Chapter Text
“Ouch…!”
It was another average day in the Neo Diamond Cutters’ office. The girls were just about done with their batches of paperwork.
Suddenly, though, Lanolin dropped her pen and winced, clutching her chest. Naturally, everyone stopped what they were doing to check on her.
“Woah, are you good, boss?” Ashley asked. “You’re not going into work with heart problems, are you?”
“No, my heart’s fine,” Lanolin answered, rolling her eyes. “This is just a side effect of what happened to me at Madman’s Casino.”
Whisper blinked. “Ah. Right. ‘S not the first time that happened…”
“Right…” the leopard said, trying to hide the faint sense of guilt in her voice. “Still, shouldn’t you see a doctor or something?”
“I appreciate the concern, but I’ll be okay,” Lanolin assured her friends. “I was told by the medics I’d be feeling something like this occasionally. Plenty of time has passed, so it should stop sooner rather than later.”
Whisper smiled. “That’s good to hear.”
Lanolin hummed, and looked at Tangle, who had been unusually quiet… and looking at her scar.
“Tangle?”
“MM? Oh, uh… yeah! That’s great, Lano!” she said nervously. “Happy to hear that!”
The sheep looked at her confused for a second, before dismissing it and giving her nod.
“Enough about me, though, let’s get this done. I’m starving.”
-
“…and after the dance scene, you get this boss fight against a hole puncher!”
Fifteen minutes later, the Neos were sitting at the food court, having their dinner. Ashley was discussing with her team about a video game Tangle let her borrow. Whisper was intrigued… but the same couldn’t really be said for Lanolin.
“Wait… so that’s why all the Toads have holes in their faces?” Whisper asked before sipping her water.
“Exactly!”
“A boss fight against a hole puncher,” Lanolin repeated. “…that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what makes it so great!” Tangle said, with a mouthful of her chili dog.
“And don’t even get me started on the music. Might be my favorite track in the game so far,” the leopard said, her tail wagging.
“A track where you fight a hole puncher cannot sound that good,” Lanolin said, unconvinced.
Swallowing her mouthful, Tangle started to get out her phone. “You want proof? I’ll send it to you right now if-!”
“Heyyy, girls! How ya doing?”
The girls froze at the voice coming from their side.
…oh come on.
Everyone’s eyes glanced at none other than Randy the rabbit, looking nervous. And judging how he didn’t have a tray of food, it was safe to assume he was there to cause trouble.
“…on second thought, I’m very interested in what The Origami King has to offer,” Lanolin suddenly said. “Why don’t we go to your room so you and Tangle can show us, Ashley?”
Ashley already got the message, and was picking up her bowl of ramen. “I’d be delighted to.”
“Wai- are you serious?! Come on!” Randy tried. But the four were already taking their food and drinks and leaving the table. They were not in the mood for whatever he was trying to do or say.
“Nice acting,” Whisper said to Lanolin and Ashley once they were away from the food court. “Not sure if he bought it, though.”
“Oh, he totally didn’t. He’s not that stupid,” Tangle told her. “But hey, whatever it takes to not be near him.”
They could hear the sound of footsteps approaching them, fast.
“Seems like he’s stupid enough to not take a hint, though,” Lanolin grumbled, rolling her eyes.
The footsteps stopped right behind them, followed by some panting. Reluctantly, they all turned around, and looked at him holding his knees.
“You’re just gonna assume every time I come by you, I’m gonna cause trouble?!” he yelled, glaring up at the team. “What, did the ‘director’ influence you?!”
“No, it’s because you always attempt to belittle us and our friends every time you see us,” Lanolin scowled. “It doesn’t hurt; it’s just annoying.”
“Name one time I’ve done that!”
“I’ll give you three,” the sheep scoffed, counting with her fingers. “When we got back from Extreme Gear training a couple days ago, you called Whisper the ‘big-back wolf.’ The day after that, you eavesdropped on a conversation we were having in that very food court and called Ashley a ‘wanna-be hero, like that damn tenrec.’ And when Tangle and I were at the gym yesterday, you told us to simmer down, because ‘muscles don’t look good on girls.’”
“Coward,” Whisper muttered quietly.
“Okay, well for once, can you assume that I’m-?!” Randy began. But none of the girls were having it.
“Assume that you’re what? Not being a dick? Not looking down on everyone you see?” Ashley snarled. “Lanolin and I may have known you for the least amount of time, but trust me; we’re well aware of your track record. You’re lucky director Jewel’s kind enough to even let you stay here, because we know you’ve got a history with her as well-”
“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!” the rabbit yelled as a crowd formed. “You’re professionals, right?! So be professional for a minute and just listen to what I have to say! If I do anything ‘snarky,’ you can walk away!”
