Notes at the end

Chapter 3: The Deal

Izabelle was in a Dillema.

On one hand, she absolutely loved the idea of finally making a deal with her real product.
On the other it was in-person, and she had nothing to wear to it.
Sure, the Respirator was pretty cool, Custom fitted and all, but The Purple suit or the Hazmat suit alone does not make for an eye-catching and memorable Outfit.
She considered Combining them, but it wasn't worth it for an outfit that she wasn't even sure would fit together.
So here she was, Modifying the Respirator, for fashion and function.

'Even though I have pretty good Ether resistance, I can't say for certain that I won't be victim to long exposure. So having some of my own Serum is probably going to be a lifesaver.'

Modifying The Respirator, She added Slots for vials of the Corruption Resistance serum to screw in, inside the actual filters. Installing a little mechanism to Aerosolize at the touch of a button.
"That's good. That's good. I'll have to drive, because no way can I carry Five Crates, muscle relaxers, and Nerve suppressants subtly all the way to Lumina square without getting stopped. Even without Getting questioned by Public Security. I still have the Raw Etheric Matter so I'll have to just take the chance. Now Do I have a weapon?" She looked around briefly, only spotting Syringes and a Pair of Cheap leather gloves.

'Maybe an Injection glove for another day, But I'll just keep them separate.' She grabbed and put on the gloves, filling the Syringes with a special new mix, she only injected in one of the Rats from a few days prior that she has yet to check on, merely labeled: "E12S5A29." Or Accelerated Corruption Mix. "Diabolicus."

The Thick Red liquid reminiscent of Blood swirled in the syringe, carefully putting it down, and putting on a Trench coat she had lying around, placing it in one of the inner pockets.

'Let's just hope I don't have to use this today.'
Putting on the mask with Two Anti-Corruption serums in the ports, She Set out, Quietly and Swiftly Loading the Truck with the Requested Items. She Took the long route, The mostly abandoned Ballet Twins overlook had only a few drunkards and a Girl sitting in the back of an open van, Looking at her phone.

Izabelle Got out of the truck and approached the girl, who hadn't noticed her yet.

Gazing down, She doesn't bother to move her head and says:
"I truly hope the contact is not as unprofessional as this." Izabelle's voice remained steady, but obviously disappointed.

The girl looked up, being taken aback.

"O-Oh. You're.. Lolita? Sorry you're… bigger than I expected."

Izabelle didn't give the girl the pleasure of allowing herself to chuckle, though the smirk on her face remained hidden beneath the mask.
"It's about Attitude, Darling. Let me Load the Supplies in the Van. Keep a watch, will you?"
"Lolita" Didn't Leave room for argument, opting to Just hurry with the Order, Taking the Crates to the Van as the Girl kept a small lookout, nobody paying the two any mind.
Once finished, Lolita Entered the passenger's Seat, the Girl in the driver's.

"Darling, Do tell, What kind of people are your employers?"
The girl seemed taken aback, not exactly sure how to answer the question.

"Oh. Uhh, They're Fair I suppose. Mountain Lions are supposed to be fierce, so they are. Kind of rough people but At the end of the Day Fair. Razor's a little rough around the edges but so long as you listen its all good."

"I see. A man named Razor likely shouldn't be described as being "Rough", Don't you think?"
The girl didn't respond, only avoiding looking at Lolita.

The Drive was nearly an hour, the entrance into the Hollow only taking up the last ten minutes of the Journey.

The Ballet Twins towered above every other structure in the Hollow, with the one Roof poking out of the Hollow.
"This is as far as I take you, though it seems like the Receiver is there." The Girl leaned forward a bit, Backing into a Makeshift Loading bay.
"Thank you Kindly Darling. I take you'll also be taking me out of this hollow, Right?"

"Yes Ma'am."
"Good." Lolita exited the Vehicle, walking to the back of the Truck and keeping a close eye on the four other Gangsters, Some of the Goons Looking over and Grabbing the Crates.
One of them, A bigger man, roughly the size of Lolita herself looked her up and down, Asking:
"You The one on Inter-Knot?"
"Yes, Glad you could arrange this meeting. Do I need to speak to someone else to see the Dennies or are you Bringing it here."

"Hm. Come on. We need to verify first." The Big guy turned around, as the Two carrying the Crates boxed Lolita in.

'This is A situation for certain. I'll hope I get my money and get out. Otherwise I'll probably just die.' She walked forth with confidence, however, Keeping a close eye on the surrounding area. The number of gang members milling around or doing idle tasks was palpable, around thirty or so hanging around.
Though most of them wore the same or similar uniforms, She spotted the only woman part of the gang it would seem, Keeping a close eye high above on a chandelier. Not being able to make out her form completely.
Though they stopped, the Big man sitting on a couch while the other Goons started looking into the boxes of Relaxants and Suppressants first.

"I take it you're Razor, or one of his Underlings at least?" Lolita's voice remained level, however she looked at everything in the room except the Big guy.

"I'm an Underboss. Razor doesn't deal with Those outside the gang directly. Not unless necessary."

"Hey boss- Look at this." One of the Goons held up a Serum Injector, The Thick liquid sloshing around inside.

"Lolita, what is that?" The Boss asked, Grabbing the Injector.

