The throne room of the Tora castle was dark and covered in the banishing glow of the torchlight that sank down from the walls and slithered across the large white stone floor. In the centre of the grand, empty room, lost deep in thought as he sat in his father's throne, was Reno. The deep purple rings beneath his eyes reflected his lack of sleep as he interlinked his hands and rested his chin upon them, staring down at the ground fiercely as he reflected on the dying ends of his father's kingdom.
Since Axel had left and ran away with the enemy he had lost practically everything. The castle had been significantly burned and had taken weeks to repair; his father's ashes had been scattered amongst the coals of the burning wooden frame and had been lost to the horrid wind; his guards, after the shambled mess he had failed to grasp, had become burned by their own fire and their new leader's weakness, and as a result they had grown bitterly and begrudgingly followed him out of respect for their country. The Raion princesses had returned back to the Raion Kingdom and broken the treaty his father had worked hard to put in place, and now they joined with the Neko King and the Buta King, further dividing the Raion and Tora Kingdom's and driving a stake through the very heart of Reno's world. His kingdom had become divided and rebellions had plagued his thoughts as he was pressurised night and day by the Neko King to join ranks with him.
If Reno hadn't become lost in his zombie-like state he would have gladly accepted the Neko King's offer. But he couldn't. Because Axel was still out there, and rumour had it he was being held by the Buta King. If Reno joined the Neko King's side in the war he would risk the Buta King hurting Axel. Reno flinched at the recognition of the thought and shuddered in the dark. He hadn't been the nicest brother in the world to Axel, but he wouldn't let him get hurt by his foolish mistake, even if he was feeling slightly unfriendly thoughts towards his brother for ever putting him in the situation he was currently faced with. After all, if Axel had not attempted to save the blasted Neko that had mocked him and the entire Tora Kingdom none of this mess would have occurred. His father would still be alive, their Kingdom would be well, and Reno would be left to become an outcast in the shadows rather than the martyr in the spotlight.
There was an echoing knock at the end of the long hall before the door was thrown wide and Vanitas entered. The Tora lieutenant cursed heavily as he dragged with him a heavily bound individual that Reno couldn't quite make out through the shadows. The doors closed behind them both and Vanitas whacked the person heavily on the back of the head, causing them to yelp as he dragged them further through the hall and stopped at the base of Reno's throne. Vanitas threw the person down and gave Reno a quick Tora solute, panting and resting his foot on the individuals back to prevent them getting up as he swallowed hard and spoke through ragged gasps.
"My King…. We found…this…" he stopped, still gasping for air as he looked at the prisoner that was wriggling beneath his boot. He glanced back up at Reno and frowned to find the redhead staring down on the prisoner with recognition and humour in his eyes.
Reno leaned back in his throne and smiled, his voice thick and hoarse from its lack of use. "Let him up, Vanitas. That's no way to treat a man of such high upstanding birth."
Vanitas' frown deepened, but he didn't question his order. Leaning down, he grabbed the Ookami prisoner by his bound hands and yanked him upwards, ignoring the curses thrown his way as he held him fast. Sea green eyes opened with pain, the bruises along his jawline prominent in the dimming torchlight as Demyx glared up at Reno with as much hate as could be mustered when bound and wounded before an official of the foreign land he was upon.
Reno's smile fell and he felt the growl begin at the base of his throat and work its way up into a vicious snarl he couldn't repress. "Well, well…if it isn't little Prince Demyx, Axel's best friend and accomplice. You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here, puppy."
"Who you calling puppy, kitten!" Demyx spat, wincing once more as Vanitas twisted his arm dangerously behind his back and his muscles began to protest.
Reno ignored the insult and continued with his own ramblings, speaking more to himself than to Demyx. "I heard your uncle managed to make his way back from his banishment on the Cast Away Islands. Funny. Your father always called him mad and chaotic, but it's your uncle still standing. Not your father. And here you are, at my feet, when only three months ago you were under my father's protection and given complete free run of this castle and city. Sephiroth now rules the entire north-west, doesn't he?"
"He rules nothing!" Demyx spat, growling when Vanitas pushed his hand further up his back. "Sephiroth will be begging for mercy by the time I'm through with him!"
"That's not the way I see it." Reno laughed, his voice completely devoid of humour. "Look at you! On your knees, the rightful heir of an entire kingdom! If you're going to have your uncle begging for mercy why were you hiding in my lands? Why not take charge of your kingdom and rise up against him?"
Demyx looked away, shame hitting him hard in the chest and winding him. "My people are too weak to rise against him. He's called to him demons from the foreign land and he plans to take this world as his trophy. Even the south won't be safe by the time he's through with it-"
"The south is at war with itself plenty." Reno mumbled, waving the issue away with his hand. "By the time your uncle gets down there won't be a south left. And I'm more than capable of looking after my kingdom."
"It looks like it."
"Watch your tongue, dog!" Vanitas barked.
Reno's eyes narrowed and he frowned, looking down on his prisoner with judging contempt. "I heard your uncle suffered a tremendous failure on the Nezumi coast. His ships were all but destroyed in the fog when he engaged with the Nezumi fleet…he only just managed to escape with his life. If the Nezumi could do it, why couldn't you?"
"It's not that simple!" Demyx growled. "The Nezumi got lucky! Sephiroth is not a seafaring man, he's a barbaric lunatic! If it weren't for the fog he would have succeeded. The Nezumi snuck up on him." Demyx caught Reno's hard stare and let out a hollow laugh. "You think he won't claim his revenge? You think him beaten?" He shook his head, smiling at the stupidity of it all. "He's coming. And he's going to come down on every single one of us hard. The Kuma and the Saru are at war! The Nezumi and Uma are all that stand between him and you. Tell me, when he's claimed his trophy and added more men to his army out of fear, how will you fend him off? With two broken sections of land? Face it, Reno! You failed in taking over from your father! You divided this land, and unless you reunite it soon you'll be feeling a lot more than shivering shame slipping down the back of your neck! Don't you see? That's where all of you failed! Why do you think the Neko King stands strong where you've all fallen in cold blood?"
Reno stayed quiet and Demyx continued, his tone desperate and his voice filled with anguish. "It's because he was prepared! He knew what was coming and he bought his allies early. Who have you to back you up in the dark of the night? When the battle is here, who will the mighty Tora's call upon for help? Sephiroth is colonising an army the south cannot stand against! He will take the pickings of the Kuma and Saru war and he will make his way towards us. The south is too busy bickering over foolish notions and pride to see the bigger picture! The time to choose an ally is falling short! I would suggest you seek out your broken bridges and heal them soon."
"You would have me go crawling on my hands and knees to the Neko King?"
"Never!" Demyx growled. "I would ask no man to crawl! Speak with him as a man of a proud nation. He's as desperate in this war as the rest of us."
"And if he asks for a substitute to secure my loyalty? A prize, if you will. What then? Would you have me hand him gold and jewels? Because I fear he has more than his stomach full of that-"
"Give him me." Demyx spat, his rage building. He just needed to get past the Tora's. If he could get to the Neko Kingdom he would work his way from there and escape, maybe heading into the Shika and Buta territory until he could find Axel. Pulling himself back to the present, he watched Reno's eyebrow lift with confusion and growled once more, determined to make the blind fool in front of him see as his arm was pushed further up his back by Vanitas. "The Neko King'll want me because he thinks he can use me to quell Sephiroth. He'll want your alliance, and he'll accept the lower offer. Trust me."
"Trust an enemy?" Reno let out a laugh and straightened up from where he had been slouching. "I suppose an alliance would be in check." He thought back to his earlier thought on Axel and became broody once more. He needed the alliance, Demyx was right about that. If he didn't side with the Neko King soon the Neko army would come his way, and Sephiroth would topple down on him from the north. If he could rid himself of the Ookami brat and secure an alliance in the same move he could demand that Axel remain unharmed until he was returned to the Tora Kingdom as a sign of good faith. Then he could deal with his little brother himself.
