Writing The Meteo City Chronicles

[Raiha]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Hybrid [/i]
[B][size=1] Good story Rico, ah I remember when I was Forte, and I was in the Meteo City, one of them, I forgot which one, which ever was in v3, I was in that one. It was a great rpg [/size] [/B][/QUOTE][COLOR=royalblue]Whadaya mean? [b][i]was[/b][/i]????? It's still around![/COLOR]

[RicoTranzrig]

Cut the chatter...j/k :D Okay, it's taken me awhile since I had writer's block and all...but here it is...
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[color=darkblue][b][u][i]Chapter 4: Healing[/b][/u][/i]



T.Kay awoke on the couch of their apartment, groggy and sore, she tried to get up. Her muscles were still weak after fighting with Selemia Jung the night before. She eventually gave up and growled out loud, almost screaming. She was powerless at the time and memories of being captive were coming back to haunt her inner thoughts. But even her psyche was weak from the Chi blast she used to finish her nemesis off and aid in Rico?s flight up the sky rise. T.Kay couldn?t take the pressures of her past life coming back after so much effort she used in liberating herself from it. She wanted energy to fight back, to get up at the very least, she was vulnerable, and alone in the living room with no one in sight. She had a feeling that her only friend betrayed her and left her to suffer instead of caring for her the entire night. With her remaining energy built up, she screamed out, ?RICO, HELP ME!!!? She passed out after her cries bounced off the walls, and no one was coming to her rescue.


In the other room, Rico heard the echoes from the living room and immediately sprung up from bed. [i]?T.Kay,?[/i] he thought. He pushed the sheets of his matters over with such force that it separated from the underside of the bed. Rico barely heard her scream, but, after realizing what had happened the day before, he ran out of his room and into the living room. He was still in his withered tuxedo when he knelt down beside T.Kay and placed his hand on his shoulder. He talked in soft tones, saying, ?T.Kay, are you alright? Please wake up.?


?Rico, why?d you leave me?? She whispered back, her body still limp with exhaustion, not possessing the energy to open her eyes. She desperately wanted to speak to Rico through telepathy, but she couldn?t will herself, even though she did have the strength to do that.


?I didn?t leave you,? Rico looked at himself and T.Kay, noticing that he didn?t even bother to clean her wounds, dress her, and put her in the only bed that they had. He felt a deep remorse as he placed his fingers on T.Kay?s cheek and turned her face, revealing the cuts and bruises she suffered on the rooftop. He began to feel his own wounds now as his skinned knees touched the carpet. His back ached and his arms were so sore he could barely lift her face without shaking. ?I?m sorry, T.Kay.?

?No! You?re not Rico! And Selemia?s still out to get me, who are you??

Rico shook his head. ?T.Kay.?

?Rico!? She raised her hands and tried to burn whoever was looming over her. But she couldn?t will herself to. She thought it was because of her lack of energy, though, in reality, her psychic abilities were useless against Rico.

Rico took her left hand. ?Tasha, listen! You?re safe here; no one?s going to get you. I know you can?t really tell who I am but you have to trust me!? He squeezed her palm firmly.

She lay still, motionless, holding on to his hand with feint strength, and the tension Rico could see in her face was slowly diminishing. She released the grip of battle, the wrinkle between her eyes and nose faded away. The pools of cold sweat beaded down her battle-worn face with the tears of relief melting it all away. Rico knelt patiently by her side as her eyebrows rose up and got a hold of her true surroundings. Though they only lived in the apartment for a few days, T.Kay was very much attached to the place. The small couch that came with the apartment, the sterile white walls, the paint still fresh untouched by age or abuse. The peach carpet, the shadows cast by the morning sun against the windows, gentle on her eyes, yet bright enough so that she could see what really pulled her back. The shock of confronting her past buried her deep within it. But now that Rico heard her cries, he rescued her from all of that by taking her hand. She eventually realized that he was the only one she couldn?t feel, let alone hurt. Instead of having feelings of caution, she sighed out, ?Trust.?

?Yeah,? Rico opened his eyes wide and let go of her hand.

T.Kay opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the light. She looked at the bruises and welts on her arms and hands. She touched them and breathed in sharply, uttering the words, ?It hurts.?

