novelraw Chapter 7-12
Chapter 7-12
Modern Lost Angels was originally known as New Lost Angels prior to the destruction of the original city during the Undying War. Construction of NLA began in the year 65, just before the first large-scale excursions of undead in 66. By 69, the original city had been reduced to rubble and the surviving population was crammed into NLA.
This began the cycle of expansion that has now quadrupled the area of the original city and holds ten times the population. The first ‘new’ district constructed was District Five, directly to the north of the Inner City. The wall was originally built to serve as a first line of defense against further undead attacks, but once the Army started building barracks near the new wall, the area quickly filled in.
It remains the center of the Army’s operations even today. The vast majority of troops stationed in LA live there, whether in one of the government barracks or the many housing blocks nearby.
- Fodorick’s Lonely Traveler – Guide to Lost Angels
We followed Arlo slowly down the main street, looking around in wonder. It was still early and the streets were quiet, but the people I saw were dressed like nothing I’d seen before. The finest ‘clothing’ I’d seen in my life was the armor of the trainees, yet many of these people were even more elaborately dressed.
It was nothing like the scene outside the wall. The simple dress and rugged, sometimes corrupted appearance of the soldiers outside felt miles apart from the bright colors I saw on many of the people here. Others wore simple-looking but elegant garments of dark cloth. There were no signs of corruption on anyone, and again nearly everyone was human. There was a pair of elves on the other side of the street, and I’d spotted a dwarf here and there, but that was it.
There were a number of human-pulled ‘carts’ like I’d seen outside, but these were much more luxurious. They were made out of elegant metal or dark wood, with richly cushioned seats. I also saw a few carriages being pulled by various animals, all beautifully matched and perfectly groomed. None of the people I saw out walking were running or appeared to be in any sort of a hurry, though a few of the vehicles moved quickly.
Our group got more than a few looks from the passerby. Most of them were directed towards the orcs, but Jayce and Zaire also got their share. I caught a few as well, which I thought were directed at my unique hairstyle – I had my helmet in my Inventory, not expecting to need it today.
To our left, the buildings of District Three were a bit smaller, but more interesting in style and color compared to those in Four. Arlo continued to serve as our tour guide, telling us that we should call it ‘Rodeo’, which apparently meant ‘expensive shops.’ Arlo told us that people living outside of the Inner City would come to Three on rare occasions, for a fancy meal or to buy something special.
We wandered back and forth across the wide street, looking into the glass windows of the gorgeous stores we passed. I doubted I could afford a single thing on display – not that I saw any prices posted. There were many clothing stores, especially on the Rodeo side, along with some arms and armor stores, furniture, and even fine foods.
On the other side of the street, Arlo explained that District Four was also known as Eagleton for the number of banks and other ‘financial services’ it offered. I had no idea what ‘financial services’ were and the only thing I knew about banks was that you could borrow money from them.
We passed several banks with massive, elaborate entrances. Golden letters spelled out their names and proclaimed their wealth for all to see. Their stone fronts were worked into elegant columns and geometric designs, and they had heavily armored guards posted outside.
It was only three quarters of a mile to the city’s massive central square, but it took us quite a while as we wandered around. Arlo was patiently tolerant of our antics, seemingly amused as we gossiped over the new sights. The central square of LA seemed larger by itself than a few of the towns we’d passed through on our way to the Academy.
Well over five hundred feet on each side, it was dominated by a huge fountain in the middle. A strangely organic sculpture of stone shot a column of water straight up fifty feet or more into the sky. Magic caught the falling water and guided it into mesmerizing spirals as it flowed back down into the pool surrounding the sculpture.
Behind the fountain, we could clearly see two more of the city’s skyscrapers. The one that looked like a clean grey column topped with a crown was the State Capital, where the Governor and the Senate ruled over LA and the surrounding regions. It was the other that turned my stomach.
I felt my stomach clench with dread. It was one thing to hear Thompson talk of Yuri’s family having millions of eagles. Standing there, looking up at a monument to that very fortune, was a totally different experience.
If Yuri’s going to come for revenge like Thompson said he would… Shit! I really do need to get my head out of my ass and get back to hardcore training. I can’t just be better in a fight than Yuri, I’m fucking better than him already. I need to be miles ahead of him if I’m going to have a chance against all the Wasted one-shots and gear he can buy!
I started as I realized that I’d come to a dead stop and Jayce and Arlo were looking back at me impatiently. The others had continued on ahead for a closer look at the fountain. As I began to move forward to catch up with them, I heard a scream and whirled, my gun reflexively appearing in my hands. The scream was followed by bellowing laughter and shrieks of joy and I froze as I took in the bizarre sight before me.
Something was hurtling through the square, riding on wheels like a wagon, but without anything pulling it and with a very different shape. Low, sleek, and painted a deep purple, the thing had smaller wheels than any wagon I’d ever seen and was moving much, much faster. A group of laughing teenagers were inside it, and they’d nearly crashed into the person who’d screamed.
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Their conveyance swerved wildly around the startled woman, wavering back and forth, then screeched to a halt, sliding sideways across the stone courtyard. It finally came to a stop only twenty feet away from us. With a shout, one of the boys inside pointed at Arlo, and then small doors popped open on both sides and the riders jumped out.
“Arlo! How are you doing, you asshole? I thought you weren’t going to be back for months!” shouted the boy who seemed to be the leader of the group.
