8 - video;

[todomarishi]

[Another video starts up, but about all it records as the minutes tick by is darkness. Some pitch black, shapeless space. There is, at one point, a thin line of light and a flash of color, then the NV shifts and the picture cuts to darkness again. Throughout the entry, there's noise. At first, it's little more than a low rumble, like thunder heard

Comments

action; dated to after any other encounters

[aslandish]

[ The Darkness still reigns, patches of rot and decay giving of a stench that is all too distinct. The odor lessens, though, and the atmosphere brightens, a gradual change that become more noticeable the closer he draws.

Watching the crackle of crimson light with no small measure of sadness, Aslan pauses in the crippled armor's path, his heart burdened with the consequences of Terra's choice. ]

action;

[todomarishi]

[The Sentiment isn't quick to respond to Aslan's arrival. Having destroyed his inhuman assailant (not Xehanort), he is moving on when the lion appears. Sight, sound, and that extra sense, the ability to measure light and darkness, have merged into one unwieldy form through which he perceives his surroundings. And through which he now regards Aslan.

Aslan isn't human (a lion, he knows, but the thought is quieter, further away). Aslan is light. A thought bearing the concept of friendship flits through his being, but it doesn't stay with him long enough to connect. Aslan isn't Xehanort.

Aslan isn't there.

When Terra's voice leaves his armor again, he's addressing no one and nothing.]

He can take care of himself.

[Ven, a memory of home again, far away now, impossible to reach, but that was before...]

It was my mistake.

[He says next, going to walk around Aslan, his visor turned away from the light.]

action;

[aslandish]

[ Turned away not forgotten. Aslan doesn't move, their first meeting coming back quite clearly -- he averted his gaze then, and Terra has done so again now. Like last time, however, Aslan has every intention of speaking before they part ways again. ]

Terra.

[ His tone is low and compelling, not quite a command, but there's strength behind it that demands attention. ]

action;

[todomarishi]

[He stops at that, yielding to a will more powerful than his own. His reply comes after a moment of silence doubtlessly spent grasping at memories.]

I am gone.

[Video; Reaction]

[not_obsess3d]

[There was nothing to see at first. It was assumed to be another accidental NV post, something of little importance which is now stowed away among the rest of the Network's continuous thread of history.

But the darkened image accompanied by the resonating metallic tones somehow compels Xemnas to pay attention to the feed.]

[Video; Reaction]

[todomarishi]

[Terra's armor is blissfully unaware that the feed has an audience. Or that the feed is running at all.]

[Video; Reaction]

[not_obsess3d]

[All the better to study this without being noticed before saying anything at all. A spoken response probably will not change it, either.

It does have him thinking, however...]

[Video; Reaction]

[todomarishi]

[The sound of Xemnas' voice might just get his attention, actually... But in no way would that be to the Nobody's benefit. The silent approach is certainly the safest in this case.

Even the nonexistent ones must follow nature's first law sometimes.]

action;

[walkthedawn]

[Riku casts off his own advice to be wary and goes to look for his would-be mentor, the man who chose him. He's out of breath and uncharacteristically worried when he finally seems to sense him out, staring at the armor. He had hoped that Terra was freed. He knows this isn't true when he finally happens upon him.

The Keybearer slowly wanders in closer to the man, ready for any sort of retaliation.]

Terra.

action;

[todomarishi]

[There's no outward reaction from the Sentiment at first. He wrests himself upright, having been in the instinct-driven process of regaining his footing when Riku approached him. A wire of the red energy snaps across his helmet as his visor points at the younger man.

A stranger to him- no.

Xehanort.

It has to be. The darkness is there, the man's heart is there. Right there. But something has gone missing: there's something else he should already understand. He's aware of that, however distantly, but he won't go looking for the answer. He can't. Every memory and feeling he possesses are in a constant state of tumult.

It's him. This is who he's been searching for.]

Xehanort! [There's a slight break after the first two syllables. He steps into his battle stance without another moment's hesitation.]

action;

[walkthedawn]

[He's taken aback when Terra turns to face him and can't distinguish him from Xehanort. He's entirely still when the armor slides into stance and readies his Keyblade to clash with him.

He wants to ask if this is a trick. Some mistake. But it's not and he knows it. He can smell him. This is Terra - what's left of him - free from Xehanort's influence. And he can't see him as anything more than Xehanort.

He frowns sharply.]

Terra, it's me! It's Riku!

action;

[todomarishi]

[Riku's words are lost on him. Xehanort is a thief of bodies and hearts and so a thief of names. He won't be fooled again.

The armor lunges forward, borne into the air and kept there by the magic that weaves its way around Xehanort's seal. The Keyblade's held before him as he speeds toward Riku.

Departure crumbling, mountainous rock pillars erupting from the earth, a moon shaped like a heart. The Sentiment is prepared to do everything in his power to destroy his enemy.]

video;

[todomarishi]

[The video goes unnoticed, but the voice he hears loud and clear. The words stick with him long enough that he finds some meaning in them, though his reply doesn't necessarily make it obvious he understands her questions.

Or understood them for a minute there.]

He must be stopped.

video;

[todomarishi]

Xehanort. [A simple but significant answer for simple but significant questions. He even repeats the man's name, emphasizing the three syllables carefully.] Xe- ha- nort. He has taken everything.