004 {DELTA} dog dancing bird grammar night grass

[hazardgear]

Xion's first thought is, I don't know how to play a Heavy Blade... What if I get killed just looking for Targetlock?

Her second thought: Did he just pick keywords to make this thing stupidly long?

Third: Does it have to be so... so creepy?

The field seems to be grass, judging by the sound Axel's character makes when he walks and the random patches of green here and there, but for the most part, it was dark, as if it was blood-soaked. Xion blanches. Why would Axel be friends with someone who has a meeting place like this?

She doesn't know where she's supposed to be looking, or what Targetlock's character looks like. Xion swallows her fear and grips her controller tighter. Come on, Xion... Calm down. It's just a game. There isn't anything this guy can do to hurt you. You just need to find him and then he'll tell you what you want to know. Simple as that.

... Right?

Comments

[ceilingwave]

"Yeah, and we have to do a trade. I'm getting something special for you. What's your name."

The amusement seems to have dropped out of his voice, his character standing stiff and at attention, as though preparing for battle.

1/2

[daegesege]

The fear that grips her at the change in his tone is familiar. The memory of the feel her back up against the wall, the burn of words, it's all so fresh, despite the fact that she's been homeschooled since the accident. It's all she can do to tighten her grip on her controller to keep her hands from shaking.

He can't hurt you. The thought that suddenly enters her head speaks with Lea's voice. There's a game between you and him.

But he can, responds another thought in her own voice. He can hurt with his words.

You don't owe him anything, comes Roxas' voice. You don't need him.

But I do. He knows something about this. I can feel it.

She's talking to herself in the voices of her dead friends. How...

... pathetic.

Xion folds her arms and lowers her forehead onto them.

2/2

[daegesege]

After several long, silent moments, a response finally comes.

"I can't tell you that. For all I know, you'll give that information to someone who wants to hurt me."

[ceilingwave]

"Who would want to hurt you? There are millions of players in this game. Outside of your friends and me, no one knows who you are."

He's done some homework, though. It's not hard to figure out who the others involved in the accident were...

"Kazue, right? Don't worry, poppet. I got your back."

1/idefk WOW XIGBAR ARE YOU TRYING TO BREAK HER

[daegesege]

He -- ?!

[daegesege]

She very nearly signs out, right there.

[daegesege]

She begins to shake harder.

[daegesege]

What is she going to do?

He knows. He knows. He knowsheknowsheknowsheknows how long has he how long was he intending to let her make an idiot out of herself what game is he playing is that all this is to him why is she

why can't

she doesn't

he could use this to hurt her

he could turn her in and then she'd never fix anything and Sora and she

it's

almost done here I think

[daegesege]

Suddenly, she realizes that she has thrown the controller onto the keyboard and pushed herself back from the desk. Her arms are curled, one around her head and one in front of her stomach, waiting for a blow to fall.

[daegesege]

She needs to breathe. She needs to breathe. She needs to

Sora is calling her name. Footsteps. He's coming. Oh

[daegesege]

Near half an hour passes.

d-done

[daegesege]

Axel's account comes off of idle.

This time, a voice answers Xigbar, instead of text. A small, tired, scratched voice.

"What do you want from me? Really."

[ceilingwave]

The sound of the control clattering tells him a lot. When she doesn't say or do anything for a while he idles himself, taking care of some other things instead. He takes a little while to talk to Xehanort, update him, let him know that he broke his latest toy (oops)... he goes and gets a drink and a bag of chips and sits down and watches TV while he waits.

He really wasn't expecting that sort of reaction.

When the idle flag goes off his monitor chirps and he switches back to the game. Hearing the voice of the girl in question is surprising... but all the fight seems to have gone out of her.

"A box lunch. What did you think I was after? We made a deal, and I intend to keep it. Maybe I just like being personal with clients of a special nature... and using the character of my former colleague does make you rather special."

Targetlock spreads his arms in a shrug.

"I'm ready to trade, if you are."

[daegesege]

Xion doesn't reply. She goes through the motions of the trade in silence.

[ceilingwave]

The actual item offered from his side of the trade is something called "Xion's Aster", the description reading "a small blue blossom, given in memory".

He doesn't say anything, letting her have her moment.

When the trade goes through, he speaks again.

"The answer you seek lies with the Sanjh Saravali raga."

Certain that there is nothing more to do here, he wanders off. He has a meeting with someone else in another part of the field.

[daegesege]

Somehow, she isn't surprised when he gives her another riddle. But she just... doesn't have the energy to care. She stares blankly at the item in her inventory as Targetlock walks away. She doesn't... want to deal with this right now.

"I don't understand," she murmurs, forgetting (or not caring?) that her mic is still on. "Why does it have to be like this? All I want to do is..."

[ceilingwave]

He stops, listening to her speak.

"You want to unfreeze an account. An account frozen due to a virus. To remedy the virus, you have to find the virus' source... and that's where I've pointed you."

She's breaking at the seams, and maybe he takes a little pity on her. She's not used to playing hardball. "There's more going on in this game than you or I or anyone can ever understand. This sort of riddle is nothing compared to that. You can look this stuff up. There's nothing to help anyone with how this crazy game works. We all make it up as we go along."

[daegesege]

She's surprised when he answers. It's the first time he's been this straight-forward with her, and her immediate reaction is to not trust what he's telling her. But her intuition makes her pause, and her surprise clears her head enough.

"But... I still don't understand. Why? If it's really as complicated as you say..." She lowers her head, brow furrowing. "Why make it worse? It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't... It wouldn't help anyone else understand."

[ceilingwave]

"Maybe things happen that aren't meant to help understand. Maybe things happen because they're meant to hide."

He stops. "I just gave you a freebie, poppet. Consider yourself lucky. I could get in trouble for that sort of thing." He laughs again, knowing full well that he'll be in for an earful in just a few moments.

[daegesege]

Xion frowns, her hands immediately moving for pen and a post-it. If that's true, if that's a hint, then she needs to remember it. She needs to keep the words.

"Then..." she says, pausing before she starts writing. "I guess, that's... I won't keep you any longer." Her politeness kicks in, the well-worn habit that comes so easy to her. She doesn't need to think for that.

[ceilingwave]

"Good luck with your bro's account." A gesture reminiscent of the tipping of a hat, and once more he's on the move.

He has a roommate-slash-boss who no doubt will have a few things to say about his final performance.