[AIM RP log/completed]
Characters: Xenos, Repliku
Content: After learning some interesting things in a chat, Repliku spends the next day mulling about it. After going out to brunch with Xenos, the two decide to head to the Fortress of Darkness to find some answers... if they can get there.
Setting: O Pastor, then to the nearby Cafe Ersesat. (G8 and then moving on to the middle of H8 and I8 on the map. LOL)
Time: Monday2, noontime.
Warnings: None, except for Repliku's foul mouth.
(( Um, apparently there was an IC chat that wasn't posted and I was assured the info Repliku learned there counted in game but I'm not sure when the chat actually happened, so I'll change the date tag if it ends up getting posted/clarified ))
Repliku frowned as he finally shut off the journal (well, not shut off, more like slam the top down really hard), mulling over the multitude of information. This Axel... the Organization... His original, who turned out to be some loser who couldn't even remember what he was doing and was convinced he was from the future or that they were all dead... And... Ansem.
"AUUUGH!" The replica gave a frustrated shout and fell down backwards on the bed he was sitting on. They managed to find a room... somehow... in some shitty placed called O Pastor. It was a bit too close to the gate for Repliku's liking, but they really couldn't go anywhere else at the moment.
Besides, everything else was too goddamn expensive.
Xenos looked over at his brother curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked, turning to face the other replica. he'd been tinkering around with his own jounral and debating a Great Tea Search when Repliku yarghed in frustration and tried to smack his journal down as if it had annoyed the life out of him.
Come to think of it, Repliku had been frustrated and irked for a while...
"..."
Where the hell should he even begin?
"Vexen's journal has some cool feature that lets you see where people are." Sure, he'll start off with something completely irrelevent. Why the hell not? "I met some guy named Axel. He used to work with... whatever the fuck's Vexen in. And I met my original. He's an idiot."
Repliku took in a deep, irritated breath. If he was the type, he would have been chewing his lip in annoyance but he wasn't, and that train of thought had nothing to do with anything either.
"Ansem. Do you remember that name?"
Xenos felt a sort of twinge of familiarity as Repli mentioned 'Ansem'.
"...The name is familiar..." he said softly, lost in thought. "I - I'm certain I've heard it before..."
But that wasn't possible, was it? He'd only been existant for a scant few days.
"I know it sounds absurd, but..."
Repliku gave a start. So they weren't bullshitting him. Still, he didn't like what he had heard about the man. But it was a start, at least. He wasn't even sure why he was so pressed to find out who Xenos's original was.
He just... felt like it was something they should know.
"Nah, that's good, I guess. I mean, if you want to know who this guy was. I was... I was talking to some people awhile ago and they knew him," Repliku didn't even noticed he used the past tense. "Didn't seem to like him either, he made some fortress outside of the city. Then he just disappeared after that. So I'm told."
He finally turned around to fully face his brother, placing the Frozen Scholar's journal aside for a moment.
"My original came from the future. He thinks we're all dead," Repliku snorted in disdain. "And he says I died a year ago. And he thinks we're all just dead now. You don't think that, right?"
Of course, it was stupid to think that they were all dead. Still, this place did seem out of the ordinary to everyone else (while Repliku didn't know what 'ordinary' was supposed to be, he did admit the city looked radicially different from the outside)... so who knew?
"If we were dead, we'd breathe and eat and walk about much less," said Xenos dryly. He eyed the door. Speaking of eating I should try to find us some food..."
He turned to back to Repliku.
"Did you find anything else out about this 'Ansem'? Is...what is he, exactly, or who, and why was - what was it that inspired discussion of him, in relation to us?"
Repliku gave a small "heh" and nodded. Yeah, obviously. He could always count on Xenos to make sense (something everyone else seemed to lack). And eating... damn, now he was hungry at the mere mention of food. But they could do that later.
The clone closed his mismatched eyes, trying to remember what Riku and Axel had told him. They certainly weren't good things.
"He's... he created these things called Heartless. They're not in Paixao, we have Lumens instead. Heartless like... eat arts, and Lumens make them explode?" Repliku shrugged. "Anyway, apparently he was here and he did some stuff and he's gone now. Riku says he's dead where he comes from, but he won't tell me how he knows him. I guess they weren't really on good terms with each other... and that's all I know. Sorry," Repliku muttered sheepishly. He actually felt guilty for once. He wished he could have gotten more information for the sake of his brother.
