ok, if you have to go back and read some of the previous chapters in order to remember just what this story is about, i won't blame you in the least -.-; my main reasons for being so late with this are lack of inspiration and my computer crashing (mostly the computer crash though)
thank you guys so much though! i mean, over three hundred reviews? O.O i'm surprised, but i don't mind at all! thank you so much!
this chapter is focused on Roxas and them. (yes, we're finally giving Sora and Riku a break! ...they'll probably be back next chapter though) Enjoy!
Roxas sighed. It'd been three hours. Three long, agonizingly slow, and utterly boring hours.
Just where was Axel?! He'd come almost every night for the past few weeks, and now it was approximately three hours after he normally arrived. The night before had proved Axel-less as well. One night was understandable, but two in a row was just weird.
A shrill ringing brought him out of his musings on the couch. Reaching over to answer the phone, for a moment he almost thought that maybe it was Axel on the other line to let him know he was coming and that things had just gotten busy on his end.
But then he scowled at himself, remembering that Axel was a vampire and had never so much as offered a phone number, nor had the redhead asked for his. Whoever was on the other end would most certainly not be the person he sought.
"Hello?" he said into the receiver.
"Roxas?" a familiar—yet unrecognizable—voice checked.
"Yeah, this is him," the blond responded.
"This Riku's mother, Violet. Have you seen Riku tonight at all?"
Roxas blinked at the unexpected caller as well as the question. "No, I can't say I have . . . Why? Is something wrong?"
"I-I'm afraid we started fighting and some . . . upsetting things were said to both sides, and at the end of it . . . Riku ran away, so if you have any information, please tell me!" she whispered fiercely, still trying to get a hold of her emotions as tears were probably rising in her eyes again.
"Wait, Riku's missing?" Roxas sounded shocked—and he was. He knew his friend had difficulties with his parents at times, but to run away . . .
"I-I'm afraid so . . ." Violet replied.
"What was he wearing?"
"Blue jeans and a hoodie. He's wearing sandals, too, so I don't think he's running, but . . ." she trailed off.
"If he comes over or if I see him outside, I'll be sure to let you know," Roxas promised.
"Thank you, Roxas. We really appreciate it." The blonde knew she meant it, too. Gratitude dripped from her words and landed in a pool of hope, staining the hard floor of reality.
"No problem, I hope you find him soon," he said truthfully.
"So do we, Roxas. So do we." A small click indicated that she'd hung up.
Man, Roxas thought, everyone's missing tonight. First Axel, then Riku . . . Come to think of it, Cloud hasn't come home from work yet either. He said it'd be a late shift though and I'm pretty sure he was planning on hanging out with his boyfriend afterwards, so I suppose I shouldn't worry about him so much . . . Still . . .
Walking over to the window, Roxas stared hard through the glass, praying that maybe—just maybe—he'd see a familiar face. Tonight was not a night in which he wished to be alone.
-
"ZEXYYYYYYY!" Demyx shrieked joyfully, causing the other to wince from the high pitch. As Zexion regained his post, his companion began bouncing off the walls—almost literally—with enthusiasm.
"Save your energy," Zexion advised. "Our shift goes 'til past dawn tonight, so we'll need all the energy we can get."
"Oh, don't worry about that! Ya see, Xigbar told me that he found out that vampires are able to drink something the humans made called soda pop which has loads of a drug called caffeine in it and it gives people energy!" he informed, his rate of speech going at least two or three times its normal speed.
Zexion paled. "You had some, didn't you?"
"Yup! See?" Demyx said cheerfully, bringing a green, plastic bottle out of his coat pocket. Looking at the label, Zexion saw that it read "Mountain Dew." Assuming that was the name of the brand or something similar, he took the bottle from Demyx's hand to examine it.
He stared in disbelief at the nutrition/ingredients chart because—holy crap—that was an unhealthy amount of caffeine! Glancing up at the hyperactive vampire, he sadly realized that this "Mountain Dew" had to be an illegal drug of some sort for it to cause that much restlessness in his friend.
"Demyx, does this have any side effects on vampires?" questioned the elder slowly.
