(A/N: Let's see… This is overflowing with clichés, really lame, and full of "weak" adverbs (though some are spoken by the characters, so don't blame me!); I only did it to write something, since I'm stuck on "Street Wars."
Disclaimer: Quip and Quo belong to me. Everyone and everywhere else belongs to the amazing creators of JSR. I hope this doesn't sound too much like Crazy Girl Person's "Origin of Evil" (which is a wonderful story, but I'm sure you all know that). I don't think it will, but if it does I'll try to change it.
One last thing… there's swearing in this. I just thought I'd point out that (1) I don't usually write curses, (2) *I* never swear, and (3) I DO NOT APPROVE OF SWEARING!!! …But the characters would curse in some of the situations I put them in, so I wrote it. Okay? Now I'll shut up in case you actually want to read…)
Yo! Hey, what are you doing here? I know we invited all other gangs to this party, but I don't recognize you. Ah, well, I'm sure it'll be fine if you stay, so long as you don't cause trouble.
Anyway, this is the GGs' garage. Oh, if you're the pizza deliveryperson, go talk to Tab; he's the guy with the blue hat dancing on the couch there.
You're not? I didn't think so. …What's that? You want to hear about the GG who got captured by the Golden Rhinos awhile ago?
Well, that was me. My name's Yoyo. So you want to know what happened, then? Fine. I'll start with what I first remember…
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"
It was the sharp voice that awakened me. It was female, suspicious, and not exactly welcoming.
I opened my eyes, glad I remembered how. Why did it feel like years since I had last used them? But then, for all I knew, it had been longer than that. How long had I been unconscious?
I blinked several times, squinting into the light. It wasn't all that bright, but since my always-present sunglasses were somehow missing, it seemed dazzlingly painful. Forcing my sore muscles into motion, I managed to sit up.
It didn't hurt as much as I'd feared it would, just sent tiny darts of pain up my arms and down my spine… Okay, so maybe it did hurt. A lot.
"Ohhh," I groaned, closing my eyes again and raising a half-gloved hand to my forehead. "Wh-where am I…?"
"Sky Dinosaurian Square. Who are you and what're you doing here?" the impatient voice repeated.
Couldn't this girl see that all I wanted was to lie down in my pain? Although, I realized, it sounded like whether she understood or not, she wouldn't care. Her voice was angry and held no trace whatsoever of anything resembling sympathy.
"My name… my name's Yoyo," I murmured. At least, I think it is… "Who're you?"
"I asked what you're doing here."
"And I asked who you are, yo," I retorted, still not opening my eyes again. So she's gonna be stubborn… well, I can do that too. And besides, what's a girl really gonna do about—
A strong hand, or maybe it was two, grabbed the front of my shirt and jerked me forward and upward. This brought me painfully (and involuntarily) into a kneeling position, and my eyes were now wide open, staring up into a pair of narrowed black ones. My fingers tried to pry hers loose, but she was too strong, and I was in too much pain…
"I asked what you're doin' here." Her voice was lower and colder even than before. Her face, which I was seeing for the first time, was probably a pretty one when she was happy… but she was most definitely not happy now.
I swallowed. "I heard you."
Her eyes blazed as though they could force me to answer on their own. The phrase echoed through my mind: If looks could kill…
Even my pride failed to keep me from replying to that face. "I-I don't… I don't know…"
She shook me, hard. The stinging spread through me once more, and I couldn't hold in the cry of surprise and, I admit, pain. She smiled grimly, and I was aware then that she had almost—not quite, but almost—enjoyed that. Enjoyed hurting me.
"Answer me," she commanded, and even that eerie smile was gone. "Now."
"But I, I did. I really don't know. I swear!" I added when she seemed about to give me another shake.
"How did you get here?" she asked.
"I don't… know…" I mumbled, horrified to discover that that was the truth. I couldn't remember anything that had happened…
"Ya know, kid, I'm gettin' more and more impatient every second, and you don't want to see what happens when I get too impatient." She eyed me for a moment, then asked, "What's the last thing you can remember?"
