star_kingdom | Action/Audio || წ Lesson One || Traverse Town

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Action/Audio || წ Lesson One || Traverse Town

[ Maybe it's their mind playing tricks on them, maybe it's just a figment of their imagination. Or did they just see someone scamper past in a black trench coat? They just might have. Yet for some reason, someone- while it's hard to distinguish who with their hood up like that, comes briskly darting along not-so-subtly through the streets.

They look like they're just trying too hard, but it's habit and they just... need to feel that comfort zone as they do their best to get away from that moogle who seemed a little too curious about them. And its persistence only made them further push away, further remember what they have to do. A matter that assembles into words as they look down at the device it gave them at the corner of an alley, taking a breather. What did that moogle say about it? They turn it over curiously before that attention becomes mechanical, attention diverting elsewhere. [Accidental Audio] ]

How did I get here? [ The voice is that of a young girl, pausing uncertainly afterwards. Some people might even recognize that voice. It happens to be that of a familiar red head... ] ...I have to get back to the-

Hi there! Are you new here, kupo?

[ There's a surprised yelp followed by crackling as the communicator hits the ground. ]

( ooc: Meet Xion. She's a little bit on the skittish side at the moment due to just having woken up after, uh, fighting with one of her best friends. And now she's on the look-see about finishing what she was out to do, but then moogles happened. Feel free to catch her either while she's running around or respond to her whoops!audio or whatever floats your boat. )

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[He would know what was going on if she'd just tell him but she's still in flight mode apparently. He's not letting her get away at this point.]

[But Ven stumbles out after her in his most graceless exit from a portal in awhile. Not as bad as his first few, since at least he kept his feet this time, but there was general stumbling and not looking so smooth. And as he straightens up, he catches a glimpse of the gates in front of them.]

What is- ...Wait a minute, I think I've been here before.

[The expression on his face is pretty odd, as if he's trying to remember something and not quite getting it. Which is a pretty accurate way to describe every time he tries to get at a Sora-memory; they're just too far out of his reach.]

[ But, see, Ven. That would make too much sense.

All the same, she's at least stopped by then. Even if she's panicking on the inside, unsure of what to do. Only at his footsteps does she look back. Then she's pressing herself to move- only to pause at his comment. That finally gets her to shoot a glance straight at his face or assumingly so anyway. Hard to see with her hood still up. ]

...You have? [ If he was looking for a way to stall her, he got one right there and then. ]

[He wasn't, but he'll take it. He doesn't see the look straight at him because he's still focused on the gates, and he absently dusts himself off as he approaches them and the giant lock and chains on the front.]

Yeah... I... think so. It's out of reach mostly, but Sora came through here looking for the way to the home of the Organization. He found it in the basement, with all of DiZ's stuff.

[There's something else, though - something that's not quite lining up properly...]

Sora... Sora did? [ But how is that possible? She wants to ask. And... why would there even be a way to The World That Never Was through the mansion of all places? It all sounds so farfetched and it shows in the frown she finds herself wearing again. ]

But... that's not possible. Sora shouldn't even be awake. [ Naminé and Riku had even told her. So long as she exists, he can't wake up. ]

[And that bit gets Ven's attention, because he at least knows what that's supposed to mean.]

Ohhhh, I get it now. You really are from the past - from when Sora was still asleep in here. [It's a time for him when the memories are more jumbled than any other, but he knows what that means.] He's not anymore - Roxas merged back with him. He needed that part of himself to wake up. It's over.

[Still, he gets the feeling she's not going to believe him without seeing for herself, so he holds out his hand to the side and summons his own Keyblade, flipping it around so he's not holding it in his usual backhand style.]

Come on, I'll show you. But keep your eyes open, I think Heartless and Nobodies are more common on this world than some of them.

