Chapter Text
Captain had been hyping up Engineer’s latest project for what felt like the entire day. Apparently, Engineer had been working on some new top-secret invention, and according to Captain, it was “super cool” and “probably the coolest thing that poindexter has ever built!”
Veteran wasn’t particularly convinced. Still, he tagged along anyway alongside Player, who looked like he’d rather be doing literally anything else. That, however, had done absolutely nothing to stop Captain's hype train.
“Ay, buddies!” Captain called out, practically bouncing toward them in a flurry of hype. “Come on, Engineer’s gonna show us what he’s been cooking up!”
Player glanced up, sighing. “Why do I have to come to this thing anyway, Captain?”
“Because you’re my bestie, of course! And I would never exclude my number-one friendo from the fun,” Captain said, aggressively nudging his shoulder.
Player stared at him, deadpan. “That’s not the answer I was looking for.”
“It is to me!”
Before Player could even protest, Captain grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him down the hallway. Veteran followed behind at his own lazy pace, hands tucked into his pockets as he watched the duo with mild annoyance.
“You know,” Player yelled over his shoulder, "you could’ve just asked us to come.”
Captain looked back, grinning wildly. “But then you might’ve said no, so I thought I’d skip the rejection and make you come myself!”
Player hesitated, completely defeated. “...Well, don’t waste any more time. Just take us there already.”
Captain smiled triumphantly.
The three eventually reached Engineer’s workspace, where the door was already propped open.
“Engineer!” Captain hollered. “Hey, we’re here!” He waved his arms around.
“Oh, finally,” Engineer replied, looking up from a massive console. “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten.”
“Well, here we are, standing here in the flesh.” Veteran confirmed dryly.
Captain immediately stepped inside, marveling at the room. Veteran followed, looking considerably less enthusiastic, while Player trailed in last.
The lab was entirely cluttered with loose wiring, high-tech tools, and various contraptions. In the dead center of it all stood Engineer’s newest creation.
Captain’s eyes went wide. “Wow, this sure is a handy place! You got a lot of gizmos lying around, Engineer.”
Even Player stopped to look, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Engineer crossed his arms, smiling proudly. “Impressive, right? Right here, guys, I have one of my greatest inventions to show you!”
Veteran stepped closer. “Whoa. What does it do?”
Engineer straightened up, adjusting his glasses. “Well, basically, this thingamabob creates a temporary neural link between two subjects. It allows their brains to communicate directly without relying on conventional sensory input!”
“I love technology,” Captain said, completely starry-eyed.
Veteran raised an eyebrow. “Wow. The resident genius doesn't even know the actual name of his own machine?”
“I know what it’s called!.. I just prefer calling it a thingamabob,” Engineer exclaimed defensively.
“Thingamabob-a-whatis?” Captain stammered, tilting his head.
“Thingamabob,” Engineer repeated abruptly.
“The thingamabobber?”
“Stop it.” Engineer gritted out.
Player stepped closer, examining the interface of the thingamabob. “So it can you actually connect two people’s brains?”
“Not exactly. It can synchronize certain neural patterns, but I'm still determining the extent of what it can do,” Engineer explained.
Player looked thoughtfully. “How long does the connection last?”
“At its current capacity? Well... only a few seconds to a minute... or so,” Engineer said, nervously scratching the back of his head.
“And what happens if the connection lasts longer?” Player asked, leaning in.
Engineer hesitated, shifting his weight. “In theory, prolonged synchronization could cause some rather… unusual side effects.”
Player’s eyes narrowed with interest. “Such as?”
“That,” Engineer said, pointing a dramatic finger at the machine, “is precisely what I’m trying to find out.”
Captain blinked, before inevitably asking, “So… could two people think the same thought?”
“Theoretically, yes,” Engineer replied.
Captain’s eyes immediately flicked toward Player. Maybe if we could think the same things, I’d finally be able to understand him! The thought made a massive grin spread across his face.
