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paixaorpg2011-02-21 11:48 pm
agorillaspeaks.livejournal.com) wrote in paixaorpg2011-02-21 11:48 pm
One Marco On The Rocks [Active]
Character(s): Marco, Jake, open
Content: Marco at the gates of Vanaheim, wary of Paixao
Setting: Vanaheim and maybe a little bit inside, we'll see
Time: Week 29, Dawnish
Warnings: Nada.
Marco rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, rolling over in his bed. Or, at least, what he thought was his bed. When his side encountered a rather sharp rock, Marco came awake all at once, his body tensing and everything coming back to him quickly.
He'd just returned from throwing chimpanzee dung at a bunch of Yeerk-Controllers, which'd caused him to have interesting and weird dreams. Morphing into a physically talking animal. Doing a little dance in amongst a forest of trees made of jewels. The Ellimist, all-powerful great Being, and also off his rocker, telling him to redeem an Animorph card for three hundred coupons. Though, looking up at a towering structure stuck between two large trees, he'd never seen anything this weird. Not even the Tinkertoy structures of the Iskoort's homeworld had structures this...huge.
Oh, and somebody was asking for his name. Wary, Marco rolled to his feet and took stock of the situation. Alone, none of the other Animorphs were anywhere to be seen, not even Ax. Which, considering Ax had been right beside him, and they'd both know if he'd moved...had the Ellimist made him play a game alone? Dreaming of the Ellimist...
Asking for his name again. If this was an Ellimist game, it wouldn't be wise to lie. Any moment now, time would freeze. Any moment now...
Asking for his name again. "Marco," Marco finally said. The guard handed him a tablet.
Opening it up, Marco saw a screen, and a keyboard. A computer, then? Strange. He could explore it later. Holding it under his hand, he looked into the gate. It was all very empty. Dream or Ellimist game...time to go.
Content: Marco at the gates of Vanaheim, wary of Paixao
Setting: Vanaheim and maybe a little bit inside, we'll see
Time: Week 29, Dawnish
Warnings: Nada.
Marco rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, rolling over in his bed. Or, at least, what he thought was his bed. When his side encountered a rather sharp rock, Marco came awake all at once, his body tensing and everything coming back to him quickly.
He'd just returned from throwing chimpanzee dung at a bunch of Yeerk-Controllers, which'd caused him to have interesting and weird dreams. Morphing into a physically talking animal. Doing a little dance in amongst a forest of trees made of jewels. The Ellimist, all-powerful great Being, and also off his rocker, telling him to redeem an Animorph card for three hundred coupons. Though, looking up at a towering structure stuck between two large trees, he'd never seen anything this weird. Not even the Tinkertoy structures of the Iskoort's homeworld had structures this...huge.
Oh, and somebody was asking for his name. Wary, Marco rolled to his feet and took stock of the situation. Alone, none of the other Animorphs were anywhere to be seen, not even Ax. Which, considering Ax had been right beside him, and they'd both know if he'd moved...had the Ellimist made him play a game alone? Dreaming of the Ellimist...
Asking for his name again. If this was an Ellimist game, it wouldn't be wise to lie. Any moment now, time would freeze. Any moment now...
Asking for his name again. "Marco," Marco finally said. The guard handed him a tablet.
Opening it up, Marco saw a screen, and a keyboard. A computer, then? Strange. He could explore it later. Holding it under his hand, he looked into the gate. It was all very empty. Dream or Ellimist game...time to go.
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Anyway--the ball. After buying this thing, he realized it wouldn't quite make the hype as a substitute for a real basketball, once he dribbled it a few times just minutes ago. It was lighter, a bit harder to grip, too. He had the impulse to just leave it behind somewhere. Regretting it, he was feeling like he had wasted some of the shiny gold pieces.
Jake was on taking the long hike back to his apartment. Vanaheim Gate on the way was a not so distant memory as he was gazing toward the fake trees he once walked past three weeks ago. Some of that money he spent? That came from the first person he's met the day he arrived to this crazy, confusing place. Kida probably wouldn't have given him grief over that though, if she was still around...
He didn't expect to see a familiar face just coming through the gate. The blonde haired portly gate guy just handed Marco a journal. Marco, his best friend for as long as he could remember.
Thonk, thonk, thonk-thonk-th-thonk... Jake just dropped what he had bought for a discounted price, and didn't care. Surprise came all at once as he began to make a dash toward Marco.
Only a matter of time before the others get here, probably. I wonder what's happened over there. How everyone else has been doing while I wasn't there. A sliver of relief was mixing itself in with plenty of dread. He most likely did not want to know how everything was, but nonetheless; he would have to hear it.
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He peered at the journal, managing to find the buttons and watching the screen turn on without a sound or vibration. That's...That was...
