(Untitled)

[serioussugarfix]

Who: L and Charlie
What: L is drowning his sorrows in sweets, he and Charlie meet, conversations ensue.
When: After all the dragons were killed.
Where: The town restaurant.
Ratings: None.

Comments

[driveshaftbass]

Charlie hummed as he walked down the street of the town he had not yet explored. The sights were not what he had expected since the damage from the dragons was worse than he originally thought. Nonetheless, the dragons were gone and that was something to celebrate. He hadn't joined anyone in fighting the massive beasts off because he viewed it as certain death. Of course, he wanted to help somehow but once again, he was denied that chance. No one ever believed Charlie could do anything worthwhile. Except, of course, when he died.

He entered the town restaurant, his belly growling loudly. As he eyeballed the room, he caught a glimpse of a man sitting with heaven on his table. Yes, heaven: a towering pile of sweets of every kind. Charlie hadn't seen such delicious bakery treats in forever and hurried over, his stomach leading the way. He threw himself into a chair extremely close to the clearly distraught man. After several minutes of internal debating about what he should order, Charlie heard the man speak. Unsure of who he was talking to, Charlie looked around his shoulder. Still confused as to who that statement was directed toward, he got up anyway. It gave him a reason to be closer to the delectable treats.

"It seems we are, mate. Mind if I take a seat?"

Uhhh...fixed the first paragraph of my post. I fail. :[

[serioussugarfix]

Waving his hand vaguely, the detective gestured him over the the seat next to himself. He might have asked the stranger to sit across from him, but there was so much food currently occupying the table that he might not have been able to see him. "Help yourself," he said softly, "Our current dragon-free status is something worth celebrating." Finishing off the grapes, L removed a large slice from a chocolate meringue pie and began picking off the meringue with his fork and eating it slowly.

He eyed the other man carefully, although he was entirely preoccupied. He seemed harmless, but he had an odd quality about him. It was nothing as overt or as obvious as Naruto's jutsu or Lina's magic, but it was there. He seemed to be someone that had seen many things; worldly wise, to say the least. L smiled at him as he ate his pie and said, "My name is L. I assume that you are...not from around here?"

It's ok! :]

[driveshaftbass]

Charlie sunk into the seat beside the man and was quick to take his offer of helping himself. He pushed through the sweet fruits, which he never wanted to see again for as long as he lived, and grabbed himself a chocolate frosted cupcake. "I totally agree," he said, biting into the cake. The frosting covered his lip and he quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe it clean before responding. "The name's Charlie." He had given up referring to himself as Charlie Pace of Driveshaft for he doubted anyone in this town would know his name. Or even his band.

"Nice to meet you, L," he continued, sticking out a crumb covered hand, which he pulled back immediately to wipe on his striped shirt. "Sorry about that," Charlie hurried, other hand extended. "L's a weird name. Is it short for something or did your mother just fancy the alphabet?" His sense of humour was seriously lacking these days.

"Anyway, I'm not from around here. To be honest, mate, I don't really know where I was before here. But before that I was in Australia. You?"

[serioussugarfix]

"Well met, Charlie." L said, shaking the other man's hand. He would not have known of Driveshaft, he would not have known that Charlie was ever famous at all. "I never knew my mother, so I suppose it shall remain a mystery." The detective smiled in an attempt to show that the oddity of his name was not a taboo with him. "It has come in handy, however, when my true name needed to be concealed. No one truly believes that my name is comprised of a single letter." he replied as he began eating the chocolate part of his pie.

Cocking his head to the left, the detective replied, "You were not aware of where you were before you arrived here? What do you mean? Everyone that I have met thus far knew where they were before coming to Old Runewick. Were you transported to another world before arriving here?"

[driveshaftbass]

"Sorry," Charlie said, lowering his head. He couldn't imagine not knowing his mother for it was she who urged him to continue with music. His father, on the other hand, he could have lived without. Another bite of his cupcake lifted his spirit again and he wondered why L would need to hide his true identity. A man of wild imagination, Charlie tagged him as some sort of secret agent. Like James Bond, he thought to himself.

