Demyx walked with a deep glare in to the dark, empty, hidden laboratory. Finally, they had a plan to save Marluxia and get the hell out of the mad botanist's lab.
The first step was a quick survey of the lab holding Marluxia to see what they had to work with; what could catch fire and what couldn't etc. Demyx quickly volunteered for the survey, wanting to be as big a part of the take down as possible. Humans that can so easily harm another living thing so easily without regret shouldn't deserve the Heart the Organization so desperately desires.
Demyx passed by some tables scattered with notes on Marluxia and books of the plants in the area. "Those will be good fuel." He said to himself, taking a mental place marker. He looked up to the ceiling at the bolted windows opening portals to the lagoon above them. If they hadn't been on the top floor of the three level lab the next part of their plan would have been more complicated to accomplish. He raised his arm to wave it then clench his fist. The window over him groaned with the strain of water pushing against it. "It needs something more to weaken them."
He continued around the lab looking and making spots in his head that would aide the plan best. He stopped when an eerie blue glow cast upon him. He sighed and looked up at the reason for the attack. Marluxia's water tank cast the only lighting in the room but the sick blue light was bright enough to light a good portion of the lab dimly.
Demyx walked up to the tank, keeping his sorrow clad eyes on his unconscious floating friend. If their plan failed not only could they lose Marluxia and his power to these humans, they also risk being wrapped up in to the same fate as well. "Don't worry, Marly." He whispered, gently placing a hand on the glass. "We'll get you out, I promise."
"Shinsui? I didn't expect to see you out at this hour."
Demyx jolted, turning around to face the approaching Canell.
"Oh, Canell." Demyx said, changing his posture to a straight and proper one, like the scientist he's playing as. "I couldn't sleep with the anticipation for tomorrow. It's a phenomenal breakthrough."
"Ah, I understand." Canell stood next to Demyx to look up a Marluxia with a look of pride. "Finally, every botanist's dream, the dream to control nature at our whim, will finally come true. All because of this creature." He touched the glass. "This creature we found by chance. How simple that such unattainable power was waiting for us here, all along. It makes you wonder what other powers could be out there, doesn't it?"
"I… suppose so." Demyx stepped a bit away from Canell. Canell's expression grew slightly wild as he stared at Marluxia, talked about "unattainable power", seemed to be thinking how he could find those powers himself to do to them the same as Marluxia—to be able to use them. "But it was lucky to find him here. There might not be that much luck in finding, if any exist, more powers."
"You lack faith, Shinsui." Canell shook his head. "I know there are more like It, I've been in this business too long to know I can't push back impossible possibilities." Canell clenched his hand, now glaring up at Marluxia. "What else are you hiding?"
"I should leave." The intense aura radiating from the scientist who evidently had been obsessing over the "unattainable powers" for nights on end gave Demyx a cold chill. As he turned to leave Demyx's wrists were suddenly grabbed and pulled back, pinned to Marluxia's water tank. He was surprised, especially when meeting the hungry green eyes of Canell.
"You have something special to yourself as well." Canell said in a low tone.
"Excuse me?" Demyx wasn't enjoying experiencing Canell's mood shifts.
"You, when I first saw you walk in, I knew there was something different about you."
"C-could you let me go?" Demyx turned his head away as Canell leaned closer.
"I've researched some on you. I found details on your works and degrees, but no picture of you, why is that?" Canell asked in soft breaths.
"I… I'm not very comfortable with pictures. Please, let me go."Demyx asked again. He wished he could slash out at Canell with his water but it would ruin everything if he exposed himself then. So he'd have to put up with this, no matter how scared he was.
"I wonder what sort of experiments I could do to you. What I could make you become. How I could make your perfect form bend to my ideal state." Canell's low whisper scared Demyx even more. It was cold, making his skin tingle with nerves at the threat.
"I-I-I'm not comfortable with this-ah!" Canell's tongue met Demyx's neck, tasting up the length to under his jaw.
"Sorry, force of habit from long ago." Canell softly says. "I just needed to be sure of your perfection."
