Demyx smiled as he looked around the cold, blue laboratory. He swung his legs merrily, waiting to hear the familiar footsteps echoing around the lab and to see the blond bangs dangling in obscurely as Vexen ducked into his safe haven. Today was the day that Vexen and the others were due back from Castle Oblivion, and he'd wait all day if he had to. He wanted to give the Academic a surprise after being stuck with Larxene in that cold, ugly castle for all that time.
Hours passed, and Demyx eventually curled up on the examining table, falling asleep.
"Demyx? What are you doing in my lab at this time of the night?"
One aqua eye opened and the blond beamed somewhat sleepily as he sat up.
"I was waiting for you."
"That was…Nice of you. But you know that Axel's back too?"
"Yeah. But he'll find me if he wants to see me. You I have to make an effort to see."
"Don't let him hear that, hm?"
The older Nobody smiled a little as he flicked the switches on all sorts of machines and they hummed to life, casting an eerie light around the dark room and causing the test tubes to glow. Then he sat down on the table beside Demyx, nodding.
"We have prepared the new quarters. Are you going to volunteer to move over with Axel, Roxas, Marluxia and Luxord, or shall you stay with Xigbar, Zexion, Lexaeus, Saïx and myself?"
The question was simple enough, and the Nocturne tapped his chin thoughtfully as he mulled it over.
"What's Castle Oblivion really like after a while? When I visited Axel, it was cold and scary."
"What difference is there from here?"
"No, see…Here, there are signs of life. Like, you can smell Xaldin's cooking, or hear Larxene yelling, or smell Marluxia's flowers. There's warmth here. But over there…It was too big and empty. It freaked me out."
"Hm…When did you visit Axel?"
"A few weeks ago. I tried to look for you, but he wouldn't tell me where you were."
"I was probably in my lab. You know what Axel's like; he doesn't like to share."
The boy giggled as Vexen rolled his eyes, before pausing.
"I think I might stay here. I can't move my aquarium over, and I couldn't leave it here."
"You're sentimental over a bunch of lesser life forms."
"You are too!"
"Give me an example."
Demyx loved debating with Vexen. The older man would take the side of science and logic, whereas he would go on simple reasoning and the abstract, like feelings that they didn't have.
"You're MY friend."
"That's not nice to say about yourself, Demyx."
"But see, it's the truth! Not only are you way smarter than me, you're higher up in rank. You're taller, broader, and…Yeah. You're just higher than me in nearly every way, Vexy!"
"But you make people happy. Everyone here loves you as much as Nobodies can. You, my watery friend, are on a plane of consciousness that we've all yet to achieve. You say you can feel, and I do no doubt that at all. You're the closest to a heart. Indeed, I think it dances at your fingertips, and that is the quality that makes you so enchanting to other Nobodies. Even the Dragoon Nobodies obey you, much to Xaldin's chagrin."
"Vexen, do you really think I have a heart?"
"We all have hearts, in a sense. There's the physical presence, which we must have or else we would die. But what we are missing…The emotions, they are in Kingdom Hearts. And Xemnas' plan is to get Kingdom Hearts to a stage at which we can gain both what we have lost, and the power of other hearts."
"I only want my heart; I don't want someone else's!"
"You have others' hearts already, Demyx."
"What do you mean?"
"You have Zexion's, and Lexaeus', and Xigbar's, and Luxord's, and Marluxia's, and Saïx's…And you have Axel's and mine too, I think. I told you before; you enchant other Nobodies like your Dancers mesmerise others."
"Aw, thank you Vexen!"
Just as Demyx lurched forward, meaning to give the older Nobody a hug, he disappeared in a burst of darkness.
"Dem, wake up…Wake up would you? I'm back."
"Whuh?"
Demyx's eyes opened and he found himself staring at a rather exhausted Axel.
"Hey Dem. I'm back."
"What? I was talking to Vexen…Where is he?"
"You were asleep. And Vexen…I have to tell you something about that."
The shifty look in Axel's turquoise eyes went unnoticed by the confused Nocturne, who looked around as he stretched cramped muscles.
"What happened? Where's Vexen?"
"He…He was killed by the Keyblade Master, Dem. And so were the others. Naminé went missing, and I was the only one that came back."
"What?!"
"I'm sorry Dem…The Castle was pretty much destroyed."
"NO!"
The blond clung onto his pyromaniac friend, who stroked his hair as tears soaked his cloak.
"I'm sorry…It'll be alright, don't worry…"
"No…Vexen was right here, he was talking to me, we were talking about hearts…I swear!"
"Dem, that was a dream."
The Flurry gave his best sympathetic smile as the boy howled, holding him close and comforting him while inwardly celebrating the fact that all serious competition was eliminated.
And Demyx was simply crying, his head hurting from the outpour of 'emotion' that he wasn't supposed to feel.
Neither of them noticed four tiny, glowing orbs floating down and dissolving into the darkness of Demyx's cloak.
"You have others' hearts already, Demyx. Including mine."
