Long AN: Hello! This is TheFourthAlice, and I'm starting the Panda Hero Story! Of course, there are other ones on fanfiction- but I had too XD. I didn't read any of them so that this one can remain as original as possible, but after I finish this one, I definitely will! Please let me know if you think this is very close/too close to one, because I will address your concern accordingly and possibly even delete the story if it runs deep enough, depending on what happens. With luck, however, it won't come to that! Anyways, this is most definitely going to be bumped up to being rated M, because it mentions drugs and will most probably include a lot of other unsavory things. However, it's not going to be sexually explicit. DON'T DO DRUGS, KIDS! I'll make Gumi come after you with a baseball bat!
Anyways, most obviously, this is based off of the song Panda Hero by Hatchi. I am not Hatchi, I do not own the song, and seeing as I'm not exactly rolling in money, I don't work for Crypton or own the Vocaloids. Constructive criticism is welcome. And if you absolutely hate it, go ahead and tell me what you don't like about it! Any feedback is welcome. Also, this is my first multiple-chapter fic, so sorry if I have trouble updating (I have school in 21 days, too, so that's going to get in the way of me updating). Most of the chapters are going to be longer than this and use less of the song lyrics at a time. This is just the introduction, so it's awkward but necessary to squeeze in here. From here on out it will all be in Gumi's eyes, no more switching awkwardly (at least, I don't think XD).
Finally, if someone could advise what to do about the rating, that would be fantastic. I don't want to get in trouble. ^.^
Enough with the Author's Note! Onto the story!
Pipes mixed with scrap, rusted wheels,
Crazy in its own ways, a picturesque town
The city of Poppinine was quiet that evening. It was fast-approaching sunset on a Sunday, and the last of the children that were outside to cause trouble and play street games were running home as the streetlamps started to flicker on.
One look at Poppinine revealed much about the city. Scrap metal was scattered everywhere, rusting away on the ground, abandoned. The city looked a lot like a graveyard, strewn about pipes and junk. There were always things to salvage from it, if you were willing to face the rusted heaps of shards of metal.
Ash and soot lined the streets from factories. Steam was an ever-persistent companion from the factories that lined the river, which itself held all sorts of junk and pollution.
Looking at the city from such a negative viewpoint was not something commonly done by the residents of the city. Instead, they focused on the good things about the city, the beautiful skyline that came from being built on a river, the always-helpful androids that wandered the streets and took care of taverns and shops. The city was big and moving constantly, and everyone who lived there since birth knew of everything about it. They knew where to walk at night and where not to, who you nodded your head at and who you ran away from. The children knew who would give you an extra piece of bread at the bakery and who would shoo you away with a broom. Adults knew who you did not speak to and who you gave whatever they wanted.
And of course everyone knew the most important thing about the city; it was a city where loose lips sank ships- and got you killed.
Injection needles stuck into a yellow dartboard,
A sewn hand on home base
Lucky Diamond was someone in the city who you gave whatever he wanted, and he knew it.
He was a young man with salt-and-pepper hair, and red eyes. He smirked for a moment as he looked out the room's only window, a small square that you'd expect to see on a prison cell. It showed the electric towers that surrounded the baseball field, barbed-wire fencing needed to keep street kids from playing all hours.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair, glancing about his workplace. It was a dank place lined with shadows that seemed to swallow you the minute you walked in. It was crammed with tired-looking leather furniture, antique wood desks and shelves. Filling every available space was some sort of knick-knack ranging from conversation pieces to silent warnings. The entire place reeked of smoke and something sweet.
Lucky opened one of the drawers of his desk and removed syringes. In a lazy fashion, he picked one up and, with the flick of a wrist, sent it flying to a mustard-colored dartboard. It hit the top-right area and imbedded itself into the material. The dartboard itself was another one of the many oddities in the room. Its green lines that indicated point values were shaped in a diamond, and there was a small doll's hand, wrapped in thread, sewn to the bottom of the diamond.
He threw another that hit very close to the oddly-shaped middle. There was a knock on the door that seemed ominous in the dark room. He stopped and waited, leaning back in his chair once again. He cleared his throat, and a person entered
If you find yourself troubled, call for them,
On the field enclosed by electric towers
A young boy entered, shuffling his feet nervously, his blue eyes downcast.
