Skyside 7: The Big Pizza in the Sky

[Ironsmith]

Black Abyss Body Shop

"For the record, you would have made a wonderful hound, Sai. Or maybe a cat. Hm." she shrugs and looks back up at her opponent.
"So are we good or what?"

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven Ebondark stares at Mina with narrowed eyes as if trying to decide whether or not she's being lied to. She finally settles on the fact that it might not matter. "Yeah sure whatever," she says waving her hand. The music starts back up, winding up from slow to its normal beat.

It might be just distracting enough that the mecha-zombie's wild haymaker connects with Mina. Boy they're stronger and faster than they look!

Raven takes the opportunity to slip out of sight once more. She's got to hurry to get into position.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Sai isn't going to intervene for this first attack. Mina is either going to show she's prepared for it or recieve a quick reminder that she should have been. He thinks she's strong enough that one punch isn't going to give her an insurmountable disadvantage.

Trust-Worthy Hotel

There's a brief moment where there's no response from the Master's Suite. Just long enough for Sandals to ponder knocking again, louder, to be sure he was heard. But then the door opens. The servant is a dark olive-skinned man with curly brown hair and dark green eyes, wearing a white low-cut shirt and black trousers, plus a bronze collar. He's got plimsols, though if Hana had walked through the door she'll have noticed he walked with a limp. The letters TWH have been branded onto the back of one of his hands, though it's perhaps hard to spot given the angle. "Aiden's sorry, milord, but this suite has been damaged. It is not ready for guests, but Aiden shall endeavour to ensure it is repaired in time for this evening. If milord would come back then?" He looks down, bowing his head, and doesn't look straight at Sandals.

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

Just as the bandaged man begins to suspect he picked the wrong door after all, the hotel staff member, Aiden, presumably opens up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not here to stay. I just need to know what happened here and where the people who were here before have been taken", he says hastily, peering into the suite. "Oh yeah. Aiden, was it? Does that collar around your neck do anything?"

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

"Seems like ya could save a lotta time by askin' him how dis room got tohn up." Hazel points out. "An' what's wit all dis 'milohd' stuff? Dis is an houhly hotel, not Caesah's Palace. Is 'sah' and 'miss' too tame for dem? Geez."

SSGTV

There are in fact hand-wraps present. Another gladiator is waiting, and will approach Hana when she's finished changing- she's not allowed to keep the large cape she arrived here with. The gladiator is an orc woman wearing a sleeveless gambeson cut to show off her cleavage, with two tusks on the left side of her mouth drawing her face into a snarl. She's got scars on her arms and teardrops tattooed under each eye. "Ready? Foller I, you're up first. The other fish have their own fights t' fight, most of 'em should do good. Akayope's got a good eye. Don't be scared, pick a weapon. Fight's till one of you can't fight no more. You're a fish, your opponent en't. Can't say more'n that, I don't know what ye're up against." The orc opens a door into a room containing weapons, though at the moment there's not many- and none of them look great. "Pick one, you keep it. You win, you get tokens. Get enough tokens, trade 'em in for somethin' better, maybe. Or better clothes, a shield or helmet, or bodywork, or better grub. Your choice. Lose, get no tokens. Lose often enough in a row, you get a deathmatch. Might be a deathmatch you're gettin', you an' a corpse or beast or somethin'. Good luck, fish."

Hana has a choice of weapons. There's a hefty padlock on the end of a chain, a 'machete' made from half a set of garden shears, a belt with two knives sheathed, a baseball bat wrapped in razorwire, a dolomite disc-mace, a basket-hilted sabre with a snapped blade, a blood-spattered claw hammer and a pair of spiked brass knuckles. The padlock has the best reach, the bat looks most threatening, the sword- though it's snapped halfway along- is sharp, as is the shears-machete, the knives are serrated and vicious-looking but maybe not that effective.

[SSGTV]

Hana looks over her options, trying to figure out what option would work best for her. She dismisses the brass knuckles almost immediately; she needs something with reach, since her opponent is likely going to be someone bigger than her. The knives have a similar problem, in addition to be looking more like they're meant to cut wood or bread than people. The machete's a maybe, but might be a bit too short and seems unwieldy besides. The chain and padlock and the mace would both be fine options if she had more upper body strength, but as it is, they're a little heavy for her. That leaves the bat as her best choice... which is hardly surprising, since it's already a proper weapon even without the razor wire.

She grabs the bat and steps out to see her opponent.

SIN HQ

"Um... not much. I was taken from a vat of goo this morning, something thick and slimy. I went in... last night, maybe? I'm not sure, I don't know the date. I climbed in after Miss Kitty took me back to it, I'd come out so Doctor Master could shine blue light in my eyes. I gave Miss Kitty a massage, after, and was given a questionnaire on how to treat cuts, bruises, lacerations and broken bones. They... I think they were happy with my answers? Then Miss Kitty took me back to the vat, told me to get in, so I did. The cat... I saw Fifi, I think. Someone like Fifi, a pretty girl with that patterned hair and a tail. It wasn't as long, I think, maybe it wasn't her. Maybe the glass of the tank or the goo's glow played tricks on my eyes. She was sleeping in the vat next to me. Because she looked peaceful, that convinced me not to fight, and climb in. I don't remember anything else. Miss Kitty drives a tiny car, it's yellow. I don't remember getting in, just having a light shined in my eyes and then being told to get out. I was bought ten minutes later, I think, by this really scary man with a creepy mask and gloves. I don't know where he went." So some new information, at least, although it's perhaps not great to rely on some slaver's idea of 'first aid', a questionnaire and memory-implantation to rely on for nursing.

[SIN HQ]

It's still more "medical training" than most of his minions have.

"Witness Korvin." Klaus elaborates. "One of the Guild's newer enforcers. I wouldn't worry too much about him; our preliminary intelligence suggests he's an idiot. As long as you keep out of grabbing range from him, you should be fine." He gives Magoo a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Once we get to the safehouse, you'll be free to go. Do you have any idea what you want to do now that you're no longer a slave?"

It's a deliberately overwhelming question. By Magoo's account, she has no context for being anything else; he's counting on her not knowing what she wants so he can make some persuasive suggestions, joining his motley crew being foremost among them.