“Could they hear each other’s thoughts?” Player asked.
“Well, not exactly. It’s more complicated than simple telepathy,” Engineer replied.
“So you don’t actually know what it’ll do yet.”
“I know what it’s supposed to do!”
Veteran looked up from a piece of tech he had been messing with. “Well, that’s incredibly reassuring.”
“I’ve tested it plenty of times!” Engineer insisted, throwing his hands up.
“And it hasn’t exploded yet?” Veteran narrowed his eyes.
“…Uh, not recently.”
Veteran stared at him. “Recently? Does that mean this thing has a potential risk of exploding?”
Engineer smiled awkwardly, waving his hands dismissively. “That’s beside the point.”
“That’s not particularly reassuring at all,” Player muttered, stepping back a pace.
“Yeah, we don't want that thingamabob to explode on us!” Captain cried.
Engineer facepalmed. “It’s perfectly safe!”
Veteran gave him a highly skeptical look. “That’s exactly what you said last time, dude.
As Engineer was about to defend himself, the door suddenly slammed open, and Gnome, his girlfriend appeared in the doorway, practically bouncing with excitement.
“Engie!” she shouted.
Engineer turned.
Gnome stood in the doorway, practically bouncing with excitement.
“There you are! I was wondering where you went.”
”What's up BAbe?” Engineer smiled.
Gnome smiled. “You didn’t forget, did you?”
Engineer’s expression changed.
”Right.. Frisbee golf.”
“Frisbee golf!” Gnome repeated brightly. “You promised!”
Engineer glanced back at his experiment, then back at Gnome.
“I suppose I did!” He smiled.
Captain looked between them.
“You’re going Frisbee golfing?”
“Yep!” Gnome said. “We’ve been planning it all afternoon! Besides, it's the weekend, the perfect time for me and my beloved engineer to go out.”
Engineer reluctantly stepped away from his machine, Gnome stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Engineer resting her head against his shoulder as she playfully caressed her finger on his chest.
”You wouldn't want to miss it, right Engie??” Gnome said as she squeezed him tighter.
Engineer let out a small laugh.
“Alright, Babe. I didn’t forget.”
“Good!” Gnome said, pulling away with a grin.
Player watched him.
“You’re just leaving this here?”
“Oh! I almost forgot. Gnome, Give me a minute.”
Engineer stepped back toward the machine and began carefully shutting down the equipment. He flipped a series of switches along the side of the main console, watching as the various lights blinked out one by one.
A low mechanical hum gradually faded into silence.
He checked the display, tapped a few commands into the control panel, and waited for the machine to finish its shutdown sequence.
“Just have to make sure everything’s stable before I leave.” He muttered.
Captain leaned forward curiously.
“Anddd what happens if you don’t?”
Engineer glanced over his shoulder.
“It’ll continue running.”
“And that’s bad?” Captain asked.
“Yeah. Really bad.”
Engineer turned back to the machine and unplugged one of the smaller instruments connected to the machine.
Finally, he stepped back and inspected his work.
“There.”
Player looked at the machine.
“So it’s completely shut down now, huh?”
“Yes. Well.. Not really, there's a few things that have to remain plugged.”
He pointed toward the equipment.
“Just don’t touch anything while I’m gone. Some of the systems are still connected, and I don’t want anyone accidentally reactivating the thingamabob.”
“Yeah, that ‘Thingamabob’ I can not trust at all.” Veteran skeptically replied.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Captain added.
Engineer narrowed his eyes.
“…I’m serious guys.”
“I know!” Captain proclaimed.
“Do you really trust them?” Gnome questioned Engineer.
“I'm sure it'll be fine,” Engineer said before turning to the others, “Just DON'T touch anything here.”
”Yeah! Don't touch anything!” Gnome restated.
Veteran raised an eyebrow.
“We weren’t planning to.”
Engineer looked at all three of them.
“..Dont get any ideas. You can do something else, like play a board game, watch TV, or something.”
