Uh... Yay for sidetracking from Homecoming!(?) /shot
I'm sorry I'll have the new chapter out soon. I'm just having a writer's block and this story idea was just begging to be typed up onto a nice blank Microsoft Word page so please be patient with me a little longer ;_;
I would place this happening sometime after Homecoming (which isn't done /shotshotshot) and Strategy Meeting (which isn't even out yet /axed)
It was exceedingly unexpected when Claudine contacted them one day asking them to convene at the Resistance Headquarters immediately.
Normally, the leader of the Resistance group was very privy about sending messages to outsiders even after agreeing to join the Maple Alliance let alone invitations to her base and for her to do so now must mean something urgent has come up.
With Evan trailing close behind him, they stealthily wound their way through town, making sharp turns and twisting through numerous alleyways until they finally came upon a group of three civilians clustered together talking amongst themselves.
At their approach, they immediately silenced and watched them with carefully neutral expressions.
Phantom smiled and waved. "Greetings, Beverley, Herbert, and Spencer. Today's rife isn't it?" he said, following the letter's secret code that would grant them access to the secret entrance.
The three civilians—or rather Resistance members in disguise—smiled at him but their eyes still maintained the hard edge of a determined people. They greeted him in turn and shuffled to one side, revealing a narrow alleyway through which Phantom and Evan quickly crossed to reach a nondescript, wide, rusty pipe covered with a grate.
Phantom tapped lightly against the metal covering and slipped a piece of paper through a gap so the Resistance member on the other side could confirm their identities.
A few moments passed before the grate swung open and both invited parties slipped through the hole and through a tunnel until they emerged into the spacious metallic area of the Secret Plaza sprawled out before their eyes from their elevated positions above.
What must have been hundreds of people stood gathered in front of a large elevated platform littered with several wooden chairs, a large blackboard scrawled with various strategies and missions, and an equally large flip chart onto which a topographical map was being projected from an overhanging projector. Several surveillance screens hung from the ceiling depicting parts of Edelstein, the vicinity around it, and even a few with a view inside the Black Wings base itself. A low buzz of conversation blanketed the room in white noise as people milled and mingled about as they awaited the start of their assembly.
Amongst the crowd, he managed to pick out Aran with Luminous, Mercedes with Athena, and Eckhart, who was no doubt acting as representative of the Cygnus Knights as the more discreet and responsible Chief of the five.
"Whoa. I've never seen so much people gathered in one spot before," Evan breathed, leaning over the railing and peering at the ground floor below him with eager eyes.
"Careful you don't fall over. I'd hate if you went over and started crying," Phantom snickered as he started down the ladder.
"I'm not a kid," Evan huffed, looking indignant but nevertheless following his guardian down. "But there sure are a lot of people…"
"Of course. The whole Resistance is gathered here. Truthfully, I'm rather surprised you even knew who Claudine is," Phantom said. "You're usually so oblivious to matters outside of Henesys."
"Hey, I'm not that oblivious!" Evan denied as they weaved through the crowd. "And I've actually met with Claudine once while I was going after Hiver. Me and Mir ended up in Edelstein and Claudine was the one who got us into the Maple Alliance."
"I see. So that's how a clumsy little kid who trips over his own shoelaces like you got in."
Evan flushed. "That was one time."
"One time is all it takes. Ah. Hello Athena, Mercedes," Phantom greeted, effectively cutting Evan off before he could retaliate with a comeback.
"Good afternoon Phantom," Mercedes replied primly.
"Hello Phantom," Athena greeted in turn with a smile. "And hello Evan. It's been a while since I've last seen you. How have you been? I hope Phantom here hasn't been giving you a hard time."
Evan visibly brightened at the sight of the archery instructor. "Hello, Ms. Pierce! It's good to see you ma'am. I'm doing fine and no, Sir Phantom hasn't been giving me too hard of a time."
"Really? Well then I guess I'm going to have to try harder," Phantom mused, quirking a brow as a smile started the tease the corners of his lips before his attention was diverted towards the two people approaching their small group. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Luminous and Aran. Good day, Aran."
"Heya," Aran greeted, smiling and giving a small wave.