"It would help if you'd let me go," I ventured. She scowled down at me, but granted my request, shoving me to the ground in front of her.
Again the pain shot through my aching body, this time even worse than the first two times. In fact, it was so bad that I hit the ground with a yelp and didn't move. Physically, I don't think I could've; not because I'd been seriously injured by the girl's shove, but because my muscles weren't working the way they were supposed to. What the hell is going on?!
"Get up."
"I-I can't," I admitted, after giving it a half-hearted attempt.
She sighed, reached down and, to my surprise, grabbed me by the arm to pull me up.
"Please don't," I begged. "Please…"
She raised an eyebrow at me, perplexed. "Why not?"
Because it would hurt too much. Because I can't handle it. Because I'm too afraid… All these answers passed through my mind, but I couldn't bring myself to say them aloud. I guess it was my pride, my male ego; but for whatever reason I just couldn't say it, any more than I could stand on my own. So for a response, I only shrugged… which in itself was a painful gesture.
"Good." And with that single condemning word, she pulled me to my feet (or my skates, if you prefer).
Shit! It hurt. A lot. To be honest, I hadn't thought she could do it. I don't weigh too much for a sixteen-year-old kid, but I'm not the lightest guy around either. But this strange girl had yanked me up with one agonizingly swift motion.
I stumbled forward, dizzy with pain, and then I knew for sure that my muscles were truly useless. I couldn't even stand up. The only reason I was still even close to upright was that the girl had not let go of my arm.
Damn, she was strong. Or maybe I was just weak. And damn, does this hurt! I had to blink a few times to clear the red haze from my mind.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked when she began to half-lead, half-drag me along the ground. I did my best to move with her, but I don't think I was much help. At least I was on skates.
She did not answer, so I tried a different approach. "Who're you?" I asked her, remembering I hadn't caught her name.
"Quip. Here we are," she said, coming to a small spot behind the covered area where people boarded the Sky Dinosaurian roller-coaster. "Hey Quo!"
A dark-skinned, black-haired girl appeared from behind the wall. "Hey, Quip—what the…?"
"I found him unconscious near the entrance," Quip informed her. "He says he doesn't know what he's doing here or how he got here. What do ya think?"
"Not all that much yet, frankly," Quo admitted. Somewhat to my relief, she addressed me. "What's your name, kid?"
"Yoyo," I answered. It seemed to be one of the only things I could remember.
"So, Yoyo, ya with a gang or anything?" she continued.
"Yeah, I'm… I'm…" It was then that I realized I didn't know that either. "I…"
"Let's get him sitting down," Quip interrupted. "He can hardly stand."
Quo made room for us to get through the "doorway" as Quip dragged me around the side.
Two girls looked up from their conversation; one a blonde wearing a short green dress, the other a redhead in a red shirt and jeans. With one look at me, both wordlessly skated out.
Quip dumped me on the ground in the corner, hidden from the sight of anyone by the roller-coaster. She and Quo stood side by side in front of me; even if I could have bolted, I wouldn't have made it more than a few feet. And of course, escape wasn't something I was capable of at that moment. So much for getting me sitting down.
"All right," Quo began. "So you don't know why you're here or how ya got here, and you can't remember if you're with a gang or not. All you know is your name. Correct?"
I nodded.
"Amnesia?" Quip suggested. "Or brainwashing. Doesn't seem like it would take too long with this kid."
"Be nice," Quo scolded. "So, what's the last thing you remember, Yoyo?"
"Um…" I tried to remember. "Skating… in the Shibuya Terminal…"
The two exchanged glances; they probably knew something I didn't. "Alone?" Quo asked.
"…Yeah."
"Golden Rhinos," both girls said simultaneously.
I stared at them, bewildered; though the phrase sounded strangely familiar. "What?"
"The Golden Rhinos," Quo explained, "are a group of assassins. They've been hangin' around the Terminal lately, or so we've heard. Sounds like you got caught by 'em."
"But… then how did I end up here? And what did they… do to me…?"
