Welcome to Gaia! ::

Chapter 3

The light pitter patter of raindrops gave noise to the otherwise dead silence that hung over the procession. A priest stood over a closed coffin speaking though to most he was unheard and ignored. Several dozen members of the Capulet family gathered on the cement plateau wearing black offset by the pure white floor that made up the private burial ground. Lanterns hung around them, flames flickering and waving in the air like willow-wisps paying their own respects to the dead.

Raghnall sat in a wheelchair, eyes empty and devoid of emotion staring at the coffin. He imagined his friend's face, the smile that would bring him laughter in even the grimmest of times. But not this time, his smile only brought sadness. Saiya stood behind Raghnall, holding an umbrella over them both. Her face was torn. Conflict between two emotions within, projected through her expression displayed her pain and her anguish. While so many around her cried, she could not. Her pride within told her to be strong, never to show weakness, never to give in to herself. Yet, at this moment, when no one would think less of her, she couldn’t release herself and let the tears flow. Instead, they welled up only to be pressed back down again and again.

It was a funeral, and it was raining. It was always raining at a funeral, at least that’s how it always seemed to be portrayed in fiction. Like a scene straight out of a movie, it would not stop, despite their wishes. This was reality, all the tragedies in the world could not prepare them for this moment, the overwhelming sorrow of losing their friend.

Raghnall lifted his gaze and stared at the others standing in a circle around the coffin. He looked from face to face, noting every reaction of each and every person, inscribing it to memory. He would remember their eyes just as he remembered his. His eyes lifted further, noticing the figure in the very back of the group turn and walk away. The white hair and pale skin gave him away as Salvii. He looked on, watching the boy walk off and vanish beyond the flickering light of the lanterns. When Salvii was gone, Raghnall looked back to the coffin, his ears deaf to almost everything around him but the constant impact of raindrops to the cover of umbrellas and Saiya’s close presence. Saiya shifted behind him drawing his mind back to that day, almost a week before…



Ragnall slowly came to, his senses picking up first on the soft touch of bed sheets. He refused to open his eyes, praying for a moment that all the events before were nothing but a vivid dream. As he opened his eyes hoping to find the roof of his bedroom, his heart sunk as the plain white ceiling of a hospital greeted him.

“He’s awake!” The excited voice of someone familiar blasted out next to him. Raghnal winced and closed his eyes as the lights cut on accompanied by shuffling of feet. When he opened his eyes the boy stared at several friends gathered around his bed.

“Are you ok?” One small voice asked.
“How are you feeling?” Another added on.
“Do you need anything? Are you thirsty?” More questions flooded in before being silenced by a deeper, more motherly tone.

“Everyone… give him some room. I’m sure he’s not even awake yet.”

“But his eyes are open, that means he’s awake right? Saiya, is big brother going to be ok?” the tiny voice continued to pester.

“I’ll take her outside until he’s ready.”

“Thank you, Vereor.” Saiya’s voice replied softly.

“Aww, I don’t want to leave! I want to make sure big brother is ok! Why do I have to leave?” The tiny voice Raghnall could now recognize as Isra’s responded, profusely refusing any such thought.

“We’re just taking a step outside. We don’t want to crowd him. I’m sure he’ll want to see you soon, just not right now.” Vereor replied. The following shuffles of feet out the door and stifled whimpering was the only other noise till the door shut soundly.

There was a long moment of silence before Rage finally spoke, his voice raspy with his throat dry, “Is… Alex alright? Is Alex safe?”

Another long pause followed his question as Seiya, the only remaining person in the room struggled to answer his question. When he opened his eyes and looked at her face, Raghnall received his answer, but he refused to accept it, “Saiya… where… where is he?”

Saiya bit her lower lip, averting her gaze. Finally, she opened her mouth and spoke, her own voice coming out shaky and strained, “Raghnall… Alex is…” She couldn’t finish her sentence as Ragnall burst out.

