Author's note : Finally, I am starting to write the actual plot.. ...Yeah, till chapter 12, it was more like an introduction.. Sigh. I mean.. I needed to introduce all characters first.. Then go on with plot. Ah, well.
Diclaimer- None of the characters or most of concepts are mine, they belong to Square Enix. Honestly, if they belonged to me.. ..It would have turned MA+ rated.
Warning - Yaoi, M rated for more than a few reasons (later chapters), abusive languages, crimes, etc. Yaoi pairings (AkuRoku, SephCloud, ZexionXDemyx, etc, more side pairing though not in this one. Side stories may be included after the main story gets over)
No. XIII - Organisation XIII
[Chapter 13. Vexen]
[In the middle of darkness and light, the shadows of both lay.
The shadows, the midst of the extremes-
They lurk in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times,
And they reign with the mystery and power,
The shadows call themselves-
Organisation XIII.]
XIII . i
Vexen was sulking in his cell. No chemicals. No experiments. Nothing to study, nothing to experiment, nothing to theorise and nothing to-.. He shook his head, trying to kick boredom out.. It had been three years ever since he was arrested with Luxord and Larxene. He was bored enough to study on the attitute of SOLDIERs assigned to guard them (Mostly annoyed), reasons they were assigned to them (Mostly punishment), general ranks of the SOLDIERs who were assigned (mostly Second Class), their habbits, food consumption, or anything he could do. Now three years have passed, he lost his enthusiasm on such topics.
Where was his cloak? This prisoner cloth annoyed him. He still had his weapon with him, thanks to the fact that he could make it vanish and summon it at his will- but even if three of them join together and try to break out, there were just too many SOLDIERs to fight with. Three against at least 50? Well, even if they manage, it would be enough time for the back ups to arrive. No luck to escape from this damp mouse hole without any help from outside.
Pissed, he was about to trying to sleep when a presence alerted him. Alarmed, Vexen jumped up, but when he saw No. XIII standing quietly in front of him, his brain immediately formated. Blank with shock, he dropped down to his knees and started begging.
"No. XIII! I am not a traitor, I am not! Please, I can prove that I am not a traitor- give me a chance! Please, at least take me to Xemnas-"
"...I am not here to kill you, fool. Shut up before the guards come, unless you want some medical attention for talking to nothing. They will think that you were hallucinating."
"...What?"
Vexen blinked his eyes for a couple of times, feeling something was off. Wait, did he speak? Shocked, Vexen looked up at No. XIII who retreated a few steps back in order to keep his face hidden under his hood- but a cynical smirk at his lips were still visible. As Vexen pointed at him and spoke in a trembling voice, he countered with a voice sounding like, 'duh-'.
"You.. You spoke?"
"What? You expected me to bring a mini board and scribble? You call yourself a scientist with that dumb mind?"
"...I.. ...You are letting me out? How did you enter-..?"
Vexen quickly stopped himself from shouting at No. XIII, reminding himself that it's no good to stand against him. On contrary, No. XIII looked around and answered easily.
"The same way we will go out. Do you need to pack something? I don't think you like that cloth much. Your weapon?"
"I have my Frozen Pride with me, but my cloak.. They took it away. I want it back, but guards-"
"Anything else besides it?"
"Uh? ..Only my cloak. But how will you-.. !"
Vexen slightly jumped up again when suddenly a dark gate emerged in front of No. XIII. However, No. XIII merely smirked and dragged him in, while opening up another smaller gate and taking out Vexen's cloak. Soon, Vexen was at a strange louge with a few sofa and a table. Outside glasses, he would see an eerie looking moon- or was that really a moon? It was shaped like a heart. Before he could look around, No. XIII handed him over his cloak and bowed in a light manner.
"Welcome, to Grey Area, of Castle That Never Was, the foundation of Organisation XIII. Take a sit."
"...Castle That Never Was? What is this place..? It's.."
"Comforting, isn't it? After all, this is the world of Nobodies. Our world. Of course, you wouldn't be able to come here unless you know how to open the dark corridor.."
"...No. XIII, where is Xemnas?"
"...If I knew that, I'd have approached you earlier. I wouldn't have waited years, watching your movements and attitute.."
No. XIII answered matter-of-factly, without the slightest sign of shame. Sitting on one of the Sofa, he leaned on one side and sighed, looking very tired.