All the girls looked at each other, suspicious. As frantic as Randy was being, he did sound serious. They consecutively nodded and looked back at him.
“Fine. One spiteful comment, though, and you’re getting cut off.”
“ Thank you,” Randy sighed. It was then that he noticed all the bystanders. Tugging a string on his hoodie, he said, “...can we do this without a buncha people staring at us, though?”
First logical statement I’ve ever heard him make, Whisper thought.
-
The Neos and Randy were standing outside of the door to Ashley’s room. Before they talked, though, the leopard went inside to put down everyone’s food.
“What, we can’t talk in her room?” Randy asked. “I don’t see how that makes sense-”
“Don’t push it, dude,” Tangle told him.
“I’m just saying,” he retorted, putting his hands up.
Right after that, Ashley’s door opened, and she stepped right out.
“Food’s secure, gals,” she said, sweeping her hands together. She looked at Randy, and her expression went from happy to serious.
“So. What’s the problem?” Lanolin asked, crossing her arms.
Randy rubbed the back of his head. “Well… I’m gonna have to give you context first. On the day I settled in here, I wanted to take a look around the place, and I happened to come across your office. The sheep was in there, having a conversation with a purple cat-”
“ Excuse me?” Lanolin scowled. “You eavesdropped on us?!”
“Woah, you’re acting like I was stalking you! I was going to just walk away!” Randy defended himself. “But… something you said caught my attention. About you getting stabbed at that casino, I recall.”
And the sheep’s pupils became the size of an ant, as the rest of her teammates looked at her with worry and concern.
“L-Lano…” Tangle said sadly.
“ Oh. Okay. Fantastic,” Lanolin growled, teeth clenched. “Is that why you wanted to talk to us? To show us that you love butting in on things that aren’t your business? ”
“That’s not th- just be patient! ‘Cause hearing that made me realize something, and I gotta come clean about it,” Randy said.
For the first time ever, the rabbit was being genuine. Even through their rising anger, the team could see that.
“...talk,” Whisper told him.
Randy took a deep breath.
“Soooo… you remember when I got poisoned by some tall moth chick, right Tangle?”
Tangle looked flabbergasted. “...all she did was put you to sleep!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, I could just barely make out the two of you, the sheep and a dog rushing away before falling unconscious. I wasn’t sure how long I was out, but some monkey guy in a suit splashed water on my face, waking me back up.
“‘Monkey gu-?’” Ashley began.
She stopped and covered her mouth, realizing who Randy was talking about. “...Mikey?”
“ That’s his name,” Randy replied, snapping his fingers. “Thanks for the reminder.”
All four of the Neos’ stomachs dropped. They were starting to get a hunch to where he was getting at, but they were also praying they were wrong.
Tangle, though, was especially on the fence.
No. No way. Not even he would do something like that. Right…?
“The guy seemed nice; he was concerned for me, and asked me why I was out cold like that so he could ‘take care of the problem,’” the rabbit continued. “So, I gave him the rundown; on what I saw before I fell asleep, what y’all looked like, and I told them how you were up to something suspicious, since you were going to the ladies room, with a guy.”
Silence from all of them.
“You heard that?” Lanolin asked, venom spewing in her voice. “And you told him?”
Once again, for the first time, Randy realized maybe he should have just kept this under wraps. But he was too far in to back out now.
“I mean… to be fair, y’all were breaking the rules by letting a man into a women’s bathroom!” he tried. “And hey, how was I supposed to know how severe the mission you were on was?”
Whisper stepped closer, fuming. “Oh, so now you care about the rules?!”
“I knew you were bad news when I first saw you bothering Tangle, but to think you’d pull that?! ” Lanolin began to yell, getting more furious by the second. “Are you out of your MIND?! HE ALMOST KILLED ME! IF NOT FOR LAMP, I WOULD HAVE DIED RIGHT THERE!!!”
At that point, Randy was getting tired of being painted as the bad guy. So he dropped his nice act altogether, despite all the hostility towards him.
“Aren’t you obsessed with being professional and acting in charge?! ‘Cause you’re not being so convincing right now! Maybe I wouldn’t have been so petty if the moth bitch just asked me to mo-!”
*CRASH*
Everyone jolted and looked to the left, where the sudden sound came from. And-
“YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!!”
To Randy’s left, and the Neos’ right, Tangle smashed her fist straight through a wall, creating a sizable hole and very noticeable cracks.
That, and the lemur was breathing heavily and shaking, with manic eyes. It was safe to say this was the most furious she’s ever looked.
“YOU KNEW WE WERE ON A MISSION…”
She removed her fist from the wall, knuckles bleeding.
