towerofanimus | In you and I...

Entry tags:

In you and I...

Characters: Xion and everyone!
Setting: Room 1-01 > Dormitory Hallways > Floor 20
Format: Whatever you like!
Summary: Xion's Arrival, plus worrying, plus minor exploring, plus falling back on something familiar
Warnings: Nothing yet, will edit if necessary

[Not being able to move when she'd woken up had been a little scary, but not nearly as terrifying as the letters she'd found just after. The worlds, all of them, gone? They couldn't be... they couldn't! And yet, when she tried to open a darkness corridor to one of them, nothing happened.

She gets dressed from the clothes in her trunk, puts the hood of her black coat up, and after that, she heads out into the dormitory hallways, where she finds one of the network terminals. She may have been able to gain access to files she wasn't supposed to back in the World That Never Was, but it doesn't take much poking around on the device though to come to the conclusion that there's not much more information on what happened on the terminals here.

What was she going to do? What happened to Roxas and Axel, or even Riku? Was this somehow her fault?

At that point, she begins descending the stairs to the floors below, looking around briefly on each floor before continuing.

On floor 20, though, she stops. It's open to the air for the first time. It reminds her a little of the Clock Tower, though it was impossible to mistake the cold, overcast skies for warm, bright Twilight Town. Still, it's familiar, memories that are her own, and right now that familiarity is a comfort. She walks out to the edge and sits, legs hanging over as she stares out. Not that there's much to see.]

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You too.

[She smiles a little in return, pulling her legs back and standing up. If they're going to keep talking, she should... probably close the gap a little, so they're not calling across the floor.

As she moves though, a thought occurs to her and she pauses]

I'm looking for my friends, Roxas and Axel. Do... you know if they're here?

[Naminé seems to hesitate at first to move forward, but after a moment, she follows Xion's example. The mention of those names, though, stops the blonde in her tracks again. That... doesn't make any sense. Roxas and Axel? But if that was the case, Naminé would surely know of her. And yet-- it seems right. It makes no sense. On edge again, Naminé regards the other girl, her expression a serious one.]

....

[Roxas, Axel. Xion? The shades of secondhand memories flash through her mind, indistinct, and she thinks... wasn't there a third person in that group?]

Edited 2012-01-29 05:19 (UTC)

[The silence, plus Naminé's expression causes Xion to shift a little and frown, slightly confused. Had she said something?]

What's wrong?

[Were Axel and Roxas okay? Had something happened to them?

Not to mention there's definitely something familiar, now that she's able to actually see Naminé a bit more closely. She looks a little like... like Kairi, in Sora's memories inside herself. Different, but still similar. Maybe.]

[What's wrong is that Naminé suddenly feels like a sizable chunk of memories have been buried and she doesn't know why. Slowly, things are beginning to drift to the surface. Realizing she's probably making Xion uncomfortable, Naminé forces her attention from those things and focuses it on pulling her mouth back into a smile.]

... Nothing. It's just... [Something that makes her hesitate, apparently.] Do I... know you?

Edited 2012-01-29 06:52 (UTC)

[The question surprises her a little. She thinks for a while, before shaking her head slowly.]

I don't think so...

[Not unless Naminé had met her, right after she'd been made... but then she wouldn't have really known her, since back then, she hadn't really said or done anything, besides follow orders...

There's maybe one way to be sure though... She reaches her hands up, and pulls her hood down so her face is fully visible.]

Edited 2012-01-29 07:24 (UTC)

[The change in Naminé's expression is immediate and accompanied by a sharp intake of breath. That face-- but how? How could there be a girl who looks so much like Kairi (besides Naminé herself)?]

You--

[There's that dizzy feeling again, and it has Naminé pressing a hand to her hand. She doesn't stumble, but she does curl inward, just a bit. It's been quite some time since those memories were buried, and it's significantly disorienting as they start to come back in force, bits and pieces but quite a number of them.]

Edited 2012-01-29 07:34 (UTC)

[Naminé's reaction makes Xion take a step forward in surprise and alarm. What had happened... What had Naminé been about to say? Had she done something...?]

What's wrong?

[Her voice is a little stronger this time, watching Naminé with worry on her face.]

