[indent][b][u]12 pm, January 9th 2026
Hub City, Illinois.[/u][/b][/indent]

The top ten things Alias had wanted when she had passed out included a plane falling ontop of Fisher Brown's smug head, and waking up somehow having tied him up in a concussion-driven blind fury.

Unfortunately she woke up to neither of these things. She instead woke up to immense pain, again, and the roof of her warehouse. Familiar sight true, but not exactly a comforting one, more an annoying one because it meant that she really had just passed out instead of still going despite being intoxicated with a huge amount of every hormone that existed. She tried moving... well, she didn't know what she expected. The pain was incredible as seemed to be the usual at this point, so she didn't try moving anymore.

At this point Alias wondered how she had gotten here, had she dragged herself? No, she vaguely remembered making a phone call to Oscar and during that she was too tired to hold up the phone, so dragging herself was out of the question.

Oh, the phone call. That explained it.

Huh, this concussion was really making her brain work in mysterious ways.

The fact that the lower half of her right ear seemed to have been torn off was probably helping.

The pain was severe enough to make her groan repeatedly, like she was ill and dying. She closed her mouth and turned it into hissing through her teeth as a solution. She refused to look weak while in the same building as [i]him[/i]. He [i]was[/i] there right?

At the sound of a groan coming from where he had laid Shams down, Oscar opened his eyes behind his mask, jumping up to his feet from his meditative pose. As he made his way back to where he left her, he pondered what he should say, and regretted not thinking about that while she was out for hours. What could he say? It wasn't like he could pretend everything was back to normal, pretend she would welcome him back with open arms.

But as he saw her there on the ground, his inner turmoil seemed to disappear. He made his presence clear by making more noise than usual and allowing his shoes to clack against the concrete. Damn, what could he say?

[color=darkgreen][b]"... You're awake."[/b][/color]

Well, better than nothing.

Speak of the devil.

Alias turned her head, grunting as the torn remnants of what was once an ear sent a powerful shock through her head.

[color=blanchedalmond]"Hello Oscar,"[/color] she said, her words sounding less like they came from her chest and more like they came from her throat; breathy and weak. She managed to twitch her mouth into a frown when she felt the corners of her mouth trying to force themselves into a smile. [color=blanchedalmond]"I know that at this point I'm supposed to thank you or share some pleasantries, but frankly I'm not in the mood. I just need to say one thing, and I want you to tell me honestly, as honestly as you can, got it?!"[/color]

She left a long pause for effect.

[color=blanchedalmond]"Am I still gonna be pretty when this heals?"[/color] she said with a frown and with a stomach-deep voice.

Well, that managed to catch him off guard, enough to make him give a quick chuckle. [color=darkgreen][b]"Trust me, nothing could sully your looks. But you do have to know something... You'll always be second fiddle to me in the looks department."[/b][/color] He ended that with another laugh, and allowed himself to move closer and crouch down next to her. It felt strange, cracking a joke around her again, like nothing changed. And he'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy it.

But still, there was one thing he needed to know that he couldn't get out of her while she was passed out. [color=darkgreen][b]"I patched you up as best as I could, but you might want to go see a doctor still. I could take you there myself. But I do have to know something... How did this happen? What happened in the night club?"[/b][/color] She seemed well enough to at least give a quick summary of what happened, and he could go deal with whatever happened while she was recovering.

Alias let out a half-groan-half-understanding sigh, though she didn't chuckle at Oscar's joke. She always was the funny one, he tried, but she was funnier. Well, maybe that was the residual anger she had at him talking, but it had been years, maybe it was time for her to calm down a little; he had just saved her life and all.

[color=blanchedalmond]"No doctors, Brown's probably got every doctor in the city under his thumb and he was there to see me get these wounds."[/color] She looked over with a scowl that betrayed none of the pain she was going through. [color=blanchedalmond]"If I go to one of his doctors I'll be strung along in his stupid game."[/color]

She waited a moment, hissing as her side flared up at the mention of Brown, goddamn crime wizard.

[color=blanchedalmond]"Ever heard of Fisher Brown?"[/color] she asked. [color=blanchedalmond]"I'm sure you have. He killed one of his own hitmen to get me to come to his nightclub. Apparently he..."[/color]

She barred her teeth. This was the stupidest bullshit she'd ever experienced.

[color=blanchedalmond]"Apparently he met a wizard, and now [i]he's[/i] a wizard. He has a drug, like the one from New York five years ago. It turned the whole club violent, they went after each-other at first... then they went for me."[/color]

She coughed, a small dribble of blood running down her lip and bouncing off of her cheek as it dropped from her face.

[color=blanchedalmond]"They're planning to improve the... the magic drug, and turn it into a mind control pill that not even Lady Arcana could shrug off. I don't think that's possible but it's what he told me. That's the whole story,"[/color] she concluded matter-of-factly. Oscar knew what she was about, he wouldn't mind her skipping all the fluff and getting right to the point.

Fisher Brown... He'd heard the name floating around but had never been able to pin down exactly where he was to deal with him. And she was right. It did sound crazy, but if there was one thing he knew it was that crazy shit was a normal occurence in this day and age. Plus, he got supernatural powers from getting high, so who was he to decide what was and wasn't crazy?

[color=darkgreen][b]"... Then we'll need to handle this. And I know you're not going to like it, but I'm going to help you."[/b][/color] He already knew she wasn't going to like it, but he continued on anyway before she could reject his help. [color=darkgreen][b]"I know that things have... Changed... But I'm not going to just let you go up against this by yourself, especially if it's something that threatens more than just Hub City."[/b][/color]

He paused, taking in a deep breath, then continued. [color=darkgreen][b]"And you're already half dead. I'm not going to just watch you go up against this and get killed."[/b][/color]

[color=blanchedalmond]"'Kay,"[/color] she said simply. [color=blanchedalmond]"I honestly don't care if you help me, as you say I'm half dead and could use the help, but I'm sure I can handle myself. So if you get pissy and leave halfway don't bother trying to blame me."[/color]

She sighed and turned her head back so that she was looking at the ceiling. Great, now she had to try standing up. She wasn't going to ask for help, that wasn't her thing, especially from Oscar, she could aknowledge that she needed his help fighting a wizard, but she didn't need his help to stand.

Alias tensed her body and with all her might... slightly twitched before the pain became too much.

Okay, maybe she did need his help to stand.

[color=blanchedalmond]"Sit me up please,"[/color] she said, an authoritative tinge to her voice.

[color=darkgreen][b][i]'Well... That was easier than I thought it would be.'[/i][/b][/color] It really was too, he was expecting at least some fight from her. As she asked (or rather ordered) him to help her to get up, Oscar stood up from his crouching position and grabbed her shoulders, lifting her up and putting her into a sitting position. [color=darkgreen][b]"Don't go falling over again."[/b][/color]

Alias let out a pained cry as she was pushed up, but she was able to sit up without falling at the very least. She pushed herself slowly, and managed to get onto her feet. She held out her hand, motioning for a cane or crutch or something and began to speak.

[color=blanchedalmond]"We need to get a policeman, most of them are on Fisher's payroll, if we get to talking to one of them we can figure out where he is and what he's up to. Other than magic I mean."[/color]

Oscar, not understanding that Shams wanted something to prop herself up with, interpreted her holding out her hand as a sign to help her up. He acted fast, taking her hand in his and pulling her up carefully, keeping a hand on her shoulder to steady her. [color=darkgreen][b]"Alright, a police officer. We can do that. Just, uh... No torture. I know how you are. No offense."[/b][/color]