window and checked his herbs cupboard. He turned around and noticed Sofa had come into existence. "Hi Sofa!" He said in greeting. He jumped down the cellar and was forced to suppress a laugh at seeing the knotted arm. "I've found a plant that gives extreme amounts of oxygen compared to normal plants for you, should be ok if you take care of it. Gloclooked away from the TV to see Novai enter. "Ahh, thankies muchly my master!" She got up to come out of the cellar, unaware that the cat dangled from the end of her long, white beard. Novaileft the cellar and said "Now, go to sleep," and slammed the tile back down. When the light was cut off only the red dot on the television power was visible. Novai slumped on Sofa and turned the television on. "Hi Sofa. Anything you want to watch?" Sofareplied, “I want to watch a film, something good.” 4

Glocstood, stunned. "Hey! Wha.." she grumbled for a while longer and eventually turned on the TV to give herself some more light. "Looks like we're shut down here for the evening." She said to Ski, who was curled up on her bed. She eyed her wrist strap, but it was too great a risk. If the door was locked, it wouldn't work and she would only get fried. She sat down next to Ski and watched the TV. Of course, she could get out of the cellar if she wanted to, by standard means, but it was too much effort so she just padlocked the tile to make sure nothing could get in overnight. Sofajerked suddenly; "I heard a noise." She shouted "A scary noise". The door creaked open...a shadow appeared but it was unrecognisable. Novai was too busy trying to remember the 'On' button again to hear her, and carried on what he was doing. Ski looked up at Gloc, and smiled inwardly. She evidently had no idea who he was. Well, he would reveal himself in time. It was fun playing at being an ordinary kitten. Gloc looked down and saw Ski looking up at her. She wondered what was running through his sweet little kitteny mind. Probably thinking of fish or something. At some point between her thoughts and watching TV, she must have drifted off into sleep. Ski watched as Gloc fell asleep, and curled himself up on her stomach to fall asleep. The gentle rhythm of rising and falling helped him to drift off as well. Novaigave up on the ridiculously complicated television and searched his herbology cupboard again. Right at the back was the oxygen plant, as well as a dusty lantern he'd lost years ago. He picked it up and lit it with one of his homemade fires. He went down into the cellar and placed them together. "There's your oxygen and this lantern has sunlight to keep it going better. Seeya, I'm off to my house now," He told her before leaving the cellar. Novaigrabbed his key and locked the door, setting off to go to his other home. In the attic faint noises could be heard, but not enough to distinguish from the scuffling rats in the cellar. Gloclooked up as Novai entered the cellar. In her sleep, she barely heard what he said, but grunted and fell back asleep. She rolled over to get more comfortable, not aware the Ski was asleep on her stomach. Ski grumbled as he fell off Gloc's stomach, but found a more comfortable position to sleep in. He decided it wouldn't be too long until he told her who he really was. *** Glocwoke up promptly at six AM. She seemed to have some sort of internal alarm clock. Quite literally. Every day she woke up with a loud ringing in her head, and it was really beginning to annoy her. She got out of her bed, trying not to disturb the kitten, and watered her plant from a random hose which she found on the far side of the cellar. She then unlocked her tile and - with much effort - managed to move it and get out. She decided to take this opportunity to explore the lab whilst Novai wasn't here. 5

Novaiwoke up at eight when his alarm clock jumped into action. It was a series of ridiculous parts which eventually dump a bucket of water on his face. It was the only way to beat a heavy sleeper. He sat up shivering and closed his eye, looking through the left eye he'd left in the lab like a surveillance camera. Glochad been watching the big TV, as she decided Novai wouldn't be that happy if he caught her snooping round the lab. She was quite content when she suddenly noticed a young boy on the other side of the lab. Unlike most people, he didn't seem frightened about the way she looked, instead he had a creepy smile on his face. "Hi." She said, quite politely, and then: "How the hell did you get in here?" Ski continued to smile at Gloc. "Why, you brought me here of course." Seeing her confused look, he added: "Don't you recognise your Ski?" Mrs. Novakins suddenly had her face pressed tightly against the window, saying things which couldn't be heard through the thick glass. Glochad barely got over the shock of seeing Ski when she saw a woman behind the glass. Fortunately, Gloc was used to such unusual things happening, that's what you got for being the creation of a mad scientist. She decided that unless it became a bigger problem, she would just leave the woman to her crazies. She turned back to Ski. "So, what exactly are you?" Ski said quite simply, "Well, I'm a shape shifter of course." As though it was not such an uncommon thing. Novaisaw Gloc talking to something behind the eye, and a face on the window in the corner. Whether or not anyone had noticed was beyond him, but he thought he should head round they're soon. Gloclooked at Ski a while longer, and then shrugged. She had seen stranger things. Herself for starters! Having sorted that matter, she decided to turn her attention to the woman at the window. "Who do you reckon that nutter is?" she asked her shape shifting cat. Mrs. Novakins continued to shout somethings at the glass, not knowing they couldn't hear her, nor that the door was open Ski looked towards the window. "I have no idea. Want me to go have a look?" He said. He could easily shape shift into a fly or something, to go and hear what she was saying. Novaiwas running around the lake to the path up the back of the hill. 'Don't know why I bother' he thought to himself. Eventually he saw the house and went to find out what in Earth was going on. Mrs. Novakins eventually went purple with shouting and evidently hadn't been breathing through it. She eventually pulled her face of the window and took a deep breath when Novai came running behind with just one eye. Glocsaw the woman start to go purple in the face and shook her head at ski. "I think it's probably best if you don't. She might be.... rabid or something." She decided it 6

