12-18-2017, 10:27 AM
Leo took the orb of omnilium he had on his pocket from when he "spawned" at the Nexus, puttet it on the table, and left the house. He wasn't going to deal with anyone's bullshit, and he was clearly not wanted here, so why stay? The siblings had what they needed from him (the donated payment), and he got what he wanted from them (to know what was going on). No reasson to do anything else but to look for a better place to be. With Sonic on his shoulder, he proceeded to walk and contemplate the street.
An activity that didn't last too long though. He hadn't reached the crossroad yet that Maria was already running behind him.
"Wait! Don't leave!"
Leo turned to face her. "Why not? I left you some of that weird money you use – I think that'll be enough. And it's not like I'm of any use for you two, it seems"
"That's bullshit! I don't care about that!"
"About what?"
"… … Everything! Well, I do care about other things... But that's not the point! Listen... !"
"…"
"I'm... sorry about that. I didn't intend for our fucked up situation to offend you"
"Oh, I'm not offended! I'm perfectly fine! Like, yeah, I get it, you needed something, I gave it to you, so no need to keep dealing with this"
"Are you mad?"
"Kinda..."
"…"
They both just stood there, at the side of the empty street.
Maria broke the short silence. "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm not sure, but I think getting somewhere to sleep when the night comes would be a nice idea"
"Do you... want me to help you with that?"
"Is it so you'll have an excuse to ask more favors from me?"
"No! Look, you don't have to do anything else for us, and I'm really thankful for the money. But I don't want you to leave offended by us"
"i told you I wasn't offended"
"Anyways... The least I can do is help you not get lost. Again"
Leo almost laughted at that. Almost. "Ok, you can come with me. As long as you don't keep fighting"
"Jerry's sleeping. Without him, there's no one else to spar with"
Together, they walked towards... wherever Maria was taking Leo. Unlike the last trip, they barely talked to each other, save for a few remarks Maria did about the neighborhood and the people living here. He wasn't sure if she was doing it with ulterior motives or for genuine kindness' sake, but he did apreciate her help, regardless of intentions. And apologies were always welcome, in any form or shape.
During the walk, they passed by a graffiti Leo recognized. It was a painting of a deformed tiger with psychodelic colors, that, somehow, looked amazing.
"Wait... Where are you taking me?", he said.
"To the elevator. Didn't you want to rent a house? You have enough money to live wherever you wanted"
"But I like this place"
Maria stopped. "You're joking"
"No, really! It reminds me of where I used to live"
"Tier Five sucks. There's a shitton of gangs, terrorists on the loose, illegal trafficking, trash everywhere..."
"Yeah, like home"
"…"
Leo proceeded to tell Maria about Hellsalem's Lot, formely New York. How he got there looking for a cure for his sister, how he met a lot of cool people, the kind of life a town that served as the crossroad between Earth and the Alterworld had, the many adventures he experienced... He didn't mention his work at Libra though, but he did tell her how he used to help people with his powers. While his life was one of constant danger, he had to admit that he liked it. The "helping people" part – not the "living in constant fear of being killed" thing.
"So, you were, like, a superhero? You?!" Maria giggled.
"No! But it could've been cool if I was... Although I don't think I'd be fit for that kind of work"
"You just told me about how you 'saved the world' by being a 'lovable wimp' and inspiring others. That's as cheesy as heroes can get"
"He he, if you say so... Wait, I'm not a wimp!"
She laughted.
They kept walking and chatting, until they reached the elevator.
Wait...
"What are we doing here!?", said Leo.
"Oh, I'm such an idiot!"
"…"
At the end, they did find Leo a nice apartment not that far from the elevator (and Maria's house). It seemed it belonged to a guy who lived alone, but who got recently killed in a gun fight.
Leo didn't had any problem with that.
That night, when Maria went to sleep, and after a nap of a few hours, Jerry sneaked out with the orb of omnilium Leo left.
Three teenagers of varying ages and species were hanging out at a nearby park, at the "shadow" of a big tree, outside the scope of the only working lamp. Sitting on the remainings of what were once concrete benchs and tables, they were chatting about trivial things when Jerry arrived.
"Oh, look who finally decided to show up", said Claren. He was smoking one of those cheap cigarettes he steals from his father.
"Just shut up", Jerry snarled.
"Guess who's been scolded by his sister again". Silas was the only one sitting in the dirt, with his head pointed to the sky, rested on a block of concetre. How he didn't broke his neck already was beyond Jerry.
