kingdomdressing | (no subject)

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xehanort

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[There's a place that looks awfully like Castle Oblivion, here. And a rather confused looking white-haired boy stepping into it, out of a room full of the sounds of wild falling waters. He turns, looking back the way he came, yelling back-]

Grandfather? Terra? Can you see this? I-

[Peek in. Peek out. Rub his head. Something's wrong - something's very wrong. But he'd just stepped from home, with his grandfather-namesake and his older brother and all his family, to out here, and that isn't something that's supposed to happen. You don't just - step out of the world. Not out of somewhere you're meant to fit in.

Still, curiosity's built into Xehanort almost by definition. Muttering directions under his breath to make sure things are okay, he heads onwards, through the shining white corridors... because he's going to get to the bottom of this.

The fact that he never had a grandfather or a brother in that sense isn't occurring to him right now.
Nor is the fact that the room's changing behind him.]

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[she nods, expression serious.]

Power and focus. Okay, I can do that, no problem.

[Arranging things, he nods back at her over a shoulder.] I ... think we'll want to - well, hold hands for this too. If we hold this [standing and heading over to her with one particular item in his hand] gem in between them, it should provide a relay effect, sharing the power out. Try and cast through it.

Are you ready?

Right, okay, casting through the gem. It'll be weird... but I've used different things to cast with before. Ready as I'll ever be.

[she takes a deep, calming breath, then smiles at him.]

It'll be weird for me, too. But we don't really have the time to find a better staff, or anything like that, and I'm not sure that our weapons'll be the right thing to use. Anyway-

[He returns the smile.]

On my mark. Three, two, one -

Now.

[And it begins.]

[she casts, easing into it at first to make sure she can through the gem, but quickly increasing the strength of it.]

[The magic flow's starting up on his side, too. This feels more than odd... but it seems to be working.

There'll be flickers around them - either psychic projections or magical images, it's hard to tell at this stage. Nothing solid yet. But he gives her a look, before starting to focus even more intently.]

[she's following his instructions exactly, letting him hopefully do the finer bits. she's got a lot of power to offer by now.]

[He can feel that - it's exactly what he needs to feel. Confident in her ability to provide the magical force he needs, he's starting to focus the flickering images. At the moment, it's just reflections of the pair of them coming in, going out, but he pushes further on, further back.

Suddenly, light flashes in. Images of a mountain range that leads down to a beautiful beach - not quite any scenery that Sora'll recognise on its own, but bits of a few settings combined.

And though the images might be distorted and weak from his lack of practice, it's enough for Xeha's breath to catch as he recognises it.]

We're close...

Keep going.

[she's pretty certain she could power this for at least a few minutes, though the longer it goes on the harder it'll probably be on her.]

[He nods, and pushes on. As he does so - ha! It's him! He recognises the way that he'd walked in, sees the path to the beach, sees where he'd stood looking out -

And then sees something different to what he remembers.

Sees himself looking less and less settled, at home.

Sees himself coming in with evident curiosity on his face, and out through the door.]

No...

...I don't understand.

[she's not going to cut the spell until he says to or cuts things on his end, but she definitely looks confused.]

That - that was me just - but it wasn't...

[He flicks wildly back and forwards - through the scene, further back, to the point where the image just breaks up, but nope. He's pretty sure that he's not going to see any other evidence.

His head falling, he releases his grasp on the casting gem, his own side of the spell fading out.]

[she drops the spell, then the gem, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder.]

Is... there anything I can do?

[Weakly, he manages to get out one little sentence.]

... you were right all along.

[His world's cracking around him. Everything. Is he just supposed to believe that it never happened? That he never...]

I'm sorry.

[she's going to try to hug him now, if he'll let her.]

[Absolutely he will. Even if he didn't need that hug right now, he's not in much of a state to push anyone away.]

What - what's - who am I?...

You're Xeha. No matter what, that's who you are, okay?

[she squeezes him gently, biting her lip for a moment.]

[And hesitantly, he'll squeeze back.]

I - that's something. But everything else? My whole life?...

I'm sorry, Xeha. We'll figure this stuff out, I promise. Somehow.

[It's a moment more before he can get himself to respond.]

... Alright.

Come on, let's get out of here. We can go get something to drink, maybe? Or at least some comfort food. We can go pig out on cookies or something.

[He manages a weak laugh at that much, at least.]

... That sounds good. Let me get my things.

Okay.

[she pulls back from the hug, but squeezes his shoulder one more time before backing off completely.]

[A faint smile. The books and notes are retrieved-]

I guess I learned something new, at least.

[Apart from his whole memory being a complete lie. Slight problem that one.]

That's something.

Yeah. We did something amazing, so there's that.