The Fifteenth Member
A/N: This is a follow up of the story The Fourteenth Member by Andrew the Pichu that has Fire. We both wrote our own versions of the same story, but her story happens first (about a week before mine takes place). She has writer's block right now and I write much faster than she does ('cause I'm awesome), so hers wont be updated anytime soon (mine most likely won't be either). And FYI, for those who haven't actually played KH2 (including me) Marluxia is pronounced Mar-loo-sha (I always get mad when people pronounce his name wrong because he is so awesomely epic).
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, the world would be in chaos.
Chapter 1
I could feel myself lying on a stone ground. How had I gotten here? I struggled to remember, but the only thing I could recall was screaming and everything fading to black. And pain. I had been in terrible agony.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw a clear blue sky. I sat up and noticed that all around me was hedges and tons of plants. There were four entry places and many flower beds with tulips, roses, belladonnas, and so many other flowers that I couldn't possibly name. I walked over to the tulips and sat there studying the plants for what seemed like hours. My black hair kept bothering me, so I instinctively reached for a hair tie on my wrist when I realized that I didn't have one.
I looked down, noticing my clothes for the first time. I was wearing worn out dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and black sneakers. The only jewelry I had was a simple silver bracelet. Oddly, I don't remember ever having it, but then again, I can't even remember my own name right now, so that kinda defeats the purpose.
I nearly jumped a mile in the air when I heard someone say, "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Two people wearing matching cloaks and gloves walked into the entrance opposite of me. The first was a blonde woman about the same height as me. Her shoulder length hair was slicked back except for two strands that stuck up like antennae on a bug. She smirked and stared at me with teal eyes.
The second person was about a head taller with pink hair. I was shocked when I realized that the second person was actually a guy. He was cute though. His blue eyes that mirrored the sky looked at me with curiosity. The pair of them seemed to be around the same age as me.
"Who are you?" the woman demanded. I tore my gaze from the man to look at her.
"I don't know," I said truthfully and shrugged. The woman sauntered over to me.
"Stop lying. Tell us who you really are before I slit your throat!" All of a sudden, little knives (I think they're called kunai) appeared in her hands. She threw one at me and I dodged, but not before it sliced my left wrist. I jumped up and took off my bracelet to inspect the damage while still keeping an eye on the man and woman.
The man looked like he disapproved, but the woman had a sadistic smile. The wound was bleeding, but the cut didn't seem very deep. I glared at the woman, wishing I had a knife so I could slit her throat. No sooner had I thought that when I felt something replace the bracelet in my right hand.
I looked incredulously to my hand to see a knife where my bracelet had been a second ago. I looked up at the shocked faces of the two strangers. This made no sense. Magic doesn't exist. How was this possible? The woman looked livid, and I realized that (1) I most likely had no chance in a fight against her, and (2) I was totally blowing the whole first impression thing.
"I- I swear, I don't know what's going on! I don't know how that happened. I just woke up here. I don't know who I am or what's going on." Not the best explanation, but it just might save me from becoming a shish ka-bob. A moment of silence and then-
"Liar!" The woman lunged toward me with her knives, but the man ran forward and held her back. The woman resisted until a pink and green scythe appeared in the man's hands. For the first time today, the man spoke, and there was a certain way that he talked, almost melodious.
"Don't make me, Larxene. She's obviously a new member. You can either join me to take her to the Superior, or you can go away." I can understand why the woman (Larxene, did he say?) did what he said. He sounded deadly, and I would hate to be on the receiving end of his anger. Surprisingly, the woman, Larxene, just gave a big huff, made a big black void, and disappeared into it.
If I were her, I would've been frozen in my tracks, afraid to disobey and maybe even further anger this man. His voice sounded like ice, cold and sharp, like he wanted to cut her with words instead of actions. Instead of doing the smart thing and running away, I just stood there staring wide-eyed at the man like an idiot.
"That's a portal," he explained in a perfectly friendly voice. "You can make them to travel instantly from place to place. You'll learn how to make them eventually. Oh, by the way, my name is Marluxia, number XI in Organization XIV. XV now, I suppose."
