- Ethereal HQ: Briefing Room -

- Suspicion (Persona 5)

The meeting area as a whole is not as big as one would think. The floors are a smooth texture with, to no surprise those with an analytical eye, a hint of gray. The walls are the same color only much thicker with layers of soundproof material. One could notice a theme here in everything being so monochromatic color wise.

White uniforms, gray walls and floors. All could be considered bland or elementary, its purpose purly to exude a military style with no room to splurge in a lavish life. There also shone a wide ranging, dim luminescence casting its silverish light throughout the entire room. In the middle of the room is a long, gray table with multiple wheeled chairs filling the empty gaps.

Preceding the table, on the north side of the room is an extensive back wall, which is specifically wider than all the others in the room. He walks to the front of the table removing a small remote that was sitting on its curved edge. He points the remote at the widest wall, and presses a button on it. A holographic picture showing a massive explosion that appears immediately after the button is pressed just as Vern motions his left hand forward for them to sit down. "Asseyez-vous, s'il vous plaît."

Lux sits in a chair on the left side of the table, a short distance away from where Vern is standing, Jade plops down in one on the right side of the table, which is the last seat on the edge directly in front of Vern, and Klaus takes the chair directly next to Lux, who leans back propping his legs on the table. Klaus leans into the surface, comfortably extending his arms before he begins to sway them back and forth. "This is a table," he states confidently.

"Nah, that's a chair," Lux responds in a sarcastic tone.

"You're lying. You're a liar."

Jade crosses her legs along with her arms, then leans back into the plush cushioning attached to her territory. Vern patiently waits. Once everyone is settled, then he speaks. As he does, he presses a button every so often to change what is seen on the holographic screen, eventually pausing on an image of a hideous red humanoid creature.

"Let's begin. You all know what this is. This is Annihilation. On this day, millions perished due to the energy wave emitted from the meteorite that crashed into the Som Ocean. It was also the day that we were reborn and granted unique, individual gifts from that energy wave. These beings were soon called Abnormals. Not long after Annihilation, all three continental governments came together to form a powerful military force. We all, of course, refer to them as the AAF, or the Anti-Abnormal Federation. These are our enemies, but they are not the only ones we should worry about. You all know what these are, yes?"

"Blightshades," Jade answers, arms crossed for only a moment, her body subtly shifting in place.

"Correct. Humans that were mutated and transformed because their bodies could not deal with Somerite energy. A worse fate than death in my opinion. Not only are the AAF using these creatures as a way of blaming us, but they themselves have grown to be more aggressive and predatory. We cannot underestimate them or the AAF. Now, onto the overall goal and the reason why I hired you all. ...I have built this resistance from the ground up for years. We are very lucky to have found this place. It enables us to operate outside of time so to speak. I have observed how we are treated, how the media wants us to seem. All the injustices, the prejudice, it will end. We are seen as nothing but scum or killers. If not those, then dangerous creatures that need to be caged. This is why I formed the Ethereals. Though we may not be able to bring every Abnormal here, we will surely fight for them. The time of hiding is over."

The screen changes yet again. It shows individual pictures of a tall, pale skinned man. His altitudinous figure can be compared to ancient mountains that stand firm even to this day. He's wearing a dark blue uniform with a long, unbuttoned black coat. His hair is dipped in indigo, his thick and matured streaks are of considerable length, with a thin mustache and beard, fervent teal eyes, and a rough and wrinkled face of pure determination.

"This is Apis Cervantes Valiana. President-King of the AAF and its founder," Vern exclaims. Jade nods after his explanation, piggybacking his briefing with her set of information.

"I've heard about him. He actually convinced the Jeogen, Azora, and Aebreron governments to give him under half their military for the AAF."

"That is correct, Miss Umbra. Quite a feat." Like clockwork, the screen changes once again. This time to a large map of a continent, similar to the one they previously saw in the room before this one.

"This is Jeogen," Vern continues. "On each continent, there are six commanders called Barons that watch over massively populated areas for 'protection.' Red, Azure, Yellow, Emerald, Sliver, and Gold. In reality, they each specialize in a certain manner of war bound or governmental duties, whether it be to hunt down or capture many Abnormals that are never heard from, or seen again."

"Saw a baron on the news at Silver Cloud. They gave 'em an award for killing a dangerous Abnormal that was runnin' about." As Lux finishes, Vern nods to him, affirming his associate's statement.

"Yes, I saw that as well. That was the Silver Baron, Elliot Dunham. His younger brother, Marcus, is the warden of Silver Cloud I believe."

