"Gin on the rocks," A burly man in his late twenties sat heavily on the bar stool, checking out the two younger girls placed to his right and left.
"Yes sir," a low, smooth female voice responded, catching his attention. He looked up hopefully, finding a tall, semi-athletic girl womanning the busy bar of the popular club, Blu. Erratic dance music pounded through the club as the smooth bartender slid a glass of gin to the man and a Cosmo to the blonde to his right.
He nodded, smiling, "Can I get a name, or am I just stuck with a pretty face, babe?"
The native American girl glanced up from the martini she was making, " Sorry, big boy, my shift doesn't end 'til four tonight." She finished shaking the liquid, uncapping the shaker and pouring it into a glass, moving to the opposite side of the bar and handing it to the suave playboy who trailed a finger across the back of her hand flirtatiously. The jaded bartender sighed, walking back to the burly man to find him hitting on the Cosmo-drinking blonde to his right. Smirking, she shook her head. Saturday was when all the players and desperates came out, it seemed. The player in the corner had been the third man to hit on her in the last hour…
~~~Guess what?~~~
"Oi, Raine, you off for the night?" A pretty redhead asked, pulling on a jacket as she walked toward the tired bartender.
"Yeah, did you need a ride, Jerry?" Raine asked, yawning.
The redhead flapped her hand casually, "Nah, I'm good tonight." The two exited the still pumping building, heading in the same direction. "Aren't you still in school, Rae?" Jerry asked, frowning at a chipped, red nail.
"Yeah, I don't have any weekend classes, though. Just weekday," Raine glanced at Jerry, who sighed.
"Med school, huh? Sounds like such a bitch," Jerry smirked, watching a car make an illegal U-turn, "makes me kind of happy I'm dumb, ya'know? If you're never that expectant, you never disappoint yourself." The two fell silent, Raine unwilling to debate what she saw as flaws in Jerry's logic. That was the problem with opinions. They were just that. In their own way, they were all right, and yet, all wrong. Luckily, Raine had realized that some time ago.
"Well, I see my car," Jerry pointed to a small, red car, leaving with a wave. Raine gave a short wave, walking toward the street and pressing the crossing button. She waited quietly for the white-light man to appear before she began to cross the busy intersection, hands in her pockets, focused on mentally reviewing the placement of the right, radial artery. Damn tests.
Suddenly, the hairs picked up on the back of her neck, and Raine heard the roar of an engine. Raine turned toward the loud roar in shock, finding a large, speeding truck swerving toward her. She felt the adrenaline flood her veins as she lunged out of the way. Too late, too slow. Everything seemed to stop as she felt the truck impact her shoulder, bouncing her off the pavement and screeching to a halt as the several ton truck rolled over her.
Raine's eyes widened as she attempted to suck in a breath, her rib cage crushed and unable to move, nothing more than a well of pain, leaving her unable to scream her death to the world. Black enveloped her senses quickly as she failed pitifully to bring oxygen to her punctured lungs…
~~~Scene change!~~~
Raine bolted upright, clutching maroon sheets to her chest, a thousand questions screaming through her mind all at once. Where was she? Who's room was she in? How did she survive that crash? Was it all just a dream? What had really happened? And why wasn't she wearing pants?
Raine blinked several times, her pants-less state of being suddenly sinking in. She cocked her head to the side, why wasn't she wearing pants?
Swinging her legs of the side of the four-poster, she spotted her pants. Or at least, the remains of her pants. Her once favorite pair of slacks had been ripped to shreds, quite literally. The twenty-two-year-old sighed, a frown on her face. The click of the doorknob caught her attention as she snapped her head toward the opening door, pulling the sheets over her exposed thighs. A tall, brown haired man walked into the room, giving her a glance before doing a quick double take with his eyes.
"You're awake," he stated calmly. Raine blinked, unsure how one might respond to such a blatantly obvious statement.
"How long have I been out?" She asked, looking him over. He had semi-long, brown hair; he was tall, rather handsome, and most noticeably, a large scar ran across his unperturbed face.
"About a day," he turned to leave through the open door without another word, calling to a girl named Aerith. A soft, brown-haired girl in pink walked in, offering nothing but a sweet smile and, what-ho? Raine's keen eyes caught sight of a pair of pants hidden behind the girl's clasped hands.
"Hello, I'm Aerith. How are you feeling?" Aerith frowned in a motherly fashion, tilting her head to the side concernedly. Raine smiled, nodding her head. With the exception of everything that was wrong with this scene, which was quite a bit, she was just dandy. The kind girl's smile reappeared on her soft features, accepting Raine's nonverbal answer. "Here, I thought you might like these," she proffered the pair of cloth pants Raine had spotted earlier.
