#freefall

Today’s my birthday!! It’s hard to believe I’ve been around for 36 years now.

Bee: This is just rumor spreading with no proof! CJ: YEAH! Didn't Ratchet say Free was copying prime's features cause it's a sparkling thing to copy features and colors from the bots they spend the most time with???

Bee: He did tell us that yeah! though....why didn't Free get our colors CJ?

CJ: Clearly, we just haven't held him enough! Bee, nab him! We're gonna take him on a bros only adventure! By the time we get back, he'll be ONLY deep reds and yellows with some handsome horns!

Exploring the bag-of-tricks backpack was surprisingly fun.

Niko had never really appreciated just how many odds and ends Charles kept stored in there. Some of them were useful items, such as the tape measure or lexicographical lenses, but then there were bizarre things like the jar of bees and mildly disturbing things like the collection of rodent skulls. And nearly every object, from cursed jewelry to color-changing pens, carried a story, which Charles was eager to share and Niko was happy to listen to.

They didn’t make nearly as rapid progress as Niko had predicted, but the main goal of keeping Charles both busy and cheerful was accomplished. He didn’t fret at all when Edwin and Crystal left the office for another day of questioning suspects. He and Niko settled in on the office floor and continued their work. Charles searched the pockets while Niko recorded their findings. Having a complete inventory, she felt, would prove quite useful.

They both found it easy to get sidetracked. An enchanted goblet from a local tavern owner led to Charles reminiscing about the clubs and bars he’d snuck into as a living teen, which somehow led to him and Niko comparing pickup lines. Niko’s favorite was “Your smile is so bright I need sunglasses,” but Charles favored “Is this Heaven? ‘Cause you look like an angel.”

“Here’s another one,” Niko suggested. “I hope you know CPR, because you take my breath away.”

Charles chuckled. “That’s a good one! But I probably can’t use it.” His smile shifted to the special one he wore whenever he was thinking about his partner. “Edwin would point out that neither of us need to breathe.”

“Are you thinking of practicing any of these pickup lines on him?” Niko inquired, trying and failing to sound innocent.

“What? Of course not!” Charles spluttered, looking rather flustered. “I just meant—that’s what he’d say.”

Niko nodded. “I suppose you wouldn’t need pickup lines for him. He’s already happy to follow you anywhere.”

Charles ducked his head and shifted his attention back to the bag. “We should probably get back to work.”

Niko exercised considerable restraint by letting the subject drop.

They inventoried cassette tapes, vintage trading cards, and a handheld device Charles referred to as a ‘game boy’. “This is like looking through a time capsule,” Niko gushed.

“We actually made one back in ’95,” Charles told her. “We said we wouldn’t open it for at least thirty years, but I can show you the box.” Niko nodded eagerly and Charles began digging around in the backpack. “Nope, not there. Not there…” He rummaged around for another minute before setting the bag aside. “Think I must have left it in the Ghost Cave.”

“Ghost Cave?”

“It’s this really big pocket inside the backpack, so big it’s like a room.” Charles gestured with his hands, looking excited. “Sometimes we use it as a hiding place since nobody but us can get in, but it’s also a fun place to hang out since we keep our extra games and stuff in there.”

“Only ghosts can get in?” Niko clarified.

“Nah, we just call it the Ghost Cave ‘cause that’s a cool name. Living people can get in if I open the way for them, but they can’t stay for very long without running out of fresh air. I could give you a quick tour if you like.” Charles looked hopeful.

“If you’re sure it’s okay with Edwin, I’d like that a lot.” Niko found it hard to contain her enthusiasm. She didn’t think even Crystal had seen the boys’ secret hideout yet!

Charles guided Niko’s legs into the opening of the backpack. It felt a bit strange, sitting on solid floor while her legs dangled into empty void. Niko swallowed back her nerves. She trusted Charles.

“Ready?” he asked. Niko replied that she was, and he gently pushed her into the void.

For a moment, there was only freefall through darkness, but then Niko felt herself sliding down the smooth surface of a tunnel. It leveled out at the bottom and deposited her with a gentle bounce onto a very soft floor in a dimly lit space. Niko scrambled to her feet and looked around.

