Demyx was hit with the dry heat the moment he stepped out of the portal. Agrabah was still just as hot and just as sandy as always. It wasn't that great for napping as warm is one thing, but baking was another, especially with long black cloaks. Water powers were useful to have, but the climate made it a touch harder to use.
He walked through the streets, the crowd just forming for the stalls. It was then that it struck Demyx that he didn't really know who to ask. Perhaps he could stop one of the people bustling around, but chances of them knowing anything were slim. The only chance he had was someone saw someone in a cloak like his; they certainly were different than what the locals wore.
He weaved his way between the people crowding around the stalls. These people knowing anything was low, their focus solely on their needs and the sales. The guards were a good chance as their entire job entailed watching people and looking for oddities. Demyx just hoped he didn't count as one that warranted an arrest.
"Excuse me," Demyx approached a guard. "Would you have happened to see someone recently wearing a cloak like mine?"
The guard looked him over with an intense stare and gave a brief nod, "One just that way." He gestured with a nod of his head to the next street.
Suddenly feeling a great wave of hope, Demyx couldn't let out a cheer and shouted his thanks as he ran off. He barely made the turn, smile stretched across his face, and suddenly skidded to a stop, smile replaced with one of silent panic.
Before he was spotted, Demyx hurled himself back around the corner and pressed himself up against the wall. He steadied himself with a few deep, albeit shaky breaths, and peeked around the edge.
There were two faces he recognized. He saw a girl with red hair and a pink dress, Kairi, and what really caused him panic, the person who had refused to listen to anything he told him and who had killed him in sheer apathy: Sora.
"I really hope Marly and Larx are ok…" Demyx muttered. He didn't know how to proceed… According to the guard there had been someone in a cloak like his farther down that street, yet were the chances that this person was one of his friends high enough to risk being ended much more permanently?
"There you guys are! I thought we were meeting back up closer to the palace."
Demyx eyes widened. He knew who the other cloaked person was.
Axel walked up to the group, accompanied by a silver haired boy in a yellow vest.
"Yeah and then we agreed farther away, Axel," Sora responded. "Even you said this place was better."
Axel was with Sora. And he wasn't dead. In fact, Sora sounded like he was friends with him. What had Axel done so differently that Sora greeted him with open arms and Demyx with a keyblade to the face?
"So how did your training go, Kairi?" the silver haired boy asked.
She laughed, "Probably better than Axel's, Riku."
Axel huffed, "It's all in the flick of the wrist." He then dramatically held out his hand and flicked his wrist, his chakrams forming. "Wait… wait…" The chakrams disappeared, and he repeated the movement, this time with success. A keyblade, the handle like his chakram with the blade formed by flames, appeared.
Demyx couldn't believe what he was seeing. Axel had one too. He ducked back around the corner and retreated as quietly as possible. Was the keyblade why Sora was ok with Axel? If he approached them and said "Hi. I know you killed me out of sheer hatred, but I have a keyblade. Can we be friends now?" would it even work?
He didn't dare try. Demyx didn't need to become allies with Sora when he had his own keyblade. If he found Larxene and Marluxia, they could continue their efforts without Sora. The unknown variable would be removed from the equation and their lives were safer without the risk of Sora going rogue and killing them again.
Then there was Axel. Demyx had no way of knowing if he was still a Nobody or if he had also been killed and returned to being a Somebody. They had used his organization name, his original name scrambled and an X added, but he couldn't go just by that. It could be that the others were just used to calling him Axel. There was also the possibility that Axel didn't feel right using his real name after so long, like Demyx did.
Demyx wandered down the streets, trying to figure out his next move. He could approach Axel and ask for help finding his friends, a risky move considering Axel had a hand in their deaths at Castle Oblivion. He also could move on to another world and hope to not bump into them again; safer, but he'd certainly be on his guard all the time.
He pulled his hood up, feeling the sun baking his neck and scalp. It was a little stifling, but he'd rather suffer a little bit now than be burned for the next week. Seeing an alcove in the building ahead, he jogged a bit closer and nestled inside. It was plenty roomy, and most importantly, provided shade. He wasn't too fond of blindly picking another world and jumping off to it, and even as a Nobody he needed rest.
It also gave him time to stop thinking and do what helped him calm down the best: Arpeggio. He summoned her and chuckled at the light sound that she made as she formed, like a babbling brook. She hadn't been in his hands for what felt like forever. He hadn't had the chance to play her for a good few weeks before he tried to talk to Sora and got killed. And he had then gotten so preoccupied trying to find his friends that he had forgotten about playing her and taking a break.
Not even a full phrase was played and he was already back in the zone, playing whatever his fingers thought sounded best. This was the biggest comfort he had, and comfort certainly was something he needed right now.
He was feeling the calmest he had been since this whole endeavor started when his panic spiked again. Arpeggio faded back into mist and Demyx bolted back upright. Heartless had appeared and the crowd was scattering. His mind gave him two immediate options: stay and fight, or leave before Sora appeared.
Of course his brain was yelling FLIGHT- save himself, yet his heart knew he had to fight for the people who were running in fear. Steeling himself for the chance Sora showed up before he could finish the heartless and leave, Demyx summoned the keyblade with a twitch of his fingers.
Heartless would be defeated in but a moment, only for more to spring up in their place. It seems like he unfortunately got here when a hoard had weaseled it's way into the world. Demyx let out a frustrated groan as a few tougher heartless appeared from the shadows. He wasn't used to fighting so close up, and keyblades, even with water magic, were still a closer range weapon than his sitar.
It was awkward, not knowing what footing or stances were best for attacking or blocking, relying entirely on instinct. When he was able to use water to blast an enemy away, he still knew he had to get back up close to it to finish it with what would keep it gone.
He paused and backed up from the fight. Such a large group of heartless and no experience with the keyblade was a terrible idea. He looked down at the keyblade gripped in his hand. Despite not knowing what he was doing, he couldn't stop. The people in the area were still at risk if he didn't finish them off.
Demyx tightened his hold on the keyblade and was about to rush the heartless again when a flaming chakram flew past him and whacked a heartless that had been about to lunge at Demyx. He whipped his head around to see Axel charging into the battle, followed by the silver haired boy the others had called Riku.
He knew that if Axel and Riku were here, Sora and Kairi couldn't be far off. The keyblade in his hand vanished as he backed away, Axel running past and summoning his. Demyx knew now was his best opportunity to leave, yet he stayed, watching how Riku positioned himself to best attack and block. It was obvious he had been able to fight with the keyblade for a while and even watching could at least give Demyx an idea of the best ways to use it.
Of course he didn't get more than a few suggestions before the fight was over. He had been so focused on studying Riku's fighting form that he didn't notice Axel making his way towards him until he was already halfway to him. Demyx startled as Axel held up his hand as a wave.
"Hey! I saw a quick glimpse of a keyblade there. You're obviously not any ranking member before me cause they're all back home and ditched the cloaks so… what number are-"
Demyx didn't give him the chance to see his face any better. He summoned a portal and blindly lunged into it.
