001

[justabignobody]

Characters: Riku and OPEN
Setting: Dormitories + Floor 20-18
Format: Action, though I'm fine with Para if that's more your thing
Summary: Waking up in a new world with no clue how he actually got there is not entirely new, The sleep paralyzis and the collar are both however pretty original. Needless to say, Riku is not amused.
Warnings: Non... for

Comments

[lethechained]

[Naminé's been working hard lately on a project she hopes to finish before Christmas, spending a lot of time out of her room and on floors where there's actually a table at which she can draw comfortably. The slight discomfort she feels when leaving her room that she's never quite been able to shake has been worse, lately, after the incident with the nightmare realm, but she has a goal in mind and come heck or high water, she will reach it. She woke up this morning with every intention of grabbing breakfast and getting straight to work, and that intention remains intact until the moment she comes far enough down the stairs to the 20th floor to catch sight of a mass of black on the edge of her vision that is exactly the right shape to be an Organization coat.]

--?!

[She freezes in place right in the middle of the staircase, tensing automatically as she desperately tries to make sense of what her eyes are telling her she's seeing. There's no doubt about it; that's an Organization coat, as much as she doesn't want to believe

[lethechained]

[Her eyes flit to the side as if to follow his hand, her surprise peeking through the sober tone of her expression. She stays still for a moment once his hand is in place - even with her time in the tower, she's not used to physical contact, much less the kind that isn't unpleasant. While the texture of the glove is familiar in an unsettling way, she knows whose hand is underneath, and that's enough to make her shrug off any discomfort and focus on what support can be gained from the gesture. She knows he means well, and she appreciates it. The girl looks back up at him, offering a small smile.] Thank you.

[But there are things to be discussed, and the less time it takes, the better. Despite her intentions to continue right away, she hesitates. The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes it's probably better that he know about her nightmare realm, whether it would be unpleasant for him or not. If that does turn out to truly be their future, he should have the chance to be prepared, to change it for the better.

[justabignobody]

[He shoots her a slight smile; there is no need for her to thank him, not for this - they are friends after all and this is the very least he can do.

The smile is replaced by another frown as she continues though, his heart tightening at the thought of her having to face a world like that by herself. Eventually he just squeezes her arm lightly, quiet determination and confidence flickering over his face.]

It's not going to happen. We won't let it.

[He knows that with certainty. Between them, DiZ, the king, Donald, Goofy and Sora, there is just no way that the Organization can win. It wouldn't be an easy battle, sure, but in any case they are at very least evenly matched.]

[lethechained]

[She watches his face carefully, and she sees that look. It and the gesture do make her feel a little better. She knows how capable he is, and how capable Sora is, and how strong everyone else is, but-- it just seemed so real. It's too real a vision and too fresh a memory to wipe away easily. She still vividly remembers each and every moment she spent crying into her hands in that cave next to Kairi's motionless form.]

But--

[She wants to have faith in him, and she does. It's just that some part of her keeps trying to force her to blurt out, 'But you died, Sora died, the others died, I saw it--' even though she knows it was all just a nightmare. It's because she knows that it was fake that she holds her tongue and clamps her mouth shut, her teeth biting her lip just a little. Once she wrestles back those words, she lets out a slow exhale and says instead,]

... I know.

[justabignobody]

[Riku knows well enough just how powerful illusions can be, just how easy they can unsettle the heart (sometimes he still dreams of Zexion's trap, of the Sora that destroys him for being one of the darkness, and every time he awakens in cold sweat and shivering).

Still, they couldn't let themselves be unsettled for too long, couldn't let that vision stop them from moving forward. Neither the Organization nor Xemnas had won just yet; not if he truly would succeed in waking Sora just as Naminé had said, not when Kingdom Hearts was still only half complete.

But for all his certainty, he also knows Naminé well enough to be able to recognize her worry and uncertainty, and it takes a lot to wrestle down the question of just what else that illusion had shown her.

Instead he just nods again, seeing no meaning in pushing the issue; especially when there are other, just as if not more important things to talk about.]

When I arrived... I ran into a... kid that was claiming to be Sora. Except... everything about him was all wrong.

[He draws

[lethechained]

[She, too, knows the power of illusions, and somehow, that makes it worse that she was fooled. She should have known better, she should have been stronger - there wasn't any real harm save for what was done to her, but she still feels ashamed, and even more so that someone had to come snap her out of it. The change of subject is a bittersweet distraction; the previous train of thought was unpleasant, but so is this one.]

