Day 124 || Open

[flared]

Who: Axel and anyone who has reason to be visiting him at the hospital
Open: Open
When: Day 124
Where: The Hospital
What: After a rather rough landing, Axel finally wakes up in his new home.
Format: Action or Prose works for me~ I'll follow whichever you choose
Warnings: None atm; will edited if necessary!


When Axel wakes up the first thing he feels is a sharp pain just behind his eyes followed shortly by the feeling of his stomach turning. Thankfully they're both brief and he doesn't end up throwing up, but he's discouraged enough to want to stay still and even try falling back asleep. He shuts his eyes again on that note, but suddenly a thought occurs to him and he nearly shoots up in surprise.

Where-- Where is this again?

Oh. That's right.

Panting, he glances around the room through half-lidded eyes and spots his Organization coat draped over a chair in the corner of the room alongside his boots and gloves. How long was he asleep for, he wonders? And for that matter, how does he know he's not just dreaming right now? Ugh. All this thinking-- It's just giving him an even bigger headache. Sighing, Axel carefully settles himself back down on the bed and ends up draping an arm right over his eyes.

"What a mess..."

Comments

[croceamors]

Saix isn't really one for "hospital visits". Him standing over someone's bed isn't going to make them get better any sooner, after all. As far as he's been concerned, Axel will get better when he gets better... or when he doesn't. Things had looked as though they would be on the better side of things, however, so Saix has simply been focusing on getting to work in this place. There's so much to do- it's almost refreshing honestly. Vatheon had been too quiet with just bursts of energy. Here? There's always something that needs to be done, supplies that need gathering. It hasn't been long, but Saix has already started to find his place in things.

That isn't to say he's happy about their current situation of course. (Although he's not particularly sad, either.) It's simply better to actually be doing something instead of sitting about doing nothing half the time.

It's been a few days since they've arrived here, and Saix finally decides to visit the hospital to check on Axel's condition for himself. He keeps the Berserker Nobody stationed outside and New Moon at his side as he makes his way through the building. There's no attempt at knocking, since he's still expecting the redhead to be out, but when he realizes that Axel is actually awake... Saix pauses.

"...It took you long enough."

[flared]

It's the sound of pawed feet padding against the floor which catch Axel's attention first and with a start he lowers his arm and raises his head a bit to see who has come into his room. What he sees surprises him and he tries to sit up a little better.

"Saix?" he asks, his voice hoarse since he hasn't been awake and talking for quite a few days now. "You're here too?" All he remembers are the chocobo chicks and thinking Roxas might not have been far off from where he was just before he passed out in a puddle of his own damn blood. Though honestly Axel didn't think anyone else he knew would make it with him, much less someone from his world.

[croceamors]

The sound of Axel's voice makes New Moon strain against his leash, tail wagging, but Saix reins him in easily enough. It's an automatic gesture with all of his focus on Axel. "Of course I'm here, along with your- along with Roxas as well. There are a few others from Vatheon as well, but not many." Making New Moon heel, Saix comes closer to the bed to get a better look at him.

"How long have you been up?"

[flared]

Axel glances down at the dog as he excitedly wags his tail but as much as he'd like to reach down at pat him on the head, he's a little too far away for that to happen. So for now he stays where he is, just watching as Saix holds him back. Well, at least the dog made it here with them all right, and if Axel wasn't hallucinating, then the chocobos should be the same. He just... wonders where the heck they could be.

As he thinks it, he starts to glance around the room again. If Roxas is here, then they shouldn't be too far behind, right? He wonders what might have happened to the others. Why would only some of them make it here?

"I dunno. Just a couple minutes, maybe." Axel sighs as he brings a hand up to rub his forehead where he can feel something rough against his fingertips. Some gauze, apparently, to keep his head injury wrapped up and safe. "Huh..."

[croceamors]

"So I suppose no one has briefed you on what's happened." So responsibility falls onto him again. Saix sighs and gets a chair to sit down besides the bed. New Moon won't stop wiggling, so he finally gives the dog the okay to get up onto Axel's bed. You like dog kisses, don't you Axel? Of course you do. New Moon cuddles up to the redhead, whining in happiness.

Saix waits for it to quiet down a little before speaking up again. "You recall Traverse Town, don't you? This place is similar- one of the few places left after worlds are destroyed."

