The World That Never Was, a world blanketed in eternal night, only lit by the soft glow of the heart shaped moon that floated so perfectly in the sky, a visible reminder of what all Nobodies once had. The expanse of the Dark City was lit by neon lights that shined dimly in shades of yellows and greens and blues, lighting the paths of the various lesser Nobodies and Heartless that called it their domain. In the center of the dead city filled with life, or rather non-life, stood The Castle That Never Was; a castle that doubled as a maze and never shared all of its' secrets, even to the group that called it home.
The white marble and glass castle was inhabited by thirteen Nobodies. These Nobodies, all strong enough to hold on to their memories from their past life, made up Organization XIII. When a person's heart was taken, a Nobody was made. These Nobodies were born of their Somebody's remains. They were given clothing, the standard Organization coat, along with black shirts and boots, with black leather pants. They were given a number, a rank, not based on their strength or skills, but simply on the order of their rebirth. They were given weapons in accordance with whatever weapons or items they were most experienced with handling, and control over a certain force. And finally, they were given new names, anagrams of their old names with the letter X added, a letter symbolizing the death of their old selves and the despair of their new ones. Their transformation into members of the Organization was complete.
Organization XIII were all simply the cream of the Nobody crop, but there was one other aspect that connected them; their lack of hearts. Now, all Nobodies lacked hearts, and they therefore lacked emotions. But the members of the Organization could remember what it was like, how it felt to feel joy and sorrow, love and hatred, and they all yearned for the one thing they didn't have, the thing that would make them complete again. It was this desire that led to the founding of Organization XIII, and the reason why half of its' number were currently out of the castle.
There were several reasons why the members could be sent out of the castle, but overall, they all fell into the category of missions. Missions varied from simple tasks such as emblem collecting and jar breaking, to more serious ones such as defeating giant Heartless and retrieving injured or missing comrades. Today was a rather busy day, and the members from number IX, Demyx, to number XIII, Roxas, had all been deployed to different worlds. Demyx was handling recon, as he always did, seeing as his pacifistic nature caused him to run from danger unless it was completely necessary that he stay and fight. Numbers XI and XII, A scythe wielder with pink hair named Marluxia and a short tempered knife thrower named Larxene, were in Halloween Town, collecting samples from a plantlike pureblood Heartless that appeared to be cannibalistic in nature (in the sense that it ate other Heartless) to bring back to the castle for study. Roxas, a boy with hair that resembled that of a Chocobo and served as the Organization's lone keyblade wielder, and number X, A blonde gambler with a British accent named Luxord, had been sent to Wonderland to eliminate some kind of giant Heartless that controlled Sapphire Elegies and Emerald Serenades. All of this was normal procedure for Organization XIII.
It wasn't, however, normal for missions to take a week.
The new world Demyx had been sent to was rather far away. Larxene was overkilling the plants to the point where Marluxia couldn't harvest samples. Luxord and Roxas soon discovered that the Heartless they were chasing could become invisible at will. And so, all of the groups had reported back to the castle, saying that the missions would take a while to complete. This, of course, left the higher numbers with some time to kill, but they all quickly found themselves getting bored. They had gathered in the Gray Area for no reason in particular. Xigbar looked out of the clear glass wall at the rain battering the world and the lightning lighting up the sky.
"Looks like Demyx and Larxene are having some fun with each other tonight," He said, smirking. Xaldin spared a glance out the window and sighed.
"Quite." III muttered before taking a seat beside Saix. Vexen was also staring out the window, curiosity invading his expression.
"How odd...The World That Never Was has no weather system. Let alone a storm system...so then how is it raining?" The blonde questioned aloud. Lexaeus shrugged in silent response. Zexion looked outside and raised an eyebrow.
"What does a storm have to do with IX and XII having sex?" He asked, looking at his "family" expectantly. Xigbar chuckled and ruffled Zexion's hair.
"We'll explain it to ya when you're older, Zexy." The bluenette simply groaned and swatted the hand away. Xigbar knew as well as they all did that Zexion would never age, nor would the rest of them. Saix rolled his eyes.
"It's simple. Demyx controls water, while Larxene controls lightning. He's relating their powers to the storm." Saix explained quickly, ignoring the empty glares he was getting from Vexen and Lexaeus. How the two had hung onto their overprotective natures was beyond him, but as far as he was concerned, VI could handle adult conversation. Zexion nodded and gave his own eye roll.
"Only you would think of such a vulgar refrence, II." He noted, and a few others mumbled in agreement. Xigbar just shrugged and gave a smirk. The Gray Area fell into silence again, this time stopped by a long groan from number VIII, Axel. He sighed dramatically, and draped himself over Saix's lap.
