01 :: Arrival Take Two! [Voice/Action]

[torrenziale]

[All in all, things could be worse. It's not that Squalo is a natural optimist, far from it, but he keeps repeating that mantra in a vain attempt to maintain his sanity. However, he's starting to think he's jinxed himself. Things keep getting worse. Being abducted stung his pride, but he was alive and figured he could deal with it.

Comments

[Voice]

[redhairedknight]

[Well, it's good to hear a voice that's somewhat familiar, even if it's as headache-inducing as ever.] Your hand would probably be in the item shop, if I had to guess.

...Welcome back, Squalo.

[Voice] 1/2

[torrenziale]

Item. Shop. VOI, it's not a goddamn item! [Whoever took it should have known that, but it's clearly not in the clothing store. She may have a point. Squalo huffs and exits the door.] If this is someone's idea of a joke...

[And this is where his rant comes to a screeching halt, sending words yet unspoken flying into his forebrain and leaving them in an inarticulate jumble.]

[Voice]

[torrenziale]

...How do you know my name?

[Voice]

[redhairedknight]

You were here before, though it doesn't seem like you remember any of it.

[Voice]

[torrenziale]

Yeah. If I was here before. I'm not buying it yet. [He gives a wry smirk.] You'd think getting wings and all would be one the memorable side.

You also have me at a disadvantage. You know me, but I don't know you.

[Voice]

[redhairedknight]

They appear to remove peoples' memories of this place when they leave. Sometimes, if someone returns, they get their memories back, though most of the time, they don't.

I'm Erza Scarlet, a mage of Fairy Tail. We mainly sparred when you were here last, though I occasionally ran into members of your family or group - whichever you want to call it.

[Voice]

[torrenziale]

Erza Scarlet. Got it. [That's a lot to process all at once so Squalo decides to prioritize. He tucks away the tidbit about sparring, saving it for later. And is that a headache coming on? Yeah. Yeah, seems like. You keep breaking his brain, Erza.]

Back up a minute. You've run into my- Who? [and then a second thought crops up]

VOOOII! If those bastards are here...

[Voice]

[redhairedknight]

Relax. They left about the same time that you did. There were three of them here aside from you; your boss, and two others who got on your nerves constantly.

[Voice]

[torrenziale]

They all get on my nerves. What else do you know?

[Voice]

[redhairedknight]

One of them was named Mammon, and the other one was... Belle, or something like that. [She never actually met Belphegor; she just heard about him, so he didn't make as much of an impression as Mammon did.]

[Voice]

[torrenziale]

[And with that sinking feeling that she's been telling the truth makes itself home in the pit of his stomach.]

[a snort] Two of the best and brightest right there.

Voooii, I believe a drink is in order. Tell me there's a place that exchanges for euros.

[Voice]

[redhairedknight]

I'm not sure what a euro is, but the bar isn't too far from the smithy, which I'm sure you've found already. Everything here's free, in case nobody's mentioned it.

[Voice]

[torrenziale]

Nothing's ever free, Red.

[Voice]

[redhairedknight]

Well, there's no money here and no real alternatives. Nobody's really interested in trading either. That sounds free to me.

[Voice]

[torrenziale]

Not what I meant.

I'm gonna guess the jackasses running this dog and pony show don't keep things free out of the kindness of their hearts. They want something in return. Am I right?

[Voice]

[redhairedknight]

Aside from wanting us kept here, they perform experiments on people from time to time. Those are more of an annoyance than anything, for the most part. Then there's the drafts, where we're sent out to fight for them, but those don't happen often. I don't find them difficult to get through, though others have found it tough in the past.