[PP - F4] Our Sour Song (Mina and Morgenstern) Complete!

[tricolor_mina 0]

Spoiler

Mina's outfit for the date

>> Floor Four, The Starglades, Night time <<

Mina was quietly waiting in the starglades deep within the wilds of the fourth floor, fidgeting with her long coat, a faint blush on her face from the cold. She had finally figured out where she wanted to meet up with Jon again, and planned on sending him a message soon... though she needed to wait just a little bit longer so that she could finish preparing what she had brought. Mina produced a large cloth blanket that had the bonus of feeling constantly warm no matter where you were at using it, making it perfect for what she was using it for. She produced another bottle of wine, this one a beautiful lime green bottle of wine that she had purchased for a nice sum from the very same Shop that supplied her with most of her alcohol. It was by far her favorite kind of alcohol that they made, and it certainly made warming up during the cold season a cinch. She then set out an insulated basket, a pair of plates, a pair of silverware, and a pair of fresh crystal glasses that she got with her order. She remembered the conversation that she had had with Rosario about it. The friendly girl had given her loads of support for the situation, and had even given her a few foodstuffs for free. At first she had been reluctant, but Rosa had been rather insistent on the matter. Now she was grateful for it, as she could get help from her to supply the meetup. She took a deep breath, before pulling up her menu to send a message to Jon to call him over to where she was.

Quote

To: @Morgenstern

Come meet me over at the starglades on floor four, and make sure you bring warm clothes.

 

[Morgenstern 1]

Spoiler

Morgenstern's Attirre ^
                                      

NOTE: Morgenstern is Green cursored in this thread. 

The blonde stood on the nineteenth floor in the boss room, practicing the attacks Baldur had taught him. He had been here for several hours, as soon as the sun had reached its peak in teh sky. It was already evening, the night air bringing a crisp air to the nineteenth floor. He leaned against the head of the skull of Tanos. He breathed out. He had been working himself half to death and he was rather exhausted. He had kept to himself and refused to make plans as he waited for Mina to message him. It had been a couple of days since he had heard from her. He had received her name from her. 'Violet' a rather odd name for a Japanese girl. He wondered if she was from America like himself.  He brought his fingers to his lips, reddening instantly. 'How did I muster up that kind of courage? I did what Baldur taught me but that has hardly anything to do with it. Does it?' He was preparing to call it a day and head to an inn when he received a message. 

'Mina' he instantly thought and thrashed to open the messaging. He read it, finding the details of the date. "The fourth floor? An odd place to put it" he said aloud to himself. He quickly moved up to the twentieth floor adn then took that teleportation pad to the fourth. As he got there, he would equip some lighter winter clothes and a scarf. It would take him a few minutes to reach his destination and the prize was well worth the walk. 

Sitting there was an odd picnic blanket set up with wine glasses placed on top of it. Sitting on the blanket was Mina, who seemed to be far better dressed than him. He sat there stunned for a moment, a pinkish hue reaching his cheeks. "H-Hey" he would stammer. He would walk forward to the blanket and look down at her. Flashing a smile, he would move down to the blanket and sit on top of it, feeling an embrace of warmth immediately. "What kind of blanket is this? Its soo.... warm" He was kind of worried. He hoped the Blanket didn't put him to sleep and have him ruin their date. 

@tricolor_mina

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina was still focused on preparing for what was going to happen. She'd even pulled a mirror from her inventory just to check her appearance to make sure she was fully presentable. 'Oh Kami this is nervewracking!' she thought, her face not exactly betraying her currently chaotic mental state. 'Does this even look right?! I didn't dress too over the top, did I?' needless to say, she was so damn glad that those negotiator training classes were currently taking the opportunity to shine and make her look calm. She checked the ingame clock, worry seeping into her mind. 'He... is gonna show up right..?' she thought, glancing up just as she saw him approaching from a short ways away.

Jon was dressed in obviously lighter clothing, which surprised her a bit. it was unusually cold as of late in this part of Aincrad, especially at night. She let out a faint chuckle, a smile on her face. "Mou, took you long enough Jon!" she said, her smile growing into a grin. "You ready to get this starte....!" mina's eyes had gone up, looking over at the bright green diamond over his head. her eyes widened by a slight amount. "... Your... cursor is... Green again..?" she said, a deadpan look on her face aside from the faint surprise in her eyes... before she broke into a wide grin, moving so she could tackle him with a hug from even where she was sitting, hitting him with enough force to knock him over. "You did the redemption quest! Congratulations~!"