 It felt a bit like being inside a large tent. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of the same dark canvas material as the backpack, and riddled with buckles, flaps, and zippers. The low ceiling was strung with ropes of colored fairy lights casting a cozy glow over the room. A set of lava lamps sitting between a red and blue beanbag added their own illumination. As her eyes adjusted, Niko also made out a bookshelf, a low table stacked with board games, and what looked like an old play station console.

She turned back to the tunnel slide. It curved up into the ceiling like a chimney, and she saw Charles through the open mouth of the bag at the top. “What do you think?” he called.

“This is the best secret hideout ever!” she squealed. “Thank you for showing me!”

“Can you move out of the way for a sec so I can come down?” Niko obliged, and then Charles joined her in the room. He started to get to his feet out of habit, but Niko stopped him. “Right, I forgot about that.” He gave the cast on his leg an annoyed look.

Niko was looking back up the tunnel. She could now see a series of fabric loops protruding from the canvas, spaced evenly like the rungs of a ladder. But climbing a ladder was not exactly an option for Charles right now. “I know this might be an awkward question, but how are you going to get back up?”

“Don’t need to.” Charles became cheerful again. “Directions and space are pretty flexible in here. I can convince the backpack to reverse gravity in just the entrance so I slide back out. The best fun in both directions! But Edwin prefers the ladder.”

He started scooting across the floor toward the bookshelf and Niko followed him. She noticed the floor now felt more solid and less bouncy than upon her arrival.

“Does the bag shift itself to accommodate different people?” she wondered. “If it can make a slide for you, a ladder for Edwin, and make the floor into a soft landing for me…”

“Yeah, the backpack is brills,” Charles said. “Especially for people it likes, and I think it likes you, Niko.”

Niko ran a hand along the wall. “I’m glad.” The wall didn’t react in any discernable way. Niko wasn’t sure if she would feel comforted or alarmed if the room around them started purring. Probably both.

Charles finally reached the shelf and began rummaging through the collection of boxes and knickknacks along the bottom. “Here’s the time capsule!” he exclaimed. “It’s set on a timer lock, so I can’t open it yet, but I think I remember everything we put in it.” He started rattling off a list of items, much of it ‘90s tech that Niko had never seen outside of movies. She asked Charles if he could show her a ‘palm pilot’ and he obliged by unzipping a section of the wall, reaching inside, and pulling one out.

“You can retrieve things even from inside the backpack?” Niko exclaimed. “That’s so cool!” That was even more exciting than the ancient technology in her hands.

Charles brightened at the praise, but made a visible effort to sound modest. “It’s all connected by the magical void, innit? ‘Where’ doesn’t matter. Any spot can reach any other spot if you know how.”

“How do you do it?”

“Got to concentrate on the pocket. Every single pocket is unique. Visualize the one you want, and the bag does the rest.” He demonstrated again, this time offering Niko a button with a smiley face. She beamed and pinned it to the front of her sweater.

“So you keep track of hundreds of different pockets all in your head?”

He chuckled. “Well, I guess I never counted, but yeah.”

“Charles, that’s really impressive.” Niko looked at him seriously. “I don’t know anyone else who can do that.”

Charles blushed and ducked his head. “I have been practicing for a few decades.” He picked up a Rubik’s Cube and began messing with it.

“Still, Edwin or I would need to write it all down if we wanted to remember,” Niko pointed out. “You’ve got a really good memory.”

“Oi, I’m not the only one,” Charles objected. “Edwin remembers loads of facts about supernatural beings. And you can explain the plots of every single episode, movie, book, or video game of Scooby-Doo, and loads more anime and manga besides.”

“I suppose,” Niko conceded. “But telling stories isn’t exactly a useful skill.”

“Could be useful someday,” Charles argued. “If we ever had another run-in with the Fae—they’re a tricky bunch, but they love stories.  Bet you’d be a match for them.” He set his puzzle aside. “Besides, even if something isn’t useful, it’s still impressive.”

Niko looked at the completely solved Rubik’s Cube and had to agree. “Thank you, Charles.”