50
By: Aviantei
Act I: 50 Minutes/Abandonment
Scene VIII: "Go ahead, tell me about it."
Axel took his best guess at when Rhea would arrive at the lunch room, which was tricky given the lack of time passing inside the Fifty Minute Room. In theory, if one waited long enough, they would encounter the one they were looking for. Unless the one they were looking for didn't want to be found, but Axel would take his chances. He tended to do well with that modus operandi.
Most of the time.
In his current plan, it was indeed "most of the time."
Rhea stepped through the door at Axel's approximate guess of thirty minutes after he had arrived. His own plate sat empty, but loitering was free. In his view of the room, a cluster of tables held close to each other, the collective space no bigger than a longue. Just enough space that someone could keep their distance from the others, but not enough that you could just ignore them.
Not that his view mattered to Rhea's course of actions. Their visions could contrast—that held more likely than anything else. But the girl glanced at him as she headed to the back of the room to pick up her meal, so she at least noticed him.
That's a step, I guess.
Axel toyed with his fork and watched her. In terms of stature, she matched Roxas fairly well. He could be excused for his mistake in the castle, given her hood had been up then. With it down, her light brown hair fell in soft waves, tucking into the back of her jacket. Said jacket, black with silver linings, hadn't helped with the confusion, as it matched Roxas's own.
And matched Axel's as well.
Rhea turned around, and Axel turned his gaze back on his plate, even if nothing remained to keep his interest. They had grated on each other's nerves enough earlier that openly watching her couldn't be the smartest move. He did, however, track her in his peripheral, until she stood in front of him, rendering caution unnecessary.
"Hey, um," she said, just short of a mumble, "sorry for being a bitch earlier. Mind if I sit here?"
Her eyes held a faint hazel and worry. She hadn't done too well after Roxas had ditched her; Axel couldn't criticize since he had much been the same. The sting of abandonment still pulsed in him a year later. The intensity of that within the first few days must've dug even deeper for Rhea. Rejecting the request would just be petty.
If Axel wanted to learn anything about Roxas's past year, he couldn't afford to be petty.
The redhead tapped the round table with his knuckle. Rhea nodded her thanks and took the seat across from him. A still sizzling hamburger sat on her plate, various condiments along the side. Rhea assembled her burger, vegetables first, sauces second, her eyes darting across the room.
Axel realized she was waiting for a response, and found himself stuck for a second.
"Don't be so skittish," he scolded, sticking to casual terms. No matter how much he wanted to ask about Roxas, jumping the gun wouldn't help. So long as Rhea didn't leave the Fifty Minute Room, time didn't present an issue. "I'll forgive your outburst if you forgive mine, how about that?"
Rhea frowned. Axel thought on his words from breakfast, wondering if that was enough. Well, the girl had shot back at him instead of recoiling from the insult, so she seemed tougher with words than her combat levels. She could take it.
"You don't really mean that," Rhea concluded, "but alright." When Axel didn't argue, her shoulders dropped. She guessed, then. That's an instinctual distrust of others there. Once more, Axel held the same values. It was almost disorienting. "At the very least, we're in the same boat. As people who once explored the castle, I guess that almost makes us comrades, huh?"
She left out the part where they had been abandoned by the same guy. It could've been out of consideration or protection of her own ego. Axel couldn't tell, but there was no sense in complaining.
"Not the best thing to be comrades over, but I'll take it," the redhead allowed. He had fought for worse causes. Rhea, satisfied with the layout of her meal, pressed the top bun onto her burger and took a bite. "This isn't to be rude, but you're not the best fighter. People like you don't make it long in places like that."
Rhea grimaced, but didn't fire back an insult. At least she knew her limits. "I played support," she said, once she had swallowed. "Ro… I got basic instruction in my daggers, and then ran around as a decoy when things got tough. That's about what I'm good for." She eyed Axel, her gaze dragging up and down his frame before locking on his empty plate. "You, on the other hand, can handle thirty floors of the castle on your own. So which one of us is more unusual?"
