Ending the call, Julius throws his phone in a pouting tantrum. Julius had not actually noticed how bad his mood had been lately until Mac had pointed it out. Picking at Shane, snapping at people…simping (he fought the urge to vomit). Normal people were getting way too much attention from him, and it was starting to have a bearing on his behavior. Their problems were trivial stuff that he had never worried about before. Honestly, he could be relaxing lavishly in the bunker, clean and comfortable. Living permanently like a mercenary without getting paid is not ideal, not even all that fun. He needed shower and fresh clothes. He was starting to wonder why he even cared to be here so much…
"Why'd you throw your phone Jules? Is everything ok?" Clementine asks as she returns his phone to him.
"Thanks, I'm fine…my hand slipped." He says, trying to leave his angry thoughts alone. She was a good kid. Clever, helpful, determined, and hardworking, not to mention she didn't whine about stupid shit all day. However, that good nature of hers is the reason- NOPE. He caught himself thinking like Mac. "Hey, Clem wanna see something cool?"
"Hold on now, you're going all the way to Atlanta… Just cuz? That's crazy talk!" Rick exclaims after Julius tells them they were leaving for a while. Just he and Clem.
"Like I said, I have business there in Atlanta. Not only that, but it'd also be a good chance to look for supplies." Julius says.
"But alone? It's dangerous out there, we can at least put together a party to help you out." Remembering how Julius felt about his team, Rick knew he couldn't stop him. Still, at the least he wanted him to be as safe as possible.
"No, no, I appreciate it but it would actually be a lot safer with just the two of us. You know mercenary training, superhuman athleticism, and all that." Julius denies the help, stopping him before he called the nearest available person.
"Me and Clem survived for two months in the wilderness before meeting you guys, remember?"
"Aw hell boy I know that, but at the same time we're like a family now. A kinda dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless. We care about you two and want you to get back in one piece."
"And we will, don't worry." Julius says in a reassuring tone. "This is what I did for a living, and she's better help than anyone you could have called. I was really just letting you know to be respectful; you guys still can't stop us. Alright Clem let's go!"
"But- Hey wait! Dammit!" It didn't matter; they were probably not even on the farm anymore.
Stopping in town Julius led Clementine to a random door at the back of a small, abandoned bar. "Uuuuh, Jules…this isn't Atlanta…I don't even think this is the right way, need a drink or something?"
Clementine speculates, curious about what he was up to.
"Oh, we weren't ever going to Atlanta, no one is there yet." He says waving his hand dismissively. "I just wanted to give them an excuse so they didn't get themselves killed looking for us, and I wouldn't drink this low-quality swill if it was my last day on earth." Julius answers. "Check this out." From the tattoo on his arm, he peeled the key off and it turned into a real key. Clem was already startled to silence, but her jaw nearly dropped to the ground when he opened the door. "Voila! Paradise! Aka, the bunker!"
On the other side of the doorway, they found themselves in a spacious lounge like room with a fully stocked bar and grill, a giant wall mounted TV, physical and video games, several full bookshelves, various artworks, and many other forms of entertainment all neatly arranged. There was an elevator on the far wall from the door they came in, Five marked doors on their left and no windows at all.
"Welcome master Julius, it has been a while. I assume you won the bet?" Over the intercom a woman's voice spoke. "Who is our new guest?"
"Hello Mercy, long time no see. Of course, I won the bet, I don't think Mac ever actually played fair. Anyways this is Clem, she's my sister now. Give her Mac level access."
Clem was busy inspecting the door they entered through trying to figure out how that tiny building could house all this space.
"Don't stress on that Clem, we're not in that rundown old bar anymore. Any door I unlock with this key will become a door to the bunker until I lock it again. Yes, I know it sounds magical. It probably is. Despite all the vast resources I had still don't know where on earth this bunker is located…we still get phone signal here so it's most likely on Earth." Julius explains to the awe-stricken girl who started to roam the room.
"Anyways, go get scanned over there so you can have access to the rest of the bunker." He points her to a panel on the wall with a red circle and a hand shaped pad underneath.
A quick retina and fingerprint scan later Clem turns to see Julius already mixing himself a stiff drink at the bar. "What do you want to drink?"
"Umm I'm too young to-"
Julius rolls his eyes. "Cute, but there's juice and soda here too. Water if you're one of those boring types."
"I'll have a lemonade then."
"Excellent choice, the lemons and sugar were actually grown here in the bunker."
"What really?"
"And much more. Come, come, let me give you the rundown little one." He says handing her the beverage. "First you should know the bunker has everything it needs to be fully self-sufficient."
Clem takes a good long drink before she responds, that lemonade is beyond refreshing. Julius waits patiently for her to get over how good it is and answer. "That means it makes its own supplies right?"
"Yes basically. Before you ask, no I cannot take everyone in here to live safely forever." He says.
"Huh why not Julius?" Clem was indeed going to ask.
"One, most of them don't listen. You see how they behave on the farm and Hershel hardly has anything worth taking. Imagine if they thought everything that they would ever need was behind one of these doors. Two, without the ability of total concentration breathing, a person could only stay in here for four hours tops, until their lungs start to strain worsening until their eventual death. Don't ask me how or why, that's just how this place works. Three, I don't use the bunker often so I don't become dependent on it. I have no idea how I got this key, or where it comes from, but dependency can be fatal. If I'm not going to be using it, no one else besides family can. So, this stays our little secret. Ok?"
"Ok," Clem acknowledges that those were all very valid reasons not to bring everyone, but it would have been nice. "Where does these doors go?" She asks changing the subject.
"Men' s Restroom, women's restroom, storage for the lounge, armory, and the last one is a secret." He answers, leading her into the elevator.
"There are four floors here. We're on floor one which is just the lounge. Floor two is the residential area where we're going, consider it like a private community for me and my guests. Floor three is the production area where all the supplies are produced and maintained by automated machines. There's plenty of room for crops and livestock, but I occasionally have to introduce outside elements then the machines make sure they thrive until it's time to harvest...which they do too. Then there's the basement. It's mostly for storage of my cools stuff but Mac took a space for his lab, don't ever go there without permission I don't even monitor what he does so it's gotten really sketchy and dangerous. Also, my gym is down there, that place is loads more fun."
Julius explains.
Arriving at the living quarters, Clem is astounded to see the large area like an extremely high end apartment complex. At the front was a sign which shows how many apartment units were in there (twenty) and who had claimed each one. Each unit is as spacious and lavish as a penthouse suite. Though they stopped at room one, she notices that some had been customized by their residents. Though since no one else was present she couldn't meet any of her new neighbors. "Wow…" was all she could say stepping into the unit. It was decorated like a traditional Japanese theme. Swords, armors, and paintings also line the walls. In contrast to it all was a first rate gaming set up with multiple consoles hooked to multiple TVs and his Kitchen was by far the most advanced thing there.
"Why would you ever leave this place?" She says running around looking at all the cool stuff.
"If I stayed here I'd definitely become a potato. You will too, so enjoy it while you can. Later on I'll let you pick a unit of your own to do whatever you want with, but for now you can have a guest room."
"Ok thanks!" Clem happily accepts.
"You can shower first. just ask Mercy if you need help with anything."
"Who is Mercy?" Clem realizes his assistant had been talking to him from every room so far but she's given no hint of her identity.
"Oh she's the bunker's AI and manages everything here for me. Also. she's a great listener." Julius answers.
"Oh go on master Julius," Mercy giggles.