At the same time, across town at the Romance Festival.
"Welcome to my neighbourhood!" J said and threw some rose petals over Minah.
They were so beautiful - and fragrant! She had never seen such a thing before.
"Welcome to my neighbourhood!" J said.
"I would love to have a sample of those pink things to take back and analyse at the lab", Minah said.
"Rose petals, they're just rose metals", J said quietly.
Then he fetched some pink-coloured drink from a special miniature fountain.
"It tastes a little funny", Minah said.
"It's The Elixir d'Amour!" J giggled.
"Maybe we can go upstairs instead", J suggested. "It's less crowded there."
J appeared to be very tired. He yawned and stretched out his arms.
"Minah, I've had my eyes on you for a while now", J said in a low voice.
"Yes, I've been watching you too", Minah replied.
It's possible they didn't mean the same thing.
Suddenly J started scratching Minah in the sides like a space cat in heat.
"No, stop!" Minah did not appreciate it.
"Seriously, stop or I will annihilate you", Minah said more sternly.
"Haha, you have a funny sense of humour!" J laughed.
"I'll be back shortly", J whispered in her ear. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll turn on the TV and we can watch something together."
The film began. It was something about dead people walking, which seemed a strange concept to Minah. Everyone knows they float!
"Oh, the horror! They're sucking out each other's brains!"
J was sad to hear that Minah was in such a hurry to leave. He was convinced the film would set her in the right mood.
"But here, you can have the key to my place. Treat it like your own home. Come back soon."
When Minah returned home all she wanted to do was hide in the observatory and gaze at the stars.
She had never felt so alone on this strange planet as she did now.
The following Monday, things were a little chilly at work.
"Morning", J said.
"Uh-huh", Zuha replied.
You win some, you lose some, J thought to himself.
But Zuha was far too occupied with other things to be bothered about a game of llama. I have to be careful, he realised. I cannot risk exposing myself, especially not here at the lab.
So he went straight to Alice, the other lab assistant.
"I know you're an alien. Please help me build the space rocket and we can get out of here."
But apparently, he was mistaken.
How embarrassing.
Upon returning to his station, Minah approached him with a large freeze gun.
"Ooh, that worked surprisingly well!" she giggled to herself.
"It's so refreshingly quiet here in the lab."
Minah entered some data into her big study on the human species and their resilience to potions and freeze rays.
He really is remarkably strong for a human! she thought to herself.
Maybe I had better let him out of there. It doesn't seem to be having the correct effect on this one.
Oh! The chills!
Zuha felt like he had slept in a survival pod for three years.
Minah stared at him in disbelief. That blue colour looked so...natural on him.
In the bathroom Zuha stood for a long time in front of the mirror. I will never find her. I am alone here with these evil humans, he thought.
A few days later, one morning in an apartment in San Myshuno. This human kissing business isn't so bad after all, Minah thought to herself.
I wonder if I should report this new finding, she mused while eating breakfast.
"Morning, lovely!" J announced as he came downstairs. "I see you found breakfast already."
"I hope you enjoyed your first stay here at Casa del J!" he continued.
"Yes, thank you. It was most interesting."
She found it "interesting"? J thought as his roommate giggled in the background.
"Yes, I've never had so much fun before!" Minah exclaimed.
"I'm just going to remove this piece of ev...I'm going to throw away the trash", she said.
"So, this new chick, she's a little different", J's roommate said.
"Yeah, bro", J said. "It was a total success."
"That's not what I meant."
"But good luck with that one."
It's a good thing we installed these postal chutes all over the humans' living quarters, Minah thought as she forwarded her evidence.
When she returned to the apartment, J was ready for work.
"Let's do this again soon!" he said.
"Thank you, I think once is enough for my research", Minah replied.
"Your research!"? J exclaimed.
"Well, it was...I mean..." Minah stammered.
"I'm so sorry I was a disappointment to you", J said in a sad voice.
Oh, no. What have I done now? Minah thought in a panic.
"Oh, why do I have to do these tedious tasks all day?" he moaned. "I want to go hoooome."
"You! I knew it!" Barry, his colleague suddenly appaered. "I knew you were an alien!"
