sixteen ✖ video
[The faciliberry turns of its own accord, getting a close shot of Naminé curled up on the floor, eyes fluttering open. She slept through most of Saturday after helping Roxas, Xion, and Axel recover their memories...and now she's waking up to see a long, narrow, empty hallway where her and Terra's room should be.]
--huh?
[She stands up quickly, spreading out her arms. She can't even straighten out her elbows, and at the realization the blood drains from her face. Before she can take a step down the hallway to where a visible exit can be seen, a tape starts playing.]
Hello, Naminé. Your whole existence is based on the idea that you cannot feel anything. Emotions are false for you, and yet you play a grand charade every day, pretending to know the meaning of happiness and camaraderie. These are fleeting feelings brought on by circumstantial events, and in believing in them, you fail to recognize the real emotion that you do possess in spades-- fear and cowardice.
Today, in order to keep your life, you will face the reality that you have been ignoring all along. Realize your cowardice. Admit to your fear. You must navigate down the hallway quickly, or else the door to your freedom will be sealed forever in three minutes. Conquer your phobias and understand their existence...or yours will end.
[A loud grinding sound alerts Naminé to the ceiling, and she whips her head up to look at it, her eyes widening in horror. Long steel nails are protruding out of it-- and it's slowly starting to drop down. The hallway springs to life as well, various bladed devices blocking the way to the door.]
No...
[To a well trained fighter, this is probably more like a simulation test that could easily be navigated. But Nami isn't a well-trained fighter yet. She slowly sinks to the ground, daunted by the sight of the hallway.]
Please...don't-- I can't-- don't remind me of him--
[She is trembling now, clutching at her chest as her breath starts coming out in short gasping pants. The trap doesn't let her stay stationary for long, though. A large curved blade drops from above, swinging in an arc with the intent of slicing her clean through.]
Nn--!
[She dives out of the way, hitting the wall hard, staring at the blade as it swings back around and moves forward to follow her movements. She tries to take a steadying breath, only it's caught somewhere in her throat. So she curls up on herself, closing her eyes tightly as if to brace herself.]
--ero!
[A small gust of wind suddenly whips up around her, barely strong enough to force back the scythe and make it repeat its swing. It gives her just enough time to stagger onto her feet and away from its path. And then she's turning, stumbling, running, sprinting down the hallway.
She's throwing spells left and right now-- Aero spells to slow down blades coming at her, Blizzard spells to freeze traps on the walls that are about to go off. Something in her body must remember her 'training' from Shibusen as well, because she is starting to dodge the blades coming at her as well with swift, fluid sidesteps and jumps. Her eyes are blazing, her expression fierce.
She will not remain pitiful, fearful, and cowardly. She will not be the little doll that Marluxia pushed around. She will not-- will not-- die again.
She's getting close to the exit now, with minimal injuries and only about a half minute left on the clock. The ceiling is so low she needs to duck her head every time she jumps to not get her skull impaled by the spikes.
And then several of those familiar bladed scythes are flying through the air at her, confusing the eye with the illusion that there were more than there were.
Without any hesitation, she reaches out, forming a portal right in front of her facing outwards. The scythes pass through it and crash into the far wall of the hallway, leaving her unharmed. She takes the last step to reach the door, turning the knob before glancing back at the hallway she just successfully navigated. She is breathing hard, her face still pale, and her shoulders quivering, but she is triumphant.]
...I don't know if fear and cowardice are real emotions for me...but I won't succumb to them anymore if it's because you want to intimidate me. Thank you for this test, Val. You helped me realize why I will never return to the kind of person I was before.
[And then she passes through the door and closes it behind her.]
--huh?
[She stands up quickly, spreading out her arms. She can't even straighten out her elbows, and at the realization the blood drains from her face. Before she can take a step down the hallway to where a visible exit can be seen, a tape starts playing.]
Hello, Naminé. Your whole existence is based on the idea that you cannot feel anything. Emotions are false for you, and yet you play a grand charade every day, pretending to know the meaning of happiness and camaraderie. These are fleeting feelings brought on by circumstantial events, and in believing in them, you fail to recognize the real emotion that you do possess in spades-- fear and cowardice.
Today, in order to keep your life, you will face the reality that you have been ignoring all along. Realize your cowardice. Admit to your fear. You must navigate down the hallway quickly, or else the door to your freedom will be sealed forever in three minutes. Conquer your phobias and understand their existence...or yours will end.
[A loud grinding sound alerts Naminé to the ceiling, and she whips her head up to look at it, her eyes widening in horror. Long steel nails are protruding out of it-- and it's slowly starting to drop down. The hallway springs to life as well, various bladed devices blocking the way to the door.]
No...
[To a well trained fighter, this is probably more like a simulation test that could easily be navigated. But Nami isn't a well-trained fighter yet. She slowly sinks to the ground, daunted by the sight of the hallway.]
Please...don't-- I can't-- don't remind me of him--
[She is trembling now, clutching at her chest as her breath starts coming out in short gasping pants. The trap doesn't let her stay stationary for long, though. A large curved blade drops from above, swinging in an arc with the intent of slicing her clean through.]
Nn--!
[She dives out of the way, hitting the wall hard, staring at the blade as it swings back around and moves forward to follow her movements. She tries to take a steadying breath, only it's caught somewhere in her throat. So she curls up on herself, closing her eyes tightly as if to brace herself.]
--ero!
[A small gust of wind suddenly whips up around her, barely strong enough to force back the scythe and make it repeat its swing. It gives her just enough time to stagger onto her feet and away from its path. And then she's turning, stumbling, running, sprinting down the hallway.
She's throwing spells left and right now-- Aero spells to slow down blades coming at her, Blizzard spells to freeze traps on the walls that are about to go off. Something in her body must remember her 'training' from Shibusen as well, because she is starting to dodge the blades coming at her as well with swift, fluid sidesteps and jumps. Her eyes are blazing, her expression fierce.
She will not remain pitiful, fearful, and cowardly. She will not be the little doll that Marluxia pushed around. She will not-- will not-- die again.
She's getting close to the exit now, with minimal injuries and only about a half minute left on the clock. The ceiling is so low she needs to duck her head every time she jumps to not get her skull impaled by the spikes.
And then several of those familiar bladed scythes are flying through the air at her, confusing the eye with the illusion that there were more than there were.
Without any hesitation, she reaches out, forming a portal right in front of her facing outwards. The scythes pass through it and crash into the far wall of the hallway, leaving her unharmed. She takes the last step to reach the door, turning the knob before glancing back at the hallway she just successfully navigated. She is breathing hard, her face still pale, and her shoulders quivering, but she is triumphant.]
...I don't know if fear and cowardice are real emotions for me...but I won't succumb to them anymore if it's because you want to intimidate me. Thank you for this test, Val. You helped me realize why I will never return to the kind of person I was before.
[And then she passes through the door and closes it behind her.]