So I've heard. [Someone's definitely put that lesson in his head but he's not going to discuss what that means. Still, he's taking a look around the apartment, curiously eyeing the manga and he's about to ask before Roxas speaks up.]
Is that weird? I actually just left her place a little bit ago.
It's not weird. I just... didn't expect it, I guess.
[it didn't really occur to him that he'd come up in their conversation at all. it's more surprising than weird—it makes sense on some level. they're all friends, right? so it's not weird.]
[It's not weird, but it puts some things into perspective for Hiro.] Not used to your friends talking about you? Speaking of, I met another one of your friends a few weeks ago. Xion? [He's testing the waters on this, but his conversation with Xion led to something interesting he wants to ask Roxas about.]
[if not for the fact that hiro brings up something a little more important here, he'd have noted that that there just wasn't a lot for his friends to talk about him before. axel and xion did, but... they spent most of their time together, so it wasn't like they talked about each other with other people, usually.
demyx sometimes, maybe. but it's not as if it was common.
more importantly!]
You met Xion? [he does brighten a bit at that. he's glad that xion's meeting so many good people before he can even introduce her to his friends. she's just so good like that.]
[Buddy, your life sure is weird. But he nods enthusiastically at that.] I met her when she showed up in ViVid. She's pretty okay and I mentioned you and she told me she knew you. That's about when I realized I hadn't really talked to you for a while, and then I saw Mary and remembered that I was going to call you and here we are.
[Shrug.] She told me a couple of interesting things about you, too.
She told me about the Keyblade. [May as well be honest about it.] How you can both wield one and how you guys would fight...Heartless? Back home. [And to ease that blow...] She also told me you're her best friend, which I guess I can kinda see.
[Roxas is sort of quiet and a little weird but he can 100% see why the two of them would gravitate toward each other.]
[who knows what roxas was actually expecting she'd say, but at least it wasn't something embarrassing. he didn't think it would be anything too bad, since xion isn't the type, but still.]
But yeah... we're best friends. It's been that way for a while so... I'm glad I can see her. [even if it's here, in this terrible place. he has his reasons.]
[...Roxas.] Kinda makes you wonder who else they're going to recover next time. You were here for a while without her.
[But he's shaking his head.] Anyway that's not why I'm here. I wanted to talk to you about the stuff going on around in the colony and some stuff I found in the library. How're you feeling?
[and she was here before him at one point, too. but that doesn't need to be said. it's probably better to just get on the topic of why hiro came by in the first place.]
Right. I wanna know what you found out. The library... everything about that place was weird. [but he didn't find out anything significant, either.] Feeling? Okay, I guess.
[nothing at the library affected him at least. he has had a bit of a tickle at the back of his throat, but he doesn't really deem that worth noting as of now.]
[With the confirmation that Roxas doesn't feel sick, Hiro relaxes before he drops himself on the couch and drags his backpack into his lap, opening the front pocket and grabbing a couple of chips and dropping them on the table in front of him.]
Roxas, do you know what these are? [He's mostly getting a gauge on what Roxas already knows about tech so he can explain everything.]
maybe if he was like, a day later in his canon point he'd have a better idea thanks to ~false memories~, but alas. that's not the case, so his knowledge of computers is pretty minimal at best. unlike some of his coworkers, he didn't go prying into saïx's computer... or nosing around most things that weren't his to mess with.]
...Should I know what they are? [he tilts his head a bit. it looks like it's something technological but what exactly? he has no idea.]
[Sigh. It's okay, buddy. Hiro's got your back on this one.]
These are computer chips. Well, data chips, more accurately. They're little pieces of technology that hold all sorts of information and are used to program things to perform a lot of different functions or save a lot of information. These ones were found in a bunch of library books and we found out they were emitting a signal that was able to control all of us. That's why everybody who read the books went sort of crazy.
[the real question here is "why the hell does a book need a data chip?" or anything like that. but even roxas has a vague answer to that question that more or less boils down to "ceres gonna ceres." he frowns a little, looking closer at the chips.]