Demyx clenched his hands. Now he really wished he could use his water to get himself out of this and away from this weirdo. "Pl-please let me go…"
"Don't be scared." Canell pressed his forehead to Demyx's temple. "I haven't played with a perfect body since I met Erb and grew fascinated by his work. But for you, I might just turn back to my old ways, one last time, just to see you evolve under my hands. If you're interested, I'd be eager to open my locked chest of my true trade for you after the celebration tomorrow. I do hope, as a scientist, you're curious to see just what I can do." He whispered softly in to Demyx's ear, like he was trying to seduce Demyx to sub-come to his offer. Demyx felt Canell brush his lips softly against his ear before finally releasing him.
Demyx slid away quickly from who he's now assuming to be a scientist who needs to spend less time under the lagoon and seek some sort of therapy for his sick obsession of perfection.
"What the hell was that?" Demyx rubbed his neck. "That guy went from botanist to mad scientist." Demyx shuddered. "No wonder I felt like that guy was acting weird around me. He wants to turn me in to some abomination of his." He sighed deeply. "Why do I always attract these kinds of people?" Demyx made a mental note to take particular aim at Canell during the attack tomorrow. He needed payback after that psycho assault.
He returned to his shared room with Axel.
"How'd it go?" Axel asked as soon as Demyx closed the door. He was nervous about Demyx going on his own to a point he stayed on the edge, staring at the door till Demyx returned.
"I figured out the positions, plus we need some work on the glass above us so I can do my part right." Demyx answered.
"I can probably handle that. Anything else?"
"Yeah." Demyx rubbed his neck. "The people down here are insane."
"I think we've established that."
"No, I mean. Scary insane." Demyx shook his head. "I ran in to Canell before heading here and… he was acting weird… telling me that he wanted to experiment on me."
"He didn't catch you using water did he?" Axel stood from the bed, worried.
"No he just… said I was perfect or something like that and wants a chance to make me… his creation." Demyx shuddered, vividly remembering Canell's hungry look and chilling words.
"And what'd you say?" Axel hugged him knowing all too well the sensitivity Demyx had towards assaults.
"I left as soon as he let me go. It was creepy. Especially when he… licked my neck"
"He what?" Axel looked down at the younger Nobody hugging him.
"He said it was a force of habit from before. I just want to save Marly and get out of here before any more nonsense things happen. It's too much stress."
"Just wait till tomorrow." Axel nuzzled the smaller one. "We'll drag them all down in to darkness."
"Siñoras! Siñores! My friends we've done it!" Erb announced to the floor of assembled scientists who he had finally allowed entrance to the hidden lab that only a few had the rights to enter before. He's standing in front of Marluxia, Canell at his side holding a small handgun that had been altered with tubes and its barrel holding a pink-green dust. "Here, my friends, held in the hands of my trusted partner is but a small concentration of what we have accomplished." Erb continues. "Time and time of working and we have finally accomplished the impossible, the ability to control Mother Nature at our whim just as this," he pointed to Marluxia, "did when we first found It. And once we use It to finally power the computer we have created we will be set for life!"
The entire crowd cheered, raveling in the outstanding accomplishment. All but three faces in the crowd.
"What do you think that computer thing will do?" Axel asked.
"Didn't you hear?" Zexion replied. "Once they transfer Eleven's life force in to it it'd be like he'd become the computer."
"I'm amazed these humans have managed to create such advanced mechanics in such a short period of time." Vexen said. "I'm curious how they plan on doing the transfer."
"Can we be curious later? We have to save Marly before that." Axel hissed at them.
"Very well." Vexen sighed, though he wished he could have seen it. "Have you set up your flames?"
"All twenty four of them where Demyx said. I'll heat the windows when we're close to bailing out so I can use a stronger heat." Axel nodded.
"Where is Nine anyway?" Zexion asked. "He's the one who insisted on doing this now."
"He said he had something to do first but he'd be here." Axel looked back to Erb who had gone on explaining how they had found Marluxia, the experiments they'd gone through, and how, though they would lose Marluxia, the computer would work and guarantee to gift them the power they all desire.
