Chapter Four - Sudden Burst
"BURN!"
Axel threw out his hands and engulfed the area with searing flames, scorching all in his path. He caught the sound of a sudden fluttering of cards and spun, snatching his chakrams out of the air in the process. He turned just in time to see Luxord dash down another rocky corridor. Axel grinned to himself. He was going the wrong way.
Without pausing, Axel turned back and darted across the cracked earth. He reached a similar parting in the rocky walls and sprinted down it, not daring to let go of his weapons for even a moment. He was so deep in the maze now that the rocky hallways were wide enough to run down - perhaps wide enough for two or three people to run abreast. Clearly this was some indication of going in the right direction.
Abruptly the wall to his left opened into a branching path and Axel spotted a black blur as he sped past. Without slowing, a wall of flames erupted out of the ground, fiercely blocking off the corridor completely. There was no way to tell who that had been, but Axel was not stopping to find out.
The rocky crevasse angled sharply to the right, and as Axel was turning something sharp tore through his coat just below the arm. He immediately ducked and rolled, tossing his chakram before him. It burst into flames as it spun, but the attacking figure deflected it and ran at him. Axel sprung to his feet and quickly threw a fist as hard as he could into the face of his opponent. Apparently he had caught them off guard and Axel watched as Larxene crumpled to the ground.
He snapped his hand out and his chakram loyally flew back to his hand. Yet before he could move off, the Savage Nymph was getting back to her feet. Without pausing to think, he spun his chakram. A small explosion erupted out of the side of the gorge, sending Larxene sprawling back down the corner Axel had just come around. The echo of the explosion was still ringing painfully in his ears, but Axel knew it hadn't been enough to put her out of action. He quickly spun and launched himself down the rocky hallway once more, soon sprinting out into another basin. He hoped Larxene hadn't cost him his lead, but his strategy seemed to be working so far.
The sound of lightning echoed from behind him and Axel ran headlong down the first open path he came across. Catching sight of a coated figure with blue hair walking ahead of him, Axel sped past and spun. The fireball he tossed was compressed enough to send Saïx flying backwards with a deafening roar, yet Axel landed and kept running as hard as he could. He would not stop, not until he got there before everyone else. He would not fail!
Demyx wasn't entirely certain what was going on. The rocky walls around him were shaking now, with the sound of distant explosions and thunder strikes echoing all around him. It can't have been going for more than half an hour yet, but it showed no signs of stopping whatsoever. At times the eruptions and screams of unknown sounds came closer, and at others they seemed further away, yet they were always there. Whatever was going on in this crazy gorge, Demyx was just glad that it was happening out there. With any luck he'd bypass whatever it was altogether.
Lost in his thoughts, Demyx had almost missed it when the corridors started to widen. It was a much more comfortable walk now, with Demyx almost able to stretch his arms out to either side, but it wasn't quite wide enough to be called homey. He vaguely hoped that Roxas had escaped from this crazy place unharmed, yet from the sound of it that may be unlikely. At the very least he wouldn't run into Larxene again, and that was always a good thing.
Abruptly the rocky walls widened out into a peculiar shape, and Demyx found himself in what seemed to be in the centre of some intricate pattern. Twelve rocky corridors opened up all around him, each one pivoting off into some windy path that the eye couldn't follow. Demyx turned in a circle slowly, realising this was probably the point where he was supposed to make some expert decision over which path would lead him onwards, and which ones would send him in circles around this gorge for the rest of his life. The only problem was, Demyx had absolutely no idea whatsoever. Even worse, he couldn't quite remember which one he had even come out of.
The sound of clashing steel sounded off to his left, and Demyx turned his head towards it, hands held out either side ready to run. The sound echoed twice more, and was quickly followed by the sound of a sudden explosion echoing out behind him. Demyx spun around to face the sound of his explosion, wondering which path it had come from, yet quickly turned back when the sound of steel meeting steel echoed three more times in quick succession. Before he could even think, an angry snarling started to echo faintly from yet another direction altogether before all three sounds started overlapping each other at once. Right, well, now he was completely lost and confused. Great, just great.
The explosions started getting louder, and Demyx came to the quick conclusion that he should probably get out of here as quick as he possibly could. He was just about to head down one path before a pillar of flame shot up into the sky a short way off, in the exact direction he had been about to go down. Yelping audibly Demyx turned and ran to the opposite selection of paths. He waited for all three sounds to sound once more and picked a hall that seemed completely free of any of them. Without wasting another second, Demyx ran down it as fast as he could, arms flinging wide as his long legs pumped.
Soon all sound dwindled, leaving Demyx with just the faint trembling of the earth as a reminder of the imminent danger. He didn't slow, but kept dodging down and around the many corners of the natural labyrinth. As he ran, Demyx fished into his pocket and pulled out Zexion's note, frantically searching it for any information he may have missed. He didn't think it was fair really. Just because he missed one memo Demyx was fleeing for his life down a miserably dusty maze in the middle of nowhere. At the very least, running into Larxene had told him one thing. The memo he had ignored had been for all the members, or at least more than just him. He was ready to bet a pretty penny on Zexion's note being only for him though, and so he scoured it for any advantage he could find.
