Background: Yes, this is a strange fourth installment in the Sins universe, taking place immediately after Descendants of the Mundane... although I wouldn't consider it as a real part of the trilogy (ignoring the fact that it would not be a trilogy if I included this, of course) itself; it's more of a very... odd offshoot. I blame Yoko Kanno's "Strangers" (from Wolf's Rain) for this ever actually starting. I mean, the muses were telling me to do this for some time now, but... that was the straw that beat the crap out of the poor camel. The camel's name is Bruce, by the way. Anyway, this was... a weird idea. But I just had to do it. I don't know why, I just did.
As for WARNINGS: uh... sex, sexuality, violence, and a lot of general oddities. No distinction made between "'types' of sexuality" or individual moralities... and overall just a strange sense of humor that not everyone can appreciate. If you've read The Sins of Two Fathers, Retribution Nor Redemption, or Descendants of the Mundane, then you'll know what to expect. If not... then... uh... don't judge the rest of them by this. Heh.
Fool's Journey
Chapter 2
By Orin Drake
There was a long silence
that she didn't want... wasn't interested in pursuing... but it seemed
impossible to break. A million destructive thoughts were filling
her head, each one more empty and horrible than the next. It was
an anguishing cycle that kept getting harder and harder to break...
Every person she had ever known in her lifetime was flashing through
her thoughts, every experience and story she'd been told by everyone, every
last interaction she could remember--
"I have to get going."
Leon stated, looking down at her.
When had he stood up..?
No, she knew she'd been lost in a collapsing tower of waking nightmares.
And she was quite grateful for being broken out of them. She'd heard
him speak, but the words didn't even knock at her conscious mind.
Not that it mattered--all she had to do was stand and walk after him, out
of the room. Following down the hall, she took note of the building
being a hotel. Well... that was interesting. A turn into the
last room down the hall, and she was somewhat surprised to see another
person there.
Leon took the initiative--mostly
so the ninja wouldn't run off at the mouth and wind up embarrassing all
of them. "Yuffie, this is Kyrie. Kyrie, this is Yuffie."
Done speaking regardless of who might argue, he stepped into the corner
and retrieved his gunblade.
Kyrie took a moment to stare
at the weapon. It was... similar to her dad's Leonhart... but extremely
different, at the same time. She could feel the back of her throat
burning, and knew the subject needed to be buried. She pressed it
all away as best as she could, trying the same polite, easy smile she used
for dignitaries. "Hello, Yuffie."
"Hello!" the girl responded
instantly, pleased to be noticed by anyone other than Cold Fish Leon.
"I, uh... hope you're doing better."
Sincere, enough... though
not quite the sentiment she was hoping for. "Well, my headache's
gone."
That was unexpected.
The perky, scantily clad ninja paused for a moment, not quite sure of what
to say--until she noticed the laughter in Leon's eyes. He knew something
that she didn't... and that wasn't fair. "Well, I... I'm glad to
hear it."
Seeing a person that finally
took the perk out of Yuffie due to utter confusion was greatly satisfying.
Regardless, the male gunblader did have things to do. "Show her around,
okay?"
Yuffie turned to him with
hands on her hips as if she always spoke to him that way. "Afraid
I've got things to do, Leon. Things you gave me to
do."
Oh. Right. Well
then. "Can you take her?"
The glare answered enough...
but that didn't stop her from filling out her response verbally.
"I don't think she'd be thrilled with trudging along with me in the waterways.
Would you?"
Oh, to be asked. Everyone
Kyrie knew, knew better than to ask her--she'd always choose the best option
to bust someone's balls. She didn't bother letting that thought travel
further into the realm of bleak memory--she let a grin through instead.
"No. Thrill would not be a part of that."
Yuffie turned back to the
sighing brunette as he rolled his eyes, giving her own "Well, see?"
look. "You two seriously need to bond, anyway. Since he's the
one that dressed you and all."
