Ultra special blah blah blah: ok, I'm so bad... I've been updating this fic on DA and forgetting to do that here too... I'm SO sorry! I'll be posting most of the chapters up right after this... Up to chapter 10 I do believe... there are also some little things that I'll be going back over and correcting when I get the time. I've been putting this whole thing together in sort of a book like format with illustrations and all that just for fun, and I'm taking note of some little things that I found fine early but I don't care for now... nothing major just fine tuning.
Okies, other than that I guess I should say the usual line now! ahem... Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and I mention Full Metal Alchemist which belongs to Hiromu Arakawa... this is a fic for fun and that is all, I do not claim any of the characters within this story.
Chapter 7: The Red Elixir and the Hideous Creature
Axel and Roxas stood quietly for some time before a large door just like all the others in the castle, except that this particular door was locked tight. Neither said a word, just stared at the entry as though sheer will power would open it. Roxas finally sighed glancing over at Axel who was thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "It's locked…" Roxas stated calmly.
"Thank you captain obvious… I can see that." Axel grunted sarcastically at his little companion.
"Well does he always keep it locked? Cause you look… just a smidget stumped there…" Roxas pinched the air, giving a visual to his words.
"I never get stumped." Axel snapped, glancing to his right, away from Roxas. "I figured it would be locked this time."
"So that means you've snuck in here before…" Roxas snickered.
"Yeah," Axel chuckled at the memory, "I guess he was working on something… highly flammable…"
"Figures." Roxas snorted and then leaned against the door, "so now what? Obviously you've got a plan."
"Yes, indeedy. There's a vent that connects his room to the lab." Axel pointed to a door just a few feet away. "It's very small and…"
"And you want me to sneak in there and crawl through?" Roxas sighed.
"Well, if you're going to volunteer like that, sure!" Axel chuckled.
"Move aside, you jerk… You're hopeless with out me" Roxas pushed past Axel and stomped over to the other door. He cracked it open, stopping when the door elicited a creak from its hinges. "Is Vexen in here?" He whispered back at Axel.
Axel shook his head, "I don't know. Vexen has really odd sleeping habits, I couldn't pin his routine. But if he is in there don't worry, he can sleep through anything… Just don't look at him, he drools… it's gross."
Roxas shrugged and slipped silently inside. Vexen's bedroom was very small and well lit, as well as being very cluttered. Books were strewn from one end to the other, piled high on his bed and lining every shelf, nightstand, or any sort of available surface. Roxas eyed the bed, it looked un-slept in for days, maybe even weeks judging from the line of dust that layered the books upon it. He then noticed a small couch, and the leg that was dangling over the arm. He froze for a second, listening to the still room until he was sure he could hear the faint breathing accompanied by the occasional snore that told him that the eldest member of the Organization was sound asleep. Most likely conked out right there reading some physics book as usual.
He did another quick scan of the room; there was nothing but books and bookshelves. His blue eyes finally fell upon the vent near the top of the left sidewall. It was perfectly positioned; it had to lead to the lab right next door. Roxas fumbled around, finding a small step stool in front of a tall bookcase and positioned it right under the vent. He stepped up and stretched out to peer through the slats in the metal grating, a smile spread across his face as he glanced behind at Vexen's couch, "perfect."
Axel was pacing nervously now. Walking back and forth, stopping and staring at the door as though he wanted to go in, only to turn and pace back towards the Laboratory's doorway. "What's taking so long? I shouldn't have sent him in…"
"Do you talk to yourself often? Cause that's a little freaky and I don't think I want to be around you if you're going to keep that up… Nutter." Roxas poked his friend in the middle of his back, sending a chill up his spine.
"For the love of Moogles, Roxas! Don't do that!!!" Axel spun around, "You little weasel, what took so long?"
"It's dark in there! I stubbed my toe on something." Roxas whined as he followed Axel back into the dark lab.
"And it smells funny in here…" Roxas' voice echoed in the dark room as he inched out into the open space. An eerie green light was illuminating his companion's face where he stood a few feet away, giving him a ghostly aura "and you look freaky." He added to his list of complaints.
"Well you don't exactly look like ray of sunshine over there…" Axel glanced at his friend and then quickly looked away. The shifting green and yellow light that lit the younger Nobody's form was almost stomach churning. It gave him that same feeling he got when he was on a boat out at sea. This was one little quirk he didn't share freely with just anybody, his terrible seasickness. Only Roxas knew about it, and that was because the superior had sent them both on a mission to some stupid world filled with pirates and water… oh how he hated the water. He spent most of the time hanging over the railing of the ship hurling his guts into the vast blue sea.
