Earthquake [Deuce]

[Ace (No. 1)]

He put his hands in his pockets, and kicked the ground a little bit. Ace was walking around the school, a little bit lost in thought. What he was thinking of was something very complicated. He kept on rewinding things through his head. He was so deep in thought; he had almost forgotten the person accompanying him. Almost. However, his eyes flickered back to Deuce, before he thought again. This war, why is it so complicated? Ace knew this was complicated, and he knew it would take a lot more than winning something to end it. But that was that.

The blond rubbed his fingertips together, while the fabric of his trousers hid them. He needed to sort this out, or at least get a brief understanding of it. He knew what happened, but he still didn’t fully grasp how, and why. That was the confusing part, but there was something else he needed to think of. However, he didn’t want to. Not yet, anyway. Ace didn’t feel like thinking of that, not right now, but later. Maybe. It all depends on things that hadn’t happened yet. He rubbed his face a little bit and faced Deuce. ”Deuce?” He said, a little quietly, but still audible.

Ace crossed his arms, his hands now clenched. He sighed, and clicked his tongue. Maybe, he needed a bit of a distraction. No! I have to think about this now. If I don’t, I won’t get round to it at all. He knew he would get distracting by other things, and eventually not have enough time to think about it. It was important, right? He liked to think so, anyway. He had to think of other people first, make sure they were ok. That’s why he kept on looking at Deuce, to make sure he wasn’t appearing rude.

He clasped his hands together, before dropping them to his side, but one landing on his hip. Then, Ace turned to face Deuce, and he stopped walking. He cocked his head slightly. ”What do you think of all this going on?” He was rather curious to see what she thought. It would be good to hear another opinion, wouldn’t it? Second opinions were usually craved by those doing a big decision, but Ace was just curious. Was that so bad? Well, curiosity did kill the cat, but that wasn’t the point! Ace cleared his throat.

The blond shook his head, and then carried on walking. Maybe he was giving this a bit too much thought. He could always ask Queen or King, they would know a bit more about the situation, right? Still, maybe Deuce could shed some light on the situation. Possibly, she might clear his head of confusion, but then again, she could be just as clouded as he was. Well, it was fifty-fifty chance, right? Where was life without a little bit of adventure and guessing? A little bit of gambling couldn’t hurt, could it?

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Words:; 531
Muse:; Really Good!
Tagged:; Deuce
Outfit:; Usual
Location:; School ^_^
Listening To:; Earthquake by Labrinth and Tine Tempah
Notes:; Hope this is ok ^_^ And Don't ask about the title because I don't know XD

[Deuce (No. 2)]

War was upon them. At every given moment, people could be dying at the hands of Milites. That’s how it had been for a while now, that’s what the situation was like today, and it’s what would no doubt be true for the following weeks, months, or even years as well. At first, Deuce had felt strange about doing things that had been normal before this war had started, such as attending class or meeting with friends. With the world in peril and evil lurking at their doorstep, who had time to relax and live everyday life? Especially Class Zero, who were the only ones equipped to fight in this war due to their connection to the crystal. Shouldn’t they be constantly on the move to try and thwart the Milites’ plans in whatever way they could? That’s what she had thought initially, but as the war dragged on, with or without their interference, the young flautist had come to understand that they couldn’t be in every battle. They couldn’t save everyone, and if they didn’t take a moment for themselves every now and then, all of them would end up going crazy. And they wouldn’t be of any use whatsoever in a crazy state of mind, now would they?

That’s why the brunette had agreed to go on this walk today with one of her best friends in this world; Ace. They both needed a moment to just clear their minds, Ace especially, since his burden was even larger than the one the rest of them bore. While Queen was their class president, she surprisingly wasn’t in charge of this mission. Ace was their leader for now, and Deuce could only imagine how tough that must get at times. He did a good job of it, but at the end of the day, he was just a kid as well just like the rest of them. And kids really shouldn’t have this much responsibility. When she heard him call her name, Deuce turned her attention towards him and tilted her head a little, “Yes?” she asked quietly as she waited for him to collect his thoughts. Seeing him cross his arms and sigh, Deuce offered him a warm smile. She couldn’t take this burden from him, but she would try and lighten it a little in whatever way she could, even if it meant just listening to his troubles. They were friends, and friends looked out for each other, especially in times like these. Of course, her feelings had moved beyond friendship at this point, but she wouldn’t trouble him with that now. He had enough to worry about, and truth be told, they all had more important things to worry about right now. There was of course also the concern that he might not return her feelings, and if there was one thing Deuce couldn’t even bare to think of losing, it was her friendship with Ace.

