Orso Fiction 014

Orso Fiction 014-A Little Different (Part 2 of 3)
“We have to get to the chopper!”, Cortni shouted.

“You are an admirable opponent, Sushimaru.”, Bighoof began. “But I must defeat you, for peace, between the centaurs and the samurai.”

“Tatsu…We’re going to get those chicken wings, no matter what it takes.”, Nick said quietly, hunched in the air vent with his mongoose. Tatsu eagerly growled his approval. “For the sake of our pride!”

Medium shot of Bradley, spinning in his chair. Pan out to reveal his desk on fire.

“None of this stuff ever happened!”, Catherine shouted at Cortni. Cut to Josh, who’s got a machine gun in each hand, and he’s just going to TOWN with them.

Back to Bradley spinning.

Cut to Cara Lundgren, an obvious attempt at drawing in viewers with sex appeal.

Cut to Alex, reading some papers or something, so we know he’s smart. Dark lighting, so we get the feeling something scary is going to happen to him.

Back to Bradley spinning, giggling madly this time.

Zeke crushing a butterfly.

Cut to Cody, who puts on Maschera Rinata, crackling with Thunder Flames. Cut to Laura, shouting orders to her team, the music begins to fade, then immediately dies with the next cut.

Extreme close-up on Bradley’s eyes.

“Why….so….SERIOUS?!”

---

“Yeah, that was a really cool video, Nick.”, Alex Carroll said, as Nick finished showing him his project. “But we really do have a mission to do.”

“Oh, yeah, right.”, Nick Seese said, closing his laptop. “We should go do that.”

“You said Zeke wanted to see you, Alex. Why?”, Cara Lundgren asked. “You do remember what he’s done, right?”

“Of course I do.”, Alex replied. “But he...he said he wanted to talk to me. He told me I could bring whoever I wanted to, so I came to Nick.”

“Because you know I’d be able to fight them off, right.”, Nick said absentmindedly, eating a chicken wing.

“No. Because you’d be able to get back to base to report about what happened if the worst case scenario happened.”

“What? What are you saying?”

“Nick, it’s a fact I hate to admit, but the only people who stand a chance of fighting the Apostles are the Primo Guardians. MAYBE the Primo Varia and Agents. But not us. There’s no way Bradley would allow anyone to actually go to meet with them. So this is a secret mission.”

“What do you expect to get out of this?”, Cara asked. “What did Zeke tell you?”

“I expect…I don’t know, actually. At the best, I get some valuable intelligence. Maybe they’ll slip, and reveal something about themselves.”

“What did he say to you, Alex?”, Cara asked sternly. Alex looked away.

“He said he wanted to talk to me. That’s all. Don’t try to make me feel guilty for this. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“You’re going to chat with the man who held all our lives in his hand during Choice, who attacked our base, and will come to attack us again. You’re dealing with a terrorist, Alex. A very dangerous one.”

“I know what I’m doing, Cara”, Alex said. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. Just…don’t tell anyone we’re going.”

“Oh, of course I’m coming.”, Cara said. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Someone’s got to keep you out of trouble.”

“Good. Nick, let’s go.”, Alex said. Nick stood, Tatsu at his heels, and began to walk with them.

“God…I feel like Hermione, with you two sneaking out.”, Cara said. Nick chuckled.

“Then I guess I’m like Ron.”, he said. “Which means you and I end up-“

Cara glared at him, and he instantly got quiet. There was an awkward moment.

“You’re really more of a Neville.”, Alex said, as they approached the elevator.

---

“Alright, here we go…”, Laura Wise thought, looking at her team. She had handpicked exactly one-third of it. The rest had argued, or puppy dog eyed their way in. She wasn’t even sure where Catherine had come from, or, who she was, for that matter. Cody Cooley sat to her right in the helicopter, Bear Force One. Cortni O’Hara and Catherine Murray sat across from them. Tori Walls and Josh Wells sat further back to her left. The helicopter had been programmed to fly them to Japan to pick up the next package and Ferraro brother, because all the Orso’s best pilots were on missions of their own.

The helicopter took off, and Laura got the attention of her team.

“Well, since you’ve all smuggled your way into this mission, I should get to know you all, and how you all fight, so I can map out battle strategies for when we get down there, and, invariably, get into a fight with those biker girls we’ve all heard about, the Seven Roses. I’ll start. I’m Laura Wise. I’m a Mist-type, and specialize in defensive, close-range fighting. I’m the Primo Mist Varia Officer, so I’m the highest ranked of anyone assembled.

“Alright. I’m Cody Cooley. You all know me. I’m the Secondo Thunder Guardian. I specialize in close-range fighting as well.”

