paixaorpg | Reaching [Active]

Entry tags:

Reaching [Active]

Character(s): Axel, Sora, Kairi, and most likely Nam.
Content: On their way out, they find Axel.
Setting: Paixao Central Station.
Time: Monday afternoon.
Warnings: Axel gets the crap beat out of him?

Shutting his journal with a loud click, Axel reached his free hand over to the glass of alcohol on his table; it was something he couldn't remember tasting ever before—it was bitter and tart, with a heady flavor that burned on the way down. He couldn't remember the name of it, but that was relevant now, really, because its only necessary purpose was to help him forget.

The red head downed the rest of the drink and then took a breath—one on which even he could smell the heavy alcohol, producing afterwards a raspy cough from him as he drunkenly stood up, followed by the unprecedented knocking down of the glass. Some of the watered down drink and all its ice cubes (or ones he had not chewed) spilled across the table, but he only gave the mess a glance before heading out of the Cheap Prayer and into the streets of Vanaheim.

Messy thoughts sloshed around in his head. He recalled, vaguely, the conversation he had with Sora—meet him... meet him somewhere... immediately he began to head towards the nearest train station. Somehow he had managed to properly board it, which left him to sit for some time by himself as he watched the short distance pass him by.

Some immeasurable time later (at least for Axel) he arrived at the Paixao Central Station with a splitting headache, and was dizzy as ever. Furrowing his brows in irritation, he stood and haphazardly wobbled off of the train's car he had been kept within, almost tripping on his own two feet as he hopped off the steps and onto solid ground.

He looked around, usually vibrantly blue-green eyes taking on a duller shade, surrounded by thousands of tiny red lines and soft red clouds ruining the whites of his eyes. Trying to focus on the world around him (everything was blurry, and occasionally doubled), he moved only a few steps forward before he found himself accidentally stumbling into a rather burly blond man.

Far too irritated to properly deal with a citizen of Paixao—hell, all those blue eyed and blond haired bastards did now was remind him of his various failures since he had come to this place—Axel gave an irritated growl at the man and gave a half-hearted punch in his general direction. The punch, rather than landing on any particular place on the man, was instead caught by his thick fist. Frustrated only further, the red head attempted to shake his arm free violently while his free hand moved to attempt to punch again. That, in turn, was also caught, and Axel found himself abruptly shoved back and onto the cobblestone on the ground. Groaning, he writhed like a worm in attempts to stand up, but found the heft man over him again. His black leather coat was grasped and, in another instance of abruptness, found himself punched square in the eye. His back arched and he recoiled at the punch, and then found one suddenly connecting with his stomach. He gave a sickening gasp, and then relaxed to the ground.

And he was left to his own devices. Sighing shakily, he slowly sat up... one black gloved hand covering his face, the other hooked around his stomach, covering himself protectively. The little incident seemed to have drawn a small crowd, but as it was very difficult to focus enough to move to stand properly, all he could do was glare venomously at everyone who dared to catch his eye.

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Sora could only sigh and fidget, fists clenching and unclenching with stiff musculature as sky blue eyes scanned the by now all too familiar crowd of blonds.

Just where the heck was he..? He'd told the ex-Organization member in instant messaging to meet him here, and yet it'd been well over an hour. No, this wasn't worry. Manly men didn't worry. Perhaps Axel had been farther than expected?

Casting a wary gaze back to the train, the brunet had to reason with logic that he couldn't just hop on and go looking again. Who knew where Axel was right now.

Besides, the red head himself hadn't appeared to have wanted to inform Sora anyway.

The Keyblade master heaved another sigh, shifting his weight to one foot while the other idly lifted to scratch the back of his calf; another nervous tick, most likely. Directing his sight back to Kairi and Naminé, whom by now were looking with him, didn't seem too pooled with luck either. But then again, they were looking for someone different.

Riku had been the white lie of a reason for his motives. (Hey, it was not that much of a lie when it's in actual reality a half truth!)

That way, the girls never questioned the sudden rush to head here, and silently it paranoid him to wonder if perhaps it had been the smartest thing. Axel had kidnapped Kairi once, and something with Naminé too.. The brunet didn't remember, but although both girls seemed to have forgiven the Nobody, what if the others who'd spoken ill of Axel were right? What if Sora really was wrong in following his heart this time?

