[IC] The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

[Bunanigans]

Los Paraisos: Hell's Kitchen Restaurant
"You all right, Moira?"

Moira shook herself out of her thoughts, turning to the cleric. Nah. It couldn't be. Not here. "Yeah..." she said gruffly, frowning once more at the menus. "'M alright."

While Syed was grateful for his water (the events of the day had left him very thirsty), Moira just stared at her glass like it was a foreign substance. What was this shit?! What was it?!! Luckily, Cid returned with their starters, a couple of sharing dishes, and asked them just the right sort of question.

"You got anything with more alcohol in it than this shit?" she asked, poking at her still untouched water.

"Well, if you know what you want for your main we'll have a wine to suit it, sis," Cid responded.

She glanced over to Amy. "Yeah, the steak thing she's got. But I like my meat rare."

"We've got a merlot that will go well with that, sis. Or a zinfandel."

Moira was impressed, even though as far as she was concerned red wines were just red wines. She picked one randomly. Syed on the other hand simply ordered himself a curry - he hadn't had one in a long while now, and he was really starting to crave it. There was only one on the menu, but he did ask somewhat apologetically if he could have his extra spicy. He didn't like coming across as picky, especially when the chefs seemed pretty much abused here, but he felt he needed some comfort food. And somehow, this place was a lot more welcoming than it first appeared. Maybe it was the complete chaos constantly bursting from the kitchens?

Josette's information was very concerning, but at least they had something as a link between them all. Whoever was doing this had a prowling ground. Moira rested her head on the palm of her hand. While she was not exactly listening carefully, she was paying a lot more attention than usual. Once more the thought of if she had a daughter, if they went missing like that... she hated it.

“You know, we should go clubbing sometime. Girls’ night out!”

"You sure that’s wise? -Ooh, calamari!- What I mean is, if girls are disappearing, wouldn’t it be safer to not go where it’s risky?”

"Yeah, maybe leave it til later," Syed concurred with a nod. "They're not the safest of places at the best of times."

"They're normally fine you paranoid fuck," Moira countered as she chewed on some fancy-ass looking pate, elbowing his arm with annoyance. "Normally."

The pair of them fell silent to allow Amy to ask a question, although it turned out to be pointless since the noisy chef with the cap interrupted again. Weren't chefs supposed to wear those poofy white hats? Either way, after giving his own piece - that he too knew someone who had gone missing, although he was startlingly unfazed by it - he retreated back into the kitchens.

Syed's eyes lowered to his hands. "This doesn't make sense..." he muttered, his thin eyebrows creasing at the middle with a frown. The mention of a coverup sent his mind into overdrive, and Amy's cut-off question - or at least what he assumed she was asking - only really made it worse. "Why these clubs?"

Moira sighed. Someone get this guy a tin hat before he gets too excited.

---

Hell's Kitchen - Kitchens
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" Gordon screamed, his face inches from Crispin's nose. "YOU ARE A CHEF!!! YOU WORK IN HERE, NOT OUT THERE!!!" He looked practically apocolyptic, his face going a vivid purple in his rage. The man had the attention span of a gnat he was sure, constantly leaving his duty to bother the customers. "Now, unless you want your next job to be fucking flipping burgers, then GET BACK TO IT!!!"

Gordon approached the opening in the wall to the seating area, holding his head in his hands. Oh gods, these people were going to be the death of him. And Crispin... especially Crispin...

He looked out to the main restaurant. Geez, that was a big group, and an odd mix at that. Cid was doing a great job serving them by the looks of it though, they all looked happy. But then again Cid was one of his best employees. Gordon afforded himself a tiny smile. Now, the important thing was to keep them looking like that after they had their meals. That was the most important thing of all.

And then he caught sight of the bigger woman. She looked a similar age to him, maybe a little younger, but those eyes were pretty much unmissable. He had only ever met a few people with eyes like that, and he had met all but one of them within the last few years or so. It had been so long, but could it be...? It had to be, right? There was no mistaking her, even now.

He made a mental note to make sure table 4 got bigger portions.

[Crescendo]

Los Paraisos: Hell’s Kitchen Restaurant

“You know, we should go clubbing sometime. Girls’ night out!”

Now there was an idea. Aria swiped a shrimp from the plate that Cid slid onto the table, humming in happiness as she chewed. As chaotic as the kitchens were, the pandemonium inside certainly didn’t impede food quality any.

As for the main dish, what the blond man had ordered sounded absolutely divine. “I’ll have a seafood alfredo as well,” she smiled up at Cid. “paired with a white wine. A Vouvray, perhaps?” As the bro scribbled down her order she tuned back into the matter at hand.

So the blue haired girl did have some information on the disappearances, and what’s more even gave them some leads to go on. The speculation about the coverup was certainly something to think about- people vanishing was no small matter and to have everyone so quiet about it just reeked of suspicion. It was certainly more information than Chirps, Xan and she had been able to gather in their weeks here before at the resort. Inside sources really were important, she decided. Perhaps she should’ve tried to get a job when they first arrived?

Seeing how the table was now discussing Josette’s discussion, Aria decided to put in her two cents as well.

“I think it’d be fun. Josette went and came back safely, not to mention we’d be in a group.” She shrugged. “Of course, I’m hardly the voice of authority here.” Slim fingers picked up another shrimp and waved it in Chirp’s direction before popping it in the illusionist’s mouth. “I say we let him decide; Chirps is the one in charge after all.”

[Taerinn]

Los Paraísos: Hell's Kitchen Restaurant

“Yeah. Apparently something all these women who went missing had in common was they had gone to a certain three nightclubs sometime. It might have something to do with it, or not at all. So I went and checked it out. Didn’t find anything though… but the music and drinks are bitchin’! You know, we should go clubbing sometime.” Josette’s eyes flickered to Estelle, Lisette, Xandra, Aria and Selan. “Girls’ night out!”

"Clubbing sounds like a lot of fun!" Lisette chirped, clapping her hands together. "I've never done it, but I'm sure it'd be really great!"

Selan actually nodded, a pursed smile on her lips. "That does sound like fun, actually." At the same time, a sinking feeling grew in her stomach at the thought of the disappearances spanning over such a relatively long period of time, with almost zero public knowledge of the whole thing. Girls continually being taken, for gods knew what reasons...

Cid returned with the appetizers, and began asking for their orders. After being reassured that it was vegetarian, Lisette was talked into ordering the gnocchi. Selan ordered her risotto and decided to have the complimentary wine on the side as well, along with a refill of her water.

"Come on Josette, what were the nightclubs? Do you all think we should scope it out?” Dylan asked.

A discussion broke out about their course of action; some, like Syed and Dylan, had their reservations about putting the females in the group in a risky situations.

"I agree with Miss Moira! It sounds like the best lead we have," Lisette said from behind her water glass. She was completely ignoring the calamari platter, and was repeatedly sipping at her drink to keep her stomach from growling. "We can take care of ourselves, right? And if we find the person who's behind the disappearances, we can stop more ladies from, you know, disappearing."

