Jyve Nightclub

Along the busy streets of the Electown, right near the main strip is a seemingly inconspicuous door which looks almost out of place. The door is painted black, with a large vertical bar on one side, used as a handle. When touched, the large handle lights up with a rich emerald green glow, and a heavily stylized "J" lights up in yellow in the center of the door. As you grip the handle, you can feel a faint vibration like a rapidly beating heart. As you open it, you hear the sounds of the speakers belting out bass-rich melodies that echo up the neon-lit staircase that leads to the club below.

Welcome to Jyve.

There are a pair of men in crisp dark slacks and button-up shirts, one checking IDs, and the other handing out large pins, shaped like the Jyve logo. They light up upon activation, and actually start to flicker with the sound of the music. These aren't just a fad-like advertisement; if you look closely, you'll see a small projector lens nestled in the curve of the J, and you'll also find a program attempting to access your PET. If you let it through, your Navi can also enjoy the club's atmosphere by being projected in front of you as a hologram. Don't try to filch these surprisingly high-tech trinkets, both exits are lined with emitters that cause the pins to ring, vibrate, and flash wildly to not only alert you, but also the bouncers.

Jyve is a rather large establishment, surprisingly so for being almost entirely underground. The walls are lined with lights of various colors, but are kept down low to give the club a nice ambiance. Off to the left is a very long, two-sided "island" design bar, which is partially set into the floor. A trio of bartenders in Jyve apparel stands within the island, and they are equipped to take your drink orders and supply drinks to every square inch of the oval bar. The bar counter itself appears black, but there are inset lights that curve and turn inside the counter, giving it a very digital look.

Just a few feet of dark red carpet away is the main attraction: Jyve's 100 square foot dance floor. The floor's white surface is a large contrast to the dark red carpet surrounding it, but it allows for the vast multitude of lights, low intensity lasers, and disco balls to shine brightly even on the floor. The borders of the large tiles in the floor glow in a slowly shifting array of colors. The dance floor itself is square in shape, with 3 very wide staircases (only 3 steps) on three of the sides. The other side is blocked off by the large DJ booth, with a wide glass window allowing the DJ an excellent view of his guests. Smoke machines dot each corner of the dance floor, and large wooden rails line the rest of the dance floor to allow people to watch without risk of falling in.

There's a smaller "island" style bar to the right of the entrance as you walk in, and is almost directly facing the DJ's booth. The right side of the dance club is lined with booth-style seats and tables, with circular tables dotted around, and standing tables right next to the rail. If you look closely at the edges of the tables attached to the booth seats, there are small lit up rectangles, highlighting multiple Jack-In Ports set into the tables themselves. There are more tables sprinkled throughout the dance club, but the right side seems to be the official "sitting area." One may think the distance between the tables and the bar would be an annoyance, but fear not! For there are waitresses and waiters constantly moving about, selling the drinks they're carrying on their lit-up trays and taking orders on the way.

There are a pair of restrooms on the far right corner, and down a wide hallway, long enough to take a breather from the lights and sounds of the club. There are a couple benches, 5 small phone booths set into the wall, and several Jack-In Ports near various posters and newspaper clippings showing some of the club's venues and achievements over it's surprisingly successful existence.

So kick back, and grab yourself a drink! Another plus is Navis drink free! The holopins allow you to access an assortment of tasty beers, wines, spirits, and liqueurs; the club draws enough revenue from its real-world guests and venues they hold throughout the year.

Ignoring the now-screaming pain in her legs, caused simply from walking to the club from her apartment after the long day of exercising, Teruko stepped into the club with an awkward grin on her face. "Man, Ante, I haven't done this in forever. It's been years since I went out on town! I feel like I'm back in college! Well... as a student, rather than a gym instructor," she explained to her navi, clenching her fists giddily beneath her chin. As she passed through the door, she clumsily fished into her pocketbook and pulled out a picture ID, on which she was making the exact same grin she currently was with her hair styled the exact same way she currently had it. "Woah, Ante! Did you hear that? About this pin?" the operator asked, already busily fixating the pin to the upper-right side of her dress's breast as she talked.

"No, I'm afraid not. I can't hear much of anything over the music," Ante yelled back in response.

"Ha ha ha! You're like an old lady," Teruko giggled. "This thing lets you appear here in the club, right next to me! We could even dance together... except no... if I dance my body won't be able to bear it," she sighed, finding the closest booth in the sitting area and having a seat. "Well, we could still get drinks or something. Do navis drink?"

