By: Naela
Summary: A being tied to Sora is awakening and now more than ever the Keyblade Master is needed. Only, no one seems to know where he is. How are Riku and Kairi tied into all of this and who are the Non-Existent Ones?
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. They're all property of Squaresoft and Disney.
Chapter Eleven: Between the Pages
Kairi and Enigma had appeared. He knew it was them, even before anything was said. He could sense them, their auras: Kairi's a beating pulse of light and Enigma's just exuding strength--it was them, and they were here. He had stepped away, past the shelf, and watched as Squall had grown impatient with Rinoa's silence and gone up to the railing to question the two below him. His eyes scanned the room, and he came across Cloud's gaze. The spiky haired warrior remained still as Riku slowly took a few steps back. Finally, Cloud raised an eyebrow, but turned his gaze towards Aerith. Everyone else was too distracted with the new comers to notice when Riku slipped out of the room.
As soon as he'd closed the door, Riku rushed down the hall, trying to get as far away from the library as possible. Chances were that Enigma had already sensed his presence, that boy had radar with a 100-kilometre radius.
What was more surprising was the presence of Kairi. He didn't want to think of how she had ended up with Enigma… or even why she was with him. The only thing Riku was sure of was that he didn't want to see her. After everything he'd done, he wasn't quite certain if he would be able to stand being scrutinized under her gaze.
He stopped running when he came across a flight of stairs, and he began climbing them, never pausing as he went to the next level. Riku turned to his left and ascended a new flight of steps, repeating the same procedure on every landing he came across.
Each floor, he realized, had different uses. Some of them were utilized as a commercial areas with wide-open windows. Merchants had shops set up and down the halls, and there were quite a number of people perusing through the stands. Others floors were used as residential areas. Still, he didn't bother to stop on any of these floors. They were too crowded, too full of people, and right now all he wanted was to be alone.
The higher he went, the shabbier the condition of the stairs became. By the time he had reached fiftieth floor, he found the entrance blocked by rotten boards. Cobwebs sealed any cracks between the wooden planks, preventing any view of the floor beyond the boards. He shrugged and continued up. By now the stairs had lost their velvet carpeting and he was stepping on dusty concrete. He ducked his head a few times to avoid cobwebs and other low hanging objects. For a moment he thought he saw the yellow stare of a Heartless gazing down at him from up in the darkness. Riku readied his keyblade, but the supposed Heartless had skittered away by the time he was close enough to see it clearly. It was just as well. He felt too exhausted to fight.
He dismissed his weapon and wondered idly if there was even an end to these stairs. Riku came across a landing and turned left to reach the next flight. He came to an abrupt halt as a beam of light struck him in the face. Holding up one hand to shield his eyes, Riku ducked beneath the beam to peer up into the darkness. Ahead he could make out a wall of boards that barricaded any further ascent. Beyond it, Riku assumed was an open exit, considering the amount of light that was seeping through the cracks of the barricade.
Stepping up to the barrier, he brushed his hand against the wood, sweeping away mould and grime with his fingers. Wiping the gunk off on his jacket, he rapped his knuckle against a plank and watched as it wobbled slightly before becoming still. Bringing up a boot, he reared his foot back and stomped hard on the wood. There was an audible crack and the sound of grim sliding off the boards. Riku stomped again, harder, and this time the boards gave way under his foot. Yanking his leg free, Riku began prying the planks apart, making an opening large enough for him to fit through.
Brushing himself off, he turned away from the broken boards and stared up the stairs, wincing at the brilliance of the light. Narrowing his eyes until they were nearly slits, Riku slowly went up into the exit and found himself out in the open. He was struck by a blast of cold air, and the boy hugged himself, suppressing a shiver.
He was on a balcony that leaned forward at a dangerous tilt, and Riku knew instantly why this place had been boarded up. Obviously the shabby condition of the balcony was a safety hazard, though he doubted anyone would have bothered going up here in the first place.
A fluttering in the distance caught Riku's eye, and he stepped up to the edge, straining to see. Feathers, he realized, the fluttering objects were large, black feathers. He shuddered, wondering if Sephiroth were still here. He glanced around, as if expecting the one winged angel to appear, but saw nothing but the stone slabs of the balcony. If that abomination were to show up, Riku would have to fight him, and he had no desire to fight on a balcony that was ready to fall apart. He especially didn't want to go against an opponent who could easily fly away if that happened.
