VI.II Sleepless Beauty
Author: MokouFriedChicken
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56
Eremes was not having a good day.

*Thud!*

Having installed the last part of the carpets, they were finally ready to start retrofitting in the platforms that would later become the main stage of the auction.

*Thud!*

Even now boards upon boards of thick plywood and steel beams were being unloaded onto the floor, each piece echoing a resounding thud as they hit the ground near the back end of the hall.

The miffed boss found himself pinching his nose every time one of his workers dropped more of their required building materials onto the floor. Whoever was the tenant underneath that spot, he just wished that he or she was either not in their room, or would forgive them for the amount of noise they were making.

*Thud!*

"Is this really necessary boss?" Ryan asked beside him, cringing along with the beat as each crash of dropped material sent a ringing tone through his ears. "Shouldn't we be, y'know, quiet?"

"This is my fault." The head admitted as he too shuddered with the amount of noise t
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    *BANG!*The intimidated repairman sighed as the door slammed shut in the irate woman's wake, wincing as the loud bang echoed throughout the hall. "Well, that just happened."Eremes thought he had steeled himself from the worst of the complaints, but in the end, he didn't expect such a vitriolic display of cold rage to wash over him today. Especially since it came from the one person that he actually thought would understand. Bitchy as she may seem a few seconds ago, Athena wasn't one for needless tongue lashings. Unless if it was for her own enjoyment. Not that he could fault her for it. Besides, if it was him that was sleep deprived, he would launch on a tirade of his own."Who was that boss?" One of his men asked as the head approached the work area. "An angry tenant complaining about the noise," Eremes muttered in disdain. These guys really need to control themselves every once in a while. "Everybody listen up!" The head of maintenance called as he gathered up his unruly crew. "

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    Stepping inside what was now looking like his final resting place, Eremes found himself dangerously close with what seemed to be his meditated murder by the hands of a sleep-deprived tenant. He positioned himself by the farthest corner of the elevator, trying his best to put as much distance between himself and his would-be executioner. ......"Where to Eremes?" The terrified repairman flinched at her sudden query, her sweet tone off-putting compared to the current tension he was feeling. "G-ground floor."Wordlessly, the serene novelist made the input on the elevator panel, closing the elevator doors and sending both of its occupants towards their desired destination, before then settling back to her previous state of staring back at her apparent hostage, an uncanny smile still adorning her face. "Uhhh...."Eremes was at a loss for words, his gaze darting back and forth between the very interesting view of the setting sun from the glass windows, and the looming visage of a woman s

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    "I'm first!""I won!"Did they finish at the same time!? No way. She's sure she had it in the bag!"I finished fir-" *Hic* "-first Eremes!" The confident author proclaimed. "I saw you still chewing before-" *Hic* "-you shouted!" *Hic* It was so painful even to speak, her lungs set on fire as the hiccups continued to come in full force."You lie!" *Hic* "You can barely see any-" *Hic* "-thing!" Her opponent retorted. "I refuse to-" *Hic* "-pay for your drinks!" Come now.. Just accept defeat already."Uhmm.. If I may?" The waitress on-demand meekly interjected, catching both competitors' attention. "Judging from both of your performances, you both finished at the same time, in my opinion." Really? "But enough about that! Kudos for beating the first half of the challenge!" Wait...First half!? It's not over?!Here it comes~"It's not-" *Hic* "Over?!" The flabbergasted author can only fan at her mouth as Eremes barked at the waitress in disbelief. "Haven't you-" *Hic* "Tortured us enough?!

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    That was so awkward! Him and Athena? A couple? Not in a million years!Dragging the stunned author by her feet, Eremes high tailed out of the offending stall, his bundled up t-shirt in tow as he beelined towards an empty bench to sit on. "...uple....h.t...feel.." Behind him, his charge was talking to herself, an indescribable aura emanating off of her as she mindlessly followed along. What was this menacing pressure he was feeling? Sitting her down on a well-lit bench, the repairman sat beside her, not knowing his next move for the unplanned night."Hey." He waved to a muttering Athena, her eyes as open as it would currently get as she mumbled to herself. That's not foreboding at all. "'Thena.""...el...wh....co..." Was she having... "Hey!""Yes?" The lucid author asked, turning to him as if nothing was ever wrong in the first place. "Is there something the matter?"Eremes let out an unconscious sigh as Athena was once more back to the world of the living, looking no worse for wear b

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    "This is the place." In front of the pair, a familiar building stood, its facade now emitting a cool neon glow as it beckoned for potential costumers. "Right on time too.""Here again? Seriously?" Eremes knew that there was a bar in there, but still.. "Aren't the drinks here just as expensive as the food?""Nonsense. It's reasonably priced for the quality." His imminent drinking partner rebuked as she pulled him into the establishment. "And the drinks here are really good."As its name implied, the Sun and Moon also had a bar at the backside of the establishment; a blue nondescript mahogany door being the divider between the warm, rustic cafe at the front, and the cool azure velveted room at the back. The reluctant repairman followed closely as she led him through the majority of the cafe, the front counter extending towards and seemingly past the wall as they approached their destination."May I see some I.D. miss?" Behind the counter, a heavily bearded man who looked to be in his thi

