Fate's Direction (Invite Only)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel was still having a hard time controlling himself. It was all because of her. Palette had managed to get her fear under control with the appearance of Jun, plus she didn't give off that same manner that humans did. If Xiu was paying attention to Abel's expression, she'd notice his pupils almost looked like they were catlike. They hadn't fully slitted, but they were more similar than a cat's pupils in full darkness than any human eye.

"Calm yourself down, or I might really attack you," Abel snarled. It was that damn fear response that had caused all of his problems, and that same fear response felt so enticing now. He wanted to give in, but he couldn't. He knew if he did, Xiu would be dead, and his last chance at possibly suppressing these urges would be lost.

Palette was still laughing. "Oh wow. You're her servant. That's sad, kid. Servant to a little doll who probably should stop hangin' with the nerds." After all, who else would put a doll in a dress like that but some kind of creep?

Yui walked into view, and appeared to be examining Jun as well. He stepped back and looked toward Shinku. His broken body parts would be in full view as he did this. "So he's a friend of yours?"

[mugenginga]

Oh, crap. There were those eyes. Those eyes that proved more than anything that the teenager once known as K1 was no longer human. He wasn't even the Biblical Abel any longer, but a demon with the name fitting his title as King of Bel. Was he going to kill her again? Could she stop him if he did? Her abilities weren't as strong as they once were and...

And then he spoke. Xiu jerked her head up out of wherever her thoughts had gone. Of course, it wasn't like she... or her past life... didn't know how to control her emotions. He didn't have a club on him, and while he was probably more than capable of doing it with his bare hands... she took in a deep breath and mouthed the Chinese words for one through ten. Her pulse regulated to near normal levels thanks to it, and she opened her eyes.

"I meant it before," she stated, her voice emotionless from effort alone. It was a bit creepy giving her fifteen years of age, "You will either speak to me of your 'request' now or during the lunch hour rush in Void City. I'm not denying you my aid just yet, so speak."

Jun had stopped rolling by this point. He'd grabbed a loose piece of bamboo on one of the huts and pulled himself up. He was rubbing his knee in pain, but his actual attention was focused on Abel and Xiu. She looked Chinese, he looked Japanese. But he didn't seem all that... safe. Might really attack her? It was probably better not to ask. He looked towards Palette as she spoke again and his expression soured even further.

"I am not her servant! Didn't I already say that?"

"He is a noisy servant," Shinku stated, "But he has his strengths."

Jun blinked at that. A compliment from Shinku was pretty rare. Let alone around strangers. If anyone gave him a funny look he'd scowl at them. Shinku turned towards Yui and frowned at the broken parts. It was a wonder he was still moving, but not necessarily a bad thing. Nothing was worse than a doll being lost. She was opening her mouth to speak when Jun began to sputter.

"What the...!? Don't tell me you're a doll too!! Shinku, did Rozen-"

"Do not insult Father in such a manner! Does he look like something that would be created by the same hands that made me? He is not even of a proper material! If this is how you wish to treat me, why did you even pursue me?"

"Not because I wanted to get my head bitten off! That stupid Laplace's Demon thing said it had sent you away, so excuse me for being worried!"

"Jun, this is not the time or place! I mean, really!"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel's eyes returned to normal once Xiu calmed down, though a lot of it had required a fair bit of effort on his own part. It really was getting bad; he couldn't deny that. He looked Xiu in the eye as he spoke.

"I want you to do something to suppress my demonic powers. Put a seal on me, give me some sort of limiter, I don't give a damn, just do something so that my demonic powers aren't as strong as they currently are," Abel said. He hated having to ask her for help. It was her death in the first place that had caused these emotions to grow out of control. He found himself praying that she understood the real reason he was coming to her. He didn't want to admit that kind of weakness.

Yui looked down as Shinku and Jun began arguing.

"I was created by a man named the Creator... he didn't tell us his real name very often. I was the final of his dolls before he sealed us away," Yui said.

Eriol scowled at Shinku. "Just because we're made of wood doesn't mean we're not made from a proper material. At least we're hardier than whatever material you're made of. What is that, porcelain?"

Abel was keeping one ear on the conversation, due to Jun's mentioning of a "Laplace's Demon." He couldn't mean...

[mugenginga]

Xiu blinked as Abel spoke. He wanted to supress his powers. Unless her past life's memories were completely screwed up, that made no sense! Why would the King of Demons want to supress his powers!? That would make him some kind of target! She might be able to work up a charm or something, but then again her powers were weaker. She seemed very confused, and was really only able to articulate one thing.

"What?"

Shinku returned Eriol's scowl. Hers was a bit worse, if only because it was colder. Jun was looking that Yui with a confused expression. As far as he knew, only one person had ever made living dolls. At least it wasn't Rozen. From what he knew of the man, he'd only made female dolls. His search had been for the perfect girl after all.

"The base material is none of your concern," Shinku stated, "However, I can assure you it is both strong and soft. Nothing as unwieldy or able to rot as wood. How you haven't been attacked by termites is beyond me."

"Creator? That's a lot like..." he glanced at Shinku, seemed annoyed, and jumped topics, "Uh... is this the N-Field?"