The room was encompassed
in silence. A rather stupid variety coming from Kyrie's direction...
and a horribly embarrassed one from Leon's corner. She didn't quite
know what was meant by... the entire sentence until... she glanced down
and realized... she wasn't wearing her own clothes. Eyes widening
with comprehension, remembering the last place (and lack of clothes) she'd
been before she'd "woken" in this world... the only thing she could do...
was laugh.
Leon turned to hide his
blush-stained cheeks. This was just... too weird. For too many
reasons to fathom. Not that he thought the new girl among them could
possibly find the situation any less weird; she just had a funny way of
showing it. Or had learned a different defense mechanism entirely.
Yuffie, however, had not
recovered from her own words. She wasn't normally the sort to be
at all apologetic for anything she'd ever said... but this one was a little
different. One hand had stopped mid-way to cover her mouth... but
seemed to have discovered that there was no way it could cover the gaping
maw as her jaw floated just above the floor.
And still the newcomer laughed.
Doubled over, she found it harder to breathe than it had been in some time.
She gave herself several minutes to calm down, gather her sense, and stand
upright before she was able to speak again... and she made sure she was
catching those still-embarrassed blue eyes. "Don't think you get
to peek for free. I'm tagging along with you."
Was it that simple?
Were things really that easy? And why did he find himself completely
able to meet her eyes? Not important--he took a motionless moment
to compose himself. "I have to go see... a friend of mine.
And I'd rather not leave you alone here."
Impressively evasive comeback,
she had to admit. "Is that an invitation?"
The harshness was right
back in front again, as if it'd never been cracked in the first place.
"If that's how you'd like to take it."
Hyne. No wonder Squall's
nicknames included Shiva and Cold-Hearted Pretty-Boy Bastard. That
last one was probably Seifer's alone... and plenty enough to keep a closely-held
bounce in her step as she followed him--leaving a still gaping ninja behind.
There was a great deal of
absolute silence as she followed his military pace, trying to keep up as
she took in all of the sights. They seemed to be in a quaint little
village, full of shops and interesting places... but not very populated.
If at all. Up some stairs and through a set of wooden gates were
more wonders, but still lacking... life. She simply had to ask.
"Where is everyone?"
He kept walking... somewhat
amazing himself that he didn't trip as he reflected quickly on her words.
"Gone."
This one would be a challenge,
alright. "Where did they go, Scarboy?" That last word
had very much slipped past her defenses--and really, she hadn't even been
thinking about it. Once in a while, that was what Seifer used to
call him in his smartassed way...
That much did cause him
to pause and glance back. For a moment, just the flicker of a second,
there was almost a look of violence in his eyes... but it passed.
It wasn't her fault. She hadn't done... anything. It was, not,
her fault. Sometimes he just needed to repeat that to himself, over
and over. He noticed the motion of her throat as she swallowed, having
viewed his reaction all too clearly... and he felt awful about it.
"Most of them are dead."
She blinked, having even
forgotten the question she'd asked before she'd been on the receiving end
of that shard of searing ice. It wasn't as though she had never been
aware of her dad's power... but that look was certainly enough to drop
a T-Rexaur at thirty paces. She didn't suppose there was much more
to ask, let alone to say... so she was silent the rest of the way to the
gates of the town itself.
Until they opened upon the
strangest vehicle she'd ever seen. It was like a big block of...
blocks. Brightly colored and very surreal, even given the situation.
"And we're going..?"
"To another world."
He answered promptly.
Well, she just had to ask,
didn't she? Quietly, she followed his lead, stepping into the cockpit
that opened at the touch of his fingers. It was small, but comfortable.
"Very Ragnarok." She commented, mostly to herself, sitting in the
copilot's position.
The glance was subtle, but
there. Universes really weren't that different... so he wondered,
sealing
the door and initiating the engine sequence... "What happened to
Zell?"
Not a question she had any
desire to answer... but somehow it wasn't one that caught her off-guard.
"It wasn't pretty."
He left it at that.
Not a need to hear much more. He found himself more careful about
avoiding eye contact than he hoped to be... but it seemed she was too mesmerized
by the astoundingly trippy visuals outside the ship. Just, too...
weird.
