I OWN NOTHING
(But the idea for the story)
~~~~~ "Zexion!" Someone called while knocking on his door. "Zexion hurry up! You'll be late for breakfast!" ~~~~~ Nothing was there. Zexion sat down next to Marluxia and Demyx. ~~~~~ "Can you feel the sunshine, does it brighten up your day!" Demyx sang. For some reason this made Zexion shiver. "Don't you feel that sometimes, you just need to run away!" Marluxia looked at Zexion. "Reach out for the sunshine, forget about the rain, just think about the good times, and they will come back again!" "How do we put up with him for so long again?" He asked. "Without you, there's nothing for me to do, can you feel the sunshine too? It's gonna prove, it makes me feel brand new!" "I... Have no clue." "When you're here, I wish you were always near, 'cause everything's so clear! And today, is gonna be a brighter day!" "Uhg... Why does he have to sing a song this bubbly in the morning?" A new voice asked. ~~~~~ The first thing Zexion noticed was that Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, and Lexeaus were gathered at a table with Xemnas. ~~~~~ The meeting with Xemnas and the other former apprentices ended, and they parted ways. "Living in the city! You know you have to survive, You've got to keep that dream alive!" Demyx sang loudly to the happy tune he was playing on his Sitar. Zexion shivered again. "Where everything is free, can't you see? In the sky at night, The stars are shinin' bright!" "Ahem. Demyx," Zexion said, trying to interrupt. He didn't seem to notice and continued singing. "You can see the city lights, cause I'm here to make it right! In the city! Oh-" "Demyx!" Zexion tried again. You're the one that makes me feel so high, Again, he shivered. The songs just seemed... Creepy, despite their positive disposition. ~~~~~ Marluxia was sitting with his head on the table. A glass of water next to him. Zexion and Marluxia decided to take the stairs, so as not to alarm whatever was down there. It had to be something, because even if the lessers had a fight, a stronger nobody would have broken them up. ~~~~~ By the time the knife landed, Zexion and Marluxia had already begun running. It was harder to run through the twisting hallways without light, and they couldn't tell if the path they chose would lead to a dead end or not. ~~~~~ Zexion spent the next few minutes searching the pages. He looked up every few seconds incase the creature was comeing. Nothing. ~~~~~ Marluxia dived out of the way before he could face the same thing as Zexion. ~~~~~ Marluxia briefed Xemnas on the situation from what he knew. Larxene and Axel were chatting in the living room while she sharpened her nails. Saix was in the kitchen with Xaldin. They were apparently arguing over something. He went to the music room to find Demyx. He was singing again. "So take me back in time, to another world. Then you can be mine, we don't have to worry!" "Back in time... Yea, that sounds like a good idea right now...""Demyx?" "When you're by my side, there's nothing I don't know, there's nothing to decide, apart from where we want to go!" "Demyx!" Marluxia said louder, trying to get him to stop. "Take me there, take me anywhere you want to go, to a place that we both know!" "DEMYX! Marluxia tried again. Xemnas addressed them formally, and began the meeting. ~~~~~ He dropped the file off in Xemnas's office and went quickly back to the lab. ~~~~~ "I can't believe those two!" Demyx thought. ~~~~~ He expected it to hurt, but instead, it felt pleasantly warm. He closed his eyes for a moment. ~~~~~ Everything hurt. His head, his neck, his arms, his body, places he did not even know could hurt felt as if it were on fire. However, what hurt most of all, was his stomach. It felt like he had swallowed Sulfuric Acid, and it was slowly eating away ay his internal organs. Though, of course, he had never tried that before, so he could only assume that is what it felt like.
Zexion yawned as he pulled on his jeans and pale blue sweater. Today was the day he would go to the old castle... He wanted to pay his respects to his former Organization Members who died that day...
Memories of that night still haunted him in his dreams. The screams of pain, the blood... So fresh in his mind. He remembered it exactly, in perfect detail, as if it had happened only the day before.
It was around eight A.M at the time. That's when the first signs of danger began to show.
The date, June 11, a day he, and the survivors, would never forget.
It was Demyx.
Zexion sighed. "I'm coming Demyx! Just let me get dressed or something..."
He tried to pull himself out of bed, but, being tangled in the blankets, merely tumbled to the floor with a THUMP
"Stupid bed..." He muttered darkly while trying to wriggle away.
After about two minutes, he gave up. The blankets were too tangled up for him wriggle away.
"NOT the best way to start the morning." Zexion did his best to roll over on his stomach. Now he could try to get on his knees and then his feet, making it easier to escape his blanket-y prison.
You might wonder why he thought this would help him escape. If fact, Zexion usually woke up like this, and over the years, he had developed a technique to escape.
With about another minute's effort, he was free.
"Finally..."
"Hurry UP Zexion! You know how Xemnas is about punctuality!"
Axel too?
"Huh, that's interesting. Usually Axel's in the dining room waiting for Demyx and Roxas. Wonder why he decided to come with Demyx to wake me up?"
He dismissed his thoughts and hurried to his closet to pull on a cloak before opening his door.
Axel peered past him-rather, OVER him- and smirked.
"Did you get caught in you blankets AGAIN?"
Zexion frowned. Everyone teased him about that...
"Just go already." He ordered before slamming his door shut and opening a portal. He gestured inside it and glared as Axel walked through it.
Demyx shook his head a little before disappearing in the portal.
Then, making sure he locked the door, he followed them.
Zexion looked over his shoulder. He thought he heard something move by his closet.
His best friends in the Organization.
