firstnothing

The afternoon before had been ... enlightening. And with the egg he'd acquired hatching just after dark, bringing his team to three (two and a half he supposed; a newborn pokemon wasn't terribly strong), things seemed to be going well. The dusky little fox was more than content to curl up with Sorrow and Regret and sleep there the entire night through, and he'd had no reason to disturb them. Come the morning, all three would be put to work.

That had been the plan anyway. Something seemed off as he set up breakfast; he's almost completely certain there had not been four pokemon sleeping there last night. And now there were. Regret's obvious black-and-white, Sorrow's vivid green, the little zorua's dusky gray, and ... orange, cream and black, all curled up.

Frown.

Ousting the doglike pokemon proved to be more troublesome than it was worth, and Xemnas quickly settled on simply ignoring it in favor of straightening out his own, handing out breakfast, checking for lingering injury from the day before, and heading on his way. Honestly he had intended to catch a growlithe sooner or later, preferably sooner, but this one was ... overaffectionate. And far too exuberant for his tastes, with the way it bounced in happy, barking circles around himself and his bewildered team.

Thus went the day. The constant energetic presence of the growlithe didn't really interrupt the hunting any, as wild pokemon seemed to ignore the noise and darting about for the most part, including one sleeping abra at the base of a tree. Abras, according to his pokedex after a quick scan, wouldn't ordinarily counterattack. And the little zorua was more than happy to test its small claws and sharp teeth on the sleeping psychic-type.

Repeatedly, given the thing kept teleporting. It was annoying enough to all of them (except the growlithe, who seemed impossible to annoy) that actual effective teamwork seemed to be rapidly forged between his three pokemon out of sheer determination to corner and catch the abra. It kept teleporting. How often could it do that?

Quite a bit it turned out. But eventually, with a lot of effort and a well-timed Grass Whistle, Xemnas had the little psychic-fox neatly trapped in one of those red-and-white pokeballs. The first one he'd ever bothered to catch, and that probably due to the frustration levels of chasing it around all day.

As sunset approached and he set out for the distant city again, the growlithe followed.

[Audio]

[From the sound of sharp little hooves on road, he's managed to find a proper route to follow.]

Is it ordinary that a pokemon might decide to join you, whether or not you wish it to be there?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

shadowdive

They're actually called Wingulls, but they may as well be seagulls. Water and flying type, hang out near boats. The living ice cream cones throw me off the most, I actually wound up with one and it is the most mind fucking thing I've seen. I'd like to say I've seen plenty of weird stuff by now.

[He pauses a moment, just thinking about which mountains these are he's talking about.] Is it Mt. Mortar? I'd say avoid the hell out of that place, it's a death trap route that should have been closed long ago.

From:

firstnothing

Strangeness varies from world to world. Although the icecream cones are among the strangest even I have encountered. It is astonishing no-one has tried to eat them yet.

[A thoughtful pause follows.]

Ordinarily I would say such a location would be perfect for what I need.. but not as crippled as this world leaves arriving individuals. ... I suppose I must simply rely on hoping it gets lost.

From:

shadowdive

I tried licking it once and it tasted awful. [It's an offhand comment, he's more interested in world to world.]

So where you're from has... worlds, rather than one single place? [Ugh this is what happens when he lets his gear break and doesn't repair it until he absolutely needs to.]

From:

firstnothing

I will have to endeavor to keep some of my team from trying then. Presumably pokemon know better but one does not always have the sharpest knives with them..

[A dry chuckle rises, distantly amused, but it doesn't quite seem genuine.]

Oh yes. Many worlds. As many as there are stars in the sky.

From:

shadowdive

That's almost an understatement.

Sounds like you are someone who comes from my universe. Tell me, does the name Xehanort sound familiar? An older man, balding, he's not any bit senile as he may appear with his age.

From:

firstnothing

[There's a moment of silence from the other side. It could be the lull of normal conversation or something far more. In this case, it's the latter. Xehanort.. was a name he didn't hear often at all. When was the last time he'd heard it? And in reference to an old man besides, not a young and naive apprentice..

