http://rookie-snake.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] rookie-snake.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] paixaorpg2006-05-09 01:33 am

Deeper into Paixao - [COMPLETED]

Character(s): Raiden, Rayne
Content; In which Raiden goes deeper into the city and reflects on the people he's met. (Anyone near here? Anyone? :D)
Setting; I8, near St. Destino Hospital
Time; Sunday - afternoon/evening
Warnings: Uber mild cursing


According to the map, Raiden was near "St. Destino" Hospital".

In other words, he was good and lost.

"Stupid piece of crap," Raiden muttered venomously at his journal. It beeped cheerfully. Raiden resisted the urge to throw it at someone.

He still wasn't quite clear what to call it; it clearly wasn't like any PDA he'd ever seen. He accessed the map function entirely by accident trying to figure the damn thing out. Ever since he found that Morrigan woman on the message board, he had been trying to pick his way through this godforsaken place and get a feel for where he was. He hadn't seen even one car here. No buses. In fact, the technological level of this place looked to be nonexistent, if it wasn't for the fact everyone seemed to be carrying the same journal device he did.

Despite how unreal this all was, Raiden tried to keep a level head about everything, as he carefully took in his new, alien surroundings. He'd always prided himself on a good memory and what with his nanomachines and their improvements, it was practically photographic now. As he walked down the street, he made sure to mentally note anything of interest or out of place.

There was a lot out of place here.

The locals, for one. He hadn't seen any old people yet and for some reason, every civilian ("Paixoan?") had blue eyes and blond hair - he probably could pass for one of them if it wasn't for his Skull Suit. The lack of any diversity at all was baffling. What was more, everyone was entirely too helpful and orderly and not once had he heard an argument break out. Money seemed to be practically arbitrary from what he saw. Even bartering seemed to be more of an option than a requirement. Raiden hadn't seen anything like it before - no amount of VR training could have prepared him for any of this. No one even seemed to notice the flood of non Paixaons, much less the fact there didn't appear to be any living plant life or wildlife at all. He wondered briefly where they got the food. He decided he didn't want to know.

Raiden ran a hand impatiently through his hair, looked down and consulted the map. The names were meaningless, all places he didn't know. He had a vague inkling where this Morrigan's mansion was, but that was it. This job lined up seemed a bit iffy, but what other choices did he have? He needed information and seeing as she looked fairly well off, she was probably his best bet for the time being.

The FOXHOUND operative crossed the cobblestone street, glancing around carefully and taking in every detail. Houses here were a bit on the rundown side here and the St. Destino hospital had a decidedly creepy air to it, looking like it was slumping down in exhaustion. He hurried past it, his strides quickening for a moment. It gave him shivers for some reason.

Raiden took his mind off the place and tried to organize what he knew so far. He had made contact with a few of the non-locals. They seemed human enough...at least they exhibited real emotions. The other American - Asuka, was it? - seemed alright, if a bit on the hot-tempered side. Kind of moody too, like a kid sister might be (Raiden couldn't help being glad he was an only child if sisters could be like that). Asuka reminded him a bit like Rose when Rose got pissed off, which meant she could get scary.

Raiden knew well enough that when you were around people like that, and they got Pissed Off, you booked it the hell out of there.

Jenet seemed...interesting. That was the only word he think of. He hadn't seen her face to face yet, but he couldn't help but be a little intrigued by the woman. You have a girlfriend, dammit. He wondered if they would ever meet - now that he thought about it, meeting had never come up. Might not be a good idea to mention it until he knew more about this Paixao place. If things got hairy, he would like at least to have a general idea of all the escape routes and good defensive positions. He didn't want to trust his journal alone for that information. Still, he figured that of all the people he had met, this Jenet seemed the most on top of things.

And that Genjo Sanzo guy?

That was easy. The guy was a dick.

