Bittersweet Irony [Emi, Castle]

[Castle]

Hearing the stranger say Emi's name was the equivalent to having a tiny electric shock run through Castle and cause him to straighten up a little and look at her, both eyebrows slightly raised. For a second, he thought she'd be as surprised as he was, but then they continued to speak casually, as though the situation were completely (well, not completely, but close enough under the circumstances) normal. He glanced from one to the other several times before he decided to get his question in,

"Wait, you guys know each other?" he blurted. It hadn't seemed like it at first. If anything, he'd gotten the impression that she had never seen him before.

Well, his first impression was obviously wrong. His surprise wore off gradually. Technically, she, and the stranger, hadn't said or done anything to suggest they were or were not acquainted.

Any new suspicions began to slowly deflate. The guy seemed polite enough, anyway, and if Emi was being this nice to him (apart from the dragging) he couldn't be that horrible, right? Then again, one could never tell. Castle wasn't about to drop all guards just yet. If anything, he was more interested in this guy now, thanks to this newly revealed connection to Emi.

[Fate]

I Can Be Decent When I Choose to Be

"It was a mere accident then," Zexion concluded, "There is no need to apologize. I should have also watched where I was walking." He nodded to this, wincing shortly afterward. How long would he have to wait before this pounding went away? Perhaps if he kept his eyes closed, it would help; he was not attuned to getting hit in the head often. He had been attacked in all sorts of ways before, but never with a blunt object to the head; Riku had the kindness to run through him instead of hitting him on the head.

He decided to answer Castle's question now, hearing what he thought was intrigue. "Yes, her and I met in another world not too long ago. I managed to aid in bringing her back to this world." That would perhaps help bridge the gap between Castle and himself, making him seem even more trustworthy. He doubted Emi was about to go into the details of how she met Zexion and how he thoroughly manipulated her, though she could not deny his words as truth. The Schemer was not one to try and make enemies if he could avoid it; though, nothing could be said about pulling one into a false sense of security. He could play nice when he wanted to; for now, he would.

"I was actually curious to see the damage that has been wrought on this world," he said, taking his hand away from his face and opening his eyes. "The damage seems to be rather extensive. Was it Maleficent who did this?" It was an innocent question, though he knew the answer already. He was wondering if either of them knew anything at all; it would certainly help his report to the Superior and give him some insight on who this mysterious person is.

[/size]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

"If you say so, Zexy..."
--

When he said it was an accident, she felt a little better. But she decided it was best not to dwell on it. It wasn't as if he could feel something negative about her anyway. She was glad for it, although she didn't see the other side of the coin yet. He couldn't feel anything positive either.

And when he spoke of their first meeting, it brought back all kinds of memories and emotions. The most prominent of which was first a nagging need to thank Arc- that seemed to stay at the back of her mind- and then it shifted to sorrow as she recalled the illusion world he had trapped her in. For a moment, the face of her mother, the mother he had created for her, burned in her mind's eye and brought with it a burning in her chest. An intense want and longing.

But when he spoke of the figure and asked if it had been Maleficent, Emi tilted her head. This was a habit that was cute when she was little but now just looked stupid. Just something she did occasionally when something started talking about something she didn't have a clue about.

"I don't know. Could have been. So far, though, nobody has been able to identify him.[/color]"

That should have been enough to let Zexion know it wasn't Maleficent that had destroyed the town. Emi may not have known much, or really anything at all, about the witch... but Zexion did. Emi had identified the figure as a man, while Maleficent was woman. At least that was the public opinion. Suddenly though, Emi looked up and straight at Castle.

"Wait, you were there right?[/color]" she asked. "I wasn't there for the attack myself.[/color]"

[Castle]

Another world? Emi had mentioned that before, hadn't she, back at the Postern. She said that she had "just got back" to the Radiant Garden from wherever it was she came from. The specific world of her departure wasn't mentioned, if he remembered correctly, nor was her method of transportation. Castle hadn't put much thought into that until now. Had she been to many worlds before this one? And what world did her friend here belong to?

Before he could ask any of these questions, they brought up the subject of the mysterious figure.

The light of Castle's curiosity darkened. The change was evident in his face, his previously casual expression replaced with a grim, quiet anger at the memory. When Emi addressed him directly, Castle crossed his arms and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Yeah, I was there. It was some guy with dark skin, red hair and a weird silver robe. Kept talking about being a tool of darkness or something," he ended the statement in a mutter, "I don't know who Malif... Mala... that person you mentioned is, but if that's what he looks like, then that was him."

