The click of heels echoed down an effective gray, stone hallway with effective electrical lights and an effective black, metallic door at the end with effective padlocks that were effectively doing their job at keeping people in. You see, this was a prison. And no one gets out of prison.
Especially when it was the Black gang's prison.
A young girl with violet locks violently jabbed a key into the padlocks, turning it. With a click, the lock burst open, dropping to the ground. Sighing, Aisha kicked it away, fumbling with her bat mecha for a moment in an attempt not to drop it. Half-heartedly pushing open the metallic door, Aisha stalked down the bleak rows of prison cells, ignoring the people who scrambled up to the iron bars in a desperate attempt to get out, their grimy hands reaching out for her. Smirking to herself, Aisha stopped at the last cell, staring at the person inside.
Inside the cell was a fairly tall, slim woman, her blonde hair ratty and matted. She groaned, turning over on the cold floor, revealing several swellings and bruises that littered her face freely. Aisha gave her a vulpine grin. "Those bruises look good on you, Seris." The woman didn't answer. Rolling her violet orbs, Aisha fished a key off of her key ring, opening up the cell. Entering it carefully, Aisha patted her bat's head, watching as his amber eyes glowed. He gnashed his metallic teeth viciously, beating his spray-painted, eggplant purple wings as he took off from the ground, metallic gaze fixed on the still figure of the woman. Her eyes fluttered, one barely able to open, as her glare bored into Aisha. Aisha scoffed, firmly shutting the cell door behind her, the wrought-iron bars unyielding and cold.
"So, Seris. How do you like the hospitality of the Black gang? It's better than the White gang, am I right?" The woman, Seris, coughed, slowly pulling herself off of the ground. Her dirtied clothing rustled, her hazel eyes bright with hate and anger. Spitting a mixture of spittle and blood at Aisha's feet, she growled.
"You disgust me."
Aisha snickered, covering her mouth with a pale hand in a mockingly polite gesture. "Now, now, Seris. As nice as it is to talk to someone who bites back, I'm here on a mission. Sorry. I know how lonely you are without your precious Raven." In an instant, Seris was up on her feet, a twisted bit of metal – most likely from her dismantled bed – in her hands. If it weren't for Angkor's timely burst of noxious gases, Aisha probably would've been pierced through the heart before she could react. Stumbling back, Seris coughed, gasping for air.
"H…How dare you talk about Raven… Raven like that!?" Aisha sighed. Wrinkling her nose, she waved away a bit of the purplish gas, before walking over to Angkor. She fumbled around behind him, before popping open a panel in his back. Reaching into his metallic body, Aisha removed a syringe, its needlepoint gleaming ominously in the fluorescent lighting.
"I can talk about him however I like, Seris. Now, be a good girl and stay still."
Eyes widening as much as they could, Seris took one look at the syringe before she started squirming around on the floor, somehow managing to roll herself on her feet. Aisha tutted. "You aren't underestimating me, are you Seris? I was the one who captured you in the first place, you know." Seris growled.
"Try me."
Seris leapt across the room, reaching under a thin gray blanket before pulling out a bent piece of the bed frame. Aisha rolled her eyes. "What a poorly constructed weapon." Snapping her fingers, Aisha looked at Angkor over her shoulder.
"Angkor. Run sequence 00298, Binding Circle."
Eyes flashing in acknowledgement, Angkor rose further into the air, his metal jaw unhinging. The hiss of escaping steam filled the air, before five thick, black cables shot out of Angkor's mouth, each one wrapping around Seris' arms, legs, and waist before piercing the wall with sharp points. Nodding in satisfaction, Aisha approached Seris, syringe in one hand. "Honestly Seris, I thought we were friends?"
Seris glared, thrashing against her restraints. "I'm anything but friends with scum like you."
Aisha snorted, staring at Seris as she reached her. "Really? Then are you my long-lost sister? Or my lesbian lover?" She smirked. "You really have to watch what you say, Seris. A loose tongue could get you in trouble." With the last word, Aisha jammed the needle into Seris' arm. Biting her lip in pain, a deep, low growl rose from Seris' throat. Aisha just smirked. "Aw, did that hurt, Seris?" Aisha stared intently at the syringe as she withdrew blood from the writhing blonde's arm. "Okay, I'm done. You can relax now." Removing the syringe, Aisha sashayed to the front of the cell. As she opened the door, she glanced over her shoulder. "Oh and by the way? You're not needed anymore. Angkor." She turned her gaze on the metallic bat who hovered, waiting for orders. "Run sequence 09801, Petite Angkor: Time Bomb."
Aisha had just closed the cell door when the bomb went off with a muffled boom.
