Moulin Rouge, Reboot thread

[Blind Violinist]

"Opportunity knocks, as the saying goes" Michelle looked at the unguarded door and blinks looking back at her "I don't know about you but... I think I've had enough of this place already, I'm certain she has as well" She nodded and slowly made her way towards the door. "Try and keep up" Seeing Greaci stunt standing there Michelle grabs her at her arm and drags her towards the door "We got to move" she then said getting into the hallway watching the corners with close eyes.

They had to get out of there and quick, Michelle and Helena were outnumber and without their gear they were no match against these brutal Barony men. Plus if the Barony only knew what they had captured then there was a different treatment for them. Michelle gear was close by as they hurry up they kept watch.

[judodave]

Chloe watched what was going on from out of the corner of her eye, it didn't take her long to realize that she had an opportunity to escape but her initial thoughts where focused on getting her locket back, seeing two older women make there move she ran up to them.

"Wait, can I come with you guys? I don't intend to remain a slave any longer." Chloe asked as her eyes darted towards the door. "If that comes up I can hold my own in a fight, my mom was a Blue Suns member and she taught me self defense." She added.

[TheDoctor455]

"Yes, we do need to get out of here," Greaci said carefully, "But do you really think its a great idea to run out into Omega unarmed and naked? We need to find the armory first. It'd be suicide otherwise."

Greaci looked around and tried to figure out where the armory might be. There weren't any signs nearby that would give that away, and no convenient arrows pointing to where-ever one might go.

That'd be too easy.

Greaci tried to use her biotics; she got little more than a spark. It wouldn't help in combat... but she could bring her aura back up... might be useful nonetheless.

"Any ideas where we'd find it?"

[Viyu]

"Let us hope so... After all, I would be disappointed if you were to begin lowering your quality... You are good, and I would hate to have you replaced"

Yes, yes. The whole "I'M SCARY, DO WHAT YOUR TOLD OR YOUR FIRED!" routine. Carver WAS scary. But he had no basis for his threats, which made them all the more annoying. He wouldn't really replace her… right? No! Of course not.


"I believe that the new drug I supplied you with has worked then? That is good news indeed"


Satonami frowned, disappointed. No, I meant we beat her ass and buttfucked her, you idiot male, she thought. Frickin' retard. Carver knew damn well what happened. Men were so stupid, always dodging responsibility some way or another. But of course, Carver was her superior, so she remained silent.

"Oh yes, I do remember her. You should not be so harsh to her... We have all been kids once. And I for one would not be so dismissive of the resentment you can instill on her even at such early age. Who knows, one day she might rise above you. Galaxy works in mysterious ways" he said with chuckle, enjoying watching the woman's reaction as she sent the girl away to check on other matters.

“Harsh? N-No sir, I wasn’t…” Satonami protested at first. But then she fell silent and gritted her teeth. She HATED it when people judged her parenting. Why couldn’t they all just mind their damned business?! She would beat that little brat within an inch of her life tonight!

Satonami walked slightly behind Carver, as he left the backrooms to begin the inspection. There was no point in leading him anywhere, he knew exactly where and what he wanted to inspect. As the two of them walked out of the backrooms and through the establishment, Satonami caught a glimpse of a man sitting alone at a table whilst puffing his cigar, and looking at some of the pleasure women pole dancing on stage. She grimaced slightly.

This… she was not expecting this! Satonami mentally cursed her luck. Why did JR Leslie…of all people have to be HERE? And WHY of all times… did this particular person have to show up during a meeting with her boss? Satonami hadn’t seen JR in 12 years. Well…she thought resentfully, 12 years and 9 months to be more precise. She had no idea what he was doing in here, but she kept her head focused forward and pretended not to see him. Perhaps he wouldn’t notice her. Perhaps he wouldn’t try to talk to her. She could only pray he wouldn’t. Satonami didn’t want to speak to that man ever again, not after he left her ass for that ugly Asari heifer he married. Whatever. She didn’t need a man. But she knew she knew better than to angrily send him away. Carver would be upset at her if she disrespected a customer that paid his fair share of credits to get in.

Meanwhile.....

"Be ready in five minutes." The turian ordered before slamming the door shut.

For only a moment Tamika felt relief. But as soon as the reality was settling in... she effortlessly fell to her knees with a long exhale.

She was kidnaped in order to become a...to become a...s...

...a...s....

a..."sex slave" by the Barony, one of the biggest criminal organizations on Omega. The Barony was like the mafia—feared, and known by ordinary people such as Tamika herself. Her idol Carver-sama worked for the Barony. Everybody in the neighborhood knew it. Obviously, he was dangerous like dad said but... but...no! No.... he couldn't be involved with something like this! Even though she was just a groupie fangirl who didn't really "know" him personally, she had enough conviction that he had nothing to do with something so inhumane... right? He did rescue her those many years ago. He couldn’t be totally evil! Tamika swallowed slowly, but remained quiet.

"Relax little dove, you only need to endure this nightmare a little longer before someone will save us, just keep your head done, don't draw attention to yourself and you'll get through this alive and whole" Said a woman.

Tamika softly whimpered something inaudible whilst thumbing her Coptimus Prime toy that was still in her hand. She heard the lady's words, but only offhandedly. The expression in Tamika's eyes wasn't as easily apparent because of her overgrown bangs. But all she could do.... was stare blankly at a wall in shock... too absorbed in her own feelings to even blink.

She began thinking about other things. Thinking... about the likelihood she would be violated....r-..raped.... and tortured in a matter of minutes. Nobody... nobody was coming to save her, she thought whimpering rather faintly. Not Dad, not the neighbors--- nobody. She sat quietly on her legs to reduce their trembling. Tamika's glasses began to fog up as tears began to form behind her coke bottle glasses, but she was too stunned... too emotionally numb to wipe them.

