I live for those I lost along the way

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

Who: Roxas, Ray, Aqua, and King Mickey
What: Roxas asked for a talk, and the two Key Bearers are happy to oblige.
Where: the Mysterious Tower
When: September 29, 2010
Warning: There are some major Birth by Sleep spoilers under the cut.

Aqua laid Ven down gingerly on the bed before her. He was still asleep, she thought with resignation, but hopefully that would change soon. Maybe it was for the better, so that she and Mickey could talk to Roxas alone. She smiled faintly. Ven probably would have had to show him how it works, rather than explain it first. That was how he was, after all.

As she turned to leave, her thoughts wandered once more to another friend of theirs. Terra... What had happened to him? If everything Mickey had told her was true, and she had no reason to suspect otherwise, was he still alive somewhere? Did he regain control of his body? If not, could he? Or did he have no hope of that ever getting it back from the one they called "Orpheus?"

For that matter... could Terra be freed from the Darkness, like Orpheus had?

There were so many questions, she thought with a sigh, and she could only hope that Yen Sid would be able to help answer some of them. Aqua shook her head, walking down the hall to where she saw the King waiting. He greeted her with a smile, and a quiet reminder, "Roxas should be here soon."

"Then we should be there to greet him," she answered with a nod, leading the way down to the tower entrance.

Comments

[thirteenth_brat]

Intriguing as traveling by portals through light was, Roxas had other things on his mind. The top thing on his list of need or want was a hot shower, followed immediately by clean clothes and a proper meal. Not that he had been starving while he was stuck in Neverland, but he kind of sucked at hunting and fishing. Wild fruits had been the bulk of his diet for a while and he really wanted something more filling. Pizza came to mind. Or maybe a burger.

He paused on the steps, sighing. Shower first, by all means. The closest he'd gotten to a shower in the last week or so had been the waterfall. Cold water and no soap. He doubted that he smelled good at the moment. The whole reason he'd come here could wait until these things were taken care of.

Such was his mindset as he reached for the door...

[le-king.livejournal.com]

Mickey couldn't help but recoil when the door opened.

"Pee-yoo! What's that smell?" he blurted out, instinctively covering his nose. When he looked out and saw Roxas, he nearly flushed with embarrassment. "Oh, uh. Sorry Roxas."

Aqua hid a laugh behind her hand. "Maybe that talk should wait until after you wash up."

[thirteenth_brat]

"That... is the kind of smell a human body puts out when it goes without a proper shower for a week or more," Roxas replied, amused at the King's response. If anything, he thought maybe he ought to be the one apologizing. The King definitely had a sharper nose, being a mouse and all, and this was probably quite the olfactory assault.

He chuckled a little at Aqua's reply, "Yeah, I was kind of planning on that. I am not just odiferous right now, I'm a bit uncomfortable. So I think it'd be distracting for all concerned."

[seolearo.livejournal.com]

Ray laughed at the King's reaction. "There's a bathroom off of the apprentices' quarters," she told Roxas. "I kind of wanted to talk to them about the Light spell, anyway."

[thirteenth_brat]

"Okay," Roxas replied and might have headed into the tower before it occurred to him that he never been here before outside of when he'd been one with Sora, "Uh, where is that anyway?"

Because, really, how was he supposed to know? Still, at least he would be de-funked and in clean clothes... although now he remembered that the only clean clothes he had packed were a set of pajamas. At least they weren't an embarrassing design. He'd long since ditched any of the sillier patterns anyone had given him and gotten things he was more comfortable with. Solid, subtle colors and durable yet comfortable materials. This was his preference in sleepwear and the next time someone got him something brightly colored or or shiny or overly expensive, he was tossing it back at them. That was all beside the point, though. Bath first and he would worry about clothing later.

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

Aqua chuckled as the girl gave him the directions. "So," she said as they all went back inside, "I'm afraid I must have missed your name."

"Ray," she provided helpfully.

"Okay, Ray. Did you say something about a Light spell...?"

Remembering what I said about getting rambly when tagging late at night?

[thirteenth_brat]

Roxas left them to their talk and sought out that shower, bath whatever, hell if it was equipped to do both he might have a good wash up then a soak. But his thought mostly went along the lines of 'Shower please, NOW.' as he followed the directions Ray had given him.

