allsoend | A day with family remembered

Entry tags:

A day with family remembered

Who: Kairi and Ven, but more can appear
What: The first memory in the next chain...where does it lead?
Where: Memory chains
Warnings: Nothing thusfar

There are seven new sparks of light remaining in the darkness along with the others at the end of Sora’s last available memory. When touched, the light of this memory opens up onto a bright, warm place that no one present would recognize. It doesn’t appear to look like any world anyone would have visited before, while at the same time feeling strangely familiar.

The scene actually starts from a bird’s eye view before those visiting find themselves suddenly swept to the ground. From above can be seen a wide lake fed by two waterfalls, with a vast forest hugging sloping mountains on one side, and a large town spreading out on the other. Up the hill from the town is a castle, although it’s not recognizable.

When brought down to the ground, those visiting will find themselves in an open-air plaza, situated right next to a garden overflowing with gorgeous flowers. A couple small clusters of people are talking or enjoying lunch in the plaza; there looks to be a bakery nearby. The two will find themselves closest to a father and son sitting at a table right next to the garden’s entrance. The father, looking to be in his late thirties, sports dark skin, black hair and blue eyes, while his son is a squirrely six-year-old with brown eyes. The boy apparently has a beloved pet with him: a blue beta fish with yellow-edged fins swimming around in a small fish bowl. The father is attempting to get the boy to sit down and eat the sandwiches just purchased, but the boy is too busy fussing over the fish or getting up to look at the gardens closer.

There is one thing distinct about this place: it seems to be overflowing with light. Everything here feels happy and at peace.

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It was hard to say how many lives had ended. It was certain, however, that not everything ended. Those children had saved it.

Sora crashes pretty hard after studying for a test. If all of this is getting stuck inside him, I can't blame him for crashing now.

Yeah. He... feels the same. Kairi would be able to sense that Riku wasn't exactly certain of why he had the conviction, but he felt it inside. He never was good at following his heart, though he'd improved. I wonder who else we know is here? Because it seemed likely at this point.

Riku gave a nod. "See you later."

Me neither, Kairi thought. But that left them with the question of how to wake Sora up. If this was just an overload of memories, of hearts all bonding to his at once...was there a way they could lift that burden from him? Either way, they would have to find him first.

If they were both feeling this way, then it couldn't be simple coincidence. In their line of work, things rarely were. I'm starting think he really is. It was kind of mind-boggling. His heart had existed for this long...and by that logic, probably all of theirs had.

I don't know...but if Sora's heart is here, any of ours could be, too.

As the two stood in the garden thinking things over, there came what could be considered a reply to their inquiries: a bright flash of light indicating another star-shaped object. It appeared between them and hovered in midair, waiting for one of them to grab it.

-----

[Congratulations, You've earned an Appeal! Specifically, an appeal of happiness and contentment with one's family. This little representation of the memory can be kept by anyone and shared between anyone that asks for it, in the same 'space' one would keep a Keyblade. It's up to those present who would like to hang on to the Appeal for now.]

Riku had no idea how to lift that burden from him. He would gladly try to take part of the load upon himself, but he doubted he'd fair even as well as Sora did.

With my luck I'd be Toshi's mom, Riku joked. Still, the concept that their hearts were that old was... humbling.

Riku covered his eyes when the star-shaped object appeared, taken somewhat by surprise. Slowly he reached out for it, but he still held it between himself and Kairi. If she wanted to take it, she could. A peaceful smile crossed his face and his voice was soft. "I wonder what would happen if we took this one to Sora's Station."

Kairi didn't know, either. She could definitely help how she could, but that many hearts and memories all at once had to be beyond overwhelming. Perhaps the only reason Sora was still in one piece and surviving now was because his heart could come closest to bearing that load.

It definitely was a humbling thought that they could have been around that long. It also seemed to put a lot of things in perspective. She couldn't help but wonder...if this was a memory of Kingdom Hearts, and this had happened so many times...perhaps that was why it seemed to be so adamant about starting everything over. Knowing that a heart had already gone through so many permutations, would it really be that concerned about one more?

You mean with your luck, you'd be that fish! she joked back.

Kairi was glad to see the star-object appear again, although she wondered what they had done to get it. Certainly saving the boy's fish couldn't have been it. "We can always try it."

Another restart from Kingdom Hearts would be simple routine to it. That's why it was pushing so hard for everyone to sleep. It must have grown numb to the value of individual lives.

He suddenly frowned. Don't joke about that. And yet on some level...

Riku wasn't quite sure what they'd done either, but regardless he was grateful for its appearance. He seemed outright soothed by it. "Do we want to do it now? Or should we hang onto it a bit?" He held it out to Kairi. The object was so nice to hold, she should feel it too.

And if it had grown completely numb to their lives ending if their hearts would just begin again with new ones, having done it for eons, there didn't seem to be any way they could reach common ground. Not when they all so clearly wanted to hang on to their own lives. Were they truly at an impasse with Kingdom Hearts here?

She actually didn't expect him to take the joke that hard. And that got her thinking. He had reacted really strongly when that fish had gotten caught. She glanced up at Riku. Why? You don't think...

Kairi took the object and held it in her hands. Despite all that had happened in this memory, the feelings associated with it all seemed positive and content. "I guess let's hang on to it for now."

If it had forgotten the value of a life, then somehow it would somehow need to be reminded of it.

No, I don't think. And I don't want to. But I feel that maybe... He crossed his arms. Maybe that's why I didn't like that cat straight off? And why I acted without a thought...

As he handed it off, he felt the emotions ebb, and he sighed them away, replacing them with only the calm of the place they were in. "Yeah. You should probably be the one to hang onto it."

