Author note: I do not own 'The Last Story' nor do I own the song 'The Night' by Blake Mcgrath which inspired this fic into being. This is also inspired a little bit by the novel 'Coda' by Emma Trevayne, which I also don't own.

...I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm starting ANOTHER fic. (insert head-desk here) Again, like every other fic in existence, PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT FREQUENT UPDATES...

Also, some chapters may be inspired by songs, and I will title the chapters as such. A certain part of this chapter was inspired by the song 'Sweets & Bitters' by Yuuto, sung by the Vocaloids Luka Megurine and Gakupo Kamui. I don't own the song obviously, but try to guess which part of the chapter was inspired by the song! Leave the guesses in the reviews! XD

Warning: Futuristic AU, mentions of drug abuse and drug dealing, actual violence, use of alcohol, possible pairings

Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks! XD

The Night

1. Sweets & Bitters

One, pull the feet to the left. Two, arms in the air. Three, back it up for me. Four, move to the right, we'll see...

Zesha let the music guide his movements-though sometimes he found himself fighting against it. He wouldn't call himself graceful like a ballerina, but when it came to popping, locking, or even a moonwalk...well, he called himself an expert at that. He almost forgot why he was in this club, dancing the night away.

He just needed time to think. And thinking usually ended up in him dancing, or at least wanting to dance.

That was why he was here at Ariela's club, right? The DJ, Zoran, always had some of the best music playing in Lazulis City after all.

Of course, he didn't come by himself. That was stupid- after all, Jirall Rambaldt could always send some of his goons anywhere Zesha went to try to beat the crap out of him. And of course, that wasn't going to fly. So, he brought some of his own buddies along, too, just in case a fight broke out. A fight was very likely-always likely to happen whenever he went out, but he knew that too well. It had been going on for the past few years, after all, and fights like this were completely common. Even if it wasn't between gangs, they would break out between the bouncers and the jerks, the jerks and other people...in short, it wasn't really that rare, really. Violence was a common thing in Lazulis City, even if Mayor Arganan wouldn't admit it to the rest of the world.

"Oy! Zesha!" The Gurak turned to see Zoran saunter over to him, pulling him off the dance floor and towards a table. The dark-haired DJ was currently off-duty for the moment. "You want a drink? It's on me!"

Zesha merely gave a wry grin, a slight tilt of his head. "Go ahead and get me a screwdriver, Zoran, thanks."

The DJ merely nodded, before leaving him alone at the table. It didn't take long, though, for company to arrive in the form of Lowell, Dagran, Yurick and Zael. All four of them looked dressed to party-with Lowell wearing a neon blue tank top with the word 'swag' written across it in bold, black, capital letters. Yurick wore a neon red tank top with the same word on it-probably a dare by Lowell to wear what Yurick would have probably considered a 'weird' article of clothing. Dagran and Zael were both wearing tank tops like the other two, except they didn't have those words and that they were wearing black and dark green tops respectively.

"Saw you up there," Dagran started, gesturing to the dance floor. "You looked like you were really enjoying yourself this time."

Zesha nodded a bit in agreement, letting out a breath. "Yeah, I was." He responded quietly. "But I'm getting bored, and-" He stopped mid-sentence, looking off into the distance.

"Hm?" Lowell turned to glance in the direction where Zesha was staring. "Hey, isn't that Mayor Arganan's niece?"

Zael nodded in agreement, also looking. "Yeah...that's her..." He trailed off quietly. "What is she doing here of all places...?"

Yurick shrugged a bit. "Who knows why she's here? How do we even know for sure if it's her and not some wannabe that's trying to look like her to try to look more attractive?"

The dancer smirked, grabbing the screwdriver from Zoran before turning to the others. "I'm going to find out for myself." He declared, before heading towards the table...

Callista let out a sigh as she drank a glass of water. It was loud in this place-very loud-but that didn't scare her from wandering into this nightclub. She'd never been to one before, really, but she needed to get out of the house. She couldn't stand being there-especially that she knew that Jirall might have been hanging around there, trying to find her so he could try to woo her for the umpteenth time. That wasn't going to fly with her-that was why she snuck out and came here by herself, after all.

She wanted to see the world-not be cooped up in the house with nothing to do but go through online courses and homeschooling tutors to have her prepared to take over the role of Lazulis' next mayor. That wasn't fun at all.

"Good little girls," A voice addressed out of the blue, shattering her train of thought, "do not spend their time in sketchy clubs like this place in Lazulis."

Callista raised an eyebrow in suspicion as a man, definitely older than her, took a seat across from her, a lovely smirk plastered on his face. He wore a black, leather coat with several flaming red buckles and straps on it that made Callista think that they were mostly for decorative purposes. The wide collar of the jacket was flared up, as if in some attempt to look cool. A thin, white t-shirt was underneath the coat, effectively giving her a peek at his abdominal muscles and chest underneath. He wore black pants, loose enough for him to be comfortable, but fitted enough so that they were not hanging low like the other men at the club and held up with a belt.