"I can drink, yes, but only substances that are on the net like I am. I couldn't drink anything in your world as a hologram, for instance," Ante responded, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. "Teruko, there are many reasons why I would choose not to be manifested as a hologram if I could help it. For starters, I'm not really comfortable in such an animated social setting as this, and furthermore, if we start my battle subroutines, you know that my clothing will-"

Before Ante could continue any further, she manifested next to Teruko, standing on top of the table at her full height. "Bingo! That's it!" Teruko laughed as Ante hurriedly gathered up her skirt, plopped down in the seat next to Teruko, then adopted a position of resting one elbow on the table with her head in her hand.

The displeasure was evident upon the navi's face, but she continued with her usual dignified voice. "Very well, Teruko, I will join you for a drink," she sighed, then removed her hat and placed it into her lap. With a flourish, she pulled her hair out of its hood and shook her vibrant orange hair out.

"What's that? I've never seen you take off your hat before," Teruko gasped in amazement.

"Well, you know how it is... it's not polite to wear your hat indoors," the navi chuckled dryly, then kept her hands in a prim, proper, and dreadfully anxious, iron-tight grip on her hat.

Teruko waved over a waiter and began to make an order of the healthiest alcoholic drink she could find: a mixture of small parts vodka and fruit juices. "It's pretty hard to go out and drink healthy, you know," she sighed. "You should be glad you don't have to worry about dieting, Ante. If you don't become better company, you're going to make me order something with harder alcohol..."

"I'll try not to be too much of a bore, Teruko," Ante sighed, fidgeting with her hat in her lap as she stared around the club.

Ariel entered the club, somehow being even more chipper than anyone else entering. "Woo, we're in!" Well, after presenting her ID. "Okay, NOW we're in!"

"Excellent!...Say, even though that music could drown a hurricane, I can hear you rather clearly."

"Oh, I decided to bring my earpiece so we can talk and still hear each other! I put it on right before we got inside!"

"I see. Well, no sense in simply standing around!" The instant his operator had placed the pin on the left side of her blouse, ZephyrMan materialized in a hologram, at the same height as her. "Interesting...it appears the hologram allows me to, in a sense, exist outside the Cyberworld!"

"Cool, huh? It's one of the draws to this club! Oh, and if you wanna drink, go ahead! It's free for Navis!"

"I appreciate the offer, but as you well know, I prefer my mind to remain as clear as a cloudless day!"

"Right. Anyway, I'm gonna go see how blitzed I can get in 10 minutes. Coming?"

"But of course!"

With her Navi's confirmation, the pilot meandered over to the bar, and set out to accomplish her latest goal...

......

...And was fairly successful. With a glass of some kind of alcoholic beverage in her hand (which even she didn't know what it was; all she knew was that it was strong, and that it was delightful), Ariel started stumbling forward, trying to end up on the dance floor...and not particularly succeeding. "Weird...I feel fine, but my body's not cooperating..."

"Considering the erraticness of your steps, I'm surprised that you've yet to-" BAM! "...fall. Ariel, are you all right?"

"I'm okay, I'm too drunk to get hurt! And, so's my drink! Yay!" To celebrate, she reared back half of the glass, putting down what equated to a shot. "Well, maybe not so much anymore, heh heh heh..."

"My, my, my..." Hmm? The collision detector was set off...it appeared that he'd backed into a chair. A glance revealed that a fellow hologram was sitting it. He couldn't make too much of the Navi, though her orange hair definitely stood out. "Ah, my apologies! It wasn't my intention to overlap with you!"

"Overlap? What're you doing over there?" Her Navi's remarks made the aerial enthusiast turn around, unwittingly wrapping her hair around her legs in the process. "This is a club, not a champagne room!" She started to walk towards him again, but she was no match for herself. BAM! "I'm okay! ...The glass, not so much..." And it wasn't exactly a super cheap drink, either..."Poor glass, never stood a chance..."

((From Yoka))

John stepped off the bus and took in the sights of the brightly lit buildings before he gained his bearings and headed down one of the side streets that would drop him off almost directly in front of the club. His very long stride made his trip rather short, and opened up the door and felt the beat of the music reach his ears. He grinned as he descended the stairs, and fished his ID out of his pocket. He showed his ID to one of the bouncers, and some Zenny as he started to take off his jacket. One of the bouncers took his jacket and placed it in a closet set into the wall, and gave him a number that corresponded to the hangar it was on. He nodded and smiled before he received his holopin, and fastened it just below his collar on his left side.

Alright then, hold up a sec.
He pulled out his PET from his pocket and accessed the wireless network attempting to interface with his PET. The pin lit up as KaijuMan disappeared from the PET. He then materialized in a miniature form just above John's shoulder. The club wasn't extraordinarily crowded, so he switched hologram modes, and his Navi grew to John's height.

