Nowhere (N.O.W.H.E.R.E.)

This place looks exactly as its name describes--if one were to try to find this base without prior knowledge, all they would find would be a patch of sand, dirt, and rocks, with a few cactuses dotted around the area. It really seems as if the base of the infamous criminal organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E. truly is nowhere...however, that isn't the truth of it. In fact, inside one of the cactuses--a fake one, to be exact, which looks extremely lifelike, and feels just as lifelike if you prick yourself on it--is a switch. Any member of the organization knows how to get at this switch without getting jabbed by cactus needles, and the switch, when pressed, reveals the lift that leads inside the base. The base itself is completely underground--and very well camoflauged. The underground bunker consists of three floors. The uppermost floor is a floor with things like the dining hall, the kitchen, conference rooms, and other general places where members would most likely need to congregate for eating, planning, and other general tasks that would involve gathering together. The next floor down, the second floor, is where all of the members' bedrooms are--when you come down the stairs to the second floor, halls lined with bedrooms stretch off to the right and left. If one were to continue down the stairs, they would arrive at the third floor, which houses the faction's R&D area and their training areas. It is said that the two co-leaders of the organization designed this place after a base of operations they lived in at one time, but these are just rumors, and nobody is quite sure if they are true.

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

After letting out just about his third yawn in the past fifteen minutes, Ryder was pretty sure that it probably would've been beneficial for him to have gotten a little more sleep last night. He'd been up almost all night taking stock on their supplies--and while plenty had told him that it would be fine, he had just had a strange itch in the back of his mind that he'd needed to scratch about it. Either way, their stock of supplies was doing fine--which was probably good, considering that getting supplies in the middle of the desert wasn't exactly the easier thing.
Ryder went ahead and strolled into the dining hall, scratching the back of his neck absentmindedly as he looked around, then went ahead over to the kitchen, managing to rustle up a few things and get a sandwich together--this would suffice for now, though he was actually pretty hungry--he didn't want to spoil his appetite for dinner or anything. He moved back into the dining room, taking a seat at one of the tables and eating his sandwich in relative silence, tossing waves of greeting to any footmen who passed him by. He felt a bit restless, though he wasn't sure why--maybe later he'd talk to Jo about going out and doing something together. That sounded like a good idea...

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder had continued eating his sandwich quietly, beginning to think about what he was going to make for dinner that night--when suddenly the door got slammed open and bullets were everywhere, to which he responded by slamming his sandwich down onto the table and immediately ducking down behind said table as much as he could, though it honestly wouldn't give much cover from bullets--and as soon as the clicks resounded throughout the room, he immediately popped back up, hand reaching for his bat clipped to his belt--only to see that it was just Jo. He stared at her wide-eyed for a moment up until the moment that she sat down at the table and plopped the bag of biscuits down, at which point he slumped in his seat, moving a hand up to his forehead and rubbing at his eyes tiredly.
"Christ, Jo, you nearly gave me a heart attack--" he sighed, removing his hand and putting it down onto the table, looking down at his now relatively smushed sandwich atop the table's surface. He paused for a moment to look over at the footmen bringing in extra supplies, and glanced back to Jo just soon enough to see her examining her finger crotch. It was at this moment that Ryder actually took notice of Jo's injuries, despite the fact that they were relatively minor. "Can I kiss it better and bring you to the infirmary for stitches--? Who'd you guys run into while you were getting this stuff?"

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

"Huh...that's true," Ryder said in response to Jo's objection to him kissing her finger crotch and giving her stitches. "B-Besides the fainting part--! I totally wouldn't faint just by holding or seeing a needle--ever--except when I first got my ears pierced, but that doesn't count--" He paused for a moment, then clearing his throat and giving an awkward chuckle. then actually listening to Jo talking about the vigilantes. Those people had been giving them trouble in several places, lately...honestly, those vigilantes had become quite the bother... "Swords for hands, huh...? Damn...They probably think that they're some kind of superheroes or somthing, but really they're just trying to make an easy buck or two..." He shrugged a bit peeling his smushed sandwich off of the metal tabletop and wondering if it was still worth eating--which it really wasn't, since there were perfectly good biscuits here. Or at least he hoped perfectly good biscuits. He couldn't help but be suspcious as to whether one or two of those boxes that the footmen had brought in maybe was filled with porn. After all--he was aware that there was some place out there that didn't let you buy biscuits unless you bought porn too--he was really hoping that he wasn't going to have to take inventory on porn...that would be awkward...

