11-23-2015, 09:20 PM
The walk back was at lot calmer, it was serenity in the midst of chaos caused by my own destructive tendencies. Yet another reminder to my unfortunate double tour of hell, particularly the last moments before I was napped by the assclown that ran this mad show. Just another reason to get out of the prison and back to the sun. The sounds of repeated thumps above me was a sure indicator that the Empire hadn't yet got it's shit into working order, and sending all the king horses and all king's men couldn't put Impel Down back together again. I gave a laugh to myself, a tiny bit of the warm and fuzzes rose up in my heart as I imagined just how much the pencil pushers back on Costa del Sol were going to freak when they saw the new renovations I made. With all the mechanical obstacles now taken care of, I just had to pick up my objective and punch a hole through the guards and wait for Choprot.
Assuming she was alive. I stopped in the middle of the catwalk and considered what I would happen if the sister was dead, or missing, or if the prisoners couldn't get to her before the riots reached her.
I shook my head and kept on going back to the hidden bar. I'd cross that bridge when I reached it, I decided.
Through a few more tunnels and down a maintenance tunnel later I was back down to the fifth level, not at all happy that I was back in the world's largest walk in freezer but at least this time I knew where I had to go. Thank you, auto mapper. No run in with wolves, or giant ugly koala man, even the cells were empty of life as the prisoner inside had figured out they were free and took the opportunity to flee. And they all went to Newkama Land, if the footprints in the snow were any indication. And sure enough, when I returned to little bar at the corner of mardi gras and neverland the place was packed wall to wall.
Despite the destruction of the reactor, a generator had been summoned to power the gaudy lights that had doubled since i was last here. Along with everything else. The place was almost blinding, the prisoners no longer restricted to salvage from the remains of the guards and now the decorations were in full force. Which I kind of regretted, but then I didn't have to stay for long. The little dancing troupe before was now a full on band, the bar was stocked with real booze, and primes were summoning their personal vices left and right.
And when I walked in, dayglo green armor slightly flecked with blood, I was immediately swamped as everyone tried to hand me a drink all at once and I found myself picked up and crowed surfed across the room. I was left to wonder if this was how rockstars felt all the time, and I could then see why they liked it so much.
"Larenzo!" I shouted out over the drunken prisoners as someone tried to force feed me what I think was a cosmopolitan. The blue haired rogue looked up from his own activities, a little too engrossed to notice the space marine lifted up on a crowd of people. I noticed that he had the time to change into leather armor that was much more practical than his previous outfit, and I hoped for his sake that he had actually saved Jen'lak or he was about to find out how much that armor protected him from my fists. "Where's the girl!?"
"Doomy!" He shouted and wave of people repeated him. Maybe I'd just punch him anyway "Yes, this way. Come on, you bunch of sweets, being the sour puss this way" I was surfed over to the drag queen and dropped onto my feet in front of him, where he led me into the side room. A quick pat down by self revealed, to my surprise, that I still had my wallet. The benefit of being MVP, I guess.
The side room was thankfully more bare bones that the main floor, the only thing of note was not what but who was inside: along with Larenzo's two fellow goons was who I presumed was Jen'lak. She was at least the same spices, a sort of reptilian humanoid with fins going the length of her head, back, and tail, similar color and only slight bulkier that her entertainer sister. Whether that she was the objective was to be seen. She still wore the orange prison jumper, gouged repeated with the wounds to match underneath, and that was enough to glare at the fool who's job was to get her down here in one piece.
"Okay, there was a struggle" Larenzo admitted, although the guilt on his face was about as painted on as his hair "But not with the guards. The second level has monsters on it. You would think the Empire would have gotten rid of them, but apparently they're just as crazy as the Marines" That didn't lift my glare, which made the drag queen shiver uncomfortably in his boot "It's her, love, I promise"
I took his words on it. I took an empty seat and scooted it right to her and sat next to her and face her head on. She seemed more content to watch a patch on the floor, and when I gave a closer look into her eyes I saw a far too familiar sight. An unfocused stare that saw something miles away yet seemed unable to see anything in between. Soldiers unprepared for the savagery of war who'd return home broken, and victims of amoral tortures. The thousand yard stare. I looked back to Larenzo, not because I felt that he was to blame but rather that I had to know if it was caused by the prison itself.
