Welcome to Gaia! ::

The room was dark, but veins of colored blue and red lights lined the walls, ceiling, and floor. Roka found that he, too, was covered in the pattern of glowing circuitry. Well, his clothes, at least. He wore some sort of helmet that seemed to go with the rest of the outfit, though what he needed it for, he wasn't sure. It was like digital armor. The glowing pattern cast his otherwise dark black and grey garments in a green radiance, giving his skin an inhuman tinge. He almost felt like part of the system himself.

The whistle the shinigami Raven had given him was still with him, but looking at it, he was reluctant to use it. He didn't know her motives, or whose side she was on. And though Death was supposed to be unbiased, the fact that she had offered to help him find Ryuu stuck him as alarmingly suspicious. No, he would just have to manage on his own for the time being. Besides...this world didn't seem too bad. It was almost even...familiar...

"HALT. What authorization do you have to be in the Communications Room?"

Roka blinked. What was that? A voice? But he could see no one. "Communications Room...?" Roka repeated, curious. Was there an authority in this place? Whatever it was, it seemed to believe Roka was trespassing in some forbidden area.

"The Communication Room is off limits! You religious fool, do you really still believe in the existence of Users? Sark! Take him to the Game Grid. Perhaps we can get him to change his mind."

"As you wish, Master Control."

Suddenly there was another voice, one very near. And as Roka shifted his gaze down from the ceiling, trying to find the speakers from where the voice came, he gasped, stumbling back. Somehow a man had come right up to him when he had been distracted, his own circuit pattern glowing a menacing bright red. He frowned at Roka.

"Take him to the cells in the Game Grid. Have the Light Cycles ready."

Before he knew what was happening, two other beings has restrained his arms, calmly dragging him toward a new destination. Roka did his best to resist, wanting to know what was going on and where exactly he was, but it was no use.

"Quiet, program," was all they would say to him as they escorted him on, pushing and shoving him roughly whenever he struggled against them. "Save your strength for the games. You'll need it."

"You will each recieve an identity disk. Everything you do or learn will be imprinted on this disk. Lose your disk or fail to follow commands and you will be subject to immediate 'deresolution'. That will be all."

"You heard Commander Sark. Move out."

Something told Roka that in this world, getting 'derezzed' (as the other programs called it) was the equivilant of death. Much as getting marched around in straight lines wearing very uniform garments reminded Roka of a prison encampment, he knew better than to go against instruction. He had already witnessed first hand what disobediant programs were subjected to, from mild electrical surges to absolute deresolution.

Sure, he wasn't in any hurry to die; getting derezzed looked agonizingly painful. But seeing as he had come to his wit's end in his own world, he didn't really feel as though he had much to lose in this one. While the other programs murmured in anxious tones to each other in line, he found himself wondering if his family had learned of his absence yet. Still, it was a distant thought, as if he were wondering about someone else's family, someone else's life, and not his own. Misao would surly be disappointed.

As they passed by other programs engaged in games, Roka began to find himself fastinated with the players. It actually looked fun, if you didn't consider the danger and risk involved. Suddenly he was reminded strongly of a video game arcade. Perhaps this prison was more like a gladiator coliseum, where the criminals were pitted against each other for the amusement of the higher-ups. But, if this was true, then that meant the winner, the survivor, might have a chance to win his freedom. Of course, this was all just speculation; he had no business assuming this virtual world followed rules anything like ancient Rome. But what if, just if, he happened to win...

Before he knew it, they were being lead into an enormas room with a grid-based floor pattern. Roka and a couple other programs were lined up side by side. One of them cast Roka a peculiar look before three glowing bars of different colors; gold, yellow, and green, appeared from the ground before them and levitated upward vertically arm-level.

"Are...are you a User?"

Roka glanced at him, distracted by the bars. "Excuse me?"

"A User. Your configuration - it's -"

3 - 2 - 1 - GO!

