Before I continue, I'd just like to give a big thank you to two-time
reviewer, Anthy's Worst Fear! As my vocal music teacher likes to say,
"You're so wonderful!"
7. Crime and Punishment
"Rock, you're in charge of the training today, since I'll be busy directing the construction crews," ordered Duke Red, his attention only half-focused on the boy standing obediently at his side.
"Yes, Father." He turned to leave.
"Though I may join you later. I hope that will be alright?"
"Yes, Father."
Rock strode away from the man, calling to Sanguine, who had been mesmerized by all of the activity. She turned and followed him inside the rotating doors of the Ziggurat. She followed him down a sunlit corridor. The morning light that had made Sanguine squint, even behind her sunglasses, disappeared as they entered the door they had come to at the end of the hall.
Rock held the door open for her before stepping inside himself. Sanguine stood peering around the change room of benches and lockers. On the far side was a sliding door that must have led to outside of the Ziggurat. From here, she could also see the showers. She felt him brush past her and reach into a small chest on the other side of the room. He pulled something out and turned around, walking back to her.
"Here. Get changed. I'm going to wake the others." He shoved the garments into her chest before turning to walk out the door they had come through.
"Rock, wait!"
He paused, hand on the doorknob, but didn't turn.
"What did Duke Red exactly mean by 'training'? This looks like a gym uniform. Isn't the regular uniform I'm wearing enough?"
"What do you think this is? The Marduks have training drills and exercises to do, too, you know. We don't get to where the robots are by vehicle-we use our own two feet." Without another word, he left, slamming the door resolutely behind him.
She took off her sunglasses and scowled at the closed door where Rock had been standing, pouting doubtfully. "Hmph..." She stuck out her tongue before laying the gym uniform down on the nearest bench and sweeping her hat off.
"Up! Up! Get up, ladies!"
"We're not ladies, Mr lady's man!" Devin retorted, propping himself up and rubbing his eyes groggily.
"What do you mean?" questioned Rock, obviously confused.
Gerra slipped out from under the covers and rubbed his forehead ruefully. "'E's talkin' about last night, what with that alone time you an' Sanguine 'ave been spendin' together."
"It means nothing," Rock said defiantly.
Dactyl leapt out of bed and sneered mischievously at Rock. "Yeah, that's what they all say. What about the day Nusku and I say you two sharing a drink at the café?"
"I explained that already."
Rock's sunglasses were nearly knocked off and him nearly bowled over when he felt a sturdy slap against his back. He turned to see Fornax.
"Eh, don't feel bad. A little physical desire never hurt anyone. Though I won't tease you, if you don't want me to. I can't do anything about the others, though."
Rock curled under Fornax's strong hand and reached down to pick up his sunglasses. "It never hurt anyone but me!" He slipped away from them and to the door. "Just shut up and get up-we've training to do." He slammed the door behind him.
Patrick smirked as he scratched his pyjama-covered chest and sat on the edge of his bed. "I've been telling that boy for years to lighten up. If he doesn't do it soon, he'll turn out to be just like Sam, beard and everything."
"What a nightmare!" Spike cried, causing all to burst out laughing or at least smile except for Sam himself.
Rock wrapped his slender digits around the doorknob gingerly. He took a deep breath in and prayed for him not to blush in her presence, the points made by the others getting the better of him. "Here goes," he sighed as he opened the door and peered around the change room. She was nowhere in sight. "Sanguine?"
He moved further into the room, closing the door behind him and turning around to the sound of a scream. He gave a small yell and whipped back around, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes.
"You could've knocked!"
"I called your name for goodness sake! Why didn't you answer?!"
"I was about to if you had just waited a moment longer!"
Rock growled, but continued to rub his eyes as he listened to more rustling behind him.
"I should gouge your eyes out for that! You had better forget that image!" There was more rustling and then it stopped. "It's okay to look, now."
Rock shook his head and gave his eye one final massage before turning around. A scowling Sanguine stood there in a Marduk training uniform of blue leotard covered by a loose white T-shirt, white socks and red running shoes. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail high on her head. The male's uniform would have had swimming trunks instead of the leotard. (A/N: Well, obviously!)
"Fine. I'm going to get changed, so just go into the gym and wait for the rest of us, okay?" He said, pointing to the door opposite the showers.
Sanguine pushed her Marduk uniform further against the wall, not turning to them but keeping a shifty glare fixed on Rock. She walked past him, following his outstretched arm and keeping and eye on him still. She finally let go when she disappeared behind the white steel door.
Rock glowered at the door a moment longer before sighing and flopping down on the bench. He slumped against the wall and raised his head to stare at the ceiling wearily. Staring at the stone white made him remember the white shirt Dactyl wore...which made him remember the first day he met the boy. That led to the incident that brought them together...drinking from Sanguine's pop can... No! Think of nothing-I must cleanse my mind!
Staring more...brought him to the white he'd just seen that had concealed that bust... NO! Even worse! Rock shook his head again and stood up to finally get dressed into his uniform.
*****
"Fifty jumping jacks," ordered Rock to the Marduks. He couldn't help but feel amusement watching them obey the order. Watching Gerra or Sam jump up and down was hard not to laugh at. He turned away from them to avoid an outburst.
When they had finished, Spike, Dactyl and Nusku were panting slightly. "Find a partner for the next exercise," Rock ordered, his voice echoing around the gym.
Many of the pairs were formed almost immediately. Sanguine watched as the pairs formed; Sam and Gerra, Orion and Patrick, Fornax and Devin, Dactyl and Nusku, and then the final option of her brother, Blade and Spike. She looked to Rock standing across the gym, who saw this, rolled his eyes, sighed, and gaited over to her. "Just my luck..."
"One partner sit down on the floor, legs straight out in front, and the other stand behind them like so," he explained, standing right behind Sanguine.
She glared at him a moment before sitting down with her legs out in front of her like half of the others were doing.
"Partners on the floor raise your arms straight up."
Fornax was the first to do so, then Nusku, then Sanguine herself.
"Partners standing up-bend down, reach under the arms of your partner like this. You may want to hook your arms behind their back to get a firm grip. Position your legs so that you're more stable and won't fall at a slight movement."
Sanguine didn't know what to feel when Rock slipped his arms in front of her raised ones and pressed the backs of his hands firmly against her back. "Now partners on the floor, keep your hands up and try to pull them downwards as hard as you can, but the standing partners are going to prevent you from doing that. Go." She felt Rock's warm breath against the top of her head, delaying the pull of her arms a few seconds.
She finally tried to lower her arms as Rock had commanded. On feeling that she was becoming unsuccessful, she forced harder against his arms. She felt him move his legs, digging them into her side to keep from being thrown over. They both stopped and looked up as they heard a yell and then a thud.
Everyone else had stopped, and Rock was now rushing over to Dactyl, who lay on the floor in front of a confused Nusku, lying on his back and groaning. "You okay, Dactyl?" Rock asked, kneeling beside him.
The orange-haired boy raised his head and sat up slowly. "Yeah...I think so...I'm just dizzy, that's all... And it hurts in a couple of places..."
Rock looked up. "Yeah, guys-I forgot to mention that... Make sure that your body masses don't contrast each other so much that your partner throws you like Nusku did Dactyl."
Nusku laughed dryly. "Heh...Sorry, Dactyl. I guess I don't know my own strength..."
