Krosovier Cafè

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The molment before the cafe door closed again a strange creature swept into the building. It resembled a slender bird in stucture but not much else, it was made up of white pyramids held together by nothing. The anomaly flew without sound, defying gravity and perching itself on the ceiling. Its 'head' twitched about, what looked like tiny cameras serving as its eyes opened and closed with minuscule 'clicks'.

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Novi nodded at Iris's response,"so I'll keep them away from it." She gestured with her glass to her crew who was getting progressively more drunk with each song. A few, including the lead singer, refrained from drinking as heavily and seemed to be trying to keep their peers in order. The captain did not see the creature fly in, she only noticed the man after Iris did.

"I wonder," Novi found herself thinking aloud as well, "no. There would have been literally nothing left of him." The ship's doctor, a spindly older fellow with a billowing pipe in his mouth, noticed the man's many wounds. He leaned over to the man and appeared to ask if he was alright, politely as he always did.
 
Jonah observed the rowdy pirates as they sang, stamped their feet, and pounded their quickly emptying drinks against the table. Had he not been quite to sore he would have joined in. In a break in the voices he heard a familiar voice make a comment he could assume the subject of. Iris was a regular like him, if perhaps a more welcome one considering her good paying habits. Catching her eye for a second he treated her to a wink and a troublemaker's grin. Far more in line with his normal character than the limping mess that he was today, but hey at least he had remembered to bring some money this time. He was distracted as Jim walked into his line of sight and placed a wide glass of clear liquid down in front of him.

"And the tow-" Jonah was interrupted as a pair of towels collided with his face.

"Thanks." He said in a much more muffled voice. Laying the only mildly graying towels out before him he pulled a pair of pliers from his kit and dropped them into the glass Jim had brought. He also pulled out two syringes, one filled with a bluish liquid, one with off white. He started with the white one, carefully using the gel inside to seal over the larger cuts that were still leaking blood.

He was paused by a voice from the rowdy table and he looked up to see a spindly looking man gazing at him with a concerned glance.

"I am more durable than I look." He said with a thankful smile and a quiet chuckle. "Thankfully many of my parts are replaceable."

Turning back to his work he took the pliers and, with a steadying breath, clamped them down onto a small strip of silver jutting a bit out from his chest. With one swift movement he ripped out a chunk of shrapnel nearly the size of a credit card. Before to much of that strange silver liquid leaked out he pressed one of the towel's to his chest quickly followed by the syringe with the blue gel. That quickly stemmed the flow and once that was taken care of he took some time to touch up any other areas that were leaking.

Using the other towel to wipe his face clear Jonah was now starting to look halfway decent. Throwing his coat on loosely to hide the worst of the marks he stood from the table and, with a nod towards the man who had addressed him, made his way towards where Iris stood at the bar.

"Making friends Iris? I thought that was usually my job!" Jonah goaded gently giving Iris, giving her and then Novi a pleasant smile.

"Jonah Redmonte, at your service my dear." He said offering her his right hand with a polite nod of his head. Long since lost, his hand, and the rest of his arm, was a marvelous piece of engineering, each little metallic part moving in concert to give the same function, sometimes even improved, as the real thing.
 
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Nothing would be left? Iris thought, slightly confused. She realized Novi was trying to analyze why Jonah was so banged up, but the cause Novi was thinking about left Iris concerned to the captain's knowledge. Iris noticed her own voice had attracted Jonah's attention accidentally and he winked at her. She only responded by blinking, raising an eyebrow, and giving a slight tilt of the head that asked "what happened there friend?"
She turned away though for a second to retrieve her coat from her booth and then returned to Novi. Jonah started maintenance on himself and Iris warned Novi about his character
"Be cautious of him, Novi. He may be nice, but he's a bit of a troublemaker."
Iris took a sip of her coffee before He approached. She did her best not to poke one of his injuries (hard) at the comment he made. She gave a slight laugh-breath at it though.
"So what kind of trouble did you get into this time Mr. Redmonte?" She said his name with a slightly mocking tone and gestured with her hand at him. The machinery never ceased to amaze her, especially its endurance in times where Jonah abused it thoroughly and returned to the cafe.
~
"The papers?"Lydia thought to herself. she hadn't thought about the fate of the portal papers. She did know about the source of the papers though. Iris had a supplier.
"Well, im not too sure but they might as well disintegrate when used on doors. the locker papers don't, but when we return through a door, the paper we left is never there. And there is a place Iris buys paper, so they don't return to her drawing pad. I don't want to be wrong though, so i have to say i'm not too sure what happens to the paper." Lydia said with uncertainty.
 
