Hi! Um ya, sorry about the time lag for this update. My energy's been ground into the dirt from incessant testing so for the last few days I basically haven't come out of my room except for school. Pity my friends and family, dear readers, for I have been snippy lately…; Anyway, awesome jobs on all the reviews! PirataNoctis, Tysonkaiexperiment, Smiley Smackdown, ZSAngel, WaterJewelEmi, b9 iNe, TheOriginalBrokenDreamer, key46812, T.W.P., Kira Sakura, Jynxer120, Capt. Angel, bliss, Koneko Hoshi, Randomasdf, Cho-Serake, earth2water1element. Dudes, you guys keep me writing, way to go! ;) I'm glad everyone seemed to enjoy Axel, Demyx, and Zexion coming into the scene. Finally, right? My summery did not lie. Now, let's continue on with the story!
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June 4, 2007
Walking up the house, Axel rapped against the front door with his knuckles, crossing his arms as he listened to the sound of someone running down the stairs on the other side before the door flung open to reveal a short blond teenager. The teen took one look at Axel's red spiked hair and punk clothes before he scowled, his fingers tightening on the door, "Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else."
Axel stuck his foot in the doorway as Roxas made to slam it shut. "Hey cutie, hold on a sec. We're supposed to be here. I'm looking for someone named Roxas, seen him around?"
Roxas's scowl deepened but his hands dropped down to his sides, "That's the last time I give anyone our address before getting a picture." He glanced up at Axel, "Well, are you coming in or not?"
"Don't tell me you're Roxas?"
Offended at the other's tone, Roxas's blue eyes narrowed, "Got a problem with that?"
Axel sighed. "Look kid, we can't go around taking care of your imaginary friends. Shit, do your parents even know we're here?"
"They know and they said it was fine. I wasn't lying about what I told you. Now are you coming in or not?"
"We might as well since we're here." Frowning, Axel nonetheless stuck his hand out, "The name's Axel by the way. Got that?"
Roxas shook the offered hand, dropping it as quickly as he could manage as he peered around Axel to look at the two cars and three other members of the group. "Sure, Axel, whatever." He paused then raised an eyebrow as a blond man leaning against the car caught sight of him and waved happily. "Are they coming in too or do you do this all on your own?"
A smirk settled on Axel's face, the expression making Roxas instantly wary. "Oh, they're going inside. They're just waiting for you to get out."
"Excuse me?"
Axel shrugged. "We need a clean slate to work with during the investigation. We've had people try to mess with our readings while we were looking around their house so now it's just easier to have everyone leave."
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Two hours later Leon had got home to find Roxas and Sora lounging out on the front lawn, doing their best to enjoy themselves in the warm evening air. Pulling up in back of the two cars, he parked then walked over to the boys, a frown on his face. "Roxas, what's going on? Why are you outside?"
Roxas shrugged, leaning back into the grass with his hands behind his head, mirroring his brother's position. "I don't know, something about them getting a good reading, whatever that means. Nothing's blown up inside, so I just left them alone."
Leon crossed his arms then sighed, checking his watch. "How much longer are they going to be? Cloud's coming home in an hour and I still need to make dinner."
Roxas and Sora glanced at each other, a little surprised before Roxas shrugged again. "They didn't really give me a schedule. They might be done soon though." Usually Leon would have been angrier about strangers being in his house unattended. He must actually have been worried about what was going on then. Ever since Cloud had been possessed, Leon had grown quieter, and no longer mentioned any of the strange things going on in the house. It was as if he had retreated back into his mind; understandable since his world had been turned upside-down from that experience.
Sitting up, Sora pulled himself up onto his feet then brushed the grass off his legs and back. "I'll go see if they're going to be done soon. I wanted to see what they were doing anyway!"
Roxas frowned, standing up too. "I'm going with you, I'm tired of waiting out here."
"Why don't we all go inside?" Leon suggested, putting a hand on both boy's shoulders and steering them to the front door.
When they got inside the house, Sora was surprised to see that nothing looked too out of the ordinary. There were no strange markings or chanting or anything. It was a little disappointing. They found the four college students bunched together in the parlor, all of them looking down at a small machine as the violet-haired one pointed it around the room. Axel's eyes widened a little as he saw them in the doorway, straightening up. "Aw hell, I told you to wait outside, not get arrested."