Grinning, Demyx shook his head. "Nope! The before-taste is worse than the after-taste, but it's still safe as can be!"
Maybe for the consumer, Zexion couldn't help but think.
"How long will it have an affect on you?"
"'Til a few hours after I run out of it! Speaking of which, can I have it back now? I'm getting this annoying twitch in my pinky toes that I'm pretty sure won't go away until I have some more," Demyx asked innocently.
Regretfully returning the pop to the other, Zexion vowed, Xigbar, if you ever give Demyx this 'soda pop' thing again, I'll personally see to the execution of your manhood . . .
After that, Zexion prepared himself for a long night as Demyx took a swig out of the green bottle that seemed to guarantee the elder's demise.
-
Click. A blond-headed figure stepped through the door, effectively entering the apartment. Slipping his shoes off near the door, he sighed. It'd been a long day for him. Leon and Sephiroth were both being troublesome seeing as they refused to get along with each other.
Well, it was mostly Leon. Cloud had always thought it'd be cute to see him jealous, but this—possessiveness? protectiveness?—wasn't exactly what he'd expected. And it wasn't really cute either. It was actually kind of . . . scary, almost. It reminded him of exactly whom he was dating. Leon—a vampire.
He sighed. So he'd been reminded not to forget what his boyfriend was capable of. Duly noted.
"Cloud?" an unsure voice asked from the couch.
"Yeah, sorry it's so late. Were you sleeping on the couch?" he asked, heading into the living room.
Roxas shook his head. "Nah, I was reading."
His brother frowned. "Reading? I thought you didn't like books that much."
Roxas replied as Cloud took a seat on a nearby chair, "I usually don't, but I was bored and I didn't want the TV on in case I heard something."
"Heard something? Like what?"
The younger shrugged. "I dunno—anything. Axel didn't come over tonight and I was kinda waiting for him to show up, I suppose."
"Really? Axel didn't come? That's unusual. He's been coming almost every night for a while now," Cloud commented.
"Oh yeah, and Riku's mom called."
"What did she have to say?"
"Riku's missing."
"What?"
Roxas glanced out the window worriedly. "I suppose you didn't see him then?"
His brother shook his head. "Sorry, Roxas."
A silence passed over them as Cloud wasn't quite willing to explain what had happened between him and his boyfriend while Roxas just stared out the window—completely immersed in his own little world.
"I wonder . . ." Roxas began, startling Cloud out of his own musings. "Do you think they're connected somehow?"
"You mean Axel's and Riku's disappearances?" Cloud shook his head. "I don't think so, Roxas—they barely know each other, right?"
"Yeah, but they're both connected to the vampires . . ."
"And so are we," Cloud reminded him.
"But you aren't out with Leon right now—did he have to leave early maybe? I remember Sora was his younger brother. Maybe something happened. And I know Riku trusted Sora, and Sora was Axel's friend, too."
A few memories of when Leon talked about his brother swam up in Cloud's mind. He remembered Sora was important, but unfortunately, he couldn't quite remember how. Leon had told him some dreadful things that night a while ago. He knew that. He just couldn't . . . quite . . . grasp what was said.
Sighing, he regretted that his memory was always like this. He could remember Leon liked vanilla, but he couldn't remember the important things like what was said that night. Figured.
"Well, what sort of plan did you have in mind, Roxas?" Cloud wondered. It couldn't hurt to at least hear him out.
Roxas grinned, sitting up. "I thought we could do a search party. Just for an hour or so, Cloud, please? If you don't go with me, I'll go on my own. And you'll have to answer to the police when they catch me past curfew alone."
Ok, so maybe it did hurt to hear him out. Roxas knew Cloud didn't like dealing with the cops just as much as he didn't like the idea of his younger brother walking around alone at night! The police weren't exactly the only people Cloud was worried about.
Exhaling deeply, Cloud replied, "An hour. That's it. And if anything freaky happens, I retain the right to bring you straight home."
"Thanks, Cloud! You're awesome!" he exclaimed, giving his brother a brief hug before going off to find a pair of semi-matching socks.