"Well, that takes care of one pest." She held up the syringe full of blood. "Now to get this to Eve..."
The day was as gloomy as any, dark soot clouds floating in the murky skies, very little sunlight being filtered through the cloud layer. Below the clouds, a redheaded boy with a sooty patch of black stalked the streets, twirling a sword-shaped pendant on a silver chain around one finger carelessly. His once-neatly pressed black dress shirt was slightly rumpled, part of it untucked from his impossible clean white slacks. One shiny dress shoe was laced with red laces, contrasting oddly with the black of the shoe. A sword-shaped earring that dangled from his left earlobe glinted in the filtered sunlight, sending a brief rainbow of iridescent light to flash through the streets. The boy growled, tugging at his natty locks impatiently, grasping the pendant for a bit, glaring at it. "I should throw this stupid thing away."
Another redhead joined him, casually strolling down the street from the opposite end. Her red hair was mostly left down, part of it pinned up messily, almost carelessly, trails of crimson left to hang in her face. A grim expression was pasted on her pale face, her ruby eyes flashing with equal parts of annoyance and sympathy. "Elsword, you know that if you throw that away, Chung'll kill you. Literally." The woman was clad in a simple black tank top, beige shorts, and a long, black coat that was slightly singed at the hem.
The boy, Elsword, snorted, folding his arms, the pendant dangling from one hand. "So what if this damn thing is his 'lifeline?' He shouldn't have given it to me, then. You know exactly how much I hate him, Elesis." Elesis raised a delicate red eyebrow, folding her arms and cantering a hip. Elsword glowered darkly at her. "Oh my El, stop trying to make me feel bad. The 'look' doesn't work on me anymore." Elesis snorted.
"Hey, it was worth a try."
Rolling his eyes, Elsword swung the pendant around again, still glaring at his sister. "Chung knows that I hate his fucking guts. I could crush this piece of junk and then he wouldn't be able to start his damn mecha. Why give it to me?"
Elesis sighed, brushing a stray strand of red out of her face, a hand automatically checking for her weapon of choice, a semi-automatic flamethrower gun. "That's because he knows you won't. Like it or not, he's your leader. A petty vendetta like yours isn't going to stop that."
Elsword snatched the pendant out of the air, fixing Elesis with a frosty glare that looked like a cross between burning hatred and crushing disappointment. "Our vendetta, Elesis. Not just mine. Have you forgotten what that beast did to our family?!"
Shrugging, Elesis walked closer to Elsword, examining her nails with the most casual air she could pull off in the tense atmosphere. "Yeah. He killed mom."
Elsword fumed, his face darkening a shade. "And how are you not angry?! Don't you wish she was still alive!?"
Elesis snorted, closing in on Elsword, leering down at him. Her crimson eyes gleamed blood-red in the dim lighting, an unamused expressed etched across her face. "Of course I don't." Pale lips twisted into a sneer, a distinct burning hatred sparking in her eyes. "She wasn't a monster because of that toxin. Hell, that bitch was a monster even before we knew the toxin existed! She was going to die anyways, Elsword. You know that. And if that bitch was going to die, she was going to drag us down into the depths of hell with her."
Elsword glared at Elesis, hackles raised. "The toxin turned her into a monster! Mom was never like that before! That bastard Chung killed her for no good reason! How can you say that she was going to kill us?! She's our mother for Lady El's sake!" He spat angrily, eyes narrowed into furious slits. "You're a fucking bitch, Elesis. She would never do anything like that."
Elesis scowled, her eyebrow twitching. "She killed people and then fucking ATE them, Elsword! The toxin has absolutely nothing to do with what she fucking did! You expect me to call that cannibalistic monster my mother? I'd rather die!"
Elsword glared at Elesis, his fists clenching angrily, his nails cutting thin, bloody crescents into his palms. "The Alterasia spore made people do things they've never done before." His voice was strangely calm and even, only his eyes betraying his pure anger.
Elesis scoffed. "She was like that long before the Alterasia spore leak, Elsword."
Clenching his jaw, Elsword continued to glare at Elesis, before turning on his heel. "I don't fucking care what you've got to say anymore, Elesis. Hell, you could tell me that you're getting married and I won't give a damn." Letting out a heavy breath, Elsword fiddled with the chain, glaring menacingly at the sword-shaped pendant before slipping it reluctantly over his head, letting it settle below his collarbone. "There's an hour until noon; hurry up and get your mecha. We've got an appointment with the fucking Black gang."
Elesis watched absently as Elsword stalked away, blowing yet another stray strand out of her face. Once he was gone, Elesis allowed a slight smirk to cross her face. "You know Chung, he's never going to stop hating you."