But there was...
"His fortress is still out there, apparently. We can go back out and look at it?" The replica suggested, leaping up. He didn't really expect Ansem to still be there but... well, it was a start!
"it's all right, brother, any information is better than none?" Xenos leaned a little. "...It's just that I feel some sort of odd connection to Ansem, whoever he was and whatever he did, and...well, whether or not he's an idiot is irrelevant. He sounds like he was something of an ambitious git..."
when he heard about the fortress he perked right up.
"Exploring?"
Well, at least Xenos wasn't disappointed. For some reason, Repliku actually cared what his brother thought about him. But his information was appreciated and now Repliku was even more curious about Xenos's original. He had to be far more competent then his own original, that's for sure.
"Sure, why not?" Repliku grinned. Good, he was starting to hate this city. "But..." Remembering something else in the little 'chat' he was in, he frowned. "Axel said something about how people weren't supposed to leave the city... you remember how shocked that lady was when we said we were from outside the dome and that we already had journals? You think there's something up with that? I mean, I know we could probably go back out since if that's their guards, that's pretty shitty, but still."
"it does seem kind of suspicious." it figured that Vexen was probably doing something illegal. "And that's so. They don't seem to be warriors here. It doesn't mean they're weak but - it does mean they're hardly used to subterfuge, or people sneaking in and out."
Vexen was a bad influence! Oh well.
"Yup. So getting out shouldn't be a problem." Repliku reflected his brother's sentiments. So why then was it so hard for the other people to go out?
Though... he had to admit, there sort of was no real reason to go out. Without a way to cross the water, there was no point in staying on the outsides where there was no food or shelter (aside from the lab but... who would go there?!)
"Well, to tell the truth, there's not much to get out to." Repliku chose to fall back down on the bed again, closing his eyes once more. "But I want some food first. And none from this shitty place, it's gotta be unsanitary or some shit like that."
Xenos chortled. "I wouldn't trust the food here either. I suspect the bread mould's developed an advanced civilisation by now and the milk is so sour as to refine the concept of sour milk. And they probably can't make a cup of tea worth a damn."
He thought a bit.
"We don't have to leave for good, of course. I simply wanted to see that place. Maybe it would answer some questions."
Repliku arched a silvery brow. Tea, huh...?
Flopping on his back, he reached for the journal and prodded it lazily with the stylus they "obtained" (actually, he just ripped it off a random journal he saw on the street. Those things were just lying around!), calling up a map.
"There's some... cafe... Erse...sat shit nearby if you want. It sounds like it'd have tea." Repliku said this simply because he figured if it was a cafe, they'd have sophisticated crap like that (because tea was so sophisticated). "Actually, there's a LOT around here."
Xenos hrmed. "I wonder if we can afford much of it. The cafe sounds promising though." He wondered what kind fo a name Ersesat was. What language, and such. "Maybe they'll have scones."
He shouldn't know what a scone was.
As it turned out, Repliku didn't know what a scone was.
"The hell's a scone? Ah, whatever," Repliku now jumped up, launching himself off the bed and onto the dingy floorboards with an audible creak. "Whatever, let's just eat... Can't be too expensive anyway."
Oh, if only he knew.
Xenos nodded, shut down his journal. and beamed! "There's sure to be something affordable somewhere!"
----
"WHAT THE CRAP, THEY WANT LIKE ALL OF OUR DAMN MONEY FOR TWO CUPS OF COFFEE AND A BUNCH OF FREAKING SCONES!"
As it turned out, the citizens of Paixao basically took whatever they wanted for payment, and in this case, a hefty sum of the munny the clones had on them seemed sufficient to the waiter, who was currently hiding behind his clipboard as the clone fumed.
"S-Sir, I told you, this is very high quality food, surely you would know that it wou-"
"HIGH QUALITY MY ASS, THIS PLACE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A FUCKING PRICE LIST, HOW THE FUCK WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? WHAT THE FUCK IS A 'VIENTE' CUP OF COFFEE ANYWAY AND WHY DOES IT COST MORE THEN THE OTHERS?!"
"Th-That's the largest size of coffee you can get, sir!"
"THE FUCK? I THOUGHT TALL WAS!"
"There's no need to sh-"
"I'M NOT SHOUTING!!"
Xenos looked nonplussed and irritated. He had a feeling they'd been bamboozled. Hah. So much for the true and unending virtue of the light.
