In you and I...

[attheclocktower]

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.]

Comments

[attheclocktower]

[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...]

[lethechained]

....

[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?]

[attheclocktower]

[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...]

[lethechained]

[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.]

[attheclocktower]

[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...]

[lethechained]

[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.

[attheclocktower]

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.]

[lethechained]

[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.

[attheclocktower]

[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...]

[lethechained]

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?']

[attheclocktower]

[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?]

[lethechained]

[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.]

[attheclocktower]

[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.]

[lethechained]

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.]

[attheclocktower]

[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.]

[lethechained]

[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.]

[attheclocktower]

[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.]

[lethechained]

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

[... It's strange, that they have that in common, too. That's precisely how Naminé-- well, not!felt when she arrived, and even now, she still wonders. She's found at least some purpose in trying to assist others, in looking after those in the tower, both familiar faces from her own world and faces she's come to recognize since coming to the tower.]

....

That's okay. You'll figure it out. It's... easy to feel lost, when things change so much. [But there's so much more to it than just being taken to the tower, and she knows that.]

[attheclocktower]

[Lost... lost is a good way to describe how she feels right now, and the acknowledgement of that makes the tension in her shoulders ease.]

Yeah...

[But like Naminé said... she could figure this out, she hoped. With Riku and Roxas there, at least...

She looks up, smile a little stronger this time.]

Thank you, Naminé.

[lethechained]

[Naminé finds herself smiling at just the sight of the other girl relaxing slightly, and when Xion looks up again, the blonde is already smiling back. As Naminé thinks it over, that feeling that Xion is someone she should help keeps growing, and that growth takes a leap at the expression of gratitude. She nods, smile still sincere.]

You're welcome, Xion.

[attheclocktower]

[She can't help but feel a little more confident. She was never the great optimist that Roxas was, but at least now she's got some hope, and an idea on how to move forward. She glances around towards the stairs.]

I should probably try to find my friends now. Do you know where they are?

[She's... sort of counting Riku in that.]

[lethechained]

[She pauses. She can't blame Xion for wanting to look for her friends, although Naminé would have liked a little more time to try to figure things out. Once again, that hint of protectiveness makes an appearance, but... truth be told, Xion's likely to find them anyway. Still, Naminé can't quite convince herself to tell Xion their room numbers just yet.]

Well... Roxas does spend time in the library sometimes.

orz so late

[attheclocktower]

[Xion nods, a little to herself. Right... the library. ...she can't remember if she's ever actually been in one before, though knows what one is, certainly. She hadn't seen one so far, yet... At that thought, she pauses, and looks up a little sheepishly.]

That's... further down, right? I haven't looked around that much yet.

S-SOB it's okay ;;

[lethechained]

... Yes.

[Except there's something that Xion really needs to know before she runs off looking for Roxas, and Naminé's not quite sure how to tell her in a way that won't cause more harm than good.]

But, Xion, there's something that you need to know, before you go looking for him.

;w;

[attheclocktower]

[Xion pauses, a little confused by how serious Naminé sounded.]

What is it?

[There's an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, that started when she'd woken up and only intensified once she'd read the letters. Being up here had eased it a little, and finding out Roxas and Riku were here had a lot, but now... was something wrong?]