Axel was on the other side of Demyx. He and Roxas were also Demyx's friends, but did not really get along with him and Marluxia.
Axel didn't, at least. Roxas was okay, but he usually only hung out with them if Demyx asked him too.
Xaldin had made waffles this morning. Zexion ignored them, merely grabbing an apple and waiting for everyone else to finish.
"You don't like waffles now, Zexion?" Marluxia asked him.
"I do like waffles, but I'm not really hungry right now." He replied.
Xemnas and Saix were chatting about something on the other side of the room. They shared the same expression.
Well, they always did, but you get the point.
The look was different from the usual emotionless stare.
They looked worried about something.
Just then, a lesser nobody-of the Sorcerer species- appeared next to him. It whispered something in his ear.
Xemnas said something back, and he must not have been happy with the reply he got.
He stood up and cleared his throat. "Attention, Nobodies."
The room grew quiet.
"Due to recent events, I have decided to cancel all missions today, and tomorrow. That is all."
Silence.
Well, there WAS silence, until Axel spoke up.
"Excuse me, Superior, but what recent events are you talking about?"
More silence.
That is, until Xemnas spoke again.
"Just a few things concerning a dusk patrolling a new world, is all, VIII."
"Oh, the dusk he sent to... What was it, Mobius?"
"You should all enjoy your days off." He and Saix disappeared in corridor of darkness.
Zexion shook his head. "Forget it, Zexion. It was just your imagination."
A knock on the door nearly gave him a heart-if possible- attack.
He slowly opened the door to see...
Saix, of course. One of the only two voices he knew of that spoke so tonelessly.
Zexion and Marluxia looked at each other before looking at Saix and shrugging.
Demyx stopped singing. "Hi puppy!" He said. "Do you want me to sing a different song?"
"Yes, that would be acceptable, IX." Saix muttered.
"Oh, okay then." Demyx said and started looking through a bunch of music sheets for something else to sing.
While he was occupied with that, Zexion looked at Saix again. "Is there something you needed, Saix?"
"Yes, actually. Superior wants to see you."
He opened a portal for Zexion. "He says it's urgent."
Zexion stood up. "Of course." He nodded to Saix before stepping inside the portal.
A broom. He let out a sigh of relief.
Wherever his heart was, it was probably racing a mile a minute.
The broom swept past him and started cleaning his room, though Zexion kept it spotless at all times.
"See, Zexion? It was just a broom." He muttered to himself. "You're just acting paranoid..."
But really, after what he had seen, who could blame him?
"Ah, there you are Zexion." He greeted him. "Thank you, Saix, you may go now." He said to Saix before turning to Zexion again.
Saix dipped his head and backed into the portal.
"Zexion, have a seat."
That is exactly what Zexion did.
He sat down between Lexeaus and Xemnas.
"I have called you all here for a very important reason." Xemnas looked at each nobody before continuing.
"The Sorcerer that came to speak with me at breakfast was trying to heal a Dusk I sent to Mobius. His party was completely destroyed."
He paused, and Zexion took the time to ask a question.
"By what, Superior? Were there not several of your Sorcerers in that party?"
"Indeed there were, Zexion. I haven't a clue what could have destroyed them, and the Dusk faded shortly after returning, as my Sorcerer told me. All I got from it was, for some reason, a little bit of cotton, which Vexen is running through a scanner right now. Oh, speaking of that, when will it be finished scanning?"
"Any moment Superior." Vexen replied.
As if on cue, a machine in the corner of the room, which Zexion had not noticed, dinged.
"That would be now then." Vexen said while standing up. Zexion watched him walk over to the machine, which was now printing out something on a long sheet of paper.
"Well, Vexen, what is it from?"
"I... I don't know sir. The machine couldn't identify-" Vexen was interrupted by a loud crash from the machine. Smoke bean pouring out of the cracks and Vexen was lost in a sea of smoke.
"Vexen?"
The reply was some coughing and a few moments after, Vexen emerged from the smoke.
"What happened?"
Vexen coughed a few more times and cleared his throat, before answering.
"The sample we scanned was no ordinary bit of stuffing. Its genetic makeup was one of which I have never seen! It's almost as if it were created for the soul purpose of destruction!"
There was a silence, while they watched Vexen brush off his cloak and sit down again. He studied the paper some more.
"It's simply amazing..."
Zexion took a deep breath. "Nothing... Is comeing after you... Nothing..."
There was another knock at the door. He held his breath.
"Hello? Zexion? Are you comeing with us?" Someone asked.
Zexion let it out. It was a familiar voice.
They were to gather everyone up for a meeting in the meeting room.
Zexion went back to were he, Marluxia, and Demyx were earlier. He would inform them first.
On his way, a new, sickeningly familiar scent reached his nose.
The scent of fading. It was coming from in the basement floors, where all the lesser Nobodies dwelled. It was a very strong scent, more than just a few would have to have faded for it to reach him on one of the top floors.
He would have to check it out. But should he go alone? No, that would be foolish.
He would have to take someone with him.
Zexion decided to take Marluxia with him.
He created a portal and emerged in the music room.
He was greeted with the sound of Demyx's singing. Marluxia must have left a while ago. His scent was stale.
Demyx stopped playing. "Oh, hey Zexion. Did you want something?"
"Yes, actually. Xemnas has called a meeting."
"Oh, okay." Demyx discarded his Sitar in its pocket of darkness and was about to leave.
"Oh, before you go, where is Marluxia?"
"Marly went to get a drink a while ago. He still hasn't come back yet..." He frowned. "Anyways, see you at the meeting!" Demyx disappeared, leaving Zexion to himself.