"Any number of things might've been done to you," Quip said bluntly, "because the Golden Rhinos work for Gouji Rokkaku."
Now I was really starting to doubt them. "What?"
Quo was starting to speak again, but Quip interrupted, "He doesn't believe us."
"Hey, yo, I never said that," I protested.
"It's true, though," she responded. Her arrogance was really beginning to annoy me.
"Well, why should I believe you? You have to admit that everything you're saying sounds kinda crazy."
"That's 'cause it is crazy. Really crazy," Quo told me. "But it's still true. The Golden Rhinos have never been above kidnapping, and as for brainwashing…"
"Rumors are all over the streets that Gouji's messin' with stuff like that, and the Rokkaku Group's got no problem with murder either," Quip finished. "It sounds perfectly possible—and not unlikely—to me."
My head was starting to hurt even worse than before. Quo seemed to notice, because she said, "Look. Whatever happened, kid, I don't think you're in any shape to be going anywhere, both physically and mentally. Which means…" she gave a heavy sigh, "that you're going to have to stay here."
"The hell he will," Quip stated.
"The hell I will," I echoed.
Quo's eyebrows went up. "Oh? And what solution do you two propose, may I ask?"
"I say we throw him in the skyscraper district," Quip offered.
"I can live with that," I muttered. In truth, all the talk of brainwashing and Golden Rhinos and murder had rather scared me and I had no desire to be anywhere alone, but I was obviously not wanted here… and in all honesty, Quip scared me almost as much as anything else.
"No, I don't know if you can," Quo said to me. "The Rhinos caught you once; with you all confused, they'd have no problem catching you again. Besides, ya can't even stand up, let alone skate anywhere."
Boy, do I hate logic.
Quip folded her arms and looked away. I sighed and said nothing.
"Wonderful," Quo said, as if we had both agreed to it. "You can sleep in the corner, over there by the fence."
Tossing her friend a look that suggested she was having some unkind thoughts toward her, Quip took my arm and pulled me up once more, this time leading me a few feet away to the indicated corner. She let go of me there and, unprepared, I lost my balance and fell. She smiled down at me, an unfriendly smile, and said before turning and skating back to Quo, "Sleep well."
* * *
Fear. No, terror.
Pain. No, torture.
Blood. And a damn lot of it.
My face connected with the ground, with such momentum that I must have bounced a good six inches. I cried out in pain as a foot flipped me onto my back.
"How much more ya want, you little bastard? 'Cause I can keep this up all day."
There was blood, my blood, all over. I couldn't see anything else… Blood, all around me, covering me, filling my eyes and mouth and nose, and help me, somebody help me, dammit, I can't breathe…
I flinched when the same foot kicked me in the side of the head. Gratefully I rolled onto my face; at least now gravity drained the blood out of my mouth and nose. I coughed, the sound rough in my ears, red liquid splattering the ground. I was gasping for air when a sharper kick from my other side sent me rolling over and over across the ground, trailing blood as I went.
"Have you finished yet?" a new, deeper voice asked.
"I'm gettin' there. It ain't like I'm in a hurry."
I did not in the least feel like opening my eyes, but my desire to see the new person overpowered my pain, and I forced myself to look. My red-clouded gaze passed over past the Rokkaku Police captain, Hayashi… past him, to the newcomer. Who the hell…?
"There is a hurry, jackass, so get out of my way. I'm taking over here."
"You can't do that!" Hayashi spluttered. "I'm the captain!"
The other man smiled thinly. "Not anymore. Now get out."
"Are you saying I'm… I'm… fired?!"
"Yup. Talk to Rokkaku himself if you don't believe me. Now get the hell out of here before I call in the troops."
"I won't forget this, Onishima," Hayashi growled, pointing a bony finger at the shorter, stockier man. "You'd better believe I won't."
"Oh, I believe you," he replied. "Now get out." As Hayashi obeyed, Onishima turned and looked down at me, flashing a very unpleasant smile. "Hey, kid. My name's Onishima; don't forget it. I hear you've got some information we'd like to have." He raised one boot over my head. "I don't play games like Hayashi does… so out with it."
