Sleeping is Giving In, No Matter what the Time is

[seasaltkeys]

Characters: Roxas and whoever he encounters
Content: One Nobody arrives in the dream world with a lot to think about.
Location: Traverse Town
Time: Early evening
Warnings: Crabby Roxas.

As he faded away into Sora, Roxas hadn't really be sure what to expect.

When he opened his eyes and saw the town around him, Roxas was pretty sure that this wasn't it.

He knew the town, at least, he knew it through Sora's eyes. But he figured that if Sora's heart was anything it was the island he'd grown up on, not Traverse Town. Though the place held a lot of memories for Sora, but none for Roxas. This was his first time here, and it was weird how much he knew about the town. It bothered him.

Although, it looked like that guy in red's plan hadn't worked. He was still here. Not Sora, but Roxas. At least, he was pretty sure he was still himself. He felt like himself. Maybe something had gone wrong, or they'd decided to let him go, but that seemed unlikely with how determined they'd been. It was more likely that this was just another simulated world and he was trapped again. He clenched his hand, feeling his anger rise again. He was so done with all of this and he just wanted to get away. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

He was about to run off, and at least try and find an exit. That big door behind him seemed like a good start, but it was blocked by a moogle, who floated over and started talking enthusiastically. Roxas tried to escape, but the moogle was very insistent, launching into a long lecture about what was happening here. Roxas missed about three quarters of it and was left standing in the road with a dog...thing staring up at him expectantly. Roxas went to ask the moogle but the creature had disappeared. He sighed, anger subsiding into frustration.

Roxas glared down at the spirit, who whined and rolled over on his back.

What was he supposed to do with this thing?

Comments

[dork_of_keys]

Sora was out Nightmare hunting. Again. With a good plan, it was actually the most efficient way to get munny and he needed to be efficient with gathering munny if he was going to keep putting off looking for a cheaper place to stay than the hotel.

He would rather have been relaxing somewhere, though he supposed it wouldn't hurt to go check out the door that had appeared where the Keyhole was. Eventually. Maybe after he finished up his munny making for the day.

Speaking of which, as he finished off a pack of Nightmare Meow Wows in the Back Streets, Jelly Bean suddenly perked up at something and took off toward First District. This usually happened if someone with a Spirit was nearby. Curious, Sora followed the Spirit... after hastily collecting his spoils from the last fight.

He would have mistaken the newcomer for Ven and assumed he'd gotten a Meow Wow if he didn't recognize the outfit. He had sort of figured it was only a matter of time before Roxas appeared, but he had little to go on to guess what point in time his Nobody had come from. Admittedly, the outfit narrowed it down three possibilities: the two days before he joined the Organization, his time in the simulated Twilight Town... or some nebulous point after returning to Sora, either before or after their fight at the skyscraper in Never Was. Given that Roxas seemed supremely grumpy, the first possibility was handily ruled out. One of the other possibilities held the potential for trouble, so Sora was a little reluctant to approach him.

Jelly Bean had no such concerns, being far too interested in the new Meow Wow to noticed his companion's hesitation. As such, he simply bounced right up to say hello.

[seasaltkeys]

It took Roxas's Meow Wow all of a second to roll back onto his feet and bark cheerfully at the other Meow Wow. It couldn't be lying around when there were new friends to be made. Not at all.

All things considered, Roxas should have figured that his creature wouldn't be the only one, but it was a bit of a surprise when it came leaping out like that. At least it seemed friendly, and wasn't planning to attack them. Roxas looked up, trying to see where it had come from, and if it, like his, was attached to anyone.

It didn't take him long to find Sora.

Roxas froze. It was actually Sora in front of him, and awake to by the looks of it. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know whether to attack or get mad or just give up so all he could manage was to just stand there, staring.

His Meow Wow looked up at him and nudged his leg, as if to ask if he was alright.

[dork_of_keys]

Well that was maybe not as good a response as Sora had hoped for, but also not as bad a response as he had been worried about. At least there was no violence... so far.

"Uh, this is awkward." That was lame and he knew it, but he really didn't know where to start. He rubbed the back of his head in thought, further accentuating the awkward. Awkward seemed to be the in thing lately, though.

[seasaltkeys]

Awkward was right. Roxas shook his head, trying to settle on a train of thought that might actually lead somewhere.

"Aren't...aren't you supposed to be asleep?" He finally managed, surprising himself with how angry he didn't sound. "How did you, wake up, without me?"

The last time Roxas had seen Sora, the other had definitely been asleep. And it was made very much apparent that he was the key to waking him up.

[dork_of_keys]

That definitively answered Sora's question as to when Roxas had come from, even though he hadn't technically asked it.

"Things are a little complicated here, to put it mildly. This is the realm of dreams and just about everyone has been pulled here from different points in time. Not to mention that we still don't know who or what is bringing us here." That the least confusing answer Sora could think of, but thinking it over, he realized it didn't clarify much. It didn't answer either question properly either, "No, in the point time I came from, I've been awake for a while. And, I did need you to be able to wake up."

