Chapter 2 - Plans & the Airship
In one of the meeting rooms Marluxia and Larxene sat at opposite ends of the long table, the pair illuminated by the unnatural, ghostly light radiating through the great ornate window to their left. No sound broke the suffocating silence that draped the entire castle, not even the petty chatter of Dusks as they went about cleaning; the silence could drive one to insanity through potential threat and sheer paranoia. It did not seem to bother the two Nobodies; their gazes were locked as they both formulated a plan to defeat the Keybearer. When planning this was the sole way they communicated, this uncanny telepathic ability had formed between them when they first conspired together way back when the Organization was at large.
They sparred occasionally, scythe and kunai clashing against each other in every intense battle fought, breaking the unnerving silence. Other times they would wrestle, Marluxia knowing all too well that Larxene's petite body hid strength that matched his at every blow. All throughout this training their gaze would never break, the plan would begin to take shape as each hour passed by. For now however, the silence still remained as they knew that this goal was going to be a lot harder than last time.
So you're saying we should not kidnap his friends to lure him here?
"Think about it, Marluxia, the kid is a lot stronger when he's ruled by his emotions like last time. I highly suspect that he doesn't remember us, but the clue you said you left should trigger something in his little mind. If we don't make any major personal attacks on him, he'll presume we're weaker than last time and will foolishly underestimate us."
My dear Nymph, you are simply brilliant; Sora will look for us eventually. We should begin collecting hearts soon.
"I had a lot of free time when dead to think; I went over our last plan several times, noting the faults that got us killed."
Sora will be stronger, but so are we and we are smarter.... and better looking.
"Even when we look half-wild."
Exactly.
"Where should we go to first to collect hearts?"
Atlantica, there was never an invasion there last time.
"Oh God no."
Come on, we'll get the worst over and done with first.
"Fine, as long as we don't have to sing."
That's settled then.
What if we encounter the Keybearer there?
"We avoid him, for now."
The Nobodies broke their trance-like gaze; Marluxia stood up and crossed over to the window, he heard Larxene get up and come over beside him. It was strange, to finally have everything he had aspired for; Kingdom Hearts, the Castle that Never Was if he was ever possessed with the urge to go to that place; he was the Superior Nobody now. The King of Darkness, Larxene the Queen.
However, vengeance called him with its sweet yet tormenting music; the Keybearer must die, there was no other way for Marluxia's mind to be at ease. The Assassin's jaw clenched; Sora would pay for destroying him, oh he would pay. He looked at Larxene, the Keybearer wouldn't know what hit him if she was sent after him; but she would not go alone, not this time. He didn't doubt his colleague's powers at all, but they didn't know how strong Sora might have become.
"You were wrong." Larxene stated bluntly after a while, looking up at him.
"Hm?" Marluxia quirked an eyebrow, confused.
"Atlantica isn't the worst world." she said lightly.
"Oh? Then what is, little Nymph?" he wondered, smiling. So this is what he got wrong.
"Disney Castle." she replied, shuddering "But let's go to Atlantica first, and make our negotiations."
"I assume by negotiations you mean by allowing the residents of Atlantica witness our astonishing presence, we take their hearts in return?" Marluxia purred, tracing a finger over her exposed collar bones. "In the most cruel and sadistic ways possible of course." he added smoothly.
"You know me so well." Larxene sighed, her mouth curving into a mischievous smile. "Take me to Atlantica, Graceful Assassin."
"The boring way or the fun way?" he asked playfully, already knowing the answer.
Larxene answered by jumping onto him piggy-back style, gripping him tightly around the waist with her legs so he didn't have to hold her up, allowing him full use of his arms. Her arms curled loosely around his neck.
"Fun way it is." he laughed, taking off his boots, socks and gloves.
Marluxia opened the large window and leapt out, landing on top of one of the many towers; he sprung from this perch onto one a bit lower, vines spreading from his feet and clinging onto the sloped rooftops. The Assassin continued this until he reached the ground, and then began running along until the scenery changed and they reached the crossroads among the seemingly endless fields. He paused for only a split second and then set off along the path to the Realm of Light.
"Motion sick, yet?" he called to Larxene, grinning.
"We've done this so many times that I'm immune to motion sickness." she replied airily.
Marluxia's pace never slowed; he ran tirelessly, his bare feet slapping against the dusty path in a fast rhythm. Even the weight of Larxene had no effect on his speed; it was as if she weighed nothing. Stamina which knew no bounds was one of the few good things about being a Nobody. Days went by in the never-changing landscape and soon the end of the road was in sight; a single door stood on the path, radiating light so pure that the two Nobodies could not approach it. Marluxia opened a portal so they could pass through the Corridors of Darkness into the Realm of Light.
If one were to describe the Corridors they would say this: Imagine an old, abandoned hospital; endless, windowless hallways and passages. Paint peels off the walls and nothing is heard except the scuttle of a rat or the faint whisper of the dead. Now imagine a labyrinth of caves, each tunnel more damp and dark than the last; the unshakable suspicion of being watched lingers with you constantly, gnawing away at your sanity until you lapse into despair. Combine both these images; that is what the Corridors of Darkness are.