Roxas eyed him, a smirk began to play at the corner of his mouth, "You look a little green, dear friend, and I don't think it's that freakish lighting effect."
"Shut up, Roxas…" Axel held his stomach and started to feel the smooth surface of the wall for any sign of a light switch.
Roxas looked around, then down at his PJs, that was it. His PJs were the problem; it was the natural color and the swirling hearts that decorated it mixed with the lava lamp like bubbles of light that cast them over with a sick putrid green color. The light moved like water, and the mixture of colors were enough to even make him sick. Roxas' smirk widened as he realized he had him. "Hey Axel… So what are we looking for?" He asked masking the chuckle that threatened to escape as he started to sway as though he was slow dancing to some unheard song.
"We're looking for that new stuff Vexen… Hrrrk." Axel's sentence cut off when he turned to look back at his friend, his hand shooting up to his mouth as he jerked his gaze away and lean his forehead against the wall. "KNOCK IT OFF, ROXAS!!!"
"Why should I… You're such a pansy…" Roxas laughed. "It's like the ocean… Isn't it… so calming… back and forth and side to side…" He mimicked the movements that he had described.
"Don't make me come over there and pound you, I'll do it… I will…" Axel never looked around, and despite the threat, his tone of voice was weak.
"How… You have to look at me to catch me…" Roxas turned, bumping into a table that was hidden in the dark; rattled a glowing green tube that was sitting on top.
"Well I'll be sure to catch you quickly and then hurl my guts on you…" Axel started to look around and see what the sound was, but thought better of it. If he knew his friend it was just a trick to make him sick.
Roxas eyed the murky green liquid in the jar, tapping it with his finger. The murky fog seemed to separate revealing something… hideous… "WHAT IS THAT!!!" Roxas' mind shut down as he stared at some freakish little lizard-fish thing that was suspended in the green gel.
"Don't get to close to it…" Axel choked a little, this time he did turn, willing himself to keep his insides from churning.
"But it's dead… whatever it is..." Roxas started to poke at the glass again when the creature's reptilian eyes opened and in a sudden flash of movement, it made like a suction cup against the glass with its huge mouth near his finger. Roxas let out a scream, flailing backwards and jumping up onto Axel's back. "IT MOVED!!! DID YOU SEE THAT? IT MOVED!!!"
"Roxas…" Axel calmly said his friend's name, getting the terrified Nobody's attention, "Could you possibly remove your arm from my neck… and maybe let go of my face…"
Roxas finally realized that he was choking Axel with one arm and was hanging on for dear life, almost gripping him by the nose with his other arm. "Oh…" he released his grip and slipped off Axel's back, taking a few steps backwards, "Sorry…"
"You are such a spaz…" Axel cleared his throat as he fumbled along the wall once more.
Roxas eyed the room; it was pitch black and seemed boundless. There were no windows, and the only things he could see in the void were the strange glowing flasks and jars of varying sizes on a nearby desk, and then the tubes with hideous creatures living inside them. "I'm going to have nightmares for weeks after this one… What in the world is Vexen cooking in here… and why are we here… what are we looking for?" He turned back to Axel just as the lights in the room flicked on, blinding him.
"Whoohoo! LIGHT!" Axel blinked, his hand shading him from the luminance.
"Axel!!! A little warning next time! I think I'm blinded for life" Roxas stood rubbing his eyes then squinting trying to find his friend. It wasn't very long before he felt a hand on his shoulder, making him nearly jump out of his skin.
"Man, Roxas, you need to calm down… You're so, jumpy... " Axel chuckled, "But then you should be…" Axel pulled him into a headlock and readied the noogie, "Now who was it that was trying to make me sick… hmmm?"
"Lemme go, Axel, Ouch! What if we wake up Vexen!! He's right next door!" Roxas squirmed and wriggled trying to free himself.
"He sleeps like the dead, now back to business… Are we going to pull something like that again?" Axel proceeded to torment Roxas, turning as his little buddy tried desperately to free himself. He suddenly let go, sending Roxas sprawling back against the table where the odd creature in the tube was sitting.
Axel turned just in time to see the tube teetering on the edge of the table. "Roxas! Catch it!"
