Roxas (
pullsheavendown) wrote in
nysalogs2018-08-16 05:20 pm
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
Entry tags:
You got someone you think you know well
Who: Terra (
earthy), Roxas (
pullsheavendown) and surprise guest star Sora (
happylocksmith)
What: HE'S 👏 NOT 👏 VENTUS 👏 YOU 👏 NUMPTY
When: Some time after everyone returns from Nadril
Where: Olympia
Warning(s): Kingdom Hearts lore is still stupid
[Axel is probably going to be annoyed when he hears later that he was left out of this, and Roxas will proooobably apologize for it...probably. Maybe. Maybe not. It's not that he doesn't appreciate his friend's concern, or that he thinks he wouldn't be just as worried if their positions were the other way around; he does, on both counts. But after what happened when Axel tried explaining things to Terra (or so he'd heard), Roxas is pretty sure it's better if his best friend isn't here for this.
Besides, he wants to handle it himself. In Nadril, he spotted Terra several times and either slipped away or opened a portal and then ran. He's tired of running, and he's tired of hiding behind other people. If this is going to continue to be a problem, he'll solve it.
On the plus side, he's got a couple of things going for him that he didn't during that first surprise meeting.
Around midday, he makes a circuit of Olympia's market district before wandering a little outside it, where there's some space. And then he calls down a pillar of light; briefly, just for a few seconds, high enough that anyone who happens to be paying attention will see it above the buildings. And they might come looking for what made it. If not, well, he supposes he'll be the one who goes looking.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
What: HE'S 👏 NOT 👏 VENTUS 👏 YOU 👏 NUMPTY
When: Some time after everyone returns from Nadril
Where: Olympia
Warning(s): Kingdom Hearts lore is still stupid
[Axel is probably going to be annoyed when he hears later that he was left out of this, and Roxas will proooobably apologize for it...probably. Maybe. Maybe not. It's not that he doesn't appreciate his friend's concern, or that he thinks he wouldn't be just as worried if their positions were the other way around; he does, on both counts. But after what happened when Axel tried explaining things to Terra (or so he'd heard), Roxas is pretty sure it's better if his best friend isn't here for this.
Besides, he wants to handle it himself. In Nadril, he spotted Terra several times and either slipped away or opened a portal and then ran. He's tired of running, and he's tired of hiding behind other people. If this is going to continue to be a problem, he'll solve it.
On the plus side, he's got a couple of things going for him that he didn't during that first surprise meeting.
Around midday, he makes a circuit of Olympia's market district before wandering a little outside it, where there's some space. And then he calls down a pillar of light; briefly, just for a few seconds, high enough that anyone who happens to be paying attention will see it above the buildings. And they might come looking for what made it. If not, well, he supposes he'll be the one who goes looking.]
no subject
He sees no sign of Ven during his several hours of wandering, though. Terra decides at that point that his best bet is likely his Glider. He'll fly over the city, one district at a time. It shouldn't be too hard to pick Ven out from above; Terra'd know that spiky head of hair anywhere, after all.
... Except it turns out Ven's gotten very good at hiding. It's just about midday when Terra slows his Glider to a stop to wipe the sweat off his brow and scan the streets below again. Maybe Ven's in a building somewhere? Or wearing his hood up? Or maybe Terra's just missed him, checked the right area at the wrong time?
Terra's considering his options when a pillar of light bursts up into the sky off to his left. He stares off in that direction for a moment, surprised and bewildered and suddenly uncomfortable. For a second, he's back in the Graveyard, turning around at Xehanort's behest to see that awful beam of energy streaming up from where Aqua and Ven must have been fighting... Terra blinks out of the memory and, with a little shake of his head, turns his Glider to investigate the source of the light.
And it's Ven! Well, somebody's been practicing his light spells.]
Hey... [Terra lowers his Glider to the ground, steps off, and dismisses the weapon/vehicle behind him.] There you are.
[Just playing it cool. He totally wasn't looking around for hours, nope, no way. He's also totally not excited to see his friend, nope, no sir.]
no subject
He's had a few things to think about between then and now. What Claire had said, about how much Terra must miss Ven. What Sora's said, about time he's spent with the older Keybearer, and what happened in the dream. And of course there's what Roxas knows. He can remember the sadness on Axel's face when he'd believed, just for a moment, that Roxas remembered him again.