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder seemed to pale a bit as Jo went on about the needles, and about possible shaky hands and vein-piercing and death which in general just freaked him out quite a lot--although as he turned his head to address her, he received the kiss on the cheek--and no matter what he did, he couldn't help but smile about that. It helped him feel a little bit better--he'd much rather not deal with the imagery of shaky hands jabbing a needle into anything, to be honest.
As Jo seemed to slacken a bit though, Ryder gave her a concerned look, gently wrapping his arms around her in a loose hug and resting his head on her shoulder as she sat on his lap. He was about to ask if something else was bothering her--when she actually started talking again, making him a little bit surprised. A private conversation? Had to be something important--and here wasn't the place for it. "Ah--sure, hang on a sec--" He moved his hands into a position where he'd be carrying Jo instead of just dragging her around--picking her up in his arms before somewhat clumsily getting up from the bench at the table--which was a bit difficult with the bench pushed in so far--then finally managed to step out over it. Maybe he should have picked her up after he'd gotten out--that might have worked better--Either way, he readjusted his hold on Jo slightly to make sure that she wouldn't drop, then started off towards the infirmary. "Think I can get you patched up and talk at the same time? I mean...I could try to do the stitches...?" He vaguely remembered giving somebody stitches before, back in the Vulture Bunker way back when...had that been Ivy? It must have been...

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder figured that he was definitely going to need to practice getting out of weirdly positioned benches while holding things--who knows when he would need that in battle? Speaking of which, he hadn't done his training session for the day yet...he still felt pretty tired, but wasn't sure if a nap was the best idea...he was going to train either way, but still...
He was pulled out of his thoughts yet again as Jo began climbing out of his arms as they entered the infirmary. These attention issues he was having were definitely making it clear that he probably needed to catch up with his sleep later.
"I mean--doing stitches yourself sounds pretty rough, right--? Are you sure you don't want me to try?" he asked worriedly, still unsure whether or not he wanted to touch the needle in question, but also knowing that giving yourself stitches probably wouldn't be any sort of picnic, either.
As Jo asked for him to close the door, he gave a nod, reaching back and shutting the door quietly. He didn't really think that they needed to lock it--the footmen here knew well enough to knock if a door was closed. It hadn't always been like that for Ryder and Jo, back years ago--but now, their faction was actually pretty polite like that, unless it was an absolute emergency. He turned back around to face Jo, then, moving over to a desk where two stools sat, and pulling them over, sitting down on one himself, then offering the other one to Jo to sit on once she found the supplies she needed. "So--what's on your mind? Other than your--uh--hand wound--" He absolutely refused to say finger crotch there was no way--he'd probably die of embarrassment--

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

"As long as you're sure," Ryder nodded to Jo as she insisted that she could do the stitches herself. He'd have to make an extra special dinner tonight in exchange for this--giving herself stitches wasn't going to be fun at all. And then she explained the finger crotch thing, which brought him to a surprised pause for a moment, as he looked at Jo curiously and spoke, "...Finger crotch?" He figured that it was probably better that he just come out and say it--however, as Jo's tone shifted, Ryder became serious, looking at her in concern as she said that she wanted this information coming from her first. What could it possibly be...? He did end up turning away as she brought the needle closer to her skin--he really couldn't deal with watching that. However, as she actually said the news in question--Ryder stiffened slightly, and his eyes widened for a split second. The Church of Crime...
"Cain..." he murmured under his breath, his hands, where they lay on his legs as he sat, locking into fists for a moment. It had been five years--but he still hadn't given up on his proclamation from that day. He'd declared a hunt for vengeance--and he wasn't about to drop it for anything. He didn't let it dominate his life, but...it was still there, lurking, waiting for the right moments to appear. He paused for a moment, then gave a heavy sigh, letting his hands slacken. "Yeah...whenever they make themselves more obvious...we'll be ready. They won't make it through us this time."

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder knew that Jo was right--they didn't have nearly enough people. If they went against the Church of Crime now, even just one of the members would probably plow through them all with ease. And just knowing that made Ryder's stomach churn. When he and Jo had first been dumped into the desert that day five years ago, they had been left with nothing but themselves--they had built literally from the ground up--or rather, the ground down, since it was a bunker--in order to get where they were today. Even now, they weren't anything near where they had been before, when they had been in Vulture Team...theyc ouldn't even dream about taking on the Church of Crime until they got more people.
"You're right--we're going to need to find a lot of people. I don't want to risk anyone...and there's safety--and strength--in numbers. Still, considering where we are, we'll probably find some people pretty quick, right?" he looked up as he heard Jo replacing her glove, glad that the needle deal was done--and also trying his very hardest to improve his expression. He didn't want to be looking this grim right now--it wasn't going to make Jo feel any better, that was for sure.
As Jo sat down and seemed to take on a more sour expression, though, he got a bit concerned--however, as she explained her situation, he actually cracked a smile and scooted his chair over closer to hers a bit, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Five hundred kisses, huh? That's a pretty tall order--I've got a lot of work to do, then." He took a moment to lean over, then pecked kisses onto Jo's forehead, then each of her cheeks, then her nose, and then lastly, her lips. "Well, that's five...! I'm off to a good start--"