The sudden stuffed air of the crowded station seemed to feel constricting now. Breathe.

Sora did admit he had the brain of a bean bag sometimes, but this was different, it was more than just opinion - it was also a feeling. Completely unexplained and bizarre, but it was there none the less, nestled rather noisily in his heart, just serving to tug and lead him to believe he couldn't just let Axel out of sight.. Sight. Sight.

Sora blinked, face almost falling. ...It suddenly dawned.

He had NO IDEA what Axel looked like.

...

Way to go, although everyone had a nice hand in messing this poor boy up in buttered contradictions, Sora probably just helped them all out with an extra notch of ignorance and rushed actions lacking of thought.

Never mind the scuffle of people up ahead, Sora was too busy feeling at a loss; in simpler terms, like a ball of stupid.

Naminé walked along behind Sora, preferring to stay with Kairi and let Sora take the lead. She had gotten up at once when Sora had told them that they were going to look for Riku. She did feel a bit strange about it, since it wouldn't be the Riku she knew before. She coughed into her hand in order to hide her small blush. No, definitely not.

But at least she knew what she was looking for. He couldn't be that different, could he? Naminé decided it was best not to think about it and just search. She didn't want to think about it. Yes, going back to searching was for the best.

She was searching as hard as she could, trying not to let her thoughts get to her. She had been looking from side to side, but now turned her gaze forward. In front of them she saw that a small crowd had gathered. The crowd wasn't dense enough to completely conceal the person inside, and Naminé thought she could see a hint of red. At first she thought it was blood, but she began to notice that the red wasn't like blood at all, instead coming out of the person's head like spikes. There was only one person she knew with hair like that.

"Axel?" she questioned softly at first to only herself, but then she called out his name a bit louder, already hastening towards the crowd. Even as she was walking towards them she was beginning to have doubts, that maybe she should have waited for Sora and Kairi to come with her. Well, they would probably come soon enough anyway and she couldn't really turn back now.

She worked her way through the crowd, stopping just short of the person inside. She didn't say anything at first, but finally she whispered, "Axel..." before trailing off again. That was probably the closest she was going to get to asking him what had happened.

Slowly, the crowd dissipated, so by the time the girls reached him he was left to himself, staring rather pathetically and disoriented, down at the ground. He only looked up when he heard the slightly distorted call of his name--and slowly, lifted is head to look around.

Squinting, Axel focused in finally on her as much as he was able to, the blurry form of the white-dressed girl a ghost-like mirage to him. His brows up turned and he tilted his head, and he noticed the pink form not too far behind her. "Nam... Naminé," he said softly, and then shut his eyes. "Kairi." They found him.

He wondered if Sora was with them. He couldn't quite make out the red-haired girl's calling, so he didn't understand he was probably right behind the two of them. He couldn't really react, though--he was too dizzy to properly stand on his own.

"Axel!"

Naminé's louder shout did indeed startle Sora, but what really slapped the confused brunet out of his current problem was the girls suddenly rushing off like wild mongooses into a pile of blonds.

"Hey! Wait!" He called after them, voice almost cracking in shocked surprise at the abrupt twist of events, but a lifted hand in gesture of stopping them never did work; not in movies, nor in cartoons - people who didn't realize this were idiots. So quickly, Sora shuffled his arm down.

Slight panic began to rise, and then the name was played back.. "Axel?!"

Before the Keyblade Master himself even knew it, his legs were in motion, the slight squeak of his sneakers running on cobblestone completely ignored as he himself pushed passed the crowd with his own vague apologies in tow. Just to be polite, ya know.

"'Scuse me, sorry.. Kai--!"

Guess Kairi was closer than expected, and bumping into said girl was just bound to happen when one didn't pay great attention to the sudden change in different color combinations.

But thankfully, process fast on recognizing the pink and arms even quicker in shooting out to grab her, Sora was damn glad he did before a certain fate of angry woman getting back up from the floor to sock him another one could occur.

