Hey all yealls! It's not past midnight! Whoot! But I Still HATE PAPERS! I got another one, only this time it's a persuasive essay. My topic is why Arizona should get more river water from the Colorado than California, no offence to anyone one from California or any other of the Great Basin states that get water from the river, it's just that it's an easy topic to research. Anywhoo. Be sure to read my ending comments. They're important for future writing.
Hollow Bastion was quiet. People throughout the city were mourning the losses of those killed in the fire at the auction house. Every one except Masquerade that is.
Masquerade was relaxing, kicking back after another job well done, in their home.
Their home wasn't a house, like found in the quaint, friendly little neighborhood. It was an abandoned warehouse at the Southwestern docks. The docks were also abandoned because the risk of shipwrecking had jumped from thirty percent to eighty percent when a thrust fault pushed the jagged, pointed rocks from the sea floor to the surface.
None of the Masquerade members cared that they didn't live in a nice home with family surrounded by friendly neighbors, in fact most of them liked not having families, as odd as it may seem.
The warehouse was unique. The west wall was built on stilts and hung out over the ocean, but the entire wall had a gaping hole in it. Hell, there was hardly any wall left. It had been blown off by cannon fire about thirty years ago. The warehouse used to hold smuggled weapons. The Hollow Bastion police had decided to use the harbor units to blow the men out of the warehouse. The evidence off the explosions were still all around, the ground was jutted and ragged, with all sorts of rocks poking out of the ground, and all the walls facing the ocean on the upper floor had been blown off.
But despite the dilapidated appearance, Masquerade still made the best of it all. The lower level had a flat area with a large orange couch that could fit six people, without anyone sitting on the arms, two black recliner chairs, and a dozen bean bags that varied in color. The only rooms in the warehouse with all four walls and a door intact were downstairs, including a male bathroom and a separate female bathroom. The upstairs rooms had blankets hung from the upstairs ceiling to wake up for the missing walls and doors.
The day after the fire, all the upstairs "rooms" were empty, except for one. The rooms were as large as two bedrooms, so they were cut in two with a curtain down the middle, and a curtain covered half of the missing front wall of the room(shameless boys). In the room were three beds. The right most bed had a black metal frame with ornate grids on three of the sides. The middle bed was a loft bed, also made with a black metal frame, and it had half a dozen black crates under it filled with hundreds of CD, DS, and PSP cases, as well as a couple dozen books. The top of the crates had a large battery powered stereo system(Everything upstairs electronic was either battery powered or charged downstairs because the cables wouldn't route upstairs). The last bed in the room was a large air mattress on the floor.
The air mattress was a lump of blankets, pillows, and a person. Too bad that person wasn't going to get any more sleep that morning.
"Roxiiiiiiiiieeee. Wakie wakiiiiiiee!" The Mohawk boy from the night before danced through the curtain into the room. "It's morning!"
Roxas grumbled and curled tighter into a ball. "Get up Roxie!" Tighter. "Roxie! Rooooooooooxxxxxiiiiiiiieeeee! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie!" The blonde had had enough.
"Dimmit!" Roxas shot up, startling Demyx off the bed. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Can't you tell when someone wants to sleep?! Do you even know what sleep means?!"
"You told me it me shut the hell up and let you sleep."
"Exactly. Now be gone."
"But Rooooooooxxxxxxiiiiiiieeeee. You can't be that tired after last night."
"You weren't shot with a blessed bullet." Roxas gingerly rubbed the bandage on his arm.
"It can't possibly hurt that bad."
"Let me shoot you with one and then you can say that."
"Touchy."
"Go away!" Roxas had resorted to hurling one of his many black pillows.
"Agghh!" The pillow hit the older boy square in the face. "I'm blind!!! Goodbye cruel Roxie!" He threw a hand to his chest and fell dramatically on top of Roxas.
"Eyagh! Get off you hydrophilic ameba!" Roxas screamed. Demyx had begun to glomp the ever living daylights out of the smaller boy.
"Neevaaaaaaaarrrrr! You're my adorable plushy!!!!"
"Marluxia! Luxord! Riku! Larxene! Geezer! Other Geezer! Kairi! I don't care who! GET! HIM! OFF!"
The flap to the room over flung back as a pink haired man came in with Riku.
"You two are too loud." Riku complained.