Smirking, he ignored Vanitas' raised eyebrow. His sapphire eyes glowed dangerously in the torchlight, and Reno let a grin come to his lips as he looked down on the Ookami who pushed his ears back against his head and looked almost afraid (although he attempted not to show it). "Alright, Prince Demyx. I accept your proposal." He looked over Demyx's head to where Vanitas was looking to him expectantly whilst he still held onto a weakly struggling Demyx. "Prepare the troops, General. We march at dawn."
Roxas stopped in the centre of the forest, rubbing at his eyes as he looked about the white pines amidst the bleak sky. He knew where he was going out of pure instinct, but it was still unnerving for him to think that he was making his way through a white world in a black cloak atop a black beast. In all fairness he was a sitting target, and the fog that had settled was so thick and dense he couldn't see past the one line of trees before him, even though he knew more was there. His clothes were soaked from the moist air and the snow seemed to cluster about Roric.
It was for these reasons that Roxas jumped down from Roric and made his way over to a rather large unburdened oak. Roric followed obediently, and Roxas stopped before the large bare tree, looking up at its withering branches and smiling slightly as his breath frosted in the air before he reached around Roric and began rummaging through the saddle bag. It was too dangerous to travel atop Roric through the mist and there was no way he would be able to make his way back because of it. He had a feeling he would find the Neko capital easily, but finding his way back to Roric amid the trees would be hard, even more so seeing as his beast would have to hide amongst the white snow and duck low to avoid being captured by patrolling guards.
Finally he finished his rummaging and pulled out a small blade no bigger than his palm. Giving Roric one last pat on the nose, he left him by the tree, commanding him through their telepathic link to remain hidden in the snow as he made his way away from him. With every step his boots sank deeper and a chill would creep up his spine and cause him to shiver and gasp openly in the cold air. He stopped further along and glanced back to Roric's faint outline, smiling before he turned to the tree beside him and slid his knife under the bark, hammering it down hard with his palm and flinching when his numb fingers protested. But still the brittle bark broke away and fell to the ground, revealing the smooth cream flesh of the tree beneath which stood out in dire contrast to the white snow and the black bark.
As he made his way along, every five steps he would mark his way. They were hunter's marks, a trick Zack had taught him when he was young to help him find his way about the city, and although he knew he posed a risk of someone spotting him, the chance of them finding the mark in the first place when not looking for it was minimal, and that was the comforting thought he clung to as he made his way towards the invisible city.
Half an hour later Roxas' palm was openly stinging and burning from the cold as he rammed it once more down through the bark and trudged on. He knew the sun was up high in the sky, yet through it the mist prevailed and sunk heavily through the trees, leaving him in doubt of whether he was going the correct way. But eventually, as he was near on exhausted and ready to give up, Roxas found himself stepping on something that creaked and groaned beneath him. He stilled instantly, looking down to the snow about his boots as it melted and a soft pool of freezing water began to lap against the leather. Cursing under his breath, he went to move his weight back the way he had come, but as he placed pressure back on his heel the groan increased in integrity and seemed to echo within and without him, forcing him to fold his ears back as he looked about through the mist once more.
He should have known when he had taken several paces and his grasping outstretched hands had failed to meet the bark of a solid tree, but instead he had continued walking, blinded by his need to get in and out of the city undetected as soon as possible. And now, as he looked about and openly groaned, he recognised he was stuck. The water began to intensify about his ankle, and Roxas let out another shaky breath, stepping forwards and flinching at the groan of the ice that seemed to send a relapsing through him.
"Don't move."
Roxas turned silently, moving fast and cursing when his foot sank further beneath the water until his left foot was completely engulfed. Looking up, he let a faint smile come to his lips to find Zack standing before him a few feet away, barely visible through the mist. The older Neko's eyes were calculating and intense, a frown was set thickly upon his face, and he stood wrapped in layers of furs with his hands on his hips. All in All he looked fuming and annoyed, but Roxas was more concerned about another matter.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Roxas asked, wincing at the recognition that he could no longer feel his foot and the ice was cracking faster, its groans getting ever louder.
"Language…" Zack mumbled, pacing slightly on the edge before he sighed and shook his head. "And I'm here saving your butt…as usual."
Roxas rolled his eyes, slight panic creeping up on him as his other foot began to sink dangerously. He lifted his foot, attempting to place it forwards before the ice roared and his other foot sank further down into the freezing water.
"Don't move!" Zack snapped, forcing Roxas to look up at him as the older male kneeled down heavily and brushed away some of the lighter snow to reveal the black water beneath. "You must be on a section of the lake with thin ice." Glancing back up, he caught Roxas' sheepish look and sighed. "Just what the hell where you doing out here, anyway?"
"Why where you following me?" Roxas growled back, placing his foot carefully down and folding his ears back when the ice cracked hollowly.
"Because I knew something like this would happen." Zack mumbled, standing up slowly as he looked about through the mist. "You always was too easily distracted. Daydreamer through and through, that's you in a nutshell."
"I wasn't daydreaming-"
"You were thinking, but you weren't looking where you were going." Zack shrugged. "Call it what you will, but to me that's daydreaming. Now, I need you to listen very carefully and do everything I say exactly as I say it. Got it?" When Roxas nodded Zack returned it, gave the ice one last shady glance and let out a deep breath. "Right, on three you're gonna jump and I'll-"
"Are you insane?!" Roxas whispered harshly, ignoring the glare Zack gave him.
"Roxas, have I ever steered you wrong before?"
Roxas raised an eyebrow, a slight smile coming to his face despite the situation he was in. "You really want me to go into all of them now?"
"Don't get smart with me." Zack mumbled, pointing at Roxas before he held his hands out and flexed his fingers. "If we don't get you away from that patch you'll sink and fall through. That water's too cold to survive in. Now, on three. One." Zack bent his legs and watched as Roxas gave the surrounding area a quick wary glance. "Two." Roxas' eyes flicked back up to meet him, and Zack caught the apprehension and fear held within them. "Three!"
Roxas leapt, the ice crumbled beneath him and the water invaded the snow like large sucking sinking pool. Zack held his hand out and latched them about Roxas, holding on tight as the impact sent him hurtling backwards where they both continued to skid along the ice through the snow until finally they came to a stop. Zack still held on tight to Roxas, his eyes closed as he twitched his ears about and listened for any sign that the ice was beginning to crack. But when none came, and Roxas began to wiggle on top of him and mumble under his breath, Zack slowly released him and sat up carefully.
Roxas pulled away, sitting down carefully on the ice and avoiding Zack's stern glare as he began to rub at the cold leather of his shoes. Turning to glance over his shoulder, he looked back at the patch that had disappeared amongst the mist and spoke up quietly. "Why did you follow me?"
Zack raised an eyebrow at the question. "I saw you heading out…I had a hunch you'd be going this way."
"So you thought you'd stalk me through the woods?"
"I've only just caught up to you." Zack mumbled, a frown spreading thick and fast over his face. "I had to steal that Raion kid's horse to try and match you. When I lost you in the tree's I thought the worst until I saw that black thing you ride. I followed your marks on from there." A silence passed between them before Zack reached out and grabbed Roxas' shoulder, turning him about to face him. "So why are you out here? I'm guessing it's not to go swimming…"
"You left Ventus' father in there…" Roxas mumbled. "I thought you always said-"
"Sometimes it's not possible to save everybody, Roxas. He made a sacrifice to get his kid out of the way and put himself in the line of danger instead." Zack shrugged. "I'd deny no man his right to defend his children."
Another silence settled and Zack pulled his hand away, standing up carefully to avoid a repetition of the incident only a few minutes prior before he turned and held his hand out to Roxas. "Come on then," he laughed, and Roxas had to look up and blink twice in disbelief at the hand before him. "Let's go finish what you started."
