The Siren's Keeper

by Gamer Script

A Place To Recover

Gliding down the semi-empty streets, Sonata held a worried glance trained on their sister, Adagio. She sat in the passenger side seat still, aside from the light breaths she would give every now and then to show she was still doing so. Her pale, yellow skin flushing in color further as the stranger gave a groan looking to the overhanging mirror at Sonata and Aria.

"So, what were you three doing out here by yourselves? It's like, fourty-six degrees out there." he said with confusion and worry, though he already had his suspicions and theories.

"Well... We're--"

"None of your fucking business. Why? You wanna take advantage of us like every other sick jerk in this side of town?" Aria spat out in disgust, interrupting Sonata as she jutted from her seat with a wrathful tone and savage rage in her eyes.

"What? No! I'm asking because I need to know more. I just wanna help you, okay?" He said as he noticed that Adagio had began coughing between her breaths, quickly pulling over and crossing over Adagio to reach into the glove compartment, pulling out an odd machine with a plastic coated stick pressed inside a little box. He pulled it out and gently parted Adagios lips, slipping it into her mouth and under her tongue.

Seeing this, Aria moved her knife towards him only to be held back by Sonata, "Aria, stop! He said he's just trying to help!" she shouted as Aria growled and flailed the weapon at him to no avail.

"The last guy that said that nearly fucking kidnapped you, Sonata! The guy that said he had money just wanted to strip you! These stupid fucking humans don't know the first thing about--"

"She's sick..." the stranger said in less than surprise as he looked at the small screen in his hands.

"The fuck do you mean she's sick? Sorry to disappoint creep, but we can't get sick. Nice try, loser..." she said with a snarky grin. Before she knew it he'd pressed the screen to her face so she could see and indeed, there read a temperature of a hundred and two degrees. Sonata looked at it in shock, unable to properly process what she was seeing right before her eyes in those little pixels.

"A-Aria... What does this weird thingy mean?" Sonata asked with genuine worry and confusion as the stranger put it away.

"That number is Adagio's body temperature. If it gets too high it means she has a fever... I'm assuming you have no idea what that means?" he said as he began driving again, but with more of a flame beneath him as he pressed down the gas.

"N-No..." she said looking down at the floor of the car.

"Man, you girls must've been super fortunate not to have gotten sick before. I almost kind of envy that. But anyways, it means that she's got a fever which means illness. It's not too terrible but it needs to be treated." he said as he took a sharp turn.

"Then drop us off at one of your human hospitals or whatever." Aria growled through gritted teeth.

Hearing this and seeing a red light ahead, the stranger skid to a stop and sighed, "If you had the money or resources to I'd assume you would've done so by now. But judging by your clothes, your states and how you've described your events with others... You couldn't afford a doctor, could you?" he reasoned, leaving Aria silent as she glared daggers into his calm, aquamarine irises. Not gaining a response he nodded and turned his attention back to the road, "That's what I figured... Besides, no point in taking you to a doctor when it's just a common cold. Some warmth, some rest, and some food should be--"

"Food?" Sonata said shooting up from her seat in excitement at the word.

The stranger looked at her and nodded, "Yeah, food. I'll make something for Adagio and--"

"What makes you think you're on a first name basis with any of the three of us?" Aria interrupted leaning forward herself.

"Nothing, but I can't just call her 'random girl'. And you've already said her name a few times so I didn't think anything was wrong with it." he explained calmly.

"Speaking of names... You haven't told us yours!" Sonata said leaning back in her seat.

"Shoot, you're right. That's my bad. My name's Scripted Code. It's nice to meet you..." he trailed off looking at Sonata in the mirror.

"Sonata Dusk, and this is--" she was once again interrupted by Aria's finger flicking her forehead.

"Don't just give him our names like that, shit-for-brains! Besides, I can say my own fucking name..." She groaned turning to him, "Not like I'd tell you, creep." she said leaning back in her seat.

Code sighed and gave a light nod as he continued down the road, "Fine. When you're ready I'll be waiting." He said as he drove them down the road and up to an apartment building a few stories high. It wasn't immaculate but it was far from decrepit. Getting out, he walked around the truck and opened Adagio's side, unbuckling her and picking her up in a way that she was lying against his chest and he still had one free arm.

Sonata and Aria got out of the truck soon after and made their way behind him looking up at the paled, sick face of Adagio. Sonata held an extremely worried look on her face while Aria simply held a look of distrust and anger, a look that would've burned holes into the back of his head.

Heading inside the apartment building, they were met by a man at the front desk looking up and nodding to Code almost instantly noticing the girls with him, "Hey Script, these girls whichu'?" He asked in a Bostonian accent to which he simply nodded. Not one to pry too much, the man nodded, pressing a button on his desk that called the elevator down for him which arrived quite quickly.

"Thanks Turner. Tell Wave I said hi, okay?" he said heading in and gesturing to the other two to follow, which they did. Aria more begrudgingly than Sonata of course.