"Switch roles!" Rock called, getting up and walking back to Sanguine.
Sanguine stood up and watched as Rock sat down in front of her. He raised his arms and she reached down nervously, entangling their arms as he had done. "Go!" he yelled to the others, and she was almost thrown over. She mimicked the action he had done before to keep himself steady. She heard him make small grunts trying to lower his arms, and so she leaned backwards, taking his weight to advantage. Before she knew it, he had yelled, "Stop!"
She loosened her grip but didn't entangle their arms. Instead, Rock loosened them by standing up and brushing her away. "The normal route-Sam, Devin, Orion and Patrick-you know the way, then twelve laps around the Ziggurat! Out the change room doors!"
"What?!" came an exclamation from Dactyl and Spike while Blade and Nusku merely seemed surprised.
"That's right, you heard me! Get moving!"
The men hurried to the door of the gym, into the change room, and out the door leading outside. Sanguine, the last to leave, was casting worried glances at Rock, hesitant to leave out the door that he was holding open. He lay a hand to her back and ushered her outside. "Come on!"
The new Marduk recruits followed closely behind the older members for a couple of blocks, and once they had finished that route and had come to the Ziggurat, all of the new members except for Gerra were at least panting. Both Dactyl and Sanguine were struggling to keep up as they ran their laps around the Ziggurat.
"If...only...I had...known that...this was what...the Marduks did every...morning!" Dactyl gasped.
"Save your...breath, kid...Use it instead to run!" Sanguine replied, just as tired, though better keeping up.
When they had finally reached the change room, Nusku, Dactyl, Spike, and Sanguine flopped down on the bench nearest them disconcertedly, out of breath and near passing out. Rock gave them a pathetic look, though he was also slightly panting. "Sanguine! You're a Marduk leader? Disgraceful..." he taunted with disdain. "To the swimming pool!"
**** "Father-you're here..." said Rock as he entered the tiled room. Sure enough, there stood Duke Red, gazing over the waters quietly.
Duke Red turned to face the entering Marduks. "Yes, I thought I'd coach you in the drownproofing..."
They all slipped into the pool, except for Gerra, who stood at the edge, hesitant to get in. Patrick noticed this and made a comment. "What's the matter, Gerra? Can't swim or hydrophobic?"
"Well, how would he have learned to swim in the first place if he's hydrophobic?" asked Blade, having been the first to notice the flaw.
"What are you asking me? I'm not Gerra," retorted Patrick. "Well, Ger? You scared or not?"
"It's not a matter of being scared, Patrick-"
"Let the man speak, Blade!"
"Blade's right...I'm not scared, was just never taught 'ow..." Gerra answered hesitantly.
Duke Red turned on hearing this comment, slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Would it be possible for one of you-that knows how to swim-to give Gerra a basic tutorial?"
Sam edged out of the water, dripping form head to toe as he moved over to Duke Red. "Maybe that should have been one of the recruit specifications," he muttered to the blond man.
Duke Red sighed again. "You're probably right. I'll have to be more careful next time. Meanwhile, we can't have the Party drowning because of a flood in the line of duty. You are allotted the far side of the pool along the length."
Sam gave a curt nod before veering Gerra to the area and Duke Red turned to the rest of the Marduks. "Okay, men...er...and woman...Warm up laps. Four lengths!"
Rock, Devin, Patrick, and Orion found a lane at the end of the pool and stood poised to swim. The others caught on quickly, and each found their own lane, Sanguine taking the one on the end beside Rock.
"On your mark, get set...go!" vociferated Duke Red, and they shot off down the length of the pool-two of them anyway.
Rock had been in the lead halfway down, and smiled at the fact that he was still the fastest swimmer, even with the new recruits. His confidence was short lived when Sanguine finally caught up, and began to overtake him, only making him do the freestyle faster-he wasn't going to lose this unspoken race to her.
The two continued their single race to the end of the pool, before Sanguine turned and headed back the other way a second before Rock. Again, the same thing, each one getting in the lead only to be overtaken again by the other. Finally, they had come to the final length. It came down to nanoseconds, but one had definitely finished first. Rock barrelled right into the wall of the pool, almost forgetting to put out his hands to stop himself. He coughed and hacked for a moment on some of the water he had swallowed, before panting heavily and throwing his arms up in the air. "Hah! I won!"
Sanguine lay her head down on her folded arms on the pool deck, trying to catch her breath, though she looked up at the sudden outburst. "One, who said we were in a race, two, you only won by a very precise photo- finish, and three, I don't think your father liked your announcement very much."
Rock glanced at her a moment before looking up at Duke Red, who was looming over him and shaking his head. Once the others had finished their laps, they all began drownproofing exercises, before leaving the pool and heading for the change rooms.
Sanguine was wringing her hair out and heading towards them when she heard Duke Red clear his throat. She turned, and noticed him giving her a stern eye. She quickly made to stand at attention. "Yes, sir?"
"When you have finished changing, I would like to see you in my office, if you please, Sanguine," he replied simply before brushing past her and out the alternate door.
***
Metropolis was progressing well with its reconstruction. Streets were getting paved, buildings being built-yes-it would take a while longer, and it wouldn't be exactly the same as before, but it would have to do for now. Until he became president.
Duke Red was jolted from his reverie on hearing a knock at the door. He turned to the magnificent threshold. "Come in."
The door opened and in stepped Sanguine, oblivious of the fact that he was watching her as she rung her hair out and closed the giant, oaken door behind her. She squeezed it in one long strand as she continued to walk forward before looking up to the man standing before her. They leered at each other for a moment or two, then Sanguine let her hair dry itself by letting go of it as fast as she could to stand at attention. "I come at your request, Mr Red, sir."
Duke Red lowered his gaze to the growing puddle of water on the marble floor and then shifted it back to her. "Yes, I did ask for your presence." He turned away from her and stepped over to the window, glaring out through it to the city below.
"As you and I both know, you are the current Marduk leader. We also know that Rock was the former. Am I correct?"
"Yes, as always, sir."
"Then it is my assumption that you agree with me when I say that you most definitely make the better of the two?"
Sanguine didn't know what to make of the comment, and glanced to the puddle on the elegant floor. "Uh...Well, I wouldn't exactly say that, I mean Rock and I are both at different levels of leadership and gunning, and while I agree I amount to a formidable commander, I may not be accustomed to that of Marduk commander..."
Duke Red whirled to face her. "You speak from your heart. You're modest. I like that, but are you absolutely sure about Rock and you?"
She bit her lip. "No, not really..."
Duke Red moved forward to her, placing a hand around her shoulder. "Oh? Then why not eliminate your adversary?"
She didn't raise her head, afraid to glare into those calculating, green eyes, and therefore kept her gaze glued to the floor. "Because then I would get in trouble..."
"Why? As long as no one knows, they can't convict you of the crime, and I won't tell," he replied, standing erectly again and clasping his hands behind his back. "Of course, Rock is experienced in the field of assassins. He'd know every trick you could possibly have up your sleeve and then some. You would have to outsmart him-to outfox him."
"How would I do that?" Sanguine asked, hesitant with the question.
Duke Red began to step towards his desk and flop down in the chair. "Maybe if you could somehow lure him...Trick him into thinking that you're harmless..."
She mumbled the words slowly to herself, trying to make sense of them. "You mean like, treat him with respect and everything?"