Roxas sat up from his sprawled out position under the table, banging his head on the underside of the hard surface and nearly knocking himself out. That final jarring thump sent the tube falling to the ground were it shattered and spilled its gooey contents across the floor. The small creature lay still in the middle of it, unmoving and lifeless. Roxas slowly leaned forward and shook his head, dazed and confused; he glanced up at Axel as his friend helped him to his feet.
"You ok?" Axel examined the knot that was forming on Roxas' forehead.
"NO! Thanks to you, you jerk!" Roxas slapped his hands away and rubbed his sore spot.
"Well I think you spilled your brains out over there, go stuff them back in your ear and let's get back to work…" Axel chuckled pointing at the shattered glass and motionless creature.
Roxas turned to see the mess, "Aw, man, Axel! We killed it! Vexen is going to be furious!" he made his way to the small creature and knelt down to look at it.
"So…" Axel watched him for a moment, "are you really going to fall for that twice?"
Roxas let out a 'hn?' that turned into a what almost sounded like a squeal when the creature lurched awake once more; lunging for him. Roxas was on his feet and yet again attached to Axel's back like a baby monkey. "KEEP IT AWAY!!!"
Axel started to laugh, but his attention was suddenly on the door. There were loud footsteps coming closer, followed by voices. Axel quickly looked around the room, spotting a large metal closet and quickly flicked the lights off to hide.
"Axel! What are you doing… where are you?" Roxas searched blindly, suddenly he felt a tug on his shirt collar and soon found he was in someplace very cramped and pitch black.
"shhh…" Axel breathed before both them held their breath waiting for the door to open.
"What in the world is going on in there?" a very tired and annoyed voice growled from the other side of the locked Lab door. The knob made a rattling noise as though the mysterious person was still too tired to even turn it the right way.
The door creaked open just a crack when another deeper voice called out to the one that was about to enter the room. "Vexen, what's going on?"
"Saix, what are you doing here at this early hour?" Vexen suddenly sounded calm and collected; every trace of his weariness was gone.
"We're trying to find Axel, we think he might have come here for something. You WERE working on something, recently correct? A potion of sorts?" Saix asked, his voice had a rather calm sound to it.
"Indeed, I was. But what would Axel want with it?" Vexen pulled the door closed once more.
"Just get out of the way, Vexen, I'm tired of all this tip toeing around! If Axel's in there I want his head on a platter, RIGHT NOW!" the new voice was cold and harsh.
"Axel… That was Marluxia, and Saix? What is Siax doing here!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Roxas whispered, starting to panic.
"Nothing… I don't know why he's here…"
Roxas was starting to hyperventilate now, "What are we going to do?"
"Just keep quiet no matter what…" Axel whispered back in the darkness.
"Well that's a fine how-do-you-do! Have a little respect you annoying little Twit!" Vexen hissed at Marluxia. "Go in, but I can tell you now that they're not in there, This door is locked at all times and only I have the key."
The lights flicked on once more, the room was still and quiet. Vexen walked into the middle of the room, surveying everything. Marluxia, Saix, and Larxene followed closely behind. Nothing seemed amiss, and all appeared to be in perfect order until a strange crunch noise disturbed the silence.
Saix glanced down at his boot, pulling his foot back and eyeing the shattered glass and green substance he had just stepped on. "Vexen, what is this?"
Vexen turned, glancing at Larxene's disgusted expression and then at Saix. "What?" his gaze then fell on the mess near the Diviner's feet. His pale face shifted from sulky annoyance to a tinge of fear, "No… Not that…"
Larxene eyed the slime that seemed to be spreading and becoming more disgusting by the minute, "What IS THAT, this is disgusting! You know this is far past the point of needing to tell someone they really need to develop better cleaning habits."
"That was just the fluid that kept him docile, where is he?!?" Vexen ignored her snide remark and began to look panicked, as he searched under tables and between books.
Marluxia watched the frantic display, and quickly lost interest. His gaze began to wander over the room again, resting on the large closet to his left. Normally it wouldn't have been suspicious, but he could have sworn that he heard the slightest gasp emanate from behind the door when his gaze had fallen upon it. The doors were just barely ajar a tiny crack, peaking his curiosity even more. His eyebrow arched as he turned and slowly started to walk towards the closet doors.
"Vexen, what are you looking for?" Saix glanced around suspiciously.
