Chapter two:
X-ray blinks awake when there is knocking on his apartment door. He gets up looking to his alarm clock that reads ten thirty am. He groans then gets up in his pyjamas and heads to go see who it is. He opens the door and finds Vav standing there. "What? I was getting my beauty rest." He sighs.
"People are talking about something going down by the abandoned house on fiftieth street." Vav tells him.
X-ray blinks slightly more awake now. "Ok. Hold on." He closes the door and rushes getting changed before opening the door again. "Let's go." He closes the door as he leaves his apartment then the two race off to go see what is going on.
It's not too far so they jog to the location instead of waiting for the bus.
They arrive and don't see anyone around.
"Did we miss it?" Vav wonders.
"Aw man. That would suck." X-ray huffs in disappointment.
"Oh hey guys."
The two turn to see Ash, Hilda and Rusty.
"Hey. You guys here to find out what's going on?" Vav says.
"Yeah." Rusty sighs softly.
"But there's nothing here." Ash says glancing around.
"Yeah. We're a little confused as well." X-ray says.
Mogar then walks up on the scene.
"Mogar you too?" Vav asks as they turn to him.
"Mogar hear it was big trouble." Mogar responds.
"Well this is interesting." Hilda says in a suspicious tone.
Then a dull grey small ball rolls up to them making them look down to it.
"What's this?" Vav questions.
It releases some kind of gas that quickly surrounds them.
They cough and try to wave it off but are soon dropping to the ground as they faint.
When the gas clears they are all on the ground unconscious.
"Ugh." X-ray groans as he begins to awaken. His eyes blink open and he finds that he appears to be in an unfamiliar place. He sits up quickly almost blacking out then looks around himself.
It appears to be some kind of cell with dark brown brick style looking floor walls and ceiling though with a silver and gold plate to hold a chain on a part of a wall.
The wall that has the plate on it is the back wall with the plate in the corner area.
There is a chain that leads to a metal collar that almost entirely covers Vavs neck as it seems to be keeping Vav from going too far around the cell.
The back wall has a window that's a little high up and it in line with the centre of the bottom of the wall.
The side walls are bars that criss-cross so there are squares not allowing anyone to be able to go through... Unless it's a baby then maybe but that would be pointless if they had a baby with them.
When he faces the back wall to his right seems to be the cell with Ash, Hilda and Rusty while to his left seems to be the cell with just Mogar.
The plate that Vav is chained to is right in the corner of the back wall on the side that Mogar is on.
Vav seems to be the only one chained.
While the three to the right seem to be chilling more to the centre area of thee bar wall separating them, Mogar is sitting halfway between the centre of the wall and where Vav is.
"What's going on?" X-ray asks confused.
"We're stuck in here." Vav says.
"No way. We can bust out." X-ray turns to the wood door enforced by metal and tries to use his powers... But... They don't work... "What!?" He gasps confused.
"Some kind of block." Mogar says. "Powers useless here."
"So a barrier..." X-ray glances down a little thoughtfully. "So..." He pauses and looks up in a gasp of realization. "We really are trapped here!"
"Yeah." Vav nods. "I don't know how whoever took us did it but they did." He says.
"Well... Now what?" X-ray asks turning to the others as best as he can.
"There really isn't much we can do." Hilda says. "We can wait for whoever took us in to come back. Plus we will be able to find out more of whatever is going on."
X-ray nods. "Yeah that's probably the best option right now." He sits on the floor where he is and silence takes over them.
Vav looks away and for a moment his and Mogars eyes meet though it is hardly noticed by anyone else.
"But it might get a little boring as we wait." Rusty says.
"It can't be too bad. At least we have each other here." X-ray points out.
Vav flinches slightly and looks away at X-rays words.
About a minute later the door to the cell that X-ray and Vav are in opens making them both jump to their feet.
A black haired man with a curled moustache walks in and smiles. "Greetings."
"No..." X-ray gasps. "It can't be... Could it?"
The raven laughs. "I won't lie to you." He says. "Yes. Yes it is."
X-ray takes a step back in surprise.
The man walks past X-ray to look to Vav who stares back in surprise. "It's been awhile." He says. "Hasn't it? Vav?"
Vav clenches his teeth with a slight glare. He now knows for certain that it was this man that had been following him and he is more than certain on why.