KaijuMan looked around curiously, and took in the sights before he looked back at John.
Looks... interesting.
I know, right? That's why I love this place.

John started to make his way over to one of the bars, and noticed two ladies near the bend in the bar, each with their Navis projected near them. As he approached, both of them seemed familiar, as if he'd seen them from somewhere before. One was sitting with her Navi (who seemed rather bored), while the other was putting away her drink like it was no tomorrow, and it was hitting her hard. He saw her long hair wrap around her legs, and she fell to the ground. John instinctively went towards her and tried to help her up.
Woah! Easy now, you alright miss?

KaijuMan was following closely beside him, and looked down at the pair of NetOps curiously.

As Ante stared down at the large, red cap in her hands, she heard the scene around herself getting gradually noisier and more chaotic. "It's fine. My composure will hold in a situation such as this. There is no reason that I cannot use my training and refinement to-" she told herself, then was surprised as suddenly a large, spiraling whirlwind appeared before her and collided... inside her? It was hard to describe.

"Overlap? Wow, Ante, this is so weird!" Teruko laughed, sticking one finger through her navi's arm experimentally. "He's inside you!"

Ante's pale, gray face went red as she heard the words, then looked up to see the navi who'd accidentally moved into her hologram space. "N-No... but I..." she muttered to herself. "One can't just-!"

"No, it's true! The big windy spirally guy with the beard was sticking out of you. It was crazy looking," Teruko continued, putting one arm around her back and wiggling her fingers behind her armpit to show what she meant.

"E-Excuse me... for just a moment," Ante spoke in a quiet whisper, then disappeared.

Teruko tilted her head and laughed, grinning at Ariel and her navi. "Don't worry guys, she's just kinda weird some times... She'll be back in a sec. Oooh, there's my drink!" she cried out, waving one arm above her head. As the fruity concoction was set in front of her by a waitress who seemed all too eager to hurry away from the awkwardness of having to deal with drunken Ariel, Teruko smiled and flipped through a menu. "Sweet, here's something Ante would like! Apparently navis get free drinks. I'll order her something too."

A large, red cocktail glass appeared on the table; just as it did, Ante flickered back into existence with a composed smile and her eyebrows in their usual horizontal set. "Sorry for leaving so unexpectedly. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Ante and this is my operator Teruko. We're just here for a night of entertainment and amusement, you see-" she rattled off with expert wordcrafting, then was interrupted as Teruko tapped the table to get her attention.

"Oh? You got me something to drink? Thank you," Ante said with a smile, taking a quick, silent draw from the drink and then continuing. "How nice," the navi thought to herself, mentally approving of her operator's tact. "She realized I was nervous and ordered me a drink to calm me down. I really am blessed to-"

Before she could get any further, a chilling buzz ran from her head to her toes. Her gleaming red eyes briefly turned down to the table, where she glimpsed the words beneath her drink's picture on the menu: "NetVegas Royal Flush." She'd already taken in a lot of alcohol in just that one sip.

"... It's good to meet you," she muttered, giving a small hiccup and placing one hand over her mouth. Teruko grinned triumphantly, seeing that the drink would probably loosen her navi up. Another guy had shown up, but he seemed more interested in Ariel than he did her. That was okay... for now.

Almost as soon as his operator started speaking, ZephyrMan knew what was about to happen, and it wouldn't end well.

BAM!

Nope, not at all. He was actually slightly relieved she spilled her drink, since then she might cool it and give her liver a chance to survive the night. And while he couldn't assist in picking her up, due to being a hologram and all, some guy happened to pop up and help. As she regained her footing, Ariel unwrapped her hair from the rest of her, and surprisingly was completely successful. "Thank you! ...Have we met before? Whatever, my name's Ariel, and I'll be your captain today as we fly over the wonders of DenCity!"

"...Yes...and I am her Navi, ZephyrMan! It's a pleasure to meet you all!" He glanced around, registering the faces into his memory. Admittedly, the Navis would be hard to not notice even if he hadn't. Especially that dinosaur looking one. "We're here for similar reasons, to engage in an evening of fun and relaxation."

"Hell yeah, ZephyrMan!"

"And as you can see, Ariel is rather, er, relaxed, thus far."

"Hell yeah, ZephyrMan!" Without even bothering to ask, the pilot plopped into another chair, having suddenly gotten the urge to have a seat. "So, how 'bout you, mysterious stranger?" She pointed at John, her finger wavering a bit due to fairly obvious reasons.

John stood back up as Ariel did so as well, and smiled.
No worries! And yeah, you look familiar, but I don't remember why... Ah well, I'm John. Nice to meet ya, Ariel...wait a minute. You were behind me in the Navi Shop in Scilabs! Small world, huh?