But as he did wash up, he was left thinking of something he hadn't mentioned and wondering if he should mention it soon. When he hadn't been dealing with Heartless or Hook and his crew or Peter Pan, Roxas had been having increasingly aggravating run ins with Nobodies. At first, they'd been only known types such as Dusks or Samurai (and boy did he have a bit of a sore spot for the Samurai). But, the day before he'd finally asked for someone to come and get him, he had encountered an entirely new type... and almost gotten his ass handed to him because something in their fighting methods piqued something in his mind, causing him serious distraction. They'd had the typical silver bodies of Nobodies, but lacking the emblem of the Organization, and used mining picks that seemed to have the points augmented with glass. They were smallish, maybe five feet in height and aside from the unnatural flexibility of Nobodies they were built as one might expect miners to be built. They seemed to shrug off Fire as well. But it was the glass that has really gotten Roxas's attention. It had given him the image of fighting someone or something that used glass in similar fashion, though maybe to greater effect.

That image returned to him now, as he scrubbed irritably at the sweat and dirt he'd been stuck with for a while now, cursing under his breath. There was the glassed edged weapon, not a pick axe like the lesser Nobodies he'd fought more recently, but he wasn't sure what it was at the moment. The memory wasn't clear. He hadn't expected it to be, though he was fairly certain he knew when it had happened. He was also fairly certain this enemy was in control of the Nobodies, both these new ones and the familiar ones. What had Song said that Dusk had brought back? An hourglass? Sand, glass... HEADACHE! Roxas found himself kneeling in the shower, clutching at his head as a crushing and rather familiar pain gripped him and a blur of images raced through is mind. A battle, sand, his fire spell only making the sand that much more dangerous and... gray eyes. He couldn't quite remember anything else about the man other than being certain he was a Nobody. Among the jumble of images, Roxas saw a cage of some sort and had a vague impression of some sort of interrogation.

These images and the pain were gone as suddenly as they'd arisen and he was reasonably certain that he'd have run the water cold in an ordinary shower for as long and remained kneeling there, trying to sort things out. This was not an ordinary shower so he was still pleasantly warm, which helped a bit with the dull headache left in the wake of the sudden screaming headache. At least he had finished properly washing himself before being so incapacitated.

Grumbling, he shut the water off and snagged a towel. This was just lovely. He could pass off the amount of time he'd spent in the shower as needing to take the time to scrub thoroughly, but he might not be able to explain looking like something was really wrong when he had probably seemed fine before. Well, he could hope no one decided to pry but that thought only made him grumble more as he finished toweling off and fished out his only clean clothes to wear. He'd known they'd be pajamas, but he was only now realizing they were truly his only clean clothes. He didn't even have clean underwear.

"Fuck." was all he had to say to that as he dressed quickly and tossed his dirty clothes in his pack before going to see what the others were up to.

[seolearo.livejournal.com]

"--and he screamed like a girl," Ray was saying with a laugh as he returned. But as her eyes fell upon him, she quickly rose to her feet, grin fading. "Roxas? What's wrong? You look like hell... and usually people come out of the shower looking better, not worse."

[thirteenth_brat]

So he wasn't doing as well as he'd hoped at keeping his discomfort a secret. He'd kind of been expecting that. In response to Ray's concerned comment, he shrugged, "At least I don't smell anymore? I'm fine. Just... coming down with something maybe."

Roxas knew he probably wasn't too much better at lying than Sora was, but he was kind of hoping that maybe the others would get the point and not pry.

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

Aqua couldn't help but be worried about him. It was just that he looked so much like Ven, even if she knew they were different people (she still wondered how that had happened). Even so, they were both bad liars. She could see it all over his face.

But as he made it obvious that Roxas didn't want to talk about it, she decided to drop the subject. He'd tell someone eventually, before it got too bad. A friend, she supposed. Maybe even the boy, Sora, who'd come so far since she'd last seen him.

"Well, you shouldn't be going through the Ways with a cold," she said with a smile. "It might make it worse."

[thirteenth_brat]

Roxas sighed. This was getting awkward now, and that was putting it very, very mildly. Especially since he was reasonably certain that Aqua at least had seen right through his fib. Which might me why she'd mentioned the lanes.

He opened his mouth to argue the point, but thought better of it. Even if he wasn't physically sick at the moment, which he wasn't actually certain of, he was somewhat exhausted both mentally and physically. While not severe, he knew it wasn't a good idea to attempt certain alternative traveling methods. It had actually gotten him into trouble a few times as a Nobody, attempting to open a portal when he was sick. Then again, so had fighting when sick, on more than one occasion. He was at least out of sorts enough that he ought to consider a bit of rest before attempting anything.

