MUCH LATER
How much later? Who knows?
Abby, Alec and their new friend Patches found their way to Michael. Agatha and Karena, with Volare brought along with them, followed their gun enthusiast to their shop, and the group of misfits in charge of getting medical supplies found themselves on a chase to find Anri. Only to end up fighting through a small army of Militech soldiers and causing pandemonium in the process.
But as all of this happened....
Nothing.
The intensity of the Militech fight, the chaos of Abby's revenge against the man who tortured her and her partner, even the simple cash exchange with Agatha and Karena all suddenly s
topped. The last memories all the teams would have before the world suddenly went dark would be blurry visions and obscure sounds. Something happened to them, something that took over their minds in a matter of seconds. It was a small feeling at first, a mellowness like a glass of fine white wine. Their mouths tasted of fine vintages and nuanced palates, and their worries vanished as the sweet taste of such fine liqours flowed through their bodies. Even though they hadn't even touched a drink since they landed on this planet. The feeling would grow more and more until they begin feeling more drunk.
The sweet taste turned to stronger drinks, of Whiskey, Rum, Vodka, Bourbon, all their minds would become intoxicated by these sensations that didn't make any logical sense to be happening. But whatever logic and reason they had left vanished like the world around them. Their sights turned to Jackson Pollock paintings, the sounds nothing but white noise between TV channels, their thoughts more random and disorganized than a child's playroom. It turned to a haze, before it finally went black.
Maybe they were all drugged at the same time. Maybe they were hypnotized. Maybe someone put them under a spell. All they would know, once they could properly think again, was they were back together once more. But they weren't anywhere near where they were before. They were now in a bar. Above it was the name in bright neon green lighting. 'Afterlife.'
They weren't alone either. Militech guards, the same ones Anri, Chika and Oliver had fought, were now laughing outrageously together with large pints in their hands. The guards Abby and Alec fought to grab Michael, engaged in drinking contests and arm wrestling with the other Militech people. The gunsmith Agatha and Karena had met with, he was speaking with Patches as they reminisced about days gone by from their worlds.
There were even Gangsters there, sharing in the revelry but by no logic should even be in the same room. Tyger Claws, Maelstrom, Valentinos, hell there looked to be several Arasaka bodyguards/assassins with heavy duty cybernetics. Even Michael himself, last Abby would remember, was hanging him from the ceiling rafters of his makeshift apartment like she was the judge, jury and executioner of the crimes he committed lightyears away.
She and him were now sitting in a booth, opposite each other. Michael had visible bruises around his neck from where her wiring choked him, but how the hell did they even end up here? If someone looked to the TV playing over the bar, they would see several news reports of a Militech base, the same one Anri and co. attacked, set ablaze like a bomb had gone off inside it.
How did they happen? Fuck if they knew. All Oliver and Chika knew, once they managed to regain some semblance of consciousness back, was Chika was for some reason trying to chop open a beer bottle with her sword, and Oliver had several cords sticking out his head like he was the world's strongest modem.
Alec was nowhere to been seen, while Agatha was in an arm wrestling contest with the biggest Maelstrom fella in the room. Karena herself would be chugging a beer keg upside down, and Volare was doing magic spells like some streetside entertainer to the cheers and wows of his audience.
How did they get here? Why were they doing this? God only knew right now. All they knew at this point was they somehow had their minds back... but not by much.
Because even though they had a moment of clarity from their drunken haze... They were all still pretty drunk right now. Except Anri. The little girl thankfully didn't have the same sensation thrown upon her.
No, she got something worse as a substitute. A sugar rush.
