So here´s a story about living and working with Organization XIII. (dream of every fan here, am I right?). It contains of my character – if you don´t like it, you can put yourself in there instead, I don´t mind.
I wrote this fic BEFORE I´ve even found out about the new official Number XIV., so just pretend she doesn´t exist, OK?
Rating: T+ (fot bad language – just in case)
Warnings: if you´re hip-hop fans, DON´T READ THIS, you´ll only get pissed off (I really don´t intent to hurt anyone´s feelings, but did you see my name? I really mean it). Cursing. No pairings, really. Lots of Heavy Metal. Lots of Demyx.
Organization XIII. belongs to Square Enix and Disney. Ax is my Nobody, so she kinda belongs to me. None of the songs and lyrics in this fic are mine (I put musical references at the end of the story, so you can have some surprise).
Special thanks for my beta Lord-Scruffy! Dude, you rock!!
Enjoy. And please review, if you´ll like this.
The Storm And The Ocean
A certain person quietly walks along a dark, empty street. We don´t know what he looks like, because he´s completely covered in a long black robe with large hood. We´re interested, aren´t we? So let´s follow him.
Our dear stranger stops at the end of the street and pulls some list out of his pocket. The hood bends above it – the list is evidently being read. A silent sigh can be heard.
The stranger puts the afore mentioned piece of paper back into his pocket and is about to set off again, but then he stops dead. He looks around wildly, but the street remains empty. He calms down a little, but that feeling, that he´s being observed, doesn´t fade.
Because it´s not just a feeling.
The hooded person turns around quickly. And there they are. Some weird pale creatures start to emerge from the shadows. They wriggle and sway and whirl their arms.
Could that be Dusks? No, these are much bigger. Oh my god, more of them! And there too! And there!
Our stranger is completely surrounded by indistinct, dreadful, pallid shapes. He looks around once more. No chance to escape? I don't think so...
Pure darkness starts to twine around him to create a portal leading into safety. And suddenly it dissapears without a trace.
?!
Confusion and consternation of unbelief radiating out of the hooded person is almost physical.
A laughter makes itself heard. It´s not nice. At the same time, wind arises, that shuffles some scraps on the ground and blows down our hero´s hood. Honey-blond mullet and two big, innocent and very terrified eyes of the color of the ocean appear.
„Yo check it out man. What do we have here man?"
„Check it ROCKER check it out!"
„Fuckin´ fuckin´ man!"
The circle draws closer to its victim. The indistinct pale shadows are illuminated by the streetlights. And Demyx hasn´t been wrong – they are not Dusks. They are something worse.
Beings, that look like humans at the first sight, dressed in loose clothes of white or light-grey colour and bright white sneakers, covered all over by gold chains and rings, with small sweat-shirt hoods or tiny little baseball caps set on their heads. The eyes of all are hidden behind sun-glasses, even though it is late night.
Something, what must have been their leader – judging by especially huge chains, rings looking like brass knuckles, the crotch of its pants ending somewhere near its knees, and really well-fed figure – separates from the circle. It stops less than three steps from trembling Number IX., eyes him by its unseen eyes and then spits with long and loud ceremony.
Demyx tries again to create warpgate and again he fails. They must cancel his abilities somehow.
The monster in front of him straddles widely and folds its arms on its fat chest.
„Yo man, not even a rocker man," it raps with an ugly, smoky and husky voice, „but on top of that man even a NOBODY man!"
Another disgusting spit.
The rest of them starts again with that dreadful chant, accompanied by waggling and snatchy gestures.
„Fuckin´ fuckin´ fuckin´!"
The Big Boss pushes his hand slowly into his pocket and takes out something what looks like a color-spray. The chanting grows louder, the swaying becomes more hectic. Demyx stands in the middle of this madness unable to move, like a roe-calf trapped in headlights of an approaching truck.
Suddenly everything is overwhelmed by some loud, heavy sound, that shakes the ground, thrills the spine and vibrates inside the soul; that is penetrating, insistent and implacable. That sound reminds of roaring of the thunder, but there is something more in it. Something inexpressible. Something living.
Demyx´s known this sound very well. His chin falls down in surprise.
How does a bass come to be here?
White-clothed enemies start to crash into one another in confusion, some of them even fall on the ground. The Big Boss himself looks shocked.
„That shit of yours makes me really sick!" exclaims certain disgusted voice, after the roar died away.
Through for now disorganized rows, Demyx can see the newcomer. It is a dragon.
Correction: a girl-dragon.
She has human figure, more or less, but on top of that light-blue scales, long pointy ears, golden eyes reflecting the lamplight and yes, even a tail with point on the end. She is dressed in black t-shirt, jeans and leather bracelets, holding a sword in her left hand with black-varnished claws.
She looks at scared Demyx and raises one eyebrow.
„By Thor! Even the pedophiles? And I´ve thought you can´t go any worse."
„Don´t meddle yo in our affairs, monster man!" snarls the Big Boss furiously.
