18-Jul-2000
Title: Mission Arcadia
bonnejean & vonceia *present*Category: yaoi, AU
RavynFyre & Kateri Marie
in The B&V Guest Authors Series!
Duo - words, thoughts, actions - RavynFyre
Heero - words, thoughts actions - Kateri Marie
Rip & Jack, Their World and General Production - bonnejeanne & vonceia
Kenny was the first to wake up. At first he'd slept the sleep of a very exhausted small boy, but later there had been dreams. He remembered looking at and seeing Heero, and Duo, and he remembered that Duan was beside him. And then he noticed that there was someone standing behind the two young men who had come to take over the center of his world. The figure behind Heero's shoulder stood silently, but seemed to be smiling. It was his mom. It was the first dream he'd had about her since he'd had to abandon her lifeless body, in which she was neither dead nor dying. She seemed to be all right. She just watched him over the big boy's shoulder. And he saw that behind Duo was a woman he did not know. She seemed to be okay too.
Blinking, Kenny sat up, noticing that he still had Duan's braid in his hand. He opened his fist and smoothed it out, patting it.
Duan woke with a start. He had been dreaming of a giant beast sandwich, which had chased him through the military complex, and out to the lightening-struck tree. The last thing he recalled was the tree bending to protect him as the sandwich reared back to take a fiery breath.
He blinked several, licking his lips. For a moment, he was disoriented and then he remembered and sat up suddenly. Duan wiped his mouth and looked over and saw Kenny. He yawned and smiled, then launched himself at his friend, giving him a hug and making sure he wasn't still dreaming.
"Hi," he said, excitedly.
"Hi," Kenny said solemnly. Then he smiled very slightly. "We made it."
Duan nodded. "Yeah," he said. "We made it." Then, he looked up at Kenny and frowned slightly. "They didn't leave us, did they?"
"No," Kenny said firmly. He didn't have to go look. "Heero wouldn't leave without saying."
Duan nodded again. "Right," he said, then stretched. "You like him," he said as a statement.
Kenny looked down. "He..." Kenny stopped and shook his head. "Yes," he whispered, not able to articulate his feelings more fully. There were too many of them.
Duan sighed. "It's ok," he said. "I think they're cool."
They're more than cool, Kenny thought, almost angrily. But he didn't want to say anything out loud. There was still room for jinxes to work and he didn't want to bring any. So he just nodded.
Then he said softly, "Now I'm orphan like you." He took a deep breath. "I was with her. She... died. I felt very bad and cold. She made me promise to leave her there, so I had to walk on further away. I didn't know where to go. Then the two guys with the funny accents showed up. They just came out of nowhere. They talked to me but I didn't feel like talking to anyone. Then they brought me here." This was a very long speech for Kenny, even before his mom's death. He mostly listened while Duan talked, that was how it worked with them. But he wanted to tell his friend what had happened to him, he didn't like talking about it, so he forced it out all in one chunk.
Duan listened carefully. He was kind of amazed at how much Kenny was talking, so he paid attention to every word. He sniffled a little, then took his friend's hand. "It's ok," he said, trying to comfort as best he knew how. "So, what is this place like?" he asked moving on to another subject, something not sad.
Kenny picked up the cue happily. He jumped off of the big bed, pulling Duan with him. "C'mon," he said, and made a motion with his finger to his lips for quiet. He pulled Duan to the door, which was closed, and opened it cautiously. After reconnoitering, he pulled Duan along after him into the main room of the suit. Then he turned left into the big bathroom and closed the door silently.
Not saying a word, he took care of something necessary, then ran water in the sink and washed his hands, then his face.
Duan, who was very impressed at Kenny's obvious knowledge of the layout, followed his lead. He felt better after scrubbing his hands and face. Beginning to feel the first signs of hunger, he decided to keep quiet and see what Kenny would do first. He didn't wanna do something wrong and get thrown out.
After they were through in the bathroom, Kenny motioned Duan to follow, and crept out silently into the main room again. Then he went over and peered in one of the other bedrooms. He pointed. Heero and Duo were sleeping in a tangle on the bed.
Duan smiled, feeling hugely relieved to see the two older boys asleep. It wasn't that he doubted Kenny, it was just that this was a very sensitive time. Everything had to be done the right way, so that things would turn out. He looked up to his friend and nodded again.
