Summary: The trio is trapped in a maze. Who is behind this? Will they be able to save one another in time? Hints of Lex/Zex.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or it's characters.
A/N: This was my entry for xochibi's Trio time contest. :)
The little () symbols serve as a switch in perspective. Hope you all enjoy. :D
"This is one sick game someone is playing with us," he thought. Panting as he ran from the shadows cumulating behind him in a large clump. Violet hair tickled his eyes as he turned sharply to the right.
Only moments ago he, Vexen and Lexeaus were readying themselves for a mission. Without warning they were taken away by the darkness.
Suddenly he came to a shrieking halt. Dead end.
()
The Chilly Academic was passing by a sparkling stone fountain when ….wait a moment mazes typically don't have fountains.
"What kind of place is this?' Vexen's train of thought was interrupted by a piercing shriek.
Vexen ran, secretly hoping that none of his friends were injured. Just as he took a moment to catch his breath the distant screaming had started up again.
'Ugg. Remain calm Vexen', the scientist thought to himself, 'that is the only way you are going to save your friends, lets just take this maze one turn at a time. Left, a right, right, another right, ….dead end. Keep your cool and start again. Right, left, left…."
Soon he reached a little bundle of black matter. Upon closer inspection Vexen realized, to his horror, that it was Zexion. The Schemer was being suffocated by a hoard of heartless.
The academic deftly beat them back with his ice blade.
"Zexion! Zexion answer me!" He shouted at a level that would leave anyone def.
"Open your eyes damn it!" Vexen choked as he shook Zexion's small frame. The boy looked so serene, much like the night he had lost his heart. It was too much for Vexen to bare. The blond crumpled to the floor, suppressing memories that had threatened to breach the surface of his mind for some time now.
Everything went blurry.
()
It was sunny in Radiant Gardens, Ienzo had been out exploring the gardens for far too long. Even sighed. He would never admit that he actually enjoyed traipsing after the boy. After all, it got him away from the labs to get some fresh air. Plus Ienzo had just introduced him to a very kind guard named Eleaus.
"Ienzo! Ienzo, it's time to eat dinner!" He shouted.
"Over here!" Ienzo's child-like voice called.
Even huffed and made his way to the gargantuan castle gates. They were gold with swirling embellishments of iron. Ienzo waved to the elder man. He seemed to be talking with Eleaus. Eleaus was in uniform which meant Ienzo was disturbing his work.
"Ienzo, you know Eleaus is busy." Even scolded as he reached them.
Ienzo blinked his baby blues innocently and said, "Elley doesn't mind, do you?"
"No, not at all." He patted the boy's head.
"Well we need to be going, dinner is ready." Even began walking away but Ienzo clung to Eleaus's pant leg.
"Ienzo, come on." The scientist beckoned.
"But, there are monsters in the castle." Ienzo said shakily.
"What?"
"They scare me. I don't wanna get hurt." Ienzo sniffled. Eleaus scooped him up and said, "Don't worry. I'll protect you from anything."
"Really?" The boy's eyes widened.
"Me too." Even spoke up much to everyone's surprise. "You may be a brat sometimes, but I never had a little brother before. So, we'll both protect you." Ienzo felt like he had a real family for the first time in his life. The trio hugged and parted for the evening.
Then the memory changed.
Suddenly everything got dark. He was running through Ansem the Wise's labs. They were crumbling to bits as heartless roamed free, searching for hearts to devour.
Even threw open the lab door to find Xehanort, with a twisted smile on his face. He held a beating heart in his hands. Ienzo was lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
"No!" Even shouted as he rushed to Ienzo's side. The sweet little boy he had grown so fond of taking care of was dead. His heart was gone. His eyes closed.
Even held the boy close and noticed that Eleaus was there as well. He lay as still as death. So, he too had failed. Even's heart burned with rage. He screech flinging himself at the monster. Then darkness. Everything melted, as if an artist splashed a bucket of water over wet paint.
()
"Vex? You saved me?" a meek voice called out. Zexion stirred as Vexen's vision became clear again.
"Don't you ever do that to me again! I thought you were going to fade." Zexion just smiled in response.
'Typical Vexen.' The blue-eyed boy thought.
"Where are we?" He asked, trying to stave off the dizziness he felt.
"A maze." The elder man said, helping Zexion up.
"I know that." The schemer rolled his eyes. "But where is this maze located? And who sent us here?"
"I don't know." Vexen said, brushing off Zexion's coat. It was a habit of Even's that Vexen never grew out of.
"All I remember before we disappeared into the darkness was a voice saying, 'Let's see how well you three work together."
"Then we should keep on moving." The pair trudged cautiously into the foreboding darkness of the maze.
()
"Lex help me. Make it stop!" Lexeaus cautiously looked over his surroundings. He was stuck in what looked like a fun house hall of mirrors.
"Help!" Zexion's voice was growing louder by the minuet. The silent hero cursed his heavy body for it's sluggish pace.
"Caught you," a deep voice rang out in the winding hall. Lexeaus turned to see glowing eyes and a sinister smile reflected in all of the mirrors. The voice chuckled, "now you will die."
()
The two nobodies were sprinting frantically when the floor suddenly opened up.
"Wah!" Both shouted as they jumped in opposite directions. Vexen ended up on one side of the floor opening and Zexion on the other.
"Can you make it?" The scientist shouted.
"I think so." Zexion replied as he readied himself to jump. He walked back a few feet.
"I can do this." He whispered to himself, and broke into a run. He jumped, but, Zexion came up too short and dangled on the ledge. Vexen quickly grabbed a hold of his hand, "I won't let you go." He pulled the young boy up. Zexion took a moment to compose himself.
"Are you alright?" Vexen asked.
Zexion nodded, "We need to find Lexeaus."