So this is what made everyone so weird. It was in the books... I guess that's why I didn't change. [he never opened any of the books, because he barely had time to before things started getting weird.]
Yup. My friend ripped all of these out and brought them to me. We're still running tests on them and everything. It's definitely what was behind everybody's craziness. I think the books might be safe now, but I still don't trust it. It also means we've gotta be on the lookout for more stuff like this that could be controlling us.
That's just part of the stuff I wanted to talk to you about, but it's pretty important. You know how we can go into the jungle now because of that gap in the wall? A bunch of us went a few weeks ago and found out some more stuff, too, from the natives.
Yeah, I wouldn't trust it either. But I guess... it's kind of how anything goes with CERES stuff, right?
[that's how it's always been as far as he's seen, anyway. but since that's not the important part here, roxas pauses to listen to what hiro has to say.]
...From the natives? [so there really are natives outside the city that are still there. okay, please tell him more! he's listening.]
The thing is...I don't know if all of it's really untrustworthy. There are some parts that maybe we can actually use to our benefit and we can trust but for the most part I'm suspicious of everything. [Mosley is always the wildcard in this situation.
But let's talk about the natives. He nods, grinning lightly because he likes having an attentive audience and he reaches into his backpack again to drag out a notebook, flipping through some pages.] They didn't have a lot to say but check this out. [He's handing the notebook over to Roxas. Written on the page is the following:
Spoke with people from Occidi's (earth) clan. Fire up north in volcanic region, air in the mountains, water south by ocean.
The natives entered a contract with CERES (possibly tricked? Not sure.) Only some of fire + earth agreed, water refused, air were never found. (Where are Caeli's natives now? Does this have to do with what we found up on the mountain?) The contract was an agreement to build on the planet, but the natives didn't know Cerealia was going to be built.
Earth natives mentioned sacrifices too. Did CERES sacrifice the natives who said no? Earth people wouldn't elaborate beyond that. Needs more research.
He lets Roxas absorb that for a moment before continuing.]
You can see where that raises even more questions. I might have found a new lead from when a couple of us broke into the tower again, too.
Yeah, it makes sense. I guess that's just what we have to do... try to find the truth for ourselves. That's what recon is for, right?
[he smiles back—he knows what reconnaissance is all about, after all. that's something he's pretty well-versed in. but regardless, he takes the notebook from hiro, reading everything slowly. can he read faster? of course. but he'd rather make sure he's actually processing everything, because things can get pretty confusing otherwise. at least, he thinks so.]
Sacrifices... [some of the stuff that's on that paper make a lot of sense. the things about the air natives, and where the clans are located—it doesn't seem like there's much reason that wouldn't be true. but sacrifices...]
I wonder... if CERES would really go that far. Or if something else happened, and they got blamed for it. [not that he's really interested in giving anyone from CERES the benefit of the doubt, but anything is possible, right?] There's definitely a lot of questions. What else did you find out?
["again." geez, hiro's so proactive! roxas wonders if he should step up his game, but his interest in their matters just isn't as pressing as what he needs to do, so he hasn't delved that deep, even if he does want to help.]
[This is what happens when you don't know how to stop and relax and/or you're dealing with a lot of feelings you don't feel like addressing. Roxas on recon sounds exactly where he should be (and he'd trust Roxas more than himself on that kind of mission at this rate) but it's the reason he needs to catch his friend up to speed. He doesn't seem to mind that Roxas is taking his time reading it even if he's drumming his fingers on his knees almost impatiently. It's nervous energy mostly and when Roxas finally speaks he sighs heavily.]
You think? Like what, maybe the Flamines are real? [It's a possibility he hadn't exactly considered, but they also didn't really know what was on the planet with them.]It's possible, but until we know more we can't answer any of those questions.
Anyway. I mean the first time we broke into the tower we found the Bridge and set her free. The second time wasn't exactly as productive but…it was a smaller group of us. My brother and I ended up getting separated from the others and we went up really high into the tower into this other room full of generators. And then the room said that there was "disparity in energy levels" as son as it registered me and Tadashi. Roxas, we're energy sources for the planet somehow. I haven't figured out why or how, but…it makes sense. We went up higher, too, and found this old terminal and we booted the thing up and realized we were being watched.
