genessia | A new arrival in the 'hood, action, OTA, Kingdom Hearts Spoilers are almost guaranteed.

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A new arrival in the 'hood, action, OTA, Kingdom Hearts Spoilers are almost guaranteed.

Xion had awoken, in the pod, terribly confused. She gave everything a quick glance, then shoved it in her pockets. Pulling her hood over her face, she made her way out, and got as far as the hologram. She stood and listened to what it had to say, her small back tense.

She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't BE. She somehow doubted this was where Namine was supposed to have sent her. Somehow... Somehow something had gone wrong. Very wrong. She took a map and looked at it, frowning. She shouldn't be kidnapped. Had someone tried to stop them? Was that why she was still here? Still existed as a separate entity?

She shook her head under the hood. She had to figure this out. But first, she had to find somewhere hidden. She didn't pull out the necklace, or the device, leaving them in her pocket, along with the pamphlet. She grabbed a map and shoved it in her other pocket, with the money, then turned to look around, looking for a place to hide....

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You... You could have a best friend... then not be friends anymore? She... she didn't know that could happen. A whole new sense of horror washed over her. She knew that with her, because Namine made him forget that... that he wouldn't consider her a best friend, but... but that she could ever not think of him and Roxas that way? That Roxas and Axel could ever stop seeing each other as best friends? That scared her... maybe even more than the thought of being made into a Dusk. The few things that have ever been good in her mistake of an existence had been their friendship. She hadn't realized she had come to think of it as immutable...until she heard him speaking of Sïax, of Isa, that way. How much change was too much? He had a heart now, was that too much change? If Isa changed when he became Sïax?

This time she actually heard and processed as he talked about how much it took for him to be able to use his Keyblade. Could this Yen Sid, this Merlin, these fairies... could they have helped her? Or would their help just have made things worse for Roxas? Every time she got stronger, it only seemed to hurt him, but she hadn't understood that soon enough. Would learning from them have been different? Would they have taught a puppet like her? Probably not.

His wanting to show off was just so him that her lips twitched upwards despite her dark mood. She could just picture it too. Axe..... Lea. Standing there with his jacket flapping, flames dancing around him as he made an entrance. And she didn't know what Yen Sid looked like, but the thought of him making someone so stoic react like that.... without even realizing it, she was smiling.

"I'm glad we avoided that too," she whispered. "I had no idea that they would use what we were doing to try to hurt you, I swear I didn't know," she whispered, desperate to be believed. Yeah, too late. She was already blaming herself for it. "But I still... every heartless I destroyed..." she whispered. "I was so... so happy when I could make my quotas, because it meant I could stay with you and Roxas," she whispered. "Because they wouldn't turn me into a Dusk if I did my job."

"I'm glad Sora stopped them. I bet Roxas helped with that," she said with a trembling smile. Roxas saved Axel, Axel saved Roxas. Even as Sora and Lea. She liked that. Even if there was no place for her in that.

Okay, now he had her full attention as she stared at him. "What... what do you mean, time doesn't pass?" This was desperately important. She grabbed his arm with both of her hands, staring up at him. "My being here with you isn't selfish? I'm not taking you away from Roxas? I'm not... I didn't fail? I did go back to Sora?" She had to be sure, because that sounded too much like... like a good thing. Like something happy and positive. And she didn't get happy and positive things... Nobodies didn't. Especially not failures like her.

She swallowed a bit at his question. "I'm not as good as Roxas is..." she warned him. Her hands closed tighter on his arm. And then she couldn't help herself, she smiled and added, "I never thought there would be a day I could teach you something..."

It hadn't been just losing his heart that had changed Lea's best friend Isa into the Siax Xion had known. Time had almost certainly been a factor; they'd always known they were playing a long game, but neither of them had anticipated how long. And Lea couldn't help but wonder if somewhere deep down Siax hadn't blamed him for the loss of their hearts; it had been Lea's idea to go to the castle that night, after all. But beyond that, he wasn't sure. Was it just Xehanort's influence? Or was there more to it? Could it be that he'd misjudged Isa all along, and his true nature was closer to that of Siax? No way to know. Not without questioning Siax himself.

"You couldn't have know," Lea assured her. "No one did, aside from Xemnas and Xigbar. Well maybe Siax, but I won't know what he knew until I ask Isa directly. Point is, you did your best given the information you had, which is all anybody can really do. Though yeah, I bet Roxas did help somehow." He smiled in return; Roxas would have found a way, somehow.