"Don't try to come here and steal our brains and poison our sausages!"
"Um, no, I think you're mistaken", Zuha mumbled as he finally turned back into human colour again.
"Mr Zuha", Barry began.
"I will be reporting this to the management and the police and...!" he continued.
"I think that's enough", Alice interrupted.
Barry stormed off.
"Listen, I think there has been some mistake here", Zuha said. "If you're looking for a villain it's Minah. She used the freeze ray on me! That's why I turned blue."
Alice didn't seem to know what to believe anymore.
"I will talk to Barry", Alice said. "He's always exaggerating. Don't worry about it."
"Thank you!" Zuha sighed in relief.
"Erm...hi", Barry said as he came back to lab. "I have been informed that I was out of line. I apologise."
"It's ok", Zuha said. "An easy mistake to make."
But at the computer Alice was thinking: I should probably send an e-mail to the Science Council, once I get this machine ready again.
When Minah returned home, she found some unexpected gifts left at her door.
What's this? A treasure box?
Wait, there's something shimmering at the bottom.
She reached down and touched the round shape of a snow dome.
Well, that's odd. Why is there a dead space pig in a jar and a tiny monolith here?
"Oh, no!" Minah screamed out in horror as she noticed the trail of alien plants spreading out across the lawn in front of her house.
Someone from home had been to see her while she was out.
All of this, it has to go!
I cannot be exposed like this! How irresponsible of them!
I had better take good care of these Earth plants, so they thrive and grow over that alien moss.
Back at work the following day, Minah tried to make a joke about the strange gifts.
But her co-worker Alice didn't seem too impressed.
Over on the other side of the lab, Zuha was having a particularly bad day.
It seemed as if J was quietly smirking to himself.
Then he headed towards Minah. Oh, no. Awkward time beings, she thought to herself.
But J smiled with his whole face and offered her a hug.
Aw, that felt good. It really did. Minah was relieved.
Wait a minute.
Alice suddenly took a very keen interest in them.
"Ah, no", Minah said. "It's not what it looks like."
"What does it look like then?" Alice teased.
"I mean, we're just friends. It was a friendly hug", Minah insisted.
"Oh, absolutely!" Alice agreed. "I can see that. Yes."
"Help me out here", Minah said to J.
"With what? Do you need help with an experiment?" he replied coily.
Meanwhile, Alice opened up her Simbook...
Later in the day, Minah approached Zuha, who was analysing some plant extracts.
Alice was assisting him or watching him or...she was standing very close to him, at least.
"Management just asked me to check if you're coming to the Holiday party later this week", Minah asked.
"I don't know..." Zuha seemed hesitant.
"Maybe he has other plans", Alice inflicted. "Plans for our destruction."
Both Minah and Zuha burst out laughing at what they thought was a joke on Alice's behalf.
"Yes", Zuha wheezed. "World domination!"
"Well, I'll see you there", Minah said. "Don't forget your freeze rays."
Just got caught up and I'm really enjoying this so far! Can't wait to see what happens next!
Me neither, it's always awesome to see that @belpita posted something new here
Aw, you guys! Thank you!
I've had all these "grand" plans with both my stories, but then life has happened and I haven't really been able to spend as much time gaming as I had wanted. So the updates have been a little irregular, which wasn't my initial intention. But I'm glad you're sticking with me!
Here's a random outtake from some episodes ago. It just didn't fit into the story, but I liked the way it turned out anyway. Minah often brings out her guitar when I'm not...er, controlling her.
Even Minah noticed the new-comers.
"Who's that?" she asked Barry. "A new colleague?"
"I have no idea", he replied.
"They're from the Health Food Department or something", J said. "Probably just here to inspect Mitchell's excellent dishes."
So, she is also one of them, the man in the suit thought.
I'll just walk quietly past this one...
...and up the stairs to the library, where I can radio for assistance.
Oh, no! He's seen me. Better pretend to read a book.
"Hi!" Zuha said in a cheerful voice. "Are you new at The Lab? I haven't seen you before."
"These books are so fascinating", Zuha continued. "They tell you all about the quaint human ceremonies of the year."