Suddenly there was a biotic blast that burst through dressing room's door open. Tamika was too shocked to notice or respond to any of it accordingly. She didn't even flinch as Tomoyo's toy hit the corner of her head, and knocked her glasses to the floor.

Tamika still stared blankly at the wall, stupefied. Meanwhile, the other girls chatted excitedly amongst each other.

Without bothering to shake her out of her trance, the others emptied the boudoir, leaving Tamika sitting anchored on the floor. And who could blame them? It probably wasn't out of any ill will. Perhaps they were so carried away with excitement that they forgot she was there. Or perhaps carrying someone who was too shocked to move would significantly reduce the chance they could get away.

Regardless, each of the other girls stepped over the dead or unconscious Barony soldiers, confiscating their weapons. Tamika on the other hand was now technically alone, not noticing Snooki, or Tomoyo lying unconscious to the floor. She... was left to her fate.

...Or was she?

Get up.


B-but... Tamika protested back.

They'll rape you. She retorted to herself, annoyed.

But at least they won't kill me!

YOU COWARD! YOU'LL BE RAPED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! Do you want to end your life raped like your mother?

"No...." Stop it! Tamika thought, dropping her figurine carelessly-- Her stupor was broken with a subtle flinch. She quickly recalled a graphic memory of her mother's corpse lying in her bedroom bruised, naked, and bloody from a knife wound to the neck. At that moment, Tamika gasped and held her chest, almost as if she just awoke from a horrible dream.

A thin stream of sweat trailed from her forehead down to her chin. She had nowhere to run. If she removed herself again and spaced out in order to avoid reality, she feared she would be met with mental images that she was presently unable to confront. All she could do now, was look at reality.

At first she didn't know what she should do. And so she quickly decided that if "she" didn't know what to do, she would simply have to defer to someone who did. But...the room...was empty. There's no one I can call for help!

Then creATE someone!

But...ho--- Tamika blinked. Something had unexpectedly caught her attention. She cocked her head curiously at the pile of clothes sitting next to her on the floor. Strange... she hadn't noticed them there before...

[sgt. cookie]

Well, that was unexpected. Adrian took off the, whatever it was, reviled a guard of his pistol and began to walk off. Well, this is not how I planned my day, I got drunk, had a fight and ended up in some god forsaken place. Actualy... that's pretty much how my saturday evenings normaly go. I'm use to it, the others, whoever the hell they were, certainly seemed calm. That other one though, not made of the same stuff the rest of us seemed to be...

After walking down another corridor, Adrian's conscoince, or at least what Adrian had that passed for one, got the better of her. She decided to go back.

Adrian walked back up to the door, guards and all, and popped her head into the room. "Hey, kid. You coming or what?"

[J.R.Leslie]

JR was puffing on his cigar when he noticed something that almost seemed to come out of one his dreams. A woman in a back and red kimono with hair as black as ebony and a face as white as ivory. His jaw almost dropped as he stood up and said louder than he meant to. "Satonami? He then walked over and composed himself as tucked the cigar between his left fore finger and middle finger and walked closer to the woman. Once he got closer he smiled and said. "Satonami?! It is you!" He then bowed slightly and said in Japanese that didn't have a hint of a accent in. "You look radiant as ever milady, how have you been since our last meeting?"

He then stood up and smiled broadly as he adjusted his armor slightly which was a sign of nervousness to those who new the man. He then grabbed a glass of what smelled like scotch and drank it from a passing waitress's serving tray and then continued. "You busy lass?"

[EnigmaticStranger]

After the brief run-in with Satonami's daughter, Carver was content in observing the activities within the establishment and going through his normal inspection, knowing that the woman had been put through quite a lot of humiliation and pressure as it was. While it was important to maintain loyality amongst those who would break loose of his control if given the slightest real chance to do so, it was also important not to overdo it. If he would push too hard, she might well snap and cause problems, and those would be quite tiresome to solve when he could have the entire place via simple assassination under the current circumstances, were it to really catch his fancy. Things were good as they were here, and he was determined to keep them like that for as long as possible. Having status quo reign in areas under his control was very important for his future plans.

Or if the chaos in those areas would be inevitable, it would at least need to be controlled and directed... something that he had been doing for quite a while during his tenure as a lieutenant. Sometimes there was elegant simplicity in letting others wreck things you wanted wrecked, and somebody else still take the fall for things destroyed.

After the inspecting through the backrooms was done, Carver and Satonami moved to the more common side of Moulin Rouge, his cadre of bodyguards following some distance away. He had momentarily considered sending them to the back to make sure order was being kept properly, but decided against it: if the woman could not keep the order with guards she herself employed, she would deserve to be sacked anyway. No, if things would escalade into dangerous level (which they hardly ever did), he would just need to wait it out and send his men to take control of the building after whatever chaos inside would have ran it's course.

Then, another distraction occurred, this time in shape of a customer recognizing Satonami and coming over to talk to her. Judging by the familiar tone he used, they knew each other... Or at least used to do so sometime in the past. He was not aware of her past for most part (the Pulse was not equal of the Ring in information gathering, after all), but it seemed that this new meeting was also making her uncomfortable to no end... For what reason, he could not say at the moment. Still, the man was a customer, and she knew the rules, so he was quite in her ability to go through with simple talk with her associate.

Knowing that interrupting would be rude, he simple focused on the rest of the club while leaving the new arrival completely devoid of attention. Satonami would handle the matter. That was, after all, her job.

