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A House Divided
By Miz Yin
Rina had no idea that thing would only get worse after the aliens left. So much had happened on Gaia because of them. The tragic shooting of 02 and the remaining aliens’ sudden departure had left many Gaians cheering, but the heartache for some of them was too much to bear. Some Gaians had been in close contact with the Zurg...
Rina had not been one of them.
The Zurg had been cool to have around for a while, but with them gone, nothing interesting had been happening. Sure, everything had quieted back down for a while, but now the GCD was alive with discussion of conspiracy theories. It had become almost uninhabitable as of late. The district had become so congested with spammers that it was now almost too much of a hassle to get down to the Ian Bar and Grill or the Gino Harem, even on a good day.
The catgirl sighed as she looked out over the balcony of the loft she was sharing. The view of the ocean was beautiful, but humidity of the summer day on Isle de Gambino...exhausting. Pawing at the banister, she only wished that she could go inside. Sadly, her new roomie was...well, to be blunt, nocturnal. If Rina Lee was to simply open the curtains, not only would she practically have her ear chewed off later that night, she might have some sort of sharp object thrown at her before she could close them again. Rina Lee rapped on the door, “Tannu, are you awake yet?!” A very bitchy voice shrilly replied, “LET ME SLEEP!” and that was that.
The girl jumped off the balcony, landing with a soft thud in front of the lower doors just as the lower apartment’s residents walked out. “Oi! Always? How are you?” Her sister looked at her glumly, “You know I broke up with my boyfriend. Don’t talk to me.” “It’s okay, I’m taking good care of her,” Love_me_Always’s roommate patted the sad teen on the shoulder, “Are you going to the Grill or the Harem?” “Haven’t decided yet,” Rina muttered, as the two walked back inside.
“Mailbox, mailbox...give me something good...” the catgirl began to whistle as she popped open her inbox with her elbow. She raised an eyebrow at the peculiar brown letter that dominated the inbox, “Urgent? What could possibly be that ‘URGENT’?” she bit her lip as she opened the letter, obviously a bit worried about it.
“From Edmund...?”
“Urgent, yadda yadda...needs my help...well, it IS Edmund...I should go find out what the dealie is...”
Of course, as Murphy’s Law dictates, all of the trains were running late that day. By the time she had the note taped to Tannu’s door, she had missed the first one. After violently bumping into countless people in a rush to get to H.R. Wesley, she decided that Edmund and his ‘urgent quest’ could wait a bit, and she took a detour to the Grill to grab a nice fish and chips basket.
“’Lo Bob,” Rina waved a gloved hand at the resident barkeeper, “Did you hear about Edmund—” “Rina,” he sighed, “If you got that letter too...set aside 500G.” “Why on Gaia would I do that?” “Let’s just say he’s trying to help stop a...menace to society.” “What, he’s finally going to hunt down the Sniper? Or is he going after Johnny K.?” “Much worse. Oh, by the way, here, taste this,” he offered a spoon with some sort of reddish sauce on it. “What...is it?” “Veggie spaghetti. Try it,” he offered the spoon again. “Fine...” Rina gingerly licked the spoon, “T...tasty. Mushrooms?” Bob nodded. “Now, I have to hit up Rufus with some of my oldish clothes if I’m going to get that 500G. I’ve only got about 71G or so right now...wish me luck...” “Luck!” The bell tinkled again as she let the door shut behind her.
Rina hopped back on the train, having lost her appetite with the mere mention of mushrooms in spaghetti. She popped her neck a few times, drawing stares from the group of n00bs across from her. She smiled and said, “Don’tcha just love the summer?” The group, which looked to be made up of two newbies, a pr0n troll, and possibly a transvestite hooker, looked confused. “Sumer gud? Liek mudkipz?” The pr0n troll pumped her fist in the air, shouting “LONGCAT FTW!” “liek, awsum summr, rite?” The two newbie girls smiled and nodded, pulling the hair up on their foreheads to show off their new ninja headbands. Rina was surprised that the transvestite hadn’t replied to any of the chatspeak, “Hey, you. What’s your story? Having a good summer?”
“I’m tired of no plot updates. I’m heading out to Edmund’s.” “Me too! Amazing. How many people got this letter, anyway?” “I suspect everyone. He’ll need all the help he can get...” Rina tilted her head to one side, unintentionally popping it again, “With what?” “You’ve been skipping out on the GCD lately, haven’t you?” “Been busy; new roommate and stuff...”
