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(Setting) The Hassy Classy 1 year anniversary
| "You guys ready?"
>The Hassy Boys all in synched unison
"YYYEEEESSS"
| ".. okay then"
>opens the door and sets the sign to open
| > A relatively timid woman walks by, noticing the 'Open' sign written clearly.
"Right. This was the place."
> She mumbles as she opens up the door to the building, scanning the place immediately before preemptively being surprised by the huge stack of pizza boxes.
"H-hello."
> Not expecting a response, she greets the entirety of the room with a louder voice.
| "Hey a first customer"
>"He-llLLOOOOOO" says all the Hassy Boys in unison
| "Heh.. they.. kinda are required to greet every customer"
| > The woman flinched at the loud "Hello", but she smiled afterwards in return.
"Thank you, everyone!"
> She enthusiastically replied to their greeting before searching for a seat to sit in.
"Ah. It's my second time here, not much has changed, hm?"
> She said, as she sees the various decorations already put in place.
| "Yeah.. nothing besides a new worker"
>a girl appears saying "Hello"
| "Hello, hello."
> The woman gestures a friendly conversation to the girl with her greeting.
"Uhm—.. I forgot what you guys call yourselves, but.. 'Tender!"
> She thinks of a flavour for a short moment before deciding on one that she can remember.
"I'll have a Hot Classy for the party."
> She smiled at the unconsciously-made rhyme.
| >A tall woman with long black hair reaching her ankles and green glowing eyes enters the location.
"This doesnt look too bad"
| >A zombie like dude comes out of the bathroom.
"It's not bad! This place is awesome!"
| >The girl with the glowing eyes raises an eyebrow
"Is that so, I'm here to meet somebody"
| >A gurl then enters through the front of the building. She has a much different haircut than the last time she was seen almost dead from an overdose. She had it cut in a layered bob-cut, with a colored ombre going from jet black to shiny silver, and she wore a black beanie over it with some silver, square rimmed glasses. She was wearing a black zip-up hoodie over a graphic tee from some science fiction TV show, and black ripped up jeans with black hoverboard shoes.
| >She looks around for Elena, efore pulling out her homemade phone/jack combo and posting on danger/u/.
| >You spot the tall Elena looking around, she seems like she just arrived herself
>She turns around, and smiles a bit
"Hey, you certainly look better now"
>You notice bandages and several scars on her arms.
| > As the seated woman waits for her order to arrive, she eyes the two newly-arrived customer. They both unknown to her, thus, she ignored them for the time being.
> She hums a melody, still waiting for Hot Hassy.
| >The zombie dude takes a seat.
"What kind of flavours do you have?"
| "Ahh.. so.. many people.. if you already know what you want just tell the bot"
>Points to the two robots who make drinks then looks to the zombie dude
"We have a menu.. but our two new flavors are Hassy Spike and Hassy Piledriver.. but those both are alcoholic"
>sets down the menu
| "I don't mind alcohol. I'll take a Hassy Piledriver then."
| "Alcoholic Hassy?"
> The seated woman was set confused.
"... More of them?"
> Indeed, by this point in time, she has memorised a number of item in the menu. Sooner or later, she realised that the number of alcoholic and kartmotrine-spiked Hassy was more than a finger can count.
"Hmph. I wish you guys would make a variation of the warmer and comfier, less punchy Hassy."
| "Well.. we are open to recommendations.. that and we only really have what we can get from over here.. we basically get a few of the same stuff some bars get"
| "Except legally all we can make here is Hassy"
| >>168717
>Sachiko smiled.
"Thanks. I don't remember when thr last time I went and got a haircut was, or went shopping for that matter. I mostly stay inside and play video games, so I decided to treat myself a little bit."
>She looked concerned over Elena's arms.
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking."
| >The tall woman sighs
"I acted a bit too rashly and got what I deserved, I should stop busting down doors whenever I smell fire"
>She shrugs
"It ain't so bad, I heal pretty fast, and I got help and first aid as soon as I could"
| >>169595
"Well that's good at least. I mean, that you got help. Were you like, trying to save somebody or something?"
>She looked around the bar for a minute, remembering where they are.
"Actually, wanna grab some drinks first? Maybe a bite if they serve food?"
| >Elena nods
"That sounds good, I could use a drink"
| >Sachiko smiled, and began looking for the bar. She found it, pointed it out and started walking over to it, taking a seat at the barstools.