The pair continued on.
()
Shards of glass pierced his arms, but the Silent Hero did not care. If he had to smash every single mirror in this place to save Zexion, then that was what he would do.
"Zexion is going to die and there is nothing you can do about it!" The disembodied voices taunted.
Lexeaus grimaced at the white hot pain shooting up his arms, but he was determined to save Zexion. He promised to never let what happened to Ienzo befall Zexion.
Suddenly, a trap door in the floor clinked open. Lexeaus fell through the opening, into the endless darkness below.
()
Vexen heard a scream and the two males made their way down a narrow, glass ridden hallway. "All of the mirrors appear to be broken."
A disembodied voice echoed throughout the hall, "Zexion, I just knew you'd come. Allow me to make you more comfortable, my dear."
"Oh no you don't. Whoever you may be you won't take my friend away from me." Vexen venomously spat, with determination he held onto Zexion. The youth seemed to be shaking. Evil chuckling could be heard as cords of darkness slithered out of the broken mirrors. Zexion was wrapped in the tendrils of darkness and then vanished. Vexen attempted to beat back the cords. But, in doing so he failed to notice a figure emerge from the shadows behind him. A fist collided with the academic's head and soon Vexen was knocked out.
()
"Oh whatever will you do? Your hero is unconscious and Vexen was too weak to save you," the cloaked figure snickered.
Zexion was trapped in a cage. The bars were made of pulsing dark matter. "Is this starting to look familiar Ienzo?"
"Why did you bring us here, Xemnas?" As Zexion said this he noticed his lexicon was locked away in a floating bubble. The boy was defenseless. How he hated being without protection.
"Isn't it obvious? I created this maze to get rid of Vexen and Lexeaus. So, I could keep you all to myself. Little Zoe." Xemnas sauntered over to a throne. "They always kept a close watch on you. Making sure that I never hurt you. But with them out of the way I can harness your abilities and use them to suite my needs. Besides," he stroked Zexion's cheek, "You will make an awfully pretty pet."
()
When Vexen awoke Zexion was gone. "Ouch!" A shard of glass sharply probed further into his cheek. The academic took a deep breath, gritting his teeth and bravely pulled out the bloody shard.
Wasting no time, Vexen ignored the pain and looked around for any signs of an exit. The Academic stumbled upon the trap door. He formed an ice rope in his hands with a flash. Tying it off on a ledge, Vexen propelled himself down the long corridor, wondering how exactly he was going to get everyone out of this mess.
When Vexen reached the bottom, he scanned the room he was in. It looked similar to the corridors of darkness the nobodies used for travel. Purple mist swirled around a throne, which was adjacent to a cage. Zexion was trapped in there! "So Xemnas was behind this! I always knew he was after Zexion for some reason." Vexen said to himself.
He spotted Lexeaus lying a few meters away, unmoving. The blond rushed to his friend, as silently as he could. He had just enough magic left to cure Lexeaus entirely. However, now he was very drained.
"Ve..Vexen??" Lexeaus mumbled.
"There isn't much time, you need to save Zexion. Xemnas was behind this. We need to get him out of here." Vexen whispered, unfortunately, a little too loudly.
Xemnas blasted Vexen in the head with dark matter.
Now it was just Lexeaus and Xemnas. "You will pay for that." Lexeaus growled.
The two nobodies dueled in a whirling dervish of weapons. Lexeaus tried his best to avoid the creeping nothingness that Xemnas sent after him. Lexeaus saw an opening in his defenses and struck Xemnas. The tomahawk came down brutally hard on the Superior's arm. A sickening snapping sound echoed throughout the space.
Xemnas lashed out and knocked the tomahawk out of Lexeaus's hands, then stunned him with a Thudagua spell. While the Hero was down, Xemnas smashed his boot into Lexeaus's head. The Silent Hero, whom everyone always depended on, had failed.
Zexion was screaming so loudly that his voice was hoarse. He tried to break free from the bars, but the cage was just too strong for him.
Xemnas gave a laugh, "This was just too easy."
The silverette approached Lexeaus and poised his light sword over the place where his heart should be. Zexion began to shout incoherently. He wanted so badly to save his friends, but what could he do? 'Please, I need to help them,' he thought.
Suddenly, the Lexicon began to glow!
"No! what are you doing?" Xemnas made a grab for the lexicon with his good arm, as light pierced through the bars of the cage. The entire space lit up. Everything was enveloped in light. It was so bright that Zexion had to shield his eyes.
Then silence.
For a moment Zexion forgot to breathe. Until the youth felt a heavy hand rest on his shoulder. The blue-eyed teen shoved it away. Believing Xemnas was still there.
"Zexion. It's me." Zexion opened his eyes. There was Lexeaus, sitting cross-legged next to him!
"I…I thought you were dead." Zexion nearly sobbed. Lexeaus held him closely. Zexion noticed how warm he was and that his heart was beating at a steady rhythm.
"Do we have our hearts back?"
"I think so because I've never felt so happy to see you. I'm just glad that you are safe." Lexeaus smiled.
"Wait! Where is Vexen?" The small Schemer looked around.
"Over here," a raspy voice called weakly. Zexion laughed with relief and together Lexeaus and he helped Vexen up.
They could not figure out what had happened. The truth was that Zexion had never been so afraid for his friends lives before. So, the lexicon reacted to his newfound feelings. The book protected them all. For inside the lexicon lived Zexion's heart and the whole time he had no idea it was there. Vexen and Lexeaus hearts had made their way inside the lexicon too. So, there were the connected trio of hearts.
"What will we do now?" Vexen said.
Lexeaus linked hands with Zexion. "I say we go home, together." he said as he extended a hand to Vexen. The trio of best friends walked off into the sunset and lived happily ever after.
The End