Welcome to Gaia! ::

((You're a champion of champions, you know that, right? Shall I begin then?))

Noah pulled the insufficient blanket more tightly around his shoulders. The woman who had given it to him had said something about it helping to prevent shock- or at least help to curb its effects. It wasn't really helping but it gave him something to hold on to.

They had appeared out of nowhere, really. One moment he had been worrying about the amount of time that was left before the milk in the fridge expired and the next the world had been turned upside down.

And now a girl was dead.

Noah concentrated on fealing the rough texture of the blanket on his skin. He didn't want to think about the girl who had been walking in front of him before hell had descended. He didn't want to think about the way it easily could have been him standing that extra few metres ahead.

Noah looked over at the man talking to the police. The man was one of them. There had only been two left after the girl had fallen. Now there was only one. Noah shook his head to get his sandy-blonde hair out of his eyes. He had been meaning to cut it but had neever gotten the time to. Now it provided something of a sheild to protect him from the madness the world had turned into.

Noah studied the only man left carefully, trying to see something, anything, in the purple-haired man's stance that reflected regret or, at least, shock. There was nothing.

Balcov kept his face smooth as he explained to the police for the hundredth time what had happened. “We hadn’t done anything to provoke them, officer.” He said smoothly, putting just the right amount of inflection in his voice to make it sound as if his calm was a result of shock: that he was only just keeping it together. “We had traded a few insults but then one of them pulled a gun.”

Balcov looked away, seeming to collect his thoughts. “He started firing and hit...” Balcov turned to look at the officer taking his statement. “He killed Voltaire and that poor girl.”

~

Issac stared into the middle-distance, his mind processing the information he’d just received. How could they have been so stupid?

Issac’s lip curled into a silent snarl as he turned around, making his way toward the large central building they had set up in the unofficial capital of the underworld. When they had won over the rebels and taken the city Balcov had ordered the building made as a reminder to those who were wont to forget exactly who controlled the underworld.

But now they had gone and done this.

Issac strode through the front doors of the giant structure, cold anger radiating from him. There was a reason why their two worlds remained separate. There was a reason why they needed to remain separate.

Issac made his way over to a familiar redhead. “Johnny, have you heard?” He asked by way of greeting, his voice only betraying his anger by being slightly sharper than normal. If he had to somehow hold together the fort while their fearless leaders went gallivanting around in the overworld he couldn’t let it be known just how much his emotions were affecting him.

~

Rei ran for all he was worth, trusting that his friends would keep themselves safe. He knew they had been stupid. In the excitement of finding the leaders of the Tyrants relatively unprotected they had abandoned all caution.

Now a girl was dead.

Rei was fairly certain that it had been the Tyrant’s bullets that had hit the girl but he wasn’t sure if that certainty was because of fact or because he didn’t want to believe that an innocent girl had died at their hands.
Ragged breathing behind him brought Rei back to the present. He looked over his shoulder and slowed his pace slightly, allowing Kai to catch up with him. “What just happened there?” He asked, wanting confirmation for the unbelievable. “Please tell me we didn’t just do that.”

Kai simply shook his head wordlessly, his mind still processing what had happened. It had all been so fast. First they had received word that the leaders of their oppressors had been seen outside of the fortress they called their capital. Then they had been in the overworld, fighting and breaking every rule that had ever been made concerning the interactions between the two worlds.

((Taki? Considering he wasn't on the raid?))

Noah turned his attention from Balcov to Bryan and Lillith talking. From the way they were surveying the scene they seemed to be the ones in charge. Noah stood slowly, still clutching to blanket around his shoulders. He didn’t think he was quite ready to give up that protection yet.

He slowly mad his way over to the male, carefully placing each foot so as to keep his fragile balance. He felt like the world was swaying. Not enough that everyone else noticed but enough that if he wasn’t concentrating he wouldn’t be upright for very much longer.

“Um... Excuse me?” He asked Bryan when he eventually reached the other. “Can you tell me what’s happening? I was just told to wait-” Noah gestured to the place he had been sitting. “-but no one’s told me what’s happening.” He finished lamely.

Balcov sighed inwardly as he signed the bottom of his statement, promising the officer he had been talking to that he would bring the photos of the people he had accused into the police station in the next day. “I just don’t know what happened. They were just...” He shook his head, not looking the officer in the eyes. “Is it ok if I go home now?” He asked. “I need to... absorb this.”