“No!” Raghnall yelled, his voice cracking as he grabbed Saiya by the collar and pulled her close to his face, “Don’t! Don’t say it! For- Forget… forget I asked.” Raghnall held onto her with his trembling hand and lowly let her slip from his grip, “He can’t be…” With nothing left, no strength remaining in him, tears poured out of his eyes. He coughed to clear his throat, and replaced it with a deep labored breath, “He can’t be dead…”

His last statement escaping as a mere squeak, Saiya moved in close and helped him sit up. She held him close as he buried his face into her shoulder to mumble his silent wails. Saiya ran her hand up and down his back as he cried. The louder he cried, the closer she held him, allowing her warmth and kindness to pour out into him and bring him comfort.



After the heavy stone cap slid into place over the grave, grating on the last of those who still held reserve, a loud boom echoed off into the distance sounding closure for the procession but not for the hearts of those present. Raghnall sat in his wheelchair, staring blankly at the stone cover reading Alex Lafayette Capulet. His expression for a moment was plain, emotionless, but as his face sharpened and his eyes narrowed, his hand clenched the armrest of his wheelchair with trembling anger. The last words of the priest presiding over the funeral didn’t even faze him, his mind could not being itself from the terrible urge to destroy whoever was responsible for his friend’s death.

After more than half of those present had filed off into the darkness, another figure stopped next to him and touched his shoulder. He hesitated to lift his face to look at the newcomer. Grace, looked at him with a pitiful expression. She looked at Saiya, giving her leave and taking over as his guardian from the rain. Saiya reluctantly accepted and walked away.

“Why are you doing this?” Raghnall asked coldly, “What is it you want? You want to know what we found… right?”

“Saiya looked tired. She hasn’t left your side much at all the past few days. She cares allot for you.” Grace replied, her voice warm and soothing, ignoring the cold hearted accusation Raghnall proposed.

“She would be like that for anyone.” Raghnall dismissed the sentiment, looking back at the gravestone.

Grace took a deep breath and sighed, “This may be true… but it doesn’t change the fact she has put herself through a allot for your sake. Giving her a brake was the least I could do… the least you could do to repay her for her kindness.”

“I… don’t deserve her kindness.”

“Raghnall… don’t beat yourself up. This wasn’t your fault.”

“Wasn’t it?” He asked as he closed his eyes, opening them a second later after image of his friend’s last moment and words invaded his mind, “He was right next to me. I should have been able to do something. I…”

“There was nothing you could have done.” Grace move around where she now knelt in front of him, her eyes locked with his, “This is not your fault.”

Rage stared for a moment, then looked away, “I… I know.”

Grace stood up and moved around behind once more, her steps flowed like air over the ground, her entire being like a goddess in her own right. Slowly pushing the wheelchair, she passed by the grave, heading for the car waiting for them with the driver standing ready for them whenever they desided to leave. Raghnall glanced at the gravestone one last time, he spoke, “Wait… please…”

“Alright… but only for a moment. I can’t have you catching a cold.” Grace replied, allowing him to pay his final respects. She was silent as Raghnall continued with another request.

“Tell me… in front of Alex’s grave... Did you know we were going to be attacked that night?” The air hung silent, “Did we have information that would have warned us ahead of time?”

“That…” Grace began, her voice lingering while Raghnall listened intently, concentrating on every word, “would be something you’d have to ask Salvii.”

“Salvii?” Raghnall burst out, her reply catching him completely off guard, “What would he know about this?”

“Salvii knows allot of things. If anyone knew this was going to happen, it would be him.”

“But… why Salvii?” Raghnall thought out loud.

“That… my dear, is something you’ll have to ask him yourself.” Grace replied softly, “Is that all? Ask whatever you like to put your heart at ease.”

“I have nothing more to ask.” Raghnall said, his eyes closing on the grave and shutting away the pain.

Grace pushed them down the short path towards the street while she added, “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come to me, Raghnall.”

“No…” He stated suddenly, his tone harsh, “not Raghnall.”

