World Refugees Final Mix

"Never met a philosopher before," she grinned, giving him a raised eyebrow. "You guys have very interesting style. No offense meant, I like your goggles." She might be generally gullible, but that was not the most clever introduction she had ever heard. Still, maybe he was being serious. Until she had a plausible reason to doubt him, she would roll with it. "Nice to meet you, Bruce. Your timing is pretty good if you didn't know the party was going on tonight!" The brown-haired young woman took a seat, figuring she might as well get comfortable while they were talking.

"So you've been around a while?" she asked, genuinely curious. "Are you one of the Refugees? I'm, ah..." She looked at the table, oddly embarrassed. "I'm kinda new, I guess. Woke up in Narnia back when that worldshift happened."

If 'Bruce' was one for secrecy, Jenn was an open book. After all, it wasn't like she had anything to hide, as far as she knew.

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"Thanks, had these for on a year now, or maybe several years, or maybe only a few minutes," Bruce took the goggles off, revealing his eyes. The purple eyes with the whites black, "Good times, good times. And my timing is perfect, I always get to where I need to be when I need to be there, even if I don't know I need to be there till after I leave there."

"New? I would never have guessed that," Bruce's tone was sincere...ish. "Narnia huh? Suppose that'd be a fun place to wake up. World shifting is fun, never know what kind of place needs you then and there. Woke up one time on a pirate ship rescuing a fairy and flying around battling pirates. Rather dull day now that I remember it."

Now, those that knew Bruce better would know he only acts the way he does because he does, and for no other reason but to do these things.

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Jenn's eyebrows raised in surprise and interest when she caught the sight of purple eyes. Well! That was unexpected. Maybe they were contacts. (But really, nothing would surprise her at this point.) She smirked at his words, though, and said, "You like being vague, I take it. Convenient talent, the timing thing, sure wish I had it."

Yeah, sure, totally sincere. Jenn smirked again, the way she did when she new someone was messing with her. "I know, hard to believe when I just ooze knowledge and professionalism." A dry laugh escaped her at the 'fun' comment. "Well, when you get past having no idea that Kingdom Hearts is real and waking up with goat legs in the middle of the woods, and then getting shot at with arrows and having to run for your life without going completely hysterical from the confusion - then yes! After that it was quite fun. Suppose it wouldn't have been so bad if not for the whole part where I didn't know Kingdom Hearts was real," she added thoughtfully.

She laughed outright at his nonchalant description of his arrival. "I wonder what you do for excitement, then. I guess I'd prefer Narnia over some of the places people have ended up; after the initial getting-shot-at part, at least I usually didn't have to worry about getting killed."

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"I'm being vague? I thought that was all perfectly clear." Bruce acted like all he just said was the absolute truth. "It's pretty useful to be where you're needed, unless you're needed to be someplace annoying... like Jersey. Then I'd rather not be this gifted and be gifted with being wanted in Hawaii or some other nicer locale."

"You don't seem to be oozing, then again I don't seem to be serious," Bruce finished off his root beer and put the bottle back in his bag... to pull out a bottle of cream soda to replace it, "Oh right, you don't get to be human in Narnia... Keep forgetting how that works. I usually avoid that, I like being sure that I'll have thumbs. Helps to deal with people shooting at me. And how did you not know this was real? I seem to recall all sorts of stuff happening to make this real to everyone. Keeping the worlds open, helping keyboy fight Darkness McMansex, Gummiship travel between worlds. Fries, pretty sure Fries support the whole Kingdom Hearts is real thing."

Bruce seemed genuinely surprised AND interested, in that someone was entirely unaware of what happened. "Oh well, gotta be someone unaware of the cosmic scheme, more fun with the surprises, right?" He shrugged and took off his hat, revealing his hair was as purple as his eyes.

"Oh, my usual busy night involves meeting new people, a friendly chat, and a casual workout," He took a sip from his new drink and smiled.

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Jenn took a sip of her punch, then chuckled. "If you're being perfectly clear, then I'm going to find it really challenging following this conversation." She gave Bruce a curious look. "Boy, your job sure has you traveling a lot, doesn't it! So I guess you go back to Earth a lot? Although...okay, forgot, Hawaii probably exists in half of the Disney worlds, so that doesn't really narrow it down."

While this was definitely the oddest conversation Jenn had had all night, it was also proving to be the most entertaining. She was starting to like this guy.

The interchanging bottles of drinks caught Jenn's eye, and she commented wistfully, "Dang, sure wish they had pop here. I could use a Dr.Pepper right about now." But then her focus returned to the topic at hand. "Yeah, wasn't really expecting to wake up from my nap in the middle of the woods as a faun," she said, shaking her head ruefully. "But at least I DID get to keep my thumbs, and got some pretty decent weapon training, too! The magical internet on my laptop helped me figure out where I was."