Roxas took the hand warily as the strong grasp pulled him up onto unsteady feet. He watched Zack apprehensively as the older male turned from him and began walking away. "What, that's it? No lecture, no punishment, no chastising words? Just 'let's go'?" He said the words with confusion and Zack looked back to him with a lopsided grin.
"No, you're still grounded when we get back, and I'm sure Cloud'll have something to say, but I don't think in the middle of a forest is the best time to implement your punishment, do you?"
"Grounded?!" Roxas shouted, following after Zack hurriedly as Zack walked away from him. "For what? For tying up your loose ends?" He watched as they entered a line of trees and Zack pulled a knife free from where it had been sleeping against his belt. With a grunt Zack hammered the knife down through the tree in a quick slice and chipped away some of the bark, continuing with Roxas' marks as he listened with folded back ears and a slipping smirk. "And why the heck does Cloud need to know? I thought me and you were partners!"
Zack let out a heavy sigh and turned back to Roxas, watching as the blonde folded his ears back and glared up at him as his wet feet sunk further into the snow and he shivered slightly beneath his black cloak. "We are partners," Zack mumbled, turning back around and continuing on his path as the soft crunch of the snow behind him certified that Roxas was following. "But you never told me you were leaving to come back here. What, was your plan to just wander up to the Neko capital, bang on the city gates and demand to be let in?" He let out a short brisk laugh and shook his head. "You should have come to me, Roxas. You know you can trust me."
"If I can trust you then why are you turning me over to Cloud?" Roxas folded his arms, slightly frustrated at his adopted brother. When a silence settled between them for a few minutes and neither spoke Roxas let out a loud puff of breath and threw his arms wide, his tone taking on a whiney pitch. "Zack, you know he'll chew me out! And he's already out for my blood for running off in the first place."
"Well, if you'd stop getting in trouble people would stop coming after you." Zack turned his head slightly to the side as Roxas caught up to him before he marked his way through the fog against another tree. "Roxas, you have to understand, I'm only trying to protect you-"
"By handing me over to Cloud for a royal butt whooping? Yeah, it really looks like it, Zack."
Zack shook his head once more, turning his angle slightly to the left and bumping into Roxas to correct him on his path. "I know you don't think it now, but when you're older and you're actually alive to tell the tale of Cloud kicking your butt you'll thank me for it. I'm only trying to get us through this war, Roxas. All of us. And you running off before dawn isn't exactly making my job any easier."
Roxas rolled his eyes, jogging slightly to keep up with Zack's wide and fast steps. "I never asked you to come-"
"No, but it's a good thing I did. What would have happened if I wouldn't have been here and you fell through the ice? What would you have done?"
"I'd have thought of something…" Roxas mumbled, looking away and carrying on walking as Zack stopped to chip away at another tree. He heard the ground behind him crunch and continued walking, digging his hands deep into his pockets. "I always do…"
He felt a hand lean down against his uninjured shoulder and looked up to find Zack leaning on him, a smile set softly on his face. "Yeah, well, now that I'm here you don't need to do things on your own so much. Let's just concentrate on getting this done so we can get back. Then we can start looking for Sora and Cloud. Deal?"
Roxas felt the beginnings of a smile edge on his lips as he shrugged Zack's arm from his shoulder. "Deal." They started walking again, Zack chipping away every couple of steps and Roxas kicking the snow up with his numb feet.
"Hey, Zack…"
"Mmm?" Zack continued slicing the knife down the back end of some bark before he looked over his shoulder to catch sight of Roxas. The blonde wasn't looking at him, but rather he stared straight through the mist at the white canvas lined with black scaly toothpick trees that surrounded them.
"You think Cloud and Sora are okay?"
Zack yanked his blade free from the wood and turned to face Roxas, leaning back against the tree lightly. "What are you, nuts? I'd bet my life that they're sat living it up somewhere whilst we're out here freezing our tails off." He looked Roxas up and down, took in the furrowed brow and the nervous flick of the blonde's tail before he straightened up and kicked away from the tree. "Why? Has something happened?"
Glancing down, Roxas shook his head. "No…that's what worries me. I've been sat on that throne for over a week and neither of them has contacted me. They must know it's safe, so why not get in touch so I can go get them? Something just doesn't ring right."
"Mmm…" Zack let his thoughts hand in the air before he sighed and made his way over to Roxas once more, ruffling his hair as he passed and ignoring the glare he was given. Placing his hands on his hips, he took a deep breath and looked ahead. "That's a worrying thought, but it's not the most worrying one I'm having at the moment. What we need to be thinking about is how we're going to get in there." He looked through the mist and frowned. "We're so close to the city now that I can almost smell it. We have to think of a way in and deal with what's going on at the present. I need you to focus, Roxas. No more daydreaming like back on the ice. We'll find Cloud and Sora, right now let's just concentrate on getting in and out alive. Okay?"
Roxas nodded, pulling his hood up and over his face before he turned to Zack. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
Zack raised an eyebrow. "Me? Hey, it was your idea to come down here, I expected you to have a plan to get in."
Scowling, Roxas stepped forwards and let out a deep breath. "No, I didn't have time to think. I guess I was just gonna wing it-"
"What have I told you about that?" Zack groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Before you do anything you always need to think ahead, Roxas. You need to plan everything. You can't afford to get caught-"
"I did plan ahead." Roxas growled, ignoring the glare Zack shot his way. "That's why I'm here tying up the mess you left behind."
"Mess? What mess?! I saved thousands of lives, Roxas. That's more than you've done. Goddess strike me down for leaving a few behind to save the majority!"
"None of them should have been left!" Roxas snapped, watching as Zack's eyes turned slightly cold and dangerous. He knew he had overstepped a line somewhere, but he had to let Zack know that he wasn't just recklessly charging ahead. That he was going back for a reason.
Another silence settled where the two of them continued to glare at each other between the white mist that enveloped them. Finally Roxas gave in and sighed, looking away and rubbing the back of his head as the cold amulet's banged against his wrists and chest.
"I'm sorry…I just…I'm under a lot of pressure to get things right, and I can't afford to let anyone get hurt."
Zack's glare softened before it fell completely, the knife in his hands going back to hide between his belt and milky white skin as he placed his hands back on his hips and began to shed the multiple layers of fur from his shoulders. Roxas raised an eyebrow, slightly confused until Zack finally stopped, standing before him in his original navy blue attire as the two thick black coats rested in a pool about his feet. Zack shivered, rolled his shoulders back, and sneezed slightly, kicking some of the snow away from his boots and smiling.
"It's okay. I guess it can't be easy jumping from one end of the social ladder to the other." He looked back in front of him through the mist and itched the side of his head, his ears twitching slightly. "But still, how are we going to get in…The Neko King's gonna have the entire city on lockdown after the grand escape we pulled. It's going to be impossible to get in through any of the gates on the inner side of the city. And unless we go through them there's no way we can get through to the palace…"
"I'll go in." Roxas mumbled, drawing Zack's attention to him and forcing him to explain. "I have this amulet," he pulled out the blue Neko piece of the amulet and held it out for Zack to see. "I can change my shape with it. That way I can sneak into the city undetected. I'll get into the castle, sneak down into the lower levels and let you in through the moat that runs by the sewage system on the other side. Then we can look for Ventus' father and get out through the lower tunnels. It's the long way round and it's going to be hard to keep track of things, but I think it's the safest way."
Zack watched as Roxas put the pendant back inside his cloak and frowned. "I'm not sure…what if something goes wrong and I'm sat waiting on the other side of the gates? There'd be no way I could reach you-"
"I'll be fine, Zack." Roxas laughed. "Trust me, I've done this a thousand times, what could possibly go wrong this time?"
"That's flawed logic, Roxas."
"It's the only logic I have." Roxas shrugged, closing one eye and thinking hard as he looked up at the sky. "I'm gonna need a disguise, some kind of form to shift in to…it'd have to be someone of some kind of authority to make sure I could get inside the castle, but not someone so high up that they'd question where I've been or why I was outside of the city."
"I don't know anyone like that. Can't you just make someone up?"
