[Day 160] (Closed, then Open.) An arrival with a familiar face.

[dragonform]

Who: Ryu and Ryu, then anyone in the Bastion.
Open: Closed for the first part, open for the second.
When: Day 160, mid-morning/afternoon.
Where: On the Skyway and later in the Bastion proper.
What: A new arrival with a few questions.
Format: I'll match!
Warnings: Nothing I can think of, but will change as needed!


The sensations hit him all at once, startling Ryu awake. It was much colder now, there was no hot sand swirling around. As he rises to his feet, the sight that greets him is completely unexpected. No fragments left of Myria station, or any trace of the Desert. Where could he be? About the only thing he found himself recognizing were the tattered remains of his tent. It looked as though it had been scorched beyond repair, and the others were nowhere to be seen.

"Nina? Rei? Momo?" As much as he hopes to hear any of them call back, nothing comes. Okay, now he's far more worried. His friends wouldn't just go off and leave him like this. He knew Myria said things might happen if she were no longer able to hold back the Desert of Death, but this isn't anything like Ryu expected. After a moment, it hits him that he's no longer on solid ground, but floating somewhere high in the air. "What's holding all this up?" His question is to no one in particular. Myria Station did have structures like this, but even some of them were still attached somewhere.

Farther off he could make out the shape of a building or two. Wherever they were, it looks far more stable than anything else he's seen so far. Ryu figures it his best interest to go towards it. It might be safer, and there might be someone or something that can tell him what's going on, or how to get home. If only he could prepare himself for what those answers are.

 

Upon arriving at the Bastion, it was a lot for him to take in. Everything gone, and he had no idea as to what exactly caused this Calamity. Myria's greatest fear was always that of the Brood's unstoppable power. Elder Jono and the others in Dragnier did say if they did try to fight, the world would be destroyed. Though from what this other Ryu has told him, nobody really knows how the Calamity happened. Part of him is afraid that wielding the power of Infinity might have had something to do with it, but for as powerful as it was, he doubted even Infinity would have such far reaching consequences.

At any rate, it wouldn't help him to linger on these thoughts when he should be learning about the Bastion and the people on it. There would be time for mourning his lost friends when he's found a place for himself among these people.

 

Comments

[coolerthansora]

When Roxas catches sight of the newcomer in the Bastion, he almost dismisses him for being the Ryu he already knows. It takes a second glance for him to realize that something is off, and then he really takes a look. He's known enough people who look like other people--including himself--to be able to differentiate those who look even more identical than Ryu and this stranger. Of course, that same experience leaves him thinking he has a pretty good idea who this is: Ryu's Other.

There's a brief flare of anxiety, but Ryu didn't seem concerned when he talked about meeting his Other. It probably doesn't work the same way as him and Sora.

Anyway that's not the sort of thing you start a conversation with. He certainly never appreciated strangers bringing up Sora with him first thing. So he just approaches the guy and offers a tentative smile.

"Hey. You're... new here, right?"

[dragonform]

The sight of the Bastion is indeed something to behold to Ryu. The other Ryu did tell him as much about people trying to live here, but aside from being a gigantic chunk of rock floating in the sky, the Bastion would almost look like any other village he's seen in his travels, give or take a few of the stranger buildings.

The other Ryu's story is still as much a mystery to him. Knowing a different Nina, but then also knowing Momo? Momo would have never left something like that out from telling Ryu, that much was certain. How would he have come to know her, then? Momo always stuck around the plant before meeting up with him again, and she was with him when everything went up in the Calamity.

It didn't make much sense no matter how he tries to figure it, but his chain of thought is broken by Roxas' approach. He has no idea who knows the other Ryu, and is pretty certain things will be fairly confusing before they figure it out.

"Huh?" It takes him a moment, but Ryu doesn't want to seem unfriendly. "Yeah. I just came off the Skyway this morning." He explains with a sheepish smile, absentmindedly letting his fingers flick and play with the dangling end of his scarf, a nervous habit. "Sorry, it's all a lot to take in. I'm Ryu." He pauses, chuckling softly. "That's going to get a bit confusing, isn't it?"

[coolerthansora]

"It is a lot." Roxas gives a sympathetic smile. He had it easier than some; this isn't the first time he's been yanked unexpectedly from one world into another, and he came with friends.

He blinks in surprise at the introduction, though, and forgets to offer his in return. "You guys have the same name?"

[dragonform]

He nods, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, though this is the first time he and I have met." It had not stopped being weird since his initial meeting with the other Ryu, but there were some positives at least. "I'm still trying to figure it all out myself. He knows one of my friends, but she never mentioned meeting someone else with my name, or who looks like me. I also know for certain I don't have any other living family members."

His suspicions were dwindling about anything malevolent, figuring if the other Ryu was planning something sinister, he likely would have done it out on the Skyway rather than bringing Ryu back to the Bastion.

[coolerthansora]

"You mean..." Roxas hesitates. He was about to ask if Ryu didn't know he had an Other before now, but wouldn't the other Ryu have explained it to him? He's open enough that Roxas doesn't think he would hold that back, especially not from his other half.

"Ryu doesn't- know what's going on either?" he finishes instead.

[dragonform]

Again, he shakes his head. "No more than I do, anyway." The other Ryu did mention something about being Endless. Maybe that would separate the two in the eyes of other people. "He said something about being Endless. I know for certain I'm not."