"I've grown attached to this flor here, but It has a bigger destiny. It has given us wonder, new knowledge, an open mind and now It will help us make our world, our home, ideal." Erb placed a hand on Marluxia's tank. "Gracias por todo. Eda un honor trabajar con usted." He bowed his head then looked back to the hyped up audience. "Now then, my friends, we shall celebrate first and for the closing to this momentous day I invite you all to my personal lab to watch the moment our dream comes true." The crowd cheered again and the mood of celebration ignited. "Canell, please take care of our little experiment down in the Green Room then come join the celebration."
"Yes, sir." Canell left, taking the altered gun with him as Erb jumped and joined the drinking botanists.
"Where's he going?" Axel was suspicious, not to mention bitter, to Canell after what Demyx told him last night.
"Never mind him, Eight." Vexen huffed. "Just mingle with the others until Nine returns. Without him we can't start or end the attack."
"And keep your flames small so no one sees them." Zexion added. "Why did we even give such a big responsibility to one who does the least work?"
"Cram it." Axel snorted. "Come on, Dem…"
...
...
...
"I know you're not happy down here but don't worry, we're going to take down this place once and for all." Demyx ran his hand over a thick vine resting across his lap. "And I'm going to make sure you survive."
He looked up at the large Venus Fly Trap looming over him in the Green Room. The Fly Trap had been victim to the botanists' Marluxia power experiments ever since it was brought down here. Going from small to big to small to big again, the stress to its body was visible in its yellow leaves, bent body and upturned roots. As much as the light bulbs above pretended to be the sun they were no replacement for a plant smarter and with more life to it than an average plant. If it stayed in the lab for much longer there soon wouldn't be something to save but mulch.
The Fly Trap leaned its large head down to softly nuzzle the top of Demyx's soft head, purring lightly. Demyx patted the bottom of the large mouth with a small smile.
"If I knew how to shrink you back to normal I would."
"Shinsui?"
Demyx looked to the door and gulped. The sliding door closeed behind Canell with a click as he just stood there, watching Demyx in amazement who was easily petting the plant beast no one had been able to get near.
"C-Canell…"
"How did you manage this?" Canell approached Demyx but the Fly Trap stoped him from getting too close with a low growl.
"I…umm… talking to plants…"
"Of course. Such a simple concept but it's genius when it comes to this mistake." Canell noded, the Fly Trap growled angrily. "You exceed my expectations so much."
"Sh-shouldn't you be at the celebration?" Demyx really wanted to change the subject.
"I was. But I came here to fix this mistake with our newest findings." Canell gestured to the gun he qA holding. "Though now I think that can wait."
"Fix it?" Demyx looked to the gun then to the Fly Trap. If he could get the gun and keep Canell away that would make this part of the plan easier. "Yes, I think it can wait as well."
"Come again?" Canell seemed a bit surprised by Demyx's answer.
"I was thinking about your offer." Demyx stood and moved closer to Canell. "And I just couldn't get it out of my mind. I want, need, to know what you can do."
Canell quickly sliped the gun in to his coat pocket and moveed his hands to Demyx's face, one at his chin the other at the back of his head, tilting it up. "Are you serious?" He looks over Demyx's face with wide excited eyes. "Will you really let me alter perfection once again?"
"Yes." Demyx breathed out softly. "My lust for the oddities is telling me so."
Canell steped closer, pressing his taller body to the smaller one. "Oh how eager I've been to hear you accept my offer. I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon."
"The sooner we start, the sooner I'll be made absolutely perfect by your hands." Demyx ran his hands down Canell's waist.
"I will make you so perfect. You are going to be my greatest morph." He presseed his forehead to Demyx's. "You and I, we'll be an unmatched duo."
"I agree, but there's one thing I need you to do first."
"What is it? Anything to make you comfortable." Canell whispered softly against Demyx's lips.
