Neutral Through Chaos

Chapter 2: A Family Argument

7 years later

That life was far behind me now. A faded memory that bore into the back of my brain occasionally, unwanted. Not long after Viktor left, the incident had occurred. Something that would scar me forever, something that would push me to where I was now. Here, I was an enigma, no one knew quite where I was from, or where my allegiances lay. All that they saw was that I was a pretty damn good engineer.

"Hey kid, you going to finish your job or what?" came a grumble.

Realisation struck me, I looked down at my greasy hands holding a spanner.

I need to stop getting caught up in my own thoughts, especially on the job. I thought, cursing myself for my stupidity.

"Yes sir, sorry I'll continue now!" I responded reassuringly to my client, who sighed to himself.

A couple of minutes later I finished my work on a faulty cash register. The impatient shop owner was now pleased, and I received quite the handsome pay for it. This is what I did, my life now consisted of mending machines that others couldn't. It was quite the mundane career I'll admit, but it got me by and kept me out of trouble.

I pushed open the doors and stepped outside, and was met with the blindingly fluorescent lights of the undercity. My new home, if you could even call it that. It was a scary place, but you got used to it eventually. Studying the schedule in my hand, I found my next task. Vander's place.

A kind and friendly man, he'd helped me out many times. I knew his kids too, Vi, Mylo and Claggor were around my age, and there was Powder too. Vi had taught me how to throw a punch in fact, something that would come in handy in this dark and disturbing place. I threw my hood over my head and began to rush through the crowded streets, being met with jeers and scowls, or sometimes the familiar faces of past clients. Finally, I saw the comforting green light before me, a sign reading The Last Drop.

The bouncers in front nodded their heads to let me past as I entered, throwing my hood down. Noise droned all around the packed bar, I continued forward and looked up to meet Vander's kind eyes. He smiled warmly and ushered me over.

"Good to see you y/n! There's just an issue with a drink dispenser here that needs sorted.." he began to explain as I listened distractedly, wondering where Vi and the rest were.

Immediately I got to work on the defective machines, wincing at the strong stench of alcohol. As I did so, I overheard quite the interesting piece of information from a customer's conversation. Four kids from the Undercity had been running wild topside, they'd blown up a building apparently. Immediately, four names came to mind, but I tried to shake away an unsettling feeling as I continued my work.

I was finished in no time, wiping the sweat off my brow. Something was off though, the clamour around the bar had abruptly stopped, a deafening silence surrounded me. I stood up to witness the scene before me.

"A bit of advice; don't threaten the guy who pours the drinks," came the familiar voice of Vander.

He was negotiating with two relentless traders, a frail man beside him. Everyone around the bar had stopped in their tracks, all allies of Vander and willing to fight for him. It was quite the captivating scene, he was in his element, a peacekeeper who strove for the happiness of his people. The respect everyone had for him was something I greatly admired, something I aimed to achieve in future.

Suddenly, four figures trudging across the bar caught my eye. My friends. They wore grim expressions, seemingly crest-fallen. My heart dropped, of course it was them, who else could it have possibly been? Racing along, I retraced their steps and burst through the doors to their room. Mylo and Powder had clearly been bickering as per usual, an annoyed Vi beside them with her head in her hands. Stopping in their tracks they all turned around, wide-eyed at my sudden intrusion.