♡ If this is one of Ienzo's illusions, the little brat will get it later-

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

 [ there's a tall, blue-haired man, a painful-looking X-shaped scar slashed neatly across the bridge of his nose and cool, calm golden eyes surveying the surrounding area, leaning boredly on his fearsome Claymore as he takes in the area of Radiant Garden, the smooth white cobblestones, the gurgling water fountains with sprays of sparkling water arcing though the air, the bright, vivid flowers patches, and the whole general sense of "holy fuck this is wrong and impossible".

after all, Radiant Garden hadn't looked like this in ten years.

what the heck?! ]

... Lea.

[ hear that, folks? that is the promise of Lea getting the most brutal tongue-whipping of his life for whatever the hell the redheaded idiot did to break the world. because there is no other explanation and he refuses to believe he somehow traveled back in time. it's also a useful way of checking to make sure they didn't get separated like the first time ten years ago. ]

Whatever happened, I blame you.

[ now how the hell can he transfer the latest set of missions to rest of the organization? sometimes it's a wonder they managed without him, and yes, he is a slave-driver like some of them complain, but someone has to make sure the Heartless don't just do what they please. he doesn't want to see anymore devoured like his own world had been.

it's only though years of self-disciple and control that he maintains his even, flat tone of voice as he speaks, confusion easily hidden. ]

Comments

*grumbles*

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

[ he's still somewhat new to the group and while he's used to how things work in the organization by now, Isa views Xeha as his superior, and since being rude to his former employer would usually result into someone getting turned into a slug or something equally unpleasant, force of habit.

a small smile turns the corner of his mouth upward in response to Xeha's smile. ]

Good.

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

[Superior? Him? Just a kid thrown into the centre of this mess...]

You're - looking a bit lost. [He gives an awkward little 'heh', and a bit of a shrug.] Did you just get here?

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

[ you gave him Lea back. for that alone, he own you a debt. ]

... I suppose I am rather lost. [ a thoughtful look, before he idly waves his hand as if to brush the issue away. ] Yes, I just arrived here... wherever 'here' is.

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

[He sighs briefly into his hands, and looks over at Isa, a slight apologetic look on his face.]

This is going to be kind of awkward to explain...

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

[ puzzled eyebrow raise. ]

Awkward? How so, Xehanort?

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

This - isn't a normal type of world. As far as 'normal' goes, at least. [A shrug. Okay, explanations, explanations. He should be used to giving this damn speech by now.] It's kind of a - pocket world, made from copies of bits of others. ... And taking people from them.

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

[ if he was Lea, this is where he would say loudly and clearly something along the lines of; "You're pulling my leg", "bullshit", and "what the fuck", but then he glanced at the nearby houses, neat and prim and not a single sigh of the ruin that was Hollow Bastion, what Radiant Garden had become.

it made sense at least. ]

The lack of normalcy was somewhat obvious from the moment I came here.

[ there was Isa's dry sense of humor leaking in. ]

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

[Ah, that's good to hear. A reminder of who he knew and not the million similar faces he'd seen as of late. A sly smile-]

Alright, perhaps that bit didn't need mentioning. The rest's still all true, though.

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

[ the claymore vanishes from Isa's grip and he straightened up from the slight leaning stance he'd been leaning on the strong claymore. ]

Strange. Can we leave? Or are we all unable to?

[ after all, he doubted Xehanort would stick around unless a) he had a good reason to b) was unable to because he'd crashed the gummi ship again c) needed to save the World. ]

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

Not by choice we can't, at least. I've been looking into ways, but ... honestly, I've never been able to come up with any concrete way home.

[He sighs, not liking being the bearer of such bad news.]

Sorry.

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

[ the berserker looks briefly discouraged, after all, if Xehanort of all people couldn't devise a way home, who could? he doesn't offer encouragement, it's Lea's job in that department to keep the fire burning and to be the insufferable optimist. ]

... I see.