--Oh. You've met him already. [Her frown is firmly settled on her mouth as her hands tighten around each other She'd hoped to have the chance to warn Riku about that particular towermate of theirs beforehand, but it looks like she's too late. It's not hard to see that they didn't exactly have a good first meeting. She hesitates, unsure where to start for a moment.] Besides what the tower does to time, there are... other things that it does. One of them... is that sometimes it brings people here who are from different versions of the same world.

[justabignobody]

['Didn't exactly have a good first meeting' doesn't even begin to cover it.

He freezes for a moment as he processes her words, as he compares them to what that woman had said...]

So... then he actually is another Sora?

[No. That just can't-]

...Are sure that he isn't just another replica?

[lethechained]

[She nods, expression grim. She knows it must be hard. It's been strange for her, too, but she's had a long time to come to terms with it.]

Yes. I'm sure. [That's not something she dares be unsure about. It's a firm but gentle statement; she understands his disbelief.] I don't know exactly what happened to him, but... his life was very different from [our your] the Sora from our world's. And-- I don't think that it was a change for the better.

[justabignobody]

[He shakes his head slightly; he can't believe it, he can't... that is supposed to be Sora?

No way.

But... this is Naminé... and he knows she wouldn't lie to him, never about something like this.

He shakes his head again, reaching up to rub his temples - he still needs some time to process this.]

[lethechained]

[Naminé falls silent, electing instead to watch him for a moment. It's not hard to see that he's having trouble with this, and as much as she wishes she could say something to make it better, not saying anything seems the better way to help, at least for now. He needs to come to terms with it in his own way - she's only there to assist how she can. So, she waits patiently, quiet but ready to answer his questions, should they be asked.]

[justabignobody]

[He stays still for a while, then walks over to the stair case and sits down on one of stairs as he still fights himself about accepting that cruel truth.

Eventually, a shaky sigh escapes him, because as much as he hates even considering (never mind) accepting that truth, he knows he can't keep going on denying it for long eihter.]

How... Do you have any idea how tha- he ended up like that?

[lethechained]

[She turns to follow him with her eyes, but stays standing when he sits, her hands clinging to each other. If only this were easier - although she thinks that more for his sake than hers. It was hard for her to wrap her mind around, too, but she'd spent her whole dealing with the bizzare and seemingly impossible, and at least she'd had that. The fact that she was familiar with another set of people from different universes had helped.]

[The question is not such a surprising one, but she does pause, her eyes drifting toward the ground.] ... I don't know everything, but... [She knows Riku won't like this. He already doesn't like it, and what she has to say won't make it any better Her frown is quite pronounced, but she carries on nevertheless.] ... a while ago, he put up a message on the network to try to find out if anyone knew his father. He drew a picture of him. He--... [She's not sure she should even say the name, but she has to let him know.] ... he drew Ansem.

[justabignobody]

[She is right - he doesn't like it. He doesn't like it at all.

...He almost wishes she hadn't told him, but ultimately he knows it's better this way. Knowledge is sometimes as much a curse as it is a gift, but (as much as he hates to quote Ansem) there is no understanding without knowledge and he needs to understand, if he wants to make sense of it all.

That doesn't mean he has to like it though.

He clenches his hands in frustration, in anger and wonders why just for once things couldn't just be straight forward.]

...Ansem, huh? If he's from another reality, then I guess that figures.

[lethechained]

[He has her sympathy, and it shows in the way she watches him as he clenches his hands. She knows all too well the ways of knowledge of the painful variety. That burden has long been hers, and while she regrets having to give him a part of that, it had to be done. She exhales slowly as she considers her next words.]

As you can imagine, he's been raised very differently from the Sora we know. He believes that the light shouldn't exist. [Her frown is pronounced.] He's... dangerous. [The 'but' is obvious before she even speaks it.] But-- I think... that more than anything, he's lost. [And Riku can relate, can't he? He's wandered down the wrong path before. She pauses to regard him in the hopes of ascertaining how he's taking this.]

((ooc: Pssssst, they moved everything over. http://towerofanimus.dreamwidth.org/90558.html?thread=7547838#cmt7547838 ))

OCC

[justabignobody]

Aadshga I totally missed that, thank you! I've posted the last missing tag over, so we can continue this thread there, if you want?

Re: OCC

[lethechained]

No problem! And sure, I'll repost right away. /o/