voidtreckerexpress | Lining up the Kingdom Hearts ducks

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taiki [ou]

Lining up the Kingdom Hearts ducks

Who: The Kingdom Hearts people + possibly Taiki in one prompt
When: Various times throughout the month of Symphony
Where: Various places around the train
What: Getting things done that should be done before things come to a head
Warnings: Given this crew, probably some feelings and a bit of angst, maybe mentions of less than pleasant canon events

Making Wayfinders- Lea, Xion, Roxas, possibly Kairi and/or Taiki (Art Car)

"OK, looks like we've got everything," Lea said, looking at the various supplies laid out on the table. "Shells obviously, craft wire, string, a needle to poke holes with, and a little something special I've been saving in my pocket for just this sort of occasion." He reached into his pocket and laid a handful of multi-hued voidstone pebbles on the table amidst the rest of the items. "We forgetting anything?"

Memory Backup- Lea, Xion, Vexen (Lab Car)

If Vexen was awake and not eating, chances were pretty good he could be found in the lab car. Sometimes he could be found there even when he was eating or sleeping, both of which Lea found to be highly questionable in terms of Vexen's usual harping about lab safety, especially the latter; he was seriously considering hiding Vexen's notes and equipment if it kept up. But he wasn't there to pester Vexen yet again about his poor self-care habits.
No, today he had brought a likely very nervous Xion to talk to her dad about a very specific issue she'd been concerned about. Or well, hopefully for her to talk to him. More likely Lea would do most of the actual talking. "Hey, Vexen?", he said as they approached. "If you're not too busy, there's something Xion and I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Bros being bros- Lea and Roxas (Starting in Standard Car, maybe wandering)

It was rare to see Roxas out and about without Xion, but that's exactly what Lea spotted in the Standard car. Roxas had his back to him just then, so Lea couldn't quite see what he was doing when he was sitting there, but he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to have some one on one time with his best friend. "Hey, Roxas," he greeted him as he approached, "What's up? Not often I see you by yourself these days."

Magic Questions- Lea and Vexen (Lab Car)

It was late in the evening, but Vexen was still working away on something or other in his lab, to Lea's complete lack of surprise. But tonight, at least, it was a good thing, because it meant that Lea could talk to him without a bunch of people potentially listening in. Not that anything he had to say was bad, really, just... maybe a bit weird, some of it. He wasn't quite sure; he just knew the idea of asking some of the things he wanted to ask in front of others felt a bit awkward.

Thus he came bearing two mugs- one of coffee, for Vexen, and one of tea, for himself- and entered the not-so chilly academic's domain. "Hey Vexen," he said. "Got a minute?"

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Taiki was quiet, sat around the table with the others. He had been surprised but honoured to be invited to make these with them. And he liked crafts, even if he had never made anything like this before.

"I think so..."

He wouldn't really know what else needed to go on a wayfinder, but it seemed Lea had worked hard on gathering materials.

Xion looked up at Axel curious. How would she know if they were missing anything? Because they were in the art car instead of their cabin or a quiet car she had her hood up, but she knew her friends knew her well enough to be able to understand her anyway.

Roxas peers at the pebbles. "What are these for?"

He's still not entirely sure about the wayfinders, only that Axel has described them as similar to Kairi's good luck charm. Apparently Ventus and his group had them. Not that he had spent too much time paying attention to what Ventus was wearing during their fight...

"They're little bits of Voidstone," Lea said. "Been hanging onto them since the first Void Nexus we visited; I figured we could put them in the center, where all the shells meet. They're supposed to help transmit thoughts and emotions, so I figured they'd be perfect for this. Plus, given where we are, I figured it'd be appropriate, you know?"

"Ah yes. They are meant to hold memories."

Which made voidcraft very fascinating indeed. "It's a good idea..."

Considering everything, to have something that would help them remember, in the middle of their wayfinders.

Thoughts and emotions...? Well she could do one of those. But when Taiki speaks, her head shot up and she stared at him for a moment before staring at the stones again. She picked one up and studied it.

Meant to hold memories...

Roxas' eyes widen. "So it's like putting our emotions and memories into the Wayfinders?" A way to guarantee they wouldn't forget their time here even if they were all from different timelines? Maybe it would help reassure Xion about her own timeline worries.

Lea nodded. "That's the general idea," he said. "And with the help of a little magic I picked up in Diatu, it'll help reinforce the special connection the charms are meant to represent. It'll be proof that no matter what, no matter where we go or what happens, our hearts will always be connected."

Taiki smiled softly. He likes that idea. Their hearts will always be connected, no matter what.

"How do we make them, Lea?"