He can't be Ventus. And he still despises the idea of anyone telling him he's someone he isn't. But maybe he can do as Claire asked, and at least try to be gentle.
Terra makes it a little easier, the way he acts when he arrives. He's not so upset, not desperate, and his smile is kind of welcoming even if it's meant for someone else. But there's something else that distracts him, keeps him from immediately unleashing hostility. Roxas steps forward, staring curiously at the Keyblade that was something else a few seconds ago.]
How...did you do that? You can ride your Keyblade?
That was your Keyblade, right?
no subject
Terra keeps up his small smile, but his eyebrows furrow a bit.]
Yeah, that's my Keyblade's Glider form.
[With some effort, he manages to stifle a comment about Ven having a Glider, too.]
Anyone with a Keyblade can learn the Glider spell.
no subject
[Is this...an actual conversation, or the start of one? Not really what he expected to happen. This could all still go bad, but maybe he's better at the "be gentle" thing than he thought.
Casually, he calls Oathkeeper to his hand, turning it this way and that as he tries to imagine transforming it into something he can ride on, then shakes his head.]
I guess people stopped learning it by our time. Must be pretty nice for getting around.
no subject
[Even Riku had never heard of Gliders before -- and he's a Master now. It's really strange, considering how important Terra remembers his and his friends' Glider lessons being.
Terra eyes Ven's Keyblade thoughtfully. Ven switched the keychain back again. Maybe he just likes this one better.]
Do you know any transformations?
no subject
For my Keyblade? No. It is how it is.
[The way the Organization talked about it, the Keyblade was more than enough as it was. They'd talked as though Roxas' ability to wield it was some miraculously thing when to him, it had been the only normal thing in a life that wasn't.]
I can do magic, and wield the light. No one ever acted like there was more to learn.
no subject
Hm.
[Seems like the system of Masters and apprentices was even more important than he ever realized. How much would he have been able to figure out on his own, if he'd had no teacher? Probably not a lot...]
What kind of spells do you know, besides light? And what did you want to talk to me about?
no subject
[But are they really the usual magic spells, or could people in Terra's time use spells that go far beyond even the advanced versions of the ones the Organization taught him? It occurs to Roxas that he has no way of knowing, unless he asks. There might be a lot for him to learn.
But that's not what either of them came here for.]
You wanted to know what was wrong with my Keyblade, right?
no subject
That, and he is curious what the situation is with Ven's Keyblade.]
Right.
[He looks to Oathkeeper again. It seems fine to him?]
no subject
[He holds it down and to the side, casually. It's ready if he needs it for a fight, but he doesn't expect to.]
Look. I thought about what Axel told me you talked about, and Sora told me more about you, too. I believe you that I look like your friend. But I'm not him.
[Before Terra can argue, and without breaking eye contact, Roxas extends his other arm straight out to the side. With a dark flash, Oblivion answers his call, and he's holding two Keyblades. This is what feels normal to him, now.]
I'm guessing Ven couldn't do this.
no subject
Except then Ven goes on and their amiable talk takes a sudden, sharp turn in the wrong direction. Alarm flaring in his eyes, Terra starts to shake his head and hold a hand up. No, he didn't want them to get into who Ven is or isn't right now. At least, not like this.
Not with Ven stretching his other arm out, hand splaying as he calls out something dark...
The Keyblade from the video.
Terra's hand falls back to his side.
And then he just stands there, frozen in place, his mouth hanging open.
Two... Keyblades...?
Uhhh...?]
no subject
The baffled expression that follows is about what he expected; he's seen it before. Roxas gives Terra a moment, waiting for him to recover himself. No...?
Might as well drive his point home, then.]
My name is Roxas. I've been able to use the Keyblade as long as I can remember. As far as I know, I'm the only one who uses two.
I lost my heart two years ago. Before that, I was...I was a different person. But it wasn't Ven.
no subject
[Terra speaks up so abruptly he almost cuts Ven off. He gestures to the two Keyblades the boy holds.
He doesn't seem to have heard Ven's last couple of comments there.]
How do you wield two...?
no subject
[He lowers Oblivion so that, like its twin, its sharp points hover inches above the ground.]
