Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a town in an unknown land. But this was no ordinary town, oh no, it was home to crooks, thieves, and murderers, you catch my drift. The ordinary folk who was brave enough to stay got attacked by these ruffians causing them to cower away in their homes in fear. One day, the recklessness got way outta hand. The criminals turned against one another starting an all-out war and the town started going under. The place was in total chaos, that is… until someone appeared.
This mysterious man was very handsome, with orange curly hair. His muscles rose for days, and his abs had every girl wanting to climb him. When he had approached the town, all of the criminals met him at the entrance gates. They had caught wind of the new guy who planned on banishing all evil from the town and decided to take him out, all against one. The brave man stood his ground, watching his opponents as they readied their weapons. He didn't need any weapons. He had his two hands and they kicked ass just as fine. Silence lingered on for a moment until all of the men rushed at the man at once. The man showed no fear as his fist flew out like daggers, taking out each and every criminal that approached him. There had to have been thousands of the bad guys, but the lone man didn't break a sweat. They barely entertained him. After he had defeated every last one, he climbed to the top of the body mount and thrust his fist in the air shouting, 'I cannot be defeated for I am the great and powerful-'
"Rockie, would you stop filling these kids' heads up with nonsense and come on here." A feminine voice broke through, shattering all images of the story being told and bringing the world back to reality. The storyteller blinked huge hazel eyes at the interruption and slowly brought them over to the interrupter, who stared back with a scowl on her face.
Continuing to stare at her, a large grin spread across his face as he chuckled, "Hehe."
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1
Rockie the Great and Belle the bore
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"What happened next, Mr. Rockie?" a small, furry, snaggletooth girl asked, gaining a chorus of 'yeahs' from several other children that sat around listening too. Sitting on a wooden crate in front of them was a boy.
The hazel eyed boy had orange curly locks. Light freckles covered his nose and cheeks. He wore a green vest over an orange, sleeveless v-neck, khaki shorts and brown ankle boots. On his right arm was a tattoo of a rock and a letter K on his left. But what made him stand out more, aside from his short stature, was his face. He had brown skin, but the whole left half of his face was two shades darker, a birth mark.
Rockie stared at the little girl who had asked him the question with a smile. "Well, when the great and powerful Rockie defeated the bad guys, he saved the townspeople, freeing them. But little did he know that there was a stronger more powerful foe hiding in the shadows, waiting for the chance for them to meet. And when they do, let me tell ya, this fight will go down in history as one of the GREATEST FIGHTS EV-"
"Oh please stop it." the girl cut him off again, still scowling behind Rockie.
Rockie shot around and glared at the albino girl.
She had creamy skin with long, pure white hair down her back and wearing a dark blue headband. She wore a thin strap light blue dress that stopped at her thighs and calf high dark blue boots. On the back of her left hand was her guild's signature, a silhouetted soaring dove, blue like her eyes. She wore a sliver necklace with a metal pendant, also a replica of her guild sig.
"Can I finish my story, Belle?" Rockie snapped, irritated at being interrupted yet again.
"Yeah Miss Belle. Let'em finish, peeeaase." the little girl begged, followed by the other kids joining in, giving Belle many puppy dog eyes.
Belle inwardly groaned, mentally cursing them all and Rockie before letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry you guys, but we have things we need to get done and we've wasted enough time already." The kids groaned. Belle started to open her mouth but was cut off.
"Oh, there you are!" a voice exclaimed, causing every head to turn. They watched as a furry, heavy-set woman with big antlers sprouting from her head marched towards them and snatched up the snaggletooth girl. She squeezed her tight to her chest, laying kisses all over her face.
"Oh thank the high skies, I was so worried. Haven't I told you not to run off?"
"I didn't run off, mommy," the girl murmured against her breast. "I was listening to Mr. Rockie's story."
The lady glanced over at the two teens, her face scrunched up in a nasty sneer, then looked back down at her daughter. "Now, what have I told you about those creatures dear? They are abominations and…?"
"Destroy everything they touch," the girl recited, rolling her eyes. Rockie started to say something but stopped when Belle grabbed his shoulder. "But mom-"
"No buts young lady. Let's go. I can feel the air being tainted as we speak." she spat and stomped off. One by one, the other parents came and grabbed their children, leaving behind comments such as 'heathens', 'blood craving animals', and 'murderers' lingering around the two teens.
