Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
Chapter Eleven
Destruction
"You're going to die here." The worlds rang in my ears. Heavily. Bluntly.
"He's going to kill me?" I didn't know why, but I'd clung to the vain hope that maybe he'd let me go, just because. "I'll spend my whole life here?"
"You have about a month."
"A month to… confess? So he'll let me go?" I was verging on hysteria.
"No. A month to live. Demyx…" Axel's hand was on the barrier, on top my mine like a mirror image. "You're dying right now."
Tears flooded my eyes. Somehow, I'd known. The blurred vision, the weakness, throwing up blood. "…How?"
"That syringe. It… Xemnas has this theory…" Axel trailed off.
My chest was heaving. I wanted him to stop, but I wanted him to keep telling me. I wanted to know what was happening to me.
"He says… that… he thought at first that if a Nobody got their heart back, the soul with cause the heart to deteriorate because it's so strong. See, in a human… the heart is what controls the body, but in a Nobody, the soul does… But you, you're the opposite case. The body can't live without a soul. And yours is falling apart."
"So… what did the needle do? I'd just die anyway."
"Yeah, but slowly. In years, decades, even. That needle was to… speed up the process. And the peach… I don't know what it was."
I was crying openly, trying to at least keep my tears silent.
"Demyx, I'm so sorry. If I would have found out from the beginning… I would have tried to stop him… Or something…"
I choked on a sob. "Really? Would you have? He just would have killed you too for disobeying… or… or…" It took me nearly five minutes before I could speak at all. "So I'm definitely going to die."
"…Yeah."
"There's no way they can stop this?"
"I… no. I don't think so." Axel looked almost ashamed.
"Then he won't hear anything from me." I felt psychotic. I was breathing heavily, fully hysterical. "Not a sound. He can just murder me right here."
"…I was hoping you'd say that, to be honest. I don't know what he'd do with darkness on his side…"
"But you don't want to know?" I felt strange.
"Of course I do."
"I could tell you."
He looked surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah. But then again, what happened to all the others who trusted you?" I laughed a little, humorlessly.
Maybe he was just desperate, but he stared at me. "I won't tell anyone."
"How can I take your word for it?"
"I'll get you out of here."
"If I'm just going to die, why bother?"
"Don't tell me you'd rather spend your last days in here."
I looked around for a moment or so. "True. But what would I do?"
"I don't know, that's your choice, isn't it? So is it a deal?"
Axel was probably just trying to get the information for his own selfish needs. He didn't seem too keen on letting the others know. Maybe I was just being duped.
Either way, I didn't have long. It didn't matter anymore. "…Alright." I lay down. "I'll tell you next time. I'm too tired right now."
He stood and walked through a dark corridor.
I was woken up a few hours later when Xigbar unexpectedly showed up. Normally he didn't wake me. He knew how deeply I slept.
"Kid, you've got to get up."
I blinked and stretched dazedly. "What is it?"
"The Superior wants to see you."
My mind, still half-asleep, reeled momentarily. For however long I'd been here, I hadn't seen him since the first day. Did I hear that right? "…What?"
"The Superior wants to see you. For questioning."
I stared, bemused. "…Why now? Why not weeks ago?"
He shrugged, but I could tell he was lying. Even when I'd been part of the Organization, their motives and plans made no sense to me. There had to be some point in waiting so long. Maybe it was because I was so weak now, when then I would have at least had a sporting chance, had I wanted to fight.
"I'm not going," I said decisively. This couldn't have a good outcome.
"You don't have a choice." He grasped his keycard and took my wrist. "Come on."
"No." I pulled back. Stupid as I was, as long as I had a shred of will, I would hang on to it.
He grasped my shoulder. "How old are you, two?"
I tried to pull free from his grip, but his hand held on to a pressure point.
"What's the worst they could do to you?"
"That's not why I want to stay here."
"Demyx, I have my orders, I don't want to have to use force."
"It's a bit late for that, isn't it?"
He yanked me to my feet. I overbalanced and nearly fell over. The world rocked for a moment, like I was on a boat. Not like I would know the feeling. I'd never been seasick. Xigbar sighed. "Alright, there?"
"Oh, totally." Sarcasm dripped from the words. "Let's just get this over with."
Axel was sitting in the Gray Area, sprawled over the couch. He had a massive headache, and he had no idea where it came from. He saw Luxord pass by. While Axel had never truly liked the gambler, he didn't think he was a bad guy. They both seemed to be the current washouts of the Organization. "Hey, Lux. You're pretty familiar with headaches, right?"