For a fleeting moment, Riku wondered what he would do if the balcony broke apart right then and there. A drop at this height would kill him, but then again, he recalled a time when he'd crashed into this planet from an even greater height and still survived.
As he backed away from the edge, he wondered what would have happened if the illusion hadn't been there to save him. Riku pressed himself against the wall and let out a derisive snort. He would have died of course.
You had a sword impaled through your heart. You should have died then.
He held his hands up, staring at the stained gloves. These were the hands of a boy who should have died a long time ago.
Why have I been deemed worthy enough to live, considering all that I've done…?
The wind howled past his ears, and above the roar he could hear the distinct sound of a deep voice speaking. "After all that has come and passed, your heart has weakened."
Riku glanced around wildly and back-pedalled--his feet brushing dangerously close to the edge of the stairs. There was no mistaking that voice. He knew it as if it were his own. Even after five years of its absence, it still rung clear in his mind.
He took in a deep breath, ready to run, and froze in mid-step as he stopped himself from toppling backwards and down the stairs. He was afraid. Yet, he couldn't figure out why he was so afraid. Of all things, he should have been angry. The man who'd ruined everything for him was near, and this was his chance to exact revenge.
Calling his keyblades into existence, Riku stepped forward, glaring into the sky. "Show yourself, you coward! Show me your face, you bastard!"
Except for the wind blowing at his face, nothing moved. Snarling, he slashed wildly at the air before letting his arms drop by his sides, wondering if maybe he'd just imagined the voice. "Put away your weapons, Keyblade Master. They're useless against me."
Immediately the keyblades vanished, and Riku was grasping nothing but air. He turned, glancing in every direction, but there was no sign of the mad scientist. He was alone with a being that was exceptionally well hidden.
Riku growled audibly and clenched his empty hands into fists. "Where are you?"
"Have you not figured it out yet?" his voice floated in the air as a hollow whisper.
Riku nearly jumped as a figure materialized in front of him. Donned in a dark leather jacket and white gloves, Ansem looked like the same overconfident scientist who'd possessed his body years ago. Stepping towards the boy, the man leaned forward, grinning at him. "A boy like you should be able to solve the mystery or…" He disappeared, replaced by the small form of Sora, dressed in his red shorts, pointing a wooden sword at him. "…Do you need your answers to be spelt out?"
"No!" Riku screamed. Calling his sword in hand, Riku sprang forward, the blade cleaving the apparition in two. Sora stared expressionlessly at him and pointed at the sword with a shake of his head.
"You've seen it before… I am intangible in this form. Weapons are useless against me."
Riku let his sword clatter to the ground and backed away, shaking his head, denying what he was seeing. "Stop… talking to me… in his form!"
"There's no denying the fact that you find this illusion the most comforting," the boy said. The illusion smirked at him as he vanished from sight.
Everything was becoming blurry. Riku felt as if he were underwater. It was becoming increasingly hard to move. He lost his footing and fell, his feet knocking his sword aside. It slid noisily across the balcony, but to Riku it was mere background noise; he could barely hear it.
Suddenly he stood. Like watching a movie, he saw his arm being raised to face, he saw the fingers coming together to form a fist and then relaxing. The part of his mind that could still think realized that this was oddly familiar.
"Would you rather we communicate in this manner?" His mouth was moving, but the voice was not his own. It was Ansem's words coming out of his lips.
In me… Riku drowsily realized. He's in me.
Ansem laughed, using his body to laugh. Riku's anger flared, and it was suddenly as if he were shoved to the surface after being an hour underwater--he had control again.
"Get out of me," Riku growled. "I am not your puppet! This is my body!"
He was shoved back as Ansem stepped forward. "Believe what you will boy, but you gave your body to me five years ago when you were willing to do so to gain more power. Now we share the same body, even if we are two different minds."
Ansem paused, hearing the protests in his mind and the silent cursing directed towards him. His smile twisted into a sneer as he headed for the stairs. "This is how it will remain… that is until we find my original body."
The noise in his mind subsided. Smirking, Ansem stepped back, gently pushing the boy on stage. Riku didn't realize that he'd been given control again until he noted how clear everything around him was. His head came up as he heard the sound of footsteps echoing from the stairwell. Straining his ears, Riku could hear the distinctive fall of high heels on the stone steps.