He thought he'd heard the name tossed around a few times, but he was never paying attention enough to those conversations to really remember. If that really was the name of that guy... then Castle would have something to label that face with.

[Fate]

Dark Information

The tension in the room rose after Emi asked her question and Zexion could feel it. Castle had been there at the fight and had witnessed the person's destructive power. Zexion's eyes instantly went to Castle, studying him again. This was obviously not a comfortable subject for him, telling the Schemer a little bit more information; whoever this was, they had done something slightly more than destroy part of Radiant Garden. He could not place what, but something had been done.

Castle's description did not fit anyone that Zexion knew existed, which meant that it was a new enemy. Mental notes were made as Castle spoke, Zexion's gaze still on him. A tool of darkness... that did not sound quite like the average one who came from the darkness and fought against those from the light. He would have to investigate further to find out more answers, but without a scent of the man or anything of the sort, he would be hard pressed to be able to find him. It was possible that the man could return to Radiant Garden at some point, but this Nobody was not going to linger around here just to find out who he was.

"Maleficent is a sorceress that inhabited this world before," he informed the both of them, speaking in his typical monotone voice, "Your description does not fit her. She is also not one to hide her identity; she would have undoubtedly introduced herself." He did not add that her scent was not covering the town but was concentrated purely in the castle; this scent was a different one entirely and he could tell the differences between the two. Maleficent, despite being a very strong force of darkness, almost paled in comparison to this other one.

"That description does not fit any description of anyone I am aware of," he added, going back to holding his head and closing his eyes again; the pounding was refusing to go away. "Though, we should not concern ourselves with this at the present moment. I do not think he will strike again too soon." He eased himself to sit on the floor against the wall, not wanting to stand anymore. "However, I would keep watch of the castle; Maleficent is currently inhabiting it."

[/size]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

"Resist the girly desire to make him feel all better..."
--

"Hmm...[/color]"

In the few days since his last visit, Emi hadn't had a problem with the sorceress. She'd been sure to keep to herself in the library and not make herself too much a target. Although, if that witch ever wanted to try and start a fight with this girl, she had another thing coming. But it unsettled her that now there were two forces of darkness plaguing this town. She didn't think they could survive another attack right now... and she also knew that it was probably the enemy was going to take advantage of that fact.

Her hand strayed to the kali sticks on her belt. And she looked up.

"Uuugh. I gotta get back to work soon or I'm gonna get caught and probably fired and then arrested when I beat the snot out of the guy that fired me. Are you gonna be okay down here or should I go ask if I can take a break?[/color]"

Maybe I should go ask for a break, just to make sure... but I don't want to smother him or something, she thought.

[Castle]

Castle kept his arms crossed and listened quietly to what the guy had to say. So the mysterious figure was a mystery to everyone, huh? That figured. He was getting more random each time somebody talked about him. As for that witch, Maleficent, Castle slowly remembered some rumors about her as the guy spoke, but they were vague. Basically, she meant trouble, and she lived in the abandoned castle. That was all he needed to know.

The "uuugh" noise Emi made brought him back to the present. He shook off the dark thoughts of figures and witches and uncrossed his arms, sighing a little. Weirdly, it almost felt like waking from a brief doze, except he was going into the peacefulness rather than coming out of it.

"The moogle's probably going to be peeved, too," he commented. He turned his attention to the guy directly. "Hey, what's your name, anyway? Neither of you ever said."

His smile returned as that sentence ended, partially to emphasize that, hey, you both know each other, and I know Emi but not you, and that doesn't seem right. And besides, he just wanted to know. Sure he spoke in sort of a monotone and talked like a bookworm, but he didn't seem like a bad guy.

[Fate]

The Least I Can Do

"Understandable," he said to both of them telling him that they needed to return to work. His eyes then flicked back to Castle as he asked for his name. Castle did not seem to know of the Organization, or at least that was what Zexion could assume based on his reaction to him; anyone else that knew the Organization, in this world especially, would have treated him incredibly different. However, Castle had chosen to help him. These thoughts went by in a matter of two seconds before he answered.

"Zexion. It is the least I can do in return. I appreciate your kindness." In truth, he could feel no such thing, though he was fortunate that he was not left out in the middle of the street. He turned his gaze to Emi to answer her question now, lightly shaking his head; he kept neglecting the fact that it hurt to do so. "I cannot take up anymore of your time. I will be fine here. There is no need to make a fuss." He looked at both of them and then glanced outside. "I believe your Moogle is coming to find you. I suggest you leave quickly."