“Hmm?” Grace slowed her pace as they reached the car and she shifted to his side.

“I don’t want to be called that anymore.”

“Then what shall I call you?” Grace stood over him with an interested gaze.

“Call me-” Raghnall started, his voice dropping off for a moment. Then, through gritted teeth he growled a deep, hateful word in a voice unmistakable as anything else,

“Rage.”

I am on the brink of crying, Rhiko... It was so sad! You just had to pick that song. T_________________T

I loved it! Awesome job! The images you created with your words were so vivid! I had no problem imaging the entire thing play in my head! My favorite part was the flashback, when Rage just woke up, hoping Alex had made it.

Might I also add, and I'm ashamed I didn't notice it at first, that your writing is very cinematically. For example, the transaction between present, to past, and back to present is all movie editing magic. I could see this becoming a great movie idea or even a television series in the future, especially since dramatic superhuman stories have become very popular lately (i.e. Heroes, No Ordinary Family, and so forth).

This new chapter was a surprise. I wasn't expecting another chapter for at least a month, but when I noticed you had added another chapters, I was like, "ZOMGOSH!" I can't wait to read more! They're amazing! Keep it up! biggrin

Chapter 5

Vereor waved goodbye to his friends as they boarded the bus to head home. Vereor turned the moment the doors closed and started on his way down the sidewalk toward another bus stop that would bring him into the center of the city. While he waited, a few others gathered around the bench keeping their distance from the apathetic boy sitting in the center. Vereor kept to himself, didn’t initiate conversation, just sat quietly until the bus arrived.

When he boarded, he took the seat closest to the center, inconspicuous and the least likely to be joined by anyone else. As the door made a silent squeal to close, a frantic voice yelled out from just outside, catching it before it sealed his fate. The boy clamored onboard and threw his bag into the seat across from Vereor. With a loud, over exaggerated sigh of relief, he sat down, right next to Vereor.

“Oh man, that would have been horrible. Talk about bad luck. I just HAD to leave my math notebook in the music room. I had to go all the way to the top floor again after I’d already walked half way across the courtyard.” Vereor didn’t respond, he’d been looking out the window the whole time as the bus had started moving. The boy went silent for a moment, “Hey, are listening? Hello? Grey Haired Boy.”

Vereor finally turned and glanced at the newcomer, “Oh? Are you talking to me?”

“Yeah, very funny. Do you see any other high school guys with grey hair?” The boy shoved Vereor’s shoulder, resulting a rather irritated look shot back in his direction.

“I have grey hair? Wow, you know… I never noticed.” Vereor replied, fiddling with his bangs, “Thanks for the update.”

“Not the most social individual are you?”

“I can be.” Veror replied simply, “And you are?”

“Normally, I’d ask for yours first, but since you asked so nicely, the name’s Calix.” Calix extended a hand forward, “Nice to meet ya!”

“Vereor,” the silver haired teen took his hand in return and gave it a good shake, “Calix… you wouldn’t happen to be Gwyn’s younger brother, Calix Corvus?”

“Oh? You know my sister? Are you one of her friends?” The boy seemed to recoil for a moment, shifting away from Vereor slightly.

“No, I assure you, our acquaintance is not nearly as friendly. I take it you don’t like your sisters friends?”

“No, I just don’t like my sister,” Calix replied bluntly, “Some of her friends are ok, but most of them are just like her; stuck up, self centered, and completely obsessed with how they look.”

“You sure you two are related?” Vereor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep, believe me. I’ve asked my parents a hundred times. Still waiting on the blood test.” Calix chuckled and slammed against the back of the seat roughly, “Gah, bus rides are so boring. Can’t they move a little faster?”

“We’ll get there soon enough.”

“Oh, by the way, where are you heading to in central?” Calix asked, suddenly interested in conversation again after a minute of sitting silently as another bus stop full of people filed into the seats around them. Calix never bothered to move his bag.

“I’m heading over to café avenue, I’m meeting a friend there for coffee.” Vereor said, looking back out the window, “Yourself?”

