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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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[Ven can easily see that the pod isn't occupied when it's open, and he closes his eyes briefly - she's not going to take this well, he can tell. She's so insistent on getting to Sora, it's obvious she doesn't believe him - maybe even now she won't believe him. But he'll stick around until he's convinced her, even though he's not entirely sure how he's going to do that.]

He and Donald and Goofy were all sleeping here for about a year. When Roxas rejoined with him, they woke up, and then they all went after the Organization. If he hadn't woken up...

[He shrugs a little.] I probably wouldn't have, either.

[ There's so many words flying through her head right then. So many that are trying to fight to the surface. Sora's not there. Sora's not there. But that doesn't change anything, she argues with herself. He could be somewhere else. Naminé and that man in those strange robes could have moved him. Probably with Riku's help. There were nobodies in the mansion. Maybe the Organization finally found them.

And quickly, the theory's forming and just as quickly is she turning to look at Ven. She's opening her mouth to speak these reasons.

But then her words fall away as he beats her to the punch. His explanation that comes with the break in silence... Almost a year. Roxas rejoined him. All things anyone could easily tell her, lie to her about.

No, what really makes her stall is the last of his words and that gets her lips moving without a sound at first while she struggles again to collect her voice. ] What- What do you-?

[ She cuts herself off as something seems to click. Him... Roxas... ] Are you a part of him... too? [ But- he had said... woken up, so...]

Edited 2012-07-17 03:11 (UTC)

[And Ven raises a hand to rub at the back of his head, and the gesture is so very Sora that it'll probably startle her again. He doesn't get it really, he's been doing this for years, but a lot of his mannerisms transferred to his host when Sora accepted his heart into his.]

Not a part of him, just... we're joined. Me and him. And I guess me and Roxas, too, it's probably why we look the same. Come on, I'll tell you everything somewhere else. [He glances around the large, empty room, and he's just a bit unsettled.] Something's wrong with this place - it's not a good place to have a long talk.

[ ...Yeah, that's- definitely something that makes her mentally backstep. Though it's more because it makes him look all the more like Roxas than Sora, really. Still, that... explanation just makes more questions bubble up in her head. She's about to address one, but relents as she catches onto his discomfort.

While she still doesn't quite trust him... it's not completely off the mark, the potential that he has connections to Sora. It would certainly explain why he looks so much like Roxas. So, perhaps a little reluctantly, Xion nods. ] ...Okay. [ But if it's all a ruse, she'll be ready.

...Somehow, she's starting to think he wouldn't do that. But association's a pain like that. ]

Edited 2012-07-17 03:47 (UTC)

[No ruse, he promises. Ven raises his Keyblade and points it in front of him, and a beam of light shoots from the tip to a spot about ten feet away. It traces a keyhole in the air, and then the entire thing erupts in white light, opening what is also probably going to startle her as the diametric opposite to the doors to the Corridors of Darkness. An oval of Light is shining there, waving a bit as pieces radiate from the sides briefly and merge back with the main body. The Keyblade lowers as Ven nods to her.]

Go ahead - I need to go last or it might collapse on you.

[ When she sees him lift his keyblade, she finds herself scrutinizing him. Just what's he up to? There's no keyhole around there, so why is he even doing that? The answer comes shortly afterward. As the door of light yawns open, she puts two and two together fast that this is what she must have seen coming to be when she was back in the other town. It's weird... and intimidating.

But in the end, it seems just like a dark corridor. Just shiny and full of light. ~~Let's hope it doesn't eat her~~. She takes an uneasy stride forward, stops. Then, after sucking in a breath and slowly exhaling, she gathers the rest of her courage and heads on through. Don't mind how her keyblade's still out and ready. Just a precaution~ ]

[Considering where he set the thing up to take them, he's not going to take offense. Radiant Garden is a lot better than it was when Sora went there the first time, but that world was Maleficent's - and Heartless-Ansem's - hub for a decade. Heartless and even Nobodies are to be expected there, although it's much less than it used to be. Ven also keeps out his Keyblade as he steps through, the door closing behind him.]

[He'd planted the exit in the bailey section of Radiant Garden because people were less likely to be there than in the borough or the shopping districts. It still disoriented him to see the fountain courtyard devoid of water and covered in pavement, which was another reason not to show there. But the fewer people who could theoretically stumble into the portal, the better. Especially since it does close after Ven walks out of it; those things really don't last that long.]

