Right, so I'm going to try to finish this story by the end of the month. That's quite ambitious I think since I'm estimating another four chapters after this one but that's good for you guys because it means (tentatively) a new chapter or two a week. I'm home sick from work for the next few days and my boyfriend will be at work most of the days which means power-writing mode is here! This chapter is quite intense and pretty long too so I hope everyone enjoys it!

One more quick thing: Please review guys. It's really disheartening when you look at the traffic see that over two-hundred people from around the world read the last chapter and only eight reviewed. The point in writing (for me at least) it to entertain, and getting feedback makes me feel like I'm actually doing something decent here.

Chapter 21

Loyal Companions

It was late when six division three dogs returned to the society, led by Larxene who strode several feet ahead of them looking mad as a hornet. Like her dogs she was filthy and covered in dark black sludge. She stormed into the elevator and shut the doors behind herself so the dogs would have to take the stairs. As soon as the doors were shut she kicked the wall very hard before turning and falling back against the doors. There was a rather sickening squishing noise as her uniform hit the wall but she didn't care if it left a mess, someone else would clean it up. The elevator reached the fourth floor and she stood up straight with another gross squishing noise as the uniform came back off the doors. The lieutenant's got their own sleeping quarters and they were located next to their captain's office. It didn't bother her that in the past two months she'd seen lieutenants come and go, for all she cared there could be new lieutenants around her every other day as long as they did their job. The two lieutenants who she had to work with nowadays though were anything but up to par. Sora was okay but he certainly wasn't a leader, and Demyx was just awful and just thinking about him worsened Larxene's mood.

There was only one thing in the entire world she wanted at that moment though and that was a hot shower and a long night's rest. Lately she'd been kept so busy she hadn't been able to sleep much and it was greatly affecting her mood, making her far more agitated and snappy than usual when dealing with her division dogs. Larxene unlocked the door and went into her living quarters, noticeably smaller than that of a captain's but still complete with a small living room, private bathroom and a separate bedroom. The lights were off but she knew the room well enough to navigate her way through the dark, avoiding furniture and walking through the archway into the bedroom.

"Hello."

Larxene had already whipped out her gun before even realizing who the voice belonged to, angrily flipping on the light switch and spotting her captain lying in her bed reading a book. "What the hell are you…" she recomposed herself quickly when she realized she was still addressing her captain and ought to do so with respect, regardless of how annoyed she was, "It's very rude to sneak into a lady's room sir."

"And it's very unladylike to be covered head to toe in…I'm sorry, what is that you're covered in?" Luxord shut his book and looked up at her with mild curiosity.

She shed her jacket and it fell to the ground with a sickening squish. Even her undershirt was stained from the sludge which had seeped through the jacket, "I don't even know. Xigbar sent a small group of dogs out to an unmarked island about 200 miles offshore to do recon…but it wasn't an island. It was some kind of monster whale and…Permission to speak freely?" Luxord nodded and she immediately and quite loudly said, "I don't know what's happened to this place Luxord but since Xigbar took charge things have been horrible."

Luxord laughed and sat up straight, "That's exactly why I'm here Larxene. Tell me, who do you serve? Beyond me?"

"The head of our society and surveyor of this hemisphere, Axel Tybalt," she responded in a very professional and well-rehearsed way. She even seemed to stand up a bit straighter when speaking of Axel and Luxord nodded, "Exactly…which is why I'm going to need your help." Larxene just stood there looking quite serious and ready despite how filthy she was and Luxord never ceased to admire her devotion to her position, "First, go shower. You smell terrible."

Sora didn't listen to Axel's advice and report straight to Riku. He stood outside the door to his office for nearly five minutes contemplating whether or not he wanted to deal with him. Riku hadn't come to help him and Roxas while they were trapped in the concentration camp for the past week. He knew that Riku was able to hear his thoughts; that was the first thing he learned about being a ghoul and Sora. The second thing he learned, or at least he thought to be true, was that being Riku's ghoul meant he was important to him. It meant he was someone worth saving and worth having around. It meant he wasn't someone Riku would just let suffer. Why then did he leave him like that? When he thought about everything that happened over the last week and how easily Riku could have slaughtered every guard and scientist there it just made him sick to his stomach. He wouldn't waste his time

"Hello?"

