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It was time. It has been a few cycles since Sleeper had met up with Ethan. The snarky, unbearable bounty hunter hired by Essen-Arp to retrieve the escaped worker back to them. The sleeper remembered his remarkable ignorance, his sarcasm, and attitude. Sleeper wasn't happy at all with their meetup, but one thing they are glad for: They still have some time of stalling before Ethan takes them back to the company who created them.
With Ethan's agreement to let the sleeper stay on the station while they pay for his bar tabs, Sleeper was hopeful they could find a way to escape from him, either through leaving the station or letting Feng disable their tracker. But they haven't had the chance yet, and now, they hope they have enough money to pay for Ethan's bill.
The closer they got to the meeting place, the more anxious they felt. After all, Sleeper wasn't pleased with Ethan's bar of choice. Not because it was a bad place. Rather, it was the opposite. A familiar bar, where Sleeper knows the owner well. Kind, cheerful, sturdy and full of wit. Something inside their system told them that trouble was going to happen really soon once they entered the bar, and they could feel their anxiety grow minute by minute.
And there it was, in big, bold letters over the warmly-lit bar entrance: The Overlook.
The sleeper quietly walked through the doors, feeling themselves shrink by the fear of being spotted and threatened by Ethan at any moment. Normally, they would feel a sense of comfort on entering the Overlook for a work shift for Tala. But this time, they didn't come here for that.
With slow steps, Sleeper examined the bar, trying to look for Ethan. But they couldn't spot him. Was it possible that he left and forgot about them?
Looking around, Sleeper spotted the bar's counter, and Tala was busy serving drinks on the other side. She looked more tense than usual, and annoyed. But when she lifted her head up, she recognized the sleeper, and a huge, comforting smirk grew on her face.
"Sleeper!" Tala gasped joyfully, happy to see their friendly face. They didn't reply, but gave her a smile back.
But then right after, another voice teasingly called from the depths of the bar "Sleeper~!"
Sleeper turned around, their senses fully alert. Trying to find the source of the voice, they see a table on the back of the bar, lights barely hitting there, and a person in the darkness, with a smug grin staring back at the sleeper.
Ethan, that bastard…
"What are you doing standing there? C'mere~" Ethan called again, opening his arms as if he was welcoming Sleeper like an old friend. His fake response just made them feel more disgusted.
Sleeper glanced back at Tala, as if they were in debt of an explanation they couldn't give. She looked confused, astonished, distraught even. Then they awkwardly broke eye contact, the sleeper heading to Ethan's table to fulfill his agreement.
"Ah… good, good Sleeper…" Ethan slurred a little, they quickly noticing how wasted he was "You didn't forget about me…"
He lifts up a digital slate towards Sleeper, in which they reluctantly pick up.
"Do me a favor now…" Ethan said, not needing to finish telling his request "…Then come back here again."
His eyes were challenging, as if they were threatening them to not leave the bar unless they want to get in serious trouble. Sleeper nodded uncomfortably, and turned around with their head down, walking towards the counter, where Tala was watching them.
With slow, anxious steps, the sleeper reached the counter. Avoiding any kind of eye contact, they left the slate on top of it, in front of Tala. Then, they turned around, to look for chits inside their pockets, until Tala called in a whisper.
"Sleeper… what are you doing?"
Sleeper finally lifts their head to look at Tala. She had lowered down her body and was closer to the Sleeper, trying to keep her tone of voice down to not call any attention. Her bright eyes were glazed with worry.
"Tala…" Sleeper whispered, thinking desperately on how to ask her for help. But they were too scared of involving Tala in this conflict, so instead they only rolled their eyes in silence.
They took the chits out and laid them on the table. Tala stared at them, not moving at all.
"What is going on? Do you actually know this guy?" Tala hissed, the way she said "guy" sounding more like a disgusting remark.
"I just need to pay this… that's all…" Sleeper lied. Tala sure as hell wouldn't be happy to know they were paying the tab of a bounty hunter who would soon take them out of the station back to Essen-arp.