Yeah. I was wondering about that...and about a lot of things. She gave him a sheepish look. Maybe that would explain some of that. If that was the case, then...wow, what a thing for a heart to learn. Just to put it lightly. She couldn't help wondering if that cat was anyone they knew, then.

"All right. Thanks, Riku." With that, she put the star-object away, always subconsciously aware of its presence, along with her Keyblade.

Riku had looked off elsewhere as he often did when he was becoming introspective. it was a lot to take in. For all he knew, the chicken he'd eaten for his last meal at home had been his great grandfather, his heart wiped clean and repurposed. It was... grim. The concept that the cat could potentially be someone they knew slipped into Riku's mind as if it was his own thought. "You know, I wonder if that cat was Xehanort..."

Kairi joined him that quiet contemplation. If all this was true, it could be both enobling and terribly humbling...in past iterations, their hearts could have been friends or family, too. Or, they could have been complete strangers, or even worse. If that was the case, then no wonder Kingdom Hearts thought the way it did. To it, every heart was equal, and so was every life it lived. What would it matter to Kingdom Hearts that they all ended here if there was just an entirely different life waiting? It was certainly sobering.

That last line from Riku shook her out of her contemplation a bit, though. "If it was him, then maybe you should have thrown a rock at it!" she said, half-joking.

With so many different lives lived by each heart, they all were equal. A king and a peasant could switch lives the next time around. While fair, it was unsettling. A strong thought echoed loudly in his mind. Who am I? Who was I? Experiences shaped the heart. It left indelible marks. Did his past lives make him who he was? Then who was he?

"I should have," he replied a little less than half-joking. "It at least feels familiar."

Kairi heard that thought from Riku, that wondering about who they truly were, if this was just the newest version of a life lived over and over. She wasn't sure how to answer at first, but she wanted to be encouraging, somehow. We know who you are now, Riku. I know. As to who we were...maybe it's better that we never really know for sure. She wondered if Kingdom Hearts even knew that. Could it look at a heart and see back through the lives it had experienced? Or were all previous memories and lives just a jumble of experiences to it?

"If that was him," (and most of her was still hoping it wasn't), "then look at it this way: you've given him some serious payback now."

Riku narrowed his eyes in thought. "...Why is it better that we don't know? You saw how fast I acted. Not a thought. Those past lives must've had some affect on me. Toshi was talking about how he and Finny would be friends in another life. Well? Guess what? That's a huge coincidence." Ordered or jumbled, by now to Kingdom Hearts every heart and memory was just another flavor of vanilla. Plain and unamazing.

He smirked in jest, cracking his knuckles. "And Xigbar always seemed to wonder why we glared at them."

"Yeah, I saw," she replied, still thinking. "But if that was you...do you feel better knowing it? It would explain those actions, so I guess it does leave an imprint on the heart. But it's not just what happened many years or eons ago that shapes who we are."

"I don't think we'd need past lives as an excuse to glare at his lot!" She joked. Although that could certainly add to the list of offenses.

"...Not just. Most of my actions are from and for this lifetime. But those previous lives are still a part of my heart." Riku's hand went over his chest, despite being a heart entirely. "I've got no clues how being a fish affected how I am now. Maybe that I won't go down without a fight. But... I think it's something I should know if I can find out." Over the years, Riku thought he was many things, and many of those things were proven wrong. "I'll look. But... Maybe not to hard." There were other things they couldn't risk losing sight of.

"Fair enough. They cause enough trouble in just one life."

"I guess the hard part would be finding that out. This doesn't seem to be a memory that belongs to any particular person." And thusfar, it didn't seem they had much control over the memories they'd been able to go through. It was as if everything was all jumbled together. If her suspicions were right, they could spend eons searching through thousands of memories all chained in here and still never find another one of a life they'd lived before. "If you do find something out...please tell me! Although, just be real careful if you do try..." She couldn't imagine revisiting a memory that ended in a cat's stomach would be a pleasant experience, even with all of the unpleasant experiences they'd already had.

"They cause enough trouble in one life to make up for tons of others!" After all, it was because of them that they were all here now.

"Nah. These memories aren't connected to my heart anymore. 'Riku' never did these things." Riku didn't expect to open up some card catalogue, index or browser and just find a memory. If he encountered memories of a past life, it'd be by accident. Now, however, he had something to keep an eye out for while trying to figure out how to wake Sora and get out of his heart. "Don't worry, I'll tell you. I'll probably be trying to make sense of it anyway. I'd appreciate the help." He'd survived being in the belly of a whale. Surviving a mere memory of being in the stomach of a cat would be a walk in the park. "You know, a long time ago Maleficent told me that inside Kingdom Hearts was untold wisdom. ...Now I know why."

"Hm, no kidding," he replied amusedly.

"Thanks. And if I find anything in one of these other memories, I'll let you know, too." That could keep them both busy on the side.

"Who would've thought that she'd be right about that..." She wondered if even Maleficent understood the full extent of what 'untold wisdom' really entailed. It seemed beyond the capacity for any one person to truly grasp, which is why it found its home in the sum of all hearts.

"I guess we better start looking for others, then!" she said. They'd found the star-object in this memory, and learned a whole lot...much more than she'd been expecting. This definitely had to be shared with the others.

"Thanks. Let me know if you find any of your past lives either."

"I did." Riku never had a doubt that the evil fairy was right about it. Maleficent was nobody's fool, though she'd been tricked just like himself. Neither had understood the extent to which that was true, however.

"Sounds like a good idea. The more we got the better, I bet."

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A day with family remembered

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