Welcome to Radiant Garden. It's doing a lot better... uhh, mostly. We've got to get rid of Maleficent again.

[Indeed, not too far away a barrier can be seen. It's encasing the entire castle and sort of shimmering a little. Not passable by any means they've yet tried, Ven isn't even going to try to get close to it.]

[ The world they step into is yet another she's unfamiliar with- and yet there's an inkling that she has been there. Nothing lines up though when she looks around though, so she dismisses it shortly after. She can't help but notice the similarity of the sky to Twilight Town's. If she didn't know better, she might have thought this place was just another part of that world.. but she's certain it isn't. She knows Twilight Town like the back of her hand.

And that world doesn't have a giant castle off in the distance, shrouded in a bubble of energy. She finds herself walking over until she's leaning out over the wall, holding a hand up to shield her eyes somewhat. She squints to see more, but it's too far away to see much else and she gives up soon after. That doesn't stop the questions though, for sure. ] Maleficent? Who's that? [ And there's a lot more to come. ]

I think I'd better start at the beginning. There's, uh... there's a lot that Sora, Riku, and Kairi didn't know when this all started. And there was a lot that Roxas didn't know either 'cause Sora didn't know it, and he didn't have any of Sora's memories.

[Ven's just going to take a seat in one of the niches on the wall, now. You should probably do the same, Xion - this is going to be very, very long.]

[...After his first question.]

Umm... do you mind putting your hood down? It's kind of weird to not be able to see your face properly.

[ The fact that there were things that not even the Destiny trio knew doesn't come as a surprise to her. But it doesn't change the fact that there's something bigger than her own little world and that's... even if it's believable, there's this pending sense of something overwhelming.

But just as she starts to attempt to settle in herself, she is once again frozen. ~~Jeez, Xion, how many times are you gonna do this?~~

Her hood... Well. Arguing against it would raise suspicion. But lowering it... she wonders who he might really see. Will he see her? Or him? She reaches up and clasps the lip of it lightly between her fingers, debating but not going one way or the other quite yet. ]

[And he smiles at her hesitation, trying to make it reassuring.]

It's okay - Myde, uh, Demyx stayed with me for awhile when he was here. I know Nobodies aren't what a lot of people think they are.

[ That smile is so goddamn unfair, okay? Okay. It cuts right through her defenses and.. honestly hurts to see. But at the same time, it is how it is and- wait, what? ]

Demyx was here? [ Demyx stayed with him, for that matter? ~~What's with that weird name, too?~~ ] But I thought you said- [ Oh... ] That's right. [ The... time thing. Which would be the only thing to explain why she's even there if Sora's really awake.

But that still doesn't really cover her, does it? She's... not even a nobody. One step below. ] ...So. What do you think they are? Nobodies. [ And notice how she doesn't say 'we'. ]

Edited 2012-07-17 05:59 (UTC)

[Let's leave the Demyx stuff until later. The second question is more important right now. And he notices that "we" omission, but he chooses not to say anything about it for the moment.]

Nobodies are what happens when a person with a powerful heart loses their heart, except for people with hearts with no Darkness in them. [THAT he knows from personal experience.] Sometimes if the person's will is strong enough, their body will get back up and keep moving on its own. The most powerful and strong-willed people make human-shaped Nobodies and not the ones we fought in the mansion. They will remember everything about their past lives as well if the heart is away from the body long enough, which is why Roxas didn't remember being Sora - Kairi brought Sora back almost right away. Xemnas went around collecting all the human-shaped Nobodies he could to form Organization XIII, a group dedicated to getting back their hearts by gaining the power of Kingdom Hearts. Or maybe making a new one, I'm not too sure on that part. Riku and Sora defeated all of them except Roxas, who merged back with Sora when he woke up.

[ It's funny. Listening to him explain things as he does. Some of it she's well aware of. Like how Xemnas had gathered them to collect hearts, how it was to create Kingdom Hearts. And even the birth of nobodies themselves. Helps when you go snooping around in restricted areas. Still, it feels weird hearing it from Ven. And.. there's some things he touches on that she doesn't even know. She knew that Roxas had a connection with Sora- but directly calling him his nobody feels weird. And now he's not even.. here. He went back. To Sora. She should be happy, but the thought just makes something in her churn.

And then there's that talk- of the Organization. How everyone was defea- ]

Axel. What about Axel? He- wasn't really...

