Kaiser Hospital, Sacramento

Argyle thought he felt something in his arm. It was warm now. He didn't feel so bad anymore. It felt cramped, like he wasn't laying on the ground outside anymore...

He opened his bleary eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling, the light above burning his corneas. The beeping of an EKG could be heard. Besides that, it was silent. He lowered his eyes to see himself lying in a hospital bed. It felt comforting. An IV drip was in his arm.

He still felt tired, and hungry, but it felt like nothing compared to when he was laying on the ground at the circus. He wondered if the battle was still going on, or if one of the monsters had managed to slay the other one. He was beginning to realize that he really didn't ca--

His thoughts were interuptted when he heard the sound of a page turning, and his head snapped over to see a woman sitting next to her bed. She sat in a wheelchair, and he didn't recognize her.

Olivia looked over when she heard the rustle of movement on the hospital bed. "Hello. How do you feel?" She marked her book and removed the cane from where it rested next to the bed. "I brought this again for you. I always like having my wheelchair close so i figured you'd need it." she set it on his bed carefully. "the doctors say you should be able to leave by tomorrow, but you have to go very easy on that leg and get some rest for awhile. Ciaran got us all hotel rooms though, so don't worry about that." The mermaid buzzed the nurse and she came up with some hospital food. Olivia made a gagging motion behind her back as she set it down and began to pick her book back up as the nurse left, smirking slightly. "The hospital food is as delicious as the hospital gowns are flattering."

"At least it's something," he grumbled. His stomach felt like it was devouring itself by now. Before he dug in though, he eyed the cane next to him.

"... I don't really want it anymore."

He seized the food on the tray and began cramming it down his throat. It was delicious, almost heavenly. It was a welcome comfort after the long, unusual day. He glanced at Olivia, who continued to read. She did seem a little familiar, after all. Perhaps one of Elata's fellow circus people.

The tray was clean within a few minutes, and he chased it down with the small cup of milk that accompanied it. He let out a long sigh. He was still hungry, but somewhat satiated.

"Thanks. Did you bring the other guy here too?"

"Oh," Olivia took the cane and laid it on the other bed. "and which other guy?" after watching how the man ate the hospital food she began digging around in a backpack she carried on her chair and brought out some oranges. They were one of her favorite fruits. She took out a pocket knife and began peeling it. She also poured him a glass of water. Taking the time to study him, he was actually quite good looking under all the...homelessness. He really needed a haircut though. "oh also, they threw away your clothes. they weren't really that useful anymore anyway, really dirty and all torn up. Do you have anymore somewhere?" she had a feeling he might not, but you never know. He might just be a really scruffy individual. Elata said she had seen him on the news a couple times but Olivia hadn't asked for what. He seemed an interesting man though, not too bad to have to spend a night in a hospital with. She handed him an orange.

"Black hair, golden irises. He was the guy that got shot in the head."

Since Praetorius had hesitated about giving his name--and because he seemed to be a very cautions individual to begin with--he withheld that information for now. At least the woman was nice enough, and not as annoying as Elata. It was a welcome comfort that he didn't wake up to her face leering over him with that stupid smile on.

"Oh also, they threw away your clothes. They weren't really that useful anymore anyway, really dirty and all torn up. Do you have anymore somewhere?"

"Damn it," he grumbled aloud. "Not really." He had a few safe-houses around the country, but none in this area. If he could pick up a spare set of clothes, it wasn't anywhere nearby. The coat he had left in the hotel room... He disregarded that; he didn't think he would want to put that back on anytime soon.

The hotel room. He couldn't believe he forgot.

"Hey," he said quickly. "I have some valuables left in my other hotel room. Two rifles. They need to be safe."

"oh yes him. We took him to the same hotel we'll be staying at later. As for your rifles, what hotel and what room? You'd probably like a little privacy for a bit, I can go get them for you if you can give me a way to get in. Also, i could probably find you some clothes...though i'm not very up to date on fasion. As long as you pay me back." She didn't really care if he did pay her back. He looked down on his luck enough as it was. The guns though, she was willing to do that for nothing. He looked really worried about them, even moreso than clothing. She shut her eyes as she pictured him naked with nothing but two guns on him. Upon the reflection the image was a bit hilarious, she chuckled a little and handed him a peice of paper to write down the address and room number.

He took the paper and wrote down where he was staying.

"Best Western Hotel, 236 Jibboom St, room 31.

"They're under the bed. My room key was in my pocket, so it should be among my few valuables I had on me. And I'll pay you back for clothes."

His Glocks were probably long gone. If the battle was over, they were evidence now. Luckily, he made sure he had no police profile while he was still a dealer, so the fingerprints would not get back to him, but he still pained a little at the loss of his guns. Oh well... If Bello put the loan through, he could buy some new ones.

