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(Setting) Uni's Apartment
| > A single-roomed apartment filled with all sorts of old, new, strange — these items are strewn around in a carefree matter.
> Some are hung on the unlit deep-purple wall. Some of them are knives, some are unknown relics of a passed time and period.
> In the corner of the room, a simple bed and a potted plant with assortments of automation tool lies.
| > The room was nothing more than full. Almost every inch of the room was filled. Only a small space was made for the owner to traverse from the bed to the door.
> The owner itself, Uni, is currently mindlessly playing with her device: the Arcana; whose glow inherits a light similar to that of a neon.
| "W-wait. I need to prepare. I need to—"
> Her schedule was unmaintained. As soon as she read that someone was coming to check on her items, she was thrown into a panic.
"O-okay. There it is."
> She finishes preparing after a long period of scrambling through her (boring) list of clothes. She decides to wear her usual attire: business suit and trousers.
| >A knock is heard on the door.
| "Could it be them?"
> She slowly approaches the door. It was lacking any sort of security function, and thus, she was unable to peek outside to see whoever is outside.
"Please come in—"
> She opens the door, welcoming the guest to her messy apartment.
| >A tall, young man greets, carrying all sorts of tech
"Hey."
| "Hi, it's.. CN, correct?"
> She recalls the name of the man, but her attention was darted towards making her guest comfortable.
"P-please find a place to sit."
> There was no other place but near her bed, thus, she points at it with haste.
| "Sure. Come on AM."
>He enters the room looking behind him
| "can you at least not treat me like a dog?"
>AM grumbles
| "Y-you guys both might want to explain to me what is happening, b.. but please, have a seat."
> Uni is unsure whether or not her apartment could even fit two people, let alone three.
> She pushed some book shelves to make space, some of the books falling into the floor.
"T-there. This is about as much space I can provide."
> The apartment now looks like a junkyard with the books littered on the floor.
| >>112264
"Maybe if I didn't think that you were gonna run away at the first chance you get."
>He grabs AM by the arm and brings him inside, closing the door behind him
>>112280
"I'm taking him to therapy, which would be a lot easier if he didn't try to run away, so I tied him up so he would stay still more."
| "The-therapy? For wh—.. Ooh."
> It took Uni a moment to realize the reason, but it was crystal clear now.
"I guess I can't intervene with the problem you both are having."
| > She circles around her apartment, pulling out some items as she goes. She seems to remember the order and placement of each and every single item in the pile and in the room.
"Let's see.. that Arcana,"
> The Minor Arcana was nicely hung in the wall. Its black, nondescript look is easily mistaken for a normal box.
"And the EMP."
> The EMP was tucked below a huge rack of books. Its shiny white paint stands out over the books themselves.
| > She grabs the item and proceeds to put them nicely on her bed, seeing that it was the only place large enough to host the two items together.
"These are the items you requested, CN. As you can see, the EMP is a bit.. uhm.."
> She tries to make a comment about the size of the EMP.
".. Unwieldy.. We found this not long before we arrive in Glitch City."
| "It's fine, it should be able to fit."
>He stuffs both items in his laptop case, he struggles with the EMP for a moment but he manages to fit it in, a small part of it peeking out of the corner of the case's flap.
"Didn't you want something as well AM?"
| "He seems to be a bit grumpy."
> That was totally obvious, but Uni had to point it out.
"S-so, AnoMeat. How are you going to carry the vending machine?"
> She points at the underside of her bed. A vending machine fits perfectly to the size of her small bed.
"I-it's not really something you can carry into a pocket, hm?"
| "So can I you untie me? I promise not to run... Seriously."
>AM sits there, mildly perturbed.
| >>112335
"Yea... No. I gave you my second chance back in Graham's apartment and you blew it. So you're stuck like that until we meet the doctor."
| "Fine."
>AM sits down on the already sparse space on the floor, tucking in his knees to his chin.
"So Uni, about that typewriter and books..."
| "R-right. Hang on a moment."
> From the book shelves she pushed, she pulls out exactly five books and puts it in front of the still-tied AM.
"These are the books."
> She goes back to the wall where she hung the Minor Arcana, slowly taking what seems to be an ancient scroll.
"This is Enuma Elish."
> Finally, she rummaged another pile of item to pull out a strange-looking typewriter.
| "This typewriter is.. I think, something used in the war. I-I'm not too sure about that — it was already in a bad shape when we found it."