[Mr. Dust]

"Wait, can I come with you guys? I don't intend to remain a slave any longer." Chloe asked as her eyes darted towards the door. "If that comes up I can hold my own in a fight, my mom was a Blue Suns member and she taught me self defense." She added.

Helena gave a cursory glance to the girl, Chloe, but maintained a vigilant gaze at the corridors no doubt leading to both more barony scum as well as their escape. "That's cute little girl, catch these thugs off guard and your after school karate might just be too much for them" she teased, double checking her weapon to make sure the heatsink was secured properly within the weapon.

She looked to Michelle and back at Chloe "Tell you what... until you find a weapon, your not an obvious threat to any guards we come across... we can use that to our advantage but only if you've got the guts."

She once again looked down the corridors to make sure no barony guards had wandered their way. "Think your up for luring guards into my sights? Promise I won't get their blood over your new clothes" she added while tapping the sight on the rifle she recently acquired.

Michelle would probably object to Helena's tact of using 'unarmed civilians' but Helena was open to better suggestions...
---

[[This gained prominence during the last site-wide thread... and I found it to be quite useful, plus it can work just as well here. Sooooo......
Helena [Mr. Dust] interacted with Chloe [Judodave] and vaguely Michelle [Blind Violinist] in this post.]]

[Viyu]

((OOC: I think there's a bit of confusion regarding Tamika's appearance. She is black, not Asian, although her eyes have the Asiatic eyefold because her mother is Japanese)

"Beautiful clothes give people confidence and courage. Has that magic overcome you yet?" ~Ai Yazawa

With a pair of entranced, stupefied eyes, Tamika had just finished putting on a black hooded dress with a pair of boots that felt like they were probably a size too big! It only took a minute to slip the ensemble on, but she particularly liked this one: Even though they were big, the shoes had low, comfortable heels, but were high enough to cover her unshaven legs. The outfit was stretchy, comfortable, and not too small for her bust like everything else in the pile was.
But most importantly? The hooded part of the dress reminded her of Carver-sama and---

Wait wait wait! Her persona thought to Tamika. Quit saying "Carver-sama". Not while I'm in control. It doesn't suit someone like "me".

O--oh...sorry. Tamika thought. But! Her mental assertiveness already made her feel just a little bit more confident in herself, even if it was just a front. Looking at the vanity mirror, she looked like a more sophisticated person. Good... Perfect... The persona thought, as if to ward off its own feelings of panic. Anything is better than looking like that pathetic little--

Hey... I heard that! Tamika said. But deep down, she wasn't offended. This fake mental banter was something she was experimenting with, to see if she could further mentally separate herself from this persona. It was merely acting at its finest.

Shut up! She snapped to herself, yanking her bangs and cutting them in a single straight chop with a pair of safety scissors on the table. Tamika yanked the hair band out of her hair and made a messy side bun with it to make it look "teased"-- just to conceal how disheveled and uncared for it actually was.

I don't want to look like you! The persona thought, pulling the hood over her head, covering much of her face. I can't afford to be 'you' right now! Yes... that's right. The more she could convince herself that she wasn't herself... the more confident she could be to make a run for it..... even though she still felt pretty uncomfortable about it on the inside.

But what can you do? Tamika protested.

Be quiet.

You're going to get us killed! What skills did you have to get out of here? It was one thing to convince herself she was a different person. But could this "other" person do to escape that "Tamika" couldn't? She frowned, not wanting to admit the truth.

SHUT UP, I SAID!........Tsk! She mentally rolled her eyes, and kicked a garbage bin out of anger. Actually, it wasn't that Tamika herself was "angry", but it helped to get into the character of this new "independent woman" persona she was trying to propagate.

You...have a point. The "persona" conceded, folding her arms and resting her back against the wall to think. Tamika HAD no noteworthy fighting skill. She had to think of something quick. She didn't want to revert to her fearful, cowardly self. Not right now at least! But.... she that's precisely what would happen if she dwelled on her doubts for much longer...

“Nunie! Nunie! Nunie please wake up!” Pinky begged, tugging on her owner’s yukata. Tomoyo still wouldn’t wake up.
Tamika gasped and placed a hand over her mouth as if she wanted to vomit. . This is just.... sick! They have children working here as sex slaves too!?

“What.... happened here?” She thought to herself aloud. Where are the other girls? And what is this…thing? she glanced perplexedly at the talking stuffed toy. It was as if the thing was alive…

Focus, idiot! The child!

Oh! Right! Sorry….

"Hey, wake up! Hey, are you okay?" Tamika asked, frantically shaking Tomoyo by the shoulder.

Adrian walked back up to the door, guards and all, and popped her head into the room. "Hey, kid. You coming or what?"

Tamika looked up at the young woman that just arrived at the door. It was one of the girls from before. She absolutely could NOT let her, or anyone else recognize her as the cowardly individual. Luckily the hood covered her face. She didn’t want to be looked down upon as somebody who was weak and useless-- even though she actually was

Let me handle this.

“Kid?” The Persona asked in a deep voice that sounded more confident and assertive than Tamika’s regular voice. “I think you have me confused with someone else.” She glanced at Tomoyo, still lying listlessly in her arms. “I found this child is injured. Do you have any idea what happened here?”

Meanwhile.....

"Satonami?”

D-DAMN! Haruno thought, grinding her teeth.

[JR] then walked over and composed himself as tucked the cigar between his left fore finger and middle finger and walked closer to the woman. Once he got closer he smiled and said. "Satonami?! It is you!" He then bowed slightly and said in Japanese that didn't have a hint of a accent in.

