asgardmeridiem | [Closed] A doppleganger, someone listen...

Who: ??? & Jade
What: Jade stumbles upon ??? after the Darkness leaves
When: Day 123
Where: Loki District
Rating: None besides angst

Waking up is not so easy.

A few hours pass after sunrise and the disappearance of the Darkness coating the city, and ??? gasps back into consciousness with a scream echoing through his mind. His body had collapsed against a wall in a tiny alleyway among overturned crates and shattered flowerpots, and his coat and face are splattered with blood. Those aren't the first things he notices, however. The sky is a welcome sight, especially with the sun up and shining its light over the buildings, but the fatigue that keeps him slumped over on the ground is startling. He doesn't even have enough energy to move his arm to tug his hood back over his head. He's not sure how it fell down in the first place either or how he got to this particular location to begin with.

There's an ache in his chest he can't quite place either. It's somehow very familiar, just like--

The same, indistinct scream that he woke up to echoes through his head once more, and he immediately tries to process more things. A time, a date, anything from when he was dragged away from Namine and into the darkness. Even that takes too much energy, and he can feel his body deteriorate a little more from the stress. How long was he out for? It had to be some time considering his physical state, and the sleep deprivation had gotten to him. With his face exposed, it's easy to tell from the spiderweb-like cracks running through his skin that his body is on the verge of shutting down completely. He needed to rest and recover badly, but that wouldn't stop his worry over Namine's safety. Had she escaped the darkness fast enough? Was she hurt or worse--?

"Namine..." What happened to me? Where are you?

Those are the last thoughts that pass through ??? before he closes his eyes again, trying to gain some sort of sleep.

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At first, it had just been the silhouetted sight of a body collapsed in the alley way that had alarmed her. It hadn't immediately occurred to Jade that it could be someone that she knew; she was just aware that in the aftermath of the shadow attacks that people were still hurt, maybe still in danger.

She drops her shopping bag immediately, trying not to panic as she ducks over to where ??? is sleeping.

He looks just like Roxas, and that makes her heart leap into her throat. But he's not, is he? There's something different (something wrong?), and she'd recognize that coat immediately. Was it Sunny? Was it a glitch from what had happened earlier?

Jade kneels down next to him, trying to keep her own worried breathing even, taking his wrist to check for a pulse.

"Hey. Hey, are you alright?"

There's no pulse to find, but ??? eventually stirs from the contact and groans. His attempt to sleep had failed thanks to the yelling and sounds of scrapping of metal still echoing through his head. If anything, he was able to shut his eyes and stop himself from processing too much, but it wouldn't count as restorative sleep.

"Jade...?" He blinks back at her slowly, completely forgetting that he shouldn't talk. She doesn't know yet.

He'd ask her where they are, but he suddenly squints in pain. Why does his voice sound like the yelling? Was he yelling at some point? He can't remember.

Roxas. He sounds just like Roxas, too - but that's not him. She knows the outfit, knows this isn't Roxas.. is that why he hid? Because he looked so much like the other boy?

She relaxes when he speaks, though the fact that he has no pulse doesn't go entirely unnoticed. There's worry, but she's trying not to let it shine through as she reaches down to touch his hand, trying to be soothing.

"Shh, come on. You need to get to the hospital."

"No." It comes out much more curt and automatic than would be expected from someone who's collapsed on the ground. "I can't...go there. They can't do anything." Because restoring data is a little different from healing wounds.

"I...just need to sleep." And he has no trouble with passing out right there if it means he'll actually sleep this time.

Jade frowns at that, clearly unhappy with his answer even if she's completely unfazed by his sharp answer. She shakes her head, brushing his hair back from his brow-- she's not entirely sure how to be comforting, but she's doing her best.

"Then let me walk you home."

Considering how incomprehensible everything seems to be at the moment, her movement and the feeling of his hair being moved is neither comforting or annoying. He merely blinks at her again, trying to understand because this isn't home. He doesn't have a home. Not even Twilight Town is his home, is it?

But...she meant the God House, didn't she?

There's a nod in return after a long moment, and he finally moves to sit up straight. He doesn't need to guess that the cracks hidden by his clothes are multiplying at the effort, but he doesn't say anything about that. "How far?"

They were in Loki's district. Thank God or the gods or the horror-terrors or whatever, because she wasn't sure how far he could make it.

"Not very far at all. Come on.. let me help you, okay?"

She isn't sure she can carry him, but she's going to do as much as she can.

"...Alright."

He's so bad at accepting help, but for this moment, he's allowing it blindly. Reaching out for her, ??? begins to stand, grinding his teeth and shaking slightly from the process.

Jade is worried beyond belief when he starts to shake, winding her arm tightly around him- she's trying to lead him as carefully as she possibly can. He didn't have a pulse. He looks just like Roxas, but he's not.

What is he? Not human.. that much is for sure.

"Let me know if we're going too fast."

??? makes an affirmative sound, even if his body doesn't want to move at all. He feels like a dead weight, but he somehow gets his legs to go forward. It's an incredibly slow process, and it's a good thing that they're not too far away from Loki's House and that his room is on the first floor. He probably wouldn't have made it up the stairs, but he at least manages to get to their destination without complaint.

The key is another thing he has to worry about, however, and he presses into into her hand when he's done digging it out of his pocket. It's a silent "can you...?" considering he's pretty sure he wouldn't be able to unlock the door with how shaky his hands are.

Jade nods at his silent question, taking the key from his shaking hands and quickly unlocking the door. She half-walks, half-drags him inside, still struggling to keep the worry from taking over her expression. Oh, God. Poor Sunny.

"Come on." Her voice is soft, insistent. "Let's get you to bed. You just need some rest, that's all."

??? allows himself to be dragged along, but he stops just before bed to discard his sheathed swords still hung over his shoulder. They land with a loud thump on the floor, and he pauses a moment to examine his coat. It's so dirty, and the dried blood makes him freeze up.

He practically tries to rip off his coat the next second, and he does get the down enough to yank it up over his head. Thankfully he has a black undershirt on, but with his arms exposed, it's easy to tell that it's not just his face that's cracking. It's his whole body.

She can't leave him here - not like this. So, gently, Jade pushes him at the bed, shoulders tense and expression worried. "Lie down. Sleep. Are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"

Could the healers even help him? She doesn't even recognize what he is.

He relents, gradually climbing in to bed with his shoes on. (He doesn't have enough energy to yank those off, but whatever.) There's probably not a lot a healer could do, but an energy boost may help, not that he's lucid enough to understand and communicate that.

Finally, he manages to mumble, "Can't drink. Just sleep." Though it doesn't look like he'll be doing that immediately; his brow furrows a bit as he closes his eyes. Things are going on in his head he doesn't like.

[Closed] A doppleganger, someone listen...

I'm sooo sorry this is so late!

It's okay~

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