// Companion(s) Equipped! //

// //

___

"Mmm...."

You hum in thought as you're reading a book about machinery in your bedroom. The boys are chilling in the living room so you have some quiet time to focus and reflect about the progres you guys made so far.

The book may not be very effective for the situation you're in with the time traveling machine you and the boys were working on,,,, Since it's much more complex that's just been written, as Ike proved that before-

Yet, it turns out the more careful you are with modifying the machine- *slaps the giant piece of metal for a couple of time* The more signs of improvement this big boi will show...

You swear, if your machine (aka the child you have been working on so hard) gets messed up once again, you might lose it-

"Yo, Yin- Have you seen my sunglasses? I believe I already checked the last few spots where I left it in your house-"

Your train of thoughts are now suddenly cut off by Mysta who just walked in through your opened door, looking very troubled as he rests his hand lightly on your doorknob. He sounds pretty worried.

"Mmmm..."

You hum softly in response as you place the book away to provide him your undivided attention, until your concerned look falters not so slowly once you see what's on top of the fox detective's head.

"Oh- They are on your head, Mysta!" You exclaimed softly.

"-?"

You giggle, before lowering the sunglasses that are on Mysta's head onto the bridge of his nose carefully. Causing the

Detective try to feel the sunglasses with his gloved hands, now feeling stupid for a second.

"Oh sh*t- thanks....-"

He sighs as he looks away from you out of embarrassment. Then suddenly, he stops in his mid-sentence, seeming to find something that catches his eyes now.

"Wait a minute- why are you laying on only one cushion bed??? With some plain, wood plank underneath it???

"Oh right- I have it that way since like 7 years ago." You calmly respond, as if it's a normal in your cup of tea. You just think that way would look pretty aesthetic and less dangerous for your liking, if you ever roll off of your bed.

"Are you telling me you've been sleeping in only a bed cushion with blankets, near the floor where bugs can easily reach you, and with no bed frame furniture, for 7 years???"

"Yes???"

You confusedly respond with a strangely cute smile you usually wear, making Mysta die for a second judging by how he is trying to maintain his composure using the door's surface. You literally check yourself that bugs barely appear in your room as long as you clean a little regularly-

"Okay, that's it...- LUCA, WE NEED TO GO FURNITURE SHOPPING, ASAP!!!" Mysta yells with such alarming tone to the Mafia Boss, literally taking the situation so seriously.

"For what???" Luca asks loudly as he's at your living room watching TV at the moment.

"FOR Y/N, DUH-"

"Wait-" You are about to protest if only Luca didn't just appear so quickly next to Mysta at your bedroom door.

"Why didn't you tell me???" Luca asks with a puppy smile as if he's eager for another dogwalk- I mean, outing with his favorite person in ALLLL timelines. :DD

"Ah-" You spill but then once again gets cut off by Mysta who is now gently pushing you to your dressing room with an eager '>:3' as his expression, implying you to get some nice clothes. "Okay, okay,,,! Wait outside my room, at least!" You whine gently as you step into the little area.

"Can I just wait for you here-"

"No, Mysta." You gently reject, having both boys out of your room anyways. "At least let the others know we're going to IKEA-"

"Ike???" Mysta question.

"No, no. IKEA, not Ike. That's how the mall known for furniture selling is called as." You explain.

"Ooooooh, ok. Ike-ea!!!" Luca says, making Mysta wheeze-

___

"Another outing- LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!" Luca cheers as he c

"I'll drive this time- The last time you were the driver, Ike, you went rage on the road." Vox aspires the Novelist as Luxiem Lounge's staff-San hands him the lounge's van keys.

"People went to school for this..." Ike explains with a serious tone. "They got taught... and they got approved by the professional... That deemed them... fit... for the road- And sometimes...

THAT'S JUST AIN'T THE F*CKING CASE!!!"

The Novelist ends his complaint with a big raged tone, making Mysta laugh as you jump slightly by how uncharacteristically raged Ike seems. You can already imagine a chibi, angy Ike fuming with huge fury.

Not gonna lie, Ike literally just roasted a couple of drivers pretty reasonably-

Nonetheless, Ike turns around to face you with his calm expression now returned. "Sorry if I have scared you, dear."

"No, no. It's fine, everyone has their own moments." You reassure with a concerned smile.

