I'm putting a few OC's in just for the fun of it! Little treat for my pals… Pity they don't know Kingdom Hearts! Also if you spot any familiar-sounding characters, review for feedback!
Part Two: How to Effectively Blend in With One's Surroundings at a Water Park
"This is it?" asked Demyx. "It looks more like one of the buildings in Hollow Bastion than a bunch of swimming pools…" Demyx gestured towards the set of buildings in front of him, which had a Spanish Villa motif.
"No, you idiot, that's the hotel we're staying in for the week we're on vacation." snapped Larxene.
Xemnas had somehow found a brochure of a water park with a hotel, and immediately made reservations for them to stay there for a week, which was pretty much the amount of time needed by the other Nobodies to repair the Castle. They had gotten there by Gummi Ship as not to look inconspicuous, but a group of thirteen people who you would normally see wearing black coats but dressed right now in civilian attire is a hard thing to keep inconspicuous since at least half of them were socially impaired.
Larxene, having the most experience with wardrobe problems was actually attracting attention, due to the fact that she was wearing a yellow spaghetti strap tank top and khaki shorts above the knee. She's been gracious enough to help out Xaldin and Xigbar on what to wear, since the lancer had initially come out of his chambers wearing a spandex diving suit ("We're not swimming NOW you lunkhead! And you're supposed to wear shorts anyway! Ditch the suit!" Larxene had chided him.), and the marksman had worn a crisp business suit claiming that it was the perfect way to disguise his weapons and because he said it made him look like James Bond ("Are you MAD?! You actually intend to wear that in the heat? And you remember what Xemnas said, NO WEAPONS!").
Xaldin's attire resembled that of a basketball player hip hop artist hybrid, which strangely suited him. The ensemble included the sweatband, basketball jersey, shorts, and various bangles and an oversized watch he'd borrowed from Luxord. Xigbar wore a body-hugging black tee, which accentuated his muscles, and dark pants. Larxene suspected that he'd hidden at least one gun in the pant legs, but let him be, hoping the hotel had no metal detectors at the doors.
Demyx and Axel wore similar outfits. Both sported athletic-style shirts and cropped jeans, Demyx's an army print and Axel's a black fire print. Roxas wore a loose tee with the number 13 in blue on the back, and denim shorts. All three wore flip flops, and looked the least conspicuous, save the fact that Axel seemed captivated by Roxas' rear end and Demyx's insatiable curiosity for all things foreign.
Luxord and Marluxia also looked similar, since they both had on Hawaiian flower print polo shirts, though Marluxia wore a white tee under his. They also wore khaki shorts. The main difference was that Marluxia had worn a pendant of the Organization XIII insignia, and that Luxord was wearing large sunglasses and smoking.
The harassed-looking Vexen emerged from the gummi ship with Lexaeus, already wearing suntan lotion. The sun-hater wore immensely oversized sunglasses, a huge shirt and rainbow striped pants, which made him look like something out of Austin Powers. Lexaeus was dressed similarly to Luxord, only he wore a belt around his waist. Both were carrying large bags, which belonged to most of the group. Zexion darted in and out of the ship, coordinating their movements. He wore a sleeveless navy blue and white striped tank top and navy blue shorts, making him look somewhat like a sailor.
Saix and Xemnas got out of the vehicle last, both looking very good in crisp polo shirts and white cropped jeans. Xemnas looked at the surroundings curiously, whilst Saix handed Luxord what appeared to be a camera bag.
"All right, Xemnas, what do we do next?" asked Saix, casting occasional glances at Lexaeus, who was being stared at by a group of teenage girls. The stoic Nobody frowned at the adolescents, which merely caused one to giggle and another to blush profoundly.
"Hey now, you shouldn't try to scare off the ladies!" grinned Demyx, putting an arm around the slightly shorter, yet stockier man. "Looks like they're really checking you out…" The nocturne waved at the girls, who giggled and waved back.
"Socializing with the opposite sex is something Lexaeus doesn't normally do." said Zexion, walking up to the pair. "I don't see the point, really."
"What? They're girls. They're pretty, they're nice, they're not Larxene…" Demyx shot him a lopsided smirk. Larxene looked in their direction upon hearing her name, but shrugged it off.