Keeping a neutral face, Belle turned to grab a woven basket filled with a variety of fruits, vegetables, breads, and meats from the ground. "Come on, Rockie before it get too late." She started walking but stopped when she heard a crash. She turned around to see the crate Rockie was sitting on in pieces and the orange head breathing heavily with his fist balled at his sides.
Rockie slowly turned facing Belle, his face frowned in thought. "How can you be so calm when they do that?"
"Who do what?"
"Those people, saying all those things... fucked up things, about us as if we're animals or.. or… shit." he fumed.
Belle sighed, "It's just the way that they are. They don't appreciate the small things that make up their lives. Too afraid of anything they don't understand, and instead of trying to learn and be open about it, they turn to hate. But don't let them get to you. Somebody has to be the bigger person and if that has to be us for the time being, so be it. Now, come on. It'll be dark soon." she said as they both took to the streets.
Rockie K and Belle Kiss were a part of the Dove Clan guild. The name didn't really hold weight, but somehow this guilds' name always wounded up rolling from everyone's tongue. Whether good or bad depended on the person.
They bounded onto the busy dirt road of their marketplace. Species of all kinds entered and exited to and from the booth stands as they pleased; booth owners were grinning down their paying customers and random playing children ran amuck. Guards guarded every corner keeping an eye out for trouble.
Berlim was a large town with a population of 500,000 various species living seemingly peacefully together. The atmosphere was a mixture of earth western and urban style. A little bit chaotic, however the mayor looks to keep it together. If only their views of magics could be changed.
"Okay, so we've gotten the groceries out of the way. Last thing is to get Ace's transcript exchanged, then we can go home." Belle listed off.
Rockie let off a groan and crossed his arms, "Why are we doing this anyway? It's boring." He whined, side bumping some guy.
"Watch it punk." the guy growled back.
"He apologizes," Belle called back to the man then turned back around. "Anyway, today is our chore day. Stop acting like this is brand new. Besides, you've been too busy playing and telling those awful stories than working."
"Hey, those stories aren't awful. They're legendary." He jumped atop a nearby barrel. "They are epic tales of baddasses kicking evil's butt. They show that no matter how many times you get knocked down, you can always get back up. It proves," he sniffed dramatically and placed a hand over his chest," that kids like me can make a difference in the world. One day, I'll be the greatest hero!"
"Hey kid! Get the hell off my barrel." The booth owner yelled.
Rockie stared at the man, then gave him a peace sign. "Sorry my brotha." he laughed and jumped down making his way back to Belle's side. They started back walking.
"Damn brats." the man growled.
"You are a piece of work, you know that right?" Belle stated.
Rockie crossed his arms behind his head. "People like you wouldn't understand the awesomest of it."
"Awesomest isn't even a word," she smiled, "and even if it was, your story would fall nowhere near under that category."
Rockie stuck out his tongue, "Hater."
After crossing a small grass field, a building came into view. When they approached the bank, Belle paused and sat the basket against the wall.
"Before we go inside, Rockie, promise me you'll be on your best behavior." she spoke.
He stared at her with a puzzled expression, "You really have to ask that, Belle?"
Even though he was 14, basically a kid right?, Belle wishes Rockie could control himself sometimes. However, she is proud of how she's matured these years, that now managing the sporadic boy was a bit more bearable. Being that she was older than Rockie, it was her responsibilty to look after him. Still, the kid had a serious case of adhd and the will of a dragon which meant that doing a simple errand could turn into a whole adventure action flick.
"Just… promise me okay? Please?" Belle pleaded, gnawing on her bottom lip. If Rockie wasn't so hard to handle, she wouldn't have to resort to begging, but since that was the only way to get him to act kind of decent, she'll...
Rockie huffed and turned his head away from her mumbling, "Yeah, whatever, I promise."
Belle smiled and cocked her head cheerfully. "Good, let's get this over with."
Belle:1 - Rockie:0
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Inside the bank...
The wait was painful and it felt like they had been standing in line for days. Rockie rocked back and forth, humming a melody to himself and bobbing his head. Belle stood still, focused on the remaining three people before her.
'Finally, it's almost my turn', she thought with a sigh. She then peered at the dancing orange head beside her then calmly shut her eyes, "Can you ever go anywhere and not move?"