“You mean the war?” the flautist crossed her arms in a similar way and leaned back on one leg as she considered her answer. Honestly, her feelings on this matter were rather simple; she just wanted the war to end and for everyone to live happy and peaceful lives again. But she knew that wasn’t really the answer Ace was looking for. “I think it’s crazy,” she started with a sigh, letting her arms fall back to her sides again before continuing, “All of it is just crazy. Aulstyne launching an attack on Rubrum, everyone losing their ability to use magic besides us… it’s all just too surreal to really make sense of.” She shook her head a little, “But at this point, we’re really the only ones who can put a stop to all of it, so I think we should just do what needs to be done and don’t over think things,” that was easier said than done, and some thinking would definitely be required to bring this war to an end, but too much pondering would just negatively affect them in the end. That’s what Deuce thought anyway. “How about you?”

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Words: 683
Tagged: Ace!
Location: School (for now? 8O)
Outfit: Class Zero Uniform
Notes: I hate thinking up thread titles as well. >.<

[Ace (No. 1)]

Ace nodded, absent-mindedly. He was only half listening, and even then he wasn't fully processing what was going on. He couldn't over think things too much, or that would only end up badly, right? He wasn't sure, but... he had a lot to think about. Too many things. And he kept questioning and doubting things. Doubting things he shouldn't be doubting, anyway. But he still, somehow, managed to get what Deuce said in his mind and it was slowly processing. Slowly, that is. He still didn't fully grasp it properly. Thoughts kept swarming around his usually calm mind. Ace needed to get everything straight, and then he needed to understand it all. If not, then he would have to take some more time to get everything sorted out.

Ace sighed, and crossed is arms. A look of thought, concentration and frustration was evident on his face. His eyes were directed down, but they were swimming with thought. What if...? questions kept plaguing his mind like a toxin. "Crazy... that's one word to put it." He sighed for what seemed the tenth time that morning, and he put his hands up to cover his face. He didn't like feeling confused, or left in the dark. Ace wanted, no... needed to know what was going on. He had the others of Class Zero to worry about...

Ace's eyes avoided Deuce, not wanting her to see frustration. "I don't know..." He trailed off, just wanting to get all of this over with, in a way. He wanted everything to go back the way things were before. Before war, before anything like that. Just Class Zero... but that would never happen now, right? He needed to bury any feelings for now, just to concentrate. But they kept pushing through. Feelings of war, his friends, everybody. Ace just felt so uncertain about everything. He needed to just get everything sorted out, and then he would speak to everybody else. "I feel uncertain about everything... And I mean, everything. Everything happening..." He trailed off, sighing once again. Ace kicked the ground with the toe of his shoes before hearing an almost pulsing noise. What on...?

[/i]

He looked at Deuce, and then started to make his way to wherever it was coming from. Ace had a churning feeling in his stomach, like something was about to happen, but it was just a feeling, right? However, when he found whatever it was, he understood. It was a portal. He had been told, and he knew what they were and why they were around. Ace also knew how dangerous they were. You could never be sure where you ended up. Whether it be a hostile plain, or just a village. He wasn't going to take any chances, was he? He cautiously leant forward, and brushed his fingers against the portal. "Deuce, these are the portals..." He spoke to her, before observing the portal once again. He would have to tell the others of this. But most of all, he had to make sure neither him or Deuce go through... but he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit curious. It felt strange against his fingertips, and he released a breath, looking at Deuce over his shoulder.[/blockquote][/size]

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Words:; 579
Muse:; Good
Tagged:; Deuce
Outfit:; Usual
Location:; School, but not for long ^_^
Listening To:; --
Notes:; Hope this is ok ^_^

[Deuce (No. 2)]

Believe it or not, Deuce could understand why just accepting things the way they were was hard on Ace. It was an easy thing to say when you were part of a team, but it was a whole different matter when you were the leader of said team, and every single one of your comrades looked to you to figure out what to do. What was even worse was that all of Class Zero was kind of like a family, everyone really did care about one another, and she could see how that would only add to the burden he was already forced to bear. Failing your team was one thing, failing your family… that was something else entirely. Deuce didn’t think he would fail, and the others believed in him as well, but none of that really mattered if Ace was doubting himself. Thank goodness he was willing to talk about it – to just get his concerns off his chest instead of lugging them around all by himself. Someone else might have been able to give him a better, more reassuring answer to his question, someone like King or Queen, or even Seven. But he hadn’t gone to them with his concerns, he’d come to her, and so she did everything she could to ease his mind a little. She owed it to him as a friend.

The young flautist smiled sadly when Ace kicked at the ground in frustration, and took a step closer, patting his shoulder lightly before speaking up, “Ace… it’s-“ her sentence was soon cut short by a strange noise. Her eyes widened some as she quickly looked around to determine where it had come from exactly. Ace seemed to have heard it right and started heading off into the direction he assumed the noise had come from. Of course, Deuce followed right behind, but her eyes kept scanning the area just in case Ace was wrong about where the sound had originated from. The girl stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted the source of that noise; a portal. Not that much was known about them yet, but the information they’d gotten so far didn’t sound too peachy. These were apparently gates that could teleport people away from home and to places unknown, they appeared at random, and disappeared at random too. It seemed this one had just appeared, because Deuce certainly didn’t recall seeing it before now.