He had a nice voice; soothing if you really listened to it. It had been cold before, which led me to think that maybe he didn't really like this Larxene person. He sounded warm now, like melting honey. Not to mention, this was really confusing me. Where did the scythe and the knives come from? I mean, the knives could be easily concealed, but there's no way Larxene could've gotten them in between her fingers that fast and not hurt herself in the process. And the scythe was as tall as Marluxia himself! How could he have hidden that? I nodded slowly, pretending that I knew perfectly well what was going on, when really I had no idea whatsoever.
"Come with me," Marluxia beckoned. I stayed put. Why should I trust a complete stranger, especially if it's a guy? Instead of complying with him, I decided to ask one of the many questions bubbling around in my mind.
"Could you explain this to me?" I asked, "Because to be honest with you, I have no idea what's going on right now."
"Do you know what a Heartless is?"
"Yeah, they're little creatures that steal human hearts," I replied. I had no idea where this conversation was going. What did Heartless have to do with me being here?
As if reading my mind, Marluxia said, "Well, when you were human, a Heartless attacked you and stole your heart. You are one of the select few that becomes a Nobody. A Nobody is a person without a heart and our organization works to kind Kingdom Hearts to restore our hearts once more." He sounded like he was quoting this out of a book. What was up with that? I decided to shrug it off and ask something else.
"And how do you know if you're a Nobody?" I questioned.
"Check for a pulse." I was about to check when I realized I was still holding a knife.
"Umm, here." One thing I can remember: I'm clumsy and notorious for accidently hurting myself and bruising easily. I handed the knife to Marluxia, but the second I let go of it, the knife turned back into a bracelet.
"How strange," Marluxia murmured. Strange? Strange? What is going on here? I mean, I know I'm new to this all, but could Marluxia at least explain why he's not freaking out as much as I am right now? I was about to start yelling when he started talking again.
"I believe we have found your weapon." What was he talking about? Obviously, I'm in the dark because his little statements make no sense at all. If they do to you, please tell me, 'cause I seriously don't know.
"What weapon?" I asked, trying to clarify.
"Oh, every organization member has a certain power and weapon. My weapon is the scythe you saw earlier and my power is plants," Marluxia explained. He handed me my bracelet back, and it was then that I noticed his scythe had disappeared. Wow, zone out much? How could I have not noticed it wasn't there anymore?
Marluxia snapped his fingers, and a perfect red tulip appeared in his hand. He offered it to me, but when I touched it, there was a buzzing sound and the tulip grew black and charred. I drew my hand away quickly, staring shamefully up at him.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!" Instead of saying anything (which only made me feel even worse), Marluxia slowly inspected the now dead flower.
"Hold out your hand." He sounded no-nonsense, and if I was being honest with myself, I was still partly scared of him from the scene with Larxene. I did as he said, and he took of one of his gloves, holding my wrist in the other hand. He lightly brushed his bare fingertips over my palm, and almost instantly yanked his hand back.
"What? What is it?" I asked. He was freaking me out, the way he let go of me and immediately put his glove back on. Was there something wrong with me? I mean, I'm pretty sure I'd know if there was something wrong with me, but when I feel completely fine and get a reaction like that, I start to get frantic.
"You shocked me. This is going to cause terrible problems," Marluxia replied.
"Why would it cause problems?" Marluxia ignored my question and kept talking. "However, it seems you are slightly different. I've never felt an electric current that strong before. Unless… Oh, it must be!"
It seemed that Marluxia was talking more to himself than to me. Antisocial much? Or is it just that he's so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he doesn't hear me? Whatever.
"Anyway, come along…umm-"
"Xelxa," I said automatically. Wait where did that come from? But I was almost certain that that was my name. Marluxia looked at me sceptically and raised a thin eyebrow.
"Spell it."
"X-E-L-X-A. It's pronounced Zel-uh," I said without thinking. Marluxia nodded slowly.
"I'm guessing your name used to be Lexa?" he guessed. I thought about it for a second. It just didn't sound right. What about if you switched the letters? You would get… I smiled and shook my head.
"Nope. Alex," I replied.
"Cute. I like Alex better." I felt my face getting warm. Was I… blushing? I held my head down so my hair covered most of my face as we walked in silence.
Why was I blushing? Was it just because some cute guy that I just met complimented me? I don't even know the guy! And he didn't even say I was pretty, he just said he liked my old name. So why this weird reaction?
