03-11-2010, 05:51 AM
One second, he was on the bridge of the massive ship, watching as Alura fell into the depths of the ocean, turning on his heel to parry the oncoming blade of Ace. The next second, he found his cutlass missing, and his balance drastically impeded. He tumbled backwards, landing with a resounding thud on the dirt. Horns began to play a silly carnival jingle and he knew that he was back.
He let his hands release the invisible sword, and slowly, they fell to his sides. They gathered clumps of dirt, and then let them spill forth like the sands of an hourglass back to the earth. It was ironic; just a few hours before, he would have never even considered being glad that he was back in this hell hole. As eerie as it was, however, he much preferred the dangers lurking in the shadows here than he did the impending doom that he faced with the Kraken. A smile crept onto his face, and he slowly closed his eyes, taking a moment to breathe in the greasy stench of popcorn and corn dogs.
He lay still for a few moments before rolling onto his stomach. Once he’d done so, however, he completed the series of motions at a comparatively quick rate, pushing himself off the ground and straightening his back, standing tall. His eyes fell to his body—still, he wore musty pirate garb. He sighed; a wardrobe alteration would need to occur very soon. At once, however, Alura appeared in his sights, and despite the relative disagreements they had had on how to play the game, he was happy to see her alive.
“Hey,” he called, and she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes not nearly as welcoming as the half-Saiyan had expected, “Nice outfit.” He smiled broadly, sticking his hands in the pockets of his coat as an awkward silence lingered between the pair. At last, he felt the need to break it: “I guess we made it.”
Alura had no choice but to respond. “Guess so,” however, was all that she mustered, turning away from him. He cocked an eyebrow, unsure as to why her hostility lingered. Sure, they hadn’t been the best of friends on that boat, but in a game where allies were few and far between, you couldn’t just walk away from someone who was friendly to you—even if you didn’t fully trust them, use them to your advantage.
“You okay?” he asked pointedly, removing his hands from his pockets and raising his shoulders, attempting to act slightly more aggressive. “I would’ve thought you’d be happy to see me?” Alura didn’t respond at first, at least not with more than a scoff. He reached for her shoulder and at his touch she spun around, an angry look on her face.
“I don’t even know you, human,” she muttered in a low growl, and before Juno could react, the image of the blue reptilian no longer stood before him. He stumbled through the air where she had once stood, glancing angrily around the alley where they’d awoken. Juno shook his head; she was foolish. She had turned her back on probably her only ally at the moment, and because of what? Because she’d gotten a little pissed off? Because he’d gotten a little rash? It was no reason to ruin the game, and right now, the fortuneteller wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with no ally to turn to.
“That was uncalled for,” he muttered to himself, his eyes darting to his peripherals just in case he’d missed her. That said, his thoughts returned to his outfit. “Mixie,” he said quietly, and waited for a few seconds. “Mixie?” he called again, and not a moment later he was tapped on the shoulder. The brunette stood next to him, and surveyed him up and down, stifling a chuckle. Funny; he had never met an AI with personality.
“Let me guess,” she giggled, “You want your old clothes back?” Juno nodded with a scowl, and Mixie slowly pranced around behind him, slipping the coat off of his shoulders. He closed his eyes, and as the coat fell to the ground he felt another fall lightly onto his shoulders. He opened his eyes and looked down, finding himself once more dressed in the familiar black outfit he had become accustomed to. “I assume that will be to your liking, Juno?” she asked, smiling shyly.
“That’ll do,” he smiled, shooting a glance at her. He nodded, and she disintegrated before his eyes, and seconds later, she was gone.
He turned on his heel, and stepped out of the alleyway into the full light of the carnival. The brass music crescendoed, and the half-Saiyan’s eyes observed his surroundings. He was in a part of the carnival he’d never been in before. The alley had not led into a conglomeration of roller coasters and Ferris wheels or the sticky aisles of the concession stands, but rather, he smelt water. Not, however, salty water that he had recently gotten more than his fair share of, but chlorinated water. His eyes traced the outline of a small pool, which was in ground and was merely one of the many attractions of what seemed to be a water park.
…wait. A water park? Well, now this was just ridiculous.
He slid his hands into his coat pockets, walking to the edge of the pool and glancing over it at his reflection. His hair was still matted to his head from the salty spray of the deep sea. It all seemed so real… the ship, the carnival, everything. He had to shake it off, though. It wasn’t real. None of it was real. Gamer had told them that, right? They were all inside a computer. Juno glanced up at the sky. It didn’t seem quite so picturesque now that he knew it was false.
They had to find a way out. All of them. It was a game, and right now, Juno was in it for himself, and himself only. He had to escape, and nobody, not even Sage or Sophia, would get in his way. He wouldn’t trust anyone unless they gave him reason to - especially not those who thought they could use him.
