Wipeout

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7:30PM, July 21; Sunday
Shopping district
Ceph and Crash only to start with, others later

Reuben was recovering, but they were running dangerously low on supplies. Bandages, herbs, ointments, everything.

Deciding to take a risk, Cepheid had opted to go out later at night on the holy day to a shop he knew that was always open where he could get medical supplies.

It was dark, but that didn't stop the younger Callidum brother. He was a star gazer, the dark streets was no issue, and was actually helpful. The lack of a scar on his face and his longer hair should be enough to prevent the average person from recognizing him.

So, with a small money purse tucked in his pocket and a mental list of what all the ship needed, he walked along the streets in the back alleys towards the shop. It was run by an elderly easterner and his family, who also dealt in some traditional remedies from the islands.

He yawned as he walked along, his nerves slowly dissipating as he was yet to see a single person. They were all inside, enjoying their dinners on the holy day, which was actually why he chose that day.

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<sub>There wasn't much for this young man to do on such a day. He was sort of religious, but not that religious. Not only that, he had no family to spend with and talk to, not even his Clan name. There were no McKees in Truesdale. Maybe in Dula, but Dula was on his shit list anyway.

Besides, he wasn't even sure if he was of the McKee Clan anyway. It was the closest that he could identify with, but they were all spread out and it seemed that his parents were dead anyway. Which kind of disappointed him. Were they happy with his life now? He had nooo clue.

So, jamming his hands in his aviator's jacket, he just scrounged along, that is until his eyes happened upon a very, very familiar figure. Crash bit his lip and squinted his eyes, trying to itendify the familiar person. He had:

A) Brunette spiky hair.
B) A tall and skinny body.
C) Possible Green eyes.

"... Oh... my... gawwwwsssshhh!" Crash could not contain his excitement. He flew up in the air with the speed of a jaguar, and leaped right up towards the back of this man, before crashing into him, wrapping his arms around his neck and just... tackling him down.

"I missed youuuu~!"</sub>

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It was during his yawn that our hapless hero was accosted by the rather excitable boy, and only had a brief moment to go "Oh sh-" before being slammed into the ground and squeezed to death.

At first, he felt a surge of panic as he was positive he was about to be apprehended because the person mistook him for his brother, but then he heard the voice's words, and now he was just confused. Wha?

"Gah, leggo! Who are you?" He wound up asking, squirming as he tried to regain his personal space. What a clingy little monkey!

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<sub>Crash was in the middle of clinging onto the struggling friend of his, and he was just so happy to see Andy! He had heard all sorts of nasty stories about him, but seeing him right there, alive, and in Truesdale made his heart soar.

"Heey remember me? It's Crash!" Of course, he stopped for a moment to look at the guy. Seriously? Did he lose his memory? Crash scratched his head. "You know, I was at the Dulan Acadamy. Why don't you remember? Did you lose your memory?"

Wait, where was that scar? Crash poked Cepheid's face, puffing his cheeks in confusion. "And where's that scar?"</sub>

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Cepheid continued to struggle to regain freedom from this strange fellow, who had identified himself as 'Crash'. That made him pause and roll over onto his back, so he could see Crash's face better.

Dulan Acadamy? W-

"Ow!" And now with the poking and the prodding and the pain. "I don't have a scar!" He said, fussing now. "You said your name was Crash?" He asked, brushing the other fellow's hand aside. "I'm not who you think I am. My name-" He paused and looked around in case anyone else was around.

"My name is Cepheid Callidum. I'm Andy's twin brother. You're Crash, my brother's friend from the boarding school, right? The one that liked to blow things up?" He remembered Andy telling him about this kid, but he didn't expect to see him here!

"Look, get off me for a second." He asked, trying to sit up and get to his feet.

