When he started to come to, Roxas was alarmed to find that he was staring at the ground. He also seemed to be moving; the ground bounced along underneath him, jostling him and making him feel a bit sick. Then, just as his haze was clearing up, Roxas squeaked silently as he slid back a little, and suddenly he became aware of an arm locked around his waist, while another hand was firmly gripping his rear.
"Do you think Vexen really knows what he's doing with this?"
The blond instantly stilled, repressing the urge to growl at the indignity of it all. Fuming slightly, he listened to his captors talk as they walked, noticing as the ground got wet and muddy where they tread. They were approaching water.
"Well, he is the brains, isn't he? According to him, the prince had agreed to pay well for us to do this job..."
Xigbar? Xigbar ordered this? That was strange. He supposed that meant he wouldn't be getting rescued from all of this. But then, what was the point of holding him for ransom?
The first voice, the one directly behind him, spoke again. "I feel sort of bad about doing this to a kid."
"Well, we're not here to think, are we?" replied the second voice, a little testily. "I'm the skill and your the muscle. If we want that money, we should keep to our own business. "
"But surely, even you have questions about this plan of his. Don't you have any sense of morality?"
A sigh followed, and Roxas snapped his eyes shut when the second voice got closer to him. He could tell the second man was now walking a small, leisurely pace behind the first, his eyes boring into the boy as he dangled limply like a rag doll over his partner's shoulder.
"I'm doing what I have to, Lexaeus. If I'm ever going to find the man who killed my father, I need the money."
The blond listened for more, but nothing came. As he squeezed his eyes open just a crack, he saw that the man who spoke was relatively short. Or perhaps the man carrying him was exceptionally tall. This man had hair that was a light purple-ish color, in a style that drooped low to cover one eye. The one eye that was revealed was cool and sad-looking; downcast as if in shame. Roxas vaguely wondered what sort of men these were. They didn't seem particularly mean or rough; from the sounds of it, they were desperate for money and agreed to do some strange job involving him. If only he knew what it was...
Wait...What's gotten into me? I shouldn't sympathize with such lowlifes! The boy shook his head just a little, but by the time he realized it, it was too late to take back the gesture. Immediately, the short, purple-haired man noticed him moving and called to his partner.
"It looks like the princess is awake, Lexaeus."
Before he could muster an appropriate retort, Roxas felt himself jerked backward slightly until he was facing the tall man, held almost bridal style now as the man examined him. This man was big and burly, with short, curly red hair on top of his rather thick-looking head. He looked to be the total opposite of the man behind him; even his gaze was not as cold and distant. It was simple, even a little warm and apologetic as their eyes met.
Roxas shook his head and glared firmly at his captors, only now realizing, as he wrestled with his hands, that he couldn't move them at all.
"I'm no princess, thank you very much! Now let me go! I'll fight you properly!"
The purple-haired man snorted. "Properly? Really! Fight a scrawny little boy like you?"
"How dare you!" The blond snarled back, struggling to look over Lexaeus's shoulder. "I am a man!"
"Alright, that's enough you two," came the big man, wagging his finger at both of them like they were a couple of pechulent children. Roxas flushed a little, more from rage and frustration than embarrassment, and the other man simply smirked and walked faster, coming into step right beside his partner.
"Twerp..."
"Zexion, behave," Lexaeus chided again. "Just because we kidnapped him doesn't mean we can't be nice to him..."
"Did you even hear yourself just now?" Zexion sneered, an incredulous look in his eye.
"Well, I just mean we can at least be civil. It'll be a long ride for everyone if we can't all get along."
Roxas looked up nervously, breaking out of his foul mood. Ride?
While his captors bickered back and forth, or rather, Zexion monologued to his dimmer associate, Roxas looked around to the tall trees surrounding them on every side. Great. He had no idea where he was, and to top off his luck, he was lost in the woods with a couple of imbeciles. He wondered how smart this Vexen person was. Lexaeus mentioned that he was the one who planned his kidnapping. Maybe he'd be just as dumb as these two and would end up letting him go?
Roxas sighed heavily, staring blankly at his knees. Fate would never be that kind...
After some time, the three of them came upon a riverbank, and a little boat sat waiting for them, shifting to and fro in the water. It was big enough to hold maybe 8 to 10 grown men, but to Roxas it looked like a little piece of junk. Paint was coming off in places and the sails looked a little too messy to be considered remotely "ship shape." Aboard the boat was a man with long, greying-blond hair and a slight hunch in his spine. When the man turned to greet them, his eyes instantly locked onto Roxas, smiling at him in a way that made the boy feel decidedly uncomfortable.
"Good, good...It's about time the two of you got back," he snapped, and Roxas felt Lexaeus wince slightly against him.
"Sorry, Vexen. It took us a while to find the kid, and by the time we'd turned around, it was a good hour before we-"
"I don't to hear your excuses!" Vexen snarled back. "Just get on board already! We have to haul this brat out of here soon, or the guards will catch on too soon!"
