May checks her rusted clock made from wood and bronze gears and grumbles as she sees that another hour has gone by with no word from either Colin or J. She's gotten all five locks undone on Edith, but without the materials she needs, she can't fix her EPC. The shipyard is no more than a half hour walk from here and they took the car. Getting in and out with the supplies should be no issue with J's Hex ability, so she was expecting them back at least before dawn, but it's now 9 o'clock in the morning and there's been no word.
At 9:30, May decides to stop sitting around doing nothing but wait and returns to her workshop to see Edith still laying on her table. She walks over to a shelf and reaches into a box, pulling out a roll of duct tape and ripping off a piece, bringing it over to Edith and carefully plastering it across the crack split through the front of her glowing core.
She grabs what medical supplies she has and begins stitching up the wounds instead of just leaving her wide open longer than she has to be, and once she's gotten her closed up, she takes a clean rag, wets it from a water bottle, and starts cleaning the blood off of Edith's body.
Once she's all done fixing and cleaning her up, she goes back to her command room and waits.
Edith feels her entire body tremble as her senses slowly begin to return and she feels stiff and sore, as well as a tingle in her arms and legs. There's also a sharp pain in the center of her chest that she can't tell what it is. It doesn't burn like her EPC normally does when it's in pain, but it's like she's being stabbed in the heart with a bunch of tiny needles. It's not enough to send her into agonizing pain, but it's certainly far from any form of comfortable.
She groans frigidly as she rolls her head from side to side, getting used to the feeling of movement again before laying her head flat and blinking her eyes open, squinting and turning her head away as a bright light from a lamp fills her view.
She peers over and her eyes dodge around the room, slowly increasing the pace of her breathing and her eyes widen a bit as she realizes she isn't anywhere she recognizes and she's alone. Not just alone, but cold and laying on a wooden table surrounded by strange machines and parts. She looks down at herself to see that she is completely naked, filling her with fear and questions as to what the hell happened while she was out.
She also sees that along her body are deep cuts patched with stitches and some bandages. There are a few patches of blood here and there that it seems whoever tried to clean her missed.
She takes a few shuddering, unstable deep breaths before placing her hands flat on the table beneath her and bracing herself before using her fleeting strength to push herself to sit up, supposing she should be grateful that she wasn't strapped down at least.
At first, she would fear that maybe the Imperium caught her and they've done something to her, but from what she's seen of the Imperium, they're probably more organized than whoever lives here. She can hear machines and ticking, whirring steam through pipes in the walls.
She scans her eyes around the large circular room and is unable to locate her clothes, but she does see a rattled blanket stuffed in a box on the top level of a shelf across the room.
But before even getting up, her first priority is to place her hands against her stomach and hold her breath, fearing that something may have happened to her baby, but she allows a fraction of her tension to ease when she feels the tiny heartbeat against her palms.
She takes another reassuring deep breath and shifts her body so her legs hang off the side of the table. She carefully slides forward and lowers to the ground one foot at a time. Her feet touch the cold stone surface and the moment she lets her legs take over supporting her weight, her knees buckle and she collapses forward with a grunt and a whine.
She sits on her hands and knees for a moment, gritting her teeth against the stinging pain shooting across her body and the sharp jolt twanging in her EPC. She presses her palm against her chest and swallows back the lump burning in the back of her throat from the pain, shakily trying to get her mind and body under control.
She trembles as she turns her head up towards the box with the blanket on the top shelf, and despite wishing she had the capability to get it down for herself, she just doesn't have the stability to even stand up, let alone reach the top of a tall shelf that she probably wouldn't be able to do even if she wasn't hurt.
"Colin..." she calls out as best she can, her voice sounds weak and shrill and hardly breaks a rasp, making her clear her throat. She looks around as she waits for him to show up, but nothing happens. "Colin?" she tries again, but receives no response and no one comes to her aid.