Roxas wrinkled his nose before he scratched his head and shrugged. "I'm not really sure if that'll work…I haven't exactly used this thing a lot."
Zack leaned back against a tree, pulling his knife back out and twirling it against his thumb as he thought. "Okay, how about I list of a bunch of descriptions and you just go with it, kay? Then, if it works, we'll have our answer, and if it doesn't," he shrugged, "we'll just have to think of another plan."
Roxas nodded slowly, biting his lip softly. "Yeah…that could work. But nothing too drastic, okay?"
"Roxas," Zack laughed, a devilish smirk coming to his face, "what on earth do you take me for?"
"Now there's a question I shouldn't answer." Roxas grumbled, but no sooner had he started his mutterings than Zack cut him off.
"I think we should play this big. If there's any chance they're going to spot you, they're going to be looking for a teenage, white eared, blue eyed, Neko male. I say we give them the complete opposite." Roxas hissed and Zack's smirk appeared once more on his face. "I think we should give them an adult, blonde eared, green eyed, Neko female." Zack let out a bellowing laugh as Roxas choked back his yelp of surprise and ended up coughing into his fist with flushed cheeks. "What say you to that, Roxas? Still want to go in?"
"Not like that! Goddess above, Zack, trust you to take it to the extreme!"
Zack shrugged. "It's the only way I'd feel better about letting you go in there alone. It's either that, come up with a completely different plan, or pack up your things and start heading home. Because I'm not taking the chance of the Neko King getting his grubby little paws on you, Roxas. So," he rubbed his hands together and smiled at Roxas' distraught and angrily flushed face. "What's it gonna be, Rox?"
Roxas huffed, struggling with himself internally as he groaned and scowled at Zack, hating his own plan more and more as he swallowed back his pride and let out a degraded sigh. Hanging his head in woeful shame, he spoke in a muffled monotone voice. "Fine. But you have to turn around. If something goes wrong I don't want you looking."
Zack rolled his eyes but didn't argue. Turning, he closed his eyes and leaned against the tree with his right shoulder, folding his arms and waiting patiently. He heard Roxas inhale deeply before a silence settled. With his eyes still closed and his world shredded in darkness, Zack spoke up with slight confusion as his muscles tensed at the quiet about him. "Roxas? You okay?"
The voice that answered him was slightly softer, the rough tone edged and rounded to sound slick and golden off the polished tongue. "I'm fine. Think you can turn around now."
Zack turned and opened his eyes, blinking them twice and then twice once more to make sure he was seeing right as a slight half smile came to his face and his arms unfolded from across his chest in shock. Before him a young woman stood, her height roughly the same as Roxas' had been, and although he couldn't see her frame for the cloak that draped over her shoulders, he could tell the figure beneath was thin and shapely tuned. Emerald eyes glared at him with a fire he could only remember seeing in Axel, and the freckled nose was wrinkled in a prudent fashion as the pale cheeks reddened and the petite chin bowed ever so slightly. Slight smaller and fluffier blonde ears twitched atop her head as a cluster of smooth, golden, woven curls fell down to just passed her shoulders.
"Roxas?" Zack asked, slightly uncertain as he looked about the mist before his attention was drawn back to the female tapping her to against the snow.
"Stop gawping, Zack!" The female sighed and brought a smooth hand up to rest against her forehead beneath her fringe. "Yes, it's me. I feel like a fool!"
"You shouldn't." Zack mumbled, stepping forward and walking around Roxas with his finger on his chin. "You look gorgeous. You should stay in this form more often-"
Roxas turned with him, pushing him away faintly and growling. "Stop bothering me, Zack! I'm not a prize pig at a fairground." A look of doubt spread across Roxas' face. "Maybe I should change back. This isn't going to fool anybody-"
"It'd have fooled me." Mumbled Zack, his mind still slightly blown by the transformation as he watched the angry young Neko before him growl dangerously. "I think if you went in like this nobody would recognise you. It's either this or go home, Rox. Which would you rather do?"
Roxas pulled the hood further over his face, hating his feminine hands as he groaned openly and whined, hating the new feeling of baggage on the front of his chest and the thinner frame that had left him slightly off balance and unequipped for flexible movement. "Are those really my only options?"
"If you don't want to do this we can g-"
"No! I never said that!" Roxas shouted, his hands coming up defensively to halt Zack's rant. "But maybe," he lowered his transformed hands and sighed at the soft skin he wasn't used to, "maybe I could choose a different form?"
"Like what?" Zack asked, genuinely curious.
"Gee, I dunno, maybe a damn male-"
"Language!" Zack snapped absentmindedly, the word coming out as more of a reaction than a scolding. "And I don't think that's such a good idea. The Neko King has all of the males within the city who have access to the castle on high scrutiny. There's no way you'd be able to pull it off. But going in as a female, you could pretend to be one of the Queen's ladies or something. She doesn't have anywhere near as high a security as the Neko King. It'd be perfect."
"But I'm not having to go inside the castle in a male form. I could use a male form to get into the city, wait until dusk and transform back into myself. Then I could sneak into the castle as me-"
"But you'd have to leave the prisoner's in the cell all day. What if today is their last day? Then what?"
Roxas groaned, pulling at his softer ears before he wiped his hands across his brow. "Why do you always point out the worst case scenario?"
"Because it's often that scenario that comes true. Now, are we doing this or not? Because if we are then we're going to have to think of some high end excuse to get you past those gates."
Roxas growled, folding his arms across his chest and huffing heavily when they were met with two unfamiliar lumps. "Fine. What exactly did you have in mind?"
The Neko Queen sat heavily atop the plush cushion beside her husband's throne, her long hair tied back in a graceful bun as she listened patiently and obediently to him deal punishments to the men of the city who dared to stand against him. Currently he took an audience with several guards that refused to dispose of the bodies of some of the dead, willing that they be returned to their families instead. With a shake of his head and the raising of a fist she flinched to hear men screaming at the sentence of death they were given as they were carted away by the few General's her husband had left.
She had seen a change in the man she had married. A corrupted change she could not stem; like the rotting of a being from the inside that slowly poisoned the mind and left the outside as nothing more than an insecure shell of what used to be. It scared her to think that those remnants where what was in charge of the powerful amulets her husband held so close and dear to his chest. But she dared not to speak out against him. Not when she was surrounded by a nest of vipers with traitorous tongues who would sooner undue her to attempt to take her place amongst the mad insanity of power rather than give her the fair judgment of freedom.
Opening her eyes, she watched as the door was opened once more and a young male guard with silver hair walked briskly down the red carpet. He was tall, his hair spiked upwards and short as his sea-green eyes penetrated every breadth of the room with scolding fairness and equality. On his arm he dragged a cloaked figure that jogged to keep up and failed to struggle as they allowed themselves to be obediently led down the red carpet that had once been white before her husband had ordained his killing spree to the interior of their home. The Queen recognised the young male instantly and sharply. He was the brother of the other household guard who had escaped. Her husband had attempted to have him slaughtered after the younger model of the man before her escaped with the brown headed Neko and the Kitsune. But she hadn't allowed it. Instead she had wooed her husband as the man before her had come to woo her. It was not for her husband's sake that she begged for the man's life, but rather her own.
As her secret lover stood before her now, kneeling before the very man he and the Queen fouled within his own home, the silver haired guard dragged the cloaked figure to their knees and failed to meet the Queen's eyes. They would never allow their secret passion to be shown before a man of such cruelty, but she often wondered, as her husband took every slinging concubine and whore to bed amongst their stained sheets before he sent for her to be claimed, if the man before her thought of her when they were apart, or if she was seen as no more than a jewel to be tainted by both young and old fools alike.
The Neko King leaned forwards slightly, his finger coming to massage the three wiggling chins beneath his jaw as he snorted in the air. "What's this?! You bring forth a traveller? I have stated my rules clearly about travellers! Do not bother me with such ludicrous filth as those that live outside my walls!"
