Complex
Polished leather shoes sank into the water-saturated earth as soil was thrown into an open grave. The rain had actually stopped some two hours before the funeral itself, but its handiwork remained in the form of a muddy graveyard. Twilight Town's single gravedigger was solemnly filling-in the grave plot, even as a major portion of the mourners made their way home. Only a handful of people remained by the grave's side, and no one had the heart to shoo them off.
After all, they were possibly the closest that the recently deceased had to friends and family. And in the latter case, his own son was actually present.
"... if you need someone to talk to, I'll be around," said Diz softly, as he put a hand on Axel's shoulder.
The red-haired Turk didn't seem to notice the words nor the gesture - his attention was focused entirely on the sight of his father's coffin being covered up beneath six feet of earth. His eyes had lost their former spark, and his hair hung devoid of its usual spikes down over his back due to a lack of attention during the last few days. His suit was pristine as compared to its usual rumpled state, but no one had the heart to comment on it, knowing that Roxas and Elena had spent the better part of three hours getting him cleaned up.
"Axel, maybe we should go," Roxas said softly, as the gravedigger began tamping down the earth over Reno's grave. "Axel?"
"Come, Axel," Tseng said gently. "Let it go."
Axel spun about his heel, and stalked away from the grave without saying a word.
xxx
"- and here we have one of the best interns I have ever had the pleasure of supervising," declared a certain Professor James Hojo, as he led a group of much-despised men in suits into his main laboratory. "Truly, he has the knowledge, the eagerness to learn, and the clinical detachment necessary to one day shine as a man of science!"
"Big words, Hojo," said one of the laboratory's visitors in a flat tone. "Your department's requests for a budget increment are under scrutiny here, so we expect to see proof of all claims."
With a soft hiss, the laboratory's huge doors slid shut and sealed themselves, startling the men. Turning around and looking at the man with a sweet smile, Hojo delivered his next words with some barely-disguised contempt, "Oh, but I will give you all the proof you need. In fact, I shall need a volunteer for this next bit."
The men from ShinRa's accounting department looked around nervously at each other. Visits to the renowned - and at the same time, demented - scientist's laboratory were not exactly the kind of event which sold out their tickets fast, after all. And of course, who could possibly forget what had happened to that unfortunate sap Norris Beltino? That particular stupid douchebag had managed to grievously offend Hojo to the point whereby the good doctor had actually poisoned him somehow. His autopsy had revealed trace amounts of an unknown chemical substance in his blood, which had mysteriously dissipated into nothingness within two days of his death.
Indeed, if there was one person who you didn't want to cross in his natural element, it would have had to be Professor Hojo.
"Volunteer, quickly!" Hojo snapped, bouncing on the heels of his feet. "I don't exactly have all day, you know!"
"Umm, we are aware of the... nature of your demonstrations-"
"Nonsense! You people are so unsporting when it comes to demonstrations... In fact, you have already been shown the effects of my latest research!"
The group of accountants stepped back uneasily. Just what was the mad man on about?
Hojo smirked evilly at them, "There are only seven people in this particular laboratory right now; you five, my intern, and myself. Even as I sealed the door behind you moronic interferences, the air we are breathing was infused with a sufficient dosage of FX-7."
"And what does that do?" asked the head accountant, as he fidgeted where he stood.
Hojo merely glanced at his wristwatch, and hummed, "You should be feeling it's effects in about-"
THUMP.
"- well, now."
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
"Zexion, good job!" Hojo called out, even as he carefully stepped over the limp forms of the five accountants. "Timing was accurate to within the expected range."
"The calculations cannot lie, professor," offered the slate-haired college student, as he moved up to observe the results of their joint handiwork.
"So, you oafs can now see what we've come up with!" sneered Hojo, even as he looked down at the frantically shifting eyes of the money men. "An odorless, colorless paralytic agent. Harmless if you took a small dose of our little antidote of sorts, but... I daresay you five wont be clocking out today. Maybe if five hours you'll be able to make your fingers twitch."
"Just the paralytic agent, professor? I thought we wanted to use the nerve gas on them?"
"Shush, Zexion! We'll save that for the douchebags who keep moving my stuff around; I'm willing to bet that it's that idiotic janitor-"
A soft buzzing interrupted the scientist's rant, causing him to glance at his prized intern with a raised eyebrow. Said intern merely shrugged, and fished his handphone out of his laboratory coat pocket. Upon reading the text message, his one visible eye went wide, and his expression changed to one of extreme panic.