I Identified him immediately, only to get the very clear feeling that his profile was false. Not that I wouldn’t have guessed from reading it.
Name: Mateo the Mighty!Class: BadassTier: 99Mateo the Mighty, aka Mateo the Magnificent, aka Mateo the Mega-Badass, is amazing at everything…
I stopped reading almost immediately, feeling a strong revulsion towards this jerk. From Arlo’s reaction, at least his name was Mateo. I left him to his reunion, stepping around them and towards the rest of the team that were gathered near the fountain. Up close, the presumably magical not-wagon was itself quite beautiful. It had fluid, almost sensual curves to it, and the dark purple color shimmered in the light, seeming to change hues as I shifted my gaze.
Entranced, I stepped closer, wondering how it worked. Dimly I heard a voice call out behind me.
“Hey cutie, you like my manamobile?”
I was starting to circle around the thing when Arlo interrupted me with a Comm’d laugh.
Startled, I turned, to find Mateo had walked right up to me and was standing just a couple of feet away. I discovered that I was a good two inches taller than the outrageously-dressed ‘badass’, whose deep purple shirt matched the paint on his ‘ride’.
“Um, hi,” I said finally, trying to process what I was seeing. In addition to the shimmering shirt, he was wearing a pair of skin-tight pants of gleaming white, with white boots to top it off.
“Hey yourself,” he responded. “I just love your hair! And your eye, wow, the color and the scar! Where’d you get that enchantment?! You want to go for a ride, ditch these losers?”
The sounds of my teammates laughing into the Comms did not help my ability to figure out how to respond to that.
“Uh, the eye’s not an enchantment,” I finally blurted out. “I got that in a dungeon after drinking a mana potion and almost dying. Oh, and the scar’s real too.”
Mateo’s bright purple eyes – which I realized now were lined with makeup like I’d seen on a few of the trainee girls – widened in shock. Arlo, now laughing out loud, stepped up next to him.
“Better watch out Mateo, Az isn’t like any of the girls you’ve ever chased around here! She’s a legit badass, survived the Advanced Tutorial and led a Squad into a dungeon at Level 3.”
“Wow!” Mateo practically purred, leaning in uncomfortably close. I took a hurried step back, nearly bumping into the vehicle behind me. “That’s amazing! Dangerous and dangerously sexy!” he giggled.
What is up with this guy?!
I looked around frantically for help, having no idea how to respond to this… blatant flirting. Finally, I just looked back at the strange boy and blurted out, “Sorry, but I only like girls!”
Arlo, now laughing so hard that he was almost in tears, pounded a fist on his thigh. I heard some of the other boys that had come with Mateo also cracking up.
“Oh, how nice!” Mateo was definitely purring now.
Slowly he reached up and took hold of a gleaming gold necklace. There was a shimmer of light around him, and when it vanished I was staring at a girl. She, or he? – I was confused – had the same purple eyes and dark hair, and now filled out her interesting clothes in a much more appealing way.
My jaw dropped in shock at the transformation and my brain stuttered to a halt.
“What the fuck?!” was what came out of my mouth next, and I definitely wasn’t blushing.
The girl in front of me was giggling in a disconcertingly charming way as everyone else was dying of laughter. Not knowing what else to do, I tried Identifying them again.
Name: Maria the MagnificentClass: SeductressTier: 99
His? her? their? profile was still obviously lying to me. Finally, Arlo took pity on me and managed to stop laughing long enough to explain.
“Take it easy on her, Maria! Az is from Sunland, she’s never seen a transformation enchantment before,” he said, and I was even more confused. He looked at me and continued, “Maria’s a girl, she just likes to play at being Mateo to seduce other girls.”
“Hey!” Maria shouted, suddenly pissed off. “I’m not a girl! Except when I want to be, or when a cutie like Azure here wants me to be one! Mateo is just as real as Maria!”
Arlo held up his hands defensively, “Sorry! Sorry, Maria,” he apologized.
“Yeah, you’d better be! Don’t make Mateo kick your ass!” she? they? responded belligerently.
“How intriguing,” Jayce commented, stepping forward. “A dual-natured among humans!”
“Oooh, your voice is sooo cool,” gushed Maria, blatantly looking over the cyborg as she flipped back to cheerful in a moment. “And of course I love your color scheme, but sadly for you I like my prey 100% female!” She shot me a wink at that.
I wanted to run away, but I knew that would just make everything worse. Maria giggled at my stupified expression, then pulled something out of her Inventory and handed it to me. It was a small rectangle that felt like metal but was as thin as a few sheets of paper. Unsurprisingly, it was a shimmering purple, with white text gleaming.
“Maria & Mateo Branderson” it said in flowing letters. Below it was what I assumed was an address, though it meant nothing to me.
“Take my card, darling, and feel free to call on me anytime! Toodles!”
The girl/boy hopped back into their vehicle, followed by their friends, and there was a sudden hum that made me take a step back. Then the wheels squealed and it shot forwards, drawing more yelps from passerby as it careened through the square, around the fountain, and hurtled off down the street dividing Central from Eagleton.
I looked helplessly at a still laughing Arlo and the rest of my team who weren’t helping with their huge grins. I crossed my arms, definitely not pouting, and Arlo took pity on me. Throwing an arm across my shoulders, he started guiding me around the fountain while unsuccessfully attempting to explain the strange person I’d just met.