Kenny then went back into the main room and found the remote. He pointed it at the wall, making sure to press the 'mute' button, then pressed buttons until the vid displayed a large message in yellow-lighted text. The message said:
this is kenny. were goin sit seeing. be bak in 1 hor.
Then he grabbed Duan's hand and pulled him to the outer door.
Going outside into the hall, Kenny made sure the door locked behind him - he knew there was no danger in Arcadia, at least he was pretty sure, but he didn't want to leave the older boys vulnerable.
Then he pointed to another door down the hall. "That's Rip and Jack's room," he said softly. Then he pulled Duan into the elevator. Since it was glass, they could see almost the whole small city laid out below. Kenny pushed the button for the lobby and the elevator moved slowly down ad Kenny watched his friend's face.
Duan's eyes got very round as he suddenly saw outside the elevator. It was like some fairytale land thing with he and his friend high up in the air, looking out. "Wow! This is neat!!!" Duan exclaimed, looking over at Kenny. "This... this is a good place, Kenny." he said, as if Kenny had discovered it all on his own.
Kenny sighed as the elevator came to a stop at the lobby. "It's so good it's a little scary," he said, revealing his secret caution. "And it's kind of weird. But yes, it seems to be the best place I've ever seen."
He pulled Duan out of the elevator and walked through the lobby. There were a few people there, walking around or sitting and talking in the lobby. The adults who noticed them all nodded or smiled.
The woman who had been at the front desk when they came in the night before walked up to the two boys, wearing a snazzy red uniform.
"Hello, Kenny! Who is your friend?" she said, bending down with a warm smile.
"Duan," Kenny said simply, feeling a bit shy around this pretty adult woman who smiled so much.
"Hi Duan," she said to the other boy.
Duan smiled. "Hi, ma'am," he said, offering his hand.
She took his hand and her smile got even bigger. "You can call me Fawn," she said. "I bet you boys would like some breakfast, huh? Just go over to the Cafe and they will fix you right up."
Duan's eyes rounded and he nodded again. "Thank you, Fawn," he said, feeling her soft hand envelope his. She also smelled good. Then he looked to Kenny.
Kenny nodded. He looked up at Fawn and said softly, "Thanks." Then he pulled Duan away and walked across the lobby to the first floor Cafe inside the hotel.
There were a few people in the Cafe. When the boys came inside, a man in a white apron bowed and led them to a table, placing small menus in front of them. Then he frowned slightly and said, "OJ?"
Kenny whispered to Duan, "Go ahead, it doesn't taste powdered or anything."
"Sure!" Duan said and handed the menu back to the waiter. "Thank you."
The man took the menu and nodded. "Be right back," he said, and then winked.
He returned in a moment with two large glasses of orange juice. "And what will you be having for breakfast today?"
"I want the Arcadia Sunshine breakfast, scrambled eggs and bacon and what's the ummm...grits?" Duan asked.
Kenny looked at Duan and nodded, indicating they could be eaten.
"Grits, young sir? Why don't I bring them and let you try," the man said smoothly.
Duan nodded. "And some milk?"
"Excellent. And the same for you, young sir?" the man said to Kenny, who just nodded. "Very good."
Taking Kenny's menu, the man bustled off.
"They give you whatever you want," Kenny said softly. "No rations and you don't have to show ID."
Duan was definitely impressed. "Whoa.." he said, "So, what's the catch? Do they yell at ya, later? I mean, Fawn didn't even yell at us for not being with someone bigger."
Kenny nodded. "I haven't figured out the catch yet," he said. "Although they do keep an eye on you. They don't yell. If a kid does something wrong, they take him to the library for 'quiet time' or make him take a nap." Kenny shrugged.
Duan shrugged back, then took a large sip of his orange juice. "Hey, this is good!" he said.
Kenny nodded. "Told ya." He was still following the previous train of thought. "It's not that easy to do something wrong though. They don't have anywhere near as many rules."
"Then, how do they control people?" Duan asked.
"Near as I can tell, they don't," Kenny answered, drinking his juice slowly until it was all gone. "They do this thing called 'cooperation'... and they do a lot of parties though."
"Hn," Duan remarked. "Sounds like fun, though," he said and then stopped. He looked up at Kenny. "I need to check on the other kids... our kids. They treat them like us?"