John then looked over to ZephyrMan and smiled.
The pleasure's all mine, ZephyrMan. I'm John, and this KaijuMan.

KaijuMan shifted his weight a bit as the spines on his head moved slightly. He looked over towards the windy Navi and blew some smoke out of his nostrils without saying a word. John saw his Navi's rather cold attitude, and tried to reassure ZephyrMan.
Don't worry about him, he's just a little shy. He's like a big scaly teddy bear once you get to know him.
Hmph.

John watched as Ariel plopped down into a chair, and asked him his reasons for being here with an inebriated pointing gesture.
Same here, looking to unwind and celebrate the day. I'm gonna grab myself a drink, excuse me for a moment.

John turned back to the bar, and quickly glanced over at Teruko before he took a mental double-take, and looked back at her. He raised an eyebrow, and looked at her with a curious look.
Excuse me, Miss. Did you happen to go to the Navi Shop today as well, while you were jogging?

Teruko wanted to relax and unwind, but she couldn't help but think that Ariel was taking it a little too far. Whatever, didn't matter. That wouldn't happen to Teruko no matter how much she drank. Nope. Smiling, she took another sip of her beverage and then leaned her elbows and breasts onto the table. "Yeah, I was there! I was just buying an upgrade for Ante here. It was only one hundred zenny too! Dirt cheap," she laughed, waving one hand nonchalantly.

Teruko's navi looked back and forth between the two navis that had come up to the table now. If she had anything to be thankful for, it was that at least the scaly monster hadn't been the one to invade her. "It's very good to meet you both," she muttered, keeping her hands wrapped around her drink and staring it down. She seemed to be thinking deeply about whether or not she was daring enough to put down any more of it.

"Suitachi's place must keep up a lot of business! Good gravy, though, you guys sure have some tough looking navis. But you know who's really strong? Ante!" she smiled, clapping one hand onto the table. "My navi here used to be strong, I mean real strong... Mythical strong! A bug erased all of her powers, but still, she's darn strong! Why, just a little while ago, she beat up a giant robot!"

Ante shook her head, then rested her head on her hand. "Please, Teruko, you give me far too much credit. I had help in that particular endeavor," she sighed, then looked to the other two navis. The wind-surrounded man was nice enough, but the other thing was pretty silent. She had serious doubts that a conversation triangulating between them would make much progress. "Pardon me, but I just recalled that I was actually looking to do some more training tonight. I really should-"

"Really should team up with you guys! Why, with an awesome tornado guy helping her and uh... a cute little scaly guy, we could do great training!" Teruko chipped in, pressing her fist into her palm.

The navi gulped, feeling almost certain that Teruko had chosen the wrong words. She couldn't tell a lot about the monster navi yet, but it seemed almost certain that he'd be offended by her comment. "I assure you, she was just joking," she whispered across the table with a fetching smile to KaijuMan. She then sank back into her seat, looking back and forth uncomfortably between her new acquaintances. Ante took another small sip of her drink, feeling like she might need the spirit after all.

Hmm...seemed the lizard Navi wasn't exactly forthcoming. Ah well, maybe he'd warm up to them later on. "I'm flattered that I appear tough to you! While I hate to seem self-absorbed, I must say that for a Navi that has only engaged in battle a total of three times, I'm extraordinarily difficult to beat! Ho ho!" Of course, he meant that purely as a joke. Hopefully it wouldn't come off as arrogant.

Teruko's suggestion suddenly pierced the conversation, causing ZephyrMan to raise an eyebrow. Busting with other Navis...that would be interesting, provided Ariel was physically capable of operation. "You know, even if it was a joke, I'd say that it's a wonderful idea! Together, the three of us would prove quite a trio, I'm sure!"

"Yay, more virus busting! I was wondering when we'd get to do it again!" The inebriated operator raised her arms in celebration, happy over the possibility. "Ooh, maybe we can even dance while we're at it! That'd be a fun combo!"

"Er, I'd advise against that. One's mind must be focused to properly fight!" And she would need every bit of focus she could muster if they actually did so. Not to mention that Ariel wouldn't exactly be...fleet of foot out on the dance floor. And speaking of not being sure of something...the wind Navi looked over at the lone male operator and his Navi. "So, what say you, John? KaijuMan?"

John laughed and got his beer as Teruko talked about suitachi's shop and the upgrades she purchased. He also noticed her Navi; she had a rather odd outfit, and looked a bit embarrassed by her NetOp's bubbly attitude.
A pleasure to meet you, Ante. What are you havin', cus it looks like it already has you beat.