His keyblade appeared in his hand, and Riku stepped forward, peering into the darkness. "Who's there?" he demanded. The figure in the darkness took a few more steps forward, and Riku relaxed upon seeing Rinoa's familiar face.
Bracing one hand on the wall, Rinoa straightened and smiled at him. "Just me," she replied. "Aerith sent the rest of us to find you. She was a little worried when you disappeared on us like that."
Riku felt a pang of guilt as he stepped down to join her. "I needed a little fresh air," he lied. "It was just a little too stuffy in the library."
One glance at her face and Riku knew that she didn't buy his story, but she nodded slowly and didn't press the issue any further. Turning, she gestured back at the broken boards. "There's a reason why those were put there, you know. This place is a restricted area. It's been like that for years."
Riku shrugged and began heading down. "I was just curious about what was up here."
"Nothing much to see…" Rinoa murmured from behind him.
Frowning at her low tone, Riku glanced back at her and saw the slight frown gracing her normally smiling face. "What is it?" he asked.
Catching Riku's concerned gaze, Rinoa smirked and shook her head. "Old memories," she replied. "That's all."
"Oh…" Riku said, not wholly satisfied, but just as Rinoa had left his problems alone, he did the same for her and allowed the issue to slide. Prying away a board, he stepped through and waited until Rinoa was on the other side of the barricade before continuing on. "So how did you know I was up there?"
"Some of the other residents told me," she answered. "I was also following your footsteps for a while until it got too dark to see anything."
"Footsteps?"
Holding one hand against the stone wall, Rinoa began leading the way down. "No one ever comes up here, so it's natural for there to be a thick layer of dust on the steps, and well, you get the picture," she explained.
"Yeah," Riku said absently. He mentally kicked himself, realizing how bland his reply was. He hurried to find something else to say, but by the time a proper reply came to mind, the opportunity had passed. There was only silence between them. He stared at her back, wondering if he had somehow hurt her feelings.
The two descended the stairs in silence, Riku watching her carefully all the way down. Twice he had to reach out and catch her as she slipped, her shoes not being the most suitable footwear for walking on stone steps. Eventually they reached the main floor, and Riku hesitated as he watched Rinoa lead the way to the library. She stopped just short of entering, noticing him still standing at the bottom of the steps. The girl in blue rolled her eyes and beckoned at him.
Grudgingly Riku joined her at the door and was ushered into the library. By now it was nearly empty. Both Cloud and Squall were gone. Riku guessed that they were still looking for him. Not that he missed their presence anyway. Both of them lacked skills for being sociable that their significant others possessed. Only Aerith remained, and she had her back turned to him, engrossed in a conversation she was holding with--Riku felt his stomach tighten--Kairi.
Rinoa closed the door, a little too loudly in Riku's opinion, and both girls turned to face him, apparently noticing his presence for the first time since he'd entered the library. Aerith's curious expression warmed into a smile, but Kairi just stood there, staring at him in shock. He wondered how soon it'd be before she'd approach him and slap him across the face. After all he'd done, he wouldn't be surprised if she stomped on his foot as well.
"Riku," Aerith greeted, hurrying towards him and giving him a hug. "Where were you? You just disappeared on us, and I got so worried."
"Ah… sorry," Riku murmured, though his eyes were still glued on Kairi, who was no longer looking at him. "I was… I just… I…" He glanced up into Aerith's green eyes and suddenly felt ashamed at his attempt to deceive her. He decided he'd rather not to answer her than lie, and after a moment of awkward silence had hung in the air, Aerith straightened and smiled again.
"Never mind," she said, shaking her head. She frowned slightly as she stared at Riku appraisingly. "I suppose you're tired after all that's happened. I'll show you two to the extra rooms."
Kairi shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. "I'd rather just stay here."
"Well, I'll be back later then," Aerith said. She placed a hand on Riku's shoulder. "Don't forget about what we talked about."
The girl brought a hand up to her mouth as she laughed. "I won't," Kairi reassured her. She paused and smiled at the woman in pink. "Thank you, Aerith."
Aerith smiled back. "Not a problem," she replied before leading the boy out of the library. Aerith gently closed the door behind her and turned to face him. "Ready?"
"…Don't I get a say in whether I want to go or not?" Riku questioned.