She growls and decides to not just sit here, naked on the floor of an unfamiliar place and cry for help. She can do this. She pushes her hands up from the ground and places her feet against the stone floor, taking a few deep breaths before trying again to stand up.
She goes slowly, holding her hands out at her sides as she carefully rises to her feet. Her legs tremble violently as she takes the first step towards the shelf and she nearly collapses to her side, but she manages to catch herself and drop to one knee.
She tries again. Repeating the process again and again, she succeeds in getting to the shelf, but as she looks up at the box on the top shelf, she instantly feels like she's a mile away from getting herself covered. Her breathing grows heavier and she closes her eyes. She thinks about home. About Regan and Cree. Peace, Data and Thor. Everything she's doing here, every day, every step is another step towards seeing them all again. For them, she can't let herself falter over something like this.
She grabs a high shelf and plants her foot on a lower one. With feeble determination, she grits her teeth and pushes up with her leg on the shelf and reaches her free hand up as high as she can manage.
But her knee buckles and her head spins. The tingling in her arms and legs grows stronger and she momentarily loses feeling in her limbs and her head is filled with static, clouding her vision with darkness.
She feels herself hit the stone ground flat on her back and the static in her head is joined in unison by a high-pitched ringing in her ears. The sharp pain in her EPC seems to be all she can feel in this moment as the wind has been knocked out of her and her body tingles from her lack of feeling from head to toe, and the absence of sight makes it seem like all there is to her is that pain piercing in her chest.
She doesn't know how long she was laying there, but before her vision is able to come back, she hears a muffled voice. With her senses scattered and her conscious border lining delusional, she momentarily thinks the voice she hears is that of Regan, telling her that he's going to help her and she'll feel better in no time.
But as the ringing starts to die down and her vision slowly begins creeping its way back, she sees through hazy eyes that a woman she doesn't recognize is standing over her. Edith tries to open her mouth to speak, but she finds that no audible words come out and she chokes over her own tongue.
She indistinctly sees May reach up to the shelf and pull down the blanket. She climbs back down and momentarily disappears from Edith's line of sight, but she feels hands on her shoulders from behind that push her to sit up a bit, but she can't support her own body to stay upright, and the woman can tell so she keeps her propped up with one arm while the other wraps the blanket around her, moving to her front to make sure she's fully covered.
Edith can't form any clear thoughts through the static in her head and the limpness of her body, so she just sits and watches May stare at her, moving her lips and saying something, but Edith can't make anything out and her eyelids start feeling heavy, her head slightly dropping to the side.
She doesn't fall comatose, but she really can't be considered conscious either. She doesn't register what's happening and honestly can't find the will to care as she suddenly feels herself get lifted off the ground and her body feels weightless. Arms are wrapped tightly around her legs and her torso and the blanket is kept bundled up around her as she's carried to a door and out of the circular room.
The next part is a bit more of a blur than the rest, but she soon finds herself laid back in a bed in a dimly lit room. She's not tucked under the covers and her head isn't back against the pillows, she's just laying at the foot of the bed.
The tingling fades a bit along with the static, but not enough for her to be considered aware of what's going on around her. She vaguely makes out the sight of May walking to a leather suitcase across the bedroom and she rummages through it.
When the woman returns to her side, she helps her sit up again, sitting down beside her on the bed and holding her against herself with one arm. She lets the blanket fall from around her so she can pull a cloth over her head and thread her arms through the sleeves of the loose white blouse.
May lays her back down again and she hears a faint chuckle through the crackling white noise inside her head as the woman gently grabs her legs. "Huh, this's gotta be the first time there's been a hot naked woman in my bed and I'm actually getting her into pants and not outta them. Go figure," the deadpan voice snickers before continuing to dress her.
Edith doesn't remember the rest, but she recalls the moment her head hit the pillows as she was moved higher up into the bed so she could lay properly and the covers were pulled over her. She hears the soft click of the lights shutting off and then the door to the room closing, leaving her alone in the dark with the static in her head and the pain in her chest.