He took a sip of the alcoholic drink he held in one hand, before he propped his chin onto the other hand, leaning a bit against the table to gaze closer at her as he spoke.

"What is a good little girl like you doing here in Hypnotica, notorious for its late night clubbing and alcoholic drinks? Hmm?" He analyzed her carefully, as if a lion was stalking its prey. "Don't you have a reason?"

She thought he would ignore her if she answered.

"I just needed to get out of the house. That's all."

She expected him to find it a boring answer and leave her alone. She was wrong to assume such a thing.

He took another sip of his drink before responding, putting the drink aside. "So the good little girl wishes to have an experience of the world around her. Finally," He murmured quietly, "Someone is actually willing to see for themselves of the whole big situation of the fights in Lazulis-why they've been going on for the past few years. Am I correct to assume this?"

Callista was taken aback for a moment-how had he been able to read her? But she merely nodded in response, not saying a word.

The other smiled. "Good." He spoke after a moment. "It's about time I got my own story on everything."

Callista took a good look at him again, before speaking. "Who are you...?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he stood, putting the half-empty glass of his alcohol on the table before extending a hand towards her.

"Want to dance?"

She was surprised by this. "Why?"

He chuckled a bit. "Don't tell me you have absolutely no idea how to dance. That's pathetic."

She glared at him. "I do know how to dance!"

This was technically a lie. Callista had the bad feeling that he saw through it, as she saw him smirk.

"I'll acknowledge such dancing skills if you can catch up with me." He challenged, crossing his arms.

"Fine." She responded, still glaring at him as the two went to the dance floor. It was then that the music changed, and...

He started to dance.

The movements were absolutely nothing like one would do during a Viennese Waltz or a tango. No, no, these movements were something foreign to her, but yet so innovative, creative...

And she was completely struggling to catch up with him during the first half of it all. As soon as she completed one move, he would have already done three more, and she would then fumble on those moves. The older one let out a laugh at her terrible attempts to keep up.

"I knew it, little girl." He spoke up half-heartedly halfway through the song. "Thought that you couldn't dance all that well."

She still glared at him. "You're going too fast, you jerk."

She knew she sounded like a little kid complaining, but it was damn true.

"Well..." His expression softened for a moment, before he smiled at her. "How about I help you along, then?"

Before she could respond, he had already taken her hand and pulled her into his act. Callista found the both of them dancing in sync, with her actually being able to catch up with him (or did he slow down so that his speed matched hers...?) for once. Whatever he did, she found herself able to imitate perfectly, the movements in absolute harmony over the music blasting from above.

Callista started to enjoy herself with the dancing. She was getting used to it-although different from what sort of dancing she had done at the formal parties, this was far more creative, more...fun, even.

Before she could continue, she noticed a person out of the corner out her eyes-white hair tied back into a long braid, emerald eyes wandering about and desperately trying to find her...

"Oh no." She muttered quietly, stopping. The other stopped as well, looking down at her.

"What?" He asked, looking around.

Callista glanced behind her again. "I can't get caught here. I need to go-"

It was then that the other realized what she had noticed.

"Dammit, not him of all people..." He muttered, grabbing Callista's hand and pulling her away from the dance floor, deeper into the crowd of chattering people. "We better get out of here, now. Unless you want to get caught clubbing by your half-brother, of course. I'm not sure how he would take the news that his little sister is dancing with strangers at sketchy clubs..."

Callista froze slightly. How did he know about the fact that Therius was her half-brother and not an actual brother like everyone else assumed? The other tugged at her hand. "Come on! Unless you want to get caught-"

"Who are you?" She asked again, looking up at him. "How do you know about me and my brother?"

The other let out a sigh, shaking his head. "I'll explain later. Do you want to get grounded or worse by your mayor-uncle or not?"

Callista let out a breath, before letting herself get dragged away by her mysterious companion. The two ended up going out of the building through a back door, and her companion looked around quietly, before rushing over to a nearby motorcycle and seating himself on it.

"Get on," He hissed quietly. "Unless you want to get caught by your uncle, associating yourself with one of the most dangerous men in Lazulis City."

Callista wasn't sure what to do. Should she trust him? She didn't want to get caught, but she didn't want to be put in danger, either.

"Who are you?" She asked again, trying to sound as brave as she could be at the moment.

The other let out a groan. "Have you ever heard of Zesha Stryker? Accused of public disturbance and illegal drug sales?"

She hesitated, before nodding. "Yes...and why are you telling me this?"