“I think it’d be fun. Josette went and came back safely, not to mention we’d be in a group. Of course, I’m hardly the voice of authority here. I say we let him decide; Chirps is the one in charge after all.” Aria suggested.

One corner of Selan's mouth involuntarily curled up into a smirk. Her least favorite trait about herself was that she held grudges, and she certainly still held one after the last time 'Chirps' was given a decision. But it had been some time since then; perhaps he had grown from the whole experience. Or, perhaps he was still the same insufferably egotistical man she had the displeasure of being abandoned by before.

Not to mention that he'd probably jump for joy at the prospect of going to a nightclub frequented by beautiful women with expensive tastes... she thought dryly. Personally, she would rather get somewhere with their mission, and if the nightclubs were a lead, then that was where they should go. The only thing she was worried about was addressed the moment it came to mind. "Trixie wouldn't be allowed into a nightclub though, would she? I don't think I feel comfortable with putting her in that situation..." she looked to the trickster apologetically.

[Pachamac]

Los Paraísos: Hell's Kitchen Restaurant

“Don’t worry, I’ll look after the little missy!” Don’s thumb stretched out across the table towards Selan, almost knocking over and spilling several of the table’s glasses. “We can… climb onto one of the nearby rooftops and stake out the club from outside! I’m really, really good at staking things out!!”

Being really good at staking out

“Bro! Sis!” Don screeched out to both Moira and Syed. “It’s the thief! The thief!”

Don scrambled back to the firework, and with a deft grab and flick of his lighter, sparked the firework up before setting it on the ground where it would then launch within the next 3 seconds. Don didn’t waste any time to watch the firework launch, instead he had already turned and began dashing in the direction of the cat wail, and the odd bobbing head he saw come from the alleyway further down the street. Whilst the getting was good, he was going to be sure the getting was got. He would nab this cat thief!

“Don, wait-” Syed tried to futilely protest before he and Moira watched the dashing Bro sprint across and leap from the top of the rooftop. They watched and gasped as Don propelled his body from the rooftop towards the next, determined to give chase and cut the time of pursuit that would slow him down if he ran through the streets, cutting it in half by dashing across the rooftops.

As he flew across the gap, the firework shot up into the sky and exploded above. Don’s arms flailed wildly, before he dramatically landed on the next rooftop and braced his legs into a crouch as he did so. Perfect landing. He grinned.

Except, it was Don Capuello, so naturally it didn’t end well.

As Don stood up to resume his run, his footing slipped, and Don ended up tumbling backwards off the roof. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Moira and Syed watched him fall. There were some dumpsters conveniently lined below him that would help break his fall, but Don being Don, he didn’t notice these, and instead panicked as he began freefalling. One waving arm grabbed onto the edge of a fire escape, and Don used it to swing himself to safety…

…right through the nearest window of the apartment flats and into somebody’s home.

“We could gets capes and masks and protect the island like superheroes!” Don’s arm swiped across the table, this time pointing his thumbsup towards Trixie. His arm would have knocked over several glasses had Selan and Marcus lifted them up in time.

“By the way… this burger is really, really yummy!” Don leaned back in his seat to glance past everyone towards the kitchen, his raised voice producing yet another thumbsup towards Crispin and Cid. “Compliments to the chef bro!” He yelled, before diving back in to munch upon his tasty beef burger filled with delicious tomatos and crispy lettuce. The only way to describe it was perfection.



“Clubbing…? Really…?” Estelle murmured, holding her head with a heavy sigh. She wasn’t sure about that. She’d never been clubbing before… how would that go? Wouldn’t she stand out like a sore thumb, with all the dancing and drinking and stuff…? And then she clapped her cheeks. It didn’t matter if she did or didn’t like the atmosphere, what was important was them trying to find these missing women and put an end to it. And even if the club sounded unappealing… it was the only lead they had.

And then she remembered punching Thunderhawk when he suggested using them as bait, grumbling at how in the end, it seemed like the only option they might have…

She turned to look to Thunderhawk, as they all did after Aria’s comment deferring any decision to the rightful mission leader… who was currently looking at Estelle.



“I don’t really see any other choice then to investigate these places,” Thunderhawk replied, after a silent pause when he picked up a fry, dunked it in some dip and then munched off with his cheek propped up by his hand. Another absent minded hand swatted at the creeping hand from Aria that tried to steal his food. “I’m not going to force anyone to do anything they’re uncomfortable with, though. This is all up to you guys, but I’ll be going there. What other choice is there?”

Estelle’s grumbling grew louder and louder until she resigned herself to their fate.

“Fine. Clubbing. Okay.”



“Sweet!” Josette fistpumped. “Cid, you bum! More drinks! We’re gonna go partying!!”

[Fox of Spades]

So Josette knew something? Xan's expression was serious and she listened attentively. They had actually managed to get a lead and it brought them a step closer to solving the crime and finding whoever was behind it. Don's sister told them about Alicia and how the missing women had something in common. They were getting somewhere, this was very good.

"Mhm, what did they have in common?" Lucien arched an eyebrow then stared, expression serious.

Josette continued talking, and it turned out all the women had been to three nightclubs. Xan's eyebrows furrowed, they had to stop whoever was doing this, but before she could ask about specifics on the clubs, shouting came from the kitchen and Lucien jolted upright in his seat, nearly knocking his glass off the table.

"They sure know how to make people jump," he muttered beneath his breath before Cid arrived with the starters. Expertly, he slid them across the table and Lucien stared at his order of deep fried shrimp drizzled in sweet and chili sauce. "Thanks," he flashed Cid two thumbs up, "these look delicious." The summoner popped a shrimp into his mouth before returning his attention to the discussion that was taking place. The gal who was Don's sister suggested that she and the other ladies hit the clubs and Dylan interrupted to ask if it was a good idea. Syed seconded what Dylan said and Lucien nodded in agreement.

"Mhm, Dylan and Syed have a point. It doesn't sound like the safest place at the moment," he flashed them a smile, "and y'know, if you girls wen't, we'd get worried." He spoke in his usually carefree manner, a smile stuck to his face, but he genuinely cared for his friends and didn't want them being swept away by some creep.

“I think it’d be fun. Josette went and came back safely, not to mention we’d be in a group.”

Xan nodded at this. "It might be our only chance at getting anywhere, and if we stay together, we'd be fine." They were trained guilders, they could handle themselves and if they stuck to the buddy system there wouldn't be anything to worry about, but Aria was right, the decision was up to Thunderhawk. The guilders reacted quite differently to Josette's idea. Selan and Lisette liked it while Estelle didn't seem very happy. Xan didn't like all the noise or lights...or people, but if it was what they had to do, she'd happily go. It was their mission, their duty to help solve problems after all.

Don suggested that he'd accompany Trixie, then Thunderhawk agreed. It was set, they were going to the nightclub.

Lucien looked at Dylan and Syed, then gave the girls a grin. "We have your backs." He affirmed when the decision was made.

