Memory is a fickle thing

[pullsheavendown]

Who: Roxas and Namine
When: Backdated to Sunday, March 25
Where: The Apartment That Never Was
Summary: Roxas has finally figured out some memories aren't right and headed to the expert.

[Roxas didn't want to do this—he'd rather go on pretending nothing was out of the ordinary. He'd done pretty well at that all week, up to the end of their very nice birthday party.

But it was a big deal, and it wasn't his imagination. Something was wrong with his memories. And he wasn't sure he wanted to know what had caused it.

Once he was sure that Joe and Xion were elsewhere, he knocked on the girls' bedroom door.]

Namine? Are you busy?

Comments

[rewritethesky]

[Good, it stuck. She was a little worried it might not with him awake.

She frowns for just a small moment. No one's ever asked her how she's done it before, just that she has.]

I just... do. I don't know if I could explain it properly. [Or if she wants to explain it at all. What would he say or think if she said she could see almost everything that's happened to him or others? It's such an invasive ability.]

[pullsheavendown]

Okay.

[He shakes his head slightly, almost more of a shiver. But the name is still there, and it's not going anywhere.]

So...something was missing, wasn't it?

[rewritethesky]

[She nods her head slowly.]

Mmm. It was like... someone took the name out of your memories. Like they just removed the link to it. Though, and why... I don't know.

[And it visibly upsets her that there's someone out there, potentially messing with other people or gathering info on Nobodies. But there's more pressing matters.]

Want me to continue?

[pullsheavendown]

Yes. I wanna know if anything else is missing. Or changed.

[Because he clearly can't tell himself until he stumbles upon it. And his memories are too precious to leave to chance like that.]

You can look as long as it takes.

[rewritethesky]

[She nods, giving his hand a little squeeze.] Okay.

[Reinserting a skill is a little more difficult than just a name, but a secret or something was easier. One little link, but now that his memories are changed and she hadn't looked at them before, she's a little stumped.]

About that... something with Ahiru, did she correct you on it?

[pullsheavendown]

[He squeezes back, a little surprised but grateful for the show of support.]

Yes. But I still remember what she told me the first time, only now she says that's wrong.

[rewritethesky]

I'll need to know what it really was in order to fix it. What she said was correct.

[pullsheavendown]

[He hesitates for a long moment.]

You can't tell anyone, okay? It was a secret.

[rewritethesky]

[She nods.]

I promise, Roxas.

[pullsheavendown]

Okay.

[He trusts her.]

She said she's a duck. But I remember her saying she's a goose.

[rewritethesky]

[A duck.

How is this weird they know a talking duck from back home! Clearly Ahiru must be a wizard like Donald or something.

Nope. This little girl isn't going to judge. There's been worse and stranger things to happen.]

Alright. Thank you, Roxas.

[And it's a simple and quick little fix! Just taking out one link and putting a different one in.]

[pullsheavendown]

[He doesn't see the issue either but hey, not his duckhood, not his call.]

I don't know if there's anything else. There might be.

[rewritethesky]

I'll keep looking as I go.

[Skateboarding though, that was the other one he mentioned. She frowns.]

This... could get a little more uncomfortable, and take a little longer. [Inserting a skill was more difficult, and she knows that he's fond of skateboarding. All she has to do is find the right pieces and put them in, but there's quite a bit compared to a name or a word.]

[pullsheavendown]

I can take it. I'm tough.

[He smiles wryly, though they both know there's nothing to smile about.]

[rewritethesky]

[It still makes her smile though. She appreciates his sentiments, and the good humour.

This one definitely takes longer. At least half an hour goes by. The memories that are missing are so ingrained in him, and finding the holes and replacing the right links isn't easy.

She sighs ten minutes later, blinking her eyes. She hadn't kept track of time, but she's got about a handful of months of memories left to go through.

She had forgotten how exhausting this was.]

[pullsheavendown]

[It takes a while for Roxas to become alert again when Namine makes a sighing sound. He'd thought he wouldn't sleep, but sitting here while she pieced together tiny pieces of tampered memories felt like a dream on its own.

He wonders, very briefly, if this is what it felt like for Sora when he went to sleep. But before he can swell on that, he lifts his head and tries to shake some of the cobwebs free.]

I think it worked.

[rewritethesky]

[She was rubbing her eyes before he spoke, and smiles at him. But no no, Roxas. She shakes he head.]

Sorry. I'm not entirely done. There's just a little bit left.

I'm sorry it's taking so long.

[pullsheavendown]

It's okay. I just want to be myself again.

Can you...is there a way to know who did this?

[rewritethesky]

I... I dunno. [The thought occurred to her, but so far she hasn't seen anyone out of the ordinary in his memories to pinpoint a culprit.]

...I'm not sure if I can. Things are different here, and their abilities might work differently than mine.