“J—JR!” Satonami said, acknowledging him, finally. “Th—this is…surprising.” Oh yes the hell it was, in all of the worst possible ways! N—no! I will not smile to this bastard! Not after he left me with Tomoyo. Those 12 years of my life… I could’ve been doing other things than raising a child! she thought, as if she “actually” put much effort in raising her daughter. No, that’s not what really bothered her. What REALLY pissed her off, even though it was bothersome to admit it, was the fact it was hard to pick up dates and keep men around once they find out you have a kid. It was difficult to have a long-term relationship because of it.

"You look radiant as ever milady, how have you been since our last
meeting?"

She could feel Carver’s eyes on her. This was so…unfair! She knew she had to be hospitable, but she mentally cursed Carver’s name as a forced smile crept behind her lips. “I have been…well.” She said, with forced cheerfulness.

"You busy lass?"

“Always!” she laughed, a total lie. “I manage this business.” Perfect! This job had several perks besides money. One of them was that she could always claim to be “busy” when she didn’t want to deal with people. This had to be one of the ONLY times she found her job absolutely convenient! She extended an arm to Carver. “Mr. Carver, let me introduce you to an old friend of mine, JR Leslie. JR, please meet Mr. Carver, my boss.”

[J.R.Leslie]

JR raised a eyebrow as he heard Satonami give him the "she was busy routine." He then looked over to carter and said in English. "Yeah I know who he is I've heard bout him in certain circles." He stuck his hand out and smiled and said. "Greetings lad as the lady said I be JR Leslie maybe we can have a drink later and get better acquainted if ye so wish. But if you can spare a moment I'd like a word with the lady here if possible." He then turned to Satonami and said. It's good to see ya lass but I'm not stupid I know a dodge when I hear it. But still when you become unbusy I would love a chat Satonami sama. I might have need of your services and not the kind you usually dally in. But something more....valuable and if you can't help me maybe you can direct me to who can."

He then tipped his hat and then reached into a compartment in his right gauntlet and pulled out a credit chit and tossed it to her and said. "This is to make it worth your while, there's a good fifteen grand on that chit do if ya can clear yer schedule I got business to discuss with ye." He then looked at carver and nodded his head towards him and said. "Later Carver and watch out for her she's a firecracker laddie!" He then walked over to his table and sat down and yawned as his drink arrived. As he picked up the glass he couldn't help but feel uneasy bout seeing Satonami after all these years. And that Carver fella made him uneasy.

It was the sort of feeling he only got around people that were not entirely honest about what they do. JR then looked over and watched them discuss things further. Just as his food arrived JR decided to forget it for now and just enjoy himself for a bit.

[sgt. cookie]

“Kid?” The Persona asked in a deep voice that sounded more confident and assertive than Tamika’s regular voice. “I think you have me confused with someone else.” She glanced at Tomoyo, still lying listlessly in her arms. “I found this child is injured. Do you have any idea what happened here?”

Adrian didn't trust this hooded figure. Without a face to go by, it could be anyone. Kneeling down to get a closer look at the child, the hooded person moved her head away. "She's not a sex slave. I highly doubt that even the Barony would stoop to child traficking. No, she looks a lot like that woman from before, what was her name? Sadomi? Datoni? doesn't matter.

Putting a hand on the child's chin, Adrian had a good look at her. "Out cold. Be alright in a coupleof hours, depending on how hard her bump was." Moving her eyes at the hooded figure, face hidden from view, Adrian made the pretense of scratching her neck, instead she thrust her hand out and caught a piece of the hood and pulled it back.

((OOC: If you want me to edit that last part out Viyu, i will. But given the difference in speed and skill between the two, and Adrian's dislike of people in hoods, this is a probable course of events.

[EnigmaticStranger]

“Mr. Carver, let me introduce you to an old friend of mine, JR Leslie. JR, please meet Mr. Carver, my boss.”

Looking at the man, Carver's ever-present smirk did not leave his face, the eyes hidden by the hood studying JR with mild interest. Yes, it was quite apparent that the man had some history with Satonami, but she could at least remain civil about it, which was good. Grabbing the offered hand, Carver continued to study the man as they shook hands. He had a good grip and seemed to have bearing of a military man: someone to keep an eye on, perhaps, even if he was quite sure that getting another agent on the spot would be somewhat unlikely. Still, maybe he would let slip something that he could use to tighten the woman's leash: even chance encounters such as these sometimes had hidden benefits attached.

"Yeah I know who he is I've heard bout him in certain circles. Greetings lad as the lady said I be JR Leslie maybe we can have a drink later and get better acquainted if ye so wish. But if you can spare a moment I'd like a word with the lady here if possible."

"Of course. It has been interesting to meet you", he replied very casually, even if the belittling in man's words (intentional or otherwise) made him somewhat annoyed. The guy was a paying customer, and even if he disliked insults he loved money. He could trash some random underling sometime after dinner if he was still feeling like it: if he did not punch someone across the room every now and then, people would forget who he was. Intimidation was a valuable and trusted tactic amongst the leaders of Omega, and many a time it worked too. The difference between Carver and the rest of them was that he did not rely exclusively onto that one technique.

"Later Carver and watch out for her she's a firecracker laddie!"

"I would not worry about it... Our working relationship has long since been sorted out in full" he replied calmly, nodding at JR and following the man with his gaze until he had settled down again, somewhat further away this time.

"Now, I believe that another check-up on the prisoners is in order, and after that I will be departing" he commented casually, looking at Satonami. "I take it that you two have a history?"

[Viyu]

BIG ASS UPDATE: THERE IS PRESENTLY NO MORE POST ORDER RESTRICTIONS. POST AS FREELY AS NEED BE.

