HB: Yo.
Disclaimer: Alex, Joumae, Erica, Other Erica and the Lockshield are Newbie- Spud's. Aeris, the Heartless and Sephiros are Square Enix's.
Alex woke up, showered, washed his hair, brushed his teeth, dressed and waited downstairs by the door. His mother had been at work again; he had originally liberated her of Erica to let her get a better day's sleep. She was practically nocturnal, a factor which he knew did not suit the woman at all. She may have been aging, but the years had been extremely kind to her. She didn't deserve to be taking the graveyard shift at a bank dressed up in a stuffy suit while her face looked just as it had done more than fifteen years ago. Since before Alex was born. It was almost humbling. She looked like a china doll and spoke with the tongue of an angel, yet was old enough for crow's feet.
Erica was asleep in her bed. She was still knocked out since last night, and Alexander did not want to disturb the girl now of all times. She was recovering from what sounded like an extremely traumatic experience. It wouldn't be right to cause her any more grief than what she had gone through recently.
The brunet sat on the stairs, thinking, his hair in his face. Now that he noticed them, he crossed his eyes to try and get a better look at the locks now lying over his nose. Before the accident last night, his hair had been less than spiked at the least. In fact, his hair had been mostly pressed down on his head and his fringe hadn't been in his way at all. The only part that had seemed weird were his and Erica's long locks at the sides of their face, but that hadn't really done anything to alienate them. Apart from that fact, they had been just like anybody else - if there was any fair, indiscriminative way in existence that a brunet child could have a blonde sibling.
Now that he noticed, though, it was perked up a considerable bit. Three different pieces in particular had become excessively spiky and folded over his face like a mask, covering his one eye. The back, as well, was fluffed up and he had the distinct feeling somebody was watching him from behind now...
He turned around to see his reflection in the mirror. He was right, his hair was spikier. He grabbed a piece and rather innocently tossed it around, seeing whether he could brush it out of his eyes. He wasn't self-centred, but it was good to be at least a little obsessed about his appearance. He didn't want to look like a total thug, you know. He guessed he had a good position ready when a strangely familiar voice decided to call in on his personal thoughts.
I reckoned it was better all over your face, the reflection said, and Alex jumped out of his seat. He stumbled back to the wall, watching as the reflection did the same, falling back onto the plaster and milliner paint. It turned its head, giving a small smirk. Poor Alex let out a cry as the hair (now curled into his face) and eyes suddenly faded into forest green, the clothes becoming strangely armoured. He hurriedly checked himself up.
But nothing had happened. He blinked and gave a confused look to the boy who had possessed his likeness behind the glass.
Sorry, kiddo, it apologised, although it sounded sarcastic. Kiddo. Hey, it sounded like it was only a teenager itself - but that may just have been because it was taking his voice and spitting it back at him. There's little other way to get to talk to you, knucklehead.
Alex flushed, sitting back down on the step. "Great," he mumbled, reaching back up to his head and feeling his skull in a dejected manner. "Now my hair looks even worse."
The reflected body crossed its arms. Unlike Alex, it hadn't sat down, and this he thought to be important. His reflection was alive; how normal could you make that seem? It proved something was deathly wrong. However, to the regular human eye Alex was looking off into some distant corner of his unframed hallway mirror, talking with a voice that didn't exist at all. Are you kidding me? I think you look absolutely adorable. It was sniggering away. Reflections did not snigger... did they?
His face began grim. "Listen to me," he said. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my mirror?"
In your mind, Alexander, it corrected while tapping its temple lightly, causing the boy to groan further. What, I can't know your name? He looked hurt. What kind of reflection in its right mind looked hurt when its owner was perfectly fine?
Alex was completely confused. He had started off yesterday as just a normal young man with a normal life and a normal hair-cut. Now he was a young man and a ghost in his head with a life of chopping up demonic creatures and, now, a hair-cut so messy that even Jermaine Jackson himself wouldn't dare to have it. 'Square Enix Protagonist' crossed his mind for two seconds before fading again, and he would have scoffed if not for present company. After all, it was totally true.
