A Numb Paradox

Chapter I: Broken

"DAMMIT! Let me win at least once Roxanne!"

"Hell no Luna! Not only does it take skill to win, but wits as well!" Roxanne stated directly to her friend, Luna.

"WHAT WAS THAT!? Are you trying to say that I'm stupid?!"

"No, no. Yes, well I am a Slytherin, and you're not."

"Grrrr! You wanna get hurt?!"

"Go ahead!"

With that, her friend attempted to hit the other.

"Owww! That one kinda hurt."

"HA! Wait... Holy crap! It's 6:50p.m.! I was supposed to be home over half an hour ago!"

"Well get to it, i'll clean up here."

Roxanne's friend quickly got her things together and bolted out the door without a moment to spare. Roxanne watched out of her old, dusty window as her friend raced past the honking cars in the cold of night.

"Heh, gotta keep track of the time more often," Roxanne said to herself.

Luna's Home

"I'm so sorry dad! I PROMISE not to ever come home late again without telling you! You see, Roxanne and I lost track of time and-"

"Alright fine, that better be the last time young lady!"

With that, Luna dashed to her room, closed her door, and called Roxanne. After about three rings, Roxanne picked up the phone.

"Dude! You suck! I almost got in trouble!"

"Heh, not my fault you don't know how to tell time!"

"Shut it Hale!"

"Whatever..."

"I hear something in that voice of yours and it sure as hell isn't sarcasm or happiness. What's wrong?"

"I just wish I could, you know, escape the world. Live a different life. Society, economy, people, just everything sucks here! I hate it!"

"Ah, that's nice to hear, I thought I was the only one thinking about that." Luna reassured her friend.

"It's far worse in my life than you may think, Luna."

"I understand what you fe-"

"NO! YOU DON'T HOW IT FEELS! To wake everyday hoping, pleading something good, new will happen."

Luna stayed silent for a couple of seconds before responding. She could faintly hear on the other line crying.

"Roxanne, please don't beat yourself up over this. You know people all around the world have it far, FAR wor-"

"Shut up!"

"Roxanne, listen to me for once in your life!"

At that moment the line went dead.

"Dammit!"

Luna attempted to call her friend once again, but Roxanne wouldn't answer.

"Why won't you answer the goddamn phone! Maybe if i sneak out my window to calm her down. No, that won't work. Damn. Only time will tell."

With a sigh Luna threw herself on her bed. She was thinking, wondering what Roxanne would do to herself. She decided to continue to call her friend.

"Why won't she answer! Unless..."

Luna grabbed her small crimson jacket and opened her bedroom window.

"The things I'd do for that bastard..."

She crawled through window, landing on her rooftop.

"Don't look down. Don't look down. DON'T LOOK DOWN!" Luna whispered to herself a number of times, due to her fear of heights, "Gah!"

She made it to the bottom safe and sound, with some minor bruises and small cuts on her hands and legs.

"I've got to go see if she's alright!"

Luna sneaked her way around to the front of her house, strapped her helmet on and began her little journey to Roxanne's house. After a ten minute ride on her gray and dark blue skateboard, she had made it to Roxanne's house and began climbing up to her bedroom window. Luna began to knock on her window quietly, but her knocks became louder and louder as she became more and more frantic.

"Please still be alive. Please still be alive..."

Roxanne's Home

"Shit, sometimes i just wish that she would mind her own business."

Roxanne ignored her phone as it rang multiple times. After eight rings she decided to take the battery out of her phone.

"That'll do for now," Roxanne said as she looked at her black and silver clock on her blue nightstand, "8:13, a reasonable time to be asleep."

Roxanne climbed into bed and tried to fall asleep.

She awoke only moments after she fell unconscious into her own dreamscape to a soft pounding on her window.

"Whaaa, who's there?" Roxanne drowsily said.

She propped herself up on her elbows, and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She looked over toward the noise. The noise seemed to increase in volume, and startled the half-awake Roxanne. She got up from her bed and picked up her baseball bat beside her bed.