Then he saw it, right there. I want to wish you good luck for your task today. Zexion wanted to wish him luck for his task, and while Demyx had originally presumed that meant it was a mission just for him, he now realised it meant that from Zexion's writing perspective it precisely meant that Zexion was not embarking on this dusty quest himself. Demyx couldn't think of any reason Zexion would be excluded if some of the other members hadn't also been spared the Maze of Doom, so this was just for some members, not all. Demyx was both relieved and slightly saddened by this. In all likelihood he wouldn't run into Xemnas here, which was as great a relief as there was, but there was no Zexion either. His side hopes of finding his closest friend in a moment of imminent danger were quickly dispelled.
He shook his head quickly and kept running. No matter. At least Zexion was safe. More than that, Zexion believed in him, the note said so. Demyx quickly noted the last part of the note and put it safely back inside his coat pocket. Once you retrieve the item at the centre of the gorge you can safely return without being disqualified. There was something odd about the use of the word disqualified –
Demyx's train of thought was quickly derailed as he skidded to a panicked stop, throwing his arms out to either side to keep his balance. The path immediately before him stopped and fell away in a sudden drop. A very long drop. Demyx had stopped just in time. One more step and ...
With a gulp he shuffled safely backwards from the edge. In doing so he realised that this was not a short chasm like he had encountered before, but seemed to be a high cliff looking over the rest of the valley; the entire rocky maze spread out before him. He had not remembered the path ascending at any time, but he supposed all the twists and turns had inevitably brought him up above the rest of the gorge, and now Demyx was left in awe at just how far this thing spread out. It was nestled comfortably between incredibly tall rocky shelves that encircled the entire valley, leaving the maze to sprawl out across the entire surface. From inside, each hallway had seemed immense to Demyx, yet from up here he could see that the pathways were innumerous and curled around in any which way they seemed to desire, opening out into the occasional open area before quickly squeezing back to a tiny corridor. Quite frankly it looked like the most impossible maze in existence, yet right in there in the middle Demyx could see it. A much larger circular area covered in a thick mist. Probably not natural mist, Demyx mused, considering the rest of the gorge was riddled with cracked earth and dry sand. That was most definitely his goal.
How he would reach it however still eluded Demyx completely. Even from this high up it was impossible to navigate any single path with his eyes, and even if he could there was no way to tell which path connected up with his own. As he was coming up with a strategy a female voice sounded from behind him.
"Why, hello again Demyx."
In a panic Demyx spun and stepped back to face her, yet with an immediate feeling of horror Demyx realised he had jumped back too far. He barely caught a glimpse of Larxene's shocked face before the world flew up before his eyes. Demyx was falling.
It wasn't the graceful kind of free fall that sky divers experienced when they fell through open air, flipping and falling unobtrusively. No, Demyx had been right on the edge of a cliff face, and thus his fall rather succinctly consisted of him falling down along the rocky cliff, arms flailing madly trying to slow his rabid fall and his feet kicking against the hard rocky surface - rocks and dust went flying as he went. The world flew by and through his rabid panic Demyx was confronted with the thought that he was going to die right here, right now.
Yet, even as he thought this he knew this wasn't how he was going to die. No, he would not. It just wasn't fair! As the air buffeted him in his downward flight Demyx threw out any action at all mindlessly. Thus, before he even knew what he had done, he was being propelled away from the cliff face by a horizontal geyser, throwing him far out over the expanse below him. For a moment Demyx's panic was quelled, and before the panic could resettle Demyx threw his arms out to either side, looking down at the swiftly approaching fall. The water around him gathered beneath his feet, and the immense geyser of water flowed over and downwards like some haphazardly falling wave, with Demyx riding it for all the world like a supernatural skateboard.
He was falling, yes, but now he was falling diagonally and he could control his descent. He experimentally swerved to either side and found it worked quite wonderfully. The smile was wide on Demyx's face as he flew downwards on his mid air wave, flying closer and closer to the centre of the maze. He wouldn't make it to the centre at the rate he was descending, but he could get far closer than he ever could have by walking. Best of all, this was amazingly fun! Ridiculously so! The wind was rushing past him and Demyx was surfing to safety. Take that sudden fall! It took more than that to take Demyx down!
The tall walls of the gorge's halls were swiftly approaching, so Demyx skilfully eased his wave down towards one of the small open basins. As the ground rushed up to meet him, he quickly realised he hadn't quite puzzled out how to slow down.
The wave hit the ground and dispersed, sending Demyx tumbling across the sandy ground with far more speed than he was expecting. He was tossed and tumbled across the ground until he finally stopped with a sound thump. When the world had agreed to stop spinning Demyx slowly got to his feet, cringing as he did so. He felt like he was scratched and bruised all over to say the very least, but he could not help but marvel at the fact that he was still alive. He had survived falling out of the sky and was now closer to getting out of this crazy mission once and for all.
With a smile Demyx turned towards the nearest corridor. Then his face fell at the sight of someone standing right before him. Tall and slender with wide shoulders, the pink haired man's Organization cloak seemed perfectly spotless. Demyx didn't need to look down at his own to know that he was caked in a layer of dirt from head to toe from the fall. Marluxia seemed to find this highly humorous as he barked a graceful laugh and pointed his scythe at Demyx, smiling far too smugly.