"Or..." The man smirks. "Should I call you by your other name?"
Vavs eyes widen and he shakes his head desperately as he leans back a little on instinct.
The man turns and walks back to past X-ray as he continues anyways. "Freebird."
"That's where you're wrong." X-ray says. "He's not Freebird. Right Vav?" He announces smiling confidently at the man.
The man stops and turns to look over his shoulder with a knowing smile.
Vav is quiet.
X-rays face falls in worry. "Vav?" He turns a spark of fear flashing across his face.
Vavs head is lowered as if to keep his gaze as he is refusing to meet X-rays eyes. "I'm sorry." He says almost quietly but loud enough to be heard.
X-ray looks shocked and horrified. He takes a step back and shakes his head a little. "No." He says in a slight gasp. "No it can't be."
"But it is. He lied to you. All this time." The man turns to face the two.
X-rays hands clench into fists and hesitantly Vav looks up to the other slightly.
The man moves closer to X-ray. "Let me tell you some stuff. I'm not going to hide anything from you."
X-ray turns to the man with half open eyes.
"Well for starters everything from the corpirate and so on. All were a facade to keep others away." The man begins. "So don't worry. Your precious Vagabond is still all yours. Always has been and always will be."
X-ray glances down then turns to look to Vav but does so only for a moment before looking at the floor a little in front of his feet.
"And I want you to know that we won't lie to you like Freebird here has. Oh and how can we forget about his accomplice." The man turns to look at Mogar who glares at the man. "You both may have tried to hide the truth but that doesn't mean you are someone else." He says. "I was at first a little surprised that you Mogar kept your name the same. Though I suppose with the way you aren't wearing the same clothes as before you might have believed it would be enough. Plus those lines you have on your face are new." He says almost like he's observing before moving on. "I must say that your act of not being who you truly are was well done. We weren't fully sure at first if it was really you guys but we caught on to your lies."
Mogar growls slightly as Vav glares at the man along with Mogar.
The man turns back to X-ray. "So now you know the truth." He says. "So. I would like for you to decide what it is you are going to do now." He places a hand on X-rays shoulder. "I want to give you the chance to join and become a ruler of the world. I'll give you some time to process everything and decide." He pats the others shoulder then leaves the cell closing the door behind himself.
"Alright will someone tell us what is going on?" Ash asks.
"X-ray..." Vav begins looking at the other slightly worried.
X-ray looks back to Vav with a glare. "I can't believe you!" He snaps with hurt obvious in his voice. "I trusted you! When we met I knew that there was no way you could be him!" He pauses a moment and glares at a part of the wall. "The man I swore my entire life to hunt down... And he was in front of me the entire time!"
"Please X-ray listen!" Vav begins looking pleadingly to the other.
"No!" X-ray snaps to make the other shut up. "I can't believe I trusted you! Both of you!" He tells the two still in the hurt tone.
"Brownman!" Vav suddenly raises his voice a little. "You don't understand!"
"Freebird correct." Mogar adds.
"What you think I don't understand is your lies!" X-ray snarls. "Neither of you have the right to call me by my old name!"
"Well then what should we call you?!" Vav asks with his voice still a little raised. "The Rose Prince?!"
X-ray sends a heavy glare in Vavs direction. "Yeah. That sounds suitable especially coming from either of you."
Vavs eyes widen and he looks a little fearful as his anger seems to disappear as soon as X-ray says that. "X-ray don't do this!"
"And why not!?" X-ray growls back. "Why should I even listen to you?! You lied to me!" X-ray clenches his teeth. "After all that you did! You decide to add onto it with the lies that you handed out!"
"But Ray!" Vav says trying X-rays real name only to be cut off.
"No! You had years to tell me! Years to tell me the truth! But you just kept up with your lies!" X-ray turns his head away from Vav. "You were never going to tell me! Were you?! I know because if you did plan on telling me then you would have done so already!"
Vav looks down and Mogar turns away to look to the opposite wall of his cell.
Things fall silent as X-ray also lowers his head to look down with his chin almost against his chest. His cape seems to droop a little as if to add to the sad look.
"Guys! Come on are we really going to do this right now?" Hilda asks. "You do have some explaining to do but shouldn't we be trying to think of a way to escape right now?" Her words are met with silence.
