Complete Private Mr. Fear

[Ash Vargold]

Aisling had told herself she'd take a break after... whatever had happened with Ash and Lune. Cut it off, like after Szofrit and Vintergard.

Unfortunately Aisling, unlike Ash, wasn't known for staying on wagons.

But where internal willpower failed her, external forces had her back - this time in the form of an invitation to meet family and friends on the east coast. Family and friends that she'd been neglecting, with her new job and its unique demands. It was a welcome distraction, and a good way to use of the PTO she'd been accumulating. If anyone asked about the old VR set stowed away with her luggage, it was just in case.

It was a day after Aisling had settled in that she found herself looking through her phone contacts. She'd neglected most of them (she preferred other messaging tools anyway), but it was one in particular that had caught her eye. A name she'd added on a whim, despite her usual paranoia about sharing her number, which was similarly neglected.

　

 [ LONG HANNO ]

　

Hey, I'm gonna be in your area this week.​

Want to meet up and get lunch? My treat.​

​

She hoped it wasn't too out of nowhere. She hadn't even found the energy to dig up a cat picture from the internet lately.

---

...and that was how Aisling ended up back in New York, bundled up against the late winter chill. She considered herself more tolerant of cold weather than most, but this was still still a bit much.

(The coat was new. It had been a little more expensive than she liked, but the quality seemed to match the cost.

It also reminded her of the one Ash wore. There was an odd sort of rightness that came with wearing it, but she tried not to think about it. Or the fact that the green clashed with her hair and made her look like a Christmas ornament.)

Not as bad as the Hylands at least, she thought with a grumble, a half-burnt cigarette hanging from her mouth as she lurked outside the "Chicken Kitchen" - a place that seemed a little high class, but also had model of a giant roast chicken hanging from the ceiling for some reason.

"...that thing looks like it could fall down any second."

Hopefully the table she'd reserved wouldn't be under said giant roast chicken. She had enough things hanging over her head at the moment.

@Lune, @Hanno Futaba ​

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Being his day off, and with the dust on Terrasphere lowering quite a bit, he had time to actually lazy around in real life, laying on his couch and watching some extremely low quality comedy series that for whatever reason he laughed his ass off every time despite the repetitive jokes.

But the bzzzt of his phone interrupted him, and reaching for his phone, he blinked when the message he had received from Aisling wasn't another engage of a cat pictures battle, and instead, it was an invitiation...

　

 [ Ash Ketchum ]

　

Hey, I'm gonna be in your area this week.​

Want to meet up and get lunch? My treat.​

Heya Buddy! Free food? I'm down!​

​

---

Brian didn't take long to get ready when it was the time to go, having a navy blue coat with him, and wearing a wine-colored scarf on him. He wasn't fond to cold unless it was to eat something warm, so he tried to hurry while walking outside, getting to their meeting place rather early... At least enough to catch Aisling outside of it.

"Heya!" He waved, trying to catch her attention while speeding up his pace until he finally got to her.

"Chicken Kitchen, huh? That's an awesome choice, especially for someone that isn't from here." Brian grinned looking to his friend, happy to see her after so long.

"So, let's escape this cold already? Unless you are waitin' for someone else." He chuckled, gesturing to the door of the restaurant while opening it, not really wanting to spend any more time in the chilly weather outside.

 

[Lune]

Time flies, and people's sentiments toward the idol slowly become better after more public appearances of her with VRS, with people rallying behind her. As a result, more jobs and offers came, with for example this one where she only needed to film a few TikTok promo videos of a restaurant for easy cash.

Across the main entrance door, you could see a woman wearing a hat and puffer jacket making two thumbs up toward a videographer holding a mobile phone. "... So don't miss the end-of-the-month promo, up to fifty percent discount at Chicken Kitchen!"

She held that pose for a while before a 'cut' was uttered by the cameraman, and he came to shake hands with her. "Thank you, Dayeon!" Dayeon shook her head, bowing at the staff instead. "No, it's my pleasure to work with you guys." Her sight wandered into the main restaurant door where...