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He glared at her, "Look, we've been standing for hours now..."
"It's only been 25 minutes."
"...How do you expect me to stay still that long?"
Belle sighed, "I guess I don't then."
The people ahead of them got through quickly and it was finally their turn.
Belle stepped up to the smiling female Teller.
"How may I assist you today?" the Teller asked brightly.
"I would like to exchange this transcript please."
"Yes ma'am."
Belle handed the Teller the paper slip, who grabbed it cheerfully. Before the lady could do anything, the entrance doors were kicked open.
"Everybody get down. We robbing the place." a man in a black jumpsuit and ski mask shouted. He was followed by four other different species wearing the same thing. They all had weapons, two had pistols and three had rifles.
Everyone in the bank scurried around, falling to the floor immediately.
"Get down now. Now NOW!" the leadman screamed, making his way to the back of the bank. He suddenly came to a stop when he was facing two people backs still standing.
"You two. I said down on the fucking ground now."
"Sorry bruh," Rockie said turning to face the man, "I ain't taking your orders."
The man glared at the boy, "Listen here you funny looking kid-"
Belle shot around, "Why? Why now? You couldn't have waited to rob this place after we left."
"I won't say get down again. Get on the damn ground." the man yelled.
"But you just said it again." Rockie said, tilting his head.
"NOW!" the man raised his pistol at them.
Belle shuddered staring down the barrel of the gun but kept a relaxed face. Bullets were far from their friend. "Look, there's no need to be pointing a weapon at two defenseless kids' faces, so you can one: leave with no one getting hurt or two... take your chances with us."
"Choose number two. Please choose number two." Rockie begged hopping up and down.
The man laughed, the deep bellow echoing throughout the bank. "Chances! With you? Tch, this is why I hate kids. I tried to tell you nicely." The thief pulled the trigger and the bullet rushed passed the teens as they dodged it, glass shattering behind them from the impact.
Belle and Rockie gave each other a look they knew too well.
"Well I did warn him." Belle shrugged.
"Hehe," Rockie chuckled as his body began to let off little sparks here and there. Suddenly his hands ignited in golden electricity, crackling loudly. "Time to rock it."
The surrounding air grew deadly tense causing the spines of the thieves to river dance up and down their backs once they realized who they were up against. The leadman hesitantly stood his ground.
"Fuck, they're magics." the leader cursed under his breath as his pupils darted from one teen to the other.
"The proposition still stands," Belle stated calmly. "You can still give up."
The leader slit his eyes at her, "Yeah, you'll like that wouldn't you, demon?"
Belle flinched a little at his choice of name calling, but Rockie stood straight and glared.
"Fuck you man. Are we fighting or not?"
Watching the young magic's expression, the leader chuckled, "Whatever. Guys, take'em out." he shouted, and they all pointed their guns and opened fire. Rockie and Belle pushed away from each other.
Belle skidded to a halt close to the wall and spread her arm wide at her sides. "Bubble barrier" she yelled and a bubble wall formed before her and spread along the walls of the bank, separating the civilians from the fight, which she left the middle of the bank open for.
Rockie jumped on top of one of the bank's tables and ran, hopping from one table top to the next as a trail of bullets rushed into the barrier beside him. When he landed on the last table, he placed his right foot on the edge and pushed off.
This was the moment he loved the most. His body hummed and he could feel his heart pumping extra hard. Excited. This was what he enjoyed, the exhilaration his body felt, his magic coursing through his body, the pounding of his pulse. Yes, this was his element, his highlight. Nothing could surpass this feeling of ecstasy.
"Wait!" the shout had Rockie freezing in mid-air, an electric fist reeled back ready to punch the guy he was froze over.
"What?" he snapped, glaring over at the white haired mage.
"These guys are non-magics, so no sources."
"The hell is going on here?" the lead man shouted as he and his crew looked around confused.
"Fine," Rockie grunted, cutting off his magic, then clasping his hands together over his head and hammered them down on the man's head. The man slammed face first to the floor. Crouching, Rockie rubbed his thumb across his nose with a grin. "Game on."
The men opened fire. Rockie kicked the unconscious man's body out of the way, then leaped himself out of the way. The bullets were flying at him full speed as he danced around to avoid being hit.
Noticing the table beside him, he flipped the table over and hid behind it, laying back taking a breather as the bullets now hit the table side.
