The Savage Riot.

Location: Oblivion Prison, Eating Hall.
Table No.: 06
Occupants: Marluxia Rhode, Zexion Phantasm, Roxas Kagi.

"We leave tonight, come hell or high water. I cannot spend another day in this disgusting place. Death row would be better than this; at least then there would be a foreseeable end to this... to this bullshit!" Marluxia slammed his fist down on the table, drawing the eyes of Zexion and Roxas. Roxas had taken to sitting with them whenever Axel allowed. Whenever he sat with them, Demyx Vita reluctantly sat with Xigbar, not because he wanted to, but because Roxas was in his seat and he was not one to cause conflict.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Marluxia," Roxas informed him with a look of concern. "If you don't get out, you'll get dragged back in. Then what? There's no telling what they'll do to you."

"Precisely," Zexion cut in sharply, his black eye fixed on Marluxia. "Besides, you're over-reacting. This place isn't that bad."

"Oh don't give us that," Roxas turned to Zexion now, who looked mildly surprised by Roxas' contradiction. "We all know that this place is more corrupt than even we can possibly understand, and it's only going to get worse. I heard that they're planning to start slipping drugs in our food to keep us calm... Crazy, huh? The guards were laughing about it."

"Assholes," Marluxia muttered drily before stabbing half-heartedly at his untouched food. Zexion looked a little disconcerted by this, shuffling awkwardly in his seat while he mulled over this new information.

"So, Marly, what's the plan for tonight?"

"Get as many people as possible in on it. I'll press my buzzer and pretend my cell-mates are trying to kill themselves or something. Maybe I'll get a few others to do it too... When they open the doors, we'll beat them into the ground and get some others out, and we'll all run for it. Easy."

"It's not going to work," Roxas warned, giving Marluxia severe look. As much as Roxas wanted to escape when he had seen Stray hurt and when he had been in solitary, time has a way of chipping away at motivation until there is little left but a wisp of desire.

"You know, you've really come out of your shell since you left solitary," Marluxia commented, brushing aside Roxas' doubtful remark about his plan. Roxas just shrugged,

"Is it a bad thing? It's just nice to hear something other than an echo answering me, I guess. How long was I even in that place?"

"Two weeks and a day," Zexion told him and then gestured to Axel, who had gotten off relatively easy in the fight, which had happened the week before, only a day before Roxas' release, escaping with only a split lip. He was gesturing also at Saïx who had not a mark on his body, having instead chosen to sit and laugh. "Those two are still close though, and you've been out for nearly a week. Quite shocking, is it not?"

"Not really... why, should it be?"

"When you get here, Axel dropped Saïx like a rock. I just don't understand why he hasn't done it again."

"Who cares?" Marluxia asked in an offhand manner. "By tonight, it will all be over..."

Location: Oblivion Prison.
Cell No.: 219
Wing: A
Block: 3
Occupants: Luxord Fortuity, Xigbar Colt, Demyx Vita.

Xigbar threw Demyx up against the wall. The older man still had a bloodied nose from the fight, having not washed since, and a mass of bruises coated his body. He smirked darkly as he saw the agony split across the young blond's face. The crack of his skull against the wall was sickening, and enough to wake Luxord. Despite his fondness for the blond, the look on Xigbar's face was enough to tell him that if he intervened now, the dark haired man would kill him.

Demyx slumped against the wall, sobbing as he begged Xigbar to stop. This ordeal had been going on for three minutes, but it felt like an hour had dragged by, raking barbed wire over Demyx's skin as it did so. Everything hurt.

"Stop, please, Xig-" The rough fist collided with his face and Demyx closed his eyes to conceal the way his eyes were watering from the pain. He sunk to the floor, shaking all over.

"You little fucking rat. Do you know the trouble you've caused me? Do you know how sick, how fucking sick I am of watching your damn back? You stupid fucking cunt!" He kicked him roughly. "What the fuck am I getting out of it, huh? You think it's funny to watch me getting beaten up because of you? Do you think you're clever?" He mocked in an arrogant tone that made Luxord's skin crawl. He wanted to shout that it was enough, he really did, but he supposed that Demyx was out of luck and that he shouldn't intervene.

