Summary of RetroCity:
Retrocity is a dystopian city of harsh, divided levels. The Citadel controls from above with B.A.D., enforcing strict order. Below, BlueFrigid and PinkBlaze gangs fight for freedom. Survival is grim, hope is fleeting, and escape is nearly impossible.
Chapter 1
Clash in RetroCity
The streets had been bustling lately, with members of both PinkBlaze and BlueFrigid going all out against each other as they fought for control of a few streets. BlueFrigid had been steadily expanding their territory, but now it seemed they had overreached. A large group of PinkBlaze members had shown up to defend their area. Diners and stores had shut their doors, and regular civilians had locked themselves in their homes, while gang members threw weapons and fists in a chaotic clash.
There was no telling yet who would win control of these streets, but Razz was confident in his gang and decided to make an even larger bet. With the majority of members occupied here, other BlueFrigid territories were likely left (mostly) unguarded. A wide grin spread across Razz's face as he saw the chance to take double the amount of territory to get back at those BlueFrigid members who had tried to push PinkBlaze back.
Razz was on his way with a few others, using a stolen motorcycle to ride several blocks to what he knew to be one of BlueFrigid's tech storages.
Kelvan, the second in command, was fighting alongside his leader, trying to break as many of BlueFrigid's bones as he could. They needed to reclaim their stolen territory to maintain their underground status. He had just dealt with a few members when he noticed Razz heading to another location with a small group. He couldn't figure out what Razz was planning—he knew they wouldn't run away—but he was still worried. Secretly, he informed his leader that he would follow the other group. He trusted his boss and evaluated the situation, deciding that Razz would need him more.
After that, he left the area from the back, trying to avoid attracting attention. All the civilians were hiding in their homes, allowing him to easily follow Razz and the group's scent.
Razz took the quieter streets to approach their destination. He stopped a street or two away from his target to avoid being immediately spotted. Though, if he really wanted to stay quiet, perhaps a stolen motorcycle wasn't the smartest choice. He expected at least one or two guards might be inside, but he figured they would be easy to deal with. Razz saw this as a golden opportunity, and even he wasn't foolish enough to ruin it—well, maybe he was foolish enough to try it, but what did it matter, really?
They were still some distance ahead of Kelvan, so Razz hadn't noticed the addition to his group yet. Apparently, he hadn't even considered whether this stunt would get him into trouble. Razz gestured to the group to come closer so they could discuss the plan. They were standing in front of a diner that remained open, as it was further away from the main action. The fuzzy dragon seemed rather energetic as he spoke with the group, and even when Kelvan arrived, it took someone else gesturing to Razz for him to notice and stop discussing his plan.
"K? Hey, man! Did ya get sent to check up on us? Kinda ruins the surprise, doesn't it? But, eh..." Razz said with a grin and a shrug. "I guess it won't hurt to have some extra muscle."
Kelvan followed their scent to a diner that was part of BlueFrigid's territory. He recognized the place and understood the target. It was a risky move, and he was glad he'd decided to follow. After locating the group, he stayed back to listen before revealing himself—he was curious about Razz's plan. However, when one of the gang members spotted him, he had to leave the shadows.
"It wouldn't be a pleasant surprise if we lost you guys. Never underestimate the enemy, Razz," Kelvan said as he approached calmly. He was a bit angry at their impulsive decision, but now wasn't the time for lectures.
"What are you planning? I'll help," he said, standing in front of Razz. He still thought it was too risky, but he knew it would be pointless to try and stop the other dragon.
"Lose us?! Oh, come on, K. Ya really think that'd happen?" Razz asked, his expression showing obvious disappointment. It wasn't the reaction he expected from Kelvan. He crossed his arms and mumbled, "I would've gotten a better reaction bringin' back new tech and territory, but okay..." Clearly a bit let down, but not beaten, Razz shook his head and pulled up a grin again when Kelvan stood in front of him.
"Great! See, I knew ya had your head screwed on right." He nudged Kelvan with his elbow and gestured in the direction they were headed. "You know these streets, right?" Razz said, turning back to Kelvan, almost wiggling his eyebrows along with his wide grin. "With the big fight going on in our territory, this BlueFrigid storage has to be nearly empty of guards—ready for the taking. So we're gonna go... AND TAKE IT!"
