destinystrings | The Final Key

Entry tags:

The Final Key

Who: CLOSED. Nano, Kairi, and a special guest monster
Where: Castle Oblivion
Summary: Nano has a quest leading her deep within Kairi's home, and the redhead is happy to offer her a hand getting there.
Warnings: PG-13 by default

[It would be lying to say she wasn't surprised and perhaps a bit worried to get a call from Nano requesting to travel deep within the castle during the 13th hour, but Kairi was willing to hear her friend out on the matter. And, well, hearing it was a special request from the Velvet Room? She definitely couldn't turn her away from something like that, even if it did get dangerous in there; it'd at least be less so with Kairi around, now that she had inherited the castle. All in all, she had agreed to be her escort.

So, Kairi was waiting on the steps in front of the castle, laying back with fingers entwined behind her head, a small habit she had picked up from extended contact with her best friend. The stars were quite pretty and vibrant tonight, though she couldn't help but feel a twinge of homesickness staring up at them like this, even though that home wasn't technically even hers to speak of. Either way and despite the small bit of negativity, stars still had an overwhelming sense of hope to her, and she quite enjoyed looking up at them when she had an opportunity. So many other people in so many other worlds were looking up at the same sky and stars as she was, with all their own lives and dreams... and maybe, for all Kairi knew, the other her was looking up at them right now too. And maybe, just maybe, orbiting among all those stars way up there was the station, where her loved ones still lived and endured week after week of Val's whims. As long as they carried on... well, there was still hope they could end up here.

Glancing at her watch, a few minutes ticked before midnight would hit; Nano should be here any minute, so long as she hadn't gotten caught up in something. Hopefully she'd get here soon, wouldn't want to miss the rather interesting transformation...]

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[Nano's been to the castle before, and heard at least a little bit about how dangerous it can get during the 13th Hour from Riku while he was still around. Caroline made the trip and the monster waiting at the end sound pretty severe, too, so she's made sure to show up ahead of time so she doesn't have to fight her way there in the first place. If this turns out to be as difficult as it sounded, she'll need to save her strength.

Since it seemed appropriate for the occasion, Nano's chosen to wear the black hoodie that she sewed some chains into back when she had Xion's memories. At her side is Lunar Eclipse, the replica keyblade that Namine gave her when she started her training. There's a very determined look on her face - or at least as determined as Nano is capable of. Still, though, the fact that she's capable of taking on a task like this at all is a testament to how far she's come since arriving in Hinoto-Ri.

As she approaches the castle, she waves with her free hand.]

Kairi-san!

[Kairi sits up from her stargazing at the sound of her name, waving back with a smile as Nano approached.]

Hey! You're right on time.

[She hoists herself onto her feet and stretches a bit to get the kinks out of her body, and walks forward to close the distance between them and place a hand on the other girls shoulder reassuringly.]

You're starting to look like a real seasoned warrior, Nano. I'm excited to see what Caroline has in store for you here... whatever it is, it probably won't be easy.

[Nano blushes somewhat sheepishly, nodding back at Kairi with a small smile.]

It's all thanks to you and Xion-san and Namine-san. I don't think I could ever have come this far all on my own.

[The gratitude shining in her eyes is very real, and her smile widens as she briefly bows her head in thanks.]

It sounds very dangerous... but if Caroline-san believes in me too, then I'm sure it's something I can handle.

[Everyone has shown Nano such kindness and faith, so it's very easy for her to have the same kind of faith in them.]

[Kairi pats Nano gently on the head with another smile before turning to look at the castle.]

I'm admittedly not entirely too sure how to get where you need to go, I... I think Master Aqua probably would've known if she was still here, but I'll do my best. I have a feeling that we'll be fine if we just don't think about it too hard, the path will probably become obvious to me once we head out... though I need to warn you of one thing.

[Expression more serious, she turns to face the younger girl again.]

During the 13th Hour, Castle of Departure turns into Castle Oblivion. Castle Oblivion... it's a place where your memories come to life around you, in a way. Since I'll be leading the way, it'll probably be my memories you'll see. Some might be nice, some might... be not so nice. Before getting taken to Hinoto-ri, both Naminé were being held in a place called Facility against our wills; it was a very nasty place, nothing like the worlds you may have experienced through Xion's memories. I apologize if you end up seeing anything regretable.

[The redhead takes in a deep breath and glances down at her watch, which ticks onto midnight before freezing in place.]

Ah! Here we go.

