[IC] Kingdom Hearts: Signs of Zodiac

[Letter Bee]

Ascot smiled, and spoke:

"Well, I won't pressure you to speak, Amelia. However, I hope that you find your voice soon." And with that, Ascot began singing Music in the Treetops to Amelia, his voice still a little high-pitched, but already beginning to change. Once he was done, he then turned to Thomas and Oner:

"Can one of you go to Mom and get me a spellbook teaching me Balloon? The fight with Satoko has taught me that I'm behind on my magical studies."

[Renose]

Oner was about to speak to Ascot, but then the young girl from before came into the room and went over to him, holding out her hands as if asking for something. A small smile formed on his face as he watched him give her the orange before turning to Thomas, who decided to leave as all he was here for was to check up on Ascot. Understandable if the other mage was busy. This left just him, Jake, and Ascot who was sitting in his bed. Oner listened to the boy sing, remaining silent the entire time until Ascot turned to look at him, Thomas no longer being in the room with them.

In response to his question Oner simply shook his head. "Sorry Ascot, but I cannot do that". Ascot would notice that, unlike Reno's voice, Oner's was very calm and mature, but still held the voice of a young boy since Reno and Oner were only 13. "There will be plenty of time for studying and practice once thou hast recovered. For now you should rest. Instead of trying to learn new things you should meditate on what you already know as you focus on recovery. After all, whether its learning spells or gaining physical strength, both are best achieved when thine health is at its peek".

[Joshua Tamashii]

Amelia watched Ascot silently as she ate her orange the same way as the apple, a nibble as if testing the flavor first then eating it with gusto. When she finished the orange just after Oner refused Ascots request. She didn't understand much so she didn't really pay attention. She decided to just watch Ascot silently, in a curious fashion.

[Letter Bee]

"All right, Oner, I understand. That said, thanks to your magic, I might be getting out tomorrow. Anyway, I think I figured out who you are; two different expressions of the same being, two different expressions of one truth. Am I right?" Ascot then waited for Oner to say something.

As for Amelia, Ascot then said:

"Anyway, Amelia, once Mom gets here, I'll introduce you to her and Elyse, perhaps you two can play together. Would you like that?" To Ascot, Amelia was already family.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Amelia shook her head at Ascots question before climbing into a nearby chair and bringing her knees to her face. She stayed in that position as she looked over her knees and watched Ascot as if she was studying him.

[Letter Bee]

"Aww..." spoke Ascot, the look in his eyes both sad and kind. "Amelia, it'll be okay; Mom and Elyse are really good people. They're kind and sweet and they would love to have you around. Besides, much as I'd want to be around you all the time, I have a journey to continue, a journey that's dangerous for little kids." The boy sighed; how was he going to get through to Amelia?

"Amelia, please, I want you to be happy, to have a home." Then, Ascot realized something. "You remember, don't you? The life of your Other? It was sad, wasn't it, what happened to her?"

"Well, Mom will protect you from bad things, Amelia, and so will the people where she lives. They're good and kind people, and there are lots of flowers where they live." Ascot then pulled out a flower from his Inventory, as if to show her a piece of Radiant Garden.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Amelia remained silent for a few seconds before finally speaking.
"People hate me." She said in a very low voice that sounded... a little sad." People yell at me and hit me. Deny me everything. Food, shelter, cloths. All because I'm a freak. Had powers they didn't. Hurt them when I didn't want to."

She looked at Ascot her eyes filled with tears. Dispute being a Nobody, she was obviously able to experience emotions easily. Maybe her young age had to do with it.
"I remember creatures attacked me. It... it hurt so much. Then the pain vanished and I was here. I... couldn't feel anything... but I could control my powers. But I'm feeling again... and hurting others. Better I stay away from others... better I just fade away but." She gave Ascot a small smile" Those creatures like me. Keep me company... keep me safe."

[Letter Bee]

Ascot's eyes shone with outrage and indignation, but his next words showed that they were not directed at Amelia.

"Amelia...Mom can help you control your powers, if you're still having problems with them. And she'll keep you safe if people would still dislike you. However, that's not likely where she lives. Where she lives, having powers, having magic, it's seen as normal, as an accepted fact of life. You'll also have people like Merlin and his apprentice Serin, and Reno/Oner, and Joshua too. And, finally, there's me, for the six months I'll be staying at Radiant Garden every year. You'll have plenty of people to help and protect you, who will play with you and give you the things you need...please, Amelia, I don't want you to just fade away, because no one, no one, should suffer the way you are suffering now!"

That last sentence was a bit loud, but the outrage in it was tempered by sadness and compassion, and Ascot had begun crying as well.