[Naminé slowly removes her hand from her head, eyes opening again and searching the ground as her brow knits. It's-- strange, but as she thinks over those secondhand memories, she's acutely aware of a third figure that wasn't there before. Her eyes focus on Xion again, searching but not accusatory. The more she looks at the other girl, the more she's sure that Xion is the one in tose memories. At first, Naminé wonders if the tower has seen fit to alter her own memories, somehow, but... this feels almost similar to her own work. It's not exactly the same, and at this point, it doesn't even make sense, but she intends to figure it out.]

I... I'm sorry. I got-- a little distracted. [Because she can't just say what she's realized, not when she's not quite sure if Xion is friend or foe, and it is true.]

[Xion looks down and to the side, a little unsure. That'd... looked like a little more than just a distraction, but she knows very well wanting to keep some things to herself, so she doesn't push it. Besides, she really doesn't even know Naminé that well...]

Okay...

[She's not sure where to go after this, what to say after what just happened. She still needs to find the others, even Riku would be a relief at this point. But...]

Edited 2012-01-29 08:57 (UTC)

....

[Naminé watches the other girl in silence for a few moments, considering the options before her. While the blonde finds herself becoming certain that Xion was involved with Roxas and Axel somehow, Naminé still feels a considerable amount of protectiveness over Roxas. How is she to know Xion doesn't mean him harm? ... But the fact remains that if both Xion and Roxas remain in the tower, the chances are that they'll meet sooner or later. Regardless of whether or not Naminé's comfortable with it, it's likely an inevitability. (Something in the back of her mind keeps telling her that it's okay, that there's nothing to worry about, but even if Xion really is a friend of Roxas', he likely won't remember her, just as he still doesn't remember his life before the digital Twilight Town, and that's not okay in and of itself.)]

... Roxas is here.

[It might sound a little out of the blue, but it's an answer, isn't it?]

[It does, a little, despite being the very thing Xion had been thinking about. She lifts her head in surprise, though relief shows clear as day. She doesn't know yet, that the Roxas here is very different from the one she's familiar with, and that her face is about as familiar as Axel's. That's a heartbreak she'll deal with later. For now, she's just so much more at ease, knowing at least one of her friends - her treasured friends - was here.

She'd been struggling so much back home, trying to find out where she'd really belonged, like Riku'd told her to. Suddenly finding herself here, not understanding how or why, besides the letters she'd found upon waking... it hadn't helped. Knowing that everything hadn't changed was a comfort, no matter how small.]

And Axel...?

[She gets the feeling Naminé would have mentioned it though, if he was there...]

[Relief is probably the best expression Naminé could have hoped to see, and see it she does; she's watching Xion closely for her reaction. And Axel... well, that one's a little harder. She really does feel bad to have to say this. (There's a reason she didn't mention him in the first place, after all.)]

He was once, a long time ago. But... he isn't anymore.

[And she offers a sizable pause in order to allow Xion to process that. It's probably not quite as much of a relief. To be honest, Naminé can only hope they just sent him away, rather than anything else that might have happened, which is why she doesn't specify.]

[Xion frowns worriedly and looks down. She's not sure what's worse - the idea that he had been here before or that he had never...

Wait...

She looks up again, confused.]

But... Why are we here? [She reaches a hand into a pocket, pulling out the letters she'd gotten that morning] My letter... it said the worlds were gone...

[Something she really doesn't want to believe...]

[Naminé sees that confusion before the question is asked and prepares herself to be asked-- well, not that, but it is a perfectly legitimate question.]

... No one knows for sure. Everyone gets those letters when they first arrive, but-- whether or not what they say is true isn't clear, either. [She shakes her head.] Whoever it is that controls the tower does things that... hurt everyone. [And she's wondered for some time if it's a study of the heart, much like another group's.] Why, though, I can't say.

That's... horrible.

[Saix would probably scoff or call it foolishness, feeling pity or concern for others suffering, but... she didn't care. She'd long since accepted that she wasn't like what he thought she should be. She didn't like it, but she wouldn't let it stop her.

So... everyone was brought here because their worlds were "destroyed." Or at least they got all the letters that said so.]

But... if the worlds are destroyed... how could Axel have been here before...?

[She'd seen only a little while ago.]

[The girl frowns as she nods. It is horrible, and now one more person is a part of it.]

Most of the time they leave us alone, but... not always. [And her mind drifts toward that teddy bear and the note, even though she knows she can't and shouldn't dwell on that for too long.]

It's... complicated. The tower can draw people from different points in their world's timeline, or even multiple versions of the same world. It's possible that that is what's happened.

... But, you're right. It's all very suspicious.