"Good evening", said the woman in the suit.
"It's nice to see new faces at The Lab", Zuha said. "What's your speciality field?"
"Aliens", the woman replied.
"Have you met any aliens?" the man asked.
Barry was not shy about eavesdropping in the hallway outside.
"We've heard that they have tried to infiltrate The Lab", the woman said.
Meanwhile downstairs, Alice was going in for the kill.
"You! Your days here on Earth are numbered!" she lashed out at Minah.
Oh, these humans. Always so unwilling to co-exist in peace.
Minah all of a sudden felt very tired. She had really tried her best. It must have been that Zuha boy who had given her away, even though she had made sure to erase his memory after the freeze ray incident. Or maybe she had forgotten?
Upstairs in the library, Zuha was having none of it.
"I don't believe in your theories and I don't even believe there is anything out there in space."
He walked off and sat down by the water pipe to calm down.
"What is this?" the suit man said. "All our intel pointed towards him."
"I don't know", the woman added. "But I don't think we should give up just yet."
Little did they know that Minah just walked past them and heard every single word.
"Hey, Zuha", she said. "Can I sit down with you for a while? I need to relax."
"Whoa!" Minah exclaimed. "Are you going to explode?"
Zuha laughed. "No, I'm just blowing bubbles. You should try it!"
"I'm not so sure..."
Just then Barry came by.
"I just wanted to say goodbye and good luck!" he slurred a little.
"Yes, bye! Safe journey home", Zuha replied.
Minah felt a sudden surge of anger, thinking about how Barry and Alice had set them up.
"I suppose the old ones need their beauty sleep", Zuha joked. I wonder if he really is an alien, Minah thought. I mean, I should have noticed it before. But maybe he's not as dumb as he looks.
ANALYSE!
The retaliation was quick.
"Oh", Zuha said. "It's you."
"Eenie meenie, muppet show..."
"...get yourself a lifetime bro."
"I never would have guessed", Minah sighed.
"And to think I freeze rayed you!" she laughed.
"Yeah, that wasn't very nice of you".
"I'm sorry."
Downstairs, Barry was sitting alone at the bar, regretting his decisions. Not necessarily about reporting the aliens, but just life. In general. Also, why were there no sausages at this buffet?
Alice was laughing maniacally to herself in the ladies room.
"Do you know what we should do?" Zuha whispered. "We should remove our disguises and show them our real selves."
"Are you sure?" Minah hesitated.
"Why not? If they already know we're alien, we might as well."
"Let's just commemorate this last moment of ourselves as humans!"
STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL REVEAL.
- What, this wasn't the end?
- Nope.
- Oh, I see. Are they going to fall in love and live happily ever after?
- I'm not going to tell you that just yet.
Well, they're colleagues at the same lab...?
Or have I been a little unclear anywhere in my storytelling?
ETA: I mean, they're colleagues, but neither knew the other was also an alien. That was sort of the whole premise of the story. Was that not obvious?
I meant like, each of them knew the alien version of the other (at least it seemed like it, from that secret handshake thing and Zuha saying "Oh", Zuha said. "It's you." afterwards, like they know eachother personally as aliens) without connecting them to their disguise before this part of the story.
But now that I think about it I probably misunderstood that. I took the "you" in that phrase too directly, did I?
About your ETA though, that part was obvious, don't worry about that. But Zuha said "Oh, it's you!" instead of "Oh, you're from Sixam too!", so that got me confused I guess.
Edit: I thought it was like this after reading this part:
Alien Minah knows alien Zuha.
Human Minah and human Zuha didn't know that the other was an alien though.
But when they scanned eachother's brain they noticed "hey, we are both aliens" and also "hey, we have actually met in our alien forms before"
Well, they're colleagues at the same lab...?
Or have I been a little unclear anywhere in my storytelling?
ETA: I mean, they're colleagues, but neither knew the other was also an alien. That was sort of the whole premise of the story. Was that not obvious?
I meant like, each of them knew the alien version of the other (at least it seemed like it, from that secret handshake thing and Zuha saying "Oh", Zuha said. "It's you." afterwards, like they know eachother personally as aliens) without connecting them to their disguise before this part of the story.
