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Post by Lauriam on Mar 5, 2020 17:22:11 GMT -5
I am coming for you. Please wait for me.
The clock in the room read 10:36 pm. Not a time many would chose to still be awake, but Lauriam was not part of the normal spectrum in Traverse Town. Also, if he didn't have this clock, he wouldn't even know it's that late. He actually wondered how people could live here, without any sunlight, but he was not here to question their taste in housing. Traverse Town had many empty houses and Lauriam had decided to take the attic of one to make it his little base of operation. No one was bothering him up there and he had enough space to keep the information he had gathered so far. No one knew he was 'living' here, since he never told anyone about this place. The attic wasn't very big or anything, but the roof was pretty high, so he didn't have to lower his head or anything. The Dandelion had made it more comfortable and to his taste by adding some flowers in a vase on his table, put on some fresh Bed line on the wooden bed he had up here and got himself a nice comfy chair. He also had a shelve in the room close to the window that was starting to fill up with paperwork he had done and books he had found that might hold some clues. Everything that could have any connection to Daybreak Town and the keyblade war was set into this shelve. Some papers with notes he had made were set on the desk, the lamp that was standing on it giving out a soft light into the room. Lauriam was checking some notes he had just made, reading through everything once more with a sigh, his free hand going up to massage his temples.
He was still far from his goal. He still had the book he had found in the Beast's Castle and he was checking it over and other, making sure he had not overlooked anything that could be important. He had notes of keyholes Sora had found and information he had gathered about the old war. How was he supposed to get this done? He was not a scientist and to be honest, he would rather get this done by himself. Not because his pride was in his way, well.. not just that, but also the fear of getting people involved in this, that shouldn't get close to this subject. Time travel, changing timelines... that was dangerous stuff.
He leaned back in his chair, looking out the window in the attic. It was rather windy outside today and the walls were creaking every time the storm would brush against the roof of the house. The assassin shook his head and put the papers neatly on the table, before he would get up and set the book into the shelve. He really should try to sleep if he wanted to continue his search the next day. Being fully rested could make a big difference, should he get into a fight with a strong heartless or nobody again. He had also started to read up on some magic spells, especially the one called 'Cure'. It should be easy for him to perform such a easy spell, but for some reason he had difficulties channeling healing magic. His powers were still to infected by darkness.... or at least that could be an explanation for his struggles. His eyes looked down at his hands, the man flexing his fingers for a moment before he would ball his hands into fists. He really had been effected strongly by his emotions and the power of darkness. He could perform these spells easily once and now it all seemed out of his grasp.
Stop thinking about these things. You are only hurting yourself, Lauriam.
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Post by xehanort on Mar 5, 2020 19:00:03 GMT -5
"It's quite the collection, really"
The sound of that voice was doubtless one that the Assassin hadn't hoped, nor expected, to hear. Being greeted with it in a place so private as this couldn't have been comforting in any sense. Xehanort, or Master Xehanort, simply wasn't able enough to escape his assured destruction, let alone stealthy enough to slip into that room without using the loud, roaring Corridors that the Organization depended on. So, with that known, how was he here, undetected, so casually standing near the opposite corner of the room and flipping through one of Lauriam's carefully-collected books?
The old Master didn't look keen on explaining his methods. "From the looks you give them, I take it they don't cover exactly the subjects you need," he surmised as he gently shut the tome and put it back in place with a kind of respect that only scholars like him would ever spare for what would otherwise be seen as just another bundle of paper. When he turned back to look at Lauriam directly, there was a softness to his expression. The malice that used to lay under every glance and motion was absent here, leaving only an airy sense of aimless curiosity. That, or indecision. He was well and truly unarmed, in every sense of the word, and yet that familiar tension was there. He made no threat through the typical show of force, but by approaching so brazenly without a threat, and without outwardly regarding Lauriam as an enemy, he boasted a confidence that even his smug demeanor as the Organization's leader never quite reached. "I'd like to talk a while, if you... have the time."
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Post by Lauriam on Mar 6, 2020 14:28:47 GMT -5
I am coming for you. Please wait for me.