Ace didn’t match her caution, and rather than staying back with her, he walked right up to the portal to examine it. He confirmed that it was indeed one of the portals they’d been told about earlier, but no matter how curious the brunette was, she wasn’t as brave as Ace was, and so she stayed back here at a safe distance. The fact that Ace was so close to it made her nervous though, what if something bad happened to him because he stood too close to it? “Hey, be careful alright?” she called over, crossing her arms over her chest as she peered over his shoulder at the portal. It didn’t seem like anything was happening yet, Ace was still safe and the portal didn’t even seem to acknowledge him. Maybe it was inactive, or maybe they lay dormant for a while before actually becoming dangerous. If so, then now was the time to learn more about them. Very carefully, Deuce took a step closer, but immediately stopped again when the portal changed some. The strange material between the portal’s arms seemed like it started to swirl slowly, and although nothing was happening just yet, the fact that the portal was changing was reason enough to be alarmed, in Deuce’s opinion. “A-Ace…” she called with concern as she pointed at the portal in front of him, as she did so, the swirling increased in speed, and though she couldn’t see what was happening exactly from where she was standing, she was sure it couldn’t be anything good. “Get back!”

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Words: 666
Tagged: Ace
Location: Outside the school (for now)
Outfit: Uniform
Notes: Hope this is okay, if you need anything changed, let me know!

[Ace (No. 1)]

It was confusing. Everything was. From wars, to portals, and the new monsters stalking everybody. He didn't properly know how to react to all of this. It was a new situation for Ace. He didn't know to respond to this at all. Even just accepting that it was happening was a little weird. Ok, it wasn't a little weird, it was a lot weird. But, it was easier just to accept it, right? Ace needed to just clear his head at the moment. He just wanted to relax for a moment and forget about Wars and things for a while. Sort himself out. Ace shoved his hands in his pockets, released an almost distressed breath. Yeah, he just needed to sort his head out, and take a day off thinking about it or something. Willingly or not.

At the pat of his shoulder, Ace looked at Deuce, and offered a small, comforting smile. He didn't want her to worry, or anything. He knew she meant well, and it was the thought that counts. However, Ace didn't actually want to pile all of his problems on her. She probably had her own to think about, right? Everyone of them had something to think about. At least, that was what he thought, anyway. They each had their own things to sort out, and that was that. Ace hummed a little in thought. Maybe, I just need to... No, that wasn't that good of an idea overall.

Ace looked at Deuce, then back at the portal. Maybe, she was being a little bit more rational about this situation. But he had heard about these, and he wanted to almost know what was the fuss about. Was that such a bad thing? Maybe, but he looked at Deuce. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." He shot her smile, before looking back. He pushed his arm forward a little more, so his whole hand was in. Ace released a breath. A part of him wanted to stop, and go back with Deuce. Another part wanted to go forward, and see what was on the other side. It was risky to go forward, but then again, maybe this would help with more information about these portals and other worlds. Maybe that would help Ace overall with his problem.

Ace looked at the portal, and how it swirled. Well, it was starting to be a little more..uh... a little more dangerous looking. His eyes flickered in panic slightly, before he huffed. He was fine, she was fine, the portal was fine. But, why was there a slight unsettling feeling around? Ace looked back at Deuce, before deciding. Maybe this thing was dangerous. However, he almost didn't want to move. "Deuce..." He spoke, softly. Looking at his companion, Ace stared off into space for a small while. Was that...concern she wore on her face? "I'm fine. Really. It's doing anything..." He trailed off, before wincing slightly. The portal felt it was almost tightening on his hand. Or something like that. He couldn't be sure. "It's..." He stopped himself, not wanting her to worry about it. "It's... fine..."

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Words:; 680
Muse:; Really Good!
Tagged:; Deuce
Outfit:; Uniform
Location:; Outside
Listening To:; --
Notes:; Not liking this, but I managed to get this out for you xD

[Deuce (No. 2)]

The situation they were in was really not a situation kids their age should be forced to deal with, but it was what it was, and Deuce saw no reason to complain about it on a daily basis. It wouldn’t change anything anyway, so she saw it as more of a waste of time and energy than anything else, that didn’t mean she never thought of it though. She thought of it regularly, sometimes daily, but she rarely voiced her fears and doubts to anyone. All of them were likely feeling the same way, and she didn’t want to add to anyone’s burden by telling them she was scared or worried or anything. Instead, she tried to be the person the rest could come to to pour their hearts out when they really couldn’t take it anymore. The youngest member of the group was a good listener and had a friendly demeanor that seemed to make people sway towards her whenever they needed someone to vent to about everything that was going on, or whenever they needed a shoulder to lean on. Not everyone did it, as many of the older group members saw her as some sort of innocent little sister that should be spared their negative thoughts and feelings, but the rest still came to her for advice every now and then. And Deuce was happy about that, really. It made her feel like she was useful to the others. Her fighting style was more of a supporting style rather than an offensive style, and she often felt guilty when people like Nine and Queen had to deal with the punches while she stood at a safe distance. A good team needed both offensive fighters and supportive fighters, and the brunette understood that, but she still felt bad when others got hurt while she got out with barely a scratch on her. That’s why she liked to help in whatever way she could, and being someone other people could confide in was just one of those ways.