He smirked a little bit. "Well, little girl, I'm Zesha Stryker. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Callista Arganan."

Her eyes widened at this. Zesha? The Zesha that led that gang? What was that gang even called again...?

"Wha-"

FLASH!

She had to close her eyes as a bright flash of light appeared in front of her for a moment, before fading. Zesha let out a low breath, pressing a few buttons onto what looked like a phone or a remote control, before he put a pair of headphones on with a small microphone attached.

"Everyone, get out of the bar! Now! The police are probably coming already-either that, or Jirall's goonies are going to strike. We must take our leave now. Oh, and by the way, I've got the mayor's niece with me so I sent you a picture. Put up a hologram of her on whatever bike you're riding-I need you to cover for me while I get her back to the base with us, just in case the police are trailing us or something like that." He turned towards Callista, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Well, little girl? Are you coming?"

Callista hesitated, unsure of whether she wished to be riding on the motorbike of one of the most dangerous men in Lazulis City, but Zesha let out a scowl and pulled her onto the bike, yelling at her to wrap her arms around his waist and hold on tight. The Gurak gang leader smirked as the motorbike roared to life, before Zesha stepped on the pedal.

Wind whipped past Callista's face as the motorbike sped away from the bar, into the streets. She couldn't believe was doing this-being on a motorbike and being in the company of none other than Zesha. It wasn't something she was expecting when she was at the bar-oh, no, it wasn't at all.

Of course, technically being kidnapped by Zesha wasn't in the plan.

"Let me off this motorcycle!"

"No. You'll get run over by other cars or motorcycles if I let you." The other responded, looking in front and behind him. "...Huh. Looks like we've already lost them. Good." He grinned at Callista. "Guess that means you can crash at my place safely, then."

Her eyes widened. "No, I'm not sleeping-"

"Where else are you going to go?" The other asked quietly, paying attention to the alley that he was approaching. "I mean, if I brought you home, Mayor Arganan would have me arrested. If I dropped you off in the middle of nowhere, a bunch of perverts will probably be out to get you, if not serial killers or drug dealers that you stumble upon by accident in the act. Therefore, my place is the safest place to go to in this situation. Right?"

"Um..."

"Never mind." He smiled a bit, before continuing. "I think you might like some of my other friends-they're not all boys, so no need to be uncomfortable around them. I'd like to think we're more friendly than Jirall's goons, anyway. I'm sure you'll like them..."

"Oy, lookie here. Zesha's finally brought a girl home!" A blond man with a face full of stubble teased as the two entered the room. "Good for you-it's about time you thought about the romance section of your life!"

A red-haired woman baring more skin on her upper half let out a giggle as she drank from a bottle of beer. "What took you so long, both of you? Did you get a...minor setback in your little journey?"

Callista found this hideout of Zesha's to be less roomy than back at the manor she lived at, but still more spacious than expected. There was a living area, a kitchenette area, and then other rooms which Callista guessed were bathrooms and bedrooms, perhaps a storage room if they had extra stuff to put away. But still, it was a lot smaller than where she lived. This was going to get some getting used to.

Especially with the fact that it was a higher density of people in a such a small space-besides her and Zesha, there was at least six other people. Two of the males were on a couch in the living room section watching television until Callista arrived, and now were watching with interest.

Zesha half-glared at him. "Lowell, Syrenne, please. She's a guest-a highly revered one being-"

"The niece of Mayor Arganan, we know." Syrenne cut in, taking a swig of beer from the bottle in her hand before speaking. "How long is she crashing with us?"

"Well..." Zesha glanced at Callista. "We could take you back home tomorrow, early in the morning. If you'd like, that is. But then again I heard that you were sick of being in the house. The decision's up to you, little girl."

Callista didn't like Zesha-and she wasn't a 'little girl' as he called her, she was a young lady. But she'd been stuck in that house too long, and she wanted out of there for a good while. So...

"I'll stay with you. Until I want to go home."

The others exchanged surprised glances.

"So, she's sticking with us for a while then." Zesha glanced towards a young woman, with short raven hair and a lily poking out of it. "Mirania, you'll share a room with Callista. Get the air mattress ready-we don't have any extra luxurious beds, sadly."

Mirania nodded, closing the book she had been reading. "Got it, Zesha."

Lowell sniggered a bit at that comment as he lay on the couch. "Yeah-get used to it, princess."

Zesha smacked Lowell at the back of his head. "More respect to her, please. She's not a bartender you can flirt with on an everday basis."

"Fine, fine, sorry..."

Callista nodded, looking around a bit more to try to get used to her surroundings. "I'll be fine with that, thank you. I'm just glad that I'm allowed to be around here for a while..."

Was she really glad? She didn't know. All she knew was that this was really going to take a lot to get used to...