[Morgenstern 1]

He smiled as he sat down, facing the girl. "Mou, took you long enough Jon!" He rolled his eyes, replying, "Sorry, I was a bit far away. I promise I hurried over". He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and she began to speak. "You ready to get this starte....!" He frowned as she cut off, and brought his attention back to her from the assortment of drinks that had caught his attention.  "... Your... cursor is... Green again..?" He smiled. ""Wouldn't have come here if it wasn't. What if it was going to be in town?" he would jokingly. His true reason was so that nobody would know her as the girl who went on dates with murderers. Her face caught a wide grin and she tackled him with a hug, knocking him down so that he was laying with his back on the blanket. 

The warmth from her embrace made him smile. It was the same embrace that helped give him strength that day. "Thanks. I went through a lot to get there. I had to make sure that I was deserving of it first." His face became a little redder as he noticed that she was literally on top of him at this point. 'I think this moved a little too fast' he cringed to himself. 'That's my fault I suppose'. Enjoying the comfort, he would close his eyes, enjoying the warmth from the blanket and Violet's embrace. 'Even if its going to fast, is it wrong to be happy?' he would ask himself. 'If it makes me happy, does that mean Im going to lose it like last time? Is she going to be ripped away from me too?' His embrace would noticeably tighten. 'No. I won't let that happen. Mine.' 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina gave him a lopsided smirk when he said he was worried if it was going to be in town or not. "Don't be so worried, I wouldn't have picked somewhere in town anyways, its too boring in there!" she chuckled, mussing his hair from where she was laying on him. "I was either going to take you here, the waterfall caverns of floor 21, or to a bar that my friend owns that allows PKer's." Actually, Riker's edge was probably her last choice. Rosa would have been absolutely merciless in her teasing had she actually gone there with Jon, she certainly loved her gossip that was for sure. She noted that his face was flushed with embarrassment, probably from the fact that she was laying on top of him now rather than sitting next to him. She snickered a bit, though she noted that he had tightened his grip on her. "Jon, do you even want to enjoy what I brought here for us to have, or are you just going to keep treating me like a giant teddy bear?" she snorted, before gently pulling herself free from his grasp, as reluctant as she was to do so. He'd seemed almost desperate for some reason, though she figured it was probably just something she imagined.

After mina sat up, she busied herself pulling out the various foods and sauces that she had brought. Soups, bread, crackers, cheeses, meats, cakes, pies, and various dressings and sauces were now laid out, along with two glasses filled up with the wine that she had brought. "I'd be a bit careful when you drink that, though. That crap burns when you aren't prepared for the taste." she warned, before taking a drink out of her own glass.

[Morgenstern 1]

Violet would assure him that she would not have taken him into town. Her other options were the waterfall caverns on the 21st floor, or her friends bar. He snickered. 'This girl is gonan end up making me some kind of alcoholic. I'm not even twenty-one yet' he thought to himself. 

"Jon, do you even want to enjoy what I brought here for us to have, or are you just going to keep treating me like a giant teddy bear?" He blinked. He was going to admit that he had been lost in the embrace and forgot that it actually was happening. "I-I'm sorry." he stammered out. He released her, her attention returning to the items that she had brought for the date. 'Why am I so desperate for something as a hug? I haven't hugged anyone since I came here, so why would I want it so badly?' It was unknown to him how hungry he had been for positive attention int he last few months. 

As she opened all of the packages of the food, his eyes would widen. "Did... did you make all of this? I didn't know that you could cook?" If she had cooked it, he was interested in knowing whether it was a profession learned skill or something that she had learned to do. He was an alchemist, but due to his experience in the real world he could still almost flawlessly play the piano. He looked, his eyes unwavering from the food. 'She doesn't expect us to both be able to eat this? I don't even like pie.' She noted to the drinks, saying that he had better be prepared to drink it. He would put on a confident smile. "Some silly drink isn't going to take me down, watch" he would wink, grabbing the glass from the ground. He brought it to his lips and poured a swallow-full into his mouth and swallowed. 

His eyes would widen and he would immediately set down the drink. A cough would rise from his lungs as the burning met his lungs. 'Where the hell did the pain sensors go?' he asked himself. After he was able to compose himself again he would look back to Violet. "See. Like a champ" feeling and looking like and idiot was his strong suit. He grabbed a couple of the crackers and began to munch on them, trying to keep himself before he said something stupid and scared her away. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Violet let out a snort of her own when Jon started laughing at her choices. "Jon, I know you're probably not legally able to drink IRL, which is probably why you're laughing like thats. It shouldn't stop you from enjoying it while you're here." she said, still laughing herself. "Personally I don't really drink too much, but it's better than the crap that they call the normal drinks here. It's player made, and it's based off of spiced whiskey, which my friend suggested for such a cold night." She took yet another drink of it, her eyes closed as she savored the flavor of the drink. She might not drink herself into a stupor in the real world, but she was still a bit of a functioning alcoholic unless she was needed to work long hours or come in for negotiations at the request of her friends.

