WIP OH GOD IT'S A WIP
What to work on[]
Ace Escapes the Jail and Sees Dronia For the First Time:[]
This entire thing:
As I got out of the landing station, Areon walked up to me, and said “Hey, since you’re new to Dronia, I have some advice. Stay with me for a while. Remember those raiders?” Clearly, I said yeah. He said “Well, the thugs here make them look wimpy. Stay right here, though, I’m getting a taxicab.” Then, he walked off, and a few minutes later, a taxicab rolled up, and it looked very Art Deco compared to regular taxicabs.
I would spend paragraphs gushing over the beauty of the taxicab, but I’ll shorten it to a few sentences. Imagine a regular yellow taxi in New York City. Now, imagine if one of those fused with a Ford Thunderbird, a Pimpmobile, the wing doors of a DeLorean, and the front of a Plymouth Superbird. Add in the fact that it can go up to around 176 miles per hour, a hood ornament showing Drok Ano with a spear, and having a gas tank that holds 33 gallons (with around 50 to 60 miles per gallon), and you have the Dronese SokIniz.
As I got in, the driver began to take us on the scenic route through Dronia City, since Areon requested him to show me some of the sights of the City. We went through six of the 9 segments of Dronia City; Metal Blade, Jeke West, Jeke South, The Edge, Central Hub, and the Dronia Tower. Port Nexus was recovering from a ship exploding (some dumbass ignited the ship’s cargo of grenades and artillery shells), and Upper Coast and Basin Creek weren’t that notable. What was notable is that the Dronia has a highway smack dab in the middle of it, and Metal Blade was full of factories, among many other reasons. After the grand tour, we settled down in a flat in Jeke South, room 16a.
As I opened the door, I got a glimpse of a regular Dronese flat room. It was better than a regular flat room back on Earth, but it was shabbier than a regular house. I then thought about why Areon had a flat, when he was a worker for the spaceship that I boarded. Wouldn’t he have a house instead? But I realized that were flats more popular than houses, which is kind of unusual. Why have mid-quality apartments when you could have a big house?
But I didn’t complain at all, since I had no home. Areon said “You can live here as long as you want. I’ll get the tea ready.” I sat down on the couch, and removed my helmet, breathed deeply, and sighed. The air was so…clean compared to Earth, and reminded me of vacations to the coast. Then, Areon said “How would you like your tea?” I then replied “I don’t want tea. In fact, I think I’m gonna take a walk.” Areon said “Fine, fine. Be back before dusk, though.” I went down the stairs, out the front door, and began walking down Lancas Street.
The first thing I noticed was that there were a lot of businesses around this one street. I knew why, though. Lancas Street was the birthplace of the current Dronese leader, Dronian A’roso, and due to the VERY FRIGGIN HEAVY tourism to the street every year, any business on the street prospers massively, and most fast food joints that start on this street turn into large chains. Of said businesses, they were mostly restaurants, convenience stores, and even a museum that takes up an old building and Dronian’s birthplace (31BA Lancas Street). Instantly, I felt hungry, but I had no money. To my luck, however, I found a dropped Dronese bill that said 5 on it. Next to the 5 was the symbol for a Won for some reason. I proceeded to 'borrow' it.
I went down the street to a restaurant called “Jiulh’s Diner”. As I went in, the first thing I noticed was that it looked almost exactly like a classic American Diner. As I sat down on the counter, I grabbed the menu, and looked at the various foods there. All of the good-looking meals cost over 5 'Dronese Wons', minus one thing that did look like mozzarella sticks for ₩3.99. I ordered that, and after waiting for a few minutes, I got a large plate of around 15 sticks. I took a bite into one, and it actually tasted pretty good, to be honest. After finishing the plate, I left the restaurant, and found a bar the next building over, “The New A’rosoan Pub”.
Though it was on Lancas Street, one of the most tourist-heavy parts of the planet, it looked run down, but that didn’t stop people from coming. It was probably intentional, though. I sat myself down next to some Dronese, and read the menu. They had loads of beer by various companies; Jamsti Brewery and Company, Vion Akis, and Burning X, to name a few. I ordered a drink by Vion Akis that looked similar to pale lager. After he got the drink for me, I drank said lager (by pulling the bottom of the balaclava down), and slammed the glass on the table (but not too hard). Around this time, I was introduced to the best thing I had ever seen yet; Kung-Fu Gilbert.