It didn't take long for Roxas to locate some socks that were clean and matched (enough), nor did it take long for the boy to shove some worn tennis shoes on his feet. He would have jumped up and through the door then, but then Cloud interrupted and made him grab a jacket first. Rolling his eyes at his brother's paternal instincts kicking in, he took it anyway and forced his arms sloppily into the sleeves.
"Now can we go?" he whined, holding up his jacket-covered torso and displaying the black and white shoes donning his feet.
Reluctantly, Cloud allowed, "Yeah, but only an hour! You got that?"
"Yes! I'm not stupid!" the younger protested, opening the door for them.
"That's debatable," Cloud muttered under his breath as they passed through the doorway.
"What was that?!"
"Nothing."
Roxas grumbled a bit, but stopped as soon as they were outside in favor of more important matters. Axel had never come, Riku was missing, Leon had left early, and the boy was positive Sora was in the middle of it somehow. After all, the younger vampire was the only common link between all of them, really. Well, that he knew of, anyway.
It was dark that night. A few layers of thin clouds veiled the moon, putting a stopper on its light. The stars themselves weren't very bright either; only a few managed to shine their piercing light through such as Venus. Even though Venus was admittedly a planet and not a star, it shone just as bright as one if not brighter.
Emptiness filled the streets lined with parked cars in all shapes, colors, sizes, and models—not that Roxas had any idea what sort of car they were or cared at the moment. If anyone was outside that night, they did well to stay out of sight. Dirty streetlights were in neat rows up and down the blocks, providing sufficient light for the few that decided to run the danger of getting caught doing something bad by the prowling police.
Or even worse, getting caught by someone intent on doing something the police were meant to prevent.
However, none of this deterred Roxas as he set off down the street. It may have crossed his brother's mind once or twice, setting his face prone to wrinkles from worrying, but he was hell-bent on finding some answers that night.
-
Larxene straightened her back as she stood up. Her two strands of hair resembling antennae swung in her face pointlessly and she puffed some air at them to get them away from her nose. If she didn't, she might sneeze or get poked in the eye or . . . or something.
She peered at the bloody jug in her hand. It was nearly full—one more human would do it. Her most recent victim lay dead on the cracking pavement of the alley. True, alleys weren't very original places for vampires to feast at, but they were fairly secluded and private, trusting one made sure not to run into a gang hideout of some sort, that is. Those situations got messy. Very messy.
Luckily, Larxene had not run into a gang hideout, so it didn't really matter in the end, anyway.
Out of respect for the deceased, the female vampire gripped the body's shoulders and set the corpse so that it was sitting upright against the wall. One might not think this mattered all that much since really, the human was dead anyway. What good did changing the body's position do? But Larxene knew that when the body was found, whether the people intended to or not, they'd judge her on how she'd been placed. If the body was lying vulnerably on the ground, they might consider the victim weak or unimportant since the killer couldn't have been bothered to do anything interesting with the body—the person was killed. No more, no less. Of course, the people performing the autopsy would know that all the veins and arteries were empty, but no one else was likely to find out.
If the body was propped up, it might mean something else . . . Larxene wasn't sure what the something else was, nor if there even really was something there at all. But it helped her keep her sanity. And as a vampire, that was always a must. For if a vampire lost his sanity . . . Well, it'd be up to his clan to take him down. An insane vampire could not be trusted to be left alive (whatever "alive" really meant). That was all there was to it.
Turning away from the departed, Larxene stepped back onto the street, a light breeze passing over her face when an abruptly sharp, warm—human—smell took over her senses.
"E-excuse me, Miss! I'm looking for my friend—"
Larsene barely took in the fact that there were indefinitely two humans—male, at that, and very, very blond—as one of them spoke. She willed herself to wait a few moments longer though since they were just about to step under the dull, golden glow from the streetlights.
"—Have you seen anyone around, Miss? Possibly kinda tall with long hair?" the shorter said as he continued to come closer beneath the streetlight. Not that Larxene was actually paying attention to what he was saying. That would induce a personality that she would remember she killed. Destroyed. Ruined. It would also bring pity and guilt. And hell knew she hated guilt.
"He'd probably seem kinda lost," he mentioned as the light hit his face dead-on.