Kenny said, "I think so. I think I know where they'll put em. We can go see. Where they put me at first." He pointed and outside the big glass window, to the building across the street.
"Ok. Can we go there, after here?" Duan asked.
Kenny looked at Duan strangely. "Why ya asking me, baka?"
Duan had a giggling fit at the word 'baka'. "Who you calling baka, baka?" he said.
"Hn," Kenny said, not deigning to argue.
The man came back with two big plates fill of food. He placed them in front of the boys, checked the table, and then went off.
Duan did not need to be told twice. He picked up utensils and dug into the food, quickly and efficiently. His theory was to down it, before they took it away for someone else to eat.
Kenny also ate quickly and in short order, two plates were clean as whistles.
The man came back, noted the plates and nodded. "Excellent, young sirs," he said. He picked up the plates and left.
"Wanna go there now?" Kenny said, getting up from the table.
"Yeah," Duan replied, standing up as well. It felt good to be full.
Kenny nodded, then took a pencil out of his pocket that he had picked up in the room above. He wrote carefully on a napkin, 'thank you' and left it on the table.
He grabbed Duan's hand and led him out of the hotel's front entrance and across the street to the white high-rise building there.
Taking the wide staircase down, Kenny showed Duan the place where he had been brought to first. There were a few people, here and there, more now that the population had increased that night. The first person they saw as they went into the day care center was Wufan, who stood slightly apart from the others as he quietly oversaw the situation.
"Hey!" Duan called waiving over.
Wufan looked up and smiled. Then he caught himself and schooled his features and walked over to the two boys.
"Kenny, Duan," Wufan said and bowed slightly to them.
"So what did they do to ya?" Duan asked, conspiratorially.
Wufan frowned. "They checked us over, but they did not harm us. Everyone seems to be all right," he said, pushing his glasses back up on his nose. "They are very kind."
Duan looked to Kenny and then back. "So, what's the catch?" he asked.
Kenny just shrugged, he'd already admitted he didn't know.
"I don't know," Wufan said. "I think they just like kids a lot." He looked over at Kenny. "You ok?" he asked.
Kenny nodded. "How's your mom?"
Wufan looked down, feeling a little sad. He knew about Kenny's mom and felt a little guilty because his mom was safe and well. "She's is fine. I think she likes it here," he said.
Kenny nodded again. "She was real brave," he told Wufan. "Duan brought her to meet our guys. You be proud of her, okay?"
Wufan looked up and smiled. His dark eyes were bright and shiny. "I am proud of her. She likes both of you a lot," he added. Then, he reached up and gave both boys a hug. "I don't know what's going to happen. I think we might be staying here. You two, be safe," he said.
Kenny just nodded again. He thought that Arcadia was probably a real good place for the kids from the base to stay. His heart gave a small lurch, when a fleeting wish that his mom could see it went by - he'd been guarding against thoughts like this and it snuck up on him. But he kept his face calm.
"We'll be ok," Duan said. "You be safe too. Of course, nobody's goin anywhere right now, anyway..." he said.
Kenny took Duan's hand, and started to leave, then he turned back. "Wanna come to the park?"
Wufan looked up. "Yes!" he said, "I'll be right back! I'm going to let Ma know." Running quickly, he found Sallah and told her. He gave her a quick hug and then dashed back to Duan and Kenny. "Let's go," he said breathlessly.
Kenny led the way, down the street outside, pointing to each building with a short label.
"Library - they got books."
Wufan made a note of that building.
"People live there."
"I dunno what they do there."
"That's City Hall."
The block after City hall was the Park. They had all seen it briefly before but Kenny walked around inside the park. It had several fountains, two or three levels and was very pretty. As they were walking, he pointed to the bricks that made the terrace. There were names engraved deeply into the bricks.
Duan got down and peered closely at the names, remembering them for later.
Wufan sat down on the cool stone where the water from the fountain pooled. "This is a good place. It is calm here," he said.
"Those are supposed to be the names of astro... astronauts. People who went into space a long time ago, before everything went bad. I don't know if they are true," Kenny said, a long speech, but he wanted to share some of his knowledge with Duan, and didn't mind sharing it with Wufan.
"Oh yes, they are very true... they were real people.. very brave," a voice said, accented much like Jack and Ripper's voices.
