Here we go! After fussing over minute details and spending almost two days just typing it up, I present chapter seven of XIII Replacement.
I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Yeah.
7. The Wettest of Dreams
Silence in the Superior's office could kill. Yelling, the Organization had agreed, was much preferred. Then, at least, he wouldn't frown like that and stare so piercingly with his unreal orange eyes. But no, today Xemnas wanted to see seven's breaking point. He'd apparently found something very interesting with his folded hands and that's where Number VII's gaze stayed for quite awhile. Xemnas finally got up from his grand rolling chair quite unexpectedly, bumping the side of his white-painted oaken office desk. A pen rolled out of place and, lour still etched on the Superior's face like someone had chiseled it on, he moved it back to its rightful spot on the desk, tip pointed accusingly at Saix. He cleared his throat almost obnoxiously and crossed the box-shaped room to his important metal filing cabinet looking lonely by the window. A key with the usual Nobody insignia fashioned on the end was produced from within Xemnas's coat and he used it to unlock one of the cabinet's drawers. Only then, with an undignified squeak from the metal rollers, did Saix's attention come off his hands.
The Luna Diviner turned his head ever-so-slightly to the right in an attempt to figure out his actions. After he'd retrieved the desired folder and sat back in his comfortable chair dwarfing the one his subordinate was seated in, seven jerked his eyes away. The Superior pretended not to notice, instead plopped the thick document onto the desk, making Saix flinch and sending a few dust particles into the air.
"Number VII," Xemnas said in a calm tone. "Allow me one word to describe what you did: foolish. Perhaps elaborating would be to your benefit…?"
"Mmm," he mumbled in reply.
"Releasing her with insufficient data wasn't your orders, were they? It borders on the idiotic, in my perfectly valid opinion. Now I'll have to resort to plan B…but just because I have other ways to get what I need—no, what this organization needs—doesn't mean that you will go unpunished, as you know." Melodramatically, he flipped open the folder and ran his writing hand to the pen situated near Saix.
"No…you can't do this," Number VII whispered, eyes wide with realization.
"It is well within my power and I certainly will," his better said coldly. "This incident will follow you for the rest of your non-existence." Saix watched in horror as Xemnas scribbled mercilessly on the paper. He gripped his chair tightly and a single, unnoticed yet perfect tear rolled down one cheek before disappearing into the fibers of his black cloak.
Several long moments passed before the Superior stopped writing and put down that cursed pen. The Luna Diviner had his head down, currently disregarding the world in his own personal bubble of thought.
"You are dismissed, seven," he said in an oddly gentle voice.
"I need a minute," Saix murmured into his gloved hands.
"Er…" Just then someone knocked on the door, two sharp authoritative sounds that were heard clearly from inside. "Come in…if you must," Xemnas called, adding the last part silently to himself. Xaldin entered and offered a stiff bow of his head to the Superior.
"I'm terribly sorry to bother you at such a late hour, sir, but I have something very important to tell you." He paused, catching sight of Number VII. "Um…were you crying, seven?"
"No," Saix answered quickly.
OOO
Axel was a silent observer in the common room while waiting for morning hunger to strike him. Stretched out comfortably on the sofa, he had a wonderful view of the card game going on between Luxord and Zexion-or, rather, how Number VI was protesting about the inclusion of munny in their "friendly match." Bent over near them was the Graceful Assassin, fussing over the room's pathetic little potted plant that he'd labeled as overwhelmingly lonely and neglected. And as always, the Silent Hero was keeping to himself as he browsed the Nonexistent Herald. Personally, Axel would never read such a dull newspaper that half its contents revolved around the inner workings of Dusk throngs, which was basically lesser Nobody gossip. Though Lexaeus, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the funnies included at the end. His colleagues knew this from that tell-tale guttural sort of chortle disguised by a cough and serious frown.
The Flurry of Dancing Flames, too absorbed in watching other people to notice someone else enter the room, almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden light weight on his chest. The small Organizer drew back in surprise but smiled at Axel toothily. He raised those thin eyebrows of his and the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Sorry I startled you, Mr. Axel. Are you waiting for something?" Number XIII asked curiously.
"Not really." Satisfied enough with his answer, she sat down on the couch with him.
"Demyx told me to wait for him out here," she stated. As if on cue, a burst of water broke off the door and poured inside, most of it being soaked up by the carpet. Risk jumped up in a flourish of black fabric at the sure sign of Number IX and peered around hopefully. Marluxia yelped in fear for his new friend and ran to open the main hall door before scooting back to get his potted plant, shrieking in distress about over-watering. The rest of the Organizers simply went back to their morning activities, unwilling to fight the unavoidable.
