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(Setting) The Blue Lantern Izakaya
| > Outside various bonfire decorations had been abandoned. The food had been carefully brought back inside for the hungry and now the fleet of the Lantern's private levibuses were parked as a protective barrier around the establishment. Naturally just so that if escape was necessary, the people inside would have the advantage.
>This is what Ren drove up to on her levibike.
|
| >The area shakes a large armored dropship, really a big ol space craft, races across the the city skyline at a dangerously low altitude. It passes quickly, but not before shattering windows and setting off car anti theft devices in its passing.
| >Soon a crimson blur of bass rumbling, metal and high strung emotions comes to slow in front of the Blue Lantern. The driver's appearance practically screams 'dumb hooligan' even in a matching red uniform, though he seems preoccupied with checking to make sure his passenger's status is okay
| >>553837
>should I assume this is Shane and Aikawa? or is this someone else? either way it's a great fucking description lmao
| >A hulking man pushes the doors of the blue lantern open and adjusts his rather disheveled yukata before stuffings his hands into his sleeves. He looked around with a peering gaze, his eyes seemingly closed, and examined the damage and blairing levibuses.
When he saw the two amongst the scattered levibuses, glass, and the crashing spaceship in the distance he bellowed.
"All is well out there?! What news come from the fallen vessel? Nonsense! Come! Come inside! Come to shelter!"
| "Aaah...The lady shall be furious. These windows were not cheap..."
| >A single woman wearing an oversized red coat walks in, her white hair reflecting the blue hues of the fox flames as she looks around curiously
"It really is filled with folks"
>The lady says as ahe approaches the counter with a raised hand
"Yo, I came by to play"
>Her voice is somewhat gruffy, but very cute, just like her, she almost looks like a doll.
| >>554010
"Ara..?...Oh. Apologies...we are currently... overwhelmed...but I can try...to serve you."
>A woman wrapped in an expensive silk full length kimono spoke. She looked like a China doll herself, with long flowing black hair and brown eyes that hadn't seen much sleep at all. A specimen of traditional Asian beauty if there was one.
| >>554037
"Arent you quite the feast for sore eyes, lady"
>The girl says with a small nod
"Ren or as I like to call her: Foxy lady invited me here, I can try and help y'all"
>She shrugs
| >>553837 >>553950
>As Shane slows to a stop, Aikawa practically topples off the back of the gravbike in her rush to dismount. Stumbling over to the curb, she keels over at the waist, bracing herself with her hands on her knees as she starts dry heaving over the sidewalk. In her hurry to get the fuck out of dodge, she forgot to tell Shane she's prone to motion sickness, which... is unfortunate for someone who has to drive an ambulance and make hairpin turns all the time.
| >>554086
>Kyougoku slowly lumbers over and gently attempts to pick the woman up and put her on her feet. Afterwards he dusts her off. Eyeing the woman's bag and appearance he draws an understanding.
"Ah. You are help Ren asked for! Come! Come! You are needed! Take shelter and we get to work."
>He paused and looked at her deliverer and rummaged about his great sleeves for a credit stick.
"Ah. Good. I pay you. Come eat free food too. You are small man. We will make you bigger."
| >>554040
"...Who...are you? Ren?"
>The woman echoed exhaustedly. She stifled a yawn and turned her gaze toward the back.
>Sure enough Ren was sitting at a booth talking to a razorkid typing away at his laptop. She paused hearing her name and eyed the woman asking for her.
"She... doesn't...seem to recognize...you."
| "Well that checks out, I was wearing a mask after-all, maybe I should of brought the sword?"
>The lady says
| >>554449
"Lady Ryougi...I will talk to this one."
>Ren spoke while pulling herself up and sliding her hands into her leather jacket. Finally she approached, moving around the various people harmed and not.
"You are Falschen?"
| "Glad to be remembered"
>Falschen says with a smile
| >>554179
>Aikawa groans weakly as Kyougoku grabs hold of her by one of her underarms and hoists her upward, and seems a little bewildered when he proceeds to tidy her up a bit. Judging by his appearance... they're... at an onsen? A dim thought forms in the back of her head-- probably should have asked what kind of establishment this was before coming on over. Awfully weird looking onsen, though. Kind of looks like an izakaya. She lets herself be pulled inside by Kyougoku.
| >>554010 >>554040
>As she's guided into what she /thinks/ is an onsen, she spots Falschen... and the whiplash she experienced when Crusader Falschen mentioned the flowers that Beautiful Falschen gave her happens all over again. Maybe another shell...? A question for another day.
>>554478
>As Ren steps carefully over to Falschen, Aikawa feels the need to tell her she kept her promise. She mumbles quietly, unsure if she'll hear but not really caring if she doesn't.
"死ななかった..."
| >>554486 >>554517
> Ren looked to Aikawa when she finally appeared and quickly slipped passed Falschen--though the woman would be beckoned to follow. She beelined right to the woman just as she was speaking. Ren of course acknowledged...
"やった。さて、実際の作業が始まります。"
>The silver haired woman turned to look back at 'Falschen' and spoke to Aikawa curiously.
"彼女はFalschenであると主張しています。これは本当ですか？"
| > She finally turns to look at Falschen and speaks in English again.
"Apologies. I will show you to the injured. Do you know how to treat them too or are you here just to relax? Either is fine, but I can't play with you right now."
| >>554628
"せやね-- uh, そうだよ..."
>Getting comfortable with speaking to Ren, Aikawa finds it a little difficult to keep herself from slipping into her native Kansai dialect. She doesn't want Ren to misunderstand her or think she's trying to appear aggressive...
"そのべっぴん-- ah...その美人さん…"
... But, it happens anyway.