[The castle before them begins to change, warping and shaking into a new castle entirely, one more more eerie than its former self. Kairi's eyes narrow, her connection with her sister had made her never too entirely fond of Oblivion even if it was the place of Naminé's birth, but she doesn't bother to voice that. Turning back to Nano she offers a reassuring smile, beckoning her forward.]

Alright, I guess that means it's time for us to start! I don't think many heartless will bother to come after us with me guiding, but I haven't really tried testing it, nor did I ever really make a habit of going outside my room during the 13th Hour when Master Aqua was here. If they do come, I'll try to handle them for you-- you need to conserve your strength!

It's all right, I trust you.

[Nano nods back with a smile at the first part of Kairi's explanation, but her face turns serious as she starts to explain the more sinister features of the castle.]

That... that sounds terrible, Kairi-san.

[She did know a little bit about Facility just from bits and pieces she's heard on the network, but she never knew just how bad it was. And even though Kairi's explanation is vague, she can see on her face how hard it must have been to go through all of that.]

At least we'll both be able to support each other as we look for the door Caroline-san told me about, though.

[Trying to be reassuring, Nano smiles and reaches over with her free hand to squeeze at Kairi's. As usual, she's more concerned about her friends than she is about herself. She keeps hold of her hand as the castle shifts in front of them, only letting go once it's time to proceed. And with a deep breath to steel her nerves, she nods again.]

...All right. I'm ready.

[Kairi squeezes her hand back, smiling softly to herself. Once Nano indicates that she's ready to move forward she nods a little, stepping forward to push open the doors and lead the way inside.

What they'll find at this point is a rather large lobby, blindingly pale and eerily silent. The redhead doesn't summon her keyblade just yet but reaches towards her belt to squeeze the star shaped piece of stained glass lightly with her hand, a reminder that her friends stood behind her. The only way forward is a large doorway with doors as white as the walls, and Kairi approaches it slowly; she wasn't quite sure what would be behind door number one, but hopefully it wouldn't be anything too bad.]

Alright, let's do this.

Wow...

[Nano's only seen the entrance hall to the castle in the daytime. It's almost indescribably beautiful compared to the frightening looking exterior. She spends only a few moments looking around and marveling at the room before catching herself, shaking her head and forcing her attention forward.]

O-okay. Let's go.

[Since Nano's keyblade is just a replica, she's got it out and at the ready, holding it in one hand and out to the side. It's a little like Xion's stance, but modified to present a smaller target to oncoming attackers - another trick she picked up in her training, and probably a better style for Nano, who's much more suited to defensive combat.]

[When Kairi opens the door and leads them both inside, what they find is a rather stark difference from both the room previous and outside the castle itself. Its a bright sunny day (wait, did that sun have a face?) in what appeared to be a city in the desert, and what lay in front of them was.... a giant set of stairs. It looked to be several hundred sets of steps in fact, leading up to a large building of odd design in the distance towards the top. As soon as Kairi seems to realize where they were she lets out a deep groan, pulling a hair band off of her wrist and quickly tying her hair back.]

Of all the places... I think we're gonna need to get to the building up there. I hope you're ready for some walking.

[This place... her heart ached a little in remembrance, though she still wasn't entirely sure if her memories of living here were memories from a real Kairi out there somewhere or if they were entirely fabricated by Val during one of the weekly experiments. Either way... gosh she had hated going up these stairs every day, they were a complete pain until she had become fit enough to handle them. Going up them again weren't exactly high on her to-do list.]

A... another castle? Inside the first one?

[It looks almost as big as the building they'd stepped into. Nano's never seen or experienced anything like this before, so she's utterly speechless as they start ascending the stairs. She seems particularly disturbed by the sun and its creepy mocking laughter, so she does her best to face forward and focus on the task ahead of them.]

...So this a place from your memories, Kairi-san?

This is a place where memories take life; it's never limited by size.

[She'll be counting her lucky stars that she's so much more in shape than she was when she first encountered this place; it'd probably burn by the time they got to the top, but not as badly as it would've before.]

Mhm-- well, kind of. I'm... not entirely sure? Sometimes in the place I was in before, we'd wake up with memories and experiences we didn't remember ever having prior to arriving. Sometimes we'd even have memories of entire lives we had lived in completely different places, and no one really knows if those memories are true or fabricated. This is one of those places for me; that school up there is called Shibusen, it's where people called meisters train to wield special weapons, or train to be those weapons. Nami was my weapon, and took the form of that keyblade you have in your hand.

[She smiles a little, glancing over at it.]