Demyx clambered up and pressed desperately at the buzzer, unaware that the guards would never answer his call. Xigbar grabbed Demyx's neck and began to strangle him. The innocent boy clawed desperately at the monster's hands at his throat, but they were immovable. He was struggling to breathe. 'Please let someone come,' Demyx thought, as death slithered closer. Xigbar considered the idea of necrophilia as he light began to fade from Demyx's eyes.

'Please, God, please let someone come...'

One guard was dead by Marluxia's hand, head smashed against the wall until he moved no more, and who knew how many others had no breathed their last breath?

Marluxia had been frustrated that he could not find the switch for all the doors, and so he had struggled with the bolts of the neighbouring cells. Three other men in his block had done the same as him, over-powering the guards. One strangled, one beaten to death with pool balls in a sock, one stabbed in the neck with a toothbrush, which had been filed to a sharp point at the tip. The guards had soon been alerted that something was wrong, but by then the switch had been found and it had escalated into a full scale prison riot.

Hopes soared, but still some remained in their cells. Among these were Roxas, Zexion, Xemnas, and of course Luxord Fortuity, Xigbar Colt and poor Demyx Vita.

"To freedom," some whispered, the real purpose of the riot being a distraction while others escaped. Parts of the prison had already gone up in a furious fire that consumed and destroyed, burning with the hope of the prisoners. Others grimly fought, wanting only for media attention to be drawn to this prison, and for them to be saved. The most excited of the rioters that rushed forward to meet the armed guards whispered "to death," with an elated twisted courage, for any release was better than this hell.

That night, Zexion had sat in his cell in the early hours of the morning, a feeling of unease knotting in his stomach. These people would only bring more hardship on themselves. He jolted slightly as the door to his cell was pulled open by a guard, and he lifted his hands quickly into the air. The guard paid him no attention, dragging in the dead, bloodied body of Demyx Vita. Colt had finally come to be more trouble than he was worth. Another pair of guards dragged in a struggling Xigbar, who was cussing and yelling that they would burn in hell with him. In front of Zexion's eyes, one guard raised a gun to Xigbar's head and pulled the trigger. The blood splattered across the young boy's face and he stared, horrified as they let the body go and it collapsed to the floor. Despite his hatred for Xigbar, he knew that he hadn't deserved that – he had never been given a chance to reform, and now all hope was gone. He stared at Demyx's body too, those big eyes still open, and his chest almost looking as if it might still rise and fall. He had liked that boy.

"You're the most trusted prisoner in this place, Phantasm," One of the guards told him, walking over and laying a hand on his shoulder. Zexion inwardly cringed at the touch. "I want you to look after these bodies 'til morning, and don't tell anybody what you saw. There's something in it for you if you don't." The words fell on deaf ears, and then the guards were gone, and Zexion was left with the two bodies and his strange inmate who either hadn't woken to the gunshot, or simply hadn't responded. Zexion waited a while, and then kneeled down onto the floor, crawling over to Demyx. He eased Xigbar's heavy arm off him, and then stroked his hair, looking into those half-closed eyes that had once been filled with such hope and happiness.

"I'm sorry, Demyx," He whispered softly. Despite all the terrible affairs with Xigbar, Demyx had always been a pleasure to be around. The stupid comments had reminded them all what it was to be naive and innocent, and now Zexion only wished that he would have gotten to know the boy more. He could see the faint bruises on his throat from Xigbar's hands, and he traced his slender fingers over the still-warm skin. It was the death of innocence. He kissed Demyx's cheek, and then curled up beside the body, resting his head atop Demyx's chest. They had both been children really, and Demyx had never deserved to die. But he was dead. Oblivion had killed him.

"Goodnight, Dem. Sleep well." Zexion whispered sadly, and fell asleep hoping that the boy would at least find the peace he deserved in death.

"At 2am yesterday morning, Oblivion Prison bravely crushed a riot led by the cold-hearted convict, Marluxia Rhode. There was significant damage made to the prison, but thanks to generous donations from kind members of the public, the vast majority of the costs have already been paid. In response to the large donations, Oblivion staff vows that now security will be tighter than ever in order to keep the general public safe.

Some prisoners attempted to escape, but when they climbed over the walls, they were met with the united force of Oblivion staff who had surrounded the prison. None escaped, though 212 prisoners were killed in acts of self-defense by the guards of Oblivion. It is our regret to say that a further 25 good men died that night – the brave men who gave their lives in the efforts to prevent the escape of these dangerous criminals into our society. Instigator of the riot, Marluxia Rhode, has been transferred to a high security prison where he will spend the remainder of his days." Zexion looked up from the newspaper to see the faces of Roxas, Axel, Saïx and Xemnas, who had all crowded onto table six to hear the news, though Saïx was showing more interest in Axel than the paper.