Captain gave him an innocent smile. “Oh, of course!” He nodded.
Engineer stared at him for another moment before finally following Gnome toward the door.
“Come on youu!” Gnome called, grasping his hand and dragging him out the door.
“Yes, I’m coming!”
The door closed behind them.
Silence. Now it was just Player, Captain, and Veteran standing alone in the room.
Captain slowly turned toward the experiment.
“…So.”
Veteran immediately looked at him.
“No.”
“I didn’t even say anything Veteran?”
“Oh, come on. I know you.”
Player glanced back at the machine. “…It is pretty neat.. And interesting.” He said as he was dragging his hand against it.
“Oh so now you're interested Player? I thought you didn't want to come here in the first place.” Veteran said sarcastically
“Shut up veteran!” Player grunted.
Captain ignored him and stepped closer to the machine.
Player followed, looking over the equipment with a little more interest than he had shown earlier.
“I’ll admit,” Player said, “I kinda like it here..”
Captain looked at him.
“Interesting, too,” Player added. “I’d like to see what it can actually do.”
“The thingama-jig really does catch my attention..” Captain marvelled.
Veteran looked between them.
“You two are actually interested in this?”
Captain nodded enthusiastically. “Of course Veteran, Why aren't you?”
Veteran shrugged and wandered around the room, occasionally glancing at the various pieces.
While Player and Captain remained focused on the machine.
Veteran turned around, “Im going to go look around guys. Don’t do anything stupid.” He warned, before turning around and wandering off toward another part of the room.
Captain stared at the controls. Engineer’s explanation kept running through his mind as he pondered.
Understanding people’s thoughts, hmm… Could Player finally understand me? Could I understand Him?
His gaze slowly shifted toward Player. Then He looked back at the machine.
Player noticed. “What?”
“Nothing.” Captain smiled.
“I was just thinking about what geek, Engineer said.”
“About uh, neural connection?” Player raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah. That.”
Player folded his arms. “If it really works, it’d be interesting to see what it’s like.” He anticipated.
Captain’s eyes widened. “You mean, like… actually knowing what someone else is thinking?”
“Maybe.”
Captain looked at Player again. For some reason, the idea made him smile. He leaned slightly towards Player as he stepped closer.
“Hey, Didn’t Engineer say some of this stuff was still connected?” Player questioned.
Captain glanced over. “Yep. And he told us not to touch anything.”
Player looked back at the machine.
“We’re not going to.”
Captain nodded. “Definitely not.”
Veteran came back into the room. “Hey, they got some cool games on this TV,” He tilted his head back, thumbing over his shoulder to indicate the open doorway behind him. “Besides, it's waayy more interesting than whatever you guys are doing right now.”
Player turned his head towards Veteran. “Me and Captain are focused on this right now, maybe later.”
Captain shot back instantly, “Yeah!” He pointed to himself then Player. “Me and him. Now scram”
“Wow, love the hospitality,” Veteran muttered with a smirk, stepping closer to peer over their shoulders. “What’re you guys doing anyways?”
Player scratched his head. “Oh. Well, we were just uh..”
“Examining the thingama-jiggy!” Captain interjected as he wrapped his arm tightly around Player, sweeping his other arm in an outward gesture, “We’re admiring Engineer's bizarre masterpiece.”
Player pushed Captain’s arm off. He smiled nervously as he nodded, “Yeah.”
“You guys better not be lying.”
“We’re not Veteran, what's your deal?” Player says in defense.
“You’ve literally been staring at that thing for the past five minutes, You can't be serious.” Veteran narrowed his eyes. “Im starting to think you guys are plotting something.” He paused.
“Like turning that thing on.”
Player frowned. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to touch it.
Veteran looked at them. “Yeah?...Well don't even think about it.”
Captain’s hand hovered over the console, fingers twitching toward the switch.
Player lunged forward, catching Captain’s wrist. “We probably shouldn’t.”
