ＪＵＳＴ ＷＨＡＴ ＷＥ ＡＬＬ ＮＥＥＤ ［ＣＬＯＳＥＤ／ＩＮＣＯＭＰＬＥＴＥ］

[popola]

Who: devola and popola
Where: Streets of Prospero.
When: February 4th, early afternoon.
What: The twins are reunited in Prospero. Talking happens. Most likely a lot of talking.
Rating: Just a couple of redheads hugging. Pretty safe.
WARNING: Nier spoilers might appear inside.

To say Popola stood out was an understatement; she wasn't only redhead, she was also wearing clothes that looked like nothing somebody would use on present times. The confused look on her face as she walked around, eyes drifting from one building to a person, to a car and to another building made her look like somebody...escaping. Or just incredibly suspicious, which she was of course. Things didn't make any bit of sense at all, and she was probably in a greater mess than she could imagine. Where did all this technology come from? The last thing she had been aware of was that she and Devola had decided to take the Nier matter into her own hands, but suddenly she had woken up in this place, in what she could only assume to be a representation of the past on Earth.

She had to find a way out. She had to find a way out. Her sister, God help her if she tried to do it on her own. Popola started to walk a bit faster.

Comments

and then i ruined that "might" in the warning oops sorry :(

[devola]

The past six months had been something far less than pleasant, for Devola.

This was not due to the Shadows. There were a great deal of inherent peculiarities involved with the Dark Hour, the Shadows, and with Prospero itself, true. These, however, were almost trivial matters to her. Curiosities she could use to make time seem to move along quicker.

Time, as always, was the greatest enemy.

With an excess of it, the mind wandered; this was an undeniable fact, regardless of your species. One's mind would twist in on itself, replaying the past, pondering the "what if"s of life, and reminiscing about that which had been lost.

"Lost" was a good description of how Devola had begun to feel in Prospero, more and more with every passing day. This was a world that didn't exist, as far as she was concerned. In the timeline she called her own, the year 2012 was a year where civilization was supposed to be on the brink of being reduced to ash. Subsequent decades would herald a ponderously slow comeback. In fact, it would be approximately two decades before she, Popola, or any of the other observers would even be 'born.'

And that would be the crux of this meandering narration her problem, unfortunately. She and her sister had stared eternity itself in the face, unblinking, as the world around them crumbled and rebuilt itself up to a meager subsistence. Together they had withstood over thirteen hundred years filled with death, decay, and a world slowly slipping away into ash and sand. Regardless of whether or not they had emotions, despite the lack of souls they naturally had, in the end they still had one another for support. Without support, the human mind was even more ill-equipped to withstand the test of time than it normally would be.

To compound her issues, the latest of Prospero's enormous Shadows seemed to have targeted this very problem. Familial feelings swelled within every citizen of the town, but for Devola they were like acid in a festering wound. She'd spent the duration of that weekend, as well as a few days afterward, holed up in her room in a melancholic torpor. For one unaccustomed to genuine emotion, every time that the Shadows had altered the minds of those in Prospero she had been sent reeling. This time, it just happened to be the alteration that would elicit the most severe reaction in the woman. It was not that she didn't care for her fellow displaced citizens of Prospero. Quite the opposite; in truth, she was rather fond of them. It was the fact that, deep down in her -- mind, heart, whichever, she knew they were not her family, and she knew that the one person who was, wasn't in Prospero.

And at that point in time, she wasn't even sure that her sister was even alive.

All of this was why Devola stood dumbly on the sidewalk, dressed like an everyday citizen of the times, staring at the woman who shared her face both disbelievingly and hopefully. This was not the Dark Hour. This could not be a Shadow. The chance it was a trick this time was slim to none.

With hundreds of thoughts flowing through her head like a maelstrom, it was no surprise that a recurring thought went unnoticed. It just wasn't the time to be amused by how tears could signify both sorrow and joy, after all.

fuck yeah, spoilers

[popola]

She hadn't noticed her at first, her wandering aimless and her eyes unfocused. Her hearth -her human heart, she could tell- hurt on her chest, and as Popola made her way through the crew she was starting to whimper like a hurt dog; hurt and most decidedly lost. It wasn't so much the strange terrain, or the people, people that shouldn't be there, technology that should be extinct, and an overall contradiction of what the hundreds of existence resting on her back could not properly process at that given time.

