06-03-2016, 07:48 PM
Vincent had always been something of a recluse.
As the young Prime strode through the dimly lit streets of the gloomy settlement that was known as Darkshire to the locals, he kept this in the front of his mind. Ever since Jenova’s son had fallen, the gunslinger had been just about the only member of their group that hadn’t bothered to keep in touch. Vincent would vanish for months at a time, never sparing a word with anyone before parting. Not even Cloud had been quite so detached; even he found the time to leave notes or the occasional voicemail.
Nanaki sighed heavily, taking a seat near a dingy-looking wooden bench. Many others like it stood in a rough hexagon, an ornate sign standing in the center of the polygon. It bore the words “Town Square” (Nanaki had an internal chuckle at that), etched in flaking gold letters upon its forest green surface. The area was deserted, just as one might expect at such an hour. The milky crescent moon overhead was the only source of light, bathing the area in an eerie glow.
“He’d definitely fit in here…” the canid mumbled to himself, casting his gaze around curiously. He only wished he knew where to look.
The burgundy beast had seen many a planet-wide conflict in his days since befriending the group of heroes. Despite his nature as a loner, Vincent had appeared at every one of them, even himself being at the center of one. He always seemed to be there when he was needed, whether he intended to or not.
“Maybe he doesn’t want to be found,” Nanaki mused aloud. His keen senses could had picked up no sign of the man, despite his meticulous searching. He sighed once more, lowering himself to lay upon the dirt.
Time was the ultimate joke in the Omniverse, a long setup with no real punchline. Staying put was the only way to ensure that any semblance of continuity would be maintained. It was rare to find anyone with a watch or a calendar if they traveled between verses. Such tools were less than useless in a world where days could pass over the span of seconds if you didn’t pay attention. Still, it felt like nearly a year since Red had seen his broody buddy. He was beginning to think Vincent was simply hiding. Death was not an idea that Nanaki had bothered to entertain during his search; as a Prime, he had heard the same speech that everyone else heard upon arrival. No, this was something else entirely.
The crimson canid shook his head, gazing down at his tattooed shoulder. The enormous ‘XIII’ emblazoned on his deltoid reminded him of his connection with his missing comrade. Both victims of unscrupulous science, ‘children’ of the same madman. Vincent was likely the only person that could begin to understand the contempt that Nanaki felt for humanity and the world at large. Now more than ever, he needed some kind of connection. It was far more difficult to be alone in a place so unfamiliar. Casting such thoughts aside, he stretched out along the cool ground, his eyelids fluttering lazily as his tired limbs relaxed for the first time in what felt like weeks. Soon, sleep overtook him.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
Nanaki groaned, recoiling from the echoing commotion. The auditory assault only continued, oblivious to the exhausted beast’s wishes.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
“Aghhh…” the Prime groaned nonsensically. His eyes slowly opened, the cloudy canopy overhead mercifully sparing his tired eyes the agony of morning light. He blinked a few times, turning his attention toward the source of the din.
At the center of the square there now stood a small booth, surrounded by a handful of individuals. They seemed to be making themselves busy with various tasks, at least one of which seeming to be ‘make a deafening racket’. A sign was hung over the booth’s entrance, scrawled with stylized lettering announcing something or another. Red gave the words a brief look before closing his eyes once more, hoping to shut out the clamor.
Wait.
Nanaki’s eyes sprang open in an instant, scouring the fancy letters upon the banner:
Mind racing, the burgundy beast sprang to his feet. The words rang clearly in his mind, images of the very same letters returning from his memory in an instant. Though the booth was a good deal smaller than it was the last time he had witnessed it, there was no mistaking its nature.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to wake you buddy,” the source of the hammering said apologetically. He tossed the ball peen into a small wooden toolbox, having finished his task. A middle-aged man sporting a disastrous blonde comb-over strode toward Nanaki, stooping to drop a hand on his head. “Back to sleep with you, fella,” he tousled the beast’s hair, beaming.
