The Outskirts: Thé Crystal Keepers (Jace x OC)

The Crystal Keepers: 12 *

"This is where we rejoin the city," Trickster said. "We'll come out in a pedestrian walkway under Flick Street. We have hidden motion detectors in place. See that little light? When it turns green, the tunnel and stairways are empty."
I looked at the red light. Then I peered down the dusty service tunnel that had brought us here.
Our underground adventure had started in clean, white corridors. As they passed through oneway checkpoints and secret doors, they began using abandoned subway tunnels, and the way became grimier. Roulette explained that Old Zeropolis had used subways much as the current Zeropolis used elevated monorails. Before the new Zeropolis existed, this area had been an outpost of the old city.
"No more hiding in tunnels for us," Sidekick said.
"Because we've run out of tunnels that will take us in the right direction. We're going topside. Sorry I'm not taller. Sorry I don't have eighteen weapons systems. I know I'm not much comfort compared to Outlaw."
"You'll blend in out there," Roulette said, "Right now, that's what we need."
"I can climb stairs," Sidekick said. "My forelegs shorten, the rear ones lengthen, and my base pivots. You'll see."
"I happen to know you have a few other surprises if we need them," Trickster said.
"Shhh," Sidekick hissed. "They're not surprises if you tell everybody. I was managing expectations!"
The light turned green.
"Let's go," Trickster said, opening the door and letting Roulette exit first. "Remember, this is all about staying cool."
"My personality is about to downgrade to cleaning-bot levels," Sidekick said. "You may not notice me. But I'll never be far."
We all entered the pedestrian walkway. When Trickster closed the door, it disappeared, blending seamlessly with the wall. I stepped close and stared hard at where the door had been but could detect no evidence of it.
"It doesn't open from this side," Trickster said. "Come on." He started toward the stairway at one end of the pedestrian walkway. Sidekick scuttled off toward the stairs at the opposite end.
"I have orders to stay with Secret no matter what," Trickster said quietly. "If things get choppy, the rest of you can scatter. Stay in pairs, and stay low. Big jumps are a last resort. If we get split up, meet at the north shore of Mariner Lake."
"Nothing will happen," Roulette clarified. "This is just a stroll through the city."
Walking up the stairs, I enjoyed the feel of the exorig supporting my movements. If things went bad, at least I had a secret weapon.
Near the top of the stairs, Trickster glanced back at us. "You look like you're going to a funeral. Come on! Race you to the statue!"
He ran up the last few steps, and we all followed. Before us spread a wide plaza of dull orange concrete. Flowers and an occasional tree grew in patches of soil protected by low wire fences. In the center of the plaza stood a large silver statue of a man holding a wrench over his head, As I started dashing across the plaza, I realized that Trickster wasn't going anywhere near full speed. He was going fast, but with the exo rig helping, it didn't feel like more than a comfortable jog. There were people in the plaza, but not so many that their running had to bother anybody.
Still in the lead, Trickster glanced back, laughing, I couldn't tell whether he was acting or actually goofing around.
As the statue got nearer, Jace caught up with me.
"You know this is a race, right?"
"Oh, you're on." I said, speeding up.
Jace laughed, and started running full speed. I pushed the rig faster and caught up to him. With a little burst at the end, Trickster tied me and Jace as we reached the statue. Laughing easily, Trickster gave Jace a playful shove, who responded by tapping Trickster on the shoulder with his fist. I smiled at the two of them. It was easy to tell that they would be good friends in any other circumstance.
"That run felt good," Cole said.
"Makes you want to test your limits," Dalton replied.
"Who is Terrance Styles?" Mira asked, reading the name at the base of the statue.
"The main engineer behind the magroads," Roulette said. "Try not to care or you won't look local."
"This way," Trickster said, keeping his tone light. He trotted toward the far side of the plaza.
Following him, I noticed a couple of armed patrolmen talking to a girl. After my first glance, I refused to let my eyes return to them.
The low sun would set within half an hour or so. I wondered how far we were from Forge, whoever that was. Would we still be roaming the city at night?
On the far side of the plaza, Trickster led us down to another pedestrian walkway under a road. After a man in the tunnel passed us and went up the stairs, Trickster motioned for us to huddle closer.
