[Roxas swallows hard. This is all too familiar, horribly so, except it's flipped around from what he remembers. For a moment he thinks, this must be how Axel felt.
Except it's not the same, he's not as close to Kairi as Axel had been to him. But Sora is.]
Someone must have made her forget. Messed with her memories.
[There's a faint edge to his voice, a hint of anger. This is wrong.]
[There's an empty, hollow pit where Sora's stomach used to be as he thinks about it. Roxas is right, someone had to have made her forget, it's the only way... but if that's the case, then he failed. Someone was able to do that to her after he promised he'd look after her.]
Yeah, but who? And why? She just arrived here, why would anyone want to mess with Kairi's memories?
[Roxas isn't the only one with itchy palms, Sora could do with wailing on someone or something until Kairi's memories come back to her. Those memories are hers, they're special, they're what make her her and-
[As much as Sora must be worried about Kairi, it's not surprising that his concern turned to Roxas. He's had his memories messed with before, after all.]
[As does Sora. Not that he remembers.There's irony in here somewhere...]
Okay, that's good! And even if you did, I'm right here to help remind you, okay? After I get done finding the jerks that did this and giving them a piece of my mind...
[Or Keyblade. Probably Keyblade, who's he kidding.
Oh wait, hang on. Sora just realises what he's said.]
Not that they need anyone else's minds if they're taking them from other people already.
[Someone please stop people from sticking their fingers into Keykids' memories.]
Thanks. [He smiles faintly.] Do you think that would work with Kairi, if we tried hard enough? We could go back, but...what if being out there is what changes your memories after a while?
[It's like sticking your fingers in an electrical socket, only instead of electrocution you get existential crises, partial-to-complete amnesia and a whole heap of angst.
Sora makes a small, unhappy groan from his end of the line.]
I tried everything I could think of, I even showed her she could summon her Keyblade and it didn't do any good. I think it just made her more confused, and I don't want to hurt her by pushing to hard... or push her too hard make her think I'm some kinda weird bully with a creepy agenda.
[He pauses for a long while, not entirely sure how to ask. It's kind of a touchy subject, and he should know the answer, considering all that Roxas has shared with him, both here and in the dream world.]
You know what... it doesn't matter. I'm just thinking out loud.
[There's a shorter this pause as he carefully works out the wording of this next part in his head. This is sensitive stuff. Really sensitive. But he has to know.]
When you forgot, and Axel was telling you all this stuff about you that you didn't remember... what did that feel like?
[That's what Sora's afraid of; he knows Kairi's confused and scared right now without her memories and he wants nothing more than to help her get them back, to set things right again for them.
But now, listening to Roxas talk, he feels that unease creeping up on him again, but on the other boy's behalf this time.]
[Sora's quiet for a long while, listening to Roxas talk and it makes his heart hurt. He can't imagine how it would feel to have Kairi and Riku torn away from him, and for him to not even know that it had happened.
He wishes they were having this conversation face to face.]
You didn't forget them Roxas. They were taken from you. You know Axel doesn't blame you for that.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Hey.
[Does Sora sound slightly crestfallen on the other end of the line? Yes. Yes he does.]
I found her.
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[He knew how worried Sora was before he'd gone looking. He's got to be relieved to have found her...except, he doesn't sound all that happy about it.]
Is it not great?
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[Except no, that doesn't sound right. It is great. She's okay. She's not hurt or anything.]
Something's not right, she doesn't remember anything. And she's got bunny ears!
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What do you mean, she doesn't remember anything? What did she forget?
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[He's trying not to sound panicky about this, he's not. There has to be an explanation for this.
Except there's not, and it's driving him nuts.]
She knows that she's Kairi. She thinks she's always been here, she doesn't remember anything else.
[Or anyone else.]
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Except it's not the same, he's not as close to Kairi as Axel had been to him. But Sora is.]
Someone must have made her forget. Messed with her memories.
[There's a faint edge to his voice, a hint of anger. This is wrong.]
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Yeah, but who? And why? She just arrived here, why would anyone want to mess with Kairi's memories?
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[His palms are practically itching to call his Keyblades into them, but who would he even fight?]
Allura was acting weird too. It might not just be Kairi who was targeted.
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[Roxas isn't the only one with itchy palms, Sora could do with wailing on someone or something until Kairi's memories come back to her. Those memories are hers, they're special, they're what make her her and-
Oh.]
Hey, are you okay?
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Yeah. I didn't forget anything this time.
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Okay, that's good! And even if you did, I'm right here to help remind you, okay? After I get done finding the jerks that did this and giving them a piece of my mind...
[Or Keyblade. Probably Keyblade, who's he kidding.
Oh wait, hang on. Sora just realises what he's said.]
Not that they need anyone else's minds if they're taking them from other people already.
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Thanks. [He smiles faintly.] Do you think that would work with Kairi, if we tried hard enough? We could go back, but...what if being out there is what changes your memories after a while?
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It's like sticking your fingers in an electrical socket, only instead of electrocution you get existential crises, partial-to-complete amnesia and a whole heap of angst.Sora makes a small, unhappy groan from his end of the line.]
I tried everything I could think of, I even showed her she could summon her Keyblade and it didn't do any good. I think it just made her more confused, and I don't want to hurt her by pushing to hard... or push her too hard make her think I'm some kinda weird bully with a creepy agenda.
[But he can't help but add:]
I don't want to risk losing any more of her.
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[Every piece of a precious friend who's lost...is too much to lose.]
What if...what if she just needs to hear from more of us? I may not have known her as long as you, but maybe that would make a difference.
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[At least that’s what he hopes. He doesn’t have even the slightest idea what will help or hurt and it’s definitely frustrating.]
Hey, Roxas?
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[He really, really does. Kairi might be a new friend, but he doesn't want to lose any more friends. And he doesn't want to see Sora hurting.]
Yeah, what?
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[He pauses for a long while, not entirely sure how to ask. It's kind of a touchy subject, and he should know the answer, considering all that Roxas has shared with him, both here and in the dream world.]
You know what... it doesn't matter. I'm just thinking out loud.
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But it's okay. He's already shown Sora everything he felt then. He can handle it.]
No, go ahead. Ask what you were going to ask.
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[There's a shorter this pause as he carefully works out the wording of this next part in his head. This is sensitive stuff. Really sensitive. But he has to know.]
When you forgot, and Axel was telling you all this stuff about you that you didn't remember... what did that feel like?
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I was confused. Scared, some, because everything was getting bizarre and I didn't know why.
[He didn't know it was all a lie.]
But...that wasn't the hard part. Forgetting's easy. You don't even know it's happened.
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But now, listening to Roxas talk, he feels that unease creeping up on him again, but on the other boy's behalf this time.]
What was the hard part?
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[That he had never had anything to begin with.]
I forgot my best friends. How does that even happen?
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He wishes they were having this conversation face to face.]
You didn't forget them Roxas. They were taken from you. You know Axel doesn't blame you for that.
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[But does it make it any better? Maybe. Maybe not. He honestly doesn't know.]
But I forgot her, too. [He bows his head for a moment, taking a breath.] Axel found a journal he wrote, about...our friend. Xion.
[He says the word carefully, like he's not even sure he's pronouncing it right.]