Well here goes my note. It's an important one so please read. There is only one chapter after this one. That's right, Define Sin is coming to an end and I'll tell you why. Over the past 2 or 3 days I've been wracking my brain to put together the next chapter and it wasn't till yesterday that the reason I can't come up with anything hit me: there is no more to do. I am proud of everything I've put into this story and don't want to kill it by dragging it out. This isn't a 'copout' by any means and if you think it is I must have failed as a writer or you as a reader. I wrote the entire ending and epilogue yesterday and today and am happy with the way it came together; I couldn't forgive myself if I changed it.
Seven days from now I'll post the final chapter, and seven hours after that I'll post the epilogue. Yes, I chose the number seven for more than one reason but go check my DA page to find out more (linked through my profile) Also, forgive the possible enormous amount of grammatical errors in this chapter. I feel so dead right now, maybe because I'm getting old. BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! WAHH!
SIDENOTE: The lyrics Demyx uses in this chapter are from the musical Spring Awakening which is an amazing show musically though I've yet to see it on stage. The song is 'Those You've Known' and you really should listen to it prior to that part of the chapter just to kind of get a feel for how it's said. The entire album of the show is a good listen in my opinion.
NEW POLL! Please check it out, it's on my profile and involves the ending of this story. It won't affect anything, I'm just very curious to see where you guys think I'm going with this.
Chapter 20
Sinful Fugitives
Vincent's words sent them all moving. Luxord aborted the computer program he had been working to reboot after a centuries' dormancy while Namine and Cid gathered the papers and forced them back into her briefcase which was immediately locked and sealed up tightly. Vincent and Xigbar shot out the maximum number of lights possible without completely wiping them out, leaving only two on at the entry and above where Luxord was hastily locking the computer down. A normal eye would strain to see in this light but even in the nearly completely dark room they could see clear enough to fight if they had to. Zexion, Tidus, and Demyx rushed up a ladder on the wall to a series of ducts and pipes large and small. Smaller ones served as ventilation sources, the larger either attached to the sewer lines above or water mains for the fountain in the museum above. Using the knives Demyx kept holstered around his ankles they quickly began to unscrew the vent in hopes of making an escape route. Axel conjured up a fire and began soldering the metal of the door to that of its archway just as a heavy bang was heard against the other side. The others gathered at the lower level to fend off intruders in case they got through before their escape route was secure.
"Come on bastard," Luxord said under his breath, quickly entering the series of codes the computer asked for. It was a very secure system which could fall apart completely if an invalid user tried to access it and the numbers were different for each base. Usually it was a genius security system but at a time like this where every second counted the processing time passed too slowly, "How the hell did they know which base to come to first?!"
Axel had nearly finished when he picked up on something. He could feel a second fire on the other side of the door and knew what it was likely leading to, "Everybody down!" No sooner had he said it did the large and heavy metal door, despite its nearly complete soldering on their end, fly into the room in four pieces. One nearly took off Axel's shoulder as he dove for cover and another went right through Squall's side, leaving a huge tear that consumed the entire right half of his stomach. Axel, Cloud, and Seifer rushed the armored guards that flooded into the room while Roxas hurried to Squall as he collapsed on the ground. He was in an immense amount of pain, that was clear, and a wound as sever as this was more than enough to kill them. He looked up and saw dozens of guards; and though the trio fighting them off was strong they weren't strong enough and several slipped by and headed for the stairs and him.
"Get running," Squall spat but Roxas didn't have time, the gunfire loud enough to scare him and he ducked down to avoid it. This was bad. The air became heavy and he looked up to see the fire whipping guards away and Axel working to protect him, "Roxas move!" With close to 50 guards in the room, 25 already dead, he couldn't relax and as soon as he turned to help Roxas he was nearly shot from behind.
Roxas should have heeded his advice and run for the stairs but he couldn't leave Squall behind, instead getting up and meeting the group coming at them. They were all at risk here and now wasn't a time to run and play coward. He'd fight and do whatever was in his power to prolong their existence.