"I'm warning you! I'll hurt you if you don't leave now!"

Roxanne opened her curtains to find out Luna was the one invading her privacy.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Roxanne whispered as she opened her window.

"Well, considering you wouldn't pick up your damn phone, I thought you, um, killed yourself?"

"I'll give you to the count of four to explain yourself, one..."

"I already told you!"

"Two..."

"This was a big misunderstanding!"

"Three..."

Roxanne began to pat her baseball bat near the window maliciously.

"DON'T HURT ME!"

"Four!"

"AH!"

"Dude, I'm not going to hurt you..."

"Good, 'cause I thought..."

"...that much..."

"Your such a great friend, ya know!"

"That's why I always kick your ass in video games!"

"Shut up... my parents think i'm sleeping right now..."

"Wow! You're SUCH a bad girl!" Roxanne said as she used a bit of sarcasm in her tone.

"Ok, Roxanne, they'll hunt me down, kill me, skin me, bring me back to life and do it all over again!

"O...k..."

"They'll freaking disown me!"

At that exact moment, Luna crawled to the corner of Roxanne's room and began to sulk.

"Hell no! You are NOT doing that in my room!"

"B-but..."

"No is no Luna, or do I have to teach you the hard way with Mr. Bat?!"

"Noooooooo! Nice pajamas anyways..."

"The hell my pj- oh..."

Roxanne soon felt embarrassed by her breezy pajamas and immediately took a pillow to cover herself.

"You pervert!"

"Screw you! It's not like that Roxanne and you know it!"

"So you knock on my window in the middle of the night, break into my house..."

"Actually you let me in..."

"Shut up, you crawl to the corner of my room and you sneak a peek at me in pj's. If that doesn't sound like a pervert to you, then I wonder just what goes on in that thick head of yours!"

"I don't need a lesson on what a pervert is or what he/she does!"

"Go home Luna."

"But-!"

"Home. Now."

"No."

"What'd you say?"

"I said no Roxanne, if I leave, I'll take you with me!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"The hell is wrong with you! When you didn't pick up the damn phone when I called you about eighty times, you had me worried! I thought you killed yourself!"

"Why would I do that?! Why would you even care if I died or not!"

"Because you're not just a friend Roxanne! You're not a best friend either! You're like a sister to me! I can't- no I won't lose you!"

"...I-I never-"

"You never what Roxanne!? Spit it out!"

"I never thought you cared about me that way! I thought I was just some buzz kill, an annoyance in your perfect life!"

"My life isn't perfect!"

"Well, neither is mine!"

At that exact moment, Roxanne's bedroom floor began to glow brightly. Roxanne and Luna both lost consciousness.

Chapter II: A New Beginning

"Ugh, my head... it...hurts...Woah, where am I? Roxanne? Hey, wake up!"

Luna kicks Roxanne harshly on the lower back.

"I'm awake you dumbass!" Roxanne said harshly.

Roxanne quickly got up on her feet, swiftly and quietly.

"Roxanne... Where in the living hell are we?"

"How should I know! All I remember is the both of us yelling at each other... in my BEDROOM, not a damn forest..."

"Ugh, what did you do to me!"

"ME? Why me? I don't even know HOW we got here! Where is here anyway...?"

"Um, Roxanne, you sure you wanna walk in THAT?"

Luna pointed to Roxanne's ridiculous pajamas, but at the same time, Roxanne pointed at Luna's torn up attire.

"Ok, ok, we both need a change of clothes..."

"Luna, we are in the middle of a FOREST, where are we gonna get a change of- holy shit, LOOK BEHIND YOU!"

A giant black mass formed behind the unaware Luna, and engulfed her completely, from head to toe.

"LUNA!"

The black mass uncovered Luna, who was and looked completely different.

"Holy... Shit..."

"Woah! I feel different..."

"Dude, you look different!"

