As said last chapter, fic needs more than one person's 3rd-person Limited POV for this chapter. It's mostly Demyx, but we'll see.
Amused: Each time there's a new chapter, that's how many pages of reviews I got. It's entertaining.
OMG ANSWERS! Yeah, you guys would love this, wouldn't you? You've been asking for them, so here!
Just so you guys know... If anyone's a Weiss Kreuz fan and love me so much, read Zukunft, cuz I wrote it for mentaru who also needs reviews because she's sad and lowly and writes Juvenile Orion and other small fandoms. And you guys aren't doing too much, and you love me, right? I lurvles you...
Yes, I'm fully aware that I'm whoring out my fics... sh'up!
Lurvles
for These People...
...sabbychan:
I'm so sorry I forgot you last chapter! I didn't get the email until,
like, right before or while in the midst of posting and never edited!
Thanksies for reviewing! Am glad you're enjoying it!
...Riceball
the Second: Cuz I'm a
sadistic little wench, that's why I'm cruel. And yeah, "Kuja"
is amusing to say... and I plan on it! Gonna go celebrate and
everythang!
...Butter
fly soup: Yay for
dancing!
...hanakitsunechan7:
Yeah, bad man... It's St. John's University I'm going to, and I'm
glad there are so many bookstores (I might need to move in, to
"study" and shtuff -coughMANGAcough-) And so ya know, I
don't really have money, either, but there's a sewing machine and my
mom has a buttload of fabric... It's gonna be tricky, but we now have
Organization Zippers! Good luck at the rest of your high school,
you'll have fun!
...Ranchdressing:
Of course there are more opportunities, but I love New York. It's a
great place to be, and I really wanna live there. Greeeeat...
-giggles-
...Ovrlord
Crys: You can have all
the "cake" you want... -giggle- I actually meant the cake
you bake and then eat, cuz, man... I really want some cake, if ya
know what I mean, LOL. No srsly, I'm hungry...
...JereduLevenin:
You need happier things. That is all I say. -giggle- No wait. Mpreg
is weeeeeird, none of that in this sorta thing! I'd've made Zexy a
CHICK if I wanted him to have a baby! -more giggles- that's it now,
cya in the band hall!
...Launch
shinra: Ain't he? No
no death... and yeah, Larx is full of surprises... like stuffed
animals... happy things... creepy.
...benji's
lover iz a cowfree:
Don't worry, happy ending! Haaaaapppppppppy happy joy joy!
...shrouded-obsession:
Yay! I just love saying that, cuz only true digifans really remember
that... you've made me happy.
...Lunaa:
Oooh, how awesome! Well, it's in Queens. And I'm cosplaying Sora
(Halloweentown version), Mello (from death note) and possibly
Yoruichi (from Bleach) but I kinda wanna do Komui (from D.Gray-man).
I'm so spazzy, and have less than a month to finish everything...
...Silva-trees:
Exactly! Zexy's dad is bad shtuff. He's a Final Fantasy IX character,
the main enemy who looks like a chick (and he has Saix's hair color,
and red eyes...). I dun like him, nor have I played FF9, but he's
so... girly... one of my friends said it was ironic that a homophobe
looked like a chick. -giggle-
...Hikari
Aiyano: Aww, you
actually cried? Am sorry... dun cry, this isn't the sad story!
-giggle- Am surprised I'm evoking emotion--that makes me happy.
Somewhat... but sorta sad you cried. Happy ending, okay? Happy happy
joy joy!
...sesshomaruhasafluffytail:
Making it better! Pwomish!
...Dearie:
Pity for Demyx, how delicious.
...Shattered
Sanctuary: -giggle-
You'll see...
...Metal
Chocobo: -giggle-
you'll get answers, can't leave you hanging (you asked so many, I
actually had to go back and make sure I was answering them all!)
...AnimeDragonofFire:
You're awesome! I love the many different reviews, that amused me.
Dun worry, school will just... melt your brain.