But now that I think about it I probably misunderstood that. I took the "you" in that phrase too directly, did I?
About your ETA though, that part was obvious, don't worry about that. But Zuha said "Oh, it's you!" instead of "Oh, you're from Sixam too!", so that got me confused I guess.
Edit: I thought it was like this after reading this part:
Alien Minah knows alien Zuha.
Human Minah and human Zuha didn't know that the other was an alien though.
But when they scanned eachother's brain they noticed "hey, we are both aliens" and also "hey, we have actually met in our alien forms before"
Ah! That makes sense - also! I didn't even think about that.
I suppose I shall leave it up to the reader to decide whether they have known each other on Sixam...
Actually, the back story I had in my head was that they had been sent to Earth separately by mistake and that communication with Sixam was a little patchy. Hence them not realising the other was also an alien in the beginning. Then when Zuha was abducted (sometimes the game really works in your favour!) he got new information and knew he needed to fins his lost "colleague".
Outside in the library, two suit-clad people were sound asleep.
"I may have slipped them something in their drinks", J mused as Zuha and Minah emerged without their human disguises.
"So you knew all along?" Minah asked.
"Well, I had my suspicions", J admitted. "All that research..."
They both giggled, while Zuha thought to himself: I'm always missing something in these human jokes. I need to find a better book on that.
But when J learnt of Alice's betrayal, his face turned red with anger.
When Alice came upstairs she was surprised to see two smiling aliens with her colleague.
"You!" J shouted. "You were going to turn them in and let them be experiment on!"
"It was all Barry's idea! He said they would eat our brains. And something about sausages."
"Nonsense", J muttered. "They have been nothing but civil the whole time. How could you?"
"So, the sausages are safe?" Alice tried to laugh it off.
Minah briefly considered saying no, just for the fun of it.
"Yes", she said. "We were just sent her to learn your ways, in order to better communicate with you. It's all part of a grander plan on integration and intra-species friendship."
"Oh!" Alice giggled. "Well, that sounds...fun."
"We're going to leave now", Minah said.
"Yes, it's probably a good idea before those two agents wake up", J agreed. I'm going to lock my doors thoroughly when I get home, Alice thought. Just in case.
Well, that didn't turn out the way I planned, Alice thought just as one of the agents woke up.
"They left", she said to the agent.
"Where to?" the agent asked.
"Probably to her place on that island in Windenburg", Alice replied.
"I'm never drinking on the job again", said the other agent as he sat up in stupor.
Arriving at Minah's house, she and Zuha were met by some familiar faces.
"Zuha, this is my sister Meelah", she said. "And that is my aunt Captain Xee with her husband Ent and their son Taha."
"Minah, I see you have not changed", Meelah said in a dry tone.
"It's a good thing I have come here to set everything right!" she proclaimed.
"Just look at these miserable plants!" Meelah continued. "How did you expect them to survive the trip back home?"
"I don't care", Minah sighed. "I've learnt to play the guitar."
"The what?" Meelah asked. "Ow, what is that horrible noise!"
But Minah couldn't be bothered with her sister's silly complaints. Taha seemed to enjoy the strange new music.
So, Zuha took the opportunity to calibrate the transporter.
But somewhere in the woods were two suit-clad agents.
"I think we're lost", said the man.
"We just need to be very systematic!" said the woman.
"What's that over there?" the man said.
"No time for sight-seeing now. Keep moving!"
"We're on the right track. I am certain of it", the woman said.
"Ok, just let me rest for a little while", the man said.
"The GPS says to go this way", she continued.
Oops.
"Well, that's just typical", the woman sighed.
"But what is this? Bingo!"
"I have found their not-so-secret hide out."
Meanwhile, at Minah's house.
"I have calibrated the transporter and it's ready to be used for a safe return to Sixam", Zuha said.
"Thank you", Ent replied. "We are most grateful. I will let my w...the Captain know. We had better get ready."
"The sky is a different colour here", Taha noted.
"Why did I eat that strange human food in the fridge?" Meelah complained.
Comments
"Welcome to my neighbourhood!" J said and threw some rose petals over Minah.
