Fan Fiction ❯ Black Orchid ❯ Meet the Fugitives ( Chapter 30 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Ah, A/N: Ah, I journeyed to the cabin, and lo! I came back with many a chapter. Okay, so more like two. But it's a start! Anyways, Time to introduce the Adonis Crew. I've decided Jenine is now one of my favorite OCs. And I've been thinking about what to do with Outcasts of Arcadia. But I have to finish this and Arc's Revolver before I even get to that, but it's so cool. Ah, well. Anyways, R&R.
Today's favourite quote:
"Whitey-locks!"
"Go play on a mine!"

tick

"Welcome back, Arcanis!" called out a gruff voice. It belonged to a large, strong looking man, who came up to the four of them and started roughly patting Arc on the back, smiling broadly. He was taller than Arc, and practically towered over Orchid. He wore a simple, but tough looking pair of pants, a plain white shirt stretched tighly over his muscles, and a worn out looking red vest. His features were blocky, the sort to be expected of a tough guy, and he had a neatly trimmed black beard and short, spiky hair of the same color.
"Hey, Ricksen," said Arc, grinning at the large man. "How have things been?"
"Same old, same old," responded the large man with a shrug. "Vins strictly enforces the laws, and every now and then, someone ends up here after fleeing from them. Usually the tardiness clause."
From the messy arrangment of broken down furniture in the rooms, to the rather ragtag look of the people in them, it was easy for Orchid to see these were all outcasts of some sort or another. From what Jenine had told her and Montblanc, it was an underground community for the fugitives hiding from Vins's harsh laws that he had to keep his city perfect.
"What's with the wires, Arcanis?" asked Ricksen, pointing to what was left of Arc's right arm.
"Oh, he had some weird stone hand thing, but then Vins blew it off," explained Jenine.
"I got it after I left," said Arc.
"Hey, Arc," called Orchid, "why's everyone calling you Arcanis?"
"Because that's his name," said Jenine simply, patting Arc on the shoulder.
"No, it's not," he said, roughly brushing her hand off and walking away. "Arcanis died long ago."
"What's with him?" asked Orchid.
"He's probably still hitting himself over the head for what happened," muttered Jenine sourly.
"What do you mean, kupo?" asked Montblanc, his antenna pompom bouncing with curiousity.
Jenine sighed. "Two years ago, he led a bunch of others from our fugitive band to invade Vins's palace. They wanted to free us from his harsh reign." She looked away. "They failed. Vins Mousseux and his clockworks were too much for them, and killed almost all of them. A few of the injured came back, Arc and Dar'ck among them. That was how Arcanis lost his arm, and Dar'ck lost his right eye. Arcanis blamed himself for all of it, and he apparently still does."
"Who's Dar'ck?" asked Orchid. "We heard Vins mention that name too."
"Dar'ck was Arcanis's brother, or half brother at least," answered Ricksen, walking over to them. "We found both of them living on the streets when they were about ten or so."
"They were very close," added Jenine. "They both left after their failed assault on Vins's palace, and we never knew where they went." She sighed again. "When I saw Arcanis had come home, I was hoping Dar'ck had too. The three of us had been unseperable before they left."
"Yeah, with the crazy strict rules and the Heartless here too, you could use all the help, huh?" said Orchid. "I hope we can find the keyhole and seal it. Then we can get rid of all the Heartless here, and that would help."
"Yeah, those things freak me out," agreed Jenine.
"Kupopo... but what about the Shadowless?" asked Montblanc.
"Would those be here too?" asked Orchid. "I mean, there are already Heartless, so..."
"I know that Heartless attack light worlds, and Shadowless attack dark worlds, kupo, but what about worlds that are both light and dark?" speculated Montblanc. "This world is kind of dark and mechanical, but it seems to have a lot of light things too, kupo."
"I guess..." said Orchid.
"What are you two talking about?" asked Jenine, but before they could tell her, they were interrupted by a happy squeal.
"Ni-kun!"
A young girl, looking to be somewhere between Orchid and Jenine's ages, launched herself across the room to latch onto Arc, hugging him with all her might.
"Ack, Melina!" exclaimed Arc, stumbling back a bit.
"Where have you been, Ni-kun?" asked the girl. She wore an oversized jacket, a pair of small, somewhat loose shorts, a short white shirt, and a pair of shoes that looked a size too big.
"Get off and I'll tell you, fuzz-brain," smiled Arc, mussing up the girl's long red hair with his hand.
Finally having had her fill of hugging, the girl let go. "So where's Dar'ck-sempai?"
Arc became silent.
"What's with the names?" asked Orchid to Jenine.
"Dar'ck-sempai is Melina's nickname for Dar'ck, and Ni-kun is her nickname for Arcani s," she explained. "She was always close to them. She thought of Arc as her friend, and Dar'ck as her big brother, maybe more."
"I see," said Orchid quietly. She watched as Melina bounced excitedly around Arc, asking him questions. He would answer most of them, but she noticed that he grew quiet whenever she asked about Dar'ck.
"Well, come on, Arcanis, I bet you got some real good stories for us, eh?" said Ricksen jovially, giving Arc a friendly smack in the arm. "You'll have to tell us all about it over dinner."
"Yeah. Sure," said Arc. He smiled with his mouth, but his eyes were empty.

