Hello again, my dear readers! A bit of character development for your enjoyment!
Chapter 6 – A Mission for the Underground
Horace smirked at Vash's response to their destruction of the tower. He approached the older man, handing him the banner.
"Great. Now do we get to see the Shadow?"
Vash made a face at him.
"Have I said you can yet? Nein. I'm going back to HQ to mount this on a wall. Come see me when you're ready to do something useful."
Without waiting for a reply, Vash turned around and walked back to the city. Horace and Yong watched him go. Yong frowned.
"Some welcome, da ze."
Horace shrugged slightly and walked after the blond man. Yong ran after him and scurried up onto his shoulder again.
"So, what now, da ze? We gotta see this Shadow guy, da ze…"
Horace shrugged again.
"I guess we help the Underground until Vash trusts us enough. We've got no one else to help us… And besides, anything we do to help them hurts Tannous. That's good enough for me for the time being."
Yong gave a small reply shrug.
"Whatever you say, da ze."
They returned to the door to the city, pushing it closed behind them, and walked quietly down the streets, back to the slums where they had first met Vash. When they got to the dead end, it took only a moment to spot the door to the only safe-looking building available. Horace pulled it open, stepping inside and onto descending stairs. He closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs and into what seemed to be a storage facility turned Underground headquarters. Vash was, indeed, down there, standing behind a table littered with papers and candles, his usual scowl on his face. The banner Horace and Yong had retrieved was pinned up on one of the walls, just as Vash had said. Yong climbed down from Horace's shoulder, walking toward Vash alongside Horace with a big grin on his face. Horace paused in front of the blond man, his arms crossed over his chest, while Yong turned, walking over to a water spigot on the wall and wiping the imaginary sweat from his forehead.
"Whew... being a big hero sure makes ya thirsty, da ze!"
He jumped up; pulling the lever on the spigot that would make the water flow out. Vash glared darkly at the weasel boy, watching quietly. A faint rumbling sound came from the spout and, rather than water, a dark brown muck came gushing out, splattering Yong's face. Yong gagged and coughed, returning the lever to the off position, and spat out as much of the gunk as he could, wiping his mouth and glaring at Vash, growling softly. Vash, his arms still crossed over his chest, rolled his eyes at Yong.
"The Baron turned off all water to the slums. He's willing to sacrifice innocent lives just to destroy the Underground. I shouldn't be surprised. I've seen his evil before, while serving in the Krimzon Guard. That's why I quit."
His face showed the purest of disgust at Baron Tannous's actions as he glanced at Horace. Horace looked genuinely shocked by Vash's statement, his eyebrows lowering and his eyes growing slightly wider, even his voice affected by the surprise.
"You were a Krimzon Guard?"
He quickly recovered, covering his mouth with two fingers to suppress the tiniest of laughs.
"Huh. Oh, that explains your... charming sense of humor."
Vash seemed neither amused, nor offended as he replied.
"My friend in the Guard tells me the valve to turn the water back on is located outside the city, at the Pumping Station."
Horace frowned slightly.
"Outside the city? What about the security walls?"
Yong, still over by the faucet, made a face at both men, his shout making them look at him.
"What about the Metal Heads, da ze?! It ain't no petting zoo out there, da ze... Peeps be getting deep-sixed, da ze!"
Vash ignored Yong's comment.
"Find the large drain pipe in the north wall. It'll take you outside the city to the Pumping Station. Get to the main valve and open it. If you survive, the slums will be indebted to you. If not, maybe we'll have a touching moment of silence in your honor."
Yong made a face of mild offense, growling under his breath.
"I'd like to give him a 'touching moment', da ze."
Horace rolled his eyes, gesturing for Yong to hop on his shoulder again, which he did. Horace nodded slightly at Vash.
"You got it. We'll be back before you know it."
Once again, without waiting for Vash to reply, Horace turned around and sprinted up the stairs, walking back out onto the streets. He pulled out the map Kor had given him, looking it over until he found the drain pipe in the north wall, on the other side of the city. He replaced the map in the bag on his hip and started sprinting out of the cul-de-sac. He passed a parked hover bike, like so many of the citizens rode above him, then paused, looking back at the bike. He looked at Yong, who nodded. They had the same idea. Horace went over to the parked vehicle, sliding into the seat, and looked it over. The keys were in the ignition, as though it had been placed there for his convenience. Without a moment of hesitation, Horace turned the key and kicked the bike into drive, pulling it up to its full altitude hover. He smirked. He liked this thing. It did not take him long at all to learn how to drive the bike and, just moments later, he and Yong were well on their way to the pipe outside the city, flying silently.
Characters:
Horace, Yong, Vash. Again.
Note: I hope you enjoyed the character development for dear Vash. This chapter was short and filler, but it is leading into more excitement, so, for the sake of the wonderful Horace Wang and Yong Soo, continue reading! I still would absolutely love to read anything you have to say to me, so review... Until next time, have a wonderful, beautiful day. Shalom for now!