[Thread] Castles they might crumble

[todomarishi]

Characters: AU!Roxas, AU!Terra
Where: Mui-Eksi
When: After this entry.
Summary: Terra invites Roxas over to meet him and try to figure out what's going on.
Warnings: None that I can think of.

Comments

[changingsuns]

Maybe he was just naive, but he thought things would have come easier, smoother, to him here. Sora was safe, unharmed, with Kairi, memories intact. He could still feel the other keybearer as though they shared the same heart. When the spiky-headed boy from Destiny Islands felt that boundless joy of the heart, when he felt lost or alone...Roxas would always feel it too, in the back of his chest, his mind recognizing the emotion and giving it a name.

But maybe it wasn't Sora that had called him there, but someone else. He had felt some sort of magnetic pull to something in this place, but was always unsure as to the source. Xemnas was there, and at first, he thought it might have been some sort of call to come back to the Organization, but he easily declined and lost no sleep over it. Then he thought it might have been Axel, who he couldn't seem to find but knew was there somehow. Days of searching left him with nothing, and it was almost like Twilight Town in reverse; Axel lost and him searching

[todomarishi]

Anticipation heightened Terra’s senses and in the last few minutes of his wait, he would almost swear that he could feel the boy’s approach resonating in every beat of his own heart. Step by step, the source of power and rusted memories drew closer until at last the soldier heard the soft echo of footsteps and a knock at the door.

Terra turned quickly, snapping from his thoughts as he reached for the doorknob. There he met with another fraction of hesitation but it was soon overcome, forgotten outright. He pulled the door open with a twist of its round handle and immediately dropped his head into a bow, returning to old customs once used to greet strangers at the doors of his Master’s castle. He averted his gaze from the shorter figure with the gesture but as he straightened up again, his body froze to the spot, one hand still loosely grasping the door. He stood there, staring with an expression of astonishment that the hood served to mask.

Ven.The boy was practically a mirror image of his friend. Shock mingled with a dusting of

[changingsuns]

It was hard to know just what he wanted to feel (heart, no heart. What am I?), whether what he was feeling was him or not. Anxiety, familiarity, that same pull he had been aware of...they ran rampant within him and he longed to pin them down and try to find out why. That was the real question. Why all of this...Why the hiding, using false names, refusing to meet. Sure, there were quiet people in the world, but it seemed all to strange, to know something, and then hide it.

He knew Terra somehow. He knew it. But where?

Roxas couldn't sleep at night anymore without falling asleep and wondering who the armored warrior was. He could even hear his voice sometimes, or so he thought, the kindness behind it, calling him friend and thanking him for something.

He had to know.

When the door opened, he looked surprised to see a cloaked man, but it was easily recognizable that it must have been Terra. Hiding again. The bow threw him for a loop; he didn't know if he should respond in kind or to wave it off and say they were friends and there

[todomarishi]

“Did I?” Terra asked, not having realized his request had been perceived in such a way

[changingsuns]

He allowed himself to be prodded along to a safer area, unaware of just who, or what, could be in rooms. He had to start remembering that this wasn't just his world anymore, wasn't the way he remembered things. People were diverse, with new cultures that he needed to be aware of. Roxas glanced up at him briefly, an attempt to see his face under the hood, and when it didn't work, he nodded to cover it up and followed him into the adjoining room.

Stepping inside, it immediately felt somewhat cozy to him, and he turned, stopping dead in his tracks, eyes widening. The helmet sat on the bed like an ancient artifact, polished and perfect, the light from the room glinting off of the glass visor, catching his stare and throwing it right back at him. It was exactly as he thought, remembered, with the two pieces that stood up like odd ears.

He had been right.

"Will this fit me?" The voice rang in his head, his own, briefly, before it was followed by:

"Try it on and see."The second voice was unmistakably Terra's, a firm stone against the

[todomarishi]

“My friend,” Terra smiled at the title, but the pleasantness in his voice faded away with his next words, “My friends. They were both taken that day

[changingsuns]

They both were taken that day.

Both of them? It was small wonder that Terra almost seemed enclosed, not wanting to see him. To lose your best friends... He thought of Axel, of catching glimpses of him fading away, his words penetrating that barrier between him and Sora, and how it had been his fault that his best friend was dying, disappearing. That stung too, made him feel guilty in the worst ways possible. Is that what had happened to Terra as well

[todomarishi]

“That’s right,” Terra didn’t fully understand the relationship between Xemnas and Xehanort. If what he’d learned about Nobodies was true and Xemnas was ultimately a product of Xehanort releasing his heart, where had the heart itself gone? Why would Xehanort cast it off in the first place? And how? It had to have been his decision, his plan. The man wasn’t foolish enough to accidentally lose his most prized possession

[changingsuns]

Xemnas was always going to be a mystery. He was a sociopath, and a madman, but what could he do? Staying away from him still seemed like the best option, so long as he could actually manage that. The compound was not as big as the world of Never Was, and even there he couldn't hide. Not for long. The Dusks had seen to it that he was flushed out into the open.

