re_alignment_logs | ❄ thin air (closed/backdated)

Entry tags:

❄ thin air (closed/backdated)

WHO: Elsa & Axel
WHERE: Outside Prima's Temple, Megatronus' Arena following.
WHEN: Following their conversation after Elsa's arrival (backdated)
WHAT: Axel offered Elsa some help with her powers, Elsa, with no other ideas on how to keep herself contained in this new and quite frightening environment, agrees to practicing with them. Who better than with Axel, anyways?
WARNINGS: Elsa's typical self-defeating thought processes. Otherwise, none.

Elsa stepped out into the open rather sheepishly, the clack of her ice heels on the gravel rather intimidating in the quiet that was outside. She shrinks behind what she can; still rather insistent on avoiding the acolytes.

Despite what everyone else had said, she didn't want to get on their bad side. In fact, sticking with people her size for now would be preferred; given she had to speak to anyone at all.

Sure, she'd buttoned herself up for the party. That was fine. Then when all hell broke loose, she left, and let it all out. She'd let herself be free, and oh if it wasn't the best feeling in the world. Could she actually do that here?
But now, she wasn't simply up the mountain away from home. There were strangers, aliens, creatures and beasts, all terrifying. The queen was....confident, that she could've held her own against any one of them, but still, that didn't mean that she would or should.

She'd only been here an hour or two and things were already too complicated. She wished she could go back home, and sit in her study, and read. Maybe even wished to hear Anna's knocking on the door, just to know that she was....well, that she was okay.

Pursing her lips, she held onto the thought of controlling her powers. If she could, with the help of this---total stranger---Axel, then she could go home, and fix everything.

Holding onto that thought was difficult though, the little pinpricks of 'What if he's lying?' 'What if you hurt him?' 'What if everyone in Arendelle is gone when you return?' 'What if Anna is dead, because of you?' began to tear her hopes down.

Standing outside of the temple in the silence was turning out to be a little battle all in itself, and as she held her arms close to her, nervously, waiting like a scared little cat; Elsa kind of hoped he'd be there sooner than later.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's not especially long, though it probably felt longer to Elsa, before another set of footsteps could be heard approaching. Heavier than hers, but not nearly heavy enough to be one of the robots, the sound of gravel crunching under boots was heard a few long moments before the source of the sound came into view from behind a dip in the terrain.

The first and most obvious thing Elsa would probably notice was Axel's hair, bright red and spiky. Followed shortly thereafter by his outfit, all black, aside from the coat's metal details and decorations. Even the smallish drawstring backpack he had slung over one shoulder was black, though unlike the coat, it looked relatively simple.

Axel raised an arm in greeting to let Elsa know he'd spotted her before continuing to approach to practical conversation distance. Once a distance where they could talk easily without shouting at each other had been achieved, Axel set the black canvas bag on the ground at his feet. "Elsa, I presume?", he asked, though it wasn't really a question. "I'm Axel. Nice to finally meet you face to face."

Fear resounds inside and gets the better of her; the approaching footsteps intimidate her to the point of the gravel becoming icy pebbles again.

After a moment, she's sure; it's not a robot, it had to be Axel. But still, her powers were getting the better of her, and she begins to back away, leaving little steps of ice in the wake of her footsteps.

Without a doubt though, had he not looked so peculiar, perhaps she would've frozen him to the solid ground. His hair, peculiar clothes are all so jarring, she forgets about her present affliction with the frosty ground.

At first glace, the stress is apparent on her face; it makes her look tired. The worry and the absolute paranoia is there too in how tightly her jaw is clenched, and her anxiousness, bundled up as always in her hands, gripped in front of her. Her wrists are shaking, her knuckles are white. But she still manages a nod, and a forced smile.

It was much easier to talk through the box, no doubt about it.

"Yes. It's---It's nice to meet you too."

Conceal, don't feel.

Axel observed Elsa as he got close enough to do so. It was obvious that she was afraid. Her hands were clenched in front of her so tightly her wrists shake, stress and tension in every line of her face, despite the rather forced smile. And if that wasn't enough of an indicator, the unintentional freezing of the ground in her wake easily revealed her state of mind.

She reminded him a little bit of Namine. Pale and frightened, delicate looking, but with so much hidden power. At one time, he'd have seen that only as something to exploit, a vulnerable heart that could be easily controlled and manipulated with the right words.

Now? Now he knew better. And somehow, the resemblance to Namine only made him more determined to help this new arrival.