"Could I have a Cherry Hassy, no karmotrine? And do you guys sell food too?"
| >Elena follows along and sits next to Sachiko
"I'll take the strongest thing you make, extra Karmotrine"
| >>169619 "Too bad the robots can't make a Hassy Piledriver.. they haven't programmed it.. but ill gwt on it"
>>169610 "And I assume you think this is a alcoholic bar? It's more like a non-alcoholic one, we only have like three alcoholic drinks.. OH and the Cherry Hassy dosn't even have kamotrine in it"
>the robot sets the Cherry Hassy down as I come back setting down the Hassy Piledriver
| >Elena sighs
"You serious, well my liver will thank me tommorow I guess"
>She slumps a bit, and ruffles one of her hands through her hair
"Give me anything you reccomand then"
| >Zombie dude, who's currently sitting on the barstool farthest away from everyone else, reading something titled "Boku no Pico", places his now empty glass on the counter.
"What more do you have that's alcoholic?"
| >>169690 "That would be the Hassy Bloomlight"
>>169689 "And people recommend the Hassy Spike.. but a lot of new timers always go with the Hassy Hot"
| >>169689
>Sachiko took one big, long gulp of her Cherry Hassy...that lasted about 15 seconds, and emptied the entire glass. Then, she turned to Elena and spoke:
"You know, we can go somewhere else, I totally have no problem with barhopping."
>She smiled.
"You know, if you feel like abusing your liver tonight.
| "Yeah we arnt necessarily a great bar.. we actually are undergoing a deal to mix with some other bar which got destroyed last week.. so stay tuned to see more alcoholic drinks and more Hassy mixtures"
| >>169692
"I'll take that, sounds good enough"
>>169693
"I'll refrain, I think I would end up saying something really dumb or just bawl my eyes out if I got drunk tonight"
>Elena scratches the back of her head
"But thanks for the offer"
| >hands the Hassy Spike
"There.. and barhopping? Last time I saw that a girl came in here demanded all the Hassy formula then she fell down, hit her head on the chair, then lost consciousness.. should've been lucky her boyfriend came in or she would've been in serious trouble"
| >>169697
"I mean you don't have to get like *drunk* drunk, but I'm just saying if you wanted a place with more selection. Believe me, with the crowds I used to hang out with, bawling your eyes out and saying dumb stuff is the *least* embarrassing things you could do while intoxicated. I once had a guy who literally tried to stab me with a spoon because he thought I was ice cream. I don't even remember what he was tripping on, but he actually cut me pretty deep."
>Sachiko chuckled.
| >>169714
"Hah.. pretty classic.. I prefer to usually not drink as much.. so when my one friend invited me just so then I could drive him home afterwards.. we just ended up staying at this one bar for hours.. he was pretty loopy saying stuff like "H-hey mr bartender.. y-y-your the most beautiful women here" and then he passed out.. man some people drink too much"
| >>169714
>Elena smiles a bit at that, but shakes her head
"Relieved to hear the used to, those seem like the fucked up kinds of persons we get at the precinct during a friday night, but no, I'm good, i'll try this hassy thing out, see how it is"
| >>169723
>Sachiko laughed.
"Well, I mean honestly, 95% of the time when people were high on something around me doing stupid stuff, it was very rarely alcohol. Which, I suppose, is why I got into some shit I probably shouldn't have, but..."
>She gave a half-hearted laugh and looked down, before looking back up at the bartender.
"Do you guys also have food here? I could go for a bite to eat."
| >Zombie dude looks up.
"Food! I could go for some of that pizza I saw earlier! How much does it cost?"
| >>169725
>Sachiko smiled.
"Yeah, uh...I figured out the hard way pretty quickly that those were not the types of friends you want to hang out with on a Friday night, especially because of that reason. For all of my flaws and problems, I was always a loner even when I started uh, making those choices. I preferred doing them alone, or with just one person, not going to parties or things like that unless it was a rare occasion. That's how you got arrested, you know that pretty well."
| >Elena looks at Sachiko, faint concern seen in her glowing eyes
"How old even are you, you seem pretty damn young and yet you already OD'ed once and went around doing stuff like that"
>She says, curious
"Not trying to reprimand you or anything, I was just curious"
| >>169737
"I'm 25. I got into it when I was 14, or 15. Yeah I'm young, but I've been doing it long enough to be way more experienced in it than most people my age."
>She looked down sadly for just a moment, but then she closed her eyes, sighed, and looked back up at Elena, this time with a light in her eyes.
"Which is all the more reason for me to knock that off, and start living my life away again. I have a whole life ahead of me, and it took almost dying for me to realize that."
| >Zombie boy looks up again.