Looking up to Terra, he shrugged. "It's possible. We always believed that we would need our own hearts in order to regain what we had lost. So, I guess this Xehanort doesn't resonate with Xemnas' existence. He must be disappointed." Or maybe relieved, to know he has another chance to live and try something else.But something he said... Roxas raised an eyebrow to him curiously. "How I...what?" But the question was easily dismissed and he let it slide, unsure of where Terra was going with this conversation

[todomarishi]

Terra’s smile gave way and he nodded, his stern presence overlapping the friendly exchange from moments before. He wasn’t eager to voice his request, especially after feeling the tension gradually lessen between them, after seeing that bright grin again... but the issue at hand was the real motivating force behind the soldier’s invitation. He had to ask. It was the only thing he could think to do to protect Roxas from one of the more subtle threats of their universe

[changingsuns]

At first, he listened closely, eyes never leaving his cloaked friend, small pieces, perhaps, finally coming together to form a better picture of Terra in his mind. Alone, too? No wonder... It hurt, to think that this man, who only wanted to do what was best, who had lost everyone he loved, had also lost so much more in the process.

Still, he didn't understand why...Why would Xehanort attempt to do something like that? From what he had heard in Never Was, Xemnas, as Xehanort, had been a scientist, had lost his heart and had become a powerful Heartless and Nobody in the process. No one had ever described him as a killer. Sure, when he became a Heartless, he had taken people's hearts. That was understandable. But as a person?

No. Another. A Master and powerful, versed in magic and strength far superior to us....Us? A look of strange understanding crossed his features briefly, until the weight of Terra's words struck him hard. He was asking him to stay away, should he ever stray from his path. But what all did that mean? Would he go

[todomarishi]

“It’s my fight, Roxas... It’s my fate. Whatever happens, that’s what is meant to happen,” Any other time, Terra might have shied away from the boy’s reaction, refused outright to handle the rebuttal... or worse yet, he might have lost his temper. Yet hearing the keybearer’s words inspired no anger or unease in him. He laid his hand back down on the boy’s shoulder. He hadn’t expected the blond to mindlessly agree to his request regardless of how he’d worded it. Ven might have been brash at times, but he’d also been bright- and that description covered more than just the light that had been in his heart.

After clearing his throat, he said, “I don’t want my friends, old and new, to be in danger again. I went into battle with them once and now we’re all paying for what happened on that day

[changingsuns]

"And you would be resigned to your fate?" he asked. "That's not like you. Keybearers and others alike have been defying fate and destiny for as long...for as long as I can remember, anyway, and everyone's told the stories." Xigbar knew them, knew about the wars, about the keyblades and the choosing of new keybearers among the strong and weak alike. He knew...but sadly, he wasn't here, or he would have attempted to talk to him...

...so long as he didn't get sniped in the process.

Roxas shook his head, stepping closer only once, hands out for emphasis. "But they're not gone forever. They linger in your heart, and I'm sure that there are ways to get them back. Sora thought Riku was gone forever, and he had descended into the darkness and came back just fine, and stronger still. They could still be alive and okay. You have to have faith. You should be the one trusting yourself more, you and your friends. Bonds like that are hard to break

[todomarishi]

“Not like me? How would you know what was or was not like me?” He demanded. Though he suspected he knew the answer, he wondered what reasoning Roxas had to offer. Were old memories resurfacing or had he come to that conclusion only by grouping the older man in with all Keyblade wielders? If the latter was the case... yeah, that would have to be corrected now. With an almost chastising tone (but the same smile), Terra went on, “Every keybearer is different. The Keyblade doesn’t make the wielder. And yes, I would accept my fate. Fate isn’t always such a bad thing. Sometimes fate leads a wielder to a better path than the one he started out on.... but I’ll take whatever is meant for me in the end.”

Soberly, he added, “That’s another lesson you’ll learn someday. Not every heart finds a connection with the light. Not every heart can be saved. Sometimes we have to make choices... the right choices so that the right Keyblade wielders can continue their duties. We can’t all defy our fate and live... what was it? Happily ever after? Someone

[changingsuns]

He was taken aback at Terra's retorted question, looking unfocused for a moment. How did he know what he was like, if he had only met him...? No. Something, something... "I know you. I don't care if you won't admit it, but I know there's something about you, and...You don't find me familiar?"

Roxas shook his head quickly, waving a hand absently. "Forget it, forget I asked," he murmured, looking at him.

"I know keybearers are different from each other. But still, there's no such thing as a right keybearer. You make it sound like...like...natural selection or something. Just because someone's stronger, that doesn't make them the right one. There are many keyblades - Dark, Light, Twilight, Dawn, and everything in between - and that means that they need wielders who resonate with that path. But that doesn't make a Dawntreader any less than a Twilight walker, and those who walk in Dark aren't necessarily evil." He knew, being someone to wield both Oathkeeper and Oblivion, that no one had any set trait. He didn't even know what path he

[todomarishi]

Terra opened his mouth to respond to the first question- familiar, of course I find you familiar, we’re friends, I knew it was you before I’d even seen you here, there’s no mistaking your- but just as quickly shut it when Roxas brushed off his own inquiry. The knight shifted his weight onto his heels, leaning back a fraction. So close. He wanted to sit the boy down, explain to him every minute of the distant past they shared, but his heart kept his tongue still. This... whatever this really was, Roxas had to go through it on his own. Terra recognized the dangerous power of persuasion; he didn’t dare put thoughts into the kid’s head and risk making him into something he truly wasn’t.

With a sigh of his own, he forced the disappointment to the back of his mind. Didn’t Roxas want to know? Why dismiss such an earnest curiosity? It probably wasn’t his business to know. Instead of worrying over it further, he switched his focus to countering the other’s claims about wielding.

“There is right and wrong among Keybearers, but no... It’s