Returning [open]

[savedbyasong]

Characters: Shion and open
Setting: Room 2-12 and then cafeteria
Format: I'll follow you
Summary: Shion was sent back to his dead world for twelve days, now he's back
Warnings:

Everything was gone, Shion had known of course. He believed Reno and trusted him; knew he had been speaking the truth but knowing and seeing were two different things. To witness it, to walk among the ruins of No. 6, bodies stripped to bone still lying were they died. Even the plants were dead, the park he used to work with lifeless, the earth as barren as the rest of the planet. No stars in the sky, no sun; yet he could still see. It didn't make sense, but everything had stopped making sense when he had woke up in the tower.

It had been almost two weeks and despite the urge to find somewhere and curl up, to hide and hope he would disappear or die as well he had forced himself to go to the places he had known, not that much was recognisable. His mums bakery; he broke down when he saw the two skeletons there. His mum he assumed, though there was no way to identify it, and the bones of a child. The little girl who helped his mum sometimes; Lili her name was...

Had been... He had went to West town as well. The wall of No. 6 was crumbling, completely destroyed in places. Just like Shion had once wished for... but not like this...

He had went to Nezumi's home as well, even though he knew what he would find. He had to see for himself, to know that it was true. Nezumi was dead... He had burried his mum and Lili, Nezumi, Dogkeeper and the various bones of dogs. He knew he should do more, put everyone to rest but he had been too exhausted. Numb with grief and spent the remaining days curled up in Nezumi's home, among the decaying books and the robot mice that no longer worked.

A dead world indeed.

[Room 2-12] Shion opened his eyes, confused for a moment at the room he was in. It took a moment to realise that he was back in the tower; no longer in his dead world. He sat up with a start looking round wildly, half fearing that everyone here would be dead as well. A tower full of corpses.

"Reno? Xion?" He pushed the covers off him and scrambled out of bed.

[Cafeteria] Later on Shion went down to the cafeteria, realising how hungry he was. There was food now, which Shion was grateful for though most of it seemed strange to him. He took a bowl of Natto though and sat eating in a corner. Everyone seemed to have returned, the tower was full once more and Shion wondered how everyone was. He looked out for anyone he knew but nodded politely at everyone who passed. He was still shaken from what had happened but he was trying to be strong at least.

Comments

[snowyvalemaiden]

Xue was lounging on one of the tables, on her back with her head off the side and eating some bites of food upside down. This wasn't a rare sight, not to those of the tower since she was usually swimming, hunting, training or eating!

It didn't take long for her, even in her state of relaxed thought to notice someone familiar. Once noticed, she rolled over on her stomach, then rolled forward and off the table, coming to a full stand and smiled.

"'Oy, 'aven't seen ya 'round in a while mon." she started as she walked over, tilting her head curiously and frowning in concern. "Joo alright?"

[savedbyasong]

Shion's face lit up when he saw Xue'Kol, he hadn't seen her in a long time. The last time had been during that awful time after his punishment. He tried not to remember that, and hoped that he had not offended her with his behavior. "Xue'Kol! How have you been?" He nodded slowly at the question, though alright was not exactly true. But he was unharmed and for this place that was as okay as anyone got.

[snowyvalemaiden]

That was good enough for her and she finally made her way and sat down besides him, pulling him in close for a one armed hug against her chest. "I been alright mon, as best as one can be in dis place aye?" she laughed a bit, finally letting him go.

"Been wonderin' where ya had crawled off ta, but dat don't mattah, joor 'ere an' from da looks of it, ya be doin' alright. Dat's what mattah's."

[savedbyasong]

Shion returned the hug with a smile, he was really glad to see her. It had been a long time, he wondered if she had been one of the ones taken through June. He hadn't seen her at all, despite his wandering of the tower to look for injured people. "I'm glad you're okay, they decided to send me back to my world... it feels like I've been away for ages..."

Partly because the tower was much different than it had been last month, lights, the clear collared workers, lots of people, food. A world away from the conditions of June.

[snowyvalemaiden]

"Really?" Somehow, that would have been great except she could feel it at the pit of her stomach. She didn't trust the owners of this Tower one bit, and somehow, something as nice sounding as getting sent back home would be turned into a nightmare in the hands of these lunatics.

"Well, it did seem like joo were away for a while mon, but hey, now joo be here again." She didn't know if that was comforting or not, but oddly enough he seemed a bit cheerful.

[savedbyasong]

Shion nodded, "Really... it... it's all dead..." He took a shaking breath, "They were right." He tried to keep his voice calm. He was glad he was back, even though he would have never thought he'd ever be grateful for the tower.

[snowyvalemaiden]

Xue rubbed his back and smiled at him, "'Ey now, don't be lookin' so glum mon. Wit 'ow much we be seein' in dis towah, don't ya tink dat maybe dat be an illusion too? Ya know 'ow good dis 'ovahseers' can be at makin' tings dat shouldn' be real... Der always be 'ope mon." she added pulling him close against her.

[savedbyasong]

Shion was glad for the hug, being the only person alive in an entire world was a very lonely experience and he was glad to be back in the tower if only for the presence of other people. "It felt real... so real."

But so had his punishment, he didn't know what was real or not, this place was so strange, it was terrifying.

Room 2-12

[absolute_perception]

Elian had been here a few days now. Still in his phase of looking around and getting his bearings about this place, he decided to get acquainted with his roommates. One of those roommates happen to be Shion.

The small, young Alter user was quiet in his steps. Upon noticing the wild search from Shion and the rather interesting introduction, the Life Computer shook his head.

