Phonebooth

[tbf_anon]

As the sun rose upon World's End, it bathed the land in an orange glow, encompassing all and sparing none in its wake. It was warm and muggy and the whispers from the night of the full moon, the night of the Tower, hadn't seem to have gone away. Still, the day was bright and the light beckoned all to go outside. By midday, clouds had begun to roll

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[timid_werewolf]

Aaron heard the ringing distantly, and almost ignored it. He oculd very well remember the past times, had almost thought it had died for good...

Almost.

The steady drone of the phonebooth was tugging at his senses, reminding him that it was there, just waiting to be answered by someone. He could think of a million reasons why he should keep walking; even Dreizehn could. The wolf tugged at his shirt gently, as if to communicate that he wanted to leave...but a soft hand on the muzzle staid his movements.

A tiny, but growing shred of curiosity wormed it's way into his consciousness as he stepped closer, into the booth, stroking the receiver silently. It was a gamble, but...

"Hello...?" he dared to whisper, waiting in silence.

[tbf_anon]

There was a soft burst of static as the phone connected and took in the sound of Aaron's voice. A pause, a beep.

A breath.

"Hello, Aaron," murmured Itachi along the line. He sounded tired, his voice mirthless and weak. "It's been quite some time."

There was some sort of sound in the background...metallic. "How have you been?"

[timid_werewolf]

His gasp was audible; he almost dropped the phone. In reaction. Dreizehn stalked closer, huffing at him before settling, waiting. Absently, he scratched behind his ears, collecting himself to speak once more.

"Itachi! It...you..." But he had died...hadn't he?

"Are you alright? You sound so tired..."

[tbf_anon]

Itachi's voice warmed a little as his breathing became labored. The sound of Aaron's voice seemed to bring a little life back into him. "You sound well," he said, skipping the boy's questions.

Had he died?

"I am well, hearing you again. It has been...a long time since I have seen you." There was yelling in the background, what sounded like Kisame calling for Itachi. The sound disappeared, as though cut out of existence.

All around the phone booth, the scenery changed to a desolate desert, the sand stained dark with blood and with the corpses of ninja.

[dragon_savior]

The odd ringing drew Ryu closer, examining the curious structure with great interest. Once he figured out how the door opened, he stepped inside, apprehensive about this new thing. The little black phone was something Ryu had never seen, and with all the wires and noise reminded him of one of Momo's Techno Age gadgets, which he could never wrap his head around.

Still, his curiosity kept getting the better of him, and he lifted the phone from the receiver, tapping the speaker softly. "...What is this?"

[tbf_anon]

The phone sounded dead at first, no noise coming over the receiver. And then the line cleared, empty. When a sound came through, there was an operator's voice, loud, nasally. "Hello sir, we're getting a collect call coming in from someone. Will you accept?"

[dragon_savior]

"A... call?" Ryu wasn't at all sure what this meant. It could have been another way for the Gods to explain more to him what's going on, or perhaps this was the figure in the tower, mocking his attempts at approaching it. Either way, there was no surefire way to know who was on the other line unless he dived in headfirst.

"Yes." he said firmly.

[tbf_anon]

"Of course, sir," the operator said, clicking her gum. "Just a moment please."

The line beeped, connecting again.

A deep voice answered, wrought heavy with age. "How now, Ryu? How are you enjoying your stay in the world without an end, the end of all days?" He chuckled as though finding something humorous. "Is it not grand?"

[couldbeincest]

Something was ringing.

Months of being in World's End had taught Nero several things. One, strange things were bound to happen and it was best to prepare oneself. Two, no matter what happened, you always came back. This, combined with many a sleepless night since the last event and the dreams, had him behaving a tad recklessly.

The phone seemed harmless enough. The shrill sound seemed to be the only harm it could really cause, and so, the Sable felt little to no apprehension in answering it. It was just a phone, what harm could it do?

"... Yes?"