Jerry looked at him with a stern face "And guess who I'm about to kick their ass if they don't shut up"
"He's in 'the mood', it seems". Silas started to laught.
Jerry turned to face Kevin, the only one who still didn't attempt to snark him.
"… What? What did I do now?", said Kevin.
"No, nothing. S'up, I guess". Jerry sat on one of the failed attempts at a bench. "But I'm not here for dumb shit. Check this out". He took the orb of omnilium from one of the pockets of his jeans.
Silas wasn't looking at the sky anymore. "Where did you get it? That's a lot of OM"
"My sister convinced a newbie prime to give it to her"
"So, you stole it from your sister", said Claren.
"No! That guy left it to pay Grook"
"But isn't that a little too much for Grook?"
"Yeah. Look, i'm going to use the rest of it to enhance my sword, and with that I'll hopefully get rid of that jerk". For the first time in the whole day, Jerry smiled.
… And so did Claren. "Yeah, right, you're going to kill Grook with your anime sword"
"But... That IS enough to kill him, right?", said Kevin. "Your sword is already powerful enough"
"Exactly"
"That's suicide", said Silas. "You may kill Grook, but that'll only get the rest of the gang to hate you. And us, by proxy"
"And what about the newbie prime you mentioned?". Clearen was lighting a new cigarette. "Is him part of your plan too?"
"The guy's an idiot, but I doubt he'll help us. And even if he did, he's a support; he can't kill anyone"
Silas and Kevin laughted.
Not so much Claren. "What kind of support, exactly?"
"He can "see beyond things", on his own words. That's it"
"You're an idiot Jerry. You're planning to fight another gang, and you think someone who can counter-ambush them is useless? Can he also check how many weapons they have? Where they are?"
Jerry took a moment to think. "Now that you mention it, he didn't specify what he can do exactly. In fact, he waited until the very last moment to actually tell us about it"
"That's exactly the kind of person you shouldn't understimate". Claren straightened his back. "Look, if you convince the newbie to meet with us, I may help you with your stupid plan. I want to see by myself what he can do. Having an Ace with us, even if he's a support, could actually work"
"Hey!", said Silas. "And before you enchant your sword, why don't you share that OM with us? We could use an upgrade too"
"Mmhh..."
"No", Kevin interrumpted. "Let's get some OM on our own. If we're going to fight, we better upgrade all that we can"
"That's it", said Claren. "You have until saturday to pay it, right? Let's meet up here on friday night. If our weapons are on point, and if the prime can work with us, then we'll help you take back Grook's gang"
Both Silas and Kevin agreeded with him.
An activity that didn't last too long though. He hadn't reached the crossroad yet that Maria was already running behind him.
"Wait! Don't leave!"
Leo turned to face her. "Why not? I left you some of that weird money you use – I think that'll be enough. And it's not like I'm of any use for you two, it seems"
"That's bullshit! I don't care about that!"
"About what?"
"… … Everything! Well, I do care about other things... But that's not the point! Listen... !"
"…"
"I'm... sorry about that. I didn't intend for our fucked up situation to offend you"
"Oh, I'm not offended! I'm perfectly fine! Like, yeah, I get it, you needed something, I gave it to you, so no need to keep dealing with this"
"Are you mad?"
"Kinda..."
"…"
They both just stood there, at the side of the empty street.
Maria broke the short silence. "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm not sure, but I think getting somewhere to sleep when the night comes would be a nice idea"
"Do you... want me to help you with that?"
"Is it so you'll have an excuse to ask more favors from me?"
"No! Look, you don't have to do anything else for us, and I'm really thankful for the money. But I don't want you to leave offended by us"
"i told you I wasn't offended"
"Anyways... The least I can do is help you not get lost. Again"
Leo almost laughted at that. Almost. "Ok, you can come with me. As long as you don't keep fighting"
"Jerry's sleeping. Without him, there's no one else to spar with"
Together, they walked towards... wherever Maria was taking Leo. Unlike the last trip, they barely talked to each other, save for a few remarks Maria did about the neighborhood and the people living here. He wasn't sure if she was doing it with ulterior motives or for genuine kindness' sake, but he did apreciate her help, regardless of intentions. And apologies were always welcome, in any form or shape.
During the walk, they passed by a graffiti Leo recognized. It was a painting of a deformed tiger with psychodelic colors, that, somehow, looked amazing.
"Wait... Where are you taking me?", he said.
"To the elevator. Didn't you want to rent a house? You have enough money to live wherever you wanted"
"But I like this place"
Maria stopped. "You're joking"
"No, really! It reminds me of where I used to live"
"Tier Five sucks. There's a shitton of gangs, terrorists on the loose, illegal trafficking, trash everywhere..."
