It was a small room; curtains separated off a section that Ro assumed was the bathroom. A couch sat in front of an old wall-mounted screen. The other half of the room was a kitchen. It was definitely small. But the fact that he was living alone in this living space was impressive, especially for being in the Blight District. "Shower is over there, um, let me get you a towel. I can throw your clothing into the wash while you shower." Finch said as he walked to a shelving unit and grabbed one of the neatly folded towels. Ro followed Finch to the curtained area and slowly walked inside, "That'd be amazing!" Finch showed him which knob was hot water and which was cold, as well as what soaps were shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. After that, he shut the curtains and walked away to help Eqlips with making food. It was nice. It had been so long since Ro had been in such a domestic place. He was quick to get his shower over with, leaving his clothing on a small table beside the opening of the curtain so that Finch could take it. Finch was in the middle of drying himself off when he looked in the mirror. He paused. The fur that had looked black was now a deep, dark brown. His fur looked so much softer now. He ran his scared left hand over his dyed chest and stomach fur. Quickly, he made a mental note to redye it one day soon. "Bad news, Ro. Your clothes aren't dry yet." Eqlips's apologetic voice came from beyond the curtain, "But you can wear this for the time being!" Her hand popped out from the other side of the curtain, handing him an orange dress. "It's the only thing that would fit you that we could find..." "It's ok." Ro gently grabbed the flowy orange dress. Bet. Ro waled out from behind the curtain. The dress fit like a glove. The straps were thick and went up into the turtleneck. The flowing end of it went to his knees in the front and a little lower in the back. The fabric was surprisingly soft. Sonar glanced over from the wall that he was leaning against, having to take a double take. His black eyes went wide. He looked like he was short-circuiting. "What's wrong?" Ro bounded over to Sonar, tilting his head. "What are you wearing?" Sonar looked him up and down, his gaze flicking back to his lower legs, and the shock in his voice shifted into something along the lines of concern, "Scars?" Ro slowly looked down at the scars on his feet up to his knees. He forgot about those. Ro put one leg behind the other and rubbed the back of his neck. He nervously laughed, "Ah, those. Wellll um... You see, when I was little, I was stuck under some burning rubble." "AWW YOU LOOK SO CUTE!" Eqlips squeed, walking into the room with Finch close behind her. Ro felt warmth in his face as he couldn't help but smile, "Aw shucks." Eqlips stopped in front of him as he turned to her. The diamond shape on her visor turned into a star as she looked over him. "I knew that that old thing would fit you! AHH, orange looks so cute on you!" "Eqlips..." Finch sighed and walked to the kitchen to check on the pot of food that was cooking, "Maybe don't overwhelm the poor guy." "I'm not!... Am I?" She looked apologetic now. Ro shrugged. "Pastas ready," Finch announced as he grabbed one of the fore bowls that were beside the stove. "Guh! Pasta!?" Ro gasped, running over, his ears perked. Inside the pot was fresh homemade mac-n-cheese. Ro's mouth watered as Finch handed him a bowl and a fork. Thanking the dog, Ro went to an empty spot on the floor, sat crisscrossed, and began wolfing down the pasta. It was like heaven on Mobius. The others joined him with their own bowls. Ro watched as a small smile appeared on Sonar's lips momentarily. If Ro didn't have a staring problem, then he would have definitely missed it. "So... Tell us about your parents," Eqlips said, wiping her mouth with a washable napkin. "Oh, well. There isn't much to share..." Ro gulped. He forgot that he told them that lie. Without thinking, he spoke, "What about yours?" He looked to the other three. Silence. Eqlips looked down at her food, biting the inside of her cheek. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know that was a sensitive topic!" Ro quickly waved his hands in a panic. "It's fine." Eqlips smiled understandingly, but her voice was pained. Finch spoke, his voice low, "My parents and brother were taken by the capital." Sonar sighed, his expression unreadable. "I never knew my parents." Amazing, he asked a bunch of orphans what their parents were like. That's just brilliant. Ro looked down at his food, "Sorry." "It's fine. Really." A tense, awkward silence filled the room. It was killing him. "Nice weather we're having... There hasn't been as much smog." Ro tried not to sound as embarrassed and ashamed as he felt. ... That just made it worse... ... "Let's think about our next move." Sonar's voice was level. To Ro, it was like opening a window when the room was filled with smoke. A refreshing solution. A needed breath.
