Catching Up [Emi]

[Castle]

August 13, 2010

"This place again?"

He was back in the dark, standing on the cracked glass. He still couldn't make out the pictures he stood on. He could barely make out his own hand in front of his face.

Suddenly, the darkness began to spread away from him, revealing more of the strange floor. However, he still couldn't see the pictures. There was too much blood. Too many bodies.

"Augh!"

Castle awoke sitting upright, though he'd been on his side a second earlier. It took him a moment to realize that he'd fallen asleep on the floor of the gummi ship. A blinking light on the computer signaled that they were in Radiant Garden already. The morning sunlight that came through the window helped prove its point.

He ran his stiff fingers through his hair and sighed. The palm of his bandaged hand stung from the healing cuts and burns. Then, it occurred to him to look around and see if Emi was awake. For a wild second, he wondered if she would even be there.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

I can't believe it...
--

Emi had also fallen asleep on the floor of the ship, but she didn't sleep well, and it wasn't just the hard floor that kept her awake. She slept light, dreamed terribly and woke several times to wander around the ship and assure herself that yes, she really was free. When Castle started looking for her, she was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chin in the pilot's seat. She was still barefoot and sooty, and she had her coat pulled tightly around her.

She stared at him for a second, unsure if she was dreaming still or not. In a lot of her nightmares, she had dreamed that she woke up and she was still in Paris and still under Jericho's thumb. Her sore throat and the smell of smoke in her hair reminded her what had really happened.

"Morning,[/color]" she said. "We're home.[/color]"

Home was the word that broke her. She put her forehead down on her knees and began to cry. She'd been holding it back for days, not wanting to seem weak but now that she was safe and with someone she trusted...

She hated crying. Hated it.

[Castle]

Seeing Emi cry was definitely not his favorite thing in the world. If anything, it sort of felt like a punch to the gut. He was so used to her being steadfast and stubborn. Now, seeing her huddled there, so dirty and disheveled and... almost broken looking, was kind of hard to take.

Why did something tell him that the execution attempt alone wasn't enough to make this happen?

What the fuck did he do to her?

A sudden anger surged through him. However, he took a deep breath to hold it at bay. Now was not the time. Once he was relatively calm again, he quietly stood up.

Castle wasn't really looking his best, either. He was just as soot-covered as her, and his clothes were singed in some places. The bandages on his arms needed to be changed; they were coming loose and blotched with dirt and some dry blood, especially at the wrists. However, these thoughts didn't really cross his mind as he cautiously approached the pilot's chair.

"Hey," he said quietly. He started to reach for her shoulder, stopped, and let his hand drop as he turned away slightly. "God, Emi, I'm so sorry. If I hadn't brought those guys to the inn..."

He stopped himself right there, his hands curling into fists at the memory.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Because, sometimes, being alive isn't the most important thing.
--

"It wouldn't have mattered any if you hadn't brought them,[/color]" she finally said, once she had regained enough composure. She rubbed her eyes, and decided she had some explaining to do. "The only thing that would have happened is that maybe you and those other guys wouldn't have been involved. Jericho came after me because I have a keyblade.[/color]"

Before, she didn't want to relive it by talking about it but now the seal was broken and it was all coming out, unchecked. She stretched her legs out and leaned over, running both hands through her hair as she so often did.

"He came looking for me, and used you against me. He basically showed me that if I didn't comply, someone was going to end up dead. I had to go with him. I couldn't live with myself if I had tried to stay and fight and you... d-...[/color]"

She couldn't even bring herself to say it, or think it. She groaned and looked up. "What I'm trying to say is, I did it to protect you. You really, really don't know how happy I am to see you breathing and alive, and still in your right mind.[/color]"

[Castle]

So that was what happened. Of course Jericho didn't just randomly decide to abduct her in the middle of a fight - it really wasn't all Castle's fault. However, he had still been used to keep Emi in check. It was like he was being held hostage without even knowing it.

The whole time she was gone, Castle thought he was the one trying to protect her, or trying to get strong enough to. In reality, it was she who had been protecting him all along.

He couldn't help it. He laughed. It wasn't a very joyful laugh, nor a very sorrowful one. Mostly, it was painful, and he wasn't sure why.

"I'm sorry, I... This whole thing. You're taking the words right out of my mouth." He finally looked at her again, a weird sort of smile still on his face. "I searched everywhere for you. I didn't know what the hell Jericho was going to do. I was sc... I was worried."

