?Next Please..? Her voice was as foul as her cheap perfume, an odor that made Sheogorath happy he could shut off his Nasal ducts.
?I said NEXT please??
His massive upper body caused his smaller lower half to shift and shake as he lifted himself off of the hard, plastic-molded seat. The sound of Metal grinding against metal was proof to the other androids waiting to register with the Hunter?s guild that they had nothing to fear from this wannabe adventurer.
However, with each guffaw, with each snicker, he grew stronger in his determination to make it to the Receptionist?s desk. His body may have been rusted and in need of a paint job, but his metal brain was a sharp as any other ?droid.
The Secretary looked up from her papers, and nearly spit the gum out of her gap-toothed mouth when she saw Sheogorath standing before her.
?I think you want Dr. Osto, he?s down the hall??
Sheogorath slowly raised his hand, the creaks and scratches of his weak metal joints made the humans waiting nearby hold their fragile ears for fear of going deaf. Sheogorath, however, found that this kind of public embarrassment hurt his heart more then it ever did his ears.
?I wish to sign up?? The android struggled to form each syllable, using every last ounce of his failing strength to spit the sentence out before his rusty jaw locked in place, ?I wish to become a legal hunter?.?
What once was only a few muffled laughs and coughs now became a raging torrent of ridicule. Screams of laughter filled the room, from both Android and human alike. So much for ?Droid Brotherhood, he thought.
?Sure?..? the receptionist moaned in her most condescending tone of voice, ?I now the perfect Section ID for someone like you?.?
Reaching in a small plastic box next to her video-phone, the woman gleefully pulled out a small, circular purple disk, and placed it in the one spot on Sheogorath?s broad metal chest where no rust had collected. Surely a feat to be proud of, he thought.
?You?ll make a fine?? The receptionist stopped to hold back a laugh, gagging when she nearly swallowed her gum, ?Purplenum!!!?
Yet another round of laughter filled the room. Normally, sheogorath would shut off his Sound Recognition circuits, but this time, he wanted to take it. He wanted to feel it and absorb it. He wanted to bask in pain and bathe in pity. He wanted to feel just like how others thought he felt like?..he wanted to be at the lowest point a hunter could be at?
Because he believed that once there, he could never get any lower.
The only direction he could go was up.
Sheogorath looked down at his Purplenum ID and thought of this as a low point as well. If they chose to give him no help, if they chose to abandon him, then his victories, his success, would mean that much more. To them, these were hurdles place before him, but to sheogorath, they were stepping stones to his destiny. Walking around the Receptionist?s desk, the rusty, white android did his best to hold up his head. While some might think his slouching a problem with his robotic joints, he knew it was a result of lost pride.
?MY, don?t YOU look like a mess?? A strange voice shot out nowhere, it?s source not appearing anywhere on Sheogorath?s internal radar. Scanning the room, he failed to see the human that was speaking to him, though he hoped he could avoid whomever it was long enough to exit the building with his pride intact.
?Hey, Big guy, I?m down here!?
Looking directly below him, The malfunctioning android saw not only where the voice had originated, but also one of the funniest looking hunters he?d ever laid his cybernetic eyes on. There below him was a short, young man, wearing orange armor and sporting a wild haircut. His smile seemed painted on his face, and unlike the hunters in the waiting room, this one had no reason to laugh.
?The name is Cheech? the lad declared with his chest sticking out as proudly as a peacock, ?And it looks to me like you need some SERIOUS frame work done.?
Cheech reached deep within his pockets, and pulled out a fistful of Meseta, ?Come on Tank?.?
?I?ll take you to a friend of mine??
The Laughter died off as the two hunters walked through the back door of the Hunter?s Guild, boredom had once again regained control of the room, and it?s inhabitants. Without a single word from the mouthy Receptionist, a lone black figure walked up to greet the woman.
?May I have the Android?s Serial number?? He spoke in a hushed tone, his voice laced with both hatred and anger.
?I?m sorry,,? The woman responded in her rarely used, but well-trained voice of concern, ?but information such as that is?.?
One shot is all it took. A muffled blast from the man?s concealed fire arm ripped through the woman?s unprotected chest like a comet plowing through a cloud of inter-stellar gas.
Quickly, but efficiently, the man fumbled through the woman?s papers to retrieve the information he desired in the first place.
?I take it you all bear the mark?? He said, turning around to face the quiet waiting room behind him.
A simple nod was all they had to give him, each one revealing a strange tattoo of a circle within a triangle.
?Look for the woman, I will take the droid.?
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