"Exactly. Make him care for you too much to hurt you," corrected Duke Red, drumming his fingers against each other contrivingly.
Sanguine stood mumbling, repeating the words to herself for a while longer before turning to Duke Red. "...Yes, sir. I shall deceive and then terminate my rival, Rock."
"You do that, my dear," Duke Red replied with a nonchalant smirk as she left the room.
Once she was out of the room, she paused in front of the closed doorway. "Bring Death to Rock...Goodness knows that's what he needs."
***
"Rock, I have a favour to ask of you."
The boy looked up from the gun he had been polishing. He put the cloth and firearm down on the bed and stood up. "Yes, Father?"
Duke Red motioned for Rock to come out into the hall with him, Rock obeying the order and being ushered down it. "I would like you to help Sanguine with the filing and paperwork. She'll need some guidance, seeing as she isn't familiar with the format of everything."
"Uh, sure..." Rock replied, irresolute to enter through the closed door of her room for fear of a repeat of the previous incident.
Duke Red reached over Rock's shoulder and turned the knob, opening the door, Rock half-closing his eyes as the man did so. To his relief, she was merely sitting on the floor in her Marduk uniform and writing on a mass of paper contained in a file folder.
Duke Red ushered him inside, Rock almost tripping on his reluctant own feet. Sanguine looked up, glancing first from the boy whose glare was hidden by sunglasses to the blond man. "Yes? I'm finishing the paperwork as you asked, sir."
"Yes, and I thought you might need some help, seeing as dinner will be served in twenty minutes and you probably would want to finish by then," answered Duke Red, standing poised in the doorway to close it.
"Oh..." was Sanguine's only response as she glowered absent-mindedly at Rock.
"Remember, twenty minutes. You two play nice, now," with that he turned quickly and slammed the door shut behind him.
"But-" the two protested, unheard by the man who was now locking the door behind him. He whipped again to face the hall, dropping the key in his suit pocket with a smug expression of satisfaction on his face.
"Yes, twenty minutes and a bit should be enough... Either for one or three to emerge," he sighed, strutting away down the hall.
"Look, I didn't volunteer to help, so be thankful that it was an order," Rock snapped, scowling back at her from behind his glasses.
"All you'll do is distract me, what with your ugly face," she countered, refusing to look at him as she turned back to the files.
Rock clenched his teeth and knelt down beside her. "Let's just get this over and done with, okay?"
"Why do you wear sunglasses inside? It seems pointless to me."
"Well, I was hoping that the darkness would filter out annoying, career-stealing philosophers."
"Done! Finally!"
"Exactly twenty minutes, too. Let's get downstairs before Patrick devours our portions," Rock jested, glancing at the pocket watch which had once belonged to his father before tucking it quickly back in his pocket.
Both got up from the floor and moved over to the door. Sanguine curled her fingers around the knob and turned, but it wouldn't. She tried again, harder this time. She used both hands and tried to turn it, to no avail. "That's strange, it won't turn..."
"Out of the way," Rock said, brushing her aside and fiddling with the doorknob himself. After five tries, he gave up. "It must be locked, but why?"
"I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm tired of waiting! Open, you stupid door!" Sanguine exclaimed as she kicked the wood furiously.
"Look, you keep trying while I go sit down," Rock mentioned as he went back and sat down on the floor.
Sanguine placed her hands akimbo and scowled furiously at him. "What?! Why do you get to rest?"
"I'm tired, and, I believe that if we were indeed locked in here, it was for a very good reason." He lay back, folding his arms behind his head as he lay on the floor. "I intend to obey those orders."
"Helplessly feebleminded cretin..." she muttered angrily to herself as she turned back to the door to continue with fruitless attempts."
****
"Patrick, Dactyl, could you go up to Sanguine's room and see what those two are up to, please? We're halfway through our dinner and they haven't even shown up yet," Duke Red asked from his seat at the head of the table.
Patrick and Dactyl both stood up innocently, nodding curtly before leaving the room.
***
"It could be jammed," Rock finally suggested after a long silence and from his seat on the floor. "We could thrust our combined weight against it, and that could loosen it."
"Good, then. Help me!"
Rock eased up slowly from his lazy position on the floor and walked over where Sanguine stood facing the door. They both placed a shoulder on it and pushed. After a few fruitless moments, Rock pulled away.
"We probably aren't using our weight at the same time. On the count of three, we ram the door, got it?"
Sanguine nodded as the two moved around a foot away from the door. She stood poised to hit with her left shoulder and him with his right, both of them facing each other.
"One, two, three!" Rock cried. They both slammed against the door, and continued to even after the failed initial hit.
"Come on, Rock! You're a man, aren't you? Push!" Sanguine yelled.
"Legally I'm not a man until I'm eighteen!" he grunted back.
"Mr. Red said they were upstairs, right?" questioned Dactyl as he followed Patrick down the corridor to Sanguine's room.
"That's right," confirmed Patrick. "And we've checked every room up here except for Sanguine's, though why Rock would be in there I don't know. Seeing as he 'doesn't like her' and all..." He looked up and away from Dactyl.
"That's funny..." Dactyl voiced for Patrick's thoughts. "She normally leaves her door open..."
The two quickened their pace down the hallway until they came to the door. They pressed their ears against it and flinched on each bump against it.
"Ugh, Rock! We can do this... Come on!" the two boys heard Sanguine groan.
An even harder bump against the door.
"I'm trying. A little more... You need to push harder!" came Rock's reply, seemingly out of breath.
That was all Patrick needed to hear. He pulled away and covered Dactyl's ears, ushering him away from the door in doing so. "Euh...Dactyl, forget what you just heard. If there is an unexpected event that happens in nine months' time and Duke Red asks us, we don't know anything!"
"What 'unexpected event'?" queried the naïve boy innocently, reluctant to leave.
"Nothing, nothing. Let's just go tell Duke Red that Sanguine and Rock are um...'busy'..."
"'Busy'?"
"Yes, yes, now go!" Patrick gave one mighty heave that almost sent Dactyl flying off his feet. Walking forward was the only thing that had kept him balanced.
Sanguine let out a huge sigh and collapsed against the wall just to the left of the door. "Face it, Rock...We're not going to get through. I have a feeling that we've been locked in and whoever locked us in doesn't want us to get out..."
Rock pulled away from the door, though he continued to scowl at it. He took off his sunglasses. "You're probably right. Pity, I'm hungry. Guess I won't be eating tonight."
Sanguine eased away from the wall, swept her hat off and threw it onto the nighttable as she flopped down on the bed. "All of today's exertion has made me tired. I can't even think of eating without regurgitating what I swallow." She lay back, so that she was sprawled out over the bed on her back.
Rock sauntered over to the other side of the bed and watched her lie there with her arms wide open and eyes closed. Her long strands of brown hair curled across the magenta covers. The malleable mattress moulded to the shape of her body. Staring at the silent, serene and still figure made him jump when it finally moved.
She had opened her eyes, and was now glaring at him though her view of him was inverted. She sat up and pulled her legs up on the bed after kicking off her boots before turning to him. "If we spend the night here, you'll need a place to sleep."
Rock looked away to hide his crimson cheeks. "I suppose..."
"You can share the bed, just make sure you keep to yourself," she said, indicating to the side of the bed he was closest to.
He placed his glasses down on the bed side table on his side of the bed and slipped out of his Marduk boots, as Sanguine had. He pulled the covers away and sat down on the very edge. "Don't worry, I will," he said with a hint of contempt in his voice.
