The Gang, Part 1

Chapter 1: The Gang

Heartly Household

It was relatively quiet outside today. The day was rather sunny as a car pulled into the driveway of the home. The grown, married woman, Kami Heartly stepped out of the car and proceeded to open the trunk. A dozen bags and such of groceries cluttered the trunk as Kami hauled a couple into her arms, struggling with them as she carried them to her front door.

Inside the house, the sounds of piping loud music and rock-and-roll ruined the quietness of the outside. Up in her room, a young girl with very short, blond hair and a black baseball cap relaxed on her bed, nodding her head to the music. The girl wore a black, sleeveless shirt that exposed her bellybutton, thin, black pants that cut off around the ankles, black socks, and had spiked wristbands. Her black shoes were lying turned over on the floor, and she also had a black collar around her neck.

Once Kami entered the house, the sound of this loud music met her ears as she set the groceries on the floor, stopping to catch her breath. "KIMAYA, dear! Can you help with the groceries?"

Upstairs, the girl continued nodding to the music, her eyes closed as she totally ignored the woman's call.

Kami, realizing she wasn't coming down, sighed and followed the music upstairs to the girl's room. "Kimaya?" she called as she opened the door to the room, decorated with stereos and posters of gothic-like bands, poisons, and other such things. She found the child still ignoring her as she nodded to the music. Kami rolled her eyes and immediately entered to push the button and turn the stereos off.

Kimaya Heartly ceased her nodding and opened her emerald-green eyes to look up at her mother. "Yo, Mom, what gives?"

"I need help unloading the groceries."

"So, git Dad to do it."

"Dad isn't home. So, if you want your supper, I'd suggest you help." Kami stated as she was about to head downstairs.

"Pssh, I want YO' supper…" Kimaya mumbled.

"What was that?"

Kimaya sighed, "Nothing." and got up from bed to go downstairs with her mother.

Cleveland Train Station

The train station was bustling with people as a train pulled in and stopped precisely at its point. Crowds and bunches of people piled out, the last one being a strange, slim man with black, slick clothing, silvery white hair, a very long, silver mustache that stretched around 20 centimeters, in which both sides were bent at an angle, black shoes in which the sharp toe-ends were curled upward, white gloves, and a monocle on his left eye. If that didn't make him sound like he stood out from the crowd enough, perhaps the fact that his skin was a bluish-purple will.

"Mmm, I say, that sun is awfully bright." The man said in a low, British accent, using his right hand to block his view of the sun from his face. "Regardless, this seems to be a fairly nice town."

"Remember the mission, Arlon." A female voice spoke through his communicator in his ear. "You can't let anyone know who you are."

"Why, of course I do, Mistress Viridi. Why, what we need is a serene, subtle approach. I shall not fail you, I shall promise you that."

"I should hope not."

The slim man reached in his pocket and pulled out a circular locket, which had a mysterious design of the crescent moon. The man stared at the locket for a while before hiding it in his pocket, then proceeded to make his way through the crowds of people, while uttering, "Oops, so sorry, my good fellow," "Ahh, bonjour, my good sir," and "Wonderful weather, eh wot?" As he walked away from the huge crowds, his eyes brimmed an eerie red.

Heartly Household

Kami had placed the last brown paper bag in the kitchen, afterwards wiping the sweat off her forehead. "Well, that's all of them." She then watched as her daughter lazily dropped the last plastic bag on the floor. "Kimaya, don't just drop them on the floor like that."

"So, they in a bag, ain't they?"

"It's not like that." Kami sighed as she grabbed the bag and placed it on the table.

"Whatever." Kimaya waved it off. "Are we done, yet? I need ta go." The girl turned and was about to head to the door, when-

"Hold on, Kimaya." Kami said suddenly, making the child groggily turn around and roll her eyes. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"About whut?"

"Your English teacher called and said you refused to do a writing assignment."

Kimaya rolled her eyes and sighed again, "Man, it's just some bull about a personal narrative or whatev', I don' do that shit."

"Kimaya!" Kami furrowed her eyes. "What did I say about watching your language?"

"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes again.

"Kimaya, you know you're gonna need to focus more on school if you're ever gonna make it through 4th grade."

"But Ah GOT ta 4th grade, didn't I? Who needs school, anyway, man, it's so pointless…"

"Look, Kimaya, if you need help with homework, you could always ask me."

"Yeh, yeh. I'm goin' out." Kimaya stated as she continued toward the doorway.

"Going out? Where?"

"Pssh, jus' goin' out, Ma, chill." was the last she said before shutting the door behind her.

The mother sighed and sat down. "Oh, what am I going to do with that girl…"

Downtown Cleveland

The black-clothed girl leisurely walked downtown, blowing and popping a piece of gum in her mouth as people passed by, sparing her odd looks. Kimaya turned down a filthy alleyway, stopping beside a dumpster. She turned and looked around for a bit before stepping to the wall beside the dumpster. She tapped her knuckles on a few of the bricks, causing the ground before her to reveal a secret slide. She jumped and slid down the slide, the trapdoor closing as Kimaya landed in a secret underground chamber.

