Futuristic Azalea- Glitters and Outsiders

[DramaKween]

“You don’t look happy, dear sister. You look rather upset, actually. What is going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

Adeline Volkov had been so deep in thought, she almost hadn’t realized that her brother had been speaking to her as they walked through the back halls of the Arena together. “Hm? Oh…No...I’m okay. I’m fine. I’m good.” Adeline took a slow breath through her nose and kind of smiled sheepishly. Her brother was one year older than her and had known her through her entire life. And….he usually knew when she was lying. “Marcellus….I don’t want to be here. I really, really don’t. I want to go home….I want to be at home…”

Marcel Volkov sighed as he looked over his sister. She was beautiful and petite, soft and sweet, just and kind. She was everything that her two brothers were not. While his patience was wearing thin, he knew that yelling, shouting, or lashing out was not the way to handle Adeline. Instead, he took a breath to center himself and knelt down on the ground in front of her so that she could look down at his face. Everyone around them stopped. The Guards of the Order of Glitter, the Outsider servants, and their escorts to The Box. This was important, and everything else would have to wait.

“Adeline, you are my favorite sister, you know that?”

Adeline had started to giggle, just a little. She liked that joke “I’m your only sister…”

“I know. Which makes you my favorite.” He reached for both of her hands and looked straight down into her beautiful, captivating eyes. “And….I need you, Addy. I need you to help me to keep this project going, just like what we talked about. The Arena has been a major success. And...I know what you say, and I know what you think. You think it’s just a bunch of men and women who are fighting for blood and money and death and freedom and I won’t lie to you, little sister, that is a big part of it.”

After a solid squeeze of her hands he spoke again. “There are important parts of this though, Addy. There are good things too. The Glitters have something to distract them from the threats of the rebels, the Outsiders have a chance to become celebrities, athletes, they make money, Addy. These men and women come and fight and they risk a lot but they go home with money for their children and wives, and they train for a long time for this. They’re performers and peace keepers and Adeline...In this Arena….There are Outsiders and Glitters. Together. Enjoying and bonding and being together.”

He offered a smile reserved for only his little sister. “I promised you I’d spare you the gory details, Addy...But this project has been such a big success that I need help. I need the support of the Princess of the realm. I need you to be here and show people that this is good thing, for everyone. And after, tonight at dinner, we can talk more. You can help promote the events, you can appear in some of the ads...Addy you know what your image means to your people….To all of our people. You know that even though I’ll never be King and you’ll never be Queen...You know how important we are to millions and millions of Dad’s subjects….”

He took a breath and stood, knowing that he’d said all of the right things to his little sister. “Speaking of Dad...You know he liked when you wear white. You look like you're dressed for a funeral. All black?”

Adeline had stepped back and looked down at herself. She wore a very pretty pair of black pants that flared out in a layer of sheer fabric over silky pant legs and a very modest (and kind of loose) top that showed only a small bit of her back as far as ‘skin’ was concerned. “What? It’s….cute?”

“No, sweet sister. You look like a mourning nun. It’s not cute. Hold on…” Marcel had signaled to one of the Outsider servants. “Get back to the Palace and bring my sister something more...suitable. White. A dress maybe? A skirt? Go on...We are wasting precious time…”

The servant was gone in a blink and had returned in front of his Royals in about 15 seconds holding two different outfits. One was a conservative, modest dress with very little to show, and the other was a short skirt with a similar tight top. Marcel was in the middle of pulling the little silver tie out of Adeline’s long hair. “You know father doesn’t like when your hair is back like that” He’d pulled the locks forward and ran his fingers through them to make her hair fall voluptuously around her shoulders. He had barely had time to do that before the Outsider was back with the clothing. He shook his head unhappily at the modest dress, but the Outsider servant knew that Adeline would favor it more.

“The Skirt. I’ll see you in The Box, Adeline….Go get changed ….We can talk more there, dear sister…”

Marcellus and three guards and two servants headed off, leaving Adeline with a wardrobe change to do. For some reason what she wore and how she looked was just sooooo important. Adeline looked at the Outsider that stood in front of her with the dresses. “Thank you for trying, Peter. I appreciate it….” It seemed like Peter, who could travel across the city and back in 13 seconds, knew her better than her own brother. Peter had offered her an empathetic, sad smile as he held the short white skirt out towards her. “I guess Marcel wants all of Azalea to see what my behind looks like, huh?” Of course the skirt wouldn’t quite be that short, but it was short enough and Adeline was rather small. She just preferred to be….covered. "Well, not my behind. The 'people's' behind...." Peter offered a quiet chuckle, which was safe to do, as long as Marcellus wasn't near.