"I'll scream even louder if somebody doesn't get him off!"
The pink haired man came forward and lifted Demyx off the bed, but he was still clinging tightly to the Roxas, so the small blonde was lifted too. The man shook the boys in his arms, trying to get the larger to let go of the smaller.
"Nooooooooooooooooooo! Roxie is mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!"
The pink haired man growled. "Drop the pipsqueak or I'll let Kairi post those pictures from last night on the internet."
Demyx gasped and let Roxas slip from his grasp. "Mary, you wouldn't! would you?"
Marluxia dropped Demyx on the bed next to the blonde. "After that prank you pulled with the toothpaste and peanut butter last week, I'd be willing to post every embarrassing thing I know about you on the internet."
Demyx paled and buried himself beneath Roxas' blankets. "I-I'll be good."
Marluxia smirked at the quivering mass. "There's the love." The pink haired man turned his attention to Roxas. "And how's our pipsqueak this morning? Aside from screaming bloody murder."
Roxas stood and stretched in all his only-wearing-a-pair-of-boxers glory.
"Sexy. Got it." Marluxia teased.
Roxas displayed the finger to the older man, getting laughs from the room. He blonde rolled his eyes and began hunting for some suitable clothes for the day.
"Where is everyone anyway?" Demyx asked. He had sat up and wrapped the blankets around him.
"Yeah. I thought the would've gone medieval on us by now."
"Out. Most of them anyway." Riku said. "Lucky for you."
"Yeah they went out to eat at that new restaurant, I didn't go because they'd've dump the bill on me." Marluxia sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They all eat too much, so I decided to wait for pipsqueak to get up and eat with him."
"How sweet. I think I'll barf." Demyx pointed his finger in his mouth for emphasis.
"Not that way!" Marluxia shouted. He threw a pillow from the Mohawk boy's bed at the Mohawk boy.
"Ow!"
"I meant because I wanted to hear the details from last night's job. It must've been hard if you got shot twice."
"It wasn't hard, and it wasn't all that interesting. They just got lucky." Roxas slipped on a khaki pair of shorts with extra pockets. "And we do have something we need do."
"Do?" Marluxia furrowed his eyebrows together. "Do what?"
The three grinned evilly at the taller and older man. "Fresh Meeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaattt!" They sang.
"Come again?"
"A couple of newbies are coming to town today." Riku explained while Roxas picked through a pile of shirts, trying to find one that didn't look too wrinkled.
"Yeah, and the bossman wants us to try and recruit them." Demyx added.
"If their worth recruiting." Roxas decided on a deep brown shirt with a grey, upside-down leafless tree on it, meant to look like lungs.
"Ah……..There's a catch isn't there"
"Isn't there always? One of the new recruits is a cousin of Leon's."
"Ouch. That's gonna make things tough."
"Don't worry." Roxas slipped a glove over the number burned into his left hand.
"We're gonna erase them if they don't join."
Marluxia grinned evilly. "Sounds like fun."
Once Roxas had slipped his beat up shoes, the four boys rehung the curtain walls and walked out of the room.
When they reached the metal spiral stairs Demyx spoke up. "Where are we gonna eat?"
"I don't know, McDonalds?"
"Ewwwwwwwww. Fatty alert!"
Marluxia glowered. "I am not fat! You like their food too!"
"I know, I just wanted to say that. Fatty alert. Fatty alert. Fatty alert."
Marluxia shook his head. "Riku, pipsqueak, where do you want to eat?"
Riku shrugged. "Dunno, somewhere where we aren't easily recognized."
"Obviously."
Yes. The public was blissfully unaware of the identities of Masquerade, and the location of their hideout. Leon, the man Demyx mentioned, is the leader of Masquerade's, rival gang you might say. His group is called Crest. The name was dubbed by Masquerade because everyone in the group, when they first clashed with Masquerade, they were all wearing the same crest, a silver griffon surrounded by swords.
Every one in Crest can recognize almost everyone in Masquerade, but every one in Masquerade can recognize everyone in Crest.
"Hmmmmmm. I've just developed the uncontrollable urge for Denny's." Riku chuckled at his blond friend's comment.
"Denny's it is."
