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oo51 [action / written / video]
[ It's a clear, cold day when a girl comes walking out of the forest. She is slow and careful about her way, as if she's not quite sure what she's doing - which she isn't. She also has the unmistakable air of a person who is hopelessly lost and not entirely willing to admit it, and thus is soldiering on nonetheless.
She feels very confused. Very much like she's forgotten something very important, but she just can't remember what. And she's very tired of that feeling, too. Memories... and loss, and fear, and confusion. It all feels familiar and she wishes desperately it wasn't. She wanted to be done.
She'd died. She'd faded away in Roxas's arms, that was supposed to be the end! She was going back... why was she here? Had something gone wrong?
What had happened to Sora?
Xion finds her way, somehow or other, into the village. She is not wearing the typical New Feather garb - instead, she is carrying that dress over one arm, garbed instead in her normal Organization uniform, which she found beside her when she awoke. Along with ... one other thing. There was a ring on her finger. It was very pretty, but it certainly didn't belong to her. After all, how could it? She'd never seen it before in her life. It ends up in the pocket of her coat, largely forgotten. If this is all a trick of some kind, it's a really elaborate one.
Of course, in the village she finds people. So many people! More than she's sure she's ever seen before, and initially she shrinks from them and runs to hide. She peers around the corners of buildings and skulks along pathways, keeping her hood up when she must walk out in the open. But she's obviously pretty frightened and distressed when she's unable to tuck herself out of sight, jumping at small noises and then trying to pass it all off as if everything were fine. ]
... I don't understand. Roxas... Sora... what happened to you?
[ Such are the things she muses worriedly out loud to herself. Eventually, she just goes to sit by the river. Her hood remains up, reluctant still as she is to reveal her face, but she's looking over the journal. It reminds her a little of the one she used to keep at home... but there's writings from other people in it! So strange...
She'll finally pick up her pen, her curiosity getting the better of her cautiousness in the end. ]
Hello? Who's out there? This little book... it feels so familiar, but I don't remember why. I know I've never seen it before.
This world feels familiar, too. How can a place you've never been to feel familiar? I don't have any memories of this world at all. I wish I knew what was going on.
[ She crosses something out. ] I probably shouldn't write this like a journal entry... there are other people out there, right? People who can read this, too. Just like I can read what you say. It's so strange. I guess it must be magic.
[ There's a pause, then. She doesn't dare write her name, does she? What if the Organization is here? She pauses a long moment. Well... well, there is one thing she can try. She doesn't have to give her name... no one should know her, anyway... and even if they did... they shouldn't remember. It should be safe.... shouldn't it?
She puts down her pen, and hunts around on the journal page some more. She knew she saw a little picture earlier-- there! Xion manages to switch on the video function. At first her cowl hides her face in shadow, making her features somewhat inscrutable.
Then she transfers the journal to one hand and slowly, somewhat reluctantly, pulls her hood down. This is Xion, alright - bright, uncertain blue eyes and raven dark hair. But her hair is short, and her face still somewhat round and very young. She will very different from the accomplished young woman who normally goes by her name.
After a hesitant pause, she speaks up again. ]
I'm... I'm looking for someone. He's ... he's a boy with spiky brown hair. [ She makes a somewhat silly gesture over her own head with her free hand, indicating at the shape of his hair. ] And he, um... he always wears red. And he's got blue eyes, like mine...
[ She pauses for a second, swallowing a wince. Like mine...
Xion doesn't dare say his name out loud, for some reason. ]
I don't know if he'll be here, but... it can't hurt to try. If I'm going to start anywhere... I guess it should be there. But I really should go home...
[ She looks off to the side, concerned and a little sad. She can't think of anything else to say, so she just awkwardly presses the journal shut. ]
She feels very confused. Very much like she's forgotten something very important, but she just can't remember what. And she's very tired of that feeling, too. Memories... and loss, and fear, and confusion. It all feels familiar and she wishes desperately it wasn't. She wanted to be done.
She'd died. She'd faded away in Roxas's arms, that was supposed to be the end! She was going back... why was she here? Had something gone wrong?
What had happened to Sora?
Xion finds her way, somehow or other, into the village. She is not wearing the typical New Feather garb - instead, she is carrying that dress over one arm, garbed instead in her normal Organization uniform, which she found beside her when she awoke. Along with ... one other thing. There was a ring on her finger. It was very pretty, but it certainly didn't belong to her. After all, how could it? She'd never seen it before in her life. It ends up in the pocket of her coat, largely forgotten. If this is all a trick of some kind, it's a really elaborate one.
Of course, in the village she finds people. So many people! More than she's sure she's ever seen before, and initially she shrinks from them and runs to hide. She peers around the corners of buildings and skulks along pathways, keeping her hood up when she must walk out in the open. But she's obviously pretty frightened and distressed when she's unable to tuck herself out of sight, jumping at small noises and then trying to pass it all off as if everything were fine. ]
... I don't understand. Roxas... Sora... what happened to you?