“I’m Josh Wells. I’m a Thunder Flame user, too, but I haven’t really fought enough to call myself a specialist in anything. I guess long range, for me. Sometimes, though…I get these vivid images of me, firing two machine guns”

“I’m Tori Walls. I’m a Rain Fame user, and a medium range fighter.”

“I’m Cortni O’Hara. I’m a Sun Flame user, and I’ve never actually been in a fight…”

“I’m Catherine Murray. Today was my first day in the base, and I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Right.”, Laura said. “That’s probably not going to get much better, but we’ll try to help you out. Okay, where do I start?”

“Well, I kind of understand why I’m here at all.”, Catherine offered. “So maybe at the part where I DON’T KNOW HOW TO FIGHT.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a good place to start.”, Laura said, not noticing the girl’s panic. She picked up a metal box and opened it, to reveal a variety of rings and boxes. “See, in people, there is usually one of seven kinds of energy. That kind of energy kind of depends on your personality. We use that energy, called Dying Will, to power things like weaponry. Now, we’re going to find out which kind of energy you have in you, alright? Put this ring on.”

Catherine put on the light blue ring Laura handed her.

“Do you really think this is going to work, Laura? It took me ages to learn how to light my ring correctly.”, Josh said.

“Just, try to picture your resolution as a flame, burning on that ring.”, Laura coaxed. The girl closed her eyes and was silent for a moment, but opened them again, taking the ring off.

“I can’t do it.”, she said.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I just took a guess. That ring would only have worked for about a seventh of the population anyway. We’ll try this one.”, Laura said, offering a red ring. Catherine tried it again, but nothing happened.

“Third time’s the charm.”, Laura said, handing her a purple ring.

“I really don’t understand what’s happening here.”, Catherine said, failing to ignite this ring as well.

”Well, three down, four to try.”, she said, handing her a green ring.

“Is anyone going to explain anything to me? Where are we going, anyway?”, Catherine asked, when nothing happened.

”Okay, give it a shot with this one.”, Laura said, ignoring her and handing over an indigo ring.

“Nothing.”, Catherine said after a moment of concentration. “How do I even know this is going to work!? I JUST got here! I can barely remember this group’s NAME! You have a freaking underground base, and a HELICOPTER, but you don’t have the organizational skills to keep someone who doesn’t KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON from being ON THE FRONT LINES OF BATTLE? I was on my way to lunch, to have some of those chicken wings I was hearing about all day, and then THIS HAPPENED. Literally: ‘I’m hungry. Now I’m ON A HELICOPTER.’ No, keep your freaking rings. Give me a GUN. Huh? Did you guys ever think about that? That maybe all this Dying Will stuff is crap, and you should be arming yourselves with an actual WEAPON? Christ! I know Zach is crazy, but HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?”

Catherine, now bright red, jumped up and walked up to the cockpit, sitting in the passenger’s seat. Cody was rolling on the ground laughing.

“I remember my first day.”, Cortni said, leaning toward Tori, who smiled and nodded in agreement.

---

Bradley was spinning in his chair.

---

“Alright, almost there, so we should discuss what we’ll be doing, when we’re talking to them.”, Alex said. “Nick, I need you to be totally silent when we’re there. Hiding is no good, they’re exceptional at detecting Dying Will Flames, so you should just stay where they can see you.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”, Nick replied.

“Cara, same goes for you. I have no idea what they want out of this conversation, but they only want to talk to me.”

“That’s lame.”, Cara sighed.

“Do you plan on coming any time soon?”, a voice a little ahead of them asked. They looked to see Isaac leaning against a tree. “Zeke’s been expecting you. I’ll lead you to him.”

They followed Isaac, who was uncomfortably silent. Eventually, they came to a clearing, where Zeke and the others sat. Zeke smiled and rose to greet them.

“Ah, Alex Carroll! I’m so glad you came! I must confess, we called another of your number, and they never responded, so I was a little nervous about how this would work, but you’re here. Good, good, good. And you brought two with you. Now, there’s one in a Varia coat, and one that isn’t. You would be?”, he asked.

“This is Cara, and-“, Alex began.

“I’m Nick.”, Nick cut in, and Alex scowled.

“Lovely! Well, let’s all sit down and discuss business.”, Zeke said happily.

“Business?”, Alex asked. “You never mentioned business.”

“Oh, Alex, I’m sure you assumed I was after something.”, Zeke said with a laugh, sitting back down. “Let’s all be honest here-The general of one side doesn’t invite a captain to his base for no reason.”

