Hey y'all...Chapter 6 is done! I hope I did a good job, I'm a bit worried that it will seem or be a bit slow after the last chapter and all the angst and drama. I can't help but worry, my mind is a horrible epicenter of anxiety and I just can't help myself...it kind of sucks that my mind is that way but maybe it keeps me in tune with people...not sure. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! I worked hard on it (I always do:3...)and tried my best to sniff out the mistakes before I updated. Oh, and I changed the titles to some of the previous chapters so they worked with my new chapter...I hope it doesn't mess anything up...
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts and/or any of the characters, they belong to Square Enix and Disney.
Only Axel's thoughts in this one...sadly no Larxene, she was fun to write but she will be back so don't fret! Anywho, as you know thoughts are in italics.
ENJOY!
.::Picture To Burn::.
Chapter 6: Catalyst...
His once vibrant viridian eyes had glazed over with boredom and an underlying worry that just skimmed the underside of his skin, ready to burst through without a moments notice. He couldn't remember how long he had been lying on his bed, staring infinitely at the off-white ceiling that he wished would just fall on his undeserving body. The fiery male roughly grabbed the pillow behind his head and shoved it onto his face, maybe the darkness that overwhelmed his vision would offer some different insight than the ceiling he had already bored a hole through.
God, I hope she's okay. If anything ever happened to her…I'd rip Larxene a new one faster than a bullet to the brain…which is also a tempting idea.
The pillow had failed miserably at offering a solace from the bombardment of thoughts that brutally struck the fire dancer's mind. Thoughts of the young witch continued to swirl persistently through his head, forever plagued with concern. The only thought that came close to easing his troubled mind was the fact that he would have to see her anyways on his shift and possibly get the chance to mend what he had ended up breaking.
The fire tamer gently lifted the pillow from his face as the familiar click of his door opening filled his ears, disturbing his contemplative silence. Upon seeing the sitar player's telltale mullet, the hot-blooded man sank back onto his bed uninterestedly. Axel heard the man's boots as their sound resonated off his walls with the water charmer's approaching footfalls. Having made it to the inferno's bed, there was a moment of silence before Axel felt a finger poke him on the arm.
"Hey, Axel are you sleeping?"
"Yeah, so go away…unless it's like life altering or something," the pyromaniac muttered with significant annoyance, as he cracked one of his emerald eyes open to observe the man standing by his bed.
The Melodious Nocturne took a second to scratch his head unhurriedly before revealing the reason for his visit,
"Well since I'm all better now, Xemnas reassigned me to my old duties and told me to inform you that you're no longer responsible for supervising Naminé. Oh, and he said you have an assignment later today since you're not on probation…heh, what did you do to get put on probation dude?"
Axel could feel something sink deep inside himself…he wouldn't get to see her after all. He was beginning to doubt that he could ever fix things with her, he didn't want what they had begun to have to stay broken in pieces. His green eyes fell to a sadness that he didn't truly feel but knew he would, dimming slowly as another bruise formed where his heart had given up. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't used to it by now…lately he had gathered an impressive collection of bruises, his insides were raw with aching pain. But, he simply put on a brave face like he always had, it's all he could really do in the end.
"Oh, just the usual, but Saïx made sure to help it along…stupid dick. Anyways, did Xemnas say when I was supposed to report for that assignment?" the fiery man said with an insincere smirk that held none of it's usual character.
"Hmm…well he was pretty vague. He just said later tonight, so I'd say you're good till like eleven. You could probably blow off another hour even after eleven, it's not like he was specific or anything…it's his fault…" the musician said, features immersed in a thoughtful expression.
Axel felt a small but nevertheless genuine smile tug at the corners of his mouth and he sent the water charmer an appreciative nod of thanks.
"You should probably get going…don't keep her waiting," the fire conjurer said, aching at the thought of her.
Demyx saw the sadness that eclipsed the green gaze of his friend; the water enchanter had never seen the usually dynamic firestorm in such an exhausted state and considered an inquisition but, in the end decided against the idea. So, the sitar player cast the lack-luster inferno a quick wave before heading into hallway.