Zexion saw what had happened and stopped working on their escape route, instead hurrying back to the ladder and sliding down. "Zexy!" Demyx didn't know what he was thinking and he watched as Zexion hurried over to the guardrail and jumped over the side. He went straight to Squall and sat him up, ignoring the hiss of pain and putting a hand over the tear in his side. Squall would've cursed his name but it hurt too much as he felt the abrasion stitch shut hastily with an invisible needle. Zexion shoved him away after the quick mend which he rarely used and had only done so twice before, both occasions to save his own life. With blood on his hands he stood up and slashed one through the air at a series of soldiers who'd closed in on him in those seconds. Cuts immediately appeared on wherever his hands gestured. Just as he could alleviate pain from other he could also store it up inside him and inflict it tenfold, and as the bodies fell he couldn't help but think how just it was that pain they'd caused to Squall was now what was killing them.
The computer finally went black and Luxord was free to join in the fight, just in time as the guards hurried up the stairs. Xigbar and Vincent were able to hold them off with gunfire but every time they paused to reload the guards grew closer and closer. "Head for the air ducts, the path should be clear soon," he told Namine, clapping her on the shoulders before reaching into his pockets and drawing his hands back out with the brass knuckles on. Cid laughed, "You're a fool to fight close range," he said before kicking one of the guardrails loose and using the 6 foot hollow pipe as a makeshift weapon. "At least it doesn't look like I'm compensating for something," Luxord said and Cid laughed as they ran in to join the fight.
"There!" Tidus cheered as the last screw came out and the vent fell out, securing their escape route. He gave a loud whistle to alert the others before disappearing into the tunnel to go ahead and clear out the accumulated cobwebs. Demyx hurried over to the ladder and helped Namine up, "No time to celebrate, get going," he said, leading her to the air duct, "Don't worry, we'll see you soon."
"Be careful," she told him before slinking into the duct and following after Tidus. A command was shouted in Russian, a tongue only Zexion, Xigbar, and Cid were familiar with but as the soldiers gathered in a line they all picked up on it's meaning, "Move!" Seifer, Squall, Axel, Zexion, Cloud, and Roxas all hurried to hide behind pillars as uniform gunfire rained through the room. Safe behind the same pillar Axel tried to catch his breath, "Head for the duct, we can hold the last of them off."
Only forty or so remained and it looked like there weren't anymore in the hall. Numbers aside, the damage to the sins and virtues seemed to be growing at a much quicker rate than that which guards fell. Seifer had a head wound, made clear by the blood which covered the half of his burnt face. Cloud was clutching his left arm and doubled over, trying to rest quickly in their few moments of shelter from gunfire. Squall was having trouble moving even though the wound was healed, his insides still damaged and as he'd fled for shelter he'd taken a shot to the ankle it seemed. Zexion had one hand over his other, a bullet to the palm earlier while fighting served as not only a source of pain but also a source of ammunition in his case. And Axel…he'd definitely looked better. Roxas could see a burn on his throat and cheek where he'd had to probably seal up a wound and keep fighting. "I'm not leaving you!" Roxas insisted but Axel grabbed a fistful of his hair and forced his mouth over his in a rough and hasty kiss.
"Then you'd better get going," he said, quite sure Roxas would end up dead if he hung around much longer. Roxas didn't have time to protest and Axel didn't have time to rest. He came out of hiding and used a wave of fire to ignite the first line of guards firing at them. With limited ventilation the room was growing thick with smoke and it made both seeing and breathing difficult. Deciding he could be of use to the other group fending off the guards on the stairs, Roxas hurried to the base and rushed up, ambushing the guards from the rear while Luxord and Cid fended off the ones above and Xigbar and Vincent fired at the lower level where the others had come out of hiding and were fighting once again.
Axel spotted two familiar faces come through the doorway and quickly take out the commanding officer who'd been watching the battle, "I hate leaders who don't help their men," Riku said disapprovingly.