But there was one thing that he knew nobody in this carnival could deny: no matter how much you didn’t want to trust someone, there were moments when you at least had to work with them. Juno needed people on his side, and with the departure of Alura and his other acquaintances missing, he didn’t know what to do. Kaden and Sophia were somewhere, he knew, and Belle and Alex Trafford were around the park, too; but he couldn’t waste time looking for them. He had to think about the here and now.
He had to do something, though. It wasn’t prudent to just sit around waiting, he knew, he had to find something, or find someone -
“More water? I find it hard to believe that was your choice,” a voice said behind him. Juno glanced over his shoulder, seeing Ace Trafford standing there, scratching the back of his head casually as he observed the water park around them.
“Not exactly,” Juno smiled.
“Water slides, log rides, the works,” the psycho-kinetic listed, and the half-Saiyan spun on his heel to face the bronze-haired guy. He hadn’t really gotten a chance during the battle to take Alexander Trafford in - he was young, around Juno’s age, and deceptively casual. His shoulders were slightly shrugged and his fingers were wrapped around a cigarette box rather tightly.
Glad to have these back, Juno heard Trafford say.
“I bet you are,” he chuckled.
“What?” Ace questioned, looking at the fortuneteller from his observations. Juno’s eyebrow quirked. Hadn’t Trafford just said “Glad to have these back”? Why would he not understand if Juno replied?
That was… weird. Juno bit his lip; it was Trafford’s voice, again, but upon closer observation, he wasn’t seeing Ace’s lips moves. He was hearing Ace’s thoughts.
“Nothing,” Juno replied, “It was nothing, I thought I heard you say something, it was just one of the carnival robots over there.” He pointed off in a random direction as he said this, noticing only later there actually weren’t any bots in the direct vicinity. Alex looked at him strangely, but eventually shrugged off the incident and lit up, blowing smoke rings out and sitting on the edge of the pool. “So… what’re we supposed to do?”
“I don’t guess we have much choice other than to, y’know, wait,” Alex replied, though Juno could tell that wouldn’t have been his first choice if given the option.
Kicking off his boots, the onyx-haired youth sat next to his redheaded companion and stuck his feet into the pool. “So we wait, then? For what, I wonder? Some other lame event?”
“I guess,” Alex replied.
There was an awkward silence for a couple of minutes before Juno looked at the boy next to him. “Hey, no hard feelings, alright?”
“About what? You trying to kill me, me trying to kill you, or both?” Trafford laughed. “I’d say we’re pretty much even, Juno. Which, by the way, is totally a girl’s name.”
“Totally isn’t.”
He let his hands release the invisible sword, and slowly, they fell to his sides. They gathered clumps of dirt, and then let them spill forth like the sands of an hourglass back to the earth. It was ironic; just a few hours before, he would have never even considered being glad that he was back in this hell hole. As eerie as it was, however, he much preferred the dangers lurking in the shadows here than he did the impending doom that he faced with the Kraken. A smile crept onto his face, and he slowly closed his eyes, taking a moment to breathe in the greasy stench of popcorn and corn dogs.
He lay still for a few moments before rolling onto his stomach. Once he’d done so, however, he completed the series of motions at a comparatively quick rate, pushing himself off the ground and straightening his back, standing tall. His eyes fell to his body—still, he wore musty pirate garb. He sighed; a wardrobe alteration would need to occur very soon. At once, however, Alura appeared in his sights, and despite the relative disagreements they had had on how to play the game, he was happy to see her alive.
“Hey,” he called, and she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes not nearly as welcoming as the half-Saiyan had expected, “Nice outfit.” He smiled broadly, sticking his hands in the pockets of his coat as an awkward silence lingered between the pair. At last, he felt the need to break it: “I guess we made it.”
Alura had no choice but to respond. “Guess so,” however, was all that she mustered, turning away from him. He cocked an eyebrow, unsure as to why her hostility lingered. Sure, they hadn’t been the best of friends on that boat, but in a game where allies were few and far between, you couldn’t just walk away from someone who was friendly to you—even if you didn’t fully trust them, use them to your advantage.
“You okay?” he asked pointedly, removing his hands from his pockets and raising his shoulders, attempting to act slightly more aggressive. “I would’ve thought you’d be happy to see me?” Alura didn’t respond at first, at least not with more than a scoff. He reached for her shoulder and at his touch she spun around, an angry look on her face.
“I don’t even know you, human,” she muttered in a low growl, and before Juno could react, the image of the blue reptilian no longer stood before him. He stumbled through the air where she had once stood, glancing angrily around the alley where they’d awoken. Juno shook his head; she was foolish. She had turned her back on probably her only ally at the moment, and because of what? Because she’d gotten a little pissed off? Because he’d gotten a little rash? It was no reason to ruin the game, and right now, the fortuneteller wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with no ally to turn to.