One of the gang members behind them facepalmed when they realized that this was the plan.
Kelvan remained serious as he listened to Razz. He hoped for a solid plan, but it was an unpleasant surprise to hear that Razz's only strategy was to barge in. Though Kelvan's eyes were hidden behind his special glasses, if they weren't, everyone would have seen them widen in disbelief. After an awkward pause, Kelvan sighed deeply in annoyance.
"Razz, that's not a plan. We have no informants inside, so we know nothing. We need to infiltrate at least two people first to prepare the way. We're a small group; we can't surround the place, but we can split into two, excluding the two who will go in first. One group will stay in front, and the other will secure the back door," he explained calmly. Unlike the ongoing territorial war, what they were about to do required stealth and caution.
"Whaddya mean that's not a plan!?" Razz raised his arms in protest. "This is impulsive; we gotta be quick! Who knows how long they'll be gone? Who says we got time for all this?" Razz waved his hands as if dismissing Kelvan's plan.
While Razz grumbled about how his plan was quicker if they just hit hard and fast, some other members agreed with Kelvan. The five additional members weren't much, but they could make do with sending two inside. "So, who ya wanna send in, K?" one of them asked. Not everyone was eager to go in first, and one who had facepalmed earlier spoke up. "Well, it was Razz's idea, so he should be bait. I'm not doing it."
Titus had previously been out there fighting BlueFrigid members but wasn't keen on actually taking them out. Being a combat expert, it wasn't hard for him to knock them down and put them out of the fight. He had been curious about the other gang's leader but figured he'd study them later—there were more pressing matters. He wondered where Razz and the others had gone, leaving the fight behind.
Seeing the blue sea dragon entrust the battle to him and head off with some barely-dressed guy, Titus decided his help here wasn't needed anymore, especially since he'd taken out the stronger enemies. The rest of the gang members could handle the rest.
He returned to his motorcycle, revving it up to head where he originally wanted—one of BlueFrigid's buildings. Maybe there would be information about the Citadel. Arriving within minutes, he hid his bike in a dark alleyway, ensuring it was well-concealed from any guards. He examined the building—there had to be something important at the top. It made more sense than starting at the bottom, especially if there were any security forces left. He wasn't taking any chances.
With that, Titus took his bike and used it to climb the building. When the bike started losing traction, he burst through a window midway up the skyscraper.
Kelvan sighed again in frustration as he listened to everyone. He knew Razz wouldn't see the problem, and he knew the others were uneasy about the plan. Just as he was about to respond, a loud crash made him turn toward the building—it was Titus. Kelvan could smell the smoke and their leader's scent.
"Argh! Whatever," he growled as he turned back to the group.
"Razz, come with me. The rest stay hidden. We'll need you as backup if something goes wrong—wait for my signal." He then started moving stealthily toward the building. The ruckus Titus caused only made things more uncertain, but they could use it as a distraction to slip in. That reckless boss—Titus would give him a heart attack if he kept risking his life like this.
Kelvan led Razz to the back door and forced it open with his claws, allowing them to enter.
Razz was throwing insults at his fellow gang members who had basically thrown him under the bus. Of course, he wanted to go inside to see what he could steal and take along to make them look good, but if they didn't come along, there wouldn't be anyone else to tell the others how AWESOME he was while stealing from this BlueFrigid hideout.
He was trying to start an argument because everybody seemed to disagree with his 'plan,' but at that point, somewhere high up, a crashing noise occurred. The fluffy dragon looked up, trying to see what had happened, but Titus was already inside. "HOLY SHIT, that is awesome!" he blurted out. Chaos and destruction were right up this guy's alley, and when Kelvan told Razz to come along, the smaller dragon didn't need to be asked twice. There wasn't even the need to ask—Razz shouted out a "WOO" and quickly followed Kelvan. "So what are we gonna do, K? Are we gonna crash through the windows too? Are we gonna crash through the door? THE AIR VENTS? They'll never see that one coming, HA!"
Titus thought it would be good to come across the leader of BlueFrigid and negotiate... he had certainly made enough ruckus for the leader to know he was here—if they were good enough, the rest of their gang would know too.