The silver haired soldier stood, and with him he brought the hooded figure too. When the man spoke his voice filled the room and the confidence seemed to outweigh the king's own words. "My Lord, this traveller claims to be of acquaintance with the queen." Sea-green eyes turned to meet the soft depth of the Neko Queen's own, and in them she found the begging favour being uttered without words.
The king turned to her with scrutinising pig-like eyes. They narrowed instantly and he hissed and spat his words down on her. "You would dare to have your friend's adjourn my court, woman?! Explain yourself!"
The Queen stuttered and faltered for a moment, her heart beating as she looked to the shadow in black and back to her lover almost urgently before finally she let out a despondent nod. "Yes, dearest husband. I am sorry. This traveller is indeed my friend."
The Neko King raised his hand, ready to strike. The Queen flinched, the silver haired soldier tensed, and out of the blue the traveller in black spoke up with a soft feminine voice like glazed honey on sweet, sugar filled fruit.
"I am sorry for the disruption, my Lord. My unsavoury act deserves whatever punishment can be thought of. Perhaps a night in the cells with the rats would help calm my imposing notions."
The Neko King stopped and lowered his hand ever so slowly, the ringed gems glistening on his fat sausage-like fingers as he turned to the figure before him. Slowly, and with great strain on both his legs and the groaning throne he sat upon, the Neko King stood and crept down the steps, leaving his quivering and curious queen behind him. The silver haired soldier tensed his grip on the traveller once more, and beneath the hood Roxas had to suppress a yelp at the nails that dug into his upper arm as Riku's elder brother slowly guided him backwards and away from the Neko King's advance.
The Neko King stopped before them and looked the guard up and down, his eyes heavily set upon his soldier until sea-green eyes fell slowly to the floor as the soldiers that aligned the side for protection tightened their grips on their spears. With a suspicious approach, the Neko King turned his gaze on the traveller, taking into account the shapeless frame beneath the black cloak. With lightening quick reactions he pulled down the traveller's hood and his glare fell to find sparkling green eyes avoiding his own gaze, a bashful tint coming softly to dusted, freckled cheeks. The golden curls fell free and the blonde ears were folded back against the females head as she waited respectfully.
With strong, clammy hands, the king raised the young female's cheek and tilted it from left to right, expecting the smooth flesh from all angles. After a few more seconds he let out a short snort of laughter, ignored the glare he was given by the guard holding onto the cloaked guest, and turned back to his startled and confused wife. "Dearest, you say this female is indeed a friend of yours?"
The Queen's dazed eyes turned from the desperation of the sea-green eyes that belonged to the guard to the deep, gazing, urgent emeralds of the female that seemed to quiver under swallowed breath as her husband held onto their jaw roughly. Finally she gave a stout nod and folded her hands graciously into her lap. "She is, dearest husband. Her name is Narah Caelyn. She and I were close as children before I did have the honour of meeting my gracious king."
"Narah Caelyn…" The Neko King mumbled, turning back to Roxas. He smiled as he released the young female's chin roughly and turned to the silver haired guard beside them. "Have my newest member of the court overlook our new guest. I wish for her to be prim and proper. She will meet with me in exactly one hour's time. Am I understood?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Good." The king let out a brutal laugh and grinned wickedly. "After all, a friend of my lady Queen's must be treated with the expected courtesy of the court. She and I have not yet been... properly acquainted, shall we say?"
Roxas felt the bite of disgust grip him before Riku's brother grabbed him once more by the upper arm, gave the king a stout bow, and turned them both around without so much as a glimpse at the Neko Queen. Roxas was patrolled back down the red carpet, feeling like a complete fool as they finally made it to the other end of the hall whilst every pair of eyes was trained upon them. As they stepped outside into the hall they passed an old man quibbling with a pair of guards that dragged him along before the great grand oaken doors were slammed shut and they were left in silence. Roxas would have spoken, but behind them lurked three guards in heavy metal armour with a mix of weapons. Roxas knew they didn't stand a chance against them if they were to begin fighting, not in their current state, anyway.
Roxas was led away and down a section of other corridors until finally the guards thinned out to a few that stretched behind and lagged on their duties, and it was in this time that Roxas chose to spoke up whilst carefully peering about for any watching soldiers. "Goddess above, that was intense-"
"Do you have any idea what you being inside the castle means, Roxas?" The silver haired male turned to glare down on the blonde beside him and frowned, blushing slightly as disguised emerald eyes glared back. "Do you know what that bastard wants to do to you?"
"No less than what everyone else wants to do to me." Roxas mumbled, his sweetened voice going quiet as they passed a par of stationary guards. Finally, when they were in the clear, he continued on with harsh whispers. "What's with you, anyway? I thought you were on my side, Gareth!"
"I am…" Gareth mumbled, a look of pain crossing his face at the thought of everything he had lost and had a chance at losing. "But you have to understand, this is the most dangerous place in the entire world for you to be right now. I can't believe Zack actually let you do this!"
"He didn't exactly have much choice." Roxas mumbled, ignoring the stares he was given as he reached up and pulled his hood over his head once more to cover his disguised form. "I feel like a complete twat."
"So you should." Gareth grumbled, drawing Roxas 'glare to him. Holding up his hands defensively, Gareth continued. "Hey, it's not every day I get to see one of the kid's I grew up with change sex because of a necklace. Excuse me for being a little shell-shocked."
Roxas rolled his eyes, yanking his hand out of Gareth's grip. "Yeah, well, get over it. I have work to do and if you blow my cover, Riku's brother or not, there'll be all of hell to pay."
"About that," Gareth said, turning right as Roxas followed. "What are you doing here? If you wanted to take the Neko King out you could have done it already. He was right there in front of you-"
"Yeah, but if I did that my head would be rolling as well as his. I do want to survive this war, you know?" Shaking off the bad feeling that lurked over his shoulder, Roxas shivered and continued. "I need to get to the dungeons."
"The dungeons?" Gareth never looked at him as he spoke. Instead he kept his eyes fixed ahead, his lips barely moving when he spoke. "Why the hell do you…" He trailed off, looking down on Roxas with recognition and feeling his eyes going wide. "No, oh no, Roxas you have got to be insane! The guard's by the dungeons have been doubled since the last breakout. There's no way I can get you down ther-"
"Who said you were taking me anywhere?" Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Gareth, I appreciate you getting me inside the city, even more so for getting into the castle, and it's good to know there are people I can still trust here, but you have to understand, there's something a lot bigger than both of us coming in to play around here. And if I don't stop it I have a feeling it can only get bigger. I can't ask any more of you than what you've already done for me, and if you want to come with me when I leave I would be honoured to help you find your brother and help you get a sincere title set up in the Buta Kingdom."
For a moment Gareth considered the offer, his eyes going to the floor as he thought it out before he shook his head. "No, I can't. My family is still here. They're too stubborn to move and if I leave the Neko King will have them slaughtered. It took me all my time and effort to get them to leave us alone when Riku ran off…" the silence hung for a moment before Gareth continued with a sad smile on his lips. "But if you do find Riku make sure he's okay for me, won't you?"
Roxas nodded. "Of course I w-"
"Excuse me?
They both turned at the sound of a sickly sweet voice. Before them stood Marluxia, his pink hair as vibrant as ever and his eyes still cold and malicious. He leaned against the side of the wall, looking at his nails with a bored expression before he turned them upwards to catch Gareth and Roxas. Smirking, he kicked off the wall and held himself with an air of dignity, his pink and red dressage perfectly coloured to bring out the false sense of innocence he often held his character so close to. But the remembrance of the pain Marluxia had caused him when he attempted to murder him was still fresh in Roxas' mind.
Marluxia tilted his head to the side almost playfully. "I'm sorry, but if I'm correct the king asked you to bring his new favourite to me, did he not?" When Gareth only glared and Roxas kept silent Marluxia continued with a fake smile. "Oopsy daisy," he patted his hand against his mouth and rolled his eyes as if he had accidentally heard a secret. "Was I not supposed to know that?" He let out a fake laugh and pointed between them. "You had best both not be keeping secrets. We all know that the Neko King doesn't like secrets he's not involved in."
