A/N: Yay! A chapter with Sexy-Zexy! }:3 I just realized that my other Phoenix Wright story is quickly outmatching this one… (^^') But that can only mean good things! It means I'm moving onward and outward! Gah… I love Marluxia's character in this story (and no, he's not a boy-hungry pedo).
Chapter IX: Infiltration
Axel's Journal: Day 1180
The teen, hidden by the darkness surrounding him, moved along the shadows toward the Castle that Never Was. Once inside, he heard this: "It's alright, Mar-Mar." And the illusionist, invisible amidst the shadows, took every effort possible to hold back his tears. "I mean, we're gonna find him too."
The Graceful Assassin could no longer hold back his distraught anger. "You said that the last time!" He cried. "You said that… with Zexion… and now he's gone!"
"Marley…" By the serene scent, Zexion could identify the familiar voice accompanying his Marluxia as Demyx. "It's gonna be okay. We'll find him." The sandy blonde teen tried to remain confident.
"It's been a year, Dem…" Marluxia groaned hopelessly. "I don't think he's ever returning." Though the teen himself could not see the scene before him, the shadows did not lie; Marluxia was pacing around frantically, his friend desperately trying to keep pace.
"Marluxia, he needs you to hope for him. He's out there somewhere, probably in an impossible situation, waiting for you to save him."
"How long am I going to have to wait, Demyx?" Marluxia's voice wavered on tears. "It's been a whole year… and I don't want any more false hope."
"Just two more months… please, Marley."
Marluxia made his way past the shadows that held Zexion, but stopped before him, unaware of his beloved's presence. "I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, Demyx, but if I can't hold him in my arms, there isn't much I can do to believe you."
"Marluxia…" Zexion whispered, freezing immediately afterwards as the man before him stirred.
"What is it…?" Demyx asked from out of sight, noting at Marluxia's hesitation.
For a while, the honey-haired man just stared at the shadow before him. He shook his head vigorously. "N-Nothing. I've got to go…" And Marluxia grabbed the shadow before him, hurrying off, but never leaving the darkness. He finally escaped into the XI room, throwing the shadow into the light.
The form melted into that of the man's long lost lover. "M-Marley…" He stuttered, shocked by the display.
His lover was not amused. "You're alive." He stated rather bluntly, not a single hint of emotion in his voice. Because of this, the silvery-haired illusionist felt uneasy.
"Yes…" Zexion muttered, clutching his arm again nervously.
"How long…?"
"Um…" The scheming Nobody did not know how to respond. "I would believe seventeen years…?"
"No, Zexion. I mean, how long were you there? How long were you watching us?" Marluxia's line of questioning was not emotional; it was much like an interrogation.
"Marluxia, I'd love to explain—I really would—but there is a larger problem at hand and I must go…!" Zexion made his way for the shadows again, but was stopped; his arm was gripped tightly, almost bruising, by his lover. "Marluxia—!"
"You will stay and you will explain." He demanded icily.
"I really have something of more desperate importance…!" The Cloaked Schemer tugged feebly at the arm that bound him.
The man before him remained stoic. "Really? More important than the love of your life?"
"Marluxia… that is because I know our love lasts! I knew that once I returned to you, I'd return to your arms! I'm trying to save a relationship that was cheated!" The teen hissed.
The man loosened his grip, shocked. "Wh-What…?"
"Axel. You said it yourself that he was missing." Zexion growled, massaging the sore spot. "And how has Roxas been acting since then?"
The honey-haired Assassin made the connection, "Ah, yes… even before his disappearance, Roxas had been acting a bit… off." The graceful man cupped his chin in his palm and explained, "He had been acting as he did his first few days, minus the acute nervousness. It wasn't that he was nervous; he simply didn't like talking. And it seemed all he did was mission after mission, only stopping to eat and bathe and sleep. Atop all that, when Axel disappeared, he didn't seem to care. He didn't mourn, he didn't have a loving determination… it seems as though he's forgotten all about his better half…"
"And that is exactly what happened." Zexion crossed his arms, removing his glasses and pinning it on his cloak. "Roxas was… 'reprogrammed,' you could say. His memory was washed by Saïx and Xemnas. The operation was conducted by Vexen, another conspirator. Axel learned of this, as to be expected, and was banished by Saïx upon losing to a fight with him."
Marluxia gasped, cupping his mouth with his hand. "You're saying… that you were banished for the same reason…? But Roxas was… err… 'reprogrammed' only days ago!"