But that wouldn't be easy, so he would make do with what he was going for at the moment. He still wondered why they had to be two gangs when they could have a truce and compromise. After all, they had some goals in common, right? Ehh... he'd just have to figure that out some other way.
How big were the air vents in this place? Would he fit in them? Was it worth the risk? His bike wouldn't fit, so he would have to leave it here. If he went into the tight vents, he just needed to go further up to the top floors to be sure of what he wanted to find. If it wasn't there, then he would have to search the middle floors.
It was worth a try, right? He decided to go for the vents.
Kelvan left the door aside, trying not to make more noise, and looked at Razz.
"Just shut up and go inside. We're here to help the boss. That's the priority," he said, still a bit annoyed. He entered the building and advanced through the corridor as silently as he could. If there were people inside, it seemed that all of them had gone to the upper floors because of Titus' flashy entrance.
"This floor seems clear. They went up," he whispered as he continued moving. He was considering sending Razz through the vents to make the search faster. Razz was smaller, and it would be easier for him to move through the narrow tunnels. But Kelvan was worried that Razz would get distracted by something. He wouldn't usually mind, but they needed to reach Titus quickly. He would probably need backup if there were people inside—they still didn't know if the building was empty.
"Boss did that?" Razz asked excitedly. He hadn't seen Titus go in, nor did he have the sense of smell to notice the smoke like Kelvan did. "Ooooh, leave it up to Big T to make such an entrance! With him crashing in like that, I bet everybody ran. Nobody dares to fight us now!" The smaller dragon kept yapping at Kelvan, mostly oblivious to the annoyance he was causing his higher-up. "So this WAS a good idea," he said, grabbing a loose pipe that was lying around, holding it like a weapon as he let it rest on his shoulder. Razz had his chin up high, chest puffed out, and a grin across his face. "If it wasn't, I'm sure Boss would have just crashed the bike right into the group." He was getting ahead of Kelvan, trying to reach Titus as quickly as possible. However, it would still take quite a few floors before they met up with Titus and his crew. Perhaps they would be faster if Razz would stop talking and picking up trash he saw as 'possible weapons.'
In the meantime, the building's security system, as unreliable as it was with the crappy electricity, had noticed the intrusion. Nobody was on the particular floors the PinkBlaze members had broken into, but the breach definitely didn't go unnoticed. Whoever was watching was tracking their movement through the functioning cameras scattered throughout the building. Somewhere, someone pushed a button and smirked at the security camera screens. A few doorways and parts of the vents activated electric shields. They flickered on and off occasionally, but even so, someone would have to be quick to get through or take the longer route around.
Titus inspected the vents... definitely not going to be able to fit in there. He cursed for being too big.
Where was underwear candy fuzz when you needed him? He took a look around to find directions to maybe the security area to locate what he was looking for.
Maybe blueprints or a map of the whole city so they could plot something—or anything that might be useful.
He decided to risk it and go up top using the elevator. The only thing was... where the hell was it?
He made his way through the doorways in search of anything on his mind. It was unfortunate timing when the doorways were activated—he stepped forward into one.
Kelvan was trying to focus on what they were doing, but Razz wasn't helping at all. Maybe splitting up was the best idea after all—that way, Razz would stay quiet.
"Yes, whatever. We'll split up. You'll go through the vents, and I'll keep going through the corridors. I need at least one of us to reach the boss as quickly as possible," he said in a low tone. He knew what Titus did was impulsive and irresponsible, but he would talk with him later in private. He would never argue with him in front of the subordinates; that would make him lose authority and respect.
The sea dragon turned around and was about to help Razz reach the vents when everything was activated.
"Tch! Come on, quickly. And be careful. They are observing us," he said with a concerned expression as he lifted the smaller dragon and helped him into the vents.
