New Arrivals (All new characters)

[utopiamods]

You're falling, and you can't remember why. It's a sickening feeling that makes your insides lurch; the darkness and the vertigo combine, and all you can think of is a story you heard once, somewhere.

Ah, I remember now. It's... a simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her. The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess. No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end. This was because--

The world tilts on its axis one last time, and the dream slips from your mind as easily as it arrived. A new voice intrudes on your sleep. Mechanical, monotonous.

"Next stop: Rakuen City. This train terminates here. The next stop is Rakuen. All change." The train rocks steadily as it winds its way through white drifts of snow. Sunlight streams through the window, heating the air and making the seats almost uncomfortably warm. A puff of steam from the train winds its way lazily past the windows when the wind is right.

It's strangely difficult to shake off the sleep; the rhythm of the train seems to lull you back into slumber and the air is warm and heavy, making it hard to keep hold of a thought. Finally, though, the nausea settles, the last of the dream fades and you can take in your surroundings. And, perhaps more importantly, those around you in a similar state.

"We have arrived at Rakuen City. All passengers must leave the train. This train is terminating here. This is Rakuen."

Comments

[heroiccia]

America blinked several times as the train came to a stop. They were there already? Wait, just where was here anyway? He had never heard of this Rakuen before.

Still... "Ah~! That was an awesome nap~!" Stretching his body out, and with a load yawn and a few popping joints and creaking bones later, America was starting to stand up and heading over to the exit. It seemed like it was time to see where he was supposed to go from here.

[catpaw]

When Nekoko first wakes up, she's pretty groggy. But that grogginess quickly fades as she sees all the new, strange surroundings. ... And it hits her quickly. She's here. The place she'd been searching for so long to find is here, and she's really here. It's not a dream, because Nekoko has never had a vivid dream in her life. Elation fills her small body and she jumps out of her seat, pointing at America.

"Hey, you! Stop in the name of the law! We're in the fairies' home, right? Yeah? We are! I knew it!! Yahoo!"

[heroiccia]

And Alfred just kind of stares at the girl for a moment or two. And then he starts to laugh a little and give her a large smile. "Haha! I don't think so! We're at some place called Rakuen or whatever, right now." He still had no idea where exactly this place was. Europe maybe? He sure as hell knew that he did not have anything like this at his house. If he did then America would have known about it.

"Unless this place is wherever you just said." He tapped his chin in thought, smile never leaving his face for even a moment.

[catpaw]

"It's de~fin~ite~ly the fairies' home. I can feel the magic in the air! You're just a human, right? So of course you can't know. I see, I see! It was foolish to ask, like how it's foolish to ask what color the sky is!" ... she doesn't remember what that color is called, but ignores that nattering confusion.

[heroiccia]

"Eh?" And now she was starting to confuse him. "Magic doesn't exist though, kiddo." He stated as though it was one of the most obvious things in the world. And to him it was, and in truth it wasn't the first time that he had encountered someone who claimed that such things are real. Of course he can't remember that person's name for whatever reason, no matter how many times he attempted to recall it, causing his smile to waver just slightly. And then it returned to full strength.

Ah well, he thought to himself, I'll remember what their name is later on.

[catpaw]

"It does. But of course a foolish hu~man cannot sense the magic. Only small human children and animals can see it. You're too old! Ancient!"

She says it in a similar way. It's the truth in her mind.

[heroiccia]

"Hey I'm not that old!" He really wasn't! After all he's only been around for...wait how old was he again? Now that was a very, very troubling thought. If he can't remember his own age then something terrible must have happened to him. Looking over at the girl for a moment or so before deciding that it probably wasn't just him who had horrible things done to him in his sleep.

[catpaw]

"You're a geezer! A re~eeeally old fart." ... He does look around the same age she actually is, but she doesn't say that. She just continues to tease him. She bounces around him in a circle. "You're old cheddar! One thousand dollar wine!"

