บท 64: Surprise!...?
By the time Ori gets home it's around midday, he steps through the apartment and tosses the bag containing his new clothes onto the couch, before noticing the note stuck to the wall.
"Hey Ori, when you get the chance could you deliver my tools to the lounge across Dickey's Diner? I've got an appointment with the guy there but won't have time to grab my stuff... Thanks!" the confused birthday boy reads aloud, his expression drooping as he reads it again.
"How fucking obvious do you wanna make this, Bats... Seriously, an 'appointment'? Who'd want an unverified Ripperdoc checking their shit out? Unless they wanted to get scrapped by scavs that was fucking awful idea.
He rubs his face, concealing his smile. "Whatever, I'll follow along... See what you've got prepped."
--------------
Ori walks through the door of the private room that'd been rented and gives no reaction as Bats, Rebecca, Judy, and surprisingly Hazel jump out to try and surprise him... There were a couple other people present that Ori wasn't overly familiar with, but he did notice the lack of Six's presence, the guy probably wasn't big on parties. Not that he could blame him.
"Kid, we went through all this trouble, at least give us a fake reaction!" Bats complains.
"As much as I appreciate this, you could've at least put more effort into hiding it... Really dude, 'an appointment'?"
"That's what I said!" Rebecca remarks.
Ori shrugs, "I'm honestly surprised he remembered my birthday at all, Bats has always been shit with dates." he says, causing the man's lips to thin as he looks away, embarrassed.
Judy awkwardly chuckles, "Ah, I'm actually the one who arranged this..."
"I helped though!" Bats adds.
"Heh, keep saying it, it won't make it true!" Rebecca says, patting the guy on the arm 'comfortingly'.
Ori sits down at the provided bar and can't help but laugh as Bats fails as making a cocktail Rebecca requested. The guy barely remembered the ingredients, yet he still tried to flip the bottle for 'flair', only to shatter it and two others... His drink-making duties were relinquished by Judy, who didn't want to pay to replace the entire bar.
"Surprised you're here..." Ori states, looking over at Hazel who seemed to just be vibing.
"Oh, why? Aren't I the closest girl to you?" she grins, hopping her chair closer, only for Rebecca to place her own in between them.
"SO! How'd you two meet? Bet that's an interesting story, huh?" she questions almost conspiratorially.
Hazel looks over the intruder before a gleam flashes in her eye, "It is quite the story.-" she goes on to describe the events of Ori defeating her stalker, then takes great satisfaction at describing what occurred afterwards.
"That was nasty." Judy remarks as she slides some drinks of them, "Ori, did you really have to send me a vid of it? I could've done without ever seeing your 'equipment'."
"Sorry, I don't remember why that was even sent... I was pretty out of it at that point." he mutters as a blush creeps across his cheeks.
"That's because I'm the one who sent it... Judy's become awfully prudish lately, I thought that might get her interest." Hazel interjects, causing both of them to gape at her.
"What? Are you going to say you having 'flicked the bean' at the vid, Judy? Or you Ori, you haven't watched it back over for your enjoyment?" Hazel questions.
"N-No! I'm not into stuff like that!... Especially of people I know!" Judy sputters, while Ori just sits there silently...
"So... You're just a slut..." Rebecca states, continuing to glare at the Joytoy.
"'Becca!" Judy chides.
"No, no, it's true..." Hazel answers, leaning towards the pale-chibi, "I enjoy my work, pleasing men is fun... Or women... If you'd like to try?"
"What!? No way! Who knows what I'd catch from you!"
Hazel continues to tease Rebecca as Bats sits next to Ori, "So, what were you doing in the morning? I know you didn't have any work to do, as for your excuse about 'chores'? As you said, 'put some more effort into it'."
Ori shrugs, sipping his drink, "I met with Christy."
"Hm...? Christy?" Judy wonders aloud after listening in, "Name ring's a bell, but I can't put a face to it?"
"That BD star, Christy D'Clert." Bats offers.