...darkchild:
Yay!
...Princess
of Oblivion: Dun die,
can't kill ya! -giggle- That would be a horribly way to die. "I
apologize, your child has died of suspense from fanfiction..."
"What's a fanfiction?!"
...Broken
TWiLiGHT Lullaby: Oh,
awesome! Larxene's so great. Anime conventions are great, I hope you
have a great time! It's like... anime heaven in a pocky box.
...blackkeyblade:
Lol. I'm confused...
...Evil
Genius of the COCA: I
know, evil people are bad. And Kuja's a jerk, so I guess it sorta
works? Who knows... maybe people were smacked too many times as
babies? But who smacks a baby? Oh yeah, Kuja... grr, it's a cycle!
...thexrealxdemyx:
Teehee, suspense at school, tsk! (But it's a great place to read
these fics, isn't it? -giggle- I do it all the time!)
...SeventhSenses:
I wouldn't imagine doing that! (At least not on this.) So my previous
stories are a bad judge of character... ssh!
Anyways... Yay for lurve!
Whispered
Melody
.xxv.
When
I'm Moving Further Out of Range
Demyx had been worked into a frenzy. He scrambled about the house, baggy jeans falling from his hips as he searched. He checked corners, closets, under desks and in cabinets, even the couch, and he couldn't find his boyfriend anywhere. Rooms were empty, the house was silent.
There was no way Zexion could've just vanished. This bothered him--Zexion needed to be somewhere. Zexion had to be hiding, probably playing a trick on him for making that roller coaster deal. Maybe he was talking to Aerith outside? But he doubted Zexion would go outside alone with his father missing. It was probably the trick.
"Zexion, look, if you're mad about the rollercoasters, I'm sorry!" he yelled out. "I didn't mean anything bad about them! Just wanted to beat them, that was it!"
"Mean anything about what, Demyx?"
The door swung open and Larxene looked at him oddly, carrying two large bags. Demyx recognized the logo on the side as the one belonging to the convenience store a few blocks down the street, and he figured she had been out for a while and stopped to buy things. Whatever she was doing, he didn't care, but a question immediately came to him.
"You're back?" she asked, walking towards the kitchen.
Demyx was immediately in front of her, staring with tears forming in his emerald orbs. "Larxene, please tell me you didn't see Zexy outside..."
Larxene looked up for a second, then squinted and glanced at the floor. "Huh... guess it was him." She shrugged and made her way to the kitchen, unpacking one of the bags. "Guess I did see him, yeah. He was getting into some real sweet car... didn't think it was him, though, so I didn't pay attention to it."
The younger blond gasped loudly. "Where'd he go? Which way? What did the car look like?!"
"Hold up on all the questions, sheesh!" She rolled her eyes, picking up the mug of cocoa on the counter. Calmly, she took a sip. "Yum... Zex makes some damn good cocoa... if he loves you so much, how come he just up and left, Dem?"
Demyx stared in shock for a moment at his sister, then quickly hurried to the door. "No, no no no! He's not supposed to go anywhere!" Hastily opening the door, he peered outside to the darkened street, then slammed the door in anger. "Where'd he go?"
Larxene looked up with slight concern, setting down the mug to approach her brother. "Demy, what happened?"
He frowned, looking down. "His dad's escaped the institution and now Zexy's missing... and I'm having a really really bad feeling that his dad's doing the freaky kidnapping thing." Looking up, he found his sister staring in shock, before she shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"You've got to be joking. That's a lame trick, Demyx."
"I'm not kidding, seriously!" He hurried over, grabbing her arm. "You said you saw him get into a car. What did the car look like?"
"Black... Toyota... I could point it out if I can get a picture of it."
Demyx quickly urged her towards a stack of car magazines. His father had had a subscription to the same magazines since Demyx was four, and he'd steal them to look at the pictures. This felt oddly like his childhood again, shoving more magazines under Larxene's nose for her to find a pretty car; only this time, he had a mission. He had to find Zexion.