This time, when Bruce looked surprised/interested, she had a feeling he actually WAS. Which only really helped her feel more awkward about that particular tender subject. She gave him an embarrassed look before staring down at her cup on the table.

"Uuuuh, yeah. We're, uh, still trying to figure that out, honestly. 'Cause that's what everyone else said, too, and I honestly cannot tell you why I didn't hear about all of this. I mean, you would think from the sound of it that it would be fairly common knowledge, and I know I'm not that obvlivious to world events back home." The mini rant ended with a mild huff of self-disgust, and then a sudden blank look. "French fries support that Kingdom Hearts is real?"

And then PURPLE HAIR holy cow this guy was full of surprises and Jenn couldn't help but bark a laugh. She covered her hand with one mouth, shooting him an embarrassed grin. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting your hair to be that color. Do you dye it or is that natural?" Her first thought was that has to be a dye what a dumb question, but honestly she wasn't sure she could be sure of ANYTHING around here.

Forcing herself to focus on what he had just said (his smile reminded her way too much of her older brother's grin when he was saying something to mess with her), Jenn raised both eyebrows and cocked her head slightly, giving him a considering look. "And that's more exciting than pirates and fairies? Those are either really interesting meetings, or you're leaving out details." The laughing look in her blue-green eyes probably hinted that she thought it was the second option.

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Chase had arrived at the party about twenty minutes earlier, dropping off her hot potato salad onto one of the designated tables before moving to a quiet corner. She was dressed in a black-and-yellow t-shirt proclaiming "Indiana Pwns", tucked into a pair of wide-legged jeans. She had pulled out a book - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - and had gone into her typical habit of people-watching and reading. It wasn't that she was trying to be antisocial, but she wasn't really in the mood to hold a conversation. Maybe later into the evening.

In the middle of a particularly intense battle between the Bennett sisters and a group of unmentionables, she realized that she was thirsty, and headed over to the bar. She noticed that Jenn was already standing over in that area with a person dressed very uniquely. She quietly got herself a screwdriver, a slow smile starting to creep onto her face as she eavesdropped on their conversation. Well, well, well - what a pleasant surprise.

She leaned over, clasping her glass in her hand as she grinned at both Jenn and "Bruce". "Hey there, Jenn," she greeted. "I see you've met our resident philosopher. I just can't believe he didn't send any postcards on his trip across the multiverse." She turned slightly so that Jenn couldn't see her wink at "Bruce". "It was considerably rude of him."

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The not knowing about Kingdom Hearts thing was off putting. There were few things that he could think of to cause it. Best case scenario Jenn lived under a rock. Worst case... not a good thing to think about, messing with memories is a bad magic to use, and messing with the understandings of the interactions of worlds might mean the veil going back up. THAT would not be a good thing to have happen, make work harder to get if he only had one world to access, "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"French Fries TOTALLY help prove Kingdom Hearts is real," Bruce sounded so sure he had to believe it... or he's really good at lying. "And I don't dye my hair. Why would you think I did?" Again, he acted like what he said was beyond logic to not believe.

"The meetings are a little dull sometimes but..." Chase walked up about this point, he paused for her to talk and waited to see if she outed him of his patchwork of deceptions. However, Chase was a sort like himself, and Bruce was thankfully still able to play. "Sorry Annie, one of my meetings went south and I was without Refnet for a while. Hard to rescue a computer from a volcano..." He paused as he thought about what he said, "Casual meeting, mix of mountain climbing and business. Very new age. Since then work just keeps me so tied up sometimes. At least I'm out of the business world, corporate work was such a snorefest. Missing Persons is much more fulfilling a working situation. Makes you feel you've really done something." He grinned, something about what he just said amused him.

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Jenn wasn't sure what was going through Bruce's head about her explanation - she wasn't really good at reading people anyways, and it had become pretty obvious that this guy was good at faking what he was feeling. So she decided to take the easy route, and take his words at face value. The girl shot the guy a small, grateful smile. "Thanks. Hopefully it isn't."

Quite suddenly, several loud peals of laughter came from the teenager, and she slapped her hand against the table, shaking her head. She had a REALLY loud laugh, too, so Bruce might've suffered some ear damage. Jenn looked straight at Bruce then, eyebrow raised and smirk evident. "Okay, I KNOW that french fries do not prove that Kingdom Hearts is real. I can be all kinds of gullible but you are going to have to sell that one SO hard. And at this point, I am totally not beyond believing that your hair isn't dyed, although you must give me the name of your magical hair stylist." She let out a few more (much quieter) laughs, taking pause to eat another one of her cookies.