“YOU SENT HIM TO US ANYWAY…”
She stormed closer to the rabbit.
“LANOLIN ALMOST DIED… ”
Randy tried backing away, but he fell flat on his ass, and now Tangle was towering over him.
“AND YOU HAVE THE GALL TO PUT THE BLAME ON OTHER PEOPLE? INCLUDING LANOLIN?!”
As Tangle kept yelling, pointing at Randy with her tail, everyone just stood there, almost scared. It’s not that she was incapable of getting mad. Whisper herself could think of plenty of examples. But this… this was clearly more than simple anger.
And as satisfying as it was seeing the rabbit get ridiculed for his immaturity, Lanolin knew things would only go downhill if it continued.
She stepped forward. “Tangle-”
“YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN SPITEFUL FOR WHATEVER REASON, BUT TO PUT A LIFE AT RISK BECAUSE OF YOUR PETTINESS?!”
“ Tangle. Listen to me-”
“WHY?! FOR WHAT?! FIRST JEWEL, AND NOW EVERYONE SHE’S MADE EYE CONTACT WITH?! WHAT IS YOUR-”
“TANGLE!”
The lemur finally stopped screaming once Lanolin put a very firm hand on her shoulder. She turned to her, and she was giving her the sternest look imaginable.
“You’re not thinking straight,” the sheep told her in a harsh tone. “Go to the office, breathe and patch up your hand, now. That’s an order. ”
Tangle’s expression softened up ever so slightly. She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled herself away from Lanolin, marching past Randy. But not before getting one last lick in.
“Fucking sack of shit.”
And as Tangle got further and further away, more blood oozing from her knuckles, Lanolin could faintly make out something coming off the side of her face.
A tear.
“...now I’m really glad we’re not enemies anymore,” Ashley mumbled, while Whisper just stared ahead in shock.
Making sure the lemur was gone, Randy let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and stood up.
“...wow. Thank you for that,” he said, dusting himself off. “I swear, one second too late and she probably would have killed me.”
And just like that, all eyes were back on him.
“...wow. Wow, ” Lanolin snarled.
“What-”
“Do you not realize the predicament you’re currently in?” the sheep scowled. “My teammate getting irrationally upset doesn’t negate how you just admitted to assisting a criminal, and nearly getting me killed. ”
And the three Neos could swear they heard Randy gulp like a cartoon character.
“I-I-you- well, what if I brought up the fact one of your teammates is a criminal like Mikey was? What then, huh?!”
Ashley put a palm on her chest, as if to say, “The hell did I do?”
Lanolin clenched her fist. “Ashley was actually mature enough to admit her mistakes immediately instead of pondering over it like you did. And she’s currently working to right her wrongs.
“You, on the other hand? You constantly avoid responsibility.” She jabbed her finger at Randy’s face. “You put others on the spot for problems you’ve caused, and you never learn a damn thing.
“I can understand the director’s decision in letting you stay here. Like us, she had no idea of what you did, and thought that maybe, just maybe, you’d learn to stop acting like you own the world towards everyone you lay eyes on. Judging from your recent actions, though, that didn’t happen.”
She grabbed him by the string of his hoodie, and pulled him in so that her eyes were the only thing he saw.
“I can see glimmers of hope in some of those that have done wrong. You’re not one of them. Because in your eyes, you’re never wrong. Now get the fuck out of our sight. ”
She pushed him away, and he was on the floor again. And the sight of the three girls looking down at him angrily almost made him piss himself.
“Y-you’re crazy. You’re fucking crazy!” he yelled, scrambling back and pointing at the girls. “All of you!”
He got back up on his feet and dashed away.
Now, Lanolin never liked talking down to others. But as sadistic as she was going to sound…
That felt fantastic.
Not enough to wash away her anger, though. She took a deep breath and looked back at Whisper and Ashley, who were staring at her in awe.
“...I’m going to take a walk,” she told them. Thinking for a second, she continued with, “And don’t go into the office for the time being. You’ll both be notified when you’re able to.”
“Wait a second. Are we really glossing over this?!” Ashley asked.
“Hm?”
“We’re actually letting him get away with this?! You said it yourself; he admitted to almost botching your mission!”
Lanolin looked at the leopard.
Then at Whisper, who was taking her mask off her face.
“I never said that,” the sheep said, before turning and walking off.
“What are y-?!” Ashley began, before Whisper put a hand on her shoulder, and her mask on her face.
Ashley said nothing for a second, but then took it off, realizing what Lanolin was getting at.
“Y’understand now?” Whisper asked.
Ashley gave her a smirk. “...you sly dog.”