"One of my experiments, he's escaped… that must have been the ruckus I had heard earlier…" He was now looking under his desk, frantically brushing aside misplaced books and papers that had fallen underneath.
Marluxia stopped hand in midair ready to open the closet door; he glanced back at Vexen, "Ruckus?"
"I woke up when I thought I heard voices, and then the shattering of glass. It must have been my experiment… he makes odd noises and tries to escape sometimes…" Vexen straitened up, turning to catch sight of Marluxia standing there with his hand on the closet door. "STOP!"
Everyone in the room froze, not sure what exactly they were freezing in place for. Vexen slowly rose to his feet, he carefully walked towards Marluxia as he whispered in a calm and gentle voice, "Don't move a muscle…"
"What on earth has gotten into you? You're freaking me out…" Marluxia began to fidget.
"SHHH…. Quiet… Not a sound, not a movement…" Vexen still approached but his sight was clearly on something higher up above Marluxia.
"What… What is it?" Marluxia then broke the command and turned his head and glanced over his shoulder to see what it was that Vexen was stalking. It was the most hideous thing he'd ever seen in his life as a Nobody, and it was staring down strait at him over the edge of the closet. "YAACK! WHAT IS THAT!!!" Marluxia screamed, his outburst actually coming out a little manlier this time as he launched himself in a swirling vortex of cherry petals from where he was standing and strait into the arms of the nearest Nobody.
The hideous lizardfish made a gurgling hissing noise and leapt from its perch, hitting the floor in a dead run and scuttling out the door. Followed closely by Vexen, "NO!! NO, NO, NO! COME BACK! We have to catch it before it bites someone!!"
Marluxia was hyperventilating, "My life just flashed before my eyes… oh the horror… what if THAT was the last thing I would have seen. Oh the Hideous Monstrosity burned onto my retinas!!"
Larxene was laughing; she nearly collapsed on the spot. While Saix stood for a second, pondering the reason why HE was the one holding Marluxia. He let out an annoyed grunt of disgust and then suddenly dropped him on his rump and walked away, "We need to go get Demyx… before that creature finds him, it'll probably be attracted to the sent of blood." Saix stated as he left the room.
"OUCH! What was that for? That hurt you know…" Marluxia rubbed his backside as he stood up.
"Come on, Grace, we got to go make sure our musical idiot is still alive… I don't think Axel came here after all…" Larxene chuckled as she turned and followed Saix.
Marluxia stood, shoulders hunched, as a growl rumbled in his chest. He took a step towards the door only to stop for a brief second and glance back at the closet. He eyed it suspiciously and then continued on his way once more, leaving the room in silence.
A strange hush filled the room for a few moments after the departure of the others, then the door to the closet creaked open to reveal Axel standing wide eyed with his hand clamped around Roxas' mouth to keep him quiet, a tall skeleton was leaning over Roxas almost looking like it was hugging him.
"I think we just stared death in the eyes…" Axel released Roxas and carefully inched out of the closet.
"Yeah and death dresses funny and sounds like a girl when he screams. I think we better grab what we need and get out of here. Then we should call it quits, Man… They're starting to catch up with us, and if Saix is hunting us down… I don't even want to go there." Roxas started to take a step out of the closet, his PJs catching on the skeleton and pulling it down on himself in a clatter of flailing limbs and rattling bones.
"He keeps his most precious experiments up there…" Axel pointed to a cabinet high up on the wall, he turned back to find Roxas fighting with the skeleton trying desperately to escape it's grasp. Axel just groaned and focused back on his mission.
"Are you done playing around?" Axel sighed, "We are looking for his latest experiment… It's in a red flask… and supposedly smells of roses… I overheard him telling Xemnas that it would be the weapon to beat all weapons… a miracle potion. And that means WE must posses this miracle weapon in a bottle…"
"But what does it do?" Roxas was finally free of the skeleton and was now trying to act like it never happened as he inspected the titles of some of the books in a nearby bookcase.
"I just told you…" Axel stopped, glancing over his shoulder at Roxas.
"All you said was that it was a miracle weapon… but what does it DO?" Roxas straitened up, staring back at his friend. They just stood there eyeing each other for a few minutes, "You don't know do you? This better not be some lame LOVE potion… that's so…"
"I doubt it… but if it was important enough to tell Xemnas about then I want it…" Axel stated then motioned for Roxas to come closer "Come on, I'll lift you…" Axel snickered.