Demyx smirked. "Take a drink." He pulled the gun from Canell's coat and with a quick flick of his wrist pulled the water flowing through the pipes in the wall, shooting off the spigot where drops used to fall one by one. The water shoots to Canell and encases him in a water orb that pulls him from Demyx. Inside the orb he looks around, confused, holding his breath, panicking. "Remember when you said that there might be other unattainable powers out there? Well, you're looking at one." Demyx smugly says as he waves the gun in front of Canell. "Next time, don't be so handsy." He snaps his hand towards the wall flinging the orb towards it. It pops with the loud thud of Canell slamming against it and with a soft rustle he slides to the grass in an unconscious heap. "Now that he's out of the way." Demyx looked to the Fly Trap and aimed the gun at it. "This should fix you right up, I hope." With a gust of pink-green dust encircling it the Fly Trap shrinks back to the normal size from when Marluxia first gave it life. It purrs and chirps, grateful to be itself again. "We're not done yet." Demyx scooped up the little plant and placeed it in a potted plant on the table behind him. Then, similar to what he did with Canell, he traped the Fly Trap in a bubble of water making sure to keep an air pocket inside. "You're going to need this, trust me. I'll be back for you once everything is over.
The Fly Trap gives him a nod.
...
...
...
Axel looked around the lab growing more and more impatient. "Demyx you said you'd be right back." He huffed to himself.
"I am back."
"Dem?"
Demyx strolled casually to stand next to Axel holding a cup of water. "Hi."
"Don't 'hi' me. Where have you been?" Axel asked.
"I had some things to take care off." Demyx took a light sip of water. "I miss anything?"
"Only the fact that they plan on killing Marly after this party."
"Don't worry." Demyx smiled against the rim of his cup. "Marly isn't the one suffering today."
A large boom echoed through the lab silencing the jolly scientists. Another boom over them, louder, and another; the water outside the lab forced in to underwater waves to crash against the lab from all sides. The scientists look up in confusion at the rumbling-shaking interrupting their festivity.
"Finally." Zexion huffed. He backed in to a corner where he was able to hide his open Lexicon behind his back. In the next slam he cast an illusion to made it seem like the roof was starting to crack and grow bigger with each slam. That started the scientists bellow in to a panic. They watched their steel roof in horrid silence, with a touch of gasps, crack as easy as a pie crust with each unnatural slam. "Your turn." Zexion nodded to Vexen.
Vexen looked up at the large "crack" and on the next slamming increment ice started to creep from its center. The ice crawled across the ceiling then down the sides quickly till the entire dome was layered in a thick ice sheet. A cold chill started to spread with a light chilly mist that hurt the scientist to the bone as they shook with fear.
"Professor, what's happening?" A young, frightened botanist with glasses too big for his rat face asked Erb.
"No se…" Erb answered, completely lost as he stared at the ice sheet freezing his lab. "I have never seen anything like this before." His answer wasn't comforting to the others. As they mumbled amongst one another, frightened and questioning, Vexen snuck along the wall to Marluxia.
Axel watched Vexen till he made it to the control panel keeping the Assassin trapped but alive. The red head looked to the shivering Nocturne next to him, cracked his fingers and rolled his shoulders.
"My turn, finally."
A scream from the far right of the room alerted everyone to the large flame that had just erupted to the height of the dome. Another scream towards the back when another jet of flames rose, this one having awoken under a table, eating it and the research on top. One by one and with a scream accompanying each, all twenty four of Axel's flames awoke around the lab, melting the walls in to a cold shower on to the scientists.
"Erb this is madness!" A blonde, shrill botanist squeaked.
"Quick, put out the flames!" A more built male botanist ordered. He and two others quickly found the fire hose and took aim at the closest fire jet to them.
"How troublesome." Vexen huffed, looking from his work at cracking the code to free Marluxia. He waited for when the "hero" scientists were about to release the water to raise his hand and freeze the water. He smirked when they dropped the hose and icicle sticking from it in shock and returned to his hacker work.
"You doing okay, Demyx?" Axel asked.
"Yeah, staying hydrated." Demyx answered, taking another drink of water. Things were going better than planned, more amusing really. The more they panicked and worried about saving the lab the less they paid attention to Vexen. Once he gets MArluxia out all they need is a portal, a flood and they're home.
"Shinsui!" The panic quiet and all looked to the call.
"Canell? What happened to you?" Erb asked.
"Shinsui!" Canell repeated, more as a growl than a call. He was dripping wet, leaning against the open sliding door with a slouch with his hair sticking over his face save for the one visible glaring furious eye. "Shinsui can control water! He's one of those like that pink thing!" Canell spat. The scared botanists looked from Canell then to Demyx. Demyx tapped his fingers against the side of his water cup, staring down at the small ripples he was making. Then he looked up with a sly, mocking grin.
