Operation story: CB-8

Operation

Story

Previous CB-7	Next CB-ST2
Characters
Bison Croissant Exusiai Mostima Sora Texas ??? Emperor Yith Rat King Lungmenite?
Backgrounds
1 2 3

Before operation

“

Exusiai and Mostima are reunited, but the good times don't last long as Mostima quickly bids her farewell and leaves. Exusiai, Bison, as well as Texas and her group face a new crisis.

”

<Background 1>
Mostima	Is everybody okay?
Bison	Y– yeah. The whole building is gone... what in the world was that...?
Mostima	How about you? You just passed straight through the center of an active Art, it's pretty wild in there. Pfft, I just noticed, why did you cut your hair short?
Exusiai	Did you just laugh at me?
Mostima	Our heads are full of sand. Even short hair needs tender love and care.
Exusiai	I'm fine. Thank you.
Mostima	Thank you? It's like we're strangers now.
Exusiai	Or it's like I know basic manners.
Mostima	Heh. Yeah, I guess that's true. Maybe if you weren't always sleeping during work, playing rock music outside the church, getting the Notarial Hall to chase you three blocks, until your old school you accidentally blew up unfurls a big banner the day you leave Laterano, "Good luck in Lungmen, Exusiai!"
Exusiai	Oh? Are we up to the part of our reunion where we pick away at old scars? Okay, my turn.
Mostima	By all means.
Exusiai	...Nope. Come to think of it, I don't actually know any dirt on you!
Mostima	Good girls shouldn't know too much.
Exusiai	You playing my big sister now?!
Mostima	Yeah, pretty much.
Bison	...... (These two seem to get along well. Is it because they're both from Laterano?) (And someone can actually talk over Exusiai...)
Exusiai	Um... Mostima. I've got a little question I need to ask. A teensy weensy tiny little question.
Mostima	Yes?
Exusiai	Why did you come back now?
Mostima	Oh, well, lots of reasons. How can I explain it. First, for work. Second, Sauin means lots of sales in Lungmen. Things get pretty exciting.
Exusiai	...all those Sauins we had no idea where you were, you decide to come back this year?
Mostima	Let's get to what you're really asking.
Exusiai	*Sigh*... if you know what it is then just tell me already.
Mostima	Heh. It's nice to see you all twisted up at a loss for words. Brings back memories. And it's probably not right to get into all this stuff in front of our guest.
Bison	Oh... Don't worry about me. I'll hang back here. You two can say what you need to.
Mostima	That's no good. There's still a chance we're being followed.
Exusiai	Hey! Don't use Bison as an excuse, you crafty witch!
Mostima	We should meet up with Texas and the girls first. Who knows how many scary mobsters have eyes on us now. Are you always getting into this much trouble when I'm not around?
Exusiai	I wouldn't say always. Maybe four days a week? Four or five? Or six or seven or eight?
Mostima	...Right. Definitely not always.
Exusiai	What about you? Where did you go? You know, when I saw the boss back there, he told me you already left Lungmen. You know how that made me feel?
Mostima	All kinds of places. Too many to name. Down to a tiny village nobody's ever heard of to pick up a letter and then go hiking through a mountain range to chase after a nomadic city. That kind of thing.
Exusiai	Sounds lonely.
Mostima	But maybe my travelogue will sell well.
Bison	Have you been to every country, Mostima?
Mostima	Most of them. You jealous?
Bison	...a little. Most Messengers don't get to do things like that.
Mostima	You'll get a chance. But don't count on Penguin Logistics. We don't really use common sense.
Bison	Yeah, I'm well aware by now...
Mostima	Sitting in a truck in the middle of the endless desert, staring at the setting sun through the yellow sand... It sounds romantic, but when that romance stretches into hundreds of hours, it starts to wear thin.
Exusiai	I've never seen a yellow sand sunset, but don't you think it's pretty dusty out here today? Lungmen's air quality has really dropped in the past few years. They need to add some more air purifiers!
Mostima	Air quality...? Maybe. Exusiai, Bison, I hate to do this, but you two go on...
Bison & Exusiai	Again?
Mostima	Come on. Don't you think I control my entrances and exits very well?
Exusiai	...Are you serious? It's just a few hours for you, but for me... Fine, Mostima! But you better buy me dinner! Really!
Mostima	I know. I know. Whew. What a night.
<Background fades out and in>
Bison	Can we just leave Mostima by herself like that?
Exusiai	Who's leaving her? Even if we didn't let her go, she would just disappear at some point.
Bison	...are you upset?
Exusiai	Aaaah! Let's go find Texas already! We'll talk about this another time!
<Background 2>
Texas	For Exusiai to go missing at a time like this...
Croissant	Um, are we in trouble here?
Texas	We're surrounded. An ambush right in the slums.
Croissant	Are these fellers with them mafia boys? They look different.
Sora	No, I recognize some faces. These are all local Lungmen people.
Lungmenite?	— Dai Lo says to teach them a lesson.
<Background 1>
Exusiai	Um? Umm... aren't we looking for Texas? What's going on? Why are these guys surrounding us all of a sudden?
Lungmenite?	...isn't it you who busted in here?
Bison	See! It's just you wandering around without asking for directions!
Lungmenite?	I'm afraid we can't let you leave.
Bison	I'm sorry?
Exusiai	Well, you're a Forte, and you've got a shield...
Bison	Huh?
Exusiai	We do it the usual, Me-and-Croissant Style. You clear a path, I'll bring up the rear, but there's no completion bonus this time. Yeehaw!