Marco made a face, then another.
A picture of his funny face appeared on the screen.
Marco grinned.
Perfect.
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Marco was doing a very typical Marco thing. He'd have to explain the purpose of the journal devices, but in a little bit.
Sprinting as far as he can, he almost bumped into one of those fancy dressed people exiting from a building. "Excuse me, sorry," he quickly uttered while he kept moving.
By now, he was close enough to slow down a little to call out to him. "Marco! Hey!" Relief fought with dread and conquered it, spur of the moment. Jake managed to grin. "Good to see you again. Surprising how they can give mini laptops for free, isn't it?"
Had to be Marco, for real. Even if the fog hadn't totally vanished, Jake was only fooled once by its bizarre illusions. Still, given the unpredictability of Paixao, he wasn't entirely certain about this.
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Then he frowned for a brief second before it vanished into an easy smile.
Then he took a sniff of Jake.
"Weird," Marco said. "You don't smell like chimpanzee poop or slaughterhouse."
He lifted his sleeve and sniffed himself. "I still do. It's hard to get off."
All the more reasons it pointed to an Ellimist game rather than a dream.
He just wished this time he'd get to take a shower.
His eyes narrowed. "And who's 'they'? How long've you been here?"
Imposter? Controller? Drode?
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There was skepticism, in which was reasonable. For as long as he's known Marco, he had the suspicion of Marco thinking that Jake wasn't really Jake.
"...I probably don't want to know what exactly went down," he started to say, "but I take it's been another insane day out with the Yeerks."
Before he could ask his questions about the others, he felt he owed his friend an explanation of where they were, as well as to how Jake got here. There was no way of knowing if time flowed the same way it did back home though. He could have been away longer back there.
"'They' are the people who live in this city, called Paixao. There are a lot of blonde haired men, women, and children who are dressed from an earlier century. Like the time in which Shakespeare was alive. I don't know why they call this lunacy home, but they do."
Perhaps Marco might have now noticed the skinny blonde guy somewhere behind Jake. He by now must have been going about his business or whatever, wearing an elegant copper colored vest and pants that M.C. Hammer would like to dance around in. Jake running by only registered his presence for maybe two seconds. Like all the other pompous snobs, he wasn't all that concerned about that pedestrian.
From here on out, he had slipped into seriousness. "The rest are outsiders from other worlds and time lines. Some of them you wouldn't believe if I told you... It's overall this gigantic, bizarre nexus. At first I thought this was another of those Sario Rips, but it's so much bigger than that. And every day, more humans and other sentient races show up. Can't be entirely sure if the Yeerks are in this world or not."
He paused for just a second to back up and add, "This isn't an Ellimist trick. I've been stranded here for a few weeks now, and I haven't seen him. It's likely that he would have shown up sooner... This is where I've been all this time since I never made it on the bus that morning." He took in a quiet breath and gradually let it out. "Paixao is very, very complicated. There are bad guys of a different sort here that many don't know a lot about, but I don't know for sure if there are any Yeerks around, but I wouldn't put it past them if there were, and got involved into this sickening stuff, such kidnapping others and doing experimentation on them.
"I've found a way to tell for sure if there are any Controllers present, and find out know as much as there is to know about these other creeps. There is a small group people I've kept in touch with on these journal things to talk to in person about that, but a few have had their hands full lately." It's been at least a week, and he still hasn't heard back from that Sora kid. His friend Riku hadn't communicated to him either. He was hoping to wait a little longer, but Marco's arrival had changed that. Perhaps having just the man known as Cid around would be enough. If time wasn't already running out on their Earth, it definitely was now.
"And man I hate to say it, but it's probably going to be a while before we can go home." Just after explaining all this, Jake was silent. The pressure and empathy for those who were still left behind was trying to bear down on him again, but he wasn't going to have another guilt trip. Because that would slow him down upon determination to find the floor that would let them escape this messed up castle.
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Taking a step back as Jake decided to unload information central on him, Marco shook his head violently as it all rushed out in one stream of talk.
"Whoa, whoa there," he said. "Clearly, you've been without my..." he made a face, "...Moderating presence for far too long, Jake. I mean, I knew you were teetering on the edge, especially after the Iskoort world...kissing Cassie...but dude. Slow down a little. Take it easy. We've got all the time in the world. Maybe we're not in an Ellimist game, but this isn't our world, and time won't pass as fast. I hope. The Ellimist is like God, remember?" He laughed cynically. "If God existed. But the Ellimist'll pop in if his grand plan for us is being disrupted too much."
Marco huffed and promptly sat on the ground. "Siddown, Jake. Let's go through this a bit, okay? I don't know why the Ellimist never showed up for you, but he appeared in my dreams last night. Or at least, I think he did. I hope I never get to dreaming about the Ellimist just for fun."
