open log

[soracles]

Who: Sora and you!
What: Like, is any of this for real? Sora emerges from the hospital, a bit dazed and confused and trying to figure out what sort of dream world he's stumbled onto. Or if it's even a dream.
When: Sunday afternoon.
Where: Immediate area surrounding the hospital and probably other areas as Sora wanders!
Warnings: None yet!

The past few days — wait, was it days or hours? or neither? — have not really been all that kind to Sora.

But dreams have a habit of meandering from one point to the next, of managing to appear significant and impotent at the same time, don't they? As he'd run through the sidelong pathways and skewed buildings of The World That Never Was, Sora'd bumped into too many familiar faces — and the ones he didn't recognize, he thought he should have.

And then, "It has to be him." And then, before he could consider it further, he was shuffled along to much less familiar faces. Or were the two who stood before him in place of his best friends really that unfamiliar?

And then he woke up.

Honestly, Sora hadn't really absorbed much about what he'd been told in the hospital. He's pretty sure he had asked questions, maybe he had shrugged his shoulders and commented on how he needed to make sure his friends were okay. That part he remembers well enough, though now, as he stepped carefully down the street, peering into buildings and glancing around corners and maybe stopping along the way to ask passersby for directions, he really had two things on his mind.

Well, all right, two. The first was the fact that his Dream Eaters were missing, curiously. If this wasn't a dream world, where exactly in relation to home had he awakened?

The other was that he had to find Riku.

Comments

[doublebladed]

Riku, Riku, Riku. It always had to be Riku with this guy, didn't it? Not that Roxas knew that that was Sora's objective, but then again, he hadn't been expecting to step out of the ice cream shop and spot that oddly familiar mop of gravity-defying hair that could only belong to his Other.

He was grateful he wasn't holding any ice cream currently, if only because he's pretty sure it would have fallen to the ground.

Sora, Sora, Sora. Of all the people that had to be dragged to New Moore, of course Sora had to come along for the ride. What was he thinking? They were pretty much linked. He should have expected Sora to appear sooner or later.

He had a lot of questions, but he wasn't sure he was ready to ask. So as Sora continued to explore New Moore, Roxas went into stealth mode, quietly following behind him and ducking around buildings to keep an eye on the boy. He had to make sure he was safe, first of all, but more importantly he had to find out where he was going.

And who knows? Maybe Sora wouldn't be that observant and wouldn't notice that he's blatantly being followed.

[soracles]

No, he didn't notice that there was somebody right behind him — not at first.

That's because he was too busy walking at a sedate pace while he tried to figure out the phone he'd been given on his way out of the hospital. It'd probably take a bit of fiddling and probably Riku showing him the more specific phone functions, but it didn't look too complicated. Right?

Suddenly, the skin on the back of his neck prickled. If Roxas were watching closely, he'd probably have noticed Sora's shoulders tense and his arm lift slightly away from his side, like he was discreetly reaching out for something that wasn't right there.

He stopped abruptly after a few more paces, turned, ready to confront whoever was following him (minus his weapon), and —

"Wait — Roxas??"

[doublebladed]

Damnit. He really, really needed to work on his stalking skills. It's like they totally lapsed after they dumped him off in Twilight Town and scrambled with all of his memories. He doesn't respond immediately to Sora, but he stops in his tracks and stares at the other boy. He's doing his best to keep his expression neutral, but he's having a really hard time keeping the curiosity off of his face.

"Um...hi."

Good start, Roxas. He still doesn't move any closer, but like Sora his arm was lifted away from his side, poised and ready to summon his Keyblades if he needed to. He wasn't sure how Sora was going to react still.

[soracles]

Roxas has nothing to worry about, really! Sora's entire body immediately relaxed, his face breaking into a smile. Not a huge face-busting grin, but a smile — he was really, truly happy to see Roxas again.

"Hey. When did you get here?"