"Good day to you too, Phantom," Luminous grumbled. "I see you are as disrespectful as ever."
"Ahem. May I have all of your attention please?"
The chatter that filled the room immediately ceased and everyone turned their full attention towards the front where Claudine stood authoritatively on the platform flanked by Brighton, Elex, Belle, and Checky standing a little behind her.
"I'm sure many are wondering why you are gathered here right now and I apologize for calling you all here on such a short notice but a major development has just been uncovered."
Claudine nodded towards Brighton and the Battle Mage instructor obligingly stepped aside to allow Valfor to emerge from the shadows, bringing forth with him a very familiar-looking girl.
Gasps of shock echoed throughout the room before an almost immediate eruption of cries of alarm and outrage swept through the crowd like wildfire.
Phantom's mouth tightened at the sight of his number one most despised enemy in his entire life.
The girl's long platinum blonde hair was out of its usual pigtails and it trailed down her back disheveled and unkempt. Her pale complexion combined with the white of her hospital gown made her akin to a ghost, and her lifeless lilac eyes were empty and hollow; a pitiable state not unlike a broken doll, a hollow shell of her former self and nothing like the haughty girl he remembered.
But all that failed to incite even a shred of sympathy for her nor did it stop the wave of sheer and utter loathing that crashed into him and that swept him away on its turbulent course.
He spotted Mercedes casting a concerned look towards him and even Luminous spared a glance at him over his shoulder. Aran and Evan, however, remained oblivious to the whirlwind of turmoil the simple sight of a frail-looking girl had just stirred within him and continued to watch the new development attentively.
"Silence!"
The room quieted once more and Claudine continued.
"As some of you may know, this is Orchid, leader of the Black Wings and one of the Black Mage's Commanders, our foe for the past several years. However, right now, she has been reduced to a vegetable-like state and she seems to have lost her powers entirely due to a recent development. As she is now, she is completely harmless. However, rest assured for I have already taken measures in ensuring she won't get out of hand nonetheless.
"Now, to understand her condition and the situation we now stand in, I'll start by explaining that one of Orchid's primary goals for giving rise to the Black Wings and one of the reasons why she has been siphoning so much energy from our town is to revive her comatose twin brother, Lotus. However, it seems there has been a coup d'état within the ranks of the Black Wings and she has been betrayed by the lead scientist, Gelimer, who now controls Lotus like a puppet. He heavily injured Orchid with the brainwashed Lotus and has since disappeared. His whereabouts are unknown at the moment and the search for him is underway as we speak. His motive is unclear however, what is clear is that our priorities have now changed. From this day onward, our efforts will go to finding and capturing Gelimer!"
Murmurs of uncertainty spread throughout the room, unsurprising considering they were now hosting the very person who had caused them so much grief.
"I understand your uncertainty, distrust, and anger but after weighing the options, we have decided that Orchid could still be useful in providing information that could facilitate Gelimer's capture or at least inform us of his goals if only she would snap out of her current condition. With the loss of her brother and her organization, she no longer has reason to harm us. In fact, doing so would only hurt her in the end since we now provide the means to recover Lotus and without us, she is utterly powerless in that endeavor."
Grudging murmurs of agreement spread over the crowd and Claudine nodded in approval.
"I know it is difficult to see our nemesis standing amongst us now but I just ask that you please endure it for a little longer. We are strong and we have already withstood much. We must not lose sight of what our ultimate goal is: To defend our town and to take back what is rightfully ours! For the sake of this goal, we must bear this obstacle with our iron hearts and our stolid souls as we have for every obstacle that came before! Can we do this?"
A roar of affirmation immediately filled the air but it was all white noise as Phantom stared at Orchid, the poisonous grip of dark glee and satisfaction wrapping around his grim heart.
It was just what she deserved but even this was too good for her. Oh no. At least she got to retreat into the blissful recesses of her mind, oblivious to pain or the world but he had to bear the pain of Aria's death every waking moment of his life. At least Lotus had a chance of recovery, which was more than what he could say for the deceased Empress. Oh yes, Orchid's fate was much too kind to her for all the atrocities she committed, too light a payment. She deserved to suffer more.
"Phantom?"