"Compared to Kairi, you're the one who needs rest the most," Aerith replied. Her lips became thin lines as she eyed him. "You fought Sephiroth… and somehow you managed to bring Cloud back from the dead, and to top it all off, you look like you need sleep."
Riku laughed, suddenly realizing just how shabby he probably looked. "I haven't had the chance to change," he admitted.
"Then no arguing," Aerith said firmly, prodding him forward. "I'll find some extra clothes for you to change into. I think Cloud might have some old stuff lying around."
Riku grimaced at the thought of wearing something Cloud had worn at his age. He was prudent enough to keep his thoughts to himself and kept up a light conversation with Aerith as she led him to a suite located on the tenth floor.
"My room's only six floors above," she said. "I'll be back soon, just make yourself at home in the meantime."
"Thanks," Riku replied, glancing about the suite. Not since his servitude to Maleficent had he been able to sleep in a room this luxurious.
"Not a problem," Aerith said, pausing at the door to grace him with one of her warmest smiles before shutting the door behind her.
As soon as she was gone, Riku unzipped his jacket and threw it onto a nearby chair. He pulled off his gloves and kicked his boots off, flinging the objects across the room. There was a muttering in the back of his mind, one that he knew belonged to the other resident of his body. He ignored it, hoping that Ansem would just stay quiet.
Kairi checked the shelves of books on the upper level of the library. Her hands ran over the spines of the hard covers, pausing once in a while when a catchy title peaked her interest. Occasionally she would pull out a book and flip through its pages before becoming bored and putting it back on the shelf. None of the books here interested her. It was just information about topics she'd have no use for.
She sighed, closing the book in her hand and sliding it back onto the shelf. There were probably better books on the lower level, but in the ruined state that it was in, she doubted many books had survived whatever had happened down there. Somehow, she had a feeling that Riku was partly responsible for what had happened. After missing his presence for nearly five years, she never expected that she would react so coldly towards him. Turning away from the shelf, she felt her heart pound against her chest when she nearly bumped into another figure. Kairi jumped, slamming her back against the bookcase, and let out a shriek.
She felt her face grow warm as she recognized the person. Glaring, she held out a hand and shoved him backwards. "Don't do that!" she exclaimed.
Enigma snorted as he folded his arms across his chest. "What did I do now?"
Kairi narrowed her eyes at him and pushed herself away from the shelf. "Just go," she muttered. "Just go away."
Enigma caught her arm before she could walk away from him. "Why are you still angry?" he demanded. "Just because I said something?"
Kairi tugged her arm free and spun around to face him. "You just don't understand, do you?"
"Then make me understand!" he snapped. "Do you know how tiring this is? To deal with both you and Riku at the same time? I have to worry about you and also make sure that Riku doesn't go and get himself killed."
"I don't need you to worry over me!" Kairi screamed. She clenched her hands into fists. "I don't want you to worry about me… ever!"
She couldn't bear to look at him anymore and lowered her gaze. She blinked as Enigma's booted feet entered her field of vision. Staring upwards, her eyes locked with Enigma's gaze. She flushed, and the room suddenly grew warmer.
"Don't tell me to never worry about you." He placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back into the shelf. There was a fire in this eyes that Kairi refused to look at. She worried that if she searched deeper into his eyes she'd find the emotion she'd been afraid of… that she'd been hoping for.
"I'm always worrying, and…" He paused, waiting for her to look him in the eyes. "I apologize, for what I said earlier."
She knew that he still didn't understand what he'd done wrong, but seeing him trying to make amends made the icy block she'd placed in her heart melt. "There's no use in apologizing if you don't even understand why you need to," Kairi mumbled. Seeing the hurt in his eyes, she quickly gave him a small smile. "But I appreciate the thought."
Sliding his hand down her arm, he a hold of her hand, his thumb stroking her palm as he held her gaze. The fact that she didn't pull away made him smile as he leaned forward until his lips were right against her ear. His other hand was on her shoulder, and slowly he placed it against her heart, feeling the rhythm that was in tandem with her shallow breaths.
"Kairi, please…" He stopped, closing his mouth as he tried to find the appropriate words. His thumb stopped, and he twined his fingers with hers. "Please, just… stay by my side."
She was smiling, but knowing that he couldn't see it, she tightened her hold on his hand in return. His lips were against her cheek and slowly trailed down to her mouth. Enigma pressed his lips against hers, causing Kairi to blink rapidly as she felt his hand encircle her waist, pulling her closer to him. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to melt against his frame as she pressed her hand against his chest. Their hearts were beating in unison.