"How... do we put the memories in to keep them? Can we see each other's?" she asked, then realized that she was talking at the same time as Taiki. She shrank back a bit.

Roxas notices that gesture and tries to knock against Xion's shoulder reassuringly. "We have to make the paopu shape first, right? That's one of the important parts." He has enough remainders of Sora's memories to know that. "Should we paint the shells first? To make our own special colors." That's how Ventus and his friends did it, right?

"I don't think we can see each other's memories," Lea said. "At least not with our own stones. Maybe if we were holding one of the other people's we might see something, but I don't know exactly how it works. To put memories or feelings into it you just kind of... hold the stone and focus on the thoughts or emotions you want for a minute though, I think. That's how it worked on the Void hub."

Anyway, getting down to actually making them. "We can paint them afterwards if we want, but if we did that first, we'd have to wait for it to dry before we did anything else," he said. "The first thing we need to do is poke holes in the shells to run the string or wire through; that's the trickiest part since shells can be pretty fragile, but it's not too hard if you're careful."

"Here, I'll show you how Kairi showed me." Lea then proceeded to demonstrate how to carefully poke two holes in the part of the shell that would become the center point of one of the 'petals' using the needle. "There we go. We'll each need to do that for five shells. Don't worry if you accidentally break a few; we've got some extras."

"I don't know either..." He's not sure how the rocks work, but he can follow the instructions about poking holes in shells carefully enough.

Once Lea explains he gets to work, picking up the needle and beginning to work on the shell.

"Then..." she hesitated a moment, but then spoke up again. She wouldn't have if anyone else at all had been with them. "Then what if we held the stones each other was going to use? Then they're our memories in our stones but then we just... trade them? If we can choose which memories to put in... I... I wouldn't mind you seeing them," she said, then waited, afraid that they'd be upset at the idea. Maybe she shouldn't have said it. But... if she picked the memories, she really wouldn't mind sharing them. And seeing what her friends would choose to share with her....

He watches Axel carefully so he can manage the task without breaking anything. The first one doesn't go so well and cracks along the edge, which earns a disappointed frown. "Aw man." He glances at the remaining pile and selects what he hopes is a sturdier shell before trying again.

He's working on his second one, with much less breakage, when he lifts his head at Xion's question. "You want us to share our memories?"

He's not entirely against the idea. But he also remembers what happened last time him and Xion exchanged a few memories. Xion could obviously choose her own that she thought would be best to share. But he's no longer sure which of his would be good for that sort of thing...

Xion stayed close to Axel. Close and just a little behind, hiding as best she could in her coat and his shadow.

Vexen had made some progress on the self-care front, but had backslid since Ken left. Now, he's alternating between furiously studying information on Tethering copied from the Ministry's databases, and experimenting with weaving spells over his train-provided clothing. He's in the middle of the former when Lea and Xion walk in, and the way he squints as his eyes re-focus suggests he might have been staring at walls of text for a bit too long.

"I do have some research I'm working on, but nothing that cannot be paused long enough to answer a few questions."

Lea resisted the urge to sigh as Xion took up her usual position, half-hiding from him. Expected but still a little annoying under the circumstances. "Thanks," he said. "Given the way the train operates, Xion's been worried about what might happen to her. Not just physically, but this exact version of her with memories of Diatu and the train."

"So we were wondering... Xion was wondering-" He stepped aside slightly, giving Vexen a clearer view of Xion as he drew attention to her a bit. "-Whether it'd be possible to make some kind of backup copy of her memories? Something that could be re-uploaded or something if something were to happen."

"I... don't want to lose this me..." she said in almost a whisper. Lea could probably hear her. Unclear if Vexen stood a chance of making out what she said.

Her shoulders were hunched and she braced herself, as if awaiting the answer that she'd have to be disassembled or something worse.

He glances at Xion, thinking for a moment, then offers a soft smile and nod.

"Yes, I do believe that should be possible. I will need to run some scans, but we have equipment in Radiant Garden that can translate data back into memories."

"Was hoping you'd say that," Lea said. "You need me to do anything besides provide moral support?" Lea was no scientist, but if an extra set of hands or eyes was needed, he was more than willing to help out.

Her reaction... was probably not what either of them expected. She took a trembling step back. Then another. Terror filled her and could be seen from under her hood. Terror and sadness.

"The.... only way.... is to go back....?" she whispered. She turned to run and would have run smack into a wall but she opened a Dark Corridor as she spun. They'd have a second or so only to catch her before she fled.

"Hey!", Lea said, catching Xion's shoulder before she could cut and run. "Xion, you need to learn to actually pay attention to what people are saying. Vexen said they have the equipment back at the castle, yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't get it here too. Or something else that would serve the same purpose."