What Deuce really wasn’t though, was that one person who told other people what to do. She was much too soft and nice for that, and she usually left it up to Queen or King to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do. In this particular scenario she found herself in now, she kind of wished she could be as strong and assertive as Queen though, because she had a really bad feeling about that portal Ace was approaching, and though he assured her he was going to be fine, she was still nervous about what was going to happen if he got too close. Her suspicions seemed to have been correct when she saw the portal change and start swirling a little. The small brunette was no expert on portals, but it looked dangerous enough to her, and any sort of change in these things had to be bad, right? Maybe she was just being paranoid… Ace said he was fine, so why was she fretting so much? He was wise enough to step away if he felt he was in any sort of danger, she just had to trust his judgment here like she always did. She just had to believe in him.

“Are you sure…?” she asked quietly, but her voice rose when the portal’s swirling became more aggressive, leading even the usually meek and quiet Deuce to call out to Ace to step away from it. He still claimed to be alright, but Deuce had seen enough… she didn’t want to see what would happen if that thing got even more aggressive than it already was. With a steady pace, she hurried over to where her classmate was standing and placed her hands on his arm, tugging on it slightly, “Ace, I don’t like this… let’s just go, alright? Please?” she pleaded with him as she tried to subtly pull him away from the portal without seeming too demanding. It was then that she realized… she wasn’t actually moving farther away from it. Both of them remained on their spots next to the portal despite Deuce at least having tried to take several steps backwards by now. How was that possible? When she tried to take another step backwards, the invisible pull that had kept her in her spot before became stronger and actually noticeably started to pull her towards it. With a fearful gasp, the brunette tightened her grip on Ace’s arm, “What’s happening?” she tried to pull her body backwards even harder now, but it still wasn’t working. Was Ace feeling this as well? What were they going to do now?

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Words: 777
Tagged: Ace!
Location: School (for now)
Outfit: Class Zero Uniform
Notes: They can get pulled into the portal and transported to Pulse in your next post if you want. =)

[Ace (No. 1)]

Ace didn’t understand anything about the predicament they were in. It was all new to him, and he didn’t know how to react to things happening. Was it that hard to understand what was going on? Still, he knew better not to complain about it. It could be much worse, after all. He would rather not say what could be worse, because that would only tempt fate, right? Not that he really believed in things like that, but he did believe things happened for a reason. Was that the same thing? Besides, nothing could be said about their situation. What happened, happened. Nothing could change that. At least, that was what Ace thought anyway. But, he couldn’t help but feel a lot of pressure from this. He was the temporary leader, at the moment, and that just caused him to worry and over-think things too much. But he was working on that. Another one of the things Ace kept on doing wrong, was that he didn’t really speak to anybody about what he was going through. He just kept everything all bottled up, which was the wrong thing to do to begin with… let alone stay quiet about something like this. Maybe he had stayed quiet for too long about it. Maybe that was why he was talking about it with Deuce right now. He wasn’t sure, but that was why he was glad to have a friend like her around. They were close in age, much closer then they were with some of the others, and they had always got on quite well. Ace just needed a friend to talk to in a time of need, and right now, he was in a time of crisis. Lot’s of things had happened recently on missions with classmates, and ones by himself. He just had a lot of think about. He just needed to stop thinking about it for a while, or else he would probably stress. He had to think of the things that were happening in that moment. That was the most important thing at the moment. Take life as it comes, right? Ace needed to take his own advice, and then maybe things would start letting up for the blonde. Well, one could hope.

Ace started to draw his attention back to this portal. He had heard of them, yes, but he hadn’t properly seen or been through one. It was all right to be curious, right? Or maybe he was being a little bit too curious, and was risking a bit too much. They led to other places, other worlds. The portal, however, was getting rather aggressive, and seemed to be doing something. This only fueled his curiosity, to be honest. But, maybe Deuce was right. Maybe it was getting a little bit too risky, and he didn’t want to risk both his and Deuce’s wellbeing. Besides, he didn’t know what was on the other side. It was a complete mystery, and maybe it was best to keep it that way. Ace looked at deuce, and then he agreed with her. This was definitely getting far too strange.