Anne nodded again. "Likely it is 'burnt up' by the magic used, so there is no record or sign left behind." She said thoughtfully. It would make sense, or else there would be a lot more accidents and lost people from every dimension around. She took a drink then signaled to have another brought to her by the barkeep."Do you want anything to drink?"
 
"Are you sure?" Lydia asked. She thought for a second to think if she wanted anything, since Anne was up anyway.
"I guess I'll have a water. The run over here took a bit. Dodging feet is a tiring... feat." She said, not realizing she had said that until the last word. She wasn't normally one for puns and rhymes, because they didn't come naturally and her humor was a little different.
 
Anne nodded and chuckled at the unintended pun. "Alright, water it is." She said and went to get a fresh round for her table, paying for them upfront, since she wasn't known around here yet. She wanted a good reputation, at least as far as paying went.
 
Novi watched as the man attended to himself, assumed not to be heard by the ship's doctor, who shrugged and returned to his food. He was attending to himself with strange liquids and what appeared to be a pair of pliers, when things turned slightly gruesome she looked into her glass. She heard Iris's warning and turned her head up again to see the man was now approaching them. "I've delt with plenty of trouble." She saw the hand, the metal one.

There was clearly no relation, but Novi almost dropped her glass staring at it. "Plenty of trouble," she muttered before placing her glass on the bar and accepting the hand to shake. She put on the most welcoming face she could manage and introduced herself, "Novi North, Captain of the Killemall Pirates. Pleasure to meet you Mr. Redmonte." If the metal hand could feel, Jonah would be able to tell that her hand was shaking slightly.

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The creature continued to 'blink' at various parts of the Cafè. It turned right side up again and hovered silently around the top of the building. It's rapid sweeping head movements would give the impression it was looking for something.
 
Jonah smiled widely at Novi as she returned his introduction with one of her. He seemed completely oblivious to the shaking of her hand, but he was happy that the arm was functional at all, releasing a electromagnetic pulse tended to fry his circuits. However, he was not a fool and he suspected some discomfort when she nearly dropped her glass so after the handshake he casually slipped his hand into his pocket.

"My dearest Iris, you have done impossible and broken a metal heart." Jonah said in mock pain tapping his fingers against his chest with a sharp clinking sound. "You know I am the most upstanding of citizens!"

The continued joking tone let that lie slip with ease and while Jonah's voice remained pleasant his smile fell a bit and a more serious expression tugged at his brow. Iris had seem him drunk enough to know bits and pieces of the story of his lost arm, and the greater lost of his heart. A bad deal, a worse mistake, and Jonah had been dumped in a back alley with a shattered arm and care battery jerry-rigged to a pump in the hole where his heart was supposed to be. It had taken quite a few years for him to recover and pay off the cost of a new arm and heart, and while there was only a dull bitterness left in the memories Jonah was not one to forget.

"I may have had a...a run in with ol' Silver Eye." Jonah said hesitantly scratching at a suddenly interesting spot on the bar. "Sick bastard has quite a collection of parts, seems he might have one of mine."

Silver Eye, there was a name whispered dimensions over, tyrant, merchant, smuggler, dealer, war monger, he had enjoyed each title at some point or another. The fact that Jonah had managed to track the king pin down was astonishing enough, the fact that he was still standing and in one piece (not counting what he had already lost) was even more so.