[Xion frowns in puzzlement. Different times and places? How was it even possible for the people running this place to do that? It leaves her uneasy, thinking about who all it could bring. And also makes her wonder, when is everyone from? Will they remember the same things she does?

Not to mention it still doesn't answer what's happened now though. She's worried about Axel, and... as mixed as her feelings are, him being the one who fought her and caught her and took her back to the World that Never Was, she... hopes he's okay. He's still her friend, she hopes.

There's a question in her mind, one that she isn't sure how to phrase best. If she knew for sure that there were people from so many worlds - worlds she'd never even been to - it'd be even more confusing.]

Who else is here?

[People she might know, Riku, the Organization...]

A... lot of people. [But she can guess at what Xion really means. The first name that comes to mind is Riku's, followed shortly by Zexion's and... Sora's. Confused though those fragments of memory are, even now Naminé can tell that that was all for a reason.]

There are many from our world here, too. ['Our' is perhaps not the best word to use, but it's entirely true, and it just kind of... slips out. She's finding it harder and harder to be mistrustful of this girl as something in the back of Naminé's mind insists that Xion doesn't mean any harm, she's just-- what? ~~What is she?~~] Some of them you may know, and others you may not. [A distinct pause, and then,] There's a boy named Riku here. ['You know him, don't you?']

[She does.

At Riku's name her eyes widen and her face lights up for a moment, before fading to something a little more... apprehensive. There's a confusing mix of emotions in her chest. Relief, gratitude for the person who helped and guided her, guilt for her role in Sora's continued slumber and her getting caught just two days ago (for her).]

Riku...

[He's here... He's here too...

The relief she feels is a bit hollow. Back in the World that Never Was, she'd been so desparate, wanting to ask him for help, for what to do, when she'd been caught. Now, did it matter anymore? Was it too late?]

[Closely observing Xion's reaction, Naminé finds it a rather telling one. From the puzzle pieces she's managed to fit together, it dimly strikes her as... appropriate? Belatedly, Naminé nods.]

Yes.

[She gives Xion a few more moments to deal with that, then adds,]

There are others... like Zexion. [And this, too, is an attempt to both help Xion and assist herself in better assessing the situation.]

[Zexion... the name rings a bell, vaguely though she has to frown in thought, trying to understand why. Where had she...

Back when she'd first been created, and brought back to The World that Never Was... her memories were such a blur at first, but she'd been told their names, seen their face, though she couldn't put face with name if asked, save one or two.]

He's... he's a member of the Organization, isn't he?

[The ones who didn't come back.]

Yes, he is. [Although Xion's apparent difficulty with that only adds to Naminé's curiosity. That's peculiar, that someone in the Organization wouldn't know all of the members.]

He's the only member still here. [A hesitation.] Besides Roxas. [She supposes, but she's not sure it's really appropriately to count him anymore.] ... And you. [Although for some reason, she's not sure she should count Xion, either.]

[There's a brief flash of surprise, that Naminé knew... though maybe it shouldn't have been that much a surprise. She'd never said it, but... who else wore the coats, besides Riku? As for herself though... Her loyalty to the Organization was shaky at best, anymore. Especially given the help Riku had given her the last month or two, while she was trying to reach her decision...

She shifts uncomfortably.]

I'm not...

[Not what? She... she was still a member of the Organization. Even after being brought back by force, she'd still done the work assigned... partially because she had a feeling she was being watched, but mainly because they had things, things that bound her to them tighter than any chains: her friends.]

... sorry.

[Shaky, tangled-up loyalties aside, there is some relief here. If they were the only ones... no Saix, no Xigbar... no Xemnas. Small favors.]

[That surpise elicits little change in Naminé's expression. She isn't one inclined to lie, or to withhold information unless she deems it necessary. While she otherwise might be more careful about such things, that feeling that Xion isn't an enemy just keeps growing.]

[She's not... a member of the Organization? It sounds right, but Naminé still straightens just a bit. After a brief pause, she shakes her head.]

It's alright. [And it does sound like she means it, because she does.]

[Xion looks down, still unsure. She hadn't been sure of her place, anymore. Of where she belonged. And now she was here, and it just made everything so much more confusing.]

I don't know what I'm supposed to do now.

[Here, or about what had been happening back home... Maybe that's why she wants to find Roxas, and Riku too. If she could just talk to them, to her friends, then maybe she could figure things out.]

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