fourteen | oo39 [ action ]

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oo39 [ action ]

[ There is a creature in the plaza.

Though initially it hid behind the clothing shop, it seems to be venturing out now, just slightly ... looking for an opening to sneak away.

Can this creature summon portals on its own? Xion does not understand it, this body. She has seen these things before, of course, but to BE one? It's strange and terrifying. She'd known before, when she had Sora's face, felt it, but ... hadn't that been an exception? She'd tried -- right now, she couldn't even talk. And she could feel it. This wrong face, this wrong body, not hers. The only thing that might mark her, right now, is a curious (possibly cruel) artifact the Malnosso let her keep upon her return. Around the creature's neck, on a chain, is a ring. Xion does not seem to have realized it is there. She has rather more important things on her mind, after all.

Turned into a Dusk. The one threat Xemnas always turned on his members should they become unruly. She'd known. But how... he's not here! She'd only been taken for a night at most. How could the Malnosso....

What is wrong with her?

Should you be about in the evening, you may see this creature trying to rush, twist, and dart its way back to house 14 in that odd, swaying way Dusks seem to move.

But be careful if you run into her while you're out -- she just might turn into someone else entirely. ]

(ooc; all replies will come from

aboysface, and probably tomorrow, as I am heading to bed. |Db)

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Xion... [Something seems off - that wasn't just from flinching away. He scoots and leans around to wrap an arm around her shoulders and lift her upper body from the ground, supporting her. It's as if she's having a hard time supporting herself at all...]

Are you okay?

[ She lets him do it, but does not respond in any way. She just ducks her head.

... everything is kind of hazy ... it takes her a very long moment -- too long -- to even parse his question. It really is like ... when she was new ... the whole world was so confusing, with too much ... color, and sound, and ... too many things ... ]

[... What happened to her?

Luke frowns in worry and reaches his free hand down to give her cheek the lightest brush of his fingers, hesitates... In a way, he's almost afraid to see what's under there. What is it that's causing her to be this way? To act... he doesn't even know how she's acting. But... there's something wrong with her, and he needs to find out what.

So, Luke brings his hand up to take her hood and try to pull it back... only to find that it's impossible. He doesn't want to yank too hard, but no matter how hard he pulls otherwise, the hood stays as if it's glued on. And upon leaning down to get a good look at her face above her nose... All he sees is darkness. Even a hood shouldn't cover someone's face with that much darkness...

Except... he sees a few features. Not the ones he knows so well... They're like...

Like a doll.

Is... that what she turned into? The basic form of herself? What she really...

The realization makes Luke widen his eyes, but nothing more. So... this is Xion, when she has no memories to define her, to guide her movements. A doll... Like he would've been, were he created without Asch to be copied from.]

[ She doesn't feel the tugs on her hood. It's like nothing is happening. Because who's to say the hood is really there? What she is right now is only an image they both perceive... something they think is there, but isn't. All she is is some thing... just this chameleon-like doll that can't even function right.

Oh, come on, don't look shocked. You already know you're a Replica.

A puppet whose original purpose was to duplicate Roxas's powers.

Her awareness of what's happening around her is still somewhat hazy, though slowly beginning to clear. Though she feels him brush her cheek, she does not respond to that, either. She "looks" up at him -- a bare tilt of her head -- and reaches up with uncertain fingertips to touch his face. ]

[Once he feels her fingers against his face, Luke reaches up to hold her hand with his, pressing her fingers closer to his cheek. It's... kind of scary, like this. She's so... blank. But she needs his help, and really, no matter how she looks, no matter how much of a doll she is right now...

She'll always be Xion to Luke.

So, he lets go of her hand, brings his free arm around her neck and pulls her closer with both arms, supporting her against his body in an embrace, and tilts his head down to hide his mouth and nose against the top of her hooded head. She might not know what's going on right now, she might not even know who he is right now... But even so, he wants to support her. To be there for her... Even to love her like this.]

Edited 2011-05-17 06:28 (UTC)

[ ... she's being held. She should respond, right? That's what she should do.

Does she remember how? She's aware of what's going on, feels the stimuli, but none of it makes a lot of sense. The world exists, but the framework she'd normally use to parse it doesn't exist right now. So it's there, just a mass of things and sensations, simply existing, pulsing, full of life and utterly nonsensical to her.

She should respond, right?

Her hands come up, but ... she only rests them against him. Against his sides. What is she to do with them? Something... what was it...?

