caughtinanetwork | 002 | [dream/video]

Entry tags:

002 | [dream/video]

The dream starts off fairly simply.

It's a black void. There's no visible floor or ceiling or anything to be seen, but Xion's heels still click as she walks like there was one anyway. Her gait speaks of confidence, her appearance is that of the black haired Kairi lookalike that she considers her own. Despite the fact that there's no destination in sight, her aimless walk is highlighted by some hidden spotlight. This continues for a while, until she begins to approach something in the distance.

What she's approached is a mirror, but what's reflected back is much different. The figure in the mirror has no face to speak of, and as she places her hand to the glass-- her gloves conspicuously absent-- she is startled by the articulate doll joints that now allow her hand to move instead of muscle and bone. She jerks back as if to gasp in surprise but she makes no sound. Putting her doll hands to her face, she's met with a smooth, blank expanse. The faceless figure in the mirror is her.

Her distress begins to build when she attempts to turn away from the mirror and finds that she can't. There's some unintelligible murmuring in the background now, and the invisible spotlight keeps trained on her fruitless attempts to move. Something is holding her back. She can see strings attached to her limbs now, and as the murmuring grows to become full fledged yelling, each voice jerks her bound figure in a different direction.

"The Organization has no use for a broken tool..."

"...They're gonna destroy you!"

"I can't save you, not even a memory..."

"Then come back with us..."

"...What's right for you and your friends, and everyone else..."

Each new voice pulls her this way and that, until she's so tangled in the strings she can barely move. They've wound around he neck, pulling tighter and tighter. Her clumsy doll fingers claw uselessly at her throat, and it doesn't matter that she has no way to breathe, she just wants to scream for everyone to be quiet. It's over, she did what she had to do, what else do you want? But of course she has no mouth to scream with and the strings just pull even tighter as the cacophony of voices finally join her own to say,

"It's time for this puppet to play her part."

[And with that Xion starts awake, the scream finally ripping its way out of her mouth. Breathing heavily, she runs her hands over her face feeling all the features and poking at her cheeks to feel that they really are flesh and blood. That fear allayed, she lets out a slow breath. Her sleep had often been fitful when she still had that choice to make, but her nightmares had never been as vivid as this. Apparently, she'd been wrong to hope they'd leave her be now.]

ooc: Tags will be slow ~~as if they aren't already, sob~~ since I'm out of town at the moment.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Seems like everyone is lately.

[Before he'd gotten here she'd checked her device over and discovered the plethora of recorded dreams on the network. Something was definitely going on.]

I've been better. My problems don't usually bother my in my sleep quite like that.

Except for Mickey. [ A small smile. ] His was kinda funny.

I figured. [ He moves forward, and looks her in the eye. It's a flash, but for an instant he's able to see that girl with the dark hair and blue eyes that he'd had in her dream. This is how she usually looks, isn't it?

He relaxes, and reaches a hand to lay comfortingly on an arm. ]

Did you wanna talk about it?

[She moves out of the way to let him in. No point in having a conversation in a a doorway. she crosses her arms in front of her chest as more of a self-comforting gesture than anything.]

There isn't a whole lot to talk about really. It's all things that happened back home that are done with now.

[It doesn't mean they aren't still bothering her, though. The dream and her current expression are proof enough of that.]

[ He takes his cue and enters, standing within a reasonable distance of her once she closes the door. The look on her face mirrors what's evident in his eyes: those images had evoked bad, bad memories. And they're still bothering them both. ]

Just because they're done with doesn't mean we've dealt with those things.

[ That's something he can admit freely. And he still wants to comfort her, without making her feel like she's weak or unable to deal with her own problems. So, the easiest way is to pull out his wayfinder, and reach for one of her hands, in order to lay it in her palm where it'll glow a soft green. ]

On our own, we're strong. But if we lean on each other, we're stronger. That's what friends are for. We can help each other get past these things, if you want to talk about them.

[ He'll actually open up, too, if she does. Which would be a big step. ]

[As he places the wayfinder in her hands, she's reminded of one particularly strong memory of Kairi that she used to have. She looks down at the charm, a bit of wonderment showing in her eyes, and begins to speak softly to herself,]

"'Wherever you go, I'm always with you,' right?"

[She looks back up to Ven, unsure how to describe how she's feeling without getting into the background info first.]

...How much do you know about Replicas?

[ It's a memory he doesn't have, but that sounds exactly like how Aqua'd described the charms at first. He nods. ]

It's an unbreakable connection; no matter how far apart you are from your friends, you're still connected to them.

[ He tilts his head. ]

Nothing at all. Can you tell me more about it?

I don't know so much about them myself, but I do know that it's a copy of someone made using their memories. Most of the people I worked with before saw them as little more than tools.

It's what I am, and it's why I look different to everyone that sees me.

[She bites her lip nervously when she's done, waiting for his response. Roxas and Axel knew enough about the organization and their projects and it was still a difficult thing for her to explain. With Ven knowing nothing, she doesn't have much more information to fall back on beyond this.]

