Red Pill, or Blue? (Roxas)

Bounce. Bounce. Catch. Bounce. Bounce....

A single laugh managed to force its way out from a hidden mouth, as that ball froze in its mid-air spot like the rest of the world. "Real. Fake. Phoney? Is there a difference anymore?" He asked nonchalantly to the already confused boy. After all, in a world of Somebodies, Replicas, and Nobodies....terrible, terrible word by the way. Oxymoron much? But yes...in a world with all these 'classifications', what was real anymore? Before the 'Keyblade's Chosen One' could muster a reply however, a single finger casually rose to shush any utterance. "Ah ah, wait for it...." 

The air seemed to electrify ever so slightly, like a power source trying to spark desperately back to life. Flickers of movement could be made out all around, before refreezing right back to their previous spots over and over until, like the rust shaken off ancient gears, all was well and returned to 'normal.' 

Normal...aside from the missing hooded figure and his ball. The alleyway was empty, vacant, unoccupied, WITHOUT A STRANGER! A few moments were allowed to let the shock sink in, before a gloved finger tapped the boy's shoulder intently from behind a few times, back arched forward ever so slightly so his voice could reach the youth's ear with better projection and...surprise. "Didn't your mother tell you not to talk to strangers?"

Hands calmly went and clasped behind him as his back straightened up, standing in one place for the moment as he allowed Ven--...nooooo nooo....Roxas to react. "Didya forget? I wouldn't blame ya. Memory's a funny thing. Without it things start to get...screwy." He said with an outstretched arm beholding the all around that was once frozen in time. Both minds and data relied on memory to live functional lives. When you don't have enough, things get...complicated. 

Heels turned swiftly as a hand waved casually before going straight back behind his back once more, black boots making their march away from the youth. "Anyways, remember to listen to your folks. Stay in school. Don't do drugs. Have fun, Roxas." 


@tapir

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The Master blinked behind Roxas once the simulation unfroze due to Low Memory. Cooldown 0/1. 

Questions and more questions that were only left unanswered as boots made their steady march away. Back was a perfect straight, shoulders calm and relaxed, as if the weight of the worlds and the apocalypse itself couldn't make a mark on that posture. Despite the renewed hustle and bustle of the day to day Twilight Towners, it was the sounds of one curious and confused boys shoes that mattered the most to the hooded master. 

His pace didn't change, forcing the boy to keep up if he wanted to get answers. And 'answers' he'd get...though that was quite a strong choice of words. 

"Mom and Dad already gave you 'the talk', right? Man I hope so, I really, really hope so. Didn't come all this way just to have to tell you the birds and bees." As if on cue, the march ceased for but a moment as a bumble bee buzz buzz buzzed away from a potted flower nestled outside a window that the rambling stranger decided to leisurely bend over to sniff, before suddenly restarting that walk. "Though you'd be better off asking when I come from. But that there noodle's scrambled enough as it is. Better save that for another time. You've got a very important role, would be a shame to not see to it because your head went KABLAM!" Arms flailed wildly at that last word, narrowly missing a passerby or two. Disgusted looks and mutters under ones breath galore. Still, on he walked. 

"If you reeeeeeeaally wanna know, I'll let you in on a little secret. I came from out there." The march ceased, as arm outstretched itself without warning, a single gloved finger pointing out to the beautiful orange sky. "The real there. Sorry to say buddy, but everything you think you know, everything around you...the cereal you eat for breakfast, the friends you hang out with, the air you breath..." Heels turned as arms rested behind once more, steps being taken closer and closer to the boy before he hunched down eeeeverrrr so slightly. "It's all just an illusion." 

And there was that rare seriousness, followed by a silence to let it all sink in...before heels turned once more, arms moving about every so often as the casualness returned to squash the moment. "A trick. A fake. One big ol' fat phoney. Bummer, huh? Buuut...someone had to burst the bubble eventually...even if it is the second time."

As if nothing had happened at all, on went his leisure walk, confidence oozing as he fully expected to have the boy's undivided attention...for now. Was now really the best time for a change of subject? Probably not, but there was another question unanswered. "Now as for how I know about you weeell....you could say I have an eye on a lot of things. You, just happened to be one of them."