I guess you could say it comes naturally. But no one taught me to do it.
no subject
Doesn't make any sense.
[How could Ven get a second Keyblade? Or get another keychain to materialize as a separate Keyblade? Could it have something to do with that light back in the Graveyard? That weapon Xehanort wanted? Or Vanitas? With the one Keyblade looking like light and the other like dark...
Ven's assertion that he's been able to use the Keyblade for as long as he can remember is about the only thing Terra can explain: clearly that's because of the memory loss. He kept his connection to the Keyblade after he lost his heart and memories, so the weapon's been with him the whole time he's been a Nobody. Weapon or weapons.]
So, you were just... able to summon two all along?
no subject
No. It kind of...came along later. But there were a lot of things I couldn't do at first. I think I had to get used to existing. Just talking was hard, that first week.
[How different would things have been, if he'd remembered existing as Sora? Roxas tries not to think about that. If that had happened, he wouldn't have been him, after all.]
But calling the Keyblade was like an instinct. I didn't have to think about it.
no subject
Terra frowns and briefly looks away. If only he and Aqua had been there to help Ven again. Or, better yet, to stop that from happening to him in the first place.
The two Keyblades subject is an excellent distraction from such thoughts, though.]
Came along later? The second one just appeared one day, then? You called for your Keyblade and got two instead?
[The Master never said anything about that being possible.
(Could he get a second Keyblade? Maybe if he meditated for a while, with a focus on that specific idea... Chaos Ripper would probably balance out okay with Ends of the Earth. But it must take a lot of time to adjust your fighting technique to using two, huh?)]
no subject
[It sounds so simple, described that way. And maybe it was, but looking back, it doesn't feel simple. He can't recall what made the difference and brought two out of one, but Roxas remembers...he remembers fury and frustration and an intense desire to do something, feelings that swirled together in an awful cauldron until it all boiled over.
He thinks he can remember sadness, too, though he's not sure what he had to be sad about then. Maybe his broken friendship with Axel, seemingly gone for good.]
It happened around when I tried to attack the Organization.
no subject
When you tried to attack the Organization?
[... did he?]
no subject
[He lifts his Keyblades, holding them like he might if he were ready to fight, but without the aggression. He remembers.]
I wanted answers, about who I was and why I had the Keyblade. They had them, but they were never going to tell me anything. I fought for them for a year, but I was just a tool. So after I left, I turned back to make them tell me, and undo what I built for them.
[...that had been why, right? Why does he feel like there's more?]
It didn't work out that way, but I tried.
no subject
What was it you built for them?
[Where's his journal with all his notes in it when he needs it? Or just a pen or something, he could be jotting things down on the back of his hand.]
no subject
[It was strange to think that he'd created something that huge and powerful by himself, just from going through his daily routine. Even stranger to think he'd have tried to tear it down with those same hands. How would it even have worked? At the time, he hadn't cared about the details.]
They told me it would give us our hearts back. That we could be whole again once it was finished. But that was never, ever going to happen.
no subject
Like Demyx said. Hearts released from those 'Heartless' monsters go to form Kingdom Hearts. Or a Kingdom Hearts? Terra's pretty sure the Kingdom Hearts he learned about in his lessons all those years ago wasn't some... sanctuary for lost and then freed hearts?
But that was all Ven's work, was it? All or mostly?
Terra catches himself staring again.]
... Why was that never going to happen?
[Demyx certainly seemed to think they were all going to get their hearts back that way. That jerk Axel, too, with what he said back when they first met, about the ends justifying the means or something like that.]
no subject
[That statement comes with a smile, maybe the first Terra has seen on his face since they met. But it's wry, not happy, a kind of 'Can you believe I believed that?' kind of smile.]
He didn't want his heart back like most of us did. He just wanted power. Plus, I know now that my original heart was somewhere I couldn't reach. But it turns out none of that mattered.
[Terra's been listening really closely, which is encouraging, so maybe he can explain more than he thought he could before his backup arrives. Roxas lets his Keyblades dissolve into nothing and rests one hand on the center of his chest.]
This is going to sound crazy, but...it grew back. I have a heart again. Which probably makes me the weirdest Nobody ever.
no subject
Terra's been wearing the same seriously befuddled look for so long now, his face might just get stuck like that.