Roxas forced a fake smile to come to his lips as he lowered his hood to reveal his feminine form once more and smiled. "Sorry, we must have gotten a little lost." Turning back to Gareth, he hoped his friend would notice the message hidden beneath his words. "I'm sorry, but you remember the favour I said I wouldn't need to ask? I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you for it." At Gareth's smile he put on a fake pout. "Please?"
Gareth rolled his eyes, ignoring the confused eyebrow Marluxia raised before he finally let out a sigh and nodded his head tiredly. "Fine, but you so owe me."
Without another word Gareth turned on the spot and marched down the hallway, leaving Roxas and Marluxia alone. As he turned, Roxas' arm was grabbed non-too gently by the larger male and he was dragged down the corridor back the way he had come. He found himself being pulled up stairs and down more corridors in an unkempt fashion before finally they stopped outside a door on the third floor. Opening the door, Marluxia shoved Roxas inside, ignoring his yelp as he followed him in and closed the door behind him, locking it almost instantly and hiding the key down into his pocket.
Roxas straightened up and watched with a suspicious eye as Marluxia turned to him with another fake smile. Slowly he made his way further into the room, and with every step Roxas would back up ever so slightly until he found himself pressed against the purple wallpaper of the room betwixt the two windows. Marluxia stopped and let out a dark chuckle, biting at his lower lip as he looked Roxas up and down and smiled.
"You'll never impress the king if you're going to be so frigid, sweetheart."
"Impress?" Roxas' voice broke slightly and he heated the high pitch his body was forced to use to keep up the foolish female disguise.
"Yes. The king only chooses the finest women to share his seed." Roxas gagged when the word was said, but quickly composed himself and pushed it to the back of his mind. Marluxia didn't notice it, and if he did he chose to ignore it as he continued his advance. "You should count yourself lucky that you're so desirable. You're a pretty little sunflower if nothing else. I suppose you could always be used to decorate a man's side." Marluxia stopped mere inches from Roxas and smiled lazily, his hands coming to rest on the blonde's hips. "But what's the point in decorating a man's side when you can decorate his loins and co-"
"Whoa!" Roxas yelled, pushing Marluxia from him slightly and swerving out of the way. His hips were released and he began to back up once more, ignoring the dark blue eyes that followed him as he shook his head. "I don't think…" He shook his head again, unable to comprehend words as he waved his hands frantically to get his point across. "No. Just no."
"Sweetie, you misunderstand me." Marluxia grinned, his words lapping off his tongue like a dog drooling in the sun. He advanced once more, this time much faster, and as he found Roxas pushed to the wall he brought his hands up to either side of his head and crushed their bodies together, his lips coming down to rest just over Roxas' ear where they whispered seductively in an attempt to stop the violent struggling the blonde was forcing against him. "I'm the king's test run. Consider it one of my many perks of the job." He crushed harder against Roxas with the last word, drawing out a yelp as the sword handle against his hip jammed into the blonde's rib as his wounded shoulder began to pang once more. "Understand, if I'm unhappy, the king is unhappy. And you don't want to see us unhappy now, do you sweetness?"
The last few words were drawled out like a man talking to a baby, and Roxas hated the whisper that breathed hot air down the base of his neck. Before he could snarl out his reply he felt something warm and moist sucking down against the base of his neck, and with a faint register of disgust and abnormality he heard the slurping noise of spit being licked from his skin. Restraining the "ewwww" that wanted to rip free from his throat, Roxas pulled away, about to retaliate with a raised fist before Marluxia's arm beside his head came crashing down against his wounded shoulder and slammed him back into the wall. Throwing his head back at the agony, Roxas was too busy biting his tongue to rid his vision of the stars that had begun to collect there to fight off the sloppy kisses that began to make their way up his thinner jawline. Opening his eyes, he struggled meekly only to find the clutch on his shoulder tighten as the nails of the stronger male dug further into his flesh and his world was slashed by pain once more.
The kisses turned into brutal nips and violent smashes of lips and flesh, and Roxas found himself swallowing back the sick as every time he moved Marluxia seemed to hold onto his wound tighter and the pain would crash against him. Roxas didn't know when the door was opened, and he wasn't sure how Zack had managed to find him, but sure enough, as Marluxia was pulled off him viciously and thrown heartlessly to the floor, an enraged and infuriated, shaking Zack stood between them both. Roxas thanked the Goddess above as he let his hand come up to his wounded shoulder and sank against the brick a little, turning to glance over at the door where Gareth stood with his arms folded and eyes of steel. Between him and Zack Roxas could feel the fury and rage swirling in a dangerous and explosive combination within the room. And the bomb was about to detonate.
Zack stomped over and grabbed Marluxia by the collar, ignoring the male's stuttering yelps as he straightened him up, held him in place with his left hand, and smashed his right knuckles against his face in a blow that left Marluxia crumpling to the floor in a torrent of weeping blood and tissue. Zack pulled his hand back and waved it in the air to try and take some of the sting away as Marluxia landed against the ground with a cold, hard thud.
He didn't get up.
Roxas watched as Zack turned to him, his arms still shaking as he took deep breaths and nodded in Roxas' direction. "You, er…" he stopped, swallowed hard, and shook his head. "You okay?"
"Yeah." Roxas mumbled, standing up straight and looking down on Marluxia. "I was just taken by surprise is all." He frowned when Marluxia remained motionless. "Is he going to be okay?"
Zack shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. If he isn't good riddance, if he is I can make sure he pays for what he tried to do."
Roxas grimaced before a thought came to him. "How did you manage to get inside the castle?"
"Gareth let me in through the back of the castle gates. Soon as I heard you'd been led off with him," he pulled his foot back and booted Marluxia in his lower leg, earning himself a groan in response. "I knew there'd be trouble. Turns out people don't notice you when you run through the castle as fast as you can."
"Yeah, I was hard pressed to keep up." Gareth laughed.
Roxas nodded, turning to look down on Marluxia once more before he reached up and pulled the chain from his neck, letting out a deep sigh and rubbing his freshly bleeding shoulder as he returned to his normal male form. "So, how do you know him?"
"This git?" Another kick, this time lighter, was thrown Marluxia's way, and Zack frowned. "He's the bastard that's been taking women from all over the city to satisfy the bastard king's needs. And his own, of course. Sick fuck that he is."
Roxas frowned. He had never heard Zack swear before. "But I thought he was Larxene's crony?"
Zack shook his head, flexing his sore knuckles from where he had smashed Marluxia's face to pieces. "No, him and her haven't been friends for a while. More like he clung to her for her status and then as soon as he found somebody bigger to leech off he switched. Now all they do is exchange polite conversation like the rest of the royal idiots in this castle." Walking over to Roxas, he turned the blonde's head to the side and looked down on his neck. Inhaling sharply at the bruises and bite-marks, he pulled his sleeve over his hand and wiped away the spit that stuck against the bruising flesh. Roxas wiggled and attempted to pull away, but Zack held him still until he was certain it was all gone before he allowed him to wriggle free.
Satisfied, Zack watched as Roxas began to rub away at his neck himself with the amulet still in his hand before he spoke again. "Right, we need to leave. Now. We'll grab Luxord and Marshal on the way out and-"
"But what about the Neko King?"
Zack turned to Roxas, slightly astonished. "What about him?"
Roxas frowned. "I'm supposed to be meeting him in an hour. Zack, if I could get close enough I could get those other amulet-"
"No. Roxas, I forbid it! This has been bad enough, and we've risked life and limb getting this far. If we can make it out of this castle in one piece I'll call it nothing short of a miracle."
