cyclists | audience: emma perkins

[...there's a nod. I'm so sorry, Eli, this is just how this goes for the time being because there's a lot of conflicting feelings here.]

...sorry...[An attempt at an apology. He's not sure which part he's apologizing for, but it seems right. He's still mad by the insinuations and upset about a handful of other things, but in the end...is it really Emma's fault? Maybe not.

But, on the other hand, it's hard to phrase exactly what the problem is when the universe won't allow it, and when he's trying to decide if he even trusts her currently. She's Naminé's partner, and Axel's girlfriend, and she's been kind to Xion...so...that should be reason enough. Or it's what he's trying to tell himself.]

I'm sorry, too.

[...]

But - is something else the matter?

[Another shrug.]

...you don't have to do this, you know. I get it.

I know I don't have to. Do I seem like the kind of person who does things she doesn't want to do?

I don't really know what kind of person you are, I guess. [Just a matter of fact statement, but. ] But probably not.

[After a moment:]

...Harsh, but fair, I guess.

It's not. Or it's not supposed to be. [...] Anyway, it doesn't affect you so it shouldn't matter. Right? Our focus is on what's directly impacting you because we're not doing enough.

[He's toeing the line of being unfair, but that seems to be the issue here. He also doesn't exactly have it in him to be sarcastic and there's a small amount of something in his tone that indicates he's thinking that's true.]

[She pauses.]

Like I said... I shouldn't have said that. I was upset, but that isn't an excuse.

...do you believe it? And don't...just be honest. Please.

[She shakes her head.]

I believe that none of this is your fault, and that you're doing your best. I believe you get a lot of flack from people who see you as an easy target to take their frustrations out on... And I shouldn't have been one of them. I'd hate to be in your position.

[...it's been a strange time.]

...okay. [He can acknowledge that. ] I...get it. Nobody's in an easy position right now. And I should have tried harder. So...sorry.

...I probably would have reacted the same way if someone treated me the way I treated you. It's okay.

[Is it? He doesn't argue. Instead, he shifts just a little to poke at a starfish in the tidepool.]

...this isn't the first time I was put on a job and found out later that I didn't know what I was actually working for. Maybe I should have expected this. [But it's a feeble explanation for why he reacted the way he did.]

...And it doesn't help that you're worried about them, does it?

[...]

...before this...it was the first time we were all together. All of us. And now I'm the only one who really remembers what happened. I don't want anything else to happen to them. Not again.

The only one who really remembers...?

Yeah. [...] Out of all five of us who're here, I'm the one who's the furthest ahead in the timeline, or however you want to call it. It means I've seen the most, and I know the most. Xion's the furthest behind, then Naminé, then Saix, then Axel, and me.

[He's puzzled that out at least.]

...Can I ask what you remember that Lea doesn't?

[...]

I mean...he knows now. I had to tell him. [Read as: Axel asked and Roxas just kind of caved and explained weeks later.] It's the reason I agreed to all of this in the first place.

What was the reason?

I have to find someone really important because he disappeared. His name's Sora.

...The kid from Naminé's memory? Lea's friend?

[Yeah. He just. Nods.]

Did...either of them ever tell you what a Nobody is?

Yes. It's hard to understand, but Lea told me enough that I think I get the concept.

[That saves a lot of explaining at least.]

Sora is--was? My Other. At least until I received this body of my own. Even with that though, he's who I came from.

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