"I now just seen him swear in a language I don't even know...!" Luca comments with a clueless smile.

"But anyway- COME ON, DING DONGS!!! and Y/N~ get on the van, now-" Vox calls out from the driver seat.

"YES, DADDY!!!" Mysta freaking exclaims as he quickly yeets himself like a fox to make himself a way into the front seat but gets blocked by Luca who also seems to want to sit there-

"Omg- I hate it here...." Ike sighs as he just takes a seat in the passenger seat, in hopes to stop the doggos from wrestling beside the vehicle-

Mysta eventually just ends up yeeting himself into a seat that is all the way along with you getting dragged like a plush by him-

"Wait- I want Y/N to sit next to me,,,,!" Luca says, you can hear a puppy whimper from the 2nd row seats.

"Come on, Luca. Let's sit together." Shu consoles the Mafia Boss as he pats his back lightly, wearing his usual chill grin.

"Okay, bro! Pog!!!" Luca goes back to being jolly as ever...- 🥺

"Alright, everyone. Make sure to wear your seat belts- the ride will take a pretty long while." The Voice Demon advices as he tries to comprehend the GPS Ike made the car's tiny screen display.

"Not like I'm gonna get released that easily,,,,-"

You say as you sweatdrop with a steady smile. The other boys are just putting their seat belts on as instructed as Mysta is actually taking the role as your human seatbelt at the moment...-

"Mysta, let her have her seat belt on."

Mysta stares at Vox with a blank look for a moment, before pulling away from his hold on you. You were about to say thanks, until the pale-haired detective starts to stretch his arms around your waist- Helping you buckle on the seatbelt.

And then he goes back to nuzzle close to you with his nose on the crook of your nose, sniffing it lightly...-

"Mysta, let her go."

"NO- SHE'S MY EMOTIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE ENTIRE RIDE-" >:'C"

___

Aaand.... Mysta still lets you go- as he eventually just got threatened Vox of taking you away from him so you can sit between Shu and Luca instead.... (ówò;

Nonetheless, Mysta barely survived in keeping his hands to himself when you're literally beside him in the entire ride- but you guys are able to make it to the huge mall after a few hours.

Yes, Luca and Vox were at an IKEA mall before when they got teleported- but is not like they were aware of that at that moment. Yet you all ended up driving on your way into a different IKEA mall unknowingly.

"Be careful with the electric stairs." Ike warn as he sees Mysta and Luca not getting to used to the stairs moving by themselves.

"I once wondered if this is some kind of sorcery...-" Vox admits with a raised eyebrow, "Until Shu introduced me to this mechanism's function...-"

"Ehehe~" Shu quietly chuckles by the mention as he sees you letting Mysta hold your hand the entire time.

Everyone in the group is pretty much matching with navy blue outfits, as a way to find each other I guess- But also for cute aesthetic, of course. X'D

It seems there are also a couple of young ladies staring at the boys with those weird looks you always see whenever you're with the boys- Oh, your poor, anxious heart....

"D*mn... So many words and big signs-" Mysta comments as he tilts up his sunglasses to reveal his sharp neon blue eyes squinting slightly, unknowingly making the weird ladies swoon for him-

"Mm..." Ike hums as he scrutinizes the said chart sign that is on a map displayed on a pillar, possibly trying to look for the "bed frame" section or something related.

"Ah- Found it! The bedroom furniture section is right on the 3rd floor,,,," You point out once you find where it is on the map.

"You smart cookie,,,,~" Ike compliments, head patting you gently to congratulate you. You just nuzzle in return like a floofball, before quickly concentrating to get to another electric stair with Mysta in order to reach the certain floor.

"Come on, Mysta- to the stairs we go!"

"Let's gooooooooo!!!" The fox eagerly says, notably glad that he doesn't really need to move much muscle to go up- (*cough* grandpa Mysta,,,- *cough*)

___

"Yin! Look! What about this set?" Luca eagerly asks as he motions you to a big bedroom set, with the desk, nightstand, closet and everything.

"Wow, Luca- we only need a bed frame... Not the entire bedroom set!" You laugh lightly.

"Actually why not-"

"Classic Luca..." Ike sighs with a tiny smile.

"Oh hey, how about this one? This bedframe has a bookshelf plus cabinets for items/clothes installed underneath the bed...." The Voice Demon trails off as he tries to test the waters of the cabinets' resilience and the material.