[Ven knows enough about Axel's friendship with Roxas to know why Axel did what he did. He also hopes - maybe just a little - that Axel remembered meeting Ven when he was a regular kid and not a Nobody, and that helped him become friends with Roxas. Because Ven has definitely made the connection that Axel was Lea. But he's not here - has never been here, as far as Ven knows, so it seems like whatever's going on is giving him a break. And Axel's obviously important to this girl, so maybe Roxas was too... Which could be why she's so wary of him. Arg, this is giving him a headache. That's not supposed to be possible.]

...Lea... Axel's... he's gone, too. After Roxas joined with Sora, he tried to help Sora so he could help Roxas, and he left the Organization just like Roxas did. He met up with Sora, Donald, and Goofy when they were trying to get to the World That Never Was to confront Xemnas, but Xemnas and Xigbar and Saix had left a whole bunch of Nobodies guarding all the entrances and they just kept getting attacked every step of the way. There were so many that even Sora wasn't able to cut through them all, and that's when Axel found them and joined in on Sora's side. He performed an attack that he put his all into, and it ended up using whatever life force he had in him. He used the last of his energy to open a portal for them to get to that world, and then he faded away.

[ She's still at first. Without words, without expression- at least for as far as he can see. But then her mouth moves, forming syllables on quiet unsteady breath. ]

...He can't be. There's no way! Axel wouldn't- he-! [ But a little voice in the back of her head cuts her off. Because that little voice knows how much Roxas had mattered to him. Known how conflicted he had been as he'd grown close to her, too. Stuck in the middle. Wanting to be there for her but being so wary of the Organization. There had been a constant divide, one that allotted her escape only to corral her back in later. Maybe it had only been after losing them, maybe that had been the time he had thrown everything to the wind, had done as he wished instead of what he'd been ordered. It wasn't a stretch to believe. And Roxas had his connections to Sora. They both did. But for Axel to do that...

She shakes her head slowly and her eyes are burning. Something's pressing in on her chest, too. She doesn't know what, but it hurts and the strain won't stop. ]

He can't be...

[Ven's not entirely sure what's going on now, but he can guess that Axel was more important to her than even Lea was to him. She sounds almost like... she's about to cry. That isn't what he wants, not at all - and that's very much NOT a Nobody reaction, that he acts on instinct and moves over to give her a hug.]

I'm sorry... I know this isn't easy to hear.

[ Important is an understatement. Axel was- is. And always will be... one of her best friends. And with the last note she left him with so fresh in her head... the guilt only further strangles her by each passing second.

It's a moment only alleviated by pure shock when she feels Ven's arms wrap around her. Her friends have taken jabs at her, they've ruffled her hair, and they've put their hands on her shoulders. But a full embrace is something startlingly new to her, never mind one done by someone she doesn't know even if it feels like she should every time she looks at him.

All she can do is freeze there. She doesn't move away, but... she doesn't move at all for that matter. Her body tenses though and then there's a shiver than ebbs through it as she feels wetness slipping down her cheeks. ] Axel...

[Truth to tell this isn't something he does all that much either - with family when something really important has happened, that's pretty much it. He's not entirely sure why he did it himself, except she just sounded so lonely and so sad. He remembers when Aqua disappeared, before Terra showed up, and even with Sora and Riku and Kairi around he'd felt all alone... But it's even worse for her, because apparently something had gone on with Sora that probably Sora himself wasn't aware of, something important having to do with her, and now all of a sudden everything else ever is going on for her and he knows she'd prefer Roxas right now but he's what she's got. At least he's someone - he can be there for her.]

Maybe... he might show up. [This is going to be difficult to explain, and he's not letting go of her yet, but it might give her some hope.] Like what happened with you - sometimes people come from in the past and not just the present. That's what happened with Demyx, so it could happen to Axel too, maybe. There's just no way to know for real.

How...? I mean... how is this even possible? I'm not supposed to- [ She hiccups suddenly and then attempts to draw a hand to touch her lips. She fails, but she's quiet for a moment all the same from the strange sensation. Soon enough, she shakes her head and one of her hands reach to hold onto one of his forearms with a feather touch. There but barely. She ducks her head now though and her tone comes off just a little firmer. ]

It's... not right. He should be here instead. And Roxas, too. [ If anyone deserved second chances, it's those two. Not her. Not her. ]

[More and more Ven's becoming convinced that Xion isn't a normal Nobody. Nobodies - except for Roxas - didn't have emotions, they had memories of emotions. He remembers Sora saying something about Axel growing more human by being around Roxas, too, but somehow this doesn't feel like that. Okay yeah he doesn't really know what it's like to grow more human and everything but still, this feels real. Xion seems slightly confused by it all, but everything that's happened since she's shown up has thrown her for a loop. Ven can't blame her for breaking down a little now.]

