tushanshu_logs | A whirlwind few days

Entry tags:

A whirlwind few days

Characters: Xion, Yosuke, Roxas, Aqua, Skulduggery, probably others?
Date: Starting on the 16th, then continuing through the next few days
Location: Fire Sector, Midnight Hotel, somewhere around where the expo used to be, possibly other places?
Situation: XION IS MUGGED. This causes a lot of fallout because she has very protective friends and family
Warnings/Rating: XION IS GETTING SHOT. There might also be Vanitas being an asshole somewhere in here. Also Roxas threatening to punch the faces in of people who hurt Xion.

A. The Mugging - CLOSED to Yosuke Hanamura

Just a quick errand, she'd told Roxas. She still couldn't believe he was here, here. Almost all of her doubts and worries had mostly vanished, once she'd realized how much she'd missed him.

But she had a job, a room she had to pay for. And that job involved running an errand. Not too long, if she hurried. She'd be back within an hour, tops.

And she was hurrying. She was on her way home, running, rushing, when she turned too fast around a corner and ran into a kedan. As she stumbled, attempting to regain her balance, the kedan had grabbed her shoulder, steadying her.

"S-sorry," she stammered, once she'd steadied herself, "I-"

But then she froze. Froze when she found herself facing the barrel of a revolver. The shape may have been different, but she'd seen Xigbar fighting enough times to recognize it. And that was when it'd hit her. The network posts. Akito and his stabbing.

Sure enough, he demanded her soul jewelry, jabbing the front gun at the necklace around her neck.

Except while his hand was still gripping her shoulder, the gun aimed at her was not steady. The kedan was very pale, and his voice shook too. Xion was no great shakes with reading emotions, but every signal pointed to him not wanting to be here. When she'd had the chance to see Akito's network post, he'd said that the ones mugging him had seemed reluctant too.

"I'm sorry, I can't," she told him, "It's dangerous to lose it."

He shook her, voice becoming more insistent. And even though he seemed more desperate than anything, being manhandled as such, plus the gun still aimed tremulously. She summoned her Keyblade in her free hand. A warning.

That's when the hand on her shoulder turned vicelike, and the gun steadied. And something in the region of Xion's gut seemed to be sinking.

"Get off!" she demanded, trying to break away. She didn't want to just attack if the fading hope that he was a reluctant theif was true, but he just wouldn't let go-

====================

B. The Aftermath - Open! (Expect Roxas to threadjack a lot)

Once Xion had been patched up, she was transplanted to Aqua's room at the Midnight Hotel for bed rest. For the first couple of days, others could pop in, but they'd find a young girl who is very much out of it, and not feeling good in the slightest. Her injury was bad enough, but with her soul gem missing... she'd never been sick before then, either.

At least, when he wasn't out looking for her Soul Gem, Roxas was spending a lot of time basically glued to her side.

Once she got her gem back, however, she started doing considerably better.

Enough that she was liable to slip out of bed and wander the Midnight Hotel, observing those coming and going from the balcony, or else curled up on a couch in the Common Room. Her upper arm was still wrapped in bandages and she probably shouldn't have been out of bed yet, but it was still nice to be moving again. Of course sometimes she really was back in Aqua's room, sometimes asleep, sometimes not, but certainly ready and willing to talk anybody who might stop by. Or anybody who had any particular questions to ask about what happened.

[ooc; This prompt may change a bit when more details about how Xion's being patched up are finalized]

=======================

C. Finding the Soul Gem - Roxas and Aqua and ????

Maybe they manage to find the remains of the Expo in time. Or maybe they - by lucky chance - hear of someone who's trying to find the owner of a soul gem that they found. Either way, the kedan in possession of Xion's soul gem is quite eager to make sure it finds its way home again.