Larxene blinked. She recognized him from somewhere . . . He was . . . He was . . . He was the darn kid she couldn't remember, that's who he was! No—that's it! Axel's kid! Right? Or was he Leon's? No, no, that had to be the guy behind the kid. Leon would never start something with a kid. And Sora's guy wasn't blond, so he had no claim to these two . . .
But Sora would still know them. He'd at least be aware of their existence, anyway. If they were involved with his best friend and brother . . .
Well, damn.
"So um, have you seen anyone, Miss? Me and his parents are kinda worried about him," the kid was saying. "Please, if you have—"
The vampire groaned. "Will you just shut up already? I heard you. And you're . . . Rockie or something, right? And you--" she said, turning to the guy behind Rockie. "You're . . . Clyde?"
Both blinked. Well, she knew for sure they were related somehow.
"How'd you—" Rockie started, but Clyde shut him up.
Hissing, Clyde said, "How would you know?"
Rockie rolled his eyes, clearly motioning that he was about to ask the same thing.
Larxene shrugged. "I suppose you could say I'm a friend of Axel—Leon, too, I guess."
Clyde's surprise weakened his grasp on Rockie who seized his chance, breaking free from his brother.
"Our names are Roxas and Cloud—not Rockie and Clyde," Roxas clarified. "Ow!" he yelped as Cloud smacked him upside the head.
"Idiot! What if she's lying? And just 'cause she knows them doesn't mean she's on their side!" Cloud scolded.
"But—"
"He's right, Roxas," Larxene commented. "But in this case, it's ok. I don't know Leon very well, but I know a lot about Sora and I'm on good terms with Axel. Good enough for you?"
"I guess," Cloud admitted grudgingly.
"Wait—if you're on good terms with Axel, then you know what's wrong with him, right?" Roxas said hopefully.
Larxene smirked. "Yeah, I know what's up with him. He got caught hanging out with you, so now he's grounded."
"What?! For hanging out with a human?"
"That's right, you're very bad influences, you know," she said teasingly, narrowing her eyes.
Irritated and slightly enraged, Cloud questioned, "And just what do you mean by that?!"
Laughing, the vampire replied, "I thought you'd get this one yourself! After all, you humans should know best that it's hard to kill something once you get close to it. Emotions and all that. It's very human—too human, and that's why you're a bad influence. We're vampires, and for us, emotions show vulnerability and weakness . . . No matter how enjoyable they might be." She nearly whispered the last bit, but the other two caught it though barely.
"I um . . . I don't suppose you know of a human named Riku?" Roxas tried.
"Riku, Riku, Riku . . ." she said, rolling the name off her tongue in case it sparked some memories. "Yeah, he was hanging out with Sora, right?"
"Yeah! That's him," Roxas cried happily.
"Black hair, dark skin, and bushy eyebrows?" she checked.
Roxas's face fell.
Larxene giggled. "Just kidding! Nah, I know he's pale with silver hair—no bushy eyebrows in sight, right?"
If Roxas's relieved face was anything to go by, she knew she was right.
"Sorry, I don't know for sure where he is, but I did hear that Saix and Xigbar were bringin' some kid in for Sora . . . I don't have any details though, so I can't say if it's him or not," she informed.
Roxas sighed, looking glum. "And there's no way to know for sure, is there?"
The vampire shook her head. "Not unless we break into Sora's room. Admittedly, I've heard Axel and Leon have managed to get through the guard, but they are close. They'd probably never let me in."
"I thought you said you knew Sora," Cloud said suspiciously.
"I said I knew a lot about Sora—I don't know him that well personally," she explained.
Roxas suddenly piped up, "What if you took us to find out? You said they were bringing somebody for Sora, anyway—we could say we're there for the same reason!"
"Absolutely not!" Cloud roared, gripping his shoulder tightly. "You're my brother and I'm not about to let you waltz into the home of a horde of vampires like you belong there! You're bound to be spotted and killed before you get a chance to explain anything, so don't tell me you'll 'talk your way out of it' 'cause it's not going to work!"
