(no subject)

[sleazeoverstyle]

Shit.

Shit. It's pretty much all he can do to follow through this dark nothingness at Axel's heels, and he ain't so fond of the way this feels. He's been in worse situations before, of course, and he's about 99% sure he will be again, but this place can kiss his ass. It's like drowning in a nightmare and his Electro-Mag rod's buzzing and giving off the occasional nearly-invisible spark in his left hand and yeah, he's moving as fast as he can, even though he doesn't know where the hell he's going.

Every friggin' sense is on high alert, and because sight is low on the availability scale he does what he's trained to do: ignores the pounding of his own heart, lets himself adjust to the surroundings however he can, and shuts the hell up. If this is that Void he heard about, it ain't a place he wants to stay.

In the darkness he nods to Axel in a get us the fuck out of here now kind of way.

Comments

[killitwithfire]

It all sounds warpedly familiar; like his own former job, through a mirror darkly. Or brightly, as the case may be.

"Whatever the boss says, goes, yeah?" Axel asks, a faint, wry smile on his face. "I know how that works. Hope yours deserves it more than mine did."

[sleazeoverstyle]

They call the boss sir for a reason, and it ain't just out of some misguided sense of loyalty or duty. He kinda likes the guy even though half the world wouldn't mind seeing Rufus Shinra dead.

Well, that ain't gonna happen. Not with him around.

"Shit, he's all right." At least the boss's tryin' to do the right thing now, even if he didn't in the past. He's sick now too, but only four of 'em know that and like he's gonna tell.

[killitwithfire]

"Yeah? That's good then," Axel replies. he has to admit, if only to himself, that he's a little envious; on the other hand, if his boss hadn't turned out to be such a complete asshole...

He probably wouldn't be here now. He wouldn't have his heart, or his friends, or... Hell, any of it.

"You wanna take a look around?" he asks.

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Fuck yeah. I didn't travel through some tunnel of doom and gloom to walk over here, say nice glassblowing, and turn tail and head for home."

It's nice here. It's pretty, and he's a little bit of a sucker for pretty things and places and people and this place makes him smile. "Seeing as how I ain't never even heard of Hawaii and have no friggin' idea what planet we're on or where to go, you might maybe want to lead the way."

Just a suggestion. Otherwise, he's goin' skateboarding on a beach of glass.

[killitwithfire]

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You want to hit town, or the volcano first then?" Axel asks, grinning broadly. He would have been rather disappointed, otherwise.

[sleazeoverstyle]

"They got a town here?"

Hell yeah: the day's lookin' better already. And if he plays his cards right, he bets he can even get a drink somehow. Different world probably means different money, but he never let a lack of funds stop him from quenching his thirst.

And he's pretty friggin' thirsty after that little jaunt through the darkness getting here.

[killitwithfire]

"Yeah. Well, it's more of a village, and a little touristy, but the locals in this world are actually really friendly," Axel explains, as he starts back down the ridge. There's a well-worn footpath there, that leads around to the beach, and back to the village.

[sleazeoverstyle]

"We gonna pull the twin brothers routine on the locals?" Personally, he still thinks he's the better-looking of the two, even if they are the same height with the same hair color and the tattoos and voice. The difference is in the eyes and the attitude, although Axel's attitude sure ain't so very different from his own. Plus, the guy's missing the all-important pair of goggles.

"Friendly and pretty, I hope?" He maneuvers the path easily. Shit, he can climb friggin' buildings when he has to, so the side of a hill ain't nothing. "Here's hoping you ain't burned all your bridges in this place along with their beachfront property."

[killitwithfire]

"Nah. The only time I ever actually met the locals, they invited me to their luau." His grin turns smug for a moment. "They're pretty laid-back here, from what I've seen. Love a good party, know how to dance, and yeah, pretty too."

In other words, Axel's kind of people, if you're talking people in a general sense.

[sleazeoverstyle]

He wonders what the fuck a luau is, but he guesses if he gets invited to one he'll find out. Just like at Costa del Sol, he's overdressed for the weather but hey, he's a Turk and this is what he wears. He can't imagine Axel's a lot cooler in that long... thing he wears, but if the locals accept his ugly ass, then they ought to both have it made.

"You been here a bunch of times, then? Like home away from home away from home?" They're making good time, almost to the bottom of the hillside now, and he can see what passes for a village spread out in front of them.

It's pretty. He can't remember the last time he had a real vacation, not that this is gonna count for one. Smells way too friggin' much like recon.

[killitwithfire]

"Only to the volcano," Axel replies. There's some relatively fresh volcanic debris in the path; not lot, because the wind and the slope of the mountain are wrong for it, but there was a recent eruption, and if you know what to look for, it shows.

From lower on the path, there's a pair of high-pitched giggles, and a couple of children come barreling past them, headed straight for the beach.

"...Like I said," he continues, when they've passed. "I've only ever met the locals once."

[sleazeoverstyle]

"And they didn't mind seein' your ugly mug gracing the place. That's cool. HEY." The words watch it die on his lips as he steps aside to make room for the kids: this ain't his town -- ain't nothing like Midgar -- and he ain't their brother, so he won't tell 'em how to behave.

Like they'd listen anyhow.

"You said you can get back to the bar from here. How's that work?" In his experience, doors to the bar just show up whenever the fuck they want and they don't ever ask his permission first.

[killitwithfire]

"Well, I'd say 'sheer stubbornness,' and that'd be mostly true. But from this world, it might take a little more, than from the ones that have been 'connected.' So... I cheat," he says, reaching into a pocket, and pulling out a spoon. It glints brightly in the sun, almost as brightly as Axel's grin.

"Straight from Milliways, to my pocket. Between that, and my natural talent for travelling between worlds, it's a piece of cake. Got it memorised?"

[sleazeoverstyle]

Smart, Reno, smart. Always go for the obvious: he opens his mouth to talk but there ain't nothing worthwhile to say, so he doesn't say anything. At least about how friggin' obvious that should have been.

"Come on, sanctimonious show-off." Grinning, he rolls his eyes a little and nods toward civilization. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it memorized. When we go back, you've got my permission to kick my sorry ass if you don't see me pocket the first piece of silverware I can. You got that memorized?"

[killitwithfire]

In response to that, Axel just laughs.

The number of locals increases as they get closer to the village; people out for walks, or maybe just going from point A to point B. Regardless, they're greeted by friendly waves, and 'hello's. Axel hadn't been kidding about the friendliness of the locals.

[sleazeoverstyle]

What the fuck's aloha mean, he wants to know, but doesn't ask; he can do that later. For now he just makes nice: nods, waves, and can't believe how friggin' lucky it is that these locals from another planet mostly speak the same language as him.

Come to think of it, everyone he's met at the end of the universe speaks the same language as him: ain't that handy. Right now it sure ain't something he's gonna question none too hard.

"You were right. They're friendly." Least he can do is be a little friendly back, he figures.

"Nice place you got here."

That oughtta do.

[killitwithfire]

"Nice, it is, yeah?" one of the locals agrees, giving a wave as they pass by.

The trail they're following leads down onto the main road (black-top paved, single lane) that goes through the village. It is, as Axel said, rather touristy; two souvenir shops in a town this size is a bit overkill.

The one bar in town isn't open yet, but the restaurant next door is, and the waitress is chatting with the only current customers, a pair of middle-aged tourists.

It's the little things that Axel files away though, like the apparent lack of a synthesis shop, or even a moogle anywhere about. Or even a general item shop; there's a small grocery, but it's not the same thing.

[sleazeoverstyle]

So this is the village. Personally he thinks it ain't got much going for it and of course they won't stop for a drink 'cause... different world, different money. He goes flashing gil around here, they won't know what to make of it. Anyhow, looks like they're just passing through.