She eyed him suspiciously as he undid his belt and suspenders and lay them on the table before lying down, facing away from her. He pulled the covers up over his shoulders and remained very secluded on his designated side of the bed. Once she was satisfied with what he intended to do, she slipped her jacket, belt and suspenders off as he had and lay down close to the edge of her side of the bed.
Sanguine stared out the window. She could feel the colder weather from outside and pulled the blankets tighter around her bare arms and right up to her neck, much the same as Rock was doing on the other side of the bed. The sky was almost pitch black, even though the lights of the newly constructed Metropolis shone brightly through the windows of the Ziggurat. There were no stars as there had been the night before at the ball. The lights from outside the Ziggurat danced in her eyes until she closed them drowsily and fell asleep, her stomach feeling empty and heart beating too fast for comfort.
****
"Mother... Father..."
"It's okay, I'm here, little one. Talk to me..."
"Father doesn't love me..."
"I'm not your Father! You repay my kindness with nothing but impudence."
"I try... I've tried so hard... Mother, help me..."
"You men leave me alone. You've taken my husband, what more could you want?"
"Just leave me alone! I don't want to die!"
"He's a fine son, Melody... I couldn't ask for more. He'll be a strong leader some day just like his father!"
"That's right, father... I'll make you proud..."
"An orphan will remain an orphan until the day what made him so takes that away..."
"Don't delude yourself, Father. Only you should sit upon the throne of power!"
"You trust Duke Red too much to admit that he may have done something wrong. This is one of those times when you have to let go of what your heart feels and listen to your mind."
"My father wouldn't give such an order to have a president and his advisor murdered."
"People who have known real pain are less likely to inflict it upon others."
"I mustn't know real pain, then..."
"He's the best leader the Marduks have ever known."
"I'm a Marduk, you idiot!"
"I won't tell Duke Red if I get Tima online, okay?"
"You shouldn't allow the world to be ruled by a mere robot!"
"I'm not a robot, I'm not!"
"If you're a human, who's your father, then?"
"You fool!"
"Ah!"
Wolf chased after Melody. The two were still young, probably in their late teens. Slowly, but surely, he caught up to her as they both ran through the grassy field. He tackled her to the ground, and both went tumbling through the field of flowers.
Laughter. Laughter that rang through the quiet meadow. The two gazed longingly at each other, Melody upwards and Wolf down at the girl he had pinned to the ground underneath his straddled legs. Green eyes meeting blue, their laughter slowly died away as Wolf leant downwards to meet the jubilant mouth of Melody.
The boy disappeared into the tall grass, it seemed from afar, and before he had had time to sit up within the grass meadow, the tall grass had melted into the ground from all around the two, exposing them fully in this new red dimension.
Rock suddenly had the sensation of floating in mid air, though he straddled a figure and his lips felt oddly wet. He could feel hair running through his left hand-hair that wasn't his own. He pulled away from the object his mouth was pressed against and opened his eyes that had been idly closed. He saw that the hair in his hand was brown and the eyes opening slowly in front of his were a greyish-green.
"Mother?" he whispered dreamily.
He felt a warm hand against his cheek slide away slowly off his chin, sending chills through his black-clothed body. Then, he heard a voice breathe against his lips. It was similar, though definitely wasn't that of Melody's.
"I'm not your mother..."
It was then that Rock recognized that the figure underneath him wasn't his mother, but Sanguine. She was dressed in black garments that were almost like his, though unlike him, she wore a dreamy expression.
Rock pulled his head away from hers immediately in shock and fear, which also jolted him... awake...
Rock awoke to feel his arm draped across something corpulent that moulded to the shape of his arm. His hand was loosely curled around something that was smooth and curved. He flexed his fingers, feeling the tips of them brush against the mattress. It felt as though the rest of his arm were elevated as he lay on his stomach.
It was uncomfortable to keep his eyes closed with the bright light directed right at them, so they flickered open. Once his vision came into focus, it took a moment or two for what he was seeing to register in his mind. He drew in a sharp breath pulled his arm back to his body and sat bolt upright. He glanced with surprise and disgust down at the figure he had pulled away from before turning his gaze to the window.
The sky was grey with flecks of pure-white snow drifting down from it. It seemed that it was going to be a dreary day. He looked back down at the sleeping figure beside him. Her head was turned towards the window and she lay flat on her back with one hand curled in a half-fist near her head. The other lay at her side, over the blankets. Her hair was spread out over the pillow underneath her head and her mouth slightly open, her silent breaths barely audible even throughout the quiet of the room.
He got up, out of bed and sauntered over to the door. Placing his hand on the brass handle doubtfully, he was astonished to feel it open so easily. He closed it quietly after quickly poking his head out on seeing that the activity around the Ziggurat hadn't started yet-it was still too early in the morning. He went back to the bed and sat down, pulling the covers over his legs once more, though he couldn't imagine why he was doing so.
Rock's glare fixed on the place where his arm had found itself over the course of the night. Then suddenly the memory of his dream jolted him back to reality. He tore his eyes away and this time they came to land on her throat where some of her hair had been draped across. Rock's eyes narrowed and he smiled furtively. "The perfect murder without the attraction phase..." he breathed.
He leant down and used his left arm to prop himself so that he didn't fully lie down and took a hold of her hair. He slowly wrapped it around her neck. Torpidly, he pulled it tighter and tighter around her neck. "It doesn't matter what happened in my dream because that's all it was...a dream..." he muttered to himself.
He paused a moment when he heard her breathing become more ragged. He saw her screw her eyes fully shut before they flew open. He made a small gasp but his expression quickly melted into a collected and nonchalant loving gaze. "Morning, Sanguine," he chided softly with a fake smile.
She glowered at him in confusion for a moment before sitting up, pushing out of the way in doing so. She glanced at the window and then turned to face him. "'Morning... Thoughtcha said ye were goin' to keep to yerself," she questioned groggily.
Rock rolled over onto his back and placed his hands behind his head as he continued to simper at her teasingly. "Oh, well...Too late now, isn't it?"
Sanguine didn't answer, but kept her scowl.
"The door's open. We're free."
She didn't reply. She rubbed her eyes and rolled out of bed. "Tha's nice, Rocky..."
Rock glowered at her before hopping out of bed, grabbing his belt and suspenders and hurrying after her towards the door. "There's no point. You might as well get dressed, since everyone else is still asleep."
Ignoring him, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it. She poked her head out as Rock had done and then turned back to him, still half asleep. "I'm already dressed... Thanks to someone who 'ad to spend the night with me 'cause he can't open a stupid door."
He fastened the belt clasp and began with his suspenders, ignoring the derogatory comment. "Well, then, all you'll have to do is wait. Long day ahead-see you." And with that, he marched out the open door and down the hallway. As he headed for his room, he could still feel a glare at his back, and flinched as he heard a door slam behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another long chapter...Sorry about that. So what do you think? Tell me, because I want to know everything you have to say! I've been thinking of adding something, but I'd like your consultation, first... LEMONS! Normally, I'd be against that sort of thing, but in this fic I'm going to be spontaneous and abnormal! So, review and tell me what you think of the lemon idea! Gotta love that citrus fruit...(I can just see the Rock fan mob coming after me, now, but who said it was going to be with Rock, hm? (Oh yeah, if I do lemons, I'll have to change the censor-but who pays any attention to those, anyway?))