John raised his glass as he took a swig, then glanced over at his Navi. He tilted the glass in a "want a drink too?" sort of gesture, and KaijuMan responded by tilting his head a bit and looking away.

John continued to take sips of his beer as Teruko, Ante, and ZephyrMan spoke. He raised an eyebrow as he heard Teruko's sudden suggestion to team up for some virus busting. Haha, that sounds like fun! I wonder how Kai would react though...
He looked back at KaijuMan, who was starting to wish he accepted the drink offer before. He finally just decided to get himself a beer as well, and a full-sized silver keg of beer materialized on the bar in front of him. He looked at it, puzzled as to how he would actually open and drink it. He continued to look it over until he froze, and the spines on his head and back bolted straight up. John nearly coughed mid drink as he heard Teruko refer to KaijuMan as a "cute little scaly guy."

John turned towards KaijuMan, who was now staring directly at Teruko, his eyes almost ablaze, and the spines on his body starting to glow. John gave him a stern look in return, he didn't want fireworks to go off in here. KaijuMan saw this, and decided to assert his dominance another way. He turned back to the bar, and opened his tooth-lined mouth before he turned his head and gently picked up the heavy keg in front of him. He looked right down at Teruko as he sank his teeth into the metal, causing beer to spray out of some of the holes, and a tear to form on one side. He then raised his head up, and tilted his mouth skyward as he slowly compressed the keg slightly. Some of the beer sprayed out from the puncture holes, but the majority of it dumped from the large tear in the side, and went down his gullet. He slowly drank it down in a series of big gulps, before he tilted his head back down to look at Teruko one last time. Without warning, he snapped his jaws shut and crushed the metal keg as if it was made of tin foil. The two circular caps on each end fell away from his mouth, and fell to the floor before they disappeared.
How's that for "cute?"

As he talked, you could see the metal shell of the keg start to melt and sizzle over his glowing red teeth and dark tongue. John stood there with his drink with a mixture of awe and surprise. He was expecting a hell-fire tantrum, not a surprisingly awesome display of strength and beer consumption.
Woah... I think that was the best can smash I've ever seen. And it looks like I've got a lot of catching up to do.

Ante tried to apologize for Teruko's actions, and Zephyrman started to press the idea of team busting. John shrugged and took a sip of his beer.
Sounds good to me. I don't know how nice King Keg here will be, but I say we go for it.

KaijuMan was starting to cool down, and was no longer staring at Teruko.
Good. I need something to crush.

"Woah, dancing WHILE busting?! That's so hardcore!" Teruko cheered, then remembered the blazing pain that would cripple her as soon as she stood up. "B-But yeah, I guess we'd better not right now," she coughed, slumping down in her chair slightly.

Ante smiled at John, but lowered her eyebrows defiantly. "Oh, this? It's the first time I've had it... something called a 'NetVegas Royal Flush.' Thank you for your concern, but I assure you my level of physical and mental fortitude is adequate to handle it," she responded, closing her eyes calmly and tilting her head back as she took a larger drink. Her body shivered visibly as she put it quickly back down on the table. "Yes, quite refreshing."

The navi slowly turned her attention to KaijuMan, who was making an angry display of thrashing apart a metal keg. Teruko was amused, leaning forward to watch the creature. "Woooohmygawd!" she gasped. "That was so cool! Well, cool, but bad for a diet. Even navis and... er... whatever you are need to watch what they eat! I'm pretty sure that metal doesn't fall into the approved food groups."

Ante had a feeling that the best place to go from here would be quickly into the net for a battle, to make sure that KaijuMan didn't have any more time to figure out how to stop being a hologram and kill her operator. "I'd like to suggest we get straight to- HICK!" she started, then hiccuped with embarrasing volume at the end of her sentence. After pulling up her odd, club-backed hood and replacing her giant hat atop her head, she coughed into her fist and continued. "I'd like to propose that we get straight to our battling. There are jack-in ports all around for us to use."

Teruko waved her hand in the air and called everyone's attention. "Sure! But it'll be more fun if we play a game while we do it, right?" she suggested. Ante's eyebrows knit, showing her worry. "I don't know about you guys, but I can't stay engaged unless there are some stakes. So uh... what about... Oh! King's Game! Let's do it!"

The navi raised her eyebrows in surprise, giving a slight smile. "That sounds rather amusing. What is this 'King's Game?'" she asked.

"Oh, well, the winner gets to make the losers do whatever he or she wants! Kids usually play it, but peeshaw, we're all young at heart!" the operator laughed heartily. "What do you say, guys?"

Ante didn't like the sound of all of that, but she simply sighed and nodded. She let the others decide as they would and jacked on in, headed through Jyve's network.