"Split up? Really?" Razz felt his heart skip a beat, thinking Kelvan trusted him enough to go find Titus on his own. However, of course, he didn't notice that the second in command was just really... really annoyed with him. It gave him even more falsely earned confidence—if only this fuzzy dragon would open his eyes and use his brain. "Alright, alright! Great idea, K. With the two of us going different ways, the little amount of people they have here won't be enough to follow us both~" Razz said as he was being lifted. He was small and had a slender figure, so it was easy for Kelvan to do. Razz wiggled in the sea dragon's hands, his fluffy self so excited to be the hero of the story that he climbed into the vent without even checking first. "No worries, K! I'll be so quick, they won't even see me on their cameraAAAAAHS!..." A loud bonk could be heard after a quick electric zap, as if Razz had hit his head after sticking his finger in a wall socket. "I'm ok," Razz's voice echoed from the vent opening before he continued moving at a slightly more careful pace.
While the two PinkBlaze members were still working their way up, it appeared that Titus had stepped right into one of the traps. Whoever was monitoring the cameras let out a little gasp. "Did we get him? Did we get the big guy?" the figure spoke to the others that were with him. "We can't lose any opportunity—quickly, move to the floor he's on!" Several people started to run out of the room and make their way to Titus' floor without actually knowing if he was really hurt or not.
Titus indeed stepped into a trap and let out a loud roar of pain. It was just a reflex for a carnivore like him.
Enduring the pain, he managed to move to a spot where there was no more electric surge. He was smoking, and his hair was all over the place. He even dropped his hat, but his puffed-out hair resumed covering his eyes.
The hell was that!? Since when did they have electric charges here?
Looking down at himself, some parts of his body were still twitching. He knew this feeling—they did that back in the higher levels.
Reaching to pick up his hat, he realized there were people in the building watching him if they had turned that on. It made him feel strangely energetic, like his heart was charged to keep moving.
That should not be good... if it happened again, he would be a goner. But he'd take this opportunity to use it to his advantage. So he charged forward quickly before he got caught in one of the traps again.
Kelvan widened his eyes in surprise when he heard Razz, then sighed in relief after knowing the small dragon was fine. Things would be more difficult with the electric traps, but he had no choice—he had to trust his companion. The BlueFrigid members had the advantage in this place, but with both of them going separate ways, there were more chances of reaching Titus.
"Okay, just be more cautious from now on. They have the advantage, keep that in mind," he warned the fluff ball in a serious manner before leaving. The sea dragon was almost caught in one of the traps, but he managed to stop in time. At that moment, a loud roar made him feel even more worried and desperate—that definitely was Ty. Did they get him? No, he had to focus on the rescue and stay positive. Damn it! If they really dared to hurt him, he would feast on their guts. He growled in anger and frustration, then continued his way to the stairs. It was better not to trust the elevator now that they had been spotted.
The group of BlueFrigid gang members that had been at the security camera screens made their way out of the room after the one in charge gave the signal. They were still several floors above Titus, but it didn't take long for them to gather closer after splitting into two groups. There were two main people in charge, it seemed, as two bats stood in front of the groups that had gathered on the same floor Titus was on. They weren't in sight of Titus just yet, but one of them signaled his group to spread around the big guy and wait until he gave the signal. "I'm gonna take a look, everybody stand ready," he said through an earpiece before he made his way near Titus and peeked around a corner, only to see the large reptile still moving. The pale-haired bat widened his eyes—this was not the result he had expected. "Crap, he's not down, I repeat, he is NOT down. Now what do we do?" he whispered through the earpiece as he ducked back behind the corner.
In the meantime, Razz was crawling his way up through the vents, having no idea where to go because he kept trying to avoid the same electric traps that had been placed in there on a smaller scale. "I think they blocked every path towards the upper floors from here..." He stuck his head out of the vent to see if he could mess with the mechanism somehow.
Titus had to be more careful and study the pattern of these electric shields—when one would be a trap and when it would turn on. He needed to figure out the timing as well.
Charging through quickly to avoid getting electrified again, he moved as fast as he could, stopping in one area that was clearly a trap. He realized he had no choice but to break right through a wall to avoid it, so he used his shoulder and body to give more force and break through!
With a loud CRASH!
That wall happened to be where the pale-haired bat was hiding behind.
Original Characters:
Razz © By Marlie
Kelvan © By BunnyRose
Titus © By Me (ExoToxicImpulse)
NPC's Roleplayed by Me and Marlie.