Rico stood up and ran into the bathroom to get a first-aid kit from one of the drawers by the sink. Even though she didn?t say much at the time, Rico could empathize with the pain she was feeling at the moment. Quickly, but carefully, he took the first-aid kit and ran back to the couch where T.Kay lay motionless with her eyes closed and her head tilted back on the armrest.

Once Rico knelt by her side and he opened the first aid kit, she said, ?Remind me never to lose control like that again, Rico.?

?Well, it could be worse,? he said lightly. He got up from the floor and dabbed a small amount of hydrogen peroxide on a piece of cloth and pressed it on her various wounds.

?Ouch!? T.Kay said simply, ?Yeah, but I can?t believe Selemia had to do that. I think I?m losing it.?

?That?s easy to believe. How did you use that force deflector or whatever it?s called??

?Oh, my light shield? It was easy. Just concentrate on the points you really want to protect.? She started to gain back her strength and took the piece of cloth from Rico?s hands and threw it to the side. ?Just hand me that bottle of aspirin, will you?

?Sure thing,? he replied as he handed her the

unopened bottle. She mentally poured herself a glass of water and quickly swallowed the pills. Rico never had the need to use any type of drugs to calm his pain. He had been through a lot during his training, battered bruised by simulations and real-life battles. ?I guess you went through a lot in that hospital.?

T.Kay shook her head and swallowed. ?No, it was much more than that.? She tilted her body to the side of the couch with her right arm dangling. She almost fell to the ground, hard, if it had not been for Rico to catch her.

Rico whispered in her ears, ?I got you,? and held her in his arms and carefully set her down on the floor. ?Do those people actually know who you are?? He asked.

?I remembered them both Sacherry and Selemia at some point in time. Selemia came in much more often, just looking at me before my escape. But before I actually did, she confronted my constrained self and slipped a business card in the pocket of my gown.?

?So this was all an elaborate trap then??

?Maybe, I just don?t know right now.? T.Kay covered her eyes. ?And I have a headache.?

Rico stood up and crouched by T.Kay?s side. ?C?mon, you?ll need a good rest of you want to get better soon.?

T.Kay pushed herself up to a sitting position, shaking and struggling along the way. Most of her energy was lost because of that and so barely had the strength to have a conversation with Rico. Though she managed to speak the words, ?If only I could stand, I might be able to.?

Surprisingly enough, Rico arched and reached forward and put one arm under her legs and another alongside her shoulders. ?If I may,? he said kindly.

T.Kay let out a sharp snort, ?Ha! If you can manage to take me places without risking my life I would be all for it. But you, Rico, are a different story!?

?What, I haven?t endangered your life in any way.?

?No, the way you drive, though.?

?Humph, this has nothing to do with my ability to carry you to a more comfortable place.?

T.Kay finally gave up. ?Okay, fine do whatever you want, I?ll pay you back after you do your damage.?

Rico rolled his eyes and got a firm hold on T.Kay. She held tense as his arms touched her and put pressure on a few of the bruises on her back and legs. ?Am I hurting you?? Rico asked.

T.Kay only shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the rest of the world, including herself. By the time she opened her senses, she could see the ceiling moving above her. Rico managed to lift her up and walk around. It was slow, but comfortable.

?You alright?? Rico asked again.

?Ya-hum,? T.Kay babbled out.

Rico laughed, ?What did you just say??

?Nothing, nothing.? T.Kay closed her eyes again.

Rico?s arms were tired by the time he set down T.Kay on his bed, in the only room designed for sleeping. He let her down softly and rolled her on her left side with her right arm and leg slightly extended over. T.Kay instantly assumed a fetal position afterwards and fell into a peaceful slumber. Rico looked over at the clock, reading ?9:30PM.? He had already been debriefed the night before and he overviewed the report:

When the two had left the scene, police raided and locked down the entire building, arresting everyone inside the building and the surrounding areas who seemed to be fleeing the scene. They found the body of Sacherry and placed him in the Meteo City police department for autopsy along with his other henchmen who were killed either by Rico and T.Kay, in self-defense, or Selemia Jung in cold blood. The assault squad reached the rooftop and saw the damage that the battle made and Selemia?s body could not be found. All in all, the entire building was in police custody and the proper arrests were made. The ones who had been placed under arrest were still being question at Meteo City police headquarters.