Once he was up, he'd give Crash another look over. "My brother has spoken fondly of you. I have an important errand to run, but if you promise to keep a low profile, I can take you to him." He was positive this kid was the real deal. His personality fit, his appearance seemed to be spot on, given the gear, he obviously worked with something dangerous. "I need to get medicine and the like from a healer's shop down the alley. Can you wait a bit? Come along if you like but try not to draw attention."

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<sub>Crash stopped grinning as soon as Cepheid told him he didn't have a scar and then identified himself. Oh... my.. gawsh. This is Andy's twin brother! How could he have made that mistake! Poor Cepheid must have the same issue with the officials around here. He finally jumped back, his freckled face flushing with embarrassment.

"Oh gosh I'm so sorry. I guess you have the same issue with other people." He jammed his hands in his pocket and shuffled a bit, looking like a kid who got in trouble. Of course he brightened up when Cepheid identified him.

"He told me about you? Sweet! So he hasn't forgotten about me~." Crash grinned, ruffling his own flame colored hair. "Eyup, I like to blow things up."

His expression brightened up even more when Cepheid said he'd bring him to Andy. Yaay! He bit his lip, visibly and then nodded, grinning.

"I promise I'll keep quiet though.. I dunno how much of a low profile I'll have considering I'm Irish." Dat red hair. He'd walk right in step with Cepheid and whisper. "So who's injured?"</sub>

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Ceph groaned as he was finally let up. Owww. "Actually, I normally wear a mask. This is the first time I've actually ventured out without a disguise on in a very long time." He didn't comment that he was the Star Man. All of that could be gone over in time, when they weren't in public.

"He hasn't. You don't see him smile a whole lot, but he does when he tells stories about your antics." Ceph smiled slightly, popping his back. Ow.

He began walking with Crash towards the shop, glancing to his companion as he asked about the injured party. "I'll tell you in a bit, there's an awful lot we'll need to tell you, and this is something I think he'd best fill you in on."

They arrived at the shop and the Callidum brother ducked under the beaded curtain, stepping into the incense filled room. The entire place was filled with the potent smells of incenses, herbs, medicines, and candles. The place doubled as a supply shop for darker magics, but for the most part everything sold was fairly innocent. The more blatantly bad things were in the back.

Leaving Crash to his own devices, Ceph would step up to a bearded eastern man and give him a list of everything he needed, and the amounts.

"A lot of bandages, I mean, about as much as you'd feel okay with sending with one person, the following list of herbs and ointments, cough medicine as well as some pain killers." He went on, helping the older man gather the items.

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<sub>Crash looked up at his buddy's brother. So he wore a mask to disguise himself. Ooh like a superhero? Crash grinned happily over that and he would skip in his step.

"Sweet! Well I'm glad he has at least some fond memories of that place. Though I bet his memories of Sine are more fond." Crash giggled. Oh boy. Clearly he knew their relationship. "Fill me in anytime, and I'll fill you in on the rest."

Crash would walk into the shop, fiddling with the beads in the process, spinning and nearly ramming into a shelf. Since he was left to his own devices, he would pick up various packets of medicine and vials form the shelf, quickly putting them back. Of course like the idiot he was, he put his hand over a candle and nearly burned himself.

"Ouch!"</sub>

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Cepheid's smile dropped like a rock as soon as Crash mentioned Sine. He stopped short and looked at Crash seriously. "Crash. Do not, and I mean do NOT, bring up Sine when you see my brother. I mean it." Cepheid looked at the redhead firmly. "Seriously."

With that, he continued to walk and didn't any anything more on the subject. It wasn't his place. Andy could bring up Sine himself.

As they walked into the shop, Cepheid focused on his task of gathering supplies, only looking away when he heard Crash exclaim in pain. "You okay?" He asked, holding open a small cloth bag that the old man was filling with bandages.

After a bit, the supplies were gathered and paid for, and he prepared to leave, making sure Crash was with him. "Alright, we're heading back to the ship. Keep your head on when we get there, we have a few jumpy people. Also, steer clear of the one named Godwin. She's....affectionate."