When Xemnas speaks again, his tone is a touch curious. Anything else is carefully and completely hidden.]

That is not an unfamiliar name. Are you searching for him?

From:

lastcharge

You could say we have unfinished business.

[He listened, he listened hard to that silence, but nothing sounded out of sort. ~~Curse youuuuu, smooth talking norts!!~~]

Roughly ten years of it, if the math I've figured out is correct.

[Flicking the video feed on, Vanitas leans back from the gear to get, or rather, give a look of himself. Sure, he's lost the babyface and has grown into his teens, but who is still an apparent appearance.]

From:

firstnothing

[Unfinished business.]

Is that so? That's a long time to be waiting to finish business with someone. Why the delay?

[Silence again, as the video flips on. It's a deliberate move, that much is obvious, as is Vanitas' certain glaring resemblance to ... someone else. But it's not perfect. The hair color is wrong, as is the eye color; the other changes might well be age and a lack of sun exposure.. or perhaps not.

Xemnas folds his hands and rests his elbows on his knees, still on his chosen Route, and sets his chin on his hands, thoughtful. The boy reminded him of something beyond Sora, something that tugged and nagged and told him familiar, but the connection of why evades him. This boy was not in Radiant Garden, and Xemnas' memory from before that point was ... fuzzy at best.

And yet what little flickered up from the fog of Before told him this boy was somehow important, and with it came no memory of rage or hatred.]

I see. A question or two, if you'll allow it. In return I will answer a question or two if it is within my capability.

From:

lastcharge

The delay is due to my current condition if I were to ever return "home". This body no longer exists.

[As much as he would prefer to see the other, this is all he can do to fish information; reveal his face. His expression is passive, eyes alert, but he gives a simple nod.]

Feel free.

From:

firstnothing

... Interesting.

[There's still the slightly 'off' way it's said. There's no real emotional inflection to his words. Is it actually interesting to him, or dull beyond belief?

..It's actually interesting but it's difficult to tell. Except for the questions that follow.]

What is your relationship to the boy Sora? I do not mean friendship or enemies. How did you know Xehanort?

[Not 'do', it's definitely past tense as far as Xemnas is concerned.]

From:

lastcharge

[He can only make guesses, and keep going with the idea that this man knows Xehanort.]

He connected his heart to a boy named Ventus. He is the reason I look this way. Xehanort was the man who trained me, and goes by Master Xehanort. The title comes from being a Keyblade Master.

[At least for how emotive his expressions usually are, he's doing fairly well at keeping himself passive; still, the name brings a mild scowl to his face.]

From:

firstnothing

[Ventus is a name he knew. There was a boy sleeping somewhere in Castle Oblivion, and Xemnas couldn't find him. He'd searched so long, driven by ...

It's shoved aside.]

I see.

[Xehanort, from previous to Radiant Garden. Before he'd acquired a new vessel, he'd had a student. But--]

What occurred, that you no longer have a body? You are not Heartless, it seems; in what state do you exist if at all, outside of this world?

[Did Ventus know that word? Did he know what they were? He was not a Nobody, they didn't exist - as much as any Nobody existed - before his own tampering with the heart.]

From:

lastcharge

You see, Master was looking to create a weapon, and Ventus was part of idea. However, Ven hardly had much darkness in his heart, not enough to be of use to his plans. So, he extracted the darkness out of Ventus' heart and created me with it.

I was to fight with Ventus, to cause a clash of a heart of pure light and one of pure dark, and it would create a powerful keyblade called the X-blade. Since it was made from the rejoining of our heart into one, Ventus destroyed it to defeat me. From what I understand, I've simply returned to being a piece of his heart again while he sleeps.

From:

firstnothing

[Once more, silence. It lasts a bit longer this time, nearly a minute before Xemnas speaks again, tone... thoughtful.]

I believe I ... know this weapon. It is unfortunate you did not succeed, much trouble would have been avoided afterwards. It can't be helped I suppose.

I presume you intend to avenge yourself should you encounter your Master again?

