Larxene is not in the mood for us to dive into her point of view of this escapade right now.
Well, actually, she's just really pissed. Really.
Axel could definitely see this, as well as feel it; the pyro was sitting right next to her, and could feel her just boiling and simmering there on the bench they were forbidden to move from. Demyx and Roxas, lucky ones they were, were sitting on Axel's other side, and keeping well away from leaning any closer to Larxene, even if the pyro was between them and the nymph. The group remained rigid while the ship's crew hustled back and forth, unloading items such as shovels and pick-axes and coming back for what looked like types of guns.
"Is that a shot-gun?" Demyx inquired, hoping to break the silence between themselves.
"Nah," Roxas replied willingly. "I think those are muskets or something... But why would they need those? I thought they were just looking for gold..."
The Nocturne shrugged. "Who knows? All I wanna know is when we can get off this place."
"We won't be getting off for a while," Larxene said, acid dripping from her tone. Smacking Axel's shoulder with the back of her hand, she growled, "Dimwit right here made sure of that."
Axel looked skyward self-consciously.
"Honestly," Larxene continued, clenching her hands, "could you have kept your mouth shut? We don't even know if there's any gold or whatever in this place!"
Roxas looked to her. "But if that's the case, what'll they do to us when they find out we lied? Or that Axel lied?"
"Thanks, Rox," Axel mumbled mutinously.
Demyx scratched the back of his head. Playing with a strand of his mullet hair, he said rather uneasily, "They'll probably shoot us or something for lying to them. We are savages in their eyes, after all, for whatever reason..."
Axel's green eyes brightened for a moment; snapping his fingers, he said, "They don't have to find out we -I- lied!"
"And how are we going to pull that off?" Larxene asked bitterly while the ship began to rock slowly due to the crew running back and forth on it.
"Easy!" Axel chided playfully as he patted her back, to which she grimaced at. In a whisper among the group, he said, "We just lead them on and then get the heck outta this place!" He grinned at the woman, hoping she would react instead of looking like she was getting--
"Hey, Larx?" Demyx asked, curious. Waving a hand in front of Larxene's face, the Nocturne asked, "What's up all of a sudden? You look kinda pale..."
"She is pale," Axel scoffed, crossing his arms. "That's her natural skin color. Duh." Rolling his eyes, the pyrokinetic never bothered to investigate as to why Demyx would point out Larxene's skin color after knowing her for so long already. Next
"No, ass-hat," Demyx snapped back softly, so as not to be overheard by the crew. "I mean she looks-- well now she looks a tad green." Demyx frowned in worry as Roxas tried peeking over the musician's shoulder with a look on his face that said 'I wanna see! I wanna see!'
"Okay, seriously, Demyx," Axel scolded childishly, "Larxene is not a chameleon-- say what?" Blinking, he turned his emerald gaze toward Larxene, who was hugging her knees to her chest and trying to stare off into space. "Larx?" Axel asked cautiously, lightly poking her shoulder. "You okay? You look like you're gonna be sick or somethin'..."
"Nah, I'm good," she said, trying not to strain her voice. "Just... go on with your plan or whatever it was you were saying..." Her eye lids nearly fluttered closed altogether as her stomach acted as if it wanted to try a back flip.
Axel made an incredulous face as he leaned back to look down into the water below them.
"You okay?" Roxas asked, raising a blond eyebrow at Larxene.
"Shaddup," Larxene drawled, growing annoyed. A strong gust of wind blew at the sails of the ship, and though it was anchored, the vessel still rocked slightly. However, it was enough that Larxene cupped her mouth.
Axel noticed this and slowly allowed his mind to piece things together; suddenly his eyes widened slightly, while the side of his mouth twitched slightly. "Oh," he said flatly, eyeing her. "I see what's going on now."
"H-Huh?" Larxene stammered, feeling her nausea coupling with anxiety; and to anybody who has experienced these two at the same time, knows it doesn't feel very nice.
Suddenly Axel was standing in front of her, pointing his finger near her nose. "Who knocked you up?" he demanded.
"Huh?!" Larxene blinked in general surprise. What the hell was this man talking about?
"I'm serious!" Axel continued, while Demyx and Roxas stood up at an approaching Ratcliffe. "Who was it? Tell us, and I swear to Kingdom Hearts Demyx, Roxas, and I will beat his ass!"
Larxene could only stare at him, one eye twitching, while the other one remained wide open. Then, "Huh?"
At this time Ratcliffe had come upon the group; however, before the governor could speak, Roxas happened to get a good look at Larxene for the first time. Wearing a look that said 'You dumbasses...' the boy said, "Oh, for crying out loud, she's not knocked up! She just gets sea-sick!"