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    XII.II Ending Ceremony

    "Lady Mendel, I propose one more bid."Hoho~ What does he have up his sleeve to be this bold?~Aletheia's eyes widened as Eremes began his opening gambit, his left hand holding his smartphone as he stared at Mother dead in the eye. What was he planning?"An interesting proposal Mr. Patillo." Mother humored, her tone clearly not taking his offer seriously. "While we both know that you have nothing in terms of bargaining power, I'll humor you, just this once." A dangerous game, he's playing, no?Far too dangerous for her liking. Sweat trickled down her lightly make-upped cheek as Mother leaned closer to the repairman, both hands clasped under her chin as a sickly sweet smile masked the malice hidden underneath. The novelist's hands trembled in her lap as she hoped to god that Eremes knew what he was doing."Okay.." The man in front of them began as he fiddled with the phone in his hand. "I have here, a recording of everything that happened here on this rooftop that Wednesday night." Wh

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    XII.I Ending Ceremony

    Time moves forward...⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛"Where do you think you're going, Patillo?!" A deep booming voice shouted at him as he buttoned up his brown rented suit. "I've already told you-""I need to go to the rooftop now, Boss." Eremes ground out, his one hand already on the elevator panel as his boss refused to let him go. "After that, I'll be out of your hair forever.""You no longer have the authority to even board this elevator, Patillo!" Basco shouted as his one hand stopped the elevator door from closing. "I want you out of my hotel, right now!"Unemployment was the least of his worries as he took another glance at his wristwatch. Damn it, he needed to be on that rooftop by eight or he'll miss his last chance to get Athena back! "C'mon, boss!" Eremes pleaded, trying to avoid things getting a tad too physical. "Just this once-""One last chance, Patillo." The burly man spat, his patience clearly wearing thin. "Leave the premises, before I throw you out myself."Taking another glance at hi

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    XI.V Midnight Auction

    "Athena?"Peeking behind her disheveled hair, the hunched-up daughter struggled to hide her surprise as a familiar voice called out to her old name. Hopeless eyes feasted as the comforting familiarity of the repairman's visage eased the threatening abyss inside her. Eremes? What was he still doing here?Don't get your hopes up."Take us to the ground floor, Mr. Patillo." Mother stated still in front of her, anger audibly bubbling beneath the faux politeness. "I do expect that you won't fail even that.""Yes ma'am."The elevator lurched, before slowly beginning its descent back down towards the cold unforgiving ground. Aletheia merely kept to herself, hoping that if she made herself small enough, Mother wouldn't notice her presence. Useless."H-Hey-""Don't you dare talk to me, Mr. Patillo." The frightened child recoiled at her mother's tone, learned instincts taking over rationality as the older woman berated his once companion. "You had but a single order, and yet you chose to disob

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    XI.IV Midnight Auction

    "I bid a lifetime of servitude!" Eremes bravely announced as he intrepidly stood up from his seat. His back already in a cold sweat as he felt the cold stares from around the offended crowd, not to mention the murderous intent coming directly from his chaperone. Boy did he really shit the bed now. But seeing her in such a sad state.."Athena!"If it wasn't for her tilting her head upward, he might not have recognized her behind her hair. What was she doing on stage? With a different name no less? "I don't know what's going on-" Did Athena lie to him? Why hide her identity? Was this what she meant about not going back? Why then? Why lie?"But I'll get you out of there!"Steeling his resolve, the intrepid repairman shouted out his bold declaration. Explanations can come later. Right now, he needed to find a way to get to her. She clearly needed help, like during the time he first saw the novelist that fateful night. What was this feeling, a sense of protectiveness? Maybe it's because

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    XI.III Midnight Auction

    "I shall now begin the first trade.""Ugghhh..."The novelist woke up to the amplified sounds of a monotone announcement, groaning at the dull pain of a rising headache. Emerald eyes slowly blinked open, showing its owner a starless night sky. Where was she? How did she get here?Took your sweet time girly."Coming from my own sources, a complete detailed report on the 2015 projected 4th Quarter earnings of the Honn Maritime Company."Droning out the loud sounds behind her, the discombobulated author tried to get into a seated position, at least to get her bearings before assessing the situation she found herself in. Shaking off the last bits of sleep-induced grogginess, she willed her hands and-"Khhh!" A brief flash of pain shot up from her wrists and ankles. Huh? That was odd. "Ten billion from Alexandria. Do I hear-."Do try to remember girly~A voice echoed in her mind to try and remember. But what? And why couldn't she move her arms and feet? A dull throb beat rhythmically in h

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    XI.II Midnight Auction

    "I'm quite surprised, you clean up nicely, Mr. Patillo." "I'm surprised myself, Miss Mendel." Eremes hooked the tight of his collar as his contractee companion for the night admired his current appearance. "And thank you for the suit.""It's the least I could do for someone that's caught my eye~." A teasing tone escaped from the older woman's lips, a tone that sent foreboding shivers through the unwilling companion's spine. "It wouldn't do for a companion of mine to not be at their best."*Ding*The elevator chimed as it opened its doors to an unlikely pairing of humble repairman and honorable vice-mayor."Shall we?"Nodding to her pseudo command, the red-suited Eremes let his equally red hanfu clad benefactor onto the waiting elevator first, the older lady's gait as regal and commanding as it could be before boarding the elevator himself. The steel metal doors closed as their vertical carriage awaited input."Whe-""Rooftop, please." Lady Mendel chirped, but from his perspective, it