Sora had let himself into Riku's room after searching his office. It looked the same as he'd left it but that came as no surprise since Riku rarely bothered changing things. He told Sora before that he hadn't planned on hanging around the society for long and was only there to repay his debt to Axel so there was no point in getting comfortable. It had been several months though and from what Sora could tell his captain had made no noticeable effort to go above and beyond to repay his debt to Axel, whatever it was. He wandered through the living room and made his way to the bedroom. Riku was known to take random naps during the day and even though the sun was going down Sora suspected he might still be sleeping the day away. If Xigbar was in charge then it was likely Riku hadn't had much to do and was probably bored. If he'd been so bored though then why hadn't he bothered to come save Sora and his brother? The light in the bedroom was off and Sora wasn't too concerned about how flipping the light on would wake his captain up, "Hey! Riku!" The room was empty though and the bed still neatly made with nobody in it.

The entire situation started to feel a bit odd and Sora hastened his search of the living quarters. It was as if nobody lived there at all and Sora told himself to calm down and think. He had known Riku to disappear for the afternoon from time to time during their time together, maybe that was what was going on now. There was one person who would know where he was though and Sora headed off in search of Demyx.

"Seven more of your men were just killed," Demyx said quite solemnly. Xigbar didn't respond but instead continued to shuffle through a stack of papers regarding their progress in the southern hemisphere. It was late and Demyx just wanted to go to bed. He hated sleeping without Xigbar though, especially lately because he often woke up haunted by the images of Cerberus dogs who'd been killed. They were all linked to him, connected and controlled by the power of Cupid, and their deaths affected Demyx far more than they did Xigbar, "Xiggy can we please go to bed?"

"If you're tired then go to bed, I'll be there when I feel like it," he replied gruffly.

Demyx sighed and hugged his knees to his chest, turning back to face the fireplace and sinking into the couch. Lately Xigbar was so busy and Demyx assured himself that his attitude and short temper were just because of the stress his new position brought. Indeed he felt a bit bad about Axel's removal from power but he firmly believed Xigbar would be a much better leader. A thought crossed his mind and he turned around quickly and leaned over the back of the couch to look at Xigbar busy at his desk, "Hey! We should play a game! We can-"

"Would you just be quiet? I'm busy!" Xigbar slammed his fist and Demyx immediately cringed and turned back to the fireplace, holding his knees tightly to his chest again. Xigbar was just stressed and busy. He kept telling himself that and tried to instead think about better times. There were days he'd been so nice and those balanced out the recent change in mood. At least Xigbar was kind to him, unlike a certain ex-lover Demyx would prefer not to remember. He did wonder how Zexion was though. He also wondered how his home was fairing without a King to rule. Riku still refused to return and Demyx couldn't very well go back on his own, he'd be tortured for information then publicly executed for withholding information on Riku's whereabouts. Any way he looked at it he saw himself quite screwed in terms of getting home anytime soon.

"You must be Cosette's son."

"Yup! My name is Demyx! Nice to meet you!"

He greeted the older man with a cheerful smile, holding out his hand to shake it but the man just eyed him like a bothersome insect before continuing through the hall. Demyx lowered his hand and whined quietly. Why was everyone here so mean? He knew there were stereotypes about the nobility being stuck-up but he'd witnessed them being very pleasant and polite to each other, so why were they mean to him?

"It's because you don't belong here."

Demyx looked up and saw a boy his age looking down at him from the landing with a scowl. Demyx was immediately excited since the only other person his age he'd met in the palace was his new cousin and very friendly towards him. The stranger turned and walked off but Demyx called after him, "Hey! Wait up!" He rushed up the stairs two at a time, nearly tripping though as soon as he got to flat ground. He hurried into the hall and saw the stranger entering the library. Demyx wasn't a fan of books but he was quite desperate for social interaction, hastily following him with a laugh, "What are you doing in here? It's a beautiful day! No need to waste your time in a library."