"Professor, I really have to go now!"
"What? Preposterous! We have five subjects here to test for blood pressure, pulse, and the whole shebang!"
"It's really urgent!" he all but pleaded, even as he stepped towards the sealed doors.
"What could possibly be more urgent than this?"
"... I don't know how to say this..."
"It's Demyx, isn't it?"
Zexion's silence was the answer that remained unspoken.
Hojo's mildly surprised look gave way to a vicious scowl, "I thought you were better than the rest of them... Get out of my sight, and leave your ID behind."
"Professor?" Zexion asked hollowly, as his hand reflexively went up to grasp at his ID card. "My ID?"
"You're sacked. Now get out quickly, before the gas leaks out when the doors open; I have more work to do now thanks to your misplaced priorities."
For one moment, time seemed to stand still in the laboratory as the two men stared down at each other. Finally, Zexion took off his ID card, and threw it at his former mentor, even as he turned to open the doors. With a hiss of well-maintained hydraulics, the two doors slid open to let him out, only to shut themselves once he had left the laboratory.
Alone in the room save for his five paralyzed victims, Hojo let out a small sigh, and bent over to pick up Zexion's ID.
"Shame, it was," was all he said before he fed the ID into the waste chute that led to the incinerator.
xxx
Roxas stepped into his dorm room, and hefted his book bag onto his bed. It had been a long day of lectures for him, and all he wanted to do right then was to lie down and have a good nap. But of course, there were those cursed assignments...
Looking at his little bedside chest of drawers for the small 'To Do' list he had tacked there, he saw another note beside the usual one. Curious, he grabbed the little sheet of paper and read the messy scrawls that marked it. Even as his tired-out brain recognized the handwriting, his eyes widened in horror at what had been written down on the note. It took him all of ten seconds to whip out his phone and begin frantically digging through his contacts list, and another five seconds to actually dial the number.
With shaking hands, he raised the phone to his ear, and heard a distinctive ring-tone from the other end of the line. He swallowed thickly, and felt as though his windpipe was being gradually compressed.
At long last, the person on the other end picked up, "Diz's Coffee Shop."
"Diz! I- It's-" Roxas stammered, the link between mind and mouth going haywire out of his desperation. "He's- No!"
"Roxas, calm down," Diz's voice came over the line, maddeningly unruffled, but with a distinct edge of unease to it. "What happened?"
"Call Rufus!"
"Whatever for?"
"Axel... He's gone for revenge!"
Diz remained silent for a bit, and Roxas felt his stomach twisting itself into knots as he waited for the old man's reply.
"I'll take care of Rufus. Do you know where he'll be going?"
"No! That's why we need Rufus!"
"Unlikely that Rufus will know, but I can try. Roxas!"
"Yes?"
"Go to his apartment, and look for clues. He isn't thinking too straight by now, so he probably left a clue or two there."
Even before Diz had finished speaking, Roxas was already sprinting down the dormitory's main corridor.
xxx
A lighter's top was flicked open, and its wheel spun. The flint sparked, and the wick caught on fire. With that done, the lighter now had a cheerful yellow flame flickering out of its business end. The man holding it cupped his other hand over the little device, and began lighting the cigarette held between his teeth. Once it had been lit, he took a long drag from it, and closed his eyes in what appeared to be a state of bliss. Despite the little death-stick being lit, he still kept the lighter open with its small, flickering flame.
"You know... I told myself once that I'll never do this kind of shit," he muttered with his eyes still closed. "I mean... taking hostages? That's the stuff cowards and shitheads do. Not a Turk, oh no. Definitely not a Turkish thing to do."
"But of course, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done, don't you? Maybe the ends justify the means."
Pausing for a moment, he cocked his head to the side, shutting his eyes tighter, "What kind of a fucking proverb is that? 'Do the means justify the ends'? Those damned lecturers got it wrong, yes sir. It's the ends that justify the means, my dear lady. Certainly not the other way around."
"And now... we can go on with the show."
At long last, he opened his eyes, and gave his one-person audience a positively bloodthirsty grin. The woman had been tied to a wooden chair and gagged. Tears had left their dirty little tracks across her cheeks, and her voice sounded hoarse through the filthy rag that had been stuffed in her mouth.