He was about to leave for the kitchen to search for Marluxia, when he noticed the music sheets Demyx had been using earlier, and a few others next to them
He picked them up, and read a few lines from the first one.
Just like the diamonds in the sky!
I never want to hear you say goodbye!
Cause you're my diamond in the sky...
Zexion set them down again and opened a portal to the Kitchen to find Marluxia.
Zexion opened the door. There was Demyx in his jeans and dark blue sweater.
"Almost ready. I just need a few moments..."
"I understand. Take as long as you need." Demyx smiled and turned to head into the living room.
"Marluxia?"
"I don't know how he can sing the same song as many times as he does without getting sick of it..." He muttered.
"Neither do I, really. How long was he singing the same thing?"
"At least four times before I left. And that was about twenty minutes after you went with Saix..."
"I see. You could have left earlier though, you know."
Marluxia mumbled something inaudible and sat up straight.
"And to get back to why I was looking for you in the first place, I was wondering if you would accompany me to the basement."
"Why?" Marluxia asked.
"I can smell fading. Something must be happening down there, and I'm not sure what. It would probably be safer if I brought someone with me."
"As long as there's no singing I'll be fine with it."
They walked down several well-lit stone hallways, usually bustling with nobody activity, but now... Empty.
"The smell of fading is getting strong and stronger..." Zexion muttered.
"I haven't seen one nobody since we got down here."
"I don't understand what could be going on. I smell only lessers and fading... What has no scent, but is able to kill?"
"I would say a poison, but due to our lack of hearts, I don't see how it's possible for it to take effect."
Zexion stopped. He could just barely pick up the scent of... Blood? It was stale, most likely having dried up ages ago. As soon as he had picked it up, it was gone again.
"Hmm..."
"Did you find it Zexion?" Marluxia asked, noticing he had stopped.
"I think... But it's gone now."
"Not like you to lose a scent Zexion. Could you tell how far away it was?"
"No, but it couldn't have been very close. The smell was too faint."
"Should we continue on, then?"
"I-" Suddenly the lights began to flicker. On and off, and then they died out, one by one.
A few moments of silence, then...
"Why do I feel as though I should have seen this coming?" Marluxia said quietly.
"Two nobodies, walking through a deserted hallway, one picks up a strange sent, lights go out... Classic horror theme."
"Shh!" Zexion looked around, though he couldn't see a thing.
"Sorry." Marluxia whispered."
Zexion sniffed the air, hoping to catch the scent he'd lost a few minutes ago.
Nothing yet.
Then... Not a smell, but a sound.
Like metal scraping across stone.
It was close... VERY, close.
In the same hallway.
Then the smell again.
Dried blood.
He turned. He heard Marluxia turn around too, and they saw what looked like a small glowing red circle coming towards them.
"Uh, Zexion? Please, tell me this is one of the lessers."
"It's not..." He backed up a few steps. "I don't like it. It smells like blood."
The light got closer, and the scraping sound got louder.
A strange feeling washed over him.
It made him shiver, and back up another step. He tried to summon his Lexicon, but nothing happened.
The light was close enough for him to make out a round-ish head with ears now. The red thing was attached with a piece of what might have been wire. If it had a face, he couldn't see it, because the head was bowed down, staring at the floor.
"What the...?"
It stopped a few yards away, and slowly raised its head.
Two large, coal-black eyes stared at them. It tipped its head to the side.
"Play with me?" It asked in an innocent child-like voice.
In the glow from the light of his red thing, Zexion could make out the outline of a body.
The head was somewhat spherical, with rounded fox-like ears. The body was oval-like, the legs were slim, and at least 1 ½ times the length of the body. A noticeable feature was that the shoes it wore were floating at least a foot off the ground. The arms were about half the length of the legs, and the hands were spherical.
In one of them was a long kitchen knife; probably covered in what Zexion suspected was the dried blood he smelled.
"Play with me?" It repeated.
"Uhh..."
"Will you be my friend?"
"Zexion, I think we should probably get out of here..." Marluxia whispered from the corner of his mouth.
Zexion nodded in agreement. Something was off about this creature.
They backed up a few steps and the creature followed them a few steps.
Zexion tried to open a portal behind them, but nothing happened.
The creature focused on Zexion. "Are you trying to leave me?" It asked, sounding hurt.
"I, uhh... What?" What was he supposed to say, anyways?
The creatures' eyes began to glow red. Brighter and brighter until they glowed like the thing on its head.
It looked mad now. It raised the arm with knife over its head and threw it.
Zexion looked around his room one last time, making sure it was all in order, before going out the hall, heading for the living room.
It was just Demyx so far. The others must not be ready to go yet.
He took a seat next to him on the couch and waited.
The creature followed them, floating silently behind with the reclaimed knife held high.
They managed to choose the right path for a while, the creature falling farther and farther behind, when they ran straight into a wall.
Well, Marluxia ran into the wall. Zexion ran into Marluxia.
"What do we do now?"
Zexion looked around, trying to find somewhere they could run, though it was imposable in this darkness.
He felt cold air from somewhere. A strange smell reached his nose.
"The sewage pipe!" Zexion exclaimed. "Oh... The sewage pipe..."
"What?"
"There's a pipe somewhere around here. I can feel the air. Help me look for it!"
They began to feel the wall with their hands, looking for an opening. Hopefully, it was big enough for them.
There wasn't really any reason for it to be there, seeing as the Nobodies never needed it. The original owners of the castle used it.
The Organization shut it off when they moved in.
"Zexion I found it." Marluxia said. He was a few feet away.