"Oh… sorry."
Kairi's eyes flew open and darted in the direction of the voice. Enigma quickly broke away from her. His hands pushed her away as he took a few steps back himself. She held a hand against the shelf and caught herself.
"Riku!" she cried. She stared at him, horrified. "Oh Riku! This…"
She stopped when he levelled his scowl at her. Turning away, she saw Enigma standing a few steps ahead of her. He was expressionless, looking different from how he'd been staring at her just a few minutes ago.
"Just shut up!" Riku snapped. "I should have known that you'd do this with him… what is he? Your Sora substitute?"
"You're the one who should be quiet," Enigma whispered hoarsely, stepping forward. "Kairi can do whatever she wants."
"She doesn't want you," Riku retorted. "She wants her Sora. Isn't that right, Kairi?"
"Be quiet!" Enigma shouted, walking even closer to Riku.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" the boy hissed.
"I said," Enigma snarled, shoving Riku hard enough that the boy fell to the ground. "Shut up!"
Riku stayed on the ground, not bothering to stand up as the corner of his lips twitched. His mouth spread into a wide grin, and he laughed. Kairi winced as his laughter grew louder in volume. There was no amusement in his crowing. Enigma let out an audible growl and grabbed the front of Riku's jacket with both hands, lifting him off the ground, and shook him. Riku continued laughing.
Kairi squeezed her eyes shut as she brought her hands up to her ears. She could still hear him laughing, but at least she couldn't see him. She didn't want to see his face because it held the clear markings of a boy who was not quite sane.
"Stop it…" Her voice came out as a tiny whisper, drowned out by Riku's insane cacklings. She opened her eyes and saw Enigma, still shaking Riku like he was a rag doll, and even that made her whimper. No one should even possess strength like that. She ran forward, grabbing onto Enigma's arm and trying to wrench Riku free.
"Stop it!" she screamed at Riku. She faced Enigma as he quit shaking the boy. Their gazes locked, and Enigma promptly dropped Riku.
"You two…" Kairi took in a deep breath as she took a few steps away from them. "You two used to be best friends."
"That would be true if I happened to be Sora," Enigma said tersely.
"She obviously thinks you are," Riku muttered, his laughter having subsided.
"Just shut up!" Enigma snapped. He glared momentarily at Riku before turning on his heel and moving to the other side of the library.
The silver haired boy sneered from his spot on the ground and scoffed as Enigma turned his back on him. Kairi glanced back from Riku to Enigma and sighed. Clasping her hands behind her back, she slowly approached Riku.
"Riku."
He refused to look at her, though she could him scowling at the ground. "What?" he demanded.
Kneeling beside him, she placed her hand on his shoulder. Underneath her palm she felt him tense, but was relieved when he didn't shrug her off. Leaning closer to him, she rested her chin against his shoulder and glanced over at Enigma. He was watching her with narrowed eyes, and Kairi gave him a reassuring smile. He shook his head, but turned away.
"Please don't be mad at me," she said softly. "You know I hate it when you get mad."
His scowl deepened, making Kairi wince. She knew exactly what was running through his mind. Then you shouldn't have kissed him. She felt guilty. All this was because of her; it was exactly the same as before with Riku and Sora, competing against each other just to get her attention. She understood Riku's anger, but at the same time, Kairi was also angry. Angry because that perfect moment had been broken, angry at herself for giving into Enigma, and most of all, she was angry because she had to be the one to feel guilty. She had no reason to be guilty--there was no reason at all for her to justify her actions. Yet here she was, trying to make amends for something Riku viewed as wrong.
Riku took her hand with his and squeezed it gently before releasing it. "It's okay," he replied. "I forgive you."
Kairi saw Enigma whirl around, his eyes blazing with anger. She caught his gaze and shook her head in warning. He clamped his jaw shut and crossed his arms against his chest. Kairi reigned in an urge to sigh and patted Riku on the back, sliding her hand into his and tugging him upward.
"Come on, let's get up," she said, staring at Enigma. She gave him a smile. "Let's go for a walk, all three of us."
She held her free hand forward, waiting as Enigma stared at her and then at Riku. With a shake of his head, he stepped forward and held her hand with his. She gave both of their hands a squeeze before leading them out of the library.