[He takes the notebook back, flipping a few pages to get to a drawing of this guy.]
Does he look familiar to you at all? [He's gonna guess no, but it doesn't hurt to ask.]
I dunno... why wouldn't they be real? I know CERES isn't honest about a lot of things, but... just because we haven't seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist, right?
[he's heard a couple of people in passing with that belief, but roxas has always been skeptical. there's no way of proving the flames don't exist. maybe they're not as much of a threat as CERES claims, or maybe they're more of one. but roxas isn't ready to discount their entire existence just because they haven't seen anything else.
the other stuff goes over roxas' head a bit.] Energy, though. That...
[he's not sure. hiro says it makes sense, but he's clearly a bit puzzled by it. maybe it does make sense to someone, but he doesn't get it. at least he's not surprised about being watched—that seemed like a given, honestly. maybe because the organization always tried to keep close tabs on everyone and everything that was relevant to them? who knows.
either way, his puzzlement continues as he looks at the drawing.] I've never seen him before. Who is that?
I guess that's true. You can't really see energy or anything and that definitely exists. Or ghosts. Whatever. [And they'll find out just how real ghosts are sooner or later…] It's just weird that we keep hearing about them but there's no proof yet. That's what bugs me a lot about the whole thing.
[And speaking of energy, maybe that was a bad example.] Energy though. Like…we're powering the planet. Like electricity, maybe. I'm still trying to make sense of it. Could be why they can mess with us the way they can. [He looks back at the drawing before he shrugs.] No clue. I've been trying to do some research but it's something that was watching me and Tadashi in the tower. It's definitely not human though, whatever it is. I don't know if it's dangerous but…it's pretty creepy.
Maybe. But there's probably a lot of things that we see and hear about that really exist. I don't think that's any different.
[there are other aliens, medusas, and people with no hearts. these people are all coexisting in cerealia already, and some of those things probably only exist as myths to others, right? he doesn't see it as anything else.]
It looks pretty creepy... If all of this was in the tower though, do you think it's connected? That... guy, and whatever this energy thing is all about. [does that even make sense? roxas isn't sure. he sighs a little, frowning deeply as he tries to make sense of it.] It's like.. we have a lot of pieces, but not enough to put anything together yet.
[And Hiro knows about 2/3 of those, but at the same time he's still puzzled. Why does Cerealia exist the way it does? How can it be stabilized with all of their energies and powers without collapsing on itself or short-circuiting or something of the sort? But those are questions he can ask himself later. Let's focus on the alien.]
It's gotta be. I really doubt he was just sitting there waiting for us. Maybe he knew we were in there and then showed up. [He runs a hand through his hair out of frustration.] That's why I'm telling you all of the pieces I know. We need people to be on guard and keep their eyes open for anything that might build the bigger picture.
[to that, roxas nods. he's not sure if he'll be able to find anything that will tie it together, but that's not going to stop him from trying.]
Yeah. I'll definitely do that much. I dunno what I'll find... or if I'll find anything. But I think there's a better idea of what to look for now, at least. [maybe not in any sort of specific detail, but there are better clues and benchmarkers than before.] It's the only way we'll ever figure out what's really going on. Because... I'm sure there's a lot more than what they tell us and what we've found.
Absolutely. That's the key here, we need to figure out just how much they're hiding from us but I have no idea where to even start. But I bet you'll find something. [He has that much faith in Roxas. That could be good or bad.] I'm still getting clues, too. I'll update you as I find everything, but I think I need to stay out of the tower for a while.
[There's a pause.] ...but we should hang out more even if we don't have any updates on what's happening here. [He's trying to get better about asking people to go do things with him and just have friends versus associates. May as well start here.]
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coexistent) wrote2015-07-03 05:05 pm
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Is that weird? I actually just left her place a little bit ago.