"No one..."

[Joshua Tamashii]

Amelia gave Ascot a confused look
"Why are you crying?" She asked" I... did I hurt you?"

"No you didn't Amelia. He's just being pathetic." Satoko said as she and Rika entered the room" Sheesh we come to see if you'll live and your here balling your eyes out like a child who had their candy stolen. Man up and stop this patheticness."

[Letter Bee]

"It's acceptable to cry if someone else is in pain, Satoko," spoke Ascot, who had suddenly stopped crying at the entrance of the two. "But let's stop talking about different cultural mores and just enjoy each other's company," he continued. "Not that you'll admit to enjoying it, but thank you for coming anyway." He then looked at Amelia.

"Hey, Amelia, I'm not crying now, okay, so don't worry about it. Now I'm debating with Sato -" he knew Satoko would take umbrage at that nickname "- over what's acceptable or not."

[Renose]

Oner listened to Ascot's entire conversation as he sat in the room. Normally he would have said something to help out, but decided to remain silent. He knew Ascot could help Amelia with his kindness, so Oner watched, a small smile on his face as Ascot proceeded to try and comfort Amelia who finally spoke, revealing her sorrowful past. Oner could understand a bit of what Amelia was saying, as he and Reno had to leave their own home for reasons of being different. Of course, it was nowhere near as tragic as what Amelia had to suffer through, which Oner understood, but he could somewhat understand Amelia's feelings a small bit.

In fact he was about to say something, but Satoko and Rika entered the room, Satoko being quite rude as she did so. Of course, Ascot defended himself, and it was after that he stood up Oner from the chair he was sitting on and took a step forward to the side of Ascot's bed, looking at Satoko and Rika. "What you see as weakness, I see as strength. To possess the courage to reveal one's own innermost feelings, to be able to console others and mend their sorrows. That is a strength much greater than anything else. Anyone can wield a sword or cast a spell with enough practice, its not that hard. That's just basic physical or magical strength. The strength of heart, or soul, though, like what Ascot possesses, the very strength you see as weakness... that is true strength to me, because the bonds that people share, that is true power".

"After all..." He paused for a moment. His tone of voice as he spoke the entire time was very calm, yet also possessed a very subtle, yet very strong confidence and strength. "It is that very strength that broke your strings, the ones that you said were the power of your will". Oner wasn't trying to start a fight, but he also wasn't going to stand for this girl insulting his friends anymore. "So can you truly say that this, the very strength that broke your own power, is pathetic?"

[Joshua Tamashii]

Satoko was about to reply but Rika stepped in and took a much calmer approach.
"That trick you did that put you in here. It involves you drawing on the strength of others does it not?" She asked" You take your friends' strength and make it your own. The stronger the bind and the stronger the person the more power you can draw I think.Am I wrong thus far?"

[Amaya Tamashii]

rose sighed scratching her head looking around "it is best to just take amaya to the hospital to get checked over to make sure nothing else happened when she was attacked so to say"said rose adjusting elyse as she turned to belle "it is nice to meet you belle I am roseletta vanisis mother of amaya and elyse overseer of Joshua over there and ascots adopted mother...I also go by a different name of my past when I lost myself "said rose with a sweet smile on her face as she pushed some of her black hair behind her shoulder

"I hope you are fitting in to this tiny group for now and well"she said gently to belle before she looked over to serin "let's go see ascot after I get Joshua and amaya set"she added

rose looked at belle "this is one of.your sister's fellow friends they made on the way, her name is Belle, named after one of the princesses of heart I believe "said rose to elyse

Xayama listened to him standing up brushing off her legs and skirt "me? I assist at a few stores with deliveries here and there and get some pay though I use the money to help a few families out with there kids..I sometimes baby sit large amounts of kids here "she added" I personally don't really live anywhere I am staying with a small family acting like a nanny to their five kids"she added folding her arms before sighing "there isn't much I can say I am everything she isn't...she is silent like a wall flower, I am loud and refuse to be quite"she said "and same with everything else it seems"she replied?

[Letter Bee]

"You're right, Rika, except for the 'strength of the person' part" spoke Ascot in a quiet tone. "That counts only for the Great Kings of the Multiverse like Aslan. Everyone else; their strength doesn't matter, just the strength of the bond."

[Renose]

(Deleted)

[Joshua Tamashii]

"So you borrowed strength from someone who is essential a god." Rika said"That would explain how you broke her strings. Satoko is one of the most stubborn and pig headed people you would ever meet."