Roxas blinked, speaking up for the first time throughout the whole encounter.
"I thought you said Xigbar ordered this." He looked from Lexaeus to Zexion, noting the surprise and cold ignorance directed at him by each man respectively. "If he wants me out of the way, why bother going to the trouble of sending people after me at all?" What was the point of undergoing all those formalities for an undesirable marriage?
Vexen scowled down at him, his eyes cold and gleaming and dangerous before they snapped back to his associates.
"He heard you?" he snapped at Lexaeus, and the boy felt him wince and stiffen again. "How could you let him in on the plan? Do you have any brains at all in that colossal head of yours, or is it all just red meat?"
"I'm sorry, Vexen. I didn't know that he'd woken up."
"That's why you check him, fool! And keep your mouth shut about our big plans!" The old blond turned to Zexion, looking just as angry. "And you! You, I thought, at least had some brains in you!"
"We didn't say much," said the purple-haired man calmly. "But if it makes you feel better, he won't hear any more." Roxas glared as the short henchmen approached him quickly, but before he even had time to react, Zexion dealt a small but painful blow to his head. The boy groaned softly before he slumped uselessly against Lexaeus, as everything faded to black once more...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
When Roxas woke again, he felt an instant, familiar rush of illness take over him, but this time for a different reason. The ground was moving again, even from where he sat against a hard, cold wooden floor, and the constant rocking motion made his haze even more dizzying, sending his stomach spinning and aching with the occasional awkward lurch. Though he had never been on one before, he instantly knew he was on the boat. There was a coarse wool blanket thrown hastily over him, but thankfully his hands were free to move again. The little blond moved them slowly, subtly under the blanket, rubbing at his wrists gratefully.
How long have I been unconscious this time?
The voice of his thoughts was answered almost immediately as Vexen's voice rang clearly in front of him.
"The brat is awake again. One of you two watch him. I'm going to check the map."
Loud footsteps approached him, and Roxas raised his weary head to see Lexaeus sitting down on a barrel beside him, lazily dangling one large arm over the side of the boat.
The next thing he knew, a piece of bread was held out to him by a large, roughly calloused hand.
"Here. I thought you might be hungry."
Roxas stared at it blankly for a moment before he realized that yes, he was hungry. Very hungry in fact, having slept through lunch earlier that day. Ignoring the groan from his churning stomach, however, he turned his head away proudly, looking out over the open sea. The sky and water were dark; the only light shining upon either was the light of the moon and a few scattered stars, and the few small lanterns that hung scattered over the pathetic little sea craft.
"Aw, come on," said the large man, his face changing from quiet observation to a surprisingly kind smile. "It won't bite."
Roxas kept his gaze firmly elsewhere, but replied softly. "You don't seem like the typical brawn for this whole...mission. Why do you care whether or not I eat?"
"Well, I'm not usually one to think long and hard about this sort of thing, but if we've kidnapped you, that puts us in charge of taking care of you. You don't really seem like a bad kid; I sorry it has to be like this," he said sadly, scratching the back of his head absently. "But since you're stuck here one way or another, what reason do I have to be mean to you? You're scared enough as it is-"
"I am not!" The blond growled indignantly. "I'm not afraid of you or anyone else!"
Lexaeus sighed, running his hand along the rim on the side of the ship.
"You say that now, but I think anyone would be scared in a situation like this. You don't know what Vexen's planning, but you do know that Zexion and I will go along with it, whatever it is."
"Why?" Roxas looked up at him, the anger in his eyes melting in favor of innocent curiosity. "Why would you agree to hurt someone else, someone you don't even know?" Slowly his eyes grew bitter and sad, as he remembered the news of the pirate attack on Axel's ship.
"Why would you destroy a life like that?"
"I can't speak for others, but I need a job and money to be able to live. I need food on the table every day, and a safe place to sleep when the weather gets nasty. If I ever want to start a family, I need to be able to support them." Lexaeus shook his head simply, sadly. "Desperate men do desperate things to survive, and there are some other men that are just greedy. Either way, there is something they live for, and are willing to fight and kill for, to keep it. I can't say it's always the right thing, but I think that's how it is..."
Roxas hummed, looking down at his lap blankly.
"Something to live for, hm?...I had something like that once...I think..."
"You think?" An eyebrow raised at him in confusion, but not unkindly. Again, Lexaeus offered the bread out to him, meeting lost, sad blue eyes.
"You've lived this long for a reason, haven't you?"
There came a brief pause before Roxas sighed softly. "I suppose..."
"Hey, Lexaeus! Quit yapping over there!" Vexen snapped, not looking up as he poured over his maps. "You're supposed to feed him and watch him, not catch up on the latest gossip!"
Roxas frowned softly, but accepted the food. Not caring for manners at this point, he tore into the bread hungrily, finding it hard and crusty but surprisingly appetizing. Lexaeus gave him a small smile and ruffled his hair lightly before turning to look out over the water. It was dark and deathly quiet over there; even the eels were silent. That silence seemed to extend to the ship for a long while after, only broken occasionally by Vexen's mumbling, and Zexion looked up from his book with a small scowl of contempt at his partner.