"Dying isn't something you should do. Not even almost."
| >>169742
>Elena puts a hand on your shoulder
"I'm glad you gave it up, you've got a bright life in front of you, sure some things may suck and rough patches happen, but in the end life is worth living freely.
>She gives Sachiko a pat on the back and then smiles a bit
"And I hope you dont do anything like attempt suicide ever again, or else you'll have another door to repair after I bust it down"
| >the girl next to the food awnsers
"The pizza is free.. but the limit is two"
| "And man that sounds rough.. I've always had luck on my side, even coming here.. my friend was actually the original owner, but she kinda died during the riots"
| >>169747
>Sachiko smiled and laughed a little at the last comment.
"Yeah, well my landlord is already pissed off at me as it is for that, so I'll make sure not to do that again for you."
>She then genuinely connected eyes with her.
"Thank you, so much Elena for what you did for me. I'm not gonna promise that I'm instantly gonna be happy again or over the habits entirely, but I'm trying really hard now because I want to. I really want to. You helped give me a second chance."
| >>169779
>Sachiko looked up to the girl.
"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss hun...I don't really consider losing a friend like that good luck, but I'm glad you're doing good at least.
>She then looked over to the pizza and oogled.
"P i z z a a ..."
>She stood up and walked right over, grabbing two pieces of pizza covered in every topping she could find, before sitting back down.
"Another Cherry Hassy please!"
| >>169814 "Do you mind if I sleep here? Thank you!"
>The zombie falls asleep, right after putting his book in a bulletproof suitcase with bulletproof chains linked to his left leg and his right arm.
| >>169797
>Elena scratches her head, seemingly embarassed
"Don't mind it, I did what anyone else would of done, you should be grateful to the doctors, not to me"
| >Fox wanders in, adjusting the messenger's bag strapped to across his chest. His arm opens up, letting his PDA back into his arm. A patched denim jacket cuts a strong contrast against his light grey skin.
"Hey, is this a bar?? I've had a long day running around this city and a drink would fix me up right about now"
| > Seeing the commotion unfolds, the seated woman slowly creeps out to hear the conversation, but replies to none of it.
(OOC: I think the bots hate me, my Hassy hasn't arrived ;-; — I'm going to assume that it arrived now to make things progress.)
> Almost miraculously, the Hot Hassy she was waiting for arrives; taking one too long time for it to be made.
"You guys are an automata, yet you are beating my records at 'slowly making drinks'."
> She sips on the still-hot Hot Hassy.
| >Fox frowns upon hearing what the person says. he turns to her and scowls.
"Hey, all us AI got our own stuff going on too. We aren't build simply to serve humans."
| "That's not what I—.."
> The woman puts down the drink, trying to make her point concise.
"I was pointing out these things were slower than usual."
> She then points to the bots making the drink.
"I'm not here to debate against AI and their persona. Those are of a separate set of topic from which I'm in right now."
| >Fox blushes a dark grey and slumps into a seat next to the woman
"I'm so sorry. I'm uh... still defensive. It's getting some taking used to, hearing people be okay with us lilim as a whole. I'm Fox, by the way. Sorry..."
| "It's—It's okay, I wholly recognize the fact that people can be quite in a stance for topics like those."
> She sips her drink, still feeling the heat from it.
"I'm Uni. You can count on me whenever you want someone that supports Lilim and such."
> She smiles at Fox before returning to her drink.
"Besides.. I don't like my Hassy accompanied by borderline sensitive topics."
> After taking another sip, she chuckled at her own words.
| "If what your drinking has some karmotine in it, I guess I'll have one too."
>Fox tosses his card on the counter and turns back to Uni"
"It's always good to find someone who supports lilim! I've never seen so many of us out all the time like here."
| "Ah—.. uhm. Mine doesn't have kartmotrine. That was the particular reason why I was served by the automated 'tenders over here."
> Uni lightly blows the steam off her drink, the heat still radiates from the contents inside.
"... Honestly, I don't know when the turn for hatred happens. Back then, everyone wanted to have their own non-human companions — now, some of apparently wants them burnt and dead, like witches at their stake."
| "Humans are just always going to be weird. At least we have the collective source to keep us going. This is still nothing to New Jersey 3 Or worse, Neo Philadelphia"
| >>169912
>Elena turns around to fox
"A lilim huh, then you're in a good place compared to the rest of the world, back in Colorado people would get executed for AI research. So I'd say you got it good, just watch out for that Thoth guy"
>She smirks, her green eyes glowing softly
| > Uni unconsciously took notice of the green eyes of Elena — but she quickly snapped herself back to the conversation.
"Uh.. I'm a bit lost here, what happened to those places you mentioned?"