Lauriam had already started to question his sanity when the voice of a certain man suddenly reached his ears, the man not moving an inch for a moment, completely frozen to his spot. Had he fallen asleep and was dreaming this now? Was he just hearing things, due to paranoia? Sadly, it wasn't either of these things, the presence behind him just to real to be ignored by him. Once he heard steps coming closer, he could feel any color drain from his face, his instincts as fighter kicking in immediately. He turned around fast, almost hitting the shelve behind him with his back, summoning his weapon with a wave of panic flashing through his eyes.
“STAY BACK!”
He had hoped to just scream into nothingness once he turned around, like this was just a hallucination, but the person in front of him was FAR to real, sadly. How could this be?! How can this man still be alive?! Wasn't he slain for good by Sora, or had the boy and his friends failed in their mission, after all? He held the scythe up into the man's face, the shake that ran through it visible. Lauriam was not one to panic so easily and lose his composure but this.. MAN was right in front of him, in a small, private space he had always thought to be safe. This was unnerving him to the core, but passing out by this man's presence was not an option. Who knows if he would open his eyes ever again, should he faint right here and now.
His heart was pounding in his chest and his hands already started to feel numb by the rush of Adrenalin he experienced. He noticed that the man was unarmed right now and didn't seem to be here to attack him outright, but Lauriam's paranoia was much stronger than his ability to stay calm in situations of stress. “You..! You shouldn't be here...! You should be dead!”
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Post by xehanort on Mar 9, 2020 16:32:41 GMT -5
Xehanort wasn't amused by his former colleague's fearful display. He was neither intimidated, nor pleased, nor humored at all. If anything, he was a bit disappointed to find himself on the other end of such a scenario so soon after the last time. He looked down at the shaking scythe with a gloomy face of pure disappointment, remarking quietly to himself, "So that really is all I am now..?" Hee put his white-gloved hand on the jagged head and pushed it aside. "Don't be so quick to label me a villain again," he warned, the mild sarcasm of his introduction no longer present. In its absence, there was only an unfamiliar emptiness, signature of someone who just didn't have the want to fight. Still, passive or not, Xehanort understood now that his presence was far too disheartening to have any real conversation with even those who he'd worked with before.
And so, he made the first real move, holding a hand aside and conjuring up the brightly-shining shape of a Keyblade. Only, it wasn't the typical black lightning that Marluxia would have been so familiar with, but rather a bright blue beam that took the form of black gears and neon crossbars. Depending on just how much this newly recalled Lauriam remembered of their early days, it may have come across as either an eerie return to form or, if he had forgotten, a completely new weapon for the old man to hold, typically only being carried by the young self that had traveled forward through time to participate in the War. Before any questions could be asked or answered, Xehanort set the Keyblade flat on the desk and let it go, folding his hands behind his back in complete abandonment of any aggression.
"The Eye is gone," he answered the inevitable question. "I gave it up, passed it on. I've things left to do, but not with the Eye on my back. I've not come to make a victim or witness of you- Just to talk."
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Post by Lauriam on Mar 10, 2020 15:04:24 GMT -5
I am coming for you. Please wait for me.
One with a rather cold humor would laugh at this scene right now, if they knew who the two were. A man that caused fear and planted Chaos where ever he went when he was still in the Organization, now shaken by his new found emotions and the presence of the man he once served as a nobody. The Somebody wasn't sure how to handle this situation right now. He wasn't one to panic easily, but this man's presence was shaking him to his core, remembering all to well what he was capable off, last time he saw him. This man had single handedly corrupted worlds and people for more than 80 years, only to obtain the power of Kingdom Hearts. This man was the root of all evil, or so many people had thought for a very long time. He didn't like the presence of his man here at all. It was like a bad omen. A nightmare that just wouldn't stop haunting him, that suddenly came to life this night. He blinked, not leaving his defensive stance though, when Xehanort came closer, pushing the head of his weapon to the side. Lauriam was on guard, ready to attack, should the man try anything. He was saying a few things Lauriam didn't understand at first. It could all be a trick, as far as he knew. The man summoned his weapon and placed it.. on the table? What was he trying to do right now?
"The Eye is gone, I gave it up, passed it on. I've things left to do, but not with the Eye on my back. I've not come to make a victim or witness of you- Just to talk."