“I know.” Captain stared at the switch, mesmerized. “But… just for a second?
Player looked at the machine, then back at Captain. His defensive posture melting into curiosity as he sighed, releasing his grip. “Just for a second. We don’t want to wreck this place.”
“We won't wreck it,” Captain muttered, lining up his finger.
Behind them, Veteran threw his hands up and facepalmed. “Oh, come on, guys!”
Captain flicked the switch.
A heavy, dead click echoed through the room. Nothing happened. Captain blinked, his shoulders dropping in disappointment.
“See? Total dud.”
Player leaned closer, squinting at the dashboard. “Maybe that just primed it? Try pressing another button, maybe that'll work.”
“You don’t even know what you’re doing!” Veteran groaned
Captain started mashing a cluster of unmarked buttons. “Maybe this one? Or this—”
A sudden, ominous hum filled the room as the machine flickered to life.
All three froze.
“Uh…” Player’s eyes widened. “Captain, turn it off.”
“I don’t know how!” Captain frantically hit random switches.
“You're the one that turned it on!” Player yelled.
“I didn’t think this thing would actually work!”
Captain stared at the rapidly flashing display.
“Is it supposed to do that?”
“Well I don’t think so!? Player clutched his head.
“What did you morons do this time?! Veteran shouted over the rising noise, quickly stepping farther away from it.
“I don’t know!” Captain shouted back. “I think I pressed the wrong button!”
“Guys… I think you broke it.” Veteran glanced at the two.
“We didn’t break it!” Captain protested. As he continued inadvertently smashing random buttons.
The machine rapidly spiraled into a high-pitched electronic whine as smoke began to seep from the seams of the metal casing.
Player immediately scurried behind Captain.
Suddenly a blinding flash swallowed the room, followed by a shockwave tore through the air.
Captain and Player instinctively threw their arms around eachother neither willing to face it alone, just as the center of the device erupted.
The blast hurled them backward in different directions. Player hit the floorboards with a heavy thud. Captain was thrown aside. Veteran was thrown against the wall behind him, knocking the air out of him.
For several seconds, there was nothing but ringing in their ears.
Smoke drifted through the room. A few sparks crackled from the ruined machine. It Seems like it really did explode.
Then it was all silence.
Veteran groaned, lifting his head a fraction of an inch off the floor.
“…Engineer is going to kill us…”
No one answered.
Veteran slowly looked around.
“Player?”
Silence. Player was completely still.
“Hey… Captain?”
Nothing.
Veteran let out a weak, defeated sigh. “Wow. Great. You dorks,” he muttered, before his head dropped right back onto the floor.
Player groaned as his head throbbed. For a few seconds, his mind was a total blank, he couldn’t remember what had happened. He slowly opened his eyes, glancing at the room, it was real hazy.
Then, something familiar caught his attention. His beanie was lying on the floor a few feet away.
Player frowned. Why was his beanie over there? He reached out to grab it, but the moment his hand entered his field of vision, he froze.
“W-What the..!?” Player gasped.
He scrambled backward in shock, but the sound that had just come out of his mouth wasn't his own. It was Captain’s voice.
Player looked down at his hands, “Oh. My. God.” He looked down at himself. Player froze before he looked down at his hands. The skin was the wrong shade. His hands weren't his. He looked down at his torso. He wasn't wearing his signature red hoodie, he was wearing Captain’s clothes. This isn’t my body. Panic rose in his thoat.
He scanned the room, but then his eyes locked onto figure from a distance.
It was himself. Or rather, it was his own body. Captain was wearing.. his own body? Player's own face stared back at him. Still wearing his own red hoodie.
Player’s breath hitched. He looked at his borrowed hands, then back at his own original face.
“…No, this can’t be real.” he whispered in Captain’s voice. “..There’s no way we just swapped bodies..”
Across the room, Captain finally stirred. His head felt strangely heavy. He blinked through the smoke, trying to orient himself, only to realize someone was staring at him.
