I take a deep breath. This was going to be hard. I had already been shaken by the appearance of Cobalt, and I wasn't looking forward to opening old wounds.

"You are most deifinetly going to explain," Sprocket snaps. "You are going to tell me exactly what is going on."

I sigh again and pull a small chair towards the bed, then sit down and close my eyes.

Where to start?

"I'll start at the bombing raid," I say, opening my eyes. "Directly after. You must have thought I was dead. But I wasn't."

Sprocket snorts.

"Obviously," she says.

"In all of the confusion, I was seperated form you," I continue. "You were taken into one of the bomb shelters, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I wasn't taken into one of the shelters. Instead I ended up in an abandoned business district. The main evacuation group that was heading for the shelters had missed me. I was left completely alone in the wreckage, trying to find out where you, Cleance, and Mari had gone."

"They died," Sprocket whispers. "They found the bodies a few days later." 

I look up and see her wipe away tears with a small piece of cloth. A small piece of cloth that is held in a metal hand.

"Your arm," I breath. "What-"

"I lost my right arm in the bombing raids," Sprocket says, holding it up slightly. "I had to build myself a new one."

I reach out and grab her metal hand, running my fingers over the complex gears and wiring. They twitch slightly, and I smile as she moves it around for me to see how it works. 

She smiles slightly at the sight of my face, then nods her head.

"Go on."

"Anyways, I wandered around in all of the confusion for a while. Eventually I fell asleep in an alley, and when I woke up I was in a transport ship out of SailHaven. I had been picked up by a police officer that had taken me to one of the evacuation ships, and before I knew it I was on Kyngdom."

Sprocket's eyes widen.

"So that's what happened," she breathes. "You were sent down."

I nod, and then continue.

"Luckily, I was able to find a person to stay with. It wasn't easy though. It was my first time being outside of SailHaven, and I didn't know where anything was. An old blacksmith took me in, and offered for me to be his apprentice. I happily agreed, and was soon working alongside him. He was kind, but didn't want anything to do with the outside world. I was extremelly secluded, hearing only tiny pieces of news in taverns and markets. I lived that way for ten years, up until three mothns ago."

I close my hand around hers and hold it. She stiffens, but then relaxes slightly.

"I was walking through the main square of the town where we lived when I saw your wanted poster. At first I didn't believe it, and had to ask other people to confirm it was you. Seeing it really threw me, and I staggered home in a daze. I agonized over finding you, and finally I made up my mind. I wrote a note to the blacksmith explaining some of it, then left in the night. I wandered for a while, trying to find any clues to your whereabouts. Finally, I heard that there would be a small party for the major leaders of Kyngdom, and I knew you had to be there."

I laugh drily. "Little did I know I would find it like this." 

I look at Sprocket, trying to gauge how she finds my story. Her head is tilted back against her pillow and her eyes are closed.

Finally she speaks.

"I missed you." 

ENOUGH WITH THE SHIPPING!

Oh Alex, let them have fun.