“Well then, I’ll be the first to tell you...Von-pires.” “Oh come on, not another conspiracy theory!” “No, I’m serious!”
The transvestite lowered his/her voice, “I know it sounds crazy,” he/she moved off of his/her seat and plopped down on Rina’s bench, “...But it’s true. I saw them...They’re back.” “...the Von Helsons are back?” Rina whispered. “It’s true...I saw them. And they look...well, to be honest, they still look stunning, but there’s something...off, about them. They don’t look the same...and they’re looking for funds to rebuild their empire. They keep making these weird comments about ‘bites’ and ‘delicious’ and stuff like that. I didn’t give them any money, but...I know people will, and I’m worried. People are saying that they really did die, and that now they’re, well, Von-pires.” “Vampires with a ‘Von’, ne?” “Yeah, it’s kind of a dumb name, but...” “Well then, what’s Edmund got to do with all of this?” “When we get to Barton, you should get off the train.” “W...why?” stammered Rina. “Oh no, it’s nothing like that. Go buy some garlic and one of those orchids. Trust me, Edmund will ask for ‘em, and you’ll be happy you helped.” “WE HAVE ARRIVED AT BARTON TOWN. PLEASE EXIT IN AN ORDERLY FASHION.”
When Rina turned around to thank the transvestite for his/her information, he/she was gone.
After a lengthy train ride out to H.R. Wesley in the near-pitch-black night, Rina finally stumbled out of the passenger’s compartment. Looking up at the huge building where Edmund resided, she couldn’t help but think that something big was starting; something she couldn’t believe hadn’t happened yet. What that thing was, however, she had no idea.
Rina hardly had to tap on the door before it swung open. “Rina! Good of you to...to come. I’ll just be a moment; finishing up some business...with another young lady.” Edmund turned back to the silver-haired woman behind him, who had turned to face the fireplace, “Now, Miss Tanuki, I don’t believe you understand the severity of the situate—” “No sir, I believe you don’t. If it comes to choosing sides, I would never, ever side with such a self-claimed noble cause. Besides, I know all about your little operation, and let me tell you, I’ll have no part in it. Good day, sir!” Tannu, or, as she was more commonly known, The Tanuki Drow, stormed out of the room.
“Edmund...what you’ve been looking for was garlic and these?” Rina held up the black orchid. “Yes, yes, thank you. See, I’m going to need as much as I can get...thank you. Here, take this,” the man handed her a brooch in the shape of the orchid she just handed to him, “It’s a sign that you are dedicated to helping our cause.” Edmund clasped the small girl’s hands in his, a pleading look in his eyes, “Please, stay vigilant. You have no idea how messy this could get...”
Tannu opened the mailbox tentatively; people had left things in there before that were...less than savory to the touch. They called it a ‘joke’, but whatever it was, those people had gotten quite a full mailbox of spam. It was frustrating, sometimes, to not be able to just gut people on the spot, but she managed.
“...who are the Von Helsons...?”
“Urgent? Meet us...where...?”
Tannu didn’t even bother with a note. Grabbing her purse, she trotted off to the corner down the street from the demolished Gambino Mansion.
“We were waiting for you,” the twins chorused, smirking at the drow as she stepped out of the light, blinking profusely. Tannu slumped against the wall, trying to refocus her eyes after walking past a streetlamp, “What...what do you want? Ugh, my eyes...” inwardly cursing the advent of electricity. The twin in blue smirked, “You look,” the other finished her sentence, “Delicious tonight. We were just out for,” “A bite to eat.” Tannu raised an eyebrow at their seemingly twin-telepathic ability.
“We’ve been out of the loop,” “For so long, and we’re trying to get back to our,” “Former glory. What we’d really like is,” “500G. It would really help us out...” Tannu thought for a moment, That tranny did say something about these Von Helsons...Von-pires, he said...I’ve never turned down something so...intriguing. Why...not? “I’ll do you one better, twisted sisters. Here,” she counted out 3000G and tossed them over to the women.
“Wonderful! You’re such a,” “Sweetheart! We have something,” “For you.” The twin in red handed Tannu a glistening red brooch, “This is for helping us. Wear it,” “To show your support for our cause. Here, give a few to,” “Your friends...” the twins tossed a small pouch filled with brooches to Tannu. All three women smirked. The drow gently and gracefully the blood-red droplet of a jewel to her top, “I’ll be back with more gold. What a just and noble cause!” “Oh,” “Yes, how,” “Noble of us!” and the three began to laugh.
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