Like a fish out of water. [Active]

[promisor]

Character(s): Valvatorez and YOU! (OPEN)
Content: A certain former tyrant arrives in Paixao.
Setting: Anywhere, starting from Vanaheim and ending in St. Destino.
Time: From early afternoon till evening.
Warnings: Sardines!! None yet.
Note: Doing this thing party-style as you can encounter Valzy anywhere and anytime en route to St. Destino.

Valvatorez wasn't pleased to say the least. He didn't know how or why he was so rudely torn away from his daily routine in Hades to suddenly find himself in the ruins of some city, but it didn't seem like he was going to get the answers to that any time soon. Every time he tried addressing one of the few odd-looking people around of which he could only assume were the city's inhabitants, they either ignored him entirely or reacted rather snappishly. Needless to say, the answers he sought hadn't been very forthcoming so far. Not that it was going to discourage Valvatorez any time soon, if he wanted answers, he was going to get them.

For that purpose he had picked a random direction and set out and it didn't take long for him to figure out that going in a certain direction resulted in seeing more and more of the pale-skinned, blond-haired inhabitants. Obviously that meant he was getting closer to wherever they seemed to be congregating which also possibly meant that there might be someone in charge there that could provide information whether they wanted to or not. He was fully prepared, as always, to use force if necessary.

So with that intent in mind, he made his way through all the rubble. Although that didn't stop him from veering off the path he'd set for himself whenever something interesting caught his eye.

Comments

[beautifulrondo]

It was truly a depressing sight and he likely wasn't doing himself any favors by dropping by the ruins of the city so often, but Krichevskoy couldn't help himself. Silly as it may sound to others, he couldn't help but pay his respects to the city where he had made so many memories--bad and good. No matter how many times he reminded himself that the city was made of memories itself and that he would have had to leave it again one day, that it could never be a permanent home, he still couldn't get rid of that feeling of loss.

Strange, how he could have had such an attachment to this place, even having been gone for over a century.

It was as he stood at the ruined corner of the street, debating whether or not to visit the rubble of the apartment he had once shared with Gwen, that he noticed a familiar figure nearby. Krichevskoy's eyebrows shot up and he took a few steps closer. "Valvatorez?"

[promisor]

The familiar voice caught Valvatorez's attention just as he was about to round the corner of a broken street, stopping him in his tracks and although he couldn't place the voice at first, a turn in the direction it came from quickly solved that. He wasn't going to forget the distinctive demon with the equally distinctive name any time soon. "Krichevskoy?"

Of all the people he could have run into, he certainly hadn't expected it to be his latest party member. It was quite the surprise, albeit a pleasant one. He could appreciate having someone familiar around and a party member at that. Also, perhaps, someone who might be able to answer some of his questions. The surprise gave way to a slightly more indignant tone, though it obviously wasn't directed at Krichevskoy, but at the situation in general, as he voiced the most pressing one.

"What in Hades name is going on here?"

[beautifulrondo]

Krichevskoy couldn't help but feel relief at being recognized. With Emizel not knowing who he was and Mao seeming not to remember him, Krichevskoy had half-expected no one but Laharl, Flonne, and his wife would even know his name.

However, that question... "That... is not an easy question to answer. Perhaps we should begin with a few more specific questions?"

[promisor]

That answer at least made it clear that Krichevskoy knew what was going on, which in turn put Valvatorez a bit more at ease. He nodded before moving closer for a more appropriate conversation distance, considering what to pick out of his numerous questions as he went. Eventually settling on...

"Where are we and why are we here?"

[beautifulrondo]

Krichevskoy gestured to the ruins. "This once was the city of Paixao, though it is a little more complicated than that. Put as simply as possible, this is only but one floor of a larger castle, with each floor based on the memories individuals have of different worlds. From what I have gathered regarding our reasons for being here, a group by the name of Organization XIII wishes to" he frowned, "experiment on the hearts of those who they have brought here in order to better understand them."