„Suck my shiny metal ass, you fucking hoper!" answers the girl-dragon in the same way – she can snarl much more better. „And leave that kid alone!"
„Man he´s ours man!"
„Like fucking as if!"
The enemies are finally able – after the sound of guitar has ceased – to coordinate and now they begin to encircle the newcomer.
And Demyx suddenly realizes, that no one is paying him much attention at that moment. He might try to get away from the hip-hopers far enough to make teleport, but he doesn´t want to leave that girl-dragon in the lurch. He doesn´t like she called him a kid though, because she couldn´t be much older than him, but on the other side she helped him. And even though she looks like a monster, she´s not as scary as these hopers.
The girl-dragon, surrounded by white enemies, doesn´t seem to be terrified at all. In fact, she´s grining happily.
„Here we go, assholes!" She holds up her hand and makes a gesture, that Demyx´s known very well – fist with index finger and little finger raised. „METAAAAAAAAL!!"
She swings around her sword, out of which shoot off several thunderbolts and dig into the approaching mass. The following thunder fluently turns into the sound of two guitars, bass and drums. The girl-dragon rushes into the hopers with roar, lightning, steel and loud musical accompaniment of the song Heeding The Call from Hammerfall, produced by her singing sword.
Demyx feels how the music washes all the fear off him, clears up his mind and fills him with energy. With the shout: „KICK THE BEAT UP!" he summons in waves of sea water his beloved sitar and joins up the thunderous rampage.
The dragon pauses for a while, giving him surprised look. Then she grins keenly and sets him up with that metal-sign, which doesn´t seem threatening this time, but friendly.
A flash in the night, a journey through time
The Templars are back on the streets
On one side a Dragon, with a blade unleashing a metal storm, that shakes the very bases of the Universe, illuminating with lightning the path that leads through darkness into infinity.
Guarded by prowess and the will to survive
All led by the guiding light
On the other side a Nobody, with a sitar turning the quiet waters of creation into boiling, foaming blood of tameless life, that squirts from the depths of soul into Heavens.
Angels of mercy, guardians of time
Shackled and chained through the eternal flame
The hammer will slowly arise
The Storm and the Ocean, two wild and unchained elements, united with shared rampage into single furious entity, that bears both doom and freedom.
Heeding the call, one and for all
Never surrender, with glory we´ll fall
Brothers unite, let´s stand up and fight
Fulfilling our fate we are heeding the call
„TEAR THE GROUND!!" The dragon thrusts her sword into the ground and – with one hand holding the hilt and the other raised in the air with the metal-sign – starts to bang her head. Paving around her is ripped by thunderbolts, fragments of molten stone bring down nearby enemies like bullets.
One step ahead revealing the past
United, together we stand
Voice of Demyx´s sitar grows louder and heavier. „DANCE, WATER, DANCE!!" The Waterspawn overflows the surroundings and like tsunami sweeps away everyone, who is standing in their way. Even with the accompaniment of the metal music they dance like waves: light, graceful and wild.
The call of the thunder, the sign to begin
This final crusade we will win
One hopper is halved by the roaring steel. The second one falls, hit between his eyes by sparkling cobblestone. Another five of them are flushed away by dancing wave.
Angels of mercy, our journey must proceed
With...
With furious roar the girl-dragon rushes into the mass of enemies, takes down two of them by single blow of her sword, and then shoots thunderbolt out of her free hand – and at the same moment she manages to stomp on the pudle made by the Waterspawn.
Demyx just watches, how lightning goes through the body of the dragon, who even hasn´t got any chance to shout out, but just silently falls on the ground. His suddenly lonely sitar sounds quiet and forlorn. Most of the water dancers falls out of the rhythm, some of them flow over the ground helplessly. And there are still too much of the hip-hopers.
Demyx doesn´t take but a second make up his mind. He springs to the fallen dragon, catches her under her shoulders and then both dissapear in cloud of pure darkness.
Oh Thor, what must I have drunk? Is Ax´s first thought. Her head is rumbling as if there were some raging maniac with a pneumatic drill. She slowly opens one eye.
White ceiling. White walls with posters of rock bands. White bed. An aquarium with fishies.
But I have black sheets on my bed. And I don´t have any poster with Queen. Not even fishies!
Ax sits up hastily, ignoring the feeling that her head is about to break into pieces any moment. This really isn´t her room. Everything is white in here, except of those posters and fishies and that boy sleeping in an arm-chair.
Ax jerks herself in surprise. What?! Who?! Where?! There is some boy dressed in black coat, that is sleeping in the arm-chair in the opposite corner, huddled like a kitten, his face is peaceful and innocent, several blonde locks fall over his forehead. Just a pair of white-feathered wings is missing.
Wait a sec! Ax finally recalls the last night. She helped this guy, when he had been pestered by a band of hoppers. They brought on some smashing concert together; he had a sitar and element of Water – quite curious but it was a rock! They knocked out half of those bitches and then... her memory have broken down. Something happened, but what was that?
