Yveline: "As you're all aware, the diamond will only be here for the exhibition. A crew will come collect it after we shortly displayed to the public that come to view it afterwards. You may look around and plan. To the security... come here for just a moment."
As the others disperse around the room, Yveline gets surrounded by the security in the group. Arnold, in his own thoughts, looks up at the ceiling, as he follows the group.
Arnold (in head): "So the ventilation reaches this room too..."
Yveline: "Alright. During the exhibition, you guys will be my eyes and ears. This is sure to be a target place for criminals so the ACO have offered assistance on the outside in case something goes wrong. Your duty is to protect our guests."
Back at the motel, Kassius walks back up to the bathroom.
Kassius: "Uh... are you alright in there?"
The door suddenly opens slowly. Kassius looks at her, dry as a bone with not a single water droplet even on her head, and stands there confused.
Kassius: "Is everything okay?"
Ulqora shakes her head.
Ulqora: "Could you help me?"
Kassius: "Help you?"
It slowly dawned on Kassius. With her previous conditions, he realised how little she actually knew. Kassius kneels in front of her.
Kassius: "Sorry, I should've asked. How did you use to clean yourself?"
Ulqora: "They used to clean us."
Kassius, noticing the pain in her face, did not prod further. He knew the response would make them both upset.
Kassius: "Well, this thing here let's you clean yourself. It's way better. Now, let's get you cleaned up."
Although afraid at first, Kassius walks her to the shower. Covering her side with the curtain, he tries his very best and describes the steps to her. After she finishes and turns it off, he reaches around the curtain and hands her a towel.
Kassius: "Rub that around your body so you get dry. Just stay in there too, I'm coming back."
He rushes out the bathroom and enters one of the rooms. Looking around, he doesn't find anything. He tries the second room and opens a closet. Inside, he sees a few empty hangers but one with a small jumper. He grabs it and inspects its quality. Happy with it, he runs out and goes to his bag. He grabs one of his shirts and goes back to the bathroom.
Kassius: "OK, I brought you some clothes. You'll have to wear your trousers again for now but we'll get you another pair later. Come out when I leave and tell me when you put them on."
After wearing the clothes, she calls him in. Kassius slowly opens the door and looks up just as slow, seeing her fully dressed. He spots immediately that she wore the jumper Arnold had given her.
Kassius: "You didn't like the other one?"
Ulqora: "I like this one."
Kassius: "Hehe, ok. Did you like the shower? Relaxing, right?"
Ulqora: "Mhm."
Kassius: "Alright, now to brush your teeth."
He hands her a toothbrush and walks up to the sink. Kassius demonstrates and Ulqora copies him. He starts humming and moving from side to side. Ulqora copies him. Kassius slowly begins to crack up, which causes Ulqora to smile and laugh herself. They leave the bathoom after brushing and walk to the living room.
Kassius: "I wonder where Arnold is."
Ulqora: "Is he coming back?"
Kassius: "Arnold? Of course. Don't worry about that. He'll be back. He probably got busy. We can do something fun while we wait."
An idea of what Ulqora thought could be fun was a difficulty for Kassius at first. But then, it came to him. The same game he played with Arnold, he introduced her to. And not surprisingly, Ulqora beats him at that as well. Frustrated, he lies on the sofa staring at the ceiling.
Kassius: "I have to stop showing people this game."
Ulqora: "I'm sorry."
Kassius: "No, it's not your fault. I'm just being a sore loser is all... say, do you have any ideas on what to play?"
Ulqora: "...me and my friends... we used to hide and Jaser would come find us..."
Seeing the sadness in her eyes, Kassius begins to feel bad. But he suddenly smiles.
Kassius: "I know a similar game. Someone I know played it with me once."
Kassius gets on his feet and removes his tie, covering his eyes with it.
Kassius: "You'll get twenty seconds to hide. Then I have two minutes to find you. You can walk around but only in this room."
Kassius counts down from twenty. Once he stops, the silence in the room immediately becomes noticeable. As he roams around the living room, he constantly bumps into things. The sofa, the wall, the counter. As the time dwindles down, he begins rushing around the room, feeling all around in a panic to control his walking.