Out of the countless glances into the future, something really stuck out about this little fireball. No no no, the whole carbon copy of a certain Dandelion was obvious. Neato. But that wasn't what caught the enigmatic master's attention. It wasn't the two blades. Freakin' sweet but....nope. There was a fire in him. A drive that even made the other two boys seem less...ferocious?

At last, it seemed he had reached his destination, for the time being anyway. A simple ice cream vendor's cart, with a tad few people in line ahead of him. With a casual streeeetch of his arms and back as he waited, a lightbulb went off inside beneath that shadowy hood. "Now then, I know it's all quite a lot to take in, but it wasn't easy pinning you down. So you can imagine I'd be pretty peeved if I came all the way out here for nothing, so I'm only gonna ask this once. That way, I know there's still something salvageable in that noggin."

With the rate he was going, one might expect the next words out of that unseen mouth to be what ice cream the boy wanted. But instead...the seriousness crept back up. "Can you feel Sora?"


@tapir

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Blink Cooldown: 1/1

Catharsis, partial or not, was a powerful force. It ebbed through bodies and hearts like a rushing river after desolation, rain after drought. Painful it may be, it allowed for release, reprieve, and regrowth. And the one who sparked this chain and flood of emotions and memories did so perhaps like...a parent. A father, stern but caring, having to rip and tear the band-aid off an infected wound so that it may heal fully, and not fester any longer. A merciful father....

.........except no such moment occurred, for the Master of Masters had his back turned towards the crumbling youth shortly after his coat was gripped and grabbed. For here was what really transpired. It was fleeting, but for one of the few times in his eccentric life, the Master was...surprised, even for the tiniest fractions of a second, as rage-filled fingers gripped tight into the black material of his coat, threats starting to seethe through gritted teeth, only for said grip to loosen as the child went on a literal trip down memory lane. The whole incident earned the scornful glares of parents and grandparents alike, who shielded their false children away from the shrugging, not entirely innocent man. Instead, his attention went straight back to the ice cream vendor as the line got shorter and shorter in that short span of time...

...no attention was paid to that answer, no gaze was given to stare at the broken former XIII as he bled on the false stone. Instead the hooded man was seemingly too focused on his ice cream, the slightest of gasps escaping him as he temporarily ceased a discussion with the jolly fat ice cream man. "Didya say something? Sorry, wasn't listening. You're gonna have to speak up." He said with almost cold casualness despite the gravity of the situation, and his seeming desire mere moments before FOR said answer. "Yeah that's right, two. Heeere ya go, thaaank you." Munny was exchanged as the first of two cyan ice cream sticks was withdrawn, before being handed to the black coated man. 

"Here's one-one-one-one, heh." 

.....a single tilt of his head soon lead to a swift dismissal of that odd stutter, gloved fingers gripping the wood beneath the sea salt ice cream tight, before spinning around and hunching over, reaching his arm out to give the delicious treat to the poor, poor boy. "You look like you could use this. Hold this for me, will ya? Good boy." He said with a overly-casual rub of the boy's spikey hair, before spinning back for his own ice cream. 

"And here's two-two-two-twooooooooooooooo---" And just like that, with a shudder that seemed to spread across the entire world around them like stones falling into a pond, the world refroze...even worse, his ice cream was still stuck in the man's hands. "No....no no NO NO!!!" Gloved digits dug into frozen flesh, trying to wedge the stick free to no avail, as a single leg was planted against the car, boot bracing itself to gain more leverage as he pulled and pulled and PULLED! "I paid good munny for this!" The frustration was beyond evident. On and on he went until he finally managed to force the wood up up up out of the frozen fat man's fist...the coated stranger audibly panting heavily as he spun around once more, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder as it seemed like the man was ready to, for lack of a better term, pass out.

