NT Runner 5 - Yeong - Janna over Joseph (Patreon)

“She hangs out in a DEZ bar downtown.” Kai commented. She was sitting cross-legged popping snacks into her mouth. The only source of food in the hideout that Yeong had seen were high in carb and high in fat snack puffs that likely contained 30% actual food and 70% filler. They tasted very good.

“What is a 'DEZ' bar?” Yeong questioned. He knew DEZ, but not what a bar of people from that region would look like.

“Demonkine Exclusionary Zones. It's-”

“I know that part.” Yeong clarified.

“Oh.” She looked down, her eyes moved back and forth like she was scanning an invisible screen.
“Looks like it's a Syndic hotspot.”

“So our princess is a Syndicist? Isn't that a bit ironic?”

“Maybe?” Kai shrugged.

“Sounds like you know more about it than I do.”

“A bit. They're cross the border into the region I'm from, a lot.”

“Where're you from, anyway?”

“Western Aoia Mountains.” He offered.

“Wow. That place is like a tek void. Did you even have net over there?”

“As you got into the cities you'd be able to go online, but the villages ended up getting electricity just a few decades ago. We're always a bit behind.”

“You must still have old net in the cities, then.”

“They were developing as I left. Things are speeding up.” He refocused the conversation after realizing that they got off track.
“So, it's a DEZ bar in the low-rise districts where our princess is slumming.”

“Looks pretty nice, actually. Good security and great health rating, aside from complaints about smoke. Place is tight.”

* *

On the outside the DEZ bar named 'Rev' looked like a fairly standard low-rise establishment. Tinted glass windows that hid the interior to protect the patrons from being viewed from outside and heavy bars that protected the windows. Since it was on the street level there were extremely dense pegs in front that prevented all but the largest vehicles from ramming. There was no signage on the outside other than posted fliers of missing persons and local events. To go to this place one would need to know exactly what they were getting themselves into. People from The DEZ were hardened and brutal and in the worst case they were faintly radioactive. Regardless of what Kai said, Yeong expected to enter into a dimly lit pit of Gnolls and Incarns, The DEZ's most common denizens.

Instead, when he entered Yeong was treated to an unexpectedly upscale, foofy atmosphere, more like a cafe than a bar. Smoke of questionable origin pooled in the rafters overhead. Dressed-down youth gathered around small tables and in booths to talk and listen to the live show. It was a Wolf DJ playing very mild tunes. Yeong scanned the open interior and spotted Janna seated at a large booth. She was surrounded by others, which complicated things. He resolved to simply approach.

Upon getting closer he noticed that the former idol was dressed somewhat conservatively in a gray turtle neck, round glasses and a red beret. Below the table she sat with one of her long, slender legs crossed over the other and wore a short red skirt with black stockings and red shoes. There was a definite motif around the table. She was sitting with a large Gnoll wearing a red army beret and green army jacket. The front was open, showing off his hairy chest and prominent dog-tags. One of his large arms was draped over the back of the booth, around Janna's shoulders but not touching her directly. To her left was a seafolk with smooth, light gray skin and wet-looking, slick back red hair. She wore a simple tank top and fatigues and of course had the trademark heavy re-breather around the gills on her neck to circulate water. They looked up at Yeong as he approached.

“Comrade.” Janna nodded.

“Huh?” Yeong wondered what brought her to that conclusion, then idly lifted part of his red scarf with one hand.
“Oh...” He sighed.
“Yeah, anyway. You're Janna, right?”

She blushed. The others lifted brows at her. She cleared her throat loudly and clarified. “I go by 'J.'” The moment Yeong said her real name she began to look a little annoyed.

“What do you want?” She heavily hinted with her stare that if an autograph was the question, the answer was a definitive no.

“Okay, J. I need to talk to you.” Janna was a Ciar Elf and looked the part. Smooth dark hair. Dark eyes and pale, ash-hued skin. Her black eyes looked intimidating when they offered such a piercing stare.

“Unless we're talking about important matters, I'm not interested.”

“Important matters?” Yeong questioned.

The Gnoll cut it. “Philosophy. Politics? This is a think tank.”

Yeong chuckled and glanced around the bar. Smoke was rising up to pool in the ceiling and made it hard to think, given what most of the people were lighting.

“A think tank?” He did not mean for it to come off as mockingly as it sounded.

“Yeah.” J warned. The Seafolk woman let out a disapproving grunt and crossed her finned arms. She was muscular.

“Sorry... Who are you?” The Gnoll asked. His wide maw curled up into a grin.
“More importantly, who do you read? Djir, Malik? How about something light, like Milhouse. You look like you read Mil.” He waved his large paw flippantly.
“I mean, you look like you're from the east and you've got an Aoia accent, so you must've at least read the Red Book.”

Yeong shook his head calmly. “I don't really read.”

The Gnoll smiled triumphantly. “There you have it.” He looked to Janna and the other woman for approval and praise.

Janna smiled. “Dolph traveled oversea to volunteer for the DPP so he's received tons of cultural and militia training.” The Gnoll nodded and plucked at his jacked proudly.

“So... Why are you back here?” Yeong asked innocently.

“I- Well, they need young people in different countries ruled by capital to kickstart the revolution.” He argued.

“Uh huh...” Yeong stared at him skeptically.

“Why are YOU even here?” The Gnoll uttered accusingly.

“Like I said-”

“Yeah, we're not interested. “ Janna spoke harshly and turned up her nose.

