Reunion (Heather, Gisele, Yeara, Bellum)

Tapping, that's mostly what I heard as I strummed my fingers on the table. Looking down at my watch I couldn't help but be a little nervous as I looked expectantly at the door. The sound of chatter filled the air along with the smell of delicious food that was being brought out of the kitchen. Reaching into my right pocket I clutch the slightly crumbled coupon. The invitation was pretty sudden and a spur of the moment idea. I could still remember it clearly, my relief that we had survived our ordeal and the responses everyone gave me as I blurted out the idea before I rushed for safety. In hindsight I really did celebrate early, even when I left the Fungeon there was carnage everywhere and had to fight for my life to make it out of the festival grounds. However, it felt like a blur, everything happened so fast it was hard to recall the more... visceral... moments of the scene. But that wasn't really the main concern, here I was sitting in Dell's a weak later when I didn't even know if we all made it out.

No don't think like that, the people I was with were way more experienced and hardened than I am at fighting, if I could make it out than so can they. Plus we all had a little something to help us out. As the thought crossed my mind I couldn't help but eye the gourd as it was strapped against my waist. I hadn't used my powers since then but I could always feel it, Chronos's presence. However, these past couple days have been hard to bare, my head hurt almost constantly and I wasn't getting as much sleep as I should. That was evident by the slight discoloration under my eyes. Things haven't been quite right since that night. There was constant chatter about people like us on the media, 'Seekers' they called us. Some talk was good, but most of it wasn't as pleasant. There were those that blamed us for what had happened that day and others who think of it as a sign to the end of times. We were in the dark as much as they were, nothing but an audio recording and a journal to guide us. I pinch the bridge of my nose and lean back in my chair. With so much going on hopefully this reunion could get my mind off things.

Man, the past week had been fantastic. Chaos in the Top Ward, the reclamation of her powers, the promises Cinder made... So and so forth. There had been countless developments that all built on top of each other in joyous harmony and even individually each filled Gisèle with a jubilance which had evaded her ever since her arrival in Junction. Of course, the system had put its foot down immediately once the trouble was quelled and people were being whipped back into their mundane routines by virtue of necessity, but not even that could manage to sour her mood. After all, at best this was nothing more than a frantic return to a fleeting zeitgeist; the hushed whispers and capricious rumormongering that had engulfed the streets saw to it that the truth was rendered crystal clear to anyone who wasn't actively avoiding it. There was one thing on the public's mind: Seekers. Every last member of the masses was awaiting the next grand move that'd be made by that mysterious bunch of saviors(?) and, technically being one of them, the Scourge of Kings had no intention of disappointing. It was still in her interest to lay low for the time being, but regardless of present limitations, she'd do her best to meet all their hopes and fears with a performance worthy of the city's attention.

Shockingly enough though, that wasn't the main reason behind the spring in her step. Right now Gisèle's excitement emanated from something far more primal. With a flourish she'd slam the door to her destination to the side and slide inside eyeing Dell's "Dell"icacies with the wild glare of an apex predator. "Table for five plea----" Her wily smirk faded from her lips and vanished alongside the abandoned request as she noticed Nagami sitting alone nearby. Was it just him? She frowned with concern and silently slinked over her to her seat.


"'Sup Nagami? How've you been holding up?" Collapsing into the chair, her melancholic expression would remain for a few minutes as she waited for any sign of the rest of the group. However, a thought would suddenly pop into her mind which would temporarily erase it as she recalled the words of a center bartender, causing her to look over at him with a bit of curiosity. "Pardon me for the random question, but do you know a girl named Blake by chance?" It was probably just a coincidence. Nevertheless, no harm in checking now that the realization had dawned on her. Besides, it'd help to have something to discuss other than the fact that the rest of their "pals" might have been ripped apart by titanic mounds of pulsating flesh.

The sudden outburst of french caught me off guard as the blue haired girl took a seat. I would give a slight wave and a smile as seeing one of our group lifted my spirits. "Hey how's it going... uuuhhh" I could only rub the back of head sheepishly unable to finish my sentence, she was the only one who didn't introduce herself in the Fungeon. In fact this whole situation kind of caught me off guard, during our whole adventure she didn't say much except a couple words until near the end where things devolved into chaos. It felt a bit surreal but I guess she was just really into roleplay or something.

I could only sigh as she asked me about my condition. "It's been alright aside from the fact that I have some sort of genie in a bottle and all that anyone has talked about is the fact that we're either superheroes or the literal signs of the apocalypse." I would say to her somewhat jokingly. Even though I didn't look right as rain I had to at least act like it. I was actually quite surprised about how well she seemed to be taking it, I didn't really see her in her prime during battle but I assume she also obtained some sort of ability like the rest of us. I wonder if I was the only one that was experiencing some side effects, which could be totally likely as I was the only one who got a imaginary friend while the rest grew body parts and shape shifted into other forms. "How about you? Don't worry about the rest of the guys I'm sure they'll be here soon" I say, trying to muster as much confidence as I could.