No.. It.. Cant.. Be.. Staring back at him was himself. His own face, his own hair, looking right at him with a terrified expression
... Am I dead? Captain thought.
Captain shook his head frantically, trying to wake up from this nightmare. He hauled his arm up to check his wrist, but as he pulled back the sleeve of the red hoodie, he stopped. The flesh underneath was light and tanned, like Player’s.
Maybe I'm just dreaming. He pinched the skin on his arm real hard. A sharp spike of pain shot straight to him. It was definitely real.
Everything felt different. His eyes widened. These are Player’s hands…He felt disoriented. Captain slowly looked up, his wide panicked eyes meeting his original face.
Captain’s mouth fell open.
“Gah!... I’m Player?”
For a moment, he couldn’t say. Captain stared at his reflection-like body in disbelief. Its.. Like looking in a mirror.
Neither of them spoke. They simply stared at each other. Finally, Player broke the silence.
”Captain?...Captain is that you?”
Captain swallowed.
“Yeah?”
Player looked down at himself again. Then back at Captain.
“We switched bodies.”
Captain's eyes widened as he continued staring at himself in disbelief.
“I… I can’t believe I’m actually in your body.”
Player looked down at himself again.
“Neither can I..”
Captain lifted his hands, turning them over as if he still couldn’t quite believe they belonged to him.
“This is so weird…”
He looked back at Player.
“I mean, I’m literally you.”
Player sighed. “Yes Captain. We’ve established that.”
Captain’s eyes wandered over his borrowed appearance again. still inhabiting Player’s body, he looked down at his hands
“Your skin is so tan…”
Player’s expression tightened.
“Captain..?”
“And your face…”
“Captain.”
“You’re actually really handsome.. I didn't think I'd actually wind up being in your skin.”
Player's eyes widened.
“Captain!”
“What?”
Player rubbed his forehead, clearly irritated. “Dont say that.. I dont need to hear that ever come out of my mouth again.” Player said, kind of annoyed that their voices didn’t transfer with them, knowing he’d have to deal with his voice not being his voice.
Captain stared at him for a moment. Then he realized what Player meant by that. He looked down at himself again.
“Oh…Right. I’m using your voice.”
Player groaned. “Exactly.” He looked away, visibly annoyed. “Of all the things that could’ve happened, our voices didn’t even switch with us.”
Captain tilted his head.
“You don’t like my voice?”
“I don’t like hearing my voice say things you would say.”
“Well, I guess you’ll have to get used to it.”
Player glared at him. “Are we just.. Stuck like this?” Player asked, clearly annoyed at what was happening, his eyebrows furrowed together, and his arms crossed.
“I guess we are.. Until Engineer fixes that machine, we’re going to be stuck in each other's bodies.” Captain replied.
“Well, atleast put my hat back on.” Player pointed to his beanie on the ground.
“Sure thing, friendo.” Captain immediately sprinted to pick it up from the ground, immediately putting it on his head. He then walked back towards Player, who was still sitting around, on the ground.
“Need a helping hand?” Captain asked, extending a hand toward him.
“Uh, sure.” Player reached for his hand as Captain pulled him to his feet. Captain looked up at Player, who was now taller than before.
“Wow. Player, you really had a growth spurt, now that you're me.”
“Well look who's the shorter guy now.” Player teased.
Suddenly, Veteran's groans came from somewhere behind them.
Player and Captain immediately turned around as they saw Veteran stirring awake.
“Oh, man..” Player said ominously.
Veteran slowly stood up, before slowly stirring behind them.
Player’s eyes widened.
“Captain!” Player nudged Captain with his shoulder.
Captain looked over.
“What?”
“Quick. Act like me.” Player urged.
“Why?”
“Because Veteran knows us! We can’t let him figure out what just happened.”
Captain nodded quickly. “Okay! I'll do my best impression of you Player! You act like me.”
Player stared at him.
“…Fine.”
