620/INTRO: The Concert That Wasn't ft. Red and Johnny

INTRO: The Concert That Wasn't ft. Red and Johnny
Date of Scene:	19 September 2014
Location:	Mojave Wasteland (NewVegas)
Synopsis:	Swank learns a bit about booking random acts from the Multiverse, and Red gets a chance to shine!
Cast of Characters:	2, 32, Wuyin Tsai, 550, 572

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Courier Six (32) has posed:
    The place is The Tops casino, and for certain all the people coming in from the Multiverse to catch this show are getting the Full Ritz treatment from the Strip. Red's got top, primary booking on the signs outside the Casino tonight as well, and the crowds are bustling at the doors. People gambling, people drinking, people all having a good time leading up to the cencert upstairs in the hottest spot in town!

    Well, at least that's what's going on out front.

    In a dark corner of the Ace's concert room, a panicked Swank and an exasperated Johnny are locked in a heated conversation over... something. Good thing there's a cowboy with a melodious singing voice up on stage as the opening act for the evening!

     (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQgHT8g7CPw)

    The room isn't quite packed though, so there's still some good seats available.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
Wuyin had a long talk about what the deal with New Vegas was. Despite the condition of the wasteland around it, he found himself pretty intrigued by the prospect of a surviving city in a world that's been as ruined as this one. It might provide some insights into what things would be like in his world, should he fail at... whatever it is he's supposed to be doing.

It's a sobering thought.

Fortunately, there's a bar /right there/.

Wuyin, bottle of something old and dusty in his hand, sits in one of the better spots in the room and scopes out the crowd. He's not quite as ragged as everyone else, wearing his now-dirtied hoodie and inexplicably clean 3D glasses, and sitting with the front two feet on the surprisingly durable chair off the ground.

He feels a little ill. Wuyin is pretty sure it isn't the liquor; it isn't radioactive enough to bother him immediately. Something about this place...

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    It is pure luck that Homura is here tonight. She's not a casino person; or even, a bar person. She's actually more quiet, reserved, doesn't drink, smoke, and definitely wouldn't gamble. If there was an antithesis to her existence-- well, okay, there is, and she's annoying and has blue hair-- it would probably resemble a casino. But she's actually here for some coursework or another. Social studies. She could've gone a handful of other places, but went with New Vegas due to its general ads campaigns and the fact Courier Six is someone she has run into at least once, even if it was insanely brief.

    That is why there is a sixteen year old in a casino right now, although her Union ID would assure people she can be let in, without stating a specific age. Seems that rather than ordering anything to eat or drink she's just scribbling things in a notebook though. Observing, mostly uninterestedly.

    She'd bother the Courier but he seems quite busy right this moment.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    The Drifter's voice is still carrying as the crowds start to funnel in, but...
    Those of above average Perception will start ot her the conversation from Swank as he stalks over towards the bar itself, Johnny trying to calm him down.

    "What am I gonna fuckin' do, John? I booked her, I booked her off her stuff! Her album was awesome! Fantastic! We pay to get her out here, we pay EVERYTHING." A panicked look. "The dame can't SING Johnny!"
    The Courier rubs at his face and shuffles past the bartender to grab... well, that's a whole bottle of whiskey. "Please clam down, son, and talk through it. What do you mean, I listened to the tape, she sounds fantastic."

    Swank hops on the balls of his feet and grunts through his teeth. "She ain't talking backstage though, just... hummin'!"

    The Drifter closes up his song to thunderous applause from the crowd. Onstage in 5, Miss Red!

Red (572) has posed:
    "Your name in lights, the whole deal.. shame about.. well. Everything else. Sorry, Red"

The sword leaning against the dressing room's only piece of furniture, a dresser and mirror, speaks aloud. The redheaded woman sitting in front of it seems to be lost in thought, looking at her reflection. His voice snaps her out of it, and she gives the glowing, circuit-like weapon a look. It's a sad sort, but he's seen it a couple times, already. It's not your fault. She sighs, and stands, taking the sword in hand, tugging the jacket she's wearing a little more snugly against her shoulders.

"Yeah, I.. guess we should go and set the record straight, huh? Seems a shame. Nice place and all. It's no Empty Set, but."

More silence. That seems to be the only reply he gets, nowadays. He can feel what she's trying to say, at least. And with that she walks out onto the stage from behind the curtains.. and hops off, walking over to where Johnny and Swank are standing.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    That conversation sure is heating up.
    A missing singer?
    No, that's not it. A singer who lost her voice?
    Maybe she's just quiet. Saving her voice.

    Oh, well, it's none of Homura's business. She's not so close a friend with Courier she could justify just walking up to him and saying she was eavesdropping-- from across the damn place, granted, with how loud they're being, but that's not the point! A trait she could probably use to pick up from Psyber, stuffing her nose into things without thinking. Or shame. Or recognition of boundaries.