"HEY!" Satoko shouted

"I've never met anyone who could resist her control once they were under it. I would say no human could. Their will and stubbornness just can't outdo hers." Rika said calmly." You had to borrow the powers of a god to break her controland beat her. Yet you act like you won. How can you call yourself the winner when the power that won the battle was not your own?

Oh and one other thing." A hint of anger enteredher tone now" Stop looking down on us. You spoke of making Satoko do things like working for you during your fight with her. Let me make this clear. You'll make none of us do such a thing. We have shelter already. We enjoy working for those we are willing to work for. We have food and water. Who are you to come to our home and say your going to change our way of life, as if we can't take care if ourselves? What gives you the right?"

"Yeah I hear ya Rose." Joshua said as he picked Amaya up. He opened a CoD before turning to Xayama"Wanna come along?"

Whether she did or didn't didn't matter in the end as he used the CoD to appear a short distance from the hospital. He entered and got Amaya admitted, staying by her side the entire time.

[Letter Bee]

"Honestly, Rika," spoke Ascot, "I was an ignorant little kid. I didn't know how you lived, how you were keeping yourselves alive, and I assumed the worst. And for that, I'm sorry. It might be too little, too late, but I'm sorry. As for that 'making you work for me remark', yeah, that was out of line." So, that's Rika's hidden inner barb, thought the boy, good to know.

"To be frank, research on Nobodies hasn't gotten beyond 'they start out without hearts, but regrow them'. I didn't know how capable you really were outside of battle, because the data on you guys is really, really old and really, really dated. More to the point, said data had been tainted by the fact that most of it was collected during a fricking war. I didn't know how you guys would act in peacetime, and for that, I am again, sorry."

"As for borrowing power from a 'god', I could argue that it's not a bad thing to gain power from something, or someone, that you revere, that you really believe in. But I won't, I'm not defending my actions at that battle anymore. If I wasn't in the right, then it doesn't count as 'won'." That admission cost a lot from Ascot, who had been led to believe that he had won a battle against a named character who wasn't holding back for the first time.

"And, I wasn't in the right." Again, this cost a lot from the young Paladin, such that he was now seriously discouraged. It was his fault, his punishment, and a reminder of how much he had yet to go. But, it was also his despair, despair that he was able to blunder so completely. His eyes briefly showed this emotion, before hardening, hiding how much he had been shattered inside.

He thought he had learned so much since his fight with Joshua! He thought he had improved, both in his skills and as a person! But, now, after this sort of failure, what hope was there for him, how can he contribute in any meaningful way into the quest? He had cast aside his desire for importance, true, but this isn't about desiring importance anymore, but desiring usefulness.

"You're right, I'm weak..." spoke Ascot finally. "I thought I can stand on my own two feet now, I thought I'd gotten stronger. But, you're right, I'm a patethic person. True strength still eludes me, it seems."

[BioHazard]

Belle listened to Rose and nodded. "Yeah, it's hard to sometimes fit in because I'm not a Keyblade wielder. But thanks." she said with a smile, as Rose continued to introduce Belle to her daughter Elyse. "Also nice to meet you Elyse." she said while Rose went to get Joshua. Belle stooped down to face Elyse. "You know, you're a lucky girl to have such a beautiful sister and a cool brother." she said before standing up again.

Suddenly a man dressed in red with silver hair approached her. She knew from Oner that he is the father of Reno/Oner. It seemed that he had a letter with him which he handed over to her. He told it was for Oner, as it is written in his mother language. "I will give it to him, Serin." She then followed Rose into the corridor of darkness to go visit Ascot in the hospital, to give Amaya a check-up, and to give Oner the letter she just received from his father.

[Renose]

"That's where you're wrong Ascot". Oner was silent, letting them converse, letting them speak, but now Oner decided that it was his turn to get his words in. "While you're actions may not have been the best, its not like your heart wasn't in the right place. Yes, you shouldn't have said that they would work for you. But you were only doing saying it in an attempt to help". He looked at Satoko and Rika. "He may have unintentionally insulted you all, but its not like he was doing it purposefully. With everything that a person does, the most important thing is the intent. Even if it was something that you would find offensive, not only did Ascot not know about how thou would feel, but also he did it only out of a desire to help".

He then took another look at Ascot, then at Satoko. "Also, about that battle. It does not matter who won or lost. In fact, none of you won or lost that fight!" Oner's voice flared up a little bit there, losing some of its calmness. The prospect of people losing their lives in any manner of fight was something Oner would never take lightly. Ever. "If that fight had continued the two of you would be dead. I was fixing to smash through that barrier myself with all of mine and Reno's power to stop that fight, but luckily that cloaked figure came in and stopped the fight himself". Oner wasn't going to back down on that issue, and was angry at both Satoko and Ascot for nearly getting themselves killed in what was just a simple fight. This was one of the reasons why Oner did not like fighting.