"もう,俺 知らんけどな｡"
>She's just too frazzled right now. She hopes Ren will understand-- both her words and the fact that there's no ill will behind them.
"ほんまごめん｡"
| (whoops, middle part of that "but it happens anyway wasn't supposed to be white text)
| >Theres a rumbling sound as a big fucking space ship lands in the parking lot outside. A rather motley group, some conspicuously covered in blood, enter the establishment
>Amoung them, a silverhaired gal with an.. impressive bosom enters, clearly already drunk
"DO YE MAKE FALAFEL HERE?!"
>she shouts
| >A somewhat scruffy man in a lab coat follows her in along with a somewhat short lilim in a maid outfit carrying both a lilim missing an arm and some blonde lady with blue tips.
| >It goes without saying that said blonde lady is passed out over the maid's shoulder.
| "Do you have to ask so loud..."
>A tall young man in a blue trenchcoat follows after them, clutching his chest.
| >>555005 >>555007 >>555010 >>555012
> A great deal of the bonfire festivities are still going on outside, so when the ship lands, everyone outside stops to gawk at the landing. Even though the parking lot is a ways away from the makeshift festival...A hoard of cellphones, now working, start taking many pictures of the ship. Kyougoku amongst the mob, a very large muscular man in a yukata, wades his way through the people and after the group. Curious...
| Kyougoku the Lantern's top chef hears the words 'falafel'...and immediately recognizes the dish!
"FALAFEL!"
>He bellows this outloud, booming behind the group and causing quite a few of the injured, eating, and relaxing customers that have flooded the building to jump and quiet.
"...You speak of Levantine! Indeed! Indeed! I can create for you tis falafel!"
>From the distance Shigeru yells.
"Have you even made that before?!"
"NONSENSE!There is nothing these hands cannot produce!"
| >Zolka sighs.
"Oh great."
| >>555017
>the busty women turns, grining ear to ear at kyougoki
"AH, WELL THEN I TRUST I DONT NEED TO TELL YOU WHAT THIS FALAFEL IS! SO UH GO ON! GO MAKE ENOUGH FOR ALL OF US!"
| >Following the group is a frail young girl, with dull pink hair and blue eyes
"Hun...gry... so... hungr...y..."
>Her gaze is vacant
| "This is going to be such a mess..."
>The young, trenchcoat man sighs, petting the young girl >>555022 as they walk up.
| >>555025
"Buck up CiCi! Its not like we'll find anyone thall wanna geek you here!"
>ace says, petting him on the back
| >>555028
>He coughs
"I sure hope not... they would have a pretty easy time with a good quarter of my ribs broken."
| >>554772
> Ren smiled and patted the woman's shoulder. She could sense the nervous energy she harbored and chose to direct her focus to the people she'd requested help for. So she guided Falschen ( If she were planning to follow) and Aikawa toward a quieter portion of the bar where a few were seriously injured. Mostly hit by debris or suffering broken limbs. A group of five were laid out on makeshift cots.
"There are the ones."
| >>555018 >>555021 >>555022 >>555025
> Kyougoku flew into the kitchen barking orders! For such a large man he had the speed of a trained martial artist...a man with a mission. Black garlic! Adzuki! Ginger! Red onions! Rice flower! Lime Juice! Horseradish! The remainder ingredients--all fresh--but doomed to be yanked from the shelves either way came flying. Then there was thunderous laughter, heat erupted from his kitchen and the lesser cooks came running from the inferno like cowards!
| > Those whom were regulars watched entertained. Those whom weren't so used to the spectical were mystified and watched what they could. From the wide doors of the kitchen they could see a mad man slicing and dicing ingredients with the precision of a kitchen-samurai...prepping the fryer with zeal quite frankly as inspiring as it was unnecessary...And then his kimono top exploded off of him for no damn reason as he wildly began to exert himself over the craft!
| >>555044
>The smallish girl enters the kitchen, unconcerned about things such as employees only
>She keeps drooling
| spectacle.*)
>Shigeru as usual facepalmed and looked to the group. Dryly he looked at the group and sighed.
"So...What do you want to drink?"
| >>555005 >>555016 >>555041
"なんでやねん…?"
>After this single phrase uttered in disbelief, Aikawa is basically rendered mute. The enormous tonal shift that's taken place combined with the huge spike in activity outside the izakaya are making her head spin. She goes from looking lost and void of all emotion to looking increasingly pissed as the minutes tick by; fortunately this is interrupted by Ren as she puts both her and Falschen to work.
"Oh... it's a >>>bar..."
>Yes, you dumbass.
| >>555049
"G-Glue-chan, just wait a bit okay."
>The tall man comes right after her and pulls her out best he can
"I-I apologize."
| >Ace watches the spectacle in awe, almost like a smol child
"So... THIS IS THE MEANING OF FALAFEL
| >>555044 >>555041 >>555048
>Aikawa can barely hear herself think over the raucous laughter coming from the kitchen, and she feels bad for these unlucky few who can't engage in the festivities like the other patrons. The more compact version of her 'go bag' is plopped on the floor, and she unzips it to take inventory of her supplies.
"Shit. Have to get creative, I guess."
>Looks like she hasn't restocked in a little while. She regrets not having the larger bag with her.
| >>555062 >>555055 >& Other Falafel Customers :
> Finally after frying the delicious smelling biscuit-like falafel, Kyougoku returned with a basket of them. A large basket that had enough for thirty people...all of which were clearly still steaming from being just pulled from the depths of a fryer. He stood waiting, watching the lot of with with a grin on his face.
"COME. Come taste of the bounty of Japanese infused Levantine delight!"