"Lots of Zeroes out," he said softly.
"I saw four," I said.
"Six," Roulette corrected. "Two in the plaza, four beyond the plaza on the streets."
"That was my count as well," Trickster said. "Too many."
"Might be a coincidence," Roulette said.
"They just raided our base," Trickster argued. "It's no coincidence. This isn't their first raid. They know we have ways to escape. They're combing the area."
"Great," Dalton said. He looked shaken.
"Good thing we're just a bunch of kids horsing around," Roulette said.
"That's the key, guys," Trickster said. "The more on edge we are, the more relaxed we need to become."
"I know you were trying to loosen us up," Jace said, "but is running the best idea if they're looking for people on the run?"
"Not a bad point," Trickster said. "No more races. But make sure to tease and flirt and relax. Right now, not looking guilty is our best defense."
Cole snickered. "Jace and Kendal are great at that." 
I smacked him upside the head and he shot me a glare.
We went up the stairs at the far side of the street and turned left, following the sidewalk. Trickster took out a little rubber ball and bounced it as he walked.
Next to me, Cole poked Dalton's arm. "I'm teasing you."
Dalton swatted his hand away. "I'm bothered by your teasing."
Cole poked him again. "I'm glad you're bothered. It encourages me."
"You guys sound like bots," I complained.
"We're trying to follow instructions," Cole said. "I don't tease Dalton much. We're out of practice."
Jace flicked the back of Cole's ear. "Let me handle the teasing."
"You mean the flirting?" Cole said, one eyebrow raised.
Jace grinned. "That too. Girls love me. Right Kendal?" He threw an arm around my shoulders.
"Mmm, for sure." I said sarcastically, making no effort to remove his arm from my shoulders.
Trickster spoke up on our comms. "Space out. You guys like look a heard of sheep."
Jace gave a sly grin and took my hand, leading me across the street. He stopped walking, letting the others get a good distance away from us.
He wove his fingers through mine, and started walking again. "Beautiful day for a walk isn't it?"
A smile grew on my face. "What are you up too?"
"Nothing." He said, still smirking. "Can't I enjoy a walk outside with a friend?"
I held up our intertwined hands. "Friend?"
"What?" He asked innocently. "More than friends, then? Friends that like each other?"
I nodded slowly, terrified, but also curious to see where this was going.
He stopped walking, his face serious. He held up our hands. "How about, friends that know they like each other, but pretend that they're just friends, even though they know they're more than that?"
I nodded slowly, biting my lip. "Sounds more accurate."
His eyebrows went up, and he opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off.
"I never said stop walking." Trickster said over the comms, sounding amused.
I looked up to see our group watching us, waiting by the fountain. Me and Jace immediately started walking, and our friends whooped and hollered and whistled.
We all started walking together, and this time I fell in with Roulette.
Roulette smirked. "Having boy troubles?"
I sighed, glancing up at Jace, who was with Cole and Dalton. "You have no idea."
"I think I do." Roulette said, staring at Trickster, who was talking to Mira.
"Having troubles with the game master?" I said, smirking.
She sighed. "Sort of. I don't know what to think anymore."
I thought about it for a minute. "I think he likes you."
"Maybe. But enough about me. What's going on with you and rope boy?"
I laughed. "Cole told you about that?"
"Yep," she said. "Now spill."
"Well—" I started, then realized Mira had fallen back to wait for us.
"More patrolmen ahead." she said, catching up to Trickster again.
"You were saying?" Roulette asked.
"I'll . . . ," I noticed the boys slowing down for us. "Tell you later."
"You better." she said. "Now i'm hooked."
The boys fell back and waited for us.
"Hooked on what?" Jace asked, looking confused.
"Nothing!" We said in unison.
Jace just raised an eyebrow.
We rounded a corner. Up ahead maybe half a block, two patrolmen were coming toward us. Only a few people moved along the sidewalk between them.
I took a deep breath, nerves coursing through me. As we continued walking, Jace fell in step with me. He stayed close to me, our shoulders brushing as we walked. I glanced up at him with a small smile, hoping he knew I was grateful. He gave a small grin back, then linked our pointer fingers together, lightly swinging his arm with mine.
I smiled to myself. Jace could always tell when I was nervous, and I was eternally grateful for him.