((OOC: After speaking with Meeks its been understood that after Snookie bailed the girls off she wandered off scene somewhere to escape))

Moving her eyes at the hooded figure, face hidden from view, Adrian made the pretense of scratching her neck, instead she thrust her hand out and caught a piece of the hood and pulled it back.

C--crap! Tamika ducked instinctively as soon as it was pulled away from her face. She wasn't sure HOW convincingly different she actually looked without her overgrown bangs and glasses. She shoved through Adrian, thoughtlessly bulldozing her inside the janitor's storage closet with enough force the door to close behind her. Run! Just Run! Don't let her catch up! The Persona thought, not even realizing Adrian wasn't behind her.

She ran adjacently through the next hallway, and knelt under a staircase as soon as she reached the corner, with Tomoyo still in her arms. They'd be hidden...for now.

Y-you really CAN'T do anything to get us out of here but run, can't you? Tamika thought anxiously, as she struggled to catch her breath.
SHUT UP! I strategically bailed! I work better alone!

You're not fooling anybody! You've never actually done anything like this in your life! Let alone successfully on your own...

QUIET! Besides, I rescued the kid, didn't I?!

But.... Tamika hesitated. But you...

Suddenly she gasped. Something quickly caught her attention. Noise. Footsteps.

"Now, I believe that another check-up on the prisoners is in order, and after that I will be departing"

Tamika peeked slightly over the corner. Her eyes bulged, and she covered her lips. The signature hoodie with the leather jacket. The voice
that she remembered so well... N--no way..... it was.... CARVER-SAMA?!

GROW UP! I TOLD YOU TO STOP ADDING THAT "SAMA" HONORIFIC!
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HAVE SOME DIGNITY! You sound like an AIRHEAD!

Oh! Right..Sorry...Again...

"I take it that you two have a history?"

Why the hell would I tell you of all people a damn thing? Satonami thought. But she kept her composure, without even a flinch of discomfort. would never tell anyone JR was Tomoyo's biological father. That was a secret she'd take to the grave. Not even Tomoyo herself knew anything about her father. If word got out, Carver could blackmail her constantly with that information. Despicable.

"It's as I've said before. He is an old friend of mine." she chuckled, puffing her kiseru with an expression that eased from disgust to a grin of slight amusement. "That's twice you've asked. Are you jealous?" she asked. Of course he wasn't. But she couldn't resist teasing.

"Hmph!" Tamika frowned. What's he doing with that kind of lady? Why is she flirting as if she's so familiar to him as if she's his----his--

DUH! He's in the Barony! She's in the Barony too! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL! You need to learn your place! You know nothing about his life! She's probably his girlfriend, jackass!

Screw...YOU! Tamika thought back darkly, fighting tears as she turned away from the corner. She didn't want to look anymore. Her chest hurt. The Persona had crossed the line. It wouldn't be crossed again.

"WHAT THE FRICKEN HELL?!" Tamika shivered as she heard Satonami screech.

Just Satonami approached the dressing room, the woman had to do a double take as she noticed the ceiling and the walls were all in shambles. She didn't notice Adrian who was still in the closet. Besides, she was far too surprised by the mess....CRATERS in the wall! Her beautiful wallpaper! Was this some kind of practical joke?! Ohhhhhhh, just WAIT till she got the hands on the dumbass who---

Her eyes diverted to one of the soldiers struggling under some of the ceiling rubble Snookie left behind. Satonami stomped towards him, picking up the draping hem of her dress to move quickly.

"Ey! Chickadee!" She commanded. "Report! What happened here?"

"M--Ma'am..." The soldier croaked. "I can't feel my--"

"REPORT!" She barked. Those idiots! She would be blamed for sure! This was a disaster! Today of all days. No... no don't panic! Not yet! Perhaps there's way out of punishment if I can retrieve some more information. Any at all.

The man croaked. "The women in here...th-they all escaped somewhere...and...."

"BULLSHIT!" She snapped. "There's no way a bunch of unarmed women caused... THIS!" she said. Ironically as she said "THIS", a huge crack in the wall crumbled to the floor. Satonami growled with rage. "I want answers! I want the TRUTH! And I want it now!" She was in absolutely no mood to be empathetic, not with her own life on the line. Carver would hold her accountable for Snookie's outburst. And Carver KILLED people when pissed off too deeply. So she HAD to cover her ass quickly. By suggesting that HIS soldiers failed to follow HER instructions to keep things in order as they properly should.

"Incompetent!" She screeched at the soldier. "Pitiful little--"

"Miss!" The soldier interrupted with a hoarse cough. "A girl took.... your daughter..."

"Tomoyo?!" Satonami's eyes widened. Her lips quivered, and The kiseru in her hand dropped to the floor. She knelt to the floor and yanked the soldier by the collar. "WHAT HAPPENED TO TOMOYO?! Who did this?" She asked sternly. Tomoyo was the heir to Moulin Rouge. If anything happened to her, then the future of the entire brothel was at risk...

The soldier grunted. His eyes closed as they began to roll into the back of his head. "ANSWER ME!" Satonami ordered, shaking the collar.

The man coughed, and blinked slightly, regaining some consciousness. "All I remember was one girl with white hair...And another... a hooded girl. Dark skin...." The soldier's voice trailed off as he slipped into unconsciousness. Satonami didn't stand up. She sat stiffly holding onto the man's collar still. Her body quivered with an anxiety that was a mixture of anger and fear. What was Carver going to do now? Dear God, she didn't even want to think about it!

