And Now it's Time for Author Notes with Dragonnova: quickie notes here... um I had Demyx call Zexion "Zexy" in the last chapter and in this chapter I changed it to "Zezzy" there's a reason for that... you see When I say Zexy I'm pronouncing it Zezzy... not like the word Sexy (which that's cute and all... Sexy Zexy... but I don't think Demyx would be saying that... I think that's a quick way to tick Zexion off...) and the reason I always say Zezzy is because I pronounce his name Zezion ('Zezz' with 'Ion' like the little vampire in trinity blood...which maybe I'm wrong... but I like saying his name like that... and no matter what I will say his name like that.)
and the other thing is the title of this chapter... Red Sky at morning or in morning... I figure.. Demyx... water... ocean... red sky at morning sailor take warning... means a storm is brewing. but you prolly already got that...
ok now off with you, off with you... I will not keep you any longer with my rambles.
Chapter 9: Red Sky at Morning.
The Melodious Nocturne jumped; his mind ripped from pondering the white substance on his coat and gloves and placed back on what was more important. He knew the reason behind the blood-curdling scream that had just torn asunder what little peace had been left hanging in the air. But this outburst was so unlike the usually quiet and calm Cloaked Schemer; Demyx couldn't help but wonder if Zexion would come out of this all right. He slowly tip toed up to the bathroom door, fidgeting a little before he gently tapped on the cold white surface of the entry.
"Zezzy…"
"Leave me alone…" the voice inside was quiet, but laced with a tremor of annoyance.
Demyx flinched at the sound of the other's voice, yet continued to tap on the door lightly "Zezzy, are you ok?" he whispered again ignoring the warning. Inwardly he was not even sure he wanted to know the answer to that question, especially after all the things he'd seen this morning. But he didn't want to leave Zexion alone in this state; he'd never seen that sort of startled look on his face before. He'd never seen much of any sort of emotion flash across the Schemer's face, except for an evil smirk or the occasional dull boredom once in a blue moon.
The door suddenly flung open missing Demyx's nose by just a fraction of an inch, revealing a Nobody with the usual grey-blue hair that hung over his right eye, but now there was the fire of blind fury burning in his other visible deep blue eye, "DO I LOOK ALRIGHT TO YOU? DO I?" he growled through clenched teeth.
Demyx looked him over; the other Nobody looked the same as he always did, except for his unusual behavior and the dark black doodle of a monocle over his left eye, a swirly heart on the tip of his nose, as well as a rather villainous looking ink moustache. Demyx cleared his throat and then answered, "Well at least they didn't write..." He was cut off before he could finish as Zexion made a sudden and highly unexpected move.
Both his hands shot up to his forehead pulling all the long layers of hair that hung over his eye back up out of his face, the thick black letters spelling out "EMO" across his forehead now clearly visible.
"Oh," Demyx's voice sounded slightly deeper than usual and then fell to silence.
"I AM NOT EMO!!! Why does everyone keep saying that? Just because I prefer to remain silent and read, all the sudden every one thinks I have dark issues with life and want to spend my time listening to goth punk music and ramble about how the world has done me wrong..." Zexion's voice cracked slightly as he walked back into the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror before letting out an agitated 'rar' noise.
"Goth music is kinda cool..." Demyx voiced his thoughts as he stood in the doorway.
"Demyx..." Zexion's voice clearly had the not-another-word tone to it, but that didn't stop the Melodious Nocturne.
"Well it's your hair I think... and you always wear black... and" Demyx started to point out some of the little things that could make someone think 'emo' about Zexion.
"We ALL wear black, Demyx... it's the Uniform... and usually Emo kids wear tight jeans and studded belts… You're thinking Goth..." he paused mid rant and stared at Demyx, "and what about my hair... Excuse me for not looking like I just rolled out of bed with mousse still in my hair like Roxas or like a red Sonic the Hedgehog wanna-be like Axel..." Once again Zexion shot Demyx a look that clearly said, need I continue. He could have started on Demyx and his Mullet but he turned back to the mirror and rubbed at the word across his forehead.
"You know a little soap with those little exfoliating beads things could get that off pretty easily. Mar Mar has some I'm sure… and he won't mind if you use it since he's dead now…."
