Welcome to Gaia! ::

Whoosh!

A rush of air was forced out of the shaft as the lift fell down, only a brief flash of the metallic object being seen as it hurtled down on a one way journey to the ground floor; not the one they wanted, sadly. What else had he seen whilst walking around the five hundred squared feet area? Apartment doors, lots of them, but that would only offer to slow them finding him, no there was something else, a quick exit.

Quickly back-tracking the way they had walked around, D in tow yet again, Ruuvan stopped dead as he walked in front of the very picturesque window. It was a travesty to ruin something so beautiful, but considering the alternative would quickly turn someone around and put them into action.
"Remember when we jumped off the ship and I promised we were going to do it again?" Making sure the Nameless was secure on his back, Ruuvan brought the bow around as he addressed D, "Well I'm not one for breaking promises." He seemed to be enjoying this too much for someone against Heaven's private army, but the whole adrenaline adventure was just what he needed to get back into his old self.

With one swift motion he drew one of his Decker blades and slashed across the window, weakening the integrity enough to kick the sheet clean out and leave them with a big enough gap to jump out of. Sheathing the sword again and getting an arrow ready on the bow, he turned to D.
"Come on!" Without giving D any time to prepare, hoping the prospect of another green whirlwind and falling a great distance was appealing, Ruuvan grabbed the armoured figure and jumped out of the building with the bow drawn and ready to fire once they got to the right height.

Making sure D was still at his side, and that the gust of wind caused would indeed catch them, Ruuvan let the arrow go and waited as their descent slowed and they were lowered gently onto the ground. He wasn't sure if they had landed in one of the alleyways or in plain sight, mainly because he couldn't see anyone in the immediate area and the walls were rather close around them, but it didn't matter since he already had a course planned.
"To the arena!" Holding back from allowing the adrenaline to flow in his voice as well, maintaining a calm tone, Ruuvan waited for D to get situated before heading off in the direction of the coliseum.

Well at least he had something to follow this time, taking a break from leading an escape from the building, but he figured there would come a time when he'd have to think on his feet again long before this was over.

As D broke off in the loud clanging run, Ruuvan couldn't help but think the loud noise would attract more unwanted attention. So, running a few feet behind the armoured figure with his hand outstretched, he formed a cushion of white light under each of D's feet as they hit the ground. A white silhouette seemingly attached to the soles of his feet would pulsate with each footfall, the sound being absorbed allowing D to run silently in shoes that looked like a child’s blinker trainers. As for Ruu, you didn't get to be a kick-a** Ranger like him unless you could run silently as it was. It was an odd sight to see two figures, one large and in armour the other moving like fluid between the crowds with nothing but his hand held out, completely silent when one would assume a lot more noise; he'd thank the Lightbringer later that day, for now he'd use the gifts bestowed on him.

:: And D ran, paying no attention to the sound he wasnt making. He just ran..and ran...and ran...D seemed like he wasnt going to stop running. Was this city ever going to end? Hadnt he already passed that trash can...Why was that woman looking at the duo like they were stupid?

Questions, all without answers!

In the end D finally came to a stop in front of a small building which looked something like an observatory, and thrust his fist into the air as he shouted.::

We're here!

:: Here....where was here? This was most definately NOT the giant stadium Ruuvan saw from the window, this was something all together totally different. What...the....hell?!::

::Once entering the double doors the visitor is presented with the sound and smell of running water. Cool blue lighting fills the very large room, as does the sound of several people talking, crying, and laughing. Directly in front of the doorway, and filling the majority of this main room is a large reflecting pool. Though a few people shed there tears into the shallow water, none seem to be gleaming any special visions from it. The main room is surrounded by several open archways, from people seem to be exiting and entering, with teary eyes, or bright smiles.

It was honestly as if the room was timed, because just as Ruuvan had taken in the scope of the room, a voice came from directly beside him as a female angel stood smiling brightly. She wore a bright white suit, and had her golden locks tied into a pony tail behind her head. She opened her mouth and out came an almost supernaturally friendly voice.::

Hi! Is this your first time to the Watching Well?

Great! Come with me.

::She said with a beaming smile, glistening from ear to ear. She gestured that Ruuvan follow her as she made her way toward one of the many archways filling the room.

D followed behind Ruu, with a look of total amazement cast across his face, just at the beauty of the place. Or maybe at its size. Or maybe D was just THAT simple.

No matter, just before reaching the archway, the angel paused turning to Ruu with a bright smile on her face as she spoke again.::

And who would you like to see today?

::She nodded, then turned to the archway, sliding her hand only the side of it causing the seams between the bricks to glow a bright blue. And then she entered, gesturing that Ruuvan follow.