"You got me." He said calmly and with a cock of his head two water streams from the melted ice shoot out to Canell, hitting him in his temples to knock him out once again. "Oops, my bad." Demyx said with fake sympathy.
"Get him!" Erb quickly orders.
"Woah there. Before you get so grabby." Axel stepped in front of Demyx. "Since we're showing off hidden talents, might as well show mine." In a burst of flames Axel burned off his disguise till he was down to his Organization uniform. "My name's Axel, got it memorized?"
"You! You're the one making this fire!" A botanist from the crowd accused.
"Great deduction." Axel sarcastically claped which causes the twenty four flames to merge in to six larger flames each pointed under one of the thick windows bolted to the dome.
"Todo este tiempo, tu." Erb clencheed his hands. "All this time you, the both of you, have hidden from me your powers!"
"It's kinda obvious why." Axel replied. "We're here to rescue our friend you're torturing."
"Friend?" Erb nearly shouted.
"The one you took. And if you haven't realized it now, we're not the scientists you expected." Demyx added.
"And if you hadn't realized that, then you wouldn't have realized our friend Vexen there nearly busted Marly free either." Axel smirked as the water started to drain from Marluxia's tank.
"You as well!?" Erb's trust was breaking.
"So sorry, but I did rather enjoy studying some of your findings." Vexen said to the shocked Erb.
"Leave my experiments alone!" Erb stepped to Vexen but was pushed back by an invisible barrier. "Què?"
"Since the troublesome youths have exposed themselves, might as well not hide it either." Zexion walked up next to Vexen holding open his Lexicon.
"No…" Erb was frozen with shock.
"Humans, so easy to manipulate." Zexion continued. "It's best that neither you or your colleagues move at this point. Water, flames, ice, illusions, it appears we have the advantage over you and your numbers."
"They're monsters!"
"Erb do something!"
"Don't let him do this to us!"
"They're just projects like the other one!"
Cries from his friends called out to Erb, wanting to encourage him to do something to save them from the threat. But Erb was a smart man. They were four and he many, but they had power. Power he always wanted but his simple human body could never deliver. He stood still, watching as the illusionist and ice maker pulled his greatest find from its tank.
"Maybe in different circumstances, we could have had some stories to tell one another." Erb quietly said. Vexen and Zexion looked to him but remained silent as they opened a portal and carried Marluxia through.
"Well since that's taken care of. Demyx?" Axel called down his flames and opened a portal.
Demyx calmly sat his empty cup down and walked so he stood in front of the frightened botanists. They cowered away, grouping together like hunted sheep.
"Now then, I do hope you've learned a little something about taking what isn't yours and then breaking it." He raised his arms. "I hope you can swim." In one swift movement he brought down his arms crossed in front of him. The glass above cracked, weakened from the fire thrust up at them, and broke away letting in torrent streams of lagoon water in to the lab.
Everyone started running, panicking as the lab quickly started to fill with the murky water. Erb stood still, never having moved from his position except to turn around to watch his fellow scientists scramble and the remaining Nobodies leave through their portal. Erb watched his friends whom he hand picked to join him under the lagoon panic, run, search for an escape, topple over the unconscious Canell who's body helped keep the lab doors open as the water continued to rise
Everything he loved, strove for, admired ever since he found solace in the gentle plants he would watch for hours since his youth—gone because he let his studies of the impossible overcome everything else. Everything else he should have valued more.
"You are your own enemy…" Erb's voice was a bubble in the water flowing over his head.
AN: And I am back my lovely readers who have been waiting so long for me to update this. Phew. I am so glad to finally have had the time to work on this fic. Let me tell you, multitasking between college and attempting to be an author is something on its own level. Any who, Marluxia is free but at the costs of his fellow Nobodies acting as emotionless as the way they are meant to be. Well, at least towards humans anyway. I have one more chapter for this which I'm almost done writing, and I do have an idea for a sequel to this fic. And that idea gets a bit weird. But that's for future me to think about how to write and when to publish. Look out for more updates. I'm hoping to keep them more frequent. Love to all my readers!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.