My eyes flickered open. I was still in the burgundy bed, and Mr Slater's neck was all I could see and smell, and this was the first time I came across his sweet aftershave. I could hear his quiet breathing, and this made me desire him conscious all the more.
"Mr Slater?" I whispered.
"What is it, Demyx?" He asked, his voice slightly ratty, but if I had been woken, the same would apply to me.
"I was going to ask if you were awake…"
We got dressed together. Somehow, Mr Slater's clothes had been neither creased, nor appeared any different to last night. I wasn't so lucky, and my new shirt and trousers were slightly less pleasant than the night before. We collected our shoes at the same time, but I couldn't tell the difference, as they were exactly identical brogues. Mr Slater evidently could, and laced his up in a double bow, the moment his feet were inside. I laced mine, not so fluidly, in a double bow, too.
This time, Mr Slater didn't leave me. We exited the boutique together, and headed into the streets of the Second District in Traverse Town: the sun was just about rising. I was about to speak, when a cacophony of screams split the silence, from about only two hundred metres away. I nearly fell over in shock, whereas Mr Slater checked the nearby surroundings.
Suddenly, I yelled for my friend to turn, as a dusk nobody appeared in a white portal, just in front of me, and two gamblers joined it, less than a second later. He didn't need calling, as he'd spotted them, springing up all over the street. I could hear them communicating, to which Mr Slater was clearly oblivious.
There is Melodious Nocturne's correspondent… report to Gambler of Fate…subdue target via force…
"Mr Slater, they plan to hurt you!" I should have known Luxord would try to find him out, and of course, he'd seen me in Traverse Town, not seen me all night, and put two and two together. The screams must have been the denizens of the First District, but they'd practised fighting heartless since they'd even arrived, so I'd let them hold their own. It was we, the targets of the assailants, whom needed to worry.
The nobodies shambled and danced forward, closing in slowly. I drew my sitar, whilst Mr Slater pulled his beautiful thinly barrelled gun from his jacket. More nobodies appeared right before us. But these were my own. The creamy-pink Dancers skated toward the others, kicking and jumping their way through the horde. There were some bursts of light as my soldiers and some of Luxord's set was destroyed. They'd dented the force, but the crowd around us was still over one hundred strong. They were waiting, as did Mr Slater and myself. But for what? I wasn't complaining, though.
Suddenly, on top of one of the buildings appeared, from a shadowy portal, a blond man, dressed in an Organization robe. "Demyx, and your friend, stay where you are! My army has disabled your ability to summon portals, and you cannot fight them. Wait till Xemnas arrives, and then we can sort you out…"
"Luxord!" This was Mr Slater. "Why don't you come down here, you coward, and apprehend us yourself?"
Luxord's face shifted from a triumphant rosy pink to a furious red. "You!" I looked from the Gambler of Fate to my friend, back and forth.
"Me."
"What are you doing here?"
I looked at Mr Slater, shaking my head, pleading with him.
Don't say…Don't say…
He caught my warning.
"This young man and his companion – whose heart has been lost – were attacked by these 'nobodies' you control. Now they are convinced that I am the companion." It sounded pretty convincing, but Luxord wasn't convinced.
"You didn't save me from the heartless. Why should you rescue some people you don't know?"
"I learned from my mistakes, Luxord."
"That's a shame. But if you don't tell the truth, my nobodies can and will kill you. I know you. You were always a skilled liar, and I don't believe you." Luxord clicked his fingers, and the nobodies charged forward. I was knocked aside, my sitar flew from my reach, and Mr Slater was knocked down. Indeed: a few fell to a rapid-fire chain of bullets from the pistol, but he was knocked to the floor by a die, launched by a Gambler. They left a small amount of space around his carcass, around which a sole dusk wobbled to his head. He was helpless.
I climbed to my feet, but could do nothing. I looked at Luxord, who shrugged, a malevolent smirk adorning his features. I did the only thing I could.
"STOP!"
Luxord clicked his fingers, and the nobodies relented, staying where they were. "Why?" He asked cruelly.
"Just do it!" I yelled, but his eyebrows just rose. He repeated his question.
Mr Slater looked at me, but offered no help. Were he to move, the nobodies would instantly slaughter him.
"Because I love him! Not that you understand!"
Luxord took a step back. This time, he was lost for words. "Demyx… loving him is a mistake, and telling me I don't understand is a grievous error."