~

Issac fought the urge to strangle Johnny. It had been too much to hope that the redhead would fully understand the full implications of what had happened. Johnny really only cared when things affected him directly.
“It doesn’t matter if they succeeded or not. The point is that we let Balcov and Voltaire go out to the overworld without giving them adequate protection. If we can’t even protect our own leaders what are the people going to think?”

Issac jerked his head before setting off in that direction. “Come on. We have a mess to sort out and I’m going to need your help. They’re going to be out for blood and you’re so much better with them than I am.”

Issac ran one hand roughly through his chocolate-brown hair, trying to disperse some of the anger that had overtaken when had first heard of what had happened. He didn’t think that Johnny truly understood just how tenuous their hold on the overworld was. Because they didn’t have the symbolic backing of being the official leaders of the underworld their rule was based on fear rather than loyalty. This meant that any show of weakness like that of today had the potential for disaster. If they didn’t prove that they were more than a match for those stupid enough to join the rebel forces more people would join them and create a mass that could not be controlled.

Not to mention that they had involved the overworld.

Issac scowled as they made their way deeper into the building. He had come to like how things were now. He didn’t want them to change.

~

Rei shook his head as they rounded the last bend and their headquarters came into view. “It doesn’t matter what Taki says.” He said, his jogging slowing to a walk. “It’s probably true.” He said sadly. “Why didn’t we give up when they went up?”

Kai slowed to walk beside Rei. He shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter now. It’s done.”

“Bags not telling Taki what happened.” Rei said helpfully as they walked into the innocuous building. “I like my life.”

“There’s a reason I don’t give reports and I’m sticking by it.” Kai said, looking at Tala expectantly. “Which means it’s up to you, Red."

"It’s been fun.” Rei chimed in with a smirk.

Noah shook his head. “I’ll stand.” He said, keeping the quiver out of his voice. “It’s worse sitting down.” He looked around at the chaos that surrounded them. “Do you see stuff like this all the time?” He asked, taking Bryan’s offered arm in order to steady himself.

Noah saw the officer walking towards them after having finished with Balcov and frowned, trying frantically to put his memories in some kind of order. He wasn’t sure he would even be able to give a complete statement- let alone one that would assist the police in catching the people who had done this.

Balcov let out a bark of laughter. “I wouldn’t say I know them well. They have been harassing for some time and, as they say, it’s best to know who your enemies are, right?” Balcov attempted a smile before nodding. “Well, anyway, we obviously weren’t watching them closely enough.” He concluded sadly.

“I gave the other officer my number so you can contact me. Please let me know how the investigation is going. I want justice for both my friend and that poor girl.” So saying Balcov nodded once and turne don his heel, walking away from Lillith and the scene of chaos behind him.

~

Issac shook his head in exasperation, unwilling to argue with the redhead. “Can you use your ridiculous good looks to try and prevent the blood-letting?” he asked testily. “I would much rather that we didn’t have to go through the effort of enforcing anything, wouldn’t you? It’s a lot less effort that way. I know how you hate effort.”

Issac cast a sidelong glance at the redhead walking next to him. “Unless, of course, you’ve kidnapped the real Johnny and replaced him with a much more tolerable person?” He asked sweetly as they approached their destination, the central room of their headquarters.

He stopped and turned to face Johnny. “Now remember. Rebels attacked us. It’s all under control. Balcov and Voltaire are safe but can’t be contacted at this moment. Throw in a little bit of sex appeal for good measure. Think you can handle that?” He asked, not waiting for an answer before walking through the doors to the central room.

When the building had been designed Balcov had insisted that the central room be as large as possible. Understanding the need for theatrics in the absence of legitimacy had ordered the room to be made with a ledge around the outside leading to a large podium. He had wanted the central room to be a place where announcements were made and decrees passed down. He had wanted it to be a place where the audience of political figures and lackeys watched in awe as those more important than them performed. No real work was done here.

“You’re up.” Issac murmured to Johnny as he eyed the restless crowd who had gathered in response to rumours about the current situation. “Good luck.”

~

Rei and Kai looked at each other, neither of them willing to face Taki’s wrath. They didn’t want to admit that they had screwed up. Big time.

“Um...” Rei began, glancing at Tala. “Not so much fun as...” He glanced to Kai for support and, finding none, lost all nerve. “Tala will explain.” He concluded.