Ash and Hilda share a glance of worry and uncertainty as Rusty looks to the two girls also uncertain. They then turn back to the other three as there is a little bit more of silence.
"Sorrowful." X-ray says almost softly.
"Regretful." Vav says in the same volume.
"All of those years that I lost." X-ray continues almost sighing.
"Memory comes at a cost." Vav responds his eyes cast in shadow from his bangs for a moment.
"Those I trusted let me down." X-ray continues to refuse to look up to Vav or seemingly anywhere that is not the floor.
Everything I tried to hide in my past." Vav says glancing away.
"It's too late to make it okay." X-ray responds as Vav is halfway through the word past and as he speaks he turns to walk towards the other side of the cell. His head still down.
The two begin speaking together. "Right and wrong. Changes with time."
As Vav looks down and X-ray glances up X-ray speaks.
"With every new lie installed."
"Every new truth revealed." Vav responds.
"Love and loss." X-ray raises a hand towards the wall in front of him.
"I've known my share." Vav says still looking away.
"We were inseparable." X-ray watches the wall he has placed a hand on.
"I had looked up to Geoff." Vav looks up as if looking sadly at someone taller than him.
X-ray looks down to his gloved hands that he brings to position so he can look at his gloved palms. "How can I trust again?" He questions to no one really as he balls his hands into fists closing his eyes tightly.
"What will become of us?" The two speak at the same time again.
"Can he learn to forgive?" Vav questions also to no one really as he is still looking up as if looking sadly at someone taller than him.
"Suddenly he was gone." X-ray seems to be talking to himself but can still be heard. He seems to glance down at a slight angle almost like to one side of his right shoe.
"Will he be victorious?" Vav wonders out loud.
The two once again speak together. "Was all our love for not?"
"At least you're safe." Vav closes his eyes with a slightly relieved look.
"How could he turn away from me?" X-ray almost doesn't seem to acknowledge the others right now. "Sorrowful."
Vav turns to look to X-ray a little worriedly. "Regretful."
"All of those years that I lost." X-ray lowers his now unclenches hands to his sides as Vav glances away with a guilty look.
"Memory comes at a cost." Vav says as he leans against the wall a little more than before.
"Those I trusted let me down." X-ray turns moving away from the wall only to turn so his side is facing Vav. His eyes half open and he isn't looking at Vav.
"Everything I tried to hide in my past." Vav says and X-ray speaks as Vav is halfway through the word past.
"It's too late to make it okay."
"What I'd give to take it all back." They speak in unison.
"Back so I won't get hurt." X-ray says on his own.
"Back so I won't hurt you." Vav also says on his own after X-ray had spoken.
"Foolish pride." X-ray moves towards the part of the back wall where he can look straight up to where the window is.
"Clouded my mind." Vav says only following X-ray with his eyes.
X-ray is looking up at the window too high to reach as sunlight streams through it into the cell. "I was blinded I believed all those pretty lights."
"So how can I fix this?" Vav asks himself out loud.
"And how can we move on?" X-ray asks himself as he closes his eyes softly.
"I'd give almost anything." Vav says turning to X-ray sympathetically.
X-ray lowers his head as his he speaks with his eyes closing tighter as he speaks then opens them again after. "I wish I could be ignorant."
"I know I messed it up." Vav adds. "But."
"I don't deserve this." They speak together as they both are now looking up from the ground as if to almost look straight ahead but slightly lower at the same time.
X-ray clenches his hands slightly. "I want to forget it." He says closing his eyes for a moment before walking back to the opposite side of the cell as Vav speaks a response to that.
"But it doesn't work that way."
"Sorrowful." X-ray begins pacing from corner to corner at the opposite end than where Vav is.
"Regretful." Vav watches X-ray pace.
"All of those years that I lost." X-ray says turning a little more aggressively in his pacing as he says this.
"Memory comes at a cost." Vav closes his eyes for a moment before opening them again.
X-ray stops where his back is to the three in the other cell as he looks up slightly at the wall by the corner. "Those I trusted let me down." He lowers his head so his chin is against his chest as he says let me down.
"Everything I tried to hide in my past." Vav lowers his head closing his eyes softly for a moment.