The other boy slammed down the book he'd been carrying onto a table, turning his head and glaring at him. Demyx could only see one of his eyes, the other hidden by his hair, but it was quite beautiful even though it was angry, "Look, just because you live here doesn't mean you're one of us so just stop trying to fit in."

"Wow you're mean," Demyx said with a laugh as he sat himself on the table. He was just as determined to make friends as this boy was determined to make him feel bad, "I like you." His words seemed to shock the other and Demyx smiled, "You can be mean to me all you want, that doesn't mean I'll leave you alone though…My name is Demyx."

"…Zexion."

"Zexion," Demyx mumbled with a small smile. As soon as the words left his mouth though he tensed up and shook his head quickly. He couldn't let his mind think positively about that man or that relationship.

"The King just named me his fool! Isn't that exciting?"

"Idiot. That's a stupid title and everyone is going to make fun of you."

"Aw Zexion that's what a fool is for, duh."

That was one of the few times he'd actually made Zexion laugh and that memory still warmed him greatly. He was always so serious but Demyx didn't mind. Riku often said that the two were perfect opposites and maybe that was why they were always together. But not even Riku knew just how often they were together as the years went on. Demyx hated remembering those nights. It was Zexion's idea, an idea which quickly turned into an obsession. Demyx loved him in every way possible, physically and emotionally, but his love was unrequited. The signs were all there but it wasn't until much later in life that Demyx realized just how Zexion viewed their relationship.

"Hahahahaaa! Good fool! I applaud you and your many talents! Come! Feast with us!" the King boomed over the noise of the applause from the rest of the court. Demyx, practically beaming with pride took a bow before hurrying to the table and leaping over it to sit in the open chair next to Zexion. It was the first time in his eight years at the palace he'd been invited to eat with the rest of the court. It had taken work, lots of work, but things were finally looking up. Everyone in the palace had warmed up to him, some more than others, and despite not being of noble-birth he finally felt like he was fitting in. He smiled brightly over to Zexion before discreetly taking hold of his hand underneath the table. Before he could process what happened he was lying on the floor and Zexion was on his feet, glaring down at him. He'd been thrown from his chair and the commotion made every head in the room turn.

"How now, what's going on?" the King stood up as well, only two chairs down from the racket and not looking happy with the disturbance. Demyx tried to sit up but his head hurt from the impact and he only managed to prop himself up on his elbows. He didn't want to get Zexion in trouble and quickly said, "I-I fell, sorry." Demyx was a terrible liar and he could hear murmurs from around the table about him. He was hoping that would be the end of it but Zexion didn't plan on letting that happen, "The fool just tried to hold my hand sire! I will not have my evening ruined by an uncivilized brat trying to make a pass at me."

There was an instant stir in the room and Demyx looked mortified while the King looked positively furious. Demyx looked to Zexion, confused and quite helpless in this situation. To his relief he saw Riku get out of his seat and move to help him to his feet but by then the King was already delivering his judgment, "It seems I was the foolish one to think you were fit to dine with us! Get out!" Riku led him from the room but Demyx was already on the verge of tears. By the time they reached Demyx's room he was crying quite loudly and Riku shut the door to try and cause less of a scene "Why would he do that?" Demyx wailed as he fell face first into his mattress. His room lacked the luxury Riku's had and consisted of only one room, furnished relatively well though for just a fool. He felt his cousin sit on the mattress next to him and put a hand on his back, "I've know Zexion much longer than you have Demyx and if there's one thing you need to know is that he doesn't like anyone."

"No! That's not true Riku! He loves me, he's told me so!" Demyx insisted before quickly getting to his knees and looking Riku dead in the face, "I know him!"

"If you know him so well Demyx, then explain to me why he treated you that way? I've known about you two for years Demyx and I've never seen that man show you even an ounce of kindness!" Riku raised his voice and Demyx quickly looked away. He was not as bold as he pretended to be and was always quick to succumb to a raised voice. He didn't speak and Riku shook his head, "You think you're in love?"

Demyx turned his face back to him quickly and quite firmly but quietly said, "I know I am!"

"How do you know?" Riku asked him just as quickly.

Demyx laughed and opened his mouth to reply. Words didn't come easily though and he felt guilty for having to take a moment to think, "He treats me well."