"Larx, look through those and--"
His cell phone began to ring in his jacket. He pulled it out and stared at it in surprise. Aerith Gainsborough. They had exchanged numbers when they last spoke, just in case she needed to contact him about Zexion. Did she already know his boyfriend was missing?
"Demyx?" Larxene asked, lifting one of the magazines.
"Just look through them!" he said hurriedly, flipping his phone open. "Aerith! Thank goodness you called!"
.vi...ix.
Dust, chemicals, smog...
This seemed stereotypically ridiculous.
Kuja had driven him around for almost an hour, to a part of town Zexion knew he never wanted to see. He wasn't sure why, but Kuja seemed rather happy to be acting like a typical mobster, classical music drifting from the radio as the car gently rolled across rough roads, down streets and alleys and driveways, until finally he rolled to a stop beside a dark building. Zexion peered up at it oddly, a frown slowly forming.
This was a warehouse. His father had taken him to a warehouse, then got out of the car. He walked around, letting Zexion out before roughly grabbing his arm.
"Now, you're going to oblige, correct?" he asked.
"For the most part..."
That was definitely not the proper thing to say. Kuja lifted the gun to Zexion's temple and pressed the cold metal against his head, smirking. In this part of town, he didn't have to worry about hiding his gun... damn. Kuja walked him inside the building, through a door in the side, and they walked down a hallway and into a cold, plain room with concrete walls. There was only one small window on the side, and the only exit, the door they had entered, was currently being blocked.
Kuja threw him to the ground, then pointed the gun at him and smirked.
"So I hear you're Zexion, now?" he asked, laughing coldly. "Using that old nickname you and your little girlfriend came up with, huh..."
Zexion glared.
"What, not going to talk to me?" Kuja asked, frowning slightly. "First time to see your father in so long, and you're not going to say anything more?"
No.
Zexion decided to respond with his silence.
With a sigh, Kuja took a few steps closer and grabbed Zexion's arm, jerking the boy to his feet. From there, he lifted his gun, then brought the handle down right onto Zexion's temple. As his son began to fall, he yanked him back onto his feet and repeated his forceful movement. Zexion had to bite his bottom lip to stop from crying out; this reminded him so much of his earlier years, when his father would beat him for being soft or strange. He had only been shy and not very talkative as a child... yet to this day, his father chose to punish him for it.
Kuja slid the gun into the pocket of his jacket, then tugged him over. And promptly back-handed him in the face.
Zexion could taste blood. The stinging on his tongue just told him that he had cut himself, and his eyes narrowed at the thought of the bruise which he knew would form.
His father tugged him closer once more. "Zexion... why won't you answer?"
His silence received another slap to the face. Zexion closed his eyes.
"It's because you're not Zexion. Your name is Ienzo. Your mother picked that name for you, did you know that? She named you. I named your brother."
"Why...?"
He couldn't stay quiet any longer. His father had started to talk about his mother, and he couldn't leave without knowing the purpose in all of this. He straightened himself, ignoring his dizzy feeling as he stared evenly at his father.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Kuja smirked, and Zexion was sure he wouldn't like the answer.
The man back-handed him again, then let him fall to the ground.
"What, don't like my question?" Zexion asked, holding onto his cheek. "Why won't you answer, Father?" His eyes narrowed and for a second, he looked smug. Challenging his father evenly was a great action.
Kuja kicked him in the stomach. "Doon't tell me you've forgotten everything I told you," he said with a slight frown. "I guess today will be a learning lesson." He kicked him again.
Zexion lurched forward, coughing out a mouthful of blood. Damn... his father sure knew how to kick him while he was down--no pun intended.
.ix...vi.
The news was blearing in the living room, turned to the local news station, in the hopes of hearing anything. Aerith had arrived within fifteen minutes of the call, already on her way when Demyx had answered, and the blond immediately required the usage of her laptop. They had hooked it to the electrical socket in the kitchen and placed it on the bar, and Demyx immediately searched for every picture of black toyotas he could find.