I stared at the bottom of that boot, speechless with fear.
"Look, kid," Onishima said with mock geniality, his boot never moving, "if you tell us what we want to know, you'll get off easier than your friends. Informants always do. Just spit it out, and who knows? You might even go free."
"The hell I will," I snapped, my foolish words hard to understand through the blood. "I'll die before I'll talk to you, bastard."
"That's a pity," he said, still smiling. "Because it means I'll have to kill you." The boot raised in preparation, and I closed my eyes. Dammit, help me, I don't want to die, I don't want to die…
And Onishima brought his foot down.
(A/N: Yeah, I know… ^_^ I couldn't resist!)
* * *
My own scream echoed through my head, though only in my mind. I sat bolt upright from my sleep, something I had thought happened only in bad, cliché-filled fanfiction. "Damn," I muttered softly. "What the hell was that?" Putting a hand to my forehead, ignoring the pain that resulted from the motion, I realized I was sweating. My entire body seemed to be burning; whether with fever or sheer pain, I wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it hurt. A lot.
But… what had that been? A dream, I supposed. What kind of dream was it? It was more like a flashback… like a memory… like… like it had happened before…
"Dammit!" I punched the ground with one fist, at least granting myself the satisfaction that I had some control over why I was hurting. "Why the hell can't I remember?"
There were rustling sounds several feet away from me, and only then did I remember where I was: the headquarters of Quip, Quo, and their gang. I hoped I hadn't woken anyone.
"I don't know. Why the hell can't you remember?"
I recognized the voice as Quip's. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so loud."
"That's okay," she responded, her almost-sympathy surprising me. "I wasn't really asleep, and you were moving around over there already. Were you dreaming or something?"
I was glad it was dark, because I felt myself blush. "Um, I… I had a nightmare…"
"Don't worry. That's a good thing. If you did get amnesia or if you were brainwashed, maybe it was something that happened before?"
Yes… something that… happened before… But how could that be? I could still feel the pain in my sides and my head from being kicked, and my face… was it even recognizable? I ran a hand over my nose, across one cheek… it felt the same, but what was 'the same'? And could a dream—or a nightmare—actually feel that real…?
Apparently so.
"I'm not sure," I murmured. "It might have happened before. It… I… aw, I don't know… what time is it, anyway?"
"Almost four," she answered. "You should get back to sleep."
"I…" I sighed. I'm such a wimp. "I'm… I'm afraid I'll…"
"Afraid you'll have another nightmare," Quip finished. "That's okay too." She was silent for a moment, then she asked with a sigh of her own, "Why don't you tell me everything you can remember about your dream?"
"Uh, I really… I mean, I don't think I—"
"Come on, Yoyo," she interrupted. "If you want help with… whatever happened, you're going to have to tell me."
I looked down at the ground, then the words came out faster than I had expected or intended. I told her everything, about Hayashi beating me up, about the new man coming in, Onishima, and about how he threatened me. (I already told it to you, so I won't bore you again.)
Quip almost seemed concerned. Kind of. When I was done she said, "But Yoyo, Hayashi hasn't even been seen around here. Not for a few weeks … not since the Golden Rhinos showed up. …Wait a second—what's the last day you remember? The date?"
"Um… February ninth, I guess."
There was a pause. I could feel my heart speed up. "Yoyo… it's March third."
"…Oh…" What did that mean, then? I seemed to have forgotten about three weeks of my life. Unless I just… lost them somehow… I shivered.
"We'll have to figure that out later. But what did that 'Onishima' want you to tell him?"
"I don't know."
…If you tell us what we want to know, you'll get off easier than your friends. Informants always do…
"I think," I amended, "he wanted me to… to turn in my friends. At least, that's what he said in the dream."
"Know who he was talking about?"
I shook my head, then realized it was probably too dark to see. "No."
"I see." She seemed to be thinking for a few seconds. "So do ya think that could've really happened? Like maybe it was something in the past?"
