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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[He starts back from his own mirror-]

What happened? What are you trying to...!

The darkness happened, kid. You and the Keyblade are important.

The Keyblade? I - so why not Grandfather, or Terra, or Van or...

[Flailing a bit here. Hell, of course he likes being important. Who wouldn't? But the context of it all...]

You really think Vanitas is the hero type?

You said important. You didn't say anything about hero.

[He laughs slightly, kicking at the ground. That sounds a bit better, though.]

Maybe I should've, hunh? But the truth is, the world's in a lot worse shape than what you saw in that other room.

And Vanitas isn't really related to you either.

I know that. He's Grandfather's other apprentice. I don't see what he sees in him, but... [Shrugging, but there's a hint of worry in his expression now.]

... And it's all like that? All like - how you're showing me the castle?

More or less, yeah. Maybe not so bad everywhere, but the Heartless are a problem.

... Heartless?

[Yeah. Something is even more screwed up than it seemed.]

That bad, hunh. Allllll right, I guess we've gotta start at the beginning. Tell me about your granddad.

Huh? Well, he's your- [He trails off before he can finish the sentence.]

He's raised me since I was little, as long as I can remember... he's very clever. Very determined, I guess you could say... he's a bit possessive of me sometimes. I guess it's because Terra argues with him so much? I don't mind, though. He's taught me so much.

[Such fond recollections. Such positive ones...]

And this?

[He raises a hand to touch the scar on his face. It's part curiosity and part seeing just how far he'll have to go back.]

I heard you were practicing with Terra and things ... got out of hand...?

Ah not quite.

[There's a deep breath, and a moment of conversation, and the scene changes again. This time it's not static, and seems to take place from Braig's point of view - he's all alone in the waterways under the Garden.

A moment later, Terra shows up, looking spitting mad... and from there a whole scene plays out, complete with convenient subtitles.]

[... He's stunned. Completely.

That's probably the worst fight he ever recalls seeing.

So - standing there, mouth open...]

That's ... it was ... you, he ... it was that bad? But ... No wonder you don't ... but ...

[Yeah. Not quite managing coherence here.]

Yeaaaaah, let's just say there's bad blood there. I mean, sure, it wasn't like we actually knew each other but hey, a job's a job.

A job? He's your nephew! My brother! And you ... who ...

[Still stammering here, and backing away a little.]

But you - what do you mean, you didn't know each other...

Okay. From the top, then. Xehanort - Master Xehanort, not you - isn't my dad. He's some old coot who came to the Garden looking for a bit of help in a couple of things. Terra... hell if I know who's kid he was, but I don't exactly have brothers.

So, the old coot asked, I helped because he had a good offer and well, you saw what happened. Wasn't expecting the darkness though.

[He drops his head into his hands. All those words - so cold, so chilling. His response is weak when it comes.]

Is that what you meant when you said I don't have a family? Is any - are any of you ... are we all just meant to be enemies?

Trust me, kid. It's a lot worse than you know. I mean, you n' me, we aren't enemies, but a happy family? As if.

[He slumps against a mirror; images flicker in it as he does so.

Happy, so many of them.
But fragmented and false.]

... How bad is it?

You sure you wanna know?

I don't want to know. I want things to be alright again. I want to be talking to my favourite uncle and not some guy who Grandfather hired to try and fight with someone who I thought was my brother...

Is that really all I am to you? I'm still me. The background's just changed.

I don't know who you are. That's the problem. I don't know how much any of what I know has to do with reality...

[Tired and subdued-]

...Show me something. Anything. I don't want this to be all there is.