"And as for why I said you were wrong, Ascot..." Oner remembered a very fleeting conversation between him and Ascot a while back, on their way to Narnia. Oner felt as though now was a good time to bring this up. "Do you remember when you and Reno were on your way to Narnia? I managed to surface just for only a moment by chance, but proceeded to tell you something. Unfortunately I never got to finish, but perhaps now is a good time to finish what I was going to say". Oner looked at Satoko and Rika as well, the place where he was standing allowing him to face all three of them. "Perhaps you two should keep this in mind as well, as a very wise person once told me this".

"He told me that there is nothing within oneself that one should disavow. That one should accept everything about oneself, even everything that makes you feel weak, pathetic, or sad. It is only when one accepts their faults and acknowledges their weaknesses that one can begin fixing these faults and turning this weakness into strength". Oner's words and voice brimmed with confidence and wisdom that one wouldn't usually find in a kid Oner's young age. He looked at Ascot, giving him a small smile.

"You said that true strength still eludes you... but that is where you are wrong. While it may have eluded you before, just by saying that. By being able to accept the things within you that make you feel weak that you can begin to repair these faults, turning thine weakness into strength, and not just the strength of swords or magic, but actual true strength. The strength that comes from being strong as a person, not the strength that comes from just being able to wield power, a strength that anyone with a sword or a book of spells can obtain with enough practice and time". Oner held out his hand, palm facing upward, a small orb of light forming in his hand and the white circle on his head beginning to glow with a soft, peaceful light, this light moving through the lines going down the circle.

"Ascot, during that fight you said that your power was light. You have been able to see your weakness, and bring it out into the light. Now that you can see it, you can only begin to grow stronger from the true strength that you have obtained sight of. After all, there is beauty in imperfection and strength in weakness, and you have managed to find both". Oner then turned to face Satoko, making the orb dissipate now, the white circle and lines stopping their glowing.

"You also criticized Ascot for borrowing strength that is not his own, but is that not what you are doing? I do not deny that you are a strong fighter, but your special power involves controlling someone's body. Is that very act not "borrowing" the power of your opponent in the same way that Ascot borrows the power of Aslan? Essentially taking and "borrowing" all of the power of your opponent so that they are incapable of movement. Before you go criticizing others, perhaps instead you should look within yourself first, otherwise you are not only criticizing Ascot, but yourself as well".

[Renose]

Serin nodded, glad that all of them were going to the hospital to check in Amaya. If Reno and Oner were there, Serin would go to see them to. Or he planned on it anyway, but suddenly the Red Wizard's stomach growled a small bit, a somewhat awkward cough escaping from the silver haired Red Wizard. "Well... I think ill catch up with you all later and go to the hospital in a bit. In truth, I was so immersed in my studies that I just shrugged off how hungry I was..." This wasn't the first time that this happened to Serin, but luckily he never starved to death from it or didn't go days without eating.

He suddenly held out a letter towards Belle, the letter being in a white envelope, a very plain white envelope that looks like it had been sealed again with tape after being cut open with a letter opener. "I would like you to give this to Oner, or Reno. Whoever is 'out' at the time. It is a letter from his parents, or so we assume anyway. The entire thing is written in the language of the Mirror Realm, so we could not read it, but now that the two of them have awakened to their true identity they should be able to read it". After Belle took the letter, Serin gave her a nod of thanks as he headed off before they all went into the Corridor of Darkness to head to the hospital.

Now Serin was enjoying a nice, hearty sandwich that he procured from a shop, walking the streets of Twilight Town as he ate. It had been a while since he last came here, but the place hadn't changed at all. He remembered the last time he came here was about three years ago to get some Sea Salt Ice Cream to take back to Oner for the next time he surfaced, but the Red Wizard was never able to give it to him since it was the day Reno got his Keyblade, the day that Oner became unable to surface. Just about the time the Red Wizard finished his meal he suddenly sensed several spells being cast as well as heard the sound of shattering metal.

Walking to the sound he found Thomas busy with training his magic, blasting metal and random junk to pieces with it. "You know, there are better ways to train magic other than repeatedly casting spells at pieces of metal". Serin gave a friendly wave as he walked over to Thomas. "Im Serin, Reno's father. You must be Thomas, correct? I took you for a Mage when I saw you back in Radiant Garden. While it may not be too much help, how about I teach you a trick or two that could help you out with your practice".