"Jun, do not make me lose what respect I have for you. We are clearly not within the N-Field."

"Then where are we!? I thought that stupid rabbit could only open portals to and from the N-Field!"

"The fact that Laplace's Demon is responsible for this also concerns me. But now is not the time nor place."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel gave another glance as the words 'Laplace's Demon' came up once again. He hadn't been imagining it that time, he knew it. But his problems with Himi-- Xiu came first. Her reaction was a tad bit painful. But he nodded. He paused for a moment before explaining. She'd probably want some kind of explanation, wouldn't she...

"Ever since I killed your previous life, I haven't been able to control my demonic urges... It's getting bad, to the point I've started considering attacking Keiji." He didn't seem to notice what name he'd used. Keiji, not Seth. "This is just temporary until I can control myself better."

Probably should have expected something like this to happen, Abel thought grimly to himself. After all, I am a 'very young demon'...

"Just because we're dolls doesn't mean that doesn't hurt..." Yui mumbled after the comment about his wooden construct.

"...Endfield?" Eriol asked confusedly.

"There's a demon that can open portals from the real world to... an american football field?" Yui asked in a similar confused tone.

Kerro sighed. "No, I think you two are just confused." He was still keeping a careful eye on Xiu and Abel.

[mugenginga]

Okay, those were memories she didn't need. Himitsu had not been unaware that what had happened to Keiji had lost what little chance Abel's had of retaining his humanity. She broke eye contact there and bit her lip for a moment. She turned back to Abel after letting out a sigh.

"...I can see what I can do, but I don't really have access to a lot of supplies. How... how is your brother, anyhow?"

Shinku's eyes widened as Yui said that. They were a bit thin skinned if they allowed that to bother them that much, but to look back she was being rather cruel. She gave probably the softest look the group had seen her give yet, one of apology, to Eriol. Jun had gotten back to his feet.

"N-Field," Jun muttered, "Not some American football thing... I thought you guys sounded funny. Did that thing send me to America...? Then how can you understand me?"

Shinku looked rather annoyed, "If my understanding is correct, this is a reality seperate from our own or the N-Field."

"...wait, what?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel looked pained as Xiu asked her question.

He had to kill probably the closest thing he had to a friend yesterday. He hates this life. If it weren't for me, he'd have killed himself long ago... probably would have been the merciful option.

"He... he's fine," Abel said. He was convincing no one.

Yui nodded as Shinku spoke. "This is the Dimensional Island. It's a dimension between dimensions, so to speak. It's an island floating in the Void between dimensions."

"...Apparently Ms. Xiu's been here before... you called her Himitsu before," Kerro said to Eriol. The blond haired doll looked away.

"Yeah... so?"

"Did you know her before?"

"No."

Palette sighed. She didn't know what to think. Actually, she was feeling a bit like the third wheel she knew she was at the moment.

[mugenginga]

Okay, bad choice of question had been bad. She rubbed the back of her head.

"I can't call the shop right now. It's not responding. I guess I'm not strong enough..."

Was that smart, admitting that? She was going to be on thin ice with Abel the entire time she was here. She'd come back... why? To return Kerro to his brothers? To make sure Eriol didn't kill anyone? She'd made an agreement with that one guy over Palette, but by the letter of the agreement she'd fulfilled it. She looked up again.

"I don't really know what I could do, though. You want something that will let you access just a muted version of your powers? My experience is with completely sealing things, not limiting them... And by sealing I mean completely sealing, not just the powers," Her expression turned a bit dark and worried, "And I'm worried Cain would fiddle with anything I did."

"Wait, that stupid thing... dimension!? I just got through all my backup work and you're telling me I'm going to fall behind in school again!?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel continued to look pained as Xiu spoke. If it weren't for the fact that the fate of the humans of his home dimension depended on him staying alive, he'd let Xiu seal him. Probably would be better that way. But he still had to defeat YHVH. He had to end this endless cycle of trials. That's what he told himself, anyways.

"...Can you just do what you can?" Abel asked. "And it's okay... I won't let him mess with it."

Palette started snickering again. "You're kidding me... you're stuck in some other dimension and the first thing you worry about is your homework? Aw man, how pathetic can you get?"

Yui ignored Palette as he continued. "You can try getting off of the island, but not too many people can get off of it on their own... there's a train station or something like that, but it's not as convenient as most people wish it would be."

Yui wasn't quite aware the island had been sealed off as of a few hours ago.

[mugenginga]

Xiu noted Abel's expression. There was light in his eyes, and she realized with a twang of guilt she was dealing more with a human than a demon. No demon would ask for a limiter, after all. And she believed what he said about Cain, as well. She gave a nod.

"I can try... You're going to want something that won't stand out, meaning it can't give off a reading to demons and it can't make you look any different. I don't know what I could do for you in that regard, though. I don't want to mess with your COMP... would you be willing to give up your mp3 player?"

"Hey, at least I don't look like some furry convention reject! How much money did you spend on that thing, anyhow!?"