That thought was pushed to the sidelines when he quickly apologized for hugging her. "Don't apologize, I probably needed a hug anyhow." she said, shrugging. "I didn't mind it anyhow, I get the feeling that you probably need some comfort after you... did what you did.." She listened as he rambled about over what she had brought, asking if she had cooked it herself. "Oh god no! I'm garbage at cooking anything for the most part, unless you don't mind things like simple soups or dessert items." she choked out, her eyes wide. "My friend Rosario cooked these for me to take here, Especially after I told her how bad my cooking skills were. Now if you want music, I can play both the violin or guitar." She wished she actually had one on hand, but she didn't think to ask for one. people weren't very willing to hand them out as items, which was mildly annoying. Didn't matter too much, though, all she needed to do was go to visit an artisan to get one made for her, which was stupidly easy. She rolled her eyes as Jon took a drink from his glass, nearly choking on the spicy liquid. "Like I said, it burns like hell when you aren't prepared for it, Ne?" She took another, drawn out dreg from her glass, draining the rest of the liquid from it. She then leveled a stare at Jon, her red eyes locking into his amber ones. "Now, I'm going to be a bit blunt with you, and I'm sorry in advance if it hurts your feelings..." she said calmly, her face changing to a mask of calm, while she was internally an utter mess. She needed to tough through this, or she wouldn't be able to sleep later that night. "But I want you to tell me everything that led to what happened to you between the short period between the fall of the CA, and the actual event of it happening, to cause such a change in you, Jon. I want you to be as honest as possible. I know you probably don't want to talk about it like this, and certainly not here of all places, but this is for me to reassure myself that nothing else like that will happen, and that you're mentally okay. I've seen too many people go mad because they killed someone and didn't ask for any help... It's all I'm asking of you, Please...!"

[Morgenstern 1]

"Jon, I know you're probably not legally able to drink IRL, which is probably why you're laughing like thats. It shouldn't stop you from enjoying it while you're here." He flashed a smile at her. He was close to the age, but had yet to come of age. "I'm assuming you aren't legal for alcohol either?" He would watch as she took a drink, her face unchanging from the drink. 'How?'  "Personally I don't really drink too much, but it's better than the crap that they call the normal drinks here. It's player made, and it's based off of spiced whiskey, which my friend suggested for such a cold night." "Hmm. I have gotten along fine with Milk and water up to now. However, it sounds like you've made a pretty good since the Ascendants disbanded." he joked. Violet had given the information of whether it was a guy or girl... not that it mattered to him of course. 

He smiled when she mentioned that she was as equally ungifted at cooking as he. He was also surprised to hear about the music portion. "You can play music as well? I am gifted in the piano" he kept his happiness private when she mentioned "Rosario". "She didn't question you randomly requesting a bunch of food for no reason?" he would give her a chuckle. 

 "Now, I'm going to be a bit blunt with you, and I'm sorry in advance if it hurts your feelings..." He frowned. 'Wait. What?' "But I want you to tell me everything that led to what happened to you between the short period between the fall of the CA, and the actual event of it happening, to cause such a change in you, Jon. I want you to be as honest as possible. I know you probably don't want to talk about it like this, and certainly not here of all places, but this is for me to reassure myself that nothing else like that will happen, and that you're mentally okay. I've seen too many people go mad because they killed someone and didn't ask for any help... It's all I'm asking of you, Please...!"

His gaze fell. 'Oh. That's all she wanted. She didn't want a date. She wanted answers. She's the same as all of them, wanting to know what happened. I should have figured.' The blonde's expression darkened. "Short time huh? That was the longest ride of my life, and the darkest." If he recalled, she hadn't even been there when the guild died. "I suppose you know what happened? The Guild meeting was attacked, betrayed by two of our members that were on the enemy's side. Many, many of them died. I couldn't do anything, I was helpless to stop it from happening. Chaos, he was there and we fought where I was defeated but left alive to bask in my own defeat. I watched helplessly as several players who had placed their trust in me met their bitter end. I found out later that it happened just to destroy a part of the frontliners, increase the hate and tension among them. 

