Chapter Text
Wise looked slightly exasperated as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes in profound contemplation, before starting over again.
“Ok, so, like I said, a customer who has a membership card gets a 10% discount on rentals. So, you take 10% of the original value and SUBTRACT it from the total, the way you were doing it before, without subtracting, was basically giving customers a 90% discount instead. Make sense?”
Cissia slaps her own forehead, her snake tail swinging from side to side “Ohhh, duuuh! Of course! Noooow I get it, makes sense! Totally clicked in my brain now! Yep! Knowledge one hundred percent downloaded!” She makes two finger guns and winks at the manager
“…” He stares
“…” She stares back, stuck in that stupid finger-gun pose
“You don’t get it at all do you?” Wise’s face crunches up as he asks, like he’s afraid of the answer
Cissia closes her eyes and solemnly shakes her head “Not even a little, dude…”
He runs a hand down his face as he sighs.
Cissia, practically tasting the disapproval, takes him by the arm and drags him to the shelves, sputtering out an excuse “H-hey now, why focus so much on my shortcomings? Sure, maybe the complicated math stuff isn’t my forte, but check it out! Every single videotape carefully arranged in it's rightful place! Please, please, hold your applause…well ok you can applaud, but just a little.” She puts her hands on her hips with pride
Wise examines the tapes with a hand on his chin, nodding “huh… so you did, good job Ciss-… Why is the ‘Making of a Bangboo’ documentary in the horror section?”
She follows his eyes, catching the out of place technical tape along the gritty and gory horror thrillers “Oh, that? Well have you SEEN that tape? It shows the insides of the Bangboo! Those round balls of cuteness all opened up on a table, their logic cores exposed, their visors turned off and eerily blank, it’s awful! Look me in the eye and tell me that’s not the most horrifying thing you’ve seen?”
He shakes his head “I-I guess? But it’s still a documentary, you gotta follow what the label says… you didn’t do this with ALL the tapes right? Arranging them based on…vibes?”
“Not ALL of them” she offers a toothy, awkward smile “just…one or two…or three…maybe four… I mean it theoretically could be a lot more but at that point who’s counting amiright?”
“Oh God…” He rubs his temples, imagining the trouble he’ll have to go through finding which tapes are out of place and reorganization them.
“B-but customer satisfaction was through the roof today! Any time a customer asked for a recommendation I’d channel by inner Wise and give them exactly what they asked for!”
She adopts a straight posture, placing a single hand on her hip, with a closed eye smile, as she lowers her voice by a few octaves “Good afternoon, welcome to random play video rentals, how can I assist you today?
Oh a movie recommendation? As a cinephile, I’ll give only the top curated picks that perfectly match your taste. Don’t ask me about romance movies tho, I just don’t understand girls at all…”
“Was…was that supposed to be me? Please tell me you didn’t actually talk to customers like that?” Again, he’s almost afraid of the answer
She huffs, puffing out her cheeks “Course not! I’m a pubsec special consultant not an actress! I couldn’t keep that performance up all day, that was just a demonstration of how well I understand you, manager.”
He sighs in relief, his dignity may yet survive this day “Good…ok that’s good… so, what movies did you recommend, any come to mind?”
She places a hand on her chin, trying to recall a particular interaction, she snaps her fingers as she thinks of something “Oh Oh, there’s a really good one! So there were these two little kids who came in, maybe nine or ten at most, right?”
He nods “Sure, a lot of our clientele are kids and teenagers.”
She continues “Right! So they asked me to recommend a movie, something for kids you know? Apparently they were from one of the local orphanage and they wanted to have a movie night with the other kids”
“Mhm”
“So, I was thinking about what to give em, then I remembered how kids these days call things that are cool ‘peak’. You’ve probably heard it before right?”
“Sure…?”
“So, I instantly remembered a movie with that word in the title, which means it was probably made to appeal to the younger generation, and just like that, bam! Perfect recommendation, right on the dot!”
“A movie with peak in the title…” He narrows his eyes, thinking
“Uh…yeah…was about like a port or something?”
His eyes widen and his face pales, as he places a hand on one of the shelves to keep his balance, the other coming to tangle in his hair “You mean The Port Peak?! Y-you rented one of the most brutal horror movies of the decade to an orphanage full of kids!? O-oh God…”
She raises two hands in front of her, eyes widening slightly “Wha-! H-hold on, hold on! How was I suppose to know that? C-clearly it’s the movie makers that are at fault here for their false advertisement! T-try taking a deep breath manger! You’re gonna pop a blood vessel or something.”