[ooc; maybe you guys should make a comment idk DO THIS PART AS YOU SEE FIT]

=======================

D. Misc.

NONE OF THE ABOVE? Have anything else in mind? I feel like I'm forgetting something too so I might add things later when I think about them.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

The crash at the front door surprises Aqua, and she's about to rush out to see what could cause such a noise when a boy races in, panting and swaying slightly, with Xion draped across his back. She's by his side seconds after he calls out for help, reaching to take Xion so as to relieve the boy of his burden, as well as to hold the girl and make sure she's still alive herself. "Xion, Xion, can you hear me? It's me, Aqua, we're going to take care of you, just hold on...!"

It's with a horrible sinking feeling that she realizes how badly Xion is bleeding: her arm has been only hastily bandaged, and it's clear she's in dire need of more expertise than Aqua would be able to render. She calls out her Keyblade for a moment, just long enough to cast a quick Cure in hopes of giving the girl a little relief, before lifting her properly. Once more she finds herself eternally grateful they were able to catch Raine before the healer left for the night.

And the boy himself is not looking his best either; while Xion is certainly the main priority, he'll need attention too, and Aqua looks at him with an expression of fear and worry that has become all too present on her face. "Are you able to walk still? If you can follow me, we'll do what we can to help you as well."

She turns to call out down the hallway. "Raine! Roxas! They're here! Xion's here!" It's both relieved and urgent and terrified, as Xion's condition is rather bad.

Focusing? Focusing has been getting rather on the difficult side, as time's gone on. About halfway to the Healer's Guild Xion's mind had seemed to just sit back and accept that this was an uncomfortable method of travel, and maybe she should have mentioned a corridor. Now that they've stopped though, she's able to focus on her surroundings a bit more again.

And she's glad that she is, because that's a familiar voice she can hear, as she's lifted down.

"Aqua...?" If she was here... things were going to be okay right? Aqua would know how to fix this. Still, Xion's good hand wanders slowly, trying to find Aqua's hand, or at least her arm, to hold onto like some kind of anchor.

Things are still moving a bit quickly for her to really feel able to focus on seeing them, but she does turn her head to look around for Yosuke too. He brought her here... He was going to be okay, right? She hadn't been able to really tell what'd happened after she'd been shot.

Ugh, everything's just so confusing right now.

Yosuke's head isn't that much clearer, but he still has the presence of mind not to squeak or start too badly when another funky-looking sword materialises in front of his face. He bites his lip before making an effort to straighten up. Yeah... she's here now, they can help her, he's done what he was needed for. It's almost anticlimactic - even if that's a harsh thing to think, looking down at a girl who must be fighting so stubbornly just to stay conscious.

"Heh, this is nothin'," he manages to say, meeting the blue-haired girl's eye with a weak half-smile. She looks worried enough without him adding to the pile. He knows the feeling, he thinks. "All I could really use is a shower... Uh, and I forgot to tell you, thanks for earlier. I was freaking out just a bit back there, to be honest. It's not something you'd expect to run into anywhere else..."

With that, he looks back down at Xion. "See, what did I say? You're gonna be fine."

With that, but no other warning, one of his legs buckles at the knee. He catches himself quickly, though this time he does yelp a little first.

Right as the first shot rang out, a hair of a fraction of a second too late, a sweeping gesture from the scarfed giant filled the alleyway with a thick, glittering cloud of smoke.

Right as the second shot rang out, that diversion was no longer going to get them anywhere. Worse, it had probably just bought the kedan a few free seconds before the air cleared. But his tactical failings weren't the first thought on Yosuke's mind when, before he could ready another burst of magic, he froze. Did that just... Was that...!?

"No!" Moving on sheer, desperate instinct that overrode any consideration of how many bullets the kedan had left, Yosuke dived forward. He'd heard that cry, and he remembered where she'd been standing, at least - but where was she now? What just happened? And why'd she have to be so frickin' tiny? "No, dammit, no -"

Roxas comes out of the room so fast he has to throw his arms out in front of him to keep from crashing into the hallway wall. "Xion!" he shouts, pushing against the wall towards the group in the hallway.

It occurs to him once he reaches them that he doesn't know what he's going to do. He just -- He just wanted to be there with her. His eyes widen with shock once he sees how much blood is over Xion's arm, over the back of the guy who brought her here. Xion is pale...