"Fuckity fuck," he cursed. He had to come up with something quick. "Yeah, great idea saying no sources, Belle." He shouted, then flipped a thumbs up so she could see it. Without much thinking, he turned facing the table and punched it as hard as he could, sending it flying across the floor. It knocked two of the men back and pinned them against the barrier.
Trying to push the table, they went to fire again, but the bubble stretched over their heads. They immediately dropped their weapons and struggled to free themselves which wouldn't budge no matter how much they clawed, punched, or pulled at it. After struggling for a while, their bodies went limp, but still alive.
Rockie ran towards the two remaining men. They shot at him, but he quickly dodged the bullets and ducked under their aims. Sliding between them, he swiftly kicked the lackey behind his knees and the man wobbled forward. He snatched the lackey's rifle then leaped back, pointing it at him and the leader. Electricity starting to dance along the weapon.
Rockie grinned, "I win."
The leader and his lackey just stared at him.
"You're still a monster freak." the lackey spat out.
Rockie's smile dropped, then he spun around and swung the rifle up. The butt of the gun snapped the lackey's head up and sent him soaring through the roof of the bank.
"Sucka," Rockie mumbled dropping the weapon, then turned to the leader, who stood with his gun pointing at Rockie. His hands were shaking noticeably.
A second later, the lackey's body fell through the ceiling, but before he could hit the ground, a bubble formed to break his fall. He bounced off of it and landed on the floor.
Belle walked through the barrier and eyed the leader and he eyed her back, clutching his weapon tightly in his hands and trying to hold back his fear. He was failing at it.
"The last one. What do you suppose we should do with him, Rockie?" Belle asked, a glint in her eyes that made the man's skin rise up.
Rockie jolted in surprise and stared at her with wide eyes, "Really? I get to choose?"
A chuckle caused his excitement to wash away, "Of course not. I was just joking. If you chose, this whole building would look worst than it already does. The guards will deal with them. I'm ready to go." she relaxed her body and the barrier and bubbles around the lackeys' heads popped. She then looked back at the leader, her blue eyes ten shades darker. "You're lucky I was having a good day."
The man's shaking eyes wandered towards the silver necklace around Belle's neck. He examined the pendant, then his pupils widened tenfold when he realized it looked like a...a..
"You… you kids are from t-the D-Dove Clan guild." a yelp broke through his frozen daze, finally gaining the nerves to speak. "I-if I would've k-known that, we would've left ahead of time."
Belle sneered at the pathetic man. "That's a load of bull and you know it. You're just trying to get off, but it will never work. You tried to rob a bank. I despise scum like you, who would say anything at their last breath to try and save himself. You had this coming when you struck first." she turned around and started walking toward the frighten Teller, cowering behind broken glass.
"All of you are the same," the man snipped back, causing Belle to stop. He smirked and continued, "All of you think you can do whatever you want just because you have a little magic flowing through your veins. You're nothing but hungry power seekers. You all just want the power of being stronger than us non-magics. You make me sick. You're nothing but MONSTERS!"
"SHUT UP!" a voice growled through the air, and everybody looked at the fuming orange head. His tighten fist shook at his hips as his eyes narrowed on the thief. "Just shut up. You don't know what you're talking about. We risk our lives everyday protecting everyone, non-magics and all, from things you wouldn't even dare, so don't call us monsters. You're the damn monster."
"You're all ticking time bombs waiting to detonate. Good or bad, you're all the same. You magics will be the destruction of Holiday, watch what I tell you. The quicker King Yamchi sees that you're nothing but trouble and get rid of you maggots for good this time, the better." He started laughing maniacally.
"He's right you know," a male stated sitting up on the floor. "Berlim, hell all of Holiday would be well off without you guys."
"That's right," a woman spoke up. "I mean, look. They can't even stop simple robbers without destroying the place. They could've killed them or worse, us."
Murmurs erupted around the banks, many agreeing like the kids hadn't just saved their lives. Rockie's face cringed up, the whispers making him angrier by the second.
"ENOUGH!" Belle silenced everyone. Keeping her back to them she said, "Rockie, knock him out."
Rockie grinned hard as he focused in on his target. He slowly treaded towards the shaking man, his fists balled and ready. The robber started to back away before he tripped over his own feet and landed on his butt.
