One Without the Other
"Sei-san, there seems to have been an incident at the Platinum Jail entrance," Virus told him, swiveling the security monitor in the office so that he could see. On the screen, Mink was in the process of roughing up the panda mascot before stuffing the body in the ticket booth.
"Hey, I actually remember that guy," Trip said, peering closer. "Wasn't he with Aoba last time? There was a group of them and they attacked us. That's when Aoba got away." He left off that he and Virus had been attempting to ditch Toue and take Aoba with them.
Sei remembered though that it had been only Aoba who had appeared before him in his room. It must have been his friend's distraction that allowed it. As he was aware of the non-twins' less than pure intentions, he was a little grateful for their interference. It would only be fair to explain things to them too, as he had tried with Aoba.
"I'll send someone else to deal with them," Sei decided. "In the meantime, I have another assignment for you two."
Both immediately perked up, their eyes almost glowing in anticipation. "Oh? And what would that be?" Trip asked.
"Well, actually, I only need one of you for the task," Sei corrected. He picked up a large pile of leaflets and passed them to Virus. "I need you to distribute these. They inform that henceforth, Rib teams are prohibited. And yes, that means Morphine too." Taking off his fedora, he made a point of removing the Morphine pin he'd always worn and threw it into a nearby trash can.
Virus scoffed lightly. "And what does this have to do with anything?"
"Turf wars are ridiculous," his boss informed him. "It's all government property anyways, what's to fight about? Besides, the graffiti lowers property value and scares away business and customers. I've informed the Chief of Police of this and he also agrees. And from a business standpoint…Rib takes away from those that could be participating in Rhyme. I think this is a good decision all around."
Virus' smile grew all the wider but there was a moment when Sei thought he was going to mock him in protest. Instead, he only shrugged and said, "Okay," before picking up the papers and heading for the door.
"Wait!" Trip demanded. "Shouldn't both of us go? Wouldn't it be faster?" For the first time that Sei could ever remember, he looked…scared.
"I would like you to stay here," Sei informed him. "Just in case I need something."
All the color drained from Trip's face. He turned his false-blue eyes to Virus, his partner in crime and everything else. "But…we've always been together. Always."
The other seemed unconcerned by the split. "Ever since we were children, you've acted as my doppelganger," Virus mused wistfully. "You changed your hair to match mine. You changed your eyes to the same color as mine. You even insisted we board together at Toue's institution, despite that I'm six years older than you, and dorms for your grade were on a different floor."
He came closer and with a gentleness that made Sei uncomfortable to watch, he cupped Trip's chin, making them look into each other's eyes. "Indeed, we have always been by each other's side. But maybe now, it's time to go our separate ways. One day, the bird must leave the nest."
"Don't patronize me, I thought we agreed to treat each other as equals," Trip knocked away the hand.
"My apologies," Virus gave an amused smile. "But this will only be a brief separation. I promise I'll return." He closed his eyes, putting his forehead against Trip's, who also closed his eyes. "I promise."
"I…I trust you," the other whispered, tilting his head in a way that almost seemed like a nuzzle.
Virus pulled away first, patting Trip on the shoulder as he walked towards the door. As his back was turned, he missed when Trip made a motion to reach for him, all to stop himself. Instead, he balled his hand into a fist, clenching his teeth and turning his face away.
Sei slipped out the door soon after to give him some time alone.
~.~.~
Mink looked up at the large, black building across the street, lacking any distinctive features on the outside aside from a neon red stripe that encircled the perimeter at the top. Even the entrance was rather dark, though every now and then someone would walk up to the bouncer outside, flash a card, and would be waved through. For a brief moment, light and music would spill out before the darkness was resumed.
In his own hand, he held the same card he had used a year ago, that of a blue butterfly. He hoped it was still valid; he'd paid a hefty price to buy the card from a black market dealer, its original owner now dead. He scanned the area to ensure nobody was watching him before he stepped out of the shadows and crossed the street.
"Members only," The bouncer growled at him, halting his progress. Though the man was taller than himself with a buffer build, Mink figured he could at least hold his own against him if it came down to it. He showed him the butterfly card and attempted to keep walking but for the second time that day, a hand blocked his access, pushing against him. He cracked his fingers. And here we go again.
"Wait," the man commanded, reaching into his pocket. He was probably about to radio for backup. Mink shifted his feet imperceptibly, getting ready to pounce. On his shoulder, Tori also bristled, no stranger to gouging anyone that threatened his owner.
