#ground breakng | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

beastenraged · 2 years

Text

Contrive This

@hallowed-nebulae

I’m breathing. I’m breathing and there’s too much air or too little of it. My head hurts. My brain hurts.

My fingers grasp for...something. I don’t know what.

I’m off the ground. How? Who picked me up? What’s happening? Everything here is so very bright and warm, I don’t...like it. I don’t like it.

Someone is counting. Long and slow numbers.

Slow enough and clear enough for me to try matching my breathes to it.

“Good. Can you hear me?”

I nod. Try to nod, still try to breath slowly.

“What are three things you can see?”

“My hands, my shirt, and...” Red. “A red scarf.”

“That’s good. What are three things you can touch?”

I tap my fingers together. Reach out.

“Fingers. Soft scarf. Itchy socks.”

The voice goes on. So calm, so careful.

“What are two things you can hear?”

That song-!

“Daybreak,” I gasp. “I hear Daybreak.”

“What?” The voice sounds off. Surprised. Oh no, I messed up. I focus again.

“I hear water. Your voice.”

I breath. And I am back. I am Ruse.

I get up. Get away from...silver hair, blue eyes. Huh.

“Who are you?”

“Ephemer,” the owner of the calm voice says.

Ephemer...ghost from KH3, but alive? Huh.

“Are you feeling better now?” Ven signs to me, looking pretty worried. Was he...the one who picked me up? Man, he must be strong!

“Yeah. Thanks.” I scratch at my head, a little awkward. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault,” they assure me. “Stuff can be overwhelming.”

That’s certainly true.

I turn with my hands on my hips to survey the area. So full of flowers, different from my Radiant Garden. Warm. Weird.

...gosh there are so many people here to witness my humiliation. Fantastic. I try to focus on seeing Xeha, and waving him over.

Plastering a smile on my face to pretend that no I don’t notice that Marluxia and Axel looking all concerned in the background. Or some of the background whispers and worry surrounding us.

(Unicorn Man is looming. It’s weird.)

“Hey, we’re all here! Awesome!”

“...Ruse, you were separated from us for some unknown reason. Are you not anyway concerned about that?” Xeha, of course. Worrywart.

Even if he does have a point. Kind of weird for that to happen. Didn’t Ven’s crew all come in together, no separations?

I grin at him. “Nope.” I blow a raspberry.

Xeha sighs, a degree of fondness hidden underneath where only I can catch it. “Of course you aren’t.”

“...are you Xehanort?” Ephemer asks quietly from behind me.

Yellow eyes narrow, looking the teen up and down. “Yes. Do you want something from me? I do not know you.”

Glancing back, I just manage to catch the utterly shattered look on Ephemer’s face in response. Ouch.

Xehanort also notices and as predicted, gets a little prickly about it. “I’m not your pet friend,” he snaps, stepping back with a swish of his black coat.

“Wha- that’s wrong!”

Ven tugs on Xeha’s coat. The teen looks down at him, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.

“Don’t be mean to Ephemer. That’s really mean of you to say that.”

Xeha’s face twists into a sneer. “Fine. I’ll stay out of this, as long as you leave me out of this. Ruse, come.”

He stomps a little further off, giving everyone suspicious glances. Probably in response to whatever weird emotion vibe Ven’s people are giving off at the sight of him.

Leaving me to the rest of my people.

Xion, who’s watching Aqua. Aqua who’s watching another Aqua with a certain look in her eyes.

Look, not a lot of people can probably tell. But I can, after fighting with Aqua enough times, that she’s just barely keeping herself from blowing up. Breakng down. Going Dark Despair, however you want to put it.

And looking at the other Aqua...I can tell why. She’s just so bright. Topped up with Light, burning bright like a sun. For Aqua, who’s still struggling with self worth after getting Dark-dunked, it must burn both literally and figuratively.

I step closer. Intervene. “Hey, you’re...who?”

I could just say Aqua, but I might not be right. I might be rude if I do. No assumptions.

“I am the Foreteller Invi,” the other Aqua introduces herself. Huh?

Everyone from my group, including me, kind of squint at her. Just a little.

So she’s not Aqua? In this universe, did another Foreteller pull a Luxu-Xigbar thing? Is that’s what’s going on?

Okay, weird. But I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff from the reality I’m been changing up.

But is there an Aqua inside? A vessel?

I have to check.

So I Listen. Hear the song of this other Aqua’s Heart, comparing it to the Aqua I know and fight and sing to.

Look, I’m going to explain some of what I’m hearing here. Aqua’s Heart sounds, well, like her theme from the games mostly. A little faster, a little intensified, due to the Darkness. Dark Aqua’s theme is like that in game, did you know? Faster piano. But still her, even with the pace picked up at times.

Invi-Aqua-whatever’s Heart...sounds bad. Wrong. I don’t get what it is at first, just that something isn’t right. Listening longer...the notes of her song have been drawn out. Like being played on an organ. Dramatic-like.

And...someone randomly banging on a piano for some reason. Just breaking the tune up. That doesn’t sound right at all.

I hum. I hum along to the slow tune, that is the opposite of my Aqua’s going quicker (more alive). I can’t change it back to what it was (if it was ever that in the first place) but I can try to...tune it?

Is that the way to put this?

My Darkness reaches out to the Heart and there’s a bright flaring Light that almost drives it back. A discordant note.

I hum louder, tilt my head while narrowing my eyes. My skull buzzes alongside my ears.

If there are people talking not to me, I can’t hear them. Not like this.

“Ruse, what are you doing?” Xion asks, looking worried.

“Just...hearing something. It’s fine.” I flap a hand. “You know when you get the fuzzys in your head and you gotta hum to get ‘em out?”

“No.”

“Good, because that’s what’s happening right now.”

Close my eyes. Focus.

Hm, is that something pressing up against my work? No, go away. Bad. I shove back and it retreats with a huff. I hope so. Imagine so.

The discord is gone. The song is still long, notes still lingering, but it’s not as bad as before. I open my eyes.

Invi’s eyes are WIDE. She’s staring at her with her slightly off face. Bright and almost glowing, but not as bad as before. “What did you DO?!”

I scratch at my cheek scars and try out a winning smile.

“Ah, you okay now? Just fixed something off, hope you don't mind.”

#storm whispers au #oc ruse #kh ephemer #ruse just casually shoving a mental MoM off a platform in Aqua's heart: oops #xehanort is VERY UNCOMFORTABLE #what are these people doing? why is this ven so attached to him?#please stop #ruse please stop panicking that's making this worse #he can't fix that please stop

5 notes · View notes