[open]

[earthshaken]

Who: Terra, and anyone who wants to check up on this dumb loser
When: Backdated to 3/04?? A few days after the ill-fated raid
Where: CERES hospital
What: Terra's recovering from being shot. Good times.
Rating/Warning: Mentions of violence/injury, character death

[Terra didn't have much memory of how he'd reached the hospital. The doctors had described how they'd found him unconscious on the roof drenched in blood, Keyblade lying beside him and Baymax with him. The last thing he remembered was Soramaru and Masamune's deaths, something that had stood out starkly in his memories for more. After that, there was little but the feeling of warm light and his Keyblade in hand.

Thanks to Korra's quick action the bullet wound in his chest had more or less been taken care of, and the rest was just a patch job, along with treatment for the blood loss. His arm was another matter, and since he refused to have its coding fixed instantly by one of the medical robots, he settled for having it in a sling.

He didn't trust medical robots here for a second, when it was CERES' security robots that had shot him in the first place. If anything, they'd make it worse, wouldn't they?

After a few days of bed rest and some minor surgery on his wounded arm, he was finally feeling well enough to get up and move around. The first day or so of recovery was hazy, but now he's beginning to feel restless -- sitting around in a bed is giving too much time to dwell on his failures in the raid. Were Hiro and Korra even alive? And what about the other groups they were separated from? He sends them -- everyone who participated in the raid -- the following message:]

are you okay?

[And then to Roxas, who is probably wondering where Terra disappeared to, the following message:]

I ran into some trouble a few days ago
at the hospital now
don't worry abou t me. i'll see you soon

[Good job on the least reassuring message ever, Terra.]

Comments

[coexistent]

[it's true—roxas has been wondering what terra's been up to, though he's been doing his best to keep distracted. terra's probably just busy, since everything has been pretty crazy lately. but with things starting to calm down, he'd wanted to actually address some of the things he's been wondering... only to not get any response from terra.

naturally, he's a little concerned.

so when the message comes in, roxas reads it eagerly—it's not like all that many people are clamoring for ice cream at this time of day. but he's almost immediately filled with a sinking feeling from the message itself; he wants to just pack up and head right to he hospital to check on terra, but he knows he can't do that. just like any other time, he can't put the job aside because of his personal feelings. so instead, he responds (probably a bit too frantically and without checking for mistakes) as soon as he can.]

You ran into trouble?
And you're at the hospital?
What happened/.? How am i not supposed to worry when you tell me that... hwo hurt are you??

[who would believe this kid doesn't the heart to worry?]

[earthshaken]

[Terra has a sinking feeling when he sees how worried Roxas is. It's not like they're especially close, when they still have so much to learn about each other, so he didn't expect him to be this worked up about it. Maybe a little concerned as much as the next person, but now he wonders if he should have mentioned it at all.

The response is slow; Terra is still getting used to typing at the best of times, but typing with one hand makes the process that much more difficult.]

trespassed onto ceres property. security didn't like it
but i'm going to be fine
i just wanted you to know where i was

[coexistent]

[for roxas, it's hard to help. he has so few people in his life—especially when it comes to people he can put his trust in or call an ally (or friend). they may not have known each other for very long, but terra is one of the few people roxas has here. another keyblade wielder, another person who may know something about who he really is and where he comes from.

after experiencing betrayal and loss from his best friends, the idea of potentially losing any more people scares him witless. he won't question terra's reasons for breaking into ceres or doing dangerous things—that's a way of life he knows and understands. but having experienced comrades being destroyed and losing xion, this kind of stuff just doesn't sit well with him. if it's not something a simple curaga (...or an elixir) could fix, it has to be pretty serious.]

If you're there, it had to be kind of serious though, didn't it?

[at least, that's what he's learned about hospitals recently. after another minute, he'll send out another message.]

Is it okay if I go there? [he kind of wants to be assured that terra will really be okay by seeing for himself.]

[earthshaken]

[The reply takes a little longer to reach Roxas. Not because it took longer to type -- it didn't -- but because Terra's wondering if he wants anyone to see him like this. If there's one thing he hates, it's feeling weak and vulnerable.

Well... He has his pride, but he also doesn't want Roxas to worry even more. So he replies:]

yeah.
i'll tell them you're coming, and theyll let you see me

[Probably. And if not, he'll just discharge himself early, with or without their permission. Hospitals are weird!!]