would be safest for them to stay in the lab and wait for Novai to arrive, whenever he decided to show up. Novaicame running by and started talking to the 'mad woman'. After about five minutes Novai opened the door and the last of the conversation was heard: "-Batty old woman! What do you want for breakfast?" Glocsaw the two walk into the lab, and clearly they knew each other. Or at least, Novai had recognised the woman to not be a threat. She got up and walked over to them. "Er, hi... sorry we didn't come over to you before but... um..." She cut her sentence off, unsure how to finish it politely. Mrs. Novakins retorted quite rudely saying "Never mind calling me batty! Look at you! And you, I was yelling through that glass as hard as I could and you just sat there and ignored me! I'll have the usual for breakfast, Thank you!" She obviously wasn't very well mannered. Ski had realised the potential danger in this situation and, preferring not to be insulted in some way, had slipped away back to the cellar. Glocwas quite taken aback by the woman's manners and stammered an apology. At the same time she noticed Ski's sly disappearance, and made a mental note to punish him for abandoning her later. Mrs. Novakins quickly snapped back, "Oh, quit blathering. Don't you have anywhere to eat in here yet? Or do we still have to sit in that filthy cellar? Honestly, Teddy, can't you get a real house?" It was obvious why Novai didn't like her much. Novaistammered at hearing his name, keeping his back to his creation. "Well... um... The cellars been cleaned out... and-" was all he could muster. Glochad to fight back a snort when she heard Novai's name, but silence was definitely the best course of action for now. She would have to remember it for later though. Teddy! Mrs. Novakins sighed and said quite unnecessarily "It'll have to do. I don't know why I continue to bother with you, and who's this bearded freak? The maid I suppose. I'll see you in that dank, cold cellar." She said and pouted off to the tile, though her long nails couldn't cope with the thin ridge and looked rather ridiculous trying. Glocran over to Novai. "Hey! She's going to my cellar! Stop her!" she pleaded with him. "Who is she, anyway?" She added, to satisfy her curiosity. Mrs. Novakins cut in before Novai could answer saying "Honestly, won't even give your own mother a hand. You! Maid! Lift this tile for me!" She said all in one breath. Novaisighed and whispered sorry to Gloc and lifted the tile before disappearing into the cupboard. Glocthrew a glare at Novai as he disappeared, and turned to... his mother? She almost felt sorry for him. "So, you're his mother?" Gloc said, trying to make some friendly conversation. Mrs. Novakins simply tutted and entered the cellar. Ski was back in his kitten shape and hidden in the cellar. He stood near the tile listening to the conversation above. When he heard the old woman move towards the cellar, he quickly made himself scarce and hid behind the television.