 

[Darth Echo]

Redd sat in quiet contemplation in the holding cells under the arena. It was dark and damp down there, the perfect place to keep ruthless scum like himself. He grinned, despite his situation. He had been imprisoned recently after the arena had been constructed; arrested on charges of helping the rebellion. While it was true he was working with them, he often rebelled against the glitters in his own unique ways. The outsider man heaved a sigh, his manacles clinking as he shifted positions. He had won six fights in a row already, four more and he would own his freedom again, but did he want freedom?

Redd's upbringing was a painful one from the very start; his mother and brother were killed by glitters simply because they could. If a glitter killed an outsider, who would care? Outsiders were trash, slaves, and tools. Redd caught himself snarling, thinking about the past. After that he struggled to survive on his own, discovering his powers early in life. Redd's powers were difficult to control in his younger life, threatening to consume his own being. The day he discovered his powers his body ignited on fire, a fire he could not seem to put out. At first, the flames tormented the boy, but soon the heat became a welcomed feeling, one that reassured him. It was in that same moment a glitter enforcer spotted him and confronted him. The man tried to arrest Redd for unlawful use of powers, but Redd was out of control. He incinerated the man and had been on the run since.

Well, ever since his last mission in cooperation with the rebellion. The mission had bad intel, which left them in a sticky situation. Redd offered to stay behind to cover the resistance's escape, which leads to his inevitable capture. Since then they threw him in a cell to rot until they could find a way to break his will and use him as a weapon. From then to now they tortured him weekly, in a futile attempt. Redd remained stoic through it all, asking for more with each beating. Once the arena was constructed, they found a use for the man, deciding it was a waste of time to try to convert him to their side.

"Prisoner 0315, to your feet." The voice spoke through the intercom on the other side of the concrete door. Redd's cell was made especially for him, four feet of concrete on all sides sealed by a blast door. A buzzer sounded as the door began to slowly creep open, and Redd got to his feet. He was dressed in a simple black tank-top and tan shorts, nothing elegant. In rushed eight glitter enforcers armed with magnetic rifles and arrogant smiles, even now they looked down on him. Behind the standard enforcers marched an officer, one Redd was all too familiar with.

"Officer Steele, how are the kids?" Redd smiled defiantly, sarcasm oozing from his words. Steele remained silent, launching her fist into his gut. Redd grunted but kept his smile plastered on his face.

"Thank you ma'am, may I have another?" Steele spits at his feet, a snarl of disgust on her face.

"You will fight for the royal family today, don't embarrass yourself," she turned from him, signaling the guards to escort the outsider. "Scum." She added, walking out of he small cell. The eight guards prodded Redd, forcing him to walk forward. All the cells were sealed off, so no one could tell who was in which cell, but it did not matter to Redd. In truth, he found sick satisfaction in the arena. He loved the theatrics and the roar of the hungry crowd- hungry for blood. The lower levels of the arena were bland and boring, it was only until you got to the surface levels that any attention to aesthetic became important.

After a short travel in silence, Redd found himself standing on a platform by himself, his manacles removed. The room he was locked in was an elevator that leads to the arena floor. He was familiar with the process, and took the time to rub his hands together. Redd the immolator, that was the lame name the public had granted him. He didn't care though, secretly he enjoyed the attention. He heaved a sigh, wondering who his target would be this time. Last time it was an outside who could turn his skin into stone, which was not optimal for a pyrobrawler like Redd. After a couple stale moments, the elevator began to rise, which sent jolts of energy through the red haired man.

"Let's do this." He said through a grin.

 

[DramaKween]

"Let's do this." Adeline said through a bit of a pout.

Peter and Charles, both Royal Guard Outsiders, had been waiting for her outside of a changing room. They were glad to get going. Marcellus was surely timing them. "Wait...." Adeline stopped and started to tug here and there. She felt a breeze on her behind, the bottom of her tummy was showing, her arms were bare. Tears started to brim at her eyelids. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to wear this. She didn't want to see this. Peter looked frozen and frightened. He took off and was back in 5 seconds flat, back with Celeste.

Celeste was an Outsider that had nearly raised Adeline. She was only about 20 years older, but considering she'd never have children herself and that the Palace had 'acquired' her at a young age, being assigned to Adeline Volkov was a blessing. Peter had clearly no idea how to handle a tearful Adeline, and didn't want them all to meet an angry Marcellus, so he had gotten Celeste.

"No no....Little flower.....What's wrong?"

Adeline kind of smiled. She felt silly for getting upset. Celeste always made her feel better. "My butt is cold...." She saw Celeste's face, which was incredulous, and she'd started to kind of laugh through the tears.