"I'm afraid that those names are not familiar to me." His voice was calm, almost too calm for someone that was displaced. His stoic features showed no signs of panic. "It does not mean that they are not here. Using a terminal would be your best option in your search."

I was about to tag your thread!

[savedbyasong]

Shion blinked at the unfamiliar person who answered him. A new roommate, Shion knew there had been an empty bed but he panicked for a moment when he claimed the names were unfamiliar. "Have you not met Reno?" Perhaps he was very new, hopefully... Shion didn't want to think of the alternative.

"He has red hair, lives in this room."

Pfft, it's all good. :D

[absolute_perception]

Elian nodded his head. The interaction was brief and Reno's request for a melon was a trade for learning how to defend himself didn't seem like an equal trade to him but it would have to suffice. "I have."

Without really knowing the person, he didn't feel right giving his opinion. The clone son of a commander often learned his place quickly. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the room, soaking in the information as if he was memorizing every wrinkle and fold.

After his scan, he turned his head back to Shion. "I am called Elian."

[savedbyasong]

The relief was visable and Shion smiled, he was still here. At least had been recently. "It's nice to meet you Elian, I'm Shion, have you been here long?"

He wanted to go and find Reno and Xion but he knew he should be polite, especially if this man was someone he would be sharing a room with.

After all everyone he had known in his old life was dead... he needed all the friends he could get.

[absolute_perception]

"No. I have been here four days, three hours and twenty-two minutes. My arrival was less than exemplary." Even though his face is unreadable in some ways, there is relief that he is talking to someone. He sat slowly down on the footlocker. His diminutive frame was nearly swallowed up by his over-sized uniform.

"I apologize if I do not seem friendly. My colleagues have complained to me in the past that I am too rigid. It is a work in progress. Human interaction is unfamiliar to me." At least he doesn't refer to himself as ELIAN Unit. He knew of his father's death. That much he carried with him, which manifested in his distance toward others even if it was verbal.

With the uncertainty of his fate and the fate of those in his home world, being alone was something that he never showed to bother him. Like Shion, having friends helped.

[savedbyasong]

Shion sat as well, on his bed. Impressed by well he had kept track of the time he nodded, he didn't find the man unfriendly at all. He seemed nice enough, but Shion was surprised at the fact he wasn't human since he looked so. But Shion had met others who weren't human before, including a robot.

"You are being friendly, I hope you have settled in okay. Or as best you can..."

[absolute_perception]

"I appreciate the compliment." Even if he didn't show it, he really did by acknowledging it.

"I have managed to settle in the best way I can in a situation that is beyond my control. There is still a lot for me to learn." He leaned forward and tugged at the cuffs of his jacket a bit.

"The oatmeal could use more flavor." It was a dry attempt at humor but it was an attempt all the same.

[savedbyasong]

Shion smiled again and nodded, there was indeed a lot to learn. "Most people say that, about the oatmeal. Is it still all there is or do we have other food now too?"

Hopefully not more nutrition bars, though even those were better than no food at all.

[Cafeteria]

[midgarhorizon]

If Shion looked at his trunk and section of the room, he would find most of his belongings missing. Looking in Reno's closet would show Reno had carefully boxed his belongings up, thinking Shion hadn't been coming back much like Axel hadn't. He hadn't wanted to lose everything of his friend, so had decided to hide Shion's belongings from the workers in case they tried to remove them.

Other than that, there was no actual sign of Reno in the room. He was in the cafeteria, eating something he had made himself that looked actually edible (that natto stuff hadn't agreed with him, yeek gawds) and writing in his report book. Otherwise, he looked rather normal, if a bit tired.

[savedbyasong]

Shion had noticed his stuff was missing but hadn't found it, he had learned his lesson about poking about in Reno's stuff. He was keeping his eye out for Reno or Xion, not believing they were safe until he had seen them.

So when he saw Reno writing in his report book he paused only the second it took to make sure it was the right Reno before he was at his side and attacking him with a hug.

[midgarhorizon]

The unexpected boy was met by momentary tenseness- he had almost slammed his elbow into Shion, thinking it was Gamzee- then when he saw the white hair and scars, he hugged back. "Shion! You're back! When the hell did ya get here?"

[savedbyasong]

Shion hugged him tight before staring at him, to prove to himself he was real, here and unhurt. Tears filled red eyes, tears of relief. He would have never thought he would be happy to be in this place, but anything was better than the lifeless planet, being the only living thing.

"About half an hour ago," he tried to keep the tears out of his voice, "I couldn't find you... Xion? Is she alright?"

[midgarhorizon]

"Yeah, she's fine." Reno frowned at the kid, seeing everything written there. "Ya went home, didn't you?"

[savedbyasong]

Shion was relieved, he had been worried. Terrified that they would be gone, but they weren't. They were here and alive, unlike Nezumi and his mum...

He nodded and furiously wiped tears out of his eyes. "Yeah."

[midgarhorizon]

Watching Shion carefully, he didn't say anything for a while, letting him get his bearings again. "Don't cry, kiddo. Nothing you could have done..."

I hope this is okay. Let me know if it isn't

[attheclocktower]

Given that she spent most of the day with others from her own world, Xion didn't head down to the cafeteria until around dinnertime, where she grimaced at her food options before selecting one of the meats. At some point she should probably see how difficult the restaurant was to pay for. Some of the food here really was just... awful....

Her meal in hand, she walked towards the tables, looking around to see if anyone was familiar. If one of her friends was there... well, eating together was better than eating alone, after all.

its great, sorry about the lateness

[savedbyasong]

Shion had spent most the day with Reno, who had assured him that Xion was fine. Still he was worried about her, and when he saw her familiar head of black hair in the cafeteria he ran towards her and wrapped his arms around her. "Xion!"