> She gestures at Fox, but then continues to talk to Elena.
"Thoth, hm. I thought he was done with his antics."
| >>169932
>Elena shrugs and looks down at Uni
"He's back into action it seems, it was a big deal with that AI thingy on /u/"
>She extands a hand
"Name's Douji, I'm with the GCPD, well I guess I was, nice to meet you"
| > Uni accepts the gesture, introducing herself afterwards.
"Uni. Nice to meet you as well."
> Releasing her hand, she then puts it back to the drink, taking yet another sip.
"I see you both have quite an interesting background yourselves. A Lilim is bound to have an story, and an ex-GCPD officer will surely have it as well."
> She sips, then puts down the drink, staring at it with a (somewhat) stoic look.
"... And I'm a scribe; I write stories, thus, I'm a sucker for stories."
| >>170060
>Elena raises an eyebrow, curiously
"A scribe, in this day and age? I havent even seen a writer in years, that's a curious occupation you got yourself there."
| >>170161
"Indeed! That's the reason of the odd eyes always casted upon me. Although, I'm a bit saddened at the fact that there are fewer and fewer writers in this day and age."
> Her tone of voice turns to that of an ecstatic happiness. Her interest has been brought into the topic, and she responded with the tone of the penchant.
| >>170168
"Then that makes two of us, I love a good story, and writers always delivered if you ask me, its a shame no one really goes for it anymore"
>The tall woman answers, and sighs
"Unfortunatly most of my stories end up the same way, either im cut from a case, or I end up filling hellish amounts of paperwork"
| "Ah, well, such stories are great for reflection to those reading. After all, a poet is not as good as its reader when it comes to describing the symbols and meanings in their poetry."
> Another sip. It seems that Uni loves her Hot Hassy at this point on.
"I guess when everything can be shown visually, there is very little need for a written medium. Unless, of course, you are seeking anonymity — like /u/, but even then, you can spoof everything nowadays."
| >>170273
"I guess that's true in a way, sometimes Mundane stories are way more interesting than pure action or comedy"
>Elena sighs and looks towards the ceiling, before returning her glowing eyes onto Uni
"Did you ever publish before, or anything like that?"
| "Certainly not. At least, not that I remember any."
> Uni was, again, taken aback by the glowing eyes of Elena. She flinched herself thinking of a response to continue her words.
"I treat my writings like a journal. I keep them to my own. For purposes unknown, I always think of them like so."
| >Elena nods
"Sounds fair enough but-"
>She sighs
"-you don't need to be scared, I don't bite, the glow is a side effect of my treatment"
| "N-no. It's not that it scares me; it reminds me of my own eye, in a way."
> She smiles, trying to assure Elena that she is a-okay.
| >>170303
>Elena looks at Uni's eyes, drawing her face closer
"That's good, I'm tired of scaring people away, I guess my height and appearance as a whole doesn't help either"
>She looks downcast
| > There was no glow whatsoever in Uni's eyes, even after a close look.
> Uni notices Elena's expression. With that, she attempts to give a more positive outlook in the topic.
"Uh-uhm.. well—.. I can understand. After all, an officer can strike fear to those opposing them, hm?"
> She then takes mental reminder that her words can be taken purely out of context.
"W-well, I still think you're friendly regardless of appearance!"
| >Elena backs her face away from Uni, and shows a sympathetic smile
"Thanks, I guess, but you don't need to mind my feelings"
>She gives a small laugh
"As for being called Friendly, well I suppose I got into a habit of being courteous, I hated the crooked cop archetype and especially being called one"
| "Y-yeah! I never liked those archetypes. They are nice when they're in stories, sure — it makes a villain whose purpose is to corrupt justice — but in real life.. it... it's much of a chip to every officer's dignity to be seen as such."
> Uni holds her drink tightly, seemingly considering whether or not she should gulp another part of it.
| >Elena smiles a bit
"I mean, there's that dignity thing and then there's my patience"
>She laughs a little, taking a sip of her own drink
"I hate people who act like idiots, get arrested and then call me crooked for doing my job, the real crooked ones aren't out on the street, they're in the offices, shutting down my cases"
| > A flash of memory sparked in Uni's mind, causing her to gaze at her drink blankly before continuing her talk.
"I-I can understand that. Sometimes people only wants someone to blame, and when they're dealing with officers, they would blame the one of higher 'power' — even though, by all technical means, the officer isn't above the law."
> Finally, she takes another sip.
