A redheaded teen, probably no more than nineteen or twenty years old was standing on a curbside, waiting for the bus to come get him and take him to work. He didn't have the money for a car so he needed to rely on the transportation provided by the city. The bus came, doors whooshing open. He stepped on and the driver greeted him with indifference, holding a gloved hand out for his fare. The redhead obliged, handing his bus pass and shuffled past the other seats towards the back. He hated sitting next to people he didn't know... they always smelled funny to him. He sat in the back, and the lumbering bus started and rumbled to the next stop. It would be about half an hour before he'd make it to work, so he pulled out a music player and popped his headphones into his ears, staring out the window vacantly as guitar strains filled his head.
At the next stop, a few more people climbed on, but he didn't pay much attention to them until one of the newcomers took a seat next to him. His eyes darted to the side and he noticed that the figures were wearing long, hooded coats.
"Oh, looks like this one can see us..." one said, laughing. The other man let out a small chuckle and leaned forward (but not close enough so that he could see his features).
"Can you? Nod if you can-- don't speak, you'll look completely daft." The redhead nodded. "Well, if you're interested, we'll offer you something... get off at the next stop."
The next stop came and he decided that even if this proposition was worthless, he was curious enough to find out why he could see these guys, which apparently weren't seen by anyone else. He followed them to a secluded alley and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. What was he thinking, really? Following some strangers-- strangers that were dressed oddly, to boot!-- into a dark alley. This had 'bad idea' written all over it, and yet... his curiosity had gotten the better of him.
The hooded figures stood against the cool bricks, and one of them took his hood down to reveal an older man with several scars on his face, an eyepatch, and long black hair streaked with grey tied back into a ponytail. The other person groaned and followed suit, revealing thick black dreadlocks (and some impressive mutton chops to accompany them).
"So, kid..." the older-looking man began.
"I'm not a kid." the young redhead retorted, frowning.
"Fiery spirit, huh?" the dreadlocked man said with a devilish smirk. "Got a name?"
"Who wants to know?" he asked, unwilling to oblige until getting something-- anything-- out of them first.
"Oh, I see his game... call me Xigbar and that oaf with the dreads? He's Xaldin." Xaldin rolled his eyes at Xigbar's insult.
"...............Lea." the young man replied quietly. "It's... foreign. Or something." he felt the need to explain the strange name (despite the oddities he'd just been given). Xigbar thought for a moment, and grinned.
"That can be easily changed to something more desireable, I'm sure."
"What... are you talking about? And why do you guys act like it's so weird that I can see you? What are you?" Lea rattled off questions one after the other. Xaldin raised a hand to stop him before he continued.
"I suppose you deserve some answers," he started, "Xiggy and I, we're members of an Organization..."
"Yeah, and our superior sent Xally and I out here to gather more members." Xigbar retaliated to the nickname Xaldin had used with a sneer. Xaldin laughed, deep and throaty. Lea's frown deepened.
"Like some sort of gang or something?" he asked, looking from one to the other.
"As if! We're not low-lifes or anything. Just 'cause we look like it..." he mumbled remembering what some kid must think seeing a scarred man who's obviously missing an eye and Xaldin... was a pretty good visualization of a thug, after all. He looked the younger man over, making mental notes. "You look like you keep yourself in pretty good shape." he commented, eyes tracing over the slight frame of the boy that was covered in a tight t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan of the movie rental store he worked for. A thick, studded belt held up straight-legged blue jeans just barely over his hips, a sliver of skin poking out between the pants and the shirt. Over that shirt, he had a black hoodie with a band name fading from the left side in metallic print. His bright red hair was held loosely and messily in a rubber band, strands of it falling into his face or sticking up in odd angles.
Lea scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah I guess I do. I don't eat much 'cause I can't really afford it, but... I make it a point to do sit-ups and stuff." He felt uncomfortable under the old man's scrutiny, like he was some sort of pervert. He averted his bright green eyes.
"What's that, on your face?" Xaldin asked, indicating the small, black upside-down tear-shaped marks on the boy's face.
"Tattoos..." Lea muttered, "almost lost my job over them. I've got a bunch on my arms and stuff, but I can hide those." He smirked, then he added, "I managed to stay after persuading my boss, though." At that, Xaldin cocked an eyebrow, but let it slide for now. There would be due time to find out his methods of persuasion... and if they'd be useful.
"Well, you've told us a good bit." the larger man said, "and we are looking for members. If you're interested--"
"What would I get out of it?" Lea asked, looking up into Xaldin's violet eyes. Xaldin smiled and cast an unreadable look to Xigbar.
"Three meals a day, a roof over your head, and a purpose in life." Xigbar replied. "If that's what you want to hear, anyway. There's obviously more to it than that, but I figure that's what you're most worried about."
"Not to mention reliable transportation." Xaldin added, "No more buses."
"That's all fine and good, what do I lose in return?"
"You're familiar with the ways of life." Xigbar nodded, "but you can see us so... what you should be asking is, what is it that you're missing the most?"
"Huh?"
