That Evening

Blackcat Bar

“TO OUR FALLEN COMRADES! May they both find the peace they both truly deserve.” James said, raising yet another toast to Jerome and Darla. 

“Here, here!” Said the group of people at the large table that was a bunch of tables pushed together haphazardly at the Blackcat.

“Don’t tell them that! You know they are both going to hell! Jerome will kick the devil off his throne, while Darla is going to make that poor bastard clean the place with his toothbrush if he doesn’t start acting right!” Freddy said, already getting quite deep into his cups. 

“Ahh, you filthy degenerate, stop spreading lies about those two. Darla was a perfect angel… except when she was in the damn pilot’s seat. I’m gonna miss that bitch!” Trix said, punching Freddy in the shoulder.

“Degenerate? Me? I prefer the term ‘A Man of Culture’, thank you very much! Besides, I don’t think I don’t see ya hanging off the old man’s arm there tonight. If I am a degenerate, you’re a gold diggin’ hoe!”

The squabbling continued, people laughed at the pair of them telling each other the unvarnished truth about how they felt about the other, and John could just sit back and shake his head. He did warn them that the Substance X pills and alcohol shouldn’t be mixed. 

After healing the Mechwarriors of the command lance, to the shock of everyone in the room except Rei and James, John led them over to the Blackcat. Rei and Sandy remained behind, waiting for Lucy to come out of the operating room. John really didn’t like it; he should be there for his… Fiancée? Wife? Girlfriend at any rate, but these were strange times. He would have to make it up to her later.

They commandeered the Blackcat, and after paying off the bartender to bugger off for an hour while they talked, John began to tell his story. He had to stop a couple of minutes into it as Maggie and Freddy showed up, along with the mechanic crew from the guards. James told them to pull up a table and said the beers were on John tonight, which he didn’t protest against. Drinks were cheap here, and even watering this ever-growing crowd of people, it would only cost him a few thousand C-Bills at most.

So he started from the beginning, demonstrating his healing magic on Freddy’s arm partway through, and activated his armour to give a clearer visual of his abilities for those who didn’t see the magic flow from him into Freddy. James cut anyone off who tried to question him mid-explanation, threatening to cut off the free drinks for the night if they didn’t shut up. That made John laugh, since it was on his tab, but whatever.

He didn’t bother to say that their world was just based on some story, not wanting to get into the philosophical debate about free will right then. He was getting tired, with nearly all his mana having been drained today and not enough time for his passive recovery to keep up, so he just said the gods were sending him to different worlds to help solve problems. Which was close enough to the truth.

Mia, unprompted by him, started walking around and delivering beers from behind the bar. She paused at some points in his story to stare at him for a moment, then shook her head and continued to act like a servant. She seemed content enough to do that for now, so he left her to it.  

After nearly an hour, he finished and sat down in the chair, exhaustion threatening to overtake him. 

Fuck it, one more, then I am going to bed in a few hours.

He popped another Substance X pill, which James noticed, and asked for another one. Shaking his head at the image stuck in his mind that he was now some pill pusher at a frat party in an old folks home, he ended up giving everyone a pill. He did warn them of the side effects, but it didn’t seem to stop anyone, all of them wanting to try some ‘real magic’ for themselves.

So that is how they found themselves, several hours later, drinking and remembering their lost comrades. John’s revelations were hardly forgotten; however, aside from a few questions, they were ignoring him, focusing instead on the banter of the boisterous Mechwarriors. Mia was standing behind him now that the bar staff had returned, watching everyone but mainly focused on keeping John’s beer full. He finally ordered her to grab a drink and sit down beside him at the very least, the constant shadow reminding him of how Saeko and Tsunoda were acting in HOTD as his guards.

“Is it not improper to be drinking with one of your enemies?” She asked him after a few minutes, her drink having remained untouched.

“We’re warriors, Lass. We drink to remember our fallen comrades. Your boss, or rather your captor, ordered the attack, and I ordered the Guards to defend. I have no issues with you here at our table, especially since you have rather special circumstances, being a slave to those pirates. So celebrate the life of the dead, either ours or ones from your past. Tomorrow, we will talk about your future options with your new boss there, but for now, enjoy the evening.” James said, the man seated on the other side of her. The ancient fossil had an arm wrapped around Trix’s shoulders, the two of them seemingly thick as thieves tonight.

“Mia, you don’t need to drink if you don’t want to. You still seem on edge, so I wanted to help you feel more comfortable and included. You are not in any danger here; no one is going to beat you for saying the wrong thing. You can relax. You are free to return to your room anytime you wish, just come meet me at mine tomorrow morning.” John said, patting her leg.

She looked down at his hand, then up into his eye. Seeing nothing but kindness in it, she nodded. “I will stay for a bit, John Wayne. This is just weird for me. We had our own rituals to celebrate the deaths of fallen comrades, but they were much more structured than… this.”

“ALRIGHT YOU WANKERS! WHO IS READY FOR SOME LIVE MUSIC!” Freddy yelled out from the stage area, his sax in hand. Cheers rose up from the crowd that had piled into the Blackcat. 

“Excellent! Now, for the first set, I call up as our vocalist, JOHN ‘WIZARD’ WAYNE!”

