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.
A person? His eyes stung at the light, all of a sudden concentrated on the lit up part of the floor as if it was the only thing he could see (which was pretty much the case) with his vision unable to stray anywhere else. A monster? But he didn't hear the familiar whir that would have signaled attacking machinery, nor the growl of beasts.
"H-hello?" He tried, although his voice seemed more stuck in his throat than anything else. It wasn't the best first impression that he wanted to make, whether the other was a person or monster or whatever. Instead, he consciously attempted to lower his arms and not appear as frightened as he was, hoping that at the very least, he wouldn't appear as scared as he felt.
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't look like a Psicom soldier. The uniform was wrong.
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 was not the most reasurring thing he'd ever said. Or the most helpful. "It's not the place you were before. Your world, I mean." How did he explain this without looking crazy. Non-legitimately crazy anyway. He'd hate to be called crazy for one of the few things about which he was stone cold sane. "It's called Landel's Institute. A hospital. Or it was. Things have changed recently."
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.
If the other was right... they had thrown him into Hell! He couldn't hide his hitched breathing at the thought, the panic that was slowly starting to grip onto him. How... how was he ever going to get home now? How--?
It made a little sense, the hospital part. That could be why he wasn't in as much pain as he remembered. Could-- could it be that he wasn't going to be killed? Not on Pulse? If he was a Pulse l'Cie... it wasn't as if he had a lot of time left, anyway. But he would willingly fight at this rate. Against Cocoon. Against home, the same home that had done this to him.
If it hadn't been for the Purge--!
But he needed confirmation. Even from a stranger. At least it was a stranger who bothered to talked to him rather than... than immediately condemn his existence. Was he from Pulse?
"Another world," Hope echoed, still trying to calm himself down over the thought of being on Pulse. Pulse. Was that why it was pitch black? Was that why it was pitch black? Dark and monsters and... and he didn't even know what else. "I-- I'm on Pulse?"
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.
...Wasn't it?
The fal'Cie had deceived them all, after all. And if he really was on Pulse... maybe the people had another name for it? Another... everything, actually. He didn't know anything about this place. There was nothing to know further than the fact that it was a place no proper citizen of Cocoon wanted to end up.
But he was a Pulse l'Cie now. It was time to think of things in a different manner. Now the questions were what this place was and why he was here. How had he ended up here; what was he here for?
His confusion must have shown as he shook his head in confusion, holding his wrist tight against his body-- just in case. "But that doesn't make sense. I was just--" Did it matter, though? What he was just doing? "--somewhere else."
"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.
At least the kid was focussing on the more important part of the information. "It's a different world. Universe possibly. I'm not from your world, you aren't from mine." And he'd never paid much attention to theories about multiple universes, but he'd put it up there as something to read up on whenever he got home. it was right up there next to making sure to watch more zombie movies. He wasn't going to get caught out by the undead again!
He shook his head when the questions began, the insistence that it couldn't be real. "That's what happens," he explained apologetically. "Everyone here just woke up one day. They'd all been somewhere else beforehand. We were kidnapped, in a manner of speaking."
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.
And honestly, at this point he was willing to believe just about anything. If what had happened to him the past two days were real... then what's to say that he wouldn't get whisked into another world? Kidnapped and thrown in a hospital? The possibility of that wasn't lower than what had already happened to him.
And the possibility of waking up to find that it was all a dream, with his dad off at work and his mom under the kitchen window... that seemed more and more distant each second that passed.
"A different universe," He echoed, trying to swallow back the tinge of hysteria. Why was this happening to him? His mom had mentioned that things would be different for him once he started high school, but he hadn't imagined anything like this. He thought she meant tests, and growing up, and pressures about getting into a good university. Not to mention, he hadn't even started yet! He was supposed to start school again... after that vacation. But they never got home from that vacation. "But what about home?"
I want to go home. He wouldn't say that. He was far too old to be saying that, especially in the tone he wanted to say it in. Besides, it wouldn't be home. Not without his mom.