The light from the creature was getting closer; they could tell it was a little ways off from the corner. In the dull red glow, Zexion could just barely see Marluxia's outline pulling a grate off the wall.
He hurried over to help.
They got the grate off and stepped inside, pulling it back up again to slow the creature down, and began the journey through the pipes.
It was... Well, how you would expect a journey through a sewage pipe would be.
It stunk.
The bottom of the pipe was slippery.
They nearly fell over a few times, but continued running as fast as they could. Eventually, they made it outside.
Well sort of at least. The pipe opened up to reveal a huge lake full of dirty water. It was a loooooooong way down, too...
You might wonder, why not just float to the other side?
Well Xaldin, Xemnas, and Xigbar might be able to do something like that, but as for the rest of them, they can only hover a few yards above the ground.
Besides, who knew how far below the dirty lake's surface the ground was? If they tried, they would probably break something from the impact of the jump.
"What now?"
"Maybe I can grow a vine to climb down."
"But where would we land? I only see water, and quite frankly, I would rather 'play' with that creature than swim in THAT water." He glanced at the water and noticed he couldn't even see the reflection from the ever-shining Kingdom Hearts.
"Maybe try a portal again?"
He tried, but nothing happened again.
"Nope. I think that creature might be responsible for our inability to create portals."
"Then my plan it is."
Marluxia looked for a good spot for the plant to start growing. There was a smaller pipe with moss and weeds growing-it was a wonder it could survive up here- inside the pipe. Marluxia got on his knees and pulled a seed bag from his pocket.
"This should work." He opened the bag and a few seeds tumbled onto his palm.
As soon as he put them in the pipe, they started to grow.
"That was fast, you haven't even said anything yet."
Marluxia nodded, trying to concentrate his powers into growing the vine. It was harder than usual. It might have been from the pollution in the lake below, or the creature was somehow doing this.
"Keep watch while I grow this."
"Of course." Zexion tried to call his Lexicon again. It took a few tries, but he got it.
He saw no lights yet, and he heard nothing but Marluxia's whispering, so he decided to flip through his Lexicon and see if he could find anything on the creature.
Though it is his weapon, it held more than just spells between it pages. It was filled with knowledge on many subjects, such as every other world they had been too, even some they had never found. Before the book came to be Zexion's', it had once belonged to a great Wizard named Zendric.
Zexion did not know much about him, besides the fact that he was a friend of Ansem the Wise, Merlin, and King Mickey.
There might have been an entry in the Lexicon about what this creature was, and why it seemed to drain their magic.
"Zexion, are you sure you want to go?"
Zexion looked up from the book he found between the couch cushions.
"Of course, why would I not want to go?"
"Well, because... I mean... Are you completely sure?"
It wasn't in the monster by world section of the Lexicon.
It wasn't in the major villain by world section of the Lexicon either.
He decided to look in the Halloween Town section.
"Is it even in here...?" He muttered.
Where else could he look?
Wait...
It came after the Dusk returned from Mobius. Mobius was one of the worlds listed in the Lexicon. He could look through that world.
It was worth a shot anyways.
He flipped ahead to the section labeled Mobius and began reading, looking up every once in a while.
Then, after about 2 minutes of skimming the pages, a picture caught his eyes.
It looked like the creature he and Marluxia saw, only... Nicer. It was orange yellow, and now he noticed it had tails.
"A two tailed fox?"
He'd heard about them. They were called Kitsune, he believed.
He checked for the creature and began reading about the two-tailed fox.
His name was Tails. The creature he and Marluxia were trying to escape from was Tails' counterpart.
The one called 'Tails Doll'.
He skipped ahead to the next page to read more abut the Doll.
"It feeds on souls...?" No wonder they were having trouble with their magic! It must have been trying to steal their souls, the result blocking their magic.
The Lessers wouldn't have stood a chance against this thing...
He looked up again. There was a reddish glow illuminating the dark pipe.
"Marluxia, is that vine ready yet?"
"Almost. We're about halfway to the bottom."
"Well could you grow it any faster? It's comeing!"
"Ah! Where is Luxord when you need him???" Marluxia said.
"I'll see if I can keep it far enough away so it doesn't block your magic." If that happened, they were screwed.
He flipped to a familiar page in the Lexicon. One he used a lot when fighting.
It was his paper cutter spell. The one that would create several sharp-edged pages to cut an enemy.
He summoned several of them and they floated idly by his head.
The Tails Doll rounded the curve in the pipe, and Zexion commanded the paper to attack.
As soon as they touched the Tails Doll's plushie body, they bounced back at Zexion.
"What?!" Zexion exclaimed, ducking out of the way just in time.
The Tails Doll must have had some sort of magic repelling Aura.
"Marluxia, please hurry up with that vine! Magic doesn't work on it!"
"I'm going as fast as I can here!"
The Doll floated eerily closer, casting a long shadow with the red light on it's head.
"Can you feel the sunshine Zexion?"
"Sunshine... Can you... Feel the... Sunshine...? Why does that... Seem so familiar again?"
"Uh, no thanks, I would rather stay here in the darkness where I belong."
A strange feeling washed over him again, and his Lexicon disappeared.
"Does it brighten up your day?" The doll asked while tipping its head.
"Wait... That's what Demyx was singing!"
Zexion backed up.
He Doll came closer and then... It was gone. The weird feeling was gone.
"What?"
"Marluxia, it's... Gone."
"Why would it just get up and leave?"
The scent of dried blood was still fresh in the air... But he couldn't tell from what direction. "I do-"
His reply was cut short when a metal pole penetrated the roof of the pipe, the jagged edge a mere inch away from his nose.