Normally Demyx would have mentally noted just how pink his scythe was, yet from this angle the only thing it seemed was sharp.
Before he could even react, a mass of writhing vines had whipped up around his legs and torso, effectively trapping his arms to his sides in the process. Try as he might, he couldn't move an inch. He could, however, glare at Marluxia angrily - which he did. Demyx summoned his best angry eyebrow expression and mentally hit Marluxia with a splash attack. Unfortunately, it had no effect, being in Demyx's imagination and all. Marluxia tossed his hair triumphantly and crossed his arms, considering Demyx with a look of snobbish contempt. This did not last long however, as before he could say something proud and demeaning a wildly spinning chakram collided with the back of Marluxia's head. Hard.
The result was a strange gurgling sound emitting from Marluxia's mouth as he slowly slumped and fell face forward into the dirt. Demyx had seen two organization members do that today. It never quite got old.
Apparently having forgotten the saviour chakram altogether, Demyx was rather surprised to see Axel striding towards him. Of course, there was not a lot one could say when found constricted in a tight tentacular mass, so Demyx settled for the first thing that came to mind.
"Axel! Hey! You're uh ... looking lively." Yeah, that'd do. Demyx tried his very best to make it look like he wasn't particularly worried about his current circumstances. Apparently this was difficult to do when one was immobilised completely and suspended in mid air, however.
Axel busied himself casually examining the limp form of Marluxia before responding to Demyx's comment. "Ah, Demyx," He said as he finally turned to him, looking him up and down lazily, "Didn't know you were into that kinda thing." Axel's poor humour aside, Demyx was very relieved that he had finally encountered an Organization member that wasn't decidedly crazy or potentially murderous. Perhaps he'd actually get some answers about this monstrosity of a day.
"Axel, whaaat exactly is going on? Here, I mean?" he asked happily.
Axel tilted his head to the side and considered Demyx in amusement. "You have no idea what's going on?" Well, he thought he had some idea, but Demyx didn't exactly feel like explaining his meager guesswork while completely entangled in vines. Much easier just to get the truth straight off.
"Nah-uh."
"None at all?"
"None Whatsoever!"
"Hmm!" Axel tapped his chin in thought, smiling deviously, "Well as much as I'd love to stay and fill you in, I have a prize to collect. So I will leave you with your uhh.. whatever it is you were doing." With that, Axel saluted Demyx and walked straight past him, viney mass and all.
"Huh?! No, Axel! Come back! You can't leave me like this!" Demyx struggled furiously against his bonds, but it was no use. These vines were TIGHT. Damn that Marluxia! Damn Axel! Damn the whole bloody Organization!
Just as Demyx was readying a further list of all the select things he wished to curse into damnation he suddenly felt the world lurch around him as he thumped heavily on the floor, the mass of vines falling with him.
He quickly disentangled himself and looked behind him just in time to see Axel snatch his returning chakram out of the air before speeding off down the chasm. That tool! If it was indeed some sort of prize that everyone was after, well, Demyx wasn't about to make it any easier for them. With a sudden grin of determination he soaked himself in a rush of water and sped off after Axel on a furious wave. Oh yes, the hurt was on.
The familiar whooshing of teleportation echoed behind him. Xemnas turned slowly to consider the new arrival to his chamber. Xigbar was leaning against the wall casually; arms folded and grizzled face smiling.
"You called, Xemnas?"
"Correct", Xemnas stated emotionlessly, pronouncing each word without a single facial expression, "There has been a change in plan. VIII and IX are proceeding too quickly." Xigbar stood up straighter and stretched his arms in relief.
"Well finally. Things were starting to get stale around here." Xemnas pretended to ignore his unprecedented display of boredom. Nobodies couldn't feel emotions, after all.
When Xemnas said nothing more Xigbar tossed his hand up in a friendly farewell and teleported out in a streaked twirl of darkness. The other members had a habit of doing that. Acting as if they could actually feel things. Or could they? Xemnas pondered this for a brief moment before dismissing the thought. No, it wasn't possible. He had studied the inner workings of the heart to a greater extent than any other, there was no way he would consider being incorrect at this point - anomalies and all.
In an effort to end this train of thought, Xemnas turned back to the hazy screen and smiled as Xigbar streamed into view. Noting that, he quickly brought his lips back down into his very precise emotionless face and pretended it had never happened. He could not be wrong. He just could not be. Too much rested on this.
Woaaah look. Chapter Four done! There should only be one or two chapters to go now, depending. Most likely two, but you never know. Demyx might do something AMAZING and surprise me.
But yes! Tell me your thoughts!
I have to congratulate becoafamu for basically nailing her guess on what's going on, though sadly I couldn't find any place to fit little Vexen in to say so. She also Beta'd this chapter, so go tell her how awesome she is! = 3 I'm sure the plot should be wonderfully clear by now what's going on and all, so I will end with this!
Who do you think is going to win? GO ON, TRY GUESS! = D
