The Third Wheel [Lanying/Raen]

[Zack]

"One. Two. Three." Zack counted aloud. He was by the entrance way in the coliseum that led out to the town nearby. He was doing one of his favorite things to do to pass the time, squats. He had returned to the coliseum recently after a prolonged absence, though he was still unsure how long that absence had been. Phil had said years, but he didn't ask how many. He didn't think it had been that long though, it just didn't feel that way.

He had come back to have Phil train him to become a hero once more. However, Phil suggested to him that he should travel and find out what being a hero meant himself. Zack thought it was a good idea, but he wasn't exactly sure how to go about doing so. So he was doing some squats hoping to come up with an idea.

Unfortunately he wasn't having much luck. "Ten. Eleven." he continued counting aloud. I know Phil told me to travel...but how am I going to do it? he thought to himself. "Man, how come.....I can't think of.....anything?" he complained to himself as he continued his squats.

[Aerith]

No Crashes, No Whales; I Much Prefer This Trip Thus Far

Raen had been utterly serious when he suggested Lanying learn to fly this Gummi Ship. With much coaxing on his part, she had agreed to learn, even if she was terrified of ending up inside a whale again. That creature flew around space, did it not? What if it ambushed them? She was only just learning how to fly the ship and had not yet mastered evasive maneuvers. To her credit, she managed to listen to Raen's explanations of how everything worked without showing too many signs of nervousness. That had to count for something.

Since this was her first time flying, they decided to make it a short trip and headed for a world called Olympus. Raen knew only a little about the world, just that it was home to a great coliseum where tournaments were held on a regular basis. That was certainly intriguing to her, and she was looking forward to seeing what such a world was like.

It was a massive boost to her confidence when she landed them safely. Exhaling a sigh of relief she had been holding in, she stood up and began making her way toward the ship's exit. "That was not so hard, I suppose..." She stepped off the ship and looked around. Right ahead of them was a set of two large doors that opened onto an expansive area of sand and columns. There was another door at the far end of this area, and two giant statues of warriors with weapons drawn stood guard on either side of this door. A few large torches burned around the area, despite the glaring fact that it was broad daylight. Lanying could only assume that this was part of that famous coliseum.

Something caught her eye, then. A black-haired man was nearby, and he appeared to be deeply concentrating on personal exercises. Perhaps, she surmised, he was a warrior intent on competing in the coliseum. There was no way he would fail to see the two of them, so with her new-found confidence, she offered him a polite greeting. "Hello. Do you live here?"

[Zack]

"Thirty. Thirty-one." Zack continued aloud. He had been doing squats for awhile, but it still wasn't helping him come up with anything on how to go exploring. At least all these squats though, would help keep him in shape! It had felt like it'd been a while since he had really done any training. Maybe if he asked Phil to let him do one of the training courses, he could come up with something....

Though his attention was soon turned over to a very pretty girl who had entered the area. He stopped his squats, they could wait for now. He was gonna go introduce himself, but he was spared having to go over, as the girl approached him. He gave her a big cheerful smile, looks like he still had that old charm of his.

"Hiya! I don't exactly live here, here. But I live in town," he answered her enthusiastically. She didn't look like she was from around here which interested Zack. He held out his hand for her to shake. "My name is Zack. Now what's a pretty girl like you doing over here at the coliseum?" he asked, the smile on his face having grown wider.

[Aerith]

Is This Guy Flirting With Me?

The man certainly was friendly. That smile of his only kept getting wider the longer he looked at her. Lanying was not quite sure if this was a fight or flight situation, but she would be ready to do either should the need arise. She looked down at his extended hand awkwardly. She knew he wanted her to shake it in greeting, but considering that the action was not commonplace in her culture, she hesitated. Seconds that seemed like eternity ticked by, so finally, she took his hand and gave it a shake. "It is nice to meet you, Zack. My name is Lanying."

She almost blushed when he called her a pretty girl. Almost. "Oh, well...I was learning how to fly a Gummi Ship, and Raen was helping me." She made sure to indicate Raen before continuing. "We're just traveling the worlds for right now, I suppose." There was no need to go into detail about the circumstances surrounding their travels, especially not with a complete stranger.

[Nothingness]

I Turn My Back For One Second...

As Lanying went off to check out the world, Raen wanted to make sure nothing was damaged with the ship. It wasn't that she was a bad flier--she wasn't by any means--but the landing was just a tad bit rough. Luckily, the ship seemed to be in perfect condition. Satisfied with that, he opened the gates to the Coliseum. He'd heard plenty of stories about this world, but had never actually seen it.

It was certainly more magnificent than he had pictured. Of course, the first thing that he noticed wasn't the giant statues, torches, architecture, or even the fact that by looking out the windows on the sides you would realize that you were floating in the sky. No, the first thing he noticed Lanying and some black-haired warrior that appeared to be...flirting with her? Approaching the two, Raen gave the warrior a friendly smile. "Hey, there--name's Raen. I'm assuming you're one of the fighters here?" He really wanted to add on to that, "And keep it in your pants," but he figured he may as well get off on the right foot.