“I did assume you had an ulterior motive, yes.”, Alex said. “But I’m curious as to what that is.”

“Well, Alex, if you’re going to drive me to that point so quickly…Oh, sit down, will you. You’re making all of us uncomfortable, looking at you.”

The three sat on stumps the Apostles pointed them to.

“Alright. The business.”, Zeke said. “I want to offer you, Alex, along with some of your nearest and dearest, a way to survive the attack we’re planning in a year.”

“Interesting. Go on.”, Alex said.

“See…I know I might be a little…different. But I really am much like Zach. I can sense the worth of a person, like he can, and I could tell from your fight with Miriam that you’re worth a lot.”

“Go on.”

“Well, I think it would be a tragedy for the world if the borderline decent Orso died like all the rest did.”, Zeke began. “Oh, don’t give me that look, Cara. Like I said, when the time comes, everyone still loyal to Zach is going to die.”

“Why is that?”, Cara asked, despite Alex’s glare. “Why do you hate the entire Orso so much?”

“Ooh, you’ve got a pretty voice.”, Zeke said with a slight smile. “But, to answer you…I hate the Orso because it’s weak. As long as it exists, it’s a testament to Zach’s weakness. People, clinging to other people, for survival in this world.”

“Explain that.”, Alex said, before Cara could say anything.

“Well, the Orso was founded by a weak man, to help himself, under the guise of helping everyone. But, I can tell, with you, Alex. You’re…better, than most everyone in that base. I don’t think you’re as interested in helping everyone as Zach thinks you are. And I like that.”

“Go on.”

“Well, alright. But, before I go on, I will be honest. I expected one more here, right now. There were two that we called, but the second never answered us.”

“Strange.”, Alex said, not really hearing him. “But what exactly are you driving at, about me?”

“Well, Alex, I’m just so curious…Why do you stay in that base? You know having to look after so many weaklings can’t be helping you get any stronger. So, why do you stay with Zach?”

“That, I’m keeping to myself.”, Alex said quietly.

“Right. I thought so. All I’m saying is, it’s a shame when a single good lion, stuck in a herd of deer, gets caught in the same forest fire.”

“That’s a terrible analogy.”, Nick said. “Lions don’t live in forests.”

Zeke chuckled.

“That’s true, but you get my point. “

“So…what do you want from me?”, Alex asked.

“Well, best case scenario, you, Nick, and Cara all instantly defect to our side.”, Zeke said with a smile. “But it will probably take a little bit of coaxing, before we get to be that friendly, right?”

“You want us to betray Zach?”, Nick growled. Alex put a hand on his shoulder to silence him.

“Alex…What rank, does Zach want to put you at, for the Second Generation? My memory is, so bad, I just can’t remember what you said.”

“I’m the Second Generation’s Mist Varia Officer. I’m the Varia’s Strategy Captain.”

“I don’t quite get this ranking system Zach’s made up.”, Zeke said lazily. “Why don’t you break down what that means…”

“Well…okay…Of all the Mists, I’m right under Ryan Atwell, the Mist Guardian. And of all the Varia, I’m only lower ranked than the Commander, Zach Jacobs.”

“And what do you think about those two?”

“Well…To be honest, I don’t think either is worth their position. Ryan’s a nice guy, and I like him a lot, but he lacks my mindpower, which is essential for a Mist Guardian. Zach Jacobs doesn’t have the qualifications to lead a pack of mice. He’s totally lacking in courage.”

“Wow…Now, why would Zach put you in that position, then…To have to kneel to people you yourself admit are inferior to you?”

“He has his own reasons, I’m sure.”, Alex said, avoiding answering. “What are you driving at?”

“Well, in my world, there won’t be rankings developed by such a weak man to hold you back. You’ll be free to rise in this world your own way. We Apostles will help you, of course.”

“You won’t talk me into joining you so easily.”

“Oh, I know, I know. But just think about it-A world where you and I can hunt the weak for sport. The Apostles are…a far more elite group, than your Orso. I’m sure that’s apparent, from our power. But, like I said, some of you Orso are worth more than others. Some of you, worth enough to work with me. Nick, Cara, this goes for you, too. I expected Alex to bring some high-worth people with him, of course, but you’ve exceeded my expectations.

“I don’t care how much you’ve decided I’m worth.”, Nick growled.

“Nick, be quiet.”, Alex shot at him. “Let him finish talking.”

“Well, Alex…I think you already know what I’m looking at, long-term. Haven’t you ever looked around the Orso, and thought about how much more worthy you are for greatness than the common member?”

“I…Maybe.”, Alex said.