Xemnas, the Superior -- who is possibly that one man up in Thesa Station, but Terra hasn't worked up the nerve to take anyone to that pod and ask -- lied to them all along. To the other Organization members, his followers. He tricked them into doing his bidding? Into gathering hearts to use for power.
(And doesn't that sound familiar...)
Ven also figured out at some point that his heart was... somewhere he couldn't reach. Where?
Why did none of that matter?
What does Ven mean he grew his heart back? How is that possible? Does he really still consider himself a Nobody, even with a heart? Aren't Nobodies strictly bodies without hearts?
Is this heart he supposedly grew back a new one or the old one? It can't be the old one if he doesn't remember who he really is, can it?]
I don't understand.
[Anything. At all. He has tried very hard to wrap his head around all this, but it's too much.]
Ven...
[Can't he just be Ven for a minute? Just... his friend, minus all of this... future stuff?]
no subject
Here in El Nysa, though, it hasn't mattered. People treat him like his own person. And for all the destruction and the hardship ton be found in this world, Roxas has liked it all the same for just that reason. He's Roxas, no one else. And then Terra calls him by someone else's name, again.
He could look angry. He's earned that by now, hasn't he? Xemnas, Riku, DiZ—all of them told him told him who he was supposed to be. He could look angry, but he doesn't. If anything, he looks crestfallen. Even sad.]
I'm not Ven. I told you that. [More than once.] I thought you were listening.
[Is he always going to be in someone else's shadow?]
no subject
Didn't take long for him to mess this up, did it?
... He just can't lie, though. He can't pretend he believes him when he says he's not Ven, he's someone else. Someone else who just happens to be identical to Ven. Right down to every last little spike of hair on his head.]
No, I am. [He argues weakly, still not looking at Ven.] I am listening, it's just...
[He searches desperately for the words to fix all of this, to give him his friend back or at least smoothe things over again (since he's guessing a hair ruffle isn't going to cut it right now). But, finding nothing he thinks might be convincing or reassuring or magically memory-restoring, he eventually settles for a defeated shrug and an equally defeated mumble:]
People don't have the exact same face for no reason.
[They really don't.]
no subject
But it does surprise him, or at least disappoint him. He'd wanted to believe that he could do this by himself, but what exactly is he supposed to do with this quiet, firm obstinacy?]
It's not his face that I've got. Listen harder. When I became a Nobody, I did forget things, but I didn't forget you or your other friend. I'm a different person than I was before I lost my heart, and that person wasn't Ven, it was—Sora!
[The sound of approaching, running footsteps comes in the middle of his sentence, followed a split second later by the sight of his other half coming round the nearest corner. Relief floods him; if his words can't convince Terra, then Sora's idea will. It has to.
Even if Roxas had thought it was pretty silly when Sora first suggested it.]
no subject
But then he hears a familiar voice and picks up the pace, rounding a corner at speed to see Terra and Roxas standing across from each other. Not having time to read the tension in the atmosphere, he waves and calls out brightly:]
Hey you guys!
[He runs on a bit further, reaching out automatically with a smile to bump his forearm against Roxas' in a friendly gesture before he's forced to double over and catch his breath, palms pressed flat against his knees.]
Phew! I didn't think I was gonna ever get here, all these streets look the same!
no subject
Jogging over and knocking forearms with Ven like they're good friends or something.
Ven even looks like he's perked up some, seeing Sora.
And what was that about Sora not thinking he was ever going to get here? Was he supposed to be here all along? Like... Ven asked him to be here?
... Terra's so lost.]
Sora.
[He sighs out the greeting.]
no subject
It helps to have someone at his back, supporting what he says about who he is and who he isn't. He also knows more about some things Roxas still can't remember from when they were one person. And Sora's fixed so many things before, why not this too?
Plus he's been a friend to them both. That might help. He hopes it does.]
I asked him to come, but I wanted to try to explain things to you myself first. [Roxas speaks to Terra, then turns to Sora.] It's not going that great. He still doesn't believe me. But I didn't get to the part about you and me yet.
no subject
[Sora takes a quick moment to stabilise himself, letting out a deep breath as he straightens and looks at the frankly baffled look on Terra's face and the hopeful one on Roxas'. This... is going to take some doing.]
You [He points at Terra with one hand] think that he [and he points at Roxas with the other] is your friend Ventus because he looks like him.