There was a lovely park, about an hour's walk from the city's airport. Complete with a jungle gym, two separate slides, one tube, one spiral, one of those shovel scoops, a tire swing, and a set of four swings. The entire set was in sand with pavement and benches surrounding it. There was a large field and some trees to the North. The only major drawback was the view. The entire park was surrounded by streets and stores, it didn't really give the cozy neighborhood feeling.
A group of small children were playing all over the park and making lots of noise, which didn't do anything to help the poor man laying on one of the nearby benches.
"Oooooooooooooggggg……." The man had his arm draped over his face, casting a shadow on his upside down teardrop tattoos. His red spiked hair was fanned out from being pressed against the bench.
He continued to moan while his blue-eyed friend fidgeted uncomfortably. His chocolate brown spikes swayed every time he searched the edges of the park for his other friend.
"Don't worry Axel. Zexion will be here soon with medicine."
"It's no good. I'm dying. This is the end for me. Thanks for staying with me till the end. I'll wait for you in hell."
"Noooooooo! Don't die Axel! Don't die!"
SPLAT!
Axel growled irritably and ripped the wet towel from his face. "What was that for you creepy, vampiric, little twig?!"
The man above him had grey eyes that matched his blue grey hair. A scowl was etched on his face. "That." He said taking a second to readjust the grocery bags hanging in the crook of his arm. "Is because you're being over dramatic. It's just motion sickness."
"Well I feel like I'm dying. I am never going on an airplane again. Ever."
"Stop being such a baby. You're scaring Sora." Axel side glanced the brunette. His blue eyes were wide, teary and innocent. That boy always ruined any cruel prank Axel tried to play.
"Whatever. Just give me the frikkin motion sickness crap before I up-chuck on your luggage."
The man tossed the medicine at Axel without looking to see if the red-head caught it or not. Luckily, he did catch it. Sora supplied the sick man a water bottle so he could gulp the pills down.
"Pwah!" He gasped after chugging the water.
"So where's this cousin of yours live, Sora?"
"Ummmmmmmm………..I forget."
"How are we supposed to move in with him if we don't know where he is?" Zexion asked, annoyed.
"Calm down. Calm down. I have his phone number rrrrriiiigggghhhtttt-" He trailed off searching his pockets. "Here!" He held up a folded slip of paper. "Hm. Hey my phone's dead. Can I use one of yours?"
"Dead." Zexion replied.
"Trashed."
"Trashed? How'd you trash it?"
"I don't. want. To talk. About it."
"Oka~ay. Then does anyone have loose change?"
Zexion pulled his wallet it and jiggled it, listening to the change ring. "Yeah, a little."
"Great! I think I saw a phone booth over there."
"I'm coming. I don't trust you with my wallet."
"Just because I lost my wallet doesn't mean I'll loose yours." Sora mumbled, but didn't stop him.
The two walked off behind the bench Axel was lying on. It was hot today, and the black jeans and grey shirt Axel was wearing weren't helping him get any cooler. The children had run off to get ice cream from the nearby sundae parlor.
That didn't sound too bad right now. His stomach had stopped doing flip flops, and his headache was receding. He sat up and wiped the sweat off his brow. That medicine was much quicker and way more effective than he had thought it would be. He shielded his eyes from the sun and scanned the playground. Had all the kids gone to get ice cream?
No, wait. There were two still on the playground. Axel squinted. They weren't children. One was about his height. The other………..
He must be hallucinating. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Nope, they were still there.
Even the boy had his back to him, Axel could see his golden spikes , shining in the light, and swaying as he walked. If angels existed, he was sure that boy was one.
Axel stood abruptly, and staggered. He waited for his body to readjust to being vertical, made sure he didn't still feel sick from the plane ride, and then began to stride over to the two boys.
After the four Masquerade boys had left the warehouse, they had split up. Riku and Marluxia had went to get the food, and Demyx and Roxas had decided to wait for them at Dawn's park, a large park nestled in the city named after a millionare who willed the last of his money to be used in the development of the park, but Demyx said they named it that because it looks like the dawn owns the park at dawn.
Roxas and Demyx were walking across the sand to the swings when the blond caught something red move out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head fully and stopped in his tracks.
A god.
That was the first thing that ran through his mind, a god of beauty.
Then upon closer inspection, Roxas decided the man looked more like a peacock, with plain red feathers.
