Demyx was on the brink of a panic attack. Not only was he face to face with Sora, the boy had his keyblade out and had the same determined look on his face as when he was killed. Frozen, he didn't notice that Axel had thrown another chakram until Marluxia grabbed him by the waist and yanked him down. Jolted out of his thoughts, Demyx let Arpeggio fade as he scrambled to his feet.
"Get Larx!" Marluxia exclaimed as a rose covered vine slammed the door shut and twined inself into a barrier.
Marluxia lingered for a moment as Demyx ran, making sure the temporary block held long enough for the two to get a head start.
"Come on!" Sora sprinted to the door and tried to throw it open, finding that vines were holding it shut. Riku and Axel rushed over to help ram it open.
"What's going on?" Ventus questioned. Seeing the figure in black leather made him fear it was Xehanort attacking and not even knowing where his friends were wasn't making the situation any better.
Kairi did her best to sum up the threat, "The Organization. They're a group led by Xehanort. He's trying to use them as-"
"Vessels?" Ventus supplied, hoping he was wrong. The grim expression on Kairi's face confirmed he was right.
The two turned as they heard the doors finally slam open as the vines disappeared.
"They might be after Ventus," Axel guessed. "The others assigned with me knew there was a locked off section and may have realized what the mark on the door was."
The group ran down the hall to confront the two Organization members. Axel was surprised to have seen Demyx as he would have thought he would have been too lazy for the vessel plot but perhaps that meant Xehanort had an easier time taking control over him. The second member that had been there he hadn't been able to see clearly before unbelievable Demyx threw him out of the way and defended against his attack. Guessing by the rose bush that had blocked the way, however, he would have to guess it was Marluxia. Another confusing factor to why Demyx had acted when they hadn't liked each other.
Sora could hear the two enemy's voices distantly as it seemed they were calling to find their ally to regroup. The hold on his keyblade tightened, Marluxia was a dangerous Organization member and he was here with Demyx. One was bad enough but two. Thankfully he knew he and his friends outnumbered them easily unless they had brought more than just one other member with.
Kairi and Riku were all for making allies, but with a possible threat sneaking around they had to act. There was an unknown motive for Marluxia's water wielding friend, but judging by the cloak they could both be vessels of Xehanort.
Still reeling over the fact he had been asleep for ten years, that his friends were lost, that Xehanort was still an active threat, Ventus was ready to fight. He knew the enemy was aligned with the creepy old man that tried to corrupt his friends and forge the x-blade. They had to be defeated.
Being the faster runner, Demyx was pausing in every doorway trying to spot Larxene as the duo ran through the castle. She hadn't told them where she was going and their best bet was to find her in her room so they could portal out before the group of angry keyblade wielder caught up with them.
"LARX?" Demyx threw open another door before continuing running with Marluxia. "It's a really good time to portal out now!"
Demyx fell hard on the ground as he collided with Larxene as she ran around the corner towards them. Barely avoiding the crash, Marluxia scrambled to stop and held out his hands to help them both up.
"What's going on?" Larxene asked, hand on her head.
Doubled over catching his breath, Marluxia replied, "It's Sora and company. We should have checked the front to see if there was a ship. They opened the door we couldn't get through last time."
Larxene's eyes widened, "Wait did they attack again?"
Demyx frantically nodded, "We've gotta go."
"You're not going anywhere!" Sora yelled as he threw his keyblade.
Caught off guard, Demyx was hit hard in the side and was knocked to the ground. Without missing a beat, Larxene summoned her own keyblade and sprinted to fight head to head with Sora.
"We're outnumbered!" Marluxia yelled at her, "It's best to retreat!"
Riku and Ventus quickly maneuvered around Larxene as she tried to block the hall while fighting Sora. Riku charged and was blocked by Demyx's water as he strummed his Sitar while still on the ground.
Ventus went to take the remaining enemy and stopped in confusion. "Lauriam?"
Marluxia stared, trying to process the fights and the boy standing in front of him. "Roxas?" He shook his head as he saw the backwards hold on the keyblade and armor on his arm, "Ventus?! Wha- How- What are you doing here?!"
Ventus ducked a fireball, "ME? What about you?"
Dodging a burst of lightning, Marluxia was flabbergasted, "Why are you still 12?!"
"I'm 15!" He spared a glance back at the fight, "And you didn't answer what you're doing!"
Marluxia used a vine to yank Demyx out of the way of a strike from Sora, "Trying not to get killed again!"
Ventus looked from the group he just met to the two cloaked people they were fighting, "Who are they?"
"Not Xehanort!" Marluxia exclaimed as he sent a flurry of petals at Riku to cover Larxene as she held off Sora. "There's been a misunderstanding between us and we haven't had a chance to sort this out yet."
There was a moment as Ventus stared at Marluxia before nodding, determined. Without saying another word he ran into the fray and into Axel's line of fire.
"Wha-" Axel changed the trajectory of his throw to avoid Ventus, his fireball streaking between Larxene and Riku, allowing Demyx to douse him in water. The two disengaged from Sora and company and ran back to where Marluxia had opened a portal.
"They're getting away!" Sora charged the portal, almost making it before it disappeared.
Axel turned to Ventus, "What was that?"
Ventus turned to look at one face to the other, all looking at him in disbelief. "I know him!" he defended. "Lauriam is on our side."
The group stared flabbergasted.
