Day 01 - Fish Out Of Water

[notquiteanobody.livejournal.com]

Characters: AU!Roxas, AU!Xion and YOU(Yes, you)!
When: Early to Mid-morning
Where: Starting in what's now an abandoned subway station
Rating: G to PG-ish? No swearing, but mild horror undertones.
Summary: Guess what Nesreca people. You've got some fresh meat.


It was a strange development for Roxas. Not more than fifteen minutes prior, he was certain that he'd just been riding the subway in Haven, enjoying some out and about time with Xion. It was something new; regularly spending time together like that and honestly, it started out being a little awkward. His memories of their days in the Organization had settled into returning at a steadier pace, but true to her word, she'd been helping explain the things he remembered, giving context when something would return that was exceptionally out of sequence. Plus it helped him get a feel for the friendship they had back then. Overall, it'd been nice and it was an experience he'd been gradually growing more and more fond of -even looking forward to. But that was beside the point.

The strange development was that one moment he'd been dozing lightly on the train, guitar case between his legs and skateboard across his lap with Xion not too far away and the next, he'd realized that something had gone rather horrendously wrong with the world. For starters, when he woke again, he found the train completely deserted aside from the two of them. Furthermore, a glance outside revealed that the subway station that they'd stopped at was in complete shambles -the whole thing looked like it'd been taken right out of a post-apocalypse movie. So he'd wasted little time in rousing his friend from her sleep, who seemed just as shocked as he was to see their new environment.

Gathering what belongings they had with them, they got off the train and gave their surroundings an immediate once-over. Then as icing on top of an already eerie cake, when their backs turned, they saw but a flicker on the wall before the lights from the train they'd been aboard abruptly went out. To their dismay, what once had been a car from a commuter train that could've been from any town was now a dilapidated, rusted mess that looked like it hadn't seen use in ages -despite the fact that they'd been on it only moments prior.

As they walked about to investigate, their first thoughts had them drawing their phones, expecting to find a cluster of shards with an army of shadows either using or protecting it. But both were only greeted with 'No Service' messages on their small LCD screens. At a loss for what to do next, they merely proceeded through the station, looking for a way out. It seemed that whatever catastrophe befell their surroundings, it'd taken place quite some time ago. Light poured in from the larger sections of ceiling that had collapsed in, leaving piles of rubble and almost enchanting beams of light shining down from the world outside. What little light they had to go by showed the walls where they could see varied vines taking root in whatever crevices that time and the elements had opened up. After a little more than ten minutes of wandering, listening to the echo of their footsteps mixed with the occasional murmured comment, they found themselves ascending the stairs leading up and out of the station. Up and out to a world almost completely alien to them.

Rather than the familiar scene of Haven, the pair find themselves faced with a ruined city; signs that life had once existed there scattered about in the varied debris left behind. But at least immediately, there didn't seem to be another living person in sight. His shoes crunching on the gravel as he took the first steps on the normal ground level, Roxas stared about, mouth agape at the scene before him. Not once had he ever seen a place in ruins quite like this -at least nothing that wasn't a picture of some ancient city in a school text book.

Without turning to her, he simply commented to his friend, "I don't think we're in Haven anymore."

Comments

[seasaltblues]

Xion might have taken up a defensive position herself. But the way the package was suddenly pushed into her hands, well. It made things awkward a moment to say the least as she clambered about with it to make sure it didn't fall out of her hands by the suddenness of the hand off. By then, Roxas had found himself standing in front of her and Xion... couldn't help but blink awkwardly a moment before she settled herself for looking towards the young man not far from them.

The grip she had on the package tightened but otherwise? She remained as she was at least for the moment. Just observing. Listening. It was strange though... Strange and frightening how there was already a familiarity. Much like the way she had gotten a hold of people over the offworlder's network at Haven... only this was more unnerving because it was face to face.

[beanstalk]

Kanda wasn't phased by the sudden movement. He had eben around long enough to expect such reaction from people who had just arrived, especially if they were fighters. What was odd about the arrivals this time, though... was they they came together. That was something he hadn't seen in his five months of being here. Who knows if that Sasuke guy's seen something like this, too.

Interesting.

"Nesreca. You've been pulled from your world and brought into this one."

[notquiteanobody.livejournal.com]

It took a few moments for that to sink in. So for a moment, Roxas is just going to keep his eyes on the stranger, an almost out of place look of completely skepticism reflected in his expression. Yet the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Aside from the nightmare world, the phones had never failed in Haven and while the shards had been suggested to contain some fairly substantial power, he'd never heard of them ever changing the landscape so radically.

So while he didn't quite say it, he couldn't help but to at least think to himself:

Oh no, not again.

Cocking an eyebrow, he tilts his head slightly at the stranger, as if wanting to cling to the vague hope that the information given was wrong.

"You're serious, aren't you? And the way you're saying it so calmly -is this normal around here?"