"You mean hangovers?"
"No. Just migraines. I have one, and it's killing me."
"How's Demyx?" Luxord asked suddenly.
Axel sat up and stared at him. "Why do you ask?"
"They're going to question him."
Axel blinked. "What? Why?"
"I just heard it. Given my abilities, I can be anywhere, and nowhere, all at once." He paused. "It seems almost like you're concerned."
"I'm not," Axel said. "Really, I could care less what could happen to him."
"Then why are you going to go over there? I know you are. You've got to be careful, Axel. They'll kill you, too."
Axel hoped he meant what they'd done to Demyx already. "I can take care of myself."
"That's what they all say. On a different note…" He pulled a pill out of his pocket. "Take this. It should help." And with that, Luxord was gone.
Axel studied the pill in his hand for a moment, and after a few moments deliberation, decided not to take it.
He walked down the hall at a brisk pace. Where would they take him? Is this just a setup? The first place he thought to check was Xemnas's office. What would they do to him? They're cutting up his soul into little bits. I don't think they'd do something so logical as ask questions.
He paused for a second. Really, why did he care? Was it because Demyx was Axel's only way to humanity? But Axel had stopped thinking about becoming human long ago.
He blamed it on Roxas. Roxas would have helped him, he thought, even though he knew on a logical level that Roxas had disliked him as well. What about Sora? Was it because Demyx was his only tie to Sora now, and thus, to Roxas?
Did it matter that he cared? Did he need a reason?
How would he find Demyx?
Axel rounded a corner. In all the years he'd been here, he still didn't care for navigating the place, especially since everything looked almost exactly the same.
Maybe they did that for a reason, he thought. So we would never be tempted to explore. But all that did was make us better at hiding things.
Axel found himself at an intersection. He was trying to figure out where to turn when he saw a shadow, like the reflection of color on white. Axel raised an eyebrow and went down this hallway, and found himself confronted with what appeared to be wooden paneling.
What is this? He thought. Someone's hidey-hole? He'd never known there to be any decoration in the castle. Axel looked around quickly and spotted Saïx standing in front of a door, staring at him.
The Diviner looked towards him. "I didn't know it would come to this, Axel," he said calmly.
"You can't just do this to him," Axel said suddenly, not sure where the worlds were from. "It's wrong, Saïx, he didn't do anything to deserve this!"
"I used to think you gravitated towards traitors because you wanted to destroy them."
"That's true. I did help kill them at Castle Oblivion. I did that to help you."
"What he knows can help us. For someone who pretended to be so loyal, you would think he would share with us."
"He's Demyx. He's just a kid. How can he figure that out? Now, Saïx, if you were in the same situation, you wouldn't say a word, now would you?"
In an instant, Saïx had him pressed against the wall. Axel didn't so much as move.
"Come on, you know it's true. You guys are so crazy to get this information out of him that you didn't realize the obvious; Xemnas has been lying this whole time. Maybe that's why he's trying to destroy Demyx. To keep us from rebelling. Maybe you don't care, considering you think you don't need a heart, but what about the others? They care. They could take you two down. Kingdom Hearts isn't the answer to our solutions. I know that. He's just using it for power, Saïx! What are you going to do? Overthrow him?
"I don't understand any of this at all," he said after a breath. "You guys pretend to be a unit, yet you hate each other. You agree to everything he says, and let him rule us all, but you want to overthrow him. I don't think you can do it."
Saïx's hand was a blur. Axel felt something stab into his shoulder, and before he blacked out, he spat, "You know I'm right."
The room and hallway were darker than I'd ever seen them. I was so used to just plain whiteness in the castle; seeing color and other material was almost shocking.
The hallway was paneled and wooden, but it didn't have the same warm feel as if it were actual wood. What was this place? Why were they bringing me here? They said questioning, but I wondered if maybe they were just going to execute me. I couldn't say I really cared. Sure, I existed now, but I was falling to pieces quite literally, and I didn't have time to think about what I wanted, let alone get it. Death might just be easy, a nice, long, restful sleep. It had been a while since I woke up refreshed.
I didn't struggled against Xigbar anymore as he led me down the hall. He didn't say anything, which was unusual for him.
At the end of the hallway was Saïx, standing in front of the door. He stood on my other side as the door opened automatically.
This must be exactly as real prisoners feel.