“Please stop that,” Nanaki all but commanded, the courtesy present in his wording only. His amber eyes bore into the man’s own dull brown optics, contempt quite apprent.
The man recoiled in an instant, hopping backward as the canid stood to full height. “M-my apologies, I didn’t…”
“Didn’t know that I could understand you?”
“...Basically.”
Nanaki ignored the man’s awkward mumbled apologies, striding forward toward an authoritative-looking woman wielding a clipboard. She wore a black polo shirt, an odd insignia just over her breast pocket. She cast her gaze down at the beast, a mixture of curiosity and antipathy on her young face. “You want in, dog?”
“Yes, human,” Red replied, glaring at the woman. “This Dante’s Abyss, it’s the same as the one that happened last year in Coruscant?”
The clipboard-lady smirked. “If by that you mean was it the same one taking entrants in Coruscant, then yeah. Pretty much, anyway. This year is a little different.”
“I’m entering,” he replied, barely letting the woman finish her thought. Vincent had entered just such a contest just before he had gone missing. A year’s worth of searching had lead to precisely zero results. Despite the obvious risk, this was looking to be his best chance at finding his comrade. “Where do I sign?”
The official looked first at him, then to his paws. A smile played at the corners of her mouth, as if to ask him how he planned to sign without hands. “Follow me.”
“Alright, the forms all look good. Please step onto the platform...sir.”
Nanaki quickly followed the directions of the attendants, situating himself on the transport pad. After a brief assessment of the machine’s settings, a countdown began to boom throughout the tent.
“5...4...3...2...1”
As the final numeric was announced, the crimson canid felt the ground fall out beneath him. For an instant he felt weightless, nausea rocking his gut as he slammed his eyes shut against blinding light. Before he could wonder what had happened his feet found firm earth once more a moment later, the inside of a somewhat different tent forming around him. He blinked hard, trying in vain to clear the starbursts from his vision.
“Welcome,” a soothing voice said from behind Nanaki. “You have arrived.”
As the young Prime strode through the dimly lit streets of the gloomy settlement that was known as Darkshire to the locals, he kept this in the front of his mind. Ever since Jenova’s son had fallen, the gunslinger had been just about the only member of their group that hadn’t bothered to keep in touch. Vincent would vanish for months at a time, never sparing a word with anyone before parting. Not even Cloud had been quite so detached; even he found the time to leave notes or the occasional voicemail.
Nanaki sighed heavily, taking a seat near a dingy-looking wooden bench. Many others like it stood in a rough hexagon, an ornate sign standing in the center of the polygon. It bore the words “Town Square” (Nanaki had an internal chuckle at that), etched in flaking gold letters upon its forest green surface. The area was deserted, just as one might expect at such an hour. The milky crescent moon overhead was the only source of light, bathing the area in an eerie glow.
“He’d definitely fit in here…” the canid mumbled to himself, casting his gaze around curiously. He only wished he knew where to look.
The burgundy beast had seen many a planet-wide conflict in his days since befriending the group of heroes. Despite his nature as a loner, Vincent had appeared at every one of them, even himself being at the center of one. He always seemed to be there when he was needed, whether he intended to or not.
“Maybe he doesn’t want to be found,” Nanaki mused aloud. His keen senses could had picked up no sign of the man, despite his meticulous searching. He sighed once more, lowering himself to lay upon the dirt.
Time was the ultimate joke in the Omniverse, a long setup with no real punchline. Staying put was the only way to ensure that any semblance of continuity would be maintained. It was rare to find anyone with a watch or a calendar if they traveled between verses. Such tools were less than useless in a world where days could pass over the span of seconds if you didn’t pay attention. Still, it felt like nearly a year since Red had seen his broody buddy. He was beginning to think Vincent was simply hiding. Death was not an idea that Nanaki had bothered to entertain during his search; as a Prime, he had heard the same speech that everyone else heard upon arrival. No, this was something else entirely.
