2nd Day [Action]

[seasaltkeys]

Sparkle!

Sparkle! Where'd you go?

[Today, we have a Roxas wandering the streets of Traverse Town. He doesn't really want to be here, would rather be back in Twilight Town because that's familiar in a good way, but his new dream eater decided that that wasn't fun at all, and felt the need to explore.

Roxas is currently scouring Traverse Town looking for her, Bouncer trotting along at his heels, a photograph in his mouth. Roxas is letting him carry it, because he needs both hands for fighting Nightmares. Two keyblades and all you know?]

C'mon, this isn't funny!

[He thinks he sees it run down a back alley and chases after it.]

Sparkle!

Darn rabbit.

Comments

[shadearchivist]

I take it that Sparkle is one of yours?

[Ienzo huffs a sigh.]

Lea, stop chasing it; you're only encouraging it.

[Lea pauses to look back at Ienzo. Ienzo just isn't moving fast enough; the game of chase is for running. Come on, it'll be tons of fun if you just start running.]

[seasaltkeys]

Yeah, she's new.

[Chase? Is that what it's time for? Sparkle puts on a burst of speed, at least until Bouncer manages a good jump to get in front of the bunny.]

Good work Bouncer! Stop her!

[shadearchivist]

[Ienzo headed towards the dream eaters.]

I have noticed that some of them seem to enjoy a game of tag every now and then.

[seasaltkeys]

I don't know about tag. She just likes to explore. And run.

[Bouncer and Sparkle are currently having a stare down.]

[shadearchivist]

[Lea flops down to roll around for belly rubs as Ienzo approaches; if they're not going to play, maybe he can get pettins.]

They all seem to like that to some extent. [Ienzo pauses] Are you well? Coming to this place tends to be a wrench, and I gather it wasn't easy for you.

[seasaltkeys]

[And Roxas is immediately guarded. He hasn't really clued into who Ienzo is.]

Why do you care, exactly?

[shadearchivist]

[That's a surprise; apparently Roxas doesn't remember quite everything.]

We knew each other briefly, but to be honest, I hope I would be concerned about anyone who was having trouble adjusting to life here.

[seasaltkeys]

[It takes a moment for things to click. Roxas doesn't tend to dwell on his Organization memories, especially the brief assignments with agents that seemed so long ago. At the same time, Organization is something of a Red Flag, and even if Namine and Xion have okayed them, Roxas is not convinced.]

You're...Zexion, right?

[shadearchivist]

It's Ienzo, now. I've become whole again.

[Ienzo doesn't expect Roxas to trust him, though he hopes it might come in time.]

[seasaltkeys]

[That, is a concept Roxas still has trouble wrapping his head around.]

What does that mean, exactly?

[shadearchivist]

Apparently when a Nobody dies, they wake as their former self again. I have my heart back. If I'd known it was this simple...

[Ienzo shakes his head.]

To tell the truth, there is no way of knowing if such a thing would have been possible if Sora hadn't soundly defeated the Organization. Considering when I recovered myself, I tend to thing that those things must have been connected somehow.

[seasaltkeys]

[Roxas supposed that was true. Although, his former self was a little bit different. He's not sure what to think about all this, about how it all ties back to Sora.]

They probably are then. So everyone's gone? All the Organization?

[Not that he was overly fond of anyone aside from Axel (and Xion), but he liked Luxord well enough.]

[shadearchivist]

For a value of "gone," yes. Most of us remembered our previous lives; you were an exception. For most of us, we're being restored to the state that we should be. [Ienzo pauses.] Ah, I suppose you would appreciate knowing that Lea has returned to himself.

[seasaltkeys]

[An exception. Roxas looks down at the ground, scuffing his foot. He's still not sure if that's supposed to be a good thing or not.

It takes him a moment to rearrange the letters.]

You mean Axel, right?

[That means he's okay. Roxas is glad to hear that, but it brings up a lot of other worries. That means he's back to normal where Roxas...isn't. And Roxas isn't sure if that means he can keep that promise they made. His expression is one of confusion and relief.]

[shadearchivist]

Yes. Lea was his name before he was part of the Organization and I believe he will be using it again. I hope he enjoys a tedious eternity of telling people to memorize his new old name.

[It would be unkind to wish worse on Lea, but death of a thousand "isn't your name Axel?"s would have to suffice.]

[seasaltkeys]

Oh.

[Roxas, isn't sure how to feel about that one. If he's Lea again, does that mean that he's not Axel anymore?]

He got enough people to memorize the old one.

[shadearchivist]

Well, it was a habit of his from his life before the Organization. I don't precisely recall whether he had difficulty shifting from Lea to Axel, and I haven't spoken to him a great deal since our recovery.

[Ienzo ponders the matter for a moment.]

Has Sora spoken to you about Nobodies?

[seasaltkeys]

[Roxas shook his head. His last conversation hadn't exactly gone swimmingly.]

Not really. Why?

[shadearchivist]

He told us - that is, several of us here, of course - that he'd learned that Nobodies can grow replacement hearts. That only our belief that it couldn't occur hindered our hearts' development.

[He's not sure how much it will comfort Roxas - after all, surely a Nobody can't exist independently of their original even if it's a special case, as Sora's was. Still, it's something to hold onto.]

[seasaltkeys]

[Roxas stares at Ienzo, trying to figure that out. Grow replacement hearts? Really? Is that how it really went? Did he even count? He wasn't exactly a normal nobody after all...]

What does that even mean? That I'll stop being a nobody?

[shadearchivist]

I'm not sure, to be quite honest.

[Ienzo only knew what Sora had explained, but not how it was supposed to work.]

[seasaltkeys]

Probably doesn't apply to me anyway.

[shadearchivist]

Xehanort would know, of course. Sora seems to know more about it than anyone else here, and I believe he'd explain things to you if to no one else.

[seasaltkeys]

[Not exactly the people he wants to ask, so he keeps his eyes on the ground.]

I guess I'll think about it. I don't really know if I want an answer.

[shadearchivist]

[Clearly Roxas has matured quite a bit since Ienzo knew him. Unsurprising, truthfully.]

It's good to be aware that there might be some things you'd rather not know. If you'd like any information that I might be able to assist you with, I'm willing to answer questions, however. The Organization did all of us a disservice.