Xigbar finally arrived in Demyx's room a few hours later, having apparently had a bit of trouble with the other cloaked figure, who Zexion knew to be Riku. Zexion was seated comfortably in his usual chair, facing a nervous and uncomfortable Demyx who jumped up at the sight of a rather battered Xigbar. "X-Xigbar!" He hurried over to check on the other and almost got knocked on his ass from the look the freeshooter gave him.
"I'm fine Mullet head." The older nobody strode past him and plopped messily into the chair that Demyx had once been occupying. "Nice of you to leave him for me to play with." There was a dark chuckle, though clearly things had not gone the way he liked and he was still a bit irritated because of it. It was safe to assume Riku was still alive then.
Zexion smiled coldly at him. "You're welcome Xigbar, I do hope you enjoyed it." For all the two were supposed to be working together, there was more jockeying for position going on than a royal succession. "Did you find anything interesting while prowling or did you simply exhaust yourself fighting a superior opponent?" It still burned a little to think of Riku, but he knew who really to blame for what had nearly happened to him. Only he could be blamed for his underestimation of the boy who eliminated his companions.
Xigbar's cold expression made it very clear he didn't appreciate the jab, though he was doing his best to put on his usual jokers expression. "Oh I'm sure you know everything I do Zexion." His grin was starting to look a bit more normal now. "After all, you kept the blokes busy while I had some fun exploring."
Only the iron control that was once again Zexion's kept his eyes from narrowing. Xigbar was implying many things, including an excess of information he may or may not actually have. "Well I do hope you found out something interesting then." He wasn't going to push it, whatever information the man may have got, was minimally important. He had the pieces he needed, and now it was time to go into action again. "In the meantime, I think this will do." He ran his hand slowly over the comforting leather cover of the Lexicon and smiled. "From here on things get much more interesting; do try to keep up number II."
Zexion stood up and flicked his hair to the side, his cold smile creeping up. "I trust you'll be able to smooth this over Xiggy." Even as he spoke his form shimmered, growing upwards by well over a foot, his hair shifting backwards, upwards, darkening and spiking itself up. His slim form was now much more muscular, and soon only the Lexicon remained. "Well, what do you think Xiggy?" He tossed the Lexicon up and had it split into two. Once it came down he had two perfect replicas of Axel's chakrams.
Unsurprisingly, Xigbar didn't look too surprised. In fact he looked quite amused, which was nothing new for him. "Ah, I'd been wondering if you were going to pull that." He tossed his head back and had a hearty chuckle. "Well then, Axey, let's go see Xemnas eh?" He jumped up and strolled out of the room with the ever cocky 'Axel' behind him.
Demyx, who had been mostly forgotten between the other men's playing, watched them go with an equally worried and sad expression. After getting so close Zexion was only getting farther and farther away, and even worse now he would be playing Axel and Demyx would not even have the physical comfort anymore. His lip started to tremble and a few tears leaked out. He quickly brushed them away but now his shoulders were shaking and he felt so weak and devastated. "Zexy…" A few more tears leaked from him and he finally collapsed into his chair once again and started to sob softly. "What am I supposed to do?..."
With Xigbar at his side to make up some wild story about finding Axel unconscious in Agrabah, it was too easy to get himself accepted and return to 'his' usual duties. Everything went relatively back to normal, but there was just one problem. Demyx could not act if his life depended on it and it was clear to anyone that for some mysterious reason the return of his old friend was depressing him, which made no sense whatsoever to anyone who wasn't in the know. There would have to be some changes, some in the organization were already getting suspicious.
"I think perhaps it is time Xigbar." 'Axel' and Xigbar were standing in a secluded corner, where Zexion might relax and at least speak and he normally would, rather than as the uncouth hellion. "It would be best coming from you. They'll be sure to send me after him." From there, not even Xigbar knew what he would do. Mostly likely he thought that Zexy was going to bring him back as Axel and then turn him against the organization, but it had become clear after a while that Xigbar had been playing and Zexion still had all the cards in his hand. He suspected it was Xigbar who had set Riku off now, and Xigbar had had no time to determine the status of Roxas.
"And then that fun you promised me better be quick in coming eh?" With a quick grin and a envelopment of darkness he was gone to report. Hopefully. Zexion let out a soft tired sigh and leaned his head back against the cool unnatural brick. He never trusted anyone, but of all people to be putting his trust in Xigbar was not his first choice. Only Luxord would be one he would trust less, and that was only a maybe. "Well then," He was about to push himself off the wall and get ready for the assignment he knew was coming when he caught a familiar scent and couldn't help but pause. He was hiding it better, but every so often when he was semi relaxed those pesky feelings would sneak up on him, and even more so when he happened to be around Demyx.
"Ze-Axel!" Demyx's eyes widened in surprise as he came around the corner, barely managed to correct himself but unable to stop the tumble into his disguised lover, who actually managed to catch him. Demyx couldn't help a shudder and the expected feeling of softness when he only collided with what seemed to be solid muscle. Just that alone nearly sent him to tears, and Zexion was not one to miss this.