Veteran groaned, “Urgh…”
Player immediately straightened.
Veteran rubbed the side of his head. “I think I blacked out there for a second.”
“What… Happened?”
Player answered first, forcing his voice into what he hoped sounded similar to Captain's optimistic tone. “I—Uh…Nothing happened. It's fine!”
Veteran looked at him.
“‘Captain’, I don't think it looks fine to me.” Veteran said, looking around the mess before he stared back at him.
Player shifted uncomfortably under Veteran’s gaze. He hated this. He hated having to pretend to be Captain.
Captain quickly jumped in. “No, he's right! We're okay.. Except for the huge mess.” His voice didn't really match Player's tone.
Veteran's eyes narrowed. ‘Player’ sounded weird, especially his tone sounding way off. Veteran looked between them.
Player nudged Captain
“Act like me.” He whispered.
“Dont you see I’m trying.”
“And you're smiling weird. Fix it.”
Captain attempted to quickly fix his smile.
“Aaugh. Not like that.” Player said in annoyance.
Veteran stared at them.
“…Why are you two acting so weird?”
Player glanced at Captain, Captain glanced back at Player.
Neither spoke.
Veteran slowly stood. “Okay. What did you idiots do?”
“Nothing,” Captain said quickly.
Veteran raised an eyebrow.
“Nothing? You guys sure?”
“Yes, nothing happened, Veteran… Everything is good. Why don't we just get out of here?” Captain insisted.
“…‘Player’ you’re being reaally weird, dude.”
The real Player froze, embarrassed just watching ‘Player’ getting horribly closer to being uncovered.
Veteran’s expression changed.
The two of them fell silent. Player felt nervous but tried to stay in character.
Veteran stared at ‘Player’s’ face.
His eyes narrowed.
“…You cant be Player..”
The real Player swallowed, Captain totally had his cover blown.
He sighed.
“Okay.”
Veteran blinked.
“Okay? What do you mean by that..
Player hesitated to speak as it was silent for a painful moment.
‘Captain’?” Veteran tilted his head.
“We... Swapped bodies.. I'm not actually Captain. It's me, Player.”
Veteran stared at them in silence. He took a moment to process what he just heard.
“…You WHAT? What do you mean swapped bodies?!”
Captain pointed at himself.
“I’m Captain, in Player's skin!”
“And I’m Captain,” Player added reluctantly.
Veteran stared at them for several seconds.
Then his expression flattened.
“You’re telling me you two really, like tried imitating each other? Really guys? What made you think you can really pull that off?” Veteran snickered.
Neither of them answered.
Veteran slowly looked at Player.
“…You actually thought I wouldn’t notice?” Veteran stared. ”I just wanted to see how long you can pull that stupid stunt off.”
Player crossed his arms, “We were trying to act normal.”
“Normal?”
Veteran scoffed.
“You were doing a terrible impression of Captain”
Player frowned.
“Oh come on Veteran! I was doing fine.”
Captain snickered.
Player glared at Captain.
Player turned his attention towards Captain. “Don’t laugh. Your impression was worse, Captain.”
“Even I could do a better impression.” Veteran told Captain.
Veteran crossed his arms, and attempted the most exaggerated impression of Player’s aloof demeanor imaginable.
“Yes. I am Player. I am very serious and mysterious.” Veteran bluntly mocked.
Captain bursted out laughing.
Player stared at Veteran.
“I do not sound like that? Come on Veteran!”
“You absolutely do.” Veteran leaned over
“I absolutely don’t.” Player said as he pushed him away.
Veteran turned, pointing at Captain.
“And you were smiling really weird the entire time.”
Captain’s grin faltered.
“I was trying to look like Player.”
“Exactly.” Veteran shook his head. “Both of you guys are terrible actors.”
Player groaned.
“Can we please focus on the fact that we’re literally in each other’s bodies?”
Veteran looked at him.