Lea was slightly startled when she grabbed his arm, but still smiled and nodded. "I'm not sure if time actually stops while we're here, but anybody who goes home gets put back at the exact place and time they were brought from so it amounts to the same thing," Lea said. "So no, staying here isn't selfish, and you still went back to Sora." At least as far as he knew, but the knowledge felt right so he was going with it.

"I bet you taught me a lot of things without even knowing it," he said. "But yeah, regardless, you've got a year's worth of experience with a Keyblade, and I've got zip. Having someone to practice with who knows what they're doing will be a big help."

And right about then, the waiter reappeared bringing their pizza, two individual plates, and some extra napkins. "Hey, alright, good timing," Lea told the waiter as he set their individual plates in front of them and the steaming hot pizza in the center of the table. "Thanks, man."

"You're very welcome," said the waiter. "Anything else I can get you?"

"Nah, we're good, thanks," Lea said. "But I'll let you know." The waiter nodded and left and Lea turned back to the girl.

"Alright, just in time to celebrate our official reunion," he said. "Your very first pizza. Might wanna wait a few minutes before you get a slice though; fresh out of the oven like this, it's really hot."

She gave a small smile when he agreed that Roxas probably helped. The rest... she felt like she should have known. The way Sïax treated her, like she was less than nothing... could she have used that to do recon on the Organization itself if only she had been brave enough? She didn't know.

She tried to absorb what he told her, and at first had trouble then she figured it out. It was like Stopga! She and he could move around freely at the center of the spell until time resumed outside, then they had to deal with it again. She didn't know whose magic was powerful enough to cast that spell to hit them both for even as long as they've already had.... but whoever it was.... so long as she never made them sorry that they brought her here... But knowing that for however long the spell lasted, she could stay with Axel, and that she didn't fail or run away.... It was more of a good thing than her life should allow for, if she could even be said to be alive. And still, she was selfish enough to have one more wish. Just one. Just... Just bring Roxas here until the spell ends. That would be perfect. Roxas' week off that he wanted. They'd go to the beach and eat ice cream.

She was knocked out of her daydream by the waiter arriving. She quickly pulled her hood up again and pressed herself into the back of the seat, watching. When the waiter left, she kept watching till she was sure he was gone, then she pulled her hood back down. "I... If you want to practice with me, we can do that." She'd like that. She really would. "Roxas and I would practice together sometimes."

She frowned when he said the thing about being careful because it was hot, then looked at her gloves, then back at him. And then another hint of a smile. "Since when was anything ever too hot for you, Axel?" she asked with a grin. And then guiltily her face fell. She swallowed. "Lea... sorry..."

Stopga was actually a good way to think of it; a powerful time magic spell holding things suspended until their return, while they could move freely here. If anyone else their world showed up, that might be a good way to explain things to him. And it would be perfect, having Roxas there with them. Le hoped he'd show up too, but at the same time, wasn't allowing himself to hope too much. Out of the seemingly infinite worlds and individuals there were, the odds that Roxas would be brought there were almost laughably slim. But still, both of them had shown up, so it was possible...

No sense dwelling on it though. "Wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to," he said, smiling. "That's if it cooperates and materializes when I want it; I swear that thing seems to have a mind of its own sometimes."

He chuckled at her grin, and then her guilty expression, reaching over and gently ruffling her hair. "Eh, don't worry about it," he said. "Sora and Riku did the same thing at first. And just because I'm immune to fire and heat doesn't mean anyone else is. Besides, if you try to eat it while the cheese is still really melty, you might lose some of the toppings, and they're the best part."

"I.... I wonder if your Keyblade... is like mine then..." she said, softly. But she hoped it wasn't, and if it somehow it was.... Who was the other half of his Keyblade? Was it someone he liked as much as she liked Roxas? If he was a Somebody now, could he even have been drawn from to make a replica? Who was his replica that was draining his power?

She blinked when he ruffled her hair, then grinned a bit at him a bit shyly. "Hey!" she protested.

"The... toppings are the best part?" she asked, looking at it. Which parts counted as the toppings....?

"I don't think so?", Lea said, looking thoughtful. "I figure Yen Sid would have said something if that was the case. It did take a lot of effort to get me one though, so I'm probably just still getting used to it; swords were never really my thing weapon-wise so I'm pretty much learning from the ground up."

Lea noticed her puzzlement regarding the pizza and smiled. "The toppings are the cheese and whatever's on top of that, in this case just pepperoni," he explained. "If the cheese and toppings slide off because the cheese is too melty, you're just left with what amounts to bread with a bit of tomato sauce on it, which isn't nearly as good as the whole pizza."