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Jo holding his hand had elicited a thankful smile--it was definitely nice having somebody there. To be quite honest, Ryder wasn't so sure if he would have made it out of that vast desert expanse he'd been dumped into after the cathedral incident if Jo hadn't been there with him. And despite the fact that being back to underdog status probably should have made him at least a bit disappointed--it actually only seemed to make his smile more content. He hadn't exactly felt quite right in the position of one of the big dogs--being the underdog had always been more his style, anyway. A guilty pleasure of sorts, even. He just loved to beat the odds, after all--
But kissies were more important right now, because apparently he was going to have to kiss Jo eight times per minute or littlebitchitis would take its toll--
"Oh--shit--I'm behind already--" he replied with a laugh before scattering several more kisses across Jo's face, eventually pausing for a moment to speak again, "I mean, if the cure is kisses, I wouldn't mind catching littlebitchitis, too--"

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

As Jo squeezed his hand, it was clear that she understood what he was thinking--and that was one of the best parts about being around Jo--she always seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. Either he was really predictable, or Jo was really perceptive, or both--but either way, it definitely made things easier to get through when he had somebody supporting him--and he planned to give Jo his full support, too. Ryder scooted his stool close enough to Jo's that the two seats were touching, so that he was able to reach his other arm around Jo and pull her in for a hug, laughing a bit as he did so, unable to contain his newfound cheer at Jo's kissie barrage. Although it was probable that they maybe should have started thier recruitment search by now--this was really important, too. He gently let his forehead rest against hers, before planting another kiss on her nose.
"Well, looks like we're both infected, then. That'd add up to...1,000 kisses, yeah? Looks like we've got a ways to go--" He took a moment to strategically place a few more kisses on Jo's face, before speaking again. "So, do you think we're gonna make it? I'd say we've got a pretty good chance, if we keep this up--"

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

"This really is serious business--" Ryder replied to Jo with a grin, clearly enjoying himself and in much better of a mood. It was little moments like this that made him eternally glad that he'd even met Jo in the first place--who knows where he'd be right now without her? It wasn't something he was going to think about right now--what mattered was the here and now, and that even though they were pretty low on the food chain right now, the two of them were going to change the world. It would take some work, but someday, they'd get there.
At the request for a written response on why he was apparently so cute, Ryder gave a grin and a chuckle, though that was cut off a moment later by a long yawn. He covered up his mouth with his hand while he could, not really wanting to show that he was still pretty tired--then went ahead and let his head gently flop onto Jo's shoulder. "I think the littlebitchitis is really setting in now--I don't know how long I've got--"

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

Ryder let his head continue to rest on Jo's shoulder, finding himself unable to keep himself from chuckling a bit at Jo's 'aww'--he kept his head there until he heard her whisper, and abruptly looked up, his face a bright shade of red at the sudden innuendo. As Jo suggested an actual course of action, though, the flush faded, and her gave her a smile and a nod, squeezing her hand back.
"Sounds like a plan to me--did you want anything in particular for dinner tonight--?" he asked, then giving a shake of the head when she asked if he wanted her to go out alone. "I'll come along with. Some fresh air'll do me some good, I think. Plus, I'm gonna make sure that nobody hurts your finger-crotch again. We can't have that happening." He grinned, then leaned forward, planting one more kiss on Jo's cheek.

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns

░░▒▒▓▓Ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ  ｌｏｖｅｓ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ▓▓▒▒░░



░░▒▒▓▓Ｔｈｅｎ  ｔｈｅ  ｕｎｄｅｒｄｏｇ  ｂｅｃｏｍｅｓ  ａ  ｈｅｒｏ  ａｎｄ  ｔｈｅｙ  ｈａｔｅ  ｈｉｍ▓▓▒▒░░

⧱Ryder Mercy⧱
⧰The Boss⧰
☲-------------------------------------☲
Gold medals aren't made of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . they're made of sweat, determination
and a hard-to-find alloy called guts
☲-------------------------------------☲

"Hm...pasta? Or maybe stir fry...? I'll figure it out when we get back and I can check what ingredients we have," Ryder mused over dinner choices for a while, before giving a chuckle at Jo's finger-crotch statement, replying as he stood up as well, "I'm pretty sure our entire organization would fall apart without your finger crotch--" With that, Ryder leaned forward, giving Jo a few more quick kisses, because hey, littlebitchitis was still a thing-- "Alright, an hour sounds good. We can pick out dinner and a movie when we get back, then just chill for the rest of the night. That sounds nice..." Ryder paused for a moment to straighten himself out a bit, rubbing at his eyes one last time before giving Jo a smile and a thumbs up. "Ready when you are!"

☲--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------☲
An Anthem of Perseverance - Thousand Suns