Door 7 - Odin Junction

[Anchou]

Jordan frowned and thought for a moment. "Yes I am a rookie. Which makes you a higher up? You look familiar... But not from down here. Maybe I've seen you before...."

Jordan's brow furrowed deeply. Firefight? In that "Wasteland"? What is going on?

Jordan snapped out of his reflecting "so..., who are you then? And why are you down here with me? I don't understand what's going on."

Thinking hard, Jordan could only see blurry flashes that didn't make any sense. Even if they were clear, he doubted if he would understand.  

[SirBayer]

Juliet choked, and the hand on Alastair's shoulder suddenly became a point of support for her. By the time he'd actually moved on to Jordan, Juliet had moved past coughing and into laughing. In fact, she was a bit too busy intermittently chuckling and giggling to introduce herself properly, managing only something along the lines of, "Varz - ha - nice to - he - see ya, ahaha," etc. She displayed no signs of regaining her composure any time soon, and in this way Alastair had succeeded - the tension was entirely gone, just in that instant.  

[NativeForeigner]

"Yer laughing a lil too much there, lass." Alastair said jokingly to Juliet before turning his attention back to Jordan. "Of course I look familiar, lad. We work at the station in Corona. The name's Alastair. Ya should know why we're down here, lad, we all ended up here around the same time. Ya feeling all right?"  

[Anchou]

Jordan's eyes lit up "Oh yeah, I've seen you around. Heard more, though." Glancing uneasily at Juliet, Jordan frowned "is she your partner?"

"I only ask because it seems as if she knows you very well..." Jordan said.

Why is she laughing?

"Before you answer, though, I will tell you that I am feeling strange and can't remember some things."  

[thegoodsamaritan]

Jasper suddenly appeared at Ton'yell's shoulder, as he was often wont to do, another will-o'-wisp floating lazily at his shoulder, giving off a comfortable warmth. He clicked the lighter in his left hand anxiously, as though... well, as though he was anxious, honestly. Truth be told, he was just trying to ignore the pervasive psychic itch that seemed to be making its merry way across his skin.

It's like withdrawl all over again. But worse. Now I have to blow stuff up to get rid of it, he thought glumly. He spared a second glance at his lighter, then pocketed it with a growl, looking about. His stomach growled suddenly, and Jasper realized he hadn't eaten anything since the North Pole. And that was quite some time ago. He put a hand on his stomach, his mouth twitching ruefully.

"Can... can we get food first?" he asked anxiously.  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell smiled at Jasper and stated, "Yes, we can." She actually liked Jasper; he had been there since near the very beginning of this crazy endeavor, and he hadn't done anything to make her worry about Alex's or her safety. "I'm fairly hungry as well, and I'm sure Alex could use a bite." Pierre crawled onto the opposite shoulder to avoid the will-o-wisp following Jasper.

She watched the teenaged boy ahead of her and called out to him, "Alex, could you point out a restaurant for us on that map?" While she waited for the boy to pick out a restaurant, she subtly checked the flame user's body language. "Hope you don't mind me asking, but how have you been holding up?" She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable with her, so she said, "It's not been a walk in the park surviving out here."  

[thegoodsamaritan]

Jasper turned toward Ton'yell slightly when she asked her question. He liked Ton'yell and her young charge- it wasn't often that he found someone he could be comfortable around, even barring certain psychic developments. On both their parts, sure, but at least Ton'yell didn't have to worry she was about to combust someone by accident. And yet, despite Jasper's less-than-family-friendly powers, Ton'yell was one of the only ones who didn't seem to fear him. He rolled his shoulders, pulling out his lighter with a look of defeat on his face.

"It's not easy, having these abilities," he said. "I can control them, mostly. But it's like an addiction- when I use it, it gets hard for me to stop. It's almost... alive. Like it wants me to use it as much as possible." Jasper clicked the lighter again, summoning forth another, smaller will-o-wisp, which took its place next to the other, before Jasper snuffed it out. He shook his head.

"By making small stuff like this," he said, running his thankfully fireproof fingers through the flame at his shoulder, "I can keep it in check. It's bad, sure, but at least it's not getting any worse." His stomach growled again, and he glanced over at Alex, a rueful smile on his face.

"Part of it might be that I'm... distracted," he said, smiling lazily. "It'll be better, I think, once I get some food in me." He raised the card that he had gotten from the security checkpoint. "Quite the place, isn't it?"  

[NativeForeigner]

Alastair smirked. "Aye, the lass is my partner." He raised an eyebrow when Jordan mentioned his amnesia. "Havin' trouble remembering things, are ye? I'm sure you'll start remembering soon enough - maybe some food would help."

*

Ton'yell scanned the map, searching for the nearest restaurants. She took note of the nearest eight - The Hive, Greasel Pit, The Sheathe, Potted Pabulum, Odin Eats, The Common Ground, E-D Cuisine, and Delights of Empyrea - and asked the man behind the desk for more information. She discovered that The Hive and Greasel Pit served different kinds of food common to Empyrea; The Sheathe and Potted Pabulum specialized in pilled-based meals; Odin Eats served food unique to Odin Junction; The Common Ground and Delights of Empyrea served food imported from the different regions of Empyreal and E-D Cuisine served food from beyond Empyrea’s dimension – including food from earth.

Stepping outside after making the decision of where to go, the guests found Odin Junction to be somewhat similar to a normal cityscape – just with significantly taller buildings, less space between most buildings, and more neon signs advertising unfamiliar goods and shows. Many of the vehicles driving along the cramped street were of similar nature to earth’s cars - four wheels and a chassis. However, some were of unusual design; some had more wheels, others had less, and still others had no wheels at all, and – perhaps most notably – almost no two vehicles were alike.