It was about at that point that Chase arrived, and when Jenn spotted her, she smiled and waved. "Oh, hey Chase!" She gave the other girl a strange look, shooting a glance between her and Bruce. SHE called him a philosopher...so maybe he was? Oy, it was one of THOSE moments. Jenn hated THOSE moments (them being the ones where she was 100% not sure of anything at all). So she chose not to address the issue at this present time.

She did shoot a grin at 'Bruce', though. "Now I KNOW Chase's name isn't Annie, so you're either making a pun or lying outright." She gave Chase an amused look. "I have this deep-seated gut feeling that this is going to be one of those conversations I walk away from and later realize that nothing about it was true at all."

But, of course, being incapable of doing otherwise, she decided to bite. "Do you really work with Missing Person's?" she asked. Her tone was a pretty even mix of suspicion, and genuine hopeful interest. But that was Jenn for you.

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"That's Queen Anne to you - I haven't had my head chopped off yet," she teased "Bruce" with a smile. "So your laptop was a casualty of business, huh? Hope you had some insurance on that thing - or your employer decided to replace it for you. Particularly with a better model - laying on the guilt trip helps, I found out." She took a sip of her screwdriver. "Me, I'm not much of a new age person - too much Enya for my tastes. Maybe we can put her on your Missing Persons list."

She laughed in amusement at Jenn's comment, feeling a bit sorry for the poor girl as half the conversation went over her head. "It might be one of those conversations, but then again, it could be one of those conversations that was scripted by Lewis Carrol. "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?"" She then paused after her quote and murmured, "I can't believe I remembered that."

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"I suppose the French Fries thing was an overstepping..." Bruce sighed, "Unless the best fries in the cosmos aren't on Earth... or were they union rings... You know! They were toast, not a snack... or maybe I was on the right track with the Onions, but it was a Blossom, not rings!" As he pondered through what delicious dish he had off world that proved that he wasn't insane. "Maybe it was a plate of hot wings... Oh yeah and my hair is not dyed, I wake up this pretty, and this also is not my natural hair color." Look, he spoke the unhindered truth for once!

He grinned at Chase's quotation and commentary. It was useful to do a tag team rather than a one on one. Made the games less of a burden on you. It meant he could casually overlook some of Jenn's questions. "Wait, Annie's name isn't Annie!?"

"Well, depends on the person. Looking for escaped criminals, not as fun as reuniting a lost child to a parent," Bruce nodded. "Every job has its good and bad points."

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Jenn didn't really have a clue what Rak was talking about, but being one to comment on everything, she said conversationally, "I prefer french fries to hot wings, but both are better than onion rings, although that's just my opinion because I hate onions. A lot. So how did your hair get that color? "

Listening to Chase's little spiel made Jenn's head spin; she sort of stared blankly for a minute while she worked it out in her head. "Okay, I am duly impressed by your memorization skills," she finally said with a grin. "I am sorely tempted to match that, but I'm not sure the quote I have in mind fits into the conversation." She scooped a glob of pudding off her plate with a finger and ate it, pretending to look thoughtful. "Suppose it wouldn't surprise me if this WAS scripted by Lewis Carrol. I mean hey, I've got a talking mouse gaurdian and friends who are video game characters, why should that be any more surprising?"

She eyed Bruce uncertainly. "...Okaaay. So, what, you're a bounty hunter?"

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"I prefer pancakes myself," Chase added with a small grin, waving her free hand nonchalantly. "And IHOP has these fantastic funnel cakes in the summer, but I always somehow manage to miss them." She then wrinkled her nose at the mention of onion rings - it was the one appetizer that she absolutely detested. "We're not talking about an Awesome Blossom, are we? Let's just stick with the nachos, and leave it at that, m'kay? Besides, we all know that quesidillas prove that Kingdom Hearts is real."

She gave Jenn a little half-smile, a bit embarrassed by the compliment. "I've been known to randomly quote books and television shows. I guess I'm not as bad as some people I know." She then crossed her arms, shaking her head as she held back another laugh. "Well, at least we know it isn't scripted by Nomura. There's a serious lack of pocke-" She stopped, glancing at "Bruce", and revised that, "Zippers. We're lacking zippers."

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"How can both of you hate onions?" Bruce seemed honestly surprised. "And my hair is this color because I want it to be."

"I've hunted bounties before, but mostly it's contract work, not general work," Bruce adjusted the goggles a moment. Smiling as he actually answered with real information, "See, bounty hunters is like a race, I'm taking jobs that are mine alone. I make sure it gets done right, without any problems. More trustworthy and honest than bounty hunting."

"And I do not need more zippers... I could use another belt or four," Bruce nodded, "at least I don't have freaky hair."

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Jenn shrugged. "I dunno, man, I've tried 'em to be sure, but I really just don't like 'em. Same goes for tomatoes, peppers, and peas. And yet I love lima beans and broccoli. Go figure."