Well, it doesn´t matter right now. The priority is to find out, where she is and how she could get out of here. And that might not be so easy, because she has a bad feeling that she finds herself in the castle of the Organization XIII.
If this is true, then I´m pretty fucked.
Ax lets her legs down off the bed and starts to puts on her boots carefully; fortunately other parts of her clothes aren´t missing.
When the last shoelace is bound, she stands up and notices, that the rocker is already up, watching her. She twitches and realizes with surprise, that he has done exactly the same.
„Hello?" she gives it a try after a while of frightened silence.
„H... hello." The boy looks desperately at her, then at the door and stands up quickly. „Don´t go anywhere, please! If the others find out, that you´re here, we´d be both doomed!"
Ax´s brain starts to work really hard – it examines everything what has been known, suspected and supposed. The result isn´t nice.
„Holy shit. This is really Castle That Never Was, isn´t it?"
Boy´s chin drops in surprise. „How... how do you know that?"
„I´ve caught some rumours ´bout you," Ax shrugs her shoulders. „Certain guys running around in black coats, controling elements and living in a castle that´s all white. That perfectly fits in this situation. Hm. How´ve I get in here anyway?"
„Well, do you remember that fight yesterday? So you just stepped into water while shooting that thunderbolt and... so it discharged through yourself and then you blacked out..."
„By Thor!" Ax desperately covers her face in her palms. „I´m such a moron, fried by myself! Now that´s a real psycho! If anybody gets to know, I´ll be mocked ´til the very end of my life!!" She looks up at the rocker, beggingly. „Won´t you tell anybody? Please!"
He shakes his head.
„Thanks a lot. And you... you´ve taken me here?"
The boy blushes a little, to her surprise. „Yeah... I´d managed to teleport before they started to cancel me again. There was still too much of them... and that sword of yours wasn´t playing anymore -"
„Thundersteel!" Ax cries out with horror. „He stayed there! If some of that assholes has just touched him...!"
„Hey, easy! It´s here." The rocker points to a wall, against that a strange sword with lightning-like shaped hilt is leaned. „You didn´t drop it even when you were KO."
Ax hugs her weapon and cuddles it like a child. The sword pleasedly purrs by the voice of bass.
After a while she looks up at a little puzzled boy. „Thanks for saving my ass. I´m at your debt."
„What? No, you get it all wrong – I should thank you! If you weren't there, I´d be dead." The boy collapses into his arm-chair with an unhappy sigh. „I just broke down. As usual."
„Hey, don´t be so hard on yourself. You´re neither the first nor the last one who happened like that. That´s ´cause of that „fuckin"´ of theirs. And that disgusting movement! So disturbing. The only thing that really works on them is upright, pure metal." She caresses the blade of her sword with a loving hand, it answeres her with the riff from Bright Eyes.
„You know what they are, don´t you?"
Ax nods. „Yeah. I´ve already met them before. They´re the worst thing you can imagine."
The rocker sneers sadly. „Oh really? And I´ve always thought, that I´m the worst thing imaginable."
„Why?" The dragon looks quite confused.
Another sneer. „´Cause I´m a Nobody."
„And?"
„What do you mean – and? I don´t have heart!"
„And they don´t have souls."
The boy just gasps.
„And that´s far more worse I can tell." Ax leans against the bedside. „They´re the Soulless. Walking empty shells, living but dead at the same time. They´re Nothing."
The rocker wants to object something, but she doesn´t give him a chance.
„I know what people say ´bout you: that you can´t feel anything without a heart, but I really think that´s just a fucking bullshit. I mean, look at you – you negate everything what´s proclaimed ´bout the Nobodies. ´Cause it´s a soul, which is important, that consists of the true self of everyone. Any heart won´t last forever, one day it´ll just stop beating; but the soul´s eternal, that must be the source of feelings and dreams and stuff. Anyway, without a soul, a heart´s just a piece of beating flesh, nothing more. And you´ve got a soul. I know that, I´ve heard your music – it was awesome! You wouldn't be able to make something like that without it. And it can also be seen. Through eyes. That´s why the Soulless wear these sun-glasses all the time – don´t you ever try to look into their eyes, you´d go mad.
The boy just stares, confused. „I... see. And why were they after me?"
„They weren´t excatly after you. You just happened to be in a wrong place at a wrong time. Look, people take the Nobodies as an ultimate evil, right? That´s why the Hopers are pretty pissed off, ´cause they´re that ultimate evil, and they appreciate it. By Thor, they´ve given their souls up willingly, and they´re proud of it!" She skakes her head in unbelief. „They just considered you as a competition, being a Nobody and a Rocker on top of that."
„Oh. And they were also canceling my abilities?"
„What?"
„I couldn´t use my warpgate back there."
„I see. These bitches are pretty strong, no doubt ´bout it. The best weapon against them is something created by soul, like music, or that element of yours, and mine as well, oh and by the way -" Ax holds out her paw. „Name´s Ax."
It takes him a little while to change gear. „Eh... well, Demyx."
