Ties that Bind and Tear Apart and the general overall concept of Ties that Bind and Tear Apart are completely copyright Orin Drake 2005, as are the characters Kyrie Almasy Leonhart Kinneas (maybe Loire is in there somewhere..?), Rodger Kinneas and John Sparda. The name/idea of Sparda and the weapons Ebony and Ivory are copyright Capcom. The names of Griever, Vincent Valentine, Cloud Strife, Squall Leonhart, Seifer Almasy, Rinoa Heartily, Quistis Trepe, Laguna Loire and probably a million other things I'm forgetting are copyright Squaresoft. Riku, Sora, Traverse Town, Leon, the Heartless, Ansem, the Unknowns and a million others are copyright Square and probably Disney... and whatever else I've forgotten. I'm not making money from this, so what the hell are you worried about?
Background: Same Kyrie and same universe as, in order, deep breath The Sins of Two Fathers, Retribution Nor Redemption, Descendants of the Mundane, and Fool's Journey. I suppose this story specifically came from Fool's Journey (and Make 'em Smile, and This Mess... but nevermind), in one sense... but really, it was spawned by a theoretical conversation by a friend one late, late night. (And I still hate you. grin) It's set a few months after Fool's Journey, by the way.
Possible WARNINGS: You better believe this will likely contain a lot of foul language, "possible" weird sexual situations, relationships that are generally considered not part of the mainstream, plenty of violence, and a hell of a lot of screwing with the heads of readers and characters alike. If you've read anything of mine before, you probably know what to expect. It's gonna get dirty in here. Also keep in mind that this was thought up and written well before any plot detail on Kingdom Hearts 2 came out, so... yeah.
GREAT BIG STORY-RELATED NOTE: A lot of of this story was "planned" (as much as I can plan anything with Kyrie) well before Kingdom Hearts 2 came out. At this point, I've almost completely spoiled myself as to plot points of the game (yay spoilers!)... but I'm rather planning to stay with the original direction this story was going in, in the first place. Therefore, there will be references to Kingdom Hearts 2, but... generally don't worry about me spoiling anything for you. I guess that makes this AU. Dammit.
Do I have enough warnings up here? Heh.

Ties that Bind and Tear Apart
Chapter 9
By Orin Drake

She wanted to ask... to see what he knew of the red-haired man who seemed to be looking for him... and what he knew of Sephiroth... Some base instinct prevented her from opening her mouth. For whatever reason, mentioning either subject didn't feel particularly... "safe".
No matter. She would find out what she needed to know as things went along, she was sure. She watched carefully as Riku passed a hand several inches over John's shoulder, whispering words not quite heard. The half-devil hissed, but the pain was quick before the healing.
"About getting out of here..." Kyrie brought up tentatively. She knew better than to expect any form of Sephiroth would ever stay away for long.
"If you're ready." Riku agreed conversationally. "It may be a bit more rough than the first time."
He'd meant to make another gateway, then..? Puzzling. "Last time I was here, I had to leave in a ship..." she admitted.
"The worlds... the walls between them are thinner, now. They're easier to travel between." Their guide turned, splaying his hand outward and whispering something unintelligible--a small flash exploded in empty air, opening suddenly into what could only be described as a tunnel of darkness.
"And isn't that a nifty little trick ya got there." She happened to comment before either of the other two could manage.
"Ladies, first." Riku invited with a slightly smug grin. "Don't worry, I've got a Barrier cast on the other side."
The three of them made note of that, Kyrie specifically preparing to go after any and all information he had about the use of spells when they had another quiet moment. Not that she was terribly thrilled with going through any more Hyne-damned freaky tunnels... but she had to admit, she was eager to explore other worlds.
--It was the landing part that got her. Again. A bit worse than the first time, actually... in that the ground seemed to appear above her.
At least, that was her story when Rodger again ran headlong into her, already having landed quite hard on the stone herself. It was merely par for the course, John managing to avoid landing on the pile because he tripped over them. It was fortunate that Riku landed easily on his feet. Fortunate but maddening.
