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Author's note: This story takes place in the land of Senthophia, far away from the Island of Dator. Technically, it takes place in a city in the land of Senthophia. Senthophia is inhabited by griffins, dragons, wolffrins, saber-tooths, nightmare and dream creatures, and furres, but no humans.
"Ow, stop it!" Jo-Jo screeched while hitting the floor. The night guard had backhanded her for sneaking out of her room.
"Damn orphan kids," the guard snarled. "They don't know when to shut up or when to stay put."
Jo-Jo got up and brushed herself off. "Bastard," she muttered under her breath as she returned to her dim lighted room.
"And stay in there!" the guard barked while closing and locking the door.
"Ergh…," she moaned while flopping on to her bed. She touched her face where she had been hit. It felt warm and it really hurt. Although her "sneak out" mission wasn't a complete success, she had managed to pickpocket the guard's pistol. She stowed it away under her pillow. Perhaps it would aid in the future.
As she looked up to peer out the tiny skylight window, she spotted a bird flying across the night sky. Oh, how she longed to do the same. To fly across the sky, so free...but her wings were tattered and torn. She couldn't fly away if she wanted to...
Jo-Jo was a 10 year old blue tigercat with small wings. Purple bangs hung across her eyes. Large ears stuck out from her head, which stayed folded down most of the time. Though her large ears did not improve her hearing, she could sense high frequency tones. The back of her hair was tangled and frizzy; it drove her crazy so much. Her gentle dark green eyes were clouded with cold and the two black stripes that curved around her eyes and down to her nose were starting to fade. Her slitted pupils were dilated most of the time, but whenever she got angry, they turned to thin slivers. Her pupils were just beginning to go back to normal. She was still antsy; she couldn't get comfortable. Her wings were dampened by the moldy air, and her feathers were covered with dirt and grime to where you couldn't tell their color. In fact, her whole body was like that. Her light blue, black striped fur was turned to a grimy green and her white muzzle was a dark gray.
The Orphanage was really like a slave house. The kids were forced to work day and night, cleaning, scrubbing, and even doing the outside chores. Ooh, what a terrible life she had been cursed with! The Orphanage rarely provided clothing for the children, so Jo-Jo’s clothes were only fit to be called “rags”.
She sat alone in that filthy room for the rest of the night. She had no one else to talk to or comfort her. Jo-Jo didn't mind though. She was better off alone. Yet there was one exception; she missed her brother Spike. And as far as she could remember, her parents were gone. It was just her and her brother, wandering the streets looking for a home. Then they were caught by the Tsuco City Orphanage. Jo-Jo went to the orphanage, but Spike was sent somewhere else; to a juvenile center. She thought her life was just fine, her and Spike, but caught at the age of 5 and sent away to work forever. She had such a terrible life. Five years have passed since that terrible day.
As a tear ran down her cheek she cried out while slamming her fist on the wall, "I WILL get revenge. You hear me? Vengeance WILL be mine."
As sunlight shone through the little skylight window, a loud, yet annoying, alarm sounded. The guards went through the halls unlocking all the doors. It was five o'clock a.m., time for breakfast.
Jo-Jo stretched and yawned, she rubbed her eyes. Her cheek was stinging like hell; she rolled her fingers over it lightly. She already held a grudge against this place, and that was another one.
As her eyes adjusted to the light, she thought, 'I have to hide that pistol!' She looked around frantically. Then she took the gun from under her pillow and wrapped it up with her handkerchief. To keep her gun from being discovered, she pushed a small dresser a few feet forward. It revealed a small hole. This is where she kept all her personal stuff. Jo- Jo threw the handkerchief wrapped gun in the hole and pulled the dresser back over it.
"There," she said. Jo-Jo grabbed another handkerchief from a drawer and tied it around her head. Then she darted out the door. She spotted her friend Jacamie. Jacamie was a brownish-tan German shepherd.
"Hey Jacamie, wait up!" Jo-Jo yelled as she caught up with her.
"Hey," Jacamie said while waving her hand. "You sleep well?"
"Yeah, nightmares aplenty," Jo-Jo replied sarcastically.
"Same here," added Jacamie.
All the kids entered the eating area. Each kid grabbed a plate and got in line for their food. Jo-Jo and Jacamie didn't get in line; breakfast wasn't anything special. It was just gruel, they could do without.
While waiting for breakfast to be over, Jo-Jo and Jacamie talked with a few other friends. Dante, a blue echidna, walked over to the table and sat down.
"Hey Jo, hey ‘Camie," he said.
"Hey Dante," they both said in unison.
"Hey Jo, I heard that you tried to sneak out last night. Way to go!" Dante laughed while raising a fist into the air triumphantly.
"Yeah," Jo-Jo sighed, "It was a failed mission though." Jo-Jo glanced at the floor.
Jacamie looked at her, "Yeah, but someday we'll all be free. We'll all break out someday and be free to do anything we want to."
"I hope so," added Dante. "I don't know how much more of this place I can take......."
