TW: Vomiting

His heavy steps echoed in the empty graveyard as he ran as fast as he could. He felt like his chest was on fire, breathing so hard he wasn't sure he was ever going to get an actual full breath again. He gripped tightly to the leather satchel in his hand as he sprinted through the graveyard, leaping over stones and over ground graves. He barley even had to try to scale a fence, not looking back as he fell to the other side and bullets shot past his head just above him. He didn't stop running, not once, vaulting into a dumpster that had a hidden hole in the back of it that he could just barley fit through. He slid back the spring-loaded panel before going through feet first, landing in pitch black. The panel closed behind him, but even now he didn't stop. Jogging down the dark hallway, he made his way to a locked door where he finally paused, and knocked loudly. He was left panting and gasping for air, leaning down to put his hands on his knees, he felt like his entire chest was about to explode. Instead, though, he ended up puking before his gasps, choking on his own bile. He almost would have preferred if he had exploded. The door opened and a deep voice chuckled. "Ah… Gal… You still aren't cut out for those long-distance runs, huh?" the man chuckled as he placed a hand on the center of his back, gently rubbing him.
"I…. I got…" He gasped between his hacking gasps, holding up the leather satchel with trembling fingers and the man stopped.
"Gal…. Did… where did you get this?" he asked cautiously, gently taking the satchel.
"In the… graveyard." He finally got out, looking up at the man with almost eager eyes. "You… You need… your bag."
He was met with a look of pure concern from the pale man, dark brown eyes filled with a shocked pain.
"You went back?" he asked, hissing the words slightly. "Gal, what the hell were you thinking?! You could have been killed! You're lucky that you have all your organs left. What the fuck is wrong with you, Gal?"
"I…." He gasped, his chest tightening as he tried to catch his breath but his chest tightened even further. "I was…. You need your… You need your bag." He whispered, feeling his eyes starting to sting. He was mad at him… He had done something stupid so of course he was mad at him, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt. br /The pale man looked down at the other and sighed before he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in close. "You're such a good kid." He whispered into his hair, petting down his back. "You're fucking stupid, Gal… But you're a good kid… Thanks."
He couldn't stop the whimper that escaped his throat as he reached up to grip to the other's ratty shirt. He pressed his face into the man's strong chest and whined softly, relief washing over him. He wasn't mad… He wasn't in trouble.
"Come on, kid." The man sighed, kissing the top of his head before he pulled away, holding his hand still. "Let's get you cleaned up. Your sister is worried fuckin' sick about you."
He nodded a little, reaching up to rub as his eyes. Don't cry. Don't cry, it's okay. Everything was okay.

He took a sharp breath, eyes shooting open as he tried to taking in as much air as he could. His chest was tight and burned like he had been running but his mouth didn't taste of bile. He gasped and trying to figure out just where he was, looking around. He was laying flat on his back on a stone ground, the world around him mostly dark. He could hear the sound of something dripping somewhere but he wasn't sure where it was coming from. Everything echoed oddly, like he was in a cave or something. Very slowly, he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to figure out where he was and what had happened.
Oh… Right...
He had attacked Ares, hadn't he? He wasn't really sure what had happened but it was almost like he had temporarily lost his mind and tried…

He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at his hand, peering at it through the darkness. What had he done? He remembered the sensation of trying to shove his hand into Ares' chest. Almost like… Like he had… Tried to take his heart. While that sounded totally insane, it made perfect sense in his head. He stared at his hand for a long time before he sighed and started to stand up, reaching out for something to lean against. He pressed his fingertips against a stone wall that was just within reach. Moving closer, he pressed against the cool wall, trying to gather his thoughts. What was that dream he had had? Was that a memory? Was he… Was his name Gal?
No. That didn't feel right. It wasn't his name anymore at least.

Suddenly behind him, a light burst into the room making him groan softly, reaching up to cover his eyes.
"Ta bright fer ya? Ya uncomfortable? Good."
He slowly turned around to look towards the voice. Ares stood before him, standing behind a set of prison bars that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. The light illuminated the stone room which looked like…
"Why am I in a cave?" He asked, not moving from his spot, starting to hear his heart pound in his ears again.
"Cause yer a filthy fuckin' Nobody that tried ta take my heart." The goth hummed, crossing his arms over his chest.
He stared at the man for a long time, slowly processing what he said before he tilted his head to the side just a little. "So I… That really happened?" he asked, taking a few steps towards the pale man, who growled at him, holding his hand out to the side.