The silvery-haired lover brushed a finger across his boyfriend's lips. "And there is where the problem has arisen in you hauling me off like this. I need to find the truth. That is what I was here for today. To find out what happened in that year's span, to find out how Roxas got this way and finally, how to reverse it. All can be answered with some research and observation." The teen replaced his glasses, giving them a push as they glinted. "I won't be gone long, my sweet. I promise." Marluxia looked upset. Atop all the madness around him, he still did not know the reasoning behind his lover's disappearance.
The honey-haired assassin brought his lover in for a slow, appreciative kiss. "You will return, my sweet, silken flower."
"I will. Once this is all over, I promise I won't leave your arms." The illusionist turned to leave, but twisted back around to ask a favor. "Marluxia, they don't know you know I'm here. Can I ask you to watch over Vexen, Saïx and Xemnas?" The Schemer created a purple patch of darkness on the wrist of Marluxia's cloak. "Let me know if they're approaching the computer room?"
The Graceful Assassin bit his lower lip. "I hate that you'll be in danger… why can't I just find it for you?"
"Because I don't want you to get hurt because of me." Zexion nearly cried. "I… I need to get this information to Axel soon. I'll need to disappear again. Besides monitoring the area for me, pretend I'm not even here."
And it was here that the young illusionist melted back away into his domain in the shadows, reviewing the area to aware himself of the locations of the possible enemies: Vexen, Xemnas and Saïx. Number Four was residing in his laboratory hidden underneath his bedroom; Zexion shuddered at the painful memories locked away there. Xemnas was in his workroom doing the mysteries that only he is aware of, and Saïx was in the Gray Area, monitoring the missions, as usual. The silvery-haired teen sank under the door to the computer room, sliding the lock shut. He sat himself down onto a computer seat, logging in as Marluxia. He then opened the file marked Castle_Oblivion_ , unlocking the secret to reawakening the Keyblade Master's memories, as testified by the Nobody witch, Naminé.
'There is no way to truly eliminate a memory. There are, however, many ways to lock them up. Depending on the degree of the method, these memories may be more and more difficult to unlock. I have realized that it is much like a puzzle; if you show such a person items, etc. of the past they have forgotten, it acts like a piece for completing their incomplete puzzle. This does not always work, however, as I have seen. Through very amateur methods, this would work. Those that are more experienced, however, will not let the most generic of things to complete the puzzle they've disarrayed. This was observed in Castle Oblivion. The conspirators involved were very skilled in what they do. They were able to make sure that Sora would not be able to recognize even his two best friends before him. This kind of magic that was used was very difficult for me to do. Since, they have harnessed my memory powers. Lord knows who they will use it on. To reverse it, you must defeat that in which dealt the memory wipe from you. In the case of Sora, Castle Oblivion was owned by Marluxia. His defeat led to his memory returning. If you are to regain such a person's memory, then you must either do this, or bring back the objects of a memory that occurred only once or twice. In Sora's case, we used Squall and Cloud, etc. to return his memory. Good luck to whomever it is has this problem. —Naminé'
The teen sighed, taken back. In order to regain Roxas's memory, Axel would have to defeat Saïx—the man who defeated him and sent him to Halloween Town without a single corridor to aid him. There had to be some other way! Axel had not been able to defeat his adversary… and without that ability, Roxas was sure to be doomed. The Schemer took no more time to hesitate; the strong scent of ice in the air close by. He printed the document quickly.
Zexion was soon alerted. "Baby, you need to get out of there soon. Just hide in the shadows, 'cause Vexen insisted on using that room, and I really don't want him to get suspicious. I hope you got everything you need. I love you." Nodding emptily at this, the young illusionist escaped into the caress of the darkness, moving his way along towards the XI room. There, he found his lover sitting silently at his bedside. He delivered a shadowy kiss to his overworked beloved before melting into the light. "Did you allocate Roxas?"
The Graceful Assassin was momentarily shocked by his scheming lover's sudden presence. "Y-Yes, my sweet, he is in the Gray Area, relaxing under Saïx's orders."
"Under his orders? What do you mean?"
"Roxas has been overworking himself, according to Saïx. He has told him to relax until he is told to do another mission." The Assassin recalled the scene of the golden blonde child resting comfortably along the white couch, his mind now at ease without the hassle of the missions ahead.
"Isn't it good that he busies himself?" Zexion muttered inwardly. "Never mind. The Gray Area has many shadows. I'll be able to spy on him until then. …Will you speak to him?"