Inside was a tall boy in a white jacket, yellow shorts, black and red shoes, a black skull necklace, and a black knit cap with a skull on it, dancing to some loud music from a radio. There was also a young girl, about seven years of age, with deep blue eyes, yellow hair, a reddish-orange sweater, white shorts, yellow and black shoes, a bell necklace, and her own knit cap with a smaller skull, sewing together a tiny, stuffed cat. Finally, another boy, wearing a dark-yellow hoodie, dark-green jeans, white shoes, short brown hair, and dark-yellow eyes was calmly nodding to the music.

The tall boy opened his blue eyes and noticed Kimaya walk by them. "Kimaya!" he exclaimed, running beside her. "Man, we're hittin' the big score today, yo! They got a whole shipment of new Wii U II's comin' ta GameStop, yo! We're gonna break that bus and grab one for each of us, ain't that right, guys? Rhyme, you with me, right?"

The little girl turned and faced them with a positive smile. "It's only fair!"

"Yo, Kimaya, you havin' problems wit' yo mom, again?" the boy asked.

"That ain't none of yo' business, Beat."

"Okay, okay! I jus' sayin'."

"So, what's the plan, Boss?" the little girl, Rhyme asked.

"Ooh, ooh, I know!" the hooded boy perked up. "I say we, we, we TAKE unicycle lessons! Or I do! And I can distract them, a-and you guys grab the games, ooor-"

Kimaya immediately smacked the boy. "Man, Kaleo, you as dimwitted as that dumbass dad o' yours."

"You big meanie!" Kaleo put on a grumpy look, glancing his eyes to his left. "Quiet, Stewie!!"

"Yo, Kimaya, why don' we jus' git them KNDorks to nab us a few?" Beat asked. "Them dumb brats fall for anythin', man!"

"Y-Yeah, yeah!" Kaleo grinned. "My cousin, Dillon works for KND! He can use his shadowbending to swipe some!"

"Man, you know them KNFools ain't that dumb." Kimaya stated. "We gotta do this ourselves, yo. We gotta stay in secret. We rob the truck the old-fashioned way, but don't let anyone see us, ya dig?"

"Is that ALL, yo?" Beat asked. "Well, whatev', sooner the better."

"It's tradition!" Rhyme reminded.

"Oh, yeh, Kim, we was wonderin'," Beat spoke again, "we was gonna go out and get burgers later, and me and Leo was confused. Should we get the kind wit' da meat, bacon, cheese, bacon cheese, bacon, bacon, meat, bacon, cheese, or the cheese, bacon, bacon, bacon, meat, bacon, bacon, bacon, cheese, meat, bacon, bacon. But Rhyme was also thinkin' we get the cheesy meat, bacon, bacon, meaty cheese, bacon, cheese, bacon, bacon, with some cheese!"

Kimaya thought for a minute. "…Meat, bacon, cheese, bacon cheese, bacon, bacon, meat, bacon, cheese."

"AH-HAALLLRIIIGHT!"

"'kay, enough foolin' around. Let's git out and trash this truck!"

"I get to knock the driver out!" Kaleo beamed.

Outside of town

A delivery truck was on its way into town, its crate packed with stacks of Wii U II's as the driver remained focused on his route. Beat was crouched down, hidden behind a bush. The skull-capped boy pulled out and switched on his radio, unleashing a powerful beam of sonic waves that caused the driver to come to a halt. He fell out of his seat, and as he climbed up, Kaleo unleashed a cloud of poison into his windows, the man coughing before falling into deep sleep. Once he was out, Kimaya hurried behind the truck and burped a Gas Bomb, blowing the doors open. The other three members met around the back, wide grins on their faces as they gazed upon the stacks of game systems. They each climbed in and took one, hurrying away from the truck.

As the driver was about to wake up, Rhyme noticed this. The little girl snapped her fingers and sent out a single neon note, which danced beside the truck driver and kicked him in the head to knock him out. Afterwards, Rhyme hurried after her friends.

Heartly Household

"And that's the story of the Little Farmer That Could." Kami Drilovsky was seated on the couch in front of her TV, listening to Kade Jackson speak.

"In other news, more chaos in the infamous town of Cleveland, Virginia." Eva continued, the tiny screen behind her showing a picture of the invaded delivery truck. "Earlier today, a shipment truck of game consoles has been invaded by an unknown assailant. This attack was likely caused by the ones responsible for other such robberies earlier these past few weeks."

This put Kami in a state of worry. She turned towards the door, the sound of keys jingling catching her attention. In seconds, the door slid open, and in stepped Kami's husband, Jeremiah Heartly. "Man, what a day." He grunted.

"Hey, Jermy." Kami walked over to greet him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Heh, you wouldn't think orphans could wear you down, but they can." He chuckled. "So, where's Kimi?"