Lux laughs in satisfaction, forming a wide grin at the pleasant memory of the warden's death. "Not anymore. Fucker got what was coming to him."

"Hm. I see. The Ethereal's goal- our goal, is to capture or kill the six Barons. Then, we confront Valiana and treat him the same with hypothetical demands of our rights. We will show all Abnormals around the world that the time of being afraid is over. We will fight for our right to live in this world." In a split second, Jade and Lux send each other reluctant glances before she addresses Vern.

"This won't be easy for you, Matthias. Even with us. You know that, don't you?"

"I do. I am prepared for the next step we must take."

"We don't give a shit regardless," Lux says, leaning back in his chair. "You pay us and we'll help you get this done. We don't do anything until the money starts flowin'."

"I assume this means you are officially with us?"

"Yeah. We're in."

"Excellent. I will-"

The entrance door suddenly swings open, a young woman bursts through, with multiple folders in her left arm and a huge black duffel bag in her right hand. "Oh, gosh! Sorry I'm late, Matthias!"

Everyone looks towards the door, and Klaus makes a disappointed face when he realizes it's Tora from this morning. When she is directly in front of the table, she places all the folders down on the table, followed by her duffel bag right before exhaling in exhaustion.

"It's that heathen from before..." Klaus mutters, modifying his voice to mimic a pastor.

"Whew! I've been runnin' around all morning! I'm so out of shape...Oh! It's you guys!"

"Yo," Lux greets with an upward motion of his head. Jade does the same, speaking the same tone of voice as she did at Kenvale.

"Nice to see you again, babe."

"Miss Zelterra. Am I correct to assume you are late for a reason?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm so sorry. I had to get the money, finish all my reports...Oh, and I had to fix a few things in my workstation. I got a new laptop...and-"

"It is fine." Vern respectfully interrupts with a chuckle. "This is Tora Zelterra, though it seems you all have already met. As mentioned earlier, she is our telecommunication and technological expert."

"It's mostly just hacking and talkin'," she humbly responds with a giggle. "Oh! I've got y'all's money right here."

Lux stands up from his chair then walks over to the bag and unzips it. He looks inside and whistles when he sees all the crisp stacks of money. "Damm..."

"That is your four-hundred and fifty thousand upfront," Vern expressed, a stream of tranquility gently carrying his words. "We will continuously pay you all as you continue to work with us. That will be all for now. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I would suggest you all take time to rest."

"Awww! I missed the entire meeting?!"

"Unfortunately. I will see you all tomorrow."

"He for sure hates me now..." Tora mumbles, wallowing in her disappointment as she watches Vern exit the room.

"Hate is a strong word. We love and appreciate you, Tora," Klaus assures her with a zany smile.

"Wow. Um, thank you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Dorothy."

Lightly giggling at Klaus' play on names, Tora makes her way over to each of the trio individually, all handing them a small, black colored smartphone. "Anyways, now that you've officially joined us, I'll have your money delivered to Kenvale. Oh, and I want to give you all these. Three Blackcells, courtesy of yours truly!"

"Cellphones? Ain't that nice," Lux says, twisting and turning his newly acquired technology every which way. To him, having a way of communication from far distances is a luxury within itself.

"Mhm! You can only call or text each other, or anyone else with a Blackcell. No one can track them or hack them thanks to my hard work, so you can keep them on your person most of the time. If you were to be captured for an extended period of time or god forbid, killed, the cell will self-destruct."

"That so? Good to know."

"You're a really smart girl, aren't you? I've got an idea. Why don't you take us to your work station?" Jade causally offers the option up.

"W-Wha?!" Tora asks, shocked. "N-Now? It's kinda messy..."

"It's okay. I don't mind messes," Jade protests, ensuring she sends a warm smile of reassurance Tora's way. Lux agrees with a nod while he slides his hands into his front pockets.

"Yeah. Since we just got our pay. Ain't nothin' else better to do."

"And you can show us your powers. It'll be fun."

"And you can't have fun without a smile!" Klaus shouts as he pops up from his chair suddenly, the force pushing it back into the nearest wall.

"Umm...alrighty, then. Follow me. ...U-Uh, you're not cold, Lux?" Tora asks, her bashful tone spilling out as she and the trio step into the hallway preceding the meeting room.

"Nah. You're not hot with that jacket on?"

"Not really, no."

"Do your thing, then. Which way we goin'?"

"This way. We'll take the elevator."