“Then come with me.”, Zeke said, smiling warmly. “You were always my first choice to offer this to.”

“Of course we won’t take that deal!”, Nick shouted, jumping up.

“Alex…In the interest of maintaining an adult conversation, can my men take your boy a little bit away so we can’t hear him?”

“…Yes.”

Instantly, the other Apostles jumped up and grabbed Nick, carrying him, shouting, off.

“Don’t kill him, now!”, Zeke called after them playfully. “What was HIS problem?”

“Nick believes in our family’s policies very strongly.”

“Oh…Well, I feel he’s not beyond saving.”, Zeke said with a chuckle. “What about you, Cara dear? Are you convinced clinging to the weak is the way you want to live?”

“I…I don’t know how to answer that.”, Cara admitted.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot!”, Zeke said. “How rude of me. I really should be getting an answer out of Alex…”

“Keep talking, Zeke.”

“I know this seems a radical proposition, to ask you to leave the Orso, but in a year, there won’t be an Orso, and no one to hold it against you.”

“Interesting. And where do we go from there? After I’ve left.”

“Well, wherever we want, I suppose.”, Zeke said lazily, grinning. “With our powers, it’s not ridiculous to think about overthrowing a government….any government. Strength, friend. We have it, and we’re going to use it to get what we want. Zach was blind, to do none of what he could have done with what he had.”

“I see.”, Alex said. “If that’s all, I’ll be going.”

“My number’s on your phone, friend.”, Zeke said. “When you come to the point where you want to make a decision, give me a ring. And bring Cara, of course. Maybe Nick, if he’s calmed down. Malachi! Bring the loud one back!”

From the forest, came Malachi, with an unharmed Nick.

“We’re leaving.”, Alex said to him. Nick smiled.

“Good. About time.”, he replied. The three walked out of the forest together.

“Do you think he’ll do it?”, Malachi asked.

“Oh, heavens no.”, Zeke said. “But this is only the first step I’m taking, to this end. The goal was to plant the seed. That’s all.”

“This plan seems totally unnecessary, Zeke.”

“Unnecessary? Heavens, no. I want Zach to watch all he loves, falling apart. I want him to return to an empty base, and see the entirety of the family he clung to scattered.”

“It would be easier, of course, to kill them all.”

“Malachi, my despicable comrade, that lacks grace. Besides…we’ve imposed a one year truce. It would be…breaking the rules, to ignore that. For now, we wait. Alex is the first step, to the collapse of the Orso.”

---

“Alex, tell me you said no to him.”, Nick said.

“It’s none of your business.”, Alex said. “You failed to stay quiet, and if something had happened, you’d have been unable to get back to base.”

“Alex! Tell me you said no!”, Nick shouted. “You know he’s a monster.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”, Alex said in a tone Nick hadn’t ever heard him use before. “That doesn’t mean his offer isn’t worth thinking about.”

“Alex?”, Cara asked quietly. “You’re not serious, are you?”

“Cara…No. No, I see, now. I can’t let myself think like he wanted me to. Thank you, for coming with me.”

“I’m not sure what I did…but you’re welcome.”, Cara said.

“For now...Let’s keep this all between us. I don’t want anyone to know I had a moment of weakness.”

“Alright.”, Cara said. “I won’t say anything.”

“…Fine.”, Nick said. “Neither will I.”

“Good. Thank you.”, Alex said, as they opened the door. As they left his side, he thought about what Zeke had mouthed to him as they were leaving.

“It will be fun.”

Alex stood still for a moment. Eventually, he smiled.

“Maybe it would.”, Alex murmured.

---

“So, who exactly are you?”, Megan Etheridge asked the man with the blond hair. Paige Lewis, Mike Fornaro, and Matt Carney stood at her side.

“Ah, my apologies. I am Sansone, the second Ferraro brother.”, he replied.

“Sorry we never introduced him. I rushed him in here to start planning the weapons, you see.”, Tammaro said, looking up from his blueprints.

“So, you’ll be working on the red and yellow metals, for Amy and Maggie?”, Matt asked.

“Well, we’ll all dabble with the others, but yes.”, Sansone said. “I understand I’ll be making the weapon for Maggie McClary, your Sun Guardian?”

“That’s right.”, Paige said. “We appreciate you coming to help us.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. Tammaro told me this place was fun to be around. And plus, with the letter my father wrote me…Well, I’d have done it anyway, but that one line he wrote…’If you’re a real man, you’ll take this challenge head-on.’. I had to, after I read that.”

“So, Tammaro…”, Mike said. “What are the odds you’ll get to make the rest of us cool weapons, too?”