At the time, few people were on the streets walking. The denizens were all humanoid, but a few had exaggerated body types; extremely tall or short and extremely skinny or rotund. The more observant would note that some citizens had robotic limb replacements and that, in fact, some of the citizens were indeed sleek robots of varying shapes and sizes.  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell nodded along to Jasper's words. She wasn't all too excited that he seemed to be feeling addicted to using the powers, but at least he seemed to be able to handle it for the time being. She'd only get worried if he started developing further symptoms of a junkie.

"If you ever feel overwhelmed by your power, don't hesitate to talk to me." She wryly grinned, "I might not be able to empathize with your ability, but I can certainly lend an ear." She smiled more sincerely as she looked at the buildings around the trio. "It is indeed. This place is a bit more advanced than home it seems," she said as she looked at the unique vehicles and extremely tall buildings.

Alex had been too focused on looking around the city to pick a place to eat, so Ton'yell suggested the three of them eat at E-D Cuisine. "It's not too far away, and from what the desk clerk told me earlier, it'd be our best chance of getting food we normally eat." Even better, they were less than a block away from the restaurant. "You both alright with that?"  

[Anchou]

"Hmm...maybe some food will help. I guess I'll just follow you guys." Jordan looked down and furrowed his brow.

I wonder what food we'll be having... It seems that that girl and her friends are leading the way. I am a bit hungry. Jordan sighed. Perhaps over dinner Alastair and I can talk about how the hell we can get out of here. Where ever here is...

Jordan started following the forward trio. He didn't make an effort to catch up though, just to keep pace at a distance. He observed their interactions and wondered if the girl and the man who kept flipping a lighter and had a floating flame above his shoulder, were in romantic relationship. It seemed highly plausible, or at least that they liked each other due to the flirtatious vibe they shared. The younger one that stayed close to the girl seemed to be under here protection. Maybe it's her younger brother? Or someone in desperate need? Women are so caring. Jordan chuckled as he thought that.

As he walked, Jordan also noticed the strange cars, buildings, and people. The people seemed like they had cybernetic upgrades or were full cyborgs. This disquieted Jordan and his smile faded into a grim line. First a wasteland. Now some advanced society with cybernetics. I've seen...what was it...ghosts...turtle shells? No! Ghost...in...the...Shell? Yes, that was it! I've seen "Ghost in the Shell" and know that this likely bodes ill fortune our way.

Jordan turned towards Alastair, "Have you seen "Ghost in the Shell"? You know, the anime about a futuristic world and...cybernetics."  

[thegoodsamaritan]

Jasper felt a surge of gratitude at Ton'yell's words. She truly did seem to want to help him, which was a relief- he expected to feel a lot more alienated for being what amounted to a human flamethrower. He smiled sincerely, a rare thing indeed. "Thank you," he said quietly. "That means a lot to me, really." He took another glance at the map as Ton'yell suggested E-D Cuisine. The man at the desk had told them that this particular restaurant imported food from Earth- the thought of which made Jasper's stomach rumble again.

"E-D Cuisine sounds great- maybe they even have hamburgers there," he said with a small smile. "And it's close, too." Jasper frowned slightly, sensing another presence and looked behind them, a smile again lighting up his features as he noted their unintentional companions. He gave a bright wave at the trio following them, and turned back to Ton'yell.

"It looks like someone else has the same idea," he said, gesturing back at their followers.  

[Isa-sama]

The psychologist didn't do anything but smile at Jasper's thanks. She was hoping that her experience with a pyromaniac patient would help her with Jasper.

Ton'yell looked behind her when Jasper mentioned someone following them. She shrugged and said, "so it seems." She didn't care whether or not the officers had followed them. If we end up eating at the same place, we might as well get to know one another. Food was a good way to bond with other people. "The more, the merrier."  

[thegoodsamaritan]

"That's true," said Jasper, relating to Ton'yell's words. Jasper turned to look at them again, then turned back and shrugged. "Hope they're at least friendly- we could use some more friends in our little band. I don't feel like we're going to be getting home anytime soon, would do to be more... social. Civil. Such as that."

Jasper took another look, then turned to Ton'yell. "'Scuse me," he said, turning back toward the other group.

"Mornin'!" he said with a bright wave, falling in with the others. "Just thought I'd be nice and say hello." He extended a hand tentatively to the group in general as he walked. "Jasper Davidsen," he said. "How are you all doing?"  

[Anchou]

Jordan turned towards Jasper, completely forgetting what he had just asked Alastair. Smiling, Jordan took Jasper's hand and shook it.

"Hi. I'm Jordan and this"-Jordan motioned at Alastair-"is Alastair and his partner Juliet."

Looking at the sky, Jordan frowned. "I guess it could be morning. I can't really tell."

"Hmm, this may sound weird, but...do you know what's going on?" Jordan looked back at Jasper.  

[SiberDrac]

Jesse was, in fact, far too absorbed by the sights and sounds around him to've heard much from Ton'yell. He allowed himself to be tugged or prodded along towards the diner, idly hoping they did, in fact, have hamburgers, while he chattered with Chris about the technology and industry of the world around them. Usually, she and he didn't get along superbly well, but what with Jesse's obsession with being "cool" and her hunger for ever new curiosities, the populace and more specifically, what was being driven made the two personalities positively flourish with excitement. They remained totally oblivious to the people around them - it seemed as though there wasn't any particular conflict, so there was no need to pay attention, at least until it was time for food. Speaking of which... "Are we almost there?" the boy asked, speaking as Jesse.