[coolerthansora]

Roxas nods a bit, and considers a conversation he had with Saix during the festival. If this Ryu isn't an Endless, then that means he probably isn't Ryu's other half after all. Which means...

"Maybe- you're from different versions, of the same world. There's a girl here named Rin, she's almost exactly like a Rin I knew in the world I came from, only he was a boy." He scratches his head. "I guess it's pretty weird to think about."

[dragonform]

"Could something like that be possible?" He asks while pondering the subject a little further. That still doesn't quite explain Momo's presence to the other Ryu. "This is all making my head hurt..." It's not something that would make any more sense to him right now, but another question occurred to him. Something he could ask Roxas to know for sure.

"Is what he said true? About all the dragons? It's really safe here?"

[coolerthansora]

Roxas can only give a sheepish shrug at the first question. Besides the oddity of knowing the two Rins, he can only speculate. And speculating on that very much does make a person's head hurt.

"The dragons?" Not knowing exactly what both Ryus are, Roxas misunderstands the question. "Well, yeah, we have some dragons here, but I don't think they'd hurt anybody.. I mean, they're in this just as much as anybody."

[dragonform]

"It's not the dragons hurting someone else I'm worried about, it's someone hurting them." Though he could certainly understand how Roxas could come to that conclusion, given the kind of power his kin could command. "So everyone stands as equals here?"

It's an answer he looks almost anxious to hear. The reasons may not be apparent, but this is something that seems very important to him.

[coolerthansora]

"Oh." A pause as Roxas eyes him curiously. The other Ryu did say he could transform, but Roxas never asked into what. Or it could be Ryu has dragon friends; he probably shouldn't jump to conclusions.

"Yeah. Everyone here's a survivor. You're not- gonna get picked on for being something that's not human. Plenty of us aren't."

[dragonform]

"I'm glad it's true." He answers with a weak smile, it looks like Roxas might have just lifted a huge weight off of his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm not making much sense." It's only recently that he's ever come to accept that power as a part of himself. There's still a cautious part of his mind that warns against relaxing completely, but that's more just from the sheer amount of time he's spent in hiding.

"I guess it would help if we all know what we can do, right? Make things safer not to hold back."

[coolerthansora]

Roxas smiles. He spent a long time in Vatheon pretending to be human, even though everyone he met didn't seem to have any problem with people who weren't. It took him a long time to be comfortable with it. He's not sure if this is the same circumstance or not, but from the way Ryu is talking, it seems similar.

"You can say if you want to. But I know some things can be weird to tell people you just met."

[dragonform]

"I'm not sure how much significance it would have to anyone else. Even the other Ryu had no idea what I was talking about." He still looks a little apprehensive, but the more he's thought about it as he and the other Ryu were talking, the more he should stick to his chosen path. His power is a part of him. It's who he is.

At the same time, there's still something holding him back. It could be everything slowly catching up with him, or fatigue finally setting in.

"Well... Maybe once I've settled in. Sorry. It's just weird to spend so much time running and now suddenly everything is okay and safe." He offers Roxas an apologetic grin, idly fiddling with his scarf again. "I don't think I caught your name before, did I?"

[coolerthansora]

"Oh- Sorry. It's Roxas." He offers his hand to shake. "It's good to meet you, Ryu."

[dragonform]

"Same to you, Roxas. Have you been here in the Bastion long?" Not wanting to be rude, Ryu shakes his hand with an easy grip. Who knows, this might be a good chance for him to learn a bit more about the Bastion.

[coolerthansora]

"I've been here about a month. There're people who've been here longer, but I guess that's a while."

[dragonform]

"Well, it's longer than I've been in any one place. That's for sure." Though the grim thought comes back to remind him that he hasn't any choice now. "So what do you usually do around here? The way the other Ryu was talking, it seems like there's a lot around here that needs to be done."

[coolerthansora]

"Ah... Well, I don't know too much that'd help around the Bastion, but I go out on the Skyway collecting shards. We just brought back a core, too. Those're supposed to help with restoring the Bastion."

[dragonform]

"I remember him mentioning something about the Cores." Though that still leaves him with a lingering question. "What do you mean by restore it?"

[coolerthansora]

"Apparently it got damaged in the Calamity," Roxas says. He honestly doesn't know much about it, and it doesn't seem very damaged to him. "The cores are supposed to fix whatever's not working... This is the first one that's been recovered since I've been here, though."

[dragonform]

That was an interesting little tidbit of information. Maybe one of the people native to this world might know something more? Something for Ryu to consider, at any rate. "I wonder if it's something like Momo's computers?" Whatever it is, it'll probably fly over Ryu's head like almost anything technology related. Fixing the Bastion seems like a good enough goal for the time being, at any rate.

"What did it look like?" He inquires, it seems prudent to find out since they seem so important. The other Ryu had already shown him what a Shard looks like.

[coolerthansora]

"I dunno. I'm- not good with that kind of stuff." Technologically-impaired buddies? Although in Roxas's case there's some actual animosity towards computer-related things that tends to keep him that way.

"They're made of the same stuff as shards, but- bigger." He cups his hands to indicate the size.

[dragonform]

"That should make them easy to find, especially if they're being guarded like he said." More for ignorance than anything else in Ryu's case. Though to his credit, he spent his childhood learning to be a thief. It doesn't really lend itself all that well to learning things about computers.

[coolerthansora]

"You think?" Roxas wonders. If he's been here a month, and the only core retrieved in that time is one that was located previously... He's not so sure. "The Skyway's pretty big."