"Do you have payment?" The young boy shifted at these words, unconsciously reaching up and running his fingers through his blonde hair. He slowly shook his head, still staring at the ground.
"That's too bad. We're always sorry to lose clients." The boy looked up, eyes wide. He slowly started shaking his head. The boy started to apologize, it coming out in a heap of gibberish, promises to pay and apologies of not buying. He stumbled backwards, tripping through the door and hitting the wall of the hallway. Lucky smirked at the boy's terrified expression, and two androids started towards the boy, appearing in the hallway. Their bronze metal bodies gleamed dully as the artificial light hit them.
The boy ran down the long hallway and shot out of the building, running the narrow path between the fence and the brick building. Lucky was able to observe triumphantly from his window as the two androids followed in pursuit.
Gasping, the boy does the only thing he can, his voice rising to a shriek.
"Help! Someone! Oh, damn it, please! Please!"
A black-and-white hero of unclear morals,
A metal bat in their left hand
"Here."
The boy turns his head to where an exceptionally calm voice rang out. He saw the same face he'd seen in the newspaper lining the street, except that was a drawing by a sketch artist. This was flesh. This was her.
The sketch artist had done a very good job showing her profile. She had shorter, wavier hair in a reverse bob, dyed lime green. She had used face paint to paint her face entirely white, and had circles under her eyes and a marking on her nose, rendering her appearance similar to a panda's. She pulled on the wire fence to reveal a gap just wide enough for a child to wiggle through. The boy wiggled through with some difficulty, and she grabbed his hand and ran, pulling him along.
"This way." She said, and he followed her to the baseball field. She ran into the dugout and darted out, a metal bat glinting in the sun in her left hand. She tossed a wooden one to the boy and said conversationally:
"So, what's your name?"
"Len. Are you… the girl everyone's talking about?"
She didn't reply, her eyes trained on the androids making their way towards the pair. She tilted her head to the side, and said:
"Well, Len, I really do hope you can swing a baseball bat as well as you can run from your supplier." Len flinched and nodded. The androids came into range, and without hesitation she swung a bat at its "neck", the display screen on its "face" shattering. She hit it again, and the android fell to the ground, useless. Len followed suit and soon disabled the other one. The strange girl then leaned down and opened its chest cavity.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting its personality chip."
"Why?"
She didn't reply to this either, instead moving to the other and doing the same. She then slipped them both into her pocket.
Now not in danger of being killed by the androids of a drug dealer, Len was able to look at this girl closely. She was wearing pink contacts, he now realized. She also wore an orange tank-top and olive-green cargo shorts with plenty of pockets. Solid lime-green canvas sneakers and orange-and-white striped socks encased her feet. She wore an orange baseball cap with red-orange goggles strapped into place on them. She looked very much like every other girl in the city, if you took away the panda face. He them smiled at her.
"Thanks for saving me. You're pretty cool." He held out his hand. The girl looked at him, not taking it. She glared, and she said condescendingly, "I wouldn't have had to, if you been an addict." Len gulped, looking away and blinking. His hand fell. Turning on her heel, the girl started to walk away.
"Wait! You never told me… your name!" He said, calling after her. She paused and tilted her head, as if to let him know she was listening. Gulping again, he asked, "Are you the Panda Hero?"
She turned and nodded, staring at him. He then asked what had been bugging him.
"Why did you save me, if you knew… that I did that?" She sighed and told him,
"Your sister knew you were trying, and she found me. That's all." He nodded. She turned again and left, and Len ran home, knowing he had the best luck in the city- and the best sister- to have made it out of Lucky Diamond's lair with his life and a hero.
X
In his office, "Lucky" Dell Diamond picked up his phone, dialing a number.
"There's been a problem." He said, his voice booming in the silent office.
X
Megpoid Megumi slipped into the abandoned apartment complex just as night fell. She sighed as fell into her bed, setting the baseball bat to lean against a crate that served as her nightstand. She collapsed into the bed, kicking off her shoes and sorely wishing she had enough energy to go back and swipe something from her icebox. She didn't think of the day's events, and as she drifted to sleep, she doubted she thought anything at all.
X
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