As Ace attempted to pull his hand out, he couldn’t. This caused him to frown, and try to pull harder. Nothing. This made him pale. This couldn’t be good. The harder he pulled, it seemed it was only going through more. It was up to his elbow now. Ace felt Deuce on his arm, trying to pull him. As much as he wanted to go, he was stuck. He started to regret being so stupid about this. ”I… I can’t…” He hissed through clenched teeth, trying his hardest to get his arm free. But, nothing changed. That’s when it hit him. Deuce had been pulling him, yet she hadn’t moved from her spot. Now he really was stupid, getting her stuck also. ”Great…” He muttered, angry at himself. They both started to be pulled, and Ace stayed silently, just as fearful as Deuce was. He couldn’t show it, and make a fuss out of it. He needed to stay calm, and that was what he was trying to do. As they went through the portal, Ace felt like his stomach was in his throat, and he felt a tiny bit nauseous. Probably just a side effect. But when he stepped on the new ground, his knees gave out and he fell. ”W….Woah…” Ace said, crouching and then standing back up. Well, they were in another world, that was for sure. He released a breath, and looked at Deuce. He tried to suppress his nausea and put a hand on her shoulder, out of comfort, and to stop himself from toppling over again. He gave her a smamll, comforting smile. ”Deuce, are you ok?” He just wanted to make sure that nothing was terribly wrong. Ace, then, put on hand on his hip, and let the other dangle by his side, looking around. He faced her again, and smiled that same smile from a moment ago. ”Hey, let’s go have a quick look around.”

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Words:; 1016
Muse:; Good!
Tagged:; Deuce
Outfit:; Uniform
Location:; Gran Pulse
Listening To:; --
Notes:; I don’t like this, but I hope it’s ok xD

[Deuce (No. 2)]

Much like the rest of their class, and heck, even their entire school, Deuce was a naturally curious person. When something new happened, she didn’t necessarily want to be a part of it, but she did want to know what was going on. With this portal suddenly appearing before them, the young flautist felt the same desire to go check it out that her classmate no doubt felt, but something told her they shouldn’t be getting too close to that thing. Maybe she’d spent too much time with Cinque, and maybe she’d picked up her sense for danger, or maybe being around Cinque had just made her think she had that same talent to know when something bad was about to happen, when in reality, she was just being paranoid. That did seem to be the case here, because the portal looked relatively harmless for now. Ace could just walk up to it, and even touch it. If you could do those things without triggering some sort of response from the gate, then it had to mean that it was safe to approach, no? It was probably inactive or something… she didn’t really know if that was possible, but it seemed to be the case. Did anyone here really know a thing about the portals that had one day just popped up out of nowhere? Deuce had figured Queen might know more about them, but she’d told her that she knew as much as the brunette did; next to nothing. Asking Trey had lead to an endless rant of speculation and some other stuff, she’d spaced off after a while, but after running his mouth for about thirty minutes minimum, he’d also told her that he couldn’t tell her more about it. Maybe she should try asking Mother about it sometime? She was the smartest person in the school, but she was also a busy women, which was why Class Zero’s youngest hadn’t approached her about this yet.

Very cautiously, Deuce also took a few steps closer to the portal, but she still kept a fair distance between herself and the gate. Not that it really mattered, because if something happened to Ace, it would happen to Deuce as well, no matter how far away she’d stood a second ago. There was no way she’d just let something happen to him without trying to help, after all. Her eyes glanced from Ace, to the portal, and back again. Her friend seemed to think that everything was fine, and that it was safe to come closer… she did trust Ace, so she took another step closer. Somewhere between the time she rose her foot and set it back down again though, the portal suddenly seemed to become aware of the fact that it wasn’t alone, if that was even possible, because out of the blue, it suddenly just sort of activated itself. Nothing happened for a while after, but over time, it became more and more aggressive looking. Deuce didn’t like it. Not at all, so with a hurried pace, she stepped up right besides Ace and nearly pleaded with him to come with her, away from the portal. He’d gotten a good look at it, and that had to be enough to stem his curiosity for now, right?

Thankfully, Ace seemed to agree with her on this subject, and he made an honest attempt to step away from it. The problem was… he wasn’t actually moving anywhere, and she was certain he wasn’t just faking this to get her off his back. She knew it for a fact because… she wasn’t moving either, despite having taking at least four steps backwards by now. Five, six… she was still in the same spot. No, that wasn’t entirely true. It seemed like the more steps she took backwards, the closer she got to the portal. Etro… was it sucking them into its vortex? Her eyes widened in fear as she looked over at Ace. He didn’t say anything, but she could tell he was worried as well, he was just better at hiding these things. Their legs almost touched the portal now, and Deuce quickly wrapped both her arms around Ace’s. If they really couldn’t escape their fate, then at least she wanted to go together, so neither of them would be stuck somewhere by themselves. They probably would end up at the same place even if she didn’t cling to her friend’s arm, but it was better to be safe than sorry, and so she tightened her grip on his arm even harder, instinctively closing her eyes when the darkness of the mysterious gate engulfed them entirely.