"I haven't met Leader for three years. That night, I was very late. I informed No. I that it was likely that I wouldn't be able to attend, but I managed to go late.. When I went there, everything was already over. I saw Larxene trying to electrocute Prosecutor Squall, but no luck. She was arrested, while you and Luxord was already cuffed. No. I, II, and III must have escaped before that- I could see some evidences of the destruction and fight, while others were no where to be seen. I took my leave that night, searching for No. I to know what exactly happened."
"...You couldn't meet him."
Vexen muttered. It wasn't a question, it was obvious from what No. XIII said. Nodding, No. XIII continued.
"I tried to call him, but he didn't pick up- I think his handphone or PHS was broken during that chaotic battle. I had no idea where he might be- so I waited here for a long time, any time I could be here without others getting suspicious, but he never came. I figured that he couldn't come because of No. II and No. III- Or he was dead, which is highly unlikely. I figured as much, and decided to search for traitors by myself. It took sometime, but with a member of Team SeeD helping me.. It didn't take long after he became a member of them."
"...There's an informant for us?"
"No, an ally. He is there for a reason for himself, and he had an agreement with us- and so he helped me and No. I for sometime before. So I found out that there was at least a traitor among us, and it was easy to find out who. No. I, II, and III couldn't be one, and you were arrested.. No. V went into hiding with No. VII, and No. X and No. XII with you.. That left four of them. No. VI, VIII, IX, and XI. I knew Marluxia must be one, but it was unlikely that all other three of the were oblivious.. So I was trying to locate them and investigate.. No, not really.. I was waiting for Team SeeD to find them."
"..."
Vexen stared at No. XIII, who was casually speaking. No. XIII used to have an eerie aura with him, but now it was dimed. Instead, what he could see was indifference towards his works.. Somehow feeling annoyed, Vexen snapped.
"And what the hell were you doing for three years, then! Watching me, Luxord and Larxene and laughing your head off!"
"Partly that and schooling, of course. I am just 19 this year, No. IV. Surely you know about the importance of knowledge, being a scientist yourself?"
"..."
Vexen tried to say something, but ended up remain in the silence. What could he say, really? Still looking a bit tired, No. XIII shrugged and spoke.
"Well, I am not asking anything much, No. IV. I suspect that at least either No. VIII or VI was involved in that betrayal, and if worse, both of them. No. IX is no good in hiding stuff, so he is safely not involved. If I need to fight against the three of them, I need you to hold No. VIII back until I at least subdue one of them. I somehow ended up in the same university with four of them, you see. They are my seniors.. And Axel's my partner in one of the lectures. Funny, isn't it?"
"...I see.. ..What about others, No. XIII?"
"Others? Well, Saix is my and No. VI's professor now in the university, and he used to be an assisstance director when I was in college- my main professor being Xemnas. Well, that's how I got to know him, in my school. From what I observed, I witnessed No. VII with No. V a couple of times, but they are having a line between them and the other four. I haven't found any sign of No. I and other two yet."
No. XIII chuckled, looking amused. Vexen remained silent, feeling uneasy again as his old eerie aura intensified. Somehow, though No. XIII was laughing- Vexen felt that he wasn't happy at all about it. Rather, No. XIII looked annoyed. Of course, it was all just masquerade, emotional Nobody was something unheard of. But No. XIII's actions were so natural.. Beyond just acting. It was somehow scary. As Vexen quietly watched this not-Nobody-No. XIII, he found another thing off- No. XIII was wearing some black leathery cloth inside. Realising what Vexen was looking at, No. XIII stopped chuckling and spoke.
"Oh, my cloth? Don't mind them, I had to attend a party, a very stupid party for 'Re-formation of Team SeeD' due to an unknown informant noting them about the existence of 13th member in the Organisation XIII, who's existence was never known before. I have a pretty good guess that it was either Zexion or Axel. They think I am a younger brother of one of their members, so I was invited. Pity that they were saying that they will arrest No. XIII right in front of me, heh.."
No. XIII chuckled again, looking amused. However, he soon stopped chuckling and shook his head, smiking.