[flared]

Yeah, no, he has no idea what's going on. But thank goodness he has such lovely friends like Saix to help fill him in on the good news, right? Right?

Axel's just about to get cozy by lying down again, but suddenly there's a dog in his bed and he sputters as he wiggles all over the place. On top of that, he now has dog slobber on his face. Ugh. At least he happens to like dogs. He'll at least try to calm New Moon down by setting a hand atop his head and scratching behind the ears. That usually works, doesn't it?

"Traverse Town? ... So does this mean Vatheon's been destroyed?"

[croceamors]

It works like a charm, and New Moon just lays there, cuddled and happy. He loves you, redhaired person.

"That's right." Saix doesn't seem to be much affected by this news. He states that little fact blandly. "I've been investigating, and it seems that an event happened in this World much like the Heartless started on Radiant Garden. Something called the Calamity occurred, and seemed to take out a great many worlds. This is the only guaranteed safe area."

[flared]

Axel listens closely then sighs, his hand pausing atop New Moon's head for just a moment. "You've gotta be kidding me," he mutters towards his lap. Things were just going to be fine back in Vatheon, too. He and Roxas had just found a new place to stay, they'd be settled down and all right for as long as they wanted, never having to worry about returning back to their own World--

"But I'm betting there's still things wrong with this place too, right?" After all, even places like Traverse Town still suffered from occasional invasions of Heartless now and then.

[croceamors]

This is why you need to be a pessimist, Axel, then you won't be surprised at this shit.

"Of course." Saix practically scoffs. It seems that no matter where they end up, there's going to be issues. Traverse Town had the Heartless, the Organization had a supposed lack of hearts, and Vatheon... Well, Vatheon had scientists with as much morality as Vexen had. "The Bastion is incomplete. I've talked with some people, and apparently the solution is finding power sources called Cores, large blue crystals. Apparently, given enough of these, the Bastion might be able to fix what just happened."

[flared]

Naw, man. Being that pessimistic would just give him an ulcer and leave him open to Xehanort seeding.

In a way, Axel supposes its nice, even refreshing to hear there are tasks to be carried out here. Back in Vatheon the only thing the residents had to worry about were curses and the occasional interruption by the scientists, but there really hadn't been anything to work towards. It had been relaxing for a while, especially all the stress he'd gone through back home, but now maybe it's time for a change.

Or maybe he fell on his head a little too hard.

With a yawn he settles down on his pillow again. "And exactly where are we supposed to find those things?"

[croceamors]

Axel, considering work? It's enough to give Saix a heart attack. He is half old man on the inside, you know.

"It varies. There's a man who's doing searches for them. I supposes he does announcements when it's time to go searching for them. In the meantime, there's plenty to do. There are smaller crystals called shards that apparently are useful as well. Feeding them into the Bastion can bring about animals, items, or even buildings. There's also simple mundane tasks, as making sure there's food."

[flared]

Heh. Heart attack. It's funny because heart.

Axel continues to pet New Moon on the head and eventually under the chin while he listens. This all sounds very reminiscent of his old job, come to think of it. Well, maybe with less battles and more recon, at least from the looks of things. "Sounds too easy." Not that he's complaining, really. "How are people supposed to go about finding those things? I'm bettin' they're not just gonna be lying around somewhere."

[croceamors]

"The shards?" Saix gives a wry twist of his lips. "You have to kill the local dangerous wildlife, of course. I've heard you can find them otherwise, but that doesn't seem to be the most reliable course of action. That reminds me.." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small amulet with a shard already in it. Leaning forward, he goes to put it around Axel's neck.

"You'll need this. The land floats here, and so long as you wear this, it'll come to you to form a solid path."

[flared]

What, so he has to literally go out into the wild and burn a couple of pigs or something? Sounds like a plan to him. Plus, it'll mean free bacon.

"Doesn't sound too bad," he mutters just before Saix comes over to place something around his neck. Brow raised, he glances down at the purple tinted shard and lifts it up to eye level in the palm of his hand. "Huh. This little thing can do all that?" That's quite impressive.

"Did you find this one yourself? Heh. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're always one to get straight to work before everyone else, aren't you."

[croceamors]

Sorry, no pigs. You're going to actually have to do some work, Axel, you lazy bastard.

There's just a shrug at the statement as Saix settles back into his chair, legs crossing and his hands clasping together. "You were unconscious and Roxas wouldn't leave you alone. Someone had to do the work. It simply happened that I was once again the only person competent enough." An awkward pause, and then an even more awkward pat of Axel's shoulder.