Everyone walks back to the elevator, then Tora presses the down arrow button. They patiently wait for a few seconds, then the elevator appears in front of them. A light ding can be heard, then the elevator doors slowly open. A few male and female Abnormals walk into the elevator before the doors close again. "Oh. Hey, Tora. Where you guys going?" One of the males curiously asks.

"Hey, Jordan. Um, T3, please."

"Going back to work already, huh? I've got you."

Carson presses the requested button, as well as the button to his floor. The elevator heads up, slowly stopping after a few short moments. Once again, a light ding can be heard prompting the elevator doors to open. Lux, Jade, Klaus and Tora all walk out, then Tora waves goodbye to the young man she previously spoke to. "You guys have a good day now!"

"You too!"

The elevator doors close, then it rapidly ascends out of sight. The room everyone steps into isn't very big. The floor is a fluffy center carpet. You can't quite see the walls, though you can only assume they're the same color. The entire room is filled with black cased computers that vary in size. Some are even broken, or in the middle of being repaired. In front or beside the computers, are manuals and scattered pieces of paper.

To the far right is an undisturbed area that seems completely clean. There's an odd looking machine connected to what looks like a round helmet. In front of everyone, near the back wall, is a large desk with an opened black laptop in the center of its surface. There are many soda cans, food wrappings, and small ice cream buckets either on top, or under the desk.

Tora walks forward without stepping on any of the manuals or scattered papers, as if she knows exactly where they're at despite the mess. When she stops in front of the desk, she looks back at the trio. "Well, um...this is where I work. Again, excuse the mess."

"It's alright. Nothing we aren't used to," Jade replies softheartely.

"Oh, really? Wait, is that a good thing...?"

The odd machine instantly catches Lux's attention, he deliberately tramples over Tora's question as he uses his toned tool of an arm to emphasize its mysteriousness. "We don't give a shit about the mess. What the fuck is that thing? You buildin' an A.I or something?" Klaus rapidly nods his head four times, mirroring the verticality needing to use seesaw.

"Are you planning on dominating the world? Crushing it tightly with your own bloodstained hands? Are you? Answer us, sourceress!"

"'Ight, we were goin' somewhere, now we're backtrackin'," Lux responds. He and Klaus immediately stare each other down, warping what could have a simple conversation into a temporary verbal battle.

"I'm not moving backwards, Toned Titan."

"I ain't say you're movin' backwards, dipshit. I said back trackin'. Anyways, you didn't answer my question, four eyes. You got a hearin' problem?"

"Uh, no. Um..." Tora's anxiousness takes control of her body, rendering her ability to express her truth. Annoyed, Lux sneers at her, threatening her with his scarred features.

"C'mon, now. You sound like you're about to shit yourself every time you speak. Just spit it out."

"...It helps with my powers."

"Movin' plates with your hands? That's cool if you wanna threaten a rat or something."

"No. I don't really like talking about it. But, I don't mind telling you guys. Despite this morning, you really do seem like good peoples."

"That's your first mistake, but go ahead."

Tora inhales then exhales, mustering up the courage to speak. "I'm what you would call a telepath. Within a range I can permanently hear someone's thoughts whenever I want to among other things. Like with me moving the plate thing, I can also use telekinesis. Using all of my energy too much really makes my head feel like scrambled eggs, so when I need to communicate with one person or a group of people from really far away, I use my Mind Blower 1000."

The room is filled with silence that lasts five seconds. As soon as the unanimous  silence comes to an end, both Lux and Klaus burst into laughter. "Hey! What's so funny?!" Tora shouts, a wave of embarrassment washing over her.

"Mind Blower?" Lux asks, snickering. Klaus tags himself in, finishing his close friend's thought with ease.

"1000?"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Oh, that's some funny shit!"

"Did you name it that?" Jade asks with a titter accompanying her words. Tora simply lowers her head before sending a defeated nod her way.

"Yeah..."

Jade turns around to prevent Tora from seeing her laugh, a waste of time since it was still audible and accompanied by a combination of quick snorting. Lux and Klaus laugh harder when they hear Jade's snorting, which hasn't made an appearance in weeks. "Yo, Klaus! She's snortin' again! That shit is priceless!"

"S-Shut up! I'm not snorting!"

"Hey, yo, let me blow you real quick," Klaus says aloud, holding onto his punchline for at least three seconds. "But hold up, I gotta use my machine first!" Lux's laughter reaches an all time high. He holds onto his stomach as he hollers, almost feeling the need to fall on the floor.

"I can't breathe! Mind Blower 1000! Aw, man...I'm never letting this shit go."