They were so beautiful - and fragrant! She had never seen such a thing before.
"Welcome to my neighbourhood!" J said.
"I would love to have a sample of those pink things to take back and analyse at the lab", Minah said.
"Rose petals, they're just rose metals", J said quietly.
Then he fetched some pink-coloured drink from a special miniature fountain.
"It tastes a little funny", Minah said.
"It's The Elixir d'Amour!" J giggled.
"Maybe we can go upstairs instead", J suggested. "It's less crowded there."
J appeared to be very tired. He yawned and stretched out his arms.
"Minah, I've had my eyes on you for a while now", J said in a low voice.
"Yes, I've been watching you too", Minah replied.
It's possible they didn't mean the same thing.
Suddenly J started scratching Minah in the sides like a space cat in heat.
"No, stop!" Minah did not appreciate it.
"Seriously, stop or I will annihilate you", Minah said more sternly.
"Haha, you have a funny sense of humour!" J laughed.
"I'll be back shortly", J whispered in her ear. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll turn on the TV and we can watch something together."
The film began. It was something about dead people walking, which seemed a strange concept to Minah. Everyone knows they float!
"Oh, the horror! They're sucking out each other's brains!"
J was sad to hear that Minah was in such a hurry to leave. He was convinced the film would set her in the right mood.
"But here, you can have the key to my place. Treat it like your own home. Come back soon."
When Minah returned home all she wanted to do was hide in the observatory and gaze at the stars.
She had never felt so alone on this strange planet as she did now.
If only...
"Morning", J said.
"Uh-huh", Zuha replied.
You win some, you lose some, J thought to himself.
But Zuha was far too occupied with other things to be bothered about a game of llama.
I have to be careful, he realised. I cannot risk exposing myself, especially not here at the lab.
So he went straight to Alice, the other lab assistant.
"I know you're an alien. Please help me build the space rocket and we can get out of here."
But apparently, he was mistaken.
How embarrassing.
Upon returning to his station, Minah approached him with a large freeze gun.
"Ooh, that worked surprisingly well!" she giggled to herself.
"It's so refreshingly quiet here in the lab."
Minah entered some data into her big study on the human species and their resilience to potions and freeze rays.
He really is remarkably strong for a human! she thought to herself.
Maybe I had better let him out of there. It doesn't seem to be having the correct effect on this one.
Oh! The chills!
Zuha felt like he had slept in a survival pod for three years.
Minah stared at him in disbelief. That blue colour looked so...natural on him.
In the bathroom Zuha stood for a long time in front of the mirror.
I will never find her. I am alone here with these evil humans, he thought.
A corruption so profound, that going insane may be the only sane thing to do.
Origin ID: Sims4Girl202
This human kissing business isn't so bad after all, Minah thought to herself.
I wonder if I should report this new finding, she mused while eating breakfast.
"Morning, lovely!" J announced as he came downstairs. "I see you found breakfast already."
"I hope you enjoyed your first stay here at Casa del J!" he continued.
"Yes, thank you. It was most interesting."
She found it "interesting"? J thought as his roommate giggled in the background.
"Yes, I've never had so much fun before!" Minah exclaimed.
"I'm just going to remove this piece of ev...I'm going to throw away the trash", she said.
"So, this new chick, she's a little different", J's roommate said.
"Yeah, bro", J said. "It was a total success."
"That's not what I meant."
"But good luck with that one."
It's a good thing we installed these postal chutes all over the humans' living quarters, Minah thought as she forwarded her evidence.
When she returned to the apartment, J was ready for work.
"Let's do this again soon!" he said.
"Thank you, I think once is enough for my research", Minah replied.
"Your research!"? J exclaimed.
"Well, it was...I mean..." Minah stammered.
"I'm so sorry I was a disappointment to you", J said in a sad voice.
Oh, no. What have I done now? Minah thought in a panic.
A corruption so profound, that going insane may be the only sane thing to do.
"Oh, why do I have to do these tedious tasks all day?" he moaned. "I want to go hoooome."
"You! I knew it!" Barry, his colleague suddenly appaered. "I knew you were an alien!"
"Don't try to come here and steal our brains and poison our sausages!"