((Jacking in to Electown Net))

ZephyrMan couldn't help but be impressed at the large Navi's ability to destroy an entire keg with nothing but his jaws. And it was fairly clear that getting on KaijuMan's bad side would be a very bad idea. "Impressive, KaijuMan! Suffice it to say that I've never met a Navi capable of smashing things merely by biting them..."

"Holy crap! That was amazing!" Ariel failed to be impressed...instead settling to be completely spellbound. "Didn't that hurt your mouth at all?"

And then Teruko suggested something called a King's Game. Whatever that was. "Cool! Let's do it!"

The wind Navi, however, seemed a bit less enthusiastic. "I'm afraid I must decline...if we merely compete, our teamwork will suffer, and we may become vulnerable."

"Ah, darn. I think he's right." However, any disappointment the pilot might've felt vanished as another of her drinks ended up in front of her. Unnoticed by her Navi, she had ordered one a few minutes ago. "Hooray, booze get!" Once again, half of it was downed. She probably could've just chugged the whole thing, but eh, it was too good to just drink it like that. "So, wanna head into the net, ZephyrMan?"

"But of course!" The hologram vanished, as he prepared for the jack in sequence.

"Let's be awesome! Jack in! ZephyrMan, Execute!" ......Nothing. "I said, Jack in! ZephyrMan, Execute!"

"Er, Ariel. You must remove your PET from its holster and point it towards one of the ports for me to jack in."

"Huh? Oh, right. Duh!" Okay, let's try that again. PET, out and pointed. A bit shaky, but pointed. "Jack in! ZephyrMan, Execute!"

(TO THE NET)

KaijuMan huffed confidently as he heard the two female NetOps and the wind-based Navi voice their amazement over his display of strength. He blew smoke out of his nostrils and started to gloat to ZephyrMan.

That was just a sample of my power. Destruction is my specialty.

The Navi then turned towards Teruko, with a newly rekindled interest in this "Kings game." The idea of him being a lone winner with control over the "losers" around him sounded very interesting to him.
Hmm... I like it.

John, on the other hand, was leaning more towards ZephyrMan's opinion on the "Kings game" idea. He finished off his beer and ordered a second before he responded.
Though that does sound like fun, we should keep tabs on its progress, cus we don't want it to get out of hand and getting our Navis EJO'd.
Yeah, I'd just be heart-broken...

KaijuMan responded in a very sarcastic tone, a seemingly new behavior, at least to John. John put his new beer on the counter of the bar, and looked underneath to see a set of jack in ports on the underside of the counter, normally hidden from view. He pulled the jack from the PET and extended the coiled wire before he inserted the jack into the slot.
Alright, here we go!

KaijuMan's holographic projection started to blur and fade as he bounced from the holopin to the PET, then out into the network.

((To ElectownNet))

...There it was again. Ariel looked around, positive that she had seen something. "Are you guys POSITIVE the club's not flashing the lights off?"

"Yes, we're all quite sure!" The wind Navi reappeared in his appointed PET, though not without a certain sense of dread in his heart...the blackout was drawing near. "Perhaps we should get you home, quickly..."

"But I wanna stay and talk a little bit longer!"

"No, I insist! You simply must go home! I assure you, I dislike leaving now as well, but I assure you it's for the best!"

"Aww...well, I guess if you feel that way..." The shirtless pilot stood up, though clearly wobbly from the consumption of all that alcohol. "Well, guys, guess I'm going home! It was really fun, though! Let's do it again sometime! Later!..." For a moment, she stood there, with an extremely blank look on her face...

BOOM!

...Which served as a prelude to her falling to the floor. A look would reveal that she was unharmed, but completely passed out. Appearing as a hologram, ZephyrMan looked down at his operator, and sighed. "...I was entirely afraid this would happen...none of you need stick around to look after her. I'll call someone to take Ariel home. But, before you go..." Information suddenly popped up on the screens of Teruko and John, appearing to be an e-mail address and phone number. "Accept our contact information! We'd both be delighted to hear from all of you again! Now, if you'll excuse me..." The wind Navi vanished back to the PET, and began to see if anyone Ariel knew was willing to drag an unconscious, shirtless woman back to her apartment...

John raised an eyebrow as Ariel again mentioned the lights somehow turning off for a moment. Though the dance floor was getting popular and there was the occasional flash of light from the rotating low-intensity lasers sweeping across the floor, the amount of lighting remained mostly the same. The alcohol she had been drinking with fervor must be hitting her hard.