"Anti-Corruption Serum. If you're worried about the color or consistency, Do not. Its a… Unique blend. Chemically perfect." She stated, reaching into the Mask and pulling one out for herself, showcasing it as well.

"I won't out my technique but you can remain assured that not only are you getting a safe product, but something superior to even the white star Institute's." She said, Putting the Product back in her Respirator.

"Huh. Can't say I've heard of it, But we'll Take what we can get. One issue, We expected standard shit. Not something cooked up by a College dropout. We'll pay the original 80 and keep the extra Crate."

"No. I brought the extra crate, And we agreed to 75% Standard. That's 100K Dennies per crate. A fair trade. You're intending on shorthanding and Stealing From me. That will not stand." Lolita straightened her back out ever so slightly more.
"What is Fair is That My gang is taking a risk. Take your 240 for the crates, and 10 for the Others."

'... Not ideal situation.' From beside her, Lolita heard a soft 'Click' of a safety being turned off.

'Fuck it I guess.' With lightning speed, Lolita snapped her hand out to the side, grabbing one of the Goons beside her with her hand, Lifting the man up with one hand by the throat.

"I believe I made myself clear, Dear Consumer." The man, having dropped his weapon now grabbed Her wrist, Choking and attempting to break free.

She angled his body in between her and the other armed goons.

"I will get what was Owed, And I shall get it Now. Tell your lackeys to Load the Van with the cash. I know this man likely means nothing to you, but I can guarantee a far worse situation if you don't agree."

"Well aren't you precocious?"
The Voice from High above said, though not revealing herself.

"Can't we all just agree to a compromise? Its a unheard of product, Miss Lolita."

Lolita Didn't bother looking, She knew she wouldn't see her anyways.
"Fine. Load the Dennies in the Van, We'll take it. Not worth the Violence." The Boss said, Surprising most everyone.

"But-"

"Just do it."
A couple of goons left the room, As Lolita tilted her head at the Boss.

"Now wasn't that easy?"
Though a Heavy blow to the back of her head said otherwise.

Granted, The Goon who slapped the back of her head with a baseball bat either wasn't putting his whole self into it, Or Expected that Lolita was a lot more fragile than she was.

Turning around, She side-eyed the scared shitless Goon, who gave an awkward smile.

"I see." Reaching into her coat, she pulled out a needle, And injected The man she held by the throat in the chest, throwing him at the Boss, who clambered to get up and grab the shotgun beside the couch.
Opting to Just run, Lolita Punched the Goon who hit her, Bolting out of the room as she used her Tail to trip the first guy to try to hit her. The boss pushed the goon off of him, as he shouted:
"Damn it! Get-" His speech was interrupted though, As the goon on his lap started convulsing, Dark ether crystals forming on his skin, Erupting out of his bones.

"What the fuck?"

Lolita ran like hell as the Meeting room burst open with a Greater Ethereal, one with a globe head with spiky protrusions around it, like a Halo. It threw the Boss out the room, crashing the man through a Solid Concrete pillar.

'Holy fucking shit how fast was that!?' Lolita thought to herself, using the commotion to Run out.

The Corrupted screeched, Condensing Ether Into crystals out of the air.
Lolita couldn't help but turn around as it ripped through the building's Security measures. She observed it briefly Sprout two extra limbs from its shoulderblades, impaling into the ground, Starting to maneuver Like a Fucked-up spider, the arms sharpening into Curved double-sided blades,
'Okay enough Gawking.' Lolita saw a goon placing a Suitcase in the back of the van, as she jumped in, the confused goon turning around too, only to literally piss himself when he saw the Greater Ethereal Tearing through the Ballet Twins, Following A very quick suit in clambering into the Back of the van.
"If you like not being ripped to Shreds Hun I suggest putting the Van in gear."

The Contact looked at the Mirror to her side, eyes widening and without another moment, Put the Van in Gear and Stepped on the Gas. Lolita Sat in Shotgun, The Random Goon in the back screaming.

"WHAT HAPPENED!? THE ETHEREALS SHOULDNT HAVE GOTTEN PAST THE DEFENSES!"

"Well That Darlin Is why you don't swindle when you're getting the best of Both worlds. Now keep quiet Or I'll do the same to you."

The Goon shut up quickly, As the Girl Drive like hell, Swiftly out of the Hollow.
The Drive was largely quiet, as if everyone was trying to process what happened.

"So… I hope the deal went well." The Contact said, Obviously trying to make small talk.

"Young lady, I couldn't be happier." Despite the actual Deal ending as it did, Izabelle couldn't Hold the smirk beneath her Respirator.
A toothy grin took her face as she sighed.

'Fascinating. Not only does Diabolicus Speed up the corruption Process as a whole, it also speeds up Ethereal Evolution. Fascinating.' They came to a stop As the Goon, covered in his own piss, Broke through the Van, Booking it down the street.

"Hm. Hope he's not a problem later. Say, Here is my inter-knot Information. If you ever decide to do deliveries for someone who isn't going to burn you like they tried me, Send me a message." Izabelle Winked at the Contact, Putting down a small piece of paper in the center console, Grabbing the Briefcase of Money from the back and moving onto her own truck, Driving on Home.

"This won't bite me in the ass later, I swear!"