"Somebody catch it," Trickster said, tossing the bouncy ball over his shoulder. Cole reached at the tiny ball but missed. After it took a bounce, Dalton backed up a couple of steps and grabbed it, then lobbed it up ahead of the group, gentle enough that Trickster caught up to it after one bounce.
I tried not to look at the patrolmen. And tried not to obviously look away from them either. With a busy magroad on one side, and apartment buildings on the other, the only options were to duck into a random building, turn around, or walk right past the patrolmen. It looked like Trickster intended to stroll by them.
Trickster tossed the ball over his shoulder again. This time Cole caught it and threw it up to him.
The patrolmen increased their pace. "A moment of your time," one of the patrolmen said, trotting forward.
Trickster came to a stop. So did the rest of us.
I tried not to freak out. Jace was shoulder to shoulder with me, but it didn't do much now that they had stopped us.
"We've had a couple of runaways reported," the other patrolman said. "We need to check your ID cards."
"Sure," Trickster said, producing a card. "We're not runaways. Who are the kids?"
The patrolman scanned his ID with a small handheld device. "Winston Sykes," the officer said. "Twelve years old. And Carla Rutherford. Eleven years old. Know either of them?"
Trickster shook his head. "They from around here?"
"This part of the city," the patrolman replied.
I began to panic. Looking for two runaways would be a great cover if these patrolmen were really searching for Mira. But it would be foolish to run before we knew we were actually in trouble, in case the story was true.
I linked my finger with Jaces, clinging to him.
The patrolman gave Trickster his card back and Roulette handed over hers. He scanned it and returned it. "Keep them coming," the patrolman said.
I still had my ID card from Outpost 121. But wouldn't it be linked to Joe somehow and immediately get me in trouble? I supposed the answer partly depended on whether or not the police were actually searching for runaways.
"What if we left our IDs at home?" Jace asked, his brows furrowed.
"Then I might suspect you're who we're looking for," the patrolman said. "Everyone knows the law. When out in public, you have to keep your ID card on you at all times. Do you live nearby?"
"Sort of far," Jace said. "Across the city a ways."
"If you lived close, we could go to your home," the patrolman said. "Living far away and not carrying ID means a visit to the patrol station and then contacting your parents."
"He has his ID," I said, subtly nudging him  before getting out my own. "He just doesn't trust patrolmen."
"Don't you have pictures of the runaways?" Mira asked. "Can't you see we're not them?"
"IDs, please," the patrolman said, his tone making it clear that he was done conversing.
I gave the patrolman my ID card, then held my breath as it was scanned. The patrolman handed it back. "Next."
Jace shared his ID. After scanning the card, the patrolman looked up at Jace intently, then glanced at his partner and gave a nod.
The other patrolman took out a gray rectangle and lifted it to his mouth. Trickster jumped and kicked the rectangle, his leg a blur. The communicator went flying.
Jace crouched forward, grabbed the other patrolman by his ankles, then yanked both feet forward and up. The patrolman went down hard, his back slamming against the sidewalk while Jace held his ankles high.
With a silver tube in each hand, Roulette covered the patrolman on the ground and the one still standing in white foam from neck to boots. She hopped away as the upright patrolman swung at her, but it was the only move he managed to make before the cloud of white foam hardened. I shoved him over.
"Run," Trickster said softly, taking off down the sidewalk.
I started at a normal sprint, but realized that Trickster was racing at maximum speed. Exhilarated and scared, I pushed my pace to the limits.
The rig responded as desired, whipping my legs faster than they could possibly move unassisted. I dashed down the sidewalk at almost twice the speed of my normal sprint, the air rushing over me as if I were cruising along on a bike. I found that if I stretched my strides too much, I went from a sprint to a series of long, one-footed hops.
Running at full speed had to look suspiciously fast, but the hops would draw even more attention, since the suit raised me up unnaturally high and was completely inhuman.
Trickster paused at the next corner.
"You grabbed the communicator?" he asked Roulette.
"Dalton got it," she said.
Holding up the gray rectangle, Dalton shook it gently.
"Nice," Trickster said. "We wouldn't be Crystal Keepers if we left an enemy's harmonic crystal behind." He held out a hand, and Dalton passed it to him. "Slick move, Jace, dropping that Zero."