Noah nodded slowly, his mind slowly comprehending what the officer wanted. “Um... My name’s Noah Thomas... I can’t remember my number it’s um...” Noah fished into the pocket of his jeans to pull out his phone. He opened it and pushed a few buttons before holding up the screen so the officer could see it. “There.”

“As to what happened.” Noah bit his lip as he looked past the officer to the scene in front of him. “I don’t know how much help I can be. I was walking to get home and that... girl... she was in front of me. She was busy fiddling with her phone when... I don’t know. There were all these people. There was that guy you were talking to and the other one that was killed. I think they had maybe one or two other people with them? But they disappeared... I think.”

Noah frowned. “Sorry, I’m not really telling this right, am I?” He asked, apology in his voice. “Um... Then there were maybe three other people? They were dressed differently... more shabby? There was one guy with red hair, one with really long black hair- he might have been Chinese? And there was another person with two colours in his hair. The front was light and the back was darker.”

Noah bit his bottom lip as he tried to remember the next part. “Those three seemed to come out of nowhere. They didn’t say anything. They just started attacking. The other guys seemed to be surprised then attacked back... It was... strange.” Noah made a face as he recalled the feeling. “Even though I was watching it didn’t feel like I was really watching. You know that feeling you get when you’re bone cold and you step into a steaming shower? It felt like that. And there were lots of really loud sounds- guns I guess... And then... The girl was on the ground. I think I saw her fall but all I can remember after that was diving behind that bin there” Noah pointed to a rather innocuous looking trash can.

“There was a bit of silence after the girl was... hit. Then there was one more shot and it was quiet. I didn’t get to hear what they were saying. I was too scared.” Noah blushed sheepishly. “I’m sorry.”

~

Balcov waited until he was out of sight of the police before beginning to jog. It had been unfortunate that he had had to sacrifice Voltaire in order to get the officers to sympathise with him but it had the advantage of severely restricting the movements of the rebels in the overworld.
Hopefully with their movements restricted in both the worlds they would become less of a threat.

Balcov scowled as he did a cursory check around the street, making sure there were no observers before casually lifting one of the manholes in the street and quickly climbing down the ladder. He replaced the cap and continued climbing down the ladder. He made a face as he reached the bottom and felt the bottom of his pants quickly become soaked. There were much more pleasant openings into the underworld but the sewer and drainage systems always were the most effective ways of getting back to the underworld quickly. Balcov moved around in the darkness, relying on memory to guide him toward the nearest entry into the underworld.

Reaching it, Balcov placed his hand on a seemingly ordinary rough spot of rust. He felt the spot heat up as it recognised him as a citizen of the underworld. The wall seemed to give way as Balcov fearlessly stepped through it, mind already on the task of keeping his world together.

~

Issac shook his head in silent incredulity. He had never understood how, with just a few words from the redhead, an angry and frightened crowd would basically become putty in their proverbial hands. Didn’t they see Johnny for the idiot he was?

“Just hope that they get the right people. We don’t want innocents lynched. Otherwise you did well.” He said grudgingly as they left the room through the same entrance, the essence of calm and control. “Now we just need to find them.”

~

Rei glared at the ground, not willing to look up at Taki. “We were...kind of... seen.” He said reluctantly. “While we were going after them...”

“-There were two overworlders there.” Kai reported calmly, watching Taki carefully for his reaction to the news. “Balcov-” Kai spat the name “- pulled a gun so we did too.”

“-We weren’t seriously fighting...” Rei said by way of explanation. “We didn’t think we’d need to but then...” Rei shuddered slightly. “I didn’t know Balcov had that much power at his disposal. Not really.

“One of the overworlders was hit... We didn’t wait around after that. We ran.” Rei said apologetically. “I’m not sure about the other one.”

Noah nodded slowly. “Alright.” He said quietly, taking the blanket from around his shoulders. “I’ll...ah... Just go then.” Noah attempted a smile before holding out the blanket. “Do you want this?” He asked, handing the blanket to Lillith. He forced himself not to shiver as the small protection the blanket gave him was lost. It didn’t matter, not really.

Noah nodded once before turning away from the pair and continuing in the direction he had been walking before the chaos had begun. He skirted the groups of police around where the girl had... Noah swallowed and looked away, not wanting to think about it.