“I’m heading out to an awesome music place out on the other side of central, so you’ll be getting off way before me. We’ll you be staying long? Maybe I can catch you on the way back if you’re still around.”

“No idea. We might be there awhile, or we might only be there a few minutes. Depends how talkative he is today.”

“Ah, well then, I guess I’ll just have to catch you another time. I’ll look for you around school, that alright?”

“Sure.” Vereor replied, finding the conversation both wearing and refreshing at the same time.

“Sweet! Shouldn’t be too hard to find you. Just look for the guy with grey hair and I’ll be sure to spot you.”

“Heh, yeah.” Vereor didn’t bother turning around to continue the conversation, he just stared out the window until his stop arrived. At which point he slid past his fellow classmate and headed for the door. Right before he stepped out, he waved back to Calix, who lethargically waved back.

Vereor took in a deep breath of the city air as he placed his feet down on the cobblestone sidewalk. The smells of fresh bread laid out for display, sweet aromas of specially baked sweets, and tantalizing tastes hanging in the air that escaped the doors to each building left cleverly ajar had many salivating outside each building debating which store to enter first. Vereor however was unaffected, he strolled past the many colorful and well decorated buildings adorned with golds and reds all built to match the equally tasteful building next to it.

He continued all the way to a small store with several small tables and chairs set up outside on its own special fenced in corner of sidewalk. We strolled inside and waved to the store owner who greeted him in the same joyful demander he did all of his customers, “Vereor, it’s been awhile. How have you been?”

“The same. It’s life.” Vereor responded getting in line and waiting for the man to finish with the customer before him to speak again, “How about yourself? How has business been?”

“Good enough,” the store owner began and then lowered his voice, “but just between you and me, fewer people have been venturing out here to central lately with all the murders and such.” the man lifted his voice again afterwards, “But, luckily business has been picking up now that things seemed to have calmed down. So, how about we get down to business, what’ll it be today?”

“Jeez… Frank,” Vereor laughed to himself, “the way you act sometimes I can’t help but take you as a bartender instead of a simple shop owner. But… I’ll have my usual.”

“Fantasy Margarita coming right up!” the man yelled out, spinning around, heading straight for the coffee machine. All the while as he worked on Vereor’s order, he never seemed to stop chuckling. When he placed the cup on the counter he looked Veroer in the eye, giving him a sharp look,

“Will that be all?”

“I dunno, I was thinking I could get the house special? Any idea what that is today?” Vereor said as he took a sip of the coffee, cooled to the perfect temperature as to not burn his lips.

“Not sure, I’ll have to check. Follow me and I’ll what it says on the board.” The man turned away from Vereor and walked to the back of the shop where a door led into the back room of the building. The shop owner held open the door as Vereor went through, hesitating only a moment to glance over his shoulder to the street. He closed the door behind him and yelled up the staircase to his right, “Gloria! Watch the shop for a minute, I’m going on break.”

After a second the reply came and he nodded to Vereor to continue. The two shuffled to the very last room in the back where the man opened it up to a space shameful to even consider a closet with a lone computer hooked up to power outlet and a chair across from the one ment to the user of the computer console, “Have a seat.”

Vereor took another sip of his coffee as he sat down across from the computer, “Well?”

“Hold your horses. I’m getting there.” The man said with a disgruntled growl as he plopped into the seat which gave out a loud squeal in protest of the man’s large frame. He reached down and flicked a switch to kick the older computer into motion. A few seconds later a desktop flashed on the screen just before the man turned the monitor away from Vereor’s prying eyes.

“Well?” Vereor asked again with decreasing patience, “Have you heard anything or not?”

The man sighed and slouched back in his chair resulting in an even louder screech, “Well, let’s see… a wealthy business woman found out her husband was cheating on her the other day. She’s trying to keep it under wraps but it’s only a matter of time before the press gets their hands on it, then it’s free reign. You know, those boys down at the news station don’t know a damn thing about good business. Everyone deserves to know the truth… can you believe it?” The man took one look at Vereor’s glare and let out a loud cough, “Alright, alright, I’ll be serious.”