[howsketchy]

Much like Sora, Naminé was relatively new to New Moore. She had began to explore the place in an effort to get used to the surroundings, but the girl still managed to lose herself every now and then. It was currently one of those cases, and she had stopped to get directions when she spotted him.

While Naminé had spoke to the others about the possibility of Sora arriving soon, admittedly she hadn't been expecting it to happen so quickly after she did. To say that she was happy to see him was an understatement; she was pretty fond of the guy, much like everyone else who met him. She wondered how long he ago did he wake up here before making her way towards him.

She walked right into the middle of his path, pressing the tips of her fingers together as she smiled at him. "Hello again, Sora."

[soracles]

"Naminé? Didn't we just..."

He turned slightly, back toward the hospital, as if looking back at a world he'd long since left behind. He shook his head — No, that wasn't right, either. Sora turned back again, clearly confused, but not unfriendly, if the warm smile on his face was any indication.

"Sorry. I've... kinda lost track of where I am. You are Naminé, right?"

Considering the last time he saw her, she turned into a different girl who looked like Kairi but with black hair, and considering his reaction to that, his question wasn't... too out there. A bit awkward, but not too far out there.

[howsketchy]

Even without context, she didn't find the question to be that strange considering... well, considering basically everything that had been happening back home. She gave him a quick look over, trying to figure out where exactly he was from timeline-wise. Most likely he was from around the same period as Riku and Ax-- Lea.

"Last time I checked, yes," she replied, still smiling.

There was a lot she wanted to ask him about, but she figured that could wait until later. Sora might not be exactly used to her yet.

[soracles]

The relief that spread over him was almost palpable.

"Okay! Naminé. I'm not normally this confused, I promise." Lies and slander, Sora. Though, to be honest, the majority of the time Sora spent confused wasn't his fault, it was more the fact that information was always withheld from him.

"It's just that the last time I thought I saw you, you turned into someone else, and..." he trailed off, shaking his head. He almost seemed overwhelmed, thinking back to whatever it was he thought he saw back in a dream.

"I'm happy to see you, though. We never really got a chance to talk at all before, did we?"

[inherited]

There was a lot going on. Those first couple of weeks here were ones that Riku already missed, especially given the current state of things. Someone connected to Xehanort had arrived, Roxas hated him, Xion didn't feel she had a right to exist, and Aqua thought she had to take everything on herself. That last one he sympathized with, but he almost wished he had Lea's ease with pretending he had everything under control. Even if he knew that was just pretending, he could use that talent right about now.

The worst part was that he felt out of his element. Being named Keyblade Master didn't make him instantly good at any of this. It was his duty, sure, but actually being good? He wasn't convinced. Some of the way things were going led him to believe his instincts were right: he wasn't made for this. Sora may not have finished the exam, but he was better at all of this.

He was on patrol for unversed, leaping up and over buildings with occasional ease to make sure that nothing was causing trouble when he saw him. From a distance, he almost wondered if it was his imagination. Since Roxas showed up, Riku hadn't been able to keep from thinking the worst. Naminé showing up just cemented his worries, even if he tried not to say it. What if Sora was in trouble? What if Kairi was, too? One of Xehanort's henchman being here to cause trouble and keep them busy just seem to support it.

But Riku knew his best friend. When he stopped and did one of his Sora Movements, Riku ran off a building and dashed toward him.

"Sora!"

[soracles]

Sora'd been more than a bit lost wandering down to wherever he was going in the dream worlds — and maybe just as much so here, really — but hearing that familiar voice broke right through any disorientation he was experiencing.

"Riku!" Sora's face lit right up like a torch, and any trace of uncertainty he'd been feeling and probably showcasing in his posture melted right off, and he practically bounded in his best friend's direction — might want to brace yourself, Riku.

Of course he'd beaten Sora here. Riku's probably already got this place figured out, which, like always, meant that Sora had absolutely nothing to worry about. Not anymore. If there was anyone Sora knew he could count on, it was him — even if Riku might try to argue otherwise. Complete and unwavering faith over here.