It's nice, though, in that touristy kinda way. Reminds him even more of Costa Del Sol now he looks, and like that place, there's no weapons shop which is usually the first place he checks out. "Peaceful. Think you could ever live in a place like this?"

Yeah, he'd get all fat and happy, drinkin' his life away. Honestly, this place ain't much of a going concern but like it has to be? No, the people living here seem low-key and happy and him and Axel are just tourists.

Fat and happy his ass: if this is the whole thing, it'd drive him friggin' crazy living here. Give him the city, please, with all its problems and noise and opportunity and mess.

[killitwithfire]

"Not a chance in hell," Axel replies. "It's a nice place to visit, but I think I'd get bored if I stayed here too long. Maybe someday I'll get old and change my mind, but until then, I'd rather live at the end of the universe."

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Me, I'd rather live right where I do live. Let's face it: end of the universe is cool, but it ain't home."

Not that he's ever had a real strong attachment to the concept of home ever since his oldest brother moved away. But he likes the place he's got -- it's close to work, it's easy to get to, it ain't in Sector 7 -- and he likes his job just fine, and he likes his opportunities and his paycheck and the fly time he gets with the chopper. He's good with his partner, Rude, and the girls he knows.

Yeah, life's okay.

"How long you say you'd been there now?"

[killitwithfire]

"Mmm... Over a year and a half now, by Milliways' calendar," Axel replies, after a bit of thought. "It feels like a lot longer though, you know? Like a lifetime."

In a way, it has been a lifetime, and another lifetime since this past midwinter; the difference between no heart and heart is that profound.

"The place kind of is home now, to me. You know?"

[sleazeoverstyle]

"I guess." He's lived in Midgar his whole friggin' life. Not in the same house or nothin' but same city, although he's traveled the world 'cause that's... his job. And though he's probably the least sentimental person he knows, home's still home.

He looks around, shielding his eyes from the sunlight: it's bright but it's pretty and the village is small but the view goes on and on. He wouldn't mind flying over it in a chopper; that'd give him his usual pilot's frame of reference for a place but like that's gonna happen.

"So is there more to this tropical hideaway? 'Cause me, I'm wonderin' what kind of trouble a guy could get in here. No weapons shops or found materia? No monsters to summon, no aliens or shit like that? Present company excepted, of course."

[killitwithfire]

Axel shakes his head.

"Not even a synthesis shop," he says. "There should be Heartless around somewhere, but the locals haven't been bothered. Then again, it's not like I know everything about the place." He pauses, parsing the unfamiliar terms from Reno's questions.

"What's materia?"

[sleazeoverstyle]

"It's..." What the hell's the official line on it? He's only read it a million times: materia are small crystallized spheres of spiritual energy that allow the user to cast various spells and use special abilities; the orbs contain the knowledge and memories of all who have lived and died in the past. While that answer's easy as shit on his world, -- everyone knows what materia is -- it's kind of a can of worms to explain.

Axel probably doesn't know the term Lifestream either, right. "Well, to put it in simple terms, materia are these little crystal spheres and they're what let us harness any magic at all." He holds his hand out, thumb and forefinger maybe an inch and a half apart. "The spheres are about that big and if you're lucky you might find 'em, but nowadays, they're mostly manufactured from Mako."

And he won't know what Mako is either.

"And Mako's... pretty much the pure liquid energy that runs my planet. Any of that make any sense at all, or you need me to whip out the Beginning Materia User's Instruction Manual?"

[killitwithfire]

"No, I follow," Axel replies. "Sounds... Well, it's pretty lame that you have to use something like that to use any magic, but I guess whatever works, I mean... Actually, here, check this out--"

Reno's description - crystals made of energy - remind him a little of the composition of synthesis materials. So he rummages in his pocket a little, and snags out a little crescent-shaped shard of blue - a Frost Shard, as it happens - and tosses it to his not'twin.

"That's a Frost Shard," he explains, rubbing his fingers together; the things are cold.