[Mr. Dust]

Too much time had elapsed while Chloe seemed to be stuck making up her mind, Michelle didn't seem much like the 'affirmative action' type anymore either. They both had seem to of let the situation overwhelm them into a stupor. "Oh for christ's sake" she murmured "Just get behind me and cover my arse" she continued in a foul tone.

Both Michelle and Chloe followed behind, along with however many other girls decided to tag along with them, Helena checked her corners before putting the rest of her body in the line of fire, most of the guards would likely follow their trail rather than intercept them midway.... at least until they discover what is going on.

"Well Michelle, as far as I'm concerned, once these girls... however many get out... get out... I think I'll take my services elsewhere, maybe the blue suns.. or eclipse... haven't decided yet" she mused outloud, peering around one more corner to see two barony lackeys standing side by side, their flank exposed to her sights.

One of them was talking on their comm, what was being said she couldn't tell.... it didn't matter right now anyway. She leaned down into a smaller target, tucked the rifle against her shoulder and with a short breath, open fired. One's shields dropped, then they dropped, before the other goon could turn and draw his weapon she repeated the process.

Running over to the fallen bodies, she detached the omni tool from one of their hands and pinched their ear piece. May as well hear just how botched the plan was thus far, sure enough after but a few seconds she was hearing commotion over the channels.

"All I remember was one girl with white hair...And another... a hooded girl. Dark skin...." The soldier's voice trailed off.

She had no idea what that was about, but given it was coming over the comm it was highly probable to be a barony lackey. She looked back to Michelle and Chloe, gesturing them to keep following with an idle jerk of her head, she scooped up the weapons and ejected a heatsink, refilling her own weapon with one of the lackies spares and then thrusting the spare weapons to her followers.

"It's easy.. just point and shoot, you remember how to do that right Michelle?" she quizzed sardonically as she proceeded further towards what she presumed would eventually be an exit.

[judodave]

Chloe said nothing but nodded in agreement, she couldn't blame the older women for being skeptical of her and she followed them closely hoping that they wouldn't notice the withdrawal symptoms along the way.

She overheard the woman muse about possibly joining the Blue Suns or the Eclipse which made her think back to the locket that had been taken from her but her train of thought was interrupted by two things, being handed a gun by the older woman and.........

"I thought I heard gunshots, trying to escape huh?" A Krogan voice rang out, Chloe looked up and saw Taresh standing nearby with a shotgun in hand, Chloe noticed that he was wearing her locket, how he got it to fit confused the hell out of her, and pointed her own gun at the Krogan out of instinct and fear, Taresh saw this and scoffed. "Oh look, the little slave girl thinks she's tough, what are you going to do? Make me laugh to death?"

"No, I'll do this instead." Chloe said before shooting him in the crotch, the Krogan wasn't wearing armor so the bullet went through his testicles sending him down. without hesitation she walked over and took the locket whilst he was busy withering in pain. "I'll never let this out of my site from now on." Chloe thought before giving the Krogan a kick to the ribs for good measure hurting her leg in the process. "Okay, kicking a Krogan is not a good idea." Chloe thought with a wince.

[TheDoctor455]

Greaci searched the armory for anything she might be able to use. Lot of bladed weapons - most likely used for torture and execution... a few pistols... and...

"Damn it!" she cursed, kicking a box of dead ammo over. Her prized geth shotgun wasn't here. Which could only mean that the locals had already pawned it off... or one of the guards was now using it. Neither possibility left Greaci with any comfort whatsoever. With it gone... well... it was as though she had lost centuries of her past along with it.

Scowling now, Greaci rummaged around for a few moments before finding a serviceable SMG and shotgun. Both looked like something the Eclipse would use. Figures.

After finding some weapons, Greaci poked around in the lockers until she found a waitress's spare skirt and blouse that more or less fit her. Better than nothing.

Finally, Greaci checked her biotics again by attempting to raise a Barrier around her left hand - which she managed - and then firing a Throw at it with her right, which she also pulled off without breaking the Barrier. She let her biotics relax... though it was nice to have them back at all... Greaci wasn't sure whether her Barrier had been strong enough to block the Throw... or if her Throw had been too weak to break past her Barrier.

It was only then that Greaci looked around her to see if anyone had taken her advice and gone with her to the armory.

--------

OOC: Well... is anyone with her at this point?

[Mr. Dust]

(Doctor: Well.. I can't speak for anyone else, but Helena is just interested in getting out, killing silly barony goons along the way :] )

"No, I'll do this instead." Chloe said before shooting him in the crotch. Then proceeded to kick said krogan in the ribs while he laid on the ground.

"Nicely done.... you may be more useful than bait afterall" she commented, feeling relieved that someone had saw the krogan and that he was stupid enough to make his presence known rather than just gun the three of them down instead.

"Now then, if my eye doesn't decieve me, this krogan works here as a barony lackey, which means he knows his way around..... we don't have much time" she said with some concern.

She placed her gun at the krogans crotch, a wicked smirk appearing upon her face. "Be a good lizard and tell us where the exit is" she cooed softly, the krogan wasn't incredibly co-operative which prompted her to fire, that was two testicles down, two to go right?

"Someone pass me a knife, I hear the notion of removing a krogan's headplate drives them absolutely mad" she said outloud, that got the krogan's attention, he gestured towards a direction and told them where to go for a side exit. It stood to reason that there was more than one way out of this dump, what happens if a rival tries to storm the place. Hold it or die? Yeah right.

"Thanks, you've been a big help.... now die quietly" she said simply, raising the weapon and putting three rounds into the krogan's face. She then pilfered his body and grabbed whatever thermal rounds she could find, tucking one between her bust. It was a shame she didn't have pockets.. or pants for that matter.

"Let's go girls" with that said, she made a break for the direction of the exit.