He places a hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath his palm, taking deep breaths as he closes his eyes “You’re right…you’re right… I’m calm… totally cool. We’ll sort this out somehow…later”
She sighs in relief, looking off to the side “Man…who woulda thought taking care of a video store would be this stressful. I-I can still redeem myself tho right? Just say what you need and I’ll do it!”
Finished composing himself, Wise once again returns to an upright position, tho still a little shook “Uh, yeah, I need to pick up some tapes from my main supplier Travis, think you can help me carry some of the boxes?”
“Pfft, you kidding me? I’m a box carrying machine! Queen of the box carriers! Grand regent of the box carrying dimension! When someone on the precinct needs boxes taken to the evidence room, they know who to call” She points at herself with her thumb “This girl right here!”
He chuckles at her enthusiasm “Alright then, let’s get going.” He fetches the car keys from the employee room and heads to the back door, gesturing with his head for her to follow.
The ride over to meet Travis is fairly uneventful, with Wise focused on driving and Cissia too preoccupied singing along to the songs on the radio to start a conversation. She’s not a particularly good singer, a bit screechy and off key, but charming in the way she puts her heart into it.
Having picked up the boxes of tapes, they start loading them into the trunk of the van “So, you said the Travis guy’s the ‘main’ supplier? That mean you have multiple of em?”
Wise sets the box down with a slight groan of exertion “That’s right, Travis gets us the main stream stuff, the movies that came out recently. The more niche ones require a bit more digging around on the interknot for suppliers, but we’ve been doing this job for a while now, so we’re pretty well connected.”
She gives a low whistle “Sometimes I forget how competent you actually are, manager!”
He returns an awkward smile as the last box is secured in the car, reaching up and closing the trunk door with a thud “Uh…thanks, I think?”
She nods enthusiastically “You know, I think this calls for a celebration, whatddya say? Let’s get something to eat!”
“What are we celebrating exactly?” He glances at her sideways
“I dunno…the end of the week, i guess? The officers at NEPS always go out for drinks on Fridays, but I don’t really like the taste of alcohol so…grub it is!”
Wise places a hand on his chin “Hmm… you know what? Sure, why not, we’re already out and about anyways.” He takes his phone out and texts Belle, letting her know to order something, she replies saying she’ll order pizza for Billy and herself.
Cissia pumps her fist in the air “Aww yeah! Tasty food here we come! Oh and I’m choosing the restaurant this time, no more of that hot pot stuff from last time, this snake prefers NOT to suffer a heat stroke, leeeeet’s go!” She turns around and starts speed walking
Wise follows behind “We’re not taking the car?”
“Nah, with how much we’re gonna be stuffing ourselves it’s best to burn off as many calories as possible right now, besides, I know a short cut.”
He decides to just trust her as she takes them on a seemingly nonsensical path, till they find themselves in the mouth of a long dark alleyway. “Restaurant’s just across from here!” She starts walking into the dodgy looking alley with a bounce to her step
Despite himself, he decides to trust her call, stepping on, what he hopes is, a puddle of water. Just as they reach the middle of the passageway, their exit is blocked by two shifty looking men walking in their direction.
Wise’s eyes narrow, sensing danger, he grabs Cissia by the wrist, stopping the snake in her tracks. She looks down at his hand, then to his face “What’s up?”
He shakes his head as one of the individuals continue to walk in their direction, the other staying at the end of the alley, covering their exit “Come on, we’re going back, those guys look like bad news” He starts dragging her back where they came from, only to find the way blocked by a woman with the same dangerous aura about her. They’re surrounded.
He leans down to whisper to her “Push comes to shove, think you can take em?”
She loudly whispers back “Heck no! I don’t have my weapon, what am I supposed to do? Bite em? Just cuz I’m venomous doesn’t mean it’s easy to get close enough to bite!”
“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Cissia…”
“Aw shucks that’s so nice of you, doesn’t change the fact it’s three on one AND I’d have to protect you on top of that, unless you suddenly gained the ability to summon a stand or something?”
He clicks his tongue, the man only a few steps away, while the woman stays put, silently watching them “alright just… follow my lead.” His green eyes shift to blue for just a moment, before turning back to normal.