Suddenly the frown that had slowly been spreading across his mouth split again into a cheeky grin. "But I managed to grab a little bargaining chip of my own, Silver wont--know...what...hit.....him." Jonah said his voice starting out cheeky enough, but by the end of his sentence his words were barely drifting out his his mouth as he gazed over at the strange creature that had drifted into the room. Truth be told he did not recognize the creature, but he had a sneaking suspicion in his gut that was telling him this could be something nasty. Hardly conscious of the movement his hand reached up to rest over his heart, his fingers pressed something through his shirt. A low hum like that of a machine changing up could be heard, but the sound only lasted for a handful of seconds before it stopped and there were three short beeps. Jonah's face tightened in response to those beeps, although he manage to keep a fair amount of composure all considered, and he glanced from the creature to his bag, which like a fool he had left back at the table next to the pirates.

With all the exertion that he had put his heart through today he had the energy to keep it beating and not much else, if things got ugly he would be in trouble.
 
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Iris wasn't one for digging into other people's problems unless asked, but she gave a slightly concerned look at Jonah when she noticed a frown start to cross his face. She kept her best to try to keep spirits up, mostly by keeping a positive-sounding but joking tone. She hoped it didnt come off as sarcastic, but it could be taken that way.
"Well, don't get too caught up that you forget about others. I bet there would be someone willing to help you." She turned her head towards the doctor who had attempted to assist Jonah, who had returned to his meal. Jonah probably didn't hear him.
Iris thought for a second. She wasn't sure if Novi knew about the notorious Silver, though her mom did travel.
"You do know Silver, right?" She asked Novi, and to make sure Jonah was prepared to explain (he probably had more experience in the more dangerous side of dimension travel), she turned back to him to make eye contact. But his attention was elsewhere. Up. A newer cafe arrival was hovering there. Iris saw it but wasn't as phased by Jonah by it.
"Oh." Iris was at a loss of words though. Her hand reached to her coat pocket for a pencil. Just in case.
~
Lydia lapped up a bit of the water. The cafe water was pure, much unlike the water from a good percentage of dimensions she had been to. It was nice.
"Thank you very much." she said to the other travelers after lifting her head. Another question came to her mind.
"How long have you been traveling?" Lydia asked. She saw something out of the corner of her eye that was odd, so she took a quick glance to fix her curiosity with satisfaction. She wasnt alarmed by it, but it was weird. She returned her attention back to Anne and Kiara.
 
Novi watched Jonah pocket the hand and felt much calmer, her fear was purely irrational and she felt the need to apologize. She chose against it however, since the conversation had moved on from introductions. "Silver... My mom mentioned him on one of her visits. Ranted for a bit on how much of a cheapskate employer he was, hence I assume he's some sort of multidimensional crime lord?" Her mother had also used some choice language, but Novi found it unnecessary.

Noticing that everyone was looking somewhere else, she followed their gazes too- "Fuck," she muttered.

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The creature seemed to notice that all attention had turned to it, as other patrons were beginning to stare as well. It floated down to the very center of the Café and looked up. Suddenly the flat sides of its head opened, revealing jagged teeth and a psychotic rainbow of shifting colors. Some colors dripped from its maw, burning into the floor like acid.

The creature released a ear bleeding scream that reverberated off the Café walls, even the most drunken of the pirates covered their ears and turned to it, some shot at it. Once all the heads had turned a large camera surfaced from the mouth of the creature, taking bright flash pictures of every single patron as it swooped around them. Finally it closed its head, swung the door open with its 'claws', and left.
 
"What kind of fresh hell was that!" Iris spat out instinctively, being startled by the sudden noise. She checked her ears to make sure they weren't bleeding and rubbed her eyes. She had also spilled her coffee, which was a small disappointment compared to how startled she was.
Iris noticed a swear come from Novi before the creature let out a shriek, so she turned to her with a look of confusion covering her face.
"Eh?" Iris said, gesturing her hands to the entrance.
~
Lydia had excellent hearing. which was not good for this situation. the shriek was multiple times louder to her, and left her head aching.
"What in the heck-?" She exclaimed, stopping her sentence short because it was the same thought everyone else seemed to have.
She looked to Anna and Kiara.
"Are you two okay?" Lydia asked.