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[it didn't really occur to him that he'd come up in their conversation at all. it's more surprising than weird—it makes sense on some level. they're all friends, right? so it's not weird.]
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demyx sometimes, maybe. but it's not as if it was common.
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You met Xion? [he does brighten a bit at that. he's glad that xion's meeting so many good people before he can even introduce her to his friends. she's just so good like that.]
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[Shrug.] She told me a couple of interesting things about you, too.
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[color him curious. granted, how could he not be curious when hiro says something like that?] What did she say?
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[Roxas is sort of quiet and a little weird but he can 100% see why the two of them would gravitate toward each other.]
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[who knows what roxas was actually expecting she'd say, but at least it wasn't something embarrassing. he didn't think it would be anything too bad, since xion isn't the type, but still.]
But yeah... we're best friends. It's been that way for a while so... I'm glad I can see her. [even if it's here, in this terrible place. he has his reasons.]
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[But he's shaking his head.] Anyway that's not why I'm here. I wanted to talk to you about the stuff going on around in the colony and some stuff I found in the library. How're you feeling?
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Right. I wanna know what you found out. The library... everything about that place was weird. [but he didn't find out anything significant, either.] Feeling? Okay, I guess.
[nothing at the library affected him at least. he has had a bit of a tickle at the back of his throat, but he doesn't really deem that worth noting as of now.]
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Roxas, do you know what these are? [He's mostly getting a gauge on what Roxas already knows about tech so he can explain everything.]
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maybe if he was like, a day later in his canon point he'd have a better idea thanks to ~false memories~, but alas. that's not the case, so his knowledge of computers is pretty minimal at best. unlike some of his coworkers, he didn't go prying into saïx's computer... or nosing around most things that weren't his to mess with.]
...Should I know what they are? [he tilts his head a bit. it looks like it's something technological but what exactly? he has no idea.]
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These are computer chips. Well, data chips, more accurately. They're little pieces of technology that hold all sorts of information and are used to program things to perform a lot of different functions or save a lot of information. These ones were found in a bunch of library books and we found out they were emitting a signal that was able to control all of us. That's why everybody who read the books went sort of crazy.
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[the real question here is "why the hell does a book need a data chip?" or anything like that. but even roxas has a vague answer to that question that more or less boils down to "ceres gonna ceres." he frowns a little, looking closer at the chips.]
So this is what made everyone so weird. It was in the books... I guess that's why I didn't change. [he never opened any of the books, because he barely had time to before things started getting weird.]
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That's just part of the stuff I wanted to talk to you about, but it's pretty important. You know how we can go into the jungle now because of that gap in the wall? A bunch of us went a few weeks ago and found out some more stuff, too, from the natives.
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[that's how it's always been as far as he's seen, anyway. but since that's not the important part here, roxas pauses to listen to what hiro has to say.]
...From the natives? [so there really are natives outside the city that are still there. okay, please tell him more! he's listening.]
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But let's talk about the natives. He nods, grinning lightly because he likes having an attentive audience and he reaches into his backpack again to drag out a notebook, flipping through some pages.] They didn't have a lot to say but check this out. [He's handing the notebook over to Roxas. Written on the page is the following:
Spoke with people from Occidi's (earth) clan. Fire up north in volcanic region, air in the mountains, water south by ocean.
The natives entered a contract with CERES (possibly tricked? Not sure.) Only some of fire + earth agreed, water refused, air were never found. (Where are Caeli's natives now? Does this have to do with what we found up on the mountain?) The contract was an agreement to build on the planet, but the natives didn't know Cerealia was going to be built.
Earth natives mentioned sacrifices too. Did CERES sacrifice the natives who said no? Earth people wouldn't elaborate beyond that. Needs more research.
He lets Roxas absorb that for a moment before continuing.]
You can see where that raises even more questions. I might have found a new lead from when a couple of us broke into the tower again, too.