A person? His eyes stung at the light, all of a sudden concentrated on the lit up part of the floor as if it was the only thing he could see (which was pretty much the case) with his vision unable to stray anywhere else. A monster? But he didn't hear the familiar whir that would have signaled attacking machinery, nor the growl of beasts.
"H-hello?" He tried, although his voice seemed more stuck in his throat than anything else. It wasn't the best first impression that he wanted to make, whether the other was a person or monster or whatever. Instead, he consciously attempted to lower his arms and not appear as frightened as he was, hoping that at the very least, he wouldn't appear as scared as he felt.
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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't look like a Psicom soldier. The uniform was wrong.
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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."
That was not the most reasurring thing he'd ever said. Or the most helpful. "It's not the place you were before. Your world, I mean." How did he explain this without looking crazy. Non-legitimately crazy anyway. He'd hate to be called crazy for one of the few things about which he was stone cold sane. "It's called Landel's Institute. A hospital. Or it was. Things have changed recently."
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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.
If the other was right... they had thrown him into Hell! He couldn't hide his hitched breathing at the thought, the panic that was slowly starting to grip onto him. How... how was he ever going to get home now? How--?
It made a little sense, the hospital part. That could be why he wasn't in as much pain as he remembered. Could-- could it be that he wasn't going to be killed? Not on Pulse? If he was a Pulse l'Cie... it wasn't as if he had a lot of time left, anyway. But he would willingly fight at this rate. Against Cocoon. Against home, the same home that had done this to him.
If it hadn't been for the Purge--!
But he needed confirmation. Even from a stranger. At least it was a stranger who bothered to talked to him rather than... than immediately condemn his existence. Was he from Pulse?
"Another world," Hope echoed, still trying to calm himself down over the thought of being on Pulse. Pulse. Was that why it was pitch black? Was that why it was pitch black? Dark and monsters and... and he didn't even know what else. "I-- I'm on Pulse?"
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"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.
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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.
...Wasn't it?
The fal'Cie had deceived them all, after all. And if he really was on Pulse... maybe the people had another name for it? Another... everything, actually. He didn't know anything about this place. There was nothing to know further than the fact that it was a place no proper citizen of Cocoon wanted to end up.
But he was a Pulse l'Cie now. It was time to think of things in a different manner. Now the questions were what this place was and why he was here. How had he ended up here; what was he here for?
His confusion must have shown as he shook his head in confusion, holding his wrist tight against his body-- just in case. "But that doesn't make sense. I was just--" Did it matter, though? What he was just doing? "--somewhere else."
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At least the kid was focussing on the more important part of the information. "It's a different world. Universe possibly. I'm not from your world, you aren't from mine." And he'd never paid much attention to theories about multiple universes, but he'd put it up there as something to read up on whenever he got home. it was right up there next to making sure to watch more zombie movies. He wasn't going to get caught out by the undead again!
He shook his head when the questions began, the insistence that it couldn't be real. "That's what happens," he explained apologetically. "Everyone here just woke up one day. They'd all been somewhere else beforehand. We were kidnapped, in a manner of speaking."
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And honestly, at this point he was willing to believe just about anything. If what had happened to him the past two days were real... then what's to say that he wouldn't get whisked into another world? Kidnapped and thrown in a hospital? The possibility of that wasn't lower than what had already happened to him.
And the possibility of waking up to find that it was all a dream, with his dad off at work and his mom under the kitchen window... that seemed more and more distant each second that passed.
"A different universe," He echoed, trying to swallow back the tinge of hysteria. Why was this happening to him? His mom had mentioned that things would be different for him once he started high school, but he hadn't imagined anything like this. He thought she meant tests, and growing up, and pressures about getting into a good university. Not to mention, he hadn't even started yet! He was supposed to start school again... after that vacation. But they never got home from that vacation. "But what about home?"
I want to go home. He wouldn't say that. He was far too old to be saying that, especially in the tone he wanted to say it in. Besides, it wouldn't be home. Not without his mom.
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