"S-stay… stay back." he cried as he back crawled.
Rockie chuckled inching closer, " Hehe, it won't hurt a bit. My shock'll just knock you out til the guards get here, so stop your crying and take it like a man." He leaned his face closer, so close he could almost smell the man's fear. "See, we're not all monsters. This is for calling me funny looking."
Before the man could respond, Rockie ran his fist across his face, not quite knocking him out. He grasped the moaning man's collar and brought them face to face again. "And this," he reeled his right fist back and electricity formed around it, "is for disrespecting my family," and punched him again, this time stunning him unconscious.
The thief's head snapped to the side and landed face first onto the concrete floor.
The ginger grinned down at his handiwork while dusting off his hands.
After slowly reassuring the scared Teller that she was safe so they could get their errand done, with the addition of Ace's earning being short 2000 yamchi specks because of the damage (they had to pay for the damages: messed up right), they finally left. But not without Rockie giving the unconscious thieves a last look over.
Once outside, Belle grabbed ahold of the grocery basket and lifted it up. Without saying anything or looking back, she started walking back the way they had come and the two were off.
Rockie noticed how quiet Belle was and couldn't help but feel guilty. No matter how hard he'd try, he still found a way to screw something up. He frowned at those thoughts and lowered his head, stopping in his tracks. "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Belle paused and looked over her shoulder. She saw the shadowed over face as the boy hung his head mumbling something unintelligible.
"I'm sorry okay!" he suddenly yelled, pulling his head and staring straight at her.
She gasped at the sudden change in his attitude.
Rockie dropped his head low again, his shoulders shuddering as he tried to keep his emotions at bay. "You told me to behave, but I couldn't even do that right. Now Ace's earnings are short and it's my fault."
"No it's not Rockie," Belle responded back in a soft voice. "You did nothing wrong. We did what we're supposed to do, regardless of what they say, and that's protect the lives of the innocent. If we hadn't been there when that attack took place, just imagine how many people would've been hurt. And Ace'll understand, trust me." she smiled at him and saw his face begin to lift up. "No matter what anybody says Rockie, never change who you are. It'll never be the same without you. Now wipe that hideous expression off of your face. I never knew the Great Rockie K showed remorse."
"Ey, do not… whatever that means?"Rockie growled as a large smile replaced his frown.
Belle giggled at him. "Come on, our family awaits, and I know dinner is ready."
"Amen for dinner. Hehe, I'm starving." Rockie leap up gleefully then suddenly yelped out when something sharp pricked his neck. He pulled a small dart off his neck. An instant electric surge rippled under his skin and a weird chill rushed through his body.
He jerked around and focused on the surrounding forest but saw nothing.
Belle gave him a confused look, but Rockie just shrugged, and they started back walking, oblivious to the crumbling and crashing bank building and the angry rants of "Damn magics" in the background.
...
A few miles out in the nearby forest, two creatures stood off with an intense look.
"Did you do it?" One creature, with strong wings folded behind the back, asked the other.
The other bristled with anger and stated, "Don't underestimate me. I definitely hit the mark."
"Well, let's go and report back." He said, then the two were off in a flash.
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In a spaceship far away...
Heeled footsteps echoed, marching along the marble flooring as the sound bounced off the walls of the tunnel like hallway. Silence rang for hours, only the footfalls filling up the empty space with sharp click clacks. The footsteps came to a stop at a black door and the slim figure softly pushed it open revealing a dark room, the only light coming from a device in front of a figure who was slouching. The soft hum of cosmic wind echoed lightly from outside. Softly closing the door, the first figure diligently walked up behind the other and cleared their throat.
"They have taken care of it sire and I have sent out all of the required messages, my liege." The slim figure stated calmly in a soft squeaky voice. Their comment got a hum from the other figure, who remained staring at the device.
"Excellent. And all have accepted, Darling?" the other's light masculine voice spoke out.
"Yes, my liege. As you had proposed they would." The slim figure stated remaining still in their stance. "What do we do now my liege?"
"We wait." The second figure said, finally sitting up in their seat stretching their arms above their head, eyes still focused on the device which now had a small dot on it. Their long hair swayed down their back. "The pieces will all come together in due time, as they are destined to. We must wait until the perfect time, until it is ready. Then and only then will we take our prize. When it is ready everything will be ours and all our hard work would finally be worth it."