"And you really gotta stop having 'run away' be your immediate response to things getting difficult. This is something you want, right? To preserve these memories? Well then you can't just give up the first time you hit an obstacle. You want something, you gotta keep working for it, and if problems crop up, you need to figure out ways to solve them, not just give up immediately and run away. Got it memorized?"

She stumbled when he grabbed her shoulder, but didn't fight against it. She didn't know if he would knock her out over this or not. She didn't think so, but if he would, that meant he was trying to keep his friends with him, right? So... he wouldn't send her back... would he? She was terrified of the answer.

But his words helped calm her down some. They... could get the equipment here? She wouldn't have to go back? Was he sure?

Stupid question. This was Axel. If he said they could do it, they could do it. When he asked if this was something she wanted, she found herself nodding quickly. But when he said she had to keep trying, keep working for something if she wanted it, she looked up at him from under her hood.

That... never worked for her. She always needed help. When she couldn't summon her Keyblade, trying on her own hadn't helped, no matter how long she kept at it. She needed to use Roxas' Keyblade to remember how to use her own. Though now she knew it was because of how they were linked... but...

She didn't know how to keep trying to keep this her. She didn't know what she was supposed to do...

Roxas has never minded Xion being his shadow. It's a comfort to know where she is most of the time. So he doesn't have to have that fear of losing her again in the back of his mind. But sometimes his wanderlust takes hold of him when Xion wants to spend time with other people she's met here.

Today, it's led him to a few fashion magazines that someone left behind in one of the cars. He's flipping through them curiously when he recognizes Axel's voice and pops his head up.

"Axel." He considers his friend's words. "Well, I'm trying to help Xion through some things... But she's busy right now."

Lea nodded. "She'd mentioned she wanted to get a bit of training in," he said, sliding into the seat next to Roxas. "Guess I should be glad she's doing something besides holing up in the room, at least." Though he honestly wasn't sure whether he considered training a step forward or not.

He glanced down at what Roxas had been reading surprised when he saw what it was. "Fashion magazines? Never really pegged you for someone who was into that." Then it dawned on him. "Or is that what you were trying to help Xion with; the clothes thing?"

He doesn't seem bothered by the tease and holds up the magazine. "Actually, I wanted to try a few more things myself. So I can better understand why everyone's into this stuff. But if it makes Xion feel more comfortable experimenting, that's a good thing too." He's actually surprised Axel hasn't had more luck with that, given what he knows about Axel's own fashion choices. Though he's not sure he's ready for that much color yet.

"Well, if you've got a few spare points and feel like trying your luck, you can order different clothes from the train shop," Lea said. "What you get is pretty random though. I got an outfit I liked the one time I tried it, but I've seen people get some pretty weird stuff too."

"I'm honestly not sure why she's so attached to the coat and everything. I mean, if anything, she might have more reason to hate it than any of us, but she acts like she'll disappear or something if she takes it off. I dunno... can she really be that scared of any kind of change, even a change of clothes?"

Roxas sighs. "I haven't really had much chance to save up. The last missions we had have been kind of weird. Do you know if there's any odd jobs I can do around here?" Like that stuff he used to do back in Twilight Town. People should still need advertisements put up, mail delivered or storage cleaned up.

He leans back in his booth and sets down his magazine. "She keeps saying something about how she'll lose how she is and become someone else. I understand it but also don't. I just want her to feel free like the rest of us and stop being tied up in who everyone else made her think she was. She doesn't have to be a Nobody anymore."

"Unfortunately, getting points on the train doesn't work quite like that," Lea said. "At least not directly. Doing chores and being involved in life on the train and on missions seems to gain people more points, but no one's quite sure how the train determines who gets how many. I've got some saved up though, so I could order an outfit or two and just specify that it was for you, not me." As funny as watching Roxas try to wear clothes meant for him would be, it wasn't funny enough to spend points just for that.

"Yeah... I know what you mean, but I'm not sure what to do about it. I've been trying to get her to see that for two years now at this point; she's made a little progress, but she keeps clinging to everything and just... refusing to actually do anything that might help. She just sits there worrying everything to death. All the while thinking she can't actually worry, despite being told otherwise multiple times at this point."

"Maybe if we team up, we can come up with something? Two heads are better than one, and all that."

Roxas' eyes light up a bit. "You wouldn't mind doing that? That would be awesome, Axel. I'll find a way to pay you back!" Even if he knows wearing different clothes will keep taking a little adjustment, he's eager to figure out what he actually likes. Instead of having everyone else decide what he should wear. Though maybe he wouldn't mind hearing what Axel thinks would look cool on him... "Do you think you could give me some tips on what to order?"