Two hands, one with claws, the other in black glove, are shaken. If you´d concentrate really hard and open your ears properly at this moment, you´d heard a distant boom, as certain two cogs in the Wheels of Destiny have fit together, giving the course of the Universe absolutely new direction.
Demyx appears in the kitchen. The probability that he might run into someone is small; most of the castle crew is out on their missions, but nevertheless... He looks around nervously – everything's silent and empty. Good. Lady Luck is at his side. Hope she won´t get tired.
He grabs basket full of buns from the table and then goes to the fridge. Half of a chicken and bacon are confiscated. After a short thinking even cheese, remains of yesterday´s spaghetti, apricot pie and juice join them. Dragons are said to be terribly omnivorous – hope that would be enough.
With his arms full of food he turns around and nearly bumps into upside-down air-hanging Xigbar.
„Hey, dude."
Demyx jumps in shock, so he almost drops his load. „Xi... Xiggy?!"
The Freeshooter laughs. „Why´re ya sneakin´ ´round here stealin´ breakfast – you´ve screwed up yer mission yet again, haven´t ya?"
Demyx sinks his eyes down to his tiptoes. At least he tries, but isn´t able to get further than to the guilty heap of food.
„You´re such a lucky lil´ fella, ´cause Mansex´ll be back in two days, so you´ve got enough time to get yer butt back there and bring him that... whatever he wanted."
„They were there too," says Demyx, still avoiding Xigbar´s sight.
„Huh?"
„Those things, that attacked Xaldin during his mission. They´re the Soulless. I... have heard someone talking about them."
„The Soulless? Duuude! Now for this info Mansex´s gonna forgive ya that screwed up mission anyway!"
Xigbar cocks his head on one side and views searchingly his young companion, catched by sneaking and fidgeting nervously in a wish of getting away.
„Dude, ya looks like ya had some wimin in yer room!"
Ax is sitting on Demyx´s bed with her hands laid in her lap and waits for the Nobody´s return. That gruesome hangover-like feeling having eased up, instead of it hunger starts to make itself heard.
From thinking about all of those terrible things, that might happen to her, if someone from the Organization would find her here, she views the fishies. There are three: one with black and white stripes, one blue with long veil-like fins and one tiny and yellow. They look quite happy, even when they are trapped in an aquarium...
There is knocking at the door and then it crashes open, before Ax´s had even a chance to think of where to hide.
„Hey, Waterboy, I´ve heard you´ve got the new Hellow...!"
Ax stares with horror at certain tall redhead guy, who is bent to even fit into the doorway, and who stares at her in return.
Well, his shock won´t definitely last forever.
Ax fires small thunderbolt at him, not to hurt him but just to push him away, and dashes away without looking back. From the place of collision swears can be heard, that are followed by the sound of running footsteps.
She tries to speed up even more. She runs through several hallways and doors and gets completely lost. Everything around her looks just all the same – white. But fortunately her pursuer has lost her as well. At least, she doesn´t hear him anymore.
Ax turns a corner and runs upon another black-hooded guy. This one is smaller than herself and much younger.
She jumps away and bumps the wall behind her by her back, screaming.
His reaction is exactly the same.
The girl-dragon, scared by his yell, shrieks again.
The Nobody responds even more loudly.
Demyx twitches and this time he really drops the food he´s been holding in his arms. Xigbar winks in surprise and looks up to the storey above, from where terrible scream emanates. One of the yelling voices belongs to Roxas. The second one is female, but it isn´t Larxene or Naminé in any case.
„What the fuck?" Suspicious golden eye looks at pale-turned Demyx, and then the Freeshooter vanishes with a silent puff.
„Oh my god." Demyx follows him with a feeling that he´s riding in Hell-Express. In the first class. With a seat by the window.
Zexion looks up from his book (it is Orwell´s Animal Farm), disturbed by an unearthly yell, that echoes throughout the Castle.
Kingdom Hearts, Axel and Roxas are exhilarated yet again. Who has bought it this time?
But wait a moment – one of those screamers is just mentioned Number XIII. Did the blind Justice finally for once hit the mark and one of those insane prankers tasted his own medicine?
Zexion closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Several hallways further he smells Roxas, who has exceptionaly lost his usual calm, on the contrary he is quite shocked. That, which is screaming there with him, is some... animal? Yes, some kind of a reptile. So Demyx has acquired a new pet? The Superior will be very pleased.
Zexion shakes his head slightly and returns to his book.
Roxas is the first to stop, having run out of breath. He blinks several times in disbelief, trying to make sure that that thing in front of him really isn´t any hallucination, and then he summons one of his Keyblades.
Ax recovers herself quickly. Nothing can put you back into reality so reliably as a sight of an unnerved guy holding a weapon. She unsticks herself from the wall and takes scarper.
Next to the staring, wonderstrucked Roxas two portals containing Xigbar and Demyx appear. Number XIII. turns to them, his eyes almost poped out, and points his slightly trembling finger in the direction, where the screaming monster dissapeared.
