paradisa | ♫ 9

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♫ 9

[It was like any other battle on Titan. The sand and wind were screaming overhead, almost muffling the sound of gunfire all around them - the only way to pick their targets was by muzzle flashes amidst the storm.

Gren glanced at his sides - at his comrades - checking that he hadn’t lost his squad somewhere in the howling stands. On one side, a soldier was busy reloading with shaking hands, on the other, a familiar flash of silver as Vicious calmly fired off a few rounds before dropping to cover.

Suddenly, there was the sound of something heavy landing a few feet away. Another soldier screamed - “GET DOWN!”

They were running...leaping as hard as they could behind the next dune as the grenade exploded, sending even more sand spraying into the air around them. Gren hit the ground, covering his head as ears rang from the sound and then...nothing. No gunfire, no explosions, no screaming. All the sound seemed to have stopped.

He coughed and lifted his head up. Titan was gone. He was in a huge, high-ceiling room, with massive ornate staircases and chandeliers, hunkered behind a sofa of all things.]

Vicious? ...Guys? [He coughs again and tries to shake some of the sand from his cloak and hair] What happened?

[Vicious had thrown himself bodily behind the dune, where he should have collided with nothing but more sand, he instead hit an unyielding wall and floor, laying there stunned for a brief moment before realizing what was wrong, and grabbing for the knife at his hip.]

...Gren?

[He hadn't hit his head, but couldn't help squinting at the room around him as though he were seeing things.]

I’m here. I think... [He crawled to Vicious’ side, keeping low as if he expected a bullet to fly past him at any moment] Are we dead? That was an awfully close call...

[That was one thing accounted for, at least, although they seemed to be short an entire battlefield. He took a moment to look over the room.]

I doubt hell would be this well-appointed.

((ooc: loss start!. Soldiers in ur lobby, Para. Have at 'em. And there's a journal around somewhere, if that's more to your liking.))

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[Sometimes these things feel planned; right down to the timing. Spike happens to be crossing the lobby when he sees the two of them, not even attempting to keep their alliance behind closed doors anymore. It's hard for Spike to imagine the ulterior motive at work, and he's not up for trying, but he pauses in his steps once he overhears the end of their conversation.

... Does he really want to know?]

You'd be surprised.

[Vicious' head swivels around from his disbelieving contemplation of the giant chandelier when he hears that familiar and rather unexpected voice, a look of honest confusion on his face.]

Spike?

[This made no sense at all.]

[Gren looked up sharply from his continued effort to shake the sand from his clothes, training his rifle at the stranger out of pure reflex]

Friend of yours, Vicious?

[Spike doesn't flinch when the rifle is pointed at him, but the confused stare is a tip off that he tries his best not to mirror. ...Shit. That sinking feeling better not be what he thinks it is.]

Yeah. [He'll go ahead and answer for Vicious, eyes locked on him to catch his reaction.] Just an old friend.

[Vicious isn't usually the type to let on that he's been caught off guard--it's a great way to get yourself killed, for one--but he can't quite help it, with the level of confusion he's currently experiencing, glancing back and forth between the two men.]

One who shouldn't be here.

[Or, rather, had no business being on Titan. But this wasn't Titan, he was realizing, as impossible as that seemed. He did his best to shake off the confusion and get down to solving the issue at hand.]

What's going on?

[As if Spike might have the answers.]

[Gren looked dubious, but the other man didn't seem to be a threat. He had no weapons nor looked like an enemy soldier. But he had a feeling like maybe he shouldn't trust everything he was seeing right now. Maybe there had been something different in that grenade.]

Wherever here is. What happened to Titan?

[He could laugh -- Spike has been here long enough to get the castle's sense of humor -- and he might once he'd had time to reflect on whatever he's witnessing in front of him. At the moment though, he's stuck on the question that Gren obviously expects an answer to.

Makes it clear that he doesn't remember who he's talking to.]

War's still going on, huh? [He's a fairly sharp guy when he cares to be.]

Unless someone called a ceasefire without telling me.

[If he's looking at Spike like he's got two heads, well... It's turning into a very weird day.]

[Gren is just glancing between the two of them, trying to make sense of all this, his gun finally starting to drop to his side]

Yeah. I'm sure I wouldn've heard something.

Edited 2012-09-28 04:11 (UTC)

[He's silent while the implications start to sink in; his expression remains carefully neutral.]

Then it looks like you picked a good time to get away.

[Spike's too-cool reaction is starting to make him suspicious, but of what he can't quite say.]

We didn't choose to be here.

[Wherever 'here' was.]