"DANCE WATER, DANCE!" Frantic sitar music filled their ears and then the Melodious Nocturne appeared via surf, drenching everything and everyone with cold water. He passed through quickly thanks to the swift flow, grabbing Risk's hand on the way and saving her from the worst of it. Before they knew it, he'd disappeared out the door left open in the wake of Number XI. "Woohoo! YEAH! Thank you, Organization XIII!" Demyx called.
Even with the most hasted of glances one could tell that the others were less than pleased with being soaked to the skin. Unmoving and still frowning, Lexaeus settled with sitting and staring over the top of the floppy Herald, words now blurred beyond hope of ever being able to be read again. Luxord had quieted down and was now knocking back ale of some exotic sort, obviously smuggled out of the Superior's private cupboard. No one had noticed Number VI slowly lower his head until it made contact with the table but care: he did not. As for the state of all the gentlemen's hair, that was a place one shouldn't dare to venture (the exception of Luxord's hairdo being noted). But, wet as they all were, Axel looked by far the worst. Nevertheless, he got up, shook his head to send water droplets flying in all directions, wrung out and particularly damp part of his cloak and left for his morning meal.
"Dude, you're soaked," Xigbar observed upon seeing the Flurry of Dancing Flames in the hall. He stopped, turned toward the Freeshooter and calmly said,
"I am aware." With that, eight strolled off to the kitchen.
As he suspected, Larxene was lounging around at the head of the dining table, chair leaning back far enough for its front legs to leave the floor and dirty boots where Xemnas's food was usually served. She was rereading Marquis de Sade and was grinning from ear to ear, which would have made practically anyone run for the hills just as soon as they saw her. Unlike those wimps, Axel thought it was charming. Risk and Demyx were also there, as one would have assumed from the commotion they put up earlier, and she waved to Number VIII cheerfully. He hesitated at an empty chair beside hers, glancing carefully at the Savage Nymph, but joined the two kids anyway.
"Hey Axel. So the place was packed-loaded-with cheering people. There must've been THOUSANDS! We all turned out to hear them play," Demyx recalled excitedly, waving his fork and speared chunk of pancake around and dripping a small quantity of maple syrup onto the floor in the process.
"Wow!" Number XIII exclaimed, sharing in his enthusiasm. They chattered on happily to each other, Demyx regaling her with tales of his past, neither seeming to think much of Axel's waterlogged clothing or dripping red hair. He was, however, in fairly high spirits considering the situation.
The three Nobodies finished with breakfast and the Melodious Nocturne was first to push back his chair--right into Marluxia. He sputtered a curse from the weighty object now puncturing his big toe but managed to compose himself quickly and casually moved the chair aside as nine slid out of the way. Demyx stared openly at the Graceful Assassin, flinching when he raised his hand in a friendly hello.
"A pleasant morning, my comrade, my brother in the black hood, my favourite nocturne-composer. May I trouble you with an inquiry before you depart, on your way to attend to whatever business you have?"
"Um…I don't think we have any of those," he replied uncomfortably. Marluxia looked blank but then almost split his own ears with phony laughter upon pretending to pick up on the joke, despite the fact that Demyx didn't intend one.
"BWA HAHAHAHAHA! AR HAR HAR HAR HAR! Ha…ha…that's a good one, my fellow Organizer and wonderful sitarist." Number IX grimaced and raised an eyebrow, stepping back defensively and into the empty chair closest to his. It scraped against the floor in a loud, offensive screech. Risk observed the Graceful Assassin carefully and sunk down lower so that her nose was barely visible from across the table.
"What are you doing?" Axel asked, leaning towards her slightly.
"I'm keeping a low powfile. Prrowfile. Profile!" she whispered forcefully as she tried out the word for the first time. Number XIII indicated Marluxia by jerking her head in his direction. "He's scaring me."
"…Yeah, I'd have to agree," eight admitted when Demyx started scrambling backwards over the vacant chairs to distance himself from Number XI.
"Don't be afraid of me, my friend. I only wish to ask a simple question."
"I should really go now cause…cause I really have to…water my, er…fish! Bye!" He bolted from the kitchen, knocking over a chair and receiving a death glare from Larxene when he yelped. Number XIII sat up straight and gazed sadly after her fleeing companion.
"He promised to play sitar for me this morning," she pouted. Axel shrugged helplessly and helped himself to Demyx's untouched blueberry muffin. "Mr. Axel, what do you do for fun?"
