It was just one of those mornings I woke up to and thought, Yep, it's going to be a bad day. The reason why I had thought that was because it was raining heavily and noisily outside. What a fun thing to wake up to! Grogginess doesn't help much, either!
Those two are usually a precursor for a bad day, especially (but not always) on a school day. Today was a weekend. Either way, it was going to be a bad day, unless I did something like get on the computer or play a video game.
Play a video game
That thought ran across my mind a few times before I decided to get out of bed, and walked over to the kitchen to get something to eat.
And normally something to eat is a Poptart or whatever the hell I can get my hands on. Anything as long as it's filling and edible is good.
My twin sister had already eaten and gotten on the computer, which was already obvious as I looked over a bunch of piled-up crap on a large table to see her wrapped in a blanket and surfing the web for downloadable games and certain program models. I have no clue what that sounds like, but I assure you she is one of the nicest and outgoing people you'll meet. If you're not an asshole, that is.
Otherwise you'll have someone to answer to, that's what!
So threats aside, I started eating a poptart and wondered what game to play. I had a bunch I needed to catch up on, and I honestly wanted to play them all. But I could only play so much in so little time, so I had to choose one.
And being in a certain mood any day of the week often means that I'll probably only feel like playing a certain game. Today I felt like playing Tales of the Abyss. A good game, but I hadn't gotten very far yet... (goodness I'm not past Choral Castle, yet! And yet I've so many spoilers!)
All the more reason to play it, other than it being one of my favorites.
So after finishing my breakfast, I put the other poptart in a plastic bag, threw the wrapper away, and went to ask my dad for permission to play on the PS2. I don't really need permission to do everything, just for certain game consoles my sisters and I share, going outside alone, going downstairs, or using my desktop computer. I think my parents have an incentive to know where we are, because they're kind of chickens but good parents... For the most part.
After that, I walked over to the basement door, opened it, turned on the lights so I could actually see and not trip and break something, turned on more lights as I descended the steps, walked past a bookshelf and a sink that was originally meant for basement living, turned on the actual lights for the basement, then went back to said sink to wash my hands.
...? Oh, is there something wrong with this? I didn't notice.
So after wiping my hands off and throwing the paper towel away, I walked over to the couch on the other side of the basement and turned the TV on, put the game into the PS2, then turned it on. I then sat down on the cream-and-other-little-bits-of-color couch, grabbed the game controller, and waited for it to load.
It wasn't common for me to start playing a game first thing in the morning, usually I'd wait a bit before doing something like that. But today I'd just had enough of being behind! The last time I remember playing, my sweet adorable twin sister got ahead of me again, and today I aimed to get past the point she was at! Today would be the day that Ellie Honda would get farther ahead than her sister, and I'm gonna be laughing when I do!
And it's going to be like this: HA Ha ha ha ha! Finally! One point for me, none for-
I was snapped out of my thoughts as lightning flashed outside the window and thunder immediately followed.
that was way too close I should leave
And then to my joy, just one second after that, the power went out. I groaned in annoyance, as the theme song had just started to play and that was one of the best parts of the game! The opening played every time you played it, unlike in Kingdom Hearts which would only play it when you started a new-
Then I stopped. I was really confused, and not to mention possibly about to scream.
Why? The power was off. The TV should have been turned off, too.
But it was still on and flickering.
I gulped as I processed that. There could be many explanations for that: Mom had attached a back-up battery of some sort, but I think they only made those for computers; the wiring was fucked up, but that was impossible, wasn't it?
But if the above were true, then the TV shouldn't be frozen like a computer screen when it has too much to handle, and just stops working for a second.
The screen flickered, and then a message popped up that read,
"PArDON uS, BUT IT SEEMS THAT YOU ARE EXPERIEnCING SOME TECHNICaL DIFFICULTIES. wE aPOLOGIZE FOR THIS INCONVENIENCE."
Another message popped up under it, and it read,
"WOULD yOU LIKE TO FIX THE PROBLEM?"
Yay, button-mashing time! I quickly mashed the button that would hopefully mean yes, and the messages disappeared. I frowned as the next message came up.
"Stop your futile button-mashing. Since you do not seem to be very smart, press the circle button for yes, x-button for no."
This time it wasn't typed out weirdly which I was thankful for, and pressed the circle button. The message disappeared, and another one popped up, this time reading the message I was glad to see:
"Please wait a moment, this shall take a while."
Since it would take a while, my mind wandered off to other things. I guess my sister hadn't known I was down here and was looking for me upstairs, as she hadn't come down yet. But Dad should have been down here, he knew where I was... Unless he forgot somehow, which I shouldn't be surprised about, but still am.
Actually, I hadn't remembered hearing any frantic footsteps since the power went out. They should have noticed something so obvious. I decided to go upstairs just to find out what was going on. As far as I knew, this wasn't normal. Just as I had gotten up and turned around to leave, there was another flash of lightning and thunder.
And everything went black.