"Hey," he said gently, smiling a little, "it's OK. I know I can look kinda intimidating at first, but I don't bite. Promise."

He glanced down at the frosty ground, including her frozen footprints. "Want me to fix that for you?", he asked, indicating it to her as well. He should probably show her that he could do what he said, after all.

Edited 2014-04-30 05:16 (UTC)

"No---It's not you." she's quick to reply, halfheartedly. Well, it mostly wasn't him. It was her, and her fear of herself.

Her gaze flicked from the ground, back at him, several times in the span of a few seconds, half in disbelief, half not. Sure she'd talked to him about it---but that was different than in person.

Elsa tried her best to compose herself, heavens knew she was trying. Something in her wanted to be---excited at the prospect of meeting someone with similar powers, but every little negative thought sang at her, compelling her otherwise. With unease, she nods.

"Sure."

"Uh-huh," Axel said simply, his tone clearly stating that he could tell she wasn't being entirely honest. He could tell that she feared herself, or rather, the power that was part of herself; that much had been obvious from their conversation. Still, from the way she'd backed away upon seeing him, there was little doubt she was at least a bit intimidated.

Not that he could really blame her; the Organization's uniform was meant to be a bit intimidating. Especially with the hood up, though he very seldom wore his that way. Still, it was definitely a factor when considering his next move.

Something big and flashy would likely only startle her more, and besides that, it was entirely unnecessary just to melt a bit of frost. Precision and artistry it was then. That would be a much better demonstration of control anyway.

He nodded at Elsa's assent. He held out his right hand, palm downward, and a small spiral of fire flared to life around it. That swirl then broke off into two dozen firey butterflies, one or two at a time, which fluttered around briefly in the air before dipping very near the frosty ground. Their firey wings melted and dissipated the frost, causing little trails of steam that quickly vanished behind them. Soon, only Elsa's footprints were left, and the butterflies lighted on them, erasing them as easily as they had the rest of the frost before dissipating themselves.

Axel gave a bit of a satisfied smirk at his handiwork. "There we go," he said. "Not bad, hmm?"

She opens her mouth to dispute, but then quickly closes it. No, there wasn't any point. Standing firm, finally, the frost solidifies under her feet into a sheet sheet of ice. Okay she was ready. She wouldn't be scared or startled. Right?

Well, kind of.

She was at first, but the sheer wonder of it---he was telling the truth. He wasn't lying. He did have powers, just like her---

And just seeing it in person changed everything.

A sudden weight lifted from her shoulders. Near her whole life, feeling different---alone, with this inexplicable burden on her suddenly felt---well. Normal.

"No, it's---" a sigh of relief escapes between words.

"That's amazing. I---" Doubted you? Proooobably not the best thing to say.

Axel grinned as something about Elsa relaxed almost visibly. He bowed theatrically, then stood back up. "Glad you liked it," he said. "I figured a demonstration would be a good way to break the ice." His grin became thoroughly amused at that, indicating that the pun was completely intentional.

Okay, that was dumb.

But it really was a great way, he wasn't wrong. She laughs; she actually laughs.

"I just---I've never met anyone who could do something like that---like me."

The tension in her shoulders is gone, she's no longer clasping her hands tight; she's confident in herself, for a second or two.

"It was beautiful, too. That must've taken a lot of control."

Axel chuckled himself. It was good to see her laugh, to see her relaxed. Especially when compared to the tense, frightened young woman of just a few minutes ago. He was under no illusions that it would be a permanent arrangement, but hey, baby steps.

He nodded at what she said. "Magic overall was and kinda still is relatively common where I'm from," he said. "But natural, inherent magic like you and I have is still rare. Most everybody who wants to work with it has to be taught it, and taught magic is different from natural magic."

"And yeah, it does," he replied to Elsa's comment about control. "Though truth be told, I was only really controlling half of them directly at any given time. The rest were just mirroring whatever the nearest controlled one was doing."

"I can do bigger things too," he added, "but that wasn't really necessary to get rid of a bit of frost. I'm sure you'll see some of that later though. Your basic fireball, while useful for a lot of things and great for getting the basics down, gets boring after awhile. That's how I got to experimenting with what I could do in the first place."

She looks rather impressed; to know so much about something she'd only just begun to know for herself---and after all these years?

The butterflies reminded her so much---well. Of Olaf. It's worth mentioning at least, isn't it?

"I---well. I only had a short time between leaving home and ending up here." She shrugs. "I---well. I built a snowman---two of them, actually. Both were rather enthusiastic about it too."