Suddenly, his smile faded.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked urgently, "Is he still going to come after you?"

There was a jumble of questions in his head, like why Emi was about to be burned at the stake and if Jericho had anything to do with that, but he bit them back.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

It's kind of a long story, but we've got all the time in the worlds.
--

Emi shrugged. "Depends on what you mean by hurt. We got into a physical fight but it's not the bruises that really hurt... he did something to me. I can't explain it.[/color]"

She sighed and rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand. How did she put something like that into words? "It was like I didn't feel anything. Do you know how weird that was? For the first time I can remember in my whole life, I was totally numb.[/color]"

Looking up at the ceiling, she recalled their battle in the cathedral and tried to put the pieces together but it didn't fit. "Looking back on it now, I hate the way it felt. I felt nothing and then suddenly all I wanted to do was destroy things. Kill things. It was different than the way I normally get mad. This was much more... animal like,[/color]" she explained, and then went quiet for a few minutes. "And then I got the shit beaten out of me by his shadow creature thing. And then I went back to normal.[/color]"

When she spoke again, it was like she had suddenly been brought back to the present. "To answer your other question, no. I don't think he's going to come after us again. Zexion said he couldn't sense him anywhere, and as far as I know he can track people across whole worlds. Animositas, the one who saved us back in Paris, said they were gone, too. Not just Jericho, but his little girlfriend and that man in the suit, too. And I haven't seen the spider around either.[/color]"

The mention of Nadia made her squirm more than anything else, if only because Emi was still angry she had messed with her memories of Castle. Emi wasn't sure if she ought to tell Castle about that, about how she completely forgot what he looked and sounded like. She found herself staring intently at his face, into his eyes, trying to memorize him so that she couldn't forget anymore.

[Castle]

Her story kicked up a turmoil of thoughts. First and foremost, Jericho had harmed her, and the knowledge made Castle furious all over again. Then, she explained how animalistic she felt, filled with the numb urge to kill things, and that struck a different chord that put his silent fury on hold. He flashed back to the day before, when he'd mindlessly incapacitated... how many guards? Not to mention the swarms of Heartless before them. Then there was the guy in Traverse Town; he hadn't won that fight, but while it was happening...

That wasn't the end of the new information, though. Apparently, Jericho and his friends were gone. Just, gone. Part of Castle felt like he'd been cheated of revenge, but the rest of him was relieved. It was as if a huge weight were suddenly lifted from his shoulders. He probably wouldn't have been able to get any revenge, anyway.

He moved sideways a little so he could lean on the edge of the control panel. The clash of weight and relief on his mind was a bit dizzying. The confusing memory of the girl in the fire didn't help.

"This... this is pretty heavy stuff," he mumbled. "I'm just glad you're here now, in one piece."

Castle realized then that she was staring intently at his face. He'd been looking at a space in the air between them, but now he made eye contact. He could not remember her ever looking at him so closely, and it caught him instantly, making him do the same.

He saw the first sunset reflected in her irises, straight from the day they met. Even then, he acknowledged that she had beautiful eyes, probably the best shade of green he ever saw. Now, he was looking at the rest of her face, too, and it was almost as if he was seeing her for the first time.

"...What?" he asked quietly, once the momentary trance had passed.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Keep ending up back where I started.
--

"What? Oh...nothing,[/color]" Emi replied, her cheeks reddening. She averted her gaze to the floor. "You just really don't understand how good it is to see your face again.[/color]"

She winced at the corniness of that statement, but it was true. She decided not to bring up the memory tampering. Not yet at any rate. All it would do now was just make them angrier and what they really needed now was to relax and just not think about anything. She sighed. It would be nice to just go somewhere and get out of her mind drunk again, and this time actually enjoy herself and not be all angsty about stuff and run into her arch nemesis. She wasn't sure how Castle would like that idea, especially given what had happened the last time. So no drinking for the lady tonight.

There wasn't really anywhere else to go. She just couldn't stay off the streets, could she? She leaned back into the seat, trying to come up with something. The only things that came to mind were the inn, which she couldn't afford, and... her childhood home. The last time she had visited there with Zexion, she'd been attacked by a huge heartless but had defeated it. Maybe it was safe now, and if it wasn't, well... they were a lot stronger now.

It all depended on what Castle wanted to do. "Come on. I think I know a place we can stay the night, if you don't mind a little dust and maybe some Heartless,[/color] she told him as she stood up.

