The Stumble Inn

Dent fell to the ground, and groaned. "Oooowww... Right in the... Um... Augh too much pain to think about the ramifications..."

Kasei-La scowled at both of them, and sighed, looking at Wesa. "You've obviously been here before... Are people usually this violent and stupid?"

"Not... Stupid... Owww-owww..."

Wesa shrugged. "Some are. Some aren't. A lot of people panic."

Dent groaned, whimpering. "Why do girls away go for the crotch shooooot?" She squeaked, and bit on her lip as she rolled on the ground a little longer.

Kasei-La closed her eyes in frustration. "Let's just get away from the blood, okay Wesa? Maybe we can check out the general store, or something."

"Hmm, yeah. I think this might be something that the adults should be dealing with. I guess I am not technically an adult today."

Elena watched the two girls go off in what she assumed was the direction of the general store, until the fog had completely obscured them from her vision. Then, she turned back toward Dent. "Now...who are you?" Granted, it wasn't a very good question, but it was the only one she could think of at the moment.

Dent sighed, and huffed as she pushed herself off the ground. "I am Private Denton 119 of the Human Defensive Aereal Defense. Now... who are you?" She sighed, still in pain. "...Fuck me, my ship is destroyed. How am I gonna get back to Fortress I-17?"

"I'm Catpain Blackraven," Elena said. "And I don't know much about repairing your ship....but there's a man inside that might be able to help you..." She gestured over her shoulder toward the Stumble Inn

"Right, listen. I'm sure you're lovely people, but I really can't take that chance. I mean, this could all be an elaborate illusion by some fucked up demons, and you could be some sort of thousand-penised rape monster, or a creature with no skin that shoots acid from its tear ducts. I just can't trust something so Earthlike, especially since the angels and demons have picked up on how much we miss our homeworld. I'm just going to stick out here with my ammo, thank you very much." Her uniform was hanging off her, barely able to stay up. She tightened her belt, and went to the cockpit of her plane, pulling out an ammo cartridge and loading it into her previously discarded gun. She pulled out a ration of beef jerky, and bit into it as she sat on top of the ruins of the plane.

Elena raised an eyebrow. "Alright, well..." she turned on her heel and said over her shoulder, "there's food and drink inside...and from what I hear, plenty of nice, comfortable beds, too." She picked up her whip from where it had landed, curled it back up, and hooked back onto her belt, then walked back into the inn.

"You know, saying enticing things only makes me think that you're something evil even more, right?" Dent rolled her eyes, and tried to get her radio working. "...Damnit, nothing but static. And on Holiday, too. Fucking eh... Could be home right now, getting smashed with mom and Debbie. But no, I had to be conscripted, thrown into this shithole, and warped into a god damn woman."

Elena rolled her eyes and went to the bar to find Hal. "Hal? There's a man outside with a destroyed ship...he could probably use your help."

Hal looked up at Elena, and scratched his head. "So that's what the crash was, huh? Well, alright. Can you go get the girls? I think it's getting rather late for them to be out." He grabbed a few of his tools next to his miniaturized ship, and headed out to see the damage that had been done.

"Another one of you? Huh. Well, alright. Just don't get too close." She pointed her gun at Hal's head.

"Well, actually, I want to try and repair your plane." Hal gestured, pointing to it.

"Yeah, no thanks. You're not touching it, captain spandex."

Mel slunk away from the scene, wondering why she always felt so incompetent when something like this happened. It wasn't like it was anything new to her. She had been through this sort of thing time and time again, and yet she always felt that she had no authority to step in and change things. She was just so useless. . .

Hal sighed, and went back into the inn. "Um... Mel? Can you help me? You seem to be good at talking. There's this young lady outside, some sort of horned woman. Very petite. Well, she seems to think that we want to hurt her, and judging by how you dealt with Kasei-La... Maybe you could help me talk her down?"

Mel flinched and looked at him. "I don't know. . . I'm not really that good at much of anything."

"I have faith in you, Mel. Please."He looked out the door. "Besides, it can't be good for business if you have a gun-toting little lady outside your inn, can it? I'll be there to help. I'll have your back, I promise." He smiled warmly at her, utter sincerity in his eyes.

Mel crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, seeming to slump into herself. "Well, it's not really a business. It's more of a lodging for new comers sort of thing. . . I don't usually get paid. . . "

Hal went to grab her shoulders as he would with a soldier, but decided against it. "Mel... I know you can do this. Just one night and you've shown yourself able to help a hurt little girl. And while this woman may not be little in the sense of Kasei-La... Of course, she's little in the other sense too... I mean... Argh. You're making me tongue-tied."

Mel shifted her weight, looking anxious. "But that thing is scary. . . "

"I'll be there with you. Strength in numbers, Mel. I promise, if she fires, I'll take the bullet." He held out his pinky, used to doing it with Kasei-La "Pinky swear."

Mel shyed away from him. "No, I. . . No. I can't. I just can't okay? I'll just screw it up!"

"I've charged head first into a black hole so I could save a galaxy. I was never sure if I could do it, only that I should do it. Don't let the fear of losing the game keep you from playing. Believe me, I can take a few rounds. So please, I don't think I can smoothtalk my way out of this... I know you don't know me that well, but... Asking for help isn't my strong suit. And yet, I've done it twice with you today. It's because I can tell a natural born winner when I see one, Mel."

Mel sighed. "Just leave me alone. I'm not a hero. And I'm certainly not suicidal."

"...That's the first time one of my speeches hasn't worked." Hal looked utterly perplexed. "Did I say something wrong? Did my voice crack while I was talking? Were you distracted? My speeches always work! I've led a rebellion of an entire planet against the German Defensive Alliance by one of my speeches!"

"Your world is not my world."