[Zack]

Zack noticed it seemed to take awhile for the girl to shake his hand, but he didn't think much of it. She had introduced herself as Lanying, which was quite an interesting name one he had never heard before. "nice to meet you too," he responded and then listened to her answer his question. Apparently she had been learning to fly something called a gummi ship. He crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. He had never heard of that before.

She also mentioned traveling the worlds as in plural. There were other worlds? He guessed it made sense, considering how different Lanying appeared from other people he had met, but he never would have thought there were other worlds. Then before he could question further another person approached this one a guy named Raen. Lanying had said he had been teaching her to fly this gummi ship thing. And Raen asked him if he was one of the fighters.

"Yeah I am," he answered him and then gave a big cheery smile. "I'm training to be a hero!" He then stopped his heroic pose and continued on. "But there are no games today." He stopped, he was much more interested now in learning about this gummi ship and other worlds.

"So...you mentioned something called a gummi ship? What is that exactly?" he asked the two. "And you're traveling to other worlds?"

[Aerith]

A Partner in Naïveté

When Zack confessed his ignorance of what a Gummi Ship was, Lanying immediately felt relief. A couple of weeks ago, she had no idea what a Gummi Ship was, either. Now, she felt considerably less awkward knowing she was not the only one who had limited experience of the things outside her particular corner of the universe.

His self-declaration that he was training to be a hero caught her by surprise. How exactly did one go about training to become a hero? And was there a certain event that indicated when hero status had been achieved? She asked Zack as much. "A hero? How do you know when you have done enough training to become a hero?" When he mentioned the games in conjunction with his hero training, she could only assume that participation in these games was a necessary step in becoming a hero. She added, "And yes, we are traveling the worlds, though it has only been a very short while since I left my homeworld to do so. Raen and I met there while fighting off Heartless."

[Nothingness]

Part-Time Teacher

"Well, he doesn't seem like a bad person. Odd, yes, but not bad." Raen's opinion of Zack did improve, even more so when he heard that Zack was training to become a hero. Raen didn't quite exactly know how one went about training for hero status--he always kind of assumed you just did something great, but this world, like all others, seemed to operate on its own systems.

He was actually pretty disheartened when he heard that there weren't any games happening today since that was something he'd always wanted to try. Oh well, they could always come back later and see if they were going on then. Raen was a little surprised to hear that Zack wasn't aware of what a Gummi Ship was, but that could be solved easily enough. "A Gummi Ship is...well, is a kind of ship...actually it is a ship that people use in order to travel between worlds. And yes, we've traveled to a few worlds. Some were, how shall I say, stranger, than others." He didn't think that either of them wanted to bring up Monstro for a long, long time. Some things were best swept under the rug in a closet that had an elephant in front of it.

[Zack]

Zack gave a big smile to Lanying's question. "If I knew that then I'd be a hero already!" he told her and laughed. She also mentioned something called Heartless, again another unfamiliar term to him. Before he could ask about those though, Raen explained what a gummi ship was. A ship that could travel to other worlds? That sounded awesome!

It also sounded like something he needed to. Phil had said to go out and travel to find out what being a hero meant. If only he had one of those ships. "Wow, a ship that can travel to other worlds? That sounds amazing!" he exclaimed to the two. "I'm supposed to go traveling myself for my training. I don't have a ship that travels to other worlds though. That sounds like a lot of fun,"

He then remembered that Lanying had mentioned something else he wasn't familiar with. He figured he could at least ask about that as well. "So, you mentioned something called heartless?" he asked the two. "What are heartless?" Lanying had said that they were fighting them off, which made Zack think about the Unversed. He hadn't seen any around since he'd been back which made him think they were gone, but it sounded like something else popped up in its place.

[Aerith]

Explanations

She should have expected that sort of reply from Zack. Generally, such nebulous titles as "hero" were not gained by simply checking tasks off a list, passing a test, and being awarded a medal. Though, Zack certainly looked the picture of a hero, so he probably would not have any problems becoming one. As for herself, she had never considered using the title of hero, even if she had been a prominent leader of her people. But perhaps the word "hero" carried different meanings in different places.

He then mentioned that he was trying to travel to other worlds in order to accomplish this hero training of his. She would have immediately offered to have him join them, but she did not want to make an offer with which Raen was not comfortable. So, she kept silent on that point for the time being. In her opinion, it would not hurt to have another person along for the ride. If they ran into any trouble, Zack looked like he could be a valuable ally.

