((OOC: I can do plot twists and fateful meetings too)) Xemnas looked around the food court and saw the Girl sitting at the fountain he had made his grand entrance in. She was thoroughly engrossed in a small paperback. "What are you reading, may I ask?" The Girl jumped for a moment, and then relaxed. "You'll think I'm silly," she replied. "Try me." "It's the latest tale of romance from Dr. Mansex. I don't suppose you've heard of him?" "I'm...familiar..." Xemnas said vaguely. "I've read all of...his...work so far." "Really?" The Girl smiled. "I never would have figured you as a fan. I've read this one at least twenty times. It's my favorite. I'm at the part where Selene pounces on Sir Edward at the charity auction." Oh yes, that scene, thought Xemnas, I had a lot of fun writing that one. Mmm-hmm... He sat down next to her. "So, my young friend, tell me. Of what assistance can I be for you?" "Well," said the Girl as she put the book down next to her, "I guess the first question would be...what are we?" "We are Nobodies. We are what's left when a person loses their heart. We've been able to stay in a vaguely human form because whoever we were before, for good or ill, was strong of heart. And having no heart, we supposedly can't feel emotions." "But I can certainly feel things," said the Girl. "Relatively faintly, but it's there." "That tells me that your heart was not consumed but still exsists somewhere." "And besides, wouldn't you die if you lost your heart?" "Well...not in certain circumstances." "Such as?" "Well, if your heart is taken by a Heartless, the dark part of your heart turns into a heartless and the rest of you becomes the Nobody." "A Heartless?" asked the Girl? "What's that?" "Those little black things that, well," Xemnas tried to do an exaggurated Heartless movement. "Oh, those. I hate those things. Whoever's responsible for them needs a good slap." "Well," said Xemnas sadly, "I'm right here, so go ahead." He leaned down to her. "What are you talking about?" The Girl asked. "Well, the story goes that when I was a young man, or at least younger than I am now, I turned up on the doorstep of Ansem the Wise, ruler of Radient Garden, with no memory except for a name. The old man took me in and made me his cheif scientific apprentice. We began experimenting on the heart, but Ansem thought it was too dangerous and he ordered us to stop. But we didn't." "Should I grab some popcorn?" the Girl asked with a mischeivous grin. "Shut up. You asked. Anyway, we created the Heartless for our experiments, and that lead to the discovery of a door in the castle basement. A door to darkness. I asked the other five apprentices to use me as a Guinea Pig in the hopes that my memory might awaken. Instead, I became a heartless myself and this Nobody you see before you awakened somewhere else. When the nobodies of the other five apprentices showed up, we vowed to get our hearts back. After collecting a few more members over the years, we formed Organization XIII." The Girl applauded. "What a spirited performance," she said with a giggle. Yet the look she gave him was one of affection. "So now we've all changed our names, to reflect our fate. They rearranged their own names and added a letter X, and I did the same, except with the name of my former master. Miserable old goat," he added under his breath. "Hey, that reminds me," said the Girl. "I didn't actually catch your name." "Oh, it's Xemnas," he said, shaking her hand. "And what should I call you? I can't just keep calling you 'Girl.'"" "Well, like I said, I have no memory of my time before being a..well...Nobody, I guess." "Which is very odd," said Xemnas. The Girl continued, "Anyway, you seem to be good at making up names, so I'll let you choose one for me." She smiled. "I'm not that great," said Xemnas, "If I knew your real name, I'd add an X to it and rearrange the letters. It's predictable." "I trust you." said the girl. Xemnas thought to himself. Hadn't he seen this done in countless movies? Look around to see if you can make a name from things that are written around you. Unfortunately, they were in the food court. "Well, let's see," he said Xemnas looked to his left. He saw Nathan's World-Famous Hot Dogs. "Na..." He looked right. Some kid was screaming for a Happy Meal at McDonalds. "Mi..." He searched the court frantically. His eyes rested upon Né-Né Oriental Express. "Né..." Xemnas shook his head. "How's that?" "'Naminé'? How do you spell that?" Xemnas hung his head low. "With an 'e' after the second 'n' that has a little accent mark on it." "Naminé...Naminé..." she said, "I like it. I think it's pretty." She rested her hand on his and looked into his eyes. "Thank you, Xemnas." "You're welcome...Naminé..."