"Xion..."

Stork approached the bed, reading into the messenger-style bag he'd taken to wearing crossways across his skinny frame, and pulled out a small, metal biplane and set it down on the bed next to Xion. Although there was no winding mechanism to be seen, giving the prop a quick spin is all it would take to start it up, and it would run indefinitely until it was stopped again.

"This is for you," he said.

Raine's stripped out of her jacket, is about to answer the boy's question, but it rather gets lost in the sudden rush of activity and noise from the main hall, audible even from here. Raine follows Roxas at a slightly more sedate pace-- just enough not to run into any walls.

She processes the situation as fast as she can. One of the newcomers is standing; if the blood soaked into him isn't Xion's, he's doing an admirable job at disguising the effects of blood loss. "Aqua," Raine says, mostly to get her attention. She looks more worried, afraid, than Raine has ever seen her. It'll have to be up to her to keep a clear head, she supposes. "If you have her more stable, bring her this way, we'll need the better light and tools." She's trusting Aqua at least to have a handle on what's necessary, since she's the one with Xion in her arms. If it was anyone else there with her Raine would already be casting.

"You--" This at Yosuke, who she also doesn't know. "Don't go anywhere until we're sure you're not injured." He looks like a runner, and the last thing she needs is someone keeling over in the streets because they didn't notice an injury until the adrenaline rush faded. That said, Raine shifts her focus back to Xion, going to her and offering Aqua help to support her. "This way, come on."

"You have," Raine confirmed. In retrospect, she shouldn't be surprised that Xion didn't recall details from that night. She'd lost a good deal of blood, and there had been a number of unfamiliar people involved. "I was one of the healers at the Guild the night you were attacked. Aqua took charge of you, of course, but I wanted to see how you were doing for myself, as well."

Aqua tries to put a weak smile on for Yosuke. "No, no isn't, and I wish things like this didn't occur. But you did well, and thank you. For bringing her here."

Xion's good hand reaches for her, and she catches and holds the girl's hand gently, comfortingly; she's safe and they're going to help her. "Yes, Xion, I'm here, and Roxas is too." And almost on cue the boy in question comes hurtling from the hallway, moving so fast the building takes a second hit from an impacting body that night. Raine is shortly on his heels, and taking charge of the situation.

She gives Xion's hand one last squeeze and picks the girl up; she's small and light, even moreso than Ven, and Aqua's main concern is to keep from jostling her injured arm too much. She nods at Raine. "Let's hurry."

Edited 2015-04-20 20:14 (UTC)

"I'm being stalked!" Tannis said a hushed, intense tone. "Is he still out there?"

Hearing Roxas' name is a relief as well; so is seeing him a moment later. Her eyes meet his and while she'll remember the worry in his later, for now all she can do is smile weakly, glad that he's there too. Her hand grips Aqua's back, and she when Aqua lets go to pick her up, vaguely concerned by the lack of contact, she reaches a hand in Roxas' direction, not realizing that may not be the best of ideas at this exact moment. Regardless, the presence of people she cares about helps to ease some of the tension out of her body. As much as she's able to, at least, while still being in significant amounts of pain.

The fight to stay awake is a lot harder now, almost harder than the fight to make sense of her surroundings, save the few points of clarity that were her friends.

She makes a quiet noise as she's lifted but otherwise doesn't respond, save to list against Aqua's shoulder, blinking slowly, heavily.

Edited 2015-04-21 01:16 (UTC)

Xion could feel the kedan's hands scrabbling at the necklace. She brought a hand up to try and stop him, but it was knocked way roughly. Then just as suddenly he was gone, as was the familiar weight of the necklace she'd grown so accustomed to.

She tried to roll over, tried to push her way to her feet to go after him. But getting her limbs to obey her commands, especially the arm that was still shrieking at her in pain was no small feat, and ultimately one she wasn't able to accomplish besides pushing herself into a sitting position with one arm.

"Wait!" she cried weakly after the theif, but his footsteps were already getting more distant as the air cleared, running away from both Xion and Yosuke alike. He'd gotten what he'd come for. No point in sticking around to see whatever strange magic the Foreigners could do.