“That was uncalled for,” he muttered to himself, his eyes darting to his peripherals just in case he’d missed her. That said, his thoughts returned to his outfit. “Mixie,” he said quietly, and waited for a few seconds. “Mixie?” he called again, and not a moment later he was tapped on the shoulder. The brunette stood next to him, and surveyed him up and down, stifling a chuckle. Funny; he had never met an AI with personality.
“Let me guess,” she giggled, “You want your old clothes back?” Juno nodded with a scowl, and Mixie slowly pranced around behind him, slipping the coat off of his shoulders. He closed his eyes, and as the coat fell to the ground he felt another fall lightly onto his shoulders. He opened his eyes and looked down, finding himself once more dressed in the familiar black outfit he had become accustomed to. “I assume that will be to your liking, Juno?” she asked, smiling shyly.
“That’ll do,” he smiled, shooting a glance at her. He nodded, and she disintegrated before his eyes, and seconds later, she was gone.
He turned on his heel, and stepped out of the alleyway into the full light of the carnival. The brass music crescendoed, and the half-Saiyan’s eyes observed his surroundings. He was in a part of the carnival he’d never been in before. The alley had not led into a conglomeration of roller coasters and Ferris wheels or the sticky aisles of the concession stands, but rather, he smelt water. Not, however, salty water that he had recently gotten more than his fair share of, but chlorinated water. His eyes traced the outline of a small pool, which was in ground and was merely one of the many attractions of what seemed to be a water park.
…wait. A water park? Well, now this was just ridiculous.
He slid his hands into his coat pockets, walking to the edge of the pool and glancing over it at his reflection. His hair was still matted to his head from the salty spray of the deep sea. It all seemed so real… the ship, the carnival, everything. He had to shake it off, though. It wasn’t real. None of it was real. Gamer had told them that, right? They were all inside a computer. Juno glanced up at the sky. It didn’t seem quite so picturesque now that he knew it was false.
They had to find a way out. All of them. It was a game, and right now, Juno was in it for himself, and himself only. He had to escape, and nobody, not even Sage or Sophia, would get in his way. He wouldn’t trust anyone unless they gave him reason to - especially not those who thought they could use him.
But there was one thing that he knew nobody in this carnival could deny: no matter how much you didn’t want to trust someone, there were moments when you at least had to work with them. Juno needed people on his side, and with the departure of Alura and his other acquaintances missing, he didn’t know what to do. Kaden and Sophia were somewhere, he knew, and Belle and Alex Trafford were around the park, too; but he couldn’t waste time looking for them. He had to think about the here and now.
He had to do something, though. It wasn’t prudent to just sit around waiting, he knew, he had to find something, or find someone -
“More water? I find it hard to believe that was your choice,” a voice said behind him. Juno glanced over his shoulder, seeing Ace Trafford standing there, scratching the back of his head casually as he observed the water park around them.
“Not exactly,” Juno smiled.
“Water slides, log rides, the works,” the psycho-kinetic listed, and the half-Saiyan spun on his heel to face the bronze-haired guy. He hadn’t really gotten a chance during the battle to take Alexander Trafford in - he was young, around Juno’s age, and deceptively casual. His shoulders were slightly shrugged and his fingers were wrapped around a cigarette box rather tightly.
Glad to have these back, Juno heard Trafford say.
“I bet you are,” he chuckled.
“What?” Ace questioned, looking at the fortuneteller from his observations. Juno’s eyebrow quirked. Hadn’t Trafford just said “Glad to have these back”? Why would he not understand if Juno replied?
That was… weird. Juno bit his lip; it was Trafford’s voice, again, but upon closer observation, he wasn’t seeing Ace’s lips moves. He was hearing Ace’s thoughts.
“Nothing,” Juno replied, “It was nothing, I thought I heard you say something, it was just one of the carnival robots over there.” He pointed off in a random direction as he said this, noticing only later there actually weren’t any bots in the direct vicinity. Alex looked at him strangely, but eventually shrugged off the incident and lit up, blowing smoke rings out and sitting on the edge of the pool. “So… what’re we supposed to do?”
“I don’t guess we have much choice other than to, y’know, wait,” Alex replied, though Juno could tell that wouldn’t have been his first choice if given the option.
Kicking off his boots, the onyx-haired youth sat next to his redheaded companion and stuck his feet into the pool. “So we wait, then? For what, I wonder? Some other lame event?”
“I guess,” Alex replied.
There was an awkward silence for a couple of minutes before Juno looked at the boy next to him. “Hey, no hard feelings, alright?”
“About what? You trying to kill me, me trying to kill you, or both?” Trafford laughed. “I’d say we’re pretty much even, Juno. Which, by the way, is totally a girl’s name.”
“Totally isn’t.”