"That's possible," he agreed with a sigh, "I've been worse and still... well... that may not have been the best idea. But that was a while ago." He rubbed at the back of his head like a dork because, really, it was obvious he was being just a little stupid. That and even if this was the first he was actually speaking to her, it felt like a crime to go make Aqua worry any more than she had been. She had opted not to pry and he was grateful for that.

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

"No, but that doesn't mean I can't still tell you about it," she pointed out cheerfully, leaving Mickey and Ray to their own devices. "So, you know how to bring out your Glider by now. Let's see it!"

[thirteenth_brat]

He wasn't quite expecting her to ask him that, but that was okay. He had come here to learn more about that particular use for the Keyblade anyway and there didn't seem to be a reason to put it off. So he did as she asked without argument.

His glider was modeled on Oblivion and, honestly, looked like the bastard child of that Keyblade and a flying scooter. It maneuvered nicely, at least until he'd lost control of it and somehow wound up in Neverland. He assumed it had been because he simply hadn't known what he was doing.

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

She made a mental note that, despite the fact that the armor usually materialized with the glider, it didn't, for Roxas. That couldn't be a good sign for his heart, since it meant he would have traveled without it before he'd come to her... But it was also a mark of his inexperience with it, which was the very reason he'd asked for her help.

"Impressive," Aqua commented. "But you're missing your armor, and you can't use your Glider without that. It's too dangerous - it makes you vulnerable to the Darkness that can linger in the Ways. It's made of the Light from your Keyblade and the strength of your Heart, so it shouldn't be too difficult to summon it. Give it a try."

She wanted to show him how to do it, but with her Keyblade missing, and with only Master Eraqus' left to use, she wasn't sure how well it would work. It was probably best that she coached him through it without risking any problems. At least, she thought, until she got Rainfell back.

[thirteenth_brat]

Roxas scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. That was likely the other reason he'd had a problem. Not that he hadn't known about the armor, but he wasn't sure where it came from. If that game was accurate at all, there was a way to activate it that he didn't seem to have access to. Then again, it did seem that only Keybearers had it so maybe... possibly once he'd acquired it, it would be a bit easier.

'Well, here goes, I guess,' he thought, closing his eyes and searching. The strength of his Heart was still a bit of a touchy issue for him, but he was learning more and more to trust it. Even if his origins lay in being a part of someone else's Heart, he had his own Heart now. He knew that and he was confident enough with that. The Light of the Keyblade, well... he hadn't given that as much thought as he probably should have. Reaching out to it had never been difficult, though turning to it for defense of this type was new. It was there though and Aqua was right. It wasn't terribly difficult to summon now that he knew.

He wasn't terribly surprised that it matched the Keyblade his glider was based on while also incorporating a few other elements. Predominantly black, with metallic blue accents, mostly. Where his thorn/ninja star emblem would have been on his favorite shirt, it was a bit lower on his armor, in bright silver. The chain motif inherent on Oblivion was present in radiating from the points of the thorn emblem and back over his shoulders and around his chest to meet across his back. Other than these touches, it was somewhat similar to Ventus's armor. Not that Roxas knew this at the moment. He was keenly aware, however, that though it fit him like another skin, it was quite comfortable and allowed for excellent mobility.

"Huh." Curious as to what his helm looked like, he took it off, noting how it slipped off easily when he wanted to take it off, but likely someone else trying to remove it without his consent wouldn't have it so easy. As to its appearance, the visor was shiny and dark and otherwise more closely resembled Ven's than Roxas was aware at the moment, but the crests (if that was what they were called; he had no idea) were canted just a little further back and more out to the sides, like the ears of a dog in a minor display of aggression.

He wasn't even going to ask where his pajamas had disappeared to since magic had to be involved somehow and it was really a question better left unasked.

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

As he was working on the summoning, she was thinking ahead. They would have to find a way for him to access his armor without having to go through the Keyblade... but she didn't know how to chase something like that outside of her home world's facilities. Maybe, with time, they'd be able to fix their world. It wouldn't bring Master Eraqus back, but at least they would have the proper things for teaching young Key Bearers.

Aqua was taken by surprise when Roxas’ armor appeared. It was… different, but that didn’t change the fact that it did somehow look like Ven's, especially in the crests. It shouldn'’t have startled her so much, she told herself, considering how much he looked like Ven – they clearly had some sort of connection to one another; she'd have to look into that later. But, taking a deep breath, she shook the odd nostalgic feeling off and fell back into being his instructor.

