[ Who are you? ]

“That’s fair.” He crossed his arm and straightened his posture, trying to look a little more serious. Giving Kaden’s boss the impression that he was pathetic was the last thing he wanted right now. “But considering you people bought something from us… you know we’re smugglers, right?” Normally, he wouldn’t have dared to even breathe a word of that sentence to someone he’d just met, but if they didn’t already know somehow, he imagined they’d have to find out soon.

He noticed that his question was ignored, giving Kaden a sort of suspicious look out of the corner of his eye. Why would he just gloss over it, unless something strange was going on here? Averill wasn’t one to settle for less answers than he asked for. A bit hypocritical, since he was rather secretive himself, but his curiosity always got the best of him. Usually, he’d just take it upon himself to steal get the information, though that wasn’t his first choice here, considering it’d probably cause more trouble than it was worth. Instead, he just spoke his mind, a bit inappropriately, perhaps. “…You didn’t answer my question.”

“Hrm,” he huffed with a sharp breath out his nose. Averill could understand trying to change yourself - he’d been trying since the moment he put that first piece of metal into himself. Even if he could relate to an extent, though, he didn’t want to deal with this guy being an asshole for the sake of reputation. For a moment, he wondered how much trouble he’d get in if he ended up mouthing off to him. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything,” he laughed. 

Kaden nods a little as he walks down the hallway, counting the doors on his hands. He was looking for the one with his name on it; Without saying a word to Averill, he had connected to Paradise’s interview schedule, and blocked off a room, calling in an interviewer as well. His boss coming was just because the man wanted his fancy new toy.

“Oh, yes, we know! It’s simply not an issue.”

This was true in a sense. Paradise cared about its settlement, time, and citizens. It didn’t care about some smuggler or ring or anything similar, so long as those three things were left stable. At the mention of his work once again, he looks over his shoulder.

“I’ve told you, we’re a sanctuary. We just keep people safe...”

He opens the door, revealing a wide room with a singular desk inside. Behind it, there were four lights, each a different colour, but they were off at the moment. It seemed like any ordinary office, otherwise, save for those lights. Inside was a tall, scrawny man with a notable metal hub on his back, who was sitting in a chair off to the side, and at the desk was the same little blonde girl from the checkpoint, this time just minus the kevlar vest. Their shirts, much like Kaden’s, said their names under a large-printed number: ‘009 - FRANCIS (III)’ and ‘822 - JULIET’ respectively.

“Tjia, welcome. Take a seat wherever you like.. Juliet will handle your interview, since it was the first officer you met. It can’t speak right now, so this would likely be a simple paper interview... Here. Do keep in mind that information will be shared with the approval board, who verify information in real time. The approval board will not be meeting with you personally so they remain impartial.” Kaden sweeps his arm to the side, switching from his casual demeanour to his professional one without missing a beat. From his pocket, he digs out a pen, a simple flt tip, handing it over. It had a stylised peacock design to it, in lavish yellows, with the word “Citrine” printed on it. He then steps aside towards Francis, handing over the box.

At the desk, Juliet sort of motions him over, pushing out a small form with the standard questions. She offers out a little smile, sitting back down. Some fields had been pre-filled, in some pristine, almost robotic handwriting.

“Nobody important -” he started, noticeably perturbed. “That’s not - that doesn’t make okay to just ‘experiment’ on whoever.” His mouth twisted into a scowl. “What the hell kinda work do y’all even do here?” Averill’s speech quirks tended to become more prominent when he was irritated or upset, something he wasn’t exactly fond of.

He watched the exchange with a tight-lipped smile, not exactly enjoying being so out of the loop. Maybe he’d pester Diederik to make a translator for him later; it probably wouldn’t be much of a challenge for him, he figured. His smile widened slightly and he gave a small wave in response to the alien.

Honestly, Averill was starting to wish they’d sent Eliza on this delivery instead. Eliza wouldn’t let something slide if she thought it was wrong, Eliza wouldn’t let somebody treat her like an outsider, Eliza wouldn’t stand around like some fucking tool, she’d just exude confidence and show them all her cool tricks, Eliza, Eliza, Eliza… He grimaced and dug his fingers into his palms; were it not for his gloves, his nails certainly would have drawn blood. 

“It’s… fine.” He sighed. “I’m just a suspicious person, y’know?” He cracked a crooked smile, but it didn’t have much heart to it. Yes, it was something he was used to, but somehow this felt… worse. As if he was teenage Elizabeth Hoa Ing Averill Tjia again, watching everyone mock him and glare at him and then act like he was too stupid to notice. Nowdays when he seemed suspicious, it was usually because of the powerful people he worked for, because of the alter-ego he used to antagonize his foes. 

“Oh. Great.” Admittedly, Averill was not feeling particularly enthused to meet Kaden’s boss, though he was awfully curious. “Uh, what’s he like?”

If only Averill knew that when Kaden said “nobody important”, he meant himself. After all, he could just be rebuilt, his memory transferred, and it’s almost like nothing ever happened. He may have started as human, but so many implants, prosthetics, and chips, and after being rebuilt after each incident that his human body couldn’t handle, he was more metal than man. 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Tjia. If it helps, I don’t find you too suspicious, but its just policy to give everyone a security check before they go in. Sometimes our own employees have to, if they’ve been gone for too long.”

He opted to ignore the question about his work and Paradise’s purpose. After all, Paradise is a good place, and it does wonderful work, and treats it’s employees so well for how hard they work...... Kaden believed that, anyway. He stays in the doorway, looking back to him with that confident, calm expression. He believed everything would be fine, that he would get Averill that security card, and allow the other to wander around the metro area. Now if only he knew to shut up.