7. Crime and Punishment
"Rock, you're in charge of the training today, since I'll be busy directing the construction crews," ordered Duke Red, his attention only half-focused on the boy standing obediently at his side.
"Yes, Father." He turned to leave.
"Though I may join you later. I hope that will be alright?"
"Yes, Father."
Rock strode away from the man, calling to Sanguine, who had been mesmerized by all of the activity. She turned and followed him inside the rotating doors of the Ziggurat. She followed him down a sunlit corridor. The morning light that had made Sanguine squint, even behind her sunglasses, disappeared as they entered the door they had come to at the end of the hall.
Rock held the door open for her before stepping inside himself. Sanguine stood peering around the change room of benches and lockers. On the far side was a sliding door that must have led to outside of the Ziggurat. From here, she could also see the showers. She felt him brush past her and reach into a small chest on the other side of the room. He pulled something out and turned around, walking back to her.
"Here. Get changed. I'm going to wake the others." He shoved the garments into her chest before turning to walk out the door they had come through.
"Rock, wait!"
He paused, hand on the doorknob, but didn't turn.
"What did Duke Red exactly mean by 'training'? This looks like a gym uniform. Isn't the regular uniform I'm wearing enough?"
"What do you think this is? The Marduks have training drills and exercises to do, too, you know. We don't get to where the robots are by vehicle-we use our own two feet." Without another word, he left, slamming the door resolutely behind him.
She took off her sunglasses and scowled at the closed door where Rock had been standing, pouting doubtfully. "Hmph..." She stuck out her tongue before laying the gym uniform down on the nearest bench and sweeping her hat off.
"Up! Up! Get up, ladies!"
"We're not ladies, Mr lady's man!" Devin retorted, propping himself up and rubbing his eyes groggily.
"What do you mean?" questioned Rock, obviously confused.
Gerra slipped out from under the covers and rubbed his forehead ruefully. "'E's talkin' about last night, what with that alone time you an' Sanguine 'ave been spendin' together."
"It means nothing," Rock said defiantly.
Dactyl leapt out of bed and sneered mischievously at Rock. "Yeah, that's what they all say. What about the day Nusku and I say you two sharing a drink at the café?"
"I explained that already."
Rock's sunglasses were nearly knocked off and him nearly bowled over when he felt a sturdy slap against his back. He turned to see Fornax.
"Eh, don't feel bad. A little physical desire never hurt anyone. Though I won't tease you, if you don't want me to. I can't do anything about the others, though."
Rock curled under Fornax's strong hand and reached down to pick up his sunglasses. "It never hurt anyone but me!" He slipped away from them and to the door. "Just shut up and get up-we've training to do." He slammed the door behind him.
Patrick smirked as he scratched his pyjama-covered chest and sat on the edge of his bed. "I've been telling that boy for years to lighten up. If he doesn't do it soon, he'll turn out to be just like Sam, beard and everything."
"What a nightmare!" Spike cried, causing all to burst out laughing or at least smile except for Sam himself.
Rock wrapped his slender digits around the doorknob gingerly. He took a deep breath in and prayed for him not to blush in her presence, the points made by the others getting the better of him. "Here goes," he sighed as he opened the door and peered around the change room. She was nowhere in sight. "Sanguine?"
He moved further into the room, closing the door behind him and turning around to the sound of a scream. He gave a small yell and whipped back around, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes.
"You could've knocked!"
"I called your name for goodness sake! Why didn't you answer?!"
"I was about to if you had just waited a moment longer!"
Rock growled, but continued to rub his eyes as he listened to more rustling behind him.
"I should gouge your eyes out for that! You had better forget that image!" There was more rustling and then it stopped. "It's okay to look, now."
Rock shook his head and gave his eye one final massage before turning around. A scowling Sanguine stood there in a Marduk training uniform of blue leotard covered by a loose white T-shirt, white socks and red running shoes. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail high on her head. The male's uniform would have had swimming trunks instead of the leotard. (A/N: Well, obviously!)
"Fine. I'm going to get changed, so just go into the gym and wait for the rest of us, okay?" He said, pointing to the door opposite the showers.
Sanguine pushed her Marduk uniform further against the wall, not turning to them but keeping a shifty glare fixed on Rock. She walked past him, following his outstretched arm and keeping and eye on him still. She finally let go when she disappeared behind the white steel door.
Rock glowered at the door a moment longer before sighing and flopping down on the bench. He slumped against the wall and raised his head to stare at the ceiling wearily. Staring at the stone white made him remember the white shirt Dactyl wore...which made him remember the first day he met the boy. That led to the incident that brought them together...drinking from Sanguine's pop can... No! Think of nothing-I must cleanse my mind!
Staring more...brought him to the white he'd just seen that had concealed that bust... NO! Even worse! Rock shook his head again and stood up to finally get dressed into his uniform.
*****
"Fifty jumping jacks," ordered Rock to the Marduks. He couldn't help but feel amusement watching them obey the order. Watching Gerra or Sam jump up and down was hard not to laugh at. He turned away from them to avoid an outburst.
When they had finished, Spike, Dactyl and Nusku were panting slightly. "Find a partner for the next exercise," Rock ordered, his voice echoing around the gym.
Many of the pairs were formed almost immediately. Sanguine watched as the pairs formed; Sam and Gerra, Orion and Patrick, Fornax and Devin, Dactyl and Nusku, and then the final option of her brother, Blade and Spike. She looked to Rock standing across the gym, who saw this, rolled his eyes, sighed, and gaited over to her. "Just my luck..."
"One partner sit down on the floor, legs straight out in front, and the other stand behind them like so," he explained, standing right behind Sanguine.
She glared at him a moment before sitting down with her legs out in front of her like half of the others were doing.
"Partners on the floor raise your arms straight up."
Fornax was the first to do so, then Nusku, then Sanguine herself.
"Partners standing up-bend down, reach under the arms of your partner like this. You may want to hook your arms behind their back to get a firm grip. Position your legs so that you're more stable and won't fall at a slight movement."
Sanguine didn't know what to feel when Rock slipped his arms in front of her raised ones and pressed the backs of his hands firmly against her back. "Now partners on the floor, keep your hands up and try to pull them downwards as hard as you can, but the standing partners are going to prevent you from doing that. Go." She felt Rock's warm breath against the top of her head, delaying the pull of her arms a few seconds.
She finally tried to lower her arms as Rock had commanded. On feeling that she was becoming unsuccessful, she forced harder against his arms. She felt him move his legs, digging them into her side to keep from being thrown over. They both stopped and looked up as they heard a yell and then a thud.
Everyone else had stopped, and Rock was now rushing over to Dactyl, who lay on the floor in front of a confused Nusku, lying on his back and groaning. "You okay, Dactyl?" Rock asked, kneeling beside him.
The orange-haired boy raised his head and sat up slowly. "Yeah...I think so...I'm just dizzy, that's all... And it hurts in a couple of places..."
Rock looked up. "Yeah, guys-I forgot to mention that... Make sure that your body masses don't contrast each other so much that your partner throws you like Nusku did Dactyl."
Nusku laughed dryly. "Heh...Sorry, Dactyl. I guess I don't know my own strength..."
"Switch roles!" Rock called, getting up and walking back to Sanguine.