The hesitant voice snapped him out of his dark muse and he turned to meet Mercedes's crystalline eyes glinting with concern.
"Phantom…" Mercedes began uncertainly.
"My, what an unexpected turn of events," Phantom quipped lightly with an easy smile on his face. "Who would have thought that Orchid would end up like this? I suppose this is what people call… karma isn't it?"
Luminous was frowning at him, gazing at him contemplatively with his strange heterochromatic eyes which he had to admit he was still getting used to.
"You are all right? Is that truly so?" he asked skeptically.
"Luminous, is that… concern I hear?" Phantom gasped in faux shock.
Luminous narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
Aran and Evan watched the trio curiously but didn't comment.
"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt but are you the one who fought Orchid a while back?"
Everyone's eyes shifted over towards the voice coming from… the bear suit that had been standing with Claudine during her announcement.
Mercedes quickly regained her composure from the strange sight and responded, "Yes, I am."
"Hello, I'm Checky. It's nice to meet you. I want to personally thank you for saving one of our children. Without your help, we wouldn't know what to do with Cutie taken hostage in addition to Gabrielle."
"You're most welcome," Mercedes replied cordially.
"I hope you don't mind but I'm here for information. Since you've been in contact with Orchid and you've fought her before, you'd know what she's capable of. Valfor has been a great help too but a second opinion would be great in increasing precautionary measures. Actually, anything anyone knows about Orchid at all would be useful."
"I see. I shall speak with your leader then but I think the one who would be most knowledgeable about both twins and the Black Wings in general would be—" Mercedes turned towards Phantom but stopped when she realized that he was… gone. "Phantom?"
Realizing that their local thief had disappeared, the rest of the small group of five looked around themselves in an attempt to locate the elusive man with no results. He had disappeared as quickly and quietly as a shadow the moment their attention had been diverted towards Checky.
"Phantom? Where are you?" Athena called but her voice was swallowed up in the general noise of the idling masses.
"Leave him be. Mayhap the thief deems it necessary for time by himself," Luminous suggested. "We will have to meet Claudine without him."
Mercedes nodded mutely in agreement before turning towards Aran and Evan. "I'm afraid you two won't have much in way of information so it's not necessary for you to come with us. Maybe you could explore the area a bit."
"Okay. I guess it'd be fun to hang out with Ms. Aran for a bit if she um… if she doesn't mind," Evan said, smiling tentatively up at the tall woman.
"Sure! Let's look around together! This place looks pretty cool," Aran agreed, returning the smile with a cheerful one of her own.
Decisions reached, the group split and went their own separate ways.
o-O-o
Picking his way through the throngs of people with no clear destination in mind, all Phantom was thankful for was that a distraction had showed itself to allow him the opportunity to slip away. He'd really rather not have to deal with people picking at his wounds unintentionally and good-intentioned or not. A moment to settle things by himself is nice, somewhere where there would be no people yammering at his ears, maybe even calm his furiously beating heart that had started throbbing since he first set eyes upon that pitiful girl.
He thought he had reconciled with this, after he was chided by Aria for his single-minded thirst for vengeance, after he spoke to her one last time. He thought he might have finally even let go but the moment he laid eyes upon Orchid in her state made it apparent that maybe he wasn't quite as ready as he had thought. But then again, she was presented so unexpectedly and so suddenly that it triggered his first, automatic reaction which was a surge of hatred. However, could he attribute all those emotions to just that?
He remembered that feeling of pitch, black hatred. Pieces of it still clung to him in fact. As much as he could put on a show and spout pretty words of forgiveness, a part of him knew that a dark corner of his heart would never, never forgive the twins for what they have done and that he will always hold this grudge even down onto his grave.
As he neared the very back of the room where it was more peaceable, what sounded like a heated but hushed argument (although they weren't being very quiet anyway) coming from the distant corner where two teens stood together caught his attention.
One of the teens donned a red scarf along with a faded blue mechanic's attire and had a shock of silver hair while the other one, with a staff gripped tightly in one hand, wore a brownish outfit with a crimson bandana around his neck and had a head of striking red hair resting on top of which was a pair of goggles.