 

He looked away from Mina. Even if her feelings wasn't what he expected, he didn't want her to associate his face with what he was about to say. "For a while, I didn't know what to do. I had one thing on my mind. Revenge. I trained myself half to death, increasing my level until I thought I was ready. Than the Fallen Event happened. I went there for a good amount of experience to top myself off before hunting down Chaos. That's when I died. Artamiel drug my heart once again through the earth and then killed me. For some cruel reason, this world spared me again to face the pain more. I continued my quest for revenge, but after the Fallen Angel I decided to change everything. I got rid of my sword and shield and took on the two-handed sword. I adorned a darker armor and hid my identity. I figured if I wanted to kill a monster, I needed to become one myself."

 

"I searched for a while, but I finally found a lead to where Chaos was. I hunted it down and it turned out good, and I managed to catch the man off guard. The only problem, he still defeated me. I asked him to just end it for me there, but he wouldn't. Instead, he told me that I had one more thing to do. He knew that my sister was in this game, he had put it together from my username being the same as her last name and visual similarity. He offered his help in finding her as long as I followed his every word. It was really stupid of me, but I agreed." 

 

He closed his eyes, bringing his hand to cover his face. "I teamed with those that caused my pain in the first place. We took action immediately, we followed some leads, her friends. They were supposed to know where she might be. We interrogated a girl, Chaos and I. She didn't know anything. Chaos then told me to kill her. I fought him with him over it, but he promised I would never lay eyes on my sister if I didn't follow through with our deal." 

 

Tears filled his eyes. "I killed her out of greed" he whispered in a hushed voice. Despite him coping with his demons, he still heard her terror-filled scream. the pain hadn't faded, he had just accepted it. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina felt her heart sink when she saw Jon's face go stony. 'He'll hate me for a while over this, won't he..?' she thought sadly, her facade barely keeping itself up. She had the feeling that what he was about to talk about was going to shatter what was left of her mask, the one she meticulously put up every day. It was a fight to even get up in the morning for her, though as of late, it had become slightly easier with hope in her chest and mind that they were going to get out, that they were going to be free someday. She would fight until her last breath to free them, to save them. If Jon paid any attention at all, he'd see her mask cracking and breaking in obvious places. She was shaking like a leaf, even under her warm, soft clothing. Her Jaw was clenched tightly enough to show the muscles in her face flexing. Her eyes, they were by far her biggest tell. They were completely glossy, unshed tears welling up in her eyes. She listened to his story, fighting with herself every second of it. She felt a strong pang of guilt hit her Hard. Hard enough to make her hunch over. 'I was right, they probably do hold that against me, for not being there..' she thought, fighting herself to keep her emotions in check. the news about Chaos and Fearx weren't exactly the bit that she hadn't heard, though she let out a soft whimper when he said that he'd been one of those that had been killed during the fallen event, fully confirming what shield had said to her.

Her entire body felt like it had been frozen solid, stony cold from the sheer amount of Guilt that she felt. God, she could have been there had she just stopped weeping for those that were fallen long before now, for weeping over past mistakes, and actually gotten off of her ass and leveled herself up high enough to fight with her friends! She might have been able to save them then! Underneath her tears, her eyes dulled as she raised her hands as the area briefly warped from the way it really was. Blood stains on her clothes and hands, and the face of her friend stained with blood that was both his and her own. She shuddered almost convulsively, before willing herself to keep listening. She refused to bow, not like this, NOT LIKE THIS! She needed to listen. Violet listened to him describe what happened between Jon and Chaos. The SOB had forced him into submission, and enticed him with tidbits about his little sister, which lit a fire of rage inside of her. She had met Jon's sister on two occasions, once during the Star crossed lovers event, and once during the more recent event, the one where people had fought the pumpking, a vampire, and a giant scarecrow. The girl was so sweet to others, and was doing what so many neglected to do. She used her time to heal others, something that used to be one of her priorities when she had first joined up. 'Am I truly that pathetic that someone both younger and weaker than I is doing more for others than I have been..?' she thought morosely, her mask completely falling away as silent tears started streaming down her face. 'I could have done something, anything to prevent this... I could have..!'