Sanguine stood up and watched as Rock sat down in front of her. He raised his arms and she reached down nervously, entangling their arms as he had done. "Go!" he yelled to the others, and she was almost thrown over. She mimicked the action he had done before to keep himself steady. She heard him make small grunts trying to lower his arms, and so she leaned backwards, taking his weight to advantage. Before she knew it, he had yelled, "Stop!"
She loosened her grip but didn't entangle their arms. Instead, Rock loosened them by standing up and brushing her away. "The normal route-Sam, Devin, Orion and Patrick-you know the way, then twelve laps around the Ziggurat! Out the change room doors!"
"What?!" came an exclamation from Dactyl and Spike while Blade and Nusku merely seemed surprised.
"That's right, you heard me! Get moving!"
The men hurried to the door of the gym, into the change room, and out the door leading outside. Sanguine, the last to leave, was casting worried glances at Rock, hesitant to leave out the door that he was holding open. He lay a hand to her back and ushered her outside. "Come on!"
The new Marduk recruits followed closely behind the older members for a couple of blocks, and once they had finished that route and had come to the Ziggurat, all of the new members except for Gerra were at least panting. Both Dactyl and Sanguine were struggling to keep up as they ran their laps around the Ziggurat.
"If...only...I had...known that...this was what...the Marduks did every...morning!" Dactyl gasped.
"Save your...breath, kid...Use it instead to run!" Sanguine replied, just as tired, though better keeping up.
When they had finally reached the change room, Nusku, Dactyl, Spike, and Sanguine flopped down on the bench nearest them disconcertedly, out of breath and near passing out. Rock gave them a pathetic look, though he was also slightly panting. "Sanguine! You're a Marduk leader? Disgraceful..." he taunted with disdain. "To the swimming pool!"
**** "Father-you're here..." said Rock as he entered the tiled room. Sure enough, there stood Duke Red, gazing over the waters quietly.
Duke Red turned to face the entering Marduks. "Yes, I thought I'd coach you in the drownproofing..."
They all slipped into the pool, except for Gerra, who stood at the edge, hesitant to get in. Patrick noticed this and made a comment. "What's the matter, Gerra? Can't swim or hydrophobic?"
"Well, how would he have learned to swim in the first place if he's hydrophobic?" asked Blade, having been the first to notice the flaw.
"What are you asking me? I'm not Gerra," retorted Patrick. "Well, Ger? You scared or not?"
"It's not a matter of being scared, Patrick-"
"Let the man speak, Blade!"
"Blade's right...I'm not scared, was just never taught 'ow..." Gerra answered hesitantly.
Duke Red turned on hearing this comment, slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Would it be possible for one of you-that knows how to swim-to give Gerra a basic tutorial?"
Sam edged out of the water, dripping form head to toe as he moved over to Duke Red. "Maybe that should have been one of the recruit specifications," he muttered to the blond man.
Duke Red sighed again. "You're probably right. I'll have to be more careful next time. Meanwhile, we can't have the Party drowning because of a flood in the line of duty. You are allotted the far side of the pool along the length."
Sam gave a curt nod before veering Gerra to the area and Duke Red turned to the rest of the Marduks. "Okay, men...er...and woman...Warm up laps. Four lengths!"
Rock, Devin, Patrick, and Orion found a lane at the end of the pool and stood poised to swim. The others caught on quickly, and each found their own lane, Sanguine taking the one on the end beside Rock.
"On your mark, get set...go!" vociferated Duke Red, and they shot off down the length of the pool-two of them anyway.
Rock had been in the lead halfway down, and smiled at the fact that he was still the fastest swimmer, even with the new recruits. His confidence was short lived when Sanguine finally caught up, and began to overtake him, only making him do the freestyle faster-he wasn't going to lose this unspoken race to her.
The two continued their single race to the end of the pool, before Sanguine turned and headed back the other way a second before Rock. Again, the same thing, each one getting in the lead only to be overtaken again by the other. Finally, they had come to the final length. It came down to nanoseconds, but one had definitely finished first. Rock barrelled right into the wall of the pool, almost forgetting to put out his hands to stop himself. He coughed and hacked for a moment on some of the water he had swallowed, before panting heavily and throwing his arms up in the air. "Hah! I won!"
Sanguine lay her head down on her folded arms on the pool deck, trying to catch her breath, though she looked up at the sudden outburst. "One, who said we were in a race, two, you only won by a very precise photo- finish, and three, I don't think your father liked your announcement very much."
Rock glanced at her a moment before looking up at Duke Red, who was looming over him and shaking his head. Once the others had finished their laps, they all began drownproofing exercises, before leaving the pool and heading for the change rooms.
Sanguine was wringing her hair out and heading towards them when she heard Duke Red clear his throat. She turned, and noticed him giving her a stern eye. She quickly made to stand at attention. "Yes, sir?"
"When you have finished changing, I would like to see you in my office, if you please, Sanguine," he replied simply before brushing past her and out the alternate door.
***
Metropolis was progressing well with its reconstruction. Streets were getting paved, buildings being built-yes-it would take a while longer, and it wouldn't be exactly the same as before, but it would have to do for now. Until he became president.
Duke Red was jolted from his reverie on hearing a knock at the door. He turned to the magnificent threshold. "Come in."
The door opened and in stepped Sanguine, oblivious of the fact that he was watching her as she rung her hair out and closed the giant, oaken door behind her. She squeezed it in one long strand as she continued to walk forward before looking up to the man standing before her. They leered at each other for a moment or two, then Sanguine let her hair dry itself by letting go of it as fast as she could to stand at attention. "I come at your request, Mr Red, sir."
Duke Red lowered his gaze to the growing puddle of water on the marble floor and then shifted it back to her. "Yes, I did ask for your presence." He turned away from her and stepped over to the window, glaring out through it to the city below.
"As you and I both know, you are the current Marduk leader. We also know that Rock was the former. Am I correct?"
"Yes, as always, sir."
"Then it is my assumption that you agree with me when I say that you most definitely make the better of the two?"
Sanguine didn't know what to make of the comment, and glanced to the puddle on the elegant floor. "Uh...Well, I wouldn't exactly say that, I mean Rock and I are both at different levels of leadership and gunning, and while I agree I amount to a formidable commander, I may not be accustomed to that of Marduk commander..."
Duke Red whirled to face her. "You speak from your heart. You're modest. I like that, but are you absolutely sure about Rock and you?"
She bit her lip. "No, not really..."
Duke Red moved forward to her, placing a hand around her shoulder. "Oh? Then why not eliminate your adversary?"
She didn't raise her head, afraid to glare into those calculating, green eyes, and therefore kept her gaze glued to the floor. "Because then I would get in trouble..."
"Why? As long as no one knows, they can't convict you of the crime, and I won't tell," he replied, standing erectly again and clasping his hands behind his back. "Of course, Rock is experienced in the field of assassins. He'd know every trick you could possibly have up your sleeve and then some. You would have to outsmart him-to outfox him."
"How would I do that?" Sanguine asked, hesitant with the question.
Duke Red began to step towards his desk and flop down in the chair. "Maybe if you could somehow lure him...Trick him into thinking that you're harmless..."
She mumbled the words slowly to herself, trying to make sense of them. "You mean like, treat him with respect and everything?"
"Exactly. Make him care for you too much to hurt you," corrected Duke Red, drumming his fingers against each other contrivingly.