Celeste sighed deeply and smiled. She stepped over and hugged Adeline lightly, since no one was watching. Yes. An Outsider dared to hug the Princess of the Realm. No one would believe it if they saw it, no one would repeat it if they saw it. "I know, Little Lilac....I know that you don't want to....But....You have to. Okay?" Celeste sighed and looked at the pants that Charles was holding that Adeline had previously been wearing. "Let me see these...." Her fingernails suddenly morphed into sharp, metal blade like claws. Shredding and ripping sounds were heard as she tore through the sheer fabric of the pants. Then, with a touch that was more gentle than imaginable, she'd wrapped part of that fabric around Adeline's midsection and let it drape in the back. It looked like a sheer black skirt over the white short skirt. It covered just enough, and made Adeline feel so much more covered. "Better?"

Adeline had started to nod and wiped away her tears. She hugged Celeste again. "Thank you...You saved me...." They laughed together, as someone that could have slit every vital artery with any of her fingertips in her body hugged Adeline again.

"I'd hardly call it saving you....But you're welcome...Now let's go before your brother has yet another melt down...."

Adeline, Charles, Peter, and Celeste went to the Royal Box. It was beautiful, of course. White shiny walls and a very thick, very protected front glass wall so that they could see everything. It was a specially made, impenetrable glass. Nothing would even dent it. Not fire, bullets, metal, shrapnel, electricity, or any other element stood even a slight chance. That piece of glass alone costed more money than most Outsiders would have in their entire lives.

There were beautiful tables set up with enough food to feed an army. All kinds of drinks were already poured, and more would be put out if needed. There were a few faces that Adeline knew there, Noble and political Glitters, and of course....Her brother.

"There you are my sweet sister...." He glanced down at her waist and made a slightly disapproving motion with his upper lip when he saw the place sheer fabric over her body. He hid the expression well, there were a lot of people watching. "Come...Let's take pictures for our people before the next event starts...." Marcellus put his arm around his sister, and all of the Outsiders that had been very close to her stepped away. They weren't to be in any images, photos or publications. It was supposed to be like they weren't even there. There was several minutes of shaking hands, talking, taking selfies, and polite chit chat before half of the room departed.

The last to go was Miss V, a Glitter who was known as the "Fashion Queen", a title she liked to throw around to enhance her persona. "Adeline! Dear! " After three fake kisses to Adeline's cheeks, she took a step back. "How.....classy! Beautiful! Inventive! Courageous! Where ever did you get the idea for such a unique look?"

Adeline had gone through the motions. Fake kisses. Fake smiles. Fake conversations. Adeline glanced down at herself, remembering the sheer slip Celeste had draped over her. Adeline glanced at Celeste, who tried to hide a mortified look. If Adeline even mentioned her name, they'd kill her. "Let's just say....I was inspired by a very special person...." And instead, Adeline turned and looked at her brother, with a smile, who had to bite down the angry look he wanted to give her and smile. She was sure she'd hear about it later, but it was fun to see Marcellus squirm.

Finally, it was only the Nobles and her brother left to actually watch from the box. "Here, Adeline....Sit." Another Outsider. This one was a beautiful, thin, very petite woman with a shaved head. Adeline smiled and sat down in the seat all the way off to the side that Camilla had pulled out for her. She nodded and came to sit, Charles and Peter watching carefully from behind her. Camilla whispered. "You've been crying...." Adeline just shook her head and whispered back.

"I'm okay..."

And....She was. She had her people with her. Adeline took a breath and tried to calm herself, but she noticed that her hands were shaking. She held them together in her lap in between her legs, so that no one would see.

Marcellus decided he'd school his sister at this time. "Well Addy...The next man that you see is a criminal. No. Not just a criminal. A killer. He killed several Glitters in cold blood. Just because they were Glitters. Witnesses say there was no rhyme or reason, he didn't say a word. Just started to burn them. He just started to burn Glitters for fun. " Clearly, Marcel was exaggerating, but that was the point. "Another Outsider is going to have a chance to right his wrongs here, Addy. What you're seeing here is not gore or senseless killing or murder. What you're seeing here, sweet sister, is justice."

Marcel sat forward a bit, a grin that could only be described as wicked across his features. He was excited. Excited to finally see the Immolator get burned.