"Demyx I treat you well. Your mother treats you well. Zexion treats you like an annoying pet at best," Riku was quick to respond again and Demyx hated that, "The only reason either one of us haven't confronted you about this until now is because it didn't seem to be a threat to you."

"But Riku I-"

"Love him? Fine, sure. Tell yourself that. You haven't even grown into your fangs yet Demyx, you have a lifetime to live and to learn. You'll meet people and experience things that will change you and what you think love is so how can you be so sure he's what you love?" Riku had close to twenty years on Demyx, something his cousin frequently forgot, "The truth is you can't truly say that you love the first person you fall in love with, at least not until you've seen real love Demyx."

Demyx didn't speak a word and it was clear that Riku was done lecturing him. It was Demyx's decision whether or not to believe him but for now all he could do to thank his cousin for his word was nod. The door to the room opened and Zexion stormed in looking mad. He opened his mouth to speak as he approached the bed but to both his and Demyx's great alarm, Riku got to his feet and silenced him with a single blow to the face. Zexion collapsed and Riku shook his hand, obviously a bit sore from the force of impact but he seemed to think it was well worth it, "I'll see you later Demyx." With that his cousin stepped over Zexion and headed for the door quite casually. Demyx looked from him to Zexion, the Duke nursing a bleeding nose and trying to sit up, "Don't just sit there! Help me!" Zexion ordered loudly but Demyx didn't move. Instead he looked to the door and smiled. Demyx sprung out of bed and rushed after his cousin, jumping over Zexion on his way to the door, "Hey Riku! Wait up!"

Demyx opened his eyes and looked around slowly at the office. It was completely dark save for the light of the dying fire and he realized he must've dozed off while his mind wandered. Maybe Xigbar was ready for bed now though! He turned to face him with a smile but saw the light at his desk was off too and the moonlight spilled onto an empty chair. Confused by his absence Demyx got to his feet and wandered to the bedroom, feeling his heart sink when he saw Xigbar in bed already. He told himself Xigbar must've seen that he'd drifted off by the fire and didn't want to wake him up.

Just as Demyx was about to shut the door behind himself he heard a knock at the door to the office. It was late and Demyx knew none of the dogs under his spell would be knocking since they were pretty much incapable of free will. The only people he hadn't put a hold on were Larxene, Luxord, and ofcourse Riku. Xigbar didn't think the division three leaders were a threat as they were both loyal to the society, and Demyx knew his cousin wasn't foolish enough to let Demyx do that to him. Quickly he left the bedroom and shut the door back quietly, hurrying barefoot to the door to send away whoever was disturbing them. He was shocked to see Sora but reminded himself that Roxas and Axel were back, which likely meant Sora had come back with them. He still wasn't entirely sure what had happened and Xigbar wasn't keen on sharing details of their situation with him, "Hey, what's up?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible. He didn't have his knife with him and suspected Sora might be here to demand where his brother and Axel were. If that were the case he'd have to find a way to distract Sora long enough for him to get his weapon and rob him of his will.

Sora was just as surprised to see Demyx since he expected his brother to be the one to answer the door, "Demyx? What are you doing in here? Where's Axel?"

Demyx swallowed hard. He hadn't figured it out yet. He didn't want to hurt Sora though so he beckoned him into the office, "He's sleeping, so try to keep your voice down. He's having me finish up the week's numbers so Roxas can rest."

That made sense enough to Sora and he followed Demyx into the dark office, "That's okay, I was looking for you anyways." Demyx hadn't been in his living quarters and Xigbar's room was empty as well so he'd been hoping to find out from Axel whether or not he'd been sent away on a mission, "Do you know where Riku is?"

Demyx had crossed back to the fireplace where he fell asleep earlier and where several large stacks of paperwork sat scattered upon the coffee table. He flopped down into the sofa and began to sift through papers, wishing he hadn't just discarded his weapon on the surface in the mess, "Riku? Uh, nope. I've been pretty busy this past week since Xigbar's been in charge and all…Did you check his office? He's usually still up this late."

"I checked there already," Sora told him, "He's not in his room either."