Instead though, the man produced…coupons? "Congratulations! You're our 200th customer this evening! You win a voucher for half-off for a private room and for drinks! Just show this to the bartender and the wait staff and they'll get you situated."
The guy was grinning at him like a maniac, which with the suit and sunglasses was rather unnerving. Considering Mink had never so much as won a raffle, he was equally confused. "Sure thing…" he muttered, lost for words for the first time in his life. He took the voucher and proceeded through the door, being absorbed by the light beyond.
The first room was more of a lobby. People stood around with drinks in their hands, some nodding to the bass that could be heard coming from another door down a hallway. To the side were the bathrooms. He headed towards there first.
The inside suited everything else related to the Night Valley, dark, dingy and odorous. He chose a mirror above a sink that was the cleanest and pulled out a plastic case meant to hold contacts. In hindsight, he should've put them in earlier, but they irritated his eyes and he didn't like wearing them too much. Besides…he enjoyed showing off his natural golden eyes. But with a quiet sigh, he popped the tab on one of the containers, a floating gray-blue contact staring back at him.
With practiced hands, he put them both in, blinking to ensure they stayed on his pupils. He wished he'd gotten them with a prescription, considering his natural vision wasn't the best (a result from reading late into the evenings with little lighting) and he didn't like wearing his glasses in public too often, but at the time he'd gotten them, he'd been on a budget. Either way, they should do the trick. He wasn't sure if Toue…or whoever was now at the helm…still used the drugging lights but he wasn't about to take a chance.
Exiting the bathroom, he headed down the hallway to the door at the end. He already knew he was going to have a headache after this. Soldiering on, he pushed his way inside and was immediately assaulted by fast flashing lights and electronic bass.
The room was packed. On a stage stood a man with thick headphones, turning various dials, the DJ for the night. As the music grew more frantic, the dancing sped up. Mink groaned as he already recognized this kind of music. One of those "beat drop" songs. Meaning he had few precious moments left before all hell broke loose with the crowd.
Thankfully, nearby was a waitress, a very young woman that looked just legal enough to work there. She was dressed as…a bunny. But of course. Still, as she got close, he showed her the card the bouncer had given him. She took it, read it, and broke out into a grin. "Way to go! Right this way, sir!"
He already knew the layout of the club, but followed her anyways as she led him to a side staircase. She took him to a similar room as last time, an area decorated with lots of leather couches and large glass windows that looked out over on the dance floor. "I'll be right back with a drink for our lucky winner!" she giggled, winking at him. He cringed but she didn't see it, already going back downstairs.
This location would at least give him some time to think of his next move. He needed to find someone that could spill some intel about this new version of Platinum Jail. Maybe he could invite up some of the people on the floor and ply them with drinks. That shouldn't be hard once they saw his half-off discount. They'd be fighting to win his favor. Without waiting on the bunny to return, he made his way down the stairs again as well.
Swimming against the wave of bodies, he figured his best bet to casually speak to people would be at the bar. It would be just his luck though that the bar was on the complete opposite side of the club. Not just that but…oh no. The lights were beginning to swirl even faster, enough to send almost anyone into an epileptic seizure. Everyone was facing the DJ, looking to him as the key to unleashing their excitement. For the night, he was their mecca, their god. Mink immediately tried to right his wrong, tried to turn around for the sanctity of his VIP room, but…it was too late. With him in the middle of the fray, the bass dropped.
People lost their shit. Body parts were flailed with no care about the person next to them, sweaty hair shaken like animals. The crowd jumped up and down, pounding like a heartbeat. Shirts were taken off and spun around heads, men and women alike. Cans of beer were shaken and popped, sending geysers spewing into the air, the technicolor lights giving them a magical luminescence. And the screams. The crowd's ecstasy was a tangible thing, turning the multitude into a single writhing mess.
Foregoing any ounce of politeness, Mink elbowed his way through the delirious hoard. He felt their hands pulling at him, attempting to drag him back in, to dance, to play, to come have fun with them. He redoubled his efforts though and with a final surge, he stumbled back to the edge of the club, back near the stairs that led up to the private rooms. He didn't wait to catch his breath; immediately, he rushed to the top, opening his room door and slamming it behind him.
Only to be met by Clear.
"Mink!" he shouted, rushing up to him. He took in his disheveled appearance and ran a scan, quickly trying to ascertain where he might've been injured. Nothing came up, except for an elevated heart rate. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"How the hell did you find me?" he asked back, ignoring Clear's questions.