Kassius: "How are you so good at this? The room isn't even that bi-"
Suddenly, the door handle moving made enough noise to catch his attention.
Kassius: "Aha!"
As he runs over to the door, it opens and hits him in the face, dropping him to the floor.
Arnold: "What's going on?"
Arnold pushes the door open once again to see Kassius on the floor, removing the tie as he moans in pain.
Kassius: "Arnold?"
Arnold: "Where's Ulqora?"
Coming from behind the sofa, Ulqora walks up to them both.
Kassius: "Good game. You win this time."
Arnold: "Did I miss something?"
Kassius: "I should be asking you that. Who's the guy?"
Arnold: "Long story. Grab a chair."
Kassius grabs the chair in the kitchen and brings it to the living room. Arnold walks to it and places the man on his shoulders onto the chair. He ties the man's arms and legs to the chair. Following this, they tie his mouth with tape in multiple loops around his head. Slowly regaining consciousness, the man opens his eyes to them both in front of him.
Man: "Mm... mm?"
Kassius: "Welcome to the afterlife!"
Arnold knocks Kassius in the head.
Kassius: "Ow!"
Arnold: "Don't worry. You're not dead. We've just kidnapped you."
Kassius: "How is that better..."
Man: "Mm! Mm!"
Kassius: "Why did you bring him here?"
Arnold: "He would've likely reported it to the police and ruined the opportunity."
Kassius: "So they think you're him now?"
Arnold: "Mhm."
Kassius: "What did you find out?"
Arnold: "He was supposed to be security, so I'll be guarding the museum during the exhibition from the inside. There will be ACO officers on the outside."
Kassius: "Is there a backdoor?"
Arnold: "Yes."
Kassius: "Ok. You open it for me, we take the diamond, and we escape."
Arnold: "That's a bit reckless for a thief, don't you think? What if someone catches us? Even ignoring how crazy that plan is, there's an obvious problem with being caught in the act."
Kassius: "...Yeah, you're right."
Arnold: "If they spot us, getting to the border will be too hard. Good news is, I might have a safer plan."
Kassius: "Go on."
Arnold: "As I was looking around, I think I saw a vent system. Went through to the room where the diamond will be. Maybe if you sneak through those, you could get the diamond and leave."
Kassius: "Hmm... and Ulqora?"
Arnold: "We'll find a car, take it and park it near the backside. She'll stay in the car. Once you take it and I'm aware, I'll follow and leave. We'll come pick you up at a different point, drive to the border and leave the nation."
Kassius: "I'm fine with this. But now that I think of it, maybe I could write something instead. You know, put it there to tell them who did it. That way, I'm not being caught but they know who did it."
Arnold: "Hmm... I guess that could work actually. Sure."
Kassius: "Nice."
Arnold: "Ok, we should get prepared. A car, some clothes for the event, and maybe some tools."
Kassius: "We should also get some clothes for Ulqora."
Arnold: "Alright. Let's go."
Kassius: "Ulqora! Come, we're going out!"
She walks out of one of the rooms and enters the living room nervously. As they walk out the door, Ulqora turns back and sees the man tied up, staring at her. Kassius leads her out and they close the door behind them. Switching to the opposite direction that Arnold went before, they walk along the pavement.
Kassius: "OK, so let's start with the clothes. Where do we go for that exactly?"
Arnold: "Let me ask somebody."
Handing Kassius a bag, Arnold walks up to a random person on the street. Kassius opens the bag.
Kassius: "You want some?"
Ulqora: "Yes."
He gives her a Crammer. They both take a bite and the flavour melts in their mouths. They eat through it quick and continue following Arnold as he asks person by person for directions on where to go. After a while of walking, they eventually reach a bridge. On the other side, they spot an enormous structure, shocking the three of them.
Arnold: "There's the shopping centre."
Over the bridge, they reach a wide shopping centre— an open centre, with shops and boutiques all in one line. They go on down the street on the left side and the right for a while until a park where the huge structure they had seen earlier stood.
