paixaorpg | The Doll and The Berserker

Entry tags:

saix,
xion

The Doll and The Berserker

Character(s): Saïx and Xion
Content: A wayward doll is retrieved
Setting: In the streets of the city
Time: shortly after this
Warnings: ...see the characters involved

It had been inevitable that Marluxia would again resurface. Saïx had known that since the very moment he had first made his presence silently known on the journals. Revenge, or something like it for those who had left? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Saïx cared little to know of the details. All he cared for was the results. He had loosed things that would be tactical suicide if left unanswered. Dangerous things, to sway the minds and hearts of the people still in the city.

It could have been nothing other than a deliberate move. He'd seen enough of the man's answers to know that. It was merely far more troublesome than he cared to deal with.

But one trouble at a time. The army Marluxia had roused would need to be dealt with, yes. But that would take planning, and discussion, things he had little time for. Marluxia's ill-aimed post had roused the suspicion of a single key pawn; one who would need to be chased back to the fold. It for this reason that Saïx was out in the streets of the city mere moments after the post. The doll could not have run far. Would not have run far past its usual haunts. It would try to flee to them... or to the others it thought it could befriend. Simple paths, for a simple mockery of that which it had been meant to be.

There was nowhere it could escape to now, as Saïx stalked through the streets in search of his prey.

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Xion has been surprised by the reports- maybe more than she should have been. She knew people ran experiments in Castle Oblivion. That was how she was made. But, for some reason, she hadn't thought there would be things like that, on the people who were brought here.

Maybe it was because she didn't want to consider it.

Now that she knew for sure, however, she wanted to help. She knew it was dangerous; if the Organization found out, well... it would be very bad. But she had to help. The people here didn't deserve to have to deal with that. Timon, Vyers, the Doctor, Hope...

She wondered briefly if Hope's brand had anything to do these (it had made him so upset, after all), and quickly decided that she didn't want to think about that.

So, she was out looking for the Doctor. He was trying to raise an army on the network, and she's tried to warn him but she wasn't sure he understood how dangerous a public display like that was. And... if she was going to help, there were probably a few things she should admit to. But she didn't know where he lived, and though she stuck to the shadows there were only so many people wandering around Paixao in hoods....

Only so many indeed, and few who boasted a physique similar to Saïx, even if the hood hid his face. Regardless of the puppet's assumption, neither of the two it could have been were anything remotely like a good thing. Still, he stood quietly for a moment before speaking. He wouldn't even bother holding out a hand to it. What need was there to show kindness to a doll?

"Come," he spoke at length. "Your presence is required."

Xion froze when she heard the voice. True, neither would have been good, but in many cases? She preferred anyone to Saix.

She could only guess what this was about. She hadn't even done anything yet. Maybe it was a warning to make sure she wouldn't? It wasn't like she was given a choice, though, and it would be so much worse if she tried to run or fight. She wasn't ruling that out as an option for later, but after a considerable pause, she just nodded. Saix wasn't usually fond of her talking.

No, no. i, had not yet done anything. But truth could be a danger and it had been so long since last the puppet had been properly spoken to.

It was a relief that it seemed to recall his preferences on the matter of speaking, however. Bad enough that he alone was best suited to this task. Worse still to have to hear the mockery of a voice its creation had seen fit to give it. (Some small part of him thought it would have been quite cathartic had it turned to run, but he reigned the impulse in for the time.) Nothing in his orders had asked for its destruction.

So instead he simply stepped across the space between them before grabbing its arm in a grip that could only be called punishingly tight.

"Did you think you could avoid us? Or did you allow freedom to overwrite common sense?"

Xion winced, and the immediate reaction was to try and pull away from the grasp. After the kneejerk reaction, she stopped pulling but remained rigid. Running seemed like less of a bad idea now.

She really wants to point out that she hasn't done anything. Honestly, she doesn't know what he's talking about with overwriting her common sense. (She's not even going to address the avoidance part.) Still, she starts with, "I don--" before biting her lip and forcing herself to be quiet. That wasn't going to last for much longer.

Done or undone, Saïx doesn't care. Even had he a heart, he wouldn't care.

"You answered," he replied, with a sharp tug on its arm in answer to the abortive attempt to pull away. He had barely enough patience to see this through the end. Any delay was thus added to the arrangement of inconveniences already set on no i's head. Delay on delay and what suffered the most was his already limited patience. "Don't think to tell me you didn't know what was going to come of it."

She answered? When-- on the anonymous post. In hindsight, Xion didn't know why she'd pushed the button to reply. She thought maybe she had something she was going to ask, but it hadn't come. All the had? Saix's attention.

Xion was still tense, and very rigid, but now averted her eyes (not that Saix could see them)-- she should have known better. She should have thought about it, and now look what she'd gotten herself in to.

Yes. That was the expression he wanted to see from no. i. Understanding of what its own actions had brought. It had answered. It had cared, or rather made the attempt to appear as if it cared and a slow smile spread across his face. Now the truth was beginning to dawn.

"So you are capable of learning from errors. I'd almost started to wonder about that."

Her eyes went back to him, and she was glaring now. Yes, she could 'learn from errors.' She knew she had to be more careful now.

Still, Xion didn't say anything. Maybe if she kept quiet, he'd leave her alone.

Left alone? There was no left alone. Not for a valuable puppet. A puppet wasn't fit for anything other than what it was created for. No. i was theirs. Their last and final attempt to bring the Keybearer truly under their control. Admittedly, it was a little odd to see that no. i was no longer interfering with XIII's use of the keyblade, but no matter. The doll was not to be discarded over something so trivial.