“Still charging by the minute?”

“Naturally.”

“Then get on with it.” Vereor prodded, his eyebrow twitching, “What can you tell me about the Montegues.”


[[Cue: Prologue]]


“Shhh!” The man suddenly burst out even louder than Vereor’s original tone, “Keep it down when it comes to that stuff.” Vereor’s facial expression didn’t change, “Alright, Alright, I haven’t heard too much. But it seems whatever’s going on, your friends over on that side of the city have been busy, and rather messy too.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? You seriously trying to tell me you haven’t noticed?” The man began typing on his computer furiously, “In the past few weeks alone, there have been several reported murders, each one taking place right here in central. As you know, central is the one place in the city that has been the highlight of the feud’s underlying conflicts. But, not in all the years I’ve been running this business have they ever made a move that made it all the way top side.”

Vereor leaned in, interest gleaming in his eyes, “Go on.”

“Both your west side and east side friends have been going at it a long time. But not once have they ever made a move this drastic. They’ve always aimed to keep their struggles under the table. The populace has never been let in on the conflict. Assassinations, hostile business takeovers, even petty squabbles have all been taken care of without a trace to be found by the mainstream news men, especially not the police. Take the assassination of those two business guys a couple weeks ago. Usually, they would have died in be of a heart attack, or gotten into a car wreck. Nothing that could be seen as anything but a coincidence.”
The man paused, looking at Vereor’s eyes which narrowed at him when he stopped. He coughed and continued, “The problem is, everything they’ve been doing lately has all been out in the open. No one can mistake anything going on as mere coincidence. Men getting gunned down by mysterious bullet-less assassins in the middle of populated streets, bodies showing up in the waterways. The people are scared. Those up top are shaking in their boots. Those on the underground are trembling for a different reason.” He stopped again, leaning in, “They say they’re trying to start a war.”

“War?” Vereor thought out loud.

“Yeah, war. Those at the top of the smaller organizations are acting like hyenas just before a lion takes out a big game. They’re lying in wait for something, anything to happen. They think that this is it and your friends are going to a winner take all brawl. They’re hoping to snatch up the spoils left behind after the carnage.”

“Who’s to say this isn’t just some overblown exaggeration? There have been close calls before, they’ve always been resolved quietly.”

“When was the last time you saw a Capulet name in the news if not to collect some award? And it isn’t just the Montagues. Your boy has been on the move too.”

“My boy?”

“You know… Celeron. He’s been all over the internet. Some super genius with computers managed to catch a glimpse of him sneaking around in someone’s archives. He’s searching for something. And I have a hunch… every time he’s been seen making this much activity… someone went down. Hard.”

Vereor went silent, his eyes sliding to the side slightly in thought as the man continued.

“There’s been talk… they say that there’s been some serious movement here in central since about 2 days ago. By my estimates… something’s going to happen. If not tonight, tomorrow night. And when crap hits the fan, if I were you, I’d get far away from central.”

“Thanks for the advice. Anything else?”

“Yeah, probably the strangest thing of it all.”

Vereor perked up at the statement, “Even stranger than all this?”

“Maybe… I’m not sure. There’s been talk lately of some big shot moving into Hotel Verona.” The man pressed enter on his keyboard then spun around the monitor for Vereor to see.

“So what? People come and go in Hotel Verona, no one ever really stays there for long. It’s just too damn expensive.”

“True, the problem it, this guy moved in to one of the pent houses, not a big deal right? Of course there are only four of them sure… but here’s the kicker, the guy’s only 20 years old.”

“A 20 year old moving into a pent house, for how long?” Vereor’s interested expression was fading quickly.

“3 months.”

“Are you kidding?! That’s a fortune. Who is he?” Vereor sprang up, looking at the monitor with renewed interest.

“That’s just it… we don’t know.” The man slouched back, “No one does. He goes only by Falco.”