"Yeah, like home"
"…"
Leo proceeded to tell Maria about Hellsalem's Lot, formely New York. How he got there looking for a cure for his sister, how he met a lot of cool people, the kind of life a town that served as the crossroad between Earth and the Alterworld had, the many adventures he experienced... He didn't mention his work at Libra though, but he did tell her how he used to help people with his powers. While his life was one of constant danger, he had to admit that he liked it. The "helping people" part – not the "living in constant fear of being killed" thing.
"So, you were, like, a superhero? You?!" Maria giggled.
"No! But it could've been cool if I was... Although I don't think I'd be fit for that kind of work"
"You just told me about how you 'saved the world' by being a 'lovable wimp' and inspiring others. That's as cheesy as heroes can get"
"He he, if you say so... Wait, I'm not a wimp!"
She laughted.
They kept walking and chatting, until they reached the elevator.
Wait...
"What are we doing here!?", said Leo.
"Oh, I'm such an idiot!"
"…"
At the end, they did find Leo a nice apartment not that far from the elevator (and Maria's house). It seemed it belonged to a guy who lived alone, but who got recently killed in a gun fight.
Leo didn't had any problem with that.
That night, when Maria went to sleep, and after a nap of a few hours, Jerry sneaked out with the orb of omnilium Leo left.
Three teenagers of varying ages and species were hanging out at a nearby park, at the "shadow" of a big tree, outside the scope of the only working lamp. Sitting on the remainings of what were once concrete benchs and tables, they were chatting about trivial things when Jerry arrived.
"Oh, look who finally decided to show up", said Claren. He was smoking one of those cheap cigarettes he steals from his father.
"Just shut up", Jerry snarled.
"Guess who's been scolded by his sister again". Silas was the only one sitting in the dirt, with his head pointed to the sky, rested on a block of concetre. How he didn't broke his neck already was beyond Jerry.
Jerry looked at him with a stern face "And guess who I'm about to kick their ass if they don't shut up"
"He's in 'the mood', it seems". Silas started to laught.
Jerry turned to face Kevin, the only one who still didn't attempt to snark him.
"… What? What did I do now?", said Kevin.
"No, nothing. S'up, I guess". Jerry sat on one of the failed attempts at a bench. "But I'm not here for dumb shit. Check this out". He took the orb of omnilium from one of the pockets of his jeans.
Silas wasn't looking at the sky anymore. "Where did you get it? That's a lot of OM"
"My sister convinced a newbie prime to give it to her"
"So, you stole it from your sister", said Claren.
"No! That guy left it to pay Grook"
"But isn't that a little too much for Grook?"
"Yeah. Look, i'm going to use the rest of it to enhance my sword, and with that I'll hopefully get rid of that jerk". For the first time in the whole day, Jerry smiled.
… And so did Claren. "Yeah, right, you're going to kill Grook with your anime sword"
"But... That IS enough to kill him, right?", said Kevin. "Your sword is already powerful enough"
"Exactly"
"That's suicide", said Silas. "You may kill Grook, but that'll only get the rest of the gang to hate you. And us, by proxy"
"And what about the newbie prime you mentioned?". Clearen was lighting a new cigarette. "Is him part of your plan too?"
"The guy's an idiot, but I doubt he'll help us. And even if he did, he's a support; he can't kill anyone"
Silas and Kevin laughted.
Not so much Claren. "What kind of support, exactly?"
"He can "see beyond things", on his own words. That's it"
"You're an idiot Jerry. You're planning to fight another gang, and you think someone who can counter-ambush them is useless? Can he also check how many weapons they have? Where they are?"
Jerry took a moment to think. "Now that you mention it, he didn't specify what he can do exactly. In fact, he waited until the very last moment to actually tell us about it"
"That's exactly the kind of person you shouldn't understimate". Claren straightened his back. "Look, if you convince the newbie to meet with us, I may help you with your stupid plan. I want to see by myself what he can do. Having an Ace with us, even if he's a support, could actually work"
"Hey!", said Silas. "And before you enchant your sword, why don't you share that OM with us? We could use an upgrade too"
"Mmhh..."
"No", Kevin interrumpted. "Let's get some OM on our own. If we're going to fight, we better upgrade all that we can"
"That's it", said Claren. "You have until saturday to pay it, right? Let's meet up here on friday night. If our weapons are on point, and if the prime can work with us, then we'll help you take back Grook's gang"
Both Silas and Kevin agreeded with him.