"The one who dominates is the one feared, thus, the one blamed. Or so they say."
| >Elena takes a look at Uni, seemingly impressed
"You're pretty damn smart, most people wouldn't even rationalize it"
>She looks ahead and nods her head
"Still, that's very true what you said, the ones who order will forever be feared, sometimes for good reasons, I learned that the hard way"
| "Ah-uhm-er.."
> Uni blushes at the compliment, unable to form a coherent response for a short moment.
"I don't have any firsthand experience on any of these, so it's probably why—.. It's probably why I don't have a strong negative opinion against them. Which may have led me to rationalise them."
> She tries to awkwardly sip her drink to remove the blushing she feels.
"T-thank you, by the way."
| >Elena smiles smugly
"No need for thanks, it's a matter of fact"
>She leans onto the counter, placing her head on her palm
"And you not having dealt with any police is a good thing, Filling out papers and getting arrested is just a gigantic waste of time, it also mean you haven't been snooping around crime scenes, which is always good"
| "—Uh, about that.."
> Uni sheepishly chuckles, remembering her times trespassing various crime scenes.
"You're free to charge and arrest me for the innumerable attempts I did for doing exactly that.. I needed to see before I can write, so to speak."
| >>170389
>Elena winks
"Didn't I mention being Ex-GCPD, I don't arrest people anymore, plus I would probably just scold someone who wonders inside a crime scene"
>She then puts on a smile
"Or break their legs, depending on how my day's been"
| > Uni follows with a laugh.
"I want neither of those, haha!"
> As her laugh goes down, she stays quiet whilst staring at her drink.
"Sometimes chaos attracts me. The tension of writing such a dramatic occurrence trebles in me, oddly enough. I did pay my share for being so interested in those scenes, however."
| >Elena looks at Uni, her face now showing curiosity
"Oh? Care to talk about it? I could share a few of my stories too."
| "Hmmh.. sure! Let's start with the one still fresh in memory: the December Riots."
> Uni takes a long sip at her drink, noticing that it is now empty.
"I was near a hospital — I think it was Saint Madoka? — Anyway, there was a huge group that were against augmented people.. and Lilum."
> She puts less emphasis in Lilum so as to not offend the nearby Lilim.
"It seems that one of those people noticed my eyes — they started beating me down. Left, right — all of them spew hatred."
| "I was there to see how it would have looked like. I wanted to see the chaos ensues — I wanted to see it as an overseer, but I ended up being a punching bag for all hatred they had."
> She gestures the bar's staff to take her glass away and refill it.
"Honestly, I don't know what I had in mind to charge mindlessly to a heating protest site."
| >Elena cocks an eyebrow
"Sounds harsh, goes to say those riots were hell."
>The woman points to her eyes
"I've got a pretty similar story, some powersuit vigilente tried to kill me when he saw my eyes in the riots, I'm auged down to the bone, my liver is probably the only original thing that remains in my body, so it's not hard to confuse me for a lilim"
>She shrugs
| "It goes to say that everyone involved in that chaotic day lose something, one way or another, hm?"
> After waiting for a couple seconds, the refill was ready for her — she picks it up and have the first sip as a hot, burning sensation.
"Ouch—should'vewaited—ouch"
> She cools down the drink by blowing air on them, after being punished by a now-numb tongue.
"I worry much to the heavily augmented, and the Lilum as well. Even now, I still feel that way."
| >>170433
"I feel the same, I saw some shit back in America, the augmented didn't have it so bad, but Lilims would get killed or enslaved at the flick of a hat. I only ever visited one city where they were living somewhat peacefully, but it had it's fair share of trouble"
>She takes a sip from her glass, nostalgia visible in her eyes
| "Right—wait.. America..—"
> As if something was calling her, she jolts to hop on a topic that was unrelated to the talk before.
"Say, were you living in the US before you moved here?"
> Uni's left eye glows in a bright, neon blue shine. Her voice sounds more refined and formal, less jolly than what she had before.
| >Elena nods her head
"I was born outside of the US, but I lived there for almost 20 years, mostly in Burrow, Colorado"
>She raises an eyebrow
"Why?"
| "Do you perhaps know of any existence of the CIA there? What happened to them, in this time and century?"
> Uni poses an odd question, but her stoic look changes very little. She seems to be really determined to find an answer to the question.
| >Elena thinks for a second
"I haven't heard of the CIA since a long time, Burrow is pretty much it's own little thing, like GC"
>She raises her glass, inspecting how much is left in it
"But I did hear some weird rumors of experiments and all that stuff, the usual kind of conspiracy theories"
>She looks at Uni, her eyes glowing stronger
"Again, why?"
| > Uni's glowing eye meets Elena's, her stare is less stoic than before, but still stern nonetheless.