[tbf_anon]

"Hello, Nero," rumbled a familiar voice. It was strong and powerful, clear. This was no illusion.

A screamed resounded in the background, something young and also familiar to Nero. It sounded like Shelke. The scream was heart wrenching and agonized, which only had Weiss chuckling into the receiver. There was mumbling and then silence.

"Have you missed me?"

[couldbeincest]

"Weiss..."

Nero's legs felt weak, one hand shot out to grasp the phone as he tried to right himself. That couldn't be... there was no way his brother could be speaking to him right now.

This had to be another trick... right? That voice held no trace of the duality that the trickster's held when he had inhabited his brother's body, nor did it sound ghostly and far off as the phantom's had.

"... All the time. Is this.. is this really you, brother?"

[tbf_anon]

It was no trick. Weiss laughed softly. "You would question me?" he asked lowly. "Of course it's me. Where have you gone, brother? Without you, I have found myself lost in this place."

Shelke began screaming again, the sound deepening and turning more foreign with every passing second. Her voice became indistinguishable, soon taking on the sound of a shrieking crow, attacked relentlessly.

There was a squishing sound and a soft rip. Weiss sighed. "Well...?"

[soldier_puppy]

The look for Valeria's missing friend was interrupted by ringing.

Zack had gotten the phone call once before, had earned himself and Sheik a nice day at Costa del Sol from it (even if had been attacked by Genesis clones), and had walked away feeling strangely decent about it. With that in mind, it wasn't any wonder why the SOLDIER's ears perked when he heard the ringing phone, that high-pitched jingle that seemed to give him goosebumps. Because, even if one good thing had come out of it, he knew the damn thing was evil.

He wasn't stupid. It was in World's End, after all, and most things here ranked under the "Dark and Creepy" category.

All the same, he moved to the booth, opened the door, and slid in. Gloved fingers hesitated near the handset, waiting for a moment, watching it.

No fear, man. What's the worst that can happen?

And more infamous last words were never thought.

"Hello?"

I'm sorry, Shannon, I had to

[tbf_anon]

The receiver was silent on the other end. It almost appeared as if the person hung up just before Zack answered.

And then...

"Ghaa haah hah hah!"

...and the line went dead.

You are so dead :P ::tickles::

[soldier_puppy]

"...."

Zack would have been happy hearing anything, anything but that. He practically threw the phone out of his hands, dropping it on the cradle, and shook his head. He wondered if he would have nightmares tonight, now, because at the moment, it seemed pretty possible.

That would teach him to pick up strange ringing phones in World's End.

[insanestrength]

The ringing was getting on her nerves. Sakura was one moment away from punting it out of existence, her frayed nerves almost getting the better of her. And then she straightened herself, tightened her jaw, controlled her temper and picked up the receiver.

"This had better be good."

The tone was confident, but with a definite undertone of annoyance.

[tbf_anon]

"OI, SAKURA!"

Naruto's voice screamed across the line and the boy sounded almost echoed; the voices of many clones added to the sheer volume and obnoxious sound of the blond ninja.

"Where did you go?! You left us high and dry! What, did you get scared?"

[insanestrength]

"Naruto?!"

What the hell? This was obviously a prank, and she was left pissed rather than laughing. He'd never accused her of being scared since he'd come back. Green eyes narrowed, and she clutched the receiver in a grip that threatened to shatter it.

"Like hell. You're pretending to be my friend and I don't fucking appreciate it. You think I don't know him better than this?" Hah. Sakura kicked hard at the window of the phonebooth, watching her irritated gaze reflect back at her through the grimy plastic/glass.

"Stop playing games with me." This was growled.

[tbf_anon]

"What's the matter with you?!" he screamed into the phone. He sighed and all of the other voices disappeared in the back. "Sakura, I mean it! We've been pinned down here by Pein. You were right beside -- Ah!"

An explosion erupted in the back but it grew muffled as Naruto shut himself inside the booth on his end. "Where are you? You better not have gotten yourself lost out there!"