We were just there a minute ago. This is impossible...

[He looked at Vicious, confusing mixing with a slight hint of panic. He dropped his voice a little]

What are we going to do?

[This is exactly the type of situation that someone could take advantage of. The only problem is his conflicting aversion towards doing anything that would tip them off.

Spite only accounted for half of his motivation.]

Probably won't be the last war you see.

[He dropped a hand to Gren's forearm, not quite restraining, not quite reassurance either.]

I'll handle it.

[And then he's looking back to his partner, his friend, unable to shake the sureness that something is not right here, beyond the sudden disappearance of a whole planet bent on blowing itself up.]

Why are you here?

[He would have edged behind Vicious if they weren't crouched rather ridiculously up against the wall of this...building. He does however safety his rifle, tilting it back against his shoulder and waits to see what this Spike has to say]

[There's more than one thing not right here. Vicious was bound to pick up on part of them.]

I'd bet the same reason as you.

[Suspicion was shifting to feelings of outright hostility as Spike kept dodging questions. He clearly didn't want to answer, which could only mean a few things. And none of them were good.]

I doubt it.

[He rested a hand on the hilt of his knife.]

Unless you were just abducted as well.

[A strong word, but what else could he use? Titan was clearly gone, and no other explanation was presenting itself.]

[He glances at Vicious' hand. Feeling the shift into wariness. He doesn't move yet, but he's getting ready for the possibility that this will be a fight anyway. For now, he tries tact]

It must be a hell of a thing...to take us right out a battle without us noticing. Look...Spike, right?...we just want answers. I'd get it maybe you don't know all of them, but a hint would be great.

[He could give them a hint. Or tell them that they've lost their memories if he really wanted to unsettle them. In the end though, he can't bring himself to treating them like normal clueless residents.

And when he was disturbed, he defaulted to being a smart ass.]

Maybe you're dreaming.

No.

[There's a pause, and a sidelong glance at Gren... he doesn't really want to bring this up in front of him, but Spike's not giving him a choice.]

Did the Van send you?

[He frowned at Vicious]

The...Van? Vicious...what...?

[That conclusion draws a chuckle. It's been a long time since he's heard any mention of them, and it gives him the strangest sense of nostalgia. The castle would have been an even more efficient way of getting rid of Vicious than throwing him into a war. Could be their way of rectifying things.

It doesn't matter if Gren hears it now; from what Spike understood, they became business partners in the end. Had to come up at some point.

Really an elaborate joke this time around.]

Did you ever wish that you could see the future?

[That lack of an answer makes him frown, unhappy with the way this is going and even less sure of what's really going on than he was when he'd crashed into that wall a minute ago.]

No. There's no point.

I don't know what you think, but we haven't done anything to you.

[Spike levels his gaze on Gren, before shifting back to Vicious. He found quite the subordinate.]

You're right. [There's no indication of who he's replying to, and he doesn't elaborate on his comment.] It's better to leave it that way.

[That's when he starts walking, back towards the kitchen, if only as a last ditch effort to keep himself together. If they follow, things may change. It can only go downhill from here.]

[He can only imagine how all of this looks to Gren... and it's nearly as strange to him. He'd had suspicions, before leaving Mars, but even those did not account for this behavior.]

Spike.

[He takes a few steps after him, more initiative than he usually shows on most occasions, then stops again.]

Is Julia here?

[It's a question, but almost a threat, maybe a warning. It's the only thing he can think to say that might illuminate the situation, for good or ill.]

[He stands, watching Vicious follow but staying where he is.

Julia. The woman he only knows as a song. The only thing he really knows about Vicious at all. Or used to.]

[That name is all it takes to stop him in his tracks. As much as he knows that he needs to stay in control of this conversation, it hits him like an exposed nerve.

He doesn't turn around.]

No, she isn't.

[And that's that, really. He could press this, try to dig to the bottom of it, but he wasn't particularly eager to. He frowns, but doesn't follow.]

[He walks up to Vicious and taps him on the arm]

Let's go look around. We're not going to find out what we need from him.

[Gren has the right idea. Memory problems are getting too common, and Spike isn't a willing expert on them. It turns out that the past is really that easy to erase.

Keeping his back to them is all he can do to keep a level head. Another push in any direction, and chances are he'll snap.

But when the moment passes in silence, he starts walking again. Purposeful steps that lead away from the kitchen and towards the exit. He decides then and there that he's had his fill of the castle for today.]

[Vicious watches Spike's retreating back for a few more moments before he turns away, giving his attention to Gren instead.]

You're right.

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♫ 9

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