From:

lastcharge

It is unfortunate only in that I cease to exist as I am now. [Narrowing his eyes just the slightest bit, he thins his lips briefly before trying to create the passive illusion again.]

Less to avenge myself, and more to find out what he's doing. It's been a long time, after all. [If it's something he can disrupt, he will do it, this worlds lack of keyblades be damned.]

From:

firstnothing

As you say.

[This with a touch of amusement.]

It has been a very long time. However for the foreseeable future, he is dead.

['For the foreseeable future' and not simply dead. Which meant that could change.]

You may be waiting quite a long time. Are you patient enough? I can see the flickers of emotion you work to suppress. There is little reason to hide it.

From:

lastcharge

If there is even a hint with him still being alive, it is because he's stolen the body he was after. Master was getting up there in age, so he wanted a new vessel to carry his heart so that he could live long enough to see his plans bear fruit.

[Oh, he knows, in a way. Sora explained as much, when he woke from his memory coma. But the new voice, new person to have this amount of information, it's... interesting. Still, the mention of his emotions makes him almost laugh, chuckling low and even lifting a hand to half cover his mouth a moment.]

The irony, is that I've never been good at hiding my emotions. It doesn't happen here, but because of what I was, they manifested into creatures that were named Unversed.

From:

firstnothing

This is so.

[Xemnas knows quite a bit more about that than he does about what happened beforehand.]

'Unversed'. I should like to know more about these creatures.

[He'd asked for only a couple questions but he'll take advantage of as many as he can get until Vanitas remembers - or feels like returning fire.]

From:

lastcharge

Simply beings created out of darkness, controlled by me and only me. They were my emotions, literally given shape. I could also create Unversed out of someone elses negativity, their thoughts and feelings.

[But This is so makes him quiet after explaining so briefly.]

Who are you? Your name. What world would you say you came from?

From:

firstnothing

Truly? An ability I would much like to study save that ... here it seems all such powers are stripped away.

[And he means it, by the way curiosity threads itself delicately through his tone; he's not given to much emotion at all, even though he's now capable of it, but that's piqued his interest.]

My name is Xemnas. Perhaps you've been told of it since arriving here, depending on how chatty others have been.

[As he was 'born' after Vanitas died there would be no other way. It's musing.]

I come from no world. Or perhaps most accurately a world that never was.

[As much as this may not help AT ALL with the questions, there is the sense that they are also completely, utterly truthful. There's not even a trace of deception.]

From:

shadowdive

Unfortunate then, that it's unlikely to ever be studied. I think the only Master left around who would remember anything is Yen Sid.

No, I've been out of contact with most people for the last few months. So I suppose this is where I would say, it's.. interesting to finally speak with you. How long have you been here?

A world that never - [Vanitas snorts here, chuckling a bit at how ridiculous it sounds almost.] Did the entity known as Kingdom Hearts have anything to do with this world that never existed?

From:

firstnothing

True enough. How regretful. I wonder if memories are retained, should we return to our proper places. It might be worth the headache to confront Yen Sid over such a unique skill.

[A pause.] A handful of weeks. And it did, but only peripherally and by exclusion. As you may know, all 'proper' worlds have hearts, and thus a connection to Kingdom Hearts. This world ... does not, although Kingdom Hearts hung in the sky like a moon once placed there.

Edited (as you may no ) Date: 2013-08-24 02:49 am (UTC)

From:

shadowdive

I never met the old man myself for reasons, but Master always had a complaint for the very rare times he couldn't derive a straight answer from him.

A handful of weeks? Not bad. May this "vacation" last as long as you want it to, then. Heh, that's surprising, considering how it likes to roam around like it's untouchable. Perhaps it had pity for the world with no heart. [Really though, he's making a joke and it shows in his tone.]

My name is Vanitas.

From:

firstnothing

It will last until I am required elsewhere. I intend to 'enjoy' it while it lasts.

[There's that dry chuckle again, a slow rumble of amusement.]

It is there because I put it there. Hello, Vanitas.