A couple of painful groans later and they were all standing... albeit Kyrie had a slight limp that she hoped would go away within minutes. It wouldn't do for appearances. "And where'd we wind up this time?" she decided to try her luck and ask, taking a look around at a place that wasn't entirely rubble... but not really in the best of shape, either.
"Hollow Bastion." Riku half-responded. "We... shouldn't be here."
That sounded promising, alright. She'd known better than to ask, too. "Any chance we can get to where we should be?" She got a rather mild poke in the shoulder for that one, John having been amused both by the question and the tone.
It seemed their guide was too occupied with other thoughts to have entirely noticed the point of her question. "I'm... not sure. I'll try again when I can."
Kyrie swallowed. She'd been the fool to ask, after all. Dusting herself off, she took a much more thorough look around... noting that they seemed to be on some kind of a castle structure. A balcony, quite high up if the scent of the air was any indication. There was quite a drop-off in front of them, the edged crumbled a bit over what looked to be the wear of time. And over the edge was--
"That's... not... natural... is it?" Rodger wasn't quite certain if he ought to inquire.
Riku gave him a puzzled look for a moment, then noticed what they were all staring at. "Ah, the falls. Well... it is here."
...Interesting... The gunblader took another look at the strange motion of the water before turning back to the castle behind them. Something very familiar struck her, from Sora's memories... but it was terribly fuzzy. Something sad, something bitter...
She took a step forward without meaning to, toward the half-collapsed archway and into the building. Another step and her vision blurred. A bright white flash at the edge of her vision--then the pain hit. Too strong to allow her to cry out, all things ceased to exist to that lightning ripping through her skull--
Screaming. No sensation, but screaming... from everywhere around, even from inside...
Sora. A realization... then pain...
Sora, where are you..? Not her thoughts... but not not her thoughts, either... Screaming and pain... pain that bleeds the light from the world... bleeds... light... bleeding light...
"Sora!" A cry of fear, desperation... Riku's voice in a dead panic...
Tearing apart... rending and twisting his heart from his chest... Loss. Devastation. Aching, then... nothing...
The screaming changed, unknown, unfamiliar voices at first... two, there were two of them... light too bright to look into... glittering... blades, needles... wires... cold... too much cold... Over and over, there was blood and Mako and screaming... beating with pulses, pulses felt against the cold table... can't get up... want to get up... too much screaming... Stop hurting him, you bastard...
Desire can't heal these wounds... loss and blood and pain can't heal these... these... what are these..?
Spinning... green haze and pain and voices that don't make sense... but something is wrong... nothing is left... I'm not who I used to be...
Forgiveness... will I never have forgiveness...
A new scream, for the same thing... but not... yes, but no... no no no no no! Monster... Rage and agony and... unknown... unsure... hurting...
Then pictures, flashing, images, like photographs, like flip-books, all moving so quickly but leaving so much behind. Pain... blood... death... horror... all wrong... none of it meant to be... it wasn't meant to be this way...
The sound of her name was in there somewhere... she knew she'd heard it above the nightmare din... Too quiet at first, but then louder. An unrecognized voice, but one of a friend. She knew it belonged to a friend--
The agony broke. It gave way like a dying storm to the too-powerful sun behind it, flooding her with light and warmth... and safety. There had been an island, somewhere, at some point in time, full of joy and innocence. There had been moments of blindingly brilliant hope amidst the dark city. There had been peace there, at the end. Grateful, total, peace.
Somehow that--out of all of the sensations, the memories, the images presented--was what shocked her awake.

She'd expected to open her eyes to a bright light, for some reason. Never could have explained why, but... it didn't really matter when her eyes focused on a dimly lit ceiling far above. It looked like it may have been elaborately decorated at one time, having since been crumbled and perhaps scorched by fire. She blinked with the thought, catching only the barest forms of memory regarding the subject that confirmed her suspicions.
"I'm learning to keep you here for longer." Riku's quiet voice informed her.
She turned her head to ask questions--admittedly startled when he appeared beside her... transparent. Another glance at the ceiling she'd just been staring at revealed that it, too, seemed to be disappearing.
"Something's interfering." He continued, closing his eyes and looking the absolute picture of concentration. "That lapse you had... I thought I could hold the three of you here this time, but I just wasn't strong enough. You have to rest in your world. I'll come for you again, when I get closer."
No, wait, Riku--
Everything faded to pure black. She could feel the eyes of the redhead, but saw nothing. Heard nothing. She thought of sitting up, but suddenly felt no ground underneath her... and yes, something here was wrong. Something larger had interfered. Something... closer to her world..?
Memories of a different sort played out in her mind's eye. She wasn't experiencing it as much as she was watching from a distance--and it was Squall, during the war. Like a picture forced upon her, like someone trying to tell her something... She witnessed him casting...
--No, not casting. Calling. He was calling a Guardian Force from his mind, his body glowing as he did so...
Lion's cub... she heard suddenly, an echo in her mind. It was that same cold voice... a cold, feminine voice... the one that had promised to protect her during the last memories she'd had of her parents...

The scene and the voice faded into more familiar, artificial overhead light and dull murmurs. She was against something soft... in fact, it was moving. Breathing. Her eyes snapped open just to make sure she hadn't landed in some truly horrible situation.
Vincent, talking to John. They were all the way on the other side of the room from where she was, slumped on the floor against--
Rodger. Whew. She'd know his worried, comforting rub of her shoulder anywhere. She didn't bother to wait to be noticed, however. "So what happened this time?"
"You tell us." Her husband responded, wrapping his arms around her when she moved to sit up. After having seen her collapse at Hollow Bastion and whatever the hell she'd been whispering about only moments before... he just wanted to... keep her there, for a moment. It had happened again. He and John had "woken" to find her eyes half open, talking softly in tongues they couldn't grasp. And that time, the way she seemed to be calling to something, they weren't sure they wanted all that much knowledge about it.
All eyes fell on her in silence, but she could only shake her head. "Something... 'interfered'. Brought us back early. That's all I know."
Vincent crossed the room to give her a more thorough looking over before filling her in on what he knew. "This is a different office than the one you appeared in last time. Luckily, still an empty one. I'd hate to have to explain this to anyone."
At least that eased the tension in her shoulders a little bit--right up until she remembered what she'd just woken from. What if... that voice..?
"Ky?" Rodger felt her muscles tense, concerned that yet something else was happening to her.
She took a moment to bleed her voice of threatening nervousness at the very idea. "I've got some research to do on Guardian Forces."
A long silence ensued. Somewhat surprisingly, Vincent turned out to be the one capable of breaking it--and making an exit at the same time. "I'll inform the Estate library you might need extra material." With a much too professional nod, he simply left.
More silence, for a while. Kyrie took the initiative, that time. "Hey, John... did I see you talking to Vincent?"
The half-devil was quite seriously floored by her question. Of all the things to discuss... he grinned, though, cocky and nonchalant self coming through. "Weird, huh?"
Rodger finally released her as her body fell back into a somewhat relaxed state, not fearing for her quite as much as he had a moment before. "What's with the Guardian Force research..?"
She got to her feet before offering a hand to him. "I'm not... quite sure. But I'm getting the feeling that I'm either being contacted by or... pushed toward... Shiva..."
Now that was one hell of a thought. John tilted his head with a puzzled expression. "And a 'Guardian Force' is..?"
Kyrie opened her mouth to answer... then decided that she wasn't exactly sure how to do so. "Okay, why don't you two wait at the library and start."
Another not entirely comfortable silence passed before Rodger questioned her decision. "And you will be..?"
"Hopefully finishing something." She responded vaguely on purpose... but absolutely certain of herself and her decision. Riku had told her to rest, but... she needed a few things done first.
The boys seemed to understand. At least, they trusted her enough to leave her to her task.

The knock on his door wasn't entirely surprising. The waiting for him to answer it, though, was a little... unexpected. "Kyrie." He greeted as though she were a foreign dignitary.
"Vincent." She grinned softly, mimicking his tone. She only stepped inside enough for the door to close, not entirely sure of how welcome she'd really be.
The raven-haired man turned away and walked back to his desk, sitting down and paying far too much attention to his paperwork. "I thought you might have wanted to relieve Cloud of his boredom, instead."
"And leave you to your own devices? Insanity." She pressed on with humor, trying to break through for just long enough...
"The library staff is expecting you." He attempted to cut her off gently, not looking up from another page worth of bland reports concerning nothing of interest.
Perhaps she'd have to make her own opening, then. "Actually... I kind of wanted to... delve for memories for a minute, first."
"Grown bored with Cloud's memories?" he attempted to divert in a gentler tone.
She grinned at the quip, inviting herself in completely and sitting down in the all too familiar chair in front of his desk. "I think it'd be hard to get bored with them, actually..." Back to the point. "I was a little curious about yours."
The whole world seemed to take on a darkness, then. Maybe she didn't know specifically what she was asking of him... but, all the same... "I don't... they aren't of interest to you."
She tilted her head with those words... and with his avoidance of eye contact. That was... odd. So unlike him. Not that she would push if he really didn't want her to, but...
"No one deserves these memories." He informed her firmly. "I'd rather keep them to myself. They'll die with me, that way."
Quietly, thoughtfully, she expressed her opinion. "I thought you were the one that's always getting me to--"
"Kyrie."
They stared one another down for a long time. Not from malice; it was a battle of wills.
A battle she broke every rule for by speaking. "What are you afraid of, Vincent? Just tell me that."
Fear. Fear..? No, that wasn't... that couldn't be it. His usual attempt at cold blankness seemed... irrevocably interrupted by flashes of memory he did not want. He no longer knew what had really happened and what was just a fantastical nightmare image--if there had ever been a way to tell, it was lost to the years. Everything was a nightmare, whether it was really happening or not...
"What are you suffering for?" she pushed as strongly as she dared.
The question itself felt like a slap. "Kyrie... please..."
"Yeah, I know. You're a Turk. You could kill me five times before I hit the ground--and maybe that's what bothers you. But it's one of those 'righteous ways to die' I keep hearing people talk about that have never been in a fucking war to begin with, so I guess I'll just let you hurt yourself some more."
Her harshness made him cringe--the venom in her words acting only to make him face the truth, not as a personal attack. He knew that, he understood... "It's... been better, of late."
She sighed quietly to herself, calming. "I know. I'm glad... but... I never see you after hours."
"I'm at your house all the time..."
"That's not after-hours." She countered seriously. "You're still on the clock, as far as I'm concerned. That's your... Turk life, with us."
Worse, still... he knew what she was saying. And she was exactly right.
She continued softly, taking a sweeping look over the desk... the office... everything. "Maybe you don't have nightmares anymore... but I bet there are... other things."
He didn't like where the conversation seemed to be going... but he couldn't really find it in himself to stop her. "I don't dwell on it anymore. I don't... need to."
"It's still there, though."
"I--..." he stumbled, albeit barely. There was an ache with his confession... deeper than he cared to get. "Yes, it's... still there. Sometimes."
She'd started to hurt him with her presence, then... and she couldn't allow that. It wasn't meant... wasn't necessary or right in any regard. "I don't... know what you did... and I guess when it comes down to it, I don't really give a fuck, but... you don't deserve to hurt. Maybe you did, for all I know... but you don't, now."
His throat betrayed him, clicking softly as he swallowed without meaning to. "You could be blind."
"I could be stupid." She agreed. "I love you, anyway. So... don't..." She sighed, having no more words. There was just nothing left to say. Everyone around her should just... stop hurting so damn much... "If you are going to insist I not keep things to myself--"
"This isn't something that needs to be shared." He interrupted, trying for a cold resistance.
She shrugged mildly. Not to instigate, but to end the battle altogether. "Alright. If that's what you really think, then I believe you."
She had meant that to be the end of it. She'd meant to nod, get up and leave, but... something else... overtook that desire. She could feel it, control slipping--but for whatever reason, she let it happen. Someone had to dig deeper, and if she couldn't bring herself to do it... then maybe something else inside of her could. "I've seen your scars, you know." She stood and stalked slowly toward him, her voice dropping as she made her way closer. "I've felt them. Run my hands over some of them."
He'd felt the switch in her as surely as she had... and he was trying very hard not to be intimidated. Harder than he ever thought he should. "Those... those were physical."
"Yes." She agreed with a hissing sort of growl. "But something tells me if I'd broken some open again, I'd have gotten deeper than just flesh."
She didn't mean to--! She couldn't be... He got up immediately, tried to leave the room, tried to escape from the need to understand or explain--but he found himself pushed rather violently up against the wall on his way by, long before he reached the door.
Kyrie was strong, that was what he first acknowledged. By far stronger than he'd ever given her credit for. She managed to easily hold him against the wall, so much so that it actually hurt. Were he not so sincerely surprised, his Turk instincts would have had her half-dead on the ground long before he was able to think it through. There was only one other time in his life when he'd been so taken aback...
Her forehead was pressed against the wall at his side, not allowing him to see her face--but her words held enough. Raw, rough and taunt... it ached even to hear. "Vincent..."
Regardless of the arms against his chest holding firmly... he felt the quiver in them. She wasn't looking at him, and she quite obviously didn't mean to do so. He felt his throat go dry with the idea; whatever stability she'd had for all that time before... was slipping. Dangerously so. She was clinging to him more than holding him in place all of a sudden, and though he knew he could have gotten away... he didn't want to anymore.
She surprised them both by fighting the arms quickly wrapped around her, visions and memories--her own and others'--overcoming her exactly when she needed the comfort most. He could sense that just as easily as he could sense nightmares, finally countering her panicked strength with every thread of his own. "Kyrie." Whispered. Suggested.
The fight stopped, but the unwanted, not quite subtle enough tremble through her body remained. Still she turned her face away, unwilling for even a chanced meeting of eyes. When a cold metal claw made tentative contact with her cheek with the intention to turn her head, she half-growled, "Leave it."
He did not drop his hand away--but he didn't use any more pressure to force her to look at him, either. "I won't run if you won't." He promised.
She turned to him then, without the need to be coaxed. Her eyes remained surprisingly dry... but the storm was certainly visible over the horizon of her irises. Somewhere, off in the distance... some day. "I shouldn't have come here."
"Maybe not." He agreed, feeling a calm wash over him even as he was certain he ought to be fearfully trying to extract answers from her. "But you're here now."
"Fair enough."
"Rest a little of your weight on all of us, then."
"You bastards have been talking, haven't you?" she found it in herself to joke a little.
"Quite often."
She felt so damnably weak there, having to be held for fear of not being able to stand on her own... or was that it? No, she didn't want to know--she wanted only to regain control and walk out as strong and self-assured as always. She trusted the man before her with her life... and maybe with her weakness... But she had to trust him with one more thing, as well. "Vincent, please, don't... don't tell them."
He kept a careful, weighted silence in place of an immediate response. It deserved some thinking about; she didn't want Rodger or John to know she'd had a mild slip... That struck him as dangerous, if not ultimately destructive... and all too familiar from another, long ago. "You shouldn't be keeping secrets."
"I know it." She sighed, a little distractedly. Her focus solidified again when she found the words she'd been searching for. "I know. But this one... is going to be utterly necessary."
Whatever she was that deep into... "This is too much to ask."
Somehow she knew that he wasn't referring to what she'd asked of him--rather, what the universe seemed to be asking of her. "Necessary." She repeated, quietly.
"And what is expected of you this time?"