"Really? That's the first compliment i've heard from you all day...Watch out!"

"Wha-"

Roxanne was soon engulfed by the black mass also, but came out with new clothes and looked more mature.

"Now THAT is what I call badass Roxanne!"

"Thanks."

"But you look a bit older."

"You too, but how so?"

"Eh, about, a year older, I guess..."

"Same goes for you... weird..."

"Hello ladies."

"Who's there?!"

"No one really, are you getting used to your new bodies? How 'bout I give you something to test out your new... abilities?"

"What the hell are you talking about 'new abilities'?!"

"Well if you haven't noticed, the both of you aren't in reality any more."

"Wait, WHAT!?"

"Do I have to repeat myself, you aren't in reality anymore, you are currently located in 'The World of The Unknown'."

"'World of The Unknown 'my ass! I say we were knocked out and thrown into this forest for no reason!"

"You two have been sent here for a reason, to release this world from the reign of King Vladimir."

"Why us? Why not some other person or people?"

"I never said the both of you were alone."

"Wait, who else is here, on this world?"

"Recollecting data. Loading complete. These are the other people who have been teleported here: Catherine May, Rae, Rahh, Crystal, Jordan, Iris, Esmeralda, Goober, April, Shadow and Daniel."

"Holy crap, that's everyone!"

"Luna, did you notice Shadow got sent here too?"

When Roxanne said that, Luna immediately blushed at the name "Shadow".

"S-shut up Hale..."

"You two shouldn't stay out too late there are these creatures called 'Blood Scavengers' , they will kill anything that has a pulse, protect yourselves at night, do not be seen by Vladimir's knights or you will regret it..."

"Wait, what's your name? Before we walk off..."

"I have no name, I am merely an android... Android 9 to be exact... I am the only robot in existence that is able to have a mind of it's own, as if I could live but cannot."

"We can call you Nine, right?

"Name accepted. Nine is a reasonable name. I must be off now, for my creators will worry. Anything you need will be located southwest, at the end of this forest, there is a small village free of Vladimir's guards, they will help you in any way, weapons included."

"Thank you Nine!"

"You are very welcome. One concern, all of your friends are scattered within this forest..."

"What's so bad about them being a bit lost?"

"Luna..."

"Yes Roxanne?"

"The blood scavengers! Nine hasn't visited them yet to warn them!"

"Yes, The male looking one knows my concern."

"I have a name, ya know... It's Roxanne, Roxanne Hale."

"Lunaria Alkiron, at your service! Or Luna for short!"

"Luna and Roxanne, do not fail us, the people of Unknown are desperate for help, please do not fail us!"

"We'll try our best..."

"I, Lunaria Alkiron, promise to free you, the people of the World of The Unknown, from any and ALL vile, wretched rulers! May they have their tongue cut off for their lies!"

"Thank you, we gladly agree to stand behind the both of you, if needed. Farewell!"

"Bye Nine!"

"Yea, bye Nine..."

"You and your big-ass mouth Roxanne..."

"What! How the hell is this my fault!"

"Well, didn't you say you wanted to 'escape the world' and 'live a different life'? I'm not blaming you for anything, i'm just stating the obvious..."

"Shut up, you wanted it to!"

"I know."

"Then why pin it on me?"

"Cause it's fun!"

"Why you little-"

"Come on, if we don't get moving, our friends'll be dead meat before we reach 'em!"

"Your friends, not mine..."

"They like you!"

"I've stabbed Iris with a fork, pushed the twins Rae and Rahh into a pool, knocked Catherine May unconsciousness with a ladder, covered Goober in red paint, AND i've drugged April, Esmeralda, Jordan, and Crystal before..."

"If they're ever mean to you, i'll make sure they won't..."

Luna cracked her knuckles and neck.

"...personally."

Roxanne laughed a bit at Luna's last remark and began to walk with her through the forest, in hopes of finding their friends before the blood scavengers do.