9 - voice/action;
[Log followup, closed action]
[He ran. He ran at as quick a pace as he could muster from the beach, pushing himself on after each stumble, forcing himself forward despite his body's protests. Every inch of him ached and his lungs worked in shallow fits by the time he'd gotten all the way back to the apartment. His mind was swimming. He fumbled with his Keyblade as he opened the lock and clipped the door frame with his shoulder shoving his way in. Xehanort was defeated. Xehanort was gone- gone, maybe for good, maybe not, but he'd been stopped. He'd been destroyed and Terra had been the one to strike him down. He should have been relieved, elated even, and how his heart yearned for satisfaction, but he had no room for any of those emotions in his heart.
Terra bolted for the bathroom and laid his Keyblade up against its door after shutting and locking it. He wasted no time in getting Xehanort's tunic and shoes off, grabbing at the sink counter for balance as he threw them aside. He hesitated a second, realizing his hakama was nowhere to be found, but finally shed the black pants, as well, leaving him in his boxers. He ran his hands through his hair, over his face, the whole of his body trembling. He could still feel where every Keyblade blow had landed, where bones had been cracked and flesh bruised, though those wounds had been healed at the conclusion of the battle and the reclaiming of his body. He'd destroyed Xehanort. He'd fulfilled his purpose. He'd avenged his Master. He'd won, he'd won.
He'd lost.
The toilet seat was hastily flung back, the bath's faucet turned on carelessly with no effort made to gauge how hot or cold the water being run was. He backed away, stopping only when a wall rose up behind him. He'd made a mistake others had ended up paying for. So many others and so much pain. His friends... Where were they? Vanitas had overcome Ven, had made that accursed weapon somehow, and Terra couldn't be sure if he'd been stopped since then or what had happened. Or what it meant for his best friend. And Aqua... Xehanort had run Aqua's heart through with his Keyblade- the memory of that transgression clawed at him, leaving him crumpled and sinking to the bathroom floor. Ven, Aqua, Roxas, Xion, Joe, Sora. Strangers. Strangers who could very well have been good, honest people. Like all the others in those faraway worlds. And Riku.
Terra's fist slammed against the tiling then pressed against his chest, over his heart racing and leaping. He let his eyes shut. Yellow, always yellow in the mirror and his ears had that stupid point now. He'd defeated his enemy, but there was no sense of resolution to be found.
The world around him moved at the same crawling speed Xehanort's seal had seemed to take as it'd been set into motion. He didn't quite feel himself get up to turn the bath water off and flick the drain down.
He was more aware of himself when it came to picking the NV out of the pants' pocket. For a while, he only watched the device, searching for words and finding new and startling memories instead.
He had to do something. Even if his suspicions were true that his body was weakening in the same way it had in World's End, with that Captain Trips, he had to try. He owed it to everyone he'd hurt to try... There was only the matter of where to start and that left him drawing a terrible blank.
Terra turned on his NV at last. The start... He would read over the other messages first, see if anyone could lead him to Ven, Aqua, or the others.
If only he hadn't left Aslan's side so soon.]
-
[There's just a few seconds of silence before Terra speaks up, his voice hoarse, low- flat.]
Sorry. I'm sorry.
[He's quiet for a moment, only the sound of his slightly-quickened breathing filling the void until he decides what to say next.]
If Riku tells any of you he destroyed Xehanort, he's lying. I was the one who put an end to him. I waited... I waited a very long time to stop him, to make things right... I took back what was mine and I destroyed him.
Nothing anyone says or does will make me regret it.
[He ends the recording at that.]
[Action Option with the Apartment of Departure]
[A while after the message is posted, Terra gets to his feet. He tugs Xehanort's pants back on first (why was it the old man's choice of pants were so much worse than the ones Terra had found himself wearing the first time he'd won back what was rightfully his?), then dismisses his Keyblade from where he'd had it propped up.
He doesn't make it far: one step out of the bathroom, he stops and there stands frozen, uncertainty meeting its mark again. He's become an easy target for it.]