“Oh, I’m focusing on it.” He then glanced at the ruined machine behind them. “I’m just trying to figure out how you two managed to make this happen.”
Captain and Player glanced at each other, their guilt was written all over their faces.
Veteran stared stared at the wreckage. “So much for a Thingamabob… Looks completely wrecked now.”
“More like a Thingama-Boom now,” Captain jokingly added.
“Captain! Don’t say that again. You guys gotta take this seriously—just look at it!” Player said as he looked around gesturing at the destroyed equipment, his expression slowly turning worried.“What’s Engineer going to do when he finds out!?” Player said, Looking at the two.
Veteran folded his arms. “Hey, don’t look at me dude. You and Captain got into this mess...we’re going to have to fix this.” Veteran glanced at him. “..Or pay for it.”
Player’s head snapped toward him.
“Pay for it?!”
“Yeah.”
Player looked at the destroyed equipment.
“With what money?... “Do you even have any?”
Veteran emptied his pockets and shrugged.
“I don't think we even have enough money for that!” Player frowned.
Veteran rubbed his face. “I remember the last time Captain tried to spend money on Player.”
Captain’s expression brightened.
“He was practically in crippling poverty afterward.” Veteran added.
Player stared at him.
Veteran looked between them. "soo… no money.”
“No money,” Player confirmed.
Veteran thought for a moment. “Then sell something.”
Player looked at him suspiciously. “Like what? You haven’t even heard my idea, and it doesn't involve money.”
Veteran sighed. “Fine. Then we don’t pay him. We tell Engineer, he’s caused enough disasters himself so we’re even.”
Player stared at him.
“That’s your solution?”
“Yep.” He nodded.
Player looked back at the wreckage again. “…You know what?” He sighed. ”That’s probably our best option.”
Veteran walked over to Engineer’s desk and immediately began rummaging through the drawers.
Player stared at him in confusion, “Uhh, what are you doing?”
“Im looking for something.” Veteran said, Scrambling through Engineer's desk looking for an answer to all of this.
“Could you at least try not to make a bigger mess than what’s already been done?”
Veteran glanced over his shoulder.
“The room is already destroyed.”
“That’s not the point, we cant just mess up his desk too.”
Veteran continued digging through the desk, shifting papers and notebooks around. “Where does this guy keep anything?” He grumbled.
Captain wandered over and peeked into the drawer.
“Maybe it’s in there.” Captain pointed.
“Yeah, I know.” Veteran said as he pulled out another stack of papers. Then he stopped.
“Hm..”
Player looked over.
“What?”
Veteran unfolded a small sheet of paper. “Here’s something.” He scanned it.
“Let’s see… ‘neural synchronization… fix the—’”
“Is that important?” Player interrupted.
”Dude, let me do the reading.” Veteran continued.
“Uh… ‘Remember to—’”
“Go Frisbee golfing with Gnome...”
Veteran looked at the note again. “Then tonight I will.” He paused.
Captain blinked. “That’s it?”
”Then tonight what?” Player questioned
”Thats quite literally the end of it.” Veteran replied, “Apparently he was SO excited planning to go out with Gnome he completely forgot to write the last part on the note.”
“Probably won't come back till tonight.” Veteran added. “Must be real fun if they're going out for that long.”
Player sighed. “Well, I guess that explains where he is.”
Veteran dropped the note back onto the desk. “Well, Gnome already told us that earlier, This is basically just a reminder to us.”
“Well, can we contact them? Make a call?” Player asked. “I didn't bring my phone. Engineer said we couldn't bring one. Did any of you guys sneak your phone?”
Captain and Veteran shook their heads.
“Great, so how will we call them?”
“I think we should go look for them.” Captain suggested
Player looked around the room. “…Eventually Engineer is going to find this mess.” He glanced toward the wreckage. “I think we should probably leave him a message first, before we leave. In case he comes back while we're gone.”
“Yeah.” Veteran nodded, he grabbed a clean sheet of paper from the desk. Then he picked up a marker and handed it to Player. “You write it.”