[heroiccia]

"I am so not old! Besides, I can't even remember my age!" He could probably just state any of her own oddities in return. But he wasn't going to do something like that. So instead he let her keep teasing him, and here he thought he was energetic. Pouting a little and crossing his arms across his chest as he watched the strange girl prance around him.

[catpaw]

"Ehhhhh? You can't remember your age? You're really getting up there! So old you can't remember the years anymore!" She makes an exaggerated laugh. "Don't throw your back anytime soon, old man! ... Let's go see outside! I wanna see how beautiful the fairy's home really is!"

[heroiccia]

"I told ya, I ain't old!" He wasn't! Why wouldn't she believe him? It just made his pout deepen even more. "And fairies don't exist!" Jeez, this girl really must have more than a few screws loose.

[catpaw]

"Excuse you!" She looks to him with a bit of irritation, but her voice softens up so it's nearly dreamlike when she speaks next. "You're talking to one right now! I'm a fairy. A sprite. One of the folk. You understand, old timer?"

[heroiccia]

"Haha! No you're not!" After all, such things don't exist. So there was no way that she could be an actual fairy. And there goes again calling him old! He was not old damn it! And so he started to give her a bit of an annoyed look mixed in with a look of worry. She really must be a nutcase if she truly believed such things.

"Hey...are you alright?"

1/2

[catpaw]

"Of course I'm a fairy! I'll put a curse on you for not believing, so watch your back from hereon out." She bristles.

[catpaw]

... but then she looks a little confused. "What do you mean, alright? Of course I'm fine!"

[heroiccia]

"'Cause you're calling yourself a fairy?" And no sane person would do that. Or at least no sane person that he has met thus far. And Alfred was fairly certain that had been quite a few. "Oh! Maybe whoever brought us here screwed with your brain!"

[catpaw]

"My brain is just fine! I'm a fairy, whether you believe it or not!!" She sticks her tongue out at him and stomps her feet, turning away. "I'd show you some magic first-hand, but I don't know where my wand's gone."

[heroiccia]

She's still saying that she's a fairy? Someone must have really screwed her up then. Of course it wasn't the first time that he had heard someone claim to be magical. And America was getting the feeling that it probably wouldn't be the last.

Still, she does remind him of someone. And of course he decides to voice this observation to her. "Ya know, you remind of a guy that I know."

[catpaw]

"Is he a fairy too? I bet he's a weak fairy. Because if he were powerful, you wouldn't doubt me."

[heroiccia]

This time he started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh. "Nah! He's just a grumpy old man who thinks magical things are real!" And guess what? He's still laughing! Of course he bet if what's his name was here then he would probably huffing and yelling at him right now.

[fifty]

Alfred had been pretty sure he'd fallen asleep in a plane and not a train, so he gets up with a bit more of a jolt, trying to remember when he'd left the plane and switched to this. Maybe he was kidnapped? Was that a thing that happened, they took people off planes while they were asleep or maybe drugged and put them on trains to use as mutant slave labor?

The kid--and he is a kid, looking a bit younger than his fifteen years--is immediately distracted from his train of thought by the next person he sees. Since it's himself. An older himself, but still.

"...Oh, I'm dreaming."

He expects that to wake him up properly, so when he's still on the train, staring at whoever this is, he's not really sure what to do.

[heroiccia]

He started to stare again, and then stare some more. In fact America noticed that he had started to have started doing quite a bit of staring at others today. And then his mind came to the one, most logical conclusion that it could think of. "Oh! Hahaha! I must still be asleep!"

[fifty]

Well, this guy at least sounded a lot like him. Alfred pinched himself as subtly as he could manage--which wasn't very, as he still winced at it--and then frowned.

"If this is a dream, why am I still asleep?"

[heroiccia]

"That's easy dude! Because if I'm still dreaming then that means that if I go to sleep in the dream, and you go to sleep in the dream, then we'll wake up!" Sound logic, is sound....or at least it is for him anyway.

[fifty]

"So are we the same person?"

Alfred could at least follow that logic--which probably said something about the two of them, really.

"I'm not really tired, though. Are you?"