She felt her heart almost break in two once she heard him finally say why he'd killed that girl. He had done so out of greed..? She refused to believe it, but even looking at his face, she could see nothing but honesty present on it. A guilty honesty, but nevertheless it was still honesty all the same. Her body just wouldn't stop shaking anymore, she couldn't stem the flow of her tears, and worse yet, she felt like she was being smothered by an unseen force, likely her own guilt. It was almost crushing her just to be able to sit next to Jon, to smile and laugh like she was just the bright light out of their little group like she'd done before.. '... Maybe I should have actually thrown myself off that cliff when I decided to the first time, and spared them from worrying about...!' Her tears seemed to slow down, a resigned look on her face, and a defeated look in her eyes.'No... I'm going need to set something straight for him, he's beating himself up over something that was, by all intents and purposes, his best option at finding his little sister... ' "... I... I'm S-s... So... So...S-s-sor... Sorry..!" she whispered, her voice weak and frail sounding from her conflicting emotions. "I-I sh-sh-should've b-been there f-f-for all of you..! I-I should have been strong enough to fight with you. I have no right to call myself a friend, much less be s-someone worth you caring for. If you want to leave, just go. I have no right to ask you to stay, but I ask that you listen to what I am about to say. You might have killed one person, but that still makes you a better person than me..! What you did was not out of greed, but out of fear and worry for your sister, and your desperate actions to get to her again. She was a hostage being held by him!" She locked gazes with him, tears streaming down her face. "I'm not saying you did the r-right thing b- b.. by doing that! But that psycho could h-ha-have killed her! He could have killed your sister, but instead he chose to play mind games with you! H-he just wanted to S-sc-screw with you head after he w-wa-wa- was gone!"

[Morgenstern 1]

His words were met with the girl slowly breaking down, her seriousness losing the battle until it completely crumbled, leaving her in a dwindling mess of tears. It was almost pathetic. It was his story, his demons. Not hers. He continued no further with his story, she wouldn't be able to handle it. 

 "... I... I'm S-s... So... So...S-s-sor... Sorry..!" He frowned, looking at her. What could she possibly feel sorry about? If she was feeling sorry for him, he didn't want her pity. At this point, he was on the verge of leaving. This was no date at all, he was tricked into coming with her honeyed words. She was whispering, her voice almost like someone as broken as he once was. 

"I-I sh-sh-should've b-been there f-f-for all of you..! I-I should have been strong enough to fight with you. I have no right to call myself a friend, much less be s-someone worth you caring for. If you want to leave, just go. I have no right to ask you to stay, but I ask that you listen to what I am about to say. You might have killed one person, but that still makes you a better person than me..! What you did was not out of greed, but out of fear and worry for your sister, and your desperate actions to get to her again. She was a hostage being held by him!" His expression darkened even further as his own anger began to rise. Despite what Baldur had taught him so far, he was no longer in control of his emotions. He didn't care if she wanted to justify his actions, but blaming herself for it all was absolutely ridiculous. 

"Shut up." he said warningly. He looked at her, a fierceness that hid in him being released by his eyes. "If you were there, you would have just gotten yourself killed. You get that? You not being there was a blessing in itself. What you have no right to do is blame yourself for what happened! Yeah, you could have been stronger, but what difference would it have made? You think one extra f***ing player would have made a difference against the forty players that ambushed us? It was planned out perfectly by two high-leveled players. The outcome would have remained the same, the Ascendants fall and the frontliners are seen as weak and unable to protect those weaker than them. Who I care for is up to me, don't for a second pretend you know me, or what I've been through." 

He shook his head, calming himself. "Quit fretting over something that has happened months ago. Focus on yourself and what you have now. I know personally when you lose yourself in the past that you lose everything. Face your demons and move on." 

 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina flinched as his angry words scared her out of her tears, though his words did remind her of what her thoughts had been before. She had made him hate her, she was almost certain of it now. He immediately proceeded to tell her what place she would have had helping them back then, helping them push their foes back, and potentially preventing people from dying. She locked her gaze with his, a cold, dead look in her eyes. "Because dying to me, sounded like a rather nice alternative, especially if I were able to die saving the lives of others." she said hoarsely. "I didn't show up in the first place because I wasn't even moving or sleeping for several days, unable to even get a spark of a happy thought to show itself. I was too wrapped up with my past. You're entirely right, I should have moved forward with my life, and make due with what I had now rather than what lied in the past." She suddenly moved forward, her hands on his shirt almost instantly, her dead eyes suddenly flaring with fury. "But none of you aside from a player that I used to utterly DESPISE showed me how to move past what had happened. How to cope, how to get past it!" She snarled, tears suddenly starting to stream down her face again. "I understand why you are angry over it, and It's like being stabbed in the chest over and over, because I wished nothing more than to help others, and Neglected to care for myself. I set aside my own feelings, my own life so much for others that I tore myself apart to the point that I could hardly function! I spent over two hours agonizing over whether or not it was the right thing to ask this of you, because I knew you would most likely hate me in the end!" She had done research while she was still in the real world, and found that she had suffered deep mental scars from what had happened. She would have panic attacks when someone made to scream in her face, or when she was in an enclosed space with little mobility. She would stay awake for days on end, not being able to sleep due to vicious nightmares where she was greeted by herself with a weapon of some sort, and the cracking, splintering forms of their virtual bodies as their lives flickered out. This problem had forced her to call upon her willpower and every last dreg of her strength to hold herself together.