Axel barked out a laugh and tapped his temple. "We're both unusual. Got it memorized?"
Rhea sighed and took another bite of her burger. Axel didn't drag around the same words just to annoy people, but for this girl, he could make an exception.
"Anyway, I had lots of time to train, and magic to back me up," he explained, indicating the space around them. The Fifty Minute Room had contributed to most of his power increase in the past year. Skipping Temperies classes could do wonders under the right conditions. Rhea looked thoughtful, but seemed to understand. "Going through the castle with a partner is better, though, but I didn't want to miss my chance."
The girl's eyes narrowed, in contrast to the fresh bite of food she had taken. A mix of mayonnaise and ketchup dripped onto her plate. She swallowed hard in haste to demand an answer. "Your chance at what, exactly?"
Axel guessed the truth wouldn't improve her mood. Better than dealing with the fallout later. Until she could tell him more, they were in this together. Or, rather, Axel was in this and would drag Rhea along for as much time as he needed to. "To run into Roxas again," he answered, pointing his finger without a destination. "I had to check how the spell had progressed before making any other moves. He treated me like an enemy, so it's the same as always."
Rhea's frown deepened, creases unbefitting of her age pinching between her eyebrows. "And who's to say you aren't an enemy?" she retorted. "It's not like he doesn't recognize you. He got pissed when I tried to ask what your deal was. For all I know, you could be making this shit up to get me on your side." She sat her half-eaten hamburger down and tapped a knuckle to the table in irritation. "I'm not about to fall for something so stupid. You got me?"
"Your suspicion is much appreciated," Axel retorted, not bothering to keep his voice even. "I could suspect you, too. I mean, you're a sub-par supporter and you can't hold a fight on your own. You could've been leading Roxas into trouble. But you know what? I'm not going to do that. And you know why?
"Because I've felt the exact hurt you're experiencing right now. I see the way you hold onto his memory. And I know that Roxas is one of the kindest, hardworking people I've ever met, and there's no way you could spend an entire year around him and not be touched by that."
Rhea's hard expression slipped, and she didn't try to maintain it. The girl picked up a stray piece of lettuce, twirling it by the stem. "Okay, fine," she allowed, keeping better pace on her words. "So you know Roxas is still under a curse or whatever, and I'm officially banned from the castle raiding party. Where the heck does that leave us?"
Axel knew where it left him—but that didn't answer much for the collective. "Well, I've already told the results to someone that can help with the spell; we'll just have to sit and wait on that front." Again, with the Fifty Minute Room, time was on their side. "As for you…" Madam had mentioned the Mark of Relationship, but from what little Axel knew, he couldn't help with that. Plus that counted as secret information, so he couldn't spill it over dinner, or inside the Room even. "No offense, but you don't seem to have sorted yourself out at all."
"I'm trying," Rhea grumbled, picking up her burger and taking an angry bite. Axel chose not to guess what she was envisioning. "There's…a lot to take in here. And a lot to think about with what happened." For someone who hopped dimensions between Temperies and the castle on a regular basis, she didn't hold much experience in such matters. Axel couldn't even fathom how Roxas had recruited her.
No, that was easy. He had been his friendly, caring self. The circumstances around that point begged attention.
"So then you should stay here and rest." Beyond thinking it as the best course of action, Axel needed to keep Rhea in one place. She'd be of better use once she had calmed down. "Overcome those doubts you're having." Axel considered his next words, then went with throwing Rhea a bone. "If you can't do that much, you'll just be a burden while storming the castle."
Rhea dropped the remains of her burger with a splat. Condiments flecked onto her shirt and the table, then faded out as the Fifty Minute Room corrected itself. The girl's hazel eyes shone, unconcerned with the state of her food. "You mean you'll take me in there with you?"