"Gaaaah....gaaaah....gaaaaaah........now where were we?" He asked, his breath 'coincidentally' already caught back as his tone returned to its usual unusualness. "How bout a change of scenery?" He said as fingers warmly gripped that shoulder ever so slightly tighter, like a parent keeping their child safe. "You're confused. You're angry. But I know just the place. Stay close---" 

The very world seemed to rush around at many...many times the speed of light. For the untrained mind, the world was still spinning...rapidly, oh so very, VERY rapidly. Even 'great' masters like Xehanort could only use this technique for a few feet at most. But this was...far more distance. Gone was the market, replaced with somewhere very high. Where the sun beat down just right. Where two sets of memories coalesced into one happy friendship stew. 

The usual place. 

"...ok now you don't need to stay close." He said as fingers released that firm yet oddly warm grip, boots casually making their way to the edge before plopping down, legs dangling over the edge...and a hand pat pat patting the empty space next to him, all of Twilight Town beneath them. 

"Something you wanna talk about?" He asked genuinely as he began to get to work on nibbling at that delectable desert. Was this another trick? Another ploy? Another moment where he'd just ignore everything said? Did he even care? 

....did it even matter?

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Master of Masters blinked both himself and Roxas to the Twilight Town Clock Tower. Cooldown: 0/1


@tapir

"Daaah aaahp, that's where you're wrong kiddo." The hooded man retorted swiftly, easing himself to his feet, popsicle already finished as the wooden stick was twirled between fingers like a minuscule baton, boots both carelessly and carefully keeping him from falling off the edge as he waltzed step after step. "It's only JUST starting!" He exclaimed as hands and arms 'exploded' up and out to over-emphasize his point, heels turning to start the slow walk along the edge back to the doubting boy. 

"Ya see, I told you, that you have a role. And I don't mean to brag but, I'm kinda never wrong about this sorta thing. Call it fate, call it destiny, call it a prophecy, doesn't matter what you call it. There are some biiiig things coming up champ, and you're gonna be part of it." He said with a index finger pointed straight at the blondie. 

Yes.

You.

"Looook look look look look...I get it. I do. Strange guy walks in to your life and goes, you! You're the chosen one! You're thinking the guys a loon, or you're going crazy. You're dreaming, you'll go to sleep, and wake up the next day same old same old. Right? But that's just because of the ol' hat rack. Thinker's on the fritz, but the heart knows what's going on. It's just like what I always tell people. Listen to your heart above all else. Logic, memories, senses, all good things....buuut they don't always work the way you want them to. I get it."

Heels turned halfway out towards the sun, the featureless hood repelling the rays trying to reveal that mysterious face. 

"It's easier to live in a world like this where everything makes sense...most of the time. You'd rather things be easy. But if everything was easy then there'd be no need for people like you and me, right? Things can't always be simple and clean cut, not everyone gets a sanctuary from all the bad bad things. But you can't think twice about this. Think once, and only once. Long and hard if you have to, and then listen to your heart. Otherwise you'll always be doubting, always questioning."

Heels turned once more, this time to steadier ground and stone, away from the edge, before gloved fingers snapped, a chill hissing through the air as churning violet and dreadful black swirled and swirled into existence away from the duo. A Corridor of Darkness. "Honestly wish there was some pill I could give you, really something to just wake you up from all this. But like I said. It's never easy for us champ. Doesn't matter what you say or do today, you're leaving this place someday. What I'm offering..."

Another snap of fingers, and a warmth wormed its way through the chilled breeze, white and light violet begot a more bright and harmonious portal opposite of the Dark. A Corridor of Light. 

"Is a shortcut. Don't think of it as cheating more like...another path to the same destination. Just quicker."

Hands retreated and rested behind his coat, as he allowed his lengthy speech to settle in as the portals hummed in opposition to each other in their idle states. 

"Way I see it, you got two choices. Option A, I walk on out of here, you forget all of this, and eventually you get out of here one day." He said as he pointed towards the darker, more sinister of the two portals. 

"Orrrr Choice Two. You crawl out of the rabbit hole and see what you've been missing out on." He said as he beheld the Corridor of Light. 

Heels sloooowly turned back towards the boy, a single foot raised up off the ground ever so slightly, tilting upwards. Arms folded, and hooded head tilted. "Weeeeeell?"