The crimson canid shook his head, gazing down at his tattooed shoulder. The enormous ‘XIII’ emblazoned on his deltoid reminded him of his connection with his missing comrade. Both victims of unscrupulous science, ‘children’ of the same madman. Vincent was likely the only person that could begin to understand the contempt that Nanaki felt for humanity and the world at large. Now more than ever, he needed some kind of connection. It was far more difficult to be alone in a place so unfamiliar. Casting such thoughts aside, he stretched out along the cool ground, his eyelids fluttering lazily as his tired limbs relaxed for the first time in what felt like weeks. Soon, sleep overtook him.
* * *
BANG BANG BANG BANG
Nanaki groaned, recoiling from the echoing commotion. The auditory assault only continued, oblivious to the exhausted beast’s wishes.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
“Aghhh…” the Prime groaned nonsensically. His eyes slowly opened, the cloudy canopy overhead mercifully sparing his tired eyes the agony of morning light. He blinked a few times, turning his attention toward the source of the din.
At the center of the square there now stood a small booth, surrounded by a handful of individuals. They seemed to be making themselves busy with various tasks, at least one of which seeming to be ‘make a deafening racket’. A sign was hung over the booth’s entrance, scrawled with stylized lettering announcing something or another. Red gave the words a brief look before closing his eyes once more, hoping to shut out the clamor.
Wait.
Nanaki’s eyes sprang open in an instant, scouring the fancy letters upon the banner:
DANTE’S ABYSS
Mind racing, the burgundy beast sprang to his feet. The words rang clearly in his mind, images of the very same letters returning from his memory in an instant. Though the booth was a good deal smaller than it was the last time he had witnessed it, there was no mistaking its nature.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to wake you buddy,” the source of the hammering said apologetically. He tossed the ball peen into a small wooden toolbox, having finished his task. A middle-aged man sporting a disastrous blonde comb-over strode toward Nanaki, stooping to drop a hand on his head. “Back to sleep with you, fella,” he tousled the beast’s hair, beaming.
“Please stop that,” Nanaki all but commanded, the courtesy present in his wording only. His amber eyes bore into the man’s own dull brown optics, contempt quite apprent.
The man recoiled in an instant, hopping backward as the canid stood to full height. “M-my apologies, I didn’t…”
“Didn’t know that I could understand you?”
“...Basically.”
Nanaki ignored the man’s awkward mumbled apologies, striding forward toward an authoritative-looking woman wielding a clipboard. She wore a black polo shirt, an odd insignia just over her breast pocket. She cast her gaze down at the beast, a mixture of curiosity and antipathy on her young face. “You want in, dog?”
“Yes, human,” Red replied, glaring at the woman. “This Dante’s Abyss, it’s the same as the one that happened last year in Coruscant?”
The clipboard-lady smirked. “If by that you mean was it the same one taking entrants in Coruscant, then yeah. Pretty much, anyway. This year is a little different.”
“I’m entering,” he replied, barely letting the woman finish her thought. Vincent had entered just such a contest just before he had gone missing. A year’s worth of searching had lead to precisely zero results. Despite the obvious risk, this was looking to be his best chance at finding his comrade. “Where do I sign?”
The official looked first at him, then to his paws. A smile played at the corners of her mouth, as if to ask him how he planned to sign without hands. “Follow me.”
* * *
“Alright, the forms all look good. Please step onto the platform...sir.”
Nanaki quickly followed the directions of the attendants, situating himself on the transport pad. After a brief assessment of the machine’s settings, a countdown began to boom throughout the tent.
“5...4...3...2...1”
As the final numeric was announced, the crimson canid felt the ground fall out beneath him. For an instant he felt weightless, nausea rocking his gut as he slammed his eyes shut against blinding light. Before he could wonder what had happened his feet found firm earth once more a moment later, the inside of a somewhat different tent forming around him. He blinked hard, trying in vain to clear the starbursts from his vision.
“Welcome,” a soothing voice said from behind Nanaki. “You have arrived.”
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