foolishwren | [Action in the ~*~Goldenrod Department Store~*~] FOURTH WALL EVENT POST

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Current Location: Goldenrod City Department Store

[Action in the ~~Goldenrod Department Store~~] FOURTH WALL EVENT POST

_{[OOC: HI GUYS. As per usual with my TL;DR event posts, reading this is more or less optional. All you need to know is that Heather's in the Goldenrod City Department Store, and that you are free to bother her in ANY WAY YOU SEE FIT, anywhere in the store.
Posts on my end might be a little slow, but I AM online and will be replying to every tag!
Out-of-game dudes, welcome to Route for the weekend! I hope you enjoy your stay, and hope that maybe we'll be snagging a few of you for good. ;)]}

_{[Well, Saturday came, and despite the injuries and wreckage accumulated at the Department Store from the aftermath of that robbery, a big mall can't staff itself! As such, the employees have all been respectfully ordered to come back and help with cleaning things up, because god forbid they close the store for a few days!]

[And so, wearing her stupid little employee uniform, a tired Heather got up early with her newly-recovered Pokemon in-pocket (she didn't normally take them to work with her, but given the events there, she was feeling less confident about the prospect of being without them in case of an emergency. And besides, she sort of wanted to spoil them a little bit for all they'd been through), and made her way morosely to the big shiny building.]

[The whole way, Cujo pranced and gamboled around her, completely oblivious to his Trainer's sour mood.]

[She shoved the revolving door a little harder than necessary and went through it, taking care not to let the simple-minded Growlithe get stuck in the turnstyle.]

[And gueeeessss who was right there waiting in the lobby for her, surrounded by bustling janitors carrying around busted vending machines and sweeping up rubble?]}

ABOUT TIME YOU SHOWED UP!

BACK IN MY DAY, SNOTTY KIDS WHO TOOK TOO MUCH TIME OFF OF WORK WERE FLOGGED AND PUBLICLY HUMILIATED!

.... And back in your day, the elderly fell behind and got eaten by saber-toothed tigers...

WHAT WAS THAT?!

Ugh... nothing...

I'VE HAD ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOUR LIP. MY DELICATE HEART CANNOT ABIDE SUCH DISRESPECT. GO HELP THE JANITORS ON THE SECOND FLOOR BEFORE YOUR INSOLENCE BEGINS TO ENDANGER MY HEALTH.

Yes, ma'am...

AND GET THAT FILTHY MUTT IN A POKEBALL IMMEDIATELY!!

_{[Making a sour face, Heather promptly flipped the old bat off as she went huffing away to scream at someone else who didn't deserve it.]}

Don't listen to 'er, Cooj. You might be a filthy mutt, but she's a bitch and that's ten times worse. We gotta stop at the laundry room first. I'll let you chew on one of her skirts.

_{[Cujo panted up at her happily, having absolutely no idea that the supervisor had called him anything, and promptly walked into a potted plant because he wasn't watching where he was going.]}

~*~

_{[The employee laundry room yawned ominously away from the doorway, its gray-green basement lights buzzing in that ugly way that old, out-of-date electronics that no higher-up has felt necessary to replace so often do. The gaps between the tiles here were always wet, and filled with that gritty mush that resulted when bits of powdered laundry detergent spilled onto a damp floor and was allowed to sit. The whole place smelled like stagnant water from the machine in the corner that was always broken and filled up with cloudy water that nobody bothered to drain for weeks.]

[Old uniforms were strewn across the floor like corpses of long-forgotten staff members who had been trapped down here and died horribly.]}

... Same old, same old...

_{[Heather sighed and stepped in, her boots skidding slightly on the soapscum-covered floor.]}

Don't eat anything I don't tell you is okay, Cooj.

_{[She leaned over the bin of clean uniforms, digging around in it with still-bandaged arms. She needed a new hat and didn't fancy getting screamed at for not having one if she was caught without it on the job.]}

Jesus, there can't be like fifty thousand clean shirts and no hats...

_{[Then she stopped and looked over her shoulder, brows furrowed. Cujo was standing stiffly behind her, his creamy hackles raised and normally-happy brown eyes wide and staring. A low, unsettled growl was drifting out of his throat and his stare was settled firmly on the employee lockers across the room. Swallowing, Heather withdrew from the bin slowly.]}

... What is it, boy?