The Melodious Nocturne leisurely made his way to the white halls that held Naminé's room, previous thoughts flowing rapidly from his mind to be replaced with notes and melodies that he attempted to string together. He hummed cheerily to himself as he walked down another hall, looking around quickly before breaking into an extreme air guitar solo that continued the whole way to his destination. Reaching the door, he finished with a low bow, succeeding in bonking his nose on her white doorknob. Embarrassed, the musician looked around the hall hastily before grinning goofily and gently rubbing his mildly throbbing nose.
Entering the witch's room, Demyx waited patiently for his eyes to adjust to room and regain it's familiarity after being gone due to his injury. He spotted the witch sitting predictably at her small white table. Everything appeared to be fine but the water enchanter couldn't shake the ominous and lingering feeling that something wasn't right. He focused his gaze back in the direction of the young witch and noticed that instead of the usual picture lying in front of her, there was a pile of…something. It was definitely out of the ordinary in this room, so naturally he couldn't help but try to unravel the mystery, albeit how trivial it was.
"Hey Naminé, did you miss me?" he started slowly, and considering she didn't answer, he took her silence as a no, "What's that you got there…" the water charmer asked as he reached out a gloved hand and cautiously dipped his fingers into the mystery substance on the table.
He rubbed two of his dirtied fingers together expertly and brought them to his nose before taking a sniff. The sulfurous smell bit angrily at the inside of his nose, the easily discernible smell of ashes…often associated with Axel in the musician's mind.
"Hmm…where did you get ashes? Wait, did Axel do this…naw, he wouldn't burn one of your pictures…" the nocturne caught a flicker of movement when he mentioned Axel's name, her fingers had twitched ever so slightly.
She had never been this despondent…ever.
He could feel worry beginning to creeping into his veins, leaving him with an unpleasant sensation in the pit of his stomach.
"Naminé…are you okay? Come on, if this is a joke it's not funny…" he scolded seriously, worry steadily growing.
"Just tell me what's wrong…I could try to help, please don't do this to me…" he said, beginning to slip into a more desperate voice as she remained unresponsive.
He could literally feel his anxiety rise, snagging at each peg as it increased. This was not a good start to his first day back on the job, worse, he would probably be placed with the blame. Jeopardizing the organization's plan would not be taken lightly, to be blunt…it would really suck.
Starting to panic, the water enchanter grabbed her thin shoulders and gave the girl a gentle shake which regrettably only resulted in her marionette limbs swaying limply.
"Shit, shit, shit…why do these things always have to happen to me?" the man practically wept in desperation.
Demyx began to pace swiftly, wracking his conflicting brain in an attempt to figure out what to do. His feet faltered and stopped abruptly, as an idea hit him square in the forehead.
"Vexen! He'll know what to do…or at least know what's wrong with her,"
Demyx walked carefully over to the comatose girl before hesitatingly lifting her from the small chair, one arm under the backs of her knees and the other supporting her back. Her head lolled to the side and gently hit his chest while one of her arms slipped and hung flaccidly over the side of her body, eyes half-lidded and mouth slightly parted.
"God, I hope she's not dead…I'd be so screwed," the musician murmured with a involuntary gulp as he took in her less than thriving vital signs.
Hurriedly, he made his way to the door, struggling a bit trying to open it with a dormant girl in his arms, before quickly continuing on his way in the direction of the lab that Vexen just about lived in.
The Melodious Nocturne was little more than a couple meters away from the lab's double doors when a thunderous explosion resonated from within the lab's walls, causing Demyx to step back in alarm. The doors flew open to release a green tinged smoke that billowed out to swallow the clean air greedily.
"Sorry…"
"Lexaeus, I think I would be a little more forgiving of this situation if I hadn't told you in abundance NOT to mix those two substances…but no, I had to get a deaf gorilla as an assistant. And that's being generous…primates are quite intelligent and you…are not." a flat, sophistical voice drawled out loudly from behind fragmented doors.