[Not waiting for Terra to confirm or deny, he stops pointing and folds his arms.]
Now I don't know Ventus, but do you remember when we first met that I said that you said that I was him when I had my dream and saw you, Terra?
[Not... the most succinct or eloquent way of putting it perhaps, but Sora's trying to work through this in his head to put it into a way that makes sense.]
Now I didn't understand why dream you would say that, and you didn't understand that either, but when Roxas told me that you had mistaken him for Ventus it started to make a bit more sense, especially if you thought that they look alike enough for him to be his Nobody, because that must mean that I look like your friend too and that's why you called me by his name in the dream.
[He takes a step forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Roxas.]
But I promise you Terra, Roxas can't be Ventus' Nobody because he's my Nobody.
no subject
At him and through him, a little.]
Your Nobody.
[That was probably supposed to be a question.]
no subject
We're not supposed to exist together like this, it doesn't usually happen, but...
[He searches for words, then shrugs.]
You explain it. You were there.
no subject
[Sora points at himself in surprise before sheepishly lowering his hand. ]
I mean, I'll try I guess. I don't really know how it happened either.
[He doesn't know what it is about him that would make his Nobody so special, why he and Roxas are both so different when they should be the same. He doesn't even really know how he could have got his own self back unscathed after he set his heart free, but here he is, and here's Roxas beside him and there's Terra looking at him like he's grown an extra head so he guesses he owes it to both of them to at least try and cobble together an explanation.]
no subject
Like his poor, struggling mind is finally catching up on processing some of the things Sora said a few short moments ago.]
You don't look like him. [He blurts out in a rush, not caring if he's cutting Sora off.]
He -- [His turn to point a finger, this one at Ven.] -- looks like him. Just like him. You don't.
[Or does he??]
no subject
Oh. Yeah. Terra's wrong, but Roxas can see how it'd be easy to miss if you're distracted by different hair
And the different voices.
And Sora smiles a lot more, too.
He looks at Terra, looks at Sora again, back at Terra, and shakes his head as he turns to Sora.]
Let's just show him first.
no subject
[The this in question is the mass of angles and tufts of mousy brown hair that make up his signature 'do. It would take a lot to get past it, goodness knows combs rarely do.
But it seems that Roxas is on the same wavelength and they'll have to go with a more visual approach.]
Okay. Desperate times, right?
[He reaches into one of the large pockets on his pants and pulls out two black, woollen beanie hats. He tosses one to Roxas, then sets about stuffing his hair into the other one at the same time Roxas does.
His... takes a little longer to fit properly.
Once that's done, he shifts his features to carefully mimic Roxas' as best as he can.]
See?
no subject
Terra slowly crosses his arms over his chest as the boys wrestle their respective hair styles into black beanies Sora happened to have with him. Or brought along with him for this exact purpose? Whatever... this purpose is...?
When they finally finish tucking every last spike under the beanies and straighten up in front of him, Terra looks back and forth between them.
And lifts his shoulders in a shrug. What's he supposed to be seeing here?
(Maybe give him a minute... Let the mental image of the hair fade a bit...)]
no subject
Once upon a time, it might have really bothered him, he thinks. If he'd met this Ventus kid, someone he doesn't know at all, or if he'd met Sora before understanding why and how they're connected. But it's hard to get upset about looking like...like yourself.
He takes a long breath and relaxes his shoulders, shifting his gaze toward Terra as he lets his expression fall into the same calm one as Sora. They'd tested this earlier and in the beanies, he knows they pass for brothers. No, twins, identical ones—until some unruly hair inevitably sneaks out.
He'll wait for some kind of reaction, but he's already searching for the next idea, only to come up short. If this doesn't work, Roxas isn't sure anything will, even the flash cards.]
no subject
Maybe this was a dumb idea, he was hoping for a quick and easy 'oh wow, you're right, you are exactly alike and you're both just like Ventus! how silly I am' and now there's this awkward silence. (And never mind the fact that if he and Roxas do look just like Ventus there's still the big, impossible to answer question of why that would be.)
He shifts uncomfortably on his feet and looks at Roxas, then Terra then at Roxas again, his expression getting more and more puzzled, before he coughs awkwardly.]
And, you know, there's the x-name thing too...