"Hypocrite," Axel declared, rolling his eyes but remaining focused on fighting the intruders rather than Riku. Finally the stairs and upper level were cleared and the others were doing a good job of keeping the guards downstairs, "Alright, let's get out of here. They can finish things up," Cid said with a tired sigh, hurrying for the ladder with Luxord right behind him.
"Come on," Roxas said, grabbing Xigbar's arm and tugging a bit, "There are only a dozen or so left, no challenge."
Xigbar shrugged him off, "I'm staying till the end, you go on."
"But-"
"Roxas," he silenced and looked to Vincent who was focused on him surprisingly, "This is a matter of pride, it's his 'home' and it's only right to want to get rid of every last pest."
Roxas understood and followed Vincent quickly up the ladder. He looked back before going in though, seeing Cloud, Squall, and Sora making their way upstairs to follow their route of escape. Axel, Seifer, Riku, and Zexion remained though to finish off the last of the scum on the lower level. This wasn't a challenge for them now and he was sure they'd be okay, "See you outside," Demyx said as he helped him into the duct and urged Roxas to not look back despite the dark path ahead.
"That's all of them…" Riku said with a heavy sigh, the last of the guards gone in only a minute or so, "It's amazing how pathetic people get when they're outnumbered."
"And where were you?" Seifer demanded, annoyed by the fact he'd showed up late and hadn't taken a single piece of damage.
Riku grinned though, only having one thing to say, "Making up for lost time."
"You deserve your name," Axel said disapprovingly. As they headed for the stairs though they heard an unusual but distinct sound; something like horses treading closer on soft ground, "…More of them," Axel said under his breath, looking towards the dark doorway. It was the sound of trained soldiers, lots of them, hurrying down the hall and getting close. There was no way they'd be able to defeat a number like last time again, especially since they were missing over half of their allies, "What now?"
"We can't let them catch up with the other," Riku said solemnly, "The only thing to do is hold them off as long as we can."
"Why don't we just run?" Seifer suggested as if it were an obvious solution.
Xigbar knew perfectly well what would happen, "There's no way the others have made it to the surface yet and our method of escape it pretty obvious…Russian soldiers are ruthless. They'd bomb the air ducts with enough force that the museum above us would fall right through. Crushed or burned to death? What a decision…"
"So it's us or them pretty much…" Demyx said quietly. Nobody else spoke, knowing that this was going to be their final stand. They were wounded, outnumbered, and as usual luck wouldn't be on their side; at least the others would make it out though. They just had to hold them off a while longer and then it would all be over for them.
"…I'll hold them off," everyone looked to Demyx as he hurried down the ladder, past Xigbar and down the stairs, "I'll do it."
They all knew what he was talking about and Zexion spoke up against it, "Even if you did manage to hold them all off there still wouldn't be enough time for you to escape."
"Don't worry! I've got a plan," Demyx said with his trademark smile, "Besides, no sense in all of us hanging around, right?"
"Demyx…" none of them knew what to say and Axel trailed off with a sigh, "You're sure?"
"I'm a master, don't worry guys," he laughed but it seemed forced and as they accepted the fact he was determined Zexion spoke up loudly, "We're just going to leave him?"
Xigbar knew there wasn't any other choice, "Yup." Demyx smiled despite the silence and he urged them on after a moment, "Get going! I'll see you guys later, don't worry about me!" They followed his instructions as the footsteps were growing louder and he watched them all disappear through the air duct. Zexion stayed on the ground level though and Demyx opened his arms wide, smiling still and pretending he wasn't under Zexion's disapproving gaze. Zexion walked away though, hurrying up the stairs and ladder without a word. Demyx dropped his arms with a sigh, still smiling and he called after him before he could disappear through the duct, "Zexy!"
Zexion paused and glanced back over his shoulder only to see Demyx make a heart with his hands and peer up at him through it with one eye. He didn't say anything though and neither did Demyx. What should they say? They both knew that the odds of Demyx making it out were pretty much nonexistent and they both knew that the search for a new Lust would begin as soon as he was gone. In a century he'd be a faded memory and they'd carry on. Zexion knew the procedure and knew prolonging the inevitable with smiles, hugs, and the little shape he made with his hands were only Demyx's way of pretending it wasn't going to happen. Zexion couldn't handle it though and without any acknowledgement he disappeared in the air duct.
