Masterminding Your Own Business

"… Oh, that's so cool! What does it mean to be made by the sharpest things in the world?"

Camila woke up, her ears ringing from Helen's shouting. "Can you please quiet down for a little bit… what are you all talking about? Where are we?"

She looked around to find herself back in the lobby, staring at both Helen and Simon as she remembered what she was here for.

"Oh… oh…" Camila sighed as she stood up.

"I remembered our deal. I shall conduct my business as usual, and you are both welcomed here. I shall ensure the guards understand that."

The vampire baroness began to walk ahead to the office to resume her work while both Simon and Helen walked around to keep an eye on her.

While doing so, they continued their conversations and more, surveying the area with extreme interest and intensity.

"Like, is it made of a super sharp metal? Or like conceptual metal?" Helen leaned in to ask Simon while they looked inside of the storage room where most of the trinkets that the robot guards were collecting were stored.

It was like a factory room, filled with several shelves that stretched out for ages with the only sounds being a strange mechanical tick in the background.

The ceiling was arched and made of bricks that sealed off the site while pillars helped keep it up. 

Everything here was illuminated gently with bright bulbs of light that seemed to be getting their power from the generators here.

"No, it was not made of metal or conceptual metal."

Simon began to walk, looking into the crates to find those strange trinkets and devices such as small trophies, holiday decorations, broken watches, and old plaques.

It was all just junk, strange, useless junk that were all collected in boxes and shipped off to wherever that mysterious benefactor was.

"It was made by literal broken hopes and dreams."

Helen stopped for a moment, staring at a broken pocket watch. "Wait… like, what does that even mean though? It's made of broken hopes and dreams?"

"What does conceptual metal mean?" Simon stared at Helen who gave a shrug. 

"It's like, the very definition of metal? And it exists in a higher reality- I don't know really it just sounded super cool."

She grabbed the broken pocket watch and fiddled around with it.

"Well, Broken Hopes and Dreams is what it sounds like. It's said that everything that never came to pass, everything that could never have happened. All the lost hopes and dreams of the world were concentrated into that sword. Making it the strongest in the world."

Simon went to stare at a small golden trophy. Its surface was shiny yet caked with what seemed to be years of dust. He could barely see his own reflection in it.

"Wow… that's so cool! Ahhh maybe we'll find that sword here one day-"

At that statement, Simon began to laugh, rubbing his head as he started to collect all of the mechanical parts of the scrap, collecting them into his sack.

"I'm sorry, but well, one of the reasons it became a famous trading hub was when the great hero disappeared, it was said that his sword was put to rest here."

Simon gestured his hand as if he was showing something far away. "And so over in the West Coast, there's this great city of Hopes and Dreams. Where people used to to go digging for the sword, but one day, someone had a bright idea to put what was basically a tourist trap next to it, and after a while, more popped up, then even more, until it became one big conglomerate."

He sighed for a bit. "What once was a hunt for treasure became a show business. Now instead of site to reclaim the lost sword, you can instead buy drinks, hire a hooker, gamble and enjoy all the pleasures in life."

Helen nodded for a little bit, slowly coming to an understanding. "Oh… so like, Vegas… got it."

"… I don't know what that is, but I'll just say yes. Wonderful, isn't it… I bet if they had the resting place, they would turn that into some kind of restaurant and have his Name be part of a dish".

Simon continued collecting more odd trinkets, especially what appeared to be strong. He collected a lot of that.

"Yeah… it sucks, doesn't it… on a side note, what are you doing?"

She peeked at his work as he gave her a small side-eye. "I'm preparing for the arrival of the Baroness. I'm thinking a pulley system, more smoke bombs, hidden doors, so on and so forth."

"You really have a knack for making these kinds of stuff huh… well guess if you don't have Magick you have to make do."

Helen then hugged him from behind. "But you have me~ remember that ,alright? Hehe."

She gave a cheeky little grin as he looked at her with some bemusement. "I guess I do… huh… well alright then. Let's get to work."

A day went on by, a day full mostly of planning and preparation within the lobby, setting up traps and methods of escape to confuse and befuddle others.

They mapped out the entire area thanks to Camila's help and even the guards, however they knew they could not wholly rely on them when the Queen Maker would come in as she would have power over them.

After that was done, they booked a different motel to stay in, sleeping over once more under different names.

Simon would wake up every few hours to watch his surroundings, making sure no one was watching or stalking them.

The next day came, and Helen and Camila journeyed to the clock tower, where their next meeting would take place.