[ Color her dumbstruck all over again. Because that? Was something she least expected to hear coming from his mouth. Perhaps she shouldn't be so shocked. After all, he had mentioned earlier how the Organization had been defeated, by Sora and Riku no less, among other things. But it's still something sinking in, something she's feverishly even in denial of.

But this is something much more close to home, a matter that not long ago, she had found her resolve to face. Known that soon enough, Roxas would have to find his resolve, too. In hopefully less troubling circumstances. And yet here this boy who looked so much like him was saying that he'd already gone and done that, that Sora was awake. But she... was still...

From the past, he said...? But how-

But all those questions come to a halt in her mind when she sees him suddenly flourish a keyblade. It's unexpected even if part of her feels like she should expect it. Especially when he shares the same face as her friend. All the same, the warning isn't lost to her of Heartless and Nobodies. ] -Right. [ Her tone comes off distant, but soon enough, her own keyblade is materializing in her hands. She looks to him and gives a short nod. Something tells her swimming in her confusion isn't going to get her anywhere. For now, she'll have to trust him on this one. And deal with him accordingly if things go wrong. ]

Edited 2012-07-11 05:06 (UTC)

[And it's Ven's turn to be shocked again as Xion pulls out her own Keyblade. Roxas he gets, Roxas got his through Sora because Ven passed on his ability, but... another Organization member? With a Keyblade?]

Who... Who are you?

[ The surprise from Ven isn't something she quite expects. But then again, the keyblade was something special. Something that not many people could wield. And in her case, something that was a gift as well as a curse. All the same, her thoughts begin to swim when he asks that question. It even... hurts. Just a little. And she has to remind herself again that this is Ven and not Roxas.

She bites her lip. He's given her answers. Whether or not they're true is questionable. But still, it's something she's not lost to. It doesn't change the way she hesitates, but in the end, what difference does it make if he knows her name or not? It won't matter after this anyway, will it? If what she believes is true and Sora's there. ]

Xion. [ And that's all he'll get out of her for now as she raises her keyblade to point it at the lock on the gate. There's a short stream of light the emits from it soon after and with it? They can both her a distinct click as the lock gives. ]

[Yeah, he was pretty sure he knew all the Keyblade wielders that existed. And now that he has her name, he starts playing word-jumble with the letters to try and fit her into the Organization's pattern. He doesn't react with shock to the idea that she can use the Keyblade - if she can hold it, she can use it.]

So... what was your first name, then? Ion? Oni? Nio?

[That's when the first Dusk shows up. Ven jumps off the ground, twisting in midair to land behind it and give it a vicious backhand slash. Dusks are just annoying, okay? And they think he's munchable.]

[ Well, Ven. GUESSED WRONG. ~~Although in some ways you're kinda right.~~ All the same, his name game is... confusing. Why is he suddenly coming up with this weird idea that she has a different name?

She's about to say something when she catches that dusk out of the corner of her eye. He reacts before she has a chance to, herself. But whacking one down seems to have just drawn unwanted attention more than anything. Because shortly after, three more are wiggling their way through the air towards them. She picks her mark and goes, unhesitating, to take out the first one that comes at her, her delayed response finally surfacing. ] Just Xion-!

[Because he knows the pattern. Sora-Roxas, Braig-Xigbar (damn him), Myde-Demyx. But he knows Roxas had memory problems with remembering Sora and any connection to him, so maybe this is the same. Well, puzzling later, kicking ass now.]

Got it! [And he pivots on one foot to throw his Keyblade in a Strike Raid; it whacks through another Dusk once on the way out and once on the way back, and he's running at the next the moment it returns to his hand to fire off a Thundaga spell followed by a kick to its... face? Pseudo-face. Thing.]

[ Well, she's still a little clueless on that aspect of things. You'll have to forgive her. She's been kinda busy with other matters. But yeah, ass-kicking sounds good.