Demyx finally felt the handle of his knife and his hand closed around it tightly, though he looked back at Sora suspiciously, "Really? Well I haven't seen him for a few days."

There was something strange about Demyx and Sora stepped closer to him, "You mean you don't know where he is?" Demyx was, for lack of a better term, clingy. He saw him with Riku at least three different times a day and it was no secret he admired, even obsessed over his cousin. Demyx might have been busy in the last week but never had he been devoted to his job, and definitely never enough to distract him from Riku. Demyx didn't say anything and Sora came around to the same side of the sofa as him, "Demyx. I've been in a pretty bad situation for the past week, a situation that could have killed me, and he didn't come help me. I know you know what being a ghoul means, and I also know you know Riku wouldn't let me die."

Demyx laughed a little and shrugged, "Please, you don't know my cousin. He's only putting up with you and this place because he owes Axel."

There was a lengthy silence between the two of them and Demyx looked up at him out of the corner of his eye. Sora was distracted, this was his chance. As soon as the thought crossed his mind and he readied to attack Sora spoke up, "Yeah, that's probably true. But he certainly couldn't have repaid Axel yet since Axel's been away for over a week…look just help me find him Demyx. I'll help you finish this paperwork if you do."

Demyx drummed his empty hand on the table quietly, looking back at the fireplace. He hadn't seen Riku in a few days, maybe not even in a week, but he'd been kept so busy it hadn't really occurred to him. Riku wouldn't wander from the society though and he really didn't seem to have any agenda in this realm, "Okay…come on, I can find him faster than you."

"I was sort of suggesting teamwork," Sora said, already heading for the door. Demyx was being a brat, more so than he usually was, but Sora just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Demyx rose to follow him, hiding the knife up his sleeve and looking back at the bedroom door. If Sora found out what was really going on there would be a problem, but he could just deal with him after they found Riku. He wondered though how his cousin would react to the enslavement of his ghoul.

Larxene never thought she'd see the day she was ordered to assist a prisoner, but Luxord was her captain and she had to answer to him. What she didn't understand though was why they had to be so careful on their trip from her room to the basement. Luxord insisted on accompanying her on this foolhardy mission and advised her to equip herself with the Cerberus stealth gear and uniform. Normally Larxene would have accused him of just wanting to see her in the form-fit outfit but there was something different about Luxord's attitude tonight she couldn't put her finger on. For now she'd play along and just be grateful she wasn't inside a whale.

They took the elevator directly to the first floor before slipping out into the dark entry hall. Lately the 'lights-out' policy was actually enforced and Xigbar wanted all dogs that didn't have a purpose to be up to be in bed. This made it quite easy to cut across the hall and down the stairs to the basement, "There will be two guards at the bottom of this staircase. Decommission them and don't be seen," Luxord whispered at the top of the stairs and Larxene gave one short nod before slinking down the stairs silently and leaving her captain at the top. Larxene was classified as a combat dog but she was responsible for leading all stealth training projects and Luxord consistently pestered her to apply for a transfer. Larrxene did not want to be associated with the stealth dogs though anymore than she had to and firmly insisted she would rather fight like a dog than sneak like a coward. It was poorly lit at the foot of the stairs and she remained hidden at the edge of the shadows until she heard one of the dogs approaching footsteps, holding her breath and waiting poised perfectly. Luxord saw her disappear from view and heard a small short commotion, no gunshots fired but two distinct thuds. Casually he descended the stairs and saw Larxene searching the pockets of one of the guards, "I hope you don't plan on stealing his wallet."

"Just his ID. It's a disgrace that these two didn't even put up a fight and I plan on putting them through some training tomorrow morning," she said and Luxord laughed lightly before continuing down the hall, ignoring the noise of the prisoners. He'd put some of them in these cells but their threats fell upon deaf ears. Seven cells down he finally found who he was looking for, "Good evening." Axel was sitting slouched against the wall looking right at him while Roxas lay sleeping on the floor next to him with his head in his lap. He didn't look happy at all and Luxord was quite glad his weapons had been confiscated before his imprisonment. Larxene joined Luoxrd at the cell but upon seeing Axel on the other side, any form of composure she had vanished, "Axel sir? Why are you in…Luxord quick! We have to get him out!"

