kingdomdressing | (no subject)

[When she hopped, he was more expecting her to dive after him -maybe some kind of swooping attack. The crackling black lightning he got looked a great deal worse, but at least he'd been prepared to evade anyway. He jumped back, narrowly avoiding the attack as the spell crackled at his feet, a feeling of something unpleasantly familiar about it.

His feet touched down and Roxas found the hand with Lost Memory reaching across his frame and hitting the shoulder of his armor -removing it in the same flash of light it vanished in. If he was going to reach her, he was going to need her to see his face. And while it would probably cause all the more pain if the other Xion saw him fall again, it was a risk he'd have to take.

The Nobody's grip on his remaining Keyblade shifted to a normal grip; he wouldn't be able to pull off his next plan with the reverse grip he'd been holding and he didn't want to recall Aubade to his hand just yet. At least he felt confident that its re-appearance would be bad for the Sorized Xion in both cases. If he called it back, it would mean he could use his most effective fighting style. If she called it, it was a sign that her true nature was surfacing. Because part of the reason he was favoring that weapon was because of the bond he shared with Xion that it represented.

Wasting no time, he rushed in to meet his foe and hopefully lock his weapon with hers. He'd need to proximity for her to hear him and he'd need her to not try to kill him for things to even begin.]

[The Sorized Xion touched down on the ground shortly after the attack had released. For the moment, playing as observer as Roxas recovered and hit the shoulder pad of the armor; it dissolved with a flicker of light and there he was as she had anticipated. Surprisingly less battered than she had expected, but it mattered little to her. That just meant more fun for her, after all. More of a challenge.

She raised Void Gear again and simply watched him once more, readying herself for what was coming next. But this version of her didn't seem to be one filled with much patience and soon enough she was shooting off toward him- ironically, just as he was to her. Her swings burned now with something different as they came at him though, her eyes falling warmer by the second, blue now being tangled in flakes of gold that were slowly filling out to encompass the whole of them. Darkness permeating her strikes.]

Edited 2011-01-16 09:04 (UTC)

[Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. WRONG. To his credit he was trying to think of things -anything to try and jolt that person that he knew was beneath what he was fighting. Especially during their first battle, he was so caught up in his aggravation and frustration that he'd even go so far as to say he probably ignored it. However now, he could almost feel her beneath the condescending monster he'd just locked blades with.

Roxas' eyes met the Sorized Xion's and his expression immediately reflected a certain degree of concern. He couldn't consciously recall it, but a feeling deep inside of him told me he'd seen similar eyes before and it wasn't a happy memory. A note he filed into the back of his head would be to find out if that's how Sora felt whenever he tried to tell his Other something while they were merged.

So he gave up for now. Thinking was never his strong suit and he'd really been pushing some limits trying to get so much of the deeper meanings behind everything all sorted out. Of course, that didn't mean that he wasn't going to just continue to fight a battle of constant insults, grunts and cries. What he needed first, was the understand the beast his friend had become.]

So you never told me, what did this to you?

[There's a marked shift in his tactics as he lets the blade lock slip, his footwork carrying him into a flanking position before he takes a swing at her side. There's intent to strike behind it, he's not playing around, but for some reason he's putting his usual acrobatics and high-mobility tactics aside for the moment.]

[There was a noticeable hiss of frustration as their keyblades practically tangled together when he let his slip, pulling hers with his momentarily. She found herself off balanced and that was all it took for Roxas to get his opening. The swing to her side connected and she was sent hurling into the air once more with a grunt. Another aerial recovery though and she found herself distanced again. The Sorized Xion did no more than scoff at that as she hopped further away.] What did this to me, you ask? Roxas, wouldn't you know it? No one did this to me. It was my choice all along!

[And, suddenly, a wave of keyblades tore from the ground and she found herself hopping upon them. Quickly, they tore around the platform they were fighting upon, coming to a crest before she was engaged in firing away a volley of shots, ones that came at him rapidly, burning with darkness.]