I was so fixated at staring at the ground that I didn't notice that we were about to enter this huge white castle. Why I never noticed it before, don't ask me. I was probably too busy being confused by a complete stranger to pay attention to what was actually outside of the maze.
"Xelxa, put your head up." We had stopped outside of the closed castle doors, and I peered out at Marluxia behind the hair covering the right side of my face. Marluxia had turned around and was scrutinizing me.
"Stand up straight, Xelxa. People will start the emo jokes the second they see you." I sighed and stood up straight, tucking my hair behind my ear.
"Better," he said with a smile. "Now it's time to meet the Superior."
Whoa. Were these people weird or what? Who was the Superior, capital "S"? Did Marluxia and Larxene work for some kind of gang leader? The Superior sounded like some bald mafia dude that always has bodyguards and carried a mini machine gun in his pinstriped jacket. The kind of guy that wears way too much cologne and has so many gold chains and rings that he sparkles when he walks in a room. Kinda like what's-his-name on that show The Sopranos. Or was it Mob Wives?
I lost my train of thought when we stepped into the castle. Everything was all posh and white. The stupid part of me wondered how much their cleaning service cost, because everything was sparkling white. Like hospital white. So clean that even misophobes (person that's afraid of germs) would consider eating off the floor. Yeah. It's that white.
Everything was really pretty, but all the whiteness got really boring really quick, so I decided to start playing with my bracelet, which, thankfully, was silver and not white. I imagined the knife from earlier, and instantly got it. I thought about Marluxia's scythe and how it'd be way cooler if it was gray and black. The knife grew bigger, and soon it was the scythe that I had imagined!
"Ohmygod!" I screamed, and it dropped to the floor with a clang.
"What-" Marluxia saw the scythe and then looked at me. "Did- did you…?"
I nodded slowly and picked up the scythe. I half-heartedly wondered what would happen if it was a bazooka, and suddenly I was holding one. A dude that had long black hair with gray streaks in a ponytail and a scar on his right cheek walked around the corner and said irritably, "Would you keep it down?"
The second his amber eyes (I mean eye, he was wearing a eye patch over his left eye. Total pirate wannabe.), landed on me, he screamed like a girl and hid behind Marluxia.
"W-who is THAT?" he screeched. Marluxia rolled his eyes.
"New member." We stood there for a few seconds in silence before I realized my bazooka was making the pirate guy nervous.
"Oh, sorry." I transformed the bazooka back into a bracelet before slipping back onto my wrist. I gave pirate guy a hesitant smile before stepping toward him and offering my hand.
"Hello. My name is Xelxa." The pirate dude composed his features to a cool and casual look and shook my hand.
"The name's Xigbar. I'm number II in this organization, so you have to follow orders from me." I could see a wicked glint in Xigbar's eye, and I knew that he was probably some kind of loser that only played video games in his spare time. I smiled sweetly but stayed quiet, because I wasn't quite sure what to do. Marluxia looked kinda uncomfortable too, but he looked like he was having a hard time covering it up.
"Well, I'm just gonna, y'know go find Luxord or something'. See ya 'round, Xelxa."
Xigbar portalled away, leaving me alone with Marluxia once again.
"Is he some kinda pirate wannabe? Because seriously, all he was missing was a talking parrot saying 'Polly wanna cracker?' and a hook paired with a peg leg. How'd he lose his eye anyway?"
"We don't talk about it," Marluxia said quietly. What was so bad that this guy lost his eye? On second thought, I don't think I want to know.
"Superior's office is right over here," Marluxia said as we rounded the corner. He knocked on an ornate door and a tall man with long, deep blue hair and an x-shaped scar on his face stepped out, and you could tell he was really pale. He had orange eyes and a wild look about him, like any minute he could snap. He scared me. I wanted to bolt right then, but tried to keep my cool, because what about first impressions. A part of my mind whispered but didn't I already fail at that? Shut up mind. The man was about to speak to Marluxia when he noticed me standing behind him.
"And who are you?" he asked in a cold, rough voice. I looked fearfully up at Marluxia, who winked at me, and then back at the stranger, who was even taller than Marluxia. If I had thought Marluxia was scary when he was mad, this guy had such a creepy vibe that I wanted to immediately hide. Instead, I swallowed my fear and gave what I hoped was a confident smile and willed my voice not to waver.
"I'm Xelxa. How do you do?" The man looked taken aback by my politeness, like he expected me to give a sarcastic comment and insult him (I feel a nickname coming… Scarface). He actually gave a small smile (yes! Score one for Xelxa!) and announced grandly, "I am Saix, number VII in this organization."
"Well, it was wonderful to meet you Mr. Saix!" I said cheerfully. Maybe it was like with wolves, where they can smell your fear. I didn't think that the case with Scarface here because he didn't seem all alpha-like where he exerts his dominance by acting all "holier than thou."
"It was nice to meet you too," Saix said. As he was walking away, I could've sworn I heard him muttering to himself about "finally getting the respect I deserve." (Score two for Xelxa!) I think he kinda liked being called Mr. Saix.
Marluxia walked into the office and I followed behind timidly. Not that I was scared or anything, but it's not everyday that you meet a mafia/gang leader. The man sitting behind the desk wasn't like anything what I imagined the "Superior" to look like. I thought he would be short, fat, and balding with many concealed knives and a New Jersey accent.
Instead, he was tall thin, and well cared for. He had long silver hair (not gray. It was shiny silver) and orange eyes, almost exactly like Xigbar and Saix's eyes. He had a serious air about him and his presence filled up the room. A complete stranger could tell that he ran this organization. I stopped and kind of hid behind Marluxia, which was pretty easy since he was bigger than me. The Superior sighed and looked boredly at Marluxia.
"What did Larxene do this time that is so important you have to interrupt my work?" I was sooo glad I wasn't Marluxia right then. I just kept quiet and waited for Marluxia to explain to Superior the Problem That Is Me. He stepped to the side and the Superior's gaze landed on me. I could tell he was trying to decide what to make of me, and really, I was doing the same thing to him. I was just being more discreet about it.
"Did you check?" He had a cruel, demanding voice. It made me think of a little bully, who thinks he can boss everyone around just because he's the biggest or just because he was the first one there.
"Not yet," Marluxia said. I was afraid to look over at him because I didn't want the Superior to think that I relied on other people. I wanted him to know that I was independent and could take care of myself.
"Hand. Palm up. Now," he demanded. Pushy much? I held out my hand, but right before the Superior touched it, Marluxia spoke up.
"I would put on gloves, Superior. If you don't, it could be quite-" he chuckled "-shocking." Superior ignored him and grabbed my wrist, but was blasted back against the wall behind his desk with a huge bang.
"Told you so," Marluxia said smugly, and it was then that I realized his thinly veiled pun. I did a face-palm. Retard.
"I didn't ask for your opinion, XI," the Superior said haughtily. I said nothing because I suspected Superior was the type of person that wanted people like me to be seen and not heard. Superior put on gloves and cautiously touched my hand. He wasn't blown back this time, so I guess he took it as a good sign and checked for a pulse. He then stood up and addressed me for the first time.
"Welcome to Organization XV. You will be number XV. My name is Xemnas, but you will address me as Superior." Xemnas rummaged in his desk and brought out a cloak and gloves. The same cloak and gloves that everyone else in the organization wore, I assumed. Everyone I had met wore the exact same thing. I pulled on the cloak and gloves.
"My name is Xelxa. It would be an honor to work for your organization, and I gladly accept the role of number XV." Wow. I never thought I was this good of a liar.
Xemnas nodded curtly. "You'll meet the rest of the organization at dinner tonight. Marluxia will be your guide and will prep you for everyday life here at the castle." He then looked at Marluxia. "You are dismissed."
So I guess Xemnas isn't a mafia leader. It might've been so much interesting if he was. I looked over at Marluxia, and he led the way into the hallway. The second I stepped out of the doorway, a terrible pain erupted in my head.
I resisted the urge to cry out as I fell to my knees. I started to cry tears of pain as Marluxia ran over to me, trying to figure out what was wrong. I couldn't take it anymore, and surrendered to the darkness, devoid of everything.
End of Chapter 1
Thanks so much for reading my first chapter! Oh, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to review and ask them. I can't private message, so I'll find you (kind of like what happens when you Google Chuck Norris), review one of your stories, and include the answer to your question! See this button down here? It says review. You know you wanna push it! I'll take all comments, but please no cuss words. XD