>His laughter rocked the establishment.
| >>555066
>Ren looked on curiously and tilted her head.
"What more do you need? Perhaps I can pick some of it up?"
| >>555482
>The frail girl, Glue-chan, begins munching away slowly but almost without chewing
>Her eyes go wild
"Food! Foo..od! Must... eat... more!"
| >>555492
"Hey be sure to share with the rest of the others okay? I'll give you my portion if you want though."
>The trenchcoat man states, petting her more
| >>555483
>Aikawa is almost out of the supplies she uses most often when performing any off-the-clock first aid, and unfortunately these constitute a majority of what she needs to treat the injuries of the people in front of her. Said supplies are relatively bulky and only so many can be packed into a compact bag, so she might have come up short even if it was fully stocked.
"... Depends on what you have access to. I can make some substitutions. Sometimes it's faster that way."
| >>555482
>Ace digs in, Her clothes exploding from shear escasty
>She mumfles through a full mouth
"SHO TASTY"
| >>555623
>Aikawa side-eyes the man in the trench. Not a lot of people own one that isn't some nonspecific shade of khaki... Does he seem familiar? She thinks back to his comments about his broken ribs. Can't splint those, unfortunately.
>>555482
If she had anything close to an appetite right now, she'd help herself. She's still totally in the dark about the current condition of her workplace, and is trying hard not to think about it.
| >>555747
"I suggest you all have a bite before Glue scarfs it all down..."
>The man sighs, before spotting Aikawa
"Aikawa? What are you doing here?"
>Its CN
| >>555755
>Aikawa turns her head towards CN, trying to get a better look at him. She stares, eyes half-lidded, and debates over whether or not she should answer with honesty, or with sarcasm.
"'Could ask you the same thing."
>That's... neither of those, Aikawa. She gives him a quick nod, pointing her chin towards his chest.
"Careful with those. Another good whack on the chest and you could pop one of your lungs like a balloon."
| >>555763
"Well we were making our way out of the mess at our place... then our pilot got hungry."
>CN coughs again
"Don't worry though, I dont plan on doing anything crazy the next few days."
| >>555783
>Aikawa returns to taking different supplies out of her bag-- some bandage scissors, a small case containing syringes with different medications, needles, gloves...
"'Our place'?"
>She's turned away from CN, but he can see her shaking her head disapprovingly.
"You're making this sound like you busted your ribs partying too hard in your apartment, and now you're stopping at a drive-thru on your way to urgent care because one of your buddies is dying for some yakitori."
| >>555790
>She removes one of the syringes from the case, screws a needle onto it, and primes it. Every last one of these poor suckers lying in the cots is getting their tetanus booster today. Every. Last. One.
"Never pegged you as one to understate."
>A bead of the vaccine serum forms at the top of the needle as she carefully pushes the air out of the syringe. Satisfied, she caps it, places it off to the side, and starts on the next. No one's getting lockjaw on her watch.
| >Meanwhile, the blonde of the misfits is seemingly fast asleep, slumped over a chair backward.
| >>555790
"Well if you count getting attacked by an armored PMC hired by one of the biggest pharmaceutical corps in the city as a party then yes, that's exactly what I'm making it sound like."
| >Blue van with VinderTech logo and toned windows comes to a stop just outside of the protective barrier. Its back doors open, letting out a short, elderly man in a simple grey suit. His naturally grumpy-looking, deeply-wrinkled face wears an even more grim expression than usual. He turns to reach back inside the van, and a pair of hands in military protective gear hands him a backpack almost the size of the man himself. Despite said hands visibly struggling with their load...
| >...the old man picks it up and throws onto his back like a sack of feathers. He makes a wide circle with his right hand, and the van drives away, back doors closing on the move.
>Man dust off his shoulder, and confidently walks inside the izakaya, sight somewhat amusing given the sheer size of his possession.
| >>555824
>Aikawa glances at CN once more, and raises her eyebrows-- she hadn't been expecting the bite back, but in a way she appreciates it. Makes her feel a little more grounded in reality. The atmosphere of the bar clashes wildly with the appearance of the wounded in front of her, and she feels as if the izakaya is trying to swallow them up and smooth them over.
"Knew there was a little more to it."
>She tosses a spare icepack his way.
"For your chest."
| >>555865
"Thanks."
>He opens his coat a little and puts the ice pack inside on his chest
"You took that answer a lot more nonchalantly than I thought you would."
| >>555869
>Aikawa clenches her jaw and inhales deeply, trying not to let the panic and despair she had felt while riding on the back of Shane's gravbike resurface.
"Not nonchalance... just don't know what to say. I don't know a lot about what's been happening."
>She shrugs, and rolls her eyes up towards her forehead before returning her gaze to CN.
"No connection, remember? And with the phones being out... I kinda just... 'came home' to all of this."
| >>555875
>She finishes prepping all of the vaccines for administration and grabs a few alcohol swabs out of the pouch. She tears one open, and for a second it looks like she's holding it under her nose before she grimaces and moves to the side of the cot closest to her. Her actions are a little trance-like, and it gradually becomes clear that she's not waving off what CN is saying-- she's just barely capable of processing it right now.
| >>555875
"Well the blackout in Downtown ended already awhile back so phone lines and stuff should be working now."
| >>555883
"Yeah."
>She yanks up the sleeve of the person on the cot next to her to expose their shoulder. Cool isopropyl meets warm flesh as she scrubs their deltoid roughly with the pad, letting it dry for only a second before giving a brief warning and plunging needle into muscle.
"Big pinch; don't move."