Upon seeing the madness reflected in his eyes by the lighter's flame, she tried to scream.
Axel used his free hand to pick up the handphone he had found in her apron's pocket, and dialed the contact whose number was saved under the name 'Sonny'. After a few short rings, 'Sonny' picked up.
"Hello?"
"Well, hello to you too, Red," Axel purred into the phone. "Why don't you come over? I'm sure you know where I am now you overgrown fucktard. See you soon."
Not waiting for a reply, he hung up and threw the phone down onto the floor. Not satisfied with how the phone cracked open, he brought his heel down on it, crushing it beyond further usage.
"Now, Madam Coral..." he said pleasantly, as he took another drag from his cigarette. "I do find myself wondering... just how did you raise such a bastard of a son?"
xxx
Demyx stepped into the ancient-looking train, and took a look at the coach's interior. Being as old as it was, the coach was actually pretty clean and looked rather comfortable. Hauling his luggage over to the luggage compartment at the far end of the coach, he began stowing away his two medium-sized suitcases. Stealing a glance at his watch as he did so, he noted that the train was due to leave in just five more minutes. With a final grunt and push, he managed to pack his luggage away, and shuffled over to his allocated seat. He doubted that it would really make a difference if he sat in a different seat, though; since Midgar's airport had opened with its discounted domestic flights, few people actually bothered to take the night train anymore.
His guitar was sitting on the empty seat next to him, and he allowed himself a small smile for that. The ticketing office had been bewildered when he purchased two tickets, and they had been even more confused when he told them that the extra seat was for a musical instrument. However, since he was a paying passenger, they gave him the second seat at half-price in the end. Sinking down into the surprisingly well-cushioned seat, he let out a small sigh.
A shrill whistle blast was heard, indicating that the train was due to leave in two minutes.
A hundred doubts ran through his mind.
A single hope that his musical career would be made when he arrived at Nobuo Uematsu's studio quashed all of them save for one.
"DEMYX!" came a loud shout from the platform's general direction, startling him out of his reverie. Looking out of the window, he saw Zexion being detained at the platform gate by the burly guard stationed there. "DEMYX!"
Later, when he looked back, he couldn't ever identify the exact reason why he had actually stepped off the train to see Zexion.
Later, when he looked back, he recalled his former boyfriend pleading with him to not leave.
Later, when he looked back, he remembered telling Zexion that between the the slate-haired man's workaholic nature and his own once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he had made his decision.
Later, when he looked back, he could never forget how Zexion had broken down in tears on the other side of the platform gate, even as he boarded the train and left Twilight Town.
For his part, Zexion hadn't seen the tears that he had shed in the train.
xxx
When he heard the front door being broken down, Axel merely sat down on the kitchen counter. Dangling his long legs over the counter's edge, he continued to puff away on his third cigarette for the night. Soon enough, thundering footsteps could be heard moving towards the kitchen, as Amarant made his way to his mother. Axel decided that it was a good thing he didn't have to wait much longer; the smell was getting unbearable.
"Hold it right there, Red," drawled the junior Turk, as he aimed his handgun at the kitchen doorway and flicked the safety catch off. "Can't save your mother if you died now, could you?"
The lanky assassin stood in the doorway, red dreadlocks covering most of his face and masking his expression, "She has no part in this, you imbecile!"
"Oh, but she does," replied Axel, as Amarant tried to step into the kitchen. "And hold it right there, or I'll plant this slug in your chest."
"Try me!" snarled the mercenary, as he entered the kitchen.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The three gunshots sounded like miniature thunderclaps in the small confines of the kitchen. Amarant was thrown backwards, three bloody patches blossoming over his chest even as he unsheathed his infamous knuckle-mounted blades. Axel merely smirked and pointed his gun at the kitchen's window, which the mercenary's mother was propped up against in her chair.
"Armor-piercing rounds tonight, Red. You think I didn't expect you to wear that blasted ballistic vest tonight?"
"FUCK YOU!" growled Amarant, as he lunged towards Axel, blood trickling down his chin.
"Tsk tsk tsk!" chided Axel, as he nimbly leaped out of the way. "Such language, and in front of your mother!"
"LET HER GO!" bellowed Amarant, even as he began to stumble while turning to face Axel.
"Not a chance."