He quickly summoned his Lexicon, the odd book opening itself to a new page as it placed itself on his lap. He may not be able to do much for a bit, but he certainly was able to grab more information from Castle alone about the mysterious man who attacked Radiant Garden; how Demyx did not get this information was beyond the Schemer. He was able to find out a fair amount of facts, which would hopefully be useful for the Superior. He started writing them down, not wanting to lose the information; he still felt a little dizzy.

[/size]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

"Everyone out! *jumps through the window*"
--

"If you say so,[/color]" Emi said, standing up. She began to walk out, not bothering to wait on Castle. It was every man for himself when it came to that moogle. She managed to make it out of the house and half way up the ladder before the moogle stopped at the bottom and asked her why she'd come down in the first place.

"Listen, you aren't in charge of me, you little demon. But if you must know, in case you're reporting back to Mr. Sexist Construction Boss Man, I had to go pee, okay?[/color]"

The moogle had been on his way to the door of the house, no doubt looking for his employee, who wasn't manning the stall like he was supposed to bed. Emi glared at the moogle.

"What else do you want? Go away, I'm trying to work here,[/color]" she barked at him. She scaled the rest of the ladder, and realized her hammer was still laying on the ground. She sighed loudly, went back down the ladder, grabbed up the hammer and went back up on the roof.

Time to rip out the work she'd done all morning.

[Castle]

Castle glanced at Emi as she walked out, and then turned back to Zexion. The name suited him, he had to admit. He just looked like a "Zexion," and was probably the only person in any of the worlds who did.

"Glad we could help. I gotta say, I didn't expect to see some guy get..."

"There you are, kupo!"

"...busted," Castle muttered.

Well, Zexion had tried to warn him. He put on a smile and turned his attention to the moogle, who, for having such an unexpressive face, was obviously glaring at him.

"Hey, Mr. Giggles, I was just..."

He was interrupted in an unexpectedly violent fashion when the moogle darted forward and bonked him on the head. Castle lifted his arms too late to block him.

"Ow! Hey!" Castle exclaimed.

"You get back to work, kupo! I am tired of your slacking off!" the moogle fumed. And really, he had every right to be mad. In these hard times, he couldn't afford to have any merchandise stolen.

"Fine, fine, I'm going," he muttered, walking past the moogle and out of the building.

"That boy is so unkupo..." the moogle said to nobody in particular, probably Zexion, as he hovered out after him.

"I heard that!" Castle retorted.

"You were supposed to, kupo!"

From there, he directed his disobedient employee to another construction task on a different building, where some other workers were already started. Castle joined them compliantly, actually glad to do something physical rather than sit at the stand again.

[Fate]

Impending Doom

Zexion merely blinked as the Moogle came into the house, obviously not very pleased. It seemed to have already run into Emi based on the yelling; she was far more violent than he had given her credit for. He watched with a blank stare as the Moogle proceeded to whack Castle and tell him to go back to work, then saying something about "unkupo". He was not sure he heard the phrase used before, though he was not one to linger around the likes of Moogles; it obviously meant something at least slightly offensive, for Castle didn't seem pleased to be hearing it.

He chose to stay quiet the entire time, not wanting to bother with a pointless squabble; he found it more amusing than anything really. Instead, he looked to the Lexicon again and began to write again. He had only managed to get a couple of sentences down before becoming interrupted and the information of this meeting would need to be written down before he forgot them. It was slightly hard to concentrate with his head continuing to pound, though he kept writing anyhow. He tipped his pencil on his mouth as he typically did when he was thinking and attempting to write, wondering if he should bother to mention anything about the social visit.

The pounding on the roof was not helping his concentration at all, or what he assumed was pounding at the very least. Emi had to rip the tiles off of the roof and start over, obviously not an enjoyable task. He was never one for manual labor himself, keeping to his books instead, but it was still a bit amusing to see her frustrated like this. Nevertheless, he stared down at what he wrote. Two paragraphs was enough to suffice for the information bit, but was there anything he was leaving out? There had to be something...

Though, those thoughts would have to be left for a later time. Without warning, tiles fell from above and straight onto his head. Unlike before, he had no time to react or get out of the way, the tiles simply falling on his head. These did not knock him out, though they certainly did not aid his headache. He groaned in pain, closing his eyes and attempted to move out of range from the tiles. He did not get all that far, but he covered his head with his Lexicon for safety; he was not sure he could even think at the moment without his head throbbing.

(Last sentences in the Lexicon)
Head hurts too much to continue-- Radiant Garden inhabitants have violent tendencies...

[/size]