"I made my own new home---just. I let it all out, all that time spent holding it in. It was nice while it lasted." Pursing her lips, she looks a little apologetic.

"Thank you. This means so much to me---you have no idea."

Despite Elsa's apparent impression of him, Axel hardly considered himself an expert in the inner workings of magic. He knew some of the history of its use in his own world, and how one type differed from another. And he certainly had a great deal of first hand experience figuring out what worked and what didn't. However, he'd never really been the academic type, and most of the theory behind it all was of little interest to him. He'd always left that to the scientific minds of the group like Vexen or Zexion.

Still, he was confident he knew enough to help Elsa with her control difficulties. What she seemed to need- besides simple practice- was confidence. And practice would help build that.

Something she said as she was listing off her previous magical accomplishments caught his attention, though. "Wait, back up a second," he said. "You said the snowmen were enthusiastic? As in, they were actually alive?" Now it was Axel's turn to look impressed.

"Heh... If you keep thanking me so much, it's gonna go to my head," he said, his expression becoming a bit sheepish. "Really, though, it's fine. You're not imposing or anything; it'll be nice to have someone around who I can practice with. And, you know, show off for." He gave a small, amused smirk at that.

Elsa nodded gingerly. Oh, she wished she could've brought Olaf with her; perhaps he'd be a little better at---well. Opening her up.

Nervously, her hands busy themselves with the end of her braid. She's less tense, but still.

"It's a lot to think about." she thought out loud. Bringing things to life. Things that could live could also die, and that was a big responsibility.

His comment about showing off though, that makes her crack a smile.

"To show off to, huh? You didn't have anyone before?" she muses in mock disbelief. Stepping forward, she motions to get going rather than take the lead; the day was only so long.

Axel watched as Elsa nervously played with the end of her braid. While she was no longer acting like a scared cat, she clearly wasn't quite comfortable yet.

He nodded at what she said, though it seemed to be more thinking out loud than talking to him. "Yeah," he agreed. "Probably just as well that I can't do the same. I mean, a snowman's harmless enough, but something made of fire running around on its own... Yeeeeah, bad idea."

"Heh, well there's plenty of people to show off for," Axel said, smirking in amusement. "But up til now, there hasn't been anybody with magic like mine around here to practice with. Sora and Ven are good sparring partners, but their magic doesn't work the same way. They're great for weapons training, but I can't really get a good magical workout training with them, so I've been having to do it on my own."

"Anyway, you're right; we'd better get going," he said, hoisting the bag he'd brought back onto his shoulder. "I figure we should stick with the arena near Megatronus' temple for now, least til you learn your way around. It's a lot easier to find than some random open area."

"Besides," he said, "no offense, but you don't exactly look like you're dressed for a long walk, especially over rough ground. If we're going to the arena, we can take my own personal shortcut. It's more than a little unorthodox, but it'll get us there faster than you can say 'snowball fight'. If you're willing to try it, of course?"

Best to find out if she was game before opening a Dark Corridor in front of her. No need to prompt a freakout if it could be avoided.

"You'd think he was harmless." The big snow monster did well enough protecting her---for what it was worth.

She nods, vaguely smug about Marshmallow as a whole.

"That sounds like a good idea." Logically, any arena big enough to hold the giants would be good enough to hold her and her powers, right? She certainly hoped so. Her brows knit at his suggestion. A shortcut? Looking rather suspicious, she nods. Sure, why not? IF it was just a shortcut.

Nevermind she was no where near expecting what he had in mind.

"Sure. There's no harm in a shortcut."

Axel nodded, though he noted Elsa's suspicious look. Well, she'd see soon enough. "Alright, then," he said, stepping up next to her.

"Now then, this is probably going to look kind of creepy," he warned her, "but there's no need to be scared." And with that, he held out his hand, palm vertical, and pointed at a spot a short distance ahead of them. Almost instantly, an ominous-looking portal of swirling black and purple energy appears before them; the entrance to a Dark Corridor.

She may have thought herself prepared by now, but surprise, she's not. She steps back, startled. That's not the shortcut she was thinking of. Oh yeah, that really looked dark and spooky, you think she's going to go through that thing oh jeez---

Oh, she's brought herself back to her senses. She clears her throat, straightens her gait. Her, Elsa, startled? Nah, that was a few seconds ago. She thought again about Anna and her mischievous courage. She could have that. What's the worst that could happen at this point? Really? She was on a whole different planet; things couldn't possibly get any worse.

"You---continue to be full of surprises." Yes, that is all she can think to say.