"It really his a long story," he huffed, "but I can give you the ultra quick version, if you'd like. I was in Australia to visit my brother, Liam. I was catching a flight back to Los Angeles but my plane, Oceanic Flight 815, crashed on an island in the middle of nowhere, mate. With 40 or so other survivors. Was there for months. Never rescued. Never found out where we were exactly. And it was no ordinary island. You probably wouldn't believe the stories..." By now, Charlie's eyes were drifting away from the food and into space, memories of the island flooding his head. Snapping himself back, he finished, "And now I'm here."

[serioussugarfix]

"There is no need for an apology." The detective replied with a small smile. "It is an aspect of my existence that I have come to terms with long ago." He had managed the scrape every last bit of chocolate out of the buttery pie shell, and being an accomplished eater of sweets, he set it to the side. As he listened to Charlie's story, he too took a chocolate cupcake and began picking off the frosting.

"What an intriguing story," he replied once Charlie had finished. "Do you know what became of your comrades? And you mentioned that strange things happened on that island...could this be an extension of those events?" L might have asked these same questions before his encounter with Madeline, but it would have been for a different purpose. Before, he might have been attempting to discover their whereabouts. Now, he was trying to test the limits of her imagination; how detailed could these other "characters" be? How different where their personalities, their story lines? It made him feel somewhat ill to think of things in such a manner, but what other choice did he have?

[driveshaftbass]

Charlie shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat, glad that he had not bothered L.

After chewing his food, he attempted to answer the man's questions. "I don't know what happened to any of them." For all Charlie knew, they were still on that sodding island waiting for rescue that would probably never come. But they had to come! Desmond told him they would. "I guess this could be, well, an extension like you said, but I don't really think so. I mean, the island we were on was some kind of weird scientific testing facility. As weird as it sounds, the island makes more sense to me than this place."

There was a long pause before Charlie quickly added, "But honestly, mate. What do I know?" No one ever really bothered to ask Charlie's opinion on the island. Why would some dried up rock star have anything important to say? Because of this, he was curious as to why L was so interested. A million questions started running through his head. Had the Dharma Initiative set up this place as well? Were they testing the psychological effects of who knows what?

"Do you think the island has something to do with what's happening here?"

[serioussugarfix]

"A...weird testing facility?" The detective replied, one eyebrow raised slightly. He didn't really understand, but he was more intrigued by the fact that the young girl, Madeline, was capable of concocting such a past. He tilted his head slightly. "Why wouldn't you know?" His town wasn't accusatory, but questioning; why would someone question their own knowledge of their past? He could only assume that the other man had been somehow convinced that he knew nothing of the truth surrounding this island or it's inhabitants.

"I am not entirely sure if the island would have to do with this place or not. It is a theory, but one with little backing." He smiled apologetically, picking a large piece of chocolate cupcake from the whole and popping it into his mouth. "I should warn you, I was a detective in my world, and a good one at that. This world has thrown me in that regard, but old habits die hard. I tend to ask an inordinate amount of questions. I will ask your forgiveness in advance."

I'm sorry for being so slow on the uptake, ha.

[driveshaftbass]

"Well, that's what Jack said. And he was kind of our leader while we were stranded on that God forsaken island. So what he said was taken as the truth. There were these weird stations on the island and each had a different purpose. It took a long time before we found the first one," he said. "And Desmond and I were investigating the one called The Looking Glass when I," Charlie paused, "I had to die."

"Anyway, I think some people thought I wasn't capable of doing anything of importance. So I don't really know much about that place. I'm sure if Jack were here, he could fill you in on every bloody thing." Charlie sort of resented the leader of the survivors. Of course, they needed someone to turn to but he was always so secretive.

His cupcake done, he picked up another and began munching away. When the man mentioned being a detective, the pieces fit together instantly. James Bond was close enough. "Well, if there's anyone in this place that can figure out what's going on, it's probably you then, mate. Will you tell the rest of us when you figure something out?" He hoped L would share the information he knew with everyone else. All those weeks being held in the dark had took its toll on Charlie. He wanted to know. And he wanted to help get out of here. If it was even possible.

Gah, me too. :[

[serioussugarfix]

"The Looking Glass?" L said, his tone betraying his innate curiosity. "What did it do?" It was clear to the detective that Charlie had been treated as inferior because of some factor. Perhaps his knowledge of their surroundings had been inferior to this "Jack". Whatever the reason, it appeared to him to be some sort of "Lord of the Flies" scenario, and he was at once repulsed and intrigued.