"These past days have been harder on you than I thought." Almost without him realizing it, Zexions hand moved up to caress the nocturnes cheek. "Perhaps I put too much on you." His other hand fixed on Demyx's wrist and he pulled the other nobody into a nearby room, shutting the door as an afterthought and pressing him against the wall. Belatedly he realized his disguise was bothering Demyx more than anything and quickly dropped it, fixing the other with a kiss he had secretly craved as much as the other had.
They stayed like that for several moments before finally breaking for air, Zexion's eyes dark with too much emotion and Demyx's predictably wet. "Zexy…" IX was doing his best to hold onto himself, but it was a futile effort and it was a few mere seconds before he crushed the smaller man in a tight hug and was once again crying pitifully.
"You're going to smother me Demyx." The worlds were unusually tolerant, though Zexion was doing his best to go back to his cold self. He hated dealing with tears, even more so when the blond brought out these…pesky things in him! Regardless he had to put out this fire before the whole thing was in shambles. "I'm sorry Demyx." He ran a hand slowly through that mullet and rested his head against the other nobodies, mixed reactions born from the feelings and his ultimate goal yelling at him.
"Why can't we just run away Zexy?..." The mumble was barely heard over all the sniffles and sobs.
"Because we won't be safe unless I do this." Zexion knew what was needed now, and both of the warring sides of him could deal with it. He could even almost make himself believe it was all just for this. "If we ran away now the entire organization would be after us, you've seen how they keep searching and searching for Roxas, we would never be able to relax or stay in one place. Do you want to spend forever running?" He pulled the other nobodies' head up to face him, giving the blond a gentle kiss and a soft smile.
Demyx felt the warmth from Zexion and almost cried with joy. It wasn't all gone, and he could feel the hope that after this was all over he'd get his Zexion back, his sweet, sweet Zexion back. He managed to choke back anymore tears and shake his head. "N-no…" He could feel the determination budding in him, he would do his best for Zexy so they could finally be free forever! He clutched to him tightly once again and took a deep breath before pulling away. "I-I'll see you later." He brushed at the tear marks desperately and hurried out the door.
As soon as Demyx's back was turned Zexion's face dropped back to its usual cool expression and he let out another tired sigh. With that problem settled everything else should proceed somewhat smoothly. "Time to get back to work." He stood up and brushed himself off, frowning at the large wet spot Demyx had left on his shoulder. A quick spell took care of that, and a moment later Axel was standing there once more. He strode out the door and flopped down on one of the waiting area couches in typical Axel fashion. He noticed that Luxord was there and tilted his head with an Axel grin. "Yo blondy, what ya playin' now?"
Luxord looked up slowly and raised an eyebrow, a small challenging smirk coming to his face. "Eh? Is number VIII bored perhaps?"
Axel kicked his legs up on the table and waved a hand nonchalantly. "Is curiosity not a good enough reason blondy?"
"Hmm…" Luxord eyed him for a few moments before chuckling softly and with a flick of the hand had perfect game of Speed set up in front of them. "Care to test yourself VIII?" It didn't matter what game it was, Luxord was ridiculously good at everything. No one had been able to find a game he could possibly be beaten at. That being said…up until now, the inner personality of the Axel sitting in front of him had not joined in in this pursuit.
"Sure~!" A devilish grin crossed his face and Axel dropped his legs, leaning forward and snatching up the second deck of cards for his use. "But don't cry at me when you lose!" Such confidence was really from Zexion, but arrogance was one of Axel's strong points so it could be easily masked in that.
Both of their hands settled over the first card and in a split second the crucial cards are revealed. Two overly serious calculating pairs of eyes flicked to the 5 cards in their hands, analyzing what they had and after another moment two hands nearly collided as they both tried to slam down the same card.
A flicker of surprise crossed Luxord's face as the 'dust' settled and it was clear that Axel had gotten there first. Considering a certain amount of brain power was required for this game, and he couldn't expect it of the relatively moronic flame welder. A true game master however, was not going to be even put off by such a minor thing. 'Axel' had not stopped his onslaught and Luxord was not about to be left behind in any sort of game.
There were several more near collisions and their personal decks were dwindling fast. Appropriate for a game called 'Speed'. There was no time for talk; this was a game of instant calculation and reaction. With a mere 3 cards in Axel's hand and 4 cards in Luxords, the game finally slowed. Neither of them could move.
Axel looked up from his hand with a cocky grin. "Seems we've both ran out, you ready?" His hand settled on the small pile next to the surprisingly neat ones they'd been dealing into. Luxord wasn't so quick to set out a new card.
"Say Axel…" Luxords face was that of a perfectly calm poker master. "you've been doing pretty good."
Axel's face gave nothing as well, though not in the same fashion. That same grin did not move an inch. "What, you getting antsy because you're about to lose Luxord?"
Luxords fingers tapped lightly on the card they were waiting for him to flip. "I wouldn't say that, mysterious intruder."
Almost before he'd finished that sentence, they were both enveloped in a world of darkness. 'Axel' could no longer be seen. "As expected of you Luxord. The same trick doesn't work on you twice." There was a dark laugh. "I guess I'll just have to deal with you now."