Apollonia (Closed RP)

Charles

Charle's mouth gaped open for what seemed an eternity as Helena stepped in front of him, tears streaming down her - his - eyes. He let out a happy, hearty laugh as he held her close, kissing her and burying his face on her shoulder in a tight embrace. "I knew they were right! I knew that you were here, I had a gut feeling!" And a gut feeling he really had. Every night, he'd had the dreams of meeting her again. When he looked at the little black box that had survived the trip, he didn't tear up because he felt it would still find her finger.

He wished he could stay longer in her arms, but before he could fully savor the reunion, the sage that had been in his room stood and began speaking. He had never said his name and his wife had always referred to him by either his title or a term of endearment. The old man - Aboro - began to weave such a tale that it seemed straight out of a dramatic history book. It just made things all the more confusing. -How- were they supposed to do it, exactly? What, did they walk up and make them change? Yet, the man said he had no more answers, and Charles did not feel like he could really get any more information.

They had some time before leaving, Aboro had said. He figured it would be a good time to get acquainted. Still holding on to Helena, he tugged at her hand. "C'mon, hun, let's find out who else is in on this." The first person that caught his eye was the man with blond hair. He seemed like the friendly sort. Extending a hand, Charles smiled as brightly as he could. "Hey there, mate. Name's Charles."

Helena really and honestly did not want to let go of Charles. He was too precious to lose again. She held on as tightly as she could before they were forced to seperate. She didn't sit on the only empty pelt remaining, but shared the one Charles was on. She wanted to keep as close as possible, just in case he left again. She rested her head on his shoulder, letting the few remaining tears slide down her cheeks. The man's words were a bit soothing. Now that she was with her love, she didn't care what they had to do. Even if it did mean murdering these people. Well, as long as they didn't have to part ways again, she'd be okay.

She nodded when Charles spoke to her. "O..of course." She allowed him to pull her to her feet, and stepped closer to the blond haired man. She gave him a friendly smile, and felt foolish that she had been crying in front of everyone. She nervously wiped her eyes and cheeks off, and took a hold of his hand again. As much as she didn't want to leave his side, she had to go and talk to somebody. He wanted her to get to know the others, right? She unwillingly let go of his hand, and ventured over to the only other woman in the group besides herself. "H..hello. I'm Helena. Nice to meet you." She bit her lower lip nervously. Was this woman friendly? She sure hoped so. Helena looked back over to Charles, and then back to the woman with a friendly smile. "My boyfriend sort of dropped the hint that I'm supposed to introduce myself."

Not wanting to seem rude, she kept her eyes on the other woman. Charles was more than likely in deep conversation with the man now, so he'd be occupied. She sat down on the pelt, maintaining a distance between herself and the other. It felt a bit awkward with three men in the group, and only two women. She knew she could trust Charles, but the others? Who knew.

Penny started to fidget in her spot on the furs, twisting ginger stands around her finger nervously. It seemed like they were waiting for something. It was only when she noticed that their gazes had shifted did she herself turn to look behind. A large man was striding towards them, but he wasn’t dressed as the others and seemed out of place in a way. In a moment it clicked, he was one of them. From Earth. This was further confirmed when he sat beside them. She tried not to stare, but she felt like a doll seated next to him. He must easily be seven feet tall while she cleared five by only three inches. Questions floated about in her mind, he looked a fair bit older than the others. She thought perhaps she was the youngest of the group. The thought bothered her but she couldn’t say why. Maybe it was just nerves, after all these people were her only remaining connection to home and she didn’t even know their names.

The room seemed to hush and in a moment the Earth sage began to speak. Penny became motionless as he spoke of their home, of the plight of all their people. And now the same challenges that faced this world. When he finally revealed their first purpose, to kill those in power, her heart turned to stone. Kill…someone…herself? She’d never even been in a proper fist fight. Penny felt the blood rushing past her ears. She could never kill anyone. How would she accomplish this. The thought spun around in her mind like an angry wasp. She felt empty, these ‘answers’ were hardly more than a breadcrumb to send them along to the next task. She wondered how long it would be before they encountered her empire. Before she had to try and face the reality of first killing and then helping an entire people, an alien people no less. A drawn out sigh blew past her lips. Finally she realized that they were expected to talk among themselves. Penny stood up as the others had, looking a bit at a loss.