"I said I was sorry Vexen…god…" a deeper voice exclaimed in vain.
"Just clean this mess up, assistant…seems to be the only thing you're good at anyways," the level voice said with icy indifference.
Upon hearing the argument reach it's inevitable finale, Demyx poked his head anxiously through the lab's doors. The chartreuse mist had risen to the ceiling and continued to seep it's way slowly to floor, casting the room with an eerie vapor that clouded up the sitar player's vision.
"Can I help you Demyx? I do hope that this time Axel and Roxas aren't stealing any of my chemicals while you attempt to distract me…I don't particularly want to be linked to yet another fireworks display in Xaldin's bedroom…" Vexen admonished with a stress filled sigh.
Demyx blinked in surprise; taken aback by the Chilly Academic's sudden appearance from within the olive haze, but composed himself quickly after relinquishing a snicker at the unforgettable memory of those momentous light filled days, Xaldin's roars had filled the air rewardingly…those were some good times.
"Unfortunately no…umm I think something's wrong with Naminé. She's not responding to…well, just about everything…I don't know what's wrong with her," the water charmer trailed off slowly; mood taking a direct hit as the situation came back full swing.
Demyx watched with steadily growing dismay as the scientist's eyebrows furrowed together deeply and a grave frown was carved harshly onto his features.
"Would you please bring her here Demyx," the Chilly Academic ordered in a serious manner.
The Melodious Nocturne pushed with difficulty on the lab's door with his shoulder to reveal the cataleptic girl motionless in his arms before stepping into the lab.
"Got it covered," the musician intoned as he stopped in front of the grim looking scientist.
The severity that deepened the lines already present on the frigid researcher's face, as his eyes fell upon the young witch in the nocturne's arms, left a ominous chill in the air. The scientist carefully removed one of his gloves before seizing her thin wrist and checking for a pulse.
He felt it's mesmerizing throb against the thin skin of his fingertips…it was faint but it had never really been strong in the first place. Only two individuals in the entire organization had one, she was one of them, indisputably unique. She served a much greater purpose in their plan than most knew or expected…her abilities made her invaluable. It was clear she was suffering internally…by far more complex to diagnose, he just hoped it was slightly trivial. Anything more might be devastatingly irreversible.
"Follow me," Vexen commanded bluntly as he turned quickly to head deeper into the bowels of the organization's lab.
"Place her on that examination table," the Chilly Academic stated simply, watching warily as the often clumsy nocturne gingerly set the girl down, "Now leave…your presence is no longer required."
The scientist caught a glimpse of another black cloak heading for the exit and groaned with frustration before calling out impatiently,
"For god's sake, not you Lexaeus!"
The muscular assistant let out a sigh of resignation before grabbing his recently neglected broom once again and returning to work.
The Melodious Nocturne faltered momentarily as Vexen called out one last thing,
"Oh, and Demyx, do try and keep your mouth shut just this once…that's all."
The sitar player muttered a quick,
"Yeah, yeah…" before continuing on his way out the lab's double doors.
With the oppressive feeling of worry momentarily off his shoulders, the water charmer made his way down the halls with a considerably lifted mood. For the time being he was in the clear, so he let his thoughts push aside the apprehension and eventually slip back to the creation of grand symphonies in the confines of his head.
The musician was merrily making his way down one of the many hallways when a familiar voice jolted the marching band of notes parading through his mind and set them on fire with the ever turbulent laced words of the Flurry of Dancing Flames.
"Demyx? What the hell are you doing, you're supposed to be with Naminé,"
The Melodious Nocturne turned his gaze in the direction of the voice and locked eyes with Axel's piercing viridian gaze that bore through him accusingly. Demyx could clearly see the hint of anger that was shining menacingly in the inferno's eyes, so he decided to speed along his explanation…he knew Axel well, and anger didn't even skim the surface of ferocity of the conflagration the man could inflict as he wished.
"Well, I think I have the rest of the day off…something was wrong with Naminé so I took her to Vexen, who so kindly kicked my ass out, so she's with him getting tested and whatnot."