After some indeterminate span of time, Edith wakes up and feels that some life has returned to her body and the static has faded enough to allow her to think cohesive thoughts. She still feels sore from the stitches, but that doesn't hurt as much as the sharpness stabbing at her chest from the inside.
She groans and opens her eyes, seeing the room that she wasn't able to register when she was brought in here. It's a small room with only one light hanging from a chain in the center of the ceiling. The bed she's laying in is a simple twin sized mattress on a metal frame that looks handmade. There are no windows and the only door is made of metal and across the room from her.
She wants to stay in bed, but her stomach churns which sends a sharp jolt straight to her EPC that makes her whine aloud and roll over on her side. She can smell food coming from somewhere, which is when she realizes that she hasn't eaten since they met Harold – or J – or whoever that was back there when the Imperium soldiers arrived.
She would lay there and try to piece together what happened and how she got here, but she just doesn't have the energy to do so. With a groan, she carefully sits up in bed and the covers pool around her as she shifts her body to stand up. She's damn thankful she can now support her own weight and walk without instantly collapsing, making it easier to reach the door and pull it open slowly to peek her head through the small crack to check if it's safe instead of walking out blindly.
The woman she vaguely remembers carrying her here is outside the door in what looks like the kitchen, cooking something in a pot over the stove. She's making her way around the room, gathering various things and occasionally checking the time on the clock hanging above the doorway, when she sees the door open a sliver and catches a glimpse of Edith before she instinctively flinches back and tries to hide behind the door to avoid being seen, but it's too late for that. If her memory is correct, this woman has already seen her and then some.
"I mean, you can hide but that's not going to turn me into a spooky monster nor is it going to turn you into food for me to eat or whatever. Speaking of food, I'm makin' ramen if you want some," May says.
Edith takes a deep breath and pokes her head through the door again to see May back to standing over the pot and stirring the noodles. Cautiously, she opens the door a bit more and looks around.
"...Who..." she clears her throat when her voice breaks. "...Who are you? Where... am I?" she asks and keeps her hand on the door, not moving from the doorway.
"May McElroy. You're in South Eutria Metro Station number I can't fucking remember. Just one of my many 'homes' across the continent after the Imperium killed my family," she explains and scoops a ladle of ramen into a bowl and hands it to her. "It's better hot," she deadpans.
Edith cautiously takes the bowl but doesn't look at it or really process the fact that it's in her hands as she keeps looking around in a daze. "How... did I get here?"
May scoops herself a bowl and plops down into a seat at the table across the room, blowing on the surface before taking a bite. She nods her head towards an open seat across from her and Edith timidly approaches and sits down, her legs shaking a bit as she lowers. "Your sci-fi android boyfriend showed up here with you and some pain in the ass but kinda hot chick named J. He wanted me to fix you after your systems were locked up by some Imperium douchebag, so I did and here we are," she explains.
Edith hasn't even set the bowl on the table, she's just been sitting there holding it near her chest as she feels somewhat afraid of lowering her arms as the pain hasn't gone away from her core. "My...?" she looks down, then lifts her head and looks around again. "Colin? Where is he?"
"Damn good question. He and J left the other night to get me some parts so I could fix your EPC, but—"
"Fix my... What?" Now Edith sets the bowl down but keeps a hand over her chest. May shrugs and nods.
"Yeah, your EPC was cracked and he wanted me to fix it, so I sent him out to get the things I would need, but neither of them have come back so I just put some tape over it for the time being," May explains and nods towards Edith's bowl. "Aren't ya gonna eat?"
Edith unconsciously takes a bite of ramen, letting everything sink in for a moment. First off, her EPC is damaged? Is she dead and this is just some sick afterlife dream-thing? What is happening to her?
Second, where is Colin? According to May, he should have been back by now. If he trusted May enough to leave Edith alone with her, then she supposes she trusts her too. But what if something happened to him? "Where... did they go?" Edith asks.