"Me?" Marluxia was still confused as his roll as Zexion's other half.
"Yes. Whilst I am unable to be seen, will you interview the boy on my behalf?"
Protest rampaged through the honey-haired man but, nevertheless, his one-and-only was asking this of him in a time of desperation. "I… I suppose so, but if Saïx is there, and my questioning gets… suspicious, what will I do?"
"…Is he asleep?" As always, Zexion asked seemingly out of the blue.
"Um… yes, I believe he was asleep on one of the couches." Marluxia, still dazed by his lover's return, did not seem capable of piecing two and two together.
"Then if you need to draw him away from Saïx, go to the Gray Area and say that you'll return the boy to his bedroom to rest. Specify that you're concerned about the couch's incapability to support his back and that it is detrimental for his overall health. Make sure you give plenty of reasons to remove him, if necessary." The Cloaked Schemer pecked his lover on his nose. "I'll be in the shadows, watching you return him to his bed."
The Graceful Assassin loosed a long sigh. "For you and Axel's sakes, I hope this works…" The conspiring man straightened himself, readying to leave his room to the daring mission ahead.
"Oh, and Marley—!" The compliant lover turned around to his brilliant-minded boyfriend, awaiting further instructions and/or hints. "Vexen's in on this conspiracy as well. If he happens to be in the Gray Area, you'll have to be aware," The teen melted away into the shadows before delivering a spectral kiss.
Entering the Gray Area, the honey-haired man quickly allocated the golden blonde teen, resting comfortably along a couch, as he recollected. Lexaeus was also in the lounge alongside Saïx, but this was swiftly altered once he disappeared in a dark corridor, sent off on a mission. Vexen, thankfully, was not present. As the graceful man lifted the unconscious child into his arms, he, to no surprise, was halted by Saïx. "And what do you think you're doing?" The Diviner nearly cried, but quieted once Roxas stirred.
"I'm taking him to his rightful resting place." Marluxia responded smoothly. "A couch is no good place for such an important child to rest. He needs a proper bed."
Unaware of Marluxia's affiliation with Zexion, Saïx thought nothing more of this. "Hm, I suppose that makes perfect sense. Alright, take him to his bed and please, remove his shoes before you do so."
Marluxia smiled, calmly shuffling the child into the XIII room. He removed the boy's shoes before nestling him into his bed. For whatever possessed him, the man stroked caringly through the teen's golden blonde locks. Although this boy is as cold and ruthless as Larxene now that he is without his memory, sleep recaptured the innocence that all men, women, children—murderers, traitors… scientists, students, bus boys, drug dealers… Hispanic, White… tall, short—all share. He wasn't aware of the circumstances around him. Whether or not this was the boy that Axel fell in love with, he still seemed exactly the same as he dreamed. Finally, Zexion emerged from the darkness. "What are you doing? Wake him up!" He hissed.
The Assassin sighed. "Regardless of what state he may be in, he is always innocent in his sleep." He muttered dreamily, gazing at the helpless child.
"And…?" Zexion was impatient; if his lover knew of the actions that this new Roxas did—or rather, didn't—he would understand his frustration. "Look, Axel doesn't want to wait. I don't want to wait. I'm trying to get back home, I'd hope you'd understand. Regardless of the state he is in, he is still unaware of the fact that he has a boyfriend that is waiting patiently for me to return with this document and the child's testimony so he can restore the boy to his former state. If you don't mind, I'd like him to reunite with him as soon as possible."
"So? What do you want me to do?" Marluxia was just as upset. Sleep had always been a sacred ritual to him.
"Wake him and interview him. Ask him generic questions that would stimulate the original Roxas." Zexion instructed, fading into his dark abode.
"But why? We already know he's fucked up from the original." The honey-haired man crossed his arms as the blunt statement left his lips.
"Yes, I'm aware that he's 'fucked up,' but we don't know to how much of an extent." Zexion crossed his arms to mimic his lover. As the two men spoke, their words entered and exited the boy's subconscious ears. His eyes fluttered for a moment, then snapped at the reality of his situation: here, he knew of the fact that Number Eleven was there; he recognized the man's voice. But accompanying that voice was one that was very unfamiliar. "Now just wake the boy up so we can speak to him finally!"
Roxas could not control his reaction to such fear. His sacred weapons appeared in his hands, and he slashed at the figure nearest him.