"Well, you can use it as a focus for your fire magic, if nothing else... that should help you get used to it?"

"Oh. So how do I know when to eat it?"

"Yeah that'll probably help too," Lea agreed. "But I'll still need the physical practice. The Keyblade's got a completely different balance than my chakrams and it'll take some getting used to."

"Well, we do what I like to call the 'stretch test'," Lea said. "You take a slice, and try to put it on your plate, like so." He took a slice of pizza, lifting it from the tray.The cheese stretched for a bit but the strands quickly snapped leaving him free to put the slice on his plate. "There, see? That means it's cool enough to eat. If the cheese keeps on stretching and doesn't break, then it's probably still too hot to eat and you should wait another minute or two."

"But this one's all good," he said. "So feel free to get yourself a slice, and tell me what you think."

"Al...alright..." she said. She tried to lift hers exactly as he had lifted his, but pulled a little too fast and before she knew what was happening, there was a dollop of sauce on her lap. She stared at it for a moment too long, then tried to reach for a napkin, forgetting to put down the slice, so she dragged her sleeve across it, spilling all of the cheese and most of the rest of the sauce onto her lap as well. She brought he napkin towards the mess and realized how small it was compared to the spill she now had.

"Maybe I should just stick to ice cream," she muttered, but... she was trying not to laugh.

Lea didn't bother trying not to laugh, chuckling and facepalming slightly. "And this is why putting a napkin on you lap is a good idea, though a bit late for that now. Here..." He handed her a few more napkins while he carefully retrieved the glob of cheese and pepperoni from her lap. "It all came off in one piece so I think we can salvage it. Just put the crust down on your plate, and I'll put this back on it."

"It's a good thing I didn't order spaghetti," he said as he reassembled the pizza slice. "And that our outfits are black. Though this does remind me that we'll have to get you a change of clothes and a few other basic things at some point, given that this place is rude enough to kidnap people without even giving them time to pack a toothbrush."

Edited 2017-07-29 02:55 (UTC)

She took the extra napkins and started wiping down her coat. She frowned a bit then shook her head. "you might want to slide over a moment," she said, looking pensive and not pleased. She scooted back as far as she could and held her free hand over the remaining mess. Wordlessly she used just a hint of blizzard to free the mess, then then gravity to lift the frozen ick off. She floated it to the table, set down her napkin and let it drop onto the napkin.

Then she moved closer again, and as if she had done nothing abnormal she looked at the slice. "Alright, how do I eat it without spilling it again?"

Lea obediently scooted over a bit when asked, though he wasn't sure why until the girl froze what remained of the mess and lifted it onto her napkin with magic. "That's some impressive magical control you've got there," he said. "Most of the Organization could only do that with one type of magic, including me."

"Anyway, it's best to use two hands at first," he explained. "One to hold it by the crust and the other to support it underneath to keep it from flopping over. Like so." He demonstrated by taking a bit of his own pizza. Once his mouth was free again, he added, "Of course once you've eaten enough of it that it's not likely to flop over, you don't need your other hand underneath any more. Not hard once you get the hang of it."

She shrugged. "It never mattered, all that mattered was the Keyblade," she said softly. And then she stopped and realized that while Roxas had seen her use her magic a lot, she hadn't used it much in front of Axel. Still, it was just magic, she didn't really think of it as anything impressive. And until he said that most of the Organization could only do that with a single type... she hadn't given it much thought.

She watched him with the pizza then did her best to mimic it. She wound up with sauce on her face, but she was blinking then wide eyed at the taste. Axel had given it to her, so the salty she expected. But she thought it would also be sweet, like the ice cream.... This... was not sweet.

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A new arrival in the 'hood, action, OTA, Kingdom Hearts Spoilers are almost guaranteed.

So can't wait to get her a paid, lol.

I should get Lea one too, eventually. Maybe after Dragoncon. X3

For me it is after Ota, probably. I have a half dozen or so that need paids atm. Warcrack is cheeper

It is indeed. That's why I got out of Neopets; Neocash is crack. X3

Thankfully, never spent on that, but I've enough other things I do. >.<

I think we all have our 'crack is cheaper' money wasting things. X3

Oh I'm sure.

With backstory out of the way, I figure they can get into details about Genessia while eating.

Awesome! (Okay, apparently I'm mean)

Re: Awesome! (Okay, apparently I'm mean)

Totally had to watch an LP to remember how she uses her magic >.<

Ah, gotta love practical uses for magic. X3

yep. :D