Zexion blinked at the refection of Demyx in the mirror, willing himself to calm down, "Demyx… Marluxia is still alive… I can smell his terrible flowery stink as if he were here in the room right now…." His voice wavered, but the angered sting was starting to die down a little.
'But my Sitar… and the blood… it was all over the hallway." Demyx argued as he nervously leaned back and glanced down the hallway, a thought suddenly struck him "Look! Here's Larxy's blood soaked towel!" he pulled the towel out of his coat and held it out to Zexion.
The slightly shorter Nobody eyed the bloody towel; inwardly wondering why the other would keep a disgusting bloody towel tucked neatly down the front of his coat, but decided to cut to the chase instead of voicing his quandaries, "It's your blood… not hers." He stated flatly.
Demyx stared at him as the gears whirred in his head, "but… wait, that means… Larxy and Mar Mar are fine?!?! And Saix too?"
Zexion sighed, he was quickly finding it hard to remain terribly enraged in the presence of someone as innocent and kind as Demyx, "Yes, Demyx, they're fine… they're still here and alive. I told you, all of their scents are strong…" he sighed.
There was an overjoyed expression that swept across his face as a sigh of relief escaped the Melodious Nocturne's lips, but then his expression faded quickly into blank pondering. It was now Zexion's turn to be worried about facial expressions. The odd look on Demyx's face began to bother him; it was an expression he'd never seen on the other's face before. A strange sort of deep thought that seemed to grow further into some sort of irritated look as the moments passed.
"Demyx?" his curiosity finally got the best of him, but Demyx didn't answer right away and when he did the words were not very clear.
"Saix…" Demyx whispered as his mind ran through something that wasn't clear to Zexion. "He said it wasn't… my Sitar… but I heard it… I saw… all the blood, the things my sitar said... but then there was Marly's hair… and your face…" Things were starting to click together. The odd way his Sitar had in the way it spoke, the things that Saix had said, the fact that everyone was alive and well, and then finally all the odd things that were happening to all those around him. Everything was starting to come together and paint a larger picture in his mind as he finally began to understand.
Zexion tilted his head, listening to the odd ramblings. His own plight was quickly forgotten as he tried to figure out what was going on in his companion's head, "Demyx? What are you talking about?"
Demyx fell silent, glancing down again and inspecting the white substance that was now falling off in little dusty clouds. He suddenly looked up from under his damp fallen hair at Zexion; the look caused the Cloaked Schemer to take a step back. There was a fiery anger that seemed to be smoldering behind those sea green eyes that surely no one had ever seen before.
Without a single word Demyx turned suddenly, his hand shot up into the air as a portal of swirling darkness ripped open with such force it sent a gust of wind down the hallway snapping the long leather of his coat like a whip behind him. Zexion stood silently watching with bewilderment set on his face as Demyx disappeared into the swirling shadows. He didn't pull his gaze from the shrinking darkness until a voice called him back.
"Demyx! Zexion!" The female voice that called him back from his thoughts grew louder with the sound of bare feet running up the hallway to him. Zexion turned to find Larxene as she slowed and came to a stop before him. "Where did he go? What happened, Zexi…on…" Larxene fell silent as she finally noticed the markings all over Zexion's face.
Saix followed, coming to a stop behind Larxene as he eyed Zexion, noting the doodles on his face, "So it was you."
Zexion didn't say a word; his lips tightened into a thin line as he glanced away, letting his hair fall further and hide his face more. Inwardly wishing he could have joined Demyx in his escape than be caught like this by the likes of them.
Marluxia gracefully walked up as floating cherry petals danced on a light breeze and fell before his bare feet, reaching up to do what would have normally been a stunningly beautiful hair flip but stopped mid-motion and pulled his hand a way sticky with honey. "Ugh, he'll pay for that… that little…" he paused when he caught sight of Zexion.
There was a moment of silence; Marluxia just stared blankly at Zexion leaning closer to inspect the doodles, and then suddenly burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "Oh that one's by far worse than the one they pulled on me…" He whipped a tear from his eye as he chuckled, only to find himself frozen by the tiniest sound that seemed to echo and grow louder in his ears.
'click'
Zexion stood in the middle of the now silent hall, gently tapping a camera against his temple teasingly. "Nice bathrobe, milady, it's so elegant and beautiful on you… such a pretty lady… I'm sure the Superior would love to see this photo; I mean you look so lovely when you laugh. Or better yet, perhaps I'll let Xigbar have a copy of this one…" a wicked little smirk twisted his calm features into an evil image of malice.