He wasn't happy about that last part. He really did wish there was another way, but all that could be done now was try to figure out a way to fix things.

[skysmirror]

Having gotten most of the munny she needed, Xion had taken a moment to stop in the First District to look at the shops there. Mostly just to see if there was anything new; there weren't new possibilities often, but you never knew if you didn't check.

Maybe she'd head over to Twilight Town again today. She'd been surprised to see a place so familiar appear here, but she was getting used to it. The happiness was a little bittersweet, though, without her two best friends...

Barkley's excited bark pulled her out of her thoughts in time to see him run over to greet another Meow Wow and their person. At first she thought it was Ven, with a new Spirit, but Barkley didn't get that excited over someone he didn't know.

She hurried over, and then got a good look at the newcomer before stepping back in shock. The timing was too convenient, for him to appear around the same time they unlocked a door to Twilight Town. Finding her voice took a moment, and when she spoke, it was quiet. "Roxas?"

Belatedly, she pulled her hood down so he could see it was her. She didn't think he remembered, but it felt wrong to have her hood up around him.

Assuming this is after his thread with Sora

[seasaltkeys]

How many of these creatures were there? Already there was another one bounding up to meet him and Roxas's Meow Wow looked as though it had gotten a second wind. He thought the thing had been tired out. Apparently it was still fresh as a daisy.

He paused when he heard his named called. The voice sounded familiar, but Roxas couldn't quite place it. He turned, looking at the girl who had spoken. Was that...no that wasn't Kairi. He had a weird feeling that he should know her but for the life of him couldn't remember how.

"Yeah?"

Roger that. ALso, I figure we're good to finish in the voice test thread?

[skysmirror]

There are plenty of them, as Roxas will find out as he meets everybody and their Spirits. Finding him unresponsive, Barkley focuses on the other Meow Wow. Hello! Is tag an acceptable game for while they're people take care of person-type greetings?

Roxas's response to her confirmed that he didn't remember. Xion had been prepared for that, but she still had to work hard to keep her expression from showing that it hurt more than a little. "I'm Xion. Did you just get here?"

It seemed pretty obvious that he had, but it was something to start with.

Indeed we are

[seasaltkeys]

Tag is always acceptable! As long as Barkley's it! Roxas's Meow Wow tags Barkley and then scampered off around a lightpost.

Xion. That name seemed familiar, and it made Roxas's head hurt. Or was it his heart.

"I'm Roxas, and yeah, I did just get here."

He looked at the ground. He couldn't tell if he wanted to be here or not, or if he was supposed to be here or not. It didn't make a lot of sense.

[defrostedpride]

Even rounded the corner, en route to acquire more equipment from the Moogles. Minions were all well and good, but they could not be relied upon to identify the most desirable type of glassware. Yet. It was at this point in his ruminations that he saw Roxas.

His mouth worked soundlessly for a few moments before he dragged his palm slowly down the length of his face.

"They're budding."

(He was almost completely certain that Keyblade wielders did not bud.)

I'm sorry about him.

[seasaltkeys]

Roxas stared at the newcomer. Something about him was familiar, but he didn't know quite where to place it. His memory was still kind of fuzzy.

Then it clicked. He'd met this guy before, in the Organization. What was his name again? V-something? Zen-whatever?

Figuring out the name didn't stop him from putting his guard up. He wasn't planning to attack, but just in case. There was no way he was going back.

[defrostedpride]

Even was less than impressed with Roxas's manners...and maybe a little nervous about the apparent probability of getting attacked in the street. Just a little.

He glared at the Keyblade pointedly. "What? Are you trying to threaten random passersby, or are you just waving that around on the offchance that I've forgotten its existence?"

[seasaltkeys]

It was unfortunate that Roxas wasn't in the mood for manners.

"If you think I'm going back, you have another thought coming."

While Roxas had the feeling that something was off about the situation, he ignored it. It could be a trick, and Roxas was done with those. He was ready for whatever the Organization had in store this time.

You know what, let's make this worse

[salvagedlight]

Play with it, that's what. Meow Wows more than any of the spirits seemed to like being played with, although they all were very attached to their people.

Still, for Ven, it was less playing this time and more chasing after before they hurt themselves. Linka seemed to have decided she really wanted to play tag, drawing Wheeler in too, but Linka had that habit of not watching where she was going and smacking into things, which Ven was pretty anxious to not repeat too many times. Healing magic was easy for him, but he didn't know if this time would be the one time she hurt herself too badly for him to fix, and he really didn't want to find out.

"Linka! Linka! Wheeler, don't encourage her, she's just going to get hurt again!" The first creature to round the corner was a yellow bat with purple wings, turning loop-the-loops and squeaking happily; a mostly-blue lizard rolled after her, curled into a literal wheel as he let out a chittering laugh. The last member of the strange parade was a teenager... one that would look very familiar to Roxas. "Linka!"

best day ever

[seasaltkeys]

Oh? Was it time for another game? Roxas's Meow Wow was proving to have boundless energy, bouncing up to the new dream eaters, eager to join in. Roxas sighed. How were you supposed to control these things? Roxas hadn't exactly wanted to have another conversation today.

