Here We Go Again... (Jay/Mod)

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria didn't say anything as Luana explained what she thought was causing the pain. That made sense...Vicki knew that it had something to do with nerves from what the first doctor had told her but hadn't cared to question further. Hearing that there might be some way to control the pain sounded to good to be true...but if it was possible...no if there was a way to stop it or at least make the pain tolerable wouldn't she have found it by now... By now the pain had lessened enough that Vicki could think again and made as if to sit up when Jack spoke up. ........opium..... Vicki knew that the drug would help ease the pain if not stop it entirely but the side effects were certainly not desireable. "No......"Vicki said after it seemed everyone had fallen silent as she looked into Jack's eyes,"I...don't want it... It's just...not worth it..."she continued quietly, hoping Jack would understand. Vicki had dealt with this for years now...yes it was difficult but she could handle it...or at least that's what she kept telling herself.[/scrolly]

[Jay]

Indi didn't realize he'd been scratching the side of his face till he felt a slight pain and noticed a trickle of blood slide down it. Smacking his hand on the side of his face to conceal the blood and hopefully stop more from escaping, he just shook his head as he noticed Luana staring at him. "It's illegal in Usara," was all the brown haired woman replied back with upon realizing that Indi wasn't going to continue.

Jack, meanwhile, just frowned at Victoria and hadn't even returned his gaze to Luana or Indi. "But... I can get a hold of it..." he said more towards Victoria than either of the other two. "And then you wouldn't have to hurt..." he mumbled looking at her with a surprisingly pleading look. He didn't know of any other medication that was strong like that, but...but...

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria sat up fully and shifted so that she her legs were underneath her. Shaking her head, Vicki tightened her grip on Jack's hand slightly,"As often as this happen....it's not worth it..."she said quietly,"I want to still be...me... If I said yes...do you really want to risk...losing me...?"she continued, eyes silently begging him to understand. Sighing as the pain finally seemed to fade away, vicki relaxed and smiled slightly,"I've lived with this for a while...I can handle it..."[/scrolly]

[Jay]

Jack's pupils shrank, and his entire face went white. The sudden feeling that the air had somehow become heavier in the last few seconds was very real to him, and for a few seconds, he just stared at Victoria. He knew very little about the actual affects of the drug outside of the fact that it alleviated pain and that some people could get addicted to it. The thought that it could kill was something else entirely. The thought of losing her, even for a second was already making his heart speed up and making anxiety play ball in the back of his mind. If we killed her... Third started but couldn't finish. Jack as a whole knew already that Ripper had nearly succeeded, but he'd promised he'd never do it again... but now unknowingly he'd............... She... she couldn't die that... that wasn't allowed. She couldn't... And suddenly Jack found himself wrapping his arms around Vicki and holding her closer. "O-o-ok...." was the surprisingly weak reply.

Indi looked towards Luana who looked back at Indi. "There are other things to try that are a bit safer than that you know," the redhead pointed out. Luana just sighed a little at Indi's words. She knew from her experience at the hospital when the capital was bombed that most of what could be sued and most of what was considered standard back home was not here.... in a processed form at least... if they could find the right plant that would be a whole different story... She could process anything even without a fancy lab. That was who Luana was, after all. Indiana, meanwhile, was already going over what else they could use. If if it was cyclical and not very often, then prescribing something heavy wasn't technically that bad as long as they could avoid addiction aspects.

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria's smile disappeared as Jack's face went white only to be replaced with concern. This only lasted a moment before she found herself pulled into an embrace. Surprised at first, Vicki wrapped her own arms around Jack as he spoke,"I'll be fine...promise..."

[/size]Vicki whispered before she set her forehead on his shoulder. Hearing Indi's words, Vicki closed her eyes...as much as she wanted that to be true she didn't want to get her hopes up. If what Indi was saying was true..."What do you mean..."[/size]Vicki whispered, still not moving from her spot.[/scrolly][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[Jay]

Indi looked thoughtful before glancing over at Luana. "Well... if we synthesized some of the tet--oh right... that's......" he started but stopped. "Era might not call it that... but it's a muscle relaxant and pain suppressor that, when injected, will only spread along certain gap junctions between cells in the native area rather than using the blood stream...it makes it so much easier to relax patients who need to come in for mechanical checkups..." Indi hummed a little looking sideways at Luana who rolled her eyes.

Luana rolled her eyes knowing very well that it was meant as some sort of compliment towards her. She had been the one to purify it and synthesize the actual drug, but Indi had fan-spazzed over it for so many years now that it had honestly lost its glamorization along the way...not to mention only a few months after she'd successfully synthesized it, they had had their worst fight in a long time.... "I'd need the right chemicals and a lab," she replied crossing her arms in front of herself and looking away.

A....lab? "Like Alias's?" Jack asked.