"They have hearts. We don't." said Zexion simply. "Come on, Lexaeus, we have to get the baggage into the hotel lobby."
Lexaeus smiled weakly at Demyx, and followed his comrade. Demyx watched the two walk off, feeling dejected, until one of the girls, a tall, stocky one with short black hair, approached him.
"What's with him?" she asked. "Chauvinist or something?"
"No… Just against the whole guy-girl thing, that's all…" Demyx mumbled, as Larxene herded Xaldin and Xigbar, the two out-of-place ones, into the hotel.
"Is he against guy-guy things?" said the girl, grinning. Her friends were all whispering.
Demyx looked at her and laughed heartily. "Nice one!"
"Name's Roxy." said the girl, offering a hand.
"Mine's Demyx. Hey, you've got almost the same name as my friend!" Demyx shook the girl's hand.
"Was it the one you were talking to earlier?" Roxy asked, as her friends inched closer. She looked at them for a second and sighed. "Let them be. They're interested in guy hunting, but I find the whole thing boring…"
"So you like girl-girl things?" teased Demyx. "Kidding. No, it's that blonde kid over there with the redheaded bishonen. He's Roxas, and the red's Axel. The one I was talking to earlier was Zexion."
"Roxas, Axel, Zexion… All have the letter x. You guys related? 'Coz you don't look like it." Roxy looked at her friends, who seemed to have hid behind a nearby tree.
"You could say that." The two began walking to the hotel entrance, and the group of girls followed them.
"Welcome to Crystal Pools, Hotel, Spa and Water Park!" said the gleeful manager, who looked mysteriously like FFXII's Balthier. He bowed politely at Xemnas. "How may I help you?"
Xemnas looked at him suspiciously for a second, and answered him. "Yes, I'd like to hire a few rooms for myself and my companions here… We made reservations."
"Let's see… What is your name, sir?" the manager opened a logbook and scanned it.
"Ansem." Xemnas admired the décor, which consisted of several modern art statues, a beautiful reddish gold tapestry and a landscape painting of a mountain range he'd seen on the way here. The floor was decorated in a maelstrom of mosaic tiles, which seemed to compliment the color scheme of the lobby's ebony black and mahogany brown walls.
"Hmm, yes! Mr. Ansem, you've reserved 7 rooms, 3 of which are single rooms (one bed), and the rest being double rooms (two beds)." read the manager. "How long will your stay be, sir?"
"About a week." replied Xemnas, as Lexaeus and Saix passed the luggage on to a nearby bellhop.
"Very good, sir. You'll have the entire west wing of the tenth floor to yourselves… The west wing can be reached via those elevators next to the souvenir shop, not to be confused with the north wing elevators near the casino or the east wing elevators near the bar. The water park opens at 7 a.m. and closes 9 p.m. every day, sir, and you are all invited to your complimentary breakfasts at the top floor buffet from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., sir. If you require additional assistance our staff will always be here 24/7, and you need only call the lobby via the in-room telephone." continued the manager, obviously knowing an inexperienced tourist when he saw one. "Here are your room keycards. The green ones are the single rooms, and the blue ones are the double rooms."
"Thank you very much." said Xemnas, impressed that a mortal had such authority.
"Thank YOU sir, for choosing Crystal Pools." the manager replied, a classic textbook response.
Xemnas turned to Luxord and Saix. "Luxord, as you may have figured out by now, there is a very well furnished casino here… I'm counting on you to win enough money to pay for this trip, but make sure you do not run the establishment out of business. Saix, you make sure that our… comrades do less damage than I expect them to do. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." answered Saix.
"You can bet on it, Xemnas. Pardon the pun." smiled Luxord, eyeing a beautiful woman with coffee colored skin and long white-grey hair who had emerged from the casino.
Demyx and Roxy entered the hotel lobby.
"So! Here on vacation?" asked Demyx.
"Yup, school trip. We're here for a week, just like you guys…" Roxy answered happily.
Zexion confronted the two. "Demyx! I thought I told you-"
"Hey, now, what's the harm in having a friend or two, hey, Zexy?" said Demyx, not losing the beat. "If it's love you're banning me from, then you've got no worries… I'm all yours!"