The fire dancer's eyes widened abruptly; concern mounting progressively in his stomach, thousands of questions swirled through his head, mixed brutally with condemning guilt. He had never expected her to be affected this much…
"Why what's wrong with her!" the inferno asked loudly, failing to hide the worry that spiked his voice, struggling to suppress the desirable urge to bolt to the lab right that second.
Axel watched with growing frustration as the nocturne scratched his head leisurely, eyes glazing slightly with the thought process called upon him, before supplying the fiery man with an adverse clarification.
"I dunno, I'm not a doctor…the only thing I can say is that she seemed really down. She must've shut herself down or something…hell I thought she was dead for a while."
The hot-blooded man let his shoulders slump ever so slightly under the weight he was carrying, he felt unbearably responsible. He just wanted things to fall back into place…take back everything wrong he did and throw it away. He wanted her back…he felt empty without her, her touch made him feel so real. Now he felt dead without it…without her. He didn't want to feel like he had abandoned her but it stuck with him anyways…he didn't know how to bring her back from where she was.
Some knight in shining armor I turned out to be…I can't even save her. I'm pathetic…tinfoil armor and a cardboard sword…I must be some beacon of hope…
The considerable dip in atmosphere did not go unnoticed by the Melodious Nocturne who eyed the depressed man with a growing hint of suspicion. The usual heat that radiated from his friend wasn't even perceptible. Only a faint shiver a warmth periodically escaped his skin, the best his dying embers could liberate, the lingering remains of his usually blazing core.
"Why are you so bummed? You didn't do anything…did you?" the sitar player asked with a curious glint in his eyes, but mouth still frozen in an unwavering frown.
Yeah…I did
"No, I didn't do anything asshole," the fiery man lied angrily with a forced show of defiance, viridian eyes flashing accordingly.
Demyx put his hands up in mock surrender,
"Easy there, I was just asking…but you are awfully defensive for someone who didn't so anything wrong…" the water charmer pointed out with a raised eyebrow of doubt.
"Yeah well, you'd be pretty defensive too if I was playing the blame game with you," Axel countered easily with his remaining, but steadily dwindling, anger.
"Touché…I'm sorry man. It's just this whole incident has kind of got me on edge you know…I didn't mean to point any fingers…" the nocturne apologized with a sigh as he supportively slapped his friend on the shoulder.
An apathetic voice echoed loudly off the walls as someone called out to the two men from the far end of the hallway, disrupting their on-going apology.
"You two follow me! The Superior is holding an emergency meeting in the examination lab…it would be better it you weren't late, it's rather important."
Both Axel and Demyx watched as Saïx's black cloak swirled around his receding figure. The mood dropped like a stone, the mere fact that Saïx hadn't even taken a personal stab at both of their dismal attendance records easily revealed the severity of the situation.
Fuck…you know it's bad when Saïx doesn't have time take a demeaning crack at our ego's.
The fiery haired man let out a groan of displeasure before trudging obediently after the Luna Diviner with an equally miserable Demyx in tow.
Upon entering the lab, Axel saw that everyone was already present and accounted for…including Larxene. He could feel his eyes narrow upon contact with her unpleasant face, twisted crudely into a smug looking grin. For the first time that day his unusually quiet core flared into life, if only momentarily, to it's former raging glory.
He could feel his lip curl up angrily revealing white teeth bared in a sneer that seemed more animalistic than human, it felt appropriate since at the moment he was imagining, with guilty pleasure, ripping her ungrateful throat right from her neck. He watched with satisfaction as her smug grin faltered at the sight of his features, burning with white hot fury.
Yeah that's right, you have nothing to be happy about…good for nothing whore.
He let his own features slip as he heard Roxas call out to him and Demyx.
"Yo guys! I saved you seats, am I awesome or what?"
Axel couldn't help but roll his eyes in amusement but relinquished a good natured grin at Roxas' child-like antics.