"Demyx, how do you know so much about cars?" Larxene asked as she scanned the pictures. "Sure, Dad works on them and all, but you're not interested..."
Demyx leaned against the bar. "What makes you think I'm not interested in cars?" he asked. "I used to help Dad sometimes... gonna help Zexy, too, when we find him. Did you know he works on his?"
"Yeah," she replied. "He was working with Dad one day... didn't know you had any trade skills, though..." She frowned, biting her lip for a moment. "The car's not in here..."
Demyx sighed, loudly, and Aerith pat his shoulder. "Don't be discouraged. Something will turn up soon, I'm sure," she said. "We'll find him. His father's not exactly the most cunning person on the universe."
As she finished her sentence, she found the mullet-haired boy staring in shock at the television, pointing. "Larx, look!" he said quickly.
The young blond almost fell from her seat, spinning around. A few seconds passed before she nodded, eyes wide. "That's the car Zexy got into!"
"...vehicle stolen this afternoon by a man with bluish hair, downtown Twilight Town..." the television anchorwoman spoke.
A moment of silence lingered before Demyx hurried over to the television to pay close attention and Aerith pulled out her cell phone to call the station. That was it--Kuja had stolen the car and forced Zexion to come along. Within minutes of Aerith's phone call, the announcement had changed. Car stolen downtown by escaped asylum patient, Kuja Washington.
"He is highly dangerous, so if you have seen him, please, do not approach him; call the police immediately. He might have a potential hostage or two..."
.vi...ix.
Blood... unknown chemical, lot of blood...
His father had reduced him to a shuddering, bloody pile. He wasn't even sure how his father had managed, but he was guessing that it was because he hadn't fought back. He couldn't. He didn't have the strength, the courage, to attack his father. He hadn't been able to as a child... and yet now, here, when he truly needed to, he couldn't.
Blood matted into his hair, covered one side of his face from a cut on his forehead. His stomach hurt, his father's boots had cut his arms, and he knew he was covered in bruises. Plus, he was now to the point of coughing blood each time he tried to move. He could only lay, curled on the concrete, holding onto his stomach as he choked out the metallic crimson liquid.
Kuja slowly squatted next to him. "Plan on staying quiet for now?" he asked coldly.
Zexion didn't move at all, and his father laughed.
"Good..."
The man pat his head, and he had to bite back a wince at the heavy hand touching his wound, pressing his head against the floor below him. He shuddered slightly, and Kuja smirked.
"Good... alright, so you wanted to know a few things. I give you permission to speak, so ask your first question."
Zexion shifted to sit up, his body protesting and screaming in agony as he moved to look at his father. "Why'd you kill her?" he inquired, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears. A tad wet, choked and feeble...
His father smiled. "Oh, that's an easy one. She got in my way."
Raising an eyebrow, Zexion let slight confusion form on his face to urge Kuja to continue. The look worked, and his father smirked a bit.
"Oh, you don't remember, Ienzo?" He looked up, then smiled. "You were little, probably too young to remember. But you and your brother came with me on a mission or two. You've been here before..."
Zexion had to look away as his brain began to process this information. His head ached horribly, but the scent... the chemicals... he knew them from somewhere. But where...?
His father must have seen his look, for he continued, his smile growing more and more cruel. "This was my first base of operations," he explained. "Your mother was taking care of your grandmother, so I had to take you two with me after work. Neither of you knew what was going on, so I was safe then. But your mother found out shortly after, and she urged me to quit."
"Quit..." Zexion looked up. "What kind of place is this?"
Kuja smirked. "Methamphetamines were manufactured here," he explained. "It sells for quite a bit, and when you're the creator, it's great to hit them once in a while when your children refuse to silence until you beat them."