“A-ahem, good evening gentlemen, what can we do for you?” He forces a smile
The man is much larger from up close like this, easily more than a head taller than Wise and biceps the size of his whole torso. He smiles back, full of malice “Oh I’m thinking there’s plenty you and your little girlfriend can do for my mates and me” He steps closer, towering over the manager, before continuing
“See, we’re kinda running low on Dennies, so, what do you think about letting us borrow some of yours?” He puts a hand on the proxies shoulder, the other in the air, palm faced upwards as he makes a beckoning motion with his fingers “come on now, don’t be shy, let’s see that wallet.”
Cissia purses her lips, watching the interaction, she wants to trust that Wise has a plan, but she doesn’t want to see him hurt…
Wise starts to reach into his pocket, when Cissia speaks up “D-do you even know who you’re talking to!? Both Wise and the man turn their heads to look at her, one with shock and the other with contempt “I’m captain Zhu Yuan of New Eridu’s Public Security and you’re under arrest!”
The man says nothing, instead turning to face her, his face unreadable “you…you’re an officer?” She nods “N-not just an officer, the captain herself! So you better watch yourself, pal!”
He scoffs, taking a step closer, as she takes a step back “Funny… you look a bit different from the commercials…” if she wasn’t already cold blooded, it would have turned cold at those words “I… I had p-plastic surgery! A-and I dyed my hair! A-and it’s actually really rude to judge someone by their appearance you know?!”
As he’s about to take another step forward, Wise puts a hand on his shoulder “Sir, please, forgive my-“ the man doesn’t let him finish, aggressively shrugging him off and turning around with fury in his eyes “Who the fuck said you could touch me!?” He raises a fist, ready to drive it down on the grey haired man’s face.
Only for a blur of yellow to take advantage of his back being turned, jumping up on the assailants back like she wants a piggy back ride and ACTUALLY sinking her teeth into his neck.
The man cries out in pain, struggling to reach behind himself, he opts to instead slam his back into the wall, but the snake slithers herself away just in time, landing hard on her feet. The proxy rushes to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder and pulling her away from the now discombobulated robber
The man takes little time to recover, facing them with killing intent as he points at the two with the hand not occupied with pressing down on his neck “I just wanted your money, but now? You’re both fucking DEAD!” He spits out.
“W-Wise? What now?” Cissia nervously glances to the side.
“You’ve done enough, Cissia. Now? Just watch the show…” amidst all the chaos, the woman on the entrance to the alley falls to the ground, red eyes seemingly glowing in the darkness where she once stood.
On the opposite end, the same thing happens, the man standing guard falls unceremoniously, a red glow coming from where he once stood.
The two new arrivals begin walking forward simultaneously, sizing up the large guy opposite to Cissia and Wise, they acknowledge each other’s presence without looking
“Ms. Banshee.”
“Ms. Trigger.”
“Same team today?” She turns her rifle’s safety off
Vivian nods “Today.” And readies her umbrella.
Vivian dusts her hands off as the three would be robbers lay unconscious in a neat pile, joining Wise, Trigger and Cissia at the alley entrance
She turns back to glare at the unconscious three as she says “A shame they went down so quickly, they deserve far worse for daring to attack lord Phaeton.”
“Don’t worry Vivian, i think they got the message. Anyways, I truly can’t thank you two enough, I was worried my message wouldn’t reach you in time”
Trigger shakes her head, visor turning pink “It’s nothing proxy, just glad we got here when we did”
“That was some crazy response time! Not even NEPS can dispatch units that quick, how did you two get here so fast?” Cissia asks, pleasantly surprised.
“Um… we…we were in the area when Wise texted…” Trigger gingerly explains.
“Huh… but wait, how did you know they were the closest agents available, Wise?”
The proxy gives a gentle, knowing smile “Trigger and Vivian always seem to be just a few minutes away, I knew I could count on them.”
Vivian clears her throat “W-Well then, if the situation has been resolved I should make myself scarce before the police show.” Giving a short bow “Lord Phaeton, Ms. Cissia.” She begins taking her leave, but turns around appraising Cissia’s form “…you did a good thing today, protecting lord Phaeton, I shan’t forget this.” And just like that, she disappears into the night.