"But I felt like I could have tried to help you work through any other emotions left behind by what happened to you..." she said, her rage dropping quickly into despair. "My whole life, I've dedicated my whole being to trying to help others, It's all I could do! Even after I had to watch my best friend die, I still wanted to help, but life just... wasn't so kind to me." she let go of Jon, sitting down suddenly as her arms limply fell to her side. Her eyes widened in realization as her vision slightly blurred, which wasn't a good sign in the slightest. 'S- s**t.. I guess not sleeping for 3 days finally took its toll on me..!' she deftly moved her hand, moving numbly to produce a pen and a piece of paper, and writing the location of her friend's bar, before her head hit the blanket, and everything went completely dark.

[Morgenstern 1]

His angry words were met with some of her own, her eyes becoming cold and dead, their normal brilliant red fading into a a dead inferno. Because dying to me, sounded like a rather nice alternative, especially if I were able to die saving the lives of others." she said hoarsely. "I didn't show up in the first place because I wasn't even moving or sleeping for several days, unable to even get a spark of a happy thought to show itself. I was too wrapped up with my past. You're entirely right, I should have moved forward with my life, and make due with what I had now rather than what lied in the past." He looked at her, his anger flaring up as well. "Are you freaking retarded? You ever think what dying would do to those who care for you? Givng your life up for others isn't heroic. Its selfish. Its pointless." she mentioned how hard she thought on asking him to reveal what had happened. "Don't even lie, it was your intention all along. Thats all you wanted form me in the first place. Get what happened out and then leave." 

She latched onto his shirt, giving him the expectancy that she was going to hit him. "But I felt like I could have tried to help you work through any other emotions left behind by what happened to you..." she said, her rage dropping quickly into despair. "My whole life, I've dedicated my whole being to trying to help others, It's all I could do! Even after I had to watch my best friend die, I still wanted to help, but life just... wasn't so kind to me." He moved, prepared to say something, but her eyes faded, her arms dropping from his shirt. "Mina?" he would ask, his anger fading. She would write something on a piece of paper before crumpling to the blanket in front of him. "MINA!?" he would shout, his eyes widening. Panicking, he would bring his ear to her chest, but heard nothing. 'Oh wait. Virtual body. No heartbeat'. He would snatch the paper that she had written on. 'Riker's Edge, Floor 19.' He would scoop the girl up in his arms, which was surprisingly easy to do. His avatar's strength was at the point where he hardly felt any repercussions from carrying her. Ditching the items, he would leave them behind as he began walking to the teleport pad in the fourth floor. 

He stood in front of the door to the bar, staring up at the sign. Taking a breath, he would look down at Mina once more, the girl sound asleep. Her breaths were slow and calm. He freed one of his hands temporarily to open the door, pushing it open with his foot. Walking in to the bar, he would look around. His eyes would reach the counter where a girl was tending the counter. "Hello?" he would ask. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Spoiler

Rosa's attire:

Rosa was idly chatting with one of her customers, a bored look on her face. He had given her info in exchange for a few of her specialty drinks, and a Golden Apple pie, her favorite dish to make. She was just about to send him off with his goods, and tend to the rest of her customers, and her other items cooking and brewing in a separate section of her building, when a blonde haired player came in carrying a woman with dark hair, one that she instantly recognized. 'The hell is going on..? Did she forget to sleep again..?!' she thought, her eyes narrowing at Mina. she snapped her fingers, and pointed at Jon with a scowl on her face. "Bring her over this way kid, I'll be with you in a minute." she said cooly, fixing her jacket and ruffling her two-toned hair. "Stupid girl probably forgot to sleep again, she needs to cut that crap out!" the last part was muttered to herself, though it was audible to others, as she walked over to the side, grabbing a few things from underneath her bar, before moving over to one of the back rooms.

She left the door cracked open as she set up the bed for Jon to lay Mina on, setting a teapot and a trio of teacups on a small table off to the side of the room. she placed a plate of cookies and teacakes nearby, her amber and green eyes focused on the set up items, before she sat down in one of the nearby chairs, leaning it against the wall. when Jon entered after her, before she would gesture at the bed. "Just place Violet over on that, and come over here. I need to have a word with you real quick kid." she said sternly, pointing at one of the seats in front of her.