The boy's eyes widened. His father was a drug user. Seller, creator... the drugs had been what he turned to when they made any noise, the reason he locked himself in his room. The reason Zexion grew up without a father to care for him...
His father smirked in satisfaction, sitting up. "Yes, Ienzo, drugs," he said. "Since you were two, to be honest. Your mother found out a few years after that... she was a smart woman--she investigated, wanted to know what was going on, wanted to hold me to my promise of quitting. But she got in my way. I made much money that way, I didn't need her throwing away my supplies when she found them."
"So you killed her?" he asked.
"Not immediately... I told her that she had to stop harassing me about it or she'd regret it. She had a choice... but thankfully, the perfect time came to get rid of her. With your brother out with his friends, and you kept busy, I had time to prepare. She planned on divorcing me."
Zexion's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you just divorce her?" he asked. "Why'd you kill her? Why'd you blame me?!"
Kuja smacked him in the head. "Hush, you. I'll explain all of that..."
The boy silenced and looked at him with a dark glare, allowing him to continue his tale.
"I knew your brother experimented with drugs. Half of his friends were my clients, so I was easily able to slip something to you through one of them--they never really noticed, anyway. I just wanted you all completely out of the way, but you decided to come see what was going on. You walked into the kitchen during one of our fights. I told her it was over, and she just pleaded for me not to hurt you and Saix, and then I took the knife and stabbed her. Four times, straight in the chest, and she screamed as she fell." He smirked. "Problem solved.
"Or so I thought. You were staring at me, so I just moved you to her, and handed you the knife. I stayed close by as you looked at her, and she spoke to you, Ienzo. Did you know that?" He grinned cruelly. "She said, 'Ienzo, I love you...'" Letting out a soft laugh, he added, "I guess that's when she died. She didn't really say much else, but her eyes didn't close for a little while. I had to shake you into reacting, Ienzo, and you snapped. Much better than I had imagined, actually."
Kuja smirked and touched his cheek. "I'm surprised, Ienzo. You never fail to amaze me sometimes. When you kept the knife... I was astonished, and I could only keep watching. I saw your entire incident with Naminé from the kitchen window. I called the police after you ran...
"The only escape path I had was to pretend to be completely distraught. And your confusion, on top of mine, had me out to be the crazy one. You tested for something, I didn't. That's why you got off easy. That's why I'm here..."
"You..." Zexion stared up, tears stinging his eyes. He angrily blinked them back. "You killed my mother."
The knife hadn't been his. He hadn't stabbed her. He stood there in shock and was given the weapon; he had been shaken into action, he couldn't explain what had happened. His father had set him up perfectly.
Kuja smiled and nodded. "I did..." Pulling out the gun, he aimed it at Zexion's head, a cheerful look forming on his face. "I guess it's nice to have a bit of closure before you die, huh..."
The gun clicked, and Kuja aimed directly for Zexion's head. The college student stared, frozen, unsure if his father was bluffing or not. But the look in those eerie red eyes told Zexion that this could be the end. That his father was going to kill him. That this was the end... he couldn't believe that he was leaving everything so soon. The past few years of his life had been influenced by a lie, and now he sat, staring down the barrel of his father's handgun, afraid that his life would end within seconds. Whenever his father would pull the trigger and send a bullet through his brain...
'Demyx... Demyx, I'm so sorry... I didn't want to leave you this way...'
"Too bad he's not dying yet."
Zexion heard another click, and soft footsteps. Jelled blue-gray hair shone over Kuja's shoulder, and soon, he could hear a soft laugh.
Saix...
"You're a horrible man, you know."
Saix slowly moved further into the room, a gun aimed at Kuja's face. He stood a few feet to the man's left, glaring through his scar.
"Threatening my little brother like that, after you killed our mother... so you could continue your little drug problems..."
"Like you're much better," Kuja said. He peered curiously out of the corner of his ear, then quickly spun around and fired.
