To ALL my reviewers: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! You guys are AWESOME. I'm so sorry this took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait! The next chap will even have some -gasp- fluffy romance in it!
Thanks especially to The Light's Refrain for suggesting "Kiss the Girl" to me. XD
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the soundtrack to Atlantica. I do, however, own a twisted mind that concocts new and twisted ways to bring those two together.
Chapter III: Round Two, But Who's Playing?
-------
"Oh, Lux-ord! Guess what?"
A black-gloved hand paused halfway through its journey to the playing card on the white table before it; irritated, the Gambler of Fate looked up from his game of solitaire to acknowledge Demyx's eager, jubilant grin as it bounded into sight. At the moment, the water-wielder strongly reminded the older Nobody of a wound-up jack-in-the-box that was just waiting for someone to open the lid. Apparently, the said jack-in-the-box had chosen Luxord to be his hapless victim.
"If I ask 'what'," he drawled in response, "will that be enough to make you shut up after you're done?"
"Naw, probably not," the younger Nobody answered easily, flopping down into the chair opposite of his bearded companion.
"Then I suppose there's no incentive for me to ask, is there?" Luxord said pleasantly, shuffling his cards, which were currently resized for recreational use. At his decision, the water-wielder took on a crestfallen expression.
"Aw, c'mon Luxord, I bet ya really wanna know."
The word "bet"caught the attention of the platinum-haired Nobody.
"Demyx, if you ever want to get into gambling, you'll soon find that it's not as fun if you already know the outcome. So don't bet that I wish to know any sort of trivial information you have to tell me."
Scowling, Demyx muttered, "Maybe once you get that stick removed from your–"
His statement was cut off abruptly as Luxord snapped his cards, shuffling them loudly enough to startle the Melodious Nocturne out of his glower.
"Alright, I give in: what?"
Like the old saw, Demyx brightened at the drop of a hat.
"I saw Axel and Larxene kissing!"
The blonde-haired Nobody's grin widened considerably at the effect this had on his companion; Luxord glanced up sharply, a mixture of disgust and bewilderment on his bearded face, cards forgotten.
"They were what?"
"Kissing!" Demyx exclaimed gleefully, jumping up as he cackled wildly, pent-up emotions finally let loose now that he had accomplished in startling the older Nobody. "Axel and Larxe-e-ene, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
Luxord had by now, however, regained his composure after that momentary lapse. He proceeded to lay his cards on the table quite calmly, while Demyx continued to dance about.
"Ah ha, this is great! Wait 'til I tell the others--"
"I wouldn't hold your breath if I were you," the Gambler of Fate interrupted, "if it happened once, it won't happen again, I'm sure. Larxene isn't exactly the type."
Demyx stopped and leaned against the wall, posture slumped as he, once again, showed his mercurial disposition.
"Stop burstin' my bubble, Lux. I was having fun," he whined.
Luxord snorted at the pun but chose to ignore the nickname. Placing one card on top of another with practiced patience, he responded without looking up:
"A good gambler always has to have his facts straight. And trust me on this; whatever is between those two, it's nothing to dance over."
Suddenly looking thoughtful, Demyx straightened up and sauntered over to his vacant chair, laying his hands on the table in a business-like manner. Sighing in resignation, Luxord put down his cards and leaned back.
"Yes?"
"What are you willing to bet that what Larxene and Axel had was just a one-time thing?"
Seeming eager for the first time since the conversation began, Luxord stroked his beard thoughtfully, a gleam in his eye.
"An worthy inquiry. Is that a challenge?"
"Yep!"
"Alright then. If Axel and Larxene don't kiss again..." the platinum-haired Nobody paused, considering. "By the end of the day, then I win the bet, and you must refrain from any and all musical activities for a week. I you win..."
"Then you have to give up any card games for a week!" Demyx proclaimed triumphantly.
"You're on." Luxord outstretched his hand, which the younger Nobody promptly grasped. They shook and the latter departed, cheerfully humming something that sounded suspiciously like "Under the Sea".
--------
"Demyx, are you SURE you're not lost?" Axel queried.
"'Course I am! It's not like Castle Oblivion's so very big, really..."
"I don't get why Vexen suddenly wants to hold a meeting down here ... we've never had one below the tenth level before..."
"What did you say he wanted to talk about, Demyx?" Larxene asked suspiciously, electric blue eyes narrowed as the water-wielder led his two unwitting companions down a dim hallway.
"Oh, uh..." Demyx was not good under pressure, and Larxene's scrutiny was far from the easiest to handle. He reminded himself what it would be like to be banned from his sitar for a week and swallowed determinedly. "Something about his replication experiment, I think. I wasn't really payin' attention..."
The other two Nobodies subsided- this was something they could believe. And so, each walking a careful distance from each other, they followed the Melodious Nocturne until he stopped in front of a large, steel-plated door.
"Uh, I'm pretty sure this is the staircase he was talkin' about..." He wrenched the heavy door open and motioned for his colleagues to walk through. Inside, it was pitch black and too opaque to make anything out. They cautiously proceeded through, Larxene with her arms crossed coolly over her chest.
"Why is it so dark? Axel, be a good firefly and give us some light."
"Hilarious, Ant."
Before either could begin their banter anew, Demyx, who had stayed behind, slammed the door shut with a sudden bang. Startled, Axel and Larxene whipped around just a few moments too late. They were completely submerged in darkness. The red-haired Nobody raised one arm and conjured a blazing flame to it, using his hand as a torch to reveal that they were in a small closet.
"There aren't any stairs! He set us up! DEMYX!"
Only wild peals of laughter responded, followed by thundering footsteps that indicated the water-wielder was dancing triumphantly.
Summoning her kunai in an instant, Larxene furiously flung them at the door, but to no effect; her weapons were able to do no more than dent the thick metal. Likewise, Axel's chakrams had the same amount of success. The yellow-haired Nobody sat down on a closed box by the wall, cradling her head in her hands with a groan.
Teeth clenched, the green-eyed Organization member let his fire wheels disappear and banged his fists against the door, a muted sound to his deceiver on the other side.
"DEMYX! IF YOU DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR, I'LL USE MY CHAKRAMS TO GIVE YOU A NEW HAIRCUT!"
Demyx paid no heed to the threat- though one hand did go protectively to the back of his spiked-up head for a moment -and simply sat down, leaning against the door. His tall blue sitar appeared in his hands, and he strummed it experimentally before finding the right tune.
"...There you see her, sittin' across the way, she don't got a lot to say, but there's something about her-er..."
Larxene whipped her head up, the soft tint on her cheeks deepening. "I knew it was a bad idea to send him to Atlantica..."
"..And you don't know why, but you're dyin' to try, you wanna kiss the girl..."
By now, both captives had realized the motive behind Demyx's prank.
"Uh-oh..."
"He saw!"
Conjuring several orbs of flame to light the closed-in area, Axel gave up his attempts and sat down on a box across from Larxene.
"Yes, you want her, look at her, you know you do, it's possible she wants you, too..."
"Sorry Ant."
"For what? This isn't your fault," she snapped.
"No, for this."
With that, the fires began to die out; soon they would be thrown into complete darkness again.
"I can't keep it up for long. I'll waste my energy."
"Whatever. I'm not afraid of the dark."
"There is one way to ask her, it don't take a word, yeah, not a single word, go on and, kiss the girl..."
"What are you afraid of?"
The blazes burnt out.