„Dragon."
„Dude, what stuff must´ve ya with Pyro been smoking?"
Roxas blankly shakes his head. „Dragon."
The Freeshooter realizes, that shock and astonishment in the voice of the young Nobody aren´t pretend, and stops grining. „Orly? A real dragon? Aaaawesome!" He rapturously summons his beloved guns. „Now that´s a trophy I don´t have in my collection yet!"
„No!"
Three eyes look questioningly at Demyx.
„You can´t shoot her!"
„Why not? ... I seeee! That´s yer new pet, isn´t it?" Xigbar gives suddenly taciturned Demyx a thump on his back. „And how d´ya know, that it´s a chick? Have ya looked?"
Number IX. turns red like a tomato.
„But it wasn´t an animal," states Roxas, who has finally recovered from the shock, so he can now think clearly and properly. „It was dressed. And it walked on its feet. And also had a sword."
„Duuude! That´s gonna be more fun, than I´ve even supposed!" With that Xigbar teleports himself away.
„Kingdom Hearts!" groans Demyx and takes a run after the receding dragon´s yell.
Roxas just sighs quietly. This is gonna look like a very long day. He thinks of sneezing at it for a moment, but then he sets off after Demyx.
Ax rushes through white hallways, screaming. She knows, that she should shut up, but she just can´t help herself.
Suddenly, the door which she is about to pass, swings open rapidly. Ax bangs into someone, who has just emerged in there, and falls to the ground. She shakes her head to flick away the little black guitars, that are flying around her strumming out of tune, and looks up.
A mighty Nobody with very broad shoulders and waterfall of jet-black dreadlocks is towering upon her. His normally deep and wonderful, but bleery for now, deep purple eyes try to focus at her from above. He growls something inarticulately, lifts up his paw holding a nearly empty bottle, shakes its remaining contents and then looks at the fallen girl-dragon again.
„Crrraaaaap! Dis jake´s much srt... stronger, den I´ve fink!"
Ax hears approaching insane laughter behind her. That arouses her to slip past the giant and disappear behind the nearest corner.
Ecstaticly whooping Xigbar emerges on the other side of the hallway and with short James-Bond-like shifts in space he teleports himself to staring Xaldin.
„Hey, dude, haven´t ya seen a dragon ´round here?"
The Whirlwind Lancer hiccups.
„Thanks!" He quits the scene in the same way as he got in.
Xaldin just watches with raised eyebrow the corner, where both of his pink elephants have dissapeared, and then sways back into his room. „Gonna have smmore..."
Ax runs and runs, even though she is totally exhausted, her legs are hurting and her waist is stinging. She hears, that someone is still after her. That maniac is laughing and whooping, as if it were some stupid game!
Suddenly she reaches the dead end.
Oh shit, shiiiiit! No, easy: two doors are in here.
She rushes into that left one – behind it that redhead tower is awaiting her, one raised hand holding a flaming chakram, smiling almost kindly.
Ax slams the door shut with a squeak and scampers to that other one. There she looks into the muzzle of a gun, that is held by the upside-down hanging pirate.
„Boo!"
„Eeek!"
She has managed to bend down in time, so the bullet flies over her head and along the shoulder of the pyromaniac, that has just run out of the opposite door. Ax tries to take flight, but the Freeshooter clutches her at her tail.
„You moron, you´ve nearly killed me!"
„Just nearly, dude."
„You should watch, where´re you shooting, got it memorized?!"
„I´ve seen fuckin´ well where I was shooting!"
„Yeah, at me!"
Ax manages to snatch her captured tail out of the pirate´s grasp and forge ahead the hallway, where she has come from. Maybe these two would kill each other, she won´t stop them in any case.
Suddenly that boy with that sword-like-key emerges before her. And those two maniacs have quit their row and now they are behind her.
So be it. Ax draws her sword. She doesn´t want to fight them, but all other possibilities have run out.
And around her high water wall arises and separates her from the three Nobodies.
„WTF?!"
Demyx with his sitar in hands appears beside her. „You OK?"
Ax nods feebly. Her legs are about to buckle any moment and her poor tail is horribly hurting.
The rocker opens dark portal. „Go! This won´t hold them back for very long."
„Thanks. I... I´m so sorry you´re gonna have trouble due to me."
„Ah, that won´t be so bad. So go now!"
She smiles, holds out her hand and makes the metal-sign. „Thank you." Then she jumps through the portal.
Demyx lets the water fall away.
„Hey, that´s not fair!" exclaims Xigbar with disappoitment. „What´ve ya done with that?"
„You let her escape?"
He nods, caressing the neck of his sitar nervously.
„Why?!"
„´Cause she helped me! Yesterday, on my mission, I´d been attacked by a band of Soulless -"
„A band of what?"
„ – and she helped me to fight them. They almost took her down, so I´ve brought her here to recover." Demyx remembers the promise he´s gave to her, so there´s not a word about thunderbolts and pudles. „I just couldn´t left her there!"