Zexion blushed violently as the pair laughed. The group of girls entered the lobby, one of which stopped to stare at Zexion.
"Not again…" groaned Roxy. "Cassie! Take a picture, it lasts longer!"
The petite brunette blushed, then slowly retreated behind the other fangirls, smiling cutely.
"Let them be. The guys at our school look like shit compared to the both of you. Meet you at the pool later, D?" said Roxy, as one of the girls, a blonde with blue eyes and glasses, gestured for her to talk.
"Sure, Rox." Demyx saluted her off.
" 'Rox'?" asked Zexion, after she had left.
"That's her name, don't wear it out." smiled Demyx sheepishly. Xemnas beckoned them closer; he was handing out the keycards.
"All right. Axel, Roxas, the two of you are sharing one room." he began. Axel made silent 'YESS!!!!!!' gestures, while Roxas looked at the conversing fangirls, one of which was looking in Axel's direction. "Xaldin will be sharing with Xigbar, Marluxia with Luxord, Saix with Lexaeus and Demyx with Zexion."
"Hear that, Zexy? We're roommates!" said Demyx gleefully, loud enough for the girls to hear. (Roxy clapped her hands, Cassie stared, and the rest gasped in fangirlish shock.) He put his arm around the Organization's strategist and smiled at him.
"Don't push it." Zexion replied, in his typical 'I-do-not-want' tone.
Larxene sighed, looking at Xaldin, who was looking at t-shirts in the souvenir shop with childish enthusiasm. "I won't be responsible for those two off-hours, 'kay, Xemnas? Good." she took one of the green keycards, grabbed her bag from the bellhop, and went to the elevators.
Luxord doused his smoke and headed to the casino. "Marluxia! I can trust you with my luggage, I assume?" he called.
"Sure, whatever." Marluxia paused to admire some daisies someone had put in a little flower vase on a table in the middle of the lobby.
The fangirls (save one) sighed. Roxy, taking Cassie by the hand, ran over to Demyx and swiped his blue card.
"1024… hey now, the room Cassie and I are sharing is 924. We're directly below you guys…" Roxy said deviously, sending knowing glances at her friend.
A loud thump interrupted the conversation; Vexen had bumped into one of the larger modern art statues in his effort to single-handedly carry his set of bags to the elevators.
"Oy, Vexen! What's in the bags, anyway?" yelled Demyx.
"Lotion!" replied Vexen.
"WTF?" said Roxy, echoing Demyx's thoughts.
"He means sunscreen lotion." said Zexion simply, as the two stared at the apparently agoraphobic Nobody.
The Crystal Pools water park consisted of about nine pools, three of which had water slides. These three were adjacent to the west wing, and were the ones with the most swimmers. Beside these were two large wave pools, one of which belted out surfer-style waves and the other producing calmer waves for those who either didn't want to surf or for those who had the illusion of a saltless ocean. A large river-style pool made its way around the park, with large bridges crossing it at key points, and various floaters shaped like dinosaurs, crocodiles and dolphins floated by, for the amusement of swimmers. There were two kiddie wading pools, one with a pirate ship motif and another consisting of large umbrellalike fountains. An Olympic-sized pool could be found directly beside the park entrance, away from the general clamor, and this was where the people REALLY on vacation were relaxing…
Case in point? Xemnas.
The Superior was wearing black and white beach shorts, and lay on one of the deck chairs, napping lazily in the midmorning sunlight, much to the amusement of several single women bathing in the pool.
"What on earth are you doing, Xemnas?" asked Saix, who had dropped off the younger Nobodies at the water park per se.
"Getting a tan." replied Xemnas, adjusting his red-rimmed sunglasses. Saix was tempted to inform the Superior that he already had a tan, but felt that his leader needed the relaxation, and settled on a deck chair beside him.
Meanwhile, at the kiddie pools…
"Xigbar, what are we doing here?" asked Lexaeus.
"Picking up girls." replied the marksman, looking around for suitable candidate.
"Why?"
Xigbar didn't reply, for a little kid with cute chibi eyes and brown hair had wandered up to them, and was tugging on his motorcycle-print swimming shorts.
"Hey mister, are you a pirate?" asked the little kid.