The archway led to a dimly lit room. One could hear the sound of flowing water, but would only really be able to see the dim blue light being emitted from dozens on dozens of monitors. There was no computer in sight just a large center console, and currently the monitors were blank, but the angel approached the console gently laying her hand on it.::

Maximos...

::She said, the monitors slowly began to show static, before fizzling back to blank. She turned backed to Ruuvan with something of an embarassed look on her face.::

Now, is that the Maximos from Aria? Or the Maximos from Hovering Squidworld 97A?

Ok!

::She said with the widest smile as she turned back to the console, and slowly closed her eyes. The screens began to grow static filled again, an image forming in the distance but barely visible through all the static.

It was odd, but the angel seemed to be straining. Something about that seemed off, angels all over Heaven walked about with smiles permanently plastered on there face it seemed. They were talking, flying, helping and all around being good sports. This one was straining, and struggling. Her hand slipped off the console, and she looked back at Ruuvan somewhat confused with a weary smile on her face as if she had just run 82 laps around the world.

The screens went blank.::

Whew...sorry about that, I dont know what happened...let me try again.

::She slid her hand back on the console, and the static returned. Her other hand could be seen clenching as she strained to bring the image into focus. Still it was clouded with so very much static it could barely be made out.

One could see Gaia as whole, from space, and slowly the view zoomed in, through clouds until it stood over a large cold continent, it looked like a Tundra of sorts. As the view zoomed in farther the static began to pick up. There was a tower amidst a jet black curtain, its had a hospital red cross atop which cast the only light into this abysmall place. The view picked up ever so slightly as if just honing on its target...before the screen faded to black and the angel fell to her knees gasping for air.::

I...I dont...heh...understa--ck...

::Ruuvan would be witness to a blade cutting through the air, running directly through the angels chest. She let out a spurt of blood and looked down at the large blade as if wondering how this could be possible. From the tear the blade made in reality, stepped a single Reaper.::

Information on that subject is classified, and must remain classified. It is your time.

::The Reaper pulled his scythe back from the dead angel and stepped forward toward Ruuvan. As, a second, a third, and a forth Reaper appeared in each corner of the room. Ruu might take the time to notice that when stepping through that archway he entered a room...someplace else. There was a matching archway behind him, but behind him was a stone wall. The archway as magical, and obviously it took the angel to open it. In this tiny, 10x10 room....there was no escape. And barely any room to fight, or for D to swing his 6ft sword. He was trapped...::

...wait, what? Where had that come from? Was it an incantation? Did it have some important meaning to the situation? Was there really anything at all that related it to what was going on? Probably not.



A moment would pass. Then another. Still nothing seemed to be happening. The reapers closed in, not hasty because they knew their prey were trapped like rats and could not escape this room. They would not rush, they would not give the prey a chance to fight back this time. One strike, one kill, one assassin... from behind-

The reaper scythe came down, seeming to stretch in the air... no, it was the air stretching... no, it was everything. The world was horribly skewed out of proportion and stretched. Even time seemed to stretch on forever for the simplest thing. Then, with an audible 'pop', everything snapped back into place.

Don.

Don.

Don.

The sound was that of drones beating against their cages, turing in circles and coming back again to strike another place until eventually they found a weakness. The agents of death that had come to take the two of them.

They were back in the gymnasium.

"Welcome back..." Joshua said to the both of them without any real sincerity to the words whatsoever; without pausing to let them reorient themselves, he tilted his head to the side with a loud crack and gave orders. "Get back in your meat-suits, my neck is stiff."

Now, of course it wouldn't be that easy. What part of life and death is ever easy other than the beginning? The cycle of life flows like a river, and it's hard work swimming upstream to go back. They just needed to stand near their bodies and he would take care of the rest... and they were, even though they hadn't realized it yet. Each of them, Ruu and the boy, were standing beside their lifeless bodies inside of the circles that had been drawn for them.

This is where the real purpose of this array came into play. Yes, there were several places that contained binding runes in order to prevent the reapers from taking away the souls, there was the anchor and the gateway that sent them through to the other side... but the inner circles were not about keeping things out; they were about putting things back in. Each of their bodies lay atop a resurrection circle, a rune used for binding souls to objects.

The power of life, right underneath their toes.

The array began glowing furiously, casting off intense light from the chalk lines. The glow glew so brightly that the light would blind them, and then they would only hear the difference. Two things, one present and one absent... What was missing was the knock at death's door... What replaced it was the sound of drawing breath, something which may have been disquietingly absent in the spirit realm had they even noticed it.

"Ehehehehehe... It's alive. ALIIIIIVE! MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"