Exploring the Station (Open)

[Oswald]

So it had been awhile after the whole clock tower mess and Oswald still hadn't found any explanation about this place, or even it's name. What he did know is that this clock tower might have some answers. So he decided to go explore it at least he might find a trinket. As he walked to the station it seemed a bit daunting, with most of the clock face gone and a pile of rubble in the courtyard, it had an atmosphere.

So I'm here again, not much has changed. This time I'm going inside, so new stuff can happen to me. As he walked through the courtyard he decided to kick a rock towards the railing, which toppled a section of the barrier off the side of the court. Well did not mean for that to happen...

As he entered the building through the cracked door a bit of dirt fell next to him. This is obviously the safest place I've been. It looks like there has been a bit of a cave in towards the main section of the building. The reception area was still fine though. Now he had to test something out with his cat, could it sense a way into the reception desk or not? That room might have a bit more info about the town.

[Marmadue]

Twilight Town had been a mess as long as Marmadue had been there. Never having seen it in any other form except its ruined state bathed in an eternal night, he couldn't miss what it had been. Or so he had assumed, at first. Rarely venturing far from the more populous areas in fear of running into those monsters again like he had been warned, he honestly had only been aware of the best the town had to offer. Buildings that were mostly in one piece, refurbished and fixed to the best of their abilities. But everything else was in much worse shape.

He really had started to regret even exploring. He had his reasons, of course: despite waiting, no one he knew had arrived. No one who seemed like they might have been from his entire world had arrived. That was a frightening thought, the mere idea that he might have been the only survivor. But the Yuke wasn't going to allow that! Surely, there had to be others. They just hadn't gotten where he was – maybe they were on the other side of those train tracks Avari had mentioned him, both sides unable to reach each other.

And that was why he was where he was. The station for those train things. It was easy to see why they weren't working, however. The entire building seemed to be a mess, even though many of its walls were still standing. Floors had caved in, the ceiling had came crumbling down in parts. The odd markings on the floor with strange metal bars jutting out had to be those tracks – though Marmadue had never even seen a train in the first place, and didn't even know how one looked or operated!

Still, one thing was clear: the tracks didn't lead anywhere anymore, having been broken off shortly after they left the building. Marmadue didn't know what he had expected, as surely others would have found a way if it was possible, but… He just wanted to see it with his own eyes. Just once. Even if it only made him feel more alone than he had felt in a while.

The Yuke's heart was still racing as he walked around carefully. The abandoned, dark ruins were a rather frightening place, the shadows and odd shapes causing him to jump more often than not. As his business was finished, he had already turned to leave, but then he saw something in the corner of his eye. A small glint further away, up in the middle of some fallen down pipes still connected to the ceiling, seeming to have gotten stuck in a bend. It was something his curiosity forced him to inspect.

While Marmadue was a very tall creature, the strange object was too high up even for him – even when he was standing on his toes and reached up as high as he could! Not giving up, he had to step up on some loose rubble and climb further up, placing a foot on a pipe. It didn't feel sturdy, but he was so close. Almost, a little further…

A sound of something – probably dirt or something like that – falling down to the floor near the entrance behind him caused the Yuke to flinch. The movement was enough to cause the pipe underneath him to come loose, already having creaked under his weight. With an alarmed yelp, Marmadue clawed at the air and the pipes, able to grab something but it didn't hold his weight either, coming down with him.

And with a great thud that raised a massive cloud of dust in the air, the Yuke fell down to the ground.

[Oswald]

Nohing scared Oswald more than a tall creature falling from the ceiling in an already unstable building. He instantly pushed out with his hand releasing the new spell he obtained. A blast of wind shot out straight forward, closing in on it's target the dust brought up by the fall was cleared. A pipe was then surrounded by wind and shadows making a sphere, severe screeching is heard from inside.

"Who or what are you!" Oswald yelled towards what fell from the roof. The area around the ball was being cleaned up by the spinning winds. "If you try to attack me, I will you use force!" he said as he whipped out his remote and pointed it to the pile. When the dust finally cleared he finally saw the thing that fell. As it wasn't like those heartless he had fought he lowered his remote. "Who are you?"

[Marmadue]

The air forced its way out of Marmadue's lungs as he hit the floor, the only sound that managed to escape his throat being a dry cough. It… Hurt. Luckily the fall hadn't been very high, but it still was enough for him to feel it! And, well, the ground wasn't exactly the softest thing to land on, all kinds of unfortunate bits of rubble poking at his flesh. It was… Uncomfortable, as he lied down on the floor on his stomach, his cheek pressed against the cold metal of his helmet.