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Novaicame out of the cupboard with a tray wrapped in tin foil and a pair of ear plugs. He tossed the ear plugs to Gloc and said to Sofa "You're lucky, she probably thinks you're just a couch." He put the tray on the bench and got to cooking. Glocsomehow managed to catch the ear plugs - probably in her desperation - and quickly inserted them into her ears, nodding at the scientist in thanks. "I'm gonna go keep an eye on," And here she had to stifle a snicker, "Your mum. I don't want her ruining my cellar!" She said as she headed over to the tile. Mrs. Novakins saw Gloc hop down the cellar and immediately said "What kind of maid can't cook? Here! Set the table for me, I'm not eating on the floor, what happened to the table in here?!" Her arms were waving around enough to make up for the earplugs. Novaishoved his own earplugs in and placed his eye back into its socket. Missing an eye was more irritating than you'd think. He put the food in the oven and made to pouring some drinks. Sofareplied to Novai: “Give me some vodka then!” Novaihad his earplugs loose until he went into the cellar and couldn't help but to query, "How do you actually drink it?" while pouring some into a stout glass. Sofareplied “I don't, it just feels good between the cushions.” Glocinterpreted what Mrs. Novakins wanted done through her exaggerated arm motions. She moved her bed around with the bricks so that it formed an at least usable table. Whilst she was doing this she kept an eye out for Ski, wherever he had got to. She tried not to look at the woman whilst she was doing this, so that she wouldn't be able to see if she wanted something else doing. Novaireplied to Sofa: "Well, I'm not sure I want a soggy chair to sit on, but I know you like to watch the television, I've made it so you can control it telepathically, just for you." He then pushed his ear plugs in and went down with three stools and a folding table. Sofasaid "I like it a lot but I can't get a hang of the telepathy." she then managed to spill it all over herself and so was very soggy. Sofa hoped someone would clean it up before the moths drowned. Ski looked out from behind the TV and saw Gloc busy sorting out a table and Novai's mother occupied in waving her arms about. He had a limited number of shaped he could change into, and he ran them through his mind to decide which would be best to make his escape. In the end he settled on a sparrow - the smallest shape he could think of that could get out through the tile. He changed his shape and flew up towards the exit. Mrs. Novakins almost hit Novai in the face when he came down. "Oh, you actually do have them. This idiot of a maid tried to make a table out of old bricks! Just put it here, make sure my stool is clean too, I just saw a bat or something in here!" Glocscowled. The old bat was clearly saying something derogatory about her. She fixed her bed back and sat down on it heavily, folding her arms at the same time. 8

Novaisighed and didn't attempt to make out her sign language and set up the table and hopped back out of the cellar. He loosened his ear plugs and found his friendly Sofa soaking. "How'd you manage that?" He got some un-chloroformed rags and put them on Sofa. "Silly couch you are. Well, gotta put up with that hag now, wish me luck!" With that he picked up the breakfast of bacon and eggs and jumped down that tile hatch. Mrs. Novakins had excellent table manners for such a rude person; however this led to a longer breakfast with her. "Maid, tell me your name! You shall call me Madam Lizz. And pass that salt, too!" She continued nagging at every little detail, particularly at the 'bearded one' for the rest of the hour. Sofalooked at the TV and thought to herself that she fancied watching a movie; instantaneously it changed to Film 4. She spent an hour channel flicking for her amusement until she heard the door open and decided that she didn't want to be seen amusing herself like a small bean bag would. Ski flew out of the tile and saw the Sofa channel surfing. Without changing his form he may need to make a quick getaway - he perched himself on the windowsill and watched the screen. Novaislammed the door on Lizz and turned around, sighing with relief. "Well... glad that's over. I'll put the table and chairs away," He said as he headed off to the cellar. Glocbreathed a sigh of relief as the door slammed behind that hateful old woman. "I feel for you Novai, I really do." She said as she shook her head. She looked over at Sofa, and saw Ski there. "Oh, and Ski is a shape shifter by the way." She added casually. Blitzshook his head and took a final glance back. He saw his father turn into a jet as he flew off. He didn't even get a hug... Not that he needed it. "Kay then. Here we go..." Blitz said after he combed his hair back with his gloved fingers. A final sigh escaped his lips before he knocked onto the door loudly. Novaiclambered out of the cellar and said "Who is?" before hearing the door knock. "Wonder who on earth that could be? You couldn't get that for me, could you Gloc?" He went into the cupboard to put the furniture back. Ski replied to Novai's question by changing into his human form. "That would be me, Ski the little kitty cat. Shape shifter." As he said this he struck a pose, making himself seem quite arrogant, before he burst into laughter. Glocnodded at Novai and rushed over to the door. When she opened it she peered round the door carefully - her looks weren't always taken too pleasantly by visitors. "Hello?" Blitztook a step back as the door opened. "Good day, miss. I came here to apply as a new student for professor Novai. If that is possible of course." He said politely and tried to smile which eventually failed. His red optic lens zoomed in and out to get a good view at the one that opened the door. Although he wished he hadn't done it.. Glocstammered when she saw him. He was the most beautiful creature she had ever en. "Erm....." was all she could get her mouth to say. She stepped aside and gestured 9