>The result is an injection that probably burns a lot more than it should have. She withdraws and sheilds the needle, starting anew on the next cot's resident.
| >>555896
>Aikawa's eyes meet CN's, and stay there for a moment before she closes them and sighs heavily. When they open again, they seem a little watery. Her stare is unsettlingly empty.
"CN... thanks."
>Another needle, another shoulder--next!
"For telling me."
>She keeps going until she's out of shots to give. As Ren had said, the real work starts now. She goes back to searching her bag for something.
"... Thanks."
| >Meanwhile the short man with huge backpack eyed up the place, and clicked his tongue.
"What a bloody mess."
>His grey eyes locked onto Kyougoku, and he waved to the man to get his attention. And then flicked on his throat in an obvious gesture. A drink.
>And made his way to Aikawa, carefuly pushing CN out of the way.
"Lad, you either start helping or get lost." — >he said in a hoarse voice, the only sound the man made so far, his footsteps completely inaudible.
| >Once he pushed past CN, the man dropped his backpack by Aikawa's side with the loud THUD, and croached beside it as took a sealed pack of blue medicinal gloves.
"Stuff's for combat casualties treatment. You'll need to lower the dosages." — >He said to no one in particular, but obviously addressing the woman, as he nodded towards the backpack.
— "Yellow injectors are berserkers. Pop one yourself if you start losing it."
| >>555899
>Kyougoku saw the request and promptly moved to get to work on a drink. Something strong. He knew the expression on the man's face and for once Kyougoku's eternal smile dimmed--but only just a little.
>He went on to make nice shot-glass' worth of his strongest sake. Though naturally it would smack him, it wouldn't make him out and out drunk. Just tipsy on the spot.
>Meanwhile...
>Ren was hot on his heels and called out to Aikawa.
"私に何ができる？"
| > Ren went on to wash her hands at one of the nearby bar sinks after rolling up her sleeves and prepping to do whatever dirty work was necessary.
| >>555755
"Don't have enough! No problem! I make you more!"
>Kyougoku replied after he sat a sake bowl waiting for the man whom ordered it down on the bar counter near him. He then lumbered over to the kitchen to make some more falafel. He'd be making some until he rain out of ingredients...or someone actually told him to stop. Shigeru of course ran off to make sure they made it to the table for those whom wanted it.
| >>555898
>CN gently puts a supportive hand on her shoulder, side glancing towards the man >>555899
"I'll talk to you later..."
>He makes his way back to the others.
| >>555950
>Aikawa simply nods in response. She then turns her attention to this new arrival who has come bearing... many, many gifts, it seems.
"Fantastic. Don't intend to use more than muscle relaxants and ketorolac, but the heads up is helpful."
>She has no idea what 'berserkers' are, and decides based on context that they must be some combat specialty med; a tranquilizer or something.
"I'll have a smoke if I start falling apart."
>More than you are already, you mean?
| >>555900 >>555917 >>555918
>Aikawa looks over her shoulder at Ren and speaks to her in a hushed tone, a little suspicious of this visitor who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"この変人を知っていまっか? 彼にここに来るように頼みましたか?"
>She raises her eyebrows questioningly, then speaks a little louder, pretending she didn't just whisper something to her.
"僕はこれらの人々を動かす手助けが必要かもしれまへん。"
>Aikawa joins Ren at the sink, peeling off her gloves to wash her hands as well.
| >A knock on the front door, as a man stands outside, wearing a long-sleeved white button up shirt with the sleeves pulled up, a pair of blue jeans, and rocking a short dirty blonde combover, a clean shaven face and a pair of blue eyes waits for permission to enter the building and speak to someone.
| >>556023
> A few people, traveling in and out of the bar, are looking at him oddly as he does this. Some walk by him to get in, others to get out. The first thing he'd notice is this place is huge and clearly in the level of high class despite the various flavors of people that walk in and out. They seem to serve any and everyone and don't appear to have a reservation list to get in.
> Other things to notice are that the Izakaya's staff have taken over the street leading up to it>
| > There are a line of streetlights that have japanese bonfire torches tied to them, likely to provide light back when the blackout was going on. There are lines of booths with staff that are serving food, entertainment, and drink just like a Japanese Bonfire Festival. Another thing to note is that they're providing disaster relief help along with it.
>Inside AND outside contain injured, lost, and homeless. Seems the Lantern made a temporary shelter of itself.
| >>555979
Ren shook her head softly," 私は彼があなたの一人だと思った..."
"Where do you want to move them? We have some private spots upstairs if necessary..."
| >Short man payed no attention to the conversation, or at least didn't seem to. With blue gloves on, he moved onto the closest unattended casualty and began his routine.
>Visual assesment, hands on check, check gloves for blood, clear wounds, sterilize, apply dressings, ask height and weight when possible, adjust dose, make injection, give vitamin pill and move on. 4 minutes total per person, and then onto the next person.
>For the past 30 hours this was his routine.
| >>556047
>Aikawa looks concerned, and watches the man from the corner of her eye before mumuring to Ren again.
"彼を知りまへん。"
>>556048
>This guy sure doesn't screw around. She hopes he's as thorough as he is fast. Maybe he's just getting the smaller stuff out of the way until she cuts in...?
"We need enough space for you to hold them still while I put traction on broken limbs to align the bones. A private area might be good... there's probably gonna be some screaming involved."
| >>556048
>Aikawa notices the short man administering meds by means of injection, and finds herself needing to investigate.
"Hey, what're you giving them?"
>This comes out louder and more forcefully than she had intended. She tries to justify this to herself with the thought that this information is critical in giving her patients the best care possible.
"And, how much?"