"It's a---door? Of some sort?"

Axel smirked slightly at her reaction, bowing slightly, as if taking that as a compliment. "I try," he said. "Makes life more interesting."

He nodded at the question though. "Yeah," he said, "it's called a Dark Corridor. I can use them to connect anywhere I am with anywhere I've already been. Makes getting around this place a lot easier, though I wouldn't recommend relying on it as a main form of getting around unless you have one of these." He tugged lightly on the front of his coat to show what he meant.

"Using Darkness too much is dangerous without proper protection, even if you know what you're doing," he explained. "Taking a few short hops through a Dark Corridor won't hurt you, especially since you'll be with me when you do, but when you use it almost every day, well... even someone like me needs to take precautions."

"In any case, though," he said, "it'll get us to Megatronus' arena with plenty of time left to practice. If you're willing to use it, of course; I'm not gonna try and force you or anything." Quite frankly he wouldn't blame her if she refused; Dark Corridors, however useful they could be, hardly looked inviting, and she'd had quite a day already.

Edited 2014-05-14 05:10 (UTC)

Yeah, this was a little harder than usual to work the courage up for.

She winced, his continued explanation really---wasn't her idea of inviting either.

"I-I don't understand." What? Was the coat somehow magical as well? He clearly was trying to explain it to her, but really, it was only making it a lot more confusing.

She was more disturbed she couldn't see anything out the other side. ~~Like some crazy trust exercise indeed.~~

Axel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly at Elsa's obvious confusion. "Man, I must be getting too used to people being used to my brand of weirdness," he said, banishing the dark corridor for now with an off-handed gesture. This explanation might take a few minutes, and there was no need to leave the corridor open if they weren't going to use it immediately.

"Alright," he said, setting the bag down again for the moment. "Looks like you're gonna need some background information about my world before this is gonna make any sense. Fortunately, that's easy enough to provide. And I can even provide my own visual aides."

"Back home," he began, "the world is divided into three realms. The Realm of Light," he summoned a standard orange and gold fireball in is right hand, "the Realm of Darkness," he summoned a much hotter blue-tinted fireball in his left hand, "and the much smaller Realm Between, which keeps them separate." A smaller, dimmer fireball appeared hovering directly between the two in his hands. "Light and Darkness are polar opposites, obviously, and when they clash on any kind of major scale, it's not pretty. That's why the Realm Between exists; it's kind of a buffer zone to keep the two larger Realms from reacting badly to each other."

"Now, the Realm of Light is where most worlds are and consequently where most people live," Axel explained. "Thus, that's the way most people's hearts lean. True, there's at least a little darkness in every heart, but for the most part people gravitate to the light. Love, friendship, happiness, peace, beauty, basically everything people consider good is tied to the light."

"With me so far?", he asked. Before getting into the necessary explanation of Darkness and Heartless, he figured it was a good idea to give Elsa a chance to ask questions, if she had any. Which, frankly she probably did.

She nodded wordlessly, still looking rather concerned. This didn't particularly answer her immediate questions of 'why it was dangerous' and 'if it was dangerous to you then why use it' but she assumed that he was....getting around to that.

Not to mention oops, asking questions, guilt---you don't have to carry that bag Axel, she'll cautiously kneel to grab it herself---really, because you've picked it up then not then again already twice, that's her fault.

When Elsa picked up the bag, she might notice notice that it has some weight, but isn't too heavy. And she may just feel the shift and hear the faint sloshing of one or more liquid-filled containers inside. Axel raised a eyebrow slightly as she knelt to grab the bag, but then apparently dismissed it to go on with his explanation; he clearly had no problem with her carrying it if she wanted.

"The Realm of Darkness, on the other hand," Axel said, "doesn't contain any worlds that we would recognize. Or any people for that matter. Even the outskirts are creepy dangerous and the further in you go, the greater the danger. Not just from the Darkness itself, but from creatures called Heartless who call the Realm of Darkness home; I'll explain more about them in a minute."

"But what makes Darkness itself dangerous is what it can do to a heart," he said. He banished the three fireballs representing the realms and instead held up his hands in front of his chest, palms facing each other and a little ways apart. Between them, a stripe of fire formed itself into the shape of a heart. "Everyone has at least a little bit of darkness in their heart, like I said before. Anger, hatred, fear, despair, jealousy, revenge; those are the kinds of things are tied to the darkness. Few people like their darkness, but everyone needs it; it's part of who and what you are, part of what makes you a complete being." A tiny blue fireball representing the darkness appeared inside the fire heart.