[seasaltblues]

"Nesreca...?" She voiced it quietly. Partly as if just trying out the name herself. Partly an inquire. One that was left to rest when Roxas had spoken up himself, voicing questions that she found herself wanting to be answered, too. But that didn't stop the way her stomach was doing back flips. Nesreca. They were in Nesreca now. If that was the truth...

What did that mean for Lucen and Anne?

[beanstalk]

Kanda just watched the two for a moment. They had traveled through worlds before, he noticed. The same as that talking mouse-thing. He was pretty sure traveling worlds wasn't supposed to be common, but each world was different, right? It wasn't totally out there.

"I didn't stutter. Libitina brought you both here, though I don't get why she did it at the same time. Congratulations, both of you are now a dead girl's toys." Who said he had to be nice?

[notquiteanobody.livejournal.com]

Listening to that kind of explanation, he could just stare back dumbly at their first contact for a moment. For someone that said so little, what was said was a great deal to mentally chew on. From two sentences alone, he now had at least a half dozen questions that expanded on his original one that asked what was going on here.

So after blinking once, he shakes his head, "Okay, let's start from the top here. Who is Libitina and why did she bring us here?"

[seasaltblues]

"And what do you mean by toys?"

Xion couldn't help but add on the last question. Her eyes were already narrowed, not liking the sound of things at all. Who was Libitina, indeed. Was she like Anna from Haven? Dead girl meant a ghost, right? Spirit. Just like her. Her hands clutched the package tighter as she studied this unfamiliar young man. She... really wasn't much a fan of the bite to his words either, admittedly.

[beanstalk]

"I just said. Libitina is a dead child in control of who comes here and who goes. She counts every arrival here as her new 'toy.'" Kanda didn't think there was much to explain, when in reality there wasn't. It almost made him wish they were back at the Order – all of them – so he could just tell them to read their mission manual, where everything was usually explained.

"There's no known way out so might as well start getting used to that now."

[notquiteanobody.livejournal.com]

He just stared at the stranger blankly for a little bit longer. What little was given was certainly lacking in any sense of depth, but already their curtness was rubbing the blond the wrong way. It was one thing to be helpful and another to be apathetic. But to just provide the barest information and expect him to function reminded him far too much of how things had been back in the Organization and it was a similarity that he found spurred a surge of annoyance he could feel slowly turning to anger.

Clearing his throat, the blond speaks up -a modestly indignant tone in his voice, "Yeah, no known way out. Just means you haven't been looking hard enough." Just a momentary pause before he speaks up again, "That story's a little lacking, so if you'd at least want to half-try at helping us again, maybe just point us toward someone that actually knows what's going on here and we'll take our chances with them."

[seasaltblues]

Xion really wasn't liking the bluntly uninterested attitude of the man either. But all the same? It was a start at least, getting a general grasp of the situation. One that... unfortunately seemed no better than the last one they had been in. In fact, it was arguably worse from her stand point because Anne and Lucen... The idea of being someone's toys... Someone's puppets. That only served to make her all the more edgy about this new world already.

So, finally taking a step forward so that she was on equal footing with Roxas, side to side. Not even bothering to keep a cool tone although what she had to say, the frustration sounded divided between the situation itself and Kanda's attitude. "Like Roxas said- You... You don't understand. We have to go back. So, if there's anyone you know..."

[beanstalk]

"There is absolutely no way out." Kanda's tone came out harsher than just a moment ago, as if he were scolding a child. "You're stuck here - both of you - with the rest of us. It doesn't matter if you want to stay here or go back."

[notquiteanobody.livejournal.com]

To tell him that something was impossible only served to tic him in the back of the head. He was getting aggravated with this stranger and if his time in Haven hadn't worked his ability to keep a level head so well, this certainly would have been where he would've lashed out. Violently. As it was, his expression was defiant and aggravated, his eyes narrowing.

"And I said: I'm not buying it. Stuck here for a little while? That might've sounded plausible. Just saying that one one had done it before? I'd believe it. But taking that as an unbreakable rule?" He paused a moment to shake his head, doing his best to push down that urge to try drawing his Keyblades.

"I'm not convinced." Turning away from the stranger without further regard, he gives Xion a glance before picking a fairly arbitrary direction to start walking in. He didn't care where he went, just as long as it took him somewhere he could calm himself down, he was fine. "Let's go. This guy's no help."

[seasaltblues]

No help, he was. From the way he acted to what he had said, at least in terms of any solutions on getting out of there, he had provided no further details. So inclined to follow his thinking. But he had dropped some vital information, regardless. Whether Xion chose to see that or whether she was too stubborn to admit it would probably be an enigma to whoever this young man was, however. Because she was following after Roxas shortly with a muttered, "Right."

Putting up with Saix was one thing. He had been one of her superiors, a part of something she felt she couldn't escape so she bit the bullet. But here? And from herein, whether she associated with someone like him or not was her choice. And, frankly, she wasn't interested. Perhaps that had been the reason why Roxas hadn't lashed out more himself. She was truthfully... surprised. But right then, all that mattered to her was leaving this man behind them and continuing on their search for any way out.