"Come," he reiterated, pulling roughly on the arm he was already holding as a portal sprang up nearby. Even with it simply being a charitable discussion with a wandering toy, he had no inclination to stay in the streets longer than he had to.

So much for that hope, then.

Briefly, Xion considered her options. She could still summon her own portals, so she could get away... but as little as she wanted to see this through, she did need to be careful. There wasn't much time to think, though. Casting another glare at him, Xion slowly stepped through the portal.

Good. The puppet still remembered to be properly obedient. Not that he would have had the slightest compunction in dragging it bodily through the portal if need be - a doll could always be repaired if it broke - but the less effort he had to put into it the better.

The portal opened out into the cold sterility that was characteristic to all of the more secret places the Organization haunted. A much more suitable place for things that ought to be kept at least marginally secret, although if it hadn't been for the fact that he didn't wish anyone to accidentally overhear he wouldn't have even bothered to bring the puppet here. There was a brief moment of calculated silence, and then he let go of the arm he'd been holding. There wasn't anywhere much it could try running to now; nowhere that he wouldn't be able to follow.

"Give me your journal," he spoke into the silence, holding out a hand.

Xion let her arm drop, rubbing it subconsciously. Saix had a very tight grip. But when he spoke again, she looked up at him, confused and wary. "Why?" she asked. Was he going to take it from her?

Again, there was a moment of silence, as Saïx frowned down at no. i. Clearly it was high time someone took it make in hand if this was how it sought to act after a very clear order. He asked, and he expected to be given. Not questioned, when his temper was already frayed enough as it it was.

"Your journal, No. i," he repeated, a little of his impatience creeping into his voice.

Xion recognized the tone, but didn't immediately react to it. She hated being treated like something worthless... even if maybe she was. She once was a lot better at keeping quiet, but the sense of freedom had gotten to her. So even though she knew what she should be doing, she asked again. "Why do you need it, sir?"

"Your journal," Saïx reiterated once again. He didn't owe the puppet an explanation as to why he particularly wanted it. Moreover, the simple fact that it had asked in the first place was enough to suggest that it was high time to let the puppet know that it only had the freedoms that had been granted it - and that those same freedoms could very easily be revoked.

"I won't ask again."

Xion continued to frown, but sense was starting to kick in once again. Slowly and very reluctantly, she handed over the journal. She probably wasn't going to get it back, though she didn't see how useful that would be. She could just borrow someone else's, and then it would be harder to contact her for missions, if she ever had one.

Part of her kind of just wanted to throw it at him. It was very hard to resist.

There. That was at least closer to what he'd expected from it, although the obvious reluctance grated on his nerves. But at least he had the journal now, tempting though it was to simply go over it while the puppet stood there waiting.

"Good. Now, do you know the consequences of your actions?"

That got Xion to really pause. To be honest... no, she didn't. Not the way Saix would want to hear, anyway. (After all, her answer was something along the lines of 'because I wasn't sneaky enough, I have to deal with you.') She struggled to come up with an acceptable answer, but... honestly wasn't coming up with much immediately.

And, judging by Saix's already fraying nerves with, 'immediately' was probably the only acceptable time frame in which to answer.

Very much the only acceptable time frame in which to answer. The fact that the puppet had chosen not to answer was thus treated as if it had no answer, a fact that was both hardly a surprise and highly irritating.

"Let me explain. You have been allowed to stray for too long. This latest outburst only proves the depths to which you have sunk. If your 'friends' are so important to you then they can just as easily prove weakness."

Saïx paused for a moment, to let his words sink in. "Axel and number XIII have grown close to you, haven't they?"

Xion froze- Saix's message had very clearly gotten through. They... wouldn't do anything to them, right? They were part of the Organization too, so they needed all the hands they could get and--

When she ventured a look at Saix's expression, she suddenly had no doubts he would carry through with it.

Axel she wasn't as worried about. He was really strong, after all, and since they seemed like sending him special missions they wouldn't do anything really bad, right? (She didn't want them to do ANYTHING bad, was the issue.) Roxas... Roxas she was worried about. He didn't have his memories back yet, and she wasn't sure if he wanted them back. If they came after him...

Really, if they targeted any of her friends because of her, she'd feel horrible. And it showed.

Oh, there was absolutely nothing saying that they wouldn't still be able to do the business of the Organization once Saïx was through with them. There were plenty of ways to leave someone with lasting injuries and still leave them able to carry out the business of the Organization. The injuries didn't even need to truly be physically obvious to be truly effective.

Take the puppet before him, for example. All it had taken was the suggestion of violence and the very certain fact that he would be true to his word and the puppet had crumpled like a marionette suddenly deprived of its strings.

"Your journal will be returned tomorrow, provided you prove worthy of having one again."

Xion only nodded mutely. She didn't know what to do, now. She still had to find the Doctor... but not right now. Even though she didn't know what 'being worthy' of having her journal back meant, she could guess it didn't involve spending the night in Paixao again.

There was a long moment of silence as Saïx stared down at Xion. It was obvious the puppet was at the least properly chastised for its current actions, but whether or not that was truly going to be enough was quite another matter. But forcing the matter further was only likely to undo what little progress he'd made.

"You're dismissed," he intoned finally. "I expect you to report back to me tomorrow."

Xion nodded, and turned to head down the hallway towards her room. It had been a few days since she'd even been in there... and when compared to the color of everywhere else (even Paixao), it was a little intimidating. Maybe she'd go out later, but... right now she needed to play it safe.

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The Doll and The Berserker

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