Chapter: 051 – In the Forests of the Night.
Location: Ancient Jungle Ruins.
Characters: Zexion, Lexaeus, Vexen, Marluxia, Larxene, Axel.
Rating/Warnings: PG-13.
Summary: I've got a fever. And the last thing I need is more cowbell. Things get a little worse for our dear companions...
Chapter 051 : Ancient Jungle Ruins – In the Forests of the Night.
Zexion was the first to fall ill.
It wasn't surprising, given that his immune system was still recovering from the nasty cold that had plagued him for the past few weeks. But it was an unexpected blow that no one had seen coming.
They really should have expected something to happen. Things were going, all things considered, much too well. There was no sign of the Organization. No sign that Saix had ever found out they had been discovered or followed. Everything was just fine.
Sure, the bickering between Larxene and Vexen was rather annoying. Marluxia could have done without his own mild crises of potential loyalties himself, but compared to the gut-wrenching fear of discovery, this was rather almost nice.
And then one morning, Zexion left alone to walk, feeling too hot and irritable with everyone, claiming he would forage for supplies and food while gone.
He didn't return, and Lexaeus left alone to bring him back. He'd returned with a shaking, sweating, limp armful of Nobody, looking very grave.
The debate began the moment Lexaeus laid Zexion down and settled in to watch over him, all attention focused on him.
"We can't keep him here," Axel said, glancing over his shoulder. "And it's not like he's much use anyway."
"That isn't true," Vexen glared at the younger Nobody, arms crossing. "He is as useful as any of us, as important to the group. He gets us plenty of food, and no shortage of safe passages and roofs over our heads…"
"He is a liability now," Marluxia added, with a seeming reluctance. Zexion was useful, really, able to soothe angry farmers with pitchforks (usually) and greasing just the right palms to let them sleep in a stable somewhere. "We can't risk infection spreading. If he's not well by tomorrow evening, we should take him a distance away and leave him."
"We don't know what kind of disease he's got," Larxene's expression was one of utter distaste. "He could be contagious. We could all be dead right now." Shaking her head, she snuggled up to Marluxia's arm.
"If he was contagious, we'd all have it by now, or at least showing some signs," Vexen's lip curled. "We shouldn't leave him. Lexaeus probably won't, and then we'd be down two members. Two important members," he glowered at Axel.
Marluxia rubbed his forehead. "I've said my piece, and I'm sticking to it. If he's not better in twenty-four hours, we leave him."
"You're not in charge here," Vexen hissed, but Axel interrupted him.
"It's reasonable enough. I agree to it."
"Me, too," Larxene chimed in, still leaning on Marluxia's arm.
Vexen, outnumbered, shut his mouth and glared at Marluxia. He stood, turned his back on his erstwhile lover and stalked over to sit with Lexaeus.
Marluxia ignored the brief touch of regret that was rapidly overlain by outright annoyance at the stubborn man. He made it a note of personal pride to purposefully enjoy Larxene's presence a little more than usual that evening.
In the morning, he was much, much less annoyed. Zexion was all but comatose, and Vexen was sitting beneath a tree outside the ruins, pale and shaking. Lexaeus had his hand on his forehead, and was shaking his head a little.
Marluxia all but flew across the clearing, looming up behind Lexaeus. "What's going on?"
"He's burning up," Lexaeus didn't startle, didn't even look at him. "They both are." Now he looked at Marluxia, expression blank. "I suppose we'll leave them both."
Marluxia was struck dumb. "We can't leave him," he said, almost automatically.
Lexaeus said nothing, standing and returning to Zexion's side, soothing the weakly thrashing Nobody with a single touch.
Vexen was staring at and through Marluxia, lidded eyes gone wide with something Marluxia couldn't identify. "Vexen."
"Don't come near me," and Vexen almost sounded rational, if it weren't for the wideness of his eyes. "Don't come near me."
"Do you know who I am?" Marluxia couldn't decide on a tactic. This was so utterly out of his field of expertise he was tempted to call Lexaeus back and pathetically beg for help.
However, Lexaeus had his own hands full as Zexion had begun to thrash again, garbled words becoming louder and awakening the other neophytes. Lexaeus' voice did nothing to soothe him; clearly, Zexion had demons plaguing him unlike anything Marluxia had imagined he had.