No, it wasn't the fact she was lost, but that she was alone. You can be alone in the middle of a crowd, and Popola knew it well now; what had been a pressing worry inside of her head had been brewing into desperation slowly, and the idea of being alone menaced her sanity with every step she gave. Maybe she was there, maybe she was in danger. Devola needed her, as much as Popola needed her. To survive, to exist. If she had slacked on the fields or had decided to visit another town for business she would have felt homesick at best, and could have easily withstood the lack of that other one to share her burden, but this place was alien in every sense, and her usually composed self had been thrown off its balance by the impeding feeling of powerlessness.

She had to find her; another minute without knowing of her whereabouts and Popola was going to explode. People was largely ignoring her, but some couldn't help but stare when she bumped into them and pushed them away; they didn't matter, and for all they know, they weren't real. Or were about to become nothing but husks. It was as she had been brought to a time before the virus and the Shades, but how could that be? And why was she so...powerless? Something was amiss, but Popola couldn't stop and think about it. Not alone.

And then she saw her.

But was that her? Her clothes, her stance, Popola could have fooled herself to think the person she had spotted only looked like her- no ,that was most certainly her face, the face they shared. The clothes didn't change a thing, but Devola looked...drained. Tired. Her eyes locked, and Popola practically jumped into the street to go and meet her twin over the other side of the street. She didn't see the bus coming, and had she given another step the red blur of steel would have done a number of her, and the floor. Fortunately for both of them, once the bus passed a very startled Popola lied on the ground, on her knees, looking blankly at her sister. Who could have known emotions could be this strong?

kind of inevitable, and good to get outta the system~

[devola]

Well.

The absurd whirlwind of emotive responses paralyzing most of her other instincts and reactions might have actually saved Devola's own life, there. It'd be the first time they ever did her any good, too.

If one wanted to put the past two seconds in terms of analogy, however, the bus's appearance would have been likened to the pulling of a trigger. Devola would be the speeding bullet exiting the metaphorical gun, not even bothering to check traffic (the bus, fortunately, being the only reasonably-nearby vehicle) as she swooped forwards into what would have been a flying tackle, had she gathered more momentum.

Whatever Devola wanted to say came out as something of an incoherent mess as she clung to her sibling. Six months of effective solitude had, apparently, done what over a millennium of time was unable to. Or perhaps it was due to the fact that the millennium was not one spent alone, that the shorter time had such a great effect.

Anyway, judging from what few words were understandable, decipherable, or just plain coherent, someone had missed someone else a great deal.

[popola]

Interestingly enough, without much sense or order, things solved themselves neatly somehow. Sitting there on the asphalt, Popola's daze was broken only when her vision was filled with red hair, and the overly familiar smell of her sister flooded her brain. She then proceeded to hide her face on that mane that had so nicely landed in front of her and hug energetically the person that had finally managed to reach her, marveling herself with the confirmation that indeed, Devola was very much solid and there.

And just like that, Popola's mind seemed to get right on track. She was suddenly warm, very warm, and happy, but also conscious they were perhaps being a bit too affectionate in the middle of a strange street. "I think", said quietly, head still pressing against her sister's neck. "We should find somewhere less...concurred, don't you think?" She did not let go of Devola though. "You probably have much to tell me."

[devola]

"Er... Yeah. C'mon, let's stand up at least." Devola slowly started to rise as she spoke, though letting go was not quite something she felt like doing yet. Fortunately, the torrent of emotion was slowly settling into a mixture of relief and mild embarrassment.

"There's not too much to tell you that you can't probably already guess, but... well, yeah. Enough."

[popola]

And up they went. Up was good, yes. Being the sensible one again -sort of-, Popola decided to guide her sister away from the street, first, and towards anything that resembled an establishment where they could talk more privately. She trusted Devola would stop her from going somewhere she wasn't supposed to.

"You can start with the fact we are no longer...well..."

[devola]

"You noticed right away too, huh? It's so similar I thought I was imagining things, but your intuition was right." She spoke while moving, nodding in confirmation.

There wasn't much of a problem with the building Popola had chosen to wander towards at all; it was a coffee shop-slash-bakery, and crowded enough that it'd be hard to overhear their conversation, yet not so crowded that they'd find it hard to hear one another over the din. They were seated without much fuss other than an interjection of the obvious in the form of "gosh, you look so similar, you must be sisters."