A nearly blinding flash of light erupted from the other's hand, making the giant turn his head away once more. When he looked back, the goth was holding the strangest looking thing he had ever seen. It was some kind of weapon but it didn't look like it had a blade of any kind. The object had a black base but had rainbow highlights along the surface, looking like an oil slick. The handle was very simple, the goth's hand around the grip, the cross guard of the weapon curled down on either side of the grip attaching at the bottom, creating a full circle around it. The 'blade' was a long pole that had black, silver, and deep red ribbons of metal twisting and climbing up it. Near the top, the ribbons twisted outwards and attached to something that could only be described as a set of ram's horns. Hanging off of the hilt of the odd weapon was a thin chain, a symbol that looked a long like ram's horns dangling from it.

"The…. Fuck… is that?" The giant asked, looking at the weapon, suddenly feeling an itch on the back of his neck, like this thing was bad. This odd weapon was dangerous and powerful and just the sight of it made his blood run cold.
"Oh? Does this littl' ol' thing make the Nobody nervous?" The goth teased, waving the weapon in a taunting way. "A big guy like ya couldn't possibly be scared of a little thing like me." He snorted, moving to put the tip of the weapon on the ground, leaning on it like a cane. "Yer damn pathetic, ya know that, righ'? Ya think I'm some kinda touched in the head? I ain't stupid, Nobody. I'll admit ya had me with the whole amnesia bullshit," he snorted, reaching up to brush his braid over his shoulder. "Really got me right in the bleedin' heart ya did." He made a face, scowling at himself. "But," he whipped the large weapon off of the ground, pointing it at the giant through the bars, making the larger man push up against the wall behind him, eyeing the thing nervously. Why was he so scared of it anyways? What about this weird thing made him feel so on edge?

Ares snorted in amusement, leaning against the bars of the cell just a little. "Look at ya cowering in a corner like a fuckin' bitch, Nobody. Yer a real pathetic sack of shit, ain't ya?"
"Why do you keep calling me that?" The man asked finally, not taking his eyes off of the tip of the blade. "Just because I can't remember my name doesn't make me a nobody."
The goth laughed at that, pulling his blade away, resting on it again. "Nah, but yer lack of a heart and soul sure does."
The giant looked at the other for a long time again before finally his confusion burst forth with a single word.
"What?"

A tall figure walked through the door behind Ares before the goth could answer, the man turning to look at the new giant. The man that had walked seemed to pull at the back of the giant's mind, looking almost familiar. He was a stern man with deep set budging eyes, a nasty scowl forever plastered on his older face. He had a long grey hair that attached to a matching beard that fell to his waist, breaking off in two prongs at the front. He wore a blue floor length robe, the huge bell sleeves hanging before him with his hands tucked away in them. But it was his hat that seemed to catch the giant's attention the most. He absently walked towards the bars as the grey-haired man approached. His blue hat was the same color as his robe, tall and pointing straight up with a plush ring around the bottom where it rested on the head. The pointed part was decorated in shimmering gold stars and a single crescent moon in the center of the tall point. He was a wizard, that was clear but…/p

"Yen Sid." The giant muttered almost absently as he reached the bars, looking at the older man, tilting his head to the side just a little. It caught both him and Ares equally off guard, the goth giving him a wildly accusatory look but the wizard looked completely unphased, simply nodding a little. The large man stared at him for a long time before he slowly reached up and rubbed his forehead, even more confused. Everything was starting to build in him, his thoughts swirling in his mind in a mess of confusing blurs of words and colors.

"Why do I know your name but not my own?" He asked out loud, still holding his hand over his eyes. "Why does he keep calling me a nobody like I'm supposed to know what that means? What does he mean I don't have a heart? Don't have a soul? What the hell is that thing that he's holding and why… why did I try to shove my hand into his chest?" he could feel the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as his panic and anxiety of the whole thing building inside him. Suddenly, he was gripping to the bars with both hands, looking at the older man with desperation in his eyes and voice. "Who am I? WHAT am I? How did I get here, why don't I remember anything?" he paid no attention to Ares as the goth stood before the wizard almost defensively, brandishing the blade.
"And where is my dog?"

Yen Sid looked at him for a long time with those dark eyes. The stern expression on his face unfaltering and piercing right through his mind. He felt like the man was looking right into his very being, pulling forwards every single secret he didn't know he had. They stood there in silence for what seemed like forever and even though the giant was become more and more uncomfortable he couldn't look away. This man, this Yen Sid… he knew something.