"Ah!" Upon spotting the pair that just entered the restaurant, the idol waved at them from the distance while calling out to them. "Brian, Aisling!" She was going to enthusiastically greet them both with a handshake before the fresh memory of a particular stabbing incident suddenly flashed into her mind.

Let's hope that doesn't make this awkward.

Dayeon instead just stopped in front of them, looking between the two. "... What a coincidence! It's almost been a year, isn't it?"

@Ash Vargold @Hanno Futaba

 

[Ash Vargold]

Aisling perked up as Brian called out, then pulled the cigarette from her mouth. By the time he'd made it to her she'd already ground it out against the metal surface of the bin next to her, leaving the lingering smell of smoke.

"Yo. Sorry, wouldn't have started another if I knew you'd be here this soon." She tucked the half-smoked cigarette into her purse, then moved away from the wall. It still felt weird to have to look up at Brian, rather than down at Hanno, but that was how things were supposed to be, right?

"My little cousin wouldn't shut up about it, so I thought I might as well." She stood outside just a little longer as Brian held the door open to give the smell one last chance to clear, and then stepped through with a muttered "Thanks."

...which, unfortunately, led directly into her coming face to face with L... with Dayeon.

Aisling shrank back, shoving her hands into her pockets as memories of what he had done came back to the surface. Things she didn't want to think about right now.

"...Hello." She only briefly made eye contact before looking away, seemingly trying to withdraw into her coat like a turtle into its shell.

@Hanno Futaba @Lune

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Heh, don't worry about that, buddy." Brian shrugged, not really being one that was bothered about it. At least not when they were smoking outside. The smell maybe would linger a bit, but the smell of the food would take care of it eventually.

"Your cousin has a great taste then—"

Brian waited as Aisling stepped into the restaurant, and when he followed up, his face brimmed with surprise when he saw Dayeon, returning her greeting with a big smile and an enthusiastic handshake of his own.

"Ooh, heya there, buddy!" Brian beamed.

"Man, it really has been a long time." He chuckled. It was hard to see the time flying like that, when you could meet them over in a VRMMO.

"It is great to see ya though!" Brian side glanced to Aisling that was averting her gaze, with a small, metaphorical question mark popping up above his head before he shook it off and returned his eyes to the other woman.

"Are you leavin' or did you just come?"

 

[Lune]

Judging by Aisling's unenthusiastic reaction, it seemed like she felt awkward by this meeting, too. Hopefully, they can push that matter aside for now and just revisit what happened more comfortably some other day.

If the woman ever felt okay discussing that incident.

"Just finished shooting some videos, was going to grab some lunch." The idol responded to Brian, "But figured I could just order here." She pointed back with her thumb toward the Chicken Kitchen staff and the cameraperson behind her, before an idea came into her head.

"You two eating here? I'm sure I can get you some discount." Dayeon offered with one thumb up, Pretty sure the manager wouldn't be opposed to giving a one-time fifty percent off for her friends.

A waiter suddenly came from behind them, motioning to the table to their side while asking. "Table for three?"

"Uh," She looked at the two, unsure in case that her company might be unwanted for the two's private lunchtime.

Dayeon shrugged, waiting for one of them to respond.

@Ash Vargold @Hanno Futaba

 

[Ash Vargold]

"Oh, I-"

Already made a reservation for two was what she wanted to say, but...

"-don't mind. More the merrier."

...it was hard to break away from Ash habits when Aisling was around people from Terrasphere. It felt natural to be social, even without the heart thing-

.-um. well, she wasn't going to think about the heart thing.

At least she wasn't by herself. Aisling glanced up at Hanno. "You don't mind, right? I'm still covering." She looked less like she was trying to hide, but there was a stiffness to her tone as her attention went to the waiter.

(At least Dayeon didn't look like Lune. If it had been anything like Brian "Long Hanno" lastname, she might have just left.)
"Three people, yes. Thank you." She looked towards Dayeon before the waiter took them to their table. "That includes you, by the way. My treat."

It wouldn't make up for... whatever had happened in there. But it was a start.