Axel leaned back in his seat, balancing the chair on its back legs. "Well, I hate to admit it—" and he really did "—but you're the best shot I have right now of getting Roxas to listen to me." Rhea held her glass of soda between both hands, giving off too dainty of an image for her foul mouth. "And you seem like the type to bother me until I agree to let you help, so I'm just getting that part out of the way."
"You've got that right," Rhea confirmed with a smirk. "I didn't expect you to read people so easily. Maybe you're smarter than I thought."
Axel abandoned his equilibrium and the front of his chair hit the floor, jabbing an erstwhile index finger to his temple. "You hear yourself? This brain can memorize anything you throw at it. Don't go saying stuff like that to someone you're asking for help!"
"Sorry, but you're so easy to insult it just happens naturally." Axel prepared to fire back before Rhea let out a laugh. She tried to cover her mouth, but the giggles broke free. The redhead sat back up, allowing himself a chuckle. Even griping at someone felt better than the past year on his own.
Longer than a year, even. How much time have I put into this place?
"So, um," Rhea hedged. She poked at her scattered burger, not intending to eat the rest. "Is there anything I can do until then? I know I need to stop shutting myself in alone, but that's hard and…" The girl bit her lip. She may not have been on the urge of tears, but that didn't stop sympathy from stinging at Axel's chest. "I guess I wanna ask if I can talk to you and stuff? I get it if that sounds dumb, but—"
"Doesn't bother me." It couldn't have worked out better, in all honesty. Rhea stared at him in surprise, then nodded. "I mean, you're not gonna have too much luck talking to some of the others here. And, besides, we have a common goal. I was planning on hanging around until you got back on your feet, so we won't have trouble coordinating times, either."
Rhea's face screwed up at the concept of coordinating in a place without time. Axel could say with experience that it was just as convoluted and confusing as it sounded. "Okay. Great. Thanks." She smiled a little. "Though, I don't know much to talk about. My hometown was pretty boring, and you know all about the castle, so…"
That's exactly what I need to know about, Axel thought, but didn't voice it. He needed baby steps. They'd get there in time. "Well, where are you from?" he asked, keeping it basic. "Not many newcomers find their way into Temperies." As far as he knew, Rhea had been the first. "Your home can't be as boring as that empty ghost town. Go ahead, tell me about it."
Rhea's mouth flapped in silence for a few beats, then she spluttered, "You first."
That hadn't been the response Axel had been expecting.
"Better yet," he said, not ready to tell that story just yet, if ever, "why don't I tell you when Roxas and I found the castle in the first place?"
Rhea set to attention, not even caring her question had just been deflected.
"You keep looking at me weird. What's that all about?"
Axel tried not to think too hard as he met gazes with the blonde kid. Bright blue eyes didn't let up for a second, at least until Roxas sighed and looked to the ground. Axel quirked an eyebrow, propped a hand on his hip, and waited.
"It's because you look different," Roxas said, sounding embarrassed to admit it. Axel could agree his hair and height tended to make him eye-catching in most crowds. Being in the empty courtyard outside Temperies didn't help much either. "I mean it's…okay, promise you won't laugh or call me crazy or anything."
Axel chuckled, which didn't help his case. Roxas looked torn between feeling hesitant or scowling. "Sorry. I've just encountered a lot of weird stuff in my lifetime. I can promise whatever you're gonna tell me, I'll at least give it a chance before dismissing it."
Some would argue that 'weird' didn't even begin to describe Axel's experiences, but he wasn't in the mood to split hairs. This gap dimension was one such experience, and it didn't even make the top of the list. If Roxas held a hint to what the place meant, Axel would take it.
The reassurance did better than the redhead's initial reaction, and the tension drained from Roxas's shoulders. The blonde boy still looked around, as if what little people lived at Temperies would bother to spend time outside when the sky was lousy with waiting rain clouds.