[ Such are the things she muses worriedly out loud to herself. Eventually, she just goes to sit by the river. Her hood remains up, reluctant still as she is to reveal her face, but she's looking over the journal. It reminds her a little of the one she used to keep at home... but there's writings from other people in it! So strange...
She'll finally pick up her pen, her curiosity getting the better of her cautiousness in the end. ]
Hello? Who's out there? This little book... it feels so familiar, but I don't remember why. I know I've never seen it before.
This world feels familiar, too. How can a place you've never been to feel familiar? I don't have any memories of this world at all. I wish I knew what was going on.
[ She crosses something out. ] I probably shouldn't write this like a journal entry... there are other people out there, right? People who can read this, too. Just like I can read what you say. It's so strange. I guess it must be magic.
[ There's a pause, then. She doesn't dare write her name, does she? What if the Organization is here? She pauses a long moment. Well... well, there is one thing she can try. She doesn't have to give her name... no one should know her, anyway... and even if they did... they shouldn't remember. It should be safe.... shouldn't it?
She puts down her pen, and hunts around on the journal page some more. She knew she saw a little picture earlier-- there! Xion manages to switch on the video function. At first her cowl hides her face in shadow, making her features somewhat inscrutable.
Then she transfers the journal to one hand and slowly, somewhat reluctantly, pulls her hood down. This is Xion, alright - bright, uncertain blue eyes and raven dark hair. But her hair is short, and her face still somewhat round and very young. She will very different from the accomplished young woman who normally goes by her name.
After a hesitant pause, she speaks up again. ]
I'm... I'm looking for someone. He's ... he's a boy with spiky brown hair. [ She makes a somewhat silly gesture over her own head with her free hand, indicating at the shape of his hair. ] And he, um... he always wears red. And he's got blue eyes, like mine...
[ She pauses for a second, swallowing a wince. Like mine...
Xion doesn't dare say his name out loud, for some reason. ]
I don't know if he'll be here, but... it can't hurt to try. If I'm going to start anywhere... I guess it should be there. But I really should go home...
[ She looks off to the side, concerned and a little sad. She can't think of anything else to say, so she just awkwardly presses the journal shut. ]
[voice]
What he sees feels like a knife made of ice just stabbed him in the chest and twisted for good measure.
It's Xion. But... younger. Wearing that cloak. Acting like she just arrived, like she didn't remember anything at all.]
Xi -
[Luke probably should've asked questions, tried to help her. But instead, he shuts the journal as the ice in his chest seems to spread all the way to his fingers and toes, making him want to curl up and hug himself and never open that journal again, to flee to safety, to never look back.
She's... gone, isn't she? That's why she was missing. They returned her to her world and this - this is her, just arriving from when she - when -
She doesn't remember him, it's over, it's over, it's over it's over it's over.
Luke should've expected this; he knew it wouldn't last forever and he knew it would be painful, but this? He feels like he wants to die. It's over, it's over, she'll look at him and there'll be no recognition, not even if she sees their apartment, not even -
It's then that he shoots his head up, only just realizing that he had it pressing against his knees. Her room. He - He has to look. He has to make sure. Some of her things are still here in his room, but that could just as well be counted as his. He has to see her room.
At the same time, facing what might be an empty room is just like facing a huge, ugly monster that could devour him, the same one that stabbed that icy knife into his heart in the first place.
It's with a few deeps breaths and shutting his eyes and counting to himself that he stands. It's with a glance at the journal, then at the picture beside their - his bed, that he steps out the door. It's over, it's over, it's over.
Soon, he's in front of her door, and he just... stares at the door, hand hovering over the knob. He's so afraid, but -
It's over.
He turns the knob, pushes the door open -
...
Everything's still there. Just the way she left it - or, rather, just the way he left it, when he decided to clean it while she was gone.
A thunk resounds as he falls to his knees, hand gripping the doorknob so tightly that his knuckles turn white, and he lets out a long, long sigh of pure relief.
It isn't over.
After a moment of collecting himself, he's sitting on his - their bed again, staring down at the journal now. The ice in his veins, while melted to quite a degree, still hasn't totally melted. This is a kidnapping effect, he's sure of that now, but she still doesn't know him. He wants to learn about her, discover what she was like before he met her, but at the same time, he's scared to. He knows she'll look at him with confusion, and he knows he won't see her eyes light up when she sees him.
Is this how she felt when they returned him as his past self? And she still talked to him, despite being so sad that whole time...
It's with that thought that he finally does open the journal, takes a breath, and... lets it out, words catching in his throat. What does he even say? How is he supposed to do this? He wants to shut the journal and lock himself up until this is over, what should he do, what - ]
It's... It's pretty confusing, huh?
[voice]
... yeah. I just wish I knew where I was, or ... or why.
