At this point Hope was willing to think that he was in some elaborate nightmare. Maybe he really had died or something when the Eidolon had been summoned, and maybe this was some kind of hell. But he shook that thought from his head within moments, not willing to believe that any sort of afterlife would be as simple as this. And it would just be his crazy wishes, wouldn't it?
The air seemed even cooler past the door, and he shivered involuntarily, resisting the urge to just stop and wrap his arms around himself. Keep going. He still didn't know where he was, and the darkness seemed to loom in on him every second that he lingered, and with every step that he took. How big was this place? Surely they had some sort of light somewhere? Or was this some kind of test--? Trap him in absolutely darkness like some kind of lab animal, and see where he'd run
( ... )
Travelling the first few hallways had become second nature for Allelujah, enough that he barely bothered with the flashlight anymore. He had memorised where to turn, where the doors were, and normally he just gave the hallway a cursory glance to make sure there were no immediate threats, if there weren't already other flashlights giving light.
He kept one hand on the wall, walking quickly and quietly down the hallway, making a quick plan of where to head. There was no point heading outside so late, so perhaps he could go upstairs tonight and see if he could get back to the laboratory for more supplies. He could barter them for a more solid weapon maybe. He was sure that other people would appreciate vats of acid.
Someone's here.
He stopped dead at Hallelujah's prompting and he could hear footsteps now he listened. Not noisy but not as quiet as him. And wearing shoes so unlikely to be a monster. Probably.
He switched on the flashlight, holding it towards the ground so he wouldn't ruin his night vision.
The sudden burst of light, even shone on the ground, made Hope cringe back just slightly. He had been slowly, finally, starting to adjust to the darkness of the room (hallway? building?) and the idea that he might (just maybe) be making good progress, either getting out or at the very least, exploring the area. The idea of being a lab rat was still high on his mind, and he hadn't expected there to be anyone else here at all
( ... )
He could have just walked away. it would have been the sensible thing to do and Hallelujah certainly made his opinion on the matter clear, but when he saw the man... boy cringing back from the light, he decided that he couldn't just walk away. He might just be new and not every young person could be like Setsuna and take everything in stride with nary a flicker of emotion to show for it.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Allelujah said and it wasn't a lie. Not much of one anyway. Promises were null and void if he turned out to be a monster and childish faces were no deterrent when it came to survival.
He took a step forward, holding his hands out. He wasn't willing to put down the torch but it might make him look a little less threatening. Only a little bit though, considering the clink of glass and slosh of acid. "Are you new here?"
He blinked away the sting (was this what it was like to have his eyes really adjust to darkness? He had never been in the complete dark before, but his eyes hurt at sudden changes in brightness, and--), slowly adjusting to being able to see the room, despite how limited the details were.
"I..." The question just brought forth all his anxieties again, about being left behind and then captured and now here and what was this place because no matter how much he wanted to convince himself he must be some kind of lab rat to run around in the complete darkness, he knew the procedures for dealing with l'Cie.
The Purge. Kill them first, no questions asked. Psicom wouldn't leave him alive, unless they were transporting him to his place of execution.
He cringed at the thought, but then attempted to straighten up his back again, not wanting to appear entirely pitiful. "I just-- woke up here. Just now."
Speaking of which... how come there was someone else here? If... if this was some kind of test or experiment or something... the other didn
( ... )
He wasn't good at dealing with children. Not that he'd had much of a chance to try since he was one himself. Setsuna and Feldt just didn't count, considering they'd been part of Celestial Being for most of their lives. They were comrades and he treated them as such. Lockon was so much better at this than he was, so he tried to recall how Lockon had treated him when he'd first arrived. It wasn't an ideal solution, but it might help. He smiled a little, trying to look non-threatening.
Hallelujah wasn't helping when he was snickering like that, saying he should just leave the kid to the trial by fire.
"Ah," he said, smile fading. He was new. "It happens like that
( ... )
That boggled him even more than the idea of a different world. That was clearing crazy. Crazy, or they had actually managed to throw him off Cocoon to Pulse.
...Did they? Did they really, though? Could he be on Pulse right now? If the Sanctum didn't even want to deal with his execution, or feared some kind of backlash from the public-- no. The public wouldn't care if their government killed kids. They voted for the Purge. They were going to send everyone: women, children, even people who weren't supposed to be there... right into Hell
( ... )
Allelujah nodded slowly. "I know it doesn't look like one right now," he began, "but during the day, it looks quite different." He was never certain which was worse. At night there were monsters and filth, and during the day it looked like a hospital. Really, he couldn't win! "But it isn't a real hospital," he added, remembering to make sure he mentioned the most important part. He could do the whole explaination now, but it was probably something better suited for daylight.
"It does sound strange, I know," Allelujah replied, when the kid sounded so awed at the idea. "It isn't as incredible as it sounds," he added, a faint smirk that wasn't entirely his curling his lips.
But at the mention of pulse, Allelujah just blinked, showing the barest touch of surprise. "No. You're on Earth, as far as we know. It isn't a place that exists in your world. I've no idea what Pulse is." But it sounded like a place, something that began with a capital letter at least.