Edited 2011-01-16 10:24 (UTC)

[Roxas grit his teeth as she came around, that feeling inside still telling him that this was all too familiar -even the way his body was moving and dodging the incoming shots told him that somehow, he'd done this all before. His expression turned to a determined mask; his anger bled away, his fears acknowledged, but not in control and his drive to keep his promises guiding his actions.

Trust in that thing he didn't have.

He waited for a chance and when the serpentine wave of Keyblades came close enough, he jumped. If his bet payed off properly, he'd managed a half-decent landing on the amalgamation of weapons in motion and then rushing along that coil to take a swing at its master. Of course if that gamble failed to produce a yield, he'd just make sure his missed landing was properly recovered from and continue dodging. He'd need to get close again.]

[There was something about Roxas' move that was definitely new and unforeseen. Because the moment he had managed to gear up and follow along on that train of old keys, she had to pause and just flinch in surprise. Something that was conveniently to Roxas' advantage, giving him a chance to crash the distance and try to fold its master from the wave. She managed to raise her keyblade in time to block his attack once more, this time trying to press him off balance, attempting to break him from the flow of keys and throw him back onto the platform. All the while growling as she held fast. Her eyes were nearly glazed over completely in that gold now and the brown of Sora's hair was darkening.]

You just don't give up, do you?

[His mask cracked a little as he grinned. It wasn't arrogant, too honest and perhaps even just because of who it came from, it just lacked capacity to be condescending.]

You should already know me too well to have to ask that.

[When she pushed, he gave a little -still knowing better than to trust a direct contest of strength when she was on the offensive like that. At least he gave enough to avoid her locking him and allowing him the chance get close again.

Even though it was a skill that he had himself, he honestly never quite understood how Reversal allowed him to move the way it did. How even on an unstable train of Keyblades like this, he even seemed to slide on the air itself to move into position behind her. It was a position from which he took a swing to try and knock her off the wave again. And if he got lucky, well of course he'd dive off to pursue.]

[Perhaps she had. At one point. No, she still did. Somehow, she did. It wasn't even really something she pondered upon. It just was. And maybe she wouldn't have even bothered with those words, how something in them rang. Just a little. But the way he smiled at her like that. The way the anger had faded from it, that familiar warmth overtaking instead. A smile she knew too well- Too well. It was enough to push her off her game. To just think for a blink of time.

And then he was right behind her and she could only look over her shoulder before she was being cracked right across the back. She cried out this time, a shout of surprise and perhaps of pain, because she hadn't anticipated it, hadn't put herself to the ready to tolerate it. She fell from the wave of keyblades as, masterless, they whirled off and away, returning to whence they came. And in the meantime, she was making to quickly stumble to roll onto her back, intent of climbing to her feet as quickly as possible. Growling as she did so.]

[He felt it. Just before he landed that strike, something he said or did registered. On the inside, he was elated -though he dared not show it. The stranger that looked like him was right.

Roxas landed in a crouch not far from his opponent, paying her growls no mind as he rose to his feet.]

So if you made this choice, then why'd you choose this?

[He gestures around at the battlefield devastated around them, taking the opportunity and visually confirming that in all of the mess, his charge was still in no worse shape than he'd left her.]

Doing it this way makes us no better than the people we were fooled into working with!

[Roxas returns to a defensive posture, ready for both more insults and attacks, figuring he'll let her chew on that for a little while.]

[She was quiet. So quiet for a moment as she slowed in her collection. But then there was something... a low chuckle emitting from her. Starting out soft and almost inaudible as she found her foothold in the world again, head hung for the time being. But then it suddenly escalated, turning into a full blown psychotic laughter as she swiped Void Gear to the side in emphasis, her eyes completely gold. Hair gone black as the darkness itself. And then she was suddenly turning serious again although the smug smirk told otherwise.]

What other choice did I have? To go back to him? After I had become to accustom to being? Don't make me laugh. Sure, perhaps maybe I was just a puppet then, but now? No more!

[She gestured widely.] Don't you see, Roxas? Now, I'm free of the Organization! Free to do anything I want! Free to be!

