Reaching Salvation: Post-Acer Part 9

"Yo~" Neo said over to Luke and Kira. Giving them a wave.

Kira flinched when Neo appeared, waving a bit hesitantly at him once she recovered. "Um...hello..." she mumbled, trying her best not to stutter.

"Dun worry, not gonna harm ya," Neo said as he walked forwards and arms above his head. "Name's Neo. Neo Value. Also known as One Value to some."

"I...remember..." Kira mumbled, rocking back and forth on her heels nervously. "Kira...I'm Kira, a-and Luke..."

"Ah, right!" Neo said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Barely remember who I've met officially and haven't."

Kira nodded a bit awkwardly, vaguely remembering that Neo was friends with Heidi's team. Erika was on Heidi's team. "Um...do you know...where...Erika i-is? We need to...to talk to her..."

"Ah...uh..." Neo continued to rub the back of his head. "Erika's...kinda been...well, kidnapped. Joey, some girl, and her...cousins I think, went to go get her back. But, did ya need something? Maybe I can help in her place." Considering that we kinda are out of leaders...for the moment. Heidi's losing it, and Ade...well, I don't know where she is...

"you eat and sleep," Paul frowned, "That's not healthy at all."

Kira blinked, not quite sure how to deal with this. Erika had been kidnapped? She thought that this had been a fairly stable part of the world. Plus, she had been expecting to talk with Erika, and that's what she had mentally prepared for. She started panicking a little, her stuttering starting back up again. "I-I-I...u-um...I..."

---

"Gonna die young anyways," Heidi shrugged.

"Whoa-whoa...calm down please..." Neo said unsurely. One person having a panic attack was good enough for his life. "Just take a few deep breaths, collect yourself."

"Not necessarily," Paul frowned.

"But most likely," Heidi responded negatively.

---

Kira nodded rapidly, trying to calm herself and slowly succeeding.

"Nah, I'll keep you safe," Paul said cheerfully.

"Alright...alright..." Neo said, looking around. "When you're calm...let me know whatcha need."

Heidi's face flushed red for a moment, before it quickly disappeared. "...Yeah..."

Paul smiled at her. "So lets go see the tailor and get you a swim suit~"

OOC: In hindsight, I shoulda named her Taylor.

OOC:

---

"I'm starting to think that y'just want t' see me in a swim suit," Heidi muttered defensively.

"So, are you calm now?" Neo asked her. Starting to play some calming music in the air.

"You can wear a shirt over it if you want," Paul chuckled, "It's not like it even matters."

Kira was about to nod, until some strange music filled the air, seemingly coming from nowhere. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding onto Luke tightly.

---

Heidi rolled her eyes. "Or I could just not go in the water at all."

"Relax, relax, that's me making the noise..." Neo said, as the music suddenly stopped.

"You don't have to," Paul shrugged, "Plenty of other things to do."

"Like sleeping," Heidi agreed, turning to go back home.

Adeline sighed, impatiently watching the second hand of her watch tick away. Even though she couldn't really feel anything, it was very uncomfortable for her to move now, so she just stayed at home while her spirits did everything.
---
Kriska and Bryant were in the church, studying a small metal ball that appeared when one of the beads on the boy's bracelet shattered.
"…This is Sam's," Bryant said.
Kriska groaned, recognizing the ball. "Please don’t tell me it’s one of those laser things…"
The boy pulled a needle out of his pocket and looked through the eye, studying the ball. "Same design, but there’s a storage bead inside. It's low on battery, too…"

Paul stopped her. "You can sleep at night," Paul said, "Right now we're doing something together."