Travelling through the portal was strange to say the least. It felt like they were just shooting through the air at an impossible speed, the air felt heavy around her, and the brunette felt herself get a little nauseous, but she still kept her eyes shut. Looking around would probably make her feel sicker, and she didn’t want to appear on some strange, possibly dangerous world and be unable to defend herself because she’d need to empty her stomach first. The good thing was that she still felt Ace’s arm, for now, they were still together. Thank Etro for small favors. The feeling of moving swiftly instantly stopped at one point, and when it felt like the world stopped moving again, Deuce opened her eyes, blinking a few times in confusion as she let go of Ace’s arm and stumbled backwards a little. She felt dizzy, as though she’d been spinning around for an hour and then suddenly stopped. Though her wobbly legs seemed like they could keep her up for a while longer, the flautist still lowered herself to the ground and rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hands. Now there was an experience she didn’t care to repeat. She’d probably have to though, how else would she make it back home?
The hand on her shoulder made her look up again, though with hazy eyes. She merely nodded her head when Ace asked whether she was okay. She could be better, but at the same time, she could feel worse. She nodded again when he suggested to look around, and with some effort, she climbed back to her feet, rubbing at her eyes once more before starting to walk and look around at the same time. It seemed like they were in some sort of forest of sorts, there were lots of plants and trees about, and if you listened closely, you could hear the sounds of wildlife in the distance. Hopefully the animals here weren’t too hostile. “Ace, I think we’re not in Rubrum any more…” she mumbled as she looked up towards the horizon. “What is this place…?” she wondered aloud.

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Words: 1134
Tagged: Ace!
Location: Gran Pulse
Outfit: Class Zero Uniform
Notes: In case you didn't read the PM yet, I'm perfectly fine with the whole l'cie/Eidolon thing! =D

[Ace (No. 1)]

Ace looked around, and hummed. Well, they couldn't turn back. They might as well go look around. What harm could it do? Besides, it didn't look like there was anything dangerous. At least, from view. But he doubted it anyway. He looked at Deuce, and nodded. "Definitely not." Ace put his hands in his pockets, and thought. They could look around, and see if there is anything interesting. He was sure their superiors would want to know something about this 'other world'. Truth have it, he wanted to know too. Ace nodded to himself, and then looked at Deuce. "Come on, let's look." He smiled at her, before starting to walk into a random direction.

Ace looked as he walked. He released a breath, before stopping. They didn't know this place. It looked safe, but they had to be cautious. They didn't know if anything could spring at all. That, and they didn't know if there were any monsters here, and how to fight them. That was the thing they needed to think about. Ace clicked his tongue, and hummed. 'I'm sure we'll be fine...' He shrugged a little, before carrying on walking. "You feeling ok?" He asked Deuce, before cocking his head slightly. He wanted to make sure she would be fine with this. "You ok with this?"

Ace stopped for a moment, and looked back at where the portal was. They couldn't forget where it was, or else they would be in trouble later. "We can't forget the portal is there, so we'll both try and remember, ok?" He knew he probably wouldn't forget, and Deuce probably wouldn't. But, it would be safer if they both tried to remember. Better safe than sorry, right? He didn't to forgot how to get back to Oriens. It wouldn't be good if we ended up stranded here, right? Ace shoved his hands in his pocket, his eyes scanning the area. Nope, he couldn't really see anything strange. It all looked the same to him. He hummed, before looking at a different. Wait a second. What was that?

He looked forward, and squinted his eyes. What was it? Ace peered closely, unconsciously speeding up. He really wanted to know what it was. It seemed a little out of place here. It made him more curious by the second. "What's that?" He asked, before trying to look from where he stood. Ace crossed his arms. He moved his pace up to a speed walk, and looked at Deuce. "Let's go see."

[/size]

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Words:; 623
Muse:; Really Good!
Tagged:; Deuce
Outfit:; Uniform
Location:; Oerba
Listening To:; --
Notes:; xD It's short but I wanted to get it out before school :3 I've said they're in Oerba, where that fal'cie Anima was before they moved it to the Pulse Vestige. That ok?

[Deuce (No. 2)]

Wherever they were right now, it wasn’t anywhere in Oriense, and that in itself was reason for concern. With a worried expression, Deuce looked around, trying to let the fact that she was not just in a different country, but in another world sink in for a bit. After a little while, the tiny brunette sighed and simply nodded when Ace suggested they look around. Well, things could have been worse. She could’ve been stranded somewhere by herself, rather than getting stranded somewhere with Ace, and that was a small blessing at least. But even though it provided her some comfort, it also made her worry a little more. Neither of them were particularly skilled at close combat fighting, and both of them tended to stay back and fight from a distance… should something bad happen here, which she of course prayed that it wouldn’t, but if it did happen, how were they going to handle it? Would they even stand a chance with their cards and flute? A slight shiver ran up her spine just moments before Ace decided to check up on her. “I’m okay…” she replied softly, “But kind of worried too… I hope we don’t run into any monsters here,” she confessed finally as she took a slight jog to catch up with her friend, “Don’t worry, I’ve got the location memorized!” because there was absolutely no way she was going to get lost here on this strange world. Ever since they started walking, Deuce had paid attention to landmarks; a strange looking tree or a funny colored rock or whatever she would be able to use to help them backtrack towards the portal, should it still be there by the time they got back. And even then, the portals were supposed to be unstable, so who knew whether it would actually take them back home again? No, she shouldn’t think too negatively, lest she jinx them during this little side-trip to who knows where.