> "Bad shape" is an exaggeration. The typewriter is looking perfectly fine for a relic of a passed time.
"Well, I don't use these kind of typewriters, hence, my reason of throwint it out."
| (*throwing. Phone is disappointing me with its keyboard.)
| >AM rolls on to his back carefully, pulling his hands under his legs. Then rolling back to to his feet.
"It be great if I can pack it in to my duffle. But..."
>AM motions to his hands.
| "L-let me do it."
> Uni takes the duffle bag, opening it and storing the books and the typewriter inside. The typewriter's weight can be felt as she passes the duffle back to AnoMeat.
"Then—.. what about the vending machine?"
> Still left confused, Uni points at the vending machine once more.
| "I'll get someone to come by and grab it."
>AM's hand opens up slightly, letting a razor blade drop in to his hand, while CN is distracted.
| "I doubt you were gonna carry something like now anyways even if you were untied..."
>CN checks a message on his phone and puts it away
"Hey what are you doing!?"
| "Drop it before I shock you again."
| >AM raises his hands palms open, razor gone.
"Drop what? I just shifted my arms forward."
| > Uni snaps her finger, her left eye momentarily glow. In a whiz, one of the knife hung from the wall was shot like a projectile — not missing by accident, as it hits the wall right next to AM — trying to divide the attention of both CN and AM.
"Gentlemen, please. No conflicts here."
> Her reaction is a stern warning. Shortly after, there was a distant sound of whirring.
| "Now, where were we again.."
> As Uni's eye glow fades, the sound dissipates, fading to a gradual nothingness.
"Right. Vending machine."
| "He started."
>AM lowers his hands, cutting his zip ties.
| "AnoMeat, please. We can tolerate the antics outside, but not in our living space."
> Uni eyes AnoMeat, a hint of disappointment is clear in her face.
| >CN keeps a close eye on AM, making sure he is between him and the door
"I'm patting you down again before we leave."
| "For Uni's sake, don't touch me."
>AM pulls his hands apart, and puts his razor back in his arm.
"I promise on my dead squad that I'll go to the therapist, just don't do what you did in the apartment."
| >CN starts rubbing his temples
"My god why must everything turn into a confrontation with you..."
| "Because we lack trust."
>AM bluntly states.
| "Ahem, anyway, I'll call for someone to pick it up, later."
>AM tells Uni
| "Well I heard a good place to start is not pulling out a weapon at the earliest possible convenience. Trust starts with taking chances."
| "R-right. Okay—"
> Uni's expression lightened, but she has the look that says she is wholly bewildered with the issue CN and AM is having.
> She had no idea what to say to make the situation better.
| "Says the guy who pulled his stun gun on me. Are we going to thereby? Or will I go on my own?"
(Phone might die soon)
| >>112425
(Start turning on all possible power savings feature. Don't forget to turn on airplane mode, okay?)
> At this point, Uni has given up trying to fix the seemingly-strained relationship of AM and CN.
| "The stungun I used *after* you started running from me. And we're going together. After the first session it will be your responsibility."
| "look, I'm sorry for running, and I understand that you are trying to help. But have some faith."
> Tries to reconcile with CN.
| "...Fine. But I'm still taking you to the appointment."
| "let's go then. Lead the way. Oh, I want my gun back."
| "What gun?"
| >...
| >Knocking! More knocking! Gods, a vicious banging sort - Are they trying to knock the door down?
| "C-coming!"
> Startled and surprised by the rapid knocking, Uni had taken a moment of hesitation before opening the door.
"W-w-welcome—"
| "Heeeeey~ Lookin' for weird shit that you don't know how's it work?"
>You're greeted by gross breath. ..Reeks of alcohol.
| > Uni's eye glows in intimidation.
"Not another one of you."
| >Am checks his holster, and doesn't find his gun, but he then unlocks his arm, and grabs the gun from it, getting ready for confrontation, but keeping it on safety.
| "Not another what?"
>The man in front of you is nothing more than a stick. A stick man. A very lanky and maybe (no, absolutely) a little drunk man, and he stares at you with nothing more than dissapointment.
| (4% gtg be back in 2h)
| -AM
| >>112638
"... Never mind."
> Giving up her attempts at intimidation, Uni lets out an exasperating exhale.
"—So, what do you seek from us, stranger?"
| >He wipes a grimace off his face. Unsatisfied, apparentally.