"Now normally your heart's own natural defenses of light keep that darkness in check," Axele explained, and the fire heart was surrounded by a fire ring slightly larger than itself. "Too much exposure to outside sources of darkness, though, gradually erodes those defenses." Tongues of blue fire leaped from his fingertips to brush against the ring. Wherever the blue fire touched, the ring faded, until after a few moments breaks in the ring began to appear. "This leaves the heart vulnerable, not just to further damage from outside, but from its own darkness as well." The tongues of blue fire slipped through the gaps in the ring. Parts of the heart within began to burn blue, and the blue flame in the center expanded.

"And if it goes far enough, or continues long enough," Axel said, "the heart can be completely consumed by darkness. And at that point..." A rush of blue fire from his hands overwhelmed the fire heart which then morphed into a Heartless emblem made of blue fire. "At that point the heart changes into a Heartless. Certain kinds of Heartless spawn naturally in the Realm of Darkness, fed by the dark emotions in people's hearts, but both kinds are pretty similar in behavior. They're mindless, and act purely on instinct, like wild animals. The problem is that their instinct is to seek out and steal more hearts. They attack people and take their hearts. The stolen hearts are overwhelmed by darkness, and become more Heartless, which go on to attack more people, etc. Very icky things, and I think we can both be glad that there's none around here."

"The stronger the heart, the longer it takes for this to happen naturally," Axel said, "but no one's really immune. That's what the Black Coat is for. It's not just a fashion statement; among other things, it's been magically treated to protect against the adverse affects of long term use of darkness. Unless a heart is exceptionally weak, it can take little brushes with darkness here and there- which is why I know that taking a short hop or two through now and again won't hurt you- but using it regularly for weeks, months, years at a time? Yeah... that would be trouble if you didn't have protection."

Here he paused again, once more allowing her the chance to ask questions if she wanted. There were a few more points he wanted to hit before they left, but they could wait a moment.

It all sounded so plainly black and white to her. But what about her, she thought for a moment. A heart plagued with good intentions, but ill feelings? Thinking about it----made it more complicated than it really sounded.

She listens, and each explanation brings a new question; then it answers it. Heartless were heartless; that's all she needed. For a moment, she didn't think that a heart was something you could actually lose, but. It seemed that in his world, it was.

His visuals do help rather well. Not only in his explanation, but her confidence. He could control things so minutely it was both amazing and inspiring.

One question still does nag at her though.

"Why would you want to risk starting a chain reaction---the hearts, and Heartless, though?" She shrunk slightly.

"How do you know if a heart is....weak?"

"Both good questions," Axel said. "Though I'm gonna have to answer them out of order." He'd anticipated Elsa's first question- it was a very fair one, to be honest- but answering it would lead neatly into the next part of his explanation so switching the order seemed best.

"What makes a heart weak is a hard question to answer," he said. "Up til now, I've been talking in general terms for the sake of time; if I was going to go into every little detail I knew about the subject, we'd be here all day, and you'd probly just end up bored, confused, or both by the end of it. Hell, it confuses me sometimes, and I've lived with it my whole life."

"The truth is, nothing pertaining to the heart is ever simple," he continued. "I mean, how could it be? While some general traits are universal, or nearly so, every person's heart is unique. There's as many different kinds of strength, and weakness, as there are different kinds of people. And most people never know how strong their hearts actually are until they're in a situation where it's put to the test."

"But if you want a general definition, I'd say the best way to judge the strength of a heart is by the strength of its connections to other hearts," he said. "Cliche as it might sound, nothing strengthens a heart more than love and friendship. Both you feeling them for others, and letting others feel them for you. Those things bring out the best in any heart."

"I'm not gonna lie," he said. "For you personally, I think your fear is your biggest problem, and I think you know that too. As problems go, though, it's one that we can work on. Every heart has a weakness. That yours is something obvious actually makes it easier to deal with. You've got a caring heart underneath all that fear; I've seen glimpses of it, especially in the reasons why you wanted to isolate yourself. You just need the confidence to realize it for yourself. Which is where practicing with me comes in."

He gave her a hopefully reassuring smile. He believed she could do it. The problem was getting around all that fear. But as he'd said, they would work on it. That's what this was all about, after all.

He sighed a moment later,though. Her other question while easier to answer, wasn't quite as pleasant. "As for your other question," he said, "unfortunately, the answer is that the chain reaction was already started. Heartless are a significant threat by this point back home, to the point that they've consumed whole worlds. Most of those worlds have been restored, thanks to Sora, but there are still a lot of heartless to deal with. And it doesn't help that only a particular type of weapon that Sora has called a Keyblade can defeat a Heartless for good. Otherwise, you swat them in one place, they'll just pop back up somewhere else later."