Sanguine stood mumbling, repeating the words to herself for a while longer before turning to Duke Red. "...Yes, sir. I shall deceive and then terminate my rival, Rock."
"You do that, my dear," Duke Red replied with a nonchalant smirk as she left the room.
Once she was out of the room, she paused in front of the closed doorway. "Bring Death to Rock...Goodness knows that's what he needs."
***
"Rock, I have a favour to ask of you."
The boy looked up from the gun he had been polishing. He put the cloth and firearm down on the bed and stood up. "Yes, Father?"
Duke Red motioned for Rock to come out into the hall with him, Rock obeying the order and being ushered down it. "I would like you to help Sanguine with the filing and paperwork. She'll need some guidance, seeing as she isn't familiar with the format of everything."
"Uh, sure..." Rock replied, irresolute to enter through the closed door of her room for fear of a repeat of the previous incident.
Duke Red reached over Rock's shoulder and turned the knob, opening the door, Rock half-closing his eyes as the man did so. To his relief, she was merely sitting on the floor in her Marduk uniform and writing on a mass of paper contained in a file folder.
Duke Red ushered him inside, Rock almost tripping on his reluctant own feet. Sanguine looked up, glancing first from the boy whose glare was hidden by sunglasses to the blond man. "Yes? I'm finishing the paperwork as you asked, sir."
"Yes, and I thought you might need some help, seeing as dinner will be served in twenty minutes and you probably would want to finish by then," answered Duke Red, standing poised in the doorway to close it.
"Oh..." was Sanguine's only response as she glowered absent-mindedly at Rock.
"Remember, twenty minutes. You two play nice, now," with that he turned quickly and slammed the door shut behind him.
"But-" the two protested, unheard by the man who was now locking the door behind him. He whipped again to face the hall, dropping the key in his suit pocket with a smug expression of satisfaction on his face.
"Yes, twenty minutes and a bit should be enough... Either for one or three to emerge," he sighed, strutting away down the hall.
"Look, I didn't volunteer to help, so be thankful that it was an order," Rock snapped, scowling back at her from behind his glasses.
"All you'll do is distract me, what with your ugly face," she countered, refusing to look at him as she turned back to the files.
Rock clenched his teeth and knelt down beside her. "Let's just get this over and done with, okay?"
"Why do you wear sunglasses inside? It seems pointless to me."
"Well, I was hoping that the darkness would filter out annoying, career-stealing philosophers."
"Done! Finally!"
"Exactly twenty minutes, too. Let's get downstairs before Patrick devours our portions," Rock jested, glancing at the pocket watch which had once belonged to his father before tucking it quickly back in his pocket.
Both got up from the floor and moved over to the door. Sanguine curled her fingers around the knob and turned, but it wouldn't. She tried again, harder this time. She used both hands and tried to turn it, to no avail. "That's strange, it won't turn..."
"Out of the way," Rock said, brushing her aside and fiddling with the doorknob himself. After five tries, he gave up. "It must be locked, but why?"
"I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm tired of waiting! Open, you stupid door!" Sanguine exclaimed as she kicked the wood furiously.
"Look, you keep trying while I go sit down," Rock mentioned as he went back and sat down on the floor.
Sanguine placed her hands akimbo and scowled furiously at him. "What?! Why do you get to rest?"
"I'm tired, and, I believe that if we were indeed locked in here, it was for a very good reason." He lay back, folding his arms behind his head as he lay on the floor. "I intend to obey those orders."
"Helplessly feebleminded cretin..." she muttered angrily to herself as she turned back to the door to continue with fruitless attempts."
****
"Patrick, Dactyl, could you go up to Sanguine's room and see what those two are up to, please? We're halfway through our dinner and they haven't even shown up yet," Duke Red asked from his seat at the head of the table.
Patrick and Dactyl both stood up innocently, nodding curtly before leaving the room.
***
"It could be jammed," Rock finally suggested after a long silence and from his seat on the floor. "We could thrust our combined weight against it, and that could loosen it."
"Good, then. Help me!"
Rock eased up slowly from his lazy position on the floor and walked over where Sanguine stood facing the door. They both placed a shoulder on it and pushed. After a few fruitless moments, Rock pulled away.
"We probably aren't using our weight at the same time. On the count of three, we ram the door, got it?"
Sanguine nodded as the two moved around a foot away from the door. She stood poised to hit with her left shoulder and him with his right, both of them facing each other.
"One, two, three!" Rock cried. They both slammed against the door, and continued to even after the failed initial hit.
"Come on, Rock! You're a man, aren't you? Push!" Sanguine yelled.
"Legally I'm not a man until I'm eighteen!" he grunted back.
"Mr. Red said they were upstairs, right?" questioned Dactyl as he followed Patrick down the corridor to Sanguine's room.
"That's right," confirmed Patrick. "And we've checked every room up here except for Sanguine's, though why Rock would be in there I don't know. Seeing as he 'doesn't like her' and all..." He looked up and away from Dactyl.
"That's funny..." Dactyl voiced for Patrick's thoughts. "She normally leaves her door open..."
The two quickened their pace down the hallway until they came to the door. They pressed their ears against it and flinched on each bump against it.
"Ugh, Rock! We can do this... Come on!" the two boys heard Sanguine groan.
An even harder bump against the door.
"I'm trying. A little more... You need to push harder!" came Rock's reply, seemingly out of breath.
That was all Patrick needed to hear. He pulled away and covered Dactyl's ears, ushering him away from the door in doing so. "Euh...Dactyl, forget what you just heard. If there is an unexpected event that happens in nine months' time and Duke Red asks us, we don't know anything!"
"What 'unexpected event'?" queried the naïve boy innocently, reluctant to leave.
"Nothing, nothing. Let's just go tell Duke Red that Sanguine and Rock are um...'busy'..."
"'Busy'?"
"Yes, yes, now go!" Patrick gave one mighty heave that almost sent Dactyl flying off his feet. Walking forward was the only thing that had kept him balanced.
Sanguine let out a huge sigh and collapsed against the wall just to the left of the door. "Face it, Rock...We're not going to get through. I have a feeling that we've been locked in and whoever locked us in doesn't want us to get out..."
Rock pulled away from the door, though he continued to scowl at it. He took off his sunglasses. "You're probably right. Pity, I'm hungry. Guess I won't be eating tonight."
Sanguine eased away from the wall, swept her hat off and threw it onto the nighttable as she flopped down on the bed. "All of today's exertion has made me tired. I can't even think of eating without regurgitating what I swallow." She lay back, so that she was sprawled out over the bed on her back.
Rock sauntered over to the other side of the bed and watched her lie there with her arms wide open and eyes closed. Her long strands of brown hair curled across the magenta covers. The malleable mattress moulded to the shape of her body. Staring at the silent, serene and still figure made him jump when it finally moved.
She had opened her eyes, and was now glaring at him though her view of him was inverted. She sat up and pulled her legs up on the bed after kicking off her boots before turning to him. "If we spend the night here, you'll need a place to sleep."
Rock looked away to hide his crimson cheeks. "I suppose..."
"You can share the bed, just make sure you keep to yourself," she said, indicating to the side of the bed he was closest to.
He placed his glasses down on the bed side table on his side of the bed and slipped out of his Marduk boots, as Sanguine had. He pulled the covers away and sat down on the very edge. "Don't worry, I will," he said with a hint of contempt in his voice.
