First thing that Loke noticed was the bad smell.
It was horrible. It was by god the worst thing he had ever smelled and it was particularly hard on him because his senses were stronger those than humans and it could be said that they were on par with a Dragon Slayer's.
There were tall buildings everywhere and it reminded him of the city that held the Grand Magic Games but it was nowhere near beautiful and there was hardly any greenery. Anywhere. Seriously, he looked around and all he could find were pathetic, barely there, little patches of brown-green weeds. It was like Zeref went on an anti-plant rampage or something or maybe Natsu burn the shit out the place. There was a church though…
What he had the discovered afterwards had truly devastated him. He tried to go back home, his home among the stars and other celestial beings like him but he couldn't. Loke couldn't close his gate to get home and it was like the whole Karen incident all over again and he could honestly say that he started to cry. He tried over and over again to get back but each time he pain erupted everywhere on his body. Something was preventing him from going home and he didn't know what.
He could tell he wouldn't get anywhere soon that was unless he died and that could take a better part of three years give or take. He could still use his magic surprisingly enough. He had expected it to be like Edolas and have to take pill in order to use magic because he could clearly tell there was no magic here whatsoever. There was something else that he sensed and it felt like there was something flowing beneath him, and it encompassed his senses sometimes. Honestly, he thought it felt like it was something alive, but he couldn't really put his head on it.
The people here seemed oblivious to their surroundings and they just reeked of fear, misery, desperation, anger and lust. It made him shiver at what he felt because this place was nothing like Magnolia. It was nothing like Earthland at all. Here in this place, it was just depressing.
He hated what he saw. There were children wandering about here and there. They had no business to be in shady corners of an alley. If there were guilds then they would be welcomed there instead with a warm bed and meal (at least that's what they did at Fairy Tail). Homeless people littered the streets sometimes and people passed right by the children like they couldn't see them. Maybe they couldn't see them because their faces were stuck in those ridiculous little phones. That or they noticed them and just didn't give a damn. There were some instances where he saw shady characters doing stuff that he knew was illegal everywhere. There almost seemed to be no form of order and control.
When he had started to walk around people gave him a wide berth. They avoided him like the plague and heard hisses of 'Turk!' He didn't know what the hell that was but it was obviously something bad because he kept getting looks of anger and fear with the occasional look of awe. He soon found out what happened though. For his sake though he changed into something less noticeable. He now donned black cargo pants, black boots, and a black tank top. Around his neck was his key on a chain (for some reason he had that in his hand, when Lucy was the who should have had it).
From what he learned from eavesdropping and a little investigation was that there was a major battle that occurred in the city just a little over two years ago. A person named Sephiroth had come back from the dead just two years after being killed by what the people called their savior, Cloud Strife. Honestly he lost count how many time the dude had come back from the dead. He knew the guy went on a rampage in Nilbeheim. Cloud had killed him with the help of a few friends. The second time he came back was when a group of teenagers that looked like the General's long estranged brothers had tried to revive him with something called reunion. He didn't know too much though. The public was kind of kept in the dark by Shinra. That was a time when the population was going through a crisis.
There was a disease called Geostigma that was killing more than half of the population. There had been no known cure, that was until the magical rain or whatever the hell it was came and cured them. They said it had been the Planet or the Lifestream.
Anyway Sephiroth had come back using his brother as a puppet and then Cloud had fought him in the city (which caused some MAJOR destruction. cough~Natsu~cough). And then Sephiroth had come back a third time (fourth?) but this time it was not by his own right or evil diabolical plan. This time he came back with the help of the Lifestream.
General Sephiroth wasn't the only one who came back though. From what he knew the Shinra Trio was back and kicking along with a few others he dind't know about. Currently they were located within Shinra. That was all he knew and from what he guessed it was safety. Safety from the population or for the safety he didn't know.
The people were majorly pissed that's for sure and they were calling for blood. Some said though it was a second chance for them granted by some divine right (It was the elderly saying this but they were dismissed as insane). They were perfectly sane. At least that was what the rumors were.
It has been almost half a year since he came here to this dimension (or was it universe?). He could feel the way his life was slipping away and it was really painful and it seemed to be at a lower rate than when he was in Earthland, which he didn't weather it was good or just plain cruel. His magic, strangely enough, seemed to replenish much faster though. He didn't know why and he guessed it was because of the weird feeling the earth gave.
He couldn't contact his home and he often wondered what was happening back home. Were they trying to find him? Were they worried about him? Did they think he was dead? What about the Celestial spirits? Were they fine without his leadership? Was Lucy safe?
He missed home. He missed his friends. He missed his guild. He missed being among the stars.
Right now though he needed to settle in here until he could find a way back home. That planned involved Shinra though. He couldn't survive here with the skills he had, unless he wanted to whore himself out (which he didn't). That and it was kind of boring and he didn't want to be idle. Besides, from what he knew that wasn't really safe here. The public might is still recovering from the attack of Geostigma and from the general damage of the city (which Shinra was trying to fix and reconstruct).
Loke had a plan. Join Shinra. Dig around a bit to see if there was a way home. Get himself a temporary home. Hopefully he'll find a way home before three years.