He supposed anyone who helped bring the darkness upon their world had their own nightmares.
For a moment, he sympathized, then turned his attention back to Vexen. "Vexen?"
"Don't touch me." Vexen drew further away, though Marluxia had made no move to touch him. "Don't. Don't."
"Do you know who I am," Marluxia repeated, trying to pitch his voice low and soothing. "Vexen? It's Marluxia. You know me."
"It's not my fault. It isn't."
Marluxia licked his lips. "Of course it isn't, Vexen… of course. Now… let me take your hand, we'll lay down…"
"Don't touch me!" Vexen pulled further away, sliding off the tree trunk and hitting the ground hard. Marluxia winced faintly, but ignored the elder's words this time, moving quickly to pull him into his arms.
"Vexen, calm down. It's Marluxia. I know you remember, stop this foolishness!"
"So he's sick too," Axel was leaning over Marluxia's shoulder, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Great. I suppose we're all next."
"Shut up," Marluxia snapped before he could even think about it, drawing Vexen close and effectively pinning the struggling scientist. "Get some water or something, make yourself useful!"
Axel rolled his eyes and backed away with a mocking bow, muttering about hypocrisy and positions of power.
Marluxia gave him a glare, and as a result, only felt the searing cold burn across his arms and chest. Yelping, he dropped Vexen in shock, staring down at the wide swath of frozen silk the elder had caused.
Hitting the ground seemed to jar sense back into Vexen, and he lay still, eyes closed, shuddering from head to foot. Marluxia tried to brush the ice from his arms, but it was no good, frozen straight down to the skin. And, to make it worse, the front was iced shut, so he couldn't untie the damned robe to get it all the way off.
I'll just let it melt then, damn it. He rested a hand on Vexen's forehead, and the scientist moaned, leaning into the cold touch of his iced hand.
"What is this sickness?" he murmured, looking across the clearing at Lexaeus. The larger Nobody simply shook his head and stroked Zexion's hair.
"I don't know. But he's burning up. We need to get him cooled off."
"And the only one of us who can manage that is just as ill," Marluxia cursed softly, touching Vexen's forehead with his warmer hand and shivered. "He's warm," he murmured, shaking his head. "He's never warm."
"Can you convince him to conjure some ice?" Lexaeus glanced over at him.
"No. He did it a moment ago in a panic. But it was a defensive mechanism only, he's… he's unconscious now." Marluxia carefully brushed Vexen's hair back from his face.
"Of course," Lexaeus murmured, returning his attention to Zexion.
Marluxia closed his eyes, cursing himself for his foolish words earlier. Surely Axel would hold him to it, though now with two ill and two caretakers, they outnumbered the dissenters.
Still. Without Axel, making a fire for warmth was difficult-to-impossible, and no one could hunt like Larxene.
But Vexen. No. He could leave Vexen behind. What was this foolishness, this desire to stay? It was nonsense; he was Marluxia, the former Lord of Castle Oblivion, former Number Eleven of Organization Thirteen, fearless, heartless and emotionless.
Former. So many formers in that statement, more than he knew. In fact, he was fairly certain that heartless was the only one that still applied.
He suddenly felt so tired, and that sent a bolt of fear through him. Am I falling ill myself? Shaking his head rapidly, he looked up to see Axel returning with water, looking sour.
"So many damn bugs in this place," he threw the waterskin down, scratching at the back of his neck. "I hate this. Can't we just leave? The longer we stay the more dangerous it is, anyway."
"At least there aren't people trying to kill us here," Marluxia attempted to reason with him. "We'll just wait another day or so."
"I saw a tiger," Larxene, following Axel, dumped a small rodent-like animal on the ground. "Just so you know. It'll probably try to kill us tonight."
"Well, aren't you just so cheerful about that," Axel snapped, starting a fire to boil the water. "Why didn't you kill the damn thing?"
"I tried," Larxene shrugged. "It was fast. But it didn't like the fire my lightning caused when it hit a tree, so maybe if you stay awake on watch and fry it…"
"What? I was on watch last night, it's your turn!"