"Maybe we should keep running?" Jace said.
"Patience," Trickster said, raising the communicator to his mouth. He lowered his voice a little and started running in place. "We're in pursuit on Sexton Road between Haley and Braga. It's them but we need reinforcements. Hurry."
Trickster lowered the communicator.
"Coggs, aren't you on Voletta?" a voice replied.
Trickster ran in place again and raised the communicator. "Negative. Followed a hunch and they ran. In pursuit on Sexton crossing Braga." Trickster gave a pained grunt and dropped the communicator.
"Coggs?" came the voice from the communicator.
"Coggs?"
Crouching, Trickster switched it off. "That's how you buy a little time and move a bunch of the other patrolmen out of your way."
"Won't they see the guys on the sidewalk?" Cole asked.
"Maybe," Trickster said. "Sexton runs parallel to this street, so the Zeroes will mostly use cross streets to get there."
"People are already trying to help our victims," Dalton said, looking down the sidewalk to where a man and a woman had stopped beside the cocooned patrolmen.
"People without communicators are trying to help patrolmen without communicators," Trickster said. "We have a few extra minutes at least. I'll take Secret under this road."
He pointed to the pedestrian tunnel that went in the direction they had been heading. To the left another pedestrian tunnel went under the perpendicular street. "Roulette, take the others that way. Don't run."
"I know when to run," Roulette said, heading down the stairs.
I waved at Mira. "Stay safe."
She nodded and followed Trickster. Cole looked after them in frustration.
"He's good," Dalton said. "She'll be safe."
"Whatever," Cole said, unconsoled.
"Unless she falls in love with him," I mused, and Jace laughed, giving me a low five.
"Shut up," Cole said, following Dalton and Roulette.
I went with Jace after them. At the bottom, Roulette raced across the empty tunnel. Me and the others followed her lead.
As we reached the top of the far side, they discovered a pair of patrolmen running toward us.
Like some other pedestrians had done, Roulette flattened up against the building to let them pass. Me, Cole, Jace, and Dalton did likewise. The patrolmen raced by us without a second look and hurried down the stairs to the pedestrian tunnel.
"Trickster isn't dumb," Jace said.
"He's not," Roulette agreed. "But he loves taking charge. It gets annoying."
I snorted, earning some confused glances from the boys. Roulette gave me a look that very clearly said, don't even think about it.
We started walking again. I stayed near Roulette, the boys trailing behind us.
"Didn't you like his plan?" I asked.
"The plan is fine," Roulette said tightly.
"Are you sure?" I said slyly. "Because you seem a little—"
"You wanna talk about your guy instead? I'm sure he'd be really interested in hearing about how you—"
I clamped my hand over her mouth instantly, with a nervous glance at the boys.
Cole and Dalton just looked annoyed, and Jace looked amused, staring at me with crossed arms and an eyebrow raised questionably. Fear ran through me. He knew. Jace knew we were talking about him.
"Care to share?" Jace said, gesturing between the two of us, a sly grin on his face.
I removed my hand from Roulettes mouth sheepishly. "It's nothing you haven't already guessed." I muttered.
Jaces eyebrows shot up, but before he could say anything, Cole interrupted.
"Okay, can we do this later please?" Cole said. "We're on the run."
A black levcar came zooming down the magroad going much faster than I had seen any levcar drive. The other cars flowed out of the way, leaving it a clear lane.
"More patrolmen?" Dalton asked.
"That's right," Roulette said. "Black levcars are City Patrol. Everybody's heading to Sexton. At least for now."
Walking along a zigzag route between buildings and under streets, I couldn't lose the knotted feelings in my stomach. All from nerves, but some from being on the run, and some from Jace knowing.
I knew now that if we were stopped for ID cards, we were going to have to run. Well, at least Jace would. I wondered why my card hadn't raised any red flags. Our best bet was to avoid another confrontation with patrolmen. How many times could we get away? If a bunch of patrolmen converged with those web-shooting trapguns, none of us would escape.
Shadows stretched to gargantuan lengths, and then the sun slid below the skyline, turning the jutting buildings into silhouettes against a rosy backdrop. We occasionally passed robots some were just walking around, one was repairing a streetlight, a few worked cleaning an empty fountain.