[ She does not recognize him at all. ]
[voice]
This is so hard.
He presses his lips together and turns his head away, a hand moving up to rub at the back of his neck. He hopes he just looks awkward. He probably looks a tad distressed instead.]
A lot of us think that when we... just show up here. [But you've been here, you have, you were here before I was, you - ...]
Luceti. [...] I mean... Uh, that's what this place is called. Luceti.
[voice]
[ She opes her eyes again, looking down. She has noticed his distress, but she has no idea as to its source, and doesn't want to pry. ] But that can't be right. I've never been here before. Wouldn't I remember...?
[ She trails off in sudden silence. She didn't remember Castle Oblivion... not until later. Much later. Maybe someone has toyed with her memories... or there's more to her past she doesn't know. But hadn't she come to the end of it?
She can't help the look of dejection on her face. ]
[voice]
He wants to touch her face. He wants to hug her. He wants to stroke her hair and assure her that everything will be all right, they'll figure this out together. But... he can't. He can't and it hurts.
But still... he can't just let her stay dejected. So he looks back at the journal, and he tries his best to smile.]
Maybe if you do have memories of this place, then... they're just locked up in your heart right now. That doesn't mean you should try to force them or worry about it or anything. Just... you know. Learn about this place and... make friends. Your heart will know when to remember.
[She's the one who taught him that.]
[voice]
... I shouldn't be here. I really can't stay. Besides, I ... I have friends. They're waiting for me... they need me. I can't just leave them behind.
[voice]
[He has a world to save. He has a duty to his world that's impossible to break. He has Tear and Asch and Guy and Natalia and - ]
This is going to sound kind of crazy. But when you're here, time actually stops back on your world. So when you go back, you'll go back to that moment in time.
... I know, that sounded really weird. I'm not sure how to... uh...
[voice]
[ So ... so maybe it's okay? If time stopped, then.... then Sora won't be hurt. When she goes back, she'll return to him... like nothing ever happened.
She sighs, relieved. But still... ]
I -- I really want to believe that. But how do you know...?
[voice]
[He looks away again. Despite himself, he feels a little smile come up. Yeah, it was only once... and maybe it didn't count, since Kairi was there with him.
Kairi.]
I was on this big ferry when I got here, just reading a few letters. And when I got back, I was back on that boat and still reading those letters.
So... yeah. Just like that.
[voice]
[ She does relax, visibly. Sora... he'll be okay. ]
... do you know why I have these wings?
[voice]
Just not for him, or anyone else who knows her. God, Sanji, he has to let him know it's an experiment somehow, and not actually...]
Yeah. Everyone gets them when they show up.
[He leans to the side, enough to stretch his wing beyond his shoulder and flap it a few times. He still hates those things.]
I still don't really know why they're there. [He does glance at the journal, and he does let the side of his lips quirk up a bit.] To annoy the living hell out of us?
[voice]
They hurt... is that normal?
[voice]
[Her stuff is still there. He clings to that knowledge, makes himself believe in it with his whole heart. She's still here. It'll just... take some time.]
They'll stop hurting after a while. Oh, but don't pull on them or anything. They'll just feel worse if you do that.
[Luke would rather not tell her what happens if you try cutting them off, but... maybe later. After she's a little more settled. Provided she doesn't try it before that.]
[voice]
Hey, what's your name?
[voice]
My name is Luke. Luke fon Fabre.
[Should he tell her that he knows her name? Knows her? When he came back without memories of Luceti, he'd been driven to the point of frustration and even a bit of fear by everyone knowing who he was. But...]
[voice]
[voice]
[Still hard. Still so, so hard.]
Hey... Can I ask you something?
[voice]
[voice]
But... he needs to know.]
Did you have a ring on you when you showed up?
[voice]
[ She blinks, having totally forgotten about it. But after a moment's thought she reaches into her pocket and pulls it out, then holds it up to the journal's camera. ]
You mean like this? How did you know? Why do I have it?
[voice]
[That's it. The ring. That proves, more than ever, that this is her. And it makes a small amount of ice still in his veins melt away as relief comes over him.
... But if she doesn't know the significance behind it, then he'd rather she not leave it somewhere, or give it to someone else. He wants to give it to her when she remembers... and keep it safe in the meantime.]
[voice]
[ But she's beginning to suspect that her memories are lying to her. ]
[voice]
But I really have been looking for it, so...
[He's aware of how weird this sounds. But what else is he supposed to do? This is important.]
[voice]
... I have been here before, haven't I? If I have something of yours... plus what everyone else has been saying.
[ Rather somberly. ] And you knew me before. That's why I have something of yours, isn't it?
[ She can be perceptive. Sometimes. But it's gotten impossible to ignore all the clues. ]
[voice]
Yeah. I'm sorry... I was going to tell you later, if we met up. You've probably got a bunch of other people saying they remember you, so...
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