"I told you it was a lake!" Tear giggled smugly. "I told you!"
"Ugh, yes, we know." Groaned Liuva. "And this is, what, the fifth time you've 'told us so'? So stop telling us so."
"I'm just saying- "
"Well stop just saying!" Liuva kicked a small piece of rubble, which quickly turned to dust a few feet away. "We get it, it's a lake. Frigging neat."
The group had stared in awe when they first arrived; beyond the portal within the Door was a vast beach, possibly miles long and wide, next to a deep lake. The sky was black like night, and twinkled with stars colored green and teal. Within the expanse of the beach sat structures which Yuuki noted seemed to have come from every known dimension; there were temples of Grandis, sky scrapers of Earth, mushroom houses of Maple World…each structure appeared to be decaying; crumbling into the very sand they walked upon. Beyond the sunken structures stood a great cliff in the distance, which seemed to dance and flicker with a light blue flame.
Quite some distance ahead of them sat the steady lights of what could only be called a town. An oasis of life and lights in the middle of a blue-white world of utter silence, save for a small wind whistling along the path the party walked. Each of the party members, admittedly, found it bizarrely creepy. But Yuuki also had to admit the place had a certain beauty to it; an almost eerie stillness that nothing in Maple World or Grandis or Earth could ever hope to have. Assuming they ever wanted to, that is.
"Well…" Yuuki started. "At least we won't run out of water, I guess."
"I don't know…" Hayato stopped walking and stared out over the lake. The water reflected a silvery-blue, almost like a moon was shining down upon it, but this place lacked any such heavenly body. "This water…it gives off a bad aura."
Aran stared out over the lake. "It gives me the creeps too. I vote we don't touch it…for now, at least."
Yuuki glanced wearily over the water. The stars reflected and shimmered in the lake's surface. The group pressed onward.
"What do you suppose this place is?" Asked Aran. "Are we in another world?"
"Perhaps…between worlds?" Asked Xenon. "That would explain the multiple structures from other worlds."
"Maybe this is like some kind of drain." Yuuki speculated. "Pieces of the worlds fell here or something, like the bottom of a tank in a filter."
"But then what caused the pieces to fall?" Asked Liuva. "And what was being 'filtered'?"
There was a small pause.
Tear shuddered. "All I know is that this place is weird. I haven't even heard Eskalade say anything recently…"
The group finally began to approach the village, which at this point was definitely looking like a village. They could even see figures; they were cloaked and hooded and of varying sizes, but definitely people...of some kind. All of them were facing towards the center of town, away from the group. Yuuki approached the nearest one.
"Um…hi!" The warrior started. "My name's Yuuki…can you tell us where we are?"
The figure said nothing, and did not react.
"E-excuse me? Sir? O-or ma'am?" Yuuki tapped the figure on the shoulder.
The tap elicited a reaction at last; the figure turned to face the group.
Tear gasped in shock and immediately latched onto Hayato in a vice-like grip. The samurai at first started to shoo away the annoying Nova girl, but stopped his efforts when he saw the figure's features- or lack thereof.
It had no face. Where a face should have been was a solid blue…something, clouded with streaks of white that formed patterns like clouds. It was like looking into a slab of lapis lazuli.
"You…" The figure seemed to wail in a voice that sounded like a loud whispering. "…it is you…"
Several more figures turned around. Each possessed the same crystal-like face the first had, though they all came in different shapes and sizes. All of them faced towards Yuuki.
"Why…are you here…again…?" One whispered.
"You are…him…" Another wailed. "No…you are like him…"
"Memories…all gone…" A third's voice was carried on the wind.
"Okay…" Liuva stepped back slightly. "I'm officially creeped out now."
"Wh…what are they?" Tear asked, shaking a bit. "Are they…people?"
"My optical sensors are receiving strange readings." Xenon said, as he processed the information. "I cannot determine their species."
"What do they want with Yuuki, then?" Aran held her arm slightly behind her, readying to draw Maha if needed.
The warrior in question gulped, but held firm.
"We're…we are explorers from Maple World…can you help us?"
The whispering throughout the crowd continued, but none of the figures answered the question.
Finally, one of the figures walked through the crowd. He seemed to almost glide on a trail of the blue sand, thanks to his cloak, but the gentle crunch of sand beneath feet could be heard. The new figure stopped directly in front of the party; it seemed to look them over slightly before turning to the crowd and raising a hand.
"He is not him. You will get nowhere crowding these people like this. Return to your duties." He spoke in a clear voice, unlike the whispers of the group. It seemed significantly more human; distinctly male, adult, and wise.
The crowd's whispers spiked, then dropped off. Slowly and as if without purpose or reason, the figures drifted back to their original positions and activities.
The remaining figure- the one who had spoken up- turned to the group of explorers and gave an eyeless stare. The party stared back, their expressions varying.
"Would you consider it rude…" Hayato said, with a hardened gaze on his face. "…if we were to ask your name?"
The figure didn't seem surprised, if the party could even read his emotions. Yuuki could almost imagine the expression he was making plastered on his…face, the warrior supposed it was.
"You must have many questions." The figure seemed close his nonexistent eyes. "And I have so few answers to give."
The imaginary eyes opened. "I am…Legato. I am the chief of this town."
"Well…thank you for allowing us to enter your town." Said Aran, who had relaxed out of her battle stance. "What is this place called, then?"
"'Called'?" The figure now known as Legato seemed almost wistful. "You mean…a name? I do not know it, no one does."
"How does no one know the name of this place?" Asked Hayato, incredulously.
"Perhaps we forgot…" Legato mused. "Perhaps it never had one to begin with." He straightened slightly. "You all should come with me…there is something I must show you."
He faced Yuuki. "And someone you must speak with."