At five thirty, breakfast was over and they had to go out in the fields to work. The guards covered the perimeter and the kids broke off into the middle. As morning sun became Heck's own tanning salon, it became unbearably hot. The sun bearing down on their backs made it hard to pick in the bean field. For autumn, it was unusually hot.
Jo-Jo stood up and wiped sweat from her forehead. She was glad that the handkerchief was on her head, for it would have had burned by now. But poor Jacamie, she barely had any covering except for the rags she had on. Jo-Jo looked down at her. She was working so hard. Even though she was only an orphan, she put everything she had into whatever she was doing. Jo couldn't do anything for her but she did do the one thing that might help. She took off her handkerchief and offered it to Jacamie.
"Thanks, it is really hot," Jacamie said while putting it on.
They proceeded with their work until one o'clock. As the loud alarm sounded to head back to the main building, the sun was still blazing overhead. Jacamie and Jo-Jo stopped picking and started walking back to the building. They didn't walk too far until Jacamie started breathing hard.
Jo looked over at her and questioned, "Are you okay ‘Camie?"
"I...don't...know. It's..really..hard to...breathe. And..I can't...walk..too fast...either," she stuttered while clutching her chest.
A guard came up behind them and slashed a whip across their backs.
"Hey!!" Jo-Jo yelled at the guard.
"Pick up the pace you lolly gaggers!"
"Fuck you!" Jo-Jo shouted at the guard. As a look of worry spread across Jo-Jo's face, she put a comforting arm around Jacamie. She knew what was going on. But not long after they continued their walk, Jacamie keeled over and hit the ground with a "thump".
"Jacamie!!" Jo-Jo cried as she knelt down to examine her. She put her hand near her mouth to see if she was breathing. No she wasn't breathing! She put a hand to her chest to feel for a heartbeat, but to no avail. Jacamie was dead! She was dead from over working in the hot sun. Another soul had been taken from her life and now she was furious. Jo-Jo turned to a guard and shouted, “Are you happy? You’ve finally taken your toll on me!”
That caught the attention of everybody. All started to run towards Jo-Jo.
Then Dante ran up to her and asked, "Oh my god! I...i.is Jacamie really dead?"
She nodded her head.
Dante knelt down to examine her too. “She is dead!”
Soon, all the kids were yelling and screaming it. The guards were frustrated by now. They yelled at the kids to get back in their rooms for the rest of the night.
"Great!" Jo-Jo said to Dante while looking back at Jacamie's still body. The guards were taking care of it.
"Man, I hope I never have to see that ever again," Dante sighed.
"I know what you mean, Dante," Jo-Jo replied. She pushed back the tears that wanted to cry out so much, but she couldn't right now. “No, not in front of everybody,” she thought. Jo-Jo kept her face toward the ground as she walked.
Dante glanced over at her, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine echidna boy."
All the kids returned to their rooms and the guards locked the doors. No one was going to eat dinner tonight. As Jo-Jo fell on the bed she let everything out. The tears pushed forward and the cries escaped from her throat. She not only cried for Jacamie, but for everyone who felt the pain and agony of losing someone special. She couldn't stand being here anymore. Tonight was the night she would be tortured no longer.
As evening rolled around, Jo-Jo prepared for the night to come. She grabbed the pistol she had stolen out from the wall and thrust it in her pocket. She packed what little she had into a blanket and adjusted it so it would hang off her shoulders, like a backpack.
Twelve o' clock seemed to take forever to turn on her wristwatch. Time after time she kept glancing at her watch waiting, thinking. Then, twelve o'clock hit her watch, now it was time for the guards’ nightly rounds. She stood next to her door and waited for the guard to open it. She took out her gun; she didn't want to use it unless she had to. As the guard opened the door, she pressed flat against the shadows, becoming one with the wall. As the guard walked in, Jo-Jo used the butt of the gun and hit it against the guard's neck, knocking him unconscious. Jo peered out the door; no other guards were around.
"All right, coast is clear. Let's do this," she reassured herself as she ran down the hall. Fortunately, not very many lights were on at night. So she stayed in the shadows and progressed this way. Before exiting the hallway, she made a left turn to face a locked door. She stuck her sharp pointed claw in the keyhole and pushed it open.
Dante, on the other side of the door, wondered why the guard was checking on him again. But when a pair of dark green eyes shone brightly out of the darkness, he knew it was Jo- Jo.
"Hey, Dante," Jo-Jo softly called out.
Dante turned on a light. "What are you doing!?" he exclaimed while leaning up on his bed.
"I'm bustin' outta here tonight," she softly spoke while pointing her thumb at the door. "Do you wanna come with me?"
Dante looked at the half opened door then back at Jo-Jo. He rolled his eyes around and whispered, "No."
"What!!" Jo-Jo yelped nearly falling over.
"There's nowhere for me to go, and no one for me to go home to. I'm an unwanted child remember? How do you think I got into this place? I'm better off here." His eyes looked down at the floor.