And then she noticed something
moving. "What's that?"
"A Heartless ship."
He left the explanation simplified. She'd pick up on it, eventually.
"I'll try to avoid it."
"Are there weapons on this...
thing?" she couldn't quite avoid the most obvious curiosity.
With that, a panel was pressed
and a whole other set of controls came forward. Cold-Hearted Leon
he was... but pride was a part of that.
The very suggested edge
of a cocky grin actually set her at complete ease. She sat back in
her seat and watched the show as they flew past odd configurations of blocky
figures, occasionally opening fire on a ship or two. Were she in
a completely sane state of mind, she just might question his motives...
but as it was, all she could fathom was to bear witness rather than act.
Perhaps she'd "acted" enough earlier... hopefully she wouldn't be charged
for that room...
The end of their journey
found a... very odd... rock. No, not a rock, exactly... but
not a planet, either... Some... very strange... "other thing" that
she somehow intuned represented another world. It was like a dream
image when she tried to focus on it, it wouldn't come... but if she just
glanced at it, it became perfectly clear. Until the moment she tried
to make some sense out of it, anyway.
And then... they were suddenly
on solid ground. Just like that. A snap of fingers, a blinked
they were somewhere else. She looked curiously at her guide, hoping
he had any logical explanation.
He shook his head.
"The science of it is too far beyond me."
That was a shame... but
perhaps a better thing. Keeping her mind on a mystery... keeping
it running elsewhere for a while... She turned and followed him toward
an immensely huge building, statues of warriors and pillars to either side;
certainly enough to draw her attention from everything else. It looked
like... a coliseum. Not that she'd ever seen more than artist's renderings,
and the warrior garb was quite different from anything she'd ever seen,
but... wondering exactly who the hell Squa--Leon had to visit occupied
her.
"You should wait here."
He announced at the steps.
A great thought and all,
but... "That doesn't really mean I'll take your suggestion."
He supposed that he knew
that already. Turning without another word, he merely expected her
to follow.
And she did so, silently,
keeping in all of the little, seemingly useless and child-like questions
about the building, its purpose, who the scary little beast in the
corner was that only glanced at them as they walked by--stepping straight
into the fighting arena itself. Well, that was one question answered;
this was definitely a battleground. As for how serious things got...
she imagined perhaps she may not want to ask about that.
There was a figure just
inside, on the edge, though. That was easy enough to make out.
A figure in red and black with a shock of blon--
Her eyes widened at the
vision before her. It was... sort of Cloud. Well, it certainly
did look like him... but that expression on his face... a hardness in his
eyes that she never could have imagined. She knew there was unimaginable
fire beneath his calm, knew mental barriers erected just to keep himself
from thinking too much on the past had been established a long time ago,
but... this one... The Cloud she suddenly faced, even from her distance,
was just... beaten all to Hell. Mentally, emotionally, and physically.
It was... quite heart-wrenching to look upon, let alone be in the living
presence of.
Who was that girl, walking
with Leon toward him...and why was she looking at him like that, he wondered.
He knew he'd never seen her before, though her gaze did hold a familiar
quality. The thought of it made the hair on his neck prickle--not
that anyone would have noticed. Certainly not that he'd admit to.
Turning from her (regardless of his mind screaming that he should pay more
attention), he greeted with a low, quiet tone. "Leon."
The brunette nodded--formalities
over. "Is everything set?"
"As much as possible."
Cloud responded in a way that could make Squall's cold freeze even harder.
Kyrie watched, feeling far
more distant than she was. Things between them were... at such a
disturbing polar opposite than those same figures in her own world.
She wanted to know so much about it... and that curiosity was more than
likely to get her into even more trouble in a universe that she did not
belong within. They said a few more things to one another, in flat
voices and strained eye contact, but she wasn't paying attention to that
much. Her mind was wandering back to her general situation, regardless
of how much she didn't care for it to do so.