Especially quick teamwork ass-kicking. Which more or less ends up a one man show. By the time she's taken out the dusk with a fira spell, she's turning around in time to see him kick the last dusk in the not!face. It seems to take the hint quickly that it's far outmatched and slithers off from whence it came, leaving just the two of them again. Well, that was slightly anti-climatic. But then with his apparent experience, it shouldn't really be surprising. Still, she keeps her keyblade out and at the ready as her attention once again fits itself to the gate.

Without another word, she goes over to it, pushing it open. The hinges grown but give under the force she exerts. Then she's looking back to Ven, gesturing for him to follow. ]

[He's just had more time to get used to it all - and a proper teacher. She'll catch up quick enough.]

[And somehow it doesn't feel right to speak right now, so Ven just nods and follows after her. The front door is treated to another Keyblade unlocking, this time from his, and while his blade looks different at least it's the same technique, which should reassure her. Hopefully. Then he's pushing it open and stepping inside... and frowning just a little. Those memories are dancing at the edge of his awareness again.]

This is the place.

[ Yeah, about that. Not quite something she's about to believe she'll have the time for, you know. Since she should be kinda not there and all. Unless what he's said is really true.

She lets him unlock the door, watching cautiously. It's strange but then it isn't to see him with a keyblade. Strange because he's a boy named Ven and it's a keyblade she's never seen before yet not because, again, he looks so much like him. Perhaps in the end, that's the only thing that's keeping her as calm as she remains. Because it's not just in appearance or voice either. It's the way he carries himself, the reassurance...

Xion walks off the rest of those thoughts though because at the moment, there's other matters she has to figure out. And inside the mansion, she hopes to settle them. One way or another. The foyer is as open, dark, and quiet as she remembers it when she first stepped in. Although as she steps further in, she can't dismiss the way dust kicks up under her heels. It's not an incredible amount, but it's noticeable. She frowns at it, but it doesn't stop her from crossing the room. She ignores the first floor entirely, instead making for the stairs. She takes to them warily, glancing over her shoulder here and there. But eventually, there are no more steps and she's on the landing only a couple feet off from her destination. And it's there that she pauses. ]

[He knows why that is and he'll explain it all - after he's proved to her that no, Sora's not asleep in the basement, that he got out and the Organization ended, that everything was okay. Before it went to hell again, but that's beside the point.]

[But unlike her going straight for the stairs, Ven pauses in the foyer, looking around as if searching for something, looking slightly more troubled the longer he waits.]

Something happened here... something bad.

[He doesn't say that loudly, though, and with the way she's moving straight ahead Xion might not catch that. He wrenches his attention away from the dusty floor to follow her - whatever that feeling is, he can deal with it later, on his own time. Right now he's got a skittish Nobody to take care of, and he follows her up the stairs, stopping next to her at the door to the library.]

Ready?

[ She doesn't seem to even notice how Ven seems sidetracked by things. In fact, she doesn't seem to even remember he's there until those footsteps catch up to her. That causes her to look to her side just in time to see Ven standing there side by side with her now. She has to look up a little, she realizes, which feels weird. But it's something brushed off shortly after. Unlike her, he's looking at a different door. And she can only guess that that's the way to Sora.

At his question, she nods though the motion comes weaker than before. Is she really ready for this? She... probably won't ever be. But even if she isn't... she has to do this. And so with that in mind, she takes the initiative again and opens the door.

-And hello there, more nobodies. An assassin nobody for that matter! It darts out almost immediately, Xion only barely managing to block its attack. She skids back with her keyblade held taunt in front of her, frowning over it before freeing one hand from the grip and sending a fire spell its way. While the spell hits, this nobody continues its attack, now aiming for Ven himself. ] Look out!

Edited 2012-07-12 06:01 (UTC)

[Yeah, they kind of infest the place. That he remembers clear enough thanks to Sora.]

Got it! [He springs into a dodge roll - and no you're not imagining it Xion, that is the exact same move Sora and Roxas pull. But it gets him out of the way and he swings around the Nobody to launch a Thundaga at this one. There's a couple of Dusks swinging in from the edges, too, but the Assassin is the more direct threat. Especially since it takes that opportunity to sink into the floor in that way he hates.]