Phi frowned. She kinda wanted to take that headset, not for any reason except that it looked cool. Even in this weird land, she could have accessorized, and made some good first impressions.

“It’s Phi. P - H - I. If you want a last name, it’s spelled K - L - I - M. Adult female, extra small. If there’s any teenaged guy shirts in there, that’d work too.”

She peeked over at all the gadgetry in his possession - a bit miffed that he wasn’t even sharing that cool gun with her, especially with all the killer robots outside. Still. Best to stay calm and be nice to her one ticket out of here.

If she attempted to just take it, she would find that it would stubbornly refuse to come off, and that Francis would have immediately begun crying. The teen was toiling away, tracing out the letters on a suitably sized shirt. He looks back towards her for a moment, before changing the colour on the device’s screen to blue. With a hot glow, it shines a light on the front of the shirt, with it reading “291 - PHI”. That ‘ID’ burns into the fabric in a brilliant azure colour. 

“There, uhm.. Here, put this one on.” 

He holds out the shirt towards her, shaking still. He was scrawny and definitely somebody who wouldn’t last a day in the field of his work, so he was given menial, useless tasks. He goes to the window shortly afterwords, looking disheartened as he looks at the machines patrolling the streets, as though the city was still alive and thriving.

Zatch Bell: Reycom, Hyde, Eido, Sugina, Haru, Robnos, Maruss, Zeon, Dufaux, Pamoon, Laila, Clear Note

Jet Set Radio: Gum

Tagged by: Stole it. Tagging: @amnesiac-demon, @theghostkid, @fixryambiticn, @cyberobscurity, @notevenjupiter

Francis I

“Hrm,” he grumbled, crossing his arms. “I was even planning on being nice and warning the poor sucker who’s about to get that thing stuck in his head, y’know. The instructions won’t do it justice, and neither will that weird video Diederik made.” He figured someone here must some knowledge of phasing and the principles involved, since they were able to catch the corporation’s intradimensional signals. 

On the other hand, Kaden seemed to know nothing of base world, suggesting that they weren’t able to transcend all the layers separating this reality from his home. Even if he was just a middleman, he figured someone would at least tell him a little. Either way, it wasn’t particularly likely they’d developed substantial phaser devices, as this reality didn’t seem to be part of an overlayed system, the typical catalyst for such developments. 

Averill cringed inwardly at the mention of an interview - he’d assumed the security check would be more physical than verbal. Not that he wanted to get patted down or anything uncomfortable, but he did not have a way with words. A vague memory of when Jingyi gave him his job and his first assignment popped into his head - he’d been so nervous that he felt as if he might implode, and she just shook his hand and gave him his uniform with that thin, unwavering smile of her’s. “Interview, huh? I thought maybe you’d just put me in big metal tube that analyzes my psyche or something,” he joked in an attempt to cover any nervousness.

He raised an eyebrow and made a face at the sight of all the agents and aliens, but said nothing. He was already on such a high level of “what the fuck” that questioning the mass presence of aliens didn’t even make his to-do list. Aside from what he’d already been told, he essentially dismissed it as an alternate reality thing. Best not to get too caught up in it… but when was he ever not caught up in something?

“Alright.” Averill played with the drawstring on his jacket as he followed Kaden to the door.

“Ah, don’t worry, nobody important will be stuck with it.” Kaden knew that, if III did decide to experiment with it, he would likely be the subject. He always was. And if something went wrong? Oh well, he could be scrapped and rebuilt, as usual. Everything had been accounted for. Now, Paradise’s own phasing technology did allow them to cross barriers, but why would Kaden tell him that? It wasn’t relevant, and he didn’t need to know anyway. 

“No no no, they usually just keep things simple... Besides, the mind is a complicated little thing, we have too much else to do than make something to analyse it.” He moves his hands towards the Ixalen, a hand grasping his tail and moving it off the doorknob. “Now, modifyi- Excuse me?” His sentence was cut short by the alien swatting his hand away. “I really need to get through this door-” Mamba makes a distinct look of confusion; he didn’t understand English as Kaden spoke it. His hand is swatted back again. Kaden thinks for a moment, looking at Averill with a clear expression of annoyance. “One moment.”

“Mamba, quixohua ta izoni is notequi. Stay tlapiaya, ya, auh..” ( Mamba, getting through this door is important. You stay guarding it, and... )

With a small nod of understanding, Mamba grabs his hand again, then looks to Averill, back to the agent before him.

“Niuh who?” The alien flicks his eyes towards the visitor with some caution. “Campa Three tepantli, anca... Stay sure, niuh?” ( Who’s that? ... Three is inside, so... Are you still sure? )

Kaden pulls his hand back, firm as he stands his ground. “Niuh is Tjia. Quiyahuac Tjia, anca xime tlatlatoznequi. Quimo Tjia cantiuh Centrado.” ( This is Tjia. They’re from outside, so I’m getting them an interview. Since they’re lost, they’re going to Centrado. )

 With that, Mamba smiles a bit, and nods, offering Averill a small wave. “Ooh. Ta-ra, Tjia, stay lucky, ya?” He then moves off to the side, no longer swatting at Kaden when he reaches for the door.

“That makes sense. Maybe something is up with him? I don’t know. Hey since he’s not eating that… can I eat it after I finish this delicious spaghetti?” Well he is a demon and they often have large appetites. “Oh and maybe you can get me some pistachio ice cream sometime or mochi. Don’t give me anything mango related. I’m allergic to mangos.”