He felt a funny little pang of mean glee at that thought
...He was definitely hungry if he was THIS crabby. Not thirty seconds ago he'd had this urge to call the waiter an insolent fool. erm.
"I'm sure we can come to an agreement here," he said rather loudly, trying to cut off both waiter and brother at once.
"No, I don't fucking think we can," Repliku snarled, but Xenos's words had their intended effect. The boy obediently slumped down on his chair, though he was still visibly seething with anger. The waiter chose to keep his distance, but he seemed grateful that a sane adult was talking to him.
"Thank you sir, and I'm sorry but prices are prices. If you wanted something cheaper and of lesser quality, you should have chose another location," The waiter insisted, seemingly unmoving on the subject of cost.
Repliku gave a disgruntled snort. He wasn't that much of a miser but the waiter had asked for a rather large sum of the strange gold and blue orbs that they "obtained" from Vexen's study. Repliku knew enough that it was currency and it was what keep them fed.
"I really don't think 2 cups of shitty coffee and some scones are worth half these things." Repliku toyed with one of the orbs in his hand.
"Is there an exchange rate we were unaware of?" Xenos was still highly sceptical of this. "Good sir, if you are attempting to take advantage of our inexperience with this city - that's hardly charitable."
He hadn't realised he'd crossed his arms, and started looking a lot like a sane even-tempered Ansem...
"Perhaps we SHOULD seek out another coffee shop."
The waiter gave a frustrated grunt as he was utterly torn between pleasing the customers and getting the money. Unfortunately, it had been beaten into his head that he must extort as much as humanly possible whiling satisfying the customer and was forced to comply.
"Very well, we'll only take half of what was requested." The waiter grumbled, and Repliku still seemed displeased. However, the boy handed over the strange orbs. Whatever, it was way less than what the price was before.
"The hell is up with this place," Repliku groaned, but now they were left in peace. The waiter scurried away to take their order, seemingly desperate to get away the irate clones. "And what the fuck is a scone?"
Xenos gave the waiter a brilliant smile. "I thank you kindly, sir." Once the waiter was gone, he exhaled and rolled his eyes. "What an obnoxious little individual - ahem."
He sat next to Repliku.
"A scone is" - how DID he know what a scone was? Ah well - "something like a cross between a muffin and a tea biscuit. The ones I ordered have toffee in them. They're really quite good. I promise."
"... Oh." Repliku blinked, staring at Xenos. So, that's what it was? And here Riku thought it was like some... he didn't know, exotic ice cream dish thing. Hey, it sounded like it would be in a cone! But biscuits, he could deal with that. Whatever, he was hungry.
"Are we gonna see the fortress when we're done here?" Repliku asked, just to make sure they had their shit straight. He wasn't up for roaming the city now that he knew that there were Organization members patrolling the city; it was dangerous just to be here. He nervously looked around for any black coats.
Xernos said, "I was hoping we could. If it provides us with possible answers as to who I am, and more information about who you are, then...it's good."
He nibbled on his scone.
Wow, that was good.
Xenos purred!
While Repliku was scouting the area, it seemed that their order came in. And pretty damn fast too, since he didn't even see who delivered it. Shrugging, the clone grabbed a scone and chewed on it thoughtfully.
It was alright, but Repliku stopped in midchew when he heard his brother... well, purring for a lack of better word.
Damn, he really loved these things.
"I know who I... I know who I ... was?" He tried to phrase it properly. He was him, but anyway. "But apparently the Riku I was cloned after is... dead. There's a new one now, and he's definitely nothing like me. I know it sounds retarded and shit, but it's the truth," Repliku explained that little oddity, taking a rather large gulp of coffee and grimacing as it burned. As if he didn't know it would.
"Ow. But that's what happened to my original. Ansem sounded a hell of a lot smarter, so I doubt he's dead."
Xenos paused and swallowed. "Oh my. That's - strange... I believe you, though. Stranger things have happened. we're proof of that erk be careful that's hot."
The name of Ansem still produced in him that peculiar little squiiggle of familiarity. It was the same feeling he got when someone called his name - or very similar, anyhow. Perhaps - he was a replica of the man?
Well, there was only one way to find out.
"...If he is alive I will ask him all he is willing to answer."
"I know it's hot! Ow..." Whatever, what was some scalding liquid to a manly man like himself? OK, a world of pain, but the coffee was pretty good. Repliku made sure to make smaller, slower sips this time.