Suddenly feeling an impulse to grab the bar, Toshiro reached forward with both hands, leaning towards it. As he gripped the hovering bar, an armored cycle constructed itself around him, making it comfortable to remain as he was and immediately propelling him forward. There were no brakes and no ignition. As far as he could tell, there were no other controls other than the bar, which had transformed into the cycle's handle for steering. It filled Roka with an unexpected rush of dread. It all happened almost instantaneously, giving him no time to comprehend that there were three other cycles on the opposite side of the room, all blue, headed straight for them.



- Run them into their what?!





Just as Roka had begun to panic, he heard another voice emitting from his own cycle radio.



The silver-haired musician blinked. Split up? And then what? His bike kept on going. He was about to hit a wall. He was drawing a blank; he couldn't think.



Right. He could do that. Just like driving. A sharp right sent Roka cornering to run parallel with the wall. he then saw that the path he had left behind was trailing a wall of green light behind his cycles. Ahead, he could see other cycles creating a maze with their own light trails. Together they were creating a maze that seemed to be impassable. As he watched a blue cycle shatter upon contact with a yellow wall, Roka tensed up. He was slowly beginning to understand the mechanics of the game, and his panic soon returned. But the Gold rider seemed to have already noticed.



Good reflexes? Him, a music student? Maybe from dodging Ryuu's hits and punches, he thought grimly. With a tighter grip on the bars, he obeyed Gold's orders. he replied with what he hoped was more confidence than he felt. How glad he was now to be able to hide away his emotions. His fear would have suffocated him by then otherwise.

(Since Ann is landing in Radiant Garden and will most likely find Roka in the computer, I figured it would be alright to share a thread. Don't hesitate to kick me out of you don't like my idea, though. heart )

Waking up on hard ground was not something Ann was expecting, but then again, neither was waking up in a barren wasteland. She would later come to know this place as The Great Maw, but for now, she just called it weird.

She rubbed the back of her head and looked around. She could feel a headache coming on, and judged it to be from being under the sun all morning. Ann stood up and brushed herself off, noticing that her clothes had been altered. Gone were her tank top and jeans, and now in their place were shorts with hanging suspender straps, a t-shirt, and fingerless gloves that reached up halfway to her elbow.

This was weird, very weird. But considering what else seemed to be happening at the time, the outfit change wasn't so bad. Except... that she was last with Zack. A look of confusion crossed her face as recognition set in. He wouldn't have done all this, would he?

... No. This was beyond his sense of humor.

Her eyes slowly scanned up the pathway in front of her. It curved and swirled, there were steps, a platform and a cavern, before another pathway that led to a gateway in front of a huge city.

She audibly groaned, this would take forever to travel!

As she rolled her eyes to the ground, she spotted her backpack sitting next to a skateboard. Her eyes lit up as a big grin graced her lips.

"Score."

She quickly got set up and made sure her feet were planted firmly on the board before she pushed off. This was going to make the hike much faster.

(No problemo! I'm glad to be of help, even if it's just by means of simple companionship.)

The distance was much faster to travel than Ann had anticipated, of course, she was no beginner with a skateboard. That probably contributed a lot to it.

Once entering the city, she didn't get far past the gates when a hand reached out from behind a building and grabbed her right off of the board. It rolled down a few steps and flipped, the wheels spinning quietly as Ann got slammed up against a wall.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Ann shook her head slightly to rid herself of the mental cobwebs, before looking up into a strange pair of blue-green eyes. He had a mess of spiked blond hair and was decked out all in black leather.

"Well, I can honestly say I've never gotten that kind of greeting before. Hi, my name is Ann, and you're a jerk that made my headache worse. Can you put me down now?"

Her feet wiggled slightly, being held two feet above the ground. She was practically eye level with the man, but she didn't bother trying to look him in the eye again. She was good with her tough girl act, but after the wake up shock she had just had, maybe being strong wasn't a good option.

Slowly but surely, she was lowered to the ground, and the man removed his hands from her collar. "You're normal. I apologize."

".... thanks? I think. Can you tell me where I am, now? I'm not supposed to be here. I'm completely lost." A shy smile graced her lips. This man was weird, but not a bad guy... she hoped.