[promisor]

Valvatorez followed the gesture with his gaze, taking in the ruins more attentively as he listened until Krichevskoy mentioned this all being part of castle and he blinked at him in surprise. Although the surprised expression was soon replaced with one that suggested just how ludicrous he thought this Organization's goal was and his tone matched it. "And they bring demons here for that? That's absurd."

That hardly seemed efficient, not that Valvatorez really cared. What he cared more about was...

"So, where's the rest of the party?" Because after everything they've been through, he figured they were all brought here.

[beautifulrondo]

"Not just demons. Humans, angels, goddesses... It almost seems as though they bring whoever they can find." And it still made him uncomfortable, knowing that they were somehow able to bring so many powerful people together in one place. How many Overlords had been brought to this place in the past? How many gods and goddesses? Even the Seraph himself had appeared for a short time.

"As for the rest of the party, I have only seen Emizel, but he does not remember the tournament. It is not uncommon for people to arrive from different times as well."

[promisor]

Valvatorez frowned, that was highly disconcerting. Humans were one thing and well, angels and demons another, but even gods? No doubt that was screwing up the balance and Valvatorez wasn't going to have any of that. If this 'Organization' thought they could get away with it, they had another thing coming. "What arrogance! Sounds like someone needs to be taught a lesson."

Although that would be easier with his entire party here, but by the sound of it, it was only Krichevskoy and Emizel. He would have expected at least Fenrich to be here as well, but perhaps he'd just arrived like Valvatorez himself elsewhere, which didn't seem to be the case with Krichevskoy and that thought only brought more questions. "How do you mean different times? And how do you know all this?"

[beautifulrondo]

The corners of Krichevskoy's mouth quirked upward into a small smile. He should have expected that sort of response from Valvatorez. Someone who would take charge and forcefully reform a whole Netherworld would hardly stand idly by in this situation.

"Aside from personal experience in leaving and returning, I have met many here who only have memories of certain events in the past, and others--from my initial visit--who knew of events that would happen in what to me would have been the future. For example, the one you know to be an Archangel is currently a Fallen Angel. And... my wife is here as well."

[trademark_skull]

The eery silence of Elysian Fields was temporarily halted by a column of fire rising from it in the distance, as Emizel found some unwanted company. It wasn't the first time Emizel had seen the white Lumens, but generally they were good about leaving him alone. Today just wasn't the case.

The fire took out one of the wolf-like creatures and injured another, causing most of the pack to back off but not making them any less agitated. Keeping a close eye on their movements the little demon struck again when a third one tried to lunge at him too. And timed it just right so that when the wolf was hit with a gust it was thrown into one of its own kind.

Something about his magic seemed a little different than usual though. Almost like it was more potent than before. Could it have been that the Darkness given to him earlier did do something more to him, or did he awaken something on his own when removing it?

[promisor]

After learning everything he could from Krichevskoy, Valvatorez had set out to find the only other party member that he knew was in this place. He'd learned of the journals, but he didn't care much for technology nor was it his forte, so he hadn't bothered. He'd much rather just find and speak to Emizel in person. At the same time, it also gave him the opportunity to explore and familiarize himself with his new surroundings, so it was a win-win.

His search had brought him outside of the ruined city into weirdly luminous fields that were full of odd creatures. It was quite curious, but more so was the sudden column of fire breaking the tranquility a small distance away. It was familiar, but he wasn't about to make any assumptions just yet. Still, he hurried over to where it had came from, only to have his suspicions confirmed.

He was about to call out, but he stopped himself as he noticed something seemed... different. He stood back instead, observing as he tried to figure out what it was.

[trademark_skull]

Even with a few more attacks the Lumens still refused to run off, only get more angry. They were quite persistent things indeed.

"Oh come on already," Emizel huffed. It really was not like he wanted to kill them but the Lumens weren't giving him much choice. The white wolves tried once more to attack him as a group, to try to get him off guard, at which Emizel frowned.