[Morgenstern 1]

The woman behind the counter was of darker skinned, and her expression warned him not to cross her. He doubted she would be able to keep up with him in an actual fight, but she intimidated him all the same. Some people just had that aura. "Bring her over this way kid, I'll be with you in a minute." He watched as she would turn to one of the back rooms, and then call from her distance that she must have forgot to sleep again. She ducked into the room, and he would follow, earning several stares from the customers around him. He stepped into the room to find the girl standing at the side of the room. Just place Violet over on that, and come over here. I need to have a word with you real quick kid."Jonathan blinked. 'She knows her name too. Violet must trust her a lot.' He would nod his head and reply, "Yes, Ma'am." he carefully placed the girl on the bed, propping her head onto the pillow. He would grab the blanket and throw it even on her before turning back to the barkeep. 

He would walk forward, his expression defensive. She wasn't about to blame him for this was she? He would sit in one of the seats in front of the quickly placed table. He would sit there silently, waiting for her to ask him something. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Rosa looked at Jon, studying his features as he laid Mina down on the bed. Needless to say, she fully understood why Violet seemed so insistent on clinging to this guy. 'If I didn't know that he was dead and buried, I'd say he's a dead ringer for Declan...' she thought, looking over at one of the photo frames showing a man with blonde hair and amber eyes, posing for a group photograph that held a grinning Rosa with her natural hair color, and a much happier looking violet without the scarring around the left side of her face. It was probably her most treasured photograph that she had, having been able to bring it here from a quest on one of the floors a bit higher than this one. She turned slightly to look at violet, the younger girl's face scrunched up somewhat as she seemed to be drifting into the darker part of her mind. Rosa closed her eyes in defeat at this, folding her arms under her chest, a pensieve look on her face. "Let me set something straight first, I Ain't blamin' you for her being out cold. Poor girl's been having nightmares so often it ain't even funny." she said quietly, pouring some tea out for both herself and Jon. "Doesn't help she probably didn't sleep over what she planned on asking of you. I don't think I've seen her cry that much since we were at my husbands funeral." her multicolored eyes met Jon's amber ones. "Somethin' in that face of yours tells me you probably took it like she was doin' it to be rude, am I right?" she asked, a pointed look on her face. "An' don't you try lyin', I'm pretty damn good at tellin' truth from lie, it's a skill I got from working as a Mafia interrogator for a few decades, and having an interrogator for a husband. I ain't gonna be mad about yer answer, 'cause I told the idiot that It'd probably piss you off more than anything."

[Morgenstern 1]

 "Let me set something straight first, I Ain't blamin' you for her being out cold. Poor girl's been having nightmares so often it ain't even funny." He blinked, his defensive gaze fading entirely. 'How did she know?' before he got the chance to ask, she continued, completely dominating the conversation. "Doesn't help she probably didn't sleep over what she planned on asking of you. I don't think I've seen her cry that much since we were at my husbands funeral." The only reaction he could give was a confused face. 'Crying?' Somethin' in that face of yours tells me you probably took it like she was doin' it to be rude, am I right?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but she assured him that she would know if he was lying. He shook his head. "No, you aren't right. Rude isn't my thought, the only thing that was rude was her pretending to have feelings just so that she could get the information out of me." He gave the girl a sharp and fierce look. "Before I answer anymore questions its my turn. Who the hell are you, how do you know her name, and why did she tell me to come here?" he would standby what he said, and he would leave before he answered another question and take Violet with him. He would laugh to see any player in the damn bar to stop him. 'They got no idea who the hell I am. Violet doesn't even know my level'.

[tricolor_mina 0]

Rosa slammed her fist into the table, a scowl on her face. "Well would ya look at that, I'm already callin' BS." she said coldly, her eyes dark with a mostly calm fury. "She was over the moon when you said you'd go out with her on a date, and that's something I haven't seen from her in a pretty damn long time." She materialized a menu, before showing Jon a slew of messages between herself and Mina, detailing her excitement over the development. "And on the matter of her seeming like that was the only reason she called you over... She just has a pretty F***in bad habit of shutting people out when she shouldn't, and finds herself doubting who she is, and whether or not she's actually a good person." She raised an eyebrow when he said he wasn't answering any more questions from her if she didn't explain who she was, and how she knew Violet's real name. "Oh please, she used to work with my husband as someone who'd talk down people from doin stupid s**t." she said sarcastically. "Even then, I'm an Info broker. Info is the name of my game, Morgenstern. or would you prefer the name Jonathan? And as an FYI, If you haven't guessed it yet, we know each other IRL, though I'm pretty sure she don't know it yet. I'm Rosa Cian, the widow of her good friend Declan Cian. Just goes to show even the most perceptive people can't see the smaller tells, though you'd think my tattoo's would be a dead giveaway." Rosa's scowl changed to a Cheshire grin when Jon shot her a vicious looking glare. "Hey, what 'chu actin like I'm scared of you for?" she asked, tilting her head at him in a questioning gesture. "That attitude of yours doesn't scare people like me, I ain't got anything to lose to be honest."