"As to how it got that way," he said, "it ultimately all goes back to a guy named Xehanort. Before he got involved, the only way Heartless could get to our world was if they were deliberately summoned. But Xehanort wanted to know more about the darkenss of the heart. And the funny thing about darkness is, when you go looking for it, you usually find it."

"His story really goes further back than this, but that's not quite relevent to this explanation. So we'll skip to the part where he arrived in Radiant Garden, the city I lived in as a kid. I didn't think much of it at first; a strange man found almost unconscious in one of the outer gardens after some sort of explosion, taken in by our king, Ansem the Wise, to recover. He turned out to be brilliant, and soon began studying under Ansem as one of several apprentices. Ansem had always cultivated both the sciences and magical arts in his kingdom, and had several assistants and researchers who looked to him directly."

"The trouble started when he and several others convinced Ansem to authorize the building of a new laboratory in the castle basement for the purpose of studying the darkness of the heart, supposedly with the idea of helping people better resist it," he said. "After some initial tests, though, Ansem realized that such studies would be too dangerous, and ordered all future experiments stopped. Only they didn't. Xehanort continued the experiments, using Ansem's name on the paperwork to cover his tracks."

"Xehanort went much farther than Ansem though. He started kidnapping people and experimenting on them to the point that their hearts collapsed. Those were the first Heartless born in our world. He did even more experiments with the Heartless, offering people as 'living samples' to captive ones to see how they reacted, and building a machine to create even more of the things for study."

"Eventually, the real Ansem found out and tried to shut the whole thing down," Axel continued, "but Xehanort and his five co-conspirators turn on Ansem and banished him to another realm. Xehanort then purposefully stripped the others of their hearts before doing the same to himself."

"Now normally," Axel said, "when a person's heart is taken, the rest of them just vanishes, since there's nothing holding them to the Realm of Light any more. But if the person's heart was especially strong, sometimes you get a sort of byproduct; the empty shell that's left over. They're creatures that were never supposed to exist, and they can't contain either light or darkness, and are rejected by both. These creatures are called Nobodies."

"Nobodies can think and plan, unlike Heartless, but only the very strongest Nobodies retain their human form and memories," Axel said. "Xehanort and his five co-conspirators were six such, and their Nobodies founded the controlling body of the Nobodies, Organization XIII, or just the Organization. Their Nobodies continued experimenting, but by that point, their experiments had weakened the boundaries between realms enough for Heartless to come through on their own. Being Nobodies, though, they didn't really care; they couldn't. Though they did learn caution."

"Unfortunately, that was where a couple of punk kids named Lea and Isa came in," he said. "They snuck into the castle through a basement window, hoping to find out why no on had heard from the king in over a week. Well, they found out alright. But the Organization members caught them before they could escape and warn everyone about what was going on, and decided that the neatest method they could think of of dealing with the problem was to extract the boys' hearts, figuring it would kill them."

"In a way, it sort of did," he said with a deep sigh, "but no one realized just how strong the hearts of two little punks could be. That night Isa and Lea ceased to be... but Siax and Axel were born."

He looked up at Elsa, smiling sadly. "I used to be Lea, and according to Sora, I will be again one day. But right now I'm Axel, an incomplete being with only the beginnings of a heart. A Nobody, and formerly Organization XIII's Number VIII. That's where I got my powers; they were shocked out of me when my original heart was taken, same as most of the other Organization members. I could have had a new heart long before now, but Xemnas- Xehanort's Nobody- and Xigbar- the only one of the five other original members who was in on Xeahnort's whole plan- lied to the rest of the Organization to keep us apart, and keep us from developing new hearts. He needed us as empty shells."

"I was kind of a bastard back then," Axel said, "but I'm trying to turn over a new leaf since I left. I'm still figuring things out though, while my heart develops, so if I come across as a little creepy sometimes, well... now you know why." He rubbed the back of his head a bit sheepishly. "And that's also why I can use darkness. Nobodies were rejected by both light and darkness, but because of how we were created, we're closer to the darkness. And with most other ways of getting around quickly inaccessible to those with no hearts, well, Dark Corridors were convenient."

"And... I think that covers everything," he said. "So feel free to ask any more questions you've got or freak out a little, now that you know what I am. I won't be offended, trust me; I know how disturbing it is." Left unsaid was the option to refuse his help now that she knew, though he didn't figure she would do that. She didn't really seem the type.