"Enough!" he swung the rod and ice sprung from the ground around him. A few Lumens got hit with the icicles head on and were destroyed, but most of them simply froze into place when the ice touched them. One Lumen in particular was only a few inches away from Emizel's face until the ice finally got a hold of it, and it still gave him a bit of a startle.

But, that was that. He backed up a little way juuust to make sure he would be ready if one did break out early, but so far it seemed like they were solid frozen for now. But it was still only temporary, by the time they thawed out he'll be gone; hopefully nothing else tries to finish them while they were helpless like this though. He would actually feel pretty bad if that happened.

But before taking off Emizel did look down at his weapon. Not that he was really complaining, but even he noticed that he had gotten stronger. And not even sure why either.

[promisor]

Well, some things never changed, he noted with a small hint of amusement at Emizel's startle. However, something else had and the attack just now confirmed it. Valvatorez knew what it was now.

He'd been ready to jump to Emizel's aid if necessary, but it obviously no longer was. Not that Valvatorez had ever doubted Emizel's powers, he'd proven it plenty and the creatures didn't seem particularly strong, it was just that Valvatorez had no experience with them and so he couldn't judge. He dismissed the sword he'd summoned during the battle again before deciding it was time to make himself known.

Just as Emizel was looking down at his weapon, Valvatorez moved forward soundlessly, coming up from behind him. When he finally announced his presence, he did it by setting his hands down on both Emizel's shoulders.

"You've gotten stronger. Well done, Emizel."

[trademark_skull]

Valvatorez was surprisingly lucky he wasn't suddenly whacked in the face. Somehow Emizel was able to refrain from doing so, perhaps because of the voice that went along with it. Although it still wasn't enough to stop him from flinching and moving out of the way, and positioning the staff ready in case it really was an imposter. After having dealt with the Organization once, and probably still ticked off... well, who really knows what else they might be capable of.

If this really was some kind of illusion it had to be a good one. But for Valvatorez really to be here, right now, it's a little too good to be true... Or bad, depending how it's looked at. Emizel wanted to believe it was real, but what if it wasn't?

"I-is that... really you?" he nervously lowered the staff, here goes the moment of truth. "... Valvatorez?"

[promisor]

Of course, Emizel being startled was no surprise to him. In fact, he might have been kind of aiming for it, but for him to raise his staff against Valvatorez was entirely excessive in his opinion. He lowered his hands back to his sides, one coming to rest on his hip as he regarded Emizel. The gesture of the raised staff was greeted with a raised eyebrow and the question with a rather incredulous look. "Of course it's me, who else would I be?"

It was an odd reaction, Valvatorez found and it deserved some scrutiny. He leaned forward a bit, peering into Emizel's face as if that would reveal what had warranted such a reaction. "Are you not feeling well?" He straightened again, briefly tilting his head to one side questioningly before flinging out his arm and exclaiming, with his usual confidence and enthusiasm for the subject matter:

"You should eat some sardines! That will help you feel better in no time."

[trademark_skull]

A comment like that couldn't possibly be from a fake, which means this had to be the real one!

"N-no, I'm alright," Emizel said sheepishly and leaned on the staff, "--I'm just a little bit..."

Ever so slightly, for only a millisecond, he glanced away and frowned. It was best that he stopped thinking about some of the crap that's happened. Something had to be done so he could think about something else.

"But what matters is that you really are here!" he sounded so excited about this, yet at the same time there was hint of loneliness, sadness? "I was getting worried I maybe wouldn't see anyone ever again."

[promisor]

The trailing off would have been hard not to notice, but that troubled glance away doesn't go unnoticed by Valvatorez either. Something had obviously happened while Emizel was here and he had no idea what kind of hardships the young demon might have endured, but he refrained from asking. Emizel would tell him if he was ready and wanted to.

Instead, Valvatorez spoke with utter sincerity, meaning every word of it because leaving a comrade behind was unacceptable.