Sora blinked as Roxas rolled his eyes, glancing over at Leon who was still dressed in his uniform and looking grimly amused. Grinning, he shook his head, "No, this is Leon, our dad."
Cutting past the introductions, Leon's nodded toward the device in Zexion's hands, "Isn't that a Geiger counter?"
Axel nodded, the smirk finally falling off his face, "Ya, Zexion brought it out as a last attempt to find any abnormalities."
"You mean you haven't found anything else?" Sora asked, his brows drawing together as Axel shook his head. "But, there are ghosts in the house! You have to have found something!"
Demyx bit his lip at the teen's distress, smiling weakly as he tried to be optimistic, "Maybe they're just hiding? It happens…sometimes….right Zexy?"
Zexion grunted non-committedly. "The house seems normal by all scientific standards. And Namine hasn't been able to pick up on anything either. The chances are very slim that ghosts would be sentient enough to hide from us if they were here, leading to the conclusion that there are no ghosts." He glanced over at Demyx to see him frowning, "I can't argue with the facts Demyx, you know that."
Stepping forward, Axel waved Demyx and Zexion away dismissively as Demyx began to chastise the other for destroying children's dreams. "Ignore them. They've been dating for five months now, they love each other, really." He put his hands on his hips, "The point is that we haven't found anything. I'm saying things have been almost freakishly normal here, nothing at all out of the ordinary. Now if you have some sort of proof, then we'd have a different story."
Leon glanced down at Sora. "Sora, I gave you those photos of the wall with the writing all over it, where did you put them?"
"Oh, I put them in the notebook Roxas gave me," Sora's eyes brightened. "Which is all the proof you'll need! I've written everything down in there!" He ran over to the stairs, shouting over his shoulder, "I'll be back in a second!"
When he ran into his room Sora was surprised to find Riku standing in the far corner, his arms crossed over his chest. The ghost looked at him with a level gaze, frowning almost accusingly. "I've been waiting for you. What were those strangers doing here alone in the house?"
"They're here to prove that you're really here! But they said they couldn't find anything, which is weird, because you're standing right there! Didn't they come into my room?"
Riku looked away, the frown still on his lips, "Yes. I didn't like that they were here without you though, so I hid from them. Just like Xemnas is doing."
"Xemnas is hiding?"
Riku nodded curtly, glancing back at Sora. "Can't you feel it? The air is so much lighter without him weighing it down with his oppression." At Sora's blank stare, he shook his head, unable to help a smile from passing over his face. "You certainly are something. Now, what did you mean when you said that they were going to prove that I'm really here?"
"Well," Sora sighed, dropping down onto the edge of his bed, kicking his feet. "No one really believes in ghosts, you know? What I mean is, I'm the only one who's actually seen you, except Roxas, but he'd never admit to anything, and no one really believes me without any actual proof. My family does of course, but that's because they have to believe me otherwise we'd all be crazy."
"I'd believe you."
Sora raised his head, smiling sheepishly up at the ghost as a bit of pink touched his cheeks. "You have to believe me, you're the one doing the haunting!"
Riku rolled his eyes, returning the Sora's smile with a small one of his own. "What I mean to say is that I would believe you were I still alive."
Feeling his blush deepen, Sora turned away, clearing his throat lightly as his eyes fell on his desk and the journal tucked under a few stray pages of homework. "Riku…"
"Hm?"
"Would you come downstairs with me?" Seeing Riku frown, Sora still pressed further, "Please? I really want people to know about you, about Xemnas. They might be able to help. I want to try to help you, but I don't think I can do it on my own. But they know what they're doing and so they might have better ideas than me. Roxas told me that they've investigated a lot of houses before, so they've probably got a lot of experience. And you could come back upstairs any time you wanted!"
Riku looked down at the ground, his face unreadable. After a long moment, he let out a sigh, the noise echoing through the room as he raised his head and nodded softly. "Very well, I'll go down with you."
"Yay! Thanks Riku, you're the best!" Hopping off the bed, Sora grabbed the notebook, tucking it under his arm as he waved eagerly, "Come on!"
