Underground Maze (Open)

[Oswald]

As Oswald opened his eyes he was greeted with a dimly lit tunnel, not the best place to awaken, but also not the worst. He seemed to be in a small corner of a wide expansive maze underground. It seemed to go out in every direction at the same time. Each having a branch off as well, and the same for those branches. One could easily get lost down here without fail.

"Maybe if I just keep going straight down one path I'll get out of here and see where I am," he said out loud to himself, "but which direction first?" as he talked to himself one of the lights behind him dimmed a bit, then that whole tunnel's lights finally gave out. Which darkened the area a bit, but not much. "Well, I guess not that way, maybe right" he said as he got up and started walking.

[Miller]

Wandering around in the crumbling tunnels had become a bit of a pastime for Miller. In it, he found that relaxing thoughts came readily to him, and it eased his worrying. No glaring, judgmental eyes found him in the darkness below.

Or so he thought. Miller was approaching a small figure, wreathed in the shadows cast by the tunnels. Two shiny black eyes glinted at him, gazing in his direction. Miller pressed himself into the wall on his left, hoping he was unnoticed. It was uncommon to find other travelers in here, and the fact that the sanctity of his brooding time was interrupted disturbed Miller greatly. It was possible that the entity hadn't seen him, and that Miller only noticed the guest because his eyes had adapted to the darkness after a long walk.

He stood in wait, silently hoping he would go by unnoticed, and briefly considered his stowed sword. No, he thought, the creature's gait didn't carry the same lurch as the creatures of darkness. It seemed... Bubblier. Bouncier. Miller now stared in confusion, studying the figure as it approached. 

[Oswald]

Finding his way through the maze-like tunnels was a lot harder than simply going straight, which was something Oswald was not counting on, as that would make getting to the surface a lot harder. Ashe went on he checked every branch for a possible way out but it was simply more turns, sometime a cave-in, and sometimes a large pit. Oswald just kept walking through the tunnels, even as they got darker and darker. That was until he saw someone, a tall someone, hiding behind a corner.

"Hey, who are you?" he shouted at the corner as he reached into his pocket to grab his remote, "I said who are you?"

[Miller]

"Just a friend, little one."

Miller would leave the wall, peeling out of the shadows. Darkness would seem to stick under his eyes, forming bruise-colored bags. Both hands were out in the open in a gesture of non-aggression. "I wander around down here from time to time. I've been in this world for a decent time, you see." Miller thought for a moment, considering the being's size. No weapon of real threat could hide behind such a small frame, could it? Even the flintlocks back home were the length of a man's arm. Miller relaxed, wrists guiding his hands back into the shade of his cloak.

"You must be one of the new ones, to be wandering here. The survivors around town seem to have superstitions about this place. I've seen hauntings, possessions, but this place carries nothing more than bad juju." Miller would step aside, turning as he did so, and offer his guest a place at his side as he continued walking. He would wait for a moment first, looking back and giving a quick gesture with a hand, beckoning the traveler forward. He intrigued Miller, with his odd shape and complexion. Still, you had to pick allies before they became enemies.

[Oswald]

Oswald, sizing up the person in front of him relaxed, a bit, no one that tired could pose a real threat could they? Either way, he still had his hand on his remote. Although, did he say haunting and possession, where had this guy come from? In any case he apparently knew the way out of these tunnels, so Oswald slowly started following him, plus those gestures were getting on his nerves. 'Since he said I'm one of the new ones, than that means other worlds have fallen, and so it wasn't just Wasteland,' he thought as he followed the stranger.

"Hey what's this world's name any way?" he asked the stranger, "'Cause I guess I'm living here now that Wasteland is gone."

[Miller]

Keeping a slow pace was easy, considering the slight ramp ahead. "My world was still figuring out magical technology when it collapsed. Yet, our marvels, no matter how grand, pale in comparison to the sciences of this world. Even in their ruined state, it is obvious that the 'tram cars' would outpace any man." Realizing his tangent, Miller paused and looked at his companion. "I mean to say that this world is advanced, and should have a name. Yet I have only heard whispers from the original inhabitants. They insist that this town was once under the constant glow of twilight."