[ Throughout her explanation, Ven maintains eye contact. Those eyes are still blue. He shakes his head, reaching out to close her palm over the wayfinder. ]

I don't know how it's supposed to work. But you're your own person.

The light in your heart is yours. [ And the darkness. ]

You're not a tool. And if anyone here tries to treat you like that, I'll stand with you and deal with 'em.

[ That, and. ] Your hair is dark and your eyes are blue. Right?

[All she can do is look back and forth between him and the charm. Xion isn't sure how to deal with his outpourings of kindness.]

Thank you. I really hope all that is over now, though.

[She quirks an eyebrow under the hood when he describes her and starts to wonder what he'd see now.]

Yeah, they are...

Ven, you usually see me as Sora, right?

[She pulls back the hood] What do you see now?

So do I. This isn't such a bad world to be stuck in most of the time.

[ He nods. ] Yeah, I do.

[ And when she removes the hood, he blinks once and then smiles at her. No matter how sad he is inside, he is happy. ]

You, I think. You're pretty.

[ His eyes widen, when he realizes what he's said. Ven looks slightly sheepish, but none too apologetic. That'd been some honesty right there. When a girl looks like how Aqua must've when she was their age?

She's pretty. ]

T-thank you...

[That wasn't what she was expecting at all. She's never really gotten a compliment on her appearance before, and she's looking plenty sheepish herself now.]

It's really just Kairi's face, at least how Sora remembered it at the time, but it's the closest thing to mine I think I've got.

Y-You're welcome.

[ He's new to this complimenting girls thing, but he likes the smile he's gotten from it. He smiles a little. ]

You, she and Aqua all kinda look alike. But you're definitely easy to tell apart.

Yeah. I still wonder where the black hair came from sometimes.

[She finds the last name is one she's not familiar with]

Who is Aqua? One of your friends?

Maybe it just comes from you. [ He likes it, anyway.

And he nods. ]

She's a Keyblade Master. She, Terra and I were all training together under Mas--

[ He bites his lip, swallows, and manages to say the name quietly. ]

Master Eraqus.

[He seemed so cheerful before talking about his master]

Did... something happen to him?

[ He glances downward. ]

Mickey said he's gone. And.. and that Xehanort's responsible.

[ Trying to be strong's only going so far. His eyes are bright when he looks back up at her. ]

Sorry.

[She looks at him sympathetically for a moment before taking the wayfinder in her hand and placing it in his palm, repeating his earlier gesture. She absently wonders if she left her friends feeling like that too, or if they even remembered her long enough to be sad.

She isn't sure which she'd prefer, but right now her new friend has problems of his own.]

Don't apologize. We get stronger by leaning on each other, right? It's your turn to talk.

Y-Yeah, I remember. I wasn't always his student.

[ he clenches the wayfinder tightly in his hand. ]

Xehanort found me, and started my training. He wanted me to give into the darkness in my heart and use it to fight these monsters he summoned.

[ Heartless. Purebloods. He still has no clue what they are. ]

So he took the darkness out of me. It made a whole other person. My heart couldn't survive without it, and I wouldn't have if Sora's heart hadn't reached out. When he saw I was alive, he took me to stay with master Eraqus.

[ Looking back up at her. ] He didn't just train me. I was treated like I was part of his family. Like Terra and Aqua.

[ There's more to it, but. It's such a long story that it's impossible to explain in one go. ]

[She listens to all he has to say carefully. Quite a bit of what he says piques her interest as well has her sympathy. The way he explains having his heart literally torn in two causes her eyes to narrow. Hearts are not meant to be messed with like that.

His loss seems to be what's on his mind now, though.]

I'm sorry. He must have been very important to you, then.

[Her next question is very tentative. She doesn't want it to bring up any other now-painful memories, but she hopes he can think of some good ones, too.]

What were you training for?

[ He can definitely fill her in about that on a later date.

Right now, he's glad to be able to lean on her. ]

He's the only father I've ever known.

[ That is a wonderful idea. And it knocks him enough out of his sorrow to smile a little. ]

To become a Keyblade Master. That's my dream.

[She's glad her tactic worked, bit even more surprised at his response. She'd always assumed being a weilder was enough.]

You have to train under someone for that?

[ He nods. ] Yeah.

And when you're old and strong enough, there's an exam you need to take to become a Master.

[She isn't focused on any of the exam stuff.]

But that means you're a wielder, too? And your friends?

[ Slowly, he nods-- and then his eyes widen. ]

Too? I've known about Roxas since I got here, but...

You, too?

[ That gets the small smile to stay on his face for awhile. ]

And yeah, we are.

[She doesn't answer in words. Deliberately raising her arm, she calls up her Kingdom Key for a moment.]

It's the only reason I was useful to the Organization. They only needed one wielder, I don't think it mattered if it was me or Roxas.

[Sending it away, she looks at him questioningly. She has her own stories she can go into another time, and his seems much more interesting currentlu.]

More importantly, if there was a master who trains keyblade wielders, how did I not find out about it? It seems like the kind of thing the Organization would have been interested in.

[Of course, it sounds like the exact thing they'd want her to not hear about as well...]

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