Though I kept an eye out, I didn't see Sidekick.
After some time, Roulette led us up a pedestrian bridge and over a busy magroad to an expansive park Under dusky trees, they walked on scant paths until a lake came into view. Several docks hosted sailboats. Only a few vessels remained on the water, and they seemed bound for the shore.
"Mariner Lake," Roulette said. "A place for city people to play boat captain. All of the craft have motors. The sails are mainly for show. I guess some people try to actually use them now and then."
"I haven't seen Sidekick," Cole mentioned.
"He would have followed Secret," Roulette said. "No offense, but she's the one everybody most cares about. Your names aren't even code words."
"Like Roulette," Cole said. "Or is that what your parents called you?"
"My parents were slaves," Roulette said. "A lot of slaves in Zeropolis try to give their babies to the Unseen before they receive slavemarks. It worked. I'm free. But I don't know my parents. It's supposedly too dangerous if the babies who get free try to learn their heritage."
"Have you tried?" Dalton asked.
"I wanted to when I was younger," Roulette said. "By the time I was old enough to do anything about it, I realized the rule was there for a reason."
"Who raised you?" Cole asked.
"Different people," Roulette said. "The kind of people who quietly want to do good, but don't want full membership in the Unseen. There are lots of them here."
"They named you Roulette?" Jace asked.
"I got that name word the CK's," she said. "I guess I take risks."
"Like what?" Jace asked.
Roulette paused and lifted her leg. "From shin down it's all mechanical," she said. "I guess that was the big one."
Cole's eyes widened. "What happened?" he inquired.
"Didn't make a jump," she said. "I thought I could, but came up short. It was an ugly landing—not on smooth ground. The rig I was wearing saved my life, but part of it broke, taking the end of my leg with it. I had other injuries, but losing the foot was the most permanent."
My eyes widened. Even with everything I had seen here, somehow it didn't stop surprising me how different life was for kids in the Outskirts. Back home I had never done anything that seemed dangerous enough to lose a leg. Roulette obviously did a lot more than just goof around in arcades. And she hadn't let her injury stop her.
As we approached a long building on the lakeshore where people dined on a large patio, two figures came toward us. In the fading light it took me a moment to recognize Trickster and Mira.
"Clean getaway?" Dalton asked.
"Not until we're safe inside Forge's lair," Trickster replied. "Glad to see you guys, though."
"You got here first," Jace said.
"Not by much," Mira said.
"Any more drama?" I asked Mira.
"No fights with patrolmen," Mira said. "Plenty of worry."
"Come on," Trickster said, leading the way.
"Has anybody seen Sidekick?" Cole asked.
"A few times," Trickster said. "He keeps his distance. He isn't a brawler. Many of his weapons don't require him to be close."
"Where was he when those patrolmen almost got us?" Jace asked.
"Maybe not near enough to help," Trickster said, "Or maybe we were just too quick. It didn't take us long to drop them."
"Would he have really done much?" Dalton asked. "He doesn't seem like the type."
"Don't underestimate Sidekick," Trickster said
"Sometimes good things come in small, dented packages."
Trickster led us away from Mariner Lake and back onto sidewalks. Before too long we reached a neighborhood where narrow walkways passed between large, bland buildings. Trickster paused at a plain door and used a card to open it.
"Is this a warehouse?" Dalton asked.
"It's a storehouse for obsolete tech," Trickster said. "One step up from a junkyard."
We entered and closed the door. Light leaked through the high windows along the perimeter of the cavernous room a combination of moonlight and spillover from the streetlights. Large shapes hulked in the dimness, made rounded by plastic tarps.
Trickster led us along a maze of aisles through the shrouded stockpiles. He stopped at a hill of covered machinery and pulled up the tarp.
"This way," he said, motioning Roulette forward.
She ducked under the tarp cautiously. I followed.
It was too dark to see much, so I moved slowly, worried about tripping. Roulette guided me between large pieces of equipment to a space in the middle. The others joined us.
"Come on," Trickster said, hardly raising his voice. "I know you see us, Forge! Let us in."
A hatch opened in the floor, flooding the space with light. I squinted until my eyes adjusted.
Trickster patted Dalton on the shoulder. "Now we've made a clean getaway."