It wasn’t a moment later however that the girl she had run across in the passageway was moving towards her purposefully. She introduced herself as Helena. Penny smiled, the name suited her elegant looks. Helena sat and Penny followed suit, not wanting to stand over the girl. “I’m Penny, it’s nice to meet you too,” her voice was soft and friendly. She wanted to get to know these people, to feel like they were in this task together. It was just about the only thing that made the situation bearable. Her head inclined towards Charles “You know, you’re very lucky to have your boyfriend here.” She smiled in earnest for the first time since she arrived “Where are you two from?”

After a few more moments, more people entered the room. One was obviously not from this world: a young red head who stared dumbstruck at himself and the couple with relief and hope. She didn’t say anything, just looked in longing at the survivors of her former home. Nick thought that she might cry at any second, so he gave her a reassuring wink and smile. The other person who came to sit by them gave Nick a start. At first he thought that the massive black man was another of the locals, but his walk and attitude seemed different. He didn’t appear to be as confident, and his eyes had the same wonder-filled look that he was sure his own did. Also, he sat by them instead of the other sages, though he placed himself at a distance. Nick didn’t blame him; after all, they were all surrounded by strangers. Just because you were placed in a room with the only beings left from Earth does not make you instant friends.

One of the sages rose and introduced himself as Aburo. He told of the collapse of their home, and the death of many other worlds who suffered the same fate. Corruption, greed, war, all the things that politicians talked about but never fixed. It came to Nick as no surprise that Earth would end due to its own failures; he just never expected it to come so…swiftly. Still, there were plenty of good people who died. Why were so few chosen to live? Why was he chosen? Obviously the Water Primal saw something in him, but there were so many better men and women than he who could have been spared the fate of Earth. True, there were plenty of problems with the world, but Nick just couldn’t believe that there was nothing worth saving other than a select few. He felt a flush of anger at the words of the sage, but kept his temper in check. Bitter feelings would help no one.

Then the sage dropped the bomb: each of them had to assassinate the current leaders of Apollonia. The five nations were walking the same line that each dead world walked before, and now it was up to them to stop it. Nick felt a tumult of new emotions. He was surprised, confused, scared, angry, vulnerable, and shocked. He was supposed to kill someone, someone important, and then save this world from disaster? Nick tried not to let his jaw hit the floor as he comprehended what the sage just said. Sure, he had shot a gun before, but never even contemplated the murder of another individual. He wasn’t sure if he could go through with it, but then what choice did he have? Was he really going to let the fate of one person come before the lives of millions? Yet the idea of watching a man die right in front of him, knowing he was the cause, sickened him. Nick was at a loss for words until someone spoke to him.

“Hey there mate. Name’s Charles,” Nick looked up to see the extended hand and smiling face of the gentleman who had been here when Nick arrived. Nick stood and grasped the hand firmly, tabling his current thoughts and giving Charles a friendly smile and a hearty shake. “Nick Grant,” he replied before continuing on, “It’s good to see people from home again. Not that this place isn’t paradise or anything…” he let the sarcasm in that last note speak for itself. Nick looked over at the large black man, calling to him, “How about you big guy? What’s your take on this whole mess?”

Baruti

The second the sage had spoken what they would be doing, Baruti's entire body rebelled. He couldn't bring himself to kill anyone, not even a mouse. Even when his master had struck him, he had only taken the blows. Not cowering, no, he wouldn't cower before punishment, but he did not retaliate. He did not even hate the man. But now... now he would have to go against himself for the sake of millions of lives, not only human, but of all living things.

He was still staring at the ground, at the soles of his feet, at the palms of his hands that lay before him, a faded, callused white in contrast with the rest of his skin. These hands could be murderer's hands. Any hands could be. He certainly had the strength, the power, of that there was no doubt. But could he? Would he? Should he? The great spirit before him... such tender kindness, calm, and peace.

“How about you big guy? What’s your take on this whole mess?” Baruti's muscles tightened, his entire figure stiff, as if expecting something to strike. It was a reflex, he knew. Nothing would try to hurt him here. No, it wasn't a reflex to hostility, it was a reflex to unfamiliarity. Baruti had but once or twice in his life really known kindness from the white men. Sure, there had been those whom he had shopped and done minor business with, but he knew that that was all strictly professional, the kindness (or passiveness) to him only means to an end, either his money or his cooperation. Here, however, there was no money, no contract, no way for them to extort him. Only warmth. Even so, he felt the familiar withdrawal from it all.

Nevertheless, it was only just to return kindness, and thus he forced the words. His voice, though meek in volume, held a powerful, deep tone that nevertheless made the sound carry clearly. "Ba... Baruti. From Johannesburg. You... speak Bantu*?"