Judy's eyes widen as she snaps her fingers, "That! I remember now, saw her when I looking into your identities."
"Er, what?" Ori asks.
"You didn't think I'd investigate you after our first meeting? That's basic stuff." she remarks.
He shakes his head, "No, I meant, what do you mean when you say you saw her investigating me? There shouldn't be any photos of anything of us together. Like, at all." he explains.
Judy just crooks a brow at him, "No, it was on her page and social channels... Just, wait a minute." she says, grabbing her bag and pulling her laptop out, pulling up Christy's various social pages, fan pages, etc.
Ori was shocked, to say the least. Many photos of Christy doing charity work in Casinha were available, some even including himself, even if he was in the background.
Seeing his reaction, Judy tilts her head in confusion, "Didn't you know about this? This is like, publicity one-o'-one. Do some 'good' deeds, have someone record it then present yourself as an inspirational figure. This was around the time she and her band split too, probably started because her solo career wasn't going so hot."
...
He just stares at the pictures in shock, dumbfounded at how he'd never noticed this before... Why had she never said anything... It was obvious now he was actually looking at it, Christy was clearly posing for the 'hidden' camera in each shot.
He remembered thinking it odd when he used to watch her, taking too long to pour soup, holding a lost child to her chest while smiling somewhere else...
*Ping!*
"Oh... Ori..." Bats mutters, eyes numbly blinking as another photo was released... One of Christy and Ori sitting at a table, showing the BD star gifting him something... The title of the post was the worst however... '
[Christy D'Clert spotted looking after orphan boy who survived the Casinha massacre]
The picture was taken from an odd angle, and while Ori wouldn't have been too bothered by this... Some of Christy's actions and words made a lot more sense... The selfie, it was to goad him into deactivating his software so his face would be visible...
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บท 65: Loss of Control
Ori slowly slides the laptop away from him and calmly stands up, his expression locked in place. He pulls out the tickets Christy had gifted him earlier and leaves them on the counter before turning and heading towards the exit.
"Ori! Wait! Calm down before you do something stupid!" Bats shouts, knowing the kid was gonna explode any minute.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not! Does this look like a 'fine' reaction to you!?" he gesticulates towards him.
"I just need some time alone, that so hard to understand?" Ori asks, his voice turning slightly hoarse as he completes his words. He turns to leave again but pauses when he bumps into Rebecca who'd stood in his way with her arms crossed.
"You're just gonna dip now? We haven't even given you your gifts yet! Just forget that bitch and do what everyone else does when something shitty happens!"
He tilts his head, "And what's that supposed to be?"
"Drink your sorrows away!"
...
He steps past her, ignoring her angry grumble at his actions.
"Ori, we all get this isn't something you wanted to hear, but dealing with it alone is a bad idea..." Bats states before letting out a sigh and shaking his head, "If you're gonna go no matter what, at least come back after you're done? Renting this place wasn't exactly easy."
...
"I'll come back. I don't know when." Ori offers before finally leaving.
"He isn't gonna kill anyone, is he?" Hazel tentatively asks, but doesn't get an answer from anyone present...
------------------------
Ori calmly steps out of the lounge and walks down the street, his heart thumping hard in his chest as he reaches his destination. He steps through the doors and approaches the reception, "An hour in the Sensory Deprivation Tank, please."
Once paid, he enters the private room and strips all of his clothing, tossing his gun atop the pile as he climbs into the tank, which seals shut with a hiss as it pressurises, adjusting to peak comfortability for the human body.
Once he was properly situated, he squeezes his eyes shut and finally let go of his emotions...
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"
...
...
"YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU FUCKING PLAY ME LIKE THIS!? TREAT ME LIKE A FUCKING PUPPET!? I'LL FUUUCCKKKIINNNGG ENNNNNDDD YOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU-"
...
...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!-"
...
...