Phew!! This took a while to write, partly because I've started a few projects over the summer and took on more than I could handle so I'm trying to organize my time, but I really, I should have taken an hour or two with this chapter, so I shouldn't make up excuses. Anyway, yes, just as I've promised... the big reunion and wow! I bet you guys expected that right? Heh!
As Megumi has stated, Enigma and Riku shouldn't even be in the same room, but Kairi's so naive. Oh well, I bet that's why they like her. Now, I hope knowing that Ansem's been messing around inside Riku's mind clears a few things up. For those of you who are wondering why Ansem didn't pop up earlier or made his presence known to Riku except as illusions, well that'll be answered later. There was some obvious Xenogears influence in this chapter, but that's a good game so bleh!
I'm not quite certain how you guys are going to handle Kairi and Enigma kissing. Normally I hate reading fics were a canon character starts a whole romance with an OC, but technically, Enigma isn't an OC since he was created by someone else, but his personality was concocted by me and... oi, I'm just going in circles. Oh well. Next chapter you'll probably be seeing more tension between Enigma and Riku. Also, you should pay careful attention towards what Riku says in the second half of this chapter because they're rather important.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Koorino Megumi: Thanks again for beta reading, especially since I know you have your own problems to handle, but I really appreciate the time that you're taking to edit my chapters. Of course, as you say, at least you get a special preview, lol! And now you can see that your worrying for Riku's justified.
Ari Powell: A Riku fan! ^_^ Oh and I'd love to hear what you thought I was going to do with Riku, did it correlate with what I wrote this chapter? I love hearing opinions and theories! Oh yeah, Sephiroth's always cool.
Refugee: Hey, don't quit on the speculating, send some to me in fact! You know I love your crazy ideas.
Meiko: You're psychic apparently. Haha! Yeah, lookie at what happened to Enigma and Kairi. Oh yeah, I totally agree with you about the cold hearted types being cute! Of course they always make for bad boyfriends.
Siita: Thank you! I've been rather worried about how people would take Riku's personality, but you like it so I'm glad! Oh and Enigma's identity is... well I can't tell, but I hope you'll be able to figure it out soon.
O: LOL!! I hope you read on to the next chapters. ^_~
Yutann: Don't beat yourself up! I mean, the voice being Ansem is a logical choice to make. Of course I won't be telling you, but there's a very big clue to who the voice is in a previous chapter. My fic the best of thirty something other fics? Wow. ::blushes::
Victorious Light: What, you think I'd leave out The Gathering? Heh!! And what makes you think that it's Sora who needs to be completed. ::grins:: And go ahead and tell me who you think the voice is!! I wanna hear!
ElfGoddess: I'm sorry for the long time it took me to update! The fact that you're checking to see for an update flatters me, really! Oh and I'm sorry about you not being able to post your fics, if you did I'd probably would have read them. Try and convince your mom a little more. After all, a little more pressuring can take you a long way.
Shinji Ikari: I love your theories. Of course I have to refrain from either telling you whether or not they're correct, unless you don't mind me completely spoiling the entire fic for you and send you an email. Just tell me if you want, but that takes all the fun of reading what you come up with next.
Hmm well, okay, I generally like spelling it Balder, but yeah, Baldur works too and Hod would be Baldur's twin brother, the one representing darkness. Hod was blind and couldn't see while Baldur was supposed to be a glorious god who represented light. Two characters from my fic are supposed to parallel Baldur and Hod, I think Hod would be very apparent now, Baldur could be tricky, but you've probably figured that one out too. Of course, we all know what Baldur's famous for in the myths and Hod's the one who throws mistletoe thorn after all.
Thanks for the guide for fighting Sephiroth, though I don't think it'll do me a lot of good since I have incredibly slow reflexes, but now I'm seeing what you mean about the probability of Sora and Riku being able to defeat Sephiroth.
As for Xenosaga, well I'm beginning to realize myself the reasons why I never really liked it so much. I could write a full page rant now on characterizations actually. One thing I could never understand is this fanboyism over KOS-MOS, she has absolutely no personality and everything she does in the game is based on her programing. I suppose her big guns and busty body makes up for the lack of characterization and her cardboard personality--Ugh. I can't believe she's beating Fei FFWA's RPG character poll. Yeah, that's enough from me on that. Thanks for the review, I really appreciate the detailed reviews you give, even when you point out the errors that I sometimes over look.