Lots and lots of information to take in, and she's rather quiet through the brunt of it.

The story of Ansem was tragic and it almost hit home. With great power comes backlash, and he tried to hide it. She can't help the association.

You can see it on her face, her reactions to the story. Confusion, involvement---she feels for the king, and naturally, despises the ones who tricked him. She follows the boys---until their boldness gets the better of them. He was another person once.

She visibly wilts, actual anguish on her face. How could someone be so cruel? She looks absolutely astonished, her hand brought to her face to hide it. A Nobody; someone with no heart? He couldn't feel? She doesn't even begin to understand how it could be possible---but the actual situation breaks her heart.

Her questions mostly answered, she shakes her head.

"No, no. You haven't been creepy and---it's not disturbing, just. It's overwhelming." she all but mutters. Somewhere, there's a tear in her eye. How could someone do that to someone else?

A minor detail stood out to her, and she firmly stands her ground on it. In fact, it's enough to have her dig out the stubbornness buried underneath all her recent self loathing and caution. It wasn't confidence as much as it was---well, arrogance, but she didn't care, not a bit.

"But you said---you had the beginnings of a heart. You're figuring it out. Right?" Pursing her lips, her regal manner takes over. This was important, at least, she thinks it is.

"So then, to my knowledge, albeit recent...you aren't a Nobody. Not to me at least." she all but huffs out, angry on what she may think is his behalf. Really, it's just her new-found resentment for a more terrible person out there than her. "You offered to help me, and that's more than I figure any of those---others that stole your heart would ever consider doing for anyone other than themselves." There. All out, and in one piece, without an actual blizzard in sight.

"And I think Sora's right." Whoever that was. "You'll get it back, and if not---you're well on your way to, at least."

Okay, now that she's completely embarrassed herself...He'd talked about her fear, and her compassion. That it was there, somewhere, and they'd get around it.

"Thank you. For----believing in me."

Axel was quiet after finishing his story, observing Elsa's reaction. He could tell that she was upset by it, and wait, was that a tear? It was. Strange... Neither Sora nor Ven had really shed a tear about what had happened to him, despite being obviously upset but it. Maybe they were just more used to the idea?

Regardless, though, Axel was touched. He smiled slightly and nodded. "You might not be so sure about me if you knew some of the things I've done." Incinerating Vexen while he begged for mercy came immediately to mind. "But that's a story for another time."

"And as for believing in you," he said, "I'd say the feeling is mutual here. I mean, I know how crazy and hard to accept a lot of it is. There's parts of it I don't understand myself. But you're right. I might not be complete yet, but it's always nice to know there's people out there who don't think of me as a Nobody." This place was good for that kind of acceptance in general, but this was the first time he'd heard it summed up quite so succinctly.

"Getting back to why we actually started this discussion though," Axel said, "are you willing to come through the Dark Corridor with me? Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing; it might not be the most inviting way to travel, but it won't hurt either one of us to use it to get to the arena and back."

Edited 2014-05-19 05:28 (UTC)

At his question, again, she pauses then nods. Much less panicked, much less untrusting.

"But now knowing what you are, I could hardly find it in myself to blame you." After all, a heart is a big thing.

"Yes. I'll go. It's hard not to trust someone who's just told you their life story. Especially only after knowing them for a day."

"Not my whole story," he said, "but again, for that, we'd be here all day. We'll have plenty time to get to know each other in more detail later." He was tempted to add something along the lines of 'Don't say I didn't warn you' with regards to his history, but refrained.

"For now, though, places to go, magic to practice," he said, opening the Dark Corridor again. Once satisfied that it was stable, he turned back to Elsa, holding out a hand to her. "You'll wanna hold onto me til we're clear through. It's a short trip, but not one you want to risk getting separated on, trust me."

"Later." she remarks.

Elsa takes a cautious step forward---aaaand yeah this could be difficult. She worked herself up to it, and now all that courage is gone.

She purses her lips. It's fine. It's going to be fine.

No longer conceal, don't feel. It's going to be fine.
So, she works herself up again, and takes his hand.

"How long does it take? Not long?"

Axel waited quietly hand extended, even as Elsa's courage seemed to falter. He watched as she wavered, trying to work herself back up, then finally took his hand. The warmth of Axel's hand could be felt even through his glove, indicating that his body temperature was slightly higher than that of the average person. Not really surprising for a fire-user, but still notable.