"It's too late to make it okay." X-ray slightly turns to look to Vav who isn't looking at him at the moment. He closes his eyes for a moment as the two of them speak together in unison the next line and Vav gets to his feet as they do this.
"We both know sorrow and regret!"
X-ray opens his eyes and flickers them at Vav. "You denied me my past." He says as their eyes now meet.
"I'm only trying to do what is best for us!" Vav slightly protests as he takes a few steps forward in X-ray's general direction and brings up a hand like he's cupping something with his plan facing the ceiling as he stands tall like trying to prove a point.
X-ray spins to look right at Vav with a glare of anger as Vav lowers his hand back to his side. "Well I never asked for this." He says then begins to stalk closer in anger. "I never wanted this!" He stops when he is in front of Vav and is slightly slouched. "All that I want is to be your equal." He says straightening, as the two watch each other's eyes, at the I want to be your equal part.
Vav smiles happier now and as if X-ray was being cute. "Look into your heart." He says then reaches over placing his left hand on the others right shoulder as the other follows the movement watching it. "You'll see that I-" he is cut off as X-ray suddenly pushes his arm to remove his hand from his shoulder.
"Just get away from me!" X-ray says angrily as he pushes Vavs arm off not letting him finish. "Please cease your empty plea!" He lowers his hand to his side. "You're always trying to be someone else!" He adds glaring at Vav suspiciously. "Now I realize." He continues closing his eyes softly. "I'm all alone." He gives a pointed glare at Vav as he says this.
"But I'm right here by your side!" Vav protests with a face turned into fear and worry.
X-ray turns away from him making Vav even more scared. "All that you've done is lie!" He begins walking away from Vav.
"Please do not turn away!" Vav pleads as he reaches towards X-ray who stops walking but there is a gap between them so Vav can't reach him from where he is.
"There's nothing you can say!" X-ray almost snaps at Vav as he slightly lowers his head like before keeping his back to the other.
Vav lowers his hand as X-ray says that.
The two begin speaking together again though not saying the same thing. "I cannot understand you are always resistant."
"I'm just apologizing." Vav says while at the same time X-ray says. "Stop apologizing."
"I feel something missing." They say together as Vav glances away then blinks only to turn back to X-ray.
"I just want to go away." X-ray says at the same time that Vav, who begins to head over towards the other, says. "I just want my friend back."
"Why can't we just." Vav begins at the same time that X-ray begins. "Why can't you just."
"Get ALONG!"
"Leave me ALONE!"
They say together as X-ray spins to face Vav in an angry stance as he almost yells at Vav who flinches leaning back a little in slight shock.
Vav blinks as tears begin to appear and he keeps his eyes on X-ray.
X-ray is glaring with clenched teeth before turning his head away. He turns his back to Vav and walks away halfway between the opposite wall and the middle of the room. He stops there and looks down with his head low.
Vav sadly turns away and falls against the wall before sliding down to sit on the ground again.
Neither of them speak another word to each other.
"Well that went nowhere." Hilda sighs.
"I really thought that they'd work it out." Rusty scratches the back of his head in a 'huh' way.
"Well they didn't." Ash glances between the two then glances to Mogar.
Mogar has moved closer to where Vav is as he knows that X-ray is also mad at him so he would only be pushing him further away by trying to talk to him. He was never really good with words; especially if he becomes angry though he is not angry right now he doesn't want to become angry by trying to convince X-ray that it was all for the best… especially with X-ray resisting any attempt made by Vav.
So now Vav and Mogar just kind of sit together with only the barred wall being between them.
X-ray doesn't even notice.
"Seriously!" Hilda groans. "Will someone at least explain what is going on?!"
"It's a long story." Mogar says quietly and his and Vavs hands join together as best as they can with the barred wall is still between them.
"Well I have a few things I want to ask." Rusty says with his hands at his sides. "Like when you said how could he turn away from you. Who did you mean?"
"My friend Vav." X-ray says.
"But I'm right here." Vav says softly almost pleadingly.
"You are not Vav Freebird!" X-ray growls slightly snapping at Vav. "You do not hold the name Vav in my eyes any longer. Vav is dead. He turned away from me and he was suddenly gone. All that's left is Freebird. The man I was hunting down for so long."
Vav, Freebird, looks away at this.
"Ok then." Rusty says deciding to step in by speaking up. "Well what about the whole pretty lights thing? Did you mean the city lights?"