Giving up, Xion looked down at her arm. The only evidence she could immediately see was a small hole in her coat, not much larger than a cherry, if even that. But the inside of it already felt uncomfortable and sticky, and she wasn't sure if she dared try to take it off.

Before Yosuke can open his mouth to shove his foot in it (no, really, most of this blood by far is hers, isn't it obvious?), Xion's entourage is hustling her away down the hall. With one last nervous glance back, he hurries after them, meekly and unusually quiet. As fine as the third girl would certainly be under better lighting, neither the severe look on her face nor the anguished look on the younger guy's are expressions that Yosuke feels up to crossing. He'd eventually have to hide under a table or something, and his legs feel like lead. So do his arms, his back, and most of all his brain. It was obvious after the first one he tried out there that Dia spells can't patch up flesh wounds, but -

- but sheesh, do they think he'd pretend it was nothing if he had taken a hit? Does he look that reckless? Well - ahaha, on second thoughts, probably. If he wasn't, the thug back there might not have panicked...

"What're you gonna do with her now?" he asks hesitantly, not caring much who he sounds like he's addressing. He might be allowed to say that much. Or they might tell him to go away and stew by himself for a while, but they haven't yet.

It's a day or so after Xion gets her soul gem back than Genis finally notices that she's up and about. Genis had visited Xion while she'd been completely out of it, almost always coming with the worst timing where he wouldn't have been able to meet up with her if he wanted to. And certainly since then, Genis had been on a warpath through the city to see if he could hear anything at all about Xion's soul gem. Of course, he'd turned up nothing, but that was for the lack of any substantial leads to follow.

But with Xion up and about, Genis is quick to rush up the stairs in her direction, completely excited and practically joyful about it. "Xion! You're up! You're awake! Are you better? Are you feeling okay?" No stammering here. He's just overjoyed with relief!

"Fix her, if I have anything to say about it," Raine says absently, over her shoulder. Answering the boy's questions is going to have to come after they've done that. She leads Aqua back -- she knows Aqua knows where things are, but it's easy to temporarily mislay your sense in the middle of a crisis if you're not careful. "Here-- set her down here."

She gestures, indicating where, and is already reaching for the things she prepared earlier, setting them where she can reach them. Anesthetic is going to be at the top of the list, shortly after ascertaining what exactly the severity of the damage is. At least the light here is good. "It doesn't look like the bullet went all the way through," she says, shortly. Guns with actual bullets, instead of energy bolts. On the one hand, there's no mana consumption; on the other, she now has to deal with chunks of metal lodged in people.

Edited (oops) 2015-04-25 07:44 (UTC)

"R-really?" Slowly, Xion reached out to pick the plane up, examining it slowly, carefully. She couldn't help but stare at it in wonder. Planes were something she'd heard about, though never seen up close. Though to be fair, that wasn't what was incredible about this, to her. Gifts were... not really the sort of thing she was used to, in the slightest.

Eventually she lowered it slowly, gently into her lap. A gentle smile crossed her face - she was well and truly touched by the gesture. She'd only met Stork once, on the network. She hadn't thought he would go to all this effort.

"Thank you," she said, quietly.

Yosuke was on his knees before he could skid to a complete halt beside her. She'd moved, a little ripple in the clearing smoke that had jolted his heart all the way up his throat - but the moment he followed her uncertain gaze, it thudded back down to earth. A wound. Proof that the guy hadn't missed the second time.

Proof of a little more than that, even. In all the games and movies, a shot in the arm was one you could safely ignore until the dramatic tension had passed. But the bastard in question had made a break for it, there was no point in trying to follow, and here they still were, the smell of gunpowder twisting and intertwining with the metallic taste in the air...

Without thinking, he reached down, placed his hand on her other shoulder as if to check she was still solid. She was, which was worse. "Hey," he said, his voice dropping to an urgent almost-whisper, "stay with me here... How bad is it? Can you stand?"

Overhead, the outline of his Persona glimmered once and vanished in a shower of points of light.