"Well, let's say the party didn't go right. Avalanche ambushed, I was caught as a hostage (Foolish bastards), my elder brother tried to get me back but failed, the Turks promised that they will keep all stuff classified and so I had to use my power in front of Team SeeD of all people.. Which was annoying, again. I will have to remain completely hidden for all the time because of that."
"..."
Vexen merely stared at No. XIII, waiting for him to continue. Honestly, he had nothing much to say. As he waited, No. XIII opened that 'Dark Corridor' again and handed him over a bag. When he opened it, he could see a small pouch full of munny and gils, as well as a few cloth to change and a piece of paper with an address of an inn and a phone number. Shrugging, No. XIII spoke.
"That's mine. Call me if you need anything. I may not answer immediately if I am busy, but I will be calling you back in an hour or two, at the most. Do you see name there?"
"...'Safer'. Who's that?"
"That's my name. When you go that inn, tell the inn keeper that I told you to go there. He will provide you with everything you ask for. Those payments will due on me, but don't mind it. It's fine with me. If you want some experiments and stuff, tell him to give you the key to the basement. I have been thinking about it for a while, and you already got a quite nice laboratory there. If you want renovation, well.. That will take some months, so be satisfied with it."
"You, what...? ...I am more than glad about it. A laboratory..."
No. XIII smirked and stood up as Vexen started to day-dream. Well, it wasn't exactly day and was very late night, but who cares? Holding his hands out, No. XIII called Vexen.
"Come, I will let you out at Twilight Town."
"...What? But I was at Hollow Bastion-"
"Dark Corridor is a very good transportation, Vexen. There's a phone inside that bag- I will call you when I am back to Twilight Town. I will be there in three days. So enjoy while you can."
"...How nice of you,"
XIII . ii
Vexen was enjoying his freedom in a cafe when the phone rang. Sighing and leaving his cup of tea, he picked up the phone. It was from No. XIII,
[Remember what I told you? I will be passing the cafe soon with Demyx. Zexion, Axel amd Marluxia are busy- You can have a nice chat with him, with me.]
"..That would be fun. I will be waiting."
[Good.. Oh, here he comes.. Dem!]
[Heeeey! You were waiting for me!]
Click. That was it. Vexen actually smiled when he heard Demyx's enthusiasitic voice. It seemed Demyx actually hugged No. XIII.. It was extremely amusing, or so he would felt if he had a heart, that Demyx, one of the members who were scared to death about No. XIII was hugging him happily. So No. XIII didn't actually look cold or scary, huh? Till today, Vexen actually never had a chance to see his face. But from what he heard just now.. He must be looking good, or at least harmless.. Which is not the case.
Smirking, Vexen watched outside the cafe, waiting for a sight of the familiar dirty-blond headed lazy musician. It didn't take long, really. In less than 5 minutes, he could see Demyx laughing very enthusiastically with a young, fragile looking boy- Oh wait, now- don't tell me- that's No. XIII! Vexen cursed inwardly while looking at the blond, who blushed shyly as Demyx said something to him. That was completely uncalled for. But still, he stood up, left some munny and walked toward Demyx, who soon realised what he was seeing. Dumbstruck, he froze while happily talking about music concert and stared at Vexen.
Vexen slightly winced when No. XIII's young, innocent voice was heard. Even if he recognised the voice, it was still hard to believe that boy-man looking youth was No. XIII.
"Dem? What's wrong? Someone you know?"
"...Ve-Vexen? You.. How can you be here? I haven't heard anything.. When did you come out? What about the others? Luxord?"
"I see we have a common thing to share, Demyx. We both do not want Larxene here, do we? ...Well, a cute company you have. I was recently taken out, thanks to XIII. He told me to gather remaining members.. Unless you are a traitor too, he wishes to see you alone."
"Of course I am not-.. But.. ...Vexen, let's talk about this somewhere else- Roxas, can you-"
"There's no need for that." Vexen cut Demyx's words, who flinched and stared him. "Nothing much is there for me to speak today anyway. He wants to meet you alone, and he doesn't want you to tell anything about this to other three. He is still not sure whether they are traitors or not, but he knows that you were not. Unless you have joined them as well- He wishes to see you tomorrow night, usual place, usual time. You better not be late, IX."
Vexen eyed at No. XIII who was called Roxas. Wasn't his name Safer? Well, but it was not time to ask.. Turning away, Vexen ignored Demyx's call and left.