Demyx watched him go and let his hands fall with a sigh, his smile still bold as he went to the center of the room and stood facing the door. He could see the light from their helmets and shut his eyes, humming to himself a little tune as he rolled his head from side to side ever so slightly, "Those you've known…and lost still walk behind you…"
A command was shouted in Russian and the guards filled the room, making a parameter around him as he raised his hands and more Russian was spoken. He didn't look addled though as he kept singing, "All alone, they linger till they find you…Without them… the world grows dark around you…" The guns were readied and aimed and he hung his head with a smile, "And nothing is the same…until you know that they have found you."
Gunshots rang through the air but not a single one of them hit Demyx. To the alarm and horror of the commanding officer and the three dozen troops that didn't make up the parameter, each man that had formed a wall around the room turned to his right and shot the other in the head. Demyx looked up and they all fell as he dropped his arms. An order in Russian was delivered when he began to move his arms and body, freezing each soldier where he stood. This was his ability. Similar to Luxord he had the ability to control people, but while Luxord could only focus on one person Demyx only needed people to focus on him. Hypnosis through body movement, and it was an ability seemingly made especially for him. As a former dancer with the Moulin Rouge he was talented and after over a century of training he'd utilized each muscle in his body. As he danced each guard turned on another and began his assault, brutally ending the life of a comrade against their will.
His dance of death went on for only minutes and when he reopened his eyes he saw them all lying about, critically wounded or dead. He was exhausted though and had to sit down as he was overcome by a minor dizzy spell. This was what the others worried about; it took so much out of him it left him vulnerable and an easy target until he recuperated. He looked up as he heard a few soldiers getting to their feet, all barely clinging to life but alive enough to want revenge. Demyx sighed and hung his head, too worn out to do anymore and cursing himself for not finishing the job as accurately as he could have. The others were right, Zexion was right; he wasn't strong enough to take care of them all.
Four gunshots were heard and Demyx smiled, accepting his wounds. His body was too tired to feel though and he waited quietly for death to come, it had been over a century and his time was up.
"Don't just sit there looking helpless."
Demyx opened his eyes and looked towards the stairs, spotting Xigbar coming down them as he put his gun away. He looked back to the guards and saw them lying motionless, the look in their eyes blank with a lack of everything; including revenge, "X-Xigbar you…"
"I already said I was staying till the end," he said, holding a hand down to help him up, "And it looks like it's all over."
Demyx stared at his hand for a minute, still shocked and for the first time in decades he couldn't think of anything to say. Everyone else had left. Everyone left because anyone who even caught a glimpse of his dance would lose his senses and inevitably end his own life. It was a risk none of them dared to take and with that fact in mind Demyx didn't understand, "Why did you…How?"
"You're not that difficult to ignore," Xigbar said with an arrogant smirk, "Come on let's go, it's all over."
Demyx didn't know what to say, finally smiling and taking his hand, "I wouldn't say everything is over," he said, back to his usual self and clearly hinting at something, "It is Saturday after all."
"Let's go," Seifer said with an impatient sigh.
Luxord shook his head though, "Xigbar and Demyx still haven't come out. We should wait."
"Waiting puts us at a greater risk at being found," Roxas admitted, for once agreeing with the virtues. He regretted the situation but it was only a matter of time before Larxene got word of what happened and reinforcements were sent in, "We need to get out of Russia."
"He's right…" Zexion agreed, "We all know he can't handle that many…and Xigbar was in the same room so he's probably-"
"Be quiet," Riku cut him short, "Go on if you'd like, let us know where you're going and we'll meet you there after confirming what you all seem to think is the truth."
