Heavy Day [Open]

Sol's crimson eyes narrowed as his brisk footsteps came to halt. Tired, and worn out, the ancient Gear let out what sounded like an irritated sigh, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to make it to the exit in the midst of this vast void of whiteness that encompassed him all around. He thought about Aria for one last time, and even after all these years, the bounty hunter still managed to recall the parts of her face, as well as her radiant smile that he cherished so dearly. She wouldn't want him to give up so easily. At times like these, she'd probably say something along the lines of: 'We can do it, Frederick!' with that annoyingly cheerful tone of hers.

In fact, he could still hear her voice in his head, especially after putting an end to Vizuel's short, and momentary life. As the exit of the Backyard started to close before him, Sol loosened up the grip on his Fuuenken as bleak end to his existence had closed on him like a curtain fall.

"... Hmph, couldn't get home, huh?"

"You gave in so quickly. I'd be worried if I were you," A gentle voice called out to him from behind.

He knew that voice, and at instant, his shoulders tensed as he turned his attention over towards the presence behind him. The figure cloaked in ivory and crimson stood arrogantly before Sol, and he could almost swear that he was still yet smiling with that same old grin that he had a hundred years before. Just the thought of it boiled the primal belligerent ire within the ancient Gear's veins like liquid hot magma. Sol grit his teeth, he could almost feel his molars being crushed by the sheer force that he was biting down upon it as he firmly grabbed his weapon by its bandaged hilt, causing it roar with life with infernal magic.



"Y'bastard!" Sol spat.

"This isn't the end of a 'Merciless Apocalypse'. When that time comes, I'll need you...."

A realization hit him that moment. From the beginning, to the point when 'he' helped Sol to somehow withstand the tremendous pressures of the Backyard's pressure, and Valentine's demise, everything was planned? The bounty hunter clicked his tongue with displeasure, "So, I was controlled by you... this whole time?"

That Man's head tilted, and raised his pale hand. In response, Sol stomped his foot forward, but he knew well that he wasn't in a fit condition to do battle with him. Not here, not now. If That Man wanted to get rid of him, then it'd be perfect opportunity to do so, but instead, he said with an even voice: "You should feel lucky for being able to do something. Not many innocent people weren't given that opportunity. Now go; live on, Flame of Corruption!"

Upon utterance of his words, Sol looked behind him. The vast whiteness split itself open, flames cutting through the endless void like a sword through the fabric. It was a gate, a way back home. What was he planning this time? The ancient Gear growled with animalistic fury as 'That Man' turned around and swung his weapon, "I'll kill ya!" However, not realizing how much energy he had spent, Sol was forced to his knees, but he wasn't going to go quietly as 'That Man' was expecting him to. There were still a lot of questions lingering in his head, especially about Valentine.

"... Answer me one thing: Valentine. She looked as if she were a livin' copy of Aria-," Sol paused as he fought against the waves unconsciousness that were threatened him. "Bastard, yer doin' too?!"

The white figure shook his head, "Not at all, but that girl," He gave a momentary thought, "You and I both, already killed her."

Those words cut into Sol's heart like cold steel, and as if to deny what 'That Man' was saying, the male punched the ground as he glared up towards his former colleague, vowing murderous vengeance once more into the core of his very being. "Next time... next time we meet, I'll kill y'for sure."

"I know. I'll be waiting for you, Frederick."

"Shut up, my name is Sol! SOL BADGUY!"

And his world was consumed by great white wind, and he was taken far away. He saw many civilizations, wars of all kinds fought by both heroes and villains and scenery shift and move about as the earth willed - then it stopped. When his visions soon took hold, he found himself in completely new type of surroundings, one that was unfamiliar with. Over his travels, he never managed to run into a town that looked so... run-down, undeveloped. At best, most of the things they had around here were blacktech-made. No, that was not the important thing here. Sol had to get into contact with Sin, Izuna, or - anybody that he knew somehow. As he tried to move his body, the male felt it only failing him from the amount of stress he put it through. He made a brief note to himself not to use Dragon Install twice in short intervals, and while no one was looking, the male forcibly dragged his way over to a bench where he could finally sit down and organize his thoughts for once.