Finch nodded, "Agreed. Eqlips, can you pull up the blueprints for NCSCT?" "NCS-what?" Ro tilted his head. "NCSCT... Neon Central Station Control Tower." Finch said slowly. "Ahh, ok, I get it." Ro continued eating, embarrassed. "Yeah, I can do that. Give me a moment..." Eqlips said, reaching for a pen and paper, and then quickly sketching the blueprints. Ro assumed that she somehow pulled them up as she did with the map of the Eggman base. She smiled as she put the paper in the center of them, "Okie! So, the stairwell is surprisingly unguarded, unlike the elevators or the many escalators. Though that would mean that we'd have to run up 80 stories' worth of rickety stairs..." Hold up. Ro recognised that tower. That's what that place was!? He thought that was just a fancy housing building that all the keepers were forced to live in. Ro spoke, interrupting the plan that the other three were making that involved many complicated steps and maneuvers, "Wait, guys! We can just walk in, act like we're visiting someone, and then at the fourth level, we can just sneak into this shaft and make our way up." Ro pointed to a shaft that went all the way to the top. It was an old elevator that was made when the building was being built. "We can... what!? That is the DUMBEST idea that I've ever heard from you!" Sonar snapped, dumbfounded disbelief on his face. "That... might actually work." Finch put a fist to his muzzle. "What!?" Sonar blinked. "There aren't any cameras in that shaft. And visitors are allowed..." Eqlips nodded. "Hu!? Are we gonna just walk in with a wanted criminal and ask to see Joe Mama?" Sonar said sarcastically. He seemed exasperated as he gestured at Ro. ... ... The inside of the building was lavish. Quarts pillars lined the rounded walls and held up the second and third levels, which looked down at them with balconies. A round desk was between the elevators and the escalators. The open area was lit with warm lights that hung from the black marble ceiling. The four of them walked in together, each of them at least a little dolled up. Finch and Eqlips were in front while Sonar and Ro were in the back. "I can't believe we're doing this..." Sonar grumbled. "Do you really think that a dress and a hooded shawl are a good enough disguise? I mean... I don't think some makeup and drag are going to really..." Finch tried to think of some words, "I don't know, hide the fact that he's him." Eqlips shushed them as they got to the rounded front desk. The orange hawk looked over at them from her computer. Her chair hovered toward them as she spoke, "What brings you to Neon Central Station Control Tower today?" Her voice was a forced chipper sound. It was clear that she was tired of having to repeat this. "We came here to visit my father." Eqlips spoke up. Ro could tell that she was smiling. "His name, His status, each of your first and last names, and your reasoning?" The receptionist asked as her chair hovered over the computer, where she was about to enter their responses. "Kilometer Gray. Low keeper. Eqlips Gray." Eqlips started. "Finch The Dog." "Sonar De Hedgehog" "Ro-" Ro began but cleared his voice when the hawk cast him a sideways glance. He continued, speaking in falsetto, "Ruby The Cat." ".. M'kay." The Hawk nodded and typed away, "Eqlips Gray... Finch The Dog... Sonar The Hedgehog... and Ruby the Cat." She looked at them again, "And why are you visiting Kilometer Gray?" "To bring him lunch and to check in on him." Eqlips replyed. The hawk nodded, "Ok...." She paused, then looked between the four and her computer. Tension crackled between them. The hawk smiled tightly, and a small, almost forced laugh escaped her, "There... There seems to be a problem." "What do you mean by that?" Eqlips asked, tilting her head. Ro couldn't quite pinpoint the tone of her voice, but it was different. "The only person in our system with a name that's close to Kilometer is Kilo Prowler-" Eqlips cut off the hawk. "Check again. Either your system is not up to date,-" Her tone sent shivers down Ro's spine, "-or you're too incompetent to do your job correctly." Her usual cheery voice returned on the flip of a dime, "So, can you please check it again, sweet cheeks?" The hawk nodded, and she looked horrified. More typing and she spoke again, a shake in her voice, "Apologies, ma'am. He is here. It just wasn't showing up... H-head to the third floor. He should be in the door labeled as 3-15." "Thank you!~" Eqlips sing-songed as she started walking towards the elevator. Glancing up to Sonar as Ro followed, Sonar looked like he was trying to piece things together. Ro felt like he had just seen two different people. It was horrifying but also cool. When they were towards the farthest elevator and out of sight, they made their way to the stairwell. Sneaking inside, Finch turned to Ro, "Where's the shaft?" Ro started walking up the stairs, "Fourth floor, and on the other side of the building."