>The weight thing is confusing her. She rarely ever does any kind of weight based dosing outside of the ER.
| >>556053
"Morphine, naloxone, promethazine, epinephrine, APAP, diphenhydramine." — >Man responds in his hoarse voice, as he applies a dressing onto a teenager girl's hand. He has to wrap it multiple times over, as it is clearly meant for application onto... bigger individuals.
— "Mostly APAP and promethazine, there aren't as many serious casualties as I expected."
>He gave the girl, who was clearly terrified by his face a vitamin pill, and went to his backpack.
| "Stuff is meant for bulls like me, so I only use a third of the shot."
>He finished, throwing his now-stained blue gloves onto the backpack and reaching for two new packs.
"Anything else?" — >he asked, tossing one of the packs into Aikawa's hands.
| >>556060
"Ye got any bear?"
>Ace says aloud, slumping over from food and drunkeness
>She glances toward CN, not really aware of what was going on
"So uh..."
"I know we gotta pick up te kids at some point but... can't you just like, take te truck in te cargobay?"
>She yawns
"kinda sleepy..."
| >>556059
>Aikawa is silent as she takes in the laundry list of meds the man has thrown at her, then scoffs and shakes her head slightly in disbelief.
"Hope you don't mean all at once. That's mess of a cocktail. Put a junkie in heaven and hell at the same time."
>She catches the package and tears it open, starting to glove up.
"Tylenol and Phenergan, huh... well, at least one of those really works. Assume you're relying on placebo effect with the other."
| >>556065
"I could but we still have to get it in West Port and splitting up would help us stay hidden. A flying spaceship kind of... stands out. I dont want to risk putting the kids in more danger and we should lay low while everyone recovers."
| >>556065
"I've got berserkers. Outta wake you right up, if you don't mind vomiting your brains up the next morning."
>Short man shrugged, putting on his change of gloves before reaching for one of the yellow vials, popping it into an injector and slapping it into neck. With a groan he put used vial away.
>>556068
"...as I said, mostly APAP and promethazine. I'm not insane to stuff someone with all of it at once." — >he half-said, half-groaned to Aikawa, and continued routine.
| >>556073
>Aikawa looks on in shock as this man slams what she now believes to be some kind of amphetamine directly into his jugular. Yeah, a cigarette is... probably the better way to go here. Mouth slightly agape, she finishes donning her gloves and makes her way over to one of the injured who appears to have broken their lower leg.
"Chummer, I'm gonna have to cut your pants off. If you're one for modesty, now's the time to say so--we'll move you upstairs if you can make it."
| >>556069
"ah'm telling you te take the truck no-"
>Ace comes to a realization, getting up and shouting
"Wait, CN, can you like, not drive!?"
| >>556088
>she scratches her head
"Holy shit, aren't you older then me?"
>she shakes her head mumbling
"that's it, i'm giving you driving lessons. Right now."
| >>556089
"Uh... first of all, no, you're drunk. Second of all, I'm not sure how familiar you are with traffic laws after that last beach trip."
| >>556092
"Ah landed us here just find diddn't we? comeon i'll take the truck, Zozo can fly back himself"
| >>556093
>CN backs up a little, looking a little nervous
"I-I don't think the best idea of looking normal would be a newbie driver would be riding around in an armored truck to pick up 2 dozen people. Especially one with broken ribs."
| >>556078 >>556073
>Ren listened to the two talk. At some point she checked out...as all the medicine talk sounded like a whole 'nother language. When she heard Aikawa state that she might need to carry someone up she looked over.
"We can carry him up by his cot."
> She offered before looking back at the 'bull' of a man that was doing military grade doctor-work. At least she could tell that much. Something about the atmopshere gave it away.
"彼は軍人なのだろうか。。。"
| >>556094
> Ren glanced over and listened to the conversation going on.
"...Rib damage is serious problem...Shouldn't you be in hospital?"
| >>556097
>The short man, who was now scaring the shit out of a poor lady with twisted ankle, didn't look like much of a "bull" on a closer inspection. His grey suit concealed most of his muscles, although it was clear from his profile that he was of a sturdy build. A dwarf would be a better word to describe him.
>The most peculiar was the way he moved — deliberately slow, fluid gestures, steps, turns. There was some sort of discrepancy between his movements and their results.
| >>556097
>Aikawa wouldn't fault Ren for zoning out while she talks shop with the very... unique medic who seems to have a penchant for using some of his own stock. In fact, she feels a little embarrassed as she turns back to the woman-- she hadn't meant to just drop her like that.
"Sounds like a plan. Hang tight, buddy."
>She grabs one end of the cot and prepares for transfer.
"知らん… 気持ちが悪いね."
>He's certainly got an unsettling presence.
| >>556098
"He should at >>>least be getting an x-ray or a CT is what he should be doing. That'd be the smart thing to do. Won't have to guess at how many are actually broken..."
>>556108
>She trails off as she watches the suited man busy himself with tending to the people in front of him. The way he moves is setting her very, very much on edge because of how terrifyingly familiar it seems. That's not him, is it...?
"L-let's head upstairs?"
>Can't be, can't be.
| >Nym eats quietly and just watches everything.
"... Have I really been out that long...?"
| >>556216
"Yup, almost a whole year... you've missed a lot since we had difficulty getting your backup until now."
| >>556219
"Yes thankfully. You were the last one to make it technically. Probably not best to give details here but after they took me for questioning, they let me go since they didnt have any real evidence."
| >>556220
"That's good then... Has anything uh... Really big happened while I was out...? Everyone is still around, right?"
| >>556221
"Let's see... other than the giant attack by Vita Life on us just now, VT had a coup a few hours earlier, Hera is presumed dead based off of some footage I found. Other than that, nothing as big as that whole mess where you needed to rescue me."
| >>556223
"No it isn't, cause Vita Life helped them do it, and from what I've seen so far, Vita Life arent as likely to talk things out than VT."
| >>556225
"Was the state of our now ex-hideout not enough of a clue? The only silver lining is a coup means not everyone in the VT umbrella would exactly be happy."
| >>556226
"So that really was the motel...? Barely recognized it... Kinda sucks that I finally see it again and it's in ruins."
| >>556228
"Yea I know... thankfully we still got other places. The kids especially with love to see you back though."
| >>556229
"True... I need to see them..."