"You're in Radiant Garden. And you came from The Great Maw. It's not common for people, let alone little girls to make it alive through there."

Ann chose to ignore the comment about her age, and took a few steps away from the wall to inspect the city. "This place is pretty. It really fits up to the name. So... why is this 'Great Maw' so dangerous? Lots of muggers and stuff?"

If any expression were to cross his face, Ann would have to say 'confusion', but it didn't last long. "Again?" He asked himself, before looking down at her. "Come with me."

And before she could utter a response he had turned around and started walking towards the stairs. Perfect! She could grab the skateboard again.

"Hey, so where are we going?" No response.

"Are you taking me somewhere where there are more people?" She guessed.

"Will they speak more than you?" She grinned.

"Too much, sometimes." He glanced over his shoulder at her, his lips quirked up into a small smirk.

"Oooh, I get it. So you're just balancing it out then. Good work soldier."

If she had been paying more attention, she would've noticed the brief flinch that tensed his shoulders. She didn't, but she also stopped talking and became content with simply looking around the town and at all of its' quirks.

She hoped that they got there soon. She was in dire need of water, and maybe they had a computer for her to use. The day was looking up, this man seemed pretty reliable, even if he did try to turn her into wallpaper.

(Finally- Image of Ann's outfit)

It didn't take long to reach their destination. Ann raised a brow at the building and glanced up at the boy next to her. "If I die in there, I'm going to be super pissed. Just sayin'."

He chuckled and shook his head, knocking a quick pattern for curtsy's sake before walking in. Ann looked around briefly before following him.

Inside reminded her of Minerva's bedroom. Random things hung on the walls with odd magical artifacts that she had found on her adventures. Here was no different, except for the obvious change in size. There were a few people sitting around a table with blueprints and other assorted papers on it. In front of her was a huge computer that practically took up the entire wall.

"Hey Cloud, who's this?" A brunette asked. She had long brown hair curled in two lengths over her shoulders. She wore a long pink dress with a brown leather jacket of it. Normally the look would be looked upon with distaste, but on her it worked.

Cloud opened his mouth to speak, "She's..." He turned to her as if asking her silently, "Ann?"

Ann nodded and stuck her free hand in her pocket as she shifted her hold on the skateboard, having everyone stare at her like she was a show was just unnerving. "Ann, from Traverse Town. I fix cars and have a sunny disposition."

A few people chuckled, but then the brunette stood up and offered her hand. "Hi there, my name is Aerith. Welcome to Home Base of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee."

Ann shook her hand and smiled, but it wavered slightly. "I thought this was Radiant Garden?"

"Where are you from?" A dark haired man asked her from the table, he had a scar across his face and was writing something down on the blueprints. "Because you can't be from here with that lack of knowledge."

Ann's eyebrows narrowed at the mans' blunt words, but Aerith spoke before she could retort. "Ignore Leon, he's just grumpy. Hollow Bastien is what Radiant Garden used to be called. It's an odd story, really. So-"

"She came from The Great Maw." Cloud interrupted her. "I wouldn't be surprised if she had a keyblade as well."

"Oh you think everyone's a hero, why don't we let the girl tell us what's going on before you jump to conclusions."

A girl in the corner with a ponytail and a soft smile spoke up. She wore a black vest with a white shirt underneath, and a weird short/skirt combination. "My name is Tifa, so... what's going on?"

"Uhmm," Ann hesitated. Where should she begin? "Well, I was with my friend Zack, we were racing out bikes, motorcycles, when something... happened. I don't really know. There was this flash, and then I woke up in this mystical 'Maw' place that he doesn't think I should have survived in.... Is it normally really dangerous or is he just as paranoid as he is uptight?"

A booming laugh started Ann and caused her to spin on her heel. "Oi, this one's a keeper!" The man had highlighter-blood hair and a pair of goggles perched atop his head. "The name's Cid. I'm the computer guy 'round here."

