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[He knows it's time. He can barely breathe, and his body's covered in dark marks beneath his shirt. And he's done nothing more than resign himself to his fate now. Riqis, Namine, Xion, Ven... It's his turn.

Roxas has put himself in his room to wait it out, sitting on his bed in the corner. He's kept watch over the network for a long time and knows that Ven and Xion are back... But what about the rest?]

Are... Are Riqis and Namine back yet? And- And what about the others? Who... [A wet cough.] Who else is sick? Are we missing anyone?

[The feed runs a little longer until it abruptly turns off before he starts coughing again. He uncurls his knees from his chest and holds tight to his communicator, waiting for responses. He has to know.]

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[It was time. Time for all those things best described as inevitable to pass. Xemnas had waited in seclusion as hours had turned to days and weeks. He had perused the library at odd hours and responded to Post-it note messages relayed by Dusks. He had watched and listened. He had slept. And when Roxas had posted his entry, voice cut into ragged tones by that mysterious illness sweeping the city, he had stepped through a portal and made his way to the boy's room.]

Selfless, even with the end looming before you...

[He wonders aloud as he appears near the bed.]

[He sits with the communicator in his lap, hands clasped around the device and head resting back against the wall. He feels tired and uncomfortable, chest rising and falling, hitching once or twice as it becomes more difficult to breathe.

Roxas lifts his head at the voice, seeing nothing but dark in front of him. For a split second, he half wonders if that's what people were calling the reaper, but he slightly smiles just the same.]

I've died before here. I'm not afr- [He coughs, pressing a hand to his mouth to suppress it.]

No, of course you're not. That is one of many things we have in common. Or so it would seem. There is much you could lose when you succumb to this malady. Why, when next you awaken, you may not even be yourself...

[Xemnas moves leisurely to the far end of the bed, closing the distance between them. He understands the risks he's taking, but they give him no pause.]

Does that apply to this body of mine, as well?

Just a memory...

[He swallows and closes his eyes, wincing at the taste of something metallic and sticky clinging to his esophagus. Roxas looks up at him through a haze, eyes half-lidded.]

To your body? What are you doing with it?

[That's a weird question.]

What memory do you think it will be? Your memory of... Axel, perhaps? Or one of the dolls...

[He comes to a stop in front of the ailing Nobody, his arms lifting in a slight shrug.]

Improving it. You see, that is where we differ in this most complex of matters. While you stand only to lose a memory through the ruination of your body, I stand to gain a more powerful something. Hopefully, the memory forsaken in death is not one that hinders your ability to understand later on.

No. [His voice is adamant, firm.] I won't.

[Xemnas' voice is drifting in and out of his hearing and he lifts his head to fix the older Nobody with his attention.]

A more powerful... Like what?

[He sets the communicator aside and starts to sit up.]

If you lose your body, you'll have nothing. You... You shouldn't be here.

You might. [He argues flatly.] You don't know and that is the truth. You have no way of knowing what memory might take its leave of... your heart.

[The Superior reaches down, as if to help, and he takes Roxas's chin in his hand. His voice drops to a smooth whisper.]

Like the anger and hatred I have needed all along.

[His fingers tighten around the others' jaw.]

It is not I that should not be here, but you have the right idea.

My... [His hand absently touches his chest, unsure. Roxas lifts his head, hand clasped around his jaw, and meets his gaze.]

Then who shouldn't?

[Anger and hatred? Something in him immediately responds with Terra, and he could swear the man in front of him sounds more like the other Keybearer than the Superior himself.]

That's right. You wonder if you really do have a heart, don't you? If you have had one all along...

[His grip loosens after a moment and he straightens up, keeping the eye contact.]

You already know whom I speak of.

Do I? [His brow furrows.] And Ven...?

[Roxas looks up at him, frowning slowly, as though he's finally realized some joke Xemnas has been playing on him.]

Leave him alone.

Could he be the source? Who can tell? Only the Keyblade would be able to reveal the answer...

[He smiles then, holding out his hand. To ensure the other subject of their wayward discussion is dropped, he goes on, his voice almost encouraging.]

Summon your Keyblade, Roxas. Let us see who and what you really are.

You should be able to.

[The Keyblade, the source of all of his troubles. He shuts his eyes briefly, sitting there. There's the briefest of moments when he goes completely still, and then there's another intake of breath; he moves forward and stretches out his hand to Xemnas', placing it atop the Superior's. Light connects their palms, and then the Keyblade is there, gripped tightly in his grasp.]

Ability. You question my ability...

[Xemnas tugs his hood down with the opposite hand as the Keyblade flashes into view. The smile affixed to his face widens briefly. Turning his body to the side, his free hand next drifts to his pocket to retrieve his communicator. He will have to make his message quick. It is time, after all. The Superior loosely folds his fingers over Roxas' to grip the blade's hilt.]

Show me.

Shouldn't you know the truth?

[He holds the blade there a moment, Xemnas' hand closing around his own to help with the deed. His mind is foggy and he's not entirely there, but the gravity of the situation is fresh in his mind. He's going to die, one way or another. To attempt to free his heart shouldn't hurt, and if there's nothing to free... Then he'll just remain until the illness takes him. Right?