"When did you get here? Wait, where is here, exactly?" The questions flew out almost a mile a minute, but at least Riku was spared from a friendly barreling into. Sora did offer up a hand in greeting, though, his grin so wide it looked like it probably hurt a bit.

"Are we still in the dream worlds?"

[inherited]

Brace himself? Now why would he ever do that?

After everything Sora said, though, the main part stood out to him: Are we still in the dream worlds? It wasn't the first time that something happened that meant they were all out of sync. From what he could tell, he and Lea were the furthest ahead, and now Sora was just behind him. That meant he hadn't been saved, yet, nor had he had any weird tea parties yet.

Not that tea parties were important, but Riku still couldn't forget how nonchalant Sora was after he had been worried about him.

"We're not," he said. Sora needed to know that right away.

"And let me guess: you forgot to listen to them, huh? Well, fine." He did pretend that he was a little long suffering about this, but if Sora really thought this was the dream world, he could cut him some slack. He just wouldn't make that obvious. That wasn't really how the two of them functioned.

"You're in a world called New Moore. My best guess is that just like any of us, they didn't know about other worlds. So they came up with some explanation about outsiders being fictional, so here we are." Riku shrugged. It was stupid, but everyone else seemed to take it in stride, so he would, too. "We're stuck here. Which means I've been trying to find a way out for a little over a month now."

He didn't say: I'm glad you're here. Nor did he say: I was worried about you. No, instead, Riku kept that inside. He figured his reaction was good enough.

[soracles]

That just meant Riku should probably also be bracing himself for any weird tea parties in the future. Cake won't be that hard to track down, right?

Sora was anything but nonchalant right then, however. He pressed his lips together in a frown, eyebrows knitted in a blend of thought and stress.

"A whole month? But then what was I..." Sora paused there — he's on a new world, yes, but perhaps still a bit hung up on everything that was happening on the worlds before. It wasn't that unreasonable that a month had passed between them, a world is more or less its own entity, dreaming or not. While he'd been out being dragged back and forth from cloaked figures to others, Riku'd been... trapped. For an entire month.

Sora hadn't realized how long he'd been silently standing there, completely lost in his own thoughts. He shook his head and rolled his shoulders, trying to snap himself out of it. They were trapped, yes, but at least they were trapped together. They'd find a way out eventually.

The thought brightened him considerably again.

"There's gotta be some kind of hint to how to get out of here, right? M'sorry I haven't been here to help you, Riku."

[unfadingdragon]

Ryu'd been wandering around for a while, trying to take in everything that's been going on. He's still not sure of everything, but he does have a place to sleep, apparently. So eventually, he heads towards the place, climbing the stairs and going to open his door -

... Is there someone else here?

"Hello?"

[soracles]

By that point, Sora'd become a little bit better acquainted with the place — at least long enough to track down some food — he looked up at the sound of Ryu's voice, his expression curious, but not unfriendly.

"Hi! Is this your room too?"

[unfadingdragon]

Ryu nodded, and stepped inside. "I just got here." He closes the door behind him, remembering at least that much from when they were staying in Windia. Doors go closed, and clothing is supposed to be worn all the time. Basic rules for staying with others.

"I'm Ryu. What's your name?"

[soracles]

"It's Sora — good to meet you, Ryu!"

It's all right, Sora's only had two other roommates before, if you count camping with Donald and Goofy as being roommates. That didn't really count as being "roommates," really, aside from the fact that Sora had to learn to put up with a lot of snoring.

"So... You said you just got here, right? Where are you from?"

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Koizumi had just taken his lunch break and was on the way to the New Brew when he noticed Sora, looking a little lost and trying to figure out his phone. It wasn't hard to deduce that he was a new arrival.

"You look rather lost. Is there anything I can do to help?"

[soracles]

"Boy, you've got me pegged..." Sora laughed a little nervously, phone in hand as he glanced back and forth between it and Koizumi.