 

[Darth Echo]

The platform Redd was perched on raised into the arena, a familiar scene to him. The man outstretched his arms defiantly and rotated for the crowd to see him. Glitters and Outsiders alike cheered and chanted his name. Redd loved the attention; having a feel for theatrics, he shot flames here and there to hype the crowd. Once his small display ended the announcer took over the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Glitters and Outsiders! We present to you!" He paused for dramatic effect, the hologram projected above the middle of the arena pointed down at Redd with an open palm. "Redd the Immolator!" The crowd went ballistic, the hype hyping them up perpetually. The announcer waited a moment for the cheering to die down slightly before continuing. Across from Redd lifted another platform; on it were dozens of robots armed with shields, firearms, and melee weapons of all sorts.

"And here we have a new product from Superior Robotics!" The announcer hologram faded and in its place started a small video. The video presented these robots going through a training exercise while a man spoke on their behalf. "Here at Superior Robotics, we have developed the perfect enforcer drones! Armored with our own special alloys, these drones can resist ballistic and energy weapons much more effectively than anything else! With the release of our Enforcer Drones, your streets will be safer, and there will be less Glitter enforcer casualties by criminals like this one!" The man in the commercial pointed down at Redd with an impossibly wide grin.

"Superior Robotics ladies and gentlemen!" With that, the drones spread out and more entered the field. Redd was severely outnumbered, but what was the fun otherwise? He turned his body sideways, sliding one foot ahead of the other. He pulled his left hand back and bent his elbow so it was level with his chin, his palm openly facing where his eyes looked. His right arm was straight out in front of him, his palm closed into a tight fist.

"Bring it." He said with a cocky grin.

 

[DramaKween]

Adeline was so incredibly uncomfortable. Maybe it was the seat. This seat was awfully uncomfortable. It was steel. Clean, hard, rigid steel. She hated that seat, she decided. She wanted to stand, but she didn't want to draw attention to herself. She wanted to run, but she wasn't sure how far she'd get. She shifted her behind back and forth a few times, deciding she was never going to be comfortable with any of this.

Marcellus noticed his fidgety sister, and his temper flared. "Adeline!" Several people jumped, flinched, and even gasped. His anger was so sudden, so quick. Adeline just sighed and looked at her brother. The Prince. The enforcer. The creator of The Arena. "Sit. Still. Watch."

The entire kingdom might be afraid of his iron hand, especially if the day would ever come that he'd rule. Adeline didn't seem to be afraid, though. It was her big brother. She'd grown up with him by her side. Besides, she'd seen him actually angry. He was just impatient right now "I don't like it." Marcel shot her a cold, hard look. "I hate it." She shook her head, pretty purple tendrils falling onto her shoulders as she did. The room was silent, they all stared in awe. They'd never seen anyone defy Marcel. Not so outright.

Marcel's hot head cooled down, very suddenly. "Look at him Adeline. Look." He watched his sister turn her head towards the expensive glass that protected them. Everyone in the box turned their heads to look. He made her watch as a man prepared to fight a handful of well programmed, highly developed, deadly bots. "If he got even a few feet within grasp of you....Killing you with bare hands would be a mercy. Do you think that murderer down there would spare you any pain or despair? I'll tell you what he'd do, Addy. He'd make me watch my sister get raped and beaten within an inch of her life, and then he'd rape you again. You'd leave this earth with him forcing himself into your body, and he'd get joy out of watching the life leave your eyes...."

Everyone was really, really quiet. Including Adeline. Until the sound of her shifting uncomfortably in that seat she hated so much broke the silence. "You're incredulous, Adeline. Sit. Still."

Adeline was only quiet for a few seconds. "He's going to die, isn't he?" There was just now way one man could take on all of those bots. She watched as their arms folded into their metal bodies and were replaced with myriads of weapons. Rotating saws, sharp spikes, machine guns, any weapon imaginable sprouted one from each bot. They were efficient, carefully planned, meticulously created killing machines.

For the first time since they'd been there, Marcellus' smile turned warm and happy. "Yes, dear sister. He's going to die. And we are going to watch every minute of it."

 

[Darth Echo]

Time seemed to slow as Redd composed himself, focussing his mind and body for the fight ahead of him. The roar of the crowd was dulled for the brief moment he found his inner flame and ignited it. An aura of red fire began to emanate from him faintly, then it became redder in color until it burst into a noticeable orange. Through the aura of heat, the man did not seem to be sweating, as if unaffected by the flames.

The first of the robots began to fire their gauss rifles at the outsider, the AI targetting him with deadly precision. Redd focused his fire into a barrier in front of him, disintegrating the magnetically propelled rounds as they passed the aura. His expression morphed into a cocky grin. While the gunner drones fired at him, the next wave of drones charged with plasma saws, gravity mallets, and otherwise dangerous melee weapons. Redd launched blasts of orange fire at the oncoming targets while maintaining his intense aura- stopping the projectiles.