(Note: 'Dronese Wons 'are actually called Rotos, singular Roti.)
Kung-Fu Gilbert Meets Ace and the Aftermath[]
Imagine sitting at a pub, getting drunk off lager, when a man who looks like he’s in his mid-20s (no, not me; I was about 22) comes out of the restroom while plastered to hell. Said men is wearing toilet paper on his hands like he had put on some wrist wraps, as well as a 'bandana'. He then gets on the stage near the pool tables, and starts acting like he’s in a karate match with The Invisible Man. Well, when he did his routine, everyone on the bar cheered for him, putting money on the pool table, asking for more. I asked the man next to me who he was.
He said “That guy? Uh, he’s this homeless human guy…” When I heard homeless and human, I was relieved to find another human, although with my looks, I would be considered a mutant of some sort. “…that lives in the alley next to this bar. Every day, he comes into the bar and acts like he’s a black belt of some sort. It’s pretty amusing, and he’s saving up to buy an apartment!” I watched Gilbert do his stuff, and after everyone applauded, he collected the money, bought himself a bottle of what looked like vodka, and went to his alley. I wanted to talk to him.
After leaving the bar, I went into the alley, and saw Gilbert opening the bottle. He cheerfully said “Hello there! I bet you’re here for an autograph, huh?” I replied “No, I’m here to know if you’re human or Dronese.” His eyes widened, and said “Wait, you’re a human too?” Tiredly, I replied “Yeah, but if I took off my head gear, you’d think I was a monster of some sort.” He poured himself a glass, and said “Well, let me see your face. You don’t have to take everything off…only your sunglasses. After that, you can pull your face mask thing more openly.” I did just that, and he cringed.
“Put it back on!” he shouted, and so I did. After a minute, he replied “Well, you are human…well, half a guy, anyways.” To get the sight out of his brain, he drank his glass of vodka. He then said “I will say something that you’d find interesting. Even though I’m very homeless and do standup and drunken acts on stage, I heard that Leader Dronian is looking to turn people with your…disability into super soldiers to work for him.” I was very intrigued, but there was no way in hell I was being malformed by a human (or Dronese for this matter) being again.
I decided to take the chance and say “Well, what improvements does he give people?” He thought for a minute, and said “Well, you’ll be able to lift cars, run faster than a Blue-Tailed Jakey, and be able to solve some crazy algebra problems. At least, that’s what I heard.” I then said “Well, that’s cool…I guess. See you tomorrow” and walked off. As I went down the street more, I realized that I had spent so much time at the bar that it was almost sundown. I instantly ran back to the apartment, dodging various Dronese in my way, and took the elevator to Areon’s room.
As I got in, he said “Ah, Ace, you got here in time.” Wondering, I said “Why do I have to be here by sundown?” Crucially, he said “Well, if you notice right now, most Dronese are going into the nearest building and turning off every single light,” pointing at the window. I looked outside, and saw that one by one, the windows of the buildings next to us were being lit down. Wondering even more, I replied “Well, what the hell are they hiding from?” I glimpsed to see Areon with his dinner – pork and a baked potato - turning off the lights in his room.
Aces sees the X-Valkyrie[]
Instantly, he told me a very strange story. “Many years ago, explorers in the Doremi desert wasteland found a giant statue made of titanium in blocked-off portion of an old cave. When they tested the carbon dating of some skeletons in the area, the robot dated back to before the Empire was founded, so they thought that an old Wind Raider tribe had somehow discovered titanium, and built said statue. On the wall near it, writing was found in original Non language.”
“Wait, what’s the Non language?” I quickly asked. Areon kept on talking, “The Non are a Wind Raider tribe that is still around today. Since they could understand Nonian due to some members of said tribe speaking both English and Nonian, they transcribed the writing. It basically told how to activate, sacrifice someone to, or deactivate the statue, as well as what the name of the statue is. Unfortunately for the team, saying the statue’s name would cause it to become alive.” Astoundingly, I asked “So it was a robot all that time?”