"Got stuff you wanna get off your hands? Was askin', y'know. About the bigass laptop and the.. Uh. The table thing."
| >>112815
"O-oh. Come on in then."
> Uni greets the man, having mistaken him earlier for someone else.
> She immediately remembers about the lack of space in her apartment.
"Y-you might want to stand up, there isn't that much space here."
|
| >>113260
"It's fine, we're about to go now anyways. Let's head out AM."
>He walks past the newcomer into the hall outside.
| >>113266
"Goodbye and good luck on your journey t-then."
> The room is noticeably much emptier than it was before.
| "After you CN. Stay safe, and don't get involved with a guy called AnoMeat!"
>AM says sarcastically.
| "Ok ok, lets go see the therapist, or do we have to detour for Lisa?"
>AM Pokes at CN
| "No I'll drop you off there first. I'm waiting for a call from an expert I know. I don't fully like the current plan we're going with so I'm getting a more trustworthy second opinion."
| "Alrighty. For what it's worth, thanks."
>AM lightly punches CN on the arm.
"And that's for the taze."
| >He shrugs
"I think that's a fair tradeoff of pain. Either way let's get going. We're on a time crunch. I guess myself mostly but still."
| >>113279
>He looks after the other men but gets disinterested quickly, taking the time to enter the room instead.
| "S-so, what's your name?"
> Seeing the man enters the room, Uni gave him a question for her to recognize the man.
"—Or do you prefer to simply stay nameless?"
> That could be a possibility in her mind.
| >He opens his mouth to answer but hesitates. It's not a kind of dumb look, or a purposeful pause.. Perhaps he's just trying to think? Maybe.
"Zig,"
>He says finally. Having it just hang open was beginning to look pretty stupid by itself, though.
"You had a tag? On the thread."
| "Tag? I presume you mean 'username'?"
> She learned, one way or another, that she has been calling those names wrongly.
| "Yeah. Howev'm.. Whatever you wanna call it."
| "I-it's Uni. The same as my name."
> She willfully introduced herself to Zig whilst remembering what he's looking for.
"T-then, the laptop and the Messias, correct?"
| >He blinks. And then rubs a thumb over a closed eyelid, whatever he thought about that being completely up in the air.
"Yeah."
| >>113381
> Uni sees his odd behavior, but chooses to ignore it and starts finding the items he wanted.
> The laptop was nicely stored behind a huge gap between the book shelves. It resembles more of a huge briefcase than a laptop. Its black-matte finish gives out a stealthy look.
> Messias Machine is nothing of anything normal. A table with a very alien-looking machine; a it has what seems to be a reservoir and a backflow. The word "Messias / Protoype" is imprinted on its legs.
| > Uni pushes the two devices towards Zig's direction, letting Zig inspect on them further.
"H-h-here you go."
| >Zig frowns. He digs into his partially unzipped coat and rummages through it, retrieving a pair of folded glasses tucked away in a shirt pocket. He flicks the arms out while going down to kneel and slides them on to use.
"Slow down."
>..?
| "Here. D-do you want to know anything about these two? I-I don't say I know much about them, though."
| >He places a hand on the hard casing of the laptop.
"Slow down,"
>He repeats.
| "Slow d.. down?"
> Uni tilts her head in confusion to the repeated sentence.
| >He begins the process of opening the laptop but otherwise turns to you, tongue clamped down between his teeth.
"Ttthhhh,"
>..???
| > Looking away uncomfortably, Uni tries to figure out what the man wants.
"E-err.. y-yes?"
> She has made an attempt and has possibly failed.
| "Speaking."
>Yoink! The top section turns on the hinge. The monitor is visible now. Degree of failure, however, has yet to be seen.
"..Like, I'm sure you sound wonderful when you're excited or somethin' but right now you need to take it slow."
| > There were scratches and marks around the laptop's body. Some of the keys in the keyboard has lost its engravings, but otherwise, the laptop was all and normal.
"O-o.. okay."
> Uni tones down her voice, losing a slight bit of surprise in them.
> As if not visible at first, the keyboard layout of the laptop is not in QWERTY either. It was AZERTY.
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| > Just a shy distance from the QUITRID Omnidome was a block of apartments. The environment around them are not the most welcoming.
> One of the window of the apartment has a distinct warm orange light shining through it. It was only two floors up, making it visible for all to see.
> It was the apartment of Uni; the seventh room of the second floor, the one whose white door holds no difference from the rest of the rooms in the floor.