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria shifted slightly in Jack's arms so that she could see Indi and Luana as Indi explained what the drug did. It sounded promising but she wouldn't know if it worked until she had another episode... When Luana spoke up, Vicki thought about the lab about the same Jack spoke and couldn't help the small smile that came to her lips. She knew Jack couldn't read her mind but it seemed like that was exactly what had happened. Looking up at Luana, Vicki nodded,"I work in a lab of sorts...but I'm not sure Leon would appreciate having someone else there..."she replied calmly. Normally Vicki wouldn't have brought up the lab in the first place but since Jack had already brought it up there was no real harm in it...[/scrolly]

[Jay]

Both Indi and Luana blinked. For a brief moment, neither one said anything though Indi reached up and scratched his noggin trying to remember if Vengeance had ever mentioned that. He honestly couldn't, but just as he was about to vocalize this, as though to alert Luana that he hadn't kept something from her, Luana suddenly bent forwards with an all but excited expression plasted on her features. "Really? You actually have labs here? Like... really?" she asked trying to fight off the giddy and promising feelings that were suddenly flowing into her. She was extended and couldn't help it though.

Jack blinked upon hearing the exchange of words and slowly nodded his head. "Alias does research and Shadowing stuff there..." he replied gazing at Victoria nervously for a moment. He normally didn't tell people that he had ties with any form of Shadow pokemon if only because there was often a negative reaction, but he honestly didn't care about Shadows, and they made good money.

"Shadowing?" Indi asked before Luana could.

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria blinked at the sudden change in Luana as she leaned forwards and nodded. "Yes...Era has labs...I just told you I worked in one,"Vicki replied before Jack spoke up. Deadpanning, Vicki stiffened slightly at hearing his words only to relax again upon realizing that Indi didn't know what shadowing was...well...that certainly made things easier... Breathing out quietly, Vicki remained silent as she thought about what to say,"Shadows are Pokemon that...are like robots...they listen to commands without question,"she said in a calm, matter of fact voice, hoping that the explanation would be suitable enough.[/scrolly]

[Jay]

Luana blanched. Oh sweet Jesus what...

Indi... looked interested. Suddenly leaning forwards with almost the same intensity as Luana had, Indi stared. "Really?" he asked flashing a solid smile. Jack blinked surprised to see someone so excited about such things. "Are they solid logic? Is that what it is? They don't have to worry about social issues because it's already programmed in?" Indi chattered along continuing to ask questions not really carrying about the answers just yet up until with the grace of whatever power there was, Luana raised a foot and kicked Indi square in the head causing him to topple sideways onto the ground. Jack scooted away rather quickly somehow managing to keep a hold of Victoria despite his movement.

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria deadpanned as Indi suddenly leaned forwards and started to question her much in the same manner Luana had done. Dumbfounded, Vicki couldn't seem to formulate a response to Indi's barage of questions and remained silent until Luana kicked Indi. About that time Jack scooted away from Indi and Luana taking Vicki with him. Sweatdropping at both the motion from Luana and what Jack had somehow accomplished, Vicki remained silent for a time until she had managed to recover at least somewhat from what had just transpired. Shifting slightly so that she was in a more comfortable position, Vicki tried to think of how to answer Indi's questions but couldn't think of anything. Well...there was Achar...that would work...pulling the pokeball from her pocket, Vicki released the Slowbro who simply yawned and stared rather blankly at a nearby tree. "She's a shadow Slowbro..."Vicki offered in way of explanation before falling silent as she replaced the pokeball and leaned against Jack.[/scrolly]

[Jay]

Luana had been about to yell when Vengeance released the pokemon and called it a Shadow -or whatever... Turning her head towards it, she frowned a little at the expression. Indi, however, was suddenly on his feet again and quickly scooted over towards the Slowbro. "Oh my this is just ... but wait... are there any machines inside or..." Indi asked before poking the Slowbro's temple and wishing that he could use his mechanical eye to see inside. Luana frowned a little and slowly started to walk around the pokemon as well.

Jack, meanwhile, watched all of this and couldn't help but stare. Was it really that interesting? He wasn't a scientist, but Shadows were just... Shadows or whatever, right? It seemed almost a little silly to get this worked up about it....

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria deadpanned at the excitement her Slowbro had seemed to cause...it really wasn't all that special... Shaking her head at Indi's question, Vicki sighed,"She's not a machine...Achar was simply put through a process that removed...abnormalties so to speak..."she explained calmly as Indi continued to study her Slowbro. Achar however didn't seem to mind the poking and yawned again, still staring at the same tree. Vicki continued watching the couple study Achar for a short time before shifting so that she was more or less sitting sideways in Jack's lap...it was more comfortable this way after all...[/scrolly]

[Jay]

Indi continued to look about -studying the Shadow pokemon with careful intensity that was only used when he didn't fully understand something. So it was a living thing that functioned like a machine... or rather worked more like a machine than not. It reminded him of his younger years when he was sure machines were king... and ever still, he harbored the idea that they were. "I see..." he replied. Was this something new to look in to? Could they do it to humans? The realization that he would probably be punched in the face for saying such things caught Indi before he spoke the words that had written themselves into his mind.

Luana, meanwhile, continued to look skeptically at the pokemon. "Are there any side effects to this?' she finally asked deciding to use an alternate route to try and pop Indi's bubble before it grew too large. She could already tell by the look in his eye that the gears were turning in his head both rhetorically and physically.

