Chapter Two
Dark Dimension
Hollow Bastion
This couldn't be happening. This was a really vivid nightmare and he was going to wake up at anytime. If Zexion were still alive Demyx would've been convinced that this was one of his Illusions and it was a really good one at that.
The blond stumbled away from the statue while the people all around him remained on the floor, terrified to look upon their Emperor. Demyx tried pinching his skin but that only caused his arm to flare up in pain and he was still trapped in this nightmare.
It had to have been that snake framed mirror. It was the only logical conclusion to this whole crazy scenario. That must have been way Xemnas wanted the mirror so badly. The Superior must know that it can take a person to another…world, dimension, reality?
Demyx couldn't think of a proper word for this place so he stuck with dimension. He was in an alternate dimension and the mirror was his ticket back home. He had to get back to that room and use the mirror.
"My Lord…are you well?" a woman asked meekly.
"No I'm not ok!" Demyx screamed out and the woman paled considerably.
"I'm sorry!" she sobbed desperately. "Please don't punish me my Lord."
"Oh god…this is…" Demyx couldn't even speak anymore. He turned to open a portal but stopped when he saw a very familiar brunet walking towards him.
"Oh no…" Demyx swallowed fearfully when Sora approached him. He was so dead now.
"Lord Demyx, are you alright?" Sora demanded. The blond could only gape at the boy's attire.
Sora wasn't wearing his usual outfit and bright colours. Instead he was wearing skin tight leather pants that left nothing to the imagination. The boy also wore a skin tight black halter top that exposed his flat belly.
His hair was spiked up in its usual style but it was his eyes that made Demyx shiver. They resembled chips of ice. There was no emotion in those eyes whatsoever and the Nocturne suddenly wished the real Keyblade Master was here again.
Meanwhile Sora was staring at his master. The Emperor was dressed in a cloak, hiding his body from sight. Lord Demyx was never this shy when it came to his appearance and he used his body to get what he wanted sometimes, especially when it came to the palace slaves. His Lord's hair was also styled differently but the boy knew better than to question his master. He still possessed the whip marks from his last punishment.
The people were wise to remain on the ground as he approached his blond master. Sora had been alerted by Zexion when Demyx vanished from the palace without a single word. From what Zexion had told him Sora learned that the master had vanished in a flash of light. The Emperor had slaughtered anyone with magical skills but this could be the word of the Rebellion again. They won't stop until Demyx lies dead at their feet.
"Come with me your Majesty." Sora said quickly. "The Rebellion could be here."
"What Rebellion? What the hell is going on?" Demyx yelled out.
"You are unwell my Lord. Come with me." Sora beckoned.
"I don't understand! You're supposed to be my enemy! You're the Keyblade Master and I'm a member of Organization XIII!" Demyx was screaming by now.
"You've been afflicted with a spell." Sora snarled as he thought about the Rebellion. "They will suffer for this."
"Please, I don't understand! I fell through a mirror and ended up in this place!" the blond cried.
"My Lord, you were with Zexion all evening." Sora replied. At the mention of his favourite slave Demyx stopped and stared at Sora.
"Zexion is here?" he asked as his aqua eyes went wide.
"You vanished in front of him my Lord. If the Rebellion is behind this I have to get you to the palace." Sora said quickly.
Demyx was torn in two directions. On the one hand he wanted to leave this place. Everything was upside down and completely wrong. Sora looked like a trained killer and those cold eyes didn't belong on that face.
Demyx wanted to go home, back to his life and just forget about this horrible place. But when Sora mentioned Zexion it managed to change the blond's way of thinking. He felt something blossom in his chest at the realization of seeing Zexion again.
Before he could stop himself Demyx asked Sora to take him to Zexion. His mind was telling him to just go back through the mirror and leave this really bad dream behind forever. But something else was telling Demyx to go and see Zexion again, even if it would be for one more time. The Nocturne was ready to freely admit he was scared beyond words and the fact that Sora kept calling him his master was just highly unnerving.
"Why do you not teleport to the palace my Lord?" Sora inquired when Demyx walked away from the statue towards the brunet.
"Teleport?" Demyx was too lost in his thoughts concerning Zexion.
"Your dark portals my Lord." Sora replied. He had to find the cure for this bizarre affliction and soon.
"Oh right…" Demyx waved a hand and a dark portal opened to him. "To the Hollow Bastion castle right?"
"I will send Axel to your room once you have rested." Sora bowed.
"Axel's here too?" Demyx didn't know if he should be glad or angry at that fact.
"Please my Lord, go to the palace and rest. I shall deal with this." Sora motioned towards the people who were still lying on the ground.
"Ok…" Demyx nodded then he stepped into the portal.
When the Melodious Nocturne emerged from the portal he stepped out and into the Main Hall of the castle. The place looked the same as ever until Demyx's eyes settled on a very familiar red head standing in the centre of the room.
By the looks of things he had just finished cleaning the marble floor and Demyx noticed that the cloth was stained red. When Axel saw the blond he immediately dropped to his knees and kept his head lowered.
"M-Master!" Axel stammered fearfully. Demyx was certain and without a doubt that he had crossed over into the Twilight Zone.
"Axel?" Demyx murmured as he approached the shaking red head. "Please, get up."
"I just finished cleaning the blood out of the marble. Sora informed me when you vanished!" Axel cried pitifully. He was shaking nervously and he refused to look Demyx in the face.
"Axel…what happened to you?" Demyx backed away in shock when he saw the state Axel was in.