“Falco? And no one questioned this?” Vereor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course they did. But when they checked his bank account and he had the money, all questions went out the window and those at Hotel Verona welcomed him in with open arms. Filthy bastards.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Hey, at least I have the decency to find the truth when the truth is there to be found. No amount of money in the world will stop me from claiming what can be mine. Imagine the price tag that would go with a piece of information like that?”

“Alright… I get it… let’s not get too far off topic. I’m on the clock.”

“Ah, yes, well… that’s all I’ve got. But if you ask me… there are only 2 groups in this world capable of that kind of purchase power.”

Vereor leaned back, already knowing the answer.

“You got it. If you ask me… I think it’s calling someone out.”

“Who?”

“Who else? Your entire family. If you didn’t know about this guy until I mentioned him, I imagine he’s working for the other team. And making a move like this could only be taken as the ballsiest move made in this entire war.”

“I thought it wasn’t a war yet?”

“Might as well be. If your friends take the bait, I can only imagine this is only the trigger for something much bigger.”

Vereor didn’t say anything, instead he raised his hand to his chin and stroked it ever so slightly as he contemplated what the man was saying, If what he’s saying is true, then if we take the bait this could expose the family to serious danger and scrutiny. But no one among the higher ups are about to take this sort of blatant challenge sitting down. Well played. Very well played.

“Well, that’s all I’ve got. That’ll be-“ The man paused, glancing at his computer screen, “What was that?”


[[Cue: In Justice]]


“What was what?”

“My screen just flickered.” The man jumped, “There it was again!”

Suddenly, the man’s computer started screeching like a dying animal, screen flashing several colors till finally it went to a deep blue screen with hundreds of jumbled numbers and letters splashed across the screen. Sparks of electricity jumped from the monitor and tower throughout the rest of the instruments.

Vereor stood to his feet in a rush, “I have to go.”

“Hey wait a sec,” the man stumbled over his words, wincing as an arc of light shot over the top of his head into the wall behind him leaving a black scorch mark, “What about my pay?!”

“Put it on my tab.”

“You know I don’t run that kind of business! All money is paid at the time of services rendered. Hey! Get back here!” The man scrambled to his feet, hesitating long enough for Vereor to escape out the door when another bolt of electricity ripped its way over the desk and then over to the door handle. By the time the man got to the front of his shop, greeted by the nervous smile of his wife, Vereor was gone, all that was left behind being payment for the coffee on the counter.

I second Volt. I want to know what's going on already! The suspense! It's killing me D:~!! *shakes RhikoRhi*

Sorry I haven't left a comment until now, but the new addition is amazing. Even though there wasn't any physical action per se, I felt like the dialogue kept the piece moving along nicely. Great work on the scenes for that, the pacing was nice. I have to agree with Anthony, I loved Vereor's scene. It was very well done. The pacing, dialogue, characteristics... I think it was by far my favorite scene in the two chapters. I don't know, it's a tough choice. XD

If anything, I'd like to see more character interaction! You do a great job of portraying characters and personality, I just want to see a little more of that. >w< I see Salvii, Vereor and Saiya, it's so well done~!! :]] kudos and white chocolate macadamia cookies!

Great work on music selection again, I feel like I don't even have to mention this anymore. It's just a given. XD

I look forward to your next piece! (And look! You made Anthony read! haha :] that in itself seems like quite a feat!)

Once again, great work Rhiko! I'm sorry I didn't see this update sooner or I would've been all over this chapter. Especially since the last update was in December! Gah, I've missed your writing and your stories so much! It's a pleasure to be reading your writing again. biggrin DD

Great action scene between Falco and Celeron. I always thought it was a shame to not see more of Celeron in the CoV roleplay so it was nice to get more so-called screen time with him in this chapter. I'm also curious as to what Vereor is up to~ sly sly Vereor.

Also, the song Occupied Thinking and the first two words "Hotel Verona"... I giggle snorted. :3 Keep it up Rhiko!