I think he wanted to pretend that any prisoner that found themselves in this shithole could handle themselves, but his glum expression and slow nod told me everything. I hung my head at that. I would just have hope that once I got out she would recover.
"Jen'lak" I only got a small flicker of the eyes as a reaction, but it was enough "I've been sent by your sister to get you out" THAT actually got her to look me in the eyes, but it wasn't hope and admiration that I got as it was a long entrenched wariness. I couldn't blame her. Trust was in short supply here, and I'm sure what she's gone through would force her to only imagine some con or just a new torture by the Empire. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but this place is FUBAR and that's because of me. And I did that because Shea'lak came to me and begged me to save you" I'm sure I mispronounced that name, but a small twinkle in here eyes told me she knew that I told the truth.
"But it's safe here..." she started, and I leaped out of my seat in a flash of rage. Maybe I should have been a bit more understanding, she had gone through a lot. I could have considered that a more diplomatic approach would have convince her to gone on her own accord. But I was not about to let my hard work be all for nothing. I towered over her, one fist slammed into the table. The others jumped back, but she looked at me dead on. Unflinching.
"I promised to get you out of here, and I keep my word. Whether or not you want to is not my concern. If I have to drag you out, I will" But she remained unphased by my intimidation and straight through my helmet's visor.
"Do you always make promises behind a mask?"
That made me stop. It threw me off and knocked me out of my anger. It seemed like nonsense, but when I looked down my HUD to see my own confused face reflected back I realized that She wasn't talking to me, the person, but a helmeted hardass with more guns than sense. Since it's a image I've cultivated for so long, I guess I occasionally forget that I need to turn the heat back for the benefits. It was no wonder why she didn't trust me. I grabbed the sides of my helmet and pushed up, revealed my hardened features and left us both actually eye to eye with each other for the first time.
"Then let me promise you this: I swear on my life that I will keep you safe. Neither Omni nor Hell itself will make me break that. But I need you to follow me." There was a long pause after I laid myself out bare. She watch me, to try to catch the moment of insincerity, but she eventually softened and nodded.
"Alright then." I answered as I put my helmet back and rose up to my full height. "Then lets get you out of here"
Assuming she was alive. I stopped in the middle of the catwalk and considered what I would happen if the sister was dead, or missing, or if the prisoners couldn't get to her before the riots reached her.
I shook my head and kept on going back to the hidden bar. I'd cross that bridge when I reached it, I decided.
Through a few more tunnels and down a maintenance tunnel later I was back down to the fifth level, not at all happy that I was back in the world's largest walk in freezer but at least this time I knew where I had to go. Thank you, auto mapper. No run in with wolves, or giant ugly koala man, even the cells were empty of life as the prisoner inside had figured out they were free and took the opportunity to flee. And they all went to Newkama Land, if the footprints in the snow were any indication. And sure enough, when I returned to little bar at the corner of mardi gras and neverland the place was packed wall to wall.
Despite the destruction of the reactor, a generator had been summoned to power the gaudy lights that had doubled since i was last here. Along with everything else. The place was almost blinding, the prisoners no longer restricted to salvage from the remains of the guards and now the decorations were in full force. Which I kind of regretted, but then I didn't have to stay for long. The little dancing troupe before was now a full on band, the bar was stocked with real booze, and primes were summoning their personal vices left and right.
And when I walked in, dayglo green armor slightly flecked with blood, I was immediately swamped as everyone tried to hand me a drink all at once and I found myself picked up and crowed surfed across the room. I was left to wonder if this was how rockstars felt all the time, and I could then see why they liked it so much.
"Larenzo!" I shouted out over the drunken prisoners as someone tried to force feed me what I think was a cosmopolitan. The blue haired rogue looked up from his own activities, a little too engrossed to notice the space marine lifted up on a crowd of people. I noticed that he had the time to change into leather armor that was much more practical than his previous outfit, and I hoped for his sake that he had actually saved Jen'lak or he was about to find out how much that armor protected him from my fists. "Where's the girl!?"