(tagging to make sure you still are getting updates (ive always had issues with that) and i also had a writing block the past day or two .3.
@E.T. @Crono @Starrnico )
 
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Jonah's voice caught in his throat as he tried to answer Novi his attention given up to the thing that was now floating in the center of the room. The hand over his heart twitched nervously and his metal hand left his jacket pocket to thumb at a cylinder at his hip. He knew fighting was restricted, but he wasn't one to take chances. As what could only be described as the creature maw opened to reveal rows of serrated teeth dripping with a full spectrum of colors. The sudden movement caused Jonah's hand to jerk and there was a hum of electricity as a pale light began to glow dully through his shirt.

The shriek caught him by surprise, and he threw his hands to his ears to try and suppress the noise. Wincing away from the sound Jonah almost missed the flash of light that followed as the creature sped away back out the door leaving a trail of sore ears and confusion. Having heard Novi swear in response to seeing the creature he joined Iris in staring at their third companion in hopes of some kind of explanation. With all the excitement Jonah seemed not to hear the continued buzz that was coming from his chest, nor notice the faintly glowing spots that were coming from his chest.

(Yup, had some stuff I was working on, sorry for the delay)
 
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Anna had her hands covering her ears, but Kiara was nowhere in sight. The girl raised her head once it seemed to be quiet again and looked around the room "What was that thing?" She questioned, standing then looking around again and sighing "Kiara, come out, it's gone whatever it was"

The grey cat appeared again, jumping up to the table and looking from cat to owner then back at the floor "It spit acid and took pictures of everyone here. This is not a good thing my Anna, we should go soon"
 
Novi had covered her ears prematurely to the scream and closed her eyes before the pictures. She expected the questioning from her companions as well, and downed the remainder of her drink with a grim gaze. "That was my mom's crazy pet. She got it in a corrupted, collapsing dimention. What it means is that she's: 1. Looking for someone here, 2. Will be here. She's very rarly allows herself to fail whatever she's doing, escaping now probably wouldn't end well."

The pirates had grown strangely quiet, uneasy glances trading between them. Novi asked for something stronger. She placed her hands in her pockets and stared at the door.
 
Lydia looked down at her paws.
"Well. i guess i can scratch that off the list of things i haven't experienced yet. But pictures? Why pictures of everyone? For some dimensions, I know it is very well possible to take pictures of things and people and turn the pictures into actual physical things... what is that monster going to do?" Lydia spoke quietly to herself. She saw Kiara's instinct to protect her owner kick in and reminded herself that she should keep an eye on Iris. Her head turned quickly to Iris. She seemed as stunned as Lydia was. But... she seemed okay. She wondered if she should go to her owner or wait around for a bit with Anna and Kiara.
~
"Well, crud. So how are we supposed to handle this?" Iris asked, sounding a bit frazzled. She still didn't want to dwell on the mom situation, but since she was coming anyway, Iris might as well try to get ready for her arrival. She personally had not fought many infamous people in dimensions (not that she was pacifist, she just preferred talking to actions when she could because fighting was tiring) and was not sure if she would be able to. And dying in the cafe came with the same amount of pain, despite the fact she was still alive after the fact. She had gotten killed before and intended to keep the number low. And no doubt Jonah wouldn't be up to the task of fighting anyone.
 
Kiara chuckled and looked to Lydia again "That would be on the list of experiences I do not want to happen, but it is now scratched off anyway. I do not know what it wanted or what it will do with everyones pictures. We could try to follow, but that could be what it wants." She said, uncertainly
 
"For some reason I don't feel comforted knowing the blood relation." Jonah said with a nervous chuckle, a glass of water finding its way into his hand to try and remedy his rapidly drying throat. This day had started bad and now just seemed determined to finish him off. This bar was about the closest he had to a safe house and even then it was subject to the ebb and flow of moods the guests brought with them.