Hey, get out of there so we can finish this!

[ She shouldn't have been as surprised as she was. Lesser nobodies had been sent out here and there for more menial tasks that anyone of rank just didn't bother with ~~whatever those tasks even were~~. But what were they even doing in the mansion? The Organization hadn't... They hadn't found him, had they?

And quietly, she begins to hope maybe. Maybe Ven's right. Because otherwise, what of Sora? It's a passing thought right then though. She has to focus, even if her thoughts seem to only garner again seconds later. It's like one crashing wave of what if's after another, but she has to pull herself together and focus. Lesser nobodies they might be, but they're formidable if she gives them a chance.

With Ven's attention on the assassin, Xion's quick to back him up. That dusk that was about to swing around behind him? Is getting cut off with a crack of her keyblade. And she continues after it, making for a few quick, choppy hits before it finally manages to scoot and arch around the keyblade and slither through the air to regroup with the other one. Xion looks to them as she recovers, charging again shortly thereafter. ]

[Ven jumps to the side again as the Assassin's leg-blades shoot up from the floor, trying to slice him to pieces. But he waits carefully, and when the Nobody pops up from the ground again wrapped in its little ball, he's ready with a Fire Dash, setting his Keyblade ablaze and just charging straight through the thing. The Assassin is knocked completely off course and its guard is down, and one more slash makes the thing disappear. Ven doesn't let his Keyblade go, though, in case she needs help, but Xion seems to have the Dusks under control.]

There's probably going to be one more group in the corridor before the pods. We've been trying to take all the lesser Nobodies out along with the Heartless, but I don't think anyone's done a patrol around here in awhile. That's going to have to change with this many around.

[He's already making plans for that.]

[ While Ven makes quick work of the assassin nobody, Xion shows no mercy towards the pair of dusks. It doesn't take much for her to finish off the first one she raised her keyblade against. The second, however, proves to be more clever, ducking, weaving, and dodging out of the way of her attacks. And while Xion's attention is drawn with it at the forefront at first, she can't help but be distracted for a second when she sees Ven pulling that move out of the corner of her eye. She's never seen something like that before.

The pause gives the dusk an opening and it takes it with a vengeance. While Xion dodges at the last second, this time, it manages to clip her and a shout leaves her lips. She's quick to throw the rest of her momentum in and carry through, spinning and letting loose a blizzard spell at near point blank. And then there were none.

She lowers her keyblade. Then she touches her shoulder and murmurs a cure spell. The black plumes leaking from her wound cease shortly thereafter. Then her eyes are back on Ven. She takes a step forward before hesitating. ] Patrol...? You mean like recon?

[He sees that black smoke leaking from there, even though it's not a lot, and to be honest it makes him a little uneasy. The human Nobodies he's met so far have been all right, even his friends, but he's still got all of Sora's memories in blurred form, maybe even something of Roxas as well. He can remember Braig as a Nobody even with the haze, and he knows there's a damn good reason Sora had to fight them.]

[But Xion hasn't done anything to hurt anyone yet - he's been scaring her more than anything, even if he didn't intend to. So he tries his best to pretend he didn't see that and looks back at the library door, putting his hand on the handle and pushing.] Yeah, I guess you could call it that - Mickey's basically assigned people who volunteer to fight to guard one of the worlds and hunt down the Heartless so they don't hurt more people. But with most weapons, the Heartless keep coming back even after you destroy them.

[And in he goes. Hello Xion, have a yawning pit with a stairwell leading down to a secret room - and a definite frown on Ven's face, though still confused.] What's going...

Edited 2012-07-13 05:14 (UTC)

[ It's probably a good thing he decides to play pretend. There's already so much on her mind as it is. Further compilation would just be counterproductive at this point. At least if it can be helped to be avoided. Then, there are things that can't be. Like every answer to her ceaseless questions. But she'd rather understand than be left in the dark. For too long did the Organization attempt to shroud her in that.