[souling]

[Don't mind a certain someone crawling up to Terra's window. She'd rather not walk around in a hospital, where someone could abduct her and perform experiments. Absolutely avoided.

No, she climbed up the side of the building and tapped on the window, face and mask pressed against it, completely and entirely.]

at some point on some day...

[undauntingdawn]

[wandering around the city has led riku to being right outside the hospital. he's been getting a feel for this place and trying determine whether or not xehanort's hand is involved with all this. time travel shenanigans, drawing people in from different worlds: yeah, the shoe definitely fits on that old bastard's foot. now--

hold on. light mixed with darkness, that feels like... riku turns toward the hospital and frowns thoughtfully at the building. why would he be there? is it even him? well, only one way to find out. asking at the front desk about someone named terra plus a physical description results in being given a room number to go to. definitely on the right track.

soon enough, the room comes into view and he steps right on inside. what is knocking? not something riku considers doing, that's what. thankfully, it doesn't end up being some poor stranger on the bed, but the exact person he hoped to find. concern flashes across riku's face at the state terra's in. just what happened to him?]

You look pretty beat up.

[how your successor says hello.]

[earthshaken]

[Zombie girls mouthbreathing at his window was absolutely what he needed during his hospital stay. He has to do a double-take at first, just to make sure he's not imagining it.]

Hey!

[He climbs out of bed, using his good arm to slide the window open.]

What are you doing?! You could fall!

[souling]

[Give her a moment to climb in and brush herself off. That was pretty dangerous.]

It was better than going through the inside. If they find out I'm here, they're sure to kidnap me. But I still had to visit you!

[earthshaken]

[Terra's flicking through his Cerevice for any news when Riku arrives, and that familiar voice makes him snap to attention. Had he realised his successor was going to drop in, he would have made himself a little more presentable and less... pathetic-looking. Then again, could he really disappoint Riku's opinion of him more than he already had?

Well, maybe he could. He'd drawn on the darkness inside him once again, back when he thought he was going to die from his wounds. Even under the circumstances, he wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, when it had accomplished nothing but fanning the dark fire inside him even further. He should have trusted the others would get him out of there safely... But once again, fear took control, that dangerous thing that keeps pushing him closer and closer to the darkness.

He sets his Cerevice aside wearily and looks back at Riku.]

...Yeah. I misjudged an enemy, and paid the price.

[Story of his life.]

[earthshaken]

[He shuts the window behind her, this time with a little difficulty. Doing everything with one arm is annoying, something he's quickly discovered.]

What? No one's going to kidnap you.

[souling]

Of course they are. This place already tried once. I'm not going to play that game again!

[Hang in there, Terra.]

[coexistent]

[roxas isn't exactly fond of the fact that terra neglects to answer his first question—it gives him a sort of sinking feeling, but also feels a little too reminiscent of how evasive the organization was with him. there's not much he can do about it, anyway. terra's not refusing his visit, so he'll be able to ask more directly later, right?]

Okay. I'm at work right now, but I'll be done soon. I'll come right from there... it's not that far away. [he'd leave right away if he could, honestly.

terra may not like this because of how it makes him feel, but roxas just really wants to make sure he's going to be okay. that's the problem with having so few people in any world to ally with or look up to. sometimes, he thinks a little too simply about these matters, but he can worry about it later. one thing at a time, and the first is making sure he can see terra.

...really, if they don't let roxas in, he'll probably just bust into the room anyway, because he's dumb and impatient and doesn't like being told no.]

[earthshaken]

Why would they try to kidnap you? When did it happen?

[HE'LL FIGHT EVERYONE FOR YOU!! ... Just as soon as he's done recovering from his last attempt at fighting CERES, anyway.]

[earthshaken]

[Fortunately there's no need for busting in, since the staff know to expect Roxas. When he enters, Terra looks a little pale, and his arm is in a sling, but at least Korra was able to quickly treat the bullet wound in his chest. Outwardly, there's not much left there besides a healing scar, but it's still painful. So he's been kept confined to bed rest to avoid the risk of making his injuries worse before they start getting better.]

Hey, Roxas.

[What should he say? That he'd been convinced he was about to die? That in is final moments, one of his many regrets was that he couldn't help him? Maybe Roxas meant more to him than he'd ever realised... even if he's still not wholly sure why.