[Bunanigans]

Los Paraisos: Hell's Kitchen Restaurant
The rest of the group may have decided that essentially using themselves as bait was the best course of action, but Syed said nothing. He bowed his head, his eyes scrunched closed and his eyebrows knitted. Who knew who it was doing this? It could be anything - a single well connected individual or a group, a smuggling kind of thing or something much more sinister. He didn't care than Josette had apparently been fine in there before, as far as he was concerned that was like playing russian roulette. If they had reason to believe that these people were poaching the girls from these places...

Slowly, he raised his gaze to meet Estelle. If there was anyone he knew could handle themselves, it was Estelle. She had single handedly took on Lucifer after all. And in the end of the day... he trusted her more than most. Plus as far as he was concerned, the decision here didn't lie with Thunderhawk, regardless of his status as mission leader. Or on him or any of the male members of the group, or Moira or even possibly Amy. It was with those who would be most at risk, and if Estelle felt it needed to be done then that was that.

"Okay," he said resignedly, the look on his face making it perfectly clear what his thoughts were on the matter. "Just tell me where you need me, and I'll support you all the way."

"We have your backs." Lucien grinned.

"Yeah I ain't been clubbin' in ages!" Moira wooped. She would definately stick out like a sore thumb, but she had never been the sort to care.

"How's the food?"

That was not Cid, Cid was at the other end of the table looking at whoever stood behind them a little warily. Syed frowned a little, his brain whirring away as always. He recognised the accent from somewhere, although he couldn't think where straight away. He turned in his seat, and... OH GODS IT'S HIM!



Gordon looked a lot more pleasant here somehow though, probably because he wasn't busy yelling at anyone. Syed span back to face forwards, realised he hadn't even noticed that his main had been served, and hastily started tucking in before he could be shouted at. And immediately regretted not doing so sooner. Well he asked for spicy, and he certainly got it. It was wonderful. "It's really good!" he managed between mouthfuls.

Gordon scrutinised them all in turn, judging how well they were enjoying their meal through their body language rather than just their words. People tended to be polite about this sort of thing, but he was only interested in what they really thought. People don't get anywhere with vague praise.

"Gordon?" Moira asked, her tone of voice giving away the slight unease she did her best to hide.

"It's been too long Moira."

Without another word, Moira stood up and embraced the chef, who seemed a little taken aback. His reputation! He'd have to be especially mean to someone now to make up for that.

It was then that for Syed, the accent clicked. It wasn't the full accent, but a twang the pair of them - and come to think of it, Del back at Fenaru - had in common. They all came from the same place. "Are you two... related?" he asked a little hesitantly.

"He's my brother," Moira broke away from Gordon, turning back to the table. "Gordon, these are my friends. Don't ask me to name 'em all."

Gordon couldn't help but smile a bit at that one, although he did his best to suppress it again as soon as he could. Trust his sister to find such a wierd mis-match of people like this though. "Pleasure. Welcome to the best restaurant on Los Paraísos."

A bold statement for sure, but spoken like a true Dennis. And to be fair, his food did back him up very well indeed.

[Dannyel]

Los Paraisos: Hell's Kitchen Restaurant

“Fine. Clubbing. Okay.”

It appeared that he’d be outvoted. Knowing a lost cause when he saw one, Dylan held up his hands in defeat. “Alright, alright. But if I might add a rule - no one goes anywhere alone. If we split up we still have to be in pairs. Even if it’s just to go to the restroom.”

“Sweet!” Josette fistpumped. “Cid, you bum! More drinks! We’re gonna go partying!!”

“Oh Aislin.” He eyed his glass of water. “I think I’ll pass on that, thanks.” He knew that he should really try to keep his wits about him if they were going to stake out the clubs, and he already had enough for one that. No, he should fill up his stomach with real food.

So he reached for more calamari only to find his main course in front of him. “Huh,” he said in surprise. “That was fast.”

Picking up his fork, he dug into his meal, only to discover that it was indeed exquisite. The sauce was rich and creamy, the noodles cooked to the perfect tenderness, and the morsels of seafood were fresh and flavorful. It reminded him of the meal back with the Hawthornes, but thought this might have been just a bit better.

But that might have just been knowing that they weren’t going to be facing a demonic horde afterwards. At least, he was fairly sure they weren’t.

"Are you two... related?"

"He's my brother. Gordon, these are my friends. Don't ask me to name 'em all."

Dylan nearly dropped his fork. This man was Moira’s brother? “Well that explains the temper!” he said with a laugh. Gods was it hard to believe. Moira was a fine lady, to be sure, but to imagine that he brother was a chef of such incredible talent. “The food is divine! Pure artistry!”

[Rexcalibur]

Los Paraisos: Hell's Kitchen Restaurant

Amy leaned back in her seat as Josette and the others, including the reluctant Estelle, settled on clubbing to investigate. She watched the others speak as she alternated between sipping her water and popping in minced sirloin pieces. While this decision meant opening themselves to the vulnerability, at least they were armed (and guilders, Josette aside). She wouldn't admit to it, but Thunderhawk was right; what other choice do they have with scouting out the missing persons? All things considered, Amy wasn't happy about the sudden jump to self-baiting, but there wasn't much else they could do. At least if they stuck together as Xandra suggested, things should roll smoothly... hopefully.

She took another sip of water.

That would also mean finding something for Trixie and perhaps some of the others to do in the meantime to help with the scouting, as Selan had briefly mentioned - though Don already had that covered with his caping suggestion. The cleric glared in his direction, though her reaction went completely unnoticed. Just mentioning "superheroes" is enough to open Pandora's Box - otherwise called Trixie's delusions.

However Trixie remained in her seat, jittering with excitement but not attempting to break things the way Don had. Her ice cream cone nearly flew out of her grasp as she giggled to herself, but she restrained enough control (surprisingly) to keep it in her clutches. "Superheroes! And capes, and and masks?! I'm so down for that!"

Suddenly that loud chef causing all the ruckus in the kitchen popped up right next to their table, causing Amy to nearly choke on her drink. The restaurant was much too flooded with surprises, aside from all the screaming and cursing - and this guy being related to Moira just added onto that. And they hugged. Amy was... most definitely not used to seeing this kind of affection from Moira - or expecting it from someone of Gordon's temper.

Still clearing her throat, she lifted her water glass to him, a sign of gratitude. "Great stuff. Need more people like you to get work done."

But of course she didn't expect the man's calmness to last long. Cautiously, knowing she'd regret this, Amy eyed Trixie through her peripherals. Unsurprisingly she sniffed at her lasagna just inches away from the plate the entire time, completely ignoring Gordon's appearance. And probably everything else that was discussed at the table except Don's mention of superheroes. She was probably able to hear that trigger word from a mile away.

Once again Amy's eyes narrowed, ready to shoot the prankster with darts at any given moment. "Trix," she hissed, "what did I say about doing that in public."

"What, I've never seen this before. It's so cheesy and gooey!" Trixie licked her lips. "Mmm! It does smell kinda funny though. Oh! I know what it needs."

Then she plopped her ice cream cone right down on it. In the center of the lasagna. The ice cream cone. In her lasagna. The melting ice cream still inside began to seep into her dish.