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<sub>Crash winced and shrunk when Cepheid chastised him about Sine. What was that about? He just looked at Cepheid, going back to whatever it is he does, which is be distracted and look at things. After that incident with the fire, he shook his hand, not even realizing that Cepheid was talking to him. It was only until Ceph came up with the bags of items that Crash paid attention.

"Huh? Oh okay." He grinned, but still, his mind was on Andy and Sine. What happened to cause that kind of reaction, huh? Of course he blinked when Ceph mentioned jumpy people.. and someone named Godwine.

"He has a crew now? Cool. I'll... be careful, I guess."</sub>

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"Sorry." A small apology before going on his way. Ceph hadn't meant to be so hostile, it was just important that Crash not mention Sine!

It took a few minutes for Cepheid to gather the supplies, but once they were ready to go, it seemed that Crash only just became aware.

"A rather sizable one. It's kind of been...growing." He chuckled. "You'll see when we get there, okay?"

It took a good twenty minutes of walking, but eventually they arrived at the ship. "Wait here a second, I need to talk to Andy real quick, give him a little forewarning on a guest." He said, grabbing a rung on the ladder and climbing up.

Once he was on the deck, he moved down the stairs and went straight to the kitchen where hopefully Andy was. "I'm back, I have the supplies." He announced, glancing around for his twin if he was in the room.

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<sub>Crash wasn't sure what to make on this whole situation. Andy and Sine seemed to have a rough relationship now? He had no idea. Maybe in private he'll bother the others about it, but for now he'll just follow Cepheid like a lost puppy. So apparently Andy had a crew and it was growing.

"Really? That's pretty cool." Crash kicked a pebble that skidded into a ditch. After a sizeable amount of time, Crash found the skip that Andy had gotten and he just stared at it in awe. He could barely hear Cepheid as he climbed up. Oh right, waiting here.

"Okay!" He'll just stick to staring at the ship.</sub>

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<sub>Andy had indeed been in the kitchen. It might have been a week since that whole reunion, but he had been much more cheerful and much happier. He was biting into some bread and butter, clearly taking a break to relax as he was busy. It was a cheerful busy.

"Hey Cepheid. Thanks for getting the medicine. I really appreciate it." He grinned at his brother. The girls didn't seem to be present. Daniela was probably fixing the engines, and the others were resting.</sub>

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Using 'rough' to define Andy and Sine's relationship was like saying rubbing sandpaper on your bum was a soothing massage. Still, he wasn't going to be the one to bring that mess out into the open.

Stepping into the kitchen, Cepheid smiled at his brother, also looking to be in high spirits. "No problem at all. It was an...interesting trip, to say the least."

Setting the bag of supplies on the table, he looked up at Andy, still grinning. "I brought along another little something you may be interested in. Grab your bread and follow me onto the deck." He grinned, grabbing his twins arm and almost dragging him from the table.

Not giving his twin brother a choice in following him, and dragging the fellow up the stairs and onto the deck, he left him by the stairway. "Wait here a second, okay? Sit tight."

With a slight hop skip, the younger brother ran over to the edge and whistled for Crash to climb up the ladder. As Crash was going up, he'd look at Andy and grin widely. "He mistook me for you, and I have to say, he is everything like how you described him." He'd then let Crash's red hair sticking out over the edge of the deck answer Andromeda's imminent question.

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<sub>Crash would wait, rather impatiently, as he was expecting something to happen soon. His foot tapped the ground and his nerves went up. Oh boy, it's Andy, but there's so much that seemed to have changed, he really wasn't sure how to react to it though.

He'd look up as there was a whistle and the kid would make the climb up the ladder, that is before he hopped over the railing and grinned. Oy, there was Andy! Exactly like Cepheid, except this time he had that scar on his face.

He looked so much older though. Something about him gave that hint to Crash. Wouldn't stop him from doing the exact same thing he did to Cepheid; Tackle the guy into the ground.

"Heyyy!"</sub>