?Sorry we couldn?t find much answers after this,? Rico reassured her, ?We?ll find the answers to what Selemia meant.? Before Rico turned around to leave, he asked her, ?Do you need anything??

T.Kay lay flat on the bed and gave up once again.

Rico walked back and tried to shake her but she refused to move. At first Rico thought that her life was in serious jeopardy, but he felt for a pulse on the side of her neck and he relaxed after feeling one that was beating strong, but calm. Her bruises and welts still lay scattered throughout her face, probably even more on the rest of her body. In time, they would heal. But for now, Rico placed a cold hand on her forehead, feeling her soft skin. She breathed in softly as his hand rested on her cheek. A feeling came over him suddenly as he leaned forward slowly and placed his lips on her forehead and quickly removed them. It felt strange to live with someone he had just met only two weeks ago. They barely had time to get settled in and know each other before they were out and about risking their lives just to solve random murder mysteries, only to find out that the people who were behind them had a deep underlying connection with T.Kay. The gift that she had became more of a burden. She was merely a teenager, much like Rico was; yet she had gone through so much to be called merely an adolescent. He knew she had much more to her than just what she told him a couple days ago. This stayed on his mind as he picked up his jacket and keys and left the room. He was hungry and when T.Kay would awake, she would be starving. He checked a map of their area and located a small restaurant nearby serving a simple breakfast of doughnuts and coffee. Rico put on his jacket and left the apartment, leaving T.Kay in peace.

She was conscious, though she never moved or kept her eyes open, she was very much awake the entire time Rico walked out of the room, grabbed his belongings and walked back in. He pulled the bed sheets over her to keep her comfortable and warm. He knelt by her side, staying motionless. A minute passed before he ran his hand along her forehead and cheek. At first, she felt scared, that he was going to take advantage of her condition. She had absolutely no idea what Rico?s intentions were. His hand brushed through her cheek with a feint touch, almost as if a warm breeze were flowing through her face. T.Kay felt quite relaxed after she figured he wasn?t going to pull anything malicious against her and she started to drift off. Then, she was brought back to a discrete reality when Rico?s warm lips touched her forehead with the same tenderness as his hand. It was only for a few seconds that passed by, but to T.Kay, it seemed much longer than that. Before Rico left, two words registered in her thoughts, whispered to her were the words, ?Get better.? She knew where that had come from, she recognized the voice, but it wasn?t possible for her to hear his thoughts. Nevertheless, she took a sigh of relief that Rico did care for her and she dozed off to sleep, hoping to see him when she woke up.

Rico took to the streets. It was rush hour and the roads were clogged with cars end to end. The sun was beaming down from the east, torching the asphalt, sending fresh fumes into early commuters noses, through the vents of the cars. He heard sirens off into the distance muffled with the horns of neighboring cars. He put on his sunglasses and zoomed up ahead to what was causing the blockage. Up ahead, Rico noticed several police cars blocking the pathway with their emergency lights on. He checked his computer display on the center console and no reports appeared on the screen. He wondered whether or not he should have gone to check out what was happening. Just out of curiosity, he rolled down his window and looked straight at the driver to the left of him and yelled out, "Hey!"

A man dressed in a dark blue business suit sat in his car with very plush seating. He stared clearly at the scene in front of him and never bothered to look towards Rico, who was calling him out.

