[CLOSED] how could I ever think it's funny

[darknessinzero]

Who: Ansem and Xehanort, later Vexen. Also Special Guest Elidibus!
Where: Quiet Car, later elsewhere
When: Llama 21
What: Ansem informs Xehanort of his actions upon others, and offers him a choice.
Warnings: Horrible Decisions and Regret. Highlight the following for spoilers, but this is a heavy log and has some heavy content. CW for manipulation, attempted murder/suicide via poisoning, and talk of trauma/death/etc.

Ansem's memories were coming back in time on their own. Mostly, they came dreamlike, in slow bits and patches that he was eventually able to connect to others for a larger pictures. Occasionally, though, there was a sudden connection, a sudden flash; most often, these came upon a familiar action or face.

Such as Xehanort's own.

After speaking with others, learning more- it was, perhaps, no surprise that the memories that surfaced afterwards were ones primarily connected with the other man. His apprenticeship. His betrayal. His actions on to others- and Ansem himself, trapped in darkness, with only anger and rage to sustain him. Letting it drive him once he escaped to spread further harm to others, all in the name of revenge...

He could not change the past. He knew that. But...perhaps. Perhaps one could keep it from repeating.

And so he sought out the other, first checking his room, then the library- and then, as he moved past through the quiet car, he happened to glance through a window and find him. Well. That was convenient. A light rap on the door, and-

"Xehanort- I'd like to speak with you, please."

Comments

[mustknow]

There had always been, if anyone knew what to look for, little hints of the Heartless and Nobody he would become. He himself doesn't know either one enough to try to avoid any familiar and unpleasant habits, and so makes no such efforts. It's as close to normal as he can hope for, given all that had happened, and it's likely Xehanort's not really thinking about it at all, merely reacting. "The caffeine would not have simply evaporated over the course of a few minutes," he points out relentlessly - it's not really about having an argument, or being right, or being wrong, or harassing Even specifically. It never was.

After another moment or two, it fades, as it must. Things were different, would never be the same again. Forgetting even for a moment could lead to disaster. "...I begin to suspect you just want to oust me from my quiet room." Though he'd probably by now been there for hours, and other people might well want to make use of it, and thus ousting him is perfectly fair.

So Xehanort stands abruptly, managing to NOT unseat the icepack somehow in the doing; there's really no way that it will ever not look ridiculous but surely he'll remove it at some point, or at least before being seen by anyone else. "The headache will pass in time. Or rigorous application of aspirin, whichever happens first." He's pretty sure he knows where a medical car is, so raiding it might be a good idea..

[thawed_pride]

This banter is familiar, in a way that Even's heart had formerly been too focused on the rage and pain of betrayal to even acknowledge he missed. Yes, there might be hints of the Heartless and Nobody in him...but he had also seen hints of the old Xehanort in the Heartless. Hints that he hadn't even considered to hope were signs his friend had been real, and that parts of him might still exist.

But even so, an awkward tension still exists between them, and it shows in the way he tenses at Xehanort's sudden movement. It's brief, only long enough to process what the other man is doing, but it's still something he never did before.

"Please, I've had plenty of time to myself here while you've slept. If anything, I expect to busy myself a few doors over. I've a chemistry lab to assemble."

He drains his coffee, then stands. He winces slightly as his stiff back protests, but there's not much he can do about it at the moment. Most likely, the soreness will fade once he finally gets a chance to properly relax from the days of stress and uncertainty.