[And to further demonstrate, the Sorized Xion found herself holding out her free hand... and then easily clipping it with her keyblade. Blood ran from the fresh wound as she examined it maddeningly.]

See?

[Admittedly, the response he got was not nearly what he'd hoped for and the sheer madness she was spouting was only reinforcing that by no stretch was she going to make it easy for him to do this. Sheer madness followed by a very marked shift in her appearance; it was unsettling, but not entirely unfamiliar.]

Are you? You're just doing the exact thing Xemnas wanted you to do. You're going around, consuming the people you're most connected to!

You're not free. Even if you got out of here, you go about trampling whoever wasn't strong enough to stand up to you! Everything that he would have done!

You absorbed Sora, you saw that all he wanted was to have power over everything so he could just rule everything! And even though he's gone, you're doing exactly what he wanted!

[He quiets down a little, drawing closer. Still out of striking range, his body doesn't let him advance any closer than it knows her longest-range attack could cover. Roxas' mask cracks a little, his concern and upset over what he's seeing and hearing showing through.]

Xion. If we want to live, if we want to be free. We need to find our own way.

You were out of time back then, but it's different now. We've got the chance to do this. And we can do this the right way.

You can't seriously accept that this is the way you want things.

[Why... Why was he taking things so cooly? Why wasn't he backing off and shouting insults as he had? This made things no fun- made things static and quiet. And a side of her was boiling from it. Aggravated. Why wasn't he succumbing to that darkness like he had before? But his expression... The way he looked at her.

Something inside her coiled at the sight of it. Deep inside, a quiet voice was whispering. But she wouldn't listen. She wouldn't. There was no other way. This had to be how things were. She had just- She had just wanted to be. It was her right. But then why- for just a split second- why did he make it feel so wrong?

But she pushed that voice to the back of her head, concentrating on him with a hard glare. Teeth grit fast and her grip tightened on Void Gear without mercy. And then she pointing the keyblade at him again, And as she did, it seemed to start charging something. What? He would find out soon enough.]

You're wrong!

There is no other chance but this. No more time. So, that's why- That's why it has to be this way! With this power, I'll tear down the sky itself and plunge this world into darkness. I'll let them know what it is to feel insignificant! To be nothing more than a mistake!

[And that was when a large fireball shot from the tip of the blade, starting out slow before suddenly bursting into several small ones and coming at him sharply.]

[Her words struck something inside of him; more assurance that at its core, the lunatic he was crossing blades with was one of his closest friends. And especially hearing all of that from her, he became even more determined to pull her out of that madness.

A string of Air Slides carried him out of harm's way as he spiraled in a wide curve to the side, his movements continuing to close the distance between the two.]

Are you listening to yourself!?

Power?! Darkness!? You sound exactly like him!

[Roxas' grip on Lost Memory shifted, both hands seizing the weapon as his movement pattern brought him into melee range once more. His Keyblade whistled through the air as it came for her -no, specifically he was aiming to pin down Void Gear again. He needed to get a moment to talk to her.

But whether fortune smiled on him or if he was deflected, he wasn't going to waste his chance of having gotten that close to her.]

You're wrong! We're on our second chance now! And we have time! It'd be a lie if I told you I knew how you felt, but I know what it feels like when the world rejects you! And I've been in that darkness!

There's nothing but tears there, Xion. Tears and your own suffering! And you deserve better!

[She watched in irritation as her attack was completely avoided, following him closely with that same hard glare. One only temporarily broken with a wince. But then she was gripping her keyblade well and good- prepared for him as he came tearing forward into range once more. She blocked Lost Memory as it came down upon her, but with his two-handed grip, he had slightly more of an edge than she was anticipating and Void Gear's tip was clanging against the ground before she even realized it.

She watched him over their keyblades as he shouted at her. Shouting words with an uncanny boldness. One he had founded Sora himself, no doubt. But yet it was still very Roxas- a wiser, more knowing Roxas. The one who had changed yet was still him. And the one who was right there inches from her, trying to reach out to her despite everything. Her eyes flickered, a bit of blue snipping in and out. But then she was finally trying to press him away.]