"ME?! You'll drop me… You want it that bad you get it yourself!" Roxas threw the book he had picked up down with a loud thump and then started for the door.
"It's easier for a delicate little flower like you to climb up there, I'm too heavy… I'd pull everything down." Axel snatched Roxas by his PJ collar and pulled him back to the bookshelf.
"You just insulted me… and still expect me to help you?" Roxas groaned at the cheeky smirk on Axel's face; it was useless to fight against Axel. Once he had made up his mind that was the end of it, all you could do was just go with the flow and hope you didn't get horribly maimed in the process.
Axel clasped his hands together and crouched down, giving Roxas a step up as he lifted him up to the cabinet. Roxas used the bookshelf below it to steady himself, trying desperately not to sit on Axel's head. Once they were stable Roxas flung open the door and began to quickly check bottles. None of them were red, and most were in jars, he was about to give up hope when he decided to just blindly fumble for the top shelf above his head. He fingered a flask and quickly snatched it off the shelf so he could see the color. "Hey this one's red… could this be it?" Roxas leaned a little too far back, trying to show it to Axel. He lost his balance and slipped backwards as Axel lost his grip on his little buddy's legs.
There were a few yelps and stumbling steps, as Axel fell back against the table and Roxas slipped into a sitting position on his shoulders with both arms wrapped tightly around his friends' forehead. Axel grabbed Roxas by the knees in order to keep him from continuing his backward plummet. They stayed like that for a moment, "You almost dropped me…" Roxas finally gasped.
"Ah, but I didn't! Did I?" Axel chuckled.
Roxas released his death grip on Axel's head and turned the flask over in his hand. "Its got writing on it… I don't think this is something that Vexen made himself…"
"What? What does it say?" Axel glanced up at the flask dangling in front of his forehead.
Roxas squinted, reading the faded old print on the red substance. "It looks REALLY old… It says… Philosopher's Stone… Keep out of reach of children… pets… Suits of Armor… and vertically challenged Military Alchemists…"
"What the… that's not it, toss it." Axel growled, disappointed.
Roxas chucked it, shattering it against the wall. The red liquid fell to the floor and then pooled together on the ground forming a hard stone. "Hey that was cool, I wonder if there's more…" He glanced back up at the cabinet, suddenly catching sight of another red flask on the top shelf were the Philosopher's stone had been. He whacked Axel on the top of the head and then pointed, "THERE! Let's try that one…"
"What am I? You're pack mule?" Axel snarled rubbing his head.
"YES! NOW MUSH!" Roxas ordered, fighting back a snicker.
Roxas stretched out again, snatching the second red flask and holding it down in front of Axel's face, "This it?"
Axel took it and looked it over, "There's no writing…" he opened the cork in the top, instantly the thick smell of roses filled the room. "Yeah that's it." He corked it quickly, his eyes watering from the potent scent.
"Great, let's get outta here before Vexen comes back…" Roxas dropped to his feet and nearly ran for the door.
"Fine by me, I've had enough of this freak show…" Axel snorted as he stuffed the flask into his pocket.
IOIOIOIOIOIOI
Meanwhile, much further down the hallway a certain unconscious musician was slowly starting to wake from his slumber. Demyx leaned forward with a loud groan escaping him; clutching the towel Larxene had pillowed his head with in one hand as he tenderly rubbed his aching forehead with the other. He blinked, trying to bring his eyes into focus as he pulled the towel up into his lap and stared at it blankly. The haze that seemed to fog his mind finally cleared as he examined the towel, it was covered with spots of blood. His blue eyes widen with horror as he pulled his gaze from the towel to the puddles of blood and yet another discarded towel a few feet away.
"This… blood…. And this… this is Larxy's towel!!! And that's… That's Mar Mar's!!!" Demyx jumped to his feet, frantically looking around, "SAIX!!! SAIX!!!" He stopped calling, tears starting to well up in his eyes, "NO! MY SITAR ATE THEM ALL!!!" He screamed running back toward the stairs.
End of Chapter 7: The Red Elixir and the Hideous Creature
There's a dangerous little creature on the loose now, Axel and Roxas have a mysterious and powerful potion in their grasp, and now Demyx has awakened to find his comrades gone and he is now all alone. And what's this, there's some strange echoing steps coming from around the corner, will Demyx investigate or will he run…