Xemnas couldn't get the image of the strange girl out of his mind. She was very intriguing...obviously she was a Nobody, but how could she have come into existence without his knowledge? She had a spark about her, though she seemed sad, and she was very...pretty.... Stop that right now, Xemnas! he scolded himself, You're old enough to be her father. Probably grandfather too. I should just leave it at this, his mind continued, After all, I'm not out to make Organization XIV or anything like that. Yet, in the back of his mind, he knew he would make that meeting all the same. He found himself in front of a Hot Topic. Might as well pick up that "Sorry I Didn't Believe You And Let You Almost Get Molested" present for Xigbar. He walked into the unusually cramped little store. He saw a t-shirt that had Invader Zim looking menacing in "human" garb, with the slogan "We're Perfectly Normal" written underneeth. Perfect, Xemnas thought. He found Xigbar's adult size and went to the cash register. The cashier said "That is one rockin' cloak you're wearing. Dude came in not too long ago with that same cloak, except he had really spikey red hair. Are you two in a band together?" "Yes," said Xemnas sarcastically, "We're in a band together. These are our uniforms. He sings and I play bass guitar. We're trying to break out, but the record companies want to keep us down." "That's rough," said the cashier. "What's the name of your single?" "It's called Just hand me the damn bag." After paying for the shirt, he meandered his way back to the food court.
3088 ....I know when I'm not wanted....*leaves*
3083 We're in the 3080's, RSKO... And it's Sephiroth.
3081 Was Hannibal good? I'm torn because I want to see Lecter, but I can't see anyone but Hopkins in the role.
3078 I need to draw a comic after I eat breakfast and before I take a shower.
Xemnas gave Axel one last look before walking away down the mall. Got to dry off, Xemnas thought as he walked, Got to walk this off, got to think, got to plan, got to dissect, got to study, got to cut open... "Um...excuse me, sir..." said a voice from behind. Xemnas whipped around to find a young girl at a kiosk. She was relatively short, with long blonde hair, and wearing a short white dress and flip-flops. The booth she was sitting at was a caricature booth; She was sitting in front of an easel that had a sketchbook resting upon it, and she was surrounded with drawings of famous people. Fairly good drawings. "What is it, little girl?" Xemnas said in a much harsher tone than he would have liked. "I was just wondering if you were okay, since you seem to be sopping wet," said the girl. "And I'm seventeen." "What was that?" Xemnas said. "Seventeen," said the girl. "I'm not a 'little girl,' I'm seventeen. I should be eighteen soon...I think." Xemnas raised an eyebrow. "You think?" "Well, that's just it," said the girl slowly, "I don't remember all that much up to a few years ago." "That's...fascinating..." Xemnas said. He didn't know why this girl was talking to him, but it brought up uncomfortable thoughts of his own loss of memory from his early life. He turned to go. "Wait!" cried the girl. "Umm...I'll caricature you! On the house!" Xemnas turned around. He realized there was something unusual about this girl, but he couldn't quite place it. "Who are you? And what do you want with me." "I don't know who I am..." said the girl. "I don't even remember my own name. If I ever had a name," she added sadly. Xemnas thought to himself that he should just walk away right now, and save a lot of grief. Yet, he found himself sitting down on the stool opposite this girl's sketchbook. "Aside from the fact that I look like a drowned rat, what made you speak up to me?" "Well," the girl said as she started drawing, "This is going to sound crazy, but I seem to have this...ability. I can sense people's hearts, and sometimes even the important memories they keep there." "The brain is for memory," said Xemnas uneasily. "Yes," said the Girl, "but we attach emotion to important memories." Her pencil was moving so fast with such precision that it was barely perceptible. She continued, "But that's niether here nor there. The point is, I can sense that your heart isn't here." Xemnas perked up, and fixed a suspicious look on the girl. "You don't say..." "Mm-hmm," said the Girl, "I sense that your heart is somewhere far away." She looked straight into his eyes. "Like mine." Xemnas' jaw dropped. A Nobody?! The Girl tore the page off her sketchpad and handed it to Xemnas. The likeness on the page was uncanny. "You seem like someone who can help me," the Girl whispered. "Meet me in the food court in about one hour. You don't have to, in fact I don't expect you to, but I would really like it if you were there." She then turned with an obviously fake smile to a tourist couple who were itching to be drawn. Xemnas got up, started to walk away, looked back at this strange girl, then at her drawing, which he then folded and placed inside his inner cloak pocket before walking away.
Xemnas grabbed Axel by his collar and got nose to nose with him. "You'll help me now," Xemnas growled, "or there may not be any reservations to keep." Xemnas released Axel. "Go back to the castle, find Vexen, warn her about Marluxia's mood swings in case she doesn't already know. The two of you find a way to contain Marluxia until I return. Capture him and hold him. These reservations you speak of should be extra incentive for you to accomplish this quickly, but DO NOT do anything half-assed." Xemnas put a hand on Axel's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Axel, I'm counting on you more than you can fathom."
