6 - Keeping Friends Closer than Enemies

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"Doooooc!" Someone called from the back of the Rally Ranch Diner. "Is that you?!"

"Yes! We have customers too!" Doc called back. 

"Oh, is it the people from the project?" The unknown person stepped out from a back door, carrying a crate of beef that looked to be blocking all of his vision of the floor. He put it down as soon as he was past the doorframe, only slightly huffing and puffing. "Took our bosses long enough to start, they've been on the topic for months!"

The man had light blonde hair and blue eyes, a white shirt and the waist of his blue jeans being covered by a buttoned brown sweater.  A pair of safety glasses rested on top of his head, a splatter of something reddish brown on the lower corner of it. Goat-like ears and tiny horns grew out of his head, and there was a short and stubby tail on his rear to match.

It came as no shock to Jimmy at this point when Tango gasped in excitement.

"Zed!" He called out.  Zedaph stopped to think for a moment before recognizing his old friend.

"Tango!  When did you get a soulbound?" The light blonde asked. 

"Well it all started the day I was born..." Tango said, being a smartass.  Zedaph laughed.

"Oh you, haven't matured a bit since highschool, huh?"  He poked.

"Thank goodness I have then," Impulse said, stepping forward.  Zed's eyes lit up again.

"Impulse!"  He exclaimed, wrapping his arms around his two old friends.  "If Ida known Team ZIT was coming back I would've made a cake!"

"And if I knew you had friends, Zed, I would've been surprised earlier," Doc said teasingly, picking up the crate the brit put down and carrying it to the front of the kitchen.  Zed stuck his tongue out towards the creeper-goat hybrid.

"...You agreed on Team ZIT?" Jimmy half-whispered to Tango.

"It was alot funnier when we were in high school," Tango responded in the same half-whispered voice. 

"So how did Doc manage to lure all you lot in here?" Zed asked. "I'm sure an old goat like him isn't that entertaining,"

"I just hit 40, I'm not old!" Doc shot back.

"Most of us are mid-20s Doc, you're old!" Zed teased again.

"Actually, we got to hear all about that fountain right outside," Pearl said, swaying her head in the direction of the front window. She grabbed Scott's hand, or more so wrist, noticing that he was trying to exit through the front door.

"Oh, pff, speaking of old things I guess," Zedaph joked, "I think I've heard that story 1000 times since I got here.  Never mind all that, how about Doc and I whip up what you all actually came here for?"

_

In less than half an hour, everyone had ordered their meals and been served.  Tango, Jimmy, Impulse, and Bdubs all sat at one table, while Scott, Pearl, Cleo, and Martyn sat at another. Zedaph sat with the former group after he and Doc were done preparing everything.

"Zed, when were you gonna tell us you could cook?" Tango asked right after swallowing the insanely large bite he took out of his burger.

"I picked it up long after high school, ok?" Zed answered. "If I knew I could cook, I wouldn't've started working at the labs first, I'll tell you that much."

"Glad to see the scientist dream worked out for ya," Impulse said. "I gotta ask, how's it feel working in a place like this?"

"My honest opinion, not bad actually," Zedaph said. "I don't come up with anything here, I just help the experiments move along,"

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