"Yeah... I hope he isn't as much of a jerk as everyone made him out to be. I mean, you're nice and all, I can't see what's wrong with this guy... unless he's not your original, then I couldn't care less what he's like," Repliku didn't really care what he was like to begin with, but it was important to Xenos, so he gave a damn accordingly.
"... You think he even knows we exist?" Vexen sounded like he wanted to keep them secret, and Repliku had the suspicion neither the old Riku nor Ansem knew that they existed. Well, it was too late for his original (and the new one pissed him off; what a loser), but at least they could possibly get some answers from Ansem.
If he was still around.
"People tend to carry tales, I think. if one man thinks another is bad, he'll tell as many as he can tell of this, and soon everyone thinks the first man is a criminal. Ansem is probablyt just - misunderstood, or not a sociable sort. People think ill of those who don't behave in a 'normal' manner. He's probably just eccentric."
And hopefully NOTHING LIKE VEXEN.
"...I hope he's still there."
"... Eccentric. Yeah." Whatever the hell that meant.
"I dunno, if he has a fortress outside of the castle you gotta wonder what it's there for. I mean, that's not... well, if they don't even let people out, why would they let him build a fortess outside then? I dunno, something seems strange about that guy nonetheless, but he could just be what you said. Eccentric." He still wanted to know what that meant but that could wait. Gnawing a bit more on his biscuit, he looked around to the fake trees and ornate glass.
"I guess everything here is weird though."
"Maybe he felt he didn't belong here," Xenos said softly. HE was beginning to feel like that. He wwas, he thought, the ONLY non-Caucasian male in city limits. What in blue blazes was that!?
Repliku could agree with that. Xenos definitely looked way different from the rest of the people here, but Repliku couldn't say he felt right at home here either (how sad, considering this pretty much was his home to begin with).
"I don't think anyone does. Everyone here looks the same... like, seriously. It's like... it's fucking creepy, that's what it is, but..." he couldn't describe it. Now that he thought about it, the sea of blonde hair that stretched before them did creep him out.
"I don't think the foriengers with blue eyes and blonde hair even feel welcome. These guys are just in a league of their own."
"Yes. They..."
They were eerily familiar.
"They remind me of something. I don't - I don't know what and it's driving me mad but it's so familiar."
"Really?" Repliku gave the strange people another glance. They didn't seem to familiar to him... But then again, maybe Ansem knew something about these people that Xenos almost remembered. Or some crazy shit like that.
"Hmph. I wish I knew what their deal was." Repliku took a bite out of his scone, chewing thoughtfully and somewhat annoyed as well. He didn't know why the strange inhabitants of Paixao annoyed him now, but since Xenos mentioned it... there was just something wrong with them.
"I...I do as well. it's...it's as if..."
A lightbulb!
"--As if they're all replicas but - but lacking something in free will..."
Oh, HELL, what if VEXEN had pupulated the whole city!?
"Like puppets?" Repliku asked, not sure why that word popped up in his head to describe those things. Puppets? Was that appropriate? They acted normal enough in that respect though, more like they were unsuspecting citizens then lacking free will.
"... I dunno, I mean, they're creepy and probably have no clue what's going on, but I don't think... I don't think they're all... clones or something." Ok, now he was getting just a wee bit disturbed.
"Not exactly puppets but..."
It was like there was something vital missing from them.
"THey're like...they're like..." he trailed off, frustrated. "it's like something is missing about them and I can't articulate what that is."
"Oh... I guess I see your point." The clone frowned, trying to imagine what it was Xenos was talking about. Something missing? They didn't seem to be missing anything to him... maybe he meant something more spiritual or whatever the crap that was. Giving another glance at the seemingly ordinary yet still creepy people.
Finishing off his actually rather tasty meal (well, at least the waiter wasn't bullshitting him), Repliku stood up and kicked his chair back in place. "You done?"
Xenos nodded and drank the last of his coffee. "I am. ...Thank you for bearing with my rambling? I just...there's a lot I don't know at all and It's driving me damned mad. If I don't know, I'll never understand."
One who knows nothing can understand nothing.
"So I need to learn."
Repliku gave his brother a reassuring grin as he patted the other clone on the shoulder. "Nah, don't worry about it. I... I get what you're saying, it's important to know what's going on and shit, right? How else are you gonna be prepared if the worst happens?"
What would be the "worst", though? Repliku didn't want to know that.