Marco blinked. "You've found a way to check Controllers?" His eyes narrowed. "It'd be nice if we could meet up with this 'way'. Hang a little. Share stories of how to detect Controllers, go out and eliminate them just a little bit. Maybe painfully. As for these other guys...point me in the right direction, Jake, and I'll take them out like the Yeerks. They'll die just as easily with a gorilla fist to the head."
He sighed. "Going home is...I hope everyone else is doing alright without their loveable comic relief. Oh, and you, of course. But...Jake? I saw you this morning. So when did you miss the bus?"
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There was an impulse to say some dry remark about the so-called Ellimist dream. Yet, from straightforward reaction, something was very off here. It didn't sound like Marco was goofing around about everything that was said.
Was this some new crazy shenanigan going on in Paixao, or something? This couldn't be right. He wasn't going to fall for another mind trick, because he did not have the time to deal with that crap again. The fog was supposed to be gone. Problem solved. What would cause it to come back, and during the daytime? Jake knew he was really here, but was Marco really with him?
"I don't remember the exact date, but it was the following Monday after that whole crazy fiasco with the Helmacrons. Remember that?" He sounded disturbed. "I was out the front door at my place to wait for the bus as usual. I was stepping out, and all of a sudden I stepped through that same gate you just came through. That's what happened."
He poked Marco in the shoulder, since his friend Toph Bei Fong wasn't around to pick up any subtle vibrations. Then, he blinked in surprise. Solid, so... this isn't some weird, real looking 3D hallucination. Bewilderment. "Okay, so you're real... No recollection of me gone missing? At all?"
There were going to be more questions on his end than he originally had. Starting with, "What were these Ellimist dreams about?"
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He paused. "...Or did Crayak sneak a sucker punch in to the back of your head and knock out every memory between yesterday and the...Helmacrons? Really? The Helmacrons? All sorts of really idiotic memories and big lipped alligator moments and Crayak chooses the Helmacrons? The big red eye thing, Jake. In case Crayak managed to wipe your memory of him, too. You said you saw him."
Marco hated being so serious, but this...Jake...Jake was his best friend, the one who'd taken him in after his mother died. He owed this much to Jake. Even if he'd been sucker-punched by Crayak and apparently hadn't seen it coming. He found himself shaking his head in dark amusement. So much for their 'glorious leader'. Sucker punched by an eye. Or had no earthly-equivalent for fists. Unless it was like a galaxy or something. Marco snorted at the thought.
"Yes, Jake, I'm real," Marco said, and prodded Jake right back. On Jake's knee, because Marco was sitting down. "And no, I saw you today, remember. Being all leader-like. Telling Rachel to save Ax from the Controller with a cattle prod and a mind to use it on Ax's brown-and-white furred butt. You never went missing, Jake."
"...Ellimist dreams?" Marco said, looking up at the sky. It was...pretty blue. "He showed up in my dreams telling me to 'redeem an Animorph for three hundred coupons.' I have no clue what he meant - but I hope I haven't started dreaming of the Ellimist for kicks."
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Jake never had the intention of telling the others about that horror in particular. No, never. He didn't want them to worry or start thinking that he was losing it.
"I would have remembered that too... I mean, when coming here--I didn't feel any different. No pain, nothing that felt like something was missing. Nothing has affected my memory all this time I've been--"
Jake swore he felt a chill down his spine. Everything else Marco said sent his mind reeling. It didn't sound like Marco was making all of this up, and how certain he was on seeing Jake around at the time. It was just getting hard to think and make sense on most of this. Jake had to stop and think about what made sense to him, while rubbing the back of his neck in frustration.
He thought of the few people other people from Earth, or at least what could be his Earth. Including Kida, the woman who disappeared without a trace a while back. The very first person he met since day one in coming through the Vanaheim gate.
"Okay", he started, just barely maintaining his cool. "I don't get all of what you're saying, but if this Crayak thing truly knocked me out and put me in this place, I don't see why he could bring three to four humans from different areas of Earth around here too, for example. Japan, England... There was one from somewhere in the 1920's. This woman who was from a very different civilization." Beat. "I don't think that person told me where she was from exactly, but--I have these concrete memories of a few I've met in person. And I can show you some of who I contacted on my journal device."
He shook his head. He had to crack a smile on the recent string of thoughts running along his brain. Because they all seemed so ridiculous. "If Crayak had the power to look inside my head and take stuff out he would know that the 1920's isn't my favorite history subject, and that I wouldn't know anyone from outside the States."
"And the dreams you've been having? I think they're just dreams, dude. Very weird, random dreams." Jake said this in his own amusement. "It's more like your subconscious telling a joke."