Amy just stared at her companion, dumbfounded. Too dumbfounded enough to work up a yell, which perhaps did the restaurant well considering it was already flooded enough with Gordon's screams - when he was back in the kitchen at least, anyway. "Why the fuck would you do that?"

Trixie suddenly gasped and clasped the sides of her head with her hands, realizing the monstrosity she had just created with her meal. "I don't know, it was a good idea in my head!"

[Crescendo]

Los Paraisos: Hell’s Kitchen Restaurant

Aria withdrew her hand from where it had been inching towards Chirps’ plate, rubbing at it and stuck out her tongue childishly at him before turning back to the conversation at hand. So it had been decided that the group would be going clubbing tonight while Don and Trixie... Staked out on a nearby rooftop as superheroes? That sounded like a lot of fun.

Looking down she suddenly realized that at some point her appetizer had been replaced with a steaming plate of seafood pasta and she eagerly dug in. Oh Gods this was delicious, firm pasta coupled with a creamy sauce and Parmesan sprinkled in just the right amount.

"How's the food?"

“Absolutely delicious!” She answered immediately, before looking up to who had asked the question and pausing. Wasn’t that the head chef? A quick glance at the kitchen showed that all the other chefs had their heads poked out the door, intrigued by what was happening outside.

Whatever the reason he had for paying the table a visit, she certainly hadn’t expected that it was because he and Moira were related. Small world, wasn’t it? When the two hugged, she could swear she heard a scandalized gasp followed by a chorus of hushing sounds from the kitchen, the other chefs no doubt unused to such behaviour from the short-tempered chef.

Aria raised her glass in agreement to Dylan’s compliments, smiling at the continuous whispers from the kitchen. She hoped they returned to work before the chef ended up overhearing them, which would no doubt end up with more bouts of screaming and shattering plates.

[Pachamac]

Los Paraisos: Hell's Kitchen Restaurant

The night’s plans had been made and settled, to the unease of some of the Guilders, but with little other alternative left to them, it was all they had to go on. The discussion after dinner would turn towards which nightclubs were to be targeted, as well as the preparation by everyone in actually tackling it. As Josette said… ‘time to party’!

But before then, there was still the matter of dinner, and Guilders couldn’t be expected to work on such a taxing duty as one that could last all night long on an empty stomach. No sooner had the appetizers and starters been devoured then the main courses came along, and what a conclave of meals it was! There was everything from steak to lasagne and risotto, gnocchi, curries, calamari and seafood pastas, pork chops and beefburgers with fries. A veritable feast, one enjoyed by all of the Pride!

And even mirth and happiness sprung forth from the table once they witnessed Moira stand up to give the head chef a hug and reveal that the loud man was, actually, Moira’s brother, something that in retrospect… wasn’t really surprising. This resort seemed to be made for family reunions if Don and Josette (plus all of their many, many bros) was also something to go by.



“What is that?” Gordon asked after letting Moira go. His finger pointed at the table. “What the fuck is that?”

Everyone’s eyes followed the trail that led to the ice cream cone crowned lasagne in front of Trixie. Nobody knew what to make of it.

“What… what the fuck is that? Is that a fucking ice cream cone?”

All eyes looked to Trixie and Amy. How on Ddaear did that get there?

Gordon turned, his eyes locked on the kitchen, his face positively livid. “Who the fuck cooked… no, wait. YOU! YOU! DONKEY FUCKER!”

Gordon stormed across the restaurant, booting the door to swing open with his foot as he passed into the kitchen, kicking another bin full of trash to sail across the cooking floor. “CRISPIN YOU USELESS FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING STICKING FUCKING ICE CREAM CONES IN FUCKING MEALS?”



“Huh?” Crispin’s bewildered eyes blinked back in confusion.

“I don’t know why I fucking put up with you! YOU’RE OUT! FUCK OFF!”

“Ah, nuts...”



“Don’t worry, bros, he’ll be back tomorrow,” Cid explained as he returned to the table with another tray of drinks, sliding each of them to each diner with his trademark skill and precision. Whether it be wine, soda or just plain water, each member was well acquainted for in their beverage. “The Head Chef does this all the time, but Crispin will be back tomorrow. So will the other chefs.”

“To us!!” Don screeched, thrusting his glass high above the table, encouraging a toast from everyone. “To… to friends! And family! And to us rescuing all those missing women tonight!”

“And to clubbing!” Josette’s glass clinked afterwards.

Many of the others raised their glasses in cheerful unison, first by Lucien, Trixie and Aria, and then, slowly the others. The mood at first felt uneasy, but laughter soon picked up, and joy was had by all around the table… even Thunderhawk, loathe as he might be to admit it.

Don was right. They were going to find those women tonight… and they were going to rescue them.

No matter what.



What… what had happened?

Where is my mind?
He awoke to pain. Blinding, blinding pain, scorching his entire body, enveloping his head and face. Breathing… even blinking felt like sheer agony. His body was heavy… and pain. Nonstop. Pain.

But even then, he had to get up. His hands pushed his unsteady body up, slowly but surely, stumbling briefly and almost falling over until his hands gripped the cool metal of a balcony railing. He was able to use it to stand himself up, and then, after a moment of acclimatising, felt right enough to walk. But even then… even then his head hurt.

He turned, stumbling through the open door, its drapes billowing outside through it towards him, and stepping forwards inside. Entering the room, his feet narrowly missed shards of scattered sharp glass littering the floor. If he was in his right state of mind he would be able to stop and properly take in the scene before him. He would notice that the room, one of the Pellagio’s lush, ritzy hotel rooms, was torn to tatters as if a hurricane had swept through. Furniture was upturned and ripped to shreds, coffee tables and mirrors both destroyed in half and smashed entirely. If he was in his right state of mind, he would have noticed all of this, including the squawking creature that scurried underfoot to hide in another room.

If he was in the right state of mind, he would have noticed that most importantly of all, this was not his room.

But he wasn’t. Instead, he pushed forwards, groggily walking and groaning like a dishevelled living corpse and through an open door to the bathroom, making a beeline straight to the sink.

He turned the tap, and cool water came rushing forth. Toothpaste was squeezed out of a tube, missing the brush and landing in a plop on the floor, the man beginning to brush his cheek. He splashed cold water onto his face, which helped to awaken his senses and dull the sharp pain coursing through his head, although it was not enough to dim it completely. He grabbed the bottle of mouthwash and downed a third of it, loudly gargling, as his other hand reached down the back of his boxers (he was sans trousers or top) and absentmindedly began to scratch.

He spat the rinse out into the bath, and stumbled on his feet again, his body swaying from side to side, back and forth.

What… what had happened?

He closed the cabinet door above the sink, looking to see his reflection in the mirror and work out just how bad he must have looked.

The results shook him to his full senses.

Don’s scream could be heard echoing throughout the whole hotel.



Los Paraisos: Pellagio Hotel: Room ???



Ain't no rest for the Wicked

[Bunanigans]

Los Paraisos: Pellagio Hotel - Moira and Syed's room
...He was going to die.

That was it. He was gonna die. They'd never even find a body! Screw fireons and bearons and giant stone statues and frankenstein monsters and vampires. This was worse than all of those. All of those put together!

