Another chapter up.
Goes back to Xhrics for now, but I'll definitely add a new member in there. Two, if I play my cards right.
Enjoy.
Chapter Six: A Conversation During Chess
"Your move."
Xhrics looked across the table at his opponent, then back at the chess board. What to do, he wondered, though it made no difference. He would never win. He finally decided to move his bishop diagonal two.
"Ooh, bad move."
BAM! The bishop got its ass kicked by the queen. Xhrics cursed.
He really didn't learn. There were two things he'd really never learn- never play chess, and never play chess against Xnohj.
Xnohj, No. 10, who was a large man with a plump feature, was the Luxord of this fine establishment. True, he didn't trust gambling, but he was an avid chess player, and his weapons were chess pieces- black and white- owning a giant chess board. The battle went, you play until the end, and whoever loses must die. Pretty good rules- except Xnohj never lost. That was the reason that he didn't fight as much as the others did.
"You don't learn, do you?" the man asked, grinning.
"I was just contemplating that," Xhrics responded.
They played in silence for a few moments, with Xhrics actually managing to get rid of Xnohj's queen, but didn't hold his breath. The bastard was too sneaky.
"Say, Xnohj-"
"Yes?"
"What do you think of the situation?"
"Well, you know a good chess player never reveals any moves he has planned-"
"I'm not talking about chess; I'm talking about the search."
It was the question that had been on No. 6's mind since the conversation he had had with Xadmain in his office the week before. Xnohj took his eyes off of the chess board.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I'm starting to believe that No.1 made a mistake by coming here. I want to hear your opinion, just to see if it's just me or not."
Xhrics could see that this wasn't something Xnohj could just think of lightly. It was random, but in truth, everyone thought he was right. Xnohj obviously had never thought about it before, and that's what took him so long.
"Does the Boss have to know about this?" he finally asked.
Xhrics sighed. He was a true idiot. If the Boss knew, then he wouldn't have been asking, would he? "No," he responded, "it's just between us."
Xnohj uncomfortably moved a pawn forward. His opponent waited patiently.
"Well," he said, "I guess… if the Boss says he's here… then I think we should trust him on it. I mean, he is No.1."
So No. 10 was on the Boss's side. Xhrics again sighed.
"Well, I think it's a mistake."
There was a warp and this time Zixl, No. 12, appeared. The only one that Xhrics could tolerate for an extended period of time and actually enjoy company out of and vice versa, she was short, with brown hair and hazel eyes. She was a relatively newcomer, having only been with them about two or three years. She was very violent, too, and the shuriken that she used as weapons was proof to the contrary. Right now, she stood at the chess board looking at her two comrades.
"And I've been trying to talk to the Boss about it, but he refuses to listen to me. Probably because I'm so low on the chain," she muttered bitterly.
"It's not just you. Xadmain is convinced that his choice is the right one. The only ones he'll listen too are Xoej and Drexan, and they're both fully behind him, so-"
"Checkmate."
Xhrics hadn't been paying attention as he was talking and Xnohj had taken that to his advantage, moving his rook into play where the king could no longer moving, successfully winning the game.
"Look, I don't know if what we're doing is right or wrong," he said, dematerializing the chess set and standing up, "but I do know that it doesn't matter now. All we can really do is stay the course."
With that said, he warped out. Xhrics sighed in frustration and placed his head in his hands. Zixl sat in Xnohj's now vacant chair.
"Hey, cheer up. In time, I'm sure the Boss will realize this was a mistake and we'll be gone," she assured him.
"I'm not sure time is something we have a whole lot of anymore, Zixl," he muttered, "Don't you feel it? The darkness brewing… something is about to happen. I don't even need Drexan to confirm it. I can feel it myself… a power, that similar to Xadmain's… it's only a feeling, but it's enough… something's coming."
Zixl looked at Xhrics, a look of fear and anxiety on her face. "You're just saying stuff, right?" she asked, scared.
He shook his head. "I wish… but the feeling is there. We're running out of time."
Whenever Drexan made a prediction, everyone worried about it, because it was always true. But Xhrics making one… that was something else. Xhrics never lied about the stuff he felt… was something so powerful that not even Xadmain could match it coming?
Zixl had the feeling that before this was over, she'd be sorry she'd asked.
God, that chapter sucked. I'm sorry about that, I don't mind if you flame it… just not too badly.
Anyhoo, it's another author's note:
All 13 members, as you well know, have their own elements and weapons. Now that we've met 12 out of 13, I think it's fair to say that a re-cap is in order. Here it is:
No.1-Xadmain
Element- darkness (duh.)
Weapon- dual silver blades (originally silver daggers, but I realized that those were too short, so I've switched them to silver swords.)
No.2-Xoej
Element- time (like Xigbar)
Weapon- fists and feet (no lie- his "other" is a blackbelt and could kick all our asses in a heartbeat if he wanted to.)
No.3-Raulax
Element -storm (cause why be in control of just wind?)
Weapon- several tonfas (my friend came up with this. To this day, I still have absolutely no idea as to what exactly a "tonfa" is.)
No.4-Drexan
Element- water (cause Demyx is his all time favorite.)
Weapon- staff (I dunno how best to describe it- it's kinda like one of the many that Raine from Tales of Symphonia had. Go with that.)
No.5-Emylix
Element- shadow (I'm convinced that she is based off of Zexion and as such wields shadow.)
Weapon- giant wrench (cause she loves Winry so much, I thought I'd throw her a bone.)
No.6-Xhrics
Element-earth (based off of Lexaeus, remember?)
Weapon- giant axe (nuff said.)
No.7-Paxt
Element -fire (he loves the stuff, what can I say?)
Weapon- giant scythe (every drawing of himself that his "other" does pairs him with a scythe, that's why.)
No.8-Moxt
Element- Hell (yeah, I know- hell ain't an element. But y'know what? It'll work.)
Weapon- 2 dual Handcannons (my fanfiction trademark! If you don't like it, then beso mi asso.)
No.9-Naxan
Element- Heaven (if Moxt is hell, then she has to be heaven.)
Weapon- light discs (cause it was the best thing I could think of.)
No.10-Xnohj
Element- ice (don't ask… I really don't know.)
Weapon- chess set/pieces (cause I just love chess.)
No.11-Naxst
Element- forest (again, ask me no questions, I tell you no lies.)
Weapon- chain whips (wrapped around his arms and controlled by his hands and wrists, what better weapons for a psychopath?)
No.12-Zixl
Element- thunder (Larxene, remember?)
Weapon- shuriken (the star things that Yuffie uses as weapons… you know what I'm talking about, I hope.)
No.13-Dexn
Element- light (again, if you don't get that, something's seriously wrong with you.)
Weapon-? (I know; if he's the Roxas, why not give him Oathkeeper and Oblivion? Well, I would, only I've got something much better in mind. Something that will have Roxas the 13th worshipping me until the day he dies.)
Well, that's that. Later. Oh, and review!