She did, however, catch
Cloud's last comment, "Absolutely insane. And dangerous."
"Sounds like Sephiroth."
She whispered to herself. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't realized
just how good the blonde's hearing was.
His eyes raged.
There was nothing left but that terrifying anger in them--not thought,
not passion. All that existed was that name that she had whispered
so knowingly. Only rage.
She'd never suspected him
of that kind of speed. And certainly not to use that kind of force
as he thrust her against a pillar on the edge of the fighting circle.
Bad memories for her, to say the least--only this time she couldn't breathe
for multiple reasons. There was the flash of a moment when she thought
a rib or two may be broken, if not the shoulder blades pressing against
stone crumbling behind her from the impact.
"Cloud!" she heard Leon
by some miracle, coming through the blood pounding in her ears in the too-short
moment before the pain hit.
Even louder, however, were
the screamed demands from the blonde as he grasped a first hold of her
throat. "How do you know his name?"
Well. What an idiot
she'd been for speaking. Not that those thoughts were the clearest
in her mind; it was more in a whirl from wondering if she ought to fight
him off or not.
"How do you know his
name!" he demanded again with barely a pause from the last time he'd
asked, using both hands to shake her by the collar.
Neck released and allowed
breath, she took what she could to respond--there was no doubt in her mind
that if she chose to remain silent, things would be broken in a rather
permanent way. "Let go of me, Cloud." She kept her voice as
calm as her exterior--hoping more than almost anything she could remember
that he would prove to be very much like the Cloud Strife she knew.
"And how do you know mine?"
he hissed quietly, but full of poison. His grip lessened only slightly,
not at all ready or willing to release her.
"I said, let go of me."
Who he reminded her of was no longer of any relevance; her tone held more
venom than his voice could ever imagine. Again she was calm, almost
gentle... but she was clearly not going to ask again.
He pondered that idea for
a moment, knowing full well that he was one of the greatest fighters in
all the worlds that remained... but maybe... looking into her eyes, it
didn't seem like he should be challenging her in the current situation.
Carefully, his grip wavered until she slipped quite casually from his fingers,
sliding down until she was sitting where she had been released rather than
running or making a move against him. Well... that was... interesting.
"How do you know his name?" he tried again, dangerously quiet.
There was no reason not
to be honest... but she would be very broad in description. "I knew...
a version of him." She paused, thinking her statement over.
"That is, I knew... uh... well, see, he was sort of in my head a while
after he kidnapped... but then I had his blood because..." she trailed
off, recognizing the blank stares. "It's a lot to explain."
Cloud blinked--but his face
remained perfectly stoic. "I suppose you did know him." No
danger... yet...
My turn. She
didn't dare speak aloud for fear he may decide he was in no mood to answer
questions. "That... that claw..." she started tentatively.
"I... where did you... get it?"
He looked down at the hand
she referred to, turning it over and making a fist before slowly extending
the fingers. The look on his face was very... forlorn. Regretful,
maybe. "It's... kind of a trophy, in a way."
She was pretty sure she'd
rather not know the rest of the story. It was the perfect replica
of Vincent's...
He couldn't help but notice
that she hadn't answered his other question... but perhaps silence was
best for the situation. He turned slightly to glimpse the still motionless
Leon behind him, just watching. "You should go back, now. There's
still a lot to do."
The brunette didn't argue--only
nodded once again and waited for Cloud to walk back into the entrance building
to the coliseum. That much done, he turned his attention to the girl
sitting against the wall... just watching him. "I don't even know
what that was about."
She took a deep breath--instantly
regretful, pain bursting through her chest and all over her back.
"Ow."
As if only then realizing
exactly what had happened, he walked to her side and delicately helped
her to stand... then stood there while she attempted to find a way to stay
upright without her spine hurting too badly. "This is all very unusual."
He admitted, patient enough to stay there for as long as he was needed.
Luckily, she hadn't been
hurt that badly... but there would be bruises. Oh, joy.
Pleasant memories, there. "I will not disagree with you."