Kassius: "There are so many shops."
They spot a clothing store and walk into it. Looking around, they go to the girl section and let Ulqora try pick out some clothes. Option after option, she finds herself unhappy at the choices. But in the end, she picks out an outfit. In th males section, Arnold quickly picks out a suit. Nothing left to buy, they head to checkout.
Kassius: "Uh... I'd like to buy these."
Cashier: "Very well, sir. Would you like anything else or is this all?"
Kassius: "This is all."
Cashier: "Your total will be 120.96."
Kassius: "Her hands him the money on the counter.
Cashier: "...Here is your change. Thank you for shopping at Lune Lure."
Kassius: "Thanks."
They walk out of the shop and continue down the strip.
Kassius: "Alright. Clothes, done. How are you holding up, Ulqora? Happy with your choice?"
Ulqora: "Mhm."
Kassius: "Nice, nice."
At the end of the stretch, they finally reach the park. Towering not too far from them across a small body of water, the structure they had seen in the distance stands tall.
Kassius: "It's way bigger up close."
Arnold: "There's a sign over there."
Arnold walks up to it, and the other two follow. He reads the sign aloud to the other two.
"The United Person: The two men who ended the battle over this nation. The two men that founded this city.
'The suffering of one is the suffering of all'
Trathol Bell-Fardanay and Marim Kart-Kenel.
A statue created in honor of their achievement."
Turning around, he cringes as he realises Kassius and Ulqora had walked away. He sees them standing at an ice cream stand and walks towards them.
Ulqora: "It looks so good."
Kassius: "I know, right?"
Ice cream man: "Wahaha! You're tourists, aren't you? How may I help you?"
Kassius: "Can we get three cones please?"
With great joy, he scoops and hands them each an ice cream cone with plastic baby spoons on the side.
Kassius: "They look amazing. How much are they?"
Ice cream man: "Truth be told, I'm closing up for my holiday, so I'll give it to you for free this time. Spreading some joy."
Kassius: "Wow. Thank you."
Ice cream man: "No problem. Hey, little girl. Is it good?"
She takes a bite, and another. And another. The ice cream man begins to laugh. But then he slowly stops and looks at her.
Ice cream man: "Say, is she okay? Her face is-"
Kassius: "Yes, she's fine. It's uh..."
Arnold: "Fever. Thank you for the ice cream."
Arnold leads them away in a hurry, confusing the man. He brushes it off and waives them off.
Ice cream man: "Uhm... enjoy your stay!"
Kassius: "Enjoy your holiday!"
They walk away and start eating their ice cream.
Ulqora: "It's so yummy."
Kassius: "It really is."
"Final pictures! Final pictures!"
Kassius looks up ahead and sees a man gesturing to people walking by, stood by his camera. As they walk by, the man spots them and walks up to them. Arnold shields Ulqora immediately.
Photographer: "Are you visiting? Usually it's 15 but for you, I'll make it 10. What do you say?"
Kassius turns to Arnold.
Kassius: "A photo is fine. To remember."
Arnold, hesitant at first, gives in. Kassius pays the photographer.
Photographer: "Great. Just sit over there."
They walk up to a bench in front of the camera and sit down, perfectly aligning with the statue behind them.
Photographer: "OK... Big smiles, alright? Five, four, three, two, one!"
Right before the photographer snaps the photo, a gust of wind blows in and unable to resist, the hoodie falls off of Ulqora's head. But this did not register to the photographer, and he took the photo anyway. The photo was truly special. Just a random day in Umoja. The first time for all three. Sat in a park, in front of a statue of two arms shaking hands, the sun low in the corner. On the left, Kassius leaned in, holding a peace sign up with a smile on his face. On the right, Arnold leaned in with his head, softly smiling. Finally, Ulqora in the middle. Ice cream near her face, smiling from ear to ear. A simple photo, capturing a moment of true happiness beyond all that had occurred in the last few days. This day is one they would all remember, especially Ulqora.