-
... ... ...-oh. I'm awake. Okay. How long has it been since I've been asleep? I don't know, a few hours maybe. I need to get u-NYEH
I quickly rolled away with all the strength that I had as someone touched my shoulder. I groggily sat up after that, and rubbed my eyes to try and wake up. It didn't work as usual, but I could still see, so I looked around-
Oh. Shit. Everything's white.
I quickly got up as I processed that, and wiped myself off. A small 'ahem' got my attention and I turned to face whoever it was that-
hey people a person someone I can talk to and spill information out of
A person, probably a bit shorter than me, was standing a few feet away, wearing a white and darkish blue ankle-length and yellow-trimmed cloak with the hood obscuring their face, a broach with wings of some sort at the collar (?) of said hood, a white long-collared shirt underneath that, hopefully some pants, and dark brown boots with black laces.
"Are you alright?" Good grief, I probably just gave the impression that I was checking him out and the first thing he asks is if I'm alright? Well, I did just come out of nowhere and nearly freaked out, so it's not too odd. Hopefully.
"Um... I think so? Not sure on the mental damage, yet." I can guess it won't be good. The cloaked person didn't say anything, so I looked around.
So like I said, this place was fricking blindingly white, kind of like limbo of purgatory is supposed to be. There were also some odd runes floating around, some actively avoiding each other, or others forming long sentences. And there didn't seem to be any way that I was actually standing on ground, and there was no way to tell which way I was actually standing. No, not even 'gravity' helped as it seemed to fling every which way if the way the runes were floating any indication. I turned back to the cloaked person and said,
"Actually, I think I might be hallucinating or dreaming. There's no way this place is real." I was then greeted by hand glowing wait what-
I immediately pulled away as the glowing ended, and the cloaked person said this:
"I don't detect signs of hallucinating or dreaming. You're awake and actually seeing this."
Beat.
Process.
Scream?
Scream, scream
And so I calmly put my sleeves over my hands, shoved them to my mouth and screamed not so calmly. As soon as I was done I said, "Are you freaking kiddin' me?! This is real?! There's no way, no way-" and then stopped due to lack of oxygen. As soon as I had oxygen back in my lungs I finished with "-absolutely no way at all!"
As I finished breathing deeply and regained normal breathing patterns, cloaked person uncovered their ears and calmly said "Please don't scream. I know this is frightening, but I can get you home. There are many portals around here, and without a guide you could end up in the wrong place, time, or both. Since-"
"-You know what you're doing and you can help me out, yes? Sorry 'bout interrupting you there, but I could already tell that was coming." I shrugged and stuffed my hands in my jacket pockets. darn it they're not big enough for my hands
Cloak Person took a second to answer. "Mmm, yes. I can. I can even get you to the same exact point you left, too."
"Really?" I asked, hopeful.
"Yes." Cloak Person nodded-wait a second.
"Wait a second. Do you have a name?" Might as well get this out of the way before I accidentally piss him off. Actually I may already have, but since I can't see his face, I don't know.
"... A name? You may call me Keeper of Subspace if you wish." He said, lifting his head a bit to look at me-I think.
"Hmm, okay! Keeper it is then! Oh, before I forget-geez, this is already rude-my name is Ellie Honda! It's nice to meet you!" I gave a small smile because one of my huge face-breaking smiles would be creepy, and he just nodded.
"Okay... Ellie. Let's be on our way then."
"Alright, let's go!" At least, that's how I wanted to end the sentence, but it came out more like,
"Alright, let's goooaaaahhh!" Why? Because one of Bugs Bunny's rabbit holes opened up beneath me and I fell through. Not fun. Especially when falling in backwards.
Right before I blacked out I noticed that Keeper had tried to grab my hand but failed, and probably tried to shout something as I fell down too far for him to reach.
Poor kid. I wish I didn't have to scare him like that.
... ... ...-oh. I'm awake. Okay. What a weird dream... I wonder how long I've been asleep? Who knows, maybe it's been hours. Yeah, I'm just going to roll over now and HHHHHHFFFFFF what the fuck!
I breathed in sharply and stupidly gripped at the pain. I say stupidly because when I gripped it the pain got a bit worse, so I drew my hand back a bit.
Well, at least it's my left shoulder instead of my right. I need my right for drawing and stuff. And whatever else will be needed. But it's still bad. As in painful.
I sat up so I could inspect the damage. Guess what? Didn't help much as my shoulder is right next to my head, and therefore it's gonna be hard but not impossible to look at since I don't have a very stretchy neck like one of those Japanese monsters I read about in a comic once. Actually, having a stretchy neck wouldn't be bad right now.
Surprisingly enough, there were some bandages wrapped around my left shoulder-and soon realized it was also wrapped above my chest and ended under my right shoulder. It took me a second to process that someone had to take my shirt off to actually do this, and then realized I was wearing a shirt which wasn't mine. It would look totally normal were it not for the large neck on said shirt. Luckily it was only revealing my shoulders-I guess because of my injury-but that didn't mean I wasn't uncomfortable in said shirt, dammit. I didn't wear shirts like this so it was kind of embarrassing. Cue pulling blankets over open-and-seeable shoulders.