When he asked about Heartless, Lanying raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of the Heartless before? Was this world Heartless-free? "...What are Heartless?" They are despicable creatures of the dark who deserve nothing but destruction. She thought about saying that, but it might come off as a little over-zealous. "Well, as best as I understand them, they are creatures born of the darkness who are driven to steal people's hearts." She shifted her gaze off to the side, her voice suddenly containing a tinge of sadness. "They usually...leave a swath of devastation in their wake." As with my family.

[Nothingness]

And an Offer

Raen added on to Lanying's explanation. "They come in all shapes and sizes. And," he almost didn't want to say this part, "The darkness within a person's heart attracts them. If left unchecked, the darkness within a person's heart can swallow them, and turn them into a heartless, too." He'd seen it happen before. Sometimes a member of the Shield would allow their hate for the Heartless to take over, and over time that mutated into darkness. What with their close proximity to the Heartless as well, it simply made it easier for the darkness to overtake them. It only happened a few times, and he only ever saw it once, but he'd rather not see it again.

Figuring that now would be a better time to make the offer than ever, he looked Zack dead in the eye. "You say you want to be a hero, and in order to do so, you need to travel to other worlds. Well then I'll make you an offer: a seat on our ship. If Lanying has no objections to this, I think having another companion on our journey would make things much nicer." Holding out his hand to Zack, he said with a smile, "So, what do you say? Are you in, or are you out?"

[Zack]

Zack crossed his arms as Lanying and Raen explained what heartless were. Apparently they were creatures that stole people's hearts. It sounded terrible. Both sounded like they had seen what these things were capable of. They hadn't mentioned anything about Unversed, so he figured these were the newest things causing havoc. "I see...." he said afterwords, thinking about what a creature like that would look like.

Obviously this meant that these creatures would have to be stopped. he stopped thinking on this though, once Raen started speaking again and he couldn't believe his ears. He was offering a spot on their ship so he could travel to other worlds. "Are you kidding?! I'd be nuts to say no!" he exclaimed and eagerly took Raen's hand shaking it. Afterwords he jumped up, excited. "Man, I can't wait to see new worlds! I have to repay you somehow..."

He thought on this, about how he could repay them. Then something popped into his mind. He turned over to look at Lanying and held up one finger as he talked. "Hmm....How about one date?" he asked her with a big goofy smile. Granted Raen was the one offering, but he could always think of a way to repay him later.

[Aerith]

Explain Yourself

Zack seemed very excited by Raen's offer and immediately jumped at the chance to join them. Lanying could not help but smile a little. His enthusiasm was refreshing, at least to her. She could not speak for Raen, of course. She did not catch a good enough glimpse of his expression while Zack shook his hand and then began jumping up and down. But if Raen ended up not liking the fact that Zack was now accompanying them, he could not blame it on her.

She was just about to suggest they return to the ship, seeing as there did not appear to be anything of interest going on in this world, when Zack mentioned the subject of repayment. Before she could reply that there was no need for him to think about repaying them, Lanying saw Zack turn from Raen to her, hold up his index finger, and grin broadly. He was offering her...a date? She blinked, confused. What was involved in a date? The concept was foreign to her. No one "dated" on her homeworld. A woman was, usually, arranged to be married to a man. Who you were chosen for was who you got, basically, at least from the woman's standpoint. She had no knowledge of what typically transpired during a date, and she told Zack this. "Um...what, exactly, is a...date?" She was embarrassed for herself, but if she did not know what she was agreeing to, she was not going to agree to it.

[Zack]

Zack waited for a response from Lanying, eager to hear an answer. She seemed confused by the notion and he wasn't entirely sure why. Though soon he found out as she soon asked what exactly was a date. He was surprised that she didn't know what a date was, he wasn't expecting that. The cheerful expression quickly changed to a shocked one.

"You don't know what a date is?" he asked in disbelief. Well it looked like he was about to inform her. He thought about how the best way to put it was and eventually came up with something. "A date is when a man and a woman, go out for like a nice romantic evening. like getting dinner somewhere or something, talk and get to know each other better." he explained to Lanying. Afterwords he nodded his head considering that an acceptable description. He then got that big cheerful smile on his face again. "So what do you say?"

[Aerith]

I Intend to Keep This Promise, Just Not Right Away

Now that Zack had explained it, Lanying had a better idea of what she would be getting into. That did not mean she was going to quickly agree to it, however. Mostly, the term "romantic" threw her off. She rather thought that, with the universe in such a state as it was, there was little time for such frivolity. She was a woman of action, after all. Getting tangled up in romance may be the dream of many other women out there, but it was not for her.

"I doubt we will have an opportunity to go on this date of yours in the near future. But...if you insist upon it, I will agree to your method of repayment at some later point. As strange as it may be..." It was not her intention to sound cold, so she added, "...I appreciate you asking me, though." She quickly turned back toward the doors leading to the Gummi Ship. If there was nothing else for them here, then it was clearly time to leave. "I suppose we should be on our way, then?"