"Nothing. I'm glad they haven't broke down after all these years."
> She faces away from Elena and stares into the drink she has.
"I wish I can be back home, but I suppose that is an impossibility by itself."
> Uni hadn't realised that she was throwing all kinds of cryptic words from herself.
| >Elena looks down at Uni, and takes another sip
"You weren't born in glitch city were you?"
>She says, tactfully ignoring the cryptic messages
| "Verily. To be more precise, and as far as my range of search can go, I was never a citizen of Glitch City — no, I should have never been alive when Glitch City was built."
> Under her words, she smiled lightly.
"—Thanks to a friend, I realized that perhaps some of these secrets should be left open."
| >Elena raises one of her eyebrow
"When it was built? god that was years ago, I was still on Al- I mean huh, what does that even mean, sounds like some pretty cryptic stuff"
| "Quite so. It feels odd to be stuck in such a year where everything felt new to me."
> She touches her lips with her index finger, as if making a "shh" gesture to no one in particular.
"Me? That sounds weird—.. 'We', right. That's more like it."
| >Elena seems a bit turned off by how Uni is acting, that or she's simply confused
"So what are you, John Titor? some hivemind? I've never had any good experiences with both of those"
| "We wouldn't say a hive mind, nor would we say we are a time-traveller."
> She takes a slow sip on her now-cold Hot Hassy.
"There are ways — no, countless — of which we can go on about from the past and still be able to reach here, reach now, without any advances in time travel."
> Uni's eye glow dims, but then flares to be brighter than before.
"After all, it's not like we and the staff had those in plan — at least, we think they don't."
| >Elena sighs, and looks at her drink
"I thought I ordered something light"
>She then turns to Uni
"I assume that means you're older than you look like, Correct?"
| "That is also false. We age about as normally as everyone does. There is nothing that differs us from every human out there. We aren't immortal, of course."
> Uni smiles, perhaps to her own words.
"—So, neither is everyone on the team."
> Somehow her last words paint less cryptic and more of a depressed realization she had.
| >Elena seems much more serious
"You shouldn't talk about immortality, that fairy tale is not something we can ever acheive, atleast not without any sacrifice"
>She sighs
"Lost someone dear to you or something, what team are you talking about?"
| "In a way. That and immortality will be a topic for another ti—"
> Suddenly, one of Uni's hand taps her left eye frantically.
"—Why now, agh—.."
> The light from her left eye starts to fade away as she encloses it with her hand.
"—.. I—I don't know if they.."
> After a brief moment of whatever-happened-to-Uni, she starts to normalize herself.
"I—.. I'm not sure what I should say to explain all that—"
> She doesn't use 'We' anymore, and her eye is not glowing as well.
| >Elena pats her on the back, looking somewhat concerned.
"Welcome back I guess, you okay there Uni?"
| "I don't want to confirm that I'm okay—"
> She taps her eye once more, probably to confirm their state.
"B-but nevermind me. This is a daily occurrence ever since the eye broke."
| >Elena looks at Uni's face
"Daily? that sounds rather troublesome, you were going on and talking in a weird way"
>She scratches her cheek
"Last time I ever dealt with glowing blue eyes I saw a little girl's arm get cut from the base up, I guess those never amount to anything good huh"
>She mumbles, quietly
| "No worries, I'm aware of what I said — don't be weirded out by that; in fact, you should be weirded out with me, in this state — I shouldn't be talking like this, but it already feels natural to me."
> Still shaken by the eye's activation, Uni takes a sip, this time nervously, of her drink.
"But also, sheesh. That is a tragic follow-up; a cut arm of a child? It will not be something I imagine for a light talk."
| >Elena shrugs
"It was the result of some kind of freak disease that affects lilims and augmented people, they start claiming to be someone else and start acting like that person. it comes with glowing eyes and all that."
>She sighs
"That time the victim followed said child and cut off her arm, for "Recognition purposes and payback"
>She takes a long sip, emptying her glass
"Just some old tale, don't mind it too much"
| "G-good thing that my case isn't like that."
> Uni awkwardly chuckles, feeling somewhat aware of the tale, yet also feeling that it scared her for a moment.
"I'm looking to get the eye repaired, but it seems that everyone I know is against me taking such action. I think I have been blissfully ignoring whatever I'm doing when the eye is in its normal condition."
| >Elena looks at Uni, a scowl on her face
"What's the problem exactly? How is it broken I mean"
| "I'm not too sure either, one day it decides to not comply to my request and it started blinking on and off like so—"
> Uni seems to try to turn the eye back on, but the eye neither glows nor turns on.