“That’s true, Walton. When they said the name, the eyes of the statue opened, and as soon as they opened, the leader screamed at the team to get out of the cave. As they got out, the thing chased after them, destroying the cave in the progress. Running away in their jeep, the team described the being, and called it the X-Valkyrie. After it was activated, reports of a giant being flying from the sky and snatching a Dronese were reported. Two years after the X-Valkyrie was unleashed, at least 100 men fell in its rage.”
“Thankfully, one of the members studied the beast, and realized a pattern. X-Valkyries attacked the men in the open when they had a source of light near them. He warned Dronian, and he issued a warning to Dronia. Years later, the X-Valkyrie boarded a ship to Dronian City, and that’s why it’s plaguing us today. We still don’t know where it lives." I felt weird about being in a city with a giant titanium statue attacking anyone using light at night, but I said “Well, I’ll see if anyone gets snatched by the X-Valkyrie, then.”
I went to the window, and peered out. There were absolutely no lights on; even the Dronia Tower went dark. Soon, I saw a giant shape flying over the city. It seemed to be humanoid, but had some eagle-like properties; wings, talon-like feet, and a similar screech. I saw it dive down into the block next from us, and soon, I heard someone scream in fear. A few seconds later, I saw the X-Valkyrie leave the block, but in the right talon was the freshly-killed body of a Dronese man. Areon said “Well, now you know why we shut our lights off.”
I blandly said “Well, why haven’t you taken out the Valkyrie yet?” Areon thought about it, but replied “The army did actually fight the Valkyrie. They used three tanks, seven or eight bazooka men, and thirty soldiers to neutralize the Valkyrie. In a minute, only three bazooka men and 12 soldiers were left alive.” I slowly nodded my head, before saying “Is there anything that can kill the damn thing?” Areon said “Well, we could use a nuke, but that would require isolating it to an abandoned island. Besides, it seems like the X-Valkyrie wants to go wherever it feels like going.”
I said “Well, okay. I guess I’m gonna go to bed now. See ya.” Areon said “Sleep on the couch. I don’t like sharing a bed with someone, because I feel like I have no room to sleep.” I then shrugged, and said “Okay” before walking over and lying on his couch. Thanks to the cryogen process, the sight of seeing a giant metal winged man snatch a guy away, and the fact that the entire city is pitch black made me fall asleep easily. Welcome to Dronia, indeed.
Seeing Dronian A'roso[]
I woke up at 2 PM to the sound of Areon frantically rushing into the kitchen, spraying a fire extinguisher at his sadly failed attempt to reheat the baked potato from last night, and screaming “OH SHIT THE GODDAMN BAKED POTATO IS ON FIRE!”
Calmly, I walked toward the kitchen, and said “Hey, what’s the matter?” He hesitatingly said “I-I’m scared of fire, okay?” I gave a slight nod, and said “Oh, okay.” He proceeded to wipe up the foam from the fire extinguisher, but suddenly, his head quickly propped up. “Oh,” Areon said, “I got a letter today from the Dronese Government about you.” A lot of thoughts rushed into my mind. What did they want me for? Did they want to meet me because I was one of the few humans to go to Dronia? Or…maybe Kung-Fu Gilbert was a worker for the Dronese Government, and signed me up for those experiments?
Areon continued “It’s on the table if you wanna see it.” I slowly walked to the table and picked the letter up. I opened it, and read the 2-page contents. It turns out that Kung-Fu Gilbert had talked about me when he was hiding out in the New A’rosoan Pub, and it was a coincidence that one of the people he talked to happened to be one of the members of the Dronese Government. When it reached sunlight, the member hurried to the Dronia and told Dronian about me, which prompted him to write the letter. Of course, that was on the first page. The second page explained that I was invited to a private meeting at 2 PM tomorrow with Dronian, the Prime Minister Ahrin Tokoa, Technological Advisor Mira Traer, and General John Jeff, who I thought was most likely the only human in the Government.
Short Summary[]
- February 7,024: Ace finally reaches New Dronia City, who is mistaken as a rogue Evaporator! He is jailed for a while, before a man from Lezon says that he was the sole survivor of the ship crash in the Pratinei Mountains. Since only a few people live there in winter, the police let Ace out if only he told them how he survived the crash and got into New Dronia City. Fascinated, they let him out. Ace rents an apartment in Havarine West. He lives there for the rest of his month. Local businesses give him a lifetime supply of food, alcohol, and such.
Ace meets Dronian in the next book.