[identity profile] rayne-red.livejournal.com 2006-05-10 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
After taking shelter in an old, empty house and resting for most of the day, Rayne cautiously checked her surroundings. Maybe this place wasn’t some hallucination. It couldn’t be. Sure, you felt things during hallucinations, but could you feel boredom? Could you wander around an entirely made up world? Besides, she still had that weird contraption with her. She’d look at it later. Things were too weird at the moment. She’d decided to venture outside, and was extremely to find out that the lowering sun’s rays did little more than merely warm her skin. A world without a real sun? What the hell was going on?! Well, it was to her advantage, so on she went to explore. Weirder things were possible in hallucinations. She was expecting to see pink trees and cotton candy poodles sometime soon.

Rayne wandered a decent amount, noticing the other people around her were all blonds. Not a shred of difference among them, aside from height and attire. They hardly glanced her way. Well, Rayne smirked to herself, she’d have a steady diet here. Excellent. Enough people around that they wouldn’t miss one a night or so.

She idly played with one of her blades, flicking it back and forth as she paused, looking around to get her bearings. Wasn’t there a map of this place somewhere? She did have a good sense of direction, but she would rather see a layout of the place before she did any heavy exploration. Then something caught her eye.

There was a man not too far from her, sitting on a curb, wearing a most bizarre outfit. ’What the hell…’ Rayne’s brows furrowed. Her curiosity was piqued. She’d never seen anything like it, the closest being the Nazi uniforms she’d seen in Argentina and Germany. And those were nowhere near what the man was wearing. Figuring there was nothing to lose, she walked over to the strangely-attired man, her blades tucked behind her arms. “What on earth are you wearing?” she asked high-handedly once she was close enough, standing before him with hands on her hips.

Now that was more like something out of a hallucination.

[identity profile] rayne-red.livejournal.com 2006-05-11 02:38 pm (UTC)(link)
The man in the weird clothing got up slowly. He looked nervous–scared, even. Rayne smiled, pleased. It was better in the long run if those around her showed her respect from the very beginning.

"A Skull Suit?" she asked, confused. Like that answered everything in one fell swoop. Was it common knowledge what that was? No. Definitely no. But before she could pry more, he asked about her weapons. "Oh, these," she said with a laugh. "They're my custom blades." With a subtle movement of her wrists, she reversed the direction of the blades in demonstration, holding them out to her sides. "They increase my reach substantially. I think you have a good idea of what I do with them. But I can demonstrate if you like." She grinned wickedly, lowering her arms again.

[identity profile] rayne-red.livejournal.com 2006-05-12 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
“Raiden,” she repeated. “That’s an odd name for an American. It’s not one I’ve heard before.” She looked amused. Maybe it was some kind of code name. After all, she had one too, though it wasn’t very creative. “I’m American too, though I haven’t been in the country for years.”

She noted that the young man’s eyes kept wandering. It made her smirk somewhat. She had intended her outfit to be distracting to men. While they were busy ogling her, it made it easy to attach her lips to their neck, or to spring a bladed surprise attack on them. It had worked flawlessly many times before. If the man before her were an enemy, he’d already be dead. Luckily he posed no threat in his weird costume.

She pointed her blades back to the safe position. “I’m Rayne,” she said curtly. He had been courteous in offering his name, so she offered the same back to him. “Do you live in this place by any chance? I’m pretty lost, and I like to know exactly where I am at any given time.” She gave a sweet smile, this time giving Raiden a much clearer look at her incisors. “Be a dear and help me?”

[identity profile] rayne-red.livejournal.com 2006-05-14 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
Apparently a lot of frustration had been building up in this strange man, leading up to the outburst. Rayne absorbed it quietly with narrowed eyes. It was so mannish to yell like that. She half-expected him to start throwing punches at any time. Luckily he had calmed down before long, and apologized. Ah, a gentleman. And one who even offered to help her. But she knew better that to outright accept something like that. It was more often than not the makings of a trap.