The name, Mickey. Something about it feels important not only in the way Ven makes mention of whoever that is but this familiar vibe she gets at the same time. It's there and gone just as quick though. She can't match a face to that name and so she backburners it. But she's sure to make mental note of his importance. She might have had a comment to go with matters, but it falls away when Ven's expression shifts as they enter the library. A library that seems to be more like it was a decoy at some point than anything if the stairwell to the off-colored lower floor is any indication. But her tabs are on Ven now and she's frowning, too. ]

What is it?

I don't know... Something just... doesn't feel right. [Indeed, he's looking around the room as if searching for something, but aside from books on the walls there's just not a lot to see. Most of the floor and whatever furniture was there is now gone, leaving the extensively upgraded electronic basement open to full view. Ven kneels to peer at something on one of the shelves, then shakes his head and stands again when he can't figure it out.]

I'll worry about it later - come on, this way.

[Stairs, what's that? Ven's just jumping off the edge of the floor and landing on the next story perfectly fine, looking around once more but this time for the next door.]

[ Even as Ven seems to finally shrug it off, the fact that he takes the time to stop and actively search around the shelves is curious. But there are other matters on hand now, matters that take her attention away full swing not even seconds after he pushes things away. There's answers she's seeking there- or a way back to Sora. Either way, it's time to focus on that.

And so she doesn't give a second thought to hopping down behind him. She rolls at the last moment to break her fall more fluently before she's hopping on her feet again. She keeps sneaking glances Ven's way as they make their way into the next room. Surprisingly, it's vacant of any nobodies. What does catch her attention, however, is the computer on the far end. It's similar to the one used by the Organization when she thinks about it... but it's not what she's there for, so she's soon looking for the next doorway. She finds it soon enough and slips through.

The next room leads to a hall. It's wider... and seems vacant at least. Seems being the keywords. As soon as she happens upon the center of the room, more dusks squirm from out of hiding, surrounding them. She looks around quickly, gauging the situation as she raises her keyblade. A thunder spell crackles, hailing several bolts down towards the dusks she's facing on her end. Why are there so many of them in the mansion? What purpose do they have there? ]

[Their purpose is to be really, really annoying. Ven's pretty sure this is going to be the last set, but you could never tell in most worlds until the enemies just stopped coming.]

[This time, he sighs and raises his Keyblade, pointing it ahead of him and shooting off a Mega Flare straight into the group of minor Nobodies. The explosion is pretty magnificent, even if it can't compare to one of Axel's full-tilt displays, but there's no doubt it's effective at making a scene. It echoes around the room and there's a few minor explosions in the partial seconds after the initial blast, and when the flames clear there's only two Dusks left, clearly on their last legs.]

Definitely talking to Mickey when we're out of here.

GIVE IIIIIIIIIIIN

NOPE GO FISH

AWW BOO

OKAY FINE

YAAAAAAY

BUT NO FLUFFY UNICORNS

THAT'S OKAY I don't think they exist even here

WHAT SERIOUSLY SO SAD

SORRY BUT IT'S TRUE

WHAT ABOUT RAINBOW BUTTERFLIES

MAYBE A SONG ABOUT RAINBOWS (AND WHAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE)

WHILE READING?

SURE WHY NOT

THAT WOULD BE THE BEST STORY-SONG EVER

I JUST WANT THE MUPPETS TO SING IT

MAYBE THEY WILL IF YOU ASK THEM NICELY

PLEEEEAAASE KERMIT

AND THEN SUDDENLY Someone apped him into the game and there was a singalong song event

ngl that would be pretty awesome

I'm pretty sure my head would implode.

Poof!

And then there was none- of them brain cells. The end.

Extra poof!

Now I'm thinking of kittens.

zomg ALL THE FUZZIES