Chapter 4
My eyes flutter open to the sight of the familiar hotel room; my head pulsates with an agonizing pain. I groan as I brush my unruly bangs out of my eyes.
"Welcome back to the land of the living." I follow the sound of the familiar voice over to a chair that is beside me, and sitting in that chair is someone I recognize immediately.
Samn…
I sit up slowly, my skull still splitting. "Ugh, what the hell happened? I feel like I got hit by a truck again…" That came out wrong…I wasn't struck the first time…at least I don't think I was. I think I'd remember if I was run over…right?
"You collapsed…in the middle of the road." I take a better look at her as my vision seems to clear of its sleepiness could. She is in the chair, but her jacket is off and is hanging on the back of it. She looks tired…and I can spot the remains of old battle wounds across her arms.
Those must be from here…I never wrote her with any scars, which means, they'll heal fine.
"I hit my head didn't I?" I rub the back of my head lightly, there's a bump there and it stings like a son of a bitch.
"Yep, and then you were out like a light…or maybe you were out before you hit the ground. Either way it doesn't matter, what matters is you passed out."
"How long was I out?" I sigh and adjust so I'm sitting cross-legged beneath the blanket. Her face slacks in sadness for a minute.
"Couple hours actually; it's pretty late…about eleven or so." My eyes widen in surprise.
Holy shit…first I was unconscious when I got here…then I ate dinner only to walk outside and pass out for a few more hours…
I glance down at my palms, they shake slightly. Samn shifts in her chair and I glance back up. "What is it?"
"We…need to talk…"
"About?" I kinda know where this is going…
"Everything…like; what's your name gonna be here? Where are you going to say you came from? Basically stuff that helps to protect world order. If I have to do it then so do you." I nod slightly.
Since they've already met her I can't use my real name…that would be confusing…and if I try to tell them I'm from Earth they'll ask me about it and that would lead to way too much fourth wall and world order breaking bullshit…
"Hey." She gathers my attention again. "Under no circumstances are you to meddle in any of this world's affairs either. No matter what these boys are destined to do you can't try to change the future in any way. It's bad enough I'm stuck here trying not to fuck shit up, but two outlanders? If we're not careful this could get messy real quick. So because neither one of us belongs here, we can only observe…" I stare at here for a moment until laughter bubbles up and I can't contain it. "This isn't a laughing matter! What is it about worldly dimensional paradox destruction that seems funny to you?!"
"It's not, but you are. You're whole damn life as a Keyblade Bearer has just been you meddling in one world after another and now you're telling me to be careful and observe? It's like the pot calling the kettle black." Her face sours immediately.
"Yeah and whose fault is that?! I didn't choose this life; it grabbed me by the ankles and sucked me into a pit of darkness." Her sour turns pouty.
I know it's my fault…and I'm sorry…but you don't know this world the way I do…you don't know it's tragedy…and if my being here can help soften the blow or comfort these boys for even a second…I'll gladly say in the darkness for ten years…
"Yeah…I know…" I sigh as every memory of this place rises up reminding me how broken it made me.
This is all…just a game…isn't it?
There's a knock on the door which startles both of us. Samn glances at me, but then regains composure and stands. "Uh…come in?"
I listen closely as the door opens with a creak and two pairs of shoes clack along the floorboards. I watch the entryway as two familiar figures come around the corner, making me break into a smile.
"Ah, I see you're finally awake." Ignis' lithe form strolls gracefully across the floor to my bedside before lightly sitting on the end of my bed.
"You fell pretty hard. We were really worried about ya." Prompto had come in behind Iggy but was now sitting on the couch on the far wall.
"Yeah sorry 'bout that." I can already feel my face heating up with embarrassment.
"How are you feeling?" Iggy's smooth accented voice causes me to look up at him and I get trapped in his emerald eyes, the embarrassment melts away.
"I'm alright, my head just hurts…" He nods, looking concerned.
"I see…are you perhaps hungry at all? You didn't eat much before you ran outside." I shake my head 'no' "Thirsty?"
"No thanks, I'm fine, really." I catch Prompto yawning out of the corner of my eye. "Since it's so late maybe you should go to sleep, you guys seem tired." He stretches his arms above his head and stands.
"Yeah probably, but I wanted to make sure you were okay before I hit the hay." He makes his way over to Samn and rests his hands on his belt while he leans on one foot. It seems to be his default resting position.
"That's really nice of you Prom, thanks." Calling him by his nickname takes him by surprise and a hint of blush dusts over his already freckled face.
Oops…I didn't mean to call him Prom…it just kinda slipped out…I'll have to be more careful.
An awkward blanket of silence befalls the room as no one seems to know what else to say. I sit there for a minute and attempt to break it.
"Well…as you can see, aside from a bit of a headache, I'm fine so you can all go to bed."
Ignis frowns slightly and turns to Samn who is now leaning back in the chair. "Will you be staying with us tonight?" She sighs and nods before rocking herself up to her feet and stretching.
"If that's alright with you; with it being so late I'd rather not risk the daemons on the road or try to camp out."