First things first. “You’re trapped here?” She tilted her head some. “I may be mistaken, but I came into this place through a great big gate.” She pointed back over her shoulder. “You could always just walk right back out. Though if you’re anything like me, just dumped on your ass in this shithole without rhyme or reason, it may not be so easy. I’d keep looking. A way in always has a counterpart.”

She paused, then offered a thin smile. “Someone else could help me more than you? That, I’m sure of. You haven’t even told me what the hell a Skull Suit is.” Her eyes swept him once again. “I’ve never seen anything like it, though it’s probably not important conversation right now. Anyway, thanks for your offer, but I think I’d rather go on my own route. If you’re going, go. I’d rather find out as much as I can through my own…experience, if you catch my drift.”

[identity profile] rayne-red.livejournal.com 2006-05-14 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Rayne was able to follow everything Raiden said up to the point where he began talking about his Skull Suit. Okay, so the place unnerved him. She hadn’t seen enough of it yet to make an opinion, but she did have to admit it seemed strange. She hadn’t seen real foliage or any pets around. That was sort of bizarre. After all, plants helped with the air.

And then came the explanation about the suit. Raiden’s flat tone quickly drove home the meaning of ‘curiosity killed the cat.’ Her eyes just about glazed over with all the technical mumbo-jumbo jargon he gave her. Well, she did want to know what it was, but it was clearly beyond her comprehension.

“Uhm, splendid,” she replied, forcing a smile. “Your suit–yeah. Thumbs up there.” What the hell was that all about? He was definitely from another world. Funny how she had been doubtful of other worlds until now. Either that, or this hallucination was reeeeeeally strong. She hadn’t decided yet.

And then she had to bite back a laugh. What he said next was impossible. Rayne held up the small metallic box between two fingers, staring at it. “Raiden, maybe you’ve been in this place too long. Unless this… thing is just going to sprout a telephone of sorts, I don’t think we can use it to, er, contact each other. I don’t even know why they gave it out at the gate. Paperweights make great gifts, sure, but giving one to everybody is a little excessive.” She glanced at Raiden expectantly, “I don’t know what Codec is either, so I’ve not only missed your drift but any boats as well.”

[identity profile] rayne-red.livejournal.com 2006-05-15 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)


“Codec sounds, ah, interesting,” Rayne said awkwardly. Nanomachines? Computers? What…? It was all so confusing. All this information being thrown at her! If this wasn’t a hallucination, she didn’t even want to think about the kind of world this guy came from. It was obvious this place was not her world, or his, so they had been brought here somehow. All right. She could understand that. But not everything in life had a neat ‘why’ answer, so she wasn’t going to attempt that one. She was here now. She could handle that much.

“So this is a computer.” Rayne looked at the small box in her hands. A machine that stores information? “Okay.” Don’t question the how or why. Just accept that it is. “And we can talk to each other through it?” That was doubtful. She found a catch on the side of it and undid it. She opened the box and found little letters and a miniature screen. “What is this? A typewriter and a very tiny cinema screen? How interesting!” She poked at it curiously, and jumped when it made beeping sounds. “This thing is odd! Ah! The screen glows!” She stared at it incredulously. Her mind screamed for the whys of it all. She doubted even Raiden would know how it worked. It just did.

Rayne poked at the buttons some more. “It makes letters on the screen and not on paper,” she observed to herself. She glanced up at Raiden. He must think her an idiot. Well, so what. Most men thought women were nothing more than tits and asses anyway. Let him think what he wanted. She was fascinated, and the little computer-thing held her attention fast. She was determined to figure it out like a new toy.

When she looked up again, she smiled delightedly. “Well, thank you, Raiden, for all your information. If you’re going to meet this Morrigan, I think you ought to go soon. She’s probably expecting you, after all, and I don’t want to keep you for any longer than I should. You’ve been a great help.” Even though she couldn’t understand most of what he’d told her.