“Probably a fan.” The Seafolk finally spoke.

“Oooh.” The Gnoll chuckled.
“A shill.”

“No, it's because my ancestor knew your ancestors and-” As soon as Yeong said that she stood up suddenly.

* *

The two sat at a different, secluded table in the corner where the droning music would drown out their conversation more effectively.
“So they know you're an idol but they don't know you're Royalty?”

“I'd like to keep it that way.” She growled.
“What do you want? Why'd you track me down? If you're some weird Royalist LARPer that's more my brother's thing. Go bug him about taking back the homeland for the nobility.”

“I chose to seek you out because my Halmeoni thought you two might be able to help me.”

“Why would they assume that?” She questioned.

“Because the point isn't that you're descended from royalty, it's that you're descended from Coda, the Hero and Jeane.”

She blinked and leaned forward to speak in a low tone. “The hell? How'd you learn those names? That is super, super secret.”

My Halmeoni told me.” He offered cryptically.

“Who's this Halmeoni?”

“It's not too important right now. The point is, she said that it would mean something to you if I told you my name is Yeong.”

She sat back and crossed her arms. “Why would that mean something to me?”

“Because translated to this language it means 'Hero.'”

Her face scrunched up. “So what? Hero is just what people call a lucky person. Unless...”

“Unless? You're not just a Hero, you're a-” She left that hanging, urging Yeong to finish the sentence. He looked across the table at her and shrugged.
“Starts with a T?”

“Oh. Turais. Yeah. Apparently I am.”

She frowned deeply and seemed to be in deep thought. “Apparently the two people you mentioned always hoped another T-word would be born from our family. But it never happened. Can you prove it?”

“Not really. Not easily.”

She groaned. “Okay, okay. What exactly is it you need from us, anyway?”

“You're a mage, right?”

“Presumptuous...” She rolled her eyes.
“But yes. I am. My brother and I both trained from a young age.”

“I need a team to take on ChesAn and to a lesser extent make some money in this city. A mage's skills would be useful.”

She pursed her lips, hesitating. “I want to talk to this Halmeoni of yours before I decide.” Yeong nodded and navigated to his contacts. He pressed the one name other than Kai's on the screen and it began ringing. The woman on the other end picked up instantly.
“Hello? Yeong? How's it going?”

“I found Janna.”

“Who? The descendant of-”

“Oh! Right, right. That's good.” She complimented.

“She wants to speak to you before she decides to help.” Yeong explained.

“Alright. Hand her the phone.” Yeong handed it over to Janna and watched her. He could not hear his Halmeoni talk but could hear Janna and see the subtle shifts in her expression.

“Yeah?” She said, faintly defiant.

“I- Wait...” The girl gulped.

“No.” She shook her head and began to blush.
“No, no. Not at all.” Janna shuddered and handed back the phone after less than a minute.

“What'd you say?” Yeong asked.

“I just let her know a few of the things her ancestors got up to. Stuff that's in her 'blood'. Girl's pretty squeamish. Seems like an easy sc-” Yeong hung up and ignored the call back and the message that came after the callback.
[Did I get disconnected?]

“So, can you help?” Yeong asked.

She hid her face in her hand and stared at him through the slit in her fingers. “You want to Run? You're setting up to become Jobbers?” A smile slowly spread across her lips.
“Sounds pretty... Punk.” She added emphatically.
“I'm in.” With that she took her beret and spun it into the ceiling. She then opened her palms, closed her eyes and smiled widely. Her turtleneck shrunk and shifted into a tight black tube top that showed off her cleavage. A purple streak appeared in her hair and her round glasses changed into purple contacts. As she stood up Yeong was able to see her skirt had changed into a little purple thong and tight black stockings with purple runners. Her earings had disappeared. He could not tell where they had gone.

“Did you just change your entire persona?” Yeong questioned.

“Genre, and why not?” Janna stuck out her tongue, showing off a prominent metal stud that explained where her piercings had gone. The other had somehow moved to her navel.  
“I'm gonna be a Jobber. A young mage living on the edge of society living paycheck to paycheck, never knowing if I'll wake up the next day.”

“Glad you're enjoying this. I didn't want to force you.”

“Didn't want to?” She lifted a thin brow.

“Sorry. I wouldn't have forced you.” He clarified.

“Alright.” The way she said it made it clear that she was not sure if she believed him.
“Where's the base?”

“The what?”

“The hideout. Probably some abandoned warehouse, right?” Yeong stared at her in disbelief.
“What? It's standard.”

“I'll send you the address.”

“Do we got a first job, already?”

“Not quite. Probably something light.”

“Got it.” Janna gave a thumbs up.
“Let me know when you know.”

* *

As Janna left and as Yeong was leaving he felt as though someone was watching him. He stopped suddenly and noticed a limousine roll up beside him. The window rolled down to reveal a very pretty man with long dark hair tied back in a pony tail, black eyes and ash-hued skin. He was wearing a black suit with a purple tie and purple shoes.
“Need a lift?” The man asked. Yeong recognized him to be Joseph, as he looked extremely similar to his twin. He had not anticipated meeting the brother when he chose to meet the sister, but he was not exactly complaining. As Yeong hesitated he narrowed his eyes.
“I'll cut to the chase if you're not going to answer. We need to talk about my Sister and why she will not be joining you. Before you ask, yes I heard everything. Before you simply say no and choose to ignore more, I have some important information for you.”