"Maybe." I winced. "I can still feel it."
"What? You mean, you can still feel what happened to you? In your dream?"
"Yeah. I guess it wasn't a dream, then… at least, not a normal one, if it was enough to make me feel it."
She sighed. "Whatever happened to you, kid, it was anything but normal… Are you sure you don't want to try to get some sleep?"
For the first time since waking, I felt tired. Really tired. "Actually, now that you mention it, maybe I should."
Somehow, I felt sure she was smiling. "Good. Sleep well, then." Perhaps it was my imagination, but that time her words didn't seem quite so heartless.
Unfortunately, that didn't mean they were going to help any more than before.
* * *
Somebody please help me, please don't let this happen, someone, help…
I was screaming, and it wasn't in my head this time.
Onishima's boot rose from my face, and he graciously let me roll onto my bruised side as blood flooded from what had been my nose. It hurt like nothing I could remember ever feeling, and at that moment all I really wanted was to die. The thick red fluid pooled on the ground where it was pouring. I was trying to remain conscious when Onishima kicked me again. In the face.
I heard myself cry out again, and Onishima's laughter filled my ears… then another sound came. The sound of an opening door. Painfully I forced my eyes open; I had to see what was going on.
"C-captain Onishima?"
The feeble voice startled the new captain, and he turned to the door with his gun in his hand. He relaxed when he saw a young, low-ranking officer standing there. "What do ya want?"
"Captain, sir, I, uh, I mean—"
"Spit it out, kid, I'm busy here!"
The man shrank back. "S-sorry, sir! I, um, I'm supposed to inform you that, er, Mr. Rokkaku wants to see the boy."
Onishima gave a disbelieving snort. "Rokkaku wants to see him?" He kicked me hard in the side. I didn't notice the pain so much that time; the aching was getting kind of familiar.
"Yes, sir…"
Onishima sighed. "All right. Send someone in to take him, I ain't doing it myself." He gave me a final kick and walked out of the room.
I closed my eyes. Rokkaku… wants to see… me?
* * *
I was relieved to awaken on my back, instead of sitting up. I still felt unbelievably warm, and I was sweating from the dream. Or flashback, or whatever.
I started to turn onto my side, but stopped dead, suppressing an agonized cry. The aching pain I had felt before had multiplied. I did not move for a full minute, knowing that even the slightest twitch of a muscle would send the searing pain through my body. Finally I gave up and forced myself to relax, which was painful enough.
Whatever this pain is, it's gotta have something to do with the dreams. Something must have happened to me… this hurts too much to be from getting beat up.
This is just… different…
I shook my head. I'd figure it out in the morning, if I didn't have another dream/flashback thing. And I wasn't going to… go back… to… sleep…
My eyes were closing, and I felt sleep overtake me. But with it, this time, a voice came too. A gravelly, cruel voice, the kind bad guys always have in anime and movies and such (and of course bad fanfiction).
You can't escape. It's too late. You escaped twice now, but you won't again. You're going to remember and it's going to kill you… you won't escape…
I tried to speak, to cry out, to do something; but the voice apparently wasn't bluffing, because I couldn't escape. In fact, I couldn't do anything at all as my eyes closed and I was remembering once more…
* * *
"So this is the child I've been hearing so much about."
That voice…
"I've waited a long time to meet you."
I've… heard it before. Where?
"You, boy, are going to be the solution to all our problems."
The news… the public announcements… everywhere, for that matter… Rokkaku.
Fingers dug into my sore shoulders, and the pain forced my eyes open. In front of me, not quite twenty feet away, sat the leader of the Rokkaku Group, the mayor of Tokyo, the big guy himself: Gouji Rokkaku. A huge desk loomed in front of him, bare except for a small desk lamp. For a moment I had the insane thought that I'd entered a bad movie (or an even worse fanfiction), but my aching body snapped me out of it.
"So what do you say?" he asked. "Are you going to cooperate, or are you just going to make it harder on yourself? The useless police force of this city is under my full control now, so laws won't get in my way when I'm dealing with you."