"Thanks for your care. I was going to die without it."

Argyle, needless to say, really did not want to die. Not yet.

"Well of course. We wouldn't just leave you there," She smiled and secured her blanket around her lap before exiting the hospital room. So many things were going through her head. What were those things, who were these people. What did Elata have to do with them? She wanted to ask that man so many questions but he was in pretty bad condition, and considering how he had treated Elata previously, she didn't want to push...not that she didn't want to punch Elata occasionally. As she rode on the bus to the Best Western she thought through all the myths and legends and stories she'd heard of the things that the two creatures could possibly be. She eventually came to the conclusion that nothing she'd heard matched it. Of course, it was entirely possible she just hadn't read about it, but nonetheless, she had a feeling no one had. That was one question she would definitely have to ask the red headed man. What on earth were those things? Surely he knew. Eventually she reached the hotel, found his room, and under the bed inside, his rifles. Now the tricky part. How to get them back to the hospital? She dragged the sheets off the bed and wrapped them up, tying them so they looked like a crutch, to anyone not paying enough attention. Thank goodness for being a cripple! People didn't like to 'bother' you with silly questions. She stashed them behind her and made her way back to the hospital. A nurse did stop her and ask what they were, but she glared at her and she apologized and left. She rolled into Argyle's room again an hour later and set the guns on the bed. "They should be okay, i took care not to bump them on the trip here." She let him check to see if they were alright before she asked. "So...I don't want to annoy you but, what on earth were those things?"

He carefully drew the rifles out of the package to inspect them. Of course, she had taken great care of them on the way here. The Springfield was in great condition. The other... Accuracy's rifle wasn't like any model he had ever seen. He could name a few that it resembled of course, but upon closer inspection, it didn't quite match any. He had never fired it. He knew he eventually would, but not quite yet.

"So...I don't want to annoy you but, what on earth were those things?"

He paused as he stared down the barrel of Accuracy's Rifle, and turned to her with a wary look. He had to give her some slack. She wasn't as pushy as Elata, and any sane individual (and a good array of insane ones, surely) would question what they had seen. But, unfortunately for her, she lacked as many answers about the two as she.

"No clue. The zombie one attacked me before, but I never got any answers before today. The metal one is even newer, I was on the ground before it even showed up to fight with the thing."

He paused. Of course, he could go into detail about the Objects. He knew that's what Muramasa was after. It only attacked Seekers. But should he say anything? He thought back to when he first read about the Objects.

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to.

Everything had gone downhill from there. Everything he knew about the Objects and the Seekers, he wished he could forget. It was a world of madness, of obsession. Once you learned about the Objects, you couldn't let it go. There was a reason the Holders could be found in mental institutions. It's where you'll end up too.

"You're probably better of not knowing what exactly they are. I understand your concern for you and your friends safety, but trust me."

"That's too bad, but I was hoping you had some answers, but I guess we're in the same boat." She frowned and thought hard. "I've been going over every legend in my mind that I could think of and I've come up short, and what you just said has made me even more curious...but after meeting you all, i'll take your word that i'm better off." She wasn't stupid. She was sure a warning from this man was a warning to heed. He looked like he'd been through tough times. Not to mention if he had the balls to fight something as terrifying as that 'zombie' creature, then he must have seen things as bad or worse. Considering that made her also consider Elata in a new light. What had SHE seen that she had attacked it so furiously? Both of them were very brave. She looked the red headed man in the eyes " I don't know what you've gone through, but I wanna say...you have got to have a lot of strength in you. You should be congratulated for trying to fight that thing." Ah, she had almost forgotten. She grabbed a shopping bag and handed it to him. "you can try these on, i hope they fit...you don't actually have to worry about paying me back for them. There, that can be your trophy." She handed him a black long sleeved shirt, some jeans, and some old red converse shoes. "sorry if the red's too bright for you, i went to good will and they were the only guy shoes that didn't look COMPLETELY stupid or were too beaten up."

"I don't know what you've gone through, but I wanna say...you have got to have a lot of strength in you. You should be congratulated for trying to fight that thing."

His eyes widened in surprise. Congratulated? For what? He was only defending himself. Wouldn't that be expected from anyone? He was honestly surprised, but he didn't mind the compliment. It had been a long time since anyone had complimented him.

"Thank you. I'm not sure what else to say. I was just defending myself..."

She handed him a bag of clothes and showed him the contents. He really didn't mind what kind of clothes they were, as long as they fit him. He could try them on at least; the robe wasn't flattering.

He paused. His leg was still throbbing. "I'm not sure if I can stand up at this moment..."