"-HAND ME YOUR FUCKING CONCERT TICKETS AND EXPECT ME TO SIT THERE FOR YOUR PUBLICITY SHIT!? I'LL BOMB THAT FUCKING BUILDING AND EVERY CUNT INSIDE OF IT!!! YEEAAAARRRRSSSS YOU SPENT PLAAAYING MEEE! YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAA-"
...
...
"WAS IT YOU WHO LED THOSE FUCKS TO CASINHA!? YOU WHO KEPT FUUUCKING POSTING PICTURES OF IT!? WEEERRREEE THE GANGS THERE FOOOOR YOOOOUUUUU!!!?!???? CHRIIIIIISSSSSSSTTTTTTTYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!"
...
...
"Hah... Hah... Hah..." Ori exhaustedly breathed, his throat torn apart by his screaming, and the only reason he hadn't passed out from tearing his vocal cords was due to the nanite's intervention...
He opens his eyes and looks up at the completely black roof of the tank he was lying in, the hilarity of the shit situation he'd found himself in finally hitting him. "Haha... Hahaha.... Hahahahahaha!" he laughs, snot and tears still dripping down his face and into the shallow water he was floating in.
Really! It was like reality wanted to hurt him! No one in Night City had it worse than he did! Even those guys who get zeroed in the streets get a quick end! But him!? Hit after hit after hit! The punches never stop coming, first it takes his family, then his 'friends', and once he has nothing left it'd take that too! HE WOULD HAVE LESS THAN NOTHING, AND THE WORLD STILL WOULDN'T BE SATISFIED!
[Mental Instability found, Request Permission to correct Anomaly: Flesh Administrator]
"HAHA! WHY FUCKING NOT!? NOT LIKE IT'S GONNA MATTER IN THE END, RIGHT!? HAHAHAHA-hahahaaha....ha... R-i..ght...?" he trails off, his fluttering as the nanites go about their work.
A profound itchiness digs into the folds of his brain, making him want to open up his skull to scratch it... His arms stay put however, as he was unable to move them... Unable to move anything, really.
Why wasn't he freaking out about that?
He didn't know... Well, he knew, but he didn't know why he knew, no, that's not right. He knew why he wasn't freaking out but didn't know why he wasn't, this was definitely something he should be freaking out about...
No, even then... Freaking out about something like this was meaningless...
He somehow moves his arm up to his face and clenches his fist a couple of times, taking in the sensation of control. He then lets it drop, continuing to just lay there alone with his thoughts.
The betrayal he'd just experienced seemed to push him over the edge. He could see that now, though, was it even a betrayal? Christy never did anything overtly against him, he'd never asked, she'd never lied, nor had she intentionally harmed him.
In fact, she'd continued to help him even after Casinha was destroyed. Lending him money, attempting to converse with him, even if it was just a ploy for publicity... Why was he thinking about murdering her again...?
Logically, it was because of his affection for her, which was spurned by what he'd learned... He overreacted. Killing her would be more than pointless, the danger it would bring outweighed whatever satisfaction he might have gained by many degrees...
Still, there was the high possibility of Christy's actions being the cause of what happened to Casinha, though, this might just be wishful thinking, attempting to hoist responsibility for it onto someone else.
Regardless of his current incredibly lucid state, he wasn't entirely sure if making her the cause was due to his reasoning or internal biases.
No. He wouldn't touch her. Not unless further evidence came to light... He remember Rogue's quirky reaction at his asking what happened to Casinha, so purchasing the information was probably best. No point in bumbling to a possibly incorrect conclusion.
"Hmm." was there a reason he'd never done this before? He couldn't think of any negatives...
"Ah..." he utters when thinking back to it, "Wanting to retain my humanity... What did that even mean though? Humanity didn't mean anything, outside of the pre-established moral implications, most drawn from tradition and evolution.
The aversion to eating human flesh probably came about due to the deadly prion diseases ingesting human brains could cause... Was there any actual benefit to retaining 'humanity' however?
He didn't know... And that scared him...
Scared him?
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Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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