"I presumed it was due to the fact that I was attacked by one of those augmented zombies, but I doubt the virus acts so slowly and less severely."
| >Elena sends in the glass for a refil, before turning towards Uni
"I've never heard of anything like that, atleast not related to the zombie virus, you should try and fix that as fast as you can"
| "L-let's hope I can do that. I haven't been able to find any aug repair store capable of repairing an augmentation as old as the one I have."
> Taking another big sip, Uni finishes her drink.
"Besides, if I get it fixed, I'll talk all weird again — and some people are apparently against that, haha."
> She chuckled at her own words.
| >Elena seems confused
"So the weird cryptic speech is due to the aug functioning properly?"
>She frowns
"Thats odd"
| "As weird as it sounds, indeed. It is how I would usually interact. I'm aware of what I say, but often times, what comes out of my mouth are like so: cryptic and odd."
> Uni shortly and concisely explains.
"It's.. hard to explain. Imagine the eye as a filter — it should be a much easier concept to digest."
| >Elena closes her eyes and thinks
"That's indeed very weird, but I think I understand pretty well now"
>She sighs
"Although this only makes me more curious as to what you meant and all that, but im not here to ask you questions"
| "Thank you for understanding, officer."
> She jokingly remarked at 'officer', and proceeds to laugh it off.
"Honestly, I think that I've told — no, the eye — have told you enough information to piece a story together. It's up to you to do, of course."
| >Through the door comes a man, bandaged up, with his dog, a smol pupper, who yaps at the man, demanding pats.
"There there."
>The man pats the dog, turning to one of the waiters.
"you got a place for 2?"
| "No, but we do have a spot for those who lightly avoided death."
> Uni remarks, knowing the bandaged man's identity.
"Here, have a seat."
> She gestures a seat next to her.
| >>170669
"Uni! Long time no see."
>He sits down next to Uni, and the dog bounces at Uni for her attention, seeing the owner's positive attitude to Uni.
"Lightly doesn't cut it anymore I think. How's the eye?"
| "It's a pupper!"
> Uni, for some reason, manages to ignore the questions and turns to pat the dog instead.
"Why are you bringing a weapon of mass destruction to a bar?"
> She jokingly refers to the dog before putting a less childish tone in her talk.
*cough* "Long time no see, yeah. It has been quite the gap since our last meeting. And the eye.. well... It's about a degree or two worse than before."
| "Yeah, He's a charmer."
>AM refers to the pupper.
"It's that bad... I'm going to 'The Zone' soon, maybe I can find an artefact that can fix the eye? Or do you know the specifics that you need to fix the eye?"
| > Uni shrugs, not knowing any single bit of detail regarding the eye's situation.
"I'm about as clueless as you are. Most repair stores I visited wasn't able to even analyze it — they said it was 'too old' or something along that line."
> She then pats the dog again, and again.
"I'm starting to doubt that I even want it fixed, really."
| >The dog happily basks in the pats
"So you got no clue how to even fix it... damn. Well I'll try to bring back a few artefacts from there, maybe it can interact with it or rejuvenate it.
| "I'm interested, 'artefacts'? Those are my line of hobby, and you have mentioned it more than once."
> At this point, Uni is might very well be patting the dog unconsciously.
| "You see, 'The Zone' produces these anomalies of physics, covering areas. But in those areas, are these artifacts. Corps and mercs can't get in due to the government, but individuals manage to get in, and get these. These artifacts can produce various effects, to lightened gravity, resistance to electricity, all the way up to regenerating lost tissue."
(This is pretty much S.T.A.L.K.E.R. stuff now.)
>AM rattles off, while the pupper has managed to get on to Uni's lap somehow.
| >Fox zoned out, springing back to life, so to speak, upon hearing a dog and talk of artefacts.
"The Zone??? I haven't ever heard of that place, but I have ran stuff that allegedly came from there. If you need me to pick up stuff, I might be some help.
>Fox opened up the slot in his left arm, pulling out a PDA.
"What do you say, mister... uhhh.... bandage-face??"
| "Who hey easy there. I barely know you."
>AM sits surprised, resisting his reflex to draw a gun
| >>170710
>Fox raises his arms in a gesture of apology
"Sorry!! I just get excited whenever I hear of a potential for a job. I'm a courier, so I kind of have to find clients whenever I can."
| Sachiko sat next to Elena and listened to her conversation with Uni, while also paying attention to Fox and Ano. She entered a sort of social introversion mode, where she just sort of stopped talking and kept listening. She had a subtle smile on her face as she heard everything. So many different people with interesting lives around her, and yet she was simply a boring nerd.