@Hanno Futaba, @Lune

 

[Hanno Futaba]

What is up with these extremely awkward silence intervals? — Brian couldn't help but wonder as the waiter came up and inquired about it being a table for three.

Brian simply waited until they got to move to their table, one that was a bit closer to a discreet spot, probably a courtesy of the waiter knowing that the idol of the group could get bothered by glances from curious eyes.

"You know I was joking about 'free meal' back then, right? We can just split the bill!" Brian said to Aisling, and then looked at Dayeon, shrugging with a grin.

"But I guess you will be our special guest, so it seems you are safe. Heh... So compensate by getting those discounts for us!" He gave a thumb up, waiting for the other two to take a seat before sitting down himself. He reached for the menu, glancing over it.

"You know, I think I'm really down for a Creamy Tomato Chicken Skillet." Brian muttered.

 

[Lune]

"Thank you,"

She nodded slightly to Aisling, before grinning at the man as she sat down on the chair. "Don't worry, it's an offer they can't refuse."

Looking at the menu, the idol quickly got overwhelmed by the options of Chicken meals that were available in the restaurant. Well, it's called Chicken Kitchen for a reason. They even got roasted whole chicken.

"Uh, any recommendations?" Lost, she turned to the waiter, who promptly replied, "For a light meal, I recommend the Honey Garlic Chicken Skewers."

"Skewers..."

Somehow, that just brought an imagery of a particular alter ego getting skewered to the ground with a sword. Shaking her head to clear her imagination, Dayeon scanned through the menu to find something else, something filling.

She turned toward Brian upon hearing Creamy Tomato Chicken Skillet. Something with tomato-based sauce sounds great.

"... I'll just order the Chicken Parmesan then, make it spicy ..." Dayeon pointed to the picture on the menu, pausing for a while to find a suitable drink. "... and one glass of strawberry juice." That should be enough. She waited for the two to complete the order.

@Ash Vargold @Hanno Futaba

 

[Ash Vargold]

"Well, I wasn't kidding about the free food, so I better not see you eyeing the bill. I'm not here to rob kids." The look on Aisling's face was perhaps a little too serious for the circumstances. To be honest, it wasn't that big a deal, but sometimes one had to act their age, right?

Aisling took a seat at last, carefully spaced to leave just a little more room between her and Dayeon than between her and Brian. She peered at the menu, but it was more for confirmation than browsing. She'd already made her choice when browsing the website outside. "The roast chicken with vegetables, please. Just water for the drink."

She pushed the menu away, preparing herself to engage in the dark art of small talk, when...

"Skewers..."

Aisling couldn't miss the way Dayeon flinched, probably because her thoughts had just flickered to the same scenario. She bit her lip briefly and then grabbed her glass of water to hide her face. Right, small talk... "So... what have you two been up to, other than influencing?

@Hanno Futaba, @Lune

 

[Hanno Futaba]

He rose his arms at Aisling's serious words. "Okay buddy, okay okay!" He chuckled.

"Skewers." Brian followed up with a muttering for no reason in particular, but he frowned a bit when realizing the strange reaction of the two women. He didn't say anything yet though.

Brian waited patiently as Dayeon and Aisling finished their orders. Then, he turned to the waiter. "I will go with the Creamy Tomato Chicken Skillet after all. And an iced tea, please." He concluded, putting away the menu while the waiter took note of their orders and left to bring it to the kitchen.

Aisling was quick to bring up a topic, and Brian couldn't help but chuckle at the question. "Being busier than the usual. I'm having to cover the restaurant because one of the chefs left, and they are still looking for someone to replace their place." He sighed.

"I'm getting some really nice extra bucks for it, but I want more free time again. I was lucky I had today off."

 

[Lune]

"I'm sure I am too old to be considered a kid,"

Chuckling jokingly, the woman didn't object to the offer. She would try to help and get the discount, after all.

The waiter left with their orders after confirming that it was all that they ordered, leaving them to engage in a conversation. Thankfully, Aisling opened with a pretty standard question so that the idol didn't have to think of something.