She eyed him suspiciously as he undid his belt and suspenders and lay them on the table before lying down, facing away from her. He pulled the covers up over his shoulders and remained very secluded on his designated side of the bed. Once she was satisfied with what he intended to do, she slipped her jacket, belt and suspenders off as he had and lay down close to the edge of her side of the bed.
Sanguine stared out the window. She could feel the colder weather from outside and pulled the blankets tighter around her bare arms and right up to her neck, much the same as Rock was doing on the other side of the bed. The sky was almost pitch black, even though the lights of the newly constructed Metropolis shone brightly through the windows of the Ziggurat. There were no stars as there had been the night before at the ball. The lights from outside the Ziggurat danced in her eyes until she closed them drowsily and fell asleep, her stomach feeling empty and heart beating too fast for comfort.
****
"Mother... Father..."
"It's okay, I'm here, little one. Talk to me..."
"Father doesn't love me..."
"I'm not your Father! You repay my kindness with nothing but impudence."
"I try... I've tried so hard... Mother, help me..."
"You men leave me alone. You've taken my husband, what more could you want?"
"Just leave me alone! I don't want to die!"
"He's a fine son, Melody... I couldn't ask for more. He'll be a strong leader some day just like his father!"
"That's right, father... I'll make you proud..."
"An orphan will remain an orphan until the day what made him so takes that away..."
"Don't delude yourself, Father. Only you should sit upon the throne of power!"
"You trust Duke Red too much to admit that he may have done something wrong. This is one of those times when you have to let go of what your heart feels and listen to your mind."
"My father wouldn't give such an order to have a president and his advisor murdered."
"People who have known real pain are less likely to inflict it upon others."
"I mustn't know real pain, then..."
"He's the best leader the Marduks have ever known."
"I'm a Marduk, you idiot!"
"I won't tell Duke Red if I get Tima online, okay?"
"You shouldn't allow the world to be ruled by a mere robot!"
"I'm not a robot, I'm not!"
"If you're a human, who's your father, then?"
"You fool!"
"Ah!"
Wolf chased after Melody. The two were still young, probably in their late teens. Slowly, but surely, he caught up to her as they both ran through the grassy field. He tackled her to the ground, and both went tumbling through the field of flowers.
Laughter. Laughter that rang through the quiet meadow. The two gazed longingly at each other, Melody upwards and Wolf down at the girl he had pinned to the ground underneath his straddled legs. Green eyes meeting blue, their laughter slowly died away as Wolf leant downwards to meet the jubilant mouth of Melody.
The boy disappeared into the tall grass, it seemed from afar, and before he had had time to sit up within the grass meadow, the tall grass had melted into the ground from all around the two, exposing them fully in this new red dimension.
Rock suddenly had the sensation of floating in mid air, though he straddled a figure and his lips felt oddly wet. He could feel hair running through his left hand-hair that wasn't his own. He pulled away from the object his mouth was pressed against and opened his eyes that had been idly closed. He saw that the hair in his hand was brown and the eyes opening slowly in front of his were a greyish-green.
"Mother?" he whispered dreamily.
He felt a warm hand against his cheek slide away slowly off his chin, sending chills through his black-clothed body. Then, he heard a voice breathe against his lips. It was similar, though definitely wasn't that of Melody's.
"I'm not your mother..."
It was then that Rock recognized that the figure underneath him wasn't his mother, but Sanguine. She was dressed in black garments that were almost like his, though unlike him, she wore a dreamy expression.
Rock pulled his head away from hers immediately in shock and fear, which also jolted him... awake...
Rock awoke to feel his arm draped across something corpulent that moulded to the shape of his arm. His hand was loosely curled around something that was smooth and curved. He flexed his fingers, feeling the tips of them brush against the mattress. It felt as though the rest of his arm were elevated as he lay on his stomach.
It was uncomfortable to keep his eyes closed with the bright light directed right at them, so they flickered open. Once his vision came into focus, it took a moment or two for what he was seeing to register in his mind. He drew in a sharp breath pulled his arm back to his body and sat bolt upright. He glanced with surprise and disgust down at the figure he had pulled away from before turning his gaze to the window.
The sky was grey with flecks of pure-white snow drifting down from it. It seemed that it was going to be a dreary day. He looked back down at the sleeping figure beside him. Her head was turned towards the window and she lay flat on her back with one hand curled in a half-fist near her head. The other lay at her side, over the blankets. Her hair was spread out over the pillow underneath her head and her mouth slightly open, her silent breaths barely audible even throughout the quiet of the room.
He got up, out of bed and sauntered over to the door. Placing his hand on the brass handle doubtfully, he was astonished to feel it open so easily. He closed it quietly after quickly poking his head out on seeing that the activity around the Ziggurat hadn't started yet-it was still too early in the morning. He went back to the bed and sat down, pulling the covers over his legs once more, though he couldn't imagine why he was doing so.
Rock's glare fixed on the place where his arm had found itself over the course of the night. Then suddenly the memory of his dream jolted him back to reality. He tore his eyes away and this time they came to land on her throat where some of her hair had been draped across. Rock's eyes narrowed and he smiled furtively. "The perfect murder without the attraction phase..." he breathed.
He leant down and used his left arm to prop himself so that he didn't fully lie down and took a hold of her hair. He slowly wrapped it around her neck. Torpidly, he pulled it tighter and tighter around her neck. "It doesn't matter what happened in my dream because that's all it was...a dream..." he muttered to himself.
He paused a moment when he heard her breathing become more ragged. He saw her screw her eyes fully shut before they flew open. He made a small gasp but his expression quickly melted into a collected and nonchalant loving gaze. "Morning, Sanguine," he chided softly with a fake smile.
She glowered at him in confusion for a moment before sitting up, pushing out of the way in doing so. She glanced at the window and then turned to face him. "'Morning... Thoughtcha said ye were goin' to keep to yerself," she questioned groggily.
Rock rolled over onto his back and placed his hands behind his head as he continued to simper at her teasingly. "Oh, well...Too late now, isn't it?"
Sanguine didn't answer, but kept her scowl.
"The door's open. We're free."
She didn't reply. She rubbed her eyes and rolled out of bed. "Tha's nice, Rocky..."
Rock glowered at her before hopping out of bed, grabbing his belt and suspenders and hurrying after her towards the door. "There's no point. You might as well get dressed, since everyone else is still asleep."
Ignoring him, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it. She poked her head out as Rock had done and then turned back to him, still half asleep. "I'm already dressed... Thanks to someone who 'ad to spend the night with me 'cause he can't open a stupid door."
He fastened the belt clasp and began with his suspenders, ignoring the derogatory comment. "Well, then, all you'll have to do is wait. Long day ahead-see you." And with that, he marched out the open door and down the hallway. As he headed for his room, he could still feel a glare at his back, and flinched as he heard a door slam behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another long chapter...Sorry about that. So what do you think? Tell me, because I want to know everything you have to say! I've been thinking of adding something, but I'd like your consultation, first... LEMONS! Normally, I'd be against that sort of thing, but in this fic I'm going to be spontaneous and abnormal! So, review and tell me what you think of the lemon idea! Gotta love that citrus fruit...(I can just see the Rock fan mob coming after me, now, but who said it was going to be with Rock, hm? (Oh yeah, if I do lemons, I'll have to change the censor-but who pays any attention to those, anyway?))