...Gamreal Round 2, I guess?
"A toast? To our reunion, and to friendship?"
"I'll pass. Not a big fan of your glowing sugar sludge—" Opsidia let out a groan, when she saw the label on the bottle, "Bethel, did you just steal my Sunset Sass and give it back to me?!"
Her former employer and current colleague responded with a shrug. "It's a...draconic thing. Can't help myself."
"And Lady Vert wondered why I kept all my stuff inside my dead brother's cranial cavity." Opsidia unscrewed the bottle cap, "At least he can bite off the fingers of careless thieves while I'm not looking."
Oh, dear sister, you make poor Van Buren sound like a slobbering hound, The skull let out a sigh from behind her, as she gulped down the root beer. She didn't reply, knowing that no one else could hear his voice now, nor believe that he was still in there.
"Anyways, keep your draconic tendencies in check, please? The Leanbox cops will arrest you for stealing in bright daylight, Basilicom staff or not."
"C'mon, my little piles of trinkets aren't even worth enough credits for a felony charge!"
"Good." Opsidia had long given up any attempts at questioning why Bethel even bothered, seeing that everything she casually pillaged off people was, in a nutshell, useless junk. And she didn't even like Sunset Sass.
"Gimme the bottle cap, please? After you're done with that?"
"Sure. Why not. Even if I said no, you'd just pickpocket it off me later." Opsidia handed the bottle cap to her. Only then did she notice that this one had a blue star on it. "How's things been going on the PC Continent?"
"Shit's fucked!" Bethel answered cheerfully. "I'm glad that I got away from that dumpster fire, and is in a much better place now, mentally and physically!"
"...Let me guess. Elizabeth A.?"
"Nah. I mean, she's still a giant bitch," Bethel said. "But the last time she's on the news, it's just a minor announcement. Her heroic agency is no longer named after her dead friend, whom she toooootally didn't murder under the guise of an accident. Now it's just the 'E-Arc Threat Response Division'."
Opsidia nearly blurted out her real concerns, but choked it back at the last second.
Quit worrying about Dr. B.W. like some lovestruck fool. She'll pull through the difficult times. She has to.
"The 'Epic Mega Engineer'?"
"Bingo. Raynite's taking her crusade all the way to the Big Silver Colonies." Bethel snapped her fingers, "And now they were threatening to deport all her agency workers from the Silver Republic and shut down her holographic arenas."
"Playing straight into her hands, if you ask me."
"Yep. Little kids are dragging their parents onto the streets in open protest, the Azure State Senate was stepping in on her behalf, there're talks of Penguin conspiracies everywhere, and she's still acting like she's this underdog hero, fighting against some grave injustices..." Bethel sighed, "Man. I'm an underdog hero too. Why can't I sit on my hologram generator patents all day, and count all the sweet, sweet bucks?"
"Underdog my ass," Opsidia retorted. "You aren't the one who didn't get paid, 'cause you miss the score by one point."
"Opsyyyyy..." Bethel gave her a puppy-dog-eyed look, "That's like, what, a decade ago? Why do you still hate meeeeeee? I'm not nearly as bad as the others, and you know it!"
"If Elizabeth A. and Aktivis both fall into the water, and I only have one floating device, I'm gonna push you into the water too," Opsidia said. "While y'all are on your way to the bottom of the sea, reflecting on how shitty you were to your employees, I'll just chug my Sunset Sass and laugh maniacally."
MarvelousAQL tucked her hands into her jacket's pocket—now worn properly and with its zipper pulled all the way up, instead of fastened around her waist—as she walked into the building's main gate.
She was smiling, as always. She didn't know how she managed to keep up a smile for so long, even when no one was looking. Especially after she was...invited to leave Lastation. For the time being. Which was just a polite way of saying "don't come back again".
The egg stains on the giant penguin statue outside still hadn't been cleaned away. As much as she wanted the job, she couldn't help but wonder if Mister Penguin was, indeed, the supervillain these PC Continent folks thought he was.
After scanning her interviewee's pass on a key pad, Marvelous AQL made her way into the depth of the building. She was about to ask someone for directions, when a yell came from the other end of the corridor.
"What do you mean, you are taking all the guns away? The ones I assembled together, you can't just—!"
She turned, and saw a kid with puffy blue hair, who was glaring at this...giant raven, perched atop another penguin statue in the hallway.
Well, if Mister Penguin was a bird, maybe he had other bird employees too? Like pelicans? Sparrows? Ostriches?