"No heart to feel with and I'm still. Freaking. Bored!" He pouted and looked up at Saix with begging eyes. "Puppyyyyy, entertain meeeee!" Saix growled lowly and stood, causing Axel to roll off of him and hit the floor with a surprised yelp.
"One, I'm not a puppy. And two, I'm not here for your entertaiment." The second-in-command scolded through clenched teeth. Axel stayed down, resting an elbow on the floor and his cheek in his palm, looking up at Saix again with a mischievious grin.
"Fine, fine, you're not a puppy," The redhead paused for dramatic tension. He sat indian style and pointed at the tall bluenette with both index fingers. "but you are a werewolf, right?" He asked, smiling widely. Saix gave Axel a swift kick in the head and walked away without saying a word. Axel fell back to the floor and didn't bother getting up. Xigbar stood over him and clucked his tongue in disapproval.
"Tsk tsk tsk. Fail, Axel, you just failed with a capital F." The Freeshooter said, shaking his head. After being sure Saix was out of hearing range, Axel sat up again.
"Yeah, you'd better run, flea bag!" Axel waited a moment to see if Saix would return. Seeing that he didn't, Axel groaned and rubbed his face, which now had a redding, boot shaped mark on it. "Uuugh...Am I bleeding? I think I'm bleeding, I feel like my brain is bleeding outta my ears..." He whined, finally managing to sit up. Xigbar shook his head again.
"Unless your blood is invisible, you ain't bleeding." Xaldin raised an eyebrow.
"You have a brain?" The dreadlocked man asked, "Why do you never use it?" Axel made an offended noise, and Xigbar chuckled. Zexion sighed.
"If you're bored, then look through this instead of starting trouble." The small bluenette said, snapping his fingers. All was silent for a few moments. Out of nowhere, a book crash landed on Xigbar's head and bounced into Axel's hands. "I know how much you love to look at yourself." Zexion added, shutting his own book and going to wake the now unconcious Xigbar up. Axel raised an eyebrow and stared at the book in his hands.
"...Sure, why not." He said under his breath, taking a seat and flipping the book open.
THWACK!
"Oww! Dammit!" Xigbar yelled, shooting upright and rubbing his cheek. Zexion regloved his hand and walked behind where Axel was sitting to look at the book himself. Axel, deciding it would be best to keep quiet or get backhanded himself, looked down at the book and gasped.
"Oh crap, Zex, how'd you get this?.!" The redhead demanded, looking at the Cloaked Schemer with wide eyes. Zexion shrugged.
"I...may or may not have gone back to Hollow Bastion to find it."
"Bravo. Didn't think you had it in ya!" Xigbar raised an eyebrow.
"I just got cracked upside the head, so spell it out for me. What's goin' on now?" He asked, taking a place next to Zexion to look over at the book as well. He gasped and snatched the book from Axel. "I remember this! This is our old photo album from Radiant Garden, isn't it?" This got the attention of the last three residents of the room, who crowded around Xigbar as soon as he sat down, Axel and Zexion joining them. Xigbar flipped through a few pages.
"This one is from when you all threw me a party for my twenty-fifth birthday," Xaldin noted, pointing to a photo of a grinning Dilan with cake smashed in his face attempting to stick cake down Braig's shirt, while the other apprentices watched, amused to no end, in the background. This had started what would forever be known as "The Great Cake War", which had everyone coated from head to toe, along with most of the surrounding area.
The rain pounded against the windows harder, but no one noticed.
"Oh gods," Zexion muttered, covering his face with one hand and pointing with the other, "my first haircut after I was adopted." He pointed to a photo of Ienzo being held down by Aeleus and Dilan while Even hovered over him with a comb and a pair of dissecting scissors. The boy was giving "help me" eyes to whoever was behind the camera. From that day forward, everyone learned to leave Ienzo's hair be, and also learned that even small children can give a good kick if aimed at certain...sensitive places. Alas, twas a lesson poor Aeleus learned the hard way. Everyone turned to look at Vexen.
"...What?" The blonde asked.
"You don't use surgical equipment to cut hair! Sheesh, talk about a bad father!" Axel said, chuckling. Vexen groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I personally believe I made a very good fa- that's not the point!" IV retorted defensively. "Besides, he got revenge." He pointed to a photo of an irked looking Even with his hair cropped to rest a bit above his shoulders, and a smirking Ienzo with a jagged fringe holding up several strands of blonde hair and a pair of safety scissors. From then on, Even kept all the scissors in the castle in a locked, child proof cabinet.