"I can see these gaps sometimes," Roxas confessed at a whisper. Axel made sure to keep track of his every word for later use. "I don't know how else to describe them. But I guess it's like there's a tear in the air. They're all a dark blue, and probably big enough to step through. I think. I've never gotten close enough to try."
In Axel's experience, that could be any number of things. He wasn't the expert on such matters. "Alright. So what does that have to do with me?"
"Well it's not the exact same but—" Roxas hesitated, then took a deep breath to steel himself. "You have an aura around you, too. It's black or gray, like wisps of smoke. And, really, it's kind of distracting."
Axel lifted his own arm, but couldn't see anything, no matter how hard he squinted. Even with his magic sense, nothing felt unusual. Considering it was his own body, though, would he be able to notice. All things considered, Roxas possessed a special magic ability that Axel hadn't even heard of.
Well, we hit the jackpot here, then.
"Can't say I know how to turn that off," Axel admitted, his grin leaking into his words. Roxas shook his head, expression still concerned. "But those are some eyes you've got there if you can see that stuff." Tears in space, huh?
Axel pulled one hand from his pocket, held his palm open, and willed a single chakram to materialize.
Roxas tensed, stepped back, and held out an arm, as if the tree behind him was worth protecting.
"Easy, I just wanna check something." Axel concentrated and used his chakram to channel enough magic into a portal. He cut a thin line in space, keeping tabs on Roxas. The blonde's eyes widened at the sight. "Now. Does that look like what you said is coming off me?"
Roxas nodded and stepped forward. He stretched a hand out to touch the portal, but Axel sent it and his chakram away with a dismissive gesture.
"No sense in going there. Not much for someone like you, anyways." Not even Axel had much desire to go back there, though he would need to in time. But for now, investigating Temperies held the priority, and it seemed like the place had plenty to investigate.
Roxas frowned, but his voice carried awe more than any other emotion. "What was that?"
"A portal," Axel answered, keeping his tone light. He needed to steer the conversation in the right direction. "One to another world, actually. It's the only one I can open, plus it takes a lot out of me, so don't go asking me to show them off all willy nilly."
"'Another world'?" Roxas echoed. "You're from another world?"
"Yes, but I promise it's not that special. There are lots of world-hoppers out there." Roxas didn't seem convinced by the insistence of mediocrity, but Axel pressed on. "Hey, you said the portal looked like me, and I look like your dark blue space holes, right?" Roxas's eyes lit up as he pulled together the connection. "Temperies is connected to another world all on its own. Isn't that more interesting?"
Roxas grinned a bit, glancing around the empty courtyard. Axel couldn't see the same way he did, but guessing what the boy searched for wasn't hard.
"You don't gotta hunt down a new one," Axel scolded. "I'm sure you memorized where some of them were. Let's just go to one of those and check it out."
"Not how it works," Roxas said. Now that the big hurdle had been cleared, the boy's voice carried every trace of familiarity. "They show up and disappear in different places. Sure, some of them appear in the same spots, but that doesn't mean they're always around." Well, that made things a bit more complicated. Not impossible to overcome, though. "You'll come with me, though? If I see one, you'll check it out with me? It'll be safer as a group."
Axel didn't have to think it over; not with the mission directive. But even if it hadn't been for the directive, if it hadn't been for the necessity, with those bright eyes and that infectious smile—
"Yeah, I'll come along. Don't expect me to pass this up!"
—Axel would have given the exact same response.
[Avi's Notes]
More flashbacks this time, but from a different perspective. There are still plenty of stories to unravel as Act I comes closer to its finisher.
But fair warning that I'll be taking a break from updating this story to slip around and make sure my other active projects get some love. I'll be back, but thank you for reading this story in the meantime.
If you ever wanna hear about what I've got in the works, you can find all that sorts of information on Twitter ( Plot_K_Bunny) and even my original projects on (Plot Bunny Productions)!
Next Scene: "Alright, Your Honor, it goes a little something like this..."
Please look forward to it!
-Avi
[10.02.2017]