“A-ah yes, I should get going as well. Captain’s gonna start wondering where I am soon, g-goodbye Wise, Cissia.” Trigger quickly adds, before walking away.
“Did I say something wrong?” Cissia asks a little confused, she then blinks a few times, squinting at the direction the two just walked towards “Also, how did they know my name?”
Wise places a hand on her shoulder, smiling awkwardly “Err… best not to think too hard about it. Why don’t we get going to that restaurant you were talking about, it’s getting late.”
The thought of food seems to be enough of an incentive to forget about the odd behavior of the two women “Oh right! Let’s go already, that guy’s neck was not tasty at all let me tell you-“ as she takes a step forward, she winces, crouching down and gripping her ankle. “O-oweee!”
Wise crouches down next to her, concern evident on his face “Are you ok?
Cissia shakes her head, tears prickling the corner of her eyes “N-no… my ankle hurts.”
Wise sighs, eyebrows furrowing “You probably sprained it when you dismounted the guy, you couldn’t notice it until now cuz of the adrenaline. We need to get some ice on it, I think we’re gonna have to cut our outing short…”
Cissia looks downcast, so Wise quickly adds “I’ll tell Belle to save us some pizza slices.” She nods in response, still a little gloom.“ok…”
He helps her to her feet, placing her arm around his shoulder “C’mon, you can lean on me for support.” She’s close enough that, even without her enhanced thiren senses, she can easily smell his cologne.
They begin trekking their way back, and it takes little time for Wise to notice how quiet the yapping machine called Cissia is “Everything alright? You’re kinda quiet, does it hurt that bad? You can lean harder on me if that’s the case.”
She shakes her head, hopping along “No, it doesn’t hurt that much… I just really wanted to go out with you. I never get to do this kind of stuff.”
“I thought you said you and the other officers go out every Friday?”
“They do… I never really get invited”
Wise looks to the side, seeing her downtrodden face, he quietly asks “why?”
She sighs, looking down “The people at the office… they don’t really like me, I dunno why, maybe it’s cuz they think I’m lazy or stupid or something, or cause of my criminal record, or cuz I’m working directly under the Demon Lo-, I mean, Commissioner Severian. Anytime I try to help out they just give me a stack of boxes and tell me to take it to the evidence room.
A-And when Friday comes around they leave before I get a chance to ask if I can join, or they just pretend like they can’t see me, maybe they don’t think I have money?
Not even captain Zhu Yuan seems too fond of me, and she’s friendly with everyone on the force. I thought things would be different when I got offered this job, I thought that people would finally like me now that I’m one of the good guys… but things are the exact same they were back in the Outer Ring, it’s like, super depressing”
They make their way towards the van, he leans Cissia against the car and opens the door for her, helping the thiren onto the passenger seat, as she continues
“I feel like I’ve been busting my butt off, but it never seems to work out for me, I always fall short, even with you and Belle, any time I try to help l just fumble the bag, in the store and in fights, I dunno what to do anymore
You’re smart, right Wise? So, what do you think? Shouldn’t things work out if I’m trying my best? Why does it keep getting worse? Is hard work not rewarded?” She looks down at her feet, dangling outside the open door to the passenger seat
She feels a weight on her head, looking up to find Wise leaning down to be at eye level with her, his hand caressing her hair. “I can’t speak to whether or not your hard work will be rewarded, Cissia, sometimes life just… doesn’t work out that way, you can try your damndest and nothing comes it. But what I can tell you is this:
I’m proud of you.
You’ve come really far in the time I’ve known you, and your efforts don’t go unnoticed. It doesn’t matter if you mess up sometimes, we all do, having the strength to take it in stride and keep going Is what truly matters, and in that regard, you’re a real champion, Cissia”
She sniffles, still maintaining furious eye contact with the ground, Wise starts to remove his hand, but she grabs his wrist and puts it back on her head “C-can you say it again? That you’re proud of me?”
He sighs with a smile, stroking her hair “I’m really proud of you, Cissia.”
“Heh heh… you know I don’t even think my ankle hurts all that much anymore!”
“Oh really? Then I guess we won’t have to stop for ice cream, if it doesn’t hurt anymore”
She winces theatrically and holds her ankle “Oh god oh no the pain is back! I must have been confused! Oh it hurts so much!”
Wise chuckles,closing the door to the passenger seat and heading for the drivers side. Heading to random play, they stop on the way for ice cream