Xemnas put his hands to his throat. Only nicked me, he thought, Thank god... He looked around and saw the familiar red spikes of his quarrry. "Axel!" Xemnas climbed out of the fountain. His cloak was soaking wet which threw him slighlty off balance as he tried desperately to get to Axel without tripping on himself, almost failing this at several points, his boots going squish-squish-squish as he walked. He was able to save himself from a final fall by quickly grasping Axel's shoulders and using him for support. "Marluxia..." Xemnas gasped, "Marluxia's gone mad. He asked me about my Heartless, and then he tried to strangle me with his vines. I escaped and I came to find you." Xemnas took a few more gasps. "I had to get away, because I knew he wasn't himself and I knew that if I stayed, I would kill him. I don't want him dead. Yet. However, I could tell if I held back in any way I wouldn't last long myself." "I think..." Xemnas said, locking eyes with Axel, "I think Marluxia has residue of his Heartless in his very non-being, and it's controlling him at points. Now it's not constant, but he is a danger to the others. I need you're help. I postulated that since you are a fire elemental, and Marluxia's element is highly flammable, that not only could you destroy him if need be, but also possibly intimidate him enough so you won't have to destroy him right away..." Xemnas sighed. "I'm not making much sense, am I? We need time to plan...Vexen's still at the castle. He...well, it's she now, isn't it? I don't know if I'll get used to that...she's an amacable fighter. I sent her off to look for Xigbar and Luxord, which is who I'm really worried about. Saix, I know, is slinking around. Larxene I last saw in the kitchen hours ago, though who knows where she is now...and according to you, Demyx is still at the castle...they could hold Marluxia at bay, but I don't know how long they'll be able to keep." Xemnas shook his head. "Axel, is there anyone else in the castle besides who I just mentioned?"
Xemnas was shocked, he couldn't breathe and his neck felt on fire. This was not the Marluxia he was used to. With a grimace, Xemnas summoned two red beams of energy from his palms, and cut the offending vines. He then kicked Marluxia in the face, knocking him down. Quickly, Xemnas jumped on Marluxia's chest and put his face close to the other's. "If I were not so sure you were not yourself, you'd be dead by now. I might even have to make that so before the day is out." Xemnas leapt high and sliced a good chunk out of the ceiling, burying Marluxia. That won't hold him long, Xemnas thought, but it'll give me a chance to get away to plan... Xemnas opened a portal. Fire burns flowers, thought Xemnas, I must find Axel! Xemnas dived into the portal and ended up in the middle of a fountain, covered in coins with hundreds of eyes staring at him. It never ends...
Hurt: Riku Heal: Kairi Riku-2 Kairi-23 Demyx-78 DiZ-25 Marluxia-69 DEAD: Sora Donald Goofy Xemnas King Mickey Larxene Roxas Naminé
3073 I have to go to class very soon anyway... *hugs* Just didn't want you to think I didn't want you around.
Hurt: Riku Heal: DiZ Riku-4 Kairi-22 Demyx-77 DiZ-25 Marluxia-69 DEAD: Sora Donald Goofy Xemnas King Mickey Larxene Roxas Naminé
3071 Nooooo! *pounce* Stay with meeeeeeeee. Jeez, you start quoting Daffy Duck and everyone turns on you.
Hurt: Riku Heal: Kairi Riku-6 Kairi-22 Demyx-76 DiZ-24 Marluxia-69 DEAD: Sora Donald Goofy Xemnas King Mickey Larxene Roxas Naminé
Hurt: Riku Heal: DiZ Riku-8 Kairi-21 Demyx-75 DiZ-24 Marluxia-69 DEAD: Sora Donald Goofy Xemnas King Mickey Larxene Roxas Naminé
3069 Snow fly, don't botha me, snow fly, don't botha me....
Hurt: Riku Heal: Kairi Riku-10 Kairi-21 Demyx-74 DiZ-23 Marluxia-69 DEAD: Sora Donald Goofy Xemnas King Mickey Larxene Roxas Naminé
Hurt: Riku Heal: DiZ Riku-12 Kairi-20 Demyx-73 DiZ-23 Marluxia-69 DEAD: Sora Donald Goofy Xemnas King Mickey Larxene Roxas Naminé
Help me kill off Riku before going after my two favorites and we'll call it even. Hurt: Riku Heal: Kairi Riku-14 Kairi-20 Demyx-72 DiZ-22 Marluxia-69 DEAD: Sora Donald Goofy Xemnas King Mickey Larxene Roxas Naminé