But this is the only way! This is the only way to show them! To prove to them!

[Wasn't it? Wasn't that the truth? Wasn't it for the better?

You deserve better.

She did. She knew. And this was how she would achieve it. But then so... why did a little part of her suddenly feel sadness starting to sneak up on her quietly in the pit of her stomach.]

[He's cautious about pushing things too much in one motion, immediately releasing her when he feels her efforts to push him away. He leaps back, landing in a neat crouch with his Keyblade pointed off to the side. Roxas' eyes remain locked with hers, unwilling to let himself get too excited because her eyes flickered.]

The only thing you're proving to them is that they're right!

[He lunges in to strike again, the arc of his weapon coming wide from her flank. More than anything, he's trying to keep her off-balance so the darker personality has to struggle against her true personality. Of course in keeping this pressure up, if he's not interrupted with a counter-attack, he'll make another swing before withdrawing and holding his ground.]

Darkness and power were the only things he thought held any sway in the world!

Don't you think that finding another way would be better, Xion?

[Repetitive as it may sound, he's trying to use her name more and even harder, he's trying not to yell or shout when he uses it. It's a difficult act he's trying to employ, being strong enough to keep his opponent from overtaking him and yet trying to be open enough that she might realize that he's trying to help her.]

[At that strike, she was again pulling up her own keyblade to block. Skidding back slightly before coming to a halt a few feet off from him. Glaring hard at him.]

But there isn't any other, Roxas! Don't you see? From the moment I was created, this was my role! My purpose! So, now I'll bury it with everyone! And then- then everything will be set right! Then I'll finally be free!

[She wasn't making any sense. Contradicting. Lost in a wave of different emotions- whether artificial or real. In a myriad of thoughts, of clashing whims and painful dedication. This was it. This was the role she had been pulled to play. And she would play it by her mind. Pull her own strings.

So then, with being so steadfast in that. Why then? Why could she feel hot water pouring from her eyes slightly? Eyes rippling with another hint of blue. She brushed it away as if annoyed and pushed forward to entangle their keyblades once more.]

[He meets her glare with a patient expression. Part of him isn't sure where this sense of calm is coming from, by now he should have been worked up into a panicked frenzy. But strangely, he only feels that drive to get through to his friend and save her. It's even more clear than when he'd just been struggling with the belief of his friends in him.

Roxas lets her advance, meeting her strikes with skillful parries, giving up ground as he allows her offensive. He wasn't sure why, but every feeling inside him was screaming that he needed them to keep talking. Beating her senseless first would only enrage her more and make her less likely to listen when he tried to make his point. Better to work now when she was just annoyed with him resisting.]

You'll be free to do what? To vanish? To disappear?

[The Nobody meets his friend's assault by bringing his High Jump into play and vaulting neatly over her head. His landing puts him just outside of striking range of her Keyblade as he immediately gets to his feet and whirls about.]

You're saying there's no other way, but there's only no way out if you stop looking! It's only over if you give up!

[It's probably stupid, but he lowers his weapon. His voice now, if anything sounds more like that melancholy tone she might be used to hearing from him.]

You and Axel gave me a reason to want to live. To be more than just a piece of Sora. Because of that, I'm not giving up on you. And if he's in a bind when we find him, I won't give up on him either.

So Xion, please... don't give up on me like this.

[To vanish.

To disappear.

Like Xemnas had intended. One or the other. She knew that. But that was why... That was why she had gone the lengths she had gone. That had been her logic. A logic that was slowly becoming tangled and distorted. Her strikes were becoming more manic now. Her breath starting to sob slightly. Her eyes whirling between hues as her hair lightened slightly.