"Let him out." The man spoke in a deep, demanding voice that held nothing but pure authority and a knowledge beyond anyone's reach. He turned away, walking back towards the door as Ares spun on him, looking outraged.
"Ya want me to wha?"
Yen Sid stopped and slowly turned his head just enough to look at the goth, the expression in his eyes enough to make the pale man turn his eyes away. "Let me out and bring him upstairs, Zodiac." The wizard said, his authority clear. "Don't keep us waiting." With that, the wizard left just as quickly as he had appeared, leaving the two in complete silence.

Ares stared after the man for a long time before he huffed and grumbled some kind of nonsense under his breath, slowly turning to look at the giant, who was still holding the bars. "Step back, Nobdoy." He snarled, using the tip of his weapon to jab the other in the center of the chest, pushing him backwards. He couldn't help but gasp, his eyes widening as a pure, searing pain shot through his entire body from just that one small touch. It felt like every muscle, every nerve, every single fiber of his very being was on fire, burning in an eternal flame. But almost as quickly as the pain had come, it was gone, flowing through him like electricity. Taking a step back, he reached up to hold the spot that the man had touched with the blade, watching as the goth took the weapon and just touched the bars with it. He blinked and the cell bars were gone in a puff of glittering dust. He stared at the now empty space in awe, not even noticing as Ares walked towards the door. The goth growled, shoving the door open and he looked back at the giant.

"Get a move on, Nobody. They ain't so good at waiting." He snapped, gaining the giants attention. Still holding his chest, he slowly followed after Ares. They entered a stone spiral staircase, walking up them in silence… Or at least the giant was silent while Ares swore and spat under his breath about the whole thing. They got to a set of large green wooden doors that the goth pushed open with both hands, shoving them both open. The giant paused to look at the doors, looking at the intricate swirling designs that decorated them and the large pointed door frame. He looked at them for a long time before looking into the room. It was a large open room with a domed roof. One half of the walls was made up of large windows shaped like stars and a single crescent moon, just like the man's hat. There wasn't a very clear view outside, but the sky was painted with purples, yellows, oranges, and blues like it was sunset. Which made the giant question for a moment how long had he been in that cell underground? If it was sunset again, then he must have been out for at least an entire day, right? In the center of the room sat a single large wooden table with nothing on it. Behind it was a simple wooden chair that had an absurdly tall back, even to the giant it was stupidly tall. Yen Sid sat at the desk, looking straight ahead.

The other half of the walls of the room were covered from floor to ceiling in book cases, long ladders on metal tracks reaching the higher shelves. On one of the ladders near the top was another tall, thin figure. The giant paused to look up at the figure, getting a very strange feeling in the back of his mind again, an inkling like… He knew this man. It was stronger than it had been with Yen Sid but the feeling was also almost muffled. He watched as books came out of the wall and floated in mid air around the man, each book surrounded in a soft blue light. He couldn't take his eyes off of him, even as Ares went to address Yen Sid, only half paying attention to what they were saying. He slowly walked towards the ladder, trying to see the pale figure's face.

"With all due respect, he's dangerous! A Nobody is a Nobody. He ain't gonna be any different than all the other's."

"The giant slowly reached out to hold the side of the ladder as the figure started to descend, his eyebrows furrowing as he absently held it steady for the other. The floating books whooshed by, going to set themselves out on the bare table. The man was tall, almost as tall as the giant was actually, and sickly thin. He had long white hair that was pulled back into a pony tail but despite that, it was a wild mess and half hung over his thin face, obscuring it for the most part from view. He wore a white sleeveless jacket that came down to his ankles, blue flame like designs reaching up from the hem. He had on boots that reached to the man's knees with electric blue, neon purple, and acidic green striped across them. Black pants were tucked into the top, a lot like how the giant wore his own pants. He noticed the black leather cuffs around the pale man's wrists, the silver rings shimmering in the light of the sunset. A strange black and dark red tattoo was around his bicep; a black band with red Xs under it. There was a black dot between each of the Xs. Under that was another thinner red band and a black band under that. The man wore a tight cropped black shirt that showed off his thin stomach that was covered in a pale white hair and he had matching piercings to the giant; his belly button and hips.

"Zodiac, this isn't up for debate."
"But sir, ya can't really believe a damn lying word this heartless scum is sayin'! He's a Nobody! They're all lyin' fuckers hellbent on destroyin' everythin'!"
"Language, Zodiac.""

The pale man stepped off of the ladder, standing at just about a foot shorter but far thinner. He watched as the man reached up to brush his hair away from his face, looking to the giant. Time suddenly seemed to stand still as their eyes met, gazes locking. The pale man had a slender handsome face with sharp and familiar features, a white goatee that almost matched his own if not smaller, matching lip and eyebrow piercings, and behind a set of thin rimmed glasses were bright, electric blue eyes that appeared to be glowing. The giant felt a rush of emotions that he couldn't fully identify or even begin to sort through but before he could stop himself, he spoke, his voice soft and rumbling deep in his chest.

