The Dark City; it had no other name. Barely existing, it hung on the fringes of the twilight realm. It was a twisted place, as like a real city as a shadow is to its owner. Vast skyscrapers, hung with neon signs and empty windows, were washed by rain from an endless night's sky. Nobody lived there. Who could live in a city where the streets are so thick with Heartless that their glowing eyes seem to mirror the stars above them? Only a fool would go there willingly.
Lamuria was no fool, but he had a job to do. He had studied every possible route. There was no other way. He needed to gain access to the many-towered fortress that floated above the city. It could not be approached by gummi ship. No magic spell existed that could penetrate its barriers. There was only one way to enter it uninvited, and that lay through the very heart of the Dark City.
Very few people in Lamuria's trade would be willing to take such risks for an employer. To simply enter the corridors of darkness was to place your heart in the gravest of danger. Then to present a living heart to the Heartless that roamed the city streets: it was sheer suicide. That was why Lamuria was the best.
That was why the man in bandages had come to him. He had said little, glaring at Lamuria with his single orange eye. He had told Lamuria the job, and where he would need to travel. He had been asked to name his price. Lamuria had rolled out some extortionate figure, expecting the bandaged man to begin haggling but he agreed straightaway.
So Lamuria had cloaked himself in the darkness of his heart and stepped into the twilight realm. He passed quickly through the alleys and streets of the Dark City. The darkness that he had drawn to himself now shrouded him, confusing the Heartless into believing that he was one of them. Lamuria idly wondered what it would be like to be truly heartless. Perhaps it would not be so different. After all, what was a heart? Emotions: he had long since become skilled at suppressing them. Memories: they too were long subdued. It did not help to remember what he had done. Assassins could not afford to let sentiment get in the way of business.
Lamuria paused. He had reached a wide plaza. Towering above was a skyscraper, taller than all the rest, topped with a cluster of giant video screens. He was there.
He raised the scythe that he carried over one shoulder. Concentrating all the darkness he could muster, he channelled it into his blade. Then, with a single sweep, he cut through the fabric of the realms. A ragged portal appeared in the air before him, spewing liquid-gas darkness in all directions. The Heartless began to cluster round, drawn like bloodhounds to the kill. Lamuria allowed himself a brief smile as he stepped through the portal.
The kill was near.
Axel stepped out from the corridors of darkness. He was in a room that he had never seen, somewhere near the very top of the Organisation's stronghold. Axel had still not grasped exactly how the stronghold was able to keep changing shape, layout and sometimes even its size. It may have been that there was something sentient in the walls themselves, or it was yet another manifestation of Xemnas's power. This room was white, like the rest of the castle, quite small and round. In the centre of the room, suspended above a podium, was a video screen. Xemnas was standing over it, watching closely.
"Yo," said Axel, stepping forward
"Oooh, we got company!" he said, peering over Xemnas's shoulder. The video screen showed a man climbing a staircase somewhere in the castle. He was dressed in a bottle green suit with matching top hat, a single pink rose in his buttonhole. His bushy hair was tied back in a ponytail. He carried a long scythe over his shoulder.
"Hmm; that sure ain't the milkman," said Axel, looking more closely at the screen. Xemnas did not respond. He waved his hand and the video screen vanished in a flash of light.
"Who is he?" Axel asked.
"His name is Lamuria, although he's more commonly known as 'The Rose'," said Xemnas.
"The Rose', huh? Say, ain't that the guy Xigbar's supposed to be tailing?"
"Indeed."
"And now he's here?"
"Yes. It appears someone has hired him to eliminate me."
Axel paused to consider this, one hand rubbing his chin.
"You think it's got something to do with this DiZ guy?" he suggested. Xemnas did not reply, but Axel knew that he was right. DiZ: the name had been cropping up more and more frequently in recent years. None of the Organisation had actually seen him, despite their best efforts, but every failed investigation, every resisted step, seemed to lead back to the enigmatic DiZ.
"How'd this Lamuria guy get in, anyway? He's a Somebody, right?" Axel asked.
"It appears he took on a mantle of darkness, and used it to pass safely through the Dark City," Xemnas replied.
"And he's still got a heart?!" Axel said incredulously.
"It appears so. He is… a distinct anomaly," said Xemnas thoughtfully, "Only a few Somebodies have done what he has done. Perhaps he was not wholly human to begin with…?"
Axel shrugged. It was not his job to theorise.
"So, you gonna tell me why I'm here?" he asked, "Want me to stick a chakram in his back, I guess."
"No," said Xemnas sharply, fixing Axel with his familiar, potent stare, "No. He's too valuable to be simply destroyed. He still thinks himself undetected. Let him continue. We will close the trap around him, until there is nowhere left to run. Then you will subdue him."
"That's it?" Axel scoffed, with the exaggerated emotion that the Nobodies would use to compensate for their lack of a heart.
"Come on, boss," he said, "this ain't my line: why don't you get Lexaeus up here?"
"Lexaeus is under strict orders to remain where he is," said Xemnas firmly, "This could just be a diversion away from an attack on the other castle. I need Lexaeus there for defence.
"Besides, you and Xaldin should be more than capable of subduing him," Xemnas nodded to a corner of the room where Xaldin stood with his arms folded, listening impassively to their conversation.
Xemnas waved his hand and the video screen reappeared atop the podium. Lamuria was now on an external walkway, spiralling around one of the castle's many towers. He was walking more slowly now, checking regularly that he was not being followed. Xemnas continued to watch him with critical eyes.
The walkway eventually brought Lamuria into a room in the very pinnacle of the tower. It was high, round and windowless. A table and chair were in the centre of the room. A man, identical to Xemnas in every way, was sat writing at it, his back to the door. Axel looked quizzically at Xemnas, who ignored him.
Now came a long wait as Lamuria considered his attack. He crouched outside the door, then crossed over to the other side. Finally, he entered the room, moving so fast that he appeared to be little more than a green blur. In a moment he was behind the chair. A flash of steel, and the scythe was buried in the table. The man sitting in the chair had simply vanished.
"A Zexion special?" said Axel. Xemnas gave a curt nod.
Lamuria stared around wildly, searching for the trap. Beside Axel, Xemnas waved his hand again. A wall appeared, blocking the door through which Lamuria had entered the room. Lamuria rushed for the space where the door had been, but found the wall to be no illusion.
"Go," ordered Xemnas. Axel and Xaldin gave a short bow, summoned two dark portals and stepped through into the room with Lamuria.
"Where's Xemnas?" Lamuria demanded, rounding on the two newcomers. Axel couldn't help being impressed: Lamuria seemed totally unfazed by the situation. He held his scythe out to one side, ready to strike.
"Put down your weapon and surrender," said Xaldin, his voice surprisingly soft for one with so grim a face.
"My business is with Xemnas!" said Lamuria.
"You would be wise not to struggle," said Xaldin as Axel edged round the room, hoping to get behind Lamuria. Lamuria was watching though, and began to edge away, keeping both Xaldin and Axel in view.
"Put down your…" Xaldin began, but Axel interrupted him:
"Give it a rest! This guy wants to rumble!"
With the last word, Axel summoned a chakram to his hand and hurled it straight at Lamuria. Lamuria deflected the attack, and leapt across the room to close with Axel. As they set to, Lamuria wielding his scythe, Axel his remaining chakram, Axel saw Xaldin raise his hands. For a moment the room was filled with the sound of rushing wind and six lances dropped out of the air around him. They began to circle Xaldin very rapidly, like debris caught in the arms of a tornado.
Axel and Lamuria made three passes, with Axel giving ground each time. Lamuria's blade work was formidable and Axel found himself hard put to keep up. Now Xaldin was beside Lamuria, wielding a lance in each hand. Lamuria's scythe began to glow a strange pink colour. He leapt back, swinging the scythe in a wide arc to unleashing a wave of pink magic. Axel and Xaldin both leapt back as Lamuria's spell came soaring towards them. It gouged a deep groove where it struck the wall.
Axel thrust his hands out to his side and summoned both his chakrams. If Lamuria wanted to play rough, he was happy to oblige. Flames burst from each point of the chakrams as they went spinning through the air. Lamuria deflected both of them, but Axel was already somersaulting to catch them in mid-air, then toss them back. Xaldin was also throwing lances as he charged. Lamuria deflected the first two, caught the third and began dual wielding. The space around him was a whirl of steel.
Xaldin reached Lamuria, a lance in each hand. Four passes in a row, so fast and intricate that they were almost impossible to follow. On the fifth pass Xaldin trapped both of Lamuria's weapons. With a heave, he hurled Lamuria back into the wall. Axel was ready for him. Jumping high over Xaldin's head, he cast twin fire spells straight at Lamuria. Lamuria's scythe glowed pink again. The two spells collided in mid-air, the fallout shuddering through the room like a bomb blast. Xaldin stood firm against it, but Axel was smashed out of the air. He crashed into the wall and slid down, barely conscious.