>Nym gets a somewhat sad look on their face.
"I probably worried everyone, huh?"
>The lilim looks over at the passed out blonde.
| >>556230
"Mmm... yeah, but I knew I needed to get you back so you can apologize yourself. I'd feel bad if you end up dying for my sake you know."
| >>556231
"Right, dying..."
>Nym suddenly gets a far away look in their eyes, as if their thoughts were racing.
| >>556234
>Nym snaps back to reality.
"Er... Yeah. Sorry just a lot on my mind. And I still have no clue what happenes to me."
| >>556236
"Not much. I tried to er... Do what I had planned and then there nothing for a while I guess. And then some voices and weird... Memories? And then I vaguely recall hearing Fox's voice... Next thing I know, I'm on the ground all busted up in what I'm assuming is the new frame I had commissioned."
| >>556237
"Well Fox was diving into you to recover you earlier today, the other voices though... that might have been the ones in the Void."
| >>556238
"I see. I'll have to thank her later then..."
>When CN mentions the void, Nym seems to zone out again. This time though, it seems as if... The black goo starts to peek out from under the lilim's armored vest.
| >>556241
"I think... we should leave this discussion in particular for a more private setting, once were all settled down."
| >>556232
>ACE SMACKS NYM ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD
"...anyway..."
"Did ya, like forget about promising to explain everything? And other then that... you sshould probably know about our new kids we got while you were gone"
| >>556244
"Yeah, you're right."
>>556245
>Nym's head bounces forward and they shoot Ace a look.
"No, I didn't forget. Like CN said, once we're in private I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Also: new kids...?"
| >>556253
>Ace crosses her arms while she thinks
"well let's see... We got the blind kid that was tortured by a cult... A whale hybrid and... A Shark one named Aile"
>she smiles smugly
"Zozo and i have been teaching her how to play Gunpla"
| >>556258
"Just goes to show how well I am at hiding us!... Though I'm probably going to have to redo everything protection wise on our comms as a precaution. I have no idea how they found us."
| >>556260
"Well they didnt come looking for us, she just ran into us and one thing led into another."
| >>556261
"Again, I'm still amazed we haven't been attacked sooner."
>Nym smiles a bit and continues to eat.
"So uh... why am I missing an arm?"
| >>556263
"That uh... partially relate to the private topics but you got it while helping us protect the motel."
| >>556264
"Mm... i see. Well once we're finished eating we should get going since... I'm assuming we have a lot of things to take care of now."
| >>556265
"Basically yea, it's why I figured splitting up would be best given everything. In fact... maybe it would be faster for me to reach West Port from here..."
| >>556270
"Sounds good. I'd ask if you need a hand but..."
>Nym looks down at their... stump of a left arm.
| >>556271
"It's fine, it shouldnt be dangerous. Either way youd better stay with Zolka for now to get your arm repaired either way."
| >>556275
"It would be faster if we used Zolkas fabricator too, hence why were splitting up."
>He leans in to whisper
"Also I'm afraid of getting a driving lesson from Ace."
>He leans back
"Well if anything guess I should go, I'll leave you with the kids here for now."
| >>556276
>Ace sneezes andd yawns
"Alright alright... guess yer driving lessons are gonna have to wait till we pick up the kids"
| >>556285
"Exactly, glad you understand. I'll leave you with our kids, Glue-chan be sure to stay with them and behave yourself I'll be back soon."
>He headpats the presumerably eating smol as he leaves them with the rest of the group
"I'll message you all when I head back."
>CN waves at them all as he makes his way out
| >ace waves CN off and crosses her arms, glancing at the still koed merc with a somber look
"...Hey nym.. i'm not entirely sure if you're aware how glad i am to have you back"
| >>556295
>She shakes her head
"... Nah, s'not worth thanking me for. Say, do you remember anything while you were under?"
| >>556298
>Nym shrugs.
"Not exactly. Lots of voices. Some vague figures... Some that seem familiar and some that don't. And some... awful sinking feeling that... I guess could be described as dread...?"
| >>556302
>ace sighs
"I.... guess that's fine?"
"..."
"Anyway, a long time ago, Merc discovered some sort of.. demon or whatever in the matrix, and supposedly it's been haunting her ever since. Killing te people close to her and stuff"
>She looks genuinely worried, for once
"..She thought it was the same thing that got you too and... you know.
What i mean to say is, you mean a lot to her and... i dunno where i'm going with this..."
| >>556308
>Even though Nym can't "turn pale", they roughly do the equivalent of doing so as their expression becomes grim. Their voice comes out as a soft whisper.
"Drek. So... I wasn't imagining it..."
>Their breathing quickens a bit as they stare off into the distance. Their face slowly turns into one of terror and panic.
| >>556309
"... Not ta mention that aparently the cult was forcing the blind girl and others to look for god"
>she notices nym's chance of expression and she looks down defeated
"Heh, so i guess it is real then..."
>the girl pauses for a bit, and mumbles
"So, what do you think we should tell them?
| >>556308 >>556309
>Glue-chan has finished her feast and all the remaining food
>Seeing that CN is gone, she turns to Ace and Nym
"Food..? So... hungry..?"
| >>556311
>Nym frowns.
