Interrogation

As Demyx walked through the hallways of the Castle That Never Was, he was full of shame. He could hear snickers at his appearance among his fellow members. It was a good thing that those were few and far between. He was able to avoid the worst of it, though Axel did make a comment about him replacing the Good Humor man.

But none of that occupied his mind. His mind was filled with horrific images of what Xemnas would do to him once he revealed that he had not returned with Tine. He supposed it wouldn't be too bad. It had just been a lucky guess after all. Vexen, digging through Maleficent's computer records with all the grace of a particularly bad tempered rhino, had uncovered that her henchman Pete was going to Twilight Town, from there to Hollow Bastion to seek the help of Xavier's Flyers. That name sounded so familiar…but that was another issue, for the higher ups to deal with. The point was that if Pete was going to Twilight Town, then Demyx was to follow him and eventually capture him. If he encountered Maleficent's experiment, then he was to capture her. Demyx had seen the fight between Tine and Riku, and he had seen his chance. But just when he was going to take the badly injured creature, those little brats had shown up and ruined everything! Demyx's many burns, cuts, and bruises zinged and stung. His robe hung in tatters, ice cream splattered was all over his front, and his hair was ruined. After he had worked so hard to get it that way too. Worse, oh so much worse, his beloved sitar was ruined. Now, he was on his way to see the Superior. Xemnas' office was located at the very top of the Castle. He had only been there once, and that had been when he had first joined the Organization. He took the elevator, sharing it with a couple of Dusks who were lugging cans of white and silver paint as they strove to return the place to its former appearance.

The hallway the office of Xemnas was long and huge. It had a high ceiling. Statues of gargoyles and other leering monsters decorated the walls. Demyx wondered if the Superior made the way to his office look like this on purpose, just to scare people as they got there, making them more in awe of him than they already were. He finally arrived at the doors. They were made of solid, dark wood. They were strange looking in the white walls. His torn glove knocked hesitantly on it.

"Come in" Xemnas' deep voice said calmly.

Demyx pushed open the doors. The Superior's office was comfortably warm. It was a huge room, and the floors were carpeted with white, or course. There was a fireplace in which a fire was lit. A large wood desk was in the center, and Xemnas himself sat in a cushioned chair, sorting the papers of the day to day affairs of the Organization. A tray of small biscuits, held by a pair of Sorcerer Nobodies was next to him. All traces of Maleficent's presence in the office had been erased.

"Why, Demyx" said Xemnas. "You look terrible. Did you get into a fight with Axel?"

"No, sir" Demyx said respectfully. "I…had some trouble on a mission."

"And what mission would that be?" the Superior asked. Demyx knew that Xemnas knew exactly what mission it was. He was just leading up to a big finish. He hoped that finish would be an insult and not something worse.

"I…" he stood up straight, and tried to keep his knees from trembling. "I encountered Roman Numeral Thirteen, otherwise known as Tine, sir" he said. "I found the experiment in a terrible state sir, and tried to apprehend her. However…the people who had put her in such a state caught up to me and…well…"

"You lost to some girl who barely knows how to use a Keyblade, and a group of three civilians, who can't even fight correctly, and resort to using objects as weapons" Xemnas said. He leaned backwards in his chair. "Demyx, Demyx…what am I going to do with you?"

Demyx's mouth was suddenly dry. "How did you know? Sir" he added hurriedly.

"Do I need to explain my sources to you, Number Nine?" Xemnas asked coldly.

"No sir! I just…I was just curious…"

"Well, it is impertinent to ask your Superior such questions, especially for one of your rank. Do not forget that." Xemnas motioned to another chair. "Sit, sit. You look dead on your feet."

"Thanks" Demyx said gratefully. "Those kids really beat me up pretty badly---" he realized what he had said and was quiet.

"You have ice cream on your robe" Xemnas said, sounding genuinely curious. "Is that another result of the battle?"

"Yes it is, actually" Demyx said. "This kid…he said that I was to give it to you. And…that…we could remember this."

Xemnas' eyes narrowed, and suddenly Demyx saw something insane and irrational gleaming in them. "We will remember this. Oh, yes! Yes! Organization XIII will remember their brave deeds today!" then he stopped. "Demyx" he said. "I would love to spend more time clearing up the details of this mission, but I have a more important thing to discuss with the witch who was squatting in this castle before us." He waved his hand to signal that Demyx was dismissed.