On impulse he turned around to face Bryan and Lillith. “Hey!” He called. “Catch them, alright? Don’t let them get away with this.” So saying- Noah turned back around and started running, not wanting to stay near the scene any longer.

~

Balcov looked around at the large chamber he had entered, a distant expression on his face.

“Mr Balcov! We weren’t expecting you, sir.” And attendant said, running toward him.

Balcov turned to look at the white-clad man, diplomatically keeping his face blank. The job of guarding the gateways between the underworld and the overworld was generally left to the outcasts of their society. No one who was able to get a job anywhere else would choose to spend their lives running around after people who were making the journey between the two worlds and protecting the gateways from being discovered by the citizens of the overworld. It was a boring and thankless job.

When they had taken power Balcov had ordered that all gateways to the overworld be found and stations such as this one be built around them. He had reasoned that the most important thing in maintaining his power was complete control over any and all communication with the world that wasn’t under his control.

Balcov removed his coat and handed it to the attendant. “I wasn’t expecting to be here either.” He said irritably. “Get that cleaned, would you? I assume there’s a spare set of clothes for me? You need to have a look at the path to this gateway from the other side. It’s disgusting.”

Balcov made a face as he looked down at the state of his shoes and the bottom of his pants. “I will be in the washroom. I expect those clothes to be outside by the time I’m finished. Also- contact the capital and tell them that I am here and to send transport.” Balcov eyed the attendant disdainfully. “Did you get all that?” He asked, walking toward the washroom.

The attendant bobbed and awkward bow. “Yes, sir. Can I ask where Mr Voltaire is, sir?”

Balcov turned to glare at the attendant. “No you may not.” He said firmly. “Go.”

The attendant nodded once and scuttled off, glad that he had escaped.

~

“Well it seems like the only effective way of luring them out involves letting our leaders walk into the overworld unprotected.” Issac said snarkily. “I’m sure that’ll go down well if we do that again. Hey! The might even succeed next time!” He said sarcastically. “I can see why you mainly only do our PR work.”

They entered the main operations room. Unlike the central chamber of the building this had been designed with real work in mind. Hardly anyone looked up as they entered, too busy with whatever they were doing. Issac felt himself relax slightly. Here was something he understood. Here was the place where logical strategy and the everyday running of the underworld took place. Here there was no room for politics.

Issac looked up as a young girl approached them. “Um... excuse me sir. We just received communication from one of the gateways on the outskirts. Mr Balcov is there but there’s no sign of Mr Voltaire. He requests that we send out transport for him.”

Issac shot Johnny a look when the girl mentioned Voltaire. “Send it.” He ordered before turning to Johnny. “Can you go with it and pick up Balcov?”

~

Kai scowled. “If we had succeeded you would be singing our praises right now.” He said irritably, not wanting to listen to Taki scold them

anymore. “It’s done now.” He said, walking past Taki. He turned his body in just the right way so the end of his long scarf hit Taki in the face as he walked away. Kai smirked inwardly. He didn’t know how Taki had managed to elevate himself to being the leader of their rebellion but it was always fun to remind him that he only had the power they gave him.

Kai continued walking into the building, not caring if the rest of his raiding group followed him.

Rei suppressed a smirk as he watched Kai go before turning back to Taki, face straight. “It’s in their best interests to keep the underworld hidden as well.” He reasoned. “What happened was regrettable but it was bound to happen sometime.” Rei bit his lip, a troubled expression on his face. “I am sorry about that girl, though. She didn’t know anything about it.”

Issac scowled as he watched the redhead retreat, determined not to validate any of his comments by replying. It didn’t matter what Johnny thought. As long as he did his job Issac was prepared to put up with him.
Unfortunately for Issac’s sanity, Johnny did his job extremely well.

Whenever anything happened and people needed to be controlled Johnny was always the first call that was made. He had a way of making people believe that things were going exactly as planned.

Issac sighed and began his usual rounds of the control room, picking up reports from each station. He wasn’t good with people but he knew how to do this. With his shiny new stack of reports Issac retreated to the central station in the room and sat. He couldn’t remember when he had first been entrusted with the everyday runnings of the underworld but it was a position that suited him. Though, as Johnny had rightfully pointed out, he hardly ever did any of the actual work Issac was particularly good at utilising people’s talents in ways that helped their control over the people and over the underworld remained steady and strong.

Issac took the first report off the stack and flipped it open to read, sighing quietly. However, there were definite downsides to the job.