_{[The growl increased in volume, and Heather frowned worriedly, following his gaze.]

[The source of his anxiety became clear instantly.]

[The door to Locker no. 9 was rattling gently, occasionally thumping. There was something inside it. Trying to get out.]

[The hairs on the back of Heather's neck stood up.]

[... It's... it's deja vu all over again...]

[The rattling was replaced by an insistent, metallic banging. Heather gulped, and reached out to pick up a nearby metal laundry basket.]}

Stay here, Cooj...

_{[Slowly, warily, she approached the locker. As though sensing her nearing presence, the banging became louder and more violent. Adamant. Biting her lip, Heather reached out with a bandaged hand... and opened the locker.]}

--AAAUGH!

_{[The laundry basket went clanging to the floor as Heather fell backwards, knocked onto the damp, gritty floor as whatever was in the locker came lunging out at her like a desperate predator, barreling its warm weight into her chest and knocking her off-balance. Cujo erupted into a frenzy of barking and whimpering, knocking over the laundry bin as he turned in alarmed circles.]

[Heather thrashed on the floor, throwing the attacker off in the process and struggling to sit up defensively, teeth bared.]}

I-- GET OFF! I'LL-- You-- .... uh. .... Huh?

_{[The attacker wagged its little cinnamon-bun of a tail, the speaker on its headphones giving out a cheery little crackle of static.]}

ARF!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's getting too difficult to breathe; the heavy ladder and Heather's weight won't let his lungs draw air.]

[He's not going to be crushed so much as he's going to gradually suffocate.]

[Talib squirms, or tries to. Trying to find a weapon or a position that will allow him that precious oxygen.]

_{[There's scattered supplies-- mops, paint rollers, buckets... some of them are even in reach. But would they do any good? Depends on how he uses them.]

[Meanwhile, Heather is pressing down without mercy. She's not a sadist but she is a killer.]}

[It's no use; his arms are trapped.]

[Talib's body slowly stills as black blotches cover his sight.]

[It's one thing to beat monsters down while riding high on adrenalin and desperation, but quite another thing to look a human not so much older than yourself in the eyes as he struggles to do something so basic as breathe.]

[His eyes roll up as he falls unconscious.]

[Decision time, Heather. In less that a minute you'll kill send him to the PokeCenter, where he'll probably get noticed and/or hurt someone else. Or you could let up and capture him alive. Maybe the lack of air will have caused enough brain damage to make him tolerable.]

_{[... This was true. This was very true.]

[There was no actual doubt about it. Heather meant to kill him. Just as she had meant to kill Claudia-- although admittedly with a lot less passion. Liquid was her friend, but he was also alive and well.]

[... But this WAS different. This wasn't like Leonard-- who had been human once and still was, actually, although Heather had conveniently brushed that off when it came to blowing a hole in his mutilated, Otherworldly head but sure didn't LOOK it, with the Otherworld twisting his image to represent what was on the inside. Leonard hadn't even had a FACE.]

[She leans ever harder, her eyes narrowing and that old bloodlust rising-- ... but that face. He is human. On the outside, at least. And she didn't even kill Claudia, in the end (though she's sure she would have been able to... right?).]}

.... Aw, hell...

_{[When his eyes roll upwards, she eases off the pressure, stepping down from the ladder and reaching for a bundle of twine. The end of the ladder thunks back down to the ground once her weight is off of it, giving his lungs room to expand.]

[Have your breath, torturer. It ain't worth much in Heather's eyes, but...]}

[Blood flows freely from the bone-deep gashes as his chest rises again.]

[Ragged, unsteady breathes are the only response she gets. He remains KO'd.]

_{[She growls as she shoves the ladder off of him at last, twine in hand. Is she gonna tie him up? Yes she is. ... Does she know how to tie people up efficiently? No. So... um. She's just gonna... tie lots of random and intricate knots and hope that works for the moment.]}

You're lucky I believe in revenge...

_{[Is she gonna call Liquid up at last with her PokeGear? ... YES. YES SHE IS.]}

[Sounds good. Believe it or not, Talib also is very fond of vengeance. Ask him about a man named Kasim sometime; Liquid probably doesn't even remember killing him.]