"I really need to visit the restaurant," She clapped her hands together, slightly bowing towards Brian to apologize since she hadn't the time to fulfill the promise to visit him in his restaurant. "Sadly I'm quite busy nowadays."

Mostly thanks to Nexon who still hired her for some of their promotions. Chelsea might had a hand in it, maybe. And now that many people realized that she wasn't the troublemaker that her former company labeled her as, they then instead rallied behind her.

"The public perception has really changed from the past year, now I'm getting a lot of support and gigs." Dayeon shrugged, before giving an ambiguous, teasing wink alluding to her future project. "Probably getting back behind a mic pretty soon and start producing some things independently."

Turning to Aisling, she asked. "What about you? Anything interesting?"

@Ash Vargold @Hanno Futaba

 

[Ash Vargold]

"I've got over a decade on you. I checked." After all, Daeyon was a public figure, and that sort of thing was just a query away. "Therefore, I get to be the crotchety millennial and call you both kids."

(That she'd also looked up Brian was something she wouldn't bring up. Privacy was dead and Aisling was very good at rifling through its corpse.)

She clicked her tongue sympathetically in response to Brian's situation. "Yeesh. Hope they find someone soon." She prepared to follow up with an apology, something like sorry for eating up your time, but what came out was "Thanks for taking the time to hang out."

She took a sip of water, then set the cup down as she turned her attention to Dayeon. "That's good. I don't really follow entertainment news, but there are some... spicy articles out there."

This was going well. Well enough at least, considering whatever was happening in her head. She glanced towards the kitchen, wondering how quick this particular restaurant was, and was therefore completely unprepared for Dayeon's question.

"Oh, uh-"

Fending off a mental breakdown, she thought. "Y'know... work stuff. Been doing some self-study in my downtime, though." Aisling leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms with a huff. "Finally learning to train my own AI helpers. Been avoiding it for years, but I can only hold out so long, I guess."

@Hanno Futaba, @Lune

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Brian grinned widely at the reminder of a potential visit from Dayeon to his restaurant, and he handwaved. "It is all good, buddy. But when you have some free time, come pay a visit. It will be on the house." Brian winked, then turning to Aisling. "This extends to you too, Ais." Brian nodded.

As Dayeon elaborated about what she has been doing, Brian felt joy knowing that while her career was changing, she was still getting plenty of support. "Heh, I will look forward your new works. I wouldn't be a proper fan without doing that." He shrugged.

His attention then shifted to Aisling, and he shook his head. "It is a pleasure, buddy. I was home, but like, I was just wasting some time watching weird comedy. Something about a guy in a dog costume? It is a little old but yeah" In hindsight, that thing was even weirder now that he was remembering it.

"And how those AI Helpers are going? Are they really as useful as people say?"

 

[Lune]

"Alright, alright." She waved her imaginary white flag, chuckling. "I'm not going to argue with that." At least this time she wasn't the dinosaur hanging with youngsters.

The idol gave a reassuring thumbs up, appreciating the support from Brian. "Don't worry, I won't disappoint."

"Ooh, it sounds cool." Hearing about the AI helpers, Dayeon nodded her head enthusiastically. She then tried to jog some knowledge from over ten years ago.

"I don't know too much about AI. I think they were the craze back then when... I was a middle schooler? People thought they would take over the art industry but the buzz seemed quieted down."

The waiter arrived with their drink orders and silverware. "Thank you." She continued to listen to the conversation while drinking the strawberry juice through a straw, waiting for their food.

"Guess they should be pretty smart nowadays? Humanlike intelligence?" The woman added to the discussion. It was too late as she realized that she might have brought up a discussion that steered way close to the gimmick of a certain game.

@Ash Vargold @Hanno Futaba

 

[Ash Vargold]

Aisling smirked. "'On the house' just sounds like 'tip you more', Ha... Brian." The smirk faded quickly as she scrambled to correct the slip-up.

It was always tough, talking with 'online friends'.

"I feel like I should be asking you guys those questions. You're the ones that grew up with these things." Aisling tapped her fingers restlessly on the table. "Guess I'm asking fish what water is. Unless you're me and actively avoiding them, you're using them all the time."