I stared at him, unable to speak. The reason for that, well, I'm not quite sure of. I wish I could say it was disgust or spite, but more likely it was fear. Because, no doubt about it, I was absolutely terrified.
"Answer me, kid, before you get yourself hurt," Rokkaku snarled at me. "The gentlemen you've met recently, you see, are the Golden Rhinos. They are quite experienced in hurting people. And I believe you're familiar with the new Rokkaku Police captain, Onishima. He seems to be skilled in that field as well."
Got that right, I thought, but still I said nothing. I continued to sit in silence until the contact between the side of my face and a gun changed that… specifically, the 'sit' and 'silence' parts. Which is to say, I got pistol-whipped by the guy on my left (a Golden Rhino, I guess) and knocked out of the chair; and being the wimp that I am, I yelped. Yeah, that's me all right.
"That will be all, sir," Rokkaku said crisply. "Get him up."
Strong arms dragged me to my feet and dropped me back into the chair. I wriggled my wrists uselessly in the handcuffs behind my back, wishing I could wipe away the fresh stream of blood now trickling out of my mouth.
"Listen, boy," Rokkaku addressed me. "I'd love to play this little game with you, but to be honest, your little gang friends haven't given me as much time as I'd like. So why don't you just quit all your 'keeping the code of honor' and loyalty and all that shit, and tell me what I want to hear."
"You bastard," I spat at him. I would have continued, but that was all I got out before I felt something metal smash into the back of my head. Again I tumbled forward; without my hands to brace myself, I landed hard on my already-bleeding face.
Rokkaku, to my annoyance, chuckled. The two Rhinos made no move to pick me up, and Rokkaku didn't order them to. "Spirited little creature," he remarked as I struggled unsuccessfully to get to my feet. "Very cliché for the captive. But there's something I don't think you understand here, kid. You see, you're going to help us whether you want to or not."
"Look, bitch, I don't care what you think I'm gonna do. I'm not quite enough of a bastard to betray my friends, and—ahhh!"
Once more I was cut off, this time by a kick to my head. I rolled onto my side and somehow kept talking, my head pounding. "I'm not gonna tell you a damn thing, so you and your Golden Rhino friends can just—ahhh!"
A boot square in my mouth left it filled with blood, which flowed down the sides of my bruised face and began to seep into the expensive carpet. Knowing I would regret it, I decided to finish the sentence I had been forming: "Fuck off."
I felt a foot on top of my chest, pushing down, putting pressure on it. Too much pressure.
Rokkaku must have walked over, because he was smiling down at me when I got my eyes open. "You'll regret that, my young friend."
"I… figured I… might," I panted, then added more fiercely, "and you're… not my friend."
"Maybe not," he conceded, "but in perhaps a day or two, maybe less, I'll have a friend who looks quite a bit like you."
Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the confusion was visible on my face as I uttered a sophisticated, "H-huh?"
"Of course," he went on, his face taking on a smug expression, "I see no reason to tell you about that." He took a couple steps backward and motioned at his underlings. The foot left my chest, letting me breathe again, but I had no time to enjoy that before the Rhinos hauled me to my feet and held me in front of Rokkaku.
He reached forward and lifted my chin with one hand… yet another thing I had thought was reserved for bad fanfiction. He smiled at me, a ruthless smile. "Last chance, kid."
"Fuck you," I hissed, and spat in his face. Damn, it felt good. Really good. In fact, I'd have done it again if the Golden Rhinos hadn't pulled me back and tossed me headfirst into the metal chair.
And, of course, if I hadn't passed out.
Hang on a sec. I need something to drink, and I gotta ask Tab a question real quick. Why don't you go ask someone else for their side of that little story while you wait? I'll continue when I get back, 'kay?
Have fun!
(A/N: Well, what do you guys think so far? I'll admit this doesn't feel like my best work to me, but I'm kinda stuck on "Street Wars." I just wanted to start a new fic, even though I have no idea where it's going. Sorry! But if everyone tells me this sucks, I'll quit. Deal?)