A feminine chuckle echoed in Marluxia's ear, "He's got you again. From this view point I'd say you make it a little too easy." Larxene slapped him on the shoulder as she turned and walked strait up to inspect the doodles on Zexion.
Zexion leaned back, not entirely sure he liked how close the Savage Nymph was getting to his face. She let out a little 'hmmm' noise as she looked him over.
"beep!" She chuckled as she poked the heart on Zexion's nose like a button.
Zexion flailed trying to slap her hands away as she continued to poke his nose and make beeping noises, "Don't touch me!"
Saix let out a low moan, "Now is not the time to be playing games."
"Aw, but it's cute... this looks like Roxas' handywork." Larxene chuckled as she poked Zexion's nose again.
"I said DON'T TOUCH ME!!!" Zexion was starting to turn a shade of rosy pink from either embarrassment or irritation.
"Enough already" Saix barked, then willed himself to calm down, "We need to figure out were Demyx is before that creature tracks him down."
Zexion's anger fizzled as quickly as it had come upon him, "Creature?" his attention was suddenly ripped from Saix back to Larxene as she started touching his hair.
"There's somethin' under your bangs what does it say?" Larxene was trying to move his hair out of the way as he ducked and dodged her hands.
"I SAID DON"T TOUCH ME!!!" he howled fearful that she would be able to read the word on his forehead.
"Larxene! Stop touching him!" Saix snapped.
"You sound like my Sombody's mother..." Marluxia was chuckling until Saix shot him a death glare that could have stopped a charging bull.
"Are we quite done now?" Saix growled, as three heads nodded yes.
"So... what about a creature?" Zexion was the first to break the silence that had followed.
"One of Vexen's experiments got loose a little bit ago. Some kind of..." Larxene was suddenly interrupted by the Graceful Assassin behind her.
"Hideously disgusting sin against nature..." he filled in, eyes wide in horror as though the creature was still lurking over his head.
"I'm afraid that it might be attracted to the scent of blood. So it may be able to track Demyx down." Saix paused, an unusual look of worry flashed across his face, "I shouldn't have left him behind like that."
"Aw, come one, Saix... Obviously he's fine, he was just with Zexion, and you know full well that when he nosebleeds it's like some sort of disgusting fountain." Larxene chuckled, taking her gaze off of Saix and glancing at Zexion, "he gets it everywhere but on himself..." in her own way she was trying to ease the worried minds of her companions.
Zexion listened, somewhat confused but not too terribly lost after the rambles Demyx had subjected him to. He cleared his throat and then spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, "but he has your bloody towel stuffed down his coat."
Larxene stood silent for a moment, her eyes grew wide, "THAT IDIOT!!! What kind of moron does something stupid like that! Now that.. That.. THAT THING.. Can track him!" her once carefree tone was no longer there.
"He said it was all that was left of all you." Zexion paused looking at Saix, "he said that he woke up in the middle of a bloody hallway and nobody was there, the only thing left was that bloody towel. So he thought you were all eaten..."
Saix raised his hand to his face, letting out a groan, "I REALLY should have known better than to leave him there."
Marluxia chuckled, pulling his attention from inspecting his perfectly manicured nails to the others, "Oh please, is he still on that about his Sitar eating people. Let him run around and be an idiot, I just want to find Axel."
"Oh, yeah... what do YOU care, eh Barbie, you're too busy checking your perfect little nails to care about anything else!" Larxene turned and snapped at the other Nobody.
"And since when did you start giving a moogles' behind about anything but yourself you little harpy!" Marluxia snarled back, readying for a full on verbal battle with the Savage Nymph.
"KNOCK IT OFF, both of you!" the Luna Diviner's voice echoed in the hall with a loud voice of authority, bringing the argument to a sudden screeching halt.
Zexion watched and then glanced at Saix, "How long have you been putting up with that..."
"Far too long for this early..." Saix sighed, "Did he say anything else to you, what happened before he left, perhaps we can figure out where he went based on what he said and did."
Zexion nodded, "he told me the whole story, he thought you all were dead for a bit. But I told him that I could still make out your scents so it was impossible." Zexion paused, "that's when he started acting strange. I don't know what he meant but he muttered something about you and his sitar saying something odd." he nodded at Saix, "and then something about my face and Marluxia's hair. Then he got angry..."