Silence fell and Seifer scowled before heading for the road, leading the others with him. Their wounds had been quick stitched by Zexion and the pain was fading gradually, physically at least. The sins had lost two of their own, one a beam of cheer and the other of sarcasm. It was a fact they all knew but few accepted. "…I'll go back and check," Luxord said as he headed for the vent in the ground. He could hear a clanging sound though as he started to descend into the darkness. There was someone coming. He climbed back out and joined the others around the entrance, ready to eliminate them if it was an intruder. The virtues too came back to watch, curious as to what their sudden interest in the duct was until they heard the clanging too.
"Didn't expect a welcoming committee," they recognized the voice and a wave of shock and relief spread among the group as Xigbar climbed up the ladder with Demyx ridding piggyback.
"You're okay!" Sora stuttered, unable to act as nonchalant about their survival as the others. Embarrassedly he covered his mouth with one hand, grabbing Riku's with the other.
Demyx grinned as they came out into the fresh air, not letting go of Xigbar even after they were on solid ground, "Did you have any doubt?"
"A little," Sora admitted, glad to see they were both okay, "…The virtues wanted to leave you guys behind!"
"Tattletale," Roxas scolded with a laugh, clearly relieved to see them both alive and on their feet, "How are you feeling."
"I could definitely use a nap," Demyx admitted. They laughed but when Zexion came over to heal him Demyx's laughter ceased and he looked away while Xigbar put his arm around his shoulders. They all sensed the tension and saw the downcast stare Zexion wore but before they could think any further into it the distinct noise of choppers could be heard in the air, "What now?" Axel grumbled, looking to the sky for a clue. The flight vehicle was far too loud to be any commercial liner and Riku quickly climbed up a nearby fire escape to see what was coming. A few hundred feet above them and approaching quickly were six choppers, all wearing the insignia of the Russian Airborne Troops, "…Damn…We're in trouble."
"Yo! What is it?" Axel called up; like the others he was on pins and needles since they knew whatever it was it was coming was for them.
"VDV," was all Riku had to say and as the others discussed their course of action he tried to see what kind of threat they were facing. The Vozdushno-Desantnye Vojska, or VDV for short, was a ruthless service branch of the Russian Military formed just before World War II.
"Namine take a cab and get to the airport, we'll contact you once we have a new and secure destination," Luxord instructed. They needed to keep her and her family out of this as much as possible and she gave her adoptive family a round of hugs and goodbyes before doing as she was told. When she was gone Luxord regained order, "We'll have to flee either way and by no means should any of us go with our opposition. If they catch the matching sin and virtue we're in more shit." He was right and there were no objections, "We'll meet up at the mouth of Lake Ladoga, about 30 miles to the northeast."
"Soldiers are being released," Riku announced as he started coming down the fire escape hastily.
"You know where we're going so get moving! Make sure none of you are followed!" Seifer instructed and they broke into groups of two or three as they ran in separate directions. It wasn't safe to travel together, it risked too many lives and not just their own. Russian soldiers were ruthless and while their armory was a bit behind compared to other nation's forces they still had more than enough power to wipe them out with ease.
"Madam?"
Larxene looked up from the folder she'd been staring at blankly as her secretary paged her through the intercom on the desk's edge, "Professor Hojo says he has something for you."
"Send him in," she said before shutting the folder and straightening her jacket, knowing what he had and ready for the results, a knock alerting her of his arrival, "Come in."
"The results of those carbon dating tests on the hair sample you gave me came back," said the narrow faced professor, adjusting his glasses with one hand and handing her the folder with the other, "The sample registered as 139 years old, just as you predicted it would."
Larxene looked over the graphs and results with a pleased look on her face. In his unconscious state she'd stolen a bit of hair off Riku's head and was prepared to use it to her advantage, "Perfect, have this information leaked immediately. The VDV is dealing with them but if they escape the public will need legitimate proof that what I'm telling them is true."
"Interestingly enough, I had enough time to conduct one more study," Hojo said, urging her to turn the page, "Just how old are you madam Capulet?"
"I think your employment in my service is over professor," before he realized what was going on she'd pushed a button under her desk and a moment later the door opened and in came three security guards who immediately heeded her command without second thought, "Kill him." She watched the men cart away the corpse as her secretary came in casually, completely overlooking the blood on the floor, "Rikku, what's the status of St. Petersburg?"