"I'm not sure. I'll need to hear more about this from M... Things are a mess right now though so... the priority is probably to make sure things are safe again for everyone. Does... Anybody else know about this... thing?"
>>556312
>Nym orders some more food for the kid.
| "The guy who gave us the chip probably knows, considering how has seems to have a lot of void related stuff, as for any others in our group..."
>she shakes her head
"Engy might, i dunno, she kinda despises me after i told merc you were dead so..."
| "He's probably worth talking to then..."
>At the mention of Engy, Nym smiles a bit.
"I can... imagine. Wonder if she's mad at me right now..."
| "I wouldn't hold it against her"
>she laughs
"But yeah, once we settle in for a bit, fix your arm, i'll take you and maybe even Sunny by Babbag..."
>she blushes
"I should probably return his shopkeeper at anyrate"
| >>556319
"I-I forgot she was there!the Titty pocket dimension isn't a joke you know! and nobody stopped me!"
| >Glue-chan has begun eating once more, finding more food to sate her hunger
"Food... mmfp... food..."
>She eats so fast she might choke
| "She was smol ok! Besides, i dont think youve ever kept a kid between your tits so long you forgot!
| >>556326
"you don't know that!"
>she suddenly just realizes how tall the pile of dishes gluechan has been eating
"Alright, that's enough, CN doesn't mpay me enough to take care of this black hole"
| >>556358
"I can see it right there!"
>Nym points at Ace's chest.
"Also, you're probably right. We should get going."
| >>556362
"But you haven't exactly shoved your head in between them! and who knows! maybe they're bigger when i'm wearing different clothes!"
| >>556376
"I'm......... I'm not going to argue about the size of your chest!"
>Nym throws their hands up, exasperated though very obviously just in a comedic capacity and not legitimately so.
| >>556377
"too late! you asked for it!"
>the tiddy monster roars and jokingly leaps forward for a hug!
| >>556378
>Nym attempts to move out of the way but is thrown off balance due to their lack of a left arm and ends up falling over with Ace on top of them.
| "Oh my." — >of 'Ara~' variety comes from above them, as a newcomer barely dodges the two falling on the floor.
>Dressed in a chocolate dress straight out of American 70s, there stands a woman in her late 20s. Her chestnut hair almost reaches her waist, making her light green eyes stand out on her round face.
>With a soft smile she reaches down to offer her hand to the two.
"Are you all right?" — >much more than her looks, her voice soft and sweet, is the main source of her charm.
| >>556383
>Ace falls over laughing, before turning her head and looking at the newcomer standing above them
"uh... hi? who are you?
| >Glue keeps eating, someone should stop her soon
| >>556383
>Nym tenses ever so slightly but accepts the stranger hand and slowly gets up from underneath Ace.
"Th-thanks."
| >>556391 >>556396
>The woman smiles.
"Ah, sorry. I'm just looking for someone."
>She lend her hand again, this time for Ace.
| >Aikawa watches the current goings on with idle curiosity, trying to distract herself from the fact that the way weird military doctor (?) is moving is making the hair stand up on the back of her neck. She makes a mental note to visit the Blue Lantern again in the future, when the dust has settled and people's lives have gone back to being... whatever "normal" is in Glitch City. She misses Niihama's various izakaya; perhaps this place would at least help her feel more at home.
| >>556462
>Nym idly grabs Ace by the back of her shirt and lifts her up while waiting for the woman to answer.
| >>556462
"Ah, manners manners~."
>The woman straightened up and flicked her hair into a somewhat more presentable position.
"I'm, uh, would just a name be alright?~" — >Her mind wandered off right at the very beginning,
— "My name is Mina~. I was supposed to meet my two, umm, friends?~" — >She suddenly asked Nym question she should know an answer to herself,
— "Ah, but I can't quite seem to find them~. I wonder if they here~. Have you seen them?"
>She asked with an innocent smile.
| >>556467
>Nym smiles politely and looks around.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. There's quite a few people around so maybe. What do they look like?"
| >>556471
>Mina steepled her fingers and brought her hands up to her face with a somewhat confused expression.
"My~, now that I think about it, I can't really describe him..." — >She stood there in thought for a minute, completely puzzled, but then tilted her head,
— "I guess he's... normal? Yeah, one of them is a completely normal young man."
| >She looked at Ace, genuinely surprised.
"I guess it really says something about our city when you can describe someone as normal and be sure that they would stand out, huh~?"
>Then she put her index finger on her lips.
"Oh, I guess he also does some, umm~, radio thingy? Although it's probably not something easy to see, is it?~ Hmm~" — >And so she trailed off again.
| >>556473
"Normal? Well you're definitely right that being normal would stand out, especially after all I've seen today. That said, I don't think I've seen them around."
| >>556476
>Mina blinked as Nym's answer snapped her out of whatever delusion she's been having.
"Riiight~? Ah!" — >She suddenly remembered,
— "And the other one is, uhh, about this high," — >She brought her hand down to her not lacking chest,
— "Very angry man! Well, he isn't really angry, but he always looks like he is and people always get the wrong idea~."
>She closed her eyes and her index finger pierced heavens.
"Oh, and he also looks quite old. Even though he isn't."
| >>556481
"Mm... that doesn't ring a bell either. Then again, I don't get out all that often, especially lately. A name might make it easier"
| >>556481
"You mean that guy over there?"
>Aikawa calls out to Mina from the back of the room, pointing with a free hand towards the "bull" of a man who continues to move along his conveyor belt of injured bar patrons. She doesn't want to attract much attention, but at the same time figuring out what this guy's deal is doesn't seem like a bad idea.
| >Glue-chan has once again finished her food
"Fo..ood? So... hung...ry..?"
| >>556492
"Ah, the name, the name is~" — >Mina begins but is interrupted half-way through.
