CH4 PT2: Barriers, Tests, Trophies (Clear)

Annabeth was feeling angry again. Well, not so much angry as frustrated.

She had gotten off to a rather fine start, in her eyes. Right off the bat, she'd met people who, in one way or another, were immensely helpful. She managed to get her hands on a map, a paycheck and even a decent weapon to take on an extermination job later. It was after that when her luck seemed to end. Just when said job was about to be finished, some... void guy (She didn't have a better descriptor just yet) showed up, knocked her to the floor and swept her off to wherever she was now.

Rather inconveniently for Annabeth, the assailant had neglected to think about the shuttle that had just about everything important ever on board. As a result of that, she was now sitting at a fountain in the middle of some empty-feeling town with a name she couldn't figure out, surrounded by a great deal of neon lights that weren't doing much to ease her headache, wondering how she might be able to get back to Agrabah and the Venture II, where all the Munny she could have used to purchase transportation was stored.

She idly kicked her feet in brainstorming, while her left hand rested on the barrier of the fountain and another held the one thing she'd managed to keep- A dao-style glaive -upright next to her leg.

Lena thanked whatever heavens were out there that she got through another performance without having to interact with such bratty people. Seriously, kids were loud.

But now that meant she had some free time. While she could've gone back to Prankster's Paradise and read a book or practiced or something like that, she knew that being stuffed up in a circus tent forever wasn't the best idea out there. And while Traverse Town - the town she happened to have the performance in - was definitely strange, she decided the cool atmosphere felt nice, so a little stroll wouldn't hurt before heading back.

Of course she avoided any of her watchers that came up to her with utmost sincerity. But overall it was a nice time. The town, for the most part, was quiet, and the starry sky was nice to look at. Couldn't see stuff like this inside of a fun house. Seriously, a starry sky would be rad to have. Lena thought about advertising her thoughts later as she passed through the town's fountain plaza, hammer strapped to her back and mind in the clouds.

A little under twenty years ago she set foot on this world for the first time. It was a horrid experience. Too many people crowding around her, but mostly because she was walking with a succubus and a towering behemoth of a creature. Nostalgia filled her to the brim. She had yet to reconnect to her old friends, which was long overdue. They all went their separate ways two decades ago, and since then she had yearned to see them again. Yet it was hard to regret the separation and distance since all that time was spent near her lover.

Things had changed in this world since she was last here, but not so much as to make her lose her bearings. The different districts had seen a lot of changes as well, which isn't surprising but was fun to take note of. But by the time she reached the fountain area, she needed a little rest. There was one other person there which she passed by as she found a spot that wasn't too close to the person. She sat up straight with her hands clasped on her lap. "A fine evening, is it not?"

Annabeth heard the voice of someone nearby, and when looking to her left she saw that she wasn't alone. Also sitting on the fountain wall, some distance away, was a woman shrouded in a black dress that seemed more like religious garb than 'night on the town' apparel. Where the overlying cloak split in the front, a complex necklace could be seen, though its size was more akin to a breastplate than jewelry. A great deal of her face was covered with something that was halfway between a tiara and a metal blindfold.

The question of it being a 'fine evening' was brought up, and Annabeth replied, "For some, I guess." A quick glance upward, and she could easily see that it was, in fact, a rather nice night, free of any sort of clouds to cover up the stars above. "I mean, it looks nice enough."

Lena, in the midst of her casual thoughts, decided it was best not to have her thoughts wander too far before some idiot wandered into her. So the performer decided in her walk - she realized she was going a slower pace than she was before - that she would take a nice look around for a change. Luckily enough, she seemed to have been near a conversation that just started to progress. Not that she had any immediate plan to chime in, of course, but it was nice to know that there was a nearby distraction.

She admittedly slightly tilted her head towards the other two women as she calmly walked. They...certainly looked interesting, to say the least. The one in black could also be called busy in design but heck, Lena came from the circus, so who was she to complain about busy designs?

Of course Lena planned to complain to herself anyways, but she felt it was a given at this point.