"I like it. I thought it sounded cool..." Tora hesitantly replies.

"Ahem." Jade clears her throat, ensuring that any and all feelings of amusement have left her body. "So, Tora, when you say you're a telecommunications expert, how does that work with your powers?"

"Oh, um, I'll show y'all."

Tora walks over to the Mind Blower then sits in the small black cushioned seat. The top of the seat is connected with small gray tubes towards the helmet directly above it. She grabs the helmet and pulls it down so it covers her face. The trio can still see her mouth, however when she moves it, her voice sounds as if she's right next to them.

"H-Hello? Testing, testing, can y'all hear me?"

"Oh, shit. Is she talkin' to us?" Lux asks, thinking he's speaking to himself.

"I knew ants would have the power to speak to us telepathically. It was gonna happen eventually. Red is red and blue is blue..."

"We can hear your voice, but it sounds like it's in my head."

"It's because it is in your head, ya chickens! To be more technical, I isolate a very small communicational part of your brain, which in turn allows me to speak to y'all. I usually can't hear your other thoughts while I'm doing this though, it's gotta be separate. I can even bind the communication together, like a group call! My amped up powers work as a network if that makes any sense. Even the Blackcells are connected to me.

"Wow, that sounds complicated. I punch and yell and everything just blows up."

"Oh, that's, um..."

"Better than your shit?"

"No!"

"You can stop now, Tora."

Little bursts of steam blow out the tubes as Tora slowly pushes the helmet up. She hops off the seat then walks up to the trio. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Eh. Shit bores me already," Lux answers, casually placing his hands behind his head.

"Aw, what...?"

"I'm goin' back to the house, though. Probably gonna walk around or some shit. You down with that, Klaus?"

"I'll go with Agent Halcyon. He's been suspended, so this asshole's on watch. My watch."

"I'll stay with Tora. That's okay with you, right, babe?" Jade asks, moving a few pieces of paper to make space for herself before hopping onto the desk.

"Uh, yeah! Sure."

"Alright. You guys have fun, I guess."

As he and Klaus walk toward the elevator, Lux puts his arm around Klaus's neck, and then wrestle as they leave using the elevator. Tora walks over to her desk and sits in a small wheeled chair. She looks at Jade, who's smiling with a warm intimacy when they lock eyes. "So, tell me more about yourself, baby."

                                                                       ~ 

Back to Lux and Klaus, they leave the HQ, and sit on the stairs in front of the entrance. Lux, who's sitting a stair above Klaus, releases a sigh that indicates his relief and boredom.

"We get to work tomorrow. Got any ideas on what we should do 'til then?"

"Star gazing is nice."

"It's the start of the afternoon."

"That just means they're invisible."

"C'mon. We're gonna find somethin' to do."

"Roger that, Agent Halcyon."

"You say that shit again and I'm punchin' your throat."

With that, the duo begin to explore Atlacall, interacting with a few Abnormals and listening to their troubles. They also find small scraps of items they feel are useful, and luckily find lost cash. After some time, Lux suddenly feels a vibration. He reaches into his pocket and turns on his Blackcell. After he does, he sees a message notification from an unknown number. Lux taps the message, it opens and reads: "Ey, it's Jade. Seeing if this shit works. Also got Tora's number if you're interested."

"Now that I think about it you might as well send us the number probably gonna need to ask her somethin later."

"Alright see ya at the house when I'm done."

"Who dat?" Klaus inquiries while playfully fiddling with the streaks in his hair.

"J. Said she's about to fuck the shit out of Tora."

"Little do they know..."

"Heh, ain't our problem."

"Oh, shit! I've got it!"

"Hm?"

"What ever happened to that tall model lady you and Jade were talking to earlier?"

"That West lady? Forgot she even gave me her business card."

"We want some clothes, right? She could hook us up with somethin'."

Agreeing, Lux pulls out his Blackcell. "Gotta good point there. I'll call her and see what she wants," he continued, putting in and calling the number Tonya gave him. He hears a ring, then another. Suddenly, someone picks up and speaks in a happy and chipper tone.

"West Fashion Stop, this is Tonya speaking! How may I help you?"

"Yo, Tonya. It's Lux. You said to call you when we felt like meetin'."

"Ah, yes, the vulgar man! How are you, sweetie? You want to meet right now? I'm free!"

"Yeah, sure. Where are you right now?"

"I'm at my office of course! West Fashion Stop!"

"Yeah, I got that, but where the hell is it?"

