Cousins: Life's a Switch (2/3) Continued from Part 1/3. "Have they found anything out yet?" Will asked, hovering around the desk in the lobby. Jess shook her head and nursed an iced water. "Nope, these are all the original Tok post-its. Hard to believe, I know. It's a veritable yellow sticky-note jungle." Cousin Will sighed and looked around the lobby. "They should pipe some music into this part of CERK. Office building lobbies are either unwelcomingly silent or play some canned version of elevator music." "Some Tool, or Nine Inch Nails would be nice," Jess commented, filling out a requisition order for black post-it notes and red milky pens. "Oh, you like Nine Inch Nails?" Will said, perking and giving credence to his title of Perky Cousin. "Heck yeah!" Jess said, eyes going shiny. "I even have a pet rat named Trent." Suddenly her blue eyes narrowed as if in Cousinly plot. Will followed her gaze and straightened. LaCroix had emerged from the hall and was watching them silently. Jess and Will, like all the Cousins, had been warned of LaCroix's foul mood. "Is there anything we can do for you, General?" Will asked. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jessi had stood up and turned to look at her. She was walked towards LaCroix steadily, a look of concentration across her face. Will tried to subtly gesture a "What's up?" but it seemed lost on the focused Cousinly Receptionist. What he saw would've horrified even the most stoic of British guards. Jess leaned forward and upended the contents of her glass, ice and all, onto LaCroix's head. Will squeaked and hastily exited the lobby, seeking out Head of Cerberus Tok. LaCroix blinked. Then he blinked again. "Well...." He looked down at his soaked Armani jacket, which did not smell of rodents any longer. "At least now I have an excuse to ask for more comfortable clothes. So... who do I talk to about that?" Jess squeaked and wiggled. "Oh my gosh! I figured it out!" She spun around, bounced slightly, then ran off to find Tok (and some casual clothing). "Riiiight," LaCroix's voice sounded in the empty lobby. * * * * * Tser brought Xandy to a halt as her cellphone rang. It was a busy street, and people were giving the antsy Arab wide leeway, since he had a perpetually grumpy look on his face when not eating. "Telephone," Tser said into the reciever. "Er, Tser?" "Oh, sorry. Hi Tok. No luck at the public library, I was heading to the University." "I think you better get back here," she said, anxiety evident in her voice. "It's happened again." Tser winced. "Cockney accent and preference for a squeaky vintage?" "No," Tok said gravely. "He's blinking. A lot." Tser blinked. Then shook her head to clear it, swallowing hard. "Right, I'll be there soon. Bye." She hung up the phone and urged Xandy into a collected canter. * * * * * Tser pulled off Xandy's saddle and bridle quickly, putting him in his stall with a carrot. "Sorry bud, no time to brush you. I'll be back out as soon as possible." Xandy munched his root vegetable, content, and watched as his owner sped off into CERK. Bree was standing in the lobby and pointed towards the elevator. "They're all in the War Room. They told me to direct you up there. It's... it's horrible! This is my first War, and I hardly feel like a Cousin. I'm more of a Raterosin." Tser blinked. Realizing her action, she groaned. "Let's get up there." Despite all that she'd heard, the Cousinly Leader was not prepared for the sight that greeted her. Tok was sitting stiffly in a chair near LaCroix, her face drawn and blonde hair disheveled, wisps escaping from her once neat braid. Brandi looked confused. Celeste seemed to be taking it all in, and looked up at the 1/3rd of Cerberus with a slight smile and nod as she entered. Jess was sitting and fidgeting, staring at LaCroix with a face-splitting grin. Cousin Will, in his "Education Pays" Kentucky-imaged shirt, was staring alternately at Jess and LaCroix. But LaCroix... LaCroix had turned one of the chairs around and was straddling it, arms crossed on the back. He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. He was watching the Cousins with his chin resting on his wrists, but he turned towards the door as Tser and Bree entered. "It's la burra chiquita," he said and blinked his blue eyes, running a hand across his blond buzz. "What happened to your hair? Did you get attacked by a mad clipper in some dark alley?" Tser suddenly regretted getting the new style. "Buzz-cutted toga chick" was bearable, but "mohawked burro girl" was a little tougher to handle. "Why's the Receptionist so... happy?" Bree asked Tser. "Well, you see, she's got a strong Vaquera streak," Tser said and shrugged. "Ratpacker? Vaquera?! Why's she Warring with the Cousins then?" Bree exclaimed. LaCroix blinked. "Well, you see, she's got this strong Merc streak," Tser said. Bree's face twisted into a look of -- it was either confusion or horror. "She likes LaCroix too," Tser ammended. "She used to be a DieHard." "Ohhh," came the chorus from the attending Cousins. "Jess says she knows what's causing the switches," Tok said slowly. The wild-haired Receptionist still bore a look of utter glee. "It's in the water!" she exclaimed, holding up a glass of ice water. "Whoa," Vachon said. LaCroix said? "Back off, Aquawoman." "I splashed him with water and suddenly LaCroix turned into Vachon," Jess explained. Her eyes went squinchy. "The wettening...." she added lowly. "So how do we get LaCroix back in LaCroix's body?" Brandi asked. "Right here!" Jess exclaimed, holding up a kettle of boiling water. "I just splash him with this!" And she poured. "Argh!" Vachon exlaimed. "#&@*! That's hot!" The Cousins gasped in harmony. Then they leaned forward simultaneously and peered at the General (or at least the General's body). Had it worked? Continued in Part 3/3. -- Cousin Tserisa & the Cousinly Critters - headpigeons@hotmail.com - Cousin, Ratpacker 8:>X and CaddyWhack FK Stuff: http://geocities.com/tserisa/ CaddyWhacks: http://velvetdragon.com/caddy/