Her blonde secretary grinned and shrugged, "Is there any doubt in your mind? They'll be history soon enough."
"They're not stupid, they won't run together which means finding them all will be a challenge in itself," Larxene sighed while ripping out the page the professor had tried to blackmail her with, "Do you honestly think they're going to be caught easily? By a government group nonetheless?"
Rikku didn't answer right away, curious but not as intent on the matter as Larxene seemed to be, "You're the one who hired them though."
"That's true," was all she said.
Rikku seemed a bit more interested now and quickly asked, "So you want them to get away?"
"Not all of them. Bait is all we need, and for that we only need one sin and one virtue," she said before extending the folder to Rikku, "See that this hits the press hard, especially in Russian territory. The more public support we enlist the easier this will be for all of us."
"Except them!" Rikku cheered as she hurried off to do as she was told and Larxene watched as the custodian came in to clean up the mess left behind by the professor, 'No, especially them,' she thought with a heavy sigh, getting to her feet to go check on how things were going on the other side of the world.
"Where are they?"
That was the question on everyone's mind but Luxord finally voiced. It had been six hours since they split up and while it was 30 miles from St. Petersburg to the lake it should have been an easy enough trip even on foot. They were missing several members though, including Roxas, Zexion, Demyx, Tidus, Xigbar, Seifer, and Squall.
"They all have phones, I still think we should just call them," Axel insisted, clearly concerned, "If they need help then we should-"
"If we call them and they're hiding, or worse, have been caught it will do more hurt than help," Cid argued, "I say we should wait at least a few more hours before trying to contact them. If they needed help they'd call anyway."
"Unlikely," Riku told them all, "That would risk whoever they called as well since it could be traced back to our own location." He understood that they were panicked but the only thing they could do to prevent endangering the rest of them was nothing.
Lake Ladoga was the largest freshwater lake in Europe and served as a source of drinking water, fishing, and peace. The lake emptied out through the Neva River which traveled right through St. Petersburg and the mouth served as the perfect meeting point since it couldn't be confused. Though a good portion of the surrounding area was marshland, further down by the water things were clearer and colder, sections of the lake frozen over because of the low winter temperatures. It was far enough out of St. Petersburg that they wouldn't be pursued and there were enough bits of coverage to keep them from being spotted from the air.
"What are we going to do if they don't show up though?" Cloud asked, "It's not like we can just sit here waiting. It won't be long before they spread their search radius out to here."
"We can't keep running like this that's for sure," Sora was sick of it and had trouble believing that less than a month ago things were peaceful.
Riku agreed and decided there was only one course of action, "We just need to get rid of her."
"Says the fool whose plan to 'ruin her' back in St. Petersburg never got off the ground. How do you propose we do anything? She's got this little thing called 'protection' you know," Axel scoffed, annoyed that he made it sound like an easy task.
"I've heard of it, your parents apparently didn't though," surprisingly Axel didn't lash out after his comment and it was clear he didn't care anymore, "Let's go back to New York, may as well deal with things at the source of the problem."
Luxord nodded, "I already made arrangements with Namine, she and the Lears are ready to help out however they can. Room and board in a ground zero location would be nice so we can figure out Larxene's new pattern."
"I asked what we're going to do if the others don't show up," Cloud spoke up, his question essentially turned around and overlooked, "What if they don't show up? Are we supposed to just leave and pretend they were just an affordable loss?"
Nobody spoke up and Axel got up after the silence became too much, heading up the hill for the lake. It was senseless to sit around talking when there was nothing they could do, nobody they could help. As Axel left, the others heard footsteps approaching in the dark, squishing through the muddy wet marsh. At first they were ready to silence the intruders but a familiar voice provided more relief than Demyx probably realized, "Hallo!"
"What took you?" Luxord asked, not sparing words of comfort or joy as Demyx and Xigbar came into the moonlight.
"We got a little…sidetracked," Demyx laughed a bit as he latched onto Xigbar's arm, "Right Xiggy?"