"The ISC Company shipyard. It's where the Imperium stores all of their stuff before it gets shipped off to the Bastion. He and J went to go sneak in or whatever so they could get the parts I needed, but they've been gone way too long. Who knows, maybe they decided to bail or something," May shrugs.
Edith automatically shakes her head, dismissing the very idea. "No... he wouldn't do that. What if he got caught?" she states and stares down at the bowl.
May purses her lips and winces, shaking her head. "If that's the case, you may want to consider lowering your standards and get hitched with someone new, 'cause there's no walking away from crossing the Imperium," she says.
Edith's eyes slightly widen and her head spins a bit. "What? No... We have to find him—Them. Both of them. We can't just do nothing," she says and clears her throat, eating a bit more when she feels her stomach growl.
She has no clue why the Imperium is after Colin, but it can't be anything good. If she loses him, she loses CLive again and she refuses to go through that for a third time. Regardless of her thoughts on Colin, she knows deep down that he's a good person who's just trying to do what he hopes is right.
There's a loud ringing coming from the far wall to their left and they both look over to see that it's a landline made from bronze metal fastened to the wall. May sighs and doesn't stand up, she just reaches over and stretches her hand until it reaches the phone and she pulls it over to her ear, crossing her legs and laying back in her chair.
"Dervani's Pizza, how can I help you?" she impassively says into the phone and takes another bite of ramen. Edith just stares at this woman, not sure what to make of her.
On the other end, a voice clears their throat. "Oh wonderful! I would like a large pepperoni pizza, minus the cheese, crust, sauce, and... pepperoni, I just want the box!" comes the unmistakable voice of J.
May sighs and rolls her eyes. "Oi, cunt. Where the hell are you and the sexy robot? I still need to study him, and I need those supplies to fix the sexy laptop woman," she asks.
Edith tilts her head at the statement of needing to 'study' Colin and questioning whether that's something she should be concerned about or not. Then it also clicks in her brain that this woman just called her a 'sexy laptop', and isn't quite sure how to feel about that.
J groans on the other end. "Ah, well, you see... About that. I may or may not have done a little fucky-wucky, and now..." she clears her throat again. "I have the supplies! So that's good news, right?"
"Where is Colin?" May deadpans.
"He's... gone! Poof! Haha, funny thing right? Now, about the supplies—"
"What do you mean he's gone? What the hell happened?" May cuts in and Edith tenses in her seat.
"What...?" she whispers and May holds up a finger for her to wait.
J sighs. "We'll get to that, but first..." the other end of the call goes silent and all they hear is a soft sound of a rush of air. A pink poof appears atop the table between Edith and May, and J is suddenly in front of them. She giggles and reaches down, grabbing Edith's arm in one hand and May's in the other. "Aaaand... Poof!" everything goes pink.
Edith feels herself hit the ground but can't see for a moment as her sight is filled with nothing but pinkness, but once it clears away she can see that she is beside May in a new location. It looks like they're still outside of the main city of Tratend, but inside some old warehouse that seems to be completely empty aside from the stack of boxes towering in front of them, arrayed in the form of a massive throne and atop it is J, kicked back with a cardboard crown on her head and a cake pop in one hand and a smart phone in the other.
"Come one, come all! To J's fortress of jokes and japes! The hour of comedy and calamity and with only one escape! Amuse me, your queen, and J will make sure that you receive everything you need!" she laughs with delight and claps her hands, letting a pink mist engulf the entire room, coating the walls in a pink pasty surface and the grey metal support beams become red and white spiral candy canes. From the base of the box throne, a red carpet rolls out all the way to the door, phasing through Edith and May and setting itself beneath their feet. The dim lights seem to glow brighter once the pink mist fades away and reveals the entirety of the warehouse now looks like just standing in it will give them diabetes.
Edith and May look around with something close to terror, but May is more confused than anything. "Uhh... What?" she deadpans.