Larxene twitched, wishing that Roxas hadn't said that fact aloud. "I will kill you later," she hissed, and the Key Of Destiny smiled weakly.
Ratcliffe cleared his throat, and all four heads snapped to attention. "Now that you four are done babbling," he began arrogantly, "you will show me and my men where the gold can be found."
"And if we don't?" Axel retorted cockily.
Larxene managed to spin him around and slap him square in the face; the pyro stumbled onto the wooden ground. Looking up at Ratcliffe, Axel replied, in a much more compliant tone, "Uh, I mean sure, we'll show you. I mean, what do we need it for, right? We're just savages."
"Very cooperative savages," Ratcliffe corrected, earning himself a chuckle. "Well then, what are you all waiting for? Lead us to it!" He ushered Demyx and Roxas toward the plank to get off of the ship. "Hurry up, you two," he called to Axel and Larxene. "I don't want to leave savages all alone on my ship!"
"Sheesh," Axel huffed, hoisting himself up and dusting his legs. "What a guy, eh? Not surprised Clay ain't with him right now. Probably ran off when he got the chance. Can't really blame him, dressed up like that; there can be far worse things for a dog than the pound, I say..." realizing he was going of in a tangent with himself, he turned to see Larxene stumbling up to stand. "You gonna be alright?" Axel couldn't but ask.
"Yeah, sure," she answered hastily, walking slowly toward the exit of the ship before she had to hear Ratcliffe's annoyingly pompous voice, as she liked to label it. The ship swayed slightly once more, making Larxene's knees buckle and her hands hold her stomach. The woman felt clammy and uncoordinated; she was about to sway herself, when she felt a hand steadying her by the shoulder. Looking to the side, she saw Axel motioning with his thumb toward the dock ahead of them, where they would get off from.
"What's the matter?" he taunted playfully. "Don't tell me a little stomach-ache is gonna keep you from walking!"
"Where are those buffoons?" Ratcliffe asked angrily, shielding his eyes from the sun to look upon his ship. "Does it take them both that long to dismount from my ship?"
Demyx, in-between several of Ratcliffe's men, raised his finger slightly. "Um, they might've gotten lost?" the young man offered, and Roxas smacked his forehead and groaned.
"We're savages; not stupids!" the boy said, slightly exasperated.
Ratcliffe growled and snatched a pistol from the nearest man; the governor was about to march toward the vessel when they all heard a shout. Demyx and Roxas knew the cry to be Axel, and before either of them knew it, they saw the pyro himself falling off the side of the ship and into the water. When the splash sounded, both looked at each other and made a sympathetic "Oooooh..."
Ratcliffe, mouth agape, watched as Larxene walked off of his ship and toward them, while Axel splashed his way to the surface dripping wet. Gasping for air, the Flurry Of Dancing Flames stumbled onto the sand and threw himself there to dry. That is, until he realized that all the grains were sticking to his wet attire; jumping up, the pyro spontaneously combusted to blaze the sand off, forgetting that he was in front of Ratcliffe and his men. This fire-show startled them all into silence after a gasp in unison.
Larxene saw this and slapped her forehead.
"Great...," Roxas mumbled.
"Seize him!" Ratcliffe cried out, pointing toward Axel, who simply looked bewildered until he realized what he had just done. In mere seconds the pyro was surrounded by men, guns poised at his head.
"Yeah," he said, dragging out the word, "this isn't exactly what I had in mind as an escort while I show you the gold..."
Ratcliffe huffed. Why should we believe you now, demon?"
"Oh, now I'm a demon!" Axel rolled his eyes, exasperated. "You and your seventeenth-century paranoia!" Waving his hands in the air, he saw Demyx, Roxas, and Larxene ushered into the circle as well. "Personally," Axel continued, "I like being a savage better."
"He acts like one half the time," Larxene grumbled, and Axel elbowed her harshly in the ribs, making her choke in reflex, tongue sticking out.
"Well then," Axel hugged, feigning offense, "I guess you don't wanna know where all the gold is!"
The men looked uncertainly at each other, wondering if they had set out here for naught.
Noticing this, Ratcliffe sauntered in front of Axel, beginning with, "Where is the gold?"
Crossing his arms, Axel turned his head to the side in a showy fashion. "I don't know if I should tell you now; you've offended me quite rudely. I'm not a demon; the fire came from some matches I had."
"Wet matches?" Roxas whispered in Demyx's ear. The Nocturne shrugged, hoping the governor would buy the explanation.
Perhaps it was the greed for wealth, but whatever the reason, Ratcliffe leaned his torso back in a superior fashion, eyes twinkling. Twinkling like fat stars, in Larxene's opinion. "Well," the governor huffed, "I suppose we could trust you to show us the way; after all, what would you need it for?"