    That's going straight into the notebook though.

    An idle glance is given to Red-- and her sword, and they hop off the stage and head for the Courier. Is that an Abstractum? No, hang on, that looks different. Similar, but also not. What kind of singer hauls a big blade around though? She might just have to be impolite and nose in, now.

    Well, another minute of just listening can't hurt either.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
Applause. An excellent show, as far as live ones in wastelands go. Wuyin supposes that it's a human thing that music continues to be such an important part of peoples' lives.

Being nosy is another one. He gets a snippet of the yelling backstage from his seat, tilting his head in that direction. "Huh." He looks thataway, straining to listen. He gets the impression something is wrong, but not precisely what. It might become relevant in a minute.

The fact that there's a kid in here is something /else/ that strikes him as weird... but since Homura doesn't seem to be a local, he assumes she's from elsewhere, just like he is. Looks familiar, too...

He shrugs a little and takes another pull on the bottle. It doesn't help the vague discomfort.

Eric Bane (550) has posed:
    Eric Bane's wandering the Multiverse again. He's managed to end up in New Vegas, it seems, for whatever it is that's going on here. Which brings a question to mind-- what /is/ going on? He arrived a little late for the entertainment, it seems. At least he's left his hood down, so his face can be seen, piercing blue-white eyes and all....

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Swank blinks a bit at the redhead and looks panicked between Johnny and Red and grumbles. "Ain't you supposed to be on stage, Miss Red? I... ugh." The man adjusts his tie like it's a noose, trying to suck down air. Not good not good. Those crowds outside are going to kill him.

    Johnny, for his part, seems to be taking this much better. He smiles charmingly at Red, and tips his hat. "Well, welcome to the Mojave, Miss Red. Sorry for Swanks... ah, panicking, he's usually not like this. Big crowds of drunk people make him nervous." Those eyes do narrow a bit though, as he catches sight of Akemi in the background. Well. Okay, if there is a riot, she can help, at least. Probably a few more around if she's here.

    He holds out his hand to Red, and chuckles. "Johnny Tallbranch, I'm the operations guy for Vegas. And it /is/ almost time for your act."

Red (572) has posed:
    To emphasize, Red shakes her head, then mouths a few words.. or tries to, and fails. It's clear that if she could, some sound might be coming out. She does, however, grunt a bit and clutch the sword she's carrying to her chest a bit. Then the thing decides to chime in.

"Any other time, Red would light that stage up. Right now, though, she can't really help. Not sure where you were doing your homework, but ah.. Red's missing something important that she'd need to put on a show." The weapon's red 'eye' flickers in time with the male voice coming out of it.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    The most likely scenario is that Wuyin might remember Homura from the WMAT. Put on a bit of a show winning the B bracket, though she hardly looks like anything but an underage schoolgirl in a casino right now. Then again, the amount of people he must know who look like nothing and turn out to be superpowered god children must be surprisingly high.

    Right, well, enough listening.

    'sides, her homework's done.

    Homura closes her notebook; she puts her pencil in a pocket and the notebook shimmers out of existence with dull purple light, off to go hang out with an arbitrary amount of guns. She gets up, making her way to Courier and settling somewhere either to his side or roughly behind him. Her glance falls on the sword, then on Red, trying not to be impolite about staring.

    "Voice problem? Cool sword, by the way."
    Nobody ever got anywhere standing back and being shy.
    'sides, she's curious.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
Could be it. WMAT is pretty big. It'd be strange if he missed it.

He takes another couple drinks, fighting the odd feeling he's had this whole time. He gets up, puts the nearly-emptied bottle down, looks around, and sighs inwardly. Is it going to be up to a couple random people to get the show back on the road?

He's more-or-less suddenly looming off to the side, peering into the dressing room in a sidelong fashion. "Something we can get you," he asks, "or did we come to the wrong place on the wrong night?"

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny sighs a bit and scratches at his hair, watching Red and Swank and the crowd, who are starting to notice that... yes, in fact, the main act is down at the bar with the guy who runs the hotel and the guy who runs Vegas. Some murmuring and chatter as a fellow with an eyepatch takes the stage and starts chatting up the crowd. Wuyin gets and few glares from the crowd as he moseys over towards the group.
    John smiles at Homura though, winking at the fellow WMAT champion, before planting his hands on his hips, and looking at Red. "Swank says you can still hum, can'tcha?" He jerks a thumb up at the stage. "We already paid your fee, and if all else fails, we call it technical difficulties and comp out some beer. Give it a shot, pretty lady."