It was pulled up almost as fast and Zexion backed into the side of the pipe before it could come down again.
He expected it to come from above, but instead it came from the side of the pipe.
At first he felt nothing, but the look on Marluxia's face was enough to tell him something was wrong.
Then he smelled blood.
Fresh blood.
HIS blood.
He suddenly fell over, clutching his stomach. He could feel the pain now.
The metal pole had impaled his middle, and he could feel his blood pooling beneath him.
The pain was blinding. White-hot. He screamed in pain. Black spots filled his vision.
"Zexion!" Someone cried out.
He couldn't see straight anymore.
Everything was distorted, even Marluxia's voice.
But one thing he could hear perfectly played on loop in his mind.
"Can you feel the Sunshine now Zexion? Does it brighten up your day?"
"Well... I admit I don't really want to go... But I have to go."
He looked down again.
"You don't have to go Zexion." A voice said from behind.
He looked up and then behind the couch. Marluxia was standing in the doorway, dressed in jeans and a light pink sweater, looking worried...
(POV switch)
Marluxia looked at Zexion worriedly. This would be hardest for him. After all the death... And the pain he was put through. He hadn't recovered as well as Demyx had from the attack.
It wasn't fair. No one should have to suffer that much. Not even a Nobody.
He landed hard on his left arm, but was safe from the metal pole.
He fought of the urge to run and leave Zexion behind. "I can't just leave him, he's my best friend!" He though as he managed to dodge the pole again.
"If I can open a portal, or at least get us back through the pipe...
He didn't vote for the get back through the pipe plan. He didn't want to move Zexion to much... That wouldn't help him any.
He tried his luck with a portal.
No result.
The only other way out was by the thick vine he was trying to grow. It didn't get down all the way, but it was good for another plan. But it did involve moving Zexion
He dodged again, and grabbed the metal pole. The creatures' strength was amazing. He had a hard time keeping a hold of the pole.
While the creature was occupied with trying to pull the pole back, he issued a silent command to the vine, and it slithered inside the larger pipe. He commanded it to wrap around the pole, and the pole bent enough to stop it from being pulled out again easily.
He acted quickly, letting go and regaining his feet in one swift movement.
Marluxia was over by Zexion in an instant, making sure to be careful while helping him up.
"Hurry up Zexion, before the creature comes after us again." He said.
Zexion didn't answer him, but continued to limp as fast as he could.
It probably wasn't easy to do even that with the amount of pain he must be in.
Marluxia looked back, watching for the creature.
They were now in total darkness. It was hard to tell where they were going.
But on the plus side, they must have gotten far enough away from the creature to create a portal, seeing as one opened up right in front of them. It was probably the Master portal.
Xemnas would use that if he needed to find another member without leaving from what he was doing.
"Zexion! Marluxia!" Xemnas yelled. "How dare you skip a meeting this... important?" His voice faltered when he noticed all the blood.
"What in the worlds happened?!"
"Tails... Doll..." Zexion mumbled. He was beginning to love consciousness.
"This is why I called the meeting, darn it! Now it's in the castle!"
"Right now it's in the sewage system, actually." Marluxia pointed out. "And where is Vexen?"
"Yes. Vexen. He's in the lab. Take him there and come back to give me the full report." Xemnas ordered.
"Yes Superior."
Marluxia was glad to see that he could now create portals again.
He transported Zexion and himself to the lab.
"Marluxia... It's called... Tails Doll. It was in my Lexicon... I'll flip to the page so you can take it to Xemnas..."
"Zexion, you would most likely fade if you did that.
"But still... He needs to read about it...
"Just let Vexen fix you up first. Speaking of him, where is he?"
"He is right over here. What are you doing in the lab? Shouldn't Xemnas be yelling at you for... Missing the... meeting?" Vexen took a few moments to stare at Zexion.
"Number XI! What did you do to him?!"
"It wasn't me, Vexen. Now are you going to fix him or what?"
"Of course." Vexen moved aside some science-y looking things off a table and pulled a thick blanket from a cabinet, spreading it out on top. Help me get him on the table without hurting him any farther." Vexen said while narrowing his eyes at Marluxia. As if, he did not trust him.
Marluxia knew he did not.
After Zexion was safely on the table, Vexen turned to him.
"Now I suggest you leave Number XI."
Marluxia glared before transporting back to see Xemnas and release the whole story.
"Well everyone else is going..." Zexion replied. "And I don't want to be alone here, so..."
"Is that why?"
"Yea... But who can blame me, after what happened last time I was left alone."
"True..."
Xemnas nodded occasionally and didn't say anything.
"So, you're telling me you were both rendered helpless by a doll?" Xemnas said finally, raising his right eyebrow.
"Well Zexion said that... I don't know what it is exactly, but Zexion read a little while he was watching for it."
"Then I must call another meeting. Round up the other members and send Saix to me."
"Yes Superior." Marluxia transported away to look for the other members.
"Like they need to be any shaper. "Hey guys, Xemnas is calling a meeting."
They turned to look at him.
"Aww, we just got back from the first one!" Larxene complained, but put down her nail file and stood up.
"He's probably just going to rant about punctuality." Axel said glaring at him.
"Just get your butts to the meeting room." Marluxia glared back at Axel.
"You two are such kids." Larxene sighed before opening a portal and dragging Axel through.
"Ahem." Marluxia interrupted.
"Saix, Xemnas asked me to find you. He needs your help in his office."
"You never showed up for the meeting today."