[Morgenstern 1]

Well would ya look at that, I'm already callin' BS." Okay. He was already having a strong distaste to this woman. Why was she the one that Violet wanted to see? It made literally no sense. Any of it. "She was over the moon when you said you'd go out with her on a date, and that's something I haven't seen from her in a pretty damn long time." she showed him a slew of messages, all of which matched what the woman had said. The barkeep kept speaking, giving him an assault of information of what Violet was doing. He wanted to argue that she was wrong about her and that she was not like that at all, but the pieces filled in with the puzzle. It was a mask. 

They knew each other from the real world? That was a very strange occurrence and didn't seem to happen much. Normally all of everyone's friends hid themselves away or died off. Rosa Cian, an info broker who once was a mafia interrogator. "Hey, what 'chu actin like I'm scared of you for?" "That attitude of yours doesn't scare people like me, I ain't got anything to lose to be honest." His gaze would lose its edge, but his voice was warning. "Don't think that for a second. Until its ripped away from you, you don't know what you still have. You might be a widow, but I bet you still have something. We have something in common and thats her" Even stating this, he didn't care for this woman much. He was really tempted to take Violet and leave. He didn't like the idea of leaving her with this player even if they knew eachother. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Rosa scowled at Jon, her brow furrowed in frustration. "Kid, the only thing I got now is that girl sitting on that bed, and she won't be around much longer unless someone sets her straight." she said darkly, "I'm not gonna pretend that you ain't right in that regard, cause you really are, but I'll be damned if you act like you know who I am. From what she's said to me, You hardly know anything about Violet compared to some other people, which is something we're about to correct... When she wakes up, that is. and judging by the look on her face right now it'll be pretty soon, you need to ask her about it, and I'll fill in what she can't really remember." Rosa turned her head in Violet's direction, where she was tossing and turning, gripping at the sheets around her tightly with a pained look on her previously peaceful face. 'Is it gonna be Declan this time, or someone else?' she thought, closing her eyes as she braced herself for the shouting that was about to come.

Mina struggled to free herself from the nightmare, her dream self covered in red pixeled wounds as she grappled with her friends. Hestia, Itzal, Domarus... even Jon. She felt a burgeoning scream suddenly rip from her throat as she was suddenly skewered through the chest by an unseen figure, the person cleaving through her almost paper-thin armor with ease. Her movements became so frantic that she ended up throwing herself off of the bed, hitting the side table even as an Immortal object message appeared, shooting off a small amount of purple sparks. She sat hunched near the corner of the room, holding her hands up in a defensive position as she stared up at Jon and Rosa, her eyes almost completely dulled from how their usual life was. She was just a shell-shocked person that had come out of a vicious nightmare, and not the calm, fake persona she put up for everyone to avoid the stares. Rosa looked over to Jon, and then back over to Mina. "One hell of a way to wake up, that's for sure." she muttered, a slight wince on her face.

[Morgenstern 1]

Rosa didn't seem to like that fact that he called her out and called correctly. He might not be some random mafia interrogator, but he wasn't stupid. From what she's said to me, You hardly know anything about Violet compared to some other people, which is something we're about to correct... When she wakes up, that is. and judging by the look on her face right now it'll be pretty soon, you need to ask her about it, and I'll fill in what she can't really remember." He blinked. "Problems started when people started prying into another's life. Why would I want to fight again? Believe it or not, I don't like having to fight with anyone." He heard a thud, and would look over to find Violet crouched in the corner of the room. Her eyes were faded, still mostly unconscious. "Violet?"  he would question, mostly just talking to get her attention. 'I didn't know about these Nightmares. Have they been there the entire time that she has been in Aincrad? Both years of it?' 

He would take a step towards her, offering a smile despite everything. It was a warm and comforting smile. "Are you alright? He would crouch down to her level and offer her his hand. "Its gonna be alright." he told her.