"But-"
"No but's, Roxas! I did wrong by you for even letting you go ahead with this stupid plan. Now look at you! You look like some rich man's bit on the side with those bites on your neck." Zack let out a heavy sigh at Roxas' wrinkled nose and frowned. "Let's just get out of here and call it one nil. There's no point in trying to score a point we don't need yet-"
"Maybe you don't need it, but I do, Zack! You don't understand how important these amulet's are-"
"I understand perfectly." Zack whispered, his tone so cold it surprised Roxas at his turn in character. "But you have to understand, Roxas. Right now I have my little brother in the heart of enemy territory where his life is wanted, he's just been molested by some bastard lying unconscious on the floor, and we still have two prisoners to break out. Do you really expect me to add attempting to see the height of the enemy to our list of things to do today? Let's just get out of here, Roxas. We can come back for these amulets another day."
For a moment they stared it out before Zack folded his arms and Roxas let out a dejected sigh. Hanging his head, he nodded slowly. "Fine…let's just get what we came for and leave."
Roxas headed for the door before Gareth stopped him. The silver haired male stood in his path, his gaze wandering over to Marluxia before he turned to glance between both of the Neko's before him. "You have to take him with you."
"What?" Roxas asked, his eyes going back to the unconscious figure lying motionless in the centre of the rug. His hand came up to the side of his neck subconsciously. "Why?"
"Because if he stays here he'll rat me out now that he thinks I'm in league with you. I can't have my family jeopardised because of him."
Zack rubbed his temples with his fingers before he let out a low growl and began to make his way over to the rug. Kneeling down, he dragged Marluxia to him roughly and began to wrap the rug about him, encircling it over him and smiling as Marluxia disappeared in the folds of the fabric. Turning to Roxas, he nodded at him and spoke.
"I'm going to need your cloak."
"My cloak?"
"Yeah. I'll wear that and you change into Gareth's form. Gareth, you wait in this room for exactly three minutes before you head off towards the court. Make sure someone of high importance sees you so they can vouch for you." He watched as Roxas unhooked his cloak and fastened it about his own shoulder's, raising the hood and lowering it against his face before he picked up the rug that hid Marluxia and slung it over his right shoulder crudely.
Turning to look at Gareth, Roxas thanked him once more before he placed the chain back over his head and transformed into the male's form. He winced as his form changed, feeling slight exhaustion trickle over him before he followed Zack to the door. Once there, Zack turned around to face Gareth again.
"Remember, three minutes."
Roxas raced down the cold spiralling Neko dungeon steps in Gareth's form with Zack following close behind. The guards at the top had been curious about the rug, but when Roxas explained that it was for specific purposes that the Neko King had informed him not to disclose to anyone they had let it slide. Thankfully. Neither of them had to look at the cells to know where they were going – mostly due to the fact that to them the Neko dungeons were more like a second home than a despairing pit of torture. On the first floor the prisoners of war were kept for easy access, on the second floor there came your thieves and murders, and on the third floor rested the prisoners that were often forgotten and left to rot as well as prisoners who proved to be too troublesome to be kept on the upper floors.
As they ran further down the steps the air turned icy and the breath caught in their chests like a vice. The guards thinned out until they reached the farthest levels where the stone had turned grimy and the only light came from the torches that littered the wall every so often to bask the area in a fire-lit glow. As they ran Zack counted, muttering under his breath the figures as he hefted the rug further over his shoulder and ignored the grunt that escaped it. Roxas followed close behind, letting the disguise he had held slip back to his normal form as the guards completely disbanded and they were left alone down the dark burnings of the dungeons.
Finally Zack stopped outside a cell that held just two hunched over figures inside. The figure on the left sat with a straightened back and a dignified pose despite the hunched shoulders that had been forced forwards from the injuries of many beatings. Beside him, grumbling on a bed, was a dishevelled looking Neko that cursed openly and glared at the ceiling, multiple cuts, abrasions and deep purple clotted bruises coating his arms and legs. Zack looked down to Roxas before he glanced back into the cell. "This is them." At his voice the Neko on the bed snapped his head up and growled whilst the one on the floor opened his eyes curiously. "You sure you wanna let them out? It's going to be hard enough getting out of here with just us and the rug-"
"If we don't there'd have been no point in coming at all." Roxas mumbled, holding his hand out and waiting. "Might as well gain something from this trip."
Zack nodded before he reached his free hand up to just behind his ear. Securing the slight piece of metal, he pulled the grip free and handed it down to Roxas. As soon as the small piece of metal touched the blonde's palm his fingers enclosed about it and he placed it between his teeth, straightening it out before he headed towards the thick iron door and slid it between the lock, feeling for the click he knew was often to the left and slightly further up.
"Ventus, is that you?"
Roxas' eyes flicked up as his hands continued their work, catching the glance of the strong Raion on the floor. Forcing back a smile, he shook his head. "Not quite, sir."
"You! Bastard, Night Crawler! Cost me everything you have!" The other Neko spoke up, and Roxas rolled his eyes to find Marshal standing up from the bed and making his way over to them. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't clout you right here and now. Even through these bars I'm sure I c-"
"Knock me out and you'll be stuck in here." Roxas growled, frowning when the click didn't come and trying right instead. "I'll be captured, Zack will be killed, you'll both be slaughtered and your daughter will be left alone back in the Buta Kingdom." Roxas found the pin touching against something that bent with it, and he knew he had found the locking mechanism to the door. Looking back up, he caught Marshal's glare and frowned. "Is that really what you want? Or can I break you out of here, get back to the kingdom I'm in charge of, and give you your daughter back."
On the other side of the iron bars Marshal growled and flexed his fingers, looking between Roxas and Zack and then back to Luxord before he gave a stiff nod. "Fine, but as soon as I get my daughter back me and you have some serious issues to sort. I still owe you a bastard kicking."
Roxas turned to look up at Zack and raised an eyebrow. "What, you can tell me off for swearing but not him?"
Zack shrugged openly and smiled. "He's a grown man outside my charge, you're still growing and are under my protection. I'll have no little blonde Neko running about slaughtering my name with a sailor's mouth."
Roxas rolled his eyes and pressed down on the pin, listening to the click and opening the iron door quickly. The hinges squeaked and screeched, grating on all of their ears before they came to a colossal end when they hit the wall with a sharp thwang. Marshal was the first to step out, and under the torchlights glare he stretched upwards and popped the muscles in his neck. And for the first time Roxas actually noticed the grey in the man's hair and the dull glint in his eyes. Marshal glared down on him before he stepped aside, watching as Zack pulled Roxas closer to him and a scowl set upon his lips. Unable to withstand the urge to jibe, Marshal spoke up in a mocking tone.
"Lost your kittens again, eh Zack? Must suck always being at the bottom of the food chain."
"You should know." Zack replied, his tone cold and heartless as his eyes never left the man before him. "You've been down here just as long as me."
"Hey! Aint I never been wanted by the Neko King before I set about with that devil!" He pointed at Roxas and the blonde Neko batted the finger away and scoffed.
"Please," Roxas mumbled, holding back the growl in his throat. "We all know that the Fade's have been wanted by the king just as much as the Network. The fact that he managed to kill two birds with one stone was a bonus for him."
"Hey, he never caught me, kitten!"
"My name's not kitten!" Roxas growled, stepping forwards before Zack pulled him back and interrupted.
"Look, let's get something straight for a minute here." He turned from Roxas to Marshal, hefting the rug further up his shoulder as he did so. "We don't like you, and I'm sure as hell that you don't like us."
"Damn straight." Marshal mumbled.
"But the truth is we're all pests in the Neko King's side. He's been using both of us to take the other down. And like it or not, he did manage to catch you, Marshal. Look at where you are. You think people who don't get caught live their life behind iron bars waiting for their next beating? Right now we need to put these ridiculous differences aside and work together to get out of here. We only have two horses and they're at least a thirty minute walk outside of the city. Getting in was easy, getting out's going to be hard. We're going to have to pull together if we're going to live to see tomorrow."
"I agree with the Neko that speaks sense. Namely Zack."