for him to enter. Novaicame back and saw a boy standing on Sofa. "Oh... Hi... Ski." He said waving. "Who is it, Gloc?" He asked walking to the door. "Oh, a new student? I've been needing a successor, come on in, tell me your name!" He said quite happily. Ski sat on Sofa and watched the newcomer with interest. He was an odd looking fellow, and he seemed to be having a peculiar effect on Gloc. Blitzquickly entered to building and ignored the speechless lass. The cannons on his back moved along as he turned his head to inspect the inside of the building. "My name is Blitz. And my mother told me that you were the one that could teach me the ways of becoming a mad scientist." Immediately after saying that, Blitz grinned madly. "So, you think you can teach me?" Novaiwalked in with the boy and said "Of course I can! Say, how old are you? And do you have anywhere to stay while you're here? I'll need to get a small exam to test your capability but by the looks of you, you look pretty good for the job to me. I just ask that you do not use any of those indoors, please." He went on, eyeing the machine parts throughout. Glocstood gawping at the boy - Blitz - and eventually followed him inside. She didn't know what to say, so she just stood there looking like an idiot and said "Hi." Blitzlaughed softly and brushed a strand of hair out of his face. "If you really need to know, I'm 17 years old. And yeah, I can fly home and back so I can get here easily." His optic kept zooming in and out to get a sharp image of both the building and it's inhabitants. "I won't touch anything that I'm not allowed to touch." He suddenly noticed the lass again and raised a brow. "Hello." Glocsmiled when he said hello and just remained silent. She figured it was probably best to let them sort this out for the time being, and so moved over to Sofa and sat down. Novaiwas trying to remember where he had the exam while saying "17? So's Gloc there! And, that's good, there'd've been nowhere else for you unless you fancied sleeping in the cellar with Gloc, but I doubt that." he quickly finished off, chuckling as he went to his drawers to get some papers. Blitz looked at Novai with a puzzled look. "You let your pet sleep in the cellar? Poor thing." He quickly shrugged it off and flexed his gloved fingers. "Say, didn't you write a book or something? I remember your name from somewhere..." Novailooked back at him and gave him a small stack of papers. "Gloc, why don't you show him into your cellar so he can have some peace during his exam. And yes, I wrote a few encyclopaedias on the matter, actually. And Gloc isn't my pet. But she does sleep in the cellar, but it's a nice cellar she decorated herself." He went into the draw at his desk and pulled out a set of books: The Complete Library of Mad Science by T.N. Novai and put it on the table with a small smile. Glocimmediately replied "Can do!" And saluted to Novai as she jumped up. "This way Blitzy!" She said, her shyness gone for the moment, and she skipped over to her tile. Blitzshook his head in disgust. "I'm not going to go to a cellar. I'm way too good looking to be locked up in some basement with... that thing." Obviously, he had taken over his mother's ego and was about to turn around and leave again. Yet the thought about coming home with no diploma or anything scared him. Not the fact that he had no diploma, but the fact that his parents would be mad... One of them 10

would be mad at least. Gloccontinued on to her cellar, oblivious to what Blitz was saying. She was babbling away to herself, in a much better mood now that Mrs. Novakins was gone. She was a real beast... And that thought coming from someone like Gloc! Novaitutted mentioned to Blitz "You know, in your fourth year you'll have to make someone just like Gloc. This year you'll construct you own pet, I failed my first when I made a mistake in its brain. Now it's a savage, monai-" He babbled on before quickly cutting off. He finally said "At least try to be nice," And nodded at Ski. "At least she seemed awfully perky," he said in a low voice. Blitzrolled his blue eye and let out an annoyed growl. "I didn't come here to be nice. I came here to learn more and be a scientist one day, not be nice and hug all jolly people that I see. The making of the pet will be rather nice though, I always wanted a ninja hamster or a flesh-eating rat." Glocwas already in her cellar when she noticed Blitz wasn't there. She looked around before poking her head up out of the tile to see him still talking to Novai. With a scowl, she sat down on her bed. She didn't want any old person coming and messing up her cellar anyway. It had already been invaded once. Ski was still sat on the Sofa, watching all this. He nodded in response to Novai, and then changed back into his cat form. It was the one he was most comfortable in. He saw Gloc's head poke over the tile, before quickly disappearing. He slowly made his way over and jumped lightly into the cellar below.

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