"What makes you think it's here in the first place?" Axel mumbled as a retort. Larxene elbowed him in the ribs painfully, making him produce the same reaction she had made. "Just joking," he told Ratcliffe, voice strained. "We like to joke around a little, too, y'know... I'm just saying that it's not on this island."
At this new piece of information, the men all cast astonished expressions on Ratcliffe; even Larxene, Demyx, and Roxas turned bewildered looks, but toward Axel, who simply look nonchalant.
One man stepped forward and walked across to Ratcliffe. Pushing back his black hair, he said, "Wha' does he mean, gov'ner? Is there no gold here?"
"Well, like I said," Axel interrupted, "not on this island."
Another man, this time with reddish-brown hair, spoke up. "So...which island is it on?"
Axel looked past the men, toward the shore; making sure to take his time, the pyro pointed farther away, to an island in the distance, across the water on the left. "That's right! That was the island that was said to have this shiny yellow metal stuff! If anything, it should be the gold you're all lookin' for!"
The men began to murmur in excited whispers amongst one another, lowering their guns in the moment. Even Ratcliffe seemed rather jubilant at knowing that the treasure was so close at hand. "Excellent!" he cried out, smiling avariciously. "Well, men, you heard the savages!"
"Now we're back to being savages," Demyx grumbled, crossing his arms as the men dispersed from around them.
"Would you rather be demons?" Roxas returned, looking around him.
"Get back onto the ship and find that gold!" Ratcliffe ordered, pointing toward the distant island.
"Whoa, hold on!" Axel said, leaping in front of the advancing men. "You don't know what's on that island! We heard that there are savages on that island who are far, FAR worse than us! They woulnd't hesitate to kill you if you trespass on their land! But if it seems that they're being kind to you, don't trust them! They're just trying to lull you into a false sense of security, and then they stab you in the back with their weapons!"
Raising an eyebrow, Larxene turned her head toward her other two companions, who simply shrugged at her in equal puzzlement.
Ratcliffe and his men appeared startled at Axel explanation of the inhabitants. "No matter," the governor huffed. "We'll simply return to England." He turned to face all of his men. "And come back with better arms and more men!" he finished, to which the men all cheered and wore fixated expressions of determination.
"Gov'ner!" one man said, steeping forward. "If they're really as savage as this savage says, why don't we recruit John Smith then? He'd be a wonderful asset to our expedition!"
Rubbing his chin in thought, the governor made a noise in his throat, indicating that he was mulling over the suggestion. Finally, he answered, "I believe you have a great idea there. very well, we shall see if he's up for the task. Now then. On, men!"
Dodging out of the march, Larxene and Demyx looked at the crew as they rushed back onto their vessel; Roxas, however, went on the other side of the march, though Larxene noticed that he seemed hunched over for some reason. When the few remaining men were walking toward the boarding plank, Larxene finally got a good look at Roxas, next to Axel; the boy was definitely hunched over, cradling his arms around a tell-tale lump in his coat. Sighing in exasperation, Larxene walked over to he Key Of Destiny. She put her hands on her hips and eyed the boy, in a way that spoke for itself: she knew that he did something that he wasn't supposed to do. And he knew that he wasn't supposed to do it.
"Roxas," Larxene said flatly. "Gimme the dog."
Roxas looked up at the woman, and wore an expression that suggested he wanted to disobey and try to keep Percy anyway. However, upon seeing Larxene's eyes, the boy crouched down, and the next instant Percy crawled out, looking as if he nearly suffocated. Larxene scooped the dog up and held him in the air; scrutinizing his stuck-up expression, Larxene breathed loudly, "Damn, I swear you're Clay Aiken's dog somehow! Like you got sucked into this time period or something somehow!"
Axel took the dog from her hands and sent the dog through a portal, and onto the ship. Which probably nearly gave the dog a heart attack, but Axel wasn't going to ponder on that. "Okay, seriously," Axel grumped, crossing his arms. "There were absolutely no chicks whatsoever!"
Rolling her eyes, Larxene looked to him. "So how much of all that blasphemy was true? About that islandhaving savages andall that gold?"
"Hm?" Axel raised his eyebrows as if just remembering it was he who had said all those things to Ratcliffe and his men, who were beginning to set sail once more. "Oh, all that? Pfft, I just bullshit all that! Like I would know any of that stuff; I just said it so they'd leave us alone!"
Demyx blinked in surprise. "Wow, that was some good impro, then!"
Roxas, meanwhile, stared after the ship for a while longer before saying, "I wanted to rescue that poor puppy..."
A/N: Ahah, see? If it weren't for Axel's big mouth, John Smith wouldn't even BE in Pocahontas, and therefore no Pocahontas movie!
Hope you guys liked the extra-long chapter (almost 3000 words!); I thought I'd make up for my long wait to update this chapter.