Taking efforts to keep a happy smile from overtaking her face considering the relative seriousness of finding oneself suddenly in Prospero, she looked her twin dead in the eye, voice full of curiosity. "...Well, first kiss everything you thought was true about the laws of time and space out the window. What was the last thing you remember before you woke up here?"

[popola]

On the other side of the table, Popola was also failing a lot at not smiling all the time. Like a lot. This was important though, so she tried to remain as serious as possible. There will be always time for more hugs and tears later on.

"...Have things changed so much?", asked as she looked at her own hands. Devola wouldn't ask her to dismiss all her pass experience without reason. "I understand the both of us have changed considerable, but what else has? I think this is, without a doubt, the past, but things look like they were started to be in the files."

Still, she trusted Devola, so Popola didn't insist on the subject. "We had decided to confront Nier; he had drawn too close to knowing the truth and was on his way to the Shadowlord." If only they knew how close had the end been for them... "Why, are you memories different?"

[devola]

Devola shook her head, almost vehemently, in reply. "No no, that's what I remember last from when I was back home -- thing is, it's been... About six months, for me, since that point. We decided we were going do to that, started moving, and then... well, here I was. In this town."

She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Abandoning her sister to deal with the rogue Replicant alone would have been unconscionable. She had no doubt Popola would've been able to handle things on her own, but... they were siblings, and a team. Working as a pair was just how they did things.

"...As for this place, you've pretty much guessed it. Whether it's an alternate reality or a simulacrum, this is Earth, circa 2012." There was a pause, and she elaborated on what might have been the most important fact, as far as they were concerned. "Circa 2012, as though neither the 'giant' or 'dragon' had fallen from the sky in 2003."

[popola]

"Oh. Oh, I see." Well that made no sense whatsoever, but neither did time travel. "Apparently time is more than fluid in this place."

It would have been, to say the least, disheartening to fight alone. Although Popola was sure Devola had been around when she vanished. This was all very strange, indeed.

"...Hm. A place where the crisis never happened? I suppose a parallel universe might be possible, if not completely out of grasp of understanding." They were ridiculously strong magic wielders, and not even human to begin with, but they had limits. Limits that Prospero seemed to ignore, apparently. "What should we do now? I see you have managed to settle?"

[devola]

"More or less, yeah. There's a location that allows for free rooming to people like us -- and there's a lot of us." A pause, and she realized she'd been a bit vague, before she continued. "'us' being other people torn outta their own worlds. There's... quite a plethora. Like you said, time's pretty fluid, here. If I was in a mood to document it all, it'd probably redefine the ol' parallel worlds theory."

"...Problem is, playing with that theory wouldn't do much for the theories of 'how the hell do we get out of Prospero'" A beat. "Coincidentally, Prospero's the name of this city."

[popola]

This seemed to catch her interest even more. "Diverse worlds, diverse people, all together. Hmmm, it sounds like somebody has a purpose behind this all. Have you had the chance to meet whoever is behind this all?" Because that was somebody she would like to have a chat with.

"Prospero...the irony seems implied, somehow. Should I suppose you have...an extra bed for me to occupy for the time being?" It was a bit of a sudden change of topic, but Popola was very practical; she couldn't just stay on the streets forever.

[devola]

"I wish. In just a few seconds I can think of a few dozen questions to ask him, her, or it. No. Whatever the cause is, they're staying out of contact, save to taunt and jeer." Devola grumbled, half to herself, before Popola posed her second question.

"Ah? Yeah. Like I said, it's a free place to rest... suspicious, but useful. The room I wound up choosing's had a spare bed for..." She paused, finishing lamely. "Well, as long as I've been here. Guess I should've headed that way instead of here, huh?"

Damn blasted human ~emotions~ making logical thought patterns a failure.

[popola]

"I didn't think it would be that easy, but it's worth asking." Evil overlords revealing themselves? Perish the thought.

"Then I think we should head over there now, right? I don't want to force your arm here, but more...contemporary clothes would do me a great favor. I shall start looking for ways to make myself useful as well.

[devola]

"I guess so. I've kinda been missing the feel of the old threads, myself..." A shrug. "It's probably more productive that way though, you're right. I can fill you in on the other stuff on-the-way, or when we're there."