"Um, no, I think you're mistaken", Zuha mumbled as he finally turned back into human colour again.
"Mr Zuha", Barry began.
"I will be reporting this to the management and the police and...!" he continued.
"I think that's enough", Alice interrupted.
Barry stormed off.
"Listen, I think there has been some mistake here", Zuha said. "If you're looking for a villain it's Minah. She used the freeze ray on me! That's why I turned blue."
Alice didn't seem to know what to believe anymore.
"I will talk to Barry", Alice said. "He's always exaggerating. Don't worry about it."
"Thank you!" Zuha sighed in relief.
"Erm...hi", Barry said as he came back to lab. "I have been informed that I was out of line. I apologise."
"It's ok", Zuha said. "An easy mistake to make."
But at the computer Alice was thinking: I should probably send an e-mail to the Science Council, once I get this machine ready again.
What's this? A treasure box?
Wait, there's something shimmering at the bottom.
She reached down and touched the round shape of a snow dome.
Well, that's odd. Why is there a dead space pig in a jar and a tiny monolith here?
"Oh, no!" Minah screamed out in horror as she noticed the trail of alien plants spreading out across the lawn in front of her house.
Someone from home had been to see her while she was out.
All of this, it has to go!
I cannot be exposed like this! How irresponsible of them!
I had better take good care of these Earth plants, so they thrive and grow over that alien moss.
At least the snow globe was pretty.
I wonder if it's a sign or a message.
But her co-worker Alice didn't seem too impressed.
Over on the other side of the lab, Zuha was having a particularly bad day.
It seemed as if J was quietly smirking to himself.
Then he headed towards Minah.
Oh, no. Awkward time beings, she thought to herself.
But J smiled with his whole face and offered her a hug.
Aw, that felt good. It really did. Minah was relieved.
Wait a minute.
Alice suddenly took a very keen interest in them.
"Ah, no", Minah said. "It's not what it looks like."
"What does it look like then?" Alice teased.
"I mean, we're just friends. It was a friendly hug", Minah insisted.
"Oh, absolutely!" Alice agreed. "I can see that. Yes."
"Help me out here", Minah said to J.
"With what? Do you need help with an experiment?" he replied coily.
Meanwhile, Alice opened up her Simbook...
Later in the day, Minah approached Zuha, who was analysing some plant extracts.
Alice was assisting him or watching him or...she was standing very close to him, at least.
"Management just asked me to check if you're coming to the Holiday party later this week", Minah asked.
"I don't know..." Zuha seemed hesitant.
"Maybe he has other plans", Alice inflicted. "Plans for our destruction."
Both Minah and Zuha burst out laughing at what they thought was a joke on Alice's behalf.
"Yes", Zuha wheezed. "World domination!"
"Well, I'll see you there", Minah said. "Don't forget your freeze rays."
The Lab's annual Holiday Party had begun.
Minah stood in the entrance for a moment, admiring all the glitter and human food, while Zuha had already provided himself.
She decided to go for tacos with green jello.
"This looks amazing!" she said to Mitchell, J's roommate, who had catered the event.
And there was J himself! Minah gave him a hug.
"You know a good party from the food!" J exclaimed. "And this is good food."
Zuha seemed to be going for seconds already.
But outside there were two new "colleagues" talking with Barry.
"He's there already", he said in a low voice to them.
"We'll need to blend in with the crowd and observe him carefully before we make any move."
Alice approached them.
"This is Alice. She claims that the woman is one also."
"We will be on the alert."
Back in the party house, Zuha had a hard time deciding.
"Hey, Barry!" he said. "The cake was excellent with ketchup. You should try it."
"These sticks of cooked dough look almost like sausages", Zuha tried to joke.
Barry seemed to think it best not to reply at all.
The suited woman from outside approached J.
"Good evening. We're from the...er...Food Health Board. We will just be having a look around. Please ignore us."
Who is that? Mitchell thought as he sat down in the corner to eat. She doesn't look like a scientist.
There is another one! Was he just in the kitchen? Oh, no... Mitchell suddenly became very nervous about the quality of his cooking.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Twists In Time And Space (Updated December 2nd 2018. New discord server!)