Our time here is what inspired her to commission that particular design, since she hadn't had a keyblade of her own. Heh, I still have my school uniform from our time here in my closet back in my room, actually.

[Her expression turns contemplative, as if thinking back on the memories she had.]

She was my twin sister, and Master Aqua was our adoptive mother, and one of the most talented meisters in the world. She took us in from the streets and helped train us to properly control the powers we had, and funded us to attend this school. We would've been complete toast without her.

Mm... that makes sense.

[Insofar as she understands it, anyway. Before coming here, Nano could scarcely even imagine a place like this existing. But Hinoto-Ri has exposed her to so many new and different things that she's starting to learn to expect the unexpected.

As for making the trip up to the top... Nano's not even half as used to physical exertion as Kairi is by this point, but her robotic construction makes up at least some of the difference well enough. It's definitely quite a trek, but not as bad as it could be.]

That sounds very confusing... people really transformed into weapons?

[Nano glances down at her keyblade again as they walk, turning it over in her hand and examining the graceful curves. In an odd sort of sense, she can see how these sorts of aesthetics would suit someone like Namine if she thought about what she'd look like as a sword.]

I didn't know this sword was so important to her...! Is it really all right that I have it now?

[She feels honored but also just a little guilty about wielding something with that kind of history behind. It must have been hard to part with.]

Aqua-san sounds very kind... I didn't have the chance to get to know her very well, but she always seemed that way to me, too.

Yeah, it was pretty wild! People would have a particular weapon they'd specialize in, since people could transform into all sorts of things, though you didn't necessarily have to hold to it at all times. Though you had to be compatible with someone in order to wield them, if you didn't get along or mesh very well you were out of luck; it varied person to person, but generally you'd either be unable to even pick them up, or trying to touch them inflicted you pain. And if you trained really hard and defeated a lot of enemies, you'd be able to unlock the weapons true form as a Death Scythe.

[Kairi pushes her bangs out of her face a little, vaguely hoping she wouldn't sweat too much and get all gross, before tilting her head to look over at Nano with a smile.]

It's perfectly alright, don't even sweat it. She wouldn't have given it to you if she didn't trust you and want you to use it.

[She nods a little at the latter bit, a smile cracking across her face.]

Technically back home, I only ever met her once when I was very little; the memories pretty vague. It wasn't until I was at the Facility, the place I was before Hinoto-Ri, that I got to meet her again, even if it was only for a short while. And then I got to spend more time with her here, and finish more of my training. I'm pretty sad that she and the others left, but they had important things to finish back home, so I don't worry about it too much.

What was your home like, Nano?

[Nano hangs on every word of Kairi's explanation, nodding along as her mouth opens wider in surprise and amazement.]

That's incredible! I never knew something like that was possible. You and Namine-san must have been a very strong team. Being sisters is one of the strongest bonds there is, after all, isn't it?

[Smiling at Kairi's reassurance, Nano grips her keyblade tighter, sparing a quick glance down at it before focusing once more on the path ahead.]

I'm happy the two of you were able to meet again, even if it was only for a little while. But I'm sure you'll get to see her again, so it's not goodbye for good.

[And she really is. It's probably naive of her, but Nano's still got that sort of childlike innocence and hope that allows her to believe such things wholeheartedly.]

My home?

[The question surprises her a little, but only for a moment. Her smile softens as she thinks back to her world. She's been in Hinoto-Ri for nearly a quarter of her total lifespan at this point, but her memories are no less clear for it.]

It was just me and Hakase for the longest time, living alone together in a big house. Oh, um... Hakase is the one who built me. She's only eight years old, but she's very smart! I love her very much, even if she's sort of a handful sometimes. I did all of the cooking and cleaning around the house and made sure she was eating right.

One day, we found a stray black cat wandering around near the apartment and decided to adopt him. We named him Sakamoto, and Hakase invented a scarf that would let him talk to us so that we could understand each other. He can be a little bossy sometimes, but I know he's just looking out for the two of us.

And last semester before coming here, Hakase brought me a school uniform and let me enroll in high school! That's where I met my friend Yukko-san, and her friends Naganohara-san and Minakami-san. They were my first real friends, and Yukko-san was the first one to tell me she didn't think of me any differently for being a robot. She's very special to me... they all are.

[Nano actually mists up a little as she's talking, but the smile never leaves her face as she fondly clasps her free hand over where her heart would be if she had a real one. But the lack of heart doesn't seem to stop her from just bursting with emotion anyway.]

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im rly sorry, some serious irl stuff went down while i was computerless u_u

it's ok, real life trumps pretendy funtimes

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