"That makes two of us," she said grinning impishly. "You think you can sit up and swing your legs over the bed?" This would be mildly awkward, but her friends helped her all the time and she didn't have any clothes at all anymore. Time for a taste of her own medicine. She turned her wheelchair around putting her back to him. "if you can get them most of the way, you can stabilize yourself on my shoulders to pull them the rest of the way up. Hope you've got good balance. " She began to pull her hair up so he wouldn't end up pulling it before she realized she was around strangers for once. She quickly arranged it back as it was, she could deal with the pulling, she accidentally sat on her hair, closed it in doors, ran over it with her wheels when she bent over to get something, just about anything you could think of. The weight of him should be no problem. To break talk away some of the awkwardness while he arranged himself she asked. "So, you're Argyle right? I hear you clocked Elata with your gun...I gotta say I knew someone had to do it eventually." she laughed a little as she said it. "but nonetheless she came back that day happy as ever. She even still likes you."

This was... embarrassing... Oh well. He had always been fairly modest, but it was the least of his worries right now. He put his legs over the bed and removed his gown awkwardly, before sliding the clothes up his legs. He sucked in a breath through his teeth every time his leg moved in a way that sent pain rocketing up his leg.

He mentally groaned as he set his ankles on her shoulders to help them the rest of the way. This is ridiculous... His old mannerisms were showing again. He felt a small knot in his stomach at this; he felt a little too helpless for comfort.

Olivia mentioned Elata, and he scrunched up his face in pain and annoyance.

"What a moron..." she groaned. "She was poking her nose into something very sensitive for me. She had already annoyed me enough up to that point."

He finally got his pants on and quickly swung his legs back into bed, trying to forget the scene seconds before.

"Yes, I'm Argyle. What's your name?"

"I'm Olivia," She said shaking his hand firmly. "She's not that much of a moron really, she just gets way overly concerned and if you look like you're having a bad day she starts asking questions and fusses and on and on." She sighed thinking about it. Olivia liked to think of herself as self sufficient but Elata was always trying to help her in some way. She told the woman several times she could do whatever it was herself, and if she needed help she'd ask but the little energy ball was there anyways, getting things for her, moving things out of her way, etc. She knew she meant well but damn, was it annoying. "but yeah, no one blames you for what you did. You probably wouldn't care if they did anyway. The woman really can be a pain, i mean you think she bothered you? I'm in a wheelchair, she gives me no peace. One day I might even smack her one. You want another orange?" She took a couple out and started peeling them. They always made her feel good. She rubbed her shoulders where he had pushed with his heels with one hand and popped an orange slice into her mouth with the other before handing him the second one.

"Sure." He took the orange from her and munched on it. His stomach rejoiced. This was much more comfortable than being around Elata. Had the "energy ball" been here, he might have needed to use one of his rifles. Olivia probably wouldn't appreciate the fact that he was thinking such thoughts.

He thought back on the events of the day. Seekers and monsters everywhere... It had thrown him off completely. Not that he had been doing terribly much before then, but being caught up in the events had left him winded. Once he saw Praetorius again, perhaps he could clear more things up.

He looked down at Olivia's wheelchair, now that she had mentioned it. Since she seemed confident of herself, he figured she wouldn't mind a few questions herself.

"Might I ask about the wheelchair?"

"oh, yeah my legs are fused together. I was born like this." she lifted up the blanket to reveal her legs. Skin grew around them so it really did look like a mermaid tail. The skin was covered in stretch marks though from her growth throughout the years. "it's pretty weird, the doctors aren't sure how it happened exactly. Usually in these cases my legs would be deformed but really their fine. There's just a lot of blood vessels and whatnot, if I try getting an operation I might just bleed right out. But I can feel them and everything." She moved her 'tail' up and down for him. "Also, i wouldn't be able to be the mermaid without them." she smiled. "People are pretty amazed, i make a lot of money." She looked down her legs and wiggled her toes. She needed to put some lotion on them. It was really quite amazing that they worked at all, and for that she was thankful. She put the blanket back down over her legs and tucked it in. It had gotten caught on things and come off a couple times. She'd liked to avoid that.

His eyes widened. He certainly had never seen a deformation like that. Yet, for a birth defect like this, it was remarkably normal. Her bone structure seemed normal, and there was little tissue deformation to go with it.

Had she volunteered for this? Additionally, she was so willing to show him her legs; he was surprised she wasn't more ashamed of it. Many disfigured people he had seen were raised with pity, taught to hide their imperfections.

"It certainly is interesting; I've never seen anything like it." He paused. "And you seem very comfortable with it. That's very admirable."

