[ Currently, in one of the outlying regions of Ijishi, if there is such a thing in an infinite city... ]

[ An abandoned warehouse. These sort of scenes always require a large, badly illuminated space, so don't sue me for unoriginality over this. Anyway. For an abandoned warehouse, it features a quite impressive amount of electronics and machinery, neatly stacked and catalogued. Blue flashes of light and the sound of a blowtorch/welder in use emanate from a small seperate space that once might have been an office of the manager or something. ]

[ The door is opened and then closed again, illuminating very briefly the outline of a woman, relatively tall, with her hair tied up into a waist-length ponytail at the top of her head. There is something... odd about her outline, but in the brief moment that she was visible for it was impossible to make out what, exactly. ]

Woman: *shouting to where the blue lights flicker, her voice sultry, but with an uncomfortable edge to it* 'm back!

[ The flickering pauses briefly, but continues undisturbedly shortly thereafter. ]

Male voice: *low and, somehow, tinny* Took you damn well long enough. Did you get the parts?

Woman: *dropping a large duffel bag in the corner* Yes. How are the repairs? You coming along?

Man: *snorts* Am I the man, or am I the man?

Woman: *smiling to herself, flicking on the overhead lights* Of course you're the man, Johnny. No doubt about that.

[ Yes, it's Johnny The Man: but only in the sense that AR-06 aka Sechs is Alita. In other words: he is heavily modded, scarred, scorched, and hardly recognizable as the same cyborg that was introduced to this place several years ago in the entourage of the RL then known as Ian. What he has been working on turns out to have been his own left arm, featuring several high-carbon steel blades set above the knuckles, and a 20mm caliber gun mounted along the arm. ]

Johnny: *stands, fastening the arm to his torso again* Damn right I am. *flexes the newly approved arm* Much better. Still, until I can get a new gyroscope... no chance in hell of you finding one out there, eh Ruto?

[ Ruto!? Ian's muse, if this is her, has gone through hell and back. You can still see the beauty of the former Muse, but it has been grossly marred by battles that left her to a large extent mauled: she looks more like Baiken from Guilty Gear than anything else -- and yes, that means that she is now missing the right arm and the left eye, bearing a gruesome scar in its stead. The two must have hit rock bottom after the traceless disappearance of their RL, but are not content to crawl. ]

Ruto: *laughs briefly* No chance in hell, Johnny my boy. *her expression darkens* And there is some serious trouble brewing out there. I can almost, almost... dammit! *she smacks her fist against a shelf* If only I had a quarter of my old power, I could make out what's going on out there. But like this...

Johnny: Hey! *taps her on the shoulder* Snap out of it! We went over this same fucking conversation umpteen times already. We're stuck the way we are, okay? I know it hit you harder than me, what with having been a muse and all, but it's either carving out a living like this, or ultimate death, okay? And no! Don't start that "Death would be better then this" shit, that don't cut it with me. You got me?

Ruto: *looks at Johnny distantly for a moment before forcing a smirk onto her lips* Yeah... Yeah, I got you.

Johnny: There we go then. *grabs the duffel bag with one hand* Now help me catalogue that stuff and move it in. We got work to do.

Ruto: Yeah... I'll be right there.