Marluxia rolled his eyes, rubbing his forehead. Already, a headache was forming between his temples. "Shut up. Axel, she's right. Go to sleep now and be awake by nightfall."
"Oh, so you've decided to be a leader again, huh? You stupid fuck, you got us into this in the first place!" Flame licked along Axel's fingers, his temper frayed to the breaking point. "Go screw yourself. All of a sudden you want to stay, just because your sex toy is sick too. You were ready to walk off and leave Zexion!"
"So were you," Marluxia pointed out.
"Shut the hell up!" Axel's temper utterly snapped, and his chakrams were in his hand and spinning before Marluxia could say anything to calm him down. "If you think you still give the orders around here, I think it's time for a reminder as to why you don't-"
"I have as much input as any other, and I can change my mind at any time…" Marluxia carefully stood, so as not to disturb Vexen, who had finally calmed, and reached for the power to summon his scythe, eyes never leaving Axel.
"Oh, when it suits you? Like hell. You still think you're the boss around here. I've had enough of that. We don't have to follow your orders, and we don't have to do a damn thing you say!" Axel lunged for Marluxia, who held his scythe out and braced for the impact, teeth gritted.
One blow from Lexaeus' tomahawk sent Axel flying back, another knocked the scythe aside, and Marluxia barely held onto his weapon. "Enough," the Silent Hero said, voice calm, but commanding. "Both of you. You're acting like children. Zexion wants to speak."
"Goddamn puppet, fucking mouthpiece, nothing but…" Axel's voice trailed off as Lexaeus leveled the tomahawk at his head.
"Zexion wants to speak," he repeated firmly. "And he says he may not have another chance."
Zexion had pulled himself into a sitting position, and Lexaeus knelt quickly to support his friend. Sweat matted silver-blue hair to his forehead, and he could only see out of one glassy, glazed eye. He was paler than usual, the only spots of color two pink dots on his cheeks. He stared at the neophytes and swallowed thickly, painfully. "Water?" he croaked, and Axel- somewhat stiffly, but willingly- brought him a small cupful of the now-tepid water.
He drank it carefully, then set it aside, shivering. "Do you know what's wrong with us?" At four headshakes, he sighed painfully. "Then leave. If we recover, we can catch up to you. If not… something here will end our suffering quickly."
"No," Lexaeus rumbled. "We should stick together. We are stronger as a whole than as scattered pieces." At this, he glared at Axel and Marluxia, who simply looked sheepish and unaffected respectively.
"You are weakened with non-functioning parts of a whole," Zexion shook his head. "And you do not want to fall ill yourselves. Otherwise we may all die here, in his wretched place."
"I will not leave you," Lexaeus said firmly. "Nor Vexen."
Zexion's eyes closed, and he sighed. "Foolish," he murmured, but didn't argue, letting himself fall back against the larger Nobody's chest. "I, for one, will understand if you leave. Vexen… I don't know. But I will understand."
"We aren't leaving for at least another day," Marluxia said firmly. Axel made an angry noise, but kept his mouth shut.
Zexion sighed, starting to shudder more violently. "It's so cold," he said, distantly. "I'm so cold, Elaeus."
Lexaeus shushed him gently, glancing at Marluxia and shaking his head a little to signify that the meeting was over.
Marluxia returned to Vexen's side. The elder hadn't moved an inch, breathing shallow, skin still burning to the touch.
Suddenly, Marluxia had to come to terms with the fact that Vexen may very well die here. As would Zexion. Perhaps someone else would fall ill. Perhaps he would.
How could they prevent the disease if they had no idea what caused it?
Perhaps he would have to leave Vexen behind after all.
Shivering, but not with cold, he held the other Nobody close. You'd better get healthy, you worthless fool… And fast. I don't want to lose you, damn you.
***
Axel was tired. He was really, really fucking tired. And Larxene hadn't let him anywhere near her, the bitch, too busy being all over that pink-haired jackass.
Thinks she can just flipflop back and forth between the two of us, huh? Some of us don't appreciate being used, even if that worthless wanna-be leader Marluxia does. You think just because the two of you were so cozy back in Oblivion he's gonna stick around with you? You don't know shit.