She remembers how to fight. Magic, killing heartless, would come easily. That is what she was programmed to do. This was ... never in her programming. ]

[Which is all right. That's... part of who she is.

But now that she's like this, they can't just stay out here. After a moment of just holding her, Luke opens his eyes and shifts his arms so that one stays around her shoulders while the other slides under her knees, and he lifts her up and starts to walk towards his apartment building quietly. If he spoke, he's sure she wouldn't speak back, anyway...

Hopefully she won't stay like this the whole time... or, if she does, she won't remember it. He can't imagine how Xion would react, knowing that she turned into her basic doll-like self for a while... Luke could - probably handle it, but Xion?

... Lord, how is he going to feed her like this? They were just talking about food earlier...]

[ She opens her mouth a little when he lifts her, as if she would speak, but not sound comes out. She tilts her head a little, as if she might be looking at him ... then tilts it away, as if looking out in front of them instead. "As if," as if. It is hard to define what a doll might do; it is a doll, and has very little will of its own.

However, that is what she is trying to do -- see where they are going. But the blur of motion is incredibly overwhelming, making her lack of comprehension far worse than when she had been still. She curls up a little in his arms, a tremble passing briefly through her body before she settles and stops trying to focus on anything at all. ]

[Luke felt that tremble, and he paused in his steps to look down at her. What...

Ah. He thinks he understands... To a doll who's never felt or seen movement before, it could be pretty overwhelming. So, he slides the hand at her shoulders enough to gently turn her head towards his body, enough to rest comfortably against him and hopefully keep her sight down at her stomach, before he gets a good grip on her and walks forward again. She probably can't understand him, but he'll try to speak anyway.]

Xion, I'm... [It's only at that moment that Luke realizes that his voice sounds thick, and it wavers a little. The realization spreads further; his eyes hurt, as does his chest. He shuts his eyes and swallows before he looks ahead of him again, biting his lip briefly. He had to be strong for this, even though this honestly scared and depressed him.]

I'm taking you back to my apartment. Don't worry... I'll take care of you, okay? [And a smile. Or, at least, an attempt.]

[ She shifts, briefly. Her head moves - her hands open and close. Small, gentle movements. They mean absolutely nothing. They signify no particular response to anything he's said. She gives no sign she's heard or understood.

After all, she can't. She's just a doll.

But something about that ... that tone in his voice. It only barely filters through her drastically weakened ability to perceive that it has changed, but she can sense it. She does not understand what it is, or what it might mean, but ... it is different from before.

She should respond, right?

Incredibly, she smiles. It is slight, and he'll have to look back down to her to see it. She makes the effort to look up at him, and give him that smile .... for just a moment, before her head drops back down to the way he positioned it when he shifted his grip. Maybe it is enough. She does not really understand why she did that, other than that it seemed like the thing she should do. ]

Edited 2011-05-19 05:19 (UTC)

[Luke does look down at her when she moves her head to look at him, and he does see that smile, even if it only lasted for a moment.

At that moment, when she smiled, despite how much of a doll she was... Xion was beautiful. Not that she isn't always like that to him, but it was such... such an incredible moment. She smiled. He's sure she didn't understand what he said, but she still smiled for him. And that gave him some hope. For a moment before that, he had almost thought she'd be this way forever, that he'd lost her... But she smiled. He wasn't so afraid anymore. Sure, that fear was still there, and he was still sad, but it didn't feel like such a cold grip anymore.

So, he smiled for her, a little more real this time, though she might not see it.]

... Thank you.

[He looks ahead, his spirits at least rising enough to take that waver out of his voice.]

I'm not sure how Asch will react if he sees you like this... Knowing him, he probably won't like it. Maybe he'll understand, though... And you can stay in my room for a while.

[ She does not respond. She will not, until they reach the apartment. But she does curl against him, and -- perhaps unwittingly -- she crosses one of her arms over her stomach, to rest her hand against his chest. ]

[He knows she won't. But that doesn't stop him from talking idly to her, about Asch and how he's been handling the aftermath of the experiment, about how he took his own mattress up to the mountains - that's why his bed looks a little different, see, about a few little things... until they reach the apartment, anyway.

He calls for Asch, and once he doesn't see a response, he can't help relaxing. How would Asch react if he saw Luke carrying Xion, who was acting like a newborn replica? He strides forward, towards his room, and looks around at the things in his apartment. What should he do for her while she's like this? If he can teach her to eat, he could always get some leftovers. What else...]