"If you can see us," Xaldin began, "you probably have no parents, family, or otherwise. You feel an emptiness inside of you that no amount of sex, drugs, or alcohol can fill--and that's the only thing you really can feel, to be more precise..."
"...all your other emotions are muffled, so to speak," Xigbar attempted to clarify when Lea looked at the dreadlocked man incredulously. "You don't feel as happy as it seems everyone else does, as sad, et cetera."
"If that fits the bill, then you're perfect to join us. We're on a quest, if you will. A quest for what it is, exactly, that we are missing."
"Which is..?" the redhead asked, hands on his hips.
"If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it? That is to say, we can't tell you unless you join." Lea grinned, and shook his head.
"Then I guess you've got yourself a newbie." he said, "I ain't gonna miss anything in this shit hole."
"Alright, then. You'll need go through our initiation, then... but you knew that, hm?"
"Figured."
Xigbar stuck his hand in his pocket and produced a small vial of glowing red liquid. He presented it to Lea, "Drink this. This one should fit your temper nicely." Lea looked skeptically at the vial and took it for further inspection.
"What's this supposed to do?"
"You'll need access to our transportation... and to your new powers." Xigbar said in an uninterested voice, like it should have been obivous. "You know, so no one can see you either, that kind of thing."
"Wait, I get powers?"
Xigbar rolled his eye, slightly exasperated. Xaldin smiled and gave Xigbar a look that made the older man grimace. "We all have a power and a weapon that we can summon. I'll give you more details after you drink that stuff, alright?"
"Fine." Lea agreed, uncapping the vial and downing it in one gulp. It burned a little on the way down, something like the way alcohol does, but not quite. He wasn't sure what to compare it to. Wiping his lips with the back of his hand, he was about to ask if that was 'it' when a tingling sensation overtook his body, starting at his chest--right around where his heart should have been. His lungs seemed to not want to function properly for a moment and in that instant, he almost panicked. He looked at the two older men with fear plainly in his features.
"Don't worry, kid." Xigbar reassured, "It only hurts for a second."
"You probably should've said that before he drank it." Xaldin added, pointedly. Xigbar scowled in his direction. Lea finally got his respiratory system to work properly and he gasped. It was similar to the way it must feel to take your first breaths of fresh air after exiting the womb, he thought. Rebirth?
"What the fuck...?" was the only thing he could think of to ask. Xaldin leaned down to pick up a discarded charcoal briquette from the dingy alley floor and handed it to the redhead.
"Write your name on the wall." he instructed, "Only, this time mix the letters up and add an 'x.' This will be your new name--and you will henceforth be known by it." Lea nodded and scrawled L, E, A on the wall and thought for a moment. He thought about 'Alex' for a moment, but thought it too mundane next to names like 'Xigbar' and 'Xaldin'... he vaguely wondered what other names the members would have. Finally, he rearranged the letters and added an 'x,' spelling his new name.
"Axel...." he said, and he immediately liked how it rolled off his tongue. Xigbar laughed softly, Xaldin nodded thoughtfully. "Commit it to memory." Axel added, smirking.
"Nice catchphrase." Xigbar commented.
"Alright. I drank your weird drink and changed my name. Do I get powers yet, and more importantly, cool black robes?"
"All in due time, kiddo." Xaldin said in an amused tone. Axel frowned at the quip about his apparent youthfulness, but said nothing for the time being. He'd think of a witty retort later. "You drank the red elixir, so you will have the power of fire. We thought it fit your personality rather well."
"And my weapons?"
"They will take the form that best suits you. In other words, we won't know until you learn to summon them. As for transportation, get used to the idea of teleporting--or at least, something like that."
"Whoa, teleporting?"
"Well, technically, using the paths of darkness...Now, for an explanation before you rattle off more questions like a fucking kid."
"Ooh, touchy, much?" Xigbar teased. Xaldin merely glared at him in return. Axel's eyes sparkeled with laughter, but he never uttered a sound.
"Axel, pay attention because I will only say this to you once. When we get back to the World that Never Was, you'll be assigned a number based on who has joined before you or after you. I'm III, Xig's II. There's already six of us, officially, but we're not the only ones out recruiting today. We'll teach you to summon and control your new powers, how to navigate the channels of darkness. After you've mastered it sufficiantly, you'll be given your cloak and your missions. Now, to explain all that gibberish Xigbar was going on about lack of emotions and so on, the reason is this; you, and all of us in the Organization, are a race of beings called 'Nobodies.' Some would go as far as to say we aren't meant to exist-- that we're accidents or experiments, and based on that alone, have reason to destroy us. I'll let you form your own opinions on people like that. What we're looking for is our hearts. Not that beating thing in your chest, we'd obviously... not be alive... but there's a spiritual part of the heart that we lack and thusly, prevents us from really feeling things as we should. Be as skeptical as you want, you know deep inside that it's true."
Axel stayed silent for a while after that. He nodded slowly, "I've read about the afterlife, but I've never really lived more than an hour." To this, both of the older men shrugged.