>>556515
"Hmm~?" — >She lets out, as her head slowly turns towards first Aikawa and then the direction pointed. She narrows her eyes and then—
"aaaAAAH! Jósef!" — >She exclaims and rushes towards the man, bumping into (or rather jumping onto) him from behind, immediately forgetting about everyone else,
— "You are here after all~!"
| >Short man lets out a 'bguh!' as he is slammed into from behind in the middle of struggling with a pack of bandages.
"Bloody hell, Mina what are you doing?" — >He groans, trying to wiggle out of the hug without sending her flying across the room,
— "Is Neil here already?"
>Mina pouts, but her expression immediately switches into that of curiosity as she sees the pack in Jósef's hands.
"I don't know~? I was just asking about him~." — >She turned to wave to Nym and Ace with a smile.
| >>556608
"what a weird lass..."
>Ace sighs ,and looks annoyed at glue-chan, picking her up by her collar
"I'm cutting ye off"
| >A young man arrives running at the bar, he's wearing a casual blazer with dressing pants and a black t-shirt with 'business' written on white letters
>he takes a few minutes outside to fix his hair and clothing, then comes in quietly.
| >>556610
>Jósef sighed, looking at the pack of bandages that just refused to open.
"Anyway, Mina, can you go grab my drink from the bar? I'm just about done with lighter injuries." — >He asked tearing the pack in half,
— "It should be about time he shows up and I need a break."
>The woman smiled and patted the short man on the head.
"There~ there~... I'll be right back, okay?~"
And went towards the bar, looking for a free bartender.
| >>556818
>After a fair time searching around the bar the young man from before reaches quietly for the short, old man.
"Excuse me, I know I know you, and I know I came for a memorial so I'll guess a name we both should know and hope I'm not wrong.. You're Jamie's friend aren't you?"
| >>556946
>Jósef gave his last patient a vitamin pill and turned around to look at the man. He scratched on his long, thin scar on the forehead before taking off his gloves and offering a handshake.
"Glad to see you well, Neil. Not many people left who remember him." — >He said in a low, tired voice. Bitter smile creeped onto his face.
| >>557030
"Not everyone was lucky enough to meet a guy like that"
>He responded with a firm handshake, his voice wasn't as cheerful as always
"But goddamn he knew how to live life"
| >>557327
>Jósef took a look around, and was about to say something but got interrupted by a wet, gurgling sound in his throat. He coughed a couple times and took out a handkerchief.
"Sorry about the, uh, commotion. It's been like that all over the city, I hoped I would be able to catch a break here, but..." — >The short man nodded towards the injured.
— "I'm about finished here, just need to go to restroom really quick. Go catch Mina at the bar counter."
| >>556608
>A weak sense of relief washes over Aikawa as she watches Mina hurry over to the medic now known as "Josef"-- no, not 'him'-- thank god. She pauses in her preparations to move her patient upstairs as her phone fires off a series of short, rapid beeps in her pocket. Hurriedly, she digs is out and silences it, eyes desperately scanning the screen.
"...!!"
>She types something out quickly, then looks up and around the bar, seemingly alarmed by what she's read.
| >>557682
"Sure thing, you sound like you need that break"
>He patted him on his back before leaving for the bar counter
"Now.. Who the hell was Mina?"
>Neil mumbled to himself
|
| (bit busy now, will post later. —UKT)
| >Meanwhile, someone walks in, with a small suitcase and briefcase, his eyes red from jet-lag, as he yawns, leaving his things under an empty table, and makes his way to the bar, looking for the bartender.
| >>557713
>Aikawa's phone goes off again while it's still in her hand-- an unrecognized number. If it's important, they'll leave a message. She goes back to looking around the bar for delivery-boy-on-'roids when her cell buzzes. So they did leave a message, huh? She stares blankly at the notification on her screen for a few moments before she brings the phone to her ear to listen. Her reaction is instant-- extreme shock followed by tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
| >>558769
>She wipes at her face with the back of her forearm and triple checks that the message was left today, that she heard right... The whole reason she hadn't reached out was that she was afraid she'd hallucinated all those texts from her co-workers. She places her phone back in he jacket pocket, and prepares to tell Ren that she's gotta bail. It kinda seems like Jósef's got things under control anyway. If needed, they could even transfer the patients over to the hospital.
| >The jet-lagged man looks at Aikawa, curious... Must be some breakup text or some other thing.
| >>558790
>Ah, if only he knew. She sniffles a little, throat tightening around the heart that's jumped up in it.
"Ren... Ren, I gotta leave--"
>How the hell is she going to get there, though? EMS is tied up getting people who actually need transportation to the hospital to the ER. The roads are still littered with people and vehicles caught in the firefight.
"They're open again... they'll take new patients..."
>She takes a shaky breath. Why's she only falling apart just now?
| >>558793
>Aikawa wanders through the bar crowd aimlessly, trying to come up with an easy (or easier than walking, at least) way to make it from Uptown to Downtown. Sure, she's got two working feet and a recent burst of nervous energy, but relying on those to carry her would be more to her detriment than anything else.
This thread is permanently archived
| > The Blue Lantern was as it always was in appearance. Now that the lights were back on, the display of thousands of blue foxfire floating about practically numbered the people present.
>But currently all of the hologram TVs we're on news stations. Every finely lacquered booth rested the injured, tired and frightened. Kyougoku, Shigeru, Haruhi, and even the Lady Ryougi, we're all seeing to the well being of their various company.
>The bar had become a sanctuary of another kind.