"Now let's go find us some answers."
Content: After learning some interesting things in a chat, Repliku spends the next day mulling about it. After going out to brunch with Xenos, the two decide to head to the Fortress of Darkness to find some answers... if they can get there.
Setting: O Pastor, then to the nearby Cafe Ersesat. (G8 and then moving on to the middle of H8 and I8 on the map. LOL)
Time: Monday2, noontime.
Warnings: None, except for Repliku's foul mouth.
(( Um, apparently there was an IC chat that wasn't posted and I was assured the info Repliku learned there counted in game but I'm not sure when the chat actually happened, so I'll change the date tag if it ends up getting posted/clarified ))
Repliku frowned as he finally shut off the journal (well, not shut off, more like slam the top down really hard), mulling over the multitude of information. This Axel... the Organization... His original, who turned out to be some loser who couldn't even remember what he was doing and was convinced he was from the future or that they were all dead... And... Ansem.
"AUUUGH!" The replica gave a frustrated shout and fell down backwards on the bed he was sitting on. They managed to find a room... somehow... in some shitty placed called O Pastor. It was a bit too close to the gate for Repliku's liking, but they really couldn't go anywhere else at the moment.
Besides, everything else was too goddamn expensive.
Xenos looked over at his brother curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked, turning to face the other replica. he'd been tinkering around with his own jounral and debating a Great Tea Search when Repliku yarghed in frustration and tried to smack his journal down as if it had annoyed the life out of him.
Come to think of it, Repliku had been frustrated and irked for a while...
"..."
Where the hell should he even begin?
"Vexen's journal has some cool feature that lets you see where people are." Sure, he'll start off with something completely irrelevent. Why the hell not? "I met some guy named Axel. He used to work with... whatever the fuck's Vexen in. And I met my original. He's an idiot."
Repliku took in a deep, irritated breath. If he was the type, he would have been chewing his lip in annoyance but he wasn't, and that train of thought had nothing to do with anything either.
"Ansem. Do you remember that name?"
Xenos felt a sort of twinge of familiarity as Repli mentioned 'Ansem'.
"...The name is familiar..." he said softly, lost in thought. "I - I'm certain I've heard it before..."
But that wasn't possible, was it? He'd only been existant for a scant few days.
"I know it sounds absurd, but..."
Repliku gave a start. So they weren't bullshitting him. Still, he didn't like what he had heard about the man. But it was a start, at least. He wasn't even sure why he was so pressed to find out who Xenos's original was.
He just... felt like it was something they should know.
"Nah, that's good, I guess. I mean, if you want to know who this guy was. I was... I was talking to some people awhile ago and they knew him," Repliku didn't even noticed he used the past tense. "Didn't seem to like him either, he made some fortress outside of the city. Then he just disappeared after that. So I'm told."
He finally turned around to fully face his brother, placing the Frozen Scholar's journal aside for a moment.
"My original came from the future. He thinks we're all dead," Repliku snorted in disdain. "And he says I died a year ago. And he thinks we're all just dead now. You don't think that, right?"
Of course, it was stupid to think that they were all dead. Still, this place did seem out of the ordinary to everyone else (while Repliku didn't know what 'ordinary' was supposed to be, he did admit the city looked radicially different from the outside)... so who knew?
"If we were dead, we'd breathe and eat and walk about much less," said Xenos dryly. He eyed the door. Speaking of eating I should try to find us some food..."
He turned to back to Repliku.
"Did you find anything else out about this 'Ansem'? Is...what is he, exactly, or who, and why was - what was it that inspired discussion of him, in relation to us?"
Repliku gave a small "heh" and nodded. Yeah, obviously. He could always count on Xenos to make sense (something everyone else seemed to lack). And eating... damn, now he was hungry at the mere mention of food. But they could do that later.
The clone closed his mismatched eyes, trying to remember what Riku and Axel had told him. They certainly weren't good things.
"He's... he created these things called Heartless. They're not in Paixao, we have Lumens instead. Heartless like... eat arts, and Lumens make them explode?" Repliku shrugged. "Anyway, apparently he was here and he did some stuff and he's gone now. Riku says he's dead where he comes from, but he won't tell me how he knows him. I guess they weren't really on good terms with each other... and that's all I know. Sorry," Repliku muttered sheepishly. He actually felt guilty for once. He wished he could have gotten more information for the sake of his brother.
But there was...