Luxord nodded shortly and Larxene ran to grab the cell keys off of one of the guards, hurrying back and trying numerous ones before finally finding the right key. The commotion made Roxas stir and sit up tiredly just as the door to their cell slid open. As soon as the bars were gone Axel dove through them and tackled Luxord to the ground, socking him repeatedly in the face while Larxene watched on in horror. Luxord made no effort to fight back and it didn't take long for blood to show. Roxas got to his feet slowly and watched the scene through the open door for several minutes before walking out and putting a hand on Axel's shoulder. Axel paused for a minute to look at what he'd done before getting to his feet.

"Feel better?" Luxord asked with a slight wheeze, propping himself up on his elbows and looking a bit disoriented. Axel nodded and reached a bloody hand down to help him up. Luxord took his hand and Larxene just looked confusedly from one face to another. What was going on? Her captain reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, wiping the blood off his face as he told Axel, "It's 1:09AM on April 17th, you've been locked up for seven hours now and your society has been run by Xigbar for just over eight days."

"And you think letting me out of jail will put you in my good favor when you let this happen?" Axel didn't seem to think so but Luxord just smirked and pointed out, "You could have killed me just then but you didn't. I considered that to be a sign of forgiveness."

"Or at least of a temporary truce," Roxas mumbled. He didn't trust Luxord, "You may never have directly worked with Xigbar in planning this, but you knew of it and did nothing to warn Axel."

Luxord laughed and looked from Roxas to Axel, "I'm just here for the amusement of it all. The way I see it, this show will last much longer if you're in charge since Xigbar will just get us all killed at this rate."

"Could someone please explain what's going on here!" Larxene rarely spoke out of turn but she couldn't take this any more. Luxord patted her on the head and assured her, "There isn't time to explain it all."

"Xigbar's been trying to run this place since it's establishment. The only way to do that is to get me out of the picture," Axel summed it up sparing the bare amount of details, "What I don't understand is why my own dogs attacked me."

Luxord raised his hand as he finished wiping the blood off his face, revealing a cut up lip, what appeared to be a broken nose, an already blackening eye and a horrible bruise under the other one but he didn't seem to mind, "I can explain that with one word: Demyx. I looked through his file and saw that the brat isn't just a vampire, he's also Cupid. I've personally witnessed him stabbing a dog, but not in a fashion to kill him, and from what I can best guess he's got them all brain-washed. My suggestion: kill the vampire."

"I'd be happy to help with that," Larxene volunteered immediately.

Axel shook his head though and pointed out what he thought was the obvious flaw to this plan, "If they have every dog under their command it's going to be difficult, nigh impossible to even get to him or Xigbar. There are four of us and just how many of them?"

Luxord shrugged but Larxene, ever the well-prepared Cerberus dog, announced something which surprised them all, "117 as of this morning's report."

"Add the four you two killed upstairs and we have 113 dogs to deal with, not including Demyx and Xigbar," Luxord mused slowly. They were a carefully organized society consisting of three divisions governed by a lieutenant, whom reported to a captain, whom reported to Axel. Each division had 100 carefully selected and trained grunts, giving them a total of 300 well maintained dogs underneath the officers. To think that over half the society was gone now, killed in one way or another during missions, made Roxas sick to his stomach. It had only been a week since he'd left and he couldn't imagine how such drastic events could've occurred, "Fine. One hundred and thirteen grunts versus the four of us."

"Five," Larxene interjected abruptly, "There's Sora too."

"And six if you count Riku. Seems like decent odds if you ask me," Luxord said. Each of them was more skilled than the grunts but they outnumbered the small group greatly. They couldn't call in reinforcements though and it was only a matter of time till someone realized Axel wasn't in his cell.

Axel laughed a bit to their surprise, "Better than nothing. I'm taking my society back regardless of how many people are behind me."

It's all about to hit the fan guys so strap in! Meanwhile I'm going to go get dinner because I haven't eaten yet today and really ought to. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please let me know what you thought! Wising you all the best in all the world!

~The Mad-TopHat-Ter