Roxas slowly nods, like a sleeper transfixed, and moves the tip of the blade to rest over his chest; light forms and strikes his chest at the heart, and the Nobody flinches at the feel. It leaves him woozy and detached, and something definitely aches there. His grip loosens on the Keyblade in surprise as his other hand finds his chest, resting there briefly as he blinks owlishly, groggily at his own body.

Was that...his heart?]

[There's a faint twitch in Xemnas' smile. He closes then reopens his eyes. Too easy. Xemnas repositions his hand over the boy's, curling his gloved fingers in tight to take hold of the handle. The weapon's tip still hovers before the boy's chest. Too simple. There's precious little thought required to execute the movement. He draws the blade back only to thrust it forward, neatly skewering the Nobody seated in front of him.

He might as well be pressing a fork into a bite of dry, tasteless meat. Any hint of emotion the smile had lent him vanishes when those upturned corners of his mouth flatten out. Too helpless, that bearer of the Keyblade. Xemnas watches him impassively as he forces the Keyblade on through and twists it hard.

Mercy killing. Perhaps that's what it really is. The Superior finds the button on the communicator still tucked in his pocket and presses it.]

It didn't work, but...something's-

[Xemnas' hand closes over his own again, tighter, and he looks up in just enough time to see the man's face as the blade slides into his chest. But this isn't like Sora's death when he released his heart. No, this is...

Roxas' body convulses in pain once, eyes widening like saucers as Xemnas stabs him.]

Xe-Xem... [His mouth opens in horror as the blade slides even further, a deliberate push, and he chokes on his own words. His own hand turns with the Superior's as the blade is twisted inside of him. He grips the blade with a shaking hand and tries to pull it back out.]

S-Stop...Xemnas...

Here.

Roxas? You're still...? [it's terrible, all of this.]

We've got to stop all of this. Somehow. It can't happen again. It can't.

For now.

Please don't die, Roxas. Not you too. I know you'll come back, but...

I watched her die. I couldn't stop it. It was awful.

Edited 2010-04-16 04:40 (UTC)

[He looks at the video, sighing, and reaching over to turn it off.]

Then don't come near here. I'll take care of it myself.

Take care of it?!

...Roxas. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help, with this. It's not like some monster to fight.

And I don't...expect you to. I'll go to the woods. Someone...should burn my body tomorrow.

You're...you're just going to go out into the woods to...let that happen?

That's...you could be too tired to fight and some bear could go after you or something...one of those scyther things...the slenderman.

Don't do that.

I'm going to die anyway, Riqis.

And if some bear drags you around the forest by the legs, it isn't going to be any easier.

...don't forget me, Roxas. Promise. I didn't forget you.

You won't see it anyway. Don't worry.

Never. I won't forget you, I promise. Go stay with Namine...I'll be back soon.

I don't care if I don't see it or not! I'm your friend!

I'm sorry.

Riqis...

[After what she'd lost of her memories, she... wasn't entirely certain either of those were her name. But she knew that voice, and she knew that sound, and whether or not he'd been asking about her, she wasn't going to take any chances.]

I'm back.

[But other than that, what could she say?]

...Is there anything I can do?

[Like-- what? Making him more comfortable?]

Good.

[There's relief there, a lot of it, and he sighs...which ends in a small fit of coughing until he clears his throat.]

No. You- You shouldn't see this.

[She might have smiled to think that it had helped to speak up, but that cough made any inclination to do so dissappear. She sucked in a breath, and for the first time in a week, did not find herself forced to spit it back out.]

It wouldn't be the first time.

[She'd been with Riqis those last few days, after all, although she had been the one to go first.]

If there's something I can do, I don't care what I see.

[He's just glad she's okay for the most part. She's alive, she's with Riqis. Both of his friends are back.]

I don't... I don't want you to.

--....

[...No. She probably wouldn't have either. She would have preferred not to have to bother anyone, for nobody to see when she-- but she hadn't had the heart to turn Riqis away. Not when he was going the same way.]

...Okay.

[And she paused, feeling the need to say something else, anything else, because before, that was how it had been. She'd had something to tell him, at least.]

--It's good not to be sick any more. It'll-- be nice, when you wake up.

[He feels bad, refusing two of his good friends to see him. But if Riqis can't be there, then he doesn't want Namine to have to sit with him alone. She had done a lot for him. He didn't want her to cry or hurt over this.

Roxas makes a small sound, like a laugh.]

Yeah. Yeah. We'll... [A soft cough, and a creak of the bed.] We'll go to the beach and...and watch the stars. And play with Vanora and Oro.

[It almost made her ache, that she couldn't recognize either of those names, couldn't even remember his name. But maybe it was a small price to pay, compared to what could have been lost. It just made this moment all the more difficult.]

[So she tried her best to smile, to force it into her voice, to bury that uncertainty, and in her best she succeeded. It was gentle, and almost every bit as calm as could be when she said,]

...Right. So you'll have to hurry back, okay?

I will, I promise. [A short cough, and he clears his throat better.] I'll see you soon.

Good. We'll be waiting.

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