Nothing's... right or wrong. It just is, and we have to do the best with it that we can. You're here now - maybe you being here will help them show up again. I don't know, but you can always hope - hope means a lot more than people think it does. It's one of the best things in the world.

[ Hope... But hope, it hadn't done anything for her. The hope she had held trying to find a way between had struggled and stumbled only to fall away in the end. Nothing truly could have changed her fate. Just like Roxas' own. They had both been burdened, nothing more than fragments of a whole meant to return. Her own indecision had stalled things, but it hadn't changed them. As much as she wished she could have done something, everything... everything had just...

She shakes her head, her hand retreating from his arm. ]

Or maybe they never will. [ She bites her lip. Saying that aloud feels like a curse in itself. Like by just letting those words go, she's already sealed away that possibility. But still, she continues: ]

Hope's done... It's done nothing before. How will it even do anything now?

Hope... isn't something that does stuff. [And Ven also retreats a little, breaking the hug proper and leaning back although he keeps one hand on her shoulder.] Hope is something you have. It's what keeps you going through the dark times. They might never come back, it's true, but it's possible they could. My family disappeared, but they came back, and we're all together again, like we should be.

Look, I know it's not easy - I'm not saying it will be. But I'm saying you can't give up on them coming, because if you do, then you're just letting the darkness win.

[ A hope that pushed her through the dark. She's... well acquainted with that when she thinks about it that way. It's the hope that kept her going when her keyblade wouldn't come to her while she was out dealing with that Heartless for weeks as well as the feeling when Roxas and Axel did their best to help cover her as she tried to bring it back. And was it not hope that had led her to continue to travel with Riku to find a way instead of giving in to the puppetry of the Organization?

But his family had come back, one that he had lost...? But isn't he...? ] But you're- different. You're... not a Nobody. And you said Demyx... he disappeared again, right?

Yeah... he did. But he came here before that, he was here for awhile. Me and him actually lived together for awhile. And, um... Ienzo, what was- Zexion, I think. He was here, too, but not for as long. And other people have disappeared back into the Darkness and they weren't Nobodies. [Lili, Terra, even Aqua although she came back... So many people.]

Who comes and goes now doesn't seem to have anything to do with whether you have a heart or not, it's just... something that happens. But we can't give up, we can't not live while we're here. Because we are, and we need to protect the worlds. You didn't want to do it when you were in the Organization, did you? You didn't want to take Kingdom Hearts and use it to hurt all the other worlds.

[It's just a guess, but he feels it's a pretty accurate one. Something about her just doesn't seem evil, mostly just... lost and confused and not used to things going right. He'll try to fix that.]

ONLY ONE BUT SHE IS MY CHILD

YOUR BABY?

TOTALLY MY BABY I SNUGGLE HER A LOT

KITTIES ARE GOOD FOR THAT.

SO VERY SNUGGLY SHE IS JEALOUS OF MY PLUSHIES

AH-HAHAHAHA I BET SHE IS

SHE WANTS MOMMY TO HOLD HER AND NOT THEM

WELL SHE CAN WAIT HER TURN CAN'T SHE?

She shoves them out of bed and off my desk ;.;

Kitties are good at knocking everything off everywhere, too.

Oh jesus yes, mine is epically good at that.

Same! My one in particular loves to break things like that! Ffffuh!

Nora apparently thinks it's cute. IT'S NOT, CAT.

They're lucky they're cute when they do uncute things like that.

Yes, that is the evil response. She is never not cute.

And so you're forever doomed due to that cute.

Not that I mind so much

Yeah, I don't think I mind that either. Even if my babies destroy my things sometimes. >>

Nora thinks knocking EVERYTHING OVER EVER is great fun

YEAH WELL. That's Chelsey in a nutshell over here. They would probably be best of friends~

Nora loves EVERYONE!

THEN THAT SETTLES IT o9

THEY MUST MEET

YES. And then they''ll probably destroy an entire house together, but that's okay? |D;;

I don't think we have any choice in that, honestly ^^;;