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[The user behind this message currently has no interest in flashing his face across the screens of an unfamiliar communications system. After a life hiding in the shadows, it's not a pleasant concept... and right now, he barely knows whose the face in question is.
Still, in his current situation: he knows that he's going to have to reach out, hard as it might be.
So - Even's first message to the COMP network as a whole comes as a text post only.]

Good afternoon.

If anyone out there is in the situation of having been brought here unexpectedly - and given the efficiency by which I have been, I suspect this is not an uncommon occurrence - I would like to speak with you.

Is there anything I should know about life in this city at present? What are the rights and responsibilities of residents? Have you had difficulty adapting to life here? Any advice would be welcomed.
While this is less of a priority, is anyone familiar enough with the city's history as to be able to tell me how it came to be in its current condition? This is more personal curiosity, I'll admit.

Thank you for your time and cooperation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Even? But.. You...

[He.. looks like Vexen. Sounds like him too. Xion doesn't think she has the wrong person, at least.]

No one sent me here... I've been here for awhile.

[Oh. Well. That's one weight off his mind, at least: this isn't some kind of Organization stunt, the girl's in the same situation he is, unless this is some deception.
His tone softens a bit, though he's still wary.]

You were brought here too, then. Very well.

[A moment, and he allows himself to smile slightly as a thought crosses his mind.]

I'll admit - it's a little reassuring to know that the Organization thought it was worth their time describing the person I was to a neophyte. What have they told you?

[Well, he knows the Organization, and he sounds just like Vexen to boot. Though she's a little confused as to what a 'neophyte' is.]

They... Haven't told me anything. I know you, it's me, number 14, remember?

[Though if he was calling himself 'Even' and not 'Vexen' like his name was... Well, he might not remember her. His memory does seem to be a little off, anyways.]

Number 'fourteen'.

[He's giving her a look, now, wondering what she's talking about.]

There were never fourteen members when Vexen was alive. Roxas filled the last place in Where Nothing Gathers. What, pray tell, am I supposed to 'remember'?

Yes there were! I was introduced to everyone by Master Xemnas himself.

[Though... It is true, she never got a seat for herself Where Nothing Gathers. Something she just chalks up to the fact that they just never prepared her one. Maybe they hadn't expected a new member in her so soon after finding Roxas?]

Xion, Number 14, don't you remember? [He was supposed to have been the smart one, wasn't he?]

Xion.

[For the faintest, most fleeting second, an image passes through his head: notes scribbled on a page. But it's disconnected from anything meaningful - what could this girl have to do with that sort of thing, after all...

And what's troubling him is that she seems absolutely sincere. She's not lying, trying to deceive him, as far as he can tell...]

No. I don't remember.
But I believe that this is what you believe.

I'm not lying! I even have a keyblade, just like Roxas! Why don't you remember? And why are you calling yourself 'Even' anyways? That's not your name.

[She's getting more and more frustrated as this goes on. Xion doesn't understand why he's calling himself a different name or why he doesn't remember her.

He's the first member of the Organization she's seen around here for a long time, and while she knows that time is funny here, she also knows for a fact that Vexen is very much dead back home. Which means that there's no reason why he shouldn't remember her.

It'd be nice to have some direction from a member higher up than her anyways. She's been pretty lost without someone telling her what to do.]

Vexen died. I should know that better than anyone. I am calling myself Even because it is my name - the one I was given at birth.

[Okay, Xion's starting to try his patience, and it's audible in his voice, which shakes a little. And she's saying she's got a keyblade, too? That would explain why the Organization would take her on, certainly - but how could she have gained such a thing?]

If you are indeed a keyblade wielder, show me. ... Perhaps it is you I have to thank in part for my restoration.

[Nothing he's saying actually makes sense to her, but he's her senior, so she'll listen all the same. With the same flash of light he's seen Roxas summon his keyblade with, Xion summons her own, holding it out for him to inspect.]

I don't really know what you're talking about... How can you die but be here?

[...Well. That confirms that much of her story, at the very least. He'll be coming in to have a look at it indeed, reaching out - will she let him hold it?