Axel watched bleary eyed as Xaldin continued to fight. He was physically the stronger of the two fighters, but Lamuria was astonishingly fast and his wave attack was able to get him out of any tight corners. In a few minutes Xaldin was reduced to fighting with only one lance. The two fighters were laying into each other fiercely, but Xaldin was tiring the fastest. Suddenly, a hooded figure in a black coat burst from a dark portal in the wall. Lamuria barely turned his head as he flung another wave of pink magic towards the newcomer. The hooded man did not pause in his stride, but summoned a flat wall of magic that simply absorbed the spell. Axel knew there was only one Nobody with power like that: Xemnas had joined the battle.
Xaldin had obviously recognised the Superior too. He drew back as soon as Xemnas was close enough to engage Lamuria. Two blades of red light shot from Xemnas's hands. They sparked and crackled as they struck Lamuria's scythe. In the initial passes, neither of them moved an inch. Then, ever so slowly, Lamuria began to give way. Axel could see the perspiration gathering on his brow.
The fight ended so quickly that Axel missed the final move. One moment Xemnas and Lamuria were duelling with incredible speed. A heartbeat later, and Lamuria's scythe was clattering across the floor. He stood with his back to the table, Xemnas's red blade inches from his throat.
"Xemnas," Lamuria said, bowing slightly.
There was silence in the room. All eyes were turned to Xemnas. Lamuria spoke again. He seemed unsure what was happening:
"I will… not tell you who hired me. I do not know."
Still Xemnas did not speak.
"If you are going to kill me…" Lamuria began.
"No," said Xemnas suddenly, cutting across Lamuria, "I will not destroy you. You are a remarkable being. I am sure our scientist would be most interested to study your heart"
"I would rather die!" spat Lamuria.
"That is one path you may take," said Xemnas sharply, "But you and I both know that you are destined for greater things."
"I offer you a third choice," Xemnas continued "To aid me, and the Organisation."
Lamuria snorted.
"Are you trying to buy your safety? Sorry: I have a reputation to uphold. I always get the job done."
"Perhaps you are not aware of your situation," said Xemnas, real anger in his voice now, "I offer you a simple choice: join us, or be destroyed!"
Lamuria considered Xemnas for a long moment. Axel, struggling to his feet, stared incredulously at Xemnas. This was insane: not even the most deranged Somebody would willingly become a Nobody.
Lamuria spoke again, slowly and thoughtfully:
"Why me?"
"You are strong," said Xemnas, "The Organisation needs strength. We are currently expanding our sphere of operations. We have discovered a new world, one vital to our plans: Castle Oblivion. I need someone to oversee our operations there."
"You mean me?" said Lamuria coolly.
Xemnas's hooded head nodded slightly. Lamuria stood silent for a long time. Axel tried to guess his thoughts, but Lamuria's face and eyes were inscrutable. He had never seen such an emotionless face on a Somebody before.
"Boss," said Axel tentatively, "you think this is such a good…"
"Silence!" Xemnas snapped. Xemnas rarely shouted, but Axel had come to fear that sharp, level voice more than any furious roar. Axel slunk back. He leant against the wall, arms folded, watching the scene carefully.
"Agreed," said Lamuria. He smiled slightly as he said this: a bestial smile without humour.
Xemnas stepped forward and grasped Lamuria's hand. Darkness surged out from Xemnas's hand. It travelled up Lamuria's arm, across his body and down his limbs. Axel remembered the pain and the cold that his Other had felt when he had been swallowed by the darkness, and he marvelled that Lamuria could stand there impassive as the shadows simply rolled over him. His head was the last thing to disappear, still wearing that inhuman smile.
Then the darkness that covered him lifted, unwrapping itself like some giant cocoon. A new person was standing there, hand in hand with Xemnas. For a second, Axel though that it was still Lamuria. A person's Nobody usually differed quite noticeably from their Somebody. Yet Lamuria had barely changed. His face was a little sharper, and a little more feminine, but it could easily have been the same person. Xemnas, however, seemed satisfied with the change.
"Welcome to the Organisation," he said, "Number Eleven: Marluxia."