"I don't suppose either of you have a spare Teslfore power cell?" Jonah said humorously drumming his knuckles against the bar anxiously. It was impossible to find Teslfore's in most black markets let alone turning one up in a bar. He was a fool for not packing a spare, well a second spare, his usual spare was what was currently humming away in his chest. Distracted by the rapidly progressing events Jonah forgot Novi's discomfort towards his unnatural hand and it made an appearance once more. He stretched it experimentally, the joints a little slow to respond, and his sense of touch numbed, but it still worked. Battered and beaten as he was there were still a few tricks that he could pull out of his sleeve, but if his was not careful a few tricks might be more than his heart could handle.
 
"Best thing you can typically do is follow with whatever she says until it turns harmful for you," Novi explained, receiving her stronger drink and sipping it. She gave a chuckle to Joah trying to lighten the situation, "Me neither." Although it was entirely beyond her control, Novi felt responsible for what was about to go down and, once again, was about to apologize and didn't. The reason she hadn't done this was that the door had been nearly kicked off its hinges.

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A massive presence could be sensed from outside the Café, its arrival slightly shaking the foundations of the place. After the door was kicked open two people entered the Café, one a cloak that seemed to contain nothing but black tentacles and the other a man with no face wearing rags and large chunks of metal armor. Each took to a side of the doorway and raised the massive blasters they were carrying in a honorable way.

In swept a woman, who for the sake of time, looked like this:
image.png
Tall, mostly hidden in blue cloths, but the resemblance was uncanny. She shared Novi's eyes, skin, hair, and overall essence. The silver-plated pistol was holstered, but the worn axe rested on her left shoulder, on her right was the creature from mere molments ago. The woman's focus was on a holographic wanted poster with her face on it.

"Who do they interview for this? First of all I've obliterated way more people, stole tons more money, and I've never destroyed a dimention before. Caused a collapse from stealing stuff that keeps it stable sure, lots, but never deliberately destroyed." Anyone who was informed on the dimensionally infamous would know who this was: Captain Null of the Permadeath dimensional pirates, a group of murdering pillagers that sailed across time and space to plunder riches and sell them or their services to the highest bidder. They would also know that the numbers on that poster were high enough. Without even looking up she pointed to Joah and then to the door. "Your coming with us by the way."
 
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Kiara faded to invisibility again, watching the three new ones enter the cafe.
Anna shook her head and took her seat, looking to Lydia "Nope, not good at all" She muttered, recognizing the female and knowing she wasn't one to be messed with lightly. She tugged her hood back up to cover her face, though it wasn't entirely necessary, especially since the thing had taken her picture already. Now speaking louder, she looked to the door again "The cafe is a safe zone, you canna take him if he does na wish to go." Her Irish brogue accent came through with her louder tone though her normal speaking voice had nearly been devoid of it.
 
There was a moment as Jonah's voice froze in his throat as he realized he had really just drawn the short straw. Yes, he had assumed that there would be bounty hunters on his tail, but he had not expected one of the most infamous mercenaries to ever jump worlds to be coming after him. Not with her whole crew as well. There was no where to run to, a guard on either side of the door and he would probably vaporize his heart if he tried a jump under his own power, fighting would probably end just as badly if the stories of the Permadeath were taken with a healthy dose of salt, he supposed there was just one thing he could do.

Stall until he thought of a better plan.

"Yes, as the lady said." Jonah said, his voice finally back. He gave Anne a quick smile and a nod of thanks before fixing his gaze on Captain Null. "I have already been warned against trouble and I fear I shall be hard pressed to break such an agreement. Besides it has been a long day for me and I have not had time to finish my drink."

With that he raised his glass to her and made a gesture, inviting her to sit, to come and join him for a drink.
 
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