“Do you think anyone still lives here?” she asked as she looked around her, taking in the no doubt human made structures around her. If people did live here, she just hoped they were friendly. And if fate really wanted to throw her a bone, those same people would be able to tell them how to get back home as well. Ah yes, wishful thinking…“Huh… I don’t know, it looks strange,” she spoke when Ace motioned towards the bizarre looking thing up ahead, “Some sort of old building, perhaps?” Deuce couldn’t deny feeling a little curious about it as well. The structure looked strangely out of place in this world, and the flautist couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps one of the portals had taken it here. But then, she’d never heard of portals transporting objects to different places, of course, Deuce was hardly a portal expert, so it was entirely possible that that was indeed the case. “Or maybe it’s from a different world,” She speculated quietly before nodding her head, “Alright, let’s go!” when Ace picked up his pace, so did Deuce. They were already stuck in a foreign world, so what was the worst that could happen to them? In the worst case scenario that thing lead to another portal, which would take them away from this place and transported them elsewhere again. Well, big deal. It would probably take them a while to get back anyway, so who really cared about a minor detour? Now that they were up close, Deuce got a good look at the strange thing they’d spotted from a distance, but she still couldn’t exactly tell what it was. “It looks really weird, doesn’t it?” she asked Ace as she stepped right up to it and looked it up and down, “What do you suppose this is?”

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Words: 635
Tagged: Ace
Location: Gran Pulse
Outfit: Class Zero Uniform
Notes: Hope this was alright.

[Ace (No. 1)]

This place seemed so foreign and strange, not at all like the home Ace knew. Maybe it was a good thing that they had gone through that portal. A little adventure never hurt anybody much, right? It was exciting, and full of adrenaline. And it was all the more fun then getting stuck here by yourself. Two heads were better than one, after all. And besides, so far the place didn’t seem hostile. It seemed perfectly safe to him, after all. That was good, right? Better than having to fight monster after monster. Ace wasn’t good at close combat, and neither was Deuce for that matter. That, and so far, Ace’s physically training was still down to a minimum. But, he was sure they would be fine. Just don’t annoy the locals. ”Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” He shot her a reassuring smile. He didn’t want Deuce to be worrying the whole time. ”We’ll be sorted with that flute of yours.” Ace said, smiling at her once more before looking around at his surroundings. Everything seemed so strange and exciting, and Ace was sure the others might think the same. It was different, and he wanted to learn about it, study it. Was that so bad? ”That’s good. It’ll be a disaster if we lost the portal. It’s our only way out of here, right?” Well, if the damned thing was still there. Once, Ace had seen one in Rubrum, and when he went back, it was gone. Or if it would even transport them back to the same place. They were unstable, and Ace knew that. However, he took the risk, because he wanted to know why people were so scared of these things. They seemed pretty much harmless to him.

Ace shrugged. ”Possibly. There are signs of life, I’m just not sure if it’s human or not…” He hummed. ”There are a few signs. However, there are some inhuman things which have the intelligence to do this. It’s all a matter of coming across something or not.” He shrugged to himself, before looking back at the thing. It certainly looked very weird. Nothing he knew looked like that. ”We are in a different world. It’s obviously not something from Oriens.” He smiled at her, before he quickened his pace to get to it faster. He placed his palms on it, and he felt a buzzing coming from it. Like a vibration. Ace bit his lip and knocked gently against it. ”I don’t know about a building, Deuce.” He spoke, before moving along to a different surface of it. He placed his hands on it again, and the buzzing was getting stronger the more he moved around it. ”It sounds… almost alive, if you ask me…” Ace looked at deuce, before sprinting over to the other side of it. This side looked different to the others. ”What could this be? Think, Ace, think!” He spoke to himself, before knocking on it again. However, this time it did something Ace did not expect. Light suddenly burst from it, and he felt something grip onto his arm. ”Deuce! Get away from it!”

