The difference between the main street and the collector roads was simple- it was busier, and a little better for carriages when needed. There was a separate lift along the fissures manned by enforcers for heavy loads. It was one of the few mechanisms properly maintained by Topside, since merchants sometimes needed to travel on foot between the coastal docks.
Orion's curious gaze wandered up the bustling main road and along the towering fissure walls with awe as he crossed. 'How many tons of explosives had to be used to cause this?'
Adjusting his jacket, Orion brought his attention back to the street ahead. Dodging and weaving through the crowd, wary of wandering hands or "accidental" bumps, he made it across without any issues.
'I've never been to the Last Drop, have I?' Orion exhaled, relaxing a bit now that he was out of the main traffic. 'From this boy's memory, it should just be a few streets up this way...'
Immediately, Orion noticed the difference between the north side, where the Last Drop was located, and the south side of Entresol.
'It's a slightly better Sump compared to the north side...'
People on the north side had more shops lining the streets. Adults were dressed better, their clothes less torn and tattered, and there were more well-fed faces. That being said tattered clothes were still tattered. There were just... levels to it, something that became obvious once you'd lived there long enough.
It couldn't be helped that the north had more than the south too.
The north side had a canal that connected the river running through the city. Vessels were lifted on a massive platform that raised them to the river that flowed south and out to the western sea.
Captains sometimes left their ships to handle paperwork and goods were "stolen" for extra profit. Other times crew members or travelers used the stop as a departure point, so wealth flowed out.
Orion glanced at each of the homes. Less patchwork. More clean slate but still plenty of grime. The neon signs remained in abundance.
"Hound stopped going on his trips to the fissures."
"Sounds like he found whatever he was searching for."
"That or he gave up. Rarely does someone lost return from those mines."
A nearby conversation between a group of residents piqued Orion's ears. He looked over and waved.
"Hey! Where's the Last Drop?"
Three of the group glared at him, but one, with an upbeat tone, pointed. "One street over kid!"
"Thanks!"
When Orion turned, the group stared at their cheerful friend like he'd lost his mind.
"What? Thought I'd help a kid out."
"Look at Mr. Generosity over here."
"Oh, I'm going to start helping out kids," another mocked with a laugh, exaggerating his movements and waving his arms. "Going to start a charity saving kids! What are you supposed to be? A decent person?"
Their friendly berating faded as Orion stepped into what looked like an alley connecting two streets. The noise from the main road vanished behind him, replaced by the low hum of steam whistling and the wet splotch of his boots on sludge.
'A metal fence...'
What looked like just a sheet of steel bolted to the walls split the alley in half. He could hear faint commotion on the other side as he raised an eyebrow toward the top ledge.
'I could make that.'
Nodding to himself, Orion backed up the alley before taking a running start at the fence. His boots squeaked and rattled against the metal with a series of sharp bangs, and his fingertips barely managed to catch the top ledge.
'Hell yeah! First try!' Orion beamed, though his fingers were already starting to ache from the thin ledge cutting off circulation. With a grunt, he pulled himself up halfway and peeked over.
He paused.
A group of teenagers stared back at him, startled. At least a few looked scared shitless, eyes wide and feet spaced like they were about to bolt. They looked a little roughed up too. One of them had a bloody nose and another was holding his jaw.
'A little alleyway gang meetup?' Orion thought. 'Best not throw myself over here...'
He was about to drop back down and find another way around when a flash of color caught his eye.
'Hm...?'
Facing the group with clenched fists wrapped in dirty, bloodied cloth was a teenage girl. Her body was hunched, clearly freaked by the sudden noise. She turned instinctively, her back toward the alley wall so she had a clear line of sight on both Orion and the others.
Punk-pink hair. Hard-set jaw. A fierce glint in her silvery-blue eyes. Features that remarkably aligned with her animated portrayal while wearing the same clothes as in Arcane episode one.
'Ain't no fuckin' way,' Orion thought, eyes widening in surprise.
"Do I know you?" she snapped, fists raised defensively. Her fierce gaze briefly flicked toward Orion. She looked ready to start receiving and dishing out pain, her expression tightening further with expectation.
'Yeah... She thinks I'm against her,' Orion observed.
A split-second decision, and Orion swung himself over the ledge.
'Probably shouldn't go saying names...'
"Stop staring at me, creep!" Vi snapped. "I'll stick my fucking fingers in your eyes otherwise."
'Damn!'
"Sorry! I just wasn't expecting to see-"
"Are you fucking serious, dude?" an angry voice cut Orion's meek apology off as the leader of the Entresol gang stepped forward.
A gang of Entresol kids. How could he tell the difference? Their clothes. Sump kids generally left their shirts at home to avoid getting them torn in street fights if they were out with their gang. Entresol kids, who had a bit more dough, could afford to get a shirt or two dirty or ripped.
Orion noticed his own jacket, one of the few possessions gifted by his parents, was out of place. Mostly clean and only a few tears, indicating it was either relatively new or not worn much. His brown cargo pants were a little worse for wear.