"Yeah kind of. It's a bit of a long story." X-ray sighs softly. "It also is kind of connected to the time before our time as you know us." He glances to the window. "Freebird showed me pretty lights with the sun. And he told me that the lights were to represent that the sun is always there to be there in the form of sunlight or moonlight as the moon reflects the light. Not even the darkness can escape from the sun's rays because it reflects off the moon giving us light in the dark. Then after... Everything that happened... Before I knew that Freebird had managed to insert himself back into my life he took me to a few nice places to look at the city lights. When I saw them looking beautifully from the spots we would go to so we could look at the city lights... Well I believed that they were like the sun. They are always there when we need them especially in the dark. Where it is harder for us to see. They light our way through the darkness to help make sure that we don't get lost or possibly hurt just because we can't see anything." X-ray answers the question. "But now the sunlight especially is only yet another painful reminder of all the pain that has happened to me."
"And the denying of your past?" Ash asks.
"Well..." X-ray tries to think of a way to describe it. "Not only does that tie in with what happened in the past. In which I was... Sent away by Freebird for a while..." He says. "Then when I returned I was sent away again this time differently than before. But it also ties in with that he just had to enter himself back into my life. He had decided to lie to more than likely watch me for a bit. He took away my past this time and last time. Since this time was that he seems to have been trying to secretly mold me in the way that he believes I should be. He's resistant on telling me stuff. Somethings never change."
Freebird remains quiet neither confirming nor denying anything.
Hilda groans in frustration, they all gathered that Freebird felt that X-ray is always resisting him and his attempts to fix things. "Are we going to figure out a plan to escape or not? We can deal with your drama later."
This time it's Freebird who answers. "Our powers are useless. There is no way out."
"If we plan a smart enough plan there will be a chance." Hilda protests.
"There is no point." X-ray says not looking at anyone.
"There has to be a way. X-ray you might have a chance to get us out." Hilda turns to him but X-ray doesn't respond as he kind of just stares down at the floor by the wall away from everyone else. "X-ray?"
He doesn't respond.
"X-ray. Are you listening?"
He still remains silent.
Hilda sighs. "Come on. Why do you have to be so stubborn right now?"
"He'll come for an answer." X-ray says softly mostly to himself. "And I'll need to give him an answer."
"Which is why we should plan!" Hilda says.
"Yeah come on X-ray." Ash jumps in. "We can use it to our advantage."
X-ray is silent again.
"X-Ray!" Hilda tries a little louder but X-ray remains silent. "Come on. We can find a way out of here." She leans forward gripping the bars a little tightly as she stares expectantly at X-ray.
X-ray doesn't even seem to notice them anymore as he remains silent.
Hilda sighs heavily. "And looks like we've lost him." She says letting go of the bars to let her hands drop down to her sides. She turns to Mogar and Vav but they seem a little lost in their own world as they stay close together. "I think that whatever is going on has caused us to lose all of them at the moment. I don't know when they'll recover enough to even begin helping with an escape plan."
"So then what do we do?" Rusty asks turning to Hilda.
Hilda sighs taking a few steps back. "There really isn't much that we can do." She says. "There's no way we could coordinate a plan to escape between the three of us. Our best and possibly only option would have to have been getting X-ray to use the chance to get out of the cell then to let us all out... But I don't think we'll even be able to plan that now because we have lost him."
Rusty looks back to X-ray who hasn't moved at all. "Yeah. He seems pretty lost in space."
"As I said. We have lost him." Hilda slightly sighs.
"Vav." Ash looks to Freebird but he seems to be lost in a little world with Mogar at the moment. "Or Freebird or whatever." She tries but still nothing. "At least tell us what is going on?"
Still nothing and Ash sighs at this.
"This is really getting us nowhere." Ash crosses her arms over her chest.
"Guess we're sitting around to see how things go." Hilda settles on the ground.
Ash and Rusty join her.
They didn't have to wait long as the door to Freebird and X-rays cell is opened getting everyone attention.
AN:
I used a slightly revised, done by ear/listening to it, version of sorrowful regretful from Princess trixie sparkle. It's one of the songs that this story is based off of.
Hope you are enjoying so far.
Reviews are awesome and flamers will be used to make muffins.
Kitkat.