Finally, some time later, Lexaeus called out to his associates, point at something over the horizon.
"Vexen! I see something out there in the water!"
"What?" The blond snarled irritably, pushing back his chair unceremoniously and stomping over to that side of the ship. Zexion looked up and sighed before coming over to join them as well.
"What is that?" the largest man asked honestly, pointing to something gliding over the water many yards behind them. It was large and dark; an indiscernible shape that was rapidly approaching them.
"Lexaeus, you dolt! That's just mist on the water!"
"Then why is it only there?" argued Zexion, squinting his eyes to focus on the mysterious object. "I think it's another ship..."
"Impossible! That's inconceivable!" spat Vexen.
"People fish out in these waters all the time, Vexen. How do you know he's not just some local fisherman?"
"We're miles out to sea in the middle of the night! Whoever he is, he can't be fishing without a single light on his ship!"
Suddenly, from the other side of the deck, there came a loud splash. All three men's heads turned to see that Roxas was no longer sitting on the floor beside him. Instead, he was in the water, struggling to swim and stay afloat, as he kicked himself further away from the boat.
"Damn it!" Vexen ran over to the other side and leaned over the edge, watching with dismay and frustration as Roxas began sinking fast. "Why weren't you two watching him?"
Zexion snarled, running to the wheel of the ship and beginning to turn it quickly. "We-"
"I don't want to hear your excuses! Hurry up and turn the ship!" Then a series of inhuman wailing cries filled the air around them, and the old blond cursed violently. The eels hunting in the water must have sensed the new target struggling and drowning and had come to take advantage. He jerked his head to Lexaeus, growling, "Get over here, you imbecile! Come try and grab him before the eels do! I told you we should have kept his hands tied!"
Roxas, meanwhile, was becoming less and less pleased with his escape attempt. Having lived on a farm all of his life, he had not been extensively taught how to swim, and only now was that horrible lack of skill choosing to rear its ugly head to him. That, and the shrieking, ear-spliting calls of the eels as the gathered around him, grazing by his thrashing legs and arms ever now and then, but never biting, made him feel true terror. He had no idea when they would strike, or if he would drown before they had their way.
"Oh Highness!"
Amidst his panicked thrashing, the boy looked over his shoulder to see Vexen motioning him to the boat. "You're in quite a predicament now, aren't you? Those eels sound pretty hungry; I'd hate to just let them eat you alive. So I'll cut you a deal: you swim back here and behave, and we'll pull you out."
"I-I can't!" Roxas cried, not even caring that they could see his blatant terror. "I can't swim!"
"What the hell do you mean, you can't swim? You jumped off the boat!"
The blond boy shook his head, crying desperately. "I-I thought I could make it! I'm sorry! Please!"
"Damn it, Zexion!" Vexen growled over his shoulder, motioning with frustrated urgency. "Hurry up and get this pile of junk over there!"
Roxas barely held back his sob as a scaly presence slinked past his ankle in the water. He was going to die, he just knew it. It was either drown and be smothered by the crushing, cruel pressure of the water, or be torn apart by merciless carnivorous fish. Neither way sounded particularly pleasant to him.
You can be with Axel...
Roxas gasped, surprised by such a thought. It was morbid, horrible really; but he couldn't deny that he found the end appealing. So what if the means was unpleasant? It was just his body, after all...
You've lived this long for a reason, haven't you?
A small, bitter laugh escaped him; a tear followed immediately after, slipping down his cheek and disappearing into the cold, dark water around him. Not anymore...
With sad resignation, Roxas went still and let himself slip beneath the surface of the water. He glanced around him briefly, seeing gleaming eyes and sharp teeth exposed in the little light from the boat above. Even though he was frightened and wished he could have found another way, the blond boy let a sad smile creep over his face at the thought of seeing his beloved Axel again. As a pair of serpentine eyes approached and a small maw of pointed teeth drew closer, opening wide for him like a doorway to death itself, Roxas closed his eyes and let out the last sigh of air he would breathe in this world.
Are you ready for me, Axel?
Cliffy! Oh no!...Not really if you've seen the movie or read the book I guess. I've only seen the movie sadly...
Side note: I kind of like Lexaeus as Fezzik, and thought he'd fit because he's the tall, strong, big guy. We don't get much of a sense of him in CoM, other than that he's tall...and strong...and big...and pretty quiet. I don't think he's dumb necessarily, but since we don't know as much about him, I figured he could be a nice guy. And Fezzik is a nice guy. Not the brightest, but yeah.
Zexion might be a fencer, or maybe I'll make him a mage or something. Something he's good at...I'll think of it. But yeah, he's Inigo basically. Meaner, darker, but he'll fill the role.
Hope it's cool so far. Thanks for helpful reviews! Tell me more! :)