After operation

“

Yith is being watched by a certain Liberi, and Mostima had already known about the existence of the Rat King. The reunited Penguin Logistics receive a call from Emperor and head towards the scene of the party.

”

<Background 3>
11:45 PM \ Cloudy Downtown Lungmen, Cafe Al Fresco
Yith	A pleasant aroma To enjoy such a lovely al fresco cafe, with a sandwich, by candlelight, as the people go by, with the fragrance of sweet candy, It would be a truly relaxing experience were it not for this young lady staring daggers into me.
???	...I just happened to be walking by. But that thing you have in your hand isn't the kind of thing that can be explained by happenstance.
Yith	I have explained. Mostima is acting in her capacity as an employee of Penguin Logistics, and I am helping her guard the staff in her absence.
???	You think I'm going to let some freak who talks to her staff off the hook?
Yith	F– freak...? Let's just pretend you didn't see that.
???	......
Yith	She will be fine.
???	I'm not worried about her.
Yith	Nor will she make trouble.
???	...I hope you're right.
Yith	......
???	......
Yith	...... (Perhaps I should just stay in the hotel.)
<Background 2>
Mostima	Oh, here you are. What was that back there?
Rat King	Just a flight of whimsy.
Mostima	Your whimsy might have been a little too powerful. You knew Penguin Logistics was there, didn't you? And as old as you are, you probably shouldn't exert yourself like that. You're not looking to cut it short, are you?
Rat King	Just how much of my power do you think I expended?
Mostima	...right. Well how about you take your murderous aura down a notch? I've had just about all the ominous energy I can take. So what happened?
Rat King	I may have underestimated the vigilance of the youth. Lungmen's young people never fail to impress me. It is nothing major, but a few out of control puppets have injured a remarkably dedicated finball master. That is all.
Mostima	"That is all?" I think you need to work on your expressions before you go saying things like that.
Rat King	The one who always smiles never truly smiles. Compared to you, I am very relaxed.
Mostima	Isn't this something you planned for? Like, in order to prevent this conflict between Penguin Logistics and the mob from turning sour, you went looking for an excuse to punish them? Something like that?
Rat King	Look at you, girl. It's such a waste to have you scrounging around with that penguin.
Mostima	I'll take that as a compliment.
Rat King	...But I did not permit them to go trampling the slums. I would never permit that. I have reached the end of my patience for their constant oversteps, and yet they still continue to disregard the rules. I had assumed that if they maintained even a faint connection to Siracusa, they might be of some miniscule, interesting benefit to Lungmen... I am very disappointed.
Mostima	Wait a second... why are you telling me all of this? This isn't like a "reveal your whole plan before killing me to keep your secrets" sort of thing, is it?
Rat King	Old people need to complain.
Mostima	Oh yeah? Then I'll just treat it like a Sauin Carnival. I didn't hear a word you just said. The more trouble the mafia stirs up, the bigger the balance I'm due on the other side.
Rat King	And after you have that money?
Mostima	The first thing I'll do is buy that candy shop.
Rat King	Heh. You really are attached. Fine. Aside from the cellar, everything else is yours.
Mostima	There's a cellar...? Can't you try to protect my sweet memories, even a little bit?
Rat King	It's my shop.
Mostima	That's too bad. I really thought you'd retire as something more like a grocer.
Rat King	Maybe. If I'm still alive by the time I retire. Time grows short. The Carnival is about to begin. The players in this show are already in position.
Mostima	You're not watching from the sidelines anymore?