He was here to talk? Lauriam slowly moved down the weapon, not releasing it though. His expression was changing from fear into neutrality slowly, though there was a certain flash of anger in his eyes. “.... You want to talk? It's hard to believe you just came here to have chat with a person who's live you have controlled for more than a year.”
He balled his hand into his fist, growling slightly. “Not to mention, invade his personal quarters like this...”
This was not sitting well with Lauriam at all. This whole situation was making his heart beat like crazy and it almost made Lauriam wish, he still didn't have one, to make it more easy for him to 'accept' the presence of this man. He had really hoped he as gone for good now, but it always seemed like Xehanort found a way to slither out of death's cold grip. “What.. do you want from me?”
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Post by xehanort on Mar 16, 2020 12:21:03 GMT -5
Oddly enough, the note of privacy was the first thing to truly offend the old Master. "You seem to think there was a better method," Xehanort observed. "Perhaps you'd rather I prowl the crowds, stay in the light? News of my arrest would surely reach you quickly enough." He glanced down to the assassin's weapon, recalling how little hesitation there was in raising it. "...And with all that's happened, I'm sure you'd not have fled had you seen me on the street." Xehanort shook his head, tossing off the momentary anger that nearly had him raising his voice. Now was now the time to be upset about valid concerns.
When he opened his eyes again, there was a business behind them, a whirling of thoughts that didn't fit such a sure-stepped fellow as him. Someone who had defied the tremendously sleighted odds of survival on so many occasions may not have had much of a right to show doubt in the face of basic conversation. "Not much, only... a chance to put my thoughts in the open, to talk through them with another ear. I passed through the hands of many a master and mentor, you see, and recent events have shed a new light on the ideas of theirs which shaped my bleak perception of our bickering Worlds. Both their views and my own have been brought into question, and pondering it all alone is... confusing. Tiring, even." Xehanort put his hands up in a vague approximation of a shrug, shaking his head in concession of defeat. Though the gesture was shown to Lauriam, he was really only forfeiting against the limitations of his own mind, and his own patience, both of which had seen bolstering over the years only to prove inadequate now.
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Post by Lauriam on Mar 18, 2020 6:42:00 GMT -5
I am coming for you. Please wait for me.
Lauriam raised an eyebrow, listening and watching the man in silence. Was that sarcasm he was hearing? What was Xehanort up to? Was this real? Was this whole act and choice of words one without a hidden evil intent? He just narrowed his eyes once the other was finished with his scolding. The part after the rambling was getting more interesting though, Lauriam watching every move and action he made with a uncertain expression on his face. What was he trying to do? Why would Xehanort chose him of all people to talk to? Something about all of this was rather odd and it was unnerving Lauriam. He usually was able to read people easily, but this man was a mystery and the contrast to how he held before and now was night and day. All of it could be an act and if it was, he was very convincing in playing the new role.
Lauriam dismissed his weapon, crossing his arms in front of him, eyes now turning to look at the keyblade on the table as he thought about everything for a moment. “.. I figured someone or something must have started all this. No one is born evil, but they are made what they are by others.”
Lauriam's face twisted into disgust for a moment by some memories that returned to him, only to be brushed away and replaced by a neutral expression again. “So you are questioning your believes you have been holding on to for such a long time? Death currently changes someones view, doesn't it?” He chuckled at his own cruel joke, but it was a bitter laugh, his eyes darkening as he looked into those yellow eyes in front of him. Those eyes he had once had himself. “You could have chosen many others you have met in your life to talk to. Why me of all people? There must be something only I can give you? Or was it just a random selection? You would actually disappoint me, would it be the last. Someone as you is not one to chose blindly.”
As he thought about it for a moment longer, his eyebrows would move up again, an idea seeming to have struck his mind. “...my work. My current search. That is why you chose to talk to me.”
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Post by xehanort on Mar 26, 2020 23:37:20 GMT -5
He was quiet when his Lauriam criticized his masters. Even if he agreed that mistakes were made, and that certain views had been proven wrong, Xehanort could never bring himself to call any of them 'evil'. Even he was doing those things to make the Worlds better, and he still felt a tremendous respect for anyone with the constitution to make those hard choices, whether they be right or wrong in the end. He wouldn't fight the words, though- It wasn't a battle worth starting, especially with someone who was clearly still hurting from all that happened. Xehanort had learned the art of passivity, and this was one such time he'd put it to use.