He was about to apologize and call his dog thing (did it need a name?) back when the words caught in his throat. How could he be here...and there? Was there another him that he didn't know about? What was going on?

Oh Roxas. Your poor brain.

[salvagedlight]

"Gotcha!" Ven hadn't even looked up from his Spirits; Wheeler was finally within his grasp, and he made a running semi-dive to catch the lizard-like spirit, pulling him up to his chest as his feet kept going after Linka, ignoring Wheeler's kicking feet and protesting gibbers. The bat, meanwhile, had reached the new Meow Wow and started dancing around its head, pleased to find a new playmate, giving her own chitters and tumbling head over wing. New friends are wonderful!

"Sorry, they get really excited sometimes and it doesn't-" And then Ven's eyes finally found the newcomer's face. He stopped talking in mid-sentence, his own face going slack with shock, his fingers and arms losing their grip on his Spirit. Wheeler took the opportunity to wiggle out of his hold and jump into the pile of Spirits for more play time, but all Ven could do was stare.

You can almost see it breaking

[seasaltkeys]

Roxas closed his eyes, shaking his head from side to side.

"Okay. I'm convinced. This is a dream."

A dream or a joke or something, but he'd seen everything so he was going to wake up now, right? Wake up in Twilight Town and it would all be back to normal and he could go to the Usual Spot and enjoy his last day of summer vacation properly.

Of course when he opened his eyes, he was still staring at Ven, so that threw that out the window.

"Who are you?" Roxas finally demanded.

[allfunandgamesuntil]

York caught sight of the kid as he came into the square. He had seen him around, mostly with Luna; it was good to see him out and about on his own. It took him a moment to remember the kid's name; Ven, he thought. Maybe they could go dream eater hunting together; York was waiting a bit on the new world.

Sparky and Max dashed towards Ven ahead of him, Max barking his meow wow head off and Sparky doing that dance thing hebby repps seemed fond of.

"Hey, Ven."

[seasaltkeys]

Roxas heard the barking and turned to see more of the dream things running towards him. His Meow Wow moved in front of him, either to protect or greet the newcomers, Roxas couldn't tell. He guessed the latter.

He looked at the newcomer, confused, though a bit wary because of the armour.

"I'm not Ven," he replied, probably sharper than he meant to, but he'd had enough cases of alternate identity today to last a lifetime.

[allfunandgamesuntil]

"Sorry." York held his hands up apologetically. "Nice to meet you, then. I'm York." A small green figure appeared next to York, always on his cue. "This is Delta. Looks like our dream eaters are already ready to make friends."

Sparky and Max both ran up to the newcomer and bounced with excitement.

[seasaltkeys]

Today was turning into the best day ever for Roxas's Meow Wow, though the same couldn't be said for Roxas. He kept his guard up, glancing at Delta warily. The guy seemed friendly enough, but Roxas couldn't be too trusting. Things had a habit of changing quickly and he didn't want to regret it later.

"Yeah, he does that. A lot it seems."

And now I'll make Roxas' day just a little worse. Poor kid.

[nightmaresfear]

"Made a new friend?"

The voice came from behind Roxas, almost teasing him. Riku was leaning coolly against a wall, his Komory Bat fluttering beside him. It wasn't obvious how long he'd been watching before making his presence known, but he'd seen enough to know Roxas was Not Happy about finding himself here.

Riku had mixed feelings on seeing him again. He'd expected this meeting to happen one day, with Naminé already present in the Dream World as she was. Even so, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt whenever he thought back on how Roxas had been treated by DiZ... and how Riku had been party to it. Even if it was for Sora, that didn't make it right, only the lesser of two evils. Maybe it was too late to make amends, but whatever the case, he didn't hold any bad feeling towards Sora's Nobody.

"You're not going to get out that way, and corridors of darkness won't help you either. We're all stuck in this place."

[seasaltkeys]

It was unfortunate that Roxas didn't really share Riku's sentiments at the time. As far as he was concerned, Riku was the reason he was in this mess.

"I already know that. What do you want, anyway? Planning to keep me here so you can jerk me around again?"

He was on guard, glaring at Riku, ready to deal with anything.

His Meow wow whined, concerned to see Roxas so angry.

[nightmaresfear]

"No," Riku said, pushing himself off the wall. Bram, his Komory Bat, came to land on his shoulder, watching Roxas with wide eyes, as though also detecting his anger. "I'm not the one keeping you here, and I don't want anything from you. I'm in the same boat as you are -- stuck in this world and trying to figure out why."

How best to deal with this without setting Roxas off further? He dismissed Bram for the time being, the Dream Eater vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"If you want to blow off some steam, go ahead and hit me." He spread his arms. "But I'm not here for a fight this time."

[seasaltkeys]

For a moment, it looked like Roxas was going to. He tensed up, before the logical part of his brain kicked in and he realized that hitting Riku was not going to send him back home, or somewhere else that wasn't here. He let out a frustrated noise, hitting the lamppost angrily.

"What are you here for then?"

Couldn't everyone just leave him alone.