Raine grinned, overjoyed at the thought of wearing pants, "Thanks! I'm Raine, by the way." She tossed the maroon sheets off her bare legs and bounded off the bed, taking the pants from Aerith's outstretched hand. Quickly slipping the slacks on, Raine glance around the sparse room. Just where was she? "Excuse me, Aerith, but would you mind telling me exactly where I am?" Raine met Aerith's eyes, wondering if Aerith would tell her the entire story.
Aerith offered a sweet smile, "I was wondering when you might ask." She took a seat on the nearby chair, seemingly getting ready to explain something big, "Your in Hallow Bastion."
Raine looked intensely into Aerith's eyes, unsure as to why she had paused, "I've never heard of this place."
Aerith's sweet smile became tainted with grimness, "That's what we were afraid of. We can't be sure, but if you're here, that means there is a good chance your world was destroyed by heartless."
Raine held her gaze with Aerith, unsure of what to make of this girl. She seemed perfectly nice, perfectly sane. "My world?" The native American girl ran her fingers through her elbow length hair.
Aerith nodded calmly, "yes, your world. You see, Hallow Bastion is on a separate planet, possibly millions of light-years away from your home universe." She watched Raine's reaction carefully before biting her lip anxiously, "I thought so…"
Raine turned her head, slight suspicions building, "thought what, exactly?"
Aerith sighed, neatly tucking a piece of long, brown hair behind her ear, "I couldn't know for sure, but I had a sneaking suspicion that your world was one of the many that had never had contact before." Raine bit the inside of her cheek. Apparently, appearances were very deceiving. "I see you don't believe me, but I kind of expected that," Aerith rose from the chair, giving a tired smile. "So I will show you," Aerith lifted her left hand, palm facing upward, and muttered something inaudible. Raine jerked her head back, seeing flame suddenly appear in the palm of Aerith's hand. She closed her hand, extinguishing the flame before muttering another word and causing a green orb to float in her hand. Aerith's eyes made sure to never leave Raine's as she repeated several different process's several more times, driving home her point.
Eventually, Raine swallowed hard, ignoring every bit of common sense she had. This seemed… remotely possible. Her gut told her this wasn't some elaborate prank, either. And right or wrong, your gut was just there to protect you. Aerith smiled, seeing Raine nod her head slowly, "I see. But if this were really a different world, then I would assume this world to have different animal species then my own home world. I think, as a final proof, that I may see one of your world's species?" Raine finished, feeling vaguely as though she might belong in a long-lost episode of Star Trek.
Aerith looked surprised for a moment, "of course! I think I have the perfect example in mind." She took Raine's hand and led her out of the plain room and down the old, wooden stairs, passing through what looked like a well-used living room and out the front door. Raine looked around admiringly, taking in all the small-town beauty. Glancing ahead of them, Raine noticed Aerith leading them straight toward a shop called 'Cid's Gummi Parts.' Gummi parts?
Inside, a grumpy blonde man in his thirties stood behind the counter, polishing a small piece of metal. With a blink, Raine realized this was an auto shop. And, that no matter how grumpy he looked, she was fairly sure this man did not qualify as a separate species. She glanced at Aerith questioningly, who smiled to the grumpy man and continued walking toward a ladder that lead to an upstairs area.
Raine stared in momentary shock as what looked to be a small, white teddy bear with a Rudolf nose and… fishing lure that adorned his forehead greeted them happily, asking if they wanted to buy any of his wares. Aerith smiled apologetically, "I'm just here to prove a point to my friend here." The small, white… creature, for lack of a better title, puffed up its chest and crossed its arms, giving a look of what Raine assumed to be offense or indignation. Raine slipped quietly back down the ladder, now thoroughly convinced. Aerith followed quickly in suit, escaping the wrath of the ranting teddy. "Are you convinced now?" Aerith asked, a gentle smile back on her face as the two exited the shop.
"… Quite," she summed up, "I guess we should go back to your home?"
Aerith shrugged slightly, looking around the town square, "If you would like to. It's a bit late, I suppose." Raine nodded slightly, beginning to head back in the direction they had come from as Aerith caught up quickly. The two strolled slowly to the house, exchanging small talk and a few important details until they reached the front door, stepping inside the oddly silent home.
Raine glanced at Aerith, "Is that room I woke up in where I'll be staying?"
Aerith bit her lip, "actually, we don't have any extra rooms, and I don't think Leon wants to spend another night on the couch." Aerith giggled slightly, "And I don't think I blame him. It's so… lumpy," she finished, gesturing to the green sofa. Her eyes widened slightly, "oh! I don't mean you'll have to sleep on it, of course. You can share a room with me."
Raine giggled, "That sounds great. Thanks for all your help, Aerith."
She smiled good-naturedly, "Of course, it's no problem." The two headed up the stairs and into Aerith's simple, yet elegant room. Raine glanced about the pale purple-themed room as Aerith began rummaging busily through her draws. "Here," she said, producing a pair of fluffy blue pajamas for Raine with one hand, the other still digging around for her own pair.