Player took the marker.
“Why me?”
”Just write it.”
Player sighed. “Fine.” He then placed the paper down on the desk.
Captain leaned over his shoulder.
“What are you writing?”
“You’ll see.”
Player began writing, speaking each sentence aloud as he went.
“Dear Engineer… we deeply apologize for the wreckage.”
He paused, thinking about what to write next.
“We accidentally turned on the Thingamabob…”
He glanced toward the destroyed machine.
“…and things didn’t end up well.”
Veteran looked at the wreckage. “That’s one way to put it.”
Player ignored him and continued writing.
“We’re fine.” He hesitated. “…Mostly.”
Captain nodded.
“That’s accurate.”
Player continued.
“Also. Player and Captain switched bodies.”
Captain leaned over to watch him write.
“We’re going to find you.” Player paused before adding the final line.
“Pls don’t be mad.”
—Player, Captain, and Veteran.
He put the marker down.
“There.”
Veteran looked over the note. “Not bad.”
“Wait.” Captain said, as he reached for the marker.
Player immediately looked at him.
“What?”
Captain grinned and scribbled something real stupid at the bottom of the note.
Player leaned over to read it.
“P.S. It went Thingama-Boom.”
Veteran stared at the note.
Player slowly squinted his eyes. “…Captain.”
“What?”
“Did we really need that?” Player said in dissatisfaction.
“Just letting Engineer know what really happened to the thingamabob.”
Player snatched the marker away. “Yeah, I'm sure he'll figure.”
Veteran raised an eyebrow. “Why don't you just erase it.”
Player looked at the permanent ink.
“…It’s a marker.”
“Right... Are you crossing it out?” Veteran stared.
“We’re leaving it.” Player insisted. “Let’s just go.”
The three of them headed out, leaving a huge disaster behind. And their ridiculous apology note behind.
They made their way down the path toward the Frisbee golf course.
Player walked ahead, still visibly irritated by the situation. “This is ridiculous.” He said, crossing his arms.
Captain, meanwhile, seemed far more enthusiastic. “I think it’s exciting.”
“You’re in my skin.” Player frowned. “That isn’t exciting at all.. And you're setting me up for embarrassment, I just know that.”
Captain looked down at ‘Player’s’ hands, flexing the fingers experimentally. “I still think it’s pretty cool.”
Player groaned.
Veteran walked between them, watching their argument unfold.
“You two are going to have to get used to this eventually.”
“I don’t want to get used to it,” Player muttered.
Veteran glanced toward Player.
“Just remember. Until we find Engineer, you two have to keep pretending to be each other.”
Player sighed. “I know..”
Captain immediately straightened his posture and attempted to imitate Player’s aloof expression. “Right. I am Player now afterall.”
Player stopped walking.
“Captain. Don’t do that.”
Captain looked at him innocently. “Do what?”
“That.” Player narrowed his eyes.
“I was practicing! You don't know if we’ll have to really imitate each other later on.”
“You're making me look ridiculous.”
Veteran snorted. “You both look ridiculous.”
Player gave him an annoyed glance.
“Veteran, you're not helping.”
“Didn’t say I was.”
They continued walking.
For a few moments, there was silence.
Then Captain suddenly spoke.
“Do you think Engineer can fix us?”
Player’s expression softened slightly.
“He made the machine. He should be able to.”
“Hopefully.” Veteran looked ahead. “If he can’t, we’re going to have a much bigger problem.”
Player frowned. “Don’t say that.”
“I’m just being realistic.”
“What if we just switch back ourselves?” Captain suggested.
Player stared at him. “How? The machine is totally wrecked!”
“Well…I don’t know.” Captain said as he scratched his head.
Veteran shook his head. “Brilliant plan.”
”Well. If we find Engineer, he'll fix this mess and swap us back.”
“Well, if we find him, that is," Player shook his head. “I wonder what he's doing right now.”