J giggles and sits cross-legged in her 'seat' atop the boxes. "I will put it plainly..." she clears her throat. "I. Am. Bored. I am bored of the seriousness from all of you cucks! And I can only imagine you all feel the same, so J is here to help you embrace the ways of the funny chuckle hahas! Of the jizzy jazzy jests that get your tummies ticklin' and your nipples twistin'! So, we're going to play a fun little game!" she announces and takes a bite from her cake pop.
May looks at the boxes she's sitting on and squints her eyes. "Are those the supplies you and Colin went to get?" she asks.
J nods enthusiastically. "Indeed they are! Good observation! I was successful in stealing all of the materials you requested and more! However—"
"Where is Colin?" Edith demands.
J frowns and huffs, flicking her wrist at her and a pink shimmer passes over Edith's face. A strip of duct tape appears over her mouth. "Hush! I'm getting there! I got out with the supplies but alas, Loverboy was unable to evade capture from his mortal foes, the Imperium! You're welcome for that, as the shipment that was scheduled to leave yesterday afternoon has remained stationary at the port since they obtained the lovable toaster! They've taken a raincheck on departure for the time being, giving us plenty of time to get through the game so we can heroically and excitingly rescue him! Is all of that clear?" she explains and the duct tape over Edith's mouth vanishes in a pink poof.
She growls and takes a step towards the throne. "J, knock it off! If the Imperium has him then we need to get him back!" she shouts.
J rolls her eyes. "If you want to hurry, then you'll pipe down and play my game. You can leave to save him whenever you wish, but if you want these supplies, then you'll have to humor me!" she exclaims.
May tilts her head. "What are you talking about?"
J claps. "I'm so glad you ask! I will explain the rules of the game as they are really quite simple! I'm bored, so I want you two to make me laugh! If I find you amusing, I'll give you a box for every time you make me laugh! But if I don't find your display entertaining, then I will poof a box to an unknown location so you can't use the materials inside! So just make me laugh, and you win! It's that simple!" she explains.
Edith fumes and shakes her head. "We don't have time for this! Just give us the supplies so we can go!"
J frowns and narrows her eyes at her. "Hm... I'm not sure I like your tone, missy," she grins and snaps her fingers. A box at the base of the throne poofs out into thin air. "Gone! See, this is how the game works! Now are you going to make me laugh or not?" she bites her lip and sprawls out in her throne.
Edith gets ready to yell at her again, but she holds back and bites her tongue. This is a waste of time. Colin was caught by the Imperium and they're keeping him at the shipyard. She needs to get to him before they can leave for the Bastion. She has no idea what's holding them up, but Colin being left alone with Imperium soldiers is enough to make Edith realize that she doesn't give a damn about those supplies.
"Forget it. I'm not playing your game, J. I need to get to Colin before they can do... Whatever they want to do with him," she snaps.
J pouts and snaps her fingers again, making another box vanish. "Fine. If that's what you want, have fun saving him!" she glances at May. "And you?"
May shrugs. "I mean, I kinda want those supplies," she says.
J smiles bright. "Good! Then amuse me! Make me laugh! Titillate me, peasant!" she points at her.
May stands in silence for a moment with a blank expression, but both Edith and J can see that behind her eyes are a million thoughts, until one eventually pops up to the surface. She clears her throat. "Alright... How many apples grow on a tree?" she asks.
J perks up and stares blankly at her with her mouth agape, mentally trying to count something. "Uh..."
May snickers. "All of them, duh."
J grins widely and laughs. "Hoho! Dad jokes! I'm in, baby!" she claps and as she does, one of the boxes poofs out of sight, then reappears at May's feet.
Edith groans and shakes her head. "Well, you two have fun with this. I'm going to save someone's life now, bye," she huffs and turns to leave, slightly limping and holding her hand over her EPC.
J tisks. "Oh don't you worry about walking there, sweetcheeks. J's got you covered!" she winks. Edith stops walking and looks back at her, just in time to see her clap again and Edith's vision is engulfed by pink once again.