"No Why do you ask?" answered Xigbar, as another little kid, with pretty blonde hair, approached Lexaeus, demanding a piggyback ride.
"You've got cool hair and an eye patch." said the kid, grinning. Lexaeus had obliged, and the other kid squealed in glee.
"Hey, didn't your mom tell you not to talk to strangers?" started Xigbar.
"She talks to strangers all the time, so why shouldn't I?" quipped the kid.
"Whee!" said the other little kid, patting the back of Lexaeus' head happily.
"I think I like this kid." laughed Xigbar. "So which one's your mom?"
"That one in the black bikini with the long yellow hair." the kid pointed to a lady that looked like she'd stepped out of a porn magazine; her top barely covered her assets.
Xigbar's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "That's a MOM?"
"Yeah. The kid your pal's giving a piggyback ride is my little brother Wolfram, and the kid sitting at the edge of the pool that looks annoyed with grayish black hair in a ponytail is my older brother Gwendal." replied the kid. "My name's Conrad by the way."
"You're all brothers? But you look nothing alike!" Xigbar stated. Lexaeus had put Wolfram down and now the two were playing tag.
"We all have different fathers…" smiled Conrad.
"WHAT?" Xigbar spluttered.
"Mommy's really rich you see, and she keeps attracting guys who are after her money. My daddy died, though, before she divorced him." Conrad replied, sitting down at the edge of the pool.
At this point, Larxene, wearing a white bikini ensemble, entered the scene, wondering why on earth Xigbar was having what looked like an interesting conversation with a kid, while Lexaeus was playing tag with another.
"So, Mr. Pirate, do you like my mommy?" asked Conrad.
"To tell you the truth I'm not so sure…" Xigbar replied, sweatdropping.
"Haha! I caught you!" Wolfram giggled, tagging Lexaeus and running off in the opposite direction.
Larxene shook her head, as a girl with pinkish red hair in a ponytail approached her.
"Are you friends with those two?" asked the girl.
"Yes. Stupid, aren't they?" answered Larxene.
The girl nodded, giggling. "They seem to be treating my friends all right though… My name's Anissina. What's yours?"
"Larxene." She was beginning to like this kid; they both had the look of torturers in their eyes.
At the water slides…
"Look at the size of that thing!" said Demyx, staring in awe at the giant plastic pipes that spit a person out every few seconds. He was wearing blue beach shorts, and several pretty girls were eyeing him.
Zexion found a set of unoccupied chairs nearby, and set up camp. "Hey, Demyx, don't wander off! If you see Axel and Roxas, tell them to get their butts over here! Did you put suntan lotion on?"
"I did, don't worry…" Demyx watched curiously as a girl that looked like Roxy shot out of the largest slide and crashed into the pool.
"Bleh!" she sputtered.
"Roxy! There you are, I was looking for you-" began Demyx.
A girl with black hair and red streaks shot out of the slide after Roxy. Demyx recognized her as the one who was staring at Axel earlier.
"Demyx! You should try the slides, they're pretty good…except the landing part, which I can never get the hang of." Roxy got out of the pool, dripping like seaweed.
"Yeah, but I think I'll wait for Axel and Roxas first. Who's the chick?" Demyx pointed to the other girl.
"You like HER? That's my cousin Sara… Oi, hime (Japanese of 'princess, which is what Sara means)! Get over here!"
"Faggoting water slide!" sputtered Sara, just as Axel and Roxas came into view. "Ooh, there's that bishie from earlier! You know him, Rox?"
"No, but I think Demyx can introduce us…" Roxy was about to ask Demyx to do so when Axel cannonballed into the pool after Roxas.
"WAHOO!!" yelled Axel. "Aw yeah, that feels great! I was sweating all over and that sunscreen did no good…"
"Ah! That was refreshing." Roxas made his way over to the slides. "Race you to the top, Axel!"
"You're on!" the two ran (swam?) to the nearest slide.
"Faggoting boys." muttered Sara.
Now we turn out eyes to the antics of the sun-impaired Vexen, who had set up his stuff near one of the wave pools.
"Blasted sun." muttered the academic, clutching an oversized umbrella in one hand, a battery-powered electric fan and a basket in the other. He stuck the fan into the ground directly beside a deck chair, and set up the fan adjacent to the umbrella. He then took a large bottle of suntan lotion, and slathered it all over himself.