Kenny looked up quickly, recognizing someone he had seen around but not talked to. He became silent.
"Hi," Duan said, looking up. He saw the older man and noticed that his appearance was a little ragged, but that what he wore appeared to be clean. "I'm Duan," he said, standing.
The old man smiled. "Yes, I know," he said. "And good day to you all, fine gentleman. My name is Randy, or as I am called many times, the Vagabond King." The man bowed his silver streaked head to the younger boys. "At you service."
Wufan stood and bowed. "Honorable sir," he replied.
"So, how do you know me? I just got here last night," Duan queried.
Kenny made a soft sound but didn't say anything.
Randy looked down at the young man. "Well, I know you, because good news travels fast around here... very fast indeed. I'm one of the privileged my dear child. I am a citizen of these streets and tunnels. My people and I have large ears and big eyes. That is how we maintain both security and keep the flow of information.. uh.. flowing here in Arcadia. So, we knew of your arrival last night, your names, but there is something that we sorely lack."
Duan frowned. "What?"
The old man smiled, placing his hands on his knees. "Your stories," he said simply. "But they will come out in time. Do you have any questions concerning this place, you want answers to? Ask me and I will tell you."
Duan looked to his friends, then back. "What's the catch?" he asked.
Randy's eyebrows shot up, then he chuckled. "Oh you're a sharp one, aren't you? Very clever indeed. In fact, I find myself in the company of three very clever, very special young men. Good.. good.." he said. He leaned back against the park bench. "Now let me ask you one question, just to make sure I'm on track here. You are wondering why Arcadia is the way it is?" he asked.
Duan shrugged. "Why's everybody so nice to us? They don't make us show ID, the food is good and they don't yell at kids. What's the catch?"
Randy nodded. "I get it now," he said, and sighed. "Alright young Duan. Your question is why is everyone being so damned nice and what do you have to pay for it later on... right?"
"Bingo," Duan said.
Kenny listened closely. This was one of the reasons he liked having Duan around. Duan would just jump right out and ask stuff. Kenny found out lots more when Duan was around.
"The answer is quite simple," Randy said, seeing the young Wufan stand and come closer. "You see a few years ago, not very long at all, there was no Arcadia and children simply did not exist here. They were a sad, sweet memory everyone kept in the back of their minds, but did not dare to hope for. A great many things happened, but the one miracle was that children began to be born. It made the people so very happy, that they now cherish every child as if that child were their own. It's not that they do not get grumpy from time to time, it's more that they don't get so grumpy that they forget the old times."
"Hn," said Kenny.
He filed it away along with the few other wilder stories he'd already heard in bits and pieces.
Wufan nodded, also filing the information away. "Thank you, honorable sir." he said.
Kenny stood up from where he was been sitting while they talked. "Duan," he said. "We should get back."
Duan looked over and nodded. "Maybe we'll see you later," he said to Randy.
"Yes," Wufan said, standing as well.
"See you, Wufan," Kenny said.
"But wouldn't you all care to take the quicker route back?" Randy asked.
Kenny's eyes gleamed. "Tunnels?"
Randy smiled and chuckled. "The tunnels," he confirmed. "Come this way." he said.
Duan ran over to Kenny and took his hand. He knew for a fact that Kenny was the best friend any guy in the world could have. After all, it was Kenny who had scoped the place out first.
They followed the King to the top of a stairwell that emerged into the park itself. Kenny nodded and said, "I can find my way." Then he ran down the stairs with Duan in tow.
Just a few minutes later, they climbed another set of stairs and found themselves in the lobby of the Hyatt. It was only a few steps more to the elevator and then back up to the room.
Outside the door, Kenny stopped. "There's more, I just didn't want..."
"Yeah, I know," Duan added. "Duo and Heero. We don't wanna worry 'em. Hey, the King knows a lot. Maybe, we can get more later."
Kenny nodded, then took the door card out of his pocket and let them back in.
Once inside their room, Duan said, "We should take a bath or something. We can wash our clothes in that tub."
End of Part 10
bonnejeanne & vonceia present
RavynFyre and Kateri Marie
Please feel free to direct feedback to any or all of the authors!
ravynfyre@hotmail.com,
nacl3salaris@hotmail.com,
vonceia@yahoo.com,
bonnejeanne@yahoo.com.