Mission 15

[skysmirror]

Characters: Xion and Sora
Content: Using the time machine to visit the Wild West...with unexpected consequences.
Location: Time machine room, the U.S. Southwest circa the mid-1800's
Time of Day: afternoon, a day or so after the dino is disposed of.
Warnings: Xion's connection to Sora has some worrisome side effects when away from the satellite.



Even though they’d taken care of the dinosaur, most everyone on the satellite was still upset about ‘90’s Kid’s...disappearance. Sora in particular seemed to be taking it hard. So Xion had decided to try to think of something to help cheer him up a little.

In the end, she’d decided to agree to something that had been brought up when they’d dressed up as “cowboys” and “Indians.” Sora had wanted to use the time machine then to go see real cowboys and Indians. At the time, Xion had been reluctant; the time machine gave them all their powers back, and she didn’t know how it would affect Sora to have her close by in a situation like that.

Still, if it would make him feel better she’d try it. Though he’d have to agree to let her know the moment he felt strange in any way, so they could come right back. She wasn’t quite sure how to get that across, but she’d made sure to bring lots of paper and few pencils when she went to find him to see if he wanted to go.

Comments

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Xion braced herself against the walls while the time machine worked, wincing at the noise. When it finally stopped and the door opened, she took a moment to catch her breath before going to look out the door.

The heat surprised her--not as bad as Agrabah, but definitely enough to make her want to take her coat off. Mountains were a new thing to her, so she spent a moment taking them in, trying to remember enough to describe to Namine later. The presence of a settlement made her a little nervous--she hoped they could blend in.

When Sora spoke, though, she smiled back at him. "Great!"

[optimistickey]

"Yeah!" Wow, being able to talk again felt like he had stopped holding his breath after days. He looked out towards the settlement...ultimately, he wasn't that worried about blending in. "Let's go check out that fort over there!"

Just as he said that, however, a large group of Indians suddenly went riding up on horses on their left side...far enough away that they were not noticed, or maybe just not considered important enough to worry about right now. The group was riding towards the settlement, and it didn't look like it was for peaceful purposes. Maybe their timing was a bit off.

He turned to Xion. "Well...let's be careful." Sora didn't know that much about cowboys and Indians other than the fact that they fought each other over land; whether one side was 'good' or 'bad' he really didn't know.

Sora automatically summoned his Keyblade, just in case. It felt good to have it in hand again, especially after everything that had gone on on the Satellite. And he didn't feel strange, yet...

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Xion nodded in response to his suggestion. "It looks like a good place to start."

She was shrugging her coat off to leave it at the machine and get ready to start walking when they saw the Indians. If definitely didn't look like they were going to the fort for a friendly meeting, so she followed Sora's lead and summoned her own Keyblade, briefly wishing that she had some of her old gears to attach to it.

"Of course." This was starting to feel like a mission. Objective: find out what was going on between the two groups. She knew less about them than even Sora did.

While she still felt fine, too, part of her mind was also keeping track of any subtle changes she might feel in her condition.

[optimistickey]

With the Indians being on horseback, they obviously had a head start on the both of them. He started off towards the fort as fast as he could go, hoping that they'd have some cover once they got there. A part of him wondered if he shouldn't get his glider, too...but on the other hand, he didn't think Xion knew how to use hers, and he wasn't sure how to teach someone how to use it yet. So, it was up to running that way.

As they began to get closer, Sora thought he heard the sounds of a fight. What's more, it felt like what was normally a brisk run across flat ground was becoming harder than it should have been. He shrugged it off, thinking it was probably just because he hadn't gotten any real good exercise in awhile.

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Xion took off as fast as she could as well. Even if they couldn't get there faster than the Indians, they could at least try to help. Unlike Sora she couldn't use a glider (she was only marginally aware that such a thing was possible) though if they'd thought of it she could have tried to ride behind him on his. Not that she minded the run--it had been a while since she'd gotten that kind of exercise.

Aside from hearing the sounds of the fight, she could see smoke starting to curl up from the fort--not a lot, it was probably from the weapons the people in the fort were using. She also began to notice that this run was becoming more easy than it should have been, as out of practice that she was, and she was starting to pull ahead of Sora.

"You okay?"

[optimistickey]

As they approached, Sora also noticed the smoke, and the sound of gunfire. He didn't even know who they'd be helping out when they got there, but they had to go and see first what the fight was about. Maybe the Indians were trying to take over the fort and drive out the cowboys...or maybe they were trying to raid it to free some friends!