He was also annoyed at the "executive decision" to sleep outside, away from the ruins. I don't see how that'll help. I guess as long as it's not raining and there aren't any damn bugs out here… I guess it might help slow or stop the spread of this disease. As long as we aren't already all carrying it.
That made him feel slightly ill with worry. He hated being sick, and knew damn well that Marluxia and the others wouldn't hesitate at dropping him like a bag of hot rocks if he got sick like the other two.
So I just have to hope for the best right now, I guess. Hope the disease isn't airborn. Hope the fresh air does people some good. Or something.
His eyes half-drooped, the fire before him crackling and soothing him like an old friend. Mm. Just a little nap, just a little.
The fire popped, and Axel shifted his weight a bit more, relaxing. It's not so bad here at night, without the damn bugs.
Something about that chewed at the back of his mind, something Roxas, of all people, had told him. Something about jungles and bugs and disease.
Jungles have a lot of bugs, that's probably it. I'm probably making up for some kind of quick fix. That and I'm probably so tired, I'm hallucinating. Hell, maybe if I stay awake long enough, I'll hallucinate that Roxas'll show up.
Biting the inside of his cheek, he thought better of that statement. If Roxas shows up, well, maybe the rest of 'em would. And that wouldn't be good.
Axel poked the fire with a stick, then decided to have a little fun and made it blaze up for a moment, flooding the clearing with warm light. Larxene was curled on her side alone, knives in each hand. Lexaeus was sleeping on his side, his back between the forest and Zexion. Marluxia was a bit of a distance away from Vexen, the tips of his fingers barely brushing the elder Nobody's chest. And just beyond Vexen, eyes blazed green with tapetum lucidum in the darkness.
"Holy shit!" Axel lunged to his feet, chakrams in his hands just as the tiger lunged into the clearing for Vexen. Marluxia, disoriented and awoken by Axel's cry, automatically sat up and turned to face the huge cat barreling down on him.
For a moment, he was utterly frozen, staring at the too-large teeth and claws as they grew nearer to his face and his lover. Then, instinct taking over, he grabbed Vexen and rolled beneath the cat's lunge, towards the outside of the clearing. The tiger landed where Vexen had been seconds before, and screamed, an awful, ear-splitting sound that had the other healthy Nobodies on their feet in moments. It screamed again seconds later, this time in pain as one of Axel's chakrams, flames wreathing it, slammed into its side.
It flopped onto its side, right onto Marluxia, driving the breath from his lungs and breaking several ribs. Screaming again, it rolled onto its injured side, trying to extinguish the flames that clung to its fur by writhing in the dust of the forest floor.
"Kill it!" Larxene was screaming, the scent of ozone heavy on the air as she tried for a clear shot with her knives. "Kill the damn thing!"
The tiger leapt to his feet, obviously angry now, eyes sweeping the clearing, tail lashing. Marluxia was nearest, wheezing, unable to get air into his punctured and crushed lungs, but Axel was bearing down on him with this fiery pointed things that hurt so badly, and the tiger bounded over Marluxia and Vexen, glanced back and saw Zexion, lying prone and forgotten on the ground. He was small and carryable, unlike the other two, but the one with fire was moving to attack again…
Leaping towards Zexion, determined to snatch and run, the tiger barely saw the blur of Lexaeus smash into its side and send it spinning out of the clearing and into the forest.
Dead silence reigned in the clearing, broken only by the bubbling hiss of Marluxia's labored breathing.
"…is it dead?" Larxene's voice was barely a whisper, as if she didn't want to risk it coming back.
"I don't think so, but we frightened it off," Lexaeus popped his shoulder, and knelt to check on Zexion. "Axel, give this to Marluxia." He handed the neophyte a potion. "Quickly, before he suffocates on his own blood."
Marluxia's world was oddly dim, and he was fairly certain it was because of a lack of oxygen. He was barely aware of someone prying his mouth open and pouring a too-bitter concoction down his throat. Choking, he tried to inhale, which only drove shattered ribs deeper into already-abused lungs, and he couldn't even get the breath to scream in pain.
Then he was coughing up blood, rolling on this hands and knees as the potion reset his ribs and healed his lungs, the need for oxygen forcing the liquid out.
