exitvoid | Accidental!Audio || ℵ First Sunset || Day 15 [Night]

You get them from participating in missions.

Huh-? [ Hear that loud clatter? That... is definitely not the sound of someone dropping something. Never mind someone dropping a specific earpiece. Never mind- ] Who said that?

[ ...Yeah, okay, it is. ]

... It's like a phone. You should've arrived with a device.

My name's Minato.

A phone? [ Nope, never heard of those. But he can at least put two and two together that whatever this thing is, he's hearing people through it.

There's more annoying fumbling, the kind similar to when someone's messing with a microphone. But then finally: ] So... I take it you're not from around here either then. [ His voice is slightly off. Embarrassed perhaps. On the plus side, he now knows what else this thing can do. Apparently get in touch with other people on the island? On the other, well. This is awkward. ]

No one's really from here. We were all brought here to fight monsters.

If you do enough, you can go home. [That's potentially the most simplistic explanation possible... but really, you don't want Minato explaining anything important to you. He's terrible at it.]

[ So, basically, what he was saying, well... It sounded an awful lot like heart collection all over again. It made him almost relieved. Almost because there were still some matters to consider. Mainly, well. ]

But... what do they even get out of it? [ Seriously, at least the hearts served a purpose. Create Kingdom Hearts, get those emotions back that Xemnas apparently craved so much to have or something. What did these missions mean for these Kuzkos or whatever people? ]

[He takes a moment to think about that, and then shrugs.] I'm not sure. I don't think I believe entertainment is all they want... even if it's a game.

There's probably something else going on.

[ Something else... But what? Thinking on it... It makes him uneasy. But he's not completely clueless. ]

We really don't have a choice, do we? [ It's more of a statement than a question. ]

Not really. But I think we'll be alright, if we work together. There's a lot of other people in the same position.

...How many people are you talking? [ Curiosity might be getting the better of him. Also, this doesn't exactly raise his hopes of getting out if that many people are still stuck there. But alas. ]

I haven't really counted... At least a hundred. [Minato hasn't been here long, so his estimate is low, but not too far off.]

[ Regardless, it gets a good, long pause on this end. He hadn't been expecting figures like that. Hoped it wouldn't be. Did that mean getting back was pretty hard to manage? ] And you need... three of those tokens, right.

[ Was there heavy competition then? Perhaps... ]

... is this somebody new? Did you find out the part where you should be inside before nightfall, in case you aren't, yet?

[ And just when he was kinda sorta maybe thinking he was understanding this place a little better- a second voice? O-Okay. This was... Yeah. At least this time, he was more prepared and less, well. Dumbfounded. ]

...Wait, what did you- Oh. Yeah. [ Took him a moment to backtrack what he'd just heard. ] You mean because of those monsters?

That, and because the gates close at nightfall. You can't get inside after that.

[Since his voice is somehow muted, not as though he's holding the phone normally, she remembers that she was asked that and...] You woke up with new items with you, the smartphone that this call is made though, and a key with the room number. You have the latter with you, too, right?

[ Gates close at nightfall, eh. Heh. About that.

...Not that he was quiet again. Wouldn't take much of a guess to figure he might be toying with the device once more. At least until she mentioned the- ] -Room number? Oh, so that's what that was. [ Totally wasn't bumming around in the hallways. Not at all, this kid. ]

[... of course not.]

There are three dormitories, East, West, and South. That's the letter. Each of them has eight suites - and I use the term loosely - that's the number that goes with the letter. And then the rest is the number of the room.

[ Well, that... that there made some sense. Perhaps had he minded things more, been a little more observant, he could have easily noticed that. But then again, it wasn't like the rooms back in the Organization were numbered despite the members having numbers themselves. Weird, really.

Either or, he let out a surprised, soft- ] -Oh. I guess that makes sense. [ His voice coming off slightly distracted. Then quiet. ] 'E4-230'.. huh... You said something about suites? [ ..Yeah, okay. Still a tiny bit lost. ]

First you need to make your way to the East dormitory. Then find the fourth suite, it is... a group of rooms with a common utilities area in one end and stairs in the other. I think room 230 would be on the second floor.

Where are you at the moment?

[ He's quiet, attentive. Okay... That makes just a little more sense. And that puts him slightly more at ease. Knowing things always does. She'll hear things shift around a little as he stands. Another pause and then a slightly sheepish remark. ]

I'm in one of them, but it's the North dormitory. [ Whoops. ]

Well. That means you get to do some walking, I suppose.

On the upside, there's plenty enough time. The night 'only' [and Pepper's voice is dripping with irony at that word] lasts seventy-two hours.

[ Some people- probably a good chunk from Pepper's world -might have remained quiet, gaping at figures like those. Roxas, however... ]

Seventy-two hours... So, that's... How many days is that? [ He's being serious. ]

Since the day lasts twelve hours, that would be six of the local days.