Sora noticed that Xion was pulling ahead, and looking worried. "Yeah, I'm fine!" Sora put a little extra power into his steps, moving to keep up with her more. It worked, mostly. He didn't want to slow either of them down just because he was a bit out of practice.

"Let's just get over there!"

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They really wouldn't know the situation until they got there, so they'd have to be careful at first. It wouldn't do to end up helping the side that had started the trouble. Then again, that might not be easy to determine...

She frowned slightly at Sora's response; his assertions of being "fine" had already been established as not always reliable. Still, he was trying to keep up and did seem fine otherwise, so she let it rest for now.

"Right!" They'd almost made it; she could make out individuals much more clearly.

[optimistickey]

Luckily, it looked like there was an outcropping of rocks nearby that they could hide behind and observe from until they could figure out what was going on. He nodded for Xion to head that direction. Even Sora, who was used to rushing into things, at least wanted to know who the good and bad guys were in this situation.

The closer they got to the fort and the further away they got from the time machine, the harder it seemed to run. The Keyblade started to feel heavy in his hands...this sort of thing hadn't happened last time he'd gone back in time with Terra.

But still, Sora said nothing. He didn't want to just give up and go back to the Satellite now. They were really close there, and once they stopped, he'd probably catch is breath again...

[skysmirror]

Even the most impulsive, go-with-the-flow sort of perseon will learn some caution while trying to find their friends and saving the worlds along the way--or going on missions for an organization with questionable goals. When Sora indicated to move for the shelter of the rocks, she did so, crouching down and leaving room for him to join her.

She noticed he was struggling to keep up, though, and looked tired. Meanwhile, she felt in tip-top shape. This didn't bode well, so when he was close enough for her to speak without anyone else hearing, she said, "Maybe we should start back? You look pretty tired..."

[optimistickey]

"N-no, I'm fine," Sora insisted, even if it was becoming harder and harder for him to ignore that tiredness. He shook his head out, and focused on the fort ahead of them. The two groups were definitely fighting now. Just from what he could see, the Indians were losing. The cowboys had a fort to protect them, after all, and a couple of them also had guns. However, it seemed like the Indians were mostly focused on getting a couple of their men inside.

It was hard to focus on all of that now, however, when his head was starting to swim. How could anything affect him this suddenly?

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Xion frowned slightly. At the moment, she was more focused on Sora's condition than what was going on at the fort. Letting polite fictions about his emotional state slide was one thing, but this was another. Maybe at one point in time she'd have let it go. Right now, though, she knew better.

It could have nothing to do with her. Knowing what they both did, and going by how suddenly the exhaustion had come one, that was unlikely. Whatever the case, Sora was in no shape to fight, or try to push things any further. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Sora, let's go."

[optimistickey]

Sora did try to focus on the fight at the fort, but his attention was quickly diverted away from that. Finally, he felt like something was wrong. This was more than just feeling tiredness or being out of practice. It felt like all his energy was slowly draining out of him, like his Keyblade was extremely difficult to even hold. He stood slowly, feeling dizzy. "Umm..."

He started to walk back in the direction they'd come in, barely even acknowledging Xion now. "I feel funny..."

And then all of a sudden, the Keyblade vanished from his hand, and he collapsed onto the dirt, unconscious.

[Sora will be out of it until they at least get back to the SOL, and most likely longer. Up to you how much further you want to go!]

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Xion tried to reach out to keep him from standing, but didn't reach in time. By the time he collapsed, she'd barely stood, but she quickly dismissed her Keyblade and hurried over to him.

Using the time it took to check his pulse and breathing to calm herself, she took stock of the situation. It looked like he was just unconscious--or sleeping, but there wasn't a lot of difference between the two--which was better than one thing she'd feared might happen. She still had to get him back quickly, but hopefully once they were back on the satellite whatever kept them able to exist separately without any negative effects would kick in and he'd wake up again.

Putting one of his arms around her shoulder, and on of hers around his waist, she began to slowly half-carry, half-drag him back to the satellite. They hadn't been seen thus far, and if they were lucky that wouldn't change, but she cast Aeroga just in case in case someone saw them and tried to attack.

The return trip took longer than their earlier run--not unexpected, since she was walking and had to support Sora. At least their luck held, and they managed to get to the time machine without any trouble. Getting in--especially doing so without accidentally jostling him too much--took some effort, but she managed to do so and set the controls for them to return to the SoL.

Once back, she managed to get him to his room and into bed, silently thankful that Gypsy had repaired the elevators. Exhausted herself, she flopped into the desk chair to wait for him to wake.

[Gotcha.]