If only that had been the end of it. It all happened in an instant despite the time feeling like it had slowed down. A strong wind blasted by, surrounding the area and siphoning the dust in the air – well, after just tossing it around even worse than the fall had, the Yuke coughing as it managed to make its way inside his helmet. A horrifying screech echoed in the air.

"A-Aaah'msorry!" Was the first thing Marmadue could yell out after catching his breath. Struggling to get up, he rolled to his side and quickly scooted backwards further away from… Whatever it was that spoke to him. At first, he hadn't even noticed the creature, but when he had turned around to face the voice, still squarely sitting on his behind… It definitely wasn't a creature like Avari. No, it was much smaller, darker – almost like one of those Heartless monsters! Yet, it spoke.

The gaps in the ceiling allowed the dimly lit starry night to bring a little bit of lighting into the abandoned ruins, the clouds of dust dancing in the beams of cold light. The Yuke let out a sharp exhale as he stared in silence otherwise, his hands balling up into fists – ah? Suddenly, Marmadue glanced down at his hand, feeling something pressing up against his palm. Opening it, he could see a dimly glowing little stone, almost like a star…

[Oswald]

With a sudden "A-Aaah'msorry!" the creature that fell from the ceiling suddenly didn't seem that dangerous to Oswald. "Hey you alright?" he asked as he ran to the figure, "hey uh, sorry for the whole accidental spell cast." As he finished talking the orb of wind and shadow dissipated leaving a mangled pipe behind. "Yeah... Hey, is that a materia your holding?" He asked as he pointed towards the stone in the creature's hand.

"Those things are amazing! I have two myself, but that's not really important right now," he said as he reached his hand out to help the fallen figure, "So, if you don't mind, what are you and where'd you come from?" Oswald knew that the creature's world was gone if he was here that was a given. He held on to hope that it was from a world he knew about being gone. At least then there were less worlds disappearing.

[Marmadue]

Well. Marmadue had almost expected to have been attacked, cowering in fear as he awaited his unfortunate fate. But he never was attacked. The creature that had yelled at him… Never did cast any other kind of magic at him. The Yuke stirred, looking back at the stranger. Indeed, especially in the dim light, the size and shape almost matched that of the Heartless he had seen invading his home. The color too, seemed to be very much the same. But last time he had seen them, they hadn't hesitated in trying to hurt him.

Yet this creature did. In fact, it seemed to be quite concerned for his well-being.

"Ah," Marmadue could only let out a breathy gasp, blinking and still sitting firmly on his posterior on the dusty, cold floor,
"That is… Quite alright?" Was the only thing he really could say, feeling quite dumbfounded when the creature even apologized. It wasn't how he had assumed things would have gone… But he wasn't going to complain! The fall had hurt, yes, his body still aching a bit, but clearly nothing had broken or he wouldn't have managed to crawl away so quickly.

The screeching wind came to an end, the station once more becoming eerily quiet.

"Ah, materia?" The Yuke tilted his head at the rather strange question, glancing down at the stone still resting on his palm, glowing gently. Oh, yes. That must have been what he saw, his gaze lingering on it for a moment. He could feel the power coursing inside it, his palm growing warm from the magic. While it looked strange, it did not feel strange. It felt… Familiar.
"That is what you would call it?" He looked back up – well, as up as one had to look at a creature that was so much shorter than him.

He would have called it magicite, himself.

It seemed like the long-eared creature didn't want to speak of the magicite – or materia – much more at the moment, seemingly more curious about, well, everything else. Marmadue had already gotten used to it, the questions. While the fact that no one seemed to know what he was had been strange when everyone did where he came from, he honestly did not know half of the creatures that inhabited the town himself, either. Perhaps it was only fair.
With his free hand, he reached out for the offered hand, his own so large that the other's was completely enveloped. And while his reaching for help had been almost like a reflex, it became quite apparent that having someone so small trying to help him up on his feet was… Difficult, if not impossible.
"Oh. A-A Yuke. I would be a Yuke," Marmadue spoke, still trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened as he started to get back on his feet. While the stranger could definitely try to help, it was more probable that he would be getting up on his own with little effort, dwarfing the smaller creature with his own height.
"From Shella. I am, ah, Marmadue."

[Oswald]

"Shella, never heard of that place before," Oswald said to the now towering Yuke, "So, hi Marmadue, I'm Oswald. So, uh what are you doing in the station? It's a bit unsafe at it's best." Looking upwards now, he noticed the helmet on the Yuke's head. "So, uh, why do you wear that helmet? I mean sure the town's crawling with Heartless on a day to day basis, plus there's Maxwell, and Jin, you know what a helmet is probably the best idea."

"So I've been living here for awhile now and, I still have no idea how people show up here. I was dropped off by a friend, I think, but most others just appear here. So do you remember how you appeared here?" It may have just been a train of thought coming out of his mouth but he was finally talking with someone, alone, who actually shows emotion.