"I told him it wouldn't work," Roxas said mournfully, leaning back in his seat with a deep sigh. Nobody had touched their food that morning. Nobody dared.

"Where's Colt this morning?" Xemnas asked, glancing around with a troubled expression.

"And where's Demyx?" Roxas tacked on. A guilty, knowing expression moved across Zexion's face as he set down the paper. He leaned in close, his eyes flickering with anger now.

"They killed them. They dumped their bodies in my cell and dragged them off earlier today. They're passing it off as those two attempting to escape in the riot, naturally. Simply had to be shot, of course," He said bitterly, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

"...Demyx is dead?" Axel asked slowly. He shook his head and moved slightly closer to Roxas, his arm moving protectively around is shoulders.

"Well, Roxas. What's the plan now?" Axel asked, speaking to him properly for the first time since he had left solitary. He hoped that maybe Roxas would have all the answers. Saïx looked distastefully at Roxas and opened his cruel mouth to say something, but was silenced by a look from Xemnas.

"There isn't a plan. Breaking out doesn't work. What else is there to say?" He asked, looking disappointed with his conclusion. "Marluxia was lucky to get a transfer but... I don't know about you guys, but I really don't feel like ending up dead. For all those killed, where have we gotten?" He asked, looking to them all in turn, "Nowhere. The media are more against us than ever, and the public hate us." He fell silent again, withdrawing into himself when he realised all eyes were on him.

"He's right," Xemnas concluded at last with a great sigh. "The public have always believed what the media spoon fed them. Nobody cares to look deeper into a topic to find truth anymore. We all found that out when we were thrown in here. I killed many, yes, but who did I kill? That was tactfully left out. I killed murderers, rapists, wife beaters, paedophiles..."

"And how does that make you any better than Oblivion itself?" Roxas suddenly spat. Axel tensed minutely and squeezed Roxas' shoulder, hoping he'd take the hint and shut up. Xemnas raised his eyebrows at Roxas, not used to being challenged. "Well? How does it?" He demanded and now Zexion began to fidget uncomfortably, wondering if he'd soon be losing Roxas too. "They probably all had their reasons for committing their crimes, just as we all did. Two wrongs doesn't make a right, Xemnas. Did you think slaughtering them would fix things? Does Oblivion think treating us like dirt will fix things?" Roxas hands balled into fists. "I'm sick of it! We all are! Making people suffer like this isn't fair, and nor is what you did!"

"I know, Roxas," Xemnas said surprisingly calmly. "I realised that long ago, I was merely using it as an example of what the media is like. I know I deserve to be locked up for what I did, and I know who I did it to doesn't suddenly make it right. But I did fix a lot of people's lives by doing what I did, and so I would never deny it. Thanks to me, at least four boys didn't go into adolescence being sexually assaulted by their parents." Axel's hand was no longer gripping Roxas' shoulder. It now seemed more like clinging. Roxas reached under the table and rubbed his knee to soothe him, knowing that the gentle contact usually helped. "Thanks to me, three women no longer had to be beaten and raped every night. Thanks to me, justice was done to a family whose lives were taken by a bitter man. I deserve to die for all the things I have done, and perhaps I even deserve to be here in Oblivion. However, none of you deserve it, and my advice to you is to keep on fighting." Looks of surprise spread across all their faces. Xemnas looked at Roxas with a newfound respect and gave him a rare smile. "Together, all of you could get out of here. And you will. They can take everything from you but your hope. Remember that." He stood up and left the table to head back to his cell, leaving the four of them in stunned silence.

"He thinks we can do it," Saïx whispered, suddenly excited.

"And we will," Zexion said firmly, but his lips turned up at the corner. Roxas couldn't help looking at Axel, the kind of hope in his eyes that made Axel's heart flutter. He hadn't seen that look in so long, and now Xemnas had said that they could get out, they all believed it was possible. His heart lifted. Maybe they could do it together. Only, there was somebody missing... Where was...

"Hey, guys?" Roxas began tentatively, a feeling of dread creeping over him. "Has anybody seen Luxord?"