[Exit Helena?]

[judodave]

Chloe watched from a short distance as the older woman interrogated the Krogan, he was unwilling to cooperate at first, most likely fearing retaliation from his superiors but once Helena threatened to remove the Krogan's headplate, a thought that made Chloe flinch despite the fact that the Krogan was a slaver, and he gave in.

"There's.......there's a back entrance that we use to transport the girls, there's very little guard protection because only Barony members know about it, it's down the hall, last door in the hallway." Taresh answered with a grunt of pain, Chloe almost felt sorry for him but then she remembered what him and his lackeys did to her when she resisted on the way to the club, needless to say any notion of her feeling sorry for the old bastard went out the window, still she flinched slightly as Helena finished him off.

"Yeah, let's go." Chloe agreed before following Helena out.

[Maren]

((OOC: This is a collab between Viyu and me just to save the time and trouble. Since the site's getting closed and we're low on time, we saw no need for us to go back and forth with separate posts and merged our work together).



"Nunie! Nunie!" Pinkie said. Tamika curiously stood over the girl as well.
"Mnn...." Tomoyo grunted quietly and squeezed her eyes open. As her vision focused, she quickly caught wind of Tamika's face, and slowly climbed to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Tamika asked. "You were thrown against the door. You seemed pretty hurt and---"

"I...see." Tomoyo replied, scooping her doll in her arms. She stepped past Tamika to take her leave. She had no idea why she and this darker skinned girl were underneath the back stairwell. But it didn't matter. She was going to her room to sleep this headache off.

Tamika couldn't understand why was Tomoyo so calm and unshaken that she was thrown through a hinged door. She wasn't surprised to be in the company of someone she didn't recognize?

"Don't go!" Tamika said, grabbing her wrist. "Some of the other slaves have escaped! The guards will find you! If you stay here, we might be able to get out once things have calmed down!"

"Slave...?" Tomoyo asked her voice had just a touch of pitch this time. "Why would that bother me? I am not a slave here." She said.
Tamika blinked incredulously. "You're...not!?"

What a bother. This girl must've been fairly new if she couldn't tell that Moulin Rouge didn't have any child prostitutes. She didn't have time for this simpleton. This girl was going to get caught, beaten, and tortured eventually. What, she thought that with no weapon she was just going to bust out of here like some superhero? What a fool.

But wait. This girl was a new arrival. Which means she hadn't developed the same kind of hate and resentment the other prostitutes had for Tomoyo. Since this girl was new, she had connections to the outside world. Many of the prostitutes died from malnourishment or diseases. There was no way for Tomoyo to take advantage of their connections, even if they had any. Not that she'd WANT their help, anyway. She refused to reach out to people who wished she was dead, in the same manner they felt towards her mother.

"Let us make a deal." Tomoyo said curtly, ignoring Tamika's question. She glanced the dark skinned girl up and down before finally speaking again. "You are a slave." She said, immediately marking the dress as one that the prostitutes wore. "And an unarmed one that's unaccompanied by a Barony soldier. During an escape attempt." Tomoyo began pacing the floor and continued speaking.

"There are security cameras everywhere-- even in the bathrooms. They're going to figure out where we are, and you're going to get captured... eventually. When that happens, they're going to assume you tried to escape with the others, so you're going to get brutally....tortured." She said. Tomoyo knew how her mother treated people she so much SUSPECTED of insubordination.

Tamika flinched and bit her lip under her hood, nearly drawing blood. I'll be raped! Just like that Asari! she thought. Tamika stood rigidly upright, as another thought occured to her. W-wait!

"But... I have a way out for you." She said. "They will find you. But with my help, you will not be harmed. "

"But...where does this deal come in?" Tamika asked with a low serious voice. It was not the usual one she used, but an impersonation of one her favorite comic book heroes. [i]That's right, that's right....Don't let a little girl intimidate you, she thought. At least appear a little more confident!

"There's a price to this, isn't there?" Tamika's stomach wretched. on Omega, NO deals were pleasant.

"That's right." Tomoyo said. She stopped pacing and looked at Tamika dead in her eyes-- or the shimmering bits of light under the hood that she ASSUMED were Tamika's eyes. She frowned slightly and became incredibly stiff.

"I need you to kill my mother." Tomoyo said, without an ounce of hesitation or remorese in her voice.

Tamika's eyes widened. To be THIS cold hearted as a child... to want to kill one's own parent... She could NEVER have brought herself to kill her own mother. Just what HAPPENED to this little girl?

"You would kill your own mother?!" Tamika asked. "Why!?"

"Does that matter?" Tomoyo asked flatly. "My mother is Satonami Haruno, the woman who maintains this establishment."

"W....What?" Tamika breathed, disbelievingly. This little girl was...THAT lady's daughter? Haruno seemed too young to have a daughter that looked this old. Perhaps she was a teen mom or something?


Tomoyo ignored Tamika's the interjection and kept talking. "I'm offering you a way out. A loop in your hole. But it can only protect you temporarily. Even with my protection, you will eventually be put to work as a sex slave if you do not act quickly. You will be raped. And so, my mother remains an obstacle to us both. Is that what you want?"

"I.... no?" Tamika said uneasily.

"Good. So we have a deal then." Tomoyo said.

Tamika's eye twitched. That was NOT her way of saying yes. She didn't--- she didn't just agree to kill someone! But she didn't know what to say in retort, knowing what the consequences were.