[Castle]

Castle averted his gaze as well. It was strange; no one, apart from his own mother, had ever spoken to him like that before.

It seemed like he should say something in return, but he couldn't come up with anything. Luckily, Emi stood up and told him about a place they could go, and he took advantage of the subject change.

"Heartless are no problem. Neither is dust," he said, taking his weight off of the control panel.

Heartless could be destroyed, and dust could be swept away easily enough. The only problem would be if Heartless decided to come at him in his sleep. It hadn't happened to him yet, and he sort of wondered why, since he'd been getting enough of them during the day lately. As much as he loved to fight, he was just too tired now. Hopefully, the Heartless population in Radiant Garden had gone down since the last time he was here.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Back when things were simple...
--

After making sure the gummi ship was secure, even though she didn't think she would mind if someone stole the stupid thing, she lead Castle into the town and down some very familiar streets until they came to a small house. It was blue with brown shutters, and a front porch that looked creaky and unstable.

Emi stood in front of the stairs and put her hands on her hips. "Well, this is it. Let's go inside,[/color]" she said, and started up the stairs. This time, she knew not to expect to see any of her childhood friends, or her elderly caretaker. They were all gone, and she had an easier time coming to terms with that than she thought.

The house was quiet and there didn't seem to be anymore Heartless. That was a good thing. She left Castle at the foot of the stairs. "Explore if you want, but be careful. Call me if you need me, I'll be upstairs,[/color]" she told him before walking away.

The stairs lead into a small hallway with one door. The door lead into a large upper room with several beds lined up against two walls, with a chest at the foot of each and a shelf above the headboards. Emi ignored most of the things in the room, going directly towards her corner, her bed, her shelf, her chest and her window.

She sat on the bed, and laughed to herself. Had she really once been so small that her feet hadn't touched the floor? She fingered the blanket, which was butterfly themed, of course. There were butterfly knick-knacks on the shelf, too. She couldn't help but stare at them for several minutes, and smirk.

She could stay here for a while. Maybe she could find out who owned this house now, which seemed to be no one because it was just the same as it was when she left ten years before. If Castle wanted to stay, too, there was plenty of room. She turned and crawled across her knees on the bed, and pushed the shutters of the window open. She forgot how much she really liked the view from this window...

[Castle]

Emi wasn't kidding when she said the place was dusty. On the other hand, he could see how they would be able to stay here without any trouble. She went ahead upstairs, and he was left to his own devices on the ground floor. That was fine by him - it had been a while since he had a chance to really explore someplace. Tedious, stressful combing didn't count.

He found the kitchen first. The room was a wreck, as if some brawl had occurred in it and the brawlers hadn't bothered to clean anything up. There was even a sizable hole in the ceiling. Castle looked up through it, but couldn't discern what the above room was.

Suddenly, he heard an all too familiar sound. He looked toward the shadowy corner of the room and saw two glowing yellow eyes.

He stood perfectly still and watched them. Other pairs joined it, sticking near the dark walls and corners. In less than a minute, he was completely surrounded.

Just as he was about to fly into action, the boards above him creaked, and he remembered that Emi was upstairs. His fists clenched tightly, and then relaxed. He knew she knew to expect Heartless, but he still didn't want them hanging around here, not right after all she had been through.

"Get lost," he said.

To his surprise, the Heartless lingered for a moment, and then jumped up and vanished in little clouds of darkness. Castle blinked.

"I... didn't think that would work," he mumbled.

Unnerved, he left the kitchen and decided to follow Emi upstairs. There was only one door, and he found her on the other side. She was on her knees on a bed by a window. For some reason, the sight caught him off guard. Regardless, he slowly approached her.

"There's a hole in the kitchen ceiling," he mentioned casually, "Other than that, it's a nice place." He hesitated, and then asked, "Have you been here before?"

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Again with the backstory? Really?
--

"Yeah,[/color]" she answered, looking away from the window. "I grew up here. I guess that's pretty confusing, though, since we went to Twilight Town and... anyway I guess I should probably explain. Don't got anything better to do.[/color]"

She sat down at the edge of the bed, planting her feet on top of the chest. What was in there anyway? Toys, books, clothes? She couldn't remember. Maybe she would open it later. For now, she waved her hand, motioning to Castle to pick a bed and sit on it. Then, she put her chin in her hand.