"Just - just stop," he said, putting up his hands. He sighed, then looked up again. The reflection hadn't broken its gaze once. "Let me ask this again: who are you?"
Joumae, of course, it replied, scratching the back of its head sheepishly. Why, who else exists in that brain of yours, homo moderno? The nicknames were beginning to get on Alex's nerves, but he didn't really give any second thoughts on that. Right now, this 'Joumae' character was worrying him more than his sister's condition had been last night.
At least, he'd learnt one thing about it. And this was good news. Sephiros had spoken of Joumae last night. So this was who it was, huh? He had to say, the fashion sense was worse than off. It was obnoxious. Bright green to catch everybody's eye in an urban setting. It clearly wasn't chosen for city wear. It was the kind of green that made you think of jungles and heavy forests, and its name was not American at all. And that meant one thing to Alex: this spirit was obviously very old and very Japanese. As far as Alex could tell though, his family had started in England a long time ago and boarded the Mayflower in the seventeen-hundreds. No Japanese connections whatsoever.
Yep, too confusing.
"So, Joumae..." he yawned. He'd been up most of the night, after all, and right now it was only seven o' clock in the morning. "...you saved my sister's life."
She's your sister Joumae said, tipping its head. Now I feel worse than before.
"...why?" He had the strange feeling he shouldn't have asked.
Because when I was knocked down I landed between her legs.
Alex's eyes bulged out. "You didn't dare..." he growled.
Joumae put its hands up in defence the exact same way he had done only a few moments ago. I tried my hardest not to! He argued back. I was pushed by the Heartless! Blame them! And it quickly vanished from sight, replaced with his face.
Alex was now up in arms. His reflection had been between his little sister's legs!? That damn-! "Hey, come back here, you insolent, spoiled, incessantly green-"
"Oh!"
Alex looked around to see his mother Aeris standing behind him, the door just a little open with her hand on the handle. She'd only just stepped in. She was only a little taller than Alexander himself. She was forced into what would be an ugly brown suit with a disgusting cocoa tie on a normal person, but she always seemed to make any outfit look good, being such a good-figured individual herself. She had long cherry hair tied back in an equally long braid that fell down to her waist. A red ribbon set to keep it in place. She had a sweet face unspoiled by age and was currently with her mouth hanging open at her son having a very schizophrenic conversation with his own image in the mirror.
He backed up from the glass, scratching the back of his head nervously.
KHKHKH
Aeris gave him a look over.
"Did you mess with your hair again?" she asked in her sickeningly sweet voice. "It's all sticking up! I told you not to mess with hair-gel!" She waved her finger in a typical doting fashion. To others it would be like honey, sugar and all things tasty, but Alex knew that behind this exterior could grow a mountain of built-up rage at any second. He scratched the back of his head.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" he argued back, though keeping his voice as low as possible. He was already covering his head from any impact. "That stupid Joumae. Can't believe I got stuck with him of all people."
He looked up at her face and received a big surprise. His mother wasn't mad at all - she was smiling very brightly. In fact, he could have called it the greatest smile he'd ever been given; as you could plainly tell, Sephiros was not one for skipping in a field of flowers. More like plough them down with a flaming sword in the middle of an especially humid, very oxygenated summer. The heat and oxygen in combination with the flowers would cause a blaze bigger than any regular forest fire.
He blinked. "You're... you're not yelling at me?" he asked, incredulous. "But Grandpa seemed pretty upset about it."
"That's my father works, sweetie," she explained. Now, nicknames from his mother, he could take. "He's usually very critical like that. Just ignore it!" She began walking into the kitchen, which Sephiros had actually vacated for once. On Thursdays, the man went every morning to his local bingo game. Swordsmaster of Darkness, Mr Serious, still youthful enough to attract twenty-year-olds and he played morning bingo. There was something extremely wrong with that idea.
"How can I?" He rubbed his head. "Apparently I don't match up to family standards for your Key-whatever!"
Aeris jumped and looked back at him, her eyes doeful. "Whatever do you mean, cutie-pie?" she asked.