... this is not a thing she expected to be plunged into the middle of. Probably isn't the thing she should be plunged into the middle of with her only being able to be out of bed for two hours before wanting to crawl back into it.

"Uh... who?" she inquired, slightly dismayed.

"Oh!"

Yes, that seemed to fit in with the confusing tangle that was her memories after the shooting. At least it didn't feel wrong, but there wouldn't really be any reason to lie about something like that, would there?

"Thank you. For... for saving me," she added. Because indeed, she had no illusions about how much mortal danger she'd been in. Especially now, in retrospect.

The sudden excitement is almost a bit overwhelming. She's up and about, sure. But she still tires easily, more easily than she'd like. Still, she smiles after a moment, happy to see Genis as well. She thought she remembered hearing he'd been by.

"I'm feeling a lot better, yeah. I don't.. think I'm completely back to normal, but..." she trials off. It'd be a while before she felt well and truly back to normal. But this was a good start.

Genis can't help but be excited. Much more excited and full of energy than Xion could probably use, but that effect should start to ebb a bit over time as Genis finally comes to accept that she's alright.

"Good, good!" Genis breathes a practical sigh of relief to hear it. "I mean, I was really worried about you, and I just... I didn't even know how to help or where to look. I just... I mean..." Genis screws up his face, almost as if feeling that paralysis all over again. "Is there anything you need? Anything I can do for you?"

"It's not much," he said, almost apologetically. "In Atmos we call them mobio-toys. They run by themselves because of the mechanics, they don't need recharging or winding."

Unsure what else to say, and feeling like sitting down uninvited was rude, he just stood awkwardly. "Just something to pass the time."

"You're welcome." It was her job, really, but that wasn't currently a distinction worth making. It was a responsibility she carried whether or not the Guild was involved. "I wasn't the only one-- you had quite a few people worried, though I suppose you've noticed that by now."

It was good to see Xion doing well, even if not completely healed yet. She couldn't be all that much older than Genis, and as much as Raine knew children could bear great responsibility often better than adults thought, it was still not a pleasant thing to see children injured. What had those kedan been thinking?

Unfortunately, the movies and games were a poor comparison for the actual thing. Not that Xion would know much about either. The most experience she had with any of it was seeing Xigbar fight once or twice, and his bullets were more laser and almost certainly part magic, more than anything.

And any of that didn't hold a candle to this. She wasn't in danger anymore, and yet grounding herself in that reality was much harder than she would've thought it should be. She stared down at her injury again, lifted her arm a little bit to see it better, then let it drop with a faint his of pain.

All while trying to figure out the answer to his question.

"I... I don't know." That was the answer to his first question. As for the second. "I think so?" She immediately decided to give it a try, but her current sense of unreality quickly presented itself in the form of a distinct lack of coordination. She might be able to get to her feet - eventually - but she wouldn't be able to stay there for long without help.

The sticky feeling inside her coat had reached her glove now, and after a few moments of struggling with her legs, it seemed like a good idea to address that first. She pulled it off, slowly, and it left a streak of red on her skin on the outside of her forearm, which Xion stared at. That... wasn't good, was it?

Aqua follows after Raine quickly, careful to not jostle Xion too much. While she does know the layout of the Guild, it's much easier right now to simply let Raine take the lead while her mind is elsewhere, fraught with concern.

Once Raine stops, Aqua gently sets Xion down on her side, keeping her injured arm up and in the light. When Raine assesses the damage, Aqua can feel her gut sink: it doesn't take an experienced doctor to know that foreign metal does not belong in a body, and that the immediate course of action is removal.

The other woman is already collecting the needed tools, so for the moment Aqua kneels down to look at Xion face-to-face. She forces a gentle smile through the haze of worry, brushing back a strand of hair that has fallen in front of the girl's face. "We're going to help you, Xion. It's going to be alright."

Aqua straightens and starts unzipping the girl's coat to pull down her sleeve - they'll need to see the injury itself for this.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 2 of 3

A whirlwind few days

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

B

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject