Hola, amigos! I am happy to introduce the first installation of my oneshot series "The Grand Connections", featuring Demyx, Larxene, and The World!
The Grand Connections is my fanfiction project, where characters from different games and animes come together, be it through similiar themes, crack pairings, or just my theory spewing.
...This is one of the theory spewing ones.
Title: Storm Muddled Data
Genre: Friendship
Rating: K+
Pairings/Characters: Demyx, Larxene, Aura
Warnings: Crossover-ness, theory spewing
Notes: First installation of The Grand Connections... though I'm not completely happy with the title. It may change.
Summary: The sun was in their eyes. The sun was in their ears. But they couldn't see the sun ever in the darkness. It does not much matter.
if you are near
to the dark
i will tell you 'bout the sun
Somehow, he knew his element a lot better than he should have for a neophyte. He could recall using it and actually winning battles with water, but those memories never felt like they were real. They were real though, of that he was sure, and yet… the memories of battles and the memories of his life before –even his true name- all felt like they had taken place in different realities.
At first, he disregarded the notion; he was a new Nobody, still adjusting to the lack of heart (which, of course, he never believed). It was just his nerves, or at least the remnants of said nerves acting up. Nothing to contemplate on.
That was, until the position of Number XII was filled.
Larxene, the only girl in the entire Organization, the sadist, the betrayer, and his best friend in that place understood his confusion in his memories. She shared the pseudo-feeling herself.
Why she had even chosen to make an alliance with him, the musical twit, he'd never understand. He'd asked her once; she gave him a smile, free of sadistic intent, and said that they had a connection; it was hidden in their fuddled memories, but it was a strong connection nonetheless. Perhaps that was why she was so hard on Naminé, the controller of memories; the little girl could shift them around and make new ones, but couldn't decipher the meanings behind them.
In any case, the two of them worked restlessly to try and fit the pieces together. It couldn't be told to anyone; it was common knowledge that Vexen was always in search of a new project and would kill to use any neophytes as guinea pigs. But still, just the two of them wasn't producing any results.
And that was when Larxene was given two new positions; one by Xemnas to work in the new headquarters, and the other by Marluxia as his right-hand (wo)man in taking over Organization XIII.
Naturally, she told only him about Marluxia's offer, and that she was going to take it. He begged and pleaded with her not to, but Larxene would not hear otherwise. She saw that, if she could get her heart back through the flower wielder's methods, she would find out what their memories meant. He knew that there was no stopping her; through their secret connection, he knew there was no stopping her once her mind was set.
And so he let her go.
She did not return.
you are here
no escape
from my visions of the world
Did he cry? Of course he did. Did he ever hate the Keyblade Master when she fell? …Maybe a bit. But not enough to take revenge over; he was a lot nicer than that. He focused his time on where he and Larxene left off, seeing if in this new era of heartlessness he could create an answer.
He thought for a moment that perhaps the Lord of Dead, Hades himself, would know the answer. That was why he took any and all missions in the Underworld, so he could try and talk to the god. He got close once, when he "borrowed" the Olympus Medallion. He figured if he could get an audience with Hades if he gave the god something in return.
Of course, the Keyblade Master showed up and flushed that plan down the drain.
He didn't see Sora (or Roxas, whichever you prefer) again until the stand at Hollow Bastion (or again, Radiant Garden if you prefer).
It was his last battle.
But it never did feel like his first.
you will cry
all alone
but it does not mean a thing to me
He woke up staring at a white ceiling. He was in some sort of bed, the breeze from the open window next to him brushing his loose, blonde hair across his eyes. He moaned from the artificial light.
"Ah!"
He sat straight up, his emerald green eyes meeting familiar electric blue ones.
He was in a hospital, he saw now, seeing the needle in his arm. Sitting next to him was a girl, no older than he, with short platinum blonde hair, save for the two locks on either side of her head. She was exhausted; she had bags under her eyes, and it looked like she had been crying.
"You're awake…" she gasped.
He blinked, remembering her voice from two different places, saying the name thing that came to mind. "N… Nel?"
She nodded, breathing heavily, and threw her arms around him. "You're awake, you're awake, oh my God, Edym, you're awake…"
knowing the song
i will sing
'till the darkness comes to sleep
The World was an online gaming masterpiece. With many classes of warriors, challenging quests, breath-taking graphics, and the guarantee of meeting new friends from all over, it was no surprise that it quickly became as popular as it did.
Yes, there had been reports of players falling into a mysterious comatose, but there was no definite connection between that and The World. So players kept on playing, and CC Corp kept their mouths shut. So when he started his gaming life as a water Wavemaster named Edym, he did so without fear.
He was quick to the learn the rules, quick to make friends and even quicker in making his character as strong as he felt it need be; gaining five levels a day sounded like a good strategy. However, he soon found that perhaps he wasn't as strong as he should have been when the threat of Player Killers made itself known to him.
His character was at Level 58! It should have been strong enough. But as is the way of the universe, it wasn't. It was official; PKs sucked and they should all die a horrible death.
Of course, since he hadn't known about PKs, he most certainly didn't know about PKKs.
That was the day he met Nelera, a lighting Wave Twin Blade and a rising PKK of some renown; they hit it off instantly. Many times people would question Edym in his choice in friends; a PKK, though doing good for new members of The World, was still a PK, only with justification. He never listened to them. He was glad to have such a good friend in this place. Together, they formed the "Thunderstorm Threat"; there wasn't anything they couldn't handle together.
They eventually decided on meeting in person since they lived near each other, despite warnings that friendships usually ended when taken outside the game. They would meet at Edym's place, and from there they would just do whatever they pleased; he lived near a lot of good stores and restaurants, he assured her.
But before that, she received the email.
Subject: Urgent
To: Nelera
From: KMHS
Your presence is requested in Δ (Delta) Server Zone: Hidden, Forbidden, Sacred.
Come quickly.
Nelera did not know who had sent it; the name was horribly vague, and she couldn't respond back to the sender. But she did as the letter instructed, Edym right beside her should it turn into a trap.
come to me
i will tell
'bout the secret of the sun
Hidden, Forbidden, Holy Ground was a church bathed in the light of a sunset, the bridge extending from its entrance destroyed long since. This was a safe place; battles could not be fought in root towns or church zones. But still, something seemed wrong with the statue in the center; the stone girl imprisoned in chains. It was in inscription beneath her.
"Skeith… Innis… Magus… Fidchell… Gorre… Macha… Tarvos… and Corbenik…" Nelera shook her head. "You understand any of that?"
"I… don't think so, but I remember reading some rumors on the forums." He responded. "Something about the Epitaph of Twilight."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Edym turned to the statue. "I don't exactly remember the details, but I remember reading the name Skeith and something about 'Eight Phases'."
Nelera eyebrows furred in thought. "Eight Phases… sounds like an event. Like the One Sin."
"Heh, maybe we can beat it and get wings, too."
"No you silly little boy!" Nelera laughed. "We'd get a rain cloud, and fly over The World's skies eventually conquering it! And all shall bow to the Thunderstorm Threat! And the PKs shall cower before us! Mwahaha!"
Edym smiled, chuckling to himself; Nelera always did go on world domination rants like these, though he knew she never seriously meant them. "Well, what should we do now, Nel?"
His friend stretched out her arms behind her head. "I say we leave. The email was probably a joke or some CC Corp test. Maybe even a bot."
Edym gave the statue girl one more hard stare. "Yeah… you're probably right…"
Nelera moved her head downward, trying to meet his gaze. "What's the matter?"
"Well… I read this other rumor on the message board pretty recently." Edym started. "It was this claim that a player saw a girl floating over a bed. There was a screenshot of her, too."
He took a step closer, touching the chains that bound the little girl to stone. "A lot of the replies said it was a Vagrant AI… but the girl in the screenshot looks just like this statue…"
"You think it's connected?"
"I'm willing to bet. It can't be coincidence."
"What do you think it is then?"
"…"
"Edym…?"
"I think… I think it's something beyond our understanding. It's probably a secret of The World we shouldn't be looking into."
"Are you talking about those coma rumors?"
"…"
it's in you
not in me
but it does not mean a thing to you
Nelera sighed. "Edym, I get it; you're freaked out. But there isn't any evidence that it was the game's fault. And even if there was…" She laid a hand on top of the one he placed on the statue. "…you know we'd still play to find out what was happening."
"Yeah…" He gave her his best smile giving her hand a tight squeeze. "Yeah, we would."
"Glad we're in agreement then!" she smiled, not letting go of him. "Now let's get back to Mac-Anu and-"
"Help!"
The two players had only a second to register the sound when a girl, no more than three or four, came dashing into the church towards them, clutching to Edym for dear life. She was pale, with long flowing white hair and white garments that made her appear translucent, almost ghostly. But more than that, she was terrified by what was following her.
Whatever it was looked human, seemingly comprised of rock, with floating disjointed appendages and a two-piece, ring shaped horn. In its hand was a red staff in the shape of a Celtic cross (maybe it was a "Q", now that he thought about it), aimed right at the girl.
"Wha… what is that thing…?" Edym gasped. The girl buried herself deeper into the folds of his Wavemaster robes.
"I… It has to be a glitch. Monsters can't appear in church zones!" That was the first time he ever heard Nelera stammer.
Whatever it was, it had clearly come for the girl. And it clearly intended to harm her and any others who got in its way. And he wouldn't let anything happen to her.
"Get back!" Edym cried, shoving the girl to Nelera as the monster attacked. While the attack never really hurt him, he could Edym being lifted into the air, screaming in pain while Nelera and the girl watched in horror, before seeing rings of data float around in and then falling to the ground with a thud.
the sun is in your eyes
the sun is in your ears
i hope you see the sun
someday in the darkness
"…So that's what happened?"
Nelera nodded. "Yeah. After you were attacked, the little girl ran away. You were taken to the hospital, and I worked to find out what happened to you."
"And that was when you…"
She bit her lip. "…Yeah. I ended up in a coma, too."
Nelera stood up, pacing around his bed a bit. "But… it was strange. When I was asleep, I had this dream… only it didn't feel like a dream. I was someone else. I was part of this group, and there was this scheme, and whoever it was had a friend like you."
"Let me guess…" Edym said, swallowing a bit to get his words out. "You dreamt you were a Nobody named 'Larxene'."
"How did you-"
"I was Demyx."
Eyes wide, Nelera sat back down. "So… that was why they couldn't figure out the memories. Larxene and Demyx were confusing our real lives with our characters in The World."
"That's what makes the most sense."
"And when they were killed…"
"…we woke up."
Nelera grasped his hand with her two slender ones; how strange that her other was such a sadist. "Do… do you think it was real?"
"Considering the fact that we both ended up in comas from a video game, I'm willing to bet it was." He said smiling, holding on to hers as well. "And it's not only that."
"What else is there?"
"You remember the name of the person who sent you that email?" She nodded. "Think about the letters. What two words do we know that begin and end with those letters?"
Nelera drew back a hand, biting on her thumb nail in thought; Larxene did that too, he thought in amusement. It was only when he saw her blink a few times, the locks of hair at her sides bobbing up, did he know that she figured it out.
"Kingdom Hearts."
"Exactly."
"So… what you're saying is…" Nelera started, putting the pieces together. "…Kingdom Hearts brought us there, so we would fall into comas and then enter the Organization?"
"Not us. Just you."
"What? Why just me?"
"Well, the message was for you." Edym said. "And… I don't think that was what Kingdom Hearts was trying to do. I think it wanted you to save the girl."
"…Why me though? And what was so important about the girl?"
He shrugged. "Quoting Vexen, 'The heart works in mysterious ways'."
She laughed. "Hey… what do you think about the others? Do you think they were like us?"
"I dunno. Probably not, and if they were they never said it."
"Huh. Too bad."
"Why?"
"I really need to hurt Axel." She huffed when Edym started laughing, yelling, "Hey! The bastard set us up!" before joining him in laughing seconds later.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he got his."
"Yeah. Besides…" Nelera gave him her best smile, the one free of sadistic intent that Larxene would give to Demyx and Demyx alone. "…we're awake, and we're together again. That's all that matters."
"Yup. That's all…" He leaned back into his pillow, sighing in content, before his eyes opened again. "Say, Nel?"
"Yeah?"
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Huh? Uh, it's September now, and you were hospitalized in June… so, three months. Why?"
"Well, isn't the yearly 'Change Your Name' event coming up?"
"Yeah…?"
He gave her a grin, eyes sparkling mischievously. "I think I'm gonna change my name this year."
She paused for a moment, then smiled. "…You know what? I think I will, too"
the sun is in your eyes
the sun is in your ears
but you can't see the sun
ever in the darkness
it does not much matter to me