There was something bitter about her tone. This was a topic that usually set her off on a rant, but this was supposed to be a nice dinner with "friends". And she'd keep it that way, even as Dayeon shifted the conversation towards a different subject that was equally rant-worthy. She bit her lip, waffling between "make her opinion known" and "awkwardly change the subject".

"...they're better at acting like it, I guess. That's enough for more people."

@Hanno Futaba @Lune

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"That's what I like to hear!" Brian grinned to Dayeon's confident response. He did hope he wasn't tossing some accidental pressure on her though, but that probably wasn't the case. That idol was really tough and strong, he was sure she could manage all of the expectations with ease.

His grin only widened at Aisling's words, but he feigned a frown. "What? C'mon, lemme spoil you guys for once~" He chuckled.

Brian's arms crossed, pondering for a moment. "Almost human-like is a way to say it. But you know, you see how AI has developed for a while." He looked at the duo, knowing all of them had the same experience with the supposed 'AI' at 'that place'. "It can be very scary at times." But in truth, Brian didn't believe that was AI, and if it was, it had reached a point it is a true intelligence.

"But, at the end of the day. As long as they make our lives easier, it could be cool. I don't want a computer to be cooking my food though." He chuckled at the idea, only for his eyes to sparkle when their drinks, and then finally their meals finally were introduced to the table.

 

[Lune]

"Never been tech savvy, sadly."

The idol shook her head lightly. All the technologies were always available to her, but she understood little of how they technically worked. It never came to her mind how the AI behind the tools she used, like noise cancellation, exactly performed.

"Does microwaving cup noodles count?" Dayeon turned to Brian, joking. "I agree, it'll be missing the personal touch," That was how people stopped hyping up generative AI for purposes other than education a few years back. It just didn't feel the same. As a tool, though, they're great.

Their conversation was interrupted by the waiter returning with their meal order. Her chicken parmesan was neatly plated, with a generous amount of sauce and melted cheese on the top, and a handful of fries on the side. Anyone within smelling range could tell the food was spicy.

"The food looks really great!" Quickly snapping a picture with her phone before setting it away, Dayeon closed her eyes for a quick lunch prayer before picking up the silverware. "I have a high expectation because this place is called Chicken Kitchen." She chuckled, turning to Aisling and then Brian.

"Let's enjoy the meal."

@Ash Vargold @Hanno Futaba

 

[Ash Vargold]

Aisling made a face. "They do have computers cooking the food, but that's got nothing to do with AI. That's just factories."

And then the food came out. Thank god, was her first thought... but then her own plate was set down in front of her, and she found herself looking at a whole roasted game hen. This was... rather more food than she had the ability to eat. Maybe he could, but...

The moment Dayeon pulled out her phone, Aisling leaned back and looked away, and didn't relax until it was gone. Not that she'd ever liked photos, but she especially didn't want to be caught in an influencer's frame. That was just way too risky.

"Think my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Smells great, though." Aisling reached for her utensils and began to dissect her chicken

felt the knife cut through flesh

and suddenly stopped, pale as a sheet.

"...uh. Just a moment, I'm getting a call."

Aisling stood up suddenly, grabbed her coat, and made for the exit, fingers already fumbling for the cigarette carton.

Back at the table, her phone sat silent next to the partially pierced chicken, seemingly forgotten.

@Hanno Futaba @Lune

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Brian half chuckled at Aisling's remark on foods from factories. Yeah, there were those.

Grabbing his silverware, Brian grinned, going along with Dayeon. "Let's eat!" He greedily forked the chicken, already chomping a nice piece of it, peeking briefly at Aisling as she left... And taking a couple seconds to notice the supposed call was probably with some outworldly entity, since she had no phone on her at all.

He chewed the food, exchanging glances between the phone and Dayeon before swalloing and clearing his throat, carefully holding the phone and placing it down on Aisling's chair.

"What are the chances of her thinking that her phone slipped from her back pocket?" He wondered, letting out a sigh.

"I wonder what's going on though." Brian muttered.