Shinku looked towards Yui, "If Laplace's Demon took the effort to send us here, I doubt he would allow us an easy exit. Giving what you have stated, I doubt an exit would be available for us."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel pulled the mp3 player off of his shirt and unplugged it before handing it to Xiu. "Here."

Palette suddenly looked very angry at Jun's comment. "Furry convention-- Look, you little shut-in! I was born like this. This ain't some costume! I don't know who the hell you think you are, but there's more species than just you furless, tailless, round-eared humans out there. And goddammit I'm fucking tired of people looking at me like some kind of freak, alright? So shut the hell up."

Yui blinked at Palette's reaction to Jun, and turned back toward Shinku. "That's true... personally, though, I've grown to like this island."

Abel looked concerned as Yui and Shinku's conversation continued. "...You're aware the island has been sealed off, right?" Abel asked in a low voice.

[mugenginga]

Xiu hadn't expected it to go quite that easy, and she fumbled the device as a result. She had no doubt he hadn't meant to shove it into her hands, but it had kind have happened like that. She managed to hit the play button, although thanks to the design of the device no sound came out. She did note the song name and singer. Reset by an Aya Ishihara. She blinked because she knew the song, by the same singer no less. Well, different realities had different versions of the same person, it probably had something to do with that. She began to look for a place to sit down.

Jun opened his mouth to snap back when Palette unloaded some frustration she had probably been holding in for quite some time. He just stood there and let her rant, his expression seeming fairly broken. Wait, she was born like that? He could only think of one thing that actually looked like her, and he'd always thought the stupid thing had taken that form as some kind of sick joke in regards to the Alice Game and western literature.

Xiu had found a place to sit by this time and done so. It was a weaved basket of sorts. She was digging into her pocket, wondering what cosmic law of coincidence had allowed her to have a screwdriver on her, when Abel mentioned the Island being cut off. She stopped with the tool halfway out of her pocket and her expression was blank. She looked at the group for a moment before swallowing hard and putting the things in both of her hands down. She held out the palms of both of her hands and Abel would feel a spike in her energies... just as he'd sense something like them crashing into the side of a wall at high speed. Xiu winced and looked at the group.

At some point during all of this, Jun had come upon something, and he became very worried. He addressed Palette at about the same time Abel made his comment about the Island being cut off, "Ah, you're not some kind of demon, are you? I've had it up to here with the occult and things of that sort."

"He's right..." Xiu said as she lowered her arms, her voice devoid of emotion. A moment of fear came up but was supressed quickly as she turned back to Abel, "Is the Fall still coming, or did that... ah.. Ryoji! Did that Ryoji figure out he didn't have to be a puppet?"

She had a feeling she knew the answer...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Palette gave an even deeper glare at the suggestion that she was a demon. Come on, as if Abel's twin wasn't bad enough. She didn't respond, but her expression was like ice.

"U-um... can we talk about something else?" Yui suggested.

Abel's downcast expression didn't change as Xiu spoke. He looked above her head for a moment before facing her. He was keeping his expression flat as he spoke.

"Everyone's going to die in nine days," Abel said. He said it calmly, like this was normal for him. Then again, the lockdown. He'd had a much shorter time limit then. On the other hand, he was just trying to not give off a show of weakness.

[mugenginga]

Jun felt his spine freeze up at the... whatever she was' glare. If she was a demon, he was taking the wrong path. If she wasn't, it was probably fair for her to be upset. He took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. A lot of American cartoons had things like her, and this was another dimension.

"I'm sorry," he said, possibly surprising most of the group, "I'm just worried. If you'd seen Laplace's Demon, you might understand. It's this tall white rabbit thing. Like some kind of bad joke from Lewis Caroll."

Xiu's expression wasn't that of fear or worry. It was that of sadness, and that would be her emotional reading as well. She hung her head for a moment before silently picking up the mp3 player and screwdriver again and unscrewing the back off and proceeding to yank the bottom of the cords out and causing the display on the front to vanish. It looked like she'd just broken the thing, but she seemed focused.

"....How on earth would you know that!?" Jun said.

The pause before saying so was a bit comical, as he'd had to process several times what Abel had said. Shinku had turned to Abel as he said it as well, giving him a flat stare. No, she couldn't detect a lie.

"Is it connected to what you are? The speed and coolness you have been expressing has been far from human," Shinku stated to Abel.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Abel looked a tad bit alarmed as Xiu just ripped the cords out. He liked that MP3 player, dammit. He hadn't expected her to just rip the cords out.

Palette, Yui, Kerro, and Eriol looked toward Abel as he spoke. Everyone was going to die in nine days. For one, how did he know this?! Palette looked shocked, while the three dolls looked mildly surprised. Mainly because of their construct, though. They were just as surprised as the others.

Abel answered Shinku's question first. "Not entirely. I'm sorry, I can't fully explain. But that Laplace's Demon you mentioned before, one of my friends thinks he has something to do with the island being sealed off."

He sighed. "I'm sorry to say it may have been my fault that you're all trapped here. The demon might have sealed the island off to try to trap me here. I was planning on leaving the island today to escape the Fall."

Palette looked a little confused. "...The Fall?" And finally, for the first time in a while, her eye marking started lightly glowing. She winced and looked away.