Hey. A new story I wrote, this time about Zexion. The title is from the song 'Carnival of Rust' by Poets of the Fall. I like the lyrics.

I do not own the characters in this story.

'The eager fox chased the chicken with all the passion it could muster. The Chicken then pulled out a shotgun and blasted the fox into thousands of pieces...'

Zexion sighed and grip the bridge of his nose. 'Why on earth does Xemnas allow these infernal stupid books into the Library of Lost Souls?' He wondered, knowing that the reason was simply that Xemnas didn't care unless it was about Kingdom Hearts. This was the third piece of drabble in two days he'd attempted to read. Feeling light-headed from the exposure to literacy murder, He stood and sluggishly left the white abode he thought was safe. As he approached his door, he heard an odd noise from the window. It overlooked the Never-Ending Garden, which Marluxia rarely ever left. The plants dived and twisted like pieces of twine entangled across a lawn. Zexion couldn't help think that, with the protruding thorns, it was less twine, more barbed wire in a scrap yard, probably not the atmosphere Marluxia was trying to create, but was certainly the feel under the crying darkness of the ebony sky.

Zexion quite liked stars. When he was young, when he was Ienzo, he loved the idea that they were the other worlds in the realm of light, all just as beautiful as his own Radiant Garden. Now, to Zexion, it seems like the magic had worn off, instead of reaching to the stars, plunging into darkness to reach those worlds he dreamed about. The World that Never Was didn't have the worlds dancing across the sky. Zexion wished their stronghold wasn't so close to the darkness. He mentally scolded himself for being so sentimental and retired to his room, a small grin on his face, remembering times gone by.
A knock at the door stirred Zexion awake. Glancing at the clock, he debated falling asleep again, but manners won over as he called for the nocturnal visitor to enter. A glowing yellow eye greeted his gaze as Xigbar opened the door. His hair wasn't tied back as usual and fell across his shoulders and chest. The scar across his face seemed to glow with the moonlight stretching across the room from Zexion's window.

'Hey little dude, you awake?' His feral grin never failed to creep out the Cloaked Schemer.

'I am now.'

'I saw you gazing up at the sky today, Ienzo.' The use of his old name signalled that Xigbar knew exactly why he was behaving odd today. 'You remembering the old times?' Zexion nodded. 'You always did like those stars. I remember you as a tyke, your arm trying to touch those Sky candles.' The metaphor surprised Zexion. 'Ha, you damn near fell off the balcony. Lucky Aeleus was there to grab ya!' Xigbar's grin grew when the tell tale blush stretched across the teenager's face.

'I was just a kid. I'm intelligent now to know that no matter how far you reach, you can never touch the stars.'

'Now if that ain't the most depressing thing i've ever heard. Cheer up Zo. Go party like a guy your age should. Go get laid.' He winked to rub it in.

'I'm trying to sleep, Braig.' He tried his hardest to sound witty but his off kilter mood made him sound pathetic.

'Perfect time, just don't forget your I.D.' this time he warped away.

'I.D?' he thought. You need to exist to have that stupid piece of card. Zexion really wasn't in the mood to party.

The brute looked down at the schemer with a venomous glare. You got I.D?' Zexion sighed as he produced a provisional created with his illusions. He could believe how stupid he was being. He hated music, dancing and the only time he drank was during games of Ring of Fire with Luxord and Demyx. 'Number Nine would fit in perfect here.' He thought as the Bouncer returned the pass with a grunt, moving aside begrudgingly to let Zexion in. The smell of vodka and sweat delivered an uppercut to his nostrils. He was bashed about as he attempted climb the stairs to the top floor. So many questions were running through the teen's head, 'What should I drink, will anybody talk to me, will anyone find me attractive?' He glanced down at himself having changed out of his organization cloak. He was wearing a brilliant white shirt with black lines making bizarre patterns across his torso. His skinny black jeans placed emphasis on his skinny frame, ending with his white and black vans. He hoped he'd made enough effort.

Zexion knocked back his sixth vodka and coke feeling the sway of his body. He knew he was a lightweight. He'd taken to dancing after the third drink, being hit on by three girls who called him cute and sexy. He'd flirted back and even got a round of kisses. Zexion was amazed that Xigbar was right for once. 'I should try and get Axel and Demyx to take me out sometime, they're always out.' He drunkenly waltz forward into the crowd of sexual tension and resumed swinging his hips to the beat. The club felt alive and the atmosphere was hot, sticky, bodies entwining around him. He felt something inside, warmth in his empty vessel. He noticed the girl next to him slyly getting closer, her chest rising with the movement to the sounds blaring for the speakers. The schemer took the bait and began to move closer. Her brown hair swung forward and tickled his nose. The two embraced as they seductively grinded against each other. The warmth in Zexion's chest rose, making beads of Sweat drop from his forehead. He couldn't explain it. The effect this girl was having on him was incredible. There was only one thing Zexion's drunken mind thought it was. 'Love' He whispered. The warmth was now boiling hot. He could see her moving her face forward, cherry lips ready to join the two in passion. He so wanted to ravaged those delicate lines on her face. Then the warmth escaped, as Zexion threw up on the shocked girl's dress.

'I'm sorry.' He said as he tried to stop heaving. She responded with a slap across his pale face. He ran for his life down the stairs where he crashed into a boy.
'What the?' Zexion couldn't catch the final word s as the boy shouted inches from his face. The boy was wearing a beanie and a long, white sleeveless coat. He couldn't see the fist flying forward. Zexion felt his body hit the floor as Bouncers surround the boy and Zexion. He hit the floor again as the bouncers pushed him out the door. He heard the boy shouting as the guards forced him down the road. A tear escaped from his eye as he got up and disappeared through a dark corridor.

'Hey. Zexion, Zexion. Wake up.' Axel sighed. He'd being knocking on the schemer's door for ten minutes. 'Zexion, there's a meeting in the round room.' Another sigh escaped his lips. He gave up and made his way to the bathroom. 'Xemnas never shuts up, better go before the meeting.' Axel was brought out of his thought train by light snoring behind the bathroom door. He creak the door open and was shocked to see number six on the white floor. He was clad only in a tight pair of navy boxers, a large bruise forming on his cheek. The stench of alcohol filled the cramp space. Axel remembered back to Radiant Gardern, remembering the young apprentice he often saw wandering the town aftering straying from the castle. It always amused 'Lea' to see Vexen's somebody hustling his way around trying to find the small boy. It always used to make him sad to think that Ienzo's parents had died. He wanted to be remembered, how much did Ienzo remember his mum and dad? With a final sigh, Axel gently lifted the sleeping teen and carried him back to rest.
He slotted another book into its place on the book self. 'One hundred and twenty six done, another four hundred and seventy two to go.' Zexion lamented on his punishment. Xemnas didn't except a hangover as an excuse to avoid missions. He now had to reorganize the entire non-fiction section of the library after Demyx had trashed it looking for 'Drumming for Dummies.' Zexion still felt shaky and his cheek was killing him. He'd resolve never to go clubbing again without someone to watch him. He thought about why Xigbar had convinced him to go. He guessed that maybe he missed out a lot growing up without his family, being stuck in a castle. Maybe, he pondered, that was why he tried to touch the stars, why he always sneaked out his own home. He always wanted to see what could happen, what a new experience can give him, give him what he wanted. That's why he's going to go out with Axel and Demyx tomorrow night. Because, Zexion felt, maybe to reach the stars, you have to be willing to risk falling, and not being afraid to try again.

Thanks for reading. By the way, for those who don't know, Ring of Fire is a drinking game where you put a ring of cards round a pint glass. Look it up i've you wanna know the rules.