"Doomy!" He shouted and wave of people repeated him. Maybe I'd just punch him anyway "Yes, this way. Come on, you bunch of sweets, being the sour puss this way" I was surfed over to the drag queen and dropped onto my feet in front of him, where he led me into the side room. A quick pat down by self revealed, to my surprise, that I still had my wallet. The benefit of being MVP, I guess.
The side room was thankfully more bare bones that the main floor, the only thing of note was not what but who was inside: along with Larenzo's two fellow goons was who I presumed was Jen'lak. She was at least the same spices, a sort of reptilian humanoid with fins going the length of her head, back, and tail, similar color and only slight bulkier that her entertainer sister. Whether that she was the objective was to be seen. She still wore the orange prison jumper, gouged repeated with the wounds to match underneath, and that was enough to glare at the fool who's job was to get her down here in one piece.
"Okay, there was a struggle" Larenzo admitted, although the guilt on his face was about as painted on as his hair "But not with the guards. The second level has monsters on it. You would think the Empire would have gotten rid of them, but apparently they're just as crazy as the Marines" That didn't lift my glare, which made the drag queen shiver uncomfortably in his boot "It's her, love, I promise"
I took his words on it. I took an empty seat and scooted it right to her and sat next to her and face her head on. She seemed more content to watch a patch on the floor, and when I gave a closer look into her eyes I saw a far too familiar sight. An unfocused stare that saw something miles away yet seemed unable to see anything in between. Soldiers unprepared for the savagery of war who'd return home broken, and victims of amoral tortures. The thousand yard stare. I looked back to Larenzo, not because I felt that he was to blame but rather that I had to know if it was caused by the prison itself.
I think he wanted to pretend that any prisoner that found themselves in this shithole could handle themselves, but his glum expression and slow nod told me everything. I hung my head at that. I would just have hope that once I got out she would recover.
"Jen'lak" I only got a small flicker of the eyes as a reaction, but it was enough "I've been sent by your sister to get you out" THAT actually got her to look me in the eyes, but it wasn't hope and admiration that I got as it was a long entrenched wariness. I couldn't blame her. Trust was in short supply here, and I'm sure what she's gone through would force her to only imagine some con or just a new torture by the Empire. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but this place is FUBAR and that's because of me. And I did that because Shea'lak came to me and begged me to save you" I'm sure I mispronounced that name, but a small twinkle in here eyes told me she knew that I told the truth.
"But it's safe here..." she started, and I leaped out of my seat in a flash of rage. Maybe I should have been a bit more understanding, she had gone through a lot. I could have considered that a more diplomatic approach would have convince her to gone on her own accord. But I was not about to let my hard work be all for nothing. I towered over her, one fist slammed into the table. The others jumped back, but she looked at me dead on. Unflinching.
"I promised to get you out of here, and I keep my word. Whether or not you want to is not my concern. If I have to drag you out, I will" But she remained unphased by my intimidation and straight through my helmet's visor.
"Do you always make promises behind a mask?"
That made me stop. It threw me off and knocked me out of my anger. It seemed like nonsense, but when I looked down my HUD to see my own confused face reflected back I realized that She wasn't talking to me, the person, but a helmeted hardass with more guns than sense. Since it's a image I've cultivated for so long, I guess I occasionally forget that I need to turn the heat back for the benefits. It was no wonder why she didn't trust me. I grabbed the sides of my helmet and pushed up, revealed my hardened features and left us both actually eye to eye with each other for the first time.
"Then let me promise you this: I swear on my life that I will keep you safe. Neither Omni nor Hell itself will make me break that. But I need you to follow me." There was a long pause after I laid myself out bare. She watch me, to try to catch the moment of insincerity, but she eventually softened and nodded.
"Alright then." I answered as I put my helmet back and rose up to my full height. "Then lets get you out of here"
![[Image: oGzCtPC.png]](http://i.imgur.com/oGzCtPC.png)