"So you were killed, or sacrificed, for the greater good?" He asked, clarifying for his own sake. "I was also killed, and my murderer claimed that it was for the greater good. In truth, it was merely his way of continuing his quest for god-like power." The detective shrugged, ate a cherry, and removed the knotted stem from his tongue. As Charlie asked for information, however, he felt his stomach drop. Guilt knifed through him, but on the outside he merely smiled and nodded. "Indeed. I doubt that I will ever solve this mystery, but if I do, I shall be certain to share my answers with the community. Or at least, with some of them." He felt genuinely guilty for not telling the other man of his recently acquired knowledge, but at the same time he knew that he couldn't.

What a conundrum little Madeline had created for him!

[driveshaftbass]

"I'm not really sure. Desmond and I went there to turn off the signal blocking machine that was located there. It was the only station not physically on the island. I think," Charlie replied. "It was underwater. Off the shore." As the conversation shifted to his last days on the island, he became slightly uncomfortable. It wasn't that he didn't mind speaking about it, no. He just longed to be back, as odd as that sounds. To be with Claire.

"I wasn't murdered or anything, mate. See, there was this crazy guy on the island named Desmond. He could, well, see the future. Or something weird like that. And he told me that in order for everyone to be saved, I had to die. I was supposed to die a couple times but someone always saved me. So the future would, like, rewrite itself so I would get killed. And I just kept avoiding it, without even knowing it." He took a deep breath and continued, swallowing his emotion. "So while we were at The Looking Glass, the room I was in exploded. And it filled with water. I knew what I had to do. I knew I had to die for them to be rescued..." Sliding down his seat, Charlie collapsed into a heap. He sat there for a moment just gathering his thoughts and when he felt composed enough to, he answered L. "I sure hope Desmond wasn't searching for some kind of power."

He lifted his arm and patted the detective on the back, lightly. "Thanks, mate. I'm not expecting you to be able to do so much by yourself, but thank you."

[serioussugarfix]

[[ooc: omg, I watched Lost for the first time last night....that big 2 hour season premier thing.....and I cried when they showed Charlie's death because I already felt attached to him. I'm such a nerd. :[. ]]

The detective nodded slowly. It sounded like a very great adventure that this man had been on, and as he told his story, L was silent, carefully eating strawberries and cherries and keeping his eyes trained on Charlie. He smiled reassuringly as the man finished his story and replied, "Not all men seek power, Charlie. Our backgrounds have very little in common, and it doesn't sound to me like Desmond was grasping for power. Unless, of course, his 'visions' were a falsehood." He smiled reassuringly, "I am sure that was not the case. You trusted him, did you not?" He nodded and began peeling a clementine orange.

The detective tensed slightly as the other man patted his back; he was still unused to human contact. Smiling, he nodded and replied, "Indeed. You are quite welcome. Now, have you met any of the other inhabitants of this place yet? Or have you spent most of your time indoors?" He was somewhat eager to change the subject slightly; he didn't want to reveal that he possessed knowledge that the others did not, but he also wanted a chance to find out if Charlie had been approached by Misa or Light, and if so, what he thought of them. If he had not yet been approached, He wanted to warn this new acquaintance of his. The more people were aware of the atrocities that the pair had committed, the less he had to worry about their plan working.

sorry this took me forever!

[driveshaftbass]

[[ooc: I had this small glimmer of hope that maybe he wouldn't really die. And he did. And I crieddddd.]]

Charlie was amazed at how comforting this stranger could be. The smile seemed to relax him and he nodded in agreement. "I did trust him. And I trust that his visions were real," he replied, confidently. The only thing he was unsure of at this point was whether or not his sacrifice had saved the ones he loved.

The pat on the back obviously had disturbed L. He made a mental note to never physically thank the man, for he didn't want to upset the man who had agreed to inform him of any news. He smiled nervously and answered, "I've spent most of my time inside, playing my guitar. I haven't really found a reason to leave especially with those bloody dragons flying around. Now that they've gone, I figured I better get some fresh air. Don't have to worry about having my head chewed off or anything. Have you met anyone worthwhile here?" He leaned back in his seat and allowed his food to digest a bit.