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Buster sat up in the bed, quickly. His racing mind first didn't process where he was–was he at home again? A cursory glance around the room told him otherwise. No, no, he was not at home. His apartment was likely destroyed.
One of the windows had its curtains drawn; the outside a picturesque hilly landscape, covered by darkness. The stars seemed to light up the room Buster was alone in, and so he sat up, shaking off the blankets and observing the room. A second bed, similar to his own, was pushed up against the other wall. It had its covers disturbed, so whoever was sleeping there was not in the room.
Buster could really only presume it was Sci-Fi, he doubt that the knight would have let him room with a stranger. He stretched, standing up on the floor, feeling the chill on his feet. His arm ached, likely from the recent events that led to its injury. With the starlight illuminating him, Buster rolled up his sleeve to check the damage.
It didn't look severe–dried blood crusted around where he'd been hit, but further inspection showed that nothing pierced him. Just a cut. He rolled his sleeve back down, making a mental note to find a bathroom with a shower somewhere in this place.
He opened the room door carefully, grateful that the door itself was almost quiet. Very few lights were lit in this long hallway. An emergency light, one of those that was always on, dimly lit up the end of the hallway. Buster looked both ways, and exited the room, shutting the door softly and padding down the corridor.
He turned a corner, and saw a familiar face, standing rather ominously in the center of the path. As if he knew Buster was going to be there, somehow. His face was set in a wide grin, and the mask on his face felt ever-blank, somehow.
"Er- hello." Buster greeted awkwardly.
"Hello, dear!" The echoey voice of Stargazer hit him like a truck, Buster looking around wildly. Stargazer wasn't really quiet, but this somehow felt like screaming. The shimmering demon spread his arms out wide, as if he was on a stage.
"Ah, um. Could you talk a little quieter? I don't know if you've noticed but it's like, two in the morning."
"Oh, my apologies." Stargazer gently dropped his arms, walking closer to Buster. They were similar in height, but Stargazer constantly wore heels which made him just a few inches taller.
"Mind if I show you something, darling?"
Stargazer's hand, one made of metal and something unidentifiable, touched Buster's back gently. He tried to squirm out of the touch, not expecting it at first.
"Sure, I guess." Not like he had anything better to do.
"Wonderful!"
Stargazer then proceeded to lead Buster down the long hallway. They took some twists and turns, skirting around lit hallways and creeping quietly past any sound that didn't sound like simple ambience. Buster was grateful that Stargazer was quiet, seemingly focused on getting them to their mystery location, rather than chatting up a storm with Buster as he usually did.
It felt very odd, having a former customer lead him to somewhere in a place he didn't know. Part of him was screaming to turn around, go back to the room and stay until either morning or someone he knew came by. The other part, the curious inch of Buster that he'd repressed, urged him to go along with it.
Stargazer didn't really pose a threat. Only about a month in did Buster learn what his gear was, a telescope-shaped rocket launcher, and he's certain that Stargazer would rather taunt someone than actually harm them. Hopefully. The demon had been a reliable customer for Buster, always getting payment to him on time, sometimes all of it upfront, forcing the bux into Buster's hands before leaving with theatrics.
He didn't have a reason to distrust him, but it was still hard to trust, nonetheless. A lifetime of backstabbers and demons simply trying to claw their way out of the Place alongside him shaped him into who he is now.
They took another turn, and suddenly Buster found himself in a courtyard. Stepping into it made him feel very odd–taking a peek at the walls gave him some weird feeling, as if time had stopped. He stopped walking, staring at the walls. Time outside of this courtyard had stopped–why?
"Darling! Yoohoo!" Buster's head snapped to the sound, a small blush rising to his face as he realized the distance between himself and Stargazer. Sitting alongside Stargazer, glowing white eyes examining Buster, was a demon he'd never seen before.
He drew closer at Stargazer's motion, feet padding softly against the grass. Stargazer and this other demon were sitting very close together, and Stargazer himself seemed to shimmer.
"Beautiful, isn't it, dear?" Stargazer's sharp-toothed smile slightly unnerved Buster, but he nodded anyway, standing awkwardly in front of both of them. "A wonderful place, stopped in time. It will give us enough time to catch up, don't you think?"