"Well…" He looked over at Number XII mischievously and a few crumbs fell from his mouth. Catching sight of Risk's innocent yet curious expression from the corner of his eye, the Flurry of Dancing Flames swallowed his mouthful with difficulty and gave her the flicker of a smile. "Stuff." After a few more silent minutes wherein Axel decided to shut up and eat, Risk got up and left the kitchen to attempt locating Demyx.
She got only a few paces down the hall before suddenly immersed in guilt. Lately she hadn't been spending nearly as much time with Axel as she used to. Instead Number XIII stuck with the Melodious Nocturne, following him wherever the water flowed, and found she'd, most regrettably, picked favourites.
"Ohh…I can't do that to Mr. Axel! He's my friend, too!" she cried out loud suddenly, getting a jump from a Gambler on the way to his wet master's side. "Oops. Sorry, sir." Risk watched the Nobody leave and then whirled around and made for the large double doors that marked the kitchen. For a moment the girl thought she'd gone mad as something felt caught around her waist. Then Risk realized she wasn't yet mad and started to scream before a firm gloved hand covered her mouth.
"Finally, Risk, you're alone and vulnerable. I have a favour to ask…" She assumed that whoever it was then took them through a dark portal, because the endless blackness consumed and closed her eyes.
OOO
She laughed coldly.
"Oh, yes. My, did I do that? I didn't realize." Larxene swung her feet off the table and let her chair crash obnoxiously back onto solid ground. She rose and took hold of Axel's partially shredded and wet coat loosely with thumb and forefinger. Number VIII gulped at the mere feel of those digits and noted that they were daintier than he thought. With a strange sense of dumb realization, he remembered that yes, Larxene was a woman. A non-existent woman, like he was a non-existent man, but a woman nonetheless. Grinning like an idiot, he half-listened, half-daydreamed as she talked about…something. Perhaps Axel wasn't listening as much as he thought.
"And wipe that GOD DAMNED STUPID LOOK off your face! IDIOT!"
"Well…"
"Well what?" the Savage Nymph barked.
"Well it's obvious."
"What's obvious?" Larxene's patience was similar to draining the cheap sinks often used throughout the Castle That Never Was. It was a sputtering monstrosity that disappeared quickly and left no traces of its previous being. Still the Flurry of Dancing Flames spoke with confidence-or stupidity, depending on how one looked at it.
"Clearly you want me. And, hell, I want you, too. So why should we fight it anymore?" While she was caught in a brief moment of confusion, Axel wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!! YOU-" Here Number XII let loose with a torrent of harsh and mostly four-lettered insults, adding some of the more colourful words here and there to make things interesting. Even he was surprised at how fluent and without pause her cursing came. Finally Larxene finished and violently shoved eight away. To no surprise, out came the kunai, a sharp and painful jab to the chest and then she raised her arms with an outright roar.
All Axel remembered from the next few moments were a brilliant flash of light, the feeling of momentarily soaring through the air and the ominous thud of his own landing. Eventually he heard the hushed muttering of three distantly familiar voices. A good hard shake helped rouse him and the voices became clearer. Number VIII pinned them pretty fast, though one was yammering on more than the other two, and soon the blurriness of his vision went away. The first image was not exactly a welcoming sight, since it was Saix trying to force something into his mouth and a blood-soaked cloth on his chest. Great, the Flurry of Dancing Flames though sarcastically, I really need to be force-fed something by this guy. Reluctantly, he opened and almost choked on whatever it was.
"Hrm," was all Number VII said in acknowledging Axel's cooperation.
For the first time, eight became consciously aware that he was lying sprawled across the kitchen floor, some joints at odd angles, and a sensation of odd emptiness looming over his mind.
"I wouldn't move if I were you," one of them warned. "You just lost the rest of your blood and given the fact that we don't have hearts, you'll have to do without. It might take some time to adjust, unfortunately…"
"Ugh…sick!" That was the first thing Axel managed to say. He became vaguely aware that someone was prowling around behind the three "helping" him and lifted his head to see who it was. Indeed, it was Larxene. Despite being advised not to move, Number VIII got unsteadily to his feet.
"…we got here, we were surprised to find that only you and the Savage Nymph were present," Xaldin was saying when Axel began to pay attention. "You two were…"
"Doing something inappropriate near the kitchen table," Saix finished smoothly for the Whirlwind Lancer.
"She said a lot of obscenities and then…how did you put it, twelve?"
"I DAMN WELL SHOCKED THE CRAP OUT OF THE PERVERT!" Larxene screamed, shaking with fury.
"Thank you," Xaldin said. While he and the Luna Diviner explained what they saw in more detail to Axel in wisely quiet voices, the Superior had approached Number XII slowly and calmly with his hand extended, palm up. Neither made any sudden movements so Xemnas then proceeded to escort her stiffly to the kitchen doors, chattering soothingly to the Savage Nymph. She looked at Number VIII a few times, but the Superior always drew her attention back to him.
