'Kay, here is Chapter 30 of Red Rose and it's a bit boring, so sorry. But don't worry, the next chapter will be kickass! (or so I hope...)
Red Rose
Chapter 30
Masaki parked the van in front of the facility, glancing into the back of the vehicle through the rear-view mirror. The four teenage boys were still out cold.
"What are we going to do with them?" Kanae asked her partner as she cast a nervous glance at Kouichi.
"Bring them inside and tell the director what we plan to do," he replied, getting out of the driver's seat.
The pink-haired Diclonius sighed, but followed suit as she too, emerged from the vehicle. Masaki walked around to the back of the van and unlocked the trunk. He used his vectors to drag each teenager out of the van, then slammed the trunk closed again. Kanae lagged behind, unable to say anything.
The moment the two Dicloniuses stepped through the threshold, Director Kakuzawa was storming over to them with fire in his eyes.
"What on earth are you doing?" He demanded. "I wanted you to bring Zoe here; not a bunch of obnoxious kids!"
"Don't worry," Masaki said calmly. "Zoe will be here soon enough."
Kakuzawa's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"These are Zoe's friends," the young man told him. "The older boy with the brown hair is her boyfriend, and the kid with the short black hair is the one Kanae has been seeing."
"Hm, I see...." Kakuzawa mused. "So you're luring Zoe here, is that it?"
Masaki nodded, letting the four boys drop to the floor with a heavy thud. "Her boyfriend refused to let her go and would've followed us anyway. So I took a different approach."
However, the director looked angry nonetheless. "I don't know who you think you are. But I'm the one who's running the show, not you! So I would appreciate if you keep that in mind. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes," Masaki replied apathetically, unimpressed by the man's outburst.
"But in the meantime, you can lock the four of them up," Kakuzawa growled. "I wasn't expecting Zoe to come here today, but I can easily plan everything I need for her arrival. Just when she shows up, let her see her friends and threaten her. She needs to know that she is not in control of the situation."
"And then what?" Kanae asked, finally speaking up.
Kakuzawa thought for a moment, then grinned a vicious smirk. "Take her down....and then kill her friends right in front of her. That'll teach her to disobey me and try to escape. Zoe will be caged up for the rest of her life, only being allowed out when I say so, and even then she'll be unable to use her vectors. I'll make sure that they will be disabled and she'll serve me for the rest of her miserable life."
Normally, his plan would not have affected Kanae. However, her attachment to Kouichi made her feel overcome with guilt and nausea and she couldn't help but sink to the ground.
Masaki and Kakuzawa ignored the girl, uncaring of her behavior. Though, the director did glance over to her carelessly.
"Don't tell me that you're uncomfortable with my plan," he said rudely.
Kanae looked up at him and glared. "No, I've just been walking around all day and I'm tired as fuck. So leave me the hell alone, Cock-Uzawa."
The director's lips thinned in anger and he stormed over to the girl, grabbing her by the front of her shirt.
"Hey, what the hell?!" Kanae tried to rip free of his grip using her own strength, knowing all too well of her fate if she dared to use her vectors against him.
"Now, you listen to me," Kakuzawa spat. "I'm in charge here and I decide your fate. You are useless to me, you know. Completely useless. Out of you and Number Forty-Five, you are the stupid and worthless one. You don't take your mission seriously and you continue to insult me. If I hear one more snide remark from you, you'll be blown to smithereans. Do I make myself clear? Do I?!"
The female Diclonius stared daggers at him, tears forming around her amber eyes. "Yes! Now let me go!"
Kakuzawa shoved her way, sending the girl falling back onto the floor. He then averted his attention to Masaki, who was watching the spectacle with no emotion.
"Since I need you and Kanae to take Zoe down, you will be allowed to remain outside your chamber in the meantime. Chain her friends to the wall, and I'll contact Itami and Silverman to make sure they have my demands," the director said sharply. "If Zoe's friends wake up, leave them be until she gets here. Then I will give you permission to do as you please with them while I make sure Zoe can't escape a second time."
Masaki nodded curtly, understanding the orders. Kanae didn't reply, but sniffled as she slowly rose to her feet. She cast another guilty glance at Kouichi as the male Diclonius dragged the short-haired twin and the others to the wall.
"I'll need some chains," Masaki informed Kakuzawa monotonely. "The minute Zoe steps through the door, she'll see her friends and we can start the plan."
"I'll have Miki bring you some," Kakuzawa replied. "Just make sure they don't get away."
The corner's of the young man's mouth curled into a smirk and his eyes darkened a shade. "You won't need to worry about that. If I have to, I'll slice their legs off to keep them from running."
"Just make sure they're still alive when Zoe gets here," the director said impatiently. "Now I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't pull any stunts or I'll set off those detonators inside you."
With that, he stormed away from the duo, leaving them alone with Zoe's friends. Kanae looked at Kouichi one last time before sighing. I'm sorry, Kouichi, she thought to herself. I'm so sorry....
Masaki's attention was directed at Takuya, who was slowly regaining consciousness. He'll be the first to die in front of Zoe, he thought. And once he's gone, she's mine for the taking....
Meanwhile
Zoe groaned, slowly opening her emerald eyes. Her body was sore from the fridge collapsing on her, and her head was pounding as if a drum was beating inside her skull.