"Yea, Zexion... Zexion needed my help with something. Also, he's called another meeting."
"I'll help round up the others." Xaldin said plainly and stood up.
"Thanks." The three of them all transported to different parts of the castle.
That stopped him.
"Oh, hey Marly. You didn't show up at the meeting you know. Didn't Zexy tell you about it?"
"Er... Demyx... About... Zexion... You see..."
"What? I see what?"
"Well... You'll find out at the meeting..." He couldn't bring himself to tell him.
"Oh, okay?"
"Well, we'd better get up there." Marluxia said.
"Ahem. Nobodies, we have an intruder in the basement of the castle." He said to start off.
"We believe it is a doll."
"A doll? Can't we just rip the stuffing out?" Someone asked. "Or capture it?"
"Well we could always just set it on fire with a flamethrower." Someone joked. "I'm sure Axel would love that."
"This is serious business, Xigbar. Someone has already been injured."
He saw some of them look around the room for the missing member.
"Hey, where are Zexion and Vexen?" Larxene asked.
Marluxia looked at Demyx. He seemed pale, as if he already knew the answer.
"Unfortunately, VI was gravely wounded by the doll. Vexen is doing his best to keep him alive.
There was a shocked silence.
"No way! That can't be possible!" Roxas said.
"I'm afraid it is. I saw the injury myself, and Marluxia witnessed it happen." Xemnas replied.
He could feel the eyes of the other members staring at him.
"Can I go see him?" Demyx asked quietly.
Xemnas thought it over for a moment, then said "Yes Demyx, you can visit him. But you have to be careful, or Vexen will kick you out. As for the rest of you, this meeting's adjourned. I would suggest staying together until we can find a way to destroy it.
As soon as Xemnas left, (Saix probably following him) Marluxia teleported to Vexen's lab.
Demyx soon followed and they went in quietly.
"Hello? Vexen?" Demyx called quietly.
"Over here. What do you want IX?" Vexen said from behind a mountain of papers.
"I was wondering how Zexion is doing."
"He's stable for now. I'm monitoring his condition. Would you be so kind as to deliver this to Xemnas for me? It's a summery of the injury."
"I'll take it to him." Marluxia said. He wanted to give Demyx some time to see Zexion, and he couldn't do that if he was delivering a paper to Xemnas.
"You're here too, are you?" Vexen sighed. "Very well."
He emerged from behind the mountain of paper and handed him a file. He glared at Marluxia before letting it go.
"Thank you Vexen." Marluxia said, with a steely edge to his voice.
"Of course." Vexen replied with a sneer.
"Would you guys stop fighting? Please?" Demyx asked quietly.
"Humph." Marluxia glared one last time before opening a portal. "Remember Demyx, be careful about being alone." He said and disappeared.
The room was silent now. Marluxia walked quietly over to the couch and sat down between Demyx and Zexion.
"Zexion..." He said after a few more moments of silence.
"Hmm?"
"If you want I'll stay behind too."
"You would do that for me?"
"Of course. That's what best friends do." Zexion and Demyx started to laugh.
"What? Did I say something?"
"You sound like Pelly. It doesn't suit you." Zexion said.
"Hmm... Maybe I've been hanging out with her to much."
"Probably."
He could see Demyx sitting quietly in a chair next to Zexion. Vexen was busy with a curaga spell, trying to close up the wound.
Though he would have loved to mess with Vexen some more, he knew better than to interrupt a spell like Curaga. Let alone when it was being used on his best friend.
He sat down next to Demyx after finding a stool and watched the green wisps of energy focus on the hole that was present on Zexion's stomach.
"So... How did it happen?" Demyx asked quietly.
The question caught him off guard.
"Uh, well..."
"Please tell me."
Vexens' curaga spell ended. "Yes, Marluxia, we would love to know how Zexion got in this state," Vexen said.
Marluxia sighed heavily.
"The Doll thing found us in the hall in the basement. We were investigating because Zexion could smell fading." He began.
"And when it appeared, we couldn't use magic or create portals, so we ran, but it caught us and impaled Zexion with a poll."
"What did you say?" Vexen asked suddenly, looking up from Zexions' injury to glance at Marluxia.
"A pole. We were in the sewage system because we got lost and it impaled him with a pole from in the sewer."
"That can't be right... The damage done couldn't have been done with a pole. The injury suggests it was more of a large blade that did this rather than the blunt end of a pole."
"Impossible. Are you saying what I saw was wrong?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I am saying," Vexen raised his voice and sneered at Marluxia.
"I saw what I saw, and nothing more old man."
"Old man?! I'm not THAT old you tree-hugging pansy!"
Marluxia growled. You could practically see the static between their eyes.
The sound of a chair scraping against the floor went unnoticed. "Stop fighting!" Demyx yelled, causing them both to jump.
"Zexion is hurt and all you can do is argue! How can you be his friends if you can't work together long enough to help him?!"
"Demyx? I..."
"All you two ever do is argue with each other!" He looked as though he was about to cry.
His lip trembled slightly and tears welled up in the corner of his eyes.
"Demyx, please don't cry!" Marluxia said.
It was no use; however, he could hear the first tear splash against the cold stone floor.
He looked at Vexen.
Though the Ice Mage found Demyx to be annoying, as did most other members, Marluxia knew he did not like to see him cry. No one did. Well... Okay some did not mind... However, you get the point. It made everyone feel guilty.
And it made it worse when he retreated into a portal, probably going to see Axel and Roxas.
Vexen glanced at Zexion, then Marluxia.
He sighed. "Truce until it's all over?"
"Agreed."