"Because the deal's over. It's the boss's decision, caw." The raven tilted its head. "And the Tenpenguin understands. Told her that they knew there was a lot of tension recently, and would love to do business with her again, once the heat has died down. So, what's your problem, Not-Timmy?"
"My name is not 'Not-Timmy'! Nor is it 'Timmy'! It's TiMi Jade! Get that through your tiny bird skull, you stupid-ass crow!"
"Okay, 'Not-Not Timmy'. I'm a raven, not a crow, caw. And if you have a complaint, take it to the Tenpenguin. They are your boss, after all." The raven paused, "Now, would you please return VSync's assets to their rightful owners? The truck's waiting outside, caw."
The kid, TiMi, took a deep breath, before pointing his finger at the raven. "Were we in the Mobile Colonies, bird, I'm gonna shoot you dead and run you over with a car."
"Oooh~! Look who's tryin' to act all tough n' scary!" A sultry female voice rang through the corridor. The next second, a lady wearing huge white boxing gloves and black miniskirts appeared, her long red hair swinging behind her.
MarvelousAQL blushed a little at the sight of her. She wasn't even all that busty, but...let's just say she'd never be allowed to set feet in today's Lastation, and leave it at that. Every inch of her was practically oozing with confidence, despite her petite build.
"You ain't never gonna be a riot, kiddo, even with all the big guns from Miss Aktivis." She smiled, and bopped TiMi on the forehead, "So listen to the grown-ups, and get goin'."
"...Would you stop with that pun already?" TiMi groaned, but did give her a small nod. After shooting one last sullen glare in the raven's direction, he disappeared into one of the branching corridors.
"Now, Hexy, I know Miss Aktivis is big on security," The woman turned to the raven, "But you gotta' cut these Mobile Colony folks some slack. They know nothin' bout your fancy patent laws, and as long as they ain't outright robbing or stealing the whole thing, 'borrowing' a few parts is all fair game. I'll clean up TiMi's mess in no time."
The raven made an approving noise, before flying out of the nearest open window. "Thanks, caw. The sooner we can sort things out, the better..."
"Now, cutie," The woman turned her sharp gaze towards MarvelousAQL, as if she had been keeping an eye on her for the whole time, "I've left you standing there long enough, gaping at these two clowns, haven't I?"
"Ah! My apology! A kunoichi shouldn't make her presence known until she is called upon!"
"Aww. Ain't you the proper, upright kind." She chuckled, "No need to be so nervous. I'm Riot, legendary arena champion, Mr. Tenpenguin's hot secretary. I run all of our affairs on the PC Continent, and I'll be your interviewer for today."
"There. Your contract." Riot handed the paper to her. "Read it carefully, cutie, so folks can't chew us out for being all sneaky~and~scammy~"
MarvelousAQL wondered if she should laugh a little at that, for politeness's sake. She settled on a small nod, before shifting her gaze to the paper.
For a temporary job, it was...not bad. Just patrolling around this "Valor Arena" place, which, from the sounds of it, was one of those high-tech stadiums that were all over the place on PC Continent. Nothing fishy in the terms and conditions, as far as she could tell.
Yeah. That was all it was. A temporary job. Once she earned enough money, she'd go back and settle down. In Lowee, perhaps, since their twin CPUs were a lot nicer, when it came to...boobs and dress codes.
"Looks good to me," She picked up the pen, and signed her name on it, "Thank you for giving me this job, Miss Riot! I'll do my best!"
"Oh, thank you too, for gracing us with your talent and pretty face." Riot placed the paper inside a folder, before standing up to shake her hand. Her grip was surprisingly forceful. "If you want a more permanent job offer, cutie, or earn a few extra bucks, our doors are always open~"
"Ah, the music of conflict." The green-haired woman straightened her tie, which had a huge 'E' on it. "Did you hear it, Pan Gears? Remy? The gears of war, churning against each other in a grand symphony?"
"Geez, y'all are so dramatic t'day." The tiny girl looked up from the gun she was cleaning. Only the gear tattoos on her cheeks were visible under her fancy top hat. With the stark black, white, and eye-searing yellow that saturated her clothes, she looked like a giant humanoid traffic sign.
"Oh? Remy's always dramatic. Overdraaaaaaamatic." The woman made a face, as she turned towards the suited man in the corner, "Wazzup? Done with putting your broody inner monologues on paper yet?"
He simply nodded, before going back to staring at the scripts in his hands.
"No hard feelings, Pan. But I have to ask you to leave the room, once our guest comes in." The woman said, to which the girl responded with a pout.
"Aww, man. How c'm Remedi can stay, and I have t' scram like some brat?" She grabbed her gun, and swung it over her back, "He got his time tricks, alrighty, but he ain't no Magician of Guns."
