✭ "dive into the heart" [closed]

[mnementomori]

Characters: Xion and Sora
Date: backdated to August 16
Summary: all the pieces lie where they fell. now they'll be assembled again.
Warnings: should be none

Comments

[namedforthesky]

But she's not alone, not entirely. Because Xion should never be alone. Sora's heart is drawn to her, and so, too, is Sora in her dreaming state. Her own feet lightly touch down on the stained glass. She now stands behind Xion, looking around quietly. This place is so familiar, like out of another dream with monsters and voices and--

And Xion's here. Xion's here and that's what matters, because she was alone.

"Xion...?"

[mnementomori]

That voice, that heart resonates with her, and she stirs, lifting her head. A little inky dark form against the bright blurred colors, her pale skin and wide blue eyes a stark contrast.

"Sora..."

She's not alone.

She reaches for her friend, her most precious person. Her hand is unsteady, but she keeps it lifted.

"How...did you get here? This place...I was always alone."

[namedforthesky]

"I followed your heart. It was calling out to me," Sora says, quickly moving to take Xion's hand in both of her own. You shouldn't be alone. She wants nothing more than to pull her friend close and not let go, but... This isn't the time or the place.

"What is this place?"

[mnementomori]

"My heart...?

She relaxes a little at the touch.

"I don't know. But it feels...familiar. There should...there should be pictures here." She looks down. "But something's wrong, I can't see them."

[namedforthesky]

"Yeah," she says, pulling Xion up and to her. Hm... Xion can't see the pictures, either. Maybe she should try to remember the pillars she'd seen...? Right. So, she'd seen a few... Hm...

"Well, can you remember anything about it, or have you not seen it before?"

[mnementomori]

She grips Sora's hands, looking over her face almost curiously.

"It's more like a...feeling. There's never been anything there, since I was born. Except..."

A sudden sharp cracking noise, and she looks down again. Darkness runs in jagged streaks through the colors, forming a strange, twisted shape. Xion's eyes go wide in horror.

"N...no, no! Please, I don't--"

[namedforthesky]

Sora quickly draws Xion close. She's afraid--she can see that. But she doesn't want Xion to be afraid. So she'll just hold her close, looking over the cracks and their shape.

"What's wrong?"

[mnementomori]

"That's not me. That's not...I'm not going to do it again, ever. I'm not going to hurt anyone!"

[namedforthesky]

"You don't have to hurt anyone, Xion. What's going on?"

Sora's worried. Xion's acting strange. Sora doesn't know what the image means, but it's scaring Xion, and that's what matters.

[mnementomori]

"That..." She presses her face to Sora's shoulder. "It was my purpose. To...to absorb your memories, and be Xemnas's puppet...to collect hearts for him...But I did it, I pretended to go along with him to save Roxas. I made him fight me..."

She's trembling.

"There wasn't any other way. But I...I don't want to become that again. I just...I just want to live. Is that...wrong...?"

[namedforthesky]

Sora's jaw tightens. That's right. Xion had been made for something. But... But isn't that over with now? So she'll just tightly hold Xion, refusing to let go.

"But... Xion... Aren't you doing that now? With me in the treehouse, with Alfimi and Kuja? We're living together, happily. You don't have to hurt anyone."

[mnementomori]

"I'm sorry, Sora. I am happy." She takes a deep breath. "But I'm still scared...and my face still changes, to look like different people...I don't like it...! People are afraid of me or call me weird names because of it...I want to be like everyone else."

She bites her lip when that all spills out, ashamed.

"But it's asking for too much, isn't it...I have you. I'm so glad I got to meet you. Just that chance should be more than enough. My friends...Axel and Roxas, they don't even have hearts. And I do. I'm lucky."

[namedforthesky]

"Xion, it doesn't matter what other people say. What is it you want? ...Or, that's what my mother'd say, at least," she says, giving a sheepish laugh. But she does take Xion's hand between her own, tightly. To give reassurance.

"...So long as you know what it is you want, nothing else matters. Not what people say or how different you are."

[mnementomori]

"I want--"

No one's ever asked her that before. For a moment, it feels like her heart has stopped.

"I want to be able...to be me. Just to live. Without hurting anyone. I don't want to be afraid."

She takes a deep breath.

"I want to make the people I care about happy. I want you...to be happy."

[namedforthesky]

"But I am happy, Xion. I got to meet you."

It's true. She has good friends, knows good people, and has hope. Yes, her home may be gone, and that still hurts, but meeting Xion reminded her that home is wherever she feels welcomed and has friends. Now she just has to find Riku, Kairi and her parents.

[mnementomori]

"Just...because you met me?" She looks up, her eyes wide. If just being "Xion" can bring someone happiness...that's what she needs.

Beneath her feet, the colors are finally solidifying into distinct shapes. An image of her, resting as if she's asleep. Her hood is up, obscuring her face. The clock tower, the beach at Destiny Islands behind it, the sunset. Seashells circling the border.

But it isn't complete, not quite yet.

"Sora..."