"...It's good that you managed to wake up."

[flared]

Why doesn't it surprise him Roxas wouldn't leave him alone? Even if he's not in the room right now, Axel can only assume he's not too far off. They're best friends, after all, and at this point might as well be joined at the hip.

Axel scoffs towards Saix's typical response, but before he can comment about it there's a pat on his shoulder and he looks over at the hand rested atop it. Well, this is... sort of familiar.

"Ah-- thanks," he says awkwardly and while glancing away. Of course he ends up staring face to face with Saix's dog instead, but at least that brings back a little smile to his face. Thank everything for dogs. "Heh. Were you worried?"

[croceamors]

Good, they're both awkward. That evens the playing field. Saix removes his hand soon enough.

New Moon at least is happy to see him! His tail still hasn't stopped wagging, and he tries to nudge his head under Axel's hand to encourage pets. Saix watches for a moment before shaking his head. "I was fairly certain you'd wake up. You've gone through worse."

[flared]

Saix, your dog is a big palooka. Axel chuckles anyway, since he finds him so endearing, and, sure, he offers up more pats and pets on the head and behind the ears. Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy who doesn't want to bite his ass or chase him out of Saix's house anymore? Yes, you are, yes, you are.

"Yeah. I guess anything beats being left for dead and nearly beaten up by your own beloved comrades and lackeys, right?" He'll admit--seeing his own Assassins warp out of the ground and through countless Corridors of Darkness to work against him had been... disheartening, but eventually he came to terms with it and accepted his battle with full responsibility. Still, to watch them disappear into miniature explosions of Light and Darkness combined--

Axel shakes his head. "I guess I should just be happy I exist at all."

[croceamors]

Listen, he's tried to train him out of it, but the dog! It just loves too much. Damn golden retriever. If he had literally any other kind of dog, this crisis could have been averted.

"For someone like you, they shouldn't have been that much trouble. Lesser Nobodies are known as such for a reason." He's about to keep going on before he pauses, brow furrowing. He curls his hand into a light fist on his lap. Normally he wouldn't think twice about saying something like that but after the events that happened in Vatheon... "I suppose I should change that sort of thinking." It's a weird thing to say, and Saix quickly moves onto something else.

"Speaking of, a Berserker Nobody managed to find its way back to me when we arrived in this place. The same for Roxas, who discovered one of his Samurais."

[flared]

"... Don't worry. You'll get used to it." It's... odd, hearing Saix say things like that, but, then again, he did undergo quite a bit of a change just before they arrived here. It's apparent in the way he acts now, and especially in his appearance. Axel's not so sure he'll ever grow accustomed to this.

Suddenly, he hears that bit about the lesser Nobodies and seems to perk up. Oh, look. Suddenly it's hard to tell Axel and New Moon apart. "Did you see an Assassin too?"

[croceamors]

Well, at least someone is happy besides the dog. Saix just quirks up an eyebrow. "No, I didn't. It was just us, the Lesser Nobodies, and the animals."

[flared]

"Can you still call them, though? Do they show up if you try?" Look, he's not excited about this, really. Or... at least he's trying not to seem that way.

[croceamors]

It's too late to try and play it cool, Axel. Saix already knows that you're getting weird amounts of excited over this. "Yes, but only one of each of them. It appears that they're just as much the only survivors of their kind as we are of Vatheon."

[flared]

So if Saix can call his Berserker and Roxas can call his Samurai, then maybe Axel can try a hand at it too. Thinking it, he glances over at his hand, flexes the fingers, then experimentally holds it out in front of him with the palm facing outward.

It's been a while since he's had to call a lower Nobody, but it still comes to him easily and sure enough a Portal opens up just at the foot of his bed. He squints, stares and keeps silent, until suddenly from the depths of the Darkness there's a familiar high pitched squeal followed shortly by a pair of thin, sharp arms reaching out through the Corridor. Soon after, the rest of an Assassin Nobody follows then floats absently in the air above.

"Ah-- hey. What d'you know? You weren't kidding."

[croceamors]

Saix actually doesn't think it will work, at first. The Samurai and Berserker were surely just blind luck. So when a portal act ually does open and that familiar failing excuse for a Nobody comes through... Well, Saix is surprised.

"That actually worked."