Xigbar tried to shrug him off but Demyx just held on so he let him stay, "Not like we're the last ones to arrive or anything. Still missing quite a few it looks like." Demyx notice that too and made note that Zexion was nowhere to be seen, "Did they get captured?" he quickly asked but silence was the answer. Nobody knew what had happened to their missing members and there was no telling where they were now, let alone in what condition.
"God damn it…damn damn, damity damn…damn it," Axel cursed quietly as he kicked a loose rock at his feet, sending the stone and mud out into the water. A yelp quickly alerted him that he wasn't alone and he lit a fire to see what was there. A gray seal was swimming away across the water's surface hastily and he sighed before absorbing the fire, "Sorry." He was sorry for numerous things, including hitting a seal. With another trail of mumbled curses he sat down on the shore and ruffled his hands through his hair. Roxas was gone. He didn't know if he was okay. He didn't know if he'd been captured. He didn't even know if he was still alive. They weren't allowed to travel together because if they were somehow caught their chances of prolonged existence were cut to practically nothing. Larxene needed rival sins and virtues, just what the couple was, so Roxas fled with Tidus while Axel ran with Luxord.
With the current state of things he didn't know who to be mad at, or whether he should be mad at all. He had no idea where his lover was, or in what condition, but at the same time he was also missing comrades who he'd spent most of his life with.
"You're quite pathetic, you know that?" Axel didn't acknowledge that he'd heard him and Luxord didn't care, "Fallen pretty far from what you used to be and all because of some drunken fuck over a year ago. Should be a lesson there somewhere."
Axel figured his lesson was something sarcastic and blunt, "Drinking is bad?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of blondes only cause trouble," Luxord laughed a bit and sat down by him, "Don't worry, Larxene won't kill any of them. Not while their oppositions are safe with us at least." His words offered little comfort for Axel but he wasn't offering comfort, just the truth.
"Hey, the others are hungry and the virtues don't know how to swim," they both looked over as Riku came over to join them. It had been nearly 48 hours since most of them had eaten on the count of they had to flee and there wasn't time to waste, "At least that's the excuse they're using."
"Makes me wonder what they would have done if that boat they traveled here on sank," Luxord chuckled a bit and stood up, taking a gun out of the holster and pointing it at the water. Three quick shots and fish floated to the top. It was on old trick, the shock waves of the bullets through the water were more than enough to cause little fishy heart attacks and kill them even if he didn't hit any. Usually it wouldn't work since it was a large body of water but the concentration of fish was so dense six large catfish and several smaller brims were now lifeless on the surface.
Axel stood up and rolled up his pants before wading into the water to retrieve their meal, "As usual things die so we can carry on."
"Axel!"
They all looked back when they heard the out of breath voice and Axel was hurrying back out of the water. He bolted past Riku and Luxord, meeting Roxas just as he was coming down to the shore. Luxord chuckled and looked away from the forbidden affair, "I don't get it."
"There's nothing to get, they're happy," Riku said while rolling up his pants so he could go get their dinner.
Luxord didn't acknowledge the sounds of the two making up and eagerly indulging in relief, "They're going to get in trouble."
"Right now," Riku told him, "Their happiness should be the least of our worries."
So that's that. No cliffhanger this time guys, surprised? I mean sure there are still a few people missing but we'll find out how they're doing later on in…the final chapter. It is going to be a very long one I predict, longer than any I've written before, and it will be up when I said. Check out my DA page please, there are a few more details on my logic behind choosing 7 days and you're all welcome to join in if you please, in fact I'd enjoy it.
I need to sleep now though because my head hurts and I have to get up in 6, but please let me know what you thought. This close to the end I could really use some detailed feedback. This chapter was more of a springboard/setup for the big finale, which I hope makes up for what this one may be lacking. I'm behind on reviews still, I know, but give me time to catch up with myself and I will reply to them I assure you. Thank you guys for reading and I wish you all the best in all the world.
Your loving bohemian, Mad-TopHat-Ter