[Marmadue]

Marmadue just gave a little nod to the odd creature who mentioned not having heard of his home before. No one in the town really had, so it was no surprise – and that was a surprising thought, to himself. Before, he would have assumed one who did not know of his home to be rather oblivious to everything that went on in the world, the village famous for many reasons. But now… When no one recognized the name, he had become the strange one assuming everyone would have known where it was.

It was a rather sad thought.

And the creature introduced himself as well, giving the name of Oswald. And dear, he certainly had a lot of say, so many questions to ask! Marmadue's reason for being where he was, the helmet, everything else… It was quite a lot!
"A-Ah please, one question at a time," the Yuke held his hand in front of him, as a plead for the other one to stop before he was overwhelmed with all of the information! Well, that probably had already happened, but he wanted a moment to process what was being said, letting out a sigh.

"I ah, just wanted to… See. With my own eyes, this station for those ah, trains," the way Marmadue spoke probably made it quite obvious that these concepts were quite foreign to him. Or perhaps he just seemed suspicious. One of the two.
"…Perhaps I had hoped for there to be something here. A way forward, so to speak, to explore more of what this world has to offer," he continued, tilting his head as he brought one of his hands to where his chin might have been underneath the helmet, resting his head on it,

"…I do remember," the Yuke spoke up after a moment of pause, pulling his head from its pondering position as his arm returned to his side. It was impossible to forget the day when the world had grown dark and those creatures had raided his village and attacked him. Marmadue's gaze fell to the floor, and even though his expression wasn't visible from underneath the helmet, the way his shoulders sunk suggested this conversation wasn't all too pleasant.
"When they attacked, those… Heartless creatures. T-They swarmed the land, my village… I tried to run away and," a sharp exhale was heard from underneath the helmet. Wrapping his hands around the piece of… Materia he had found, the gentle warmth comforting as it disappeared between his thick fingers.
"…I don't think I understand the details very well, I am afraid. I thought I had run into miasma as this strange, suffocating feeling wrapped around me and… Enveloped me. I felt I had drawn my last breath as I… Woke up in this town."

[Oswald]

"Yeah, there's not really that much to go through now, and the bridges the trains would run on have collapsed causing the trains to be unusable," he said to the Yuke while looking around the station. Noticing the slump of the Yuke's shoulders Oswald decided to back off from that conversation. The Heartless definitely stung if you've never felt it before. But whatever miasma was he wasn't going to question it right now as his cat was sniffing Marmadue.

"Oh, uh, this is my cat, kinda, it's not really certain at this point," he said mostly talking to himself, "I'm mostly here to find out what the town is called, because through all this chaos, I still have no idea what to call this place. The only person I ever asked said that all he knew was that it was lost. I figured that if this is a station it should have some travel guides, or at least that's the way trains ran where I'm from."

[Marmadue]

A gentle poke to his bare ankle that almost went unnoticed was just about enough for Marmadue to stir from his depressive thoughts, the memories he had recalled still painful. Not only had the Heartless attack happened such a short time ago, the story still did not have a happy ending. He had still yet to find anyone, he hadn't still confirmed that people were safe. Other than him, it seemed as if no one else had made it to Twilight Town… At least, not the side he was one.

But once he recognized that he was being touched, the Yuke glanced down at his feet – and quickly jumped aside from surprise alone as the strangest creature he had ever seen casually made closer contact with him. According to Oswald, however, it was a cat. While Marmadue could certainly see some resemblances, the odd gaudy coloration and the extra legs made it… Very much unlike any cat he had ever seen.
"That is ah… A very strange cat," he mumbled, looking a bit unsure as to whether he wanted to stay close to it. While it didn't seem to be hostile, he couldn't help shake the feeling that it looked quite a lot like a monster…

Marmadue didn't know the first thing about train stations. Perhaps in places where they existed – and it certainly seemed like they could be found elsewhere and not just the town they were currently in, considering Oswald's comment – they were indeed used as the first place to gather information. Still, to him, the rabbit-like creature's plan to find out where he was using whatever was left of the station was… An odd one.
"Sir, I don't mean to insult you," the Yuke glanced downwards at the cat before looking back at Oswald,
"But ah, I feel like it would have been faster to just… Ask someone else. There are plenty of people wandering about."

Refugees, like him. They tended to stick together, lest the Heartless got them. At least that was what he assumed, having been told what the Heartless usually went after. The easy prey. Did Oswald not stay with a group himself?
"Twilight Town. That is what I have been told to be the name. Apparently ah, it was a more fitting name at some point…"

Indeed, with the darkness looming above them, it was hard to imagine twilight.