The lightning was starting to hit the ground, but no one noticed.
"The Radiant Garden Go-Kart Derby." Lexaeus said, pointing to a picture of Ienzo, Lea, and Isa. Lea and Isa were standing side by side, with Ienzo sitting on their shoulders. The silver haired boy was sporting a gold trophy, while the bluenette had a silver one, and the redhead, a bronze. In the corner of the photo, Braig was huddled in on himself, obviously moping about having been the oldest participant and still having lost to the three youngest.
"I remember that," Zexion began, "I still can't believe you even entered. And you lost. To two fifteen year olds and an eight year old, no less." Xigbar winced and put a fist over where his heart would be.
"That hurt, baby boo, that hurt me right here." He said, hunching over dramatically. Zexion scoffed and shook his head, making Xigbar chuckle.
The thunder crackled louder, but no one noticed.
"Ooh, and this one is from the Festival of Lights!" Axel said excitedly, pointing to a large photo that took up the whole page. Ansem, Braig, Dilan, Even, and Aeleus were standing side by side, with Lea, Ienzo, and Isa in front of them. They were all wearing kimonos. Ansem's was silver, with intricate red designs that resembled hearts. Braig's was plain black trimmed with purple, with low hanging sleeves. Dilan's was light green, and had swirly blue patterns that looked similar to ocean waves. Even's looked similar to Braig's, only it was pale yellow, and there was a bow in the back and a matching sun umbrella. Aeleus's was brown and shaded, light brown around the shoulders proceeding into dark brown at the bottom. Lea's was actually hot pink, with red and orange designs printed on it that bore a striking resemblance to flames. Isa's was dark purple, with a silver crecent moon printed on the back. Ienzo's was silver, with sky blue roses snaking along the sleeves and sash. The three youngest were all holding paper lanterns, Lea's printed with a dragon on it, Isa's with a dog, and Ienzo's, a rabbit.
"I think I may still have that hiding in my closet somewhere." Vexen said. Axel chuckled.
"Got the sun umbrella too, Vexette?" He teased, earning a smack in the back of his head.
"Hmph. Excuse me for having sensitive skin." Lexaeus sighed and patted Vexen's back, a silent plea for him not to throw a hissy fit about it, something that the Chilly Academic was ever so famous for in his past life as well as his present one. Xigbar and Xaldin chuckled under their breaths. Zexion yawned.
"Aww, is it time for baby boo to go beddy bye?" Xigbar asked, smirking. Zexion gave the man an unamused glare.
"Do you want me to slap you again?" Xigbar gulped thickly and shook his head, cheek stinging in silent reminder. "Didn't think so. It's late, we should all be getting to bed." Zexion noted.
"Mind if I keep this for a while?" Axel asked, gesturing to the photo album in Xigbar's lap. Zexion shook his head.
"Of course not. Just try not to rip anything, alright?"
"Got it," The redhead answered, grabbing the book from Xigbar before he could protest. Xaldin let out a quiet yawn.
"VI is right, we should all be getting to bed. Goodnight, everyone." He said before leaving to go to his bedroom. The rest of the Nobodies gave their own goodnights before going to their rooms, leaving Axel in the Gray Area alone. He flipped through the album until he felt his natural need to sleep creep up on him. With a weary yawn, he shut the book and proceeded to wander the halls of the castle that would lead to his bedroom. Halfway to his destination, a rather loud crack of thunder caught the redhead off guard. He dropped the book with a yelp. Axel looked down at the album and scattered pictures with a groan.
"Ugh, if I lose any, Zexy'll murder me..." He grumbled, picking up the photos and sticking them back into their places. The last photo made Axel stand up and freeze in place. It wasn't an ordinary photo, and definately didn't belong in the album. It was more of...a chart. Pictures of the Somebodies of his superiors and himself lined the top half of the picture, their respective Nobodies under them. Axel stood there, confused, the word "omen" replaying in his mind.
A stray bolt of lightning hit The Castle That Never Was. Everything within it went dark, including the eight remaining members of Organization XIII.
.o.O.o.
A/N- Plot bunnies have invaded my braaaaain! And I've discovered they have voices. O.o This one sounded like Axel, and wouldn't leave me alone! *shakes fist* Curse you Axel! I have other things to write!
Speaking of other things, I haven't given up on A Separate Mind, or Silver Silk, but for the first one I have severe writers block, and for the second, I haven't had time to type it up yet. So please be patient with me.
Reviews are love, and flames shall be given to Axel to burn Marluxia's garden with me and Reno! :D