"This!" Alexander held out his hand and tendrils of darkness covered it. That alone scared Aeris enough to grip onto the edge of the work-surface. Then, the black expanded, until a smoke form appeared. The mysterious shield from the night before formed out of it, and the rest of the darkness faded away. However, Alex was certain he could sense a small piece of it on the surface of the defensive weapon itself; even on the inside too.
Aeris stepped up to the golden and velvet shield, curious for a second. Then Alex turned it around to face her and she gasped. The symbol of the Heartless that had been used to decorate the front gleamed wickedly, making the distressed mother hold her hands to her mouth in horror.
"My son... my son holds the Heartless crest!?" she stuttered.
A burst of light and Joumae was present in the room again. "Not quite," he said, and stood up. The hair and eyes had turned startling green again. The clothes hadn't changed, but around him was a slight aura of darkness, one that made the woman strangely tense. "So I'm guessing that you're this brick-brain's mom?" He whistled. "Someone did a lot of work on you, dollface! You an angel or something?"
Aeris was slightly startled, but calmed down. There was something about this boy that was different from her son, but the same. Maybe it was the possession factor. Or maybe it was how much he actually and still looked like young Alexander had done before he had changed and this little addition to his puberty had made itself known.
At least this explained the hair. "Excuse me, sir," she began, a little hesitantly. She'd been waiting for him all her life. "Is your name... Joumae?"
"You know me, how come I haven't become acquainted with you yet!?" Joumae cried, scooting up to the woman straight away. Although it was strange that her son was now hitting on her, she had to admit it wasn't like he really was her son. It was like he was somebody totally different off the streets.
"You know, my harem could do with a cute girl like you."
And there came the line that prompted the slap that prompted Joumae to sit down, that prompted Aeris to wear a huge frown and that prompted Joumae to be ashamed for once in his life. For once in his long, horrible and incredibly spiced-up life, he was actually ashamed of himself.
Alex was set back into control, rubbing the side of his face with a look of confusion. This time, he'd just stuck his arm into the light. It was more comfortable that way, and he could hear parts of the situation.
"He knew fulwell that you were my mom and he still tried to hook you up with him?" he said, once again amazed by the spirit's total lack of subtlety. "You've gotta hand it to him - no shame whatsoever."
KHKHKH
A dark, greyed hand reached out from the bed and hit the top of the alarm clock. The disgruntled boy pushed himself out of bed, his long hair heavily pressed down on his head from lying on the pillow. He sighed, walked over to his wardrobe and opened the door, hauling out his regular denim and blue. Meanwhile, a different person stood in the mirror on the inside of the door.
Are you okay? it asked. The boy gave it a sharp glare.
"What do you think? Those dreams again... ever since that accident, there's been these visions... and you yourself!" He closed the door and sat down on the bed, ripping off his nightshirt and pulling on the sweatshirt. He paused, touching the horrible lumpy scar on his shoulder blade, before continuing.
The mirror child stepped into the mirrors bolted onto the front doors of the huge cupboard. So... I'm just a stranger to you? Even after being here, with you, for so long? Its voice was oddly calm for someone... or something, in his position. Or being here, as you?
He crossed his arms. "Like it or not, you're not me. No matter how much you try, I still don't know who you are." He stood up, pulling on his jeans, before slipping out of the plainly decorated bedroom. The other remained.
KHKHKH
"You see, Erica was attacked last night," Alex said.
Aeris was shocked and appalled. "I thought you were going to take care of your little sister!" She grabbed the rolled-up newspaper Sephiros had been reading and swiftly hit him over the head with it.
He rubbed the now bruised area. She hit pretty hard for her age of thirty-seven, and mothers at that point of their life were usually rather tough people anyway. "Hey, it wasn't my fault! I kept zoning out!" he complained, although it was no real use to do so. Surely he should have had some control over his distant moments. He should have been looking after his little sister instead of drifting off whenever some beat entered his head. Which it was right now... not his fault they had a kitchen clock...