Roxas looked left to where Luxord had appeared through the cell. He towered over them, his shoulders stiff and sore as he nodded in Zack's direction and held his hands on his hips. The resemblance to Ventus was striking, and when Luxord spoke, despite the fierce cuts that dug deep into him and chipped away at his skin, everybody listened.
"Now, I have before me three quarrelling Neko's and a rather large puzzle. Just how are we going to escape from here? I take it your tricks and illusions will not work this far down in the cold, Zack. Nor will your brute strength and force, Marshal. We need a new approach combined of the two if we are to escape. So I would suggest you put aside this squabble so we can leave as soon as we are able."
Begrudgingly, they all nodded at the Raion's logic, their eyes still glaring at each other as Zack broke the silence. "We were thinking that we could take the moat that runs under the castle dungeons. There's a secret entrance further up. If we could move some of the bricks we could scale down and swim out."
"Are you kidding, kitty? That water's freezing. You'd be dead within a matter of minutes." Marshal grumbled, ignoring the scowl Zack sent his way. "And if we did survive, you said it yourself, it's a half an hour trek through the snow to those two horses of yours. There's four of us. And if the water didn't kill us we'd catch pneumonia from the snow and end up dead anyway."
"What if we could disguise ourselves and make it through the castle."
Confused glances turned to Roxas as he thought hard. Luxord spoke up, his arms folding across his chest. "What are you suggesting?"
"Well, instead of going under the castle, or around, what if we go through it?"
Marshal threw his hands up in the air. "Right, that's it, the kid's lost it. He's finally hit the wacky train and riding it to insanity town."
Ignoring the sarcastic comment, Zack rested his hand on Roxas' shoulder. "What do you mean, Rox?"
Roxas pocketed the pin in his hand and began to explain. "What if we could disguise ourselves well enough to get through the castle? One of us could use the amulet to pretend to be the Neko King and make like the other two are prisoners being escorted away. Nobody would question it because it's the Neko King."
"So you would ask us to perform a trick like the one performed by us prior?" Luxord asked, tapping his chin as he thought. "I suppose that could work, however, we have no transformation rings of any kind."
"No, but I have this." Roxas pulled the amulet free from his chest and held up the glowing blue gem.
"Well, that's all fair and dandy, but what about the Neko King? Surely he'll know something's up when he notices he's not looking in the mirror but there's two of him."
Roxas frowned, thinking hard for a moment before he shrugged Zack's hand from his shoulder and continued. "Well, the Neko King is still expecting me in thirty minutes-"
"No, Roxas!" Zack broke in, but, ignoring him, Roxas continued.
"I could go up to the second floor treasury, steal the transformation rings he stole from you, and meet him up there. I can keep him busy while you make your escape, and when darkness comes I'll follow you out."
"How do you possibly know that the transformation rings are on the second floor?"
"The Neko King likes to keep everything in one place. He's greedy like that."
Cutting across Roxas and Luxord's conversation, Zack growled and pulled Roxas back to him. "I said no, Roxas. I won't let you-"
"You don't have to let me, Zack. I'm almost seventeen! I'm not a little kid you have to run around after anymore. I'm growing up, and I can do this." Ignoring the slight look of hurt that crossed Zack's eyes, Roxas shook his head and pulled the Neko chain from about his neck, handing it to Zack and watching as the older male took it hesitantly and with a scowl. The necklace continued to glow blue after Roxas had given him it, and Roxas smiled, thankful that the chain had continued to work as Luxord spoke up.
"I suppose it is only fitting that Zack take the Neko King disguise."
"Fitting? How is that fitting?" Marshal asked, slight outrage wavering from him. "He's going to have me slaughtered, I can tell."
"Don't count yourself so lucky, kitten." Zack grumbled, placing the chain about his neck. "If I was going to do anything to you I'd have you hung, drawn and quartered. But you've got a little one waiting for you, so for now you're safe."
"A good point," Luxord mumbled, "but not the one I was going to make. You see, we are both expected to be in the Neko dungeons, however it was never heard that Zack was captured. Zack is a prestigious figure with many of the soldiers here, as is yourself. The only way for Zack to move through the castle is to take up the disguise and guide us through to the other side."
"Right." Roxas mumbled, watching as Zack placed the rug on the floor and handed Roxas back his cloak. Swinging it over his shoulders, Roxas headed back up the steps two at a time, raising the hood to cover his face and keeping his eyes low as he passed under the guards that kept watch over the entrance further up. He passed under them with little trouble, grateful that they probably suspected him to be the cloaked figure that had entered with Gareth, and headed down the corridor to the left. He didn't head to the treasury room. Instead he completely bypassed it and made his way further up the castle building, his heart pumping erratically in his chest as he took deep steadying breaths and made his way towards the king's room in his normal, white eared, Neko form.
Back down in the dungeon's Zack stared at the pendant quietly, his foot resting on the rug by his feet as he sighed. The clunk of the heavy iron gate locking had echoed down through the spiralling tower dungeons to let him know that Roxas had gone, and Zack was slowly coming to terms with the fact that he would not be needed for this part of their grand escape, and if he was, he wouldn't be able to reach or help Roxas in time. The young blonde was on his own now.
"I think that's our signal that we may leave." Luxord said, his eyes looking up through the torches glare to catch the echo full-force.
Zack nodded and stood, thinking hard and holding his breath slightly. A tingling sensation swept through him, filling his blood and veins before it vanished and left him feeling open and empty. Opening his eyes, he looked down at his hands and frowned. "I don't feel any different…did it work?"
Marshal smirked, folding his arms across his chest. "Oh yeah, it worked. What's with the silver hair and blue eyes though? And you're still skinny! The Neko King is far from-"
"I'm not the Neko King. I'm Gareth."
"Who is this Gareth?" Luxord asked, watching as Zack picked up the rug once more and hefted it over his shoulder.
"He's a friend of mine and Roxas'. We used his form to get us in here, so I think we should use it to get us out so we don't raise any suspicions. Once we find a safe spot I'll transform into the Neko King's image and we can make our way out through the city gates."
He began making his way up the steps, heaving the rug further up his shoulder and continuing with his climb. Behind him he heard Marshal ask if they really believed they could escape with a fake disguise and a rug, but when nobody answered he followed, his feet scuffling against the steps as he did. They were halfway up when Marshal spoke up again.
"What's in the blasted rug anyway? A body?"
Zack felt the smile tug at his lips and shook his head, unable to answer as they reached the top of the steps and made their way through. At first the guards were suspicious about letting the prisoners go, but as Zack began to insist that it was under the king's command they began to fail in their resolve and slowly let them through. They were halfway under the door when Marluxia decided to wake up inside the rug and let out a tremendous muffled scream.
Zack tensed, Luxord froze, and the guards tightened their grip on their spears. Cursing openly, Marshal sagged his shoulders and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fuck sake! Bastard Network! Never get anythin' right!"
"Shut up, Fade!" Zack growled, turning to watch the guards advance slowly as they yelled at him to drop the screaming rug. Muttering under his breath, Zack dropped the rug and stomped on it to shut it up and hold it in place. Pulling the dagger out from his belt, he turned to face the guards and growled. "Who's first then?"
Okay, this is part one, and I know I have some explaining to do. I have been debating with myself for three days on whether to upload this or not. Eventually I decided to upload it.
Yes, Roxas is a girl for some parts of this chapter - if they're not clear let me know and I'll try and figure out how to rewrite it. Gareth is Riku's older brother (I know, another OC, but I have used all of the others - some still need introducing - so I had to use him).
This is only one part of two, so Demyx, Reno and Vanitas get a bigger role in the next chapter. So, Marshal, Luxord and Zack are fighting Neko guards with only one dagger between them, Roxas is off to go confront the Neko king, and Reno is on his way down. ^_^ any guesses as to what's going to happen?
Stalker - haha, that's not good ^_^' I wasn't aiming for redneck lol. Glad your brain is fizzing and hope this satisfied you until the next chapter :D