[video]

[scootch]

[The journal clicks to life - shaky at first, then clearing up to show Ellie's excited face.]

Oh man- is this what used to happen during Christmas? The whole surprise-gifts-under-the-tree or whatever... it's kind of late, and yeah, there's no tree, but--!!

[She turns the journal around to show her sparsely-decorated apartment at first, and then, when she fixes it, a big, box-style arcade machine, the game title of "The Turning" splashed across the front in faded letters. It looks kind of beaten up, but not in too terrible a condition.]

Does anybody know about this game? It's supposed to be so cool, I heard all about it from a friend back home. I can't get it to work, though... they're supposed to be plugged in, right? It's in the middle of the room, so the cord won't reach anything.

Can somebody strong come over and help me move it? I wanna give it a try! ...And if it doesn't work, would anybody know how to fix this kind of thing?

Comments

[risingwinds]

[And here we have one Ventus, using one of his usual ginormous grins. This... is really neat. An acrade box? Best present.]

Well, I'm not as strong as Terra, but I could always try using my Zero Graviga magic to move it around. It might be kinda tricky, but it's worth a shot, right?

[scootch]

...Your... zero what now?

[What the heck does that even mean.]

[risingwinds]

Zero Graviga!

[He laughs, rubbing the back of his head.]

It's an antigravity spell I can use to lift stuff off the ground.

[scootch]

[He's getting a look now as if he'd just spoken a foreign language. Magic doesn't exist in her world, dude.]

[risingwinds]

...Uh. I could show you?

[He laughs shakily, scratching one of his cheeks.]

[scootch]

...Okay, sure.

[Whatever it is, clearly she has to see it.]

Wanna come over and try?

[risingwinds]

Sure! Just lemme know where to go, and I'll be there ASAP.

[He might even cheat and bring his brightly colored Pegaslick along.]

[scootch]

Heart building, room 7. Just knock first.

[And don't fly up to her window and give her heart attack like some people around here.]

[risingwinds]

[Thankfully, Ven's got enough foresight not to head to the window, especially in light of what happened with the mistletoe. So, while his Pegaslick drops him off at the building, he opts to enter it by himself and, in due time, he'll go ahead and knock on Ellie's door.]

[scootch]

[Aaaand opening! He gets a smile and a wave inside, where she gestures at the big arcade, as if to emphasize that hey! It's kind of big! So hopefully gravi-whatever will help with that, because his skinny little arms sure won't.]

Hey! So this is home. And this is the game. What do you think?

[risingwinds]

Man, I'm still surprised they make video games like that.

[He'll go ahead and slip inside, stopping in front of the arcade cabinet and looking it up and down.]

Guess it's a bit different from the ones at the rec center. Those need a separate TV... but I guess I'm kinda getting off track, huh?

[Just give him a sec, and he'll call his Keyblade again while he ponders just how to aim that Zero Graviga spell.]

[scootch]

[The Keyblade still totally weirds her out, but it's admittedly awesome, regardless. Magically materializing weapons. Joel would like that... eventually. After some warming up to the idea.]

I've played those a little. And in the battle dome, too. But the arcade's the real deal, and this game? Back home I had a friend who loved this game. She talked about it all the time.

[risingwinds]

But you never got to play it?

[A frown crosses Ven's face for a split second, though it fades in a heartbeat. After all, this is her chance!]

Well, I guess we'll just have to fix that.

[His eyes scan the area, looking for the nearest plugin. Once he spots a good target, he takes a deep breath and thrusts his Keyblade over his head.]

Drift!

[It takes a second, but soon the cabinet's ripped off the floor via a little anti gravity. Squinting, Ven slowly moves his Keyblade towards the wall with the nearest outlet, keeping his eyes locked on the cabinet to maintain a sharp focus. It moves at a snail's pace; for safety's sake, Ven went with the basic Zero Gravity spell, but after a little trial and error, he manages to plant t down in a more convenient spot.]

[scootch]

Whoa...

[....Magic is freaky. It's been freaky since she arrived and it's freaky now, too. But a cool kind. And useful, too. Though she's not sure how that sort of power would help in a world like hers, it's useful as all hell right now, and that's what matters.]

...I see what you mean. About the whole... gravity thing.

[The cabinet's in the right place, now - or close enough - so it seems to have done the trick anyway.]

[risingwinds]

[Aww, shucks. Ven chuckles at her reaction, letting his Keyblade vanish in a flash before he moseys closer to the cabinet.]

I'm just glad it worked! Now you can check this game out without having to worry about heavy lifting.

[Though he's sure there are people tough enough to cart it around. If Terra was still around, he certainly could.]

[scootch]

[...Oh, right! Gleefully she scoots in behind the cabinet, poking around until she manages to tug free the cord. A quick push of the plug into the wall, and... bam! The machine comes to life. It's a little beaten up, and it shows; the sound is slightly distorted, and the corner of the screen has a crack, but Ellie lights up like it's in flawless condition.]

Oh my god, look at it! That's so cool...!

[risingwinds]

[Aww. It's good to see her in such high spirits! Needless to say, Ven's eyes are also glued to the screen. While he notices the crack, he doesn't bring it up; after all, it'd spoil her excitement, and besides, a little wear won't stop it from working.]

So how do you play this, anyway?

[That she's never actually played before hasn't dawned on him yet.]

[scootch]

[She's noticed the cracks, and the dents, and the rust, and every other flaw on the machine. But she doesn't care. That stuff gives it character. And maybe someday it can be fixed. But the game works, and that's more than she's ever had.]

No idea! I've never tried it before. But there's no time like the present, right?

[Thus, she's wandering over to the console to poke at the buttons. Now, how do you get it working...?]

[risingwinds]

Right! Why wait when it's right here, just waiting for you to give it a spin?

[Ven'll just look over her shoulder and watch her fiddle with the buttons. Maybe if she hits everything at once, something cool will happen!

This is probably a terrible idea, but it makes sense in Ven's head.]

[scootch]

[She sure as hell isn't going to hesitate. With a cheeky grin she does just that, practically slamming the start button in her eagerness. There's a burst of sound and colours from the screen, and the game begins with minimal instructions and a fierce difficulty curve, like any classic arcade game. She'll need a good ten minutes before she gets the hang of it, but she's already thrilled to just be trying.]

[risingwinds]

[Ooh, all sorts of colors and sounds. And it looks tough, too! As Ellie plays, Ven watches intently, gasping whenever something cool or creepy happens.]

Man, that sure looks a lot tougher than some of the games at the Rec Center! How is it so far?

[scootch]

...It's... hard.

[She says it through clenched teeth, with difficult. She's in the Zone, now, Roxas. She's concentrating.

At least until she gets a game over about thirty seconds later.]

Dammit!!

[risingwinds]

Yikes!

[Ven brings a hand to his mouth, shifting in place. There's gotta be some way to deal with that difficulty, ugh...]

Does this game have checkpoints or anything? At least then you might be able to pick up where you left off...

[scootch]

[Ellie waits to see where she starts up, and... nope. Game over, back to the start screen.]

...Guess not.

[WHATEVER THAT MEANS IT'S A CHALLENGE. She's trying again.]

[risingwinds]

Hmm, maybe there's some kinda trick to it! There any kinda power ups? Or secret codes?

[He'll keep watching, just to see. This kinda arcade style game's a foreign entity to him, after all.]