The two Nobodies emerged in Radiant Garden; from there they could steal an airship of some description to travel to Atlantica.
"Brings back memories, huh?" Larxene noted. "Where did you live?"
"Over there." Marluxia answered, pointing "I'll take you there someday, when we get our hearts back."
He jumped from the rooftop he stood upon, vines shooting out of his hands and latching onto a far building; he launched over, using the spring of the vines to pull him. He landed skilfully on a railing outside a house in the lower district. It was important that he didn't touch the street ground, if he did then the pair of them would set off the town defence system and everything would go down the pan.
It was lucky that it was night-time, or they would have attracted a whole lot of attention by now.
Marluxia straightened up and jumped in one fluid movement, grabbing onto a roof ledge and climbing up swiftly. These were suburban streets and he ran easily across the rooftops towards the small Aerodrome in the centre of the town; two security guards were stood at the entrance, armed with rifles. Marluxia kicked off the edge of the building he had been running across into a practiced leap; vines shot from his hands and attached themselves to a high point on the Aerodrome, allowing him to swing down, feet outstretched.
Before they even had had time to blink, the guards were struck dead with bolts of electricity fired by a cackling Larxene. Two Dusks and two Shadows now stood in the place of the guards and proceeded to fight with each other - Nobodies verses Heartless.
Seconds later with the momentum of the swing, Marluxia kicked through the double-doors of the Aerodrome, landing in a crouch on the marble floors. Larxene hopped off his back and he stood up.
"Holy crap my muscles are stiff." The Nymph complained, stretching.
The Assassin responded with a smirk and then led the way to the airship docking bay, a journey made easier when Larxene short-circuited the security system, rendering all locks on doors useless. Many impressive airships were parked in the docking bay, most were too ridiculously big to be of any use; the Nobodies chose a sleek, fast, two-seater black airship. It was equipped with plasma guns on its underside near the front and twin missile launchers under the wings.
"Hey you two!" a voice from the docking bay entrance hollered.
Marluxia and Larxene turned to see a group of security guards all with rifles pointing at them; they exchanged an amused look - heart collecting time. Marluxia summoned his scythe, hearing the static crackle in the air as Larxene summoned her kunai; he launched himself forward, becoming translucent and ghost-like. Bullets went straight through him as if he was not there; he became solid again, one swing of his scythe sent two heads rolling and two hearts up to Kingdom Hearts; another slice separated a man's torso from his legs. Blood streamed down the roseate blade.
Marluxia watched as Larxene moved with agility and evasiveness that would make a dancer almost murderous with jealously. The remaining four guards were having a hard time focusing their aim on her; she soon put them out of her own misery as all of them fell gurgling to the floor with slit throats from well-timed kunai slashes. The Assassin picked up a ring of airship-keys from one of the guard's belts and wandered over to the airship that had caught both their attentions before.
He picked the most likely-looking key and pressed the button; the cockpit opened smoothly with little sound.
"Larxene, do you wish to drive?" he called over his shoulder, holding up the key having discarded the rest of the ring.
"You bet your fragrant ass, Daisies." Larxene replied enthusiastically, taking the key and hopping into the driver's seat.
Marluxia winced at the nickname, it was worse than Flower Man.
He climbed into the passenger seat and closed the cockpit; they buckled their seatbelts and Larxene started the engine, activating the missiles and blowing a hole in the reinforced glass ceiling.
"I admire your...straight-forward approach to things." Marluxia remarked with raised eyebrows.
"Better than fiddling around with the gate." she answered brusquely "Hold on tight, Marly."
The Assassin's stomach lurched as the airship rose in a steep ascent through the hole in the glass and out into the open air. Once they were rising at a steady and more bearable angle, he allowed himself to relax, drifting into a light sleep. Nobodies don't need to sleep but they still can and often did - Larxene did so a few times while Marluxia carried her to Radiant Garden. It was rare that the Assassin himself at ease enough to sleep; the plan had been constructed and everything so far was panning out smoothly.
Marluxia slept well.
He awoke to Larxene nudging him in the ribs; they were entering the airspace of Atlantica now, the sky was bright and clear and the vast ocean sparkled below them. The Nymph landed the airship on a flat stretch of beach and they got out; shielding their eyes from the glaring sun. Marluxia waded out into the water, the magic in his robes setting to work at once; in a pulse of darkness he became a lionfish merman.
"Interesting." he murmured swimming around the surface experimentally, his powerful tail glistening in the sun.
Larxene followed suit, becoming an electric eel mermaid; her tail was streamlined and dark blue, white clam shells covered her breasts. Marluxia winked at her and then had to dive out of the way, narrowly avoiding a thrown kunai.
"Not a word, Petal Boy, not a word." she growled.
"These lips are sealed." he replied innocently, swimming up to her.
He took her hand and they dived down into Atlantica.