„Well, how to put that – ya could, dude."
„She saved my butt! I´d never been able to defeat the hopers by myself." Demyx looks pleadingly at his mostly-brothers-in-arms. „Don't tell anyone? Please!"
Three enquired Nobodies change their looks.
„Well... we won´t, but someone coulda heard that scream," states Roxas finally.
Axel bends down to give him a noogie, grining widely. „Our little Roxy was scared by that big evil dragon?"
As an answer he is given a jab into his ribs. So heavy, that the pyro topples down.
„Dude, I wouldn´t beat my brains ´cause of that. Just Mister Stabbity and Emo Kid are in here right now. The first one´s worn-out like a summer tyre and the second one´s probably digging in some crappy book. They wouldn´t notice even if Marly´d runnin´ ´round here naked and singin´ ´Oh little birdie, where´s your nest´."
„But you´ll tell us something ´bout her in return." Axel stands up from the ground, rubbing his sore ribs. „Whoa! She shot me out of your room like a cannonball and she didn´t even touch me!"
„Eww, who´d want to, ya skinny freak!" shudders Xigbar disgustedly.
Axel gaves him burning glare. Literally.
„Yeah, she can control the element of Storm," gabbles Demyx out hurriedly to avoid the unnecessary violence. „And she also has that singing sword..."
„And she´s got tail!" II quit ragging VIII and starts to laugh. „She´s really got a tail! I´ve caught her with it!"
Axel forgets completely that he was about to inflame Xigbar that dude-ass of his, and starts to snigger as well. „Hey, Waterboy! You´re a dork, got it memorized? You´ve finally found a woman, and she, hahaha, she´s got a tail!!"
They both guffaw and howl with laughter and have to lean against each other not to fall on the ground – but that is vain though.
The two younger Nobodies look at each other. Roxas just shrugs.
„Puberty."
„I´ve been searching for an oasis
In the desert for so long
In my weakness trying
To pretend I´m strong"
It is two days later. Demyx sits on a beach not far from the Castle That Never Was, and plays his sitar, his sight fastened upon the dark ocean, that is singing with him.
„I´ve been holding on
To things that I have left behind
I´ve been scared and lonely
I´m crippled inside"
He still can´t believe his luck. Xemnas has completely forgotten his failed mission, after he heard about the Soulless. Most of the Organization members had encountered them in various dimensions, but never in such a number. The superiors are having council at the moment – that has lasted for two hours already – Xiggy and Axel really keep their promise to keep shut up and Demyx´s skin is still where it belongs.
„Bathed my soul in the starlight
Healed my wounds in the sun
Screamed my pain to the forest
Asking the question why?"
Miracles are real after all.
„Will there come a time for me
When I find peace of mind?
Will I always have this feeling
Like I´m last in the line?
I will climb up the mountain
And light up the candle and ask
Will my soul ever rest in peace?"
The song ceases in the whisper of the ocean. And behind Demyx a „Boo!" resounds.
He is startled so much that he nearly falls off the stone where he is sitting.
„I´m so sorry, I just couldn´t help myself!" laughs Ax, that appears behind him.
„Ax?! What... what are you doing here?"
„I heard the sitar and somehow managed to teleport in here..."
„Wait, you can use warpgates? How?!" Demyx goggles at her in unbelief.
Ax scratches the back of her head. „Well, I dunno. I just can. Sometimes. And not, if I really need it most of the times. Weird, isn´t it. But after that concert quite everything´s gone weird."
Demyx realizes another thing. „And what do you mean, that you´ve heard my sitar? You were in another world!"
„Well I guess he heard it, actually," she states thoughtfully, pointing at Thundersteel. „And then played it for me to hear it too. I just wanted to know why you were playing such sad song. Are you in shit because of me?"
„No, not at all. It´s got covered up more or less. And in a few days all will forget. Well, except of Xiggy maybe, he´s still making comments on your... you know, tail."
„He nearly tore it off, jerk." Ax sits on the rock next to IX. „Hope I´d have a chance for payback someday."
Demyx giggles and then realizes another thing. „What was that with the concert?"
The dragon looks into the distant. „It was an open-air festival, actually, and the very first concert in my life. Masters of Rock´07. At the end of the last day, just after Hammerfall, something happened. I... I blacked out and then appeared in the world where we were figting those Soulles. I dunno how that might have happened, but... Well I don´t remember quite anything from my previous life, just blankly. I think I looked a little different – didn´t have these scales and tail - and had a family and friends, but hadn´t that sword and couldn´t control Storm...
Demyx just silently listens. Her tale reminds him of something.
„The only things I really remember are that concert and my names.
„Names?"
„Actually my real name is Zuzana. Ax is just a nick my friends gave me. But it fits to my new life better." She shrugs.
They sit in silent contemplation for a moment, surrounded only by singing of the ocean.
„It´s a pretty strange sound," Ax states finally.
„What?"
„That sitar of yours. It sounds half like e-guitar, half like acoustic guitar, plus something else, such an undertone. Like roaring of the sea waves. I´ve never heard something like that before. It´s wonderful."
