The thirds, the lowest ranking of the city dwellers, would live in poverty. Their prices would match this, and moving out to the outskirts of the circular city would guarantee luxury for those living closer in. Negligence within this area was prominent, and so, not even the officers would go to this area - or at least, one could hope so. There was but one reason these people would go there, and that reason came from the negligence...
They were treated unfairly - and those who were richer in those areas still couldn't move out of it. Why? Because the money came from things that weren't "as" allowed in the seconds, and absolutely not in the firsts. From what was said by the officers nearby, "the Lord's image may not be sullied" which made it seem as though the problem wasn't the "wrong doing" but the act of dirtying the name of the Lord - this was the system which the city worked under.
One could say, the closer to the centre, the cleaner the people. In the outskirts, even those few exposed to the infection of rot could live. Though, they couldn't make money in the same way as others. These places Lloyd Dantes, (the previous one) would visit frequently, this was not only to visit the underground arenas (which were far more fun than the entertainment offered in the seconds, not to mention the firsts never had entertainment at all.
The firsts would live a cleaner life than those living in the other districts. In this place, the architecture was unlike anything Dantes had ever seen. The cleanliness was exhausting, each surface looked like a - it was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The metallic, onyx surfaces seemed to obliterate any specks of dust that may land upon it. The streets were narrow, but he barely saw anyone wandering them. It was like only the officers were allowed here - but there were none here. He only followed the lady of the thirds, and the officer of the firsts. The lady increasingly grew terrified, for the thirds and the seconds would only ever visit the firsts during one of two occasions.
Either, they had been chosen for the gamble. Or, they had sullied the image of the Lord, in some way or another. Would a rightful trial be held for those? This was not something to know, but to the people of the thirds and the seconds. All they knew, was that if a person ever went to the firsts without having to pay their gamble - they would not return.
Dantes was not the most reputable in the firsts, not that they showed anything but indifference to his mention. The name itself, Lloyd Dantes, was unknown. But the group he belonged to was. It was written, sown into his jacket, "Group A37", and as the group listing only went to 37, there weren't that many groups to remember. What was Group A37 known for? Only one thing really, their frequent visits to the thirds, and the various "crimes" they would commit there.
What was defined as a crime? In the thirds anarchy ravaged - as they were far enough from the Lord's presence not be sully his name. But a crime would be defined as something that would dirty the Lord's presence in the firsts. Not that they would ever be tried or found guilty for doing it in the thirds!
Just across the onyx laid streets, Dantes could see the building which he first was interested in. The tall onyx tower, oddly reminiscent of a facility. Though there were some things that didn't fall in line with the ideal of a facility - something red ran along inside the walls.
***
"Officer of A37, Dantes Lloyd?" said the indifferent officer, his face unmoving.
"Yes, sir."
He found himself inside a courthouse. It was small, and it wasn't that impressive. But the officers there looked more intimidating than before.
"We have been brought today for an injustice against the name of our Lord, brought by the plaintiff of the thirds. As we must bear the visage of a thirds, I ask those displeased to leave."
There was a small audience, a few shrugged and one even left.
"Due to the nature of the group which Lloyd Dantes is seemingly apart of, as the database shows, there is a precedent, and a chance of prejudice agains the group by the plaintiff. But as we do not know--with the mercy of our Lord, and the lack of evidence provided by the plaintiff..."
"I hereby find the defendant, not guilty"
The lady gasped.
Lloyd Dantes in the way he acted had most definitely done the crime he was being accused of.
The judge - the officer perhaps pretending to be one - also said that the group he had been a part of would be dismantled. Now there were only an equal amount - 36, which didn't seem like enough to guard a city as large as this.
Dantes didn't know of the relations between the firsts and the thirds, nor of the systems in between. But as the lady was being dragged out, even he felt impending doom for her. But, perhaps it was his irritation, or some mad honour of being slandered - but he didn't feel anything from the lady being dragged to certain execution.
'Isn't that wrong though?'
"She did us wrong."
"Lloyd Dantes, you are now free to leave, I ask that you retrieve your items at the desk, we have provided you with the keys to an apartment, and the check which you did not pick up last week. As your officer's group has been disbanded, you are now a wandering officer, please visit the council for further information. Is there anything else?"
His voice was stern, but as soon as he spoke to an officer directly, he spoke with elegance and familiarity. 'How can the title make him so friendly?' Dantes didn't respond to his question, but to the reason why the man acted so? It was all summed up in the thing he said next:
"Grace, be our Lord's!" And then he left.
'Good grief, I'm just being dragged around everywhere, where the hell am I going now?'
Dantes looked around and now saw an empty courtroom, from the time he was called in to the time they left, his mind was voided. He quite literally didn't have thought in mind. But now he was back.
He went to the desk to check out the things.
A letter. A key... some other things.
He picked them up and headed out.
"Odd, I don't know where the key leads..."
'Shouldn't they have told us?'
"Whatever, let's just go, somewhere."
'What about "justice" then?'
"Justice may be served elsewhere, I don't know."
'You are really strange, or I am really strange.'
"The firsts will prosper huh? Mercy to the Lord!"
'Don't say that, not like them, so group thirty and seven was the one, the one we, um...'
"Seems so."
'Should we keep on pretending to be a, a soldier?"
"Seems so."
'Weren't you the social one?'
"Seems so. No, what?"
'I'm speaking to you!'
"I'm thinking, shut up. Wait, why can you speak?"
'I'm not speaking, I'm thinking too!'
"This is all too confusing."
'Let's just go towards the "facility", and then there will be something to do.'
"What about the key? The key is important."
'No, the key isn't important, it's just an apartment, or a room.'
"Yes. Exactly. And-that's-important..."
'Hopeless are we, never mind, go... now!'
"Okay, okay..."
Then Dantes Lloyd went towards the council - perhaps in hope that his apartment, or room would be close by...