Working with normal-world twenty-four hours, three.

...

Three? [ Well, that explains that familiar sarcastic tone that Axel liked to use from time to time touching her own words. ] That's a really long night...

[ And he's stuck inside that long? Um... Yeah, not happening if the way he speaks is ever so indicating such a notion. Which it... just might be. He's so obvious. ]

We've noticed. [Oh, sarcasm is often in her tone in general circumstances; this place just gets her to use it as a defense mechanism.]

Things are very much worse outside during the night. [Beat.] Inside, too, but it's marginally easier.

[ It's okay. He's used to a little sarcasm here and there. His babysitter was a master of it. ]

I could tell... ..but inside, too? How? [ Just what kinds of people are wandering around the island? Nothing too friendly? ]

... I'm not sure I can answer the question 'why,' actually. The guide book for this place is a little bit sketchy.

[Riku halts for a moment when he hears that transmission... the voice is familiar, too familiar... and belongs to one of the people he never would have expected to see in this place. Or well admittedly... ever again.]

...Roxas!?

[ Funny thing that, Riku. The boy you thought you'd never seen again, well. Is very much there. And very much real. ]

Huh? Who is this- and how do you know my name?

[ And also very much confused. ]

[He can the join the club then because Riku is confused too. Since well... this is about the last reaction he would have expected from his best friend's nobody... given their history.

It takes him a moment to reply, he is too thrown off by this turn of events... just what is he supposed to do now?]

...I'm Riku. As for the rest... [He pauses again, thinking furiously.] ...I think we should meet in person.

[Because then he'll maybe have the moment he needs to get his thoughts in line again. Not to mention that them talking will hit some topics he'd rather not talk about over the network anyways.]

[ Roxas doesn't say anything for a solid minute. Riku. That name doesn't ring a bell and yet it almost does. It's a ghost of something- just out of his reach enough that he brushes it away soon after. He doesn't know this guy- whoever he is. He's sure of it. And yet by the fellow teenager's implication, things have suddenly gotten a lot more complicated in a matter of seconds.

That doesn't make him want to hope any less that this is a mistake though. That maybe Riku just heard of him through the grapevine. Or that maybe Roxas is just being mistaken for someone else- the latter of which seems pretty bleak when that tone sounded so. Not quite certain but there's just... But what if this guy is affiliated with the impostor? ~~(Oh, Roxas, you have no idea.)~~ But his words seem so-

Ugh. Ugh. ] Fine. [ His tone comes out short. He's already on edge, but his curiosity gets the better of him for the moment. It's not like he's defenseless anyway. And if this guy is a threat to him and Xion... ]

[Oh, things have definitely become more complicated; that's the one thing Riku knows for sure.

(~~And, oh Roxas, you really, really have no idea at all...~~)

Riku, again, takes another moment to reply, glad that the Nobody had agreed to meet and yet dreading the meeting itself a little. There isn't really any other option right now, not if he wants to get behind... whatever it is that is going on here.]

All right then... Meet me at the beach.

[Open setting, but distanced enough from the dorm rooms to allow them some privacy. It's the best place Riku can think of on the spot.]

Edited 2011-10-26 23:28 (UTC)

[ Understatement. Pure understatement.

~~(It's probably best at this point or heads would be rolling- er, he wouldn't be too happy to know Riku's around.)~~

The open setting Riku offers is at least to Roxas' liking. It's somewhere he's at least familiarized himself with. Somewhere he can actually use the corridors to get to if he wanted, even. But that's an idea backburnered. The less who know about them, the better. So he thinks. He isn't too crazy about being the first one there and feeling like a sitting duck either though, of course. ]

I'll be there soon. [ His voice is still off beat. He doesn't like this. But he doesn't like being left in the dark either.

So, true to his word, he'll be leaving the safe guard of the place and heading out soon after. He doesn't remember the gates until he reaches them though, and- well, okay, he cheats it just a bit. Though how Riku'll get out then? He doesn't know. He's out soon enough. Sure, it's night. Probably not the best of times to meet, but hey. That just makes for further distractions should he need to escape. ]

[Definitely.

(~~At this point Riku has absolutely no intention of telling him. He'd rather like to get along with the other in a place like this after all.~~)

...Admittedly Riku had forgotten about the gates when he had proposed the beach as a meeting place. ~~(So had his mun. orz)~~ It takes him a while to work around that - the holes in the ceiling are pretty big after all and Riku has always been quite good at reaching places he shouldn't.

At least now he can be sure that there is absolutely no chance of them being overheard. ~~Even though he has no idea how to get back inside yet, but he figures that he'll cross that bridge when he gets there.~~

He arrives at the beach sometimes after Roxas, hands stuffed in his trouser pockets, greeting the Nobody with a slight nod of his head.]