"His fortress is still out there, apparently. We can go back out and look at it?" The replica suggested, leaping up. He didn't really expect Ansem to still be there but... well, it was a start!
"it's all right, brother, any information is better than none?" Xenos leaned a little. "...It's just that I feel some sort of odd connection to Ansem, whoever he was and whatever he did, and...well, whether or not he's an idiot is irrelevant. He sounds like he was something of an ambitious git..."
when he heard about the fortress he perked right up.
"Exploring?"
Well, at least Xenos wasn't disappointed. For some reason, Repliku actually cared what his brother thought about him. But his information was appreciated and now Repliku was even more curious about Xenos's original. He had to be far more competent then his own original, that's for sure.
"Sure, why not?" Repliku grinned. Good, he was starting to hate this city. "But..." Remembering something else in the little 'chat' he was in, he frowned. "Axel said something about how people weren't supposed to leave the city... you remember how shocked that lady was when we said we were from outside the dome and that we already had journals? You think there's something up with that? I mean, I know we could probably go back out since if that's their guards, that's pretty shitty, but still."
"it does seem kind of suspicious." it figured that Vexen was probably doing something illegal. "And that's so. They don't seem to be warriors here. It doesn't mean they're weak but - it does mean they're hardly used to subterfuge, or people sneaking in and out."
Vexen was a bad influence! Oh well.
"Yup. So getting out shouldn't be a problem." Repliku reflected his brother's sentiments. So why then was it so hard for the other people to go out?
Though... he had to admit, there sort of was no real reason to go out. Without a way to cross the water, there was no point in staying on the outsides where there was no food or shelter (aside from the lab but... who would go there?!)
"Well, to tell the truth, there's not much to get out to." Repliku chose to fall back down on the bed again, closing his eyes once more. "But I want some food first. And none from this shitty place, it's gotta be unsanitary or some shit like that."
Xenos chortled. "I wouldn't trust the food here either. I suspect the bread mould's developed an advanced civilisation by now and the milk is so sour as to refine the concept of sour milk. And they probably can't make a cup of tea worth a damn."
He thought a bit.
"We don't have to leave for good, of course. I simply wanted to see that place. Maybe it would answer some questions."
Repliku arched a silvery brow. Tea, huh...?
Flopping on his back, he reached for the journal and prodded it lazily with the stylus they "obtained" (actually, he just ripped it off a random journal he saw on the street. Those things were just lying around!), calling up a map.
"There's some... cafe... Erse...sat shit nearby if you want. It sounds like it'd have tea." Repliku said this simply because he figured if it was a cafe, they'd have sophisticated crap like that (because tea was so sophisticated). "Actually, there's a LOT around here."
Xenos hrmed. "I wonder if we can afford much of it. The cafe sounds promising though." He wondered what kind fo a name Ersesat was. What language, and such. "Maybe they'll have scones."
He shouldn't know what a scone was.
As it turned out, Repliku didn't know what a scone was.
"The hell's a scone? Ah, whatever," Repliku now jumped up, launching himself off the bed and onto the dingy floorboards with an audible creak. "Whatever, let's just eat... Can't be too expensive anyway."
Oh, if only he knew.
Xenos nodded, shut down his journal. and beamed! "There's sure to be something affordable somewhere!"
----
"WHAT THE CRAP, THEY WANT LIKE ALL OF OUR DAMN MONEY FOR TWO CUPS OF COFFEE AND A BUNCH OF FREAKING SCONES!"
As it turned out, the citizens of Paixao basically took whatever they wanted for payment, and in this case, a hefty sum of the munny the clones had on them seemed sufficient to the waiter, who was currently hiding behind his clipboard as the clone fumed.
"S-Sir, I told you, this is very high quality food, surely you would know that it wou-"
"HIGH QUALITY MY ASS, THIS PLACE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A FUCKING PRICE LIST, HOW THE FUCK WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? WHAT THE FUCK IS A 'VIENTE' CUP OF COFFEE ANYWAY AND WHY DOES IT COST MORE THEN THE OTHERS?!"
"Th-That's the largest size of coffee you can get, sir!"
"THE FUCK? I THOUGHT TALL WAS!"
"There's no need to sh-"
"I'M NOT SHOUTING!!"
Xenos looked nonplussed and irritated. He had a feeling they'd been bamboozled. Hah. So much for the true and unending virtue of the light.