"Luka, calm the hell down. This is just for a while anyway! We need the information she could give us so just deal with it for now!"
"Deal? You're asking me to deal? After what she did to Vita? You want me to deal?"
It seems like he wasn't the only victim of Orchid's revolting actions.
"I don't care about all that! I just… I just want her out! I don't want to even see her!"
"And you don't have to! She's going to be locked up in a high security cell in the deepest part of the base! She's practically brain-dead anyway! Isn't that enough?"
"But at least she's still alive…" the redhead named Luka said bitterly. "At least she still has a chance to recover her brother. At least they still have a chance in life. Where's Vita's? Where's our happiness?"
Phantom couldn't help but grimly agree. Orchid may be near comatose from her trauma but at least there was still hope for her to recover her lost brother and at least Lotus still had a chance in life. What were their own chances of recovering their lost ones whom Orchid had so indiscriminately and heartlessly murdered? Where were their loved ones' chances in life?
The silver-haired teen moved to put a hand on Luka's shoulder but it was shrugged off and the redhead took off deeper into the recesses of the base.
"Luka!"
Phantom had to admit that he was intrigued. This Luka person shared many of the same sentiments he did. They could probably even understand each other on a level no one else could.
So when the silver-haired teen took off after his friend, Phantom did what he always did when his interest was piqued: he discreetly followed.
He trailed after the duo down, down deeper into the depths of the base as they ran through a maze of dimly lit, empty hallways and stairs but it wasn't long before the silver-haired teen lost sight of his friend. Nonetheless, he continued to give chase until at last, they arrived at a spacious area where they were surrounded by a multitude of storage garages, some open and some closed with shutters painted with the white gear that served as the Resistance's emblem.
"Luka!" the teen called, voice echoing through the eerie silence of the expansive storage bunker. "Luka! Where are you? Look, I'm sorry okay? I'm sorry! I know how much Vita meant to you and I… Just… please come out… Please…"
The silver-haired teen stood in silence, waiting for even a whisper of a reply with bated breath but when no answer was forthcoming, he continued down the long, wide hallway.
"Luka!"
Phantom made no move to follow after him, however. Instead, his eyes carefully scanned several of the open garages.
The sound of a sigh instantly drew his attention towards one of the garages across from him and he made his way over.
He found Luka huddled on top of one of the crates at the very back of the large, cluttered storage shed, his figure swallowed in shadow and his head buried in his knees.
He approached slowly, making sure his feet shuffled slightly on the ground to alert his target of his presence.
Luka instantly looked up, eyes wide with alarm but immediately relaxed when he saw it wasn't his silver-haired friend.
"Oh hey stranger. What brings you all the way down here?" Luka asked, ushering a weak smile.
"Nothing in particular but I suppose I should introduce myself anyway," Phantom hummed. "I'm known as Phantom."
"Oh, that's cool. I'm Luka."
"I know. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Huh? How'd you know?" Luka asked, nose scrunching slightly in confusion.
"Your loudmouthed friend shouted it several times while you were running away."
"Oh Aidan?" Luka said distractedly, absently rubbing a lock of red hair between two fingers. "Yeah… he's a buttface…" He peered up at Phantom and continued. "Hey um… listen, normally I love company, really I do, but right now I'm just… I'm just not feeling up to it right this moment so can you come back at another time?"
Phantom nodded. "Understandable. I couldn't help but overhear your argument with… Aidan was it?"
"You heard that?" Luka asked.
"Well, your conversation wasn't exactly the quietest though not for the lack of effort."
Silence reigned over the darkened space for a few moments before Phantom deigned to speak again. "I don't necessarily disagree with you. Orchid's fate was much too kind to her."
Luka's head slowly rose until his eyes met with Phantom's violets.
"You… think so?" he asked tentatively, slowly shifting so that his legs dangled over the crate, his body leaning forward slightly.
Phantom nodded.
"Did… did you lose someone to Orchid too?"
Again Phantom nodded. "Yes, a long, long time ago."
"Oh I see…" He paused. "Can I ask who it is?"
"A cherished and dear love of mine," Phantom replied, smiling sadly, the image of Aria's radiant smile flashing in his mind.