Bob Bobson (Updated August 12th 2019)
Me neither, it's always awesome to see that @belpita posted something new here
Aw, you guys! Thank you!
I've had all these "grand" plans with both my stories, but then life has happened and I haven't really been able to spend as much time gaming as I had wanted. So the updates have been a little irregular, which wasn't my initial intention. But I'm glad you're sticking with me!
Here's a random outtake from some episodes ago. It just didn't fit into the story, but I liked the way it turned out anyway. Minah often brings out her guitar when I'm not...er, controlling her.
"Who's that?" she asked Barry. "A new colleague?"
"I have no idea", he replied.
"They're from the Health Food Department or something", J said. "Probably just here to inspect Mitchell's excellent dishes."
So, she is also one of them, the man in the suit thought.
I'll just walk quietly past this one...
...and up the stairs to the library, where I can radio for assistance.
Oh, no! He's seen me. Better pretend to read a book.
"Hi!" Zuha said in a cheerful voice. "Are you new at The Lab? I haven't seen you before."
"These books are so fascinating", Zuha continued. "They tell you all about the quaint human ceremonies of the year."
"Good evening", said the woman in the suit.
"It's nice to see new faces at The Lab", Zuha said. "What's your speciality field?"
"Aliens", the woman replied.
"Have you met any aliens?" the man asked.
Barry was not shy about eavesdropping in the hallway outside.
"We've heard that they have tried to infiltrate The Lab", the woman said.
Meanwhile downstairs, Alice was going in for the kill.
"You! Your days here on Earth are numbered!" she lashed out at Minah.
Oh, these humans. Always so unwilling to co-exist in peace.
Minah all of a sudden felt very tired. She had really tried her best. It must have been that Zuha boy who had given her away, even though she had made sure to erase his memory after the freeze ray incident. Or maybe she had forgotten?
Upstairs in the library, Zuha was having none of it.
"I don't believe in your theories and I don't even believe there is anything out there in space."
He walked off and sat down by the water pipe to calm down.
"What is this?" the suit man said. "All our intel pointed towards him."
"I don't know", the woman added. "But I don't think we should give up just yet."
Little did they know that Minah just walked past them and heard every single word.
"Hey, Zuha", she said. "Can I sit down with you for a while? I need to relax."
TO BE CONTINUED (also)
Zuha laughed. "No, I'm just blowing bubbles. You should try it!"
"I'm not so sure..."
Just then Barry came by.
"I just wanted to say goodbye and good luck!" he slurred a little.
"Yes, bye! Safe journey home", Zuha replied.
Minah felt a sudden surge of anger, thinking about how Barry and Alice had set them up.
"I suppose the old ones need their beauty sleep", Zuha joked.
I wonder if he really is an alien, Minah thought. I mean, I should have noticed it before. But maybe he's not as dumb as he looks.
ANALYSE!
The retaliation was quick.
"Oh", Zuha said. "It's you."
"Eenie meenie, muppet show..."
"...get yourself a lifetime bro."
"I never would have guessed", Minah sighed.
"And to think I freeze rayed you!" she laughed.
"Yeah, that wasn't very nice of you".
"I'm sorry."
Downstairs, Barry was sitting alone at the bar, regretting his decisions. Not necessarily about reporting the aliens, but just life. In general. Also, why were there no sausages at this buffet?
Alice was laughing maniacally to herself in the ladies room.
"Do you know what we should do?" Zuha whispered. "We should remove our disguises and show them our real selves."
"Are you sure?" Minah hesitated.
"Why not? If they already know we're alien, we might as well."
"Let's just commemorate this last moment of ourselves as humans!"
STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL REVEAL.
- What, this wasn't the end?
- Nope.
- Oh, I see. Are they going to fall in love and live happily ever after?
- I'm not going to tell you that just yet.
Well, they're colleagues at the same lab...?
Or have I been a little unclear anywhere in my storytelling?
ETA: I mean, they're colleagues, but neither knew the other was also an alien. That was sort of the whole premise of the story. Was that not obvious?