He felt a funny little pang of mean glee at that thought
...He was definitely hungry if he was THIS crabby. Not thirty seconds ago he'd had this urge to call the waiter an insolent fool. erm.
"I'm sure we can come to an agreement here," he said rather loudly, trying to cut off both waiter and brother at once.
"No, I don't fucking think we can," Repliku snarled, but Xenos's words had their intended effect. The boy obediently slumped down on his chair, though he was still visibly seething with anger. The waiter chose to keep his distance, but he seemed grateful that a sane adult was talking to him.
"Thank you sir, and I'm sorry but prices are prices. If you wanted something cheaper and of lesser quality, you should have chose another location," The waiter insisted, seemingly unmoving on the subject of cost.
Repliku gave a disgruntled snort. He wasn't that much of a miser but the waiter had asked for a rather large sum of the strange gold and blue orbs that they "obtained" from Vexen's study. Repliku knew enough that it was currency and it was what keep them fed.
"I really don't think 2 cups of shitty coffee and some scones are worth half these things." Repliku toyed with one of the orbs in his hand.
"Is there an exchange rate we were unaware of?" Xenos was still highly sceptical of this. "Good sir, if you are attempting to take advantage of our inexperience with this city - that's hardly charitable."
He hadn't realised he'd crossed his arms, and started looking a lot like a sane even-tempered Ansem...
"Perhaps we SHOULD seek out another coffee shop."
The waiter gave a frustrated grunt as he was utterly torn between pleasing the customers and getting the money. Unfortunately, it had been beaten into his head that he must extort as much as humanly possible whiling satisfying the customer and was forced to comply.
"Very well, we'll only take half of what was requested." The waiter grumbled, and Repliku still seemed displeased. However, the boy handed over the strange orbs. Whatever, it was way less than what the price was before.
"The hell is up with this place," Repliku groaned, but now they were left in peace. The waiter scurried away to take their order, seemingly desperate to get away the irate clones. "And what the fuck is a scone?"
Xenos gave the waiter a brilliant smile. "I thank you kindly, sir." Once the waiter was gone, he exhaled and rolled his eyes. "What an obnoxious little individual - ahem."
He sat next to Repliku.
"A scone is" - how DID he know what a scone was? Ah well - "something like a cross between a muffin and a tea biscuit. The ones I ordered have toffee in them. They're really quite good. I promise."
"... Oh." Repliku blinked, staring at Xenos. So, that's what it was? And here Riku thought it was like some... he didn't know, exotic ice cream dish thing. Hey, it sounded like it would be in a cone! But biscuits, he could deal with that. Whatever, he was hungry.
"Are we gonna see the fortress when we're done here?" Repliku asked, just to make sure they had their shit straight. He wasn't up for roaming the city now that he knew that there were Organization members patrolling the city; it was dangerous just to be here. He nervously looked around for any black coats.
Xernos said, "I was hoping we could. If it provides us with possible answers as to who I am, and more information about who you are, then...it's good."
He nibbled on his scone.
Wow, that was good.
Xenos purred!
While Repliku was scouting the area, it seemed that their order came in. And pretty damn fast too, since he didn't even see who delivered it. Shrugging, the clone grabbed a scone and chewed on it thoughtfully.
It was alright, but Repliku stopped in midchew when he heard his brother... well, purring for a lack of better word.
Damn, he really loved these things.
"I know who I... I know who I ... was?" He tried to phrase it properly. He was him, but anyway. "But apparently the Riku I was cloned after is... dead. There's a new one now, and he's definitely nothing like me. I know it sounds retarded and shit, but it's the truth," Repliku explained that little oddity, taking a rather large gulp of coffee and grimacing as it burned. As if he didn't know it would.
"Ow. But that's what happened to my original. Ansem sounded a hell of a lot smarter, so I doubt he's dead."
Xenos paused and swallowed. "Oh my. That's - strange... I believe you, though. Stranger things have happened. we're proof of that erk be careful that's hot."
The name of Ansem still produced in him that peculiar little squiiggle of familiarity. It was the same feeling he got when someone called his name - or very similar, anyhow. Perhaps - he was a replica of the man?
Well, there was only one way to find out.
"...If he is alive I will ask him all he is willing to answer."
"I know it's hot! Ow..." Whatever, what was some scalding liquid to a manly man like himself? OK, a world of pain, but the coffee was pretty good. Repliku made sure to make smaller, slower sips this time.
