Nightshift 49: Homeworld - Skyscraper (Tokyo, Japan)

[ran_on_empty]

[From here.]It was a sad thing to know that Sync had experienced more in the four years he lived than most people did in their entire lifetime. He'd long since been desensitized to the idea of death, and anything associated with it was often met with a scoff or sneer

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[ran_on_empty]

It took a moment for Sync to orient himself, to gain some semblance of control in order to figure out what exactly was going on. The God-General gritted his teeth, mind racing through any possible explanations as to why they were where they were. This wasn't the first time the institute performed the impossible, so maybe this was just another way to mess with its 'patients', and with the way Spike was shrieking uncontrollably it seemed to be working.

Whatever the reason, the replica ultimately figured that avoiding a messy situation would be best. Granted, maybe he'd finally get the opportunity to end it once and for all, but that thought was abruptly cut off when he felt someone snatch his forearm. Sync snapped his head up and caught sight of the other teen before acing accordingly once he realized what was happening. He shifted his arm somewhat in order to gain a firmer grip on the redhead's sleeve, and after a very brief moment of pondering he reached out and grabbed hold of Spike's other arm as well.

Glancing over his shoulder at what was below, the God-General forced himself to relax just as they fell into the safety net below them. However, the material instantly gave away, ripping open and sending them plummeting down once more.

[timeseal]

The hows and whys of this situation was completely lost on Rolo's mind, as he was too busy coping with the fact that he was plummeting to his death (again). It was only when he heard a voice through the howl of the wind, urging them to stay together. Along with the voice came arms that were grabbing his, both Greta and Stephen's to Rolo's surprise.

His initial reaction, of course, was to push them away, because most people only held him down and only one person ever held him up, but his kneejerk reactions gave way to survival instinct and Rolo clutched onto the both of them, feeling the three of them colliding with something else, something that gave way before them.

Netting, Rolo realized, a fact that would have brought him comfort if it weren't for the fact that the tattered remains of the netting was above them and not below. Fortunately for them, he felt that sensation several times, the boy realizing that some unlikely miracle occurred, that there was something trying to catch the falling trio.

That didn't stop Rolo from screaming though.

[finalwitch]

A miracle was correct, although Ange could not think of it in that manner. Like the time before, this moment was a chance. The rush of air and the sight of concrete simply meant they would either die in a horrible mess or they would live. Chance, probability. A loss or a win. Whatever happened would be taken as no different from before.

Ange would accept the decided outcome.

The crash of netting was barely registered; the girl concentrated on keeping the trio together. The task proved more difficult than she initially expected. Rolo was screaming, a factor she did not have to deal with the first time down. A part of her wanted to yell at the boy to keep quiet--he didn't see the other panicking, now did he--but the rest understood. He wasn't used to this. She could be a little more forgiving.

Therefore, when passed the last set of netting, she released their arms. "When you hit the banner, get ready to land!" she instructed. If they paid any attention, the boys should know to brace themselves.

The banner came as expected, and the girl shifted her body to have her back make contact. It allowed Ange to bounce off and use the leverage to fall effortlessly to the sidewalk. To land without trouble on her feet.

[ran_on_empty]

Like the redhead, the God-General's hold remained firm as they continued to fall through several nets, but none were able to actually hold their combined weight and gave in with little effort. Their fate seemed dim fat that point, but his gaze honed in on the aforementioned the banner when the redhead warned them in advance. Sync released his grip as soon as her words sunk in, bracing himself for impact as they fell the final few stories.

The God-General's back bounced against the banner, allowing him to finally gain some control of himself. He curled forward, flipping once in the air before landing on his feet on the sidewalk. He glanced back up just as one of his slippers slid off the banner as well, reaching out to catch the article with little effort.

He spent that moment trying to flush out the rush of adrenaline, keeping himself occupied by taking in his surroundings. Of course, nothing looked familiar, but if what just happened meant anything...

"Do you know where we are?" As he asked that Sync turned to face Ange, looking at her expectantly for some kind of explanation.

[timeseal]

Somehow, despite the fact he was unable to suppress his reaction to scream at his impending death, Rolo managed to catch Greta's direction at aiming for the banner to land. Some part of him slowly realized that she had done this before, a fact that did little to console him. It stopped the screaming, at the very least, and Rolo was able to execute a fairly decent landing the second he felt his body bounce off the fabric. It was far from graceful, but it was enough to keep him from sustaining any injuries beyond a little scrape on his knee.

Rolo was still for a moment, panting and wide eyed.

What the hell just happened?!

He ignored Greta and Stephen for the moment, because the surroundings were... while not quite familiar, it felt like something he should have known. Of course, Rolo didn't know what Area 11 looked like before it was occupied. He didn't know what Japan looked like, but this place could have been it. It was a city in what he presumed to be either the Chinese Federation or Area 11 due to the lettering and neon lights and the fact it lacked all the finer facilities of Britannian architecture.

But... they couldn't possibly be ...

"..." Since Stephen already asked, there was no point in reiterating as Rolo looked over to Greta. Actually, he wanted to ask her what the hell compelled her to take up diving off skyscrapers as a hobby.

[finalwitch]

Did she know where they were? There was no question, no doubt in Ange's mind in regards to their location. Now that the probability of immediate death had been set aside, she could take stock of the situation and draw in the connections withheld earlier. Blue eyes conducted a wide, slow visual sweep of the area as she took in every concrete and metal structure with cold indifference.

Tokyo, Japan. And to think she had left it for good.

"We're in Japan. Its capital, to be precise," she answered after a long minute. With a twist: the city known for its masses even at the dead of night was now frighteningly empty. Not one human was in sight.

Ange sighed, obviously displeased. A hand reached up to indicate the building they had just fallen down from. "That's the university hospital," she continued, "where my aunt thankfully breathed her last." One might have thought the last statement to be unnecessary (and morbid), but to the observant, it should serve to prove a couple of critical facts.

First, this was no random location. Tokyo was considered a metropolis, after all, and they could have arrived in any of its streets without a second's thought. Second, it fell directly in line with Ange's last memories of "home". How that fit in was now going to be questioned.

"Hey," she started, eyes glancing between the two boys. "Did the man on the intercom mention any special events tonight?"

[ran_on_empty]

The redhead's explanation did little to nothing for the God-General, mainly because he didn't even know where Japan was, let alone its capital. However, a hospital was obvious enough, and the latter only confirmed what he believed from the start. There was also the fact that her outfit had also changed, having transformed from the institute's garb to what she was presented with now. In the end it made Sync suspicious with good reason, but he did little to show it was he answered the redhead's question.

"He mentioned something about 'reconstruction' and 'changes'." Could this be it? It was a pretty vague warning for what they actually had to deal with, but he supposed he shouldn't have been expecting much from the Head Doctor. Still, something didn't seem right. This wasn't like any kind of city he'd witnessed before, but it was still a city, so the fact that there was no one nearby only made the replica all the more doubtful.

"Is it usually this empty?"