Ann's eyes lit up "Great! Then you can help me, I need to use a computer for a few minutes to find out where I am and how to get home."

"We already told you where you are," Leon spoke up. Ann wouldn't be surprised if he was rolling his eyes as well.

"Yeah, but that doesn't help me if I've never heard of this place before." She spoke over her shoulder. "Listen, it wont take long. I just need a quick Google minute."

"Google? What in the flyin' hells is a 'Google'?" Cid asked, his eyebrow raised.

"You've never..." Ann trailed of. Maybe he was very oldschool? Or maybe he wasn't as smart with computers as he thought he was. "I need to do a search, to find directions on how to get back home."

"Oh, y'mean a mainframe search." That was lingo he understood, he nodded once before shaking his head. "I don't think I can allow ye to do that. Security issues 'n all that. Understand?"

"Well it's not like I'll be left alone with it. Come on, I just want to get home! It's not like I'm planning to give you guys a virus or anything." If she weren't a tough girl in spirit, she would have pouted. But since she was, she had to resort to reasoning.

Aerith hid her giggles behind her hand and they all waited and watched for his resolve to weaken. Despite being a macho shoot-em-all type, Cid had a soft spot that they all could see Ann was cracking into. Not that they all cared, of course. Cloud had walked over to Leon during the discussion and went to work on plans for making use of the Bailey.

"Aw fine, but y' do something fishy an' I'm kickin' ya out! Got me?" He waved for her to follow him and headed back out the door. "C'mon now."

"Wicked, thanks guys!" A bright grin graced Ann's lips as she waved to the group in the room and quickly followed behind.

"So I heard ya work with cars?" Cid looked down at the girl and broke the silence a few minutes into the walk.

"It's my dad's business, and I've been working there since I was really young." She grinned, "I can change oil faster than any of the boys I work with. And all four tires, but I let them keep their pride when it comes to that. One win is good enough for me."

"Ever work on a ship?"

"You mean... like a boat?" Ann tilted her head slightly, he didn't seem like that kind of worker.

"Nono, a gummi ship, girl. Ye been livin' under a rock or summit?" Cid chuckled and opened the door to Ansems study before banging on the wall a bit to open the passageway. He then continued walking as if the interuption hadn't occured.

"I don't even know what that kind is, you'll have to show me a picture or something." She shrugged nonchalantly. It could be interesting, but right now she had more important things to worry about." Suddenly her eyes widened. The room was huge, and on one side was a very advanced looking system while the other held some sort of weird platform.

"Screw a bloody picture, I cin show you the real deal once we're done with this." His lips curved up into a grin, "If yer into cars, this'll be a dream. Now... where ye be lookin' for?"

"Valeford, it's kind of a small town so there might be little mention of it, but all I need is a direction." Ann had begun to walk around the room. First she glanced out the window to see a whole bunch of miltary devices on the main floor. With a raised brow she now understood why she wouldn't have been allowed in here alone. Next she began to head for the platform.

"Valeford..." Cid muttered the name under his breath as he typed it out. He knew most of the places in the area, and he had never heard of Valeford. Could she be lyin'? She seemed pretty trustworth, and generally lost. Perhaps she had come here the way Sora had... but she had no idea about Heartless, or Gummi ships. It seemed pretty fishy, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

0 RESULTS FOUND

He couldn't just call the girl crazy, but her little town didn't exist... at least, not in Radiant Garden. He glanced over his shoulder to tell her that she was unfortunately, very far away from home, when he saw her stand practically on top of the teleporter to send herself into the computer.

"Get away from there!"

Shocked by Cid's sudden outburst Ann jumped back as ordered, but her hands flew out and her fingers grazed a bright blue button. As she did, the whole system started up, lights and sounds coming to life.

Ann took a few steps back towards the blond, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

Cid nodded and grabbed her arm to pull her behind him. "Accidents happen kid, just stay back. Who knows what's going to come out of that thing!"

Her stomach twisted in knots, but she did as told. Peaking over his shoulder at the machine as it did... whatever it was going to do.