Facing his brother and glowering, Roxas shot back, "Well, what about you?! I heard you—you and Leon! A few weeks ago, he was saying that he shouldn't have let you go with him, that it was dangerous, that they might kill you! But you laughed it off, so I brushed it off, thinking it was something with college and the gossip mill! Now, though, now I'm positive that you weren't taking about college at all! You went where a bunch of vampires were, didn't you?!"
As serious as this conversation was, Larxene wanted to laugh. Really bad. The dumbstruck expression plastered on Cloud's face just demanded a few good chuckles. Still, she held herself back.
But she wasn't quite sure how long her willpower would hold.
Luckily for Larxene, Cloud managed to pull a little composure up as he choked out, "Whe—why? Why didn't you say something before?"
"I told you, I brushed it off," Roxas said, his fierce blue eyes hiding all of what he was feeling . . . Sure, he was definitely feeling anger at his brother for not telling him, but beneath that . . . Below, where maybe he didn't even recognize it, there was desperation. Raw, hungry desperation to know just what his brother was hiding, where Riku and Axel were, and why Riku had run away in the first place! He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.
Though, he supposed later, that he could've guessed why Riku had run away on his own. That wouldn't have been too hard to figure out, knowing his parents.
But he did want to know what Cloud knew that he didn't know and also . . .
He kind of had the urge to bop Axel on the head for getting caught with him. Wasn't there a legend that vampires couldn't be caught on film or in a mirror, anyway? So how would they have proof? Besides, with Axel shooting off illegal fireworks, one would think he'd be able to get out of something like this.
Apparently not.
Roxas really was going to harm him.
He shouldn't be allowed to do this! To hang out with him and be friends and . . . kiss him and then disappear just like that! He couldn't do that! It wasn't right, it wasn't fair, it just wasn't . . . wasn't . . .
Roxas sighed, the word "right" came into his head again to fill that empty space, but it felt like there was more—something more that he just couldn't name . . .
"Fine," Cloud mumbled.
Startled, Roxas looked up, blinking. "You mean . . ." he trailed off.
Cloud rolled his eyes at his brother's slow uptake. "Yes, we'll go. If she's willing to take us." Bringing his attention to Larxene, he said, "By the way, what's your name?"
"Hm? Oh, Larxene," she introduced, surprised that she hadn't mentioned her name before.
"And you know us," Roxas stated. "So will you? Take us, that is."
She shrugged. "I suppose I can, but I take no responsibility for what happens. I'll take you, but as soon as I do, I'll have to take off to be counted. If you run into any other vampires besides the ones you're looking for—which, by the way, is very likely and more probable than spotting your friends—you will probably be drained. Got it?"
Roxas nodded. "If Cloud did it, I can do it!"
His brother grumbled, "You forgot, I was with Leon then, too."
Before any more bickering could break out between the two (which was very likely since Roxas was poised to argue again), Larxene said, "Alright, but there's no turning back. You sure you want to go?"
Roxas nodded, his mind made up. And while Cloud seemed a little more reluctant, it was clear that wherever his brother went, he would go, too if only to keep him out of too much trouble. And by the looks of where they were headed, they were bound to run into a lot of it.
Bringing her right arm out straight horizontally, Larxene held her palm up and let darkness sprout from it, twisting and twirling into a sizable, spinning mass. She grabbed Roxas who reached for Cloud in turn and, shouting a warning that it would be cold, plunged them into the dizzying darkness.
A ways down the block, a guy (who worked at that one cafe that had just closed for the night) rubbed his eyes. When he looked up again to find the three figures gone, he decided a visit to the optometrist the next day might be a good idea after all.
ah, only about three more chapters left, i think. something like that, anyway, and there'll be an epilogue, too...
ok, -ahem!- i've been editing a story for one of my best friends, vampireninja09, and we'd both love it if you'd take a look and review! you can find the link to it in my profile, just look under 'Epilogue' :)
um... oh wow, it's been over a year that this thing has been alive o.o and i missed its birthday... (i'm bad at that -.-;)
ANYWAY, before i take up too much space here, REVIEWERS will receive a bottle of Mountain Dew. maybe Demyx will see it and come running after you X3 (well, either him or Zexion--Demyx wants to drink it and Zexion wants to prevent Demyx from drinking it, after all)