He nods at Axel's understanding of the Xion situation. "I just want her to be happy. I know she's not if she's always worrying about messing up the future by wanting one for herself. But I don't know how to help her just enjoy... this." He gestures around them.

"Nah," Lea shrugged. "And don't worry about it. Not like I'm using them for much these days, so may as well use them to help a friend, right? Just fair warning though, if you want something specific, that's going to cost a little more. Going with something random is cheaper, but what you get is dumb luck; it could be something awesome, or it be something ridiculous."

"If you're looking for something specific to order though... I'd probably go for something comfortable and durable. Jeans and t-shirts or hoodies are usually a good bet. Really stuff that's not all that dissimilar from what the train gives us, except that it's not any kind of a uniform. And I happen to like scarves too, but that's more just a me thing rather than a general tip."

Lea nodded thoughtfully regarding Xion. "She's way too worried about stuff that might happen or stuff that happened in the past, rather than enjoying what she's got right now. It's like she thinks 'what's the point of trying to be happy now when I'm just going to be sad later?' The point, of course, is that she is going to be sad later, at some point; that's why enjoying things now is important."

"I don't think I've tried regular jeans before. The magazine showed them all torn up though. Apparently that's a type of style people like." Which Roxas has to admit does have a surprising appeal to him. "But if specific orders are more pricey, random is probably fine too. It will give me experience with different looks anyway."

Roxas nods. "It's like before. When we just had to treasure every day because we didn't know what would happen the next one." As dangerous as their lives used to be. Worse when the other Organization members started to actively interfere. "But it's hard to explain when you don't really understand either. Like all this weird time stuff. It's tough to help her believe that her time might be different because ours already happened. I feel like I'm making her feel inferior to the people from my time."

"Yeah I never understood the whole pre-ripped jeans thing myself," Lea said. "Anyway, the kinda stuff you and I'd be up too, they'd probably end up ripped at some point no matter what, so what's the point of paying extra for something you'll get for free anyway later, right?"

"I understand it, I think. But it's one of those concepts that's really hard to put into words. Especially words that'll get through the head of someone who partially doesn't want to hear them. I think... even if the Organization was terrible, it's at least a terrible thing she knows. And she doesn't have much cause to think that unknown things are gonna be good things. She just... wants everything- or at least the good part of everything- to stay the same. And that just can't happen, no matter what. And it shouldn't, even if it could."

"I guess it's supposed to look wild or something." Though Axel does have a point that ripped jeans would probably not be hard to accomplish with their likelihood of fight encounters. Still look kind of cool...

"That's the part I don't get. There's no way things can be the same when she's here. She shouldn't be, but she is. So everything's different already. Doesn't that already change everything?"

"You'd think that'd be the logical conclusion she'd come to," Lea said. "But I've discovered that she has an amazing capacity for selective hearing. And selective believing. It's like anything that doesn't fit the narrative she's got in her own mind either gets brushed off or twisted to mean something negative."

"Maybe if we team up we'll be able to get through to her. Cause honestly I'm running out of ideas for things to try on my own."

"Team up to do what? You don't think she'll feel like we're bullying her?" As much as Roxas desperately wants to get through to Xion, he also doesn't want to trap her. She's been through so many other people telling her what to do. He's just running out of ideas as well.

"I think we can avoid that if we do it right," Lea said. "I don't mean for us to like... corner her or something. Just be on the same page with the kind of things she needs to improve and support each other when we're talking to her about it. She has it in her head that anything I say that she doesn't want to believe is me lying for her benefit, but if both of us are saying the same things, that argument really doesn't hold water, you know?"

Roxas nods at that. "I just want her to know it's okay to take off her hood once in a while and try new clothes. I think she'd like not being reminded of the Organization all the time."

By the time Lea enters the lab car alone, Vexen has moved on to more practical work. One of his old Team Orange uniforms is laid out, a faint glow of magic weaving over it. He glances over from his work at Lea's entrance and lets out a faint huff.

"I will in a moment, yes. Unless it is urgent, I need to finish this spell and then I will be forced to turn my attention elsewhere regardless."

"Nah, nothing that won't wait a minute or two," Lea said, setting the mugs down on an empty portion of lab table, then leaning casually against the edge of it nearby while he waited for Vexen to finish. "Making some more Darkness-proof clothes?"

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Lining up the Kingdom Hearts ducks

Wayfinders

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Memory Backup

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Tagging out of order because Lea would react immediately.

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Bros being bros

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