2--2 [Best Guess 1]

[twilightfell]

[He's been hiding, mostly. Passive. Didn't fight. What's the point? Up till now, he'd been simply watching. Waiting. Taking care of his own, when he had to.

Till now. This really is do or die.]

I remember.

[He's in the hallway where the suites are. Struggling past debris and live wires in the deep gloom, occasionally hissing when he whacks a

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[fallen_cetra]

Tick tock, tick tock. Watch where you walk, little keybearer. Don't want to fall in. The darkness that lies in waiting isn't safe, not familiar. Don't want to get lost in that place.

[twilightfell]

[now his eyes are a little wide again.]

How .. how do you -- how are you doing that? [unconsciously he's lifted a hand to his chest - but he hastily drops it when he realizes]

.. of course we are. Nobodies aren't supposed to exist. [his smile is thin] It's not so bad.

[fallen_cetra]

Can hear the whispers...

Not supposed to, but they do. Doesn't help when they're manufactured.

[twilightfell]

[that gets him. his eyes go big as saucers, then abruptly he lets his head drop a little so he can stare right at the ground]

... I wanted to stop them. I tried. But I was too late. All because of .. [he shoves a hand through his hair and breathes hard through his nose] I didn't want any of that to happen.

[fallen_cetra]

Nothing can stop the war machine, it's all in place. Ticking away in the endless night. You didn't know what they were doing, Roxas. No way for you to know until it was too late.

What they did can't be forgiven, but you can be. It wasn't your fault, just because you existed. It was their decisions to do what they did, to become murderers. You never made that choice, you only tried to stop it. Makes you different from them.

Lost little children in the cold, cold labs. Little bloody pieces on the cold, cold slabs. Not the only one locked away in the ivory towers, kept there because someone wanted their research. [The word is spat, a subtle venom laced through her words. Aerith doesn't like scientists at all anymore. She knows what they do when they're off their leashes.]

[twilightfell]

[she keeps catching him by surprise. he wasn't expecting sympathy. he chances a cautious look up at her, and for just a second there is something incredibly fragile in his eyes - that non-existent self-esteem of his, ready to shatter in an instant if pushed. but the moment passes because her words are .. oddly reassuring.]

... I know. That's what everyone told me. That it wasn't my fault.. But I still .. feel responsible. That's why I fight. To .. to make up for everyone who died because I .. exist.

[he looks down at his hands briefly, thoughtful and quiet] I want to make things right. [his fingers curl into fists, then, brow furrowing at her last words] I know. I hate them. I hate what they did .. all for some experiment. I really hate them.

[but then he realizes -- and his head snaps back up and he looks at her like he's seeing her for the first time] Wait -- not the only -- you mean you -- ?

[fallen_cetra]

Rage, rage against the coming of the night. That's what makes you and Sora different from him. You never give up, but he did.

Remember the taste of freedom, break the cage, break the cycle. Destroy the war machine. Not impossible, just difficult. Keep your friends close, their strength will make you stronger. Don't forget. It's written in your soul. Your body will remember what it felt like to care beyond the guilt and the anger and the rage. Past the pain. Listen to the whispers, they'll lead you home.

Desssstiiiinyyyyyy....small little island by the sea.

[Pain lances through the blank exterior, and Aerith's features twist at the memory.]

Don't drink the water, don't eat the food. Makes you sleepy, they put you on the slab when you sleep. They said they'd come for me, they never came. Felt them return to the Lifestream. They never made it. He killed them. All of them. Stole it from me, took my name. I need it, the Sacred Word.

[twilightfell]

..... [he just listens in silence, brow creased to the point of true sadness -- but understanding, too. then he rubs a hand over his face and only nods.]

Thanks.

[then he watches her again, taking a deep, slow breath]

.. is there .. anything I can do? To help?

[fallen_cetra]

You're welcome.

[She crouches, half hugging her knees, half scrawling glyphs in the dirt. The language is that of the old Cetra, a prophecy that was inscribed on the walls of a temple that Aerith had never set foot inside.]

Broken...don't think it can be fixed. Need to get back, find Holy. Have to stop it.

[twilightfell]

.... I want back. Once. I don't remember much about it, but .. if I did, maybe you could. I even .. came back older. Maybe you'd .. somehow be able to go back to a time where you could.

[he's grasping for straws and he knows it, but .. it's his way of giving her something in return.]

[fallen_cetra]

Several of the lost little children have made it back home. Found the path that cut through the darkness, then it went away again. Some for good. Others returned. The white goddess went and came as well. Tasks still left unfinished, though. Hmmm.

Perhaps. Perhaps. Maybe this is my punishment.

[twilightfell]

.. the white goddess?

[pauses at that, just .. holding himself quiet for a second]

Punishment for what? It doesn't sound like .. you did anything wrong.

[fallen_cetra]

Yes. She's dying with the light. The star-eater is eating her away. Won't last long, she'll fade away into the night long before the rest of us are gone at this rate. The sun can't shine in that darkness.

Couldn't stop it, they all died trying to find me. The Calamity from the Skies is coming, and the plate fell. Killed everyone. I dropped it.

[twilightfell]

... that's not your fault.

[fallen_cetra]

...Perhaps.

[twilightfell]

.. if I didn't do anything wrong .. then you didn't either.