"Ack, sorry! You okay?" Sheepish, but it always worked - However, this time the response was hardly waited for, the teen's blue eyes instantly distracted in catching sight of bright red and black over Kairi's shoulder.

A black coat. With a zipper.

"Axel...?"

[Sorry, I don't know why I made this post humorous. D':]

"Are you alright?" Naminé asked, bending down to his level. She realized at once that this was probably a stupid thing to say. Anyone could see that Axel was not, in fact, alright. She looked down, fixing her eyes on her feet, trying to hide her embarrassment. But presently she lifted her eyes again. He looked awful. Naminé had never seen him so... broken. Her eyes widened at her own realization. It was so strange to see Axel like this.

She knew she probably shouldn't have trusted him as much as she did in that moment. She could tell that Kairi and Sora stood off a ways behind her, not coming as near to Axel as she was. But she put that all aside when she saw how he looked. Maybe it was giving her a false sense of security, but she decided for a time to ignore any lingering doubts.

She heard some commotion behind her and peered around her shoulder to see. In other circumstances she might have smiled shyly at them, playing along, but she didn't... feel... like jokes right now. So she just nodded when to Sora’s uncertain questioning of Axel’s name. Yes, it was him.

At this point, Axel was feeling very pathetic and a little embarassed with his current state. Well, he obviously didn't care much of what other people thought of him--it was just an entirely different story when it came to what people he cared about thought of him.

He took a few moments to look up, hesitantly, almost ashamedly, at Namine... and he gave a slight, very shallow nod. His eyes traveled to Kairi and then further back to Sora... then up to the blonde-haired girl again.

Axel didn't know what to say for himself. He frowned, and then looked down again.

The heavy smell of alcohol was practically wafting from Axel like tendrils in waves of five as Sora drew closer, concern etching right back within his heart as his face quite contradictorily busied itself with a wrinkled grimace.

"Axel... What have you been...?" But that was left to that, the question not really sure what it could have been asking in the first place, and the brunet simply shook his head, immediately nullifying the spoken words after an obvious realization hit. That wasn't important right now. Axel was piss drunk. Already Sora disapproved with a pang of pity, but said nothing - instead choosing this moment to eye the intoxicated Nobody over while his young features visibly softened.

The most interesting thing about Axel would have probably had to have been the hair; spiked back almost as pointy as Sora's in vibrant red that practically flared out noticeably as if hazardous prickly flames. Those green eyes, the teen noted, appearing so dull and lost when they had glanced his way, spoke wondrous self-lies that Sora could almost clearly see right through to the sparks that confirmed truth to really having been alive once upon a time.

Finally, after what seemed a decade, the Keyblade wielder extended his hand, offering a soft encouraging smile with his vow of warm words.

"Come on. Let's get you back on your feet, alright?"

And Sora meant that in more than one way.

Naminé continued to look worriedly at Axel, but started when Sora spoke and held out his hand to the other man. She quickly moved to the side to give Sora room. What had happened to him? She was too afraid to ask, especially when Sora had cut off his question midway through.

Unconsciously, she began to fidget with the hem of her dress. Could she even believe what Axel would tell them anyway? She glanced back over at him, lightly biting her lip as she was deep in thought. But he couldn't lie now, not when he looked like this...

Maybe she should have offered to help Axel as well. Not that she would do much good in helping Axel up when Sora was so much stronger. Ahh, she was overcomplicating things again. In any case she decided to stand up herself, not realizing that she was averting her eyes. Her embarrassment always got the best of her.

The night's sleep had done some good, Raiden decided. For the time being, the nanomachine headache seemed content to merely buzz in the background rather than trying to wrestle him the ground (a big improvement, he thought) and he could actually stand up and move around without feeling like his head would split open. Letting himself out the door of Cid's Shop - after a quick check to make sure that glowing animal was gone - the FOXHOUND operative stepped outside, examining the bite mark from last night.

The blue slime coating was just as solid as before and turned black overnight...although if he twisted his wrist this way and that in the light, it gave off a sheen that reminded him a bit of an oil slick.