John was in agreement with the enebriated girl's Navi, and called over to the bartender to pull up his tab. He was processing the alcohol rather well over the past hour or so; he wasn't completely unintelligable when he beckoned the bartender closer and covertly requested to pick up Teruko's and Ariel's tabs as well. He was in a good mood, and wasn't entirely scrapped for cash, so the likely somewhat hefty bill wouldn't be a big problem. He slipped his debit card to the cashier, who went off to charge it up, but stopped as he heard Ariel crumple to the ground.
Woah! Looks like she's done for the night...

John saw the bartender starting to approach again, and fearing the bouncers might be called to drag her unconscious body out of the club, he waved the bartender off as he stooped down to pick Ariel up.
No worries, I'll take her home

The bartender shrugged, somewhat relieved that he didn't have to call in security, and went back to ringing up the check. As John tried to pull her up to one of the barstools, he looked over at Teruko before his eyes darted about, trying to locate the girl's shirt.
Um, Teruko, could you help me find her shirt? It might look a little weird if I was carrying a shirtless woman out of the club...

The entire time, KaijuMan was watching with a somewhat muffled joviality, watching his NetOp and the others fumble about thanks to their very inebriated friend. It was pretty amusing to him, due to the slight chaos it was bringing about. Even if he was capable of helping out, he likely wouldn't had tried, he was more interested in watching the Ops trying to figure it out.
[[b]Having a little trouble there, John?[/b]]
Oh ha ha, KaijuMan. Thanks for the help... Once we get her shirt back on, I'll carry her out. ZephyrMan, where does Ariel live again?

As a fitness instructor, Teruko felt momentarily ashamed for having let Ariel drink herself to the point of a blackout. After feeling down for a moment, she quickly reminded herself of what an impossible feat wrestling the drink from her compatriot would have been and decided that it had been inevitable. "Yeah, I'll get the shirt," she coughed, standing up from her seat. The evening certainly hadn't gone as she'd planned; she didn't feel much hipper. At the very least, she was happy Ante had made some friends.

Teruko was happy enough to get Ariel's shirt; the last thing she needed was the awkwardness of John getting an accidental grope on top of a peep show. Of course, that attempt to avert awkwardness ended up putting her in a tricky situation herself. "Crap, they're so big... how did she get this on?" Teruko sighed, not realizing that she usually failed to buy much larger a size herself. Then again, she had to go a bit bigger to account for what happened if she missed some of her regiment.

Grunting, Teruko attempted to hold Ariel steady while struggling to stretch her shirt down over her friend's massive chest. Finally, she managed to get it down to her gut. "Alright, geez... Uh, I think that's right," she sighed, not realizing that she'd basically destroyed the collar of Ariel's shirt in her attempt to get it on her, dragging it down past shoulder height. "Are you sure you want to carry her home?"

John carrying drunk Ariel home... boy, if this was a movie, that'd only end one way. She had to hope for both of their sakes that it didn't end out how she was imagining.

While Teruko bothered over Ariel, Ante took careful consideration of ZephyrMan and Ariel's contact info. She wanted to give the others her own as well, but she felt a little overcome by shyness. Luckily, her operator picked up the tab.

"Oh, yeah! If you guys want to meet up with Ante again, just drop me a line at THOTTA@dentechmail.net. I watch it like a hawk, so I'll know if you do," she finished. "If you've got this... under control... then I'mma go."

Stepping out quickly so as to cease being a third wheel, Teruko walked home on her now not-so-tired legs. Not-so-tired or not, she thought that a healthy sleep was definitely in order by this point.

((Leaving back to Electown))

...Well, this was a problem. No one was responding to his calls. How on earth was he going to get his operator home...?

Luckily, John volunteered, which solved that problem. "Ah, thank you! I hate to impose, but it's looking as though I have no other options...ah yes, where she lives. She currently resides at the ACBuki Apartment Complex building, Room 501. It's near the border of ACDC Town and Kotobuki Town, on the ACDC side. I'll give you more complete directions once we're all on the road."

The sight of Teruko attempt to put Ariel's shirt on her drew the attention of the wind Navi, who chuckled quietly to himself at the sight. Truth be told, Ariel sometimes had the exact same problem when putting on shirts. It was actually one of the reasons she usually wore her pilot's jumpsuit. "Er, wait, Teruko, the coll-" ...Too late. The collar was destroyed. His operator wouldn't be happy...that was one of her favorite shirts. Ah well, perhaps it was karmic retribution for getting that drunk. It also appeared that while Teruko had gotten his operator's body into her shirt, she had neglected to get her hair through it, as well. Though, that might actually be a blessing in disguise, considering it was so long. That way, it wouldn't get stepped on, or pulled, or whatever.