We're here. Heh, I still can't really call it home yet...

[ Finally, she stirs a little in his arms. Oh... were you carrying Xion, Luke? Now it is some other girl, though her eyes are the same vivid blue. She looks ... very much like Kairi. Very much ... like Xion, if Xion had pale blond hair.

At first, her eyes are unfocused and blank as she tilts her head back at the sound of his voice. Then she looks out, at the apartment... Her brows furrow, but she doesn't speak yet. Slowly the pieces are coming back together... ]

[At first he doesn't really notice. Luke's too busy walking to his room and pushing open the door with his foot. He never really leaves it closed unless he's going to sleep or has something to hide, anyway.

It's just as he shifts her in his arms in an effort to place her on the bed that he looks down at her and notices that the hood is gone. And... blond hair? She still looks very much like Xion, though.

...

Honestly, the first thought that pops up into his head is "How many hair colors does she have?" before it sinks in that she's no longer a doll. Well... she might not be. It gets him to stare for a moment, though. He's afraid to confirm if she is or not, but...]

... Xion?

[ ... she's being held. She's in ... Luke's arms?

It's just as dizzying, having the whole world come abruptly into perspective instead of go out of perspective, so while initially she tries to get a better look around, she soon ends up pressing her hand over her eyes with a wince. She turns her face into his chest, trying to make her head stop spinning, but she does manage a single word: ]

Luke?

[She... She said his name. And she's wincing and pressing her hand to her eyes and -

Thank goodness. Thank goodness...

Luke finishes shifting, but only to ease her into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. He lowers his own body, too, so that she doesn't have to move her head away from him, and he ends up with one leg on the bed and one still on the floor, both arms around her shoulder and just... holding her. That pain in his chest and his eyes is back again, though he isn't really sure why. He's happy.]

... Hey.

[ Her mind is still playing catch up with the last few minutes. Did he ... where were they? How did they get here...? He must have carried her ... from ... behind the bakery? What happened in between...?

But he's still holding her so close, and though it's a strain and it hurts just a little bit, she manages to reach up and touch his face. ]

... what's wrong?

[Give him a minute, Xion.

...

Once that's done, Luke leans back and loosens his hold, bringing his arms back so that he can press his palms against both of her cheeks.]

... I don't really know. Something... happened to you. It was like... like you were a newborn replica.

[ ... whatever color she had in her cheeks drains, and she just turns ashen.

She has no memory of being new the first time. Not really. Even back home the memories were hazy, and it's been even longer now.... she barely remembers even a scant second of that first week or so. One of her very first memories is saying Roxas's name. There is -- one other moment -- in Castle Oblivion, but -- it's a strain to even recall--

And that .... just now...?

She pulls in a breath, not even caring that horror is slowly seeping into her features, and squeezes her eyes shut. Color floods back into her face at the same time -- from shame. ]

I... [ ... don't even know what to say. ]

Xion...

[He definitely recognizes that expression. He's worn it a few times himself.

Luke's hands slide to the back of her head, and he rests his forehead gently against hers, a calm sort of solemness on his face. He's in such an awkward position, and the leg on the floor is starting to ache a little from it, but that doesn't matter. She needs him right now.]

... I'll be right here if that happens again.

[ She shuts her eyes when he does that, swallowing a sob and taking a deep, slow breath.

... there's nothing for it. She winds her arms around his neck and clings. ... this has got to be a precarious position... ]

[Especially since the leg that's supporting most of his weight is already weaker like this, and with her pulling him forward a little -

His leg gives out, and has to let go of her to grab onto the bedsheets in an effort to not fall to the floor. Of course, it happens anyway since bedsheets are a rather poor support for things like this, and his other leg slides off the bed as he falls right to his knees with his head near Xion's... well.

But he's too busy wincing and thinking that he's so going to get a nasty bruise on his knees to notice.]

Edited 2011-05-21 06:53 (UTC)

[ .... .... OH GOD.

Her reaction time is still a little slow, so it takes her a moment to realize what's just happened. When she does -- and understands that it is also HER FAULT -- she bites her lip, hard, and takes his chin in her hands. ]

Luke! Are you okay?

[And Luke's attention is directed at her face, which is a good thing, considering what his head is level with. ... Not that he'd pay attention to those with the pain he's in, but still.

He gives a smile, a tight one, and just waits for the pain to get out of his knees. Owwww he kind of just wants to double over or something, but he's tough! He can take it!!]

I'm fine, I'm fine...

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