Ever since speaking with the spirit, he'd never heard any other talk, save for the sage, and even then the man was similar enough to his race that it did not surprise him, but to hear whites speak it was a different matter. As with kindness, they only used it for business, but otherwise reverted to English, which he could not understand. Yet, they spoke perfect Bantu. How was that possible?

"You... understand me?"

*Bantu is a common language in Africa. There are many dialects, but Baruti's is the one he's hearing.

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Charles

Charles burst laughing. He hadn't laughed in far too long, and all that pent up stress had locked it away. Even such a small joke seemed so funny. He realized he was probably overdoing it and decided to ease down. "Sorry, mate. Been a while since I heard a joke, so you'll forgive me if I kinda go starkers for this one." He listened as the man behind them. Charles didn't hide the smile. "Nah, we're all yapping in English. Bloody strange, if you ask me. Glad to hear from you, Baruti." He turned to Nick once again. "Mate's brought something up, too. I don't think this is going to be so cliche as to have everyone be an American like in your movies, and he being from Johannesburg proves it... so do I for that matter. I come from Australia, moved in some years ago to America. Eh... gotta warn ya, mate, sometimes when I lose my temper, I'll probably be talking in so much slang you won't catch a single word I'm trying to say. Most of the time, though, pretty easy to understand." Far too many times had he had people give him baffled looks when he'd gone off on some argument or let the conversation get the better of him. It was especially bad when he and his parents had moved in. "Gonna have to tell you about the mishaps and troubles sometime when we're bored. Where're you from anyway, mate?"

Helena was definitely nervous. She didn't know what to do now that she was marked as a murderer. Well, not yet, because she didn't kill anyone. But when it came to be her turn, would she be able to face the facts and kill the leader of her empire? She didn't even bother killing insects, so how could she possibly kill a living human being? All these questions, plus quite a few more, ran through her head. It wasn't until the girl responded to her, did she really snap out of her thoughts.

"Wow. I like that name. It's rare and it suits you." She didn't want to come off as some person who sucked up to people. She really meant to compliment her, though. Her eyes followed the girl's head, and spotted Charles. "Oh yes, I suppose. I honestly thought that he wouldn't be here. I'm not one to fully trust strangers."She scratched the back of her head in a nervous habit sort of way, and looked back to Penny.


"We're from New York. Well, I was born in London, and he was born in Australia. I'm so happy that we are together." She didn't mean to brag. She saw that this girl was quite alone, much like the others in their group. "Where are you from?" Helena's eyes wandered over to where Charles stood with the other two men. It would probably be a good idea if they mingled with the others of their group. The larger man frightened her a little, but she didn't let it bother her much. Charles could kick some major ass if needed. "D..do you think we should go talk to the others? I could introduce you to Charles."


She fiddled with the fur underneath her, picking at it nervously. Why was she so jittery lately? Maybe it was from seeing those dead bodies, or nearly being killed by some evil plant. There was no telling. It could be because she was reunited with Charles after believing he died along with everything else from Earth. She felt oddly alone, even with all these people, and her love, surrounding her. She was an alien in their world, forced to work with others she didn't know.

Penny felt the tension from the huddled group. Their tone seemed a bit strained, and no wonder, being the only survivors of Earth does funny things to a persons conversational skills. Helena complimented her and a bit of color touched her cheeks “Thank you,” she replied. She considered the odds of Helena and Charles both ending up here as Helena mentioned how unexpected it had been to her. “Some things are meant to be I guess….” she replied in an offhand sort of way. But when she really thought about it, it seemed so obvious that the ‘powers that be’ were intent on the group of them being here in particular, so maybe their relationship had a part to play in all of this as well. Focusing back on Helena she answered her question, “Oh. I'm from Canada, um Nova Scotia…to be more exact.”

An instant later laughter rang out and Penny looked up startled, she wondered what could possibly be funny at a time like this. She found herself chewing her lip, a nervous habit whenever she had a lot on her mind. She still hadn't told anyone about the weird vision she had of the cave, and wondered if she should at all, maybe it was just a once off thing from being on this planet. What she did know however, is that something fundamental had changed inside her but…what? It tickled and edged upon her mind.

The moment stretched and Penny suddenly realized she hadn't answered Helena's other question. She looked down a bit embarrassed. “Yes of course, we shouldn't put off introductions….besides, all we have is each other now,” she said with a sad twist to her mouth that couldn't be helped. She wanted to figure out just who she would be spending her time with here.