The gunshot was followed by a cry of pain, the thud of a body hitting the wall, and the sound of Saix's gun falling to the floor. Saix's face was twisted in pain as he gripped his shoulder, sliding down the wall. A trail of blood stained the concrete wall behind him, and Zexion paled immediately. Saix... had just been shot. That definitely meant that Kuja wasn't kidding. But...
That would mean a second person were to die in front of him. Saix wasn't dead; he groaned in anguish, glaring at his father.
"Fuckin' got me in the shoulder..." he grumbled. "But you have bad aim when you're moving, old man..."
Kuja smirked and inched closer, pointing the gun at Saix's face. "But of course, I don't have to move now, do I? Any last words?"
"Yeah." Saix smirked. "I don't believe I'm dying tonight, either..." He was smart enough to keep his eyes locked on his father, though Zexion was sure he was aware.
He and his brother had nothing to fight about anymore. Zexion couldn't blame Saix's friends--not completely, at least--for what had happened to his mother. Saix couldn't blame him for murder. The anger from the past three and a half years... washed away in an hour, and newfound anger aimed directly at their father.
No, Zexion and Saix could try to rebuild some sort of relationship as brothers.
Zexion didn't plan on letting him die.
He pounced, tackling Kuja and taking the older man to the floor. Kuja grunted in anger and tried aiming the gun behind him as he pulled the trigger--the bullet grazed Zexion's arm, and Zexion winced but tried not to let go. He was thrown off as Kuja attempted to turn around and shoot again, but Saix had quickly grabbed his gun and pointed it directly at Kuja's temple.
One thing Saix had definitely inherited from his father: rash decision-making. He would shoot if prompted, that was for certain.
Kuja laughed dryly. "Do you plan on killing me, Saix?" he asked, but in his voice, both boys could hear fear trying not to escape.
Zexion scrambled away and stood next to his brother, staring between Saix and Kuja. Saix didn't seem to falter at all, despite the blood which ran down his sleeve and dripped to the floor. He merely grabbed his shoulder with his right hand, holding pressure to his wound as he held his father at gunpoint.
"Drop you weapon, old fart."
Kuja could only oblige. Saix was riled and would shoot, and it seemed like he didn't feel like dying that night. Slowly, he set the gun on the ground. Saix kicked it across the ground, towards his brother.
"Pick it up, put your finger on the trigger."
Zexion stared at the weapon, and his father began to laugh.
"He won't do it," Kuja spoke. "Zexion's afraid of weapons, he wouldn't shoot anyone."
To prove him wrong, he bent down and picked up the weapon, holding it similar to how his brother was, only gripped with both hands. His head spun, from the information, from the attack, from the appearance... but he wasn't going to move until the police arrived.
Saix glanced at him through the corner of his eye and let a small smile form. "So it wasn't you after all, huh? Well... someone's sure to have heard the gunshots, the cops should be here shortly."
"Okay... thanks, Saix..."
"Any time, Booger face..."
.xxv. end .xxv.
Okay, so I have to admit, I got a little sappy... but, well, that's basically where this ends. Happy enough yet? After that evil cliffhanger, here, have a pleasant chapater. -giggle- I hope you guys enjoyed. I know I've been having fun writing it.
I can't believe it'll be over by Friday! Actually, I'm stunned about graduating...
If you have any questions pertaining to the story and any plot things I might've left out, PLEASE ASK. I'll answer, I promise!
Random. So somebody thought my friend was British, and I made some jokes and sent a FFPM and now they think I was extremely rude. I dun see it... I bash the US all the time, and I wish I were Jamaican like my mommy, and I hang out with a sometimes-asshole who's dad was a border-jumper and mom was a high-school dropout (he was adopted by nice people XD) so I'm guessing maybe it came out? I just don't see it, savelove. I just don't...
Eh...
LK time!
"I activate Asexual Reproduction! Prepare to be completely smothered by my giant, hairy balls."
- Yami Yugi, YGOTAS, (By LK)
(They're dueling, people! With cards!)
:Darkness Princess.
