Fan Fiction ❯ Black Orchid ❯ Kidnaps and Escapes ( Chapter 31 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Seduction: Yeah, Katie (aka Nekodoshi) seduced the Ansem plushie that Demon Surfer gave me from me. And much sex ensued. Just kidding. Anyways, I can't wave the plushy around anymore 'cause Katie has it, and if she actually updates, you might see it in her author's notes. Maybe. Anyways, I don't have any reasons to hand out Plushies... oh wait, yeah I do! Over the Adonis chapters, there'll be Vins's special clockworks, all 12 of them. Guess the significance of their names! Just to make it easier, I'll tell you that they all show up in order except for Elf and Zwolf. Hmm... if you go by Orchid's perspective, ALL of them show up in order. Ah, well. Let the reading, reviewing, and guessing begin! Winner gets a... hmm... a little tortured Riku plushie!
Riku: You can't do that!
Hiro: You're right. They get... a little tortured Riku plushie with cross, chains, and special lighting effects!
Riku: That's no better!
Hiro: hahaha... so fun to mess with. In reality, winner gets... a Jenine plushy! My favorite mechanic, heheh. Goes well with the Arc plushy. Time to drive Arcy mad... or I could hand out a Rikku plushy to do that... hmmm... Winner gets a choice of Rikku or Jenine plushy! This contest ends when we leave Adonis! You must connect the names and give reasons! Multiple languages will be needed to do this! Muhahaha!

tick

Everybody stood around, staring into the darkness beyond the gaping hole in the wall of Melina's bedroom. None of them had seen her taken, and had only arrived to see that she was gone. People shuffled around in their nightclothes discussing the incident among each other.
"That red haired girl was taken?" Orchid asked Jenine, shifting around her shorts, which she had hastily put on with her white tank top.
"Yeah, this was Melina's room," answered Jenine, who was fully dressed, having fallen asleep at her desk.
Several of the other residents were discussing with Ricksen what to do when Arc came in.
"I'm going after her," he declared simply, brushing past everybody in just his pants, shirt and trench coat forgotten in his room.
"No way, Arcanis," said Ricksen, grabbing Arc by the left shoulder. "It's to dangerous. Those were some of Vins's personal clockworks."
"Let go of me!" shouted Arc, turning to punch at Ricksen with his right. But he merely stared wide eyed as his fist didn't connect, and he remembered that he didn't have an arm anymore. All that was there was some metal interfacing and some wires.
"See? You can't possibly fight them like this," reasoned Ricksen, taking his hand off Arc and trying to calm him. "Even I can hardly stand against them, and I'm in good shape compared to you."
"Shut up, old man!" rage Arc. "I'm gonna save her, and you're not gonna stop me!"
With that, he turned and jumped over the bed and ran off into the gloom of the hole that had been made.
"Aw, man..." sighed Jenine. "He's such a hot head. Hope he doesn't get killed."
"Don't worry," comforted Orchid. "I'll make sure he doesn't."
"Don't forget about me, kupo!" squeaked Montblanc, running up, rod in hand. Orchid nodded to the moogle and they both climbed over the bed and followed Arc into the darkness.
Jenine sighed again, then gave a half hearted smile. "You got good friends, Arcanis. I just hope they're good enough."