Olivia shrugged. "No reason not to be, It's how I came out. Besides, I like working at the circus, they didn't have a mermaid until I volunteered. Also, thanks to this thing Ciaran and Dhaval stay the hell away from me," She smiled and chuckled. "Also after working at the circus, I suppose I'm just used to showing everyone. To be honest I was a little shy at first, but only because I wasn't used to having SO many people looking at me in one day. " she paused. She had never been called admirable before. "Besides, all I do is entertain people. Even if you were just defending yourself, you're still more admirable than me. I would have run away immediately." She popped another orange slice in her mouth. She decided she would ask him some questions as well. "I of course don't mean to pry, but why are those guns so important to you? You seemed really worried about them. " She held her book up defensively in front of her face, peering over it with laughing eyes.

Argyle looked down at his rifles thoughtfully. They were both very important to him, of course, but for different reasons. One sentimental, one practical.

"I don't want to say much," he started. "But the older one belonged to someone close to me. I can't say anything about the other one. Sorry, but I'm a private person."

He hoped she wouldn't be too offended, but she was much more mature than the others. Surely she would understand. He didn't want to tell anyone the true meaning behind both of the guns.

"Of course, don't worry about it. Curiosity killed the cat anyway, right?" She lowered her book into her lap and began to read again. She found Argyle to be a very agreeable person. The rifles probably had something to do with all the other stuff she shouldn't hear the answers to, and she wasn't offended at all. She stopped after a bit to peel him another orange. "Oh, we got a REALLY nice hotel. The Red Lion. You'll like it, but you should probably get some more rest. " She poured him another glass of water and went back to her book. Tomorrow would bring a whole new, hopefully much less interesting day. She would love to do absolutlely nothing all day tomorrow. She probably wouldn't be so lucky.

"I'm looking forward to it," he said softly, putting his rifles aside tenderly. Then, he laid back down and stared at the cieling with some measure of contentment. He wouldn't be here for long, so he wanted to savor the peace.

Yet, even so, he should prepare himself. Once he left the hospital, his temporary safe place, he would be thrust back into the fray. Either one--or both--of the monsters would attack again, or he would at least meet one of the other people from the library.

He wondered where the other two were--Harley and Lucas. Were they waiting at the hotel? Or had more than one person been killed in the fight, and he had just not witnessed it?

Olivia shook Argyle awake gently. The doctors had checked his stats and he could go home as soon as he woke up. She leaned back in her chair as he stirred awake. When his eyes finally opened she greeted him with a good morning. "Are you ready to go? The doctors say your clear. I got your stuff together." She had wrapped the rifles up again and gotten his other belongings into a sack. She hoped he wouldn't mind taking a bus with handicap access. She held the cane in her lap. "Also, they said you'd probably need this. Now I know you probably just wanna tough it out but this could be really handy." She held the cane out to him. She didn't want him to tear his stitches out, and it was a pretty nice cane.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go ahead and get down there," he said, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He felt refreshed, something he had missed over the past couple days. And, he was also a little surprised that nothing had come to kill him in his sleep.

Olivia offered him the cane, and he frowned at it a little. He knew it would help him, but he had spotted a trend. Whenever he used the cane, it helped his wound heal. Yet, as soon as he put it down, his injury would come back even worse than before. It was an Object; he suspected the worse.

"Is there any... other thing I can use? I wouldn't mind crutches either. I just don't want to use this one."

Olivia cocked her head to the side a little in confusion. Ah, it must just be one of those things...if these situations kept popping up, she might have to pry, even if she shouldn't. She began to lay the cane back down on the opposite bed sporting a confused facial expression, but decided against it. It was a really nice cane and she shouldn't just leave it here, especially if it was dangerous in some way. She turned and secured it to the pack on the back of her wheelchair. "I'll take it, just in case. I'll go ask the nurse about some crutches or something." She wheeled out and returned a few minutes later with some. "Here you go." she said smiling. "Let's blow this popsicle stand." She wheeled out slowly so Argyle wouldn't lose her. Soon they were out of the hospital and on the bus, heading to the Red Lion hotel.

The bus was about to leave when a hand reached in to grab the railing, and the busdriver quickly took her hand off of the handle that closed them. A blonde man nodded his thanks as he stepped onto the bus and sat in the front seat. He did not look back at the rest of the bus. He didn't need to; he had seen the two board the bus.

Wherever the bus was headed, he knew it would take them to their companions. One in particular was of interest to him, and one of his main goals while he was in Sacramento. Praetorius would be there.

The rest would come later. The man-beast, the metal man, and the undead Muramasa... He would investigate them afterward. They weren't terribly important in the long-term, but interesting enough that they deserved some looking into. Though that was not to say they may serve him some good in some way.

The bus rumbled away from the hospital, Marnin staring straight forward from behind the bus driver.