Marluxia loosed a howl. "Roxas?! Goddamn!" He rose from his seat beside the boy and summoned his flower petals, creating his weapon, Graceful Dahlia, from them, readying himself to defend from the boy.
"Who—?!" The boy seemed maniacal. His weapons were raised towards Number Eleven, yet his vision wandered to his true adversary: the missing man. "Who is there with you?!" He cried.
"What? I-I don't understand what you're talking about." The Assassin hoped that Roxas would be, admittedly, too stupid to understand what was going on. "I think out loud sometimes…"
He did, indeed, not know the circumstances, but his fear forced him to piece together the answer. "Liar!" He cried. "It's not your voice!" The golden blonde teen loosed a blast of light towards the darkest areas of his room. It took every ounce of strength in the Cloaked Schemer not to scream from fear. If one of those chance blasts were to connect with him, he would be exposed. Roxas would surely report such an event to Saïx, who would in turn kill he and Axel. He had to escape somehow. "Who is it?! Who's there?"
Marluxia simply could not find the lies to tell the boy. He, instead, sent a shockwave of magenta towards the shorter male who, in turn, moved in to attack the man up close. Roxas knew that the man's scythe was useless unless he was distanced. Zexion stood helpless as the two fought. Every ounce of his mind reminded him, painfully, that he could not intervene. The Assassin had no other choice but to hiss out to his beloved. "Leave! He mustn't see you!"
Eyes targeting the Kingdom Heart just beyond his reach, the cerulean-locked man stood. Just beyond his hopes and dreams was the victory that each one of the thirteen members wished for. His daydreaming hopes were interrupted as a disturbing sound befell his ears; he heard the sounds of two struggling. One was the shrill scream of his prize. Eyes wide, the Diviner quickly made his way to the XIII room, summoning his weapon from the moonlight before entering. "Eleven, what the hell are you doing?! Cease this fighting this instant!" He cried, threatening the Assassin at the receiving end of his blade.
The eleventh Nobody took the moment to calm his nerves. He smirked, "Next time, learn to control this maniacal pet of yours."
"P-Pet?!" The cerulean-locked man snarled. "How dare you…!"
"Well, whatever creature he happens to be, learn to control him. He attacked me like something inhuman, that's for sure." His weapons disappearing into the magenta petals, Marluxia crossed his arm, his lip twitching in dissatisfaction.
"So what exactly happened?"
"There's another man in here! He was talking to another man that wasn't here! He said I was crazy!" Roxas cried, panting, his blade indicating the assailant.
"So you're saying he was talking to an invisible figure?" Saïx's lips curled a slow grin. "What were they saying?"
Roxas strained for the memory to return to him. "They… They said they wanted to talk to me. They said I was crazy…" The term 'fucked up' did not register in his head as 'abnormal' yet.
"Do you have a rebuttal, Eleven?" Saïx crossed his arms, glaring at the Graceful Assassin.
Marluxia growled, realizing just how much of a situation he was thrown into. He couldn't even tell if his beloved was safely away from the building. "N-No… not on the crazy thing, but I never did talk to anyone. I just thought that Roxas changed. Dramatically. And there's no explanation to that, is there?"
The Diviner simply smirked. "You'll need to be coming with me, Number Eleven."
"And why is that?" Marluxia slapped away the hand that attempted to grab him. "I demand to know. Why can't you just tell me in front of this boy here?"
"Ah… because he needn't know the answer I am to produce." The words drifted slickly from the cerulean-haired man's lips. "Now go, Roxas." He demanded. In response, the boy mechanically nodded and marched out of the room. "You know why he's changed, don't you?"
"Of course," Marluxia smirked. "Are you going to fight me over it?"
Saïx mirrored the honey-haired man with a similar smirk; his, though, bore a sinister glare. "I needn't waste my time." He readied his claymore at the man and swiftly dispatched him. A word slipped from the Assassin's lips before his collapse. One that the Diviner did not bother to hear as he collected the unconscious body and faded away.
This word, however, was the sole difference between life and death for a young illusionist. He drew in a sharp breath to hold back his tears, escaping along the shadows, tears flaking away as he did so, that sole warning haunting the silvery-haired man as he fled. "Run…"
A/N: I honestly forgot most of this chapter, so I haven't really anything to say, besides 'As quickly as Marley's in, he's out.' ^^' I really wanted to use him more, but I needed Zexion more than him… so Mar-Mar's kinda minor, compared to the other three.
So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)