Rat King	...the scenery here is lovely, isn't it? Sauin is all about honoring the dead. And Lungmen is our city, after all. When the living enjoy their lively carousing, only then may the souls of the dead depart without regret. And if we have a rat with one foot in a coffin, unless it moves, one might mistake it for a deceased soul ready to depart.
Mostima	How are we supposed to do "lively carousing?"
Rat King	Just like this.
Mostima	Oh... I see. Then this Sauin's expenses must be pretty high. Wasteful, even.
Rat King	Smart girl.
Mostima	Otherwise, Chief Wei would've come after you a long time ago.
Rat King	Let's not speak of such matters. I certainly don't want to talk to the LGD again. So annoying. But the key to a good show is when the actors foot the bill themselves.
<Background 1>
Bison	*Pant* *pant* Are those guys mobsters too? How much farther do we have to run?
Exusiai	Definitely not. They might be some of those thugs we ran into before. There's too many of them. Don't want to think about it. Just run. We can lose them.
Bison	But I just saw a guy running at us with a rolling pin...
Exusiai	That's how these fights usually go. You don't come to the slums often? Sometimes they end up rolling some blood or teeth into the dough, and then a customer gets all pissed off when he bites into somebody else's tooth.
Bison	I really didn't need such a detailed explanation. ...Have you known Mostima for a long time?
Exusiai	You're getting pretty friendly with me now.
Bison	Mostima said she was testing me...
Exusiai	Oh? I never heard about that.
Bison	...I guess I didn't either.
Exusiai	Why do you look up to her so much? It's really different from the way you treat the rest of us.
Bison	She's kind of like... everything I ever hoped to be as a Messenger. She's done everything I ever hoped to do. ...I really envy her. Even though I don't really get what's going on in her head.
Exusiai	That's how it goes. I chased her from Laterano to Lungmen, then I met the boss, and all the way up to today, I still don't know what's going on in her head. I've since given up. It's easier to just wait until she pops up right behind me.
Bison	Don't be so gloomy... Wait, did you say from Laterano to Lungmen?
Exusiai	Uh huh. You caught that, did you? Don't give me that look. I'm just as good as Mostima. Maybe she's a little bit ahead, but...
Bison	No, it really doesn't matter to me. We should focus on meeting up with Texas.
Exusiai	Hrm.
<Background fades out and in>
[Texas knocks out a Lungmenite who stands in her way.]
Texas	Hm.
Croissant	Wasn't that a little too hard?
Sora	That's justified self-defense. Don't sweat it.
Exusiai	Hey! Texas~
Texas	You're okay. But where's Mostima?
Exusiai	Do you really have to ask? She Mostima'd.
Texas	Oh. Sorry.
Exusiai	What are you sorry about? And what are you all looking at me for?
Sora	Ahaha... Mostima came back. We'll see her again sooner or later. But first, we should probably deal with these new bad guys...
Croissant	So what's this all about? Some kinda revenge for us bein' too rowdy?
Exusiai	Maybe.
Bison	Maybe?! Are the slums always this violent?!
Croissant	Can't make friends if you don't throw down. Talkin' with yer fists is the oldest form of communication!
[Texas receives an incoming call on her phone.]
Texas	Got a call. It's the boss.
Emperor	What's crackin'? You ladies havin' fun? Feel like you're missing something? No? Good. Listen up.
Bison	Mr. Emperor... did you happen to buy a lot of insurance?
Emperor	There's a big Carnival Gala down on Luk Low Street for Sauin tonight. They got some no-name marketing thing going on. But I decided I'm gonna make an appearance there as your big time rap god. We'll bring some fire beats to Lungmen. They break down in tears, and bow down all nice and tidy. As for you, you're gonna watch my back. Then you scoop up all these wannabes chasin' us in one fell swoop. Got it? Got it. Good. Make it happen.
[Emperor ends the call.]
Texas	...He hung up.
Croissant	Feels like deja vu all over again.
Sora	So I guess we have to go to that party thing too?
Exusiai	Yep. Let's hit the road!