"Why do you have my eyes?"

That made Ares stop and look, looking between the two taller men before his shoulders sagged a little and the weapon in his hands disappeared in a flash of light. "Oh…." He muttered, getting an almost saddened look of understanding on his face. "I…. I get it now."

The paler man looked at the giant for a long time before he took a small step back, clearing his throat as he turned to look away, a faint hint of a blush on his face. "Master." He spoke in an almost posh accent, this one the giant having heard before. He wasn't sure where he at least knew this one. "Are you positive this is a good idea? He's already very confused and getting me involved will only make this process harder." The pale man continued, looking somehow calm about the whole thing despite knowing full well that there was something strange going on.
"I believe you're the only one that can fully explain to him what's happening." Yen Sid said calmly, his hands still folded neatly in his lap.
"Not to question your reasoning Master, but… I have to disagree. He's in such a fragile state as it, this could only make things worse."
"Fragile state?" Ares snorted. "He's a fuckin' Nobody. Ain't nothin' that ain't gonna be fragile about a broken mind like that to begin with. Ain't like you bein' here gonna change that or nothin'."
"Ares," the pale man said, taking another small step back, leaving a trail of blue glitter in the air wherever he moved. "You don't fully understand the gravity of this situation."
"What is there to understand? He's a Nobody! He needs to be put back in his place like all the rest of em!"

The giant looked between all three of them, feeling the anxiety starting to raise in his chest again. All three of these people knew more about what was going on with him then he did and none of them were answering any of his questions. He took a small staggering step back, reaching up to hold his arms as he started to hear that pounding in his ears again. What did any of this mean? Why had he woken up in the back alley of some strange city? Why had he attacked Ares like that? Where was Nugget? Who was this man with his eyes and why were they all arguing about what was best for him? He groaned as he slowly reached up and gripped to the sides of his head, trying to drown out the pounding, not wanting to lose control of himself like he had before. Instead of stopping though, it turned into a pulse that flowed through his entire body, feeling like he could feel his heart beating in his entire body from the tips of his ears right down to his toes. The sensation was far more overwhelming than anything else, starting to make it harder for him to breathe, the feeling spreading to a rushing. He could feel his blood rushing through his veins. Absently, he could hear the three still arguing with each other, their voices pulsing inside his head, starting to make it hurt with a pounding ache. He gripped even tighter to his head, a soft whine escaping his lips as his body felt far more then it should, far more then he could handle.

"SHUT UP!"

Before he knew it, he was letting out a sharp yelling cry, half doubling over as the rushing became so intense, so painful, that all he could do was scream. It felt like a thousand sharp spikes were suddenly covering his body, jabbing into every inch of him while also trying to push the world around him away. He let out a soft sobbing sound, feeling as tears absently trailed down his cheeks. "Just… Please… Someone tell me what is happening? Who am I?" He slowly curled towards the ground, falling to his knees with a painful cracking and stabbing, like the spikes were suddenly being driven further into his body. "Please…. Just…." He whimpered, gripping to his hair, feeling too much, both emotionally and physically. There was nothing for a long time, leaving the giant to cry in an ever-crushing silence that threatened to consume him completely and totally. He wanted to curl up and just…. Disappear…

"If you aren't going to tell him, then I am." A new voice said very quietly. It held the same accent as the white-haired man but older, softer… far more familiar. The giant looked up, looking for the source of the voice through the haze of his tears. A man sat on his knees before him. They were slender and pretty with dark skin and elegant features. He had long black hair that fell to his hips, a single white streak flowing through it on the front left. The odd man had what appeared to be a set of black and neon green stripped cat ears on his head, a large fluffy tail that matched curled around his slender waist. His own eyes locked in on those bright yellow ones, suddenly feeling… calm as he gazed into the familiar eyes.

"Do I… know you?" he asked softly, enraptured with the man before him. He wore an oddly traditional looking black and red robe that had a delicate pattern along the thick collar. It was held around his waist with a yellow rope but it hung off of one of his slender shoulders, showing a blare chest covered in scars. The most interesting was the outline of a heart in the center of his chest. The dark-skinned man nodded to the question.

"You do… Quite well." He said quietly, slowly reaching out to cup the giant's face with both hands, his warm slender fingers sending shivers through the large man's body. "That is not of importance right now." He gently caressed the larger man's cheeks, giving him a kind and almost loving smile. "Your name is Xamu," he repeated. "And you're dead."