Stepping out from an alleyway, the blond chuckled. "Sharp as ever, Elesis. The hatred's good for him, keeps him on his toes and keeps him motivated." The redhead sighed, her fingers brushing her weapon once more.
"I've always wondered this, but why did you switch from gunpowder to steam-powered? Your guns, I mean."
Arching an eyebrow, Chung glanced at his gleaming silver pistols. "Convenience, I guess. Gunpowder's messy and takes a while to load up, where I can just shove a steam cartridge in and reload the bullets." Shrugging, he flicked a bit of dust off of his suit. "But Elsword is right. About our... appointment. You should prepare, we'll need the firepower."
Elesis snorted. "Pun intended?"
Chung grinned wolfishly. "Absolutely." Nodding, Elesis saluted mockingly, turning to trail after her younger brother. Chung huffed, staring down at his guns. "Now I have to use my beautiful guns on such filth. How irritating."
Eve flipped her silver hair, staring at Aisha. "You have it?" Nodding proudly, the purple-haired girl removed the vial of Seris' blood from Angkor's back.
"Here you go! I still don't understand how this will work though, Eve..."
Eve snorted, sending an acerbic glare at her mass of wires and metal. "Raven is a strong opponent. Last time we clashed, he took out five of our men." Ignoring Aisha's muttered 'and women', Eve injected the blood into a strange, metallic container that was shaped to be like a human heart. "Do you remember that lab we raided last month?" Without waiting for an answer, Eve continued. "This is what we stole from it; a human mecha. It's a very advanced type of mecha too. See this?" She tapped the heart container with a pale index finger, a sly grin crossing her pale face. "When human blood is mixed with oil, the mecha will copy the appearance of the owner of the blood."
Aisha sent out a vulpine grin. "So... We're fighting Raven with Seris then, are we?" Eve nodded approvingly.
"You're a sharp girl. With this human mecha, we can create a super fighting machine, one that will render Chung, Raven, and the rest of the White gang useless."
Pouting childishly, Aisha fiddled with the hem of her dress. "You forgot about Elesis and her bratty brother, Elsword." Eve smirked, connecting two wires together.
"Ah, the bastard children of the Sieghart family? They shouldn't be a problem. After all, they were exiled from their own family tree."
Shrugging, Aisha twirled a piece of hair around her fingers. "So what're we calling this mecha? Calling it Seris would be pretty pathetic."
Eve stared at the wires, connecting a few more. "Rena."
Aisha snorted, tossing her hair as she patted Angkor's metallic head. "Oh, aren't you cruel? Naming the mecha with the appearance of Seris after Chung's mother! What a lovely way to throw those worms for a loop."
A small grin of triumph spread across Eve's features. "Isn't that the point?"
Me: As of today, May 3rd, I am celebrating my one-year anniversary on Fanfiction dot net!
Elsword: Thank you to everyone who's supported us up until now!
Aisha: We've made a lot of great friends over the internet in many different countries.
Rena: It honestly means a lot to us that you guys even bothered to read/review any of our stories~!
Raven: Writing stories like this has become a major part of our lives, so we hope you can look forward to more great stories in the future.
Eve: Thank you to all the readers, reviewers, followers, and favoriters from all around the world.
Chung: As a one-year anniversary gift, every single one of Rosa's currently ongoing stories will be getting an update!
Ara: This includes: Oh My El, Fairyless: The Story Behind the Magic, and Smile Industry Inc.
Elesis: Please check them out if you have the time, as well as her one-shots!
Add: And now onto reviewer replies!
Blazing - Yeah, Canada's pretty wonky sometimes ^^;; Steampunk is like low-tech with steam instead of electricity. It's a branch of sci-fi! It's basically divided on the cover, red = Eve and blue = Chung, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out~! If Els ans Elesis were in different gangs then I would be so confuse I'd spontaneously combust XD 8000 word chapter for OME complete! And Raven's somewhere waaaaaaay in the back behind Rena (I think...)
Ephema-chan - *resurrection stone'd* Welcome back to the world of the living! I kinda knew when I got the idea that this story wouldn't become wildly popular; right now I'm just happy I even have two reviews ^^ Daisy is a mail woman who'll never show up again, there is a very high chance of ISxVP, and we'll get to see insane flamethrower action in the next chapter! Thank you for supporting this story~!
Me: So, once again, thank you everyone who's supported me up until now!
Elsword: Don't forget to R&R!
Chung: Favorites and follows are always appreciated ^^
Elesis: See you guys next chapter!
Me: Love y'all! Chu~