Well whatever. Demyx has stopped to see what was holding Roxas up. Then he noticed Axel. He smirked, evil flashing across his face for a second before he placed his elbow on the small blonde's shoulder and waited with him for the lanky red head.
Axel had nearly stopped breathing when he saw the blonde's eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of blue he had ever seen. It made him feel self conscious about his own acid green eyes.
He was planning to say something snide, or ask where the two were from. Unfortunately, his mouth decided to depict him as the biggest moron ever.
"Hey baby, do you have a map? 'Cause I'm lost in your eyes."
SILENCE……………………………….........................................
Axel cursed profoundly on every god he knew, a few he mad up, and whatever idiot that taught him that stupid pick up line.
The awkward silence was broken abruptly when Roxas and Demyx burst out laughing. Demyx was cling to Roxas for dear life and Roxas was clutching his stomach.
"'Do you have a map?' Ha ha ha haha ha ha hah!" Roxas gasped. "How lame can you get?"
Axel blushed and hung his head.
"This guy's a riot! Say something else!" Demyx demanded childishly.
Axel's head shot up surprised. "Something……………………….else?"
"Yeah" Demyx nodded vigorously. "You're hilarious man!"
"Umm…..Okay.." he closed his eyes in thought. When he opened the he pointed at the two and said in a deep voice. "If I was in charge of the alphabet, I would put U and I together."
The park filled with hearty laughs once more.
"Another! Another!"
"Ummmm…..You must be tired baby, cause you've been running through my mind all day."
Yay laughter.
"Too funny! Right Roooooooooooooo-" Roxas had stopped laughing and was now glaring murderousl at Demyx. For all they knew, this guy could be an undercover cop. An undercover cop that goes around telling random boys pick up lines. "ooonald! Right Ronald?"
"Yeah…." The blond muttered.
Axel was positive that Ronald wasn't the blonde's real name. If looks could kill, the Mohawk guy would have been reduced to a pile of smoldering ash for almost slipping out his friend's name. But at least he knew the kid's name started with an R.
"I'm bored." The blonde announced. He turned and walked over to the swings
"But this guy's funny!"
"Not really."
"But you were laughing so hard a few seconds ago."
"Must've been gas." Roxas cringed at how bad that sounded and was glad he face was no longer facing the two tall boys.
He got on the swing and let the squeaking hinges drown out Axel and Demyx's conversation. Roxas closed his eyes and let his mind wander.
A relative of Leon would show up soon. And he would obviously show some family resemblance. He would also be tough, or even a contractor.
Contractor. The name given to those who have mad contracts with one of the seven deadly sins, or even a devil. People who were no longer human.
It's funny really. Roxas always thought he was going to stay human, until…..
"Pipsqueak!" Roxas jolted out of his thoughts and sailed from the swing. He landed on his feet. He was mildly surprised when he looked up. More people had arrived, a blue-grey haired boy and a brunette that not only reminded him of looking in a mirror but also looked vaguely familiar had joined the red head. Marluxia and Riku were over by Demyx with what he could only assume was their breakfast at their feet. Demyx was urgently signaling for Roxas to come over.
Roxas was thoroughly confused. Riku and Marluxia were locked in a glaring contest with the red head and the on eye. Demyx and the brunette were staring at him anxiously.
Then it clicke. There were three knew people he had never seen before and one was a blue-eyed bruntte like Leon. There were three newbies they were supposed to convert, and these were they. Marluxia and Riku must have known right away, and somehow must have ticked them off.
Demyx's eyes suddenly widened. "Roxas!"
Roxas didn't have time to react when he was roughly grabbed from behind and pulled into a tight embrace with an arm around his stomach, pinning his arms to his sidea dn a cold flat blade prssed against his neck.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Roxas tilted his head up to glare into the steely blue eyes of Squall LeonHeart, the leader of Crest.
Oh Shit.
Hah! Shit! I sem to pick on Roxas a lot, you have to read one of my other stories to get what I mean. Anyway, the important comment is that I am in the tech crew for my school's play, meaning weekdays I'll be at school for about eleven hours, and some time next week it will be twelve, It really cuts back on my updating time, but I have a big black journal that I wite this story in at school so all is not lost! I just don't have as much time to convert what's in the journal into my compooper box, so don't expect updates once a week.
Thanx fer readn'