Poor Unfortunate Soul (locked to selenesknight)

[idontmeantobraig]

Braig wasn't expecting Xehanort to pick Isa. Someone a little more malleable maybe, like Ienzo, or someone more level-headed, like Aeleus. He could appreciate the irony, though. The one guy who was so full of himself that he thought he could topple Xemnas, now harboring a chunk of Xehanort's heart himself. Still. Braig was the one being forced to babysit, Xehanort Junior taking off to the future for...whatever the old coot was planning. Meaning he was left alone with a guy not exactly known for keeping his temper in check, and who was about to wake up with an extra passenger.

He's changed out of the stuffy guard uniform for his own comfort as well as avoiding being recognized by the populace of Radiant Garden. It's not hard to scrounge up some munny for the basics while Isa is still unconscious in Braig's old childhood hiding spot. It's so inaccessible that he was probably the only one who knew of its existence, both then and now. An old abandoned room above an equally abandoned shop, in a corner of the Garden that most seemed to have forgotten about entirely. Didn't get enough sunlight for flowers or something. Getting that much dead weight up the stairs with him was the trick. Thankfully food was much easier to carry.

He set down the bags on the old, dusty counter before going upstairs to check on Isa. Man, this kid is not gonna be travel-ready when he wakes up. Braig sure wasn't. But then, maybe Isa would have an easier time of it. He hoped so. Dealing with someone puking their guts out wasn't his idea of a good time.

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[selenesknight]

Braig would be greeted with the sight of Isa sitting up, awake.

He'd only awoken a few short moments ago and had laid there, staring blankly up at the ceiling, for some time. He had no idea how long it had been, nor did he have the sense of mind or self quiet yet to wonder where he was or why or how he had gotten there. Nothing but breathing in, breathing out. After he'd managed to move into a sitting position, he'd glanced around the room, recognizing nothing. More breathing.

The sound of a door opening and closing far away almost startled him, but he couldn't bring himself to move again quite yet. Instead, he glanced down at his hands, getting distracted by them as he clenched and unclenched them, testing his ability to... to what? What was he doing, again? His mind was still so heavily clouded, but as the minutes ticked by, things were beginning to clear.

Movement caught his attention and he lifted his gaze silently as Braig entered, regarding him with a mildly confused expression, brows furrowed and lips set into a faint frown.

[idontmeantobraig]

Braig opened the door to the loft, grinning at the sight of Isa finally awake. And not puking.

"Morning, sunshine!"

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the apple he'd pocketed, shining it on his shirt while he leaned against the wall near the doorway. Safe distance. Just in case. "How are you feeling? You've been out for a long time."

[selenesknight]

The sound of his voice made his eyes narrow and lips set more firmly into a frown. He was still disoriented, but enough of him remembered to know he should be irritated by this person.

"How long?" He asked, voice soft and tired from disuse. Isa wanted to stand, but... he wasn't certain he had the strength in him at the moment to even attempt it. No, it was better to stay right where he was and try to come to his senses, to put the pieces together.

"Where are we? Why am I here?"

[idontmeantobraig]

Braig held up his finger as he pushed off from the wall. "Ah ah ah. First things first." He drew closer, offering Isa the apple. "Here, eat this. Some food'll help clear out the dust bunnies in your head. Short version of it is, we all kinda got offed by Sora. The good news is, we're all complete people again. Who knew, right?"

He stepped off to the side, giving Isa space. Good, the guy was thoroughly unconscious while he'd held him up for Xehanort. The last thing he needed was a screaming fit. But it would happen eventually. Might as well ease him into it. Braig waved idly to their surroundings. "As for where we are, we're in Radiant Garden. Found this spot when I was a kid. I'm kinda surprised it's still standing. And the why? Well, I could have just left you on the floor. Don't think you'd be too comfortable there."

He found an empty chair haphazardly thrown in the corner and pulled it closer to the bed, spinning it around so he could straddle the back. "Don't worry too much about it. You don't want to upset the heart you just got back, do you?"