((Really sorry for the long wait. It slipped my mind ^^; ))

"Mhm. The spirits sure are enjoying this shroud of night. Nights like these are their favorite," she said, looking up to the sky as well. Slowly, her gaze drifted back down, glancing at the other person. It really wasn't a surprise anymore to see people wearing different outfits from the ones found in a world, but she couldn't help but notice the contrast. Something about her said that she was lost.

"Are you by any chance new to this world, young lady?"

Annabeth was a bit put off when the woman started talking about spirits. Even she could get into the magic of these Worlds, but talk of 'spirits' only reminded her of the people on Oasis who were referred to with words like 'hippie', so she was a bit cautious on the subject. "Well, 'new' is one word," she replied to the newcomer's question. "'Screwed' is another. Some guy showed up, knocked me down and dumped me here. I'm down a ship, and I've got know idea how to get back to it." She resumed kicking her feet in the air. "It's got me a bit down, if that wasn't obvious."

"So you are lost..." Isis looked up slightly to the sky, remembering an event twenty years ago. "I was also in your situation once, albeit I was lucky enough to have friends with me when it happened... Perhaps I can lend my assistance to you?" It was a little out of her way, but she and her friends would never have gotten anywhere without a chance meeting with a few strangers who happened to have a ship. While she couldn't offer the same, she could help in other ways. "Do you know which world you were in previously?"

Thankfully, this person seemed to be aware enough of multiple worlds to at least think of helping. Annabeth contemplated the question. She hadn't paid much attention to names after leaving Land of Dragons. "Well, it was a desert-y sort of place," she noted. "Aggrobol, or something, I think." It sounded familiar on her tongue, but didn't seem quite right. She silently cursed herself for not having committed the place to better memory.

"Did you mean, Agrabah?" she asked before cupping her hands together in front of her a few inches from her face. She breathed in and blew into her hands. A glowing, yellow smoke slowly streamed from her mouth and into her cupped hands. She then held out one of her palms and revealed a golden fairy-like figure hovering above her fingers. After a short pause the sprite took off to the sky, then darted to the direction of the ports where gummi ships usually landed.

"If we find a ship heading there, we may be able to board it."

Annabeth blinked a few times as she registered the strange events in front of her. She'd become comfortable with being able to cast some magic herself, but seeing someone else do the same was something completely new- Even after seeing the not-person who attacked her before. She made what was probably the thirtieth mental note to get back at him for that.

Her new friend suggested that they board a ship headed for Agrabah, and Annabeth stood with a renewed smile. "I'm starting to like you," she remarked as she hefted the bulk of her glaive over a shoulder. "If that's the plan, then let's get on with it, eh?" She beckoned her with a hand and began to lead the way, only to turn around when she remembered she didn't know the town's layout. "Yeah, I'm still kinda lost, so maybe you should go first..."

Isis didn't stand up immediately. Through her sprite, she was looking from above to find a path towards the ships. When she plotted the course, she rose from her seat and smiled towards the girl and nodded. She lead the way, opposite to where the girl was going. "This way is the quickest, and shouldn't be too crowded at this time." As they walked, the girl might have noticed a few small, glowing figures following them from above. Though there weren't too many, and they were spread apart, they were noticeable. Some might even mistake them for fireflies.

Like she said, the path they chose wasn't filled with a lot of people, so they mostly had the whole street to themselves. "My name is Isis Evita, by the way. Since we are likely going to travel together to Agrabah, I thought you might have wanted to know."

The conveniently resourceful mage, who introduced herself as Isis Evita, brought the two of them through a series of streets and alleys, all of which were just as not-crowded as she'd predicted. Annabeth considered taking note of where everything was, but found herself distracted by the glowing insects above. She had yet to see anything similar to the fireflies on Oasis since she'd first arrived, and so she'd welcome the chance to stare.

Not long since their departure from the fountain, they were in the ports, with a number of gummi ships docked. Some were loading up wares, some were unloading, while others looked like personal transport vessels. Isis mostly ignored most of them and headed straight for one particular ship with a dark-skinned woman was drinking from her canteen, seated atop of a crate by the entrance. "We will be flying on this ship," Isis told her companion before she spoke to the other woman.

"I heard you were headed to Agrabah. May we accompany you?" She asked kindly, but the other woman simply spat at the ground.

"I don't take passengers. Now leave me alone."