However, she didn't buy that response "No, you don't have to. In no way you have to." Tala shook her head in defiance. They both hear a loud call in the back.
"Hey, Sleeper! Are you done yet? Or did you come here just to waste my time?" Ethan loudly said, his words dragging through the air like smoke.
The sleeper turned back at him, startled. But when they turned to look back at Tala, her eyes were fixated on Ethan. Anger and disgust clearly written on her face.
Tala didn't think twice. She grabbed the slate, and jumped out of the counter, not touching any of the Sleeper's chits. She laid her hand on their shoulder.
"I'll handle this." She said in a whisper, with a sturdy voice. Her eyes were still looking at Ethan.
Sleeper grabbed their chits in a hurry, concern growing as the tension in the Overlook. Her facial expression was the same that they saw from her the moment they entered the bar.
Tala walked towards Ethan's table, Sleeper immediately followed her. They tried to call for her again to calm her down, but Tala ignored it.
When reaching the table, Ethan was distracted rotating a bottle, with his finger running through its rim. He only noticed Tala's approach when her shadow had covered him. He looks up at the tall bartender, now alert.
Tala puts the slate at the table harshly, the loud thud of the slate hitting the table echoing through the bar. It didn't startle Ethan, and he only looked at the slate.
"You have to pay for this." Tala said, her voice sturdy and intimidating.
Ethan didn't look scared. Instead, he rubbed his temples. "Oh dear Sleeper… what have you done this time…"
Ethan stood up, and looked straight at Tala, his cold-as-ice blue eyes piercing through her.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding, lady." He replied calmly, even letting out a smirk "Our friend here, Sleeper, was meant to pay for it. That's what we agreed on."
Tala's expression remained unchanged. Ethan's friendly acting didn't seem to be working. Sleeper wonders if Ethan had pissed off Tala before for her to be acting this way.
"I won't let them. They have no involvement with this. Pay the tab, and leave." Tala replied coldly. Her hands were now clenched in a fist. Things didn't seem to be going well.
Ethan's face roughened up, his mask of kindness falling from him. He stared at the sleeper with a threatening glare, and then looked back at Tala, with disgust.
"Do you know… who I am!?" Ethan spat "You should be GRATEFUL that I'm even here in this forsaken station in the FIRST place!" He raises a finger.
"You mean nothing to me as long as you keep disrespecting me and my customers." Tala didn't raise her tone, but kept her voice strong and determined.
"And YOU consider a sleeper like that one a CUSTOMER!?" Ethan burst out, pointing a finger towards Sleeper, who immediately felt the need to hide behind Tala "This piece of junk and metal, who has no rights in any system or colony, whose own existence in this station is illegal!?"
"Sleeper is my friend, not a piece of property you jerks think they are!" She lifts her arm to shield them behind her.
Ethan crossed his arms and let out a mischievous laugh. If Sleeper could feel "sick to the stomach", that would be how they're feeling at the moment.
"A friend? You consider this shell of a person a friend? Oh… that must explain why this entire place is falling apart…" He rubbed his forehead, wiping his sweat, then looked at Tala with a challenging look "Hah… don't worry, you won't miss them once I take them out of this shithole."
For a moment, you noticed Tala flinch and her expression change to worry. Ethan kept speaking, with a smug grin, now looking at the sleeper behind Tala.
"Oh, that was a really fun talk with your 'friend', Sleeper…" Ethan said sarcastically "...Now let's get over with this little game of yours and head home. Let's give our goodbyes, and go."
Ethan took a step further, but Tala stood on his way, without saying a word. Sleeper has never seen her as angry as she is now.
"...You don't seem to have understood what I said, have you?" Ethan said coldly and quietly, his face closer to Tala. People around were staring at the growing tension, and Sleeper held tight onto one of Tala's arms.
"Tala… please… stop…" The sleeper whispered in agony, anxiety growing, now worried for Tala's safety more than theirs. They directed their wary shiny eyes to the holster on Ethan's chest.
But Tala did not move, did not react.