[He ran. He ran at as quick a pace as he could muster from the beach, pushing himself on after each stumble, forcing himself forward despite his body's protests. Every inch of him ached and his lungs worked in shallow fits by the time he'd gotten all the way back to the apartment. His mind was swimming. He fumbled with his Keyblade as he opened the lock and clipped the door frame with his shoulder shoving his way in. Xehanort was defeated. Xehanort was gone- gone, maybe for good, maybe not, but he'd been stopped. He'd been destroyed and Terra had been the one to strike him down. He should have been relieved, elated even, and how his heart yearned for satisfaction, but he had no room for any of those emotions in his heart.
Terra bolted for the bathroom and laid his Keyblade up against its door after shutting and locking it. He wasted no time in getting Xehanort's tunic and shoes off, grabbing at the sink counter for balance as he threw them aside. He hesitated a second, realizing his hakama was nowhere to be found, but finally shed the black pants, as well, leaving him in his boxers. He ran his hands through his hair, over his face, the whole of his body trembling. He could still feel where every Keyblade blow had landed, where bones had been cracked and flesh bruised, though those wounds had been healed at the conclusion of the battle and the reclaiming of his body. He'd destroyed Xehanort. He'd fulfilled his purpose. He'd avenged his Master. He'd won, he'd won.
He'd lost.
The toilet seat was hastily flung back, the bath's faucet turned on carelessly with no effort made to gauge how hot or cold the water being run was. He backed away, stopping only when a wall rose up behind him. He'd made a mistake others had ended up paying for. So many others and so much pain. His friends... Where were they? Vanitas had overcome Ven, had made that accursed weapon somehow, and Terra couldn't be sure if he'd been stopped since then or what had happened. Or what it meant for his best friend. And Aqua... Xehanort had run Aqua's heart through with his Keyblade- the memory of that transgression clawed at him, leaving him crumpled and sinking to the bathroom floor. Ven, Aqua, Roxas, Xion, Joe, Sora. Strangers. Strangers who could very well have been good, honest people. Like all the others in those faraway worlds. And Riku.
Terra's fist slammed against the tiling then pressed against his chest, over his heart racing and leaping. He let his eyes shut. Yellow, always yellow in the mirror and his ears had that stupid point now. He'd defeated his enemy, but there was no sense of resolution to be found.
The world around him moved at the same crawling speed Xehanort's seal had seemed to take as it'd been set into motion. He didn't quite feel himself get up to turn the bath water off and flick the drain down.
He was more aware of himself when it came to picking the NV out of the pants' pocket. For a while, he only watched the device, searching for words and finding new and startling memories instead.
He had to do something. Even if his suspicions were true that his body was weakening in the same way it had in World's End, with that Captain Trips, he had to try. He owed it to everyone he'd hurt to try... There was only the matter of where to start and that left him drawing a terrible blank.
Terra turned on his NV at last. The start... He would read over the other messages first, see if anyone could lead him to Ven, Aqua, or the others.
If only he hadn't left Aslan's side so soon.]
-
[There's just a few seconds of silence before Terra speaks up, his voice hoarse, low- flat.]
Sorry. I'm sorry.
[He's quiet for a moment, only the sound of his slightly-quickened breathing filling the void until he decides what to say next.]
If Riku tells any of you he destroyed Xehanort, he's lying. I was the one who put an end to him. I waited... I waited a very long time to stop him, to make things right... I took back what was mine and I destroyed him.
Nothing anyone says or does will make me regret it.
[He ends the recording at that.]
[Action Option with the Apartment of Departure]
[A while after the message is posted, Terra gets to his feet. He tugs Xehanort's pants back on first (why was it the old man's choice of pants were so much worse than the ones Terra had found himself wearing the first time he'd won back what was rightfully his?), then dismisses his Keyblade from where he'd had it propped up.
He doesn't make it far: one step out of the bathroom, he stops and there stands frozen, uncertainty meeting its mark again. He's become an easy target for it.]