Only half of the melee drones made it to the outsider in one piece; some moved still but were missing integral sections of their armor. Once in melee range, Redd was forced on the defensive, using his sharp reflexed to aid in his effort to dodge the deadly drones and melt the gauss projectiles as they came. He struck out whenever he found an opening, creating lashes of orange flame to sever limbs from the violent drones.

The melee drones began to overwhelm the man, which caused him to unleash his full power. His aura of orange heat began to singe the air itself as it turned to a white color. Any of the melee drones foolish enough to attack him melted before even making contact. Redd steeled his will as he went to the offensive, launching a barrage of white-hot punches and kicks at his foes. With the melee drones dealt with, he dashed at the gunners. His breathing became labored, such exertion of his power was hard on his body, but this was life or death.

He cooled down his aura back to orange, lest he incinerates himself from the inside-out. The outsider approached the gunner drones with deft movements, dodging to the left and right- the crowd going wild. He dashes into the first target, sending his fist right through its chest; the flames guiding his every strike. He rolled away from it to avoid the concentrated fire of the remaining drones. The drones began to circle him, cutting off any escape from their field of bullets.

With a roar, he formed two orange wings and leaped into the air, the wings carrying him high into the airspace of the arena; this afforded him more lateral and horizontal movements to avoid their gauss rifles. Gathering the remaining power within his body, he created a dense white orb of fire between his hands.

"Disintegration beam!" The man screamed, determination intertwined with his words. As if waiting for a command, the ord sprouted a ray of white-hot condensed flames which Redd swept over the drones, instantly turning them to melted scrap. With the last of his energy depleted, he slowly fell back to the floor- his wings dissipating at the final moment of impact. For a few breathless moments, he did not move; finally, after an eternity, he got to his feet shakily- the crowd went insane.

 

[DramaKween]

Adeline Volkov stared at her brother, Prince Marcellus Volkov with such disgust those present in the box might say that her gaze could burn. She hadn't seen her brother so warm and happy in years. How could the promise of death? The threat of the pain of another? The visible torture of a person make him so filled with glee? How was this entertainment? To watch a man fight a hoard of pre-programmed, artificially intelligent robots with his bare hands wasn't fun. It was....

"This is torture!" Adeline had stood up and spoken over her brother, who was telling her to watch the 'beauty' of his robots unfold. There were several gasps and then silence. There was complete and total silence in the box as the Royal siblings stared at each other. Marcellus started to speak, but Adeline was younger and quicker. "I'm not sitting here and supporting a slaughter. I'm leaving."

Marcellus sighed and sat back in his seat, knowing that everyone was watching him. He didn't want to lose his cool in front of the nobles and his supporters. That didn't mean he was going to be 'cool' when he saw his sister again. "Let her go...." He said to no one in particular as she stormed out of the box alone. "We won't let my little brat of a sister spoil our perfectly good show....Besides ....My drones are just about to....." Marcellus was standing, close to the glass, so that he could watch his victory. Only, his victory was unfolding into a sour loss right in front of his eyes. This was not a good day.



This was not a good day. Adeline really didn't want anyone to follow her. She just wanted to be alone. Alone some place where she could collect her thoughts and....and cry. She wanted to cry. The idea of watching a man die against an army of machines was just terrible. Worst of all? It was her own family, her brother, her flesh and blood, that had created this evil event. Adeline had started to run. She knew that running away from her problems was not the answer but, what else could she do? Besides, she was sure that her brother would sent Peter after her any moment. There was no distance she could run that Peter couldn't cove in less than 3 seconds. Sometimes, she wished that the Outsiders didn't have to listen to her brother. Sometimes, she wished that the Outsiders didn't have to listen to anyone at all if they didn't want to.

Semi-blinded by her tears, and more so by her devastated rage, Adeline hadn't realized that she'd ran down the hallway and through a door and then down several flight of stairs that lead her deeper into the arena instead of out. Not only that, she suddenly heard cheering from above her. Insane, intense, extreme cheering. He must have been dead. They must have killed the Outsider that she'd seen turn himself to flame. She was sad for him. Her brother had killed him. Her brother was a murderer.

Although that was the case, Adeline realized that being underground, wherever she was, was not going to solve anything. Eventually, she'd have to face the light again. She'd have to face reality and truth...And she'd have to face Marcellus Volkov. More than likely a very angry Marcellus. Adeline sighed deeply and wiped her eyes and turned around. It was just then, that she heard several doors slam.

Little did Princess Adeline know, she had just walked into the underground fire-proof cell that they were going to dump the very much alive body of the Immolator into.