Lying beside him on one side of course was Moira, stripped down to her underwear. While it was unusual for him to actually be next to her rather than on the floor, it wasn't particularly noteworthy. But on the other...

Her full lips were slightly parted as she slept, her dark golden eyebrows furrowed in a slight frown. Most men would be thrilled to wake up next to a heavenly beauty like her, maybe even wonder what it was she could be dreaming about, but for Syed... he knew exactly what this meant. It was the end of days. Goodbye world. As soon as she awoke, she'll probably decapitate him. Unless he could get up without waking her? Sure, they were in their room, but if he can get off this bed, on the floor, that'd be okay, right? Then she'd never know.

Why was she even here? Had Moira brought her up? They had managed to score a pretty fantastic room, maybe she wanted to show it off to her closest friend? But why the hell was he inbetween them? Why couldn't he remember?! He wasn't much of a drinker, and even then he'd never gotten so drunk to forget an entire night. The thought alone would make him feel sick if he didn't feel like that already.

He began to ease himself up, his entire body screaming against the effort. He needed some water, or some milk, or some coffee. And some greasy food. He needed a hangover cure oh Vayu what was even going on? The breeze coming in from the open patio doors helped a little, but the sunlight beaming through certainly didn't. Why couldn't he move his foot?

Oh no were they linking legs with one another? He couldn't tell as first in his sleepy and hungover state, but yep. She had her feet around his leg. Oh gods he was trapped this was it. Could he ease his foot free? He spent a couple of moments struggling as subtly as he could against her vice-like grip. Please don't wake her please don't wake her please!

There had to be a reasonable explanation for this, right? It was probably asking a bit much considering the two people lying either side of him, but they both drank a lot so their tolerance had to be better, right? Hopefully one of them knew what was going on. Oh who was he kidding.

Yeah, he couldn't get himself free. He eased himself back onto his pillow, partly because of his horrible hangover and partly as to not wake her. He elbowed Moira a couple of times. Why wasn't she waking up? She was alive, she was snoring. But she was usually a really early riser! Her breath did stink of booze though oh gods did his? He always made sure to brush his teeth before bed but if he was out of it who knew? He fiddled with his focus ring anxiously. This was horrible, this was really horrible-

-What was that on his other hand?

His eyes widened in horror as he raised his hand before him. He didn't know if he wanted to look, but this wasn't good. This wasn't good at all! Trembling all over, his gaze slowly lowered to the blonde's hands.

No no no NO NO NO they were wearing matching rings what no what the fuck?! His jaw dropped as he gave out a silent, breathy scream. No no no no get it off get it off get it off WHY WON'T IT COME OFF?! Practially beside himself with panic, he scrambled so he was sat up on his pillow - wrenching his foot roughly from her grip as he wrestled fruitlessly with the ring. The world lurched and span around him, his head pounding painfully with every shaky, panic-stricken breath he took. This was horrible, this really was horrible, they couldn't have... could they?!

Of all the people he could wake up next to, why did it have to be Amy?!

What the hell happened last night?!

[Dannyel]

Los Paraisos: Pellagio Hotel - ??? Room

He wished that someone would shut the blinds. He wished that he had a glass of water. His wished that he could just go back to sleep and wake up when the pain was gone. But he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. No, he was up and that was the end of it, unlike his snoring bedmate.

Wait, what?

Nervous, Dylan moved his arm, which had thrown over his face to block out the light of the morning sun, and peered over to the side. Next to him, laying with a blanket strewn over his waist, was a shirtless man. Come to think of it, where were his clothes? He suddenly realized that he was just in his boxers. “Huh,” he said softly, his addled brain not seemingly unable to process the information.

Did he just get laid? And not remember it? What had happened last night?


He gave himself a mental pat on the back, proud of himself for scoring, though he was embarassed that he didn’t remember his name. Or what he looked like. Or anything really.

But then the man rolled over, revealing himself to be...Lucy!

“Oh Aislin no!” He frantically scrambled out of the bed, landing hard on the ground and smacking his head against the dresser. “Dammit!” he yelped as the pain reverberated through his brain, making him feel even more out of it.

There was no way...was there?

[Taerinn]

Los Paraísos: Pellagio Hotel - Moira and Syed's Room

It was dark. Very dark. And the warm, stale air she breathed was thick from the smell of spilled alcohol.

She tried to turn over, her back was getting super incredibly sore and achey, but she couldn't for some reason. The weight of fatigue, perhaps?

No, she literally could not move.

Not to mention her head was pounding worse than it had ever been in her entire life, and she couldn't figure out why.

She didn't remember going to sleep with a headache... Or the last thing she did before she went to bed last night...

Speaking of, she wasn't even in a bed. She was pinned flat on her stomach, at eye-level with a pile of discarded, familiar-looking clothes and shoes on the floor.

Lisette hadn't yet realized that she was stuck underneath Moira's side of the bed, the mattress springs on the verge of collapsing.

---



"Mmnh..."

Selan was sleeping hard, curled up into a cramped fetal position in a cold, uncomfortable place. Her shoes were missing, and her dress was scrunched up and damp.

Someone was making entirely too much noise though, and it only exacerbated the godsforsaken splitting pain in her head.

Something wet landed on her forehead, causing her to flinch. But something else jolted her awake enough to cause her to sit up and bang the top of her head on the shower faucet.

"Nnngh...! Ow... What in Ddaear is wrong with you..." Selan groaned, pressing her hand against her throbbing head. She turned towards Don Capuello, but her puffy eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

[Rexcalibur]

Los Paraisos: Pellagio Hotel - Moira and Syed's room

The blond woman sleeping soundly beside Syed let out a soft groan, stretching out her arms in front of her. It wasn't until her fingers brushed along Syed's arms that her eyelids finally peeled open - slowly, slowly, allowing her vision to process and unblur the surrounding colors and lights... before they snapped open to reveal her emerald eyes, fierce but frantic. Under the sheets she felt cold. So, so cold.

Amy let out an inhuman scream, the ear-piercing power of a banshee.

"Get the fuck away from me!" Without even properly sitting herself up, the woman pushed herself right off the mattress - snatching the bedsheets with her as she fell to the floor in a crumple. With wild breaths she scooted herself away from the bed, coarsely wrapping the white sheets around her body. Only when she hit the underside of a table close to a wall did she work the strength to stand herself up. She then stood, hunchbacked; one hand held her steady using the table, the other gripped onto the bedsheet cocoon, tightly enough to snap someone's fingers.

Her matching ring scraped against the wooden tabletop. She glared back at the bedded electromage with eyes growing wilder by the minute. Moira lied beside him as well, but her tunnel vision centered on the dark-skinned man. The one whose leg she could have sworn was entangled with her own before she chucked herself away from him.

Were they...

Had they...!?

Syed hadn't even made any advances when Amy let out another scream. She charged off towards the room's door - "Get the fuck away from me!!" - before slipping atop a crumpled Twister mat. Quickly she staggered forward with her one free hand - before fumbling again and landing back on her front, thanks to deck of Uno cards splayed across the carpet beside the mat. Fortunately the bedsheets had not slid from her grasp as she flubbed about.