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Words:; 739
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:;Deuce
Outfit:; Uniform
Location:; Gran Pulse - Anima
Listening To:; Inside Out by Hillsong
Notes:; Finally, I got the muse back! xD Ok, I wasn't sure how Anima 'woke up' as such, so I just winged it. Hope it's ok

[Deuce (No. 2)]

All things considered, Deuce figured their situation could have been a whole lot worse than it was right now. They were here together, which was a big comfort, and the area wasn’t filled with bloodthirsty monster, as far as she could see anyway. And what harm could possibly come from exploring the place while they were here? It was better than just standing around and panicking, right? Right! So with that in mind, the brunette trailed after her blonde friend, obviously feeling more anxious about this new world than he did. A small smirk pulled at her lips when he mentioned the flute keeping them safe, and then nodded in agreement. Her weapon of choice could hardly be called a weapon at all, but she could still do a lot of damage with it if she really wanted to. Deuce rarely wanted to hurt anybody though, but you never knew what sort of troubles you’d run into, especially in a foreign world. “Hmm… well, I’m sure there are other portals around that could eventually take us back, but yeah, let’s not lose sight of this one, just to be sure,” this portal business was still a little confusing, apparently these portals appeared in random places and took people to other worlds, that was simple enough. What seemed more complicated though, was the fact that they didn’t always take you back to the same place. That was why those people from a while back had been trapped on Oriens, their portal had disappeared, and they’d been unable to find a new one for a while. Hopefully luck was on their side today though, hopefully their portal would just take them back to Oriens rather than some other world they’d never heard from.

“These buildings look like they were made by humans, but… it doesn’t look like anyone’s been here in a while… I wonder why that is,” it was easy to speculate about what might have happened. Maybe the people that lived here had simply moved elsewhere because the living conditions there had been better than they’d been here, maybe they all lived in massive cities rather than small villages, and they’d simply left these sort of places behind as tourist attractions or something. No… that last one was unlikely. If it was a tourist attraction, where were the tourists? Another possibility was that something awful had happened here, and that everyone had simply… died. But Deuce didn’t want to believe that. For now, she’d just assume they’d moved elsewhere because of… reasons. A giggle escaped her throat when Ace mentioned Oriens and clarified for her that this building wasn’t from there because they were in a different world now, “No, I meant from another world… not Oriens, but some world we haven’t seen yet. It does look out of place for this world, so maybe it’s from one of the others. I’ve never heard of objects being teleported places, but it’s possible, right?” She smirked, shaking her head a little, “Sheesh Ace, have a little confidence in my mental capacities, alright? I’m not that dumb!” she playfully hit his shoulder and then hurried on after him to go take a closer look at the structure.

After a short jog, the flautist came to an abrupt halt a few paces away from it. Though she was feeling a little more confident now, she still wasn’t brave enough to step right up to it and poke and prod the structure like Ace was doing. Instead, she just circled around it, giving each side a good look as she tried to figure out just what this thing was. There didn’t appear to be any doors or windows… Deuce closed the distance between herself and the structure, and, like Ace, started to touch it gently as well. Just feeling around for any hidden doors or whatever. “I don’t think so either…” she called out when she heard Ace repeat her thoughts to her. This really didn’t seem like a building, but if it wasn’t a building, then what was it? Why would anyone just build something like this and then have no purpose for it in mind? That seemed like a real waste of time and energy… maybe it was just a statue of sorts? Decoration? It wasn’t very pretty though… but hey, to each their own, right? It was then that she noticed a faint buzzing under her fingertips. What was that? “Ace, do you feel that?” she asked as she placed her hand on another spot, the buzzing got stronger. That was weird… maybe this was a factory of sorts then?

“Alive?” she giggled, shaking her head at the notion, “I don’t know about that Ace… I mean, if it is, this is the strangest creature I’ve ever seen,” she knelt down and placed her hand against it again… the buzzing grew weaker now, as if she was getting further away from its source, “And besides, if it were alive, wouldn’t it be reacting to our tou-“ her words were cut short by a yelp when a light suddenly burst out of the structure. In a reflex, Deuce pushed herself backwards and away from it, landing on her back as she stared up at the strange… glowing… moving… thing… Oh Etro, it was alive! But what even was it? Deuce obediently climbed to her feet and ran away from it when she heard Ace call out to her. She hadn’t even realized the thing had somehow latched itself onto her friend’s arm until she happened to glance back over her shoulder. Somehow, she’d just assumed Ace had already been running away himself, but that apparently wasn’t the case. “Ace!” without even a moment of hesitation, Class Zero’s youngest turned on her heel and ran over to where he was, throwing her arms around his waist and putting all her strength into pulling him away from the thing. The thought that she was putting herself in danger here did cross her mind, but it was irrelevant. One of her best friends was in danger, and getting him out of that situation was quite frankly the only thing on her mind right now. Either they’d both make it out of here in one piece, or they’d both suffer the consequences of their curiosity. There was no way Deuce was going to run and safe herself and leave her friend to rot. “Come on, pull!” she told him through gritted teeth as she pulled even harder. This thing, whatever it was, it was certainly powerful because no matter how hard she pulled, it didn’t seem to have any effect whatsoever. “Let him go!” she yelled angrily at the… creature… that had captured Ace’s arm. Would it listen to her? Most likely not, but what else could she do? She had to try something.

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Words: 1138
Tagged: Ace
Location: Pulse
Outfit: Class Zero Uniform
Notes: ~