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The corners of Marco's mouth tilted upward. "Anyone you've 'met' here that can tell a decent joke? Because that 'dream' crack, Jake? Lame. Totally lame."
The smile didn't reach his eyes. "Stop being selfish, Jake. If you've 'met' people here then maybe this whole world is something from their mind. And in case you've forgotten, Jake...we might be on a different species' world, like the Iskoorts', or the Andalites' or something - somewhere else in the galaxy for stakes we don't even know."
His eyes narrowed. "So, Jake - I'm going to treat this as an Ellimist's game, because then we have rules...that we can use." His eyes unfocused as he remembered a Chee creating holograms that distracted the Howlers. "So tell me about this world."
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Also, he had to admit that a portion of what he said made sense. Every now and then, Marco would speculate on another angle Jake wouldn't even begin to guess at. It's from there that Jake would start to follow through on, the gears in his mind turning round and round.
"I don't know. Maybe, in some really bizarre way, the Ellimist could have some part with Paixao... We don't know enough about him, but I feel that he's not going to be making an appearance. I could be wrong, but I guess we'll see about that."
His averted gaze met Marco's as his friend seemed to be distracted. Something clicked in mind, a memory from what had happened to Tobias. Didn't he give back to the power to morph to him? But he tinkered in a way that didn't leave anyone happy. Tobias could only turn back to his human form for only two hours at a time.
With this irritating reminiscence in mind, Jake added, "Some part of him must enjoy messing with others. The Ellimist may have helped Tobias before, but not exactly in the way our friend would want it to be."
Taking his time, he began to explain the logical from all the illogical. Breaking that down would be best. "As for knowing what there is to know about this world... There are a lot of things in Paixao that exist on our planet." Jake pointed to Marco's journal device. "Like that thing for instance. There are places such as a cafe, places where you can ride trains, a hospital, hotels, and a pawn shop. The locals look a lot like humans, but they have little to no distinguishing personalities. The higher class dressed like medieval royalty are snobs, while the lower class entertainers are decent.
The journals are pretty much the most sophisticated technology there is. The only other signs of electricity around are a few street lamps. And all this is part of the not-so-confusing."
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Marco remembered a weak boy who tagged along on Jake's every word, hanging on to him like he was some god. Which, judging by the fact that Jake had diapers in his room (blackmail evidence, Marco thought gleefully) meant that Jake was a very childish, dirty 'god', if anything. Oh, he supposed Jake could be a minor god...heh, minor god. God of minors. Heh.
But yeah, transformation of Tobias into the fiercer red-tailed hawk. Somehow...
"Jake, I think," Marco said slowly to this Jake, this rather overbearing, assuming Jake, "I think that Tobias is happier as a red-tailed hawk."
"Jake," Marco said, semi-seriously. "When have you ever known our lives to be not-so-confusing? We're kids. Who turn into animals. To fight slugs that can control people's brains. And our main enemy is a blue-fur-thing...sorry, Ax...with no nose and four eyes, and not in the nerdy sort of way. And the Yeerks' source of food is the ray of LOVE. What, about our life, makes you think that we're all out of the not-so-confusing part? I'm not even sure what I just said. I'm actually confused already, and not about this world. I'm confused about you being confused. Because being confused is a natural state of life for us. That said - bring on the confusing. Confusing is good confusing because it also means that our inevitable enemies will also be the good kind of confused, which is confused, and not not-so-confused so they can strike us down."
Sorry for the uber lateness. Busy week turned out busier than I thought.
He laughed a little at that. "That's the kind of confusing I'd rather go back to, than stay here... At least there aren't too many unanswered questions. Like, very much all the plant life around here is fake." He glanced toward the gate, then back to Marco. "Those trees back at the entrance there? It's plastic. The grass, too. All fake. The clean water that comes from the fountains outside and the plumbing inside, that's real."
From there, he was building on something to explain one of the several mysteries about Paixao.
"There's almost no trace of local animal life, except for these white creatures called Lumens. I haven't seen anyone go hunting after them, or even talk about them in that way. So, if there's edible meat and fruit being served at the cafes and restaurants, where does it come from? Is there some hidden underground supermarket or something? I asked some of the lower class citizens and those not from here don't know. Some don't even seem to care, as long as it is good in quality, and that there is plenty."
Jake shook his head, as he explained further. "What's even a bigger mystery among others are the Organization Thirteen, who are supposed to be in charge of Paixao. It's possible the solution to the other thing is obvious, yet I can't seem to get very much information about these guys, and I haven't met any of them. One or two who obviously have been stuck here for a while mentioned about them walking around with literally no hearts, and that they perform experiments on others as they please. But how can someone or something be alive with no heart but with willpower, anyway? What do they even look like? And as for finding out who has a Yeerk and who doesn't, I met someone who would be able to tell."
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