Hey.

Edited 2011-10-28 00:53 (UTC)

[ Without doubt.

~~(Yeah, probably. You know, with all the weirdos floating around as is. The less enemies, the better.)~~

At any rate, Roxas finds himself standing at the beach soon enough. His hands remain at rest at his sides, but his attention is sharp. Hood pulled up for once as emphasis to his unease. He turns as he hears the sifting sand. The first thing that catches his eye is that silver hair of his. It makes Roxas' head throb just the slightest, a blur of something snapping across his eyes and he's touching his forehead before he knows it.

But the moment passes soon enough, making it appear almost as if he was just tired from a day's exploration, cradling his head. Finally, he looks back up and nods. ]

There was something you wanted to talk about. [ Up and straight to the point as always. ]

[(~~Riku's thought exactly.~~)

Riku stops at reasonable distance; he can't quite trust Roxas not to attack him after all, even if all he intends to do right now is to talk. He nods back, frowning as he tries to settle on the best way to start this conversation.]

There is.

[He closes his eyes, frowning as he decides... better find out what the other knows and remembers... and maybe fill a few gaps from there.]

As I already told you; my name is Riku. I'm a friend of Sora's. [He pauses a moment to let that small piece of information sink in, before asking softly.] Do you know who he is?

[Or rather... do you know who he is to you?]

[ It's weird when he says that name. Specifically it's strange that something in him. Right there in that spot that always feels so weird when he's under strain just jolts. The hand that was cradling his head remains although he's leaning more into it.

With wincing eyes, he observes Riku under the brim of his hood. There's something about that name- and something about Riku himself... but he's certain. He's sure he's never seen Riku before. And Sora... ]

I don't know who you're talking about. Or what this even has to do with me. [ He kind of spits it out. He can't help it. It feels like there's something funny going on. It's the kind of funny feeling that he's felt since Xion ran off. ]

[So he doesn't know... but at least he seems to be reaction to the name. ...That's a good sign... at least Riku thinks so.

He has no real idea how to continue this, except that he has and is rather certain that he isn't quite the right person for it. But then again... who actually is?]

Quite a bit, I guess. Sora is your Somebody.

[ He doesn't know... and he doesn't like this- this echo of a feeling. Or whatever it is that's going on inside him that strains him. He's taking a step back from Riku now though. His hand finally relents and he's looking straight at the other teenager again, but his expression remains hard. ]

Somebody? What are you talking about? [ His tone holds even for now, but on the inside, he's already running circles. ]

[Riku doesn't follow up - he is sure, he can't press now, not if he wants to avoid being attacked at least.

He is cursing the rest of the Organization (and just maybe Axel in particular) though - he knows why they never told him more than they thought he should know, but that doesn't make this any less difficult.]

...You and he were once one and the same. Until he temporarily lost his heart in Hollow Bastion at least.

[ Roxas hadn't known what to expect next. But then he had never expected anything. Certainly not something like this. Yet the worst of it wasn't the words but the feelings, false or not, associated with them. It felt wrong- like he should have never come out to meet Riku. Felt like all this teenager was telling him- the other boy was lying.

Yet he spoke with solid, somber eyes. And right at the same time, this tiny part of Roxas. Just a little piece of him felt something stir suddenly. Lost his heart. Hollow Bastion. Why does hearing that make part of him-

No.

Roxas' eyes narrow.

No.

He finds himself clutching the empty air at his side. Flexing his fingers. ]

One and the same? I don't know what you're talking about! [ He's lying. He's no one he knows, no one he's ever-

Yet why does Roxas feel suddenly so small? Cornered almost. Something that makes him anxious and it shows. ]

[Lips pressed into a thin line, Riku keeps trying to come up with a way to talk to Roxas, to explain - but he isn't sure if Roxas is just trying to deny it all, or if he honestly has never been told enough for Riku's words to make sense to him.

His hand clenches a little, his heart half-calling for Way to the Dawn as he considers forcing a reaction, like before in the World That Never Was under Memory's Skyscraper.

But he had been desperate then and only had needed proof for himself... Roxas had denied his words then too.]

'I am me... nobody else', ...huh?

[He mutters that under his breath as he shakes his head, the memory only all too clear in his mind as he forces his hand to relax again. Yeah... the situation now is different to back then... and attacking Roxas is not going to get him anywhere. It would even lose him whatever trust the other might or might not have to him.

...Perhaps it is better to retreat for now... and leave the next move to Roxas himself. It's not an ideal solution, but seems the best for the moment at least.]

I think you know... somewhere at least. But... I guess I shouldn't push.

[He turns around, pausing as he considers his next words.]