“It’s…not likely.”, the red-haired smith said sadly. “These metals are extraordinarily rare. If you were to find a set, of course we’d do it, but we just don’t have the supplies to make you a weapon like these. Any other metal, I could do something for you with, though.”

“I see. Damnit.”, Mike replied.

“Now…Sansone, Ferraro…How much will these weapons help them?”, Paige asked. “We’re in a tough spot. We need all the firepower we can get.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”, Sansone said with a smile. “We’ve heard stories about these metals…well, some of them old family stories. The first Ferraro was the one who first made these metals, the Arcoferro, into weapons. Those weapons decayed when their masters died, of course. That’s what an Arcoferro weapon will do. They fuse with the body, and decay right along with them. But, more recently…Well, our father…he made another set.”

“You mean there’s another set out there?”, Matt asked.

“That’s right. He received a message from a family in Europe who has assembled a set of the metals, and made them a set of weapons, once he had determined that they were worth it.”

“Worth it?”, Megan asked.

“Oh yeah. Our father won’t make anything for someone he think’s isn’t noble enough.”, Tammaro said. “Not to say you aren’t, because he’s not here! He said this mission would be carrying on his pride, so think of us as you would him.”

“So, there’s one father, and seven sons, in the business?”, Paige asked.

“Well…yes. And a crazy uncle.”, Sansone said.

“Oh, Uncle Osvaldo…But he’s not the only crazy sibling of Father’s, no ma’am. Just as bad is our Aunt Sonia.”, Tammaro said.

“What’s the story there?”. Mike asked.

“The three of them, Aunt Sonia, our father, and Uncle Osvaldo, never agreed on anything. One day, they came to the argument about what is more important-Power, wisdom, or courage. They said they’d each take a family under their wing, and help them out. The family that became the greatest from their help, would be the one who won. Uncle Osvaldo and Aunt Sonia vanished, but Father…chose you.”

“Huh? What?”, Megan asked.

“That’s right. Osvaldo chose a family that valued power. Aunt Sonia chose one that favored wisdom. Father chose you, because your boss values courage so greatly.”

“I see…”, Matt said. “He does, at that...”

“And so, here we are. Who knows where Aunt Sonia and Uncle Osvaldo went off to.”, Sansone said.

“I see…”, Paige said. “Well, keep up the good work.”

---

“Here we are…”, Cody said. “Landing in Japan, in ten minutes.”

“Alright. I’ve made what battle plans I can.”, Laura said. “Let’s hope this works.”

---

“Adelina, are you prepared?”, Madame Boss asked.

“Yes, I am.”, Adelina responded.

“There will be no failures this time.”, Madame Boss said. “You are free to defeat the Orso in this encounter. Use the weapons we’ve provided you with.”

“I will do as you say.”, Adelina replied. “I’ll tell the others to prepare.”

The girl left the room, and Madame Boss sighed.

“Now, we make our turnaround.”, she said. “Brother, are you prepared, as well?”

Osvaldo stepped from the shadows.

“The Seven Skulls have been given their weapons.”

“Excellent. Then let us begin.”

---

Bradley was spinning in his chair when he received the call.

“Hello?”, he answered, still spinning.

“Hey, buddy.”, the man on the other side replied. “You have seven days before you watch the Orso collapse. One of us survived the Rairyu attack. We know everything about your powers, Varia Commander.”

Bradley stopped spinning, and was silent for a moment, working out his response.

“I had cereal today. What did you eat for breakfast?”, he replied cheerfully.

---

“Get up, Charlie.”, Miss Perouty said. “We’ll try that again.”

Charlie, his body covered in injuries, slowly got to his feet.

“Try to take it without passing out this time, alright?”, Miss Perouty said. Charlie laughed, coughing up a little blood.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

---

“Concentrate!”, Mr. McHugh shouted, flying at Katie again. “Don’t get distracted!”

Katie tried to dodge Mr. McHugh, but he was too fast, and fell to the ground.

“Again!”, Mr. McHugh shouted. “You can’t let anything distract you!”

---

“You’re flimsy!”, Miss Adelmann shouted, striking Maggie, who flew back. “You won’t be able to protect anyone, like that!”

Maggie prepared herself to hit back, but Miss Adelmann was too fast for her, and knocked her to the ground.

“You need to be getting me before I get you, Maggie! That’s what a Sun Guardian has to do!”

---

“This is all becoming…so interesting…”, Zeke murmured.

---

Tatsu gnawed on a chicken wing, deep in thought. He looked up at Nick and Cara, who were planning something. This day WAS turning out a little different…

--

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