Silence. All there was... Was the cold silence. This world was completly white, it was so white and empty that one would end up craving for the darkness. No smell could be detected, nor was there anything within sight but the vast color of white. A little crimson haired girl, perhaps about eight years old but looked twelve or so thanks to the odd tallness she carried, stood in the empty world of white. Her face having a large scar going from cheekbone to cheekbone, crossing the bridge of her nose. Blue eyes soft, trembling ever so slightly as she looked around for any signs of life. Yet there was nothing. Wearing nothing but a raggedy old grey tank top and black pants, bare footed and the collar that forever remained around her throat.. She held a Blitzball between her hands. Giving up for looking for something else in this solitude, the girl gingerly released the ball. Allowing the sphere to fall from her grasp and smack against the floor, causing what seemed like a booming sound to echo within the white world before she caught it again as it bounced up to return to its previous position.
She had to ponder, if she preferred the silence over the lonely sound the ball made but discovered that some sound was perhaps better than none. It meant she was alive at least. Perhaps the ball could be companion? A friend? It was silly and foolish, but what else was there? There was no one here. But perhaps that made her desperate or even insane.
Walking... And walking... There was nothing. Just the sound of her footsteps. Stopping her strides suddenly, her eyelids lowered as she blankly gazed down at the Blitzball in her hands. Wondering why this place was so empty. And why the inside of her felt just as empty other than that bitter taste of lonliness.
"Are you lost? Such a poor sense of direction."
A gentle voice spoke up, forcing the child to snap her gaze up to suddenly see a beautiful woman standing before her. Skin as smooth and pale as silk, wearing a string strapped white summer dress that fluttered ever so gently in the ends. Long wavy blonde hair that reached to the mid of her back and shining emerald green eyes. She was so beautiful, like a untouchable piece of the sky. A star perhaps.
Despite opening her mouth to speak, the little girl couldn't seem to speak, her words catching in her throat. Giving a frustrated glower toward the ball, as if blaming it, she blinked as she looked up to see the woman holding out her right hand. Coaxing the child to take it. Expression glowing a little, the child reached a hand out, reaching... Full of need. A need to fill this emptiness. Yet another sound broke the silence that caught her attention.
Turning to look over her shoulder, she saw a group of children. She recongized them as her friends. Gippal, Urick, Naisha...... Everyone. Slowly she lowered her hand and turned her body halfway around to get a better look at them. When she blinked, they were no longer children but adults. The girl fully turned toward them and started walking toward them but paused as the beautiful woman spoke again.
"Don't go that way." The red head could hear her say, but she kept going as her friends called her. Yet it seemed no matter how far she went, they kept getting further away.
A odd wetness hit her nose then, and she reached up her left hand to rub against a thick liquid. Pulling her hand back to give it a once over. Red. Looking up, she noticed streams of red liquid veins seem to crack the ceiling. Looking behind her, she noticed whatever lay behind her, was no longer white. The world behind her was completely black, red liquid veins covering the blackness. It almost looked like lava trying to crack to the surface, but this was a darker red instead of the magma orange.
The woman was still there, seeming to go bright like a candlelight in the middle of the darkness. Watching with the same soft mile, but her emerald eyes were sad. The little girl turned away before breaking into a run, running after her friends. She ran and ran, each step she took poisoned the white ground beneath her with blackness. The Crimson liquid following, dripping from the ceiling and leaking around the around until she could effectively make proper splashing sounds as if she was running through water. She reached... She tried to scream, but no sound came and when it felt like she was almost able to reach her hand out to them, red whips of veins suddenly appeared from the ground before connecting to the ceiling, barring her from going further.
From having no scent, now the world smelled heavily of blood. So much blood. The odd blood bars were solid now and no matter how she grasped them, pulled them, pushed them... They would not move. Only staining her palms with a Crimson red color. The world of white just on the other side. Yet... Like this world of blackness, it was also getting painted. Painted lashed of green and blue, red, orange, purple... All sorts of colors until she saw the world painted around her friends. They were in the village, talking... Not seeming to see her. Reaching her right hand through the bars, she waved her arm around, desperately trying to reach this pleasant world her friends were in but the red bars kept her caged.
The stench of blood, this emptiness... She didn't want this.
"Please...! Please...!! Don't leave! Don't leave me behind please!"
She cried. And cried. But no one heard her. They just kept going happily.
It was then, the blood bars in front of her face formed together, blocking any sight she had on her friends and the beautiful world they were in with the color of blood. In place, it formed a muzzle. Ferocious fangs gleaming as it lunged at her face, giving a vicious snarl.
And she prepared to die.. Feeling the crushing maw against her face.
It was then the boat rocked, Alex gasping loudly as she was ripped away from her world of dreams and shoved back into reality. She grunted as she fell out of her bed and loudly cursed as she landed face first to the floor. Shaking the aftermath of her nightmare away, she quickly shot up and looked around, breathing heavily with shaky breaths. Already, she was sweating. Though no thanks to reality. Quickly memories came crashing in her mind and she immiedietly turned to see Naisha, sighing in relief to see her relatively alright. Listening to the people above, she grumbled irritably.
"I'm here Nai! Well. At least we won't be bored. What a wake up call." Alex said, unsheathing her sword. Unlike she one she usually used, this time, she had brought a golden cased one. The hilt was gold and was decorated in jewels, the sheathe being similar. It was a sword she's had for awhile, but hardly used. It was a sword she meant to save for a special occassion. Like Guardianship. It just felt like that kind of sword.
Over the roars of the commotion going on, Alex barely heard Eva but still the red head caught it. She was alone?! Damn it. "Come on Nai, let's go crack some skulls." the tall woman said, taking a moment to glance at her friend before moving out. A few fish like lizards were already roaming the halls. Tsking, Alex slashed her sword into one's side, causing it to disperse into pyreflies before slashing another. Clearing the way for the black Mage before burting into Eva's room.
"Sorry I'm not one of your manly Knights in shining armor, but I'll have to do!" Alex said with a nonchalant grin before grabbing Eva by the wrist, pulling her behind the taller woman.
Glaring at the tentacle writhing around from within the room, Alex launched out, spinning her body to slam her sword against the massive limb. Bringing as much strength her powerful body could muster. The tentacle whipped out in pain, the tall woman having to jump backwards to avoid a hit but quickly went for another stab. Piercing the flesh and causing the tentacle to retreat out of the ship. Though it wasn't long until more lizard fish came from the opening. Alex quickly moved a foot under a bed and kicked it, smashing it against a group of fiends that tried getting in.
Tsking, Alex glanced toward the two fellow girls. Trying to think the best course of action. Staying here would get them cornered, but going up on top risked Eva and Naisha with more tentacles and fish lizard people. But with the tentacles keeping this up, they could sink the ship. Anymore holes and water could come in, and being trapped down here could case them to drown. The others were most likely up top as well. "Stay close to me. We're going to check the others up top." she said to them, cutting away a fiend from the door before heading up top.
Making sure to check corners and check the others to make sure there wasn't some sneak attack on any one of them. A part of her wanted to charge right up there like a madwoman, but the protective part of her stuck with Eva and Naisha. Having to trust the others were alright.
Managing to reach above deck after cutting her way through fiends and pushing her way through panicked people, she saw the chaos. Fiends crawling about the ship and tentacles waving about. Gippal, Urick, that guy already in battle. Alex didn't see the ice witch. Tsking, she readied her sword, glaring as another lizardfish fiend charged. Alex raised twisted her body, driving the point of her right boot into its face and knocking it overboard.