Xemnas stood with his hands raised and his face lifted up to Kingdom Hearts, radiating calm authority. He didn't turn when Axel appeared out of a darkness portal behind him and cleared his throat.
"Superior, I'm here to report." Xemnas sighed and lowered his arms, fixing Axel with an irritated look from over his shoulder.
"Axel. Why are you reporting to me and not Marluxia? He is your superior for as long as you are stationed at Castle Oblivion. Why have you abandoned your post when there is so much to be done at the Castle? Return to it VIII, before I have Saïx return you himself." Xemnas was about to turn back to the moon when Axel's quiet voice distracted him.
"I can't." Xemnas opened his mouth to snap at the neophyte for defying him but Axel cut him off. "Marluxia's gone. Sora and the basement dwellers saw to that." The Furry turned when he heard a small and quickly stifled gasp from the door and narrowed his eyes at Demyx, who stood timidly just inside the door. Xemnas cocked his head to the side and addressed Demyx first.
"Yes IX? Did you want something?" Demyx put his hands behind his back and looked at the floor sadly.
"I…I was just wondering if Marly or Zexy had sent me any messages or anything. Neither of them had written back for a long time, but I guess I know why now." He looked up, his eyes wide, disbelieving, and innocent."Did Zexy really do that Axel? I…Just can't believe he'd hurt a fellow member…" Xemnas turned to Axel, awaiting an explanation and, as Demyx gazed at the fire-wielder from behind Xemnas, something flashed in his aqua blue eyes; pure, undiluted, burning hate for the only slightly older teen in front of him. Axel ignored the warning and turned toward Xemnas, his face devoid of emotion.
"Ya. The basement dwellers must have decided that Marluxia was not fit to be the leader of Castle Oblivion, and they lured Sora and his friends to them to help. They tricked him into killing Larxene and Marluxia and I was hard-pressed to escape with my non-life. Luckily for us, Riku showed up and managed to kill both Lexaeus and Vexen, but Zexion escaped. I fought him later and he ran, so I can only assume he wanted to beat me back here to blame it on me instead." Axle could feel Demyx's eyes burning into the back of his head, and smiled slightly. "When Zexion arrives, I would be honored to destroy him for you, Superior…" Xemnas turned back to the moon, hands behind his back and his head bowed, apparently thinking of how to best deal with this new threat.
"What kind of a motive would Lexaeus, Vexen and Zexion have for wanting to replace Marluxia?" Xemnas started pacing restlessly and Axel and Demyx glared daggers at each other, though Demyx had a head start on the glaring. "Vexen hated Marluxia, yes, but Lexaeus and Zexion? Zexion has never shown any interest in leading, and Lexaeus has always been loyal." Axel spoke up, seeming more eager to explain.
"Lexaeus was always loyal to Zexion and Zexion is the Cloaked Schemer after all; no one's ever known what he's been thinking. Why wouldn't he want to take over? Maybe he thought he could do it better? He was always very vain, wasn't he? Proud of his own achievements?" Xemnas considered this and turned back to Axel and Demyx, who schooled their faces into expressionless masks once again, though Demyx's held a bit of a depressed touch. Axel admired the boy for how well he could play everyone while keeping his true allegiance hidden. Xemnas nodded and Axel turned his attention back to his Superior.
"I shall consider this and call a meeting in an hour. However, if he is found before then, I want him brought to me for questioning. Perhaps if he gives me the answers I seek, I shall spare him." He turned back to the moon. "You two are dismissed. Please send Saïx in on your way out." Axel nodded and turned around, heading out the door with Demyx at his heels. He nodded to Saix as he passed, letting him know Xemnas needed him inside. Once the door shut, Axel turned and pinned Demyx to the wall by his arms.
"Alright Squirt, where'd you hide him? And don't bother fighting me, you know I'm too strong for you to beat." Demyx kicked at him and received a slam against the wall in return.
"Damn you Axel! Damn you to hell!" He summoned a water ball which hit Axel in the face and forced him to let go to get the water out of his eyes. Spluttering and dripping wet, Axel looked up just in time to see a dark portal close where Demyx had just been. He cursed and wiped his face on his sleeve before heading down the hall, muttering to himself.
"When I get my hands on them, they'll beg for death…"
Demyx stumbled through the portal and into a small sitting room, scattered with large, plush armchairs and a few small sofas. Zexion was seated on one of the couches, a steaming mug of hot chocolate in his hands and another sitting on the glass topped coffee table in front of him. His long bangs covered his whole face, as he was looking down into the mug, but he looked up as Demyx appeared, revealing the dark circle under his visible eye and the bruises on his face from both his fight with Riku and the encounter with Axel afterward. He remained silent as Demyx collapsed wearily into an armchair across from his friend, rubbing the new bruise on his arm where Axel had gripped it too hard.
"He beat me," Demyx began miserably. "He was in the process of reporting to Xemnas when I got there. There is no way the Demyx he knows would be able to out-talk Axel, so I couldn't even try." The musician sighed and ran a hand through his mullet. "Xemnas' gonna have a meeting in an hour, to tell everyone if they see you to bring you to him." When he looked up, his aqua blue eyes were desperate and sad. "He wants to interrogate on your motives, then kill you." Zexion nodded slowly, then leaned against the sofa back with his eyes closed.
"In that case, it will be best for me to stay here for now. Perhaps you can convince some of the others to side with us…"
"But," Demyx sounded hesitant. "I can't do that if Xemnas gets them to go against you. Besides, who would side with us? And I thought you didn't want me to reveal myself yet?" Zexion smiled slightly and took another sip of his hot chocolate, then gestured to the still steaming mug on the table.
"There's some hot chocolate for you. Even after years of disuse, all that old kitchen needed was a few hours of clean-up to be back in perfect working condition." Demyx rolled his eyes at the change in subject, but took the cup anyway, carefully sipping at the hot contents. There was a few minutes of comfortable silence before Zexion spoke again.
"To answer your question, try Xigbar and Luxord. Maybe Xaldin if he shows doubt in the Superior. Use what I've taught you about reading people to determine if they can be trusted. Xigbar is the most likely to help, if for nothing more than to stir things up a bit. Luxord will only take this gamble if he believes the odds are on his side. Dilan was on relatively good terms with Ienzo, so he may think of it as a favor to an old friend. Other than them, Roxas may take sympathy on our cause, but I doubt he will go against Axel's plans." Demyx nodded and finished his cocoa, setting the empty mug down on the coffee table.
"I'd better get started then. I should get back before Axel takes advantage of my absence anyway." Zexion nodded and stood.
"I'm going to get some sleep then. Not even I can deal with almost being killed twice in one day and be expected to continue with no sleep." He smiled tiredly at Demyx, who had also stood. "Tell me how it goes later?" Demyx nodded.
"I'll come by later tonight when you're awake and I can report my progress with Lux, Xiggy, and Xaldy." Demyx glanced around the room, a grin spreading on his face. "Who knew your old castle could come in handy huh?" Zexion nodded; his eyes far away as he remembered the time of the Apprentices.
"It brings back Ienzo's memories." He sighed and nodded to Demyx before exiting the room. Demyx took a deep breath before stepping into a portal, bracing himself for the task of convincing the others.