Red (572) has posed:
    Red hefts up the weapon, as Homura walks over and comments on it. The sword replies, "Well, I am one of a kind. I think. Not sure, on that, actually.." The red eye seems to look at her curiously, as it flickers. The woman sighs, the sound of her voice heard through that much, at least. Johnny's suggestion is correct, but she frowns. All she can think of is how she lost it, right now.

'If I don't have my voice, I'd rather not be up there at all.' Or, so she would tell him.

They did pay, though. She hates to think of a disappointed crowd. Goodness knows, there were some broken hearts in Cloudbank when she had annouced she was taking a break to write more of her music. If all she has to do is hum, well.. She can do, that, maybe.. She nods, finally, reaching up to push a few strands of that brightly-colored hair behind an ear.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "You think?" There's a few different ways to voice her thoughts. Did the sword lose sight of its creator? Were other people working on projects like it? But, to be honest, if she were that girl, she probably wouldn't want to answer those sorts of questions to the first inquiring weirdo. Better not push it.

    Humming. Might not be singing, but if she's as good as the panic implies then maybe it won't be a disaster either. Sadly she's in the dark here. Not much of a music fan in the first place, and she hasn't heard of this person before.

    "You sure it'll be fine?" she asks Johhny, idly. She wouldn't know, really, she's never been here. But the state of this world and the way he speaks of it sometimes, you'd think a gunfight is about to break out over the smallest thing.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
"It sounds as if there is someone trying to soothe the crowd," Wuyin remarks from nearby, having not exactly done his part to do the same. "Don't worry; I'm sure there'll be plenty of noise if a fight breaks out between now and... well, soon." He shrugs a shoulder.

He looks at the weapon a little oddly. Wuyin tilts his head. "Interesting design. Do you channel energy with those circuits, or are they purely aesthetic," he asks, clearly interested. He's wearing a sword himself, though one would be hard-pressed to spot the similar electronic design running across it without it being drawn.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    John sighs a bit and hops up on the bar, as the man up on the stage finishes his vamping. He lets out a happy breath, seeing Miss Red approach, and waves down into the audience, where a spotlight follows the Diva up onto the stage. "Here we go! Alright all you hepcats and kittens out there, here she is, all the way from Cloudbank, that's waaaaaaay out there for those who don't know... It's Red! Let's hear it for the girl!"

    he applause is not raucous, but there's cheers and whistles in the nightclub.

    The spotlight fixes on Red once she gets all the way up on stage.
    In the back, Johnny pats Swank on the back. "Don't worry, pal, we worst I can do is fire you."
    "Thanks for the vote of confidence, boss."

Red (572) has posed:
    Familiar things.. the glare of stage lighting, hot enough to make you break a sweat. Feeling a microphone and the stand in her hands. For someone like Red, who devoted her whole life to her art. Her craft. It's.. not something you just forget how to do, despite what happened to her. She didn't have her memory taken, after all. So, when the music kicks in, she does the best she can.

    Johnny mentioned listening to some of her work. Well, she may not be able to speak, use words, sing.. but she can still call on her voice, to an extent. And a good singer is always better, live and in person.

Nevermind the lack of lyrics.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    John looks up at Red, and looks at Swank and then back up at Red.
    "...Double what you paid her."

    For a crowd that might have come expecting something saucy from the Diva of Cloudbank, instead they're getting something... haunting. The lyrics may have been one thing, but such a melody from a just half of Red's talent is still enough to transfix the crowd... and any rowdy patrons are slowly falling silent to listen raptly to the Red Head.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Homura does not say anything as Red goes on stage.
    She does not say anything even as the performance starts.
    She just crosses her arms and listens.

    About halfway in, she glances up towards the Courier.

    "She's pretty good. If she can do that with just humming, kind of makes you want to figure out why she can't sing and help her out, doesn't it?" Does she really need involved in more things? Probably not. But she can't help it.
    She has far too many bad influences in her life now.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny's teeth grit a little bit at the ribbing from Homura, before the cowboy grumbles. "You've been lurkin' about with Arthur and Psyber too much, Akemi."

    Not that the idea hadn't crossed his mind.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "I probably do," Homura answers Johnny.
    With no small amount of regrets.

    Though her eyes finally trail back to the stage. "What's with the sword, anyway? Is that a thing she does, carry a sword on-stage? Did her agent tell you you were paying for a singer and a talking sword?" Not the strangest thing she's ever seen, admittedly, but definitely unique as stage props go.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny turns to Swank and the music keeps going, and the man in the pinstripe suit works at his tie again. "Look, John, like I said, it was sort of a blind gig, okay? Some multiversal thing, you know? I know you've been wanting outside acts, boss!"

    Johnny pats the man on the shoulder. "Stop worrying and be cool, Chairman, it's alright."

    A look to Homura. "She could have one of those used-car-lot wavy man things up there right now for all I care. Damn."