[ he rubs his long-healed over scar as he thinks. ]

You probably tried your best, Xeha.

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

[He nods, a little sadly - hey, short name, that earns a slight smile. Strange the difference that makes at the moment.]

I looked into everything I could, at least. Every avenue that seemed open. But - well. Nothing. If we go back, it's the same way we came. Without having a clue.

[And that annoys him so much. He'd tried to put these things aside, but thinking about it again... well. He can dream. He can hope.]

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

[ that earns much more attention. ]

This world tempers with our memories?

[ so not okay with that. it's his head damnit, and while demons and ghouls and certain witches have tried to mess with it before, he had made it quite clear it was his mind and his memories and his alone. and he deeply disliked anyone screwing with it. ]

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

No! [He pauses for a moment.] Well. Not exactly. I think I came and went once before... I didn't remember a thing when I got home. Only when I got back here. This was a while before I met you...

[Honestly, he'd agree on that front - as much of a mess as his head might be, it's his. And he wants to keep it that way, for what little it's worth.]

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

Perhaps the memory-wipe is some sort of defense mechanism for the Worlds themselves? [ frowning >:| as he attempts to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

he presses his fingers against the X-shaped part of scarred skin. ] A protection, 'failsafe' of their own to insure no outside influence interferes with the flow of how events in that particular world are supposed to flow?

[ and Xehanort had just confirmed a worry of Isa's. It was seemingly possible to draw people from different sections of the timeline. ]

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

[He gives a slow nod.] It's entirely possible. If I'd been able to go back with some of the knowledge I'd gathered here... well. Things'd have been a lot different, that's for sure.

[Even if he'd not found out some of the worst of his past when he'd visited home again, the knowledge that most worlds saw him as a villain? That would've been a bit awkward, at the very least.]

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

So I will forget my time residing within this World when I return to our own world, as will you?

[ that prompts Isa to fix the dark-skinned Keyblade wielder with a sharp, piecing glance from his cool, bright golden eyes. ]

Is there something I should know, Xeha?

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

One, probably. And two... yeah, probably. [He sighs.] When I say 'bits of different worlds', it's more like bits of different universes, different timelines. In some, things went very differently.

[Awkwardly, now - as used as he is to the concept, it still feels a little hard to say here.]

And in most, we're the bad guys.

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

[ okay, that? that is getting a somewhat flat stare of disbelief from the blue-haired man. while it's Xeha saying this that lends some creditable proof to the very concept, it still makes his head hurt. ]

... Absurd, but considering where we are, practically proves the very theory of "alternate universes" [ sometimes he has nightmares about being too slow; about the Heartless being too fast, too strong with him only a baseball and his rage and Lea, frisbees and his terror. the "what-ifs" are something he disliked pondering, but had ten years or so to do nothing but. ] correct, I'm forced to consider that as a possibility.

[ and an eyes raise. ] And the "good guys"? Who were they? I would find it hard to believe that... delusional island brat or the Heartless Princess, or such would do much of a job.

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

Ah-hah.

[Now he looks down at the ground.]

The thing is, in most worlds, whatever made them turn to the dark never happened, though I'm still trying to work out what that was. His name's Sora, by the way - and in most worlds, he's just as, well, sane as us.

[supposedtolie.livejournal.com]

[ slow head-shake. consider him baffled. ]

Those worlds sound quite backwards-to-forwards. A sane Sora... ? [ to Isa, that's like an sane Xehanort would be to canon!Riku.

From what Isa had heard about alternate universes beforehand, it's just the single action, or a different choice that splits off, sends the ripples though of the rest of the universe and tips the balance. it was just a matter of pinpointing the exact choice. ]

[lower-case-x.livejournal.com]

Yeah. The ones I've met here have been - well, nice guys. [And a nice girl, but one step at a time.] I can't help but wonder what happened to him back home, to them, to make things the way they are... maybe it's something to do with whatever - put us on the other side, elsewhere.

[At least he has a clue as to what that one was.]

But I just don't know.