tick

"Let me go!" yelled Melina, struggling to escape the woman's grip.
"Sorry, little girl. Master's orders!" chuckled the young man.
"Just be quiet and stop fighting," snarled the woman, her light hair swishing about her face as she moved her face away to avoid a head butt.
"Let her go!"
The two turned, pulling the girl with them. Arc stood there, his eyes narrow. It was his eyes that gleamed, not the glasses, which he had also left in his room. And they gleamed with rage.
"Aw, look, it's the little prince come to save his street rat princess, how sweet," teased the male.
"What are you going to do, one arm?" asked the female dangerously.
"Hand her over," said Arc, walking closer.
"Walk no further," threatened the woman, the claws of her mechanical left hand digging into Melina's arm.
"Ni-kun!" cried Melina, wincing at the pain.
"Let her go!" shouted Arc.
"Fine."
The woman threw her roughly to one side, and she hit the wall and slid down to the dank and dirty floor to lie still. Then she stepped forwards with her companion, and they reveled themselves to Arc in a patch of light filtering down through a grate from the streets above.
The woman had smooth dark skin and blonde hair that fell evenly, framing her face. Her dark eyes were near black, and completely devoid of emotion other than anger. She wore green robes that were highly decorated with golden lining and carried a long wood staff that held a green crystal orb on the top. The most noticable thing was that her left leg, which was bare, was entirely mechanical, made of complex clockwork. Her left arm was the same, and so was much of the left side of her neck.When she stirred, gears clicked in the silence of the night.
The young man had a slender body and a sort of shifty look about him. His light brown hair stuck out to either side of his face, and he grinned widely, his hazel eyes darting this way and that. He wore an off white sleeveless shirt, also emroidered golden on the edges, and loose baggy pants of a slightly darker color. From his bare arms, Arc could see various mechanisms sticking out in places, and the joints were completely mechanical. His forearms, however, had been replace not with machinery, but with dangerously sharp sword blades.
"I am Monoa," said the woman indifferently.
"And I am Duo," sneered the young man, dancing forwards slightly, then back again.
"Are you... Shadowless?" asked Arc.
Duo laughed. "And where did you get that conclusion from?"
Arc merely pointed at their feet. Sure enough, although they stood in the light, they cast no shadows. At least, they did not cast their normal shadows. Arc could see there on the ground the silhoutte of all the machinery in Monoa's left side, and all of the work that went into Duo's arms. They might not cast shadow's but their clockwork did.
"Very observent," murmured Monoa. "We are only partially shadowless. Not nearly perfect enough, but brought as close as we can be with Vins's help. His masterful work is displayed by what shadows we have."
"I see. So this is his fault," responded Arc.
"It is. And how shall you fight us, Arcanis?" asked Monoa.
Arc merely grunted at them, then walked over to the wall of the tunnel. He bent down and picked up a heavy metal pipe, hefting it in his hand to get a feel feel for it. He swung it through the air a couple times much like he would a sword, then walked back to the center of the tunnel, apparently satisfied. "This'll do."
"Have it your way," laughed Duo, before lunging forwards. He swung one arm, and Arc blocked with his pipe. He turned and swung the other arm, and Arc ducked, then blocked the next blow. Soon, the rapid succesion of blows form the sword arms became faster and faster, but Arc easily kept up with his metal pipe, deftly blocking and parrying with it. "You're fun!"
"Enough of this," growled Monoa, stepping forwards. She walked forwards and swung her staff at Arc, only to have it be knocked away by one of Duo's blades, which had been parried by Arc. She snarled in frustration and struck again, only to have it blocked and thrown back by Arc. The two clockwork Shadowless began raining blows in succesion on him, but much to their frustration, he seemed more than capable to ward off each blow at an impossibly fast rate.
"Look!" exclaimed Duo, staring at Arc's arm. A faint outline of blue could be seen behind his arm as it swung about.
"Damn," cursed Monoa. "He's slicing time!"
With that, they two of them began swinging faster and faster, their arms becoming a blur. Arc was tiring fast, and it wasn't long before they landed a blow to his side and went skidding across the ground to hit the tunnel wall, trying his fastest to get up again. When he looked up though, Duo was already lunging for the kill.
"Look out!" shouted Orchid.
"Thundara!" cried Montblanc, waving his rod as they ran up.
Duo cried out in pain as bolts of lighting rained down and struck him, stopping his charge and giving Arc time to get up again. He swung the metal pipe, and it connected with the Shadowless's head with a sickening crunch. The young man fell to the floor, bouncing up slightly, then falling down to lay still. Suddenly, his body faded in an upstream up white light, until it was gone. Nothing was left except for two sword blades hooked up to complex bits of machinery.
"And you!" yelled Orchid. She brought Nearbloom crashing down on Monoa, but the Shadowless managed to block in time with her staff. She managed to ward off the keyblade, but she soon took a fireball to the stomach from Montblanc and went flying back to hit the opposite wall. She started to get up, but it was too late. Orchid plunged the keyblade square into the middle of her chest. She looked stunned, then faded up in streaming particles of white light, only to be drawn back down again and into the keyblade, which pulsed vibrantly.
"Thanks for the rescue," grinned Arc, tossing aside the pipe.
"That's what we're here for," smiled Orchid as she walked over.
"Kupo... where's Melina?" asked Montblanc.
Arc looked quickly to the spot where the girl had fallen. She was gone. He turned his head quickly when he heard a muffled cry and clicking of gears. A figure stepped into the light.
"Hello, Arcanis. My master sends you his regards," he said smoothly. He had long, messy black hair and deep black eyes. His skin was pale, even on his chest, which was exposed as he only wore a loose vest on top and some slightly decorated pants. He held Melina close, one hand over the girl's mouth. "My name is Tresian."
"Another Shadowless?" asked Arc, seething with rage.
"That's a Shadowless?" asked Orchid.
"Kupopo... he doesn't have a shadow," observed Montblanc.
"Give her back!" yelled Arc. He charged forwards before his friends could stop him and threw a punch with his left. Tresian easily caught the fist with his free hand. "Hah. You'll have to let go if you want to attack me."
"Oh, really?" asked Tresian, his lips curling in a slight smile.
"Arc! Look at his shadow!" shouted Orchid. Arc glanced down just too late to see what clockwork was betrayed by the light. An extra set of arms, both weilding nunchaku swung out from behind the Shadowless's back, one striking him at his neck, the other hitting the side of his head. Reeling from the blows, Arc staggered backwards and fell to the ground.
"See you later, Arcanis," smiled Tresian before disappearing into the shadows. But Arc only heard one thing before he passed out.
"Ni-kun!"