The red head was painfully thin to the point Demyx could actually see his bones. Axel had always been thin but he looked like he had been starved. His wild red hair was still the same as were those vibrant green eyes.
Demyx noticed that those eyes were a dull green glass colour. He was wearing black cotton pants and a red top that exposed most of his body. He was also bare foot and he bent down to quickly retrieve the bloody wash cloth from the marble floor.
"I'm glad you're safe my Lord." Axel stammered as he backed away.
"Gods Axel, what happened to you?" Demyx was still shocked by the cocky red head's attitude and appearance.
"I do not know what you mean sir." Axel whispered.
"You look like you've been starved!" Demyx cried and Axel flinched away from him.
"It is not my time to receive a meal my Lord. I still have my duties to attend to." Axel murmured.
"This isn't you Axel." Demyx was on the verge of pulling out his hair. "You're supposed to be pushy and arrogant and annoying and pulling pranks on me!"
"Never my Lord!" Axel cried out then he fell to his knees again. "I would never do such a thing to you!"
"Axel..." Demyx tailed off, unsure of what to say anymore. He reached out for the red head but stopped when Axel yelped and fell backwards.
"I'm sorry!" he sobbed hysterically. "I didn't mean to back away master. Please, don't punish me again!"
"I'm not gonna hurt you Axel I swear!" Demyx tried to calm the man down. Eventually Axel stopped panicking and looked straight at Demyx.
"What would you have me do master?" Axel murmured quietly. Demyx couldn't believe his eyes and ears as Axel bowed low once again, waiting for his orders.
"D-Do you know where Zexion is?" Demyx asked quickly.
"He is in your private chambers my Lord." Axel looked at Demyx with confusion marring his features.
"And where are they again?" Demyx questioned. If he could talk to Zexion then he could get more answers. Zexion was the scientist of the group after all.
"You do not know sir?" Axel asked before he could prevent the words. His glassy eyes went wide as he started shaking again. "I didn't mean to question you sir."
"Please, just tell me where the chambers are Axel. Something really bizarre is going on and I need to talk to Zexion." Demyx pleaded.
"Your private chambers are on the top floor my Lord." Axel replied quickly. "The Old Church is your Throne Room and your chambers are directly next to the Throne Room."
"Thanks Axel." Demyx opened a portal and stepped through, leaving an extremely confused and scared red head behind.
Demyx stepped out of the portal and into the place that was supposed to be the castle's church. The room was indeed a Throne Room and Demyx stopped to stare at the chamber in he was now standing in. A large throne carved out of obsidian lay under a stained glass window.
The window had images of red skinned dragons, dozens of Heartless and there was a image of Demyx wearing battle armour in the middle of it all. Torches lined the black walls and Demyx noticed that two rows of tables had been set up. Food and wine lay on top of the long wooden tables.
There were cushions lying on the floor next to the west wall and various instruments were set up. By the looks of things someone had gone to a lot of trouble setting up this feast. Demyx moved quickly through the chamber until he came to a door next to the throne.
Taking a breath Demyx pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was amazing and Demyx just had to take everything in. The bed was king size with black silk sheets and blue silk drapes. The furniture looked to be the most expensive in all the worlds and the most beautiful.
Pieces of art and various paintings hung from the walls. A large window provided him with a view down into the main city. The room had an ocean scent lingering within it. Demyx almost felt at home in this room if it weren't for the insane circumstances he was in. Demyx approached the window but stopped when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.
Turing around Demyx's aqua eyes fell upon Zexion and his jaw hit the floor.
The Emperor scowled as he walked towards Leon. The brunet was writhing in pain on the floor and it gave Demyx time to examine the room he was in.
The last time he checked this was not his Treasure Room and the guards would've caught Leon trying to sneak into the castle. Sora would've been on the lookout for the Rebellion. The assassin has never failed Demyx yet and for his sake Sora better not start now.
"You disappoint me Leon. I thought you'd have more fight in you." Demyx kicked the brunet hard in the stomach.
"What are you?" Leon coughed up blood. Demyx has used his ability to manipulate time to move faster than Leon during the battle.
"I am your Emperor you insolent dog!" Demyx growled then he kicked Leon again. The force of his blows was enough to crack bones.
"You're from...Organization XIII..." Leon choked out amide the pain.
"What is this Organization XIII?" Demyx got down on one knee next to Leon. The brunet couldn't talk now that Demyx had broken a few of his ribs. "I'll find out for myself."
The blond stood up to his full height and grabbed hold of Lionheart. The Emperor was dressed in his preferred outfit next to the battle armour. He was wearing leather pants with black boots that ended below his knees and silver chains dangling from his hips.
On his torso was a black skin tight sleeveless top covered with a fishnet. He was wearing black gloves and his spiky blond hair stood up from his head. His ears were pierced with multiple rings and he wore a silver necklace in the shape of a wolf's head. He didn't carry a weapon at the moment but that was about to be remedied.
"You always were a pain in my ass Leon. Too bad I won't be able to execute you like I did with Strife." Demyx grabbed Leon by the hair and lifted him up. "Say hi to your lover for me."
With a smile on his face Demyx drove Lionheart through Leon's stomach, coating the blade in blood until it exited through his lower back. Demyx pulled the blade out when Leon slumped to the floor. Smiling the blond carried the bloodied sword with him as he left the room behind to begin his investigation of this strange new world.
At least now he wouldn't have Leon to deal with.