"Good job! It wasn't that hard, was it?" she asked with a smile. "That armor can give you a significant advantage during a fight. It protects you from the Darkness, like I said, and it gives you a good defense, but as you can already tell, it's a lot more flexible than it looks. It makes it just as easy to fight with the armor as without, and from there, it's just your choice of when to use it." She schooled her expression into something more serious. "But you should always wear it when you use your Glider. There's too much risk in exposing yourself like that; the Darkness is everywhere in the Ways. I've heard stories about those that stopped using their armor when traveling between the worlds," she continued quietly, "and they always ends in Darkness."

[thirteenth_brat]

Roxas had to admit that it was comfortable and that was saying something coming from a guy who preferred his clothes to be loose. On top of that, it beat the other armor he'd bought and couldn't be lost or forgotten nearly as easily. And he probably cut an imposing figure in it as well. Black wasn't exactly a friendly color unless you knew the person wearing it was an ally or friend. This was probably going to be helpful down the road.

He had a feeling he knew who Aqua was talking about when she spoke of those who had traveled in darkness without precautions. He wasn't sure exactly how accurate that game was, but one thing that was confirmed to be true was what had happened to her and to her friends. He didn't ask because that was prying and probably required digging into painful memories. It would probably only add to her pain if she knew what lengths certain individuals had gone to in order to save the one who had caused all of this. He bit his tongue on that topic and kept the focus on the armor.

"Yeah, that was easy. I just... didn't know how to do it." Saying that only reminded him that he was feeling like an idiot over this, but he shook that thought away, "Then again, that happens when some idiot takes pains to make sure there aren't any masters around to teach others."

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

She chuckled. "Well sometimes, you just need a little help."

At his next comment, however, she frowned. She wondered if he meant Master Xehanort, but that didn't make much sense. "What do you mean? You learned everything on your own?"

[thirteenth_brat]

"Yeah, wait 'til you have to give lesson to Sora," Roxas replied, mildly amused, "A little help may not be enough..."

He was really only kidding about Sora, but one could never be certain. Aqua's questions snapped him back to a more serious line of thinking, however.

"More or less. We had some help, but, well... most those available to help weren't even Keybearers, never mind masters." He paused and thought a moment. Hadn't King Mickey filled her in? Realizing it might be important, he asked, "How much do you know about what's happened while you were in the Realm of Darkness?"

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

Sora. The name still sparked hope in her heart.

"The King told me that Sora defeated Xehanort's Heartless a few years ago, and Xemnas the next. And he said... that the ones from Earth, the Refugees, helped somehow. That was all he could tell me between running a world and getting Ven," she said. "He didn't tell me that all of you had to learn how to use the Keyblade on your own."

[thirteenth_brat]

He didn't miss that glimmer of hope and he understood. Sora had that effect on people because he absolutely would not give up, no matter what.

"I think the King is the only one who didn't learn on his own and he might have helped Riku a bit," Roxas said thoughtfully. The mention of the Refugees drew a sigh, "The Refugees are a weird case. When their world disappeared, they turned up on a number of worlds and they already knew what was going on because of a story on their world predicting almost all of it." He was still fidgeting with the helmet in his hands as he spoke and wound up drumming his fingers on it when he paused to collect his thoughts.

It was in that lull that a disconcerting thought hit him. A couple of the Refugees had taken pains to help the one who had caused so much pain and the ones who had probably suffered the worst from Xehanort's actions hadn't been let in on the secret yet. Roxas didn't exactly want to break this news, partly because he didn't know all the details and partly because he had once been allied to the bastard in question.

After mulling it over a bit, he huffed, "It would take quite a while to explain everything and I think there might be a few things that it isn't my place to say."

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

"I'm sure it would," she agreed. "You've all gone through a lot."

Aqua smiled, though it may not have reached her eyes. "But the past isn't what we should be worried about right now, right? We have new problems to deal with, and you need to learn to use your Glider."

[thirteenth_brat]

"That's putting it mildly." It was a relief that she wasn't going to ask more now, but he didn't miss that her smile seemed a bit lacking. He left it alone, though. It was likely there was little he could do and wasn't it bad enough he reminded her so much of someone else?

"Yeah, about that... it was kind of stupid of me not to learn that first..." That was also an understatement, but he didn't seem to have suffered any lasting harm from it, so he wasn't going to worry too much about it.