Afterwards, he fell forwards, mindless of the mess he'd made. Axel rolled him over, so he didn't suffocate. "Powers," Marluxia wheezed. "What happened? What was that?"
"A tiger," Axel spun a chakram in his hand. "Roxas told me about them. He said he'd seen one on his first mission. Said something else, too. Something about the damn bugs. Guess they were real bad when he was here, worse than this. Said Xigbar told him something…" Axel slammed the chakram into a tree. "Damn! I can't remember!"
"We can't stay here," Larxene said slowly, putting her knives away. "That thing might come back with friends."
"Tigers are usually solitary," Lexaeus said slowly.
"I don't like that 'usually' you threw in there," Marluxia stood, glancing down at the pale, comatose, but still-living Vexen. "We travel with them. We need a world with a doctor."
"London?" Lexaeus was already picking up Zexion.
"Good enough as any," Marluxia agreed, unable to pick up Vexen, watching Axel take the elder for him. "Only Radiant Garden would have better, and we don't dare…"
"I won't go there," Lexaeus said firmly. "Let's go. London will work just fine."
"This is dangerous," Axel warned the two unladen Nobodies. "We don't know if these two will have any input on the portals 'cause they're so out of it. Who the hell knows where we'll end up, ok? So if you guys turn up somewhere else, you sit down and wait for us, unless something bad happens. Then you leave a message of some sort and run like hell."
Marluxia merely nodded, eyes on the half-dead Vexen in Axel's arms. "Be careful," he said. "We need the both of you."
Axel just nodded and shifted his grip on Vexen, taking a deep breath. "Ok. See you in London." He was gone in a swirl of darkness, Lexaeus following moments later.
Marluxia shivered, glancing at Larxene. "Come on," he finally said, looking around at the forest. "Let's get out of this place. I hate it."
She nodded, vanishing from beside him. He followed moments later.
Zexion looked utterly helpless in a hospital bed, Marluxia decided. Awake and talking, he was intelligent, powerful, a Nobody to truly be reckoned with, despite his appearance.
Asleep, he looked young, and put against starched, white sheets and pillows, he looked almost childlike.
The nursing staff had drugged Lexaeus' tea after the second day in the hospital, when it became clear he wouldn't sleep or even leave Zexion's side. He was currently in a bed next to Zexion's.
Marluxia had been more pragmatic, asking nicely if he could sleep in a cot somewhere, as, he claimed, they were on vacation from a faraway country, and had no place to stay.
They'd bought it, probably due to the matching outfits. We should change to blend in… but we move so often… He rubbed his eyes, sliding a little lower in the uncomfortable wooden chair that he sat in at Vexen's bedside.
He looked much better, his skin was back to its normal cool temperature, and his breathing was normal. Zexion was still fevered, though much better than he had been in the jungle.
Marluxia hadn't yet brought the topic of fever-related brain damage to Lexaeus yet. He decided avoiding that subject like the plague would be for the best.
Vexen groaned, and Marluxia stood up, all but knocking over the chair. Glassy emerald eyes opened, blinked once, and focused on Marluxia, taking in the details of his disheveled hair and clothes, the bags under his eyes, the lines of exhaustion and pain around his eyes and mouth. "So," he croaked. "You didn't leave me behind."
"No," Marluxia relaxed, sitting down again and taking his hand. "I did not."
"You're a fool," Vexen closed his eyes again, but smiled as Marluxia laced their fingers. "Thank you."
"Oh, you're awake, Mr. Even!" The nurse bustled in, moving to touch his forehead. Vexen's eyes flew wide, and he stared at Marluxia, who looked away and shook his head a little.
"I had to give them a last name," he murmured. "It was all I could think of."
Vexen just shook his head, swallowing slowly. The nurse was still chattering. "Do you think you could handle some broth, Mr. Even? I think it'd be best for you, especially after pulling through a bout of malaria, gracious me, I've never seen the like… Now if only your little nephew would wake up… his bodyguard is such a nice man, Mr. Even, really he is…"
Despite hearing his old name over and over again, Vexen wanted to laugh. He was weak, still somewhat ill, shaking, and this stupid woman thought Zexion was his nephew.
"You've got quite the tale going," he murmured, as the nurse left to get him some broth. "Tell me, so I can… act along."