Inside the room, it was small and rather dark. There were no lamps, but I could see well enough. There was a table, and two chairs at the table. Xemnas was sitting in one, looking as calm as always.
"Have a seat, Nine," he said conversationally.
He'd hurt me so much. Why was he acting nice? I obliged, and realized that I was graced by almost the entire Organization, aside from Axel and Luxord. Axel had told me Xaldin was killed. If it weren't for him, I'd be healthy right now.
"Put your hands on the table," Xemnas said in a neutral voice.
I wondered why, but knew better than to question it. Xigbar and Saïx stood next to the door like members of an army. I obeyed this time, too, and felt my silver bracelet latch onto something invisible, like magnets. I should have expected this.
"How are you feeling?" Xemnas asked.
I wish I had someone to look to. Enemies surrounded me. Did I have to answer honestly? "…I've been better," I finally said.
"Did you like the peach?" He smiled a little, the meanest smile I'd ever seen.
"I appreciate the thought, but not whatever that was in it."
"I'm guessing… your stay has been less than satisfactory."
I pause. I didn't want to say something that would make him vault over the table. "Actually, it's been okay. You know, aside from the fact that I'm permanently sick and can't leave."
"I thought as much." He actually stretches a little. I'd never seen Xemnas do something so informal, so… ordinary. "Can I just ask you a few things?"
"That's why you brought me here, and why you're holding me down with this metal thing."
"…I don't want this to be… unpleasant."
I beg to differ.
"Tell me… how long had you known what you do about hearts before you became human?"
"I didn't know at all."
"But you do now?" His eyes bore into mine.
Here's where things would get difficult. "…Yes."
He stared at me so weirdly. "Why didn't you tell us as soon as you knew?"
"Because you tried to kill me when you asked me the first time."
He laughed a little. "I think you're exaggerating."
"You held a blade to my neck."
"And then Axel saved you."
I leaned back as far as I could with my trapped wrist. "I suppose so. What I want to know… why didn't you question me first thing?"
"You would have fought."
"Why do you want to be human?"
"I believe I'm the one asking questions, Nine."
"My name is Demyx," I snapped. "I'm not a part of this Organization anymore. I'm not a Nobody! I'm just trying to figure out who I am and where I belong. You should know that I'm not clever enough to betray you guys. Why did you do this to me?"
He took a deep breath. "You are weak. Very weak."
I sat up a bit straighter.
"I'd never seen a heart like yours before, way back when. We've met. You were very young."
My voice was very soft. "How can I believe that?"
"You were a little boy in Japan," he said calmly. "You'd lost your mother. An old woman let you wait in her fish stall, but didn't help you because you weren't Asian. I met you- actually, my Somebody did. Your heart was pure light, something that's not only rare, but also rare in boys especially. I saw the potential you had. So I cast a charm on you."
I paused. There was no way that this was a lie- I did remember that time. I'd been only three or four years old. A man with silver hair had confronted me, asked me what was wrong. Why was everything suddenly surreal? What was he going to say next? "What kind of charm?"
"Darkness," he stated simply. "That was the only thing that would make you stronger. I'd intended to make you my servant. But you've disobeyed. I've made you what you are, Nine. I can just as easily destroy that."
"Well, take a good look at me. I'm sure I'm not what you wanted."
"That's the problem."
"What now, then?"
He cocked his head to the side. "If you don't tell me what you know, I will kill you." He gestured to the corner of the room. "I'll kill him, too."
I looked over with a renewed state of fear. Axel lay in the corner, unconscious with bound wrists. "What? …No! You can't do this!"
"But I already have," Xemnas continued. "It's easy, Nine. The peace of the World, or you and your friend."
Hi everyone! I'm so sorry this chapter is so late. The original chapter eleven was so much different, and after a few scans, I can't say I like it. I like this storyline better. What do you think of Xemnas? I think he's much more evil. XD
I do think that the little reference to Demyx's past and them meeting is too rushed and sudden, but it'll come up again in more detail.
So Demyx has a choice to make. Anyway, does anyone have a Twitter? I only have one to follow someone on deviantART. Apparently I have two followers, though. If you have a Twitter, say hi. I'll sub you if you sub me. The screen name is RixelandAoxis. It's an inside joke. XD
Next update: April 21st
Thank you Chiaroscurist, The Chel, Ravenr20, Zemby, Dragginninja (I spelt your name wrong last time, sorry), annonie Mystical, and Anna for reviewing last chapter. I'd like six reviews again this time, if you can manage it :)