"…then, perhaps, we'll meet later and we can discuss anything you wish like mature adults over a nice warm cup of ginger root. I thank you very much for not killing anyone today…" They heard him say as he passed the group, clustered together for those moments in the immediate presence of Larxene. After she was gone, Xemnas walked swiftly back to the others.
"Well, I kinda should be going, too…"
"You will do no such thing. You will sit down and we will explain the real reason as to why I came down from the top floor of this bloody castle to mingle with you underlings before my paperwork was done," the Superior stated.
"Um…could you repeat-?"
"Sit. Down. Now."
OOO
Sighing, Demyx closed and tossed away the old magazine he'd been leafing through aimlessly. It landed softly on top of the countless others spread on the floor around him. He needed something fun to do, something to remind him that things could be made better. Perhaps an activity he enjoyed but hadn't participated in for a long time…
All of a sudden it came to him. Joyfully, the Melodious Nocturne propelled himself off the blue bean bag chair and bounded over to his closet. He closed one eye and scrunched up his nose, as he typically does in thought, before pulling out an old box set snuggled in with the others. Giddily Demyx leapt over to his beloved surround sound system and inserted the appropriated CD. Nine selected the desired track, pushed play and dove for his slender, silver microphone hidden from prying eyes underneath a fold in the carpet. Too caught up in the introduction instrumental, he failed to realize his bedroom door open. So he began to sing in his whiney voice, loud and clear, oblivious to the audience.
"You caught my fall, makin' out on alcohol
An innocent mistake
Fallin' in love on accident, I didn't mean to
And constant danger, constant stranger
It started out so sweet
And now we're both feelin' incomplete
Oh, I don't know how much I can take…
We're on, we're off
We're knocked down and getting' uhh-up!
We try to fight it, oh the agony and ecstasy
And it's painful, but it's worth it
'Cause you're so foxy and I think you're kinda good for me…
Oh, you're so foxy!"
Demyx looked around for the remote to turn up the volume during the part in which he mumbled through the lyrics on account of he didn't know them and in turn spotted Number VIII in the doorway, mouth hanging open and eyebrows asking "why?"
"Oh…hi Axel," he greeted in a quiet voice, eyes studying his feet. Instead of asking uncomfortable questions, Axel decided to keep it brief and asked him for assistance in searching for Risk. Snapping out of embarrassment, he looked up and cocked an eyebrow.
"Why?" the Melodious Nocturne asked.
"Superior's orders," eight replied, rolling his eyes. "It's one of those 'need to know basis' things." Axel was involved with seeing how far the doorknob would turn, but gave up on that and tapped his foot impatiently. "Are you coming or what?"
With some well-placed information from a nosy Dragoon, the meager search party assembled in front of a solid white door with the carving of a rose. Naturally, this meant Marluxia was on the opposite side, much to the dismay of Demyx.
"She was probably wrong. I really don't think Risk would hang out here..."
"Well, it's worth a shot."
"But-"
"What, you'd rather wander around the whole damn castle looking for her while she's in here the whole time? Have some compassion, I got stabbed this morning!"
"Okay! You didn't have to shout," Number IX moped. "…You knock, okay?" Axel huffed and barged in.
"Ah, yes…our flowers are blooming marvellously. I must thank you, young Number XIII."
"Sure." The Graceful Assassin didn't notice Axel and Demyx intrude, but Risk turned and, dropping the watering can she was holding up with both hands, ran to them like they'd been gone for years. Number XIII reached Demyx and hugged his legs, then pulled lovingly on the Flurry of Dancing Flame's coat. After that she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself so she simply hung on to both of their hands. Marluxia had straightened from kneeling in his beloved flower beds and was now standing rigidly across the room. He looked like he wanted to offer a comment, but a loud screeching interrupted the calm atmosphere of his flower garden and made everyone cover their ears.
"ATTENTION, ORGANIZATION XIII!" Xemnas's voice shouted over the intercom. "ALL ORGANIZERS MUST GATHER IN THE MAIN KITCHEN IMMEDIATELY! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!" Another ear-splitting ring indicated that the message had ended. Number XI glanced around at the others before retreating into a convenient corridor of darkness.
"What's a futile?" Risk asked as she followed Axel and Demyx out to the elevator.
I should slip in that the song Demyx was singing belongs to No Doubt. It's called "You're So Foxy," by the way and that's really all you need to know. Hee hee, he was singing and Axel was listening so it's funny. OMG OMG OMG.
YEAH! NO DOUBT RULES!