Ethan took a step back in frustration, and started shouting, his loud voice being heard from the whole bar "YOU are the one who should FEAR me! You CAN'T HIDE them FOREVER!" He pointed his finger at Tala, threateningly "When Essen-Arp discovers that you are SHELTERING their property under your pathetic wings, YOU, WILL BE DEAD WHERE YOU'RE STAND–"
Ethan's outburst was immediately interrupted as a flash of movement sparked in front of Sleeper's eyes. They jumped back in surprise when they saw Tala charge and lay a heavy punch on Ethan's face, making him violently stumble back and almost trip. His trembling hands grasped onto another table before he could fall. His eyes were wide with shock and confusion. But slowly, flaring up with anger as he stared at Tala.
"I don't give a SHIT to who you are! You are not allowed here, and never will!" Tala for the first time raised her tone of voice towards Ethan. She walked towards him, picking him up by the collar of his shirt and lifting him up.
Ethan's face roughened up, likely due to pain. The area around his cheekbone was reddened, and was starting to swallow. But the bastard still managed to grin.
"...Oh, you don't take it easy, do ya?" Ethan teased with a scornful look. Sleeper saw Ethan slowly lifting up his hand towards his gun. Panic flooded them inside.
"Tala! Watch out!" Sleeper shouted, and before Ethan could take his gun, Tala threw him down to the floor, and tried to push the sleeper away from the conflict. Ethan flinched, startled, and Tala went down on him to immobilize him.
He tried his best to push Tala away and fight back, but she was far bigger and stronger than him, his pathetic stature no match for her. However, Tala accidentally let go of one of Ethan's arms, and he managed to quickly reach the holster on his chest.
"Shit, Tala!!" Sleeper called out, but Ethan had already reached his gun and was ready to take it out. This wasn't going well. In a desperate attempt to save Tala, the sleeper then ran towards the both of them, ready to push the gun away from Tala.
Then, Sleeper threw themselves towards Ethan's available arm, striking it with their body. He let out a painful grunt, and right after, Sleeper heard a sickening loud shot, and a startled gasp from Tala.
Silence after. Sleeper's eyes were closed tight, body sending warning signals from the impact of falling, expecting either them or Tala to be dead by now. But as they opened their eyes, they noticed they were laying on Ethan's arm, his hand and gun aimed to a wall, where the gun fired. It seems like the shot startled the rest of the bar, and some people started coming around to help take down Ethan, just like with the spacer the Sleeper encountered on the bar some cycles ago.
Some people shouted and helped Tala disarm Ethan. Someone had noticed the sleeper's weakened state, so they helped them get back up to lay them down softly on the floor against the counter, far from the commotion. The person started asking them questions, likely wanting to know if they're ok, and started looking for tears to treat. But Sleeper was too shocked and paralyzed to process anything. Their eyes frozen at the scene, worried for Tala, and for their life almost flashing through their eyes.
Tala and two more people managed to hold out Ethan and pick him up. Tala was sweating and tense, you could sense exhaustion coming from her. During this entire time, Ethan kept debating himself, shouting, with a ferocious look on his eyes.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FOREVER! I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL COME AND KILL ALL OF YOU!!"
They walked out of the bar and disappeared outside. A few seconds later, Tala and the other two people helping her came back. Tala closed the doors and this time made sure to lock them for a brief moment. The sleeper saw one of the people holding Ethan's gun, which they offered to Tala. But she held up a hand for them to hold on. She let out a heavy sigh, and turned her face to look at Sleeper. There was no disguise on her painful expression, clouded with worry and fear for them.
Sleeper stood up weakly, looking back at Tala, still feeling scared and vulnerable. They felt awful for having this guy at her bar. And it is now undeniable that Tala knew that Sleeper was on the hunt, running risk after risk while they stayed on the station. They didn't want her to worry that much.
But, still, they felt glad Tala was here. They felt glad Tala was ok, and that they both were still alive to watch another cycle go.
They both walked towards each other in silence, no words to say to one another, because what they witnessed was enough for words. Then, Sleeper let themselves fall towards Tala, and embrace her closely, as Tala lowered down to hug and physically comfort them. At that moment of silence, all they wanted was to just cry it all out.