"Ha. Daddy McPogee said Remy was his best student, back when he wasn't a drunken mess? Big deal. No need to be jealous. We are all family here." The woman held a hand to her chest, "Oh, and you sound like we'd have to shoot the Penguins in self-defense or something."
"Eh, that thing's your advisor. You do you, I guess," the girl mumbled, before shutting the door behind her, "But the higher-up's really crackin' down hard on the Hiveminds, just sayin'...and I'm NOT jealous!"
Not long after her exit, something knocked on the door. Very lightly. Remedi removed another pen from his pocket, suspending its tip above a new page of blank paper, as the woman pulled open the door.
"Greetings, Mister."
The silhouette that entered the door was entirely obscured in a thick, stiff trench coat, which trailed behind its body, as it made its way across the floor in a slithering pace. Its head was hidden under a huge fedora and a red scarf.
As it stopped in front of the table, the fedora was slowly lifted up. Then, a penguin's head poked out of its collar.
With a flap of its chubby wings, it landed on the table, and another head soon poked out of the same hole, followed by another. Soon, ten identical penguins, all wearing red scarfs around their necks, gathered before the woman in a circle.
"Greetings." They opened their beaks, and made a bow, which would have been quite a comical sight, if their motions weren't in perfect unison with each other. In fact, even their voices sounded like a single one, only coming out of multiple throats. "We are glad to be invited here. Especially during such a difficult time."
"Oh, Mister. The Epic Mega Engineer is always loyal to her allies and friends," The woman smiled, "Despite her controversial status. And we both are getting chased out of places recently, aren't we?"
"We are used to that. They come to We. For money, for business. Yet other humans see We as a menace, the moment We become successful. Thinking that We are taking our wars and laws to their lands," The penguins said, their tone flat and monotonous. "Like We'd find anything worth taking from them, by force or trickery."
"Indeed. Even if I have some personal opinions about the state of the Mobile Colonies, you are doing your businesses here under the same regulations as everyone else. Isn't it unfair? To use you as a scapegoat, while ignoring how the agencies reached out to you first?" The woman raised an eyebrow, "Plus, Mister, you know restraint. Unlike some of your rivals."
"We keep law and order. We don't offer our service for free. We have no mercy. Your people think our laws are unfair. But We are the only ones stopping the chaos from spilling onto your continent." The penguins nodded. "And these uncouth Piggys are making it difficult for We. Cheating that poor girl into backing them. Fueling the outrage."
"Oh, Blizz's downward spiral is her own fault, I assure you. The Easy Piggy's just a catalyst. But enough about these dirty Pigs," The woman put a hand to her chin, "See, Mister...I don't think I'm going to win against the Silver Republic's state machine, even with the Azure Senate's backing."
"We think it is too early to admit defeat. A lost battle doesn't always mean a lost war. But, ultimately, We leave the decision to you. We do human business in human ways, and We keep the politics to our home turf. We only give advice when asked."
"Wise as ever, Mister," She grinned, "And you are right. Perhaps I don't need to win. I just need to let people see that the system is deeply unfair. Show them that someone is willing to fight, no matter what."
"The Big Silver think they can throw out my technology, my employees, and just keep squeezing money out of everything that passed through their Mobile Colonies? Without offering any help to make themselves worthy of the price tag?"
She slammed down on the table, "Unlike Gertie, these folks aren't lazy. They are a bunch of old, greying oligarchs, holding onto their power at all costs. Rotten to the core, like their Saint Lisa's Apple. And I'll take the conflicts and changes to them, just like before! This! Is! War!"
(A list of all the current affair references: Epic picks a fight with Apple. EA announces that their store will no longer be named Origin—a label that came from one of the studios they shut down. Tencent buys 20% of Marvelous. Activision parted ways with Tencent and TiMi for COD Mobile because of 1) fear of bans, and 2) TiMi allegedly ripping off stuff from COD Mobile to use in PUBG Mobile.
Yep. The Tenpenguin is literally a giant penguin hivemind that can endlessly clone themselves. And the Easy Piggy, their archrival, is a smaller hivemind of pigs that also reproduces through cloning. They are the two most powerful, ruthless warlords of the Mobile Colonies, and the only ones maintaining some semblance of order in that hellhole—for a price.
Because Tencent and NetEase are both shameless, money-grubbing copycats who will make a clone of anything that earns money, and get most of their income from the mobile market. Also, the former's mascot is a penguin, while the latter owns several pig farms. The Tenpenguin uses the "We" pronoun, as a reference to WeGame and WeChat.)