Music suggestion: "Swords Crossed" from the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, and "Dreams of the Dead (Choir ver.)" by Two Steps from Hell.
Chapter 144: Three
"Well… now what?" 7 asked, turning to Vexen. The plan had worked, to an extent, but what were they supposed to do now? Xigbar—one of them, anyway—was blocking Riku's path to the Computer Room.
"We… uhm…" Vexen let out a long breath. "I don't know."
"Right," Amaryllis said. "I'll go help Snapdragon."
"I'm good!" Snapdragon called, before Amaryllis could even move. "Go get Ivy!" He nodded as best as he could in the direction of a relatively unoccupied Marluxia Replica over in the corner.
Amaryllis didn't need to be told twice.
"It was a good plan," 7 assured Vexen, whose eyes were fixed on Riku—who was still blocking bullets. Now that there was no one getting in their way, the Xigbars had returned their attention to Riku.
"It would've worked if there weren't two of them…" Vexen muttered.
Yes, it probably would've, 7 admitted to himself, as he started focusing on the lesser Nobodies around them (there were quite a few Dusks in the immediate vicinity for some reason). Then again, this is Xigbar we're talking about…
Sure that the enemies nearest him weren't a terrible threat, 7 started scanning the room for injuries (silently thanking whoever might be listening that Xigbar and his clone were focusing their attention on Riku as he did so). Snapdragon was injured, not entirely surprisingly; the Marluxia—Bloodroot, if 7 was correct—that he was fighting had managed to slice his arm open, from the looks of things. It wasn't a major injury, but an injury none the less.
7 also didn't doubt that Snapdragon would have various bruises and sores come tomorrow, given the fact he was fighting a Lexaeus. Snapdragon never seemed to mind those things, though. He enjoyed the thrill (and even the pain) of battle.
Thankfully, besides Snapdragon, no one seemed to be injured beyond unavoidable and relatively un-healable bruises. There might've been a few scrapes, too, but Organization cloaks were fairly sturdy and usually prevented such things.
Oh wait. 41 had just been stabbed by a Dragoon—that was the lesser Nobody that Xaldin controlled, right? Regardless, at least the lance had only gone through 41's arm… 7 cringed anyway.
How much longer should it be, before we're done here?
Well… Xigbar and his clone are unquestionably under orders to keep Riku distracted. For how long? Long enough for Axel to do whatever it is he needs to do, right?
That shouldn't be too much longer then.
Then again…
7's stomach plummeted.
Axel went after the external. If he has that, he has the Database, and we don't. Which means… no Repair Program.
He shifted nervously, and took out a nearing Assassin to distract himself from that thought. He forced his attention elsewhere. He'd worry about just whether or not they had the Repair Program later…
Though we probably don't… his thoughts couldn't help but point out.
I knew it wasn't a good idea to wipe the Database! We should've at least put it on more than one external, to be sure that we didn't lose it.
I can Cure, but my curing abilities are nothing compared to what the Repair Program can do...
Just thinking about 41's arm made him feel queasy.
7 took out another Assassin with a blast of ice.
It can't be much longer… he assured himself. Just a few more minutes before Axel's retrieved the external, and then they'll all go. Then I'll worry about wounds and other such things. For now, I need to focus on battle, or I'll—
The sound of a dark corridor opening distracted him.
7 turned, wondering who it could possibly be, and his heart just about stopped.
xxx
Riku was perfectly content with blocking bullets, for the most part. Sure, his wrist might hurt some come tomorrow, but otherwise, there was hardly a feasible way he'd be injured. At least, provided the Xigbars didn't actually start fighting.
Riku wasn't sure if he should be flattered that he was considered such a threat that he needed to be kept distracted, or if he should be offended because it was hardly taking the Xigbars any effort to keep him distracted.
Then again, he admitted silently to himself. It's not like I'm really trying, either.
He finished deflecting the last of this set of bullets, and prepared to block the next set, only to find they didn't come. A dark corridor had opened about dead center of the room, and, almost immediately, all signs of battle stopped. Even Xigbar and his clone had stopped shooting, for the moment. One of them, though, still had one of his guns trained on Riku.
Riku slowly turned to see what/who it was that had everyone transfixed, hoping that his peripherals were lying to him. He doubted they were, and, unfortunately, they weren't. It was exactly who he thought it was—though he was at a loss as to why they were here.
It was Xemnas.