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Master of Masters conjured up both a Corridor of Darkness and a Corridor of Light

@tapir

It was just too tantalizing to resist. Seeing the boy not walk but run towards his promise of venturing out into the real. The coated master would stare silently, letting youthful feet carry themselves with haste, letting them get as close as possible to the glittering, glistening portal of light, letting fingers just barely graze the ethereal glow...before dissipating both Corridors abruptly with a snap of his finger, allowing the eager child to meet stone and brick that awaited him immediately behind his vanished path to freedom. 

There was a brief moment of silence that was soon cut short by repressed laughter. The kind that starts in your nose as you desperately hold back what's trying to escape, getting louder and louder before the Master could hold it in no more, erupting into a fit of crying hysteria, arms folding and holding his sides tight. "BAHAHAHHAHAAHAahaha ohh ohhhhahaha, ohhh I'm sorry I'm sorhahaha, I just couldnt helhahahaha, OHH my sides, OHHHHAHAHAAHA--"

What interrupted the laughter was the slip from the ledge from the backpedaling boots. With a flip on over, it seemed the male had met his untimely end from a careless mistake...only for his voice to pop up behind the boy's ear. 

"You're eager. I like that. But I need something a little more tangible than eagerness champ. I said this was an offer, not a freebie." Hands rested calmly behind his back with relaxed shoulders as he heel turned away as always, slowly stepping to add some distance between the duo. "Not asking for much. Don't want Munny. Not the clothes off your back. Your immortal soul. Yada yada blah blah blah. What I want from you is simple."

Heels turned around once more, as the man made his slow, intent filled steps back towards Roxas. "Just one, teeny tiny, iiiitsy bitsy....favor." A gloved thumb and index finger got closer and closer towards eachother to hammer down home his point. "That's all. An IOU to cash in. Just one and done. No fine print, no catch. Promise me that, and you're out of here. Lickety-split."

Two steps were taken back as he kept his front to the boy, an arm outstretching itself, along with a balled fist...and then a pinkie. 

A pinkie promise.

"Whaddya say?"

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Master of Masters evaporated the Corridors

Master of Masters blinked behind Roxas after falling off the Clocktower. Cooldown: 0/1

@tapir

A single soft and mirthful laugh, while a gloved pinkie curled and hooked back tightly and firmly, belying his harmless appearance and giving a glimpse at untold strength and power beneath that coat. 

"Noooo backsies." The strange man forewarned, unhooked his pinkie from the boy and resting his hands behind his back as he waltzed back over to the edge of the clocktower, staring out into the distance. Out at the hustle and bustle of the false town below, out at the glistening, ever shining imitation that was the sun. One might assume they were about to be bombarded by more jokes and nonsense...but the next words out of the coated man's mouth carried a far different tone. There was a seriousness and wisdom to them that much befitted someone of his supposed standing. 

"The world you're about to enter is going to look a lot like this one. You're going to see a lot of familiar faces, people that you think are your friends or rivals. But they're not going to know you. Don't ever forget. This world was never what you thought it was. Everything that's ever happened here, only happened to you."

Heels slowly turned back around as the man made his march back to the youth, a hand placing it's reassuringly on his shoulder. "You're going to be more confused than you've ever been. You might even doubt which memories are real, and which aren't." That same hand gripped ever so slightly. "Find Namine. She'll get this sorted out. Just like last time." 

Ever cryptic, the man left it at that, as he released the child and made his way back to the edge again. "This isn't the only world either. There're others. Dotting the night sky as far as the eye can see. Each world brings new faces, and new dangers. You hold a power that's going to attract that danger, no matter how hard try to avoid it. Some will come from the darkest depths, others will walk in the light..."

The hooded head idly turned back to glance at the boy, before a tiny jolt of surprise shook that coated body.

"Oh right." 

With a casual snap of his fingers, the warm portal was reopened, the swirls and churns of light almost singing harmoniously as the man turned to face the boy one final time, a gloved hand placing itself on his coated chest. 

"May your heart be your guiding key. Best of luck, Roxas."

The age-old saying that was no doubt lost on the boy, the farewell seemed to shift back to his usual unusualness towards the end. 

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Master of Masters reopened the Corridor of Light.

@tapir