"Ooooooh- it looks pretty." You compliment, lightly knocking on its surface, confirming that is made out of protected metal. "Okay, it looks like it can last for a while." You look at Luca with a gentle smile. "Can we buy this?"

"Pog!"

"Yay- More space for some books that are just laying around on my desk,,,," You sweatdrop while smiling.

"Is there anything else you want to buy?" Luca asks.

"Gotta buy like 4 more bookshelves for my little library- one of the old ones just broke, so I'm kinda scared the other old ones will collapse too-" You respond, as the golden retriever smoothly hops along by your side to get to the shelf area. Along with the calm sorcerer who merely just wants to stick along and look around but somehow look a little behind from others.

"Can we buy food here? I'm starving after 4 hours of car riding-" Mysta asks as he can hear his own stomach roar so shamelessly loud-

"I think there's a food place downstairs- you can check it out there." You suggest, your figure slowly disappearing from the spacious area as you walk away.

"I'll go with Mysta." Vox says, interested in what's in store there.

"Good... While I go find the nearest restroom- I remember there is one somewhere near these halls." Ike says as he tries to look for something in his bag, walking away.

Before Ike can even get suspicious by the emptiness of the halls, he merely goes around a corner of the halls. Until some men wearing, black futuristic bulletproof suits suddenly appear in front of him and grab him firmly, covering his mouth to prevent him from yelling- So Ike could only gasp as he sees a familiar blonde-haired man with a bulletproof vest that has the letters "VSF" as the logo sign, emerging through the center of the men squad.

"Halt, Eveland..." A male, serious voice says.

(What...-)

Before Ike can question, he gets knocked out unconscious from behind.

___

"Phew- I now called the staff to come with their truck for the furniture packages-" Luca lets you know as you swing your legs on the passenger seat, while Mysta chills on the driver seat to rest near the little air conditioners with Vox beside him from the outside.

"I wonder why is taking Ike so long...-" Vox mutters with a concerned tone, trying to call the Novelist through his phone only to hear the voicemail's response.

Shu comes back to the parking lot where you guys are."

"So..?" Vox asks to the Sorcerer.

"Can't see any sign of navy blue-"

"F*ck...." Vox curses, his panic growing slowly.

"I'll... Try to text him through my phone." Mysta suggests.

He quickly type a few words in your phone.

———

'Ike, when will you go back from the restroom...?'

.

.

.

{* Ikey~ is typing...."}

'Don't worry, Mysta. I'll be back home in no time. You can go back with the others without me.'

———

"I received a message from him, that we should go back early without him." Mysta responds, notably skeptical to just leave Ike behind. What form of transportation will he even use from IKEA to the Luxiem Lounge? Does he have enough cash for a few bus stops?

"Strange... But how can he even go back home, if it took like 5 hours to get here???" Vox questions suspiciously.

"Unless...." Mysta starts, having now a serious look, "That person who just texted with Ike's number was not even Ike...-"

"But, when was the last time you guys saw him...?" You ask.

"After you three left. Mysta and I decided to go to where the food sections is like you suggested while Ike went to go to the restroom." Vox explains.

"...-" Shu concernedly responds, slightly covering his mouth as he think.

"Okay, that's it. I'll voice call him." Vox says as he angrily presses the call button, but then the call got decline by the said "Ike".

"He must be busy if he declined that call..." You wonder with a confused look.

"It won't prove whether is really Ike or some stranger if it's me the one calling- Y/N, try and call him. He would never even decline your calls at all-"

"Ah- oki..." You obligue as you press the call button on your phone.

———

{*Calling 🖋💙 ...."}

.

.

.

———

"....Call declined...." You say with a worried tone, now leaning on Mysta with a distressed expression.

"Then, that's not Ike..." Mysta says with a blank look.

Vox starts calling for like 5 times- until someone from the other side of the line finally responds.

"Get lost." A deep, firm voice says before hanging up the call.

"..." Vox pauses before turning to you all. "I think he got kidnapped-"

"How...?" Luca asks, his blank look that replaced his confused look starts to turn dark by the idea.

"A different voice responded, a male one. He only answered to tell me to get lost-" Vox says, checking on the calls history to see that the location from the call is tagged as 'unindentified'.