„Well, thanks." Demyx blushes a little, even doesn´t know why. His sitar has never been given such an appreciation before.
„And when it was playing Heavy Metal... Ha! Now that´s some rockin´ these hopper-assholes won´t get over so easily!" Ax falls silent, grining at the memory.
„Your sword is also awesome," says Nocturne with admiration. „It plays all parts along with vocals and – whoa, I´ve always thought, that e-guitars sound like thunder, but in your case it´s literal!
And you´re Hammerfall fan?"
„Yup! Even though my favourites are Guardians, but I really love this one:" She draws Thundersteel and lays it on her lap, holding the hilt with one hand, the other one rested on its blade. The sword begins to play.
As long as I remember we´ve marched across this land
Reached for a new horizon, pulled by the killing hand
„Oh, I know this one." Demyx joins her.
All fed up with lies
The time has come to break these chains and fly
The dragon and the Nobody grin at each other and start to sing with Thundersteel.
Here we stand, bound forevermore
We´re out of this world until the end
Here we are, mighty, glorious
At the end of the rainbow with gold in our hands
Axel looks up from the chess-board. „WTF?"
Roxas, who sits opposite to him, looks up too. „Is that Demyx playing?"
The Pyro slowly shakes his head. „Buddy, I´ve never heard him to play like that. Let´s check it out!"
„Whatever. It´s check-mate for you though."
Let´s fly away through the rain
Fly high to ease the burning pain
Oh, the colour´s fading out
The light is shining in the night
It´s up to you, it´s worth the fight
Search before the colours fade
„Oh come on, dude! Why´d we just rush at ´em and..." Xigbar stops in his tactical planning, when a little of plastering falls on his head and creates there even more white stripes. „Earthquake?"
Six superiors perk up their senses.
„What kind of an earthquake goes with a melody?" states Xaldin finally.
Xemnas sighs. „The one which is called the Melodious Nocturne."
Demyx and Ax are grining at each other cheerfuly. Around them the ocean is swelling and the sky begins to overcloud.
„Did you mean Blind Guardian? What about this one:" Demyx plunges into the strings and summons about twenty Waterspawn, that start to dance at an almost medieval melody.
Wake up, it is a new dawning
Wake up, the witches wait for you
Remember the mirror
When she looked in
You were born in the void
In the middle of none
There was nobody else
There was nothing at all
Well sons and daughters joy´s in the air
The horned one dies, renewal everywhere
Most of the Organization members has been gathered in the courtyard, when Xemnas appears there. They turn to him and begin to talk all at once.
„What the fuck is this?!" Larxene.
„Someone should take the sitar and shove it up his...!" Saix.
„But that´s not Demyx, who´s playing – those are e-guitars and drums!" Axel.
„But that sitar too." Roxas.
„And d´ya hear the sea? Only Waterdude´s able to rock it up like that!" Xigbar.
Another batch of plastering falls off the castle, one of its spires trembles precariously in a strong wind gust.
„Xaldin, was that you?" Xemnas turns to the Nobody standing by his right hand.
The enquired shakes his head.
„Where is Number IX.?"
„On the beach, how else." Seeing the expression of the Superior, who has just dissapeared in dark portal, Xigbar regrets he didn´t hold his tongue.
God of wind and god of rain
Turn the wheel, oh you better be aware
The mermaids, they will sing for you
The nymphs will bless the child
Organization XIII. appears at the shore of the stormy sea. On the nearby reef, there are two persons standing back-to-back – Demyx with his sitar and a dragon, that holds its sword like it was a guitar – and both are making for the most of the present incomprehensible moves. Waterspawn are dancing around them, accompanied by foamy waves and storm driven by whirlwind.
„What are they doing?!" exclaimed Marluxia with horror in his voice.
„I´d say they´re rockin´ and – hey, that´s that girl-dragon with tail! Oops..." Xigbar quickly shuts up, withered by furious looks from Roxas and Axel, but the damage has been already done.
„Girl-dragon?" gasps Xemnas.
„With tail?" gasps Marluxia.
A new beginning, another end
The myth of life you hold in your hand
We cry out, the land needs blood
The change of season, praise to the newborn king
„Nah nah na nanana nah, nah nah na nanana nah!!" The girl-dragon raises her claw with certain odd gesture. As an answer the whirling heavens spit out several decades of thunderbolts – one of them strikes the ground right next to Zexion – followed by an especially mighty gust of wind, that creates on every heartless head an Axel like hairdo and then returns the same way, so each hood is draped over appropriate head.
„This one´s good for dancing!" Ax looks over her shoulder at Demyx. Thundersteel starts and the Waterspawn begin to dance even more happily and splash around themselves in euphoria.
Blodet nu rinna i flöder
Över mark och flod
Ett svek nu skymtats av vise
Fa öron lyssna da
En gava av urbergets ande
En pakt som alla glömt
Nu skymtas fjärran länder
Fram, fram, fram
„Whoa, what´s this?!" Demyx tries to shout down the loud music. He hasn´t known this certain song, but its melodic line isn´t so unpredictable.