At that moment, somebody entered the room ("Erica!!!") and both Aeris and Alex rushed over to hug the girl. Aeris was being amazingly hysterical. This was understandable, given that she had had no idea of her daughter's safety. Erica was pretty much a sacred monument in the house. Alex knew how much she had wanted a boy, but after the hype with him suddenly she'd gotten pregnant again and then nine months later, boom! he wasn't important anymore. But he just took it as normal. Guys didn't like being cushioned for every fall. A scarred man meant something more interesting to the ladies and he did still need a girlfriend. He, meanwhile, was just plain happy she'd woken up. It was even earlier than normal, too, which probably made Alexander all too joyful that she was even alive.
After a few moments, Erica backed up, pushing the two of them off. "Hang on!" she cried, finally ceasing Aeris's strange and twisted cries of relief. Alex was surprised. Erica had always enjoyed being the pampered cat of the family, so why stop now? "I'd like to know who you two are as well."
It was then that Alex noticed the problem. This girl wasn't Erica. She had short, black hair coupled with the classic Karsath bangs now curling in like Joumae's did. Her eyes were muddy like Erica's, but not so clear and instead they had more of a glazed quality to them. Her skin was much darker - Erica was fair, this one was tan. She was wearing a sleeveless blue jumper and some kind of black arm covering from her elbow to the base of her thumb. She also had a skirt on, a kind of moss colour with a lily stencil. Finally, she wore white tights and little black shoes. Although Alex knew the clothes from Erica's closet and washing, he'd never seen the skirt before. So... where had all this come from?
And Aeris just didn't understand. "E-excuse me, who... who are you?" If anything, her hysteria had just increased. She couldn't speak clearly without stuttering, so she was keeping her voice low. Unfortunately, the woman never shouted, so 'low' meant at a volume only she could really hear. Both Alex and the girl had to lean in to listen.
Alex crossed his arms. "Yeah," he agreed, "I'd like to know that t-" And in an explosion of darkness, Alex was taken over by Joumae again. "-oo?" Or... so it looked, anyway. For some weird reason he was still in full control. In fact, it was almost like the real Joumae was asleep. This time he had the full armour on including the helmet, but that didn't stop Mrs Karsath from striking him on the head. She still recognised the aura to be that of Joumae's. Funnily enough, it wasn't him.
"Ouch!" Alex rubbed his head again. "For freak's sake, can you stop hitting me like that, mom?" he groaned, leaving Aeris to be even more confused.
The girl who was NOT Erica also asked. "This is not Joumae?" Which led to more confusion on Alex's part.
He knelt down and decided it was going to have to be direct. "Who are you?"
"I'm Erica. Wasn't that part obvious?" Hang on, he was lost here. This girl was called Erica too? "But you two... there was one called Joumae. He was the boy who rescued me. I overheard from that man with the wings." She bowed politely. That wasn't Alex's Erica. "I'm very sorry that I eavesdropped upon a conversation." And... wait, Erica Karsath apologising? That also was new.
"So... how come I'm like this? You probably know more than me here." By now Alex was pretty sure this child was more or less an authority on the subjects he now needed to be an expert on. If he was going to carry this family's future around, he needed to know what was up.
'Erica' walked around him, inspecting the armour. After a few moments of inspection coupled with Alex's obsessive whining about the fact he was 'in so much eye-stabbing green it kills me to think of how he (Joumae) actually stands it all', she delivered her hypothesis.
"I'd say that me being here has triggered a genetic reaction," she said. "It might be that every time you see this face, you'll immediately think your sister is in trouble and change into Joumae."
Alex flexed his now gloved hand. Without Sephiros there to shout it was hard to say that the explanation 'Erica' had just given for what was going on really was the explanation for what was going on. Before he could question, though, a flash of light signalled something strange. He looked up to see his sister standing there in her outfit from yesterday, giving a broad smile. As Alex and Aeris realised she was actually okay, a sudden blackout and return showed Alex as normal. As normal as he was going to get with that hair, though. He ran his fingers through the springy fringe, grumbling.
Now his little sister was a trigger. Great...