For a few minutes, Rico hopelessly tried to get his attention, but he got no response. Looking at the clock, he had been stuck in traffic for over an hour now with absolutely no improvement. The restaurant was just two more blocks away and both he and T.Kay were starving. He looked behind him and saw a horde of cars behind him that built up after he cut his engines in the simulated parking lot. As a last resort, he sent a message to the Meteo City Police headquarters, requesting information on what exactly was going on. He hit send and waited for a couple of seconds watching the monitor on the center of the dashboard. "Blocked," was the message that came out. All transmissions in the area were jammed. Rico was mad. He took his badge and gun and unlocked the door. Self-conscious, he looked around for any people that might stop him from advancing to the scene on foot. After scanning the area, he finally opened the door and stepped onto the hot pavement. As expected, he got a few obscene comments and gestures once they noticed him walking towards the group of police cars at the intersection. He waved his badge around, signifying his authority and continued walking with caution. Once he reached the first police car, he peered inside and noticed that some of the equipment such as the center LCD dashboard and keyboard, were missing. He looked up and noticed the large blockade consisting of two more police cars and the standard yellow metal barricade. Rico felt that something very suspicious was going on. No officers were in sight. Upon closer inspection of the blockade, he noticed an open manhole in the center of the intersection with gray and orange cables extending to the underground from the nearest car's trunk. He walked towards the back of the car and looked at the open trunk. A computer console lay inside the carpeted space transmitting a large amount of data from what Rico saw on the indicator. He backed up and looked in the car's driver seat. Unlike the other police cars parked, there was an LCD he could consult. But before he could open the door and peer in as to what was being transferred, the sharp, cold, strike of a baton knocked Rico to the ground. He grunted, trying to turn around to identify the person, but he fell to the ground. Hard. The body of who seemed to be a man pinned Rico to the ground. His knee jammed on his lower back, paralyzing him. Repeated strikes rocked through his body before he finally gave up his futile struggle. A strong hand held his head straight on the asphalt while the unknown attacker continued to beat him. It was hard for Rico to believe what exactly was happening to him in such an instant. Was it one of his own that was doing this, or was it an angry driver? But before he could find the strength to get a glimpse of the person, he lost consciousness, falling into a deep sleep.

Rico awoke to the sounds of sirens blaring off in the distance. He couldn?t open his eyes or do anything to tell where he was. He could feel the hardness of a warm mattress beneath him, but other than that, he was helpless, but at least he knew he wasn?t dead. His thoughts were on T.Kay now. She was still bed-ridden as he was now with her expecting him back pretty soon. He didn?t know how long had been out, maybe a few hours to a couple of days. He had wished that he had never gone out for food, but he was more concerned about what police officers were thinking of shutting down traffic at rushhour without reporting it through the entire network. His mind began to drift off once more into a deep sleep.

"Rico," the voice of a familiar woman called out softly to him. At first, he refused to respond, thinking that he was still in a deep sleep. But as he felt her hand touch his shoulder and she called out, "Rico," again, he willed himself to wake up. His thoughts were still hazy, but he felt safe now. The compassionate touch of whoever this person was seemed to calm him greatly. He opened his eyes slightly and noticed the rays of light beaming down over the enigmatic figure, creating a shadow looming over him. "I'm glad that you're okay." Her hand moved from Rico's shoulder to the side of his cheek.

"What's going on?" Rico asked.

A worried response came from her, "Do- you still remember who I am?"

Rico's sight was still blurry from the concussion that he suffered before he ended up like this. "Where am I?"

"The hospital, Rico. I got worried." Her hand never left his cheek.

"Who are you?" He started to focus in.

She let out a sharp breath of air, "Maybe this might help you remember."

Rico could feel her getting closer and closer, her shadow getting larger, almost blocking out all the light he could see. Her breath could be felt just on the top of his forehead. He got worried and forced his eyes wide open. Now that it was dark, he could see the short strands of hair hanging off her neck. She was close now, having both hands on the sides of his cheeks as she leaned in and placed her soft lips on his forehead. She held it, letting the warmness settle in and he began to relax. He knew who she was.[/color]


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[Raiha]

[cOLOR=seagreen]*sigh* How....romantic. I love that part. Although you really should change the "feint" to "faint." I've noticed that alot of people make the same mistake.[/COLOR]

[RicoTranzrig]

[COLOR=darkblue]The one you saw on my computer was a bit different from this one...

I thought this topic went down the chute...but thankfully you've brought it back. ;) Though, I've been at a mind block on this story for months so it might be a while before the inspiration and the time to write and revise comes back...[/COLOR]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=seagreen]Hmmm......we need to get together and do some more brainstorming. I would hate for it to just end....like that. Considering, the story has been dead for so long...

I think it deserves an ending.[/COLOR]

[Raquel]

Flash posted an excelent one... This really brings back the memories... I remember that the quality of my posts where horrible then... And so many other things from that "era"... I thought the entire thing was lost... *Shakes head* Well... Good job Rico...