„Finntroll! It´s called folk death metal! It´s a combination of death metal and folk music, Finnish in this case, but the lyrics are in Swedish! Aweeeeesome, isn´t it?!"
„Hell yeah!" Demyx must laugh, while seeing the excitement of his water dancers. If they had voices, they´d been surely whooping.
Hon vadat där i börjans gyttja
Slitit sitt har med ormars gift
Sugit själar och mannamod
Det varit hennes avgrund i tusen ar
En gava av urbergets ande
En pakt som alla glömt
Nu tagas de fram pa knotiga ben
Fram, fram, fram
Marluxia takes his hood down hastily. „My hair!!" he yells, his voice filled with hysteria.
Waterspawn holding each other´s hands dance along, splashing cheerily to all directions and all Nobodies. Axel, who has been laughing at Marly´s panic until now, starts to scream just like him. „Water!!"
„I´ve had enough of th..." Xemnas stumbles at the sight of Xigbar, who has his hair loosened, banging his head and making the excatly same gesture as Demyx and his dragon companion. The Superior takes two steps aside with one eyebrow raised. „This madness has to be stopped!"
„It´d be better to wait, until they end this up themselves," Zexion states calmly. „It wouldn´t be wise to approach them, in regard of all of that water and lightning." One cynical deep blue eye looks at rocking Xigbar. „But it´s not much safer in here though."
„Metaaal!!"
Nu skymtas fjärran länder
Fram, fram, fram!!
With the last beat the thunderstorm dies away, the sea calms down and the clouds above tear, so that the pale light of Kingdom Hearts can illuminate twelve dark figures standing below the reef. Excited, cheerful faces of the two musicians petrify with dread.
„Oh fuck."
Demyx is nervously walking in circles in front of the Great Hall´s door; if he had no gloves, he´d been biting his nails for sure.
He doesn´t know at all, what´s going on. Xemnas rushed to them, looking like Saix in his month-period, but then he suddenly stopped dead and stared at Ax in disbelief. Finally he turned to the other superiors. Xaldin raised one eyebrow and, with his eyes fixed at the unnerved dragon, nodded. Xigbar, who had that wonderful mane of his winnowed and slightly tousy, as if he´d been headbanging, said just „Duuude!" and then began to snigger. After a while of gesticulating and eyebrow-raising Xemnas opened the dark portal and motioned Ax to follow him, along with the other five ups.
„Come on, Waterboy, stop polishing the floor already and sit down!" sighs Axel, who is leaning against the nearby wall next to Roxas.
„He´s right, this won´t help anybody."
Demyx sits on the ground beside them and closes his eyes desperately. „They must´ve been there for hours!" After a while of nervous silence he bangs his head against the wall. „What a imbecility! We shouldn´t had play so close by the Castle. I didn´t realize we were so loud!"
Axel grins. „Heh, you nearly took this barn down!"
„But that concert was awesome," Roxas smiles and tries to ease Demyx by patting on his shoulder, unsuccessfully.
„Hell yeah! Especially Xiggy´ve shown his dye – I really didn´t suspect, that the old pirate´s into metal!"
„Heh, neither did I..." Demyx holds up his head abruptly, when Ax´s voice has made itself heard from behind the closed door, exclaiming surprisingly the word „cool!".
Roxas raises one eyebrow. „It seems they´re having quite fun."
Then the three of them just sit silently and expectantly waiting upon next events; they look like a bunch of relatives hanging outside a surgery room. After unbearably long while the white double-leaf door swings open and allows out Xemnas with unreadable expression on his face. He glances at Demyx and then dissapears in a dark portal.
Some colour begins to return into Nocturne´s cheeks. „Whoa, I´ve really thought he´s gonna turn me into a Dusk."
Ax walks out of the doorway – dressed in a long black robe. She stops in front of the densely staring trio and shrugs. „Well, they´ve found out, that I´m a Heartless actually, I just didn´t notice it."
„How could you not notice some little black jerk stealing your heart?!"
„´Cause it hasn´t been stolen. Well, I´ve never thought it could happen like that, but..." Ax smiles a little dreamily. „Demyx, do you remember what I´ve said ´bout the concert and dissapearing and losing memory? Now I know the meaning of all of this. I´ve left my heart there."
Xigbar suddenly appears next to the dragon, embraces her around her shoulders with one hand and grins. „Come on, kiddos, pick up yer jaws from the ground and say hello to Number XIV. Axuzzan, the Headbanger!"
tbc...
Soooo, I hope you like it. More can possibly follow, but not anytime soon (my muse is on vacation right now).
Here are the promised musical references:
Hammerfall – Heeding The Call, At The End Of The Rainbow
Blind Guardian – Bright Eyes, Turn The Page
Stratovarius – Will My Soul Ever Rest In Peace
Finntroll – En Mäktig Här