But outside of the leader, who looked Vi's age, the other three looked older. Their postures attempted to signal dominance with wide stances and crossed arms, all mean-mugging him.
"You're jumping in because she's Vander's daughter, aren't you!" Orion winced mentally as it struck home. "This is none of your business! Get lost!"
'All the more reason to, actually,' Orion thought. 'Help his daughter, potentially get recommended for a gig- works out in my favor.'
"I didn't know and don't fucking care that she's Vander's daughter," Orion replied with a dismissive shrug. "Why are four dudes ganging up on a girl in an alley?"
"She owes us."
"I don't owe you shit!" Vi snapped angrily. "You're just salty I won our bet!"
"Shut up! You didn't win!"
"Right, all of you shut up. Get lost," Orion waved the gang kids away with both hands. "This is pathetic."
"What are you-" the leader started, looking furious before snapping angrily, "Beat this stupid fucker up! Next time he'll know not to get involved where he doesn't belong!"
'Picking fights with kids on my first day...' Orion sighed, raising his fists with a deadpan expression as the three underlings began their approach. All of them looked like they weighed at least twenty pounds (9kg~) more than him.
Orion's gaze snapped toward Vi when she shifted suddenly, adjusting her stance back toward the other gang members.
"Looks like I've got some backup," Vi smirked, a sadistic look growing in her eyes. "You guys are so screwed!"
'You don't even know if I can fight!'
But her moment of confidence, fake or not, worked. The thugs slowed their pace and glanced hesitantly at each other.
One of them already had a bruised jawline, and another with a bloody nose looked like his morale was shot. In that split second, however, Vi had already decided to act.
She sprinted forward and delivered a vicious right hook to the nose of the thug with the already bleeding nose. He shouted with a loud, echoing crack and blood sprayed out as he fell backward to the ground, clutching his broken nose.
"AGH! MY NOSE—" His cries were cut off when Vi curb-stomped his face.
Immediately, she rolled into her boxing stance, ducking under a wild straight haymaker from the bruised gangster. She came up fast with a right hook on the outside. It landed, rocking her opponent, but he wasn't unprepared this time after being struck once already.
Meanwhile, the other thug charged Orion wildly, throwing an overhanded hook.
Orion watched carefully, treating the situation like disciplining a kid, and smoothly sidestepped. He reached under the thug's chin and swept his legs from beneath him, and slammed the gangster to the cold alley floor.
The gangster's head bounced off the ground with a sickening thud, his body flipping awkwardly before going still. Orion winced.
'I thought I didn't put a lot of force into it?! Shit! I didn't want to hurt the kid that badly!'
While Vi was still engaged in her vicious fight, dodging and weaving, the leader, eyes wild with rage, charged forward and tried to tackle Orion at the waist.
"You son of a bitch! This is none of your fucking business!" the leader shouted, his tone full of indignation.
Orion stepped back, repositioning himself before landing a sharp knee to the leader's nose with a bone-crunching crackle. It stopped him cold. His hands weakly grabbed at Orion's waist before being stiff-armed off. He fell forward into the alley sludge groaning and, just like the other, didn't rise again.
'Shit... I did it again! Why is there so much force behind...'
His bewildered eyes studied his hands before trailing back to Vi's fight.
Vi's opponent was bleeding heavily from the nose, clutching his left side as he staggered. She was breathing hard, blood dripping from her brow, but her expression remained fierce. She had danced a few rounds with him, her fists finding their mark several times before landing a clean hook to his ribs.
Vi ended it with a kick to the midsection. The gangster caved forward, coughing and wheezing as he fell to his knees.
She wasn't done.
Vi grabbed his head and gave him a vengeful final hook, knocking him out cold. She stood there for a moment, breathing heavily in her unbroken stance of defiance, then snapped out of it and looked back at Orion.
Orion, who had time to compose himself, looked bored. She scowled in return, gesturing widely at the bodies with an incredulous tone.
"Do you always jump into other people's fights?"
"You're welcome," he replied dryly.
She stiffened, rubbing the back of her neck with blood dripping from the cloth wrapped around her knuckles.
"Thanks..." she muttered. Her eyes flicked over his unharmed appearance before she let out an irritated sigh. "You didn't even get bruised! What bull crap is that?"
"What's your name?" Vi demanded, glaring at him as she aggressively closed the distance.
"Orion. And yours is—"
Vi was already in his personal space, fiercely meeting his startled gaze.
"What are you after?" she demanded. "I'm not paying you."
Orion's eyebrow twitched.
"I'm just trying to get to the Last Drop to land some gigs," Orion said slowly, his voice strained. "Heard it was the place to be."
"It is, if you've got the stomach for it," Vi huffed, taking a step back. Her gaze wandered to the two groaning thugs beside him before adding, "You can hold your own. I think you'll do well."
"Thanks?"
Unable to really pin down the atmosphere, Orion glanced at the groaning thugs as they started to shift. Vi's gaze snapped to them, and she waved for Orion to follow before turning away.
"Come on. It's right outside."