pullsheavendown | ♚ IC Contact for Sirens' Pull ♚

[Most people are. Terra's NV just happens to be pretty yet useless. Make your own joke.]

Uh, yeah. Just finished my shift. What's up?

[Gonna say I lied about something else?]

[Insert 'that's what she said' line where appropriate.]

Oh ... nothing serious. I've been keeping busy with the school.

[If you have anything earth-shattering to spring on her, maybe she will.]

How was work?

Oh, that's good. You must have a lot of students now.

[Or something. He has no idea how magic school works. He barely knows how regular school works.]

Kahve's good. Business is up when there's more hours of daylight.

That's good. I'm happy for you. And the business.

[Or ... something.]

Our numbers have stayed about the same, but we have a few less instructors, so ... we're busier than we usually are.

[Switches ears.]

By the way ...

[Casual conversation casual conversation and then BAM.]

Do you know anybody named Xemnas?

[He's listening and half-nodding, prepared to make a polite comment about her school and his business when the next thing she says puts work completely out of mind.

There's a swift, nearly silent intake of breath and a few seconds of silence before he speaks.]

Why?

[ I'll take that as a yes ... ]

So ... you do know him?

[The honest to goodness partial truth is not a lie.]

I caught him following me when I was shopping around for Valentine's Day.

[No mention of the text messages before that. Or the misrepresentation of himself the day she arrived in the Port. But the following -- that's the most important part.]

He what?

[Two minutes ago Roxas was in a pretty good. Now the anger is surging inside of him, twisting his expression into a furious frown. Even if Aqua can't see it, she can probably hear it in his voice.]

Stay away from him. Don't talk to him. He's a liar and a monster.

A monster?

[Did she hear that right? She immediately corrects her tone, taking serious note of the instant switch in Roxas. It's ... obviously hit some kind of raw nerve, hasn't it?

There's concern in her voice this time rather than incredulousness.]

I know he's ... a little unsettling.

[That hollow feeling.]

How is he a monster?

Unsettling doesn't cover it.

[Most of the time, he doesn't unsettle Roxas at all. He's too used to the Superior for that. Except every once in a while, when Xemnas does something that contradicts everything Roxas thinks he has figured out—that unsettles him.]

He's a monster for what he's done. To me—to everyone.

[To Xion. To the worlds.]

[She listens, allowing his anger to drain without obstruction or protest.

There's a lengthy pause, saturated with a slew of unspoken thoughts before any sound rises from the other end of the NV at all.]

... and Terra, too?

[That catches him off guard, enough so that his next response is tinged with surprise and a hint of uncertainty more than blind fury.]

What?

What about Terra?

[If there has been any thought to conversational tactics so far, there's obviously none left now.]

What is the relationship between Xemnas and Terra?

I don't—why are you asking about Terra?

[And now Roxas is really, really glad she can't see his face. He's sure it must reveal a lot at this moment.]

Why are you asking me?

I'm asking you because -- ...

[She stops herself, hiccuping on her own words, unable to effectively halt the verbal stumbling. Trying to cover this up by pulling the NV away to try and encrypt the call.]

I'm asking you ... because ... I feel like I can trust you. And I can't push Terra any farther than I already have.

[Slow exhale.]

You know a lot more than I do about how things are in the Port. I need help.

Edited 2012-04-12 02:24 (UTC)

[His first and strongest instinct is to deny, deny, deny. And it's not that those halting words mean he won't—this isn't his story to tell, not his secret to share.

But he knows what it is for distances to build up between friends until there's nothing but fear they'll never be overcome.

She trusts him.]

Xemnas isn't from your time. He's from mine.

He's a Nobody.

Like me.

But ... ...

[Stop. Stop, Aqua. Is this really a point that she should be arguing? Is he really in a state to be reasoned with anyway? He seemed so angry when she asked about Xemnas, but now ...]

... You aren't like him. Not if he's as terrible as you say.

[She holds her breath for a moment, thinking this over carefully.]

Can you just ... answer one more question? And then I'll go? Please.

Edited 2012-04-12 02:50 (UTC)

Maybe not. I don't want to be. But we've got more in common than I'd like.

Aqua, remember when I said I ended up with a bad crowd after I was created? He was part of it. Our leader, Number I. He was the first person I ever met. He named me.

[Also, he's part of Xehanort.]

What do you want to ask?

[ Number I ...?

She mulls this over quietly, not in any rush to stop him from giving her information. She does figure, though, that he's probably loath to let this conversation go on for very much longer.]

I just want to know ...

[Her voice is quiet -- just barely above a whisper, as though saying the words too loudly will set into motion some unfathomable disaster.]

... if Xemnas is Terra's Nobody.

[There's a long, long silence before Aqua receives any reply at all. He could ignore the question, sure. He could hang up and turn his NV off and avoid the issue entirely.

But he can't. Even if he can't be the one to share all that's happened with her, he can't turn away a friend who's confused and worried and needs to know the truth—who used to know it herself. Roxas wishes he could bring those memories because, because it would be so much easier that way.]

Not exactly.

[Well ... that doesn't sound very definitive. Not that Roxas can see, but she shrinks where she sits, a few ridiculous hopes dissipating as her doubts solidify.

She did say that she had one question and he gave her one answer. And ... to be honest ... it's more of an answer than she expected.]

I see.

[Even though there's not much to see.
Another time, perhaps.]

[He isn't so sure that she does.]

You should know...nothing Xemnas has done is Terra's fault. None of it.

[Terra would not create people only to destroy them for his own use. Terra would not gather hearts for pure power. He would have stopped it all, if he could have.]

It wasn't Terra's heart that was lost.

I don't understand.

[... ... There's just no way that she can suppress the follow up questions. They build in the pit of her throat momentarily, and she makes not one but two attempts to swallow it down into suppression.

But, again ... there's just no way.]

Why does he ... look like Terra? If Terra's heart wasn't lost, then whose Nobody is he?

[More than ever, Roxas wishes Terra had explained at least some of what had happened to Aqua. He'd do anything to help his friends, but anything shouldn't include making this kind of decision about how much to tell her now.]

He used to call himself Ansem. I wasn't around back then, but when he lost his heart, he changed it. That's kind of how it goes for people like us. Ansem to Xemnas...Sora to Roxas.

But he wasn't even the real Ansem. I never met the real one, but they said he was betrayed by the original members of the Organization. And their leader stole his name so no one would find out. I guess he makes a habit of taking things that are important.

[Ansem to Xemnas ... Sora to Roxas.
It's not his Nobody. Even Roxas has said so -- it's not his Nobody. Not ... exactly.

Not exactly.

It's that part of his response that stays with her, keeps her from excusing herself from the conversation.]

... I don't suppose he would tell me if I asked, would he?

[Ironically, she's talking about Xemnas. Not Terra.]

Wh—you mean Xemnas? No!

[He sounds distressed now, half-panicked, and deeply worried.]

I told you, he's a liar. You can't trust anything he says. And he's still our enemy, no matter what—the only reason we haven't taken him out for good is because in a world like this, that might not even be possible. He's not still walking around because I've forgiven him.

[Bitterrrrrr.]

Besides...I don't even know how much he remembers.

You shouldn't have to go to him for information.

♚ IC Contact for Sirens' Pull ♚

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