She stood a bit awkwardly, one foot having fallen asleep underneath her. She wiggled it to get the blood flowing again and looked at the three others from the corner of her eye. They couldn't be more different, she thought. And now we all depend on each other. That made her stomach knot and this time she tasted blood from her lip. She wanted to wake up in her bed at home. She wanted to just close her eyes and be gone.

Instead she scuffed her heel on the fur rug and turned to look around at the grand cave. This time stopping more closely on the carvings, taking her time to study them. She almost wished she had a sketchbook to draw them, her green eyes tracing the curves and lines. Penny shook her head, mentally scolding herself. There was no time to think about doodling, there were lives at stake, lives in the balance….and if she were to believe what they were just told, her hands set to be the bringer of death. She shuddered at the macabre images that flashed through her mind, blood pooling darkly, some alien being, eyes wide in shock.

Penny took a deep breath, willing the imagery away and tucked her hair behind her ears in a self-conscious gesture. In a moment she had closed the gap between herself and the group, coming to stand between Baruti and Nick, with Charles directly across from her. She knew Helena would be right behind and so she waited quietly.

Charles busted out laughing at Nicks bit of sarcasm, and that sound in itself made Nick grin from ear to ear. It seemed so out of place at a time like this, but strangely comforting. How long had it been since he had heard someone laugh? Couldn’t have been more than a few days, but it felt like years. Everything from Earth felt like it was a part of a different lifetime now. And in a sense it was, since Nick had now been reborn into a new world with an obvious destiny. If someone had asked Nick two weeks ago if he believed in fate he would have laughed in their face and told them that people make their own choices. Now it was quite obvious that a greater being was pulling the strings.

The girls had found their way over to the rest of the group, the young red head coming to stand by him and Baruti and the brunette by Charles. It was obvious by the way they stood and looked at each other that these two were more than just friends. It made Nick a little jealous actually, since none of his loved ones had been brought along with him. He was completely alone here, yet these two had been lucky enough to get stuck together. Well…he wasn’t completely alone. He was just surrounded by four complete strangers who knew nothing about him other than the fact that he once lived on a little place called Earth.

There was tension between all of them…Nick could feel it. Everyone was friendly and smiling, but there was that underlying layer of suspicion and standoffishness. He didn’t blame them for it, hell he felt it too. How was he supposed to drop everything and consider these people to be his new best friends? AND kill someone in the process? He thought that once he had gotten to the mountain that his questions would be answered, but instead they only brought more questions.

Nick looked around the group again. He felt like he should introduce himself again to the girls who hadn’t been there before. “Well, for everyone who wasn’t present earlier, my name is Nick Grant. I used to live on campus at Princeton, but that’s in the past,” he didn’t want to ring up any feelings of nostalgia if he could help it. He looked at the red head next to him, “So what about you? Where are you from?”

After introductions and brief discussions, a warrior approached them, masked and built similar to the rest. "Your supplies are prepared. You will be escorted to the entrance of the cave."

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It was very early morning, a gray dawn in the horizon. This was not too high in the mountain, yet high enough to warrant strong winds and shivering chills. They had all been provided with thick clothes for the weather, however, made of animal furs and skins. The warrior, however, wore very little, his chest bare to the elements, and did not seem so much as to flinch at the cold. He pointed down the mountain path. "I will be guiding you to the base of this mountain. From there, you will need to cross the savanna to reach your destination. According to the sages, you will be guided by the great Primals." Without another word, the man started down the mountain.

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Charles

He didn't remember the mountain having been this ferocious when he'd first entered it. Charles huddled close to Helena and his own coat as he stared down the path. Maybe it was just his imagination, or maybe the time in the cave had softened him up. He felt like a baby who'd just been exposed to the world after the comfort of its mother's womb. Then again, he really was a newborn in this world. Now he was stepping out and he would have to face it all. He took a deep, frigid breath and walked down with Helena.

"Bloody cold..."

He was amazed, though, by the warrior who was their escort. He wore nothing but the mask and the leggings and yet he seemed less than slowed down by the climate. Charles stared at him, puzzled. "Anyone here know how he's doing that without so much as a wink at his toes?"

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Baruti

He was not used to this weather. Baruti closely covered himself, keeping a short distance behind the group. He still did not feel comfortable with these people. Besides, they were not the focus of his attention; their guide was. He saw immense strength in him, amazing endurance. The wind beat against him and yet not one of his muscles twitched.