"However, whatever name it once had is lost to me. Perhaps it will come to light again some day. Until then, this world is nothing more than a shadowy purgatory. A middle ground, if you will." Conveniently, the who happened across a stretch of tunnel where no lights shone. Miller held out his hands at the creature's eye level, trying to make himself more visible so he could act as a guide. Once outside of the shadows he paused, bending his fingers sideways in unison, popping several joints at once. This was one of his many subconscious routines. "Many, many of us have arrived here."

"I just wonder if any of us will get back out."

[Oswald]

"Wait what do you mean purgatory? Is this world being destroyed?" Oswald said as he continued to walk with the stranger, "And what do you mean you'll wonder if any of us will get out? Surely there are other worlds still." As he walked he thought about Wasteland, and, Ortensia. He has to get back to her! Hopefully she's here and she made it out okay, but he has to get out of this cavern first.

As he looked around they came upon a huge square room going up for what looked like forever. "Anyway, my name's Oswald, what's yours?" he asked while looking up at the stranger. 'Maybe if they've been here awhile they might no about Ortensia!' he suddenly thought. "Hey just a question, do you know of a cat girl? I'm looking for her and, well I really need to find her, so have you seen her?"

[Miller]

"I'm afraid the world has already been destroyed, and we only exist on the tail end of its struggle to stay together." Realizing the morbid nature of what he just said to a new arrival, he quickly added, "But there is still time to make your actions mean something." Miller didn't mean to frighten his friend, but there were hard truths that one needed to know to survive here. Besides, the creature had shown examples of courage; he could handle a little fear. "I certainly hope there are other worlds left. I only wish they didn't have to experience the shadows taking them like we did."

Entering the square room was a quiet endeavor, the two remaining gravely silent for a short time. Miller nearly jumped when Oswald spoke his name. "I am called Miller. Your name carries great pedigree where I am from. Bear it well." Miller wondered if Oswald's mind had finally cleared itself of the shadow. The questions coming in were certainly a sign of that. "I'm afraid you're the first one from your world that I've seen. If this Ortensia has slipped my sight, she may be living in what remained of the town. I would start your search there." Miller bounced one knee in and out of a locking position, looking for a path he knew. It seemed that speaking with Oswald had distracted him beyond his navigational ability.

[Oswald]

When Oswald heard where to start searching his eyes sparkled with hope, "I shall, but first we need to get to the town. Are you sure you know where your going?" he asked as he saw Miller looking around. Maybe if he pointed him in where they came they could get their bearings? It was worth a try. "We came from that way" he said as he pointed backwards.

The square room did bring a sense of foreboding, as if it were warding them off. It was probably nothing but it put Oswald on end, he grasped his remote just in case of anything in the dark corners of the room. "So when my world was being destroyed there were these black, creatures, they weren't blotlings, they were kinda like a shadow. What are they?"

[Miller]

Miller had never heard of 'blotlings' before, but he hadn't seen any of the other creatures Oswald mentioned, either. Come to think of it, the only thing he experienced back in Ivalice was that overbearing presence: A thing of darkness that had just decided to envelope everything in existence. The presence that overthrew Hellion's, and 'helped' Miller drown his friends. Miller thought, grimly, on how they all must have passed without making a sound.

With a brief shudder, Miller's voice rose, a hearty sound in the darkness. "I think I've told you enough for now." He turned, acknowledging where Oswald directed him. Yet, he decided to follow through with the dark room, if only to fully examine it before continuing down the hallway. "Why don't you share more details of your world with me, my friend? I find that it's best to dedicate these things to memory before they fade away on you."

[Oswald]

Thinking it over it was best to win Miller's trust as he was his only ticket to finding Ortensia so far, even so, he was a bit taken back by the forwardness of the question. "Uh, well it's a world of forgotten toons, such as myself, where everything is created by three separate materials, paint, thinner, and inert. The blotlings are creatures made from paint and thinner, whose main goal is to destroy the world and gain access to the outside world that way."