Leader of the Organization himself.
Riku swallowed.
One of the Xigbars warped to stand—if you could call it standing while he was upside down—not far from Xemnas. The two of them exchanged looks, and though they said nothing out loud (at least, not that Riku could hear), they almost seemed to be communicating.
Well… now what?
Riku wasn't scared. Worried, maybe. Not scared. Xemnas was intimidating, of course, but that didn't mean Riku was scared. In fact—
Riku paused before he readied himself to attack. Someone was running. He could hear them. He glanced over his shoulder to see who it was, and found that the spot Vexen had been occupying mere seconds ago was now vacant.
Vexen had run off.
Riku wasn't sure what to think.
But, now that he had looked in that direction, he realized that the way to the Computer Room was wide open. His eyes narrowed, thinking.
Xigbar and his clone aren't shooting at me at the moment.
Everyone in the room has gone silent.
I could probably slip to the Computer Room without anyone noticing—
He paused, hearing the faint sound of a gun being reloaded. He turned back to the Xigbars, and then grimaced. The one closer to Xemnas now had one gun trained on him, and the look on his face clearly said: "try and I'll shoot."
Alright… well…
Riku turned his attention to Xemnas again, and, to his surprise, he saw Xigbar—he was actually, for some reason, pretty sure that this was the real Xigbar, all of a sudden—lower his gun ever so slightly. Riku frowned, and his hand tightened on his blade.
The look Xigbar was giving him now he didn't like it all. It wasn't threatening. It was daring. Smug, even. He could almost hear Xigbar laughing: go ahead! I dare you!
"Hmh." Riku tightened his grip on his blade, eyes darting over to see what the other Xigbar was doing. The look on his face was identical. Daring. Smug. Go ahead.
It was that look that made Riku decide not to go after Xemnas. What would it accomplish, anyway? This was Xemnas. There was no way attacking him would get him anywhere—at least, not anywhere he needed to be in the next few minutes.
So, Riku feigned preparing for an attack, half-launched himself in Xemnas's direction, and then turned and ran for the Computer Room, hoping that he'd caught the Xigbars off guard—
He hadn't.
Riku quickly ducked, spun around, and brought up his blade to block the bullets that would have otherwise hit him in the head.
Yay, he thought, sarcastically. Back to blocking bullets.
And to make things worse, one of the Xigbars had now positioned himself between Riku and the Computer Room.
I should've gone after Xemnas…
xxx
Amaryllis was prepared to block one of Ivy's attacks, when the sound of a dark corridor opening registered in his ears. Ivy suddenly stopped attacking. Confused, and slightly worried, Amaryllis turned to see who had stepped out of the dark corridor.
He was very surprised to see none other than the leader of the Organization himself.
What in the Worlds is Xemnas doing here? he wondered.
Xemnas wasn't even doing anything at the moment. He was just standing there, surveying the room, with what Amaryllis assumed was a smug look on his face. But why was he even here?
Was this what Axel was planning? Part of it? But why drag Xemnas into this?
What did Axel even say he was doing, anyway? I really didn't catch that. Alpha and Riku were the only two people who were even near enough to hear him properly.
Amaryllis wanted to groan and rub his head out of frustration, but breaking the silence that had settled in the room seemed blasphemous. Everyone else had stopped fighting—even Snapdragon, for the moment—but, then again, it wasn't every day that you saw the Organization's Number 1 out and about and standing in the middle of a place you might call home.
What do I do?
Since no one's doing anything, maybe now would be a good time to attack.
But… attack who?
I don't think attacking any of the fighters sent here would be beneficial. There would be a brief moment where we'd—or at least I'd—have the element of surprise, but what would it do? I'm the only one attacking, and…
His eyes flickered about the room, planning, strategizing. He might not be the best fighter here, but he was the only good fighter on the Rebellion's side that also doubled as a decent leader; Riku and Snapdragon, though excellent fighters, lacked leaderships skills. And if you wanted a leader in battle—whether it was against Replicas sent by Saix in a raid, or if you were the ones doing the raiding—then you would want someone who was capable of keeping everyone relatively organized and moving.
Which left you with Amaryllis. At least, in these circumstances.
After taking note of where everyone was, Amaryllis returned to his attention to Xemnas.