At the same time Demyx teleported, he saw Axel drag Maleficent into the room through the same doors he himself had come through. As the darkness enfolded him with cold arms, he winced. It didn't look like it was going to go well for Maleficent.

Maleficent saw with displeasure that Xemnas had managed to restore the office to its former appearance. She was afraid of the Organization and its Nobodies, but she did not show it. Show your opponent fear, and the game is lost before it begins. And she was facing a powerful group of opponents indeed. She had heard what went on in the room before this loathsome young man had dragged her inside. Something about Tine being injured. It seemed that maybe Sora had been more active than she thought. Either way, the time had come to find out what was going on.

"Maleficent, Maleficent" said Xemnas in a calm, friendly voice. He didn't sound angry or even annoyed. He sounded like an old friend who has waited to talk to you for a long time. "I was looking forward to this conversation for a long time. In fact, I have been looking forward to it since we came back from our long and tiresome exile."

"If you want information, I have nothing to give you" Maleficent snarled.

Xemnas folded his hands on the desk and sighed. "You have nothing for me? Are you positively sure of that?"

"I am positive" Maleficent said.

Xemnas cleared his throat. "Then allow me to refresh your memory. I wish to know the details of how you created Tine---"

"Roman Numeral Thirteen" Maleficent interrupted harshly.

"Tine" said Xemnas. "I wish to know how you created Tine."

"I believe that you have a scientist among you" said Maleficent. "Why would my words be of any use to you?"

"If you answer the question, I might be persuaded to answer that" Xemnas said.

"You wish to know how I created Roman Numeral Thirteen so that you can study its weaknesses and capture it. As to why you want to capture it, it is because Thirteen has a multitude of hearts buried within it. This would be your Kingdom Hearts" Maleficent said this as calmly as if she were reciting the weather.

Xemnas said nothing as the sorceress said this. Then he leaned back in his chair. "Axel" he said. "Please, leave us. I wish this to be a private conversation." Axel nodded, and teleported in a whoosh of dark energy. When he was gone, Xemnas leaned forward a bit. "Is there something wrong with that goal?" he asked.

"Merely that you are foolish" Maleficent said. "Once the heart is lost, it is lost forever. Do you really think that you can find your hearts among that mass? It would be like looking for a yellow needle in a haystack."

"And what if I don't want to find my heart?" Xemnas asked in a deadly quiet voice.

"What?" said Maleficent.

"What if I realize that the only way to create a new empire is to duplicate the circumstances that triggered the collapse of Radiant Garden once more" Xemnas asked, his voice growing higher pitched. "What if I were going to use Kingdom Hearts to spread our nonexistent lives? What if I were to gather the hearts of every living being in this universe to the core of all hearts? Eh?" Xemnas was now standing up at his desk. His eyes were lit with a mad, lunatic light. "A universe of Nobodies living their nonexistent lives under my command! My new empire would be born!"

"You are insane" Maleficent said calmly, although she was shaking and horrified inside. The man was mad. This was awful.

"Tine's power is the key to this grand plan" Xemnas said. Suddenly, he lunged forward, and grabbed Maleficent's robe, pulling her forward into his face. "THERE'S A ABOUT A THOUSAND---NO, A BILLION DAMNED HEARTS IN THAT THING!!!" he screamed, spraying white froth and spit into her face. The Superior's face was a twisted madman's face now. "I WANT THOSE HEARTS WORKING FOR ME AND ME ALONE! GOT IT, WITCH?!"

Maleficent wondered why his voice didn't carry throughout the whole Castle That Never Was, but then she realized that the office was soundproofed against prying ears that might try to hear top secret conversations.

"I apologize" Xemnas said, sitting back down, and releasing Maleficent. "I became…overexcited….but sometimes, the thought of my plan…never mind." He pressed one hand to his head as if he had a headache, but he was grinning. "Take her away" he said, and a group of Dusks and Sorcerers appeared.

Maleficent allowed them to lead her to a Dark Corridor that undoubtedly lead back to the cell. When she reached the lip of the portal, Maleficent called to Xemnas. "Sora will destroy you" she said to him, in the same calm voice that she had called him insane. "And this time, there will be no return for you."

Xemnas merely motioned with his hand. The took the witch into the portal, and she disappeared. Xemnas sat for a long time in the empty study, sitting and smiling to himself, as plans of his new empire revolved in his twisted mind.