She slashed and tore at his defense a little longer- then watched him vault over her and followed through, sliding towards him with a wild swing in his direction. One that stopped right as she was about to hit him. -But why? Why did she stop? This was it. This was right. He was nothing but-

...What was he? Who was he? She knew him so well- too well. Everything about him. Inside and out almost. Everything but yet his meaning was lost- at least until she saw those eyes. Heard that tone. Gave him reason... She? A mere puppet? She stood there, panting. Tears beading up in the corners of her eyes although she still held such a mad expression.]

If there's another way, then enlighten me! Because I've yet to find one!

[This was a setback. She'd asked for an answer that he wasn't ready to deliver, an answer that still escaped him. In truth, he was still as much bound to his original fate as he ever had been -all it would take would be something strong enough to subdue him and he was just as easy to return to his place as he was in any case.

As she'd demonstrated.

And yet, even if that happened, he refused to just go quietly. He refused to accept that as the only path he had before him. It was that stubborn resistance and even his persistence in an aggravated limbo that assured him that another way must exist.

Just like with his battle against this side of Xion, Roxas began to think that maybe he'd just been going about it the wrong way at first. Unfortunately though, the reality still was that all his efforts had yet to even yield a lead. So it was time to just do what he'd promised to do and be honest.]

I don't know.

[There was a hint, a reflection of mild defeat in his tone as he answered. But before she could speak up again to curse him or insult him, he chose to explain himself better.]

I don't know because I've been looking at it as just me searching for an answer. I've looked for that way alone. And all that I've learned has told me that you just can't exist entirely on your own.

[A pause.]

So let's do it together, Xion. Let's look together.

It always turns out better when we're both working on things, right?

[His statement finishes with that smile of his. It's encouraging, almost naive... yet the look in his eyes tries to convey that he's trying to do more than just throw hope into the air and see what it yields. Perhaps in the hours of his revival, he's grown up a little.]

Like when you lost your Keyblade... and we found it together.

[She stood there, unblinking. Watching him. Hearing him. Hearing those words. Those words that at first lead to nowhere. Lead to exactly what she felt he knew- Nothing. Nothing at all. So- there really was no other way. She was right. It was pointless for her to listen. A waste of time- but just as she was about to retort, just as she collected a firmer grip on Void Gear, he was speaking up again and...

And why? Why did he sound so convinced in his own words? And why- why, in that moment, did she want to believe him? Despite how broken up her memories were- there was definitely something between them that they had had once, wasn't there? Something- Something forgotten. But not lost. And it fought to surface at that smile. Roxas, you always were so naive. But that was something she always- always...

And then she was fisting her free hand in her hair suddenly, grunting as memories disentangled, retangled, scattering and recombining in a frenzy as if she was working out a giant puzzle in her mind. Her eyes constantly shifting between gold and blue, gold and blue. A shift that was hidden when she hung her head slightly. Panting hard.]

Why...? Why should I trust you?

[As he watched Xion struggle, it really started tearing at whatever he had resembling a heart to see her in such a state. One part of her lay completely unable to do anything while the other suffered as it conflicted against her inner darkness -a darkness that moments ago in their duel, he'd almost given into as well. A darkness that just seemed like a faded light that he almost relinquished himself into when she'd absorbed him. It was something that he knew that when the time came for it, he'd need her to save him from his own too.

Just because that's the way things were with them -constants in the other's turbulent lives. Their darkest hours were almost always when they were in absence of each other... much like Sora and his friends.

He wanted to comfort her and he found it ironic. Maybe ten or so minutes ago, he just wanted power to beat her back. But between what he was seeing and what his doppelganger had told him, power wasn't the answer here. Which was why he was going to take another potentially stupid risk; he'd release his grip on Lost Memory, letting it vanish into the ether as he draws closer.

There's no self-destructive urge in Roxas' mind, just the realization that if she was going to trust him, he'd have to be the one to be vulnerable to her so she might understand his faith in Xion.

The Nobody kneels before his friend, propping his right arm up over his knee while he offers his left hand for his friend to take.]

Because that's what friends do.