"Jus', what is this place...?"

Sin curled both hands tightly around his cup of coffee. He was still so uncomfortable in this new place, not knowing where he was or who anyone was. The thing that he was absolutely certain of was that this was no where near home. Part of his was relieved. This meant that he was far away from everything that he knew, everything that had caused him pain and turned him into this thing that he was. The abuse of those that "cared" for him for most of his life were so far away.

That also meant that everything he knew was gone as well. Those that he considered regular clients of his were gone as well. The odd jobs and the things he did for others just to get by were gone. He had nothing other than the few skills he had learned through his youth. The only reason that he had coffee right now was because he had swiped a purse of odd looking money off of someone. As usual, he had gotten away with it with a small smile and the lost eyes of a poor kitten who didn't know where he was. The guy took pity on him and directed him to a few key places that he would need.

The blond was just had almost gotten his bearings in the past day that he found himself stranded in this strange world. At least he had found out that he was somewhere called Traverse Town. Yet, he didn't see a way out of this place. Every time he found a door that seemed to lead out of town, he just turned around, scared of what was on the other side. So, rather than push himself to run away from this place so soon, he was going to settle here for a little while to try and get back into a tolerable situation as he had been back home.

First, he had to build up some kind of presence here to get people to come to him for things. He sipped at his coffee as he came across a man on a bench, obviously not at his best. It wasn't his usual kind of helping, but it would be a start. Hey, a little lost? The young male said, coming to a stop in front of the stranger with a small, friendly smile on his face. He bit at his lip and toyed with the piercing that sat there, dangling from the ring of metal to connect to another in his ear. He tilted his head much like a curious kitten, crimson eyes wide as he took in the disheveled individual he had approached.

Despite his desperate attempt at reaching those that he knew, the telecommunications spell failed on him constantly. He tried changing frequencies but to no avail. All he heard were just statics, and the formula that he had come up with for this was supposed to be able to reach someone - even if they were on the other side of the globe. The fact that it didn't, or refused to work only left Sol vexed, and asking more questions as to what this peculiar place was. What was for sure, however, was that he didn't belong here. Given how the town looked like, the bounty hunter stuck out like a sore thumb in midst of all the bright lights that surrounded him. For the time being, there was little that he could do. Even if he contemplated with these matters, it was clear to him that no answers would be found within him. All he could do for now was to sit here and let his body recover.

With the decision made, Sol reached into his pocket and took out a pack of nearly crushed cigarettes. From the feel of it, the box was nearly dry of its cancer-inducing contents. With a small, irritated sigh, the crimson-clad hunter pulled one right out of the box gingerly and hung it lazily between his lips. Even without a lighter, the tip of the cigarette seemed to light all by itself. It was one of the many benefits of the fire magic other than being able to fry - or barbecue his opponents, he supposed. Then, as a thick cloud of gray smoke gloomily danced out of his nostrils, his eyes spied a young man who had approached him with a steaming cup of freshly brewed joe held in his hand. The blonde seemed to beam with curiosity. Something about this kid's smile reminded him about a certain brat that belonged to Ky, and for a moment the image of the boy overlapped with the child in front of him.

"Hey, a little lost?" The young man asked in a friendly manner.



His foot that he had used to stomp Sin with almost came up out of habit, whoops.

"Well, fer starters: It'd be nice t'know where I am."

Sol Badguy

Sin watched the weary traveler he had come across as he tried to get situated in a sense. There was a moment of surprise as the cigarette the larger male had put between his lips ignited on its own. Really, he probably shouldn't be so surprised. He could shift into a cat like being so why shouldn't someone else be able to light their cigarette with a thought? It was a little discomforting, having that knowledge and wondering what other things he could do with such an ability. It was more along the line of what that ability could do to a person, but the pleasant look on his face didn't waver.