By this point she was heaving and sniveling audibly, her entire face a mesh of tears and mascara from the day before. Her back soon pressed against the very door she sought escape from, and used it as balance to sit herself up. She shuddered madly. Her head pounded with confusion.

"Get the fuck. Away. From me."

Amy's wild eyes scanned the ground next. Something wooden jutted out from beneath her silky emerald dress, crumpled on its own beside the door. She gasped for air and snatched the wooden handle - a paddle. The paddle Moira had snagged from that parade. A perfect defense weapon.

Well, it was until she discovered that the other half of it had been completely broken off, lost somewhere in that room.

She chucked the useless chunk of wood in front of her and stumbled even further to the side. Her clutch-sized purse lied on its own in the corner of the room, with her red gem snuggled safe and sound inside it. Immediately she swiped it out and, still on the floor, outstretched it towards the bed as if it were a dagger.

Before Syed or anyone else could make a move, Amy shook her jewel with a sharp jolt - and a whip-like substance made entirely of blinding light particles struck out. Having no direct target, it drooped to the floor limply, dragging along the carpet as Amy continues to stagger back further against the wall. Her entire body heaved and dropped with each breath. The flickering light reflected off her tear-strained face.

Had it not been for the bedsheets between her fingers, her nails would have dug quite deeply into her own palm by then. Amy sniveled and snuffed between words, her chin held up so as to abate her weak appearance. "Get. The fuck. Away from me."

In the meantime, a sheet of paper pinned to the door flapped gently with the morning breeze from the balcony's open door. This is to certify that Amaranth and Syed Dyjani were...

[Crescendo]

Los Paraisos: ???

‘‘Owowow…’’ Aria groaned as she sat up slowly, rubbing at her pounding head. From many previous experiences she was pretty much one hundred percent sure that the painful headache and dry and fuzzy feeling mouth were the symptoms of a bad hangover, but this was certainly a hangover on a scale she had experienced before. Exactly what had happened last night? The last thing she remembered was… Aria sat back and leaned against a nearby chimney, trying to remember-

Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait.

A nearby chimney?

Her eyes snapped open, almost immediately squinting back shut at the light of the morning sun. After another few attempts her eyes finally adjusted to the brightness, and she could only stare in confusion.

What the heck had possessed the drunken her to spend the night on a random rooftop?

She staggered to her feet using the chimney for balance, wincing as her back cracked from a night spent in an uncomfortable position and somehow managing to stay upright despite the wobbliness in her legs. A quick scan of her body quickly showed that her location was not the only thing that had changed overnight.

The dress that she had been wearing last night had somehow been changed for a large orange shirt, baggy cargo pants and a red scarf in place of her usual feathered one. A quick scan of the rooftops showed no sign of her clothing, but did manage to dislodge a very familiar white bandana from her head that fluttered softly down to the shingles on the roof along with a few feathers of the same color, causing her usually tied-up hair to fall loose.

Actually, this whole ensemble seemed strangely familiar… Oh Gods wait just a moment isn’t this-

Aria had all but frozen into place, staring down at what was undoubtedly Chirps’ guilder outfit. How the heck had she even gotten her hands on these, and what the fuck had made her change into them? He hadn't even been wearing this outfit last night! Especially if her suspicions had been right about him only owning one set of this outfit and wearing it every day- ew ew ew no she did not need to think about that. At least instead of stinking like sweat and other gross things, they merely carried a faint scent of alcohol no doubt imbibed during yesterday’s festivities, of which she still remembered nothing.

After a moment’s consideration she tied her hair back with the white bandanna (as much as she was loathe to wear it, she didn’t want Chirps to scream at her for losing it later and she was at loss for a hair tie) and slowly started to move across the rooftops with a determined frown towards their hotel that she could see in the distance between two tall buildings, taking care not to trip over any ledges or fall off. First thing right now was to go back and refresh, before hunting down a certain ranger and hoping he had information on the whereabouts of her scarf. The dress she couldn’t care less about but her scarf was special, not to mention fluffy.

After a few rooftops she finally managed to find a ladder to climb down (thanks Gods for random, conveniently placed ladders) and stumbled into the alleyway. Making her way into the streets, she passed by a strangely located haybale. Normally she would have passed it right by, but what caught her eye was a tuft of black glossy feathers sticking up from it. A very, very certain kind of black feathers. Fluffy black feathers. Her scarf!

She quickly moved towards it, a hand reaching out and grabbing the tuft carefully. Half of her scarf followed- "Aha!" A victorious grin was given, but quickly followed by a frown when the scarf snagged as if it were caught onto something. A few more tugs failed to dislodge it and not wanting to damage the scarf Aria pushed away some of the hay to find out exactly what it had snagged on. In hindsight, she probably should have seen it coming but at the moment she was unsuspecting of what the hay would reveal.

"OH MY GODS WHAT THE FUCK CHIRPS"

[Fox of Spades]

“Oh Aislin no!”

The loud yell was enough to rouse him from his slumber. Lucien cracked open an eye, only to wince. His head felt like it would split open at any moment...what the hell did he drink? His throat felt dry and his head, it felt like someone had whacked him hard with a hammer. He closed his eyes shut, trying to fall asleep once more. His fuzzed up thoughts had forgotten all about the voice and why he had woken up in the first place. What he did know was that his head was hurting like hell and he needed to sleep it off. The others wouldn't mind, right?

“Dammit!”

Lucien's eyes shot open. Who was in his room--wait,wait,wait. His room had blue walls, where the hell was he? He scrambled to his feet, the world tilting as he did so. He bit down on his lip, as his head began to pound once more. His shirt and jeans were strewn about the carpet, even his cards were scattered on the floor. What happened last night? The last thing he remembered was feeling all ecstatic inside and flirting around with a pretty blonde. They had joked around, he recited his best pickup lines, then everything after that had been an absolute blur. Was he in her room? Did they...oh CRAP, had he done something he'd regret?

The summoner's eyes flitted towards blonde hair and his blood ran cold.

He and Dylan were standing in the room, both looking terrified, and in nothing but their boxers. HELL NO, he couldn't have been the pretty blonde with the sweet voice...right? right? There had to be an explanation as to why their clothes were on the floor, as to why they were both in nothing but their boxers.

"Dylan," Lucien's voice was nothing but a squeak. "Uh...funny seeing you here?" Yeah, there was no way. He just had to stay calm...Dylan would tell him everything. Maybe he had gotten Drunk and Dylan, like an awesome pal, brought the summoner back to his room...then it could have been warm so they just jumped into bed and undressed. Yeah, that was it, that was definitely it. Still, things didn't add up. Why did Dylan looked just as frightened as he was?

The summoner stared at Dylan, his face as emotionless as stone. The chaos, it was happening inside his mind. He brought his hands to his head and rubbed at his eyes. "What...what happened last night?"



Spuuhhsss! Spushhhhh!

The waves crashed against her before receding, back into the ocean. It the was the same thing, again, and again, and again.