The two men strolled over to the golden haired boy who was sprawled out across three chairs in his matchless way of 'saving seats'. The boy shuffled over to his own seat to allow the two to plop into their own chairs.
"How old are you man…six? Saving seats, come on," Axel said, sending the boy a cynical but amused grin.
"Your welcome Axel…you may not show it, but I know that deep down you're grateful because you have such a cool friend who saves you seats," the boy said with a grin, leaning back at a dangerous angle on his chair, before inevitably tipping over and crashing to the floor.
"Oh yeah, you're real cool Roxas…" the fiery man said with a snicker before both he and Demyx broke into laughter.
The grumbling boy scraped both himself and his remaining dignity off the floor before taking his seat once again and punching Axel on the arm. That of which only rewarded the keyblader with sore knuckles to match his already aching butt.
Unfortunately, the sudden appearance of their Superior from deeper within the lab's interior killed the positive atmosphere as quickly as a shot to the head. A foreboding oppression was swathed over every member, rendering them all silent.
"It is with great displeasure to inform you all that our plan has suffered a major setback. Now I know some of you are already aware of certain information and some of you will have, no doubt, gossiped it away frivolously, so what I am about to share will only be news to a select few." the leader began, his booming voice reverberating loudly off the lab walls unpleasantly.
Axel wouldn't lie, he was usually dozing off during these mandatory meetings, but today the idea of doing that was no where in sight. He found himself leaning forward expectantly and actually hanging off of every word that escaped Xemnas's mouth. This was a first.
"Now, you all know that our dear memory witch Naminé plays a very important role in our plan, as to why is not your business as of yet, but what some of you don't understand is why she is so special…and I probably should have explained this a lot sooner than now, but it doesn't matter anymore. You see unlike any of us…she still has the ability to 'feel' to a certain degree. Her somebody regained her heart after it being lost, because instead of being swallowed by the darkness, her heart simply placed itself in another vessel. Her somebody was uncorrupt by the darkness that surrounded her…Naminé's somebody was a princess."
She was a princess…
"To be more exact, a princess of heart. Therefore, no darkness poisoned her body, her mind, her heart. She was pure and innocent light."
Axel could feel his thoughts riot with disbelief, he couldn't possibly have missed…it had all been right in front of his eyes and he hadn't seen it at all…he was seriously slipping.
God, I'm so stupid…she's a god damn freaking princess and I just had to fall in lo-, wait…who am I trying to kid. As if I ever could feel anything…and even if, she hates my guts…
"I hadn't intended to have to tell you this but the circumstances demand that I do. Despite Naminé's admirable strength and resilience against the darkness, she has succumbed to it. According to Vexen's test results, she snagged a point of complete vulnerability and she fell to it rapidly. From that moment on it began to eat away at her innocence, the darkness seeped through her mind, her body, and even…" Xemnas paused to step away and reveal the motionless girl slumped behind his cloak, shoulders sagged and head bent forwards, "the small fraction of a heart she held."
Time seemed to stop as those last words dripped unforgivingly from his Superior's mouth. Consequences she should never have to had to deal with were set heavily upon her shoulders. She was losing everything…falling from the grace he had stolen. Now she lay broken inside herself…she couldn't even wipe the tears that he knew would forever fall from her empty eyes. She wasn't even a Nobody anymore…she had lost the will that had kept her together.
He had destroyed the one thing that had ever meant anything to him…
I'd do anything…no matter what it takes to get her back, I'll do it. I can't let her die…I can't let us die.
That's that, I hoped that I did okay...I'm going to be worried about the whole speech that Xemnas gave because I might have some of the logic wrong...I did my best but I'll bet I messed something up with the whole deal with Kairi and how she relates to Naminé...also about Roxas, I suppose his uniqueness is being downplayed because he doesn't display a power as beneficial as Naminé's and also because that would be emphasizing the whole Sora/Kairi bond and in turn the bond Roxas and Naminé would have but that's not my aim for this story so yeah.
Anyways, sorry for my rambling...I hope you enjoyed it and remember to read and review:)
Cheers and until next time!
Schmelly :3