"So you can have a good laugh, you mean," Marluxia snorted. "I was recovering from broken ribs, and you two were half-dead. We didn't have our normal amount of scheming with us. Anyway, Axel and Larxene are the just-married Prince and Princess of Arabia."
"You're joking, we're all as pale as milk," Vexen began, already starting to chuckle.
"Don't laugh, they bought it. With my keffiyeh and the hoards of gold that Larxene… borrowed from Zexion's little hiding spot, it wasn't that hard to convince them. You are Axel's advisor, and I am the scribe." He tossed his hair. "I may be… putting on a bit of an act myself."
"Vainglorious idiot," Vexen drawled, coughing faintly. "And?"
"Oh, yes. Zexion is your young nephew, undergoing his manhood rights out in the Big Wide World."
"You're killing me."
"Not as much as I'd like to. Stop interrupting. Lexaeus is his bodyguard, and must be excused for his seeming possessiveness. He's been trained from birth to guard the young man, of course. He's the heir apparent, should anything happen to m'lord Axel, you see, and Lexaeus took his falling ill as a personal affront. I don't really remember what I said, but it was brilliant, I'm sure. Anyway, I told this long and tragic tale of how our caravan had gotten lost in the jungle of so-and-so, and you two fell ill. The doctor immediately said malaria, and how lucky we were to have gotten this far so fast. I think he was suspicious, but I managed to make it sound plausible."
"Good," Vexen closed his eyes. "The last thing we need is to have you committed to a mental institution here."
"That would be interesting, though probably useless." Marluxia smirked. "No walls can hold me."
"Shut up," Vexen sighed, closing his eyes. "Make sure the others aren't destroying something. And find out when we can leave. How long have we been here?"
"A few days," Marluxia reluctantly let go of his hand. "And Zexion hasn't woken up yet."
"I see," Vexen shivered. "We can't stay."
"I know." Marluxia stood as the nurse reentered the room. "You rest," he murmured, finding himself longing to brush his hair back and kiss his forehead, and hardly daring to. "I'll be back shortly."
Hating himself for this sudden weakness, he went to check on the "newlyweds", who were acting just a little too snuggly out in the waiting area for his comfort.
Vexen was right, they couldn't stay for long.
He just had to hope that Zexion awoke soon.
Lexaeus was sleeping, slumped forward on Zexion's bed when the younger Nobody woke. Confused, he pushed sweaty hair from his eyes, blinking down at the man sprawled across his lap. What… what happened? Where am I? Why are you there, and not beside me, Lexaeus?
He tried to sit up, and found that he was weaker than a newborn kitten. Blinking, he stared at the darkened ceiling, and tried to put the scattered pieces together. I was sick. Oh. Oh, that's right. We're…
He slowly touched Lexaeus' shoulder, and pulled his hand back when the broad shoulder lurched, and he sat up quickly. "No, I don't want tea, thank- Zexion." With an oddly blank, stunned look, he stared at his companion, reaching to take his hand. "You're awake."
"I thought you liked tea," Zexion said, and was surprised at how raspy his voice was.
"Not when there are narcotic sedatives in it," Lexaeus said, reaching out to take his hand. "You're awake. I never thought you would open your eyes again."
"I was that sick?" Zexion shook his head. "I don't remember."
"It's best that you don't," Lexaeus shook his head, leaning up to kiss his forehead, a luxury Marluxia hadn't been able to afford until later. "I was worried."
"You aren't supposed to care," Zexion sighed, fingers brushing his cheek. "Why do you?"
"I don't know," Lexaeus murmured, turning his head into the touch. "But I know I'm not the only one who does." He kissed Zexion's fingertips. "Perhaps, being outside of the Organization, we've changed. Perhaps we were always different. Perhaps it is habit. We'll be leaving as soon as you have some strength." He stood, changing the subject before Zexion could say a word. "I'll get a nurse to bring you some soup. Just rest, Zexion."
Zexion watched him leave, hand dropping to his chest, over where his heart had once been. Perhaps… we are different now, Lexaeus.
He closed his eyes and sighed, waiting for the nourishment to come. They'd probably lingered here too long, waiting for him to wake. They'd have to move on soon.
We are different… because we must be.