"Ah! It's in the west district! Get it? Look for the red building with the letters WFS! You won't miss it! Can't wait to see you, ta, ta!"

Tonya suddenly hangs up, Lux turns off the Blackcell screen and puts it back into his pocket. "Woman nearly gave me a headache. Red building with WFS. Alright. Let's go see what this shit is about."

   - Altacall: West District -

Once they arrive in the west district, Lux and Klaus search around for the building Tonya described. After some time, they finally find it and step up to the entrance. It's a fairly sized, square, red brick building with the letters WFS on the front of it. Abnormals with all sorts of different types of fashion are walking in and out of the building with bags of clothes in their hands. "WFS. Think we found it."

"Wipe your feet before going inside, kids."

Lux shakes his head at Klaus' comment, then he enters through the automatic doors with Klaus following behind. The outside of the building does not compare to the size of the inside. In front of Lux and Klaus, is a long red carpet walkway leading towards a center point where it wears off into many different directions with far reaching ceiling lights leading the way.

              - West Fashion Stop -

- Malo Mart (Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)

There are uniquely large sections, all a fair distance from each other, each has a sign right before you walk into them to help customers know exactly where they are. Further back is a long escalator leading to another floor. They both step forward and glance around, taking in the vibrant colors and lighting of the interior. "Lotta red," Lux states bluntly.

"Red is red, and blue is blue. So where the hell is blue?"

"Dunno. Better question is, where the hell is this lady at?"

"Oh! There you are!" The voice from his earlier phone call greets them.

Lux and Klaus look to their right and see Tonya, or at least who they assume is Tonya. She's wearing completely different clothes than before, it's a tight black shirt covered by a half-top matching vest with a scarlett stained skirt. She has a white belt wrapped around her waist with grayish see through leggings along with long, black and crimson boots. She saunters up to them both happily waving hello. "I've been waiting for you!"

"You didn't exactly give us word for word directions, lady."

"Oh! I must apologize for that. Now, onto why you're here. I do love your vulgar attitude! That angered face, those amazing abs...that rah! I want you to become my new model!"

"...Man, fuck this."

Immediately after Lux turns to leave, Tonya grabs his shoulders. He continues to walk, completely ignoring her weak grip. "Wait! Don't leave! I just want to make a deal! I'll pay you!" She begs, the hell of her boots squealing across the floor.

The only thing to stop him in his tracks is when he hears the promise of money causing him to look back at Tonya with an invested look on his face. Releasing her grip on Lux's shoulders, their new friend fixes her hair and clothes and clears her throat. "Why didn't you say you'd pay us from the jump?"

"I'm very sorry. Can we start over?"

"Whatever. Say what you need to say."

"Ahem! Here's the deal, Mr. Lux. You and your friends- if you have any, buy clothes here at a discounted price- and I'll throw in a membership card too. In exchange, you'll come here and we'll do some shooting. You'll have plenty of brands and styles to choose from too!"

"That's it? I want to take my clothes off completely, then."

"Heavens! Erm, perhaps in other shoots. Anywho, do we have a deal?"

"I ain't leave, did I?"

"Excellent! Here's your membership card, Tonya exclaims, handing Lux a pink lamented card.

"What does this do?"

"Let the employees scan your card before you finish your purchase. Depending on how much and what exactly you get, you'll get lots of points! You can then redeem those points for free, exclusive items or newly imported items!"

"Wow. I have no idea what the hell that means," he replies with an emotionless look on his face.

"You're such a funny man, Mr. Lux! Why don't you go ahead and browse the men's section? If you see something you like, don't be afraid to try it on! Ta, ta now!" Tonya elegantly walks away as if she were a model on a runway. Lux turns to Klaus and shrugs.

"Guess we just get shit, then."

"Do you think a parrot would be a good accessory for one of my fits?"

"How in the hell is a bird gonna help you look good? It'll probably just shit on you or somethin'."

"And that'll be part of what I'm wearing. A price I'm willin' to pay, young sailor."

"Weirdo. I'll tell J about this later. Let's see if this place has shit for our taste."

Lux and Klaus spend the rest of the afternoon browsing, trying on, and purchasing clothing for themselves. After they're finished, they exit WFS with multiple bags in their hands, only to be greeted by the city lit night of Atlacall. "Goddamm. How long were we in there?" Lux inquiries, setting his sights past the glass layers of the dome.

"Two hours and five minutes."

"Damm, my head hurts. Let's get all this back to the house. I'm not doin' jackshit for the rest of the day."