Riku followed Sora, looking far less excited then the bubbly teen as Sora ran down the stairs. About to enter into the parlor, Sora paused, realizing that Riku wasn't right behind him any more. He turned, his smile dimming a bit when he saw Riku hanging back in the entry way. Noticing the almost hesitant look on the ghost's face, Sora tilted his head to the side. "Riku, what's wrong?"
"…Do you know what they're planning on doing, if they do detect me?"
"Not really. Why? Are you worried?" Silence answered Sora's question and the teen's smile softened. Riku really was worried. "It's going to be okay, I won't let them do anything to you. And besides, you're my friend, not a bad ghost, right? So there's no problem." Riku chuckled weakly at the other's serious tone, but nonetheless floated closer to him as Sora motioned him to come forward, sticking to the teen's shadow as Sora walked into the parlor.
As soon as they entered the room, Namine had looked up, her eyes locking onto Sora's. Sora held in a gasp; it felt like her gaze was passing right though him, looking straight through him. Her delicate mouth opened with a silent gasp and she quickly covered it with a hand, her other hand reaching over to tug on Demyx's shirt. "Demyx. Quickly, get my sketchbook!"
Demyx immediately broke off his conversation with Zexion who was himself looking as surprised as the blond as he dove for their bags. Searching wildly through a mess of equipment, Demyx pulled out a notebook and a pencil, hurrying back over to Namine, "What is it Nami, do you sense something?"
The younger girl nodded, whipping the sketchbook open, beginning to draw on the first open page she found. Leon frowned curiously, pulling himself out of his silence, "What is she doing?"
Crossing his arms, Axel watched as Namine frantically drew. "Namine is Demyx's little sister. They're family is Wiccan but more importantly, Nami is sensitive to spirit activity."
"That's right," Demyx nodded somewhat distractedly, standing behind the couch Namine was sitting on as he watched her sketch, "She gets this snapshot of the spirit in her head and then sketches it out while the image is still fresh in her head. Isn't that awesome?"
"You're Wiccan?" Roxas asked, voicing both his and Sora's surprise. Demyx looked anything but Wiccan with his styled hair, casual cargo shorts and faded band t-shirt.
"Yep! We're Wiccan. Faith in the God, Goddess, four elements and all that. I tend toward water myself; Mom says it's because I'm kinda emotional for a guy. The girls in our family get all the fun ESP though, totally not fair." He sighed dramatically, shaking his head as Namine continued to sketch in front of him.
Sora glanced back to see how Riku was holding up. The ghost's eyes were darting about nervously to all the new faces, his body poised as if he was forcing himself to stay where he was despite every desire to run away. With a start, Sora realized that this was probably the first time in over a hundred years that the ghost had willingly been in the same room with so many people. A wave of pride washed over him and Sora smiled comfortingly at him, not looking away until he got the tiniest hint of a smile in return.
The sound of Namine's pencil scratching on the paper was the only sound in the room as everyone quietly waited for her to finish. Sora was about to busy himself with looking through the notes in his book when he heard the front door rattling. Perking up, he leaned out of the parlor, Riku scooting politely to the side to give him a clear view of the front door as Cloud walked in. "Welcome home, Cloud! The ghost people are here!"
When Sora said Cloud's name, Leon had perked up as well, walking out into the entry way to talk to the other older man just as Namine let out a small noise of satisfaction. She blushed modestly as she gently set the sketchbook down onto the table, her voice quiet as she explained herself, "I'm sorry it took so long, the image is very intense…"
They all crowded around the picture, Sora letting out a breath of air when he caught sight of what she had drawn. Riku was on the page, accurate down to the slope of his jaw and the way his hair fell about his face, but there was a blindfold wrapped over his eyes. The background was completely filled in, dark and foreboding as it seemed to be almost coming alive, tendrils wrapped around Riku's arms and chest. Sora felt his chest tighten painfully; it was just like the time Xemnas had pulled Riku through the wall. The sketched Riku's face however was blank, the small frown almost resigned rather than defiant or scared. The expression sent chills down Sora's spine and he backed away from the picture, glancing back to see Riku's expression only to find that the ghost had disappeared. Biting his lip, he looked back at Namine. "Why, why did you draw him like that?"