Luka nodded. "I lost a really important friend… Actually, to be specific, Orchid wasn't the one who directly killed her… It was Gelimer." His hands fisted his pants as he spoke the name, a fierce scowl overtaking his features before an apologetic smile smoothed over his face. "Sorry, it's a long story. You probably don't want to hear a stranger babble at you about it."
"Oh no, I don't mind it," Phantom assured, taking a seat on the same crate. "I don't have anything to do on my hands and it'll probably be a while before I left so why don't you just tell me your story?"
"If you're sure," Luka said, managing a wider smile. "Lessee… I guess I'll start with how I met her. Me and some of the town's kids went up near the mines to play one day. I know, I know it's stupid and it's restricted for a reason but they could be really forceful when they want to be," he grumbled, unconsciously rubbing at his shin. "I also thought that if I went with them, I could keep an eye out on them too. But anyway, we decided to play hide-and-seek and I was it so I went around and found everyone except Von. Everyone knows Von is famous 'round town for his hiding skills. I searched for a while before I found this suspicious-looking hole and I thought maybe that's where he was hiding so I went in there and ended up in some kind of freaky laboratory with containers full of… people inside floating in some kind of weird liquid.
"That was where I met Vita… She was one of the test subjects inside that lab. She warned me to turn back and urged me to run while I still had the chance but I… I just couldn't leave her in there… She was so small and alone… No one should have to go through what she was going through so I broke her out as well and took her with me… We had a little run in with Schiller but luckily J was there to save the day. Afterwards I joined the Resistance where Vita was happily settled in too under Wendelline's wing. She was so grateful towards me for saving her and she was so determined to help the Resistance for everything they've done for her." Luka smiled a genuine smile, eyes lost in memory. "She had a big spirit and an even bigger heart for someone who had spent so long as a test subject and well, I guess being rescued and being taken care of awakened that in her. I remember the way she looked when I brought her a handmade Resistance member badge as a gift y'know, as a way of telling her that this was where she belonged, that this was her home. She was just so happy. How could anything so simple make her smile like that…?"
The smile slipped from his face.
"She made this medicine for the Resistance members, see. It was supposed to be some kind of booster but then J reported feeling strange after he took some of her medicine and we discovered a while later that it was actually poison. Claudine caught wind of it and Vita came under suspicion of being a spy." Luka fisted his hands in a white-knuckled grip of anger. "I could hardly believe it! How could she even think Vita would do such a thing? Vita had been struggling to do her best to help support our cause since the beginning even when she didn't have to! She… She was just that grateful to us… We took her in as part of our family and then we turned around and betrayed her by throwing her in jail. How could she possibly know her medicine would turn out to be poison? There was just… just no way…"
He paused.
"Vita disappeared soon after," he continued quietly. "We don't know how she escaped but it only put her under more intense suspicion and I was sent to find her near the mines. Gelimer," he growled. "We found out he had set up mind-control in all his test subjects… including Vita and that was how she managed to break out. He dangled her in front of my nose like bait on a string and even though we all knew it was a trap, I went after her anyway."
Tears began to well in his eyes, his voice growing shaky with suppressed sobs. "When I arrived, Vita was inside a cage and that… that… sick bastard had stuck explosives inside her that was set to go off just as I arrived. Vita urged me to run just like the first time we met but I didn't want to leave without her, I didn't! I… I refused to! She should never be stuck in another cage ever again! She belonged to freedom! B-But then th-there was n-nothing I-I could do! Nothing!" Luka choked, tears overflowing. "And V-Vita she… she…!"
He heaved in a few deep breaths, strangled sobs escaping his throat.
"I… I never even got to say… sorry…"
Phantom waited patiently as Luka struggled to reign in his grief and a few minutes passed before he spoke again.
"I couldn't forgive Claudine for a while afterwards," Luka continued, more calmly. "I understand that as the leader of a group of rebels that suspicion and caution must be part of who she is but I could never forgive her for treating Vita the way she did, for distrusting someone she had embraced with open arms just a few weeks ago, thinking that maybe if she had never chose to condemn her, Vita's fate would've been different. Claudine regretted it but it still took me a while before I came back around.