"Yeah... I hope he isn't as much of a jerk as everyone made him out to be. I mean, you're nice and all, I can't see what's wrong with this guy... unless he's not your original, then I couldn't care less what he's like," Repliku didn't really care what he was like to begin with, but it was important to Xenos, so he gave a damn accordingly.
"... You think he even knows we exist?" Vexen sounded like he wanted to keep them secret, and Repliku had the suspicion neither the old Riku nor Ansem knew that they existed. Well, it was too late for his original (and the new one pissed him off; what a loser), but at least they could possibly get some answers from Ansem.
If he was still around.
"People tend to carry tales, I think. if one man thinks another is bad, he'll tell as many as he can tell of this, and soon everyone thinks the first man is a criminal. Ansem is probablyt just - misunderstood, or not a sociable sort. People think ill of those who don't behave in a 'normal' manner. He's probably just eccentric."
And hopefully NOTHING LIKE VEXEN.
"...I hope he's still there."
"... Eccentric. Yeah." Whatever the hell that meant.
"I dunno, if he has a fortress outside of the castle you gotta wonder what it's there for. I mean, that's not... well, if they don't even let people out, why would they let him build a fortess outside then? I dunno, something seems strange about that guy nonetheless, but he could just be what you said. Eccentric." He still wanted to know what that meant but that could wait. Gnawing a bit more on his biscuit, he looked around to the fake trees and ornate glass.
"I guess everything here is weird though."
"Maybe he felt he didn't belong here," Xenos said softly. HE was beginning to feel like that. He wwas, he thought, the ONLY non-Caucasian male in city limits. What in blue blazes was that!?
Repliku could agree with that. Xenos definitely looked way different from the rest of the people here, but Repliku couldn't say he felt right at home here either (how sad, considering this pretty much was his home to begin with).
"I don't think anyone does. Everyone here looks the same... like, seriously. It's like... it's fucking creepy, that's what it is, but..." he couldn't describe it. Now that he thought about it, the sea of blonde hair that stretched before them did creep him out.
"I don't think the foriengers with blue eyes and blonde hair even feel welcome. These guys are just in a league of their own."
"Yes. They..."
They were eerily familiar.
"They remind me of something. I don't - I don't know what and it's driving me mad but it's so familiar."
"Really?" Repliku gave the strange people another glance. They didn't seem to familiar to him... But then again, maybe Ansem knew something about these people that Xenos almost remembered. Or some crazy shit like that.
"Hmph. I wish I knew what their deal was." Repliku took a bite out of his scone, chewing thoughtfully and somewhat annoyed as well. He didn't know why the strange inhabitants of Paixao annoyed him now, but since Xenos mentioned it... there was just something wrong with them.
"I...I do as well. it's...it's as if..."
A lightbulb!
"--As if they're all replicas but - but lacking something in free will..."
Oh, HELL, what if VEXEN had pupulated the whole city!?
"Like puppets?" Repliku asked, not sure why that word popped up in his head to describe those things. Puppets? Was that appropriate? They acted normal enough in that respect though, more like they were unsuspecting citizens then lacking free will.
"... I dunno, I mean, they're creepy and probably have no clue what's going on, but I don't think... I don't think they're all... clones or something." Ok, now he was getting just a wee bit disturbed.
"Not exactly puppets but..."
It was like there was something vital missing from them.
"THey're like...they're like..." he trailed off, frustrated. "it's like something is missing about them and I can't articulate what that is."
"Oh... I guess I see your point." The clone frowned, trying to imagine what it was Xenos was talking about. Something missing? They didn't seem to be missing anything to him... maybe he meant something more spiritual or whatever the crap that was. Giving another glance at the seemingly ordinary yet still creepy people.
Finishing off his actually rather tasty meal (well, at least the waiter wasn't bullshitting him), Repliku stood up and kicked his chair back in place. "You done?"
Xenos nodded and drank the last of his coffee. "I am. ...Thank you for bearing with my rambling? I just...there's a lot I don't know at all and It's driving me damned mad. If I don't know, I'll never understand."
One who knows nothing can understand nothing.
"So I need to learn."
Repliku gave his brother a reassuring grin as he patted the other clone on the shoulder. "Nah, don't worry about it. I... I get what you're saying, it's important to know what's going on and shit, right? How else are you gonna be prepared if the worst happens?"
What would be the "worst", though? Repliku didn't want to know that.
"Now let's go find us some answers."