Fan Fiction ❯ tic tac Repo ❯ Enter the Doublemint Twins ( Chapter 1 )

The trading city of San Delea was as large as would be expected for a capital of an empire. Surrounded by huge stone walls guarded at each corner, and closely watched by sentries, it seemed to be more like a military fortress. Within the walls were compact formations of buildings and booths, selling their various wares. If not for the crowds of buyers and salesmen frantically going about their business as well as the local townsfolk doing their daily routine, it may as well be a stronghold built to withstand a mighty force that might try to invade from outside. Trouble from the outside was the least of the city protector's worries; however, it was the difficulties from the inside that was the cause of such a large amount of security. It was well known within the city that many thieves' guilds existed within the city walls, though no one knew where exactly they were based. Crime had long been a problem in the city and try as they might, the local police could not put a stop to it as the thieves were simply too shrouded in either darkness or the bustling crowds. This had naturally become a major concern for the citizens and therefore the extra security was added to calm their worries and hopefully slow down the crime rate. So far, all seemed well for none of the guilds had made a move yet. It was only a matter of time, though.

It was one of these thieves' guilds that was the object of Siren Doublemint's search. As he ran a hand through his light aquamarine hair and scratched behind his elfin ears, he realized that finding the place was going to be no easy task in this crowded city. Casting a violet-eyed gaze around his surroundings at the city gates, he had already begun making plans for where and how to start searching.

"Hey hey, mister! Do you know where to find the 'tic tac to-Repo'??"

Thoughtful reasoning turned to considerable shock as he spotted his twin sister, a slender young thing with sky blue hair and bright purple eyes, questioning a townsperson who seemed unnerved by her presence and vitality. Before the local could scream out a response, Siren quickly clamped a hand over his sibling's mouth and dragged her to a nearby corner. He held her slender body tightly as she struggled frantically and dug her elbow into his ribs, causing him to suddenly release her with a yelp of pain.

Cecilia Doublemint was about to scream rape when she saw who it was that had grabbed her and breathed a sigh of relief. "Geez, Brother! Try to be a little more subtle! You can't just grab someone in a crowded place like this! Who knows what people would think!"

Siren eyed his twin sister irritably as he rubbed the spot where she elbowed him. "And you can't just go around asking questions about thieves guilds in a place like this! In case you haven't noticed, this city is very tightly guarded."

Cecilia looked around to find the guards, dressed in shining armor and blue tunics, standing watch all over the place. With a nervous giggle, she turned back to her brother who eyed her in admonishment. "Oops! Sorry, didn't think! I guess I was so excited that we'd finally gotten here that I just wanted to run all over the place before we go to find the guild! I didn't mean to jump the gun!"

"Whatever. Just be more careful…oh crap." Siren's eyes narrowed as he noticed one of the guards coming towards them. Clearly, their brief tussle had attracted his attention.

Cecilia looked at Siren frantically, looking for quick answers. "He's coming this way!" she whispered in a panic. "You don't think it's because of what I asked that guy!?"

"Just calm down and act natural!" Siren whispered back, knowing it was in vain. Asking this girl to calm down and act natural was a complete contradiction. Cecilia, somehow, managed to stand still as the guard stopped in front of her and bowed.

"Good day, visitors. I heard you were lost so I would like to help if I can." he said formally.

Cecilia was confused for a moment as she didn't know who the guard was talking about. She was too busy looking the man over; he had a medium build that filled out his navy blue uniform nicely and a few strands of brown hair sprouted from beneath his helmet. Nice. Very nice… She thought to herself.

The guard looked up to her for an answer and she then realized he was asking about Siren and the way he dragged her away earlier. With a quick shake of the head, she replied "Umm…no! Not at all! He's my brother and…I guess he was worried for me. There's no problem at all, officer!"

The guard nodded in satisfaction. "Oh, I see. It's just that there have been a great number of disturbances around here recently, particularly with thefts and kidnappings. We can't overlook anything, you know?"

"Oh! I get it now! I thought it was a bit crowded!" Cecilia said as she played with her hair and batted her eyelashes playfully at the guard. "My brother and I only just got here so we're a bit lost as to where to go. Maybe a big, strong guy like you can help a cute little elf girl out?"

A blush immediately became noticeable beneath the guard's bulky iron helmet and his vocabulary died on the spot. "Ah…umm…well…I'm...not r-really s-s-supposed to do this b-but…umm…"

Cecilia sauntered closer to the guard and bent over slightly, to the point of where the curves of her breasts were slightly visible beneath her dress. "But…?"

The guard broke into a hot sweat. "What the hell! I'm on break now anyways so I can show you two to the Town Center. You should be able to start exploring the town easily from there…if that's okay…"

"That'll be perfect! You hear that, Brother? We have a guide!"

Siren merely shook his head in dismay at his sister's sad display of sex appeal. At least we're getting in without any trouble. He thought to himself. As they followed the flustered guard into the heart of the city, Siren looked around at the buildings seeing if they would be suitable for a search. He wanted to listen into the buildings for any clues, as an elf's hearing is a great deal more sensitive than a human's, but too much noise from the crowd got in the way and he wasn't able to pick up anything. He simply resolved to look at both the buildings and his sister who was happily chatting with the guard, hoping she wouldn't let herself go in over her head with the guy. Siren would have hated to complicate things by roughing the guy up.

"Wow...there's so many people!" Cecilia commented in awe, staring around her with large violet eyes.

They reached the town center shortly thereafter, a rounded grassy park decorated with a few thick green trees and a small duck pond. Cecilia sat herself down on a bench while Siren stood beside her. The guard stood directly in front of them trying not to stare down her cleavage, which had been revealed even further by the shifting of her dress. He floundered around his words as he tried to speak.

"W-Well…you sh-should be able to…umm…find your way f-f-from here. I have to…umm…get back to m-my post now. I…umm…I hope I was of help to you…aah…Miss?"

Cecilia gave a cute grin. "It's Cecilia Doubomint, but you can call me CC! And yes you were a great help! Thank you so much! By the way, what's your name?"

The guard stammered incoherently and for a moment it seemed as though he had forgotten his own name. He shortly regained his composure and answered "It's Bart. Just plain old Bart I'm afraid. Well, I must go. Duty calls! Maybe I'll see you again, CC?"

Cecilia nodded and waved. "I'll be around for a while so it's very possible! Bye bye, Bart!" She watched as Bart waved in return and he hurried back to his post. She then giggled and turned to Siren, who was turned away from her and looking at the map. "Well he was cute and a lot of help! This'll save us a lot of pointless wandering, right?"

Siren shook his head again in dismay. "You are such a shameless flirt."

"I AM NOT!!" Cecilia protested heatedly and loudly, drawing the attention of several bypassers. She didn't really care to notice, though. "I can't help it if most guys find me cute, I was just appealing to his tender side!"

Something on him was tender. That's for sure. Siren thought to himself as he turned to his twin. "He was probably eyeballing your cleavage the whole way here, but that's beside the point. Our little jaunt to this part of town just put us in the middle of unorganized chaos and we still have no idea where to start looking for the Repo Guild. We're no better off than we were when we were at the town entrance."

Cecilia looked blankly at her brother as the words hit her, then she jumped up and spun around on her toes. "Well why don't we just pick a direction and go from here? We can't stand here all day, it's soooooooo boring!"

"You're missing the point entirely…" Siren retorted with a sigh when a strange sound like a whisper came to his ears. He looked to Cecilia and he could tell she heard it as well. They knew exactly what it meant and no sooner had they sat down on the bench when the wizened face of an old elf appeared between them. His silver hair was long and ragged, his gray eyes dim yet they still commanded the attention of the two young elves sitting before him.

Professor Mentos! The twins exclaimed in mind-speak.

Siren…Cecilia…It looks like you've made it to San Delea. Mentos wheezed in greeting. So how are things going down there?

It's crowded. Siren replied dryly. You know how I hate crowds.

It's so much bigger than back home! It's so exciting! Cecilia added excitedly. So many people! So many places to go! We don't know where to begin!

Yeah, right. You flirted with the first guy that came to us.

Shut up, Siren!!

Mentos cleared his throat to once again get their attention. Yes, I saw all that. Nice work on the sex appeal by the way, Cecilia. You've even managed to make this old elf feel young again.

Cecilia's violet eyes widened in disbelief. WHAT!? You watched that? You old pervert!!

Mentos merely chuckled in response as Cecilia turned a bright shade of red. Siren looked directly at his old teacher. So if you've been watching us this whole time, then I guess you know our current problem.

Exactly right, Siren. Your parents and I figured you'd get yourself lost wandering blindly in that big city, so I've come up with a few directions from your father, who was a part of the Repo Guild…

Our parents!! Cecilia cut in. How are they? Do they miss us? Daddy didn't try to cook anything did he?

Mentos let out a long sigh at the interruption. So full of energy and questions as always, Cecila? Your parents are well and they miss you very much. As for your father's cooking? Let's just say the kitchen will be smoked up for a while.

I knew it… Cecilia groaned irritably. Show him a few recipes and he screws those up. I warned Mom about that…

Yes, it was a disaster! Your mother obviously isn't on speaking terms with him for a while. Typical for them, eh Siren?

Siren had more pressing questions on his mind. Professor…directions?

Oh? That's right! Mentos coughed a couple times as prepared his information. Now this is from your father's fragmented memory so this probably won't be very accurate. He recalls an antique shop in the northwestern edge of the city, but that entire section is antiquities so you'll have to search each one.

Siren nodded in understanding. Well at least it narrows down the search area.

Antiques, huh? Cecilia mused aloud in thought.

The head of Professor Mentos nodded. That's all I can give you for now besides this: The big city is so much different from the countryside. Be careful when dealing with people, especially humans. If you run into trouble, remember your magic skills and you should get by fine. Siren, you've gotten quite adapted to the runic dagger your father gave you but don't forget you're still a mana user, use both to your advantage. Cecilia, you're quite the accomplished spellcaster and you have mastered many things except one…watch your temper. We don't need another incident like what happened to the chapel.

Professor!! It wasn't my fault!

That's enough. Now I wish you two the best of luck. Though turning to a life of theft is less than acceptable to me, you two seem fated to travel on this road as your parents were.

Siren bowed low in understanding. I understand. Thanks for everything and I promise we won't let any of you down.

Call me whenever you need me. Until then. Those final words hung in the twins' ears as the head of Professor Mentos faded away.

The twins sat in thoughtful silence for a long moment. In all honesty they still didn't know why they had come to San Delea and the mysterious Repo Guild, only that a mysterious message asked for Siren to be there. He hoped to find the answers, but first he had to find the guild, which so far has proven to be quite a task. He hoped this new information would really help. A tug on his arm brought him back to reality and Cecilia yanked him to his feet, her winning smile renewing his resolve. A small smile creased his lips, inwardly he was glad she had come with him for he didn't know how he could've managed on his own. Her smile and energy were always strengthening to him and in turn he'd do anything to protect that smile.

"Brother?" Cecilia looked at him, her small body seeming ready to take off into the sky.

Siren pointed towards the antiques sector of town. "That way."