"Right then. Help me with a Curaga spell."
"Of course." "The air is... Tenser all of a sudden. He thought.
It all seemed so fake.
"Well at least I don't spend so much time around that night owl. I swear you going Nocturnal sometimes. What's his name again, Zexion?"
"Blathers."
"Ah, yes. Such a strange name."
Someone knocked on the front door, making the three jump.
"I got it!" Demyx said finally. He got up and went back to the main room.
"Hi K.K! What brings you here?" They heard Demyx say.
"Who would that be again Zexion?" Marluxia asked.
"Oh come on Marly, he plays in the Café every Saturday. How could you forget about him too?"
"Oh, he's the guy with the guitar. Never mind."
They listened to the sounds of conversation at the front door.
"You hang out with the pigeon too, don't you Zexion?" He asked after a while.
"Brewster? Yea, he makes wonderful coffee."
"Hm, I heard about that coffee. Contains Pigeon Milk."
"That's the famous Pigeon Blend. Creamy, and easy on a sore throat. You should try a cup."
"Er, no thanks, I think I'll pass."
(POV switch)
"Okay, seeya later K.K. Oh, say hi to Brewster for me when you get to the Café, okay?"
"Sure thing, Demyx." K.K said before heading off to the Museum, which, was conveniently located next door.
"I wonder if Axel is ready yet? He probably overslept again. That man was worse than Zexion sometimes."
He poked his head in the room by the stairs. "Hey guys, I'm going to go wake up Axel." He said.
"Oh... Am I uh, interrupting anything?"
He made a face when he noticed Marluxia kiss Zexions' cheek.
A while after the incident with the Doll creature, they started dating.
It was still a little weird to see them kiss each other, even though it wasn't like... Well you know, not like those kinds people do when they're in a romance movie, but... Real-life kinds.
"No, no, nothing at all, Demyx." Zexion said quietly.
He was probably embarrassed.
"Well, like I said, I'm going to see if Axel is awake yet. If not..." A devious thought came to mind.
"Don't get him too wet Demyx." Marluxia said.
"I won't!"
"How can they claim to be Zexion's friend if they can't even stop arguing!" He flung the nearest thing-a blue pillow- he could find at the wall.
"And why can't I just stop crying already?!" He wiped at his tears, which were still flowing freely from his eyes.
Due to his element being water, it always seemed to take a while before he could stop crying.
Kind of unfair, if you ask him.
"I wish this would all just go away..."
He wiped his eyes again; the tears stopped falling as fast, and soon stopped.
"Finally..." He whispered to himself.
He noticed how tired he was, and it wasn't even close to bedtime.
"I should go back and see how Zexion is doing..."
"Why would you want to do that when they would just make you sad again?" A child-like voice said.
"Umm, hello? Who's there?" Demyx looked around for the voice.
No one in the corners of the room, no one behind him, and his closet was wide open, revealing no one inside.
"They would just hurt you again." The voice said.
He checked under the bed, to find a pack of gum and a music sheet. He looked up on top his bed too. His pile of plushie dolls was undisturbed.
"Where are you hiding? Come out so I can see you!" He demanded in a less than demanding tone of voice.
He turned around then froze when he noticed something red. It was on his pile of plush dolls.
"You can trust me. I just want a friend."
He turned his head more to see a fox doll propped against the side of the plushie pile. There was a glowing gem attached to its head by a wire.
"Are... You talking to me Mr. Fox doll?"
The plushie seemed to tilt it's head to the side.
He could have just imagined it though.
"Hey, didn't Superior say it looked like a fox?" He shivered and took a few steps back.
"You're the thing that attacked Marly and Zexy in the basement!"
"I know..." the doll said sadly. "B-but I didn't want too... I just wanted a friend..."
"How does hurting Zexion get you any friends?!"
"I really didn't want to hurt him... Mr. Xemnas said they were bad people and he would be my friend if I killed them for him..."
Demyx took another step back. "Liar! Xemnas would never do that! Would he?" He always seemed like a nice nobody... But then, Demyx thought everyone in the Organization was nice. Yes, even Larxene.
"He did... And then he was so mean... He lied to me... He made me attack them when they weren't even doing anything wrong, and then he was so mean to me... he told me I would never have a friend!"
"Is... All that true Mr. Doll?"
The doll merely nodded.
"Aww... Well don't worry, I'll be your friend." Demyx smiled.
He felt... Drawn to the Doll. He felt like he should be nice. Like he should pet the doll... Hug the doll, even.
He crossed the space between himself and the bed.
"I'll be your friend." He repeated in a deeper, darker voice.
"Whoa, that sounded weird. " He thought. "Almost like it wasn't my voice at all."
He shook his head then sat on the bed next to the doll and began to pet its head. Soft and furry.
"Now we can get revenge..."
"Revenge?" Demyx asked.
"Revenge on Mr. Xemnas for making me hurt Mr. Zexion." It replied. "We can get revenge if only you would agree with me."
Now, as we all know, Demyx hates to fight, and in most situations, he would have said no.
However...
This was no ordinary situation.
"Yes" flew out of his mouth before he could even think to say anything else.
"Excellent." The doll laughed and floated up.
The gem on his head glowed even brighter than before, and a red light came out the tip, hitting Demyx right between the eyes.
"Axxxxxxxxeeeeeeeeel, time to wake uuuuuuuuupppppp." Demyx was hovering over Axels' bed.
"Go away..." He muttered while pulling the blanket over his head.
"Hmm..." Demyx smirked.