All three of the other Nobodies that were listening twitched. Larxene tilted her head, "Angry?"
"Demyx?" Marluxia's expression twisted into pure confusion as he tried to picture the musician being angry.
"Yes, angry... I've never seen anything like that expression on his face. He summoned a portal and left just as Larx ran up."
"He finally understood." Saix said as he crossed his arms over his chest, "he knows what happened now, which means he's going to go and check on something very dear to him in order to confirm it. After that... who knows what will happen."
"Then we should go find him before something happens." Zexion turned, calling a darkness portal to open before them.
Saix and Marluxia disappeared into the swirling void, then just as Zexion was about to step into the darkness he felt a tug on his sleeve, turning him back to look at the temporarily Not-So-Savage Nymph.
"Was he really that angry?" she asked quietly.
"I've never seen that sort of look on his face for as long as I've known him. I fear for what's about to happen." He whispered back.
IOIOIOIOIOI
While the four had been standing in the hallway discussing the mood swings of the resident water elementalist, there was a storm brewing elsewhere in the castle. A strange sort of peace, a calm before the storm, the quiet beginning of all chaos was starting to move into effect.
Axel walked down the middle of the hallway, arms folded back behind his head as he lazily marched along, a tight little smirk playing at his lips as he stared blindly at the ceiling high above them.
Roxas was nervously walking backwards, eyeing the direction they had come since reemerging from the portal. The adrenalin rush that was so strong just moments ago was finally starting to settle and leave him with a tiny bit of peace, "Axel... we should really call it quits now." his voice sounded small in the large empty hallway.
Axel let out a 'hn' noise and stopped, looking back at his little friend, "Something wrong?"
"Well, no, but we almost got caught back there… a couple times actually... and that last time by Zexion of all people. I don't even what to imagine the sort of thing he would do if he knew it was us, let alone caught us... after doing THAT to his face." Roxas fidgeted, mentally trying to brush away the worst scenarios that were trying to invade his mind.
"He is a little on the vain side sometimes, kinda reminds me of Marluxia a little. But I doubt he'd do anything harsh, and besides, he didn't catch us. So why worry." Axel chuckled as he continued his slow pace down the hall,
"I wish I had your nerves of steal, don't you get afraid that someone is going to... oh I don't know nail your butt to the wall one of these days?"
Axel slowed to a stop again, looking around as though he could pluck the answer right out of the air. He finally sighed, "No..."
"What about Demyx then..." Roxas eyed him, if fear didn't work maybe guilt would.
A loud guffaw broke the silence, "Like HE could ever take me down..."
"That's NOT what I meant and you know it." Roxas glared at the redhead standing before him.
"Ah come on, what's with you all the sudden, Ya big damp towel... Fine, if it makes you feel better we can stop for now..." Axel threw his hands up into the air and then shoved them back in his pockets as he continued on for a few steps before coming to a stop, back still turned.
Roxas nervously scratched his arm looking his friend over with suspicious eyes; it was NEVER that easy to make Axel back down. The only thing he could figure was either Axel had finally tired of their little game or there was a great big 'BUT' coming.
"but it seems to me that you had something in mind... judging from that little can of whip cream you have in hand there." Axel snickered as he glanced over his shoulder at Roxas.
Roxas twitched, looking down at the can, "I knew it..." yet even in his defeat he couldn't fight back the little smirk that was tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"So... how 'bout one last victim...I mean... lucky beneficiary of our attention... and then we call it quits for the morning. Cause it is getting a little... late in the day." Axel paused as he looked out the dark window then back at Roxas, searching his friend's expression. "So who did you have in mind?"
Roxas twitched again, "Me?"
"Well obviously you had someone in mind when you snatched that from the fridge, and I don't mean Zexion... So who was it that flashed through your noggin as you grabbed that can" He poked Roxas in the middle of the forehead, a wicked grin running across his face as he did so. Inwardly he was quite pleased that he was finally rubbing off on the kid.
Roxas never answered. The wicked grin that widened and spread across his face was answer enough for that evil question.
End of chapter 9: Red Sky at Morning
Demyx is angry…is the world going to end? And who could Roxas have in mind for the next prank? What could this mysterious person have done to the littlest Nobody to make him want to continue this for the sake of vengeance?
