AUTHOR'S NOTE!: Thanks for reading! I want to write a little note here-this story is not meant to fit into anywhere in the cannon storyline. I originally planned on it, but for my next plot lines for Lexaeus, he will have to adjust to living outside of any point of the story. If I figure out a way to make the story more chronological to the storyline, then I will certainly do so. I will announce any edits at the author's note. Thank you for your patience!
Report IV
Nothing worth mentioning occurred for the rest of yesterday—I took a little time for myself. Zexion spent enough time working that he forgot about Vexen's erratic behavior until we saw him again in the Grey Area; he refused to stand still in one area, as if someone was watching him. If I had not already committed my time after today's mission, I would investigate the incident further; however, I must leave that to Zexion.
Demyx eagerly waited for me to return from my mission—he gleefully leapt from his spot on the couch and ran towards me, his hands waving in the air.
"The semi-finals are today! Hurry! Let's go!"
We teleported to the Underworld with enough time to confirm our place in the semifinals; I was thankful that neither of us needed to see the Moogle before the tournament. Now that our potential as champions was a reality for the musician, he bothered to see who were to face: Hercules, the hero of this world. Demyx apparently finds the demigod intimidating—I naturally do not, though I fear that he may be a match for me.
"There are two of us and one opponent," I reminded Demyx as we waited for the signal to begin. While the crowd primarily rooted for Hercules, I had to instill the mentality of a possible victory into my comrade.
Demyx nervously approached the hero, took a deep breath, and gave him the challenge of defeating his water clones within a time limit. I remained to the side as support and occasionally protected isolated clones. With seconds to spare, Hercules defeated the clones; I stepped in by shooting rocks from the ground under his feet; he lost his balance and took some HP.
And thus, our battle commenced.
Our coordination was uncanny; after several off-report practices, Demyx gained enough confidence to stand up for himself. While his strength is not as overwhelming as my own, he certainly did his share of Hercules' defeat; after a similar combination of water clones, rocks shooting from the ground, jets of water, and our combined strength, the demigod and hero of Olympus was unable to continue fighting.
Despite how major the upset was to the spectators, Hercules genuinely appreciated a challenge in the tournaments; evidently, he typically wins titles and defeats all of the deplorable monsters Hades employ for the demigod's downfall.
-Just for a note for the Superior, while we were capable of completing Hades' task for him, we chose not to for the sake of maintaining a degree of secrecy during the mission.-
Anyway, during the brief intermission where I replenished our items, I asked Demyx to wait by the board to see who we would face in the finals. In the midst of my transaction with the local Moogle, I heard a loud, high-pitched cry of despair coming from the board. Calmly, I approached the devastated musician; he was on his knees, hands covering his face.
"Look at the board!" he whined.
I was tempted to mimic the musician, but so little that one would need Vexen's microscope to find that desire. Prospects were dreadful, nonetheless: we were to face Sora, Donald, and Goofy.
I said nothing in reaction, for my mind raced with ways to encourage my pupil. There were few words, but none worthy of being uttered.
"Did you even see who HE defeated?!" he added, still over-reacting to the hopeless challenge.
I examined the board to see that Sora and his friends defeated Cloud, who according to Demyx is a warrior even stronger than Hercules with a darker backstory. I would rather fight both of them at once than Sora.
"Do I have to defeat them by myself?" This may be a defining moment for Demyx. At the beginning of this escapade, I would expect him to ask if I had the kindness to fight them on his behalf. Despite his continuing reputation as a slothful neophyte, he proved his worth to me through his efforts in this tournament.
"No. I will fight alongside you."
Superior, you must forgive me for the latter section of this report. There was little Demyx or myself could have done to prevent such a catastrophe; we had no intentions of causing that much destruction.
After completing some post-mission intel, the reason the semifinals were postponed was due to Sora's calamitous tendencies in every world he visits; not only does he interfere with the affairs of all worlds he visits, but he also lays ruin where he steps. At the time, neither of us were aware of the degree of Sora's destruction; our focus was on the championship.
Demyx and I performed our usual combat maneuvers: he performed a musical number while Sora defeated water clones under a time limit, and I defeated Sora's companions, yet they continued to fight with what little HP they had. Our coordination was brief; however, after occupying my time with Donald and Goofy, I neglected to check on Demyx. He needed relief as he used all of his items; between the two of us, my supply also ran empty. Our HP was low, yet Sora had a seemingly endless supply of recovery items.
"I can't do this anymore!" Demyx shouted as he dodged one of Donald's spells, rushing towards me.
"Don't give up!" Goofy encouraged his disgruntled comrade.
We had one final option, one that I am sure Demyx rarely used; I myself reserved for emergencies.
"Limit Break, at the count of three." During our counts, we pushed Sora and his friends away from us so we could initiate the Limits; at three, we combined our elements to create the prime example of teamwork that Organization XIII will ever see.
Alas, neither of us were able to see this example come to fruition for I remember nothing else afterwards.
…
"Man, that was scary!"
"Nearly losing two of our number, what good would come out of that?"
I opened my eyes to find myself nearby the entrance of the Underworld with two Nobodies hunched over me—Xigbar and Luxord. I cautiously sat up, ignoring the weakness that overcame me. Demyx was next to me, regaining consciousness.
"How did you find us?" I asked.
"Sitar-boy here wouldn't shut up about the semifinals," Xigbar explained, motioning towards the musician. "Naturally, Luxord and I had to see if you guys would come out on top."
"You owe me 10000 Munny," Luxord added.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get it to ya sometime," he disregarded the debt. "But seriously, you guys came so close to winning. I couldn't believe the officials didn't even give you guys a trophy just for the performance!"
"We lost?" Demyx asked weakly. His head drooped out of disappointment. If I had a heart, this is where I would feel a strong sense of guilt, directed towards myself.
"We did, but think instead of what you learned during the tournament," I advised. Take that knowledge and use it to better prepare yourself for the next mission."
When I handed in the reports the next day, I received another earful from Saïx. He was even more displeased than before. It did not matter that the semifinals were neither afterhours, nor that we lost nor had excellent teamwork. I deviated from his schedule, and he would speak to the Superior about this issue; I did not mention that Saïx stated this to me on my previous infraction. Instead, the second-in-command took matters into his own hands.
"I have a mission for you tomorrow," he handed me a sheet of paper, "this will teach you to not deter from my schedule."
What will happen next? Wait until Report V and find out! Please Read and Review!