"Hmmm..." She didn't know if she liked the sound of that. Hired mercenaries in the movies could be cool...or bad news. Especially if they didn't happen to have qualms about who hired them. She might need to bring her gaurd back up just a little with this guy until she understood him a little better.

Jenn snorted, covering her mouth to try and hide the laugh that had tried to bust out at Chase's comment. She'd managed to hit Jenn's funny bone with that one, and her frame shook slightly with contained laughter. "I dunno," she gasped, eyes clenched shut, "I think some of us are making up for that particular lack around here!"

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"Not a fan of 'em," Chase admitted with a shrug. "You work in the catering business for a few good years, and see how well you like coming home smelling like onions and clam chowder and yogurt every day."

She didn't say anything about "Bruce"'s line of work - if she remembered correctly, he had worked for Xanatos that year Earth had gone boom, and even though Gargoyles had been more of her brother's show, she remembered enough to know that Xanatos had been one of those amoral characters who danced on the line between good and evil. She sort of suspected what that meant about "Bruce", but didn't really worry about it. If worse came to worse, they could throw a Song at him to talk some sense into him.

"Jenn, the answer to most of Bruce's questions is "because Disney magic made it happen" and probably the answer that will give you the least amount of headaches," she commented dryly, glancing over at the snack bar. She gave "Bruce" a quick glance-over, and allowed a half-smirk to come onto her face. "Now, now, Bruce. Zippers are a lot easier to come undone than belts - that could come in handy in...certain situations."

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"Man, you have crazy tastes..." Bruce shook his head, not liking peppers or onions, how horrible for her. Really, he felt sorry for someone so cursed. "Onions and peppers are what make the sun rise."

"I thought we just blamed Yen Sid for everything. I mean a Wizard did it, every time," Bruce smiled, "and while Zippers are easier to remove, belts seem more stylish. Even if you have a valid reason for zippers. Personal experience?" Bruce grinned wider at the question he was certain he wouldn't get an answer to.

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Jenn shuddered in sympathy at Chase's words. "Man, that would stink. This is why I'm bound and determined to never work in the fast-food industry."

"Onions and peppers make the sun rise?" Jenn repeated, giving the purple-haired guy a look of wide-eyed innocence. "And all this time I thought it was the rotation of the earth in space! How could I have missed that?" Completely straight-faced. 'Bruce' wasn't the only one who could act.

The wizards exlanation was an interesting one. Jenn propped her elbows on the table, folded her hands, and rested her chin on them, giving both of her conversation companions interesting looks. "But are ALL people who can do magic wizards, or do they go by other names? There's magicians and spell-casters and ordinary people who tried a spell and goofed it up, I would assume. And they'd probably cause a few problems on their own." She gave Bruce's outfit an appraising look, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "Y'know, honestly, I think you can go either way depending on how you use them. And they mix pretty well, if Sora's outfit is any indication at all."

A wry grin crossed her face. The other two wouldn't be able to know why, since the reason was her remembering the time she had to draw Sora's outfit. Guy had the most ANNOYING shoes to draw in the universe, honestly.

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Chase wagged a finger at Jenn. "No, no. We were never to call it a fast-food place. We were-" she made quotation gestures with her fingers, "a 'casual dining' restaurant." She made a face at the memory, both of the nightmares of working in that place for years, and for that smell that she had never gotten off those shirts and pants, ending up having to throw them away.

She winked at "Bruce". "Now you know a lady never kisses and tells. But lets just say, yes, zippers are more convenient than belts."

A thoughtful look appeared on her face at Jenn's comment about magic-users. "Well, there are magicians, sorcerers, wizards, witches, enchanters, seers, shamans, warlocks...um...probably some other ones in there. I guess it really just depends on what the person wants to be called." She recalled one certain "witch" who despised the title, but she had found humor in calling him one.

She wondered if he still did.

...and those pizza rolls were starting to call her name. She gave the other two an apologetic smile, and nodded her head towards the snack table. "Okay guys, those pizza rolls are starting to look very, very appetizing right now. You-" She jabbed a finger at "Bruce". "Stay out of trouble, okay? And don't go disappearing off into the multiverse again. And you-" This time she grinned at Jenn. "Don't let him tell you too many tall tales."

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"Eh, workin' food isn't that bad... depends on what part you're working in..." Bruce grinned, "You miss a lot if you look at what is in front of you." That... was flat out nonsense that sounds REALLY good. "Since the sun doesn't seem to play much in Gummispace, whose to say it isn't just an illusion?"

As Chase moved for food, Bruce raised an eyebrow, "Hmm... never seen that before at a party here." All this show for Jenn leading to... actually, nothing was going on where Bruce's attention was. Whenever Jenn turns back, the man with purple hair is gone, so is his stuff... except a bottle of Dr. Pepper on the table.

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