Exploring (Open)

[xigs]

He'd been to Castle Oblivion once or twice before. Never enough times to really engrave it in his memory, and the place seemed to resist being remembered in the first place. Which was just fine by Xigbar. They had enough to deal with in one overly dramatic floating castle, they didn't need another one with too many floors for comfort and a bunch of half-remembered worlds and people haunting the corridors.

All that said, Xigbar didn't mind the ceiling there. There at least was a ceiling, unlike the Castle That Never Was's open spaces and outdoor walkways where he'd been confined to the floor or walls. Here he could practice, and given that it was the only Organization stronghold still standing, he might never have to set foot on the ground again.

...Well. All that depended on who had made it back. Most of the people from Castle Oblivion hadn't been seen nor heard from in the entire year Sora'd been asleep, so Xigbar didn't exactly have high hopes of seeing those guys. He did, however, expect Castle Oblivion to be the first place someone like Xemnas or Saïx would go, under the circumstances. And he needed answers. What had caused him to resurface? Where was Xemnas? Had Sora won? How many Organization members were back, and was this still a team effort, or had some of them regained their hearts?

He groaned, rolling his eye, and flipped backwards to the floor, ponytail falling over his shoulder. Can't even concentrate on playin' around right now. This sucks.

[Xion]

Xion, who had zipped her jacket up to the point where only her luminous sapphire eyes could be seen as well as a wide enough hole so that she could breath, walked around the halls of Castle Oblivion hesitantly. She never knew what she would find around the next corner. Last she had heard, within these very walls, several members of Organization XII had faded into the darkness. Yet, she had also heard that several of them were back, so she had decided to explore and see who was here. To a degree, she wished she’d find Roxas, or at least Demyx, somewhere around these halls. She had little hope,--if she could feel hope, which she doubted--that either of them were here.

She had to admit though, Castle Oblivion was a step up from the Castle in the World That Never Was. It was so much prettier, and she wished this had been their castle instead of the other one. Still, this one was also as creepy as the other one. She wondered why they didn’t just take over a pretty place, like Destiny Islands, and make that place the world where they kept their base. Xion was just about to sigh about the fact that her shoes would give her away to anyone who would be cautious to hear everything around them when she heard a groan.

Peeking around the corner to make sure it was an enemy and not a friend before she completely surfaced, Xion groaned herself, and much more quietly. It was Xigbar. While she didn’t exactly not get along with him before in the past, she didn’t really talk to him either. Actually, she avoided him most of the time. She was always tempted to ask him why he only had an eye covered, or if he had shot himself in the eye by accident once. So, since she didn’t fight very well at all, she keep away from him as much as she could. That didn’t mean she was rude enough not to say hello when she passed him in the halls of the previous castle.

Xion gulped again and stepped forward. Only her eyes could be seen, of that she was certain, so how would he know she wasn’t Roxas or…Sora? “Xigbar.” she greeted lifting a gloved hand to wave, although it looked more like a salute. He was, after all, her superior.

[xigs]

He straightened, dropping the hood back from where gravity'd pulled it over his head, and tossed his long ponytail back behind him. Normally he'd have a shred of a thought for anonymity--he'd been known to wear his hood even inside the Castle, like he was fooling anyone--but he was in a stronghold of the long-gone Organization. There was little chance of anyone recognizing him even if they were dumb enough to wander around in here, and if it was another Organization member it was better to be upfront. Xigbar wore his reputation on his face, after all, and a traitorous member like Axel or Larxene would know better than to attack him as long as they could tell beyond a doubt who he was.

"Xigbar."

It'd been almost a year since he heard that voice and he didn't recognize it right away, calling both Gun Arrows in an instant and whirling to aim one at the intruder. He had to adjust, though, as the stranger was shorter than he expected, and he relaxed just a hair when he saw the Organization cloak. Two big blue eyes were watching him from under it, and for an instant he thought it was Roxas and his grip on the gun tightened--but then he realized Roxas wasn't quite that small and slender, and the voice from earlier hadn't sounded like him. Hesitating, he lowered his weapon with a frown. "...Fourteen?" Dude, am I spacing out here? I didn't think after... "What're you doin' way out here?"

[Xion]

Xion stepped up from around the corner and walked tentatively into the hallway where Xigbar stood. Just as slowly as she walked into the corner, she lifted her arm to the zipper and pulled it down to her neck. Then, she proceeded to pull down her hood. She jumped back and, instinctively, called forward her Keyblade when she saw he had his guns pointed at her. Her eyes widened considerably as she stared down at the Kingdom Keyblade then lifted her head to stare at Xigbar, silently pleading him with her eyes to put up his guns so that she would feel comfortable enough to put up her own weapon. She stood in a defensive stance. If he decided to attack her, she knew she’d have no chance, no chance at all, to defend herself properly. She’d probably just chicken out, run away, and open a portal somewhere else.

'Fourteen?' she winced slightly at being called from her rank. She stood up straight, but held the Keyblade in front of her, just in case. She kept it in her right hand. With her left, she brushed her bangs out of her face and placed them behind her ear. “Xion. That’s the name I was given.” she said softly. It was the way she spoke. Soft. She would like to say it was sadly, but that was an emotion, and, since she was a Nobody, she didn’t feel that. Or so she was told. She liked to believe she had emotions. “I was…” She gulped. “I was looking around. Trying to find other members that could tell me what happened to the other castle.” She took a small step forward. “I was also trying to just find other members.”

[xigs]

When Xion drew her weapon in the presence of her superior Xigbar considered blowing off a kneecap or two just to show her some proper discipline, but he'd never really had much reason to hate Xion--not that he could if he wanted to--so he decided to be cordial. After all, she was probably just being understandably careful.

Nonetheless, he made a show of sending his Gun Arrows back to hammerspace. "Chill out, chick. As far as I know, it's just you and me out here." It was a slightly hypocritical statement, but there was a little iron in his tone to say Don't make me hafta do anythin' ugly. "And we better not be the lone survivors. Superior was still kickin' when I got the pink, and so was Saïx and Ten, but everyone else is definitely s'posed to be pushin' up daisies. You encounter anyone?" he asked. His voice was as relaxed as ever, but there was a slight interest mixed in. Xion probably didn't know anything about Axel's betrayal of the Organization, nor Roxas's--unless she'd encountered them. And if she had, Xigbar needed to assert a little authority. After all, betrayals aside, Axel and Roxas and Xion were all significant bargaining chips as far as Sora was concerned. While Xigbar didn't trust Axel any farther than he could throw him (well, wait--not even that, he could probably throw that guy pretty far if he put his mind to it), and didn't expect Roxas to come quietly, he had no reason to be wasting their potential--especially if he was the minority here and they teamed up against him.

Until he located the rest of the Organization, he had to tread carefully. Once he did, things would fall back into place. If he could just find Xemnas, for that matter, most everything would go back to the way it was.