"Earth?" Well, that made sense, of course. Of course he'd be on earth. Most things were built on earth, wasn't it? Well, except Cocoon, but... even then, most of the cities had dirt underneath. The latter part of the statement catches up to him soon enough, though. "Wait, doesn't-- exist?"
And someone who didn't know what Pulse was? It was only-- everyone knew that. If there was anything they overemphasized in history classes, it was the War of Transgressions. Pulse was the enemy. Pulse was Hell. It was the fal'Cie who had saved everyone from Pulse, creating Cocoon to exist in the skies of the horrid planet
( ... )
"Yes. It's the name of a planet," Allelujah replied. It was a little sad how little surprise he felt anymore when people spoke the name as though it were something that they'd never heard of. Had he sounded like that once? Back when he had been a child with no knowledge of the world outside the laboratory and the story books that had taught him to read
( ... )
Kidnapped? That wasn't what he was expecting at all. By who? Who would actually want to kidnap him rather than kill him? That didn't make any sense. But then, even the idea of Psicom taking him in as some kind of test subject was sketchy at best. He knew the protocols. L'Cie were to be killed on sight, no questions asked. They might have stopped and asked questions if they weren't sure if the person was a l'Cie or not, but... if he had passed out in the Vile Peaks, there was no way that Psicom wouldn't have found him, and the located his brand
( ... )
At this point Hope was willing to think that he was in some elaborate nightmare. Maybe he really had died or something when the Eidolon had been summoned, and maybe this was some kind of hell. But he shook that thought from his head within moments, not willing to believe that any sort of afterlife would be as simple as this. And it would just be his crazy wishes, wouldn't it?
The air seemed even cooler past the door, and he shivered involuntarily, resisting the urge to just stop and wrap his arms around himself. Keep going. He still didn't know where he was, and the darkness seemed to loom in on him every second that he lingered, and with every step that he took. How big was this place? Surely they had some sort of light somewhere? Or was this some kind of test--? Trap him in absolutely darkness like some kind of lab animal, and see where he'd run ( ... )
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Travelling the first few hallways had become second nature for Allelujah, enough that he barely bothered with the flashlight anymore. He had memorised where to turn, where the doors were, and normally he just gave the hallway a cursory glance to make sure there were no immediate threats, if there weren't already other flashlights giving light.
He kept one hand on the wall, walking quickly and quietly down the hallway, making a quick plan of where to head. There was no point heading outside so late, so perhaps he could go upstairs tonight and see if he could get back to the laboratory for more supplies. He could barter them for a more solid weapon maybe. He was sure that other people would appreciate vats of acid.
Someone's here.
He stopped dead at Hallelujah's prompting and he could hear footsteps now he listened. Not noisy but not as quiet as him. And wearing shoes so unlikely to be a monster. Probably.
He switched on the flashlight, holding it towards the ground so he wouldn't ruin his night vision.
Just a kid. ( ... )
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"I'm not going to hurt you," Allelujah said and it wasn't a lie. Not much of one anyway. Promises were null and void if he turned out to be a monster and childish faces were no deterrent when it came to survival.
He took a step forward, holding his hands out. He wasn't willing to put down the torch but it might make him look a little less threatening. Only a little bit though, considering the clink of glass and slosh of acid. "Are you new here?"
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"I..." The question just brought forth all his anxieties again, about being left behind and then captured and now here and what was this place because no matter how much he wanted to convince himself he must be some kind of lab rat to run around in the complete darkness, he knew the procedures for dealing with l'Cie.
The Purge. Kill them first, no questions asked. Psicom wouldn't leave him alive, unless they were transporting him to his place of execution.
He cringed at the thought, but then attempted to straighten up his back again, not wanting to appear entirely pitiful. "I just-- woke up here. Just now."
Speaking of which... how come there was someone else here? If... if this was some kind of test or experiment or something... the other didn ( ... )
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Hallelujah wasn't helping when he was snickering like that, saying he should just leave the kid to the trial by fire.
"Ah," he said, smile fading. He was new. "It happens like that ( ... )
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That boggled him even more than the idea of a different world. That was clearing crazy. Crazy, or they had actually managed to throw him off Cocoon to Pulse.
...Did they? Did they really, though? Could he be on Pulse right now? If the Sanctum didn't even want to deal with his execution, or feared some kind of backlash from the public-- no. The public wouldn't care if their government killed kids. They voted for the Purge. They were going to send everyone: women, children, even people who weren't supposed to be there... right into Hell ( ... )
Reply
"It does sound strange, I know," Allelujah replied, when the kid sounded so awed at the idea. "It isn't as incredible as it sounds," he added, a faint smirk that wasn't entirely his curling his lips.
But at the mention of pulse, Allelujah just blinked, showing the barest touch of surprise. "No. You're on Earth, as far as we know. It isn't a place that exists in your world. I've no idea what Pulse is." But it sounded like a place, something that began with a capital letter at least.
Reply
And someone who didn't know what Pulse was? It was only-- everyone knew that. If there was anything they overemphasized in history classes, it was the War of Transgressions. Pulse was the enemy. Pulse was Hell. It was the fal'Cie who had saved everyone from Pulse, creating Cocoon to exist in the skies of the horrid planet ( ... )
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