He doesn't even know how to begin discussing any of that, so he just offers a faint smile.]

Sorry if I scared you.

[coexistent]

[it's probably also for the better this way, considering he more or less ran the entire way there. even though roxas takes a second to try and catch his breath, he's still panting as he enters the room.

it probably doesn't help that roxas wears the worry in his expression—he's definitely not the type that's good at hiding what he feels (again, who would believe he doesn't have a heart if they didn't already know?). he doesn't say anything at first, giving terra a chance to say something first. and even though it's not much, those words and the smile are enough to alleviate at least some of his concern. he exhales in a bit of relief.]

Terra... [and after a moment:] You're really okay.

["okay" as in "alive" and definitely not as bad as it could be, even if he doesn't really like what he's seeing, either. he's going to ask more questions in a second, but first he's going to sit down, because between the running and the relief, he feels a bit weak in the knees.]

[undauntingdawn]

[that gets his eyebrow to arch the smallest bit. how badly did he have to misjudge for this to be the result? and what sort of enemy could have done that to a keyblade wielder?

granted, riku lacks any idea about how skilled terra is. even so, if sora could somehow hold his own after getting the keyblade then surely terra had to be better than that. he steps further on inside the room and sits down in a nearby chair. no point in standing around when you can sit. without asking if it's okay to do so.]

What happened?

[as in details please. there's no judgmental tone; only concern mixed with curiosity.]

[souling]

[Calm down Terra!!]

Right when I first got here. They were about to cut me open with a saw and I can't imagine what that would have been like.

[earthshaken]

Yeah. You can thank Korra and Hiro for that... and Baymax, too.

[Had it not been for Korra's quick thinking, he would have bled out right then and there. And that would have been for nothing, if Hiro and Baymax hadn't saved them from the electified floor.]

Besides, it'll take more than a few bullets to stop me. I still need to help you, and save my other friends.

[And beat the tar out of Xehanort to avenge his master, but those darker thoughts are best kept from Roxas. With a little difficulty, he moves to shift and sit at the edge of the bed. If this were Ven, he'd ruffle his hair to cheer him up, but he'll resist the urge to do so.]

So I mean it -- don't worry about me. I'm not going anywhere.

[earthshaken]

Wasn't that in ViViD? [Maybe. It's sometimes hard to tell what reality is here.] No one's going to hurt you here.

[souling]

Sure, it may have been. But that doesn't mean it can't happen for real.

[It felt real enough to be real. Which meant it was kind of real, right?]

[earthshaken]

It's a long story... But it goes back to a while befofe you showed up, when the city was flooded. The culprits were some elemental spirits, who were angry with CERES for stealing away someone very important to them.

I promised I would help them. So I joined a raid on CERES' headquarters, but while we were fighting our way through... [He touches the bullet wound only narrowly above his heart.] The security robots shot me.

[And not even with the kind of energy bullets Braig had used. These were impossible to deflect or dodge, and he doubted even his armour would have been of much protection.]

I'm lucky, though. Two of our group didn't make it, and I still haven't heard from the two who were left.

[coexistent]

[hearing those words is somehow a lot more relieving than roxas would have ever expected them to be. he wishes he could place exactly why that is—but he really doesn't know. most of the strange panic that had set in after getting the news seems to dissipate, the tension in his shoulders starting to ease.

korra, hiro, baymax—he only recognizes one of those names, but he'll make sure to give them his thanks when he gets a chance. still, his concern isn't quite out of the woods just yet.]

I can't just... not worry about something like this. How long do you think you'll be here for? And... how long before it's healed? [it kind of seems like it would be a problem for him, after all. the whole situation just doesn't sit well with roxas in the least.]

[earthshaken]

I'm hoping they'll let me go tomorrow. Korra already healed a lot of the damage in the serious wound, so as long as I take it easy [--does Terra even know the meaning of the phrase--?] it should be okay.

["Should be." He's feeling too restless and frustrated to stay here, anyway, so even despite the constant pain, he'd sooner they let him go rather than later.

Then he glances down at his arm.] This'll take maybe a week or two to fix. My healing magic will mend it quicker.

[earthshaken]

Couldn't you say that about anything in ViViD, though?

[What if one of them was living in an action RPG in real life the whole time!! ... wait]

[souling]

That's totally possible for sure. So I won't debate that. But doesn't that mean we're both right?