Clear lowered his pink eyes, looking instead to the dancing orgy below them. "I…followed you. Koujaku and Noiz seemed to already know where to go, but I'm no good with sleuthing. Aoba could probably tell you that better than I can, haha," he chuckled pathetically, rubbing his hair. "I saw you coming out of this room and figured you'd return eventually, so…I decided to just wait."
He was so earnest, so open that Mink couldn't even bring himself to chastise him for not announcing his presence sooner. "Alright. Fine. But don't get in my—"
The door burst open, two figures blocking their exit. "Hi there! Long time no see!" one of them greeted to Clear.
Don't tell me the lights got to me anyways. Mink pinched the bridge of his nose, looking at the two before him. There stood two identical copies to Clear, save for the space-age clothing. I must be seeing things.
But Clear was tense, his usually apologetic disposition gone. "Alpha. Beta. Did Toue send you again?"
The new pair looked at each other before laughing. "Nah, haven't seen him since last year," the one on the left said, Beta.
"We're here on Sei's orders this time," Alpha chimed in. "Truth be told, we haven't been in use since last year either. So we're eager to catch up with ya, big bro!"
"Brothers…?" Mink asked, directing the question at Clear.
Clear shook his head at him. "We're man-made, we're not brothers in the same way that Aoba-san and Sei-san are. Just barcodes and serial numbers."
"You know, we tried to say the same thing to you last year," Beta said, cocking his head to the side in thought. "But who was it that insisted they had a heart? That their feelings were real, not just programmed responses? That they were human?"
But Clear didn't waver. "What do you want? If you're here about the thing with Aoba, don't you already have him?"
Neither confirming nor denying the statement about Aoba, Alpha said, "We're here for the two of you. Looks like there's something he wants to talk with you two about."
That was actually rather informative of them, Clear noticed. It wasn't like either of them to be forthright with information. Maybe it was because their ties of loyalty were still with Toue so they felt less need to keep secrets. But still…this could be a trap. He recalled the way Sei had sweetly threatened to harm Mizuki and Dry Juice if he didn't comply, in the process taking away his free will since his keylock was untouched in this new body. Even though he had Aoba, maybe there was something more to all of this.
"I'm not going anywhere with—"
"Fine. Bring us in," Mink said.
"Wait, what?! No! Mink-san, it's not safe—"
But Mink silenced him with a cold stare.
"Alrighty, just don't try any funny business and we won't touch a hair on your head," Beta said jovially. They didn't handcuff them, but Alpha took the lead, guiding them back out of the room and down the stairs. Mink followed him first, with Clear, at a loss for words, following after. Beta made up the rear guard.
In a single file, they left out of the club, passing the bouncer. The man noticed Mink and called out, "Please come again!" as he strode by.
"What's that about?" Alpha inquired, throwing a glance over his shoulder.
"Nothing," Mink said but at the persistent stare, he rolled his eyes. "I won a coupon for half off of a room and drinks."
Forgetting himself, Clear began to cheer for him, as did his brothers. "Awesome! Hey, you're not coming back here tonight, right?" Beta asked hopefully. "Why not let us have it?" Alpha grinned his agreement.
However, Mink actually snorted at them. "The first time I win something in my life and I'm supposed to hand it over to Thing One and Thing Two? No thanks."
The two fell into sullen silence, continuing their herding out of the Night Valley. Instead of taking them back to the entrance, they took them to what looked like an exit. Other people were shuffling towards the gates with another panda standing by, thanking them for their patronage. Instead of going the same direction though, Alpha steered them slightly to the side, where a rather unremarkable door stood. He held up his Coil to the scanner on the side and after a pause, the door clicked open.
The instant they stepped through to the other side, they were again back in the Midnight Blue Coast district. Mink immediately made note of their route. He figured there had to be a quicker way to traverse the districts than to return to the main entrance each time. That said, how careless of the robot twins to show that to them.
Idly, he also wondered if Koujaku and Noiz were still here. If he and Clear had been found, there's a possibility that they had been compromised too. Also, he wasn't sure when, but at some point during the night's chaos, Tori had taken off. He hoped his Allmate would seek out theirs to inform them of what had happened, even if it did mean Tori having to work alongside his rival, Beni. All of this was equally assuming Noiz and Koujaku hadn't killed each other first.
But no time to worry about that. They were getting closer to Platinum Tower where Aoba was likely being held. And at last, he'd get to meet his brother, the mysteriously infamous Sei.
A long chapter for a long pause; my apologies :) Next chapter will focus more on the Christmas duo of Noiz and Koujaku!