As he inspects it, he'll go on-]

Once both facets of a person's being have been... killed... [and it's clear that thinking about it is shaking him there] it frees the heart to reunite with what was their body and soul. I will admit, it was not something that my calculations ever led me to believe could be the case.

[She still doesn't really understand. In all actuality, it's something she probably wont understand.

Of course she'll let him hold it. She's a good subordinate, and she has no problems with listening to orders.]

I don't get it.

Frankly, I still don't understand the process myself. All I can confirm is that it worked.

[Oho... he'll be lifting it up to inspect it more closely, then, having never had an opportunity this good before. It's a shame he hasn't got his equipment here, but - he's sure that this won't be the last chance he'll have to analyse the thing.

He hands it back with a nod.]

[She takes it back, naturally, and it disappears in the same flash of light as it had appeared before.]

Theres... Other Nobodies here. The lesser ones, they appear during the 13th hour. If you know what that is, anyways.

[It's her job to debrief him about this world, isn't it?]

And heartless appear then too, but it's not just them that appear. It's a whole bunch of different monsters I've never seen before.

[Well, even if he can't recall her as a member of their group, he'll still take the information.]

I was informed of what the thirteenth hour was. [A very faint smile comes to his face at the name.] Although my source only told me of 'demons' appearing. Heartless, too? I'm surprised that I'd never heard of this world before.

It's true, but there aren't as many different kinds of heartless around here. A lot less than anywhere i've been too previously.

Hm. [Honestly, now, he should probably be relieved. He's kind of glad to have his heart back where it belongs...] I'll have to make my own observations of the creatures that appear, I suppose.

... Alright.

[she pauses.]

Should... I be doing anything? I haven't really known what I should have been doing since I got here.

[She's asking him for actual instructions? Something inside him perks up.
Even if he can't remember her as part of the Organization... he's slipping into taking her under his wing, out of sheer appreciation for the fact that somehow, however she knows him, he's earned her respect as an authority.
For a moment, he thinks of Roxas.]

Before we can make plans, let me start by asking what you have been doing so far?

[An authority figure if only because he's a higher number than her.

She'd listen to anyone who was, sorry Vexen.]

I've been scouting around the city, and collecting hearts when I run into Heartless, but other than that, I'm not sure what I should be doing.

[She's always had some sort of direction in her life.]

I ended up taking up a job at an Inn to fill time. [Xion looks down a little nervously.] I've talked to a few people here, however. Even though I know the rules say we're not supposed to.

[It's what he'd expect, so why would he argue?
He nods, slowly, surprising himself with the sympathy that's creeping into his heart. Such an unfamiliar sensation, after all.]

You've been doing your duty as well as the Organization could expect you to. You've been operating alone without instructions. And as much as talking to others is technically a breach of the rules... under the circumstances, it seems to me that the rules no longer apply in the same way.

[He'll work up to what little he knows of the Organization's current state slowly, given how hard a time she seems to be having believing what he's already said...]

Really? You don't think I've messed up? What if someone else comes and they decide i've messed up and turn me into a Dusk?

[It's not something she wants. Xion likes the Dusks, gets along with them well, but she doesn't.. want to be one.]

[He looks at her - well, he can't say he blames her for her concern.]
Have you actively said anything that would jeopardize anyone else's mission, were they to come here rather than being brought here? As a keyblade wielder, you're a valuable asset to them. It'd be illogical for them to throw that away.

[Of course, he'd been one too, and Axel'd still... trying not to think about that.]

I... don't think so. I mean at one point there was a strange thing that happened, and I ended up swapping memories with someone else, but... I can't recall hers anymore, and she can't recall mine anymore either.

[He nods some more.]In that case, I can't see where the problem would lie, unless some of its members are sensitive enough about even being known for what they are. [Sadly, he can believe that too.] If this world is one where people from so many others are brought, certain codes of secrecy have already been broken.
I'd still advise discretion, but for your own safety.

[That... actually reminds her. Vexen had always one of the smarter members of the organization (maybe even smarter than Xemnas, not that she'd voice that aloud), so maybe he can help her.]

Vex- [Ah, wait,] Even? Can you help me with something?

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