Xan's cheek was pressed against the cool sand, half her body buried. The waves crashed against her, the cool water splashing against her now mud colored...clown suit? Xan's eyes widened as alarming thoughts of all kinds jumped into her head. Had they been ambushed? Xan let out a hiss as a sharp pain shot through her head. She only had a glass of what Aria was having...her tolerance for alcohol wasn't as good as Aria's but one glass couldn't have done this.

Xan pushed herself to her feet and shut her eyes. Why was she in a clown suit? Why was her real arm covered in marker scribbles? The girl didn't know but her face had been drawn on too. Also why was she unconscious on the beach and where was everyone...more importantly, what on earth had happened last night? Xan massaged her temples only to notice a giant, beautifully sculpted sandcastle near the shore. It was almost as tall as her and in the ground, not too far from it, scribbled in slanting, horrible handwriting was a phrase that almost made her choke. 'Ariyeaah and Churps were 'ere' Xan stared at it in disbelief.

Had they left her here? She couldn't piece anything together, her head was just hurting too much at the moment.

She needed to find the others. Xan walked across the beach, a hand on her head. A few people paused to gape at the grumpy, soggy, marker covered clown, but she didn't mind. She was a mixture of angry and confused. The usually calm girl, muttered a curse beneath her breath, this was ridiculous.

[Pachamac]

“Your muscles… are so tight, Master Thunderhawk.”

“I know. I work hard, that’s why.”

“You need to relax more… ease all of the tension, Master Thunderhawk…”

“I know…”

Thunderhawk leaned back into the plush leather sofa, his body sinking as the warm, soft delicate hands of the three women surrounding him continued to work their magic. A blonde in stunning red silk lingerie tended to his feet, working her thumbs, fingers and palms around his calfs and heels, gently caressing each of his toes in turn. Another beautiful woman beyond belief, with black hair and garbed in a loose fitting, pristine white robe that left little to the imagination caressed and massaged his shoulders, firmly pressing her fingertips across his shoulder blades, slowly kneading and working out all the knots and pent-up stress that the ranger had obtained. Ahh… this… this was the life…

“Would you like any more, Master Thunderhawk…?” Another gentle, soothing voice asking, belonging to a third woman, clad in nothing more then black underwear with an elegant fluffy scarf trailing across her body, covering and obscuring all the details just so. She poured more beer into his glass.

“No… no I’m good…” Thunderhawk replied.

“Not even… a kiss…? ♥” The woman leaned in low, pulling at her scarf and wrapping it around his neck, pulling him in closer… and closer… and closer…

HRK!!

"OH MY GODS WHAT THE FUCK CHIRPS"



Los Paraisos: Streets: Alleyway

Thunderhawk was rudely tugged out of his pleasant reverie by something so soft snared around his neck and choking the ever living daylights out of him. His head popped out of the haybarrel first, his eyes bulging in fright and his mouth screeching as Aria gave another tug on her scarf, tightening the noose, before relenting once she saw the damage she was committing. She didn’t want to ruin her scarf.

“WHAT THE FUCK CHIRPS???”

Thunderhawk gagged and spluttered as the strangling hold tightened, and his body slowly returned to its senses. The sense of pain, grogginess… blurry vision, slowed reaction, incoherency and memory loss… he knew this sensation all too well. A sensation that he once actually embraced, but now… now he was brought to an all consuming panic.

No. No, no, no! He… had a hangover, didn’t he? Gods no, no, no! And this… this was one of the worst ones he could possibly imagine! His skull felt like it was splitting. No! No this wasn’t right! It wasn’t right!!

And then his eyes centered on Aria, and what she was wearing. She was wearing HIS clothes. His clothes? Why on Ddaear was she wearing his clothes? What the hell had happened last night that would have made her want to wear his-

Wait. Wait wait wait please no, don’t tell him they had…!

Aria was a fine woman. Beautiful, in all respects, a gorgeous looker with a body Thunderhawk was sure to die for. He, and many other men would kill to be with her, and so the thought of spending an evening with her… it wasn’t a bad one, even despite Aria’s less then award winning personality. But… that was the confusion and confliction arose. He should have been happier. Snarky and smug even. But he wasn’t, and the fact that he wasn’t also contributed to his mental aguish, because he couldn’t believe that… that his hopes and efforts the last few months were actually genuine. Hopes and efforts that had now been shattered into pieces.

Since leaving the Pride, Thunderhawk had tried to change. To become a better man, after much self-reflection and the aid of Tiberius. His goal was to go sober and to leave women alone. And one night – LAST night – that all fell apart.

But… but whilst the hangover from hell was true, it didn’t mean that the other part happened. She was wearing his clothes and was in his dreams but… but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Especially if he was still wearing his suit.

His body lurched forwards, stumbling out of the haybarrel and landing hard onto the floor. He quickly stood up again, noticing first Aria’s reddened face, before looking down at his body.

He wasn’t wearing his suit.

He wasn’t even wearing her clothes, the next best hopeful thing.

He was wearing absolutely nothing but her scarf around his neck.

Thunderhawk screamed, running as far and fast away from the demoness who had ruined him, his body becoming a flashing streak with her fluffy feathers trailing behind him.

---

Los Paraisos: Pellagio: Room ???

Don almost fell backwards and cracked his head on the sink, stumbling back in such surprise once a groggy voice emerged from his right in the bathtub. His eyes bulged wide and his sight shook from Selan to the distant mirror hanging above, back to Selan again. He… he didn’t know what to do!

The first thing that came to Don’s mind, that urged his body to move into action, was to make sure that Selan was okay. For whatever reason, she had been sleeping in the bathtub and had just banged her head against the faucet… two things that should not be happening. She looked like an absolute wreck- her dress and makeup besmirched and in tatters. He wanted to rush over and comfort her, ask her if she was okay and do everything he could to help.

But… he had a problem. He had a big, big problem. And… and he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t let Selan see him like this. He just… he couldn’t.

And then a stroke of genius flashed through his brain. His hand snagged two of the nearest towels, and he wrapped one up around his head. As he jumped back to his feet, and inspected himself in the mirror, he nodded with satisfaction. Selan shouldn’t have been able to see anything. And with the other towel… he draped it around Selan’s arms and shoulders as he lifted her up, up out of the bathtub.

“Selan… are you… are you okay?” Don asked, pain striking his face at the thought that something bad might have happened. What… what had happened last night?

He guided her out of the bathroom, and into the hotel room’s plush living room. Easier said then done considering how groggy his own body felt, but he knew he had to get her out of there and onto somewhere softer to sit. The sofa here, or even one of the beds would have worked.

But they only made it halfway through the ravaged, torn up room before they were stopped in their tracks by an unexpected sound.

Don slowly turned his head towards it, his eyes growing wider, and wider, his mouth dropping lower, and lower.

No. No, no, no, no, nononononononononononononononononononononono

This couldn’t be real? Could it? This was a dream still. It had to be a dream. Because if it wasn’t…

If it wasn’t…

Lying in the middle of the floor, nestled in a small basket and wrapped up in blankets, was something very small and cute making a lot of noise crying.



Had the stork came early and delivered Don and Selan a baby?!