"AHH!" Axel yelled when he felt the cold water soak his thin blanket. He jumped out of bed and landed on the floor with a thump. He was now tangled in the blankets on the floor.
"Demyx!"
"What? It got you up didn't it?"
"I really hate you sometimes... You know that right?"
Demyx nodded and dropped a pile of clothes on Axel's head.
"Hey, you were in my closet Demyx?"
"Well it looks like it." He shrugged. "Hurry and get dressed, would you?"
Then he tried to stand up again-after he had landed on the floor- but found he couldn't move.
He could just open his eyes and stare at the doll.
"Now, new friend, we can get revenge on Mr. Xemnas.
"Yes, my master." He felt himself say.
"Wait, I didn't say that! What's going on here???" He watched himself stand up and he felt it when the doll placed a fuzzy paw on his shoulder.
Demyx began walking, and then opened a portal.
He emerged in the kitchen with the doll now sitting on his shoulder. It raised a fuzzy paw and pointed to something.
He looked in that direction and saw a bunch of silverware lined up on the counter.
"What does it want me to do?"
He walked over to the silverware.
"Pick one, new friend."
"What for?"
His hand lingered over the forks, but then moved to the spoons and back to the forks again. "Which would you prefer?" His voice said.
The doll pointed to something in the middle. It looked like a spoon, but had four curved prongs like a fork.
"So that makes it a foon then? No, a spork. Yea, that sounds better."
"Yes my master." He said.
He watched himself grab the silver spork.
"I have a feeling that spork isn't going to be used for good thing..."
"We can get revenge now." The doll said.
He nodded and opened a portal.
"Hey! Bad body! Demyx thought loudly. Where are you going?!"
Quiet friend. The Doll's voice echoed in his mind.
"I am doing you a favor."
"What kind of favor is it?!"
He got no answer and decided to wait.
They emerged in...
"The Superiors' office?!"
The doll was no longer on his shoulder. It was somehow sitting in a chair in the side of the room. It looked as if it were waiting for him to do something.
"Ahem. Can I help you Demyx?"
He looked up. There was the target.
"No no no, I am NOT going to attack the Superior! He'll shred us in an instant!"
He looked down to the spork in his right hand, then back at the Superior, and grinned.
"So cold today Demyx." Axel complained. "And if I'm going to get dressed, you need to get out."
"Oh, yea. Go ahead then." He slipped out of Axel's room and down the stairs again.
"Axel's up!"
"Great, now do you remember where the other house was? I keep forgetting."
"Zexy, how could you forget again?" Demyx whined.
(POV switch)
"Heh, I lost the map is all. It's a pretty big town."
"What are we going to do with you Zexion?" They both sighed at the same time.
He could faintly hear the sound of arguing, and then someone yelling...
... Tr...e... Over?
"Gre...d."
"H...el...Cu...e..."
"What does that mean?" He thought while trying distract himself from the pain. Something brushed against his arm and it stung for a few seconds afterwards. "I didn't think... It was possible to be this much pain..." He thought miserably.
He thought about what he could smell. Not much. There was a lot of a coppery smell in the air.
"Blood... Mine." He didn't risk opening his eyes to see where he was. He could just barely make out the scent of bleach, which Vexen used constantly in the lab after an experiment.
He tried to concentrate on finding another smell, but all he could pick up was bleach and coppery blood.
"Be car...fu...l! He...s i...alot of...ain..."
Why can't I tell who that is?
"I...ow... old...an! S...op...wor...ing so... can... and...a s...ple... Cu...ga..."
"Fighting I think...
"Re...y?"
"Y..."
Zexion wondered who was talking, and about what, when he felt something warm moving around his body. The pain seemed to dissolve, though not completely. It was enough that he didn't need to try as hard to ignore it.
Gradually, the pain lessened to just an ache in his stomach. Now he could concentrate on what he was hearing. He was glad too notice he could hear better.
"That should...it."
"He s...be okay?"
"Maybe I should just... Open my eyes or something. This feels kind of weird having who knows how many people staring at me..."
And that is exactly what he did. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the light.
"Zexion?"
"Wait... I think that's Vexen." He thought. It was confirmed when he could finally see properly.
Well uh... What do I say now?" It was kind of weird just staring at Vexen like that."
"Are you okay?" Marluxia asked.
"Oh, so he's here too. Well that makes sense... But I can't see how he managed to get Vexen to let him in."
He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
What the? Why can't I say anything?"
"Zexion?" Vexen said. "Oh dear, this isn't good..."
"What isn't good?"
Zexion sat up and rubbed his neck.
"He can't speak, can you?"
Zexion tried again, but nothing came out. He shook his head.
"Why is this happening Vexen?"
"I think... Maybe it has something to do with the magic we used. Or he could have damaged his esophagus while in the sewage system. When you were attacked, was there any indication that his voice was weaker that it should be?"
"No, he was even talking when I brought him here. Right?"
Zexion nodded.
"We will have to look further into this. But for now..." Vexen disappeared and came back with a pen and a notebook. "You'll have to write down what you say."
"Well this should be fun."
"I am most certain that our magic must be behind it. You may not be feeling any pain now, Zexion, but our spells only blocked the majority of it. I believe that we may have blocked your voice, as well."
Zexion thought for a moment then clicked the pen and wrote 'so when the spell wears off the pain will come back, and my voice as well?'
They read the question quickly and Vexen answered "exactly."
'Great.' He wrote in response.
Even though it was on paper, they were both able to pick up the note of sarcasm.
"Don't worry too much, Zexion. You have a while before it wears off."
'How long?'
"About maybe 2 or 3 hours."
'Darn.'