"A traveler came to our world a year a go, his name was Mickey, he saved us from the blot threat once. Then he left, until this year when my wife Ortensia called him back to save us from the mad doctor's intentions of turning all toons into inert to take him to outside worlds. Mickey saved us once again, and after that we walked along main street, and these strange kind of shadows appeared and started to swarm us and, now I'm here. That's about it, mostly, So where are we going from here?"

[Miller]

Creatures made out of painting material? What sort of tapestry-strung world did Oswald come from? Either Oswald was completely mad, or Miller would have to come to terms with the idea of separate and bizarrely different worlds existing. The very idea of the latter made his heart sink a couple of inches. Instead of replying, Miller decided to focus on his breathing. He had dealt with madmen before, but a nagging feeling that Ozzy knew exactly what he was talking about. Perhaps Miller would just treat him as a loon; Humor him, and play along with his fantasies, and hope for solid proof of reality.

And then it hit Miller. The air was damp, now humid with the moisture of the surface. The dusty air of the tunnels had disappeared, overpowered by that of the night sky. With new focus, Miller announced, "We continue down the hallway, my friend." Now, his boots rang out against the stone, no longer trying to blend in to the shades. "Tell me, Oz," he would continue, "During your plights, did you fight alongside this 'Mickey'? Do your toon people have weapons to fight off this new threat to our world?"

[Oswald]

"Well I did fight with Mickey against the blot, and it's really only me and Mickey who have weapons he has a sort of key shaped sword that he called a keyblade, and I use my remote," he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his remote, "it may not seem like much but if I push this button, it will shoot a stream of electricity. Plus when I came to this world, Mickey gave me this star trinket," he said as he pulled out the blue star, "but I don't know what it does."

As he walked along the hallways seemed a bit less dimmer and grass had started growing along the cracks in the floor now. It seemed that the walk was reaching an end, Oswald was walking with more of a spring in his step now, and he was just waiting to get out of the tunnels to search this new world. When he thought of something. "Hey Miller, what happened to your world when you left it?"

[Miller]

Worlds were very funny things; It seemed that Oswald's was nowhere near as militarized as Miller's, and he was sure that there were worlds far more advanced than his own. "At least we weren't dropped on this world with nothing to our names. I couldn't tell you how often this cloak has kept my heart warm when I contemplate the moon too long." Oswald was practically skipping inside, Miller could feel it. Skipping was horrifically humiliating in Miller's own little code of conduct, but deep down he urged Oswald to jump high enough for the both of them. Glad he wasn't the one looking silly, Miller smirked.

Breathing came easier with the fresh air, and Miller lifted his nose to the roof of the tunnel, inhaling deeply. Oswald's question deeply unsettled him, and he tripped on a loose flagstone. His arms pinwheeled, catching on a wall and keeping Miller standing. The damage was done, though, and his composure was completely destroyed. Spite rose in his chest, and suddenly his chipper friend became a nuisance. Miller considered telling him everything, How the tenebrous appendages tore out from a hole in the sky. How the air froze inside of his lungs. How the dread winds tore forests down and drowned out the screams of the guards. How bubbles of air practically froze on their way out of his flooding lungs. How everything faded as the cold iciness of the abyss squeezed his heart with sharp claws.

But Miller took a step back. He considered Oswald's innocent curiousity, and how much of an overreaction he just had. Instead, he simply said, "It got gobbled up."

[Oswald]

"Oh," Oswald said as he instantly saw the consequence of his question, "well, at least your safe." It was a funny thing, talking about one's world when it no longer existed, especially in Miller's case apparently, as it instantly dampened the mood. "So, uh, what kind of weapon do you use?" It was a stupid question but Oswald had nothing to talk about.

Even with a dampened mood, Oswald still kept walking towards the exit. It would be less awkward for the two of them if they got out a tiny bit faster. Silence might not have been the best bet, but it was something he really couldn't give up now, and plus it gave him time to try and imagine what the world wold look like.