"Shit..." She muttered, slowly rising to her hands and knees.
The blood on her forehead had ceased dripping and was now dried and caking. Zoe shook her head vigorously, attempting to regain her clear vision, but winced as her head continued to pound. Several seconds later, most of her vision was cleared, giving her a view of the living room. She could see Nana lying facedown on the floor, unmoving.
"Dammit," she cursed, painfully crawling to the younger girl. "Nana....."
Zoe finally made her way to Nana, turning her onto her back. The purple-haired Diclonius did not stir.
"Nana, wake up," Zoe panted, shaking the girl. "Come on. You need to wake up...."
After what seemed like an etenity, though it was only about a minute, Nana's eyes began to flutter open. She moaned in pain, covering her face with one hand.
"Wha-what h-happened?" Nana asked, her voice shaky. "Where are....the guys?"
"They're gone," Zoe replied, choking back her tears. "But we're going to get them back."
The blond helped Nana to a sitting position, who looked around the room in a disoriented fashion.
"They're at the facility," Nana said with dread. "Aren't they?"
Zoe nodded mutely, wiping away the tears that had formed around her green orbs. She painfully stood up, helping Nana up once she steadied herself.
"What are we going to do?" The younger Diclonius asked.
"I'm going to the facility," Zoe stated. "You should stay here, though. I don't want you dragged into anything."
Nana shook her head defiantly. "No. I'm coming with you and that's final. Takuya and the others helped me out just as much as they helped you. I owe it to them to help get them out of there. And nothing you say will stop me."
A wry smile formed on Zoe's lips. "I was expecting you to say something like that. If that's the case, you better be ready for a fight. This isn't going to be an easy task."
"I know." Nana pulled the ribbons off her horns, revealing them. "We may not make it out alive..."
"Yes...but it's a risk I'm willing to take," Zoe replied.
Nana nodded in agreement. "Me too."
The blond Diclonius made her way over to the counter and grabbed the keys to Takuya's Mazda. She then faced the younger girl, taking a deep breath.
"Well, if we're going to the facility, we might as well drive there instead of walking," she said.
Nana raised an eyebrow. "But you've never driven a car before."
"That may be true, but I know how to," Zoe told her. "Remember, we have a higher intellect than ordinary humans."
"Yeah, I guess it does pay off to be a Diclonius sometimes," Nana said with a humorless chuckle.
Zoe hesitated for a moment longer, then made her way to the front door. "Well, let's go."
At the facility
Takuya slowly opened his chocolate-colored eyes, his body slightly aching.
"Where...where am I?" He mused to himself, looking around.
The brunette was in a large building, chained to the metal wall with his three friends close by. Tommy was passed out next to him, while Kouji was on his other side. Kouichi was chained beside his twin brother. Kouji's sapphire eyes opened seconds later, followed by a low curse.
"Fuck...what the hell is going on?" He complained. "My head is friggen killing me....."
"Nice to see that you're awake," a voice said ominously.
Recognizing the voice, Takuya snarled. "What the hell did you do with Zoe?"
Masaki stepped out of the shadows, followed by Kanae. The usually agressive girl was now silent and timid-looking, her amber eyes filled with an array of different emotions.
"I haven't done anything with your girlfriend," Masaki told him. "Well...not yet at least."
"You better not lay a finger on her!" Takuya growled. "If you do, you'll regret it!"
Masaki carelessly raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I'm sure I will..."
"She's not even here," Kanae said in a small voice.
"But she will be soon enough," her partner added. "She knows where to find you."
Tommy and Kouichi were both beginning to regain consciousness as well. The younger brunette looked around frantically, alarmed that Nana was nowhere in sight.
"Where's Nana?" He asked, afraid of what they may have done with the girl.
"Relax," Masaki told him. "The other Diclonius isn't here. I left her behind with Zoe. But I'm sure that she'll be tagging along with her. The girl, or Nana, I should say, wasn't part of our mission. However, I think Director Kakuzawa will be pleased to have her back in captivity. And if he finds her to be useless, he can simply kill her and be done with it."
Tommy paled, unable to reply. Kouichi lifted his head, his gaze meeting with Kanae's.
"How could you?" He coldly asked the girl.
Kanae's face turned a shade of red and she promptly tore her gaze away. "I needed information and the whereabouts of Zoe, and you were the right idiot for the job. I thank you for your cooperation."
"I didn't cooperate, you dumb bitch!" Kouichi hissed. "You lied to me and pretended that you actually gave a damn about me."
Kanae shrugged apathetically, her eyes cold. "Yeah, I did pretend that I cared about you. I got the information I needed, and you gave it all away almost too easily. As you can see, it worked out perfectly for me."
"Fucking bitch," he muttered, finally averting his eyes from hers.
Kouji glared at the girl, angry what she did to his twin. "You'll pay for this, you hear me? No one makes my brother miserable other than me!"
"Not helping the situation, dude." Takuya rolled his eyes. "But either way, we'll find a way out of this. I promise."
Masaki chuckled, then leaned back against the wall. "We shall see about that...."
Alright, I wanted to end the chapter so I did :3 Please review and let me know what you think. Then feel free to go to the next chapter (though you might anyway even if you don't leave a review...oh well, I'll live ^_^)