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"Clank! Clank! Clank...... THUD!" A battered wrench from Mechanic's hand fell down to the pile of parts that used to be a functional helicopter engine. "Ughhhh, I can't do anything right! How am I supposed to get us off this island if I can't even hold a stupid wrench in place?" Mechanic sunk into their seat and looked out on those who crash landed on this island with them. Shiver--already in search of buried treasure along the beach. Big Man--frantically running away from a very persistent seagull in search of a big snack. And Frye--sitting under a palm tree, gazing up into the sky.
"I wonder what Frye is thinking about right now," Mechanic pondered as they gathered scrap metal. "Probably thinking about how we got in this mess...... how I got us in this mess. Goodness knows that's all I've been thinking about these past few days. I get the dream gig of flying Deep Cut. THE Deep Cut. The chance of a lifetime to finally get me out of flying for Grizzco. Thank cod. It felt like I was stuck in enemy ink working that job. Struggling to move forward and taking damage along the way. But this chance pulled me up. It gave me a shot. And what did I do with that shot?.... I sent it spiraling down to who knows where. And who knows when I can get this helicopter back together? The only thing I do know is that I am stupid... stupid... STUPID!"
"What's stupid?" Frye walked up behind Mechanic just as their inner thoughts began to burst into clearly audible outbursts.
"Miss Frye! You heard that? I'm sorry. I guess my thoughts sorta spilled out." Mechanic rubbed the back of their head awkwardly.
"Spilled out, huh? Kinda like how that engine oil is spilling out on your shirt right now?" Mechanic turned to look and jumped back upon noticing how much oil had soaked their shirt.
"Not again! No matter how many times I patch that, it keeps springing a leak," Mechanic sighed, "and this was my last clean shirt!" Frye's eyes scanned the shirt as Mechanic's head fell into their hands in a defeated thump.
"How about we make a deal? You give me that shirt and I'll see what I can do to clean it up good as new. And in return, you stop calling me 'Miss Frye.' It's just Frye. Simple. Iconic. And way less formal. Have we got a deal then?" Mechanic was taken aback and took a moment to respond.
"You... you would do that, Mis- I mean Frye? How would you even clean it in a place like this?
Frye smirked, "I guess you could say I have my ways."
Mechanic raised an eyebrow, "You haven't thought of a way to clean it, have you?"
Frye's glance darted to the side, "Wellllll, not exactly. But it won't stop me from trying! Frye exclaimed with unexplainable confidence. "So take off the shirt! The sooner you do, the sooner I can figure out how to make it spotless!"
Mechanic's eyes widened, "Wait! Right here? In front of you?"
Frye leaned in with a big grin, "Might as well! How else am I supposed to clean it? Who is gonna see? It is a deserted island after all. And you won't hear me complaining one bit." Mechanic blushed and lifted off their shirt to hand to Frye. "There we go! Looking better already!" Frye smiled and got up to see what she could use to clean it. "I figure if you can work your hardest every day fixing the helicopter for our sake, I can work my hardest to fix a shirt for your sake." Frye turned to leave, but Mechanic reached out and grabbed her hand.
"But..." Mechanic hesitated, "Don't you blame me for the helicopter crash? I'm the reason you are stuck here. If it wasn't for me...."
Frye interrupted, "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have any hope of getting that helicopter running again. Seeing you work everyday tells me that we have nothing to worry about. And why would I blame you for the crash? You didn't make that odd glow that sent us all in a tailspin. You didn't spawn a cyclone out of nowhere. What you did do is pilot under the craziest of circumstances and somehow make it so that we all walked away from that crash. I can't blame you for a single thing. I can only thank you. As Big Man will tell you, Shiv and I always find a way to get into some kind of trouble. We're no strangers to uncharted territory. But that's part of the fun! And guess what? Now you're a part of our adventure now."
Mechanic stared in disbelief, "You mean it? This whole time I thought I ruined your trip. After all that, you still want me to be a part of it?"
Frye pulled Mechanic up to meet her at eye level, "You bet your barnacles, I do! You're a part of the team now! The great Mechanic that will surely save the day! I can't wait to see what contraptions you come up with along the way."
Mechanic smiled so wide and hugged Frye tightly before pulling back in embarrassment. "I'll do my absolute best for you! I won't let you down!" Frye thanked them and set off back to her palm tree.
Before she was too far off, she glanced back at Mechanic, "By the way, it might take me a really really long time to fix that shirt of yours. But I think you will be just fine until then." Frye then tied Mechanic's shirt around her waist and waved back to them.
Mechanic chuckled and began to think again, "I don't know how she does it. But as long as she is here, maybe the situation isn't too bad. One thing's for sure. If she's not giving up, neither am I!"
With a reinvigorated spirit, Mechanic returned to their work. But the wrench was nowhere to be seen. As they glanced around, they saw Frye had fashioned a miniature castle out of sand. And at its peak... was the wrench standing tall like a spire. Mechanic grinned so hard that their cheeks bulged, "This is definitely gonna be an adventure."