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[he smiles back—he knows what reconnaissance is all about, after all. that's something he's pretty well-versed in. but regardless, he takes the notebook from hiro, reading everything slowly. can he read faster? of course. but he'd rather make sure he's actually processing everything, because things can get pretty confusing otherwise. at least, he thinks so.]
Sacrifices... [some of the stuff that's on that paper make a lot of sense. the things about the air natives, and where the clans are located—it doesn't seem like there's much reason that wouldn't be true. but sacrifices...]
I wonder... if CERES would really go that far. Or if something else happened, and they got blamed for it. [not that he's really interested in giving anyone from CERES the benefit of the doubt, but anything is possible, right?] There's definitely a lot of questions. What else did you find out?
["again." geez, hiro's so proactive! roxas wonders if he should step up his game, but his interest in their matters just isn't as pressing as what he needs to do, so he hasn't delved that deep, even if he does want to help.]
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You think? Like what, maybe the Flamines are real? [It's a possibility he hadn't exactly considered, but they also didn't really know what was on the planet with them.]It's possible, but until we know more we can't answer any of those questions.
Anyway. I mean the first time we broke into the tower we found the Bridge and set her free. The second time wasn't exactly as productive but…it was a smaller group of us. My brother and I ended up getting separated from the others and we went up really high into the tower into this other room full of generators. And then the room said that there was "disparity in energy levels" as son as it registered me and Tadashi. Roxas, we're energy sources for the planet somehow. I haven't figured out why or how, but…it makes sense. We went up higher, too, and found this old terminal and we booted the thing up and realized we were being watched.
[He takes the notebook back, flipping a few pages to get to a drawing of this guy.]
Does he look familiar to you at all? [He's gonna guess no, but it doesn't hurt to ask.]
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[he's heard a couple of people in passing with that belief, but roxas has always been skeptical. there's no way of proving the flames don't exist. maybe they're not as much of a threat as CERES claims, or maybe they're more of one. but roxas isn't ready to discount their entire existence just because they haven't seen anything else.
the other stuff goes over roxas' head a bit.] Energy, though. That...
[he's not sure. hiro says it makes sense, but he's clearly a bit puzzled by it. maybe it does make sense to someone, but he doesn't get it. at least he's not surprised about being watched—that seemed like a given, honestly. maybe because the organization always tried to keep close tabs on everyone and everything that was relevant to them? who knows.
either way, his puzzlement continues as he looks at the drawing.] I've never seen him before. Who is that?
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[And speaking of energy, maybe that was a bad example.] Energy though. Like…we're powering the planet. Like electricity, maybe. I'm still trying to make sense of it. Could be why they can mess with us the way they can. [He looks back at the drawing before he shrugs.] No clue. I've been trying to do some research but it's something that was watching me and Tadashi in the tower. It's definitely not human though, whatever it is. I don't know if it's dangerous but…it's pretty creepy.
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[there are other aliens, medusas, and people with no hearts. these people are all coexisting in cerealia already, and some of those things probably only exist as myths to others, right? he doesn't see it as anything else.]
It looks pretty creepy... If all of this was in the tower though, do you think it's connected? That... guy, and whatever this energy thing is all about. [does that even make sense? roxas isn't sure. he sighs a little, frowning deeply as he tries to make sense of it.] It's like.. we have a lot of pieces, but not enough to put anything together yet.
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It's gotta be. I really doubt he was just sitting there waiting for us. Maybe he knew we were in there and then showed up. [He runs a hand through his hair out of frustration.] That's why I'm telling you all of the pieces I know. We need people to be on guard and keep their eyes open for anything that might build the bigger picture.
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Yeah. I'll definitely do that much. I dunno what I'll find... or if I'll find anything. But I think there's a better idea of what to look for now, at least. [maybe not in any sort of specific detail, but there are better clues and benchmarkers than before.] It's the only way we'll ever figure out what's really going on. Because... I'm sure there's a lot more than what they tell us and what we've found.
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[There's a pause.] ...but we should hang out more even if we don't have any updates on what's happening here. [He's trying to get better about asking people to go do things with him and just have friends versus associates. May as well start here.]
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