"But more than Claudine, I could never, never forgive Gelimer who had made Vita's life a living hell," Luka's eyes darkened unsettlingly, smoldering quietly in the dimness like a pair of molten orbs. "I could also never forgive Lotus, the one who had allowed this, who created this organization whose purpose created so many other victims like Vita, the one who was sick enough to authorize Gelimer's experiments. If she hadn't come along, Vita might still be living peacefully out there somewhere with her family and friends! All that for her brother? How sweet. Don't make me laugh! How many other families had she torn apart for her own selfish desires? It doesn't justify her murdering indiscriminately and treating life as though it were meaningless!
"And now, Vita's murderer stands up there as though her own world has just been broken into pieces. Poor thing but Vita is dead yet she still lives on. Her brother lives on. What does she have to be so upset about? At least Lotus wasn't murdered the way Vita was. And now she's under the protection of this very organization that had vowed to destroy her," Luka laughed wryly, slightly hysterical. "So I can't even so much as spit in her face without consequences."
Luka sucked in a deep breath, held it, let it out again, and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm done. Must've been torture sitting there listening to me rant." He cast a small smile over at Phantom.
"It's no problem… I understand much of what you describe. I can't bear to see Lotus without the urge to make things even as well. I don't think I'll ever forgive her either and I've actually attempted to enact vengeance against both her and her brother by destroying the container that held Lotus's body once but… complications... arose and I wound up possessed," Phantom said, wincing. "I must admit, it wasn't my proudest moment. The thirst for revenge has blinded me to all else in life and for that, I've lost many, many opportunities to enjoy what I still had… Grief and anger is one thing but vengeance is poisonous in the way that it allows the illusion of control while insidiously growing out of your initial self-restraint into an unrecognizable monster."
Luka nodded. "Yeah… I guess that's true but I don't feel any better knowing Orchid is here and it doesn't make me want to stick it to her any less."
"And you don't have to be okay with it. Just never lose sight of yourself or your own life after all, the dead will remain dead no matter what you do, not even the death of the guilty. Nothing… will... change that…" Phantom trailed off, his own revelation beginning to dawn upon him.
A moment of silence passed between them before Phantom looked towards the entryway. "You can come out now."
Nothing happened at first but a few moments later, Aidan reluctantly stepped out into the open, looking slightly guilty and uncomfortable.
"Aidan!" Luka gasped. "How long've you been standing there?"
"A while…" Aidan admitted, casting his gaze elsewhere. "Um… listen Luke, I just want to say I'm sorry… I've been kind of… insensitive earlier…"
"You were a dick," Luka agreed, nodding sagely.
Aidan gritted his teeth but didn't bite back, instead saying, "Okay fine, I've been a dick and I'm… sorry for that..."
He shifted uncomfortably and it was clear that he was unused to apologizing face-to-face.
Luka nodded again as he listened and replied, "Okay, okay I see. Apology accepted."
Aidan glanced towards his friend, looking slightly relieved but he quickly tried to hide it with a scowl.
"Buuuut I've found a new best friend named Phantom while you were gone!" Luka proclaimed cheerily, suddenly latching onto the startled Phantom. "Too bad for you so go away!" he said, sticking out his tongue at Aidan.
Aidan glared at Phantom before his eyes slid back towards Luka. "Okay fine. I'll buy you your favorite pudding and a large chocolate cake. Happy?"
"WHOO! You're the best Aidan!" Luka whooped, instantly jumping towards Aidan and clinging onto him instead.
"Gerroff me Luka!" Aidan snarled but made no move to unstick his best friend from his back as he turned to leave.
"I'll see you later, Phantom! Talk to you another time!" Luka called back towards him, waving maniacally with one arm while the other remained hooked around Aidan's waist.
Phantom smiled and waved back, watching as they disappeared up a flight of stairs, the sound of their argument that rang through the empty hall growing fainter and fainter until only Phantom remained in the deafening silence.
He slipped on a smile and made his own way out, his footsteps echoing hollowly in the immense space.
He had a ward to watch over after all.
Because I seriously don't think Ferdi would invite primary and secondary school-aged children to join the Resistance ._. Or at least I hope not O_o