Day 25: Breakfast

[uncage]

Kuja was, in fact, quite surprised to suddenly find himself in bed. An odd turn of events, as he previously remembered investigating the contents of a closet. If the genome hadn't known any better, he would have thought he hadn't even left the room. However, the items he was still holding obviously proved such thoughts untrue; he had left his room

Comments

[itneverwas]

It was again that Xemnas awoke within his room, a reoccurring incidence once the night had finished, the darkness had made place for light. Though perhaps it wasn't the kind of light that one should be content to be part of. This light was nothing but an illusion it seemed, an illusion to hide the darkness beyond. His Somebody - Xehanort - had always sought the Darkness, but even the Darkness lurking here was one not familiar. It was different. If both the light and darkness are different, then what does that make the in-between? What does that make the beings that do not exist, that are merely an echo, a whisper of what they previously were? Ghosts given flesh, yet even their very being was an uncertainty...

...but so was the Organization. Xemnas did not possess the power he previously wielded, did not have the means to take care of matters that were in dire need of his attention. There was no Kingdom Hearts to turn to. The Organization was crumbling, he knew it. It had been crumbling previously, but the process was merely continuing. Nobodies were selfish creatures by nature, unable to feel anything besides the eternal longing, the eternal feeling of being incomplete.

The Order had a history of betrayal, but how could such be different? A world without a heart, a mere shadow belonging to light nor darkness, was an unstable one. Never Was was merely an obvious example, a mere shadow of what it once had been. Of course, those that belonged in the real of Nonexistence -- as they belonged in neither Light nor Darkness -- were the same. Those without a Heart, their existence was an instability.

How much faith could be put within the Organization, within the nonexistent? How many were still loyal to his cause, to Kingdom Hearts? They were planning, plotting amongst themselves, not taking heed. It was now the Superior wondered, would orders land upon deaf ears?

It was with this unfortunate realization Xemnas entered the still-silent cafeteria, amber eyes scanning the large room, as he finally chose an empty seat.

The Organization...what should be done with it?

Picking up a fork, he silently munched on his food. Almost absent-minded-ly, deep in thought.

[dancingdagger]

What a night. Penelo was almost relieved when she woke up, because that meant she was safe... for the moment. Well, safe was a relative term, but she obviously preferred daytime in Landels compared to nighttime. Anytime monsters weren't wandering around was a good sign.

Aside from some minor scrapes from climbing up that brick wall, Penelo found herself to be in good health, which was great considering how many monsters she had ran into the night before. And to think, battling monsters was something she should have been used to... but not like this.

Well, it was great to be alive, so Penelo happily allowed herself to be escorted to the cafeteria, where she quickly got her breakfast (she would never get used to this weird foreign food; it was too greasy or too salty or too... ugh) and scanned the room for a seat.

It seemed she was one of the first ones of her group to wake up, as she couldn't find a familiar face. But then she noticed a man with silver hair sitting alone.

Hey, wasn't he...?

"Were you the man who was running from that... weird red-helmeted monster in the Courtyard?" She asked, standing next to the man. "Are you alright?"

[itneverwas]

Orange eyes looked up to the source of the interruption, taking the time to briefly study the young girl that had appeared before him. Xemnas recognized her as one of the unfortunate people the triangle-headed abomination had gone after, but the recognition was seemingly mutual. However, the display of concern had been unexpected.

The Nobody paused eating his meal. There was no gain in hiding the most obvious of matters, thus he answered;

"Ah, yes. It would appear I am indeed the one you are referring to." The words were spoken slowly and calmly, tone passive.

"I have gotten away unharmed. How about you? Have you gotten away unscratched?" Perhaps the Nobody was merely attempting conversation, perhaps he wanted to see if this girl knew more about the creature and its capabilities, or perhaps it was a combination of both.

[dancingdagger]

He was so calm about the whole thing... Penelo had to admire that. She nodded at his statement, taking this as a good sign that he didn't mind the company. At least, this man didn't look like he did. She took a seat next to him and prodded at her meal as she spoke.

"Yeah, we did. I'm just glad everyone made it out in one piece," Penelo grinned. "I hope you didn't go into the Sun Room after that... but it doesn't seem like you did." Penelo couldn't believe that there were so many monsters in one area... and she didn't run into any the night before. Maybe when they did come out, the monsters came in swarms.

"Oh, uh, my name is Penelo. It's nice to meet you," The dancer introduced herself, holding out a hand.

[itneverwas]

"I have not gone into the Sun Room." Xemnas replied as he shook his head. "How so? Did anything happen?"

The question was asked out of mere curiosity than anything else. After all, the ones lacking their very essence did not have the capability to feel concern, to express such an emotion. But the Superior was ever the curious one, had always been, had always sought more knowledge. His curiosity was still there, even though it was a mere shadow of what it once had been. How could it be any different for a mere shell?

Regardless, any information and allies that were gathered could be useful if he were to escape from this facility. Thus, he returned Penelo's gesture, offering her a hand of his own. "I am...

"...Xemnas."

[ondoresliez]

Basch found himself awake and groggy at the sound of the head doctor's voice. His first day in Landel's had been uneventful, yet he strangely could not remember anything about how he had come to fall asleep in his room. In fact, he had intended to explore the facility at night, and see if what Gabranth had told about the place was veritable.

He rose quickly from his bed and made his way towards the cafeteria, examining the faces of those about the place. Some seemed injured, others shaken, and others simply looked as if their soul had been ripped from them. Apparently missing the nightshift meant missing important things. Basch would make sure not to let another slip by.

He grabbed his breakfast and looked about the room, when all of a sudden, he noticed a familiar face speaking with a man with unusually white hair. He found himself again feeling a mix of relief and fear at seeing another of his allies here. He walked over and sat with them.

"Penelo." Basch said as he set his tray down "It's me. Basch. Gabranth had said you had ended up here, too, yet I wasn't sure what to believe then."

[dancingdagger]

"It was a good thing you didn't, because there was... I don't know, he looked like a patient but he was fighting us. We managed to escape, but I think some people stayed behind to fight," Penelo told Xemnas, shaking his hand afterwards. Xemnas, what an exotic name! "Anyway, I just hope nobody was hurt..."

She still didn't check to see if Protoman was alright, or if those other two who had come through the courtyard (and promptly went back) survived either. Penelo didn't get the feeling that the man who had attacked them wanted to kill them, but maybe he was someone who liked to toy with his prey first.

Whatever she was going to say, it was lost when someone very familiar sat next to her and announced his presence.

"..." Penelo stared for a moment. And here she thought that she was the only one who made it here!

"Basch!" She grinned, happy to see him... yet unhappy that he was here too. "I didn't know you were here. When did you get here?"

She gave an apologetic glance to Xemnas. Penelo didn't want to give the impression that she was outright ignoring the other man.

[itneverwas]

"A patient?" Xemnas echoed. He heard rumors of people attacking their fellow patients during the night, seemingly brainwashed in order to fight on the institute's side. However, he never had the so-called 'pleasure' of experiencing such an incident himself. Though considering the nature of this facility, the Head Doctor's habit of toying with the hospital's patients made the matter all the less surprising (even for a being that lacked the ability to be surprised).

Penelo seemed to knew the man that had just arrived at the table. The Superior briefly studied this 'Basch' as he sat down at the very same table