Even seeing muscles tense as if he were going to lash out in someway, Sin stayed calm. He was too used to seeing that kind of tension and just as used to taking whatever came next to bother moving. He would have allowed himself to be harmed since he didn't know how to protect himself, not really. He simply shifted on his feet and drew a little closer. He saw the other man glance at his coffee. The blond held the cup out, offering the hot beverage to the man on the bench.

Traverse Town. From what I understand, people who are lost usually end up here, He answered with a shrug. He didn't know how people got lost --other people-- but it was odd that it seemed that everyone landed here. He still couldn't understand where here was or what that man had done to send him to this place. He really shouldn't have agreed to help with this experiment the man had, but he needed the cash it would have offered. Now he was stranded and had no way to get home.

Deep down, the young man was scared as hell. He would actually take the "comfort" his so-called parents had given him, either set. However, he was alone and had to take care of himself. He sort of knew how to do that. He brushed off his anxiety and moved forward to sit beside the man he chose to "befriend." Where are you from? He asked, wondering just how far away this stranger was.

Perhaps this would give him an idea on where he was so he could figure out how far they had to travel to get home. It could also give Sin other options on how to get back to his old life, not that it was worth all that much. It had still been his and it was the only thing he was comfortable with.

♥

Sol denied the boy's offer of coffee in silence, but as he heard what the younger man had to say to him, the Gear raised one of his eyebrows in a rare surprise. It wasn't the name that had gotten to him, far from it. It was how people got here and from the sound of it, the younger one was about as clueless as he was. The term 'lost' was such a broad definition, and if he wasn't the only one who was transported from one place to another like this, then it was likely there was more that were like them. Though the Gear had a few theories being toyed about in his head, it was too far to draw any sort of significant assumptions about this peculiar situation that he had landed on. He needed more information, and he doubted that the younger one be of much help at this point.

Fully recovered at this point, the bounty hunter stood up from where he had sat and blew out a cigarette smoke away from the boy, fully intent on leaving. As Sol was about to walk away and be off on his own way, the younger male stopped the ancient Gear in his tracks with a question - probably with the same kind of purpose that the crimson-clad hunter had in his mind: Clues to find his way back home. Still, there was little need to make himself known to people when there was still yet a bounty set on his head at large irresponsibly by none other than yours truly. Sol learned to be cautious during in his long lifetime, especially even children nowadays seemed to want to become bounty hunters themselves.

"Jus' a guy from 'outta town," He lazily replied, "Where 're y'from, kid?"

Sol Badguy

The shifter was beginning to realize that perhaps he had made a poor choice in the first person to approach with the intent of bettering his own situation. He took a sip of his drink as the other man declined. His gaze drifted away to stare at the wall across from them. This was quickly becoming a little more depressing than Sin would have hoped.

He played with his lip ring as the larger man stood up, obviously intent to leave. However, the guy wasn't exactly rude and just ignored him. He was nice enough to turn back to consider him. It wasn't exactly friendly though, not like he really wanted to stop and continue this little conversation. He was hiding something and was very unwilling to share. The blond could understand that. He could relate a lot more than he would let on at that. They were absolute strangers in a strange place with no connection to each other. There was no reason for this guy to be nice to him.

His vague answer made Sin shrug with a smirk. Around, He answered just as cryptically. He pulled one foot up to hook his heel on the edge of the bench. Now he was back at square one and really had no plan on trying to continue messing around with people here. He was going to become far to noticeable in a small world with enough people that stayed stationary. He stood out even among the various unfortunately travelers. He hadn't found anyone else that had his particular style, though he would guess that tall, scary, and paranoid here wasn't exactly their brand of normal either.

Sin, never the one to force things, gave the guy a wink. Why don't you get yourself some coffee, guy. Maybe I'll see ya around. He offered one more grin, a bare shadow of what he would offer someone that was actually interested in his offered service. He turned his head away and let his cheerfulness fade away, letting the haunted scared boy that he shoved into a dark box peeking out again. Not having anything familiar was really starting to bother him, bring things out that really shouldn't see the light of day. Or, night as it were. He had yet to see any actual sunshine here which was just as weird as the place itself.

♥