"Thanks for reminding me, I do want to go back to the hospital to thank the doctors actually."
| >>170719
"I'm not sure if deep breaths will help? My air filters have been needing a cleaning soon anyway. But! Do you have needs for a courier to The Zone, wherever that is???"
| >>170719
"Are you sure kid? It's a long way from GC, and you are going to be dodging radiation, military patrols, bullet, raiders, acid, and a whole government doing
this."
| >Fox's light grey skin practically turns white upon his realisation for what he could be getting in to.
"Uhh.... radiation is one thing that i can avoid, but everything else just sounds.... nightmarish. I just got to GC and i rather not mess it up for myself. Thanks for the tip, bandage-face."
| "You're welcome. Name's Mano by the way."
>AM says to Fox.
| "Mano, it's nice to meet you! I'm Fox! I'd give you the whole of my information but i got a card with the gist, if you need my services."
> Fox digs into a jacket pocket and draws out an old, faded business card with his face on it
| >AM takes the card, opening his arm compartment, showing a part of a handgun. He tucks the card next to it, before closing the compartment.
"Thanks, they may come in useful soonish. So what brings you here?"
| "Well, a lilim could use a drink and i really am not sure where i can get one. I could look one up on the internet, but its nicer to get a feel for the city. Plus, this lets me walk freely without feeling judged by others
| >>170722
>Elena turns back to Sachiko, leaving Uni to talk to her acquaintance
"You really should say thanks to huh, who was it again? KN? He was the EMT who actually went to get you."
>She sighs
"Had I not seen him trying to find your location, I wouldnt of been there to help you, it was a godsend that you actually managed to text /u/ before the worse happened"
| (Uni definitely didn't just spend the entire talk patting the pupper. Not at all.)
> Uni has been listening to the conversation, piecing together information left and right.
"This 'Zone' sounds interesting. Why have I never heard of it before? Its rhyme is exactly like the one I would have heard before anyone else."
> The pupper has been patted and stroked for more than Uni realise.
"High-risk for artefacts whose existence is scarce, mayhaps?"
| >AM himself come out of passive listening, taking a second to re adjust.
"Hmm? Yeah, the Zone is the Chernobyl exclusion zone. There was a second explosion a few years back, which caused all kinds of haywire to happen. The center of The Zone itself has never been reached, so there are rumours of what it could be that caused it. I've heard it was a collective consciousness that caused it."
>The pupper, asleep from Uni's patting, snores a little.
| >>172104
> Uni notices the pupper sleeping and... still pats it.
"Collective consciousness? As in, a metaphysical consciousness, or a virtual consciousness?"
| >>172127
"That is a very strange concept to think of. With all that said, however, I see that you're planning on looting the place?"
| "I'm actually going there to do some RnD for K-Tran. Maybe I'll go out for a day, or buy one, but there is little chance that I will get an artefact."
| >>172133
"That's new of you. Turning over a new leaf, I see?"
> Uni quickly pauses, thinking of her words before continuing.
"... Honestly, I'd say it is much better than blowing buildings apart, hm?"
| "That guy stole from me, and sold guns to child warlords."
>AM sighs
"After that job, I'll just wander for a while."
| >>172146
"Promise me that you won't be facing death more than you have ever had."
> Uni gave a light frown, her hand is not petting the pupper anymore, but it is iddle on top of it.
"It's worrying me — to think that I saved you only to see you falling to death's hand again."
| "I'll stay away from trouble, but it usually finds its way to me..."
| "Hmh. It's always the case for everyone living here, is it not?"
> Chuckling at that realisation, Uni starts patting the pupper again.
| "True, True."
>The pupper wakes up, yaping his jaw.
| >comes back in
"Can't believe.. that freakin zombie dude.."
>looks towards the pizza
"And a box is missing.. just how much of it did he even eat"
| >>172182
"Seems like the weapon of mass destruction is loading itself to destroy this place—"
> Uni playfully rubs the pupper.
"—So, AM. How is it with you and uhm.. Shepherd?"
| >The pupper jumps over to AM, wanting pats from him now.
"Ok little buddy, easy... As you where saying, Shepherd is pretty much at the back of my head now, but he still talks."
This thread is permanently archived
| >In a place in the middle of nowhere a party of sorts is going on, to celebrate the 1 year opening of The Hassy Classy, lights are set across the room, a old mega christmas tree from a few months back still sits in the corner, with looping music by The Hassy Boys (who are standing, waiting), along with a jukebox in the corner, and a karoke machine set up, and pizza boxes.. probaly more Pizza than they expect everyone to finish