"Um. I guess I just got here, and I don't really... know where to start looking for anything." Now that Sora thought about it, he did have something he really needed before he pressed on to tasks higher on the list of importance.

"You don't happen to know where I could get some food, do you?" Hey, guy's gotta eat.

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Koizumi gave a good-natured chuckle. "I actually just got on my lunch break. Would you care to join me? I can try to answer your questions while we eat."

[rescuerdownunder]

Lea had been sitting on a roof eating ice cream when he'd spotted Sora. At first, he'd thought he was seeing things-- but no, after a few seconds he knew there was no way that was anyone else. Lea stared for a while, unsure what to do. Part of him was happy Sora was there; if not for Riku's sake, then because he did genuinely like him. He wouldn't have sacrificed himself for the guy if he didn't or, more recently, rescued him from Xehanort's clutches. On the other hand... Lea's been worried about this since he'd first seen Roxas and Xion here. Was Sora's presence going to make his two best friends disappear again? Lea knew Riku had promised Xion otherwise, and so had he, but there had really been no way for any of them to be certain. Naminé had thought it possible, but Lea... Lea wasn't so optimistic.

He shook his head as he came to a decision. It didn't do him any good to dwell on that right now; if it did turn out Roxas and Xion couldn't coexist with Sora, Lea would just have to find a way to make it possible. That was part of the reason he'd become a Keyblade wielder, after all.

With that in mind, Lea decided to portal down in front of Sora. He stepped out and raised a hand in casual greeting.

"Yo, Sora."

[soracles]

Now, the last few times a portal had opened up in front of Sora, he hadn't really liked the person who had emerged from it — which is why, at first, he immediately narrowed his eyes and assumed a defensive position. Had he seriously been followed to another world again?

But when he caught a glimpse of that familiar red hair emerging from the swirling darkness, Sora's defenses shattered right to the ground, and he stared, eyes wide and mouth agape. For what felt like a dragging moment, Sora simply stood there, unmoving, locked into a stunned silence.

And then, a name. Whether Lea wants to hear it or not, it's the only one Sora had.

"A..xel?"

[rescuerdownunder]

Lea seemed to droop a little as he groaned reflexively, waving a hand in Sora's general direction. Every single time-- it was starting to get old.

"I keep telling you guys, it's Lea," he said, then stopped as he registered Sora's actual reaction. He'd seemed a bit too shocked for what Lea had expected to be a routine greeting, since they'd gotten over the "'sup I'm alive" after Sora had woken up the last time. He looked at Sora then, both wary and sheepish. Could it be...?

"Uuuunless you don't remember that part, that happens."

[ceded]

It's been some time since she ran into that helmeted boy. Not that he really scared her in the first place - she had no reason to avoid going out. To be, somehow, more careful than usual. So, once again, she's out and about, this time running errands as she makes use of her afternoon off from the pizza parlor.

Of course, this time, at least, she'll see the boy before he sees her.

And his familiarity will freeze her in her tracks as she stares at him from across the street.

[soracles]

Sora's a bit preoccupied as it is, though Xion doesn't have the fortune of escaping before he notices her. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly thinks he sees something familiar — pauses. Turns slightly to get a better look.

It's her. That girl... he'd been so suddenly overcome with sadness last time he saw her, and he had just been moved on to the next dream without so much of a chance of understanding why. Would he finally get a chance to at least get her name?

"Hey!" Sora lifts a hand and waves in her direction, glancing quickly in both directions before starting to cross the street.

[ceded]

Oh, no. No no no. No, she's not ready for this. It's him. It's that boy. The one from all her dreams. The one she turned into at the very end. He looks older, and his clothing is different.

But this is unmistakably Sora.

Xion backs up, the bag she was holding slipping from numb fingers. But she can't get very far - she backs up into the wall of the building behind her and is pinned there by Sora's approach and her sudden, frantic indecision.

"Sora," she breathes, staring at him with huge eyes and something like fear.