With that, Axel threw his lighter at Amarant's mother. The little flame, once nothing more than a flickering fire, soon gave rise to a decent blaze when it landed on the woman's kerosene-soaked form. She screamed in pain through the gag, and Axel leveled his firearm at the window behind her as she began to burn in earnest. The glass behind her took on a grayish coloration as the flames began licking at it, and a spider's web of cracks began to form around the areas where her seat was propped up against it. Muffled screams could be heard, but her gag made any form of clear vocalization impossible.
"Feel my pain."
One gunshot was all that it took to shatter the window, sending the burning woman out into the air. Amarant, bleeding all over the kitchen counter, could nothing but watch as his mother fell out of the eighth floor window. His mouth opened and closed in a silent mask of horror, while his own vision began to dim.
There was a click as Axel flipped the safety catch on his gun back to its standard position, and Amarant saw him reaching for a small fire extinguisher that was sitting in the corner. He put out the remnants of the fire, and walked over to Amarant.
"Like how it feels?" the Turk asked with a manic gleam in his sunken eyes. He brought the fire extinguisher down on the fallen mercenary's wrist, snapping the bones as though they were toothpicks. Before he could use his other hand to make one last swipe at his assailant, Amarant's head was snapped back as the canister was slammed into his face with enough force to break his nose.
Amarant's last wish was that the red-haired Turk would someday see him in Hell.
xxx
Diz put down the phone, and let himself sink into one of the chairs near the counter.
He had just called Rufus about Axel's planned attempt at getting even with Amarant, and had expected bad news. However, the news he had gotten was nothing short of catastrophic. By the time he had gotten in contact with Rufus, the police were already on their way to a certain apartment near Midgar's seventh sector. Somebody had reported that one of the apartments had been broken into by none other than Amarant himself, and that three gunshots had been fired. The emergency line's operator had then heard for herself the fourth gunshot being fired. When the distraught resident had informed the operator that a burning thing had apparently been jettisoned out of the window, the police knew that something seriously screwed-up was happening over there.
From there, things had only gotten worse.
By the time the squad cars had arrived on-scene, all they found were the charred remains of Amarant's mother lying splattered on the sidewalk next to the apartment. When they had actually entered the apartment, they found Amarant's dismembered corpse lying all over the living room. His limbs had been stacked up like logs in front of the television set, and his headless torso was propped up on the sofa. What made the whole scene even more gruesome was the fact that when his head was found in a bucket, it was observed that his genitals had been severed and placed in his mouth.
The messy cuts showed that Amarant's own blades had been used for the bloody deed, and not a single sign of a Turk's presence could be found at the crime scene.
He felt vaguely nauseous at the thought of what Axel had done, and spared a moment to wonder just how everything had gone so wrong. It was almost too much for his age-worn mind to process, and he began to feel somewhat lightheaded. With a trembling hand, he reached for his coffee mug to try and get some of the soothing fluid into his system. Before he could even bring the mug to his mouth, however, a sharp pain flared up in his chest. A powerful spasm tore through his body, sending the coffee mug crashing to the floor.
Diz's vision blacked out, and he fell to the ground in a heap.
xxx
Roxas had just gotten off the train at the ShinRa Tower station when he saw Axel stumbling out of the building. His suit was stained in places with a dark substance that he didn't want to know about, and his facial expression was completely blank.
"Axel!" he ran up to the Turk, who was now doing little more than standing completely still near the fountain in front of the tower. "Axel!"
Axel didn't acknowledge his calls, and let out a startled cry when Roxas hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped terribly, and whirled about to face Roxas.
Backpedaling, Roxas managed to pull himself together to stutter out the Turk's name once again.
"Roxas..." whispered Axel, as he stared blankly at Roxas' face. "I did it..."
"Axel..." murmured Roxas, dreading what he knew was coming. "What did you do?"
"I killed him. I killed his mother. I killed them ALL..." was all Axel said, even as he burst into a sobbing fit and fell to his knees.
Rushing to his boyfriend's side and throwing his arms around him, Roxas barely noticed that Rufus ShinRa and Tseng had actually exited the building and were now standing not ten feet away from them.
"Tseng, call the cops. We'll settle this one."
"And what about Axel?"
Rufus sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Get them inside for now. Hojo can sedate them if need be."
Even as Tseng whipped out his phone and began dialing up Chief Inspector Steiner's number, the distant sound of sirens could be heard.