"Yeah, I'll give'm the message. Have a good night!" he said as he waved them off, the doors shutting as they headed up.

"Who was that?" Sonata asked in curiosity looking up at Script who chuckled a bit.

"That's Tide Turner. He and his brother Rogue Wave are from my graduating class a few years back." he explained hitting the button to the third floor, the small room rising as he held Adagio out a bit and placed his hand upon her forehead, "Clammy and a fever..." he said beneath his breath as the shifting of the room stopped, Code quickly moving through the doors as the other two followed behind him.

They soon came to a room at the end of the long hallway and upon entering were met with a cozy looking apartment with posters of action heroes and video games, a guitar sitting off to the side, a well-sized television at about 36 inches or so, multiple consoles, shelves of video games as well as a set of seats that wrapped around a circular glass coffee table. Across from that was a kitchen with the usual items: A knife block, other utensils, a fridge and such like any normal place would have.

Hurrying in, Code carried Adagio over to the surrounding sofa and laid her down gently to once again check her temperature, his face growing stern and serious as he rose up, "Her temperature's gotten worse..." He said as he hurried over to the kitchen and took an ice pack from the freezer, running back and on the way over wrapping it in a light cloth as he placed it upon her forehead.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Aria said running over to his side, looking worriedly upon the paled face of Adagio as she took light breaths.

"No, not really... But there's something you can do for me." He said with a light smile as he stepped back, "Go ahead and take a bath, the both of you. I know it must've been a little bit since you've had that luxury."

"A bath?! Oh yay! Where is it?" Sonata said ecstatic as she looked around.

"Right down the hall and to your left. You can use whatever soap or body wash or whatever you need. There's a seperate shower there so if the two of you don't want to sh--" he was cut off by the sound of the bathroom door shutting, Sonata having vanished as he gave a sigh, "Nevermind." He chuckled before turning and being shoved against the wall with a knife to his throat, the wielder of course being none other than Aria.

"Alright, creep. What do you want from us, huh? You want some kind of sick reward for "saving" us? Or do you just get off on being a hero?" She said angrily, her eyes noticeably dark around the edges with bags under her eyes, signifying she hadn't gotten much if any sleep for a while.

Code stared at her for a while, the two simply standing there with a knife to his neck though he could feel her hand trembling a bit he took hold of it and easily pulled it down. Aria, who grunted and growled in protest to the action gave some resistance but was, regardless, disarmed as he closed the knife and slipped it back into her back pocket. She gasped feeling the closed blade return to it's home as she blushed everso slightly, raising up her other hand and swinging at him only for him to easily catch it. She gasped and pathetically struggled against his hold on her.

"Look at me, Aria."

Code said calmly only for her to glare up at him, being only a few inches shorter than him, "I am no hero. I don't want anything in return for doing things for others except for them to be in a good place physically and mentally after. I'm not some creep that will force you into a bad situation... If you truly want to leave, I won't stop you but I will make sure that you are all safe and sound because from what I've seen... You all worry me." He said sternly, Aria opening her mouth to retort only for him to interrupt, "And no, it isn't because I believe you to be dangerous. It's because you need help and are simply too proud to admit it... So for now, just stay here until you believe you're ready. At least until you have your strength back and have slept. 'Til Adagio gets better." He said letting go of her hand once he pulled them to her sides, "Okay?" He asked with a smile.

Aria's glare still held but it softened some as he let her go, "Now, I have to make you guys something to eat, I'm sure you're all starving." He said turning and walking into the kitchen with a more upbeat tone, "Why don't you go take a shower or something. By the time you and Sonata finish up I should be done." He said rummaging through the kitchen.

Aria gave a defeated sigh and walked away from the kitchen and into the bathroom he'd mentioned earlier, only to find Sonata covered in bubbles in the bathtub, only her magenta irises visible through them as she blinked and giggled, "He had bubble bath." She said playfully as she shook them away from her head, now being chest deep in the suds, "So, what took you so long, Ari?" Sonata asked as she rose up her hands and blew some bubbles towards her sister who rolled her eyes and sighed.

"... Nothing." She said as she began stripping to get into the shower, but not before she finally got a good, long look at herself. Her clothes were tattered compared to before. Her skin dirty and bruised in a few spots she'd began having pains in, her eyes like that of a raccoon and her glorious hair two wild, messy pigtails.

She stared at herself for a long time, drinking in the reality she'd been ignoring for months, the words finally slipping out through gritted teeth...

"We lost..."

Author's Note:

Hey guys and gals, I know it's been a while but I finally got the new chapter out. Hope you all enjoy and I will see you guys in the next one!

Gamer Script, Signing Off!

Comments

[Dune-Fan]

Looks great so far, I can't wait to read the next chapter.

[Gamer Script]

9242714
Glad to hear it. Hopefully it'll be out sooner than this one.