"I was born and lived the first seven years or so of my life in Radiant Garden. I lived in this house with some other kids... none of us had parents. I can't remember if I told you, but that house we visited in Twilight Town was actually my foster parents. I'll get to that part later.[/color]"

She decided she was way too tired to be sitting up in that uncomfortable position anymore, so she let herself fall backwards. The bed was old- it was old even when she was a kid- and the springs in the mattress creaked loudly.

"But anywho... things were pretty cool when I was a kid. Most of the time I didn't even care that I didn't have parents. When I was little I overheard some older kids talking, and well... that's how I found out about my mom. I asked the lady who ran this place if she knew anything about it and apparently my mom made some kind of a journal that was left with me... but Kagabu lost it. Crazy old woman.[/color]"

She was very careful not to go into exact details about her mother. She didn't know much, but what she did know was privileged information that honestly, she didn't know was true or not. It had been really confusing information for a five year old, but it stuck with her and as she got older and understood more, it became very apparent that it wasn't the kind of thing you went around telling people.

"Like I said though, when I was seven, some crazy, crazy shit went down and this world was destroyed. I don't really know how or why, but I ended up in Twilight Town even more alone that I was before. Some nice people found me, the Abernathys took me in as their foster daughter. They put me in private school, paid for my piano lessons, all that fun stuff... and then I ruined all of it.[/color]"

She rubbed her face with the palm of her hand.

"But enough about me,[/color]" she sighed, flipping over on her side. "What about you? For all I've told you about me, all my deep dark secrets... I hardly know you.[/color]"

She didn't want to talk or even think about Jericho or anything like that anymore. She just wanted to...talk. She just wanted to feel normal again.

[Castle]

Castle sat down on the bed across from hers and listened to her story. She'd told him pieces of it before, but never in this much detail. When she mentioned Radiant Garden being destroyed, he recalled some conversations he'd overheard during his construction job. Not only had this world been destroyed, but it was only brought back a couple of years ago. No wonder it was still such a wreck. But, what was it like to have been there when it was first overtaken by darkness?

He didn't expect her to ask him about himself. She had a point, though. For all she'd told him, he'd told her practically nothing about his own life. He smirked a little and rubbed the back of his neck, but stopped when his palm stung.

"I guess you don't. But, there's really not much to tell."

He paused for a moment, thinking.

"You probably noticed that my mom and I look nothing alike? Well, yeah, I'm not her biological kid. She found me in some gutter somewhere when I was a baby. I guess the world I was born on was destroyed, and I ended up in Traverse Town, but, my real parents didn't. They never showed up again, either, so we're just assuming they died when the world blew up."

He shrugged. "Not that I really care. Everyone expects me to be all freaked out that my world was destroyed and my parents are gone, but I was too little to know the difference. Even when my mom told me, the only thing that really interested me was this..."

He reached into his pocket, pulled out the little glass star fruit, and held it out for her to see.

"She said she found it in my blanket with me. I've only ever seen the real versions of these things on that island we went to, but, something tells me that that's not where I'm from." He put the figurine away again. "Other than that, my life was pretty normal. Right after I turned seventeen this year, mom let me leave Traverse Town on a trading ship, and I ended up here. That wasn't too long before I met you."

He wasn't sure which was the start of everything changing; coming to Radiant Garden, or meeting Emi. He wasn't going to say that out loud, though.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Short post is short, trying to get to the good part.
--

Actually, I didn't notice you and your mom look nothing alike, considering I was extremely inebriated at the time, Emi thought. But she listened to his story intently, and grateful that they were at a point where they could open up to each other like this. It was nice, and she enjoyed learning more about it.

"So, we're pretty similar then,[/color]" she said. She yawned, and rested her head back into the pillow, with the butterfly sham. "A couple of trouble-making bastard children. You know what? I'm glad we're friends.[/color]"

She looked over at him. "We are friends right?[/color]"

[Castle]

Trouble-making bastard children. Yeah, that pretty much summed them up. Castle had to smirk. He hadn't even begun to touch on how much trouble he used to cause, though. Fighting Heartless in the street was one thing, but fighting teenagers in the street was a different matter entirely.

At first, he was surprised by her question, but then his smirk turned into a real smile.

"Yeah. I guess we are," he said.

In spite of the sarcastic or humorous potential of those words, they came out perfectly sincere. Strangely, though, he'd never thought about it before. For the longest time now, she'd just been "Emi", without any sort of category attached. Considering how much he felt for her these past few weeks, it seemed sort of ridiculous that the word "friend" never came up.