I don't know, what the Organization has told you, or why you aren't the same as when I last... saw you, but... I know you have questions and I know 'they' won't answer them, not fully.

[Another pause.]

I won't pretend that I have all the answers either, but when you are ready to hear it; come to me and I'll tell you what I know.

[After all that's happened, with his role in Roxas'... merge with Sora... he figures he owes him that much.

There is not much more to be done here, so he starts to walk away, only to stop after a few steps and turn his head back ever so slightly.]

And... be careful about who you tell about your Keyblade.

[ There's something in the way Riku poses himself, the stance he takes. Roxas looks a cross between perplexed and knowing, about to summon his own weapon. But Riku's weapon never comes- so Roxas' hand remains bear, too. And then Riku's muttering something, but he can't hear it. Maybe it's better off that he doesn't. More fodder to the uncomfortable circumstance he's already in. But maybe he wanted to hear it anyway for that very reason- to give him reason to finally push past the stand off.

And then Roxas is watching his back turn, watching Riku retreat all of a sudden. Roxas' eyes widen slightly, his stance loosening one second- then tightening again. He knew of the Organization? '-aren't the same as when I last... saw you'? The nature response is for the Nobody to want to shout something, to counter Riku's statements because he's not making sense, but the other boy is speaking again before Roxas gets a chance.

Answers... What kind of answers would he know? Just how does Riku... Who is Riku, for that matter? Why does he speak so knowingly? It's something that presses on his nerves, gets under his skin. Makes him feel almost like suddenly he doesn't know himself anymore. It makes him start to shake just slightly, fists clenching. Unclenching. Until at the very last warning, Roxas finds his voice, shouting, tone defensive. Evasive. ]

What do you know about anything? About me- or the- Organization -you're- And why should I have to be careful about the Keyblade? [ It's his choice who to tell and who not to. And, really? That's all there is to it in his books. ]

[Riku takes his time as he considers just what and just how much of that he should answer, as he wonders just what he should reveal. He doesn't plan to lie and he will give him the truth in time, if that's what he desires, but somehow it doesn't seem smart to say that he's spent almost a year spying on them from the shadows.

So instead he'll give another reason that might make it plausible that he knows one thing or another, a different truth, he thinks as he lifts his arm to the side, and this time he doesn't stop himself when his heart calls for Way to the Dawn. He flips the blade just enough to show off it's nature, allowing himself another moment to feel the comfort of holding his own weapon for the first time since arriving in this world, before sending it back in a swirl of silver lights.]

I may know one thing or the other.

For example, that there are far too many people in the worlds that would like to get their hands on a Keyblade or one of it's wielders and misuse their power. Assuming that Kernos does not belong to them or that some of the other people here wouldn't try once they learn of it, would be beyond foolish.

[It maybe Roxas' choice who to tell, but if he ended up trusting the wrong person, it might be both of them paying the price. So yeah, Riku may have a personal interest in keeping it secret, but he is also kind of looking out for the other.]

Accidental!Audio || ℵ First Sunset || Day 15 [Night]

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[audio] Sorry it took forever to get back to this. Work kinda killed me.

[audio] don't worry about it! i'm actually technically on hiatus anyway :)

[audio] Feel free to pass on this; I just got back from hiatus.

[audio] it's not a problem! :>

[audio] o7 Thanks. Slowly getting back in on this...

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[Audio] ...|D; I can already see this ending badly. Roxas listens as well as Tony sometimes. 8D;

[Audio] Sob.At least nothing she's not used to? *interacts with Axel @another game, couldn't resist*

[Audio] If she puts up with Tony -and- Axel, Roxas is a breeze. |D; -totally was excited to see her-

[Audio] Well, different muse in the other game (Kevin Flynn). WHOLE different CR. And eeee! :D

[Audio] XDD I can believe it! But it's still fun all the same! And sorry for the lateness. @@;

[Audio] :D and no worries, I am sluggish, myself.

[Audio] Finally back from hiatus. @@;...

[Audio] YAY BACK!

[Audio] Good to be back. ;A;

[Audio] ^_^

[Audio] ^^;

[Audio] Oh, Roxas...

[Audio] Just a little clueless.

[Audio] Well. That happens, IT IS A WEIRD PLACE!

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[audio] Way to break his brain in less than five seconds, Riku. That was amazing.

[audio] He aims to please. XD

[audio] Roxas isn't feeling very pleased. B|;;; Most awkward meeting ever~ |D

[audio] That's too bad for him. Also, awkward meetings are the best meetings! B-)

[audio] Best meetings ever. 8D; These poor guys never catch a break.

[audio] Nope, not ever. |D;

[audio] But maybe one day~ Also. /kicks self in the head 8|;;;

[audio] Maybe~

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[Audio] Sob.At least nothing she's not used to? interacts with Axel @another game, couldn't resist