[She didn't budge for a moment. Save to slowly glimpse up slightly through that mixture of black and brown spikes. Her eyes a swirl of gold and blue. Eyes that widened as he allowed his weapon to disperse. What... What was he...? She could have torn him in two right then. So easily. And yet then he was kneeling in front of her, extending a hand. So naive. So trusting of her. Trusting of a puppet. A mere puppet that wanted nothing more than to exist. To be and yet... A puppet that had...

Because that's what friends do.

Her footing that was becoming slowly more fragile by the minute as she began to shake, taking ragged breaths. As moment by moment, the pieces seemed to want to realign, want to join together once more and make sense of the puzzle she had once held complete in her mind. One of laughter and ice cream- ice cream on the clock tower. Together. Toge-

She stumbled then, legs giving out. And then she was reaching frantically. Panicking- No, this left her just as vulnerable as him- No, she didn't want this- No. Her hand scrambling to find a way, groping out until- until she had his. And then her vision went white. Finding herself collapsing the rest of the way as Void Gear vanished.]

[He waited and watched her reaction. Though he was opening himself up and offering to be completely vulnerable, the scars of betrayal were still healing and their mark would never completely leave him. Even unarmed, he'd still remained at least mentally prepared to make a hasty retreat if she'd decided to take advantage of his opening.

As he saw her continue to struggle, it became more and more apparent that he'd have to even allow her past the point where he could safely evade if things went sour. Especially after all that had happened here, he was afraid of what happened if things took another unpleasant turn. But it seemed that now, for once, everything was leading up to him needing to put all of his faith in her.

His posture shifted when her legs gave out, his own pushing out behind him as he went from a crouch into a lunge with his arms outstretched. With everything unfolding as it was, there shouldn't be any reason why he wouldn't be able to catch her before she hit the floor.]

It's okay. I'm here for you.

[A subconscious part of her had been expecting to hit the hard, cold stained glass platform underneath their feet. Yet, instead, she felt her body buckling against something warm and alive. No- Someone. Groggily, she could feel that rise and fall of his chest against her head. Or rather, as she was laying her head against his chest. She left her arms hang limply at her sides for the moment. Her own breath slowly starting to come down in volume, evening out. Eyes half-lidded. So exhausted. Her head hurting so... so much.

She didn't say anything for a while, even as her hair returned to Sora's familiar brunette. Feeling the weight of this reality. The feel of his arms wrapped securely around her. It was... This was... -She felt something running down her face but she didn't really register it otherwise. Just stayed there as she was, the final pieces clicking together.]

...Roxas... ...How are you... [Here?]

...How did I...? [Forgot you?

Edited 2011-01-18 19:18 (UTC)

[He wanted to believe that the ordeal was going to be over now, that things were going to be smooth sailing. But he wasn't going to relax just yet, this whole 'inner world' business seemed to take a great deal of amusement in constantly pushing him off-guard and honestly, he wasn't going to last through another prolonged engagement -at least not one that started by taking him by surprise.

So he's quiet at first, just tending to her, keeping her close. Even though she bears the face of their Other, he still can't deny that she's still who she is: his friend. He gives something of a half-laugh as he finally notices her tears. It was difficult to see when she was spazzing out, but it was perfectly clear now.]

Hmm? I'm doing -

[Roxas cuts off abruptly as he realizes that's not what she was asking. Another half-chuckle as he puts two and two together to realize what she meant to say.]

Oh, it's a long story. I can tell you about it once we're safe.

[When she speaks up again, he just shakes his head a little.]

Don't push yourself. You've been through a lot.

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See you after I get back from work.

/o/ You got off work pretty early, man.

It was only a 12 - 6:30 shift today.

Ah... Okay, makes sense. I thought you were gonna get off pretty late.

Well, nothin' to worry about in any case, right?

True that. Except now I have to go or I'll never get up for work. =\

It's cool. I'm expecting company today, so tagging may be sporadic.

It's all good. I ended up with a bit of tag burnout earlier today. @@;

Seems all the better then that I didn't actually get a chance to sit down until now.

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Fff.... And that was hella long. /quits editting finally

Yeah... who'da thought a random DR thread would go this long?