It was more than a bit uncomfortable hearing the previous assassin's work through his thoughts. In a way, it felt like he was being mocked, as if calling him 'someone like you' was a jab as some kind of poor decision making. They were weighted half-questions, and they stung. Still, Xehanort didn't dare falter from his previous servant's reclaimed eyes. He had no right to back away from earned dissent, and so he was direct and honest when the accusation came. "In a way, yes," he started. "Rather than picking the fruits of your work, however, I offer my help in moving it along. Two eyes only see so much. When my mind is set, and my deeds are done, then I will be without the purpose that drove me to challenge the realms and their guardians."
Perhaps he was in no place to barter favors. "I owe you a great deal already," Xehanort admitted, "for work done willingly and otherwise. Through this, I intend to repay that debt and settle my own matters, so..." To a degree, it should have been embarrassing, practically begging for work like some alleybound peasant. For Xehanort, though, there was no bigger blunder than what failures he had already committed. He had no shame anymore. He held a hand out in an official offer to shake and accept his deal. "Will you hear me?"
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Post by Lauriam on Mar 31, 2020 9:06:13 GMT -5
I am coming for you. Please wait for me.
The once called assassin looked at the other, still looking for any signs of evil within the man in front of him. Something he might do to uncover what he was truly trying to do here. A hidden sinister motive behind those actions, but Lauriam couldn't find anything. Xehanort was good in playing a role. A true master of manipulation. He had seen what a single man like him could do to the worlds, even if it took him many years and many vessels to get what he wanted. Such endurance would be something one would call Respectable... would the outcome not have been so destructive.
Lauriam watched Xehanort's movements when he talked, his eyes trailing of to the keyblade on the desk for a moment, before they would return to the man in front of him, a hand stretched out to him. An offering of peace? And an offering to help? It was so strange hearing it from the old master and his eyes narrowed dangerously as they focused on the man's hand, stretched out in a sign of forgiveness.
“So you want to offer your help as a sign of redemption? To make peace with yourself?”, he spoke his thoughts and conclusion to the other. “The road you have chosen to take might be the hardest you ever walked...” He looked at the keyblade again, seeming to think about the whole matter once more. It was a dangerous game he was willing to play. He would not let himself be manipulated by the man again or anyone else. He should kill him right here and now, but would that really be the right thing to do? It won't bring back the fallen and it won't change the past. Xehanort was not the real root of evil in this twisted story and Lauriam knew that. He sighed slightly, closing his eyes for a moment. “I am willing to listen to you, but I hope you understand that the trust you wish for is not gained so easily just by shaking hands and feeling sorry about the past. I am sure you know that, already.”
Lauriam moved up his hand and brushed the one in front of him away, giving Xehanort a small glare. “I won't shake your hand, until I feel like I can truly trust you.” He moved to the desk and sat down on his chair, pointing at the other chair in the room, offering it to Xehanort.
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Post by xehanort on Apr 12, 2020 7:46:09 GMT -5
Though the words still hurt- They'd hurt anyone, even somebody whose heart was seen so black as his -the impact was dulled by the fact that Xehanort was far more prepared after the first round of verbal slugs. The Master's offer of peace couldn't have possibly been enough to cut through Lauriam's tempered hate. After all, even the warrior servant Lauriam once became had never been truly amicable. Xehanort understood that dissent and hoped that it wouldn't make its wielder too stubborn. Workmates, equal or otherwise, were useless if not cooperative.
He had plenty of carrots to give for good behavior, though, and he saw no point in bothering with the stick part of the routine. His hand dropped and he turned his attention away from the suggestion and his eyes away from his partner's. "I'll brief you on the story, then- It's a short one, easily summarized. I'll waste no time." He stepped over to the table where he had left his Keyblade, choosing not to confront the half-rejection when it was better to focus on the practical components of their deal. "Imagine a boy, later a man, and perhaps further on a zombie or shell, and in growing he takes up a special sort of path. It runs along those most take, but his takes less-wandered turns through and around the straight ways, dipping into a number of truths and observations that most have ignored. Those walking that straight path only have their destination in mind, but his is a dark road which crosses over with the light only to provide a distant vantage from which to observe it."