tick

"So, the vagrant's finally home," mused Vins as he stood at his balcony, watching his perfect city. His hair blew fine silk in the cool evening breeze. "And he's fled to that rat's nest."
"Why do you worry?" asked twin voices.
"I don't. I was merely pondering," replied Vins, not turning to face them.
"Aw, was Mousseux getting nostalgic?" teased one.
"I thought the Shadowless were beyond that, ne?" said the other playfully.
"Then why are you two so tiresome? Oh, wait, you aren't perfect." The two stopped. Vins smiled. It was one of the ways he kept his control over them. He was perfect. They were not.
"I hate it when he gets all smug like that," whispered one to the other.
"Whitey-locks!"
"Go play on a mine!"
Vins turned to face them, tired of their chatter. He had called them for a reason, and he was going to tell them, whether or not they wanted to hear. He walked slowly towards the two girls, assessing them, looking them over. They had straight black hair, cut evenly to fall just short of thier shoulders. They were smiling cheerfully, their somewhat round faces unbearably cute as they acted ditzy. It was a facade of course, but it didn't bother Vins much and it seemed to amuse them, so he never got rid of that trait. They wore sleeveless black smooth leather trenchcoats that ended just below their knees. Sleeves and platform boots made with the same glossy black material covered from below their shoulders to their wrists and from halfway up their thighs and down. Other than that were just their skin tight, open bellied body suits, also shiny black, and leaving much of their pale white skin exposed. It didn't effect Vins, but it seemed to have all sorts of interesting effects on many of the people in the city. A mixed sense of fear and lust or envy does strange things to people.
"Elf, Zwolf," Vins addressed them. They both looked up at him from their whispering in unison; they were exactly alike with the only exception being the numbers imprinted in silver on their foreheads, eleven and twelve.
"Yes?" asked the one marked eleven brightly, .
"I have a task I need completed, Elf," replied Vins simply, walking over to them. He trailed a faint sound of gears.
"What do you want us to do?" asked the other girl with a coy smile.
"I would have you two do nothing. This is not a task that deserves your attention, Zwolf," he answered. "I think I'll send Monoa and Duo. And Tresian to keep an eye on them too."
"We'll tell them," chimed the two girls.
"I thought you might say that. Now here's what I need them to do..." started Vins. He drew them in closer and told them of his plan in detail.

tick

It was midnight in Adonis, and all was quiet in the hideout.
Orchid slept soundly in the bed that had been provided and dreamt of what wonders she would see tomorrow. Montblanc slept in a pile of blankets outside her door, occasionally stirring, his antenna ball and ears flicking periodically at nothing in particular. Ricksen lightly slept sitting in his chair by the entrance to the fugitives' base, and Jenine had once more managed to fall asleep at her work desk in her room, having stayed up late to work on something. Arc slept only fitfully, stirring uncomfortably and sometimes even waking when he expected to roll onto his right arm but didn't. And at the end of the hall, in her room filled with various toys and cushions she had collected, Melina slept like a baby.
Her eyelids fluttered breifly at a noise. It sounded like a steady pounding. She opened her eyes and looked to the wall next to her bed. It shook with each resounding blow. Her eyes widened as a crack appeared in the wall, widening steadily as the pounding continued. She sat up and backed away to the head of her bed, clutching her pillow to her breast like a scared child. The pounding grew louder, and she buried her face into the pillow, her red hair falling around her messily as she tried to hide. She let out a squeal of terror as the wall finally gave way, opening into a large hole. The dust cleared and she could see what had broken the wall. It was the end of a staff, with a large, spherical green crystal on the end.
"Hello there!" a manically cheerful voice greeted Melina. A young man's face popped in. He had light colored skin, and his eyes and mouth smiled just a bit too wildly. His light brown hair, parted down the center and spiking out to either side added to the crazed look. Melina shied away even more, but not because of his face. He was leaning his arms on the edge of the ragged hole, only they weren't arms. Just below the elbows, his arms had been replaced with long, sharp sword blades, one for each arm.
"Get out of the way and grab her already," said an impatient voice, this one feminine. The staff roughly shoved the young man to one side and hit against the wall some more, widening the hole. Another face came through presently and looked at the terrified Melina. She had dark skin, which greatly contrasted her short blonde hair. "You're coming with us, girl."
A cold, mechanical hand reached for Melina, and she did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.