"I'm sorry, Emizel. If I'd known, I would have come sooner. "

[divine_storm]

Perhaps going back down to "the main floor" hadn't been such a great idea after all. While Priere had gotten used to living in the Netherworld, she felt like she needed to go back to something more... "normal" every once in a while. Of course, "normal" didn't quite mean anything nowadays, especially around here. She never thought she would say it, but she did miss Paixao's false sky when they lived in the domes. The one they were currently living under was... unsettling to say the least. it really looked as if there was nothing out there at times.

She hadn't ventured very far from the Church, but it was still far enough that the Lumens would sometimes come and randomly decide to charge her. She wasn't really worried though; she had fought much worse... heck, she lived in the Netherworld now; she was caught in at least one fight per day!

She simply kicked the latest one away... not noticing until the beast had flew off that she had aimed it right at someone else--

[promisor]

Valvatorez caught something moving fast from the corner of his eye and all he knew was that it was heading his way, he didn't even have the time to get a proper look. He managed to take step back just in time, the thing — one of the odd creatures, he noticed as it flew past — narrowly missing him.

The way the creature landed made it clear that it hadn't come leaping at him. So he glanced over to where it had come from and his eyes landed on a figure that was somewhat familiar, but different. He couldn't place what it was though. There was a pause of puzzlement before he narrowed his eyes.

"Watch where you're throwing your monsters!"

[divine_storm]

"Hey, you're the one who came out of nowhere!" Priere snapped back, huffing. The stranger had a point, not that she would ever admit it, but at the same time, it's not like she did it on purpose, what was he doing here in the first place? And anyway, judging by his looks, he shouldn't have had any troubles with the creature, something that was also noticed by the remaining Lumen, who decided not to take their chances with the two of them and dispersed.

"Urgh, bunch of wimps," she sighed, disappointed. Now what was she supposed to do for the rest of the day? She turned to the newcomer, frowning at his own stare. "What?"

[promisor]

Valvatorez merely raised an eyebrow at the snappy reply and didn't retort. His attention was briefly caught by the creature slinking away and, although he's seen more of them wandering around the wrecked city, he still had no idea what exactly they were. He was about to ask, but her question reminded him of what puzzled him mere moments earlier.

"What is your name, lass?"

[divine_storm]

"Priere," she finally answered after a few moments of staring at him in silence. There was something weird about all of this; what he he trying to do anyway?

"Hey wait a minute, who are you supposed to be anyway?" Now that she thought about it, she didn't even remember ever seeing the strange demon before... was he a new arrival?

[promisor]

The surprise was yet again palpable on his face. Although she looked somewhat similar and apparently shared the same name, she was nothing like the Overlord he knew of. But then, Krichevskoy mentioned these sort of things happened here, hadn't he? For that reason Valvatorez opted not to comment on it and instead adopted a neutral expression once more, placing one hand on his hip before replying.

"My name is Valvatorez. I'm a Prinny Instructor from Hades."

[divine_storm]

"What? Is there something on my face?"

It wasn't the first time a demon had suddenly started acting weird in front of her, not that she particularly liked the reasons why. She was getting rather sick and tired of being asked why she was human or if she was an Overlord. Why would such a sweet girl like her ever become a demon? Fat chance of that ever happening!

She watched his expression, almost daring him to answer her question before she caught on to what he was saying. "Wait... Prinny Instructor? You mean those penguin things that live on the Netherworld floor? You teach them?" She asked, incredulous.

"... what exactly have you been teaching those things?"

[promisor]

Valvatorez, amazingly, had more subtlety than to outright ask those questions. Obviously, she wasn't a demon now, much less an Overlord. He didn't know the reasons why, although he could take a guess with the information Krichevskoy had given him, but it was hardly his business. So he didn't comment and merely shook his head at her question, his expression turning into his usual neutral one.

Although that quickly changed when she brought up the Prinnies' training. The way she'd said it made it sound like he hadn't been properly training them. He puffed out his chest, throwing one arm to the side dramatically.

"Why, the rules of being a Prinny, of course! I can assure you they have been taught exactly as they should have been. "