"Bordered by the shadows, he never sees the light quite so brightly as the rest. He saw too much darkness. His tutors could only teach him so much when the worlds were his masters..." Xehanort had sped on through his words, immersing himself in his story in an almost careless manner, freely spelling out the vague plot of this supposedly fictional tale. "...And then, he constructs a theory. He believes that those Worlds can never truly escape the dark. They are tarnished, impure in a way that can never be cleansed unless the whole thing is set to fire, burnt away to leave none of its tainted corpse behind." He put his hand on the shaft of the weapon, quietly recalling something he had said once before. "An empty world, pure and bright."
Another short moment of hesitation, and he let his explanation take a turn. "But there is a flaw in his thinking. All of it comes back to his belief that the people in it, good as some may be, could never be so pure in their Heart that they could truly uproot the clinging darkness. Worlds, hearts, men- They all begin in darkness, and all so end, and with this cycle repeating so, so, so infuriatingly quickly, no one person could ever live in the ideals of the light for long enough to perfect it. He knew he would die long before he could find a perfect solution, and so instead he chose to burn the lot down in whole. Whoever came next could build it better, with none of his darkness to stop them.
"And then, in the end, he fails," Xehanort concluded. "Even his failsafe plan was brought down by the weakness of men and the strength of children. He perished, reluctant, but content knowing that, at the very least, his darkness would disappear, and though everything was fleeting and men would return to the dark in time, their days in the light would be enough if there truly was no alternative. In the end, that was his new theory."
He took some time to collect himself before reaching the end of the story. "Imagine, then, that there is an alternative. It has yet to be conceived, and by all means no man should ever live long enough to do so, nor would his knowledge ever be so perfectly preserved as to allow perfect study in the future through which to achieve the same- No known means, that is." He turned back to Lauriam, his eyes shining in a way that his once-servant would never have seen from the nihilist who built the Organization. "Through the proper will, and through the proper means, and through perfect understanding of the elements in play, someone was able to bring this failure from what should have been his end. In theory, if one were to recreate the procedure, it could be done again." Xehanort faced Lauriam properly again, his story complete and his theory made plain. "You can bring her back," he said. "It's been done before- Three times, by my count, and it can be done again."
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Post by Lauriam on Apr 24, 2020 16:00:02 GMT -5
I am coming for you. Please wait for me.
The ex-wielder would be lying if he said he was not nervous about the old man being in the same room with him. Others would have tried to throw him out, run or actually attack him at the spot, not wanting to listen at one word he had to say. They would most likely think that he had no right to speak even one word to him, after what he had done to the worlds and so many people with his actions. Don't listen to him, his mind would tell him over and other. It's a trap. One of his manipulations. Part of him really wanted to believe that there was no light in this tainted heart. Nor human emotions or anything else one would consider a 'human trait', except his outer shell. So the question was, why was he listening to him, knowing he shouldn't? It was not curiosity, perse. He wanted to understand this man... he wanted to know what had made him to this creature he was now. Lauriam knew that no man was born evil.
He listened to what Xehanort had to say, the inner voice telling him to be careful never stopping to nag him, though. It shed some light on a few questions Lauriam had about the man and once he was finished, Lauriam would adjust himself on the chair, leaning forward and putting his hands on his knees, looking at the man with a rather neutral expression. “I see.. so that was your motive. The thing that drove you to go so far.”
This man was very intelligent. He asked himself questions none other would. Well, Lauriam had known he was smart without hearing the whole story. He had seen what one man could accomplish with such a powerful drive.
The last bit was making him frown though, his eyes darkening slightly at the mention of a 'her'. “You are informed about me?... Or did you come up with that conclusion yourself? What drives me is not just the memory about one person close to my heart, Xehanort.”
The hands on his knees started to hold onto to them a little more, knuckles turning slightly whiter from the increasing grip. The memory of his sister was a very painful one.... “They didn't just take her future, but that of hundreds of innocent children. No.. This is about everything that happened till this day.”
He shook his head slightly. “What you aimed for was the future. I am aiming to change the past. Something that started this all. The first war....” He slowly leaned back into his chair now, hands relaxing again as he sighed. “Am I understanding correctly... that you are offering to teach me to do what you are able to? Move through time? And the bigger question is: What is the payment you desire for sharing this knowledge?”
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