[Bunanigans]

Los Paraisos: Pellagio Hotel - Moira and Syed's room
He expected anger. He expected to be hit, maybe once, maybe many times. But what he didn't expect was... this.

Sure, there was anger in her eyes. Of course there was. But it was secondary to fear. She looked scared out of her mind, wide eyed, shaking and tense, like a feral cat trapped in a cage. Staring at him with her mascara stained face like he was a monster.

He didn't really have time to react, although he wouldn't have really known what to do if he did. All he could really do was stare wide-eyed back, becoming somewhat frightened by her reaction. He wasn't expecting this. He wasn't expecting this at all. Last time he saw her this upset was back at Vandrell...

Once she had finally stopped scrambling, having armed herself with her whip, he very slowly raised his hands above his head. "I can't," he said slowly in response to her repeated demand, but in all honesty it was pretty much a summary of everything right now. Carefully, he stepped off the bed while facing her all the while, backing off as far as he could away from her before his bond to Moira stopped him. "This is as far as I can go Amy, you know that."

His hands were shaking too, a couple of sparks arcing from his fingertips as his mind whirled on. She looked terrified... terrified of him. He couldn't bear it. Please don't look like that, please! He didn't understand why, what did he do? He couldn't remember a thing, not one damn thing. What the hell could he have done to suddenly get a reaction as extreme as this?! "What happened...?" he muttered, his eyes darting around for something. Anything! "What happened? I don't... I don't understand..."

Suddenly he spotted the piece of paper pinned to the wall. He took a couple of steps towards it - keeping his hands above his head the entire time in an attempt to try and not alarm an already jumpy Amy - before he suddenly froze. He could read it from here just about, and it made his blood run cold.

This is to certify that Amaranth and Syed Dyjani were united in marriage...

If this were any other circumstance, he would be interested to discover what was presumably her real name. But now...

Marriage. As much as the rings were a dead giveaway, it was only reading the certificate in cold dry ink which hammered the point home. But right now, he wasn't particularly concerned by that. Instead his mind finally leapt to the implications. After getting married didn't people... did she think they... you know?

The trembling spread from his hands, travelling down his entire body. He almost looked like he was shivering, but it was far too warm for that.

Did they? He didn't remember sure, but he wouldn't. He just wouldn't. There was a lot of random games scattered across the floor, so maybe they just did those?

He looked down. He was wearing his boxers sure, but that was it. What... what if they did? Amy was covering herself completely, so...

He suddenly felt disgusting. Filthy and disgusting and wrong and like he was going to throw up. The thought... it horrified him. Suddenly, her reaction seemed a lot less extreme. Maybe he was a monster. He certainly felt like one now.

He choked down a sob of his own, great electrical arcs beginning to form around his body. Spinning and flashing and whipping at his hair and causing a light show of his own to rival her blindingly bright whip. Small pieces of metal scattered across the room - such as jewellry, equipment, even his pendant which he as always wore around his neck - began to rattle and shake. No, no, he'd never... right? He never wanted to. He could never really relate to the comments his friends would make in college. His one past girlfriend split up with him over it. It was just how he always was, so why would he do something like this now? Even if he were drunk, it wouldn't change his sexuality... right?

He brought his arms around himself tightly and hunched himself down a little, his vision blurring with tears. "N... nothing happened, right?" he asked desperately, his voice cracking. "Please... please say I'm just being paranoid again... please..."



"Urgh... pack it in..." Moira groaned sleepily, rolling over to her front and burrowing her face into the pillow. What the fuck was with all these pissing lights?!

[Dannyel]

Los Paraisos: Pellagio Hotel - ??? Room

"Dylan," Lucien's voice was nothing but a squeak. "Uh...funny seeing you here?"

“Yes,” Dylan agreed, not even noticing how awkwardly his voice cracked. “Hilarious. Totally hilarious, not at all awkward and just everything is just fine. We are all fine here. ” He was babbling, badly, he was babbling and nearly naked and so was his friend Oh Aislin what the hell did he do last night???

And worst of all Lucy had fallen silent, his face emotionless as he rubbed his eyes. Did he remember more? Did he know what had happened the night before?

"What...what happened last night?"

“You don’t remember either?” The implications made his head hurt, and he scrambled to grab his clothes, pulling them on as quickly as possible, not even noticing at first that he was trying to put his pants on backwards. “I uh..I remember dinner. And didn’t we go to...to a club?” He rubbed his head, trying to search for anything, anything at all to help him remember.

He felt sick inside, not knowing what had happened with Lucien. If something had happened there was no way it was consensual, not with the way that he seem didn’t remember it. Had he gotten drunk and taken advantage of his friend? He didn’t think so...but he couldn’t be sure either.

The normally happy, boisterous, jokey summoner was deathly quiet, and he now started to wonder if Lucien did remember something but didn’t want to say it.

“Lucy, I don’t know what happened last night. I can’t remember how we got here...or why.”

[Crescendo]

Los Paraisos: Streets

Aria’s face reddened almost immediately after Chirps tumbled out of the hay, immediately noticing the lack of clothing on his body apart from her scarf. Her poor, poor scarf. She squeaked and covered her eyes, having seen waaaaay too much of Chirps than she had ever wanted to. Before she could demand an answer of why exactly he was naked and for him to give her scarf back, a loud scream interrupted her and she felt a breeze whip right past her and she opened her eyes only to see a very naked figure streaking through the streets.

“My scarf!” Aria gave an anguished cry at her most beloved clothing disappearing from view and quickly gave chase, sprinting after the fleeing man. “Get back here, Chirps! Give it back!”

The two rounded a busier street, and almost immediately shrieks from other visitors pierced through Aria’s still vaguely pounding head. She covered her ears, wincing, before summoning up the energy to throw up a quick illusion of one of her dresses around the still running man. if later asked why she had chosen one of her dresses instead of something like a bathrobe, she would answer that it was because in her hungover state it was the first thing she thought of, but in truth it was also partly because she was slightly upset over the fact that she would no doubt need to disinfect her scarf after this whole ordeal was over. Did he have any idea how long that would take? It’s not like he could complain; iIt would certainly be a pain if he was arrested for indecent exposure with everything flapping everywhere, and she certainly didn’t want to be the one to explain the situation for security.

Now how to get him to stop running?

Before she could conjure up another illusion of, say, a wall or a hoard of angry chickens to block his path, Chirps promptly tripped, most likely taken off guard by the sudden appearance of the clothing around him. He landed on his face with a painful thud and Aria quickly caught up, quickly unwinding the fluffy scarf from around the ranger’s neck with one hand and the other on the waist of the loose cargo pants that had been continuously slipping during their little chase.

“What is wrong with you, running off like that?” She huffed, frowning down heavily as she leaned against a building, trying to rub away the headache that had only been aggravated by the run. “Naked, too!” She was not in a good mood; usually when she was hungover she would just take some painkillers and rest, but this morning had been ridiculously hectic and she hadn’t even been awake for an hour! She wondered how everyone else was doing as she nudged the prone man with a foot, irritated. “If you don’t get up I’m leaving you behind. Naked.”