It didn't seem to be eating away at his Skull Suit or anything at least. He'd find a way to get the gunk off when he finally made his way to Morrigans - which could take years with the amount of detours, he thought wryly. Without thinking Raiden headed straight and was suddenly surprised to see a collection of the blond, mentally deficit locals crowded around something. They started to drift away by the time he arrived, revealing what had to be several of the non-locals, one of which was wearing an outfit that seemed to match that Sora kid's description...

Realizing that eyes were on him, Raiden blinked. A girl in her preteens (she couldn't be even eighteen) was openly staring at him - the first thing he noticed was her unusual hair color. It looked like some kind of vibrant magenta. But then again, he supposed he of all people shouldn't be talking about weird hair colors.

Deciding that at the very least he could find out just what the hell got the locals' attention, he stepped forward cautiously. With his luck, this girl was probably in the Crazy Catagory, which seemed to be pretty much everyone in this damn world so far.

"Hey," Raiden ventured. He nodded toward the others that remained. "What's happening here?

Axel never knew someone who radiated such a warm feeling. For a moment, all he could do was stare dumbfoundedly up at Sora. He really couldn't believe that this was happening-- someone was being kind to him, honestly and truly kind to him. Unfortunately, he didn't have the energy to smile.

He gave a glance to Namine, for a moment, hesitantly, and then averted his eyes almost shamefully, looking back to the boy. The red-head reached up slowly and took the boy's hand-- he knew if he wanted to he could pull him down if he added too much weight, as Axel was so large in comparison to the kid, so he did his best not to lean on him too much.

Wobbly, he moved to his feet, pushing himself off the ground with his other hand. Unconciously, he grabbed for Sora's shoulder and held it tightly, for fear that he would fall or something-- his head swam around with accusations of how pathetic he was now, but he forced them down the moment they surfaced-- he tried to focus on his aching head and stomach. It reassured he was at least kind of real, at least.

"Th...anks," he muttered shakily. "I'm sorry-- about this..."

Riku never liked waiting. He was one of those types who liked instant results, or atleast liked to hit the ground running. In this particular instance, he could not. All he could do was sit and wait around until the Vanaheim train pulled in, and he was bored out of his skull while doing so. For anyone who knew him, a bored Riku was also a very easily irritated Riku. Especially when the sensitive subjects of Sora and Kairi were involved.

Why did the trains have to go so slow?!

Antsy as ever, the teen had reduced himself to pacing; prowling back and forth across hard stone floors like a caged animal. Thankfully, he did have a generous amount of room, considering how packed the place was. Evidently, no one wanted to be near the irate boy. Understandable enough. They were probably used to such a thing by now, anyway. So many lost, confused, and cranky strangers randomly popping up in the city. Riku ~~maybe~~ would have gone out of his way to avoid them, too.

Somehow, he managed to make his way up a short flight of steps, onto a small platform. The height difference wasn't anything phenomenal, but it did provide a better vantage point. Again, his impatient waiting resumed, gloved hands wrapping around the top bar of the thin banister as he stared out over the sea of various shades of blonde, fingers steadily drumming against the metal the whole while-- the only other outward display of his current agitation. He instantly perked the moment the train rolled in, leather creaking and groaning as his grip tightened even moreso, and set to scanning the crowd for any sign of his friends...

..Which there was none to be found. There was too much commotion; too many people pushing and shoving, too much moving around. Riku squinted from behind his blindfold and scowled. Maybe they were on a different train? Or maybe they came out from the other side.. was there even another side to come out from?

Just then, he caught a glimpse of brown out of the corner of his eye, then a quick flash of almost-burgundy that was unique to only Kairi. Of course, it took no time at all for him to descend from the platform. He hastily maneuvered his way through the crowd with long strides, finding himself approaching a small circle of onlookers a few moments later. That wasn't a good sign. People only gathered like that if something bad had happened, like a fight or some kind of injury. Somewhat startled, Riku rudely, not to mention physically, broke his way through the wall of bodies with commands of, "Move, move-- I said move!"

Such a pushy boy. But it paid off. He made it inside the circle, in clear view of Kairi, Namine, and... "Sora..?" Apparently, the brunet was struggling to help up.. a battered Organization member. Riku immediately frowned.

Hell no.

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Reaching [Active]

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OMG RAIDEN MAKES ME SQUEE. :D

Re: OMG LOL!

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