“Oh hell no!” John immediately said, but was drowned out by cheers. 

“JOHN! JOHN! JOHN!” They chanted, making him want to crawl under the table. 

“C’MON JOHN! DON’T BE SHY!” Freddy called across the speakers, beckoning him on to stage.

“Will you sing me a song, my Danna?” A voice said behind him, causing him to nearly jump out of his seat.

“Lucy?” He said, spinning around. She was there, seated in a wheelchair that was being pushed by Sandy. Rei was holding onto her mother’s arm, looking up at him as well. He knelt beside her. “My Tsuma. You’re up already?”

“Yes. Though we had to sneak out. I needed to see you.” She said with a small smile forming on her face.

He looked down at her legs; the steel prosthetics were simple devices that used a similar type of Myomer fibres that Battlemechs used as muscles. Her feet were curved metal bars that he was sure he had seen at the Paralympics before. He was both excited and mortified at the sight, but he did his best to keep it off his face. He took her hands in his and spoke, “I am happy you are out already. Listen, they-“

“C’mon, Mr.Wizard! Come on up here and sing the beautiful lady a song! Don’t keep her waiting!” Freddy egged him on again, holding out a wireless headset with a mic attached. 

“FINE!” He shouted back, then gave Lucy a quick kiss. “I kind of told them everything, well, most everything.”

“We can talk later. Now, go sing me a song, my love.” She replied, kissing him back.

He stomped up to the stage, the cheers from the crowd of drunks following him, and snagged the headset from Freddy. “I bloody hate you some days.”

“I know you do, man. You can choose the first song if you want, just use that computer over there. It will prompt the words on the screen-“

“I know how Karaoke works, dork.” John snapped a little. He started to go through the list of songs that had sax as an instrument. Most he didn’t recognize, but there were three he did recognize, somehow surviving nearly 1000 years in this world. He tossed the first one aside, since it was about regretting cheating, but the next one was even credited to the original artist.

Haha, I even know the lyrics to it!

“You know this one?” He asked Freddy.

“Whew, now that is a true classic. You got good taste, my man. Let’s do this!”

“I still hate you, you know.”

“I know ya do, brother, and I love ya all the more for it!”

The notes started, and John cleared his throat, looking out across the crowd. Sandy had wheeled Lucy up near the stage, his Tsuna looking up at him in anticipation.

God, I am just going to make a fool of myself. Ah, whatever. Let’s do this.

“Don’t go changing to try and please me, you never let me down before, mmm” He started, his deep baritone voice resonating throughout the bar. The place fell silent, except for the mechanical instruments playing in the background.

“Don’t imagine you’re too familiar, and I don’t see you anymore.” He continued, remembering the words from a song he and his deceased wife had played way too many times back in the late seventies and early eighties.

“I would not leave you in times of trouble, we never could have come this far, mmm.” In fact, he was sure that at least one of his children had been conceived to this song playing in the background.

“I took the good times, I’ll take the bad times. I’ll take you just the way you are.” He stepped down from the stage, offering Lucy his hand. She stood, a little wobblily at first, but he supported her as she regained her balance on her new limbs.

“Don’t go trying some new fashion, don’t change the color of your hair, mmm,” He sang, looking into her beautiful black eyes.

“You always have my unspoken passion, although I might not seem to care.”

“I don’t want clever conversation, I never want to work that hard, mmm.” He placed his hands around her waist and started to lead her in a very slow dance.

“I just want someone that I can talk to, I want you just the way you are.” Freddy snapped a few notes on his sax, drawing John more into the music.

“I need to know that you will always be, the same old someone that I knew.”

“Oh, but what will it take till you believe in me. The way that I believe in you?” 

“I said I love you, that’s forever, and this I promise from the heart, mmm.” He continued to sing, brushing a tear from Lucy’s cheek.

“I couldn’t love you any better. I love you just the way you are, all right.” 

Freddy took the stage, starting his saxophone solo, the music enveloping him and Lucy in this moment as they rocked back and forth slowly. The moment lasted forever and ended too soon, before he had to pick up the final chorus.

“I don’t want clever conversation, I never want to work that hard, mmm.”

“I just want someone that I can talk to, I want you just the way you are,” He said, then leaned in and kissed Lucy again as Freddy played them out, the soulful sounds of the saxophone nearly drowned by the waves of clapping and catcalling from the crowd. 

A little ball of energy slammed into the pair of them, nearly toppling Lucy over, as Rei came in to give them both a hug. John picked her up and let her join in the hug with them. 

“That was beautiful, my Danna,” Lucy said, barely heard over the din of the bar. 

“Anything for you, my Tsuma.” He said, kissing her again. 

“Encore! Encore!” Some shouts could be heard from the crowd, many of which John had just noticed had been slow dancing as well. 

“It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?” He said, looking down at her.

“Hopefully not too long. Why not give them another song or two, then we can go to bed?” She said, smiling up at him.

“Heh, yes, Ma’am.” 

Substance X or not, he could really use a nap. Singing some Billy Joel takes a lot out of a person.

Off in the distance, Mia watched their interaction with a curious expression, never having seen how Freeborn people acted before. At least none that were normal people and not pirates. It was a unique experience.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep