(OOC: This is what I could find of my story in my PC. I’ll rwrite from here on, later.)
…The inside of the Pub wasn’t as seedy-looking as the outside. The illumination was poor, but still
good enough to see by.
The main spotlight was on the band playing in the center stage. They were an odd-looking bunch, and their instruments, even more bizarre. But their music was good- not great, but
enough to sustain a peaceful mode.
Red scanned the room. There were quite a few people here- humans, mystics, and even
monsters and mecs.
Suddenly, Red’s eyes stopped on a young woman sitting at a nearby table. She had short green
hair, and wore a red riding dress.
-“Asellus?” Red found himself saying, not realizing he’d said it out loud.
The girl turned around. It was indeed her!
-“Red!?” she said, surprised, and stood up.
Their first impulse was to greet each other, so they started walking towards each other-
-and then they both stopped.
It was an awkward moment. Sure, Asellus had been a friend of his family when he had been little. She babysat him several times. But that was 12 years ago! How could she still be so
young? And that beautiful woman who had been with her when last they met -aboard the Cygnus- what was her name? Oh yeah, Lady White Rose!- said something of Asellus now being
a Mystic! How is that possible? Is it true what they say, that Mystics do strange things with blood? Or that they trick people with illusions? Was this really Asellus, or a Mystic trying to trick
him?
And yet, when they met again, Red had accepted her with no questions. After all, he now knows what it is like to hide a secret. And in any case, there had been no time for niceties back then- the Cygnus had been taken over by the Pirate Queen, Nomad, whom Black X had hired to retrieve some evidence in the ship that could’ve exposed one of their members. Asellus and Rose volunteered to help, and were quite helpful in beating the pirates. But they disembarked
soon thereafter, before Red even had time to talk with her further.
For her part, Asellus hesitated because she was afraid of dragging Red into the tragedy that was her life. She was indeed the same girl that Red had once known; but, no thanks to the cruel whims of the Mystic Lord, Orlouge, she was now half-human, half-mystic- and had spent the last twelve years in a coffin, “evolving” into her current form. She escaped with White Rose’ help, only to find that everyone, even her beloved Aunt, consider her dead. Worse, Orlouge’s forces are after her. She and Rose had been drifting since then, and just happened to be aboard the Cygnus when it was taken over. She had been surprised to meet the grown-up Red there; at first,
she was happy to meet him, but then felt awkward about it- so much time had passed, and the last thing she wanted was to hurt another loved one with the facts of her story- if only Rose
hadn’t told him! But she knew that she had no bad intentions, she just -being a Mystic- didn’t quite get the impact of what had happened to her. Mystics are like that, Asellus noted: perhaps because of the immortality, they just didn’t “get” humans… or perhaps there was more to that?
Why is it that she felt so- inhuman? Is it because of her half-mystic blood- or the fact that it is Orlouge’s blood she shares?
So, the two of them continued to stare awkwartdly at each other- aware they MUST say something, but not sure what.
Finally, Red speaks:
-“Err, nice to see you again…”
-“Yeah, you too…”
-“So… what are you doing in a place like this?”
Asellus looked at Red in a funny way. What’s HE nervous about? Why didn’t he ask about her bizarre situation, either on the Cygnus, or now?
-“Ahh, I’m waiting for a friend” she explained.
-“White Rose?”
-“Uhh, no. Rose is here with me” she said, then pointed to the table. There, sitting next to where Asellus was sitting, was a beautiful blonde woman, her hair adorned with white roses, her dress of matching colors.
-“Whoops, didn’t see her! Sorry!” Red said, and immediately bowed.
-“Nice to meet you again, young man” Rose said, in her typical lady-like style.
-“Pardon my saying so, but… this is a rather unseeming place for ladies such as you two to hang out.”
-“That’s kind of you to say, Red, but as we proved aboard the Cygnus, we can take care of ourselves” Asellus said, smiling. “And by the way, what are YOU doing here?”
-“Me? I’m looking for help to… ah…”
Noticing tht awkwardness between the two friends, White Rose dicided to intervene. “Won’t you join us? The food here is better than it looks.”
-“Uhh, I wouldn’t like to impose-”
-“Nonsense. any friend of Lady Asellus is a friend of mine as well. I must insist”.
Red and Asellus looked at each other, and gave up. It was hard saying no to someone so kind- and beautiful!
White Rose smiled as Red and Asellus sat down next to her, not only because it was the proper thing to do, but because she liked the idea of Asellus meeting other people who cared about her.
She felt that this young man was both kind and brave.
But the conversation didn’t continue- the two old friends still felt awkward. So once again, White Rose had to break the ice.
-“Are you still working at the Cygnus? That is a beautiful ship, the best I’ve ever seen, in fact.”
-“Ahh, no, I quit.”
-“Eh? Why?” Asellus asked.
-“Err, well…”
Rose sighed. Young people! Always so awkward!
-“I understand your family knew my Lady Asellus. How is your family?”
At the mention of his family, Red grew grim, despite himself.
-“Something bad happen…?” Asellus asked, worried.
Should he tell her? He wasn’t even sure if this was the Asellus from his childhood. And the memories were painful…
…But then again, he felt that he needed to talk about it. All the time since then, he only spoke about it with his friend Hawk- and now that he had quit the Cygnus, he had no one to talk to.
And somehow, someway, he KNEW that this was the same Asellus…
-"…They’re… gone."
-“You mean!?..” Asellus said in shock. “All of them? Even your mother and sister?”
Red nodded.
-“But how-” Asellus stopped herself, but too late; she felt she had no right to pry into such a personal matter.
A moment of awkward silence. Then:
“It was Black X.”
-“Who?” Asellus asked.
-“Black X. The criminal cartel? Haven’t you heard of them?”
-“Err… I have been out of touch with things in the last few years…” Asellus said, awkwardly. Red noticed, but didn’t push.
-" They… were after my father. He was a Biomechanist, you know. He found out that one of his colleagues, a Dr. Klein, was in league with them. Before he could bring the evidence to IRPO,
they-" he had to stop.
Asellus, reacting without thought, placed her hand in Red’s, in a comforting gesture. Again, when she realized what she was doing, she felt awkward…
…But she didn’t remove her hand. It felt… good to be with a friend from her past… and, somehow, she felt as if Red could understand her situation…
Red found himself appreciating Asellus’ gesture as well. It was nothing romantic for either of them; they were just two souls who had gone thru living hells, and now they found strenght on
each other.
Red wondered: would Asellus help him? She WAS very good in the Cygnus fight… but did he have the right to ask her?
-“Asellus… I’m going after them.”
-“Black X? By yourself?” she said, worried. “You shouldn’t! let IRPO handle-”
-“IRPO CANNOT handle them. They’re too strong.”
-" And YOU can??"
I AM a superhero he thought, but didn’t dare to tell her. “I have done well so far. With help from IRPO and a few other people, I’ve actually suceeded in taking down a few of their leaders”.
Asellus stared at him in disbelief. And yet, somehow she feels it is true…
-" … But I need more help to continue my struggle" he continued. “That’s why I’m here- I’m looking for warriors willing to join my cause…” he trailed off.
Asellus blinked. Was he asking her to…?
-“We are very capable, as you know” White Rose interjected again. “However, I must follow my Lady Asellus wherever she goes. It is her call.”
Why is that this woman is so infatuated with Asellus, Red wondered? She treats her as if she were a princess or something! None of his business, anyway…
Asellus thought about it. She didn’t like violence. And yet, Red was her friend. She couldn’t stand the idea of his risking his life for revenge- and yet, she could tell he was determined to do
it.
-“Red, I will help you”
-“Uhh, are you sure, Asellus? I wouldn’t want for you to be hurt-”
-“And I don’t want YOU to be hurt” she countered- and smiled.
Red smiled too. It was nice to again be close to someone who understood him …
…and White Rose also smiled, for the two of them.
Hope you’ll keep working on it.