Baruti's mind tried to wrap around how that was possible. He was not familiar with anything such as physical training or meditation, nor could he really guess at any of that. He simply figured the man was used to the weather. He was too concerned to notice that he himself wasn't feeling hardly any chill at all, though he simply brushed that off as being the coat's doing.

Left to his own thoughts, Baruti simply followed the group, idly pondering as he went along.

Dressed now in thick animal skin pants and a heavy fur vest and hooded cloak, Nick followed their escort out of the cave and into the blistering wind of the outside world. He shaded his eyes from the early morning light, blinded briefly from being in the torch-lit hallways of the mountain for so much time. Nick pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head and ulled it tight around him to ward off the elements. He had dealt with cold before, hell he lived in New Jersey, but the biting wind seemed to cut through skin and bone. It was amazing how their guide could stand out here, bare chested and unmoved. Nick imagined the dark-skinned warrior to be challenging nature, standing in defiance of the awesome forces that could be brought to bear on his head at any moment.

It was at that moment that Nick had a startling realization: he was completely unarmed and had almost no knowledge of how to fight. The sages had neglected to provide them with weapons before their journey, and it was quite obvious from the fact that their escort carried a spear and a shield that weapons were essential in Apollonia. Nick was sure that there was a large manner of creatures here that would like nothing more than to have him as breakfast, not to mention the native peoples.

His mind flashed back to that encounter in the small village. He shuddered when he thought about the menacing glint in the soldier’s eyes as he sized Nick up and down. No doubt that anyone of them would have killed him without a second thought. Then again, perhaps a weapon was unnecessary. He had witnesses their escorts moving stone without so much as a thought, and Nick could feel the raw power running beneath his own skin. He just didn’t know how to get to it….

"Anyone here know how he's doing that without so much as a wink at his toes?"

Nick looked up to see their escort walking just as easily down the treacherous slopes as he would a grassy plain. Nick merely shook his head at Charles question, baffled as to how the man could move with such grace and ease. Maybe he just walked these mountains everyday, but Nick thought that there was something more. It was like the ground told him where he should step before he even moved. Whatever it was, Nick wasn’t able to participate in it, since he was forced to move slowly and carefully down the rocky trail to avoid twisting his ankle and rolling down the mountain. If he thought life was tough now, wait till he tried to take on the leader of an Empire with a few broken bones….

Helena took a look at the other male who spoke to Penny and herself. He was a good looking fellow, but she had her eyes on only one person, Charles. After all, he was her first and true love. Her attention was turned on the warrior, who handed her a heavy cloak with a hood. She quickly put this on after the news of them having to go outside. It was a cold morning indeed. She wondered where the cold weather had come from, because it was fairly warm when she arrived here. She held onto Charles' hand as they were escorted out and back into the unknown world. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad now that she was with Charles once more.

Her hood was pulled up, and she tried her best to cover her face. It might have fallen off if it were any colder. She looked up at Charles when he spoke, and she shrugged. "N..no idea. I w..wish he'd s..share some of his secrets. I'm f..freezing!" With this, she huddled closer to him, wishing it were warmer. Back at their home, it would be a nice and sunny day. She would take it any day compared to this weather. Her teeth chattered as they made their way carefully down the mountain. Lacing fingers with Charles, she made sure to not let him go. Even if she were the type of person who walked with such grace and balance, the path down the mountain made her feel uneasy. She really didn't feel like falling and cracking her head open. It was bad enough she was parted from her love and forced into a new world, but now that she had him back, things didn't seem to be getting better.

"Ch..charles? I love you." She looked up at him once more, and smiled, before paying attention to the path. The thoughts of having to kill someone flooded back into her mind. How could she do it? She didn't even bother killing a spider one time, even though it was dangling right in front of her face. Sure, she was deathly afraid of spiders, but she just placed it inside of a jar, and let it outside. But kill a human, or whatever her "leader" was.. she couldn't do it. It was her responsibility to do it, though. She was just glad she had Charles at her side to help.

Back to reality, she remembered how cold it was. She seemed to cling to Charles in a record speed. The chilly air made her feel like she was in some sort of opposite universe compared to her own. Sure, it became quite cold in her home town, but never with such an icy sting to it. Even if she wore tons of coats back home whenever she went out, that didn't count. Her powers were a part of the wind. Why couldn't she just control it, and make it go away from her? That would probably drain what little energy she had right then.