"When the time arrives, I'll come for you. We'll seize the opportunity." The little girl said. Tomoyo's facial expression did not change, but she felt....tingly inside. For 12 years.... her entire life was as an extension to her mother's agenda. Tomoyo's purpose differed little from the other slaves. Just as they had been, she was Satonami's tool; never allowed to have any say in what her future would be, always expected to carry on a disgrace she never wanted. She could not afford to lose an ally that hadn't been pitted against her yet. This might be the only opportunity she'd get.

[Meanwhile...]

"Ms. Haruno! This is the security division. Do you copy?" A voice said in Satonami's communication earpiece. She gasped and jolted upwards, disturbing her thoughts about what Carver, and whatever present danger she was in.

"Ms. Haruno!" The voice repeated. She turned to Carver, knowing she had better answer it. She was reluctant to do so, knowing that if security found anything that convicted her of wrongdoing, Carver would hear it immediately, firsthand.

"Yes. This is Haruno." she replied softly.

"I'm not sure if you're aware, but there's been an escape attempt ma'am."

"I AM aware of that, chickadee!" She snapped. Thanks for emphasizing her failure even further, and in front of Carver, that CLOD!
"E--ER! W-well We have a development ma'am!" the security soldier stammered. "It's o-one you'll be interested in. Our security cameras have spotted one of the women under the stairwell with your daughter down the adjacent hall. I thought you'd want to know."

"That's..." Satonami said suprisedly. "...Good." she finished finally. "Do you know the whereabouts of the others?"

"W-well..." he said. "We're on it." the man replied, intentionally being vague about the point. Satonami was actually grateful to hear this. The fact that the reply was vague, actually relieved her somewhat. She personally didn't care if a few slaves got away, but she wasn't sure if Carver did. What was important was that the situation at least LOOKED like it was under control, and that it LOOKED like all of them would be recaptured in the event he DID care if any of them escaped.

"Sir..." Satonami said sternly. She turned to Carver and retrieved a gun from the dead turian that Snookie had crushed. "I think it's time we... assemble the merchandise." she said, loading the gun.

[Viyu]

This is a collab post between me and Maren. I think Maren explained why we're doing this, since we really need to get this thread at a finishing point.

Tamika heard footsteps and instinctively whirled around. It was that woman....and Carver-sama?! This was a surprise! Her heart was pounding and her neck was sweating Crap he's looking at me! Stand up straight and don't look like a coward! Focus! Don't sweat too much or you'll have embarrassing patches under your arms! her persona thought. Thank God she decided to wear boots to cover up her unshaven legs. The possibility that she could be shot seemed to be dampened by her excitement. It was really strange! Perhaps she trusted in the little girl's capacity to be convincing.


"Not. Another. step." Satonami ordered darkly, aiming the gun it in Tamika's direction.

"So this is one of our little nuisances." She said. She glanced at Tomoyo and nodded. "Tomoyo!" She ordered. "Over here. Now!"
Still, Tomoyo expression was calm and unmoving, which was the strangest part. Instead of going to her mother's side stood in front of Tamika, shielding her as promised.

So this kid's name is Tomoyo...which mean's she's Japanase, just like me.. Tamika, thought. Well, Tamika wasn't fully Japanese due to her African American heritage, but you'd get the point!

"No, mother." Tomoyo said softly, in her usual monotone voice. Satonami flinched and glanced briefly at her daughter, but then continued to stare at Tamika, never lifting her eyes off of her for a second.

"Are you disobeying me?!" Satonami screeched. "I said get out of the way! This troublemaker needs to be punished!"

"You think an unarmed woman caused the ceiling to collapse?" Tomoyo asked caressing Pinkie, whilst focusing her emotionless gaze upon Satonami. Good God, if he mother even suspected this flake of a girl was somehow connected to Snookie's outburst, she was an idiot. But then, Tamika probably seemed somewhat intimidating because the hood that was still cast over her head.

"I was thrown against the wall by that elcor of yours. This woman intervened and saved my life." It was a total lie, of course. But at least it would mean Tamika wouldn't get killed. However, it also meant she'd have to... hold up her end of their "bargain". Her stomach was twisting with uneasiness, fear, and disbelief that now SHE was a conspirator to murder.

What surprised Satonami is that Tomoyo never displayed an ounce of sympathy for anyone. The little girl typically didn't care about anything besides her toys.

"Are you protecting this girl?" Satonami asked. She gritted her teeth and eased her stance. With a frown she turned to Carver. The woman stomped towards Tomoyo and grabbed Tamika from behind her. Tomoyo didn't flinch. She knew her mother well enough to know she wouldn't harm the girl.

"What happens to her is none of my business!" Satonami said sharply. "She is merchandise of this establishment, not some little pet for you to play with!" She said, immediately recognizing the dress Tamika was wearing as one of Moulin Rouge's garments. Satonami yanked Tamika's arm and roughly threw her at Carver's feet.

She retrieved her omnitool that was hoisted upon her wrist. "Report." she said. "Yes....yes, We've captured one of them. Dispatch a security unit and look for the others, y'hear!?" she grumbled.

"Y--yes ma'am." The soldier responded, not wishing to inform her that quite a number of them-- at least 3 of the girls, had apparently already escaped....

She turned to Carver. "It'll only be a matter of time before that problem is dealt with. The damage will be paid for by me personally." she said.

"But in the meantime...." Satonami continued, glancing ominously over Tamika's head. Tamika, on her knees, looked up and swallowed deeply, knowing she was now the subject at hand. Glancing at Satonami, and then at Carver, she kept her face as unflinching as she possibly could.

B-Be strong. she thought, quivering digging her fingernails into the floor. And whatever happens, don't scream....or cry.

With this defeat, Persona was shattered.... or was it?

OOC:And without further ado...this ends the thread, since frankly nobody's been posting, and its the last day before shut down.