He smiled slightly, nodding as he closed his hand over hers in a grip that was fairly secure, but not so tight that she couldn't pull away if needed. "Not long," he said. "Just keep walking, and we'll be through in less than a minute."

Together, they stepped up to the threshold of the Dark Corridor. "Ready?", Axel asked, waiting for Elsa to indicate she was. When she had, they stepped through the portal together. What followed was a sensation similar to passing through a thick curtain, if that curtain was made of somewhat unpleasantly clingy smoke and static electricity.

Once through the initial portal, Elsa would find herself in an environment that was more alien than any she had ever imagined. Everywhere were swirling, chaotic colors. There were no boundaries, no visible sky or ground, yet there was definitely something flat and solid under their feet. If not for their footsteps and the soft sound the portal itself made- rather like the sound of a light wind blowing over one's ears-, the place would also be completely silent. And speaking of their footsteps, they echoed with an oddly hollow sound, creating even more of an eerie atmosphere.

Axel walked forward confidently, however, and when he gestured ahead of them with his free hand, there appeared a second portal. Here, on the opposite side of it, it showed up glowing white, with only an outer rim of darkness showing what it really was. Another brief sensation of clingy smoke and static... and they were stepping out onto the rocky ground just outside Megatronus' temple. "And here we are," he said. "Safe and sound."

Edited 2014-05-24 01:59 (UTC)

Heat was something she'd always been sensitive to; though she isn't surprised.

Stepping into the threshold is a little strange for her. She's worked herself up, and then it all suddenly disappeared. She couldn't see what she was standing on. She couldn't actually grip the surreal environment.

She clung to him suddenly, the rush of---literal dark, frightened her. She's afraid to look up, for fear of seeing something she doesn't wanna see. Elsa went from holding his hand, to holding his arm. Focusing really really hard on keeping it internal, ice only covers the tips of her fingers to her knuckles.

And in a moment, it was all over. Wow. That wasn't hard at all. Back on visible ground, she looks up---shocked. Hazarding a look back into the portal, she looks incredulous.

Well, he made it sound worse than it was.

"Oh."

YES, 'Oh'. Maybe she should be more trusting.

Axel could feel the prickle of frost on Elsa's fingertips even through the coat, but said nothing. One's first time through a Dark Corridor could have that effect, and the bizarre environment of Betwixt and Between probably didn't help matters. But it was over relatively quickly, and they were safely back on Cybertron.

Axel chuckled slightly at her expression and the soft 'oh'. "See?", he said. "Told you you'd be fine. Just don't go jumping through any Dark Corridors without me, and you'll be good." He closed the portal behind them without really looking with a casual gesture of his free hand.

"Think you may have accidentally frozen yourself to my arm, though," he said, indicating her ice-covered fingertips and the equally icy black fabric of his coat sleeve just around them. "Hang on a sec..." Heat began to radiate from his arm, not nearly enough to burn, but enough to make it feel like gripping a just filled hot water bottle, causing both the ice on Axel's coat and Elsa's fingers to begin to melt away.

She nods, really, coming down from that adrenaline-high.

It's more than just a little embarrassing though, to freeze yourself to somebody's clothes. She bites down the frantic, and it doesn't stay in, frosting the pebbles by her feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't---" Once her hands are free, she's quick to shrink back into herself, holding her arms around her. Warm was weird---it burned, but not painfully. Just differently than cold did.

She takes the break in her embarrassment to look around the stadium. Huge. Not that she couldn't freeze this place over if she didn't want to...but huge.

"Wooow."

Axel shook his head and Ela's apology. "Nah, it's alright," he said. He held out his arm slightly, turning it side to side to display the fact that there was no damage to it or the coat. "See? No harm done. Fire magic's strong against ice, so there's no need to worry about a little accidental frosty freeze where I'm concerned. Now if you were to deliberately try and turn me into an ice cube, yeah, that'd be a bit of a problem, but this is nothing I can't deal with."

He then turned to look at the arena with her, smirking in amusement at her reaction. "I know, right?", he said. "Say what you want about these First Forged guys, but they're definitely no slouches when it comes to building. Though given how big they are, they kinda have to build to match. They put most of the other robots around here to shame."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

❄ thin air (closed/backdated)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

Re: 2/2

no subject

no subject

gooood to know my tag didnt go through thx dw

Was wondering... XD

JUMPS OUT OF ANIMAL CROSSING BACK TO THIS AGAIN I'M SO SORRY

NO PROBLEM BB. <3

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject