Scene #8122: A Question From (X) // A Turn-(Key) Farewell

Owner	Pose
Xion	Xion had encountered the two in one detective, Shotaro Hidari, at the site of Twin Peaks in the year of 2014. At the time, she hadn't pressed more than a light questioning of his movements around the organizations that loomed, schemed, and skulked about the Multiverse. It couldn't be that easy, right? Too lucky by half to get off light. The questions, and the girl, came in a rustle of air that spun the roof birds and windsocks above the pool hall and Narumi Detective Agency. With a ring of the door chime and a rattling at the frame, Xion applies her knuckles to the glass and wood and calls out. "Hello? Detective? Are you in today?"
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro was in fact at his desk, his hat was hung up on the rack, and Shotaro himself was looking at papers with his feet up on the desk. Philip was sitting on his usual chair, flipping through a book. The Chief wasn't here today, which might be a good thing. This also means you absolutely do not ask for coffee. At the knock, both Shotaro and Philip sit up. From Xion's angle, Philip is visible first and gives Xion a wave. Shotaro stands up and comes to the edge that separates the meeting room from his office. "Yeah, I'm here. Hello Xion."
Xion	It is not every day a strange woman with vague problems arrives at the Detective Agency asking after Shotaro Hidari. Actually it happens about twice a month! There needs to be some spacing, to take a case from A to Z. Pushing through the door and closing it behind herself, Xion turns with a light smile to wave back at Phillip. Coatless, she wears a black tank top, black gloves, and smooth black pants with a silver clasped belt, with black boots - the whole kit without the protective coat. Laid bare, at least at the neck and shoulders. "I'm glad both of you are here. I'd like to ask," Right to it! "-what made the decision for you."
Shotaro Hidari	On a busy month, it's once a week! Shotaro nods once, motioning towards one of the seats, and heads back to fetch the coffee maker. "Alright, do you want some coffee?" to which Philip makes a 'no' motion to indicate she should not do that. If Xion does the smart thing and says no he'll come back immediately and sit down across from Xion. Philip joins him in a neighboring chair. If she chooses death, the same happens as above, except that a small tray with three cups of coffee is set out before them. Philip does not take a cup, Shotaro holds his but doesn't immediately drink. It is absolutely foul. It's not poisoned or anything, it's just absolutely foul. The beans are fine and ground, and the water was fresh...but something happens when Shotaro makes coffee that turns it into an awful substance. "So that decision. When I joined the Watch, it was with the understanding that it was a group that protected the regular person, and became a check on the powerful," Shotaro starts. "However, several things happened in sequence that made us rethink our position in the Paladins," Philip chimes in. "The extreme among the Watch might be a minority, but their levels of extreme make us both uncomfortable." "There's that, and..." a pause, "With the stuff happening with Bass.EXE...with how it was like pulling teeth to avoid a confrontation with first responders. People went into that looking for a fight, even though those that were sent in against us weren't the enemy. It seemed more about spitting in the eye of authority, rather than wanting to do better." "And these things just kept coming up. We stayed in Futo for a while and thought long and hard about things. Eventually, we all agreed that our place wasn't with the Watch any longer," Philip says continuing in on Shotaro's thought. "We're not 'the law' or strictly working with the Police. My first and foremost responsibility is to the people," Shotaro finishes.
Xion	Xion finds the little table, the trio (quartet or quintet, but two points of the star are missing) each having a spot. Pulling out her chair, Xion looks up at the offer of drinks. "Oh, yes please." She agrees quickly, notices Philip's shaking head, winces, and indulges in Shotaro's world-destroyingly bad coffee. Foul. Bitter. Dark. Brooding. The kind of coffee you offer someone to be alone, in a sense. In another, as Xion swirls the cup under her nose, winces, and doesn't drink, a puzzle. It is Shotaro and Philip's moment, even so. A time of saying and proving. Xion listens, and contemplates the foul roast, and the problem of missed expectations and failed ideas of fair. "This may sound self-serving, but I think it's important to ask, both of you:" Xion begins, lifting the cup of foulness to drink - and in long gulps, forces the whole of it down, placing an empty cup before her. The unpleasant starter out of the way, she continues to her ask, leaning in. "Have you prepared yourself for the people you work with to create, protect, and build higher a world that you don't agree with? Have you thought about what happens when rightness is delayed, deferred?" "Is this what kind of Kamen Rider Double is?"
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro is almost watching, expectantly. Philip completely avoids drinking his, saying not a word about it and hoping that Shotaro does not ask about it. For that, he's glad that Xion can as questions that require more thought out of his partner. Shotaro takes a sip of his own coffee and nearly gags. He looks disappointed at it, before watching Xion drink hers. He too forces the bad coffee down. "The thought did cross our minds. We also realized that no matter who we went with, there are going to be those whose goals we don't align with. Which, is what took us a long time to make our minds up on this," Shotaro says. "What Kamen Rider Double is..." "Is someone who makes things fair for everyone," Philip says, taking over for Shotaro, "What a majority of the Watch seems to want is to tear down systems. Tearing down and rebuilding a system often takes enormous amounts of time, effort, and money...and without any guarantee that the same or similar corruption won't seep into things." "Right," Shotaro speaks up again, "Sometimes that means transforming into Double and handling it that way. Other times it means handling it the detective way. Working with the Paladins means we can do a lot more good. That DOES also mean making sure there aren't those in the group who don't use it to harm people, or for their own selfish wants." Philip speaks up, "In the end, we've always worked with the people in mind. Sometimes that means working with the law, other times it means doing things where they can't," Philip speaks firmly, "Which also means to make sure those who do wrong, pay their time for their sins. To give them a chance to pay their debt to society." "To give them a chance to turn over a new leaf," Shotaro says. "That seems incompatible with a large majority of the Watch."
Xion	"Fair." Xion stops, looking at Shotaro slug back the black mud that he had prepared by his own hand. The breath lifts slowly in her, halted-hitched at the explanation of Double. Ginger fingers reach out to place her fingers on the rim of the agency mug, gloved digits dark against the mostly-light china. "Fair." She repeats, leaning forward more deeply, gunbarreling Shotaro with both eyes, chin hovering at the center of their shared table. Philip, spared the direct brunt, can see the Nobody's jaw work, and set, tense in the temple and eye and down, to a pinch at the fore of the brow. 'Betrayed.' is the key-word he comes to. Evenly, Xion grills Shotaro. "If there's a whole city of people, but only one 'Double', a single two in one, then is it fair to everyone who's normal? Who doesn't have any powers? You fought against the Dopant, and I don't blame you, because people were hurting themselves and others, but the power you use is like a refined drug, isn't it? Safe to dose, but it's not 'fair'." The word breaks her mask, a disbelieving chuff of air escaping her as she leans back and up, eyes angling down slightly. Down, at Shotaro. "It's not fair that you're fighting for. You said it better trying to explain. You're fighting for society. You're willing for that to be it, Shotaro. That this is all good enough, and when people try to change it, it's 'fair' to tell them to stop." "No wonder you can't make a good cup of coffee. You're trying to be fair between the grounds and water, rather than the harmony. Heavy-handed, you put in way too much, don't you?" Xion turns to Philip, leaning back further, seperating the two in her response. "I can accept the answer of wanting to be a part of society from you, Philip. So, please look up on-line how much the right amount of grounds is to put in a coffee cup so Shotaro doesn't dump it without even half of an idea about how much to add."
Shotaro Hidari	There were many things to unpack with what Xion said. Specifically about calling out his coffee. How could you do this to him, Xion? You even drank it! The betrayal! The devastation! It will take Shotaro seven years to overcome this devastating blow. Well, maybe only one, if he scenes every day. She comments on the Gaia Memories first, they are like a drug that only some people can use without becoming monsters. Shotaro and Philip have the blessing of having the twin driver. Shotaro holds her gaze when she accuses him of fighting for society. Saying it as if he betrayed her. Maybe in her eyes, he did. "There is one thing you're wrong about," He says, his tone has just that ounce of anger behind it. "I don't fight for society. I fight for the people in society. I stop those who threaten those people, regardless of whatever side of society they land on," Shotaro says with an edge to his voice. Philip shrugs his shoulders to Xion, "He's trying to crack the secret to how the Boss did it," To which Shotaro flashes him a stare. Philip holds up a hand as if to try and calm Shotaro down, but it's not working. "Besides, this is one thing that he won't listen to me on," Philip says with a helpless shrug. "He's trying too hard to walk in another man's shoes," Philip says with cold clarity. This causes Shotaro to stand up suddenly and glare at Philip. He's walking a moment later, grabbing his coat and hat. Philip just sighs, knowing what's bothering his partner, and hiding the fact he's distressed and that he's not well equipped to handle it. "Maybe I was a little too tactless there?" Philip asks.
Xion	She drank the coffee because it was put in front of her. She wouldn't know the taste until she lifted it to her lips, and once committed, the least she could do was follow through. A payment, for returning bitterness with bitterness. "Society--" Xion begins, with Shotaro up and getting his coat and (more importantly) hat. Her hand, off the china mug, extends to stop him, and then curls in the air far short of any connection with the disturbed detective. His partner keeps her standing by the table a moment longer, turning to smile at Philip hesitating. "It's why he can't find his own resolve, yet. It can't be... Something so twisted up at its core. It's fine to live for other people, but..." Xion frowns, and her once-reaching hand lifts anew to pat Philip's shoulder. "... He's not living if he's still kneeling by that body, the scene I see etched into his heart. He can't live for that man any more, face down on the ground. He can live -on- for that man, but he doesn't want to do that either. No wonder he likes his coffee dark enough to bite you." She sighs, lifting her hand into a broad shrug, sidling out of her chair to follow Shotaro out the door. "He thinks that man liked it darker than he can stand. I'll knock it out of him." Sauntering off after Shotaro, Xion will hold the door for Philip if they want to come along too.
Shotaro Hidari	"It's more than that, I think," Philip says. Though he smiles back at Xion. He does stand up, though he doesn't fetch a coat or anything. "He blames himself for his death. The boss put a heavy burden on him, but it was one he wanted for a long time...just one he didn't believe he was ready for." "So we're here..." Philip says, stepping out the door with Xion. "Sorry, this has been a handful for you," He comments. "Though...if I can ask. Why did you come out here today? Was it just to see why we left, or..?" As for knocking it out of him, "Hmm...I wonder if he's going to hold back if you decide to do that."
Xion	"Philip." Xion pauses, at the door. Just outside the Narumi Detective Agency, as the door is closed behind them, the Nobody stops Philop with her palm, drawing near-adjacent with a step that set the toe of her heeled shoe to Philip's sandal-or-sole. Close enough for noses to touch, Xion's eyes level with Philip's. "He's an incredible detective, and his heart's already in the right place. He already is the 'right man' for the city of Fuuto, and the partner he guides at his side. Isn't he? The two-in-one detective didn't start with Double. If I can't knock it out of him, you have to. Put him on the case, Philip. It matters to you. Don't let it pass, to leave things easier. Silence isn't kindness." Backstepping, Xion clasps her hands behind her back and turns, following Shotaro's now cooling path through the city with an uncanny accuracy anyway. Philip would have to use deduction, history, or a phonecall; Xion simply follows the trail of a wounded heart to the source of the dripping.
Shotaro Hidari	Philip pauses, as Xion stops his advance as she makes her heart known to him on this subject. She levels with him, and he pauses. There is a thoughtful look in his eyes for a moment, and he releases a sigh. "I suppose you're right there. If I can't do it, then nobody can," He says, "Even if you can, I shouldn't hesitate on this." Philip holds back, thinking for a moment. He knows exactly where Shotaro will go now. He starts walking, nearly on the heels of Xion. He's not following her...they're just going in the same direction.
Xion	"Oh, the Chief probably could, but she would need a lot of slippers, and he wouldn't take it the right way." Xion answers her walking partner, trotting along with the hurry of need - but matched to Philip's ability. He may not be walking with her, but she is walking with him as soon as she determines they are on the same course. The sound of water gets louder, crashing against the distant break of rocks. A familiar stretch of coastline. A place to throw a ball that nobody else will catch. A place to listen to a sound that wasn't one's own thoughts, louder than one could think them. Xion steps to the beach, and makes herself heard over the waves. "Shotaro Hidari!" "We worked together, we walked together, so I should have been able to hear it. Now, because you've left my side, I will just take it from you: the burden from your heart." At the grass before the sand, the lightest of bluffs, Xion points down and then reaches and pulls with a smooth motion of her hand, summoning 'something' from Shotaro. It feels like his hat. He is certain it is His Hat. Unmistakeably. The hat on his head is not gone, or even moved. Xion stands on the bluff, and holds a stick with a silver cap on the end. Without looking, she speaks to Philip. "After this, I hope he lets himself be taught how to make a decent cup of coffee to his tastes, and not to tastes of an idea he isn't." In her right hand rests the black and white stick she had taken from Shotaro, 'refined' in body but with a spine pattern on the inside fill icon and an S. In her left hand, with a soft 'shwink', a second refined stick, this one black and light blue, depicts a star in the fill, and a X. She presents both, arms crossed over at the wrists. Right memory. SKELETON Left memory. X (Pronounced key.) A dark wind swirls around Xion, but no music plays. It's eerily quiet, obscuring Xion in a sworl of dark colors, uncertainties -- a shock of white. Images like people. People falling. The wind breaks with a single sound. BANG. What's left is Xion with a close-armored Rider suit, all black except for a bone white skeletal motif diagramed on both front and back of the suit, presenting the effect at all angles -- except for the head. The skeleton stops at the neck, and the headmask is just a blank and eyeless wrap. A bone-diagrammed finger points down at Shotoro. "Now. I've counted and taken it." Her fingers come up, index and middle, to indicate 'one'. Between them, a white hat burns to life, too-white, with a too-black band, which she settles on her head. "Your sin. Now you're free. That's fair, right?"
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro was in fact, there. Far above them on a hill overlooking the ocean are the remains of the facility that held Philip. It was here where he was forced to grow up. Where his mentor and the man he looked up to died, where he became Double for the first time, and where he met Philip. So many emotions sit heavy in his heart. Of course, Philip would know where he was. This place was important to them both, both as an ending and a new beginning. Philip nods once at Xion, "Yeah. Her of all people...it wouldn't go well. The guilt would make him crack." When Xion calls for him, he turns slowly. Only to see /his/ hat. This causes Shotaro to nearly turn white. He pales a bit more when she transforms. Philip laughs only a little, "Maybe. My partner is very stubborn. He goes off and does things on his own without thinking things through. He causes a lot of trouble for those around him, especially those that care for him. A real handful, you might say." "Philip..?" Shotaro asks, not surprised by the unrefined Philip, but more by the sudden gentleness of his observations. "You're living that day again and again. You blame yourself, but it was for my sake he was there," Philip crosses the sand towards Shotaro. He crosses in front of Xion but keeps his path toward his partner. "You can't be him. You can't be him because you care too much for those around you. You let their pain be yours, and you let their happiness be yours too." Finally, Philip stands next to Shotaro, turning to face Xion. "That's why I chose you as my partner, Shotaro. So stop trying to be him, and instead show people who you are." "Philip.." Shotaro says, softly as he lowers his head. "You're right..." a moment of clarity. His head rises up, staring toward Xion a moment later. The anguish that was weighing on his heart a moment ago was evaporating. "So I ask you again, Shotaro. Do you want to ride with the devil?" to which Shotaro laughs, "Of course," Is Shotaro's response. The belt appeared on both of their waists. Shotaro pulled out a memory of his own. Purple with the words JOKER written on the side of it. Beside him, Philip draws a green memory, with the words CYCLONE on them. Each one is pressed, calling out their namesakes. "CYCLONE," The memory appears on Shotaro's belt, and he shoves it down into his double driver. "JOKER," is the other call out, as it's pressed into the other side of the driver. He slides the driver out, creating the W symbol. "CYCLONE JOKER!" Followed by an electric guitar tune. As this happens, Philip falls to the ground, his consciousness transferred into his half of Double. The Kamen Rider stands there, arms out as a gust of wind blows around him. Double's index finger points toward her, "Now it's time I counted my own sins," Shotaro's half says, followed by Philips, "That or she's going to carve them into your butt." "G-geeze. Don't talk as if she's going to kick my butt so easily..." To which both share a laugh.
Xion	"The Skull has passed on." Xion nods slowly, black fingers curled the rim of the white hat. "So let's count your remaining sins." The left back hand comes up, bony fingers raising fingers in sequence. "One. You didn't believe in half of your two in one, and let down Philip." "Two. You didn't believe in the other half of your two in one, and let down yourself." "Three." Xion's head comes up, blank mask cast in a light slant by the shade of a white brim, and her fingers come clear to close into a fist. "Neither of you solved the case right in front of you." The counting hand closes. "So you'll have to do better next time, boy." Xion affects a deeper tone, hitting the throaty 'boh-y(a)' of an advanced sulter. It's as close as borrowed power can take her voice and still have it be her voice. She doesn't have the head for being Narumi -- the Skull is totally missing. Double transforms with a classic jingle, and the internal doubts become louder as Xion produces a large magnum blaster to fire a trio of shots at the two-in-one-sinner. "Don't go right to doubting yourself now!" She urges, leaping laterally across the frame towards the beach to tackle Double into the large Toei Rocks.
Shotaro Hidari	Double catches the tackle, though unable to reverse its momentum as the trio of fighters is transitioned from the beach to the rocks. Double himself rolls, finally able to get enough momentum to push back and away from Xion. Though it's more of a maneuver to catch his breath before the two-in-one Kamen Rider moves to engage Xion in a brawl. Shotaro leads here, using his experience in hand-to-hand to try and get an advantage, his fist coming lightning fast to try and strike against Xion-Skull's chest before he follows it up with another. Each strike aimed to keep her on the defensive while trying to push his advantage before her weapon came out. This is followed by a third strike, but this time a blast of wind follows it, aiming to lay her flat. "You're right. I did. Nothing I can say will change it, so instead, I'm going to fix it," he comments. "You mean we're going to fix it?" Philip intones, to which Shotaro lets out a small laugh, "Yeah, you're right. We're going to fix it. Together."
Xion	Rolling with Double, the transformed Xion lifts a hand to hold the bone white hat atop her blank-masked face, her one hand against Double's whole bodily force easily being pushed back. From knee to a rising backstep, she rights both hands and closes her fists, Shotaro and Philip starting on the close in offense right off. The Joker memory is the Wild Card in hand to hand, and for a fighter, has Xion clearly beat in fisticuffs. Keeping her hands free is a task, but the wind-fast fists of CycloneJoker Double press the weaving black-armored Nobody back, and back, and back again - the third a heel-skidding retreat across a rock pillar to bump her back against a solid column of stone. And, with a gust of wind, the hat comes free off her head, gusting off the blank mask and up into the air. "There will always be sinners. You can't just 'fix' people making mistakes. You didn't become Kamen Rider to give it up!" "You knew you wanted to fight!" Xion adds, shoulders coming down as she lunges back across the distance opened by Cyclone's gale punch. Leading with a hard left off the spring, she pivots through it to follow with a crescenting side kick that rotates her around to catch the falling hat out of the air and throw it at Double's chest from close-in. Even if he might want to catch it - it is searingly hot for 'Shotaro Hidari' to hold the specter of the Chief's hat, for it to touch the Joker half of Double. It doesn't do much at all to Philip.
Shotaro Hidari	Double, thanks to Joker and Shotaro twists, catching the sidekick and deflecting the strike away from him in such a way that he wouldn't be punished. However, the follow-up was devilish, as the hat is thrown and of course, Shotaro's hand reaches out for it. The hat /burns/, though he stubbornly doesn't immediately release it. However, it is Philip that takes it from him, the Cyclone side of Double taking it out of Joker's hands. "Good catch, Philip," Shotaro says, as the two in one turn their gaze towards Xion again. The hat flies back at her, easy enough for her to catch. "I figured such a thing was a trick for you, given the significance of the hat to you. You couldn't help yourself, but that's okay. Partners watch out for each other." "No, Xion. I didn't want to fight. Not you. However, we're here today because there is only one way for me to work through this. So...thank you, and I'm sorry," The Joker half says again. "What you said about the Memories is right though. They're dangerous, and it's luck that we have the Driver." CycloneJoker closes the distance again, this time mixing up his strikes with an attempted heel slam towards the top of her head, before aiming to follow it with a roundhouse. "I didn't want to use this power for myself. I am not ignorant of how the power of a Kamen Rider can be abused, and that's why I wanted to refrain." "Though this became more about me, it became about us. There is only one way to prove that to you...so here we are," Shotaro finishes.
Xion	The hat burns, until the two-in-one Kamen Rider figures out the gimmick of the phantom haberdashery. It's not a problem for Philip. This whole point, the whole fight, is not really a problem for Philip. He, perhaps, even gets it - intellectually. They had gone over it, just before. She had challenged Shotaro, moments before that. So now, here, while they talked with fists, and he knew 'everything Philip knew', thanks to the Double Driver, Xion pressed him during his counterattack. "I know you don't want to fight!" She shouts, lifting the hat that is tossed back into place atop her head and looking up in the same motion, into--A heel. Catching the extended leg with both hands, Xion hops into it and is moved back. Lifted up and sent back, she is about to crash into a concrete spike when it simply disappears into inventory behind her, smoke and black voxels that rise as she lands, skids, steadies on her feet. While Double closes, she continues backstepping the rest of the strikes as she carries on pulp noir weaving and acrobatically retreating across the beach and concrete spikes for tide-break. "Are you chasing this? Chasing this hat? Chasing that man? Chasing something you're not? He didn't save that other person!" Xion-Skull spreads wide her arms. "He saved Shotaro Hidari! He saved his -partner-, his student! I want you to be a Kamen Rider for something better than the flawed peace you have right now. The half-life you live right now. You ran away from living the full life of your loudest dreams. You want to help the people the way -they- want to be helped. I get it. I can hear it. Most of the time, I want to, too." "But not all the time. I don't hate you - but this hat is too heavy for your heart to hold. If you want to take it back - you need to be ready to hold the real thing, and not just be forever okay with 'good enough'!" "You're a Kamen Rider!"
Shotaro Hidari	'You're a Kamen Rider!' The words stop the pair dead in their tracks. Well, it stopped Shotaro in his tracks, but Philip followed with his partner. "So what are you going to do?" Philip asks his partner. "We can't just chase after the shadow of a man. No matter how great he was." The head of Double tips down. "I am.." Shotaro starts, but one can already feel quiet pride from Philip. They know what the other knows, and can feel what the other does. The head of Double snaps back up, somehow with that edge. In his head, those memories flash. The guilt he felt, the desire to fill the large shoes of a larger man. It was then he realized, in just that moment... "I am the disciple of Sokichi Narumi. I can't run things as he did, I can't be the man he was...but I can protect this city he loved and the people who reside in it. I can still honor his memory and his teaches...but I will do so my way." "Let's go, partner," Shotaro says to Philip. "Yeah, let's do it," Philip says back. There is a /massive/ surge of wind from the two-in-one Kamen Rider. He walks towards Xion, though in reality, it was the specter of his master. He held himself back to atone for the sin he felt he committed, but in doing so committed a bigger one. The Joker Memory is pulled out of the holder. Pressing it once, and inserting it into the Maximum Slot. JOKER, MAXIMUM DRIVE. "Let's do this!" they say together. Running at Xion, before leaping. Mid-air they spin, charging momentum as the two seem to split in half. Cyclone charged to strike down at Xion first, followed by Joker. The two aim a one-two kick aiming to cause an explosion and release the full potential of the Joker Memory.
Xion	It's odd, the way a two-in-one Kamen Rider comes apart for their finisher. Joker Extreme, the flying kick of the pair, takes the two joined into one, and then staggers their inputs. Coincidentally, it allows both of them to strike at Xion. Philip, for all his doubt against his chances against Xion herself, is right. He can't contest her. Element power, even the element of wind, can't touch Xion right now. Fuuto's winds don't blow against her, and Cyclone doesn't make Philip a better fighter. In frames of motion, Cyclone strikes first, and Xion's hands, wrapped in Skull's power, take hold of Philip gently and set him aside. At full speed, Xion's hands adjust and Philip's force simply deflects past her and detonates past her shoulder in a tremendous glittering eruption of sand. Shotaro, for all his reluctance, finds something that isn't doubt. In frames of motion, Xion brings up a black-wrapped hand and grips the top of her head. The voice, for a moment, isn't hers. The moment, for a heartbeat, is a crowd of shapes, and Shotaro Hidari diving towards a white hat with his whole heart. "Remember to face forward, Shotaro. And... Nobody's perfect. Don't hold yourself to it. Hold yourself to being a man worth hiring." Joker connects, to the 'head', but nothing's there. No mass - just a hat. The Maximum Drive flares over the power of the Skeleton memory, and even refined - you don't just take a Maximum Drive straight on and keep walking. The transformation breaks, Xion 'falling' past the kick down onto her hands and knees as the Skeleton memory tumbles behind her, landing past Shotaro (and Philip - as Double) on the beach. The 'X (pronounced Key)' Memory - Starlight, her keyblade, revealed after a moment - rests buried in the sand between the pair. Xion pants, and sighs, and wipes her cheeks with gloved hands. "Did you get it all out?" She asks, after a while.
Shotaro Hidari	Double reforms, both halves passed Xion and standing behind her turns to face. Those words burned into Shotaro's mind as the chance to see him once again. "Shotaro you're..." "It's fine," Shotaro says, trying to sound a little hard-boiled. Pulling the memories out of each slot, the form of Double fades. On the beach, Philip starts standing up. Shotaro stares at the sea for a moment, until Xion speaks up again. "Yeah," Shotaro says, finally. Turning to face Xion with a smile. "Thank you, Xion," he says, and walks towards her, to offer her a hand up. "You reminded me of what kind of Kamen Rider I should be." "...And brought closure to something I thought I'd never receive."
Xion	Xion transitions from hands-and-knees to just kneel-sitting, then fanning out a bit more as she lifts a gloved hand to rub her jaw and sigh. She does not rise, or go for the Skeleton memory, the glistening black colored USB remaining there. "What I pulled out, from in you, was what you already knew, Shotaro Hidari. You had everything but the Skull - you were every other part, you were more than him, but you thought you were missing something. Maybe you thought--" Xion smiles faintly, pantomiming placing a hat on her head and sliding thumb and forefinger across the brim. Meaningless, with his back turned, but the theatre of it was important - and Philip could see. As soon as she thinks it's wasted, he turns, and catches her smiling pantomime. She carries on, then, amused. "--You needed the Skull to put the hat on. But you don't. Double doesn't wear a hat - he's his own two-in-one Kamen Rider. And Shotaro Hidari... Well, you can put on whatever clothes you like. A friend taught me that."
Shotaro Hidari	"That's right, Shotaro," Philip says behind Xion, finally walking up to the pair. "We /can/ put on whatever clothes we like." While Philip might say it like he missed the meaning, he does understand. "Even if your tastes are old fashioned," he finishes, to which gets an exasperated look from Shotaro. Shotaro now shakes his head. "You guys.." he starts and then sighs. "I guess I'm lucky to have a good partner...and a good friend," he says looking at Philip and then Xion in succession. "Well...how about we leave this place behind. We both have a case we're working on, yeah?"
Xion	Xion rises. The Skeleton memory disappears into inventory, black smoke and voxels over sand. Arms crossed, hands around biceps, she sighs and nods. "That's right! I've got to figure out the best use of my time. . ." She spins, grinning at Shotaro, wickedness sworling about in her innocent blues. "Let's go back to the office and get a cup of coffee first. We'll figure out a proper -harmony- of water and grounds, mmm?"