I suppose I could attack Xemnas, he thought. Not that it'd necessarily be a smart idea. But, if I could get Snapdragon's attention, and—never mind, Xigbar's still shooting at Riku. But maybe if me and Snapdragon… it's a longshot, certainly—
Amaryllis's eyes widened and his thoughts came to a screeching halt as he noticed Snapdragon heft his scythe. Take a step toward Xemnas. Xemnas was looking in Xigbar's direction. He wouldn't—theoretically—see Snapdragon coming.
Combined and properly coordinated, their efforts might've done something. Alone, however—
Oh Snapdragon, don't!
Amaryllis wanted to scream.
But it was too late.
Xemnas turned. There was a blur of movement. Snapdragon went flying, landing roughly on the ground and skidding back a few feet. His scythe spun out of reach before vanishing, and if Amaryllis was seeing things properly, Snapdragon was now bleeding quite a bit. Being Snapdragon, however, he tried to push himself up—
Only to collapse. He didn't try to move again. The injury must've been bad, if it kept Snapdragon down.
What do I do, now?! Amaryllis thought, a sense of panic creeping into him.
Snapdragon's down. Riku's distracted. There are no other good fighters in the room, and now there's a Lexaeus and Bloodroot who are now unoccupied. And what do we do about Xemnas?
xxx
Xemnas is here.
That was the one thought that kept returning to 7's mind, and a deeper sense of dread accompanied it each time. However, he supposed it was preferable to the other thought that crossed his mind as he stood there, practically paralyzed with his own terror—a funny thing, that terror was. What use was an emotion like that?
We're doomed.
Because, how could they not be doomed, if the leader of the Organization was here? What other reason would he be here for, if not to eliminate them or do something otherwise horrible? Xemnas could be plotting to rewrite them, for all 7 knew.
And Axel was going after the external, a.k.a. the half of the Program that the Organization didn't have. If Xemnas had the full Program… what could he do, then? Something dreadful, certainly.
And there is still that possibility he's here to destroy us…
It doesn't surprise me. The only thing that surprises me about that—
Wait a minute.
Snapdragon, what are you doing!?
7 cringed and turned away, not particularly wanting to see Snapdragon annihilated on the spot. To his immense relief Xemnas didn't actually kill Snapdragon, as 7 realized about 2.3 seconds later, when he heard Snapdragon groan in pain. He turned to find that Snapdragon was on the ground, and he was bleeding.
Xemnas is here…
That thought still rang through his head. What did re-thinking it do any good?
Snapdragon is injured. Badly.
Oh, Snapdragon, don't get up! You'll only make matters worse!
7 sighed.
I should go to him.
But.
Xemnas…
And there was that other thought that kept repeating itself in his head:
We're doomed.
How could they not be doomed, when Xemnas was capable of doing that much damage in a single hit?
Then again… he didn't kill Snapdragon, and I know he could've. Does he want us alive…?
But that thought was only worse.
How are we getting out of this?
Axel's gone after the external and the Organization might as well have the full Program. Snapdragon might not live much longer, and I don't believe I have any way of healing him. If we don't have the external, we don't have the Database, and thus don't have the Repair Program.
Doomed. They were most certainly doomed.
Even if we did have the Repair Program, I'd have to get Snapdragon to a computer… and Xemnas is in the room…
7 had never felt so useless in his life. Well, no, that was a lie. He'd certainly felt like this before—(watching R dying in his arms and there was nothing he could do there was nothing he could do)—it just had been accompanied with less terror. Terror had a nasty way of making everything seem so much more important.
I can't do anything.
Not with Xemnas here.
When is he going to leave? Or is he just going to stand there and terrify us all. What does that achieve? I suppose keeping us paralyzed with our own fear gives Axel more time to retrieve the external or whatever it is he's doing, but…
Just leave already, won't you? We already realize it's hopeless; stop flaunting it by just standing there like you've already won!
7 could just imagine a smug look on Xemnas's face as he surveyed the room again. No one else dared move (besides Riku and the Xigbars), as if afraid they'd be attacked, too. After a moment, Xemnas made his way towards the Computer Room. No one moved to stop him. All in his way (there were few) quickly got out of the way. 7 backed up a few paces himself, even though he was a good distance away from Xemnas.
Once Xemnas had left the room, it was like everyone let out a sigh of relief. Even those with Xemnas (Xigbar and his clone excluded) seemed relieved that he was gone.
Of course, the relief lasted about 1.4 seconds before the fighting began again.