Isis looked at the crates sitting outside the ship. The sprite she sent off before had eavesdropped on this woman complaining about not having a crew to help her load her goods. Something about them leaving because of bad business. "I know someone who would pay good money for what you have here. They are not very trusting however, so their suppliers are limited. They pay those they have contact with handsomely."

"You think you can fool me with that?" The woman slammed her canteen on the crate and hopped down to draw a scimitar. pressing it against Isis' stomach. "Now get lost, or I will gut you."

The seer reached into her pocket and showed the woman a marked token. When the woman saw it, she went pale and her sword clattered to the ground, backing away. "We will leave immediately," she said as she glanced back to her companion.

"Y-yes, b-but my cargo?"

The fireflies that had followed them descended and took hold of the crates, one by one dragging them inside the ship and neatly stacking and securing them. The "fireflies" were actually sprites similar to the ones her companion saw her make with a breath. The captain of the ship was dumbfounded.

"I guess... that solves that... P-please, you can stay at the crew cabin."

Isis nodded, following the captain.

Isis, who once again seemed to know exactly where to go, sought out a particular ship with an unfamiliar tender resting nearby. Annabeth wasn't quite sure what her significance was until a large curved sword was drawn from her hip. That was definitely something she'd seen in Agrabah. She held her glaive in a ready position in case the stranger decided to attack, but there was no need, as Isis seemed to persuade her away with some sort of coin. Just like that, the tender was infinitely more cooperative than before, and things proceeded rather smoothly.

Attention was brought to the crates, which were being swarmed by the fireflies from before. Before her eyes, Annabeth saw these insect creatures lift whole sets of international cargo more smoothly than the most ambitious championship lifter could ever hope for, and she realized that they certainly weren't flies of any sort. More of the mage's magical posse?

The word came into her mind for the first time, and she thought about it earnestly. 'Mage'. A user of magic. Clearly, what this sort-of-stranger was. Was she one, though? She had a bit of fire she could bring up, but it was hard to say if that really counted. Perhaps there was some licensing process she could go through after she'd gotten her stuff back. The present remained, however. "Looks like you've got plenty of tricks up your sleeve," she commented as she strode up beside her new friend. If this person was a mage, then she was someone to learn from. Maybe she'd ask for a few tips once all this was over with. Or maybe not, since Annabeth technically owed her for helping.

Isis smiled at her companion. "Well... I have been around all kinds of people. They kind of rub off on you after a while. Plus some of them turn into valuable connections, so learning how they do things help greatly." The captain showed them where they were going to stay. The crew quarters had three double-decker beds on each of the three walls that didn't have the door. Everything looked new in there. The room had ample space, and there were lockers on either wall. As far as she could tell, those were still untouched. The room was also pretty clean, like it has just been tidied up.

"Make yourselves at home, I guess. I'll just take care of something first, then we'll be off."

The seer nodded and sat on the bed directly opposite to the door, hands clasped on her lap. The captain left to take care of whatever business she had to do. Shortly after, the sprites streamed into the room and hung around Isis before turning into a golden smoke and being reabsorbed as she held her palms out. After that, she settled back to her previous posture. "Silence makes me a little bit uneasy. Could you tell me something about yourself?"

According to Isis, she'd met enough people to become rather well-connected, which explained why she had a coin lying around that could immediately intimidate a sword-swinging caravaneer. It probably had the crest of some crime lord on it. So long as it got them where they needed to go without actually causing trouble, Annabeth so no reason at all to complain.

They were left alone in a barrack of sorts, not much unlike the one aboard the Venture if just a bit larger. "...So, I-" Annabeth was about to speak up when a swarm of the not-fireflies burst into the room on return to their master, the resulting noise doing well to drown out the squeak she let escape in her moment of  surprise. Even when they were gone, she held a pose she'd stuck, standing atop a high bunk of the nearest bed and holding one end of her Glaive with the blade ready to swat at would-be attackers. When she was sure the supposed danger had passed, she lowered herself back to the bunk below, taking a seat proper. Those things were small, sure, but with all their lights and sounds, and their sudden swarming into the room, she was more than off-put.