"Okay....but, I'm sure gonna miss you," she lapsed into silence and gave Dante a hug. "I promise I'll come back someday and adopt ya, kay?" Jo-Jo laughed while giving him a wink and a thumbs up. Then she ran out the door, closed it and resumed her mission.
He waved a hand good-bye, perhaps that wasn't the smartest final words to say to his best friend. Dante then lay down. He slowly cried himself to sleep.
It was unusually quiet that night, hardly any guards were lurking about and not many lights were on either. While exiting the hallway, she heard some voices. Jo-Jo straightened up against the wall, and slowly peeked around the corner. No one was there, but she did see lights on in the gym. She looked around to see if anybody was near. Jo-Jo slowly walked up to the gym's door and looked inside through the little window.
"A party?" she said to herself. No wonder hardly any guards were around, it was meeting night. She pressed her large ear on the door to listen.
"Why...must...cat...trouble..." she couldn't hear. She carefully, quietly, ever so cautiously opened the door.
"We can't let this child make any more fast moves." Ah, success! She could finally hear what they were saying, but who were they talking about?
"......That little freakish tigercat can never be left unattended," one guard said.
"Yes," another one agreed. "She has caused quite a ruckus the past few days, she must be closely watched."
Jo-Jo closed the door. She couldn't stand one more minute in this dump, she had to get out. As Jo ran towards the exit she thought, "Well, at least it makes my trip a little easier."
Wrong! There were still plenty of guards at the exit!
"Halt!" yelled the guard.
Jo-Jo pulled out her gun and cocked it. "Hold yer horses, slave drivers," She pointed her gun at the guards. "I'm not going back this time!"
"Ha! What are you going to do with a little pistol you brat!" one of the guards chuckled.
"Okay, I warned you!" Then Jo-Jo plowed through the bunch, driving them away from her. They shot stun blaster shots at her, but she learned from last time she tried to escape. She jumped and ducked out of the line of fire and shot some of her own. She was still a little uneasy shooting a gun.
She continued running for the exit but wasn't quite watching where she was going. Jo-Jo turned her head to see a guard standing in front of her. "Holy crap," she cried as she put her gun back in her pocket and braced herself. The guard braced himself too; he was going to grab Jo-Jo but was stunned to see that she had bared her teeth and claws. Like a wild animal, Jo-Jo tore into the guard. Biting and scratching until the guard fell down to the floor. She screeched wildly, almost enjoying it, but after that guard was down, more came.
"Comon' Jo, you can do it!" she yelled to herself while barging towards the exit. Clean and clear the exit was, an open road, she ran with all her might. The tigercat was quite a fast runner, but not fast enough to dodge the final shot made by a fallen, but not dead, guard. The blast hit her shoulder, but she couldn't feel it at the time, adrenaline made her strive. Finally she was out the door.
"All right!" she cried. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She opened her wings so she could lightly glide across the gently rolling plain.
"Come back here!" the guard shouted.
"Yeah right." Jo-Jo laughed with glee as tears of joy ran down her face. Then she felt the power return to her wings. She beat them as hard as she could, harder and harder. Then she slowly took off into the night sky. Once again, she was a free soul, free to fly across the starlit sky.
Jo-Jo flew until her wings grew tired. She landed near the small river that flowed through the countryside of Tsuco City. She walked towards the river and knelt down. For the first time in a long time, she drank cool, fresh water. It soothed her parched throat. Jo-Jo swallowed in deep gulps, not wanting to stop. But when she started feeling light headed from drinking too much, she reconsidered and stopped.
She was about five miles away from the Tsuco City Orphanage, but she still didn't feel safe.
"I'm on the outskirts, so it must be safe," she thought. Jo-Jo spotted an overhang by some rocks and lay down by them. She stayed still for the rest of the night, making sure no one knew that she was there.
When the sun arose over the mountains, Jo-Jo felt the warm sunlight touch her face. She slowly opened her eyes to the open sunlight, and not through a tiny skylight. Jo-Jo leaned up on her left elbow only to fall back to the ground.
"Ouch," she moaned. "The blaster shot, I forgot all about it." She looked down at her shoulder, it was red, but it wasn't bleeding. Since she was hit by a stunner gun, she should only be temporarily impaired. She leaned up once more and headed for the river. Jo-Jo dipped her hands in the water and washed her face. The cool water invigorated her. After washing her whole body, she felt revived. Jo-Jo was ready to hit the open road.
Tsuco City was actually a beautiful place. Gently rolling plains with flower filled meadows, and just a few clouds danced across the sky. A light breeze hit her face. She inhaled deeply while closing her eyes. "Ahhhh, life feels great now, but now I have to find Spike. I'm sure he's worried about me….if he remembers me." She grabbed her backpack and started on her way. With nothing but the open plain before her and a darkened past behind, she had nothing left to lose. Her journey to find her brother had just begun.
You are listening to Gathering: Destiny Beckons from Soul Calibur. This MIDI was taken from vgmusic.com. The sequencer is unknown.
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