"My heart." She found herself answering honestly--and not just for herself.
He blinked at her response. Pulling back, he searched her eyes carefully for anything else, willing more of an answer... but there didn't seem to be any more. Not to mention her eyes... her eyes were... different, somehow... He found himself momentarily thrown back to the days when he was a fresh young Turk, back when his rage was clear--he suddenly wanted nothing more than to grasp her by the throat and shake, to scream his demand for a better explanation. She must have seen it in his gaze; while she didn't pull away, she closed her eyes and sighed deeply. He just... he didn't understand... and he wanted to understand...
"These things..." she whispered roughly, as though her very voice were struggling to be free of whatever weight was holding her soul against the ground, "They... aren't mine... but they belong to me, anyway."
She and Cloud truly did have a little too much in common. His breathing was shallow, his voice ragged. "Lucretia..."
She recognized the name from years ago... when he revealed to her that Lucretia was his lost love, was a Loire, was a part of her bloodline so many centuries ago...
He continued, regardless of the pain it caused him to do so. "She... gave birth to Sephiroth."
The world skidded to a dead halt. Her eyes were wide with the surprise the words brought to her.
Vincent did everything he could to keep speaking, to keep revealing. She needed this, and he had to be strong to offer this to her... "She chose Hojo over me... or maybe that's what he had her believe, somehow... I don't... know... who his biological father is... and I'm not sure anyone ever found out... but..."
It was just... just so... she couldn't quite... Sephiroth... did... look like... She couldn't speak. Could hardly breathe with that revelation. There was an excellent chance that...
"The rest you know." He finished, feeling sick and weak and generally disgusted with himself. Again. He deserved to suffer. She was wrong.
She looked up, finding his eyes closed tight in an effort to push back each and every emotion that had started to bubble up to the surface. "Oh... Vincent..." More than pain, it was... an awful guilt. Piled upon him over centuries...
"It's not your... casual sort of pain." He responded in a whisper.
"No." She agreed. "But when is it ever?"
At least she had a point. Enough of one to get his breath to even out, his eyes to open again.
If anyone knew better than to give in without having the final say, it was Kyrie. "It's still not your fault."
He smirked with her words, finally releasing her--but certainly not pushing her away. "It wouldn't have happened if I'd--"
"Vincent." Pointed, but not angry. "Not your fault. You're just going to have to get over that ego thing."
It was good. And it was... okay. Maybe he didn't have anything to fear... "I'm... sorry, Kyrie. I didn't... mean..."
She waved it off quietly. She wasn't exactly without fault, herself. "We have our moments."
He nodded, silent. They understood one another again... and that was what mattered for the moment. All that mattered.

She knew she shouldn't have been surprised. It was still a touch "mysterious", but... whatever. She'd learned better.
Cloud was leaned against the wall next to the entrance to the Estate library, quite obviously waiting for her. Instead of a greeting, he held out his hand--a brilliant green orb emerging from his palm. "Here... it's a mastered Restore materia. You'll need it."
A million things she could have said... but what was more important, was that she didn't need to say any of them. reaching forward, she accepted--a powerful surge of warmth and electricity flowing up her arm as the materia settled comfortably on her chest with the others. "Thanks, Cloud."
He nodded, pushing away from the wall and taking a step away before turning to ask, "Closer?"
"A little." She confirmed. "I'll let you know."
She got a quiet chuckle in response before he walked away. Perhaps he was a fool for worrying about her in the first place.

Kyrie was greeted just inside the front entrance with a series of quietly spoken welcomes from the many assistants, being pointed over to where John and Rodger sat at a console. As she approached, she noticed a look of worry on both of their faces... not exactly surprising, but not quite what she wanted to see, either.
"Squall was linked to Shiva." Her husband announced immediately. "And so was Laguna."
Well, that certainly wasn't bad news... "That's not exactly a hopeful look on your faces, though..." she pointed out quietly.
John read the worrisome passage over Rodger's shoulder. "'The use of Guardian Forces has been linked to widespread memory loss and occasional insanity.'"
She had to admit, that wasn't the best news she'd ever gotten. At least it's only occasional... "Shouldn't have too much of a problem with that last one, at least."
"True." The half-devil didn't miss a beat.
Serious thought was certainly of importance, though. When she didn't even know quite what was going on in the first place... "Does it say anything about where Shiva might be?"
"There aren't any entries after they were all freed." The brunette informed. "But..."
"Laguna might know." She finished his thought, voice extremely quiet. She did not want to bring her grandfather into it... but there probably wasn't an alternative. She couldn't waste any time, needing to figure out as much as she could before Riku got to them again. If he was learning how to "keep them there"... then they might be there for a damn long time, the next time...
A look was exchanged between the two boys... and maybe it wasn't appropriate in the quiet of the library, but... Rodger lowered his voice, not keeping the weight away from his words. "I think we need to know now, Kyrie."
She sighed, quietly. Not with what she had to do... but with the knowledge she was being asked for... and that she knew she would grant because of it. Even though she'd never really given it thought... she'd known. Given the will, she would be able to share memories with them, as well. It wouldn't be as easy as accidental contact, she was sure...
There wasn't time to go home. --Technically there was, of course, considering how fast the Jet traveled, but... the extra time that took may be of great importance later. "Projector room?" she suggested.
He husband nodded once, agreeable to that idea. It was a room hardly used by anyone, completely lockable from the inside, dark... they wouldn't be interrupted once they requested it. Actually, it was quite suitable for "other things", but... they'd just have to wait.

The smell of dust greeted them. Apparently the room hadn't been used in a bit longer than they'd thought... but the head librarian had given them the key, knowing who Kyrie was and trusting her to handle the unlocking herself. That was good; at least if someone was knocking for whatever reason, they'd have to spend the time to locate a duplicate. Not that they'd need the extra time... not that they needed to plan for disaster, but... it just wasn't possible to be too careful.
They sat on the bare floor before the darkened screen, facing each other. (Of course it was dusty, but no room in the Estate was ever dirty.) Nervous anticipation... waiting...
"You sure you know what you're in for?" Kyrie asked to get an honest answer.
"Nope." John chimed in almost gleefully.
She smirked, having gotten what she asked for. "Let me rephrase that, then. Are you both sure you... want to know..?"
"Everything." Rodger repeated from not so long ago.
The half-devil agreed with the soft clearing of his throat. Hey, he'd been through Hell more than once. A few memories, he thought he could handle.
She took a deep breath, taking their responses to heart. Well... if that was that... then there was no sense in wasting more time asking again. She held out a hand to each of them... and they grasped on. As she closed her eyes, she concentrated... and let the boundaries slip.

Every distinctive, oft-remembered moment flashed in and out like a million flashbulbs, each burrowing themselves into a yet deeper portion of the minds of the witnesses. Only the most stand-out memories, the ones that had been consciously sought after, wound up easily called upon... but there was the distinct impression that the rest could be found, over time. They'd only need some kind of a trigger to call them up.
To Rodger, it was almost more than he'd asked. More than he'd have liked to have known, to a point... but he was grateful for it. He knew, at last. Even with the pain, the horror of some things... he was glad to know.
John saw intricate weavings of Heaven and Hell that were just truly frightening... but he, too, had some peace in simply knowing. He hadn't... imagined, before... she'd been through... so much...
At least they understood why she had to help Riku; why Sora was just that important to her despite knowing him for only a few hours. Kindred spirits, indeed. Brother. Sora was like... a brother. They didn't literally grow up together, hadn't even known one another... but then that sharing of memory, shattered but somehow complete enough... had made it seem like such. Even more intimate than most siblings could ever imagine.
She could shudder just knowing what they may have been exposed to... but at least they knew. They'd seen. No more frustration over not quite understanding, over not entirely being able to express or articulate... It was all shared between them. For better or worse.