I meant like, each of them knew the alien version of the other (at least it seemed like it, from that secret handshake thing and Zuha saying "Oh", Zuha said. "It's you." afterwards, like they know eachother personally as aliens) without connecting them to their disguise before this part of the story.
But now that I think about it I probably misunderstood that. I took the "you" in that phrase too directly, did I?
About your ETA though, that part was obvious, don't worry about that. But Zuha said "Oh, it's you!" instead of "Oh, you're from Sixam too!", so that got me confused I guess.
Edit: I thought it was like this after reading this part:
Alien Minah knows alien Zuha.
Human Minah and human Zuha didn't know that the other was an alien though.
But when they scanned eachother's brain they noticed "hey, we are both aliens" and also "hey, we have actually met in our alien forms before"
Ah! That makes sense - also! I didn't even think about that.
I suppose I shall leave it up to the reader to decide whether they have known each other on Sixam...
Actually, the back story I had in my head was that they had been sent to Earth separately by mistake and that communication with Sixam was a little patchy. Hence them not realising the other was also an alien in the beginning. Then when Zuha was abducted (sometimes the game really works in your favour!) he got new information and knew he needed to fins his lost "colleague".
"I may have slipped them something in their drinks", J mused as Zuha and Minah emerged without their human disguises.
"So you knew all along?" Minah asked.
"Well, I had my suspicions", J admitted. "All that research..."
They both giggled, while Zuha thought to himself: I'm always missing something in these human jokes. I need to find a better book on that.
But when J learnt of Alice's betrayal, his face turned red with anger.
When Alice came upstairs she was surprised to see two smiling aliens with her colleague.
"You!" J shouted. "You were going to turn them in and let them be experiment on!"
"It was all Barry's idea! He said they would eat our brains. And something about sausages."
"Nonsense", J muttered. "They have been nothing but civil the whole time. How could you?"
"So, the sausages are safe?" Alice tried to laugh it off.
Minah briefly considered saying no, just for the fun of it.
"Yes", she said. "We were just sent her to learn your ways, in order to better communicate with you. It's all part of a grander plan on integration and intra-species friendship."
"Oh!" Alice giggled. "Well, that sounds...fun."
"We're going to leave now", Minah said.
"Yes, it's probably a good idea before those two agents wake up", J agreed.
I'm going to lock my doors thoroughly when I get home, Alice thought. Just in case.
Well, that didn't turn out the way I planned, Alice thought just as one of the agents woke up.
"They left", she said to the agent.
"Where to?" the agent asked.
"Probably to her place on that island in Windenburg", Alice replied.
"I'm never drinking on the job again", said the other agent as he sat up in stupor.
"Zuha, this is my sister Meelah", she said. "And that is my aunt Captain Xee with her husband Ent and their son Taha."
"Minah, I see you have not changed", Meelah said in a dry tone.
"It's a good thing I have come here to set everything right!" she proclaimed.
"Just look at these miserable plants!" Meelah continued. "How did you expect them to survive the trip back home?"
"I don't care", Minah sighed. "I've learnt to play the guitar."
"The what?" Meelah asked. "Ow, what is that horrible noise!"
But Minah couldn't be bothered with her sister's silly complaints. Taha seemed to enjoy the strange new music.
So, Zuha took the opportunity to calibrate the transporter.
But somewhere in the woods were two suit-clad agents.
"I think we're lost", said the man.
"We just need to be very systematic!" said the woman.
"What's that over there?" the man said.
"No time for sight-seeing now. Keep moving!"
"We're on the right track. I am certain of it", the woman said.
"Ok, just let me rest for a little while", the man said.
"The GPS says to go this way", she continued.
Oops.
"Well, that's just typical", the woman sighed.
"But what is this? Bingo!"
"I have found their not-so-secret hide out."
Meanwhile, at Minah's house.
"I have calibrated the transporter and it's ready to be used for a safe return to Sixam", Zuha said.
"Thank you", Ent replied. "We are most grateful. I will let my w...the Captain know. We had better get ready."
"The sky is a different colour here", Taha noted.
"Why did I eat that strange human food in the fridge?" Meelah complained.
Well, I sort of planned for this story to come to a conclusion, yes. I'm sorry.