[selenesknight]

"I remember." Yes, he remembered the way that he so fleetingly thought he felt sorrow as he was defeated, staring up at Kingdom Hearts, longingly reaching out for his heart. He remembered that too clearly for his taste.

Taking the apple, Isa turned it over a few times in his hands, distracted by its shine and intense color. The red of its skin reminded him of something else. Someone else.

He knew Braig was right, of course. He had regained his heart; it was impossible for him to exist right now otherwise. So then... why was he here and not where he'd first lost it? Why was he stolen away by him, of all people, hidden off in some nook that no one else knew about, left forgotten thanks to years of neglect. There were so many questions left hanging in the air that he couldn't settle on one, sinking his teeth into the apple again with a soft crunch.

"... no." Was his only answer. No, he didn't want to upset his newly regained heart.

[idontmeantobraig]

Braig grinned at him. "You'll be okay, kid. Just eat up, and I'll take you where you can wash up. After I'll let you ask all the questions you want."

He tilted his head to get a better look at him. "Unless you're feeling all right for a little Q&A? If it's Lea you're worried about, don't. He's perfectly fine. So's Aeleus and Ienzo. Dilan and Even..." He shrugged. "Still out of it for now, I think. I wasn't about to stick around to find out."

[selenesknight]

"Wash up?" Yellow eyes glanced around the room, barely registering that it seemed to be a house, so yes, there would be a place for him to get cleaned up if he liked. Though.. Braig seemed to want him to and for some odd reason, he found himself unwilling to argue the point. No, there was something about being in his presence that went beyond mere familiarity.

"Lea..." He murmured quietly, lips brushing against the apple and picking up a small line of juice that had been threatening to fall and make his hands sticky. Lea was okay. The others... they were okay. So everyone was whole again, not just the two of them. That made sense, given how close they all were when they lost their hearts in the first place.

Wincing faintly, there was a sharp pain in his head, his vision going blurry for a split second, causing him to close his eyes, further baffled by the dull aching in his heart. Was that... for Lea? Or something else?

"Why are we here?"

[idontmeantobraig]

Braig smiled. He felt it too, that connection that came when one fragment of Xehanort met with another. It was anchored now. No turning back. Isa's reaction told him that much.

"You really want to know?"

He lowered his chin to his arms again, considering Isa as if he wasn't sure whether to break a big secret or not. But the response he was crafting in his head had to sound damn good. Isa wasn't an idiot, if Saix was anything to go by. Or maybe he was just repressing all that anger. Well, he would find out soon enough. He just hoped the chunk of Xehanort was stable enough to hold this guy back if he became too much to handle.

"You've been chosen for something bigger. Bigger than the Organization ever was."

[selenesknight]

"I want to know." He mumbled in response, mostly to himself, as though trying to convince himself that was the case.

Glancing up, he regarded Braig in silence, trying to will the fog in his mind to clear, to allow him to think clearly and put together the pieces he knew he was overlooking. Something was off, so very off, but if only he could think... but, at least, he seemed keen on giving him answers. Even if they gave him nothing but more questions.

"Something bigger?" Than the Organization... and he was chosen for it?

"By who?"

[idontmeantobraig]

"Xehanort, of course."

Braig tapped his face, just below his good eye, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small mirror that he offered over. "You and me, we've already been marked. You should consider yourself lucky I was there."

Yeah, sure. Nothing like slipping a few little fibs on what really happened in there. So long as it kept this guy from going after him.

[selenesknight]

"Marked... lucky? Why?"

Isa was breathless, confused, so fully out of sorts that he couldn't even bring himself to be as upset as he thought he should be. Or was that part of Xehanort already burrowed deeply into his newly reclaimed heart? Could he even tell where he ended and Xehanort began? ... was getting him this paranoid about his own sense of self just part of the plan, too? Though, really, this could also just be Braig poking fun at him. Something the man had always enjoyed doing for some reason.

"Why me?"