After inputting the other woman's contact information, ZephyrMan waved, seeing Ante and her operator off. "Yes, it seems things are about as under control as possible. Take care!" He then proceeded to make a highly significant observation, one that he needed to state to ensure things remained on course. "Erm...John? Make sure you take Ariel's PET as well. I can't imagine her getting along without me for long!"

John was too busy gathering up his own stuff, and picking up Ariel's holopin to notice the collar of her shirt had been stretched. He retrieved his card and quickly signed the receipt as he paid for the tab, and nodded slightly at the surprisingly modest tab the trio had rung up during the night.

As he put his card back into his pocket, he heard Teruko's question about carrying the inebriated girl home.
Yeah, it should be no problem, since no one is responding to ZephyrMan's calls it seems, and I've heard a few bad stories about girls passing out in cabs on their way home. I just want to make sure she gets back alright.

KaijuMan continued to watch silently as Teruko started to gather up her stuff, and John walked in front of the slumped over girl, and crouched down so she would lean against is back. He tried to drape her arms over his shoulders, and hooked his arms under the backs of her thighs to keep her supported as he stood up. He wasn't built very strong, but Ariel was fairly light, and he kept his footing rather well. He looked up at Teruko and smiled as she mentioned her contact information.
I'll be sure to contact you. Please feel free to drop me a line at JohnM@Yoka.net if you need a busting partner! Have a great night, and have a safe trip back

John was about to leave as Teruko did the same, but paused in response to ZephyrMan's reminder about his PET, and turned back to retrieve it from the bar counter. KaijuMan disappeared as John carefully plucked his holopin from his shirt, and held both Ariel's and his own in his hand before dropping it off at the entrance next to the bouncers. Before making his way out, he remembered his black leather jacket, and requested the bouncers to drape it over Ariel's shoulders, since there was little chance he would be able to put it on himself, and he didn't want her to get cold. The bouncers obliged while chuckling at the NetOp's situation, and sent him on his way. John sighed as he looked up the somewhat steep flight of stairs leading up to street level, and grunted slightly as he slowly but surely made his way to the door, and went out onto the street.

KaijuMan was too busy messing with his regenerating cityscape playground to pay attention to what was going on, though he likely wouldn't have been any help anyway if John needed it. John looked around, trying to see any directional signs.
Kotobuki... Kotobuki... ZephyrMan, is her apartment within walking distance, or will we need to take a bus or something to get there?

John...Yoka...aha!" Data input in. There, now he had both e-mail addresses. Which was good, as Ariel's mailing list now only looked slightly pitiful. "...Mmm? Ah, yes. I'm afraid Kotobuki's a bit far from here...I'd recommend some form of transportation, unless you wish to traverse most of ElecTown and ACDC on foot!" Yep, Kotobuki was nice, but the location was a total pain if you did things in DenCity. Which Ariel did. A lot.

"Your hands are full, so let me look it up...aha! There's a bus from ElecTown to ACDC scheduled, and it should come in just a couple of minutes! The nearest bus stop should be a couple of buildings to your left. That's quite fortuitous for us, wouldn't you say?"

"Nnn..." Unlike ZephyrMan, the pilot wasn't about to contribute to the conversation. Still, the moan wasn't a terrible sign. Maybe she wouldn't be out overly long?

To my left huh? Alright, hopefully we won't miss it...

John trudged along quietly with the occasionally mumbling/moaning girl on his back, and made it to the bus stop, which was exactly where ZephyrMan said it would be. He must have had a pretty accurate navigational function... unlike KaijuMan. Thinking about it, other than some fancy graphical edits and a thirst for destruction and chaos, KaijuMan doesn't really have much of a practical function at all. That wasn't entirely surprising, since he discovered he was simply an advertisement tool for a failed movie franchise, and was abandoned by his previous owner.

His train of thought was derailed as he heard the bus approaching, its bright headlights causing him to squint. He leaned forward and tried to hike Ariel up a little higher on his back to keep her secure, and this time felt her rather large bust squeezing against him. He couldn't help but smile just slightly, and boarded the bus. After a few somewhat tense seconds of trying to retrieve money for the bus ride, he managed to pay for the both of them, and walked over towards one of the bench-style seats near the middle of the bus. He crouched down, and tried to gently sit Ariel down on the seat, before he took her wrists in one hand, as he wrapped his other arm around her back, and eased backwards to rest her up against the back of the seat. Though she likely wouldn't have felt it, he didn't want to have her bump against anything.

He took the seat right next to her, mainly to keep her from falling over once the bus started to move. He tried to have her lean against his shoulder, not only to keep herself upright, but to also keep her from swaying in the other direction and possibly taking a tumble out of her seat.