After some time occupied by a grand amount of absolutely nothing, Annabeth was asked to talk about herself. It was an odd subject to kick off with, but they weren't blessed with a great number of things to talk about in the first place. "Well, you already know about my, uh... 'situation'," she began, trying to think of anything interesting she could bring up, preferably something that wouldn't immediately pale in comparison to the strange things that seemed like the daily routine for people of these New Worlds. Then, she got an idea. "Oh, I can do this!" She brought a free hand upward, opening it up and allowing a few sparks to collect in her palm, a small flame coming together there. It was much easier than it was at first, but it still took some effort to maintain in the air, and so it soon flckered out without much ceremony. "Binding it to stuff was so much easier than having it float in place," she confessed.

The seer slowly nodded her head. "Oh yes. Having a medium to focus energy on does make conjugation much easier, and can open up new possibilities depending on what you are using." She could guess that the young woman hasn't received any form of training yet on how to control her power since the flame wasn't well crafted. It was still a little 'shaky' so to say, but a little practice will iron that out.

"You should continue to nurture that talent. It definitely wouldn't hurt to have it handy." There was a soft and subtle smile on Isis' lips. She was happy that she showed what she could do at the moment. It meant that she wasn't too cautious about being mocked for her inexperience, and so her openness would allow her to use it more often, and that could only mean that she would be getting better at it.

"Would you like to take turns asking each other questions? I know we might not be together for long, but we can at least stave off boredom for a little while."

Annabeth was given the advice to 'nurture' her talent. "I am way ahead of you on that," she replied. "I've been making sure to practice, and tried some, ah... 'field testing' the other day. Didn't go all too well, you can see." Her face fell a bit at her mistake of bringing up her failure again. The next time she ran into mister redwhatsit, she'd be a bit more prepared!

There was also confirmation of what she'd already assumed, that focusing on something that already existed was easier than bringing something to being from space alone. It made sense, really. Where was one to start if there was no starting point to begin with? The only time that creating a significant flame had been easy was the very first occasion, in which she wasn't even aware it was an option. It was accidental, really, a result of little more than a tad bit too much pent-up anger. Cliche as it seemed in hindsight, she was curious as to how she could do that again without harnessing about an hour's worth of wanting to stab someone.

Isis continued on to suggest they quiz each other, and Annabeth couldn't think of anything better herself. She was silent for some time as she wondered just what she could ask about, before finally thinking of something. "What kind of resources did you use?" she asked. "For learning the magic stuff, I mean. Is there some kind of school somewhere, maybe an instruction manual?"

"There are books and scrolls on magic and how to make use of it, and I'm inclined to think that there would be schools that teach you the same things on a much more guided course. Personally, I've been tutored by my family, as well as a few kind neighbors. I would offer a copy or two of the books they used, but those books were... written specifically for my kind by my kind, so it's not likely to be useful to you. Not unless you'd go through heavy augmentation to make your mind and energies compatible to the Reavers."

Isis would highly discourage going that far since it would basically turn the girl into a completely different person. She'd keep the memories, her personality, but all else may need to be modified. Even then, there was no guarantee that she would survive or be able to make use of their manuals. Suggesting it was a mistake, but it would be a last resort at most.

"I forgot to ask, but what was your name?"

"Surgery, aliens and mental breakdown," Annabeth summarized the admittedly unhelpful response. She decided that, whether it was something real or just a figment of Isis' imagination, this whole 'reaver' thing probably wasn't something she'd be pursuing soon. She was a tad bit curious as to what the mention of 'her kind' was about, but not so much that she'd go out of her way to ask about it just yet. Perhaps another time would be more appropriate.

She was asked what her name was, and that particular question wasn't very hard to answer. "That's Annabeth," she informed the mage. Immediately afterward, her mind bombarded itself with things like reprimands and other bits of paranoid nonsense, angry at her for giving her real name to someone who wasn't too far off from a stranger. She didn't let it tear itself apart too much, reminding it that this was, at least in her eyes, a friend, and among the more co-operative of the people she'd met so far. On the subject of people she'd met, it was about fifty-fifty so far in terms of who had managed not to get her eye twitching. That thought brought her mind, again, to her unusual issues with anger that had come up recently. She could've sworn she was a chiller person back on Oasis... Maybe all this new stuff was just a bit stressful. That was probably it.