Buster cleared his throat, attempting to hide how suddenly nervous he felt. That explained it, but Stargazer himself was still a mystery to Buster. Just what was he? If it wasn't him, was it his companion. Stargazer leaned up, and Buster yelped as he was suddenly yanked down by the arm, flailing his other arm out to try and catch himself. Surprisingly, a strong grip saved him from completely eating shit, and he was sat upright, in between the two of them.
This was fucking weird.
The lilac demon spoke up for once, low voice reminding Buster of Sci-Fi. Though, the sword sheathed at his side made sense. Demons with similar gears were often, well, similar. "You must stop doing that to others. You freak them out."
Stargazer scoffed, face taking upon a comically dramatic hurt expression. "Nonsense! Our dearest here surely doesn't mind, hm?"
Buster coughed. "Please don't pull me down to the ground. Just ask me to sit like a normal demon?"
The other demon huffed a short laugh, and Stargazer pouted, before seemingly remembering something. "Dearest, why don't you introduce yourself? So that our lovely darling here isn't left to guess, yes?"
Buster turned to look at him. He sighed, before quietly introducing himself. His voice was nice, Buster noted. Something you could listen to on a podcast.
"I am Follower Sword. Stargazer is my…companion. We travel together. This is only a temporary stop."
Stargazer clasped his hands together. "We are bonded!"
Upon Buster's confused expression, he elaborated. "..Not like what you are thinking. I am a deity of the stars, and my darling Follower is my vessel."
"What he means is that he and I are bonded. The goal is to un-bind us. Stargazer is unable to.. exist during the day, while we are bonded."
Buster nodded. He was still a little lost, but otherwise followed what they meant.
"Now, darling.." Stargazer's expression seemed very..off to Buster. "What are you here for? Few come to this compound for a reason."
He huffed. "Er, the city kinda blew up. Hard to live in an environment when the air is dust filled and your apartment is likely rubble."
"A shame, dear!" Was this guy low on empathy?
Follower spoke up. "It is nice to meet you, but I must urge you to leave this compound while you can." Buster looked up at him, absently staring at his features. He was eerily similar to Sci-Fi, with feathers, but he had glowing runes etched onto his face. "Few are here for a reason. It is only suspicious that you would come here."
Buster scoffed. "I was only following my companion, myself. I lived in the capital my entire life, I didn't know jack shit about this place."
"Leave, soon. Do not stay here longer than you must."
Buster looked back at Stargazer, who had seemingly zoned out, blank stare and sharp-toothed smile taunting him.
"Okay."
Follower's expression softened. "You should return soon. Time does not stop forever. Stargazer may have abilities beyond a demon's, yet he is rather scatterbrained. It would be unwise to be caught."
Buster nodded, moving to get up. Follower watched his every move like a hawk, and Buster internally smirked at the comparison, even if he wasn't sure what kind of bird Follower was. He walked to the exit, almost missing the quiet goodbye Stargazer called out after him. He didn't hear the quiet chatter afterwards, simply tuning it out.
He tried to walk back to his room in silence, retracing his steps. It was hard to not get lost in thought, as those two left him with a lot of questions. Growing up in the city had one treating the rulers, the Swords, as if they were gods. Celebrations, extravagant no matter where you lived, were a double-edged blade. At least there was free food, but you had to grovel to even get a chance at being able to have it.
Buster was so lost in thought that he only heard the tail end of a conversation behind a shut door. A familiar voice spoke, two, really. When they had arrived late in the evening, Buster had said hardly two words to Exorcist, one of the higher ups of this place, before being shown to his room.
"–he is not your companion, no?"
A small silence. Buster pressed his ear to the door. "...I suppose." Sci-Fi's voice rang out, a half-assed white lie.
"I better not hear of the two of you being all buddy buddy. I need you."
A pause.
"Good. You know what happens if you fuck this up, Sci-Fi."
Buster swiftly walked away from the door, trying to be as silent as possible. He could only assume that that conversation was about him, but it left him with many questions. He thought back to what Follower said.
Just what the fuck could this all mean?