"It's what I saw." Namine frowned, her fingers tightening around her pencil as she clutched it to her lap. "He seems trapped and lost. I can't explain it but it's almost as if he doesn't know anything about his past or who he is…"
Axel crossed his arms, "What I want to know is why we didn't catch this guy on the first walk-though."
"He's connected to Sora, isn't he?" Sora found himself unable to look away from Namine's gaze as all eyes turned on him. She smiled softly as he swallowed. "I only sensed him when you came down. You can see him, can't you? You didn't seem too surprised when you saw my drawing."
Opening his mouth, Sora reached up to clutch at the necklace hanging around his neck. "I…" he paused then smiled, "I can see him, when I'm wearing this. I found it in the house and Riku says it was his and when I touch it, I can talk to him and see him. I don't know why it works like that…"
Axel hummed thoughtfully before he walked over to Sora to get a closer look at the necklace. "I suppose it makes sense if it was his. Spirits often attach themselves to objects that they thought were important." Leaning down, Axel poked at the chain, "Hey kid, do you think we can take a look at that?"
"No." Sora blinked, surprised at himself for the outburst before he shook his head, "I like to keep it on. Riku's my friend and I want him to know that I can see him. It would hurt him I think, if I wasn't able to."
"We'd only need it for a few seconds-"
"He said he didn't want to take it off," Roxas snapped, his scowl deepening as Axel turned around to face him. He didn't know why, but Axel just pissed him of for some reason. Maybe it was that infuriating smirk. Whatever the reason, he didn't ease off on his glare any as Axel shrugged.
"Hey, calm down punk, I wasn't going to force him." Grinning, Axel propped a hip out to the side as he gave Roxas a wink. "You're pretty cute when you're angry though."
"I hope you're not hitting on my son."
Axel froze, chuckling weakly as he turned around slowly to find Leon standing behind him with his hands perched warningly on his belt, Cloud looking amused behind his husband. "Eh heh…Of course not, sir. I was just messing with him, he's a fun kid to tease, you know?" He cleared his throat, "Sorry."
Snorting, Leon shook his head, "Whatever. How much longer are you staying?"
Axel glanced back at Zexion, "What do you think Zexion? Do you think we have enough to stay?"
Zexion frowned. "I'm not sure. We have the picture but-"
"Oh! You have this too!" Sora jumped forward, slapping the notebook down onto the coffee table. "I wrote everything that happened down here, even everything that Riku's talked about! Oh, and the photos are in here too, from when Xemnas wrote all over the hallway walls. Here, look!"
Zexion's eyebrows furrowed as Sora pulled a bundle of photos from the notebook and thrust them into his face. "Hm, Axel told me about that while we were searching the house but I didn't know you actually had solid proof." Snapping the pictures out of Sora's hands, Zexion examined them closely, his visible eye narrowing thoughtfully. Leon had done a good job capturing the writing, Xemnas's name just as blood red and nearly as sinister in the photos as it was in real life. "This is good documentation."
"Zexy gave a compliment? I want to see!" Demyx ran around the couch, sitting almost on top of the shorter man as he stared at the photos. "Oh wow…that's sort of creepy."
Curious, Axel took the photo that Zexion held out for him, letting out a low whistle. "Hey, now this is something…" Frowning, he turned back to Leon. "With your permission, I think it'd be best if we stayed the night. I think you've really got yourself something here."
"As long as you don't get in my way, I don't care. Cloud?"
Cloud shrugged, "At least it's the weekend tomorrow, we won't have to leave early, so I don't have a problem with it. Do you have things to stay overnight?"
"We probably won't be sleeping much, but we always keep a few things in the back of the car."
"Axel!" Axel turned at the urgency in Zexion's voice, his bright green eyes narrowing at the shock written across the normally stoic man's face, "The photos."
Axel looked back down at the picture in his hand. "What the hell?" The writing had changed. It had suddenly become illegible, the letters warped and running down the wall, looking more like blood spatter in a crime scene than words.
Zexion shook his head, spreading out the other photos on the table, all of which showed the same bleeding walls. "I can't explain this on any scientific terms."
Smiling grimly, Axel tossed his photo onto the table with the others, "Well this just got a whole lot more interesting. Let's get all of the rest of the equipment unpacked."