Annabeth remembered that it was her turn to ask a question, and pondered what she could ask. Then, she remembered just how resourceful this person had been, what with that coin she'd used to intimidate what seemed like a seasoned black marketeer with nary a word. "So whazzat, anyway?" she asked as casually as she could manage, pointing to where Isis had held the coin. Hopefully, such a question wouldn't be seen as offensive.

Annabeth. Isis took note of that with a nod. It was much easier to remember someone when there was a name to attach memories to compared to just how they looked and what they were wearing.

When asked about something Annabeth pointed to, at first she didn't know exactly what it was, causing the seer to utter a "Hmm?" Then she realized that Annabeth was probably asking about the token she had shown the captain that convinced her to let them board the ship. That story could be taken a number of ways, so Isis had to think a little bit before explaining.

"Oh, the coin? Well it was the calling card for a notorious group of pirates that attacked the traders and merchants that traveled space. They attacked both legitimate and black market dealers alike. And a few friends and I helped to bring them down. Now their tokens are used to garner favors to merchants."

"Unfortunately, holders of those tokens tend to be entitled to anything they wanted, be it drinks, women or even a merchant's goods." came the voice of the captain who just now appeared at the doorway.

"Yes, that is an unfortunate side effect, and most people who hold the tokens now are almost as antagonized as the original bearers."

"Don't worry, you two are okay in my books. You helped me load up my cargo, and didn't rob me blind in the process, so you're already doing a lot better. Anyway, we'll be taking off now, so sit tight and watch your heads." After saying that, the captain left for the cockpit, closing the cabin door behind her.

Turning back to the girl, she asked her next query. "How long have you been traveling?"

By the time Annabeth would have answered, the ship would start to take off. They'd feel it lift off of the ground and accelerate forward, but it was smooth enough so that neither of them would be thrown around.

According to Isis, the coins once symbolized a band of criminals who she'd helped to bring down. "Well, it's a good thing nobody like that's around anymore," Annabeth commented. She didn't want to think about how badly things could have gotten if a group like that found her when she first arrived.

She was asked how long she'd been travelling. It was another one that wasn't too difficult to answer. "I've been out about two months, I think," she stated. "Most of it has been running around trying to find certain places... I gotta tell you, navigating between Worlds isn't easy without a complete map." As grateful as she was to have gotten a map at all, the truth was that having no labels on it had held her back quite a bit, and slowed down her attempts to get anywhere. Still, being down half a map was better than being down a ship, so she wouldn't complain too much.

Annabeth considered what her next question might be. As much as this woman should have been intriguing, she was much more concerned with the rules of these Worlds than the details of certain people. With that in mind, she asked a question that had been bothering her for a good while. "So, these 'Heartless' things," she began, still figuring out how to phrase it. "...Have you ever noticed that they're a bit inconsistent? Like, everyone talks about how they're pretty close to badness incarnate, but that doesn't seem to always be the case..."

"I'd expect so." Isis knew the struggle of being lost in a brand new world. After being given no other choice than to evacuate her own world, she and her party were lost for a good number of months, but thanks to their leader being so aloof with their predicament, they spent most of their time simply stumbling by and getting to know the different worlds as they ended up there.

Though her mind was soon pushed to a darker corner when the topic of Heartless came up. Those things were a problem before, and now their threat was rising once again. She was silent for a while, trying to get her thoughts in order. "It's true. They are like you and I. They are individuals. Even though they can be swayed by someone with a heart full of darkness, they are capable of having their own will. Maybe even strong enough to overwrite their base instincts and act decent among normal people. Still, everyone must be wary of them. Have you met with one such individual?"

Annabeth was a bit surprised by how Isis described the Heartless. "Individuals, huh? I've only seen 'em in groups." She recalled her encounters in Agrabah, and how the two 'packs' of Heartless had seemed to different from each other. "The Heartless are what I was dealing with before I ended up here. Some of 'em were pretty chill... Kinda cute, actually. The other ones just didn't seem to like anybody. Then this red guy shows up and, well, you know the rest." She shrugged her shoulders, the thin pauldrons melded into her coat shifting against her bare shoulder underneath. She made a mental note to get some sort of pads underneath them. She did not want to deal with chafing in the middle of something important.