"You're welcome to this room then. Prompto and I can figure out sleeping arrangements in the other room." Samn walks over to Ignis, who is still on the edge of the bed and places a hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks Iggy. I just gotta go out to my truck and grab my bag." She throws me a look that only I can translate as, 'Don't-fuck-up', and leaves. Prompto looks up from his phone game abruptly.
"That reminds me! Iggy I can't believe we both forgot!" He sticks his phone in his back pocket and walks over to the other side of the extra bed and bends down to pick something up out of my view. "When we found you, this wasn't too far away." Prom swings around and my breath catches in my throat.
"My bag!" I reach out for it with grabby hands as he walks over to me, dropping it in the place where Ignis had previously been. Once Samn had left he had taken her chair.
"It was really weird cause you came through and then a few seconds after so did this bag." I pull it closer to me and am about to unzip a pocket when my brain catches up to what he actually said.
"Came through?" I look from Prom to Iggy. What does he mean 'came through'?
"My apologies; with you being asleep for so long, we haven't had the time or opportunity to tell you how we came to find you." Concern coats his face as if remembering it hurts him in some way, but our eyes meet and the look disappears. "Care to hear the story?" I nod slowly and glance quick to Prompto who is back to his default, Ignis takes a deep breath.
"We were on our way to Galdin Quay from Hammerhead and I was the driver, when all of a sudden a blue light appears and like lightning, it shoots across the sky, quite frankly I was reminded of how Noctis warps. We all were entranced with it, we watches as it shot in a random manner until finally it stopped and you fell out of it. I slowed down and watched as you slowly drifted to the ground. You actually landed on your feet, but then I had to slam on the brakes because from your feet you collapsed into the road. Had I not stopped, I surely would have hit you. After that we all got out and rushed to your aid, you appeared battered, like you had lost a fight, but you were sleeping. It wasn't until I tried to wake you that we realized you were unconscious; then I felt your forehead and realized you were burning up." He pauses giving Prompto the chance to jump in.
"Yeah, it was pretty scary to be honest. Once we realized how sick you actually were Iggy scooped you up and rushed you over to the Regalia so he could use some restoratives and try to get your fever down. He wouldn't let any of us touch you. He made us search the area for any other people or belongings and that's when we found your bag."
I fell…from the sky in a lightning bolt…?
"So you're telling me I fell out of the sky?" I glance between the two men and Ignis pushes up his glasses.
"Yep!" Prompto is obviously tired but is still enthusiastic about the story.
"Wow…" I glance down at my old black JanSport backpack, with its' ripped off label that I had replaced with a Batman logo patch along with a few other patches and a few buttons. "You guys didn't go through it, did you?"
"What kind of gentlemen would we be if we did?" A small smile creeps across Ignis' lips; I watch them for a moment before turning to unzip my bag.
"Oh wait!" I snap my head to Prompto. "We didn't look through your bag, but you had some sort of phone in your back pocket and I did put it in one of the bags pockets."
My phone?!
"Which one?" He points to the second from the front; this bag in particular has about 4 or 5 total pockets. I hope by opening it he didn't see anything that could get me into trouble…the outside patches and buttons are only references to the original work and might crack the fourth wall with questions, but it could still be saved…but if they say anything inside…that would probably blow the wall apart…
"I like your patches by the way." I look up at Prom and smile before pulling out my iPhone 6.
Well good news is, the screen didn't crack when I fell… I click the 'home' button and it lights up.
'No Service'
Not really sure why I expected anything else…I'm literally in a different world, different dimension…I sigh then see my next problem.
'50% battery'
Shit…this won't last long at all…and I doubt they have iPhone chargers in this dimension… I dig around a little. But come to think of it…I think I have one in here somewhere… I continue digging and pull out my cord; it's the USB. I dig and dig for my little power brick, but it's missing. I sigh, giving up. Prompto notices and looks at me curiously.
"Something wrong? Did it survive?" I turn slightly so the phone is out of view. I should be careful…they might not have this type of technology in this dimension.
"Yeah, it survived, but it's at 50% and I have a charger, but it's only the USB…my little power brick is missing." I sigh, but his face lights up. "What…?"
"Y'know I think I might have an extra." Before I can even say 'thanks', the little Chocobo is already running out the door. I look back at Ignis who just adjusts his glasses and shrugs.
"So now that we're alone we have some things to discuss." He stares at me with piercing green eyes, my heart plummets and I feel the color drain from my face.
Did I do something wrong? Is he gonna tell me I can't stay anymore? This isn't like him, he looks so scary…
His face softens as he senses my fear. "My apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you, it's just late…" He pushes his glasses up and sighs.
"It's cool…" My voice is soft as I try to calm down. The door opens and my head snaps to the entrance. I expect it to be Prompto, but Samn comes around the corner with a huge duffel bag slung over her shoulder and a big pillow under her other arm.
"I just almost literally ran into Prompto outside, he seemed more excited than usual…what happened?" I shrug as she makes her way across the room.
"He went to go get me a USB power brick for my phone."