Now that I think about it, where am I? I looked around the room, and noted that I was on a bed, there was a fireplace a few feet away, far enough to not catch the bed on fire but close enough for warmth if needed. I turned my head and looked around the rest of the room, and it vaguely reminded me of my own room. There was a desk and chair near a window, a small bookcase by the door, a night table near the bed (ok I just noticed that be quiet) and a small rug on the floor. Not a perfect match, but oh well. It still looks like a bedroom.
You know, honestly I'm somewhat used to waking up in other places. I usually fall asleep on the bus every morning and wake up when the school building's going to be near, usually to get more sleep. Sometimes my mood depends on that alone, and a bunch of kids who get off the bus seem to be accustomed to poking me awake and dammit I'm awake I know you care or some shit but I can wake up on my own just buzz off why don'cha?!
...Well, it's not an unfamiliar place per se, but I hope it got the point across.
Just then the door opened, and guess who it was that came in? I'll give you three hints: wears green and something that looks like a dress, and is often mistaken by first-time players as female.
Give up? It was none other than Fon Master Ion.
...holy shit should I bow or something I mean I am in the presence of someone of great authority and I think basically a world leader
"Oh, you're awake! Are you alright?" He asked. I blinked, and nodded.
"...I think so. But what happened to my shoulder, exactly?" I asked, pointing to it. gaaaaaah must resist urge to scream must resiiiiist!
Ion walked into the room after closing the door a bit, but not shutting it all the way. "It was cut deeply. I had the healers take care of it, so you should be okay now. Does it still hurt?" He gave a concerned look.
"Unfortunately, yes it still hurts. But I'll be fine, it's n-not like I haven't been in pain before. You're not going to call in another healer, are you? Seriously, I can handle a bit of pain-ow!" As I was turning around, my shoulder started hurting again. Shit shit shit
"Are you sure about that?" He gave me a concerned look, and I nodded. Curse my low pain-tolerance!
"Yes, I am sure! If I can't handle it then... Um... I'll get help, I guess? Hey, where am I, by the way?" Yeah, I really should ask that question. I think I am where I think I am, but then I may be not.
"You're in Daath Cathedral." Well, suspicions confirmed. Now what?
"Ah, okay. I thought so. So you are...?" Good grief, I already know that! ...unless I'm in the wrong time of the story.
"I'm Fon Master Ion. Could you tell me what your name is?" Well, he's actually Ion, so I'm not here after the events of the game... Now, am I actually where I think I am, or am I here before the events of the game?
"I'm Ellie Honda. It's nice to meet you, Ion!" Smile smile smile, gotta look authentic. Or something.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Ellie." He smiled after saying that. Then the door opened a bit again, and someone's head poked in.
"Hey, Ion. Are you done yet? It's kind of late so we should be turning in." Guess what? It was none other than Anise herself! Good grief how many other characters will I meet/see today? And did she say it was late? Shit!
"Almost. Could you wait a little longer?" Ion asked, turning towards the young girl. Anise gave me a look before drawing back and leaving the door open by one inch. Ion turned back to face me.
"Is there anything else you'd like to ask?" Oh hey this is my chance! I quickly nodded.
"Yeah, um, I don't have a place to stay, actually, so... It wouldn't be too much to ask if I could stay here for a while, is it?"
Ion shook his head. "No, it's alright. We're taking people in all of the time."
"Oh, really? Okay then. Um... Is it okay if I could work here, or something? If it's okay with you or something, that is." Ion blinked, and apparently seemed to actually consider it.
"I'm not sure if we have a job position available now, but I'll see if there's anything in the upcoming week." He said, not faltering in the least.
"Ah, ok then." I nodded.
"I think it might be best to wait until after your shoulder's healed, first, and I'll see what I can do." Ion said, smiling... I had no idea what kind of emotion he's showing, okay?
Ion left after that, and I flopped back down on the bed. Honestly, I had no idea how I was able to keep calm through all that. Actually, I think now would be a good time to scream into my pillow...
But that doesn't actually help, so no. Just breathe deeply and you'll be fine. I think.
...
...
... Oh, darn. Now that I think about it, there are a lot more questions I didn't get to ask. Such as, who carried me here? What day is it? How long was I out? And just what kind of job did Ion have in mind? Well, he said everything would be taken care of after my shoulder was fully healed. So does this mean no pacing? Yeah I think it means no pacing unless you want your shoulder to hurt more and slow down the healing process.
But for now, I guess I should go to sleep. ...too bad there's no radio. That would be nice to listen to right now. But I'm going to have to put up crackly fire noises and just pray that nothing in the room catches fire.
...shit, I really hope nothing in here catches fire, that would be bad...
And then it probably took me another hour or so to actually get to sleep. Great.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There will be more of course, whether you liked it or not.
I'd like to thank T-chan and Sylph for helping me with this! Otherwise it probably wouldn't be convincing because I forget such details.
Now to write the next chapter…