A large wave came by, splashing the entire setup, and drenching Vexen.
Mumbling profanities, Vexen packed up the stuff and moved several meters away from the pool, where he repeated the process.
"Ice cream!" shouted a park attendant. A stampede of little kids, including Xigbar and Lexaeus, trampled over Vexen and his umbrella, to the source of ice creamy goodness.
The harassed academic decided to set up his anti-sun gear elsewhere, and headed for the water slides. Noticing that Zexion had successfully done so across the pool, he resumed his activity, setting up his sun umbrella and fan, then went back to applying the sun lotion…
"COWABUNGA!" Axel shot down a slide next to Vexen's camp and splashed a torrent of water all over Vexen. Fortunately, Vexen had the sense of mind to position the umbrella so that it faced the pool, and didn't get wet.
Unfazed, Vexen continued applying the lotion…
"Whee!" Roxas jumped out of another slide, creating a bigger splash than Axel. Vexen jumped out of the way at the last moment, though, and was relatively safe until…
"You call that a splash?! Dance, water, dance!!" Demyx slid down in a cascade of chlorinated water, and as he fell into the pool, his splash took the form of a large water dragon and completely drenched everyone in the immediate vicinity.
Zexion, knowing Demyx better than the other nobodies, had calculated that this would happen (it WAS Demyx, after all) and stayed millimeters out of the splash radius. Vexen had not, however, and the expression on his face was similar to that of an annoyed poodle. His umbrella had been broken beyond repair, his electric fan beyond restoration, and the basket containing his first reverve of suntan lotion had been washed away in the frenzy.
And to think this was their first day here…
"DAMN IT ALL!!!" Vexen cried in frustration, startling Sara nearby.
"Faggoting men." she muttered.
Marluxia thought he'd heard Vexen screaming, but shrugged it off. He, like Luxord, had refrained form pool activity for the first day of their stay, and sat at the smoothie bar, admiring the local fauna. He had not changed his clothes, except his shorts, which bore a leafy green print.
Unfortunately, this made him look like one of the smoothie bar staff.
"Waiter, a watermelon smoothie please!" said an elderly lady, sitting at one of the tables.
"Uh, lady, I don't work here…" began Marluxia.
One guy who really DID work at the smoothie bar approached him. "You must be the new hand! Well, a customer just ordered something, you'd better get to work, dude!"
"But I don't-" The waiter ushered Marluxia into the bar, gave him a watermelon, a knife and a juice blender, and left him to do his work.
"Darn this. I thought my clothes looked familiar. Xemnas'll have a fit if I kill everyone in the vicinity, so I might as well… Now what did Lexaeus teach me about making smoothies?"
"Let's see… First chop the watermelon into pieces… But it's a watermelon! It was once part of a healthy, living plant! I… I can't!! But I must!!"
The waiter in charge watched Marluxia chop up the unfeeling watermelon, tears streaming from his eyes. "Aw, the poor guy. He must love doing his job, he's crying tears of joy!"
Marluxia, his feeling spiraling downward for a beloved plant, shoved the newly chopped watermelon into the blender, and reluctantly pressed the button.
"I'm sorry, my friend…! I really am!" Marluxia sniffed, watching the watermelon get blended into smoothie goodness.
Larxene arrived at the smoothie bar with Anissina, just as Marluxia was serving the smoothie to the lady, as she commented that it was one of the best she'd ever had. She began wondering why Marluxia was wearing the staff uniform.
"Marluxia, why are you-" she started, as the plant user ran into her arms, bawling.
"Larxene! I didn't want to kill the watermelon, but they made me! Why, Larxene, why?!" Marluxia sobbed.
Larxene stared at her friend, whose expression looked exactly like that of a teenage girl after her first breakup. She sighed, and patted Marluxia on the back. "There there…"
The waiter smiled. "That must have been his first customer! What a guy!" He hummed to himself as he began serving the other customers.
End of Chapter
I had fun writing the Marluxia and Vexen parts… Nyahaha! In case you were wondering, the girl OC's are me and my buddies, and the kids playing with Xigbar are from Kyo Kara Maou…
R & R please. Thanks!