The two changed quickly and clambered onto the large, pale, and violet purple bed. Aerith and Raine copied one another, the two of them crossing their legs and leaning back against the cherry oak headboard, chatting aimlessly to each other for what seemed like hours…
~~~Another scene change!~~~
Raine stared at the white wash ceiling, her hands folded behind her head restlessly. She sighed, chewing on her lip. After what had apparently been a twenty-four hour catnap, she supposed it was only natural she wasn't very tired. Sliding her legs over the side of Aerith's bed, Raine tiptoed across the wooden floor, quickly changing into her day clothes, intent on taking a midnight stroll. Glancing around, Raine made a beeline for the large balcony widow, opening it slightly and slipping outside, closing the door behind her.
Running her tongue over the front of her teeth nervously, she decided this was a bad idea. Letting out a single, huff-like laugh and shaking her head, Raine put a single foot on the railing, glad that Aerith had given her the sturdy pair of boots. Raine leaned back slightly before pushing off the railing and landing smoothly on the roof directly under the balcony. She smiled, maybe it wasn't that bad of an idea after all.
Sadly, no, it was a bad idea. A very bad idea. But that comes later.
A yellow moon shone brightly on the small town as Raine ran across the rooftops, careful to be as silent as a sprinting woman could be while running on the edge of roofs. Eventually, she slowed to a full stop, reaching the town limits. She had to give it credit, Hallow Bastion was a misleadingly large town, despite the small town aura it seemed to emanate constantly.
Peering over the edge of the roof precariously, Raine jumped off the edge of the roof, landing in a decently well executed tuck and roll maneuver. Grinned madly, she thanked her two years of high school gymnastics, no matter how much she had hated Mrs. Wallace. Strolling through a short field, Raine tucked her hands in her pockets, taking in the pretty sight. There were some things the big city would always miss out on. The whispered song of nature was one of them.
Suddenly, a familiar feeling hit Raine as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end again. Whipping around, she half-expected to find a large truck precariously swerving toward her. She sighed, slapping the palm of her hand to her face. Well, duh, no truck was barreling down on her position. She smiled, her face still buried in her palm. Looking up, Raine felt the smile on her face freeze, for standing directly in front of her was a small solid black creature. She had a sinking feeling this was the basic heartless species Aerith had described to her earlier.
This was bad. Raine glanced abroad, well aware this creature could easily be hostile. Unless it was heartless, then she knew it was. All around her, small black portals opened and more of the black creatures, which she now knew had to be heartless, spilled out into the green field, slowly creeping in on her. Steadying her nerves as best she could, Raine's brain raced at lightning speed, attempting to come up with some sort of patchwork plan.
Raine shifted slightly as her brain came to the eventual conclusion that it was indeed screwed beyond normal comprehension. A small heartless lunged at her suddenly, giving her barely enough time to catch it in the jaw with a hard kick, which seemed to trigger a mass swarm.
Enveloped in a mass of suffocating black, wriggling non-existence, Raine kicked, punched, bit, elbowed, and kneed everything within reach, her body not fully registering that she was not going to survive another twenty seconds at the rate of her attackers. A far cry caught Raine's attention as she could feel something begin to die inside of her, seemingly being ripped out on a microscopic level of some sort.
Raine felt something slip from her chest as she gave what was one of her last punches, clearing a visual path to see maybe a half-dozen people charging toward her, Aerith's pink dress easily recognizable even from across the field. Now, she struggled to move, all power leaving even her fingertips. This was it. Who knew she'd die twice, in less than forty-eight hours? Not only that, but this time, it was because a giant mass of black non-existence decided it was a cool idea to smother her to death.
Maybe it was just one of those weeks, you know? Just a week when life suddenly decides it's about time to throw fifty billion curve punches at you in the space of about… seven seconds.
Yeah, that about sums it up, right?
~~Oh Noes!~~
Oh yes. I did. I wrote a KH fanfic. WITH AN OC. Why yes, she may very well be a Mary Sue. This, like my LOTR fic, is just another outlet for fangirl-ism. Because, you know, I think I'd hate myself if I caught a bad case of fangirlitis. By the way, it's poll time! You, the reader, get to decide something very important! No, really, please help me. Choose between these eleven titles!
Because I've already narrowed it down from the original forty something.(And if you think that's bad, it was hell making all seventy-two combinations of Raine's name. And then choosing one) Anyway, it's your turn!
The Incandescent Shroud, The Flamboyant Enigma, The Dismal Wish, The Mellow Cipher, The Silent Note, The Nonexistent Ripple, The Skewed Perspective, The Stained Glass, The Awry Prospect, or The Crooked Outlook.
So, yes. Thoughts?
P.S. Your vote decides the path of a rather prominent sub-plot!