Jack, meanwhile, shifted as Victoria did and as she sat better on his lap, he wrapped his arms around her and set his head on her shoulder. "They're...odd..." he mumbled after a moment. That's not even the half of it Third sighed.

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria hummed softly when Jack set his head on her shoulder and snuggled up to him as Indi and Luana continued studying Achar. The Slowbro wouldn't do anything unless ordered to so Vicki saw no cause for concern at the moment. At Luana's question, Vicki's eyes shifted to her and nodded slightly,"Yes, hyper mode and reverse mode. Hyper mode is pretty self explanatory, during it Pokemon tend to go on a rampage and attack everything in their path and sometimes don't listen to commands. Reverse mode is similar to hyper mode but they may disobey if ordered to use non shadow moves or moves that only shadow pokemon can learn. Thankfully Achar doesn't seem to get in either mode very often...if at all,"she explained before hearing Jack's statement. Smiling, Vicki couldn't help the quiet laugh that escaped her and closed her eyes, humming quietly as she cuddled up to Jack.[/scrolly]

[Jay]

Ah-ha! "That sounds like it could cause problems with others though," Luana quickly snapped on the modes and looked sideways at Indi challengingly. It didn't take but a few seconds for the redhead to realize the words and feel the stare. "But if it rarely happens, it's probably just a controllable system malfunction which is still better than some machines," he challenged back. Both of them stared as the tension between both slowly started to rise.

Jack sweat dropped a little as he watched the tension grow. Was... that what all married people were like? "Well... if it makes things more useful in the lo---" Jack stopped upon seeing brown eyes daring him to finish and already holding daggers to his mouth and throat. Jack shut up, plain and simple. Looking back at Indi shortly after that, Luana crossed her arms. "Indi, no," was finally what was stated. Indi just frowned and reflected something akin to a kicked dog. "Indi..." Luana groaned back. The redhead just continued to reflect that look. Luana sighed.

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria opened her eyes again as Luana spoke up and stared at the couple as they began to argue. She was about to correct Indi about the modes when Jack spoke up only to stop short as Luana glared at him, stopping Vicki's words short. Leering in turn at Luana, Vicki didn't drop her gaze until Luana turned away and sighed, closing her eyes once again before kissing Jack on the cheek. Looking at the couple again, Vicki took a deep breath before speaking "You misunderstand...I said that Achar...my Slowbro doesn't get into those modes very easily or quickly. It depends on the Pokemon in regards to how quickly and how often those modes are triggered..."she explained, falling silent once again.[/scrolly]

[Jay]

Ah-ha-again! Luana smirked a little at Vengeance's words, and it was probably luck on the silver haired woman's part that Luana hadn't fully registered the glare or there would have been an extreme bitch fight underway. "See," Luana 'hmph'ed at Indi crossing her arms in front of herself. Indi just frowned and groaned rolling his single eye a little before laughing. "But still it'd be super cool at least to see, ya got to admit that," the redhead grinned. Luana flinched and sighed. Of course that was the only thing on his mind. "Indi you idiot...."

Jack, meanwhile, was a little surprised by the kiss but smiled easy enough. It was nice... and reminded him that he did have someone right on his lap too.... though he hoped they wouldn't end up bickering like... that sooner or later, as amusing as it actually was in some regards, heh....

[Maid Melody]

[atrb=style,background-image:url(http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s395/malicewright/victoriaslade.png);][atrb=width, 507][atrb=height, 327][atrb=style,border:0 black none,b,Table][scrolly:h(257),w(215),sy,as(padding:4px 0px 5px;margin-top:53px;margin-left:276px;color:#1c3a24;)]Victoria was for the most part ignoring the continued bickering that was going on. It was beginning to get annoying...hearing Indi's comment, Victoria's eyes flashed angrily,"I suppose...if by 'cool' you mean seeing an uncontrollable creature destroy anything and everything in its path with no regard for others or its own safety. It may be useful in some regards but it's certainly not 'cool',"she replied quietly with a slight edge to her voice before sighing,"....it's not something to be taken lightly....if they go out of control it's possible they could kill someone."she continued before falling silent and returning Achar. Closing her eyes again, Vicki rested her head against Jack, seeing no need to comment further.[/scrolly]

[Jay]

Indi was quiet after Vengeance spoke. Luana frowned and looked sideways towards the redhead, but there was something unreadable but familiar on his features. Indi... was all that came t to Luana's thoughts as she realized what exact it was. "In-"

"You're so hard on your own work," Indi suddenly spoke up his voice a bit sharper than intended. "You almost sound like you don't like it. What kind of work ethic is that?" Indi snapped before folding his arms in front of himself. Luana sucked in a breath before smiling a little. Indi... "I mean really... if it's not cool then you shouldn't be doing it," he 'hmph'ed. "Do work that you like not what you don't."

Jack blinked and Indi's words. He's mature... if a bit psychotic... Third noted dryly. However, something about Indi's words didn't sit well in Jack's mind. If you didn't like you work.... but... but his work made money, and it was good! That...but... M...