~

Rei’s eyes widened as he looked between Tala and Taki. “Geez, guys. I can almost taste the testosterone.” He said, putting a hand on Tala’s shoulder and pulling the redhead back. “You’re both extremely manly. No need to prove it by ripping each other’s throats out.” Rei rolled his eyes at the two of them. He was glad that they only really did this in the presence of either Kai or himself. Rei didn’t think that knowing that their fearless leader and one of their elite acted like prepubescent teenagers out to prove their manliness half the time would really inspire confidence in the other rebels.

Rei rolled his eyes. “If we’re just a little bit more careful it’ll be fine.” He said reaosonably. “We can still get around down here, can’t we? They’re looking for us here much harder than they’ll be looking for us up there.” Rei shrugged. “It’ll be fine.”

“Now. If you can stop acting like children long enough I’m going to go find Kai. Or do I need to stay here and supervise you two?” Rei raised his eyebrows and smirked before following Kai into the building.

Rei walked at an easy pace through the familiar hallways, confident that he knew where Kai had gone. Sure enough, when Rei opened the doorway that lead to the rooftop he saw Kai sitting in his favourite spot, the western corner of the roof, with his legs dangling over the edge.

“You know that one day something’s going to happen and you’re going to lose your balance and fall to an unpleasant and sticky death?” Rei asked mildly, walking over to Kai and sitting down on the ledge with him.

Rei checked his watch. “Sunset?” He asked, looking out at the dark expanse of the underworld. There was no sunlight in the underworld. The only sources of light were the small animals that had adapted to the dark by having their own glowing lights and lights that the citizens of the underworld created for themselves. Rei looked over at the small lights that dotted the rooftop. It was functional but it didn’t have quite the same effect as sunlight.

Kai made a non-committal noise as he continued to stare steadily into the west.

Balcov adjusted his new jacket, still not used to the clothes the attendant had provided him. He made a mental note to organise each gateway to have numerous spare clothes at the ready- especially those that opened into the dirtier places in the overworld.

Balcov sighed softly as he left the gateway house and walked swiftly toward the car waiting for him. He had more important things to attend to first.

“Johnny.” He said by way of greeting as he got into the car. “We have some problems.” Balcov looked over at the driver of the car, noting that it was one of his most trusted employees. Turning his attention back to Johnny he continued. “Voltaire is dead. I had to get rid of him in order to escape suspicion. However, I’ve managed to severely restrict the rebels movements in the overworld. Their police are investigating the deaths of Voltaire and a girl who got caught up in the conflict. I’ve implicated the group that attacked us and will be sending them photographs.”

Balcov ran a hand through his hair. “But now we have to explain what happened.” He looked at Johnny. “I can trust you to do that, can’t I?” He asked.

~

Rei stared into the gloom of the underworld for a few minutes before he felt Kai relax beside him. “It would have been beautiful.” He said quietly, leaning against Kai. “Maybe tomorrow we’ll see it for real?”

Kai looked over at Rei and gave him a small smile. “Doubtful. We’re stuck under here until all of this blows over, remember?”

Rei made a face. “Do you doubt our stealthing abilities?” He asked playfully. “I’m sure we could find a gateway that came out somewhere that no one would think of. As long as we stayed out of the way of the overworld police we’d be fine.”

Kai smirked at the thought of Rei ‘stealthing’ anything. “All the same. It’d probably be best if we stayed under here where it’s safe.” He leant over and pecked Rei’s cheek, pulling back so he could see the other’s eyes. “Thanks, though. We will go up some day.”

Rei smiled and stood, stretching. “Ruin my fun. Who’s safe these days anyway?” Rei offered Kai a hand up. “It’s much more exciting living on the edge.”

Kai rolled his eyes and took Rei’s hand to stand up. “I believe rebels against the ruling Tyrants is edgy enough, don’t you think?”

“Hell no!” Rei said with a grin, letting go of Kai’s hand. “Anyway, I’m going to go for a run. Tell me if anything happens?” He grinned and turned toward the edge of the building, he began running, taking a flying leap into the empty space beyond the safety of the roof.

Kai heard the small thud as Rei landed safely on the ground and the small scrabble of stones as he found enough purchase to begin running. Kai shook his head as he headed back indoors, much calmer than he had been when they had returned. “I must get him to teach me that sometime,” He murmured to himself.