I was shocked by her sudden inquiry after the initial question. "Yeah I know Blake, I went to Heaven's Door a couple weeks before the jump. Nice girl, although I don't really know her that well, mostly just small talk. For all I know she could've just been displaying good customer service." I say, somewhat snarkily. "Ah who am I kidding it was my first time at a bar and I probably looked like a dork." I grin, should probably go back sometime, god knows anything better than staying in the house nowadays.

"Gisèle Durand. Blueberry and Cloaky work just as fine though if you wanna steal a page from someone else's book." She recommended with a wave of her hand. Truth be told, she'd prefer to be called by her regular name if Nagami didn't have a nickname of his own in mind. It wasn't something she cared about enough to push for or otherwise make a fuss about, but since none of those monikers were gonna stick anyway after all was said and done she'd prefer to see what people could come up with on their own. A trivial delight and nothing more, that was certain, but it was a pleasure all the same.

As the boy expressed his concerns she'd nod sympathetically and laugh lightly at his humorous way of describing the situation. It wasn't a sentiment she shared, but it was one she could understand and (to some extent) respect. In a city whose streets were overflowing with millions of people, it was probably terrifying based on instinct alone to go from being an ordinary human to suddenly being at the center of ten thousand hypothetical coronations and lynchings. Mob mentality was a fearsome force to contend with: it was a shame it was such a double-edged sword for the masses that wielded it. "Well at least the latter's more easily escapable. No need to out yourself to everyone if you don't want to." She'd whisper in an attempt to offer reassurance as she patted his shoulder. As for his question, the answer was probably obvious already and trying to play it off as a complete farce seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth. There was no harm in tossing him a minuscule grain of truth. "Believe it or not, I've been through worse. Besides, I'm needed here, so no use in moping around. We all gotta do our best." Yep that'd suffice. Maybe he'd even find some courage to take in those words, although he was seeming pretty confident already considering the dire circumstances.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm the same. It was pretty great for my first time. She mentioned you briefly when I went, said you fix clocks for a living. How's that going for you by the way, Memento-man?"

"Fucking pain in the arse headache." Yeara would groan to herself as she trudged her way through the commercial ward, rubbing her temple for a moment before reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone. Swiping it on, she'd reopen the map she had saved, she hadn't bothered coming to a fancy place like this on her own before so really had no idea where it was she was meant to be looking for it. Luckily it seemed that it wasn't too far into the heart of the commercial ward, makes sense with how popular it is to have it somewhere easily accessible. Spotting quite an eye searing neon sign indicating the right place up ahead, the one winged Talarian would take a moment to take a deep breath and try to calm the stupid migraine in her head down before shoving the door to the place open and taking a brief scan of the inside.

It didn't take her long to spot what she was looking for, though honestly she expected more than just those two to be here by now. She was fairly sure she was late as it is, heh, maybe the others both died before getting home. Who knows. All she cared about was the fact her companion back home was okay when she got there, if not a little spooked. Yeara would smirk lightly and give an offhand wave as she approached the other two and took a seat. "Yo guys. The micropocolypse been treating you two well?" If there was one thing she did enjoy doing, it was taking a super serious past experience and taking the piss out of it. "Where's the others? They both become mutant chow or somethin'?" Taking her eye off of the pair for a moment as a bartender walked past their table, she'd grab their arm and roll her head back and to the side to talk to them. "Hey, be a darl and bring me out a coffee would ya? Cheers." If they were still waiting for the others there was no point ordering food yet, but she really needed something to take her mind off of this nagging headache.

"Oh you know how it goes. It's a modest living and by modest I mean that I live in the Slums and eat canned food every day." I say in a brutally honest manner. Usually the way of life didn't get to me too much but feeling as garbage as I already was, the sorry state of my quality of life was painfully apparent. "But what can ya do, clocks aren't exactly the most advanced technology aboard this place." It had only heightened my expectations for today, Dell's was renown for it's great food and tastes that you could only experience here. I wonder what food would come out from someone who was influenced by all the cultures of Junction. The blending of the wide variety of culinary arts from across the multiverse was an exciting prospect. My face brightens as I see Yeara approach. I was right after all! The arrival of another one of our comrades lights a spark of hope within me.

"Oh you know, migraines, insomnia, the constant existential fear of death. All in a days work at this point," I tell her sarcastically in response to her question. "Not sure where the others are, hopefully it's not as bad as you say..." My face darkens for a second before I snap out of my gloom and focus on what's happening in the moment. "Guess we should probably get some drinks. I'd like a soda if you wouldn't mind" I tell the bartender with a smile. God I'm such a child, as much as I wanted to say that it was purely because I didn't like coffee a look at the prices would tell me otherwise.