"Your phone? Since when do you have a phone?" She throws her bag down and it bounces on the bed, I cringe slightly, but look back up at her.
"Since Prom remembered I came here with my own bag…" A frown crosses her face.
If I could write her thoughts it'd prolly be something along the lines of 'Be careful, if your bag falls into the wrong hands we're all fucked.' She's prolly thinking the same thing about my phone…
She seems like she's about to say something when the door opens again, this time it is Prom. He walks into the room and tosses something at me. I barely have time to react and end up juggling it a little as I try to catch it. I look down and it's a little bright green cube.
"Thanks Prom."
"No prob…uh…do you remember your name yet?" He frowns when he realizes he doesn't know what to call me.
Oh shit! What do I say? I can't give them my real name, can I? What about a fake one? An alias…I have a lot of those don't I? Let's see…Sam Silverfield? No…Julius Carter? No…what about Willow? No…ah shit…I'm taking too long to answer!
"No…no I haven't." I can't believe I just lied to them…
"Oh! Um…that's okay. I'm sure you'll remember it soon." Prom awkwardly feigns confidence as Samn finishes making her bed.
"Alright boys, out with you. I'm exhausted from driving all the way here after my hunt and Little-Miss-Amnesiac here needs to get on a normal sleeping schedule." I glare at her as she puts her hands on her hips.
"Alright. Night girlies." Proms normal excitement returns and I smile at him calling us 'girlies'. He puts two fingers to his forehead and gives us a half ass salute before heading to the door. Iggy stands slowly from the chair and adjusts his specs once more.
"Don't hesitate to knock on our door if you need me. I'm a light sleeper, and probably the only one who will wake up." He sighs, seeming exhausted as well.
"Okay Iggy." I smile up at him and he seems to…blush…what is that?
"Don't worry, she's safe with me." It takes every ounce of my being not to roll my eyes at Samn.
Yeah, okay.
Ignis nods. "Alright, sleep well. Goodnight all." And with that he leaves me and my creation alone.
Awkward seconds pass after the door clicks, but then she gets up and decides to lock it. When she returns she drops herself on the bed with a huff and sprawls out on her back with her arms under her head.
"Sooo…" I start, but have nothing really to say.
"Ugh it's so nice to not have to sleep on the hard ass ground…and tomorrow I'll actually be able to take a hot shower, not a camper shower…" She seems generally happy with her current situation but after a second her face goes stone. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you how dangerous the contents of your bag are. Notebooks, sketchpads, doesn't matter what it is; anything that represents me or any place that isn't here that you didn't draw right now, is a danger. All of it is dangerous and could cause some sort of paradox or flux…" I sigh, well aware of the consequences.
If I accidently spill the beans on anything for Samn or accidently call Ignis 'Specs' before the time is right, the boys might catch on…or become suspicious.
"Also Ignis didn't seem to believe that you can remember my name, but not your own. Nice job on that by the way oh mighty-creator, you could have picked literally any name."
Part of me knows she's only teasing…but the way she says it…just hurts. "Please don't…"
"Fine, fine; but you'll have to come up with a name for yourself at some point. Not to mention that since there's no way home for either of us, you'll have to learn how to fight, so you can go on hunts and earn Gil of your own. Don't worry though, I'll stick around long enough for you to get settled in and then I gotta go back to my other jobs."
I'm totally worried…
"I can't believe you're going to leave me alone with them." She turns her head, but her hands are still behind it, she seems surprised.
"Well…yeah…to be honest there's no safer place than with them. It'll be dangerous, sure, but they protect each other with their lives, I'm sure they'll do the same for you."
"But what about you? You'll be alone." She laughs at me.
"Are you worried about me? Well don't be, you already said that I don't remember this adventure, and while not remembering is gonna suck, it also means that I survive. I'm not worried, but I'm not gonna go crazy either; I'll be careful." I nod and yawn loudly. She smiles before rolling on her side to face me, holding her head in her hand. "C'mon, let's go to sleep."
She reaches over to the bedside table between us and turns off the lamp that sits there. I place my bag on the floor, without checking any other pockets and lie down myself.
"G'night Samn."
"G'night."
IU stare up into the darkness as a familiar feeling rises within me. "Hey, Samn?"
"Hmm?" Her voice tells me she's already half asleep, but my chest tightens and I need to say what I'm thinking.
"I'm so sorry…for everything."
"Mmhmm…"
Without feeling even the slightest bit better I roll over facing away from her and hug my knees to my chest, fighting everything inside me down while I anxiously await sleep.
Wow It's been some time since I updated huh ^^' sorry about that…it seems I have a lot more people favoriting and following though. We have visenya99, fandomenforcer, and Trebor LLarrow. Thanks guys for following, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Oh looks like y'all favorite and followed too I'm so grateful :D Now for reviews; Santoryuu Zoro wrote "Plz write more! It's soooo good!" XD well thank you. Here is the more you were looking for. I already have an idea for the next chapter but first I gotta update Death Note: The Other Side and Kingdom Hearts: The Extra, so I'll see you then in the meantime leave me some comments to respond to.