[In the meantime, he'll just continue to bleed and be generally asleep.]

_{[They definitely have that in common, then. Although Heather would be reluctant to admit to anything in common with someone who tortured her friend.]

[But in AAAANY case, once he's all tied up, she pulls out her PokeGear. And calls Liquid Snake.]}

Heather? What is it?

[He's a bit testy from all the batshittery that's going on today.]

[Little does he know just how bad his day is going to get.]

Heeeeey.

_{[Her voice sounds.... cheerful, but there's an edge to it like a knife.]}

So, uh. I'm at work.

This guy showed up.

Says he... knows you.

[He didn't like her tone of voice; something was wrong.]

What kind of guy?

_{[Something was VERY wrong.]}

... Not one I think you'll be happy to see.

[Oh, hell. Liquid could think of about half a dozen people he really wouldn't be happy to see right now.]

I'll be there in five minutes. You're at the department store, right?

_{[Yeeeaaaah. Heather realizes this.]}

Yeah. I'm in a storage closet on the, uh-- ... the fourth floor.

... You'd better brace yourself, man. You're REALLY not gonna be happy to see this guy.

Christ, what kind of trouble did you dredge up?

[click]

[About five minutes later, there would be a Liquid walking into the storage closet; he'd made sure he wasn't followed.]

What the hell is going on?

_{[Aaaand when he walks in, the electric drilling in the hole above is louder than ever. Nobody noticed the commotion in the storage room below-- probably for the best.]

[The first thing Liquid will probably notice is Heather, who is standing there looking mildly apologetic and sort of like she's just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The second is probably the knocked-over ladder. The third? ... Is probably Drooly McSadist on the floor, bleeding and breathing raggedly. And tied up with a bundle of heavy-duty twine in a completely unorthodox but admittedly pretty effective manner. Heather does not know how to professionally tie people up okay.]}

[He saw the torturer first.]

[He couldn't take his eyes off of him. Not the man that he'd gotten so well acquainted with during his tour of duty in Iraq. They'd spent a lot of... quality time together.]

[Just the sight of him made Liquid feel sick to his stomach.]

[He crossed the room, his steps even, and stood beside Heather. The expression on his face was unreadable.]

How long has he been here?

_{[Yeah. Heather had heard.]

[She offers a somewhat sheepish grin to her friend as he enters, which probably will not even be noticed.]}

Uh-- ... 'bout twenty minutes. Maybe twenty- five.

[He looked at her; she was unharmed. Good.]

[He looked up at the ceiling; the noise from the construction going on up there was still loud. No one seemed to notice what had been going on.]

[Good.]

Heather. Get me some water, then go watch the door.

[It was time to wake up his old friend.]

Wh-- ... Liquid, we can't keep him HERE.

Sooner or later, somebody's gonna come down that ladder.

We're not going to.

[You know what they had a lot of at construction sites? Large sheets of plastic tarp. Liquid grabbed a piece and laid it out on the floor, then grabbed Talib by the hair and dragged him onto it.]

[If Heather was starting to see where this was going, then she was a smart girl.]

... OH. Uh.

... Right!

_{[She didn't know what he needed the water for, but now that it looked like he was, like, doing something, she did as she was told and left the room in search of some.]

[She'd be back a few minutes later with a bottle of water from one of the vending machines.]}

[He was going to open it and upend it over Talib's face to wake him up. And a kick to the ribs for good measure.]

[When he spoke again, it was in Arabic.]

/Wake up, you son of a whore./

[They were going to have a little... talk.]

[!]

[Talib splutters awake, coughing from the kick to the ribs. Dizzy from the lack of air and loss of blood, he tries to sit up without recognizing Liquid's voice.]

_{[Heather stands back here-- she's glancing upwards a little anxiously at the hole in the ceiling. The construction noises are more or less blotting whatever noises THEY make out, but there's always the chance some employee could come over to that hole and look down at them...]}

[Action in the ~~Goldenrod Department Store~~] FOURTH WALL EVENT POST

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[action] AND SEVERAL MONTHS TOO LATE, I GET TO THIS.