[Oswald]

"Well I mean," Oswald said in response to this sudden logic, "I guess it would've been better to ask someone, but they usually have a lot going on..." quieting down Oswald's ears picked up a sound from the far end of the train station that sounded like some kind of scratching. It could be nothing but it may be more heartless. Motioning for Marmadue to follow Oswald carefully walked over to a toppled train and listened at the door.

"There's scratching coming from here," he whispered. Climbing on top. He reached for the handle as the cat got ready for an attack. Opening the door brought nothing out though. Leaning in to the doorway brought nothing either. Jumping into the train car made it creak but no more scratching ensued. Jumping out again and hovering over to Marmadue. "Looking at this train," Oswald said, "kinda reminds me of home."

[Marmadue]

Marmadue tilted his head to the response, perhaps looking puzzled enough even though his expression wasn't seen from underneath his helmet. Had Oswald not considered asking anyone, or had he truly thought that everyone would be too busy to give him the time of the day to answer such a simple question? …He did not know if that made the rabbit extremely thoughtful or rather jaded and lonely. Was there no one he could talk to on a daily basis?

The way Oswald's ears perked up and swiveled seemed to suggest that he had heard something – but the Yuke couldn't quite tell what it had been, even though he did his best. He was motioned to follow, and though he was unsure, he followed the rabbit with careful steps. Marmadue had not quite understood what the large, odd rectangular… Thing on the ground had been, assuming for it to have been some kind of part of the roof that had fallen in. But no, walking closer he could realize he had only seen the bottom of it from where he had stood, now seeing the small wheels affixed to it. What more, there were even windows on it, like some kind of a small home one could push and transport around the world!

So this… This had to be one of the trains?

He had been quite distracted, pulled back into the moment by Oswald's whisper. And immediately his mood took a turn for the worse, his heart beginning to beat faster as he took a worried step back. Oswald had heard something from inside the train, something that could have been a monster. The Yuke would have thought for it to be better if they left, much safer at least, but no. The rabbit already went and opened one of the doors to the toppled vehicle taking a good look inside. Marmadue could almost feel his heart stop from the anticipation.

But nothing happened. Nothing jumped out, nothing attacked them. It seemed to be safe. The Yuke breathed out a sigh of relief, quite visibly relaxing his tensed posture.
"These ah… Trains existed in your home as well?" He asked after a moment of relaxation, his gaze directed towards Oswald.

[Oswald]

"Yeah," Oswald said with a sigh, realizing he sighed he quickly brought himself back to a sort of chipper mood. "Uh, but anyway, I think the scratching was just a rat anyway." The cat was now walking along what seemed to be a broken door towards the collapsed bridges. "Y'know," he said while picking up a dusty brochure for what seemed to be like a place called Sunset Hills, "This town looked nice, I wonder what's going on over there."

The cat kept pawing at the door trying to open it at an increasing rate of scratching. "Anyway, you keep talking about trains like they're a recent discovery for you, weren't they on your world?" Oswald asked with a quick glance towards the cat scratching at the door now making visible marks in it.

[Marmadue]

Perhaps he shouldn't have asked about Oswald's home. If he was here, as confused as he seemed to be… His story was probably similar to Marmadue's in some way. The rabbit didn't seem to have experienced the destruction of his home, so perhaps it was still out there. Still, was he now stuck in Twilight Town like the rest of them, unable to return? It seemed to be very likely. Both of them must have missed their homes.

"A rat," Marmadue mused to the rabbit's idea, his gaze drifting towards the train cart. It didn't seem like anything was there, and he couldn't hear anything, but what if… A chill ran up his spine, such thoughts pushed away from his mind as he looked back at Oswald.
"Over there?" The Yuke tilted his head at the rabbit's odd question after picking up a piece of paper of some sort – he couldn't quite see what it was from where he stood, taking a few steps closer as he attempted to sneak a peek. The cat's scratching was rather distracting however, his eyes occasionally flicking in the direction. Those sharp claws seemed to do a rather good job at scratching off the paint…

"A-Ah, yes. I mean, no," came Marmadue's hurried response as he quickly latched on to the newest topic,
"I ah, have never seen one before. The concept itself is completely foreign."

[Oswald]

Trains being foreign, that's a weird idea, Oswald thought to himself, In any case, it was probably just his world. Walking over to the cat, Oswald held the crystal forward towards the cat, and in a brilliant flash of light the cat had disappeared, putting the jewel back in his pocket, Oswald walked over to the feathered creature once again.

"Guess your world was a bit behind the times then," Oswald said to the Yuke. It was more of a comment then anything. He knew the name of town now, guess there was no point in sticking around the very unstable building that has already dropped debris and rubble. "Well anyway, we should probably get out of this building, it's pretty unstable," as if to illustrate this the ground rumbled and some dust fell from the ceiling.