"Kimaya isn't home, yet." Kami sighed. "I'm worried about her, Jeremiah. She's always going out to who-knows-where… I just saw a report on the news… What if she's hanging out with a bad crowd?"

"Come on, Kam, our daughter might not be the sweetest, but I doubt she'd go to being a criminal."

"But what if she is? What if they catch her, and put her in jail? She'd never survive in there."

"She's only 9½, Kam. I think you're just over-reacting."

"Well, I think you're under reacting. You should be more worried for her. After all, she takes after you."

"But that was before I met you." He smirked. "Only difference is, Kimaya has a family, and we both love her. And besides, with someone like you as her mother, she'll do just fine."

"Hm, you're too sweet." She lightly chuckled. "If only she would actually listen to me. Sigh, I'm going out to look for her. Love you." And on that note, she left and closed the door.

Downtown Cleveland

The sun continued to loom brightly in the clear sky, making the town seem lively as the sleek man with silver hair sat down at an outdoor café, a steaming cup of tea at his table. The man calmly took the cup by the handle, holding it beside his mouth as he allowed a sip inside. "Ahhh… this town is a wonderful place." He sighed, staring out at all of the crowds of people. "I do have trouble seeing what disgusts Viridi so greatly about this place. Still… I can understand. These humans can act so uncivilized at times. And the odor from some of their factories can be so unpleasant. Sigh… still, they don't have to be all bad. Why, with the proper teaching, I'm sure their ways can be changed for the better."

"KIMAYAAA?" Kami called as she passed along a sidewalk downtown. "KIMAYA? WHERE ARE YOU?"

The slim man placed his tea on the table and opened a newspaper. "Videogame robbery? Now, what sort of rubbish is this?"

"KIMAYA?" Kami called once again, looking around the street. Not seeing where she was going, she tripped on a chair leg in the outdoor café, falling and grabbing onto a table as her hands pushed the cup of tea onto the man's lap.

"Oof, I say!" the man grunted, quivering with pain on the burning lap.

"Oop! I-I'm sorry!" Kami said quickly.

"No, it's quite all right." He coughed, trying to help himself stand. "My suit's… not penetrable enough."

Kami sighed, "Sorry… I'm just feeling a little distracted. My daughter's gone off somewhere, and she never says where."

"Mmm, is that so? Care to inform more?"

Kami raised a brow at the strange man, taking notice of his purple skin. "Who are you, anyway? Some kind of alien?"

"Oh-ho, yes, forgive me. My dear, I am referred to as Arlon. And I hail from the distant planet of Lunaria."

"Lunaria? Never heard of it."

"It's, erm, it's a moon planet."

"Pssh, what will the Galaxians think of next?" Kami mumbled. "I'm Kami, by the way. Anyway, my daughter's sort of… I really don't wanna say 'bratty'… and she keeps running off somewhere. I feel like she's hanging out with criminals or something."

"Hmm, this daughter of yours seems rather disobedient."

"Oh, she is. I guess I can sort of be that way, too, but for Kimaya, it's different. She never does her homework, she rarely does her chores, her socks are starting to stink up the place…"

"If… I may, dear…" The man slid behind Kami and wrapped an arm around her, presenting her a card, "I have a solution."

"What?"

"You see, Dear Kami, I am in charge of a school specifically designed to put snobby children in their place. No, not like the views of these 'evil adults,' oh no. Meaning children who, participate in 'gangs,' make graffiti art, and other such property damage. Those kinds of kids. I arrived on this planet a few years ago to set up a campus, and it has been quite successive. If your daughter should attend this school, perhaps I could have most of her rebellious roots, shall we say, worked out?"

"Hmmm…" Kami took the card and studied it. "I dunno… it doesn't really feel like the school I'd send her to."

"The decision is entirely up to you, of course." The man stated as he started to walk away. "But just remember…" he turned and faced her, "if all else fails, my school may be the only thing that can save her. Why, I remember when I was such a rebellious youth. Now, I'm living the pleasant, peaceful life of a butler."

"A butler? To who?"

"Er, that information is highly confidential. And before you get the wrong impression, it's not my intention that your dear Kimaya becomes a lowly servant. Though, it is just one measure that can save her from something worse. I bid you adieu, milady." With that, the man slid away.

Kami spared one last glance at the card before having another skim around the area for her daughter. She slipped the card in her pocket and began the walk back home.

Heartly Household

After another hour passed, Kimaya had finally come inside. "MAA, I'M HOME."

Kami stood up from the couch and glared at her daughter. "Kimaya, where were you? I've been looking for you."

"Gee, Ah was jus' hangin' out with Kaleo, Mom, relax." Kimaya shot back, walking past her mother and toward the staircase.

Kami sighed, "Well… you want me to help you with some homework?"

"Man, Ah'm tired, Ma, maybe later." Kimaya said before leaving up the stairs. Kami only stood and listened as her daughter slammed the door to her room. The house was once again erupting with loud music, and Kami only sighed in frustration.