[identity profile] rayne-red.livejournal.com 2006-05-19 01:37 am (UTC)(link)


Rayne almost didn’t hear Raiden, she was so absorbed in the small computer-box. It did strange things when she pressed the buttons, mostly results that showed up on the mini-cinema screen. It was amazing, really. Why didn’t they have these things in her world? It would have made keeping contact with Mynce so much easier. Things wouldn’t have had unfolded as they did.

Her regrets spurred her back to reality, and she looked up to meet Raiden’s eyes. She pushed back her childlike enthusiasm and promptly looked. “You’d show me that? Really. And how much would it cost me? I’m not inclined to pay for what I could find out on my own. I’m not the type to do favors, either. So if you’re some self-appointed teacher or something, I’ll pass.” If it wasn’t money, it’d be sex. And that was not happening.

Harsh, especially to a stranger. She thought better of it. “Thanks for the offer, though,” she said tightly. “It’s more than most people would do.”

[identity profile] rayne-red.livejournal.com 2006-05-20 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
Rayne had to smile wryly. Apparently Raiden had reached the end of his rope of patience, or sanity, or maybe both simultaneously. She’d have loved to see his world, if her talk of less than honorable payments, or even payments in general, surprised him. Did he come from a world of sunshine and roses? What a world that must be. However, it didn’t seem likely. It didn’t fit with his odd costume and strange jargon. People from happy places tended to speak simply, and this Raiden had a massive vocabulary.

“I see that you’ve had enough,” she said almost triumphantly. Oh, he was ridiculously easy to annoy. Maybe he was that way naturally. Maybe this place had pushed him to his limits. He did mention before that he had arrived ‘the other day.’ How long ago that had been was questionable, especially if the place distorted time. But… that could be considered later. Thoughts like that tended to make her head hurt. “You certainly are an exceptional one, Mr. Raiden,” she said, her eyes sweeping him cursorily. “I think I’ll be able to figure out this silly little chunk of metal and light on my own.” She waved the little computer thing at him. “It shouldn’t take a genius to work it, especially if they are given out like candy at the gates.”

She shifted her weight impatiently. There was an interesting building nearby that she was eager to investigate. It might be empty and it could serve as no-cost housing. Parts of it seemed run down and would likely be abandoned. It could be her base of operations. Rayne was hardly used to luxury, and she could make herself comfortable there with very little effort.

First things first. Raiden had offered to help her in his own interesting way. He did give her some slight answers. The very least she could do was offer him a second chance. “If you truly want to help me, even without payment, fine. But if I’ve somehow offended your sensitive tastes and worldviews, I’ll be on my way. If that is the case, I’ll wish you luck with that Morrigan woman tomorrow and go. It hardly matters to me.”

[identity profile] rayne-red.livejournal.com 2006-05-20 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)


Despite Raiden’s quick, curt manner, she learned everything she needed to about the device. She committed everything to memory, as she was nearly certain she wouldn’t be able to bully anyone else to such an extent without getting into some kind of fight or tussle. Fun as he was to annoy, Rayne didn’t want to fight Raiden. After all, the day was on its way to an end, and the day was the time she normally spent at rest. She did have a few hours of rest under her belt, true, but it wouldn’t be enough to sustain her through a fight. Besides, the fellow was clearly unarmed, and she doubted his fancy outfit would protect him much.

“Well, Raiden, thanks for the lesson.” She grinned, showing fangs to best advantage. It was wonderful to have her way. As it always should be. “I doubt I’ll have need to contact you, but I’ll look for you on this network thing you talked about. And who knows. That Morrigan woman might be too much for you to handle.” She laughed. “I’m very interested in how that little meeting will go. Do write about it on your computer. For now, I’ll leave you to your thoughts.” Still vastly amused, she backed off, making an extravagant, mocking bow at him, and then she quickly leaped into the air to land on a nearby rooftop. She was still within eyeshot of Raiden, and so she turned to blow him a kiss before she ran off more.

The run-down building, which turned out to be one St. Destino Hospital, looked more and more inviting with every moment.