After a long walk, the two finally return to Kenvale. Upon entering, Lux walks straight to his room without taking any detours. After he kicks his door to close it, he lobs all of his bags near the closet, sighs in exhaustion, then flops on his bed. Taking a moment, he wills his body to sit up, forcing himself off the bed, beginning to speak to himself as he scans around his room. "The hell am I gonna do 'til lights out?"

He decides it's best not to leave his newly purchased clothes stacked in front of his closet. After about thirty minutes of sorting and hanging them up, he takes a step back to look at his new filled closet space. It doesn't take too long for him to decide it's time for a change of clothes. The new set he's chosen consists of a small, crimson chain with a sunset shaded capital L connected to it.

For his top half, he's wearing a black t-shirt that exposes the tattoos on his arms and neck, with a large meteorite design at its center, along with black fingerless gloves. For his bottom half, he's wearing black joggers with a similar meteorite design as the t-shirt with no shoes or socks. Lux looks down at his new fit, contemplating whether or not he likes it. "Now this is more my speed," he confidently states aloud.

Lux's Blackcell vibrates, retrieving it from his pocket and pressing the phone button, he answers, immediately switching it to speaker to keep his hands free. "Yo."

"Hey. Me and Tora just got back a few minutes ago. She's sleeping now."

"You mess that up?"

"Don't ask questions, baby. Ruins the mystery."

"Heh. You're working fast. I'm gonna need to catch up."

"With me? Not a chance."

"You talkin' a lot of shit for knocking down easy prey."

"Wasn't anything easy about it. And she isn't a mark to me. I didn't call you to talk about that anyway."

"What do you want, then?"

"We got some food on the way back. Tora 'recommended' some movies to me. Said we've been missing out because of our time in the rig."

"There a point to you saying all this borin' shit?"

Jade sighs in annoyance. Lux knows she's rolling her eyes at the moment. "You annoy the shit out of me sometimes, you know that? I've found something even your big head might like. Since Tora and KK are knocked out, I figured we'd eat and watch it together. You in?"

"Yeah, I'm in."

"I'm already downstairs, so don't take a long time."

"Why don't you keep that same energy when I get down there."

"What's that, baby? I think you're breaking up. Guess you'll have to come down and say whatever you said to my face."

Lux hangs up, releasing a chuckle as he slides his Blackcell back in his pocket. He makes his way downstairs and into the lounging area where he spots Jade sitting on the couch wearing a black sports bra matched with navy blue shorts. She's comfortably leaned back, enjoying small batches of popcorn chicken from a bag. When she sees Lux, she motions her head upward in greeting. "Wassup," she says as she leans down to grab an obscured object.

When she hands it over, he sees it's a fast food bag. He opens the bag, taking in the smell of seasoning and meat as batches of tender strips are revealed inside.  "You like your tenders spicy, right? Told Tora to get that for you."

"Good looking out, J."

"Mhm."

"What is this shit about anyways?" Lux inquires, tossing the bulk of one of the tenders into his mouth as he glances up at the T.V.

"It's Return of the Draco Fist III. I know you like that series and missed the release."

"Fuck yeah. Stop teasing and play it."

Jade shakes her head. Her first reaction is to check the attitude she has to deal with every day, but ultimately decides against it. She picks up a small remote to her side. Pointing it at the TV as she presses the play button, the movie starts immediately. By the time half of the movie has gone by, Lux and Jade have finished eating and they've scattered their trash across the table.

Comfortably moving closer to Lux, she places her legs over his before laying her head on his arm. The movie finally finishes leaving Lux to make a disappointed face in response to the ending. "Man, that shit was trash! Why does everything gotta be so cheesy nowadays? Let the bad guy win or something to make it interestin'."

Noticing Jade hasn't responded, Lux looks over at her, only to see that she's fallen asleep in the comfort of his arms. "How are you gonna tell me to watch somethin' then go to sleep?" He questions with a sigh quickly following his words. Without saying another thing, he picks Jade up with ease carrying her to his room. Placing her down on the left side of the bed, he hears Klaus groan as he turns toward the middle of the bed.

"No, Manny. Don't touch me like that..."

Lux chuckles, then grabs his pack of cigarettes and lighter, making his own way back downstairs then out to the balcony area. As he leans against the edge, he pulls out a cigarette and lights it. While enjoying his smoke, he gazes into the distance, seeing all the dim lights of the city. "Yeah. Yeah, that shit could work," he says aloud, recalling all the action he's seen on the screen tonight. After he's finished, he returns to his room, lays down on the right side of his bed where he welcomes the sleep that overcomes him.